Mature Content Warning: Nothing particularly mature in this chapter.

Author's Note: Hello happy people. Skip down a few paragraphs if you hate author notes and updates.

This is the final chapter of volume II. After this I won't be updating here for a week or so as I prepare the story for publication. The next post will be to announce said publication, and then the post after that will be the start of volume III.

For those asking about other stories such as Freelance Saga on Amazon. (Beware, there is Ero content.)

The 4th episode is now out, also there is a combined collection of episodes 1 - 4 available. Those collections will be released once each four episodes are released, so once every few months. Episodes are monthly. (Some people have asked about them, sorry if you have no idea what I am talking about.)

While I work on revising volume II of Origin A.R.S., I'll also be releasing updates for a few of the other stories on this site. (About time, I know.)

Chapter 13: Epilogue

It was a hard thing to accept, but it was reality. They had been crushed completely. Scott leaned his head against a tree and balled his hand into a fist. He had never felt that powerless in his life. He had even been robbed at gunpoint once and had never felt the level of weakness that he had experienced.

“Look, I know how you feel. I want to go and wreck that guild myself. It won’t work though.” said Sharde.

“Why not? You said that you had gathered information on their guild?” asked Rhea. The blue haired elf maiden currently sat on the ground while leaning heavily against a stump. She had been healed of most of the paralysis, but there had been enough poison in her system that she would still need a good night’s rest in order to regain her strength completely.

The ninja girl sighed loudly. “Yeah, they are a small guild officially. However, many of their members have classes that allow them to raise monster armies.”

“How big are the armies?” Scott turned to look at Sharde.

“We aren’t certain. Six and Seven reported that they counted at least eight thousand goblins, and over one thousand orcs. The levels varied, but most are at least as strong as the goblin players you fought.”

“You can’t just assassinate them?” asked Rhea. She already knew the answer to that, but asked anyway. If Crimson Shadow could have managed that feat, Sharde would have already been working on it.

Sharde shook her head. “No. We’re a small guild due to the difficulty that it takes to become a ninja. All of our members are above level eighty, but there are only a few dozen of us at the moment. Corpse rat is a small guild filled with trash players, but their guild members outnumber ours twenty to one.”

The ninja girl raised one hand then called out, “Six!”

A black clad ninja appeared out of thin air and knelt down on one knee before Sharde. “Here mistress.”

“You did reconnaissance on the player base for the Corpse Rat guild. What were the numbers and levels?” asked ninja master.

“Mistress, there are one hundred eighty-seven members known to currently have advanced classes. There are two hundred eighteen members who are over level forty. There are over fifty-four members who are above level one hundred. The highest known level belongs to their leader, who was level one hundred fifteen during the investigation.”

Scott blinked. “That’s a small guild?”

“Tiny. Their monster armies help out a bit, however.” said Rhea. She looked up at Scott and he looked down at her. After a brief moment passed her walked over and sat next to her. She smiled in a tired way then leaned against him.

“Rhea’s right. Without their army, they would get crushed by even a mid-tier guild. Their army is weak at the moment, however.”

Scott frowned then glared down at the dirt. They had been forced to make a quick run for it after those bastards had been killed. They needed to evacuate the area immediately to avoid the Corpse Rat guild tracking them. Crimson Shadow was willing to watch over them for a while, but it would be bad in the long run for them to become further involved. They were a mercenary guild and needed to maintain their reputation, or some such reason.

“I can’t even go back for my equipment.” His armor and weapons were left behind in Meaden, since they were being repaired.

“Can’t be helped. If you go back, they will be able to track you. We could steal your equipment back, but then even if you wield it, you’ll be equipping items that are considered stolen. If you die, all stolen items drop.” said Sharde.

“What kind of crap is that?” asked Scott. How could he steal his own equipment?

“Well, you can get your boomerangs back just by willing them to return.” said Rhea.

“Even from this distance?” asked Scott.

“Yeah, from any distance really. They are locked to you.”

“It could be worse. At least you are a sorcerer. Could you imagine your loss if you had been a warrior or fighter?” asked Gambol.

Scott looked to the only other ninja in the area who openly showed his face. “Well, true. That does not mean that I like it.”

