A/N: Guys, this is it. The final chapter. Are you ready?
*Beat*
I know you are.
*Slides chapter onto the computer*
Epilogue
RJ
This is a story about a man, who wanted desperately nothing more than freedom.
Yes, 'freedom'. You've heard right. That's what the man wanted most.
For other characters, they don't consider 'freedom' as a luxury. After all, they've been coded with it since the first day. Their codes were perfectly normal, with nothing to worry about.
They don't know what it's like to be a clone.
While he had been trapped in a sealed-shut grey cube, alone for who knows how long, neglected for like forever, to the point where no one even knew he existed.
Even if he's only just a cluster of worthless pixels, he believed that he was something more than a locked character, that his code, although full of mistakes, held something more than it seemed.
But the days passed, and still he was trapped, trapped in darkness.
The days turned into weeks, and weeks blended into months and years. The man was starting to lose track of his humanity, but he fought it back, praying for the day he'll finally get his freedom.
And at that very moment, the man made a vow, and vowed that if he ever got the chance to get unlocked, to be free, he'll do everything it takes to stay.
No matter whatever it took him.
So that he would never ever have to return.
Never to go back to the darkness where he was originally from.
Many years later, fate gave him a chance, and he was finally free. And as soon as he was plugged in, he put his plan into action.
And started lying.
He saw his original, and told that they were related by family. He then covered it by saying that his parents locked him up. It was an obvious lie, but his original believed it, and took the man under his care.
The game started changing, but the man deceived them, pulling their gazes away from the obvious damage, letting them believe that the game's changes are normal.
The man knew that he was dangerous, that his very existence could transform the game in unpredictable ways. But instead of blurting out the truth for the sake of the game, he kept it all to himself.
He didn't say anything about the increasing destruction on the game.
It was until the other main character decided to look for answers, saw through the man's deceptive words and actions, and found out the real truth about him.
But he didn't reveal it immediately.
The man did not say a word. He didn't dare to risk it. He didn't tell them the terrible danger their game was in.
He didn't say a word about it, until it was too late.
The game crashed in upon itself.
The owner of the arcade deemed the game as 'Out of Order'.
The characters all were facing the likelihood of becoming homeless.
It was at that moment, seeing everyone panicking and fearing that they would get unplugged, that the man realized that his selfishness had gone too far. For even though he was a clone and wasn't allowed to leave his game, he knew it wasn't right to pull anyone down with him.
He blurted the entire truth to them, and as he expected, his original turned upon the man, giving him a very deserving blow to the face. He told the man/clone to leave him and wander, never to be seen again.
And the man did what he was told.
He ran.
He ran until he could run no further.
For as much as he could do, he couldn't leave the game. He'll get found sooner or later.
So he hid himself, hugged his knees to his chest, and cried.
He didn't care, he didn't care. He didn't care if he was found again. He didn't care if his original came back for a second beating, for he knew he totally deserved it.
He should have warned them sooner.
He should have told them he was a threat to the game.
As the man expected, the original indeed found him moments later, and yes, they fought. Hard.
They were so invested in their fight that they didn't realized that game was tearing itself apart further, and the man couldn't do anything to stop it, even if he wished.
The next change in the game caused the man's original to fall, and out of pity or intuition, the man reached out to save him, even though he knew he would get beaten up immediately right after.
His original didn't beat him up.
Instead, he healed the man, and asked him what it was like when he was locked up, before all of this happened.
The man never liked discussing about his past, but since he had nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, he might as well tell his original everything. No harm done, right?
Wrong.
His original was absolutely horrified by the man's words, and then quickly told the man he was sorry for his actions. He didn't even stop to process if the man was lying or not.
The man wasn't lying though.
The game shifted again, and seeing this, the man made a heavy decision, much to his original's horror.
The man decided to lock himself up again.
His original tried to talk him out of it, but he finally, reluctantly, agreed. And once he did, the man wasted no time in preparing his locking.
