Meanwhile, my siblings were walking around Upper West Side Dream City. It was around the same time I had encountered Ciella Solstice.
"What should we get San to cheer him up? Or should we just show him how much our abilities have improved lately?" Kieran wondered.
Suddenly, Ariel exclaimed.
"Look!" She pointed.
My siblings stared in the direction she was pointing towards. Before them stood a boutique.
Saito and Kieran had funny expressions on their faces.
"That would just depress him" they said.
"But it will fit him. You know he's always talking of how cool Gramps' wardrobe is" Ariel said.
"I guess you're right" Saito said and my siblings walked into the boutique.
TWO HOURS LATER...
I walked into the house. I had returned from the park where Ciella and I had parted ways. My Dad, Mom and siblings were watching TV.
"Hey Dad, Mom, guys, I'm back" I greeted.
"It's 9:00pm now. For a walk you sure took your time" my Mom complained.
"Well, sorry about that, I met this girl at the park" I said.
Everyone stared at me in shock.
"Pin him down!" Saito roared.
Suddenly, my siblings leapt on me and pinned me to the ground holding me in a tight lockhold.
"Who sent you and what have you done with our brother?!" Saito demanded an answer.
I laughed.
"Answer the question!" Saito demanded.
"You think it's a changeling?" Kieran asked.
"Of course! San's so determined to evade the family curse. No way would he talk to a girl for this long!" Saito roared.
"You guys should stop messing around. It's just me" I said.
"Well there's only one way to find out. Ariel, bring the 'parcel'" Saito demanded.
Ariel nodded and ran upstairs. Moments later, she returned with a wrapped package. She unwrapped it and revealed a long crimson cape.
"A gift for you San" Saito said with a sinister grin.
"You guys! Stop messing around! Why the heck would you get me a Crimson Cape when I want to avoid both rhinos and bloodied capes?!" I roared.
My siblings smiled and sighed.
"It's really him" Saito said.
"What the heck have you guys been through defending the Dream World?!" I exclaimed in horror.
"Trust me San, you definitely don't want to know" Kieran said with a laugh.
"But San, we really did get this for you and it was not to torture you. You were always talking of how cool Gramps' wardrobe was. We figured you'd like a cape since Gramps is almost always wearing one. Ariel decided that it would fit you. See? It's crimson on the outside but blue on the inside so you can wear it both ways" Kieran explained.
"I don't get it. Regardless of how I wear it, it still has the colour crimson and I don't want to wear anything synonymous to 'bloody'" I said.
"Yeah, it has an interesting interpretation too. It means you're full of crap on the outside but inside you're a pretty nice guy" Saito said.
"Hey! That's not what it means Saito! Don't insult our gift! San, I chose it myself. The 'Crimson' on the outside is for 'Flame' which symbolizes 'Courage'. The 'Blue' on the inside is for 'Water' which symbolises 'Kindness'. It means you are a very courageous person to the point of being harsh at first glance, but deep inside, you're a very kind person. I thought it would also help you remember Gramps Wanye who taught Mom's parents 'The Tale Of Fire And Water'" Ariel said.
"And it's kinda like Dad's first name 'Just' which stands for both 'Simplicity' and 'Justice'" Kieran said.
I smiled.
"When you put it that way, I can't refuse it" I said as I accepted the cape.
My siblings cheered.
"But I'm definitely not going to wear it if a rhino shows up" I promised them.
They laughed.
"Of course, we're grateful you accepted it. What you do with it now is completely up to you" Saito teased.
Then I walked to my Dad.
"Dad, did you see Gramps?" I asked.
"Uh huh" my Dad said.
"What did he say?" I asked.
"Well, he sort of said a lot but everything he said can be summed up in three words. 'You're doomed San'. I'm sorry" my Dad said and laid a comforting hand on my shoulder.
"You mean...?!" I exclaimed in horror.
"It's not that your fate is immutable San, but your personality is the reason you'll fulfill all Thirteen Rules" my Dad explained.
