Chapter 29: Asking Questions

Ex's POV

I was injured, but I didn't care. After seeing Zed bite the dust, I just wanted it all to end. I looked over at what was left of him. "Zed… His memory chip was crushed. Even if we were to repair him, he would no longer carry the memories that rested in him for all this time. *sob* Zed… He was as much of a family member to me as Ess was. Now, she's the only one left… First, my wife… then Zed… I don't wanna lose anyone else. Is my life just destined to be full of despair? *continued sobbing*" I cried and cried… Everybody there witnessed my emotional suffering. That is, except for Dave, he was not awake. "E-Ex…" Yui came over and wrapped her arms around me. "Y-Yui…?" I stopped my crying. "I… feel sympathetic for you. I don't have a real family to take care of me, it's rough. Zed... he must have made you happy for years." "Y-yeah, he did… but now he's gone…" "You're a parent, right? Could you take me in?" "A-as an… adopted child? I-I don't know…" "You need more family love in your life, I could give that to you… as a daughter. When you protected me from harm, I felt something that I didn't feel before." "A-are you sure that's good for me, Yui?" "Certainly. I won't just be some replacement either. What do you say?" I thought of my answer before speaking with certainty. "I… suppose. You're lonely too, so this could work out for both us of." I stood up, feeling emotionally stable once more. "So, you'll take me in?" "Yeah, Yui. From here on out, I'll be your dear father. Now, there's still the one issue with Dave... he's not waking up. He's probably in a coma…" I inspected his body. "Ex." I heard Satan call my name. "S-Satan… what is it?" I wondered as we went to a spot alone. "The way that Dave transformed in the first place, I could tell that it wasn't natural. I sensed it. Do you know what might have happened, regarding that bit?" He asked me. "Well… how do I say this without pissing anyone off?" I paused. "Hm?" Satan began looking at me suspiciously. "Did you do something to him?!" "Well, yes… but…" "But what?! Spit it out already, Ex!" "*sigh* Okay…" I explained to him what went on, about Ecolo giving me this odd energy to place into Dave. I also told him about the questions that I would ask the shadowy figure later. "Ecolo, huh? He must have deceived you…" "But... I just don't get it, Satan… WHY would he do it? Even if there was some motive to it, I wouldn't know what that could be." "There must be a reason to it all… and we're going to find out what it is." He walked away to see Arle.

I looked back at Dave and sighed. "There must be a way to wake him up…" I crossed my arms. "Ex, I know a way to wake him, because he did it when I was in a coma!" Draco heard and came up to me. "W-what? So there is a way? How is it done, Draco?" I wanted her to tell me. "Fuck… uuuuum… It's really hard for me to say how. He just kinda concentrated and entered into my mind with a specific power, back then. It also doesn't help that I forgot some details associated with it." She told me. "I need to focus, huh? You know… I've heard of a power that allows your mind to enter in someone else's unconscious mind. I think I COULD do that… I dunno. I won't know until I try it, so thanks, Draco." I complimented her. I took a deep breath, then focused my mind like a monk. And then, it felt very weird to me. My brain's consciousness was like half and half, then part of me was in a black void. "Where am I?" I questioned to myself. "Help me, somebody… I'm in pain…" I heard his voice. "D-Dave? Where are you, buddy?" I called out to. I didn't get any direct responses from him, only silence filled the void. He started to moan inaudibly a minute or two later. I couldn't hear a single word or phrase out from it. The only thing that I thought of doing at that point was following the sound.

