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Story Arc 6: Dark Heart Part 5; Final Shadow Showdown

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"Huh...?" Chad muttered, looking around. Surrounding him was a dark, cloudy abyss, swirling around the stone platform he was standing on. "What happened...? I remember fighting Sephiroth...then Jack and Remilia...then...I used the Warrior's Bomb..."

Nick stared at the abyss, also observing his surroundings. "...Shadow Palace...disappeared..."

"Nick?" "Bro?"

The Shadow turned, to see Remilia and Jack, as well as the rest of the group. "What happened?" The boy asked. "The last thing I can remember is...Nightmare being crushed by the remains of Shadow Palace..."

"So, you have no clue, either, huh?" Chad muttered, drawing attention from the group. "Talk about freaky..."

"It was because of Sephiroth's manipulation..." Dr. Eggman approached in a bipedal mecha, adjusting his glasses. "We were all played for fools, and in the end..." He gestured to a nearby wall, and everyone stared in horror. "It cost us the life of the one person who could defeat him..."

David was there, slowly deteriorating into Darkness from the chest outward, bleeding profusely from his many wounds. Chrissy sat behind him, his head in her lap, sobbing. "He's gone..." She whimpered, tears splashing down onto the boy's corpse. "He's dead..."

Platnum clenched a fist, fighting back the tears that had begun to sting his eyes. "...He knew...he knew this would happen...DAMMIT!" He slammed a fist into a nearby wall. "We should have kept a closer eye on him!"

"David!" Nick cried, running over the boy's body. "Come on, wake up! Wake up, you've gotta wake up!" He pleaded, shaking David roughly by the shoulders. "David! DAVID!" He got rougher with each shake, and Sprittez, who was still weakened from the wound she got from Nightmare, pried his fingers from the boy's shoulders. Nick sobbed into his hands, tears spilling from the corners of his eyes.

"No..." Chad muttered, clenching his fist so hard that it had begun to bleed. "No way...this can't be...it's not possible...!"

"Sephiroth's plan this whole time was to kill David, and in the end, he succeeded..." Eggman explained. "Although the seven Dark Hearts are not on this world at the moment, they will be soon, and I'm positive that Sephiroth will see to it..."

Platnum growled, and held up the green Chaos Emerald, having recovered it after the Dark Moon incident. "The Chaos Emeralds can heal the dying!" He declared, stepping forth. "We can save him, we just have to-"

"It won't work..." Chad muttered. "See how he's being vaporized? Sephiroth did more than just kill David..." He explained, looking away from the boy's corpse. "He obliterated his Heart."

Zero sighed, looking around. "Damn...this is some bad, bad shit we got ourselves into...Hey, wait..." He looked over at Jack and remilia. "How're you two still alive? Didn't Sephiroth kill you?"

"Not necessarily..." Jack muttered, arms crossed. "Shadow Creatures are different than humans; we technically have two lives. When a Shadow dies the first time, they're sent here, the Land of Darkness, and they have a chance to go back to their real world if another Shadow or Dark resurrects them. Then, the second time is for good, and the Shadow is sent either to Heaven or Hell."

"Well, ain't that just dandy for you..." Zero mumbled, looking at David. "...Dammit, this is really bad..."

"No shit, Sherlock." Nick slanted his eyes at the wolf, before looking back at David. "David's dead, all the Shadow Creatures here have already been brought back once before, and basically, the whole universe is DYING. Of course it's bad!"

"Well, we're lucky on one note, at least." Remilia sighed. "Sephiroth almost killed you. I guess we're lucky he forgot that Shadows don't die from a simple flesh wound."

"Nick's died before?" Sprittez asked, eyes wide in shock. "When?"

Nick chuckled nervously, looking away and scratching his cheek. "W-Well, it's...kind of a long story, that I don't really want to talk about..."

The group stood in silence, before Chad let out a heavy sigh. "Well...now what...?"

"Now I want you to kneel."

