A couple hours later...

Midas moans slightly in his sleep, his head in so much pain. Because he drank too much alcohol, the migraine he was having was becoming unbearable. It was excruciating.

"Ngh... maybe I have some medication lying around that I could take..."

He slowly sits up gripping on to his head and slips out his bed and over to his door. A bright light greets him instead, causing him to cover his eyes. While his eyes adjust to the unpleasant surprise he finds that instead of his house a balcony adorned in gold was there to greet him.

"Huh? What is this? Am I dreaming again?"

Seeing as he was wearing Oro's outfit again he assumed he was.

He notices Astra nearby gazing into the sky. Stars were faintly visible in the distance if one looked hard enough.

"Isn't it wonderful Oro? The truce with the cubes has left our worlds in such a good place." She mutters with a sigh.

Midas goes to stand beside her, seeing as there was not much else he could do.

"No more fighting. No more fear. It's so nice." Astra hums with a smile. "500 years flies by fast does it not?"

"500 years?" Midas thinks to himself. "The girl doesn't look a day over 20. Though I suppose where Oro comes from their people are immortal."

She puts her hands together and close to her chest. Midas takes note of the many intertwining vines of roses and thorns covering the balcony. He picks the nearest one off, a radiant red with touches of gold on the thorns, and walks over to Astra.

"Well let's hope there will more peaceful years to come, hm?"

He passes Astra the rose who beams at Midas, grinning happily. A small smile curls on to his lips.

It seemed like Astra and Oro were much more than a king and their servant. To Midas they acted like good friends when not fulfilling their duties to their kingdom. It reminded him of the tight bond he shared with the kid that once stuck around him.

It was familiar...too familiar...

Midas groans slightly as his head pounds in his ears again, that god-awful migraine coming back for a moment. As this happens his eyes land on his hands and he could've sworn they looked like skeleton hands for a brief moment, flashing before his eyes.

"What the..?"

His heart thumps in his chest as the migraine settles down again.

"Oro?"

"Huh?"

"Remember how you told me about all those different realities out there in the universe? How they're all connected by this source of infinite energy."

Midas looks a little clueless at this question, but the words 'infinite energy' made an answer click in his mind.

"You mean the Zero Point?"

"Yeah, that thing." Astra nods, facing him. "Do you think we could see where it is? What reality it lies in?"

Midas looks to the side for a moment, thinking about it. The sceptre magically appearing in his hands without his input answers the question for him.

"Sure...I don't see why not."

Huddling together they teleport away...

------------

*knock knock*

"Midas?"

The mastermind groans in exhaustion, hands on his head. He was back in his room and in his bed again, 8:30 in the evening. His head still hurt like hell, but it wasn't as bad as before Jones put him in bed.

"Ngh...Huh?"

His bedroom door opens up to reveal Jones and Jules. The scent of warm tomato soup filled the air as they approach him, turning on his bedside lamp and sitting on the end of his bed.

"Hey Midas. How's your arms?" Jules greets him, a hand over his forehead.

"Well, they've stopped bleeding thanks to Jones cleaning and putting bandages on them." Midas mutters, eyeing the bowl of soup and bread on the tray the blond was holding. "What's all this?"

"Well, I felt bad with you going on an empty stomach all day. So I know you told me to not get you anything, but I fixed you some soup and a few slices of bread." Jones explains, smiling sheepishly. "I.. hope that's okay."

Midas chuckles softly.

"Y'know, I do feel hungry now. So thank you Jonesy. It's very thoughtful of you."

"Here, I made you a cup of tea. That Chamomile stuff that helps settle your insomnia down." Jules adds, putting the mug on the table next to his bed. "I also picked up some medication for you to help you sleep on the way home."

Midas smiles warmly, taking the tray and sitting up in bed.

"Thanks you two. You both certainly know how to keep me happy."

"Well we want you to be happy. You deserve it after all." Jones smiles happily, wrapping an arm over his shoulders.

"He's right y'know." Jules agrees, ruffling his hair slightly.

Midas was usually against people playing around with his hair, but decides to let it slide just this once as to not disappoint his younger sister.

"Wait, Jules. If you're home, does that mean Ares is too?" He panics.

"No, he dropped me off back home. Said he was gonna go somewhere."

"Tch. Wouldn't surprise me if he's gone to get himself wasted, buy more cigarettes or find new ways to torture me." He scoffs, dipping a bit of bread into the warm liquid in the bowl and taking a bite.

"He promised me he wouldn't drink... well, not too much at least." Jules reassures him, although she isn't sure herself.

Midas rolls his eyes, thinking back to the dream.

"I...had another dream not too long ago. I figured out the name of that servant..."

"Really? What's her name?" Jones asks, intrigued.

