The tension of the water's surface snapped, Eliowen bursting through as he sunk deeper into this odd, bottomless pool. The icy temperature nipped at his skin and the weightless feeling allowed him to relax. Air bubbles escaped his mouth as he scratched at his neck, the faint light breaking through water fading away as he closed his eyes. He awoke to a sudden jolt tugging at his shirt. He was still submerged but felt something tugging on him. As he looked at his collar he saw a fishing hook attached to him. He began to thrash around, flailing his arms upward to reach the surface.

With a violent pull, he was thrust out of the water into the air. He was reeled in and landed in the arms of his valiant knight, a Vampire girl covered in shiny metal armour. The girl smiled as Eliowen tried to process everything. The girl then stuck her tongue out and crossed her eyes. Eliowen looked disturbed by the girl's bizarre attitude, tearing himself away from her in a panic. To his naivety, once she let go of him he began to plummet back to the ground.

Before he could hit the floor the girl caught him again, giggling as Eliowen's gaze was fixated on the extremely close ground.

"Stop messing with him so much."

The girl rolled her eyes and dropped him. When Eliowen looked up he saw Petra standing before him, dressed in a purple hood and corset. She was flipping one of her daggers in her hand.

"You gonna get up? C'mon, that bastard is being distracted by the other Bombs. Now's our chance."

Petra began to walk off.

Eliowen scrambled to his feet, following her.

"What is happening?! Am I dreaming?"

Petra shook her head.

"Nope. You're in his world."

Petra pointed one of her daggers toward Archie—brutishly fighting off other Vampire girls—a face of curiosity washing over her.

Eliowen looked toward the fighting, pillars were shooting up from the ground and objects were appearing from thin air.

"So... I was right..."

Eliowen softly smirked.

"Pretty much. That Archie guy has a strange ability, not Strand-based from the looks of it. From what I can gather, this world operates like a blank canvas that anyone can put anything on. Anything is possible here, he was just keeping us from knowing."

"Anything...?"

Eliowen remembered back to the pool of water.

"So did you save me? With the water back there."

Petra looked at him over her shoulder.

"No. That was Nina."

Petra gestured to his right.

"Nina?"

Eliowen looked over to see the Vampire girl in armour looking at herself in a mirror, changing the way she looked and the clothes she wore.

"You mean that's Rina's... I guess anything is possible."

Eliowen looked away, a flicker of contemplation hitting him. To test out this world's powers he tried to think really hard about a certain person. Appearing before him was a strange man, he wore a cape and a tight suit, flexing his muscles.

"Woah!?"

Petra looked over and scrunched her face.

"What the hell is that?"

"Werren."

Petra tried to hold in her laughter.

"What!? THAT is Werren? Are we talking about THE Werren? The Hero?"

Eliowen's face went red.

"I-Is this not what he looks like?"

Petra couldn't contain herself and began to laugh hysterically. Nina joined her, materializing tissues to wipe their tears away.

"Oh my god. I can't... my stomach hurts. Oh, man... that's great."

Petra wiped her eyes and thrust her dagger into 'Werren'. She began to stab him over and over again until he collapsed into a bloody mess.

"No. It looks nothing like him but it did feel like I was stabbing him."

"What does he actually look like then? I've never seen him."

Petra smirked. A fat, greasy, hunched, balding man appeared. He looked so disgusting and pathetic that Eliowen almost screamed.

"This is more like it."

Nina put her hand to her chin and nodded thoughtfully.

"This is your hero kid."

Petra stabbed him in the throat, ripping the blade out as a fountain of blood spurt onto Eliowen. 'Werren' collapsed, choking on his own blood.

"Oh geez, I thought he'd just disappear..."

He kept screaming and bleeding.

"He isn't... actually alive is he? He's fake right?"

Nina shrugged as all three of them watched 'Werren' slowly turn purple and die, his fingers still twitching.

"That... was kinda messed up."

"Yeah... I feel bad."

