The land was dark and desolate; a barren field with the only evidence of humanity being the rubble and debris of buildings as far as the eye can see. That was all the world was now; just shattered remnants of what once was. Humanity destroyed itself. It all started with the Gloom; it changed humans and made them evil and attack one another. First came the panic. Then the riots. After that the wars broke out and the anarchy until most of the humans were wiped from existence along with everything else which was blown to bits. Now, there's only few humans left who are struggling to survive.

 

A young boy of age five with markings of bones on his body and a sugar skull on his face was searching through the ruins of what once was a two story building. The Gloomified wildlife was too busy trying to kill another poor soul so the boy had time time to search for supplies. He needed some kind of medication for a dying man he called his father. With nothing but tattered pants and a satchel the boy was on his knees searching through the rubble for some kind of item he could give to his father so he could feel better.

"Por favor..." The boy sniffled, wiping away thick tears that ran down his face as he searched. The tears dampened the ends of his scruffy brown colored hair.

"Por favor... Por favor... Mi Papa..."

Edited March 17, 201510 yr by Awuwa7KH

Miguel wasn't expecting the gifts. At least Grim brought back something interesting other than expired medication and other junk. He opened the bag quickly and took out its continents; a camera and pictures. The pictures were strange. Why would Grim bring pictures back from a random place? It wasn't until he looked at them he understood. There, in the pictures were his father. His Padre. And another woman that was definitely his wife- Grim's mother. He knew by the way they were looking at each other. By the way their bodies were. They loved each other. Slowly Miguel traced his fingers over the faces. Rare tears formed at his tear ducts.

"Papa..." He whispered. As soon as Ash came he wiped the tears away with his arm.

"Scary?" Miguel asked with a small semi-sad chuckle. The pictures made his heart hurt. "I doubt he was scary. He's as scary as a chihuahua!" With that, he picked up Ash and set her down on his lap in bed. "Show me how scary was. Did he make a mean face like this?" Miguel showed his teeth and made a very silly, mean face.

Ash laughed at Miguel's expression. "No! That's not scary at all!" She squealed. She thought about it. "More like, this!" Ash said as she showed her teeth and growled, almost like a cat. "He broke the table by accident, though." She added as she pointed the smashed up end table next to the bed. "By accident, though." Grim murmured, his tail wagging from side to side. He yawned, sitting up a bit as he rubbed his eyes. "I panicked in the moment." He added. He looked down at Nicholas, before purring and pulling him closer, resting his forehead against his. "Nicholas, you have to wake up soon. Your breakfast will get cold." Grim purred, almost like a cat as he wagged his tail. "I know I scared you last night, and I'm sorry that I did." He mentioned. He wrapped his body around Nicholas protectively, groaning in tiredness. "Though I guess we could sleep forever." "Well, if those two are so sleepy, you two can help me out for the day." Jacko suggested. "It'd be a good way to see if the Gloom affects you any further. Better than to stay indoors all day. I promise it won't be that tiring work. In fact, it might teach you a few things if you guys are still planning on renovating that farm in the outsides of the city."

Miguel laughed at Ash's face. It was adorable, and he easily imagined Grim with such a face. He looked over to the broken table in surprise. Miguel never seen such strength from Grim before. That was when Miguel knew that his sickness was bad. Bad enough to bring such a reaction out of Grim.

"Wow Guada you'll get all the ladies with such strength~" he said jokingly. He looked down at Nicholas. Normally the boy was up very early. The Jacko entered the room.

"That sounds fun." Miguel said with a smile as he hugged Ash. "We could have a hmm... Padre hija dia~ Father daughter day~! And the two boring sleepers over there can sleep the day away."

 

Meanwhile Nicholas burrowed himself in Grim's warmth. He really didn't want to get up. He just wanted to go to sleep forever.

"N-No..." He whined softly, clutching at Grim's arm. "I don't want to get up..."

