Zero to Hero
Summary: [LangKlavi] The story of Hercules told using the characters of the Ace Attorney world. Shi-Long Lang as Hercules and Klavier Gavin as Meg.
Mount Olympus. Where all was cloudy and the gods numerous. The day was new and the sun shining brightly. Today was equally special, for it was the day when Dai (Zeus) and his wife introduced their son Shi (Hercules) to their fellow gods. And so many of the gods answered the invitation, save for one who didn't even receive any news - the god of the underworld, Kristoph (Hades).
"Happy birthday son," Dai said with a calm smile as he took some cumulus and cirrus clouds, molded them for a moment and produced a baby pegasus (Miles) as a birthday gift. Shi seemed pleased and cuddled him happily.
While merriment was ongoing up above with the gods, a black flame erupted shortly before Kristoph stepped out of it, causing gods to hiss and boo and even attempt to throw an apple at him, which Kristoph nonchalantly burned to a crisp as he approached his brother.
"Congratulations on the new baby, big brother," Kristoph commended with a calm smile as he adjusted his glasses mysteriously.
Dai glared at him in a disapproving fashion, subconsciously moving in front of the cradle where Shi was napping. "What are you doing here Kristoph?" he asked tersely.
"Wondering why I never got an invitation to my nephew's first birthday. And here I though you valued family, brother," Kristoph answered calmly, smirking.
"Because I had no intention of inviting YOU," Dai answered flatly.
Kristoph, faking hurt, brought a hand to his chest and turned away. "I am hurt Dai. And here I thought we had patched up our rough relationship already," He supposed.
"As long as you are god of the underworld there is never going to be a clean slate between you and I."
This left Kristoph stunned but knew when to step down. Instead he gave a bow. "Then I concede this round to you brother. But I hope little Shi will grow up quickly," he said in a sinister fashion before bursting into flames in exit.
As the smoke cleared, the sound of Shi's crying shook Dai's thoughts away, turning to tend to ease his son's crying.
Down in the underworld, Kristoph was making his way back to his lair, passing through the river of lost souls on a boat being pulled by a skeleton. "Damn that Dai!" he hissed, fisting his palms as his body burst in momentary flames, immediately calming down the Cerberus that was just moments ago barking fiercely at the newcomer. After tossing a steak its way, Kristoph stepped out onto land as two devil minions, Dick (Pain) and Larry (Panic) walked up to him from both sides.
"I didn't call for you," Kristoph said firmly with a frown, his glasses glinting dangerously.
"Yeah Larry, he didn't call for us!" Dick accused, slapping Larry on the back accusingly.
"But you were the one who walked up to him first!" Larry complained.
"Enough. I can't hear myself think," Kristoph pointed out sharply, immediately slapping the two to roll away.
"You got it!" the two said, afraid to talk back.
As Kristoph advanced forward muttering incoherently to himself, he was suddenly struck with an idea. "THAT'S IT!" he exclaimed.
Jumping, the two devils turned to their leader cautiously. "S-Sir?" Dick bravely called out.
Kristoph rounded on the pair. "Dick, Larry. Follow me," he instructed before making his way towards an inner chamber. The pair looked at each other warily before complying and following.
Once they reached the chamber, what was inside was some green gas, holding a small bottle of suspicious, devilish- looking liquid.
"Dick, Larry, what makes a god, a god?" Kristoph suddenly asked.
"Uuuuuuh, awesome powers?" Dick tried.
"A glow!" Larry suggested.
Kristoph's eye twitched as he took the answers and quickly filtered them out. He couldn't risk getting angry. He needed them, after all. "Either way, the only we can kill a god... is to make them a mortal."
"You want to kill yourself?" Larry asked in panic.
"NO!" Kristoph boomed before swiping the small bottle and showed it to the pair. "We'll turn Shi into a mortal!"
"What for?" Dick asked.
"Because I want to see Dai in anguish. Of his son being so perfect and strong and... cute," Kristoph answered in spite.
