Playstation All-Stars: The Era of Greatness

by Specter24

Over these past 2 decades, we have seen certain individuals do things that no one has accomplished, leaving us something to remember them by, and thus, earning the title of Greatness. Now, a new era has come where these great individuals must prove their worth once more. However, this ordeal will be something these legendary icons will not soon forget. Greatness awaits!

3. Prologue 3-3

Hey, guys! I managed to get another chapter out before the year's end. Now that I got the prologue out of the way, I can focus on the beginning arc. The next chapters will most likely not be as long as this and last chapter.

Anyway, without further ado, here's the end of the prologue and the beginning of a new adventure. Enjoy!

---

BZZZZZZZT!

Lightning continues to be heard throughout the land, deafening those that still live in this destroyed world. The storm grows more violent, with massive showers raining harder over Mount Olympus, with every drop bouncing off and streaming down broken statues, rubble, dead plants, and corpses at every location. Streams of water are flowing over the edges on the peak of the mountain, with it and the rain going inside a cave a few ways down from the top.

Kratos remains inside the cave, sitting on a rock formation up against the wall, feeling his energy seeping away with every minute passing. He can't feel the water from the rain around his legs, nor does he seem to acknowledge it. He has stopped feeling pain over a while ago, having little to no energy to move at all, as he stares blankly at his legs in the water, washing little of his blood away. The Ghost of Sparta can feel his death drawing near, feeling completely at peace with himself, a feeling that he has forgotten for many years. Kratos lowers his head a little more, slowly closing his eyes, patiently waiting for his end to come.

A few moments pass, and nothing happens. He would have been anxious already if he hadn't lost so much blood and stamina. Suddenly, he sees a blue light glowing through his eyelids, as well as hearing a tranquil sound. Kratos dazedly opens his eyes and raises his head a little, as his vision blurs greatly before it adjusts itself. In front of the Spartan are blue wavy lines, waving in front of Kratos' face, brightening the cave with its glow. Kratos is so low on energy, he doesn't acknowledge the lines. He doesn't even know if it's actually there or not.

"Unngh..." The Spartan closes his eyes once more, letting his head hang forward, as the blue wavy lines then fly out of the cave and head into the dreaded storm outside.

^ O X []

Blue wavy lines course along the air, traversing over a small yard. The waves go by the squared window of Toro's room, as Toro and Kuro are watching TV inside, eating their breakfast on the table. Toro is eating his natto rolls with chopsticks and Kuro is eating a cheeseburger.

"Graa!" Kuro takes a big bite out of his burger, causing Toro to look at him in disgust.

"Eating a burger in the morning is not healthy, Kuro," Toro said with an eyebrow raised, "You need something light and nutritious to start the day full of energy. Eating nothing but fast food is just going to make you sleepy."

Kuro swallows the portion he was chewing and turns his head at Toro with a messy smile, "Ha ha! Shows how much you know! Unlike you, I do more than just silly things all day." Kuro then flexes his right arm at Toro, "Notice anything new? Unlike what you do every morning, I exercise ten minutes a day! I lift heavy weights and stuff like that, so I have to eat more to gain more mass for my muscles!" Kuro then sticks his head high with an egotistic smile, "I can already hear the ladies swoon at me right now, begging to touch my awesome pecs."

"Uh-huh..." Toro stares at Kuro's arm with a puzzled look, not seeing anything different from the last time he saw it. He sweats as he then looks at Kuro with a hopeful look, "Um... I think you need to rethink your workout schedule better. Meow."

"Bah! You're just jealous that you'll never have muscles like mine." Kuro dismissed Toro's suggestion as he then takes another bite out of his burger.

"Sure... whatever you say..." Toro pouts as he eats another natto roll with his chopsticks.

"So anyway, what's your plan for today? I just so happen to have enough free time to keep you company."

Toro's eyes perk up with joy as he quickly swallows his roll and looks at Kuro, "I'm planning on going to the Star Festival to wish myself into a human!"

"Eh? Wishing?" Kuro raises an eyebrow, "Nyah! Didn't you already do something like that a long time ago?"

"This time is going to be different!" Toro explained, waving his stretched out arms up and down with enthusiasm, "I've done many nice things since then! If I try wishing again, then surely my dream would come true!"

"Toro, Toro..." Kuro sighed as he shakes his head and puts his burger on his plate, "This is your biggest dream, right? You can't just do the same thing last time and expect something different to happen."

"But I have a really good feeling - Ow!" Kuro backhands Toro's forehead with passion, causing Toro's eyes turn into swirls.

Kuro then shakes his round hands in the air, "You CAN'T make your dream come true by doing the same thing over and over again! It's not going to change anything! Nyah!" Kuro then extends his arm to the dazed Toro, "You have to treat your dream with more respect. Try to be more innovative; do things you have never done before, like, do some nice things humans do or something. That way, once you become a human, you will know that you went over the limit to make it happen, and nothing else will be as satisfying as that." Kuro then picks up his burger, and takes a bite out of it, "Just be creative, Toro!"

Toro regains his senses, taken back by Kuro's words, "W-Wow, Kuro. I never really thought about it that way before. Meow."

"Hey, we're like a team. You can't do anything without my guidance, and I can't do anything without you making me look good."

Toro gives Kuro a vindictive look, "Th-Thanks, I guess..."

The TV then changes the news channel it was on to show the TV's white cat figure, which looks angry, "I think you're the last person Toro needs guidance from. Especially when you talk with your mouth full!"

Kuro pouts at that remark as he puts his burger on his plate, glaring at the TV, "That's funny coming from an object that does nothing but stay on one spot every day! You couldn't talk with your mouth full even if you wanted to!"

"Gah!? I'll show you!" The TV summons a pan in midair as it then falls straight down at Kuro.

Kuro grins as he sways his head back, avoiding the pan, "Ha! You miss-!?"

SPLAT!

The pan crushes the burger, squeezing its condiments onto Kuro's shocked face. Kuro blinks in surprise as he then sneers at the TV, "THAT'S IT! YOU'RE GOING DOWN!" Kuro charges at the Tv as gets over the table, but Toro quickly holds him back by wrapping his arms around Kuro's waist.

"Please, you two! Stop acting so childish! Meow!" Toro cried, as Kuro is frantically swinging his arms and legs while trying to get the TV, which shows the cat figure waving it's arms up and down, yelling at Kuro over his behavior.

The struggle continues as another wave of blue lines go by Toro's window, circling up into the sky.

^ O X []

Blue wavy lines swim deep into the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, heading towards one of the Tram tunnels of Rapture's districts: Olympus Heights. This district is where the most wealthiest and successful people of the underwater city reside in their top class apartments, accessed via a tram route that is connected to many other districts in the city. This place has become a war zone after Rapture's downfall, with the apartment complex in a state of decay, littered with rubble from the upper floors and bodies lying around in separate areas. The Tram tunnel is not much different, as it is also littered with debris and corpses, as well as sandbags, furniture, and heavily damaged trams all over, with water leaking inside the tunnel through the glass' damaged exterior to top things off.

Further down the tunnel is the Central Square Bistro, the central hub of Olympus Heights. The Bistro was a popular location where many people dine and hear music while they wait for their tram to arrive. It's now abandoned and destroyed, with puddles of water and broken pillars are seen around the mucky and bloody floor. The center of the Bistro -where people go to eat- has papers, broken dishes, and other objects around the counter, which looks burnt and bent from the aftermath of the battles that took place here.

At the left corner from the Bistro's rear entrance lies a round open vent in a wall, with a metallic plate -stylized with leaves and plant stems- that has one end around the vent and the other touching the floor, having a little of the bottom portion sticking out. There, a metallic hand drops a purse inside the vent, as giggling is heard deep in the vent moments later.

"Muuuuuuuughh..." Big Daddy walks away from the vent, walking across the Bistro with his drill held up diagonally, staying attentive to his surroundings. He walks around a wall near the Bistro's front entrance, and spots a turret -a machine gun with a spotlight on top of a swivel chair that turns via a mechanism attached to it- turning towards him. The turret flashes its green light over Big Daddy, who doesn't react to it as he then walks out of the Bistro. The turret continues to survey it's surroundings, as there are several turrets positioned around specific areas in the southern part of the Tram Tunnel. Big Daddy walks through the damaged pavement, walking past some of the turrets, which don't shoot him upon seeing him. He walks near the end of the tunnel -blocked by debris and burning trams- and walks towards the center of the path, heading down a slope towards the sewers, where a few corpses and furniture are found lying in the path and beneath the arched pillars on the sides.

Big Daddy enters the sewers, seeing another turret fixate it's light at the only entrance. He pays no attention to the turret, as he turns towards the sewer gate winch near the entrance and turns it, closing the entrance with a thick metal gate, which stops a few inches from the ground to allow water to seep through. The Protector then walks down the path to the right, and opens a double door entrance with two smaller doors at its bottom center to the left at the end of the path. He goes into a small empty area -which has sewer pipes aligned high on the walls, with a few lights flickering from the ceiling- and walks down a set of stairs, which barely holds Big Daddy's weight as some of them are bent.

Big Daddy turns to the left upon reaching downstairs, arriving in a rectangular-shaped room, with sewer pipes of different sizes covering the ceiling, and sewer water flowing out from a few big pipes from the walls on the room's right side, going down a drainage area below behind a rickety rail. There are a few bunk beds with no mattresses lying around against a corner and a rail, as well as a table against a small pillar-like wall, having chocolate bars and toys on it. On the other side of the room are a few drawings on the floor, with used candles and a wheelchair around it. Big Daddy walks to the wall at the end of the room, which has an exact vent as the one at the Bistro. Big Daddy knocks on the rim of the vent, causing the vent to vibrate loudly. Moments later, sounds are heard from inside.

"Boo!" The Big Daddy's Little Sister pops out of the vent midway with her arms spread out, playfully attempting to scare Big Daddy, who shows no reaction, "Tee hee hee! I. Scared. Youuuu." The Little Sister teased. Big Daddy then helps Little Sister out of the vent, gently grabbing her below her armpit as the Little Sister holds on to his arm while gently lowered to the ground. Little Sister then takes off the purses she had carrying around her shoulders. "Let me put these with the others!"

Little Sister hurries over to the right side of the vent, where a small medical room is located, which can be seen through a glass wall from the outside. Little Sister enters the medical room -which is small, has purple drapes around the glass wall, a bed big enough for only children to lie on, and a window where the lower and darker portions of Rapture can be seen through- and puts the purses on a table drawer. She opens the top drawer, which has a few viles of ADAM neatly lined up inside, and takes out a vile of ADAM from one of the purses to put them in the drawer one at a time. She continues to do this for a few moments later until the drawers are full of ADAM. Little Sister saves one vile as she then blows a kiss to the rest of it, "Good night, ADAMs." She closes the drawers and heads out of the medical room.

On the left side at the vent lies a big bed in the corner, with a small drawer table that has a lamp and radio on it, next to it. On the ground near the bed are a few magazines about electronics, an audio diary, and a worn-out backpack, and on the bed are a few books of varying subjects and drawings of Big Daddy and Little Sister together spread out around the bed sheets. On the walls are copies of Rapture's layout map, having different dates on them written in red marker and multiple X marks scratched over certain areas, with the later dates having fewer marks. Big Daddy scratches over Fort Frolic on one of the maps with his finger, as some of the other copies have that placed crossed out while others don't. The Little Sister comes out of the medical room, carrying a few supplies with her.

"It's bath time, Mr. B." Little Sister said, putting the supplies near Big Daddy. The Protector then backs away from the wall and sits down on a debris near the table drawer. Little Sister hums a tune as she pours a liquid on a piece of cloth and rubs it on a damaged part of Big Daddy's armor, buffing out the scratches he obtained from his fight with the Splicers a while ago. She then gets on the debris with Big Daddy, rubbing the cloth over his combustion engine on his back. She continues to clean up Big Daddy for a few minutes, hopping off the debris upon finishing. Big Daddy's suit glows vibrantly for just a little, as the Little Sister's way of 'repairing' him isn't as effective as Protectors normally get repaired, but it was better than nothing regardless. Little Sister then takes out her extractor, having the vile of ADAM she took earlier connected to it. "Snack time, Mr. B..." She injects the ADAM into Big Daddy's right arm.

"Mmmmmmmmm..." Big Daddy groans as the ADAM revitalizes his entire being in just a few seconds. He clenches his fist, ecstatic upon feeling this sensation running through his veins. Little Sister fully empties the vile into her protector, as Big Daddy's eyes glow green in content, feeling ready to go out and hunt for more ADAM. The Protector groans in relief, as Little Sister gets on the debris again, hugging Big Daddy's upper right arm. She leans over Big Daddy's helmet with a smile.

"Mr. B, can we please take a break? I want to read more of those papers you gave me." Little Sister pleaded, trying to contain her excitement as she is hopping a little bit, "Please, oh, please! We just got back! We have a lot of ADAM now! Can't we rest a bit? Pleeeease? Oh, please, please, please!"

Big Daddy turns his body a little over to the Little Sister, moving his drill over his lap so he wouldn't bump her with it. He brushes the girl's bangs with his fingers, cupping her cheek with his palm as the Little Sister holds his hand tenderly in response. "Fmmmmuuuuu..." The Protector groans as he then turns over to the bed in front of him, resting his palm over his drill.

The Little Sister smiles widens as she then kisses Big Daddy, "Thank you, Mr. B!" She giggles as she hops off the debris and gets on the bed. She quickly starts reading a manual titled "Protector Schematics: Bouncer", with dry blood on the edges of the pages. Big Daddy moans quieter than usual, as he then reaches over the radio on the table, and switches it on.

The radio begins to play "It Had To Be You", one of the many songs played over and over from an active station someone forgot to switch off when the war happened. Listening to music is one of the few things Big Daddy and Little Sister enjoy doing together without risking their lives out in streets of Rapture. While the two are 'happy' with their line of work, and don't do anything other than that every day, it is refreshing to just take a break and listen to the tunes after a hard day's work. Little Sister gets sucked into the details of the manual she is reading, while Big Daddy lets the tunes ease his being.

As the two are enjoying their break, blue wavy lines pop up from the railing at the other side of the room, as they enter in an open sewer pipe, heading deep into the darkness.

^ O X []

Blue wavy lines fly out of the water, as the ocean's waves grow bigger with each minute passing by. The storm is picking up, with the waves rocking the boat where Cole's body is being transported. Zeke stumbles over Cole's coffin, hanging on to it with all his strength, as the rain showers heavily over him and all over the deck. The boat's captain maintains the boat's course, steering the wheel at the right moments to prevent his ship from tipping over. A few minutes pass, with the storm getting worse.

The captain opens the window and shouts at Zeke, "We are not going to make it out here much longer! We have to turn back soon!"

"Just a little far ahead!" Zeke replied, holding his hood over his head to prevent the wind from blowing it off.

The boat heads farther out in the ocean, as blue wavy lines fly in dark, cloudy sky.

^ O X []

Blue wavy lines fly in the clear sky, being in the center of the hot sun, as away from the city below, Spike and Jake are running along the path in an empty field of grass, with a small forest on the left side.

"So what do you think the Professor has made this time?" Jake asked, running beside Spike at the same speed.

"I have no idea. We'll just find out when we get there." Spike replied.

"Let's hope we don't run into monkeys attacking the lab."

"If there is, I'll be sure to catch them again." Spike then runs ahead of Jake.

"Oh come on!"

The two laugh as they run up along a meadow, where a big lab lies on its center. The Professor's Lab is a three floor yellow building in shape of a curvy yellow cylinder, having smaller cylinder two floor structures on its sides, with the left structure being light blue instead of yellow. There are a few round windows on the upper floors, with the center structure having big squared windows in shape of a rectangle on front of its second floor. The front entrance has a hangar door with caution signs for its borders, and on each side of the door are stairways that lead up to the second floor balcony, which has a few trees for decor and is connected to every structure around it's front, back, and right side. On the roof of the main structure lies a large, hollow, brown mechanism, held up by big brown beams that go over the ceiling's edges at an angle, going all the way down to the balcony floor below. There are also a few beams with different kinds of hooks with a curvy platform on top over the upper right structure to raise heavy machinery to the roof, which has a few antennas and an entrance to the building.

The hangar doors open sideways automatically as Spike runs inside, followed by Jake. The two put their hands on their knees, tired of running as Spike raises his head tiredly, "Professor! We're here!"

Spike and Jake are in the Professor's Lab, which takes up most of the main structure's first floor and the front portion of its second floor. The lab has a red, yellow, and grey theme color scheme, having many metal frames with thick wires in them and several pipes with pressure gauges on the corners of the lab, and computers next to the side walls with huge monitors and keyboards. There are a few iron crates spread out around the ground, with the ground having big squared metal frames mostly gray in lines, with blue squares with yellow borders in between, having one yellow square tile in the center of the lab. On the ceiling are various support beams, all having thick wires that lead towards something covered in an enormous white sheet at the far end of the lab, standing before a red generator with three square caution signs lined up against one another, with the generator having huge pipes connected to the wall behind it and a big pipe on each of its side, both having a broader blue frame with yellow edges on their centers, having monitors depicting two-digit numbers on the front.

