Nate opened his eyes to find himself in a glass cylinder tank, he could see the green liquid from even within his glass helmet. "Shit. This must be the reincarnation thing everyone was talking about." Nate thought to himself, the thin white jumpsuit barely helped him move even as he tried to, but to no avail. He was stuck there, conscious and aware.

Fortunately, Nate was still able to move his head, he could feel the liquids dispersing on certain parts of his glass helmet and parts of his neck. He was covered head to toe in this strange suit, but with his knowledge of the game this was the HPD Suit, or in other words the Healing Protective Domain Suit. A suit purely made for medical reasons.

"Uh... hello? is anybody out there?" Nate asked, but in reality, he could barely make any noise from inside that tank, let alone from that helmet of his. Nate looked around and noticed that he was in some sort of testing facility, many other tanks similar to the one he was currently in were scattered everywhere. However, each and every last one of them were empty. "Holy shit, is that who I think it is...? Argo!?" Nate watched as a door he hadn't seen before open right in front of him, and from it a man slightly shorter than him in a black tuxedo, short black hair, trimmed beard and green eyes walked out from beyond.

"Welcome back to the living, Dark." Argo said as he clapped his hands while walking towards Nate then stopping a few feet away from him. "Shit, no wonder there's this creepy ass vibe around here. Turns out it's you." Nate pondered as he continued to look at Argo. "You don't seem surprised Dark, as expected of the greatest villain. However, I have plans for you." Argo said with a grin as he placed his hands behind his back. "As you've spared my life countless times, I will repay the favor. The shame you must have felt when you had your... accident, must've been painful. But not to worry, I'm here to fix it, to fix YOU."

Nate felt a shiver down his spine, this twisted sonofabitch must have planned this moment for years. And now that it happened who knows what he'll do to him? But Nate was patient, he needed to act the villain part if he wanted to survive.

"Please, be at ease... I have no plans for hurting you, not that I really could harm you mentally even if I tried." Argo assured Nate. "But on the other hand, I have multiple problems with how you deal with reforming the world." Argo raised his hands before gripping the air and lowering them. "But then again the only reason I'm here today is because of you..."

Argo turned and faced the open door he left from before sighing. "I'm concerned about you Dark, you're... not usually this silent and patient. I'm beginning to think that you've changed or is it because you've just woken up? either way the original Dark would have broken through that glass and grabbed my throat while demanding for an explanation. Ahh... the good old times." Argo breathed the air before turning back towards Nate, who was still listening and watching. "This abnormal silence you have must mean you're planning something... Then I'll leave you to it. Have fun planning, I'll be away, to deal with some little matter." Argo said before leaving the room. Nate was now alone once again with his thoughts, surprisingly though, he never felt sleepy nor tired. This must have been the work of the suit that he's wearing.

"Good thing he's gone, better stay alone than get stuck in a room with that guy." Nate said as he turned to look around once more, not much to see apart from the tanks and a few tables here and there that he hadn't noticed before. A few tools, guns and surprisingly no security cameras, and finally vents the size of real ones, and not from the movies.

After a few more minutes, Nate could now move a few parts of his limbs, and after an entire hour he now felt like he could move his entire body, but dared not to, nonetheless. Nate then took on the liberty of checking his reflection on the glass, and what he saw was a faceless masked man behind a glass visor, but even then, he can't see his actual face.

"So much for effort I guess..." Nate thought to himself before finding a switch on the tank that contained him. top to bottom he found nothing, nothing but a smooth layer of metal that even he couldn't push through. And just as he was about to punch the glass the tank opened, forcing Nate out as he slid on the wet floor. "That was unexpected..." Nate said and slowly got up from his current position. "Alright, there must be some sort of weapon I could use..." Nate looked at one of the tables, and atop it he found a pistol. "Bingo." Nate immediately went to take the gun, arming himself with a lethal weapon that could kill anything in seconds. However, when he checked the gun's ammunition there were only twelve bullets in it, not including the thirteenth in the chamber. "Good thing I practiced shooting toy guns and playing games, or I wouldn't have known how these things worked." Nate said to himself as he returned the clip back in the gun.

"Over here! I think I heard something!" Nate heard a voice from behind the door that Argo left from, in instinct Nate immediately used the multiple tables around him as cover and hid behind one of them. Immediately after he did that, four armed soldiers in green uniforms rushed through the door and looked for any signs of life, particularly Nate.

"All clear! target appears to have escaped, moving to another room." Said one of the soldiers before leaving along with two others, giving Nate the chance to pounce on the unsuspecting soldier as he knocked him out with his pistol.

