It had been a beautiful day that day.

  The sky was clear, sun was bright, a nice cool breeze wafted by, completing the perfect atmosphere at the park.

  "Oh no, I'll go get the ball, tehehe!!!"

  A little girl no more than 5, went running towards the little ball that her and her friends were pying with.

  She wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention to where the ball was going, because all that mattered was getting it.

  It skidded past the entrance to the park, out past the sidewalk, and into the very busy street.

  Patpatpat

  "Grnrnrnr, I'll get you mister ball! Come here!"

  "EMILY!!!!!"

  Hearing her mother's voice coming out in a tone that made her scared, so so, so scared, caused her to look up and back seeing her mother racing at here with a look that made her want to cry.

  Mommy looked scared, and mommy was never scared. Did Emily do something bad? Did she hurt one if her friends and she didn't know it?

  SCREEEEEEECHHHHHHHHH

  A noise that sounded like a monster started coming closer to her and she realized why mommy was scared, she had gone in the road. And now the big old truck was going to hit Emily... Emily had been a really bad girl hadn't she-

  "I gotcha, hold on tight."

  'Hmm, smells like the forest.'

  The voice was so gentle, and nice to listen too. He sounded younger than mama by alot though.

  Suddenly she felt a really warm pair of good smelling arms wrap around her, and squeeze her in a nice, tight, hug.

  PUMPFFMPRDPRPDRPD

  CRUNCH

  "AHHHHHHHH!"

  Emily couldn't help the scream that was pushed out of her lungs as the car hit the nice man and her. She heard really nasty pops and cracks, coming from behind her, not sure what it was.

  The man didn't make a single noise as he curled up into a ball around her making sure she was super safe from the scratchy road, as they went bouncing and flying away.

  "NO, EMILYYYYY!!!!"

  Her mama's voice was alot closer this time, and then she was no longer moving. The arms holding her were shaking and the nice man was breathing really, really hard.

  She couldn't stop crying, it was really, really scary, and he was making her feel safe. But he sounded hurt so she had to get up and get her mama to help him.

  "You alright, kiddo?"

  And then everything felt okay again, and she wasn't scared anymore.

  "Mm, sniff, I'm okay! Sniff, that was really scary."

  "Mhm... it was... wasn't it?"

  He started talking slow in a weird way, which made her feel not good inside.

  She had to make sure he never stopped talking, she wanted her mama to meet him, he would make a really good papa, maybe the good smelling nice man could be, her..., her new papa.

  'Mm, that's the bestest idea, ever. You'll be Emily's new papa!'

  "Cough*, mngh, Emily, that's your name, right?"

  He knew her name!?

  It must be because she wanted to make him her papa, so he got papa powers like mama has mama powers, woooahhhh~.

  "You knew that because you're gonna be my new papa, didn't you?! I said you'll be my new papa in my brain and you read it because I made you my papa!"

  "Haha, I'm too young to be a papa, ya' know? I'm only 18, besides, you already have a papa don't you?"

  Mm, she really liked his voice. It was nice and soft, and gentle, and seemed to rumble allllll~ around in her head. It made her feel all warm inside, like the hug he was giving her-

  "Emily, Emily baby, please God, please!"

  She heard her mama running up. Then her new papa rolled over so he was ying on his back, she felt even more warm now that the sun was hitting her back.

  She felt a pair of cool fingers and hands pulling her papa's arms off of her, which she didn't like one bit.

  "Mama! Emily is fine, so stop pulling papa's arms off her!"

  Oh, no! She called him her new papa before she could ask her mama if he could be her new papa! She'll definitely say no now...

  "Oh Emily my baby, oh, you're okay, you're okay, oh my sweet little girl, my baby *sob*, oh thank you Lord, thank you, thank you, *Sob, Sob*."

  Phew it seemed like her mama didn't hear her mess up, nice!

  "Mama, we gotta help pap-, wahhh, I mean this person! He fell over protecting Emily!"

  "Haha, it's okay Emily..... she was just really scared, so don't be mad at your mama.... okay? You make sure.... that you're.... a good girl, from now on... for...her..."

  "Wait, wait no, hold on! Here, sit still right her okay Emily?! SOMEONE CALL 911!"

  Her mamma put her on the ground next to her papa, and she finally got to see his face-

  'Super wowww.... papa is super dooper, handsome like a big movie guy! Wait, why is, papa... bleeding?'

