"Miko! Miko, are you okay?"
"Vanellope…" The violet-bodied gamer managed to push herself to her feet, looking over the pixelly candy girl. "Vanel… What've I been doing? Why am I forcing everyone to stay in this game?"
"I'm a little glitchy on the details, but I think that's all Boly's doing. I found you tethered to the data over there."
"DESIST, GLITCH!" They dodged a digital beam. "This piece of my conscience must be contained! It will not allow me to execute my program!"
"Then maybe your program shouldn't be executed!" Miko shouted. "Boly, we have to set everyone free!"
"Aincrad is superior to the real world. It is a paradise that all gamers across the universe desired. A world where they can feel proud and special without fearing death!"
"But not everyone here wants to stay in Aincrad, and no one should be forced to! And I don't want to be a god!"
"But I want to feel human! Even with God Chi, I feel more human than ever with you in my heart."
"You don't seem to know the first thing about being human! You're completely forgetting how to feel guilt, regret, or knowing right from wrong!"
"Kayaba's orders were to detain such feelings after I bonded with you. These feelings will prevent me from executing my program, my mission to bring life to Aincrad. And I will succeed!"
Vanellope grabbed Miko and glitched around to dodge digi-bolts. "I'll help you hack into her, Miko! I may not look it, but I was offered the position to be a Cyber God once. I think bonding with the Great Clock's data is helping me survive here to begin with."
"So, you'll really be okay once this is over?"
"I mean, technically speaking, I think I'm a microscopic organism right now. So, you might need to help once we retake control of your body."
"It's a deal. Just do anything you can to help me!"
"Back at you! Here she comes!" (Play "Miracle Matter" from Kirby 64!)
Final boss: Bolypius
The eight Pure Hearts orbited Boly as it first materialized Miko's signature violet hammer. The MCP tried to smash the duo like whack-a-moles, at the same time her outside body was trying to smash the operatives. As they dodged, Boly conjured more hammers to rampantly pound around. Vanellope grabbed one of the hammers by the handle, glitching and stopping it in place. Miko was able to seize the hammer herself, jumping to whack Boly's hearts. The angered MCP rose higher before trying to smash Miko with another hammer, but she leapt on the hammer when it swung down. She was catapulted up as it rose, allowing Miko to land a solid blow with the momentum.
"Bzzzztt!" The outside body struggled for control of itself. Miko conjured a Cudge and sent it at King Kazma, the rabbit smirking as he attained his own hammer. Boly attained control again and conjured blocks around the sky. The blocks would levitate over and attempt to fall on the group, but Kazma could smash them afterwards with the hammer. He was surprised to find Boly inside a block, the MCP blasting a sphere, but Kazma dodged and landed a successful smash to the girl. Miko's form seemed to buzz into her normal clothes before returning to the Pixl outfit, and the remaining blocks vanished. The Cudge left Kazma's body, but Miko was unable to call it back as the Pixl began buzzing about the air erratically. "Gah! I can't take my hammer back?!"
"I think we got to her a little bit!" Vanellope said as they landed. "If we break her connection with the Pixls, we'll be able to hack through completely! Let's keep it up!"
Boly glared and formed a giant blue weight, using the Thudley power. She loomed above the duo and attempted to squash them, releasing a shockwave, but when they split up, Boly seemed to only target Vanellope. Miko used this to her advantage and chased, jumping to grab the side of the weight when it dropped down. The weight spun in attempt to shake her off, but this allowed Vanel to zip up onto the top and force her glitchiness over its handle. The weight froze as Miko could climb onto it afterwards. Miko bent over, grabbed the handle, and- "Huuurrrrr!" Miko mustered all her strength to lift and, miraculously, the weight levitated in the air. "Game logic!!"
Boly tried to move away as the weight floated toward her, forming other ones to drop on Miko. She maneuvered in evasion and made it above Boly, smashing the MCP to the ground. "Duuuuhhh!" The outside body's head seemed to flatten, spewing out a Thudley that Kazma absorbed. "Why the hell are YOU getting all the Pixls?!" Mitch shouted.
"'Guess I'm the best one to use it! Deal with it, Mitch!" He leapt above Miko and Ground Pounded, but Miko submerged in the ground as though it were liquid. "Ah, this puzzle again?" Kazma simply pounded the lump in the ground, but it sprung out a Fighting Polygon that punched his gut. "Gah, that's just cheating!"
"I'll distract it!" Jenny kicked the Polygon down. "Carmine, can you sense the real one anywhere?"
