Union, Chapter 9: "...Eternity?"

Union, Chapter 9: "...Eternity?" Union, Chapter 9: "...Eternity?"

Tracy jumped out of Null.
But this wasn't the time she belonged to... was it?
"Black and white?" she asked.
A slow music box tune began to play.
She felt compelled to walk to the house on the hill.
She opened the door and...?!
She just appeared in the house. And she was... flying?!
A small dog was in the house, sleeping. On its bed read, "King".
"N, no!" she cried. "I'm back to the past!?"
But she was compelled, although screaming, to go up the stairs, and into a room.
A pink cradle was there.
"That's me?"

Clarence sighed and wandered around. He had taken the car back to the Temple of Bob, and was now moping and waiting for inspiration. Despite the fact that Pokey wanted him to go help, Clarence knew that a direct confrontation with the Balance Warriors (or were they Fighters of Libra? Clarence's mind was growing hazy under all the stress) would be totally worthless.
<I have to get Pokey to come after me, alone. But once he blasts me, it's all over... what do I do? Let the Libra people take care of him? Yeah, that'll happen...>
Clarence turned this new thought over in his mind. Yes, that would happen. Free Pokey, get blasted, let Pokey get caught again, and get away safely. It sounded so simple all of a sudden.
Clarence went over to the computer terminal. He set up the system to shatter the bottle, then teleport him into the battle. The program executed itself. Clarence was sucked into a transport dimention, watching as the energy of the shattering spell travelled ahead of him. Soon, a gateway opened up. Clarence observed as the spell did its job, busting the bottle open again. The world shook in front of the wolf's eyes... and then reformed itself. Clarence found himself lying on the ground, trying to catch his breath.
"Pokey!" yelled Mike. "Back in the bottle!"
Mike dug in his pockets for another jar, but came up empty. "Does anyone else have a jar?" he asked.
Pokey blasted Mike with a powerful beam of dark. "How's that for jarring?" he sneered.
Enough's enough, thought Clarence. Time for me to do my job.
The group was preparing to fight, when Clarence stepped between them and Pokey.
<Stop right there.>
Everyone looked at Clarence; some with contempt, some with confusion. Pokey chuckled, pleased at his apparent new ally. Obviously there would be some kind of evil speech, then the battle would begin.
<He's mine.>
Without warning, Clarence spun around and lunged at Pokey, fangs bared. Caught off guard, Pokey could only watch as the wolf tackled him. he fight was on; Pokey fighting for the sake of destruction, and Clarence for his dead master.
"Whose side is he on?" asked a disbelieving Paula.
"Who cares?" responded Solitude. "Let's just get to the temple while those two keep each other busy." The group ran off, towards the temple.
Shoot! If they leave, who'll save me once Pokey attacks? Clarence had more than that to worry about; Pokey seemed to be avoiding the use of his Diu Ero powers. Clarence needed to be attacked by the same powers that killed SimonBob, so his soul could be revived.
If he's not using those powers now, they must be incredibly strong. So once I get that information, how am I going to live long enough to use it?
Pokey pinned Clarence to the ground with a Stellar shot, then shouted out. "Enough! I have to stop them from reaching the temple! And if you can't be trusted, I'll just have to destroy you!" He began powering up his dark powers, the very waves of hatred that had sent SimonBob to his doom.
Clarence had no time to scream before the energy was ripping him apart.

*BOOM*
"What in the world was that?!" Mike asked, obviously bewildered.
"I'm not sure. I think that somebody may have gotten seriously hurt." Anthadd answered.
"Man oh man, am I glad that I'm not Clarence right now. Let's go to the next temple." Mike walked on. He stopped when he realized that nobody else was following him. "What?"
"Let's go back and see how Clarence is..." Paula said.
"Yeah." The others agreed, and started walking to where Clarence was.
"What?! H... hey! Wait for me." Mike answered.

