Sérgio's 1st Adventure
Chapter 7 - The Hero Meets His Dark Side!
Written by: CS-Masyet
Uploaded on: June 27, 2015
The path to my destination required a few turns, but not enough to get lost. As I wondered if what I was doing was worth it, I saw something. Something I didn't think I would find on this island...

"A person!"

There was a boy, standing on a cliff by himself, staring off into the distance. I was about to call out to him, but...

Wait, he seems awfully familiar...

Even though I hadn't uttered a word to him, he noticed me, and turned around. When he did so, I immediately realized who it was.

He was... me. Or rather...

"M-my dark side?!"

He looks exactly like he did in that image Crystana showed me... I figured I'd have to duke it out with him someday, but not this soon!

"You know... NOTHING!" I immediately recalled the dream I had last night. Shivers ran down my spine.

There's no way he'll be that scary, right? I mean, he's my dark side, but he's still kinda me, right...?

He walked toward me slowly, wearing an expression that made it hard for me to tell what he was thinking.

I thought for sure he would be the final challenge on my adventures! For all I know, he could be readying one of his killer techniques, and I'm not prepared at all! Erm, what kind of powers does my dark side have, anyway? Argh, what should I do?!

When he felt he was standing close enough to me, he stopped, still giving me a blank stare. And then...

"*gurgle*"

A... stomach growl?

"W-was that you?!"

He looked down. "Hungry..."

"U-um..." I took off the knapsack that had still been strapped to my back, and rummaged through it until I found something. "Wanna donut...?"

He slowly reached out and grabbed it gently from my hand, then proceeded to examine it.

"It's not like I did anything to i-..."

"Why?" He cut me off, his face looking more serious.

"... W-why what?"

"Why... is this hollow in the middle?" He inquired, pointing at the donut center, his expression becoming calm again.

"Erm... To be honest, I don't really know myself..."

What's with this situation?! I'm glad he's not scary, but I never expected him to be this... weird!

He looked at it in confusion for a little bit longer, before finally taking a bite. I stared at him awkwardly while he ate it all.

"So... are you satisfied?" I asked him, not knowing what else to say. "Your stomach full now?"

He nodded.

"Uh, that's... good, I guess. So, um..." ... now what?

All of a sudden, he fisted one of his hands, and released power from it. The power turned into a sharp spear of ice, which surrounded his hand and part of his arm.

"Wah!" I jumped back in shock.

He's got ice powers? And what's he going to do with that spear?!

He took his spear, and...

... started eating it.

"E-eh?" I uttered, looking at what he was doing in bewilderment. "Wha?"

"Thirsty." He stated flatly, (probably) trying to explain himself.

"O-oh, that was it... But you're the one who made that ice; does your power really work that way?"

"Only for hydration purposes. It doesn't affect my overall water intake."

"I-I see..."

I don't really get it, but whatever...

"So, I have to ask... Who are you, exactly?"

"I'm Darkés."

"E-er, that's not quite what I meant... But is 'Darkés' your name?"

Is this guy really my dark side...?

"Yes, that's right."

"And I'm, um, Sérgio..."

"I know."

"You do?!" I exclaimed in surprise. "So are you actually... my dark half?"

"Dark half...?!" He looked oddly surprised by what I said. He then looked down, hiding his face. "... Yes, I suppose you could say that."

"So it really is true. Then...!"

He turned around, facing away from me.

"This was an unexpected meeting. Hopefully, you and I... never meet again."

"W-wait! There's some stuff I still want to ask y-..."

All of a sudden, two things sprouted from his back.

Those are... black wings?!

He turned his head back at me one last time, an almost sorrowful-looking expression on his face.

"... Farewell."

Before I had a chance to say anything else, he flew off, a gust of wind he created pushing me to the ground.

"Argh!" I got up, trying to look for him, but to no avail.

... Darkés...

--

I figured there was no point in exploring anymore, so I decided to head back to where Serge and Sprit were.

The dark me in my dream and the one in real life are so different from each other. The dream one was so angry and mean, but the other one wasn't like that at all.

"Your power is needed to protect the CS Region from the approaching chaos." "The approaching chaos is in fact, your dark side." "He holds an enormous power; a power no one can even fathom." "Before you can stop that evil boy once and for all, you must be tested."

But after all of the things Crystana told me about him, the way he was when I met him doesn't make any sense... He didn't seem chaotic, strong, or even evil...

If anything, he looked... almost sad. But... why?

Now that I think about it, where did he even come from? There has to be a reason for him to exist, right? But not even mom knew about him before I told her...