Ash gasped in excitement. She absolutely loved the idea. "Yes! I want to!" Ash squealed. Grim purred, resting back down as he snuggled against Nicholas. "Fine...we can totally sleep in for the day." Grim murmured as he closed his yes and wrapped his tail protectively around Nicholas again. "Alright, we leave them here then. Come on you two, we're going to the Cattle District. You guys are going to work on a farm, you will have to learn how to handle farm animals. Follow me." Jacko chimed, turning as he walked away, leading Ash and Miguel out of the hospital, and after a small carriage ride, they were taken to what they called the Cattle District. It was a very large district made out of natural land, buildings and farms here and there, enclosed by wooden fences. Different types of animals were farmed here. Cows, Bulls, Chickens, Roosters, Horses, they even had pigmy goats. The whole district was big enough to be a whole suburbs, and hold enough animals to keep the people fed. "Alright, you guys are going to start by picking up some eggs from the chicken coops." Jacko explained as he showed the guards his I.D. and they let them through. Inside the main building Jacko picked up baskets and handed them to Ash and Miguel, before showing them to the chicken coops. Dozens and dozens of them. "Pick as many as you can carry. If you have any trouble Krampus is always watching." Jacko said as he pointed over at the watch tower right in the middle, where someone stood at the very top, looking around with binoculars.

Miguel looked around as he entered the Cattle District. Wow! There were so many animals! No wonder why everyone was well fed and there were many food to go around. Miguel spotted many animals, even animals that weren't even in the farm. Maybe sometime after they leave Miguel could trade goods for some of the offspring of the animals they didn't have. As soon as he got the basket, Miguel realized how boring the work was good to be. No raids, no fighting, no breaking bones. But meh. He had to give that up if he was going to live a good life with his new family. Miguel looked up to Krampus and debated if he should moon the guy when he had the chance. Nah, that'd be too mean.

"This is going to be easy." Miguel said as he looked into his basket once more. "Muy facil. Eggs are so tiny! I could fit like a trillion in here!"

"Good luck, then. An extra rule, if the chicken has one egg, take it, if it has two, take one and leave the other." Jacko said smiling. He turned to where the tower was. "Krampus! I have people down here! One of them is a kid, so don't try to kick them out!" Jacko called. It appeared the Krampus had one hell of a hearing, because from where he stood, he turned to Jacko and gave thumbs up before resuming his work. "That should do it. I'll see you two inside with the eggs once you've filled the baskets." Jacko explained, turning to enter the building and speak with the rest of the workers. There were dozens of chicken coops lined up, chickens and roosters walking around and just being themselves, enjoying the day. Ash hurried over to one of the coops, entering as she stepped on a feather or two. There were multiple nests lined up. Some had one egg, some had two eggs, some had no eggs. "Take the ones, take one and leave the other." Ash murmured, picking up the eggs and gently placing them in the basket. Outside, though the fences separated the sections from within the Cattle District, you could still see beyond. At one part, there were some soldiers who were on break and had decided to take on one of the few freelance activities; bull riding. One climbed over and tried to ride one of the bulls, only to be thrown off its back and over the fence, others laughing at it.

Miguel couldn't help but chuckle as he watched Ash. Never as he seen her in such deep concentration. That was a good trait to have. As he listened to her chants, he began to pick up some eggs and dropped them in his basket. He followed the orders. One egg pick, two eggs pick one. Either way he had to pick one egg if there was any. As he picked a fifth egg, Miguel noticed the sights from around the District. Right then he saw the bulls and the soldiers trying to ride it. Miguel immediately snickered. They had no idea what they were doing. Those idiotas.

"Aye look Ash. Look how silly they look." Miguel said as he picked her up and lifted her in the air to see. "They look funny sí?"

Ash squealed as Miguel lifted her up. She looked up and saw the soldiers trying to ride the bull, which resulted in the bull throwing them off and chasing them out of the fenced area over and over again. Ash laughed, pointing over at the soldiers. "What are they doing?! The bull is always going to chase them off!" Ash squealed, laughing. The soldiers didn't seem to give up, as one of them actually managed to get on the bull, before being thrown off over the fence and into the group of soldiers that were with him. Meanwhile the chickens began to gather around Miguel, thinking him as the food person as they began to chirp for attention. The bull huffed, the soldiers standing up as they saw Ash and Miguel laughing. "Hey!" One of them called over, waving his hand. "Think you can do any better?" One of the soldiers asked, smiling all the way. "Don't tease him, someone like him could never last a second against old Paco." The other assured, waving his hand to the teasing soldier. Ash crossed her arms, puffing her cheeks. "Miguel can do it! He's awesome! He can do anything!" Ash insisted. "No he can't." "Yes he can!"

