Xibalba was still in bed, looking through the window at the festive landscape. Trays of food, cold and untouched, were left in the bedside table. He had no appetite, he was too worried about his baby to even glance at the food, no matter how much the servants begged him to eat so he'd regain his strength faster. But their pleas went on deaf ears.

He could not stand it anymore.

He could not just stay here while his Marigold was in danger.

As soon as he felt he had recovered some energy, Xibalba managed to stand up from bed, but he had not the energy to teleport. He'd find a way. Pulling his staff to his grasp telekinetically, he limped his way towards the door, but the wound was deep and had not healed, not to mention the venom was still being purged from his system, which weakened him considerably. He didn't even have the strength to keep his wings up, and they were being dragged unto the floor.

When he opened the door and stepped outside into the hall, one of the servants was there and saw what was happening. "My Lord!" he immediately ran towards the dark god. "What are you doing out of bed?!"

"What do you think I'm doing?" Xibalba hissed, not bothering to look at the servant as he continued on his way, his grip on his staff tightening and gritting his teeth when he felt a sharp pain in his ribs. "I'm going to save my child."

"But My Lord, Lady Toci said-!"

"I don't care what she said! I'm not sitting by while my daughter is in danger!"

As he advanced, a few maids and servants that passed by had similar reactions and tried to convince him to return to bed, but they were all ignored as Xibalba kept advancing, his wound starting to reopen and his bandages getting tainted with a bit of black blood. At that point, one servant was bold (or reckless, he couldn't tell) enough to try stop him directly by pulling on his cloak, but it was a grave mistake as Xibalba, in a fit of painful rage, threw him against the wall with a flick of his hand. The poor soul was disassembled, and the others had to lend him a hand.

By the time he had reached the Dining Hall, however, the pain was completely unbearable and the wound had reopened a bit; Xibalba collapsed, clutching his bandages with grit fangs and his feathers bristling in pain. He tried to stand up, but the pain was excruciating, and he collapsed once again. He couldn't go on, he was too weak, as much as he didn't want to admit it. He would not be able to help his child, as much as it hurt he was helpless.

Still, with some effort he managed to stand up and head towards his late wife's throne to rest, limping with his staff and clutching his bandaged ribs to keep more blood from coming out. He managed to sit down on the throne, his feathers bristled and cold sweat trickling down his face, gingerly pressing his hand against the wound. Just then, a speck of red caught his attention.

There was a red guitar resting against the leg of the table. He had a feeling to who it belonged to. He felt the urge to break it apart, he didn't want anything that reminded him of the human that caused all this to happen… but something called his attention. That tone of red reminded him a bit of the color of Marigold's eyes. Curious, he grabbed the guitar by the handle and started examining it closely. That's when he noticed some other things reminiscent of his daughter to some extent. The bridge of the guitar had the shape of two, black-feathered wings with golden tips, golden curls were painted over the red wood, and there was a single paint of his daughter's namesake flower on the body beneath the bridge, bright and colorful. Xibalba kept staring at the guitar for a while, wondering how a simple guitar could remind him of his daughter. He had never been fond of this string instrument, he always preferred the organ, but he loved when La Muerte used to play it.

Could it be…?

Realization slowly dawned on him as he kept staring at the instrument with wide eyes. He could see it now, his daughter and the human were truly meant to be. Soulmates. But he had been so blind he didn't see it, or perhaps he didn't want to see it. Gingerly, he touched one of the strings with his claws and tried not to snap it broken, flinching as the corresponding note sounded.

Running his fingers over the guitar, he silently cast an enchantment on it, and a few seconds later the strings moved and played by themselves a very familiar tune. The one he had once heard years ago, played by Manolo, to apologize to the monstrous bull he was supposed to defeat for all transgressions committed by his family against it and its kin. He wished he could do something like that with Marigold, but he scoffed at the idea. Like a mere song would make up to her for what he did, she would never forgive him, he was certain.