I walked for a while, the sound eventually became clearer and closer as well. "Ringo, Ex, Satan, anybody… free me, please…" I heard him say. I saw him at long last, restrained by heavy chains, making his body hang around. "*gasp* Dave!" I approached where he was shackled and pulled on the chains. "Hrrr! Hrrrrrrr! … Shit, no luck. ... Hm… I wonder…" I thought about something over for a bit. Can I use my new dragon armor in here? "No use in thinking about it more than I need to… Rah!" I engaged it, then tried my luck against them for a second round. "Hrrrrrrrrrr! Come… ooooooooon! Hiiiiiiiirrrrrrrrrr- Raaaah!" Finally, one of them broke. I still had three others to deal with. "Jesus… those things are a bitch to remove…" I commented while losing my breath. It was a slow process, but I finally freed Dave from the chains. "... Why isn't he waking up now?" I wondered. "Hm… Maybe smacking him in the face will be just what the doctor ordered. I'd hate to do this to Dave of all people, but I did all of this work. There's no way that I'll back down now!" *smack smack* "C'mon…!" *smack smack smack* "*groan*" "! Dave…!" I shook him. "Oooooooh… God that hurt like a bitch… AGH-!" Dave felt his most recent mental pain from me slapping him around. "What the fuck is this OTHER pain I'm feeling?!" He yelped. "Dave, relax… You're in good hands now." "E-Ex, is that you…? In yellow dragon armor? W-wait… aren't we in…?" "Your subconscious? Yes." "This is just like what happened when I got Draco out of her coma… BUT WAIT! That means-!" "Yeah, you got into a coma after you had transformed into the dragon of demons." "So then, what happened to the count? Is everyone alright?!" "My friend, calm down… It was mostly me that was injured." ""Mostly" you? So, other people did get hurt as well…"

Dave's POV

Ex reluctantly told me the fate that Zed ended up with, a while after Vyle died to me. "I can't believe it… Zed is just gone and it's all my fault, Ex..." "No Dave, this whole thing was MY fault. I was the reason why you aged back to seventeen and became a dragon. Ecolo contacted me directly in my mind. Call it… telepathy, if you will. He said that I needed to be a conduit for that strange energy of his… all so that I could send it into you. He couldn't send it directly, which was why he "used" me, I assume. He explained that it was to stop Vyle once and for all, but he didn't mention that you would go berserk in this way. This tells me that he had a motive behind this action, but I have NO clue what it could be. And because he didn't tell me that… I didn't know at first that you were in an uncompleted state as a dragon. You following me, kid?" "It's a little complex, but I think I get it. Basically, we need to ask questions to Ecolo and get the answers we seek." "Riiiight. First though, we need to get you outta here, Dave." "Yeah, I'd resent being in my own subconscious for way longer than I wish. Let's go, Ex." We walked around until the shining of light appeared. "Ah-! There's our one-way ticket to freedom!" I pointed. "After you, man." He smiled to me. We entered the light and there, I was back to consciousness. "Dave, you there?" I heard Ex's voice ring. "Yeah, looks like I'm back…" I said.

Looking around, I see my friends and such, all happy I pulled through. "Dave, you were hella crazy as a dragon." Lemres said to me. "I could only watch as you had absurd power. Again... IT MAKES ME JEALOUS!" Schezo admitted in irritation. "Gee, thanks for that insight… like I couldn't tell otherwise…" I talked sarcastically. "You absolute-! Nevermind. It's YOUR fault the Sword of Darkness broke. Fuck all of this, I am leaving to go back home..." He gave up and left, with Lemres coming after him for some reason. I looked at the sky, then stared at my cell phone. It was quite late to my realization. "God, it's that time already?" I sighed. The girls I had loved came to me with open arms, I didn't expect to see Draco though. "D-Draco! You're here?" I stuttered. "Yeah. Satan brought me here, along with Arle. Anyhow, I'm happy that you're still you." She smiled. "As am I." Feli nodded. "Me too." Ringo followed last. I smiled back, then the girls giggled and hugged me. I had a warm, fuzzy feeling in that short moment. It was… pleasant. "Dave, take my hand. We're going to the farthest edge of spacetime. Satan, you grab on as well." Ex told us. "W-wait, what's going on, Ex?" Ringo lost her smile. "Ringo, this is something that us, as a trio, have to do. We'll be back soon enough." He replied to her. I took Ex's hand, as did Satan. "Hold on, that doesn't answer my quest-!" I heard her bring up before we disappeared from sight.

