Transition

.

"I can't believe that worked." Mikiseki murmured to herself. She wandered the streets of Tokyo, passing alley after alley of tiny shops, niche bars, and a secondhand bookstore. With her Neuro Linker switched on, a veritable torrent of ads bombarded her vision, jostling for space and attention as they hawked foods and goods. Unfortunately, she wasn't interested in the slightest; with a cutting-motion, she swept her hand through the air, closing all of the ads. Just as she did so, however, another notification popped up - the weather was taking a turn for the worse. Heavy showers were incoming, and when Mikiseki turned her gaze upwards, it was plain to see that the sky was overcast, heavy with steel-grey clouds. Of all the days to not bring out her umbrella…

"It was going to be a great date after all," She said to no one in particular as she ducked into a cafe and ordered a warm milk tea to ward off the chilly wind. Mikiseki spied a placard on the wall advertising free wireless access to the Global Net - and with it, the familiar pull into the other world. The world where she felt like a new self, when she had found love - and lost it in this one. Vestiges of times spent with Jun crossed her eyes for a second until she waved them away. They had come to an end. She would be fine with someone else… Someone else.

Her lips had moved before she was aware of it. "Burst Link," she whispered.

Slam! Mikiseki stared at the Matchmaking List for a good few minutes, considering players and ticking them off. Berry Dragoon was strong, very similar combat style to Jun, but loudmouthed and arrogant. Halide Beacon was a nice girl, but between the two of them they had virtually no combat capability. Plasma Horizon himself was seeking a new partner after dumping Auroral Gazer in a public quarrel. Which only left… Guardsman Railgun.

Mikiseki scratched her head. This was not someone just about to welcome her with open arms. First of all, he was a red type, and all the reds she had ever seen preferred to work alone or backstab the people they worked with. Second, and more importantly, he must know that she used to be affiliated with Jun - if you saw Klein Apprentice, the average player could be damned sure they would be facing her as Spring Renascentia together with him. Would her reputation be beyond saving, then? She took in a breath and clicked on his name, and selected 'DUEL.'

The world fell away from her as she took in the sights and sounds of a new one. The heels of Spring Renascentia touched the flat, featureless stone of a jet-black street, with ominous spires protruding from buildings all around her - the Demon City. A balanced stage with no particular properties except that it hurt terribly to fall down on the environment. From somewhere beyond her sight, the shimmer of a red duel avatar glowed and lit the alley of a building across the street from her.

[FIGHT!]

Guardsman Railgun stepped out to face Mikiseki with a polite nod. He was confused - and understandably so. Mikiseki never challenged anyone by herself, even if she could. It was just so much more efficient to have someone else fight for her. Which was, in fact, the very reason she had initiated this meeting.

"Hey Railgunner~" she called cheerily and extended her hand in a come-hither motion. "I heard you've been busy! What's up?" Railgun slowly lowered his gun-arm and walked closer when he sensed no threat from her. The fact that they were the only combatants with visible Health Gauges should have been a clear sign no one else was around, but Railgun's discreet side-to-side glances told Mikiseki that this was a new habit he had learnt - one that would keep himself safe. But safe from what?

"Nothing much," he said. "Just cruising the Match List. You know it, right?" Mikiseki smiled broadly and shook her head. "I know you're up to something and I want in. I'm Level Four now, you know?" She leaned in and whispered theatrically for emphasis. "Unlimited Neutral Burst. Where you can stay as long as you like and farm all the Enemies you want."

Railgun said nothing, but nodded slowly. After a second of waiting, Mikiseki pressed onwards: "Can I join you? Please? You shoot, I'll heal. Just give me a little bit of Points!" He cocked his head in response to that, as though he was finally recognising her as an ally instead of a nuisance.

"Sounds good to me," he finally said. "Someone to help me log Enemy spawn points would be good too. That's what you're really after, isn't it?" Railgun shot her a quizzical look, "Information?"

She smiled and nodded confidently, even as her chest tightened a bit. "Woopsie, you got me there. But it's fine with you, right?" When he shrugged and nodded, she giggled and held out her hand. "It's a deal! Please take care of me."

Railgun took her hand and shook. "My pleasure."

.

Elsewhere in Shibuya, Jun walked the streets, looking for cover as the sky threatened rain. "Goddamn it…" he muttered to himself as he pushed past people. "What the hell is wrong with you? It really would look good on you, but you still won't trust me? The nerve of you…"

A blur caught his eye. He turned and spotted a cute girl, dressed in shorts and a halter top with a denim vest that he'd label 'casually sexy.' "Burst Link!" he said immediately.

