Chapter Eleven

So he dreamed…

⸎⸎⸎⸎⸎⸎⸎⸎⸎⸎

It's not like I've never dreamt before.

Whenever I'm tired or feeling very emotional. Whenever something holds my thoughts so strongly, I can't stop thinking about them now and then.

I dream…

Dreams, to me, always come in various genres ranging from anime, drama, horror, adventure… And even erotica—hey, don't look at me like that, I'm a normal hot-blooded guy, you know.

But the dream that I had that day was NOT normal.

Even to this day, I just can't look back and call it a dream.

It was just too freaky to be called a dream.

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… And opened his eyes.

'Hmm… Where am I?' Manny thought in bemusement, unsure of where he currently found himself. 'How did I get here?'

With a pause, he mentally went over the happenings of the day.

Today marks it another day since Manny took over three Animal Packs and reestablished it as the Helios Wrath.

From there it was preparation time.

While Manny won't call it easy, he had to admit that the proceeding actions taken weren't exactly exhausting—of course, that could be attributed to his Primarch physiology.

After everything was said and done, Manny and the Helios Wrath promptly vacated the Hyena's Warehouse for a more discreet location at one of Upe's bases.

Although, it was only a stopgap measure.

This was a precarious period for his people as unlike another upcoming gang, the Helios Wrath's goals were far-more-reaching and would surely be stepping on too many toes.

All it would take was for any of the Night City top gangs or local authorities from any of the multinational companies to see the Helios Wrath as a nuisance and try cutting them off before they can take root.

It is a scenario that must not be taken lightly.

In truth, Manny wasn't scared for himself. But for his people, who at the moment, weren't elite material, talk less of Space Marines. It was in consideration of that that Manny would have to make proper adjustments and plan his steps more carefully.

It was also one of the key reasons, Manny needed the Scavengers' den.

At any rate, today had been spent helping the move-out -despite the protests from the others- as well as taking in the interesting news his subordinate leaders had for him.

All in all, a fulfilling day…

Which would have been more fulfilling if Manny hadn't found himself in a strange place (?) like this.

'It's one thing or the other, huh?'

Manny knew he wasn't dreaming: it was less of his enhanced senses speaking and more of his personal experiences with past dreams.

No matter how vivid or freedom of movement, Manny would have, there would always be this sense of detachment in his dreams.

It was like being part of a movie cast and a spectator at the same time.

In this case, everything flipped over: Manny was so much in control that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he was awake.

But despite that fact, Manny could feel he wasn't awake.

"What kind of conundrum have I found myself in this time?" Manny asked—only to realize his voice was different—scratch that, now it sounded familiar.

Very familiar…

Manny slowly looked down and regarded the lanky frame garbed in a simple pajama with his face scrunching in confusion.

This wasn't Manny the Primarch. It was Manny the Human.

The TRUE Manny.

"Hah?"

A squeaky voice compared to the timbre baritone rang out.

Manny touched his face having felt the familiar weight of his glasses but still needed confirmation that it was there.

"The hell… I would have thought this was all a dream if it weren't for wherever this is..."

Was it strange that Manny wasn't confused or scared of this situation despite being in his true body? The Ṕ̷̬͈͚̗̈́ṙ̷̡̢̲̔̉̎i̵̲̇̈̉̔m̸̥̀́a̵͔͚̯̥̍r̷̦̳̮̱̓̿̿͊ć̴̗͉͓͋̏ḧ̵̞/boy didn't know.

Call it instinct or some strange feeling, but somehow, Manny knew rather than spending his time moping about the loss of his superhuman physique, it would be better to try to understand his current situation.

At the moment, that above all else, needed an answer.

Manny was in a field of gilded barley(?) that spread far out into the horizon. The skies rhymed with the seemingly endless fields as they had an unnatural gold tinge to them.

He was in a world of gold.

A chill breeze caressed the golden flora causing it to bend and arch, giving it the impression of an interweaving fabric. It made the scenery so beautiful, that Manny almost thought he was in Heaven…

… If it weren't for the slowly increasing stomping Manny would have bought into the delusions of the golden fields.

Manny turned to see the cause of the sound—and gulped.

"What… The… Hell…?"

It/he/I was humanoid: in the sense that it/he/I had the appropriate shape proportional to a human, but that was where the resemblance to a mortal human ended.

It/he/I was vaguely over 100 meters in height; clad in a golden armor while holding a building-size spear. It/he/I was an Imperial Titan in human form.

Its/his/my face had a look reminiscent of Tiamat a Celestial from Marvel comics- in the sense that it was a fiery sun with the unclear shape of a head within the flames.

