HuniePop: Space Adventures

by MarioandSonicFan19

Roughly a year after their little vacation to Inna De Poona, Max and Nikki have been invited by their alien friend, Celeste, to help her with her job as a galactic enforcer alongside her team. But as time wears on, the couple discovers that the universe is bigger than they thought and discover a threat to, not only their home, but to the entire galaxy

15. Chapter 15: Inner Demons

HuniePop Space Adventures

Chapter 15: Inner Demons

I don't know exactly what it was that happened. All that I did know was that I was buried underneath a bunch of rubble and I was trying to dig my way out. My armor was badly damaged, and I was unable to reach the rest of the team.

"Anyone? Respond! What's going on out there?!" I said into my comms. No answer. But, as I finally managed to get out of the rubble, I soon discovered the reason why. At first, I had absolutely no idea where I was. The sky was a blood red with matching color lightning flashing throughout the clouds and the land was littered with debris everywhere. But, as I took a step forward, I stepped on a piece of metal that looked oddly familiar: a red octagon with the word 'STOP' on it. I picked up the sign and took a step back before I noticed the pile of rubble that I had crawled out of was a demolished house. It soon dawned on me that this was Earth, but I didn't understand how any of this happened. We were still in the middle of fighting the Overlord, so how did he manage to take over Earth without the Infernite energy? I honestly had no idea. But as I vaulted over some of the debris and landed on a street of some kind, the answer came to me in the most horrific way possible. Laying on the ground in front of me were the bodies of my teammates and a few of my enemies, all either dead or dying. Amki had a long pipe impaled through her chest and was making gurgling noises until she finally dropped to the ground, dead. Celeste had been decapitated with her own katanas, her blue blood still flowing out from the base of her neck. Odango had been torn apart, sparks flying out of her arms. Eva's face was missing some skin on one side and both of her arms looked like they were cut off. Rhea's staff had been broken in half and she had been stabbed with a bunch of ice spikes. Both Hiro and Zero Two had both been stabbed through their chests with a rebar, Hiro's arms wrapped around his lover in one final hug. Rhonda had several holes in her chest, no doubt having been shot several times. Eila had electric burns all over her body with Goo (or whatever was left of her) lying next to her. Ayano was pinned through her head with a knife against a wall. Selene was hanging from a scaffolding by her whip, which apparently had broken her neck. Malicus' head was spilt horizontally through his mouth, the upper half not that far from the rest of him. Philip had his entire back torn open with his spine and skull ripped out. Zekxsie was burned with her arms and legs torn off. And finally, lying right in front of my feet, was Nikki, who had no visible wounds on her body. I immediately knelt down and tried to see if she had a pulse, but when I put my fingers on her neck, she jumpscared me when she grabbed my arm suddenly.

"Max… what… happened to you? Why didn't you… save… us?" she asked before her head fell limp and blood started to drip from her nose. The tears came to my eyes as I cradled her in my arms, trying to get her to wake her up. But, as I was still cradling her, I felt a very evil presence standing behind me. I barely had time to turn around all the way around before someone grabbed by the throat and held me up. I thought at first it was the Overlord, but when I opened my eyes, what I saw had me both surprised and horrified. It was ME. But it wasn't just me, it was me in my Berserker form, except my armor was jet black and the arm blade was now blood red. My alternate self just stared at me menacingly until he drew his arm blade and pointed it threateningly at my chest. I looked at my alternate self with pleading eyes, but he was unmoved, and he violently stabbed me through my heart, making me scream in pain until I woke up in my bed in the med bay. I was completely drenched in sweat and, despite the lights being off and everything being completely dark, I could see that the blood vessels in my arm were black and my skin was looking pale. As I was inspecting myself, the med bay door opened, and I saw Celeste standing in the doorway, blinding me a bit with the light.

"Max, what's wrong? I heard you scream," she said. I immediately fell off of the bed and went straight for the darkness on one side of the room, curling up to try and prevent Celeste from seeing me.

"Stay back. Don't come any closer," I warned.

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Just… stay away…" I replied. Celeste's only response was to head over to one of the medical monitors and deploy a small drone, which briefly scanned me and then brought the results back to the monitor. Celeste looked over the results and then looked back at me in a terrified manner.

"Max… these readings… what is going on with you?" she asked.

"I honestly don't know… everything hurts…"

"Is there anything that I can do?"

"Just… stay away. Tell Nikki and the others not to come in here for now. Find someone who can help," I said. Celeste gave me a nod and left the room, leaving me alone in my pain and torment.

Celeste's perspective, the next morning

"Do you know why I've called you all to this meeting this morning?" I asked. Everyone was seated at the meeting table that I had in the cafeteria.

"There had better be a good reason why you woke us up at 0700 hours, Celeste. I was hoping to get at least three more hours of sleep," Amki said.

"What's 0700 hours?" Zero Two asked.

"7 in the morning," Nikki replied.

"ANYWAY… it's about Max. He's… not looking well," I said, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.

"What makes you say that?" Eva asked. My only response was to show an old vital chart of Max when we first started our battle against the Overlord.

"These were Max's vitals when he first became infected with the Infernite energy. And these… are his vitals now," I said before I pulled up a vital chart that showed a large amount of red tumor-like masses around Max's heart, lungs and enlarged blood vessels running down his arms and legs. Everyone looked visibly frightened at seeing those charts, especially Nikki, who held her face in sadness and shock.

"Holy shit…" she said.

"How exactly is this affectin' him?" Rhonda asked.

"He's been having nightmares every 2 hours. The most recent was at 0500 hours this morning. His body has also been looking similar to his Berserker form, only his eyes aren't the same and he seems to be in control… for now," I replied.

"It's the energy. It's corrupting him," Rhea said.

"Explain."

"The energy mostly feeds off of the negative emotions of the carrier and amplifies them to the point where the carrier loses control of their actions or is brought out by near death situations to defend the host. But Max is different because he is continually repressing these emotions, which means that the energy is trying to, in a sense, fight for control of his body. And, unfortunately, his repressed emotions are starting to cause him to lose control."

"So… how can we cure him?" Nikki asked. Rhea's only response was to look away from her in sadness.

"I'm afraid that there isn't very much that we can do to help him, Nikki," she said.

"Don't you dare say that! Look, this is my boyfriend that we're talking about, we have to do something!" Nikki responded, crying.

"Why don't we just steal the Crucible and use it to get that stuff out of him?" Amki asked.

"Attempting to get the Crucible would prove to be a complete challenge. There's also the fact that if we do manage to get the Crucible and successfully extract the energy, we'd be handing the Overlord exactly what he wants," Selene explained.

"So, then what do we do?! There has to be something we can do to help!" Nikki yelled, becoming hysterical.

"I'm sorry, Nikki. The only possible way for him to regain control is for him to come to terms with his past and his failures. But, I'm afraid that there's no possible way for us to do that here," Rhea said. Everyone looked downhearted at that statement and Nikki put her head on the table in sadness as she cried. But, amidst the silence, I immediately remembered something.

"Maybe there is a way. Are any of you familiar with the wars between Tendricide and Prometheus?" I asked, drawing confused and disturbed looks from everyone.

"Celeste, what the hell does your past civil war have to do with Max?" Amki asked.

"When the war ended, a large number of surviving soldiers began suffering nightmares due the horrors that they witnessed. The brutality of it, good men and women dying alongside them, the rebels that they gunned down… But, amidst that crisis, one of my friends had found some kind of pools deep in the caverns that allowed those who submerged themselves to enter their mind, so to say, and revisit certain memories. My friend suggested that we let the soldiers lay in the pool to try and help them, and a few hours later, they went on to live their lives, much more content with the past than they did before."

"You're serious? Your planet has a thing that's practically similar to REM sleep?" Odango asked.

"It's one of the many things that aren't known about my planet. Now, Rhea, if we were to take Max there and have him face his past, would that cure him?" I asked.

"I don't think that it would completely disperse the energy, but I believe that it will push it far back enough that Max will start behaving normally and he'll look normal again. So, yes, that sounds like a very feasible plan," Rhea replied.