They got to where Clarence was lying. He was knocked unconscious. "So, what now?" Mike asked.
Luna stepped forward. "Stand back, I know what I'm doing!" As she was saying this, she pulled a first aid kit from her back pack, as well as a defibrillator.
"Wow, what else do you have in that bag?" Mike inquired.
"Stuff." Luna answered simply, then started to treat Clarence. "CLEAR!"
Clarence eventually recovered. He opened his eyes slowly and was surprised to see that Anthadd and co. was standing over him.
"So, Clarence, what's up?" Mike asked while popping his knuckles. "Where's Pokey at, by the way."
Clarence just sat there for a few minutes, then started communicating in his telepathic way.
<Pokey... isn't here.>
"Well, thanks a lot," said Mike, rolling his eyes. "Tell us something we don't know."
<Okay, Pokey is trying to unite the forces of evil and take over the universe. Tracy is on a mystical journey, rediscovering herself and her mind. The Plain Temple is out near the Temple of Bob, and SimonBob's coming back real soon. Good enough?>
Paula exclaimed, "When did you find this out?"
Clarence blinked and stared straight ahead. <You learn a lot being unconscious. Pokey's energy was analysed by the computers at the Temple of Bob while I was knocked out. Studying someone's energy is an excellent method of discovering their plans. I'm sure you knew about his evil plans, so I won't go into all that.
<Pokey's subconscious mind registered that Libra had disappeared, and knew what it meant; if Pokey ever stops to have a nap, he'll understand what I've already realized: The child Tracy is trying to accept all that has happened, and is going on a little trip to the inside of her own mind. While she's gone, her physical body will be dangerously weak, not to mention lifeless. If you want her to survive, perhaps you should find her before Pokey does.
<The Plain Temple is far to the east, near the Temple of Bob. It's not much more than a hole in the ground. You could probably dispose of it quickly, if you had the time. Pokey already knows of its existence, and has a general idea of its location, since I wanted to confront him there. But...> Clarence shot a glance at Mike. <You had to screw it all up. Oh well, no use complaining over someone else's stupidity.< Mike tried to object, but the others told him to quiet down.
<As for SimonBob coming back...> Clarence trailed off, and became silent.
Luna prompted him. "You're bringing him back?"
Clarence sighed. <At the cost of my own existence, yes. But, listen closely...> Clarence's voice died to a whisper. Everyone leaned in close to hear him. <The other thing I need in order to bring him back is... is...>
Everyone leaned closer, perhaps too close...
Clarence jumped up suddenly, knocking over Anthadd, and taking the Ke Bao Dragon Medallion. <Yoink!>
A doorway appeared in the air; a portal to the Temple of Bob. Clarence leaped through. Without a moment's hesitation, everyone else followed him.