The Titan marched with his form shifting in static. His figure alternated like a tilting mirror as it shifted from an armored being to a flying western dragon.

It was a miracle Manny wasn't shrieking because that would have been the normal reaction to who or what was currently approaching him.

But Manny didn't feel an ounce of fear at the sight of the Titan.

But there was something about it/his/me that seemed familiar to Manny-too familiar in fact.

It was like he was… Looking at his reflection.

'Could this be…?'

Thump… Thump… Thump…

Unfortunately, the surprise didn't stop there.

Manny originally thought the sound of the thunderous steps was coming from the Titan, but that wasn't so: it was from the endless army marching behind him.

They were ants compared to the Titan—but that was only to the Titan. To Manny, they were all impossibly huge people of over 3 meters.

Clad in armor that reflected the splendor of this World, the golden army marched faithfully behind their inhuman-looking leader.

Suddenly, it/he/I stopped as Manny had the impression that it/he/I was looking at something in a somewhat fond manner.

'Uh-huh, there's something behind me, huh.' Manny blandly sighed and turned.

Behind Manny was another Titan of the same size; it/he was in crimson and opal black armor as opposed to the other Titan's gold with a blazing three-eye skull serving as its/his head.

On the crimson Titan's hand was a gigantic sword that drizzled with something that tainted the fields with rot-change-wrath-desire …

It/he let out a roar as his form alternated from a Titan to a three-eye lion the size of a skyscraper.

Nevertheless, that wasn't enough to dissuade the growing fondness the golden Titan had for the crimson Titan.

True, it/he was wrong.

It/he was abnormal.

It/he was dangerous.

It/he was CHAOTIC.

But it/he was his B̷̷̸̴̵̵̵̷̶̷̵̴̸̶̴̷̵̸̵̷̶̡̨͓̗̖̟͉͔̺͈̣̏͌̌͒̍͆̏L̶̸̵̷̷̸̶̸̷̵̸̷̶̶̴̷̶̴̴̷̶̵̸̷̶̢̮͎͙̦̭͛̒̽͊̑̆̎̒͑̏͋̇͐̆͜ͅÖ̴̴̷̶̴̶̴̵̸̴̷̷̡̢̞̹̘̻́̓͂Ớ̴̷̵̷̴̵̷̷̵̷̵̴̷̸̸̶̷̸̴̵̴̴̸̸̢̡͚̻͎͔̙̭̫͇̳͓̋̑͊̋̊̕ͅD̵̵̵̶̸̸̷͙̮̲̅ ̵̸̵̵̴̷̸̸̵̵̶̶̸̴̶̨̢̧̺͓͕̳͔͚̝͘͜B̷̸̵̶̶̴̸̸̷̷̷̸̴̶̴̷̶̸̵̶̨̦̳̱̰̯̫̆͆̋̓̒̔̓͆̊͘Ȓ̴̸̴̸̷̸̷̷̷̵̴̴̸̼̠͚͕͌́̌͛͐Ȏ̸̵̴̷̸̴̷̵̸̶̷̷̷̶̶̸̴̸̶̢̧͖̠̬͉͇͈̺̩̮͈̬̪̅Ṱ̴̴̷̸̴̴̶̵̴̸̴̶̷̸̸̶̷̴̸̵̵̢͖̟̗̦͇̩͈̻͓̟̓̓̈́͑͜͝Ḩ̶̷̵̵̷̷̵̵̴̴̷̴̵̶̷̶̷̶̸̴̷̴̶̷̷̵̦̟̗̟̺̤͕̳̝̪̻͇͎͚̗̩̈́̈́̇̐̐͘E̵̶̵̶̷̸̸̵̴̶̵̵̶̸̷̴̷̸͚̥̟̙̻̙̮͓̟̿͊́̈̓͠R̵̶̶̸̵̷̴̵̶̸̸̴̷̷̨̲̮̠͉͚͉͂̓͒͠.̴̵̶̶̵̴̴̶̴̸̸̴̶̴̴̡̢͕̝͓̰̦̭̝̞͇̊

ᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥ

Just as the golden Titan took a step towards the crimson Titan.

The page flipped and the World changed.

ᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥ

Boom…! Boom…! Boom…! Boom…!

War…

Manny stood frozen as his heart thumped in pain at the World gone wrong.

The realm of the gold had been splashed with bright red.

The glinted fields were replaced by a never-ending sea of blood.

The golden firmaments were tainted in greenish grey and sickening red.