"Wait, hold up, are we SURE that this is going to work? Have there been any soldiers that DIDN'T make it through that treatment?" Amki objected.

"Not that I know of. But, either way, we have to try and help him however we can. Does anyone have any objections to this idea?" I asked.

"I think that, at this point, it's the only option that we have left. I support this idea," Eva said, raising her hand. Rhonda, Nikki, Eila, Goo, Odango, Hiro, and Zero Two also raised their hands in agreement, leaving Amki as the only one who didn't have her hand raised, although she did raise her hand after a while.

"Look, it's not that I don't think this is going to work. I just don't have a lot of faith in magic and all that," she said.

"Any other questions?... Dismissed," I said before we all left the table and went to go get ready to leave for my home planet. But, as I was heading for the cockpit, I was stopped by Zero Two and Hiro, who were following behind me.

"So, this 'mystical pool of dreams'… do you really think that it will help Max?" Hiro asked.

"I have faith that it will. I've seen many of the soldiers from my home make a steady recovery after they went into those pools."

"Well, that's good news. Sooooo, on an unrelated topic, do you think that me and Darling could have our wedding on your planet?" Zero Two asked. I just gave her a confused look, but Hiro immediately looked upset at the mention of the subject.

"Ah geez, Zero Two! Can we PLEASE not discuss this now?!" Hiro asked.

"Why not? We need somewhere to have a wedding, don't we? Might as well do it when nothing is really happening."

"OK, that's true, but I still think that this is poorly timed, especially with what's going on!"

"Actually, Hiro, that doesn't sound like a bad idea," I said.

"Wait, what?" Hiro replied.

"It could actually serve as a way to keep unwanted attention off our backs until Max recovers. And besides, I know that you both have been very patient up until now, so we can arrange a wedding," I said. Zero Two gave a beaming smile towards Hiro, who just gave an awkward smile back.

"Then, I guess we're finally having a wedding," he said. Zero Two couldn't help but embrace him with a huge smile on her face as I just looked on, smiling as well.

Philip's perspective, the Overlord's ship

Y'know what the worst part about this whole trip was? I was always the one who got my ass handed to me. One minute, I was pretty much kicking everyone against the wall back at the prison, and the next, that pink-haired bitch was trying to kill me. I woke up inside the ship's med bay with some red-haired girl looking over me. But as I watched her walk around my bed, I noticed that her hands were covered in some kind of reddish crap and the sclera of her eyes were black.

"Well, well. Look who's decided to join the land of the living," she said, walking over to me with a smile. I just stared back at her with a confused look before I noticed a small mirror on the table next to me.

"That mirror… give it to me," I demanded, pointing to it. The girl was a bit surprised by the sudden demand, but she just gave me a smirk and granted my request, handing me the mirror. I felt a bit uneasy by her eagerness to give me the mirror, but when I looked into it, there was nothing wrong with my face except for the scar I had gotten earlier.

"You should consider yourself lucky. When the Overlord brought you to me, your face looked HORRENDUS! The good news is that you healed rather nicely. If you hadn't, I would've had to stitch you back together with some patches of your skin replaced."

"And who the hell are you?"

"Ah, yes, we've never met before. My name is Info-chan, but you may call me Info if you wish. I've been working with the Overlord just the same as you've been, only a bit longer."

"And where exactly is the man of the hour now?" I asked. As if on cue, the door to the med bay opened and the Overlord walked in, his red eyes glowing intensely.

"I'm glad to see that you are awake, Philip. How do you feel?" he asked rather unusually.

"Pissed off and ready for Round 2. Where are they?" I asked. Both the Overlord and Info just exchanged looks at each other before looking back at me.

"I'm afraid that they have fallen off our radar and we still trying to find them. To make matters worse, Selene has joined forces with them and Malicus is their prisoner, so we are very short-handed right now," Info said.

"And even if we did know, you are in no condition to fight at this moment," the Overlord added.

"Watch me," I replied, positioning myself to get off the bed. But, the second that I tried to stand up, there was an extreme amount of pain that hit me almost instantly and my legs gave out on me, making me land on my face. After Info had gotten me back on the bed, she pulled up an X-ray of my legs, which were broken AF.

"Both of your lower leg bones were fractured back at the prison. It will take about a few hours for this ray here to fully heal your legs, but until then, you should stay in bed and not move too much," Info said, placing her hand on some kind of gun on the ceiling that was emitting some kind of light blue beam. I just gave a grunt of pain as I grabbed my legs and Info pointed the gun at me and activated it.

"Be thankful that you are still alive. It could have fared much worse for you," the Overlord said before he left, leaving both me and Info in the room together.

"So, how long was I out?" I asked as Info sat beside me.

"A few days, give or take," she replied.

"Where are Yoon and Zekxsie?"

"Yoon is on the bridge, trying to locate where Max and the others are. Zekxsie is on a mission for the Overlord, but he won't tell me exactly what she's doing. Other than that, you and I are the only ones in here right now."

"And Selene and Malicus have both joined the rebellion?"

"Rebellion is a strong word to describe it, Philip."

"At this point, I really don't think there's a better word for it. But, trust me, when I'm healed, I'm gonna be the one that brings it down," I replied as I drifted off to sleep again.

Nikki's perspective, the Centurion

The silence of the hallway felt like I was inside a void of some kind. All alone. Like I used to be before I met Max for the first time at Nutmeg Café, where we worked. When I was with him, I felt whole. I was so distraught that I didn't notice that Celeste was trying to get my attention.

"NICOLE! Are you listening?" she yelled. I immediately snapped to attention and looked up at her.

"Sorry, I was… somewhere else. What's up?" I said.

"We are on final approach to Tendricide. It's time…" Celeste replied, handing me a small syringe filled with some kind of light blue liquid. But I just stared at it in sadness and fiddled with a bit.

"I really don't think that we should do this."

"This drug will just make him dazed and confused until we get him to the pools. It won't harm him. But we can't take the risk that he might go berserk if we try to move him."

"I… just… it's just that…"

"Nikki, I know that you are afraid, but this has to be done in order to save him. We mustn't waste any precious time to try and heal him," Celeste said. I nodded and got up before heading straight for the med bay. When I entered, I saw Max standing at the window, his back towards the door, looking completely creepy in the shade. But, after I had gotten through the door, it became clear that he knew that I was behind him.

"Nikki?" he said, turning his head slightly.

"Yeah, it's me," I said, trying to hide my fear.

"You're afraid, aren't you?"

"You're scaring pretty much everyone, Max. We're all worried about you."

"I guess that's on me. If I had just said no back when Celeste asked us to come with her, maybe we wouldn't be here."

"Max, that wasn't your fault. None of us knew that this would happen."

"You haven't seen how it ends in my nightmares. I'm the death of Earth. The death of everything. The monster that destroys and kills until there's nothing left."

"You are NOT a monster!"

"How can you say that when you're not even looking at me?" Max said before he turned to face me, showing me a horrifying sight. Just as Celeste had said, Max's skin was pale with numerous black blood vessels visible and his eyes were red despite his sclera being normal and his hair not being white.

"My God, Max. What on Earth is going on with you?!" I asked in a terrified manner. Max just inched toward me, unusually calm.

"I've been trying my hardest to hold back my rage. But, the energy… it just… brings it out of me. I can't control it," he replied. I began to move back as Max kept walking forward, but in no time at all, he had me cornered against the wall.

"Max, baby, you're scaring me! Please stop this!" I pleaded. Max just ignored me and grabbed the hand that had the syringe. I thought at first that he was going to crush it, but instead, surprisingly, he helped me point it at his neck and stuck it inside his skin.

