14

Oni Phantom appeared with the other Bosses over the group of players. The others had gone back to being simple orbs of light, but he retained his empowered form.

The mortals below looked up in fear. None of them knew quite how to react. They'd never seen or heard of the Bosses appearing like this. At first, a terrible fear that Kevin had failed filled all of them. But they were still connected through the staff, and a realization that what was once Kevin floated before them now created an even deeper fear.

Oni Phantom was simply filled with amusement. They'd actually helped him become the greatest being in all of existence. How stupid could they be?

The faces of the group betrayed their varied emotions. Some of the younger players were completely terrified, and looked like they could burst into tears any second. Others, like Seering Flametongue and Great Goron, wore masks of hatred. They'd put their faith in him and he'd given nothing back. They were all pathetic.

His eyes passed over Princess of Persia's and locked. Her face stumped him for a moment. It didn't seem to show any kind of emotion. But he could hear her thoughts. "Why?" she asked in pain. The Crozius Arcanum was held loosely in her hand—all the others had released it in shock when the Bosses showed up—and still connected them.

When he'd first looked at her, Oni Phantom wanted to just laugh. Her weakness made him feel so much better. But he suddenly found that he couldn't. Her body gave no sign, but he could sense that she was on the extreme edge of soulful tears. And knowing that struck him.

"I…" He was at a complete loss. Only nanoseconds before, he felt so powerful he could crush them all and not feel any remorse. Why was he faltering?

No! He wasn't faltering now. She was keeping him from faltering again. He'd sworn to help them against this. And now he became the very thing he was to save them from.

He looked down at his body. Or his lack of a body. "No. This is not what I shall become!"

He turned back to the other Bosses. They hadn't heard anything that had gone between them. He raised a hand and a wind blasted through them. Like dust, the light blew away. It was such a simple move, but it finally ended it. He was controller and in full control of himself.

He looked back at the others, who had suddenly become curious. "You shall return to your homes." With a sudden wink, they were gone. Except for Princess, who still clutched the Crozius.

Kevin focused on the wind. The amount of wind began to diminish, reducing his size. He also focused the wind around his face, giving as much of a face to the form as he could, until he stood before Princess. He held out his hand, asking for the staff. "You must go as well."

She clutched the staff a little harder. She was still slightly fearful. "What…what about you?"

Kevin looked away. "I am a Boss now. I must remain here, as ruler of this realm."

Princess gasped. "You…you can't…?" Kevin shook his head and she suddenly came to the realization. "You knew this would happen."

"I was hoping I could get away without it getting this far." He looked back at her face. "It's alright. You saved me from something much worse," he said, trying to form a smile with the wind. "You can go home."

She shook her head, taking a step back. "No. I won't leave you here alone."

"Princess, give me the STAFF!"

"NO!"

Kevin raised a hand and a wind blew towards her hand. She saw it coming, but couldn't stop it. "Kevin! No…" The staff was knocked from her hand and she vanished.

Kevin slowly lowered his hand as the Crozius Arcanum stuck half into the floor. He paused, looking over the glowing shaft and cross. Long ago, the Crozius Arcanum had actually been created by the gods to stop the Bosses, and so was essentially poison to them. Touching it would suck out his powers and kill him.

But he found himself walking towards it. As a Boss, he'd be stuck here for all eternity. Truthfully, he'd rather not live than live that long alone.

It stood a few feet away. His arm made entirely of wind rose up, fingers outstretched. His life began to pass before him: his first kiss, the first time he played DDR, the biggest victory of his career at New York. The final image his mind settled on was Princess.

His fingers closed around the staff. A searing heat blasted through him, even hotter than when he first transformed. He clenched up, wishing for his hand to let go of the staff, but it wouldn't. "No. No, I don't want to do this." But it was too late.

The wind dissipated in all directions and the heart fell to the ground, completely motionless.

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He fell to the cold floor, knocking his head hard. He grimaced and reached up to hold his aching skull. Where was he? He pushed himself up slowly and looked around. Blinking and beeping machines were lined in rows around him.

"You alright back there, Kevin?"

What was going on? He should be dead! "I…I'm fine, Mr. North." He stood slowly, looking around. It was definitely the boardwalk arcade; he could hear the wave's crash outside. He had fallen onto the DDR pad.

But the screen was black with a single line of text. He rubbed the back of his head as he leaned in to read it.

"You sacrificed yourself for others. For that, you gain a 1-up."

Kevin stared at the screen in wonder.

"What happened?" North suddenly stepped into view and the screen flashed to a standard completion screen. "I heard a crash."

"Uh…yeah. I slipped. I need some new shoes."

North patted him on the back and started hobbling back to the front. "Make sure you get them broken in before Boston next week."

Kevin followed him, looking back one more time to the machine that had caused all this trouble.

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It had taken him some time to convince himself to go ahead with the DDR Street competition. Part of him said he'd had enough of games. But no one would believe him if he told them why he quit and he loved DDR, so he continued on.

He was wearing simple jeans and a T, his costume in a duffle bag. The bus left in an hour, which was just enough time to get to the station. He stopped at the mailbox on the way out, seeing the mailman walk by only minutes before.

A single letter sat inside the black box. It contained an address he had never seen: from a Lucy Camille in Lake Hill, Wisconsin. He ripped it open.

Inside was a picture and short letter. He looked at the picture. It was a man, woman, and two children. Kevin stopped and looked closer at the woman's face. It was incredibly familiar.

He scrolled over the letter.

"Dear Kevin,

It took me some time to find the proper address. But I'd like to thank you for what you did for me. You brought my family back to life, and I will never forget you.

Good luck in Boston.

Princess"

Kevin smiled. She'd always been a sly one. He put the picture and letter back in the envelope and stuffed it into his pocket. He'd have to send a letter back later. But right now, he had a game to play.