Bolypius sensed the presence of the entity on the 100th floor. She, Kayaba, and Fake Haneesh forsook their Boss Rush and returned. The Ruby Palace was once more highlighted by beacons under the night sky… but now, an aurora borealis flowed along the heavens. "That affect wasn't programmed for this floor…" Kayaba said, focusing on the source of light that was atop the palace.
Miko's eyes flashed into a "?" and "!" respectively. She seemed to recognize the red-armored entity above the spiral palace. His distorted voice traveled the great distance to their ears. "Bolypius… it's been eons. This is quite a world you've made. Impressive…"
"Impossible!" Kayaba gasped. "God Deoxys?!"
"What are you doing here… Dad?!"
"Wait, what?!" Haneesh jumped. "THAT thing is your dad?!"
"I was summoned from my rest to confront a most terrific threat. Bolypius… I cannot allow you to enter reality. It will have severe ramifications on the universe should that Chaos Chi escape this world."
"But I can control it now! President Kayaba gave me this cool new body. I've made friends and fought wars and everything. I'm way stronger than I ever was as a virtual nothing!"
"It was not you who lived those things, it was the mortal you are possessing."
"So, what? We're the same person. It's not like YOU ever gave me a body. You never gave me a chance! You just locked me in that computer Cube and threw me away."
"I gave you a safe, secluded space in which to better control your power. But even if you could, such power is dangerous in the physical world. It was for the good of the universe that you be confined to Cyberspace."
"But even then, you failed." Kayaba stated. "My ancestor discovered the potential of Bolypius… and created an entire planet! You're afraid, Deoxys, that Bolypius can surpass you. That WE can surpass you!"
"Yeah, so why don't you back off, has-been god?! This is my world! You ain't got no power here!"
"Indeed… I can do nothing to alter this reality of yours. And I cannot free the mortals you've trapped, even if I wanted to. However, I have added my own input to this game. You won't mind some extra challenge, would you?"
Before their eyes, 13 entities surrounded them. They were all flickering with data and bore very distinct, menacing designs. One was a jester with a monochrome face, one was a dark-green pirate with an octopus face, another seemed to be a short, blonde boy in a dark robe. There was a giant, yellow woman with a diamond chest and a large, muscular, purple-skinned alien with gold and black armor.
Boly's eyes shrank in terror as she sensed their Power Levels. "Who the heck are these guys…?!"
"The Data Thirteen are powerful replicas of the greatest threats in the Multiverse. Though they lack heart, a conscience, and free will, they should be a perfect match for you."
Miko's digital blood boiled with anger at the god, along with anxiety before the powerful foes. "Gah… will, you, just, PISS OFF ALREADY?!"
"Let me assist you, My Lady!" Kayaba declared, lightsaber drawn.
"Yeah, Miko!" Haneesh extracted his scissors confidently. "We'll cut them down to—YOW!" A laser blasted him away.
"Huh?!" The two whipped at the laser's source.
"Come on, boys… Give the wannabe goddess a good challenge." The Irken smirked as she stepped out from around Data Aizen.
"Oh, great!" Miko was exasperated. "And who are YOU supposed to be?!"
"I promised we'd meet in Aincrad, didn't I, Miko? If that even is your real name?"
Boly's memories processed. "…Gaz? Gaz Membrane?!"
"Received your free copy, I see." Kayaba smirked. "I would've been remiss if you didn't join this world."
"Yeah, and I feel ripped off. I worked my butt off conquering this palace and I don't even get a boss fight?"
"Hm hm hm… That's because the boss of this level is me. Forgive me… for I was preoccupied with My Lady."
"Gyuck. How did you end up being this man's bitch, Miko?"
"HUH?!" Miko flushed horrifically. "Hold on, I am not Kayaba's—nnnnnnnnttttt!" She froze in place as her eyes glitched.
"B…Boly?"
"Nnnnnn—nitch! Wait, was I talking about Mitch? Why did I say that?"
Kayaba stared at her in concern. "…" He faced back at Gaz. "How dare you speak to Lady Boly in that light? If it's a battle you want, I'll be happy to oblige. I shall take great honor in executing the enemy of My Lady."