Slam! In practiced motions, Jun brought up an oft-used application - one used to make user avatars or create templates. Quickly and easily, while people all around him were frozen mid-step, Jun scanned the posture and clothing of the girl on the street, and within minutes he had a rough model of her. Just another one to add to his collection of many, many more girls, varying in heights and dressed in all sorts of ways.

The scene unfroze as he exited Acceleration. Slightly calmer now, Jun watched as the girl walked away and was lost in the sea of shoppers and office workers looking for lunch. His own stomach rumbled as he realised that he too, had yet to eat. Perhaps fast food again at WcDonald's? As thunder growled overhead, Jun hastened his pace and reached it just as the first drops of rain began to fall. As he scanned the restaurant for empty tables, he bit his lip in frustration. If Mikiseki was here, she'd help him order his food. She knew what he liked. If she was around, he wouldn't have to worry about getting a table and ordering food at the same time.

There was only one reason she'd break up with him like this - she was with someone else. Someone she could easily persuade to go along with her. Someone who wouldn't argue with her to go to her favourite coffee place and sit inside the absurdly cramped booths…

"Kihara Gunsou," Jun snarled between gritted teeth, "You stole my girlfriend again." His hunger temporarily forgotten, Jun spied a seat right at the glass of the wall of the restaurant. He quickly sat down and connected to the Global Net. Slam!

It didn't take very long for Brain Burst to load, and as soon as Jun could move again, he quickly opened the Matching List. It was the holidays and the list was full of familiar names - with some new Level Ones mixed among them. Jun hit a few options to sort the list by highest Level first and it quickly shrunk in length: Berry Dragoon, Cove Fighter, Guardsman Railgun, Spring Renascentia, and finally Turquoise Duro. He stabbed the name, and a stylised dialog box fell from the sky with one word written on it: DUEL?

"Well, of course I want to." Jun hit the button. Slam!

Darkness rushed in from every side, clinging to Jun's face like a silk blindfold. His avatar loaded and his feet touched hard ground, but as soon as his eyes adjusted to the darkness…

"What the fuck," Jun said as he blinked and rubbed water out of his eyes, "It can rain here too?"

.

"Who challenged me now?" Gunsou wondered. He had just left his house for the nearby Star Mug that he was supposed to meet Mikiseki at. The Health Gauge and name of his challenger dropped from the sky on chains, and when he saw it, his heart sank too. Jun challenging him could only mean he was throwing a tantrum again.

Then he noticed a new notification, a glowing red light just under his Health Gauge. Focusing his attention on it made a dialog box appear:

Storm Inbound!

Distant Objects Are Closer Than They Appear! The Stage Will Flood Over The Battle! Don't Drown!

"Well, that's just great," Gunsou said dryly. He curled his hands into fists and felt the reliable plates of armour cover his forearms. As he walked towards the general direction of Klein Apprentice, puddles of water sloshed around as he stepped in them.

If not for the hate-filled glare of Klein Apprentice's eyes, Turquoise Duro might have walked right into him. Rain made a constant pitter-patter sound as water ran off Klein Apprentice's robes and wooden sword.

"You stole my girlfriend again, didn't you?" His boyish voice, dark with anger, carried clearly despite the rain. "You've ruined a good day. You ruined a great date. Why can't you stop bothering me?"

"Dude, I haven't been anywhere near her for a long time now," Turquoise Duro said. "Why would she stay with me at all?"

"You lie!" Klein Apprentice's voice distorted as he screamed, "I gave her everything she wanted! But it's not enough," he dropped his voice to a whisper, barely audible over the rain, "It seems that she sees something in you that I don't have."

Gunsou's spine tingled uncomfortably. The feet of Turquoise Duro slid back in ankle-deep water as he took up a defensive stance. In the corner of his eyes, he could just make out the outlines of spectators gathering under shelter to watch them. Would Cove Fighter be watching him? It was probably the case.

"I hate you, Kihara Gunsou," the blue swordsman spat, "But never so much as now." His sword shimmered as he swung it over his head. "Uwooohh!"

Even with the anger giving him to recklessness, Klein Apprentice was no less dangerous than when he was calm. His opening strike was flawless, an overhead feint that changed to a swing from the side. The falling rain obscured his senses, and Gunsou strained to not blink in the face of an enraged lion. But he didn't move a single inch-

Clunk!

