Around the gas, there were dark yellow balls forming into existence, and they had a yellow smoky aura surrounding them.
Sho thought, 'Those fucking things..are these the same things that killed the others? If so, we're in trouble!'
Bebop still hid behind Sho and Gideon, and Gideon laughed, "This is getting super fun! But I can't wait to kill something!"
Acna stuck her hand out, saying to Bebop, "You still defy me by staying over there? Perhaps if I did this…you'll know I'm not joking around, dearest daughter."
Bebop gasped, and the yellow balls around them began to spit really fast, rotating around the gas barrier that surrounded Sho, Bebop, and Gideon.
Sho said, "The hell..?!"
Gideon answered, "Haha!"
Sho could see Acna through the gas, and he thought, 'Stats.'
Acna's stats popped up, and Sho thought again, 'This bastard is a Class A Fighter, with a power level a little over 100,000. She has four unlocked abilities, with the yellow balls being her primary weapon with three abilities, and the gas being another ability. The first ability of hers is called, 'Death rounds,' which by the looks of it, she can manipulate those ball things to go as fast as she wants it seems like. And if hit by the balls, it causes roses to come out of our wounds and drain our energy. The roses have an ability of their own aside from draining one's energy, called, 'Vibrant storm.' We have yet to see that. Her gas ability is called 'Gas barrier.' We have yet to find out what that does..'
Sho looked around him, nervous, and Gideon said, "Stay super super calm, Sho! We can win this!"
Sho replied, "She's a Class A! Her skills are broken..we don't stand a chance!"
"I thought that at first too! Honestlyyyy! But just because someone is a higher class than you, it doesn't automatically mean defeat!"
"Tch. What do you suggest..?"
"Well…with your butterknife, and my dragon arm, it DOESSS presume difficult. Since my dragon arm only possesses one skill, which is to spit large magma rocks engulfed in magma..but the roses coming out of us is draining me…I kindaaaa don't feel like doing it!"
Bebop yelled to her mother Acna, "Stop! P-please! Don't hurt them!"
Acna answered, "This is the only way you'll learn. We are Scoundells from another world. And in our home world, everyone is required to be parents, parents who will go the extra mile to leap and to die for their offspring. Anyone who is shown neglecting their child for more than a mere second in our world would be killed on the spot. Even if those rulessss didn't exist, I know I am a worthy mother to you."
"You're scary! And you hurt others! You killed my friends! You killed my best friends back home over a little game! You wouldn't let me have any friends! I was so lonely….you locked me in my room so much....I..I hate you!"
Acna gasped, saying, "You..you can't hate me. You don't hate me..I gave birth to you!"
"I wish you were never my mom!"
"…TAKE THAT BACK!!"
The yellow balls started to dart one by one towards Sho and Gideon.
Sho barely dodged one, and one cut him in the face a little, making another rose grow out.
Sho thinks, 'They're fast! I was barely able to dodge it!'
Gideon was dodging them too, but barely. He would dodge them a little, but cut a little bit by it, making more roses grow out of him.
Bebop yelled, "Acna, stop!"
Acna screamed, "TAKE IT BACK! TAKE IT BACK! TAKE IT BACK! UGHHHHH! DON'T YOU EVER SAY YOU HATE ME! I AM YOUR MOTHER!"
Sho dove to the ground as more of the balls sped past him at very high speeds.
'With my energy draining, I won't be able to keep dodging like this, especially with how fast these things are going! Shit! What are we gonna do? I'm a Class Z fighter with only a butterknife to work with, and Gideon has a dragon arm..what about Bebop?! I don't have time to look at Bebop and examine her abilities. I have to ask!'
Sho asked Bebop, "Oi! Brat! What's your power?!"
Bebop whined, "It's…it's scary.."
"What is it?!"
"A familiar..a-a scary one.."
Sho thought, 'A familiar? Those are beings or creatures that fight for their owner when summoned..she has one? What's her Class?'
Gideon laughed, "Keep them comingggg! HAHAHAHA! I'm gonna shreddddd youuuuu!"
A ball was coming his way, and Gideon spotted it, and he punched it with his dragon arm. But as soon as they made contact, Gideon's arm snapped and broke, making him fall.
Gideon yelled with a smile, "AGHHHHH! HAHAHA! The painnnn! More! More!"