Nina nodded along, his body disappearing.

Petra cleared her throat.

"Moving on. Me and Nina are gonna meet up with the other bombs and take that Swiss cheese out. I'm getting sick of this wonderland."

"What about Crux and Rina? Are they there?"

"Nup, Still dealing with that big metal guy. Haven't had a chance to tell them about how this world works. They can catch up later, I'm gonna kill Swiss cheese."

Petra and Nina ran off.

Eliowen reached his hand out.

"Wait!"

They had already left. Eliowen sighed, a horrible gut feeling consuming him.

"This still makes no sense... Sorry Petra, I'm gonna go find the others."

Eliowen dashed toward the giant.

Crux dodged each of the giant's attacks, his staff granting enhanced mobility around the torn-up streets. Rina flew around the giant, harassing it at every opportunity. The giant kept strong, its axe tearing the road apart. Any attack on it had no effect and Crux was beginning to wear down.

"Don't know how much longer I can keep at it, Rina!"

Crux lept out of the way of another attack.

"We gotta hurt it somehow! But nothing affects this guy... it's like..."

"I don't think it's real"

Eliowen stood next to Crux.

Crux jumped.

"Woah!? Where did you come from kid?"

"Doesn't matter, I have to tell you something important."

"Right now? Listen I appreciate the help but you gotta get back, this giant's no joke."

The axe crashed down next to them, Crux grabbing Eliowen and carrying him to safety by the warehouse.

"Whatever it is I'll be all ears. Let the pros handle this."

Crux winked before darting back toward the giant.

"Crux!"

Eliowen watched him run off, he stomped his foot before looking up at a ladder leading to the top of the warehouse. He steadied his breath.

"Fine..."

Crux slinked through the giant's legs, slamming his staff against its ankles. The impact spread evenly across the whole armour with no indication of damage visible. Crux clenched his teeth, the giant kicking him across the street. Rina dove down, striking at the giant's wrist and elbow, her claws didn't leave a mark and she was quickly slapped away like an annoying fly.

Eliowen climbed the ladder, his knees shaking as it creaked with each step. He inhaled sharply before each step, letting out an exhausted sigh once he was sure he was stable.

Crux continued to try and knock the giant down, this time he stabbed his staff into the asphalt and vaulted up. He tore his staff out as he rapidly ascended toward the giant's knee. With a mighty swing, his staff hit the thin plating covering the knee joint. The collision rang out violently, and Rina covered her ears as the intense ringing spread through the entire town.

As Eliowen continued to climb, the sudden piercing ringing noise caused his hands to instinctively cover his ears. He lost his grip on the ladder, his feet slipping off. His arms flailed around and he barely caught onto the ladder before he fell. This action caused the ladder to creak more as it unexpectedly came off its screws and slipped. Only one side of the ladder was still attached to the top and Eliowen's heart sank as he dangled above a large drop. He couldn't help but look down, the ground appearing further and further away.

He pried his eyes away and looked up, the ladder swaying in the wind. He held his breath as he continued to climb.

Crux's attack had no effect, the giant grabbed him and held him up. Crux struggled in the giant's grasp as he came eye-to-eye with it.

"HEY!"

The giant turned its head to the top of the warehouse. Eliowen stood atop it with a stern expression.

"Take this!"

Eliowen tossed a rock at the giant. Crux and Rina looked perplexed. The giant tossed Crux to the floor and walked toward Eliowen.

"Oh god... uh..."

Eliowen hunched down. The giant stared straight into Eliowen's eyes.

Crux got up.

"ELIOWEN!"

Crux summoned another staff and dashed toward him. Rina dove down trying to reach Eliowen in time."

"Y-You... gonna sit there or-r what? D-Dumb... dumb... ass."

Eliowen's face went red.

The giant lifted up the axe. Crux and Rina kept running to reach him.

Crux looked up to see the giant's axe plummeting toward Eliowen.

"Kid! Don't!"