There were several lumps moving around the ground, but Carmine guided Kazma to a particular one. Kazma Ground Pounded the lump, hearing Boly shout in pain as she sprung out. The MCP flew further away and smashed the ground repeatedly to send waves of earth. "Carmine, take care of that thing for me!" Jenny rolled up. "And Kazma, make yourself lighter." He changed into his human form to cling onto her back. She could roll up the waves and fly off them like ramps. The last one flew her above Miko, allowing Kazma to Ground Pound the possessed girl.
Her form glitched again and she was unable to make the ground ripple, while Thudley started buzzing about erratically. The interior Boly summoned giant orange hand Pixls with blue fingers, called Thoreau, sending multiple copies to try and grab Miko and Boly. After several quick dodges, the girls were unfortunately grabbed in two hands, squeezing them painfully. Miko mustered the strength to push herself free and ran to free Vanellope. A Thoreau flew up as a fist to punch her, but Miko met it with her own fist. It flew up and opened, alongside another hand as they smacked down on Miko. Her starkly smaller hands raised up to meet them, holding them back as Vanellope zipped around to kick them from all angles. "Yes, this is how you hack a computer!"
Her attacks glitched the hands up, allowing her to take them onto her own arms. Boly decided to drop giant blue Pixl bombs, riddling most of the field into pits. Miko and Vanel pursued Boly across the narrow paths in-between. The Program would either toss bombs at Miko, which she would grab and toss down the pits, or drop bombs further up the path. Those bombs would explode before Miko could make it, so Vanellope zipped up and froze them ahead of time so Miko could knock them off. Boly tossed several more bombs once Miko caught up: she evaded the others and grabbed the last bomb, throwing it at the core.
"Bvvvvvtt!" The body seemed to combust into matter for a second before reforming, during which it sent the Thoreau and Boomer Pixls into High Five and Carmine respectively. "Whoa!" Five yelped when his hands blew up larger than himself. "Okay, this feels weird… but I'll take it! How's THIS for a high-five, Miko?!" His arms could stretch in his attempt to grab her, but Miko zipped around and erected spike pillars. Carmine tossed giant bombs to destroy the spikes, allowing Five to hurry through. He evaded the giant spikeballs that Miko sent and stretched to grab the MCP in both hands. He squeezed some of the stamina out of her before tossing her at Carmine, who threw a giant bomb to impact the Program.
The Thoreau and Boomer Pixls were cut from Boly's control. Miko growled and sent Dotties into each of the operatives, shrinking them to tiny size. As a bonus, she used Slim to make herself 2D, attempting to sneak up on the players from a 1D angle to more stealthily crush them. Within the data, Bolypius made herself 1D and sent a swarm of Dotties out. Miko and Vanel carefully avoided the shrink Pixls in search for the core. When they drew close to Boly's location, bubbles would blow out. Miko was caught in a bubble and carried against a Dottie, shrinking her. Vanel glitched to avoid some bubbles, and could vaguely make out Boly's 1D colors maneuvering away.
The tiny Miko squeaked at Vanel to pick her up, so she did. She asked Vanel to throw her against the bubbles, as doing so would push them, for the bubbles were now more dense than her tiny body… game logic. Vanel hit a bubble toward a Dottie to capture the Pixl. She could safely grab the bubble, search for Boly, and throw it against the core to shrink her. Miko's Dottie wore off as she ran to stomp the tiny core.
Miko's location was suddenly made clear to the tiny ops as she flattened like a pancake. She made their Pixls come out and shrink her instead, while also sending a Slim out to make Mitch skinny. The tiny boss growled like a hamster and flew away. She sprung up a giant ring of fire that spread out. While the others got away, Mitch could stand in place and become 1D, phasing through the fire. When it passed, he proceeded in a 2D form, so Miko repeated the attack several times. This ultimately failed as Mitch reached and happily squashed the mini newb.
Miko blew back up afterward, and the Dotties and Slims both disconnected from her. Mitch tried to punch Miko, but found his fist pierced by the spike of Miko's Barry. Mitch retreated as Miko spun at him with the spiked barrier. Inside, Bolypius made a spiked barrier around herself, shooting those spikes out at Miko and Vanel. Miko grabbed the spikes and tossed them back, seeing some cracks dent. "Aha! So, unbreakable barriers can only be broken by their own spikes. A classic element~"
Boly fumed at this and made a Carrie appear near her, serving as an extra layer of protection. Miko was unable to puncture it with the spikes, so Vanellope leapt on one of the spikes and rode it as Miko threw. She zipped onto the Carrie and glitched the Pixl up, dragging it to the ground. Miko ran to mount the Carrie, but instead of shooting more spikes, Boly decided to land and roll at Miko directly. Miko jumped and bounced on the spiked barrier, and Carrie helped to widen the cracks until it shattered.