Sho looked at Gideon, thinking, 'Dumbass! Is he serious?! But there's gotta be a way to overcome this! What about the gas?! Can we go through it? No..I don't wanna touch it. I'm unaware of its power, so I can't do anything reckless. Seems like hitting the balls would just break the part of your body you try to hit them with! What if I use my weapon?! Would the effects still be the same? Will I break something?! It sounds like a risk worth taking, but I'm not taking that shit!'
Sho dodged another four balls, and Gideon was doing the same. Sho and Gideon bumped backs with each other by accident, and Gideon said, "Look at us! We're a teammmmm! Oh! And by the way…do NOT touch the gas!"
"What?"
"I touched it by accident as I was jumping over a ball, and the gas burned me! It felt like acid!"
Sho thought, 'The gas burns you like acid..if any of us were to run straight through it, we would probably be melted or almost fully melted.'
Sho looked at Bebop, thinking, 'This brat is fading as well, she's losing energy with some roses coming out of her cuts. If all else fails, we need her to use her ability!'
Sho and Gideon ducked, as seven of the balls zoomed over their heads.
Sho and Gideon exclaimed, "Whoa!"
Then, seven more of the balls came in towards their legs, and they jumped.
Acna thought, 'Those two fools…they're dodging my ability. It's not surprising from the Class D Fighter, but a mere Class Z fighter? He's the one with the lowest class, and yet, he managed to outlive his allies, who were clearly classes above him. Tch. Annoying. It doesn't matter though…when the roses drain enough energy, those two boys will be trapped within my Vibrant Storm skill.'
Sho rolled on the ground, and he sat up again, then leaned back all the way back to the ground as four of the balls darted past his face.
Sho thought, 'That was close! If my energy weren't being drained right now, I could probably dodge these things more fluidly! After all..I'm used to this kind of thing. Back on earth..I dealt with worse. Which was the first time I ever worked for someone..'
[FLASHBACK]
[1 year ago]
[Earth]
[Fight club]
[Nighttime]
In an underground fighting arena, there was an octagon shaped ring, with sand stained with blood on the floors, and gates on the edges. Sitting behind the gates, were rowdy dirty thuggish men and women who were betting tons of money on fights.
Sho was standing in the middle of the ring, wearing a black tank top, grey sweatpants, and white shoes.
There was another boy in front of him, but he was beaten up badly, bruised up from head to toe.
Sho was standing there with a few cuts and bruises, but he was in better condition than the other boy.
Sitting behind the gates as well, was Sho's old boss. He was an overweight man with a mustache and a cowboy hat with goons all around him.
The boy ran towards Sho with a punch.
Sho grabbed the fist, punched the boy in the stomach, kicked him on the side of the face, pulled his hair back, and headbutted him in the nose, knocking the boy down.
The crowd went:
"OHHH YEAHHH! GIMME MY MONEY!"
"DAMMIT!"
"THAT BOY SURE CAN FIGHT!"
The fat man with the cowboy hat grinned, lighting up a cigar, smiling, "That's my boy! Haha!"
After the fight, Sho and his boss and a few goons were traveling on the interstate in black SUV's. Sho was sitting in the back, with his arms crossed, and his boss sitting beside him.
The boss said, "Phew! What a fight, am I right?! You did well, Sho."
Sho replied, "Don't talk to me like we're friends. Give me my money."
"Tch. Geez, kid. So needy."
"Be quiet. I'll smash your face through the window."
His boss reached into his pocket, and pulled out an envelope, handing it to Sho. Sho snatched it.
The boss said, "As promised. Oh, and we have more fights to attend to. We won't stop to catch a break."
"I don't care."
"Also, I'll be holding onto your next payment, for a slight investment..it'll benefit you..for an investment will guarantee more profitable cash flips…haha. You understand, right? Since you are in very much need of more funds." Sho's boss gave off an evil grin.
Sho immediately grabbed the boss by the throat, and put him in a chokehold.
Sho said, "I don't do shit for free. I'll send you to hell."
The boss cried, "Boys! Kill him! What are you staring at!"
The goons in the cars started to shoot at Sho, but Sho immediately jumped out of the SUV, rolling out into the road with multiple cars beeping.
Sho used his boss as protection, and he realized his boss was dead from the impact.
Sho ignored it, and he stood up and ran towards the edge of the interstate.
The boss's goons jumped out of the vehicles, and unloaded tons of bullets towards Sho.