The two devils blinked before grinning. "Are you maybe... jea-"
"No I am not! Now take this, swipe the boy, take him to earth and turn. Him. Mortal!" Kristoph interjected immediately, handing Dick the bottle.
"Right away!" the devils said before quickly bolting to prepare for their journey up to the heavens.
When night came and all were asleep, Dick and Larry sneak in and peeked into the room where Shi was sleeping with his Pegasus named Miles, cuddling close to the little winged horse.
After some argument of what to do, Dick moved to pry Miles from Shi while Larry attempted to pull the god child away. This ended up in causing a little ruckus - Dick pulled Miles apart to the point of rolling out of the crib and along the floor, while Larry consequently tugged on Shi's arm to wake him and cause him to cry.
"Quick, we have to go!" Larry hissed.
After throwing a heavy blanket over Miles to stop his tracks, Dick zoomed forward and carried Shi away with Larry as they departed heaven and flew down to earth.
This caused an uproar as Dai was woken up, and upon checking on his son's room, saw Miles just about to get himself free from the blanket before spotting the empty crib.
"!" This echoed out as Dick and Larry reached earth. They ended up mislanding, causing a slight roll down a hill before settling and Shi crying again.
"What do we do what do we dooo?" Larry asked in panic, shuffling around. "The baby's crying what are we going to do?"
"Would you relax? We have to give him this remember?" Dick reminded him, holding out the bottle and turning it into a sort of baby bottle. "Here you go, have some of this," he said, forcing it into the crying baby's mouth.
Immediately, Shi drank the contents and slowly, his glow was slowly diminishing.
"Look look, it's working!" Larry said in glee.
"Drink up kid," Dick reminded. "Every last drop," he coaxed.
Just when the bottle seemed to have run on empty, they heard a complaint nearby.
"Ah dammit. I spilled my coffee!"
"Quick, hide!" Dick hissed before he and Larry turned into snakes and attempted to slither away.
Shi saw this and pulled the bottle away, tossed it aside and pulled the two snakes to him to play with. The final drop of the potion sizzled away as the bottle shattered.
"...did tell you to stop drinking while pulling on the wagon," came the voice of a woman named Mia.
"Yeah but I can't help it," the man named Diego complained before hearing a giggling fit and shone the light towards the baby playing with the snakes.
What they were shocked to see was the baby was pounded them on the ground and tied them together before flinging them away as if it was nothing. They stared in disbelief before approaching the baby. Around the baby's neck was a pendant of the gods, and behind it, a name was inscribed: Shi. And so this couple took Shi into their humble abode, where they raised him despite his surprisingly god-like strength.
The good news was, Diego got some help running errands, and Mia had an easier time cleaning the house. As Shi grew, his super strength did not waver. When he was 16, he was pulling along the family cart of hay with his father and their donkey who was old and injured with so much ease they were going at lightning fast speed on their way to the market. Skidding to a stop and nearly causing Diego and their donkey a heart attack, Shi turned to them with a grin.
"So Pa, where do you want this?" Shi asked, taking the big stack of hay out of the cart.
Diego waved his hand. "Later Shi, I still need to talk to the guy over there for some more coffee beans," he instructed. "Just wait here by the cart," he added before moving to talk with a friend.
"Alright," Shi answered, setting the hay back onto the cart before sending the donkey up into the air, which Shi eventually caught, giving her a sheepish smile, gently settling her down. "Sorry about that."
To say the least it was a boring wait but the cart, and Shi was itching to do something. After all, he had been regarded too as a freak and there was hardly any way or form of interaction to spring forth on for Shi.
It wasn't until a discus came landing at his feet. He picked it up and spotted a few boys his age running to retrieve it. Eyes brightening, Shi held onto the discus. "Can I play?" he asked hopefully.
"Oh, uh... sorry, but we've already got enough players," Apollo answered, about to take the discus back.
"But there's only 3 of you," Shi reasoned out.
Apollo frowned before turning to his companions who shook their head fervently in response.
Groaning, he turned back to Shi. "Fine. But take it easy. Your freakish power is desctructive," he warned.
