Ciel smiled continuously as she watched her son Nate look around with a confused look on his face. "Wait a sec... what exactly is happening right now?" Nate asked as he looked at the toys that surrounded him. The once wooden knight turned into a grey kid with surprisingly detailed cardboard armor, sword and shield that looked like they could take a tank shell directly.

The green toy soldier turned into a man with green hair, green eyes and brown skin but still wore the same military uniform and guns that it, or in this case, he had. Next were the stuffed toy wolf and teddy bear, they were still quite the same except they were slightly bigger by an inch and could now float. The red hero action figurine turned into the size of an actual human along with the fairy and robot, except that the robot looked more like a human-sized piloted one and had become less boxy as well as having more features like fully bendable knees and flexible, detachable joints that could freely move anywhere. 

Nate felt the warmth of the sun in his little office, Ciel reached out to squeeze her son's cheek before letting go. "Why're you so gloomy Nate? come on, let's go outside." Nate followed his mother without question as the seven toys remained within the room, stepping in the elevator to the bottom floor and then out the building, Nate and Ciel were greeted by a beautiful sight. 

"Pretty isn't it Nate?" Ciel asked as his son remained silent. "Aww, don't be such a downer. Don't you want to be happy?" Nate cried in silence as tears flowed from his eyes like a river, Ciel was quick to hug and comfort her son as she patted Nate's back multiple times. "Shh... shh... I'm here now. Don't cry... don't cry..." Ciel continued to comfort her son before taking Nate's hand and guiding him towards a long wooden chair. Sitting down, Nate finally asked the very words that he never said during his entire life of suffering to his mother. Those long years of agony buried deep in his mind taken form of a single question. "Where were you...?" Nate asked as his heartrate increased slowly but steadily. "I'm so sorry Nate... but it took me a very long time to find you... and now that I'm here, I promise you will never live in a nightmare ever again." Ciel said to her son sincerely.

Nate spent some time with his mother, chatting, playing games, all the while being protected by the seven toys from afar along with Pixie herself, now in full size and in emerald armor. No longer funny nor laughing but serious in her job to protect the two.

After a while of chatting, an entire day had nearly passed. "Say ahh..." Ciel said to Nate as he swallowed the ice cream being fed to him. "By the way Nate, did you have any friends at school?" Ciel asked her son, "No... I didn't have any friends until I got here, and I still don't have one even right now..." Nate sadly replied softly. "Oh..." Ciel slightly frowned.

"Better get going huh...?" Nate asked his mother. "Well... I guess so..." Ciel answered with a sigh. "This is goodbye for now then." Ciel nodded while Nate waved his hand as his mother slowly faded and dispersed into white flower petals. "Goddammit...!"

Nate got up and gripped the air, a few tears managed to escape his eyes before finally drying. Nate sighed and released his grip, walking away peacefully before the seven toys and a small Pixie gather before him when he stopped. As far as Nate could remember, he knew every last name he gave to his toys, apart from one who was not a part of the six. The bear was Lucky, or merely Brown, the knight was Arthur, courtesy of King Arthur's legend. Meanwhile the robot was Bolt, the wolf was Charlie. And finally, the last two, the soldier was Rex, while the red hero was Crimson. All six of these toys were named by Nate, but the fairy had her own. "Who're you?" Nate asked the fairy and she replied. "My name is Phoibe my lord, it is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance." The fairy known as Phoibe said in a respectful tone, almost sounding like Nate's mother if it were not the clear difference of clothes and personality, as well as a certain main fact. "I hear you." Nate said to Phoibe as she bowed her head.

"So where to now?" Pixie asked as she placed her arms behind her back and tilted her head. "Go find the things that mom wanted." Nate answered as he turned back towards the tower, the sky cracked revealing the endless night once more, the surroundings quickly darkened, and the rain once again flooded the city. "Oh, I forgot." Pixie said as she created an umbrella.

Pixie positioned the umbrella above Nate as he took it with his left hand. "Now where do I find that those things that mom wanted?" Nate asked while this time Phoibe was the one to explain. "If I may..." Phoibe politely asked while Nate nodded.