"I'm about to be your new 'Lady'…" Gaz drew her lightsaber with malice. "Bitch~"
Dark Elf Castle
Lexi punched at Kal's head, the boy dodging side-to-side before kicking. Lexi dodged right and threatened to zap him, so Kal dodged forward--Lexi spun and whipped his head with her tail. She began to zip around him with Flash Steps, so Kalluto used Shaves to confuse her as well. She yelped when her tail was grabbed, suffering punches to the back of the head. He let go when she electrified her tail, tossing a petal to cut her cheek. She flapped overhead and shot bolts over the assassin, but Kalluto easily evaded with Paper Art. He leapt up to thrust a Finger Pistol, but Lexi backed out and landed.
"You're not a match for me. I won't deplete all your HP because that would be unprofessional, but you can't win."
"I don't care! I ain't gonna let you kill my sister!" Lexi dove at Kal, and when he dodged back, she halted in place and barrel-rolled at him while electrified. Kal was shocked, and she managed to grab his shoulders. She headbutted him twice, but he suddenly used Iron Body and banged her own head. Lexi let go dizzyingly, being grabbed and tossed away. She recovered and tried to shoot larger bolts of lightning, but as Kalluto widened the distance between them, the lightning failed to reach and struck the ground. Lexi grunted and flapped at him, dodging his Tempest Kick. He Shaved above and chopped down, but retreated before she could electrify.
"Besides, you don't even know if killing her will free us!"
"What other option do we have?"
"Just… talk to her or something! Figure out what's wrong!"
"But by that time, she'll already be anticipating an attack. Besides, what if she's challenging all the players to kill her? That's why she made that announcement, she'll have to die by someone's hands!"
"Then I'll protect her as long as possible!" Lexi forcefully mustered a large sum of chi and charged at Kalluto for a small, shocking explosion. He tried to dodge, but took slight damage from the attack. Because the action consumed all her stamina, Kalluto ran to deal Finger Pistols. Lexi then returned karate chops, Kal dodging most. She did a tailspin, but Kal jumped and kicked her in the face, sliding her away. Kalluto turned and ran for the Elevator Tower, but as he feared, Lexi flew after him. He used Paper Art to evade her grabs, then used Shave for a quick getaway, but she zipped in that direction, grabbed, and electrified him. Kal kicked her in the stomach afterward and pinned her down with flower petals.
"It shouldn't be your job to protect your sister, anyway."
"I should if I have the power to!" Lexi shocked off the petals, but Kal was already quick to grab her from behind and smash her to the ground.
"You're almost out of health. Just give up-"
She quickly wrapped arms around and mustered a continuous electrocution, but her weakened stamina only slowly whittled his health. "If you kill my sister, you're gonna have to take me down with her!"
Kalluto shoved her to the ground. Growing frustrated, Kal jumped on her and drew his fan. Lexi shut her eyes, fearing it was the end. All Kalluto had to do was cut her throat… be done with this nuisance. This girl was in the way of his mission… if she wouldn't back down, he had to dispose of her… it didn't matter if she was a helpful ally… or that she tried to be a 'friend' to him… He shouldn't have such a thing, anyway. …No, killing her out of anger was unprofessional. But he couldn't knock people out in this game. What choice did he have?
And yet… just seeing her cower and shudder beneath him felt strange. Well, it wasn't strange to be afraid when her life was being threatened… by a boy she tried to be friends with. A partner she counted on in this game. But he didn't ask her to tag along. Even if he warmed up to her, she was being more annoying than ever. Trying to protect her sister… If this happened in his family, they wouldn't be so loyal. This girl… was so…
"Ugh!" Kalluto stomped off. "You're so frustrating!"
"You're one to talk!" She got up firmly. "Just because you have a bad family, don't go hurting other families!"
"I'm trying to get us out of here!"
"You just care about yourself!"
"But I…I…UGH!" Kalluto aggressively opened his inventory and pulled out the black, instant-death sword. Lexi backed away in fear… but the boy stabbed it to the ground. "Fine… see if your sister will help you. I don't care, anymore." He turned and stomped toward the tower like a pouting child.
"…" Lexi withdrew the dangerous blade and put it in her inventory. "She will. I'm sure of it." She faced up at the sky with hope. "That scary voice… who was it yelling at? Sigh…" By the time she faced the tower, Kalluto was already out of sight.
