Mico lays in a comfortable bed, slightly groggy from the numbing medicine he has been made to take. His neck aches, but it is a better trade off from the painful burning he had felt earlier. The doctors have been nothing but nice to him, using the correct pronouns and even talking to him in Spanish at times which he is admittedly a bit rusty at. Mico is about to doze off again when a nurse abruptly struts in. “I hope you’re doing well, Mico. You have a visitor.” Mico suddenly feels more awake. “Is it my Uncle?” He asks hopefully. The nurse quickly looks through her notes. “Yes, it looks like it.” Mico feels relief wash over him. “He will be here shortly.” The nurse leaves the room. Mico sits up, and the room spins slightly. He closes his eyes, taking a deep breath. He doesn’t feel quite ready to have a deep conversation with Aarón yet, he just wants to be held and escape this new reality for a while.
Mico’s heart beats faster as he hears footsteps approaching his room. The handle turns, and the door opens. But the giant of a person who ducks into the room is most definitely not his Uncle Aarón. Mico feels himself cower as the extremely muscular man with light brown skin walks over to him, looking down at him from a height of almost eight feet. The man has fierce looking tattoos on his face along with two black horns on either side of his head. Mico finally speaks up. “I…I think they sent you to the wrong room…?” The man chuckles, the noise surprising Mico with its warm tone. “They didn’t tell you?” The man asks gently. Mico’s face takes on a confused look. “I only just found out the news a few hours ago, but my name is Oscar Macuahuitl, and it looks like I’m your biological uncle.”
Mico stares, his heart pounding. “How?” He asks in shock. Oscar shakes his head, a small smile on his face. “They did a DNA test, and I don’t know the exact details. I knew my mother adopted me from somewhere, and I guess it was from your grandparents.” Oscar explains. “Uh, my grandparents did briefly talk about having to give up an unnamed daughter before leaving Mexico, but that’s it. No mention of a son. They also just seemed really sad and even though I was really interested they-” Oscar kneels down beside the bed, placing a hand on Mico’s arm. “Mico, I am that daughter, or rather I am their son. I am a Two Spirit man, just like you.” Mico’s mind races, he has so many questions, but then he hugs Oscar, tightly. Oscar hugs Mico back. “My uncle is going to be so confused when he gets here.” Mico says lightheartedly, happy tears streaming down his face. “Also not to intrude or anything, but are those horns attached to your skull? And how did you end up in the multiverse?” He asks.
“I’d prefer not to reveal how I got these horns at this time, but I can tell you that my adoptive mother sadly died trying to cross the US/Mexico border with me when I was still quite young. A Katian guard somehow found me, and opened a gateway to Kaleido.” Mico nods, processing the information. Oscar gets back up. “Are you doing okay?” Oscar asks. “Yeah, my neck just aches a little.” Mico says. The door suddenly opens, and a different nurse rushes in. “Mico, your Uncle Aarón will be arriving in Newon soon. He will meet up with you at the Cosmic Casino in the next few hours’’ She explains. “I will escort him there.” Oscar says. “Good. And thank you for being so cooperative with us, Mico.” The nurse smiles.
----------------------------------------
Aarón opens his eyes. He finds himself laying on a very soft surface, wrapped tightly in something warm. What happened? Where am I? He looks around groggily. “He’s awake.” A voice whispers. “Who…?” His eyes finally adjust to the dim light where he sees a young black woman with blonde streaks in her dark braids along with Tribez and another person who’s hunches in the corner, a hood pulled over their head. “My name is Stacy, also known as ZigZag. I’m part of the Newon safety force. And that’s Barr, Barracuda.” She gestures over to the hooded figure. Barr doesn’t say anything. “The two of us were called right after you fainted, we heard you tried taking on Circuit-Breaker by yourself a-”
“You are very, very foolish.” The hooded figure looks up, the hood slips away to reveal a muscular man with light brown skin and a beard. Purple scales cover his forearms, and he has fins on the top of his head and on the sides of his face. On his forehead is an ugly scar that looks like a crudely carved C and B. Circuit-Breaker… Aarón realizes. Barr gets up, walking over to Aarón as his long fish-like tail swishes around angrily . His pale eyes hold a wild look in them as he stands over him. Aarón feels small and helpless. “You could have died. I almost died to him once.” Barr leans in and shows off his sharp teeth, a forked tongue flicking out
“He did this to me.” Barr points to his forehead with a clawed hand, making Aarón flinch and look away. “I’m sorry you went through-’’ Barr grabs Aarón’s face, forcefully turning it towards him. “Look at me when you speak!” He yells. “Barr, stop!” Tribez cries. They pull the young man away from Aarón . Barr growls and pulls his hood back up, returning to the corner. Aarón notices that Barr has a severely hunched back as he walks away.
