Note from the Author!
Hello everyone, it's been a while hasn't it? I've been pretty busy doing stuff for school and other stuff, which in fact is why this story was written in the first place. Sometime after writing Chapter 2 of TWC, I got into anime. Eventually my Avid show watching led me to Angel Beats. Let me just say- SADDEST-ENDING-EVER. The only other thing that could have somewhat compared was the ending of Twilight Princess, and even THAT didn't bring me to Tears… So instead of just thinking how sad the ending was, I did what I do best, change it! Thus ReWritten was born! I'll be trying to make the story with ALL the characters in mind, so expect some character development for some of the "underappreciated" SSS members. Hope you like it!
If you were to become God what would you do? Would you fix everything wrong with the world? Would you destroy it and begin anew? Or would you do something different? In the bottom of a cave, in a room filled with computers and code, a decision was made. A decision made by a small group of undead souls that altered life itself.
-{Chapter one: Playing God}-
"You could change the world based on your will."
The computers on either sides of the room hummed at a steady pace. In one end of the room stood a pale figure, the origin of the voice. A person, who was not a person, not made of flesh and bone but of ones and zeros. An AI. He sat completely emotionless. At the other end of the room stood a girl. She was 17 years old, but was really much older that. Her face, ageless. Her past, horrifying. Her soul, undying. This girl was Nakamura Yuri, known as Yurippe by her friends. This girl was also the leader of the organization The Underworld Battlefront, also known as the SSS. She was one of the first to enter the limbo known as the Afterlife School, and she was one of the key members who decided its' fate.
"What would I do after I change it?" Yurippe said to the AI, slowly lowering the gun she held in her hands.
"You could choose the path he didn't."
He. He was the one who had started the madness. It was he who changed the code. He was the one who changed the world for the first time. Who was he?
He was simply known as The Programmer.
The Programmer was not God, but he was the first to play the part.
"Are you saying that I could become God?"
"Basically, yes" replied the AI, his voice empty and emotionless.
"And I could make this world an eternal paradise?"
"He rejected that but I won't"
Yurippe was about to tell the AI to go to hell, when a voice rang out from the back of the room.
"The bug, can it be put back in?"
Yurippe swiveled her head towards the voice. It was Otonashi!
Yuzuru Otonashi, a crucial component in Limbo. He had been intent on helping people for much of his life. Death did not change this. He was determined to help everyone achieve fulfillment, along with another one of his friends. He would be the one that lit the spark of creation.
"Yes, it can," replied the AI, "Although doing this would certainly cause many things to occur and change in the current system".
"Otonashi… you can't seriously be thinking…" said Yurippe with a hint of worry in her voice
"About becoming God? No, of course not! The world would fall apart in minutes if I was God!" replied Otonashi with a chuckle moving toward Yurippe. "I'm just thinking we could alter the program just a bit, just a tiny bit! And then we could destroy the computers."
"But what about the fulfillment of the other SSS members? If we changed the code, they wouldn't be able to pass on!"
"Actually that is not true. According to the proposed change, the code would still allow a person to pass on if they wished." Replied the AI.
"But-" Yurippe began.
"I'm not trying to be God," Otonashi said, his voice becoming quieter, "I'm just trying to make everyone's lives happier, if you had just become happy with your life, would you want it to be stripped away from you?"
Yurippe said nothing.
"Yurippe… I don't want everything to be stripped away… I don't want to lose anyone… I've become closer with everyone here, I don't want to lose that, we're a family," Otonashi said with a sigh, "I don't know, maybe I'm being selfish…"
"You're not," said Yurippe, "You just trying to help everyone, like always. I don't want to lose our family either… Let's make the changes."
"Otonashi, I must warn you that changing the code to create your desired output would cause a world reset among… other things to change"
"A reset?"
"Yes, this would mean that all things that were created in this world after its creation would disappear. This would include items such as weapons and tools that were created. It would be as if the world was entirely new. This computer lab would also subsequently be destroyed, as would I, making any further changes impossible."
"That's not too much of an issue, we can always just recreate the stuff," Said Yurippe, her voice filled with optimism, "Can you please add the code in?"
"Unfortunately I am unable to; my creator has forbidden me to change the code myself. I am only able to write and run tasks he explicitly gave to me."
"Damn it! How the hell are we supposed to make the changes if we have no idea what we're doing?" Otonashi said, exasperated.
"May I be of assistance?" said a voice from the back of the room, startling both Otonashi and Yurippe.
"Kanade! Are you ok? What happened to the shadows?"
Kanade Tachibana, a.k.a. Angel. Another pioneer in the Afterlife School, she made it her ultimate goal to help the other students move on to a new life. However this had taken a good toll on her emotions, as many of her friends had been ripped away from her, forcing her become emotionless and reserved. Yuzuru was one of the first people to trust her in a long time, which meant the world to her. She was so dedicated, that she would follow him to the ends of the world if he asked.
"I am fine. The shadows have been destroyed, although I feared that more would come, so I came to alert you." said Kanade, her voice monotone.
"You know how to change the program?" asked Yurippe.
"Yes, the code used is the same as the code used in the Angel Player program that I used to create my abilities. I should be able to change the code to allow everyone to stay here."
"But Kanade, I thought you wanted everyone to move on?" Otonashi expressed with a confused expression.
"I wanted everyone to be fulfilled, and to live a happy life. The fact that a person was ripped away was a sad side effect of this." Kanade's voice became more and more sorrowful as she spoke.
"I've lost many friends due to obliteration and I don't want to lose anyone else either…"
Otonashi walked over to Kanade and hugged her tightly. "Don't worry, you won't." His voice was full of empathy.
