A few weeks later...

Asaka: "Looks like we've got the material down."

Finals are two weeks away and the heroes have smashed their faces in a dozen textbooks by now over at Tori's.

Zack: "(relieved) Hopefully my grades can go up after this nightmare."

Roy: "And we've still got plenty of time."

Tori: "But that just means that we just need to do some minor review next week."

Edo: "That's a plus in my book."

Meanwhile...

Austin: "(chuckling) The time is nigh!"

Austin floats above the Hope server as binary streams exit his body and converging just beneath him.

Austin: "He'll come tonight and I'll finally be rid of those memories!"

The binary is taking the shape of a group of eight Players of each class.

Austin: "Eight signatures will force your hand."

The eight shapes fall as Austin drifts away.

Meanwhile...

Destinies: "EIGHT???!!!"

The eight signatures have appeared in Tomorrow's Knights.

Destinies: "When the signals go away I'M GOING TO DEAL WITH THIS MYSELF!!!!!!"

Meanwhile...

Everyone's hearts sink at the same moment.

Edo: "Good to know that we can do something that isn't studying!"

Everyone draws their ID Cards.

Cole: "I don't think that this is a good thing."

They all log in.

Meanwhile...

Austin: "Let my ultimate battle... BEGIN!!!"

The heroes arrive at the panicking town square.

Asaka: "What kind of attack does he have this time?"

The can hear footsteps rushing towards them.

Roy: "A... person?"

All eight are attacked by eight clones of themselves at the same moment, but manage to defend just in time.

Tori: "More like eight that-"

The clones jump back, revealing that they're like the heroes but made out of binary code.

Edo: "We're fighting ourselves?!"

Everyone faces their respective clones.

Zack: "One for each of us!"

Zack clashes blades with himself as Edo's bullets cancel out.

Emily: "These things can't be perfect. I might even get a chance to take a nap after this."

Emily fires sonic booms at herself as Tori keeps raining arrows.

Cole: "Then let's go!"

Asaka locks staves with herself as Roy locks blades.

Serena: "O-Okay..."

Cole fires several chunks of ice at his counterpart as Serena's clone throws her shurikens at her while she remains motionless.

Zack: "Pull yourself together Serena!"

Serena dodges the attack last second as Edo and Emily get closer to their clones.

Serena: "(in head) I'd better try to not let my thoughts get the better of me."

Asaka ensnares her clone's feet in a bunch of roots.

Asaka: "Hey Edo!"

The clone uses similar roots to slam Asaka to the ground by her left arm.

Edo: "I see your plan!"

The clone makes a few hits in Edo's stomach as Edo weaves over to his clone's side and facing Asaka's clone.

Asaka: "Go for it!"

Edo unleashes a swarm of bullets that knocks his clone into the tangling roots, pinning two clones down.

Asaka: "And let's finish this!"

The clones are squeezed by the roots until they lose their HP as Emily and Roy are forced back to back.

Roy: "Any ideas on how to get out of this?"

Their clones are closing in on them as a wind begins to blow.

Emily: "This might sound weird, but I'm going to need you to kick up a lot of rocks."

Roy creates large rocks before breaking them into smaller pieces.

Roy: "I think I know what your thinking."

An updraft lifts the rocks as their clones zone in.

Emily: "It's over!"

The rocks go straight through multiple areas on the clones, but both get shot through the head.

Roy: "I'd say that-"

Roy's clone drops it's blade and causes the blade to slice Emily's right shoulder and Roy's left.

Emily: "... great."

Tori and Cole can't land a single attack on their clones.

Cole: "Guess I'm a better aim than I thought I was."

Tori takes a grazed arrow to her side.

Tori: "Guess I need a little more practice."

Cole notices a weakness in his clone's stance.

Cole: "Oh hello there victory!"

Cole blasts his opponent's knee and throws his opponent's foothold completely of the rails and blasting it's head off.

Tori: "You think I can't see through your weakness?"

Tori fires three arrows and evades a single arrow from her clone, having all them be head shots.

Tori: "Nice one!"

Zack and his clone continue locking blades as Serena does nothing but dodge.

Zack: "How're you doing Serena?"

Serena: "I-I'm dodging right now!"

Zack repels his clone.

Zack: "Just give me a second and I can help!"

Serena pauses.

Serena: "(in head) I don't need Zack's help. I can do this."

Zack locks blades again.

Zack: "(struggling) Talk about a pretty good imitation!"

Serena draws her shurikens as her clone gets hers stuck in Serena's leg before returning to her.

Serena: "I'm going to end this!"

Serena dashes towards her clone at full throttle, with her fists having her shurikens between her fingers.

Zack: "(struggling) I can't get past myself!"

Zack's clone is perfectly countering Zack.

Serena: "It's over!"

Serena's fists send the shurikens straight through her clone, killing it in an instant.

Serena: "Zack!"

Serena lodges her shurikens into the remaining clone's skull, throwing it's stance off balance.

Zack: "Whoa..."

Zack takes his chance to deal the finishing blow.

Zack: "Nice one!"

All eight clones return to be pure binary as Serena rockets to Lv38.

Edo: "I don't think Austin can come back from this."

Meanwhile...

The binary combines with Austin.

Austin: "(menacingly) I don't need to."