Ringo's POV

"What the hell? We get Dave back, then Ex just takes him and Satan to that goddamn edge in spacetime without explaining why." I complained. "Uh… what?" Feli didn't know what I was referring to. Draco seemed to be just as clueless about it. "Girls-" I spoke before getting interrupted. "Where did my newfound father go?" Yui looked concerned. "F-father? What do you mean, Yui?" I asked her. "Ex. He accepted me as an adopted child a little bit ago. He took Dave and Satan off somewhere, will they be back?" She wondered. "Uh yeah... he himself said that they would be back soon." I told her. "I still want to know where they went off to." She pried. "*sigh* Alright, I'll tell you… but you won't know what this place is. And just to tell ALL of you beforehand, you can't just get to this place by conventional means." I laid it down. "Why not?" Feli asked me. "Because, Ex is the only one here that is able to freely travel there and back. Anyway, this place… "the farthest edge of spacetime" is basically the edge of the universe. Supposedly, nothing else from this world and Suzuran exists beyond that boundary. I dunno whether it's true or not… but that's not important. Ex used to be the "Keeper of Dimensions" who resided at the edge. The keeper's job is simple to understand, but hard to manage. Keeping aspects of multiple dimensions separated from each other." I stopped my words for any incoming questions. "R-Ringo, why does the keeper need to do that? What would happen if they didn't?" Draco threw out. "Remember the oddities that happened a couple of years ago or so, Draco? We saw you out around the constellations in space at that time." I went to remind her. "Hm… ... … OH! I remember now, yeah. So I guess the keeper's actions prevent that weirdness from popping off." She came to the conclusion. "In a nutshell." I nodded. "I do remember the weirdest things happening in Primp Town… yeah. I didn't seem like myself at the time." Feli recalled. "I wasn't around then, and Yu seemed to not know anything about this… because I don't have memories of her experiencing that. *sigh*" Yui was quite lost in this. "So Ringo, do ya know why they would go to that place?" Draco scratched her head. "Not any specific reason I can think of… this kinda just came outta left field. Either way, all we can do is wait, girls." I answered.

Dave's POV

We traveled through dimensions in a way that differed from how I usually get around. Along the way, I saw floating pieces of destroyed ground. Whatever wasn't wrecked, was part of a long, winding, and disjointed pathway. This is actually what we landed on soon after seeing it. "This path will take us to the edge. I would have made godspeed for it with my dimensional power, but it's drained heavily if I do that for prolonged time." Ex said. "This place hasn't changed much since I've first seen it. Don't know whether to call that a good or bad thing…" Satan commented. "Yeeeeeah… that's part of the reason why I'll never miss this place, Satan. Look at how remote and empty this area is. Dave, this is your first time here, isn't it?" He shifted the talk over to me. "Yes… I'm beginning to REALLY see how much you wanted a normal life after being keeper, Ex." I told him. "*sigh* I still find it crazy that I was able to sustain sanity here for so long. Making Ecolo the current keeper was one of the best things to ever happen to me. But… now I have concerns in my mind…" He said. "I don't blame you, we both know that he can be quite… deceptive." Satan said. "We should get going, we can't have our friends wait on us forever." I insisted. They nodded and we doubled-down on getting to the edge quickly. Some time later, Ex notified us that we were close. "Almost there…" He had let us know. "... I wasn't expecting this path to be a trek and a half…" I wheezed. "Last time I came... I just made a portal from the Tetra, to this place with Ecolo. Ex was still the keeper when we created that." Satan mentioned. "Well, where is this portal now? We could have used it to get here." I wondered. "I don't know… I'm not sure if anyone knows." He scratched the side of his head with a finger. "The portal just vanished one day, and I'm also unsure of where it is." Ex re-established. "Then I think it's safe to assume that the portal has been gone for a while… Forget it, we need to get to the bottom of this!" I ran on ahead. "H-hey! Wait up, Dave!" Satan hollered. There we were, at the farthest edge of spacetime. I finally saw the figure that Ringo described to me for myself, Ecolo. "Ecolo!" Ex got the shadow's attention. "Ex, what brings you here?" He drooled. "I-is that... drool?" I squinted. "Dave, I've seen you with Ringo. So, lemme ask you… is she the girl of your dreams?" He tossed. "What…? I don't see how that's relevant. Ecolo, we have questions for you… well, Ex does…" I told him. "Fess up, you knew that Dave would ravage everything and not just Vyle! You didn't tell me so that this "plan" could come to fruition, isn't that right?!" He yelled at him. "Yeah, we know you too well, Ecolo! What was your reason for doing that?!" Satan followed up with.

