The Start Of A Tale

Night Two Hundred And Sixty Three

Oleander City...

"Hero!" Athena yelled as he jumped off the roof.

Hero, or Dero, the dog Hero, barked and jumped off the roof as well, a pair of long water blue wings forming out of him.

"God damn it why do Hero's keep jumping off roofs!" Athena ran about to do the same but felt a pair of arms wrap around her. She looked down finding the rabbit girl was now clinging to her looking around in a scared manner. Athena stared at her with wide eyes for a moment. "Wait... You're scared? Or... Do you just not want to be alone?"

Hero fell down the side of the roof slamming his clawed hand out but Four dodged the strike letting out a loud laugh. Rain began to pour down which Dero used to form longer wings. Four sliced up with his leg as it began to glow and shifted becoming a long white blade from the kneecap down. Hero barely had time to block it with his metal arm but that was a mistake as Four used it to kick off and back flip away from him falling towards the ground. He dug his sword leg into the building using it to slow his fall down as he landed. As for Hero himself he raised his leg hand up catching onto the leg of Dero who flew him to the ground.

Hero rolled across the ground from the rough landing as Four dropped towards him slicing out with his leg the battle now back on the ground. Hero ducked under the attack grabbing Dero and rolling them out of the way.

Both boys came to a stop and stared at each other. Red, liquid poured down Hero's back as his wounds began to drip, while White liquid gushed down Fours stomach his body starting to come undone. It seemed to make his smirk grow however.

"Hero." Hero said slowly setting the dog down. "No matter what. Don't get involved in this fight." The dog barked and let out a few whines covering his face with his paws as Hero walked towards Four who began to walk towards him as well even with his transformed limb. "I need to ask." Hero said frowning. "Why the hell are you here now. And what the hell is going on."

"Well dear brother... I suppose I can tell you." Four grinned. "Its a long story though."

"I have until you die."

"Fair point. Okay then." Four smirked. "Lets first start with a brief lesson in numbers... You see... We are the 4th experimentation that came to be... The first ever project that was ran by Mr. Hyde, and his merely band of people was funded by the Emperor at the time and Master Storm. It was Master Storm who wanted all these creations to happen. All had the same goal. Create a weapon able to kill God... And... Believe it or not... They all led to the same path."

"What?" Hero frowned.

"All of them. They weren't like the others think. The experiments weren't stopped and then suddenly shut down... They were stopped because everything that was needed was found out... And it was all for us."

"What the hell do you mean..." Hero frowned.

"Project One. Or. Project Fusion. The project that hoped to learn more about Mantra and learn how to fuse to beings together so that Master Storm may create a being that could steal the power of God. Project Two. Or. Project Rebirth. The Project to prove that a soul did in fact and exist and could go on to live in another body using someones Equation. It allowed two people to almost fuse wouldn't you say. Project Three. Or. Project Seraphin. The Project that proved human will could adapt and select few people were born special. Born able to take Dark Matter created by God. Born to fuse with the power of the Bestia Macht. And lastly... Project Four. Or Project God Slayer. The finished results... The cloned DNA and merger of DNA strands. You noticed the pattern right..."

"...Fusion?"

"Good. So you aren't dumb. Yes. Fusion. They all have to do with the merger of two things. That lead to our creation. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven... Seven of us clones were made... One... That was Reaper. Two. Three. Four. Those three were made at the same time. One of them is me. Another one is you. The last one is currently holding the soul of Mr. Hyde. Five. Thats Vil. Six. He died. Seven. She... Yes She. Is alive. I don't know where though. Do you know why we were given an incomplete code while you, Vil, and Seven, or Maudite as she goes by, was given a working one."

"...Why?" Hero asked slowly.

"Because... Food expires." Four giggled.

"Food? What do you mean?"

"Can't you see it. Fusing. Bonding. Devouring." Four began to giggle some more. "Its all there... You and Vil... You two were special. Same for Maudite. You Row. You were the sword. You were the one that Storm, Piero, and Hyde picked. They chose you to be the blade that would slay God. Vil. He was the back up blade. Incase you failed. And Maudite. They wanted to see if they could bend the DNA to create something new entirely. A woman. But you Row... You were the blade. The rest of us. We were your food. I told you. If I devour you I can gain all you have." He began to laugh. "We were given death dates. Bodies that would break down. We were never meant to live. Had the lab not be destroyed by God, the plan was to make more of us. And using your Crest you'd make Equations for each of us. We'd live long enough to master them or gain some use with them and then... We'd your food. You'd have devoured us. Killed us. Slaughtered us and gained everything we were. Our souls. Our life. Our Equation. Our hopes and our dreams. That was the plan anyways. We were your food."

"Thats... So sick..." Hero said with wide eyes. He grabbed his stomach as his face began to turn green. "You mean... You mean you were just made to be devoured by me... You existed to fuel me... And... Dad knew?"

