Chapter 11

Philip continued to be enveloped in a muffled stillness, struggling to comprehend what was happening as everything seemed to move slowly.

The memory of Amity entering the church building continued to replay in his mind, and despite his attempts to convince himself what he had seen was a lie, the image was crystal clear.

She didn't burn, nor did any of the other witches.

And nor did he…

'That's because they corrupted the sacred places as well,' the dark voice whispered in his head. 'They have taken over…'

The notion made a twisted sort of sense to him that the sinful had found a way to defile the churches.

Yet…

'You know deep inside they're wrong!'

With a deep breath, Philip tried to snap back to reality, as he could vaguely recognize the familiar voices in the room.

But… everything continued to be so far away still…

"This isn't good, not good at all," Gus said in a panicked voice. He and Hunter were cleaning the mess on the ground near Philip. He had thrown up before they finally had him sit on the couch.

"Well, at least the curse doesn't look like it got worse," Hunter pointed out, trying to hide the anxiety he was feeling by the way Belos just continued to have a faraway stare.

"Alright, let's just try to stay calm," Willow said as Amity was pacing in the room. "We're back home, and nothing bad really happened."

"Except, we're going to have to explain to the others why Philip is literally just sitting there like a zombie," Amity groaned, but she got an idea and grabbed the remote by the tv. "Maybe we can put one of those ASMR videos Luz showed us to 'wake' him up."

"Wait, don't!" Gus yelled, but it was too late.

Philip's eyes shot open, his chest heaving as he stared with wide eyes to find his left fist buried deep into an electrical machine. The kids were wide-eyed as well, with Amity slowly dropping the remote.

What… just happened…?

Did he… blank out again…?

Philip slowly retrieved his hand, clutching it to his chest as he tried to catch his breath, to keep his mind from racing at the thought he had blanked out again.

"Camila is going to kill us," Amity let out.

"I told you not to turn it on!" Gus told her, annoyed.

"I was just trying to help," Amity shocked back, her annoyance matching Gus'. "How was I supposed to know he'd react like that?"

Meanwhile, Hunter approached Belos with caution, taking in the sight of Belos just staring at the shattered tv before he abruptly got up, making the kids tense up and glance at him.

Philip didn't spare anyone a glance as he pulled away from them and headed up the stairs before the kids heard the bathroom door slam shut.

"Should we… do something…?" Willow asked with a hint of uncertainty.

"I think… we should let him be right now," Gus replied in a hushed tone after thinking about the events they had just gone through with Philip in the Town Square. "I think he needs some time away from… well, everything."

Hunter was inclined to go check on Belos.

The broken look Belos had back at town just couldn't leave his head. His heart ached at the thought of Belos suffering, but Gus had a point.

It was probably a good idea to wait for the others just in case…

"Foes vanquished, he trod the shores of his fatherland, family by his side, finally at peace." Luz heard her English teacher read the last sentence of a book before shutting it closed with a sigh of satisfaction. "This epic ends with the homecoming of not just a man, but a hero," he continued to say, which made Luz glared down at her desk.

"Hero?" she grunted out loud, her chest tightening as she recalled certain events that had taken place in the Boiling Isles thanks to her. "Everywhere he went, people ended up suffering…"

"It does get bleak, but no one said his mission would be easy." The teacher raised a finger to make a point with a confident smile, happy as well that someone decided to engage with him by giving their opinions over the story. "And when you take into account the ripple effects of his actions…"

"Who cares about the ripple effects!?" Luz had made a fist and slammed it on her desk, making everyone in the classroom jolt from their thoughts and glanced at her with shocked confusion. "He was just a pawn in someone else's game." Luz continued to say as she climbed on her chair before was standing on her desk. "And he was never smart enough to realize it. If his friends and family knew about his mission," she shut her eyes as she imagined her friends and her mom, their shocked faces when she had told them how she had helped Belos accidentally meet The Collector.

She felt so ashamed even though her friends and mom reassured her it wasn't her fault.

And knowing Belos could now try to manipulate them and feeling for certain she would be the one falling for his traps again, cause she was a fool, made her so angry at herself.

"They'd know that their lives would never have been in danger if it weren't for him." She opened her eyes with sadness. "They should hate his guts, and it would be better if he literally never existed!" she yelled out as she moved her hands dramatically, before she finally noticed everyone was just staring at her, slightly disturbed.

