Chapter 15 - A Test of Father-Son Love

Miguel, the Reaper, Prometheus, and Anna are seen eating by the side of a private pool at the very top of the hotel.Meanwhile, the others, the Athenas and Fred all laugh while swimming in the pool."Keep goin', dude!" smiled Lord.Gerard laughs, watching a video. "Hey, Lord! Check this out! It's what children of your generation calls, 'Skibidi Toilet!'"Happy is seen being taught to play video games by Jedan."BITCH, PLEASE!!! I KILLED HITLER!!! SEVERAL TIMES OVER!!!" roared Prometheus. "I AM THE GODDAMNED EMPEROR WARLORD OF THIS FUCKMOTHERING GLORIOUS NATION!!! I WIPE THE FLOOR WITH FILTHY NAZI SCUM!!!""Wait... So your world takes place in the 80s...?" asked Miguel. "Huh... Explains all the racism and anti-straight energy.""Meanwhile, I've been a 70s action hero for years. Been the best in my career," sneered the Reaper. "Been murdering Aswangs and criminals for years with the Eyes of Fire.""Who trained you?" asked Miguel."I learned by my own," smiled the Reaper. "Sure, you did," said Prometheus, drinking some tea."Fuck off... Weird that your world exists in 2022. Everyone's such a Goddamned pansy here," said the Reaper."Wait... I just realized something. You're 45!""Yeah... So...?" asked the Reaper."I dunno. Who raised you?""No one!" smiled the Reaper.Prometheus coughs twice."Oh, please!" yelled the Reaper. "Just because my parents died when I was eight doesn't mean that-!""That what?" asked Prometheus. "I'm practically the closest thing to being your father?"The Reaper rolls his eyes. Miguel's eyes go starry. "YOU ADOPTED MR. REAPER!?!?""Yep," said Prometheus. "Better damned father than that coward."The Reaper immediately gets annoyed. "He protected me from that Aswang filth," said the Reaper, squinting the red eyes on his screen-like mask. "The Aswang that you were supposed to have wiped out.""Yeah-huh... As if that wasn't controversial," Prometheus sips some beer. "And you grew up filled with anger and vengeance with a touch of racism. So much so that Anna ended up leaving you.""Wait, what? What? What? What!?" asked Anna, immediately becoming awakened by what Prometheus said."That's so weird. We ended up together in THEIR world!" smiled Miguel. "Good thing we're only friends in this world!""Y-... Yeah..." said Anna, turning red."Anna didn't leave me. She fucking died," said the Reaper.Anna is horrified."Yeah. Because of your complicated superhero origin shit. I recruited you guys back in the late 60s because I thought you finally were good for something. Instead, you ended up becoming... This..." smiled Prometheus.The Reaper growls. "I'm the ONLY reason that you still HAVE a public image despite how fucking braindead you look to the ENTIRE Multiverse!""Bitch, I own you! I own this planet! I own EVERYONE!!! You can't even walk on two legs if it weren't for me!""You found me when I was EIGHT!!!""Yeah. And I was already a god. You were still on all-fours in mommy's crib trying to climb the bars."The Reaper sighs. "And you WANT me to be THANKFUL???""Uh... You guys fighting...?" asked Miguel."'Thankful!? THANKFUL!!!?!?' Look, BOY... I made you what you are! A WEAPON meant to slaughter his kind!" growled Prometheus. "A perfect being who could wipe out ARMIES of Aswangs!""I-I-I thought I was supposed to be protected by you..." said Miguel.Prometheus sighs. "Right... I was... getting to that..."Miguel squints his eyes. "Why... DID you kill Aswangs...?""'Cuz your kind was evil," said Prometheus."Yeah..." said the Reaper. "Evil...""Am I evil?" asked Miguel."What!? No!" yelled the other pair."You're great!" smiled the Reaper."Yeah! King of the world! As promised!" smiled Prometheus."I think... I should tell you something..." said