The group turned in shock to see someone completely new, or so they thought; the man had long, silver hair, like Sephiroth, but two demon-like horns jutted from his temples. His armor was a mix of black and red, his skin was pale, as if he hadn't seen sunlight in years, and when he smiled, they could see large fangs poking out from under his lips.

"Who are you ! ?" Nick growled, drawing his sword.

The man raised his arms to his sides, a smirk on his face. "I am all that was, is, and will become...Once Sephiroth, once Dark, and yet, always both. I am the product of two Dark Hearts having combined their Hearts and Souls. However imperfect I may be, it is only temporary as the final five Dark Hearts arrive." The group continued to draw their weapons, ready to attack or defend. "I am the God. I am Donec..."

A force of Dark energy erupted from the man's body, and the group prepared themselves for the attack. Donec disappeared, reappearing directly in front of the group, letting out a roar that caused the wind to push them all back. He raised his hand, firing a ball of energy from his palm, hitting the ground in front of the group.

The platform split in two, and the team felt the ground tilt beneath them, slanting downwards, towards the swirling abyss below. The reached out, grabbing onto objects that were connected to the platform. "Dammit, it's over, isn't it ! ?" Zero shouted over the roaring winds. "We're doomed!"

"Where's David ! ?" Chrissy cried out, looking around for the boy, spotting his body sliding towards the pit. "DAVID! !" She let go of the railing she had grabbed onto, sliding on her feet, then running at full speed to the blond boy's corpse.

Donec saw this, and smirked, a wing bursting from his back and soaring at the girl. "Oh, no you don't!" He cackled, raising his sword.

It may have just been that David's body hit a bump, or it may have been a miracle. But somehow, just before the sword hit Chrissy's head, David's hand swatted at the sword, deflecting the blade. The boy and the girl soared over the platform's edge, and Chrissy thrust one arm out into the empty space, grabbing onto David's wrist and pulling him to her, wrapping her arms around his broken chest, before the two of them plunged into the Darkness below...

PING!

A burst of light, and a beam shot up from the pit, stopping in the sky. The light hovered there for a moment, before slamming itself into Donec repeatedly, causing the god-like being to cry out in alarm. The light swooped upwards, before crashing down on Donec, sending the man into the pit himself.

The light slowly approached the platform, and the disk-shaped structure rebuilt itself, allowing the group as well as the light to stand on the flat surface.

The light faded, and there was David, powered up once more, Chrissy in his arms. The hole in his chest was gone, and all of his wounds seemed to have healed. The red-haired girl looked up at him, eyes shining with tears, before pulling him into a bone-crushing hug, burying her face in his chest. "...Thank you, Chrissy..." David smiled, returning the hug.

Then, Donec shot up from the pit, and David spun around, thrusting Chrissy towards the group. "All of you get out of here, I'll take care of Donec!"

"Not without us, you won't!" Nick protested, he and Chad leaping to their friend's sides.

David growled, not taking his eyes off of the god-like being in front of them. "Nick-"

"No, I don't wanna hear it!" The Shadow Creature drew his sword, getting into a fighting stance. "You're always going into battle by yourself, and in the end you always get hurt!" He glared at the blond-haired boy. "This time, we fight together!"

"But-"

"No buts!" Chad interrupted, clenching his fists. "We're staying, even if we have to beat it into that pea-brain of yours!"

David simply stood, still glaring at the horned man ahead of him, before sighing, a smirk on his face. "Triple suicide mission, then?"

"Hey, whaddidja expect? Idiots stick together, don't they?" Chad snickered. "And we're the biggest idiots ever!"

"Well then hit me with a bat and call me stupid, I'm with you guys!" Platnum smirked, also taking stance.

"Same here!" "Us too!" Zero, Sprittez, and Anne approached as well. "Don't forget us!" The three remaining Shadow Creatures readied their weapons. "Ah well, I suppose being an idiot for a while couldn't hurt..." Eggman muttered as well.

