Fan Fiction ❯ Alpha Zone Book One: The Legend of the Burnng Tiger. ❯ Legend of the Burning Tiger ( One-Shot )

Alpha Zone: "The legend of the Burning Tiger"

By Sir Aaron Rowell

It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon out in the ocean coast of the pacific region, and the skies were at their brightest of baby blue, as the two suns baked the region with its warm, 82 degree weather. Swimming through the sky's endless blue was a transport jet. It was designed with red and black stripes painted on each of its wings and its long body. Inside this giant metallic bird, many people sat and waited through the lengthy trip to their destination. Within the plane, a family sat in their seats. A little boy, obviously the youngest of the family, looked out the window to watch the sea of white clouds. He had dark Carmel brown skin, short, straight-cut bowl-cut black hair with auburn roots that barely covers his eyes and bright orange eyes; naturally he had his mother's features framed in on that cute head of his. The child was fascinated at how the gassy matter floating outside could change into so many things when you could use your imagination. Next to the boy, a little girl in her pre-teens sat next to him. She had bronzed skin and long flowing, curly strawberry blond hair and golden eyes. She was a little annoyed at her little brother's innocent antics.

The said girl then snapped at the boy, "Darren, will you please sit down! You look like a dork staring into space like that!" The boy then turned around to meet his sister's face and stuck out his tongue and grinned, "But I like doing this, Foxy! I could see lots of cool stuff floating in the sky!"

"Stupid, they're just some stupid clouds! What's so dang special about them?" Foxy replied, as she glared at her hyperactive brother.

"But I like using my imagination, Sis! I know that it's twelve thousand times better then the junk you watch on television", snapped the little dark haired boy.

Foxy retorted, "Hey! Super Sonic Jam is very educational"

"Sure it is, carrot-top…. Watching sissy looking dudes singing about how some dumb girl broke their "iddy-biddy" heart would actually help your grades? Please", replied Foxy little brother.

Foxy grumbled in response to her little brat of a brother's blunt opinion of her favorite television show and his insult to injury. Oh how she hated being called that. It wasn't her fault that she was born with blonde, almost reddish-orange hair. All jokes aside, she really didn't have a grumpy personality like what she was displaying. In reality, the blond girl was just as excited during this trip as her brother. She just wanted to act just as cool as the other kids, because…well…. She was a big kid now and she should always do cool things. Not stare out in the window, shaping clouds into anything you desire with your imagination. That was for kids! Babies, I might add! And her little brother was just some clueless little runt that doesn't know any better! But deep inside that so-called cool, stubborn little girl, she wanted to let loose and act like the real Foxy. A girl who wondered what it would be like if she had her own abilities to fly. It was one of the blonde girl's secret desires. Since she started middle school, her dreams and other secrets were put on hold thanks to her "Trendy" friends. They were not really friends at all; just a bunch of spoiled little girls who thought that getting the latest and greatest thing was their only priority. Of course, Foxy wanted to fit in so bad, that she did whatever it took to be part of the "in" crowd. Ah yes, peer pressure's a bitch.

"Why do you always call me "Carrot-top", you little fart", cried the blonde.

Before Foxy could come up with another discouraging comment about her little Brother's enthusiasm, but a woman in her late twenties with bright auburn hair showed up to scold her quarrelling children, "Ease off, you two. We'll be landing in Hyper City pretty soon."

The little boy's eyes lit up, "Yeah! I can't wait to see those cool race cars, Momma!"

"You're going to have to, Dee-Dee. We have awhile `til we get there", Said a man in his late twenties with Black hair and brown eyes; obviously it was his father.

The anxious boy replied, "Awwww…okay, Poppa. But it's hard to just wait." Giving his father a cute "puppy dog look", the Older Man chuckled to himself. The man always fell for his youngest child's little routine. With each passing moment, Darren could not wait to reach the town. Ever since the boy had been a baby, he had always wanted to ride in one of those finely tuned sports cars that flew around the hot assaults of the said town. He was now finally getting his chance, as his parents finally decided to take their vacation towards the Motor Capital of the world. He could hardly contain himself. Suddenly, the plane started to shudder as if hard winds started pushing against the oversized metal bird.

"Ladies, and gentlemen, we are experiencing some minor turbulence. Please stay in your seats", said one of the pilot's voices through speakers.

Darren looked up at his mother, "What's wrong, Momma?"

"Nothing, Dear. It's just the plane going through some tough winds. It'll stop pretty soon", the auburn haired woman replied. But that did not ease the boy's fears as the plane then rumbled even more violently. Darren then cried to his mother's chest, scared to death of his now, frightening plane ride. It soon gets worse as the plane spun out of control. It seemed like it would take forever as the plane spin in so many different patterns. Everything happened in a flash as the plane eventually plummeted into the salty depths of the Ocean.

Hours later, the young boy woke up from his uncomfortable lack of consciousness. Darren soon realized that he was in some hospital bed. He whimpers after feeling a sharp pain to his left side, the area where his left ribs and chest are located was covered with bandages. The little dark haired boy also noticed his ankle was also wrapped in bandages. Darren shed a tear as a thought strikes his mind, his mother, father and big sister could be dead as the result of that plane crash. "No! It can't be! It just can't!" thought the little boy as his thoughts of being all alone scared him to no end. Darren burst into tears and sobs, assumed that he may never see his family again. Just then, a man, who is no taller than seven feet tall, entered his room. He looked like he would compete for a wrestling match. The muscular looking man looked about at least twenty-nine to thirty-one years old with thick, long crimson red hair and forest green eyes. He walks up to the boy with a look of pity in his eyes.

"Is something the matter, little one?" the man asked with his deep, macho voice.

Darren looked at the man and was surprised at how big he was. He soon thought of the man as some giant ready to eat him. So he said in his uneasy little voice, "Who are you?"

"Relax, child. I don't want to hurt you." The man asked the frightened child.

Darren soon asks with much angst, "Where's my Poppa and Momma? Are they okay?"

"I'm Sorry, Kid…. When I found you; I could not find your parents. Police conformed that you were an orphan."

Darren's eyes filled with tears, sobbed at the man's question. He hated the fact that his parents are now gone and he can never see them again.

"I'm sorry about your folks," The man the man, said with regret.

"My family's…*sobbed*…dead! We were on a vacation, and went on a plane trip earlier. The plane crashed and I ended up here. My momma…poppa…and my big sister's gone and I'll never see `em again!" Sobbed the little boy. The next thing he knew, he was in the arms of the man as he was being hugged. The big man couldn't help but feel sorry for Darren. He then let go of the boy and wiped his tears with a napkin.

The burly man then asked, "What's your name, Kid? I'm Bruce."

"I'm…Darren...please to meet you, Sir" he bowed at the man with respect.

Bruce then went through a major brainstorm, since Darren had no other living relatives to his knowledge, he could raise the boy himself until he was old enough to take care of himself. Plus he would love it, if his daughter had a playmate. The big man asked, "How about you live with me for awhile? Incase you didn't have any relatives I had arranged to adopt you. I have a daughter almost your age, she'd be happy to have a playmate."

"Thank you, Mr. Bruce!" The teary-eyed boy hugged the larger man around his neck, still pretty depressed over his lost.

"Please. Call me Uncle. Being called Mister makes me sound like a school teacher." Bruce answered.

"Yes, Sir." Said the Boy as they continue with their conversation, Darren as he asked the big man about his daughter, and where he was. The little boy soon hoped, that his life would change for the better as he hoped that one day, he might find his parents alive.

It has been about a week since Darren been in the hospital, recovering from his various injuries from the plane clash. He was now fully healed and was ready to leave. His new guardian, Bruce came into his room and gave him some clothing, much to the dark haired boy's delight. Admittedly, Darren hated wearing those embarrassing hospital gowns that did not cover his rear. He looked at his newly acquired clothing and smiled; it was a pair of baggy carpenter-style overall pants, torn t-shirt, socks, underwear, a pair of canvas sneakers, and bandanna. The t-shirt had a picture of a popular alternative rock band named "Curry Spice". Darren wondered where did all those cool looking robots on his shirt is from. The Bandanna however had two "Jolly Rogers" crossbones skull design on two of the corners of the fabric, in case someone decided to wear it on their heads. I wonder why did he bring me a hanky, mused the little boy as he takes his gown off to put on the clothing. As he finished putting on his underwear and socks along with his overalls and torn-sleeve t-shirt. Before he puts on his shoes however, he then yells out, "Uncle BRUUUUUCE!!! CAN YOU COME 'ERE QUICK?!" much to the nearby patients' chagrin.

The burly man barged into the room, fearing that something might've happened to his new charge, only to see him almost perfectly fine, wearing the clothing he had brought him. "What's wrong? Are you okay?" asked Bruce as he looks to see if there had been an accident.

"No, Sir. "I was just wondering what I should do with this hanky", Darren replied holding the "Jolly Rogers" bandanna.

With a grin, the brutish man then said, "Oh that…. That's a Bandanna. Some people wear it on there heads because they think it's cool"

"Really? How do you put it on?" questioned the young dark haired boy.

Bruce then replied, "Here, let me do show you."

Then man folds the cloth in half by touching each corners of the fabric's corners, then he wraps it around Darren's hair to tie the knot. Finally, he stuffs the top corner of the cloth under the tied corners, to complete the method. A few of the boy's thick bangs poke out of the bandanna defiantly.

"There…. Now you look like a real bad boy", smirked Bruce as he looks at Darren's new attire.

"But won't I get a spanking for being bad, Uncle?" The boy replied innocently.

The big guy then laughed out, "It's cool, little dude. I was just saying that because now you look cool. I'm sure many of the little girl's mothers out there will have a fit when they see you."

"Cool! I can't wait to come home with you! Will there any kids there besides your daughter and son, Sir?" The young boy asked.

Bruce then smirked, "More than I'd like, Kid. Come on. Let's get out of here so you could see your new home."

All Darren could say was, "YEEEAAAAAAAAAAA!!"

When they arrived towards the hospital's parking lot, Darren was amazed at all the impressive cars and trucks. One in particular is Bruce's own Sport Utility Vehicle.

"Wow! A "Griffin Blockade Buster Turbo"! One of the fastest, coolest SUV in the Market! OOOH! It even has a Turbocharged V6 engine with all-wheel-drive," screamed the enthusiastic little boy as he viewed the sporty-looking vehicle. It was painted in navy blue, with corn yellow racing stripes pained on the side. Bruce was shocked at the knowledge this kid had with cars. The big man then replied, "I like to drive it. I hope It'll pretty fun ride for you, kiddo, because I live quite far from the hospital."

"Okay, Uncle Bruce." Nodded Darren as he hops into the passenger seat of the brutish but sporty SUV. After a few adjustments, Bruce also hops in as he gets behind the wheel. Pretty soon the bulky yet quick SUV rode down the streets away from the hospital. While riding in the car, Darren soon heard some peculiar rhythm of bass guitars and drums from the car's well-sized speakers, soon the spicy riffs of guitar playing followed. The dark-haired boy soon finds himself bobbing himself up and down like a little metal-head, following the music. Finally, after the bass/drums/guitars were in full harmony, the lead singer of the unknown band started singing as if it were poetry as he links his lyrics creatively. It wasn't exactly how a rapper would perform, far from it. It was as if he was telling a story in a high-speed haiku. Either way, Darren instantly loved it.

Bruce smiled and said, "Heheh… I see that you like the music I just played."

"MmmmmHmmm…" was all the boy could say as he listens to the song.

"Well the kids who are on the radio are a personal favorite of mine. In fact, these guys are a local legend and they have yet to make it to the big time", explained the burly man. Little did Darren know, that from this point on, "Curry Spice" had became his all-time favorite Alternative band. The trip towards Targa, the city where Bruce and his daughter live took a good hour and a half. Halfway through the ride, Darren fell asleep. The dark-haired boy slumbers as his new Guardian reaches the city of Targa.

The tropical weather around the city had an average temperatures ranging at of 80 degrees Fahrenheit to 90 degrees Fahrenheit. The buildings were not all tall, much like Darren's hometown of Aurora, but it did have buildings that had super strong bamboo poles that helped structured the girders. It did not take Bruce long to arrive towards his neighborhood. The house itself was full-sized, about two stories high, and it had a garage.

Bruce carried the sleeping dark-haired boy into the household. About an hour later, Darren finally wakes up in a nice, soft bed. As the boy opened his eyes, he sees a pair of bright green eyes staring back at him. He yelped in surprise as he jumped out of the bed, and hit the floor. As he tried to get back up, he saw a little girl, giggling at him. She had bright, ruby quartz red hair tied into two lush ponytails, a bronze tan complexion, and bright emerald green eyes. She was wearing a pair of torn jean shorts, a torn white t-shirt with a cute red heart.

What struck the little boy odd was that she had a "feral" quality to her cute features. She had pointed catlike ears; the pupils in her eyes had some sort of catlike slits, cute reddish brown freckles and a well-defined set of canines that resembled fangs. The red-haired girl just sat on her knees innocently as she looks at the stupefied boy. The only phrase Darren could spit out was, "Wow…. Pretty." The girl then blushed a deep crimson and then answered back,

"Hi! I'm Tamiya! But everyone calls me Mimi. What's your name?"

"Umm…err…I'm…D...Dar…Darren" answered the boy shyly as he was now on his feet. The two kids stared at each other for a short while before Mimi pushed him on the floor and screamed, "Tag! You're it!" The little redhead then ran out of the room as Darren just stood there for a few minutes before yelling out, "Hey! Wait for me!" As the two children run around the house like a pair of loose animals. As they play their innocent game of "tag", Bruce was at his den watching a soccer tournament. He could sense that his only child had met his new charge and were getting along well. Maybe some day, he hoped, that those two might get even closer and eventually get married. Just then, the red-haired girl and her new friend bolted through the door, jumping onto the couch. Darren then "accidentally" stepped into his new guardian's crotch area, causing immense pain towards the big man.

"Mimi! Darren!" Cried Bruce in a high-pitched voice, "You two get over here now!"

