Alit sat on the edge of the bed next to his two younger siblings. Neither had woken up yet and Alit was procrastinating on telling his dad who he was. What if he didn't believe him?! He had talked to him as a concerned party before, a barian who was determined to help save his family. Now he was going to just say, "Hey, guess what? I know you can't see me, hear me, and have no way to verify what I tell you is true but I'm your older son! Hi Dad!". Even in his head it sounded beyond stupid. Finally, he decided he couldn't put it off any longer.

Alit opened the book, his dad, he reminded himself, up gingerly. His hand shook as he wrote out,

Hey.

Hey yourself. What's the matter? Your writing is shaky. Did something happen to my kids?!

Alit swallowed his wallowing sob. Yeah, your dead son became an alien and is alive and wants to tell you who he is, Dad, but he's afraid you won't believe him so he's trying to avoid the subject.

N- no, they're fine. Everything went well and they're resting right now.

Phew. So what's the matter?

Alit couldn't take it anymore and burst into tears, wet droplets of sorrow falling onto the paper.

Whoa! Are you crying? What happened? What's wrong?

Alit sniffled and wrote back,

You wouldn't believe me if I told you.

Try me. Seriously, come on, try me.

Alit burst out in tears again as he remembered his father saying that same phrase before when Bryan was feeling down about his pet George's death and didn't want to talk about it to their dad because he and Alit had kept George's very existence a secret, mostly since they weren't sure how their parents would feel about a foot and a half long snake as a pet. Finally, he wrote,

So if I told you something incredibly crazy and unbelievable...

I'd believe you. I know you wouldn't lie to me.

No matter what it was?

As long as it is the truth, I promise I'll believe you.

Alit sniffled and cried even harder. He couldn't keep it from his dad any longer, no matter if he believed him or not. Wrecked with sobs, he shakily wrote,

Dad... it's me. Alit. I didn't know that they were my siblings until I saw them in human form so I didn't know you were... you.

A- Alit?! Y- you're... alive? But then... oh Alit...

Dad?

Sorry, sorry, just... you've been through so much, then. What with getting your head cut off and dying then losing your memories and becoming an alien... And then you beat up that bastard and got hurt badly. Then you had to find out that it was your siblings and family he had tormented... I'm sure I'm missing a lot of other stuff that happenedtoo.

Y-yeah. Daddy...

Alit... I want to burst out crying like you just did so badly right now. I almost want to bet this book is leaking fluid. I'm so glad you're alive, and I'm twice as glad you were the one who found me, even if neither of us knew it at the time.

Alit wiped his eyes on his sleeve and wrote,

Dad, I missed you. I thought you were dead! You... and Mom... and Maple... and Bryan...

Ditto. As I told you many times before. Although I didn't know who you were then.

Dad, how hard is it? Being a book, I mean.

It builds patience, that has got to be the only positive about it. Everything else is just a huge minus sign. Don't worry, though. I can take it.

Alit just cried harder, water in his eyes slurring the words on the page.

Y- You shouldn't have to! That damn bastard shouldn't have done this to you or Mom or Bryan or Maple!

We don't exactly know what he did to Nerisa, your mother.

Not entirely, but...

Yeah, I know, he raped her. He gave me that much during our fun chats. Hint: the last part was sarcastic. I want to kill him for hurting her and your siblings. And you, come to that. He did break your arm.

It wasn't nearly as bad as what he did to you guys.

He still hurt you, though. And hurting any of my kids period is cause for a death sentence.

Daddy...

Alit, it's going to be okay. At least most of us are together now and three-fifths of us are normal. This storm will pass and we'll all be a family again. Trust me on that.

Dad, I was so scared you wouldn't believe me when I told you who I was.

Alit, you may have been decapitated, reborn, and are now an alien, but you honestly don't act or talk that different than you used to. I hate to admit it, but one of the reasons I liked you so much, aside from the fact that you were trying to help me, was that you reminded me of you.

Really?

Yeah. I convinced myself that the two of you simply had a similar personality and left it at that but the thought was always in the back of my mind. Now I know that you and Alit are one and the same, I'm almost kicking myself for not going with my first instinct.

Dad... I swear you'll be out of there really soon. Just hang on.

Alit, I've been in here for over seven hundred years, judging solely by how old you are now. I can wait another few weeks or months or even years. Don't worry too much about me.

But- but I can't even do anything to make you more comfortable! With Bryan and Maple I could play with them, buy them toys and new clothes, joke around with them, talk with them, hug them, and sleep with them if they have nightmares. With you, I can't do any of that! I can't even really talk with you in the usual definition!