The bell rang through the school and after awkwardly stepping down from her desk, everyone made their way out of the classroom.

"Freak," one girl, with blonde and a streak of pink hair, coughed into her fist, making two girls alongside her laugh when they walked past Luz as she stopped by her locker.

Luz avoided eye contact, completely embarrassed at letting her emotions get the best of her, and for once again finding ways to make people laugh at her.

She took out her lunch bag before she made her way outside to settle on a lunch table. Eventually, Vee arrived and took a seat across from her. Vee couldn't wait to share with Luz a fascinating discovery from class, but her excitement faded as she noticed Luz was staring down at her sandwich without taking a bite.

The whole day, Luz was feeling anxious and was filled with guilt. She regretted telling her friends and girlfriend to take Belos with them to search for the Titan's blood. She should have gone along to protect them from any potential danger posed by Belos.

She also wished Belos wasn't staying at her house. Even the thought of it made her so mad. She truly believed he was playing the victim to gain sympathy, and it seemed to have worked on Gus and now on her mom.

When she saw Belos and her mom having breakfast together in the kitchen that morning, God… she didn't know what to say or do. The idea of Belos manipulating her mom made Luz's anger reach a boiling point.

And of course, none of them would have been stuck in the situation they were currently in with Belos if it weren't for her…

She was so good at putting her friends in danger because of her reckless decisions.

Her hands turned into fists as she desperately tried to find ways how she could fix things for everyone.

"You okay, Luz?" Vee asked, interrupting Luz's thoughts.

"I'm… very worried," Luz admitted. "I should have never told the others to go with Belos into town. What if he does something to them?"

"I think they'll be fine," Vee assured her. "We have the oath to keep us safe."

"But that doesn't mean he won't try to manipulate them," Luz insisted.

Vee was deep in thought, searching for words to comfort Luz, then decided to tell Luz what had been on her mind for a while, to hopefully distract her for a bit.

"You know how our mom adopted me?" she asked Luz, making Luz nod with confusion at the change of subject. "And how Hunter doesn't really have… a mom or dad…? Even though I guess… since Belos is created by Belos, Belos in a way is technically his dad, since you know, Belos created him…"

Luz frowned at the thought of Belos being Hunter's dad.

"I mean, yeah, Belos I guess is Hunter's 'dad' and I guess that's why Belos thinks he can do whatever he wants with him and did whatever he wanted to the other clones," Luz scrunched up her face as she recalled the countless broken Golden Guard masks scattered back in Belos' mind. "But a real dad would never kill his children."

"Yeah, you're right, but I just brought it up cause…" Vee trailed off for a moment, feeling a bit nervous to continue. "I was thinking since… Camila adopted me… do you think… she would want to adopt… Hunter too…?"

Luz was silent, taking Vee's words in before her eyes lit up.

"I think that's a great idea," Luz said as a smile spread across her face at the thought of having an older brother.

She always wanted to have an older brother.

"I mean, Hunter does act like an older brother already, doesn't he?" Luz said with amusement.

"And we act like the annoying younger sisters," she added with a giggle.

"Yeah, we do," Luz grinned.

"I've been thinking about it for a while now and I didn't know if I was being dumb," Vee said, feeling embarrassed.

"Don't say that. You're not being dumb," Luz reassured her. "We already act like family, so why not make it official, right?"

"You really think he'll be happy to become our brother?"

"Heck, yeah!" Luz grinned, which made Vee smile, especially now as she saw how Luz was in much happier spirits.

They then discussed how they would talk to their mom on making Hunter their official brother.

The rest of the day went by quickly. Luz and Vee walked out of the school building with Masha, chatting with Vee before Luz's phone rang. She picked it up. It was her mom.

"Guess who was able to get out of work early?" her mom said with amusement.

Luz's heart sank.

Did her friends have enough time to find the Titan's blood in Gravesfield? Were they finally back home?

The two sisters said goodbye to Masha and hopped into their mother's van.

"How was school today?" Camila asked Luz, who got in the passenger seat while Vee sat at the back.

Luz answered with a shrug, silently wishing her friends had phones so she could tell them to be home now. Vee, on the other hand, began chatting with Camila about everything she learned from class, like she always did, as she just loved to learn.