His eyes swelled up with tears as he clutched the guitar, he would not bear to live that his beloved child hated him. Maybe everyone had been right, maybe he had acted out of jealously, but didn't want to accept it. As tears rolled down his cheeks, he made a promise one more time, an oath, in exchange of his daughter's wellbeing.

If she came back, he would make sure she was happy, no matter if she shut him out of her happiness.

When she heard Juan Carlos's voice calling out for her, she instantly reacted. Cristina reacted instantly as well, her eyes brightening up with hope. Víbora had not time to reach as Camazok fired a dark energy ball towards him, knocking him away from the Book of Death, while Zipacna flapped his wings and extinguished the flames of the pyre, dropping Juan Carlos on top of it so he could release Marigold. But as he was about to do so Chakal, forgetting about Cristina for the moment, lunged at both Juan and Zipacna, his large clawed hands successfully knocking them away. At the last moment Zipacna unleashed a flock of spectral crows from underneath his cloak, but it was to no avail as the Medal of Everlasting Life protected Chakal from damage.

"Damn it!" Juan Carlos growled in pain, standing up and jumping away before Chakal's fist came into contact with the spot he had been standing in a few seconds ago.

"Remove the medal from him!" Zipacna growled, before turning towards Víbora and Camazok, then calling out. "Candlemaker! Take that thing away now, would you?!"

Víbora's new ears perked up when he heard those words escape Zipacna's lips, and saw the Candlemaker quickly float to the Book of Death, wearing especially anti dark-magic gloves to pick it up. "Oh, no, you don't!"

Before he could rush forward, however, Camazok got in the way. "You know what's the downside to being a bat?" he flew to the side of Víbora's head. "Super sensitive hearing!" He screamed at the top of his lungs in Víbora's ear. The Basilisk roared in agony as he stepped back, stunned, his ear bleeding. Zipacna flew towards Víbora, his claws aiming for his fangs, performing a perfect slice on Víbora's left fang, but black venom spilled out of the broken fang, unto the floor around Camazok and Zipacna.

Marigold let out muffled cries and yells as she tried to release herself from the pole, flapping her wings in desperation. Thankfully she could feel the ropes tying up her hands loosen up a bit, it seemed having such big hands were not good at tying up ropes.

"Damn it!" Juan Carlos barely managed to avoid another attack from Chakal, and managed to catch a glimpse of a green glow beneath the bandit's bandoliers. Great, how would he get the medal off him if it was so safely tucked away? Just then he noticed the bandoliers were charged with explosives… maybe…

"Juan!"

Cristina's voice alerted him to another of Chakal's attacks, but he reacted too late and was barely managed to dodge it, though Chakal managed to rip off his jacket. Good thing he was already dead, or he'd be in big trouble. A scream of pain caught their attention. Marigold, Cristina and Juan Carlos glanced towards the direction of the sound, and saw in horror how Camazok was clutching his arm with an agonizing look in his face. Víbora must have splashed some of his spilled venom unto him, and managed to catch Zipacna with his tail, nearly squeezing the life out of him. When Camazok was distracted by the pain, Víbora grabbed him with his claws and glared into the bat god's eyes with glowing orange eyes; Camazok's eyes rolled back as he lost consciousness.

"Camazok!" Zipacna and Juan Carlos cried his name, but the former gagged when Víbora's grasp tightened even more.

"No, you don't!" Víbora hissed, baring his only remaining fang, and throwing Camazok against the wall. "You won't be a bother any longer, boy. Maybe you will taste better than your brother-" the basilisk roared in pain when Zipacna's teeth dug into his tail, and had no option but to let go of him.

Zipacna flapped his wings and flew above Víbora. "Come and face me, you coward!" he snapped. "Or what, are you scared of heights?!"

Víbora narrowed his eyes and spread out his wings. "You're about to see who's scared of heights, buffoon!" He took off and flew after Zipacna, the two exchanging growls, slices and bites as well as magic attacks between each other.

Marigold finally managed to free her hands from her bindings, and removed the gag to cry at Juan Carlos. "JUAN!"