Crux vaulted up to reach Eliowen before pushing him out of the way, the axe heading straight for Crux. He clasped his eyes shut. To his surprise he was alive. Once he opened his eyes he looked up to see the axe caught in a thick, sticky, web.

"What the..."

Eliowen calmed down, taking a few deep breaths.

"I tried to tell you..."

Eliowen walked forward.

"Archie's power is creating a fake reality, that on the surface mimics our world, but once you realise this world isn't real..."

Eliowen materialized a soda can into his hand, when he cracked it open balloons escaped from it and floated into the air.

"You can you anything."

Rina landed by them as the giant tried to pull its axe from the web. She looked amazed.

Crux smiled.

"Oh hell yeah! This is the best news ever!"

Crux materialized a yo-yo, swinging it around and winding it around his fingers.

Rina materialized a fluffy blue sweater. Her eyes gleamed with joy as she hugged herself.

Eliowen softly chuckled.

"Petra and the Bombs are distracting Archie. We'll need you two if we are to stand a chance... but I also want to discuss this whole thing."

Crux grinned.

"I hear you loud and clear..."

Crux looked up to the giant who had finally torn its axe from the web. Crux looked to Rina.

"Gimme a sec and we can talk all you want."

Rina's eyes widened before she quickly developed a stern expression, nodding at Crux. Crux turned to the giant and began to walk toward it.

"Stand back kid. It's time for a home run."

Eliowen saw Crux's resolve.

"Right."

The giant brought its axe up and quickly brought it down on Crux. The impact created a tsunami of dust. Eliowen covered his face with his arms, through the dust he saw Crux standing there, unharmed. The giant's axe soon shattered into a million pieces. The giant stumbled back, the remains of its axe on the floor.

Crux grinned.

"Since I was a boy, there's always been a feeling I've wanted to experience."

Crux slowly walked toward the giant.

"It wasn't love. Nor passion. It wasn't a feeling that I, a normal person, could replicate."

The giant began to run away but Crux continued to slowly stroll toward it.

"It was the feeling of a baseball bat striking against a ball so hard that it got a home run."

The giant kept running.

"People laughed at me. I could never experience what it was like to be the bat when it hits a home run, I spent many nights crying... but now..."

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Crux stood firmly, his body turning a sleek metal.

Rina took ahold of Crux, his body a metal bat and his face still on the end of the bat. She slung him over her shoulder, positioning herself just right. A ball appeared in her palm, the giant kept running but its escape was cut off when it hit the edge of Archie's world. A void barrier blocking its way. The giant banged on the wall.

Rina's smile grew deranged as she held the ball out. Crux concentrated.

"Rina... There's no one else I'd want to do this with."

Rina nodded, and in one swift movement, she tossed the ball up. The giant desperately bashed at the wall. One deep breath from everyone and as the ball descended back down Rina prepared for her strike.

"Batter's up."

The universe stood still, gazing at the event of a lifetime. The entire cosmos watched eagerly as Crux was swung through the air. The energy erupted from the event forming distant stars and destroying old gods. Lightning sparked off, glimpses of other worlds all colliding at this moment. The very fabric of reality even turned its head to watch. This single strike would define past and future, right and wrong, zero and one, up and down, dreams and reality.

When the bat struck the ball, the impact created a shockwave strong enough to send whole buildings flying. Eliowen was flung back and the ground paved an amphitheatre for Rina and Crux. In the ball's wake, a trail of fire and destruction ripped through the land. The giant turned around, a spark of desire rupturing its very existence. A bright light consumed Rina and Crux as the universe ended.

Not really.

From the wreckage, Eliowen crawled out. He coughed, his lungs full of dust. Walking through the destruction he found Crux kneeling on the ground, his arms limp by his side and his mouth agape.

"Crux..."

Eliowen reached his hand out but Rina suddenly grabbed it and pulled Eliowen back. Rina shook her head as they both looked at Crux.

Tears pouring from his eyes he began to sob.

