It was all over.

His reputation, destroyed. The chance to rule the Land of the Remembered, taken. La Muerte, also taken, and by the god who was to blame for everything. He wasn't content with just taking everything that was rightfully his, now he also humiliated him in front of the whole pantheon, forever depriving him of any chance of being truly happy.

Well, if he could not be happy, neither would he.

"XIBALBA!" Itzlacol screamed at the top of his lungs, waiting just outside the castle bridge. He had managed to get through the spell that kept people outside just before it was cast, but now it meant he was completely isolated, and would not be able to recur to his minions. Zipacna's magic prevented it.

But he had other tricks up his sleeve.

"COME OUT AND FIGHT ME!"

Inside the castle, Xibalba had protectively pulled his wife closer to him when the castle trembled, and Itzlacol's angry voice echoed in the air. "Damn it!" he hissed, glancing out the window.

"How did he get in?!" La Muerte asked.

"I don't know, but I'm going to make sure he will stop annoying people!" He stood up from bed and proceeded to get back into his armor.

"Xibalba, what are you going to do?"

"Something I should have done a long time ago." He replied with a darkness she had not heard in a long time.

"But Xibalba, you're still injured! And you are not fully recovered!"

"I'm not going to stand here while he continues to hurt you. I'll put an end to this once and for all." However, she grabbed unto his arm, and sped up to stand in his way.

"You're not leaving me again!"

"La Muerte, this is not about what I want or not! Itzlacol is out there and-!"

"And he's out for blood! Your blood!"

"Xibalba, I spent TWO WEEKS thinking you had died! And how much time did you have to make up for it'?! One day and a half!"

He snarled impatiently. "La Muerte, we can stay arguing here all day while Itzlacol gains more power, or I can deal with that bastard at once!"

"Why don't you call the Kings?! I'm pretty certain they could handle him-!"

"I sealed the realm, my dear. They can't come in even if they wanted to."

As they continued to argue, and all the while La Muerte still refused to let him pass, Xibalba realized it was pointless. She would not let him go, but he couldn't leave Itzlacol alone for too long or he might try another thing… He had to think of some way to keep her safe, and to leave without her interfering…

Soon he got an idea, but she would kill him later on. However, he had no time to think of something else. "I'm sorry, mi amor."

"What? What are you-?" Before La Muerte could do something about it, Xibalba touched her forehead, and her vision went black.

He caught her in his arms as she fell. He had put her into a sleeping trance; she would stay unconscious for some time, hopefully enough for him to be done with it and then come back. If he was lucky, he'd be able to tell her she had fainted again because of the pregnancy. As he placed her down unto his bed and covered her with the blanket, he planted a kiss on her forehead.

"I promise I will come back." He glanced towards Ponzoña. "Stay with her and don't let her out of your sight."

Ponzoña's two hears hissed in agreement.

With those last words, he proceeded out of the room, closing the door behind him… And silently locking it from the outside. She was asleep, but it would be better not to take any chances that she woke up earlier than intended. She was going to have his head when this was over, but this was for both their own good… hers and his child's.

As he heard Itzlacol calling his name one more time, Xibalba headed over to his armory and walked towards the case where he kept his sword. It was still like the last time he put it back there, devoid of any dust and as sharp as ever, Lorenzo's courtesy. He never thought he'd use it again.

Now was not the moment to recollect the past.

After grabbing his sword, Xibalba walked out of the armory, through the temporally empty halls of his castle, and when he arrived to the main gate he found his whole pack of hounds was already at the door, baring their teeth at it, growling at Izlacol's presence outside the castle walls.

"Chicos." He spoke sternly. "Go to the room La Muerte is in, and protect her with your lives. Do not let anybody enter until I come back, understood?"

The skeletal hounds barked and ran off to do as asked.

When he was certain his wife was in good hands (or rather, good paws), Xibalba walked out of his castle and across the bridge. The lava pit warmed up the air, and gave the dark god a red tint. Soon he came to a stop when he spotted Itzlacol, who stood just between the two snake heads that decorated the bridge.

