Epilogue
Shortly after the events in Mac Anu, Subaru declared the Crimson Knights forever disbanded. Later at the news of the existents of such illegal items as the Jewels, CC Corp created a patch that rewrote part of the World, rendering the Jewels useless.
Several days later, happenstance found Subaru, Crim, BT, and Bear hanging by the fence of the grunty farm in the highlands. They leaned on the fence, contemplating the events that had lead them to this spot.
"I can't believe they did it," said Bear. "It still seems all so unreal."
"Weren't you the one who said we should pray for a miracle?" said Subaru with a grin. Bear laughed despite himself.
"What I don't understand is why they didn't keep the Jewels for themselves," said BT. "They could of easily killed us and Silver Knight, and then no one could have stood in their way from controlling the World."
"I don't think they ever wanted that," said Crim.
"How do you mean?"
"They never wanted to rule the World. They just wanted to live in the World they believed in. Their World, a World where freedom and honor, not control and fear, reigned."
"You really think that?" asked Bear.
"Don't you?"
"I suppose so," said Bear. "By the way, what happened to Looper's daggers?"
The lone figured at the edge watched as the sun descended behind the tall and monstrous mountains that populated this sever. He looked down below as players dashed this way and that way, like little ants. He smiled as he clanged the two new daggers in his hands. Oh what fun we'll have, thought Sora, as he peered into their reflection, seeing only himself.
"Who knows," said BT. "At least we got all the Jewels back."
"This is him," said the grunty keeper, carrying a young calf in his arms. The calf looked like every other grunty his age, save for the bandana tied around his neck.
"Yes," said Subaru taking the grunty from his hands embracing it close like a child to her breast. The grunty licked her face lovingly.
"Where's Tsukasa and Mimiru?" asked Crim.
"They said they had to take care of a few things," answered Bear.
At the top of a hill, right by their favorite place, Tsukasa and Mimiru kneeled before a tiny hole which Tsukasa had just finished digging with his bare hands. Mimiru gently placed the Jewels into the hole. Tsukasa piled the dirt over the Jewels and Mimiru placed a stone upon the mound. They sat in quiet contemplation over the grave, saying thanks in their own way. After a few moments, Mimiru took Tsukasa's hand, and they walked away, leaving the departed in peace.
As they ascended the hill, Mimiru asked, "Can you feel this?" as she squeezed his hand.
"Yes," said Tsukasa. "Can you feel this?"
"No," she answered. "But I still want to."
"You will," said Tsukasa as they stopped and held each other at their favorite spot. "I promise."
Back at the farm, the grunty keeper asked. "So, you want to keep him?"
"Yes," said Subaru.
"Got a name for him?"
"Yes," she said looking down at the creature. "LJ."
"LJ?" asked Crim.
"After Looper and Jinx," she said smiling, holding the calf gently.
Atop the roof of a tall apartment building, a boy held a beat up and ruined game console. The boy was tall and lanky, with messy dark hair against pale skin. Between his eyes he balanced a pair of glasses that seemed eternally crooked. He walked to the edge of the roof and looked down into the alley, where twelve stories below the ground waited.
"You sure about this?" asked a girl across the way, standing on the edge of a neighboring roof. She too held a broken and useless console. She was rather thin, but her voice was strong, just like her eyes, which where of the deepest blue. Her auburn hair danced in the breeze.
"It's what they'd want," said the boy.
She thought about what he said, and then nodded, "Alright."
The two threw the consoles away, and watched as they descended together to the pavement. They plummeted to the ground like boulders from an avalanche, tearing themselves away from the peak, crashing to the ground in search of fresher land. They exploded once they hit the ground, the wire bursting forth and the plastic breaking away, smashing against the walls and dumpsters.
The pair above watched all of this, at once sad and relieved, finally able to say good-bye to a part of their lives that seemed so real. "What do you want to do now?" asked the girl.
The boy grinned and replied, "I want to go to the beach."
"Alright," said the girl, "I'll be right over."
"Nah," said the boy. "I'll come to you." Suddenly the boy dashed forward and leaped across the chasm between the two buildings. The boy sailed across the air, and unable to meet the other rooftop, but reached out and grabbed onto the edge. His legs squirmed and kicked at the nothing below, desperate for some foot hole. The girl quickly ran to the edge and pulled him up.
The boy was laughing as he tumbled onto the rooftop's floor. The girl laid atop him and hit him, saying, "Don't ever do that!"
The boy looked up at her, their bodies against each other, their chests rising and falling in tandem. He looked up into her eyes, which seemed bluer than the sky that reigned over them. He craned his neck and delivered her a kiss. At first her mouth was tight and hesitant, but then she closed her eyes and gave in, receiving it all. "Sorry," he said after their lips parted.
The girl rubbed his hair and said, "You're hopeless."
The boy stood up and helped the girl. The two held each other's hands as they exited the roof and descended the stairs. It was a beautiful day, a perfect day for the beach in fact, or any place real for that matter.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Stories are a funny thing. I began this one nearly four years ago, when .Hack/Sign first appeared in America. The series blew me away, I had never seen a show so intelligent and so different from everything else out there. I quickly read everything there was about the series, and discovered fanfictions. I quickly wrote the first two chapters in a few days, and then something happened. I just stopped and to this day I can't remember exactly why, but all I know is that life has a way of knocking you off course. Sometimes it's a good thing, and can help you, allowing you to discover new things; that was certainly the case in my life. Yet, still this story remained with me, no matter where I went or did, it would occasionally bubble forth, invading my thoughts. I'm glad I took that time off, it allowed me to grow and change. I'm also glad I finished this story, which is actually fairly close to how I envisioned it taking shape all those years ago. Even the ending is just as I planned, which was one of the first scenes I ever came up with, and I'm amazed it stayed as long as it did with me. I feel like I've been waiting an eternity to write those last lines, and now it feels good to get them out of my system and onto the page for all of you to read.
I still find myself writing a fanfiction once in a while, and I do mean a while, and also still reading a few here and there. I especially like the .hack ones, for the fact that .hack the series never stops growing, just like its fanfictions. It evolves and changes, introducing new characters but still continuing the story that began such a long time ago, with a troubled player named Tsukasa.
I thought about going back and editing the first chapters, those pages written in the haze of my early career. Yet I don't want to, because I like seeing how much my style has changed. It's such a fascinating thing to see growth, whether it be in a physical or intellectual manifestation.
I would like to thank all who read this. Especially the few who began this journey all those years ago, those that clicked on the link and read a terribly written story involving two villains that just wanted money and revenge but earned something far more.
It's rather appropriate that the first fanfict I ever started will probably be the last one I write. Yet, I tell myself that every time I finish one of these things. Despite it all I love this story, but I am glad it is over. I feel like the boy and girl at the end, proud that I accomplished something, no matter how trivial, yet relieved it's finished, and that I can finally move on, and let the ghost in these pages rest.