The boy angrily entered an elevator and mashed Floor 40 for no reason other than aimlessness. He sat and viewed out the window as the lift rose skyward. Lexi's glum expression drew further away until her form would be blocked by the next floor. "…Nngh!" He punched the floor in fury. It wasn't like him to feel so frustrated… or to hold back. Perhaps he was cursing himself for wasting time with such a disappointing girl. …But no matter how much he tried, he couldn't get her out of his mind. He's killed several people with no remorse… so, why was this, of all things, tearing up his mind?
Granzam (Play "Grand Finale" from Smash Ultimate!)
Index's avatar shot a beam to the sky and rained Light Beams around the field, one injuring Sora. The genie zipped around with lightspeed surprising for her girth, trying to deal quick punches, but Sora blocked them just as quickly. He froze Index with Stopaga and lashed cuts at the genie, the knockback not registering until the Stop wore off. Index withdrew a gold trident from her inventory, imbuing it with light to clash with Sora's Keyblade. She used FLASH and blinded Sora, but she escaped before she could attack him. Sora fired beams from his own blade, Index twirling her trident in deflection.
"The MCP called you Sector SA earlier." Sora remembered. "That means you're KND operatives! Why would you be siding with that villain?"
"We're going to stop her! But not by killing her. In fact, it's safe to assume you guys have an insta-kill weapon in your hands."
"How'd you guess?!" Riku snapped, shooting darkness at her, but Killua blocked it and flicked both yo-yos, shooting ink out to soak him. The darkness blocked his lightning, but Killua could still Shave up and cut Riku's hip. Riku cut down, but Killua used Paper Art, then surprised Riku with a bolt once his chi returned. Killua tossed yo-yos at his legs, but Riku jumped and dove at Killua Keyblade-first. He dodged, but Riku zipped in a portal and surprised Killua from above, piercing his head. Kill endured the pain and dealt a Tempest Kick that Riku soundly blocked.
"I see you've also learned to embrace your darkness." Riku said, forming a barrier to block Kill's Finger Pistols. "Your heart feels similar to mine."
"Yeah, but yours is just fabricated." Killua teased as he whirled a yo-yo around the barrier. Riku jumped into a Dark Portal, but Kill sensed him from the right, jumped back, and hit the other electrified yo-yo at his head. Riku levitated in the air, brimming with darkness. He warped between a series of portals and shot at Killua each time, the Zoldyck using Paper Art to evade them all. His art wore off in time for Riku to slam the ground with a dark explosion, striking and blocking Kill's chi. Riku swung, but Kill grabbed the Keyblade, holding it back and kicking at Riku's leg.
Terra used earthbending to rip out chunks of the building and throw them at Morgiana, whose strong feet kicked them back at him. Terra bent up the stone and used it as armor to engage with her directly. Her kicks couldn't pierce the stone, and Terra grabbed her ankle before slamming her head into the ground. Morg pulled free and got on all-fours, bellowing a powerful Soundwave to rattle Terra's armor. She thrusted both feet to send him falling off the building, then performed a cannonball as she fell after to smash him into the street.
Terra seemed to burrow underground, and Morg gasped as her ankles were grabbed from below. Terra dragged and slammed her to a wall, then popped up behind that wall to punch her through it. Morg flipped back up as Terra burrowed under again. As she ran from the burrowing Keyblader, she got an idea: by using Sound Chi to amplify the sound of her stomps, she could send shockwaves through the ground. The ear-rattling vibration forced Terra to emerge, but his eardrums were shattered further by her deafening scream. Terra bent up earth-made earmuffs and used his Keyblade to shoot large rocks at the Fanalis. Morg punched and kicked the rocks away with the grace of her dancing, singing an Arabic tune to build up Music Chi.
Goombella and Kairi matched psychicbending, their brainwave forces meshing and pushing the other's. Kairi made Psy-Spheres appear above and home in, but Goombella flew away, spinning into Kairi's belly like a torpedo. Kairi blew up a bubble to bounce her away. An idea 'popped' into Goombella's head as she molded a big, squishy psychic bubble. She made the bubble split into smaller ones that whirled around and exploded over Kairi. Kairi made a series of bubbles around the air, jumped on one, and sprung around the others. Goombella made a bubble around herself to defend from the momentum attack, only for Kairi to spin and cleave through with that speed, striking her.