And with a thud the soldier fell, Nate immediately grabbed the rifle that the soldier had while removing the vest that the soldier wore on his body and then placing it on his own. Nate then placed his pistol on the empty holster on the vest before checking if the rifle was safe or not, after that he walked out the room and into a long dark hallway with his gun pointed in front of him. "Better get the hell out of here before more of those guys show up." Nate said to himself before entering an even larger room, but what he didn't notice was the fact that there was already someone behind him, waiting to take him down at the right moment. "Ugh..." Nate fell onto the ground as his legs failed him, and as if his strength suddenly vanished, he struggled to stay conscious while desperately gasping for air. Pity someone actually noticed it.

"I'd stay put if I were you Dark. Trust me, it's for the best." A woman behind Nate spoke. Nate could not remember the voice that was speaking behind him, however when he rolled onto his back to see a woman with similar features to Argo in the same uniform as the soldiers that breached the room, only difference being she was a woman. 

"And... I'm definitely going to die here." Nate said as he used his remaining strength to unholster his pistol and aim it at the woman. Unsurprised, the woman barely flinched and instead held Nate's hands and lowered it slowly and gently. "Come on Dark, we both know that you don't kill. Even Baret knows that." Nate then gave up and waited for whatever fate had prepared for him as he relaxed his entire body, looking at the roof, Nate could see multiple other soldiers lifting him up before placing him on a stretcher. "Target secured, all units withdraw immediately." One of the soldiers spoke into his radio.

"I didn't expect this would happen, oh well... better this than something worse." Nate said as he was taken outside the facility he was in, more like an underground lab as he was taken towards the surface where many helicopters were parked.

And as Nate left the underground and onto the surface, he looked at the night sky that greeted him into this fantasy and sci-fi world. "Not bad Dell, your suspicions were true as always." A man in a white tuxedo said while standing next to Nate. "Shit, it's Andrew. But I thought he retired being a hero!" Just as Nate said, the man next to him was none other than Andrew Cohen, sick politician and a master in many forms of martial arts. Looking closer, Nate could see the very distinct features of the black man, bald, black eyes and a few scars on his neck and face, not including the ones on his body. This man was at the top of his league at the moment, but even then, Nate could still probably beat him in a fair fight. "Course! I had my doubts at first, but I managed to confirm it." The woman from before, now known as Dell answered.

"Well done, Dell." Andrew complimented as Nate was brought into a nearby helicopter. "We should leave before Argo finds out anything about this operation." Dell said worryingly. "Don't worry." Andrew assured her. "He won't be."

Helicopters took to the sky and towards a nearby city, Nate watched helplessly as he was taken to a nearby prison where many special criminals were held. Eyes were laid upon Nate as he was brought out of the helicopter, surrounded by hundreds of soldiers including Dell and Andrew who were always behind him. "Wow, this must be the Iron Fortress." Nate said to himself as they all entered the main body of the prison. "Open the gate! special cargo has arrived!" A soldier called out, "Understood!" another answered. The massive steel gates that were to contain the inner prisoners opened slowly.

"Welcome to your new home Dark. we'll take good care of you." Andrew said to Nate. Ironically, Nate was the one who made this prison for crowd control when he was still the leading villain of the game, however he wasn't really the one directing it. "I know, I know. This is your prison, but I think White repurposed it for your return." Andrew added.

"Fuck you Andrew, fuck you." Nate said to Andrew who barely heard anything. Nate was taken deeper into the prison; it took minutes of walking nonstop just to reach a single cell in a very large room about a hundred feet wide and a thousand feet high and low, and at the center of this room was a small glass cell suspended by eight chains, four at the top and bottom corners.

Andrew walked towards to a nearby control panel and pressed a few buttons on its glass which Nate thought was just random shit. And just a few seconds later a single bridge that could barely support five people extended towards the glass cell before connecting to it. "Well, that's definitely not safe to walk on." Nate thought to himself as the men carrying him soon took him inside the cell before gently placing him onto a soft white bed at the center of the cell. "Good to go." one of the soldiers said before leaving the room, the glass cell closing behind them as they left. The once connected bridge slowly disconnecting from the cell and contracting back into its previous state, and just after all that a pipe lowered from the roof and the lights dimmed as it lowered and connected to the top part of the cell. Once the pipe was connected to the cell it pumped identical green fluids that was from Nate's tank that previously contained him. "All settings are on optimal conditions sir, should we notify White of his arrival?" One of the soldiers asked Andrew who merely nodded.