"It's OK. I understand that you need to do this. But you need to do it now before I lose control again," Max said with a slight smile. A tear slid down my face as I quickly injected the liquid into his bloodstream. After a few seconds, Max began to stagger a bit and then fell into my arms before he fell unconscious. The hard part was over. Now all we had to do was get him to the pools. By the time we had gotten him to the cargo bay, we had already arrived on Tendricide. This was the first time that I had ever seen Celeste's home planet and I had to say, it looked gorgeous. We had landed close to the city, where there were a wide variety of buildings from skyscrapers to condos which were covered in ice even though the structures looked like they were made of metal. The ground was covered with crystalline structures and several different flowers and the skies were filled with clouds that were raining snowflakes all over the city. Even though the winds were bitterly cold, Celeste had already given us all warm suits to keep us from freezing. Well, Amki was the only one who DIDN'T have a warm suit and despite her tough attitude and nature, she was shaking extremely hard in the cold while she was holding Max.

"Y'know, you didn't tell me that there was a freakin' BLIZZARD going on right now, Celeste!" she said, shivering.

"I'm sorry, Amki. The weather can be unpredictable sometimes," Celeste replied.

"Oh, no, that's fine! I'll just freeze my ass off over here!"

"Oh my gosh…" I said before I took off the device that created my heat suit and gave it to Amki. Although it was cold, I was able to replicate the tech so I could create one of my own without getting frostbite almost instantly. After that whole thing was sorted out, we made our way to a dome-like structure and walked in. The tunnel we walked into was lined with a whole bunch of lights that lead us all down to a round, open cave where a mysterious robed figure was kneeling down in front of some weird skinned chicken or something like that, chanting in Celeste's language before she took out a knife. But right as she reached the climax of her incantation and she was about to stab the chicken, Celeste spoke up.

"Calypso…" she said. The figure whirled around, yelling, revealing a Tendricite whole looked almost exactly like Celeste, except her eyes were a lime-green and her forehead was adorned with multicolored gems that were arranged in a snowflake pattern.

"WHAT?! What do you want, Celeste?! Now I have to start the whole ritual over again!" Calypso said.

"Those rituals are dead. You should know that."

"The rituals keep me in touch with my ancestors if I ever need advice or counsel."

"And how has that been going lately?"

"You mean like how it is with your technology and your advancements in science? When everyone can sometimes benefit from a simpler lifestyle?" Calypso asked before she looked back at the rest of us. Zero Two gave a simple wave as if to say hello.

"In any case, I need your help," Celeste said. Calypso just pointed at us like she was accusing us of something.

"Does it involve them?"

"No. It involves HIM," Celeste said. Amki brought Max forward and presented him to Calypso. The mage walked over to him and closely studied Max, examining his eyes and his skin before she stood up, her eyes filled with fear.

"I cannot help him," Calypso said, walking away from us. My heart immediately sank at that statement, but Celeste wasn't OK with that conclusion.

"Yes, you can. Don't you remember after the war against Prometheus? When those soldiers were begging for anyone who could help them?"

"That was different. They were just suffering from the horrors of that war. What HE has is like nothing I've ever seen, which means it may not be treatable!"

"Calypso, he is my friend! And I will not let him- "

"Calypso… I understand that you are afraid. I'm afraid too. But Celeste came to you because she trusts you. Because you have dealt with similar problems like this and you have saved countless innocent lives from certain death. It's true that the circumstances may be different, but we have faith that you are able to help him. To help us. Please," Rhea said. Calypso just pondered over Rhea's speech for a minute before she looked back at us and gave a slight nod.

"Follow me," she said, walking over to a wall and pressing a hidden panel which opened up a hidden door. That door lead to a room where there were six pools of water arranged in a circular pattern, an oxygen machine in front of each one. But I saw that the water in the pools looked very opalescent. High above us were a bunch of crystals, all different colors, that were lighting up the room along the ceiling of the cavern.

"Pretty," Zero Two said, staring up at the ceiling in wonder.

"Gooooo," Goo agreed. While they were awe struck at the beauty of this place, Amki and Calypso helped position Max on the surface of one of the pools and attached an oxygen mask to his face.

"What're the masks for? I thought that you hated technology," Rhonda said.

"Some technologies have their uses. Plus, if we were to leave your friend submerged for too long, he would drown. Trust me when I say that this is for his own safety," Calypso replied.

"What exactly is the water made of?" Hiro asked as he began to reach for the water. But before he could dip even a finger in, Calypso grabbed his hand and pulled him back.

"DO NOT touch the water. If you touch the water without being submerged, it will send immediate reactions to your brain and possibly bring back an old memory that you may have been trying to forget. It tends to be painful," she warned. Right as she was about to put Max under the water, he stirred a bit and opened his eyes. His eyes were still red, but he looked like he was still in control.

"How long will the procedure take?" I asked.

"The results may vary. One soldier was under for a whole day before he came back to reality," Celeste replied. I just put my hands on the sides of Max's face and tenderly kissed his forehead before looking into his eyes.

"Be careful. And come back to me, OK?" I said. Max just put his hand on mine and gave a slight smile.

"You need to listen now. When you are inside of your mind, you may become a bit disorientated. You must find what it is that plagues your mind and either destroy it or make peace with it. But under NO circumstances must you allow yourself to fall victim to the horrors of your mind. If you die within your illusion, you will also die in reality. Remember that," Calypso said. Max just nodded his head in approval and Calypso pushed him down under the water and Max closed his eyes again as the waters began to glow.

"Please notify us if anything happens," Celeste said before we all left the caverns and made our way back to the city.

Max's perspective, the Dream Realm

It felt like I was floating in potentially nothing. I could clearly see myself with my Praetor armor on, but everything else around me was just blackness. After about 5 minutes of floating, my feet finally found solid ground on which I could stand on. But, all around me, there was practically nothing. As I looked around, a bright light suddenly shined right into my face before it died down and it sat in the middle of the sky like a beacon. I felt that the light was trying to guide me out of this place, so I began to make my way toward it, but when I took a few steps forward, I fell into a body of water or something. After I had gotten back to the surface, the light shined on the other side of the water, directing me where to go. I immediately began to swim to the other side to try and escape whatever this was, but it became apparent that I was not alone in the water. As I was slowly swimming through the water, something grabbed my chest plate and reared its ugly head at me. What grabbed me looked like some kind of decayed human-like creature, but its body was semi-transparent, and its lower body was like that of a ghost. The creature roared at me and tried to claw at my face, but I was able to punch it off of me. But, as it went back to the depths, I saw that there was WAY more than one in the water with me. This body of water wasn't just a simple lake. It was a river of souls, much like the River Styx of mythology. But right now, I wasn't worried about why this was inside my own head. I was more concerned with getting to the other side as the souls began to attack me, a few of them taking pieces of my armor off as I fought them off. By the time I had reached the banks, the souls had taken all of my armor, leaving me with only normal clothes and absolutely no way to defend myself. After the souls had retreated back into the river, I took a good look at my surroundings. The landscape was barely lit, but from what I could make out, it looked like the land was covered in jagged rocks, most of them volcanic-looking and they were all devoid of any flowers, trees, or grass. The skies periodically were lit by the lightning that was moving throughout the clouds. There were absolutely no signs of life from the land and the screams from the souls of the river made a sound so horrible that I covered my ears to try and drown it out. But when I turned away from the river, I noticed a structure that seemed a bit different from the entire landscape: a house. It looked like a completely normal two-story house with a nice little flower bed at the front along the sidewalk. As I walked closer, I suddenly realized that this wasn't just some random house. It was a house that I used to live in. It was the house that my parents and I lived in from my childhood until I left for Glenberry. It was always a place that I had cherished memories from, especially those of my parents. My dad was a businessman with a taste for country and classic music, and he was always there to help me with whatever problems that I had. My mom was a florist with a tender heart full of compassion, who was sweeter than honey and was always close when I felt sad. Both of my parents were the best kind of role models that I could ever ask for and was always grateful for them being there for me. When I entered the house, the outside suddenly looked bright and sunny, and I noticed that my parents were both in the kitchen. Or, at least, there were illusions when I tried to reach for Mom. Suddenly, I heard the sound of the door opening and closing behind me and looked back to see a chubby little boy with a hoodie and a backpack panting before he ran upstairs. Both of my parents both looked concerned at what they just saw.

"Max? Sweetie? What's wrong?" Mom asked.