The caressing breeze that brought relaxation now felt so hard to breathe that it was a miracle Manny wasn't doubling down and gasping for actual air—even though, he so wished for it.

Boom…! Boom…! Boom…!

'This is wrong.'

The sight of the golden Titan along with his never-ending army marching across the fields to meet with the crimson Titan along with his army was replaced by both sides fighting in an unending battle.

Boom…! Boom…! Boom…!

'This is wrong.'

Legions and infantries unleashed destruction in a bid to destroy their enemies. Where there should have been peace and flourishment, there was only… WAR.

Takakakaka…! Krak…! KABOOM!

'This is wrong.'

Mountains fell from the sky, hundred-meter-length lightning forks streaked down accompanied by an ear-splitting roar of thunder, and fiery tornadoes whirled as the man-made disasters wrought impartial destruction on the land and the people on it.

Bzzzztt…! Kaboom…! Boom…!

'This is wrong.'

The source of the unnatural calamities waged above in a battle unfit for the mortals below.

With an angry roar, the golden western dragon's maws opened and unleashed a stream of fiery thunder coloring the sky and smoldering the three-eyed lion who roared in pain and swiped its/his paws unleashing a corrosive river of blood upon the dragon.

They bit at each other. Clawed at each other. Unleashed all sorts of unnatural powers that threatened to collapse the very fabric of the World.

The dragon may seem to have been gaining the upper hand in the fight, but Manny somehow knew it/he/I wouldn't last long enough to claim victory.

For every second that passed, the crimson beast waxed greater in strength and that wasn't all… The golden dragon was reluctant in its/his/my fight against the three-eyed lion.

'This is wrong…'

Manny didn't realize when he had taken off for the battlefield with nothing less than the physique of an unenhanced human.

It was madness. It was crazy with a bloody Mary.

The teenager should consider himself born under a lucky star if he doesn't get blown into chunks by a stray shot or pasted by any of the Titan's soldiers.

"I don't care…"

But Manny knew he would turn mad if he let the bubbling emotion fester any second longer.

"This is wrong!"

Manny cried out as he slipped and fell to the ground murky with blood.

"Why the hell… Why the fuck are w̵̻͇͙̋̀́͘͜ę̴̛̥̰̺̤͙̠̥͔̈̀̈̑͛̈́͘͘ͅ fighting?! We're b̶̖̄̀͛̉̚ŗ̵̣͚̱̦̟̘̫͈͕̈́̈́̀̿̋͐̇̐̌̋͘̕o̶͉̥͉͈̼͙̠͓̍͆t̷̨̧̫̯͍̪͕͔̖͚͚͒̑́̈́͌h̴͇̺́̎͛̌̔̿͒̿̉͛́̃̂̕͠è̸̡̜̜̲͕̲̗̟̺̫͇̋͌̾̅̏͛͌͘͘͜ͅȑ̵̢̗̪̻̳͔̬͈̘̬̜̺̦̫͒̓͌̐̋̋̈́̚s̴̢̘̙̻̦̤̦̻̓̋͌͒̿͒̈͒! B̶͔̙̦̉͝ļ̸̡̢̛̩̘͈̖̗̳͕̊̌̉͐͋̒́́̈̆̍̕͘o̷͖̙͎̘͚͕̣̮̾̌̕o̵͙̦͈̞̒ḑ̸͙̺͍̯̙̜͙̹͇̗̱̎͐̇ ̸̨̭̟̘͓̩͑͌̈́̆̏̕͝͝ͅb̵̧̟̪̙͍̜̦̜̫̲̠̺͙̮̦̭͐͊̓̄̎̇̓̚̕ͅȑ̶͓̦̝̭̟͠ͅo̷̢͔̫̖̖͕̝͔̟̼͚̼̥̫̅̔͋̆͐̅̍̾̏̌͐̒̏̊̃̕t̴͓̞̫̩͖̥̘̦͙̩̹̞͕͎̠̰̀͑͂̉͊͗͠ͅh̷̢̢̗̘̺͙̼̩̹̱̹͋̎̀͛͌ę̶̧̖̙͈͈͍̯̈̀͊̿͐͗̉̐̎͆̚͝r̸̛̝̗̗̺̣͖̽͌͗̿̆͛̈́̚͝s̷̛̛̫̣͖͚̥̫̬̼̭̝̯͕̪͚̎̑̽̌̍̿͆̐̒̚̕͝! This is crazy! Stop! Stop it! Hey, I know you guys can hear me?! Stop fighting, you shitheads, unless you don't want me to come up there and spank your big asses!"