"Gross isn't it." Four laughed. "We were going to be the bridge that would carry you to God. The plan had always been for us to wind up as a power source for you powering you up. And one day you'd be strong enough to beat God, through all our power. And then... You'd be able to absorb him as well. That was the plan till God caught wind of it. If not for Master Storms last second plan, of telling you, where the Heart is, then you'd be dead. But now... My body is breaking down. And so. If you can absorb me why can't I you? Hmm? Thats my plan. You utter failure. You screwed up your one job. So I'll take it over kay?"

"I refuse to die like that." Hero said sternly.

"Good. Fight. Grow. The stronger you are the stronger I'll be when I eat you."

"That still doesn't explain something though..." Hero sighed. "How the hell are you alive. The lab was totaled. Almost everyone died."

"Luck really." Four sighed. "You see. We were rescued, or rather, captured by Master Storm. He pulled us out. Placed us in a room that slowed our bodies down massively. However... Project Jump happened."

"Project Jump?"

"The sixth one." Four nodded. "Project Five and Six are happening at the same time and for once are being ran by two other people. Mr. Hyde is running Six. His son is running Five. I doubt either know about the other. Five is of course the Anima project. Making humans into Animals to fight wars. It has nothing to do with God. Honestly its the kindest one out of them. Six isn't funded by the Nation and is new. Its being ran by our Mother Hero Law. She is having that Mr. Hyde pull people from worlds who Gods have died... Haven't you wondered how so many people have begun to pop up. Hero Otoko was pulled here by God. But the rest. That was the projects doing. Any world without a God can have themselves pulled into our own thanks to it. This project is also why I am here... Mystery got a bit upset about this fancy new weapon Jester had. So he went and got me as a back up."

"I see." Hero nodded his head letting out a sigh. "That covers all my questions. Thank you."

"You are very much welcome." Four smiled. "Now die."

He fired forward his left leg transforming into his bladed form once more. Hero changed his own limb and raised it up blocking the attack just in time. The two went back and forth trading blows neither one gaining the edge on one another. Hero was drastically weaker from his injuries and Four was literally breaking down into a liquid with every step meaning neither was going all out. Despite that though they were both giving everything that their body could muster using their all in that moment.

From up above Athena held the rabbit girl as she watched the fight her lips pursed into a thin line. "I don't like it. But this fight seems to be important to you Hero isn't it."

Four flipped into the air kicking down with his leg and sending out a burst of flames at Hero who spun away from it. Fours foot stabbed into the ground and a massive pillar of flames erupted out of the ground from underneath Hero rising up and making Hero his out as it blasted him air born the steam rising up as the water of the clouds poured down casting a cold feeling glow onto the world below. Four slammed leg down again causing the earth to bend and rise up surrounding around Hero's body and forming a block of stone.

"Flame and Earth control..." Athena sighed. "What a combo. Plus those flames burn so hot the fire isn't going out even in the rain. Whats the plan Hero. You're trapped in the stone. What will you do now."

Four blasted forward towards the rock and flipped around letting out a laugh. "You're trapped in that cube now!" He screamed out a grin crossing onto his face as he sliced his leg out. "Can't dodge me now. Let's see if you can block." He sent out hundreds of flaming slashes in a single second splitting the entire cube to ribbons in an instant making Athena and Dero's eyes go wide with fear. Anyone trapped inside of it would have been sliced to bits before they could even block. Hero was-

The rocks fell away showing they were empty...

"What!" Four asked with wide eyes landing on the ground. "But he was trapped. I felt it. He couldn't have gotten out without busting out of the cube how did he-" He looked up staring into the barrel of Hero's rage cannon, Hero now standing in front of him. There was a quiet click as Hero blasted out a beam of energy only for Four to jump over it point blank range dodging it. "Now I got you, you little shit!" He screamed out slicing his sword down and spitting Hero's head clean off!

Hero's corpse slowly fell to the floor and shattered into a hail of glass as the flesh on it broke away showing a metal doll underneath.

"Thats just like when Hella made a doll?" Athena asked with wide eys.

Fours eyes filled with rage as he stared down at the doll. "How the hell did he-"

A bright glow followed by an explosion erupted out from behind Four. He turned around as blood oozed out of Hero's metal arm which shrunk down back to its normal form. In Hero's arm now, between his fingers, he held a long black spike. "This is... The Flying Thunder Fire Cracker, Shadow Unleashed." Hero announced the long attacks title. "A mix of my own bodies energy, wind, flame, lightning, and even darkness itself woven together. This spike is made out of the shadows and within it lies the flame, wind, and fire, it itself is powered up by my energy. A five way combo attack." He announced loudly shocking Athena. "It took me a while to make it. Plus. Every time I do my right arm gives out and reverts back to its normal form so I got one hit with it."