"It's OK, Diana. I'll talk with him," Dad said before he also went upstairs. And then it hit me. This was a day when I was being chased down by a group of bullies while I was in fifth grade. I wasn't always lean and fit as I was right now. I was once a small, chubby, socially awkward boy who didn't always fit in. And that apparently gave a group of bullies in school an excuse to pick on me because of that. I went up the stairs and saw my dad knocking on the door to my room, where my younger self was curled up in bed, crying.

"Hey, buddy. What's wrong? Where those bullies bothering you again?" Dad asked, sitting on my bed.

"Yes. I tried to be strong but…" my younger self said as he sat up and wiped the tears from his face.

"Max, I know that you're trying to be strong, but it never hurts to ask for help."

"They said that they would hurt me if I told on them…"

"Oh, they're just saying that because they're afraid to get in trouble. Look, let me give some advice: Sometimes the best way to win a fight is not to start one, but if you come up against somebody you know you can't beat, be smart. It's okay to run the other way. And, if you can, try to find an adult that you know to help you. Don't let your fears hold you back from doing the right thing," Dad said as he drew my younger self in and hugged him.

"But… what if they keep bothering me after that? What if they keep bullying me?" my younger self asked.

"That's what me and your mom are here for, buddy. No matter what happens, we'll always be here to help you out. But you need to tell us if you're being bullied, OK?"

"OK…"

"Now, how about we go downstairs and have dinner and we'll talk about this with Mom, OK?" Dad asked. My younger self just nodded and the two headed downstairs before I found myself back in the hellscape outside. I had no idea exactly what that was all about, seeing as that had very little to do with the dilemma that we were facing. Running from the Overlord was all that we had been doing recently but I knew that we would have face him eventually. And the whole reason that I was here was because the Infernite energy was trying to take hold of me. But the answer hit as fast as the question arose: Bravery and teamwork. My dad taught me to be brave against the odds. That, no matter what, relying on others to help me was always the best way to face a dangerous situation. Celeste, Nikki, and the others were the best kind of team that I could've asked for. That was the lesson that my memories were trying to teach me. As I was thinking about the subject, I heard the sound of the earth rumbling behind me and turned to see a small path being made across a chasm while the same light I saw from the river lowered down and settled on a spot on the horizon. I knew that what was going on was only starting, and as I made my way towards where the light was, I figured that there was even more that I would learn about myself, as well as what I would discover within this realm.

Zero Two's perspective

"Nope. Nope. Definitely nope," I said as I went through dresses. Me, Nikki, and Celeste were in a dressing room, trying to pick out the best dress for my wedding. The only problem was that none of the dresses that Celeste and Nikki picked out were that appealing to me.

"You need to pick SOMETHING, Zero Two," Nikki said as I tried on outfit number ten.

"It's her wedding, Nikki. Choosing a dress for the wedding isn't always the easiest choice for a bride to make.," Celeste replied as she helped me with the dress.

"It's OK, Celeste. Besides, it's pretty obvious that she's worried about something else," I said. Sure enough, Nikki was staring out the window again at the caverns where Max was being held. It had already been two hours since he had gone under, but Max was apparently the only thing that Nikki could think about.

"Nikki, he'll be fine. He's in good hands."

"I know that but… it's been two hours already! I just can't stop worrying about him!" Nikki replied, not taking her eyes off the entrance to the caverns.

"I mean, I don't blame you. If Darling were in that situation, I would be completely freaked out and climbing up the wall," I said as I inspected the dress that I was currently wearing. Celeste took the opportunity to sit beside Nikki and put her hand on her shoulder.

"Nikki, I'm also afraid for him. But we need to have faith that he is up to the challenge and that he'll get through this. For now, just relax," she said. Nikki just nodded as I tried on a necklace. The necklace looked like it was made of silver with the symbol of a bird with its wings outstretched in the middle of the chains.

"Hey, I've been meaning to ask. What's with the bird symbol on some of the jewelry? Is that like the planet's bird or something?" I asked.

"In a sense. That bird is one of our past. We call it the 'Cryoavis'," Celeste replied.

"What do you mean 'of your past'?" Nikki asked. Celeste just looked out the window and stared out at the rest of the city.

"Many, many years ago, during the medieval days of Tendricide, there was a coup against the whole of our people. Two factions became embroiled in a civil war that nearly destroyed several lives. Yet, during that time, love still found its way into the hearts of those who were trying to stay out of the war. There was a warrior prince and a noble princess who fell in love when they first met. But they were from opposing factions and their parents forbade them from seeing each other. But, as the war got worse, both the prince and the princess no longer wanted to be a part of a nation that was tearing itself apart, and they made plans to run away together. On the day that they would flee, the princess found a tiny little hatchling in one of the ice gardens. Alone. Half dead. She felt pity for it, and she took it with her and the prince to the mountains, where they would be safe. As time went on, the hatchling grew rapidly, and it occasionally brought back food and resources for the lovers. But, when the factions found out that their children had run away, they sent out a search party for the two, and their search took them into the mountains. But, by the time the lovers were found, the hatchling had grown into an adult with a wingspan of 52 feet, the largest any of the bird's species had ever grown. That day, the prince and the princess helped both factions resolve their differences and the nation began to heal with everyone working together. When the prince and the princess had their wedding, the Cryoavis came to the wedding and left one of its tail feathers as a beautiful reminder of the occasion. And it has appeared at every wedding here ever since. Not just as a sign of trust, but also to remind us of the promises that we made."

"…That's… really romantic," Nikki finally said.

"Do you think that the bird will show up at our wedding?" I asked.

"It's very possible. Even with some of the different species that have come here to have a wedding, the Cryoavis has shown up for every single one," Celeste replied as I took one final look at the dress that I was wearing. It was a simple dress with a fluffy skirt that looked positively wonderful.

"Well, I think we have a winner here. What do you think?" I asked. Nikki just smiled and turned me around to get a full view of my dress.

"I think he'll love it. And we could pair that with your flower crown for the headdress," she said.

"Sounds great! Looks like we're ready!"

"Not so fast, Zero Two. We may have handled the dress part of the wedding, but there's still a lot more preparation to do," Celeste said.

Max's perspective, The Dream Realm

It felt like 2 hours had passed as I was walking throughout the nightmarish landscape. Of course, that was because it looked like the land was switching up on me every few seconds and the cliffs and streams and every other formation were messing with my head and turning me around the wrong way. But, as I continued to wander across the land, something in the distance caught my eye and I went to investigate. Within a few minutes, I arrived in what looked like a graveyard with a whole bunch of gravestones littering the entire area. But everything seemed a bit off because I noticed that almost all of the gravestones were completely blank until I got to one that had a name on it: Generica Haruka. My eyes began to immediately well up with tears as I knelt down to touch the gravestone. Generica's grave. I always visited this grave at every moment that I could. Immediately after school. In the morning on weekends and holidays. I even visited twice a day, bringing flowers to lay on top. But as I was reminiscing about the past, a zombified hand burst out of the ground and grabbed my wrist. As I struggled to get free, Generica's corpse rose out of the ground and stared at me menacingly with her one good eye glowing an intense cyan. The other side of her face, the left side, was completely decayed with only an empty eye socket staring at me, a ragged gap in her cheek offering the glimpse of an exposed jawbone and a strip of raw gristle stretching vertically across what remained of her smile. She was wearing her school uniform, which was all torn and ragged, and one of her breasts had seemingly fallen off while the other one was intact. Before long, she was trying to bite at my face and I was forced to shove my hand into her chest and slam her to the ground, breaking her back. But when I looked back at her corpse, it looked like she was freshly dead, her face, skin, and clothes looking like they did the day that she died with a puddle of blood all around her. I was completely horrified at what had just happened, but I became even more horrified when I looked down and saw that my arms were soaked in blood. Before I could even say anything, something grabbed me from behind and threw me away from Generica's corpse, but I managed to get back up without any trouble and got a good look at what attacked me. It looked like Ayano, but her entire body was all black and her eyes were red, and her mouth was represented by a sharp-toothed grin. It didn't take her long for her to pull out a knife and attack me, laughing maniacally. As she tried in vain to stab with her knife, I grabbed her by the neck and put her in a chokeslam, making her cough up some kind of black bile. But she just laughed it off and stood back up, preparing to rush me. I just responded by clenching my fist and getting into a battle ready stance, but the second that she lunged at me and prepared to chop my head off, both she and Generica's corpse disappeared, my arms were completely clean, and I suddenly found myself inside of a house. I was taken aback by the sudden change in scenery, but I almost immediately recognized where I was. It was Generica's house. The pictures along the walls of the hallway were of Generica and her family and the lilac wallpaper were a dead giveaway. But, as I was thinking about why exactly I was here, I heard the soft sounds of crying coming from one of the rooms behind me and headed toward where the sound was coming from. But when I did enter the room from where the sounds were coming from, it became clear to me which memory this was. I found a slightly younger version of myself huddled up in the corner of a room with purple wallpaper, a bubblegum pink bed with lacey covers and different pillows, and a small desk with a bedazzled notebook on it. This was on the day of Generica's funeral. As I was staring in sadness, I suddenly heard a slight knocking behind me and turned to see my mom standing in the doorway wearing a simple black dress.

