So, I took several liberties for this chapter regarding Skeith fighting. Just as a bit of a warning lol. I'm sorry, but I'm not going to try and write a Skeith fight as it is in the video game.

Also, Whoops! I never realized I didn't post chapter five for ! For those waiting I do apologize for that (I know it's silly to say this in chapter six, but oh well. Lol!)

Haseo beat the Hetero trio using Skeith and absolutely nothing happened. Aside from Sakaki looking all smug at him before warping away. Has Haseo mentioned how much Sakaki pisses him off? Because the guy pisses him off. Sakaki reminds Haseo of a smug child that acts like the world owes them everything, and as someone who mommy never says 'no' to.

Still, the Hetero trio were beat. Unfortunately, due to AIDA influence, they became lost ones in the end. This only added to Haseo's guilt. In the end Haseo felt like he saved no one.

"I'm going to log out for the night…" Haseo sighed as he Atoli and Kuhn stalked out of the arena. He rubbed at his eyes tiredly before he realized how thirsty and tired he was. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Yeah, I feel you. I'm pretty tired as well." Atoli whispered before she yawned as if to prove a point. "Goodnight!" She chirped before automatically warping away with a wave to the two of them.

Haseo was close to warping out himself, in fact he had his curser on the button, but Kuhn stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "Real quick?" Kuhn whispered and Haseo quickly exited out of the menu.

"What's up?"

"You did good out there! And don't beat yourself up about the Hetero Trio. You did all you could."

Haseo felt a small smile form on his mouth before he squashed it down. "Well… thank you. I appreciate it."

"You know, you've done a lot of growth this last year. I'm proud of you." Kuhn lightly tapped Haseo's bicep with his fist.

"Psh." Haseo waved it off with a mock scoff. "I'm just…doing what anybody else in my position would."

Kuhn smiled a little at this. "Welp. That's all I wanted to say. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, probably."

"Alright. Goodnight. :)"

"Yeah… goodnight, Kuhn."

Haseo logged out not long after that.

Ryou took off his headset and looked at the time on his phone. 12:58 AM his phone flashed back at him. "Oh geez… have I really been playing that long?" He groaned and slowly shifted in his bed. His stomach grumbled almost immediately and Ryou rubbed at his face.

"Midnight snack, then bedtime." He decided then and there before Ryou kicked himself off of his bed and stood up. Ryou stretched his arms out in front of him as he walked out of his bedroom and down the hallway.

He slowed down his trek when he saw the kitchen light already on. 'Oh…don't be mom.' He thought as he cautiously peeked around the nearest corner. Ryou relaxed a little when he saw Toga rummaging through the fridge.

Ryou crossed his arms and leaned up against the nearby wall. Toga pulled out a tub of chocolate ice cream and walked across the room to get a bowl. "Isn't it a little late-" Ryou couldn't stop his smile when Toga jumped; nearly tossing the ice cream behind him in shock.

"Jesus! Don't do that!" Toga whisper-yelled at Ryou between clenched teeth.

"What are you doing up this late?" Ryou inquired as he walked up to Toga.

"I could ask you the same thing." Toga mumbled as he reached up and grabbed a bowl. "Ice cream?"

"Sure."

Toga grabbed another bowl. "I just…couldn't sleep." He finally confessed. "You?"

"Just finished playing The World."

"I know, you've stopped screaming- seriously, how are your vocal cords still working?" Toga laughed as he started to scoop ice cream into a bowl.

Ryou shrugged.

"You scream so much! It's insane."

Ryou chuckled this time around. "Yeah…I know…"

There was some silence between the two brothers as Toga continued to scoop ice cream into both bowls. Eventually, Toga finished and handed Ryou his bowl. "Thanks." Ryou whispered as he grabbed two spoons. He then handed Toga one.

"Tell me: Is that game that good that you have to play everyday? Even after three of your friends fell into a coma?"

"... Well, that's a little complicated actually…" Ryou responded as he took another bite of his ice cream.

"I don't get it. I really don't. I tried to play that game, you know? My friend let me borrow his character for a little while. There wasn't a main objective so I was so confused and then- then- when I started running around a field I got attacked by some PKer called Greedy Cervantes- the fucker got me…" Toga grumbled before taking an angry bite of his ice cream. "My friend wasn't mad. He says he gets PK'd all the time. Which, fine. But damn it it isn't annoying. I decided then and there that this game wasn't for me."

"It's not for everyone," Ryou whispered as he reached up and plopped himself on the counter. "But, for me? It's a fun game."

"Then why do you sound like you're in actual pain sometimes?"