I don't know why things are becoming so complicated... I thought things would be fine if I just did the tests Crystana gave me, and then I could eventually become a superhero! So why am I starting to become so confused about everything?!

Is there something wrong with me? Am I not thinking about things the way I'm supposed to...?

Because I was thinking about things so much, I seemingly ended up back at the fenced-in area in no time...

... or rather, it was fenced in...

"Are you okay, Serge?" Sprit asked, while healing him.

"Yeah, thanks..."

"What happened?!" I exclaimed, shocked and worried about why Serge was hurt. "Did something in there attack you?"

"We managed to open the gate, but when we tried to enter the building beyond here, we were ambushed by dark beings." Sprit explained.

"Dark beings!? There were here?"

"Yeah, y'know, those stupid Ghosty Boys from before." Serge added. "But don't worry, I took care of 'em! It was no problem for me!"

"Serge was cool. Really cool!" Sprit said happily, after he finished healing Serge. "You should of seen him, Sérgio!"

"C-cool? Me?" Serge looked surprised by that comment, and looked away in embarrassment. "H-hmph, it was no big deal, really..."

This doesn't make any sense... Why were the Ghosty Boys here? I searched all over this place, but didn't find a single one! There weren't even any near where Darkés was...

But I thought they were supposed to be his minions...?

"So, what happened on your end?" Serge asked me.

"..." I was so confused that I didn't know what to say, so I didn't say anything.

"Sérgio, is something wrong?" Sprit said worriedly. "Did you run into trouble?"

"I-I, uh... *gurgle*" All of a sudden, my stomach growled. "... I'm hungry."

"Jeez, you idiot; that was all?!" Serge shouted at me angrily. "Making us worry for nothing!"

"H-heh, sorry..."

"Let's find somewhere to sit down and eat, then we can continue talking about what all of us saw while we were separate from each other." Sprit suggested.

--

We found a nice, flat area to sit, near where we first got here from.

"I don't like this spot." Serge grumbled. "It's too metaly here."

"It's metaly everywhere on this island, Serge." I grumbled back, taking a donut out of my bag to eat.

"So, can you tell us what happened when you went off on your own?"

"Well, you see... I..." I paused. "I-I think I might've finally run into... him."

"Him?" They both said questioningly.

"Y'know... my dark side."

"Dark side?" Sprit looked confused. "Who is that, Sérgio? I don't think you've mentioned him before..."

"I've heard both you and Crystana talking about this 'dark side' person a few times." Serge said. "But who is he, exactly?"

"He's the ultimate evil I'm supposed to fight, after I pass all of Crystana's tests. Apparently, he'll fill the CS Region with 'approaching chaos', or something like that. In order words, he's pretty much my arch-nemesis."

"And you ran into that guy?! What happened?" Serge inquired.

"Well... nothing." I told them flatly. "Nothing happened."

"Nothing happened?!" He responded in shock. "What do you mean nothing happened!?"

"I mean that he barely did anything at all. He just told me his name and flew away."

"That's it? Nothing else?"

"Well, there was one other thing..."

"This was an unexpected meeting. Hopefully, you and I... never meet again." Was what he said earlier. I told them the same way he said it.

"But I don't understand! It sounded like he never wanted to meet me. Ever. But he's the ultimate evil I'm supposed to fight; so we'd have to meet at some point, right?"

"Maybe he doesn't want you to get in the way of his evil plans or whatever?" He suggested.

"I don't think so... He didn't actually seem like a bad person."

"... You sure he was really your dark side, then...? Did he have dark powers? I mean, it's not like he has the word 'dark' in his name..."

"Well, his name is Darkés..."

"... Never mind..."

"I'm sorry, but this all is confusing me. And I'm sure it's confusing you, too, but..." Sprit said apologetically. "Crystana told you that you had to defeat him to save the CS Region, right? Maybe she was just mistaken...?"

"Or maybe she's really the ultimate evil!" Serge cut in.

"Serge, don't be silly!" I exclaimed angrily. "She's helping me be a superhero; she'd never do anything bad!"

"Sheesh, I was only joking..." He sighed. "I'm sure that Darkés guy is trying to trick you. He probably didn't expect to meet you here, and just doesn't want to see you right now."

"You mean... he's preparing for our final showdown?!"

"Well, that would end up being your only showdown, but... Yeah, something like that."

"I see... Is that really the case, though...?"

"Maybe, maybe not. If it's confusing you so much, don't think about it." Serge said, making a confident pose. "Let's just focus on getting stronger and beating up bad guys!"

"... Yeah, you're right! Thanks, Serge!" I thanked him, feeling a bit better.