This had upset Ecolo a little and made him frustrated. "Seriously, Ex? *sigh* Could you NOT tell that my words to you were genuine? If that's what you think, fine. But please believe in me, guys. I had no reason to make Dave go out of control. Heck, I didn't even know that this would play out like that…" His response actually sounded true. "Ex, Satan, I think he's telling us the truth." I spoke. "Huh?! What makes you say that? How can you possibly trust him, Dave?!" Ex moved his arms around in accordance to his speech. "Ex, I can just kind of tell whether people lie or not. It's like… second nature. I get this feeling in the back of my head. Call it instinct, I guess… Regardless though, I trust what Ecolo is saying." I stood firm. "Aaaah... that's why I trust you to save everyone and everything, Dave. Your brain, although not the smartest around… can make legendary judgment calls." He complimented me. "Uh… thank you…?" I went along with. "So then… you truly only wanted the count to be stopped?" Satan asked the shadow. "Of course, silly old man! It's all because he was a powerful pawn of an even more powerful dimensional force." He replied. "You're still insisting that these guys are going to attack us?" I questioned. "Ah, so you've heard from Ringo… about her "vision" with talking to me." He figured out. "Wait… what vision is he talking about, Dave?" Ex asked me. Satan seemed curious too, so I told them both. "Well…" I went ahead and described what Ringo mentioned with her going through that. "Another power has yet to manifest, and these things are supposed to be dimensional?" Satan was puzzled. "Yeah… Speaking of which, Ecolo. Have you dug out more info surrounding these pansy powerhouses?" I asked. "Not really, sorry. I promise you though, as soon as I know what we're dealing with… I'll give you a vision, Dave. I do have solid faith in you, boy. Your power is flashy, cool, and AWESOME! Hoooo. It's good to kinda be yourself again, even as brief as this. I know that I sure like being eccentric! I'll be honest, this "adult" responsibility is not fun. I wanna have fun and shit, ya know? But, I do realize that Ex wanted me here for... reasons, and I'll respect them. Just as something random, could you maybe touch me for a second, Dave?" He asked from me. "Uh… sure?" I complied.

I felt his body and my fingers glided along. "You're silky smooth… and there's not any natural oil or whatnot." I noticed. "This is what crossing dimensional boundaries does to you. You kinda just turn into how I look. Also, your finger stroking around there is- pffff- tickling me." He told me. I retracted my hand without a second thought after that. "S-sorry." I jumped. "Hahahaha! You really are too kind, man. You seem like the guy that never wants to invade personal space or privacy of others. Anyway... Ringo wants you back, I can feel it. You should get going before it becomes late." He winked. I nodded to him and turned around. "Well, you heard him, let's go back." I told my fellows. "I… guess." Ex was a bit hesitant. "*sigh* Sure… I want to see how Arly's been holding up. It looked like her body was not entirely in it for the possession." Satan felt worried. We waved goodbye to Ecolo, then made it back to Primp's forest with dimensional travel. "Dave!" Feli saw me return. "Feli, hey! Where's Ringo?" I asked her. "She left a while ago, back to Suzuran. She was tired of waiting for you and just wanted to go back. We sent her through so that she could." She replied. "Father!" Yui snuggled Ex. "Jeez, you're already attached to me, aren't you? *chuckle*" He was surprised. "Arle, are you here?" Satan called for. "Draco took her back home, she was still not awake when I last saw her, Satan." Yui mentioned to him. "I see. I'll go then, see you whenever we do meet again, Dave." He waved and flew off. "Alright... I'll take you to your new home, Yui." Ex told her. "Father, I need to get my clothes and junk." She said to him. "Oh... Then go to where they're at and pack up." He said. "C'mon, Yui. I'll take you back to my place, so you can do that." Feli grabbed her hand. "Okay!" She nodded. Those two left without another hitch. "Huh… where's Tee at?" Ex scratched his head. "He's probably paying respect to Zed off somewhere else…" I assumed. Amitie and my other classmates seemed to be gone too. This means, the only ones left here were me, Ex, Rulue, Witch, and Accord. "Why aren't you going home, Dave?" Ex wondered. The other three were just as stumped about my inclusion here. "*sigh* We all need to talk here… about the new looming threat." I fully insisted. They all nod to me and we sit down for this crucial discussion.

