Akari began to get very numb with anxiety as she dragged herself back into the War Room, where Mew; Mewtwo; her Starter Pokémon, Meganium; and the Sprites were waiting. Phong just announced the inevitable truth.
It was mere microseconds since the system crash was averted, though with the city in an unstabled condition, it would not last long. So much damage had been done, there were ruins all around, the sky looked as dark as tar and stormy since Raichu let loose his overloaded input from Mainframe's Core. The situation was undoubtedly grim, especially since there was no way on escaping since the seal to Johto and the Web were closed off. Not even Samus could answer the distress coming from within.
The omnipotent atmosphere and the fear of impending deletion lingered over the devastated Principal Office. From inside and out, every Binome, Pokemon, and Sprite were at complete unease. Some were too busy to worry and doing their usual functions.
Cecil was still serving beverages and food left from Dot's and Al's diners, and sundries from the Stadium were given to those who needed them, including the Johto and Kanto dwellers. Chansey was with the nurse Binomes, treating anyone who was injured; especially Raichu who fainted after unleashing that electric outburst. There was a long queue that could stretch on for a mile ending at the port-a-potties. Everywhere the people and Pokemon looked were dire and became overcrowded by terrified civilians of all kinds. Some of the creatures were so big, they had to stay outside, even most of the Flying-types, while the smaller ones stayed indoors.
Mewtwo, Mew, and Meganium were the few that managed to stay. They were in the War Room with Akari, Bob, Matrix, Dot, Frisket, AndrAIa, Mouse, Ray, Specky, Hack and Slash, and Phong who looked so glum and hopeless.
He reiterated his depressed news, "I am sorry, my children, but Mainframe is dying." He paused for a few nanoseconds. "We have stopped bleeding but the patient is too far gone to save." They all understood what that pun meant.
"But there must be something we could do." Dot said.
"I'm afraid not, my child. We would...nearly be wasting our time." he replied in despair.
AndrAIa stated the troubling situation more, "We can't affect repairs without powering it up, and if we power up a Sector, it'll just start going offline again." It was futile since Megabyte, Hex, and the Games have done so much damage everywhere.
Mouse spoke more irritably, "But we can't support the whole city in a ruined Principal Office for more than a few cycles." This confused those not from the Net; how can a devastated city last for a few years!? No one can stand together nor survive this long, not even those from the outside.
"So what we've done is delayed the inevitable." Matrix said.
Bob stuck up a finger, pointing out an idea. "There is one possible solution, but I'm really not too happy about it." Everybody looked at him, puzzled and bewildered. "Bear in mind, this is a last resort."
Before he was about to formulate a plan, the System did the usual alarm that a Game Cube of all things was landing. How can the User could possibly download a Game Cube in a malfunctioning System that just deleted the other Users in its ram?!
The renegade was the first to stand to action, "Let's do it." AndrAIa, Frisket, plus Akari and her Pokémon reluctantly marched with him. Then, Matrix hesitated. "Bob, are you coming?" The canine whimpered.
With his head down and eyes closed, he sadly answered, "No. You mustn't go, either."
Everyone was indeed shocked and skeptical of his decision. Matrix couldn't believe this. "What?"
"Goes against everything I am, but we have to stay out of that Game."
"The lost Game could push Mainframe over the edge; the System will crash!" This statement startled Akari and the others in her team. Everyone and everything would face a massive apocalypse done only by the User.
The Guardian assured, "I know, but I think if the System goes over it could force a restart." He said it with such confidence their lives would be spared, saved by backup; however, they weren't really convinced. Could he have known this from the Academy, or by Samus and his times lost in the Web?
The grown Sprite's anger rose. "But...we don't know that! We have to go, I have to go!"
Bob immediately stopped him in his tracks and looked deeply in his eyes. "Enzo. I know. Trust me."
He gazed deeply at his, trying to resist his code. "Bob?"
"Please."
Matrix looked outside at the VidWindow, "No!"
