Meanwhile...

Johnny: "(yawning) Why can't we go dive in again?"

The heroes are sitting at a park bench while Dan is on a swing set.

Haley: "Because overexertion will probably kill us?"

Emma: "That sounds about right."

Dan's soccer ball is in Sakura's lap.

Sakura: "Will things get more and more terrifying from here on out?"

Emma's eyes still glisten from the last encounter.

Emma: "I doubt it."

Emma takes her hand.

Haley: "They know that we can bounce back no matter the situation."

Johnny: "So we'd better keep our guard up."

Dan hops off the swings and picks up his favorite ball.

Dan: "Can we play catch?"

Dan stands before his sister.

Emma: "Sure, why not?"

Emma and Dan begin to play.

Johnny: "Still feels extremely boring."

Sakura looks towards the sky.

Sakura: "(praying) Please be okay Ace..."

Johnny: "Who's Ace?"

Sakura: "He's my-"

Bullets can be heard echoing throughout the area.

Emma: "H-Huh?!"

Emma drops the ball, but Dan picks it up.

Dan: "Emma? What's that sound?"

Emma begins to sweat as the sounds grow closer and closer.

Haley: "Who's shooting a gun here?!"

A bullet strikes through Dan's back.

Emma: "(horrified) DAN!!!!"

Two drunk police officers were firing their pistols in the air from their car and one of them was an accidental shooter that hit Dan in the back.

Johnny: "Aw come on! This is why you don't drink during the day!"

Officer 1: "(sluggishly) Oops. Looks like that kid (burps) is going to die."

Officer: "(sluggishly) Well (burps) my bad."

Dan drops into the grass as Emma smacks both officers in the face.

Emma: "(pissed) You bastards just killed my brother! You should be ashamed to call yourselves officers!"

Sakura rushes over to Dan.

Dan: "(out of it) Am I going to die?"

Sakura: "Listen to me! Yes you will die, but if you find the nearest person and make contact with them you'll be okay!"

Johnny: "Are you seriously trying to get him to soul bond?!"

Emma is on the verge of tears.

Sakura: "I won't let my best friend lose her brother like this. No matter the price!"

The life fades from his eyes as the soil around him turns a deep red.

Johnny: "If you say so..."

The officers drive off without a care in the world.

Johnny: "Guys! We need to jump into Zero Fiction!"

Haley: "Why?"

Emma realizes something.

Emma: "Soldiers are the messengers who decide what lives and what dies."

Emma wipes away her sadness and replaces it with hatred.

Emma: "(gritting teeth) Then I'll kill them."

Emma jumps into Zero Fiction with Sakura following suit, only for them to arrive in the midst of a large hoard.

Haley: "Looks like someone really wanted to kill-"

Emma slugs three Soldiers into the ground with a single punch.

Emma: "(pissed) Come at me!"

Johnny: "(awkwardly) Looks like someone unscrewed a couple of screws."

Sakura decapitates three with a single thrust.

Sakura: "(in head) Ace would've done the same for me."

The bloodshed ensues.

However...

Dan awakens in the dwindling abyss, scared and alone.

Dan: "(afraid) H-Hello? I-Is anyone out there?"

He begins walking forward, each step filling him with more fear.

Dan: "(afraid) A-Anyone?!"

He falls to his knees as he begins to cry.

Dan: "(afraid, crying) I-I'm s-so alone..."

He clenches his chest.

Dan: "(afraid, crying) Please! Help me!"

Footsteps begin to echo.

Dan: "Huh?"

He wipes away his tears as he gets back onto his feet.

Dan: "(sniffling) Who is-"

Dan spots a man running away from two Soldiers.

Man: "(panicking) Get the hell away from me! What did I do in life to deserve this?!"

Dan begins running after him.

Dan: "H-Hey! I can help!"

The man looks directly at Dan.

Man: "(panicking) What can a kid like you do?!"

Dan: "My sister's friend told me to make contact with the first person I see and we'll be okay!"

The man hesitates for a moment before altering his course.

Man: "(panicking) Anything is better than dealing with these bastards!"

The man stops just in front of Dan.

Man: "What now?!"

Dan reaches out his hand.

Dan: "It should be like-"

The moment Dan touches the man's arm, they're both enveloped in a red light, halting the Soldiers.

Man: "Wh-What's going on?!"

Dan: "I-I don't-"

They disappear with the light.

Meanwhile...

The supply of Soldiers attacking Emma and Sakura aren't dwindling at all.

Johnny: "What the hell is going on?! How is there still another 40 waiting in the wings?!"

Even with soul swaps, they're burning through fading fumes.

Haley: "How can we get through all of them?!"

Emma: "I-I..."

Sakura: "(in head) We need you Dan."

Meanwhile...

Dan awakens in the bloodstained soil without a single wound on his body.

Dan: "(shaking head) What just... happened?"

He can still feel the blood soaking his clothes.

Dan: "Th-That wasn't a-"

The ghost of the man floats beside him.

Man: "(panicking) A-Am I I stuck in a kid's body?!"

Time is beginning to slow down.

Dan: "H-Huh?!"

They arrive in Zero Fiction in the midst of enemy ranks.

Man: "(panicking) We're not safe!"

A metallic ball giving off bright flames forms in Dan's hands as the enemies start diverting their attention towards them.

Man: "(panicking) What's a ball going to do?!"

Dan begins to dribble the ball, each bounce making the flames burn brighter.

Dan: "(deep breath) Take this!"

Dan tosses the ball, causing it to bounce off several enemies and setting them on fire.

Man: "(awkwardly) ... So that ball can do something."

Dan catches the ball as he is able to spot Emma and Sakura in the midst of combat.

Dan: "E-Emma?"

Man: "You know her?"

Another toss makes an entire row of Soldiers fall like the others.

Haley: "What's that?!"

They can see the falling Soldiers.

Sakura: "... Dan."

A final target allows both sides to make eye contact.

Emma: "D-Did Dan-"

Dan catches his ball and rushes towards his sister.

Man: "(distraught) So what the hell is happening?"

Sakura: "(deep breath) We need to kill these Soldiers first before we can explain anything!"

The Soldiers close in as Dan begins to dribble his ball again.

Haley: "(in head) I have a feeling that guy does not like being stuck in a kid's body."

Dan: "Stay away from us!"

Dan tosses his ball, setting even more Soldiers ablaze, but the ball lands on the floor instead of bouncing back to him.

Johnny: "(breathing heavily) Let's wrap this up!"

The ground all around the heroes is set on fire in a scorching ring, consuming all enemies in it's hatred.

Man: "(awkwardly) Did we just do that?"

Dan clutches his sister's arm.

Dan: "(afraid) Wh-What's going on?"

Emma: "Don't  worry Dan, we're going to head over to Sakura's and explain everything."

They all exit Zero Fiction...