Miguel looked easily offended after the soldiers claimed he couldn't ride the bull. Immediately he took two swift steps to the fence and hoped over it. He placed Ash down with the soldiers where it was safe. He looked at the soldiers dead in be eye.

"Don't ever." He began. "Challenge a Mexicano to ride a bull." With that, Miguel faced the mighty animal. Has he ever rode a bull before? No. But his pride and stubbornness says he can. He waited for the bull and with pure instinct, he hoped right on to it. It jumped and growled, desperately trying to get Miguel off so he could tear him limb from limb. But Miguel wouldn't budge. He clung to it like a koala.

Ash cheered, throwing her arms in the air. The soldiers watched in awe, cheering all the way. Eventually more soldiers, and then people just started to follow the cheering, watching Miguel own old Paco like a pro. That bull nearly killed everyone who tried to take it for a ride! The fact that this kid was able to do it so well was amazing! Soon, bets began to develop among the groups of how long it would be lasting, Ash jumping up and down with excitement. "So what is his name again?" "His name is Miguel. Trust me you're going to love him-" Jacko began as his jaw dropped at seeing Miguel riding old Paco. The girl besides him watched in awe. "No way, someone's riding him! Who's the crazy bastard?!" "That crazy bastard is Miguel..." Jacko murmured, rubbing his forehead. Miguel seemed to bring in new surprises every passing moment, never seizing to amaze Jacko. From the very top of the tower Krampus watched Miguel do his thing, his eyes narrowing before widening almost with a gleam. "He looks a lot like...nah. It can't be...this kid is way too young." Krampus murmured. Still, curiosity gained the better of him. He spread his gloom wings, looking much like ones from a bat, before gliding down to the area for a close look.

Miguel was on that bull for a while. Five minutes already passed and he was still on it. It wasn't until seven minutes when Miguel decided. To get off. He didn't even get off because he couldn't stay on much longer. He got off because he was bored. Once he was off he pulled a red bandana out his back pocket and began to wave it around.

"Vamanos~ Mighty bull!" The bull charged for him, but he swung around only to have the bull collide into the fence. While the bull was stunned Miguel grinned and did a pose. "Olé~" he wasn't sure if that's how you did it, but that's what he read some old books at an abandoned library. Miguel hopped right over the fence and placed his hand on his hips.

"Never challance a damn Mexican, pendejos."

The soldiers didn't even mind the Spanish spoken insult, they were just too impressed. They cheered at Miguel, Ash cheering the loudest as she jumped up to Miguel. "I knew you could do it Miguel that was amazing where did you learn to do that, can you teach me? Can you?! Can you?!" Ash asked as she jumped up and down, the crowd beginning to pay each other bets. It wasn't until Krampus landed right behind Miguel. The soldiers and people looked up, slowly backing up. Krampus was rather tall. Taller than Ded. He was 6 feet exactly, and his gloom wings only made him scarier. He had dark hair that was beginning to turn gray. Dark tanned skin, and green eyes. He looked down right at Miguel as he stood on the fence. Ash saw him and quickly tapped Miguel rapidly to look behind him. "You..." Krampus murmured, leaning in closer to Miguel. "...no...you look similar though." He tilted his head to the side. "Who are you?"

Miguel was happy to have all the looks and cheers on him. He was even more happy to teach everyone how awesome he is. He picked up Ash in his arms and spun around with her happily.

"I will teach you right away!" He said with a smile. At the end of the day... It was the smiles on Ash, Nicholas, and Grim's face that made everything worthwhile. Miguel was ruffling her hair when Krampus tapped his shoulder. He turned around to see a giant man. With wings. Totally not creepy.

"Uh.... Hola..." Miguel said. "My name is Miguel. Who do I look like?"

Krampus blinked a few times, looking at Miguel up and down before backing away, giving the kid some space back. "Someone I used to know." Krampus said as he fixed his head from his tilt. "I used to have a friend named Jorge, years before this gloom began. Like everyone else, we got separated. You look a lot like him for a second, but I need to remember that he would be around my age by now, not this young...sorry for the confusion." Krampus sighed. Jacko jumped over the fences, waving away the crowd. "Alright, back to your duties! Especially you guys. Lunch break is over!" Jacko hissed as he waved his hands, shooing people off. "These people are yours?' Krampus asked. "Yeah, this is Miguel, and the little one is Ash. He's the brother of the new registered Ghoul Hound." Jacko explained. "Oh. That explains why I haven't seen them around." Ash stared at the man...he was HUGE! Almost as big as a tree. "Miguel," Ash whispered, tapping his cheek. "Is he a giant?!"