"I thought I'd find you up here. Are you OK, sweetie?" Mom asked, sitting down at the foot of the bed and putting her hand on my younger self's shoulder.

"I don't know… One minute everything was fine and now… it's all falling apart," my younger self replied, tears running down his face.

"Sweetie, I'm so sorry. I know how much she meant to you."

"It's all my fault. I shouldn't have gone back in the school. If I had just stayed with her, I could've saved her…"

"Max, you don't know that. Jealousy is an ugly thing. That girl was probably…" Mom started to say. But she soon lost the words and my younger self just put his head back into his knees, completely distraught.

"You weren't there, Mom. Generica was my whole world. And I never got to say goodbye to her. This was all on me and now I have to live with it," my younger self said.

"Maxwell Joshua Smith, you look at me right now," Mom said with a frustrated look on her face. My younger self looked back up at Mom with a sorrowful look.

"Now, listen. There are going to be times when something goes wrong and things are out of our control, but the lesson is that we need to move on and if things are out of control, we aren't responsible for it. And besides, Generica couldn't have asked for anyone other than her parents who could've loved her more than you did. And you always made her feel loved, Sweetie," Mom said. My younger self just nodded and tenderly embraced her, but I just stood there, confused. Did I really blame myself that much for Generica's death? Was that what the root of all my negative emotions was? The questions were just weighing down on my mind as I l exited the house. But instead of walking out into the hellscape that I saw before, I found myself in a dark version of the town where I grew up. But I didn't question exactly why I was there. I just knew where I needed to go next. I had to go back to where it all began.

Hiro's perspective

"Hey, man. So… um… Zero Two and the others are having a bachelorette party. I heard that me and you were also supposed to have a party, but I really didn't know what to bring. You know, seeing as you're unconscious and all that," I said to Max as he laid in the water. To be honest, I felt pretty stupid just sitting there with a couple of ice fruit drinks in my hand when my friend was completely unconscious.

"It's been crazy for the past few days. Zero Two bought this dress that has a fluffy dress and she actually fashioned her flower crown to be her headdress for the dress. And she actually joked that her dress gave me… ahem… 'a boner'. Which it didn't. And then she got this dress for Nikki that has the colors of Aurora Borealis. And I had to go through tuxedos until she picked one that she and I really liked. After that we visited the church where we would be getting married and they have this large perch behind the alter because there's this giant bird who shows up to every wedding on this planet. So… yeah, it's been a rough couple of days here without you. But we're still really worried about you, man. Nikki just can't stop worrying about you…" I said.

"Hey, Darling. Whatcha doin'?" I heard behind me. I turned and saw Zero Two walking over to me, wearing her casual clothes.

"Just checking on Max. Seeing how he's doing… You?" I replied as she sat down at the side of one of the empty pools and took off her shoes and socks.

"I got bored. The party spiraled into madness at the end when Amki and Rhonda got blind drunk and started fighting with each other. Celeste and Nikki are busy trying to break up the fight."

"So, you didn't have fun?"

"No, I did. But it wasn't as fun without you," Zero Two said as she dipped her feet into the empty pool.

"Wait, Zero Two, what are you doing?! Calypso said that we can't just dip or feet into the pools!" I said. But Zero Two just gave me a smug smile and skimmed her toe across the surface of the opalescent water.

"Darling, do you honestly expect me to fall for some kind of cryptic warning that has never been-," she started to say, but her smile suddenly vanished and she gritted her teeth and held her head in pain, trying hard to bear the pain as I rushed over to her and held her head up a bit. Calypso must've heard the noise because as I was helping Zero Two, she rushed into the room.

"What happened? She didn't touch the water, did she?!" Calypso asked as Zero Two recovered from the pain.

"She just slipped on the ice and fell. That's all," I said. I didn't expect that lie to hold up, but it looked like she actually bought it.

"Well, tell her to be more careful next time and that this is not an ice rink," Calypso said before she left. Zero Two groaned and held her head in pain as I sat her up.

"You know, I would say that I told you so, but I don't think that would be appropriate to say. Let's get you back to the others and see if we can stop the pain," I said as I started to pick her up.

"Darling, wait! I remember!" Zero Two suddenly said.

"Remember what?"

"How we got here! How I ended up back on the Strelizia…"

"What are you talking about?"

"There was that woman. Clothed in white robes. The light coming off of her body shone so brightly. She offered me the chance to be with you again. I said yes and… just like that we sped across the galaxy and she placed me back in our FRANXX…"

"Zero Two, we can't worry about that right now. We can talk about this later."

"Why? Don't you believe me?" Zero Two asked with sad eyes. I just gently hugged her in response.

"I DO believe you. But I'm more concerned about you right now. We can talk more about what you remembered later, OK?" I said. Zero Two just nodded in reply and we both left the caverns to meet up with the others.

Max's perspective, The Dream Realm

Akademi High School. That's where it all started for me. Back then, I wasn't really seen anything special by anyone. I was just a lonely boy who always got picked on by the school bully and was socially awkward with everyone. I did have a bully issue in middle school as well, but high school was complete HELL compared to that. But there was one girl in the entire school who was the most sweet and innocent human being that I had ever met: Generica. I always heard rumors that many boys had tried to become her boyfriend, but she always thought that her one true love would find her. But Philip was never one to honor someone else's wishes. He and his posse tried to violate her in a school hallway. But, as fate would have it, I was the one to save her from Philip, even if I was left with a black eye and a bloody nose. But my bravery and compassion ultimately won me Generica's heart and we started dating after that. Many said that I was completely crazy for taking on Philip, but I felt that it was totally worth it just to defend the honor of a beautiful girl. But walking through the halls of a nightmarish version of my high school felt unnerving and brought up a lot of bad memories that I had wanted to forget. But, as I made my way through the halls of the school, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being watched by a dark presence of some kind. My feeling was confirmed when I heard a ghastly whisper and the sound of screeching metal behind me. And sure enough, coming from the hallway behind me was a dark presence that resembled Philip, only bigger, uglier, and scarier, and it was dragging its claws along the lockers, creating a horrible screeching noise that reverberated throughout the dark halls. Before I could react, the shadow swiped out at me with its claws, barely scratching my chest. There was absolutely no way that I could fight something like this without any weapons, so I turned and ran from the shadow, trying to put some distance between us. But it immediately gave chase, trying to take me out as it followed me through the halls. As I ran, I tried take cover inside one of the rooms, but each of the doors were locked, leaving me to continue running in the hopes that at least one door was open. Right as the shadow was about to grab me, I managed to open one of the doors and finally get inside, leaving the frustrated entity outside to roar uselessly at the door and then leave. I was completely confused by the shadow's sudden retreat. It surely could've opened the door if it wanted, so why did it just leave? But a small faint glow from behind distracted me from answering that question and I turned to face the source. And what I saw took my breath away. Sitting at one of the desks, reading a book in silence, was a girl in a school outfit with purple hair and skin as white as snow. And when she turned to me, her eyes were a vibrant magenta, accompanied by the sweetest smile I had ever known. It was Generica.

