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**Chapter 13: Transcendence

Corona Hospital**

Dear god no...

It seemed like the entire world had just crumbled around Jason. He prayed the red eyes that were staring at him were just a trick of the light and that Dan was lying on the floor as some cruel, practical joke. That his dad would just leap up, grinning and shout, 'Gotcha!' while countless hidden camera crews and an eccentric TV show host would jump out and tell him he was on some cheap reality TV show.

Please... no...

But... as his dad's blood began seeping across the floor...

"You!?" Brett exclaimed, pressing a hand against Jason's chest and pushing him back behind him. "You're Pride!?"

"Who else?" Chris replied, his voice devoid of all emotion. "Think about it. Who is the one person who has come in contact with everyone that has been a host so far?"

Dad... Don't die...

"It was I who defended Kyle when he was suspected of dealings with Devries," Chris continued, darkness gathering around his body to form an eerie, black cloak around his shoulders.

Jen had specifically said that it was Chris who had personally come to defend Kyle...

"I've made countless arrests against Devries."

There was no doubt about that. Chris' obsession over Devries' arrest was both heroic and worrying...

"I had dinner with Robin and Dominic when you so kindly sent us to Pinnacle Peak Restaurant."

Chris infected Dominic there... Since Dan and Robin were both creatures of light, he couldn't infect anyone else...

"We have come in contact many times, Brett."

Was there any doubt about that fact? They were almost family...

"And I have spoken constantly with Warren and Tara as we 'conspired' to make a final arrest against Devries."

All this time...

Jason felt something start to boil to the surface...

"This was your plan all along, wasn't it!?" Brett shouted angrily. "You just wanted to devour this world by yourself!"

Anger... Sheer anger that was filling Jason's vision in a haze of red.

Chris sighed heavily and regarded the body of Dan Wolfe. "Sadly... no. Pride is the sin of self-importance. I believed that I and I alone was capable of breaking free the Malefactor's curse. I thought could not be a Malefactor anymore. Over a decade ago, I accepted by fate as a creature of pure sin and rampaged across Enria, corrupting the masses. However... when I sought to slay the child who had brought us into existence... that child's mother got in the way."

That anger ebbed suddenly.

Mom...?

Jason remembered the story... Dan had explained that when the Hero Wars raged, the Malefactor embodying Pride had attempted to kill the young Jason Wolfe. However, Jason's mother, Serena, had jumped in the way...

"I sought to devour her just like the rest of these sinful mortals," Chris scowled, eyes darting back towards Brett. "However, as I did so, I became engulfed in her light. And I learned... It is why I appear as you see before me."

Wait...

Jason's heart froze.

No way...

"Chris Thornton is an amalgamation of a Malefactor and Serena Wolfe," Pride murmured darkly.

"Mom...?" Jason whispered.

"No, Jason. I am not your mother. Wherever your mother is, she is long gone. I, however, realised that even a creature of pure darkness such as myself am capable of evolving into the light and becoming a being of colour."

That anger built up again. "Then why did you kill my dad!?"

Chris let out a bitter laugh. "Because, we are all merely pawns in R3's little bid to disprove D8's attempt to destroy Enria. Can you not see it, Jason? Can you not see that this is what R3 planned all along? That you and I - beings of either light or dark - can merge with our polar opposites and become entities of colour?

The Malefactor straightened, the darkness around him spreading. "What better way to prove to a destroyer that a world is worth saving when a creature of true good can grow to accept their mortality and a beast of pure evil can grow to become a functioning member of society?"

Jason slowly understood... This was what R3 had planned all along... It was not only about getting EX... it was also about proving to D8 that Enria could be saved...

A world that had been divided by light and dark fused... two representatives, one from each faction, to rise above all and introduce colour again by accepting their polar opposites.

He felt used...

... but most of all, he felt confused.

"So what if this is what R3 planned?" he demanded. "Why did you kill my dad!?"

Chris threw his head back and laughed. "Because R3 made one fatal mistake!" He spread his arms wide and the darkness gushed out of him in the form of dark winds. Brett was knocked to the ground but Jason grit his teeth and remained standing. "All mortals are dark by nature. We are all evil. Regardless of whether or not we are saturated by light or immersed in colour, our hearts are all black! Now, with that realisation, I not only wield the power of a Malefactor but also the intensity of the light and the diversity of all colour!

"Dan Wolfe was the last bastion this world had against me! He was the only No One capable of interfering because he was bound to this world by you, his son! Disposing of him at the pinnacle of his joy only has him fall that much farther! The darkness that consumes him will be absolute and overwhelming! He will never be able to stop me in time!"

Jason summoned Genesis. "Stop you!? There's still one more point of light in the world!"