Goombella got up and fired a Psy-Beam that Kairi blocked with her Keyblade, later teleporting out of harm's way. Kairi spun the air with a Tele-Tornado and attempted to sweep Goombella up in it. Goombella wrestled for control of the whirlwind and was able to disperse it completely, but Kairi warped up for a quick stab. Goombella dodged and forced her away with a Psy-Sphere. She then teleported to Kairi and squeezed her whole frame in psychic, but couldn't hold out as it strained her brain. Kairi escaped and rained a storm of Psy-Spheres that Goombella struggled to block with a shield.
Nagisa used Iron Body to keep from blowing away in Ventus's airbending. He used Scare Scream to impair the boy, then zipped up to Finger Pistol his neck. Ven dealt spin attacks to blow Nagisa off with wind. He mounted his Keyblade like a hoverboard and took to the air, stirring cutting whirlwinds over Nagisa. The Sheikah used Moon Walk to get level with him, but suffered cuts from Ven's air slices. Ven flew away from him, so Nagisa spat Fear Spheres. Ven spun his Keyblade with his feet to deflect them, but Nagisa craftily pulled out his gun and landed a shot to Ven's eye.
Ink blotted his eye, so Nagisa followed up with Shaves to reach Ven, then dealt a quick Tempest Kick to his hip. Ven fell to the ground, Nagisa joining and pelting him with more ink. Ven blew the ink off and sent more air cuts, Nagisa swiftly dodging. As he did, Nagisa tried to look him dead in the uncovered eye, focusing a Scare Stare. "…Nnnnhh!" As fear corrupted Ven's mind, images of his friends falling to darkness, the world crumbling around them, rendered him weak. Nagisa mercilessly slashed him with a Tempest Kick.
"Gosh darn it, Jiminy, why did you program Data Ven with his actual fears?!"
"W-Why, you asked me to give them heart, Your Majesty!"
Aqua seized Fie's ankle in a Water Whip, but she sliced it with her dagger, spun, and tossed the other dagger at her forehead. She yanked it back via a string. Aqua brought numerous Water Dancers to life, twirling around Fie as they splashed clubs at her. The wolf girl pounced through the dancers and up to Aqua, who bent up a liquid wall and froze it. Fie shattered it with Tempest and leapt to bite Aqua's leg. She used a small form of the Spider Bite technique, pain coursing through her leg. Fie endured her Keyblade whips for a few seconds before releasing, but was then grabbed by the arms and legs in tentacles. Aqua tried to rip Fie apart, but the Erebonian used Iron Body to weigh through the water.
Fie Shaved behind Aqua, but she dodged and splashed her away with a wave. Water Dancers jumped Fie and tried to drown her, but she lashed her daggers rapidly and cut free, gasping for breath. Fie ran sideways as Aqua unleashed a powerful Water Beam from her Keyblade, aiming her daggers to shoot bullets at the Keyblader. Aqua grunted and ceased the attack, bending up bubbles to blast at Fie like cannonballs. Fie dodged her way up to Aqua, clashing her daggers with the Keyblade at equal speed. Aqua sprouted up a water spurt to split them up, sliding away from Fie and summoning more Water Dancers. "I can tell you have good intentions," Aqua said emotionlessly, "but I have to ask you to step down."
"I wanna get back home as much as anyone else." Fie's tone had a bit more perk than the blue-haired girl's. "But I won't kill an innocent life. You're just a puppet, so breaking you won't be a problem."
Index caught Sora's Keyblade between her trident's points and knocked the weapon away. Index grabbed Sora's hands and wrestled with him. To his surprise, Index sucked her belly in and puffed it out, shooting a Light Beam from it. Sora wasn't pushed away due to being gripped by Index, so the force was much more painful. "You won't win the Game, Mickey."
"Win?! I only care about shutting this game down!" the camera behind Sora argued.
"I'm not talking about Aincrad. I'm talking about the real game."
"You… What?!"
"You've got your eye on him… the last Newborn. That's why you're in this game, trying to steal the KND's glory. But no matter what you try, we will win! These new Thousand and One Nights will write your failure!"
"Thousand and One… Wait… You…You're actually-!"
"Bomb Voyage!" Xedni inputted a command into the avatar. The genie's body swelled up into a flashy explosion.
Fie clutched her daggers firmly, dashed at Aqua, and Shaved through her, at the same time slashing. It felt as though a cluster of cuts ripped the A.I. apart. "Sylphid Dance!" Fie spun around graciously, riddling Aqua and the Water Dancers with bullets. "That's that." she said as Aqua derezzed.