'Because I am.'

"I just get really into it."

"Heh… you know. I'm surprised mom even let you bring that game into the house."

Ryou felt a frown tug at the corners of his mouth. There was a bit of a blow out between him and his mother when he had bought The World with his own money.

"After everything you've been through- after everything we've been through because of that game!? Ryou, you're still missing memories from seven years ago! Why would you even think to buy that junk!" Was what his mother had screamed at him when she saw him setting up his M2D for the first time. It was the first time she's ever yelled at him like that. Ryou understands where his mother is coming from, but that didn't mean he agreed with it.

Yet still… he was reminded of Shino, Alkaid, and Silabus. His friends all fallen to Doll Syndrome and he sometimes wishes he never bought the game. He thinks about it sometimes. What would happen if he never bought The World. Where Shino, Alkaid, and Silabus would be. Would they be perfectly fine playing the game they love so much and making new friends along the way? Or would they still be Lost ones?

"Earth to Ryou." Toga tapped Ryou on the forehead with his spoon. "Aren't you scared about falling into a coma and getting amnesia…again?"

"...No. Not really." He scooped up the last bit of ice cream from his bowl and then put the bowl in the sink.

"...Just… be careful, okay? I don't want to come home to find you comatose."

"Yeah, yeah, I love you too."


As expected, the battle with Taihaku was intense. Haseo was glad he had Kuhn and Atoli level up with him the day prior. Taihaku was only interested in Haseo, so much so that he didn't even want Endrance or Saku to fight along side him. Which begged the question: "Why allow them in your party if you didn't even want to use them to help?"

It all made Haseo shrug, he was okay with not fighting Endrance. He could kick Saku into next week but he really didn't want to fight Endrance.

It was a pain windling Taihaku's health down. Thankfully, he found a pattern in Taihaku's attacks and was able to work around how Taihaku worked but not always. Taihaku got a few good hits in, causing Sakaki to cackle with unrepressed glee.

Eventually, Haseo managed to knock Taihaku down.

This caused Sakaki to go on a rant. About AIDA and hatred and blah, blah, blah…

Even Taihaku had enough of Sakaki with his proclaim of "Shut up!" as he turned to glare at Sakaki.

"What!?" Sakaki snarled back matching Taihaku's tone.

Taihaku slowly stood to his feet. "I've never had any interest in being the emperor…" Taihaku looked at the sword in his hand. He seemed to be admiring the sword. "It's just that… that… this sword was the most beautiful in all of The World." He almost whispered as he ran a finger up and down the sword. AIDA pulsated through the sword and through the arena as a whole.

Haseo braced himself for the storm he knew to come even though Taihaku seemed oblivious to it. "As long as I have it's power-" Taihaku tried to continue but AIDA pulsated again, black dots swarmed around him as the stage almost seem to shake. Taihaku cried out in pain as the AIDA surged through his body.

"Taihaku! You have to let go of that sword!" Haseo tried to plea with him, but it fell on deaf ears. Taihaku cried out in pain again and Haseo gnashed his teeth together. "Kuhn now!" He ordered.

Kuhn didn't need to be told twice; their plan finally being put into action. Kuhn raised his gun and fired. Taihaku's sword went spinning out of his hand and into the air. The AIDA swarming flew all around Taihaku as the man collapsed to his knees. But it wasn't over. Not by a long shot.

The sword pointed back down at them from in the air as it suddenly stopped spinning.

Haseo charged; leaping into the air with his sycthe in his hands. He swung and the two weapons collided. For a bizarre second Haseo was fighting this sword. Sparks literally flew as the Ticking Death and this AIDA infected Slaid seemed to be battling it out. Haseo screamed as he put more and more pressure behind his scythe. Then, it finally happened. The sword first cracked before splintering into a million pieces like it was made of wood.

Breathing heavily, Haseo remained in the air as he looked at the pieces of Slaid that hung around him. "Alright!" Kuhn whooped from the ground and for a moment Haseo felt like celebrating just the same. That was until he saw a black dot float in front of his face.

It was too late for him. Before he knew it AIDA invaded his whole body.

Ryou was glad he was home alone today. That his mother and father were out on a date and his brother had baseball practice; because Ryou truely screamed.

The feeling of AIDA coursing through his entire body was not a pleasant one. He truly though he was being electrocuted from the inside out. He could feel it move it's way up his body threatening to take his mind over completely. Already the urge for more power was whispering in his ear as he felt his anger raise to dangerous levels. Skeith was flickering on and off being to be released to make people pay for what they did. AIDA feeding on those two needs like a hungry leech-

"No, Haseo!" Atoli's voice cut through his mind and the AIDA entirely. He thought about the lost ones and how he couldn't help them if he was infected-

Haseo had no true clue how he did it, but through his own power he rejected AIDA from his body and pushed it out with all his force.