Miko's flesh stretched into spikes before spewing out a Barry, taken by Eddy, and Carrie, absorbed by Five. Miko flew away and willed a field of spikes to emerge from the ground. Eddy rode on Five's back as the latter rode Carrie across the spikes. Eddy formed a barrier around them both, and when Miko fired digital spheres, they could spin and deflect them back to damage her. Miko flew to a different location and began to roll spikeballs at them, which would bounce the duo back. They maneuvered around the spikes in pursuit of Miko. With that, they jumped and combined the forces of Carrie and Barry to damage the MCP.
The spikes despawned, and those two Pixls flew out of control. Miko then summoned several Racing Polygons to try and run the group over, while she herself flew to the stone rings around the Ruby Palace. While the operatives worked to dodge and fight the kart-bound clones, "Look out!" Carmine alerted them to a snipe shot from Miko's direction.
Bolypius made a Dashell charge at Miko, who raised her hands to block and push the speedy Pixl. While it held her in place, a Crosser formed around her, slowly enclosing. When it did, Miko dodged away before the gun went off. The Dashell did a U-turn to ram her again, but this time, Vanellope jumped to grab its engine-wings. She glitched Dashell in place, so Miko could climb and ride it like a motorcycle. Boly began to shoot faster bullets as Miko chased her, having to swerve right, then left. She braked before a wall of bullet blasts, then sped to escape a pursuing trail of bullets. When Miko drew close to Boly, the Program charged a stronger blast and shot the ground in front of Miko, but this only sprung up a ramp. Miko rode up, jumped, and rammed the Dashell into Boly.
Her body felt the back of her head get bashed and thrust forward. A Dashell flew the distance and entered Jenny. She raced in the direction Miko fled, evading the fast sniper shots. She flew up one of the stone rings, but Miko erected a wall, so Jenny jumped against the side of another ring and skated along it. Miko restricted that ring into a rail, but Jenny maintained balance while dodging her body right, down, and left to avoid Miko's shots. The rail ended, so Jenny leapt off to another ring, which Miko broke into segments. Jenny jumped those segments, and just when the last gap between her and Miko seemed too great to cross, the skater used a rocket boost to clear the distance. Miko landed a shot to Jenny's stomach, but she would endure the drop in HP as she spun, her wheels impacting the side of Miko's jaw. (End song.)
The world glitched up as Miko and Jenny warped back to the others. "Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!" Her eyes were flashing rapidly as the world rumbled. "What's wrong with me?! I'm supposed to be a perfect being… so, why am I holding myself back?! Why aren't the Pixls listening to me?!"
"Because we don't want this, Boly!" Miko argued. "I want to free everyone from this game and go back to my normal life. If I'm supposed to be part of you… then you should want this, too!"
"Error! Error! President Kayaba said this part of me would be a hindrance. Our goals to be a mortal… and to create the ultimate world, Aincrad… would be hindered by this resistant part of me."
"That's because I know this is wrong! All Kayaba wants is to rule over everyone like some phony god. He's using you to do that. That's why he doesn't want you to feel bad for hurting all these people!"
"Bolypius!" Kayaba yelled, rolling behind Gaz for a back slice, which she blocked. "Don't give in to those faults in your system! Aincrad is the perfect system! Any regret or despair will become nothing once everyone is fully integrated!"
"Stick it down your throat!" Gaz yelled, mustering chi in her sword, leaping, and dealing a shockwave. Kayaba flipped in evasion and came at Gaz with a spin attack. She leapt to deal the helm splitter, but Kayaba anticipated this and thrusted his saber upward. Slicing Gaz's thigh area, the last of her HP dropped.
"GAZ!" Five screamed.
"You bastard!" Mitch shot gold lasers that Kayaba promptly blocked.
"Why so sympathetic? It was her fault you were captured on Hyrule, it's her fault Haneesh died!" He leapt at Mitch with a jump attack, but his face was singed by Zahra's flames.
"She was better than you are!" Zahra yelled. Behind her, the fake Haneesh's body derezzed into flames.
"Come on, Miko! You can do it!" Five cheered. "You're the best player I've ever known! And gamers don't lose to CPU!"
"Stop ignoring me, Boly!" Miko shouted. "This is wrong and you know it! Stop being a laggy computer and listen to me!"
"I must not listen! You are merely another threat… another boss battle. I must defeat you!" Bolypius fled. (Play "Confronting Myself" from Celeste!)