"That..."

He shot to his feet, arms raised.

"THE BEST! DID YOU TWO SEE THAT? OH MY GOD, THAT FELT LIKE HEAVEN!"

Crux danced around.

Eliowen smiled but it soon turned to laughter. Rina laughed along with him as Crux acted like a total idiot. The fire and destruction around them slowly faded, from the smoke a giant hand reached out, swiping away the dust. They all looked to see the giant, a hole through its torso now. It slowly stomped toward them.

Crux backed away, pulling his staff out.

"You're joking..."

Rina's claws shot out and Eliowen hid behind them.

"Seriously!? That didn't take it out?"

The giant got closer, it raised its fist before falling to its knees and collapsing. A loud thud echoed around everyone. Crux and Rina relaxed upon seeing the giant was truly dead now.

Crux sighed.

"Can't fault the guy, he fought to the end."

Suddenly, the giant's helmet came off. It slowly rolled away to reveal... nothing. There was nothing inside the armour. Soon the armour slowly disappeared.

Eliowen looked surprised.

"It... was one of this world's creations. A fake conjured by the mind of Archie."

Crux scoffed.

"To think the solution to this whole problem had been staring us in the face this whole time."

Eliowen turned to them.

"We aren't out of the woodwork yet. We still need to deal with Archie."

Crux bashed his fists together.

"I hear you. I say one more of those home runs and we'll get rid of him for good!"

Eliowen shook his head.

"Actually... I think there's something more to this. I find it strange Archie didn't just... kill us before we could react. Even now, he could wipe us all out by just imagining it. It's strange but... I feel like there's something more to this. He had so many chances to win but he won't take it."

Crux thinks for a second.

"I think it's because he wants to win."

Eliowen looked confused.

"Yeah? Doesn't everyone?"

Crux shook his head.

"No I mean he wants to feel like he won. He keeps harking on deception and how that's a Vampire's greatest tool or whatever. If anything I think he wants to prove himself."

Eliowen thought for a moment.

"Maybe so..."

"Trust me. I've met a bunch of cocky idiots, I was one of them, and if there's one thing they want, it's validation from others and themselves. He probably wants to win fair and square to prove he's as good as he thinks he is. I mean he spent, what, 400 years fighting the same guys over and over again? To him, this fight is the first time he has to prove himself."

Eliowen and Rina looked amazed.

"Wow, that was... pretty smart Crux"

"I know."

Crux grinned.

Eliowen sighed.

"I see some of that cockiness stayed..."

Eliowen then turned away, reminiscing on Archie's past words.

"I did have one concern about this, I'm worried that if we kill him in this fake world then we won't be able to leave it. It was originally why I questioned his hesitant approach to this fight—knowing he would 'win' this fight no matter what, even if he died—so to make sure that this doesn't happen, if true, I think it best we come up with a solution on how to escape this world before killing him. Plus, if we fight him in the real world, it'll be a fairer playing field."

"So what do we do?"

Eliowen looked hesitant.

"I don't know... I'm not sure how we could escape this. There's no clear indicator on how to leave."

Crux put his hand on Eliowen's shoulder.

"Sometimes the answer isn't always clear. Sometimes you need to take a risk to make it clear. If a light switch doesn't work in a dark room, make a lightbulb!"

Eliowen's face lit up, the smiling face of his mother briefly flickering in his mind.

"You're right. I... I think I have a plan."

Crux crossed his arms.

"You DO have a plan."

Eliowen smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, I have a plan."

Meanwhile...

Petra lunged forward, her daggers cutting through the concrete pillars Archie was using as cover. Archie fired his gun, the bullet grazing her cheek.

"Stop running and fight Swiss cheese!"

Archie evaded the constant attacks of flying Vampire girls in metal armour.

"What did you just call me!?"

"Swiss cheese! Cause your wings are tattered and full of holes. Like Swiss cheese!"