"Hello, Marshmallow," she said before she closed her book and began to walk over to me. I crumpled to my knees in astonishment as I beheld Generica standing right in front of me.

"It's you… How is this even possible?" I asked. Generica just kneeled in front of me before she put her hand on my cheek in a soft gesture of love.

"I've always been with you. My spirit has stayed beside you because you've never forgotten me," Generica said as she caressed my face. I just responded by hugging her as tears ran down my face.

"I could I never forget you!"

"I know you couldn't…"

"Generica, listen. I'm so sorry about…" I started to say before Generica put a finger up to my lips.

"Shush. What happened wasn't your fault. So, stop blaming yourself for what happened. That's the whole reason that you're here," Generica said before she stood back up and sat down on top of one of the desks.

"What do you mean?"

"All this time, you've been blaming yourself for something that you thought was your fault. All of your rage has stemmed from that and that's why you've felt so agitated as of late. But you were brought here so you could confront your past and drive your anger back into the depths from where it came."

"Generica, what are you saying?"

"That you can't give in to your anger. Your friends need you. But you need to overcome your fears and your anger before you can return to them."

"That's just the thing. I don't know how," I replied. Generica just walked back over to me and wrapped her arms around my neck before resting her forehead on mine, the corners of her mouth forming one of those sweet smiles that I cherished so much.

"Of course, you do. You always have. Ever since the day you saved me from Philip, you always had this fire inside you that always kept you from falling into the darkness. And it's always been in here…" Generica said, placing her hand on my chest. I didn't really understand exactly what she was taking about at first, but the answer came to me pretty fast: Hope. Hope was something that neither fear nor anger could extinguish. Even in the darkness, hope would light the way to freedom.

"I don't know if that will be enough. There's just… so much death that I've caused. So much evil inside of me…"

"Perhaps. But, take it from my experience: There is so much good in you that it outweighs the evil. You've fought back your grief and you recovered when you lost me. You can win this too," Generica said before she turned to leave. But, before she could, I grabbed her arm and reeled her in for one final kiss. Generica was a bit shocked at first, but her expression softened, and she returned the kiss. After only five seconds of kissing, I broke off the kiss and stared into her eyes.

"I swear to you… I will defend Nikki for the sake of your memory. Down to my last breath if I have to. And I will never leave her side. I WILL save them. Whatever it takes," I said with a determined voice. Generica gave me a confident smile and placed her hand on my face.

"I know that you will. Take care, my Marshmallow," Generica replied. Before she began to disappear, I took the opportunity to hug her one final time.

"I love you, Generica. I always will," I said. After a slow flash of white light engulfed the two of us, I found myself back on the banks near the river of souls I had seen before, except there was a pillar of light blue light reaching towards the skies in front of me. I figured that this had to be the exit out of here and started to slowly walk toward the light. But as I was nearly halfway there, something hit me square in the face and knocked me back towards the river.

"You know, I would've hoped that you would've stayed away," a demonic voice said as I struggled to get to my feet. When I looked up, I saw an armored figure standing over me. His armor was jet black and his eyes were crimson red, and his face looked like… mine. I couldn't believe what was standing in front of me. It was me, except he was in my Berserker form, fully clad in armor and electricity surrounding his arms. I figured that this had to be the final test before I could get out of here.

"So, you're the one who's been messing with my head. What are you?" I asked as I stood up.

"That should be obvious. The energy that you absorbed… it made me. All the rage and anger gave me strength… until I found a way to outgrow you…" my doppelganger said.

"So, that's you're whole plan? To just keep me here? 'Cause let me tell you, that's not going to work. I'm going back whether you like it or not," I replied before I made a mad dash for the pillar of light. But my doppelganger was quick to react and hit me square in the chest, audibly breaking a few of my ribs. The sharp pain in my chest made it hard for me to recover, but when I did get back up, I made another run for the pillar. My doppelganger once again prevented me from getting to it, but this time I fought back as best I could, hitting him in the chest and face with as much strength as I could muster up. But, when I did, it felt like I was hitting a wall made out of solid concrete and my knuckles began to bleed as I tried in vain to take my doppelganger out. After a while, he backhanded me so hard that my mouth and nose began to bleed, and I felt weak in my arms as I tried to get back up.

"You've my power in action before. What hope did you have to stop me exactly?" my doppelganger asked as he walked over to me. I didn't fully understand myself what was going on. I was full of hope and I had cast off my anger and rage. So why did I feel so powerless? I didn't really have time to think about it because my doppelganger grabbed me by the neck and proceeded to slam me against the ground. It didn't break my back, but the pain was still unbearable, and I slumped to the ground in defeat as my doppelganger put his boot against my neck.

"Don't get back up. Just sleep. And never wake from the darkness…" my doppelganger said before he left me to die and he headed toward the pillar of light. Everything began to go dark as I laid in a pool of blood. But, as I was about to pass out, a familiar voice kept me from falling asleep.

"MAX! Max, stay with us!"

Nikki's perspective, 5 minutes earlier

I sat beside the pool that Max was submerged in, waiting for any signs of him waking up. I know that it had only been 5 days since Max went into his mind, but it felt like a month had already passed and I was hoping that it wouldn't be much longer before Max woke up. As I was deep in thought, Celeste and Calypso both entered the caverns, looking like they had been searching for me.

"I figured that you'd be here. How are you?" Celeste asked, putting her hand on my shoulder.

"I just… thought I'd stay here for a while. See if there were any changes or he had woken up," I replied.

"I understand your concerns, Nicole. I really do. But, right now, I think it would be best if you just let him be," Calypso said.

"You know, you say that, but it's been 5 days already! What if he's just wandering around in his own mind, completely lost?!"

"Actually, time moves slower in the dream realm than it does in real life. So, what may seem like days for us may be only hours from Max's perspective."

"In either case, Nikki, it would be best if Calypso keeps watch over Max for a while. She can sense whenever Max is in distress, so she'll immediately tell us if he's in trouble," Celeste said as I kept staring down at Max. But, as Celeste was talking to me, I noticed that Max's oxygen mask was suddenly starting to fill up with blood until it started to flow into the water, and he began to jerk violently despite being in suspended animation.

"What's happening?!" I asked in a panic as Calypso tried to see what was wrong with him.

"Something must be attacking him in the dream realm! His entire nervous system is going into overdrive!" Calypso said as she used her magic to assess the situation. As she was doing so, Max's eyes suddenly opened, revealing red eyes with black sclera as he continued to jerk around.

"Can't you do anything to help him?!" Celeste asked.

"I can't pull him out of the pool or else it will kill him! I don't know how to counteract this!" Calypso replied. I just sat there in a panic, trying to figure out a way to help. I HAD to help. And there seemed to be only one way for me to do so. I immediately dipped my hands into the pool and put them on the sides of his head. Before I knew it, my mind began to sync up with his.

Max's perspective

It looked like I was in that white flash that you see before a near death experience. I don't know what was going on, but what I did know was that I was suddenly hearing the voice of Nikki coming from somewhere. I tried to get to my feet so I could look for her, but no matter how hard I tried, something was keeping me on my knees. But, as it turned out, I didn't have to look far for Nikki, because I saw her right in front of me, her arms outstretched as she tried to look for me. I wasn't able to stand up, but I was able to crawl forward a little so I could grab her arm.

"Max? Is that you? Stay with me!" she yelled.

"Nikki, I'm right here! How did you get here? What's happened?" I asked as I held her in my arms.

"Max, I don't know what's going on in there, but you need to fight it! You're dying! I don't know if Calypso can help you or not!"

"What? Nikki, what's happening to me? What's going on?" I asked. But Nikki probably couldn't hear me, because she didn't answer me, and tears began to run down her cheeks.