Eventually, the conversation died down and the trio rode in silence, surrounded by the lush forest.

"Why were you eating breakfast with… him?" Luz, out of nowhere, asked.

Vee was confused since she didn't understand who Luz was referring to; she did not know that Camila had been eating breakfast with Belos earlier in the morning.

Camila kept her gaze on the road before she spoke.

"I wanted to have some time to talk to him alone," she said. "And I thought having him join me for breakfast would help him loosen up."

"Mama…" Luz was frowning at her mom. "I don't want you talking to him."

"Mija," Camila sighed, knowing her daughter was going to make the scene a bigger deal than it was.

"I don't know what he told you, but you can't trust him," Luz said with a sense of desperation. "Anything he says to make you feel bad for him, don't believe him. Especially when he compliments you. He's just playing with your mind."

Camila took in Luz's words and recalled how tense Philip looked around her. Philip didn't seem to try and make her feel bad for him. Instead, he was too busy trying to make her believe in his extreme beliefs.

Alright… maybe she did kind of feel bad for him to see how delusional he was and how he couldn't enjoy a simple breakfast without it tasting like ash.

Camila understood her daughter's concerns, but she didn't want her daughter getting too worried about her.

"I know you're worried, but have faith in your mother," she said. "I didn't get where I am by being so naïve," she said with a reassuring smile.

"But mom, he isn't like others," Luz argued.

"Of course not, and most likely there won't ever be anyone like him," she said, and she meant it. There was no way another man from the 1600s would ever walk among them, other than Philip. "Don't worry, mija. I can handle myself. And also, I'm sorry that he's currently staying at the house. But I think maybe…" she wanted to tell Luz to give Belos a chance, but no… there was no way she would ask that from her daughter or anyone from the house. Philip has done nothing to the kids to gain their trust, even though he was a product of his environment. "Nevermind," she said, and the conversation came to an end as they arrived back at home.

The tension in Luz's chest returned as she hoped everyone was back safely. She took a deep breath and walked out of the van before the trio walked inside the house.

Luz felt her shoulders drop with a sigh of relief to see Amity pop out of the living room after her mother announced they were back home.

"Oh, hi, welcome back," Amity greeted with a nervous smile that immediately made Camila suspicious and nervous.

"What's wrong?" Camila hesitantly asked.

"Um… you should see for yourselves…" Amity trailed off as Camila, Vee, and Luz walked into the living room, only to make them wide eyed by the sight of the giant hole in the tv lying on the floor.

The other three teenagers were seated on the couch, looking sheepish.

"What happened?!" Camila explained.

"Did he do this?!" Luz asked with annoyance, scanning around, only to not find Belos anywhere in the room.

"He did, but he didn't mean to," Gus responded, defending Belos, which only further irritated Luz.

"We should probably start from the beginning," Hunter suggested quietly. "Don't worry, he's upstairs in the bathroom," he added, knowing that the others wanted to know about Belos' whereabouts.

The teens got off the couch so Camila could sit down with a tired sigh. She was getting a feeling more than ever that leaving Belos with the kids alone was a terrible idea.

Luz felt a bit relieved as she listened to her friends recount the events that took place before the television was broken, glad that no one was hurt. But… Now her mom knew her friends went out with Belos, and it disappointed her that they didn't find the Titan's blood at the museum…

"And then we came back, and he was still out of it," Gus said. "He threw up, and Amity tried to help by turning on the TV, but…"

"He freaked out and punched it," Willow added.

"This really sucks…" Vee sighed, staring down at the broken TV sadly.

She really loved that TV.

"And then he just got up and locked himself in the bathroom," Hunter said.

"And that's about it with our story…" Willow trailed off with a nervous grin as she was watching Camila just stare at them silently before she sighed again and rubbed her temples.

Yep, not the best idea to leave Belos with the kids…

"What were you kids thinking?!" Camila exclaimed in shock, making everyone jump.

"Mom, it wasn't their fault. I asked them to go with them to find the Titan's blood," Luz interjected.

Camila groaned. She should have known her daughter had so much to do with the mess.