Shi nodded before running off to join them. It took a few throws and all seemed fine before the discus flew too high, causing Shi to chase after it. Eventually he caught it, subsequently knocking over a pillar that sent a domino-effect causing pillar after pillar to tumble down and destroy the entire marketplace.
Many complaints were raised before one of the men from the marketplace, Devon, walked up to Diego, flustered. "What's wrong with him?" he complained.
"Slow down he's just a boy," Diego defended.
"He's nothing but trouble!" a woman shrieked.
"He doesn't know his own strength," Diego said.
"Well then he better stay FAR away!" Devon warned. "He's a danger to society!"
Shi, crestfallen, lowered his gaze as Apollo swiped the discus from his hand. "Dork," he said before running away.
It was a sad trip back home. Shi felt the sting of being ridiculed by the cityfolk, and didn't want to talk about it and went off to do some thinking, skipping rocks along the ocean as he tried to figure things out. Finally, he returned to supper to his worried parents.
"Shi, I think it's time we had ourselves a talk," Diego began, sipping on some coffee.
"I just don't get it... I've got this super-human strength.. but it feels like I don't belong here," Shi said dismally.
Diego groaned and rubbed the back of his neck. "I think it's time you learned the truth son," he said, turning to Mia.
Mia glanced over to her husband before quietly leading Shi to their room where she retrieved and handed him something gold and shiny. "We found that pendant around your neck when we found you. It's a symbol of the gods," she explained.
Shi looked it over and saw his name engraved in the back. He suddenly got to his feet, struck with an idea. "That's it! I'll go to Parthenon and ask the gods!" he said animatedly. Without waiting for an answer, he went off to pack some clothes into a duffel bag and got ready for the long journey. After bidding his parents a farewell, he started the journey through the fields and mountains, locating his way to the Parthenon to seek some answers. It took him 2 days but he finally spotted the familiar establishment. Eagerly but cautiously, he approached the Parthenon and walked inside, approaching the statue of Dai.
"Almighty Dai... I have a question that I need an answer to," Shi began. "Everyone treats me like an outcast... Do I... really belong here?"
At first there was no response, but suddenly, a great lightning appeared from above as the statue began to move, eyes blinking open and staring down at the boy and smiling. Shi blinked before slowly staggering away when Dai spoke.
"My little Shi..." Dai said with a gentle smile before reaching out to grab him.
Letting out a yelp, Shi tried to run before Dai grabbed him. It took several attempts to contain him in his big stone hands. "Now then, after so many years this is how you greet your father?"
At this Shi peeked out from Dai's fist in disbelief. "My father?" he repeated.
Dai set Shi back down. "Yes," he started out proudly. "Didn't you ever wonder why you were so strong?" he asked. "You my boy, are my son!"
"If I'm your son then that makes me a..." Shi began.
"A god~" Dai answered.
"A god...A GOD?" Shi asked, information slowly seeping in but unable to process any of it. Taking a few moments, he turned to Dai anxiously. "Wait... if I'm a god.. then why am I here on earth? Didn't you love me?" he asked forlornly.
"Of course we did son. But someone stole you and turned you mortal, but not quite if you still have your strength. Then a semblance of a god still exists inside of you," Dai explained.
"Then isn't that enough?" Shi asked.
"No, I'm afraid not," Dai said sadly. "To become a god, one must become MORE than a man.
Become the people's hero," he suggested.
"But they hate me!" Shi complained, gesturing to the city.
"Yes, but in danger, they might come to adore you~" Dai chided. "But you need to toughen up a bit. Seek out Phoenix, he'll help you out. And oh, before I forgot!" Whistling, a neigh and a bright light later, Miles, all grown up, appears. "You remember Miles?"
"Miles?" Shi asked for a moment before Miles nuzzled up to him, going so far as a lick. "Ooooh, Miles~" Shi said in recognition, hugging the pegasus happily before climbing onto Miles. "I'll go find Phoenix, be a hero, become a god and come back with you. That right, dad?" he asked.
Dai nodded. "Good luck son," he said, taking Miles and giving a giant breath to lead them in the right direction before Dai molded back into the unmoving statue.
