66 Next Level 3/3

(AN: Excuse me for my lack of presence as a lot of things have been going on. I should be settled in by next week. Thank you to everyone that stuck around and let's continue this FF! I have so many things planned, but just need the time to do it!)

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It didn't take long for the group to make it back to Gotham City and the first thing they did was dump the assassin Talia in an unknown alleyway of Gotham City.

They didn't even think twice about the decision as they all agreed that the RV was already crowded and Pamela didn't quite trust Ethan to only extract information from her.

"Mmmm!!" Talia screamed but only muffled noises could be heard because her mouth was taped shut.

Pamela slowly walked towards Talia with an eerie smile on her face, "I can tell you're curious about him, but let me tell you something...I don't like you at all."

"Do you know what that means?... Talia?" She added as she forced the assassin to look into her glowing green eyes.

Talia wasn't one to be easily scared, but at that moment she quickly nodded her head as she started to sweat from fear. She's felt killing intent before, but not to the point where her entire body was being crushed by an oversized boulder.

It was strange and the only thing she could think about was getting as far away as possible.

"Great." Pamela grinned, pushing Talia away as the vines that were holding her loosened, allowing Talia to attack Pamela, but instead with her newfound freedom...she decided to run away.

"You could have killed her and be done with it," Harley said.

"Hubby might need her later."

"So you let her go?" Raven raised an eyebrow.

"I'll be able to find her if I need to. However, for now, let's just focus on helping Ethan. He's been getting a lot worse. I can tell." Pamela frowned as she walked back to the RV with Harley and Raven.

The time was currently 6 pm on a Tuesday which meant people were still going to be out and active. They knew that whatever was going to happen was going to be huge, and the fewer eyes the better.

Harley and Pamela didn't have fond memories of Gotham, so they decided to take a longer drive to the next state over, the state of New York!

They ended up in Brooklyn, one of New York City's counties that are known for a lot of things famous in the world such as Coney Island, if Ethan was awake then he probably would have wanted to visit it among other things.

It was 7 pm when Harley finally parked at a nearby truckstop. They all checked on Ethan's body which was drenched in sweat while his skin was flushed, making his skin look darker.

His breathing increased and he started to toss around the bed as if he was having a bad dream.

"Are you sure this will help him?" Pamela said as she turned Myra who picked him up gently like he was the most precious thing in the entire world.

"I'm positive." Myra firmly answered before glancing at the unconscious Ethan in her arms. She was still hearing that strange voice inside of her head and it was still talking about the ocean.

Everyone else was too worried about Ethan to speak and only looked to Pamela for their next step. It has been decided a while ago that the redhead is the one to make the final decisions if Ethan happens to be away or in this case...unconscious.

"Let's go," Pamela finally said before glancing at Teekl. "I know you can understand English so take care of the RV for us. Ok?"

*Meow* Teekl nodded his head as everyone started grouped around Myra.

Raven then crossed both of her hands in front of her and chanted, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos..." Soon they were all covered in dark energy that morphed into a giant raven that took off through the roof of the RV like a ghost carrying them all with it.

Some would see an image of a giant bird flying through the air, but it flew too fast for them to confirm which left them to believe that they were seeing things.

Only minutes would pass by before they arrived on the nearest beach where there were large enough rock formations to obstruct prying eyes.

"Now what do we do?" Harley asked.

"The only logical thing to do is to put him in the ocean...unless I'm mistaken," Raven said.

"Myra?" Pamela said as she turned to her.

"...." Myra was silent as she wasn't quite sure either. She even started to panic a little after noticing Ethan's condition was progressively getting worse.

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As the four wondered what to do next to help Ethan, Tydris was busy staring at the heart that belonged to his first beloved. Normally, it would have already disappeared and convert into dragon essence by now, but something or someone was holding it back.

"...You've used the last part of your will to stop him from completely absorbing your power. Still protecting those weak humans...They were the ones that helped our enemies get by our defenses...They were the ones that took you and everyone away from me!!" Tyrdris said, gritting his teeth.

"They don't deserve to be protected. They deserve to burn like the rest of those bastards! HOW CAN YOU STILL PROTECT THEM AFTER THAT, AVITAAAAA!? HUH?!!" He then released all of his anger and sadness with a roar that seemed to last for ages until he grew tired, something that has been a frequent occurrence.

"...They don't deserve it...so why..." He whispered as he stretched his hand to touch the floating black crystal, unfortunately, his hand would only go through it.

"I will reunite with you all soon...after I drag Barbatos and those filthy gods along with him...I know he's hiding because he is trying to recover from our battle...He may be close to recovering, but if my successor will be able to kill him..." He said before becoming silent once again

"Although...can I even call him my successor...he's.." Tydris shook his head. "....no I can't think of it or I'll hesitate..."