Because he didn't need to. Without having made any movement or uttering a command, reliable blue armour rushed to his side, thickening his waist and absorbing what would otherwise be a deadly blow with ease. The follow-up strike from Klein Apprentice was similarly met with a short movement of Turquoise Duro's elbow; the wooden weapon cracked loudly on his armour. As Klein Apprentice finished his opening attack, Turquoise Duro pushed back - punching straight ahead with a fist, with three plates already gathering at the tips to form a makeshift knuckleduster.

"Oof!" Duro's punches were slow compared to his sword strikes, but the mass behind them simply couldn't be ignored. Despite only having received glancing blows to his shoulders and arms, Klein Apprentice was shoved this way and that - between dodging his attacks and getting hit by them, it was immediately obvious that he was the inferior combatant at punching distance.

His old self would have been worried at this point. Jun always resorted to tricks, dirty tactics, whenever he felt that he was outclassed by his opponent. But now he was prepared. He had something no one else knew and the perfect opportunity to use it. With all of his willpower, he set his sword aside and stood straight, daring his opponent to punch. Turquoise Duro did, and time seemed to slow. His fist was a great deal larger than usual with all the extra armour on it.

"Deflect!" Apprentice roared. His Special Gauge, having slowly filled all this time, dropped sharply and his sword glowed neon green. His blade blurred into action and intersected with the oncoming fist-

Wham! The impact shook Klein Apprentice to the core. His sword would have broken with a regular attack like that; instead, Turquoise Duro's armour splintered and broke into pieces as all of its forward motion was halted abruptly. Red sparks sprayed from his broken armour as he was forced back, staggering - Gunsou's vision turned red with agony as he felt his hand burn as though he had punched a brick wall!

Sensing weakness, Klein Apprentice closed in. Now he was on the offensive, his sword making swishing noises as he swung it this way and that. Clutching his right hand, Turquoise Duro clumsily retreated, blocking deadly blows with pieces of angled armour - and he slipped in the water and fell with a huge splash!

This was his chance. Klein Apprentice reversed his grip, pointed the business end of his wooden sword downwards, and stabbed with all his might! The point of his sword jabbed into Turquoise Duro's chest armour, forcing him down below the surface of the knee-deep water. Bubbles erupted from the surface as he screamed, a distorted gurgle of his last breath.

"Die, you moron, die!" Klein Apprentice snarled. He leaned on the sword and felt something beneath it begin to give. His adversary's Health Gauge ticked down slowly as he struggled uselessly-

Wham! A kick from behind- no, underneath him, pushing him off-balance and weakening his superior position for a moment - but it was all that was needed. Turquoise Duro knocked aside the sword pinning him down, and broke free from his watery grave as he rolled up and onto his feet. He coughed and spluttered as no small amount of water poured from his mouth - but he was still alive. There was a clear difference in their Health Gauges - his was just above 60% full while Klein Apprentice's was a healthy 80% - but it wasn't impossible to catch up. Now that he knew how to fight, and the new counterattack Klein Apprentice had, he knew his opponent better. He knew his enemy better.

Turquoise Duro coughed one last time and rubbed his aching chest. He recalled the long and painful training he had had with Cove Fighter. Research your own experience, absorb what is useful. Reject what is useless, add your own. This duel wasn't about Burst Points or making good on a promise. This was personal. This was not the end.

He slid his feet apart in the deep water, coming above his knees now. Moving was difficult. Kicking was harder. But Klein Apprentice would also have less room to swing his sword. Turquoise Duro blinked to keep water out of his eyes, and kept them shut. He would have the advantage if Klein Apprentice struck first. All he had to do was feign weakness-

"Snake Bite!" His adversary cried, and lept forwards. Twin streaks of purple lit up the night.

-And opportunity presented itself. Armour sprang from his chest, back, and shoulders, slid over his arms and locked into place on his wrists and muscle. Turquoise Duro held up his hands as though to shield his face, and just in time too; the mid-ranged skill Klein Apprentice had unleashed, aimed right for his neck, bounced harmlessly off his reinforced forearms. A distance away, his robed opponent ground his teeth in anger. Snake Bite had depleted a considerable amount of Klein Apprentice's remaining Special Gauge; he had too little left to use Snake Bite or Deflect again right away.