Goombella Torpedo Spun at Kairi, teleported, struck her, teleported, struck from a different angle, and Kairi was unable to block or evade as Goombella rapidly bonked her from a great many angles. Riddled with blunt damage, Kairi derezzed. Goombella fell over in dizziness. Killua Shaved around Riku and wrapped his neck and hip in the yo-yo strings, electrifying the boy. As Riku panted in place, Killua held his hand open and Shaved through. His hand ripped through Riku's chest and stole his heart. He crushed the heart into particles, and Riku derezzed.
"I gave them literal hearts, too! Huhu!" Jiminy laughed.
Music Notes danced around Morgiana to give her grace and speed. She danced up to Terra on one leg and smashed the other foot directly at his skull. Terra's armored head flew off. A still fear-stricken Ventus desperately slashed wind at the looming Nagisa, but with a conniving smirk, Nagisa poked Ven's neck with his fingers. He didn't puncture the neck, but the impact left the impression that breath was leaving Ven's body. The convincing feeling left him unable to breathe, so his Oxygen Meter depleted, and he derezzed.
…
At Disney Castle, all six computers and NerveGears lit up at the same time. "Uh-oh." Team Mickey chorused.
The explosion could be seen from outside the castle, as the king and his friends went flying. "WOOOOHHH/QUUUAAAAAACK/AIIIII-hoy-hoy-hoy-hoy-hoy!" They left a twinkle in the sky. (End song.)
…
Eight Boss Keys came flying out of Sora's body, along with the items he had. Goombella noticed a dark spellbook on the ground and looked over it. "Whoa! It's some kind of soul-destroying death spell! Were they going to use this on Miko?!"
"Looks like." Nagisa said. "Let's keep it on us for the time being."
"And look, Boss Keys for each of us!" Killua beamed, running to collect one.
"Yeah, but… what happened to the genie girl?" Fie asked.
"Index… self-destructed?" Morg saw. "I know it was just a Program, but that means we'll be without her for a while."
"It sounds like something big's about to happen upstairs." Nagisa said. "Let's locate Sinon and Millium before we head up."
Elevator Tower
Sectors Q and Hinobi waited in the tower for Jenny and Carmine to come back down. After both groups recapped their ordeals, Jenny concluded with, "Then we heard this loud, scary voice!"
"We heard it, too!" Five replied. "It was calling for Boly… Where do you think it came from?"
"It said that it was waiting 'up here,'" Mitch recalled, "so my best guess is Floor 100. We'd better go see."
"Yeah." Bergy agreed. "It sounds pretty mad at Miko."
The group hurried into an elevator and quickly pressed the '100' button. They felt naturally antsy as the lift rose at a leisurely pace. "Hm? Guys, I…I'm getting a call from Phil." Eddy alerted.
"Phil?" Kazma asked. "The guy at the base?"
"Yeah! Hey, Phil, what's going on up there?"
Hinobi H.Q.
Chomp Kitty galloped like a horse up the building stairs. The young hacker panicked as two Hinobibots ambushed her, but the holo-kitty pounced up the walls and tackled them. It ripped their heads off in its teeth and kept sprinting. Turrets emerged from the ceiling and tried to shoot her, but they were shot down by Phil's glove, Ridley smiling back at the man. Phil was remarkably bruised and ragged from the endless gauntlet, and would suffer another punch to the gut, courtesy of Barbara. She had a broken visor and black eye as she dashed at Ridley like a wild animal.
The frightened girl made it to the office and frantically began hacking the device, clutching the envelope in her teeth. Chomp Kitty hissed at Barbara, dodging her lasers and gnashing her. The kitty hurt its teeth against her barrier, which was quickly disabled as Barb grabbed it by the neck. "Game Over, glitch!" She crushed the neck and derezzed the giant cat. She shot a laser at Ridley, who dodged, and Barb found her leg snared by a digital grapple hook from Phil's glove. He hauled himself over, enduring a laser shot to the face and wrestling Barb to the floor.
"I'm in!" Ridley cheered, zipping into the office.
"Hurry! Insert it into the big computer's slot!" Phil yelled hastily. Barb blew up a barrier to push him off and charged into the office. Phil bolted after her, watching as Barb blasted a laser at Ridley just before she could insert the disc. Phil restrained her with another grapple hook and punched the back of her head, leaping to push the disc all the way in. He spun to shoot Barb's glove when she tried to aim at the computer, then tackled her down again.