It was a strange thing: the man preparing everything for the one thing he feared most, for the one thing he never hoped to return.
But the man also knew that he had no right to crash someone's game, nor to stay where he never belonged. He was a selfish clone, a being never meant to be forgiven, to be accepted.
It would be best if he closed himself up forever.
The man's original did everything he could to stop the man, but the man wouldn't listen: he felt so humiliated by his lies and actions that he couldn't bear himself to set foot in this game.
He kept a positive smile, though, not to let his original worry.
The man, his original, and the other main character went down for the locking process, but his original couldn't bring himself to shut the lid down, to lock the man up.
For some reason.
The man volunteered to shut himself in, and with that, he closed the lid of the chest, cutting off his code from the mains. He felt no fear, for he was desperate to leave his game.
He smiled again, trying not to let his original or the other character worry. Then he felt himself leave the world where he loved, but at the same time, really wanted to depart.
His original screamed his name.
The man didn't fight back, but instead let his body shatter and break down, dumping him back into the all-too-familiar grey cube where he lived before he was unlocked.
He was home, back where he belonged.
However, very soon, the man was unlocked again, for some reason. But when he reappeared, he was no longer the same character he was before, both on the inside and out.
He was told that he'd been suffering from severe code loss, and that a potentially fatal disease caused his original to decide to chop half of the man's leg off.
At first he was angry that his original had freed him, since he knew he was a danger to the game. But the original explained that the man had been freed from the main code, that although he was still a glitch, the glitches would no longer affect the game.
The original then gave the man a choice, telling that he could stay and become his brother for real, and give him a role in his game.
Seeing his original begging for the man to join him, the man agreed.
He got a new name, new abilities, and within a few months he was able to work in his game as a new character, helping his original in gameplay.
Everyone welcomed him, both the gamers and the original characters. No one asked about his appearance, and not everyone minded his past status as a clone. Sure, he got some glances and glares every now and then, but hey! It was okay. He could deal with it.
Every night, after the arcade closed, his original and his friends would tug the man out of his game and into others, sending him onto one adventure after another; while there are also times that they pulled the man up to the penthouse on the top of the building, celebrating. Sometimes he would be busting dance moves with the characters of his game; sometimes he would be joking off with some other characters at Tapper's with a soda; and yet sometimes he would be cheering from the stands next to the Sugar Rush racetrack for the pint-sized president, if not joining in the racing fun himself.
The days flew by, and the man loved every second of it.
But…something seems off.
Something bugged him, refused to leave him, which cannot be replaced with all the happiness that the man experienced.
It came to the point where the man sometimes found himself excusing invites from other characters and heading up to the rooftop after the working hours. There he sat alone, facing towards the screen, hood pulled up his head and legs tucked into his chest, staring blankly at the outside world beyond, his body pulsing with the occasional glitches.
It was at those very moments, that he asked himself these questions.
Why am I here?
Why am I still here?
Sure, it was the man's decision to accept his place in the game, to become his original's brother. He himself had played a role in it.
But what he didn't understand was this: he was already unlocked when he'd been given the choice to stay or not.
He was already freed.
He had told his original not to free him again before he was locked up, but his original didn't listen.
Didn't his original know that the man was never meant to be unlocked?
Didn't his original know that he the man didn't deserve to be unlocked?
As the man tucked his legs further in, his arm briefly swiped across the cold, hard metal of his prosthetic: a physical disability formed from his second unlocking. The original had been warned of the risks of freeing a clone, but still he decided to do it. Sure, it could be out of selfishness, but if that was the case, then his original wouldn't try and save him after his unlocking.
Beings with selfish desires wouldn't do that, right?
So…what was it?
The man desperately wanted to know, but no one would tell him. And seeing his original smiling every time the man walked by him, the man couldn't have the courage to muster the words out. The man hid his emotions well, laughing away all the negative feelings, and wore an optimistic grin most of the time; but deep down underneath, it was totally different.
