A/N: Been doing some thinking as of late, and after combing over a few notes I made and speaking with my friend and mentor Wraith002, I decided to add another story to my list and see the direction it takes.

This will be an OC insert story, but it is the harbinger for a large crossover series that will hopefully be one worthy of notice. Despite the category this will be apart of being so small and unnoticeable at times, I think there will be plenty out there who will find it entertaining and a good read.

So, readers out in cyberspace, let's get this new journey started!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these franchises...

A holy man had once said that death is only another beginning, had that same man seen and endured everything I have he would have choked on those very words.

Because, believe it or not, there is infact life after death. But there is a very, VERY, big catch to it. Something I had no idea of until I died myself.

The name's Jack Derranger, though many know me as JD, and my life up to this point had been anything but dull. My parents died when I five in a car accident and I was sent to live with my grandmother in Seattle, Washington. Growing up with her I was never bored, she had a pure heart and made everyday feel like a blessing.

As the years went by I took a strong interest in various forms of martial arts, enrolling in a series of classes while I was in middle school and advancing farther than most kids my age. When I reached high school I started full on MMA training, all while maintaining good grades in school.

My grandmother was naturally worried about my choice in 'hobbies', but after seeing me in training, and the amount of dedication I was putting into it, she gave her blessing on it as long as I promised to be safe.

When high school was over, I went on the ameature circut for a year before starting college. Winning a some, losing a few every now and again, even stalemating one or two, but I gave it my all and vowed to keep pushing.

Everything was good in my life, but things always have a habit of turning on its head when you least expect it. During my second year in college, I got a call from a friend of my grandmothers...she'd had a stroke and was in the hospital.

I made it back home just in time to say goodbye and that I love her before she passed away.

The fact that I lost the only family that I had left in the world had crippled me emotionally for a while. I threw myself into my school work and training like a man possessed, the grief driving me further, but it was the memories that I had that kept me from falling completely.

Finishing college, I had been approached by a sponsor who had been at my last few fights and offered to help me get into the professional MMA circuts. Everything I had hoped, trained and strived for was before me, and I took it.

My life became more busy than it ever had before. My training amped up to a whole new level, but it was something I had been working for since I was little, and I was ready to face it...

...what I wasn't ready for was for my first fight in the big leagues...to be my last.

X

JD blinked as an endless field of white filled his vision, the brightness making it hard for him to make out anything around him. Although, he could feel that he was laying on something solid and warm.

He was confused, but not afraid. Which was strange considering he was somewhere he didn't know nor understand. Something about this place filled him with peace, as if all of his instincts were telling him that he was safe and had nothing to fear at all.

Blinking again, JD rose up to a sitting position and looked around, seeing nothing but an endless void of white surrounding him in every direction. Glancing downward at his form, he found himself wearing his black and red MMA gloves and trunks which furthur confused him.

"What's going on?" he wondered outloud, his voice echoing around him just as something clicked in the back of his mind.

People cheering and lights flashing, he was moving about the octagon shaped ring, keeping his opponent at a distance as he plotted how to get under his guard.

The other man lunged first, swinging a wide punch that he ducked under. Striking back with an uppercut that had been blocked, his opponent ducking back which left him open for a wide kick that manage to hit home against his exposed midsection.

With his opponent staggered, JD lunged and rained blow after blow on him, keeping him on the defense and gaining the upperhand. Taking the man down to the mat and attempted to get him in a grapple that would have him tapping out.

But the man he was fighting was experienced, and made the effort difficult for the younger fighter. Finding the right leverage and throwing him off, both rolling to their feet and preparing to go at one another again.

JD braced himself as they clashed again, trading blows back and forth and attempting to find another opening. He swung his fist out, connecting with his opponent's jaw and staggering him again.

Grinning, he moved in to turn the fight back in his favor...but he didn't see the other fighter's right fist coming up in time. Bringing his glove up to block, his movements too slow as the padded hand connected with the side of his head.

His vision turned abruptly to the side before crashing to ground level, all sound around him fading away as though he were sinking into water before his vision blurred away to pure white.

"The fight..." JD muttered when the memory settled, touching the side of his head where he'd been punched he felt no pain. No bruising or anything...but that wasn't right...

Looking around himself again, the young fighter felt numbness enter him when he started to piece things together. Being in the middle of a match, taking a solid hit to the skull and suddenly waking up in a field of white. If anything was to be believed, he was either unconscious, which he had been before and never experienced this before...or...

