On the edge of space... Titanic force!

[003]

Juno listened closely to Gahm's words, and felt sorrow and anger at the same time. He hated Kuro with every fiber of his being, but the fact that the creators had worked to design a near perfect being for the good of their virtual world, only to have it turn on them made him feel sorry for Gahm and the others. It was a tragedy in Juno's eyes...a hero turned villain.

Juno stared out past the peak until he heard the last 3 words Gahm spoke. "Rua?" he said with widened eyes. He then searched the area quickly, and soon caught sight of Rua. "What are you doing here, R.D.?" He asked.

[Rising Dragon]

"Don't call me that," Rua sighed, "And I'm here for more or less the same reason as you. You told him about NightShade, correct?"

He didn't even wait for Juno's affirmation and turned back to Gahm. "Considering the extent of... damage... I suffered in the beta test, I had to deal with the programmers a lot afterwards. They told me about Ymaggion, and that it'd work a lot like Epsilon," Rua said, "I naturally had concerns. Such as the four corrupted players. They assured me that NightShade, Naze, Akumu, and ZetsumeiRyu were removed from the game and the players."

Rua looked out across the expanse. "And then when Juno here fought a pirate on the S.S. CalmWaters, we end up confronting NightShade, and got threatened with a Gouka-Taiyou. Which means the programmers lied to me about NightShade."

Rua looked back to Gahm, his face hard and his eyes cold. "So I came here hoping you'd be able to tell me what other things they lied to us about."

[003]

Juno was silent as Rua spoke, and just listened. When Rua finished it was plain to see he was upset. He turned his head back to Gahm-sensei, and waited for him to answer.

[Morph]

Gahm's face stood grave now. He turned his face away and looked downwards, at the earth way down below by many many miles. He was silent for a moment before he spoke. "We had indeed tried to get rid of these... corruptions, spawned by Kuro himself, as was Ziatoch. However, since this world is much like an imaginative world created quite a few years ago in a movie trilogy called The Matrix, of which you may or may not have heard of, we dared not alter too much of these corrupted characters, as they are much like the minds of their players inserted into this world." He sighed and turned his head again to look at the two players. "As such, we tried to change the corrupted parts of the characters with data we had from before their corruption, and thus changing them to how they were before. However, we came to the conclusion this might cause severe mental damage to the players, and cause a gap in their memory of the events of Project Epsilon. Also, it would cause these characters to become much weaker then they were at the end of the Beta, though we considered the fact that it would cause amnesia much more grave." He looked at Rua. "I'm guessing my colleagues told you of this plan before we tried to execute it. Before we came to realise it's consequences." He placed a hand on his knee and sighed, waiting before continueing for a moment. "...even one of our staff was affected by this bug, though not as gravely as the four players you mentioned were. He took it upon himself to be the guinea pig, and as a result, his amnesia caused him to forget about the existance of his 4-year old son."

[Rising Dragon]

Rua frowned, deep in thought. He knew amnesia wasn't fun... it had, infact, been the most serious problem he had from the beta test. He remembered now that of the seven major beta testers; MegaMan Juno, Morphman, Zane Truesdale, Blazen, Jaden Yuki, his old friend Matt Willard, and himself, only he and Matt did not suffer from some sort of corruption or infestation.

"Gahm, you better start re-evaluating your programming team," he said harshly, "Because I remember when they said that they were going to attempt to remove them, and I remember speaking to them after they completed the operation. They told me they had done it, that they were gone completely."

Rua looked down at the ground. "Which you just proved to be a bogus lie. And that means that maybe someone wanted for something bad to happen."

His mind wandered to Ziatoch, and the final battle of the Dark Apocalypse, where Ziatoch and His floating island, Shayol Ghul, were destroyed. He remembered Ziatoch's last words.

"Maybe it wasn't the only thing they lied about," he said quietly, just barely loud enough for Juno and Gahm to hear.

[Morph]

Gahm was in deep thought. He felt rather sad at the moment for some reason, but matters needed him not to be. We had taken measures that nothing that origined from Kuro himself could exist in this world again. We created a highly advanced Anti-Virus Program designed just for that. That means either the people who were behind it's creation did not know what they were dealing with, or intended for this to happen indeed, as Rua said. Yet... if it was succesfull, then that means NightShade used Juno's body as a shield against the Program, so he would not be destroyed. He told Rua and Juno about this, speaking his thoughts aloud.

He shook his head. "We should be glad that there were only four majorly corrupted ones." He looked up at Rua. "And what is it you wish to say?"

[Rising Dragon]

"I'm worried, Gahm," Rua said, "And I'm starting to believe this isn't the only thing going wrong. If NightShade can survive with Juno as a shield, what other things of Kuro's might still be around? Ziatoch was the worst of his creations, in my opinion, and He proved that He was adaptive. Or what if Kuro himself is around somewhere, biding his time with the Seven Beasts?"