The two playmates stopped what they were doing and walked back towards the big man. He wasn't all that upset, except for a few noticeable "painful" expressions.

"I am happy that you two are getting along, but could you keep it down? I'm watching the big game", scolded Bruce.

"Sorry, Uncle Bruce", apologized Darren.

"Yeah… We're sorry, Poppa." , added Mimi.

Just then, the program on the TV then gives out a shout of, "GOOOOOOOOAAAAL!!!" All the big man could do now was to give off a heavy sigh. It turns out that it is going to be an interesting time raising these two little monsters.

For the next few weeks, the two kids grew closer as a certain bond formed between them. While Bruce was away at work, Mimi and Darren played games and watched TV while the babysitter watched over them. Both Tamiya and her father became the family that the dark-haired boy lost just recently. But everything was not fun and games. There was this one night, a week after he had settled down at the Lionheart's homestead, Darren often had nightmares of that fateful night where he lost his beloved family in a plane crash. One dream in particular was very frightening for the little dark-haired boy.

The dream started off innocent, as Darren was alone in an empty passenger plane. It was pitch black in darkness except for what appears to be the cockpit of the plane. The dark-haired boy slowly walked through the hallway as his curious mind wonders what was behind the door leading to the only glint of light in the room. Each step, Darren's confidence dwindled as his fear starts to increase. As he gets closer to the light, he hears three eerily chants of moaning coming from behind him.

"Daaaaaarrreeennnn…Darrrrreeeeen……….Daa aaaaaarrrrrrreeeeeeeeeennnn…" moaned the unidentified people chanting the Dark-haired boy's name.

Darren answered back as his fear rise, "W-w-w-ho…who's there?"

"Don't you remember us, Daaaaaarrrrren?" questioned one of the voices as she/he continues, "Turn around and seeee…"

When the curious, yet frightened boy turned around to see where those voices came from, he stared in utter horror at what was in front of him. What appeared to be slimy, mummified bodies of what his Mom, dad, and older sister used to be. As Darren backs up from his zombified family, each walking corpse walks towards him saying, "Coooome with ussss, Daaaaarrrren."

"No…. no…. NO! You're not my family! Mommy! Daddy! Foxy! I need you! HELP ME!!

The dark haired boy's plea fell on deaf ears as they continued stalking their prey, "Come, Darren! Join us in death!" One of the walking corpse' faces melted off, showing a clammy skull in it's place. The overall effect set Darren off as he screams, "NOOOO!!!"

Suddenly he wakes up in a well-sized bed in his new room. His new friend and somewhat new sister Mimi clutched onto him from his left side frightened. The dark-haired boy realized that he had once again woken up from his reoccurring nightmare. He snapped back into reality as he came to realize that his family was long gone. He then starts shedding tears as his sorrow for his lost comes back to haunt him. To never again see the face of his mother, father, or even his annoying big sister again was both scary and painful.

It had been weeks since he had been torn from his family, and all the feelings of what had happened that day were slowly coming out. More so that very night as he starts sobbing onto Mimi's shoulder for comfort. His red-haired friend could understand the boy, as she too had lost a very close loved one recently. A year ago, her mother died in a fatal car crash weeks before her birthday. For Mimi, things had never been the same since…

The Redhead felt that she needed to comfort him. and with everything in her power to help him move on. As this was going on, Bruce rushed into their room with panic in his eyes. He saw that his new charge was sobbing in his daughter's arms. His heart went out for the dark-haired boy. It will be hard for the Darren as he gets older, but Bruce vowed that he and Mimi would always be there for him till their dying breath. And that's a promise! He then hugged the two children lovingly as each of them cry themselves to sleep. The big man then tucks them in covers, mainly because the air conditioning's a little bit on the frigid side and he didn't want any of his "kids" to catch a cold.

Later that week, during a sunny afternoon at the Targa City Park, both Mimi and Darren were playing an innocent game of catch. It was , of sorts, the two kid's daily routine; each time they arrive at the park, the red-haired girl takes out a football and shows her new friend how far she could throw it. Darren of course, was impressed by Mimi's abnormal strength. For a 7 year-old girl, she was pretty strong, Strong enough to take down a grown man if she wanted. As they were about to play their game, they were rudely interrupted by a group of older kids. It was a group of 4 boys, their age ranges from age 8 to 10. Each kid was at least twice the size of Darren, who is just a small, frail-looking boy at the tender age of 7. One of the boys, their leader from the way he carries himself in front of his crew comes up to Mia and snatches away her ball.

"Hey! You can't do that", cried Mimi was annoyed at the fact that some jerk came out of nowhere and snatched her ball. HER BALL!!

The Leader of the "Older Kid Gang" looked back at the fuming Redhead with a shit-eating grin, "I'm afraid I can, Apple-Head, because this park is our territory and I could do what ever I want to. So tough Cookies!"

"Apple-Head? Apple-Head!!?? How dare you call me that you big butt head", screamed the redhead as she was now totally peeved.

"Oh-hoooo! Good comeback, Red. Did your mommy teach you that?" laughed the Boy as he and his crew were giggling their Asses off. Both Darren and Mimi were pissed. The redhead then snapped back with a cold tone, "What did you say, butt-wipe?"

"You heard me, Red! Did your Mommy teach you…OOOOF" The boy was interrupted after Mimi strikes the bully straight into the gut, leaving the boy doubling over in pain.

Mimi brushed of her hands as if they were dirty and tells the rest of the so-called "Gang" what was on her mind, "No one…I mean no one ever talks about my Momma. Got that?"

"Why that dirty little….", before he could finish his sentence, Mimi gave the poor fool a roundhouse kick to jaw; sending him flying towards the sand box. Afterwards, she picks her ball up from the ground and asks with a cold smirk, "Any of you twerps want to take this from me?"

The rest of the kids got the idea and left crying home for their mothers. Darren was both shocked and amazed at how strong his red-haired friend was. The black-haired boy did recall watching her train during the mornings with Bruce. He did not expect her to be so good, especially for her age. When Mimi gets older, Darren thought, she'd be as good as Master Rei. Reimi Firestorm, master of the art of the sacred Unified dragon school of martial arts, is one of the few people the young boy idolized during his youth. The man in question was rumored to have lived for over 3 thousand years and have been considered the most well skilled battle mage in the galaxy. Darren had been aspiring to take up martial arts as a way of self-improvement. He knew that his mom and dad were also great fighters as well. Maybe, he thought, maybe Uncle Bruce will teach me how to fight. That way I could be strong just like Mimi-chan.

Mimi turns to look at her friend, who seemed to have a huge grin in his face, "You okay, Dee? What's with the grin?"

"Oh! I was just thinking…. yeah…that's it! Thinking", Darren said with a nervous grin. Mia just stood there, thinking if maybe her dark-haired friend accidentally hit his head on something. , "Okay…. So…what say we finish our game, yes?" Darren then snapped out of his gaze, "Uh…Yeah!" The two kids spent the rest of the day playing ball as scheduled as the little red-haired girl throws a long bomb down the field while Darren tries hard at catching up to it to no avail.

A few days later, Both Darren and Mia went back to the playground for another daily ritual of "catch". But before they begin playing catch, Mimi left to go get some juice for both her and her friend, leaving the dark-haired boy alone a he held the turbo football.

I hope she hurries up soon; I hate being alone, thought Darren as he just stood there as he fiddled with his friend's football. Out of nowhere, four shadows eclipsed the dark-haired boy as he soon realize they were the same bullies from the other day. Again, the leader of the group snatched the ball from Darren as they grabbed his arms. "Hey! What's the big deal?! I've done nothing to you! Leave me alone", cried the dark-haired boy as he saw the other bullies laughed at the boy's misfortune. The leader of the group than smirked, "Heh…Well, little guy, it's time we pay that little red jackass back from what she did to me the other day. And will start by beating you up. Since you don't look like you could fight back. We'll just use you as our personal punching back. Yo, Ricky, will you do the honors," offered the leader, as he stepped aside to let in a much bigger bully, the 9 year old Ricky come up in front of the hapless boy.

Ricky then said to Darren, as he sized him up, "Don't take this butt-kicking seriously, Bud, I'm just going to have some fun for awhile."

The older kid then proceeded to punch Darren in the gut, causing a painful cough from the smaller boy. As this was happening, Mia had just got back from her trip to the store; She was carrying two bottles of fruit juices, one cranberry-apple, and the other pineapple. The redhead cursed her luck due to the fact that she took a little too long trying to search for the right juice. Mimi then stopped in her place and she watched in horror, as the same bullies from the other day were beating her good friend down. That set the girl off as she initiate a hot red battle aura that matched her vibrant hair color. She was beyond mad at this point. She then drops the two juice bottles and ran up to the playground at top speed!

As she arrived, the four boys were just finished beating up on Darren, as he fell to the ground with a black eye, a couple of bruises, and a bloody nose. The sight itself only fueled the fire within the redhead, as she yelled a thunderous battle cry! "ARRRRRRRGH!!! YOU STUPID JACKASSES!!! I'LL MAKE YOU PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO MY FRIEND!!" cried Mimi as she ran up to the bullies. Before they could react, Mimi picks up one bully and threw him at another, knocking both boys out cold. Another one tried to make a punch at her, but the redhead grabs his arm and threw him at the two unconscious boys. That only leaves the leader as the only bully still conscious. "You ain't getting away from me this time, Jerk. You hurt my friend. And when people hurt my friend, someone pays. Namely you", threatened Mimi as she slowly walked up to the frightened bully. Suddenly, the fear was so overwhelming for the leader that he felt something warm and wet dripped down his pants as Mimi tried to go for another haymaker. But instead, she pushed him to the ground. Mimi just stood there coldly and said, "Pathetic… You are not even worthy enough for me to beat up. So I'll just leave you here to think what you did wrong."

The Redhead then turned to her side and saw Darren walking towards her. He felt very relived since she came to his rescue like some sort of angel of mercy. He felt that he owed his red-haired savior a debt of gratitude. He then hugged her tightly and said, "Thank you, Mimi! Thank you very much. You saved me! What could I ever do to make it up to you", asked Darren as he let Mimi go from his vice-like grip.

She then blushed a cherry red color as she replied, "Whoa, Dee-Dee! It wasn't anything special. You don't have to owe me anything. You're my friend. And Friends stick together. Okay?" She then stuck her fist out as Darren lightly tapped it with his own fist. He then answers back with, "Okay, Mimi." They both said together loudly as they embrace again, "Friends forever!"

Later that evening, Bruce was of course upset over the day's development as he was informed with the kid's encounter. He was angry with Mimi for leaving Darren alone at the playground, but he was relieved that she came in to his help. He then decided that his little charge needed some help protecting himself incase dangers such as the encounter with the bullies would never occur again. It was about that time he taught the dark-haired boy his style of martial arts.

During dinner, as the two kids enjoyed their bowl of chicken fried rice, The Lionheart patriarch suddenly spoke up, "So Darren, do you want to train with us? I know what happened earlier and I'm afraid that you may get into another run-in with punks like that again." The offer sunk deeply into the boy's head. At last! Finally a chance to become strong! He could finally be like his idol, the great Red Dragon himself! The boy's eyes turned into twinkling stars as he replied, " Sir, I'd be honored to train with you. I've waited most of my life to learn martial arts. Thank you, Uncle!" Mimi smiled, she would love to have someone to train with her and become her sparring buddy. She never had too many sparring partners her age. And it would be nice to teach him a thing or two about "the Arts". "It'll be great, Daddy! I can't wait", Mimi yelled out with a toothy grin.

The large man then gave them a smile of his own as he replied, "Tomorrow morning at 6 o'clock; we start out training. Be ready, because I will personally wake you two up myself. And it might not be nice, either."

Darren himself did not seem to care as he was so hyped about the training, "I'll be as ready as I'll ever be, Uncle." "Great! Now…Let's finish this food before it gets too cold, okay?" said Bruce. Both kids answered back with a loud, " Okay", as they finished their food. Yes, tomorrow will be the start of what things to come for the little dark-haired boy.

During the next five years, Darren and his friend, Mimi trained in their fighting art, "The discipline of the shooting stars fist". The style itself seemed like they came from various techniques that emphasized on speed, power, and grappling. The training itself changed the little dark-haired boy for the better. The training started off tough for Darren, who wasn't used to working his body to such lengths. Each morning before breakfast, the dark-haired boy sparred with his ruby-haired friend. And each time, he was soundly beaten; but after awhile, Darren became much more skilled then before. While Mimi excelled in strength and speed, Darren was more of a technical fighter using skill and technique. After he was beaten during his sparring matches, he figured out better strategies to defeat his red-haired sparring partner and friend; Bruce was impressed at how resourceful his charge was.

It was if he could soak any information and technique up like a sponge. But over time, he became accustomed to Bruce's fierce training regime, and he began to grow much stronger. The training besides learning moves and sparring with Mimi, Darren had to go run for several miles, climb mountains, dig holes, chop wood, and various other jobs that will enable him to grow, all while wearing weighted clothing. He also emphasizes on education as well, having Mimi and Darren home schooled while training in between. The dark-haired boy's guardian trained him heavily to have him catch up to his red-haired friend. Eventually, he was near Mimi's level, but he doesn't think of it much due to some self-doubts.

At the tender age of 7, he was a scrawny, half-pint boy who was somewhat timid and shy, but now at the age 12, he was more confident and relaxed. He sometimes had a cocky streak that could annoy the hell out of his friends, especially Mimi, who he sometimes call Mia-chan. Speaking of friends, Darren's inability to make friends was improved dramatically. He no longer had kids picking on him; because of his newfound confidence did not allow himself to get bossed around or bullied. But that did not keep the dark-haired boy from getting into fights, which were mostly one-sided. There were very few kids his age that was at his or his red-haired friend's level, which was realized when they entered tournaments every so often. They were then considered the child prodigies of the west coast martial arts world.