Ryou fell to the ground like a lead weight. Haseo mimicked this ten fold. Still, both were up and aware. Ryou was only able to get up on his knees. He was weakened considerably and could hardly move.

"Haseo!" Atoli shrieked as she rushed towards him. Kuhn did so just the same and the both of them kept close.

"Are you okay?!" Kuhn inquired and it looked like he was going to offer his hand for Haseo to take but stopped when the sound of warping made them all look.

Sakaki had warped Taihaku away. Then, he jumped from his platform on to the arena. He started to approach Haseo and his teammates. "I guess you know what they say. If you want something done right you have to do it yourself." Sakaki sneered as he walked closer and closer.

'Dammit! Of course the coward waits until I'm weakened to finally come down from that platform.' Haseo tried to move but he just couldn't.

That was when Kuhn did something surprising. He didn't just jump in front of Haseo along with Atoli, no, he ran at Sakaki. Before Sakaki, or even Haseo, knew what he was going to do, Kuhn punched Sakaki directly in the face. Kuhn then roared in anger "You have no idea how long I've been waiting to deck you in the face! That one was for Silabus by the way, but don't worry, I have a punch from each of us waiting!"

Sakaki growled in annoyance as he stumbled back a little from the punch. His head tipped back for a moment before he suddenly laughed and let his head loll forward. He then shook his head before lightly running a finger over his lip as if he were checking to see if it were bleeding. "I think that's enough from you now." A warp portal appeared around Kuhn and Atoli alike.

"No! Hase-" Atoli tried to reach out to Haseo, but was warped away too fast to do anything.

"Atoli! Kuhn!... You bastard…" Haseo growled at Sakaki who was now standing in front of him.

Sakaki only smirked at Haseo as he started to approach again. "You know, that stupid Blade Brandier that I PK'd managed to get a punch in? It was surprising. But then again… he enjoys your company."

Haseo couldn't help it. He smiled before laughing lazily. "Well… that says something about you doesn't it? You got punched by Silabus of all people. I'd pay to have that be my background…"

Sakaki growled and summoned his weapon. "You'll be joining your little boyfriend before too long Terror of death!" He raised his broadsword ready to strike Haseo down like he was a stubborn fly. Haseo could only brace himself for the attack-

"-Gak!" Sakaki froze as he stumbled forward. "Y-You?!" He looked behind himself just as Endrance was pulling his sword out of Sakaki's back.

"You're absolutely hideous…" Endrance breathed out as he stalked up in front of Sakaki; his sword out and pointed at Sakaki's neck. Endrance had himself between Haseo and Sakaki successfully shielding Haseo if need be. Sakaki fell to one knee.

"Endrance…" Haseo breathed out.

Sakaki's teeth were gnashed together as he glared at Endrance. "So you were only pretending to obey me?!"

"...I figured it was obvious? I would never betray Haseo." Endrance turned to Haseo in question as he said this. Haseo felt happiness well up inside of his chest at this. "I told him long ago, that my heart would forever be his. Even if his heart may belong to another. Not only that but…" Endrance turned back to Sakaki now.

Endrance looked down at Sakaki almost akin to how one would look at a bug on the ground in front of them. "You did something unforgivable…you made Haseo cry. You needed to be put down after that."

Saku, who had been whining the whole time in the background, suddenly warped away at that with nothing more than a lone whimper.

Endrance didn't even pass her a second glance as he straightened his sword against Sakaki's neck. "Your own downfall was the sin that engulfed you."

It almost seemed like Endrance was going to swing at that moment but then Sakaki started to laugh. His laugh was crazed, hysterical, and down right terrifying to hear. Haseo saw AIDA float about and knew that this was it.

"Endrance! Get away from him!" Haseo thought past his pain and reached out to the Blade Brandier. He grabbed Endrance by his wrist and pulled the man in to his arms just as Sakaki almost seemed to have exploded with AIDA.

The two of them went flying back. Haseo was lucky enough that he didn't hit the barrier. Endrance kept a steady hold on Haseo as the two of them recovered from the sudden attack.

When they both looked over at Sakaki, Haseo tensed up. "He's…" He couldn't believe what he was looking at as Sakaki was now floating in the air. AIDA dancing around him every which way.

