1Okage Densetsu - Lookit the Fancy Japanese

Chapter 22 - Okage Densetsu

The heavy, vine covered doors swung open- the group stepped into the marble-floored building, staring at the beautiful architecture. However, while gazing, Ari's eyes fell down upon a small man with a book- he actually dropped Rin, who yelped when hitting the floor. Suddenly whipping out his blade, he ran over and put the blade against the short man's neck.

"You..." Ari's eyes narrowed.

"Ah! It's you..." The man was calm, staring up at Ari, "So you broke classification? The Master has plans to destroy you..."

"GIVE IT BACK!" His blade pushed harder against the man's throat, "GIVE BACK CORONA'S ORIGINAL BODY!"

"Child..." The man laughed, "You do not scare me. If I die, I become reclassified."

"I will send you PAST the bridge to a new life!" He pushed that blade ever harder, causing a faint trickle of blood to appear, "Now give her back to us!"

"...Hmph." The man suddenly opened the book, and took out a pen. "Corona Hidgeway... Classified 'Mindless Spirit' (he drew a line through this, then wrote something after) Now classified... 'Corona Hidgeway.'"

"Then bring her here to PROVE it."

"...And she comes through the doors behind me."

Everyone gasped as, on cue, the door behind the man swung open. The sound of heels tapping against the marble floors was heard, as a figure came into view. Her bright blues shone, gazing at them. A sleek, black dress was complimented with black high heels, beautiful long white hair finishing the immediate outfit.

"Er...Corona?"

"Who?" The woman adjusted her glasses, "You mean Hidgeway? Ah, yes. Now I remember all of you."

"...You're... so different..." Ari let his arm drop slowly, staring at her.

"I'm different because I am me." She laughed, "There is nothing more different than an individual!"

"Wow!" Kisling looked stunned. "Please, Miss Hidgeway... there is much about you we do not know! Would you... you enlighten us?"

"Certainly." She paused, figuring out where to start. "I used to work here as a classification agent... I erased people...when the first whispers of the man Pollack began to spread. I was assigned to find him out and erase him. So, for the first time, I was actually wandering the real world."

She waved a hand casually, "I saw things... colors. Flowers. People. The sky. I heard laughter, tears, and curses. I became intrigued with this 'Real World', but I started to notice everything acted as if on a string. Then I found him."

"Ooooh!" Linda looked enthralled, "Dark and mysterious?"

"Indeed. I met the man I was to erase... He called himself simply Pollack, and he seemed to know I was coming to end him. But instead of attacking, he actually invited me out to lunch! The things he began to speak of... classifications, stages, the pathway of life... I got wound up into it. He said that even I was classified... shocked by this, I became the second 'deviant'."

"So brave..." Rosalyn gave a smile, "We needed people like you."

"Thank you! I became his assistant in research. Though he was once classified, he broke through it and Beloune had lost the ability to classify him for Pollack had finally united with his soul, unlike the rest of the population. He spoke of a place, a staircase, which led to life's renewal... I started my research there and came up with the 'Strawberry Heaven' theory. You know, if you cross through this path you get a new chance at life, and if you do, nobody can reclassify you afterwards."

"That was a real lifesaver... no pun intended." Ari had sheathed his sword by now, but he had an eye fixed on the short man. "But... then why..."

"Because I never realized what 'Strawberry Heaven' realized in time. Me and Pollack started devising plans to snip the wires that kept the population classified... but we were found out. He disappeared- I was reprimanded... they decided I was too dangerous, and tried to classify me. But they found I was more stubborn than the usual person. So... they changed my name."

"Your name ISN'T Corona Hidgeway, Sister Corona?"

"Not at all. I'm simply known as Edmii. So the classification I'm under right now is a mistake, as well. But... as Corona... I had forgotten everything, and hardly a person knew of Edmii, but a select group knew of 'Corona Hidgeway' as being the researcher. But as time went on, I could remember things... and to restore myself, I started to realize... Strawberry Heaven was my key."