When everyone arrived, they saw the splendorous gold-and-silver walls of the Temple on all sides. Jeff couldn't believe it. "Gold and silver plaid? Who desinged this place?"
An ominous laugh from further up the large chamber caught their attention. It was Clarence, the medallion dangling from his mouth. <Heh heh heh... come on, try and attack!>
Jeff fired a Multi-Bottle Rocket, but Clarence dodged swiftly. <Come on, you can do better!> Paula tried PSI Freeze Omega, but Clarence seemed only to shrug it off.
<Can't hit me, can ya?! Hey, you! Solitude! Whatever happened to you? Last I heard, you shot some wolf with an arrow that never misses!>
Solitude's eyes narrowed when Clarence called her name. She pulled her bow out, notched an arrow, and launched it at Clarence. It had barely left the bow when she launched another. One arrow lodged itself in Clarence's side; the other missed. <Come on! Stop playing around and shoot me!>
Clarence seems really insistent on being shot by Solitude... thought Luna. Solitude was aiming with a new arrow, a golden one. Luna saw Clarence look up with hope. She realized what was about to happen, but too late. The arrow was gone. It hit Clarence right between the eyes. Clarence's mouth fell open, dropping the Medallion. Anthadd ran forward and caught it with a spectacular dive.
Clarence turned and fell into a pit behind him. At the same moment, Solitude fainted, unconscious.
Everyone ran up to the platform where Clarence had been. The pit was full of numbers, running in fixed lines around the sides of the pit.
A trumpet sounded in the sky. Everyone looked up. Another trumpet joined the first then another, then even more. Soon, a staircase could be seen, ascending into the sky. Halfway up, a figure could be seen. He looked up, towards the top of the staircase, and could be seen to shake his head. The figure turned and began to descend towards the group.
Solitude stood up suddenly and joined the group. They all stared up at the figure. He was wearing a long, striped red and black flannel shirt, carpenter pants, and some kind of amulet around his neck.
It was SimonBob. SimonBob had returned.
As soon as SimonBob reached the bottom of the staircase, it folded up into the sky, and the fanfare stopped abruptly.
SimonBob put a hand into his flannel, and pulled out an arrow. He offered it to Solitude, who snatched it away from him.
"Sorry for that, but the reincarnation program takes a lot of power, and sometimes someone's soul does the trick."
"What's going on?" demanded Anthadd. "Where's Clarence?"
"Clarence is right here," said SimonBob, pointing to his amulet. There was a wolf insignia on it. "I had the foresight to add a storage system to the program. Now, I can use this amulet to revert to the form of a wolf any time I wish. Plus, I gained all of Clarence's memories from the past few days, so I know exactly what's been going on. Excuse me, what are you doing?" This last comment was directed to Jeff, who was pointing a pistol at SimonBob's head.
"We don't know if you can be trusted. You tried to attack us."
"I didn't try anything. I could've destroyed you, even though Pokey killed me. And yet, for some reason, I let you all live. I wasn't going to kill you then, and I'm not going to now."
"What were you trying to get, anyhow?" asked Mike. "You said something about wanting to be known before you bought the farm."
"Give me a break, I'd been asleep for a month. I tend to hibernate when I'm not busy, and I'm always groggy in the morning. The only problem is, my mornings last up to a week."
"So... you weren't worried about finding fame in the world?"
"Heck no, I had a party the night before I went to bed. What was I thinking?"
Jeff slowly lowered his gun. "You're really not planning to do anything to us?"
SimonBob grinned. "Nope, I have bigger fish to fry. In fact, we now have to part. I'm going after Pokey, and I'm doing it my way. Thanks for your help, though. I'll invite you over some time." SimonBob flipped a nearby switch. The group disappeared, and reappeared in front of the Fire Temple.
"What a lunatic," offered Mike.
"At least he had the courtesy to drop us off at the temple," noted Anthadd. "Let's go do this."
"Hey, I didn't say that he was a BAD lunatic. I thought that that little trumpet fanfare was kinda cool. Doo doo doo... So, yeah. He also wore some cool flannel stuff," Mike rebuked.
"Well, yes. Now, let's go find the Temple pillar." Anthadd stated.
"Does anybody feel as if this is their temple?" Mike asked. Nobody responded. "I'm sure that we'll find out soon enough, then. This is kinda cool, almost as if ANYTHING can happen. Kind of like a choose your own adventure book."
Solitude stood there, with a look of confusion on her face.
"What's wrong, my friend?" Jeff inquired.
"Look at the sky..." was all Solitude said.
The sky was.... ripping apart?!
"What could it be?" Anthadd cried.
"It's got to be Libra!" Paula called.
"Something's still wrong with the kids?" Jeff asked.
"I guess so..." Solitude muttered, looking at the sky. It continued to rip apart, leaving nothingness.

Tracy floated. Little Ness came in.
He gave Little Tracy her rattle, then left.
"What am I here for?" she demanded to no one.
"Tracy!" Picky cried.
She turned around.
"Picky!" she cried, and jumped into his arms.
"I've been so scared!"
"How...?"
"Something's going to happen...
"That's why we moved to Onett in the first place. Something happened here, but I can't remember..."
Suddenly an explosion interrupted Tracy!
Shocked by it, Tracy fell.... out the wall?

"Isn't this interesting?"
Mike looked up into the sky with horror. "Pokey...it can't be?"
"Yes, it is. Thank you, thank you. I'll have you know your little Libra buddies are breaking apart. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Fishished."
"Did you just say FISHished?"
"Don't you dare insult my English!" Pokey said, raging. "Look at the sky! THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO!"
Paula smiled, and focused her intent gaze on Pokey. "There IS something we can do."

Picky follwed Tracy through the hole in the wall.
They landed in a dark world, shadowed only by the bleakness it had created in itself. Tracy pushed back a piece of hair. "Look...."
Picky looked up, and saw a large building looming in his vision.
"This...is the Temple...of the Stars."
In that moment, Tracy and picky hugged solemly.

In another plane of existance, so familiar to Libra, the columns of Ember and Great Plain shattered. The shards suspened in space, and swirled around in cyclone of force. Historians would later say that there was no true word to describe it, as even energy was too weak a term. In the center of the universe, the doors of the Star Temple opened wide. In the center, an item of true legend formed. it gave off an imminent glow, as the Temples of 6 united around it in a sparkling dance.
The scales of Libra had formed, and Picky and Tracy were the only ones near it.