Sho jumped over cars, slid over car hoods, and kept his head down as bullets smashed near cars around him. People were getting out of their cars screaming, gathering their children to leave with them.
Sho gritted his teeth, and he dashed to the edge of the interstate and didn't hesitate to jump off.
He soared downward, and landed in a body of water. The goons raced to the edge as well, and they started shooting down at the water blindly.
[FLASHBACK END]
[PRESENT DAY]
Sho, still inside the gas barrier, thought, 'After all of that, I got into more trouble..bullets were always flying. I'm used to it now. Used to danger. But I won't act like I'm not ever nervous.'
More of the balls were flying into the barrier, with Sho and Gideon dodging them.
Bebop screamed to Acna, "Enough!!!!"
The balls stopped, and Acna said, "What is this?"
"Please, let me come out. I'll go with you…if you...please leave them alone.."
Sho and Gideon fell to their knees, with their energy almost all gone. They both were covered in blood and roses, breathing heavily.
Gideon said to Bebop, "No..you can't go with her..she's baddd.."
Sho added, "She's saving our lives, dumbass.."
Acna replied, "How do I know this isn't a game?"
Bebop started walking towards the gas herself.
Acna exclaimed, "STOP!"
Bebop was an inch away from the gas, but then the gas went away.
Acna said, "Come here to mommy.."
Bebop started walking towards Acna, with her fists clenched. The roses fell off of her too.
Acna asked Bebop, "Was seeing your friends get punished too much for you to hear? Have you learned your lesson?"
Bebop nodded her head.
Acna continued, "Good. You shall be punished when we head back to our safe house."
"O..ok..okay.."
"But still…"
"No.."
"I said I'd kill those boys for trying to take my place as your guardian. I do not break promises!!!"
"No!"
Acna thought, 'Now without my daughter in the way, I can send the balls inside all at once. They won't be able to dodge that!'
Acna stuck her hands out to Sho and Gideon, and Bebop screamed, "NO!!!!"
Acna gasped, looking at Bebop.
"Don't you dare.." Acna said worriedly.
Bebop was standing like a zombie, with her arms swaying towards the ground, and her eyes half closed and dull.
Coming out of her back, we're strings, multiple strings, and they were floating in the air.
Bebop said slowly, "I won't let you get them..I won't let you hurt them.."
Sho was shocked as well, looking at Bebop and thinking, 'Stats..'
Bebop's stats popped up, and they read :
Name - Kenza Kempo (AKA Bebop)
Class - Class B, power level: 11,0000.
Primary weapon: Familiar Dero.
Bebop had 3 abilities/skills her familiar could dish out.
Sho thought, 'She claimed to be scared of her power..but is using it for us..we might have a better chance at winning now..but..I realized I have been saved twice since I've woken up inside this tower. Stomping all over my pride…I can't allow myself to be helpless a second time. I gotta get up and fight as well.'
Gideon said, "Dont worry Bebop! I'll help!"
Sho and Gideon tried to stand up, but they fell back down to their knees.
All of their energy was drained.
'Shit! I'm out of gas..' Sho thinks.
Gideon thought, 'Awwww man! Will Bebop be okay?!'
The strings on Bebop's back were stretching, and at the end of them, a human figure began to form. The figure was super pale white all over, had blue circles all over its body, had white eyes, and white tall floating hair.
Bebop's familiar name was Dero.
Acna jumped back, saying, "You wouldn't..you wouldn't attack me.."
Bebop didn't say anything, she looked possessed.
Dero the familiar dashed forward at Acna, ready to attack.
Sho and Gideon couldn't move at all, and their vision was getting blurry.
Sho said, "What the hell.."
Sho closed his eyes slowly, and when he opened them back up, he was standing on the side of an open road with nothing around him in the sunset. He didn't have any roses or scars or blood on him.
Sho said, "Heh? Where am I?"
Sho looked left and right, seeing nothing on the open road.
'Was it all a dream? Am I on earth?'
This was the effects of Acna's ability, "Vibrant Storm." Vibrant storm takes your most thought about thoughts, or your fears and worries, or your past, and makes them haunt you until they kill you, trapping you inside of your own head. It was triggered when the roses from the yellow balls drained all of his energy. Currently, Gideon is going through the same thing, but in an entirely different setting.
Sho stepped out onto the road, and as soon as he did that, two people started to dash past him.
Sho staggered back, and it made him fall.
Sho looked to the right, and saw who the two people were. It was his mom and dad. They both were covered in blood, and they were covered in dirt also.
