A/N: The chapter ahead is raw, which means not been proofread yet nor edited.
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"No, who are you?" Lord Ohms pressed as he try to see what's behind the cloth. They could only see his feet. And what's weird is that... They are translucent.
"Hey! Watch your tone! Who are you first?" The child placed his hands on his waist.
They looked at the Lord.
"I'm a Lord. My name is Ohms."
They waited for the child to respond.
"Hmm, a funny Lord. And your name is familiar. Anyway, I'm a Prince! The first Prince! My name is Zoddy!"
His brother said from the other side of the door, "Brother, his name sound very familiar to us, too!"
The child run to door and peek inside, "Right? He said he's just a Lord. We don't get acquainted with funny Lords. We're Princes, so we must only acknowledge people as great as us!"
The Lord smiled, but he's pissed.
"If you're a Prince... Where are your parents? Are you lost?" The Young Lord asked in concern. The child looked back at him the moment he heard his voice.
"I heard your voice before. Who...are you?"
Though the cloth blocks his sight, he could see the form of the man in front of him between the tiny gaps.
The Young Lord feels weird for no reason.
"I'm...Watts. Watts Xirquit. Ohms is my brother. Do you know me? If you're lost, then maybe we can help you."
Once again, a more dramatic gasps came from the voices on the other side of the door. The child turn around to see him. And suddenly, the cloth over his head became wet.
"Why... Why do... Why do you have my Daddy's name? Are you... Are you my Daddy?"
As if their breathing stopped, they hold their breaths with their widening eyes.
"I-It's his Daddy!? Then...our Daddy is outside, too!?"
"Shh! Listen!"
The Young Lord took a step closer but the child stepped back.
"Are you Zodiac? Is your name Zodiac Astrophel Nikolai?"
He's shaking. He doesn't want to believe it. If he's still in the illusion, then he will curse Prince Davorin for making it look so real.
But the child cried harder and nodded.
"You know my name. You're my Daddy! My Daddy!"
His excited little feet ran to meet him. But when he jumped to hug his father, he went through him.
Their hearts fell.
"Daddy! No, I can't touch Daddy! I am Zoddy! Daddy! You're really my Daddy! Uwaaahhh! Why can't Zoddy touch Daddy!"
Watts Xirquit looked back and saw how the child desperately wanted to touch him.
A ghost.
"That can't be..." They covered their mouths from the realization.
Moon is telling the truth!
"He's a ghost!" Lady Elektra exclaimed and they hushed her. But it's too late because the child had heart it.
"G-Ghost? Who? Z-Zoddy?"
They heard the same mean voice again from one of the voices earlier behind the door.
"We're dead, duh? Why do you think only Mommy could see us and others can't? Because we're dead. Dzuh!"
Watts Xirquit went down on one knee to meet the child's height. He raised his hand, tempted to touch him.
He wiped the tears that are welling in his eyes.
"Where is your Mommy?"
The child sniffled, "I-I don't know. Hnngh. Mommy left us. I don't know where my Mommy is. I missed Mommy. We missed Mommy."
Suddenly, his eyes laid on Sun.
"Look behind you. She's there."
He lift his finger, pointing at Sun.
The child looked back and immediately looked for his mother. When he saw the color of gold, happiness pumped his heart and found himself to her.
"Mommy! Where have you been! What took you so long---"
But when he got close, he stopped on his tracks when he recognized that it's not his mother.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I was wrong," the Young Lord chuckled.
They couldn't believe what he just did.
"You're not my Mommy." The child tilted his head to the side, "How dare you copy my Mommy?"
When they felt a subtle pulse coming from him, their hearts twisted in pain. The Young Lord seem to be the only one unaffected by it.
"W-What do you mean? Copy? Who?" Sun braved. Her throat dried. She couldn't withstand the pulse coming from the child.
"This pig take me for a fool," he turned around, "Alright. Doesn't matter. Don't breathe. Don't move. Keep your eyes open until they pop."
He flounced back to the Young Lord happily. Everything he said, Sun did. No, she was forced. It was out of her will.
"Daddy, Daddy!" The little Prince called.
The Young Lord couldn't explain the sensation he brought to his chest.
"While Mommy is not yet here, let's play! I want a toy car! Mommy said you're very smart! She said you can make airplanes, cars, and flying boats! You're so amazing!"
The little Prince giggled.
"I want a car!" A voice came from behind the door.
The Young Lord raise his hand once again. He knows he may not touch the child, but he still tried. Like the works of magic or miracles, his hand landed on his head. He smiled at him as he burst into tears.