"Coming through, coming through," A man then appears from around the corner of the covered mechanism, avoiding the tools and crates that are in his way. He is an old, pudgy man, standing around 5'6" ft/1.7 m tall, with short white-grey hair on the back and the sides of his head, big white-grey eyebrows, a big round nose, and a white-grey mustache that covers his mouth. He is wearing a white lab coat with a light peach undershirt, a purple tie, and blue jeans held up by a black belt. He is a well-known scientist for bringing new grounds in the fields of science with his inventions - Doctor Ozel, the Professor.

The Professor nearly trips over a screwdriver, stumbling forward as he regains his composure, "Was that always there?" he stares confusedly at the screwdriver, showing his absent-minded side as Spike and Jake sweat with weak smile on their faces. The Professor then looks over at Spike and Jake, and approaches them, "Spike! You're just in time! Oh, and Jake is here too. That's perfect! The more people to see my invention, the better."

"We're happy to be here, Professor!" Spike said, holding his fists in front of his chest excitedly, "So where is your new project?"

"In due time, Spike. First, we need to get it running." The Professor then looks over his shoulder while scratching his scalp, "Now where can she be?"

"Eh! I'm here!"

From the right doorway, a teenager comes in, holding up a heavy box with both arms. She is in her mid-teens, standing around 5'1"/ 1.55 m tall, with long orange hair tied in two pig tails on the back corners of her head, having a few bangs combed around her forehead. She is wearing a light-blue denim jacket, a white tube top with a black lining on the top and bottom, dark-blue jeans held up with a white belt, and red shoes with white toe caps and soles. She is the Professor's granddaughter and assistant, often short-tempered when seeing others not acting the way she expects them to, but is always there for her friends and grandfather - Natalie.

Natalie scrunches over, barely holding up the box she is holding as she looks over at Spike and Jake. "Um... are you guys just gonna stand there? How about giving me a hand."

Jake just stares at her with blushed cheeks, while Spike looks disinterested, "I don't know," Spike crosses his legs and places his hands on the back of his head, "You're just going to nag at us either way, right?"

"I'll 'nag' at you right now, you freeloader! Just get over here and help me!" Natalie yelled, with a vein popping over her forehead.

"U-U-Uh-I'll help!" Jake said as he then rushes over to Natalie's aid, taking the box off her hands, using a bit of his strength to hold it up.

Natalie sighs in relief as she wipes the sweat off her brow, "Thanks, Jake. You can put it over there."

"Nn-NO PROBLEM!" Jake flusters upon hearing Natalie thanking him, and moves the box up next to a big control panel on the right side of the lab, putting it down on the ground there.

"You see? Jake is a real gentlemen, unlike you!" Natalie scoffs at Spike with her eyes closed, as Jake startles upon hearing the 'gentleman'. Spike doesn't care for Natalie's words as the Professor then gets in between the two.

"Alright, that's enough, you two." The Professor said, looking at them back and forth, "We can save our discussions for later. It is now time to unveil my latest creation! Natalie, begin the initiation process!"

"You got it!" Natalie goes and sits in front of the control panel, pushing several buttons as the big monitor in front of her turns on. Several windows pop up on the corners of the screen, detailing power inputs, gauges, and so on, as a girl then appears on the screen's center. The girl appears to be around the same age as Spike and Jake, having long green hair worn straight down in a ponytail, and green eyes. She is wearing a black spandex suit -with her leggings ending over her midpoint of her upper legs- with a white insignia of a sort on the front; and is wearing white shoes with light brown quarters and brown soles. She is a computer program in form of a young girl, a kind individual that assists the Professor in a daily basis - Casi. "Hey, Casi, it's show time!"

"Hm hm! Commencing light show!" Casi replied happily with her eyes closed. Jake regroups with Spike as the shutters over the second floor windows then close, darkening the whole lab as a few lights turn on inside, directing its rays over to the big mechanism covered with a sheet. The Professor rushes over to it, and looks over at Spike and Jake excitedly as he grabs hold to the sheet.

"Spike! Jake! Behold my newest invention!" The Professor removes the sheet in a dramatic fashion, unveiling the mechanism in it's entirety. It is a big red octagon shaped platform with a yellow center and a gray border of the same shape, standing in the center of an elevated octagon-shaped base with caution-sign guard rails on each corner, accessed via the stairs on the front and sides. There is another platform of the same design hanging over the platform, having a few antennas connected to the upper sides and having multiple wires connected to it from the ceiling. The platforms give enough room for a person or two to stand in between. "Well! What do you think?" The Professor looks over at Spike and Jake, who look confused.

"Uh... it's the Time Machine." Spike said, a little disappointed.

"No offense, Professor, but we were expecting something new." Jake said.

Natalie sighs, "See, Grandpa? I told you the sheet was unnecessary." She said as Casi giggles in the background. The Professors stands upright with his eyes closed, rubbing his nostrils with his finger.

"Y-Yes, well... the aesthetics is of least importance." The Professor said, with a drop of sweat appearing on his forehead. He then opens his eyes with determination, "But it's the function of the device that matters!" The Professor then walks over to the boys, "You two are all familiar with the Time Machine's capability of traveling through time, but what if I told you that I've managed to expand that capability even further!"

"Even further than time traveling?" Jake asked with a confused look.

"Yes!" The Professor then faces towards the Time Machine, "After careful analysis and countless of weeks of work, I've upgraded the Time Machine's primary functions, giving it the capability to not only send anyone through time, but to other dimensions as well!"

"Dimensions!?" Spike and Jake exclaimed in shock.

"Yes, dimensions! Different worlds that we are unfamiliar with! Lands that differ from our own! Realities that surpass our imaginations!"

"That's amazing, Professor!" Spike exclaimed happily.

"Have you already tested it?" Jake asked.

"I've gone ahead and sent cameras to a few destinations already." The Professor said, looking back at the boys, "The results are varied; one landed in a big forest, and another in bleak landscape. So far, we can conclude that not all dimensions are safe for travel."

Spike's eyes brighten up more, "Th-That's why we're here, right!? To go to another dimension!?"

"I will need your assistance, yes. I cannot begin to analyze these worlds properly unless I have someone to go there and experience it for themselves. You two are capable of handling yourselves in dangerous environments, so I would be grateful if you were to lend me a hand with this task." The Professor then walks over to the Time Machine's manual input panel on the left side of the lab, "With that said, however, you'll be going to where we deemed safe for the time being. Can't be too safe in these kinds of procedures."

Spike and Jake look at each other with golden expressions, "We're going to another dimension!" They both exclaimed excitedly in unison.

"Me first!" Spike then runs ahead to the Time Machine.

"No! Me!" Jake follows as Natalie rolls her eyes as they run by.

"Boys..." She mumbles as she then turns towards the control panel, and activates the Time Machine. The Time Machine's antennas lighten up with electricity, as the generator turns on, powering the machine on standby. The Professor makes a few adjustments on the machine's input panel as blue wavy lines fly past his ankles, flying by Spike and Jake shortly afterwards as the duo make their up to the base of the machine.

Spike raises his fist in excitement, "All right! Let's go!"

^ O X []

The blue lines gently travel near an armed helicopter, which is in hot pursuit of Sweet Tooth's truck down at Route 95. Down at the road, Sweet Tooth is being chased by a few police cars, with the first two cars at the front catching up to him, splitting up to trap the clown from the sides.

Up in the sky, a little distant from the chase, a news channel helicopter is broadcasting the event live, with the cameraman and the news reporter leaning over the helicopter's open doorway, wearing their safety belts to prevent them from falling off.

"We are live from the skies of Arizona, as officials are in pursuit of the world's most dangerous man, Needles Kane, A.K.A. Sweet Tooth!" The reporter shouted in her microphone due to the turbulence, "Earlier this morning in the town of Quartszite, an ice-cream truck rammed into the home of the Stillwell family, nearly destroying the house upon impact."

The cameraman zooms in on the chase, as the cop car on Sweet Tooth's left side begins to close in on the truck. The car rams itself hard into the truck from the side to make it lose control, but the truck hardly budges. The cop sitting on the passenger seat in the car chasing Sweet Tooth from the other side lowers his window, and aims at the ice-cream truck with his shotgun.

BAM! BAM!

The cop fires continuously at the truck, as the spray of bullets are barely leaving small dents on the truck's frame upon contact. From behind the driver's wheel, Sweet Tooth is completely focused, driving straight ahead on the open road in spite the situation he's in. He refuses to blink as his eye reflects the landscape ahead of him, just as the cameraman's camera lens is reflecting the ice-cream truck, as the news station is broadcasting the chase to the whole country, with millions of people watching in their respective locations.

In a shady neighborhood...

Inside a closed garage, a dark-skinned man is lifting heavy weights, sitting on a crate with a bunch of scrap metal and tools laying around the floor. A giant wheel is seen behind the man, who grunts upon putting his weights down. The man then walks to another part of the garage, walking by his small TV, which is showing the chase.

"Witnesses say that the driver then came out of the vehicle with a machete and killed the family of five inside one by one." The news reporter said, "Officials suspect Sweet Tooth to be the perpetrator, as the murderer dropped a paper bag -with the disembodied head of the Stillwell's family youngest son, Billy Ray Stillwell- on the front steps of the Police Station upon driving by 10 minutes after the incident."

In a downtown district...

Inside an old apartment building of a city, a woman is inside her dark apartment, with the windows boarded up, and the pink, wood-rotten walls covered in fashion model posters, which are filled with scratches and graffiti over the models' faces. The woman is wearing a bath robe and a white mask, as she is drawing a happy face over her reflection in the mirror on the wall with red lipstick. She continues to draw as her TV is on the channel where the chase is being broadcasted.

In a small home...

A man with a black top and blue jeans is eating raw meat with a knife on a plastic dish, sitting on his messy couch in front of his big screen TV, eating his food on a small folding eating table. The man watches the chase intensely, as the TV is the only lit object in the room, giving light to part vicinity around it, including the man's skull-shaped helmet lying next to him.

Back at the chase...

The reporter grips onto her mic harder, gritting her teeth at Sweet Tooth's truck, "Policemen that went after Sweet Tooth on Road 95 north of Quartszite moments later were then found dead upon making contact with the serial killer moments ago. Police officials from around the region are now focusing on Sweet Tooth's capture, deploying their best policemen to apprehend this monster by any means necessary!"

Back on the road, Sweet Tooth looks at his side view mirror, seeing the police car on his left maintaining its distance. The clown then shifts his gaze at the car to his right as he then steers towards it, attempting to ram it.

"Ah!" The cop with the shotgun quickly gets back in his seat, as his partner quickly steers away from the ice cream truck, avoiding contact as it drives further away from the road.

"Okay, floor it!" The cop on the passenger seat of the car on Sweet Tooth's left side exclaimed, as his partner stomps on the gas pedal. The car accelerates, quickly getting next to Sweet Tooth's window. The cop on the passenger seat lowers his window, and takes out his shotgun, aiming for Sweet Tooth's head. As the cop is about to pull the trigger, Sweet Tooth turns his head towards him, catching the cop off guard with his gaze. "Gah!" The cop blinks in surprise as he then he fires his weapon, but Sweet Tooth hits the brakes moments before the trigger is pulled, avoiding the shells. "Dammit!"

"Whoa!" The cops behind Sweet Tooth gasp as they hit the brakes, stopping inches behind the Killer Clown's truck. The police car on the left then does a U-turn, going across the other side of the road, as it and the other police car behind it drive full speed on the desert path towards the truck.

"Heh heh!" Sweet Tooth laughed as he then hits a small red button on his steering wheel, activating his truck's turbo boosters, immediately getting some distance from the cops behind.

The policeman are surprised, as they then hit the gas pedal and chase after Sweet Tooth with determined looks.

BOOM!

The police car explodes upon going over a land mine Sweet Tooth's truck placed before activating his turbo boosters. The destroyed, burning car flips over to its back, crushing the policemen inside as the flames burn their skin. The cop car at the rear crashes into the destroyed vehicle, skidding across the payment uncontrollably as its driver lies dead in his seat, having debris of the destroyed vehicle piercing into his forehead. "No!" The policeman in the passenger's seat cried in pain, having shards of the car's windshield in his eye, bleeding profusely as the car then drives off the road, falling and standing in place on its side.

"You bastard!" One of the policemen exclaimed angrily, as the two remaining cars go full speed at the ice-cream truck. Sweet Tooth shifts his gaze at the cars with his visible eye half-open, instantly steering his vehicle directly at his assailants. The policeman on the passenger seat in the car in front peers out his window with his shotgun again and fires at Sweet Tooth. Suddenly, the truck hops off the ground, as the shotgun round hits the truck's left spike, leaving a small scratch upon impact. "UGH!?"

The ice-cream truck lands on top of the hood of the police car, crushing it hard with its immense weight. Sweet Tooth activates his turbo boosters again, running over the rest of the police vehicle, running over the policemen inside, splitting them apart from their waists, crushing them into a gory mess of blood and bits in just a few seconds. The ice-cream truck gets back on the ground and turbo boosts towards the remaining vehicle, as the flattened car behind the truck explodes in a fiery fashion shortly afterwards.

"Nooo!" Horrified, the driver of the remaining car steers towards his right to flee, but his car's previous momentum caused it to drift towards Sweet Tooth instead. "AH!" The policemen inside cried, as Sweet Tooth then rams into their vehicle, denting the side's center, piercing through the vehicle with the truck's spikes, as the left center spike is covered in the blood of both officers.

Meanwhile...

"Th-This just in," The News Reporter exclaimed in a surprised tone, as someone sitting on a big, black, leather chair, in an office on a high floor of a building, is watching the broadcast with his laptop on his desk, "Sweet Tooth just killed every police officer chasing him on ground! Th-Th-This is unbelievable! Is he truly the monster people make him out to be!?"

"Hmm hm hm hm hm!" The man on the chair smiles wickedly, with his elbows on his desk, hands cupped together, "He's amusing as always."

Back with Sweet Tooth...

As smoke begins to appear from the pierced vehicle, Sweet Tooth looks down at his steering wheel, breathing slowly as he holds the steering wheel with a tight grip. His mind is at unease, thinking deeply again. He then hears a whistling sound, causing him to raise his head a little. He quickly drives away from the spot he was on, where a missile lands and explodes upon impact.

BOOM!

Sweet Tooth drifts away from the explosion as the armed helicopter has begun its assault. The helicopter fires its mini-guns at Sweet Tooth, who drifts away from the bullets hitting the desert ground, knocking the sand up in the air. The killer clown then takes a sharp turn back on the road, with the momentum knocking the pierced car onto the desert on the side. Sweet Tooth then ignites his turbo boosters, headings towards the helicopter with bloodshot eyes.

"COME ON! MAKE ME WHOLE!" Sweet Tooth cried as he drives past a set of blue wavy lines, flying gently a few inches from the sand.

^ O X []

Blue wavy line fly circles around a newspaper being blown by a gust of wind, as on the sidewalk on the other side of the empty street, Dante walks forward, holding his sword over his shoulder with a brood exterior. He walks alone in an empty block of the ruins of Limbo City, where most of the buildings here are damaged and age-worn, but are in better condition compared to the rest of them in the city. Around a corner of a four-way street is a run down, five floor apartment building, which has several shattered windows on different parts of each floor. Dante heads towards the apartment, and goes inside through the broken glass front door.

Dante goes up to the fourth floor, walking along the dusty hallway on the left side of the building, passing by the wooden walls rotting at different areas, the brown wallpaper above it torn apart, and the paper flooring damaged with dead rats and cockroaches lying on the side. Dante walks towards the end of the hall, and faces towards the door to his right, Room 426. He takes out his key from his coat pocket, and opens the door. He takes a step inside, and flips the switches on the wall, turning on the lights of his apartment.

Dante's apartment is big enough for one person to live in, having the living room to the left, the kitchen to the right, and bedroom and bathroom at the end of the hall in between. The walls have a dark yellow wallpaper, with the upper sections brightened up by the lights on the white ceiling. The living room has a white carpet floor, which is dusty, full of different colored stains, insect residue on some parts and whatnot. An untidy bed with grey and white bed sheets is also in the living room, which is up against the front window of the building and against a wall on its left side. Right of the bed is a small fridge big enough to fit in drinks and a few food, and next to it, on the left corner of the apartment is a medium-sized television set on a rectangular shelf, with a police radio on the remaining space. On the right side of the apartment, the kitchen has a dusty counter, a sink next to it, an open broken fridge between the sink and a corner of the right wall, a broken oven and dishwasher up against the same wall, and top and bottom shelves with some of them open, not having anything inside.

The Demon Hunter closes the door behind him, as he places his sword up against his back, with the blade dissolving into a yellow light before fading into thin air. Dante takes off his coat and throws over a chair in front of the counter, as he then makes his way towards the bed, taking off his gun holster around the back of his waist and placing them on the end of his bed. "Haaa..." Dante falls back on his bed, sighing in relief as he closes his eyes, ready to fall asleep.

BZZTT!

"Agh!" Dante groans as he hears his 'doorbell' ring. He pushes himself off his bed. With half open eyes, the demon hunter cracks his neck, as he heads over to his door and opens it.

"Hey! Finally found you!" Said a girl behind the door. She is around Dante's age, standing in 5'5" ft/ 1.65 m tall, with a pale complexion, short brown hair, grey-green eyes, and several mystic tattoos on her arms and a small blue star tattoo on her forehead. She is wearing a blue hoodie that has an orange body and blue sleeves; three necklaces around her neck, small to long from top to bottom, with the longest having a silver pendant; denim short-shorts; thick, knee-high socks; brown boots; a stencils tube slung over her back; and a brown belt with a spray pant in the belt's slot on the side. She is a human who helped Dante in his time of need, aiding him in ending the demon rule, and giving his life a purpose again - Kat.

