"And that's pretty much it. A war happened all because the Cube King tried invading Athena. Something tells me this tale won't have a happy ending..."

Dark Jonesy and Jones show intrigued yet worried looks. This story was slowly turning dark and something terrible was about to happen at the end.

"True. But we can only hope, right?" Jones agrees glancing at his snapshot, then his boyfriend.

Midas hums, lying back down on the makeshift bed. He was tired after being having his brain being probed. Jones could see it in his eyes.

"Uh, anyway. Thanks for your help Dark. We ought to get outta here before Ares throws another fit." He says, clearing his throat and getting up.

Midas sits up and turns to the Jonesy.

"I will, don't worry."

"Dark I've said it countless times. Nothing in this world can take my powers away. They're tied to me forever."

Midas quickly gets up, waves goodbye and begins catching up with Jones.

-------

Jones and Midas make a quick dash to get back home before Ares is given another reason to patronise his son. The blond wraps his arm over his shoulders, comforting his exhausted boyfriend.

"Hey, Midas?"

"Hm?"

"Y'know that Astra person you've been mentioning."

"Mhm. What about her?"

"Ya think she's still out there somewhere? If we find her, maybe she could help you."

Midas ponders the thought, taking Jones' other hand and giving it a light squeeze.

"Maybe, but it's a mystery as to where she is now." He mutters. "My only guess is she's somewhere with Orelia as she's the only other one from Oro's court left alive."

Jones sighs softly, leaning his head against his shoulder as they approach the front door of the house. He notices Midas' eyes slowly closing, struggling to stay awake. He unlocks the door and picks him up in his arms.

"You wanna go to bed?"

Midas nods, resting his head in Jones' chest. The blond chuckles slightly and carries him upstairs and into his room. He lays him down gently, pulling the bedsheets over his body and settling down next to him.

"I'll stay with you. Just in case, y'know?"

The mastermind didn't hear him though as he was already in a deep sleep, softly snoring. Jones smiles and kisses him on the forehead, closing his eyes as well.

"Sleep well goldie."

---------

A few hours later...

"Now get out and keep an eye out for those imbeciles! When they come back we're all going to be having talks."

Jules lands on the floor in front of Midas' bedroom door with a thud as Ares tosses her out of her room. She scrambles to her feet and dashes into their room closing the door behind her. She flicks on the light and is surprised to find the two boys fast asleep in bed.

"Mmm...hey, who turned on the lights?" Jones mutters sleepily.

He notices Jules by the door, hugging her arms.

"Oh, it's just you Jules. Are you okay? You look a little pale."

Jules whimpers slightly before covering her face and shedding tears. Jones is immediately alarmed and beckons her to sit beside him.

"Hey hey! What's the matter? What happened?"

Being the good friend he was Jones wraps his arms around the engineer, comforting her. She lets out a few sniffles before taking a deep breath.

"..Ares...he found Midas' diary. He discovered the romantic relationship between you two. And he's not happy at all..."

Jones' heart drops at this reveal. The secret was out, and now the two of them were in deep shit.

"Fuck... Is that why you're upset?"

"W-Well, Ares told me he wanted to talk to me about his diary. He accused me of lying to him just to protect your relationship..." She stutters, uncovering her face. "He gave me what Midas endured for so many years as punishment..."

Jones gasps, covering his mouth as he gets a proper look at Jules:

She had a black eye and bruises across her arms. No wonder she was so pale. Now Ares had abused both of his kids, possibly shattering Jules' trust in him forever.

"Oh Jules...."

Her emotions overwhelm her again, causing her to bury her face in Jones' chest and sob uncontrollably. In the meantime Midas slowly begins to awaken to the sound of his sister's crying.

"Jules? That you I hear?" He groans slightly.

Jones fills him in on everything that's happened while he sits up in bed. He opens up his bandaged arms and hugs her tightly.

"Shhh, it's okay Jules."

"Midas..."

*sniff*

"I-I... I'm scared, Midas..."

Those words absolutely destroyed Midas' heart. His sister was usually so fearless and confident. But their father had completely demolished her. She was scared of him. They both were.

So, while it's shallow comfort, he does what he can to calm his sibling down.

"It's okay little sister. I've got you. I'm here. We're here." He coos softly, rubbing her back gently.

Jones joins in on the embrace, hugging the siblings tight and close together. They may not be his biological family, but he knew they needed him to try and keep their dad at bay.

"It's okay you two. We'll... we'll get through this... somehow..."

Unfortunately just at that moment, a bang on the door is heard, making all 3 flinch.