Besides the emotional changes the boy had endured, he also overcame the physical. He was no longer a frail skinny little boy; in fact, his body was well toned, even for a preteen. But he still kept some baby fat that was still somewhat visible in his lithe form. His coal black hair has grown all the way down his to his back, which also had a few dyed stripes of an auburn-orange color along the bangs. Mimi said that he would look good with them. He would basically do a lot of crazy things to impress the redhead. His features had also changed into the similar "feral" looks Mimi has. His ears had started pointing out, and after he grew out his permanent teeth the canines became well defined, which made him look as if he was part cat like his red-haired friend.

During a usual sunny day at Targa, Darren rests in the back yard of his home after training with Bruce and Mimi. He was wearing a pair of cargo shorts, a sleeveless muscle-shirt, and a pair of sneakers. The dark-haired boy then sat down on his lawn chair as he enjoyed the summer air while finishing drinking a glass of Iced Green Tea.

"Oh yeah…. That hit the spot", the young boy croaked as he begins to stretch, "After a hard day's training, its now time for the rest of the day for me to goof off like no one's business!" While Darren enjoyed his break, Mimi came out from the back entrance to greet her dark-haired friend with a bucket of ice water. The said girl splashed the contents of the water onto Darren, resulting in a loud high pitch squeal. Mimi soon giggled her red haired head off as she now saw her friend drenched with cold water.

"Mimi!" cried the young boy as he got up from his chair, "What was that for?!"

"That's for not keeping your eyes and ears ready incase of a sneak attack", replied the red haired preteen. It never stop to annoy him for the fact that Mimi takes "The Arts" very seriously. In fact, that's what makes him much more impressed in her abilities. Not even near her level yet, but he does know that with more practice he will be, the young boy mused.

Darren looked on at Mimi and sighed, "I know, Mimi…. it's just that I still haven't gotten the ability to sense your attack yet, let alone expect that attack `cause I was tired from training."

"Excuses are like butts, everyone's got one. Dee-Dee, I know you got much more potential than you're letting on. Rather you know it or not, Dee, you're getting much better as a fighter", the redhead replied as she threw Darren a towel.

"Mimi, I am nowhere near your level yet…I don't think I'll be able to learn some of the things that you and Uncle Bruce know", griped the dark-haired boy.

Mimi sighed and said, "Darren, don't beat yourself up. That's my job." The boy in question grinned as she finished, " Besides…I know you can be better, because…."

"…Practice make perfect. I know, I know", replied the dark-haired boy as he stuck out his fist, allowing Mimi to tap it with hers. They then walk back into the house hand in hand to the back door.

As they enter the living room, they see Bruce sitting on the couch reading the newspaper when he sees both Darren and Mimi walking hand in hand towards him. He smiled at the thought of the two preteens getting closer, with their feelings going beyond friendship. Well, Bruce thought, maybe it's time I should give them time off from their worries here and let them go on a trip. He then puts his paper down as the preteen "couple" sat down on the love seat, which is next to Bruce's seat on the couch.

"Poppa, is there anything you want us to take care of today", Mimi asked as she sat comfortably on the seat, "Because me and Dee were about to go to the movies tonight."

"Not really," the Lionheart patriarch replied as he strokes his hairy goatee.

"Sweet! Mimi, what movie you want to see tonight", the dark-haired asked his red-haired friend with a big grin.

Mimi then shrugged as she got up from her seat, "I dunno…Maybe we should watch "Red Dragon Fighter: the Movie."

"Cool! Let's go get ready then", Darren suggested as he got up from his seat and started to leave with Mimi, only to be stopped by Bruce, who has put both his hands on the two preteen's shoulders. Both kids' eyes bulge as they were brought out of their conversation.

"Hold on there, Kids…I got a better Idea on what you should do this summer", said Bruce as he gave a gentle squeeze on their little, but toned up shoulders.

Mia tilted her head up and asked, "What do you have in mind, Poppa?"

"Well I think it's time for you and Darren to go on a camping trip" Bruce Replied as he stretched his back. Both kids looked at each other and smiled at the idea. Just the two of them training and playing throughout the summer.

It was then decided that the two preteens get packed and leave for a full summer or R and R. It was the perfect idea that will allow them to have fun and train. That night, both preteens packed their belongings in preparations for the big day. Various things such as needed materials like clothing, handheld videogames, comics, and various other "goof-off" materials. Both Mimi and Darren decided to sleep at 8:35 that Friday night, in order to wake up early enough to go on their trip. Before they went on their 9 hours of slumber Mimi gave her best bud a quick peck on the cheek, resulting in a furiously blushing boy with a huge goofy grin. Darren didn't care why his red-haired friend kissed him like that, but he did enjoy it though. And with that, it was time for the two kids to go to bed.

The next morning, Darren woke up, still with a big goofy grin in his face. He then arose from his bed and grabbed his clothing, which where a pair of loose fitted jeans, sneakers, socks, goggles, torn t-shirt, and fingerless gloves. He then left his room and barged into the utility closet to grab a toothbrush, showering towel, and face towel on route to the bathroom. As he neared his goal, he heard the sounds of drizzling water hitting tile in the background. Obviously his red-haired "friend" is showering in the bathroom. Discouraged, the fiery-eyed boy was about to go back into his room, but was stopped when he heard the door crack open. Mimi, covered in a shower robe, exits the bathroom. Her wet, curly scarlet locks draped over her head and face, making Darren's heart beat just a bit faster. As Mimi's bright emerald eyes meets Darren's own fiery amber eyes, she then came up to him and said, "Dee, your shower's ready."

"Alright then, thanks Mia-chan" the fiery-eyed boy replied as he entered the bathroom.

Mia sighs a she pressed her hand on her chest, "Dee-chan, I can't wait for this trip. As soon as I'm ready, I'll tell you what's inside here."

Later that day, Darren and Mimi ride along with Bruce in his Sport Truck along the more woodland area of the Jalpa Islands. This area is called the Mira Timberlands. Even though, the Jalpa Islands are in a more of a Pacific Coast Island region, it also possesses woodland areas that would most likely to appear in northern regions. Mira was no exception, as the forest is rich with Pine trees that were as big as redwoods and mountains that were as big as maybe five Louisiana Superdomes combined. The fiery Eyed boy and his red-haired companion have actually made quite a few visits to this forest region before. During some of the training missions he experienced, Darren of course ran up the Lambo mountains with 20 or more extra pounds in weighted clothing.

As soon as the Blue sports SUV stops it's 18-inch chrome wheels, both preteens exits the back area of the truck. Mimi dressed in cut-off shorts, fingerless gloves, torn t-shirt (with red heart), red running sneakers, and white ribbons tied onto her two ponytails. The sight of Mimi's cute, but somewhat attractive features made Darren's stomach fill up with butterflies. Watching Dee's stupefied glare, the redhead smirked as she hops one of the heavy duffle bags over her shoulders. The fiery-eyed boy then shook from his shyness and grabs his own pack. Bruce then sticks his head out of the driver's window and said to them, "When you two are ready to go home from your "vacation", just give your old man a call, Lil' Red."

"Okay, Poppa, we'll let you know as soon as we're ready" Mimi replied with a smile.

And with that, Bruce's big blue vehicle sped off in a gathering cloud of dust, leaving two preteens holding their respective duffle bags. As they stare at each other's faces, they gave off a smirk as they both ran into the wilderness in an unofficial race towards a campsite. While carrying two hefty bags, both kids find it somewhat challenging, but oddly refreshing. Pretty soon one of them reached a campsite in record timing. Mimi of course, was the first to reach it as she drops her duffle bag onto the dusty ground. She then sat down on a fallen tree and started to open up her bag to gather up a few of her magazines while waiting for her friend to come over. Well speak of the devil! Darren, with a little short on breath, arrived while hefting his bag. He then spoke up to Mimi and said, "No matter how many times I try, I seem to always come up short competing with you, Mia-chan."

The redhead then giggled as she replied with, "Well, that's one thing you need to work on is speed. Otherwise, I'll always burn you!"

"Oooooh…Man…. why does playing around always result towards training, Mia-cha", the fiery-eyed boy whined.

Mimi just simply replied with, "Well, you'll never beat me if that's all you think our playing is. If you always consider training as just straight up "training", you usually find it boring. So that is why I always consider my training as playing or something else that inspires me. I think you should too"

"Now that you mention it, it is fun when you think of it that way", agreed the fiery-eyed boy as he stretched and moved into a fighting stance, "Come on, Mia-chan. Let's have some fun!"

Mimi smiled and said she moves into her own, "I thought you'd never ask, Dee-Boy!"

Both preteens dashed towards each other to initiated their casual sparring match. The redhead was the first to attack when she gave off an onslaught of punches at her dark-haired friend, who dodged each of them and countered when he grabs her arm and tossed her out of the way. Mimi, like a cat, landed on her feet and proceeded towards her prey, Darren attempted a powerful clothesline, but missed poorly. Due to Darren's failure to connect, Mimi gave off a spinning kick that booted him eight feet out of the campsite. The fiery-eyed preteen recovered and hopped onto his feet with catlike agility. His recovery time was short when his red-haired friend dashed towards him and hits a flawless three hit combination of punches, but it ended there when he moved after the forth punch and gave her a back kick to the gut, sending her several more feet from the camp sight.

Mia got up, hardly a scratch and said smugly, "Is that all you got, you big Sissy? That felt like a baby's kick!"

"I'll show you what this "baby kick" could do", snapped the amber-eyed hothead.

That had gotten Darren riled up as he charged at the redhead with new fury. Mia smiled, she had wanted her best bud to go all out mainly because he had a much a better chance at improving that way. Not to mention that it always annoyed her that the boy always held back, fearing that he would hurt her. But in reality, Mimi is so tough and strong, that she could basically take a good licking from much more experienced fighters. It wasn't like this little wild flower would ever wilt that easily. Well, Mimi thought with a smile, at least he cares about me. After blocking a hurricane of punches and kicks, the redhead backs away and said, "Not enough room. Let's fight at a much clearer spot!" After Darren nodded in agreement, both preteens dashed through the wilderness, passing around trees, small animals, of the like.

Despite what Darren displayed, the boy has some well-trained stamina that made him go for a much longer period of time than most boys his age. And with that, he is the closest rival Mimi could find. Both the fiery-eyed boy and his ruby-haired friend looked onward as they see a valley, which was full of grassland and plenty of hills and boulders. And with that, Darren soon attacked Mimi with a new furious vigor. Mimi was overwhelmed with punches, but she held on with her dodging and blocking. When the dark-haired boy thought he had won, he grabbed the girl's head and went from a bulldog, but was countered when the redhead picked him up on her shoulders in an attempt to execute a high angle slam. Darren counters Mimi's counter as he flipped out of it, and grabbed her from behind to execute a German suplex. The redhead then recovers before her amber-eyed opponent and gives off a strong elbow drop onto his chest. She followed by moving Darren's stunned body over and grabbed onto his shoulder with her legs and pulled back at his head with her arms in an attempt to win the match via submission. The painful "Crippler Cross-Face" hold stretched Darren into a sharp pain.

Mimi clutches tightly and yelled, "Do you yield, Pretty boy? DO YOU?!"

"AAAAAAAAAAH!!!! Okay! I give up! I yield! I yield", the amber-eyed preteen snapped as he struggled to find an opening out of his red-haired opponent.

Mimi soon let go of her best bud and smiled and said, "Whew, that was a good match. You're getting much better, Dee-Boy. I'm proud of you." She then grabbed onto his hand to help him up.

"Yeah…I guess I still have to practice more in order to be at your level", the dark-haired boy replied as he favored his shoulder just a bit.

Mimi then spoke out with, "Let's get back to the camp site, that sparring match whipped up quite an appetite for me."

"Okay then, let's go", agreed the fiery-eyed preteen as he and the redhead marched back towards Mira's wilderness. Darren stopped and looked back to see a faint glimmer of light coming from the other part of the wilderness. That strange glare somehow attracted the boy, as he feels a familiar, but faint aura coming from that light. Before the boy's red-haired friend notices that her friend was lagging behind, Darren quickly snapped from his gaze and hastily catches up with Mimi to head back into the forest on route to their campsite.

That night, while they continue camping out at the Mira Forest lands, Darren slumbers in his pallet. It had been a long day of training and playing alongside the Timberlands of Mira. Right after their sparring match that led up to the climax at Mira Valley, the two preteens rested at the campsite and ate their lunch. So far during their trip, Darren thought this was a godsend, since it had been months since he and Mimi had never had a break from the City. After their lunch they sparred for again to keep up the pace. Naturally, Mimi beats her amber-eyed friend via submission. Within every match they participated in, Darren could not even find a way to successfully defeat the redhead. Well, back to the present. As the young amber-eyed preteen sleeps, he dreams of something that has been on his mind for some time. Ever since he had turned 12 years old, Darren had dreams where he was a ruler of some foreign, ancient kingdom, where he was some sort of Emperor. The ruler in description looked as if he was an older version of the amber-eyed boy, but dressed in heavy armor and a cape. During the preteen's dreams, Darren either dreams of the old ruler's past life or a battle in which the ruler's own land did not survive through.

~~~Flashback~~~

The afternoon's sun was as bright as it could ever hoped to be, as the summer's temperature's was peaking towards the 90-degree mark, or it would have if it weren't for the fact that the skies were polluted in decaying clouds of smoke. Mainly due to the endless battles and war, which were basically what took the City. Many of its civilians were either in shelter or they may have evacuated the whole city entirely. Where the darkened skies plagued what was once a beautiful, Greco-roman style city, lays a great castle. The castle's structure would remind a person that it had some sort of fusion between a Greco-Roman Palace and an ancient Asian Imperial Palace. Inside the castle, a family is surrounded by a group of soldiers. The man of the family, obviously the Emperor, who looked very beaten sporting wounds on his upper body, was wielding two swords, trying to protect his wife and two children. His reddish brown eyes burn in hatred as he stares at the leader of the soldiers, who seemed to have want to take over the Emperor's land.

"It's over, Dregga," said the General, who is wielding a 6 foot brood sword like it didn't weigh an ounce, "The Kingdom of Zentra is mine!"

Emperor Dregga points one of his swords at the General and replied, "Not a chance, Maxus. Even if I die, my Kingdom will live on."

All the general could do was laugh at the statement. How could this idiot still fight back when he knows it is all over with, General Maxus mused, never mind...once I take over Zentra, no force on Gaia will stop me. Before the usurping General could order his troops to snuff out the royal family, a sudden red flash flared around the room in such a quick and blinding fashion.