Despite the calm demeanor, it was already too late while the volatile cube crashed onto the Kitts Sector, not too far from here. They saw no one approach it, not even the Pokémon from the outer sections as they were ordered to stay put by Mewtwo's telepathy.
Everyone sulked and the upcoming failure; this was a first for some that prevented to act accordingly. "What have we done?" Matrix sighed.
Phong was immediately on high alert, as was Dot. "We...we must move quickly! We do not have much time!" He began to type vigorously on the motherboard.
"Yes, you're right. We have to make sure all active PIDs are accounted for," the second added. Frisket growled in disgust, wanting desperately to bite a chunk out of a User like he did so many times before. The Pokémon just looked more depressed.
Mouse took a breather, while she stood alongside Ray. "The natives are gonna get restless with the Game in town. We should try to keep 'em calm."
They all volunteered to do just that, while the two keepers of the remaining System analyzed the data from the surviving inhabitants being downloaded into the memory banks. They, too, hoped desperately that Bob's theory was right on the User sparing the citizens via backup files. Akari and her Pokémon were doing the same to each other, even though they all wished they'd escape back to Johto if given the chance, or at the very least downloaded to Samus' ship. With Mew flying close beside her, the Trainer decided to stay with her fellow comrades as they started to huddle together and brace for the worst.
Meanwhile, Ray was walking alongside the hacker trying to flirt with her. "You know, I could take you away from all this."
Mouse replied, "I suppose you could, but I've stuck with those folks too long to leave them now. I must be getting soft." She then faced her best friend, "But you don't have to stay here, sugar." She felt she'd rather have him escape and enjoy life surfing the Web, something she herself never done before.
"Everybody has to be somewhere. I particularly like it right here." Mouse smiled at the thought, although it was not the first time he had stated that phrase. Akari wondered if there was ever a place Ray could call home, wherever that may be.
Back in the War Room, Specky looked over the possible liftoff, the situation when the black stuff would finally hit the fan. "Sir, with the sensors I have reported an energy buildup. I think the Game's about to leave."
"Phong!" Dot was anxious for him to complete the task.
"Almost there, my child. Almost there..?" With a signal coming from his organizer, he exhaled with relief, "Dah, it's been done. All active PIDs have been scanned."
"Well, all we can do now is wait."
"Oh, what are we waiting for?" Out of thin air, Hex barged in. That scared Hack and Slash most of all, who were recently blown to data bits by her wrath. "Is it a surprise? I like surprises. I brought biscuits." She'd shown a platter which had the bodies of Herr Doctor and Bunnyfoot encrusted as gingerbread cookies.
It was undoubtedly disturbing, even to the wise one, "Oh, dear..."
"Game Over." The System gave the warning.
Bob lowered himself to his height, "Phong." The elderly Sprite shook his head. "Please?"
"User wins." There was no turning back now.
"Very well, but I cannot believe I am doing this!" He dug into his chest drawer and pulled out an icon. That way, Hex would have her bitmaps downloaded to the Principal Office with all the others, including Akari's Pokémon via her Poké Balls. He muttered in disbelief, "Registering a virus. The madness, absolute, utter madness!"
She grabbed it from him, "Oh, thank you, Phong. Now, where can I pin it?"
In just a few nanos, the Game Cube soared into the violent storm, leaving behind yet another nullified Sector in its wake. Then, everyone felt the shockwaves beneath them, and the storm roared louder. The Binomes and Pokémon were becoming distraught, impending their eventual deaths. As if surviving the previous shut down was all for naught. Suddenly, there was an agonizing beeping noise in the distance and the voice of the System sounded distorted as it kept saying these terrifying words, "Warning. System Crash."