My siblings had funny expressions on their faces. I headed upstairs and laid on my bed to rest. Before sleeping, I opened the Tome Of Thirteen Rules. Glaring back at me was the First Rule. 'He Will Defeat A Rampaging Rhino While Wearing A Bloodied Cape'.
"Tomorrow, school commences. I'd better sleep early" I said and turned off the lights.
The next day, I woke up early and freshened up. I took the cape my siblings had given me. When I unfolded it, I saw that it was wrapped around sunshades. I smiled and shook my head, then I put it in my backpack. Both the cape and sunshades.
I walked down the stairs. The house was completely empty. On the fridge was a note.
"Sorry San, we all had to leave early on Dream Knight Business. Breakfast is on the Dining Table, I hope you enjoy your meal and school" the note said.
I sighed and walked to the Dining Table. I ate breakfast silently.
"It sure is silent when no one else is around" I sighed. "I guess this is one of the downsides to avoiding the family 'curse'" I said.
After eating, I got up, put my satchel behind me and began the long trek to school. School was in Central Dream City so I had to take a bus. Dropoff point was beside the Lunar Flower Fields. Then I continued on foot. As I walked towards school, I reached an area where the sea was visible. It was a cape.
"I wonder. Could this be the place Ciella spoke about?" I thought.
Then suddenly, I began to hear loud explosions. People were running helter skelter.
"What could be going on?" I wondered.
All of a sudden, a giant armoured tank approached from the front.
"Which idiot rides a tank in the middle of a city?!" I exclaimed.
Then I stared at the tank closely and watched and watched as the barrel of the tank aimed at me.
"I'm getting bad vibes" I thought to myself. "But it's not because there's a..." Then suddenly, the image of the tank overlapped with the image of a beast I was familiar with.
"...IT'S A RHINO! A BLOODY RHINO!" I screamed in shock.
"No way in hell am I taking that thing down!" I roared and turned around.
I took to my heels amidst the loud explosions. Then I noticed a familiar figure approaching from the front, headed towards the path of danger.
"It's...Ciella!" I exclaimed in horror. "What the heck is she doing here at a time like this?!" I screamed in horror.
She raised her eyes and saw the tank, then she saw me approaching from the front.
"San? Is that...?" She was saying but before she could complete her sentence, I grabbed her by the hand.
"It's not safe here, follow me!" I said as I pulled her away from the scene.
"Where are we going?! And what is that thing?!" She screamed hysterically.
"Could this be the Dream Knight Business Dad, Mom and the others spoke about?" I thought.
Soon, we were in the field of Lunar Flowers.
"Ciella, stay here, you'll be safe" I said.
"Where are you going?" Ciella asked.
She had a look of concern on her face.
"I'm going to get help" I said. "If I don't come back in an hour's time, get as far away from here as possible" I said.
She nodded.
I began to run towards the scene. I removed my cellphone from my pocket and dialled my Dad's number. He picked it up.
"Hello Dad" I greeted.
"What's up San? Sorry, I can't talk now. Your Mom, your siblings and I are kinda occupied. Are you in school already?" My Dad asked.
"Actually, there's a tank in the way" I said.
"Like a storage tank?" My Dad asked.
"Like an armoured tank" I said.
"San! Get out of there now!" My Dad ordered.
"I will but I need you to get the authorities to cordon off Central Dream City and divert all traffic away from the scene. You can ascertain the location from my GPS. If there are any Dream Knights around, you might need to evacuate Central Dream City as well" I said.
"That's good judgement! And where did you learn all that?" My Dad asked.
"PlayStation Neo" I said.
"Fine, do what you can but don't you dare face that tank head on!" My Dad ordered.
I headed into an alley.
"I can't afford to expose the Dream World's realities to the public. Everyone's been doing their best to forget Zanböngfar's rampage" I said as I opened my bag.
"Damn! Of all the capes my siblings could have got me, they had to choose the crimson one" I thought as I wore it and placed the sunshades over my eyes.
Then I hurried towards the tank.
Soon enough, I stood before it. I began to notice less and less people approaching the scene.