"Yeah, notify White that Dark survived. And tell him that he's here." Nate slowly regained his strength as the green fluids soon filled the cell that contained him, and once the cell was full, the pipe stopped pumping the fluids and detached itself before disappearing into the ceiling from where it originated from. "We've adopted your way of dealing with prisoners Dark." Andrew said through a mike installed on the cell's roof. "Thanks to you, many of the heroes and villains survived."

"Take this as a reward for being a pacifist." Dell added. "Oh, and by the way..." Andrew continued, "White will be here soon, I'd thought that it's only fair to tell you. He seemed to have lost his nerve when you died saving him, talk about being a saint." Andrew crossed his arms and sighed. "I've always wondered why you were a villain in the first place Dark, you and White weren't always enemies on the most part. Why did you do it? what made you become a villain? and why were you called one anyway? something's not right." Andrew took a few moments of silence as the soldiers left the room. "This just doesn't add up Dark... there's something you're hiding from us, aren't you?"

"What the fuck is this guy going on about? I barely know shit apart from the plot!" Nate said out loud as he slowly got up into a sitting position. "Looks like the serum works Andrew." Dell said to Andrew before smiling. 

"Yeah, that's because it came from one of Dark's files. This stuff was used to heal people and sometimes even cure diseases. Dark's an international hero at this point, but still..." Andrew paused for a moment, "Still what?" Dell asked.

Andrew stared at Nate for a moment before answering. "Someone must've been pulling his strings. Dark isn't the type of guy to go silent all of the sudden, he should have beaten you to a pulp the moment he saw you. But give up? that's not something I'd find in Dark any day." Dell became puzzled, Dark was not one for being the silent type, at least not this silent. 

"What if he's just weak?" Dell guessed, "No." Andrew answered. "I've compiled a list of files about him, and none showed Dark being this silent and compliant. He's up to something... or someone changed him, Argo isn't one to change his idol mentally even if he tried. There must be something wrong here, and I intend to unravel it." Nate listened to the two discussing unknown factors, Nate had almost pissed himself if they realized he wasn't the real deal and some sort of reincarnated being. But the chances of them finding that out were next to none, so he rested and assured himself not to think too much unlike those two.

"Be advised, Zero, White, and Frost are entering the containment area. I repeat, Zero, White, and Frost are entering the containment area." A man spoke through the speakers as the doors behind Andrew and Dell opened, revealing three men in different armors and attires. "Holy cow Andrew! You really caught him, didn't you?" Said a teen in a black jumpsuit and white coat as he walked towards Andrew, his head covered in a mask, only revealing the white hair and cyan eyes. 

"Careful Zero, he might be weakened but he's still Dark, lord of oblivion and chaos." Said a man in a red samurai's armor, his red hair and eyes matching that to fit his armor, his gaze as wary as it is intimidating. And between the two, Nate saw his game character's rival, the famous hero White. Cladded in white armor, his white cape fluttering as he neared.

"Dark... it appears you have finally been caught. No thanks to your weakened state I presume?" White said before standing at the very edge of the floor while Zero and Frost stood behind him.

"Have you nothing to say? have you finally seen the errors of your deeds? or are you merely plotting behind that mask...?" White said while Nate remained silent. "He's currently still healing sir." Andrew reminded White. "I don't think he can hear you." White crossed his arms before looking at Andrew then back at Nate. "Still, he must remain there for now. In that state it would take at least another month to escape from that cell, and a year to escape this prison." White said before sighing. "All of you leave, I wish to discuss something with my former ally... and friend." Andrew and the others followed White's command and left the room, leaving only him and Nate alone as they doors soon shut tight behind them. "Well... I guess I better get straight to the point." White said as he used the panel beside him to extend the bridge.

White walked toward Nate's cell while the bridge was still extending, and once the bridge connected, he stopped a one foot away and began his little explanation. "Dark, I have need of your skills as an enforcer for the villains of the world. Villains look up to you as their savior and hero, many of them denounced their ways and became heroes after you went missing."

White placed his hand on the glass before continuing. "Why not become a hero yourself Dark? many will flock to your side and all those accusations will be thwarted and dismissed. You saved many lives despite being a villain, and you're no murderer Dark... many believe in you... what do you say?" Nate thought for a moment. Getting out of that cell was the first priority so there's that, but the sincere words of White made him think twice before refusing his offer, plus this was a fairytale story game, where the heroes always survive to live another day. And on another note, he was the strongest villain, nothing could match his strength, speed, and power, apart from intellect of course. However, even with all that, usually some big bad would come out and strike him from the shadows, nevertheless, Nate took his chances.