I know, Alit. It sucks and I would think that bastard turned me into a book just for that reason if I believed he was capable of any actual cognitive processes. Don't worry, I am fine for now. I want to get out soon, but I can wait, Alit.

Just a little longer, Dad, then you'll be out of there.

I know, Alit, I know. Have your siblings woken up yet?

Maple did for a little while, then she passed out again. Bryan hasn't woken up at all. But they both look just like I remember them! Except a few years older, of course.

That's good to hear. Or... read, I guess. Damn it, I really hate having to make those corrections.

Dad...

Damn it, I sound like a basket case. I can take it, Alit. I am completely fine for now. Just make sure Maple and Bryan are alright and find your mother.

I will, Dad. Hold it, I think Maple's waking up.

Take care of her. We can talk later. Goodbye, son.

Bye, Dad.

Maple squirmed slightly and Alit brushed her hair back. Maple yawned widely and blinked awake sleepily. "A- Alit? Are you here or was that really a dream?"

"Right here, maple leaf. I'm right here," Alit smiled down at his little sister.

Maple looked over at him then beamed. "Big brother!" she jumped up and caught him in a hug. "You're here, you're here, you're here, you're here! You're alive, you're alive, you're alive!"

Alit hugged her back and laughed. "Yep! How are you feeling?"

She grinned. "Great! I feel alive again! I can actually hear my heartbeat and I can breathe!"

"You're not feeling any pain at all, are you?" Alit asked.

She shook her head. "Nope! I feel great!" She seemed so happy, Alit could almost bet she wasn't even thinking about how she had been tormented so badly. Shit, now HE was thinking about how that bastard had hurt her. Oh he was so f*cking DEAD when Alit got a hold of him. If he thought Alit was pissed before...

Maple jumped off the bed and stood up shakily. She pinched her arm then winced and grinned. "I'm flesh! And that actually hurt without him making me feel pain!"

...yeah, he was dead. Alit forced a smile. "That's great."

"And I don't have to worry about breaking! You know, aside from cuts and broken bones but they'll heal!" Maple exclaimed. She crawled back on the bed and looked down at Bryan. "It's good to see him normal again," she sighed.

Alit smiled fondly at his two siblings. "No argument here. Although for me it's good to see him, period."

Maple laughed slightly. "When do you think he'll wake up?"

"Not sure, but probably soon," Alit replied.

"Alit? Did you tell him who you were?" Maple asked.

"Yep. And Dad too," Alit nodded.

"Oh, Dad!" Maple exclaimed, "Can I talk to him? Or, you know..."

"Sure, here you go," Alit pulled out his dad and a pencil. Maple quickly opened the book and wrote,

Daddy! Daddy!

Hey, Maple! How are you doing? You're back to normal, right?

Yep! It feels great! Bryan still hasn't woken up yet, though.

He'll wake up soon, sweetheart, don't worry.

Big brother said the same thing.

I still can't believe he's alive. And Alit, if you're reading over your sister's shoulder, I have a feeling this is just as lurid for you.

"I think I went into a form of shock when I found out," Alit admitted.

Maple grinned up at him and then wrote,

And Daddy! Now we get to live with Alit and the other emperors! And my friend Iris! Remember when I told you about her, Daddy?

Yeah, she's Nasch's sister, correct?

One of them, yeah!

Has Bryan met her?

Of course! They get along great! Alit promised to let us meet Pip, Hart, and Vetrix when we were back to normal too! You know, before we knew who he was.

Are they your age?

Well, no, but...

Oh, right. I'd smack myself if I had hands. Or arms. Or anything. What I meant was do they LOOK your age?

In that case, yep! From what big brother said, Pip is shy and loves dogs. She's the most normal of the group. Hart has barian powers and there's a bet about whether or not he and his brother Kite have barian lifespans too. Actually, there's not much question about Kite, considering he both has barian powers and his soul is speculated to have merged with the numeron dragon.

...not even going to ask.

Vetrix was an adult, but he was used as a human overlay network and his body was morphed into that of a child's and half of his face looks like a black hole.

I pity him. Does he have any kids?

Um, three sons, I think. Oh! And Alit also wants me to meet some of his other friends! Like Yuma and Koutei.

Which one was the one I met?

Alit spoke up. "That was Koutei." Maple nodded and scrawled,

Alit says it was Koutei.

And I forgot to ask earlier, but is he okay? You know, after...

Actually, I don't know what happened. Alit's wincing so I don't think- wait, he just told me Koutei's fine. But what happened?