~~~End Flashback~~~

Darren quickly snapped from his dream, as he jerked from his pallet in a cold sweat. That.... dream, the amber-eyed Boy thought, again it has haunted my nights. He gets up from his pallet to observe his surroundings and stretched. It was no later than 5:35 in the morning and the summer's sun has yet to rise again. Not wanting to wake his red-haired friend, Darren picks up a few of his things and marched out of the campsite. After taking care of his hygiene needs, the preteen then dresses up in a pair of jeans, socks, a pair of goggles, canvas sneakers, fingerless gloves, and a football jersey. After putting on the said clothing, the amber-eyed boy ties his long bushy hair into a ponytail and walks off through the foggy wilderness.

Since the previous day, he had been thinking of that same light he had scoped out while he went back to the campsite with Mimi after their sparring match. Ever since that moment, he was trying to link the glowing light in the wilderness to the re-occurring dream he had. He also noticed that the forest and the valley had some stray pieces of building blocks embedded in the ground. The blocks themselves seemed as if that had existed centuries ago. Hell, the boy even saw a few remains of what looked like pagan statues and busts. Maybe, Darren thought, maybe this whole forest has a clue as to where these dang dreams come from, since this whole area gives me a familiar feeling.

With that, the young preteen left combed through the forest in search of the light. A little while later, even though the early summer's sun had finally risen and showing proudly in the skies, the forest was still clouded in the thickest of fogs, showing little to no visibility. While the preteen boy hikes through the foggy timberlands, a certain redhead was up and at 'em. She then sees a note in which was lying on top of the already made pallet saying, "Don't worry, Mia-chan, I've gone into the woods for some fresh air. You can follow if you want, signed Darren".

With that, Mimi gets her own clothing and other things together and dresses up in similar clothing from what she wore the previous day. Mimi grins as she simply says, "Don't think that you can just get rid of me that easily, Dee-chan." With that, the redhead packed her things and secured them, and walks off into the foggy wilderness. Even if she could not see through the thickness in the air, she could sense Darren's presence by some sort of bond that the two have shared since age 10. Anyways, Mimi takes her times as she hikes onward in search of her amber-eyed friend.

Meanwhile, the amber-eyed boy in question walks through the faintly fogged out valley lands in search of that bright light he saw earlier. Even though the bright light that was showing proudly through the peanut butter thick fog, the young preteen could barely see his surroundings; the challenge alone is what made Darren draw nearer towards his goal. Before he knew it, he was standing in front of a nearby tree.

"Whoa…. I got to be more careful", the amber-eyed boy said as he backs away from the oversized pine tree, "If I just rush through here, gods knows what might happen."

An hour later, the preteen boy was still hiking through the timberlands in search of the light. The fog that surrounded the fiery-eyed boy thins out a little as he draws near the light. Before long, Darren sees where the flashing light is coming from. What he saw puzzles him as he stands near an alter that was engulfed in the brightest of sunlight. The alter itself is not what shocked the jubilant 12 year old. It was the sights of a broad sword embedded into the base of the flat surface of the stone-made alter where it's giving off some sort of power discharge that was going upward towards the heavens. Darren walks up towards the stand and sees a tabled that had some sort of language carved into it.

The language itself was very similar to the preteen's own language, but it was a slightly different dialect. It was like comparing American English with Old English; not very difficult to understand, but hard to make out certain words that are not said in these modern times in the Western Hemisphere of Planet Gaia. But that did not scare Darren, as he walks up to the tabled and reads it. The entry in question was not very long, only a few sentences discussing a legend. The legend reads:" In the First Day of the Anniversary of the Lost Land, A young Lad of 12 summers will unearth the Lost Blade of the Rising Phoenix, and he and a lass of wildfire will return to the lost Kingdom." Once the boy finished reading the tablet, he was floored by the message. It was prophesizing his coming of some sort by fate.

Darren yells out loud, "Whoa…. This is so weird! Hmmmm…. If all of this crap is fake, then why am I getting a weird feeling inside, telling me otherwise?" He hesitates for a good 15 seconds and then decides, "Well…. only one way to find out." As he grabs onto the sword's handle, the dark-haired boy hears Mimi's faint voice in the background. The redhead's voice cries out, "Yo, Dee-chan! What are you up to?"

Mimi rushed up to Darren, after combing through the foggy depths of the Timberlands. The girl in question took at least a few hours trying to catch up with her amber-eyed friend, but she encountered various obstacles; like running from a few bears, fighting off some wolves, and beating down a moose. The whole ordeal was very exhausting for the preteen girl. Any who, Mimi was glad she had caught up with the preteen boy.

"What the heck is going on, Dee", she asked as she straightens up her shirt.

"I was just trying to pull this friggin broad-sword from this alter; I'll tell you about it when I'm done" Darren replied as he applies his hands around the handle and heaves. At first he was not successful, due to the fact that the sword seemed like it was part of the cement and stone material of the Alter. Suddenly, the fiery-eyed boy's body ignites in a fiery orange aura.

Darren grits his teeth as he say, "The…. power…."

While the aura-engulfed boy hefts the sword from it's resting place, Mimi reads the tablet from the Alter. The redhead then gets the idea of what's going on, but was puzzled over why her best bud is covered in an aura so bright. Her musing stops when she sees the sword finally budging from its place. Before long, Darren finally removes the blade. Soon after, the dark-haired boy's blade discharges into the sky like a comet exiting earth. Mimi was blown back five feet from the shockwave of the energy discharge and landed on her bum. Before the preteens knew it, everything soon went into a grand crescendo of bright lights and colors.

Several minutes after being knocked unconscious by the phoenix sword's energy discharge, Darren and his red-haired friend get up from the gritty Alter floor. As the amber-eyed boy search for his surroundings, he sees that the fog that had plagued the Timberlands had finally dissipated and was replaced by a bight and sunny pre-afternoon view. As Darren then looks at his new prize, he sees that the broadsword had somewhat of a simple design. The blade itself was at least 4 inches wide, a half inch thick, and 3 feet long. To a normal 12 year-old, it would be like carrying a tree log. But to the dark-haired boy, it was like holding a wooden stick. He then finds a belt strap and wrapped it along his shoulder with the sword intact.

"Whoa…. Dee-chan, that sword you just picked up looks so cool," Mia barked as she looked at her friend's new reward, "How did you get that thing out?

Darren replies with, "Ummm…All I did was pulled it out…but when I did, I felt some strange power coming from it… It was as if that sword was trying fit its abilities to my soul or something."

Before both preteens could have a chance to move on with a different subject to discuss, the ground around them started to rumble. The Alter, which had held the phoenix sword, had caved into the ground, creating some sort of elevator to what lies underneath. When Darren notices where they were, he and his red-haired friend was pulled into the ground by the elevator like platform. The platform strolled down to at least 70 feet into the ground. They soon realised that they had entered the catacombs, which were obviously to have belonged to an ancient civilization of some sort. It had paved roads that had some tire tracks where there were once vehicles that have passed through. Darren also sees that the ancient city had a styling that were influenced by ancient Greco-Roman architecture; reminisce such as tall pillars that once stood up great buildings. From the looks of things, the city itself was at least a couple of thousand years old. As they reached the heart of the city, both Darren and Mimi see a strange looking mirror-like screen with swirling colors near the front of one of the main buildings.

"What do you think that thing is, Mimi", the dark-haired boy asked as he walks near the screen.

Mimi walks up to her amber-eyed friend and replied with, "It's a warp zone; some sort of portal that will lead you to a far off place. I thought they were a myth when Poppa told me about them," she then shrugs, "Well what do you think? Think we should go in?"

Darren gives Mimi a naughty smile and said, "Why not? We have all summer."

And with that, both kids jump into the warp zone, where they were sucked into another dimension. Darren found his ordeal pretty enjoyable as he hoops and hollers like some cowboy on a bull with a 'roid rage. Mimi on the other hand, looked as green as a tropical tree from a far off island. The amber-eyed boy then asked the redhead, in a cheerful grin no less, if she was okay. She of course shook her head no as she threw up into a plastic bag that she had stuck in her pocket in case she was in a situation like that. When it was over they were launch into a portal, which led them into another dimension. Both preteens fell out of the portal and into a truck trailer full of hay.

Darren spits out some hay from his mouth and said, "Ptewy! Whoa! That was a sweet ride! What do you think, Mimi?" The girl in question spewed into her bag again and replied with, "Are you kidding? I rather have my leg tied to a wild horse's tail going down a hill at full speed.

"That's because you can't hang, Mia-chan", Darren snaps back with a look of mirth on his face as he begins to give off a chuckle. The redhead only replied with a sarcastic middle finger gesture. The amber-eyed boy recovers from his laughing and hops out of the trailer, followed by Mimi.

Darren then looks at his surroundings and yell, "Whoa…. Sweet! This town is freaking huge!"

"Yeah…", Mimi agreed as she dust the rest of the hay off of her, "I wonder where we are, anyway?"

The town in question being huge was only an understatement. It was like combining three New York's into a super city. The buildings itself had somewhat of a vintage, Greco-Roman style, combined with a Modern Asian Metropolis. The vehicles that graced the city proudly were somewhat, modern judging by how they flew freely in the air like some car from an old 1960s animated sitcom. With all these advancements that has been bestowed on the preteens, they then decided to go ahead and see more of it. And with that, Darren and Mimi went to paint the town ruby red.

A few hours later, in one of the freeways of the "Super City", a luxurious black sedan cruises onward towards the main part of the city. Inside the sedan, a middle-aged man with dark brown hair and brown eyes was busy speaking on his cell phone. The man was wearing a black; custom made suit that was usually worn for some sort of "Regal" purposes. For some reason, the Man's attitude while talking on the phone switched from "All Business" to "Giddy as a Freaking School Girl".

"What?! Did you just say that or Emperor has finally come back?!", The Man barked at the phone" After a few seconds, he smiles and said, "Excellent! I'll be there in 10 minutes."

The man turns off his cell phone and puts it in his pocket. Afterwards, he then tells the driver of the car, "Bono, I want you to stop by the restaurant at the main center of the city; I had "business to attend to."

"Yes, Mr. Prime Minister," The Driver, Bono agrees as he steps on the sedan's gas pedal hard; resulting in a power boost of speed.

Meanwhile, at a restaurant at the main part of the city, Darren and Mimi were having lunch at one of the tables. Both would agree that the food was pretty good. Mimi was trying out an entrée of grilled fish served with lemon while Darren woofs on some Grilled Steak served with Sautéed Mushrooms.

"Yeah! This is some good Eating", cried Darren as he carves cubes into his slab of steak, "I might want to come back here for dinner tonight."

Mimi gives her friend a worried glanced and asks, "Are you sure this is a good idea? Taking advantage of people is just plain wrong."

"It's not my fault the waiters said it was on the house and that we could eat whatever we want", Darren replies as he stuffs a piece of steak in his mouth.

Mimi then says, "I know…it just doesn't feel right to…Uh oh…"

"Uh oh, what? What's wrong, Mia-chan", now the dark-haired boy was somewhat worried as he sees the look in the redhead's eyes.

"Look right behind you", was the only thing she could say as Darren looks at what's behind him. Sure enough, it was the middle-aged Prime Minister who was standing right behind the amber-eyed boy wearing a strange smile on his face. The boy then asks in a worried tone, "Ummm…Sir…umm…is there anything I did wrong? If so…umm…. I'll try to make it up to you the best way I can."

"Not at all, Lad", the man said as he straightens his suit coat just a bit, "I have come here to see if the rumors were true. I have come here, my Lord, to bring you back to the palace. It has been long since you have been back to our own Mother Zentra."

Mia then cries out with, "What the heck is he talking about?"

The Prime Minister sits on one knee and says, "Welcome back to Zentropolis, Emperor Dregga."

The boy was stunned, if not confused for the moment. The combination of hearing the news of him being associated with the man in his dreams, and eating way too many grilled steaks has overwhelmed him. Darren then says, "Oh Man…this is too much for me to handle…I think I'm going to go lie down now." He then passes out on the table.

Hours after the he had passed out at the restaurant, Darren woke up with a split headache. He had immediately regretted eating those grilled steaks that time. After he gained his sense of bearing, he then noticed that the room he woke up in was a well-sized, well-furnished room. As he sits up from his slumber, he gave off a yawn while scratching his back.

"It's about time you woke up, Knucklehead," Said a voice from the boy's right. The voice obviously belonged to Mimi, as she was sitting in the room wearing a long silk dress. The strange thing about the girl besides the luxurious gown she was wearing, was that her long red hair was tied in a high ponytail instead of her usual pigtails. Looking at her dressed like that, gave off a warm feeling inside the dark-haired preteen. Making the boy stutter and stammer at the sight.

"Wow…umm…Mia, why are you dressed like that", Darren questioned Mimi nervously as he sat up. "First you tell me why are you dressed like that," Mimi suggested as she saw that Darren dressed in his tidy-whities. The young boy then sees what she meant, and covered him with the comforters from the bed and yelped, "Hey! Where are my clothes?"

"That's the least of your worries, Dee" Mimi says as hugged Darren tightly, "You had me so worried!"

The dark-haired kid had a confused look in his face and said, "Ummm…was it that bad? I thought it was me having some case of heartburn."

"Yes it was, Dee. Those steaks you ate were not made from beef, I could tell you that."

"Then what, Mimi?"

"They're made from Griffins. They're the type of steaks you shouldn't eat too much of. They say it is poisonous if consumed more then the right amount. If you'd eaten more, you'd probably…." Mimi choked up as she hugged Darren even tighter.