He looked like a mess. His eyes were bloodshot, his wavy red hair was a tangled and unkept, and his robes were torn. He was holding a fiery sword in his right hand.

"Itzlacol, I must say, you look terrible." Xibalba said casually.

"YOU!" Itzlacol yelled, his voice dripping with hatred. "This is all your fault!"

"What is exactly my fault?" the dark god fidgeted with his sword. "As far as I know, all that's happened was a consequence of your decisions. I didn't have anything to do with it, did I?"

"If you hadn't gotten in the way, everything would have been mine! But you took everything away from me, so I will take everything you care about!"

Xibalba chuckled darkly. "In case you haven't noticed, it's not that easy to get rid of me. It's already been two attempts on my life, and both failed miserably. Really, and here I thought you were smarter." He held out his sword. "One of us will die today, Itzlacol… And given that I'm a God of Death, we can guess who will."

That was the last straw. With a yell of anger, Itzlacol attacked with his sword, seeking to stab him, but all his attempts were easily blocked, in part because he was so driven by anger that he wasn't properly thinking of a strategy. Xibalba, on the other hand, remained calm and his hand firm, waiting for the right moment to disarm Itzlacol.

The chance came a few seconds later, and he sent Itzlacol's sword flying into the lava lake, then he held his sword pointing towards Itzlacol's chest.

"Yield."

Itzlacol, however, chuckled darkly. "Why, Xibalba… You really think I'd come unprepared?"

Xibalba was confused, until a dark fire appeared in Itzlacol's hand, and then it started to take shape into a sword, much more macabre and sharp than the previous one. Oh, no, Itzlacol had been messing with dark magic. This explained that half-demented look on his eyes, and his current state.

"What did you do, Itzlacol?" he asked, genuinely worried.

"You're not the only one who can recur to dark magic to obtain what you want." Itzlacol said, snickering.

"Itzlacol, I'm used to dark magic since I was born! You are not! If you use dark magic, you won't be able to think straight and it'll cloud your judgment!" Not to mention that in this state, Itzlacol could turn the tables.

"Oh, please, like you'd care if that happened!"

With that, he fiercely attacked Xibalba. The dark god defended himself as best as he could, but soon he started to grow tired, and the wound started to ache. What a good day to be in a terrible condition! Itzlacol started to push him further and further back, and his hand was starting to sweat.

During one of Itzlacol's attacks, suddenly Xibalba lost his footing when something made him trip backwards. This caused his sword to slip out of his hand and out of his reach, narrowly avoiding falling into the lava moat. Xibalba's wings bristled in pain, and he noticed a fire snake-like creature on the ground which slithered next to Itzlacol, and changed into one of his minions; in fact, his fiery minions started to take shape behind him.

"You think I didn't come prepared, Xibalba?" Itzlacol said, grinning insane and sadistically. "I was not going to risk running on my luck, considering you don't die that easily!"

Rather than being intimidated, Xibalba snorted. "God of Death, remember?" If he could somehow distract Itzlacol, he could teleport to where his sword was, but he needed to gather some energy.

"This will make murdering you even more satisfying!"

Before he could run his sword through Xibalba's chest, suddenly both gods felt a rip in the time-space continuum, something was forcing its way through the sealing spell Xibalba had cast. In a matter of seconds, a literal green rip opened in the sky, and through it came various figures Xibalba quickly recognized.


While in Aztlan dispelling the spell Itzlacol had cast on the whole pantheon, Zipacna someone casting a sealing spell in the Land of the Forgotten. He was confused as to who could have casted such a spell, since the Land of the Forgotten was under his jurisdiction, and nobody could use the Book of Death without his permission or knowledge, unless said person already knew what it contained…

And the only person who could cast a Forbidden Spell from memory was…

Then Quetzalcóatl and Tezcatlipoca revealed the truth: his little brother was alive and well. They faked his death so they could confront Itzlacol directly during the wedding to La Muerte.

The only thing that prevented him from attacking them was that they were, technically, his superiors. Epona didn't have such restriction, however, and she lunged at Quetzalcóatl (though she was smaller and didn't manage to take him down into the ground as she had intended).