"Don't be idiotic, Jason," Chris snarled. "It should be obvious that the Malefactor always knew this was part of R3's plan. Everything is planned by R3. Freewill is an illusion with him ruling. While the other six cast the illusion of agreeing with R3's terms, I made plans of my own. They darkened the world while I drew from light and darkness to grow stronger!" Chris spread his wings, lifting himself into the air without the appendages flapping. "I shall transcend even beyond R3's concept of a world filled with colour! I am entity capable of controlling light, darkness and colour! Not even the No Ones can oppose that!

"I have achieved true transcendence!"

Grinning, Chris offered a hand to Jason. "Don't you see, Jason? You and I are the only people in this world truly capable of achieving true godhood! This is exactly was R3 wanted of us! He wanted us to become writers of our own destiny! I say we achieve that but we depose the Writer of Reality and truly write our own stories! How can we truly become our own masters if we are chained by that faceless hypocrite!?"

Unfortunately...

He makes sense...

Chris was right... R3 said that all he wanted was for everyone to be capable of seizing their own stories and making their way in the world... But really, everyone he 'freed' was always subject to his whim. If they threatened another reality or did something he didn't like, R3 could just come in and rewrite everything.

Was that really freedom?

"How...?" Jason whispered.

"Jase! No!" Brett cried, staggering to his feet. "You can't be serious!"

Jason just wasn't sure... "Just... Give him a second to explain..."

Chris grin grew broader. "With the power of all three aspects of mortal life, we can enlighten everyone on this reality! Once they know what we know, they will never be subject to the No Ones' tyrannical rule again! Then, we shall storm the walls of Naught, take R3's throne and depose EX!"

Depose... EX...?

He made his choice... but first...

"Did you feel anything?" he asked softly. "Everything that we went through... Descent... all this... Did it ever mean anything to you?"

Chris chuckled. "It did, of course it did. I sensed the light there and the brilliant colour. I saw the possibilities of love and a future but I am not one to fool myself into thinking I am anything other than a creature of the darkness. We all are. Colour, Light... None of it matters. I was a fool to believe it could ever be anything else."

"What changed your mind?"

The Malefactor - Pride - glanced out the window. "Three things. The first was your selfish desire to sacrifice the world just for your one love. Countless lives would've been lost had R3 not caught you on your mistake. You may have birthed the end of all existence had R3 not intervened."

That hurt...

"Next was when I was injured by my comrades. It was all a ruse of course. A way darken Dan's light. I was to be his source of light and when it was taken from him, he would be left in nothing but darkness. I vowed to myself that should you all take a course of action that was not evil by nature, I would tell you the truth. I would come clean and exist in this world as another of you."

Chris snickered and there was a degree of heartbreak in his voice. "However, the instant you learned the truth, you vowed vengeance. Even a great source of light such as Dan sought revenge! How does that not prove we are all dark inside!? The instant doubt filters in, doubts and reverts to his base, dark self!"

That hurt as well...

Jason had thought his dad was infallible... a god who was perfect... but... he had learned long ago that was not the case...

... and that just furthered his resolve.

"And the last thing?" he asked softly.

Chris shook his head. "Simple: that it would take a god to save the world from its own darkness."

The Malefactor turned back towards Jason. "What will it be? You alone are the only one capable of transcending alongside me. Will you serve under the No Ones or rule this world in darkness?"

Jason didn't need to think again.

"If I transcend, I leave behind all the people I care about. People that I love. Just like you have. There's no point in being great if you have no one to share it with." He swung Genesis, levelling it directly at Chris. "I won't transcend with you, Chris! Not unless I can do it with everyone else!"

God... I sound like a cult leader or something...

Chris scowled, reaching into the darkness of his cloak and pulling out a familiar golden briefcase, Frontier. Jason realised that all Chris had ever been was a dark shadow formed from his mother's memories of him and his father. The Malefactor's appearance was a bitter mockery of Dan and Jason, the golden briefcase - of which Dan possessed a similar memento - was just a grim clone.

Chris Thornton had his chance to exist as a true mortal... but threw most of that away... In a twisted sense of camaraderie or love, Chris was offering Jason the chance to transcend with him...

But what was the use of that?

This is where I belong... Not on a throne ruling all existence in darkness...

"You have no idea what you are saying," the Malefactor sighed heavily. "But..." An evil glint entered Chris' eyes. "Should I destroy all that you know and love... Yes... You will have no choice but to join my cause."

WHAT!?

Jason went rigid.

"Starting with your mate!"

"NO!"

Faster than Jason could perceive, Chris shot past him and collided with Brett. He spun just as Chris lifted Brett into the air, the darkness from his arms creeping into Brett's form.

Not again!

"Let him go!" Jason shouted, lunging at Chris.

WHAM!

A massive, black wing knocked him to the ground.

"Embrace the darkness already within you, Brett Sykes!" Chris roared, the shadows crawling all over Brett's face.