Finally, Chrissy stepped forth, next to David, scowling at the man. "You ready David?"

The blue-haired boy nodded. "Ready when you are."

"We'll go together." Chrissy took stance, glare intensifying. "No more running away! Let's kill this bastard and be done with all this!"

"You all honestly think you can defeat me?" Donec raised his arms to his sides. "...I see...Then allow me to show to you all what happens to those who defy me; Descend..." He raised one hand, and a small, red sphere of magma appeared in his palm. "Heartless Angel!"

And with that, he fired the sphere at the group. The ball collided with the stone platform, and a blast of energy knocked everyone backwards as the center of the platform burned to a crisp.

"And if you thought that was close..." Donec smirked. "Then I'd love to see what you think of my Full-Power Heartless Angel..."

David growled, getting into stance once more, sweat beginning to bead on his forehead. "His Battle Power keeps changing!" He gulped. "Right now it's barely even a ten, but not fifteen seconds ago it spiked straight to over five million!"

"You feel it too, huh?" Platnum gulped. "This guy...he's not even remotely close to human anymore...even Sephiroth wasn't like this..." He glared at the man before them. "It's too late...he's already become a god..."

"I think it's about time I finished all this..." Donec snickered, raising his hand up once more. "Descend; Heartless Angel!" The wind roared as dark energy collected in the deity's palm, forming yet another sphere. David gulped, and began muttering under his breath. "FIRE!"

The sphere came at them, and David screamed, "EVERYONE! MOVE!"

The team didn't ask questions, simply obeyed, jumping up into the air to avoid the deadly attack. Everyone shielded their eyes as the platform burst apart in a flash of light, and the next thing they knew, they were free-falling through the dark abyss below. Donec came flying after them, drawing Sephiroth's katana and grinning madly as the group fell.

"Everyone, when he gets close enough, hit him with everything you've got!" David shouted above the roaring winds. Mere seconds passed, before Donec was barely ten feet away. "NOW!" The blue-haired boy spun around and zipped through the darkness, bouncing off of multiple pieces of what used to be the platform above them.

"Nice try, you won't get awa-AGH!" Donec cried in shock as Zero kicked out furiously, sending the deity swiveling through the air. A war-cry followed, and Sprittez slammed into the man, running him through with her wooden spear. The kingfisher let out another cry as she flung the man away, straight at Platnum, who readied his sword-hand before slashing across Donec's chest, sending Black Blood flying.

Following his slice attack, Platnum reared back a fist, and with all of his strength, slammed it into Donec's chest, sending the silver-haired man up into the air. Eggman locked his missiles onto Donec, and fired, each one hitting the man head-on. Donec growled, turning to face the scientist. "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU, ANYWAYS ! ? I NEVER EVEN MET YOU!"

Before Donec could finish his rant, Remilia and Jack both rushed him, punching and kicking wildly, before using Jack's cards and Remilia's knives to slice the man open. Donec raised both hands to their faces, growling, before a burst of energy from each hand sent the duo flying off into the abyss. Donec was so preoccupied, he didn't notice Daniel sneaking up behind him until a group of shuriken cut through his chest.

Donec spun around, glaring at the boy, before grunting in pain as a barrage of machine-gunfire pelted him; Anne had rotated her arms backwards, revealing a set of sub-machine guns. Chad had landed on a piece of rubble nearby, and raised his hand, a ball of energy materializing in his palm.

The boy sent the sphere flying towards Donec, who brought up his arms in an 'x' shape. As the dust cleared, Chad slammed his fist into Donec's face, another energy ball sending him flying. Chad reared back his hands and rapidly fired multiple blasts at the man. Donec didn't have time to block, and reared back his own hands, firing back at Chad.