Still, this seems too important to not think about... But I guess I should just forget about it; I don't want to make the others worry anymore.

"Alright, now that that's settled, we should discuss our next course of action." Sprit told us.

"What do you mean?" I said to him questioningly.

"Yeah, you guys do that; I'm gonna grab some grub!" Serge started going through my bag for food.

"Crystana told us to learn why the dark beings are here on this island. I think the building beyond the fenced-in area might offer us a clue."

"Ah right, because the Ghosty Boys were hiding there..."

"Hey, where's my donut?!"

"I thought the dark energy might've come from Darkés, but considering what happened to you two, I guess checking it out would be a good idea." I continued, ignoring Serge.

"Alright, after you both finish eating, let's go take a look."

"It's fine, we can eat the rest on the way there."

--

"'The Lab of Dr. X, the Genius Inventor that will Change the World! His accomplishments inclu-...' Darn, I can't read the rest. It's too rusty..."

I had just read the sign in front of the building beyond the fenced-in area. There were no Ghosty Boys to bother us this time, thankfully.

"I wonder who this 'Dr. X' person is...?" I wondered out loud.

"I don't have a clue." Serge uttered, still eating some leftover crackers.

"I don't know either..." Sprit added sadly. "Even the name of this place has appeared in some books I've read, but I've never seen this person's name in them. I'm so sorry..."

"It's okay, Sprit. Don't worry about it." I assured him.

But that's weird, that name actually seems kinda familiar to me for some reason... Maybe it sounds like the name of a villain Jalapeño Man's fought before?

"Aw, whatever. It doesn't seem like looking around out here will do us any good, so how about we check out inside the building?"

"I-it's not that I don't agree, Sérgio, but..." Sprit began to say nervously. "The last time we tried to enter, Ghosty Boys attacked us..."

"So what? It they try to do anything again, I'll just kick their butts... again!" Serge said confidently.

"Yeah, and I'm here, so it'll be fine!"

"Y-yes, you're right. Let's go, then."

"Me first!" Serge shouted, suddenly sprinting ahead.

"Hey, wait!" I ran after him, who had already made it to the entrance of the lab.

All of a sudden, a siren blared throughout the building.

"W-what the heck's going on?"

"What'd you do, Serge?!"

"Me?! I didn't do anyth-..."

Without warning, a door-shaped metal fell down right in front of us, blocking our way into the lab any farther.

"ACCESS DENIED."

"Yeah, we get that, door..." Serge uttered.

"Get out of our way!" I yelled at the door angrily, banging on it to try and open it, to no avail. "Great, now what? If we can't get in there..."

"... We won't be able to find out about the dark energy on this island..." Sprit finished.

"Sprit, don't you have any ghost-ish powers that you can use to go through the walls or something?" Serge asked him.

"No... Sorry..." Sprit answered sadly.

"Uh, t-that's okay, you don't need to apologize..." Serge said uneasily.

What do we do now? If we can't get in here, I can't complete Crystana's test! And this one seems pretty important, too...

Think, what would Jalape-...

Before I could finish my thought, I noticed a shining, blue light behind me.

"T-the portal...?!" I exclaimed in shock. "But we didn't finish what we were supposed to do..."

"Maybe she has something to tell us." Serge suggested. "Let's go."

"Sure, I guess..."

I walked toward the portal slowly, the others behind me, not satisfied about what had happened.

--

"Welcome, young hero." Crystana told me as soon as we arrived in the weird shiny room she was always in. "How was your trip?"

"Well..." I'm sure she's gonna be mad at me... "It was fine, I guess, excep-..."

"I see." She cut me off. "Well done on taking care of the dark energy."

"W-wha?!" I said with a look of surprise, the other two sharing my expression. "B-but we didn't do anything about i-..."

"You ran into your dark half, didn't you?" Crystana told me, cutting me off again.

"How did you know that!?"

"I didn't, but I had... a hunch." She explained. "The strong, dark energy I sensed is no longer on Mechaopolis, so I'm assuming he has left. But... I also sense troubled emotions within you. Did he do something to you, young hero?"

"Well... um..."

"I had known sending you to that island might be dangerous, but I did so regardless. I see now that was a mistake." Crystana said, her tone of voice seeming different than usual. "Even with your companions by your side, you were not ready to face the chaotic powers your dark side possesses. I apologize."

Did she realize the dark powers she sensed belonged to Darkés? Did she send me there to fight him? But he didn't seem villainous or anything... Crystana keeps saying he has "chaotic" powers though, so he has to be evil, right...?

I'm just so confused!