He had just been thrown against a crumbling wall when he heard her voice. He looked up at her. "Marigold, go with my sister! She needs help!"

Oh, right! Cristina! She quickly flew towards the girl, and summoned a rose flame to melt her chains. Juan Carlos soon noticed how Chakal's insanity and anger seemed to be overpowering him, and he was simply lunging at him out of primal rage. Maybe he could use it to his advantage while he thought of a plan B. Untying the red cloth from around his waist, he waved it like a torero's cape. "Venga, toro!" Like he assumed, Chakal became angrier at this and charged at him in all fours, making animalistic snarls an growls. At the last moment, Juan jumped out of the way. Memories of his first corrida came back to him as he performed the very same moves on Chakal. "Entrale!"

Finally, Chakal got tired of the 'game' and charged with all his might at the annoying spirit, but this time Juan Carlos jumped beneath him, and lit the matches from Chakal's bombs. By the time the bandit king had realized, it was too late and was blown against the wall by the following explosion, also causing the wall to crumble and crush him. However, a few seconds later, Chakal emerged from the rubble, with a sickening grin and a taunting chuckle. "You foolish boy, you cannot kill me as long as I have the medal!"

"Oh, I know that." Juan grinned, holding up the medal between his fingers. "That's why I borrowed it for a while, if you don't mind."

Chakal's toothy grin disappeared and his face contorted into a murderously insane scowl. "GIVE IT BACK!"

"You want it? Come for it!" when Chakal charged at him once more, Juan led him towards one of the abandoned minor temples of the place, and tucking the medal into his other pocket for the time being.

Marigold watched as the monster formerly known as the bandit king chased after her love, just like a ravenous wolf going after its prey, before she recalled she had a task at hand. Once she had released Cristina, the poor human wrapped her arms around her and burst out in tears. "Mari!" she sobbed, terrified of what was going on.

"Shh, it's okay, Cristy, everything's going to be okay." Marigold cooed, before picking her up and flying towards the Candlemaker, who by then had managed to finally contain the dark magic of the Book of Death and shut it closed once more. "Candlemaker!"

"Marigoldie, are you okay?!" he asked her, but sighing in relief when he saw she had little scratches.

"Take Cristina somewhere safe!" Marigold snapped, handing her over.

"What about you?!"

"I'm not leaving Juan Carlos nor my uncle behind!"

Just then, she heard a roar of pain coming from above, and looked up just in time to see her uncle falling like a missile, crash-landing a few yards away against one of the walls. Zipacna spat blood, his cloak ripped, a wing broken and feathers scattered all around him, before he lost consciousness.

"TÍO!" Marigold cried out in horror, running towards the fallen god, but suddenly she felt large claws wrap around her waist, trapping her arms and wings, as Víbora swooped down and captured her, before flying up once more. "Let go of me!"

"Oh, no, you brat! I still need you alive!" Víbora snapped, before turning to the spot where the Candlemaker was still floating, holding both Cristina and the Book of Death. "You! Leave the book where it was or I'll tear her to pieces!"

"Víbora, stop this!" Candlemaker decided totry one more time to reason with the basilisk. "You are not thinking clearly! You really think La Muerte would love you if you killed her only child, man?!"

"That's the point! She's dead because of her beloved child!"

""Destroying the universe is not worth it! We would all be dead and it would have been all for nothing!"

Before Víbora could retort, an explosion made the ground tremble and one of the minor temples, the one where Juan Carlos had lured Chakal into, crumble to the ground. The three still conscious people in that place turned around to see the old building collapse, and go there was no sign that any of the two had survived. Víbora couldn't care any less for the bandit king, but Marigold thought differently for the love of her life.

"JUAN!" both her and Cristina cried out in horror.

Víbora snickered and looked down at Marigold. "Well, it seems your amante died all over again." However, he was surprised when suddenly he felt a new weight unto his tail; he twisted his neck around and much to his bewilderment and shock found Juan clinging to his tail, holding one of Chakal's daggers. He ignored Marigold, Candlemaker and Cristina's looks of relief mixed with worry and snapped at him. "YOU! Whatever did you do to Chakal?!"