When the dust settled, Donec felt a stab in his side, and looked down to see Nick's buster sword, lodged in his waist. He smirked, noticing the boy on a nearby piece of rubble. "Getting rid of your only weapon? A rather stupid 'strategy', boy!" He flew towards the Shadow Creature, raising his own sword, but Nick ducked, causing the man to slide right over him so he could grab his sword. The Shadow spun back onto his feet, leaping at the deity and slashing open his back.

Donec roared in fury, turning around just in time to see Nick disappear, only for Chrissy to take his place, slamming both of her fists down onto Donec's chest, sending the man down further into the abyss.

"Grrr...I WON'T STAND FOR THIS BLASPHEMY!" He roared, vein popping at his temple. "I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED BY SUCH...SUCH...WEAKLINGS! WORMS!"

"If you won't be defeated by us worms-" Chrissy smirked, mocking a salute. "Then maybe you'll be more pleased with our friend!"

And just like that, Donec let out a cry of pain and agony and David spun into him, sending them both down into the abyss. Donec's screamed increased in volume, straight up until the breaking point; David spun directly through his chest, covering himself and Donec's pale skin and black-red armor in Black Blood.

The group finally landed on a new land; the ground was pure white, suspended in mid-air, and was little more than a single strip, stretching back for miles. In front of them was a large, white, wooden door, one that looked to be taller than all of them combined.

"...Is it over?" Platnum asked, walking over to Donec's unmoving form. "Is he finally dead?"

"...Yeah...I think so..." David stood, wiping some sweat from his head. "...Heh...we did it, guys!" He cheered. "We finally did it! We won!"

The group followed his cheering, and Chad pointed down the path, opposite the door. "Hey, lookit that!" Down the path, their world was beginning to reappear, and everyone could see the people of the city there, waiting for them.

As everyone began to cheer and sigh in relief and mutter about how close they'd been to losing, David powered down, approaching Donec's body. "Well, at least he won't be able to hurt anyone anymore..." He snickered a bit, pulling down on his eyelid and sticking out his tongue. "Nyeh! Eat it, Sephy!"

"Alright, guys, let's go home!" Zero stretched, feeling his back crick into place. "I think we all deserve some rest after that!" Everyone nodded in agreement, and they continued down the path, straight to their home.

"Hey, come on Jack! I'll race you!"

"Hey, no fair sis! You got a head-start!"

David smiled as everyone continued to cheer and celebrate the defeat of Donec. "It's finally over..." He sighed. "We won..."

"So, what now?" Nick asked, approaching his friend. "There's still a lot we have to repair back home. Like the entire half of the world that was lost to Darkness."

"Heh...y-yeah..." David grinned nervously, thinking about how long that would take. "Well, we'll start slow and start with just, rebuilding a shelter for now, then get to work on the actual buildings."

"Ah!" Chrissy cried out in shock, and the team turned to her, eyes wide in fear. "Oh man, dad's gonna be so pissed that we put ourselves in danger like that!"

David let out a sigh of relief. "Chrissy, don't scare me like that." He gulped. "For a sec, I thought Donec had come back..."

Chrissy blushed a little and looked away, playing with the hem of her skirt. "S-Sorry. Teenage instinct took over for a second." She giggled nervously. "...I'm more concerned with how I forgot what happened..."

"Er...yeah..." David sighed.

"Well...at least everyone else is okay...!" She grinned, throwing David the thumbs-up. "Besides, I'm certain he wouldn't want us feeling sorry over this..."

"Hmhm..." David chuckled.

"Don't even joke like that, okay?" Nick gulped. "I'd hate to think of what Donec would do to us if he survived...Why, he'd probably...p-probably..." The Shadow stopped and spun around, shivering in fright.

"Come on, Nick, let's go!" David called to the Shadow Creature, who had fallen behind somewhat. Immediately, David knew something was wrong; Nick stood stock-still, eyes wide in terror, and he shook uncontrollably. "Nick what's wrong?" David placed a hand to his shoulder, following Nick's gaze.