Turquoise Duro closed in, throwing up a wake as large as himself as he slogged through the water. He blocked several more strikes by Klein Apprentice, but the waist-deep water worked to slow him more than it did for Turquoise Duro. Having closed the gap sufficiently, he grabbed Apprentice's right wrist, inviting a mighty struggle. Enduring with gritted teeth, Turquoise Duro willed his armour into a vice-clamp around Klein Apprentice!

Ka-chunk! The reliable blue plates responded immediately and bound their linked arms tightly. Without his sword, Klein Apprentice was defenseless, and he lashed out with his free hand, scoring nothing more than a few glancing hits. Turquoise Duro chuckled and proceeded to headbutt him, leaving an impressive dent in Klein Apprentice's head and stunning him momentarily. When all of his combat potential was concentrated in his humble wooden sword, it didn't take very much to render him ineffective… Or so Turquoise Duro thought.

"Equip Genji Gauntlet!" Klein Apprentice bellowed. His left hand glowed a bright, dazzling green and a sleek armguard appeared on it. It looked like a cross between a samurai gauntlet and a card dealing machine. It wasn't cards that were being dispensed though, Turquoise Duro guessed, which would mean-

Whoosh! A tiny, three-pointed star flew out of its end, flying right for his head! Luckily, it bounced off his thick helmet, but it cost Turquoise Duro his attention and he involuntarily let go of Klein Apprentice, armour practically flying back from his hands to protect himself. With his free hand, Apprentice brandished his weapons, and now it was his turn to be on the offensive - spraying shurikens when Turquoise Duro was out of arms reach, and swatting his attempts to reach him if he got too close with his wooden sword.

The timer for the battle ticked down to 800 seconds remaining just as a burst of shurikens embedded themselves in an unarmoured part of Turquoise Duro and equalised their Health Gauges. Both of them were now at just below half Health, water was up to their chests, and it was getting increasingly difficult to even stay upright. Realising too late that he now stood a very real risk of drowning, Klein Apprentice turned this way and that, searching for a way up the nearby buildings. Spotting a doorway leading up to a balcony where a couple of spectators were perched, he waded his way towards it. It was slow progress, but he was sure Turquoise Duro and his bulky avatar was having even more trouble.

"Good luck, Apprentice! I've got a bet on you that you'll win!" A nearby violet avatar called out as he neared his destination. Klein Apprentice grinned and gave his supporter a thumbs-up, even though the rain probably made it hard to see his gesture. The stairs were just ahead, if he could just find it without tripping over them-

Where was Turquoise Duro? Compared to the noisy splashing that he had been making to get out of the flooded streets, there was nothing - nothing but water every way he looked for the towering heavyset avatar. His Health Gauge was slowly depleting, so he was definitely underneath its surface. He frantically searched his Inventory, scanned his menu for something, anything to locate his adversary-

"Look out!" a spectator screamed. But it was too late - like a leviathan from the depths, Turquoise Duro burst from the shallow waters directly behind Klein Apprentice! He had but a fraction of a second to muse at the ingenuity of the tactic - swimming deep enough to not be spotted, tracking him through murky waters - and a truckload of armour and fists descended upon his hapless head.

Crunch! The impact made Klein Apprentice's head swim and his vision blur even more than what the rain was already doing. He clumsily held his sword up - to Deflect, to soften the blow, to do anything - but Turquoise Duro kicked it out of his hands, sending it sinking below the surface of the flooded street. Without his primary weapon and still stunned from his last attack, the last thing he saw was Turquoise Duro's foot - and everything went black.

Armour retracted to their usual places as Turquoise Duro dragged the unconscious body of Klein Apprentice up the steps. The water still lapped at their ankles, but it was under shelter - and more importantly, he wouldn't Drown in it. Holding his breath underwater apparently did not stop him from receiving a heavy damage penalty - Turquoise Duro had just a quarter of his Health remaining. Even though that was plenty compared to Klein Apprentice's 10% - low enough to colour his Health Gauge red instead of yellow - he thought death by stage traps was a disgraceful way to win.

Or maybe, he just wanted to save his own face. The timer had less than five minutes remaining, so they'd just have enough time to have a talk or something if Klein Apprentice woke up. No sooner had he settled on that than Klein Apprentice coughed once, twice, and stirred awake. "Christ," he croaked, "Is that what I get? You must really hate me, huh. Well, no hard feelings, asshole, but she'll cheat on you soon enough-"

"Cut it out," Turquoise Duro growled. "You're literally the only one that cares here. I'm not interested in your girlfriend, I literally want nothing to do with you." Elsewhere, spectators had begun to gather near their spot, hoping to catch a bit of their conversation. None of them could come closer than an arbitrary boundary ten metres in diameter, however, and the rain would drown out their words anyway.

