Despite the spell on his castle, Zipacna figured it wouldn't be safe to stay alone with Algner down there, and against his better judgment, asked Xibalba if he could stay at his place for a few days. Xibalba was reluctant at first due to the mess Zipacna made the last time he was there, but he didn't have the heart to say no. Besides, things were more interesting when he was around.

Much to his surprise, however, Zipacna was… cleaner. The first night he expected the guest room to be a mess, but instead it was still in order, except for the bed for obvious reasons. Not only that, but he spent more time asking La Muerte about baby care, and she was more than happy to help him. Roberto even jokingly asked Zipacna what he had done to the 'real one'.

There still was only one little problem, though…

Hugo continued to wail as he saw his mother holding Algner, despite Xibalba's attempts to soothe him down, and this in turn disturbed Algner into wailing. Finally, La Muerte had to give Algner back to Zipacna while she took Hugo back in her embrace, almost immediately soothing him down, while Zipacna struggled to quiet Algner down.

"That kid has serious jealously problems." He said, but not as a joke.

"It reminds me of a certain someone…" Xibalba added in dismay, having a shrewd and accurate idea as to where he got the possessiveness from.

La Muerte didn't know what to say. She had to admit, Hugo did have possessiveness problems, and she did agree with Xibalba about him getting it from Aimé. But she had to figure something out, his little brother would be born in a few months and she didn't want Hugo to grow resentful of his sibling. But she couldn't just scold him, he was just a baby, after all.

"Perhaps we should let him know he's not being replaced." Xibalba suggested. "And he has to learn how to share you."

"He's just a baby, Xibalba!" La Muerte retorted with a frown. "I can't just scold him!"

"Not scold him like you would a child, I mean teaching him that behavior is not acceptable!"

"Well, any ideas?" Zipacna said, having managed to soothe Algner down.

Xibalba thought for a moment. Marigold and Juan Carlos had that sort of problem with Clara and Kyroc, they were at first jealous of one another for their mom's attention. They solved it by Marigold holding both of the children in her arms and giving them an equal amount of attention. Perhaps that would work in this case…

"Zipacna, think you could hand Algner over to La Muerte?"

"What?"

"I have an idea." He turned to his wife. "Muertita, remember how Kyroc and Clara used to get jealous of each other?"

Having an idea as to what he was suggesting, La Muerte nodded. "It might work…"

Zipacna inquired. "What are you talking about?"

"It's a sort of trick Marigold and Juan Carlos did with the twins." Xibalba explained, taking Algner from his brother's embrace and warily approaching La Muerte. She in turn accommodated Hugo in one arm, and then carefully took Algner in the other, but she was careful to keep them at a considerable distance from one another to keep Hugo from trying to hit his cousin. As soon as Hugo noticed Algner was in his mother's embrace, he squealed in dislike and tried to reach out for him.

"No, no, Hugo…." La Muerte whispered to him, rocking the both of them in her arms.

"So, what are you going to do about Nadia?" Xibalba casually asked Zipacna.

"I don't know yet." Zipacna replied, sighing. "I don't understand. Why the sudden change of heart on her part? I mean, she abandons him and she believes she can just come and say she wants him back? That's a bit suspicious, if you ask me."

"Judging by what she last said to you, I guess she'll try to take this to the Court."

"Ha! I'd like to see her try, she doesn't belong to our pantheon, and she's not a goddess at all. It would be very hard for her to have Quetzalcóatl and Tezcatlipoca take her seriously, especially if they take into account Nadia abandoned him…" he noticed the look La Muerte was giving him. "…Oh."

"Yes. Oh." La Muerte said, narrowing her eyes. "El burro hablando de orejas. You did abandon your son as well, and this action nearly killed him. That's worse than just abandonment."

"And if you recall correctly, hermano, in this kind of judgment, the child's wellbeing is what matters." Xibalba finished, crossing his arms.

"Come on, I'm not the same as before! You've seen me!"

"Just after irresponsibly abandoning your son and not even bothering to make sure he was at least picked up by somebody."

"Hey, you two are supposed to be on my side."

La Muerte rolled her eyes. "Zipacna, Nadia is surely going to use these arguments against you in a trial, and most the Pantheon, the Kings included, has known you for centuries. Who do you think they'll take more seriously? An stranger who despite abandonment shows concern for the wellbeing of her child? Or a god they've known for a long time, and know him to be irresponsible, childish and immature?"