“I’m sorry about his behavior, he’s got a lot of issues. He was abused relentlessly for being a mutant and having a hunched back. He’s always afraid when a new person comes along, He has abandonment issues and thinks that we’re going to get rid of him or something. Not to mention that he was kidnapped by Circuit-Breaker and just barely escaped a year back. He’s learning to control his anger.”
Aarón pushes himself up. The unbearable pain is gone, but his body still aches considerably. “Where are we?” He asks again. “We are in the hospital section of the Newon Safety Force Headquarters, you have been out for around four hours.” Tribez explains. “What happened to the others?” “After you fainted, Circuit-Breaker tried taking you. You were far out in the desert before Stacy and another team member arrived. They managed to get you back, However the other Royal Theater members had to go back to Redrock City which is in lock down along with the rest of Kaleido.”
“Where’s Mico? Is he okay after what Aylex did to him?” Aarón asks anxiously. “Yes, he is waiting for you at the Cosmic Casino. We got the two of you a free VIP room there after convincing the owner, Jack Anubis. Also all the tests our doctors ran on Mico have come up with nothing negative, and the bite he received will be fully healed in a few days, thankfully. However, we will do a few more tests in the future just to make sure.” Aarón sighs in relief. “I think I can get up now, I only ache a bit.” He untangles himself from the warm blanket. Aarón carefully stands from the bed, stretching a bit. “Seeing as you have no major injuries and only fainted from the shock of pain, we’ll take you to the Casino now. Mico is eager to see you again.”
“Alright then, can’t wait to see the little man again too.” Stacey smiles a little. “From how Mico spoke about you, I can tell you two are very close with each other.” They all exit the room and head down a flight of stairs. “Yeah, we’ve always been like that. After his father died, we only got closer. I feel bad for not being one hundred percent truthful with him about myself not being only human. He thought my looks were simply eye contacts and tattoos. He never even questioned how they glowed and stuff.” Aarón makes his stripes and claws light up. “Blue is an uncommon color for Katians to have, and purple stripes are even rarer. The color suits you very well!” Aarón ducks his head, his cheeks growing warm. “Thanks.” He mumbles shyly.
The moment that they walk outside, Aarón feels the temperature drop dramatically. He tries acting normal, but as they start walking he feels himself start to shiver. The four of them walk down the street at a casual pace, Aarón craning his neck around, taking in all of the new exotic sights and smells. They pass all sorts of people, from Objectheads to anthro animals, to robots. All of them smile at the safety force members and gaze at Aarón with interest. Everything around them is made out of the same dark stone and metal which is accented with neon purple, pink, and green lights. Vendors along the sidewalks advertise newspapers along with selling all sorts of strange looking food. Further ahead, Aarón sees the building’s part to reveal yet another pyramid, this time decorated with gold stars and colorful planets. “Another pyramid. Is this Jack Anubis you talked about…?”