Everyone else followed suit, and stopped in their tracks. A shiver of horror passed through everyone's spines, through their souls, their hearts. There, standing on a nearby pillar, was a man with long, demon-like horns, red and black armor, and long, flowing, silver hair.

"Oh, don't mind me..." The man smirked, soft, chilling chuckles escaping his lips. "By all means...give me some ideas..."

"IT'S...IT'S DONEC!" The Shadow Creature screamed, losing his balance and falling onto his rear. "N-NO WAY! This isn't possible, DAVID KILLED HIM!"

"This is...unreal!" Chad gulped. "David ripped a hole in his chest! This isn't happening! It can't be happening!"

"Oh, it is, my dear humans!" Donec cackled, raising one hand. "But it will all be over soon, I promise you." A swirling mass of black and red hovered in his hand, and with one fluid flick of the wrist, e sent a flaming energy ball towards the group. "DESCEND!; FULL-POWER HEARTLESS ANGEL!"

"DAMMIT! SHIT!" Zero shouted as the ground erupted in flames all around them. "F*CK F*CK F*CK F*CK!"

David looked around, searching for a way to escape the flames, but only noticed that the ground beneath them was slowly changing, it's white color becoming red, orange, yellow, a mix of hot colors. In fact, it looked more like magma than whatever had been there previously.

Suddenly, the flames surrounded him by himself, separating him from the rest of the group, just as Donec swooped in, katana raised high above his head.

He made a beeline straight for David, swinging the sword downward towards his head. David raised his hands and caught the sword between them, grunting as the demon-like god pushed down. "Face it, David, you can't win!" The man cackled over the roaring of the fire. "It's over, you're finished!"

"No..." David growled, pushing up with all his might. "I won't...lose...to you!" He yelled. "I made...a promise...to my friends! AND I'M GOING-" He threw himself backwards, still holding the sword. "-TO-" He landed on his back and kicked upwards, sending Donec into the air. "-DEFEAT YOU!"

David threw the sword to the side, leaping up at the man above him and throwing a barrage of punches. Donec dodged each one, and kicked out, launching David through the wall of flames. David spun around, looking helplessly for his opponent, before his eyes wen t wide in shock as he felt Donec knee his right in the stomach.

Breathless, David doubled over, and the deity kicked him in the face. David felt onto the ground below, eyes shut tight. He reached up, wiping his eyes, brushing the shards of glass from his glasses away. He removed the purple frames and placed them on the ground, looking around, his eyesight much worse.

"Damn...this is bad..." He growled, and winced in pain, reaching up to his face. He tugged hard on a piece of glass that was lodged in his forehead above his left eye, and let out a cry of pain as the fragment was removed. "God...DAMMIT! Calm...just calm down..." He took a deep breath and focused, trying as hard as he could to focus on Donec's Battle Power. "...That's funny...I don't sense it anymore..."

"DAVID LOOK OUT!"

CRAK!

David felt a pair of hands push him out of the way of Donec's kick, followed by a sickening crunch. He looked back, and he stared in agony as the candy-red hair came into focus; he's know that hair anywhere...

"Chrissy!" He cried, rushing over to her and elevating her torso. "Chrissy, are you okay? Chrissy!" He shook her, only to recoil in terror as he saw something white sticking out of her lower neck. "...Chrissy..." David's voice broke as he finally realized what happened.

"Do you think her neck snapped?"

"You kidding? I heard it all the way over here!"

Two new voices entered David's ears, and the boy turned, squinting to see the newcomers. But no matter how hard he tried, he could only barely make out two blurs of white, black and purple, and pale blue, black, and white.

"How unfortunate..." Donec snickered, and David felt his soul fill with anger and hatred. "The girl is dead, and it appears that two of the Dark Hearts have arrived!" David heard the metal scrape against the ground, and braced himself as he sensed Donec raise his katana. "I'll admit, I have never had an adversary quite like you, boy. But even the one I did consider an opponent for a time was stronger than you!" He sighed. "Oh well. So long...Haisan Dabide..."