"Haseo!" this time Endrance had grabbed him into a hug just in time to shield Haseo from another AIDA explosion from Sakaki. Their hair whipped to the side from this attack but thankfully the two managed to hang on to one another and not go flying. When they opened their eyes they were in cyberspace and face-to-face with Sakaki's AIDA.

It was an amalgamation of creators in Haseo's opinion. It looked like a moth-bird hybrid. It was massive, bigger than Bordeaux's AIDA and Atoli's just as well. Haseo honestly expected nothing less from Sakaki at this point.

"Haseo!" Endrance turned to him suddenly, his purple hair lightly moving with his movement. "Let me take care of this. You're still injured."

If it were anybody else they were currently facing Haseo would have probably backed down. He knows his limits. However; this was Sakaki they were facing. "No… I made that dickbag a promise, that I'd tear him limb from limb… Endrance, could you lend me your power?"

"Of course, Haseo… say no more."

Endrance's power flew from his body into Haseo's; allowing Haseo's pain to subside even if it was for only a little while.

"It's time I finish this. Here and now! Sakaki! I hope you're ready for me!" Haseo turned towards the AIDA monster.

Haseo felt his power surge as Skeith itched to be let free. Haseo smiled as the familiar feeling pulsated through his whole body. "C'mon…" He whispered as Skeith pulsated once again. "Come on!" He urged for his epitaph to come out-

A stabbing pain shot through his entire body causing him to double over before falling down to one knee. "Dammit!" He hissed between his clenched teeth. "I still got too much damage…" He whispered realizing that he still can't summon Skeith in his current state. Even with Endrance's power to aid him.

"Haseo!"

Haseo whipped his head up at the sound of Kuhn's voice.

"Haseo!" Came Atoli's yell of concern.

"Don't you dare forget about us!" Kuhn yelled out to him; as if the two of them could feel his struggle.

"We may be a part, but we'll always be together for all time!" Atoli's voice rippled all around him. "No matter where we are in this life nothing will be able to separate us!"

Haseo couldn't help it. He smiled at these words. Sakaki thought he could shoo his friends away and that would be that; but he was wrong. Dead wrong. Epitaph users were always connected and it didn't matter where Sakaki sent them because they'll always be able to find each other. It warmed Haseo's heart, the heart he once thought was dead.

That was when a warm white light hit him and it allowed Haseo to stand up completely any and all pain and damage gone. "Take this, Haseo!" Both Atoli and Kuhn cried out as they gave Haseo their power.

Haseo smiled as he could feel his friends right beside him. "I am-"

"And I am-!"

"And I'm-!"

"And I'm…"

"RIGHT HERE! SKEITH!" All four of them screamed all at once and that was all Skeith needed.

"Sakaki!" Haseo roared out as he charged the giant AIDA in question.

"Haseo!" Sakaki roared right back and the two of them clashed only seconds later. Skeith grabbing the AIDA monster, Victorian it was called, and punched it sending Victorian flying back.

Victorian responded in kind by firing a string shot of black towards Skeith. Skeith dodged the attack just as quickly and avoided getting hit. Raising his hand, Skeith fired several rapid fire stun shots at Victorian but it wasn't enough to completely stun it. A familiar cackling laugh left Sakaki's mouth as Victorian charged for Skeith.

Skeith continued to spam stun shots at Victorian before quickly dodging to the side avoiding the sudden attack. Once Victorian's back was to Skeith, Skeith fired several more stun shots and that did the trick. Sakaki cried out as the Victorian went limp in the air.

Skeith flew to the Victorian and Haseo grabbed the Victorian by one of it's wing like appendages. Haseo knew his anger needed to be kept at bay, but at the same time, his anger was there and was only growing when he kept thinking about Silabus. About how Silabus was in pain while crying for his cat because he didn't want to be alone.

With a cry ripping from Haseo's throat; he used Skeith to spin the Victorian around in the air while applying more and more pressure.

"Silabus did nothing! Literally nothing! He wasn't involved in any way but you didn't care about that did you?!" With a war cry, both Haseo and Skeith alike slammed a stun shot against the shoulder of the arm he had a hold on. He then threw the Victorian away from him in disgust before charging at AIDA again. With his scythe Skeith sliced directly through the arm of the monster.

Sakaki screamed out from this attack while Victorian seemed to stutter and flicker before it straightened itself out. The left arm that Skeith had taken from it was nothing more. Only an occasional flicker of electricity in it's place.