Dante smirks upon noticing Kat, "Heh! This is a surprise. I didn't know you were gonna show today."

"I'm surprised you're clothed this time." Kat replied jokingly. "It's a good thing I came sooner than later."

Dante shakes his head with a chuckle, "Ha ha! Yeah, um..." He doesn't know what to say, feeling a little tired from his patrol, "So do you need to use the bathroom? It's in the back."

"Heh. I'll pass." Kat then walks into Dante's apartment, passing by him as Dante then closes the door, "I just finished tagging the block you were in. I thought I could take a little break and catch up with you." Kat then looks around at Dante's apartment, smiling at the scenery before her, "Looks like you've made yourself at home."

"It's no trailer, but I have the whole place to myself." Dante then walks over to his small fridge, "The 'friendly neighborhood army' gave me a generator to power this apartment up for a few days. They always come by to recharge it when I'm off saving their buddies in some other part of town."

"The people here are grateful to have you, Dante." Kat assured, waving her hand outward, "They wouldn't bother doing this at all if that weren't the case."

Dante bends over as he opens his fridge, "Yeah, well pushing a loudmouth on their ass is just as pleasant as that thought; I'll give it that much." Dante closes the fridge as he turns towards Kat with a alcohol bottle labeled '666'. "Want a sip?"

"No, thanks." Kat said with a smirk as she rolls her eyes, and walks towards the kitchen counter.

"Suit yourself." Dante then takes a drink from the bottle, as he sits on his bed, while Kat stands around the kitchen counter.

"So I went over to the construction site you were in earlier." Kat picks up speck of dust off the counter and flicks it away, "The demons showed up south of the site and from a building next to it. The site looks..." Kat then looks sad, as she trails off what she was going to say, "The good news is that I tagged those entryways so that they would end up in a non-inhabited area nearby. There won't be any more attacks at the site without alarming the army and the police beforehand."

"It's getting worse out there, Kat," Dante said, looking out the window, "Two weeks ago it was just the goopy doll demons. A week later, the flying babies began to show, and today, I fought a regular doll bastard at the construction site, one of the many that will show up later, just like the formers. The army and the police can barely handle two types of demons together. I can already imagine what's going to happen when the real tough demons begin to show."

"My seals are slowing them down. They are losing the shortest routes that lead to the camps. The more seals I create, the easier for you and the army to see coming and strike down." Kat said as she walks up towards Dante from the side, "Things are getting better now, Dante. It's not like how it started." Kat then smiles, "With how things are progressing, we are on our way giving Limbo City back to hands of humanity. Soon, the whole world will be united to keep the demons away for good."

Dante looks down at his carpet, nodding a little a moment later, "Let's do our best to keep it that way then." Dante said, as he then takes another sip from his liquor bottle. The two then grew quiet, with Dante staring longingly at his reflection from his TV, looking disturbed by it. An uncomfortable aura began to brew from the silence, as Kat looks away while holding her arm, pondering how to say the next bit of news to Dante.

"Dante..." Kat bites her bottom lip, as she then looks at Dante, "I went to your old house." She pauses, seeing Dante not reacting to her words, "I... searched all over - I found nothing but a few blood stains on your father's tomb... Dante... the blood belongs to Vergil." Dante's eyes squint upon hearing that name, "The stains are a few days old. I tried tracking his whereabouts from there, but his trail disappeared at the front gate." Kat looks at Dante with sad eyes, getting closer to him, "Dante, it's not too late! Vergil should still be around here somewhere! If we find him - and just talk with him-"

"There is nothing to talk about," Dante interrupts, glaring at his reflection, "If talking didn't work then, it won't do anything now."

"W-We don't know if we don't try-"

Dante strokes his hair from the front to back, distressed by the current topic, "Kat... we've been through this... just drop it already, please..."

"He's your brother, Da-"

"IT'S F%^%ING OVER, KAT!" Dante exclaimed furiously, immediately standing close up to Kat, who takes a step back from Dante's outburst, "The whole time we've been together trying to kill Mundus, Vergil fought for HIS goals! He's no better than all those bastards that wanted us dead from the get-go!" Dante then points to his window, "You see that out there? Vergil is going to destroy all of it, all of the work we've done to keep this city safe! You and I need to be prepared when he comes, because he's not going to stop until he succeeds, and I'll be damned to let that happen! The only way to stop him is to finish him for good!"

Kat, while appearing intimidated, stands her ground, staring into Dante's glare without looking away, "... I know there is still good in him - I don't want to give up on him, and I know you don't neither. I don't want see you two fight again... I don't know if I can bear it the second time."

"Then you should have let me killed him when I had the chance." Dante replied bitterly, sitting back down on his bed, as he then chugs the liquor bottle without slowing down.

Kat watches on sadly, as she then grows stern. She goes over to the counter, picking up her stencil tube, and slings over her back. She then faces back at Dante, "I'm going to make some tags at the Central Plaza. Having that place secure will give the army a better terrain advantage." She then walks to the front door, and opens it. She takes a step forward, and stops as she looks down at the ground, as she then looks at Dante over her shoulder, "Vergil is alone out there... we can still save him." Kat looks away briefly, looking back at Dante with a weak smile as she then walks out the apartment, closing the door behind with a saddened expression.

Dante stares blankly at the door Kat left through, over their argument. Ever since he departed ways with Vergil, he can't stop thinking about him. Dante knows that Vergil must not get his way or everything he has done for humanity will be all for nothing. Despite knowing that, Vergil is still his brother. Dante can't help but feel bad for him from time to time. He would do anything to save what is left of his family, but he knows Vergil well enough to know that it won't do any good. Dante drinks the remaining portion of the alcohol inside the bottle, as he then tosses the glass to the side, with the glass shattering upon landing. Dante strokes his face, with his hands going to the side of his head. He stares dazedly at his reflection on his TV, visualizing Vergil looking back at him with a snarl.

"Damn it..." Dante sighed irritably, as he lies down on his bed, trying to sleep off his frustration. As he rests his arm over his eyes, blue wavy lines fly by his window outside.

^ O X []

BOOM!

A small explosion blows up a pile of boulders on top of a mountain of the Wastelands -a large desert island consisting of a sandy and rocky terrain- creating a dust cloud in the process. Blue wavy lines are seen flying out of the cloud, as moments later, a figure lands on his feet into the cloud, dispersing it as he stands upright. He is a big, muscular man, wearing big pieces of bronze, jagged armor, on his shoulders, left forearm, and on his legs, held in place by thick blue spiky straps across the bare parts his body. He wears a loose cloth around his waist, orange bandages around his left hand, and a bronze mask over his face with spikes at the front, with several blue straps around his skull hanging the mask in place. His eyes look wildly from his visor, as he raises his scimitar in anger.

"RAAAAGHH!" The Marauder howls as his team -wearing clothes similar to his- come over to the ledge he is on, aiming their rifles at their targets from afar. They fire at the desert terrain below, with their bullets hitting the sand, missing constantly as the tough residents of the Wastelands - The Wastelanders - drive fast towards the Marauder base with their vehicles.

"We got their attention! Hold them off!" A heavily-clothed man riding one of the vehicles yelled, as he and a half of dozen buggy-like vehicles of different variations drive at full speed towards at the Marauders' small mountain base. Some of them fire back the cliff above with the turrets on their vehicle, shooting one Marauder off of it, as the other Marauders retreat from their field of vision.

The Marauders regroup, running around in their small base comprised of rocky walls, ragged tents, and their vehicles, all around and apart from the medium-sized dark eco crystal at the base's center, which radiates a dark energy over part of the rock around it, engulfing it with a black goop substance. A Marauder yells at another, as they get on board their catapult vehicle, which is a heavy-duty vehicle with a catapult mounted on a large buggy chassis covered in a green-camo designed ramshackle armor, bearing multiple spikes on the side. The Marauder Catapults drive near the edge of the cliff side, and hurl flaming boulders to the Wastelanders.

"Incoming!" The buggys below scatter, avoiding the boulders as the flames splatter upon landing. As the buggys try to regroup, Marauders on the desert terrain show up with their buggys, which have multiple spikes on almost every part of their frame, with a turret mounted on the top. The Marauders riding their buggys scream wildly as they fire their turrets at the Wastelander units. "Fall back!" The Wastlanders take a few shots from the Marauders as they turn around to regroup, as more flaming boulders fall around them, some of them hitting the Marauder buggys.

The Marauders on the cliff base laugh maniacally, even at their own allies getting crushed by their boulders. They then stop upon hearing a sound above them getting louder. The Marauders look up to see a Haven City Air Train - a blue, large block-shaped vehicle with the front windows slanted inward and small wings at the side - flying over the base, casting it's shadow over them. "GRAGHH!" The Marauders angrily fire their rifles at the air train, which circles around the base to avoid the shots. It then stops and hovers over the base's left side, opening its hatch on it's back. As the hatch opens midway, a grenade flies out from the opening, directly landing over a Marauder Catapult.

BOOM!

The vehicle explodes in flames, knocking away most of the Marauders that stood near it, startling the rest of them from afar. More grenades fly out one by one, hitting the remaining catapults and some of the tents on the other side of the base, scattering the Marauders away from each other and taking down most of the riflemen on the cliffside. As the Marauders are distracted from the explosions, a figure jumps out of the air train, landing roughly through a ragged tent below. "AAAGGHHH!" A Marauder screamed, as he brandishes his scimitar and runs inside the tent to attack the figure.

BAM!

"UGH!" A red cone-shaped blast blows the Marauder out of the tent, which collapses onto itself shortly afterwards. The figure inside struggles a little to remove the tent off of him, and comes out into view, revealing to be Jak and Daxter, with Jak removing the Red Mod from his Scatter gun, reverting his weapon back to the Morph gun. Daxter, standing on all fours over Jak's shoulder pad, smirk at the Marauders.

"Say hello to my BIG friend!" Daxter exclaimed, as Jak equips his gun with a Blue Mod, turning it into a blue gatling-like gun known as the Vulcan Fury. Jak smirks as he aims the Vulcan Fury at the Marauders at the mid-distance and fires rapidly at them, shooting most of them down, leaving holes in the walls and destroying the tents behind them in the process. Jak continuously fires at his targets while swaying his gun left and right, as a Marauder near a blown catapult charges at Jak from his right. "Jak! Three o'clock incoming!" Jak grits his teeth, as he reverts the Vulcan Fury back to the Morph Gun, and squats as low as he can, avoiding an inward horizontal slash from the Marauder. "Waaah!" Daxter clings onto Jak's shoulder as Jak quickly jumps in the air, avoiding an outward slash. The Marauder looks up at Jak, who dives straight down at the ground with a Super Dive Attack, creating a small shock wave upon landing.

"Guughh!" The wave knocks the Maruader on his back, as Jak stands back up, seeing more of them charging straight at him.

"Quit wasting my time!" Jak exclaimed as he equips the Yellow Mod to his Morph Gun, elongating its barrels and bulkying its stock to form the Blaster. Jak aims and shoots down one of the Marauders, as another one gets close while raising his scimitar over his head. The Marauder screams as he brings his blade down, but Jak rolls sideways to avoid. At the mid-point of his roll, Jak equips the Red mod, turning his gun back to the Scatter Gun, as he stands on one knee at the end of his roll and shoots the Marauder away from the side. Jak dashes forward, shooting down every Marauder he gets close to, as three of them charge at him in unison. Jak stands on one leg and does a spin with his arms and leg spread out, knocking the Marauders away with his leg, weapon, and Daxter clinging onto Jak's shoulder pad. Jak then sees a Marauder from a distance hurrying to grab a rifle from the ground, as he then falls on his back at the end of his spin and equips his Blaster. The Marauder grabs the rifle and aims at Jak, but is then shot down by Jak in the face. Smoke trails from the Blaster's barrel as Jak and Daxter pant and smirk towards each other in their moment of peace.

"Yaaaaaahh!" Their moment ends, as the remaining Marauder casts his shadow over Jak and Daxter from behind, raising his scimitar over his head to strike down with full force.

"Oh no you don't!" Daxter leaps into the Marauder's face, startling the thug as he takes a step back, "You've just pissed off a Precursor, buddy! Have a taste of some orange lightning!" Daxter crawls all around the Marauder, scratching and biting around the bare parts of his body in the process. The Marauder twitches, as he tries to grab Daxter, giving Jak the chance to roll away. Daxter then stands on the Marauder's head and sticks his tongue out at him while making hand gestures beside his head. The Marauder growls as he holds his sword firmly and brings up towards Daxter, who jumps off, causing the Marauder to hit himself on the head with the back of his blade, making him lose his balance. Daxter gets back with Jak, who winds his fist at the dazed Marauder "Ha ha! Let's finish him off, Jak!"

"HIYAA!" Jak leaps forward at the Maruader below his waistline. The Marauder looks down, as Jak jumps up to him and gives him a devastating uppercut right across the jaw, sending the Marauder up in the air. The last Marauder falls unconciously on the ground with a loud thud, as Jak lands on both feet victoriously shortly afterwards.

Daxter hops off Jak's shoulder, getting on the Marauder's chest to dance on him, "Uh huh! That's right! When this Precursor tells you to sit down, you better sit down, kiddo!" Daxter exclaimed, as he then looks at Jak at the corner of his eye in a bold manner, "A little sloppy at the end there, but nice job following my lead for the most part, Jak."

Jak rolled his eyes, smiling at Daxter while shaking his head. Jak and Daxter then look over to the Dark Eco crystal, as the Air Train hovers over the base, ready to land.

Moments later...

In a desert terrain in the northern part of the Wastelands, the Wastelanders carry parts of the Marauder Buggys they destroyed in their battle to their base, keeping a distance from the Dark Eco Crystal retrieved from the mountain. the Dark Eco Crystal is carefully placed inside a metal container over a loading platform, as three Haven City soldiers -all having tattoos on their face, wearing red visors and black clothing underneath their blue plated armor, with a yellow scarf diagonally around their torsos- take the container into the Air Train. As the soldiers prepare to leave, Jak and Daxter walk towards the front gates of Spargus -a parched, arenaceous burg situated along the northern coast of the Wastelands- where the King sees them approaching with a proud grin.

The King of Spargus is a dark-skinned, green-eyed, muscular man, standing in 6'6" ft/1.98 m tall, having a synthetic red left eye, with metallic roots clutching into his skin. He wears a dark brown shirt and light brown pants underneath his silver metal plates of armor on his shins, chest, and shoulders, with the shoulder plates resembling the skull of a metallic creature; A light thick brown cloth around his waist, with its curvy tail ending behind his calfs, tied in place with a yellow sash that has a few red pouches and a green flask hanging from it; large dark blue gloves; and a head protector covering his jaw, chin, and head, which resembles a smaller skull variant from the ones on his shoulders. A proud, but often a laid-back warrior, who is always loyal to his friends and is never afraid to go into dangerous situations - Sig.

"Now here's a duo I'll never get tired of seeing!" Sig exclaimed proudly with open arms as Jak and Daxter stand in front of hin side by side, "You two really put some work out there! Those Marauders will think twice before trying to take us from a higher terrain now."

"Implying those guys can actually think," Daxter remarked, "I lost a few brain cells back there seeing how stupid they were, thinking they can take us after we've trampled them 100 times before."

"We're happy to have helped, Sig." Jak said with a smile, "This place means a lot to us, so feel free to call us when you need a hand."

"Trust me, I'm embarrassed enough as it is dragging you guys here," Sig said, avoiding eye contact with a weak smile. He then looks at weaponstaff he's holding with his right hand, "If I could, I would've personally handled the situation myself, but Kings can't go out and risk their lives over every single thing. It's not a "proper" way to behave, or so I've heard."

"You're telling us," Daxter said, crossing his arms with a sigh, "Jak and I risk our butts again and again to keep this world going, yet we're still doing grunt work. You'd think us role models could inspire others to do our job every now and then."

"As if anyone in their right mind would follow your footsteps..."

Daxter, Jak, and Sig look over to the right, and sees someone glaring at them from afar. Like Daxter, he's an Ottsel, but with brown-orange fur instead of the typical bright orange. He has brown spots mostly over his limbs and head, with brown hair growing on the sides of his head, and big brown eyebrows. He is wearing a tan waistcoat over a white, puffy sleeved shirt; a red cravat around his neck; and brown, worn-out spats around his ankles. Once a human, an arrogant power broker who used immoral methods to control others, is now a creature he always dreamt for, which leaves MUCH to be desired - Count Veggie.

"W-What!? No!" Veggie turns around, shaking his fist at the sky angrily, "It's Veger! Count VEGER! What is this Count Veggie nonsense!?" The trio look at each other, baffled by 'Veger's' random outburst, as Daxter smirks at the angry Ottsel.

"Heh-hey, if it ain't Count Loser," Daxter chortled, "I've almost forgotten about you. It's weird too, because for some reason I always imagine your mug whenever I go take a dump."

Veger turns towards Daxter with a glare, "I will never be forgotten! As long as I draw breath, I will stop at nothing to purify this world with a light that will purge filth such as you!"

"You need to let things go, Veger," Jak said with his arms crossed, "Things are better now, believe it or not. The best thing you can do for yourself is to accept reality for the way it is."