The Rottweiler gave one last pleading - apologetic - look towards Jason before the shadows completely overtook him. Brett fell to his hands and knees as Chris dropped him, his entire form completely jet-black. A deep grunt rumbled from his throat as a pair of huge, black shadows shot from his back forming the vague visage of wings.

Slowly, Brett rose to his feet, his eyes firmly shut.

No... Brett...

Somehow, Jason doubted that he could convince Chris to let Brett go in exchange for the world... His mind was running in overdrive. If he joined forces with Chris, he could be with Brett but would it be his Brett?

If he didn't... he'd have to kill Brett...

But...

Brett's eyes snapped open, burning red and Jason's heart instantly broke.

There was no choice...

It's the world... or my world...

He grabbed Genesis. "BRETT!"

Thud!

The shadowy Brett didn't flinch. The tip of Genesis sat quivering inches away from the shadow's chest.

I can't do it...

After all they have been through... after saving Brett once from the darkness... It was like a cruel joke to have to go through this again...

"What say you, Jason?" Chris crooned. "Wouldn't you like to be with your mate?"

Jason stared into those eyes, looking for some semblance of his mate... something to tell him that Brett was still in there...

... but there was no need...

... because...

"Brett...?" he asked softly, shock tainting his voice.

The shadow...

... winked at him.

Lightning-fast, Brett spun around and -

WHAM!

... sent Chris flying through three walls of the hospital, crashing into a linen closet.

What the...?

"Did you think I didn't learn anything from my time with Envy?" Brett snarled, rolling his shoulders, his eyes transforming into a beautiful auburn, a perfect mix of the Malefactor's red and his own warm brown.

BOOM

"What!?" Chris snarled, erupting from the closet in a burst of darkness. "How can you defy the darkness within your heart!? How can you succumb to the darkness and yet not see things my way!?"

Grinning, Brett folded his arms across his chest. "Because you've only accepted the darkness. I've accepted darkness, colour and light!"

"You have no light! No colour!"

"Oh yeah?"

Jason felt his mate's eyes turn towards him and a hand extend. Slowly... hesitantly, he wrapped his fingers around Brett's hand and felt the warmth rising from there... that sense of correctness filling him.

"I have my light," Brett said, smiling directly at him. "And my colour. It doesn't have to come from me."

Jason felt his heart melt and his entire body shudder. There was nothing more he wanted to do than the embrace Brett and kiss him passionately. To know that his love had fought through the darkness and won... to be with him... It filled him with joy like nothing he had ever felt before...

Then a realisation hit him.

This is... This is what R3 planned all along...

Chris let out a frustrated cry. "I will not let you bar my way to the No Ones! All will succumb to the darkness and they will fall!"

"Jase!"

Brett shoved him to the ground and leapt back as Chris shot between them, bursting through a wall and out into the open. They exchanged glanced and gave each other a firm nod. Without a word, they charged after Chris, leaping out the hole the Malefactor had made. Scrambled out into road as Brett took to the air, putting his new powers to good use.

Chris hovered in the middle of the street. The civilians had awoken and were scrambling away from the Blue Wolf.

"Succumb to the darkness!" the Malefactor roared, lashing out with his hands. Arrows of sheer shadow shot from his palms, burying themselves into the backs of fleeing men and women.

BAM!

Chris staggered in the air and Warren came charging in on Scythe with Robin behind him, levelling her sniper rifle.

BAM!

Warren ground to a halt in front of Jason. "What the hell is going on!?"

"Chris is Pride!" Jason exclaimed.

Brett landed beside him and Robin spun -

"No!" Jason snapped, leaping in front of her. "Brett's okay! He's himself!"

"Little better, actually," Brett added with a faint snicker.

"This is going to need a lot of explaining," she answered, turning back to Chris who continued to terrorize the civilians. "What's the plan?"

Staring at Chris... Jason realised there was really only one plan of action...

Sorry dad... Your boyfriend just wasn't right for you...

He swung Genesis. "We kick ass!"

They charged, Jason transforming Genesis into its shuriken form and throwing it underhand at Chris. The Malefactor dodged the blade and snarled at them, transforming his golden briefcase, Frontier, into a massive shoulder-mounted RPG. A puff of smoke erupted from the cannon of the weapon.

BOOM!

Jason felt dust and gravel smack against his skin as he continued his charge.

Warren and Robin surged through the cloud of smoke.

BAM!

Chris scowled. "Your mortal weapons are useless against me!"

"Then you forgot something!" Brett shouted, swooping in behind the Malefactor. The shadowy Rottweiler spun around and delivered a bone-crushing kick that sent Chris crashing to the ground.

"Fool!" Chris's dark form melted into a single, black blob that rose into the air. "Let darkness consume you!"

Huge tendrils of darkness shot out from the orb, smashing into cars, buildings and the ground.

One tentacle hit the ground just in front of Jason and he quickly bolted up its length, feeling the sticky surface try to hold him down. Genesis came flying back towards him and he quickly caught it, transforming it into its twin blades form. He lunged at the orb...