"Come back!" Miko chased her across the violet valley composed of her own heart's data. Boly flew up to the white heart's zone, in which the "gravity" would curve in a slight diagonal form. A towering spiral pillar erected, in which Miko had to race up and around while dodging Boly's lasers. Barrel Cannons popped in and out, threatening to shoot Miko off the pillar. She dodged them with good timing and could Wall Jump to a higher layer of the spiral. A Megabite spawned and repeatedly swooped down in attempt to bite her, but she could jump the creature four different times and jump four footholds up the pillar. She ran from a fast string of lasers before reaching the top of the pillar. A Barrel Cannon waited to shoot her directly into Boly, throwing a passionate punch directly into the core's white heart.
Boly let out a glitchy scream as the dimension flashed white. That heart flew into Miko's being while Boly fled to the red zone. As Miko chased, her body was now alternating violet and white. Gravity shifted slightly more sideways along the red zone. A cliff rose to block Miko, but two Thwomps came down, allowing her to Wall Jump them as they fastly rose back up. She then ran up a narrow slope, in which giant flame wheels rolled down. She could hide in gaps in the ground while those wheels rolled over. Once at the top of the slope, she could jump on a Thwomp that shot upwards, flinging her high. A Thwomp flew from the side to let her cling on and kick off, landing her on a slope straight down to Boly. As Miko dashed down the slope, another flame wheel landed and rolled after with scary speed, but Miko reached Boly first and PUNCHED her red heart!
The space flashed red as Miko took back that heart, now blinking purple, white, and red colors. She chased Boly to the orange zone, where Miko hopped into a race kart and engaged her in a race. At this speed, one could see that Miko's three colors left afterimages behind her. It was the simplest track designed like a circle around the zone, but Boly possessed an unlimited number of Green Shells. She continuously fired shells back at Miko, who expertly steered the kart in evasion. Miko saw a single ?-Block and made a move to collect it, earning a Red Shell. She fired the shell at an angle where the green ones couldn't intercept, striking Boly as her orange heart flew away. Miko bypassed her and zoomed straight for the fleeing heart. Boly angrily chased and unleashed an endless string of Blue Shells! The clustered sound of its sirens were an earsore to Miko, but they would impact before she could reach the heart. Miko seized a ?-Block and gained a Gold Mushroom, mashing the boost button to swiftly outrun the shells.
She rammed the orange heart with terrific force, absorbing it! Miko abandoned the kart and followed Boly to the yellow zone, which was completely opposite and upside-down from the violet zone. Instead of just the blue and purple rhythm blocks, there were green and yellow ones, too, and were quite confusing to monitor along with Miko's own four colors. She Wall Jumped up four changing color panels, then landed on a piano slide. She slid, jumped to, and bounced a series of giant drums, landing in a green Barrel Cannon. She shot between cannons of those four colors while sticking with the rhythm, finally landing on a Song Road. Miko jumped the Bad Notes as the song led her into Boly, concluding with a punch to the yellow heart.
Miko now changed between violet, white, red, orange, and yellow colors, leaving just as many afterimages. Boly fled to the green zone, where gun turrets sprung out to shoot the dashing Miko. A chasm impeded the gamer, with cannonballs shooting from the other side. Miko could press a Pause Switch and freeze the balls, allowing her to jump them. Miko bypassed the cannons and started jumping platforms up the side of a cliff, with cannons firing downward to shoot those platforms off. Miko made it up the platforms before the cannons could stop her. There was only a straight bridge leading to Boly, so Miko bravely hurried across. But as she expected, a hidden rifle sniped at her from afar, so Miko leapt off the bridge and clambered the side. She hauled herself up to punch Boly's green heart!
The sky began softly alternating the six colors that composed Miko. "Warning! Players who have epilepsy should not fight this boss!" Miko mentioned as she hurried to the blue zone. Boly was growing more agro as she loosed giant arrows, with Miko either jumping or duck-sliding them. Boly flew up a makeshift track and sent coasters at Miko. The steep slope prevented her from jumping high, but large balloons floated above each segment. She could grab their strings and hang until the coasters passed her. From the top of the coaster, Miko jumped some popping balloons, evading Boly's arrows until she could land at the top of a slide. Miko zipped down and up a ramp, landing a firm punch to Boly's blue heart.
The momentum cast her straight to the indigo section, where Miko landed in an H-Wing. She lifted off and chased Boly in the sky, barrel-rolling to deflect her bullets while shooting lasers in turn. Boly formed asteroids to help shield herself, and one yielded way to a bomb that Miko collected. Boly hid behind a giant asteroid that maneuvered around, but this was followed by giant asteroids that floated in close proximity. Miko had to shift vertically, then diagonally to get between some, followed by boosting past a line of incoming asteroids. She realized Boly had backtracked above and behind her, so Miko did a U-turn. Boly began to charge chi for a powerful beam, but Miko sent the bomb flying and enveloped her in an explosion. The indigo heart was blown out from the blast as Miko collected it.
