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Catastrophe: The Voice is not a happy camper and Tsukasa senses her anger. The group decides to move, because if the Voice knows about Net Slum, they won’t be safe there. They teleport to the city and BT decides to stock up on resurrection and healing potions. Everyone teleports away until BT is alone in the city. Suddenly, Sora comes up from behind wanting to talk. When she won’t, he pk’s her. The group teleports to the hidden palace and Bear and Kurim volunteer to stand guard outside. As they wait, they discuss what might happen if Aura does awake. Nothing will probably happen on the surface, even if things change the underlying structure. It’s unlikely that no one will even notice the change and the game will continue with only those involved knowing of the truth. They both think that’s a scary thought. Kurim says that they must fight to reveal the truth so that at least some will realize that something is wrong with The World. Sora confronts the Voice, questioning her about where the group went. He threatens her. She replies that she does not like his ways. When he asks her who she is, she responds “The World.” Tsukasa asks why he was chosen. Helba had said the answer lies within him. He doesn’t know what that means. Subaru tries to comfort him. Bear comes in to speak to Tsukasa once BT arrives. He asks him if he is worried about returning to the real world. He also asks Tsukasa if he can be is legal guardian, his surrogate parent. He has looked into Tsukasa’s schooling and knows of a school they can enroll him in. He asks him to think it over. Sora arrives and challenges Kurim to a fight. Suddenly Bear calls that there’s trouble from inside. BT runs in and they are faced with a guardian monster. Maho is alone in Tsukasa’s sanctuary. He notices the blade of grass that Tsukasa was playing with. When he tries to pick it up, the Voice reprimands him. Bear tells Tsukasa to raise Subaru’s defense. BT throws up a protection spell. Mimiru, Bear, and Kinkan defend. Subaru and Tsukasa run. The monster hits Kinkan and he almost dies but BT throws him a revive potion. Everyone attacks the monster. As Tsukasa watches, he decides to face the monster telling everyone that he’ll take care of healing. As a group, they kill the guardian. Outside, Kurim sends Sora flying, defeating him. He teleports before he hits the ground. Inside, three more guardians appear. Tsukasa tells them to run. Maho appears holding Tsukasa’s blade of grass. He floats in front of Tsukasa as the guardians attack. A strange barrier forms around Tsukasa and Subaru. Before they disappear, Mimiru makes her way through the barrier. The three disappear. Return: Tsukasa lands alone by a beach. Subaru and Mimiru are also each alone. Each immediately starts out to find the others. Bear and Kinkan try to contact the three, but when they receive no reply start doubting that everything is ok - that the enemy doesn’t want them to log out or that they may also become like Tsukasa. They hypothesize that maybe the three are in a hidden realm, one created by the enemy similar to Net Slum. Tsukasa sees Subaru sitting by a tree. Tsukasa offers to heal her, but she refuses his help. She wishes she never got involved with him. He is just a burden. Disheartened, Tsukasa walks away from her. Mimiru finds Tsukasa by a tree. He refuses to talk. She wants to look for Subaru but he verbally attacks her, asking her if she has really been able to protect him. He walks away angrily, wishing he had never stopped disliking her. Subaru meets Tsukasa. He is unhappy that she abandoned him. After some speculation on how human emotions are inherently negative, he proposes that maybe it was he that abandoned her. It’s more advantageous for survival. Positive thinking always leads to betrayal. He tells her that he doesn’t want to meet her in the real world. She doesn’t understand. He walks away. Tsukasa meets Mimiru, who sits alone, crying. When she sees him she verbally attacks, wishing she had never met him. He always runs away. Mimiru tells him that she also met Subaru, but Subaru wanted nothing to do with her. Now they have gone their separate ways. Tsukasa confronts her, telling her that the Mimiru he knows doesn’t give up like that. He asks who she is & she disappears. The environment changes and the room becomes a collection of blue polygons. The three are finally reunited. The floor gives way and they fall into Aura’s dark realm. Aura descends and Tsukasa reaches out to her. The Voice reprimands Tsukasa for touching the child, but he doesn’t listen. He tells her he won’t listen to her anymore. Tsukasa accuses the Voice of not wanting Aura to awaken. She tells him that he has no purpose. He tells her she is wrong. Tsukasa is happy that he has met everyone because of the Voice - he understands now. When you open your eyes, you see a part of what you hold dear. The Voice does not understand. She asks if they consider themselves heroes. Subaru answers that they are fighting for freedom - to keep their feelings free. They accuse the Voice of being afraid of the child awakening. That she tries to keep Tsukasa and Aura down because she is afraid. Tsukasa tells her he will return. With a hymn-like song, Aura awakens, singing that she will stay. Her colors have disappeared. She opens her eyes, a violet color. She laughs. The Voice is really mad now. Sora steps in and tells the others to take Aura and go. He offers friendship to Tsukasa. When they leave, he tells “Oba-chan (the Voice)” that he must betray her. She’s too devious to be friends with. Unfortunately, when he tries to teleport, she traps him, telling him there are things worse than death. She then stakes him, transforms him into a large mech thing called Skeith, and sends him after Aura. In the real world, a controller hangs by a computer. A 4th grade class schedule hangs on the wall to show that in the real world, Sora was just a young kid. Everyone reunites. There is a lot of unnatural data about. Skeith dispels the field. The screen goes blank. In the real world, a girl walks out of the hospital. Another girl in a wheelchair is wheeled past her. The two recognize each other, wave, and run / wheel toward each other. When they touch hands, the background image changes to the blue polygon room. The Voice says that she has been waiting for someone… |