"Astra. A fitting name for someone so pure and kind." He admits. "By the looks of it, she and Oro seem like best friends, not just a servant who serves their king."

"So what's all this gotta do with you?" Jules questions.

"I don't know. In these dreams I'm taking Oro's place every time. It's like they're trying to tell me I'm Oro reincarnated... maybe I am?"

Midas didn't even know anymore. He was convinced he wasn't Oro...but now he wasn't so sure considering the similarities they share.

He was having an identity crisis. He wasn't sure who he was.

The same answer loops through his mind;

I'm not Oro, I can't be.

Jules and Jones glance at each other, shrugging.

"I think I might be getting close to what connection to the Cube Queen Oro has though. They lived in harmony for 500 years. What could have happened that caused it to fall apart..?"

Jules' eyes light up with an idea.

"Why not go visit Marigold? Maybe she and Orelia have the answers you're looking for."

Jones raises an eyebrow, an idea of his own.

"Yeah! And maybe Dark Jonesy can help too! He said he was gonna study the Cubes and focus on mastering his powers."

Midas hugs his injured arms, shivering slightly.

"We can see Dark first. He's easier to get to than Marigold." He says, settling on a decision.

He had a point. He could teleport to Steamy Stacks with his sceptre no problem. Getting to Marigold meant traveling to a whole different reality. And as powerful as the sceptre was, he couldn't teleport that far with it.

"Well, lets not worry about it right now. Right now you should probably hurry and have this soup before it grows cold." Jones smiles, rubbing his back.

Midas chuckles slightly, his cheeks going a pastel pink color. Jones was right. He doesn't need to solve this mystery in one night, it can wait at least a little while.

"I'll leave you both alone and keep watch for dad." Jules smiles, leaving the door a crack open and exiting the room.

"I'll stay with you incase you need someone around, cos y'know...I don't want you having a mental breakdown without someone to comfort you." Jones smiles with a wink.

Midas chuckles, taking one of the pills and downing it along with a swig of tea.

"Thank you darling..."

------------

The next morning everyone was gathered around the dinner table having breakfast including Ares who, as Midas suspected, came home pretty drunk last night and collapsed on the couch.

An uncomfortable silence drifts between them. Jules and Jones trying to focus on their food, Ares taking a swig of his coffee and glaring at his son while Midas plays around with his cereal with his spoon.

He looked so tired and dead inside, seemingly having no appetite at all. Jones had taken notice of this. Ever since Ares had started patronizing Midas again, his mental health had deteriorated badly, showing no signs of life. He could barely crack a smile nowadays unless Jones was around.

The blond was reaching his breaking point. He had enough and was tired of Ares abusing the shit out of his already badly hurt boyfriend. If he slipped up one more time, he probably wouldn't hesitate in trying to beat the crap out of Ares.

Even if Midas tried to stop him this time he wouldn't listen.

"So Midas, have we learned our lesson to not talk back to me? Especially insulting your own sister?" Ares grumbles, folding his arms.

He slowly nods.

"I see you bandaged yourself up." He notices. "Maybe slip on a long sleeved shirt as well. It'll help cover them better."

Midas puts a hand over his chest, clenching his shirt. Jones mumbles something under his breath, Ares thankfully not hearing whatever insult he called him.

"Anyway, I'm not going anywhere today. Instead I'm going to be cleaning the house, especially your room M." Ares sighs, pushing his plate aside as everyone else finishes. "Speaking of, make yourself useful and take these to be washed up."

Midas begrudgingly obliges, taking the plates and his bowl to the kitchen. Jules turns to Ares with a sigh.

"Uh, dad? Is it okay if Midas goes somewhere today? There's a... friend he wants to visit." She asks.

"Ugh, whatever. Saves me from seeing his face the whole day. But if he's not back by 3... well, he'll know what will happen."

Jones glares at Ares, clenching his fists under the table. Jules notices the anger boiling within him and shakes her head slightly, urging him to keep it together. He sighs and gets up heading towards the kitchen.

---

"Hey."

Midas turns around to find Jonesy poking his head around the door. He enters and closes the door, approaching him.

"Want some help?"

He looks away, an empty expression on his face. Jones' heart ached seeing Midas looking and acting so down and upset. He didn't know what to do to cheer him up.

The two of them finish cleaning the dishes.

"So... we're gonna go see Dark Jonesy, right?"

"Mhm. It'll be nice to see him again."

Jones smiles a little.

"Yeah... it is." He mutters, gripping on to Midas' hand and giving it a tight squeeze.

"M! You forgot the cups you imbecile!"

Midas sighs, walking back into the dinning room. Jones grumbles unhappily, clenching his fists.

"It's also a chance to get you as far away from Ares as possible..." He whispers.

-------