Zipacna didn't say anything; she had a good point, Nadia was going to use those circumstances against him, and yes, he wouldn't be surprised if his own Pantheon trusted Nadia's façade more than his own sincere change… He had tried to change various times in the past, but always returned to his irresponsible self not long afterwards.

"Then what? I let her take my son away?" he finally asked, glancing at Algner, who remained asleep despite Hugo's angry squeals.

"Do you know anything about her?" Xibalba asked him with a serious expression. "When you… seduce girls first you have to win them over first, right?"

Zipacna frowned. "Seriously? Are you going to bring that topic forth now of all times?"

"You're not understanding me. How old is she? Did she tell you?"

"Well…" Zipacna scratched his head, trying hard to remember the encounter. Unfortunately, since he had been drunk that night, it was blurry. All he could recall was that he found Nadia the most attractive, and decided to use his 'charms' on her. However, judging by her mannerisms he could tell she wasn't that old; in fact, she was younger than he tended to pick out, though not young enough to be called a teenager. "I think she'd be around… the equivalent of twenty human years, why?"

"Such a young woman in a place like that? Surrounded by drunkards and much older men? What does that tell you about a girl like that?"

La Muerte knew where he was going with that. "Improper behavior?"

"And if she fell so easily, even with Zipacna's charms, then it must have not been her first time. But the times before she was probably sober, and thus she didn't forget the protection to avoid…" Xibalba glanced at Algner. "…That outcome."

"Well, that would give us the same weight in the balance." Zipacna stated. "On my side, abandonment and neglect. On her side, abandonment and bad influence. I just need to find another thing in my favor."

Both gods noted Hugo wasn't squealing anymore, and turned to see La Muerte sitting down on the couch, still holding both Algner and Hugo in her arms. Algner was still peacefully sleeping, but Hugo had calmed down and wasn't trying to touch his cousin, instead he was fidgeting with his mother's pendant curiously.

"Well, we're progressing." She sighed contently before glancing at Zipacna. "How's Camazok, by the way?"

"Catching up with his dad." Zipacna said with a shrug. "I miss the kid, though."

"Or you miss the things he did for you, like your work." Xibalba said, crossing his arms.

"No, I miss Camazok as a whole. What I don't understand is why Camazotz suddenly became a 'caring dad' when he didn't even want to see the poor boy's picture for his entire life."

"Maybe he felt lonely." La Muerte said. "Camazotl was murdered, his wife is dead and Camazok is the only family he has left. It's possible he finally realized it…"

"Still, I wonder what they're doing right now…"

Camazotz had to admit, he had underestimated two things his whole life: Camazok, and humans.

For starters, Camazok was not the weakling he always thought, at least not anymore. Ever since Zipacna took him in, the boy had changed, his character was much stronger and most of his insecurity was gone. In fact, he had a slightly stocker build from a close inspection. As for humans, he realized they were more than a meal. Sure, they had their defects, but they were also loyal, intelligent and creative, among other things.

Or maybe this town called San Ángel's inhabitants were of the good variety. They looked like good people and honest fellas, and he could tell they were much more open minded regarding supernatural creatures than any other settlement he had ever seen. Who could blame them, though? After all the fiasco with one of Xibalba and La Muerte's famous wagers, it was natural their view of the occult changed.

Not to mention those churro things were really tasty, much more than blood.

"Dad, don't you think you've had enough…?" Camazok asked in worry as he saw his father gobbling down his fifteenth churro, though the vendor was actually delighted. Both were in human form to avoid scaring the humans with their bat mannerisms.

"Oh, come on, I won't break for catering this… churro, right?" the older bat simply said, enjoying his treat.

"Well, no, but eating too much sugar can have certain… side effects."

"Come on, I've never tasted anything as sweet as this before!"

"Is that why you never smile?"

"Very funny, kiddo."

Camazok had to admit, this was a side of his father he had never seen either. It looked like he was enjoying himself for the first time ever since… it happened. Was this the father his brother knew before mother died? That was one thing he did envy from Camazotl when they were kids. While their father wasn't openly affectionate, he always preferred his older son and was much more lenient with him, allowing him to pick on his younger sibling. Camazok never knew if he knew what Camazotl did and acted like he didn't, or he really didn't know.