Why is he saying this?

What even concerned someone like him in something as phenomenal as this?

Was the madness of this dream (?) finally getting to him?

Manny didn't know nor did he care about such details. Right now, all he wants is for this… Farce to end.

Unfortunately, Manny's voice was drowned by the discordance of battle.

DOOOOOOMMMM…!

Suddenly, the ambiance felt different.

Something incredible must have happened as a fierce shockwave pulsed down from above and tore through the battlefield raging down below.

'… Shit.'

Darkness slowly filled Manny's vision and the air howled as something gigantic and gold fell.

'Oh no…'

It was the golden dragon and it/he/I had been defeated.

The sky rumbled and the clouds circularly parted revealing the three-eyed lion watching the plunging golden dragon before letting out a roar of triumph.

That signaled the end of the Golden Titan and the Golden Army.

Manny numbly watched as the crimson army rushed passed him—it was at that moment, that he realized they couldn't see or touch him—and began a mass slaughtering of the golden army who seemed to be getting weaker with every roar the three-eyed lion took.

"What is this…?" Manny mumbled, "What does this mean?"

A voice answered beside him.

"Anything…"

Manny flinched as a cool chill ran through his spine, and slowly spun to see who had spoken to him—with gulping being his next action.

'He-He's fucking huge…'

The teen barely reached the figure's knees.

Straining to keep his head up, Manny regarded the colossal figure obscured in a reddish fog. The only distinguishable feature on the concealed being was a lone gleaming star that could ostensibly be called an eye on his face.

"Hmm…" The figure hummed in bemusement. "Is this is first time you're seeing someone like me?"

"Well-Well, not exactly." Manny rhetorically asked. "But you're the only one I've seen that has talked back to me."

The teenager internally wondered why he was not afraid of this strange—and scary—figure. Rather, if Manny were to describe the emotion he was currently feeling, the word suitable for it would be familiarity.

He knew who this person was.

'No, no, no.' Manny shook his head, 'There is no one I know that's over 6 meters tall and looks like he eats elephants for breakfast. This is just some freaky dream. Yes, it's only a dream.'

"If that is how you wish to interpret it to be."

Manny owlishly blinked.

"Okay~ can you stop reading my mind? I don't want to deal with that kind of shit when I've got a Death Metal going on right in my chest right now."

"Who said anything about reading your mind?"

The red giant teasingly shot back.

"Minds like ours are impossible to read unless we allow people to. It's your face. As a lover of books, I pride myself in being able to read open books… Open books like you."

"Right~" Manny drawled as he stood up. "So you're telling me it's cold reading."

"Call it however you want. It's up to your interpretation."

There was an unnatural calm as Manny looked around in realization that the World was currently on a pause.

And he meant those words literally.

Bullets and lasers were frozen in midair. The armies from both sides looked more like realistic statues in their various poses. The descending dragon and the three-eyed lion were like some kind of motionless realistic sci-fi hologram.

Even the air felt different.

"Did time… Stop?" Manny muttered to himself.

"A little trick of mine. But then again, that's up to your—"

"Up to my interpretation. Ugh, yeah, yeah, I get it."

Manny brusquely replied and looked up. Unconsciously gritting his teeth at the sight of the golden dragon and the three-eyed lion.

"But can you at least, tell me whatever the hell this is?" Manny asked the obscured Titan. "Why does looking at this scenery make me want to throw up?"

"I don't know." The figure shrugged. "This could all be just a bad dream. Some simple conjuration of a tired mind—if minds like ours could get tired, that is."

Manny shook his head.

"No… I'm not so sure about that. This is a dream. This…"

Manny pointed towards the frozen battlefield.

"Doesn't fill like any of the dreams I've had. It's like…"

Manny took a second to snort at insanity he had concluded.

"A vision…"

The obscured Titan huffed as Manny got the feeling he was shaking his head in amusement.

"Heh… Hahahahahah… You may just be my favorite one, yet." The Titan chortled—and then suddenly turned to his side with his lone-star eye gleaming.

"Hmph… It seems I'm out of time. Oh well, no matter. I never expected to last this long in the first place."

The Titan sighed and looked down at Manny.

"I want you to know this: nothing is ever set in stone. Maybe in some other World-line, the golden and crimson Titan will enter an inevitable battle to the death. But it doesn't have to be this one. Listen to your heart and follow your light: no matter where it leads you; know that above all else it will never betray you. It is YOU and you alone who decides your destiny…"

All of a sudden, the frozen realm shook as Manny struggled to stay on his feet.