Sho gasped, and he stood up fast.
"Mom! Dad!" Sho exclaimed, chasing after them.
Sho kept exclaiming, "Mom! Dad! Turn the hell around!"
They ignored him, and Sho felt something hot behind him. Sho turned around, and he saw a cloud of darkness behind him, and it was devouring the ground behind him.
Sho said, "A destructive cloud..?"
'Have to run faster..I don't know what the hell is going on. I was just in the middle of a fight with two fools against an annoying woman, but now I'm here. Is this even real? And why..why are my parents here? Shit..that answers the question..this isn't real. They're both dead. Therefore…'
Sho stopped running, allowing his parents to run further.
The darkness was about to cover Sho entirely, until his parents turned around, and ran towards Sho.
They said:
"Honey!"
"Don't worry son, we'll save you!"
Sho gasped, clenching his fists, thinking, 'No..no..they aren't real..this isn't real..'
Sho scoffed, "Stay back! Stay away from me! You aren't real!"
As his parents ran further, their skin began to fade into the sky as dust.
Sho looked down at the ground, just so he wouldn't be able to see what he was just seeing.
'Not real..it's not fucking real..'
The darkness completely covered Sho, and engulfed him. As Sho stood in the darkness, he felt a cool breeze from it, and he could hear whispers. Within the darkness clouds, he saw Bain, Bright, Yanlin, Moxxen, Caleb, the nurse from the hospital, Persian, the orcs he fought, the bikers and cops he fought on earth.
Sho looked at all of it, saying, "What..really is this?"
'Wait..these are recent events I've thought about a lot..this place..whatever this place is..it's using my memories and thoughts against me!'
The darkness flew away, and Sho was standing under a dark grey sky, and it was raining.
Sho was standing in front of his parents' graves, and they were side by side.
There was a small note laying on the ground in front of him as well.
Sho said, "This shit needs to end..it needs to end..get me out of here..'
'A note..'
Sho bent over and grabbed the note, and he picked it up. He started to read it, and he gasped.
The note read:
"Hey mom, it's me, Sho. Your son. This will probably be my last entry in my thoughts notebook. I wanted to dedicate this last page to you. I love you, and I'm sorry if I was the reason why you had to leave me so soon. If only you were still here, I'd be doing better. I'll see you soon, maybe. If the Tower of Valhalla comes and I win, I might become immortal and I'll never see you. But the tower is offering a great deal. Well, I'll uh..I gotta go. Business to take care of, people to beat up, and food to get. See ya!"
Sho crumbled the note with one hand, and he said, "That's enough…that's enough!"
Sho punched the ground, and then the entire ground started to crumble. Everything was breaking, and Sho began to fall through the ground.
'The ground collapsed?!'
Sho was falling, and he landed feet first on a street. He was standing in the middle of an empty city. The city was completely empty, and the sky was bright blue with the sun halfway out from the clouds.
The noise was loud, and the wind breezed softly.
Sho stood in the middle of the city, looking at all the buildings around him.
'I gotta get out of here…I don't know what memory is gonna pop up next..but I have to be ready. Can I still use my abilities?'
Sho made his butterknife form, and then he saw the watch on his wrist.
'So I can still fight. That means..I'm about to-.'
The ground erupted under Sho, and Sho flew up into the air.
"Shit!"
A large brown tongue came from underground, and it wrapped around Sho.
'Something's got me! I can't move!'
The tongue started to smash Sho through tons of buildings, making them collapse. Then Sho was smashed onto the ground, drug across the ground, and thrown into a few more buildings.
Sho and the building he was in collapsed straight to the ground, but Sho managed to use some rubble to protect himself as he fell.
Sho was lying against a piece of rubble, with blood racing down his face.
He coughed over and over, "Agh! Ack! The fuck?! What was that?!"
Sho felt the ground vibrate, and he thought, 'Whatever attacked me earlier, is coming right now..gotta stand..!'
Sho struggled to get to his feet, and he was holding his butterknife in his hand.
The blood from his head and face dripped down to the ground, he could hear the sound effects due to how empty and quiet the city was. Sho's shirt was ripped up as well, exposing some of his skin to the sunlight.
Running towards him was his dad. But it wasn't his dad, it was a giant 30 foot dark grey and brown monster with eight arms, and spider legs that moved really fast, and it had a red aura around it. The dad's face was at the front of the monster, and in each arm, it had large shattered beer bottles that were super tough.