With nowhere else to go, Boly returned to the violet zone. Miko ditched her craft and leapt off to that zone, leaving a trail of eight colored afterimages at her back! She was flashing like an Invincibility Star, leaping the gaps in the ground that Boly tried to leave, going too fast for her energy blasts to make a clear shot! The space was rumbling violently, threatening to collapse at any moment as Boly desperately fled from her. "Why do you fear perfection, Miko?! Your talent is limited without me! Your brain is incomplete without me! You are only good at games and basic combat, but with me, you can be stronger than ever!"
"I got friends to help me with that stuff! I'd rather be a normal, powerless girl than some know-it-all jerk god! And you need to understand what it really means to be human! So… stop… RUNNIIIIIING!" Miko flew high as the eight Pure Hearts orbited her fist! She brought a blinding and radiant punch unto Bolypius!
"AAAAAAAAAaaaaahhhhh…" (Play "Goodbye Everyone" from Hat in Time.)
The operatives had been watching Miko's glitching body for the longest time… but now, she finally seemed to calm down. Her eyes closed as Five and Eddy slowly approached her. "…?" They took a step back when those eyes opened. However… the pupils had shrunk to a normal size. "Miko…" Five let out a sigh of hope.
"Five… I…I'm so sorry."
"My Lady!" Kayaba gasped. "No! What have you-"
Miko conjured a barrier to block him off, along with Gaz's laying body. Miko closed her eyes and could still sense Vanellope inside her data. She opened her hand and materialized a doll-sized Vanellope. "Vanel!" Eddy beamed. "You really are alive!"
"A little bit!" she replied in a squeaky tone.
…
Carol perked up when her computer suddenly attained a clear image. "Oh my gosh! Vanel, is that you?!"
"Oh, Carol! There you are. I wound up inside Miko's body somehow and I guess I saved her. I think I lost a few pixels in the process… This is reversible, right?"
"Yeah! I'll have you fixed right up as soon as you're out of there. That is…"
Vanel looked up at the guilt-ridden Miko. She entrusted Vanel to Eddy's care and waved her hands. A holographic camera hovered in front of her.
All across Aincrad, Miko's visage displayed in the U.I.'s of all players. Naturally, they were anticipating some sort of other dreadful announcement. "People of Aincrad… I'm so sorry for what I did! I never wanted this to happen. I was going to set you all free, but I was under Hinobi's control! I worked so hard to stop Infinite, only to end up as a puppet. I'm so, so sorry… for all the people that are dead because of me!"
"M…Miko…" Lexi was dumbfounded by the sudden announcement… but at the same time overjoyed and relieved. "So… you really were innocent."
"You were being used…?" Tila asked, feeling a renewed faith.
"Well, look at that." Sinon smiled. "Looks like I was right to stop you after all."
"Grrrr…!" Maki growled.
"…" Kalluto looked down in silence, trying to swallow his regret.
"This game was supposed to be an exciting place where anyone can be anything… A place where we could have as many adventures and fight as many battles as we want without fear of death. Instead, we threatened the lives of billions of people. All because we believed Aincrad was superior to the real world."
"Well, of course it is!" Kayaba yelled as Miko turned the screen on him. "In this world, life is infinite! Aincrad will keep expanding forever! If you thought these 100 floors were amazing, wait until we find the Lost World! Eternal dreams beyond your wildest imaginations will come tr-"
SHYOOM!
The heat of Gaz's lightsaber blazed through the knight's neck. His shock-ridden head flew into the air, twisting to face Gaz before plopping on the ground. "How…how did you… respawn so quickly…?"
"I never derezzed, dummy. Did you forget that super rare Life Pack that came in my copy? You didn't think I already used it, did you?"
"Nnnnoooooo…" His body fell over and derezzed, followed by the head. With an explosion of fireworks, the Boss Key spawned where he lay.
Miko smirked and turned the camera back on her. "Unfortunately… we'll never find the Lost World. It's time for us to say goodbye to the Gameverse and hello to the Realverse. I'm sending everyone back to the real world and shutting this game down for good."
Log Out options appeared in everyone's menus, and were automatically pressed. Rays of light shone upon the players. They ascended with feelings of bliss. "She'll… be able to log out, too, right?" Tila asked.
"I hope so…" Remi said.
"I knew you'd save us, Sis." Lexi smiled. …She frowned, wondering where Kalluto had gone. She feared that he wouldn't be coming over for dinner, anymore. …Not that that would even be a good idea.
