The World Reborn
WWW
Δ Hidden Forbidden Radiation
"Ovan?" Haseo found the blue-haired man staring at the waterfall. He looked really different without that massive arm-lock to hide the AIDA corrosion.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Ovan didn't turn around to face him. He walked up to the Steam Gunner.
"Everyone keeps saying that." Haseo tried not being rude.
"That's because it is true." Ovan smiled under his scarf. "I used this game to be with my sister," He changed the subject. "And when I made her a Lost One, I thought of nothing else but a way to revive her. I cared for no one else, not Shino…" Ovan finally looked at the teen. "Not even you."
"But we cared about you." Haseo was indeed hurt by that. "You didn't see that. You didn't trust us! We… I… I would have understood if you would have told me. I would have still helped you."
"Why?" Ovan sighed. "You don't know me personally. I never reached out to be your friend. I used you."
"I know. And I don't know, I just feel…" The Adept Rogue could never think clearly around this man. "You saved me from those PKers, remember? It meant a lot to me. I know it's just a game, but online bullying is just as bad as real-life bullying. Ever since then, I wanted to be as strong a player as you, and be friends with you…" He paused. "But instead you used me. First, to find the Key of the Twilight, then to destroy you, then to wake you up."
"That's right." Ovan finally looked at the teen. "I have asked you here to apologize to you. However, I feel like nothing that I can say or do could make it up to you. But I can tell you this… as selfish and single-minded as I was, I truly enjoyed our Brigade days, Haseo. At times, you made me feel like an average player, simply having fun on our adventures."
"Ovan…" Haseo felt like the man's apology was genuine, but he was right… it was going to be hard to make it up to him and Shino. "Thanks. But I gotta be honest… it might take time to be able to trust you completely again."
"Understood." Ovan, in his own way, was very happy. "I would like to start over in this World, as a regular player, and as a friend."
"That sounds great, Ovan." Haseo nodded. They turned to look at the waterfall together. "You know what? This place is kinda nice." Ovan snickered.
BING BING
"Short mail from Yata again." The Adept Rogue sighed.
"I got one from him, too." The Steam Gunner read out the mail. "He wants us to meet at the Serpent of Lore."
"Oh, does this have to do with that 'restoration of the World' crap he was talking about the other day?"
"Hm… sounds interesting." Ovan pushed up his glasses.
WWW
The two warped to Netslum Tartarga and walked to the Serpent of Lore. Most of the Epitaph Users were there, except for Pi and Kuhn. Finally, they walk in, Pi pulling Kuhn by the ear.
"Now you're the late one this time!" Haseo poked.
"That's because this idiot wouldn't stop flirting!" Pi almost blew an artery.
"I wasn't able to give them my member address!" Kuhn whined, rubbing his abused ear.
"Alright, everyone, please listen." Yata received everyone's attention. "Now that all eight Epitaph Users are here, we can begin the 'World Reborn' project."
"As we explained before, we want to return the World to its original historical form, bringing back the gods, renewing the Lost Grounds, and bringing back the mythical creatures." WRAI fluttered around. "Only this time, Aura will not be returning, as she has decided to abandon this game. My Father has created a new god to rule over the World."
"Who?" Haseo asked.
"Three guesses. The first two don't count." She struck a heroic pose.
"Wait… you?!" Haseo was honestly surprised.
"Bingo." WRAI struck another pose. "I told you I was designed a lot like Aura, except better."
"And you can make something like that?" The white-haired teen asked Yata.
"I had help." Yata looked at Ovan. "And inspiration."
"She is a great choice." Ovan nodded.
"Aw, you're making me blush." WRAI put her hands on her cheeks. "Anyway, since I'll be the new goddess, you probably won't see me around that much. But, I can still see you, so don't do anything that'll get you in trouble!" She wagged her finger.
"So, how are we going to restore the World and make her a goddess?" Haseo asked.
"Most of the process will be done by CCCorp and me." Yata said. "I only need one thing from all of you." He took a dramatic pause. "I need… your Epitaphs." They all gasped and looked around at each other.
"You mean, when we give you our Epitaphs, we won't have them anymore?" Bo asked.