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There was darkness all around him, it was similar to when he met Tydris again in the space he roams, however, he was nowhere in sight.

Ethan was isolated from anything and everyone with no idea when he could escape.

Hour? Minutes? Days?

Time ticked away as he roamed the endless space, he even started to feel cold as if he'd just been thrown into a meat freezer, he could even see his breath. The cold only seemed to increase as time pressed on, forcing his bodily functions to shut down one by one.

"Cold...Why...Is.." Ethan wrapped his arms around his body and tried to warm his body, but it was...useless. Ice started to form on his skin just as he closed his eyes from no longer having the strength to continue...

He was now dead...

Or so he thought...

"Tydris...Tydris! Wake up!" A voice said.

Ethan then opened his eyes to something that he only saw from pictures back in his old world.

It was a land of ice resembling the continent of Antarctica if it was cranked up another level. Ice and snow from as far as he could see, covering everything from the trees to the ground in a beautiful mixture of different forms of water.

Currently, Ethan was laying down in some kind of gigantic cave made entirely of ice, one could fit an entire city and more inside if they wanted. After gathering his bearings, his eyes then looked to find the origin of the voice.

It was a blue western dragon, a subtle blue with a mixture of white that was found along with the dragon's wings and tail. From the voice, Ethan could tell that it belonged to a woman, but he had no who they were as the only dragon he's seen is Tydris.

'Wait...did she say Tydris?' He thought as he stood up. However, when he rose to his feet, he felt something was quite off about him. The halfling felt powerful, more powerful than when he entered the 3rd stage, if he fought Superman again he felt like he could defeat him with just one pinky.

"Now, you know you aren't supposed to be here." The dragon said as she approached Ethan. She was about the height of a small skyscraper and somehow Ethan was taller than her.

Weirded out by this, he then looked down at his body to see that it was covered in golden scales that went down all the way to his giant claws that were planted on the icy floor. The floor was mirror-like so he could see his reflection which showed that of a golden dragon.

There were gashes all over his chest and face with some still bleeding like the one that came down over the left side of his face, Ethan wondered how he was even alive with so many wounds.

'These wounds...they don't hurt? What is even going on?..' Ethan thought as he tried to move his body. It was strange at first, but he quickly got the hang of it as if it was natural.

"So, you aren't speaking to me now? Hm?" The blue dragon asked as she brushed her head underneath his neck in an affectionate way.

"You're still bleeding...." She frowned as she suddenly used her long snake-like tongue to lick his wounds, causing him to shiver. Her tongue was cold, so cold that a layer of frost would form wherever she licked, sealing up the wounds.

"I really wish I could do more..." She said after finishing. "None of your wounds are healing properly because of what happened...At this rate...I fear..."

"I-" Before Ethan could answer, she suddenly looked down, following her gaze, he would see a sleeping golden dragon.

"Tydris. I told you to wake up! You know you're not supposed to be in here!" She said, growling loud enough to shake the entire cave.

The golden dragon was considerably small, but that was only because Ethan's height was that of a massive mountain.

Ethan felt incredibly powerful, but compared to the smaller dragon, he was extremely weak. He'd study the dragon for quite some time and couldn't help get the feeling that he was familiar.

"Wait...Tydris?"

Soon after, the golden dragon slowly opened his eyes before letting out a long audible yawn that shook the cave worse than earlier.

Suddenly, however, everything seemed to freeze in place, even the blue dragon stopped moving as Tydris glares at Ethan.

"You're not supposed to be here." He said with a low growl.

"Wait...Tydris what is going on-huh?" As Ethan started to talk he started to feel a liquid trickle down his body.

It was water...

"But how can it..." Ethan was stunned, and not only that he started to feel something trying to take over his mind.

No...it was more like he was just being pushed out.

'Am I controlling someone else's body?... But who is this?... Wait!'

"You're going back...don't fight it..." Tydris grumbled as he started to flap his wings which allowed him to hover in the air. "Word of advice...Don't come back here..."

"What is even here? I know you're hiding secrets from me, and I demand answers! Now!" Ethan angrily growled, returning Tydris's glare with his own. He knew the golden dragon had been hiding things from him for quite some time, and he thought he could stay quiet about it...

But no longer...

His situation just didn't make sense!

Why would you force someone like him to be his successor when there other hot-blooded people who could do it better?

The ones that can throw away their past at a drop of a hat...

Why couldn't he just forget?...

Why did it have to be someone like him?...

"....You're demanding answers from me?! Hah...Haahahaha!!" Tydris roared with laughter, showing his disdain. "I will do NOTHING for you! You will obediently grow in strength and when the time comes...you will do what you are told!"

"BASTARD!" Ethan bared his teeth.

"YOU DARE?!!" Tydris roared as he flew up to look directly into Ethan's eyes.