"You... you've got a goldmine in Ymaggion. With the visor, you've created a perfect simulated world. It even looks real. And anyone with a mind can use it and reap the benefits. Amputees can use their missing limbs again, paraplegics can move freely once more. Even the NPCs are close to perfect. The only thing keeping them from seeming to be real is that they know they're NPCs," Rua clenched a fist. "If this becomes Epsilon all over again, there's going to be hell to pay. It's not just a handful of beta testers anymore. You've got millions of people playing this game. We couldn't log out after things went downhill in Epsilon, and with all the gamers, there'll be a panic. And not to mention what'll be happening in the real world.

"We can't have another Epsilon," Rua said dejectedly. "The consequences will be... catastrophic."

[003]

Juno had every reason to panic at the sound of the words Rua & Gahm spoke, but he didn't. Instead he meditated. He closed his eyes, sat Indian-style, and placed his palms on his knees.

~In Juno's Mind~

Once again Juno stood on the white side of the room, while NightShade sat on the black side. NightShade smirked, and looked up at Juno. "You want something?" he asked.
"I want answers, NightShade." Juno replied coldly.
"Answers? You want answers? To what?" NightShade questioned.
"Why did Kuro leave you inside of me? How or did you use me as a shield against the Anti-virus? Who else still has parts of Kuro inside of them? Lastly, does Kuro live?" Juno demanded.
NightShade just smiled at Juno for a moment. "Hahahaha." He laughed lightly.
"I know you have the answers...now give them to me NightShade." Juno commanded coldly.
"You want answers?" NightShade seemed to be slightly upset as he asked.
"I want the truth, NightShade." Juno replied in the same demeanor.
"You can't handle the truth, Juno!" NightShade exclaimed as he levitated off the ground in a standing position. He landed, and glared into Juno's eyes. "You really want to know why Kuro left me inside you? Well here it is! You were meant to become me Juno! You were destined to be NightShade. No, I didn't use you as a shield, that anti-virus was a joke! Not nearly strong enough to get rid of me. Blazen, Zane, Jaden, they all have a part of Kuro in them." He answered angrily.
Juno could hardly believe it. Blazen, Jaden, Zane, and himself still had a part of Kuro within them, which meant that they could be turned back to Naze, ZetsumeiRyu, Akumu, and NightShade again. "What do you mean I was destined to be NightShade?" Juno asked calmly.
"You'll find out." NightShade replied with a smirk.
"...and Kuro?" Juno asked.
"You saw him die, Juno." NightShade responded.
"That means close to nothing. We killed Kuro many times, but he continued to return." Juno said with a bit of anger.
"Hahaha!" NightShade laughed. "I'll never tell...I'll never tell." He said in song-like manner.

[Morph]

Gahm stood up and walked to the edge of the platform that formed the most of the top of the Peak. He looked into the sky around him, and into the nothingness of space beyond.
"I wish I had not released the Titans of this world. Those who created them, the humans of the other world, the Gods Whom Came From Chaos, we were overcome by their power and determination to make their existance known."
He turned to face Rua. "I wish I had not released the essence of humanity, of both good and evil, upon this world, which could have been perfect."

[Rising Dragon]

Rua remained silent, not sure of what to make of Gahm's words.

[003]

Juno's eyes shot open, and glared out past the peak. "He's alive..." He whispered. NightShade is trying to hide it, but I know Kuro must be alive. He thought to himself, and then stood up. "Rua, Gahm, I must leave now." He said without looking at either of them. "May luck be on your side, no matter what might come your way." He said to them, and then flew off with incredible speed.

[Morph]

Gahm looked shocked at Juno when he said 'He's alive'. He wasn't sure if he had heard him right, but he could not ask before Juno had flown off. Gahm shook his head. "Things seem to get so slippery I can't hold them in my hands any more."

[Rising Dragon]

Rua chuckled. "That's how humanity works. Once you think you've mastered something, it slips away from you."

Rua looked out over the mountains. "Are those three weapons of yours going to be enough should something really nasty make its way here?" he asked of Gahm, referring to Excalibur, Masamune, and the Lance of Longinus. He shuddered as he thought of the last weapon; back in Epsilon, it had been one of the Seven Perfect Weapons, and he had horrid memories of it.

[Morph]

Gahm sighed and then smiled. "I think they might be. But with just me to wield them, it would be hard. I think I need to have their former wielders burrow them for a bit."

[Rising Dragon]

Rua shivered. "I'd rather not see the Lance's previous owner ever again, thank you," he said to Gahm. A thought came to him.

"Did you change the Lance's data in this game?" he asked, curious. Perhaps the Lance wasn't a threat anymore.

Yeah, just like NightShade isn't a threat anymore, a voice inside him said. Rua grimaced at the thought.