Just in time to see the surface bubble and a tendril form...

He saw the future...

The tentacle would shoot out and spear him right through the chest... He'd spend what would seem like an eternity dying, impaled on that spike...

Thwack!

He was yanked to the side, wrapped firmly in Brett's arms as they flew into the air, dodging the tentacles as they lashed out around them.

"Thanks for the save..." he chuckled in relief.

"No problem," Brett replied with a grin. "I was thinking of 'Hellhound' as a superhero name. Whatcha think?"

BOOM!

A tentacle smashed into the building to their right, barely avoiding them.

"Can we talk about this after we defeat my dad's boyfriend?"

The orb of darkness suddenly melted away, revealing Chris Thornton once more without the taint of the Malefactor.

"Let the Light guide you!" Chris shouted, Frontier transforming in his hand into an enormous, golden blade about as long as a bus. The Blue Wolf spun and lashed out, slicing right through several buildings and scattering debris everywhere. Skyscrapers groaned in protest as their supports were suddenly weakened and they toppled.

Countless men and women were bolting away from the catastrophe but one particular group was about to get squashed by the crumbling Corona Hospital.

The civilians!

"Brett!"

Brett set him down. "I got it!"

Hellhound shot towards a group of fleeing group and ground to a halt right beneath the building. Shadowy energies bolted from his back and formed two, enormous, dark, gaseous hands that seized the hospital. The civilians stared for a moment before scrambling away to safety.

Chris suddenly appeared beside Brett.

No!

"Darkness must always give way to light."

BAM!

Chris staggered -

WHAM!

Just as Warren drove in and rammed Scythe into him, sending the Blue Wolf crashing several metres away. With a deep grunt, Brett spun and hurled the derelict Corona Hospital straight at Malefactor.

BOOOM!

Jason ran to his friends and mate, staring at the pile of rubble.

"No way it's over..." he began.

WHOOOSH!

Chris shot out of the debris, wings spread wide. "Enough of this!" the Blue Wolf roared. "Be consumed by the one true power in this world! While darkness rules all mortals hearts, it is this power that conquers all else! Bow to colour!"

Chris exploded in a burst of all consuming darkness, knocking Jason off his feet and slamming him hard against the ground. He felt a distinct wetness against the back of his head. Before the stars of his dizziness could clear, there was a flash of white...

... and nothingness...

****

"Jason!"

...

"Jason Wolfe!"

...

"Get up! You'll be late for school!"

Jason sat up, covered in cold sweat. He was panting heavily and his heart was pounding in his chest. All he could think about was Chris... the Malefactors... the world...

But...

Where...?

He was in his room... back at Dan's house.

But...

The door swung open and there, standing arrayed against the light of the morning was a beautiful, jet-black wolf with the left eye being a vivid, emerald green and the right a deep, sapphire-blue.

Serena Wolfe...

His mother.

"Mom...?"

"Don't you 'mom' me," she snapped, storming in and seizing his hand. She was a little smaller than him and much thinner but there was some sort of maternal strength in her that allowed her to yank his naked form off his bed. "Come on! You'll be late! And I don't want any excuses about lack of sleep! Your father and I heard everything you and your boyfriend were doing last night."

A blush touched his cheeks as she threw him a pair of underwear and hurried him down the stairs.

"Eat now before your food gets cold then take a shower and hurry up! You'll be late for the bus!"

"Can't I take the car...?" he asked numbly, stepping into the familiar kitchen.

"Your father as he the car, remember? And you're not old enough to drive! I'm not letting you to drive until you're old enough to graduate!"

"But -"

He froze.

Sitting at the kitchen counter, watching the television on the bench was someone he thought he'd never see again. A muscular, stunning tiger with soft, fluffy, orange, striper fur with soft, white fur on his belly and sparkling, emerald green eyes.

Connor Stark.

"Connor?"

His boyfriend looked up and grinned. Connor was wearing the football jersey of Newroads High School...

"Hey there, big wolf!" Connor replied, the nickname bringing back so many memories. "I see you're up!" Connor's eyes were directed at Jason's face.

Blushing, Jason quickly slipped on his boxers, bringing a whine from his boyfriend and a groan from his mother. "Um... Hi..."

"Hurry up you two!" Serena snapped, ushering him to a seat. "You can't go to school stinking of each other and sex! Eat up" - she pushed a healthy heaping of bacon and eggs towards them both - "and take a shower!"

"Why don't we shower together to save time?" Connor suggested.

"No!" Serena insisted. "I'm not falling for that again! Hurry!"

Jason... Jason didn't know what to think...

But... most of all, he knew none of this was real.

He slowly pushed the meal away from him, bringing surprise from both Connor and his mother.

"Something wrong, Jason?" Connor asked.

Nodding slowly, Jason said, "Yeah... This is all fake."

"Your mom's food isn't that bad."