"And what might that be, little lady?" Pokey sneered at Paula.
"Defeat you."
The six surrounded Pokey.
Pokey stuttered. "Come, come! We can talk this out."
"No, we can't," Jeff cried. "You killed Ness and Poo! You've thrown the Balance off!"
"You, Giygas, and Morphius!" Solitude called. "You've sent the universe into a downward spiral!"
"All the people of the universe deserve it!" Pokey countered.
"No, they don't! Ke Bao Dragon Armour Infuse!" Anthadd suited up in the Ke Bao Dragon Armour. "Life is beautiful! What you have in store for them is eternity!"
"Eternity of nothing!" Mike exclaimed.
Pokey shook inside. Recalling his courage, he sneered. "And just how do you think you'll be able to beat me?" He backed off slowly as he said this. He sped up a bit, turning around.
"... You're trapped, Pokey." Solitude solemnly whispered.
"ERGH.. I'LL SHOW YOU ALL THE POWER OF DIU ERO!" Pokey bellowed, glowing with shadow.
Tracy and Picky looked on. as the doors of the Star temple creaked open, they gazed upon the Sacred Scales of Libra.
"Wow...Do you think...those are the balance controls!"
"Look at them!" Tracy said. She ran up to them, then paused, and weighed the situation carefully in her mind.
"If we balance them....the world as we know it will be warped beyond all we can think of."
Picky shook his head. "We have to do this. For the stars, seas, lands, air, and for us!"
She grabbed his hands. "You're right! We could start over! Do you think....time itself...would start over?"
"I don't know, but this is our chance. Ready?"
"READY"
Picky and Tracy each grabbed a small bowl from the scales. And on the count of three, they each pulled as hard as they could.
"We need more power!" they called into the darkness.

As Anthadd lay in the dust, he stared up at Pokey. "Why does it have to end this way?"
Mike wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth. "What do you mean?"
"It has to end like this...look around."
Suddenly Virus lifted his head. "Tracy.. Picky... they need us now.."
Solitude sighed, grinning. "One last time, my friends? We gotta...go out on this one.."
Luna nodded, as a tear rolled down her face. "Right then"
She grabbed her staff from the solid light temple, and Mike and Anthadd took their swords. Paula rubbed her frying pan, and Jeff took out his bottle rocket.
Solitude wiped a tear from her bright rose colored eyes, and her hair swirled around her as she and the 7 other people stood up. She shook on her knees, but nodded, glaring at pokey. In a single defiant move, she grabed her pure heart crystal, and smashed it.
When she did this, the 5 other people took their talismans, and smiled. Each broke his or hers, and when the six were done, the stars and skies ripped open.
Pokey stared as the ground rumbled..."What's going on?"

Picky smiled at Tracy as the power of the warriors flooded through their body.
With one last pull, the chains of oppresion, anger, and love snapped.

The rumbling continued.
"What is it?" Pokey cried, screaming for dear life.
"...Balance! At last!" a glimmer of a smile came to Solitude's mouth.
"Does Balance have to be this unbalanced?" Luna asked.
"Is it causing the world, no, the universe itself to reform?" Anthadd asked, trying to answer.
Mike fell down. "It sure f, feels like it..."
"Where's the ground? And everything?" Jeff asked.
"It's all gone!" Virus exclaimed.
And, indeed, it WAS all gone...
"What's going to happen now?" Paula cried. "There's nothing... nothing at all."
"The Temple of the Stars. That's where we're headed," Solitude said. "The Temple of the Stars."
"But hasn't everything been destroyed?" Anthadd queried.
"When balance is restored, the fabled path of the stars will reveal itself to the warriors of Ae Ahl, guiding them to the temple of the stars." Solitude answered. "The temple is neither heaven, nor is it of any realistic plane."
"So it's an in-between place... It isn't negative or positive... it simply IS." Luna said, thoughtfully. "That would make sense, then."
"What would make sense?" asked Mike.
"Why we're floating." Luna answered simply.
"Ack!!"

No one had noticed until Luna had pointed it out, but the scenery had suddenly changed. They were now in a beautiful place, like a cathedral of sorts, shaped like a strange, 7-pointed star. Everything seemed to glow with color, seeming real, more defined, with a touch of surrealism. Practicly every available surface was covered in the strange 7-pointed star pattern.
"It's... beautiful..." gasped Paula, as everyone gasped in awe at it.
"Welcome, children. I have been expecting you." said a voice from behind, causing everyone to swing around quickly.