Well, from how I understand it, that bas- jerk attacked him when I was in his care and beat him up very badly after trying and failing to transform him. Of course, Koutei also managed to do quite a number on that jerk as well. And then he kidnapped me, or booknapped more like, but that part was kinda obvious, huh?

Maple huffed. "He is such a big meanie! He messed with our family then hurt your friend, big brother!"

"Yeah, I know, and he'll pay for it, in this world and the next," Alit swore. Maple huffed again and wrote,

That was so mean of him! That big meanie!

Well, it's not like he treated you any better. That I know.

Yeah. When I told big brother about what that jerk did to Bryan and me, he looked a mix between furious and sick.

That's exactly how I'm feeling. One of these days I am going to demand specifics. Actually, if that jerk is still alive when I get out of here, I want you to tell me what he did right before I go off to beat him up.

Okay, Daddy.

Beside them, Bryan stirred and yawned widely. Alit grinned down at him. "Maple, tell Dad Bryan's waking up." Maple beamed and wrote,

Bryan's waking up, Daddy!

Make sure he's okay then. Talk to me again once he's situated.

Maple set the book on the end table and knelt down on the bed by Bryan. "Bryan! Wakey, wakey!"

Bryan yawned again, then blinked open his eyes. "Sis?" he muttered, "Are you human...?" he ask groggily.

Maple hugged him then pulled away so he could get a good look at her. "Yep! Well, not really but I look human! And so do you!"

Bryan smiled wearily then his eyes went wide as his short term memory caught up to him. "I'm not a doll! And big brother-"

"Right here," Alit ruffled Bryan's hair fondly. The small boy turned around and looked up at the green-eyed barian.

"ALIT!" Bryan tackled him in a hug, which Alit happily returned. "Big brother... you're alive."

"Yep," Alit smiled sadly, "And so are the two of you. Ever since I began to remember my past life, I've missed you and it hurt to think you were dead and gone. Of course, it really hurts to think of all you have gone through so I'm pretty much golden on that front."

Bryan giggled and pulled away so he could look at Alit. "Big brother... it's been so long since I've seen you. You know, like how you used to look all the time. Not in barian form."

Alit grinned, "I know what you mean and right back at you. By the way, about your barian form..."

"What? Is there something wrong with it?" Bryan asked, sounding nervous.

"No, no, no, no, no! It's just that- remember how you wanted your barian form to resemble mine so we'd look like biological siblings? Before we knew we WERE biological siblings?" Alit prompted.

"Yeah, why?" Bryan wondered.

Alit smiled, "You got your wish."

"Really?!" Bryan cried, "What's it look like?"

"Well, if you two feel up to it, we could go to Barian World for a little bit just so you can get the feel of your barian forms," Alit suggested. He was met with two cheers of agreement. Alit grinned and grabbed his dad off the table before opening an overlay network. "Then let's go!" His little siblings each grabbed one of his hands before dissolving into the portal.

When the arrived, Bryan looked at his clawed hand and 'smiled'. "Cool!" He froze and blinked. "How exactly am I talking? It feels weird."

"The mask-like part of your face is vibrating," Alit explained, "That's how you're able to talk."

"What about Dumon? Or Nasch? They don't have masks," Maple asked.

"Their markings below their eyes are what vibrate for them," Alit explained, "But do you really want me to give you a lecture on barian anatomy?"

"Probably not, you'd get most of it wrong," Maple 'grinned' cheekily at him.

Alit huffed. "You've been spending too much time with Misael."

Maple giggled at his expression before sobering up. "Big brother? Can I have a mirror?"

Alit nodded and summoned over a crystal. "Here you go!"

Maple and Bryan both leaned in to look at their reflections. "Wow..." Maple breathed.

"Neat!" Bryan grinned, "I look a lot like you, big brother!"

Alit bent down and caught both of his siblings in a hug. "Yep! I can't wait until Dad's a barian too!"

"And Mom," Maple added.

Alit 'frowned'. "I'll have to check with Dumon for the next time I can break in to that jerk's house. Then I'll get her back."

"And then everything will be better!" Bryan cheered, "Right?"

"As soon as that jerk is gone for good, then yeah," Alit agreed.

Maple clenched her fists. "Alit, let me go with you when you're going to kill him. I want to see him broken like he broke us so many times."

Alit 'frowned' but nodded. The reality of having to kill a sentient being descended on him. He had to do it multiple times before because of his duty as an emperor, but it never felt right. But he could not see another way except by kidnapping him and letting Vector go at him, and that was probably worse than death. At least when they were face-to-face again, Alit would have no problem hurting him like he had hurt his family.