However, there was no time for reclamations. La Muerte and Xibalba were in danger, since the latter was still recovering from his injury and wouldn't be able to face off alone against Itzlacol, especially now that he was apparently using dark magic. The sealing spell had been an attempt on Xibalba's part to keep Itzlacol out, but it seemed he had managed to get in BEFORE it was cast.

Thankfully, Quetzalcóatl pointed out that since Zipacna was the legal ruler, he could overrule whatever spell was casted to affect the realm. So that was precisely what he did. Of course, Sol, Aimé and the lizards insisted on joining, for different reasons. Sol and Aimé wanted to make sure La Muerte was safe, while Emilio and the others were willing to defend their master to… a second death'. The other gods were still recovering from Itzlacol's dark magic, so they couldn't join, but Zipacna didn't really mind.

This wasn't their fight, after all.

After the rip opened, the group (minus Zipacna, who possessed wings of his own) rode into the Land of the Forgotten on Epona's pegasi. The mistress of horses rode a majestic white Pegasus herself, especially bred for war, and Zipacna was flying right next to her.

Xibalba laughed in both surprise and relief. "Zipacna, you bastard!"

Itzlacol did not share his joy, however, and he let out a piercing yell of anger as he pointed at the flying horses. His minions instantly turned into dark griffins and went after them.

"We've got company!" Epona called out.

"Sol, you and Aimé go to the castle and find La Muerte!" Zipacna ordered. "Epona, the lizards and me will handle those giant chickens!"

"On it!" Aimé called out from her blue mount and headed towards the castle, followed by Sol on his red Pegasus.

"Hey, I understood the 'find la Muerte' part, but why do the lizards have to handle those dangerous, fiery, unpredictable beasts?!" Emilio said in dismay.

"We need all the help we can!" Zipacna returned, ginning. "Relax, Emilio! Surely you'll think of something!"

Epona cried out. "They're coming! Disperse!"

The group separated, with Zipacna heading one direction, Epona another, and the lizards spreading out in different directions. This confused the dark griffins, and they scrambled to go after each of them.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Xibalba turned into a blob of tar to teleport towards his sword, picking it up in a swift movement and spreading out his wings menacingly. "Now, Itzlacol, where were we?"

Itzlacol turned to look at him, his eyes bloodshot from the rage and insanity. "This changed NOTHING! I will tear you to pieces and relish in how La Muerte weeps for you!"

As the two continued with their sword fight, Zipacna and Epona were dealing with the numerous dark griffins in the sky. Realizing the lizards would probably stand no chance, Zipacna did a risky move: he summoned a few winged Cursed Beasts in the shape of wyverns.

Two things attracted Cursed Beasts like moths to flames: negative emotions, and dark magic. And what better combination than dark magic griffons made from Itzlacol's hatred? Just like he hoped, the Cursed Wyverns instantly went after the dark griffins and attacked them fiercely, seeking to feed on the negative energy they were made of.

While Epona and Zipacna were dealing with most of the griffins, the lizards were trying their best to escape from the creatures, though some of them actually gathered the courage to fight the griffins. Roberto, in particular, was apparently enjoying himself. Unfortunately, their pegasi were of the pony variety, and the smaller horses often refused to go against the larger constructs.

One of the griffins claws at the wing of Regina's light gray pegasus, and it neighed in pain as it spiraled down into the ground, towards the cliffs, with that same griffin going after her.

"REGINA!" Emilio cried out and made his brown colt go after them. Regina crash-landed into the ashy terrain, narrowly avoiding disassembling into pieces. Regina groaned in pain along with her Pegasus, and the griffin landed a few meters away , approaching menacingly. She instantly scrambled to get away from it. "Get away from me!"

Emilio had an idea, but it was… risky. Then again, he was already dead, what was the worst that could happen? He brought his hands together in an almost praying way, and closed his eyes shut. "Okay, Emilio… any last words?" He groaned in dismay. "Yes, I wish I had thought of a better idea!"