So Shi and Miles set off. They find themselves reaching a neck of the woods somewhat foggy but all the same, unsettling. Some lady-creatures were talking amongst themselves, giggling while Phoenix was stalking them, grinning eagerly in content.
"I just realized... how the heck are we looking for this Phoenix character?" Shi asked Miles who merely snorted in response. Spotting the backside of what he thought was a boar, Shi approached it and pulled him out from the bushes. "Stuck there?" he asked. Upon pulling it out, it turned out to be a satyr.
Phoenix was perplexed. "What the behind kid!" he complained, causing the ladies to run away and Phoenix, pissed and desperate. "Heeeeeeey waiiiiit!" he cried before giving up and sighing before turning sharply to Shi in silent accusation.
"Do you know anyone named Phoenix?" Shi asked.
"Call me Nick~" he answered.
"Glad I didn't look that far!" Shi said brightly, taking his hand and shook it, harder than intended before letting go.
Phoenix looked at his squeezed hand before blowing and waving it around. "So what do you want kid?"
"I need a trainer. To help me become a hero," Shi proposed.
This caused Phoenix to scoff. "A hero? You?"
"I can prove it, here," Shi said, looking around before jogging up to a part of a huge statue and flung it away like a discus.
Phoenix found himself at a loss for words. He began muttering to himself about coming up with any regiments before slapping himself. "What am I thinking?" he said before turning around. "Forget it, find someone else," he expressed.
"But why?" Shi asked, following after him.
"I don't do that kind of thing anymore," Phoenix answered before glancing over to Miles and stiffly turned away.
"I really need your help here Nick. If I don't become a hero, I can't rejoin my father Dai," Shi reasoned out, gesturing to the sky.
Phoenix stopped before turning to Shi skeptically. "Wait. You're saying your dad... is Dai. The big, lightning bolt guy?" he asked.
"Yes," Shi answered firmly.
This caused Phoenix to burst out laughing nervously. "Well if you put it that way... then I guess-" Before he finished what he was saying, a lightning bolt erupted from the sky, fizzing the spot just beside Phoenix as he jumped away. Glaring at the sky, Phoenix waved his fist. "I WAS GOING TO SAY YES!" he roared.
"Really?" Shi asked in spite.
"It'll take a lot of work but fine. Let's get started~" Phoenix said, nodding.
"I won't let you down Nick," Shi swore before celebrating with Miles.
And so the tedious 5-year training begun. From preparing the arena for their training to various methods of saving a damsel to exercises to build his muscles, Phoenix, Miles and Shi underwent a tedious process preparing Shi for the hero life. At first he showed finesse and skill, but it wasn't surprising that he was careless, leading to Phoenix's quips throughout the years:
"Rule #41: Aim!"
"Rule #2: Keep your damsel safe!"
"Rule #67: Straighten your posture!"
"Rule #39: Duck!"
"Rule #10: Don't get me invooooooolved!"
Eventually, Shi's training paid off, his muscles and senses bigger and sharper, his build eye-catching and toned. With Phoenix's approval, they flew off on Miles to Thebes to attempt to win the crowd over. But during their travel and Phoenix was reminding Shi about his rules about being a good hero, Shi heard a fuss and redirected them down to the mog.
"What's the deal?" Phoenix complained.
"DiD," Shi answered, pointing at the unfolding scene ahead of them as soon as they landed.
By the lake, a centaur named Daryan was manhandling a beautiful blonde.
"Let me go Daryan!" Klavier said in spite, trying to pull his arm away from Daryan's otherwise strong grip.
"What's wrong Klavi? Outgrew me already?" Daryan sleezed with a smirk.
"Okay Shi, just like we talked about. You need to-" Phoenix instructed before stopping, realizing the lack of Shi beside him. Miles pointed a hoof towards the scene that Shi was approaching. This caused Phoenix to facepalm.
"Hey, put him down," Shi told Daryan with a glare.
"And who're you supposed to be?" Daryan scoffed, glancing at the boy.