Juan Carlos was all bruised and one of his ankles was dislocated, but he smirked through the pain and held up the medal of everlasting life. "Let's say his charm of good luck failed him."

Marigold bit hard unto Víbora's talon, making him loosen his grip on her as he let out a roar of pain. She tried to fly towards Juan Carlos, but he shook his head at her before Víbora forgot about Marigold and tried to shake the boy off him.

"Go help your uncle and the others!" he yelled at her, clinging for dear life unto Víbora's tail and barely managing to avoid his fangs. Still, he threw the meal of everlasting life at her.

Marigold gasped as she caught the medal. "But-!"

"GO!"

She didn't want to leave him alone, but she flew down towards Camazok just as Candlemaker placed Cristina a few steps away from the fallen bat god and went to fetch Zipacna's injured form. Camazok was just regaining his consciousness, and was met with a sharp burning sensation on his arm and back, but the sight of Marigold's gentle (but quite bruised) face made him smile a bit. "Hey…"

"Stay with me, Cam! Don't close your eyes!" glancing at the medal in her hand, Marigold placed it unto her friend's chest, and pulled Cristina back just as Camazok growled in discomfort, feeling as his burned skin healed and the pain disappeared, like he had never been hurt at all. But it took time for gods to recover from injuries with an artifact , and time was a luxury they didn't have right then.

Meanwhile, Juan Carlos had managed to climb up Víbora's hair and unto his back, the basilisk let out roars of fury as he flew at top speed through the abandoned city, going through temples and narrow openings to shake the human off him, but all his attempts were futile as Juan Carlos gripped to him like a tick. Juan struggled to keep the dagger (in his perspective it was the size of a shortsword) in his hand without falling off. He had to kill this beast to end this once and for all.

"You are going to regret this, boy!" Víbora hissed as snapped his teeth at Juan Carlos, but once again the human avoided it.

"The only one who will regret having put his dirty claws on Marigold is you!"

"You think she loves you?! You are nothing but a toy for her, a toy she would discard when she got bored of it!"

"Liar!"

"No, it's not a lie! She told me so!"

"We're about to see that!" finally, Juan Carlos managed to climb unto Víbora's chest when the basilisk roared. When Víbora realized what Juan Carlos was going to do, he tried in vain to grab him with his talons, but it was too late.

Juan Carlos yelled in anger as he dug the dagger unto Víbora's heart. Víbora's eyes nearly gorged out of his skull as he let out an loud shriek of pain that could be heard through the entire place. Juan was equally mortified when black blood spilled out of his chest, staining his hands and clothing, but he dug the blade deeper into him. Víbora's wings shook as he flapped them in an unsynchronized way as he flew higher into the sky, his heart coming to a stop as he felt the knive's blade tear through it, until finally all life was drained from him. But if he was going to fall, he would not fall alone; with the last of his consciousness he grabbed Juan Carlos in his talon, and glared unto him, before his eyes turned off forever.

Víbora was no more.

Juan Carlos realized what he had wordlessly meant, and panicked when the basilisk's body started to fall towards the ground like a shooting star. But his terror started when suddenly, some sort of energy oozed out of Víbora and started going unto him.

When they heard Víbora's shriek of pain, they knew Juan Carlos had injured him, but they realized the human would have no ways of escaping from the crash. Camazok and Zipacna were still injured, but they still could teleport. Marigold tried to fly towards Víbora's falling body, but the Candlemaker stopped her.

"Let me go!"

"You can't do anything, Marigold!" he said regretfully.

"Juan needs me!"

She could only watch helplessly as Víbora's body crash-landed against the nearby pyramid, completely destroying it and bringing it down completely. Clouds of dust rose into the air, completely hiding the remains of the basilisk and, probably Juan Carlos's skeletal, shattered from view. "JUAN CARLOS!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, releasing herself from the Candlemaker's grasp and running towards the rubble, only to stop a few feet away.