EVERYWHERE they looked was collapsing before their very eyes! Radical electricity was lighting up the sky, and each of the remaining establishments were either sinking into the Energy Sea and/or falling apart! One of them was the water park, the Floating Point Park, was a devastating sight, especially to the Water-types; it was their favorite attraction since they first arrived, and it was facing complete devastation. Squirtle cowered and sobbed hard against Balstoise's thick belly as he and his allies embraced the horror. At one point, Akari wanted all of them, including the Mew duo, be returned to their Balls so they could be processed; of course, they refused the offer, even her mentor who never wanted to be trapped in the Master Ball again. So they unanimously agreed to just stay and stick together while the city dies all around them.
During the catastrophe, the Crimson Binome along with Mr. Pearson share one final drink; some of the bots got so riled up that they even scared off Cecil. Specky snuck close to Princess Bula, who saved him last minute as a User was assaulting him; the savior laid a comforting hand on his head, filling him with such gladness. Both Hack and Slash's gears were falling off as they held each other tightly in utter fright. Mouse looked over to the lone surfer, and with not another minute to lose, she eagerly embraced him and shared a deep kiss; they'd rather die together if that's what they truly wanted.
The quake was nonstop, and multiple buildings toppled over, including the tall skyscrapers in Wall Street. Pipes began to burst, Lost Angles and all the Nulls sunk and drowned in the ocean, even the D sign that remained from Dot's Diner gradually met its demise.
And with no hope left, Akari slumped in a deep depression amongst her close comrades, wishing for a miracle for the User to save their bitmaps, while each of her Pokémon, including the hardheaded Mewtwo, began to shed their tears.
Finally, Bob and Dot exited the Principal Office together and surveyed the global damage. Phong just let his head slip as he took all that he fought for take a nasty turn. Matrix, AndrAIa, and Frisket held each other closely. The alarm kept on going, with the message being more disoriented, as the Principal Office was the last bit online to face its doom. The would-they-won't-they couple gazed at each other before everything went blank...
A few nanos later, there was a bleak, green screen which could've belonged to an old Macintosh. On it, there were some green font scrolling across it:
SYSTEM CRASH
RESTART Y/N?
The unnamed, unseen User typed in, YES
More words appeared:
RESTORE Y/N?
Once again, the User typed in, YES
From those simple commands, there was a loud bang surrounding the System. The Principal Office sparked and then there was an inaudible voice that only said:
"Warning. Incoming Data."
There was an enormous beam of light appearing above the devastated city, and the first establishment it shined on was the center of it all. While it was covered in that heavenly aura, the building appeared to be shiny and brand new! The golden sky enlarged and each of the six Sectors descended around it, surrounded in translucence starting with the Kitts Sector, to the Baudway Sector, to Giedi Prime, to Wall Street, Beverly Hills, and finally the Floating Point Park. The island rose and with a wave, the ocean had its purple tone returned. The restart then shot into the sky and fireworks burst. Everyone, excepting Mouse, Ray, the Pokémon and their Trainer, noticed the spectacle.
"Hah hah hah. By the Code, lad!" Captain Capacitor couldn't be more delighted.
Then, the Sectors solidified and started operating one after another. From the financial institutions in Wall Street, to the busy highway and skyscrapers in Baudway, to the Eight-Ball Apartments in Kitts, and even the rebuilt Silicon Tor in G-Prime. A new Sub-Sphere ascended from the Principal Office, replacing the one that was destroyed earlier by Megabyte's encryption. Bits reformed in the aerial trainways and the sounds of the System re-operating were heard as power was being restored to each of the settlements, including the central base and even Dot's Diner. VidWindows popped up alongside the Baudway Sectors, and at long last, the sky hast returned to the magnificent clear cerulean which hadn't been seen since before the last System shut down and the Web war that followed! The System restoration was complete within five nanos!
The bright soothing light woke up Akari and her allies; they slowly sat up, wondering in a groggily manner what happened. Frisket stormed away from the duo, barked happily, and even licked Phong before he ran wild.
"Oh, thank the User! We are saved!"
But it wasn't over yet as everyone beheld the sights of the fallen Binomes reappear. Jean-Luc, the viral forces, and several more were back, even those that had fallen into the Sea. Next, the sky turned into a neon green. As far as the Mainframers knew, this was just the User doing an anti-viral scan. As a result, the Binomes that were infected were healed and had different outlooks.