Klavier winced from the grip before turning to Shi. "It's just a misunderstanding. We'll be fine," he told him nervously.
"But you seem to be in trouble," Shi reasoned out.
"Trust me, I'm fine," Klavier told him.
Unconvinced, Shi stepped forward and held his ground. "I suggest you set him down or I may just roughen you up."
"Oh really pipsqueak? What are you gonna do about it?" Daryan challenged.
Shi turned to Klavier. "Do I have your permission to beat the crap out of him?" he asked.
Klavier blinked. "If you can, sure..." he answered.
Shi nodded. "Thank you," he said with a smile before stomping on Daryan's hoof, effectively causing the centaur to cry out, dropping Klavier. As soon as the chance opened itself up, Shi proceeded to completely outsmart and overpower the centaur into submission, leaving quite a few bruises while he was at it.
Klavier watched in surprise as Shi was putting Daryan down to the point of him whimpering.
Then again, what would you expect from a boy wonder? He walked up to Shi afterwards and smiled. "I didn't get your name..." he said softly.
"It's Shi," the muscular one answered. "Just doing what I can to make sure you don't get handled carelessly like that."
"I DID say you didn't need to," Klavier insisted.
"It was my pleasure," Shi said with a goofy smile. "What's your name?"
"Klavier," the blonde answered.
"Okay okay, break it up. Let's go, we've got a meeting at Thebes remember?" Phoenix reminded, cutting in before they could converse further, pushing a smitten Shi onto Miles before they flew away.
Klavier watched as the flew away before sighing.
"Well?" a voice asked as Kristoph materialized.
"Daryan's hard-headed. You expected him to sway even if I talked with him?" Klavier asked pointedly.
"He's talked so much about you, what was I supposed to think?" Kristoph answered coolly. "So? Did you get him to join our cause?"
"No."
"...Why not?"
"A dreamboy came to rescue me," Klavier said with a smile. "His name was Shi~"
This caused Kristoph to pause, cheek twitching. "What?"
"Shi," Klavier answered smoothly, causing Kristoph to flare up angrily.
"Shi.. Shi.. Shi..." Larry said, pacing around. "Why does that ring a bell?"
"Sounds like a dimsum or something..."
"No no no, I'm sure it's a name of someone..." Larry insisted.
"...It's not the name of that kid we were..." Dick trailed off, paling as they felt an intense heat approaching them.
"Dick... Larry... Didn't I give you specific instructions to GET RID of that boy?" Kristoph bellowed heatedly.
Dick and Larry turned into worms. "We're sorry!" they apologized excessively.
Klavier overheard this but didn't pay too much attention to it. He had nothing to do with it after all. But Kristoph wasn't going to let him get away with it so easily.
"So Klavi, I have a new assignment for you since you failed to recruit Daryan," the bespectacled god began, moving back up to the blonde.
Klavier rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "What?" he asked.
"Get close to Shi. Find his weakness and report to me as soon as you find out," Kristoph instructed.
"And if I refuse?"
"Consider you thread of life cut," Kristoph said darkly. "I can ask The Von Karmas to cut it this instant if you don't return my favor of saving your friend."
"That you mercilessly turned into a centaur!" Klavier said heatedly.
"Now now it was his fault for touching he forbidden fruit to begin with," Kristoph corrected.
Klavier glared but said nothing in rebuttal.
"So, we're decided. You help me find that kid's weakness. If you do that, you're free," he coaxed further.
Klaiver begrudgingly nodded.
Kristoph nodded before turning to the devil pair. "I have a little job for you two," he said, pulling them away to scheme.
In Thebes it was a different story. Upon Shi and Phoenix's arrival, there was still the ridicule and overall ignorance from the people. After all, who would believe someone going: "I want to be a hero!" in the middle of the crowd? Certainly not Tyrell. He snubbed Shi and Phoenix as he passed them by... Until thy recognized Phoenix. "Say... aren't you Nick?" Tyrell asked languidly when he spotted the satyr.
"Yeah, what's it to you?"
