(Author's Note: Well sorry for the wait! Here is the final chapter; the plot reaches the important climax of the story, enjoy!)
XXXX
"It's a Doppelganger?" Silabus gasped. "But what's it doing here in this dungeon?" As if on cue, a shortmail arrived from Zelkova.
This is your final task to completing this dungeon. You must defeat your other self, who holds the key to a new form, by using the power that you strongly believe in.
"Power? What power do I have?" Silabus wondered. "I'm not as strong as Haseo."
The doppelganger charged at Silabus, catching him off guard. His HP dropped dangerously low in a second, but Silabus quickly healed himself. Silabus charged in with Devil Sword, but when he slashed his sword the doppelganger took no damage. "What? Not even a scratch!"
Suddenly it took the chance to copy Devil Sword and used it against him. That alone put incredible hits on Silabus and blew him against the dungeon wall. Luckily the doppelganger stopped for moment, standing in place waving its sword wildly around, so Silabus healed again. He wasn't getting anywhere though and he was running out of items and possibly time.
The Doppelganger used Devil Sword again. Silabus was slow to react, and it had him pinned to the wall as it attacked over and over with his blade. Silabus could only defend, and he knew that alone wasn't enough.
What happens if I lose, Silabus realized, is this it? Am I going to lose something important to me. Important...what's important? Silabus' memory flashed back to all of the moments he fought beside his guild master of Canard, Haseo. He was always with Haseo by his side, but with his lack of strength did he have the right to be with Haseo? But after all, Silabus IS the one that declared Haseo as their new guild master. Surely Haseo has accepted him as a important companion by now.
But Haseo had something Silabus didn't have, maybe more than one thing. Haseo had leadership, guts, and above all a certain power that seems to draw people near him. And with that power, he is able to protect those he cares about. I'm nothing like Haseo, Silabus sighed as he started to feel the ground started shaking again.
"What? What's going on now?" Silabus wondered. The Doppelganger immediately jumped back and started to make an unusual noise.
"HAAAAAAAAAAARGHHHH!" The Doppelganger began to glow until there was an explosion of light. Silabus covered his eyes and everything went dark.
A few seconds later, Silabus opened his eyes to see nothing but pitch-black darkness. Where...am I? He found he couldn't move or change his viewpoint of the game. He wasn't even sure he was still holding his controller. Did I lose, Silabus asked himself, have I fallen into a coma like the rumors. Haseo, will I never see you again?
"Moron!" Silabus jumped at the sound of a familiar voice. He looked up to see Haseo standing before him with a scowl on his face.
"H-Haseo?" Silabus felt relieved. "It is you! Where are we? What happened to me?" But instead of receiving an answer, Haseo started laughing.
"How pathetic you are! Being on the ground like that," Haseo scoffed. "You're so weak! It's annoying!"
"H-Ha...Haseo..."
"Geez, look at you, trying to look cool and solo a dungeon yourself when you're that low-level. Come on are you that stupid?" Haseo continued laughing. Silabus started to feel crushed hearing such words from his guild master. He thought Haseo had changed and was being nice to his friends lately. Haseo had been smiling more around people and talking to him in a friendly way. Silabus was about to ask why Haseo was saying such things when he noticed something. Haseo's PC was dressed in black armor, and Silabus clearly remembered Haseo's PC is designed in white.
"Wait, you aren't really Haseo, are you?" Silabus exclaimed. Before he could hear and answer, another voice spoke up.
"This is Haseo's personality before he met you." Silabus turned to see the doppelganger he had been fighting earlier appear before him.
"You're...that doppelganger!" Since when could doppelgangers talk? And his voice is exactly the same as mine! "But you don't seem like a normal doppelganger."
"Because I am a reflection of your heart," it spoke. Turning to look at the Haseo PC, "You seem very close to this Player. I can feel it, a very strong connection."
"But Haseo...I guess he doesn't seem to like me very much as a friend."
"This PC before us is a fragment of Haseo's own heart of the past," the doppelganger explained. "The player Haseo would've stayed like this had he not met you. Without you, he would have no change of heart."
"You mean to say...I changed Haseo? But it wasn't just me though."
The doppelganger pointed at Silabus' chest. "How much you changed Haseo was enough. The power I wield comes from that connection, from within your own heart."
"My own heart? So, I've been fighting my own strength all this time?" The doppelganger nodded.
"Yes, and now it is time to receive that strength, and use it to bring forth a new power." The doppelganger along with the past Haseo PC faded away. I see now, Silabus realized, this place is my own consciousness.
