Night Two Hundred And Twenty Nine
Age 1991
Gladious City...
Underground...
"So. How was it?" A voice asked.
Ken now found herself standing on the stone floor of a temple. Behind her the Old Ken, and Hero stood looking around with wide eyes shocked that they were back in the temple.
Ken slowly reached up wiping a few of her tears away as she gave her sly grin. "It was pretty nice actually. Dad." She slowly turned around and saw him. Lancelot... Her father. "We need to talk."
"Who's that?" Hero asked.
"Our father." The Old Ken said. "D'ulac Lancelot."
"L... Lancelot? As in one of the twenty sacred branches? Wait... Ken you're..."
"Yep. I'm a Noble." Both Kens announced flipping their hair back.
"Huh..."
Ken, the Seraphin one, turned to look back as her father as she folded her arms. The armored man stared back at her. "So... Let's start with the big question. You're not my father are you?"
"I am not." Lancelot nodded. "Though I might as well be. I am the memories that you have of him, as well as his own memories, all mixed together forming this shape. In here memories reside. I am the Lancelot that has exist, does exist, and will exist, the form of him from the past present, and future. I am the true Lancelot. As such you can ask any question you want from your father and I will be able to answer it."
"I see." Ken said letting out a sigh. She turned to the old Ken and Hero. "Before that though. Where did you guys go when the floor broke?"
"No where." Old Ken said shaking her head. "Hero and I were just falling and then suddenly found ourselves back here."
"I see. Okay. So you didn't hear the voices?"
"Voices?"
Ken turned back to Lancelot. "That's my first question. What was all of that."
"I think you know..."
"I'd like to confirm."
"I see." Lancelot nodded his head. "Well to answer your question... It's very simple. You see... Do you know about Multiverse theory..."
"Nope." Ken said letting out a pop.
"Okay... Well. To put it simply there are other worlds much like your own. In total there are fifty six worlds that exist. The world you come from is known as Fifty Two and rests at the top. Otoko comes from Fifty One. And you. The other Hero within here. You are from Fifty. Currently over half of these fifty six worlds have been devoured by the Squid. The one who rests in Nothingness. Think of the Multiverse as a ladder of sorts... Each world in above one another. At the very bottom of the Multiverse lies the Over... Just below. The Over is the end of all. A place that isn't nothing or anything. Just. Over. Above that is where we are. The Ever. A place where memories rest. Above us is the Nothing. A place where the Squid, the one who comes for all rests. Above the Nothing is the Void. Where Dreams reside. And above that is Earth One. Than Two. Than Three... All the way up to the top of the ladder Earth Fifty Two. The world above them all. Your world."
"Does this have anything to do with what I asked?"
"As a matter of fact it does... You see. Realms such as Nothing, Ever, Over, and Void, all exist outside of time. Both at the start, the middle, and the end, all together. As such here where memories are, it can be memories from the future. What you just saw was some of these. Things that could happen."
"Could?"
"Well. Memories can often be wrong or forgotten. Just because you think something is going to happen doesn't mean it will."
"I see... So in other words the future isn't set in stones. Good." Ken nodded.
"I have a question." Hero said. "So we're lined up with the very Multiverse. Could I just this to get back?"
"No."
"W... What? Why not?"
"For one you are like me. A being without a body. Your body was blown to bits on your world by Max, who had the Heart at the time. Your very atoms and cells simply ceased to be. Reduced to less than ash. You... Died. You have no body."
"I see... If I could get a body could I return to my world?"
"No."
"What! Why?"
"If you could get a body it is true that you could return to 'a' world. However your world has been devoured by the Squid. It no longer exists. That step on the ladder is gone."
"H... How do I get it back?"
"You don't."
"There has to be a way!"
"There are no memories of the Squid being defeated in any timeline or universe. Therefore it hasn't happened yet. It is thought though that should he be defeated than the worlds could come back."
"You said the future wasn't set in stone so there is still a chance." Ken smirked.
Lancelot let out a small snort. "I suppose that is true. There is a chance. Slim. Not... Not even slim."
"So I just have to kill that Squid huh." Hero said looking up. He poked his head outside of the doorway of the temple finding it floating high in the air. "If I had a body... I could steal his power... And with that power... I can remake the multiverse... I could rebuild it all... I could... I could truly become God. No... Not even God is that strong. I would be above God. I would be... Everything." He said quietly a large grin slowly forming on his face.