"So you finally came outta hiding did you?" Tyrell asked in a sneer as he called over some people.
"I thought you didn't want to show your face again after Achilles' mishap," Maggie jeered, resulting in a series of laughter from the crowd.
Shi frowned at this abuse. "You should stop picking on the poor guy," he said bravely.
"And what's it to you...wannabe?" Tyrell scoffed.
"I'm Shi. And Nick's made of stronger stuff than you'll ever live up to be," Shi mocked.
"Say that again?"
Before any further confrontation could break out, another voice was calling out through the crowd.
"SOMEONE! WILL ANYONE PLEASE COME AND HELP!" Klavier peeked out in the crowd.
"Hey, isn't that Klavier?" Shi identified over to Phoenix.
Phoenix huffed. "Leave him alone alright Shi? No good is gonna come if you end up heading back to-"
Miles neighed before pointing his hoof over to Shi walking up to Klavier in distress.
"Ay yay yay..." Phoenix muttered with a shake of his head.
"Klavier?" Shi called out.
"Shi! It's you!" Klavier identified as he moved up to him.
"What's wrong?"
"Some boys. They were in the gorge when a landslide let a boulder fall in. They can't get out and they're suffocating," Klavier answered, flustered.
"Show me the way," Shi answered before he even consulted with Phoenix.
Soon everyone followed after Klavier and Shi, interest piqued but at the same time skeptical of how Shi would handle the situation.
Two cries from the boys stuck under a huge boulder.
"Help help help! We're dying!"
"Save us!"
"Right there," Klavier instructed, pointing at the boulder before moving aside.
Shi walked up to the boulder and peeked in the crack. "Are you two okay?" he asked.
A cough later, both boys nodded. "Save us, mister!" one of them cried out.
"Just hang on, I'll save you," Shi said before bracing himself and heaved against the boulder and threw it away, to some small, forced cheers.
"Meh, so what?" Tyrell muttered, unimpressed.
"Thanks mister!" one of the boys said with a grin before running off with his friend.
"Shi... Shi get out of there!" Phoenix called out as he shuddered, getting a very bad feeling suddenly.
Shi blinked before they heard a distinct growl from the cave that the boulder was apparently blocking. What appeared was a Hydra that stared down menacingly at Shi who was in its immediate path. "Uh... Nick?" Shi called out.
"YOUR SWORD! GRAB YOUR SWORD!" Phoenix shouted in suggestion.
Shi grabbed his sword from its hilt and pulled it out to use in combat against the huge creature.
It reigned terror as Shi furrowed his brow, wondering what to do and for the meantime, avoided the attacks.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING? ATTACK HIM!" Phoenix called out. "HACK HIM! STAB HIM! SOMETHING!"
Shi rolled away before taking a moment to glan/ce over to Phoenix. "If you said so," he muttered before complying with his trainer's suggestion and started slicing. This, admittedly, resulted in the regeneration of heads. "Any other bright ideas?"
"Erm... quit it with the hacking and do something else," Phoenix tried.
"I am LOVING this~" Kristoph said happily from his little space sampling some wine.
"How'd we do Mister Kristoph?" Larry asked hopefully.
"Good, good," Kristoph answered nonchalantly, waving a hand airily. "Now shut up so I can watch the carnage."
Shi wondered what to do before he decided to throw his sword towards the cliff as hard as he could manage, resulting in a crack towards the top. Expecting something to happen, Shi frowned and saw that his plan didn't work.
"Come on kid, finish it!" Phoenix urged.
Shi looked around for a rock big and strong enough to do the needed damage. After shuffling around and avoiding the heads, he finally found one and, taking enough aim, threw it towards the sword, piercing it deeper into the cliffs, finally making the rocks crumble and fall, landing smack down on the Hydra, effectively killing it. People erupted into a wide cheer at the Hydra's defeat. At that point, they praised Shi and brought him up to the status of a hero as he became an on-call savior to problems and monsters alike... most of them minions of Kristoph that seem to just fail miserably at every intesection. His stardom and drastic boost from zero to hero brought him fame beyond belief. Even Phoenix leeched off the attention, if only to get his share of the limelight.