"...I'm dead..." his voice low, almost a whisper when the full weight of the two words came down on him. JD had always known that his chosen way of life was dangerous, and with a high rate of internal injuries among those who stepped into the ring any number of things could happen.

One of the most common was head injuries...and anyone who passed human biology would know that if one were to take a good shot to the head in just the right place it could have devistating side effects for the victim. One of those being death if something were to be ruptured.

But the knowledge didn't make the situation any easier to swallow for JD.

Running a gloved hand over his shaved head, he closed his blue eyes and rested his forehead on his closed fists while his elbows rested on his knees. "My first fight in the pros...and I end up dead...fuck me..." he said still in disbelief, anyone would be the same in the position he was in now. "Why? Why now?"

"A question countless others have asked many times before."

JD was on his feet, spinning around with his fists raised and ready to defend...but he wasn't expecting what he saw standing before him.

Or, more or less, hovering above the ground before him.

A being, taller than JD's 6'2'' frame, wearing a long grey/white cloak with a hood that covered their head and casting their face in shadows. Behind them was a series of tendrils made of pure-white energy that lazily whipped the air, seeming to keep the being in the air.

"Greetings, Jackson Derranger. Ease yourself, I mean you no harm." said the being, their voice distinctly male, but had an echo-like quality that filled the void around them like a gentle breeze.

"Who are you? Where the hell am I?" the fighter demanded, keeping his guard up despite the cloaked one's words.

"I am Itherael, the Archangel of Fate." said the being as he settled on the ground slowly, "It is my duty to record what is, and what will be within the Scroll of Fate. And your assumptions upon waking are correct. You are deceased in the world of humanity."

Itherael swept his hand to the void around them, "As for where you are, this is what is known as The Veil. A place between the realm of the living and the realm of the dead where souls are sent to where they will spend eternity."

JD lowered his arms completely, "Purgatory." he said, causing the Archangel to chuckle a bit.

"I believe that the term humanity chose to call this plain of existence serves the same purpose. But yes."

Taking a few moments to let everything sink in, the young fighter rubbed the back of his head and took a few deep breaths before turning his attention back to Itherael. "I know this may sound like a broken record, especially to an Angel, but, you don't really look the part." he said motioning to the Archangel's 'wings'.

Itherael chuckled again, "Your kind have a very, unique, imagination in what those of us in the High Heavens look like. But it is within your right as a sentient species to believe whatever you wish." he hovered closer to JD and rested a gloved hand on his shoulder, "I understand that this is much for you to take in. The end of one's life always is, especially when it is cut so tragically short."

Taking another deep breath, JD spoke as calmly as he could. "What happens now? Heaven? Hell? Will I get to see my family again?" the questions flowed out of him like a river, all while wondering what was going to happen now.

The Archangel was silent a moment, as if deep in thought before speaking again. "In a normal circumstance, a newly released soul from the realm of the living is judged by their actions in life before being sent to their eternal rest. However, your situation is an...unusual case."

He stepped away from the young fighter and held out his hand, a flash of golden light filled his palm before materializing into a gold scroll with glowing-silver parchment. "Talus'ar. The Scroll of Fate. Consulted only in times of great need, its contents changing only by the answers that I seek out while deciphering the threads woven by destiny. The fates of countless are store within its passages...but you, Jack Dawson, you are not in the Scroll. Your fate is unwritten."

If JD had been surprised before, he was downright floored now. "W-Wait, what?! How can my fate not be in that scroll?! I'm dead!"

"The answer is actually quite simple." Itherael said, holding the celestial artifact firmly in hand. "Your fate is unwritten, because it has yet to be achieved."

"I don't understand." said the fighter, still trying to wrap his head around so much hitting him at once.

Itherael opened the Scroll of Fate and gazed down at it, "When a soul's fate is unwritten on Talus'ars parchment, the only meaning that could come from it is that the soul in question has not done what it was meant to do in life. Such an event is uncommon, but it has occurred on a handful of occasions, I have seen to them personally as the Archangel of Fate. Your soul in particular, has also garnered my attention."

"When your death was all but certain, and I saw your fate absent from the Scroll, I consulted the All Father's wisdom on the matter. HIS answer was quite surprising."

JD tilted his head when the Archangel mentioned 'All Father', racking his brain for a couple moments trying to figure out who it could be given his little experience with religion. The only thing that he could come up with had him gasping, "You mean God?"

Itherael tilted his head, "Yes, although the title of which you humans call HIM is silly."