"Then why were you... a demon on the mountains?" Fayth and Epros had caught up by now, gladly, to the rear of the entrance hall.

"Again, another attempt at classification," The short man huffed angrily, "After we saw her slipping from being Corona... we decided to try something. But even though we changed her classification and put her in the mountains, she remained unchanged except for the fact she was venomous."

"Well, I'm just a tough cookie. I thank all of you for helping me here."

"Of course..." Ari smiled, "Friends help friends. That's just how it is."

"Speaking of help," She turned around, waving a hand in the air, "Let us HELP each other to destroy the man who keeps the strings taut. I have the keys..."

"I have the knowledge!" Kisling moved up behind her.

"I have the voice!" Linda jumped into place, giggling.

"I have the power, yeah!" Big Bull came up...

"I have the emotion..." Fayth looked at Epros...

"And I have the dedication..." He led her to the ranks, both as peachy keen as they could be.

"I have the will! Hehe!" Rin popped her way in.

"I have the courage..." Rosalyn moved into her place, standing tall and proud.

"I have the reason!" Ari grinned, moving in, "And that leaves..."

"Pssht. I only have a deep hatred."

"That will do!" Coron-er, Edmii laughed. "Come, let us go kick some fanny!"

She led them through the winding bookcases, heading for the rear of the library. Keys in hand, she unlocked the doors that stood in their way, the party proudly heading for the final fight. However, after winding through the amazing yet dusty building, they found themselves stopped by a door, none of Edmii's keys fitting.

"That bastard..." She stuffed the keys back in a pocket, "He reclassified the door."

"A door will NOT keep me from my revenge!" Stan growled, "That's it... I will do something I haven't done for the longest time... JAMES!"

"Yes SIR!" He appeared in front of the door, saluting, "James here, ready and willing to do your bidding, mi'lord!"

"Open the door, James! And HURRY!"

"Easy, sir!"

Everyone moved out of the way, watching James.

"You see... the trick to opening a locked door is to know it is not locked!" James backed up a bit, facing the door, "No matter what block is before you, sir, as long as you know that you can get over it, it is no longer there, nor does it matter. It's just how you approach it!"

He suddenly ran at the door, which simply fell off it's hinges. Then he turned around, facing the group, "That way, you can essentially do anything!"

"...er...thanks James..." Stan looked surprised, but then crossed his arms, "James, where HAVE you been all this time?"

"Nata-er, uh, I mean," James cleared his throat, "Supporting you from afar, sir! Staying out of your way like a good butler!"

"...Right. Stay handy."

"Uh... yes sir!"

"But you can go for now. Just come if you're called."

"Yes sir!" James waved at everyone, "Best of luck to you all! Good luck, Master, as if you needed it!"

Everyone blinked as he disappeared, then shrugged at each other. Heading in the door, they found a brilliant, clean marble hall (the author now admits she hated the last 'level', and the final boss since he was a poopoo head, so if you have played the actual game, stick around 'cuz we be shakin' it up, yeahz!) lined with a red carpet. The hall led down, seemingly endlessly, but a large room was barely visible down the hall. With determination, the party walked together down this hallway, silent. Reaching the huge room, it wound up being what could have been called the 'Grand Throneroom of the World', intricately decorated with carved marble. A huge, gold throne rose up at the end of the carpets, on a raised piece of floor.

"Beloune..." Edmii stepped forward, "We have come. Show your face!"

"So you have..." His dark voice echoed about the room, "So dedicated... for puppets..."

He appeared on the throne, looking unamused, sitting in it crooked, "What is it you seek? Freedom? Freedom from what? As soon as the classification table is gone, the world will either be thrown out of order, or taken over by a force called Fate. Either way the world is doomed without classification."

"Lies!" Ari took out his blade, "We people, the animals, the spirits... they can live in independence, they don't need to rely on some crummy guide to live! Every living thing has a soul, a will to live, and therefore... the drive for independence."