The boy then gave off a nervous grin, "Well, thank goodness I was just about full…eheheh."

Mia then smacked Darren on the head and cried, "You, Dumb ass! You would've been dead!"

"Ah, I see that you've finally woken up, My Lord", Said the Prime Minister as he entered the room.

"Aww, Crap…you guys aren't joking, aren't you, " Darren asked out loud to the middle-aged man.

"I don't think so, Dee; I have seen the pictures of that guy they were talking about", explained the redhead, "He looks exactly like you! Maybe 10 or 15 years older, but he still looks like you."

"Before you come with us, My Lord, I need to introduce myself", the Prime Minister said as he cleared his throat, "I am Prime Minister Dom Vermillion, I've been in office for the passed 10 years watching over the people as many others have before me for the pass thousands of years, waiting for our old Emperor to return."

Darren then asked, "About that…ummm…what proof do you have of me being the reincarnation of you old Emperor. I'm just a boy who's just about to go through puberty."

"Earlier today, the royal senate has had researchers check your blood sample. You are of the bloodline of our ruler. No doubt about it."

With that being said, Darren was floored with the discovery, not to mention angry due to the fact that they had taken his blood sample without his permission. Well he did see his ancestor's painting, which was located in the throne room. Let's just say that being shocked was an understatement. The man that they called Dregga was the same man that haunted the fiery-eyed preteen's dreams. The man in the painting looked like he was about 6 feet, long black hair that reached his back, and light brown eyes that had somewhat of a fiery hue.

As the evening went on, he had met with the royal senate, dressed in attire that would be similar to that of a vintage Far-Eastern black, military suit. During dinner, the amber-eyed boy sat at the end of the table, alongside Mimi who had a feeling of discomfort due to the glances she was getting from some of the royal members, who were sitting at the side.

One of the members had the boldness to ask Mimi, "Excuse me, Young Lady, are you the young Master's bride?"

Mia blushed, as she cried out, "What?! Of course not! What gave you that idea? He is only my friend."

"Well, you are with him as if you two are very close. Me and the other have assumed it such," That same member replied as she sipped on her glass of wine. Darren was somehow disappointed by Mimi's reaction, but recovered, knowing that she didn't mean it the way she had said it.

Prime Minister Vermillion then said, "Well if that's the case, I'm sure the lad is still single, which means that he has a right to court some of our potential suitors we had selected earlier today."

Mimi mentally kicked herself, damn it! I know Darren and I are too young to get married, but I don't mind doing so if I had any say on it. Me and my big mouth! As the redhead mused about her and Darren's situation, seven beautiful young women entered the room. The girls were at least well over 3 or more years the young boy's senior. Every single one of the young ladies seemed to only except being chosen due to ulterior motives. One girl in particular, who had a "healthy" figure among her and raven black hair, came up towards Darren and said with a lecherous smile, "My Lord, it is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Cassandra. I would be most honored if you chose me as your bride." Mimi's thoughts turned violent the way one of the "suitors" who are present in the room; how dare she touch him! He belongs to me! Keep it, girl! Keep it cool! Don't want to make a scene, Mimi thought as she struggled to keep her temper. All Darren did was stare nervously, as he made a failing attempt to politely decline the brunette.

"Ummm…I…er…Miss…I….", the boy mumbled, "I'm sorry but I…"

"He already has a bride", yelled the small redhead as she smirks with triumph looking dead into the eyes of the brunette.

Mia then explain why she said otherwise soon after, saying that she forgot that they were promised to each other since they were of the tender age of 7. With that, the royal senate removed the other suitors and moved on to talk about other things that dealt with his new position. That night, advisor had arranged that both, Darren and Mimi should sleep in the same bed, since they were "betrothed". The young boy wondered what would his life be like since right now, since he and his red-haired "fiancée" were stuck in this dimension for the time being. So far, he finds the idea of being responsible for a whole territory overwhelming, yet very rewarding. Mimi on the other hand was depressed; not only did she had missed her father already due to the fact that she's stuck in a foreign dimension, but she is upset that she and Darren must surrender their childhood, if not their innocence because of a royal ancestry.

For the rest of the week in Zentropolis, the dark-haired young Emperor and his fiery-haired bride were exposed to the finer things in life. Being of royal status, Darren was allowed to have pretty much everything he had wanted, but thanks to him having scruples, he didn't take it for granted as much like the average boys his age. In the meantime, his and Mimi's training did not slack up at all. Every morning, they sparred like it was just their typical training session back in Targa City. Darren even started practicing with his Phoenix Sword as a new challenging form of training. After his sessions with Mimi, the fiery-eyed preteen sparred against some of the best swordsmen in town, making his progress that much better. Even his ruby-haired fiancée adopted the training, and practiced alongside him. Even though his broad sword was pretty thick and used with a much simple, but effective move set, Darren could pull off more complicated combos and techniques. The powers from his Phoenix Sword was very unique, very different than any other bladed weapon the young boy have seen during his stay with the Lionhearts back in Targa, but he somehow felt that his new blade had supernatural powers beyond belief.

That night, back at the palace, Mimi stood at a balcony in somewhat of a low, depressive mood. Since she had been here, the redhead had a trouble of telling Darren what her true feelings were. Even though she and the fiery-eyed future Emperor had been closer than ever, she still have been having trouble expressing her emotions. While Mimi was left near the window in her helpless musing, Darren entered the room. He had been training in the gym for the last 2 hours as a way of taking stress out of his system. The Dark-haired Preteen then noticed that his old friend, and betrothed is standing at the balcony, watching the moon with a blank, but sad expression on her face. He then walked over towards the redhead and asks, "Yo, Mia-chan, are you okay? What's wrong?"

Mimi turns her head to look at Darren's concerned fiery-orange eyes; the eyes that say, "Whatever is troubling you, I'll do whatever it takes to make it better". Those same looks have made the preteen redhead's heart melt every time. With an extra boost of confidence, Mimi turns around, and with a weak smile, she said, "I'm fine, Dee-chan. Don't worry about it."

"Are you sure, Mia-chan? If it's okay, I'll just keep you company", offered the boy as he entered the balcony standing near Mimi. They just stood there for the next 10 minutes in silence, waiting for the other to speak up. Both preteens watched as the clouds swoops pass the bright, illuminating moon, marveling at its nightly presence. Mimi then broke the silence and said, "Darren…I have something to tell you."

"What is it, Mimi", questioned the preteen as he snapped from his moon inspired trance.

"I miss Daddy", Mimi sadly said as she turns her face towards Darren. The boy then nods his head in agreement and replied with, "Yeah…I know what you mean. But I'm not sure if there's a way to get back. Who knows? It might just be under our very own noses."

"Yeah. I…well…I have another confession to make. Do you know why I accepted the engagement when that so-called girl tried to hit on you?" The scarlet-haired girl asked her fiancé as she turned towards him.

Darren then thought for a second and answered her question, "Maybe you were looking out for me incase we find our way out of this situation"

"Well, that's part of the reason", Mimi said as she started to blush.

The fiery-eyed boy then started to realize what she meant and stammered with, "Whoa…so…. ummm…y-you're…. you don't mind marrying me?"

"Of course I don't mind, Dee-chan. I…I…Like you…I like you a lot. I was also so freaking jealous over that big-breasted hussy trying to hit on you", replied the blushing redhead as she was starting to become overwhelmed with emotions.

Before she could say anything, Darren then said, "I like you a lot too, Mia-chan. I was scared that you did not like me that way…I'm so relieved." Both preteens then stared at each other's eyes for a short while before they leaned over for a kiss. Just when their lips were about to make contact, one of the servants knocked on the door. Mimi reluctantly left the balcony to go answer the door, leaving Darren to sigh in disappointment of what could've been.

Meanwhile, deep into the bowels of the palace's basement, two figures are shown in one of rooms, conversing. One of the figures was a man that appeared to be in his early thirties. The other figure was an attractive woman of 28 years of age. One would suspect that the couple talking in a private spot would reek of an intimate, romantic atmosphere. But in reality, by the looks of their sinister eyes, they seemed to be plotting some sort of catastrophe.

"Our plan should be in motion in no time, Alicia", laughed the man as he sits back in his chair drinking some wine. "When your plan succeeds in eliminating the boy and his little bride, we could finish off the Prime Minister so we could take what is rightfully ours." The woman named Alicia scoffed, "So, Ivan, what do you plan on doing to pull this stunt off? Surely young Darren's fighting skills and the guards will prove to be a tough problem."

The man then says, "We'll find a way, Sweetie. When I get through with that kid, that cozy throne will be mine with you by my side." The deceptive couple then shared a toast as they cling together their classes of fine wine they erupted in laughter.

A few weeks later, all was well at the Zentronian Palace. Since they have arrived, the lives of both Darren and his red-haired companion have been very interesting to say the least. Each preteen have their share of pampering. Which, despite their continued training, have made them softer than they used to be. Now, they were both used to the easy life. Meanwhile, Mimi was sitting on a comfy chair while several servants are giving her a makeover. She was dressed in a simple gown made out of a silky material. This was one of the daily rituals since her stay in Zentrapolis. While one of the girl servants brush the preteen's long vibrant, red hair, she asks, "Are you ready for your big date with the young master, Mistress Tamiya?"

"Well, I'll be as ready as I'll ever be," Mimi answered nervously.

One of the girl servants giggled and said, "Ah! Young love! So cute!"

"Umm…uh…I…. um", was what Mimi could come up with as her tanned face was blushing with a streak of red. She knew that what one of the servants said was true, but she would never admit to it. Not yet at least.

While Mimi contemplates on her upcoming date with Darren, the boy in question was had just finished putting on his suit. The suit itself was mandarin style and it was made for special purposes. His jet-black hair was pulled into a stylish ponytail, but with a few arrant bangs draping his forehead. As he admires himself on the mirror, two of his servants entered his room.

"Ah! Master Darren, you look magnificent today," one of the servants complimented.

The other servant agreed, "Yes! I am very sure you will be ready for your big date with Lady Tamiya."

"Well", the boy started, "I guess I look a little different. And the suit feels comfy enough."

"Not to mention the fact that you look very handsome," Said the other servant. With a shy nod, Darren fixes his clothing before he and his servants left the changing room on route to the main room.

Twenty minutes later, the fiery-eyed boy and a few of his servants waited patiently in the main living room of the palace. Darren was on pens and needles due to the fact that he did not know what his so-called bride would think of him when she sees him dressed in his current manner. Was not sure if she would say if he would look good or not. Not to mention what the redhead would look like, since she was of course dressed up for the occasion. Speaking of whom, Mimi dressed in an elegant mandarin-style one-piece dress. Her hair was tied into two stylish buns with her wild, fiery red bangs covering one side of her forehead. For a twelve-year-old girl, the redhead looked extremely gorgeous. With that in mind, all Darren could was stammer like some goofball. For Mimi, her reaction was the same, considering how the top of the raven-haired boy's suit clung to his well-toned torso.

"Umm…err…M-Mia-chan," the dark-haired emperor stuttered as he blushed, "You look…g-great."

"Y-you…do…too, Dee-Dee," Mimi replied as her face turned as red as her hair.

When the two preteens were about to leave for their date, Darren's confidence grew as he offered his arm for Mimi to latch on. Of course the redhead reciprocated his offer as she wraps her arms on his. Meanwhile, inside the palace's garage, two figures enter a black sedan. As they sit patiently inside the luxury vehicle, they watch Darren and Mimi enter a limousine, which drove off into the street.

"So", Alicia started as she adjusts her seat in the car, "What's next, Love?"

Ivan gave the woman a smile and replied with, "We dispatch plan A. I planted a car bomb under the Limousine that strong enough to take down a tank", he then gave off a sicken cackle.

"Are you sure you want to eliminate them like that," questioned Alicia as she puts her seat belts on, "Don't you think that's a little overkill?"

The conniving man then gives the young women a dangerous glare and asks in a cool tone, "Are you with me or against me?"

"Of course, you idiot! What do you think I'd be doing if I was against you", yelled Alicia as she whips her long violet hair to the side as she turns her glaring face at Ivan.

"That's good to hear. I'd hate it if I had to blow your cute little head off", croaked the renegade Nobleman. After the couple removed their sour, yet angry glares at each other, they went off on pursuit of the royal limousine.

An hour later, Darren and Mimi were having dinner at a fancy restaurant in downtown Zentropolis. Unlike their last encounter, the fiery-eyed boy decided to eat a little more conservative, meaning that he was not eating the high profile meals that did not include heavy red meats. Mimi of course, was having the same as foods as well. They discussed some of the about how well their training were and some of what was currently going on around the palace. Somehow, someway the two preteens had known there was eminent danger lurking within the royal palace, as they sensed that someone wanted to take over the kingdom by targeting either of them. That was why Darren had the liberty of having his limousine searched and "removed" a certain device that was implanted in it. So in other words, a certain couple will eventually be disappointed…

With that in mind, Darren and his "blushing" bride were now having a comfortable time at the restaurant. When they were finished, they decided to go to the movie theaters. After entering the car, Ivan, recovering from his short nap realizes that it was their golden opportunity to spring their plan into action. After about 100 consecutive attempts at trigger the car bomb, Alicia then suggested that the young "Emperor" had found someway to sabotage their plans.

"How the f--- did that little snot get wind of our plans", the traitor bellowed as he pulls out a few strands of his silver hair.

"Got a better idea, Honey buns," Alicia coldly squawked as she folds her arms to her chest.

Ivan chuckled and replied with, "Oh yeah, babe! They won't know what'll hit them."

Meanwhile, a male figure exited mirror-like portal somewhere on the other side of the imperial city. The man looked to be in his early 20s with long fiery red hair tied in a braided ponytail and golden eyes that showed far too many experiences then what a young person would endure. He took a look around the city and smiled as he thought, man…the legendary lost city of Zentropolis. It sure had some kind of makeover for the past two thousand years. His musings were interrupted as he could sense two familiar soul signatures.

"Looks like a found them", the man said with a smirk, "This'll be quicker than I thought."