With that, Emilio jumped off the Pegasus and aimed towards the dark griffon… but he had failed to notice there was a large, dried branch in the way and ended up landing on top of it. Regina, her Pegasus and, comically, the griffin too, stared up at him in confusion.

Emilio momentarily felt like an idiot. "Okay… This isn't what I had in mind…" Adding insult to injury, suddenly the branch started to break. "Me lleva el…!"

He couldn't finish the sentence, for the thick branch snap and he fell with a loud yell of fright. The branch fell on top of the griffin, who gave a screech of pain as it dissolved into nothingness.

"Emilio!" Regina cried out as she ran towards the fallen branch. Emilio's body had broken down into pieces, and most of his skeleton was scattered around. His head, though, was within her reach.

"Ayayay…" Emilio groaned in pain as Regina picked his skull up. "I think I broke something…"

"Emilio, you saved me!" Regina cried out, moved by the gesture.

"I did? Oh, yes, I did! I wasn't going to let that chicken hurt you!"

"Ay, Emilio…!"

Without further ado, she planted a kiss on his lips. Emilio's eyes nearly popped out of his skull, and his cheeks turned into a deep shade of red.

"Hey, lovebirds!" Roberto called up from above from an appaloosa winged-pony. "How about you save your romanticism for when this is over?!"

Meanwhile, Zipacna was clearly enjoying the 'griffin'hunting', as he called it. When he ran through one of the griffins' chest, making it disappear. He laughed amusingly. "Ha! You fight like a girl!"

Just then, Epona's Pegasus stamped its hooves on another griffin's skull, making it vanish in a puff of black smoke.

"You too, babe!" she said, laughing.

Zipacna glanced back at her with a grin, but it turned into a look horror when he realized one of the griffins was going to ambush her from beneath. "EPONA, LOOK OUT!" he quickly flew towards her, pushing her and her Pegasus out of the way just as the griffin's beak clamped shut around his waist.

"ZIPACNA!" Epona cried out in horror.

Zipacna grabbed the griffin's jaws and in an incredible feat of strength opened them wide, firing a long stream of fire from his mouth into the construct's throat, making it explode, though he was sent back flying as a result. He recovered quick enough with a quick flap of his wings, though his waist was burned.

"Zipacna, are you alright?!" Epona asked him as she flew closer.

"Relax, I've had it worse." He assured her, wincing.

"That griffin was coming for me, and you…"

"What? That's what friends are for, right?" he said with a playful grin. "How about a little bet? Whoever kills more of those things will give the other a foot massage."

She grinned. "Oh, you're on!"


La Muerte slowly started to open her eyes with a headache.

Once her vision started clearing, she realized she was still in the bedroom. However, she heard a ruckus going on outside. Alarmed, she stood up from bed, though she was still a bit groggy, and made her way towards the window just in time to see… Lorenzo on top of a pinto winged pony being chased by a dark griffin?

Memories of what had happened returned. She recalled hearing Itzlacol having somehow come into the realm, Xibalba wanted to go face him despite his injuries, and she tried to stop him. Afterwards he apologized and…

Maldita sea.

"Xibalba, I swear, if Itzlacol doesn't kill you, I will!" La Muerte growled under her breath as she headed towards the door, but when she tried to open it she found it apparently stuck. "What the…?!" she struggled for a few seconds before realizing it had been locked from the outside. "Xibalba!"

She had to give him credit for being wary, though. There was no way of opening this door from this side, the only thing she could do was to either pick the lock or teleport to the other side. However, teleporting in her current state was not a good idea, since most of her energy was spent nourishing her unborn child, and teleportation usually required a great amount of power, particularly in long distances.

But it wasn't such a long distance; she'd only cross a door. Still, she did not dare to bet on her child's wellbeing over a hunch. She'd have to find a way to burst the door open.

La Muerte looked around the room frantically to find something she could use, and spotted a black wooden chair. Yes, maybe it would work out. She'd break Xibalba's lock, but better to ask for forgiveness than ask for permission, especially since he indirectly caused it.

La Muerte rushed over to pick up the chair and rushed back towards the door, smashing the lock with the one of the chair's legs. After a few hits, the lock finally gave in and broke, opening the door. La Muerte threw the chair aside and rushed out of the room, but bumped unexpectedly into somebody.