Ethan could feel a familiar pressure one that he felt when he first saw Tydris. The pressure made him feel small and insignificant like his existence was nothing more than a novelty to him.

But right now he could care less about that feeling...

He wasn't going to stay quiet any longer!

Ethan was officially pissed off.

"...PEOPLE LIKE YOU MAKE ME SICK!! IF I COULD MOVE I'D RIP YOUR FACE INTO SHREDS!! YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST WALK ALL OVER ME?!" He exploded.

"YOU DON'T EXACTLY MAKE IT HARD! JUST ABOUT ANYONE COULD WALK OVER YOU! YOU PATHETIC WORM! WHY DON'T YOU GO CRY SOME MORE!!" Tydris snapped.

"I'LL-" Ethan loses consciousness mid-sentence.

Once Tydris knew he was gone, he'd simply stare at the wounded golden dragon, he was several times larger, and yet his strength was nowhere near his own. In fact, he could even feel that their strength was slowly dwindling which meant one thing.

"It's better if you don't know...." He grumbled

"What shouldn't I know?" The golden dragon now possessed a new voice that caused Tydris to smile.

"Nothing...Father...Just focus on trying to recover."

The blue dragon frowned, "Tydris you didn't answer me. You aren't supposed to be here...You know I-"

"I'm done with hiding my existence mother." Tydris interrupted her. " I can't stand by and watch our brethren be slaughtered for mere playthings! I've had enough!"

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Back in the world of DC, things were starting to change and it all started when they decided to place Ethan in the ocean. His body started to writhe uncontrollably as his body was enveloped by a golden aura. At first, Myra was holding him in her arms while in the water, but his constant movement forced her to let go as she wasn't strong enough to hold on to him.

The previously calm water started to shift back and forth, pulling Ethan further out to sea than intended which alarmed everyone.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!!" Raven quickly reacted, stopping Ethan's body from moving any further with her magic.

"Pull him back!" Harley shouted.

"I'm trying! The most I can do is hold him for some reason!" Raven groaned as a line of sweat formed along her brow. She didn't know how, but somehow Ethan was fighting her hold on him which should be impossible if he was unconscious.

"Master!!" Myra immediately swam over to Ethan to help bring him back to shore, but suddenly he regained consciousness.

"I'LL KILL YOU!!!" Ethan roared towards the sky, instantly releasing a surge of golden light that shined brighter than the moon from his body. The light formed a line, becoming a beacon that lit up the entire night sky causing the people of New York to think that some kind of god or angel was descending.

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It took several minutes for Ethan to realize he was back in the world of DC, he then realized he was somehow advancing from the 3rd stage to the 4th, however, he wasn't happy about it.

He even tried to hold back the advance just to spite Tydris while he tried to contact him

'Talk to me, you bastard!! I swear I will not advance any more! You'll never use me!!' He mentally screamed whilst gritting his teeth. He was trying to avoid advancing to the next stage which he quickly found out to be incredibly painful. It felt like he was holding up an entire mountain on his chest and the pain only intensified as time went on.

"Ethan!"

"Honeybun!"

"Master!"

"Hubby!"

He heard all four of his women call out to him while they attempted to reach him. They all knew that he was furious and in pain, but the cause was unknown.

"STAY AWAY!!" He roared as he unconsciously invoked his dragonfication, covering his entire body with golden scales. The water around him started to steam as its once blue color turned into black.

Almost instantly Pamela knew that it was poison, and a strong one at that because of the horrid smell, but it didn't stop her from trying to reach the man she loved.

"Hubby what's going on?! Talk to us, please!" Pamela shouted as she called upon nearby plant life to form a cluster of vines that carried her and Harley towards him.

Raven had long lost her hold on Ethan after trying to removing him from the ocean. Her trained senses told her exactly what he was doing, and she couldn't fathom why was doing it.

"Ethan you have to stop. You could kill yourself if you keep this up!" Raven screamed.

"WHAT?!" Harley couldn't believe what she was hearing and luckily Pamela was nearby to stop her with one of her vines or she would have dived straight into the water.

Every one of them wanted to stop him not because they could die, but because they would lose him.

They were just starting their lives and there were so many things they wished to do with him.

"MASTER!" Myra was still in the water during Ethan's outburst swam through the water without a second thought, burning off her clothes and parts of her skin.

"Azarath Metrion ZINTHOS!" Raven chanted again, yanking Myra out of the water with her magic

"LET ME GO!!" Myra screamed, using every ounce of her strength to free herself, but Raven's hold wasn't budging. "YOU LET ME-"

"QUIET! You throwing your life away isn't going to make the situation better!" Raven said as she pulled her towards herself

"My life doesn't m-"

*Pow!* Raven slaps her face with enough strength to leave a handprint, but it ended up hurting her more because of Myra's tough skin.