"Mister Cam!"

Camazok-and his father in extension-turned to look for the little voice, and found Juanoctis's human sister running towards them cheerfully. Camazok waved at her amicably, while Camazotz just stared at her curiously. "Cristina, how are you?"

"Good, came to do some grocery shopping with papá!" she said excitedly. She noticed the older man next to Camazok. "Who is he?"

"Oh, this is my father, Camazotz."

Camazotz nodded. "Nice to meet you, jovencita."

"Have you seen Juan Carlos around here?"

"No, why? Is he here?"

"He came to visit, but we turned for a few moments and he was gone…"

"Cristina!" Just then, Manolo came running towards them, as always carrying his guitar. "What have I told you about running off like that?" He stopped when he saw who she was talking with. "Good day to you, Camazok and…"

Camazotz frowned when he saw the father of… he pushed the thought out of his head and forced himself to be polite. "Buenos días, Manolo Sánchez."

"Señor Manolo, this is my father Camazotz." Camazok explained, noting the grim expression on his father's face.

"Nice to meet you, señor." Manolo said politely, even though he could tell the disguised god was crossed at him for his relation to Juan Carlos. "First of all, I wish to offer you my condolences over-"

"Thank you, but it's not necessary." Camazotz said curtly. "I took me a while, but I've come to accept that my other son's death was his own doing. And in a way, I was to blame for how he turned out because I never put limits on him…"

"Cam, could you help me find Juan Carlos?" Cristina said, pulling on the younger god's sleeves. "He must be around here."

"S-Sure." Camazok said, allowing Cristina to pull him away from their fathers.

They looked around the marketplace for any signs of Juan Carlos among all the people around there. Although things had settled down, he was probably hiding from the most fanatic people in town. Camazok sniffed the air to see if he could catch his smell, but the abundance of other aromas and scents made it more difficult for him. After a few minutes, however, he managed to distinguish Juan Carlos's scent. He followed it to a much more secluded part of the marketplace, where there were fewer people. He finally caught a glimpse of Juan Carlos closing from behind an unaware old man, his fangs looking longer and sharper, and Camazok thought he saw a reddish tone to his eyes.

"Juan?" Cristina called out to him.

As if reacting, Juan Carlos blinked and the red from his pupils faded away, going back to golden, and his fangs went back to their tiny normal size. The old man, as blind as a mole, turned to the direction of the voice. "Excuse me? My name is not Juan, it's Victoriano."

"Sorry, sir, we're talking to the young man a few feet away from you." Camazok apologized before heading over to Juan. "What was that?"

Juan Carlos blinked in confusion, rubbing the back of his head. "I don't know… I was talking with papá, when suddenly everything went blank, and when Cristina called out I found myself here…"

"You mean you don't remember what you were just doing?"

"No. What was I doing, by the way?"

"You snuck away form us, silly!" Cristina said, crossing her arms with a frown she had undoubtedly gotten from her mother. "I've been looking for you for a along while!"

Juan Carlos chuckled nervously. "I'm sorry, Cristy. I guess I'm a bit distracted, with the kids and all that…."

Camazok wanted to say something, but he guessed it could wait. It wouldn't be a good idea to say such things in front of Cristina, particularly due to her status as a human, and a very young one. Sides, it would be best they went back to Manolo and Camazotz before the latter's fuse ran out. But he had a bad feeling about that red tint in Juan Carlos's eyes and how he was about to… Camazok shook his head. Surely there was a proper explanation for it.

As they went back to the center of the marketplace, they noticed a commotion. Camazok feared his father had somehow hurt Manolo, but as they got closer, they distinguished the mutters as giggles and laughter. Juan Carlos gently made way through the crowd, followed by Cristina and Camazok, and the sight surprised the three of them. Camazotz snatched yet another jar of water from Manolo and gulped it down, his face red and dripping with sweat.

"Dad, what happened?" Camazok asked in worry.

"He wanted to try the jalapeños…" was all Manolo had to say to let them understand what had happened. He had never eaten them before and didn't know the proper way to consume them.

Juan Carlos sighed. "Just wait until it gets to his stomach…"