"Don't patronize me, you dark eco freak!" Veger scowled at Jak, "This world is infested with darkness, lingering in every hidden corner, waiting to strike like today!" He then points at Jak and Daxter, "You two have doomed us all with your actions! Activiting Eco Cores only distracts everyone from the real danger at hand! The darkness WILL come, and will swallow every single living thing into its void, never to be seen again!"

"Nyah nyah nyah! I'm Count Veeeger! I need a night-light to keep me safe or I will wet the bed!" Daxter mocked Veger, mimicking his voice while doing hand gestures and goofy expressions, as Jak and Sig chuckle.

"Mock me while you can; you won't be laughing when Judgment Day is upon us." Veger sneered at Daxter, as he then looks at Jak, who looks back with a silent glare, "And don't think this is over between us, Jak! You will rue the day for your crimes against humanity! And when you do, I will be there to - GUCK!" A big hand grabs him by his head and torso, with its fingers squeezing his cheeks hard enough to make his eyes bulge out in a goofy manner.

"Who said you could wonder around by yourself?" Said a big burly Wastelander with an Australian accent, as he picks up Veger from the sand and forcefully places him on his shoulder with a thump, "I don't like it when you leave me quarters without notice. Do you want me to get the glue again?"

"N-No! I just finished scraping it off my toesies..." Veger said nervously, looking at his toes with a sad expression.

The Wastelander is an overweight, middle-aged man, standing in 6"4' ft/ 1.93 m tall. He is bald on the top of his head, with blonde hair growing on the back, reaching down to his high-set shoulders, and has a mustache that goes below his chin. He is wearing a white shirt and a diaper covered by the front and back of his tattered patches of clothing, held together in place by a brown wide band around his abdomen; a large, metallic shoulder plate decorated with tusks on his left shoulder; pieces of armor over his knees and feet; and brown straps and bandages around his forearms. He is a tough Wastelander, well known for intimidating others with his persona, especially to a certain duo that always get the better of him - Kleiver.

"You're going to be scraping other things off if I catch you running off again," Kleiver glared at the timid Veger on his large shoulder plate. He then looks over at Jak and Daxter, not amused, "Well, well, if it ain't the little macho heroes, gracing us with their presence after 'their' mission today. You two buggers sure are perverts for attention, eh?"

"We came here because we were asked to." Jak replied stoically.

"Ooooh, that makes it MORE honorable." Kleiver scoffed, "It's bad enough that we have to ask blokes from the Big Smoke to pamper us, but to help you guys look better out there puts a damper in how things work around here."

"Ha!" Daxter chuckled, "And where were you when we were out there, huh? It's hard to NOT see you in the horizon."

"Now why would I risk me hide when the perfect couple has everything under control? Besides, there are more important things to do here than to make you ankle biters look good. You two can go play with your audience's emotions, while you let the big boys do their job." Kleiver than scratches his head in annoyance, "Blah! I've already wasted enough energy talking to you nibblers. Don't show yourselves to me again!" Kleiver turns and walks to the front gate, as he looks at Veger, "The next time they show up, make some bloody jokes! Be more like that rodent from now on."

"Oh God no..." Veger whimpered, as he and Kleiver walk away.

"So Jak, how about staying over for the day?" Sig asked with a big smile, "We'll have a big 'ol party just to celebrate the occasion."

"Thanks Sig, but we've have to get going back to Haven." Jak replied with a smile, "I promised Keira I would be with her during Samos' lessons."

"A little quality time with the love interest, huh? Ha ha! Don't let me stop you."

"Okay, okay, let's vamos!" Daxter said, walking towards the Air Train, "I have a girl at home waiting to use her Daxter points she's been saving for days."

"You chilipeppers have a safe trip! Feel free to stop by anytime!"

Sig and Jak wave goodbye to each other, as Sig then goes into Spargus with the remaining Wastelanders. Jak turns to leave, as he sees the Air Train hovering up into the air, which baffles Daxter, "Hey! Where are you going!? You forgot us!" Daxter waved his arms at the Train, which flies off to the desert region. Daxter is dumbfounded, as Jak taps his shoulder, getting his attention as he then points Daxter to their HellCat cruiser, a red triangular-shaped, heavy-duty zoomer, with two accelerators in the back, with a rear-facing dual turret, and two available seats with a metal bar arching over the top separating each seat.

"The idea was to go back with the cruiser." Jak said, as he pats Daxter on the shoulder, "It'd be too crampt inside the Air Train with the crystal in it. Plus, it will give those rookies some experience."

Daxter throws up his head with a loud sigh, as Jak then walks to the cruiser. Daxter soon follows with a perplexed expression, "Why didn't we just bring the Hellcat instead?"

"Keira is still fixing it after that stunt you did last time."

"Hey! I saved our butts that time and you know it!"

Jak and Daxter get on the cruiser's seats, as Jak turns the vehicle on. The engines roar, as the cruiser hovers a few inches from the ground, accelerators igniting in the process. Jak then pilots the cruiser away, blowing the sand behind it in the air, going across the desert terrain in a steady speed.

"We'll get there around an hour, so let's enjoy the sights while we can."

"Yeah, you do that." Daxter gets comfy in his seat, resting the back of his head over his hands, "Wake me up... when we get to... smoochieville..."

Daxter falls into a deep sleep, as Jack laughs silently to himself. The cruiser heads deeper into the desert, with a few blue wavy lines following it inches behind it.

^ O X []

Blue wavy lines flow down along a waterfall, flying out of it midway as it smoothly goes up and down over the stone floor nearby, slowly going by Heihachi, who doesn't see the waves in front of him as he is in deep meditation. With his arms and legs crossed, Heihachi's brow furrows, exhaling through his nostrils calmly recollecting moments from his past.

Heihachi smirks with his arms crossed at a man bound in chains in a big hole. A dump truck backs up next to the hole as it unloads a pile of dirt over the man, whose eyes widen in agony, "DAMN YOU, HEI-!" The man cried as the hole is filled, burying him alive.

A boy cried as tumbles near an edge of a cliff. Covered in bruises, the boy weakly pushes himself up on his hands and knees, gazing at the chasm next to him. The boy nervously turns to crawl away, but Heihachi gets in his way as he picks the boy off the ground with one hand by his throat, choking him mercilessly. "You are weak!" Heihachi exclaimed as he walks to edge of the cliff and holds the boy over the chasm, "If you do not survive this, then you don't deserve to live under my name!" Heihachi pulls the child back and hurls the boy into the chasm. The boy cries as he falls into the darkness below.

A young man gasps, as a soldier with a gas mask shoots him repeatedly with a machine gun. The man collapses onto his back, raising his head and extending his hand to Heihachi in front of him, who stands between his men as he aims his gun at the wounded man's head.

BAM!

Heihachi remains composed upon reflecting on those moments, as his mind goes blank once again. Suddenly, Heihachi's muscles begin to tense, seeing the face of a young woman, causing his eyebrows to furrow and his teeth to grit in anger.

"If you are to kill me... remember that I will always love you..."

Blue electricity then courses along Heihachi's arms back and forth, as Heihachi breathes slowly to calm down while in his meditative state. He eventually regains his composure, as his muscles relax, causing the electricity around his arms to slowly disappear.

"This aura... where is it coming from?" Heihachi thinks to himself with furrowed eyebrows.

As Heihachi continues to meditate, one of the old, long trees far behind Heihachi begins to tumble slightly towards the old warrior, stopping almost instantly at a high angle. The tree's roots are old and rotten, but are still strong enough to support the tree from completely falling down. The sound of it falling was loud enough for anyone in the back yard to hear it, but Heihachi continues to meditate as if he didn't hear anything.

The blue wavy lines from before spirals around the tree's branches, as it then flies up towards the bright sky.

^ O X []

THUNK! THUNK! THUNK!

In the main floor of the Hall of Heroes, Sir Daniel Fortesque is bumping his skull against his statue's leg in a constant pace, being in an even more drunkard state than before. He has bottles wedged between his spine and his armor's neck hole, with his bones doused of the bottle's liquor, which drips onto the floor beneath his feet from his armor. His heroic friends stare at him from afar in awe, having mixed feelings over Sir Daniel's behavior.

"I dun' think it could get worse." Dirk Steadfast said.

"I really don't like seeing Danny act like this." Imanzi said, shaking her head in sadness.

Bloodmonath spits at the ground to his side, "So she never came back. So what? He has an eternity to find another soul mate."

"That's not how it works, Blood." Ravenhooves said with his arms crossed, "A loved one is like a part of your body. If it's gone, you'll always remember having it."

"Ja. Sir Daniel dose not deserve this." Karl Stungard said, rubbing the back of his helmet.

"Either way, this is his trial." Stanyer said, taking a step forward, "It will take a long time, but he'll accept this one day."

"It wasn't his fault, so he'll eventually see this through." Woden commented, as he then takes a sip of his drink.

"Sir Daniel..." Canny Tim looks on Sir Daniel, deeply saddened to see his former leader in the state that he's in.

Sir Daniel then bumps his against his statue's leg one last time, as he lays his skull upon it, looking down at his statue's feet as his eye begins to water.

FLASHBACK

Sir Daniel rides the time machine through the void of time and space, heading back to Gallowmere. A portal opens at the end of the void, as Sir Daniel ignites the time machine's thrusters, flying out of the portal with great speed. The time machine slows down as it hovers around a meadow in a circle, gently landing on top of it. The time machine turns off as Sir Daniel wipes the non-existant sweat off his skull. He looks over to his right to see if his beloved is all right from the trip.

On Sir Daniel's lap is a woman, who, like Sir Daniel, is also a living corpse. She is a mummy, standing around 6 ft/ 1.82 m tall, with a skinny, hourglass figure. She has light blue skin, green eyes, red lips, and black hair with her bangs held back by her golden tiara on her head. She is wearing a broad golden necklace around her neck, a red piercing over her bellybutton, bronze boots with laces, and has bandages wrapped around parts of her body such as her thighs, upper legs, chest, and arms, with some of the bandages having holes in them. She was an Egyptian Princess, chosen to 'join' her new husband in the afterlife. She awakens from her eternal slumber hundreds of years later, and is rescued a few times by Sir Daniel, who she is now eternally grateful for - Princess Kiya.

Kiya looks at Sir Daniel, happy to have made it in his time safe and sound. The two stare at each other before they kiss under the full moon light.

Over the past several nights, they begin to enjoy their time together. They would spend one night running across the cemetery while holding hands, and another day entering dangerous locations to fight deadly monsters. They once had a picnic on a meadow in a dark cloudy night, unintentionally scaring a passerby out of his pants. They spend another night watching the full moon on the hill where Sir Daniel's grave is located, feeling the breeze pass their cold undead bodies, and in another night, they spent their time on a boat over the lake, spending hours and hours staring into each other's eyes with love and passion. At the end of each, wonderful night, they would kiss as the wolves howl in the background and with a swarm of bats squeaking as they fly off towards the moonlight. Sir Daniel thought this happiness was going to last forever.

But on one night, on top of the same meadow and under the same moonlight they came back in, Sir Daniel looks on horrified, seeing Kiya face her back towards him.

"Please forgive me, Sir Daniel... but I must do this..."

END OF FLASHBACK

Tears pour out of Sir Daniel's eye, as he sobs uncontrollably over his statue's base. "MmmmmM-hmm-haaa!" He whimpers loudly as he can't get a hold of himself. Just then, a hand places over Sir Daniel's shoulder. Sir Daniel stops crying momentarily as Megwynne Stormbinder gently holds Daniel's arm with her other hand.

"It's okay, Sir Daniel," She said with a soft smile, "It is alright for you to be sad. Many of us have not seen our loved ones since our passing and understand your sorrow. You don't have to go through with this alone; we are your comrades-at-arms; we are your friends." The heroes stand side-by-side, each expressing how proud they feel to be by Sir Daniel's side in their own way. Megwynne then pulls out every bottle Sir Daniel has on him, "You don't have to hide your feelings from us. We're here for you, Sir Daniel. Let us be a part of your afterlife."

Sir Daniel raises his head as he pushes himself away from his statue with one hand. Megwynne backs away a little as she and the others see Sir Daniel look over to him.

BUURRRRRPPPP!

The heroes blinked as Sir Daniel is still too drunk to think clearly as drunkenly turns around and falls on his rear up against his statue. His eyes swirls around as his blurred vision is causing him to tilt his head left and right in confusion.

"Um... can we take that as a 'thank you'?" Stanyer asked the others with a shrug. The others nodded in agreement as they leave to continue their festive night. Megwynne chuckles lightheartedly as she then also leaves Sir Daniel, who is mainting his blurred gaze at the ceiling, where blue wavy lines are seen flying by.

^ O X []

Blue wavy lines swirl close to the ceiling, avoiding the ceiling fan's blade with ease. They eventually fade into thin air, as sunlight shines over the bed in the room.

"Mmh.." Nathan opens his eyes, staring up at the ceiling with a blurred his vision. His eyesight slowly adjusts, as he brings up his arm and rubs his temples to relieve the grogginess. He yawns as he stretches his arms apart, waking up to see him covered by a blanket up to his chest. He slowly leans over his left arm, turning over to the rest of the bed, "Morning, Ho-?" Drake stops as he sees an empty space. "-sigh-... Again?" Nathan shakes his head, as this wasn't the first time he woke up alone.

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty." A voice called out to Drake. Drake looks over to the Apartment door, smiling awkwardly upon seeing who it is, "Good to see you up. I was worried I'd have to find a charming prince to wake you."

She is a charming and intelligent woman, being around Drake's age, standing around 5'2" ft/ 1.57 m tall, with a slim, athletic figure, grey-blue eyes, and long blond hair strapped in a messy pony tail, with a few strays of hair hanging over her face. She is wearing a light blue button-up collared shirt, with the upper buttons off, showing her grey undershirt covering her chest and its sleeves reaching her mid forearm, extending past her shirt's rolled back sleeves over her elbows; pale green khakis held up by a thin brown belt; and dark brown shoes. A woman with similar personality traits as her husband, willing to risk her own life to uncover the world's legends and secrets. Drake wouldn't have made it this far without her at his side - Elena Fisher.

"Oh hey. Thanks for getting me up on time." Drake said while rubbing his eye.

Elena shakes her head as she then approaches the bed, "I don't want to make this a habit, waking you up every morning for the rest of our days. That's Sully's job, not mine."

"Ha ha! I think you do a better job, to be honest."

Elena smiles as she leans over the bed, kissing Drake on the lips, "Awake now?"

"Mmm... yeah, I suppose." Drake replied with one eyebrow raised, causing Elena to chuckle.

"How come you've been up late these past few days? It's not doing you any favors, you know?"

"I know, but I can't help it." Drake then looks up at the ceiling momentarily, "I just needed to think about things."

"What kind of things?"

"Just things - marriage things. Like," Drake raises his hand perplexed, "I am trying to get us at the right path, but I have no clue how a normal marriage works. You'd think those chick flicks would have all the answers."

"You have a point there." Elena nodded playfully, as she then gets a little serious at the topic at hand, "I think having commitment to their spouse is the first step in the right direction. Many find it overrated, but it helps build trust with one another."

"Hmm... that could help you to wake me up on time."

Elena rolls her eyes as she playfully shoves Drake on his shoulder. Drake chuckles as Elena drops off something wrapped in tinfoil on the bed and heads off inside the bathroom, "I got you some tacos from downstairs. I hope you don't mind fried onions."

"Love 'em." Drake sits over the side of the bed and picks up his clothes, getting dressed for the day. After putting on a sweater, Drake looks over his shoulder to see Elena washing her hands at the sink. He looks forward, hunching over as he takes out an envelope he had tucked away deep in pants hanging over a chair. He smiles at the envelope as he then hides it in the drawer next to the bed quietly.

"So what are the plans to start off our second honeymoon?" Elena asked as she dries her hands with a hand towel on the bathroom wall.

"Um - I think we should just have a walk on the beach," Nathan gets up to put his pants on, "Or we can explore around town, go see the Christ the Redeemer statue up on Mount Corcovado to end things off, maybe see more places like the Cathedral or the Ernesto Palace on the way back. You know, just simple stuff for now."

"For now, huh?" Elena comes out of the bathroom while rubbing her palm with her thumb, as Drake is now fully clothed, wearing a green sweater semi tucked in, with its sleeves pulled back below his elbows; blue jeans with a black belt around the waist; a watch around his left wrist; and light brown shoes. Elena then crosses her arms over her chest, "Interesting you have never seen the statue before."

"I have, just not up close and in person. I was more interested in places that are more cryptic to find." Drake said as he turns to Elena, noticing the suspicious look she's giving him, "What? You think I have something else in mind?"

"It wouldn't be the first time."

"Come on, you know I never think anything far ahead."

"Okay, NOW I know something is up." Elena places her hands on her hips while looking away momentarily, shaking her head a few seconds later, "Okay, okay, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Just don't make me regret it."

"Relax," Nathan reaches for Elena's hands, cupping them gently in front of his chest, "It's just going to be a nice walk that we will both cherish for the rest of our lives."

"Mmm-hmm." Elena smiles while raising an eyebrow at Drake, "Well, we better get going then." She walks off to the front door, while Drake grabs the tacos wrapped in tinfoil, unwraps it, and takes a bite out of one.

"Mmm! It'sf gud and mmreally hot at the same time." Drake said, his face scrunching as he chews.

"Heh heh! You better finish those before we leave; I hear thieves around here tend to jump people that are stuffing their faces."

"Asf iff dat wud," Nathan swallows to speak clearly, "As if that would be the worst thing to ever happen to us."