Miguel wasn't really listening until Krampus mentioned he name Jorge. That was the absolute last thing he ever expected to hear coming from the man's mouth. Right then Miguel's eyes widened, and he turned a few shades whiter as if he saw a ghost.

"I... I-I...." Was all he said in response to Ash's question. He ignored Jacko's calling and reached out to grab Krampus' wrist gently.

"My.... M-Mi Papa...." He muttered. "His name was Jorge. He died... When I was very little... He walked around with a cane and he was very fragile but he survived either way until that day."

Ash stared at Miguel absolutely confused. What was he on blabbering about? However it appeared Krampus knew, as his eyes lit up with life and recognition. "You...Miguelito!" Krampus said as he rubbed Miguel's head. "I remember him saying that he was expecting a child last time we saw each other but...my goodness you look so much like him. You're basically his spitting image." Krampus explained as he smiled. Jacko gasped. Krampus never smiled! "He always had a bad leg and needed to use a cane, but was as stubborn as a mule. After this hell began he joined Arthur's group with your mother when she was pregnant with you...but from what I'm guessing is that he's...no longer with us." Krampus picked up Miguel with ease by the shoulders, like a small child despite him being a young man. "You have his smile for sure!"

Miguel was very excited to meet someone who knew his father. Honestly, it was so long ago that he died that Miguel completely forgot what he was like or what he looked like. Father was replaced by Death. All these years he just knew that Death was his father and nothing else. Miguel was surprised he even remembered the fact that his father had a cane. He remembered that more than his father's face.

"Arthur's group?" Miguel asked excitedly. Now he just wanted to hear all about it. He didn't even care when Krampus lifted him up by his shoulders. Miguel just wanted to hear more.

"You knew mi Madre?! What was she like? What did she look like? Was she pretty?"

Krampus sat down on the fence, making himself comfortable. "She was easily the prettiest woman I've ever met. The two of them were high school sweethearts and loved each other very much. She had long dark brown hair and brown eyes...now that I think about it you inherited those eyes from her. Her ears too." Krampus said before playfully pulling on Miguel's ear. "She was very kind. Sweet and her heart always in the right place. She was stubborn at times, but always knew when to follow her instincts or her heart. Her, Jorge, and your older brother joined his group just a few months before you were due. What happened afterwards...I'm going to guess you don't know or don't remember much either."

Miguel listened intently, like a little child listening to an elder during story time. He sat down right on the fence next to Krampus holding Ash on his lap. So he had his mother's eyes and ears. What else could he possibly had? Miguel just wanted to learn more. He had a wide smile on his face which disappeared however when Krampus said Miguel had an older brother. So it was true...

"Yeah..." Miguel muttered. "I don't remember it too well. It was like a nightmare you can't remember when you think about it. I was three I think. It's funny because you're not supposed to remember that far right? Well... One night my older brother got infected with Gloom. He killed our Madre and then killed himself before he could kill me. I... All this time I thought it was just a nightmare... I thought he was a cousin or something or some random boy. All I remember is just.... Blood." He looked down. Honestly he didn't like the idea of the older brother. Grim was his true brother. No one else.

"Not good memories then." Krampus said as he crossed his arms. "Well, past is past, present is present. As far as I can tell, you are the one left...but to see you this grown up, knowing your parents as I did, they would've been very proud of you." Krampus added, patting Miguel's head. "Keep on living. Once your time does come you will need lots of stories to tell them when you all meet again." Just then Krampus noticed Ash, who clang onto Miguel much like a koala. "Hm, and who might you be?" Krampus asked. "My name is Ash!" Ash said, before pointing at Miguel and holding onto him. "And Miguel is my daddy!" Ash declared boldly. Both Jacko and Krampus stared at Miguel, blinking a few times. "You're already a father, Miguel?" Krampus asked amused. "Yeah! And Grim is my mommy, and Nicholas is my brother!" Ash proudly said, much to the amusement of the two men. "This is so cute!" Jacko laughed. "Oh Miguel your parents would be so proud of you!" Ash had no regrets whatsoever.