The universe reformed itself. SimonBob watched from the Temple of Bob, with a touch of regret.
"I worked so hard on this place, and now it's all going back to square one." He looked around at the temple. All the computers, the wall hangings, everything would disappear. SimonBob turned back to the monitor. The universe began to disappear.
Suddenly, SimonBob heard a rumbling noise. The planet was collapsing, taking the temple with it...
Self-preservation took SimonBob's mind. He grabbed a large energy pack and attached it to his flannel. The flannel was more than just a fashion statement for SimonBob; it had tiny microchips sewn into it which could be used for minor pseudomagic. He activated the teleport function. Targeting no longer mattered; in the new universe, he could invariably only arrive at one place.

His body shot into a new region. Standing up, SimonBob looked with interest at what appeared to be stars on a cathedral wall.
"The Temple of Stars," he muttered. "Figures that I should show up here."
He heard a voice behind him. "SimonBob! Where have you been?" It was Pokey. "Listen, we have to take care of them!" SimonBob looked to where Pokey was pointing, and saw Picky, Tracy, and the others there, as well as a newcomer he didn't know.
"You know," SimonBob started to say, "being dead gives you a good perspective on things. Like how to best get revenge." SimonBob spun and kicked Pokey in the head.
Pokey crawled to his feet. "So be it, SimonBob. You will die, along with all the others. There's no place for you anymore." Pokey threw a bolt of energy that sent SimonBob spinning towards the group. He came roaring towards them, his energy at its fullest.
SimonBob looked up, to where everyone else was looking. A voice called out.
"Hello, SimonBob. Can you deal with Pokey while we talk?"
"Ain't nobody gonna tell me what to do," responded SimonBob with the tired defiance of someone whose life made little sense. The conversation ended abruptly, as Pokey grabbed SimonBob and threw him across the cathedral.
SimonBob sighed and summoned his BobZooka. He attacked Pokey for what would be their final battle.

The newcomer whipped off his disguise!
"Apple!" Picky cried.
"The Apple of Enlightenment? A physical form?" Pokey screamed, abashed.
"Yes, and yes. You have grown too evil to be allowed to exist in this Balanced universe. You are why the universe refuses to reform."
The Apple pointed at Anthadd, Mike and Solitude.
"What are you pointing at me for?" Anthadd asked. "And for that matter, Mike and Solitude..?"
"Ancient powers dwell within you."
"What ancient powers?" Mike queried.
"Sugemo, Magic, PSI, Stellar?" Anthadd demanded.
"Yes, which?" Solitude wondered out loud.
"Stellar."
"Another?" Pokey cried. "But I should have them all! Me me me!"
"That attitude is why you shouldn't have any. But I have no control over which you have," the Apple murmured.
"Which Stellar power?" Anthadd's heart began to beat faster.
"Long ago, a constellation existed. But recently, it was split in three."
"A, Argo Navis?" Anthadd's eyes shimmered.
"Yes, Argo Navis. More specifically, the power of Argo Navis Wave."
"Split?" Paula asked. "How?"
"Simple," Jeff began. "It was split into three constellations: Vela, the sail; Carina, the keel, and Puppis, the stern."
"But who gets each constellation?" Tracy asked.
"Tracy, you give Solitude Carina," the Apple said. "Picky, you give Mike Puppis, and I'll give Anthadd the power of Vela."
"How do we do that?" Picky inquired.
"Just focus, and aim at them," the Apple muttered.
Picky looked at Mike. "So, you get to help use the last Stellar power, eh?"
"Ahdunno, I guess. Is this going to hurt? It's not like I'm going to cry or anything if it does... I just want to know." Mike stated.
Picky didn't respond. Instead, he closed his eyes. An intense amount of energy gathered around him. The energy around his body subsided shortly thereafter. He then opened his eyes. "Well Mike, do you feel anything?"
"Uhm... no. What did you just do?" Mike asked.
"I was just testing you. I wanted to see if you'd lie to a simple question such as that." Picky said. His eyes started to glow with a very bright, very yellow hue.
"Aaaaah... mmm." was all Mike said. "Hey, did you just do what I think you just did?" Picky then stepped back solemnly without responding. Tracy did the same to Solitude. But instead of asking a question, she gazed into Solitude's eyes for what seemed like 5 minutes. Tracy then nodded, and Solitude realized her part of Argo Navis Wave. The Apple of Enlightenment then stepped forward.
"So, Anthadd, do you wish to accept this power that I wish to bestow upon you?" the Apple asked.
"Ye- actually, I'm not quite sure. I want to know the effect of my taking this ability." Anthadd stated.
"Very well. You are going to be given to the stellar skill 'Argo Navis' as you already know. Its effect is tremendous. It is a great equalizer in battle. What's the point in having just one side win the battle, right? Good is evil to an evil-hearted person. This universe thrives upon that notion. What's good to one thing is bad to another, and vice versa."
"I see. Okay, I'm willing to take the skill. It must be very powerful if it has to be split into three seperate parts..." Anthadd stated. The Apple then bestowed Vela to Anthadd.
After it was all over, Picky, Tracy, and the Apple of Enlightenment took a few steps back, as if knowing that something very interesting was about to happen. The temple walls started to shake.
"Wh... what is going on?!" Mike asked in bewilderment. An explosion could be heard in the background.
"That sounded like the discharge and explosion of a high-explosive weapon." Jeff stated.
"Explosion?" Luna asked. "The only person that would probably even have an explosive weapon would be... SimonBob!"
"So, Pokey is here." The shaking continued. On one side of the temple, it grew very dark, and on the other side it grew very bright. Entities could barely be seen within the darkness and the light.