“Nor should you!” replied Gambol.

Sharde interjected. “What will you two do now?”

Rhea looked at Scott and he looked at her. The elf nodded as though some unspoken communication had passed between them. She looked at Sharde. “We’ll have to get stronger before we can do anything.”

“I also need to pay off my debt, for all the awesome equipment that I bought.... but now can’t go get without risking being camped down to level one.”

“True, you could go get it but the risk is high. If they track you, they will be able to find you while you are hunting and just ruin your day repeatedly.” said Sharde.

Rhea put a hand on Scott’s arm and nodded to him. “We can go get it, or you can just leave it there for a while. The merchant’s guild can be a pain in the butt at times, but they do require certain concessions. The armorer you used will have to hold it aside for at least thirty days before he can sell it. You’ll have to pay a fine if you come to claim any of it, but as long as we return within a month you can get it all back.”

Scott started to say something, but Gambol spoke up. “There is an alternative.”

The sorcerer turned to look at the ninja. Alternatives sounded good.

Gambol grinned at him and said, “Get better gear. You probably spent a lot on that stuff, but you would have outgrown it in another ten to fifteen levels anyway.”

“I’d love to get better stuff, but where? I have a little money, but...”

“Don’t buy it, collect it in drops.” said Gambol.

“All the drops that I have found have been garbage.” replied the sorcerer.

Gambol shook his head. “That’s because you’ve been fighting low-tier monsters. Between you, Rhea, and that guardian of yours that I sense slumbering inside you, you should be able to handle much stronger monsters.”

“Define much stronger monster.” said Scott.

Sharde decided that she wanted to get in on the conversation. “Well, there is actually one really good place close by that

I can think of considering your party’s classes.”

Rhea looked to the red head ninja girl. “Are you thinking of the island kingdom, Eizen?”

“Got it in one, sis.” said Sharde.

“Sis?” asked Scott.

Sharde grinned at him. “What, didn’t she tell you?”

“It never came up.” said Scott.

“Speaking of which, how come you two seem to know each other. I was not aware that you had met until a short time ago.” said Rhea, a hit of annoyance in her tone of voice.

“Oh, he did not tell you that we spent the day together recently?” asked Sharde.

“Did you now?” asked Rhea. Her comforting hold on Scott’s hand casually shifted into a vice-like grip.

The ninja girl sighed dramatically then threw back her head and gazed upwards at the heavens. “I was but a poor, lost, little girl... and the brutish sorcerer rammed into me with his great and powerful body...”

Scott’s eyes widened as pain lanced up his arm. He looked at Rhea and said, “I’ll need that hand later, you know.”

“You may need it for the rest of your life.” She pouted at him.

“Oh, the evil one... He forced himself upon me... with his vile evilness. My ice cream fell upon my heaving and innocent maidenly chest, and his gaze lingered upon it like a starving wolf.” She pressed the back of her hand to her forehead and made a dramatic pose.

Rhea snorted loudly and then made a low, angry, noise before turning her head away from Scott. She never released his hand, however.

“As penance for his dark deeds, I forced the path of righteousness upon him. I required him to journey throughout the land, seeking to replace that which is callous and wicked ways had taken from me.”

Sharde’s eyes widened and began to actually sparkle in the fading light of the evening. She radiated an aura of innocence and purity, and seemed to be on the edge of tears.

“How could you Scott?” asked Rhea. The girl began to shake visibly. She made strange sobbing noises.

Scott was about to try and deny at least some of that but he felt something was off. “She slapped me on the ass and laughed at my shame.”

“What?!” snapped Rhea. Her head whipped around and she stared at him. It was obvious that she had not been crying now.

“Hmm? Is that what happened?” asked Sharde.

“Yes!”

Scott began to sniffle a little and then raised a shaky hand to his lips. “I was innocently minding my own business when it happened. An absurdly busty girl I had never seen before came out of nowhere and pressed her chest against me. She utilized her unholy feminine attributes used to extort ice cream.... Oh it was terrible. You know how much I hate busty girls who show interest in me.”

“I bet.” said Rhea flatly.

