I could contain it no longer; it must end now.
You had to know someone was going to do this sooner or later anyway. ^_^
Anime Hearts.
Another brilliant comedy by me.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
What kind of accent did you give me in your head when you read that first 
part? ^_^
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sort of an English one? Southern drawl? Hillbilly? A used car salesman? A 
Northeastern accent? South central? New England perhaps? Hispanic? A dude? Maybe 
a snotty yuppie? 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
What about tone?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Maybe a dry monotone? A crazed scream? An insane superior tone, or just a 
regular superior tone? Perhaps an angry snarling tone? Perhaps even a slight 
lisp? 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Well, I dunno about that last one, but...
Anyway.
+++++++++++++++++++++
The theme song.
Simple and Clean [PLANITb Remix]

Part 1.
Complexities of life. 
 
++++++++++++++++++++++
"Falling."
Carrot sighed as he looked around. He was falling headfirst and facing up 
away from the ground. 
"This dream again? Wonder if there's anything underneath me this time?" He 
twisted his neck and tried to jerk his body as he fell. It didn't do much to 
change his position, and he couldn't see what was below him. His loose brown 
shirt flapped in the wind as he fell. His pants were loose blue jeans that were 
flapping loudly as he fell as well. A silver chain hung in the air just above 
his neck with a medallion hanging from it. The medal was a medium sized 
dragonhead styled into an axe with two red gems for eyes. His brown hair waved 
wildly, he could feel the short ponytail brushing the back of his neck 
violently.
"Probably another dark void. Man, this dream gets old sometimes."
He was completely taken by surprise when he fell beneath the water in his 
dream and simply watched the bubbles for a moment. It lasted less than a second, 
and he found himself standing on a beach. He glanced around and saw something 
odd.
His old friend Dan was standing in the water with his hand reached out to 
him. He had a confident smirk on his face as he stared him directly in his face. 
He was a large man of about twenty-three years old. He had black slicked back 
hair and cold blue eyes. He was wearing street clothes, blue jeans, a black 
leather jacket, and a plain white button up shirt. 
"Okay, this dream is definitely going in the wrong direction," commented 
Carrot as he stared at the boy. He was a healthy heterosexual boy of sixteen 
years himself, and he didn't really feel like exploring his feminine side in so 
graphic a nature. He stood up and smiled as a large wave rolled up behind Dan's 
back. 
He was going to start laughing, really he was, but the wave didn't stop with 
Dan. Carrot found himself swept underwater by the force of the water as it 
slammed into his body. He saw Dan glaring at him angrily under the water and 
smirked despite the water that had rushed up his nose. The pair floated up out 
of the water, and Carrot found himself able to stand in knee deep water. Dan 
stood beside him brushing the water out of his hair while giving him irritated 
glares. 
He wasn't paying much attention to that as another one of his friends was 
standing on the edge of the water laughing and pointing at them.
Her name was Jennifer, but everyone called her Jenn. A cigarette hung from 
her fingers as she pointed at them and turned red with laughter. She was not 
dressed for the beach either. She wore her usual wardrobe of an ankle length 
skirt and a simple T-shirt. She was a skinny girl with long brown hair that hung 
to the middle of her back. 
"Why that dirty little. She didn't tell either of us!" Carrot grumbled under 
his breath.
Dan flashed him an angry glare and uppercut him.
Carrot sailed into the air and came down hard in the water. Rather than stop 
when he reached bottom, he continued to plummet downward, further and further 
into the darkness of the deep. 
"I'm gonna get him for that one," grumbled Carrot without thinking about the 
fact that he was dreaming still.
He floated upright suddenly and realized that his feet had hit something 
solid. It felt like a floor, and he didn't seem to be underwater any longer. 
"What the?"
As he looked around something seemed to float off the ground, shards of black 
began to float away from the ground below him and float away. A light shined up 
from the surface below him. As the shards floated away, a huge stained glass 
window appeared below him. "What the?"
He didn't even notice the shards of black turn into birds as they flew away 
behind him. His eyes were fixed on the huge image below him. It was Kei, from 
the Dirty Pair. A wreath of mechanical looking weapons surrounded the giant 
image�s torso. He looked up and glanced around at the nothing that surrounded 
him. "This is too weird."
A voice called out to him, it was feminine, and he had heard it before, but 
he couldn't place it. "So much to do, so little time. Take your time. Don't be 
afraid, the door is still shut."
He stared at it for a moment and stepped back as he realized that there was 
something else on the edge of the image. "What?" He turned his head and saw 
three things floating over simple stone pedestals, a sword, a shield, and a 
staff. The blade was a short sword, it the blade shined brightly in the light 
that shined above it. The shield was simple, a basic shield with a painted red 
surface. The staff was unassuming, nothing more than a wooden rod with a black 
orb on top. The orb had a faint orange light within it.
He walked up to the sword and stared at it for a moment. 
"You must choose."
Carrot spun around to look at the source of the voice.
A lone woman with light blue hair was standing in front of him. She had two 
small dots on her forehead and long flowing robes covered her body.
"Choose?"
"Your power is great, but limited. Choose your skills now."
"Um, Tsunami right?" said the boy with a nervous laugh as he scratched the 
back of his head. "Man, this dream is getting really weird," he muttered under 
his breath. Though, he admitted he'd be far from upset if the dream got a little 
dirty.
ZOT!
"Yeowch!"
"Stop wasting time, you must choose! Hurry! My time grows short."
"Jeezus lady!" cried Carrot fearfully as he stood smoking in front of the 
sword. "Alright!" He snatched the sword and glared at her. "Happy?"
"You have chosen the power of the warrior. Invincible courage. A sword of 
terrible destruction. Your path is set. Now you must choose again, choose, the 
power you will give up." She looked quite ominous as she said this. 
Carrot had no idea what that meant. He also didn't know you could feel pain 
in a dream. It kind of sucked. He merely rushed over to the pedestal furthest 
away from her and snatched up the shield. Tsunami spoke again. "The power of the 
mystic. Inner strength. A staff of wonder and ruin. You give up this power. Is 
this the form you choose?" 
Carrot stared at her for a moment in confusion. "Yeah, sure."
The staff vanished in a flash of light and Tsunami merely smiled at him 
softly. "Remember, you cannot be harmed by the darkness, so long as you remember 
that there is light, even in the darkest depths. 
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
Tsunami faded away and Carrot found himself staring at the empty place where 
she had once been.
"Well shit."
Carrot paused as the pedestals sank into the glass. "Uh oh." The glass under 
him shattered away and he fell deeper into the darkness. He landed on another 
great circle of glass and glanced around, he was standing somewhere different. 
This time he saw a gigantic image of the goddess Belldandy.
He paused as he gripped the handle of his blade and noticed an odd black 
shadow moving across the floor towards him. "What the?" He backed away, but he 
was trapped on the edge, it slid underneath him and spread. Panicking he flailed 
his arms as he sank into the floor. It consumed him completely and he 
struggled.