"I'm free! Free!" one exclaimed.
Then, near the Tor, Lieutenant Chauncy and his compatriots couldn't process the sudden change, "Oh, Great Norton's Ghost!" Some used to be police officers working only with the CPUs.
Even the horrid building was no more when it was vaporized, and since Hex was registered to the Principal Office, the scan had no effect. "Ooh. That tickled."
Everyone was ecstatic with the joyful changes being done to the-once-doomed System. "Yahoo, way to go!" one of the Binomes cheered amongst the crowd.
Slash almost fainted into Hack's digits. "Hey, you ok? You are, ok!"
"Oh, Hack."
"Guess it turned up ok."
"Oh, yup it's so beautiful."
"All the days I've processed I've never seen the like." Capacitor stated in awe.
Princess Bula playfully tossed up Specky; even they couldn't be more happier. And finally, Mouse ended her slow kiss with Ray as they parted.
"Oh, thanks. sugar."
"What a way to go."
Frisket barked in glee as his owner raised AndrAIa high. "We did it! We did it, AndrAIa, we DID it!"
"We did, Enzo." She replied with a huge grin.
Despite the hurrah, Akari looked over at her mentor. The Pokémon were flying and frolicking around as they were so enamored in their happiness. Mewtwo only looked up at the sky, "I never thought I'd dream of this moment." It was almost like deja vu since his redemption in New Island. He gazed at his Trainer, "...Is this real?" All she did was hug him tightly. "Yes...it is real. It's not a dream."
Throughout the commotion, Dot and Bob just stood near the entrance, and they finally looked at each other before they leaned in and kissed; it was definitely a Kodak moment as Phong managed to take a picture.
They never ridiculed of the sudden intrusion, and Dot looked at her lover once more, "Don't ever leave me again?"
With a nod and a slight grin, the Guardian said, "I promise."
"Bob!"
Just then, a familiar voice sounded as an energetic kid rushed to him and tackled him down. Everyone couldn't believe that young Enzo had returned, more rambunctious than ever. He was even wearing his original outfit with the numerals 01 embedded on his signature t. He started to ramble like crazy, "Hey, Bob what happened to your hair? It's so cool. And your costume is alphanumeric. Can I have a costume like that? Or is that just a Guardian thing? Well, one day I'm going to be a Guardian, too, and then you'll see. So when are we going juggling again? You promised we would if I'd do my homework."
Matrix just shrugged off the presence of his younger self; at least he wasn't as intimidating as he was during that twisted nightmare. He cupped his icon which was still in Game Sprite Mode; from that, it was the evidence they needed as the User had downloaded a copy of Enzo after he was nullified in the tournament Game using an old PID file.
"Hey!" Everyone looked up, going with Enzo's shenanigans. "Who's the big, ugly, green guy?"
"It's a long story, Enzo." Akari spoke up.
A few microseconds later, the crowd thinned out, and the citizens returned homes as new as they could ever be. Even the Johto warrior and all her teammates were returning to the Stadium which was rebuilt by the User. The domed exterior and the large Poké Ball were gleaming in the sunlight. "How's it looking, Mewtwo?" Akari asked gleefully; it felt like cycles since they've all seen it fully-functional.
For the first time, the Genetic Pokémon chuckled, "It looks splendid, Akari." Both Sprites couldn't peel their eyes off of that stunning site. Until they heard a whirring sound. They looked up, even Matrix, AndrAIa, Frisket, and young Enzo as Dot's Diner was being covered by a large shadow.
"Hey, what's that?" he pointed up.
The golden gunship landed as the thrusters died down, and it only hovered a few inches from the streets. Then Samus emerged from the cockpit. They were all glad to see her, especially Bob.
"Hi." the Guardian greeted.