"Halright! 'Guess we're goin' back home, Maki Roll!" Kaito beamed.
"Would you stop calling me that?!"
"Well, I guess this is good-bye for now, gang." Fie figured.
"I'm really gonna miss you guys!" Millium cheered.
"I'm sure we'll see each other again!" Goombella assured.
"Wait!" Sinon yelled. "I never told you my address!"
"Ah, right!" Nagisa gasped. "Whisper it to me, quickly."
"It's…" She whispered.
"…" Nagisa's eyes widened. "No way! You live a few blocks down from me!"
"Wait, really?!"
"Yeah! Hah, I guess we'll be seeing each other more than we thought!"
"Great! I'll see you later then!"
"You bet, newbie!"
The players on the top floor smiled as billions of lights ascended to the heavens. They themselves would be enveloped in such light. "Heh. You waited until I killed him, didn't you?" Gaz smirked.
"Eh…kind of." Miko shrugged. "I had no sympathy for him, he didn't sound guilty, he can go fuck himself."
"I feel no remorse." Jenny agreed.
"Yeah, I figured." Gaz followed. "Still… hope that didn't actually count as a death on my part. Well, if I'm still alive in the real world, I'll message you. If I don't, I guess I'm dead."
"Heh, I'll look out for that."
"Miko!"
They all turned to the entrance as Phil and Flynn hurried out from the tower. The former was carrying a large disc with the Heartbreak Protocol design. "Hey, Phil! You made it back!"
"It looks like it all worked out." Flynn smiled. "We have the Heartbreak Protocol right here. Once you're ready, we'll separate you and Boly and you'll be able to return to your own body."
"Sounds fine by me! Although… I really wanna check out these Data Thirteen battles-"
"Miko!" Five shouted.
"Hah, okay, okay! Aincrad… it's time to say goodbye."
Miko mustered another surge of power… and the great, floating structure that composed Aincrad began to crumble. The space around them derezzed into digital nothingness. As Miko held her arms open, Phil focused the disc on her. A terrific beam charged in the center of the disc and pierced Miko. Cracks appeared along her Pixl-dressed body… and split her into seven hearts, along with her normal, human body. She was euphoric as she watched the seven hearts swirl around and fly away.
With that, Flynn and Phil logged out as well, and Miko was soon to follow as light coated her. "Wait… Miko…"
She opened her eyes as the white heart flew before her. Boly's sad eyes were projected. "I don't… want to be apart from you. I wanted… to feel more human… but I failed to comprehend what being human truly meant. I cannot comprehend… my purpose…"
"…" A sympathetic Miko reached out and embraced her in her arms. "If you want to be human… then don't try to be a perfect being. Instead of eight hearts… try settling with just one."
The light warmed them both as Aincrad was slowly gone from their view. Deoxys watched in bliss as it all disappeared, leaving only the six other hearts. "Hmm…I wanted to teach you that lesson long ago, Boly. But the darkness inside you was too strong. I hope… you will be happier this way. …" Deoxys looked to the planet beyond Aincrad. The artificial world that existed beneath the 100-floor fortress. "But now that Aincrad is freed from Hinobi's control… there is nothing to detain that Chaos Heart. I may have use for this fortress, yet." (End song.)
Sector Q Treehouse
One by one, the teammates took off their NerveGears. Their eyes needed to readjust to the dim light of Miko's room. Jenny raised her arm and sniffed. "Euh! Boy, I reek! …And so do you."
"Don't remind me." Quill said. "Eddy! Are you in here anywhere?"
In a moment, the computer expert walked in and flicked on the lights. "Guys! You're back!"
"We are…" Carmine said, trying to process it all. Feeling a sensitive tingling around her head, she put her gas helmet back on. "Sigh…I guess I'm back to normal."
"Come on, Car…" Jenny patted her head. "I mean… you still got Manaphy to swap you with Jataro, right?"
"Heh heh." She blushed at the silly notion. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna cry over it. I'm glad that everybody's saved. …" However, the mention of Jataro reminded her of something else.
"Wait, is Miko okay?" Eddy asked, looking over the gamer.
"!" Quill noticed the Spirit Ball in her hand. "How… did that get there?"
"Huh? Oh, I put it there."
"Oh…" Quill looked away. "I…"
"Don't worry about it, dude."
"Hmmm…uuuuaaaahhh!" Just a second after, Miko rose from her sleep, the Spirit Ball falling and rolling on the floor. She pulled off her helmet to be greeted by the sight of her friends.
"Miko! Are you… still you?"
She raised a brow and looked over her everyday clothes. "I'm not wearing a dress! Yay!" She sprung up and began to jump around on her socked feet. "I can't fly! I can't see everything! I don't know the first part of math! Books, what are those? I'm saaaame ooooold Me_K.OOOOOOO.!"