“No, but he is Anubis’s distant relative.” I should really stop being surprised, anything seems to be possible here… They all stop as Barr growls loudly. The same group of young men who had attacked Aarón the other day step out from the shadows, wielding electrical weapons. Aarón notices that they have half healed bruises all over their arms and faces from when Instinct had defended him from them earlier. Stacey steps forward, dark metal twisting around her to form armor with glowing zigzagging patterns. Two swords appear in her hands, her head morphing into a sleek black rabbit’s. One of the young men whistles obnoxiously. “Pretty impressive trick there, bunny! You should pull yourself out of a hat next!” The other young men laugh at the stupid joke. Aarón ‘s hair stands on end as he looks back at Barr who appears to be having a fit of some sort, his head and body twitching erratically. Barr grabs his head, as if something is trying to force its way out. “Run, Aarón .” Tribez hisses. “No, I won’t get knocked out this time!” He growls. Aarón sees a blurred object racing towards them out of the corner of his eye. His arm instinctively shoots outwards, stopping a brick from hitting him in the head. Without hesitation, Aarón intentionally throws the brick back towards the young men with his superhuman strength.
There is a sickening CRUNCH as the brick strikes the leader of the group directly in the face with the force of a car, blood and flesh splattering everywhere. The leader drops to the ground, his head all but gone. The other young men look at their former leader, then at each other. A silent understanding passing between them. They charge Aarón and the others, weapons raised. Aarón roars viciously, easily taking out the biggest of the young men in an instant with a deadly claw slice across their throat. Aarón kicks the body away from him just as he hears two screams from behind him. Aarón sees that Tribez has both curved ends of their staff hooked through two young men at once. Tribez twirls their staff which causes their bodies to dislodge from the sharp ends. They fly through the air before landing motionless a few feet away.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Aarón whirls around as the last young man vainly tries to attack, and grabs them by their neck. “Please… let go!” They choke, their legs flailing. But Aarón doesn’t let go. “Why should I?” Aarón growls, feeling venom gathering up in his mouth glands. “Because, because we need to make the multiverse pure! You could help-” They gasp as Aarón slams them to the ground. The young man smiles. “That kid is not your nephew, she’s your niece. You’ve ruined a perfectly good female that could have made kids!” Aarón blinks, the awful words making him dissociate and loosen his grip slightly. The young man swiftly draws out a knife and slices Aarón’s shoulder. Aarón immediately snaps out of his dissociative haze and lunges forward with a snarl, biting their throat and letting all the deadly venom that had gathered in his mouth flow into their neck.
Aarón shakes his head violently for good measure before letting them drop to the ground. The young man gasps for air as his neck swells up. Dark spider web-like veins spread from the bite and to every part of his body. Aarón watches, disgusted yet slightly fascinated, as giant blood filled bumps appear before bursting open. Soon the disfigured young man lays in a pool of his own blood, stiff and cold. Aarón wipes the blood from his mouth, standing. He looks around and sees that citizens have gathered around him and the others. Tribez quickly approaches him, putting healing magic on him. “Go to the Cosmic Casino, we will take care of this mess.” Aarón complies and starts to quickly walk away, the blood and wounds on him disappearing as the magic does its work.
Soon enough, Aarón enters through the doors of the casino, his senses instantly becoming overwhelmed by the noise and smells and colors. So much noise, so many people… it feels like he is in several different places at once, his head threatening to split open from sensory overload. He starts humming, reaching into his pocket to rub the smooth stone tiger. Aarón forces himself to focus on one thing at a time, trying to spot Mico in the crowd of bizarre people. “Uncle Aarón!!!” A familiar voice cries over the din. “Mico!” His nephew runs up to him, leaping into Aarón’s strong arms. “My little man, I’ve missed you so much!” He embraces Mico tightly. “How did things go on your end?” Aarón asks. Mico’s face falls. “They took blood tests and did all sorts of things, and they ended up having to draw out the smallest bit of venom. It hurt, but I’m completely fine now.” Mico says. Aarón sighs in relief. “Oh and, there’s someone else you really need to meet.” Aarón looks up to see Oscar approaching, his initial reaction similar to Mico’s at the sight of such an intimidating figure. “Hello, Aarón.” Oscar greets him with a smile. The tension Aarón feels instantly disappears at the sound of Oscar’s friendly voice. “There’s a lot we need to talk about, Aarón, but we should do so in private.” Aarón’s face falters. “It’s nothing bad, though.” Oscar quickly reassures him.