Miguel looked to the ground. What kinds of stories would he be able to tell when he met his parents again? Would they be proud of him? If there was a heaven and his parents were there, especially Death, then that means they saw everything Miguel has ever done. Yeah, they would see the good deeds he recently committed but they would also see the years of pain and torture Miguel has inflicted onto others. They would have seen the years he was 'El Diablo.' Would they really be proud of him? Then suddenly, Ash came out with her usual bold statements, causing a light blush to form on Miguel's cheeks from embarrassment.

"O-Oh sí!" Miguel said as he rubbed his chin on Ash's head. He held onto her tighter. "I'm her Padre. I'm not even eighteen yet I think and I'm already a daddy." He said with a chuckle. Honestly he didn't even know how old he was. He lost track a long time ago. Miguel just went by appearance.

Krampus seemed to be in awe. "She's so cute!" He finally said. Ash smiled proudly at such comment. "Damn right I am!" She huffed. "And spunky too!" Krampus added, now receiving a hiss from Ash. "Well, as happy as this reunion is, break time is over. You should return to your nest, Krampus." Jacko suggested. "Ah...I guess you're right." Krampus said, turning to Miguel. "Hey, if you ever need me, you know where to find me. I usually don't go anywhere." Krampus assured, patting Miguel's head playfully. He then extended his wings and flew up into the air, gliding back to his nest in the highest post of the district, where he kept an eye out for everything. "New Dystopia brings along new surprises everyday." Jacko smiled, smirking then at Miguel. "You sure you still want to one day rebuild that farm? Not that I'd stop you, but the city is big enough to hold families like you, Grim and the kids."

Miguel was going to talk with Krampus more, but sadly Jacko had to be a total buzzkill and ruin the moment. He reached out to Krampus before he left, but it was too late. Now Miguel had to go back to work. Lovely. He turned to Jacko with Ash still in his arms.

"Gracias for ruining the moment." He huffed. Jacko did have a point however. Should he still rebuild the farm? Honestly he still wanted to, but New Dystopia was getting better and better. He'd have to make a decision with Grim and the kids first. Most likely Nicholas would still want to leave. Despite getting better with his throat, Nicholas still had bad anxiety issues when it came to being around a large amount of people. Eventually he'd have to get over it in a dire situation.

"I don't know..." Miguel, looking down to Ash. "What about you?"

Ash thought about it, looking up at Miguel and snuggling up to him. "Having a farm to call our own...we can take care of the animals and we can even build a house...but I only want to go to the farm if you guys are going to be there too." Ash insisted, crossing her arms stubbornly. "But this city is so big and we have food and medicine and people...I don't know what I want to do." Ash grumbled. "It is a hard choice isn't it...the farm you could have your own territory and not worry of being part of a collective effort, but within the city you have medicine and are safe from any gloom infested animals or people that might come across." Jacko said, taking a seat on the fence next to Miguel and Ash. "The city is still building up, but right now it is a beacon of hope for everyone who needs a place to call home after everything fell apart. We've been born and raised in utter chaos, so order simply sounds like a great idea for everyone. But then with some work, you guys could have your own farm with animals and maybe even a nice house...it's hard to choose because you are given so many nice choices when growing up you just went along with what you find." Jacko chuckled, waving his feet. He saw the old bull finally regain consciousness, huffing around. He gently rubbed the bull's head, calming him down. "But I think you have time to think. They won't allow you to leave the city until they can determine if you will have any good or bad side effects from the gloom."

Miguel smiled down at Ash. He understood the fact that we couldn't really make a decision right away and that was okay. Maybe this really was a decision that they should think over. Miguel honestly himself wasn't too thrilled with some of the people here, but hey at the end of the day he had to do what was right for the kids. And that was exactly what he was going to do. Miguel ruffled Ash's hair.

"That's okay nena." He said. "We'll ask Guada and Nicholas later about it. And also-" he looked to Jacko. "I'll leave this place if I damn want to." No way was Miguel going to let a whole bunch of pendejos tell him he couldn't leave if he didn't want to. Miguel had the right to do whatever he wanted to and whatever he needed to do. If it came the time when he needed to leave, he would no matter what.