Elena wraps her arms around Nathan's right arm as they leave and lock their apartment building. Moments later, blue wavy lines appear out of thin air, swirling around Nathan's journal on the table drawer.

^ O X []

The blue wavy lines swirl in the night sky, above the red and blue lights of the police sirens that shine their rays around the side of the neighborhood street. An investigation is taking place in a quiet neighborhood, where a limousine crashed and knocked down a street light. A few police cars are parked around the scene, where detectives are taking pictures of the incident, particularly at the parts of street where the limousine isn't. Neighbors living nearby watch the investigation in their robes and pajamas, watching it from their balconies, outside their front gates, and some watching right behind the police tape with concerned expressions, seeing a policeman covering something with a white sheet. A police chief then walks up to the neighbors.

"Okay! Break it up, people," The chief said to them while waving his arms, "There is nothing to worry about; we have the whole block secure. Just go back to your homes and let us work in peace." The neighbors didn't say anything and continued to watch the scene, distressing the officer, "Sigh... fine, do what you like." The chief walks away from the crowd, passing by few of his men as he walks up to a detective, who is observing the forensic team examining a bloody body part on the ground, "Is there anything new here?"

"We know that there are three victims, all cyborgs," The detective explained while observing the body part, "They were all armed with short and long range weapons, and judging by their insignia they had on them, they all worked under Desperado."

"I thought they disbanded."

"Some of them are still around, helping smaller criminal factions and the like. However, there have been an increase of unsolved cases where Desperado groups around the country have been found dead, all cut down by some sort of blade."

"So it's some vigilante nutjob then?"

"Can't say... but judging what we have here, I'd say the same 'nutjob' hunting these men down is not that far off."

"Tsk... if only we had gotten here sooner." The policeman's brow furrows in disgust.

"Just get me outta here already!"

The chief and detective look over their shoulders, seeing a group of officers taking Steiner handcuffed to one of the police cars. Steiner is shaking nervously, looking at every direction every few seconds, ready to scream at any given moment, "I'm telling you! There is a monster out there! Everyone that tried to kill him are now dead! HE'S GOING TO KILL ME NEXT, I TELL YOU!" Steiner cried, as the officers puts in the back of the car and slam the door shut.

"Sir! We have a report!" An officer rushes over to the chief and the detective, "It's just like Steiner said; the warehouse is full of bodies of the Alberto Cartel, and Alberto is one of them. We've secured the survivors that were making their product, and we've also arrested the security guard working for them. He said he didn't know what happened inside, and that he'll tell us everything he knows about the Cartel's operations in exchange for immunity."

"He'll get a lighter sentence if he's lucky." The chief said, as he then looks around the crime scene again, seeing several body parts around the pavement, covered in white sheets. "I'm sick at looking at this," He then walks to the center of the investigation scene, "Alright, people, let's wrap things up! We need to see if the creep that did this is still around! Don't engage him if found, just keep tabs on his whereabouts! Let's go!"

As the team gets ready to clean up, they are unaware that the 'creep' is still nearby.

A half a mile away from the investigation, Raiden is another part of a neighborhood, which has fewer street lights, allowing him to walk casually in the street without drawing attention. The cyborg ninja whistles a particular theme, holding his suitcase with his sword inside. He has a few blood stains on his upper body and forehead, with the blood on his forehead dripping around the corner of his eyebrow. Raiden doesn't mind, however, as he stops whistling and exhales in an almost a goofy manner, continuing his walk in silence.

BEEP! BEEP!

Raiden blinks as he is receiving a call by codec. A small holographic window appears inches away from Raiden's face, showing the incoming frequency. "Heh!" Raiden smiles wholeheartedly, as he quickly wipes most of the blood off his forehead, and answers the call. The window enlarges into a monitor, depicting a woman in the center screen. "Hey, honey. I was beginning to think you forgot my number."

"Hmm hmm! Hey, Jack. It's good to see you're doing well." The woman replied with a heartwarming smile. She is around Raiden's age, with short brown hair, and brown eyes. She wears a white top with a v-shaped neck collar and long sleeves that are pulled back over the back of her forearms, dark grey suit pants, and short white heels. A former spy who fell in love with her target - Rosemary. Rosemary is sitting in the living room, communicating with Raiden with her laptop on the coffee table. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"No! No-no, I'm free at the moment." Raiden said, trying to wipe the stain from his forehead without drawing too much attention, "You just caught me clocking out for the night."

Rosemary notices the blood on Raiden, but continues to smile as if she didn't notice it, "I know I shouldn't call you unless it's an emergency, but I couldn't help but miss the sound your voice. I will never get used to us being separated."

"You don't have to tell me that..." Raiden said with a sigh, but then perks up, "So, how are things over at New Zealand?"

"It's going great! The land is beautiful, our neighbors are friendly - I think we should make this our permanent home."

"Oh yeah? How is John doing?"

"John couldn't be happier. He was a little timid moving here at first, but he grew to love this place more than I have. He's making lots of friends at school, and is always excited to talk about what he did today, what he saw, about you..." Rosemary chuckles, "Heh! I rarely see him be upset or bored nowadays. It never gets old."

"Ha ha! That's my boy! I wish I could be there."

The two then grew silent for a few seconds, as Rosemary then gets sad, "Jack... how are you?

"Hmm?" Raiden takes a moment to reply, "I'm alright. Same as always."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah... Rose, I know what I'm doing can be stressful, but I'm almost done. There are just a few Desperado factions left. They're in different states, but I think I'll be done a week before Christmas."

"I'm not talking about your mission. I'm talking about you."

Raiden becomes perplexed, "Heh! Rose. I told you. I'm-"

"Jack..." Rosemary interrupts as she takes a deep breath, "I've been tracking your vitals ever since the incident in Africa." Raiden stops walking the moment he hears that, "You turn off your pain inhibitors from time to time since then; your mannerisms sporadically change. Lately, you haven't been in control of yourself..."

"Rose..."

"I know that you must do this, and I'm here to support you... but I can't let John see you the way you are now." Rosemary looks away, "Jack, what you were in the past, please try and let it stay there. John speaks fondly of you, I don't want him to see your other side."

"... He won't." Raiden raises his head with a weak smile, "I... know what I have to do. *sigh* - After this is over, I'll keep in touch with you by codec." He smiles weakly, "You're the best counsellour out there, so I expect you to take good care of me."

Rosemary smiles softly with sad eyes, "We'll get through this, Jack. I promise. " Rose then looks over to her right, "It's almost four. I gotta go pick up John from school."

"Okay! Love you, honey." Raiden said, waving goodbye.

"I love you too. Take care!" Rosemary said, waving back. She then gets up from the couch, and pushes a button on her laptop, ending the codec call. Raiden's monitor closes as Raiden looks at the ground with a stoic expression, gripping tightly on the briefcase's hard enough to nearly crack it in pieces. He calms down as he looks ahead, and walks on. He heads over to a motorcycle parked near a curb, and gets on it. The motor's engine turns on loudly as Raiden then does a U-turn, and rides it out of the neighborhood, taking a sharp turn to a nearly empty highway.

Raiden rides away on the street, passing by a street light that has blue wavey lines circling around it.

^ O X []

Blue wavy lines fly low beneath a table, as it suddenly gets kicked to the side by a chunky leg. The lines swirl away from the leg, as Princess Plump -wiggling her legs with excitment- continues to eat her breakfast to no end in sight. Her servants keep coming with more food, leaving with the dirty dishes after going around the dining table.

"MmmmMMMMMM! This is all so yummy!" Plump exclaimed with delight, "I cannot wait for Lunch! I heard they're serving cheese cake!"

"Sire? Sire, please wait!"

The Red King walks in front of the top steps of his throne room, staring down at the dining table with a stoic expression. He takes a few steps back, and runs forward at full force, leaving the Aide and the guards dumbfounded, "Your Majesty! No!"

The Red King jumps off the throne area headfirst, souring across the room like a ball kicked high into the air, maintaining a deadpan expression as he dives towards the ground below. The servants stop, immediately seeing their King is about to fall to his demise. They squint their eyes with determination, as the servants around the table dump the dishes on their platters to the side, which the other servants farther off collect before they touch the ground. The servants close to the King then line up in front of their ruler, with many of them standing on each other's heads, with the ones on top hold their platters over their heads, creating a slide that leads down to the dining table. The Red King lands on the slide, as the servants grit their teeth while the king slides down quickly across their platters and crashes through the assortment of dishes placed on the table for Plump to eat.

"Waah!?" The Princess gasps upon noticing this, seeing her father skid across the table, smearing the food in his path across the wooden surface, knocking the food nearby off the edges, as he then stops in front of her motionlessly. The room grows quiet, as everyone grows concern for the King's wellbeing, while Plump blinks before her cheeks glow red with anger. "Daddy! What are you doing!? You are wasting all the food I was going to eat!"

The Red King slowly raises his head and spits out the food he had in his mouth upon landing, having bits of frosting over his beard and face. He then looks over at his daughter, baring his teeth in anger.

"Enough is enough, young lady," The Red King exclaimed, trying to get up on his feet, "I can't have you doing this everyday! It's been an hour since breakfast and you're still eating!"

"But Daddy," Plump begins to whimper, "I'm still hungryyy!"

"NO!" The King points at Plump, who is taken a back by her father's outburst, "That is not going to work anymore! I have been seeing horrors replaying from the darkest parts of my mind for days now to further tolerate your behavior!" He sweats profoundly, taking a deep breath to regain his composure, "My sweet daughter, you know I'll always love you, even if you continue to disappoint with your lack of restraint... but you're a married now! You need to set an example to this kingdom! If everyone gets inspired by your daily habits, and follows your league, then-" The Red King shivers before continuing, "Well, it's going be a freakin' disaster! The Red Kingdom will collapse if we have ONE more person with your eating schedule!"

Plump frowns, shaking her arms in protest, "But I'm royalty! I should do whatever I want and eat whatever I want! What you're saying is not fair!"

The Red King sighs loudly while tossing his head up, very annoyed by his daughter's behavior, "I'm not going to be around forever, you know? When I'm gone, you and your husband need to rule this kingdom in my stead.

"My husband...? Oh, Albert! I forgot I was married to him!" Plump said in surprise, as her servants are quickly cleaning up the mess around the table, "Have you seen him, Father? He's been gone for such a long time, I have almost forgotten about him."

Meanwhile...

In the dark, murky dungeons, beneath the castle grounds, Princess Plump's husband - Prince Albert - is alone inside a prison cell that has the floor covered in hay, and the small window barred up on the wall. Prince Albert -who has short blonde hair and bucked teeth, and is wearing a sweaty green garb and a dirty crown on his head- lies confused in the center of the cell, having his leg chained with a heavy ball.

"Um, hello?" he calls out, as his voice echos across the empty dungeon, "Father-in-law? I-I found the toothbrush you asked me to find, but the guards locked me here for some reason. It's been a few days now. Helloooooo?"

Back in the Throne room...

The Red King maintains his gaze at his daughter with a nervous look and puckered lips, sweating heavily in the process.

"... Don't change the subject!" The Red King blurted out, "You need to understand that being royalty is much more than just getting whatever you want. Your people are counting on you! They need you to guide them through the harsh times that will come sooner than later! That's why before I completely lose my mind, I'm going to teach you everything there is to know about ruling this kingdom"

"Grrrr! I don't wanna do any of that! That's why I have servants!"

"You're gonna to listen, or insteaaad..." The Red King takes a deep breath, "You're gonna follow a DIIIIEEETTTTT!" The Red King's dramatic scream is heard throughout the whole castle, startling the guards training outside. The Aide, guards, and the servants in the throne room watch as Plump holds her fists in front of her chest, ready to yell back with all her might. But before she can, the ringing in her ears caused by her father's yelling causes her to reconsider. With a big frown, Plump rests her elbows over the tables, resting her head on her hand as she uses her other hand to eat the frosting from the table. The Red King grins with glee, "That's more like it. Now, let's first address your eating habits..."

Plump begrudgingly hears out her father, licking the frosting off her fingers, as blue wavy lines fly up near the ceiling decor above.

^ O X []

The blue wavy lines fly up and down in the air, coursing along a sand dune in a vast desert location. In the midst of the desert, a lone figure is seen on his back passed out.

Sly Cooper -wearing his usual attire minus his backpack, and in addition to a brown pouch around his left leg, and a golden logo for a belt buckle- wakes up under the scorching Sun, feeling dazed as his vision slowly adjusts. "Ungh.." Sly blinks, moving his hand over the Sun's ray, as he looks over to his left and sees his cane grasped with his left hand. Sly grits his teeth, as he regains consciousness, and slowly gets up on his hands and knees, with his body aching all over. He stops briefly to catch his breath, putting his right hand over his head, and looks up to see his surroundings while squinting his eyes. His eyes widen upon seeing that he's in a desert location, with a few boulders lying around, as well as deflated balloon and broken machine parts scattered here and there. Sly gets up on his feet, looking at a giant tomb in front of three pyramids varying in size. The tomb has a set of stairs that leads toward the entrance, with a giant statue depicting Anubis' head on top of the roof with a few palm trees on the side.

The thief stares at the tomb, wondering what ancient treasure await inside. Sly takes a step forward towards the tomb, but stops upon remembering something crucial. It was all coming back to him. He doesn't know where he is, but he remembers how he got here.

At the front of a blimp that is set to crash, Sly Cooper looks over at an anthropomorphic skunk getting away in his paraglider, as the skunk then crashes into the tail wing of plane passing by shortly afterwards. Sly is trapped, with no way to get off the blimp alive. He sadly looks over at the blimp behind him breaking into pieces, as the flames on spread with every second passing by. The time machine inside the deck then activates, as Sly then looks ahead to see a time portal open, disappearing upon going through.

"Guys!" Sly eyes widen in shock, realizing that his friends are worried about him. He acts troubled at first, but regains his composure shortly afterwards, knowing he can't do anything in his current state. Despite the predicament he's in, he knows deep down that he'll see his gang again, especially his beloved. Sly spins his cane a little, staring over at the tomb again. He then adjusts his hat with a grin, "Welp... no point standing around. Let's see what's inside."

Sly makes his way towards the tomb, as blue wavy lines fly around the right ear of Anubis's statue.

^ O X []

Blue wavy lines fly deep into the orange dusky skies, far above the crowded area below. At the end of Visari's Palace, at the path between the side of the driveway and the entrance into the Autarch's Sanctum, multiple bodies covered in white sheets on vetinary transport tables are lined up in a square formation, with the sheets having stains from the bodies' fatal wounds. Hundreds of Helghan soldiers are stationed at every corner around this area, with thousands more patrolling farther off. Many vehicles are seen near these soldiers, as they are blocking off most of the passages towards the palace. Ships are also in the sky above the palace, keeping a lookout for any ISA ships and infantry.

On the pathway outside the Sanctum's entrance, several soldiers are swiftly, but steadily, going in and out of the Sanctum, transporting the corpses that died in the palace outside. A vetinary vehicle drives in and parks near the curb, as two soldiers hurry out and move some of the bodies close to them inside the vehicle. As they finish, they hurry back to their seats and drive away along the heavily guarded road, as moments later, another vetinary vehicle stops by the Sanctum to repeat the process.

There has never been so many Helghast soldiers together in one place. Most of these soldiers are weary from the battle that took place an hour ago, but they don't care. They are angry. They are drawing energy from the burning sensation they feel in their souls. Their eyes are full of fury, ready to shoot down any ISA scum into oblivion, filling them with lead until they are no longer recognizable. Their leader is dead, and there will be Hell to pay.

A soldier hurries back to the Sanctum, going up the steps before he goes inside, moving near the corner of the room to not disturb the proceedings happening in the Sanctum's center.

A few soldiers are tending to Visari's fatal wound, cleaning the blood off of him and his attire as neatly as they could. Admiral Orlock and members of Helghast's High Council -who are all as pale skinned as Orlock- are standing around Visari's corpse in a circle, keeping to themselves as their late leader is getting treated for proper transport. As Orlock watches on in silence, a soldier walks up to his side, whispering to his ear. Orlock eyes him, briefly looking back at Visari's corpse before walking away. Orlock and the soldier go outside the entrance on top of the steps, as Orlock observes the soldiers on the driveway taking a few bodies into their vehicle.

"So they haven't been found yet..." Orlock said in dismay, having a stern look.

"We have a searched an ISA Cruiser we shot down a while back," The soldier said looking at Orlock, "Everyone inside is dead, but we have not found any leads to the whereabouts of the soldiers that were here. We have units investigating for any active terminals in the cruiser to see if we can track them down." Orlock remains silent, as the soldier looks back inside before looking back at Orlock, "Sir, what are we going to do now? With the Autarch gone, the ISA-"

"Do not justify their cowardly actions, soldier!" Orlock replied fiercely, maintaining his gaze at the driveway, "The ISA have won nothing! Only when we let this day cloud our ambition will we lose to those that have done us harm. But we will never give in! They will face retribution soon enough!" Orlock takes a deep breath, exhaling slowly to calm himself down, "Visari is priority. We must get his body out of here safely. We will have a funeral to honor his name, thank him for his sacrifices. The ISA can run and hide all they want; this is our world, and by as late as tomorrow, there will be no mercy."

Out on the driveway, as a few soldiers from two vetinary vehicles go and pick up the bodies, another vehicle drives in, parking next to the curb between the two vehicles. This vehicle is smaller in comparison to the vet vehicles, being fast and heavily armored with thick dark-grey plates on its diaphram, having a logo of an upside-down triangle with a small opening on the center of its left side.