She leapt off her vessel. "It's so great to see you again, Bob. I was very curious of Mainframe's condition, though I couldn't access it, so I let the Surfer go instead while we saw Megabyte get caught. Good riddance. How've you been?" Even she was so amazed of all the repairs the User made, and the sudden arrival of young Enzo. Bob and his friends recapped the events. They also invited her to have a bite in the Diner, something she never did before. She accepted it with gratitude.
A couple microseconds had passed as the gang highlighted the unfortunate events. Samus felt a bit uneasy when she heard of the she-virus, Hexadecimal, including her defragment. She was also very intrigued on how Bob was able to merge with Glitch and use its many capabilities, though she hesitated for a bit on how he could be affected with its poor condition. She also grew concerned of the impending arrival of the mysterious super virus, Daemon. Dot said she'll remain on high alert, though no one was certain since they never knew what in the Net she'd look like, not even Bob nor Matrix who were the only clean Guardians remaining.
Before the bounty hunter left, she solemnly swore that she will help protect Mainframe as well as her best friend, and also delete her if necessary; for once, Bob wasn't taken aback by that idea. She also decided to let her allies know of the upcoming threat, and if she finds any rare intel she'll download it straight to them. For once, Samus felt so lighthearted and everyone, including the Pokémon, had bid her farewell and a safe journey. She gradually lifted off, hoping to see her good friends again, and went into overdrive as she exited through a temporary rip in the sky.
Another few microseconds later, Mike the TV made a newsbreak that "our heroes can take a well-earned break." and also a special offer for this cycle only that the Mainframe Strolling Players would put on a show as a tribute.
In the massive auditorium of the Algorithm Theatre, Bob, Dot, Matrix, and all the other Sprites seated before the lights dimmed. The conductor Binome waved his batons and a song, much like "The Major-General's Song," sounded. The performers were the same ones that did a few segments for the "True Stories of Mainframe." There was a Binome dressed up as Dot, Bob, Megabyte, Hex with her multiple masks, Hack and Slash, Phong, and many others as they all recapped the events from the war with the Web to now. The musical number was known as "Everything is Alphanumeric!" and of course, Magnemiester soared around and recorded the whole act! By the time it ended, everyone rose from their seats and gave a huge round of applause! But...the show wasn't over yet.
Earlier, Akari met up with the Strolling Players during a rehearsal, and she offered to make her own bit starring her allies. Meanwhile, the lights have dimmed again, and Magnemiester used its eye as a projector when it shined against the curtains. The audience grew silent, never expecting another performance. Without an announcement, the screen made the usual ole startup before Akari's number proceeded. It was "The Johto National Anthem" or as many citizens call it, "Pokémon Johto!" as there were various clips highlighting their journeys, from their first arrival in Mainframe, to how much they've grown, even during the war, when they were lost in other Systems, and while inside Planet Zebes and the Web. And it had a spectacular ending as Megabyte was defeated and the System was restored. Another wave of applause greeted them, especially when Akari and all her compatriots emerged on stage and took a bow.
Phong's photographs were displayed, even the one where the main heroes, the Crimson Binome, Akari alongside her Starter and the Mew duo, and Samus were shown in a large pictogram in front of Dot's fast food joint. For everyone in Mainframe, and beyond, it just couldn't possibly get any better!
A/N: Damn, I can still remember this episode vividly to this very day! Even the finale word for word. But yeah, that's the former series finale for y 'all!
The sequence when the Pokémon and Akari dreaded their deletions and cried was based on the scene with the Pokémon tears during Mewtwo Strikes Back; "Tears, After the Cloudy Weather" will play there. The finale from Super Metroid will play as Samus reunites then leaves Mainframe. And finally, aside from the performance from the Mainframe Strolling Players, the long version of the Johto theme song, or as I like to call the "Johto National Anthem," plays during the ending.
So, that's it, guys; that was the original series finale of ReBoot and the Pokémon crossovers. Until a certain upcoming threat enters Mainframe and start the cycle of war once again.