"I don't care whose idea it was. You kids shouldn't have gone out there with him. Not only did you put yourselves in anger, but you put others at risk, too. Imagine if he lost control and hurt that couple. God forbid he did. I can't imagine what he would have done to them." Camila shuddered at the thought. "You're lucky he just went into shock instead of lashing out," she said, feeling guilty for even saying it since Philip was probably not having a good time with things right now. "Now, I want to make this clear. No one is going to be pulling anything like this again. Understood?"

The kids looked down at the ground and nodded quietly, but Luz remained still, her fists clenched.

"Alright, I'll clean up this mess, then I'm going to check on Philip," Camila said as she got up, but Luz quickly stood in front of her.

"No way," her daughter exclaimed. "You're not going near him."

"Luz…"

"And what's with calling him 'Philip'?" Luz asked, annoyed.

"Well, it is his name," Amity pointed out, which made Luz turn to her in shock.

"Amity, no… please not you too…" she let out.

"What?" Amity asked with utter confusion.

"He's doing it. He's making you guys all fall for his tricks," Luz said.

"Luz…" Gus tried to intervene.

"No, Gus, this is what he does. Why can't anyone listen to us?" she turned to Hunter since he was the other person who completely agreed with her about Belos the whole time.

"Yeah, that's what he does…" Hunter mumbled. "He… tricks people…"

"See?" Luz turned to the others. "He's tricking you guys slowly."

"But..." Hunter said with hesitation, making Luz turn to him with confusion. "This time… I… I don't think he's acting," he admitted. "You should have been there, Luz. I have never seen him like that in my life."

Luz stared at him with shock before she forced herself to gather her thoughts.

"We both saw what he did," she said. "Remember what we saw in one of his memories? How he 'cursed' a bunch of witches and left them to die in the freezing snow?"

Luz's words made Hunter look away.

Camila observed everyone, especially Hunter. The other days, he was so opposed to being near Philip and seemed so mad at him, but now…

She could see that Philip, being around Hunter, was messing with the boy.

Then she recalled Jimmy's advice.

"I don't want any of you, and I'm being serious, being alone with Philip without me," she said, making everyone look at her. "Especially you, mijo," she said when she glanced at Hunter.

"But…" the boy mumbled.

"Mira, mijo, you have a history with him," Camila explained. "Even if you want to help him, I can't help but feel he may want to take advantage of your pure intentions."

Hunter said nothing. He just looked down with his lips pressing into a thin line before his head shot up when he heard the bathroom door upstairs open.

Everyone in the living room was silent when they heard the heavy footsteps making its way down the stairs. They only saw a glimpse of Philip in the entryway before he disappeared down the hallway.

Camila quickly made her way to the hallway.

"Wait, Philip," she called out to him, stopping him in his tracks. She noticed he was missing his signature blue jacket, and the grey vest, only leaving him a long sleeve white shirt and his trousers. "Are you alright?" she asked with hesitation.

Philip said nothing, which Camila shouldn't be too surprised since she figured men from the 1600's wouldn't have responded to such a question with honesty anyways.

"Where are you going?" she asked this time, noticing he had seemed to be heading to the door located at the back of the house.

"To find Titan's blood," he replied nonchalantly, his back still facing her.

Again, she took note that he was acting as if nothing - that the kids had told her about - happened to him. That he hadn't recently gone through shock.

Or… he was still in shock…

The teens walked out to join Camila, with Hunter stepping towards Philip.

"I'll help you," he offered right away, since he doubted Belos was currently in the right state of mind to look for the Titan's Blood alone. "Two is better than one, right?" he tried to say awkwardly to hide his urge to help his 'uncle'.

Camila was about to tell both, Philip, and Hunter, that no one was going anywhere till she saw Philip slowly pivoted towards the group, his piercing blue eyes fixated on Hunter with disdain, making the boy take a step back with confusion.

Philip stared at the boy for a whole minute, before he let out a sigh of annoyance.

"Oh, Hunter… Hunter," Philip said with a condescending air, making everyone silent. "Even now… you're so eager to do my bidding, just as you were made to. Yet, you fail to realize that I have no more use for you."

Hunter's eyes widened with anguish at his words, while everyone else was rooted in their spots, completely in shock.

"So," Philip said, coldly, before he continued. "Do me one last favor, so I don't have to lift a finger, and go kill yours-"

Philip didn't get to finish his last sentence as he was met with a deafening slap from Camila's hand.