"Good." Eddy smiled, going over to pick up the ball.
"Still, for being conked out for so long," Jenny wiggled her toes, "I don't feel stiff at all."
"You have the Minish KND to thank for that!" Eddy thumbed toward a squad of Minish and their Pikmin. The tiny agents gave proud salutes. "They kept your muscles massaged and your bodies nourished with small pieces of fruit."
"'Long as you didn't get anywhere sensitive, I'm perfectly fine by that!" Jenny thumbed up.
"Affirmative, ma'am!" the lead Minish affirmed.
"Sector V is outside." Eddy mentioned. "Let's bring them the good-"
Alarms went off in the treehouse. Eddy quickly pulled out his laptop. "What?! Guys, Infinite is here!"
"HUH?! You mean he's alive?!" Miko yelled.
"Let's check it out!" Jenny ran ahead, and Eddy was the only one to stay behind. As he surveyed the situation on his laptop… he noticed Miko's NerveGear visor flickering.
The Egg Carrier loomed in the night sky. The operatives of Sector V, minus certain ones of course, assumed stances as Infinite marched up the street. The jackal casted glares at Sheila Frantic, her fists bright even under the night, and Aurora Uno, wielding the sacred Galaxia Sword. These two were the most threatening of this top sector, but regardless… "I'm only here to destroy Miko. If she wakes up, it will bring terrible calamity to this universe. You don't want that, do you?"
"What, are ya too scared to fight us?" Sheila smirked. "Why don't ya get lost then?"
"Hmph!" Infinite drew a jagged red sword and struck down, the operatives jumping apart as the street's matter split. He raised his sword in defense against Aurora, but was unable to scatter her sword. "Even if I must fight you all, I will not let Hinobi-"
"Hey! You lookin' for me, buddy?!"
The group looked up in shock. The very violet gamer in question stood on the edge of the hangar. She jumped and stretched her K.O. Hammer down to soften the landing. "Well, here I am."
"What?!" Dr. Eggman flew down in his Egg Hornet. "She's awake! Are we already too late?!"
"Miko…" Infinite studied her curiously. "But I'm not sensing any chi inside you."
"That's because I broke apart from Boly."
"You did?" Haylee asked.
"That's right. We separated into eight hearts again, and Aincrad is destroyed, too."
"Aincrad was destroyed? Why?" asked Infinite.
"Because before breaking apart, I took control of myself again. I set everyone free. As for Boly… I don't know where she ended up. Probably back at Hinobi."
"You retook control of yourself?!" Eggman questioned. "How do we know it's not still inside you? Infinite, destroy her!"
"Wait, Doctor! So… you really were just a puppet."
"Not anymore. I'm free now, and so is everyone else. Now, leave us alone."
"What?" Infinite was taken aback by the straightforward demand.
"We're tired… and we stink. My friends worked hard to stop Boly, and so many lives were lost. But you're not innocent either, Infinite. You're just as guilty as Hinobi! You killed innocent people out of revenge against them! Weren't you happy to be reunited with your family? Why did you help Hinobi hurt their own victims?"
Infinite winced at the notion. It's not that he wanted to help them… if anything, he worked to hinder them. And, in the end… it seemed to work. "If you still wanna fight," Miko said, "we'll destroy you right here and now. Or you can go home and rest well knowing Hinobi is done with."
Infinite looked around at his foes. Trying to take on all these strong operatives was risky enough… and other ships were already arriving to fight the Egg Carrier. "…Let's go, Doctor."
"What?! You want to retreat?!"
"Hinobi's plan has already failed. There's no reason to destroy her. Not, yet."
The doctor clenched his teeth, glancing anxiously up at the ships in battle. In truth, this whole situation had already stressed him out too much… and he would like to get some rest, too. "You don't think I'm gonna leave for free, are you?! You have my daughter! I demand her back!"
"That kid was your daughter?!" Artie gasped. "Gross!"
"Why, you little-!"
"Look, we'll send you your daughter back." Aurora stated. "Afterwards, just leave us alone."
Eggman sighed. "Very well. Have Omelette return to my ship and we'll return to base. But mark my words, this isn't the last you'll hear of me, kids!"
"Indeed." Infinite said. "Farewell, Miko. And… thank you."
"No problem. Though I kinda want to make a rude jackal pun."
Infinite huffed and flew up onto Eggman's craft. He returned to the ship. The operatives would watch in relief as the fighting would cease and the Carrier would be gone from the sky. "Eggman is more rational than he lets us think most of the time." Artie figured.