Ken turned away from the man throwing her arms behind her head. "I see. Well then if that's the case than I already got everything I wanted to know."
"Really?" Lancelot asked raising an eyebrow.
"I feel as if that is a lie." The Old Ken said. "There's one question we wanted right. You broke me off of yourself Ken. I was you. The you that had to live with our father. The you that had to live with Viper. Rather than accept that you sliced me off of yourself and repressed me. All in an attempt to become someone new. But you couldn't keep running."
"You're not wrong." Ken sighed. "It was easier to repress the memories than anything else... It was easier for me to pretend... And just ignore it... I didn't want to think about the things Viper did to me. And... I didn't want to think about... Everything my father did to me as well... All... All of it..." She shook her head. "It... It was to cruel. So I ran away. And I've been running. I've been repressing it but sometimes. They slip through. He wanted a weapon. And that's what he created. He turned me into something not human. Point and fire. And I'd kill. I hated it. I wanted to die from it. It was so cruel. So. Whenever I was given an out I took it. I followed and joined the Red Church. And a Prayed everyday that I could stop sinning. I could stop thinking about it. I could stop thinking about everything he made me do and everything he did to me. All of it... A father shouldn't have acted like that. So... I began to repress it and just ignore it. I never forgot about it. I didn't want to be that weapon. I wanted to be human. And... And the Mother of the Church talked so much about Love. It sounded wonderful. I wanted that. I was jealous. So many people... So many people got to see so much. It made me hate it all. But... But I knew that I was lying. Lying to myself even. I fooled myself. That womans ability should have worked on me because of what my father did but it just didn't. I fooled even myself into ignoring it. And in return I made that all be thrown onto you. The old me. You're the Ken that got to endure all of that. You're the Ken who was with them."
"Ken..." Hero frowned. "Your father... He didn't... He wouldn't have... With..."
"But it's okay now." Ken said putting on a fake smile. "B... Because I found friends. And people that actually care about me. I was a bit snappy at them. I didn't want them getting close. But some were... They were so stubborn. But that wasn't fair to you was it. Because all my ignored issues became you."
The Fake Ken let out a small sigh folding her arms. "You wanted to stop being that person. The one that was with our father and Viper. So I became that person. And you became Ken Red. You never forgot about me though. And that made me happy. You still remembered me. You forgot somethings but not all. Like our Power. Ironically you ignored all the bad stuff and the good stuff that happened. Our power before the Seraphin. Who we were."
"Y... Yeah." Ken nodded. "Some things were forgotten. L... Like mother... I don't even remember her face. Or anything about her. Or what my Cursed Power is. But... The Good came with the Bad... So it had to go as well. I had to escape you so I gave it all up. I simply became Ken Red. The girl who was a Red Sister seeking love."
"And I became Ken Lancelot. The girl who was hated by her father. The girl who was turned into a Seraphin. The girl who became a Bestia Macht and was sent after her fathers enemies. The girl who killed and devoured so many people. The girl who loved Viper and was loved by Viper. The girl who hated and scorned her father because of his touches. But... I still had good. Like the songs mom would sing to us before we'd go to bed... Before... Before she left for 'that' lab to finish her testing."
Hero frowned as he watched the two Kens looking between them both. 'It's almost like... Me and Row. But... More personal than that... I ran from Row. And seeked out power to wipe him out and keep my body. I devoured Row and got rid of him for good. Ken... She wanted to become someone else so she ignored her past. She didn't forget everything but she forgot the good stuff. The bad stuff stayed as a scar on her mind though. Ken Red. Ken Lancelot. There's a Hero of this world isn't there... Could I... Could I see Row again?'
Ken let out a sigh as she looked up at the temple. "I... I hurt a lot of people when I went on the rampage huh." She said staring down at her hands which were shaking. "I don't think... I don't think people are going to be happy with me. I... I don't think they'll forgive me."
"That's okay." Ken Lancelot said gripping Red's hands. "Because I do. I was a weapon. Because you made me. So that you could be a human. But... Something was always missing from you."