The monster shrieked, "Sonnnnn! I'm coming! Did you clean your room like I said so?! Did you take the trash out?! Let me see your progress report! Is your mother cheating on me?! Do I drink too much! Tell me everything!"
Sho said to himself, "I may be a class fucking Z Fighter with a low power level and no other abilities and power skills, eventually I'll get stronger.. but I know I won't lose to this..I can't lose to this..all I got is a butterknife..but it kills. I'm no chicken shit, I won't run away..even if it destroys me, winning here..would maybe bring me closure…my past is gone..I won't let it engulf me in this place..the parents are dead…it haunts me..maybe this is telling me something. Fuck it. Let's go!"
Sho gritted his teeth, clenched his butterknife, and ran forward towards the monster.
"Come on! Bastard!"
The monster replied, "HOHOHOHO! Daddy's home!!"
The monster slammed his arm down near Sho, making the broken beer glass slam hard. It made some of the ground pieces come out, and it shot Sho into the air.
Sho was falling down on the monster, yelling, "Die!"
"That's my boy!"
…
[Gideon's mind]
Gideon was inside of a dark red room, sitting at a table, sitting in front of another person his age, and they were both playing chess.
All around the room, there were other kids his age, sitting across from each other, playing chess.
Walking all around the rooms, were people without faces, and they were wearing long suits and tuxedos. Men and women. They spectated all the games, and it was super silent.
Gideon had a smile on his face, moving his chess pieces, and then allowing his opponent to move their chess pieces.
Gideon was wearing a black hospital gown, swinging his feet back and forth.
Gideon looked around him, looking at the faceless men and women in suits.
Gideon turned back to look at the game, and there were two faceless people sitting at the table with them, looking right at Gideon.
Gideon said, "W-why are you looking at me? Did I do something wrong? Hellloooo? You guys okay? Having a brain fart?"
The faceless woman with long orange hair grabbed Gideon by the face, and he couldn't move.
Gideon said, "Agh! Let me go!"
Then, all of the other faceless men and women in suits rushed over to Gideon and they all planted their hands on Gideon.
Gideon screeched, "Agh! Let me gooooo!"
Suddenly, the floor collapsed, and they all fell into a pool of water, and the faceless men and women in suits still had their hands on him, sinking to the bottom.
They said:
"You are not like us."
"A failed experiment."
"You must be eradicated."
Once they all reached the bottom, as soon as they touched it, Gideon was somewhere else.
Gideon was kneeling in the middle of a carnival, with tons of rides around him. And the sun was out, with the sun shining brightly.
Standing on all of the rides and other venues, were the faceless men and women in suits.
Gideon stood up all the way, saying, "Awww! You guys followed me to the carnival! You guys weren't being too nice earlier!"
The faceless men and women said in unison, "You are not like us. You are a failed experiment. You must be eradicated."
Gideon tilted his head, then he said to himself, "Oh shit. This isn't real! I thought it was realllll!"
All of the faceless men and women in suits jumped off of what they were standing on, lunging at Gideon with their hands out, with a glowing gold aura around their hands.
They said:
"We wanted to make you faceless."
"We cannot do that now."
"Impossible."
"Yes, impossible….yes."
Gideon laughed while his arm was forming into a dragon arm.
"Haha! Let's doooo this! I'll make it back to the real world inside the tower, and I'll make Sho and Bebop my allies! And make them my friends also! Because, I'm going to get stronger and climb the ranks, and I'm gonna make it to the top of the Tower of Valhalla!"
[The Tower]
[That dark forest]
Sho and Gideon's unconscious bodies sat side by side, while Bebop and her familiar Deru were running through the trees, running after Acna.
Bebop still was acting like a zombie with her hands almost touching the ground, but her familiar was punching rays of white light at Acna, and the rays of light were destroying the trees.
Acna said, "Please darling, you know you don't wanna do this. You are in a lower class than me, you have less abilities and skills unlocked. Oh well, it can't be helped. I'd have to fight back and humble you, since you are being disobedient. You're safer with me! Don't you get that?! Stubborn child!"
Acna had over 40 of the yellow balls surrounding her, and they grew to be the size of a yoga ball.
Acna attacked, colliding with Bebop's familiar head on…
The fights were on:
Sho vs the monster
Gideon vs the faceless men and women in suits
Bebop vs Acna