AC: I want to thank my Beta-reader for proof-reading this chapter and all the previous ones I forgot to mention.

The epilogue won't be that big of an info dump. Details shall be revealed for a few parts so it wouldn't be one part that resumed everything that happened in a month, it would be too much.

A month passed since the invasion of the M'arrillians came to an end. Nothing had been completely solved on Earth. The creatures and the leaders of the Earth continued their arguments on what the future must be.

One thing was certain, creatures would come to Earth freely in some capacity once the negotiations were over.

Everyone returned to their home and the reconstruction began. Most of the cities were quickly fixed. The damage wasn't as big as expected, but it wasn't finished yet. Buildings that were completely demolished still weren't fixed yet.

Tom was home as he finished putting back everything he had taken with him when the M'arrillians first came. He spent the first month helping his grandparents fix everything with his friends and family. Sarah and Peyton's family had nothing to fix, but they offered to help.

Once he finished fixing his room, he grabbed his scanner and read the news from Chaotic. "In two weeks, Chaotic will officially reopen and be accessible once again. Everyone who lost their codes during the M'arrillians assault will be restored." Tom let out a small smile as he thought of Kaz and Sarah. They were coded back then.

Thinking back, he wondered about how he didn't hate Milla'iin that much. Maybe it was because they were codes. He had no idea. Maybe he was a bit too kind sometimes. Maybe it was because of Phelphor. He saw what was in his mind and knew that his tribe knew nothing else. Maybe it was compassion. He sighed and smiled, "I'll visit Phelphor when I can."

Epilogue Part 1: Reopening of Chaotic

Two more weeks passed. Tom didn't know what went around the world that much. It was behind doors. He knew as much as anyone else. He knew the negotiations still went on. The rulers of each tribe were on Earth with Gal'drad to represent the M'arrillians. The only thing he got from Crellan was that the M'arrillians wouldn't come to Earth, unless they received special authorization. However, they could come to Chaotic, but only three of them at a time and after they proved themselves.

Annie walked in his room, "Tom. School will reopen in a week. You began preparing, right?"

"Yes mom. Got everything ready," he gave her a thumbs up.

"Guess you are going to Chaotic soon," his mother said.

"Yup, it will reopen in five minutes," Tom showed his scanner and the countdown that was on it. He let out a small smile. It was strange and good that he could just talk to his family like that.

"Be good when you are in Chaotic," she teased him.

"Mom!" He frowned.

"And don't go too fast with Sarah. You are still learning how to drive," she went on.

"Mom!" His face turned a little red, "I have enough with Kaz annoying me about that," he pouted and crossed his arms.

"I know, anyway, see you later," she left the room.

Tom sighed as he checked the countdown. His scanner rang and opened it, "Hi Kaz."

"Tom. You ready to get back to Chaotic!"

"Yes."

"I really missed our time in Chaotic and Perim. I really want to see how it is now."

"It won't be the same. We saw that big robot and the defenses there," Tom was a bit nervous when he thought back.

"I know and- Talk more when we are in."

"Yeah," Tom said. He saw the countdown was at zero. He pressed on the switch and ported back to Chaotic.

Tom came back and looked around. Many players quickly ported in.

"Please walk away from the port room."

The teenager knew many players logged in and quickly left. He searched for his two friends and his girlfriend, but couldn't see them. As he walked to their usual spot, he noticed that everything was fixed in Chaotic. Not only that, but there were a few creatures from different tribes wandering around.

He grunted when he hit something and took a step back, "Sorry."

"Tom!" The voice said in a surprised tone.

He looked up and saw a head with the large eye of the purple M'arrillian, "Aval'par!"

The creature put his tendril on the boy's shoulder, "I am glad to see you again!" He said happily.

There was a short awkward silence. The creature eventually ended it, "It is strange to see this place again as a visitor rather than as an invader."

"I'm happy to see you, but… how are you here?" Tom asked as he sat at his spot, waiting for his friends.

"I got the authorization. It was long and boring to convince those Codemasters that I can be trustworthy. Gal'drad really defended me with them," he rested his arm on the table, "Tom… I'm still sorry for everything I have done against your kind and the Cothica."

"It's not the Cothica," the boy replied with a bit of annoyance. He knew it would never end, so he let out a small smile, "Guess there is more to it if you are here."

"Yeah. Under the watch of the other tribes. I won't complain though," the purple M'arrillian snickered. He sighed, "Tom. I'm glad you talked to me when I was in jail. If there wasn't already a Messenger of the Cothica, I would believe you are one too."

Tom didn't know how to reply to that statement, "I bet some would think you got out of trouble easily," he watched the players who noticed him.

"You'd think so, but I had to work for that. Milla'iin beat me up good when I saved you. I… I was a bit reluctant to kill him. He was like me, chained by the words of Aa'une," his eye noticed the red hair of his friend coming, "Looks like your friend is coming."

"Yeah," he let out a small smile. His smile disappeared, "Milla'iin isn't really that good, but I'm still worried for him."

"He lost everything. While I am beginning to gain something. Got to go. Your friends won't be that happy if I stay around," he waved and walked away.

"Life is getting strange," Tom whispered at the changing world and reality. Creatures coming to Earth, just like humans coming to Perim.

"Tom! Was that Aval'par?" Kaz asked when he was near him.

"Yeah. I'm glad he's okay," Tom replied.