"For now, get some rest, young hero. Enough that you'll be ready for your next test."

"..."

"Don't be discouraged; you will be able to destroy your evil side someday and become a true hero. Until then..."

"... Crystana."

"... What is it?" She asked in confusion.

"Darkés... Where did he come from? Why does he exist? Why is he my dark ha-..."

"Enough. Knowing all that will not help you. It will just distract you from your duty."

"'Distract me from my duty'...? What the heck is that supposed to mean?!" I asked, sounding angrier than I meant to.

"Enough." She repeated. "Get some rest, young hero..." She waved her hand, and my surroundings started to spin, like what always happened when she teleported me somewhere.

--

We were brought back to outside my house, like usual.

I walked towards my house slowly, not saying a word.

"So, what was that outburst about, Sérgio?" Serge asked me.

"Are you alright, Sérgio?" Sprit added.

"Just leave me alone, guys..."

I went inside, not saying anything else to them.

"Oh, you're back!" My mom said to me, waiting for me at the door. She didn't seem tired like before. "Jemily's waiting for you in your room upstairs."

"Thanks, mom..."

"What's the matter, sweetie?" She asked worriedly, noticing the mood I was in. "Did something bad happen?"

"It's nothing..." I stated, then went upstairs to my room.

Once I made it up the stairs, I opened the door and saw Jemily sitting on the floor, a pile of textbooks next to her.

"About time! Let's hurry up and get your homework done!" She said to me as soon as I walked in.

"Sorry, I'm not in the mood right now..." I uttered, before falling on top of my bed and lying there.

"What's wrong? You're not being your usual cheery self..."

"I'm just... confused." I told her, facing away from her and huddling my blankets towards my body. "Nothing makes sense anymore..."

"Are you feeling conflicted about something?" Jemily asked me, moving to the other side of the bed to face me.

"'Conflicted'?"

"It means your thoughts are clashing with each other."

"Yeah... Something like that." I sighed. "Maybe if I was smart like you, I wouldn't be all 'conflicted' like this..."

"Then tell me what's bothering you." She sat in my bed next to me. "Maybe I can help."

"Sure, okay..."

I sat up, and told her about my meeting with Darkés.

"I see... So, this Darkés person is like, another you?"

"Yeah, sorta. Except he's like a dark me, that has bad powers and I'm supposed to defeat him to save the CS Region."

"Why would defeating him save the region, exactly?"

"Because that's what Crystana told me." I answered. "Which means he's supposed to be my arch-nemesis, right?"

"He... is?" She looked confused, not seeming to understand what I meant.

"Yeah, y'know, the one who controls all the dark entities I have to fight. And then, when I defeat all of his minions and become stronger, he'll have one last showdown with me... And that's when I'll become a true superhero!"

"You can't really call it a 'last' showdown if it's your only one, Sérgio..." Jemily uttered.

"But then, I met him today." I continued. "He didn't try to do anything bad, and didn't seem like he was evil or anything. He didn't even have any of the Ghosty Boys with him."

I thought about how he acted right before he flew away.

"He looked... sad. And I don't think he wanted to meet me there. But why? Isn't he supposed to just think about doing bad things? And about wanting to fight me?"

"Why do you think that?"

"Well, because that's how it went for Jalapeño Man! When we fought his dark side 'Nega Jalapeño', he wa-..."

Before I could finish, Jemily chopped me on the head as hard as she could.

"Um, ouch?" I said, rubbing the bump on my head that she just made. "What was that for?!"

"That has got to be the dumbest thing I have ever heard you say!" She exclaimed, glaring at me angrily. "Have you honestly been thinking your life is like Jalapeño Man's this whole time!?"

"Of course! I mean, we both have powers, so..."

"So what?! This whole 'special power' stuff is new to me, and I'm still having a hard time believing it's real, but I still know the difference between reality and fiction!"

"Huh?"

"The real world is a lot more complicated than you think, Sérgio. Everyone has feelings, whether they're good or bad... You can become a superhero if you want, but you can't do so if you just get stronger and beat up bad guys!"

"Is that really how it is...? I'm sorry, Jemily..." I sunk my head into my pillow sadly. "I guess I'm just too stupid to realize things like that..."

"... No, that's not true."

"I-it's not?" I said in confusion, raising my head up from the pillow.

"Do you remember what happened yesterday? What did Crystana ask you to do?"

"She told me to defeat the dark creatures in the haunted house. And... I did. So?"

"What else did she say?"

"Um..." I thought about it for a bit.

"There may be some that will try to trick you by acting innocent or pretending they're in danger, but don't be fooled. Understand?"