Finally, he opened his eyes and found himself lying on his back on yet 
another window. This time there was no face on the glass, but rather a large 
mosaic of hearts.
On the other side of the image was a door that led to nothing. Carrot walked 
over to it and pulled on the handle. It was locked apparently. He frowned, it 
didn't go anywhere. He peered around the other side and saw the other side with 
no problem. "Great," he muttered as he kicked it. It popped open with a rather 
unpleasant ripping sound and Carrot looked around guiltily for a moment before 
he remembered he was alone.
He stepped through the door and found himself standing inside his own 
apartment. He moved through the room and found he was the only one there. 
Without a word, he walked to the front door and opened it. Tsunami's voice spoke 
to him once again. "Your adventure begins in the dead of night. Your road won't 
be easy, but a rising sun awaits your journey's end." He looked back at the room 
again with a small frown on his face as he stepped forward. He looked more 
annoyed than anything else. "The day you will open the door is both far off and 
very near."
He found himself walking onto another window; this time there was an image of 
Hikaru Shidou, of Magic Knight Rayearth. A bright light shined down from above 
him and he stared at it as it moved across the glass like a searchlight. 
He turned and stared up at the stairway that had appeared behind him for a 
moment before he shrugged his shoulders and continued forward. It floated in the 
air, and was made of simple stained glass. He couldn't see where it went and 
stepped over to it somewhat reluctantly. "How bad could it be?"
As he neared it, he could see a great pillar, the sides were covered in stain 
glass windows, and as he expected there was another image in front of him when 
he finally reached the top. This time it was a picture of Pai, from 3x3 Eyes. 

Gripping the blade in his hand he started forward. "Okay, now what?" he 
muttered under his breath.
"The closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes; but don't 
be afraid, and don't forget..." 
He slowly turned to face the new noise in his environment. He almost dropped 
his sword at what he saw in front of him. "Fuck this!"
His shadow seemed to crawl out of the ground. It became a giant black figure; 
easily forty feet tall loomed over him. It's arms had massive claws and its eyes 
glowed with a dark presence. It crossed its arms as it stared down at him. The 
thing didn't even closely resemble him any longer.
Slowly, he backed away and swung the blade down reflexively. He held it at 
his side, with the point facing the floor to his right. 
The creature slammed its fist into the ground and he jumped away from the 
strike. Its hand went into the glass and spread into a pool of blackness. 
Smaller creatures seemed to rise out of the dark pool and bounce around inside 
it excitedly. 
Carrot backed away from the scene defensively as he frowned at his position. 
The larger creature swung its fist towards him and he had to rush to the side to 
avoid being hit. The smaller things swarmed around him suddenly and he jumped 
over three of them and into the middle of the back to avoid another slash of the 
large beast's claws.
One of the creatures stared at him with its gigantic yellow eyes for a split 
second before slamming its head into his stomach. 
Carrot rolled across the ground from the blow and stood slowly while holding 
his stomach. He had felt that, there was something off about this dream. "Is it 
a dream?"
The giant monster raised both hands into the air and a dark power formed 
between them.
"Can I take that chance?" he said to himself as he eyed the smaller creatures 
for a split second. They were hanging back at the moment.
Carrot shifted his stance and placed the shield on his back. There was a 
larger strap attached to it to allow it. He seemed to place the blade into a 
scabbard that wasn't there and waited with his free hand held over the blade 
almost as if he was holding it. His options were limited, he had no where to 
run, and all he could do is hope to hold it off until he could think of 
something better.
Balls of power began to slam into the ground around him, but they missed him 
completely. The large monster didn't seem to be aiming at anything in particular 
yet.
The smaller creatures swarmed forward and he jumped into them again. This 
time he lashed out with the sword in a wide arc. Three of them were thrown back, 
injured, but not beaten. 
"Damn!" he muttered as he rolled aside to avoid the large creature's claws as 
they slammed into the ground again. He growled angrily as more of the creatures 
started to rise out of the pool of darkness that had formed again.
"No!" He rushed towards it and slashed the monster in the wrist, hoping to 
get it to remove its arm and stop creating more problems for him. It didn't seem 
to phase the creature as it continued to ignore him. 
Carrot growled in frustration as he hacked and slashed at the arm repeatedly. 
The monster continued to ignore him and pulled its arm out of the dark pool. 

The boy stepped back as he stared up at the monstrous being. It was looking 
at its arm. Suddenly, its eyes grew brighter as it glared down at him.
"Oh man. I think I just pissed it off."
He was blindsided by three of the smaller creatures while his attention was 
elsewhere. Carrot rolled with the blows and staggered to his feet painfully as 
he turned to stare them down. 
There were about eight of them now, he clenched the sword in his hand a 
little tighter and frowned. Charging forward he slashed down on one of the 
thing's head. His blade flew from his grip and sailed over his head impaling 
itself into the ground. The creature screamed in anguish and faded into a black 
puff of smoke. The boy was flat on his back from the force of his own blow and 
stared in dumbfounded shock as a glowing red heart shot into the sky from the 
remains. Small crystals littered the ground, along with a few green orbs of 
energy. He had no idea what either one was.
"What the fuck is this?" he cried as he jumped too his feet and moved aside 
to avoid the creature's companions as they swarmed towards him again.
He found himself standing over one of the green orbs of energy and noticed it 
roll into his foot. It seemed to shatter on contact with him and create a cloud 
of green mist that seemed to float around his body. He staggered back, expecting 
it to be some kind of attack. 
Instead, he felt refreshed; a small surge of power seemed to flow into his 
body. "This is a game?" It made sense in an odd sort of way. He stared up at the 
monster above him for a moment and smirked.
The smaller creatures were moving towards him again, spreading out to 
surround him.
Carrot narrowed his eyes as he saw his sword sticking up from the ground a 
short distance away. 
Running directly into the creatures he pushed into the air with his feet. 
Three of the things jumped into the air to meet him and he lashed out with his 
foot to kick the one in front of him out of the air. It sailed off the edge of 
the glass and into the darkness. One of the others missed him completely, and 
the last one was deflected with his hand as he pushed off its attacking 
head.
Carrot hit the ground hard, back where he started. His entire arm throbbed 
with a quickly fading pain. "Damn, not such a good idea."
The large beast decided to make its presence known again and swung its hands 
down at him. Carrot lay flat on his back as they passed over him; a huge gust of 
wind blew at his shirt as they passed inches above his nose.
"Okay, new plan," he muttered as he scrambled to his feet to avoid the six 
remaining shadows. 
Slowly he backed away from them, finding himself on the edge of the platform. 
"Damn!"
One of the smaller things jumped forward and he hit the ground and covered 
his head as it dove headfirst towards him. The hit would hurt like hell, but it 
was better than being thrown off. 