"Muertita?!" Aimé cried out in surprise.

"AMY!" La Muerte embraced her sister tightly, and soon after was joined by Sol, who came running to see if she was alright.

"La Muerte!" Sol cried out as he pulled his eldest daughter into an embrace too.

"Father, you're okay!" La Muerte said, weeping happily, before pulling back. "How did you escape?"

"Zipacna, Epona, and some of Zipacna's acquaintances found us." Said Aimé. "Xibalba s really alive?"

"He's fighting with Itzlacol, I have to help him!"

Before she could even try to go outside, Sol stopped her. "Wait, La Muerte! It's too dangerous!"

"Xibalba can handle it!" Aimé added.

"He's still weak from his injuries! What if he gets killed this time for real?!" La Muerte exclaimed, trying and managing to get past her father and sister, but before she could even try to run down the hall she ran into two more people.

"What the-? La Muerte, where are you going?!" Zipacna said as he opened his left wing just in time to catch her in it. However, the sudden motion made his sides ache slightly, and his crest bristled in pain.

"Are you okay?" Epona asked him for the hundredth time.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just opened it a bit too fast, that's all…" he replied, trying to hide the painful reaction.

"Zipacna?! Epona?!" La Muerte said, this time in surprise. "What are you doing here?!"

"Turns out that strike Zipacna got from the griffin was even worse than we thought." Epona explained, helping him stay on his feet.

"She's exaggerating, I had everything under control." Zipacna said quickly. "It merely hurt a little bit, but I'm fine."

Epona glared at him. "Zipacna, I had to catch you to keep you form crash landing and you nearly brought me down with you!"

"Zipacna, I have to go help my husband! Out of the way!" La Muerte said, trying and failing to get past him.

"La Muerte, calm down!" Sol said as he and Aimé approached hurriedly. "He's injured!"

"He'll be more if he doesn't pull his wing back!" she snapped back.

Though after a few seconds she managed to get past Zipacna's wing, the feathered god quickly turned around to grab her arm (despite feeling as if his insides churned at the quick motion) tightly. Sol joined in grabbing his daughter's other arm tightly as they pulled her back.

"Let go of me, maldita sea!" La Muerte growled.

"La Muerte, must we really go through this?!" Epona asked her.

"I nearly lost him once, I will not risk losing him again!"

"And he will not risk losing both of you!" Epona finally said, grabbing La Muerte by the shoulders and glaring at her. "He's been through worse, La Muerte, and he always made it out for love! Because he wanted to return to you! The least you can do for him is to give him the ease of knowing you and the baby are safe and sound!"

"Besides, considering we know Itzlacol's dirty tricks…" Zipacna stopped when he felt the metallic taste of his own blood in his mouth, and did his best to speak without revealing it. "…He'll try to use you to his advantage." He finished quickly.

La Muerte noticed he was tenser than a few seconds ago. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"For the hundredth time, I'M FINE!" Zipacna snapped unintentionally. He soon regretted it, however, since he felt his abdomen hurting even more.

"La Muerte, unless you want to end up like Zipacna here, you must stay here!" Sol said firmly.

"You're asking me to leave my husband at that monsters' mercy!"

"No, we're asking you to think of yourself and your baby!" Epona said.

"Sides… If you get hurt, Balby will blame me…" Zipacna said, but with less energy than before.

Now Epona was certain something was off. "Zipacna, for the thousandth time, what's wrong?! And don't lie to me, I can see it on your face!"

This time, Zipacna didn't reply to deny the accusations. He wanted to, but he couldn't. His consciousness started to fade, and the pain in his sides was excruciating by then. He didn't have enough strength to keep the blood in his mouth anymore, and it started to leak out from his lower jaws, dripping into the floor.

"Zipacna?!" Epona cried out in horror at the sight, and she and La Muerte barely had time to catch him as suddenly he stumbled and lost his footing.

"H-Hurts…" Zipacna said almost unconscious, breathing heavily and starting to see black circles in his vision, but the pain didn't disappear.

