While the reality change made it easier for Jason, he was still concerned about a few things. His former father, Daniel, now divided into his older twin brothers Damien and Niel, weren't getting along. It made sense since they were made of opposite sides of Daniel, his playful and strict sides respectfully, but it seemed less likely for them to want to fuse back together. And while having older brothers was interesting, Jason needed a father more.
And it looked like his mother, Christine, need a husband even more. Things weren't uneasy just because there was no man of the house. In this new reality, Christine ended up having her sons because of several bad choices. She got knocked up with the twins while she was in college, the twins hadn't gotten along with their eventual stepfather, who was Jason and Johnny's new biological father, and said man eventually left Christine after an exposed affair. While Christine was able to make ends meet and provide for her family, Jason could see that the stress was wearing on her. Having gone from a happily-married wife with two sons to a single mother of four was not a good change for her. So it didn't take long for Jason to make a decision.
Getting Damien and Niel into his bedroom, Jason said, "Ok, this has been an interesting experiment, but I think we should put you two back together."
"You mean going back with Mr. Stick-in-the-Mud?" scoffed Damien, "Like I would want to do that."
"You're not an ideal partner either," said Niel, "You're so reckless and you don't care what your actions cause."
"I thought you wanted to merge back with him," said Jason.
"Well, I should, but..." started Niel.
"He's too vain to want to merge back," said Damien, "He likes being younger and fit. And I agree with him. I really let myself go when I got old." He flexed his muscles, which were easier to see when he was in his swim trunks.
"This isn't about you guys," said Jason, "You know how Mom is now. She can't care for all four of us, not without a husband. And you guys need to be her husband."
"Yes, that is true," said Niel, "This has been fun, but we need to change back."
"Ugh, already? At least tell me we'll be going to the movies next weekend like we said," said Damien.
"What movies?" asked Jason.
"Well, since we're younger, we get a discount at the movie theater," said Niel, "I suppose we could just split again later."
Jason sighed and said, "You know, if you guys are going to be splitting regularly, then Mom has to know."
"What?!" snapped Damien and Niel.
"It wouldn't be fair if she's the only one in our family not to know. And she needs to know she'll be having her husband return," said Jason.
"But she won't let us split or you fuse," said Damien.
"I think Mom's more open-minded than that," said Jason, "Either way, you know she deserves better."
"Yeah, I guess we have to become Daniel again," said Niel.
"Can we at least take one last swim?" asked Damien.
"Ok, but we're not holding this off forever," said Jason.
But as they were having their swim in the pool, Damien had been thinking. Being merged with Neil didn't really appeal to him at all. Especially if that means becoming a middle-aged man who let his body go. But despite his more free-spirited nature, he did still love Catherine. But he was seeing a better alternative. Jason was a few years younger which mean a younger fusion. And he was a lot more fun than Niel could be. He was rather curious what they'd be like as one.
Some time later, after dinner was finished, Jason said to his mother, "Mom, you remember Damien and Neil's dad?"
Christine sighed and said, "I don't really want to talk about it. I don't think he'll be any better for you than your own dad was."
"Mom, what if I told you they were one and the same?" asked Jason.
Christine scoffed and said, "I think I would have known if I married the same guy I met in college. I mean, they did look a bit alike, but they couldn't be the same person."
"They were, they're not as you really remember them," said Jason.
"What are you talking about?" asked his mom.
"Mom, about a week ago, I got these magic cuffs that can fuse people together," said Jason.
"Oh really?" asked his mom, not believing him.
"Yeah, but today, Dad, my real dad, found them and he split himself in two. They're Damien and Niel now," said Jason.
Christine looked at her older twins and said, "Well, that's certainly an imaginative story. Is this for English class."
"It's real, Mom," said Jason, "Look, we just put one cuff on Damien here." He snapped the cuff onto Damien's wrist. "And then we put the other cuff on Niel to get Dad back."
Then Damien grabbed him by the arm. "Or we can put the other cuff on you and make a new Dad," said Damien as he put the cuff around Jason's wrist.
"Damien, no!" yelled Jason, but Damien had already snapped the cuff in place. Both Jason and Damien froze as their bodies became more liquid. Then they melted into each other before surging up in combined mass. The swim trunks they were wearing were also fusing together. The combined mass grew until it reached 6'4" before solidifying into a new man. Jason and Damien were 15 and 19 so that made this man 34, four years younger than Daniel. He was also in better shape, his body having a sculpted physique. His features favored Jason, but there was some of his original father in there. His swim trunks were a fusion of Jason and Damien's and by the way it was tenting, it was holding a very big package. The new man blinked as his new mind assembled himself. He was now Jaden, an energetic, fun-loving man, but with a strong intellect.
Jaden looked over at Christine who looked rather shocked. New memories were springing into Jaden's head, of Christine being his wife. Yes, she was a little older than him and had already had Niel from a one-night stand in college. But he did love her truly and helped bring in his share of the bread. Several new memories bubbled up, of their wedding, their honeymoon, making love, the conception and birth of Johnny, now his own son, and several years of raising his son and stepson.
Niel was the first to snap out of shock. "Damien, you're supposed to fuse back with me!" he snapped, "Get out of there right now!"
"No, don't..." said Christine, sounding a little unsure.
"Are you ok?" asked Jaden with his new deep voice.
"I...I think I'm fine. I just need to think it over..." said Christine before walking out of the room.
Niel glared at Jaden and said, "Well, I hope you're happy. You just gave Mom the worst shock of her life."
"As if you and Damien fusing back into Daniel would have been less shocking," said Jaden.
"Well, we're supposed to be Daniel, not you," said Niel.
"Niel, we will be separating later," said Jaden, "Just...take a little more time. You might as well enjoy your independence."
Niel rolled his eyes and said, "Sure. Might as well get used to this." With that, he walked out.
Jaden was a bit unsure what to do. He wanted to go after Christine, but she might be taking this too well. Maybe he should call Richard for advice. Or even Dawn since she knew now.