David screwed his eyes shut, holding onto Chrissy for dear life, waiting for the final blow...

...it never came.

Seconds passed and became minutes, and minutes became hours. "How long have I been here?" David asked himself. "Am I dead? What happened?"

Finally, he gathered the courage to look up, and noticed that he was back home, along with his friends. "David!" Nick cried out, rushing over to him. "Are you o—Oh god, Chrissy! Guys, help me out here!"

There was a slight commotion, and David felt Chrissy leave his arms. He reached out for her, but felt a hand on his shoulder, before a pair of glasses identical to his previous pair were shoved onto his face. Everything came into focus, and he looked around.

Everyone was here, the entire team. "Guys, what...happened?"

"You tell us!" Chad shouted. "One second we're being engulfed by fire, the next thing we know, you and Chrissy are gone, then we all show up here, one-by-one, and then you two appear outta nowhere and Chrissy's f*cking NECK is broken!"

David jolted at that part. "Where did Nick take her? Is she okay?"

"We're not sure, right now..." Chad sighed. "...But...it's not looking good..."

David looked down at the ground, before turning to Platnum. "Plat, do you still have that Chaos Emerald of yours?"

"Yeah, right here." The wolf held up the gem.

"Can I see it for a sec?" David asked, and Platnum handed it to him. David walked briskly into the room Chrissy had been brought into, and leaned next to her bed. "...Chaos Emerald, gem of miracles, I call upon your power to revive the dying, in hope of saving the girl I love..." He murmured, tears forming in his eyes.

"David, it's more complicated than that..." Platnum sighed. "When we thought you'd died, and I suggested we use the emerald, I hadn't sensed the Darkness wavelength, but I can feel it now." He muttered. "The Chaos Emeralds don't have enough energy left to help her..."

"Then I'll give it my own energy!" David growled, tightening his grip on the gem. "Chaos Emerald, I GIVE YOU MY POWER!" Suddenly, the emerald glowed green, and David felt his energy exit his body, into the stone. "Platnum, how much energy does it need ? !"

"DAVID, THIS IS CRAZY!" Platnum shouted, trying to wrench the emerald away. "You can't just give your energy to the Chaos Emerald, it doesn't work that way!"

"LIKE HELL IT DOESN'T!" David yelled back, feeling his body weaken. "I'LL MAKE IT WORK!"

Platnum stared in shock as the Chaos Emerald glowed brighter, and he gulped. "This...Th-This Chaos Wavelength..."

Out in space, the Tear that Chaos Control had induced seemed to grow, and a light spilled from it. On the planet, the ground shook, as more and more tears appeared in the sky. Multiple new dimensions, new worlds, began to merge, and small lights streaked across the sky, like meteors.

"David, THIS IS CRAZY!" Platnum cried once more. "You'll screw up all these wavelengths, STOP! YOU'VE GOT TO STOP THIS!"

Then, silence.

The gem was still glowing, but the ground had ceased it's shaking, and the tears all disappeared. David slumped over, shakily pulling himself to his knees beside Chrissy's bed, placing the gem next to the girl. "Th-There...that oughta-"

"IDIOT!"

SMAK!

Platnum had socked David over the head, growling. "You are freaking kidding me! Do you have any idea what you might have just caused ? !"

"I act without thinking sometimes..." David groaned, chuckling a little. "It couldn't be that bad, r-right?"

Platnum let out a low growl. "It's true that the Chaos Wavelength isn't as strong as I thought it would be, but that doesn't mean this world is safe! For all we know, you might have just summoned whatever those last few Dark Hearts were!"

David simply chuckled weakly, laying on his front. "...Hey, Platnum?"

Platnum sighed, realizing that nothing was going to get through David's thick skull. "Yeah?"

"When Chrissy wakes up, can you tell her...I'm sorry?" David muttered, and Platnum stared in confusion. "Please...I ain't gonna last...much longer..."