"Damn it!" Sol cried out in alarm.

"What's going on?!" Epona asked, horrified.

"I don't know! That beast must have injured him even more than you thought!"

Epona would have told Zipacna 'I told you so', but she was so scared for him that she didn't dare.

"It… Hurts!" Zipacna yelled, unintentionally letting more blood fall to the floor.

"What do we do?!" Aimé said in horror at the sight of the blood.

"We have to lay him down!" Epona said firmly. "Do you know any healing spells, Sol?"

"We don't know what's wrong!" he protested. "If I just use a random healing spell and it's the wrong one-!"

"We just need to stop the pain until we can call an actual doctor!"

"Whatever… Do… Quickly… !" Zipacna yelled at the top of his lungs, struggling to speak because of the pain and the blood in his mouth. "Pain… killing…!"

Sol and Epona managed to keep him on his feet despite his larger body frame, and started taking him towards on of the rooms. However, they were so focused on him they didn't notice La Muerte had begun to sneak away from them, and down the hall. Once she was certain they were out of earshot, La Muerte turned around to make a run for it before they realized she was gone, but she found herself being blocked again, this time by Aimé.

However, there was something different about her. She was giving her sister a stern glare, and she was firmly planted, her blue eyes burning with a blue fire she had never seen before.

"Are you serious?" Aimé asked almost quietly, but her voice was seething with anger.

"Amy, I don't have time for this, I have to-!"

"Shut up and listen to me." Aimé snapped more firmly, interrupting her. "Do you even realize how selfish you're acting right now?"

"Wha-? Aimé, I want to help him!"

"But he doesn't want your help, he wants your safety. And that of the baby's as well. You don't stop to think if being there, giving Itzlacol an advantage to exploit, and endangering the wellbeing of your child is what will actually help him. If you were in his shoes, if you'd have to defend a pregnant wife from a dangerous enemy, what would you like her to do? To get in the way and endanger her life?"

"But… Aimé…"

"Sorry, big sister, but I will not allow you to put yourself at risk!" By now, Aimé was speaking in a loud, but stern voice, which reminded La Muerte of the times she'd be the one to scold her little sister. "You nearly lost the baby once, that time I didn't stop you because you needed it! But this time, you will have to go through me if you want to do such a reckless thing!"

La Muerte wanted to keep arguing, but a part of her realized that was she was saying was right. She was being selfish by putting herself in risk, and worrying Xibalba, perhaps even distracting him from the battle and cost him the victory, or worse, his life, because of her stubbornness.

She never imagined her sister would talk like this to her. However, she knew she just wanted to make sure she was safe too, she just didn't think she'd have this hidden facet, the one she herself reserved only for people who really needed to be spoken to in a direct and sometimes harsh way.

Reluctantly accepting defeat, La Muerte sighed. "….. Alright, Amy…"


Xibalba barely managed to block another attack from Itzlacol and drive him back with a push.

Despite the snow, the lava and the movements made him sweat, thus exhausting him even faster than he hoped. Xibalba panted heavily, but tried not to look too tired in front of Itzlacol. Both were equally matched, but Xibalba's wound was making it more difficult for him.

"Ran out of tricks, Xibalba?" Itzlacol mocked, snickering.

"Don't underestimate how many tricks I may have under my sleeve, Itzlacol." Xibalba retorted, clutching his sword in one hand tightly.

"Still, I simply cannot understand how such a desolate place can house those beautiful blue roses." Itzlacol grinned internally when Xibalba's smirk disappeared instantly. "Last time I was here, I didn't manage to open the door which led to your garden, La Muerte refused to share the enchantment required to open it with me, a rather unfortunate decision, I must say. I might have only taken one bush, but you know what?" Itzlacol licked his lips. "If I cannot have them, then neither will you!"

In less than a second, Itzlacol sprouted fiery wings and took off towards the highest tower.

"NO!" Xibalba instantly went after him, flapping his wings furiously, and even going as far as to use his own magic to make himself go faster to compensate from the exhaustion. He would not let Itzlacol touch those flowers, perhaps the only thing he'd ever have left of his mother.