"Oh! She said that some of them might trick me."

"Did anything like that happen?"

"No... But someone called for help while we were there, and that turned out to be Sprit, who we saved."

"And did you ever think that Sprit might've been tricking you? Like Crystana said would happen?"

"No way; I just saw someone that needed help, so I decided to help him. That's all."

"Yes, even though Crystana warned you, you ignored her advice and decided to help Sprit. It's thanks to a special trait of yours that you have. Do you know what that is?"

"I dunno... stupidity?"

"No, that's wrong. It's actually one of your best 'superpowers'. It's... your kindness."

"Kindness? Will something like that help me be a superhero, too?"

"Of course. It's one of your greatest qualities, after all. In fact, it's the reason I fell in lo-..." Jemily cut herself off by covering her mouth suddenly.

"Hm?"

"... N-never mind!" She said nervously, her face turning red for some reason. "The point is, if you'd listened to Crystana, and had the mindset to blindly beat up all of the 'bad guys', what do you think would've happened?"

"I wouldn't have saved or become friends with Sprit..."

Come to think of it, a similiar thing happened with Rhinore, too...

"Exactly. You realized what was the right thing to do, not what you thought you were supposed to do." Jemily said, and smiled at me. "And I think you can do the same to resolve your situation with Darkés, too."

"You mean... be his friend?! But he's my dark side, and has dark powers and stuff..."

"Does that mean he can't be your friend, then? You think he's supposed to be bad, but what if he isn't? Even if he has dark powers, does that mean he wanted them?"

"Well... I don't know..." I scratched my head in confusion. "Things like this make my head hurt..."

"Then don't think with your head." She placed my hand to my chest. "Think with your heart instead."

My... heart?

"... It says that I want to find out why he's sad. And maybe find a way to make him happy..."

"And then, maybe if he's happy, then he won't want to do bad things. Right?"

"Really? Is that true?"

Wait, could this be what Crystana's tests are actually for?!

"I want to be a superhero. More than anything. To save the world, I'll get stronger, defeat all the villains harming others, and... I'll give kindness to those that need it."

"Yeah, that's the spirit, Sérgio!" She said cheerfully.

"Thanks, Jemily! Now I finally understand what I'm really supposed to do to be a true hero!"

"Don't mention it. After all, there's no one that knows you better than me."

"Of course. We're best friends after all, Jemily!"

"H-heh, yeah... Right..." She went over to her textbooks, picked them up, and put them in her bag. "I guess I'll be going, then."

"Huh? What about my homework?"

"I'm sure homework's the last thing you want to do right now, so I'll give you time to clear your head." She gave me a stern look. "But I'll be back here tomorrow bright and early, so prepare yourself!"

How can I clear my head when I'm busy "preparing myself"?!

Jemily went over to the door.

"Later, Sérgio. See you tomorrow."

"'kay. Thanks again for everything, Jemily!"

She waved, before leaving the room and going home.

Becoming friends with my dark side, with Darkés, huh? That's not something I ever thought about doing before. But if I'm really able to do that, I can save everyone, even him, right? Alright, I'll give it a try!

Then when I succeed... I'll finally be a real superhero!

End of Chapter 7

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Writer's Comments:

Hey, what do you know? I actually got this done this month! ... Yeah, sorry this took so long. I was struggling with what exactly to put in this one. It's not that I didn't have any ideas, rather, I had too many.

I was thinking about who exactly Sérgio should talk to at the end of the chapter. I figured it should probably be an adult; to be exact: his mom, his father, or Jemily's father (who would've been introduced in this chapter, but that didn't end up happening in the end). I wanted them specifically because they've gone through life and their occupations for a while already, and could shed some insight on how they handled things that went awry.

But in the end, I figured him just talking to Jemily would be enough. She's smart, down to earth, and is very close to Sérgio so I think she was good enough for the part. So that's what I ended up going with. And she ended up giving a much deeper message than I intended. Jemily, you are one amazing young lady...

Now, I know you're thinking: "Stop praising your own characters like that, you weirdo." So I'll stop. Anyways...

This is chapter 7, which means we're over halfway done with this saga! Since it'll have 13 total, there's only 6 left to go! Where this series is headed, nobody kno-... wait, I've already said this somewhere else already. I've actually planned out what to do for the rest (which is how I know how many chapters this saga will have), so hopefully I can get these done more easily now. In other words, only my laziness is in the way now!

... Which is actually a pretty formidable obstacle...

- CS-Masyet

Side Note: I actually didn't end up using an outline for this one, as it ended up being easier to write it without one. Go figure.