I want to be like Haseo, I want to be able to protect others so that they are able to relax and enjoy the game. That is the duty of a proud Canard guild member.
"Ahhhhhh, Haseo!" Silabus cried and a flash of light exploded in the area.
xxxx
Haseo was beginning to wonder what he got himself into. He agreed to go with Zelkova in order to find Silabus, worrying that his friend got caught up in some abnormal event. But now he switched gears and wondered if he was in something abnormal himself.
"So how do you like my backdoor?" Zelkova asked brightly as he playfully marched beside Haseo. They were in the outer dungeons, an area of The World and a world of its own, just like the Netslum, compiled of AIDA corrosion.
"Zelkova, how did you..." Haseo wanted to ask but cut himself off. Knowing Zelkova, he probably did some pretty skillful hacking. I wonder what other surprises does Zelkova have more, he thought. "Never mind, what are you doing with Silabus? How did he get involved in all of this?"
"Are you worried?"
"Well...yeah, sure I am," Haseo scratched his head. "Silabus is just a normal player. He doesn't know anything about AIDA or Avatars for that matter."
"Haseo..." Zelkova took a few steps ahead and turned around to face Haseo. "Do you remember what I told Atoli that day when Moon Tree became an AIDA server?"
It was a while back that Haseo had to think really hard for a moment. "Sort of, something about not being alone or something?"
"Yup. No matter what there will always be friends by your side, moving with you along the path you were forced to take. What I told Atoli goes for you Haseo, you are not alone."
Haseo blushed with slight embarrassment, as friendship wasn't much of his forte. At least, it wasn't back when he used to be a PKK. "Of course I know that..." Haseo muttered. "Gaspard, Atoli, Alkaid...Silabus, they're all important friends . And...Silabus is also..."
"I said earlier that he has something you don't, something in his heart," Zelkova explained. "A emotion that could turn into a power of its own and be able to become a driven force for Silabus to awaken his other half."
"Other half?" Haseo asked.
"You see Haseo, Silabus represents a friendly and always willing to help personality that is easily misunderstood or taken for granted. I'm sure you've seen that kind of character yourself with other PCs."
Atoli...
"I'll bet that despite how he appears, Silabus has his own weight of guilt that he carries behind his smile. That guilt would eventually break him apart, and he would lose something he holds very dear, something really important to him."
Haseo was beginning to understand, and at the same time not, what Zelkova is implying. "Something important? Like Canard?"
"Deeper," Zelkova exclaimed and looked at Haseo in the eye. "His connection in The World to you, Haseo."
Haseo turned really red all of a sudden. Calm down, he told himself, he's just talking about Silabus as a friend.
"We're here," Zelkova exclaimed. Haseo looked up to see a green door before them. Zelkova lifted his hand and the door opened. Beams of light shined through from the other side of the door that Haseo covered his eyes. Then he heard a voice shout.
XXXX
"HASEO!" Silabus cried.
"Silabus?" Haseo finally saw his friend before him, but Silabus' PC looked strange. He was glowing a bright green light, but it wasn't an Avatar kind of glow. W-Wha...what is this, Haseo thought. Zelkova smiled as they watched the Blade Brandier before them begin to change. Wait, Haseo realized, I recognize these patterns, it's...
"A job extension," Zelkova answered Haseo's thoughts. "Not as advanced as yours but still quite powerful and handy in times of need."
"Zelkova...did you hack into Silabus' PC? But he isn't an epitaph user or an adept rogue, how can this be?"
"Like I said before, Silabus has a driven force that could awaken his other half, or in other words, his Xth Form. I simply gave that force a bit of a boost and let Silabus' consciousness connect the rest."
Finally the transformation was complete, and Haseo saw his friend with a new look to his PC. Compared to before, Silabus now wore a short cream colored ribbon scarf around his neck, along with a cream colored long sleeved-shirt under his vest, green bracelets over his gloves, and finally a green pirate shaped hat. His shorts and boots were redesigned too.
Silabus opened his eyes and grasped his surroundings, though in a confused state. "Huh? The doppelganger is gone! Ah! What happened to my PC? Huh? Haseo?"
Haseo couldn't help but laugh at the sight. "You sure look like you're having fun," he smirked, crossing his arms.
"What's going on? Why is my PC like this? Is this some type of event? And there was a doppelganger, and-"
"Calm down," Haseo cut him off. "I'm sure Zelkova can tell you everything."