"You speak loud, boy, for one who has taken the rollercoaster tour of the world underneath. Yet you have learned nothin-"

"I have learned more than your stupid classifications could ever teach!"

"Fine." Beloune sat upright, "You are just here for personal gain, though, boy. Your thoughts float off and on my beautiful daughter, Marlene. All you want is her for yourself- you will treat her like an object..."

"No worse than what you did!" Linda shouted, "Classifying dolls as your daughter! Even thinking OF classifying your daughter!"

"Classification has more power than you think, child," Beloune suddenly stood up, "The reason your Evil King is still a mere shadow is because of classification, you know! But now that he... and the 'Heroine' are here, we can have a little fun."

Ari started to feel a pressure in his head, like a pinprick. Slowly, he began to become dizzy, then rose a hand to his head. He could start to feel the pain pulse through his head- dropping his sword, he swung his other hand to his head, collapsing to his feet. The intense pain grew with each beat, enough to cause tears to roll from his face. When it felt as if he were to explode, he screamed- there was a sudden, loud tearing noise, Ari going absolutely still.

"AAAAAAAAAAIGH!" Stan SCREAMED, having disappeared into a flurry of magic.

"What..." Ari slowly moved for his sword, "...have... you done...to us?"

"Simple!" Beloune suddenly waved his hand, knocking the party back- that is, excluding Rosalyn and the 'cloud' of magic that surrounded Stan, one assumed. The floor suddenly fell apart, huge, endless pits in the area where the tiles fell- the room was separated into three 'pieces', the marble still white and pure. With a snap of his fingers, the magic stopped, a dark figure falling from it onto the platform where Rosalyn stood.

"Ugh..." The tall man slowly moved upright, a hand to his head. The tall, dark-suited man opened his eyes, both a demonic, gleaming yellow, which instantly locked onto Rosalyn. He had blonde hair, styled in a 'swept back' look, all in spikes. The most interesting fact was that he had long, pointed ears, not unlike the elves one heard of in faerie-tales. The medium-skinned man suddenly smirked, fangs clearly visible in that smile.

"Holy SHIT!" Ari scrambled upright on the platform with the rest of the party, "Is that... Stan?"

"Woah!" Linda looked... frightened, actually. "He's... He's kinda scary looking!"

Ignoring the team members entirely, the two on the separate platform instantly broke out like some terrible school play. Both sides shouted at each other about how they were going to kill each other and yada yada. It just got a bit intense when they actually started fighting, but as far as everyone could tell, they were completely matched.

"You see, to get rid of these two..." Beloune laughed from his throne, "It's easy. You classify them against each other and, like good little puppets, they go about destroying each other. It's only a matter of time before they kill each other!"

"God DAMN it..." Ari stared at the 'stage', extremely frustrated as there was no way across. "Now what?"

"Uh, uhm," Kisling was in a hurry to figure things out, "Ah! What about Epros?"

"...He's become grounded." Fayth was trying to pull the guy off the floor, "Very much so."

"My legs..." He whimpered...

"Shit..."

"Oh, oh, Ari!" Rin looked up, "You still gots your voice 'corder?"

"Huh? Oh! I do... Linda!"

"Got mine too!" She smiled, "Ready!"

"Great!

Linda 'attacked' first, raising her tape recorder and pressing the 'play' button. Soon, voices began playing, but as soon as it got to the arguments between Stan and Rosalyn, the tape was as clear as it could have ever been...

"Wait, wait, Ari… These come in my size…"

"HAH! They must be the kind large enough to fit three hippos! Haha!"

"SHUT UP! YOU CAN'T EVEN WEAR CLOTHES YOU NAKED, FATASS EVIL KING!"

The tape was then quickly moved to the next piece...

"Haha! Then I will stand on it and increase my powers!"

"Stupid shadow! You can't stand on it- you're in Ari's shadow!"

