A Final Goodbye

I was teleported to the Palace. I was standing at the bottom of the flight of steps when I reached there. The palace shone more than ever as it basked in a new, cheerful light. I looked at the sides of the steps. There was a full ceremony to welcome me. "Long live Sam!", I could hear them chanting. With a proud smile, I climbed the flight of steps saying an occasional 'Thank You' to the servants as I walked by.

When I entered the door, the empress was standing there right in front of her throne. She greeted me and I sat in the chair next to her.

"We are truly grateful for the services and sacrifices you have made to help this kingdom reach its former beauty again!", the empress said.

The word 'sacrifices' made me frown a bit.

The empress noticed it immediately. "What's wrong, Sam?"

I explained the situation of my friends and how they had sacrificed their lives too for this mission. The empress heard all of this.

"Why don't you come with me, Sam?"

I followed her to a part of the palace I hadn't been to before. The empress guided me up a long flight of circular stairs. They were extremely long. Finally, we reached the top. It was a beautiful sight. We were atop the golden dome of the palace. I could easily see so many sights from here. As I looked closer, I saw Microsoft Mines as new as ever. I could see Techno Town brightly shining with all its people and the Software Skyscraper twinkling up in the skies.

"B-But how? I saw the virus destroy them", I said in disbelief.

"You seem to underestimate the power of the digital realm. After you erased the virus, it restored everything. Now, let's go back", the empress said.

As we went down the stairs I kept asking many questions excitedly.

"So, are my friends alive? I wish I could see them. Are they really alive???" I asked excitedly.

"You'll see", the empress said with a smile.

As we reached down, I was immediately met with 3 familiar faces. It was Doc, Charlie, and Mozart. They all hugged me in happiness. Charlotte was standing there too, silently watching with a small smile on her face. She beamed in the light and the paint in her palette had been restored to its normal brightness.

"Thank you guys. For sacrificing your lives to save me and this realm!", I told them.

"We should be thanking you. It was the first time we had a real adventure in life. And besides, who wouldn't be happy at being able to enter the empress's palace and meet the empress herself!" Charlie said in excitement. I could now see the cheerful and excited person he once was before.

We all ate a grand feast in my honor. Lastly, it was time to go. The queen had extracted the [ESC] button from the keyboard. Then, she placed it on a metallic table which was located near a large metallic frame. As she placed it, wonderful sparks emerged from the button, and in the metal frame, a beautiful portal had opened up. I looked back and hugged all 3 of my friends for the last time.

"Goodbye Mozart. Goodbye, guys. I really hope to see you guys again"

Saying this, I walked into the portal and for the last time glanced at my friends and the empress as they smiled and waved at me happily.