"No," Jason replied, shaking his head. "I mean, all of this..." He waved his hand around him. "I'm not stupid enough to assume this is all real. I know, in my heart, that this isn't real." He looked directly at his mother. "You're dead. You died protecting me." Then he turned to look at Connor. "You did to... But you died to help save the world."

"What are you talking about, son?" Serena asked, worry and confusion in her voice.

Jason pushed off the kitchen counter and stood up. "We are all creatures of colour..." he said softly. "But what you don't get, Chris, is that colour is made up of light and darkness. You keep treating them as separate entities but really, when you have colour, it's just the one thing. Because in colour, there are different shades. There are dark greens, bright blues, almost white pinks and disgusting yellows.

"Your version of 'colour' is nothing more than just pure darkness again, trying to tempt me into living in a world that I know can never be true. I choose my own reality no matter what you say R3 dictates. And I choose to live in the colourful world that I love."

Connor's face suddenly turned to a scowl. "But isn't this world better?" he asked in Chris' voice. "Wouldn't you prefer it like this? To have Connor and your mother by your side?"

Again, Jason shook his head, smiling softly. "And that's another thing you missed. You're looking at the individual as an entire colour palette. But the truth is, we all make the world colourful. If everyone was just the same shade at the same time, it would be a dull world. But we are all different colours at different times. Because of that diversity, we make the world really special.

"Brett and I complement each other and that's what makes us perfect. We had to change our colours a little, add a bit of darkness and a bit of light to make sure we got that perfect balance but we got to it."

His smile grew as he stared out the window in the bright, sunny world. "And I think that's what R3 has been trying to tell us this entire time. We as mortals are all colourful. But a single dot of green, blue, yellow or red in the middle of a canvas doesn't make a painting. It's the fact that we all stand beside one another, that we balance and harmonise with each other that we create that fantastic reality that we call our home."

Me... Brett... Dan... Robin... and even Sam.

All of us make a beautiful painting... Something that's priceless...

"You are a fool."

Jason glanced back towards his mother and Connor and felt his heart suddenly become gripped in fear.

Both of them had transformed into dark, shadowy visages of their former selves.

"To trust a colourless freak like R3, you are truly a fool!" they said in unison. "I see there is no hope for you. Fine. Go the path of your father! Obey R3's will like a precious lapdog! But know that I will destroy you all and free existence from the No ones!"

Jason gasped as darkness consumed him...

But in the back of his mind... he knew he had won...

... and back to nothingness...

****

Groaning softly, Jason Wolfe opened his eyes... He found himself face flat on a psychedelic surface of twisting colours like he was suddenly in a plane made entirely of a kaleidoscope-like walls. Twisting colours mixed with dark tendrils and plastered against a canvas of white surrounded him.

"Behold a world of colour, light and darkness..."

Hovering a few metres from him was Pride. Only... a different version. A creature of mixed light, darkness and colour but still treating them as separate entities. The creature wore Chris' face but was draped in a cloak of shimmering colours that flipped constantly through the entire spectrum. On his back were eight pairs of wings, two a brilliant, glowing white and the remaining two an eerie, jet-black.

"This is the world I seek to create," Pride said, lifting his hands into the air. "A world free of the No Ones where everyone is a perfect balance of all three aspects of mortality. All will be truly free. Free to forge their own destinies. Free to mould the future as they see fit!"

"Yeah, but if everyone gets what they want..."

Jason froze at that voice.

R3 stepped up beside him, wielding two swords - a white and gold on in his right hand and a jet-black one with a water-like surface in his left.

"Then no one does," the No One finished.

Jason scrambled to his feet as Chris scoffed.

"Come to interfere again, R3?" Pride laughed. "Can this world truly not exist without your aid?"

"The purpose of the No Ones is to make sure realities exist. If I didn't interfere, then I'd make a poor No One."

Pride threw his head back and laughed. "Very well! I shall free Enria from the No Ones and kill the Writer of Reality!" He spread his arms and ten large crystals appeared around him. There were seven for each of the colours of the spectrum - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple and indigo -, two that were either jet-black or pure white and a perfectly clear crystal. "You will both perish against the might of colour!"

R3 spun his swords - Zenith and Nadir - in his hands expertly, the two blades clashing in midair and sending sparks out from the contact. "Colour is useless when you're colour-blind."

Jason grinned and turned to Pride as the Malefactor charged at them. Each of the crystals shot towards them, transforming into a variety of weapons from a mace, a sword, a spear and even a shuriken. Jason dodged and spun through the maelstrom of colour, blocking and slashing at the crystals as he made his way towards Chris.

He lunged at Chris as the Malefactor leapt back -

Right towards R3.

The No One spun in full circle, delivering a devastating spinning slash with both his swords and hurling Chris back forwards. Jason pounced on the opportunity, delivering a powerful upwards slash that sent the Malefactor soaring into the air.