A loud clang met his ears and he blinked as he saw the thing land on its rear 
in front of him. It shook its head and seemed pretty dazed.
"The shield!" he gasped as he slipped it off his back as he stood. He hooked 
it across his left arm and pulled it up to guard his torso.
The massive beast swung its claws into him and he jumped. The thing swatted 
him out of the air easily and he rolled across the glass. The shield had 
prevented the claws from harming him, but not the force of impact. He groaned as 
he staggered to his feet. He had moved several feet, but the smaller things were 
still between him and the blade. 
He peered at them from the other side of the shield and narrowed his eyes. 
They slowly moved in around him and he waited for them this time.
When the things were about three feet away, the larger creature was making 
another energy ball in the air and ignoring them. Dark flames floated down 
around him and burned for a moment on the ground as the larger one released the 
attack. 
Carrot ignored this and charged forward with the shield in front of him. 
Three of the creatures were bowled over as he passed right through them. He 
rolled and slid as if stealing a base as the large thing slammed its hand into 
the ground again. His hand reached out and grasped the hilt of the blade. 
Unfortunately, his momentum did not stop. "Oh shit!"
Carrot grasped the blade desperately; the shield on his other arm complicated 
matters as he clung to the handle with both hands despite it. The blade had sunk 
in deep, and it seemed to be holding. The side of the giant pillar was 
incredibly slick. He kicked his feet as he tried to find something to pull 
himself up with below him. 

He strained painfully as four more of the small creatures began to form 
directly in front of him. The large monster ignored his predicament, but the 
smaller ones were moving in quickly.
"FUCK!" he grunted as they started to become uncomfortably close. He was 
straining with all his strength just to hold on to the blade.
One of the things jumped for him and he screamed in angry pain as he kicked 
one of his legs with all his might. He managed to hook it over the ledge just in 
time to take a strike to the gut. He rolled onto his side and felt nothing 
holding his left shoulder up from the force of the blow he'd been given. Gasping 
for breath he panted painfully as more of them jumped to attack him. His eyes 
went wide as he saw two more diving straight for him. Quickly, he rolled away 
and jumped to his feet.
He wasn't in good shape and he knew it. He was having trouble standing on his 
right leg, and one of his eyes was squinted shut. "What am I going to do now?" 
He was fighting a losing battle, he knew he was probably doomed. "Well, lets see 
how many I can take with me?" His voice calmed remarkably as he assessed the 
situation carefully. "That's it!" he cried out loud as he focused his attention 
on the large swarm of smaller shadows. There were around a dozen of them now, 
and they were all itching to attack again. 
Their attack pattern was strange, they seemed to be hanging back somewhat. 
Then they'd rush forward in coordinated attacks. 
Carrot was alone; he had to worry about the big one as well. That didn't 
leave much room for tactics. He glared up at the giant as it thrust its hand 
into the ground again. "Just keep making those things ugly."
The boy rushed forward with an animalistic battle cry. He slashed with the 
blade and sent the smaller things flying away. He used wide low slices to fight 
them and it proved effective. They were forced away from him and allowed a 
little breathing room. They quickly grew more cautious and he was forced to spin 
constantly to keep them from attacking from behind. One of them dove with its 
head again, jumping straight at him. 
Carrot slashed again and the thing's head met with his blade. The weapon and 
the monster flew apart, but neither party seemed injured. "Okay. I can parry, 
that's nice to know." His condition hadn't grown worse, but it also hadn't 
gotten any better. He frowned and eyed a small group of the things that had 
congregated to his left. 
The giant decided to put its two cents in as well as it started lashing with 
its claws once again.
Carrot jumped into the air and slashed downward at the thing's wrist as it 
passed under him. He rolled as he hit the ground and jabbed forward, stabbing 
one of the creatures in the chest. It vaporized as the heart shot into the sky 
again. As before, a small shower of crystals and energy was scattered across the 
ground. Carrot ran around the area, slashing with his sword as he absorbed 
them.
His eye was better, and he wasn't hurting nearly as badly. "All right." He 
turned slowly to face the pack of monsters and frowned. "Who's next?"
This time they reacted in a swarm. 
"Oh man," whined Carrot as he was forced to move through them. He tagged a 
few more as he did this and kept them at bay. Another one of the creatures 
exploded and he rushed over to collect the energy once again. The crystals 
vanished as well as he passed over them, but they didn't seem to make him feel 
any different. 
The large monster thrust its hand into the ground again.
"Stop that you asshole!" screamed Carrot as he rushed up to it and began to 
hack at the arm again. The blade was becoming a little easier to use now. He was 
growing accustomed to the weight and feel of it slowly but surely. 
He stepped back as it pulled its arm up. Stepping back across a shower of 
crystals and power as one of the smaller creatures that had grown caught in one 
of his swings exploded. 
He glanced around himself and backed up. There were close to thirty of the 
small things around him now. They jumped and stared at him excitedly as they 
began to move in.
Carrot stared up at the dark creature above him as it raised its hands into 
the air a final time. Its eyes grew brighter as a dark storm cloud formed over 
its head. 
"Oh shit," muttered Carrot as the thing's arms slammed into the ground on 
either side of him. He struggled as his feet slowly began to sink into the 
blackness below him. "No! No fair!" He turned to slash at one of the arms 
nearby, but the beast merely ignored him as he sank every deeper.
Carrot's struggles grew more frantic as he struggled against the force 
pulling him downward. His neck and arms began to sink below when a voice rang 
out inside his head. It was Tsunami again.
"Don't be afraid, for you hold the mightiest weapon of all. Always 
remember..."

The boy stared at the sky as long as he could; his face was becoming 
enveloped as well. He didn't seem to care much about the voice at the 
moment.
"You are the one, who will open the door."
Carrot blinked despite his struggles. "What the hell is that supposed to 
mean!?" The voice did not answer, as he became swallowed by darkness.
His eyes went wide at what he saw before he vanished into the pool of 
darkness completely. It was the bottom of a white Kimono standing in front of 
him. A woman, her face shrouded in shadows as she slowly drew a blade from her 
side and plunged it into the darkness that was swallowing him up. She seemed to 
be smiling.
Then, everything went black.
++++++++++++++++++++++
Carrot sat up and stared forward.
"What the hell are you doing sleeping out here?"
He blinked and looked up to see Jenn staring at him irritably. "Having a 
really weird dream."
He glanced around and found himself sitting in the back yard of a small 
apartment building. It was no more than a twenty-foot square area with a few 
clotheslines hanging across it. In fact, it was his home, Jennifer stayed a few 
doors down from him, with Dan living on the second floor. He lived on the second 
floor of the three-story building.
"Don't you have something you're supposed to be doing?" she snorted as she 
lit a cigarette and sat down on the back porch of the building. It was a raised 
wooden platform with a sliding glass door that went into the building. 