"...that…fool…" Sakaki breathed out before the heavily damaged Victorian threw it's head back and blasted an AIDA attack straight from it's face. Skeith was quick to avoid the attack. "Heh…I'd gladly do it again. And you know what? That damn beast was lucky he was offline! Because I was going for both of them that day!"

'Gaspard wasn't offline…' Was the first though Haseo had. He remember that specifically because he checked to see if Gaspard was with Silabus or not. Still, the rational thought vanished as soon as it came. Replaced with only anger.

Haseo roared out. "You rat bastard!" Skeith flew towards Victorian as he fired quick stun shots at the creature. It wasn't enough before Victorian suddenly powered up swiftly and with only one of it's wings it managed to create a black mass of a ball that went straight for Skeith.

Three shots was all it took before the ball flew back into Sakaki, stunning him and Victorian alike. Skeith rushed again. This time grabbing Victorian by one of it's legs. With a cry of frustration and anger he repeated his last process. Using a stun shot against the limb in question, tossing Victorian away from him, and severing the limb from it's body with his scythe.

"H-Ha…" Sakaki gave a weak and pitiful laugh as Victorian flickered in and out of cyberspace almost like it was unable to decide if it could keep going at this pace. Missing two limbs was taking one hell of a toll on the beast. So it was surprising to Haseo that it was still going. It moved slower now as it threw another tri-shot of black AIDA beams in Skeith's direction. "... when this is all over. I'll make sure to target that stupid fat beast and everybody else in your friend list that isn't an epitaph user! You hear me, Terror of death!? None of your friends are safe from me-"

If Sakaki wasn't so busy monologuing he would have seen Skeith coming a mile away. Skeith slammed his scythe directly against Victorian's other arm. No stun shot or throw needed. He was weak enough and the scythe cut through the arm like butter.

The protection around the AIDA monster finally broke. Victorian couldn't even fight back. It hardly moved as Haseo powered up his data drain. "I told you I'd tear you limb from limb for what you did…" Haseo growled while pointing data drain at the pitiful looking Victorian.

Sakaki gave out a wheezing laugh at this. "I can't be defeated… I-...I am… Sakaki!"

Haseo data drained Victorian.

AIDA vanished it's seed being sucked up by his Data drain that he'll collect later on when this is over.

Sakaki floated in the air for a moment. Both arms missing along with his left leg. This only left him with his right leg attached. Skeith snatched him by his neck, preventing Sakaki from falling for that moment.

"Let me make one thing clear, Sakaki… you are the lowest person I ever had the displeasure of meeting. At first, you were preachy and annoying, but now? I despise you with every fiber of my being. You turned your back on your own morals and targeted innocent players just to try and hurt me. You hurt Atoli along with all of those in Moon tree. Then you went after Silabus.

"You didn't just take Silabus away from me. You took Silabus away from his best friend, You took an older brother away from his baby sister! You took a loving grandson away from his grandmother. You make me sick. I hope you get what you deserve-"

Skeith released Sakaki and Haseo only watched as the man fell through cyberspace until he eventually disappeared.

Haseo knew he should feel bad and a part of him, a very small part of him did feel bad. But a bigger part of him just couldn't be bothered. Sakaki was a pest that needed to be dealt with. Haseo did wish he just… didn't go as crazy as he had. 'It's a slippery slope you don't want to fall back down again.' He reminded himself as Skeith evaporated and he slowly floated back down to the ground where Endrance was waiting for him.

"How are you feeling?" Endrance immediately asked as he cupped both sides of Haseo's face in his hands.

"Er-"

"...What just happened?!" The announcer of the fight declared loudly as he threw his hands in the air. "I…I guess Team Haseo won the match! It's rather hard to tell if I'm being honest. This has to be the most bizarre match I've ever witnessed!" The announcer continued on.

Even the crowd seemed confused, which wasn't a shock in all honesty. Still, they clapped and cheered, even if everyone was just… well…confused.

"...You asked me how I am? I'm tired…" Haseo sighed as he lightly planted his forehead against the top of Endrance's chest. "I just want to log out and go to bed…" Endrance hummed at this and lightly patted Haseo's head soothingly.

But it would seem that would have to wait. As only moments later, Kuhn's voice cut through both Endrance's and Haseo's ears:

"Haseo, Endrance! Great news. We just heard from Pi! She found Yata! Come and meet us at Raven as soon as you get out of the Arena!"


Okay, real talk. From Author to audience was I too brutal with Sakaki? I know a part of Haseo's growth was to not be as… blood hungry as he was in the first game. Seriously, I can't watch his fight with Kuhn sometimes and that's the point. So, I don't know if I accidentally caused him to regress or if I did an okay job.