"Hey, hold on, David!" Nick cried, reaching for his friend's arm. "You're not gonna die on us again, are you?"

"Heheh...'f-'fraid so, buddy." David grunted, sweat beading on his forehead. "I put every ounce of my energy into that emerald...a bit too much, I think..."

"What ? !" Platnum gulped. ""C-Come on, David! Hang in there, you moron!"

David simply laughed weakly, turning to the two in the room. "Just promise that...you'll tell Chrissy I'm...sorry...okay?"

"David-!" Nick tried to say one last thing, but before he could react, David slumped over, onto the ground. "David! David, get up!" He cried. "DAVID!"

/-/-/-/-/-/

"Do you feel that?"

"I'm afraid so...So he gave up what little life force he had left, in order to save her, huh."

"Indeed..."

"Well, what do we do now?"

"I am off to see King Yemma about this predicament. Perhaps we can convince him to give he boy another chance to stop Donec..."

"Is there anything I should do to help?"

"As a matter of fact, there is..."

"What is it? I'll do anything to help out!"

"I want you to come with me to see King Yemma, and if he agrees with my plan, then I want you to bring David here and train him."

"Alright!"

"Oh, and one more thing..."

"Yeah?"

"I don't know why or how, but your world was sent to merge with David's. I can sense some of your friends already there, so it'd be great if you could let them know you're okay, since you've been away for a while."

"Sure thing!"

"Alright...oh, and make sure you're careful when you arrive on the planet, Goku."

/-/-/-/-/-/

"So, where are we?"

"I'm not sure, but did you SEE that!"

"Yeah, yeah, you've been going on about it since it happened."

"I KNOW! It was like in an anime or something! Oh, MAN!"

"Can't you focus? Not only have we lost the others, but we have no idea where we are!"

"Oh, don't get your twin-tails in a knot, Kagami-sama!"

"I told you not to call me that in public! It's embarrassing!"

"Oh, I just can't wait to see what the locals are like! I wonder if they have tails? Or maybe they have weird antennae? Or maybe they can fly at the speed of-"

"They look like normal humans."

"...Well...that's...wow...that's kind of a let-down..."

"Look, let's just focus on getting home. Oh! Excuse me, ma'am!"

"Yes, child? May I help you?"

"Yes, I was hoping you could point my friend and I in the direction of Saitama Prefecture?"

"Saitama Prefecture?" The woman stared, confused. "I'm very sorry, I've never heard of that place..."

The two were left standing alone. "...Damn..."

"Yeah...They speak our language!"

"Ugh..."

/-/-/-/-/-/

"Oh, I hope he's okay..."

"Calm down, you've been worrying about him since we got here. I'm sure he's fine!"

"But Soul, you know how timid he is! He's probably in some alley right now, scared and alone!"

"Look, just calm down. We at least know where the academy is."

"You do ? ! Where!"

"Right over there, ya bookworm! What, ya need glasses to see a building that huge?"

CRACK!

"OW! Goddammit, do you always have to break out the dictionary?"

"Yes. Yes I do."

"...Hey, is that Bla-"

"YAHOO! A new world that I can now grace with my presence! Come on, LET'S GO!"

"Yep...It's him alright..."

/-/-/-/-/-/

"So, you have no idea where we are?"

"I'm afraid not. I was picking up a massive source of Chaos energy not too long ago, but I can't sense it anymore..."

"Dang...that sucks..."

"Indeed...Ah well. Come on, we might as well look for our allies while we're here."

"Yeah, alright. Hey, no need to rush, we got all the time in the world! Where ya goin' so fast?"

"Sometimes, Sonic, I wonder where your brain is at..."

/-/-/-/-/-/

David shook his head as his vision came into focus. He was standing on a platform, and when he looked over the edge, he gulped, seeing nothing but yellow clouds for miles down. "I...I don't think I'm in Kansas anymore..."