"W-What did he say?" asked the fighter, nervous at what the almighty could have said regarding his death.

"To put HIS words simply, your life may have ended in one context, but your soul's true purpose has not been reached. Your fate has much more meaning than you can possibly realize."

Closing the scroll and sending it away in a burst of energy, the Archangel explained further. "When the All Father created life in its many forms, he opened the possibility for countless realms to come into existence. Each one altered in various ways due to the actions taken by those that live in them, yet at the same time, they are all tethered subtly to one another. For instence, what can be considered false and untrue in one realm, is reality in another."

"Not to sound like an ass, but what does all of this have to do with me?" asked JD, he'd heard and read a lot about the idea of multiple worlds back in college. A couple of his friends had even gotten him into various forms of fanfiction that talked about such things in detail. Hearing it all of it was somewhat true from the beyond didn't seem as surprising as it should have been.

"It is what ties into your fate." said Itherael patiently, "In the instances where a soul's fate is unwritten, the soul is sent to another realm so that they can achieve what they could not in a previous life. Upon closer look at your life, and the direction it would take, it was found that your fate is intertwined with that of another. Someone who's own fate is also unwritten in the Scroll. Both of you destined to save two seperate realms and those that live within them."

The Archangel saw the hesitation and ever building confusion on JD's face. "Granted, you do still have a choice for where you go next. If you choose to move onto the afterlife and be with those you love, your decision will be honored. But know that no matter the direction you take, the conciquences of your choice will affect not only you, but countless others as well."

"Such a situation shouldn't be taken lightly. You deserve the full truth on the matter which is why I'm telling you all of this now."

JD stood motionless, doing his best to soak in what the Itherael had told him. Knowing he was dead was one thing, but to be told that his so called fate would be to save two other worlds. And that he'd be doing so beside someone else on top of it all.

Part of him wanted this to be some kind of dream. A concussion induced hallucination brought on by the hard blow to the head he had been given. But there was no 'waking up' for him, not from this, and the real question on his mind was what his decision to be.

On the one hand, it sounded like he was being given the option to continue living. Albet, in another place entirely. On the other, he could see his parents and grandmother again.

"What exactly will happen if I choose to go help this other 'Unwritten Soul'?" he asked, wanting to know as much as possible.

"Your soul will be sent to another vessel, one that will be the best fit to serve you on your path. Although there will be some changes that you will have to grow accustomed to overtime, but if your strength of will is anything to go by you should be able to handle the obstacles in your way." replied the Archangel.

Taking the new information into account, JD mulled it all over in his head for what felt like the thousandth time. Part of him wondering what his family would think and what advice they would offer him.

"Who am I kidding, I know exactly what they would say. And it's not just the prospect of me staying alive either." he thought to himself as his mind cleared. If there was one thing his family every taught him it was to do the right thing, and be there for others that couldn't help themselves.

"Itherael," JD said turning to the watcher of fate fully, "As much as I would love to see my family again, I know that they would want me to keep living and helping where I could. That, and I still have a lot more fight left in me. So, I'll take option A."

Itherael nodded slowly, "Vary well. Prepare yourself, child. The journey ahead will test everything that you are to the very depths of your soul. But you must push forward, and endure, even in the face of great threats and overwhelming odds." the Archangel held out his hand, his palm glowing with heavenly energy as he placed it over the fighter's forehead, a wave of warmth flowing through him in the process. "Best of luck to you, Jack Derranger. I will be watching with great interest."

A bright flash of light filled the void once again and everything faded to black.

X

In another place and time, a little girl with long brown hair wearing a light-blue dress and clutching a stuffed rabbit could be seen walking down a long, silent hallway. Soft-brown eyes looking at the various doors she passed as she aimlessly headed in one direction.

Eight-year-old Jodie Holmes traveled through the many corridors that made up the DPA facilities interior, having been here several times in the past couple of months, she had many of the more important places memorized.

Having been left at the facility once again by her parents, and having passed the daily sessions with Dr. Dawkins and his assistant, the young girl was free to wander the facility. So long as she didn't go anywhere or get into anything she wasn't supposed to.

Many would ask why a little girl would be in a place such as this on her own, but Jodie wasn't what folks would consider a 'normal' little girl. She was born with a strange and unexplainable gift, an invisible, sentient force that had been bound to her seemingly since birth.

She'd said that 'his' name was Aiden, and for the longest time the people around her believed that she had been referring to an imagineary friend. That was until strange and sometimes violent things started happening without reason. Lights flickering, objects moving through the air on their own. Then, one day, things reached an apex.