He managed to catch up to Itzlacol, and the two started to tussle while Xibalba desperately tried to drive him off course, but it was too late. All he could do was prepare for impact.

Both gods crashed through the wall leading to the garden, and crash-landed right at the roots of the tree. The debris crushed some flowers and stopped the flow of the river, allowing the light from within the place to release its ray from its confinement, almost like a beacon within that dark realm. Sadly, it wasn't the case.

Itzlacol was the first to recover from the impact, and when he did, he glanced around in awe. This was the most beautiful garden he had ever seen in his entire lifetime, but his attention were set on the blue roses he had coveted for so long. However as he tried to approach and touch one, suddenly said flower grew thorns at the stems and stung his finger.

Itzlacol jerked back his hand just as Xibalba stumbled back on his feet, panting heavily. Apparently, those flowers were quasi-sentient, and had a sort of spell that made them grow thorns if certain conditions were met. He had no idea of what those conditions were, but he realized he wouldn't be able to take any of them at all.

Well, if he could not have them, no one would.

"I must say, you were right, Xibalba…" Itzlacol casually said. "These flowers really are more beautiful in their natural state. It's a pity they won't live it through the night…"

Xibalba couldn't even ask what he meant before Itzlacol formed a fireball in his palm…

And threw it…

Right… at…

The roses…

Xibalba's pupils shrunk as he watched the bushes with his mother's roses burn. The blue and green disappeared in a blaze of red and orange, and the smoke rose from the fire and into the ceiling. Something inside him snapped when he lost the one thing he still had from his mother, and he gazed at Itzlacol with an initially blank expression.

Itzlacol's satisfaction was replaced with uncertainty when suddenly the air darkened, and he felt a very obscure aura emanating from Xibalba.

Dark tendrils emerged from the dark god, darkening the place even more. All the seals he had used to keep his darker side at bay broke the moment Xibalba's rage and grief rose to alarming heights.

Long, sharp claws tore through his gloves. The feathers from his wings retreated into the bone, and turned into naked bat-like wings, almost like Zipacna's. His whole body started to shift, and the god was forced into a quadruped state as his features turned draconic, reminiscent of his own father. Sharp spines broke through his armor, and a long, whip-like tail emerged, tearing through his cloak.

"Itzlacol…" he spoke with an almost monstrous voice, and the dark tendrils around him intensified as he did so. "I will make you PAY!"

Itzlacol couldn't even try to escape when Xibalba attacked in this new form at an inhuman speed, sending him against the wall with one swipe of his claw. Itzlacol's side was bleeding from the claw marks, and he thought he broke some ribs from the force of the hit.

It didn't end there, however. Xibalba charged again, and this time grabbed Itzlacol's leg with his teeth and bit hard, not cringing at all when he heard his blood-curling scream. Xibalba flailed his head-and his victim-around like a wild animal, while Itzlacol could do nothing but scream in pain when he felt his leg being torn off. When Xibalba finally let go of him, the fire god went flying towards the recently formed crevice, and fell down.

Xibalba's blood lust wasn't satisfied, and he dove down after him, unsheathing his claws while letting out a shriek of fury.

He no longer thought, he no longer reasoned. All he wanted to do was to destroy the puny insect that currently fell to his death.

For the first time in his life, Itzlacol truly feared something. He was no longer seeing Xibalba, he was seeing Akrinok, the beast all the Pantheons feared, the creature that had taken great part in the extermination of the Greek Gods.

"N-No! Stay away!" even as he fell, Itzlacol tried to slow down Xibalba with fireballs and magic bolts, but the Darkness protected its host and deflected said attacks, even giving the dark god more speed as he dove down.

Xibalba opened his jaw and started charging a Definitive Blast, starting out as a cackling sphere made of black energy which expanded and grew, turning bigger, and gathering even more Darkness from the realm's naturally obscure environment. Both were falling to the ground almost at the speed of light as the attack charged.

When they were a few meters away from the courtyard', Xibalba released the attack aimed at Itzlacol, firing a black beam of energy at his nemesis, aiming to destroy him once and for all.