Chris stopped in midair. "Behold the Light!"

All ten crystals swooped in above him, encircling him while giving off a dazzling light.

Crap!

Jason bolted away. Beams of searing light shot from each crystal and danced across the multi-coloured plane, chasing him and R3.

"Hey Jason!"

"What!?" Jason snapped.

"Light is the presence of all what?"

...

He grinned and bolted straight towards R3 as the No One shot towards him, the ten beams all converging towards them. They were four seconds from each other.

Three...

Two...

One...

At the last possible second, they dove in opposite directions and all the beams collided into one.

BOOOM!

Jason rolled on the ground and switched Genesis back to its shuriken form and threw it straight at Chris who was hovering in the air, completely dazed.

SWISH!

Chris roared as Genesis bit into his shoulder, an array of blue-white feathers spraying from impact. The Malefactor shook his head and snarled. Darkness seeped out of him and each of the crystals -

THWACK! CRRRACK!

Ten, small, white blades suddenly embedded themselves in each of the crystals.

"And darkness is the absence of all colour," R3 said with a grin, the last shard of Zenith in his hand. Nadir morphed and twisted into a massive, black whip that he swung and struck Chris across the chest. The instant that whip cracked over the Malefactor, each of the crystals shattered and Zenith's shards flew back towards R3, reassembling to make the gold and white blade.

"I will not be defeated!" Chris roared, leaping back into the air. The colours of their environment suddenly began spinning wildly. "Behold true colour!"

Jason locked gazes with R3 as he caught Genesis.

The No One grinned at him.

He grinned back.

At the same moment, they bolted towards Chris from opposite ends.

Ten seconds from Chris.

Huge spikes of colourful energies erupted from the ground, trying to spear them both.

Nine seconds... Eight...

Bolts of dazzling lightning arced from the field, slapping at their feet.

Seven...

Multicoloured arrows descended from the skies in a deadly storm.

Six...

All of them Jason dodged.

Five... Four...

You want colour, Chris?

... three... two...

You want to be free?

... one...

"Paint on your own canvas!" Jason shouted, sliding beneath Chris. At the same moment, R3 leapt over Chris and slashed downwards, sending the Malefactor towards Jason. A second later, Jason unleashed a mighty uppercut with his blade, sending Chris zooming past R3 high into the air.

Jason spun just as R3 crossed his blades in front of him, forming a short platform. He leapt on the blades and R3 hurled him high into the air. Chris reached the zenith of his flight just as Jason zoomed past him.

They locked gazes... Chris' eyes were wide in horror...

Jason held Genesis over his head for the final blow. At that moment, white shards and liquid, black metal slipped past Chris, Zenith and Nadir combining with Genesis to form a titanic, six-foot blade of gold, black, white and silver. Dazzling colours sprayed out of the blade just as two, enormous canine spirits erupted from the weapon. One was pure white with bright, blue eyes and the other was an eerie black with searing red eyes.

"Jason..." Chris gasped.

Jason brought down his blade.

BOOOM!

****

Beep...

Beep...

Beep...

Beep...

Jason grumbled and murmured something about stupid alarm clocks. He rolled over to his side and slapped at his clock... Only to have his wrist bounce painfully against something hard and metallic.

He was suddenly wide awake and he sat up, grasping his wrist.

Light coming from the morning sun caused him to wince and it didn't help that he was in an all-white room, dressed in medical clothing and resting in what had to be a hospital bed. There was a heart monitor attached to his wrist and an oxygen line.

What the...?

Oh no... Not another illusion...

"No illusion."

He looked up.

Sitting at the foot of his bed on a rather large, brown, leather couch was R3 in his full armoured form. In his hand was a familiar jet-black, unmarked book.

"What's going on...?"

"You're in the Newroads Hospital," R3 said, turning a page in the book. "According to official records, there was a flash of light and darkness and then you were seen standing over the body of Chris Thornton, the Blue Wolf, heavily injured and bleeding. He fell unconscious a second later and you were rushed to this hospital where you've lain in a coma for two weeks."

"Two weeks!?" Jason exclaimed.

"You took a rather nasty blow to your head."

Jason remembered that wetness he felt when his head hit the ground... and reached back to the back of his head... There was nothing these...

"Your father works miracles."

My dad!

"Is he?"

"Funny thing about a guy that can alter the physical qualities of all matter," R3 said dismissively. "He can do it himself. And it takes approximately sixty seconds before you lose consciousness after your heart has been severely damaged. Sixty seconds is a lot of time to repair damage to such a vital organ."

Jason's heart leapt to his throat and came out in a rush of words. "Dad's alive!?"

"Definitely," R3 answered with a nod. "Though he didn't like it much that your mate threw him at Chris."

... and Jason remembered Brett throwing Corona Hospital at Chris...

He winced.

"Wait... What happened to Chris? To everyone?"