"You won't get out of this scot-free, Philip! Even if we fail, you'll be arrested along with the rest of us!"
"I'll take my chances! 'Long as I get those kids outta there, then it's FINE!" With one more brutal punch to bend Barb's face in, the woman fainted. "Huff…huff…" Phil saw a message on the computer reading, Loading Heartbreak Protocol into Aincrad. He looked down at the injured Ridley with regret, guilty that he put the child in such danger. Phil picked up his phone and said, "Eddy, we've inserted the program. It's loading right now."
Aincrad
"They've inserted the Program?!" Flynn asked hopefully.
"That's what he said!"
"Perfect! I'll head to the Code Room and retrieve it now. But listen, kids… even if we're able to separate Boly's hearts again, it won't fix everything. We can't escape this world without her permission."
"Then it looks like we need to talk some sense into Miko." Jenny stated, cracking her knuckles. "The old-fashioned way."
"Please be careful. Boly and Kayaba aren't to be underestimated. I don't know what force is waiting up there… but I wish you the best." Transmission ended.
The group rode calmly up the elevator, feeling an ounce more hopeful. The situation seemed to be turning for the better… but it seemed that one final challenge awaited them. "Hey, guys…" Kazma said. "I'm sorry for running off on you before. It was…it was just too much for me."
"It's fine." Quill assured. "We get the same way sometimes."
"But, if we can pull this off… and save the universe… do you think I could keep in touch with you guys?"
"Absolutely!" Eddy beamed. "And we already know your online name, so finding you shouldn't be too hard!"
"Heheh. But… more than that… I'm sort of thinking about… joining you."
"Joining… us? Like, our sector?"
"Yeah… do you think I could be a good operative?"
"Mmmm…I'm not sure how I feel about replacing Drake's spot." Quill said.
"Huh? Oh, n-no. Never mind. I wasn't trying to do that, but… if that's how you feel, then I won't."
"We'll think about it." Carmine smiled assuredly. "Until then, you can still enter Arctic Training if you feel confident enough. The KND is always happy to have new members!"
"Yeah…" Quill nodded. "I remember how happy we were when we got Miko. Heh, she wasn't anything special at the time. Cheren was like, 'Hey, you guys want a new member?' and we were like, 'Heck yeah, new members are awesome!' It's still been less than a year, but it feels like Miko's always been with us."
"She's an amazing friend." Eddy smiled in agreement. "Really fun and understanding."
"Hehe, she is." Zahra giggled. "I'm surprised Five didn't fall for her~"
"I-I mean, yeah, she's delightful." Five scratched his head with a sheepish smile. "But, I dunno… just the thought of 'dating' her grosses me out."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Eddy folded his arms.
"What? I'm just saying that it's a weird thought."
"Alright," Mitch spoke up, "this is becoming too cheesy for my liking. I want on a different elevator."
"Buckle down and zip it." Bergy said.
"…" However, a thought crossed Eddy's mind, tapping a foot to the floor and stroking his chin. "She… is understanding."
"You okay there, Edd?" Quill asked.
"It's just… if Boly inherited her personality and memories… then what about her defiant side? The side of her that didn't want to merge and was against Hinobi… I'm just wondering why that didn't carry over."
"I don't really get how this whole thing works, but I guess Boly's will was just… stronger?" Carmine shrugged. "Or, are you saying that our Miko is actually in there somewhere?"
"It… is possible."
"Then how're we supposed to bring her out?" Mitch wondered. "Talking doesn't work. Did we just not beat her enough?"
"If nothing else," Five said, "we can hold her down long enough for Flynn to bring that Program. …We're here, guys."
The elevator opened on Level 100. "WHOA!!" Of all the things they were expecting to see up here, they hadn't expected Miko to be surrounded by 13 menacing villains. Even more surprising as that Kayaba seemed to be in an epic duel against an Irken lady.
"Gaz?!" Five exclaimed.
"Good timing!" Gaz smirked, her motions with the sword almost seamless. "You newbs can watch me tramp the big boss!"
"Curse you!" Kayaba shouted, attempting a Shield Bash, but Gaz predicted this and directed her saber around the shield. "How can you be this good?!"