"So, you are Haisan Dabide, yes?" David turned, and nearly screamed as he saw the man, and I do use the term loosely, in front of him. He was, in a word, tall. He stood at a towering 20' something, had tomato-red skin, and long, black hair that covered his head like a mane, connecting to a mustache and goatee on his face. He wore a purple suit and cap as well, and two horns jutted from the cap.

"Y-You...who-who-who are you?" David stuttered, steadying himself.

The man looked at him, leaning over his gigantic desk. "I am King Yemma, lord of the OtherWorld."

David gulped and cleared his throat. "...S-So...you must be the one that determines where everyone will end up after death, right?"

"Indeed I am. Now, you are Haisan Dabide, correct?" The man asked, and David nodded, straightening his posture. "Let's see here...hm...mhm...I see...Well, according to this, it appears that you've caused quite a ruckus on your world." David smiled nervously, sweat beginning to bead on his forehead. "But-But!" Yemma raised a finger. "You seem like you've always meant well, and—oh, it appears that cause of death was 'saving a loved one'...hmm..." The king looked down at David. "...Alright, after a bit of thought, I've decided. You, David, are in the clear for Heaven-"

"Wait, King Yemma."

David turned, and stared at the newcomer. He was just slightly taller than David, with blue skin and pointy ears. He wore a black robe-like jacket over a red sweater, a pair of sunglasses, and a black cap, which had antennae coming off of the front.

"King Kai!" Yemma nodded his head, as if bowing. "What brings you here?"

"I'm here to speak with David about his placement in OtherWorld."

"Placement? But King Kai-"

"Yemma, it's nothing negative. It's simply something I'd like to talk to him about." The man turned to David. "Hello. My name is King Kai. It's very nice to meet you, David; I've kept an eye on some of the things you've done!"

David stared a moment longer, before bowing in respect. "O-Oh! Very nice to meet you too, King Kai!" He cleared his throat once more. "S-So, uh, what do you need to talk about?"

"How would you like to get stronger?"

The question was unexpected, and David stared even longer. "...Not much point in getting stronger since I'm kinda, y'know, dead." He smiled nervously.

"Well, what if I told you, you could come back to life?" King Kai asked, and David's eyes widened. "Yes, that raises a whole different scenario, doesn't it?"

"Back to life?" David gulped. "You can do that?"

King Kai smiled a bit. "Well, I can't, by myself, but there is a chance. I just need time to contact your friends about the matter."

"Sweet!" David cheered. "Wait, how long could it take, and why will I need to train? And what happened to Donec? And-"

King Kai flicked him on the nose, and David yelped, stepping back. "All good questions, but there will be enough time to answer them later." The blue man snickered. "Right now, I'd like you to head to the beginning of Snake Way and have Goku see you to the Supreme Kai Planet."

"Goku?"

"You'll know him when you see him." King Kai turned to King Yemma. "Now, I'm sorry to cut our introductions short, but I'm afraid I have some urgent business to discuss with King Yemma." David nodded and ran through the door to the left.

He continued down the path until he saw what appeared to be a long, winding road floating above the clouds. As he neared it, he noticed that this end had the head on a snake. "...So...this is Snake Way?"

"Hey! Are you David?" David turned, only to come face-to-face with a muscular, taller man with spiky black hair and an orange martial arts gi. He also noticed a halo above the man's head. "Nice to meet you, my name is Son Goku!"

David stared, awestruck, before reaching up above his own head, poking the halo. "...Yeah, I guess it makes sense..."

"Pardon?"

"Oh, sorry, Goku!" David apologized. "This is just a bit much to comprehend, right now..."

"Yeah, that's understandable." The man smiled. "Alright, ready to go to Supreme Kai's Planet?" David nodded, and Goku grinned. "Alright then! Hold on!" He grabbed David's arm, and placed two fingers to his forehead. "Instant Transmission; Activate!"

And just like that, they were gone...

/-/-/-/-/-/

The End...

To be continued in Mach 7 Generations.