"Max, please. You're the strongest person that I've ever known, and you've been doing great ever since we started all of this. If you lose yourself to your rage, then the entire universe is doomed. I'm not going to give up. And I know that you NEVER give up. We all need you. We can't do this without you. I can't do this without you," Nikki said as she pulled me in closer and hugged me tightly. As we both held each other in our embraces, I heard a faint little heartbeat coming from inside of Nikki and the tears once again came to my eyes. But, before I could ask about anything, Nikki was suddenly dragged away from me and disappeared before I found myself in front of my doppelganger and the pillar of light again. The pain still searing through my body, I dragged myself up from the dirt and began to slowly make my way back to the pillar of light, where my doppelganger had already placed his hand inside. But as I made my way to the pillar, my doppelganger became aware that I was on my feet again and turned back to me.

"You're still here? I thought you would at least accept defeat. But it doesn't matter. Soon, I will be free of this prison and nothing will be able to stop me," my doppelganger said as he began to walk towards me.

"But that's the thing: You can't leave here if you kill me, can you?" I asked. As my doppelganger threw a punch, I managed to dodge him and land a solid punch on his chest. It didn't knock him back, but he did feel it.

"You're very observant. And you're also correct. If I were to kill you, I would also cease to exist. But all I need to do is break your will, not kill you. Try as you might, you can't get rid of me that easily. Your anger will always dwell within."

"You're right. I can't get rid of you. But that's just what makes me human. You can knock me down as much as you like, but I'll always get back up to fight you. You can try and bury me underneath all of my guilt, but my friends will always be there to help pull me out of the darkness. The truth is… I'm the one who's in control of me, not you. And as long as I have hope in my heart, you won't keep me down for long," I said. My doppelganger just chuckled halfheartedly before he threw another punch at me. But this time, when I blocked the punch, my doppelganger's arm mysteriously lit ablaze with some kind of blue fire, which actually broke his armor and created burn scars on his arm as he stumbled backwards in pain. I was also surprised, but it wasn't just because I actually managed to wound my doppelganger. It was also because I noticed that my arm was now a vivid neon blue surrounded by matching blue flames. But I didn't have time to worry about it. I turned my attention back to my doppelganger and began to fight him without any mercy. Although he was still a match for me, my newfound power proved to be too lethal for him and his armor easily broke as I relentlessly fought him.

"How… how do you possess such power?!" my doppelganger asked as he tried to stand back up.

"I think that should be obvious," I replied. My doppelganger just snarled and tried in vain to incapacitate me, but I was able to avoid his fury until I grabbed him by the face and slammed him back into the ground. As I stepped back, I noticed that we were right by the river of souls, which was starting to bubble and churn. My doppelganger's face and most of his body was badly burned and he struggled to get back to his feet while he drew his arm blade, the only piece of armor he had. But, as he took a step forward, a soul reached out and grabbed him by the leg and tripped him up before it started to drag him back towards the river. My doppelganger tried to crawl away from the souls, but another soul grabbed his other leg, followed by another and then several more after that. The souls all started to drag him into the river where the entire river was waiting for their prey. Seeing that I had triumphed over him, I began walk back towards the pillar of light, leaving my doppelganger to be consumed by the souls.

"WAIT! Please! I can help you! If you help me, I'll give you my power… No enemy will be able to stand against you. You can keep your loved ones safe from anything…" my doppelganger pleaded.

"That's just the thing. You've already let me use your power before. But that power… it's too destructive. Maybe it was useful before. But it's made me delve into bloodlust and chaos. And I can't run the risk of hurting my friends because of it. So, thanks, but no thanks."

"You can't leave me like this! You can't save them without me!"

"If I can't… I'll come find you," I replied right as the souls grabbed my doppelganger and pulled him into the river as he screamed for mercy. I just began to walk toward the pillar of light, a little worse for wear, but I felt even more empowered than I did before. As I stepped into the light, the intense brightness made my entire body see through and it felt like my skin was burning a bit, but I didn't care. I was already on my way home.

Nikki's perspective

Celeste and I collided against the wall just as Amki and Rhea entered the caverns, alarmed by the sudden commotion.

"NO! Send me back! I have to help him!" I yelled, trying to get free of Celeste's grasp.

"Nikki, you need to stop! You're becoming hysterical!" Celeste replied. But I just struggled to get free which forced Amki to restrain me before the entire cavern went silent. After a brief moment, Calypso looked back at us with discouraged eyes.

"He's… he's gone. I…I'm sorry…" she said, stepping back from the pool.

"DON'T YOU SAY THAT! DON'T YOU DARE SAY THAT! HE CAN'T BE DEAD! HE JUST CAN'T!" I wailed, trying to get Amki to let me go.

"Nikki. I'm so sorry. There's nothing we can do…" Celeste said. I buried my head into Amki's stomach and began to sob uncontrollably as Rhea put her hand on my shoulder to try and comfort me. I just couldn't believe it. We came all this way just to help Max… and now he was gone. The only man whom I ever loved the most… gone. But my sorrow didn't last long because a bright blue light suddenly filled the entire cavern, nearly blinding us. The source of the light was coming from the pool where Max's body was, and the opalescent water was starting to swirl into a whirlpool. As the five of us looked in confusion and awe before the pool suddenly erupted into a blue pillar of light that intensely shone throughout the room, blinding us. When the light finally died down, we saw some kind of figure standing in the middle of the pool with his arms outstretched. Even though, it looked like a normal human, its skin was some kind of blue energy with blue flames surrounding its arms and covering its head. After the figure had stared up at the ceiling for a little bit, it looked back down at its arms for a while before it turned its attention to us. As Calypso pulled out some kind of talisman and started to say some kind of prayer, Celeste immediately drew her katanas and Amki got into a battle-ready stance, ready to fight whatever the figure was. But I just pushed past them and walked up to the figure, not knowing exactly what to expect. The figure just stared at me and then he walked over to the side of the pool and climbed out before he crumpled to his knees and fell into my lap. Before I could ask him who he was, the figure's skin began to fade into a normal peach color and his head flames went out, revealing Max's face underneath. It was perfectly healthy, his hair was brown, and his eyes were their normal color again. Tears of joy came to my eyes as he took my hand and smiled at me.

"Hi," he said weakly. I didn't really have much to say, but I think that I said it all when I tightly hugged him as the others looked on.

"What… but, how… You were practically dead! You had no pulse!" Calypso said, dumbfounded.

"Really? …Sorry about that…"

"No, Max… It's… it's a miracle. We thought you lost," Celeste said as Rhea knelt down in front of us and her hand started to glow.

"Unbelievable. The energy… it's still there, but… it's been buried down so deep that it's almost as if he's been cured of it," Rhea said.

"Does this mean you back in control?" Amki asked. Max just nodded in reply as I nuzzled against his face.

"Hey, uh, Nik? Do you think that we could go somewhere else? It's cold out here," Max asked as he shivered a bit. I just couldn't help but chuckle as I nuzzled up to his face again.

Max's perspective

5 days. I had been stuck in my mind for five days even though it felt like only 5 hours to me. And there was a lot that I missed while I was unconscious, but right now, it didn't matter. Right now, I was busy getting ready for Hiro and Zero Two's wedding, rushing a bit to get ready inside one of the upper rooms of the church where they were getting married. As I was putting on my suit and my bowtie, Nikki entered the room wearing a dress with colors of blue, green, and purple that were arranged in a beautiful pattern that looked like an aurora and a hairband with flowers adorning it.

"How are you feeling?" she asked as I finished tying my tie.

"My head feels a whole lot clearer now. And the heat suit that Celeste gave me is helping with the cold. How about you? You didn't get too lonely while I was out, did you?" I asked. Nikki just walked over to me and gently hugged me.

"I did get a bit lonely. We were all really worried about you. But it's great that we were able to help you. I can only imagine how hard it was to be going through your memories like that."

"It wasn't too bad. I guess that I just had to remind myself to keep going and to not give up."

"Did you… see Generica in there?"

"Yeah… Well, I saw her spirit. As it turns out, she's been with me even after she died. It's so weird how I thought that she was completely lost to me, only to find out that she was never far."