Strange black lines that could only be described as space cracks drew lines over the earth and sky, ruining even the macabre scenery while the sky overhead turned brighter.

Even without anyone telling him, Manny knew he was waking up.

"Oh and more importantly…" The fading Titan called out. "Be on the lookout for the Dark Sun. No, it's not something you should worry about at the moment. But it is better to be prepared for a being as powerful as him…"

"Wait! What are you talking about?"

Manny shouted while trying to maintain his foothold due to the intense rumbling. With a jarring crack, the earth split separating him from the obscured Titan.

While wincing as a result of increasing luminescence, Manny turned his face to where the Titan would be and shouted.

"Dammit! Hey, can you at least tell me YOUR name?!"

"My name isn't exactly safe to hear…. But I suppose you wouldn't be satisfied with that."

The Titan mulled for a second and then replied in a sad tone.

"Hmm… Call me… Red."

"Red?"

It took only a moment before the rather damning sobriquet struck Manny with the force of a sledgehammer.

He knew WHO the obscured Red Titan was.

It couldn't have been more obvious.

"See you around, Brother."

"Wait! Don't tell me you're Ma—"

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See?

There is no way anyone in their right mind would call such kind of thing a dream.

⸎⸎⸎⸎⸎⸎⸎⸎⸎⸎

ᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥ

(Bastet P.O.V)

Bastet would never tell anyone this even on the pain of being zeroed: that she likes high places like the top of buildings.

There was always this calm that washed over Bastet when she looked over the sprawling city in the distance and the ants scuttling below.

It was like she was above everything: the struggles and hustle. The anger and pain. The losses and gains… The living and flatlining.

It's all too easy to look at the thousands of buildings and the lives in them and straight up call it inconsequential.

Bastet envies the birds—the ones that pass by once in a blue moon—for how free they are and their frivolousness in deciding where they should or should not go.

The former Alpha didn't have the freedom or capability to live like that.

Bastet hates how that place makes her feel vulnerable—and yet, couldn't help being drawn to the allure of the high places.

'Who knows…? Maybe it's where I'll find myself being zeroed.' Bastet huffed. 'Eh, not exactly a bad place to begin with.'

Thankfully, Bastet wasn't going to the rooftop for her usual bout of vulnerability. It was to meet up with her new Bossman.

Opening the door to the terrace, Bastet took a moment to breathe in the clean air—at least, compared to the air below—and turned towards the colossal figure overlooking the city with arms akimbo.

The leader of an upcoming yet strong 'Park' and her 'Alpha'.

Bastet had to admit the new clothes Manny had on suited him better than the simple clothes he had been wearing yesterday; this time, it was dark blue khaki and a white t-shirt covered by a leather jacket.

'It sure looks nova.'

"Got anything for me, Bastet…"

The former Animal was drawn out of her musing as her Bossman called for her without looking.

'Huh?' Bastet blinked. 'How does he—'

"Know I'm the one here?"

Manny interrupted her thoughts by literally spilling it out.

"Okay, that's preem superpower you've got going for you."

Although, Bastet could get behind even this after the freaky stuff Manny had pulled off the day before.

'After all, who causes trauma with their fucking eyes?'

"Oh, it's nothing that crazy."

Manny turned to her with a teasing smile on his face.

"It's just a simple cold reading. Even you can do it with enough practice."

"Ugh, well count me out, then." Bastet made a face while walking to his side. "The only thing I'm good at is zeroing and making sure I complete my gigs. I'm satisfied with that."

Manny laughed. "Come on, you've gotta aim bigger than that, Bastet."

"And that's why I'm following you."

"Ah… I'll admit you got me there." Manny nodded in agreement. "And I'll ensure you never regret it."

'Ah~ there he goes again saying shit like that again.'

Her brows twitched as Bastet tried to calm her raging emotions.

'And with a fucking face like that… And I can't help wondering how many Inputs he's bagged with that sleek tongue of his.'

With a light shake, Bastet cleared her throat and said. "Well, in any case, the preparations are done. We're ready to move out anytime you want us to."

"Good…" Manny nodded. "Tomorrow, 8:00 am, sharp. Get my people and everything else ready. We'll be moving then. In the meantime, go get some rest."

"Got it, Bossman. And what about you? Shouldn't you also be getting some shuteye in preparation for tomorrow?"

"I will. But I've got something to do first."

Bastet flinched as she watched Manny clenched a raised fist that made the sounds of an iron being fired.

"Things that'll be quite useful to me for tomorrow's raid."

Bastet had to admit that was probably the most Nova thing she had ever seen in her life.