He fired multiple bullets into the air, hitting the wings of a few of the girls. Petra darted forward, her dagger thrusting into his chest. Archie kicked her away and tore the dagger out of him. He ran back toward her, shooting her ankle and causing her to drop to her knees. He then put the barrel of the gun in her mouth, his finger pulling the trigger. It only clicked.

Petra smirked.

"Out of ammo?"

She shoved him back, Nina flying behind him with a sword in hand.

Archie scoffed.

"Damn, brats..."

Archie flipped the world upside down to save himself. Everyone floated upward but Archie remained grounded.

He reloaded his gun and aimed it at Petra.

"I'll show you Swiss cheese..."

Before he could pull the trigger he saw something in the distance. It was a man with multiple people on his back.

"What the—"

Petra turned around to see it.

"You gotta be kidding..."

Eliowen, Rina and Crux were sitting on the back of Werren—the Super Werren that Eliowen conjured up—as he flew through the air like a superhero. Super Werren swiftly slammed his fist into Archie, sending him flying across town. Eliowen, Crux and Rina all cheered as the world flipped right-side up.

They all stepped down as Petra walked over to them.

"Why did you bring him back of all... things."

Eliowen smirked.

"I believe what I should be hearing is thank you."

Petra rolled her eyes.

"Thanks for what? You do realise I can just regenerate if I get shot right?"

"Oh. Right."

Rina got off Super Werren's back, she looked around before making eye contact with Nina. Rina stood frozen, her eyes wide. Soon all of her other babies landed by Nina, all looking wide-eyed at Rina. Rina's jaw began to tremble as tears rolled down her eyes.

All of her babies grinned as they all rushed toward her.

"MAMA! MAMA!"

Rina looked worried, they were all wearing heavy metal armour. Before she could tell them to stop they all jumped onto top of her. Rina was squished beneath her babies but she couldn't be more happier.

Crux's eyes shined with awe as he looked at Super Werren.

"Super Werren! You're so cool!"

Super Werren nodded.

"Your words flatter me, citizen. I'm glad to be here to stop evil."

Crux materialized a pen and paper.

"Please give me an autograph! Please!"

Super Werren chuckled.

"Of course! Anything for a friend."

Everyone was talking and having a fun time when Archie came back. His hair and clothes were a mess. His red skin is visible for everyone to see.

"What are you idiots doing!?"

He raised his gun.

"You're all going to DIE! Do you not care to live? You sit here talking about... stupid... dumb things! Why aren't you fighting?"

Eliowen walked forward.

"Because all of us... we're all friends. We care about each other. We make sure everyone's happy. So tell us Archie... why are you fighting? Why aren't you happy?"

Archie looked bewildered.

"Excuse me? What the hell is this? You seriously... I..."

Archie put his hand to his head.

"I get it... ha... yeah I get it."

Archie looked up, his gaze sharp.

"I... wasted my time."

Eliowen held his hand out.

"It doesn't have to end like this. You can still be happy. Come with us. Be OUR friend."

Archie lowered his gun and took Eliowen's hand.

"I'm good, thanks."

Eliowen was then crushed into a red puddle by 2 colliding concrete pillars. Rina and Crux looked terrified. Archie held onto Eliowen's arm, the only part of him that remained.

"Enough of this. You're all so pathetic! I mean this is seriously how this whole fight will end? You trying to convince me to turn to your side."

In an instant, Crux's head exploded covering Rina and all of her babies in parts of his brain matter. Petra was thrown into a pit of lava as she screamed in agony, her flesh melting and regenerating over and over again. She slowly disappeared into the lava, her screams echoing through the town. Rina protected her babies but it was no use, her babies began to grow feral. Rina turned around to see all of her babies now hideous monsters. She backed away but was quickly dragged into the middle as she was torn apart.

Archie watched expressionless.

"What a letdown..."

Archie then turned to Super Werren, who looked horrified.

"Just get out of here!"

Super Werren flew off leaving Archie to wander down the empty street. He looked around.