But after a while, Shi didn't find it all that interesting, fed up with the fangirls and such that stood idly by just outside his palace's gates - yeah they gave him one. He just wanted to get away, and that included getting away from Phoenix and Miles for a little bit. If Shi didn't know any better, those two were spending way too much time together for his taste. To be honest, he shuddered at the thought. In fact, the pair of them were missing, which gave Shi the chance to sneak away. Which he did.
"Going somewhere?" Klavier called out as soon as he saw Lang sneaking out from the palace.
Shi blinked. "Klavier...?" he identified in surprise.
Klavier smiled. "Look at you... after several successful battles against different creatures, you're at the top of the food chain... Just like you wanted I guess?" he asked wistfully.
"Not really. What Phoenix wanted, actually," Shi corrected.
Klavier raised an eyebrow, surprised. "Really? For a minute I thought that you were after the prestige..."
"Well, I wanted to do this to... get closer with my father," Shi explained. "But there's something else I've been looking for..." he said before moving up beside Klavier before they started a walk around the fountain.
"And what's that...?" Klavier asked curiously, averting his gaze.
"Love," Shi answered honestly.
Klavier blinked and promptly blushed before turning away. "R-Really? Anyone I know?" he asked, playing with his hair as they walked.
"Yes."
"Who?"
"...You."
At this, Klavier's eyes blinked, confused. "What...? But we just met. So how could I-"
"Love's like that, isn't it?" Shi interjected, stopping and turning his full attention to Klavier, reaching out, about to take his hand but hesitated. "We don't understand it, but it just happens."
Klavier nodded, smiling sheepishly. "Yes..." he answered. "It is, isn't it? Transcending anything and everything..."
Shi nodded. "Very much~" Taking a step forward, he smiled and leaned forward to kiss Klavier.
Before their lips could even graze, lights of alarm that shone on them as Phoenix and Miles appeared.
"BREAK IT UP BREAK IT UP!" Phoenix cried in a serious tone, followed by a snort of disapproval from Miles.
Shi frowned and turned to the two creatures, frowning. "Hey, I don't stop you two from making out," he said pointedly.
Phoenix choked nervously, dropping the lamp he was holding before frowning. "That's not true!" he rebutted.
"Sure, deny it," Shi said with a roll of his eyes.
"I-It's fine," Klavier answered taking a step back. "I should get going anyway," he said off-handedly.
"But Klavier-" Shi began.
"You heard the boy, leave him alone," Phoenix said. "Come on Shi, we've got some training to do," he said distractedly.
"Then leave US alone," Shi said instead, pulling Klavier to him.
Miles actually considered that and ran off with Phoenix bouncing on his back.
Klavier and Shi blinked at this before turning to one another cautiously.
Just before anything else could happen, Klavier suddenly cried out, clutching at his chest as he felt a sharp pain. "AAAAAGH!"
"Klavier!" Shi said in a panic.
An applause slowly broke out as a flame burst open. "Well done Shi!" Kristoph cried as Klavier fell to his knees in pain, Shi supporting him.
"What did you do to him?" Shi demanded.
Feigning hurt, Kristoph adjusted his glasses. "What makes you think I did anything?" he asked.
"You came at a very convenient time. How couldn't you have anything to do with it?" Shi scoffed. "Now what happened?"
"Nothing. Just that... he's... dying," Kristoph answered.
"What?"
"The Von Karma's are about to cut his string at any moment. The thread that keeps him alive," Kristoph explained.
"No! Don't do it!"
"I'm afraid I've got my hands tied. I can't tell them what to do," Kristoph answered smoothly.
And in that next moment, Klavier stopped moving.
Shi turned to Klavier. "Klavier? Klavier!" he cried out, shaking the blonde.
"He's dead," Kristoph confirmed.
"HOW DO I GET HIM BACK?"
"Do you really want to waste your time with getting him back?" Kristoph asked.
Shi glared and grabbed Kristoph by the collar. "How. Do. I. Get. Him. BACK?" he demanded.