"M! Jules! Blond guy! I know you three fuckers are in there!! Get out and come downstairs right now!!"

---------

"You disgust me M. Falling for another man? I'm ashamed that you were even born, but this is just ridiculous." Ares growls, folding his arms.

"You see Ares?! This is the exact reason I chose to keep it from your homophobic ass!! Because you'd never accept it!!" Midas yells, holding Jonesy's hand tight.

"I would've found out either way. That little brat you call your sister should've told me sooner."

Jules looks away with tears streaming down her bruised face.

"And not only that, you read my fucking diary!! Is the word privacy nonexistent to you?!"

"Then you should have hid it better you freak!!"

Ares reaches for his two kids and throws them down. Jules ends up with her head banged against the edge of the table, knocking her out cold, while Midas holds her tight.

"Now you two."

Ares reaches for his pocket and pulls out a pocket knife, glaring at the helpless siblings.

"You know the punishment for misbehaving. As for you M, maybe I should end things here and now."

All at once Jones felt something inside him snap. He was already sick and tired of Midas being treated like shit, but now Jules had been roped into the cycle of abuse. Someone who had done absolutely nothing wrong!

He couldn't just stand and watch anymore.

He had to do something.

"UGH!!! Just shut up Ares!! Can't you see what you're doing?!"

"Can it blondie-"

"NO! YOU CAN IT!!"

Jones grabs Ares' armed wrist and pulls him away from Midas and Jules.

"DO YOU NOT SEE WHAT YOU'RE DOING?!"

"Ngh! Unhand me! You have no right to be in my house!" Ares yells.

"Your house?! Since when did you own this place?!"

"Since I stepped into this place! I'm still their guardian, therefore I'm superior to them."

"Are you?! Or are you too fucking blinded by your massive ego?!"

The two men struggle with the knife while Midas watches on, his heavily traumatized mind on the verge of making him break down into a tearful panic attack.

Jones manages to yank the knife off Ares, only for him to grab his wrist with both hands and try forcing the weapon towards the blond. He however pushes Ares away, unintentionally letting the knife brush against his cheek, scarring it.

"Ahh!! Shit!" Ares yells. "Fucking blond idiot."

Midas gasps, fearing the worst for his boyfriend. Jones however wasn't gonna hold back on this man.

"You're a pathetic excuse of a father and the reason Midas' family is so broken! When he was born you were convinced that he was immediately a mistake. So you decide to fuck your wife again in hopes of getting a 'normal' child!"

"Shut it-"

"You abused Midas your whole life and hid it from your daughter and probably your wife as well! And look what impact it's left on him!"

Ares glares over at Midas. He was shivering in fear with tears streaming down his face while clutching his head.

"You fucking traumatized the poor guy! He can't even sleep at night because of you, even when you were a statue!" Jones yells, tears forming in his own eyes. "Because of you he suffers from heavy PTSD and insomnia. And despite that, he still did a great job at running an agency all on his own even with his gift."

He pauses.

"His golden touch doesn't make him any less human. He's special and unique! And instead of helping him embrace his gift, you patronize him and tell him how wrong he is!"

"SHUT UP-"

"And by the way, just because he's gay and has a romantic interest in another man doesn't mean he's a disgrace to humanity! It means he has different interests when it comes to love!"

Ares glares at him and grabs the knife on the floor.

"So my question: Why can't you just accept Midas for who he is instead of roping the daughter you claim to love into this mess and abusing her too?!"

Ares grabs Jones' arm and stabs the knife through his left hand, unphased by his shriek of pain. He watches as the blond clutches his hand, falling on his knees.

"I've heard enough out of you. I want you out of this house by tomorrow morning. Now get out my sight. I'm going out."

He quickly turns back around.

"Oh and M? Tomorrow morning onwards, we're doing things MY way."

With that Ares tosses the bloodied knife away and leaves through the front door. Jones grips on to his hand and shuffles over to Midas. He was curled up on the floor, hands on his head and crying his heart out. His intense shivering made Jones guess he was having a panic attack.

"Midas?"

He struggles to form any coherent sentences, his rapid breathing making it impossible. Jones brushes his right hand through his now messy hair, causing him to panic and turn around. Tears were all over his face, an expression of fear mixing with it.

"Shhh, it's okay. It's just me."

Midas shuffles over into his arms and hugs him tight, burying his face in his chest. Jones sighs sadly, comforting him with his good hand.

"C'mon. Let's get the two of you back upstairs, bandaged up and order some dinner as HE isn't here right now." Jones sighs.

Jones helps him stand, pick Jules up and head up into Midas' room.

-------