The beam went right through Itzlacol's chest, but any sound that might have come from him was deafened; in fact, the energy itself seemed to have absorbed even the sound, making everything silent even as the blast struck the ground, making it tremble and alarm La Muerte and the others on the inside.

The gusts of wind created by the impact that they sent the lizards still on the air flying backwards, along with their pegasi, and destroyed the remainder of the griffins.

But overall, the impact in the ground created a blinding light that expanded and soon consumed Itzlacol and Xibalba alike as both touched the ground.

….

When the light finally dissipated, there was a crater in the center of the semi-deserted courtyard that destroyed most of the withered labyrinth, and in the middle of it were both Itzlacol and Xibalba, the former on top of a pool of his own blood with a large hole in his chest, the latter collapsed in his cursed form, panting heavily from exhaustion.

Xibalba got back on his feet, stumbling, and started making his way towards Itzlacol to finish him off, black blood dripping from his mouth.

Itzlacol made no attempt to flee or defend himself. He just stood there, watching the smoke rising from the highest tower where the garden had once been. He slowly blinked as he felt his strength leaving him, and the tip of his feet starting to turn into ashes that were blown away by the breeze. He heard Xibalba's footsteps as he approached, but he was not afraid for some reason; he was going to die, anyway, right? Even if he made it out alive of this, the Kings would execute him for Treason, murder attempt, among other things.

It would be best it he died at once.

Still, even now, he still thought of those beautiful blue roses. He envied Xibalba for many things, but none of those reasons held a candle to the jealously he felt over the dark god's possession of those blue roses, the one pigment that was impossible to obtain naturally.

He had heard of Selena, the moon goddess, and that she was particularly fond of gardening. Perhaps if he had a mother like that, he would have gotten to posses those roses… or turned out a better person…

"Xibalba…" Itzlacol whispered, coughing up blood as he did so.

The creature stopped in his tracks.

"…T-Think your mother could… teach me h-how to…. G-grow those roses…?"

In later years, Xibalba would still wonder why those words made his darker side recede. He didn't know if it was just exhaustion, or the mention of his mother was enough to bring out the best side of him.

But it happened.

Xibalba's eyes turned back to normal, and the rest of his body soon followed, returning back to his original shape. However, now without the boost given by the darkness, the effects of the poison, the pain from his newly-acquired bruises, injuries and the exhaustion returned tenfold to the point he fell on his knees. Xibalba panted heavily and took heavy breaths as he stared at Itzlacol with confusion.

But when he saw the fire god's legs had turned into ash and the rest of his body was soon following, he knew he didn't have much time left before dying. He hated Itzlacol with all his might for everything he had done, but he would not lower to his level, especially now at his last moments.

"She was a very kind woman, perhaps she will… if she overlooks the fact that you nearly killed me." He said seriously.

"You know… I never knew my mother…." Itzlacol whispered, sighing sadly. "How ironic… I always thought I had everything, and you had nothing, and now it turns out it was the other way around… you had a family in your servants, a brother who always cared for you, a mother who loved you… You had Epona's friendship…. And now you even have La Muerte's love…"

"I had those things because I knew how to respect people. You were right in something; I'm a trickster, a liar, I'm cruel, but…" Xibalba sighed. "…I always knew when to give respect, and who was really deserving of it."

Itzlacol chuckled humorlessly when the Final Death claimed now his torso, and then started going up his chest. "A favor, Xibalba… Tell the Kings to give my realm and castle… a proper use…"

Xibalba had no idea of what he meant with that, but he was no one to deny a dying god his last wish. "…Very well."

With one last breath, Itzlacol closed his eyes as the last of his being turned into ash and was blown away into oblivion.

Xibalba stared at the spot the fire god had been a few seconds ago, and then at the direction his ashes had blown to. "Que descanses en paz, Itzlacol."

Now that his worst enemy and the greatest threat was gone, Xibalba wanted to go back inside, but he was too sore to even move. So much he collapsed on the ground, his wings spreading out as his wound re-opened again, and the blood loss, plus the stress and the exhaustion, caused him to slip into darkness…