"So… that was what made you drive back all that rage and anger?"

"No. It was you," I said. Nikki suddenly got a worried look on her face and she began to shiver a bit.

"W-what are you saying?" she asked. I just walked over to her and wrapped my arms around her and hugged her tenderly.

"We found each other. When we least expected it, destiny brought us together. We were both there for each other all these years and we always overcame the odds whenever they seemed impossible. You're the person that I care about most in my life and I'm so grateful that I'm with you," I said. Nikki let out a sigh of relief and softened up before she returned the hug and we let a minute of silence go by.

"I'm glad that I'm with you too, Max. Ever since I've been with you, I've been able to open up more and feel less lonely than I used to. I love you so much."

"I love you too."

"Well, I should get going. I need to be at the altar before Zero Two. I'll meet you there," Nikki said, straightening my tie before she left. I wanted to tell her that I knew. But I just didn't know how to do so. Plus, there was also the possibility that it would only worry her even more than it did now. I decided to keep quiet about it for now and worry about the problems that we were facing right now. After I was finished with getting ready, I made my down to the main lobby, where Zero Two, who was in her wedding dress and holding a bouquet, was pacing back and forth like she was afraid or something.

"What's up? You nervous or something?" I asked, approaching Zero Two. She was a bit surprised by my sudden appearance, but she wasn't too surprised.

"Yeah, I'm a little nervous. It's just all happening so fast. I mean, sure, there aren't that many in attendance, and the Tendricite's tradition of a normal wedding is way different from what we knew, and…" Zero Two said rapidly.

"Hey. Slow down. Take a deep breath. Today is your day. The start of a new chapter in you and Hiro's lives. So, you have nothing to worry about, OK?"

"…Yeah, you're right. I guess I'm all anxious about nothing…"

"Well, I think that we should head in now. I'm pretty sure he's just as anxious as you are," I said, holding out my arm to her. Zero Two just looked at my arm in confusion before looking at me with a raised eyebrow.

"What? I'm not marrying you," she said.

"Wh- Oh. Right. See, on our Earth, it's tradition for the father or someone of equal importance to walk the bride out to her future husband. But, if you don't want to do that, then we don't have to."

"No, no, we can do that. If it makes this feel more like an actual wedding, then I'm all for it!" Zero Two replied before she grabbed my arm with a beaming smile. The two of us then opened the doors to the altar, where Celeste, Hiro, and Nikki were standing, while the rest of the team were sitting in the pews at the front. But, aside from them, there was barely anyone else attending. I did notice that there was a large T-shaped hole behind the altar with a perch of some kind on the outside. But I just focused on walking Zero Two all the way down the aisle before I handed her off to Hiro and stood behind him while Zero Two handed her bouquet to Nikki.

"Welcome everyone. I can tell that everyone is excited for this wedding to get started. Since the usual pastor who works here was out sick, I will be serving as a replacement for the wedding. But, before we begin, we are still waiting on one final guest who will be appearing shortly," Celeste announced. I had no idea what she was talking about, seeing as our entire team was already here, but the answer came to me and probably everyone else when a strong gust of wind blew throughout the entire church and an enormous bird came to rest on the perch. The bird's plumage was white with a dark blue three feathered crest adorning its head. But the most striking feature about the bird were its outstretched wings. Not only did it look like the wingspan was about 50 feet, but it also had iridescent feathers that changed color as its wings shifted before it folded them in. Its tail feathers were long and were the same color as its crest was. Everyone was pretty shocked to see this gigantic bird just perched behind the church, but Celeste looked like she was expecting this bird to show up.

"Now we may begin. Dearly Beloved: We are gathered together under the watchful eye of the Cryoavis to unite this couple, Hiro and Zero Two, in the bond of holy matrimony. We will now hear the marriage vows. Hiro, do you take Zero Two to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?" Celeste asked.

"I do," Hiro replied with a smile.

"Zero Two, do you take Hiro to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

"I do," Zero Two said.

"All right. Now we will have the exchanging of the rings," Celeste said. Both me and Nikki walked up to Hiro and Zero Two and we gave them the rings and after we did so, Hiro put Zero Two's ring on her finger and Zero Two did the same to Hiro. As this was going on, I noticed that Amki was ACTUALLY crying. Odango must've also noticed this, because she reached over and tapped Amki's shoulder, but the second that she did, Amki wiped her face and tried to regain her composure.

"By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Congratulations. You may now kiss the bride," Celeste said. Not even two seconds after the words left Celeste's mouth, Zero Two grabbed Hiro's collar and kissed him full on the lips. Hiro was a bit surprised by the sudden kiss, but he immediately returned the kiss and wrapped his arms around her waist. After they had finished the kiss, the Cryoavis let out a loud screech and then took off with a large flap of its wings, creating another large gust of wind that blew throughout the church. As me, Nikki, Hiro, and Zero Two looked up in awe, a large feather dropped through the hole in the wall and gently floated down into Zero Two's hands. The feather itself was extremely beautiful, turning red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple when Zero Two inspected it with interest. As she was doing so, Hiro picked Zero Two and held her in his arms before he gave her a smile.

"It's official: We're married now, Zero Two," Hiro said. Zero Two just smiled and kissed Hiro again as we all began to clap and cheer.

Hiro's perspective, aboard the Centurion

It had been a completely crazy week. The past five days were just us trying to set up a wedding while Max recovered and, on the last day, Max had recovered and me and Zero Two finally got married. The whole thing was a bit stressful but, in the end, I'd say it was worth it. As I was sitting at the bar, deep in thought, the sound of knocking broke me away from my thoughts. I turned and saw Max standing in the doorway with a couple of drinks in his hands.

"Hey, man. How come you're in here and not with the others?" he asked as he came over and sat down on the other side of the bar.

"I was just a bit tired. Plus, it was getting a bit too loud for me. I was planning to go back in a few minutes," I replied.

"Well, before we do, I thought we'd have a drink to commemorate this occasion. And also, because we didn't have that bachelor party," Max said, opening the drinks and pouring them into a couple of glasses. He then handed me one of the glasses and we raised them into the air together.

"To happiness," he said before the two of us clinked our glasses and drank up. The drink tasted sweet like a fruit, but it also had a bit of a tangy flavor with a bit a fizziness.

"It's weird, isn't it?" I asked.

"What?"

"I mean, we woke up in this dimension not knowing what to expect and now me and Zero Two are married despite everything that's happened so far."

"Yeah, I guess that is a little weird."

"We've fought against alien soldiers, apex predators, and cowboys, we ended up rewriting history in my dimension, you took a trip into your own mind…"

"And I just found out recently that I'm going to be a father…" Max finished. His statement confused me for a second, but I could tell that it was bothering him.

"How'd you find that out?" I asked cautiously.

"When I was inside the Dream Realm… when Nikki tried to keep me from falling into the darkness… I heard a tiny little heartbeat coming from inside of her."

"How do you think that happened?"

"Me and Nikki… last December, we both got drunk and when we got home… we had sex. I guess that she got pregnant from that and she's been hiding it from me for the last 2 and a half months."

"Well… isn't that something to be excited about?" I asked.

"It is. But, given the circumstances, I can see why she didn't bring it up. So, now's probably not a good time to talk about it," Max replied, taking another drink from his glass.

"So… you'll talk to her about it when this is all over?"

"Yeah. But for now, she can't know that I found out or that I told you. So… can you please not say anything about it to her?"

"My lips are sealed. Besides, that's between you and her. What happens between you and her is your business," I said. But, when I looked down at my glass, my thoughts turned to my Squad and the memories of Mitsuru and Kokoro's wedding.

"What's wrong?" Max asked.

"I just… wish that our Squad could've been at our wedding. I'm pretty sure that they would've loved to come," I replied. Max just gave me a smile and put a hand on my shoulder.

"They would be proud of the two of you. I'm sure that they would've loved to come to the wedding no matter what the situation was. You're a great guy and an even better teammate."

"Thanks, man," I said before the two of us continued to drink and talk.

To Be Continued…