His best friend corrected his glasses, "Yeah," he sounded a bit uncertain, "You didn't mind him getting close to you?"

"He saved my life Kaz. He abandoned everything he believed to save me," the black-haired boy replied.

"I know. I guess I'm just really paranoid," Kaz admitted as he sat on his chair.

"How's it going for you?"

"Good," he looked around, "Everything kinda looks like they never attacked Tom. It's the same, but we know everything that hides underground," he chuckled nervously.

"We'll get used to it bro!" Peyton declared as he joined them.

"Maybe, but you make it sound like it's the best thing that could happen," Sarah sighed.

The two sat in their respective chairs.

"Happy to see everyone here again!" The chubby boy gave a thumbs up and let out a large smile.

The teenage girl chuckled, "Can't say I'm not happy. We get a little bit back," she said nothing else as she watched around.

"How's it going you two?" Kaz asked.

"Pretty good. It's strange that I just told my parents that I sent my code to Chaotic. They asked me to study a little bit more since I can have fun at the same time. My real self is surely bored right now," she let out a content smile, "Still, feels like we got closer after all of this."

"Yeah. Maybe less than Wamma. He didn't leave you alone when he was back," Kaz thought back.

"I thought he would break my back with his bear hug. Never saw him cry out like that," she played with her fingers together, " I really did worry him. I'll try not to cause him any more trouble."

"He's your real friend Sarah," Peyton slapped her back, "So, what do we do now? No one is getting any matches yet," he looked around.

"They are busy dealing with the presence of creatures. Especially that M'arrillian," Sarah pointed at Aval'par.

"Come on Sarah," Tom said as he grabbed her hand.

"I have no problem with him. The other players might have some problem," she said defensively, blushing slightly.

"Anyway, we should-" Peyton was interrupted.

"There you are," someone said.

Tom froze for a second. He was taken aback by that voice. He slowly turned around and immediately recognized the person, "Mom!"

Annie smiled as she showed her scanner, "What? You think I'll let you have all the fun?"

"W-when?" He didn't know what to say.

"We had a lot of free time you know," she replied with a small grin, "With the help of your mother Kaz, I got into Chaotic and won enough matches. I think I was pretty lucky."

"Did you participate to keep an eye on me?" he whined.

"Nope. I might be your mother, but I can have fun while working and doing the chores at home you know. With everything we had, I really wanted to know about Chaotic," she let out a kind smile, "I'm not here to embarrass you. Just living some dreams, I had when I was younger."

"Yeah. You always dreamt of having adventures with dad," he thought back when she talked to him about it.

"And this is the perfect way to experience it. Anyway, I got to go. Your mom will show me how it works here," Annie concluded.

Cassandra came, "There you are. Come, I'll explain the basics of Chaotic and Perim before your first match."

And with that, Tom and Kaz's mother walked away.

"Are our moms going to make a group of mom Chaotic Players?" Kaz wondered as he watched the two walking away.

"Maybe," Sarah replied with a small smile in amusement, "Makes me think this is something to go for later on. We can still come here when we are older."

"Like that boy and his dad," Peyton said, not remembering their name. They didn't meet those two often.

"Welcome back Tom," Intress said as she joined them.

"It's good to be back."

"How's it going back home?" The creature curiously asked him.

"Everything is good. We fixed everything in our home. We didn't have that much to fix, but after fixing the farm…" he scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah. We could still see the battle there. You two showed true bravery as a warrior," she told him and his best friend.

"I know," he let out a small smile. He still felt a sting in his head. He still killed a creature. One thing he realized was that at the end, none of them ever met one of the non-combatants M'arrillians or children. He was a bit curious about what they looked like, but the Deep Ocean wasn't a safe place for players. He wouldn't try his luck yet.

There was still a lot to be done for the tribe. A lot of corrections and healing.

The teenage boy sighed, "I've been visiting Milla'iin at least once a week," he admitted.

"What bro?!" Peyton yelped. He looked at his two other friends and realized he was the only one who didn't know. He glanced at Intress and saw the shock on her face. He wasn't the only one.

"What do you mean?" She asked calmly when she recovered.

"I couldn't just leave him alone in jail. He just sat on the ground and sulked in his own mind for now. I don't think he cares about what is going on outside of his jail cell," Tom sighed again.

The creature nodded. She thought that Tom might be too good for what the M'arrillian deserved. Still, she kept that to herself.

Peyton slapped the table with his hands, "Enough with the down mood bro! Look around! Look at the screens!" He pointed at all of them.

The group noticed that the players were just together and talked a little bit nervously. It seemed like they might be expecting some trouble. As for the screens, they showed nothing. There was no match going on. The three guessed a lot of catch up was going on. After all, there were players from all over the world and they were meeting once again after a few months.

Peyton went on, "Come on. This is our chance to have the first match. They will have to watch our 2 vs 2 match! What do you say?"

The three other teenagers were pensive. It took a few seconds before they let out a smile. Tom dropped the subject of Milla'iin and decided to enjoy this match. His Earth self would worry for the creature anyway.

"Me and Kaz against you and your girlfriend Tom!" The large boy rushed to the Beta drome.

"P-Peyton!" Sarah and Tom replied flustered.

They chased after him as they went for the first match since the attack on the Cothica.

AC: This is the end of the first part.

Next Part: A Future Of Freedom

Phelphor received a visitor and his fate was decided.