The talk of these dimensional beings was one we couldn't ignore, at least, I felt that it could not be. "Ex, have you ever encountered other dimensional beings, outside of Ecolo?" I questioned him. "No… as far as I know, me and him are the only ones. But of course, he essentially said that there are others like us." He answered. "Okay… how about the rest of you?" I passed along. "I have, but they were from the world that I originated from, along with Arle, Schezo, Draco, Witch, and of course, Satan. Also, they literally don't exist anymore, because we destroyed them with some help." Rulue brought up. "Alright then, whoever you have spoken of can't be the force then. In any case, we REALLY need to be beefed up for this potentially catastrophic war. That's right, I don't think that this will simply be just another battle. From what information Ecolo had to give us, I can tell that we'll be constantly fighting for our lives... as well as others, without a decent break. That's whenever these guys do end up showing themselves, which none of us know. We'll just have to roll with the punches and see where it goes from here." I proposed. "I agree, Vyle was tough for a pawn. If we don't prepare ourselves for the worst scenarios possible, we will all die." Accord nodded. "*sigh* I was rendered powerless against him and he kidnapped me." Witch looked down on herself. "Hey, don't look so down. You WERE caught in for a loop, so it's not like you could have defended yourself adequately. Therefore, you shouldn't blame yourself for this." I lightened her mood. "There he goes again, just being so kind-hearted…" Accord spoke. "It almost feels like a dichotomy of sorts. He's a demon, but his thoughts and actions beg to differ." Ex agreed.

A Dichotomy? Well, that's certainly one way to put it. I thought. "It's just shocking that a normal-looking boy like Dave… has so much character to him." Rulue expressed. "Uh… define "character" in this instance, Rulue. Could you explain in more detail what you mean by that?" I turned my head to her. "Like, your emotions never stay the same for long. You're mostly calm… but when you get your imaginary feathers ruffled, you become upset, angry, or maybe even depressed. It depends from situation to situation for you. What's most intriguing is the fact that you often not let your emotions get the better of you. Although… today was an outlier in that respect. The count took Ringo away from you, then you just lost it." She reminded. "I-I know… I was cruel as a dragon. Sure, I took out Vyle… but I destroyed Zed and almost killed Ex as well. Now I'm afraid of making myself into a dragon again, because I fear it. I thought that the second level of dragon armor was too dangerous, however… I couldn't have been more wrong. It's safe compared to the dragon form. If it was enough to put me into a coma mid-way, then I am not ready for it... … … I... just don't want to kill all of those who I've met for the better. I'll never forgive myself for being too strong for my own good. It makes one wonder whether or not my body will just give out on me. This isn't something that I can embrace easily, since my power has grown exponentially. A couple of months ago, I barely grasped the power of magic. My body was also not as built, as such, I was physically weak. Did I push myself too hard? Did I devote too much time into training outside of school? Was my resolve too strong for me to handle? I only wanted to protect all that I ever cared about. Instead though... I lost control of the very power I possess! Who am I?! Who am I, dammit?! *sniff* I'm a monster, that's what… A hideous and unruly monster that became selfish with his own strength. That's the worst kind of monster in my book. I've turned into the very people that I hate! Like Vyle! Daaaamn iiiit! *continuous sobbing*." I looked down and covered my face with my hands.