"Your mother lost nine items in this world, lost to guardians known as game characters, I believe that they are somewhere within the city. At least I could detect three on one person, while the rest seem to be idle." Phoibe explained clearly to Nate.

Nate looked down on the ground, he noticed little worms were slithering and gathering around his feet, and as he turned to look behind him, Nate saw a person shrouded in cloth and cloak. However, that person appeared to look like nothing that Nate remembered, that was until Arthur explained as he took a step forward. "My lord, it appears that person is one of the DLC characters, be alert." Arthur unsheathed his cardboard sword and took a stance while the rest did the same but with different weapons. "I've always wondered why the fuck do they just stand there and wait for the guy to make his move, but then again they're my childhood toys." Nate thought to himself as he rolled his eyes which went unnoticed by the shrouded man who finally spoke after a few seconds. "You are as silent as the hallowed night Black Mire."

The man spoke with a tuned voice, unrecognizable by Nate who knew the games he played and some of the expansions, but never the DLCs. "And who are you to speak so arrogantly fiend?" Crimson demanded as he strikes an intimidating pose.

"Fiend? you mistake me for one." The man replied as he took a step forward, the worms began slithering towards and into his clothes, and as he inched closer and closer, his face was revealed to be a professor, his pale, cracked skin already rotting and regenerating every second, but there was something off about him, distorted veins were all over his face and body. "A Fear!" Lucky shouted with a child's voice as he casted multiple spells to attack which Nate was all too familiar with. 

"A Fear? you confuse me..." The man said before sliding away but hit something hard behind him. "Wha...?" The man turned to look behind himself to see four men in different outfits, they were, Skull, Ghost, Phantom and Wraith. "Well look who's running..." Skull Said with crossed arms, as an entire army of three hundred thugs and criminals appeared behind him and the other three with handguns and other makeshift melee weapons. "Pixie, get me my own army." Nate ordered as Pixie nodded and then created said army of black suited faceless men with higher caliber guns of multiple varieties. "Well fuck... to piss off the boss means you're on his shitlist." Skull said to the shrouded man as he pushed him towards Nate. "He's all yours..."

Nate quickly drew his gun and shot the shrouded man two times on the legs before unloading the rest on the arms in quick succession. "Argh!!!" The shrouded man groaned in pain as he writhed on the wet ground, thunder booming in the skies. 

"Does he have one of the items?" Nate asked Phoibe as she answered quickly and nodded, unheard by the four and the shrouded man in front a few hundred feet away from them. "Yes, the ring he is wearing is one of the items." Nate nodded, "Bolt." Bolt turned to face Nate as he continued. "Get me that ring and remove his damn arm if he doesn't let go..." Bolt nodded before slowly walking towards the shrouded man. "Understood master, moving to target objective." Bolt said with a mechanical voice as his footsteps slightly shook the ground whenever his foot landed. "DON'T YOU DARE!!!" A teenager in a school uniform interrupted Bolt as he sent the machine flying towards a nearby building with a flying side kick. 

"Damage received, null. All systems operational, commencing combat mode." Bolt got up from the pile of rubble as his hands turned into gun barrels while he aimed them at the teen. "Terminating hostile." Bolt sent seven seeking missiles towards the teen, but he dodged every last one with ease, however what the teen didn't account for was Nate, who was already right behind him. And even when the teen blocked Nate's first punch with his arm, it still broke a bone or two. "Don't overwork yourself fool! that man is above your reach!" Even though the teen's face was not clear, his eyes showed a clear look of fear.

Nate realized that the voice came from behind the teen, he saw what appeared to be a necklace. "An item..." Nate muttered to himself as he sent a flurry of punches at blinding speeds that even were blocked by the teen, still damaged him at considerable amounts. "Run damn you! you can't beat him at this state! let alone even at your full power!" The necklace said desperately as Nate quickened his pace, sending a hundred fists flying towards his enemy who tried blocked his attacks. "Dammit you're such an ignorant brat! I'm getting us out of here!" Nate felt a warm feeling surround the teen, but he didn't just wait for whatever was going to happen, just happen. "You're not getting out of here." Nate spoke under his breath as he quickly took the necklace from the teen at the last second before performing an uppercut, giving the unfortunate teen a concussion.