Miguel.Prometheus' goggles squint with shrewdness."Guh!" expressed Miguel, shivering in pain.Miguel's chair's legs slowly bend outward as if a heavy object is sitting on top of it."What's wrong...!?" asked Anna.Miguel feels a very powerful weight of pressure from Prometheus' glance alone. It feels like he's being sat on by a car, only barely managing to lift his body up. "N-N-Never mind..."Prometheus looks away and turns to the Reaper, who glances at him angrily. Prometheus gives a slightly annoyed glance.The Reaper is the one, however, who ends up physically shaking."I'll go get some fresh air..." Miguel stands up and leaves."Uh... Yeah! Me, too!" Anna follows after him. "Wait up!"Outside of the room in the balcony, Miguel sighs and stares at the vast ocean view with the waves clashing into the sand. "Uh... What's up?" asked Anna."Hey... I dunno... I feel... I don't... trust Prometheus.""Well duh!""Huh?""Neither do I! None of us do! He's been acting sus all year round!""You GET IT, right!? But then God LITERALLY TOLD ME to trust him!"Anna's eyebrow raises. "Okay, you lost me there. What?""God! He told me that Prometheus SHOULD be trusted!"Anna is confused. "Alright, dude. Back up.""Uh-huh...""God. Literal God. He told you that you should trust Prometheus.""YES!!!""And you're POSITIVE that this isn't Prometheus playing tricks in your head?""Yes! What!? Why would he-!? Oh...""We have to prove first that Prometheus has LOVE in that hunk-o'-junk of a heart he has.""Okay? How!?""Ooh! Mr. Nazarene told me that Mr. Prometheus is in love with me!""Troubling. Why would that change anything?""Not like that! Like a son!""You should REALLY be careful with how you word the things you say.""Okay... Okay... How do I endanger myself?""'Endanger yourself!?'""Yeah...""Well... You could... Pbbt!" she chuckled. "Jump off a building? Heheheh...""Great idea, Anna. You're a lifesaver," Miguel jumps off."NO, WAIT!!!" yelled Anna.Prometheus runs outside. "WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO!?!?""MIGUEL!!! NO!!!" sobbed Anna.Miguel *falling*: "AHA!!! YOU DO CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-...!!!"*CRASH!!!*"NO!!! NO, YOU DUMBASS!!! NOT THE BUS!!!" roared Prometheus."Uh..." said Anna, partially traumatized.Miguel had fallen and destroyed the bus, but remained completely in-tact."Oh my God! IS THE BUSDRIVER DEAD!?!?" asked Anna."I c-... I can't hear anything at the moment because of the severe ringing in my ears, but I could feel the vibes on the ground! My sense of touch could feel his heartbeat!" yelled Miguel. "He's alright! Barely...""Whoa... Weird..." said Anna."I PAID THAT WITH MONEEEEEEY!!!" sobbed Prometheus. "NOHOHOHOHO!!! MY PRECIOUS MOHOHOHONEY!!!""You have a network of several quadrillion to the 12th power," said the Reaper."Oh, right! Yeah! As if I'm NOT a greedy bastard!" Prometheus punches the Reaper in the shoulder."Ow!" growled the Reaper."Call a new fucking bus. And TAKE DOWN ANY LAWSUIT THAT GETS IN MY WAY!!!"The Reaper sighs. "Yes, sir. Hay Naku..." he shook his head. "Miguel. Get back up there before someone sees AND sues us.""Hey, Anna!" smiled Miguel. "Did he just profess his fatherly love for me?"Anna shakes her head."Did Prometheus cry and get mad because he loves me as his own!?" Anna keeps shaking her head."Was I in any danger at all?"Anna keeps shaking her head.Later... the group went on with their very first bus tour toward the land of the tarsiers..."(Miguel... This is a terrible idea...)" said Anna."