Orlock squints at the vehicle with disdain, as he then looks at the soldier, "I will hold a war meeting after the funeral. As soon as we complete our objective here, rally the troops and search for those killers out at the plains. We will find them!" The soldier salutes in response and heads back inside the Sanctum. Orlock looks back at the vehicle in disgust, as he then goes back inside as well.

The vehicle on the driveway then opens its rear doors, as two troopers, heavily armored in comparison to a regular infantryman, come out and overlook their surroundings. Another man takes a step out of the vehicle, slowly getting in between the troopers. He doesn't wear a gas mask just as Orlock and the High Council, as the man stands straight, taking a big puff of his cigarrete, blowing the smoke up in the air in relief. The light from the dusk shadows over his front, showing only his white hair, and him wearing a slick black leather jacket, pants, and shoes. He takes two steps forward, overlooking the dozens of bodies around him, seeing soldiers bringing more from the Sanctum.

"Hmm..." The man exhales through his nostrils with a stoic expression, taking another puff from his cigarrete. As he blows out another puff of smoke, the man puts out his cigarrete over the palm of a body next to him, which has its hand sticking out from the side of its sheet. The man flicks his cigarrete away, as soldiers from one of the vet vehicles take the body next to him without seeing what the man did. The man then walks towards the Sanctum with his troopers following him. He stops upon seeing a body covered in a black sheet with a Helghast insignia being taken to the row of bodies by two soldiers. "You two! Wait a second!" The two soldiers stop as they look over who called at them. They immediately stand firm upon recognizing who it is, as the man then walks over to the body from the side, taking a peek at the body by folding the front end corner of the sheet. He raises his eyebrows upon seeing the corpse's face, "Colonel Radec, I presume?"

"Yes, sir." One of the soldiers replied, "You can't believe he died until you see it for yourself."

"With him and Scolar Visari gone..." The other soldier replied sadly, "... They deserve better than this."

The man smirks, as blue wavey lines continue to fly in the dusky sky.

^ O X []

Blue wavy lines amid the flock of birds, as they arrive at the front entrance to the Gardens, as Sackboy hops off while keeping his flower crown over his head. The birds, farmers, bears, and ants all wave goodbye to Sackboy, who walks into the Garden while waving goodbye back. Sackboy then faces foward with a big smile, happy to have arrived at the Gardens at last. It was here where Sackboy started his adventure into saving the dreams and creativity all over LittleBigPlanet from a greedy little collector, who to be fair, didn't know any better.

Sackboy walks along the path near the picket fence and the non-threatening garden gnomes, passing by houses of cardboard in different shapes and sizes and flowers that are just as big. Along the way, Sackboy sees a familiar face down the path, standing at the side of the road while doing nothing.

"Hm?" The man shifts his eyes to the left, seeing Sackboy approaching.

He is a large man, having a blocky, curvy figure. He has googly eyes, red circle cheeks, bald with brown hair at the back of his head, thick eyebrows, and a full brown beard and mustache. He wears a red garb fit for a king, with purple and violet striped shoulder puffs and having the same color at the edge of his gown. He also has a sceptor with a green jewel at the top, and has golden crown on his head. He is the Garden's Creator Curator; one of the many powerful people that rule, create and rebuild LittleBigPlanet - The King.

Without moving his legs, the King slides over to Sackboy's direction with his arms raised in joy, "Ho ho! Welcome, Sackboy! It is so nice of you to have dropped by!" The King exclaimed, as Sackboy stares at him with a big smile, sticking his tongue out at the side, "It's a good thing you showed, actually. Our world has grown bigger since you were last here. So much creativity has come to our world, that I couldn't help but feel inspired into making something on that land there." The King gestures to an empty part of the garden at a distance near a garden gnome, a few daisies, and between two cardboard houses. Sackboy and the King walk over to the front of the empty plain of grass, "I've been thinking for weeks what to put here, but I can't come to terms with anything I have in mind." The King flails his arms excitedly, "Sackboy, since you're here, why don't you make something. You don't have to, of course, but it would be an honor to have your work of ingenuity displayed here at the Gardens."

Sackboy nods excitedly without hesitation, happy to help out the King once more. He then looks at the empty plain with confidence, as he takes out his Popit Menu and turns on his thinking cap, letting his creative flow swirl in his mind in an endless loop. Some of the locals gather behind Sackboy, cheering him on as he rubs his chin, deep in his thoughts. He smiles widely as an imaginary light bulb turns on over his head, getting an idea how he should start things off.

As the King watches on excitedly, blue wavy lines appear and do circles next to the king. The King stops as he shifts his gaze at the lines, which immediately fly behind him and go away, avoiding detection. The King shrugs as he looks back at Sackboy with great enthusiasm, while the lines fly betweeen an opening of the picket fence, going behind one of the wooden pickets.

^ O X []

Blue wavy lines gently move up and down in Space, the mother of all frontiers. Far and wide, planets inhabit this seemingly endless void, with some of them having civilizations that are advanced enough to travel and live in different worlds, while others don't even know that other intelligent lifeforms exist. A few galaxies around this part of Space coexist with each other as if it's one big world, evident by the multitude of species seen in big cities in each planet.

The Solana Galaxy is no different; having various amount of planets with differing environments and species. It's also the most common galaxy where danger always goes. There have been many cruel attempts by several fiendish individuals in the past who tried to either destroy or take control of this galaxy. Fortunately, they all have failed, defeated by the greatest heroes of the universe, the same heroes that are flying in this galaxy as we speak.

In a quiet quadrant of Solana, the Aphelion flies across an empty area in Space, surrounded by a few planets close and far in several directions and a red gas cloud far off to the right, with a source of light coming in from the same direction. The light shines through the darkened glass of the cockpit, where Ratchet & Clank are inside, discussing something as the bottom sidelights next to their seats illuminate the cockpit with a blue-green hue.

"Look, I know it's not completely like the comic, but what's the point of watching a show if you already know what's going to happen scene by scene?" Ratchet asked, piloting the ship while gesturing his hand at Clank.

"I believe accuracy is the most important aspect into making an episodic program based off a visual novel," Clank explained, "Producers are more likely to add or remove certain content to save money and attract a broader audience outside the fanbase. That is why many reject the televised version as they deemed it, in my words, feeble and tamed in comparison to the source material."

"Just because something is 'tame' doesn't mean it's worse. And if you've seen the show, you'll notice that it has done things better than the comic did."

"Ratchet, I don't watch TV." Clank shrugs, "There are far more productive activities I like to do than-"

"I know, but just give this a look!" Ratchet interrupted, as he opens a window in his monitor, "Give me a second while I open Spaceflix, and you'll see that the show is cool in its own right."

Clank looks at Ratchet, happy to see he is acting like his usual self again. He looks at the monitor, patiently waiting for Ratchet, who gets into his Spaceflix account, "Alright, get ready for some action." As Ratchet is about to scroll the window screen, another window pops up depicting a green phone in a thin green circle.

"Incoming call from: HeroGuyQ 1-900-372-3265." The Aphelion's AI said.

Ratchet and Clank look at each other with amused looks, knowing who the caller is. They stare at the monitor silently, letting it ring for a few seconds longer, only to keep hearing it ring nonstop.

Ratchet sighs as gives off a weak smile, "Okay, let's see what he wants." Ratchet accepts the call, as a screen opens up, showing a man with a gallant smile.

"Greetings, fellow compatriots of law and order! Oh have I been dying to talk with you two in this precise and specific moment!" Said the man excitedly.

He is a large man, standing in 10"5' ft/ 3.17 m tall, with long, muscular arms, and broad shoulders and torso, disproportionate to his legs. He has a human appearance, but has three bulky fingers instead of five on both hands. He is wearing a luxurious brown and peach vertical striped suit with golden cuff links and a red tie over his standard hero attire, revealing only his green gloves and mask covering his upper face minus his eyes with a small antannae on his head. While generally a coward and a moron, this man has always done his best to uphold peace and tranquility to all that in need of his aid. Villains, beware; if you come knocking at this man's door, be prepared to be knocked back - Qwark.

"Hey, Qwark." Ratchet and Clank said in unison, smiling at the hero with disinterested eyes.

"You guys are not busy, right? Good!" Qwark exclaimed, not actually caring if Ratchet and Clank were busy, "You two probably know that things have been a little uneventful for me as of late, but do not fret; I have just obtained a job so endearing to my soul, it eagers to fill the empty part of my being and more!" Qwark then leans over to his camera, showing Ratchet and Clank a closer look of his ecstatic face, "You two are like family to me! I bet you can guess what it is."

"Let's see..." Ratchet scratches his head while looking through the glass above him. He then snaps his fingers, "Are you a shady used ship salesman?"

Clank giggles while covering his mouth, as Qwark chuckles weakly, "Ha ha... not the brightest one in the family, huh?" Qwark then leans back on his chair, "No! I am actually the new President of Solana Galaxy! Have a look!" Qwark gets up as he grabs the cam, and shows Ratchet and Clank the office he is in, which has a blue carpet floor; green and blue wallpaper; a few bookcases filled with books about policies and Qwark's adventures against the front side walls; a flag post on each front end, one bearing the Solana's Galactic Government insignia and the other bearing Qwark's trademarked logo; a few pleather chairs in front the broad wooden desk, which has a few pictures on the sides, most of them depicting Qwark doing different poses; and behind the desk is a big chair big enough for Qwark, with a wall sized window with grey drapes behind it, where you can see a part of a large, bustling city, with multiple vehicles flying left and right. "As you can see, I've already made myself at home here at Metropolis. After all, nothing is too needy for someone that does great deed... ies." Qwark trailed off, realizing how corny that line was even for him.

"Pardon me for interrupting, Captain," Clank said, "but isn't Mr. Phyronix the President of Solana?"

"No! I mean... well, yeah." Qwark placed the cam back on the tripod as he sits back on his chair, pouting as he twiddles his thumbs "Truth is, this isn't even a paid job. President Phyronix has given me the great pleasure into watching over the galaxy while he stays focused in his meeting. This office actually belongs to one of the President's staff members currently on vacation, so I've taken the liberty into redecorating it and claiming it as my own. This stays between us, by the way." Ratchet and Clank nod each other with a smirk upon hearing what they suspected, as Qwark then brightens up again, "However! I intend to do a spectacular job, so when he comes and sees how everything looks better than the way he left it, he'll have to make me Co-President! Yes, even he shouldn't sacrifice his position for my sake... even though he should, but that's entirely up to him."

"It's nice to hear you're doing okay," Ratchet said with a nod, "Let's see if you can stay President a little longer this time."

"That's the plan, obviously. Either that," Qwark chuckles nervously, "or I'll have millions of tax bolts to answer to." He shrugs the thought off, "Anywho, I hope you guys stop by and see how I run things around here. You two can still learn a thing or two from the greatest role model that has forever made you the heroes that you are now."

"Yeah, as much as I need your 'guidance', seeing that your my 'role model' and everything," Ratchet said, nearly twitching at the thought of having Qwark as his role model, "We got a job to do later on."

"We need to guide President Skrunch to the meeting, and ensure the safety of him and everyone attending there." Clank clarified.

Qwark frowns as he rolls his eyes, "Oh, that no good, double-crossing fleabag, is going there, huh?" He then sighs, smiling afterwards, "I'm sure he'll have a pleasant time, seeing that he couldn't be in better hands." Ratchet and Clank are astonished hearing that, "Welp, I've talked long enough, and I am under a tight schedule today." Qwark salutes the duo, "You two keep up the good work! The next time you see me, you'll see a man that has proven the fact that dreams can come true!"

"Take care, Qwark." Ratchet salutes back casually.

"President Qwark! Signing out!"

The window closes, with the moniter showing Ratchet's Spaceflix account again. Ratchet leans back on his chair with a perplexed smile, "Was it just me, or did Qwark actually complimented us just now?"

"He's come a long way, Ratchet," Clank said with his arms raised, "Just like us."

"Hmm..." Ratchet shakes his head, bewildered how much time has passed and how much has changed in him, Clank, and even Qwark of all people. He looks ahead, putting both hands on the pedal, "Let's head home already. All this enlightment is tiring me out."

"Eh hee hee hee!" Clank laughed.

The Aphelion then flies off, as blue wavey lines sour to a planet at the distance.

^ O X []

Blue wavy lines fly high in the darkened sky, as Kai looks up at it. "Hmm?" Kai tilts her head sideways in confusion.

"Is something wrong, Kai?" Shen asked, looking over at Kai.

"Mmm... Kai can't stop seeing a weird light." Kai replied, still staring intently at the lines.

Shen then smiles, "Heh heh! That's what happens when you stare at the sun for too long; you'll start seeing a light from everywhere you see for a while. Ha ha ha!"

"Huh..." Kai maintains her gaze at the lines, as they then start to face. Kai looses track of them as the sun lowers more into the horizon. Shen sees the sky getting darker, as he stretches his arms apart and stands up.

"It's getting dark now, Kai," Shen said, brushing the sand off his pants, "We can come back tomorrow." He straightens up, nodding "I want to make this a routine. Nariko deserves that much from me."

"There are more lights now." Kai replied, showing a concerned expression.

"What did you say?" Shen asked with a heartily smile, which slowly disappears upon seeing Kai's expression. He looks up at the sky, as his eyes widen in shock, "What in the world!?"

In the dark sky, there are dozens of blue wavy lines in different altitudes, flying around in different directions. Kai gets up as Shen hurries to her side and keeps her close while some of the lines fly near them.

"Wh-What's happening?" Kai asked.

"I-I don't know!" The lines then start to fade into thin air, perplexing the two even more, "What is going on?"

^ O X []

The blue wavy lines head down towards the sidewalk, going around a fire hydrant, as an orange blur goes by, causing the lines to fly away in a sporadic fashion.

Parappa skates along the sidewalk, passing by several houses in a quiet neighborhood near town, similar to where he lives. The pup slows down as he stands on his skateboard, letting the momentum take him a little further to his destination. As Parappa begins to slow down, multiple cars of different colors and designs can be seen parked in a line against the sidewalk and the one across the street. Parappa looks at the cars as he skates by, as he then looks ahead, smiling widely.

"I made it!" Parappa exclaimed happily, as he arrives at a house that looks like a big lemon, with a red key-hole shaped door, having a round window with colorful flower petals at each side. Over the house's front entrance is a white banner with a flower decor on its borders, and has colorful letters that read 'Happy Birthday!', with a painting of a flower in a pot as its exclamation point. The front yard's white picket fence also has drawings of flowers and such on each board, as beyond the fence is a crowd of people in the front yard talking to each other, most of them wearing party hats and drinks in hand.

Almost everyone in town has come to celebrate the birthday of whom Parappa cherishes with all his heart.

"It's already this crowded," Parappa said bewildered at the crowd, as he stops in front of the house, "I better find the gang quick!" Parappa kicks the bottom end of his skateboard, knocking the front end in midair, and catches it with his arm. He then walks into the front yard, passing by a few people. Parappa watches as a few kids wearing party hats running by, shooting each other with water guns. The pup smiles upon seeing everyone already having a good time. He blinks as he then sees his gang in front of a red and white food stand on left side of the front yard. "There they are!" Parappa excitedly goes past the crowd to join his friends.

"Ah! Here we go." One of Parappa's friends smiles as he gets a hot dog with several toppings from the food stand man behind the counter. He is an orange life-sized teddy bear, with eyes that are always droopy despite him having an upbeat and positive personality. He has a dark peach face, a small round purple nose, two small X-shaped stitches in front of his upper body, and a yellow shirt button for a belly button. He's a bear with a big appetite and is Parappa's best friend - PJ Berri.

PJ Berri takes a big bite out of his hot dog, savoring the taste as his friends watched. One of the friends is a blue anthropomorphic girl with a yellow bang of hair over her forehead. She is wearing a red and white striped midriff singlet and jazz pants, and a pair of blue shoes with a red toe camp and big brown soles. She is tough and energetic feline, always making sure her plans work out as the way she envisioned it - Katy Kat.

"Give me a break, PJ," Katy said as she taps her foot with her arms crossed over her chest, staring at PJ disapprovingly, "You can't fill yourself up before we go on. You'll just tire yourself out."

"Mmm," PJ swallows as he looks over to Katy, "I wouldn't be able to play at all if I don't have anything in my tummy." PJ takes another bite out of his hotdog as he then chews while speaks, "That's just how my body works."

"Mmbblblblbll!" Another of Parappa's friends said. She is small mouse girl, being around half the size of PJ and Katy. She has dark yellow fur, and she wears a red dress. She speaks in gibberish, and has a constant pessimistic look with her eyebrows always furrowed and her expression rarely changing, but anyone can tell when she's truly upset whenever the fuse of her dynamite lodged in her head sparks up - Ma-san.

"Heh heh! It's okay, Ma-san. If it will help him, it's going to help all of us on stage." Another of Parappa's friends said. She is an anthropomorphic Ewe with small horns coming out of her short, red-orange, rock-style hairdo. She has slight dark peach fur, and is wearing a green watch around her left wrist, a red t-shirt with a logo of an abstract white flower with a happy face on it, baggy dark blue jeans held up by a white belt with a yellow buckle, and a pair of light blue shoes with big white soles. A young, timid girl who isn't always confident in herself, but when she has her guitar in her hands, she is ready to rock the world - Lammy.