The fight seemed to continue, bitterly, as Linda continued to play the words.

"Oh, thank you… Was that you, Ari?"

"Uh… no…"

"…Must have been my angel, protecting me again."

This caused Rosalyn to pause for a moment, before dodging out of the way of a fireball.

"Your turn, Ari!" Linda turned her tape off.

"Right..." He turned his on, then held it up as Linda had.

"Pssht! You? A lady? You're going off to slay something smaller than you, one that has never done anything to you directly- now usually this is acceptable, that is, if the target were male. 'Ladies' don't go and maul smaller ladies! Besides, you're the ugliest thing I've ever seen, so I'm not why you even try to pass yourself off!"

"GRR! I FREAKIN' HATE YOU! I HATE YOU WITH A PASSION!"

"YEAH? I HATE YOU WITH TWICE THAT MUCH!"

"A... passion?" Ari was now glad he had recorded THIS add-on, "You know, to hate ANYTHING with a 'passion' it means you're BOTH using your heart!"

"Pssht, flowers are worthless."

"What about... roses?"

"They're all the same... except roses DO have those pleasant thorns that tear flesh... Hehe, like the evil queen of the flowers."

Both of the fighters had stopped still. They were staring at each other with looks that could kill, but one could see faint glimmers of tears filling Rosalyn's eyes. Stopping the tape, Ari held his breath, hoping this was enough, watching the two...

"...No matter how much I hate you, despise you!" Rosalyn shrieked at Stan, but then relaxed her defensive stance, staring at the floor, "...no matter how much... I can't destroy you."

"Hmph." He relaxed his position, crossing his arms, "So what are you trying to tell me, eh? You, a mortal woman, with affections for the Great Evil King?"

A splash of red flooded across Rosalyn's face as she shouted, throwing her parasol down, "And what if she does? Are you going to deny your own for her and pretend to be something big and grand?"

"..." He sighed. "No."

"Then what ARE you going to do?"

"...Nothing about that." He suddenly looked at Beloune, "However, I would request that if that woman possibly CARED that much that she would help me take out the trash."

"...What?" Beloune looked shocked, "N...No... why are you... you are suppose to be fighting! Mortal enemies!"

"I can't!" A few tears ran off Rosalyn's face, "My heart will not allow it! And for you to try and to stop it... you... you deserve a beating!"

"I love nothing more than ripping a man to shreds when he deserves it." Stan smirked, looking at Beloune, "Shall we, Rosalyn?"

"I think we shall!" Forgetting to pick up her parasol, she simply whipped out her blade, facing Beloune.

"But.. Ah... OH! AHAHAHA!" Beloune pointed, "There is a gap! Hah, you can never cross this... I'm safe here forever!"

"Yeah RIGHT..." Ari suddenly stepped off the edge of the first platform to everyone's shrieks- but he wound up standing on top of 'nothing', "Hey, come on guys, remember what James said- as long as you know it's not there..."

"Hey yeah..." Kisling suddenly stepped out, heading for the platform where Stan and Rosalyn stood, side by side. "Nobody will believe THIS! Hah!"

Edmii casually strode out across the emptiness, "Now... Beloune... how is it to see your world come down around you, the dollhouse turning against you? The world will forget you, your name a whisper like those who you destroyed... How does it feel to be on the edge of your demise?"

Rin skipped on over, "You've been a big meanie head! Time for spankings!"

Linda bounced over, "Totally spanky!"

"Totally!" Big Bull walked over, "More than spanky!"

"...For the pain you have caused..." Fayth was heading over, Epros just beside her, "We will make you feel that pain..."

"A fitting end, at least, for a false man, a beast!"

"No!" He backed up, tripping into his throne as the party began walking across the 'nothing' to him, "I used all the powers of classification against you! How... how could this be? Why, why do you torment your creator?"

"Because you're NOT my creator," Ari suddenly drew his sword, smirking, "You're just a man hiding behind the velvet curtain."