He nodded to her. “She, she grabbed me by the head and forced me to gaze upon her ice cream covered chest. I struggled mightily against her aggressiveness, but she threatened to cry out that I was molesting her. So, shamed by my weakness... I became her man bitch. She forced me to escort her around town seeking ice cream to satisfy her wicked womanly needs.”

“Those needs never did get satisfied, you know.” said Sharde.

“Good.” said Rhea.

Sharde looked at Rhea for a moment then blushed. “Rhea, can I play with your boyfriend.”

“No.”

“Fine, fine. I miss you, though. When are we going to play together again?” asked Sharde. This time she was far more serious.

Rhea sighed loudly. “I’m sorry. I know I’ve been distant for a while now.”

Sharde trotted over and sat beside her sister. She leaned against the elf and sighed as well. “I’ll just lay it out there. I’m jealous.”

“I know, and I’m sorry.”

Scott was not certain about what was going on, so he remained silent. However, Ero murmured inside his mind, and his eyes lit up. She was alright. He had been worried about the tiny little fairy. Maybe she fell asleep if he used one of her powers? He would have to ask her when she actually woke up.

The ninja girl clasped Rhea’s free hand then squeezed it a little. “We used to play together all the time. You know what that meant to me.”

Rhea squeezed her sister’s hand. “Yeah, but...”

“Then... When you came back from visiting Earth that time, you changed. You spent all your time pining after some boy you were crushing on.”

“I didn’t pine...” muttered Rhea.

Sharde stared at her flatly. “Girl, you had it bad and you know it.”

Rhea’s face took on a light pink shade but she did not deny it. Instead, she squeezed Scott’s hand a little tighter.

The ninja looked at the hand holding Scott’s hand then pouted. “I checked into that guy and found out that he was actually pretty interesting.”

“Sharde...” Rhea’s tone of voice sounded adorably dangerous. It was a hateful sound, but it would make someone want to hug her.

“Can you really blame me? I don’t want to mess up your chance and all, but I miss you. We used to share [i]everything...{/i]”

“Sharde, I know that... but I can’t do that. Not this time.”

The ninja girl drew her legs up and rested her chin on her knees. She closed her eyes and pressed her eyebrows tightly together. “Did you know that he only likes cheese on a sandwich?”

“Hmm?” asked Rhea.

“He thinks the original Power Rangers were the best, but he gives a nod of recognition to a few of the latter series.”

“Sharde, what are you talking about?” asked Rhea.

“He used to bake cookies for his mother when he came home on leave from his army unit, just to make her feel better... and he...” Sharde started to cry softly.

It was Scott that spoke up. On some level, that had been a creepy bit of knowledge about his habits. However, he chose to ignore that and asked an obvious question just to give her an outlet. “You really paid that much attention to me?”

Rhea looked at him curiously and then back to her sister. Sharde nodded her head.

“You like grilled cheese sandwiches, but always burn the toast. You put jalapenos in spaghetti and...”

Rhea understood now, what Scott had been doing. “Sharde, how much did you watch him?”

Sharde sniffed a little then looked up at Rhea, teary-eyed. “I didn’t mean to! I promise that I didn’t...”

“Sharde... Why?” asked Rhea

The ninja shook her head. “I... At first, I just wanted to know what made him so special. Why, out of all the infinite number of people in existence... Why was it this guy? Why did you want this guy?”

Scott did not say it, but he was curious about the answers to those questions as well. What was with the fixation that

Rhea and now, apparently, Sharde had toward him.

Sharde bit her lower lip. “I love you Origin. I don’t mean to do things that hurt you...”

The elf started to cry a little, too, and then slipped her arms around her sister. “I love you too, Shara.”

They embraced for a time. When they pulled away Sharde stood silently, trembling. Occasionally, she would look at Rhea and then glance at Scott in a sidelong manner. Her lower lip began to quiver and she clenched her hands.

“It’s OK... Just this once, Sharde.” said Rhea.

Scott blinked then cried out in panic as an excited red haired ninja girl hurled herself at him. She wrapped her arms around him tightly and gave him a warm hug.

The sorcerer looked down toward Rhea, his eyes wide in confusion. She looked at him with a hopeful expression and nodded her head a little.