"Huh? Not really." He scratched his head in confusion and frowned. 
"Carrot! What the hell are you doing!?" screamed a familiar voice from above 
them.
He looked up and began to sweat nervously. "I fell asleep?"
The woman looking down on them sighed and rolled her eyes as she leaned out 
of the window. She was an Asian woman of about his age. Her long dark hair was 
tied back in a ponytail. She was wearing a turtleneck shirt and glared down at 
him irritably. "You're supposed to be fixing that porch!"
The man sighed as he looked at the hammer and nails that were strewn across 
the ground beside him. "Oh yeah." He stood up and stretched his back. "Don't 
worry about it, I just took a little nap that's all." He seemed somewhat 
irritated by the two women bothering him.
A tennis shoe slammed into his forehead and sent him back to the ground. "So 
get to work!"
"Ouch!" he cried as he sat up again. "Why you..."
"Heh. Mia is pissed," said Jenn as she blew out a cloud of smoke and grinned 
at him.
"Shut up," he grumbled as he picked up the hammer and stared at the loose 
boards. It probably wouldn't take him very long to replace them. "I got all day 
to do this."
"Don't you mean you're trying to make this last all day?" asked Jenn 
cheerfully.

"Well, that too," he admitted as he laughed nervously.
The door opened and Dan walked out and put a pair of dark sunglasses on over 
his eyes as he squinted into the sun for a moment. "Gah. Daylight."
"Hey," said Carrot as he waved at him cheerfully.
"Makin you fix the porch?" he asked as he noticed the pair.
"Um, yeah," said the man in reply. "Finally finish?"
"Yeah," replied Dan with a small shrug. 
Carrot shook his head and sighed. Dan had discovered that Doom 3 would be 
released, and had taken it upon himself to go through every single Doom game 
using a single life. "Guess you'll have to find something else to do. Didn't 
think you'd manage it this fast."
The man merely nodded and glanced around the yard. 
"PC's free," said Dan as he looked down at Jenn. 
"Great!" said the girl as she jumped to her feet and smiled warmly as she 
rushed by him and into the building. 
Between the three of them, they had every major game system on the market. 
Dan had a rather high end PC in his room that was used exclusively for gaming. 
There wasn't much else to do in the area for fun. Save a bar they all 
frequented, and their low-income jobs at 'Burger Thing'.
"How's it goin?" asked Dan as he sat down next to Carrot and looked at the 
old porch.
"Just started," he replied with a heavy sigh. "Shouldn't take long 
though."
"Too bad," said Dan with a small shrug.
Carrot merely stared at it irritably. "Yeah. Who knows what else she'll want 
me to do today?"
"Carrot! Quit stalling and get back to work! I've got a whole list of things 
that need to be done!" cried Mia from overhead.
"Of course Muffin," grumbled the man irritably as he clenched the hammer a 
little tighter.
"You married her," said Dan as he walked by with his hands in his 
pockets.
"I was drunk," grumbled Carrot irritably.
"Not as much as you'd like to think," replied his friend calmly. "I'm goin 
for a beer. Meet me later, if you can escape."
"Right," replied Carrot halfheartedly.
Dan walked around the side of the building towards the front and went towards 
the local bar. It was only about a block away.
++++++++++++++++++++
Carrot knelt over the wooden porch and hooked the nail remover end of his 
hammer under one of the old nails. It came up rather easily and he fell flat on 
his rear as he pulled it out. "Son of a..." he muttered irritably as he pushed 
himself back forward and pulled the board up. There were several more he had to 
replace, but the job was mostly done now. There were several new boards behind 
him as he worked on the small wooden platform. 
He placed a new one over the hole and paused. He blinked and pulled it back 
up before placing any nails in it. "What the?" He stared down underneath the 
platform for a moment and noticed something odd. There was a large hole in the 
ground underneath it. He stood up and stepped back for a moment. It looked big 
enough for a human to crawl into it, and it was angled slightly downward.
"Wonder where it goes?" he muttered as he dusted his hands off on his pants 
and walked towards the glass doors.
He was stopped cold as Mia stood glaring at him from the doorway. "What are 
you doing? Quit screwing around."
He blinked and smiled at her cheerfully. "There's a hole in the ground. I'm 
gonna go get a flashlight and check it out before I cover it."
The woman stared at him for a moment in confusion. "What?" She was wearing a 
simple apron over her jeans and tossed a rag onto a nearby end table.
"Shouldn't take long, I'm just curious," he replied as he walked up the 
stairs towards their apartment. 
"Well..." started Mia as she followed after him. She wasn't sure what to make 
of what was going on. "A hole?"
"Yeah, a big one," he replied as he opened the door to their apartment and 
started rooting through a small end table's drawer. He came up with a small 
metal flashlight and grinned at her. "Probably goes to some pipes or something I 
guess."
"That sounds dangerous," commented the woman as she frowned at him.
"I guess it would be," he replied simply as he walked out the door. "Seems 
weird for someone to not have filled it in though."
"I guess I should call my uncle about it," muttered the woman with a slightly 
worried frown. She managed the apartment for the man, as a result, her and her 
husband were allowed to live in one of the rooms without worrying about rent. 
Several of the boy's friends had decided to tag along, as it was a rather old 
building, and the rent was cheap. 
Carrot walked out into the hallway again and waved to a man who was sitting 
behind a computer terminal in one of the rooms with the door open. He was a 
rather nerdy looking man with short cut blonde hair. He had on thick glasses and 
had a dark spot in his hair just above his forehead. 
"Hey Phil," said the man as he walked by.
There was little reaction to his passing as the man continued to stare at the 
screen in front of him. There was a lot of electronic equipment scattered about 
the room along the walls and on the floor. 
Mia looked at the man and frowned, making a disgusted sounding snort as she 
closed the door. "Maybe we should just call somebody about it? It could be some 
sort of..."
"It's probably just some sort of maintenance that got done, and the 
contractor just got lazy because there was a deck over it. I just wanna check it 
out. We should be able to find out who we need to call."
The woman nodded and stayed behind her husband. "All right, just be 
careful."
Carrot walked out the door while looking over his shoulder. He had a dumb 
grin on his face as he strolled out across the wooden deck. "Don't worry about 
it. I'll be..." He stopped talking and looked down as a cracking sound started 
at his feet. "Aw man..." He dropped through the boards like a rock.
"Carrot!" cried the woman as she rushed out onto the deck. She knelt down 
beside the hole and screamed into it. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," he replied as he picked himself up and shined the light up into 
her face.
She recoiled away and he shifted it away from her face. "Sorry."
"Get back here you idiot!" she snapped irritably.
"Well, I'm already down here," he replied as he peered into the darkness 
around him. "Hey, this place is pretty big." He strolled forward a little moving 
out of sight. 