Katy lowers her head down stressfully, "sigh... I just want everything in this day to be perfect," She said as she then raises her head up, tapping her foot on the ground as she looks at the crowd around her, "One little screw up, and it will follow our careers for the rest of our lives."

"You're worrying over nothing." Lammy replied with a smile, "Parappa has everything sorted out; we can always count on him."

"For someone who has everything sorted out, he sure is taking his time getting here..."

"Hey guys!" Parappa exclaimed, as he rushes over to the gang, who are happy to see him as he approaches.

"Mm! Parappa! You made it!" PJ said as he then took another bite of his hot dog.

Katy then leers over Parappa with her hands on her hips and her eyes ablazed, "It's about time! You know how important this day is, right!? Out of all of us here, how can you show up last!?" She berates Parappa, who leans back in fear.

"Eh heh heh... sorry..." Parappa apologizes while bashfully rubbing the back of his head.

PJ swallows as he then points at Parappa's box, "Hey, is that the present you've been working on?"

"Huh? Oh yeah! This is it!" Parappa zips around Katy, who quickly regains her composure upon Parappa leaving her sight. Parappa then holds the box with both hands, allowing the gang to see it as they stood around it in awe. "Here it is, guys. After all this time, I can't believe I'm finally going to give this to her!"

"She is going to love it, Parappa!" Lammy said with her fist raised in confidence.

"I know she will-"

"Parappa! You've made it!"

Parappa's eyes dilate as his heart skips a beat upon hearing loveliest voice he has known for years. Parappa dumbfoundedly looks over his shoulder to see the birthday girl, standing in front of him and the gang with her hands cupped together, with her smile that can melt a heart. She is an anthropomorphic sunflower, with pink petals growing around her cheerful yellow face, having small red thorns between every petal. She is wearing a red and blue horizontal striped dress with a pair of green shoes. She is a sweet young girl, always happy to be with her friends, especially with Parappa - Sunny Funny.

"Su-Su-Su-SUNNY! H-Hey!" Parappa frantically faces towards Sunny, trying to be as nonchalant as possible as he hides his box behind his back, "Happy Birthday, Sunny! I'm so glad I've made it before the party start-ED!" While maintaining a wide grin, Parappa's arms shake desperately, catching the gang's attention as they then take the box off his hands and passed it back and forth to each other, trying to hide it without catching Sunny's attention.

"I'm so happy you made it, Parappa," Sunny said as she walks up close to Parappa, "This birthday wouldn't be much fun without you here."

Parappa's mouth curls in a wavey pattern as his cheeks blush intensely upon hearing those words, "O-Oh, well - yeah! Ha ha!"

"Oh! And it's nice to have you all here as well." Sunny looks over at the gang, as Ma-san snatches the box from everyone's hands, and hides it behind her as she and the gang huddle together nonchalantly, hiding the box from Sunny's view.

"Oh shoot, girl, you know we will always be there for you." Katy said as wipes some sweat from her brow, while Lammy exhaustedly waves at Sunny happily with her arm on Katy's shoulder, and PJ still eating his hotdog as Ma-san stands still in between.

Sunny giggles as she then looks back at Parappa with a soft smile, "I really am glad you came, Parappa." Sunny looks away, rubbing her arm around her back while moving her left foot in small circles, "It's always nice to have you around. I hope we can all have a good time today."

Parappa breaks out of his stupor, as he stares at Sunny, seeing her almost as bashful as he was a second ago. Parappa smiles softly as he puts hands in his pockets, "Of course we're going to have a good time, Sunny. I've..." Parappa then steps aside, waving his arm towards the gang hiding the box, "I've made sure that everything today will-"

BEEP! BEEP!

"Hey look at that!" a boy shouts in delight as many people in the front yard rush over to the street. Parappa blinks in confusion as he and the gang sees a familiar limo parking in front of Sunny's house, bumping and pushing the cars that were parked there. The vehicle is the Super Stretched Limo 900, a convertible red limousine with vinyl panther seats, big tire guards, a small pool between the two sets of four engine exhaust funnels, and two extra seats at the rear. The front end of the hood is in shape of a big chin, with a symbol of a heroic figure with a big chin and cape posing on it. The crowd gathers beside the crowd as the intro to a heroic theme begins to play.

"Have no worries, party-goers," The driver of the limo said as he jumps out of his car and lands on the sidewalk with a heroic pose while the rest of his intro theme plays out. He is a tall, well-built anthropomorphic dog, with light yellow fur, blonde hair with short bangs, droopy yellow ears, a round black nose, and a big, masculine chin. He wears a red sweater with the cuffs and neck collar of his white undershirt revealing from their respective places, and is also wearing a pair of tight black jeans and slick shoes. He has a pompous attitude, always acting in a heroic manner, and has a tendency to show off, "Because Joe Chin has arrived!" The muscular dog stands upright with his finger pointing at the sky, ready to try to win the Sunny's heart once again - Joe Chin.

Some of kids exclaimed happily as they jumped in joy in front of Joe, as Parappa looks disheartened to see him, while Sunny smiles, "Oh! It's Joe Chin." Sunny said.

"Talk about worst timing." Katy said as she then smack her forehead.

Joe's theme begins to play in the background as Joe sees Sunny in front of her house, as he then leaps and spins over the crowd in his way, and lands heroically in front of Sunny and Parappa. "Ah, my sweet, sweet Sunny. There is not a holiday in this fine Earth more important than day you were born." Joe holds Sunny's hands, winking at her up close with a flashy smile, "Happy birthday, my gorgeous little flower!"

"Th-Thank you, Joe." Sunny said taken aback from Joe's approach.

Joe then lets go of Sunny's hands and takes a step back, "Allow me to honor your special day with the finest gifts money can buy. Behold!" Joe waves his arm towards the back of his limousine, which has a cart attached to it, full of presents of different shapes, sizes, and colors. Parappa and the gang stare at awe as there are so many presents piled up that it reaches towards the clouds in the sky.

"Gosh! How come we didn't notice that before?" PJ asked while scratching his head.

Parappa is at a loss for words, as his mouth drops in shock, never expecting Joe to make an impact before the party even started.

"W-Wow," Sunny is also surprised, looking over at Joe with a troubled look, "This is... really nice of you Joe, but-"

"Say no more, my little buttercup; I know you are very impressed." Joe interrupts Sunny with a pompous expression, as he then faces towards his pile of gifts, "But you'll be even more amazed the order you will open I have arranged," He then points at one of the presents at the bottom, "First, you will open that green squared present there, which will fill your sweet heart with joy once you see what's inside. The second one there will fill your tummy with excitement to open more presents! The third one in the corner will make you nearly faint, but I'll be there-to-keep-you-awake-the-fourth-one-will-make-you-jump-up-and-down-in-delight-the-fifth-will-," Joe's voice is quickly becoming high-pitched as he now talking faster, with his theme playing faster in the process, "%&$&%*&^(&(^%&%*&^(&$$&^&)(*&(*&*&^%^&$%$#%$# $!$ %$##%## %^%$^$%^%$ $##%#%##%#%#!-" Dialog bubbles begin to appear around Joe, completely engulfing him as he rambles on.

"There he goes again..." Katy said as she shakes her head in annoyance.

"I see that Joe is here. That's everyone now."

Parappa, Sunny, and the gang turn to see a man coming out of Sunny's front door. He is a tall, strong-looking man, wearing a blue military uniform and has a brown wooden pipe in hand. He has a rectangular nose, thin eyebrows, vertical egg-shaped eyes, and his head is a pink flower pot with short grass growing on top. He is the head of Parappa Town's military forces and Sunny's father - General Potter.

"Hi, Dad." Sunny said with a smile.

"Hello, birthday girl. I was wondering where you went off to." Potter said as he goes over to Sunny and places his hand on the back of her head. He then see Parappa and the others, "Ah, if it isn't my finest cadets!"

Parappa and PJ stand firm and salutes Potter in a military fashion, "Good morning, sir!" They said respectivily as PJ then takes another bite of his hotdog while maintaining his pose.

"Ha ha ha! At ease, men. No need to be so formal; it's a party!" Potter spreads his arms apart in a proudly fashion, "Enjoy yourselves! I spared no expense into making this day happen."

"Dad, I really do like what you've done for me, but I think you overdid it with the invites. I don't even know most of these people." Sunny said, looking over at the crowd, feeling overwhelmed.

"Ha ha ha! Nothing is ever too much for my little daughter. Many people deserve to see you have a great time, but not as much as you, of course." Potter laughed wholeheartedly, embarrassing Sunny, "Anyway, Sunny, now that everyone is here, we can get this birthday party started with Operation Sunny Blows Out The Birthday Candles."

"So soon?" Sunny briefly looks over at Parappa concernedly, "But I wanted to be with my friends a little longer."

"It will only just take a moment, Sunny. You'll see them later." Potter said as he then looks over at the crowd, "Atten-HUT, everyone! Sunny will be blowing out her candles in the back yard. Please join us for this momentous occassion post-haste!"

The crowd gets excited as they then walk past Parappa and the others, heading towards the back yard. Potter then holds Sunny's hand, "Let's hurry now before any of them take a bite out of that cake."

As Potter walks Sunny around the house, Sunny looks over her shoulder to the gang, "I-I'll see you all later! Bye, Parappa!" She waves goodbye as she and her dad go into the backyard.

"Bye.." Parappa waves back happily as Ma-san glares at Joe's pile of presents.

"^(&(&*%$" Ma-san said as he crosses her arms against her chest.

"It is a lot..." Lammy said in awe, "Even for Joe, I never would've imagined anyone giving so many presents to one person."

Parappa turns towards the presents, looking at it with a stoic expression this time. He then smiles, "It's not about how expensive or how many things you can give someone to show you care for them," Parappa said as he walks over to his present and picks it up from the ground, "What matters is the meaning behind it." Parappa opens his box, and takes out several music sheets, with the cover page having a doodle of a heart with Parappa's and Sunny's faces in it, titled Sunny's Secret Song. The gang walks over to Parappa, who stares at his music sheets with a soft smile, "I've always wanted to do something special for Sunny, something that she that can always treasure. I've been working on this for a whole year; making sure that Sunny never knew anything about. I wrote and rewrote this every single day until now. It's perfect... and I'm ready to Sunny to hear it!" Parappa then gives copies of his song to the gang, "I need you guys to quickly mesmorize this before we get on stage!"

"That's nuts! We've never even rehearsed this before..." Katy words trail off as she skims over the notes and lyrics, feeling a unique vibe from it, which made her smile widely, "Wow! Then again, maybe this can work for me."

"You guys are the best musicians in the whole world." Parappa said raising his fist, "I know that we can make this happen if you just follow my league."

"Hahaha! I don't know about that, but I can totally hear this beat in my head." Lammy said, as she and Ma-san give the thumbs up.

PJ finishes his hot dog as he then raises his copy of the song in the air, "Let's help Parappa give Sunny the best birthday present ever!"

"YEAH!" The gang holds their copies in the air in excitement.

"Come on! Let's get things ready before they get the cake out!" Katy said as she then rushes over to the backyard.

"We'll see you at the stage Parappa!" Lammy said as she, PJ, and Ma-san follow Katy.

"Thanks guys." Parappa said, nearly tearing up from the excitement. He then smiles confidently and rushes to the back yard, where the party is being held.

The back yard is full of people, with many different colored food stands lined up on the left side, serving different kinds of treats to people. On the far end of the yard, there are small rides and games with a flower theme as a few toddlers are enjoying themselves on spinning flower pots. Just behind Sunny's house are a few tables lined up, with dishes, utensils, party hats, drinks, and such neatly organized, with more empty tables nearby for the people to sit down and eat. Last, but not least, on the right side of the back yard lies a grand musical stage, with several spot lights lined up overhead; a curvature wall on each side, curling from the bottom side to a 90 degreen angle towards the stage; and a blue backdrop of Sunny's happy face. Parappa walks towards the stage, seeing the gang already there, prepping their musical instruments and sound. Parappa let's out a sweat, feeling nervous as stares at the stage. "This is it - no turning back now. Yeah... Yeah! I gotta beli-!"

"Hey, Parappa!"

Parappa gasps as he then looks over at the source of the voice calling him. It's Papa Parappa, heading towards his son while carrying gadgets and tangled with one another. "Whoa, whoa!" the weight of the objects are causing him to lose balance as he clumsily walks left and right, bumping into a few people along the way, knocking some of their food into their clothes while knocking others onto tables.

"Pop? What are you doing here?" Parappa asked as Papa finally manages to stand in front of him, putting his gear on the ground while the people he bumped into yell at him at the background.

"Ha! I'm here to help you with your song." Papa Parappa said as he digs into his gear while Parappa watches confusedly, "I almost forgot today was Sunny's birthday until I saw how you acted this morning. Just like you, I was also working on a secret project of my own." Papa Parappa then takes out a blue and red-orange mic out of the entangled pile, and gives it to Parappa, "Here it is, Parappa! The Speakerappatron! Singing into this little beauty will transmit audio waves that will adjust into the perfect sound frequency to every ear drum within range. In other words, you can turn the volume as loud as you want for everyone to hear without worrying about people covering their ears!"

"Uh, that's pretty cool, Pop, but we already have mics, and we're about to go on in just a few-"

"Don't worry, I'll only need a few seconds to install the Speakerrappatron's receiver into the speakers!" Papa Parappa picks up his equipment and runs past Parappa, rushing over to the speaker on the left side of the stage. Parappa looks at his father at work as he then looks down on the mic he received from him.

"Look, everyone! Here comes the cake!"

Parappa looks back at the center of the backyard, seeing the bakers push a trolley with Sunny's birthday cake on it. It is a chocolate-flavored cake with three layers in shape of hearts, with flower-shaped frosting on the layers' edges, and yellow candles on top. Sunny and General Potter are standings beside it, awaiting all the guests to gather around so they can sing happy birthday to her. Sunny then sees Parappa and waves at him cheerfully. Parappa blushes as he waves back, but stops upon hearing a high-pitched voice.

"Huh? Whoa!" Parappa falls to his side as a pile of dialog bubbles bumps into him. Parappa rubs his behind as the dialog bubbles begin to dissipitate, revealing Joe Chin within it as his voice and theme slows down, speaking at a normal pace again.

"-And after you've opened the 1,261,995th present, you will finally see why this day will always be treasured in your heart, and you will have me to always thank for it." Joe said as he then opens his eyes, realizing that he is no longer in the front yard. He then looks to his side, seeing Parappa on the ground, "Ah, Parappa! You're just the man I'm looking for!"

"Wha?" Parappa blinks in confusion as Joe helps him up on his feet, and puts his arm around his shoulder.

"Parappa, you and I've always been the best of pals. I'm glad that we can both be here for Sunny on this important day."

"Huh? Y-You've always thought of me as your 'best pal'?" Parappa asked in disbelief.

"Of course! That is why I'm going to need of your help." Joe then looks over at Sunny, who looks at the cake in awe as her father is informing the guests to come over, "You see, Parappa, I've been working on giving a secret present to Sunny."

"YOU TOO!? I-I-I mean, really?" Parappa sweats nervously as he looks the other way, trying to be subtle.

"I know that what I brought today is too little for someone like Sunny, so..." Joe reaches his back pocket, and takes out a small box with a sticker of a flower on it, "I am going to surprise with her this. And I want my best man to give this to her."

Joe gives Parappa the small box, as Parappa stares at it in confusion, "Your best man?" Parappa then opens the lid with his thumb. His jaw drops and his eyes dilate instantly upon see what is inside, "WH-WHAT IS THIS!?"

"It's something that money can never buy, and it can only be forged by an unbreakable bond of two lovebirds." Joe said proudly as Parappa is looking at a big diamond ring in shape of Joe's figure, "Yes, since the day I've met her, today is the best day to tell you that I will propose to Sunny Funny and make her my wife!"

Parappa's eyes go blank, having the thought of Joe and Sunny marrying each other before his eyes, "P-P-P-PROPOSE!? YOUR WIFE!?"

"There will never be another day like this, so I must make my move now before it is too late." Joe said with a nod, while Parappa maintains his dumbfound look, shaking the ring in exasperation, "I have achieved many great things in my livelyhood, but all of that will be meaningless if I don't win the heart of the most beautiful girl in the world. She is the beacon to my everlasting greatness."

Parappa stops shaking as his ears stand straight up upon hearing that. His ears go back the way they were as Parappa tightens his grip on Joe's ring box, and turns over at Joe with a glare, "That's it!? You want to marry her to make her your trophy!?"

"Well, trophies aren't living things, so-"

"You can't just marry someone so you can feel like you accomplished something! It's only when two people have deep feelings for each other and want to spend the rest of their lives together! Sunny isn't someone for you to put on display!"

Joe finally senses Parappa's anger, and looks down at him while scratching his head in confusion, "Um, are you feeling okay? You seem a little upset for some reason-"

"Of course I'm upset!" Parappa replied, gripping tightly at the objects at hand, "You want to marry Sunny!? You think you need her!? I NEED HER! There hasn't been a single day I haven't thought about Sunny since I've met her! I've always loved her, and I want to be with her forever! But we're just kids, so - THAT'S WHY I WON'T DO SOMETHING AS STUPID AS TO ASK SUNNY TO MARRY ME!" It is in that sentence that snapped Parappa out of his anger, as that phrase sounded louder than it should have been. Parappa lets out a cold sweat, noticing that he is holding the Speakerappatron up close with his left hand the whole time. He nervously looks over at his father, who stares at him dumbfoundedly as he had just installed the Speakerappatron's receiver into the speakers moments ago.