"Dad sure works fast" I thought with a smile.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to me, hidden in one of the surrounding buildings was a girl from Great Dreamers High's News Committee and no way was she going to let a story like this pass her by.
Ciella was in the field of Lunar Flowers when she began to receive live video transmission. In fact, everyone from Great Dreamers' High began to receive this transmission and larger News Corporations eventually hijacked the feed and began to transmit the video on their own channels.
"An Armoured Tank is currently rampaging in Central Dream City. The Police are doing their best to evacuate all civilians and cordon off the area. Meanwhile...what's this?! A civilian superhero wannabe fanatic is apparently attempting to confront the tank single handed. God rest his soul. Indeed, this is an epic tragedy in the making!" The girl reported the events occurring.
By then, the scene was displayed on the large screens in Central Dream City so I heard the report.
"Ciella Solstice...I knew my tragedy would begin when I met you" I said with a tearful look on my face.
Fortunately, the only audio being transmitted apart from the reporter's words were the loud shots coming from the tank. Then the barrel of the tank aimed for me. I stared at the tank.
"It's okay. As long as I'm not wearing this cape when I defeat the tank...I should be fine" I said as I charged towards the tank.
Suddenly, it fired. I leapt upwards, caught the shell as I somersaulted while using its motion to balance myself. I landed on the tank and stuck the shell in the barrel. As I did this, a memory flashed in my mind of my Gramps hooking a grappling hook to a rampaging rhino and using the acceleration of the rhino's charge to thrust himself towards it and mount it. I twisted the barrel as a memory of my gramps slashing off the rhino's horn played in my mind, and aimed the muzzle of the barrel at the tank.
"I-I can't believe my eyes! Somehow this superhero wannabe fanatic is holding his own against the Armoured Tank!" I heard the reporter say.
All of a sudden, the tank began to accelerate in a berserk manner as though trying to throw me off. An image appeared in my mind of the rhino attempting to throw my gramps off. I raised my arm as my memory of my gramps did the same, grabbed the turret of the tank and ripped it off. I looked inside the tank to see who was behind the rampage but there was no one. The tank was rampaging all on its own.
"Don't tell me this tank is possessed! So these are the sort of things Dad, Mom and my siblings have to deal with!" I roared as I leapt off the tank and somersaulted a distance away from it.
"It's about time for the final move. I have to execute this perfectly or I'll jinx myself. If this tank is possessed, it's most likely not dependent on fuel supply thus implying that it could rampage indefinitely. There's only one way to end this battle" I thought. "It's a high risk move with the potential for mutually assured destruction. The one moment I did defeat the final boss accidentally, my HP also hit zero so I didn't get to see the game's ending. I hope I've improved slightly" I said as I charged towards the tank.
Fortunately since its barrel was warped, it couldn't fire. I leapt into the air and commenced a spin, channelled the centrifugal kinetic momentum to my heel and ended the battle with a...
"GOUEN TATSUMAKI SENPU KEN! (GRAND FLAMING WHIRLWIND HURRICANE KICK!)".
Just before my kick connected, I slipped my hands out of the cape's sleeves. The wind blew the cape towards the sea as the tank and I went over the cape.
"I DID IT GRAMPS! I EVADED THE FAMILY 'CURSE'!" I roared.
"Umm...how do I say this...the Superhero Wannabe Fanatic succeeded in sending the tank off the edge of the cape and into the sea. With the weight of the tank, it's guaranteed to sink. Central Dream City is safe for now but...is the Superhero Wannabe Fanatic alright? He just toppled off Bloody Cape" the News Reporter said.
"Huh?" I said as a memory of Ciella's words rang within my mind.
"...It's even said that somewhere in the city where a great tragedy occurred, an attack from the monster created a giant crater. Over time..." Ciella's words echoed as I fell into the sea. "...rising sea levels reached the area and a cape was formed...".
"CURSE YOU GRAMPS! CIELLA! I DIDN'T EVADE A DAMN THING!!!" I screamed.