The Cube Queen's furious yells interrupt the moment between Midas and Ares.

"Argh!! Why must you always ruin my plans?! Why can't you just die like the rest of your court did all those years ago?!"

Midas gives the Cube Queen a defiant smile while the sceptre appears in his hands.

"I had nothing to do with what happened in the past. That's your burden to bare with. But I've managed to move past mine." He sighs. "Now, release my friends!!"

Midas launches himself into the air, balls of energy firing from the sceptre and attacks the Cube Queen head-on. Ares watches, hugging his arms tight.

He couldn't help but be in awe over how Midas could slide his way out of dodge, weaving through the tyrant's attacks

"Maybe.... I've been wrong about him..... maybe..."

Midas grunts, back flipping away from an explosion and slamming the bottom of his staff into the ground, sending an explosive wave of energy towards her. The Cube Queen doesn't get a chance to react and is knocked down on to her knees, unintentionally releasing her grip on Midas' friends.

He immediately dashes to the nearby jars containing their souls and destroys them one by one. The souls float back to their respective vessels, Jules being the first to wake up.

"Ugh, my head... what just happened..?"

She notices Midas standing not too far away and gasps with a smile.

"Midas?!"

"Jules!"

The two siblings run over and embrace each other tightly, Jules laughing happily with a tearful smile.

"You're safe! The Cube Queen didn't get you.."

"Well, it doesn't mean I've come out unharmed. But I'm glad YOU'RE safe now."

Ares watches them hug from a distance, sighing. He's very certain that because of his actions towards her, he's lost her love. But she at least has a sibling that cares for her very deeply.

Slowly but surely Dark Jonesy, Marigold and Astra begin to awaken. They notice Midas and all rush over to him.

Midas is embraced by both the snapshot, his sister and Marigold, making a smile appear on his face. Astra approaches him with a thankful expression.

"Midas, Oro's chosen, I must congratulate you on rescuing us." She hums. "He made the right decision in trusting you with his power."

He chuckles slightly.

"And I'm happy he had a wonderful servant and friend like you."

Astra smiles, a tear of joy going down her right cheek. Meanwhile the Cube Queen slowly begins to get up, glaring at the people below her.

"Well 'Midas', you may have delayed me in taking my revenge on you. But this island will meet its fate within 48 hours, and you'll die along with it."

Midas grabs his staff and swiftly teleports himself, Ares and the others away from the Convergance.

"I think she might be right..." He mutters, the staff disappearing.

Dark Jonesy admits.

"I'm afraid it may be true." Astra agrees. "We must evacuate the people of this island to a safer place."

Ares steps over, listening to the conversation.

"There's a complication with that though." Midas points out. "There's no other neighboring islands close enough or big enough to house so many people."

He suddenly gets an idea.

"But I think I know a group of people who could help. It's not likely they'll respond this second, but I can notify them of the island's situation." He explains, pulling out his phone.

"Who are these people Midas?" Ares questions, a hand over his chest and clutching his shirt.

"I can't say who, but they know more about the island. Even more than me."

Ares goes to respond, but begins coughing violently yet again. Midas turns to him, well and truly sure there was something wrong.

"Uh, everything alright Ares?"

He clears his throat, wiping his mouth and hand.

"I'm..fine Midas. Quit worrying."

He heads inside the house, Midas watching with slight concern in his face before turning to the others.

"You guys can stay around for the night if you wish."

They smile and nod before all 4 of them head indoors.

--------

Later that evening...

Midas puts his phone near his ear, dialing Jones' number yet again. Still no response comes through.

"Jones for the love of God, fucking answer me. Since you left I've heard nothing from you. You won't believe how worried I am about you. PLEASE pick up."

His breathing wavers for a second as tears brim in his eyes.

"I love you. Please get back to me soon."

He sends the voicemail before flopping down on his bed, a heavy feeling deep in his chest. The loneliness he felt with Jones refusing to reply to him was becoming unbearable. His heart felt so heavy as he scrolls through his camera roll.

He stumbles upon a picture of him and Jones. It was a recent one taken while they were on their date. When Midas came back with their ice cream Jones happened to sneakily take his phone and snap some pictures of the beach while he was placing their orders.

While Jones did get a small telling off for it, Midas allowed him to take one more before handing it back. So he huddled close to Midas and took a cute selfie with him.

"Midas."

The mastermind yelps, sitting up and putting his phone away with a blush. Ares was there in the doorway.

"Y-Yes?"

"... Would you accompany me outside for a second?"

Midas is hesitant, rubbing his hands over the dried scars on his arms. Ares notices and sighs.

"Don't panic. I don't have plans to torture you. I just... want to talk."