"That's the problem with developers! They always have less imagination than the players." Gaz did a spin attack around him, but Kayaba jumped to cut her head, but she sliced his leg upon landing.
"This is a sword fight, not effing Mario Maker!" Kayaba leapt back and slashed a cluster of light beams across the air, but Gaz mirrored his motions and blocked them.
"Hey… isn't that Davy Jones?!" Quill pointed. "And that's Dimentio! Th-… Are these the Thirteen Darknesses?!"
"MIKO!" Mitch shouted. "What have you done this time?!"
"ME?!" Miko shouted back. "These chumps are in here because of THAT jerk!"
"Huh? Up there?" Five squinted at the top of the palace, where they could vaguely make out the red and blue entity.
"Do not be alarmed, children. I have no intention of attacking her with these Programs… yet. I am giving you this last chance, Bolypius. Abandon your quest for the Chaos Heart and free the mortals you have imprisoned. Or these 13 will teach you true suffering."
"Well, newsflash, buddy, I lived for that suffering! All that stress of arguing with family, arguing with friends, failing school, fighting in wars, losing friends, it's made me the perfect girl I am today! Your Thirteen Dweebessess can beat me up all they want, but it's gonna make getting that Chaos Heart all the more PERFECT! So, step aside, Thirteen-?" But when Miko returned to the elevator, it was not the Thirteen impeding her path: it was the nine members of Sectors Q, Hinobi, and Kazma combined.
"Quit acting like you're anything like Miko." Jenny stated. "All those bad things that happened, it wasn't you that lived them, it was Miko! But I think you forgot the most important lesson of all."
"Yah? And what's that?" Boly cocked a sardonic brow.
"You forgot to put your friends' needs above your own!" Carmine argued. "The real Miko would've let us out of this game! She didn't want godly power, but she took a chance with it to save us!"
"Ugh, don't you guys get anything?! This world is BETTER than the real world! You can be with Drake again, Carmine can have a body again, and, hello, HANEESH IS BACK!"
"Yeah, guys!" Haneesh argued. "I thought you would be happy to see me! Why don't you wanna stay here?!"
"Because you're not Haneesh." Bergy glared. "And even if you were, you would want us to leave."
"Hmph! You're just upset 'cause you could never kick my butt, Berg. I was on par with Mitch!"
"Heh!" Zahra scoffed, lighting her hands aflame. "Care to take a bet on that?"
"Just stay out of our way, Haneesh." Five told him, focusing up on his neon-bodied friend. "Miko, I know you're in there somewhere. We'll knock that glitch right out of you."
"You guys just don't get it, do you?" Miko shook her head. "My mind is totally…yyyyyyyyyyyyyy." She began vibrating again, her eyes buzzing.
"Uhh…is she having a Doki Doki meltdown?"
"-yyyyyyy…guyyyyyyyyyyyyyyys…" Her voice was horribly cracking like two different sources were fighting over her vocal chords.
"My Lady! What's wro-" Kayaba had to block Gaz's next cut.
"-guys… in… here… try… get… Miko… better…"
"Miko…Miko's fighting for control!" Eddy beamed.
"Why did she speak in third-person?" Mitch wondered. "She makes it sound like there's someone else…"
…
Inside of Miko's data, Vanellope bolted from the pixelly firewall as she carried Miko's purple conscience on her back. "Your friends are here, Miko! You'll be back to normal in no time!"
"I…I will…?" Miko asked exhaustedly.
"Noooooo!" A huge mass of green mist flared up in anger, the seven hearts spinning rampantly around its blue eyes. "Glitch detected! Glitch detected!"
She voiced this outside, too, driving the group to further confusion. "Dangerous glitch detected in data! Attempting to eradicate! Oooooohhh!" She grit her teeth as her face swelled. "I knew we should've destroyed you, you candy-haired twerp!"
"Candy-haired… VANELLOPE?!" Carmine exclaimed.
"She's hacking Boly from the inside?!" Eddy gasped. "Guys, let's see if we can help!"
"No you don't!" Haneesh charged them, but Zahra and Bergy countered and took him down.
"It seems my assistance won't be necessary." Deoxys said. "Let's rest these ones for now…" The Data Thirteen turned into giant, floating Flashdrives.
"This resistant heart must not succeed!" Boly declared. "We must become a perfect being! Aincrad… will… succeeeeeeeeed!"