Next on the list for the little Emperor and his fiery-haired bride was a trip to the Movie theaters. Knowing that they were being followed, Darren's Limousine driver had switched vehicles sooner after their cozy encounter at the restaurant. Another driver had taken their previous limousine and had went directly towards a much different location than what Darren and Mimi were heading, completely throwing their pursuers off course. At the movies, the two royal lovebirds watched a feature that was a bit of a shock.

The movie was oddly enough based on Darren's idol, Reimi Firestorm. In the movie, it chronicles the martial artist's intrepid quests in his home world, Neo Earth when he was still in his teenage years. The movie itself had both preteens engrossed in the nonstop action in compelling plots that followed. Including a battle that involved Reimi fighting a warlord named Spectre in what was known as the "Lemon-Lime" Battles. After Mimi and her "Prince" enjoyed their 2 and a half hour movie, they had exited the theater with smiles on their faces. What they did not notices that on one of the buildings was a man wielding a sniper rifle. He was obviously a trump card of Ivan's encase he could not reach they two preteens himself. Fortunately for him and his beautiful assistant, he had hired some help to do his bidding. So with that in mind, his sniper had his target set on the young couple. It seems that Darren, or Mimi had a prayer of a chance in surviving their assailant, but an error had occurred.

Before the sniper could even pull the trigger, his hands were burned from his rifle by some sort of fireball attack. The injured man had then realized that he had company in the form a mysterious youth with blazing red hair. The nameless young man had sensed that there was an assassin lurking the middle of the formally ancient metropolis. The youth then look down the window and saw that the "Royal couple" had safely left in their ride.

"Aaaaaaaarrrrgh!!! My hands", screamed the Sniper, as he was then subdued with a few energy rings wrapping around his body.

"That's the least of your worries, you jerk", spat the Redhead as he was grabs the Sniper, as he was about to leave the room, "the authorities are about to put you away for a long time."

When the traitorous couple had gotten wind of how "safe" Darren and Mimi ended up being after their trip to the movies, saying that they were pissed off was a heavy understatement. Currently they settled down in their black sedan, which was parked in a quiet spot in one of the empty streets of the city. After awhile, Ivan was finally cooled off from his frustration as he figured out another plan to off the young Heir of the Zentra Empire. According to one of his spies, whom he had hired prior to the "date", he was informed that Darren and his "Bride" had gone to the local Arcade.

Ivan grinned devilishly as he takes a reddish colored gem from his pocket, "Aw yes! The "Crimson eye of the devils!"

"Isn't that one of the forbidden treasures, Ivy-honey", asked the curious Alicia.

The traitor replied with, "Why yes, my dear, this is what I need to get this bloody job done once and for all!"

Meanwhile at the arcade, the preteens had the time of their life. They had started playing a fighting game together which lasted 15 consecutive rounds. Obviously, Mimi had kicked the pus out of her best friend and had the highest score in the arcade. Next in line of the festivities, were the racing games, which was in the Dark-haired boy's forte. The game itself had so much realism that he swore he was driving a racing car going at speeds near 300 miles per hour. He was then triumphant against his red-haired companion, but in a very close margin. After a good 2 hours, the young couple had finished playing the games of the arcade. Mimi had suggested to her "Prince" that they should play with the other kids at the Laser tag room. Of course, Darren could not refuse his friend, so both preteens had then paid for the game. Darren had aggressively zapped over 300 teenagers, not including how many times he had zapped each of them. He was also zapped countless times by an unknown shooter. After the game, Darren ended up with 9000 points and was 2nd place in the game. After exiting out of the room, with Mimi right behind, he was disappointed at being number 2 in the game without knowing who the winner is.

"Aw man," moaned the twelve-year old emperor as he sat down on one of the seats near a table, "I would like to know who got the highest score. Yo, Mia-chan, how did you do?"

"I scored a perfect 10,000" Giggled the redhead.

"I should've known you'd get me in the scores", groan the boy.

Mimi then replied with a cheerful grin, "Well look on the bright side, at least you aced the racing games."

"Yeah", gestured Darren as he gets up from his seat, "I think now's the time we'd get back at the palace."

"Right", yawned Mimi, "I think it's getting a little late. I'm tired."

Before they could get ready to do anything, they had heard some horrified screams coming from outside of the arcade. It was then decided that both preteens went outside to find out what was the matter. What they saw was shocking to say the least. On the damaged streets, there were 9 inhuman, demonic looking figures, each more ugly than the other. From what the preteens could sense, they knew each of them were pretty damn strong. The rest of the people surrounding the arcade and beyond have somehow escaped in fear. Another sight that shocked the two was the appearance of two of their Nobles, Alicia Ivan, who was holding a glowing jewel in his hand. Darren had then concluded that somehow, Ivan had conjured up some demons, but he did not know why.

"Lord Ivan", cried the young emperor, "What's the meaning of this? Why have you summoned these demons?

"Simple", replied the conniving nobleman as he laughed haughtily, "There here to kill you and your precious bride, my lord.

Darren then gets what the ex-nobleman was saying, "So you were the one trying to take me out so you could take over, eh? That's not going to happen because me and my "Precious Bride" is going to kick your sorry ass from here to hell!"

"Oh, I'd like to see you and that little red wench try and stop us, Little Boy", scoffed Alicia.

The chauffeur came out of his car and threw Darren his Phoenix sword. He then got back in his car and driven off to a safe area. The dark-haired boy caught it and wrapped the sheath's strap around his upper body. He then takes his sword out and assumes his fighting stance along side Mimi, who was also ready to fight. Darren then calls out the evil nobleman with an arrogant gesture with, "Bring it on."

Darren and Mimi both proudly stood in front of enemies with no sign of fear expressed on their faces. They had faced monster such as the ones standing in front of them. And besides, one of the duties of a shooting stars fist disciple is to defend humanity from anybody and anything, even grotesque demons that lurk from pits of hell. The concept of the school is to train to become that of a superhuman. With that in mind, both of the preteen's abilities are far beyond that of a normal human being. Without warning, Darren struck first at one of the demons, slashing its arm from the socket. The other demons then try to retaliate, initiating a brutal dogfight in the middle of the city. Mimi attack one unsuspecting demon with a powerful roundhouse kick and dodges a claw swipe from another.

Darren severs one of the demon's heads and finished it off with his trademark technique, the comet punch. As a result, it shattered the beheaded body of the demon to countless amounts of bloody flesh. Mimi jumps off one demon to initiate her own shooting stars kick attack on another, turning that demon into another pile of bloody remains. Before one of the demons could attack the unarmed, fighting redhead, Darren spikes it with his sword and diced it into some manageable chunks before he could even react. After taking out that last monster, Darren relaxed his stance, as well as Mimi. Both Ivan and Alicia were shocked and terrified at the display of the brutality. They did not expect two twelve-year olds to even have the gall to take on demons and successfully win.

"I…I-impossible", the rogue nobleman yelled incredulously as he and Alicia steps back in fear.

"Well believe it, Ivan," answered Darren as he and Mia steps up in front of then with a malicious grin on their faces, "I think it's time to return the favor."

But before the dark-haired preteen could do anything, he hears an odd sound coming from behind. Mimi was the first to turn around as she sees that the remains of the demons have somehow started to fuse together. She also sees that it formed a grotesque looking blob that is somehow starting to form.

"Ummm…. Darren," mutter the redhead as she taps him on the shoulder.

"What, Mimi", he replied.

"I don't think those Demons are through with us", answered Mimi as both she and Darren sees the incoming event that's about to occur.

Meanwhile, as the red-haired young man meditates on one of the tall buildings of the city, he then gets a sudden vibe coming from one of the areas of Zentropolis. He started sensing a demonic aura coming from that select area. He then gets up from his position and ignites in a battle aura of flames.

"Not good…I have got stop that demon before he tries to decimate the city. And fast," the young man yelled to himself as he flew off the tall building and into the air like a bird.

While this is happening, both Mimi and Darren had their hands full with the newly formed Super Demon as it grabs both of their petite necks and threw them towards one of the buildings' walls. Obviously, Ivan and Alicia had hastily left the scene, thinking that their tasks have finally been done. That and the fact that both of them have pretty much been scared spit-less of the Super Being as both preteens recovering from the slam, they suddenly picked a perfect time to get the hell out of there. With that in mind, their driver had come back to pick them up in the nick of time. After they had entered the car, the driver stabbed his foot into the pedal, as a result the cars aggressive acceleration.

"Thank god you came just in time, Mr. Domas", Mimi tired said as she settled down in her seat.

"Hey, it was either me cowering in fear while the Emperor and his bride get killed, or me getting off my lazy ass and picking you two up", the young man replied as he aggressively race through the city.

"Shouldn't somebody deal with that "thing" before the city gets a new makeover", asks Darren as he holds on to his seat.

"Of course, Young Master", answered the chauffeur as he drives through the bridge that leads towards the imperial palace, "They just ordered a squad to protect the castle as soon as that thing reaches it."

"So you mean to tell me that "thing" is still following us going at this speed", Darren questioned the driver in a shocked tone.

"Take a look for your self, Sir", the driver then shows the young Emperor and his red-haired companion what was up in front, strangely enough, the giant Demon, with his wings hovering over the bridge. As the luxury sedan the chauffeur was driving, stops at its tracks, the 20 feet monster stops hovering and drops onto the pavement.

"Looks like there's no other way", Darren simply states, " Mimi, we might as well try to stop this freak before it hurts anyone." Mimi only nods in agreement as she and her fiancé exits the sedan to face the monster.

The demon then runs up towards the car with a newfound fury. The two preteens brace themselves, for what would be a brutal battle. But before the demon could attack, a flying fireball hits it on its chest. Creating nasty burn marks on its abdomen.

"What the hell was that", before Darren could say another word, he sees another fireball knocking down the beast on its ass hard.

The owner of the fireball was the same young man that had exit out of the dimensional gate. Both of the preteens noticed something oddly familiar about the mysterious red-haired man. They also noticed that there was a fiery aura surrounding him as if it were real.

"You will have to get through my cold, dead body in order to kill these children", was all he said before he charges his flam-engulfed body towards a higher level. When he was done he yells out, "Discipline of the burning dragon special attack! FIRE STORM BLAST!" As he thrust both of his hands at the monster, a gigantic ball of fire shot out like a cannon.

"Discipline…of the…Burning Dragon", cried the red-haired girl as she realizes who the young man is.

As the young man's fireball incinerates the demon, Darren was amazed. It was his idol that had come to their rescue, the same man that he had wanted to be ever since he was only a small child. It was the Red Dragon, Reimi Firestorm, afterwards the demon, which was now a pile of burned ashes, blew off into the sky.

"Pitiful excuse for a demon, that is why you're no fun", he then turns to the two kids who had watched him ice a giant demon single handedly, "Yo, you kids okay?"

"WOW!! It's him! It's really him", Darren screamed in endless joy as he and Mimi's eyes turned into twinkling stars as he then starts bowing down in front him like a lowborn slave, "I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy!"

"Eheh…err… "Reimi stammered as he seemed to be a "little" embarrassed of the boy's display, "You don't have to do that, Kid. I'm not that special."

"What do you mean you're not that special?! You're the greatest, most well known Martial Artist in the galaxy! Thank you very much for saving us, Master Rei", the young boy exclaimed as he got up from kneeling down.

"Umm…you're welcome, Mr.…"

"Hawk! Darren Hawk at your service", answered the boy, "And hopefully your newest disciple!"

"And my names Tamiya Lionheart, but you could call me Mimi", snapped the redhead as she butted in the introduction.

"So these are the kids I have to pick up", muttered the Martial Artist, "By the way there is a certain "party" that wants you back home, Kids"

Mimi then perks up with, "You mean you could take us home to Daddy?!" The young man then nods a "yes" as the red-haired girl and her friend were overjoyed of the news.

"How exactly did you find us? I mean you could not of found us strictly by chance", questioned the fiery-eyed boy as he started to scratch his head.

Later that night, Darren had received word that both Alicia and Ivan had been taken under custody for their crimes as well as the "Crimson Eye of the Devils" have been secured safely. The two "former" noble-people will be incarcerated for a very long time. The twelve-year old Martial Artist had also held a meeting that conformed of his resignation as Emperor of Zentrapolis. Many of the servants and citizens of Neo Zentra were shocked. But before they could protest Darren's decision, he had told him that he had a life in his home world, and that he cannot give that up for a life of riches and land to rule. He had also suggested that they should create a democracy that would balance out the government, and let the people decide who would run the soon-to-be former Empire. Mimi was shocked that Darren remembered all of his history lessons from being home-schooled. Reimi added that he will help out on the government's reconstruction as soon as his task of bring the two preteens home is completed.

The next morning, Darren and Mimi had packed up their things, which were some, the items they have received as gifts and such. With that done, the young couple bid everyone farewell as Reimi summons a warp zone that leads to their home planet, Gaia. After entering the wormhole, they were transported towards the sub world that crosses one world from another. Even though Mimi had dealt (al be et very badly) with this trip before, her ride sickness did not miss her as a result of her turning a shade of green. As for Darren, like the last trip, he embraced it with open arms as he hoops and hollers like a speed crazy cowboy. But before they could reach the other end, a giant rock came hurling towards the three dimensional travelers. Before Reimi could summon his energy projectile at the flying matter, Darren Charges up to his max and chucks his own blast.

"Jet Blast", cried the amber-eyed boy as his beam decimates the rock into thousands of pebbles.

"Impressive, Little one", said Reimi as he see Darren nearly passing out from his power display, "But you need to work on energy conservation."

Mia butted in the conversation by adding, "See what I've been trying to tell you, Dee-dee? Now you've darn near keeled over."

"Alright already, Mimi! Get off my back why don'tcha!"