Eventually, Midas follows Ares downstairs and outside the front of the house. He lights a cigarette, turning to his son.

"Want a fag?"

Midas quickly declines.

"No thanks. I don't smoke."

Ares shrugs, taking a puff and exhaling.

"So, what did you want?"

The father sighs, clearing his throat.

"You asked me if I was okay earlier." He mutters. "Well, truth is.... I'm not. There's something wrong with me..."

Midas' face is filled with mild concern, raising an eyebrow.

"What is it?"

Ares takes another puff of his cigarette before answering.

"When I visited Remedy to check on your condition, I asked for her to check on me too and..."

"And..?"

Ares turns to him.

"It turns out that, because of my smoking from the past and present... it's given me cancer...lung cancer."

Midas' eyes widen. Ares was dying... again. Ares chuckles slightly.

"Oh well. Think I deserve it anyway after what I've done." He laughs, flicking the cigarette away and stomping it out.

He walks back over to Midas.

"I thought I'd mention it to you. Not as if you have any concerns for me. Why should you? I treated you terribly... Why'd you even bring me back in the first place?"

Midas sighs, folding his arms.

"Because I wanted to give you a second chance to fix things. Fix our tattered relationship."

Ares hums, hearing him out.

"I wanted to change your view of me. I wanted you to see me more than a kid you disowned long ago because of his hands." He explains. "But my trauma and PTSD kept holding me back. I was afraid you'd be furious with me trying to change you. It's a reason why I didn't want mine and Jones' romance know to you."

Both men stand in silence as a sprinkle of rain begins to come down.

"But in the end, I brought you back for nothing. Cos now, within time, you're gonna be dead again. And I won't be able to reverse it this time."

Midas suddenly feels a few tears roll down his face.

"I wish I could've fixed things between. But now I see there's only one way I can make things a little better between us."

Ares raises an eyebrow.

"If I want you to accept me for me...then I'm going to have to accept you for you..."

Midas takes a breath.

"I'm sorry... for trying to change you..." He says.

"I can't forgive you for the stuff you did to me as a kid, and you'll probably never accept my curse or my relationship with Jones...but we can try and get along with the time you have left..."

Both of them stare at each other for a moment. Midas puts a hand on Ares' shoulder. However what his dad does next is shocking:

He nudges Midas' hand off him...

And embraces him with a hug for the first, and possibly last, time.

Midas' tears begin to flow as he hugs his father tightly. Ares sighs, hesitantly rubbing his back. They let go eventually, a small smile on each of their faces.

However a voice calls out in the distance, interrupting their heartfelt moment.

"Midas? Are you out here anywhere?"

It was someone Midas hadn't heard from before. A woman in smart attire, wearing glasses and being followed by a light brown puppy with a green scarf approach him and Ares.

"Can I help you ma'am?"

She takes a second to regain her breath and recover.

"I apologize for disrupting you, but I need your help."

Midas is about to listen, but he suddenly notices the I.O on her blazer. His breathing hitches as he clenches his fists.

"What's your name?" He asks firmly.

"R-Ramirez. My name is Ramirez. I'm-"

"An agent for the Imagined Order, I can see that."

He walks towards her, making her back into the wall.

"You've got five seconds to tell me what you want."

Ramirez panics and quickly blurts out...

"DOCTOR SLONE HAS JONESY!"

Midas' eyes widen in horror at this. Ramirez shivers slightly as he loosens up a little, but not completely.

"Where is she holding him? Tell me!"

"That's the only problem. I have no idea. Slone doesn't trust me enough to tell me since Jones and I are still friends."

She pauses, taking out a memory stick from her pocket.

"But...I can show you how he got captured."

------------

Elsewhere...

"John. Wake up."

...

*sigh*

"Wake him up."

...

Jonesy's eyes shoot open as he's forced awake, sitting up. He tries to move, but his hands and feet are locked under shackles attached to the seat he was strapped to.

"Did we have a nice sleep?" Slone questions with a devious smile.

Jones goes to answer, but suddenly realised that tape was over his mouth, silencing him.

"Don't bother answering. I don't want to hear the sound of your voice."

She heads over to a switch on the wall. That is when Jones takes in the tazers surrounding him. He begins to squirm in his confines and let out muffled pleas, tears brimming in his eyes.

"The only thing I want to hear from you...is the sound of your screams."

And she pulls down the switch, activating the tazers and watching in satisfaction as Jones is painfully electrocuted, his agonized screams hidden behind the tape over his mouth.

"And I'm going to enjoy seeing you suffer Jones."

He continues to scream, tears going down his face as he slowly begins to lose consciousness.

"Midas....... h-help........me........."

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