"I refuse to believe it," Klein Apprentice was saying, "If you're so bad that you have to resort to this dirty fucking trick to get me, how is she still on your side?" Turquoise Duro sighed and simply glared at his adversary. "Maybe she knows taking your side is useless to her." Apprentice made to grab his sword, but it had been lost in the rising waters and all he felt was his empty side. "Great. Terrific. You win, okay? Just… Just stop this shit. Go away."

"'Kay then." Duro turned to walk up the stairs, when a gentle ping sounded in everyone's ears.

System-Wide Announcment!

The First Threshold Has Been Reached! Playerbase Has Collectively Unlocked The Next Stage!

«Areas» Can Now Be Captured! Win Duels In Areas To Contest!

Reap Benefits From Captured Areas By Forming Legions!

Continue Duel? YES / NO

The timer overhead had frozen mid-progression, and the dialog box blinked expectantly. But that wasn't the only change that happened - the sky cleared up, all of the water drained away at terrific speed, revealing Klein Apprentice's fallen sword.

And in the middle of the street, a large grey ring now lazily rotated. Text on its surface read the same thing in intervals - Unclaimed Area, it said.

"So, if we were to finish this duel now…" Turquoise Duro began. "…The winner takes the Area!" Klein Apprentice finished.

They exchanged apprehensive glances. "I'll do it," Apprentice started to say, but Duro said flatly, "I won't."

"I won't do it," he continued as Klein Apprentice stared at him incredulously, "Not until you go over and get your sword back. It doesn't feel right like this." Several spectators around them gasped while others scratched their heads in incredulity. Even Klein Apprentice laughed and snorted.

"You're going to win, why bother?" he said derisively. "Not even the timer is in my favour. Any sane person wouldn't try to do shit."

"Wrong," Turquoise Duro said softly, "You're going to lose. If you do nothing, everyone here will remember that you gave up despite me giving you a chance." He walked over to where Klein Apprentice had dropped his sword, reached over and picked it up. It was surprisingly heavy and a few flicks was enough to shake off the water remaining on it, and he held it in front of Klein Apprentice. He grasped it warily, but stood up anyway.

Yes! Both of them clicked. Both their Health Gauges rose and fell until they were both at around 20% Health. In other words, one good strike, a single combo… Turquoise Duro's mind raced, trying to predict what his opponent would do.

FIGHT!

Absorb what is essentially your own! Cove Fighter's words echoed in his mind. Klein Apprentice raised his sword high and charged - but Turquoise Duro blurred into movement, turning around in a circle and bringing his leg up. Air whooshed around his ear as he dodged Apprentice's strike with millimetres to spare - and his foot connected with Klein Apprentice's hip! He groaned with pain as he doubled over, but his sword was still swinging and in action.

Turquoise Duro punched straight forwards, armouring up to take the brunt of the incoming sword. True to form, Klein Apprentice's sword bounced harmlessly off his shoulder, and Duro's blue fist buried itself deeply in his shoulder. His Health Gauge dropped and turned red; one more hit, and it would be all over-

Klein Apprentice kicked Turquoise Duro in the groin. "Not this time, you asshole! I won't lose!" Turquoise Duro's eyes watered as he dropped to his knees, keenly aware of his Health dropping to the red zone as well. The spectators gathered were shouting all around, cursing and throwing their hands in the air.

Klein Apprentice raised his sword for the killing blow. "Your loss, idiot. Suffer for your bleeding heart."

"Flick Rammer!" Turquoise Duro growled. His Special Gauge, virtually full and unused, depleted as he put in every last bit of strength remaining into his hand, and he reached for his opponent; a phlanx of armour and muscle rocketed for Klein Apprentice, eyes wide with shock-

Slam! Klein Apprentice's Health Gauge dropped like a stone and hit zero.

[YOU WIN!] His body dissolved into a shower of pixels, and Klein Apprentice reappeared a short distance away, having been made a spectator. That wasn't the only light show, however; the gray ring in the middle of the street began to spin rapidly. It glowed teal, and then brightened to cyan as it slowly came to a stop. A dialog box appeared in front of Turquoise Duro: [You Have Captured: Shibuya Area 1!]