  "No, no, hey, just hold on, okay?! Hey, I have to thank you first for saving her, NO- DONT CLOSE YOUR EYES! Yes, that's it, talk with me, say something, anything! The ambunce is on the way okay?!"

  Emily started to feel not good in her chest. She was getting... scared. Her papa was hurt, wasn't he? He was hurt because Emily ran out in the road, and he had to protect her...

  Her chest felt tight, and her tummy started to not feel good. Her eyes were starting to sting too.

  Emily had caused her new papa to get hurt, she was not just a bad girl, she was the worst ever. Her throat stated to hurt and she was about to start crying as hard as she could, when she felt a really warm, soft, and big hand rest on her head.

  It was her papa.

  "This wasn't, your fault Emily, okay? Cough*, ugh- cahuk, cahuk!"

  "No, damnit! Turn over on your side, Emily baby, help mama push him onto his side!"

  She heard her mama and papa, and she knew that she had to be a big girl right now. Papa was hurt, so she had to help as best she could!

  Quickly the mother and daughter duo helped roll the man onto his side, and then set his head on the mother's p.

  Both watched as his breathing brain to slow, and his skin started to turn a very, pale white.

  "Hey- hey, what's your name? Tell me your name, so, so I can tell the paramedics who you are, okay? You're gonna be alright, I promise, they're almost here."

  Her mama had grabbed her new papa's hand like mama's and papa's are supposed to. Her other hand was gently brushing her fingers through her papa's hair, so she did too.

  'It's super-dooper soft too, woaahhhh~.'

  "Please, hey, NO, absolutely not! You are not allowed to die after saving my daughter, do you understand me?! Tell me your name, anything, please?!"

  Her hands both were shaking, her mama was scared, and so was she, and all she could do was cry quietly because big girls don't cry like babies.

  "It's, it's Gage."

  "Mm, papa has the coolest name, ever, doesn't he mama *sob*"

  She saw her mama's eyes widen, and her papa's seemed to squint a little because he started smiling. She was trying so hard but not winning against her big baby tears.

  She watched her mama look down at her papa, and she stared into his eyes.

  She saw mama think really hard, and then she smiled a smile she hasn't seen on her mama in a really, super long time, making her look super-dooper movie dy pretty.

  "Mhm, papa has the coolestest name, ever, doesn't he?"

  Her mama was crying now, and making sounds that sounded like she was in pain, but she was also smiling her big pretty smile.

  "And papa better make sure he gets better, shouldn't he? And when he gets better *sob* we can all go py at the park and, you and papa can hold hands, and papa can drive, and sing all the songs with us, and, and when I get scared at night *sob* I can come sleep with both of you when papa comes to live with us and, and Emily will be a good girl, she'll be the best girl, so papa's gotta get better right mama?!"

  She didn't know when, but she had started to baby cry, really loudly, while she was talking about her papa getting better.

  "Mhm, you're right Emily, you hear that papa, you have to get better so we can do all the things Emily wants, okay? My name is Tristan, and dont you forget it."

  And with a small exhale, a smile on his face and eyes shining with stars, her new papa, and someone she'll never forget, even till her next life, took his st breath on her mama's legs.

  She watched as her mama cried even harder, making her do so too, and leaned into her papa's ear.

  "We would love to get to know you in the next life, Gage, so make sure to come find us, okay? We'll be waiting for you."

  And she couldn't agree more with her mama. All Emily will have to do now, is learn about how to get to this next life pce, so she and mama could be with papa.

  ______________

  In a clearing, deep in a dungeon that was once home to Greschah, the Elder Dragon, a blip of magic glowed, leaving behind the body of a young man, no older than 18.

  He wore bck joggers, charcoal gray ankle cut vans, a white T-shirt, and bck hoodie too.

  "GUH-HUHHHHHH! Haa, haa, haa, cough*, cough*, cough*."

  He took quick, rapid lung fulls of air into his system, as he sat up like lightning struck his spine.

  "Damn... wait.... I'm sorry, what?"

  Alysaria system registration complete!

  You have been assigned the mythical css of, True Hero.

  would you like to view your character card?

  Y/N

  With a perfectly reasonable response, he just froze, for a period of time he couldn't even begin to guess how long sted.

  Finally, after living through his existential crisis, he flipped all the siwtches into high gear.

  "Hmh, apparently truck-kun is real?... well, in any case whether this is real or not, I'm gd Emily is okay... heh, papa at the age of 18, not a bad way to go out, I'd say. Now, just got to sort out what in the french toast of france, I'm supposed to do next."

  ______________

  Pvtcheeks