Scott understood, he hoped did anyway. He wrapped his arms around the surprisingly emotional girl and embraced her warmly as well. Sharde gasped softly then snuggled into his embrace.

Uncertain what else to do, the mildly confused man leaned his head against hers. He became alarmed once again when he heard her start to cry. Why was she like this? He could understand having a crush, or whatever it was that she had for him. He’d had plenty of those in his life. Why was she acting like her world was coming to an end, though?

Sharde sniffled gently then pulled back a little. She looked into Scott’s eyes then smiled in a sad and nervous manner.

“This...is nice.”

He rubbed her back a little out of instinct. Rhea’s eyes darted down to his hand then narrowed slightly.

The ninja-girl’s face took on a slightly reddened shade. “Mmm...”

Scott smiled at her. He was glad that she was starting to feel a little better. He was not that good with dealing with other people’s emotional issues. He could barely handle his own at times.

“Oh, uhm... This outfit.... What do you think of it? I wore it, for you.” asked Sharde. She was still crying a little, but she seemed slightly calmer. She leaned back a little, but did not step away so that he could take a better look at it.

He did not need her to step back, however. He remembered it clearly. It was a near-exact duplicate of the outfit that Mai

Shiranui wore in the Fatal Fury and King of Fighters games. He did not want to make the delicate situation worse, so he decided to go for a humorous response. “It’s so good that I think SNK should sue.”

“R-really? You think so? That’s so sweet! I could kiss you.”

“No, you couldn’t.” replied Rhea. Her sword was now sitting on her lap. The implication was an idle threat considering their current level differences, but the intended message was conveyed.

Sharde pouted at her sister. “Please?”

“No.”

“Come on... Just one? He complimented my outfit... You know how much work I put into my cosplay...” said Sharde.

Rhea casually inspected her blade then glanced up at Sharde. “Nope.”

“That’s mean. That fairy of his gets to hug his face while she’s naked, and I can’t even get one innocent little kiss from my sister’s boyfriend...”

Scott quirked an eyebrow. Was that statement supposed to make sense?

“Sorry, I’ve had one already. I know you won’t be able to stop at one.” said Rhea.

“Now you’re just being cruel.” replied the ninja-girl with a pout.

“Don’t I get a say in this?” asked Scott.

“No, you do not.” replied Rhea coolly.

Scott looked at her then smirked. He had to admit, she was cute when she had a murderous intent. After realizing that, he immediately began to wonder about the state of his sanity.

Sharde sighed softly. “So, this is what it would have been like....”

Rhea cast her gaze downward. “Sharde...”

“I know...” The ninja master slowly pulled away from Rhea’s man-candy then took a step back then moved to sit next to her sister.

“I’ve been unfair.” said Sharde.

“No, not really. I should have spent more time with you.” said Rhea.

Sharde leaned against her sister then kissed her on the cheek. “Thank you, for that small bit of kindness.”

Rhea blushed a little then squeezed her sister’s hand. “Thank you for understanding...”

“Yeah, I guess...” Sharde sighed softly once more. She was in the presence of her favorite person, and also someone who she had fixated on for a long time now. They were technically her two favorite people, yet she felt like she was intruding.

Rhea placed her hand on her sister’s shoulder and smiled. “Hey, don’t worry. You’ll find your Scott someday, too.”

“My... Scott?” asked Sharde. She looked her sister in the eyes carefully.

“Well, yes. You are a sweet and loving person Sharde. Anyone would be lucky to have you in their life.” said Rhea.

However, Sharde had not really heard her. The words, “Your Scott.” continued to tumble through her mind. Slowly, those words made associations. Those associations became ideas.

“A Scott of my own...” said Sharde. Her eyes widened a little and she tilted her head to the side.

“Hmm?” asked Rhea. What was her sister talking about?”

Sharde kissed Rhea sweetly on the cheek then cried out, “Thank you! That’s exactly what I’ll do!”

Rhea was about to ask her what she was talking about, but a soft voice interrupted them. “Mistress, not to interrupt... but may I please stand up now?”

Six, the ninja from earlier, continued to gaze steadily forward. During their entire conversation, he had resolutely maintained his kneeling position. He had not been dismissed.