"That's correct." Yata nodded. "Your PCs will no longer contain the Morganna Factor and you will become normal players. However, even without your Epitaphs you will all still remain extraordinary players, stronger and wiser than most." He turned around, looking out the window. "I understand this is a very difficult decision to make. Your Avatars have become a part of you, and you are all very close to them. But they will still be here in this World, still protecting it as you all have. And, if a time comes where they will need your help, they will find you again."
The Epitaph Users were definitely reluctant to get rid of their Avatars. They kept them safe when AIDA and Cubia attacked. They relied on each other. What were they going to do? They all looked up, seeing a yellow orb shine above them. They recognized it as Magus, the Epitaph of the Propagation.
"Kuhn?" Haseo looked at the blue-haired man who had his arm up, guiding the Epitaph to WRAI.
"Hey, don't look at me like I'm crazy." Kuhn spoke up. "Don't you remember what will happen if we don't do this? The World will cease to exist, and everyone who ever played it will fall into a coma! This isn't a choice! We must give up our Avatars, no matter how much we'll miss them!" He ended that serious speech with a small laugh. "Goodbye, Magus. I'll miss you, man."
"I'll take good care of him, I promise." WRAI gave an assuring smile, taking Magus into her character. Her tribal tattoos glowed yellow for a moment before becoming pink once more.
"Kuhn is right." Pi said. "We are the soldiers of this World, and now we must make a small sacrifice." She took Tarvos out of her character. "My brother gave me this PC with the Epitaph inside it. It is very important to me. Please, keep it safe, for me and him."
"I will." WRAI took Tarvos and glowed pink.
"I won't let anyone else fall into a coma." Atoli smiled, giving up Innis. "Thank you, Innis." WRAI took it and glowed baby green.
"Bye-bye, Gorre." Bo removed the Avatar. Saku was also there, watching. "Come back and play with me sometime!" WRAI absorbed it, turning a mixture of pink and blue.
"Here." Ovan released Corbenik. "I hope that my Epitaph will do some good for this World."
"It will." WRAI became dark blue.
"I will now give mine, as well." Yata handed Fidchell to WRAI. She turned orange.
"My Mia… she will still be in this World, yes?" Endrance seemed the most reluctant.
"She will. She will always see you and be with you. I swear." WRAI smiled at him.
"Very well." Endrance gave Macha to WRAI, and she glowed purple. "I love you, Macha."
"Well, you're the last one, Haseo." WRAI looked at him, seeing that he was unsure. She decided to pry him a little. "Come on, Haseo, I thought that NPCs and Avatars didn't have feelings."
"Shut…!" Haseo stopped himself, sighing dejectedly. "Look, I'm sorry about that, okay? I was wrong. This is no ordinary game we're playing, as much as I don't want to believe it. And I am really connected with my PC… and Skeith, even though I found out he's the cause of my amnesia seven years ago." He laughed. "I really do love this game. And I don't want there to be any more problems with it. I don't want anyone to fall into a coma, either." He took out Skeith from his character. "You had better take care of this World and the people in it. Understand?"
"Absolutely." She said. She took Skeith into her body and she glowed red. Then, she began to turn many colors very quickly before a bright light came from her body. When everyone could see again, they saw that she was now wearing a technicolor dress and white ballet shoes. Her red hair was the same, but now she had a small tiara on top of her head. Her heart tattoos were still there but they glowed a bright white color. "Oh wow, I look great!" She spun around, her dress flowing and sparkling.
"Has the World changed yet?" Haseo asked, not really impressed.
"Now that we have the Epitaphs, we must shut down the game for a few days in order to commence the restoration program." Yata explained. "Letters have been sent out to the players, and shutdown will begin tomorrow at 12:00. I suggest preparing for this and saving your progress when you're done." He smiled. "Thank you very much. You are dismissed."
WWW
Sure enough, in a few days, the restoration program was complete. Haseo, upon logging in, noticed the title screen was different. Instead of a dark and obscure drawing of Mac Anu, it was of the Crest Gun as seen in the sunny fields. He logged in and was mentally transported into the Eternal City. When he walked out of the dome, he practically gasped in amazement. The city was still the same, but there were lots of little fairies usually only seen in the Lost Grounds floating around the sky. The water was no longer a copper color but a clear blue. There were little NPC animals running around the streets, but they didn't seem to be bothering anyone in a bad way. Some of them could even talk and say hello. The sky was also blue and the sun was at the noon position instead of twilight. When he walked passed people on the street he could hear some of them talking about how much they liked the changes while others liked it better the old way.