The group rushed outside the temple. "Hey! What's going on! This is the temple of balance! knock it off!" Mike yelled as Pokey and SimonBob blasted endlessly at each other.
Suddenly SimonBob reared up. "I'll finish you!" he blasted at the same time pokey did, but an entity in the middle absorbed the attack.
As the attacks slowly dispersed, the Apple grinned widely.
"The nightmare rock!"
In the center of the battle, Final Starman stood, grinning sheepishly. He slowly transfigured, and took on a human form. He embraced the Apple, and they looked at each other solemnly.
"Well. The children have corrected our errors, have they not?"
"Yes... but it seems we left one thing untouched, did we not?"
The Apple and the Nightmare both nodded, and turned on Pokey.
"Pokey, we want you to answer a question for us. Do you remeber your childhood?"
Pokey stared at them, and his face contorted into a horrible smirk. "I have no need for chilish memories."
"But you do. Memories and dreams are concealed within everyone, one just needs to harness them. Look."
The nightmare rock placed a finger on Pokey's forehead, and the memory flooded back...

Pokey's Memories
In a stream of time, far away, Pokey ran up to Ness' door. He was much younger, and his golden curls covered his forehead nicely. He knocked on the door, and his best friend came rushing out.
"Pokey!"
"Ness!"
The two immediately ran for Ness' backyard, and began to play with his sand box. Suddenly a huge form lumbered out of the Minch's house.
"Pokey! How dare you play with those hooligans! Come back here at once!"
Pokey nodded slowly, and began to cry. He looked back at Ness, and walked away to his house once more.

A much older Pokey looked at the nightmare rock. "All I wanted...was a friend.."
He began to cry slowly, and a single tear rolled down his pudgy face. It splashed againt the clouded ground harmlessly.
"Now that you have realized your destiny, you can return to how you were supposed to be..when this was suppposed to happen."
Pokey's mouth opened in an O shape, and he nodded. As he looked up into the stars, he faded away into the night.
Simombob stared ahead. "That was rather anti-climactic."
"Well, we still have a universe to reorder. In fact, that should occur any second now."

Suddenly, everything exploded in a brilliant flash of light!
"Where is everyone?" Luna cried. "I can't see!"
"The universe is being reordered," the Apple said.
"How?" Tracy asked.
"It will be restored to the shape it held before this entire mess began."
"And what would that be?" Picky inquired.
"Unblemished by the touch of sentience."
"But won't that mean... we won't exist?" Jeff asked.
"You will be able to rebuild," the Apple said, "but it will be a long and arduous labour."
"We can do it!" Anthadd said. "I'll supervise."
Paula looked at Anthadd, or at least thought she did, and raised an eye.

