YOU CHOSE "YES", HERE IS YOUR REWARD.

[02 - Good End]

I choose: Yes. I swallow back the bile rising in my throat. The last pop-up clears away and Ren growls, pouncing at me. I step to the side and avoid his vicious swipes.
"Ren! Listen to me! I'm sorry."
He swipes again.
"I didn't notice. Please, Ren!"
He continues to swipe. I can't get through to him. I rush at him, ducking a swipe and hug him, pulling him into my arms. "Ren… please… I need you…" I don't wanna admit it, but tears are coming to my eyes at the thought of losing Ren forever.
After a moment of snarling and struggling, Ren remains still. I look up and see a pained expression in Ren's face. "Ren…?"
"Aoba… I'm so sorry…" Tears prickle his own eyes. "I…"
"It's okay, Ren…"
"I only wanted to protect you, Aoba, and then I…" He looks down in shame.
"Ren…?" I frown at his self-hatred he's displaying.
"I was always here. With you and Desire… I tried to keep Desire from you but since I could only have an indirect influence on you… my voice slowly became unable to reach you. When you picked up that Allmate and uploaded it online, I transferred myself to it in hopes of reaching you more physically," Ren explains. Desire? Is that… the me I remember in those flashes of memory? The me Tae and Mizuki claim I used to be?
"Ren…"
"But then… I developed my own personality and conscience… And I started to feel things for you that I shouldn't… So I pushed you away. I'm sorry, Aoba…" He looks down and I smile.
"You think I care about that, Ren? I'm just glad you're okay. I'm really glad," I hug him even tighter. "Are you okay? Completely?"
Ren looks taken aback, but smiles. "Yes, Aoba. I'm completely okay."
"Then, let's go kick some Toue butt," I grin and he nods.
We exit out of Scrap and soon enough the Rhyme field. We all grin at each other, but soon the others are gawking at me. I look down to see my red string of fate attacked to Ren's collar.
"Wait… your soulmate is the dog?" Noiz asks, quirking a brow.
That's… gonna take a while to explain.

Mink follows me and Ren into the main room. He looks down at his pinky. I know he wants to kill Toue but instead he takes a right and heads for the doors there. His string of fate is leading him through there.
I look at Toue and frown. Soon, we're encompassed in a Rhyme field. It's time to take Toue down, once and for all.

… You know…. Some people have all the luck. Me. Not so much. After I accepted Desire as a part of who I was, the tower collapsed with my long-lost brother Sei and Mink still inside. Tori, too… I don't know what happened to them. But since then, Ren has disappeared. I mean, the Allmate is still there, but Ren's not inside it anymore. It's a normal Allmate now.
Mizuki's okay and Clear's happy. He gave his condolences on a visit over to my place one day.
My red string of fate no longer appears in Rhyme anymore. I wonder if Ren went back inside my head. Maybe… I just don't know. I don't wanna use Scrap anymore. The last thing I used Scrap for was to fix Mizuki's mind and restore Noiz's sense of pain. I don't wanna use it anymore.

~1 Year Later~

It's been a year since I've seen or heard from Ren, or Sei, or even Mink. I wonder what happened. As I sit at the bar in Mizuki's place, who's up and running Dry Juice again with Clear by his side, I think about everything that's happened within the past year and half. A lot has happened.
Koujaku chatters with his new fiancé, Noiz, to my left about their wedding and I can't help but slink into a depression. Ren's gone. He's not coming back. And that… has left a huge hole in my heart. Clear sets a martini down in front of me with a sympathetic smile.
"Drink up, Aoba-san. You could use it." I give him a sad smile and drink up. As I ask for a second round, Clear freezes and looks at the door. When Mizuki asks him what's wrong, Clear points and Mizuki gasps. Curiously, I turn around and see something I thought I'd never see again…
Or rather… some people…
Standing side-by-side is my brother Sei, holding onto Mink's hands… and right beside them… is Ren. But… he looks like he does in Rhyme. How is this possible in the material world?
I stand up. "R-Ren…? Is that you?" He smiles. I look down at my pinky and see my red string of fate. I follow it and sure enough… it's attached to Ren's. "Ren!" I run to him.
"Aoba!" He runs to me and we hug as we meet each other. "Aoba, I'm so sorry."
"Don't be. You're here, Ren!" I smile up at him. "But how is this possible?"
"Sorry, big brother," Sei looks at me with a small smile. "It took a little longer to create an adult body for Ren. It ages and it's human with no abnormal powers. Ren transferred his consciousness into my body for the time being so that he could more easily transfer over when the body was finished. With Mink's help-" He pauses and smiles up at Mink, who doesn't react except give the smallest blush you ever saw. "-we were able to get a perfect body for Ren. We modeled it off his Rhyme appearance."
"Sei…" I look at him as he just smiles. He looks healthier, too. Not so broken and lifeless. I'm glad.
I look at my pinky and then Ren's. We're really connected. This is really Ren.
"Ren… I love you."
"I love you, too, Aoba." He touches his forehead to mine and I'm 100% certain that this is my Ren. This is my soulmate. He… is my Fate.

END.

You chose "yes" and therefore received the Good Ending. You may choose to go back and view the Bad Ending if you wish. And now, a word from the author:

Thank you for dealing with this rather experimental style of writing. I may just end up doing this for future stories. Particularly those involving DRAMAtical Murder. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it.
This was made for my friend Kai and prematurely for RenAo week. :)

Your author,
Nova