"Because humans have to live with bad stuff to." Ken nodded. "I'll never be human without you. I'm still that... Person." She said smiling. "Welcome... Back." Lancelot seemed to glow for a moment and faded away as Ken took all that back. All of it. Her time with Viper. Her time with her father. Being worked on by Mr. Hyde. She finally stopped ignoring it and running from it. And with it... Memories came flooding back.
"My... Darling Ken..." A female voice whispered. And for a moment Ken could remember the fingers of the woman going through her hair.
"W... What just happened?" Hero asked.
"I became whole." Ken nodded. "I'm Ken Red, and Ken Lancelot. I'm the Ken that was turned into a Seraphin, and the Ken that became a Red Sister. But more importantly... I'm the Ken who got to see what toxic love was and who was seeking real love. I'm Ken. I've been running for so long. I think it's time I tell them all. About Viper... And my dad... All of it. And... He'll want to know about her as well..."
"W... What made you change." Hero asked frowning.
"Well. You did."
"Me?"
"Not you, you. My Hero. He had something similar happen. Him and Kitsune got into a fight and he came back. He told us everything. About Row. About God. All of it."
"I... I did... A... A... And you accepted it..."
"We did. We're going to stand with him. Together. And take down Row." Ken smirked. "And that's why... I know that when I tell them. They'll help me stop my father!"
"I... I could have just told them... You got to be kidding me."
"I don't blame you for not thinking of it... It's hard. One of the hardest things you'll have to do." Ken said turning her head away. "As for you."
"You have a question for me yes?" Lancelot asked.
"Me... The other me. She wanted to know something..." Ken said. "Why did you do it. Why did you hate me. And scorn me. Your daughter. You treated me like a freak. A monster. Why."
"Because-"
"No." Ken said shaking her head. "Ken Red didn't care enough since she was ignoring it."
"S... So you don't want to know?"
"I do." Ken smirked. "But not from a faker like you. I'm going to leave. And I'll find the real you. I'll find you. And I'll beat the shit out of you and force you to answer my question."
"Y... You foolish girl."
"Yep." Ken smirked. "That's me. I'm a big fool." She announced.
***
"So..." Aka said staring down at Ken. "You're saying that... You entered the Void and saw an old version of yourself... You two talked and that was it?"
"Yeah. Then I woke up." Ken lied. She hadn't told the woman about all the visions or anything like that. Mostly because one brought a question to her mind. One she wanted to know...
'This child has far to much energy for even an Orion. The power it has is to much. By my command as Lucifer the strongest Angel I will kill it, the mother, and the father. Hero Law. Lillian Aka. I sentenced you both to death for creating a threat to the Multiverse.'
What did it mean by Hero Law, and Lillian Aka...
Aka let out a sigh. "Than I suppose we're done here."
"Good." Ken said standing up. "Because I'm going to see my friends."
"You... Do that." Aka frowned. She wasn't as good as her grandfather when it came to the whole sensing stuff but she could feel it. A small... Feeling. Someone else was... With Ken.
And in a black void that was the Seraphins mind Hero Law stood pulling his hood back up. "So. I just need to get a body and kill a squid huh... Than I'll rule it all." He giggle. "I'll play quiet and hide in her body. I'll play the waiting game for now. Plus... I wanna see the Hero of this world. One who was so much of a coward he couldn't even fight his own battles and needed to get the help of his friends..."
***
But...
This isn't the end of our story...
There exist many, many other universes...
And in one...
Earth forty nine...
Something... Weird was happening...
In a large green park a faint pink light seemed to flicker. And in a burst of pink flames Max collapsed into the soft green grass breathing heavily as he stared up at the big blue sky above.
He was breathing heavily and his body was covered in wounds from his battle with Hero Law. But... He did it. He escaped his world. He was shocked when another God showed up stealing Hero's Equation. And he was shocked when a Black Squid began to devour everything. But he got away.
And as he laid back on the grass a look of confusion entered his face as he stared up at the large sun and blue sky...
"W... What? The sky... And it's not snowing?"
"Oh man? Are you okay?" A voice asked. Max looked up finding a young sixteen year old boy with messy snow white hair and ruby red eyes hidden behind a pair of round glasses. He held a few comic books and he was dressed in a simple school uniform. "Hi. I'm Hiroshi Loss. Most people just call me Hero though." He said holding his right arm out.