The teen fell unconscious, blood flowing from his mouth, nose and ears as he fell on the ground, beside the shrouded man who couldn't help but despair at the situation. Nate turned towards Skull and the other three, they lowered their heads together, showing their subservience to the master and superior of their leader. "Arthur, check these two for anything useful, and take their relics then give them to me." Nate ordered Arthur as he did as commanded. "My lord." Nate took the two items from Arthur, however he felt something leave the necklace as he took them, like a soul inhabiting an object. "Should I dispatch him lord?" Nate shook his head and answered. "Don't bother, throw these two idiots into a corner, I don't care where but just do it." Nate commanded once again, and Arthur followed the order without question as he dragged the two with him and went to dispose of their bodies. "It shall be done." Arthur said before disappearing into the darkness.

The two items were then automatically absorbed into Nate's body as he walked towards the Moon Tower along with his group, leaving Skull, Phantom, Wraith and Ghost to do the cleaning, but then again there was nothing to clean so they followed close behind. Meanwhile, throw to side of an alleyway, the hero of this part of the story and one of the many antagonists, Niko, a DLC character who was a supposed reincarnated being, even though he isn't, was now a half-living body with a dying soul.

"I told you it was dangerous! why didn't you believe me! you're more of a fool than I thought!" A female spirit said to him. "Calm down Lieras, I'm still alive, aren't I?" Niko said to the spirit named Lieras. "Dammit! you're such a... prick!" Lieras shouted at Niko, while the shrouded man coughed to gather attention. "Vicktor! I almost forgot about you!" Niko laughed while raising his head to face the stars which were blocked by the heavy rain. His slightly blue skin, violet hair and blue eyes all wet from either blood or the rain. "Niko..." Vicktor coughed before continuing. "Thank you for looking out for me..." Niko closed his eyes and said to Victor. "No sweat man... I'm always here." Niko looked at Vicktor slumped on the other side of the alleyway, clutching his bleeding arm as he held for dear life while smiling. "Oh, do not look at me with such pity Niko... I do not age nor die, but that man..." Vicktor paused for a moment. "That man is not someone I could ever best in combat, he is beyond all of us combined." Vicktor coughed again and sighed. "Avoid him at all costs, we do not belong here."

"What a pity... we... had... to..." Vicktor then became a lifeless husk, Niko felt a surge of sadness enter his body. "...Argh!!!" Niko's cries could be heard of a thousand feet, but if there were no rain, it could be heard for miles. Niko struggled to get up as adrenaline pumped through his veins trying to support what little movements he tried to make. "ARGH!!!" 

But Niko's cries never remained unnoticed, the very same man that tried kill them both were at the end of the sidewalk, he threw what appeared to be a syringe with red liquid inside before slowly walking away. Niko was quick to take the syringe off the ground and then injected Vicktor with it, not a second too soon he came back to life. Back to Nate who walked farther from the alleyway, he heard laughs of relief and joy. "Wow, you aren't as heartless as I'd thought you'd be." Pixie said from behind.

"I would if I wanted, but that's a problem for another time." Nate said as he continued to walk through the rain, he then took out a black advanced gasmask that could cover his entire face, which had a red vizor in the shape of a massive smooth oval from the tip of Nate's nose to his forehead, reaching from each side of his face, left and right. And it looked intimidating too.

With a sizzle the gasmask released a gas of grey substances from its vents located on two side of the chin, which was just smoke and nothing special. "Pix, could you get me my armor? I'd like to wear it now." Pixie fluttered around Nate before stopping right in front of him. "You're finally asking me nicely? I'll give you something special since you're so nice today!" 