“Good evening, welcome to the Cosmic Casino!” An anthropomorphic jackal with golden markings around his yellow eyes walks briskly towards them, his neon pink suit and fur glowing under the lights. “I’m Jack Anubis, and I assume you must be this boy’s other uncle?” Aarón nods, shaking the jackal’s clawed hand all while being confused at being referred to as Mico’s “other uncle” as if he suddenly weren’t Mico’s only uncle. “Good, here is an extra key to room eighty seven. You are all free to do whatever you wish here…” His gaze drifts over to the left. “Now if you will excuse me, it appears that I must break up a fight.” With that, Jack Anubis walks past them and into the playing card area. “Has anyone been giving you any trouble here?” Aarón asks Mico.“Nope! I’ve mostly kept to myself.” Aarón nods. His nephew is a shy kid to the point where he doesn’t have any friends. “You got a favorite game here?” Mico nods, his eyes lighting up as he points to the vast arcade section. “It’s a rhythm game, but like, you don’t actually use the controls on it. You kind of get sucked into the game and it’s really fun. Oscar showed me it, and I think you would like it!” Guess I’ll give it a shot.
Aarón walks over to one of the machines and puts his hands on the controls. He feels himself spinning before finding himself floating in a dark void with a level selection in front of him. He can still feel his hands on the controls, and yet there he is, a floating blue square. He selects a level. The music starts, and colorful shapes appear out of the darkness in time with the music. Aarón uses the dash button to move around them. He is hit a few times, before the beat drops, two giant rings made up of spheres twisting and turning around the screen, nearly hitting him. The song builds up and drops a few more times, and Aarón ends up on his last hit point. Come on! He finally reaches the end of the song, crossing the finish line. He blinks, back in his own body in front of the arcade machine.
“Wow, first try!” Mico and Aarón high five each other. “I might have to give that another try later. Are there any other cool games you wanna show me?” As Mico leads Aarón and Oscar deeper into the arcade, Jack Anubis worriedly looks at the front doors of his casino. He has just gotten word that the same violent young men who claimed they worked for Circuit-Breaker, and who had tried causing trouble at the casino just over a week ago, had finally gotten what they deserved. However, it appears that one of them had called for backup during the fight. Jack Anubis sighs, knowing that he may have to put his casino on lock down or bring out one of the “guardians,” massive animal like machines that were designed thousands of years ago to protect Newon.
Back at the arcade, Aarón, Oscar, and Mico finish their last game. They then head up to their room. “Wow, this sure is fancy.” Aarón gazes around at a room fit for royalty. I am royalty, I guess. Aarón startles as he sees someone in the bathroom only to realize that there is a giant mirror in front of him. He turns back to see that Oscar and Mico are both seated in front of the grand fireplace, looking at him expectantly. “Oh, yeah…” Aarón plops down in the chair opposite of the two, feeling like he is in trouble.
Oscar exhales deeply, shifting around. “So, you are probably wondering who I am…” He says. “Aarón nods, his eyes focused on Oscar with intense curiosity. “I am Oscar, the leader of the Newon Safety Force. When they were doing tests with Mico, they took some of his DNA.” Oscar looks deeply into Aarón’s golden eyes with his deep brown ones. “The tests came back a few hours ago saying that I am his biological uncle. And so I am also your long lost brother.” Aarón’s gaze goes distant. He remembers the conversations he had with his mother and father in the days after Jaun’s death. They had revealed that they had a baby born prematurely, and had to make the nearly impossible decision to leave them behind when they left Mexico for Utah due to how sickly the newborn had been. Now that Aarón looks at Oscar, he can see the physical similarities to his brother, and Oscar’s voice has the same gentle and warm tone Jaun’s did whenever he was calming Aarón down. Something deep within Aarón tells him that it is true.
Aarón lets out a sob, burying his head in his hands as his back heaves. Oscar gets up and sits next to his brother, putting his strong arms around Aarón’s lanky frame. “I never knew Jaun, and I know that Mico barely knew him, but that doesn’t mean it still doesn’t hurt. We all wish that things didn’t have to be this way…” Oscar says. Aarón coughs, sniffing and wiping his face. Mico looks on, thinking deeply. “Aarón, if you are worried that I will take Mico away from you, you don’t need to be. I have my own family to take care of, a biological son who I gave birth to just five years ago, and a non-binary husband.”