"Grr..." Beloune suddenly EXPLODED into flame, causing everyone to step back, "Then I will use your own tactics against you... the freedom of choosing your own form! I will CRUSH you like ants and destroy this world! AHAHA!"

Being engulfed in the fire, Beloune laughed until his voice turned dark- suddenly two huge, flaming wings shot out from either side of him, a burst of flame revealing the man transformed into a giant, black phoenix. The heat was so intense that everyone had to back up, the bird shrieking loudly.

"Is that all?" Edmii suddenly stepped forward to the bird, ignoring the heat, "Is that your idea of true power? The phoenix, the bird of fire and rebirth, made of rippling flames and heat. One of the strongest of magical beasts, that live for a century. You forget that when the century ends, they die to be born anew from the ashes. As the saying goes, ashes to ashes, dust to dust... however, if we destroy that ash..."

The phoenix shrieked, suddenly whipping its fiery tale at Edmii- to everyone's astonishment, she merely caught it, the fire never burning her.

"I am the representation of time... I helped you set up your timelines, you forget. Then you turned on me, turned my classification around. After I had worked so hard to help you, you simply tossed me away like trash. You know what, birdy?"

The phoenix started flapping backwards, as if it were scared now.

"I don't like that. ATTACK!"

The party suddenly shouted, then, each with their weapons, charged and began beating the bird senseless. Edmii kept it held, and kept the flames from affecting anybody when it spewed them at the party. The throneroom's tapestries were soon aflame, the marble now a blood-red from the heat. The bird continued to grow deeper red, gathering power. Just as the party seemingly had overpowered it, it blew everyone back with scorching flames, causing intense damage to all parties... except Edmii.

She smirked, holding onto the tail still, roasted but still standing. "My present to the world... We shall fall through time bound, foul creature, until you burn yourself to a crisp, then I shall scatter those ashes!"

The phoenix screamed, as everyone watched.

"No..." Ari stared at Edmii, who closed her eyes, "No...!"

She suddenly fell over backwards...

"NO!"

The woman, hanging onto the tail, fell into the dark, endless abyss- the phoenix, shrieking, started flapping wildly, but as if Edmii was bigger than the creature, it was helplessly pulled with her. Flames shot up from the open sections of the floor, forcing everyone to the center platform. The sounds of the phoenix faded away, the red glow disappearing as it was swallowed up into time.

The entire building began shaking violently, the center platform crashing into the one that led out. Everyone leapt off, then began running like bats out of hell for the exit. The great World Library began to crumble into dust, the party fleeing just in time to see the building collapse behind them. Running across the trembling Highland Plains, they feared they wouldn't escape the area's self-destruction in time, but they simply disappeared.

Not for good, no.

Everyone suddenly appeared on the shores to Rashelo, stunned.

"What the HELL?" Ari blinked, sitting up.

"...Edmii!" Fayth stood up, looking at the setting sun, "...She came back and brought us here..."

"...Good." Ari let out a long sigh.

While the Highland Plains crumbled, Chantal's gardens bloomed like mad, the trees and grass renewing. Slowly, one by one, people began appearing there, ones that were erased several years ago. The same thing happened in Triste, all the invisible, overshadowed ones renewed. Several doors that were fated to never opened did, the people walking out.

K.T. moved from her usual area behind the gates, then began walking through the town. She gazed at all those coming out, and those laughing and talking like they had used to. She had a faint smile on as she passed through the back area of Triste, to the gate that led to Chantal. As she did, she paused to notice a door open.

Small, delicate feet stepped out, wearing worn, dark boots. Slowly, the girl began walking for the exit of town, her blonde hair bouncing with each step, her eyes reflecting the light brilliantly.

"...They did it. The world is saved..." K.T. sighed, "Finally... I choose for my story to be finished..."

K.T. turned, heading out the back gates, fading into nothing, content with herself and the world for the last time.