Even though it barely hurt, he was stunned, caught off guard, too focused on Hunter to have noticed Camila had made her way to him.

The teens gasped in shock as Camila glared daggers at him. The intensity of her eyes was one Luz had never seen her mom have ever given to anyone in her life.

"Do not dare finish that sentence," she warned, her voice frigid. She was doing her best to control the rage that kept growing in her. "How… dare you… you…" she seethed as she stepped closer to Philip, who took a step back, still caught off guard. "How dare you say such… horrible things to a child? Just because you made him, doesn't give you the right to mistreat him in any way. I don't care what you think Philip, I don't care if you think witches are terrible or sinful, or that you think you have some sort of heroic mission to accomplish. YOU WILL NOT say anything terrible to these kids AGAIN!"

Philip's jaw clenched hard, glaring at Camila now too.

"That 'child' is just a-"

"No!" Camila yelled at him, cutting him off. "I told you I don't care what you think, especially what you think of him. Hunter is a loving boy, who loves his friends, who is very loyal, who laughs and cries just like everyone else, and he is so desperate to gain your approval and affection yet, you… you awful, terrible, foolish of a man is so completely brainwashed by other madmen to even realize how lucky you are to have such a wonderful boy wanting to help you!"

Philip's eyes now flashed blue with rage at her words.

Foolish?!

She was the foolish one for putting her daughter's and her souls at risk!

'Kill her…' the voice hissed in his head.

Philip felt a sharp pain run through his body while he felt the sickening rage inside him trying to eat him up. He quickly turned his back to Camila, doing his best to keep himself calm, to keep the curse from acting out due to his rage.

He did his best to forget the way the couple back at town were kissing and how everyone in town glared at him for calling out the sinful behavior.

He tried to forget how none of the witches burned inside the church building.

Right now, he couldn't afford to let his emotions run loose.

He had to get away from everyone.

He had to focus on the mission.

Philip forced down all his emotions down before he headed to the door. Even though he hated walking away as he felt he was running away like a coward, he had to...

"Do not show your face here till you are ready to apologize to Hunter," Camila called after him with annoyance. "And I'm being serious, Philip!"

Philip clenched his teeth as he just walked out of the house before slamming the door behind him, leaving the teenagers to stare at Camila in awe.

"Wow, Luz, your mom has guts," Gus couldn't help, but compliment his friend who nodded silently.

Though, Luz was completely anxious during the whole scene.

What if Belos had snapped and attacked her mom?

Camila turned to Hunter quietly after she did her best to calm herself down.

Hunter quickly looked down.

"Camila… I…" Hunter muttered quietly, as he rubbed his left arm, avoiding eye contact with everyone. "You didn't have to do th-" he was cut off with Camila pulling him into a tight hug, making the boy's eyes tear up immediately.

Oh, how he felt so terrible right now…

"You guys must think I'm so stupid," Hunter's stuttered before he shut his eyes hard, his arms wrapping around Camila. "I know I shouldn't feel like this for him, but I can't help myself. I want to stay mad at him, but I can't help but want him to love me as… a son... And sometimes I ask myself, if I'm just so desperate to be by his side cause he made me to be like that…" his voice broke, burying his face against her chest. "Please don't hate me for wanting him to love me…"

"No, mijo, you wanting his love is understandable," Camila quickly assured him quietly. "It has nothing to do with him making you be like that. If that were true, you wouldn't show resentment towards him at times. You would be completely devoted to him, but you are acting like a normal teenager would when a parent doesn't love them back, even though you want them to. You have nothing to feel ashamed about, you hear me? No one here hates you. You have a good heart, Hunter. He doesn't deserve you."

Hunter tightened his hold around her.

"I just don't understand why he…" The boy's body shook as he tried so hard to hold his tears back. "I did almost everything he wanted me to do, yet…" The boy broke now into a sob. "It's just not fair…"

Oh, how he had worked so hard to gain Belos' affection, his approval during training, during missions. How there were instances that Belos did seem to care for him, when he would give him one of those lazy smiles or talk to him about the human world.

Were the years they spent together really just a lie?

The boy couldn't help but feel his chest twist painfully at the image of Philip just looking at him as if he was nothing but a tool to dispose of.

Hunter felt he was dying inside; he couldn't stop the pain from his chest from eating him up.