With that being said, the three martial artists fell out of the portal and drops into the soft, yet wet marsh field in the Mira Timberland Valleys. After realizing where they are, Darren and Mimi gave off a relaxed sigh, as well as wiping of some of the grass and mud from their jeans while Reimi stretched his back. The Red-haired young man told the young couple that they have only been gone for an hour instead of one full month. With that in mind, the three martial artists returned to their camp and gathered their things together. Reimi told them that he would drive them back to Targa in his custom made 6-wheeled SUV. After putting all their things inside the hulking road machine, they were ready to go. The trip towards the suburbs of Targa City did not take very long for Reimi to reach, as his SUV stops in front of the Lionheart household in less than 40 minutes from the Timberlands.

As the two teens enter the house, they see the Lionheart patriarch having a friendly conversation with another man in his early thirties. The man was about six feet, two inches, with shoulder-length black hair braided into a mop of dreadlocks that was tied in a ponytail and had a dark complexion. What the man was wearing was the fact that this guy looked very familiar, gave Darren a small sense of worry. As if he had seen a ghost or some other sort of supernatural being. The older man beside Bruce stopped what he was saying as he saw Darren and Mimi enter the living room. He could not believe how the twelve-year old had grown in the last five years. His eyes starts tearing up as he got from his seat the young boy.

"Darren…is…is that you", the man said as he slowly approaches the boy.

"It can't be…it…can't," was all Darren could mutter.

"Darren? What's wrong? Is he a relative of yours", asked Mimi as she sees how her friend is reacting to the man's approach. She then looks toward the man and asks, "Who are you and what relation do you have with Darren?"

"Tamiya! Don't be rude to our guest. He has come a long way to see Darren," scolded Bruce.

"That's okay, Bruce", the man said as he faces Darren, "As a matter of fact, Tamiya, I am Darren's Father. Leon Hawk.

Mimi was shocked to hear the declaration coming from the man, as he was revealed to be the father of her best friend. But that was nothing compared to the shock Darren felt as his fears have been confirmed. His father was in fact alive and well, and he had come back to get him. But due to the fact that his mind was in conflict of rather this whole experience is happening and how, he couldn't take it anymore. Poppa, your…. alive…. But how, was all the boy could muse as he had passed out right there in the middle of the floor.

As Darren wakes up from unconsciousness, he realizes what went on before he had fainted. He remembered a tall man with braids who had the same exact features as his father. Maybe it's true, and that my pops had survived that crash, the boy mused. I sure hope so; I've had too many disappointments as it is… Once the fiery-eyed preteen opened his eyes, he sees a pair of green eyes staring back at him.

"Mia-chan…what happened", Darren croaked as he sat up from the couch. He also sees Bruce and Darren's supposed Father standing over him. Mimi replied to her best friend with, "You fainted from shock."

The boy looks at Bruce, and then he glanced at Leon. He then gets up from the couch and looks at the man dead in the eyes in search for the truth. If he'd seen Leon a few years ago, Darren would've gladly hugged onto the father figure with a drop of a hat, but since he was more mature, and the result of his extraordinary "Camping" trip, he had became more hesitant and skeptic of his so-called father. The Fiery-eyed boy wanted the stone cold know the truth, no matter how painful it was. Leon was a little confused over the boy's reaction, yet he did not budge. He saw his son had the look that shifted from skeptic, to hesitant, and the other emotion he could faintly pick up was a hopeful yet longing Look. Mimi on the other had didn't know what to do or say. He was happy for Darren that the man standing next to her and her father was in fact his father, but from the emotion that the boy was emanating might prove false. After a good 2 minutes, Darren could feel something spark. An epiphany of sort that gave the young boy the answer he had been looking for, as if he could sense it in his very own soul that that the man standing in front of him was his long lost father.

"Dad!" yelled Darren as grabs Leon for a tight hug and breaks down in tears.

Leon returns the hug and said, "Dee…I'm sorry I haven't found you sooner" He then looks at Bruce and Mimi and sighs, knowing that they too need an explanation. "I know you both need an explanation of why I'm here", sighed the man as he disengaged from his son, "It all started 5 years ago…"

~Flashback/ Leon's Narration~

My family was on a plane trip towards Hyper City for our summer vacation at the time. For a man of my profession, it was like a blessing. I had saved up for the perfect vacation spot, which of course was a trip to Hyper City. Little Dee was bugging me for the longest to take him there, since it was meant very much to him. My son here loves speed. He used to even pretend to be like one of those racecar drivers on his big wheel.

Anyhow, the plane trip started off smoothly for a while as if there was no care in the world. But after awhile, things started to really go buck wild. From what I do remember, both engines on the plane started to fail, and as a result the plane had crashed into the ocean. When I came to, my Daughter, and Wife were clung onto me in one of the rescue boats. They were crying saying that they could not find Dee. As I've feared, one of the rescuers found a sneaker, saying that it was all that was left of him. At first, I tried to be strong and deny it. But from the looks of Terra, my wife, it was then confirmed that my only son had died. I…I couldn't help but burst into tears and wept. At the time, I could do nothing to bring back my little boy.

As recent as 6 months ago, was the time I had seriously searched for Darren. Since then, my Wife have given birth to my youngest Son, Brandon. That's right, Dee, you have a little Brother. Anyways, for the first 4 years, I occasionally went with my gut feelings and cruised around the coast where the crash-site was, trying to at least find a body or some clue of remains, but I was unsuccessful. It was when I had visited my longtime friend, Reimi, when I finally got a hold onto Dee's location. He said that he had spotted a boy with similar features as myself compete in the Jalpa Island Fighting Tournaments. At first, I had thought it was a cruel joke, but when I saw a picture of Dee, I wept tears of joy. Knowing that not only my son was alive and well, but also he was strong and he had found people who he could count on. That was two days ago...

~End Flashback/ Narrative~

"…Of course you guys know the rest", finished Leon as he nervously teases one of his braids.

"So…Mom and Foxy are alive", Wondered the fiery-eyed boy as new thoughts pops into his head, "So I have a little brother, eh…"

"Dee, Your mother was almost a month pregnant when you were separated from us", assured the man, "Besides…We thought you were dead at the time."

"I know," sighed Darren.

Bruce then speaks up, "SO I take it, that you're going to take Darren home, eh?"

"Of course, his family misses him terribly", answered Leon.

Bruce then walks up to Darren and hugs him, "I guess this means that I can't watch over you huh, Kid?"

"Yeah", Darren sighed. He then looks at Mia, who just sighs and turns away from him.

Both Leon and Darren's stomachs started grumbling, "Eheh…"

"I guess we're going to have to order some pizza tonight", Bruce chuckled as he proceeded to order on his cell phone.

An hour later, both families sit down at the living room table enjoying their pizza. Or at least that's how it seamed… Darren, despite his "healthy" appetite, had barely eaten four slices, while Mimi have yet to finish her first. Since the revelation of the dark-haired boy's father returning to his life, which resulted in arrangement on his departure, Mimi became greatly depressed. For all this time, she had known it in her heart that one day her best friend would leave her and her father, but she was not ready for it to happen now. Not when she was getting to work up the nerve to reveal her hidden feelings for the dark-haired boy.

Bruce looks up at his daughter and asks, "Is there anything wrong, Lil' Red?"

"May I please be excused? I'm not really all that hungry, " was all that Mimi had said after she had finished her single slice of pizza and left the room. Both Darren and Bruce were a little disturbed by how little the redhead ate, but understood why. On the other hand, Leon noticed something very peculiar about the girl. As if she had reminded him of someone he knew from the past. He then squashed his musing as soon as he munches on his piece of Pizza. Later that evening, while in her room, Mimi was staring at a package she had taken from her closet. It was a well-sized box that was wrapped in comic strip pages enough to fit clothing and such. Tonight was not the best night for the little redhead. She was happy Darren had found his lost family, but she couldn't bear to see him go. It was sparked by the fact that she l…lo…like him so much it hurt. After wiping away a few tears from her face, Mimi stood up and vowed, "Before this night ends, I will show Darren how I feel!"

Later that night, just after he had finished packing his belongings, Darren lied back down on his bed. He could not sleep that night because of the recent developments that has just happened in the last several hours. The dark-haired preteen had mixed emotions of wander, longing, depression, and a faint chance of joy that has swirled his psych. I just hope that I wish that I were man enough to tell Mimi how much I love her and not crap out like some spaz, he mused. The boy then gets up to stretch, only to have a rock knocked him right between the eyes.

"Owww!! Who did that", bellowed Darren as he tends to the bridge of his nose. As he turns around to see the rocky substance, in which cause him minor pain, he then notices a piece of paper wrapped around it. It was a note from Mimi, telling him to meet her at the part within the next half hour. Curiosity and concern was what drove Darren into following the notes orders as he puts on his "outdoor clothes" en route to the park. As if on time, Darren had entered the park only to see Mimi sitting on the bench holding a "gift-wrapped" box. Wondering what was on the redhead's mind, the boy the sits beside her on the bend as if he attempted to start the conversation.

He then asks, "Mia-chan, why did you send for me here? And what's the package for?"

"You asks too many questions, Dee", answered the redhead as she moves up to Darren and kisses him on the cheek and smiled, "We're here because we got a lot of stuff to get out of our chest. And I would like to be the first to say Happy Birthday."

"But my birthday's not until next…Oh," The dark-haired boy corrected himself as he realize what's up, "So that means that package you got there's for me, right?"

Mimi smiled sarcastically and said, "You're catching on quick." She then stood up from the bench and untied her two ponytails, leaving her long-flowing scarlet hair fall towards her back. Mimi smiled as she sees that Darren stared at her as his face flushed vibrantly and says, "Dee, for the past five years, we have both lived on the same roof as friends, comrades, and most importantly, family! But during those years, something unexpected happened…I…. started having feelings for you that's beyond that of friendship. I've had my crushes with older boys and even pop idols, but I don't feel the same for them as I feel for you. What I'm trying to tell you, Dee-Dee, is that I think I've fallen hopelessly in love with you." There it was. The moment Darren waited almost forever. Those three precious words one would take to the grave happily with. Darren did not blush this time; he knew what he had to do next, and he will do it with every bit of confidence he could possibly come up with. Mimi then waited patiently for Darren's reply, her fears of rejection were present as her best friend and possible love interest stared on without any sort of answer. It didn't help that the fiery-eyed boy had almost looked stern. She then asks meekly, "Umm…Dee…err…Do you…Like me, Dee-Dee…at least?"

"No I don't", was his reply. Before Mimi ever had a second to pout, he then Hugs Mimi as he answers, "I love you. And I will never, ever deny that one bit."

"Oh, Darren…I'm so happy", Cried the redhead as she was now shed a few tears of joy. She then asks, "What will become of us, Dee? When will we ever see each other again?"

"I don't know, Mia-chan" Darren replied as he hugs tighter, "I hope that one day we could get back together soon. And then we could work it out. But I will do anything in my power to keep in contact with you and Uncle Bruce."

After awhile the two preteens had finally disengaged from the hug. Mimi then handed Darren his present. He ripped into the package as if it were Christmas Eve night. As he opened the box, Darren then gasps, "Oh, Mia-chan…you shouldn't…thank you Mimi…Thank you very much."

"Like it? I bought them from my share of what we won from all those tag-team tournament matches", The redhead chirped as she knew the boy was touched by the gift, "I knew how much they mean to you and this is not just for your birthday, but from all those times you had made me happy to live with you for the past five years."

Gift was somewhat simple, but pretty expensive depending on one's tastes. It was a pair of high top sneakers with a wrap-around ankle strap, a pair of fingerless padded gloves, and a custom jogging-suit to match. All of which were the right size for a boy of Darren's size and shape.

"And another thing, Dee," said the redhead as she walks a little closer to her friend, whom in turn replied with a question of, "What?"

"This", Mimi then pulls Darren into a clumsy, yet tender kiss on the lips. Despite her inexperience, the catlike girl gave every bit of feeling into it. After about 25 seconds, Mimi reluctantly ends the kiss.

"Wow", was all Darren's reply before he "happily" passes out.

Mimi giggled whole-heartedly, "Oh, Dee-dee. What am I ever going to do with you?"

The next morning, there was a feeling of sadness in the air at the local Targa City Airport. At the terminal, both families are awaiting the plane that was preparing its flight back to Aurora. Since the "accident" five years ago, Darren had an unnerving feeling for planes. It was as if history would repeat itself. But his feeling of dread was not the only emotion that had been plaguing the young catlike boy. It was the depression he had felt that came from the fact that he was leaving the Lionhearts. He looked up to Bruce as if he was another uncle in the family, and his feelings for Mimi seemed to go beyond the boundaries of friendship. So it was natural for him to feel so low. It was obvious that the feelings were mutual for the Lionheart Father and Daughter. When the announcement that Darren and Leon's plane was ready to board, all was set and ready to go.

Darren then hugs Bruce and tearfully choked out, "Thank you for taking care of me, Uncle Bruce. If it weren't for you or Mimi, I would not know what might've…"

"I know, Dee, I know", replied the Big Man as he hugs the preteen, "Please keep in touch, Son."

"I will, Uncle", replied the boy.

"Dee", Mimi called meekly as she approached Darren, "Last night might've been the last time we ever do this but…"

"What if it wasn't the last time", the fiery-eyed boy replied as he gives the redhead a kiss to the lips. They're second overall. Bruce wasn't upset of the gesture, but actually impressed. He knew all along how those kids felt. All Leon could do was smirk in agreement. After the kiss Darren then said as he picks up his luggage, "G'bye, Mia-chan, I will try to keep in touch."

"G'bye, Dee-chan", choked Mimi as she fought hard to keep her tears in check, but failing miserably, "I'll never forget you."

Next announcements of the Hawk father and Son's plane boarding, Darren and his father greeted their last goodbyes as they walk through the gate that led to their plane. Mimi sobbed onto her father chest, saying that it was not fair that her best friend had to leave. As they sat in their seats, Darren looked one last time through the window, thinking of all the good and bad times when he had lived with the Lionhearts in Jalpa. He then sheds tears of sorrow and hope. Hoping that one day he can see his red-haired Mia-chan and Uncle again.

"You alright, Dee", asked Leon as he turn towards his son.

"Yeah, Pop, I'll be fine", was all the dark-haired could say as he looked out of the window.