No… First her father, and now Juan Carlos…

Marigold's eyes swelled up with tears as she fell to her knees, staring into the overgrown bricks and clouds of dust in front of her, before taking her hands to her eyes and bursting out into tears, her wings wrapping around her body to make a little cocoon. Cristina followed soon after, bursting into tears and embracing the Candlemaker for comfort, though the wax deity was so shaken with bewilderment he could only place his large hand on top of her as a comforting gesture. Camazok and Zipacna looked down sadly, their ears drooping.

But Camazok caught the sound of something… his ears twitched at the sound of groans coming from beneath the rubble. Marigold froze when she heard rocks falling and the rubble crumbling as something beneath it shifted and struggled to emerge. It couldn't be! She quickly stepped back, really to fight if she had to, if she had to avenge Juan Carlos she would do it. But as a figure emerged, the group stared at him with astonished expressions.

"J-Juan Carlos…?"

The spirit was no longer a skeleton. Heck, he was not even a mere spirit anymore. Juan look mostly the same as when he was alive, but with red, copperish scaly skin, and a long swishing tail. Although his Sánchez curl was still intact, now it was all wild and his hair color had changed from dark brown to black with red streaks, and his hands turned into sharp claws. His eyes became serpentine for a few seconds, before changing back to normal. Two leathery wings flapped a few times to get adjusted to their new host, before folding on Juan Carlos's back as his pointy, long ears twitched in discomfort. His clothing was ripped, and most of his bare chest was exposed. Juan Carlos took a hand to his head and rubbed his scalp before looking around, adjusting to his new improved vision. "What the…?" he managed to spot a familiar figure a few steps away. "Marigold…?" he barely had time to react when Marigold rushed forward and wrapped her arms around him, sobbing into his chest.

"JUAN!" she cried out, before glaring up at him. "What were you thinking?! You were nearly killed!" then she hugged him again. "But I'm glad you're safe…"

"What happened?" Camazok could not believe what he was seeing. Juan now looked like a mixture of Víbora and Camazotl's traits.

"I'm as surprised as you, guys…" Juan whispered, returning Marigold's hug and burying his face into her hair just as Cristina rushed forward and hugged his leg despite his rather…. strange appearance.

"Ancient Rules, man." The Candlemaker chirped in delight. "You kill a god, you must take his place. And I guess you know what that means! "

Marigold's eyes widened, while Juan gasped. Then they looked into each other's eyes with a mixture of surprise, delight, and love. They could be together now. Camazok couldn't help but smile when he saw how they looked into each other's eyes, as if they were alone in this place.

"Well, I'll take care of my cuñada's body, you guys." Zipacna said, deciding to give the little lovebirds some time alone as he walked towards La Muerte's body.

"I have to make sure the Book of Death isn't damaged." The Candlemaker was next, and disappeared into a flash of light with the Book of Death in tow.

Cristina was enjoying the moment when Camazok awkwardly picked her up. "Hey! Put me down, batty face!" she protested, wiggling as he carried her away.

"S-Sorry, but I don't think that's something c-children should hear…" Camazok blushed.

Once they were left alone, Marigold and Juan Carlos didn't know what to say to each other. Juan Carlos was the first to break the ice. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yes…" Marigold blushed, covering her exposed left breast with her wing. "Gracias a ti…"

"I love you, there's nothing I wouldn't do to make sure you're happy and safe."

"Ay, Juan…" Marigold's eyes swelled up with tears once more, but not of joy this time. She started sobbing as she hugged herself. "Papá… He…"

"Oh por dios! You don't know!" Juan Carlos smacked his forehead in dismay upon realizing she thought her father was dead.

"Know what?" she looked at him with teary eyes, but deep down she hoped he would tell her what she wanted to hear.

"Marigold…" he smiled as he plaed his hands on her shoulders and pulled her closer. "Xibalba is alive."