"Zelkova? That's right, Moon Tree's Guild master!"
Zelkova took a step forward and smiled. "Hi there! Congratulations on completing this dungeon and obtaining your new form Silabus! You were great!"
"Eh? New form?" Silabus felt lost.
"It's like a job extension," Haseo helped him out. "Only it's special, since you're a Blade Brandier. Zelkova...added a few changes to your PC."
"I see, okay, I think I'm starting to understand this a little," Silabus nodded, looking from Haseo to Zelkova and back. "But why did I get this form? And what was up with this dungeon?"
"I created it using your battle history with Haseo in order to help you obtain your new form. The whole thing was all a test of the strength of your bond with Haseo. You are after all one of the first people Haseo encountered here in The World."
"Wha-how did you know about that?" Haseo gasped.
"I asked Yata about it!" Zelkova beamed.
"Yata...that bastard..." Haseo muttered. Suddenly Silabus began to laugh. "What's so funny?"
"Haha, sorry, it's just I feel pretty happy about all of this right now. Going through this dungeon, I thought about how much I worried I was always behind in the party, and how I was jealous of you and Atoli because the two of your are much stronger than me."
"Silabus..." Haseo looked deeply at his friend. That's only because...Atoli and I are epitaph users, and we were kind of forced to become strong.
"Even Gaspard, he's proven himself to be strong at heart by managing the shop, even when he got bullied a lot by PKers back then," Silabus sighed. "Sure I give a lot of support, but I'm nothing special."
"But you are...special," Haseo muttered. "I mean, you must be, choosing someone like me to be the guild master of canard."
Silabus smiled. "Haha, aw come on Haseo, you don't need to praise me like that. I'm sure anyone that gets to know you would say the same thing."
"Yeah yeah," Haseo muttered.
"Say...Haseo? Can I ask you something?"
"What is it?"
"Do you...like me?" Haseo turned completely red and nearly dropped his controller.
"Wha-Wha-What are you saying? Have you gone nuts?"
Silabus blushed a bit himself too for saying that but quickly said, "Oh no I didn't mean it THAT way. I mean...when we first met you were always scowling and seemed to think everybody got on your nerves. Of course now you've become a lot softer around people, but I can't help but think you probably still don't like me, as a friend of course!"
Haseo sighed. "You idiot."
"Haseo..."
Haseo scratched his head and looked up at his friend with slight embarrassment. "Haven't I told you before? I...I need you."
Silabus felt his heart warm up as he heard those words from Haseo's mouth. He couldn't help but smile, "You truly are the best guild master."
"Right...anyway Zelkova, about getting information from Yata-" Haseo turned to the guild master, only to see Zelkova was no longer there. "What the? He's gone!"
"Oh, he must've gated out while we were talking," Silabus realized.
"That guy...doing whatever he pleases and always running off," Haseo growled.
"Oh man! I didn't even get to properly thank him," Silabus sighed.
"Forget it, knowing him Zelkova would've already received his thanks from this dungeon. Looks like he even left a reward chest at the statue," Haseo observed. "Go ahead and open it Silabus."
"Huh? You sure?"
"Of course I'm sure, you're the one that conquered this dungeon, you deserve it," Haseo exclaimed, crossing his arms.
"That's right...I did conquer this dungeon! I did it by myself!" Silabus cheered with sudden excitement. He hurried over to open the chest, but when he did, "Huh?"
"What is it?" Haseo asked coming up behind him.
"It's empty..." Silabus leaned forward to examine it more closely, and when he did a light flashed from within the box. "Wahh!" The light shot out of the chest in the form of a small orb and attached to Silabus' sword. Once the light was gone, Silabus saw he was holding a brand new sword.
"That's...heh, looks like Zelkova had one more trick up his sleeve," Haseo smirked.
"This weapon..." Silabus realized, this weapon is the symbol of the power of my friendship. Its stats were way higher than any weapon Silabus has ever used. "Haseo!" Silabus turned to face his favorite guild master and most important companion. "Haseo, together with this new form, I will do my best to give my support in The World so that everyone can relax and enjoy it!"
Haseo smiled. "Yeah, lets go, everyone is waiting for us." Together, they gated out.
Haseo, you used to take on everything yourself and push away others trying to help you. But now you say you need us and begin to open up little by little. Both personalities are you, and together forms the real you. The Haseo that I will forever admire and follow as my guild master.
- Silabus
~Fin~