"Easy easy, I get it. I'll tell you how," Kristoph said with a smirk. "But it won't be easy. You'll have to come down to the underworld to try and get back his soul... swimming through the river of souls..." he described.
"I don't care. Take me there. NOW," Shi insisted.
Kristoph shrugged. "I tried," he said with a shrug before snapping his fingers to send them down to the Underworld.
Reaching the place, Shi looked around before spotting the river swimming with lost souls.
"You jump in, you risk dying," Kristoph answered.
Shi stared at the river for a long time before jumping in.
"Oh hey he jumped in," Larry pointed out.
"Goodbye god boy!" Dick greeted, waving as he left.
The Von Karmas, Manfred and Franziska, were holding a string ready as Shi was swimming
into the river. Shi swam deeper and deeper into the river, spotting Klavier's soul driving further and further, his mortal body growing older and older as he reached out to grab hold of Klavier's soul.
"Cut it," Manfred instructed, holding out the thread as Franziska held up the scissors and was about to cut it before the string turned gold and unable to be cut. "Well?"
"It's not cutting!" Franziska exclaimed after multiple attempts of failing.
Kristoph's eyes widened when he saw the gold glow rising from the depths of the river, Shi bathed in it as he climbed out holding Klavier's soul in his arms. "...That's... impossible..."
"He's a god again?" Dick and Larry cried out in surprise.
"Shi...come on, I helped you right?" Kristoph tried before he was promptly punched by Shi who wordlessly glared and headed back to where Klavier was. Miles and Phoenix, surprisingly, were waiting to pick him up.
"Need a lift..?" Phoenix asked shyly as Miles neighed.
The ride back to where Klavier was lying limp was swift. Upon getting there, Shi lowered the soul onto him before seeing his body color slightly and the eyes finally opening as a breath escaped the blonde.
"S-Shi..." Klavier said with a sigh, smiling gently up at him.
Shi smiled in return and pulled Klavier into a hug. "I thought I lost you..." he said in panic, holding him close.
"You didn't do this for me did you?" Klavier asked.
"I went through near death to save you... Transcending anything and everything, remember?" Shi reminded him with a smile.
Klavier chuckled and nodded slowly.
Just before they managed a kiss, a thunderous roar sounded as Kristoph arrived. "One last test for you Shi! Let's see what you can REALLY do!" he cried before riding off to release the Titans and mock his brother and the gods while he was at it.
"You better go," Klavier said, pulling away from the god.
"I won't be long," Shi said before heading off to stop the rampage. Jumping onto Miles to join in the crusade, the release of the Titans brought with it an intense battle to follow. It took the combined effort and acknowledgment of the return of Shi's god status did they find a way to charge at the battle and together, defeated the Titans once and for all. All havoc that was made was similarly undone, and the great panic quickly shifted to that of great cheer; both at the resolution of the chaos and of Shi's newfound status.
Just at the gates of Mount Olympus, Dai and his wife stood at the edge of the stairs and embraced their son.
"Dad..." Shi said, the embrace long and cherished before he pulled away.
"Welcome home son," Dai said with a warm smile. "You can come back with us again," he coaxed.
"I... appreciate the offer but... If I can... I want to stay here..." Shi began, moving to Klavier who was standing there with mixed emotions. Taking hold of his hand, he turned to Dai. "I know before I asked of where I belonged... but I think I found my place... and that's here on Earth with Klavier," he decided.
Dai stared at him for a while before slowly nodding. "Your true love for him... Your desire to save him was what gave you back your god powers. So you decide what you do with what life we have given you."
"Thank you," Shi said with a smile before turning his full attention to Klavier and finally -finally- gave him an overdue kiss.
And the crowd - both gods and humans - rejoices and celebrated at this union, to which everyone agreed was the best scenario if it meant everyone's happiness. Phoenix and Miles ended up together, and Diego and Mia were relocated closer to where Shi was to keep a closer eye on him. And Klavier was finally free from debt and lived a happy life with Shi for the rest of forever.
-END-
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