(Trust me, my dude... This'll work for sure!)" smiled Miguel. "OH!!! OHOHOHOH GEEZ!!!""What's wrong!?" asked Jedan, concerned."You alright, dude?" asked Lord."I will kill anything that hurts Miguel," said Gerard."No! I just... I feel like I have... Teleportation Cooties."Everyone stares at Miguel.Anna just facepalms."That's a thing?" asked Jedan, not believing Miguel."Yes. They're... uh... cooties that make you teleport every time you uh... sneeze really bad...""You sure, dude?" asked Lord. "Miguel. It took me two days to get the rights to drive this bus," said the Reaper. "Do not pull what I think you're gonna pull.""No! I have... It's true! I have Teleportation Cooties.""Miguel. I'm a literal expert on Aswang physiology. There is no such thing.""Yes, there is. ACHOO!!! See?""There is literally nothing wrong with you.""ACHOO!!! Oh! OH!!! ACH-!!!""MIGUEL!!! NO!!!" roared the Reaper.Prometheus snickers."CHOO!!!" Miguel teleports to the front of the bus and gets run-over by the Reaper.The Reaper sighs and slams his head on the steering wheel."AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! HE ALMOST FUCKING DIED!!!" laughed Prometheus, as everyone else looks angry and traumatized."Uh... Which would be REALLY bad!" smiled Prometheus.Everyone crosses their arms."FINE!!! I'LL GO CHECK ON 'IM!!!"Prometheus opens a portal to Miguel. "Waddup nerd?"Miguel is mangled and torn-up. "You love me yet?""Ew. No." Prometheus picks him up and opens a portal, placing his mangled body next to Anna."OH MY GOD!!!" Anna activates her strings."No! Let 'im heal himself," said Anna."S-So I could learn, right?" asked Miguel, with a hanging jaw. "From my mistakes? Because you care about my future?""Because there's no need for Anna to waste her time on your stupidity.""To... teach me... a lesson...?"Prometheus can be heard playing Candy Crush."CANDY CRUSH!?!? ARE YOU SHITTING ME RIGHT NOW!?!?!" roared Miguel.Later... in the zoo... the group saw several beautiful species of animals: Tarsiers, thousands of species of butterfly, pythons, saltwater crocodiles, spiny tree frogs, button quails, turkeys, and hornbills.Miguel smiles and winks to Anna."Miguel... Don't!" yelled Anna.Miguel hops into the crocodile pit. "Yaharou, Kurokodai-San! Itadakimasu!!!"Suddenly, two massive saltwater crocodiles emerge from the den."Goddamn it." The Reaper facepalmed."AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" screamed Miguel."The screams of horror fills me with both joy and horror," said Happy.Athena vomits on Gerard's shoulder."Dude..." said Gerard."What the fuck..." said Fred.Anna, Lord, and Jedan just stare in horror.Prometheus laughs out loud and proceeds to video it. "YOU FUCKIN' IDIOT!!!"Later... the group went to a massive line of hills where they stood on top of the hill. These hills were massive and turn brown during dry season and green again when it is wet.Miguel winks to Anna, who facepalms again as he leapt off of the hill, causing the people to scream in horror."HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! AAAAAAAH!!! OH!!! OH..." laughed Prometheus.Later... The group are seen swimming with a bunch of fish in snorkels... Several critters such as clownfish, sea turtles, dolphins, angelfish, bambooshark, seahorse, garden eels, giant frogfish, and a whaleshark.Miguel simply takes off his suit and jumps into the whaleshark."AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" cackled Prometheus from inside his bubble suit.Later... The group ends up in a very old Church known as Tagubilan Church, which is found in a very massive village that was once a sanctuary from the Muslim pillagers in the Spanish-colonized past...The entire group except Miguel pray while kneeling at the front of the Church in silence."I wonder how Miguel gets himself killed this time..." said Anna.Prometheus then slaps the back of her head. "Shush!"Suddenly, Miguel falls from the ceiling, causing a loud, *BANG!!!