The Tale of a Dog Hero

A Gift or Curse

Oscar opened his eyes to see a city in ruin before him. ////
There was a rumble nearby and a few slabs of debris had gotten tossed a few feet to the side. Out crawled 4 familiar characters. 3 of which he has seen before. Tippy, zuko, and that red mystery man. As they were all getting their bearings, Oscar saw an older version of himself burst through what was left of a building. "Zane! You and me." The fox-like creature turned to look at older Oscar. "You think I'm stupid? I may be fast enough to Dodge or block, but one hit would be all it takes... I've made unwise decisions, but that, I know is suicide." Zane... His name is Zane. "I've been here before. I know how this ends. With you and me. And I'm changing my history." Older Oscar says as he crouches into a sprinting position. "Don't do it... You won't like the outcome..." Zane up stands strait with his arms crossed. The gravel around him seems to spin around himself. "Try me..." In a burst of blue light, the older Oscar goes flying across the street and attempts to land a high kick to Zane's head. Zane manifests a thick steel beam right next to himself. Older Oscar kicked it and sends the beam into a loud vibration so powerful that the ground breaks up. The force of the beam recoiled back into Older Oscar and sends him flying backwards. He catches himself mid air, and lands on his feet. "Half a foot radius" Older Oscar said to himself... He sprints again and side steps with blinding speed to get behind Zane. "As predicted..." Zane manifests a clay and brick wall behind himself just as Older Oscar punches. Older Oscar spins around to face Tippy and Zuko. With death in his eyes, Older Oscar begins to walk toward them as he says "2 foot, 8 inch radius..." Zuko takes a step back and pulls out his deck of cards. They start floating around himself and Tippy. "Oscar, listen. What your doing, is not helping people. What happened to that hero we-" Zuko was interrupted by Older Oscar. He punched Zuko, and sent him flying. After he landed, two cards burned to ash. "Tippy. Didn't you swear to support whatever I do? You said you would be beside me 'no matter what' right?" Older Oscar said as he begins to tower over her. His face is stone. His eyes glowing, with death staring through. "O-oscar. I never thought you would do something like this though. You broke your promise, so I did too. You became what you-" Tippy's eyes widened as Older Oscar pulled back his fist. And let it swing. "6 feet radius..."////
Oscar had woke up with a jolt and fell off the log he was laying on. As he got up, he looked around and remembered why he was here. His father... His mother... Everything that happened at the plaza. Oscar headed over to Artemis' shrine, and knelt. After a long moment she appeared, knelt down, and placed her hand on Oscars head. "You are ready? It seems that your mentality is stronger today than it was the days before. I have only one test, then. Be wary. Not many are sane enough. I must ask. Are you ok with yourself? Are you in touch with your emotions? Do you know who you are? What power you shall possess? What you're willing to do for others? Are you sure you are ready for death?" She slowly starts squeezing Oscars head until a loud crack rings out. His pupils disappear and both eyes start glowing. Artemis begins searching through his mind. She finds a subject on future events and she is suddenly no longer in Oscars mind. She tries to enter his mind again, but is unable. Oscar wakes up and begins to stand, but is unable to move his legs. Artemis continues to attempt to read his brain, but it becomes distorted and random. She sees nothing but empty void. A blank canvas. She releases her grasp on Oscar and he stands up. "Another being has been in your mind, but is vacant currently. Do you know anything that may have entered your body?" Artemis looks in Oscars eyes and examines his ears. "There was a wisp creature that had. It healed my ear and most of my injuries. Come to think of it, I haven't seen it since I was at the plaza. And there were voices I heard, but no longer play in my head." She gasps and gets down to Oscars level. "You survived a wisp? Those things usually kill their host. You truly have an incredible conscious to come out better than when you were before. Well, I suppose it's time. Stand. And allow me to give my gift to you." Oscar stands up and bows his head with his eyes shut. "I am ready to take your gift as my own." Artemis nods and puts her ands on his shoulders. She puts her head against his, and begins whispering "I grant thee my ultimate gift. Shall it not only give you physical capabilities of a god, but the mental fortitude. By accepting this gift, you are willing to trust everything you have and everything you are, to me. No more shall your body be controlled by another spirit or manifestation. Shall death only take you when you are willing, and your power to subside when you desire. I offer you my power. My wisdom. My determination. My very soul. I take a piece of me, to give to you. Do you accept?" Artemis begins to glow brightly. "I shall take the gift given to me. I must not accept another spirit or manifestation to become one with myself. I shall take your power. Your wisdom. Your determination. Your very soul shall become one with mine. I accept the gift given to me." As Oscar finishes, his eyes begin to glow as Artemis's light fades. Oscar opens his eyes and the earth beneath him cracks. He begins seeing things that he never thought were visible. Oscar was suddenly capable of seeing the dust particles in the air, every hair on an ants body, and what makes up dirt in the ground. There is so much to see that it becomes painful. Oscar falls back and his chest suddenly bursts into life. He can feel every vibration of his body during a breath. He could feel the hair growing on his head, and it ached. His heart thumping became so powerful, that it hurt tremendously. Artemis was nowhere to be seen and Oscar was dying right where she was. He tried to stand, but there was so much force that he kicked accidentally kicked up into the sky. Just as instantly as he could feel this sudden power ripping himself apart from the inside out, it dissipated. He then realized that he is floating in the air and has a jacket on. Artemis was holding Oscar in the air, and had put a jacket on him without him noticing. She put him back down and began walking to the plaza. "Pay attention Oscar. You must keep that jacket on you at all times. My gift is still to powerful for you, but it luckily didn't rip you to pieces immediately. That jacket it made of a heavy and fine material called Rependium. It is a purple ore on Earth and can be crafted to wire. That jacket weighs over 700 pounds. It is blessed with a suppressant to keep your power dulled, and to ensure when you use my gift, that you don't go flying off into space. Go into town. I have a sort of mission I require you to do. You must find that wisp. If it falls into an enemy or even a strong willed civilian, it will be bad news. Find the wisp and bring it to me. With the wisp, I can teach it the way of life, and ensure that it will not harm others." Artemis looked grim. Like she was displeased. Oscar was curious, but knew asking questions would mean time wasted on finding that wisp. "It will be done. I will practice this new power given to me, and bring back the wisp as best I can." As Oscar began to walk into town and headed for the plaza, Artemis smiled slightly and faded away...