Later...
The light had faded.
The Temple of the Stars was no longer floating in darkness. Stars were there.
Mike recognised the constellation. "It's Libra!"
"Of course! The Balance would logically be the first to return," Solitude said.
"But what would be next?" Anthadd asked.
Suddenly a ship floated into view, then broke into the sail, the stern and the keel.
"Puppis!" Tracy cried.
"Carina!" Picky called out.
"And Vela," Luna commented, wishing she had gotten a part of Argo Navis Wave.
Then four serpents appeared, and one split.
"Draco, Hydra, Hydrus and Serpens."
And every other constellation reappeared.
"That's the constellations," Paula said. "But what of the planets, galaxies and whatnot?"
Then the galaxies appeared. First the Milky Way, then the Andromeda, and all the others.
Then, the nebulae came and with them, the planets.
"Earth!" they all cried, and wished they could return to see what it was like now.
Paula sighed in wonderment. "It's so beautiful..."
"Yes, and it is yours for the taking." the Apple said in triumph.
"What do you mean?" Anthadd said, puzzled.
"Earth shall flourish once more, and so shall the planets and stars around it. Tracy and Picky shall take their places as the representatives of Earth, and you, the Chosen 6, shall be on their council. Rockwell, cntinue to use your morphichip to help those in need. SimonBob, you will be in charge of communications with the far reaches of space to spread balance everywhere. Your knowledge of computers will be more than helpful. Soon, those you know and love will be reborn, happier than they have ever been. The cycle has repaired itself, and it is your job to look after it."
Solitude smiled knowingly. "Well, I've had my share of experience with that, But one day I will be forced to leave the council. When that day comes, I will be happy to pass on Carina to a successor Tracy and Picky will choose."
"But why?" Luna queried, puzzled. "Haven't you achieved your goal of balance."
"Yes, but I still haven't found MY balance, Senshi Unity. One day, I will leave to find her..."
Mike goggled. "O--kk...Moving on now. So..what happens to Pokey?"
"He will be reborn again, only this time, in the way he was supposed to be. In this new timeline, Giygas AND the Morphians will have never existed. You have your chance."

The nightmare rock looked ahead, and tapped the Apple politely on the shoulder. "Enlightened one? We have arived on Earth." The Apple smiled. As he first touched down on the soil of earth, he smiled.
"Come, my children. Take the land that is yours."
The 8 people stepped down, and all around them were wonders of nature like they had never seen.
As Rockwell looked over his shoulder, he saw the Apple and the nightmare rock lean on each other's shoulder. With a final nod, they lay on the ground, and the Apple shuddered a final time.
<Our work is done...tell the others we wish them well,> the nightmare rock broadcast to Rockwell. With that, the two creatures departed the plane of Earth.

THE END...?

Ending Statement by Anthadd
     When I first came up with the idea for Union, I never expected it to get this far.
     Sure, I knew it'd get a few posts... but I'd remembered the Golden Rule of IF: "They almost never get finished." Yes, I am aware some IFs have been finished. But they're few and far between, and more often, they're "finished" because they were either pruned from lack of interest in recent time, or locked because they ignored one or more of the IF rules.
     The scariest thing that happened to me was that short period Starmen.Net was down, after the American Thanksgiving. We lost about five posts off Union. The kicker: I contemplated backing Union up the night before, but chose against it.
     Looking back on the posting and making Union a fanfic in retrospect, the most common typo was probably forgetting to capitalise "I". I think there was about 20 of those... minimum. Then there's the fact I had to rewrite certain aspects of some posts, due to unintended overlooking of certain posts.
     In response to Godeg's foreword, found in an earlier chapter... I'm not sure if we could work a sequel to Union. The world's balanced, remember? Also, not many IF writers would want to take the time to push every single character together. It has to be a group effort, and I don't understand why so many first-page posters posted once, or twice, then did nothing. (Those posts do not appear in the finished version of Union, as they hold no bearing on the story itself.)
     In designing the names for Light, Darkness and Balance, I just made gibberish for Ae Ahl and Diu Ero. But Ke Bao was a corruption of the Japanese word for hope: kibou.
     When I put my AC into Union, similar to what NeoPaula did, I intended it as rewriting him. He had too many unconnected abilities. So I consolidated as many as I could into one. Plus, I added Stellar, slightly off-setting that.
     And commenting on SimonBob's points: the new finished version of Union will have no Virus. And on the "biblical disjointedness", well, I'm not very familiar with that, but there was quite a few perspectives at any given time during pages 3, 4, and 5 (including Tracy, Pokey, Picky, the Apple, Clarence and or SimonBob, and the Chosen Six.)
By the way, Luna and Rockwell didn't get forewords because they never sent theirs in (even though I blatantly put it in #earthbound's topic often).