*Prometheus snickers a bit, causing the others to frown.Later... the group traveled around by boat in the great swamp river... only for Miguel to wink at Anna and jump into the water where saltwater crocodiles ate him once more."HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"That night...The entire group is traumatized, except for the Reaper and Prometheus, who just watch TV in their rooms."What... the fuck... Miguel...?" growled Jedan.Miguel smiles and just watches TV as well, actually. "Hm?" he smiled."Tomorrow is Christmas Day...""Uh-huh!""And you spent literally the entire FUCKING day trying to get yourself killed! JUST LOOK AT GERARD!!!""Yep!""WHY!?!?!""It's because we're sus with Prometheus," said Anna."DUDE!!!" yelled Miguel."Miguel. It's fine. NO ONE here trusts him OR the Reaper.""Wait, really?""I was brought in his world to wreak havoc and chaos, becoming an invasive species," said Athena, eating a popcorn on Gerard's shoulder. "'Til he got me to agree to becoming your Knight. I was searching for purpose. He gave me one."Gerard sighs. "Yes... I was recruited as I was told that I have a royal bloodline and righteously own the throne of the Kingdom of Nueva Yorca and unite Monopolia once more. He told me to see the truth, I must join this quest to aid you no matter what. And I've come to like you and your world's culture of video games, movies, and... these hilarious meme-what's-its in YouTube! Hahaha!""I'm just here 'cuz Gerard's here... Plus, we're kinda broke back home in Bag. And the Daimyo there doesn't like us..." said Fred. "Really like Lord's swimmin' lessons, though...""I'm dead and I want to murder the motherfuckin' shit out of the Satanist who did this to me, ye?" asked Happy. "And you guys were nice enough to teach me to play games and whatever... And have some fun for once... Beginnin' to much enjoy yer company!""And... we're your friends!" smiled Lord. "Isn't that supposed to mean something?""Agree," said Jedan."Agree..." Anna smiled calmly. "So, please... If you want to learn what Prometheus wants, we'll do it... together..."Suddenly, the portal opens and Prometheus walks out, holding some sort of cybernetic bamboo stick. "Kid. Let's talk.""JESUS CHRIST!!!" roared the Reaper. "YOU STILL HAVE THAT!?!? WHY DO YOU STILL HAVE THAT!?!?"The portal closes."Wh-... Oh my God! THIS was your PLAN ALL ALONG!?!?" roared Miguel. "For us to be your SLAVE!!!""What!? Ew! No!" Prometheus smiles. "This is a Digital Bamboo specifically designed to make you feel the pain of getting whipped without actually getting hurt NOR having your body damaged. Do ya know what the FUCK I'm gonna do with this thing!?!?""You're gonna use it to ENSLAVE US!?!?" asked Miguel.The others begin holding their fists up."TO DISCIPLINE YOU!!!" growled Prometheus."Huh?" asked Miguel."Athena? Could you please get more popcorn?" asked Gerard."SIR, YES SIR!!!" yelled Athena, calling upon her clones to get more."You were laughing at him ALL DAY!!!" yelled Jedan."YEAH!!! BECAUSE IT'S A NERVOUS REACTION!!! I AM A SADOMASOCHIST, DUMBSHIT!!! YOU KNOW HOW WORRIED I WAS ALL DAY!?!?" growled Prometheus."*GASP!!!* You know what THIS MEANS!?!?" smiled Miguel."He's an abusive sociopath?" asked Anna."Prometheus CARES about me!" smiled Miguel."HA!!! NO!!! C'MERE!!!" Prometheus slaps at Miguel as Miguel dodges. "HEY!!! HOLD STILL!!! IMMA WHOOP YO ASS LIKE I WHOOPED DEM JERRY'S IN BERLIN!!!"*SLAP!!!*"MY ARM STRENGTH WILL BE THE ENVY OF DEM SPANIARD WHIPPERS DURING PHILIPPINE COLONIZATION TIMES!!!"*SLAP!!!*"GOT THAT BOY!!?!?"In all those times, Miguel teleported away."You love me! You love me! You love me!" he teased."What the fuck is happening?" asked Anna."Shit. Shit's happening," said Jedan.