Nate nodded, making White in turn breathe in and take a sigh of relief. "Thank you... after all these years you finally saw it my way. I guess death changes even the greatest of rivals. Welcome back, Dark." White said sincerely. "I shall see you in a week, I will tell the whole world that you've changed." A screen lowered from the ceiling before stopping just next to White, then a remote fell into Nate's cell, ignoring the reinforced glass as if disobeying the laws of physics and matter.

Nate took the remote and waited for White to continue. "Both of us will reshape the world into a better one Dark. I know you'll never betray me... we both do what's best for the world. But you never saw the other side of it. Still... I wish you a great holiday." White said before walking away and disappeared behind the doors at the end of the room. Leaving Nate to wonder if he made the right decision or not, but as the hero left, Nate immediately began to make preparations, in his mind Nate remembered something. He had created a system that could help him in his time of need when he still played the game from behind a screen, a very powerful artificial intelligence he called, Page.

Even though Nate played many games, the one he was reincarnated into was Kingdom Empires. An MMORPG and strategy game that could be played online and offline, single player and multiplayer both offline and online. Compatible with all devices, including phones, Laptops, computers and other devices that lived and died under the sun, even VR, or virtual reality.

And with a breath Nate said the magic words. "Open Page." Seconds later, on the top-left corner of his vision a red crystal appeared, while the half his right was cracked, revealing a black void of dark red and purple numbers randomly appearing and disappearing in milliseconds from time to time, changing from place to place on different parts of the cracked void, even so much so as appearing beyond it, but never farther than an inch. Luckily for Nate though, it never hindered him too much, but the cracks spread like webs on his line of sight. Nate couldn't touch it even if he tried, Nate knew that it wasn't on the glass but rather in or on his eyes, nonetheless it changed his perspective of the area around him and the world itself. He could even see a clock on the top of his vision and his level along with his health and mana below. Now it looked more like a game to him. And on the bad news, Nate could not see the exact level, mana and health that he had, even the time was broken and changing every millisecond, they were all distorted and were just as bad as the numbers on the cracked void to the right. Apart from Page that was to his left, the damage to the right was as terrible as a broken VR headset left to rot in a chest underground.

"How may I be of service master?" Asked Page with an eager tone, his male and almost living voice nearly made Nate think that he was a living being and not an artificial intelligence. "Page, any thoughts regaining my abilities?" Nate said to Page, unworried about the AI not responding or outright obeying his commands. "I have multiple settings and files to your response; would you like to try them now?" Page asked while Nate shook his head. "Maybe later, I'm going to watch what's on the TV first."

"Understood master." Page said before returning to his silent state. "Alright... now that that's over, why don't we see what's going on outside?" Nate said to himself before turning on the screen in front of him with the remote. 

The screen flashed to life and immediately turned to Channel-99, the channel where most interesting news are found apart from the other four. "Is it true that Dark finally changed his habits? will he be joining the PDO?" Asked a female reporter to a very familiar man offscreen. "Of course, Dark will be joining us soon in rehabilitating the remaining villains and maintaining peace in every corner of the globe." Answered a familiar voice, but Nate knew it was definitely White.

"He will be joining us in a week's time." White continued, judging by the scenery, Nate could ascertain that the hero and the reporter and her group were in Black City, Dark's city, Nate's city. "So, it IS true!" The reporter eagerly and cheerfully said. Nate could hear cheers of joy from behind the camera, men, women and children singing praises at Dark's new role in the world.

A man in full black approached the reporter, Nate immediately recognized the man, with his black mask, black hat and titanium sword beneath its golden and steel sheath, there was never a doubt it was Narcos. Black City's head enforcer.

"Holy shit..." Nate said to himself as he continued to watch the TV. "My lord Dark has finally become the idol I look up to." Narcos said with a smile before standing next to the reporter and looking at the camera. "My lord, I wish you a steady recovery. Many filths are needed to be rehabilitated from the city, eradicated if need be." White interjected before Narcos could continue further. "That won't be necessary commander, he will be fighting alongside us from now on, side by side." Narcos nodded in agreement. "Of course, I look forward to it. In the meantime, I will continue my duties as the enforcer of Black City." 

Nate turned the screen of before talking back to Page. "Page are you there? do I have an ability that could fast-forward time or something? I'm not going to stay here awake forever you know?" Nate said before crossing his arms. "Unfortunately, no. However, you could change your perspective of time by simply sleeping or closing your eyes master." Nate raised an eyebrow. "Can you remind me when it's been a week then Page?" Nate asked, "Yes master." Page answered. "At what time do you wish to awake?" Nate thought for a moment before answering. "Make that early in the morning." Nate then slowly closed his eyes to sleep, but before they fully closed, he heard Page said something to him. "Understood master, setting set timer now."