"Is that it?" he said dryly. He sat down on a nearby cuboidal block, suddenly feeling quite tired from the constant battling. Klein Apprentice glared at him, and logged out without another word. Spectators began to talk among themselves too, no doubt excited by the prospect of capturing other Areas.

Cove Fighter wasn't among them. Gunsou would have really liked to talk to him after the duel, but then again, he had already said he had nothing more to teach him. He closed his eyes, trying to imagine what that stocky light blue boy would have said-

Research your own experience, absorb what is useful. Reject what is useless, add your own. The words could have been stamped behind his eyelids for all that it mattered. Somehow, Gunsou found himself smiling fondly at this. Maybe he has grown after all.

Checking his menu, he shifted his attention to trying to recall what he was doing before the duel. "Oh no, tea with Misawa!" He exclaimed aloud, "Burst Out!" His duel avatar disappeared in a shower of pixels. Just behind him, a slender yellow avatar hung her head and lowered her hand, embarrassed she hadn't been in time to approach him.

"I'll ask him next time, then!" she clutched her lantern closer to herself, and logged out from the Accelerated World.

.

"Hey, you weren't playing a game by any chance, were you?" Misawa said suddenly. The boy sitting across from her blinked owlishly, but not before she saw his eyes widen with horror.

"O- What are you talking about?" he chuckled nervously, "I was just dozing off, you know? Like, I just woke up from a nap-"

"It's the middle of the day and you're holding an ice coffee," she pointed out. "And your eyes spaced out there for like, two seconds… Like someone I know." She finished, and leaned in with a knowing smile on her face. "You play Brain Burst, don't you?"

The boy's lips trembled, but he nodded. "You play it too? Wh- What's your name?" Misawa grinned and leaned back. "No, I don't play it - it's just that my good friend who's supposed to come meet me plays it pretty often. Is it good?"

The boy nodded slowly and looked to the side. "Well, yeah, it is. I really like it when I teach others how to play. Even though all I do is just quote old people on the Global Net… It helps them, y'know?"

"What's your name, boy?" Misawa asked. "Matsumoto… Matsumoto Aoba." the boy said. "I'm a student from Umesato Middle School."

"That's pretty far from mine…" Misawa mused. What if she tried to keep this secret just like Gunsou did? How much longer would he take to come?

"Hey Matsumoto. Would you give me Brain Burst to play? I wanna learn for myself what's so interesting about it." she said.

A slight breeze blew from behind Aoba. It wasn't a problem of him being able to do it - Cove Fighter was one of the first thousand players - the 'first generation' as they were called by the other players - and they didn't have any restrictions on how many copies of Brain Burst they could distribute.

On the other hand, he had a sneaking suspicion that this girl had plans bigger than him, and he was very uncomfortable with the straightforwardness of her request. Still… It could be interesting. He had never taught a girl before - if he planned to realise his goal of being the bouncer of Accelerated World, he'd have to learn sooner or later, wasn't it?

Aoba rummaged in his pockets and pulled out an old cable he had. "Would you connect this, please?" he said. This girl whose name he still didn't know, with amazingly beautiful red hair, smiled sweetly and took it.

"Let's go."

.

I don't know a millimetre of Accel World! will be continued.

As Brain Burst continues to spread among other children, interest in the Unlimited Neutral Field grows.

More challenges await everyone, from the lowest newbie to the strongest few.

Their story, their struggles, and their innermost secrets continue in Episode Two.

fin.

.

Author's notes:

Wahoo. I'm done with this at last. Where is my sense of pride and accomplishment now? Where? Umm...

This has not been an easy journey. I've been writing this on and off - mostly off - for close to two years now. I'd be lying if I said I'm disappointed in myself. I still am disappointed in myself. The amount of rewriting and discarded plans behind the scenes, man, if you could see them...

But enough of that. I'm just happy to have kept to my goal - original, creative story that explores Brain Burst's real life applications and virtual life too. I took a fuckton of inspiration from other games too - Overwatch for Klein Apprentice's dungeon, Pacific Rim for that last fight - but hey, I liked it, I guess.

My gratitude goes to Optimura for his comments on various chapters as well as his character Cove Fighter. My appreciation goes to TheRunedEXP for his various comments on other platforms as well - I hope I haven't disappointed him with the lack of a lemon chapter. Hee.

If you really liked this story, have something you'd like to ask, or just plain wanna contribute an idea or two, please toss me a review or a PM - University is about to start soon and I will not begin planning for Episode Two (It's a working title, okay) just yet!

Bursting Out, mofos.

-Destination