The others just sat there, not saying anything. I gazed up for a second and saw that they looked down as well. "D-Dave…" Ex started to speak. "... you shouldn't sulk in this pain indefinitely. Sure, I understand that your not taking this well, for good reason too… but, you need to look straight ahead and bear the pain. The loss of Zed hit me like a truck, but I'm willing to accept that it was fate who decided it. That might not be a fair comparison though… I'm an adult who has been through plenty of losses. Meanwhile, you're still a kid in some- *sigh* I guess it can't be helped…" He gave up. "That's not entirely true, Ex." Accord said to him. "Huh? What do you mean?" "I'm saying, he's perfectly mature as a young adult in most cases. Even if he has his occasional emotion bursts… Dave is, objectively speaking, a calm young man." She stood up. Rulue nodded, then spoke as well. "Yeah, he's a bit of a crybaby sometimes, but I agree that Dave is quite adult. Hell, I would say that he's about as much of an adult as us." She smirked. "He was a lost person when I saw him for the first time. *giggle* Dave wasn't sure what to do in my class, during the lessons. I found it rather… charming. His two friends in there got him to find his way to success. And, I'd say… we should all be there for him when he needs us most." Witch followed up with. "Of course! Dave, we're all with you until the very end. You have all the care in the world on your side. Think of all the friends you have made since learning magic. At the very least, we'll be there to lend a hand." Ex patted me on the back. "*sniff* Y-you think so?" I stopped. "Not think, I know so." He reassured me. "I think this boy needs a group hug." Witch suggested. The others nodded and they all huddled up to hug me. "G-guys…" I felt better. "*sniff* Thaaank yooooou!" I teared up more. I honestly didn't know what to say besides that, even in retrospect.

A few minutes passed for me to suck it up. "The power of friendship… it may be a cliche, but dammit, I don't mind. I love having friends covering my back every step of the way. Witch, I must thank you most of all, for reminding me of people like Feli and Lemres. And, for suggesting the group hug too. Ex, you weren't too shabby either, you reinforced the idea and power of companionship for me, multiple times. Rulue, you helped me grow a ball or two in the past month. Ms. Accord, you stayed tried and true as my main magic instructor, since the beginning. Had it not been for any one of you coming into my life, things would've played out differently. Probably ending up as something much worse than this. I should be ecstatic that I'm alive right now. I should be glad that Vyle is dead and not wreaking havoc. I should be happy that things are peaceful for the time being!" I smiled. "Looks like you are no longer moping around, that's good for my premiere pupil. I need you to remain as a role model for the other students. Still, I like it when you're completely sensitive. *giggle*" Accord cracked a smile. "M-Ms. Accord! Please-!" I wanted her to stop teasing me. "Me too." Rulue played along. "Oh come on, not you too!" My face blushed. "Heh, it's so easy for you to feel embarrassed, Dave. But hey, that's what makes you cute outside of that calm facade you put on." Witch pressed on my cheeks with her hands. "C-could… chu you maybe not do that?" I asked her nicely. She nodded and stopped doing it. "So, Dave… you should go home, yes?" Accord reminded me. "Yeah, I should. I'll go now, then." I stood up. "Here's a portal for you to get back." Ex fired up. "Thanks. And, bye." I waved and left. Back in Suzuran, I arrived home with Ringo looking peeved. "Took you long enough… Sheesh, what the hell was all of that about anyway?!" "Ringo, if you can let me explain…" I elaborated on why Ex took me to the farthest edge of spacetime. "So… he had suspicions about Ecolo purposefully making you an unruly dragon with that energy… but, he didn't?" "Nope. Ecolo, didn't even know that I would go berserk. I could tell that he wasn't lying about it. I thought that maybe I could also obtain additional information from him, involving those unknown dimensional beings. But, as he told us, Ecolo had no luck with uncovering more." "Well, that sucks…" "Yeah… I would have preferred to have more to go off from… but, I guess it was fate to be this way." I ended the conversation. Ms. Ando had already finished cooking dinner a while ago.