Aarón looks up at Oscar, shocked. “You’re transgender too?” He asks. “Yes, and there are other things about me that we can discuss now or at a later time.” Aarón feels Instinct move closer towards the outside world, sensing their vast curiosity. “We can talk now, I’m just shocked. That’s all.” Aarón’s voice shakes with emotion. Oscar nods. “I’ll start with the simplest thing, or rather something you might have heard of…” Oscar leans back with a huff. “I had a childhood full of traumatic experiences and abuse at the hands of my adoptive father. As a result, I developed Dissociative Identity Disorder, and many alters which protected me from that unbearable reality.” Oscar explains sadly. “I am familiar with DID, and I guess I have something similar to it. How many alters are around, if that’s not intrusive to ask?” Aarón inquires.
Oscar closes his eyes briefly. “There are dozens, but only a few are truly around at a time. The alter that comes out the most is Tempo.” Oscar opens his eyes. “Uh, the thing that takes control of me when I’m in great stress or really emotional is a tiger. I just call them Instinct.” Aarón feels Instinct move even closer to coming out. Not now. He tells the tiger. Aarón hears Instinct huff before feeling their presence move away. “Hmm, that’s quite fitting from what Mico has told me about you.” Oscar smiles a little. The two uncles look over at Mico only to find that he has drifted off to sleep. “Shall we take a walk and let him rest?” Oscar asks his brother. “Sure, it only seems fair.” Oscar gently moves Mico over onto the king size bed before he and Aarón head out. “Mico told me that you are a very creative person, and that you enjoy adventures and are quite the famous boxer where you live.” Oscar says. “Yeah, that’s all true. I’m known as “The Flying Tiger’’ in the boxing world. What do you do, besides leading the safety force?” Aarón asks. “I am a famous DJ and music producer outside of protecting Newon.” Oscar says. “Oh cool, I’ve always been interested in music production. Do you have a persona you use for both thing?” “I go by Macuahuitl for my music, and Deathmatch is the name and persona I use for my role in the safety force.” Oscar explains. “Do you have a cool costume and powers?” Aarón smiles slightly.
In the blink of an eye, Oscar is wearing a striking black and neon pink bodysuit with a visor built onto the face mask. A Mexica styled head dress with red feathers appears on his head before golden wrist and ankle bracers with glowing red accents appear. “Damn…” is all Aarón can say. The craftsmanship of his brother’s costume is flawless. A glowing sound wave pulses to life on Oscar’s visor. “I have music based powers, but I wasn’t born with them…” Oscar’s voice, which now had a slight mechanical filter over it, sounds sad. “Tell me everything, I won’t judge.” Aarón reassures him. Oscar looks up towards the ornate ceiling as they walk down the hallway.
“Years ago, I lost my original husband and very young adopted son to a demonic monster, the Darkness. That incident triggered me beyond comprehension. I became self centered, violent, and desperate for revenge. I believed that every non human being was a degenerate monster who deserved to have their life taken away. One night, I finally got the courage to summon a demon who would give me the powers I have now. They did so, but they also permanently marked and changed me physically…” Oscar raises a gloved hand, touching one of his curved black horns. “I’m no longer angry or vengeful like I was, but now I have to live with the visible consequences of my own selfishness.” Oscar finishes. Aarón’s face falls. “I actually understand how that feels, at least the part of living with permanent reminders of negative actions.” Aarón puts a hand to the scar on his neck. “These scars I have are from the most painful part of my life. My brother’s death messed with me in a way that almost made me end my life. But it was Mico who saved me. I couldn’t just leave him, it was selfish thinking…”
The two walk in silence until they reach the grand staircase, stopping. “I appreciate that you’ve been so willing to talk. I know you have trouble with communication, but you’ve done good.” Oscar says. “I know, but you’re different. You’re my brother.” Aarón looks up at Oscar, fully smiling. “I must be going, Aarón, but we will see each other again very soon. Stay safe, brother.”