"A lot, actually." R3 stood up and walked over to the window, gazing out into the sunny expanse. "In the wake of this disaster, you, Brett, Robin and Warren have become hailed as true heroes. The thing is, while the Malefactors corrupted everyone in the world, they were all aware of it. They knew what they were doing. So, when they were saved, they realised what had happened and turned to each other for comfort.

"Those religions that have been on your back for being gay have suddenly turned a new cheek and are hailing you as saviours of the world. Having foes that embody the Seven Deadly Sins and being saved from said foes tends to put a new perspective in people's lives. Police had totally dropped the charges against you and you have about a hundred offers from publishers to have someone write your biography. Brett, Robin, Warren and Dan too but you're getting the most.

"Warren has become a government whistle-blower. He's exposed the government for what it's done to him and the military. The entire world has entered a stage of reformation. While all traces of Descent-Tech mysteriously vanished" - R3 coughed suddenly - "there were enough witnesses and victims to oust the governing bodies of many countries involved in the scheme.

"The world is still repairing itself but it will be fine... for now."

Jason slipped off the bed. "For now..." he asked although he already knew the answer.

"The nature of all mortals is that they are colourful. Sometimes, colours clash and sometimes mortals slip into the darker shakes, perhaps even total darkness. Other times, it is the opposite. However, true transcendence is achieved not by finding a balance between light, darkness and colour. True transcendence is merely the acknowledgement that as a mortal, you are entitled to paint your own canvas, to write your own story but knowing that while you exist in your given reality, it is a shared canvas, a shared tale."

Jason felt a smile tugging as his lips. "That was your plan all along, wasn't it? To teach everyone that..."

R3 nodded. "When you were born and D8 unleashed the Malefactors, the world became skewed towards the darkness. I created the superheroes to balance it out to bring the light and ensure the world survived until such a time when it was time to reintroduce that concept. This entire ordeal was never about your child, disproving D8 or destroying the Malefactors. It was about telling people that they have to always consider others when they are writing their tales.

"The Malefactors were selfish by nature and sought only to write their own tales. All mortals were basking in the light. By letting the Malefactors infect everyone, mortals knew what this was like. By saving them not through light but through someone who is already existing in the colour - you - , they learned that all existence cannot be about just selfishness although it is unavoidable and even encouraged at times."

Again... Jason felt used... but at the same time... grateful.

"I suppose just telling us wouldn't have cut it, huh?"

"Nope." R3 turned to him. "And if it's any consolation, I am sorry. I even prepared a little consolation package for you."

Oh this should be good...

"A gift from a No One?" Jason asked, folding his arms. "What is it? My own reality? I'll pass on that for now, thanks. I still want to spend my life with my family."

He somehow knew R3 was grinning. "And that is what I made this package for." The No One reached into his starry-cloak and handed Jason a bundle of papers.

The words, 'Adoption Form' were printed on the top.

"I took the liberty of ensuring that Sam is now 'Sam Wolfe'."

Jason felt his heart leap for joy again.

"Wh - Whoa... Um... I don't... I'm a little young... don't you think?"

"Well, Sam is no ordinary kid. He's been through a lot. Doesn't help when he's born in true colour."

"Yeah but -"

Jason froze.

...

The cogs began ticking away in his head.

"Wh - What did you say?"

R3 was probably beaming now. "Jason, every child deserves to spend time with the true parents, don't you think?"

No... It can't be...

"Um... yeah...?"

"And don't you remember that Sam said he was 'part-wolf' and 'part-Rottweiler'?"

He didn't...

"Um... Yeah..."

R3 clapped his shoulder. "Do I need to spell it out for you?"

"Yes please. My brain just got fried."

The No One laughed. "Sam is your kid, Jason! Sure, he spent the last sixteen years under foster care and with other parents but, biologically, he is your child. I orchestrated all these events to make sure that, at one point or another, you, Brett and Sam would be together again! I even made sure he had two gay dads at one point to tide over the fact that having another two gay dads wouldn't be too bad! He's a very open-minded kid."

Jason's brain was barely managing to work properly.

"But... EX...?"

"EX?" R3 replied with mock shock in his voice. "Who said anything about EX? Assumptions are dangerous things, Jason."

"But didn't you say that my kid would save all existence?"

"Didn't he?"

Jason thought about it...

... If Sam hadn't existed... if Envy had taken him to be corrupted, it wouldn't just be that there'd be an evil destroyer out there... Jason would never have reconciled with Brett, Brett would have committed suicide and in the battle against Chris - who would destroy the No Ones including EX - he'd never have found the strength to fight...

... and the No Ones would be destroyed...

... all existence would be that twisted world that Chris had created...

It was R3's twisted method of ensuring that the present affected the past and thus forged the future...

"You're kidding me!" he exclaimed. "Sam saved the world because he gave me advice!?"

"Is that so hard to believe?" R3 asked, turning away and heading for the door. "I give you advice all the time and you do things to save the world."