"Alright, I'll change it. Thank you Yuzuru." said Kanade.
"While I am unable to help directly, I am able to provide assistance to you writing the code."
Kanade walked over to the console and began to type. "What exactly, do you want to be put in?"
Otonashi began to list off what needed to be added and removed
She wrote line after line of code, the AI saying things like, "Make sure to write this command here," or, "Don't forget the decimal here". Naoi and Hinata soon came into the room to see what was taking so long. Otonashi quickly explained the situation to them. "So, basically you're going to become God?" said Naoi quizzically.
"No Naoi, as I've explained MULTIPLE times, the computers would be destroyed soon after the reset, making changes the code impossible," replied Otonashi with a sigh.
"So what I'm hearing is that I'll still be God?"
Otonashi just sighed and gave up talking to the student council vice president. "Hinata, any questions you have about the plan?"
"Just one," Hinata said in a hushed voice. "W-Would it be possible to bring Yui back?"
The room fell silent, the only sound heard was the constant hum of the computers on the sides of the room.
"WHAT?!" exclaimed Yurippe, breaking the silence.
"Hinata… I don't think-"Otonashi began.
"Sorry…" Hinata interjected, his voice quivering, "I just got excited for a second… I thought maybe that Yui and I could… never mind… it was stupid of me to think…"
"Yes," said the AI with his emotionless stare, "It is possible to make that occur. Quite vital in fact if you wish to recreate the world."
Everyone in the room froze.
"WHAT!?" exclaimed Yurippe, breaking the silence once again, "HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE! THE'VE BEEN OBLITERATED, REINCARNATED! WHATEVER! THEY'RE GONE!"
"Calm down. Yes the person known as Yui can be brought back, as with many other members of your group including the individual known as Iwasawa. It is possible to bring a soul back to this world if the removal has been within a set period of time. During this time frame, the soul has not yet been reincarnated is waiting to be reborn. The best way to explain it is what has occurred between the users known as Otonashi and Kanade. While Otonashi had died months before Kanade, she showed up in the world long before Otonashi." Otonashi gave Kanade a puzzled look and which was returned by a look saying I'll explain later. The AI continued, "However this can only be executed when the program is reset. It can only be done once."
"Yui… Iwasawa… Gildemo… The rest of the SSS… They can all be brought back?" said Yurippe, a slight quiver to her voice.
"Yes, they can." replied the AI apathetically.
"But, they made the choice to move on… would we feel right pulling them back here?" said Otonashi.
There was no easy answer to that question. Most of the SSS members had finally become at peace. Would it feel right to take that away?
"Many of the SSS were forced to move on due to the fear of the shadows and being turned into NPC's anyway, they weren't exactly completely ready to move on" Naoi pointed out "It's just as well we give them the choice again. The code about the creepy shadow thingies is being cut out right?"
"Yes, I have just finished removing that section of the code." said Kanade.
"Good," Naoi sighed, "I'll be having nightmares about those things for weeks!"
"But what about Yui and Iwasawa? They WERE ready to move on," said Yurippe "Yui, I could understand would want to come back, but Iwasawa… I just don't know…"
"Just so you know, if you do choose to bring people back, it will have to be everyone. You cannot explicitly state specific people" reported the AI.
Otonashi sighed and paused for a moment before speaking.
"We have to bring them back. It isn't fair for everyone to have to leave just because one person may or may not want to stay. She can always move on again if she wants to."
"That seems to be the best course of action," stated Kanade, "shall I add the code?"
"Yes, write it in." Yurippe said with a sigh, "Anything else we need to know Mr. AI?"
"Yes there is one other small thing I forgot to mention" Said the AI.
"You seem to be forgetting to tell us a lot of things!" Hinata said with more than a hint of irritation in his voice.
Ignoring Hinata's comment, the AI stated in his monotone voice, "The reset of the world would also reset the NPC's and return any souls changed into NPCs by the shadow program back to their original state.
So that would mean Takamatsu back to himself again, Yurippe thought, but it would also mean…
"My creator, the programmer, would return," The AI said reading Yurippe's thoughts, "and no doubt he would be angry with you for altering his program."
Once again the room fell silent. This time Otonashi broke the silence.
"Too bad for him. He gave up his right to the code and to the world when he chose to become an NPC. Kanade is the program almost completed?" said Otonashi.
"The Eden code is almost complete."
"Eden code?" Otonashi questioned, "Where did you get that name from?"
"We're basically creating Eden, aren't we? Would you like me to change it?" asked Kanade.
"Well-" Naoi began.
"Nope! The name sounds perfect!" Hinata said, cutting Naoi off, "Is it ready to be run?"
"Yes, are you sure you want this Yuzuru?" said Kanade.
"More than anything," whispered Otonashi, "Run the program."
"Ok, is everyone ready?"
"Ready!" Everyone in unison, which made Kanade laugh a little. They really were creating a new world! She thought.
"Ok, see you all soon!"
Kanade hit RUN.
The world disappeared…
See you soon Kanade… Otonashi thought,
See you all soon…
Otonashi disappeared.
The code was flawed. The AI knew that yet said nothing. It was in his program make sure the flaws were there. He had made sure that the girl changed the program to fulfill his master's final wishes.
Remember, if anyone changes the code to its' original state, make sure the alternate program is run alongside it. It will ensure the world will still have its intended purpose.
In the last seconds before the world reset, The AI ran the program.
The world ended.
The alternate code enacted.
A new reality was born.
~End of Chapter 1~