I believe we are all disappointed with Ultima IX... That's why I've written my own version to counter the worthless shell put on the shelves. I thought of this before I discovered Evil_Freak's Ultima version, plus it's on his page, hence this ain't plagerism.
            I've put this Fanfiction together with careful research through most of the Ultima's. I am keeping a couple Ultima IX things the same (Blackthorn will appear for example.) and I got a couple new ideas from existing Fanfics, though slightly altered.
            The concept of Good and Evil appears quite often in Ultima, that's why I named this the way it is. One cannot exist without the other! (True?)
 
 

            ... The Avatar placed the five blackrock pieces within the Ethereal pentagram of Pagan's void. With a spark of light the Avatar gained the immense power of the Ethereal Titan and summone a crystal shaped Black Gate... Evil pulsated within it a moans and cries filled the Avatar's mind...
            But he knew what to do, the Avatar leaped into the gate and doomed Pagan for eternity...
 
 

            "Where am I?" the Avatar thought. "Where is Britannia?"
            The Avatar wandered through a mysterious room filled with white pillars... And was suddenly teleported.
 
 

            A massive volcano filled the island with molten magma, dragons and other wyverns hovered over the once prosperous land. Suddenly a beam of light struck a tall column in the center, and the Avatar appeared. The light set the Avatar upon the column and disappeared. The Avatar stood up, slightly dazed, and surveyed the land.
            "No, this can't be Britannia..." he thought. The Avatar looked at himself and discovered that he was wearing strange clothing, he wore a Roman helm that covered his face, a flowing white robe with a large ankh attached to his front.
            A familiar chuckle sounded his mind... The Guardian... Turning around the Avatar witnessed something he hoped to never see within Britannia, upon a vast mountain the head of the Guardian was carved with crude precision.
            At that, the Avatar's anger built up and he let loose a deafening scream of loss. Unexpectedly, the Avatar shot a bolt of lightning from the sky square into the forehead of the Guardian's statue, destroying it completely...
            Alarmed by this event, a Dragon dashed for the Avatar head-on with his back turned. The Dragon let out a battlecry-ish roar. The Avatar turned around and braced his face. As the Dragon swooped toward the Avatar it knocked him off balance and the Avatar fell from the column, only to disappear once again...
 
 

            "You have returned Avatar... Stronger this time, but you are still no match for me. The Ether is my domain. Not even you can stop me. No one can stop me, I am eternal. I am your companion, your provider, and your master! I am the Guardian!!"
            A wingless Gargoyle with a staff slung over its shoulder approached the Guardian.
            "Milord. To have seen the Avatar return." It said. "To be ready for him. To have the island surrounded by other Gargoyles. To not be possible to penetrate."
            "Very good... However I have different plans for our friend. Reposition all Gargoyle troops to Terfin."
            "Milord? To let the Avatar live?"
            "Yes, this land meant a great deal to him. How he cared for it so much... I want to feel his rage burn as he sees what I've done to Britannia!"
            "Yes milord. To then kill the Avatar?"
            "The Avatar is mine! The rest of the world will be yours once he is gone! Begone Forskis! Or I shall return you to the spirit realm!"
            "To obey..."
 
 

            Within the courtyard, Lord British sat in a bench with his face in his hands. The once plentiful well which sat in the center was dried up. All nearby trees were either dead or dying. The sky was blood red, the stone walls crumbled. The only elegance remaining was Lord British's purple robe. The four double doors that lead into the courtyard were smashed and decaying.
            "How couldst it hath come to this..." whispered British. "Always dependant... Faithful... No self reliance..." British began to sob lightly but quickly toughed it off. "If only the Avatar wouldst return."
            In that same moment a bright white moongate appeared above the well horizontally and dropped the Avatar into the well, and just as quickly as it appeared it disappeared.
            "Ugh," said the Avatar. "Isn't there supposed to be water in this damn thing?"
            "A-Avatar? Is it really thee?" asked British.
            The Avatar layed flat on the well edge, he stirred a bit then slowly stood back up. He was now dressed in the same attire from his quest to the black gate.
            "Um, yes milord. I've returned." said the Avatar. "And I see the Guardian's wrath hath even effected the castle..."
            "Thou couldst have not come at a worse time Avatar! We... Erm, sit down. I have much to tell."
 
 

            Lord British had related to the Avatar how the Fellowship still had many followers, and all Fellowship survivors heard their voice tell them to secretly reconstruct a new gate made of solid caddelite. And with the aid of Fellowship mages, the Caddelite Gate was transformed into an energy rift that allowed the Guardian passage to Britannia.
            No former Fellowship member survived that day. Soon afterwards the Guardian propelled his 'inner voice' to the evil denizens of darkness, promising great riches and power. Soon they all united... Trolls, Orcs, Headless, even Dragons stood against Britannia. First they stormed Yew, killed most of the population and took refuge in the Bee Cave. Yew survivors fled to Britain, led by Tseramed.
            The alliance of evil then attempted to take down Trinsic. But the honorable paladins that resided there easily overcame their army. As a retaliation the Guardian summoned a massive tidal wave that destroyed Paws and flooded Trinsic to the point where the paladins were vulnerable to sea serpents. Sadly, the Shrine of Honor was destroyed as well.
            When the Guardian remustered the forces of darkness, they attempted to take Verity Isle, where Moonglow resided. Even now, the war there rages on. Not long afterward, a massive volcano rose straight through Buccaneer's Den's lagoon, destroying the island altogether. Jhelom amassed an army and sent it to the Isle of the Avatar hoping to discover the cause on gut instinct.
            When they arrived, they found the Guardian's head carved into the tallest mountain. That was when Lord British and the Avatar's  companions had to tell the populace of the Guardian and why the Fellowship was dismantled. Due to the sudden and unpleasant information, massive riots plagued the northern cities, deserting Minoc and ruining Cove. Only a few remain in Cove to rebuild the town of Compassion.
            With those two cities down, the evil army of monsters made it to Vesper and killed everone, including Julia and Geoffrey. Their bodies were taken by the Guardian and were never properly buried.
            Suddenly most of the Gargoyle civilians vanished, and those that didn't grieved for something they did not wish to speak about to Britannians. Serpent's Hold, Empath Abbey, and the Lycaeum have remained untouched by the events. Since that point no news from Jhelom, Trinsic, Cove, New Magincia, Moonglow, Skara Brae or Terfin was available. Sentri, Jaana, and Tseramed were the only remnants left of the Avatar's companions and were in Britain defending it from the evil army...
 