"Why are you crying, Daddy? Are you happy to meet Zoddy? Well, I can't blame you! When you followed the light, that was the last time I saw you! I hate the light that took you! It didn't even let us play together! But! Mommy said you already went to Heaven. Mommy said why I won't follow you---and it made me upset! If I follow you, who will be left with my Mommy? I don't want Mommy to be lonely!" He whined and stomp his foot. It only made the Young Lord cry even more.
"I don't want...to lie to you. But I'm not your Daddy. It's hard to explain, but your Mommy rebirthed. A second life. You're from her first life, Zodiac. I am not your Daddy."
The child shook his head, "Don't be silly. Daddy will always be Daddy, Mommy will always be Mommy, and Zoddy will always be Zoddy! But if this is Mommy's second life, where is my Mommy?"
He pulled the child to his chest and grieved on him silently.
"Tell me more about your Mommy, please."
"Mommy is a crybaby!" The voices inside said.
"Shh! Don't tell him that!" The child hugged his father back tightly, "Don't listen to them, Daddy. Mommy is a bad person, but she's nice to us. She's very pretty, too. She lovessss Zoddy very much! She always give Zoddy kisses! Zoddy likes lots of kisses. Do you like lots of kisses too, Daddy?"
The child lean back to look at him. He placed his tiny hands on his wet cheeks.
"Hmm. I do. I like lots of kisses. I always receive lots of kisses from my Mommy and Daddy, too."
"My Grandma and Grandpa!? Are they here, Daddy? Mommy said they're amazing but she killed them because they abandoned her. You didn't and you loved Mommy. I love people who love my Mommy!"
The Grand Duchess suddenly felt uncomfortable and cleared her throat.
"Tell me about your brothers. I know you will need to go back inside. So, I want to know more about my little boy. Can you tell Daddy---"
"Valy is my favorite brother!" The little Prince shouted at the top of his lungs.
"We have different Daddies! Their Daddies are all Princes, Daddy! But you're a Prince, too! And much better than their Daddies! My Daddy is the best!"
The Young Lord smiled and squeezed his son's face between his hands.
"I am the eldest! Valy came second, then Maxi, then Ivy, then Ambry! Maximilien is very naughty. A headache to me!"
"I can hear you! Your Daddy is ugly! I don't care about your Daddy!"
"Hey! Your Daddy is the ugly one! My Daddy is very handsome!"
"HE'S FAT!"
The Prince dramatically gasped and held his chest. Watts Xirquit chuckled and held his son in his arms.
"Daddy, I'm not a baby anymore!"
"You're like my family. You're obsessed with your brother Valy. He must be a very good brother. Is he nice?"
"Yes! My Valy is very cute. Hihihi. Ivy and Ambry, too! Just leave Maxi out. He's very mean!"
"Because I don't like an airhead like you as my brother. Everyone is stupid, it's offensive to my part!"
"Don't say that. That's not a nice thing to say to us."
"Let him be. He's just bitter and edgy. Well, I would be like that, too, if it's my Daddy who killed me. Thank goodness it's only Mommy's curses."
"WHAT DID YOU SAY!?"
The little Prince jumped from his father's clutch and ran to the door.
"Ivy, take that back! That's much worse! Maxi, stop! If only you're a bit nicer, then we will get along!"
"SHUT UP! I don't want to get along with idiots like you! I hope you burn forever! I hope you die! Like dead-dead! Everyone is an idiot!"
"MAXIMILIEN! I will deal with you later." The Prince shouted. He closed the door and ran back to his Daddy.
"I'm sorry about that, Daddy. It's just that... Maximilien is a very sad kid. Must be because of what happened to him..."
The Young Lord picked him up.
"It's alright. I wouldn't mind. I'm proud that you know how to handle your brothers."
He rested his head on his father's shoulder.
"Daddy, you love Zoddy, right? Daddy is still Daddy, after all."
"Of course. You're my miracle." He received a kiss from his father on the forehead.
"You will do anything for Zoddy, right?"
"Yes. Anything," he answered, thinking that what the child will ask from him is something so shallow.
"Then, would you kill Maximilien's Daddy for me?"
The smile on Watts Xirquit's face faded.
"What?"
The child faced him.
"Kill Maximilien's Daddy. I hate him. We hate him. Maximilien, like me, almost lived. But his Daddy went home one day and shoot Mommy's baby bump. Maximilien is inside. He killed Maximilien. It's not an accident. He mean to do it. So, Daddy, I want you to kill Maximilien's Daddy for Mommy, for me, and for Maxi."
In this world, there's only one who's a Prince and with the name 'Maxi'. They didn't give it much thought whose child Maximilien might be from and just looked at one person---Prince Maxigaufeas.
"You're fucking kidding me, right?"