Pixie then formed a black, futuristic armor around Nate's body, which was made out of unknown metals. Nate was covered head to toe in protective gear, the hat and umbrella were removed to make space for the plates. It was smooth and sleek, though the armor itself was larger than any modern vests and equipment, Nate's armor had nearly everything, though it couldn't fly most of the time, it had a small jetpack for high distance leaping among many other things. Like two grappling hooks, four extendable blades as well as extendable and portable shields on each arm, thrusters below and on the back of each foot, small missile launchers on the sides of the small jetpack, and don't forget the very important arm cannons that pulverize buildings in mere seconds. This armor, like the suit that Nate wore, was impenetrable, like his in-game character, Nate was a walking, thinking fortress. The best and obvious thing was the armor had an unlimited power source, not that it had any to really begin with, but having also unlimited ammunition. However, there were some drawbacks, even with the thrusters, Nate still had to walk or run to his destination most of the time, and there was a cooldown for the damn jetpack, which quite sucked for an overpowered suit made just for him. Not to mention a certain something in his vision that slightly hindered him.

"Nice armor Nate! did you design it yourself?" Pixie asked as she explored Nate from every angle above him, not a single part was not covered in metal, and with a hiss from the helmet, Nate answered with a slightly distorted and deep intimidating voice.

"It- A bit, S- I, in... ere Pix." Nate said through a small speaker on the front sides of his helmet. "A bit stuffy huh?" Pixie said with a tilted head before crossing her arms and smiling. "Don't worry! I'm sure you'll get used to it somehow." Nate sighed to Pixie's answer to his concerns before walking away. Looking at his right hip for a moment, Nate noticed his pistol became a bit larger. But it could have been the effects of wearing the armor, so he dismissed it and continued on.

Nate then stopped in place then turned to Pixie. "Col- U it, I a ...cop tar?" Pixie smiled and nodded before doing as asked. "A-huh! alright! but first, where're you going anyway?" Nate paused for a moment before answering. "Co- don, fi-re I land..."

A few days later, Nate was in a black transport helicopter that slightly resembled a chinook, along with Pixie and the other toys who worked as the pilots and navigators for said helicopter as well as Nate's personal guard. "It sure is nice seeing daylight again..." Lucky said to himself while the other toys enjoyed themselves, chatting like old friends. Nate remained silent at his seat; he looked outside the window to see a luscious green island with no volcanoes or anything that could cause a fire.

And at the very center of this island full of vegetation, an entire army of all sorts of costumed and non-costumed but suited villains with the same if not identical attires gathered, seated on chairs as they watched the helicopter Nate, and the others were in slowly land behind the man who appeared to be the host of it all. "Who dares to disturb my... master...?" The moment the man saw Nate he immediately prostrated in front of him as he walked out of the helicopter's back entrance. Nate's heavy steps were echoed throughout the gathering, and when he was finally in front of the host, Nate immediately recognized the man before him. Hubert, The Shadow Master, the man who wore nothing but black clothing and a black cloak as well as hiding behind a red mask with only the eyeholes to see through, how the hell does this gut breath anyway? Nate pondered the question as the other toys as well as Pixie left the helicopter before forming a line behind Nate.

Murmurs were heard among the guests who attended this massive gathering, from what Nate could remember, Shadow Master was the lead villain of a faraway continent, and in a different game that shared the same universe of Haunted Paradise called Haven Conquest. An identical copy of Haunted Paradise but with a less gory and dark atmosphere, focused more on the funny and peaceful parts of the franchise. Shadow Master, who was merely a villain who got his ass handed to him multiple times by the heroes of his game, Black Mire on the other hand was global, he was and forever will be at the top of the world, he controlled entire nations and empires, the whole world was and is at his fingertips. Unlike The Shadow Master, Black Mire never lost once. No one in the entire world of Haunted Paradise and Haven Conquest combined could best him, let alone Nate, who knew everything there was to know about these two games, their history, and many more.