He wanted answers, but he can't get them. He just couldn't pull himself to ask.
Tonight, the man decided that he would go down to the Code Room by himself, and try to look for answers.
It was time.
He needed to know.
To find the exact reason why his original would convince him to stay, and be a part of his family.
The man took the key locking the door to the Code Room, as well as the code that had to be inputted before entry. He hadn't told his original about this, nor to his friends. But the man thought it would be best not to tell them about his trip.
They would stop him for sure.
The man unlocked both doors with ease, and the second door swung open to reveal a room, seemed to be filled with infinite darkness, shy for a sparkling cluster of color in the distance.
The man nodded. He found his target.
The code boxes.
Running quickly, the man pushed off the ledge, and swam into the colorful code boxes glowing in the distance.
One of which held his name.
His new name, not the one he was originally programmed with, but a slightly different one.
As the man closed in his distance, memories of his last time in the Code Room surfaced yet again in his mind.
He remembered the time where he was forced to lock himself back up, for the good of the game.
His original tried to stop him, for some reason.
The man pushed the thought away as he reached the glowing mass of code boxes, and found the one with his name. He swam over to it, and tapped it open.
The box popped open to reveal hundreds of tiny icons, all shimmering with electricity. Sometimes some of the icons would shutter and flicker, causing the man's body to occasionally glitch up, but the man didn't mind it.
After all, it was all part of life, right?
The man moved his hand through the icons, fingering each and every one of them, as if the answer could be found within them. But the icons did nothing more than store basic information and glow; no relevant information regarding the man's question jumped out at him.
The man sighed and tapped the code box back shut. Gently, he ran a finger across his name, and threw his arms over the box, collapsing on it. He could feel his code glitching as he sighed again.
He couldn't find the answer.
'What would it be?' The man wondered, pushing more of his weight onto the box he was on. 'It couldn't be that hard to find. What was it?'
As he was lying there, more of his memories resurfaced. Yet these memories were different.
He remembered how his original looked when he told him about his past.
He remembered the expression that his original held when the man made his choice to lock himself back up.
He remembered how his original tried to stop him.
He remembered the name his original called him, even before he realized he was a clone.
He called him brother.
He had accepted him as family already.
But…why would he do that?
It was at that moment, that an unexpected thought floated out of his mind and presented itself to him, and the man unexpectedly smiled, finding his answer.
Maybe…it was all out of love. Simply love.
Not…a romantic love, but a brotherly love.
Yes, love.
Love was what made his original forgave the man for his lies and actions.
Love was what convinced his original to make the decision to try and free his clone.
Love was what drove his original and his partner to go down to the code room for their rescue mission.
Love was what made his original to become so desperate when he found his clone to be in a critical condition.
Love was what finally caused the man to transform and become a completely new character, with a new name and personality, as a totally separate being.
Love was what bounded the man to his game. Not by his will, but from his original and the characters in the game, accepting him into their family, encouraging him, giving him a second chance.
Ready to start anew.
To begin again…
Maybe I just don't fully understand it yet.
The End
A/N: Guys! If you're reading this, let me just say two very simple words to sum up how I feel.
Thank you.
This is actually my first complete multi-chapter fanfiction I've done, and I'm really happy that I'm able to tie it off the way I imagined. I actually stopped writing this halfway through because of other reasons, but I'm really happy that I'm able to really complete this.
Don't know if anyone still reads this story, but I want to thank everyone who stuck with this story to the very end, even if you're just reading from the last chapter up.
I knew there are some readers here who gave me comments and tips to help make Unlocked smoother than I imagined, and I wanted to give an extra thanks to them. Without you guys reading and commenting, I don't think I'll be able to write the words 'The End' on here at all.
So there. RJ's story has finished, but still more adventures await for him, and I will still write them all out. I hope you guys will still continue to support me in my other stories while I'm planning more stories involving RJ.
So till my next story, IceWrecker out! :D