"Mommy?"

He looked around searching for Mommy.

"Where did..."

He then bumped into an empty wheelchair. His face contorting to rage.

"Mommy?"

His eye twitched.

"That bitch... She ran away!"

Archie tossed the wheelchair into a wall.

"How many times is she gonna do this... that ungrateful wench..."

Archie paced around.

"How many children must she have until she breaks!?"

Archie chuckled to himself.

"I'll guess losing all feeling in her body isn't enough... I'll show her..."

Archie bit his lip until it bled.

"She'll have as many children as she can... I'll make sure she never opposes me again."

Archie walked off, he snapped his fingers and the fake reality slowly faded. The sky was a light purple, the sun yet to peak over the horizon. Archie walked down the empty street, dusting off the blood on his raincoat and fixing his hair. Behind him, he heard faint footsteps. He listened closely. They got closer. He turned around, gun in hand, to see Eliowen, Crux and Rina all rushing toward him.

Archie fired his gun, hitting Eliowen in the shoulder. Crux swung his staff around but Archie caught it and kicked him to the ground. Rina lunged at him but he unloaded all of his gun's bullets into her. She collapsed, her wounds unable to heal as the bullets lodged in her body prevented it from regenerating the damaged tissue.

Archie laughed as they all lay on the floor.

"Are you serious? BWAHAHAHA!"

Archie put his gun in the holster on his hip.

"Did you really think you could trick me? Using fake copies of yourself to make it look like I won... smart I'll hand it to you. But you can't trick a Vampire... they live off deception."

Archie paced back and forth.

"Those clones were really bad by the way. It was obvious it was fake. Who couldn't have seen that coming... ha..."

Archie's hands trembled, his eye bags weighed him down.

"Like me... I'M the Vampire. The TRUE Vampire. You can't trick... the best."

Archie's eyes widened as he manically laughed, everyone looked disturbed by how deranged he had become.

"Now I'll show you... all of you. Even that annoying fucking head you keep around. God you guys are so weird."

Archie reached for his gun, but his hand was met with an empty holster.

"Huh...?"

The gun went off.

Eliowen's eyes widened.

"No way..."

Crux looked up in disbelief.

"Holy shit..."

Rina slowly smiled.

Archie's eyes twitched as he stumbled forward. Multiple more gunshots went off as he fell to his knees.

"Urgk... Who..."

Archie looked behind him to see his gun, smoke leaving the barrel, in the tiny hands of an all too familiar baby.

Yuro had a stern expression.

"Archie. To think this is what you became."

Yuro tossed the gun aside.

"Stop lying to them, to yourself. You know what actually happened that day."

Archie snapped, his claws scraping at the concrete.

"SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP! YOU FILTHY TRAITOR! I'LL GUT YOU. BABY OR NOT YOU DESERVE NOTHING BUT DEATH! OVER AND OVER AGAIN!"

Yuro looked away, disappointment covering his face.

"You're the traitor. That day... you..."

Archie covered his ears and screamed.

"DON'T YOU SAY ANOTHER WORD!"

Archie stood up and plunged his hand into his heart.

"THIS STUPID BODY HAS BEEN THE REASON FOR THIS! IF ONLY... If only... you had never made me this monster..."

Archie ripped out a string from his heart.

Yuro's eyes widened.

"Archie don't!"

Archie began to laugh manically.

"YURO... this is... all your fault."

Archie forcefully ripped out the human part of his soul. His body began to grow.

Extra arms burst from his back, his legs melted into a black mush and his laughing face contorted into a monster. His laughter turned to screaming as a fully Vampiric soul stood in front of them all.

Eliowen slowly got up with the help of Rina and Crux.

"What is that...?"

Yuro backed away as the newly transformed Archie limped toward him.

"Archie... why...?"

The monster's eyes were two beating hearts that stared deep into Yuro's soul. All that it did was smile. Dawn began to break. A new day, upon the world.