The pain was minuscule, but it managed to stun Myra to a degree, causing her to stop moving.

"Your life does matter. You aren't just some form of magic anymore. Don't you remember what happened when you did something like this?"

At the time in Metropolis, Myra was still new to having emotions, and even now she was still learning about them. She remembered the tears in Ethan's eyes and how desperately he tried to keep her alive.

Could she put him through that all over again?

Tears started to stream down her eyes for the first time as she thought of it, but still, she didn't want to stand around and do nothing.

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Under the sea, thousands of miles from the surface laid a kingdom that was slowly becoming ruined. Years of being cut off from the light and the rest of the world turned its inhabitants into horrifying creatures that are more in tune with their instincts more than their intellect.

They were nothing more than savage beasts that will attack anything that came near them, and in their trench, they starve for food as their numbers grew.

If they were going to survive then they would need to travel further than they ever have, journeying towards the sea where light, can reach.

During their search, their enhanced senses picked up on something not too far from them, causing them to go into a frenzy.

Food!...

FOOD!!

The creatures all thought the same thing as they swam towards the surface.

However, before they could even reach the source they were overwhelmed by a bright light. One of the things these creatures hated was the light as their time spent in the darkness made them nocturnal.

Although, it didn't stop there...

The once blue water they were swimming in started to change into a blackish color that b burned their skin like a corrosive acid of the worse kind.

Pain!

PAIN!

They screamed while swimming away back into the depths of the sea to recover from the damage, but not without remembering the scent of the one that injured them.

As they swam away, a woman with long red hair and dressed in strange clothing happened to witness this from afar. She had been sent to sneak into the city of Atlantis to kill its heir to cause chaos, enough to distract them from the fact that the kingdom she belonged to was going to attack.

'What is going on?...' She thought as she swam towards the surface while keeping her distance to avoid the water near the beacon of light. Once she was above water, her eyes were greeted to a man that was standing on top of the water as if it was solid while he roared towards the sky like an enraged beast.

Her eyes then widen as she saw the marine life in the vicinity of the man were dying left and right. Their bodies floated to the surface before burning into nothingness when there was no fire.

'...Poison?' The woman grimaced at the thought and couldn't stand by and watch the ocean become poisoned by the man. Unlike the others of her race, she possessed an ability that was passed down to her, allowing her control over water.

She used her power to create a platform of water that moved by moving the water underneath in a fast circular motion, creating a cyclone

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"ANSWER MEEE!!" Ethan roared again, sending out powerful shockwaves that forced everyone away while the water around him scattered in all directions, creating an opening in the sea.

Raven instantly raised a barrier over everyone when everyone was thrown back, her quick thinking protected them all from now poisonous black water from touching them.

*Sizzle* The barrier made a sizzling sound and there were even signs of the structure being affected by the poison which showed its potency.

'DAMN IT!! TYDRIS!!!' He raged in his mind as his body started to change, even more, wings started to sprout from his back IT WAS ALL A LIE WASN'T IT?! I CAN'T BRING BACK MY PARENTS?!!' He asked and still, there was no response from the dragon.

"ANSWER M-"

*BAM! SPLASH!* Ethan's was cut off by a stream of water that came out of nowhere, hitting him with enough force to knock him off his feet, causing him to plunge into the water.

"You will cease your actions or face death!"

Everyone's eyes were drawn to a woman who was standing on top of a platform made of water. A normal person would wonder where she came from, but something like that didn't matter.

"YOU BITCH!!" Harley immediately transformed and leaped into the air after ripping through the vines that held her back.

The woman only saw a blur coming towards her, but she reacted fast enough to stop claws from reaching her face by making a staff made out of water.

"What kind of creature are you?!"

"THE ONE THAT'S GOING TO RIP YOUR HEAD OFF AND TURN IT INTO A ORNAMENT!!" Harley growled as she started to fight the woman on top of the platform.

The red-haired woman was trained to fight all her life so she could keep up with Harley even with her speed.

As the two fought, Ethan was falling deeper and deeper into the ocean. He was snapped out of his anger after being hit, but what he was left with was a great sadness.

Everything single thought and decision he made in the past month ran through his mind, making him wonder what it was all for...

'Ethan Travis Vanders! DON'T YOU DARE GIVE UP ON YOUR LIFE!'

Suddenly, he heard a familiar voice inside of his head, one belonging to the woman that knew him best in this world.

'Pamela..'

'You are going swim back up here and pull yourself together. And have you forgotten? You promised me that you would be here for our unborn child....How are you going to do that if you are trying to die?!'

'We've given our lives to you...our future lies with you...you're going to throw it all away?' Another voice said which belonged to Raven.

'Master please...don't'

*Rumble*