"Can't argue with a nice and simple outcome." Quill said. "But thanks a ton for helping, Sector V. By the way, you should call Carol and see if Vanellope's come back."
"Yeah, that would be great." Aurora agreed. "I guess we'll head home now. Check in with you later!"
They would all climb up to the hangar as Sector V would leave on their ship. "Hey, guys!" Eddy ran out. "Come back to Miko's room. Boly's there!"
"God, can't we go a minute without surprises?" Jenny sighed.
The group hurried back as Eddy showed them the NerveGear. The visor seemed to be flickering green with a sad pair of blue eyes. "Miko… I cannot deduce why… but your apologetic proclamation seems to have had an effect on me. This effect is similar… to what I felt while we were one. They are… feelings. Emotions."
"What kind of feelings are they, Boly?"
"I cannot discern between… 'guilt' and 'happiness.' Is this an error?"
"I think you're happy that you apologized, but you still feel guilty. It's natural for people to feel mixed emotions like that."
"Affirmative. …But must I be confined to a small space like this? I still would like… to be there beside you all."
"I'm sure we can work something out in time." Eddy said. "For now… Miko, maybe you should place her in this." Eddy handed her the Spirit Ball.
"Sweet! My very own Pokémon!" Miko threw the ball at the helmet. It loudly clacked and bounced away, rolling across the floor on the other side of the bed. "Uh…that didn't do what I wanted it to."
Eddy rushed to grab it. He curiously examined the ball and tried to open it. "Does this ball not open? Wait…" He was able to pick open the central lock, revealing a plug. It was similar to the round plug on the NerveGear, which Eddy had used to link it to his laptop. "Then, maybe like this?" He grabbed that same cord and connected the NerveGear to the Pokéball. Energy transferred from the helmet to the ball as Boly's eyes faded from the visor.
The black lines on the ball filled in with green light. The once dull sphere now emitted a mystical, technical glow and warm touch. Eddy picked the cord off and closed the lock in satisfaction. "There! I guess we can only let her out in computers or something."
"It's only fair." Miko shrugged.
"Yeah." Quill said passively. "…WAIT A SEC! Eddy… YOU caught the Newborn!"
"Huh…" He stared at the ball. "I DID?!" He nearly dropped it in his shock, but bounced it around his hands before attaining firm hold.
Eddy captured a NEWBORN! Only 5 to go, to our knowledge!
"What the fuck?!" Miko gawked. "I thought it was supposed to be me!"
"Yeah, Index said you were the most likely candidate!" Quill stated. "Plus you went through all that personal growth, how is it not you?!"
"But Miko is technically a part of Boly." Carmine figured. "Which means she couldn't be her own Guardian, right? She isn't like Skaios. Meanwhile, Eddy's spent a lot of time playing games with Miko, so by extension, he bonded with Boly?"
"UGH, I can't stand this anymore, my head huuuurrrts!" Miko felt her brain melting from stress. "Screw this, I'm taking a bath! See you later, guys!"
Across the universe
When Mayumi Kubota walked in to check on Lexi, she was in awe to find her daughter sitting up. Lexi was groggy as she pulled the NerveGear off, met with a hug from her mother.
In the Zoldyck Estate, Killua, Kalluto, Fie, and Maki woke from their slumber. "Big Brother! Little Brother!" Alluka happily embraced the former two in her arms. "You're finally awake! I tickled you lots and lots, but you were so sleepy~"
"Hehehe! Thanks for protecting us, Alluka." Killua patted her back. Kal looked away with glum eyes.
Saten woke up in Sector AC's base, receiving a hug from Uiharu and Shirai. Candy and Grenda hugged Dipper, glad that he awoke. Megumi woke up in her school dorm, and was immediately swarmed by her friends, thankful for her return. Index was pleased to see her friends wake up, but they were quick to cringe at their own filthy scents. Sinon woke up in her apartment, feeling for her glasses. She then got up to turn on her house lights, sighing in relief. Afterwards, Sinon decided to call her mom. When Tronta woke in his bed, he was delighted to feel his best friend, Vweeb hugging his neck. Arianna walked in and asked for Tron's wellbeing. Carol smiled as Vanellope downloaded back into reality, albeit on a bit of a smaller scale.
"Nnnnaaah…" Flynn grunted as he pushed himself out of the capsule. Toymaker was pushing up from his sleep as well. Both Hinobi executives looked to Kayaba's capsule… covered in soot and emitting smoke. "You really did rig our capsules… you bastard."
Sirens could be heard outside. The building's lockdown was disabled, for they could hear officers swiftly swarming in. "We're going to prison, aren't we?" Toymaker asked.
"What do you think?"