Once again, I ate alone for the night. The food was leaning farther into the lukewarm side, naturally. It was still good, but it wasn't the same as it could've been as being warm. What came off as different tonight… was a guest coming into the shower with me and Ringo… namely, her. This freaked me out when I heard her. "I'm coming in." Her voice projected inward. "! Wh-what are you doing in here?!" I reacted. "M-Mom?!" Ringo was just as flustered as me. "I just wanted to be with my two little love birds." She said. "You do realize that this is extremely awkward, right?!" I enforced. "*chuckle* Relax, Dave. If you don't want to see my body, then just keep your back to me." She mosied in. "Mom, it seems… kinda crowded in here." Ringo could not find a decent space in the shower. I was in the middle of her and Ms. Ando, which of course, made me feel so weird. "Ringo, come now... don't you want to bathe with your mother again after so many years?" She pressured her. "*sigh* I guess… it has been a while." The girl admitted. "Ringo's mother held out her hand for her daughter and leaned closer toward me. This was when the de facto "Nooooope!" occurred. As the woman leaned by me, she accidentally pressed her mature breasts against my back. "GH-!" I went. My eyes jerked in the shock of it. "Oh. Would you look at that… Ringo hasn't done a good job washing your back, Dave. Looks like I'll have to take care of it." She took the body wash. "P-please, you don't have to-" I was cut off. "Dave, it's my job as your technical mother to keep you nice and clean. This should include your back too." She opened the wash. "Mother, this is ludicrous!" Ringo pleaded with her to stop. "What? Nonsense, my child. Besides, your back is probably in the same state as Dave's. Your's be cleaned next after him, okay?" She pointed at her.

After a second or two, I hear her close the body wash again. Then, THIS happened. "GH-! N-No! Why are you cleaning it THIS way?!" I jumped a little. "Relax, boy… and c'mere already!" She demanded. "! Mom, stop rubbing your soapy breasts on him!" Ringo wanted her to stop. "But, whyyyyyyy? How can I reach certain areas of his back otherwise? Besides, he seems to be enjoying it juuuuuuust fine." Ms. Ando giggled. I twitched about, without saying a word. This woman paralyzed my heart, to put it in exaggerated terms. "C'mon, his face is so red from this…" Ringo pointed to me. "Heh. I get it… he really DOES want to see my motherly breasts…" She started turning me around. "U-uh um…" I stuttered and closed my eyes. "Dave. Open. Those. Peepers." "N-nuh uh." "I'll be a true mother for you if you let me do what I want~." "... …" I hesitated, then finally opened them. "See them? Beautiful, yes?" "Y-yes… they're beautiful... and not sexy. I don't know how you made that fine line, but you somehow did. This is good… I'm not turned on at all, I just feel motherly love that is unmistakingly there and accounted for." I cling to Ms. Ando, resting my head against her chest. "See? It's alright to bathe with a mother, even if you're a grown son. Again, you're not related to me by blood, but I can feel a connection." She smiled. Ringo was unsure about all of this unfolding before her. "Join us, Ringo. We can use each other to wash all around." She urged her daughter. "Alright... I'll be there." She lightly giggled. What started out as looking like an awkward and lewd scene between a mother and a boy in a porno… turned into a wholesome and lighthearted family-like bonding moment. We all left the shower feeling satisfied with the result of it. Ms. Ando left for bed and this just left me with Ringo. "Your mother is the embodiment of a true parent. I trust and respect her fully with my heart now. You must have been raised well, my love." I said to her. "Aw, thanks…" She blushed. We kissed each other good night and slept peacefully.

Author's Notes: After Ex gets over the loss of Zed, he takes Dave and Satan to the farthest edge of spacetime to question Ecolo. The shadow revealed that he didn't lie to Ex about how Dave would turn out as a dragon. Merely, he didn't know that Dave would go crazy. And unfortunately, Ecolo did not have new information about those dimensional beings. The trio left the edge and went back to Primp's forest. Many of Dave's friends left for home, including Ringo. He decided to talk to the people that were left about the mysterious dimensional beings. This left him in a state of existential crisis, to which the others comforted the guy. Dave goes through the rest of the night, having his spirit boosted. What is to come from Ex, now that he has another daughter to take care of? How will he handle future predicaments, all because of this adoption? And, will Yui enjoy life inside of the Tetra? Next chapter, Chapter 30: The Hardships of a Single-Parent.