"I get it..." Four smirked. "That attack is your finisher right. If you hit me with it I'm as good as dead. But if I block it... Or dodge it... Then your dead..."

"Thats right."

"In that case..." Four fired into the air spinning around and raising his leg high above his head as he let out a laugh the blade glowing with flames. "I think I'll just stab you while I'm up here and blast you with long range attacks. Something like that has got to weigh a few tons and will be to heavy to throw with your normal arm. I doubt you can even swing it! Some attack! I win!" He roared.

***

Meanwhile...

"I can't believe the games are really over..." Ken sighed folding her arms up and kicking her feet out. "I didn't even get my turn for a good match."

The large group was now on a train heading towards Oleander City. The group was Katrina, Jackson, Dawson, Ken, Kitsune, Light, Irene, Daughter, and Shelly. Daughter had a small drone in her hair as well as a stuffed animal.

Jackson, Dawson, and Katrina, all stood at the front of the train. Ken and the group were all seated. Ken set next to Shelly, and Daughter, with Daughter sitting in Shelly's lap. Irene rested next to Kitsune, and Light was in a seat by himself.

"I'm kind of glad." Kitsune sighed. "It was losing its meaning towards the end there."

"I just want to see Father again." Daughter nodded hugging her stuffed animal tighter.

"I wonder how Hero is doing..." Irene sighed. "Knowing that idiot... He's likely pushing himself."

"I'll need to work harder than. I can't get surpassed by that Devil Arm." Kitsune announced.

"Big Brother..." Light sighed folding his arms.

Shelly was silent until her eyes suddenly went wide and she turned staring out the window. She gently took Daughter out of her setting the girl down as Shelly practically climbed over Ken to look out the window.

"S... Shelly." Ken said with a red face as Shelly was now resting in her lap staring out the window.

Shelly didn't say anything a scowl crossing onto her face. "Since when can he do that..." Was all she said.

"What the hell..." Kitsune asked with wide eyes when he turned to see what caught Shelly's attention. "What... What happened to the sky..."

***

"Seriously..." Athena laughed her eyes wide as she set the rabbit girl down. Her and the girl stared at the sky with wide eyes as the golden rays of the sun casted down.

There was a massive hole in the pitch black sky from where a blast had split the polluted area open and showed off the blue sky above finally allowing a single ray of sunlight to cast down.

"Hero you... Really went all out didn't you..." Seconds later the black clouds covered back up as darkness set back in.

Four gasped out blood gushing down his chin as well as white liquid. He was now in the arms of Hero Law, a gigantic hole now through Four. "A... Amazing." Four gasped out more blood flowing out of him. "In... One... One attack. I didn't think you could... That was clever. Using 'that' to over come the weakness of that spike."

"Save your strength." Hero urged.

"I... It doesn't matter." Four chuckled. "I'm done anyways. If thats your power in weak state Row, I never even had a right to try and devour you." Four said closing his eyes.

"Thats not fair though. I still have questions." Hero said frowning.

"Yeah... Yeah... I guess you're out of luck then." Four laughed. He reached up brushing Hero's face. "You... Aren't Row are you?"

"...No... I'm Hero Law."

"Damn. I got the wrong one huh." Four giggled as more of his body began to melt. "W... Well then... Hero... Listen well. Everything I told you was true. You exist to kill God and take his power. With that power you can keep the sky black."

"Keep... It black?"

"That's right." Four nodded. "God is... At the end of the day. He was a man. Like me or you. Hes a person. And like any person he can die of old age. One day his body will give out. And he'll die. He wants to turn back time before that happens. He wants to undo all of this... But that would take the good away to. So Master Storm created this plan. We exist to take his place. To kill him and become a God our self so we can keep the earth hidden. You have to kill him... Stop him from altering time... Before he can... And when you do... It's up to you to keep the planet hidden from the Squid. We were just a stepping stone. And it would seem even now... I to was a stone."

Hero shook his head. "Thats not true at all. Because. No matter how briefly. You existed. And I met you."

Four let out one last laugh. "You really are an idiot aren't you."

"Hey..."

"Well. No use then. Listen up little brother. I was made before you believe it or not... So... As the big brother you have to do what I say." Four said cupping Hero's cheek. "And I... Still have one more request for you."

"What is it..."

"I want you to..." Four pulled himself up and whispered in Hero's ear making the teens eyes go wide.

"What? But that wouldn't..."

"Quick... Before I die... Get the help of the healer to..."

"Okay... I'll do it..." Hero nodded. He gave a sad smile to Four. "I'll be a good little brother then."

"O... Oh yeah..." Four said his eyes closing. "One more thing."

"What is it?" Hero asked cocking his head to the side.

"Happy Birthday."

Age 1992

Hero Law's Seventeenth Birthday.