"Carrot! Get back here!" snapped the woman as she became even more upset with 
him.
"This isn't good," he called back.
"Now what?"
"There's some sort of cave down here."
This gave the woman pause. "What?"
"It's a cave of some kind. Looks like they built the place on top of it. 
Can't be safe to have this big hole under our building."
Mia started climbing down the hole. "You'd better be kidding, or you'll be 
shoving concrete down here for months..." Her voice trailed off as she reached 
the bottom and looked around.
She could see her husband standing there looking around in the middle of the 
darkness. While the room was mostly pitch black, his erratic movement of the 
light showed that the cavern was definitely more than she could afford to fill 
in. "Holy..."
"Yeah. Kinda cool isn't it," he said as he grinned back at her.
"You idiot! Do you have any idea how bad this is?" she cried as she latched 
her hands around his neck. "This can't be more than five or six feet under the 
building!"
"Calm down," he said as he gently pulled her off. "Hey. What's that?"
"Stop looking around! Who knows what you'll find!"
He ignored her panic and walked towards something his light had found. 
"A...door?"
Mia blinked and stared at him. "What?"
"There's a door here. No handle on it though."
She was at his side and glaring at the wooden door in an instant. "Great. So 
somebody put this here."
"Got no clue," he replied. "Looks like it's been here a long time though." He 
blew on the side and a cloud of dust rose into the air.
"Carrot. I don't like this," muttered the woman as she suddenly felt chilly. 
"I'm getting a bad feeling."
Carrot was feeling unusually adventurous. "Nah. Looks fine to me. Nothing to 
be scared of anyway. Wonder where it goes?"
"Another world..."
"Eh?" muttered the man as he looked at his wife dumbly.
"Nothing," she muttered as she backed away.
"Well, I don't see a handle, and I think we should know," he handed her the 
flashlight.
"What? What the hell are you doing?"
He rushed by her and slammed his shoulder into the door. Of course, it did 
nothing but cause huge amounts of pain in his shoulder. "YEOUCH!"
"I don't think we're going to get it open." She wasn't sure why, but she 
found herself greatly relieved by this. The door seemed to create a bad feeling 
inside of her, something she couldn't explain. It was almost like she was angry 
at it, but had no idea why.
Carrot frowned at the old wood and rubbed his shoulder. "I'm gonna open that 
damn door."
Mia said nothing and found herself nodding. "I think we should leave."
Carrot scratched his head and shrugged. "Whatever. It's getting late. I 
should probably put something up around that hole though."
"What? You're going to finish that porch!" snapped the woman irritably.
"It's too late, it'll be dark by the time I get started again."
Mia growled, but relented. 
"I'll get it tomorrow. I work the late shift, so I should have all day."
"If you don't waste time all day like you did today!" She elbowed him in his 
gut as she passed by.
"Hey, I helped out didn't I?" he muttered lamely.
"We only get to stay here if things like this get taken care of Carrot."
"Yeah, yeah," grumbled the boy irritably. He seriously doubted if the old man 
really cared.
+++++++++++++++++++++
Far away...
It was a great hall, shadowy figures stood around a great symbol in the 
floor. It was a heart stylized into a crest and the dim light shining down on it 
was all the light the room had in it.
There were around eight figures standing around it conversing. "We must act 
quickly. The Key has chosen its master. Tsunami's power was not sealed 
properly." The figure was not human and a long thick tail waved behind its legs 
as it stood with its arms crossed.
"Her world has not yet fallen to the darkness," replied a male voice. It 
dripped with cultured evil. "It is difficult to contain the power of a 
goddess."
"I had no problems," replied a nearby woman.
"You have more experience dealing with such power," replied another of the 
figures. Two large wings silhouetted his body as he moved them in an irritated 
manner. "You should have let me deal with it."
"Enough," snapped a rather calm sounding male. He looked human, if not for 
the glowing red irises that lit his eyes. "We'll deal with the problem soon 
enough. Still, this one should pose no problem. He is weak, a mere human. What 
possible chance does he stand against us?"
"Don't underestimate the power of the light," responded a calm sounding voice 
from the other side of the group. He stepped forward into the light. He was 
wearing a rather ornate set of armor. His shoulders were stylized into dragons, 
and his long blonde hair hung down his back. "It can be very strong, and 
dangerous."
"Still, we should deal with this now," said the inhuman shadow. "Best not let 
the weeds take root."
"We'll see," said the calm shadow as he chuckled. "Perhaps they could be made 
to be of use to us?"
"We shouldn't play with them," warned the armored man as he narrowed his eyes 
at the shadow dangerously. "Not when we are so close to our goals."
"Bah," replied the inhuman shadow as he turned away and left the group. 
"Toying with one's prey is the only pleasure one as strong as I can have in 
life."
"The problem should take care of itself, the Heartless fear the power of the 
key. They will seek to destroy it, or it's wielder if at all possible," replied 
the cultured sounding shadow. "Let them deal with it, for now."
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Carrot stood at the bar with Dan at his side. Both of them had a beer in 
their grip as they simply stared forward wordlessly.
Jenn was off in the corner playing on a rather large flight simulator video 
game. There was a small crowd around her as she played the game as usual. 
"So, you found some kind of door under the building?" asked Dan as he looked 
at Carrot in a somewhat thoughtful manner.
"Yeah, I couldn't get it open though. There's no handle," replied the other 
man as he shrugged.
"I might have something that could do it," replied Dan with a small 
shrug.
Carrot frowned at him. "I'd like to get it open without bringing the building 
down on top of me. I'm thinking that maybe there's a lock hidden somewhere else 
in the cave."
"Could be," replied the other man as he took a gulp of his beer. 
"Man, I gotta work tomorrow," grumbled Carrot as he hung his head. "Now I've 
got to fix those stupid boards too."
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I�m off tomorrow."
Carrot glared at Dan irritably. "Yeah. Gee thanks."
The man continued to speak ignoring his friend�s annoyance. "I�d help you out 
and all, but I�m actually paying rent. It wouldn�t be very fair if I did."
He almost seemed surprised when he was slugged across his jaw. Carrot loomed 
over him as he lay flat on his back on the bar room floor.
Jenn turned to face the noise allowing her airplane to crash into a mountain 
as she did so. "Huh? Oh man, again?"
"Take it outside you two," said the bartender firmly.
Carrot and Dan calmly walked towards the front door. Neither looked 
particularly upset, in fact, they almost looked cheerful.
"After you!" said Carrot as he opened the door.
Dan shrugged and walked outside. Carrot promptly kicked him in the rear and 
sent him stumbling through the door.
"Idiots," grumbled Jenn as she went back to the next life in her game. 
Everyone in the bar remained where they were, no one appeared to be even 
slightly interested in the fight.