And he's the only one who bears great passion and obsession about guns.
"You would do that, right, Daddy? He's very close to you, so it should be easy. I want him to die in pain. I want him to feel what it's like. Maximilien is like that because of him. He's jealous and envious of us because our Daddies are nice. I will kill him myself if I have the chance. But I will like it better if it will be you. So he will know what it's like to be betrayed, wondering what went wrong as he bleed to death. My Mommy didn't deserve it. Maximilien didn't deserve it. But he did it anyway."
He rested his head on his father's shoulder again.
Watts Xirquit couldn't take his eyes off of Prince Maxigaufeas who's shaking his head.
"Nope. That's not me. Don't look at me. It ain't me!"
He breathe in sharply.
"But if we kill him, then Maximilien may vanish forever even if he's a ghost," he said.
The child was puzzled.
"Why, Daddy?"
"Because his Daddy here is alive. And you're alive because I'm alive. What if Mommy and I got together and you happened? You will be born for real. This time, you will live. We will be a family."
"That can't be me. It won't be me. Have you forgotten, Daddy? I'm your second baby. You killed my older brother, too."
The Young Lord completely stopped.
"If you can't remember, then Zoddy will tell you. Mommy only wanted you to see and visit her. She went to your office and she begged on her knees. Mommy is not that bad yet. Then you pushed Mommy and kicked her out. Mommy went back to your bedroom. All night long, she thought she only have a stomachache. When she woke up, she found my brother. A fetus. She didn't know. You didn't know. It's sad. He's not here because he had no identity. Only Zoddy, because Zoddy almost lived."
Watts Xirquit almost lost his balance from what he revealed. His knees are shaking as he try to keep his posture.
"But I understand. I didn't hate you for that. You're Mommy's first love, Daddy. You know, if only you stayed, she would've been a good person. After all, you're an angel. She always tell me that. 'Your Daddy is an angel, like you, my Zoddy.' Am I an angel like you, Daddy?"
He closed his eyes and put their foreheads together.
"Yes. You're an angel."
The little Prince smiled. He rubbed his head on his father's chest and inhaled his scent.
"You smell nice. I want to smell like Daddy!"
And with no hesitation, he opened his space storage and gave his son his favorite perfume.
"Then, Daddy's perfume is yours."
"Really!? What about my airplane!?"
He snuggled the child. Lady Elektra stepped forward harmlessly, discreetly.
"I'll make my boy one. But you have to wait. Are you patient?"
"No!" The Prince shook his head fast, "Zoddy is very healthy! Zoddy is not sick! I'm not a patient!"
Grand Duchess Xerene feel warm upon hearing and seeing how his son laugh like he was before.
"Wattsy, is that really our Zoddy? I want to carry him~" Lady Elektra drooled as she wiggle her fingers at the little Prince.
"Daddy, who's that?"
The Young Lord smiled and introduced her to him, "She's my sister. Meet my family. She's your Auntie Elektra. Then that is my eldest brother, your Uncle Ohms. This is your Uncle Spike. There, that's my Mommy and my Daddy."
"Wow! Everyone's alive! Daddy, I'm so happy for you! Mommy must be a very good person now! She didn't kill everyone!"
The little Prince jumped off his father's clutch and ran to his Auntie.
"Hi, Auntie! My name is Zoddy, and I love kisses!"
The Lady caught her chest from the feels he brought to her. Lord Ohms pulled her away by the collar when her nose began to bleed.
Lord Spike crouched down and pat his head. It's amusing that his hand didn't went through the Prince like before. He's not warm nor cold. He can be touched and nothing more.
"I'm Uncle Spike. I'm your coolest Uncle. And the most sane among your Daddy's siblings. You shouldn't get close with your Auntie. She will bite you."
"HEY! DON'T SCARE MY GRANDSON! My son, he's lying!"
The Lord smiled, "See? She got rabies."
The Grand Duchess went down to knees now that she got close to her second grandchild. It brought tears to her eyes. She thought it'd be her Spike who will give her a grandchild this time. She was wrong, but it's not bad at all.
"Come here, my love. If you want money, I'll give you lots of money. Come, come to this grandmommy."
"Okay!"
He flounced to her and jumped to give a big hug. They snuggled. Grand Duchess Xerene held him tightly.
"Xerene, the child. You're squeezing the child," Grand Duke Voltage said and tapped his wife's shoulder.
"It's okay! Zoddy is amazing! I can breathe without breathing!"
They clapped loudly for him.
"Wow~ Our Zoddy is the best! Yay!"
"Yay!"
Until Lord Spike asked curiously,
"But why are you hiding? Wouldn't it be nice if you were to see us and we will see you?"