Gifts. Four of them. The card said they were from Xan. Guess he had to go to a meeting or something... The boxes were nicely wrapped. Box one had nice new jacket in it, probably leather but it was kinda hard to tell, it had lots of pockets and it seemed to fit well. Box two had a few books, some scifi while others were informational... probably so that they could all read.. Box three had a stuffed animal, it was a nice on, and very soft. Box four had a fifty dollar gift card in it. Xan sure did go all out this time.
Smiles and laughter, the days goes by without any issues. Life is great... Almost too great.
At first you thought it was too good to be true, but as time goes by, you start to give in.
How long has it been now? Days? Weeks? Possibly Months?
You’ve lost count. Soon forgetting all before the happiness came.
It’s been a year since the final XANA attack. And with you’re help, XANA was defeated. Now everyone lives happily, and you are part of the team that saved the world! You spend the time working on school, hanging out with your friends, and sometimes signing fan girl’s autographs. Even if the Samurai and Cat get more than you, you still do so. You don’t live in their shadows, you cast your own. Not to mention the anonymous love letters you sometimes get. You can’t tell who wrote them, but you can tell its someone you know.
Summer Break. The one time everyone gets to come back together and hang out.
Aelita’s welcomed everyone to her home, now almost completely fixed up with the help of her father and now boyfriend Jeremie. It’s looking nice. Who knew that old run down house could ever look so great?
Jeremie and Aelita seem to get along great. Guess things were working. Though they do argue over things at times.
Odd soon joins with Kiwi in hand, grinning happily. He then proceeds to crack one of his jokes, causing Jeremie to blush and Aelita to snicker.
Ulrich comes soon after greeting everyone, including you. Even if he did have some jealously going over Yumi.
Speaking of Yumi, here she comes. Looks like she had to bring her little brother Hiroki along. That’s okay though. He’s not as annoying as he use to be... or at least you hope not.
After everyone is there and the discussion on what to do starts, you catch something out of the corner of your eye. Was that a specter? But you and the others stopped him for good right? Maybe its just you imagination.
Time passes and everyone decides to visit Kadic and the Factory. To see how far things have come.
Kadic looks great! With the help from the Einsteins and Franz, the school was repaired completely, and looks even better! Jim still works there though, and still telling his stories.
When you and the others grow closer, he turns and calls out to all of you.
Local legends and heroes, to everyone in the area. Seems some of the new kids wanted autographs! Who wouldn’t when you helped save the world?
You start to have a look around, to see what has changed... then it happened again... Only this time, things look much different. A sudden flash of a war torn and ruined Kadic crosses you eyes, only to vanish. Shaking your head, you see its not real. Then why....? Probably that monster’s effects on you. After all, nightmares can happen during the right...? But... Why would you have them? You haven’t any in so long... Perhaps coming back to Kadic wasn’t the best idea for you.
As everyone starts towards the factory, you let out a sigh and hope for the best... though you stop when you go to cross the bridge to the factory. Something... is keeping you from going onward.... Now you know coming back to see all this wasn’t a good idea.
You apologize to the others then take your leave, deciding to have a walk around town.
People great you, give you thanks for saving everyone. As you walk along, it happens again. Why was it happening again?! Maybe.... Maybe... XANA was... No it can’t be! But... What if...? You decide to check out the Lyo Corp building that he used the most, just to make sure.
Much to your surprised, it seems... well taken care off... Who would take care of this place? Probably just some sort of thing XANA put on the building.
As you head inside, and walk around, you see something... and it sees you. Its a specter! You grab your phone and race after it, calling Jeremie.
“Impossible! I’ve check the place countless times, no sign of XANA anywhere!” Jeremie explains.
You tell him to trust you and meet you there, with the others, then hang up.
As you reach the one room... that you hated most... the room of the genocidal AI himself... you hear something inside.
You know you should wait for the others, but when they get here, it might be too late! So you gather your courage and barge in!
You stagger back, in horror. XANA was alive... and he was standing right there.
You go to fight him, and he stops you, grabbing you by the neck. He grins, the door shutting.
“WeLL HeLLo DuNBaR! NiCe oF You To JoiN Me!”
You struggle to free yourself, but you can’t.
Just when you think you’re going to be controlled again, XANA sets you down, then moves you to the window with the blinds closed.
You fight him, of course, but you still get close to it.
“What do you want with me!?” You exclaim, ready to defend yourself.
“Why Dunbar, don’t be so NaiVe. You know eXaCTLY why you’re here.”
He looks you in the eyes, then opens the blinds.
With a bright light, you have to close your eyes and shield them...
“I brought you here to show you what we have finally DoNe.” The grin, the grin you hate the most is on XANA’s face.
Done? Done what? You aren’t his little pawn anymore! But still... what was happening outside...
To your horror, everything is burning to the ground, all but a few buildings like the one you’re in now. The sky is dark gray, mechs are everywhere...
Then... you notice your reflection. It... You are... Same outfit you had under XANA’s control.
LIES!
LIES!
LIES!
This has to be a trick! A trick of XANA’s to make you go back to him!
“WeLCoME BaCK To THe ReaL WoRLD DuNBaR. DiD You eNJoY THaT DReaM oF YouRS?~”
Odd stops and looks around, confused. He could have sworn that he saw something... “Gee, maybe all the lack of sleep from those XANA attacks are starting to take effect on me...”
Not long after, Ulrich comes through the woods too, letting out a yawn. He was slowly making his way to the factory, he didn’t seem to be sleeping much at all!