"Gets old after a while," commented one of the men standing near to the 
arcade machines. He was looking at a newcomer, who seemed confused at the lack 
of reaction within the crowd.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Carrot stumbled into his room a few hours later, he was beaten and tired. A 
large red mark was covering his cheek. 
Mia frowned at him as she sat at the table near the kitchen. "Rough 
night?"
"Same as always."
"You won?" she asked as she sipped at a cup of tea.
"I always win," he replied calmly. "Dan sucks at fighting. Well, unless he�s 
got a gun or something."
"If he could fight you with one without killing you, he would," replied Mia 
as she flipped the page on the magazine in front of her.
"Whatever, I�m goin ta bed," muttered Carrot as he started walking towards 
their bedroom.
"Don�t forget to set the alarm. You know what�ll happen if I have to wake you 
up."
The man stopped in the doorway and shuddered slightly. "I�ll get up, don�t 
worry."
"I�d better not catch you napping tomorrow unless that porch is fixed."
He cringed again. "Damn."
"What was that?" she asked in a slightly amused tone.
"Nuthin."
"Good."
Mia shivered slightly as she watched her husband go into his room. Outside it 
was summertime, but she could feel a strange chill in the air. "Something isn�t 
right." She stood up and looked out the window. The moon was full, and the sky 
was clear, but there was something missing in the night sky, something she 
couldn�t place her finger on.
Her eyes went wide as she stared into the endless sea of black. A light 
flickered out and died, a single star faded into nothing. "What?"
A noise from behind her startled her and she turned, half expecting to find 
her husband standing there. There was nothing though, nothing but an empty room 
of shadows.
"A star has faded."
"Who�s there?" she said fearfully as she backed towards the window. 
"A world has fallen into darkness�"
"Carrot, this isn�t funny," she spat.
"Will you fall into darkness as well, or will it consume you?"
"What?" her eyes went wide as she stepped forward towards the voice. It was 
masculine and deep, but oddly quiet.
++++++++++++++++++++++
Carrot sat up in bed and rubbed at his eyes. "What the?" He was groggy and 
still half-asleep. "What time is it?" He turned to look at the clock and frowned 
as he noticed the late hour. "Hey�" He reached behind him to touch his wife and 
see if she was still sleeping. He touched only empty sheets. 
His first reaction was surprise, he blinked and looked at her empty pillow. 
"Mia?" He stood up and staggered out of the room. He was still dressed, and his 
shoes lay at the foot of the bed. He ignored them and walked out into the living 
room. "Hey. You fall asleep out here or somethin?" He wandered through the home 
and found only empty rooms. "Great."
With a heavy sigh, he wandered back into his bedroom and put on his shoes. 
"Where the hell did she go at this time of night?" His first thought was Jenn�s 
room. He�d check there next, there weren�t a whole lot of places he could think 
of.
Scratching his head and his crotch at the same time, he walked out of the 
room again and paused when he entered the living room. Mia was standing in front 
of the open window. 
He blinked and grinned as he stepped towards her. "Hey. Where ya been? I woke 
up and you�"
"Carrot," she said simply as she turned to look at him. It was an odd 
expression on her face, one he didn�t recognize.
"Huh? What�s up?"
"Come with me."
"Okay."
She reached out her hand to him and smiled, it was cold and empty though.
"Am I in some sort of trouble?" he asked nervously.
"No. I just want you to go with me."

"It�s four in the morning."
"The sooner we go, the better."
Carrot was tired, and he wasn�t really in the mood for this. "Where are we 
going? I�ve got to work tomorrow."
"Don�t worry about that anymore. Just come with me."
"This is kinda freaky. Where are we goin?"
"Come," she insisted patiently.
"Where?" insisted her husband sleepily.
"Onto the darkness of course, you don�t need to be afraid. If you do not fear 
it, the darkness cannot hurt you."
Carrot stared at her for a long moment. "Great. Another one of these weird 
darkness dreams. Maybe I should cut back on eating before bed a little?"
She reached out and touched his arm gently, pulling him towards the window. 

"Why don�t we take the stairs?" he asked calmly as he glared at her. "I�m 
getting a little tired of all that falling crap."
Carrot jerked his arm out of her grip as she moved closer to the window. 
"Hey. What are you doing?" he said as he noticed her lift her foot over the 
ledge and step onto the roof.
"Come through the door with me."
"Hey!" he cried as he rushed forward to grab her as she neared the edge. A 
sudden gust of wind shot through the open window and tossed his entire body into 
the air. Mia fell back off the edge of the roof as he was thrown into the 
hallway through the front door. He hit the wall hard and cried out in pain as he 
slumped down against the ground. Splinters of wood surrounded him as he lay 
still for a moment. He staggered to his feet and steadied himself on the wall. 
"What�s going on?" 
A small tickle started on his forehead and he squinted his eyes as he reached 
up to touch it. His fingers became sticky and wet as he recoiled away in pain. 
"I�m bleeding?" He stared at the window opposite him and took a slow step 
forward. "Mia?"
His steps became more urgent as he rushed forward, remembering what had 
happened. "Mia!" He leaned out the window and tumbled onto the edge of the roof 
clumsily. Reaching the edge he slid to a stop and was barely able to keep from 
tumbling off the sides with his palms. "Oh shit."
He could see the porch below him, and the violet light from within the hole 
underneath. "Oh man�"
He staggered back into his room and rolled onto the floor after tumbling back 
through the window. He still didn�t have his bearings straight. "What the hell 
is going on?" He walked out into the hallway and blinked as he noticed both Dan 
and Jenn standing in front of him. 
Dan had a handgun pointed at his head, and Jenn was simply cowering behind 
the larger man. 
"Watch where you�re pointing that damn thing!" cried Carrot as he realized 
his position. 
"What�s going on?" asked Dan as he noticed the door. "You two fighting 
again?"
"I�m not sure," said Carrot honestly. "Look, it�s been a really weird night, 
and I�ve got to go find Mia."
"Where�s Mia?" asked Jenn with a very worried frown. 
"I think she went into that hole in the back yard," replied Carrot 
simply.
"What the hell are you talking about?" said Jenn.
Carrot paused and cocked his head. "Shhhh."
Dan didn�t look particularly happy with what was going on. "Look�"
The man put his finger up to Dan�s lips and scanned the hallway behind them 
while ignoring the pair�s confused frowns. 
"What are you looking for?" asked Jenn.
Carrot stepped back slowly, backing away as he watched the hallway in front 
of them carefully. 
Jenn noticed the two yellow orbs staring back at them first. "Carrot�" she 
squeaked nervously as she clutched his arm.
"I think we should go," replied the man as he continued to step back.
"What the hell is that thing?" asked Dan as he leveled his handgun on it. 

"Well�" said Carrot with a nervous laugh. "Um, we should leave."
Dan was about to unload a clip or two into the thing when he realized exactly 
what his friend was talking about. He could see dozens of things moving about in 
the darkness in front of them. There was no clear definition, just spots of 
black almost like puddles moving across the ceilings, walls, and floors. "I 
think you�re right."