Jason slumped back on the bed. "I need to sit down..."

"Don't take too long. You'll miss your wedding."

What!?

Jason looked up as R3 swung open the door.

His jaw dropped.

"But I'm not dressed!"

"Aren't you grateful you have the Writer of Reality here?"

Jason glanced down. A comfortable, sapphire-blue tuxedo wrapped around him.

He looked back up at R3... and then the door...

A grin split across his face...

"Thanks, R3."

"Anytime."

Epilogue: Colours

Newroads Mountains, Wolfe Bluff

It was the perfect wedding... The perfect celebrity wedding, in fact.

There were cameras everywhere and other supers in the pews as the people of Newroads proudly celebrated the wedding of Jason Wolfe and Brett Sykes. It was nothing like Jason's nightmare. Everyone was cheering them on. Hell, there was even a priest. After everything that happened, every religion was seriously considering their practices when a gay superhero saved them all from total darkness and destruction.

The cathedral had been packed and everyone cheered when the two finally kissed.

Of course, that was all for the public.

The real wedding occurred on the small bluff overlooking Newroads where it all began. Just friends and family.

Warren and Robin sat together a little awkwardly but it was obvious that there was a connection there. Sam and Dan were the best men, Sam for Brett and Dan for Jason. Both were beaming so proudly that it must've hurt to keep those smiles. Jen was the ring-bearer and she was bawling, telling herself she wasn't going to cry over and over again.

A11 the Ascended and No One of the Heart presided over the ceremony. The other No Ones were there as well.

"Jason..." Brett began softly, staring directly into Jason's eyes. "You are my light. You brought colour back into my life when I thought it was lost. I fell in love with you the moment I saw you. I vow to forever be by your side, to always hold your hand with you need it most and to lift you up when you need it. You hold the key to my heart and I willingly open my door to you. I love you, Jason."

Jason balked for a moment.

Everyone froze.

Sam and Dan's grins faded.

"Brett..." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Brett... You are my soulmate. You complete me more than anyone else ever could. We've been through so much together and you have always been there to help me through it. I want to be there by your side to return the favour and more. I would sacrifice the world a million times over just to be with you."

"Please don't," A11 muttered.

Jason snickered. "I love you Brett. I would do anything for you. And when all is said and done, I would willingly offer you the book to my reality."

"And then I'd bind it together with mine," Brett replied, leaning forward and pressing their noses together. "So we can write our stories together."

The two closed their eyes, lost in the moment and smiling at the pure contact between them.

"Ahem."

The two grooms pulled away from a second and regarded A11.

"Do you, Brett Sykes, take Jason Wolfe as your lawfully wedded husband? To love and to hold from now until eternity, to the end of this life, into the next and the infinitely chapters to come? To cherish with all your existence, you become one with this man in the eyes of all existence? To form a bond that not even death can part?"

Brett beamed. "I do."

"And do you, Jason Wolfe, take Brett Sykes as your lawfully wedded husband? To love and to hold from now until eternity, to the end of this life, into the next and the infinitely chapters to come? To cherish with all your existence, you become one with this man in the eyes of all existence? To form a bond that not even death can part?"

Jason didn't hesitate. "I do."

"Does anyone object to this union? Let them speak now or let their words be locked forever in the confines of eternity."

...

"Aren't you going to say anything?" R3 asked from where he stood behind a tree.

"No... I don't think I need to."

"You don't think Jason needs more drama in his life? I mean, after all he's been through, you'd think it'd be fitting that you charge down that isle shouting, 'I object.'"

"Yeah... I would be... But I love him too much to be that selfish. He's moved on. I can see that."

"Kinda makes me wish I had pulled you back sooner."

Connor Stark chuckled mildly as A11 announced Jason and Brett to be one and allowed them to kiss one another. There was a tremendous cheer. Beautiful birds erupted from L4's hands, dropping glowing feathers everywhere. V10 shot fireworks into the sky while I5 sprinkled everything and everyone with crystal petals.

"Thanks for trying... But you're mortal too, right?"

"Yep," R3 responded, looking on at the ceremony. "They seem very happy. They even have a son now."

Connor was tearing up and he turned away for a second, rubbing away the moisture in his eyes. "Yeah... I'm so proud of him... He saved the world... again. God... I wish I could've been there with him."

"You still can, you know. Maybe not as a lover or a husband but a good friend."

The tiger shook his head sadly. "Nah... My story here has ended... Jason's is just starting a new chapter. I best get going."

"What will you do?"

"Dunno... Still got superpowers, I guess... Conquered death so that's something... Might go off to some country and help people there."

"Well... If you're not busy, I've got an opening."

Connor laughed faintly. "What? As your Advocate?"

"Actually..."

R3 pulled out a large, black, metal, feline mask from beneath his cloak.

"How about as N9 the Neutral?"

THE END