Inspiration has struck. It was always my idea to continue the story; however, I never got around to it. Here is a fresh chapter for those who so patiently waited. I was very excited when I checked my story stats and saw this had 12,000 + views! In comparison, my other two stories have less than 3,000 views between the two of that. That is disappointing, in my opinion, but it is what it is.

Czechm8

Chapter 5

Owen's P.O.V.

When I next opened my eyes, I was lying on my back, staring at a sky so blue, there was no earthly comparison. This blue glowed with a radiance I had never seen before and seemed to give off energy that hovered around my fingertips. Then again, it could have been any of the other unearthly colors around me.

Rolling on my back, I was surprised to see that I had been lying on the sands of the desert floor, even though the yellow of the sand was like nothing I'd ever seen at any beach. Two mountainous ranges were on either side of me.

To my surprise, I felt no pain in my rib cage and each breath I took felt normal. I was completely fine, but where was I?

Almost as if answering my question, my best friend James appeared out of midair.

"James?" I asked, astonished to see him here.

"Here brother." He replied, his green eyes shining like emeralds.

"Where am I?"

"I think the Bible describes this place as the valley of the shadow of death."

"Really?" I asked, skeptical since I felt nothing but peace and love. Shouldn't I be feeling darkness and fear?

"Really. Now, come with me. Father is looking forward to seeing you."

Walking forward with him, I couldn't help but worry about me. Was I dead?

Again, as if almost hearing me, I felt an electrical shock. Then the pain disappeared.

"What was that?" I asked, clutching my heart in surprise.

"They're trying to bring you back," James replied, pushing his pace. I quickened my pace to follow. Seconds later, it happened again.

"What happened?" I asked.

"JellyFace broke one of your ribs. The break was bad enough that it almost killed you. Fortunately, we have orders from upstairs to keep you alive."

"Good to know." Just then, another shock occurred.

We continued at a quick pace for an undetermined amount of time (myself experiencing several more shocks) before stopping at a pearly white gate. Somehow, and I don't know how, I just knew that heaven lay beyond the gate.

"There is not much time. Hurry," James replied.

Deciding to agree with him, I walked inside and came face to face with a person I knew was God. He/she/it glowed with such intensity and exuded so much love, I felt overwhelmed just being in his presence.

"It is good to see you, my son." The voice said, sending love to my being.

"Father," I cried in awe. Without even realizing it, I bowed in reverence. Just then, I felt another shock.

"I have to return home, don't I," I mumbled in disappointment. The truth was I didn't want to leave, as selfish as that was. I was in a place with so much peace and love, I wanted to stay there.

"Yes, you do. Your life is not finished yet. You will play a big role in protecting the floating sword, one that cannot be fulfilled if you were to die today. We shall meet again."

Just then, I felt myself flying back down to my body. Desperate to know whether or not Mike was alive, I cried, "Will I see Mike before I die?"

Just as I floated back into my body, I heard God say, "As the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, so are my ways and my promises. You will see Mike."

As soon as I had entered my body, I let out a gasp. The breath I took was painful but significantly less than before I had journeyed to heaven. There was also a burning sensation in my chest, likely from the shocks that had been spent trying to revive me.

"Owen!" Amanda exclaimed, standing off to the side.

"Amanda." I rasped. I cleared my throat and then said, "It sucks to be back."

Mike's P.O.V

"So, how soon are we getting to this place we are going?" I asked for probably the hundredth time. After escaping from Kagema, my wound was dressed and the Sun Warriors had flown off to an undisclosed location. After a deep sleep, in which we still were flying when I got up, I had asked the question several more times but only got silence.

The woman who had saved me answered this time, "It shouldn't be long now. Thank goodness. I don't know if I can last much longer without intervention." The woman who had saved me had later introduced herself as Mao. Currently, she was lying on a cotton bed, with several slashes to her forehead and a large area of her wrapped chest was covered in her blood. Clearly, it was bad.

"Where are we going?" I asked, hoping to learn something.

Before Mao could say anything, a tall muscular male with long braids walked up.

"I've got this," he promised. Mao nodded thanks and continued in her silence.

"You are going to meet up with the rest of the Sun Warriors where we will heal our wounded and prepare for a counterattack by the Ishina."

"The Ishina? I thought the Ishina were back in New York?" I asked confused.

"A small number of them populate the world, but most of them will be at the place we are going."

"And where is that?"

The man didn't answer. Instead, he motioned me to come. Curious, I followed.

Opening the door of the helicopter, I stared down to see a mountainous area populated by several trees.

"Welcome to Fukagawa Japan."