Carrot spun around and rushed towards the stairs. He turned to move down them 
and staggered through the darkness with his two friends as fast as he could. 
When they reached the bottom, he stopped suddenly and stumbled forward.
"Carrot?" asked Jenn as she reached out to help him up. 
The boy was holding his side as if he�d been struck. "Ouch." He turned to 
look at her and his eyes went wide. He reached forward and cried out to her. 
"Look out!"
Jenn screamed as two of the large yellow orbs appeared out of the wall beside 
her, one of the thing�s head was inches away from her face. She opened her mouth 
to scream, but any sound was drowned out by a loud report. 
Black ooze splattered the wall as the thing seemed to explode.
Carrot and Jenn both turned to look at Dan as he calmly lowered his smoking 
handgun. "Get moving."
"Where are they coming from?" said Jenn in a panic as she noticed more down 
the hall. 
"I think he knows," replied Dan as he turned to look at Carrot.
The man was staring out the glass window, his face lit by a pale violet 
light. "Yeah. I know."
"What the hell is that?" cried Jenn as she moved up to his side.
Where the wooden porch had once been, was now nothing more than a vortex of 
black and purple. 
"The door," replied Carrot.
"Door?" asked Dan.
A geyser of ooze shot from the center and into the sky. The trio was thrown 
to the ground as the building shook violently. The glass doors in front of them 
shattered and the walls cracked as the force tore through the building. 
Finally it stopped.
Carrot found himself standing up in a pile of rubble. All around him was a 
giant wall of rubble that had once been his home. He looked up at the night sky 
as Jenn and Dan stood up beside him. The only undisturbed area of the building 
was the small portion of floor they all now stood on.
"What the hell is that?" cried Jenn as she noticed what Carrot was looking 
at.
Above them was a gigantic orb of black and red. Power crackled across it as 
it seemed to suck in the very sky from above them.
"It is the darkness," replied a familiar voice.
Carrot spun around to see his wife standing calmly in the middle of the 
vortex of ooze that churned in front of where they were standing. "Mia?"
"Come with me, it is the only way to save yourself. You must accept the 
darkness."
"The hell!" he cried angrily. "Come over here! Get out of that stuff 
before�"
"I see," she replied with a small sad frown.
"Mia?" he muttered as he stepped towards her once.
"You will not come with me? You will not pass through the door? To your 
destiny?"
"What?" he said in confusion. "What the hell are you talking about."
"That doesn�t sound much like Mia," said Jenn quietly.
Carrot turned to look at her with a shocked expression on his face. "But, 
it�s her�" He looked at her again and stepped back. "It is her. I know it 
is�"
"Carrot," said Dan carefully. It was obvious neither of them wanted to get 
any closer, even if it was to pull him back away from her.
"Stop talking crazy and get away from that thing before you get hurt."
"If you do not come with me, you are the one who will suffer. I offer one 
last time."
Carrot snarled angrily as he rushed forward suddenly. "The hell! You�ll thank 
me after we figure this mess out!" He grabbed her arm and pulled at her ignoring 
the sludge that was now knee deep around him. He struggled to move back, but his 
feet found no purchase to move back out of the ooze. 
Carrot looked at her with horrified eyes as she smiled at him. "At least we 
will be together�"
"No!" he cried as he struggled against the slime that crawled up his body. It 
lashed up as if it was ropes and wrapped itself around his body. "I can�t�"
"Carrot!" cried Jenn as Dan pulled her back further into the rubble. He 
looked angry, but was also watching the small creatures that were emerging from 
the piles of debris around them. He started to fire at them causing a few to 
explode into rather messy piles of the black slime.
"We�ve got to get out of here! We can�t help him!" snapped Dan as he pulled 
on the girl forcefully.
Carrot stared into his wife�s smiling face as the darkness wrapped around him 
completely. Only small portions of his fingers and face were still visible. 
Her dark and triumphant smile faded as his eyes became angry suddenly. 
"No!"
She stepped back away from him with a confused and hurt look on her face.
"I won�t! You�re coming with me!" he cried as he raised his arm into the 
air.
"No! It�can�t be!" cried Mia as she raised her hands to shield her face.
A flash of light formed over the man�s head as a white power shined all 
around him, pushing the darkness away from his body forcefully. He stared 
forward and hefted the giant key that had appeared in his grip into an offensive 
stance. "Quit fooling around and come on!"
"It�s�too late for me," she replied with a sad looking smile. "I will await 
you, in the darkness. Your time will come soon enough. I do not think the 
darkness will consume you easily."
"What?" he cried as he rushed forward as she sank into the vortex of 
darkness. "Nooo!"
A giant fist blasted out of the center shielding her exit and Carrot was 
tossed into the air and on top of the rubble just above Jenn and Dan. He landed 
on a large section of floorboard, but the small rocks that were scattered across 
it slammed into his back and sides like hard punches. The wind was knocked out 
of him and he coughed violently. "Damn�"
"Carrot!" cried Jenn as she climbed up to him. Dan followed after her, 
knocking one of the dark creatures aside with the butt of his gun. It wasn�t 
hurt, but neither was he. 
"I think we�ve got bigger things to worry about," commented the man as he 
looked up at the creature that loomed over them now. Neither of them knew it, 
but Carrot knew what it was. It was the monster from his dream.
Carrot staggered to his feet and pushed Jenn away gently. He held the key in 
front of him again and frowned as he glanced around. 
"What the hell are you gonna do? Unlock it to death?" grumbled Dan.
"I don�t see you shooting it," replied Carrot.
"Wouldn�t waste the bullets on something that big," replied the man angrily. 
"We should go."
"Where?" asked Carrot calmly.
Jenn screamed as she realized what the boy was talking about. She was on her 
hands and knees looking out over the edge of the rubble that had been their 
home. There was nothing beyond the edge but an endless void.
"What�s the hell?" said Dan as his eyes went wide.
"Isn�t it obvious? This thing eats worlds," replied Carrot calmly. He was 
looking up at the giant. "Get ready guys, this is really going to suck."
"No kidding!" screamed Jenn angrily.
Carrot screamed as he rushed forward with the key held over his head. He 
charged into the mass of smaller creatures that had formed around the thing�s 
feet. 
Naturally, they kicked his ass rather soundly.
He hacked down on top of one of the things. It was obviously hurt, but not 
killed, before he could spin into another attack three more slammed into his 
back. 
"What the hell is that idiot doing!" cried Dan as he stumbled down through 
the debris. 
"Getting himself killed!" snapped Jenn angrily. "Not that it matters much 
now�"
"Guess you got a point. Ready to go down in a blaze of glory?" He replaced 
the spent clip in his weapon with a new one and cocked it. 
"Do we have a choice?"
"Well, we could die quietly," he replied.