One day during the winter last year, Jodie had gone out to play in the snow and had joined a bunch of other kids for a snowball fight. One of the boys she managed to hit had tackled her to the ground and attempted to smother her with a handful of snow. Terrified and struggling, 'Aiden' attacked the boy, pulling him off Jodie and choking him in her defense.

After she managed to get Aiden to stop, the boy had called her a witch and ran away in fear. Since then, everyone would look at her in fear, disgust or hesitation. Her own father treated her with cold indifference and making her feel like a monster for something that was out of her control. She had begun to hate Aiden for making her life so horrible, but nothing would ever make the entity go away.

More than that, Jodie claimed that there were 'monsters' that came for her in the night on a few occasions, leaving scratches and bruises on her arms. But much like with Aiden, no one believed her.

Since the incident, she'd been coming to the Department of Paranormal Activities and working with Doctor Nathan Dawkins to better understand what was happening to her. Which was where she discovered that she was unique, special.

Although Jodie believed that she had some kind of curse, and really didn't feel as special as the kind doctor tried to make her believe.

Hugging her stuffed rabbit a little closer, Jodie padded softly around a corner, she had a destination in mind, one that Dr. Dawkins had brought her to several times since she started coming here. Reaching the proper door, she reached a little hand up and turned the knob before pushing it open and stepping inside.

The room she was now in was about as big as the one she stayed in from time to time, a lone bed was set up in the far corner with various machines around it. Various wires and IVs trailing to the still form of a young boy that laid motionless on the bed.

Stepping closer, Jodie looked at the boy that was only a year older than she was. His thin face a mask of peace while his reddish/black hair was shaggy from having been asleep for so long.

Jodie didn't know what a 'coma' was, but Dr. Dawkins had told her that he'd been in one for the last couple of months. He'd brought her here when she first started coming to the DPA and explained that, like her, the boy was special like she was because his mom and dad both were when they alived.

She didn't understand competely at first, but after everything that had been happening to her at home and at school, it was good to have someone she could confide in. Even though the other person was 'sleeping', both of them needed a friend. And the doctor told her that there was a chance that he could hear her speaking to him and might wake up.

"Hi." Jodie said softly before crawling into the chair that was set beside the bed and sat in it. "Mommy dropped me off for the weekend again, and Dr. Dawkins and Cole are busy right now." she explained to the motionless boy, having done so many times before. "School's been okay, no one's been mean to me for a while. And Aiden hasn't caused any trouble, which is good."

Silence was the response she got, but she was just happy to be speaking to someone about her troubles or her good moments that weren't her parents or a doctor. Jodie would come around every chance she got, it was nice to not be looked at like she was a freak.

"Are you having nice dreams?" she asked with a soft smile while absently playing with the ears of her rabbit. "I bet you have nice dreams all the time, I wish I could have more nice dreams." Jodie frowned as she looked up at the boy. "I...I also wish that you would wake up soon. I feel so lonely. No one at school will play with me, and call me names. Daddy says mean things about me when he thinks I'm not listening. I..."

Jodie clenched her eyes, tears spilling down her cheeks while her shoulders shook as she cried. "I j-just want a friend. Someone who won't be mean to me and will play with me. I don't want to be alone anymore..."

The lights around the room flickered without her notice, Aiden being affected by the backlash of emotions that was coming through Jodie's link to him. The entity trying to figure out a way to make his host happy...that was before they both heard it.

A soft groan, coming from the bed.

Jodie's tears stopped almost instantly and she perked up when she heard the noise. Looking to the boy she had been speaking to and leaning closer. "H-Hello?" she asked hesitantly, fearing that she had heard wrong.

The boy's eyelids shifted slightly, then slowly cracked open to reveal a pair of bright-blue orbs that were cloudy from sleep. Blinking a few times, he turned his head and looked toward the surprised girl sitting beside him. Dried lips parting as he spoke in a soft and slightly cracked voice.

"W-Where am I?"

A/N: And done, for now anyway.

Like many of you have noticed, Itherael is borrowed from Diablo, mostly because he was the best option to me in how to get my OC from one life to the next.

Speaking of said character, before anyone can ask, yes, I did base the way he looks to the main character from the PS2 game 'Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy'. And there will be many more elements of that game, which was and still is one of my old favorites, appearing throughout this story as things progress.

I will have the next chapter up within the next week, until then let me know what you all think. Till next time.