At the Aurora International Airport, three family members awaited the arrival of a certain airplane. That morning, it seemed like both the Teen and her mother had been waiting for an eternity for the plane to arrive. The first person was a woman in her early thirties, with long, back-length dark auburn hair, and light caramel colored skin. She was obviously the Mother of the family. The second member was a teenage girl with short strawberry blonde hair and bronzed skin. The last person was a young boy no older than five years old with neatly cut dark brown hair and dark skin. But after hearing the announcement that the plane they had been waiting for had finally arrive, finally broke the tension. It took a few minutes for the passengers to exit the gate. The Mother of the family then proceeded to find her husband and her long lost son. Through the huge crowd of people, two other people arose the attention of the youngest child of the family as he sees his poppa exiting the gate with a boy much older than he is with features similar to his own. Could this be my big brother, mused the little boy? He then pulled the sleeve of his mother's shirt to gain her attention.

"Momma, Look! It's Poppa and Big Brother", yelled the boy.

"What?! Where", the Mother frantically asked the hyper active kid.

Both the elder Daughter and the mother then notice a man with braided hair dressed Military clothing walking next to a boy no older than twelve years old. The boy had long untamed hair tied to a bushy ponytail and dressed in jeans, t-shirt, denim jacket, and a pair of high-top sneakers. What shocked the Teenage girl and her mother was the fact that the boy's features, despite age and clothing, were not that much different from the man next to him. The boy was in fact the Mother's long lost baby boy, who has grown up into a fine young man.

"Darren!" the dark-haired boy heard a familiar voice coming his way. He and his father turns to see who it was that called him, and gave off a surprised gasp. He sees his long lost mother and sister standing about near the baggage claim. Momma, mused Darren as he walks over to the baggage claim. The dark-haired boy rushed over to the to females and gave each of them a firm hug.

"Mom…Foxy", sobbed the boy, "I'm home…I'm finally home!"

Darren's mother cried along with him, "My little baby boy! I thought I would never see you again!"

"Welcome back, Little Bro. It's good to see you again", said Foxy teary-eyed as she joined in the hug.

The tender family moment was interrupted by a small tug on Darren's pant leg. As he disengages from the hug, he sees a five-year-old boy with similar features of his own look at him dead in the eyes innocently. The preteen smiled at the boy and asks, "Are you little Brandon?"

The boy in question nodded vigorously and replied, "Yep! You must be my big Brother Dee! You look so cool!"

"Umm…thank you", the elder boy answered embarrassingly, "How old are yah, Brandon?"

The little boy then sticks out all four fingers out from his hands, "This many."

"You're a smart little guy, aren't you," teased Darren as he affectionately rubs the boy's chestnut brown hair.

Leon then calls out to his son and jokingly said, "Let's hurry up, so we can get our bags. Don't want to have the luggage waiting."

After hearing the lame comment his father had just blurted out, the near-teenage boy hefted his carry-on bag and headed towards the rest of the luggage along with his family. After loading all of their belongings in Leon's custom-made deluxe Minivan, the Hawk family was off. During their trip home, Darren told his family some of his experiences from his life with the Lionhearts. Leon had told him that ever since Brandon saw him at one of the tournaments, he have been a big fan. His heart was about to break again when his little brother asked if his former red-haired teammate was his girlfriend. Girlfriend, the black-haired near teen mused before a tear threatened to pore down his cheek. Before he quickly changed the subject, he then quickly wiped his face and told his little sibling that she was just a good friend of his and he missed her dearly.

When the Hawk family had finally arrived home, Darren's memories of his early childhood came into mind. The last time he had set foot house, he and his family were on their way to that "fateful" catastrophic airplane trip towards the pacific. The house was not too big, just your typical five bedroom house from the suburbs with a giant satellite dish and a well-sized single car garage. Awhile later, Darren had just finished unpacking in his room, which was located in a surprisingly comfortable spot in the basement. Just as he was about to lie down on his new, unmade bed, the dark-haired boy was interrupted by the voice his elder sister as she enters his personal den.

"What's up, Little Bro", asked Foxy as she sat down on Darren's bed.

The fiery-eyed boy sighed responded to his elder sister calmly, "Hey, Sis."

"You're alright", Foxy asked with some concern.

As Darren pauses, he follows up with, "No…not really."

"Oh, you're still thinking about that girl back at Jalpa, huh", gestured the blonde, "Daddy told me about what you did back there."

"Really?" the preteen smirked, "What did he say?"

"Well, judging from what he said to me, this Mimi girl must've been very special to you", wink the elder sister, "I think it's cute …I wish I had someone that had those feelings for me…"

"Ummm…yeah…I guess so," the young boy blushed then sighs, "But…I don't think I'll get to see her again for a _long_ time…

Foxy then notices her little brother's depressed expression and decided to change the subject, "Since your birthday will be in about six days, I'll take you to the Galleria tomorrow morning. What do you think?" Darren gives his sister a weak smile and answered, "Sure thing, Sis." After awhile of chatting, Foxxy left the basement den as her younger brother changes into his nightclothes. Well, despite my current situation, it's good to be home once again, thought Darren as tucked himself inside his new bed. Before long, the near-teenage boy surrendered himself into blissful slumber.

The next morning, the bright mid-summer morning light shines over the suburb of Aurora Heights. Many people wake early to deal with daily odd jobs that maintained the flow. Darren finally wakes up from a long 10 hours of sleep as he stretches every kink from his young body. I may still feel down, but this day seems to be looking up, the boy thought with a faint smile. Later that morning, the middle hawk brother trains outside as he proves he could still follow his usual morning routine despite where he is now. Darren's folks noticed how very skilled in the arts he had become since his stay with the Lionhearts. Brandon cheered freely, sprouting praises for his big brother and how strong he was. Leon smirked, as he could feel his pride for his son.

Darren sighs in relaxation as he wipes sweat from his brow, "Man, training just isn't the same without Mia-chan."

Later that morning, Foxxy drove her preteen younger to the biggest shopping center in Aurora, the Metroplex Galleria. When they reached the complex, Darren saw how big it was and was amazed. He knew that Jalpa never had malls of that size, even though he knew that the Island only had one. He thought to himself and smiled, sweet! I think I'm going to like this Mall.

Inside the Galleria, Darren looked in awe at how many good stores and venders that littered the complex like an ant colony. Foxy then took him to many clothing stores to keep up with the latest fashion for guys his age. During that time, many young boys in his age group wore jogging suits, t-shirts with insanely vibrant colors, or perhaps jeans with a variety of rips and tears. The preteen couldn't care less of some of the clothing out there as he scoffs at how ridiculous a pair of jeans with rips and tears on it would cost more than 60 bucks. He could buy a 10-dollar pair and do the tearing himself for free. Despite most of the stores pathetic choice of pricey clothing, so far Darren holds two bags with a few pairs of "normal" jeans, button-up shirts and t-shirts. Both he and his elder sister entered the sporting goods store to find him a pair of gym shoes.

The near-teenage boy told Foxxy told his sister that he already had a new pair of sneakers (the ones bought by Mimi of course), but the blonde told him that he needed some variety, so of course, she bought a pair of low-top tennis shoes. With that in mind, the young boy wasn't sure of where exactly did his sister come up with the money. Maybe she has a job a something, wondered Darren as he hefts his two bags while walking out of the store. That's when Foxy drops a huge bomb on her brother all of a sudden.

"What do you mean I need a haircut", cried Darren as he drops his bags in shock.

His elder sister smiled as she ruffled with his long, bushy hair, "Why not? That macho Cave boy look is _way_ out of style."

The so-called "Cave Boy" boy bit back, "Since When?"

"Since…hmmm…Last Spring", said Foxy, "Besides, don't you want a change of pace or something?"

"For you I'll do it", Darren paused, "But, it better not be any stupid weirdo crap! I would hate to look like one of those greasy-haired pretty boys."

"Okay, whatever you say", Foxy replied as she grabs onto her little brother's arm, "Let's go, pretty boy."

Darren's haircut at the one of the mall's salons had gone off very smoothly. The preteen's once long, busy hair was now done into short, straightened unruly spikes. The preteen actually liked how they did his hair, but was annoyed at how long it took to get it done. His elder sister marveled at how flawless the barber's work. Just when Darren and Foxy was about to leave the salon, they heard a huge crash. The dark-haired boy dropped his things and ran to where the crash came from. When he reached the railing of the stairs, he sees a man well over 7 feet tall beating down security guards. When Foxy reaches her brother, she gasps as she thinks, hey…. that guy's got quite a bounty on his head. If only I didn't bring Darren here with me… Darren snaps the teenage blonde from her musing when he shouts out, "Sweet!!! It's party time!" Looking confused, Foxy freaks out when she sees what her brother was up to, "What…Hey! We're at least 80 feet from the ground!"

Ignoring his sister's plea, the spiky-haired youth jumps from the third story railing falling feet-first. He then bounced off the second story railing then flips into a cannonball, finally he snaps into a flying sidekick aiming at the tall figure. While this occurred, the unsuspecting thug body slams one security guard onto a picnic table and laughs, "Is that the best you could do, Wimps? You're no fun."

Just when the big man was about to finish his gloating, Darren's crushing sidekick smashed him from behind, sending him flying into wall at full force, resulting in one large human-shaped hole. Darren then falls into a fighting stance, hopping on each side like a seasoned kickboxer. Foxy, and many other mall shoppers looked in awe. One of the things that were going inside her mind was, whoa…I knew he was a decent fighter, but…I…wow.

Darren looked at the broken down giant and smirked, "Had enough yet, retard?"

The giant emerged from the rubble, face reddened in pure unadulterated anger. He then charged at the youth at top speed, but was stopped cold with a powerful elbow strike in the groin, resulting in a very feminine squeal of pain. The big man then tried to strike the youth with a clothesline, but missed, leaving an open spot on his right side. Darren then took the advantage and smacked the larger man with a "comet punch" to the ribs, and fallowed it up with an ax kick to the chin. The boy finished his assault with a powerful reverse flying roundhouse kick to the temple, sending him into dreamland. All of the nearby shoppers cheered the youth as the security guards cuffed the criminal.

Darren dusted his hands and smirked, "I guess Aurora could be a fun place after all."

Later that afternoon, Darren's fight was broadcasted through the airways all around the city. When this happened, Leon, and the rest of the Hawk family saw the display just in time. The news shocked Terra; her little boy had just taken down one of the most wanted criminals in the city single-handedly. What impressed Leon was, that the said youth was giving the bounty by taking the man down himself.

Meanwhile, Darren was typing something on Foxy's laptop. Obviously, the dark-haired boy was typing a letter for Mimi. He had wanted to keep in touch with the one girl that had "recently" stolen his heart. He was sure that his old friend was wondering what he was up to since moving back to his hometown. As he types in the last sentence of his letter, Foxy entered his room.

"What up, Dee-Boy."

"Hey, Carrot top", Darren replied.

"Heheh…You don't know how I miss being called that. So", the teenage blonde started, "what exactly did you learn when you were staying at the Lionhearts?"

"It's a fighting style called "The discipline of the Shooting Stars Fist."

"I could see you've been training nonstop, huh?"

"Well, all I could say is you would not like the training regime."

"How so? Is it that hard?"

"Very."

Changing the subject, Foxy then asks, "Typing a letter for "that special someone, eh?"

"Yeah", Darren started, "Right now it's the only way I could keep in contact without running up the phone bills by calling her by long distance."

"Are you finished?"

"Just about. I'll send it tomorrow before the post office closes tonight."

"That's good to hear.

One week after Darren left the Lionheart household en route back to his hometown in Aurora, Mimi had entered the living room after finishing her morning training. Being satisfied after her exhausting training session, Mimi was still feeling greatly depressed since her best friend left her. She knew sometime sooner or later Darren would not be there forever, and she savored every minute of him being there. She turned on the television before she sat down onto the couch; soon after, Bruce smiled widely entered the room with some mail and a package.

"Hey, Little red", he said as he tossed the mail onto the couch next to his daughter, "Here's something Dee sent ya."

"Really", the redhead impatiently asked as she quickly opened the mail. She then begin reading the letter word-for-word:

~Letter from Darren~

Dear Mia-chan,

Ever since I've been home, I couldn't help but missed you. Even though the pain in my heart was slightly eased when I finally reunited with my family, I still wish you were with me. It's like a piece of my soul was broken off when I left Jalpa. If you were here, my Mom and Dad would've loved you. Sometimes it gets annoying when my Big Sister teases me about me having feelings with you, or when my little brother tries to put on my clothes when ninety percent of the time I told him not too. But hey, they are my family and I wouldn't have it any other way. Any who, Aurora's not a bad town to live in, especially during this time of year it's very nice. You would've loved the Skyline of the city when Morning breaks at the crack of dawn, or watching the Orion County Bridge standing tall across the Aurora bay. Heheh…A day after I returned home, I got into a fight with this escaped convict at the local mall. Don't worry, Mia-chan, I put the big oaf in his place. Judging by his moves he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed. Hopefully soon, I'll find some way to contact you soon. Maybe I'll come up with the money to get a plane back to Jalpa so I could visit you and Bruce. Don't ever think that me leaving Jalpa was going to be forever! Mia-chan, I miss you and I still love you with all my heart. Maybe someday we could go further into our relationship. All I know is that I will not give up hope. Not yet, not ever! There is some thing else I should tell you before I go, there is going to be a big tournament coming up in Skyline City in a few years. Maybe someday, I'll meet you there. Oh yeah! I almost forgot! There's a special gift I got for you as payback for the gear you gave me. Well, goodbye, Mia-chan. I'll write back soon, and that's a promise.

Love, Darren Hawk

As Mimi finish her letter, her tears flowed freely down her cheeks. She then smiled as she opened the package. It was a pair of silver necklace. Mimi's heart fluttered, knowing that her best friend and love have not forgotten her. The redhead then vowed, next time we meet, Dee, I will be the woman of your dreams. With that in mind, she left to go for another difficult training session.