"Who is this man Shadow Master? I thought you never yielded to anyone!?" Shouted one of the villains from his seat. "SILENCE!!! YOU ARE IN THE PRESENCE OF THE DARK LORD! I WILL BEHEAD YOU PERSONALY!" Shadow Master shouted furiously, prompting small whispers and talks among the guests who watched. Fun fact, Nate, or Black Mire was the master of Hubert who turned into what he is at the present. His training was at the form of sparring matches between him and Mire, who bested him every single time, but nevertheless, the great Shadow Master improved day after day of sparring, until he reached his very limit and the peak of his existence. Until he was fooled, and his powers were severely weakened by the heroes.

Utterly humiliated and dragged down from his former glory days, Shadow Master never went back to sparring with Nate, who at the same time never played the game ever again and focused on another, much better one. Kingdom Empires.

In Haven Conquest, Black Mire was simply called, The Dark Lord. For he controlled the night, the shadows, and all of its inhabitants, as well as only appearing during the dark and rainy days. As Mire's only known domain was Night City.

Hubert stood up while his head was till lowered, Nate immediately walked past him as he walked towards the center of the gathering where none of the guests ever dared to oppose or question him. Nate looked to his left as the toys gathered behind him while Pixie remained at his right side, there a woman in a white royal dress stood along with an odd-looking villain, but Nate knew all too well who these two were. The woman with white, beautiful skin, orange hair and orange eyes, was the famous Princess Aurelia Sihon Aulos, or Aury for short, princess of the Fallen Kingdom of Sihon, a natural monarchy-based nation. But the fact that the name sounded utterly terrible meant that a certain someone must have been lazy in making its history, though Nate didn't have the time to even check the history of said nation, so guess not.

The man to her left was of course the main hero of the game, a natural fighter like the princess, who believed in the good of even the worst filth in the entire world still had a chance of redemption. The young man covered his face thoroughly with a fancy mask and playboy smile, but behind all that deception was a hardened warrior of justice, Nate took note that this guy wasn't the type to take enemies lightly, nor stab anyone, no matter how corrupt in the back. His blue long hair, opposite to his red eyes, his nearly orange skin made Nate nearly forget that Niko and the man in front of him were two separate persons and not the same. This man was simply named Joel, no other information was known about him, only the fact that his story was quite similar to Niko, reincarnation and being a hero in another world, a pity he met Nate.

"What a pleasure and a great honor it is to meet you Black Mire." Said Aurelia who bowed her head along with Joel for a brief moment. "And who might you be miss?" Demanded Crimson who stood between them and Nate. But before any of the two could introduce themselves properly, Nate felt some small projectiles hit the back of his head and neck.

Nate turned behind himself and looked down, three arrows laced with sleeping poison. What type of idiot actually thought arrows could pierce through tough armor? it's almost like using muskets to destroy a tank, the level of stupidity one must have just to make this sort of decision must have been enormous. Unless they are uneducated in physics.

Nate turned towards the source of the attack to see three people in green hoods with blue ronin masks. Nate then turned to face Pixie before asking for a new gun. "Pix, get I ...a go- dam G-un." Pixie smiled and nodded before creating a futuristic and modern short one-handed semi-automatic black colored rifle. Nate immediately took the rifle from the air and aimed it at the three people atop a small cliff before quickly firing three shots in less than one and a half seconds. "Mind if I improve your armor?" Pixie asked as she started to make a few adjustments to Nate's armor, multiple black wires started to spread and attach to each other in various parts of the armor's plates, inside and out, creating a sort of sheet of protection in the armor's joints and weak areas. Meanwhile, Nate's size grew by an inch in width and height, his armor now having layers upon layers of specialized shields for certain attacks, though they were currently offline. Also, there were now new missile cannons on each arm, as well as magnetic boots and hands that gave him the ability to scale metal surfaces on any terrain or weather while still maintaining the armor's tight, sleek and flexible design. A huge improvement compared to the old version.

The bullets Nate sent towards the three masked individuals exploded like artillery shells and utterly destroyed the entire cliff that the three once stood upon. Nate then sent a hundred missiles from his back towards the location where the three masked people once were, and from the explosions came screams of fear and panic as the three were seen sent flying up into the sky before landing below. "Take them now!" Shadow Master commanded the lesser villains as they rushed towards the masked people, surrounding them in mere seconds however the three managed a little too well on their own, Nate began to suspect these guys were also some sort of expansion pack characters he didn't know of. Thus, Nate decided to join the fight.