In that instant, everyone heard Parappa's voice echo in their heads, dumbfounded at what they just heard.

"What the!?" Katy gasped as she, PJ, Lammy, and Ma-san look over to Parappa in shock. General Pepper spits out his drink upon hearing that as the guests around the food court, the rides, and around the cake look over at Parappa, as they murmur amongst themselves. The speakers let out a sharp noise after Parappa's voice nearly damaged its woofers. Joe blinks in surprise as Parappa slowly turns his head towards the party, where everybody stares at him in awe. Parappa can only hear the sound of his own heartbeat beating faster at every second passing by, knowing things are going to get worse. And even he though he saw it coming, he wasn't prepared for it, as he looks over at Sunny, who has her hands over her mouth, heartbroken by Parappa's outburst. All of the guests won't stop talking about it, which is making her feel even worse as she tear is comes out from a corner of her eye. Parappa shakes nervously, feeling faint enough to collapse, but can't help but stare into Sunny's sad eyes.

"S-Sunny!" Parappa said under his breath as sweat goes down his cheek, "I - UNGH!?"

But before Parappa can speak, another sound can heard as clear as day, only it didn't come from the speakers. It is a sound that freezes everyone in their tracks.

Throughout the whole yard, the whole town, the whole world, throughout every plane of existence, a deep bass tune is heard, with chimes added with it two seconds later. Everybody and everything alive hears the tune in unison, even those that are deaf can feel the sounds encompass their very beings. The greatest of heroes, villains, adventurers, and individuals also hear this sound, with all of them having their own kinds of reactions. The jingles of the tune stop as the bass plays out again in a deeper tune.

^ O X []

On a sidewalk near the beach at Rio de Janiero, everybody stands still as they hear the sound slowly end in silence. Nathan and Elena were on the sidewalk, looking at the sky among other civilians nearby.

"What was that?" Elena asked, still having her arms wrapped around Nathan's left arm.

Nathan -still having his tacos at hand- squints his eyes, being just as perplexed as everyone else, "I'm... not sure-"

BOOOOOOOOOOOOMMFFFFFFFFFBFBFBFFBFBFFBFBFB!

Just then, an earthquake shakes the ground immediately after the tune ended, shaking everything in the city. "WAAHHH!" Nathan and Elena fall down, with Drake's tacos falling and dirtying Nathan's shirt, as everyone begins to panic. "Elena, hang on!"

Nathan crawls over to Elena, as the two hug each other while some are doing the same, while everyone else is either running or swaying left and right by the quake's magnitude. Every building, road, and landscape is within the quake's radius, shaking everything violently to no end in sight.

^ OX[]

Toro's house shakes, stopping Kuro and the TV from their fight, as Toro is alarmed, "O-Oh dear! It's an earthquake!"

"Wooooaahh!" Kuro runs in circles in fear, as the TV's cat figure shakes it's arms.

"Hurry, Toro! Get under the table!" The TV exclaimed.

"Meoww!" Toro cried, crawling under the table while the sound of the quake distressing him. He then looks over at Kuro, "Kuro! Get over here quick!"

"Aaahh! Earthquake! We need to get out of here!" Kuro cried while running around in circles.

"Oh for the love of!" The TV summons a pan out of thin air, as it falls over Kuro's head, knocking him out as he then falls on his back with swirls over his eyes.

"Kuro!" Toro gets out from underneath the table, and pulls his friend back underneath, hugging him tightly from behind as he looks around his room, which shakes tremondously, "Wha! Please let it end soon!"

^ O X[]

Heihachi's back yard rumbles fiercely, as Heihachi's men hurry into the backyard to get their master. "Mishima-sama! It's an earthquake! We need to get you to a safe location!"

Heihachi continues to meditate with a big frown, sitting firm in place, not moving an inch despite the quake shaking him and everything around it.

"Mishima-sama!" The men cried, some of them falling over while others are holding on to the wooden fences near them.

^O X []

"Ungh!?" Kratos eyes shoot open, feeling the quake shaking the cave he is in to its entirety. Kratos is fully awake from the sudden eruption, having a sense of adrenaline course through his body. "Nngh-ugh!" The quake knocks Kratos into the pool of water in front of him and falling into it. Kratos cries out in the water, bubbles coming out of his mouth to pop out on the water's surface. He tries to move, but his body still aches from the pain, not sensing the adrenaline just yet. The blood from his wound dyes the water red, as Kratos grits his teeth in anger while struggling to get out, slowly feeling his senses coming back to his body, feeling the pain from his wound and the quake shake his very being.

^O [] X

"What is happ - uuaahhhhh!" Raiden cried as his body releases a current of electricity, shocking him continously and the motorcycle he is riding. "Can't-ugghh!" Raiden looses control of his motorcycle on a nearly empty highway, falling over on his side he and his bike skid along the road, releasing multiple sparks in the process. He and the bike crash into the guardrail at midway of a curve, as the bike then catches on fire.

"Unnghh - AAAHHHHHH!" Raiden tries to get up, but falls on his back in pain. He curls into a fetal position, holding his head in agony as his body goes numb with pain. His dilated eyes are turning red and blue back and forth, as well as the electricity shocking him, all while the quake continues to cause havoc.

^ X[] O

The Professor's lab shakes intensely, as Spike and Jake hold on to the Time Station's platform. "Professor! What's going on!?"

The Professor and Natalie stay low on the ground, as the monitors then flash a warning sign repeatedly, "WARNING! A HIGH MAGNITUDE QUAKE HAS ERUPTED IN THE VICINITY!" Cassi's voice is heard throughout the whole lab, "PLEASE STAY INSIDE! DO NOT MOVE UNLESS IT IS A-A-AA-ABSOLUTELY NECESSARYYYyyyyy!" Static flashes over the monitors, disrupting Cassi's warning.

Natalie is on her knees, holding around the side of the control panel for dear life, while the Professer stays near the Time Station's manual control. Natalie's eyes then widen in shock, "Professor! The Time Machine!"

"Hmm!?" The Professor looks up, seeing the Time Machine is active, creating a blue glow around Spike and Jake. "Oh no!" The Professor gets up to stop the machine, but trips over a screwdiver on the ground behind him. The Professor falls on his back, causing Spike and Jake to gasp.

"Professor, are you all right!?" Jake cried, as the Time Machine them causes him and Spike to levitate within its platform, "Whoa!?"

"Get out of there, you two!" The Professor cried while trying to sit up, but it is too late.

"WHOOAAAA!" In a blink of an eye, the Time Machine creates a blue shockwave from the platform, imploding into a sphere shortly afterward as Spike and Jake disappear within.

"Spike! Jake!" Natalie cried, while the Professor looks on horrified.

O ^[] X

Dante's apartment shakes the same as everywhere else, with the rats and the roaches running around in the hallways. Inside Dante's living room, Dante is fast asleep, drunken to a state that his body doesn't register the rumbling going on. He sleeps soundly with his arm over his eyes, as panic insues outside.

O[]X ^

"Huh!? What the!" Daxter opens his eyes upon feeling the Cruiser shaking, "Jak! What are you doing!?"

"It's not me!" Jak replied with grit teeth, as an earthquake is also taking place in the Wastelands, shaking the desert ground while the Hellcat Cruiser is losing control. Jak then looks over the cruiser's power gauge near the steering wheel, which flickers its lights on and off, "Dax, something is wrong with the ship! I'm gonna try to land!"

"Are you insane!? We're safer up he - WHAAAA!"

"AAHHH!" The Hellcat Cruiser loses control as it flys over a small sand dune in the way.

CRAAAASH!

O^ X[]

People in the Red Kingdom's market place panic, grabbing their children to go to safe location. The quake shakes the whole Red Kingdom and the land far over the horizon.

"Whuhuhuhuhuh!" The Red King loses his balance, as he then slips over the frosting on the table, "Ah!" The King falls off the table, and was about to fall on the floor, but his servants came and caught him before he could.

"Wbwbwbwbwbwbw!" Plump cried as her body jiggles nonstop from the quake's magnitude. The servants and a few guards gather around Plump and her father, shielding them overhead with their platters and shields to protect them from any incoming debris.

On the throne area, a few guards are protecting the Aide, who is horrified by the tragic event that's happening. "Goodness gracious!"

O X ^[]

Even at the Hall of Heroes the quake makes its presence known, rumbling everything and everyone inside. The heroes maintain their ground, trying their best not to lose their balance. "What the devil is goin' on here!?" Bloodmonath asked fiercely.

"It's an earthquake!" Canny Tim exclaimed while hiding underneath the dining table.

"Vy vould der ve an earthquake 'ere!?" Karl Stungard asked, holding his shield overhead while Megywynne stays close to him.

Megywynne then sees Sir Daniel dazedly getting rocked left and right by the quake, "Daniel! Be careful!"

"Woooooaaaoooo!" Sir Daniel tries to regain his balance, but his mental state kept him from moving correctly. He then slips back and hits his skull on a chair, popping it off his body. "WHUUUH!" Daneil's skull bounces around the hall, eventually landing in between his statue's neck hole, getting stuck in the process.

O []^X

Sly manages to keep his balance in the quake's magnitude, as the thief was startled by the sudden eruption. "Huh?" Sly looks over his shoulder and sees a sandstorm heading right towards him. "Agh!" Sly squints his eyes and covers his face with his arms, as he gets caught in the storm. He struggles harder to maintain his position, when suddenly, a mechanic debris from the blimp falls right towards him. "Whoa!" Sly jumps out of the way as the machinery falls on the sand he was standing on. Sly hurries behind a boulder blocking most of the sand, and places his back against it, catching his breath.

Sly takes a few deep breaths to calm down, but the quake continues to stress him. Suddenly, a blue light appears, glowing it's rays over Sly, "What th-WHOA!" Sly gasped as he falls down, all while the light continues to glow brighter.

X^ O[]

The Aphelion goes out of control, flashing it's warning sign repeatedly on the HUD. "DA-DANGER! LOSING STA-STA-STABILITY! EN-ENGINE OVERHEA-HEATING!" The ship's AI repeated itself, with the voice sounding deeper with each second.

"What the heck is happening!?" Ratchet exclaimed, having a firm grip over the steering wheel, "Clank, I can't use the radar! Is someone attacking us!?"

"I-I-I do-don't know!" Clank stuttered, as the light in his eyes are flickering, "Ra-Ratchet! M-My body-!" Clank's body releases a few sparks before Clank lays motionless on his chair.

"Clank? CLANK!" Ratched cried, as his ship's boosters automatically activate, "Whuughh!" The Aphelion goes out of the control, bumping into a few small asteroids, leaving marks on its frame. As the ship goes out of control, the clouds on a planet nearby begin to shift into random locations.

X[]^ O

A wave washes over the deck, knocking Zeke against the side of Cole's coffin. "Holy s**t!" Zeke cried, coughing up some water. The storm instantly grew worse in a matter of seconds, as Zeke can see bigger waves in the distance.

"Hold on to something!" The captain yelled from the bridge.

A strap holding Cole's coffin from below breaks, causing it to move a little. "No!" Zeke holds on to the Coffin, pulling it back to the center of the deck. Zeke looks up angrily at the chaos around him, "You think can mess with my brother's funeral!? Come try to take him from me if you can, you bastards!" Zeke shifts his weight over Cole's coffin some more, using all his strength to keep it from moving.

A lightning bolt in form of a question mark then shoots down at the rocking boat below.

XO ^ []

"Look out!" The Helghast soldiers positioned on a road near Visari Palace get out of the way as a vehicle zooms past them and falls over to its side, shooting sparks out its frame shortly afterwards. The quake shakes the whole ruins of the city, with many soldiers panicking in the process.

"Aaahhh!" One soldier cried as multiple sparks shoot out from the gadgets he has equipped, as well as many other soldiers that are nearby.

X []O^

Kai and Shen stay close as the earthquake is keeping them on their toes. "Kai, we must get away from the cliff!" Shen exclaimed, guiding Kai out of the beach.

"Aaahhh!" Kai screamed as she and Shen leave the beach, with the rock formation Kai made for Nariko staying in place.

X^ []O

Big Daddy's eye holes glow red as he looks up at the sewer pipes on the ceiling vibrating from the quake's magnitude. "Mr. B!?" Little Sister cried as the whole Sanctuary was shaking nonstop. The Little Sister doesn't know what to do, as she is too scared to think clearly.

"MMUUUUUUUUUUUGH!" Big Daddy gets and grabs Little Sister around her waist. He then puts her on the ground and shields her with his whole body.

[]OX ^

"Run for your lives!" The guests at Sunny's backyard run around, panicking over the earthquake taking place.

Katy, PJ, Lammy, and Ma-san huddle together, while Papa Parappa is trying to get to his son, but can't pass the wave of people running by him, "Parappa!'

"Whoa!" Parappa has trouble maintaining his footing, as Joe Chin acts heroically.

"Have no fear, everyone," Joe exclaimed, "I will stop this quake with my own two hands!" Joe then leaps into the air and lands on the ground, punching it repeatedly, "Take that, mother nature! I'll teach you to come to Sunny's birthday party uninvited!"

"Sunny!" Parappa shouted for Sunny, who is with her father as they were trying to get everyone to calm down, "Sunny, I'm coming!" Parappa dashes for Sunny, but trips over a spike in the quake's magnitude, throwing off his balance. "Whoa!" Parappa staggers forward, as he turns around and falls onto the edge of the table where Sunny's cake was in. The cake falls over Parappa's head, covering most of his body with frosting. "Ughhh..."

People continue to run around, some of them stepping over Parappa's music sheets.

[]^ XO

Birds fly up in the sky uncontrollably as down below, the Gardens rumble under the quake's magnitude. "AAAahhh!" The people there run away in panic, some of them running inside their cardboard houses. "Oh dear, oh dear!" The King doesn't know what to do, as he stands firmly one spot while his eyes spin in circles.

Sackboy is horrified by everything going on around, as he then trips and falls in front of the empty space he was about to create something on. He pushes himself from the ground, looking up in distress, as he then blinks upon seeing one of the blocks in the distance growing bigger. He looks around, and seeing objects appear out of nowhere, filling the Gardens at a quick pace. Sackboy gets up and runs, as many objects appear around his path and other things around him growing bigger.

[] X O ^

"Come on! Why aren't you moving!?" The pilot of the armed helicopter mutters to himself, as none of the buttons he is pushing are responding. Sweet Tooth is having the same problem, as the machinery in his truck is malfunctioning amidst the quake shaking the vehicle up and down.

"GRRAAGH!" Sweet Tooth slams his fist on the control panel right of his steering wheel, causing a slot to open from the top corner of his truck as a missile pops out. The truck fires the missile, releasing a big stream of orange smoke as heads straight for the armed helicopter.

"Move!" The pilot panicked, trying to move his helicopter, but it is too late.

BOOM!

The missile explodes, blowing up the cockpit in a fiery fashion. The armed helicopter spirals out of control, heading towards the New's station helicopter that is also malfunctioning.

"Get us the hell out of here!" The reporter cried to the pilot, who panics as he tries to get the helicopter working.

"Look out!" The cameraman exclaimed, pointing at the armed helicopter spiralling at their direction.

KABOOM!

Both helicopters blow up upon hitting each other, as they both fall hard on the desert ground below, bits of their frame falling in different directions. Small flames scatter across the debris, as well as a pool of blood dripping from the news station's helicopter. The reporter is the only one who survived the crash, having her attire torn here and there, covered in blood from the cuts and bruises she obtained after the rough landing.

"MmNnnghh.." The reporter dazedly crawls forward, wincing at every movement she makes. She can see a clear path ahead amongst the destruction, feeling the quake dissipating at last. "Ugh!" She stops, feeling something around her ankle. She shivers the thought of what it might be, as she tried to move forward, but something was holding her ankle back. She knows she needs to look back, even though she knows that something worse is going to happen when she does. She looks over her shoulder, and her heart skips a beat, seeing Sweet Tooth kneeling down behind her, grabbing her ankle casually with one hand, having his machete at the other. "No... NO!" The reporter frantically tries to crawl away, but Sweet Tooth is too strong for her, "NOOOO!" The reporter is dragged away, filling the destruction around her with screams.

^ O X []

The rumbling stops, as another sound is heard again, a soothing chime that ends in a few notes. The earthquake is finally over.

Everyone who experienced this event ask themselves why an earthquake took place in their respective locations. There is never a simple explanation when it comes to these kinds of disasters, but fear makes anyone try to find a solution to ease themselves. Those that are Great -while some are not used to these events as others- will have this moment added in their legacies, and will use it as experience to guide themselves and those they care for back in a state of being they have spent their lives giving shape and form.

Little do they all know, this moment does not end here.

For all their greatest achievements, there is one thing none of them has ever done before; something that will put their legacies to the test. Those that are "Great" have no idea what will become of them, what they are going to do from here on out. They will see for themselves that greatness has a price, and it's up to them to live up to their titles. A new era has begun! An era where the Great will gather and fulfill their destinies!

GREATNESS AWAITS

PLAYSTATION ALL-STARS

THE ERA OF GREATNESS

---

This has been a quite a journey to get this finished, and this story has just started. I've just regained my enthusiasm to write again, so expect a lot more chapters in 2016. I hope you all have a happy holiday! Ciao for now!