"How could they possibly do all this in only three days?" Haseo had made his way to the fountain, which seemed to be flowing stronger than before.
"It's the World's powers!" He heard a familiar voice say. He turned to see none other than the new goddess, WRAI.
"What're you doing here?" Haseo asked, still getting used to her new look. "Aren't you busy now, being the goddess?"
"Hmph, I am working." She put her hands on her hips. "I'm checking to make sure everything went smoothly with the restoration."
"Has it?"
"So far, nothing's wrong!" She saluted. "How do you like it? The reborn World?"
"Honestly…" He looked around. "I really like it."
"Oh, I'm so glad!" She flipped backwards.
"Not everyone does, though."
"There's always gonna be haters." She scoffed. "They can just quit if they don't like it."
"Exactly." Haseo grinned. Just then, he heard a mighty yell behind him coming closer. WRAI looked over his shoulder, wide-eyed at what was coming. Haseo sighed; he knew who it was, and simply braced himself to be tackled.
BAM
"Oh, he of fair eyes! I have found you at last!" Piros the 3rd sat on top of Haseo. "It is I, the Seeker of Justice, the Slow Doberman, the one and only… Piros the 3rd!"
"I know who you are, now get the hell off me!" Haseo scrambled to his feet. "What do you want?"
"I have come to thank you, my shining hero!" Piros posed heroically. WRAI was still wide-eyed but smiling amorously.
"What for?" The Adept Rogue dusted himself off.
"Well, imagine if you will a totally hypothetical story of a handsome graphic designer…"
God-dammit. Why does he do this every time? WHY?
"… Those triangular monstrosities!" Piros finished the first part. Haseo had practically memorized it by now. "But now, the cloudy rage in my head has been cleared, for when I – I mean this graphic designer – logs into his game to find that the Tri-Edge signs are gone! Kaput! Vanished!" Piros jumped on top of the fountain. "Who could have eased this man's soul? Why, it had to none other be the hero of fair eyes whom has been fighting with all his being to save this game since the moment we met!"
"Wait… seriously?" Haseo looked at WRAI. "They're gone?"
"That's right!" WRAI nodded. "When we removed the pieces, the signs were able to be fixed! They're gone, and it's all thanks to you!"
"Oh, and who is this fair maiden?" Piros the 3rd jumped off the fountain and in front of WRAI. "What amazing character design! The hair, the symbols, the dress… if only I – I mean, my handsome graphic designer friend – had come up with it himself!"
"Aw, you're such a flatterer!" She giggled. "I like your character design, too!"
"Thank you kindly, my princess." Piros took her hand. "But now this devilish prince must leave at once, hence he'll be late for work!" He jumped in front of Haseo and patted him on the shoulder. "Thanks again, my fair-eyed hero! Wherever there is danger, the World can be sure to count on us: Haseo the Terror of Death, and the brave Piros the 3rd, the Slow Doberman! I'm off!" He made a flying-away pose as he logged out.
"Who is that guy?" WRAI blushed. "He's so… passionate!"
"Oh God, seriously?" Haseo face-palmed. How can she have a crush on somebody, she's an NPC! "Anyway, it's good that the signs are gone. I think everyone can agree on that."
"Indeed." She smiled. "Oh, you know what? I got something for you!"
"For me?" Haseo asked. WRAI handed him dual guns called DG-H. "Hey, you don't need to…"
"It's the least we can do." WRAI said. "They were made specifically for you. Check 'em out!" Haseo took out the guns and twirled them around, taking a look at them. They were black with three long barrels and carried 24 rounds. An orange light in the shape of a scythe streaked out from under the nose.
"Wait, these are…"
"Yep. Skeith." WRAI said. "We copied some of his data to make those. We made one for every former Epitaph User. We even gave Shino a little something."
"Wow. Thanks, really." Haseo said as sincerely as he could, putting the guns away.
"I'm also throwing you all a party!" WRAI cheered. "I'm sending you and your friends an email with area words. Be there or be square!" She flew up into the sky and vanished like a shooting star.
"Wait! That's not…" He groaned, knowing she left to avoid an argument. He ultimately decided to check his email for these area words anyway.
WWW
A/N: Wow, remember this story? I just really want to finish it, whether I'm getting reviews or not. But please, reviews are nice!