"Stop talking and help me you assholes!" cried Carrot as he shook off a dog 
pile of the smaller creatures.
Dan slipped and jarred his foot on a large brick. A small avalanche crumbled 
away sending him and Jenn tumbling into the crowd of tiny creatures along with a 
shower of medium sized rocks. The things scattered away as they landed, but a 
few were knocked around a bit.
Carrot backed towards them with the key held in front of him. "So now what?" 
He hacked down and one of the creatures exploded into a shower of green balls. 
He blinked at this and looked up at the big one. "You�ve got to be kidding 
me."
"What is it?" snapped Dan. He seemed somewhat distracted. 
"Those green things! Grab them quick!" Carrot spun around and sent two more 
of the small creatures reeling. 
The larger creature seemed to notice that his minions weren�t doing so well. 
It arched its back and roared. A beam of light shot from the heart shaped hole 
in its torso and giant balls of energy began to separate from it. They moved 
through the air and towards the trio. 
"Damn," muttered Carrot as one of his strikes was deflected. He pressed his 
attack and jabbed the thing in the face with his key. It vanished and became 
more of the green balls. 
"What the hell are these things?" said Dan as he watched a small cut on his 
arm vanish as he came into contact with one of the green balls. 
"Don�t worry about what they are, only what they do!" snapped Carrot as he 
backhanded one of the creatures that had jumped for him in the face. He shook 
his hand painfully for a moment afterwards. 
Jenn was standing between them helplessly. The two men had been able to keep 
her pretty well protected so far. She stepped back to avoid running into their 
backs as they moved closer to her and tripped. "Ouch!" 
Dan looked back and noticed her on her back. "Hey�"
Carrot batted three more of the little things away. The larger one was 
growing irate with them rather quickly. It began to form a ball of power in its 
hands.
"Shit! It�s gonna make more of these little ones!" snapped Carrot as he 
recognized the attack from his dream. 
"What? How the hell do you know?" screamed Jenn from where she was sprawled 
across the ground.
"Had a dream once," replied Carrot simply.
"Hold them off for a sec," said Dan as he moved back next to Jenn. 
"Huh?" said the man as one of the creatures slammed into his face headfirst. 
He was sent sprawling into the crowd of shadows and became the focus of their 
attention.
He pushed them away and spun the blade wildly around his body. They were 
forced back, but the giant decided it had collected enough energy and slammed 
its fist into the ground. 
"Son of a bitch!" screamed Carrot as he realized that he was sitting waist 
deep in the dark ooze. It didn�t seem to stick to him, but the smaller creatures 
that were rising from it all around him were really starting to piss him 
off.
"What the hell are you doing!?" cried Jenn as she slapped Dan in the back of 
his head. He was shoving rocks aside calmly, and ignoring Carrot�s predicament. 
"He�ll die!"
"Nah, he can take a pretty good beating," replied Dan simply. "We both can." 

He stood up and Jenn stared at what was in his hands with wide eyes. 
"Oh you have got to be kidding!"
"Hey Carrot," called Dan. "Move."
The boy was struggling with one of the smaller creatures that had landed on 
his chest. He was pulling at the thing's antenna angrily while biting another on 
the foot. The key was gripped in his other hand and was being waved around 
wildly at the larger group in front of him. He froze as his eyes went wide quite 
suddenly. 
"Oh shit."
Rolling aside he pushed himself to his feet and ran, ignoring the creatures 
as they bounded after him.
Dan simply leveled his rocket launcher at the giant and grinned. "Good 
night."
The explosion echoed across the void and the creature reeled back waving its 
arms wildly. A blue energy crackled through it as it started to fade, along with 
the smaller things. 
"Holy shit Dan! Do you realize what my wife would have done to you if she 
found out you had one of those in the building?"
"It was my last shell anyway," replied the man as he shrugged.
"Um guys?" said Jenn as she looked at them both. 
"Yeah?" asked Carrot as he staggered to his feet.
"Now what?" she asked.
"Well, I�m gonna go look for my wife," replied Carrot simply. He started to 
step towards the vortex, but stopped quite suddenly and dropped the key. It 
vanished in a flash of light before it even hit the ground. "No."
Jenn stared at him for a moment in confusion. That was when she realized what 
he was looking at. The vortex was gone, and there was no sign of the hole, or 
his wife. "Carrot�" she whispered sympathetically. 
"Now what do we do?" grumbled Dan as he checked over his handgun again. He 
now had a shotgun strapped across his back along with a high powered rifle. He 
had also found his S.W.A.T jacket and badge in the debris.
The dark orb overhead was still there. Carrot looked up at it and frowned. 
"I�don�t know."
"Do you guys feel something?" asked Jenn as she glanced around.
"This place is getting smaller," said Dan as he noticed the edges were still 
flying up towards the orb. 
"Aw man," said Carrot as he looked up. 
That was when the wind picked up. It increased in force quite suddenly and 
they were forced to grab onto the protruding debris to remain on the ground. 
They screamed as the force pulled at them, then, one by one, their grip gave 
out. 
The trio sailed into the sky, sucked into the void.
++++++++++++++++++++++++
TBC�
Author�s notes! Wheee!
Well, I wanted to do something a bit different than normal. I bought Kingdom 
Hearts, and realized at once that it was the ultimate SI set up. 
The fic will use the basic idea behind the game, the enemies are the same 
[except for the bosses and such]. What I didn�t want to do was have the same 
story behind the hero characters. I didn�t want to make somebody Riku, and 
somebody Kairi, and then make the hero Sora. I wanted a bit more difference than 
just personality. I don�t recall the relationship between the heartless and the 
villains being explained very well, at least not in the first game. [If the 
ending is to be believed, there will be a sequel.]
Anyway, this just takes the basic premise of KH and applies it to a 
completely new set of characters. Think of this as in the same Universe as KH, 
but a different set of worlds, far away from the ones Disney and Square covered. 
Well, pretty far away at any rate. ^_^;
Here�s a list of worlds that will be visited. Just because someone�s world 
isn�t there, doesn�t mean that there won�t be characters from the anime/manga 
there. 
Ranma ?: Nerima
Urusai Yatsura
Sailor Moon
Bubble Gum Crisis
The Slayers
Tenchi Muyou
Dragon Ball Z
Street Fighter
Fushugi Yuugi [For those who have played the game, Think �Pooh�]
Evangelion
This list has no particular order, and is by no means a final definitive 
list. ^_^ Each world will probably have it�s own �Chapter� and won�t be released 
until the story from that world is finished. Towards the end, there will 
probably be a bit of world hopping and maybe some back tracking, but for now, 
one chapter = one world. 
For now, I go back to writing other things. Maybe I�ll have something else 
out within a couple of days? I�d like to think so, but I�m not making promises. 
^_^;

--- carrotglace@mindspring.com 



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