"Just let it out, mijo, just let it out," Camila whispered to him, her cheek resting on top of his head as she continued to hold him close to her.

For months, she watched him suffer silently, struggling to maintain a brave face in front of others, even though he had depressive episodes and tried so hard to hold back tears.

Now, she wanted him to let it all out, to cry from all the bottled-up emotions that were probably eating him up for years.

She felt her own eyes tear up, and her chest twist in anger at Philip.

She didn't want to spare a single thought for the man who caused so much pain on Hunter at the moment. For now, she had to be there for Hunter.

The other teens watched on with heavy hearts, their own emotions raw and unspoken.

Without a word, Willow and Gus joined them, wrapping their arms around Camila and Hunter. They said nothing to their friend.

The warmth of their embrace finally made him start crying sadly, and with each passing moment, his sobs grew louder and more painful.

Luz and Vee looked at one another sadly before looking down at the ground.

Luz started to feel so guilty for being annoyed at Hunter earlier.

It wasn't Hunter's fault that he still wanted to help Belos in any way he could.

Her hands turned into shaky fists, as she felt her own chest twist with anger at the monster that was Belos.

She hoped though, if her mother would be alright with it, they could make Hunter a part of their family, and she hoped that would lessen Hunter's pain, even if it was just a little bit.

Even though he wouldn't have a dad that loved him, he would have a mother and two sisters who did.

And a place to finally call home…

As the boy continued to cry sadly, behind the closed door at the back of the house, Philip stood silently, listening. His long hair hung in front of his face, blocking his expression as he hung his head low.

'Pathetic, isn't it?' the dark voice jeered. 'He truly thinks he's real like you…' the voice mocked the boy.

But Philip was too tired to listen to the voice.

He just wanted it to…

"Stop..." Philip murmured, barely above a breath. "Please... just stop..."

He stood there silently for a moment, before he pulled away from the door, vanishing into the shadowy forest, alone, his footsteps muffled by the rustling of leaves.

"What an annoying day…" Jacob grumbled as he drove down the deserted street by the forest. The sight of multiple police cars signaling him to take a detour only added to his annoyance. "Great, just what I needed," he groaned as he reluctantly veered onto the darker, longer road back to his home.

Unbeknownst to Jacob, two ominous black cars had appeared behind him, shadowing his every move.

"Stupid old man, getting me in trouble with my boss," Jacob muttered before he blinked with confusion when he saw a bunch of black cars parked ahead of him.

He slowed to a stop.

"What the heck…?" he parked his car and saw people in black suits slowly stepping out of their cars, making Jacob widen his eyes, especially when he finally took notice of the cars parked behind him.

He wasn't sure what was going on, though. His mind raced to a bunch of theories.

Oh, no… were the uniformed men aliens who were going to take him away to eat his brains?!

Or were they the demons who finally found out he knew about their plans about collecting human teeth?!

Nope, he wasn't going to let them get his teeth or his brains.

Jacob frantically tried to turn his car on. He stomped on the accelerator pad, but the moment he did, the car immediately turned off.

"No, no, no, come on, don't do this to me right now," Jacob pleaded to his car to work as he tried to twist the key back and forth to get the engine running, but nothing worked.

A sharp knock on his window made Jacob yelp with fright and flinch away from the door.

He hesitantly looked up to see a tanned man with jet black hair beckoning him to lower the glass.

Jacob shook his head as a response.

The man just gave him a stern look with his dark brown eyes, which made Jacob comply right away out of fear to make the man angry.

"Jacob Hopkins, I presume," the man, Rafael, said calmly.

"How… Do you know my name…?" Jacob asked warily.

"We need you to come with us," Rafael said, pulling out a green emblem.

Jacob stared at it with confusion before a bunch of little looking glyphs glowed brightly on the stone. Before Jacob knew it, he was suddenly met with darkness.

The rest of the story is in archive of our own under the name Nisroc Chico : ), incase anyone wants to read the rest. I will be posting up the rest of the story, but in a timely manner for peeps who don't have access to archive of our own.

You guys can leave a review/comment here if you guys can't in archive of our own : o, otherwise, i prefer archive of our own so i can respond to them :) and there is more engagement there with others too plus fanarts for you guys to enjoy : )

You can find me in tumblr as chiconisroc