The toys and Pixie remained in their place as Nate walked towards the three masked individuals, he let go of his rifle, though multiple wires took the gun before it could even hit the ground, then attaching it on Nate's back next the jetpack between the right missile turret which moved slightly to make space, with the left also doing the exact same.

"Step aside! they're all mine!" Said a bulky and massive barbarian with an enormous axe as he tried to push Nate aside but tumbled instead due to the obvious difference in strength and power. "Bahaha! you are a barbarian indeed! to think you'd try your luck with the most powerful villain in the entire world! you're a fool!" Taunted a masked villain who made way for Nate as he passed by without a word. "Something's familiar about these guys..." Nate thought to himself as he approached closer.

Meanwhile, behind the scenes, two men in red suits with the same faces looked down on the scene, the same pure white hair and skin, but the only differences were the blue and red eyes. "Do you think master will be pleased to hear of the Dark Lord's return? One?" Asked the man with the red eyes. "No Two, did you even listen to the master's orders? we are to withdraw when threatened by the Dark Lord. We must not intervene in his affairs, if we are to see daylight." Answered the man with blue eyes.

The man called Two nodded before crossing his arms. "Then we watch idle, as spectators." One shook his head before placing both his hands behind his back. "Indeed. As for now, watch them fight, whatever they are doing is none of our business."

"IS THAT SO?" Crimson appeared behind them. "Then you both best be on your way, lest you taste my infernal blade!" Crimson said with unbreakable resolve as he created a sword made from fire, guess he was literal when he meant infernal blade.

"One of the Dark Lord's personal guards I presume? what lord might you be?" Asked One as he and his brother, Two, turned to face Crimson. "I am no lord! but you may call me Crimson! the dispenser of your demise! should you wish it so." Answered Crimson as he aimed his sword towards the two men. "Then I suppose we shall depart, come Two, we leave."

Crimson nodded as he lowered his sword. "A wise choice..." Crimson watched as the two men flew away and soon out of sight, he then looked down to see Nate slowly approaching the three masked people, with a black sword that glowed with black flames. "I suppose I should spectate from here... care to watch? Bolt?" Bolt slowly rose from behind Crimson before reaching the same height as him and stopping. "Recommendation accepted, idle mode engaged." Bolt said as he watched Nate from above along with Crimson, uninterrupted by the chaos below as they enjoyed the view above the skies.

Back to Nate, he passed entire lines and formations of villains after villain, slowly but surely reaching the end of it all as he drew ever closer to the three people, he barely knew anything about with a random black sword he found on the floor as well as a mysterious purple crystal that attached itself to him when he got close. Nate would soon know of its importance.

Villains roared and taunted as Nate passed many of their number, the more he got closer he could instead hear the groans and shouts of the defeated villains as they were sent flying towards the other villains. The villains were tough alright, however these three were even tougher, much tougher than any of them combined, but then again these were the lesser villains and not the stronger ones, still, they were no joke either. The ground rumbled as the fighting became more packed and grouped, more chaotic when it first started, a one-sided battle in favor to the three masked people who had mysterious and quite powerful artefacts. But not a single one belonged to them, Nate knew that much as he could feel the same feeling when absorbing the crystals Pixie called back in the helicopter, Fear Shards, which made him pissed whenever in sight. On the other hand, the second reason why Nate knew these people had the items he needed was because of one simple thing. They glowed. A stupid but reasonable thought, the third was because Nate could hear each one whisper for him to take them. Like princesses who sang for their knight to save them, they urgently begged for Nate to come free them from their state of desperation.

"Almost there... almost there..." Nate assured himself before finally reaching the very end of the horde of villains. But the moment one of the three masked individuals caught sight of Nate, a bright streak of light blinded him, he could hear a small ringing noise all over him as he lost sight of everything apart from himself. Then just as Nate thought he was safe, one of the three appeared before him from the light with a golden dagger in hand. And with a clock's chime the blade landed a hit.