 

            Disturbed by the news, the Avatar slumped forward on a bench and mentally went through the story again.
            "Avatar, we need thee now! More than ever! This is far worse than Mondain, Minax, and Exodus combined!" said Lord British.
            "Of course I wilt help thee. But how? What do I have to start with?" said the Avatar.
            "Absolutely no word has come from Skara Brae or New Magincia since the discovery of the Guardian's invasion. I suggest Skara Brae first. We have no ships to spare and no doubt the Ferryman canst still help thee. However, I must warn thee Avatar. Food, money, and supplies have become exceedingly scarce and people hath become desperate. Do not be surprised if those, whomst already know thou art the Avatar, attack thee for thy possessions. We've but a single field of farmland to feed 300 people. And the massive drought caused by the Guardian doth not help. As thou canst see, he hath plagued the stars as well."
            The Avatar looked into the sky, it was tinted completely red wherever blue would be. Acompanying that, the sun was nowhere to be seen. The Avatar thought for a moment, wondered how he was able teleport himself from the Isle of the Avatar to Britain. Instantly, he remember the three Zealan Gods. How they explained the fifth element, Ether... He was far more powerful now, maybe even powerful enough to fight the Guardian head on. The Avatar was now the Titan of Ether. He controlled his teleport from the Isle of the Avatar... He had no need for any ship.
            "Milord," the Avatar said. "Where are my companions Tseramed, Sentri, and Jaana now?"
            "Most likely they are at the gates, helping the last of the town guard ward off the army of evil..." Lord British almost burst into a violent rage. "What am I saying?! They're the only ones at the gate!!! All those damned guards are too afraid of the army of evil to fight! They now cower into corners pretending that none of this is their fault! The only reason the Guardian has gotten as far as he has is because everybody thought that thou or thy companions wouldst save Britannia again! They have grown to depend on thee to solve all their problems! Avatar, I need thee to restore Spirituality amongst the people! If it wasn't for such faith in thee, the evil army wouldst never have gotten beyond Yew!"
            "But milord..."
            "DON'T CALL ME THAT!!! I AM NO LORD!!!!!! A KING IS ONLY AS GOOD AS THE PEOPLE HE LEADS!!!!! BRITANNIA IS RUINED AND IT'S ALL MY DOING!!!!!!!!!!"
            "How is it thy doing?"
            Lord British calmed down to continue speaking.
            "I created the Quest Of The Avatar for an example the people couldst follow... But... They all grew to depend on thee! They all saw thee as a hero, not a role model! I have failed in that task... There were even periods of time when I thought that we would be better off without thee..."
            "I... Milord! Thou didst not fail! I don't mean to violate my humility but thou wouldst all be dead if not for me!!!"
            British gave a weak smile.
            "Yes... It is what kept me hoping for thy return... Although I regret asking this of thee, I want thou to help us once more. Rid us of the Guardian, and thou shalt be freed of the curse of the Avatar."
            The Avatar never thought of his virtuous duty as a curse, but it was still a burden to his life. He saw his Avatarhood as a chance to meet new people and show others that decency could still exist at first. But as time went on, he started to think that being an Avatar was a full time job with much suffering included. The  Gargoyles, in the days of the False Prophet conflict, saw the Avatar as a mass murderer and nearly killed him multiple times. Throughout his life the Avatar saw the best of men suffer, friends die, and was even betrayed. But not once did he think that being the Avatar was a curse.
            "Milord, I am the Avatar. I will always be the Avatar, at least until the day I expire. I do not see my Avatarhood as a curse, because I choose to be the Avatar out of my own free will."
            Lord British nodded, and was obviously depressed. British opened his mouth to say something but was immediately interupted by a loud bang from outside the castle accompanied by people screaming.
            "They're comming! Run!"
            "Get the women and children out of here!"
            And an inhuman cry: "ALL MUST DIE IN THE NAME OF GOD!"
            The Avatar leapt out of his seat and ran southward to the castle gate. As he got outside a number of peasants rushed by him screaming for help. He looked to the west only to find a series of ruined shacks and less than 10 guards armed with desperate weapons fending off three headless, seven mongbats, and a cyclops. He looked west and found Sentri and Tseramed armed with only leather armor and a pair of worn out swords attempting to duel with two orcs armed with battle axes.
            The Avatar's hands glowed with ethereal magic as he prepared to aid in Britain's battle. Suddenly a winged Gargoyle landed in front of him wielding a spear with a jet black blade.
            "Well well well..." said the Gargoyle. "The Avatar finally decided to join the struggle! A little late for that 'HERO'! We have already won!"
            "I recognize that voice..." thought the Avatar. "It's... No, it can't be!!!"
 
 

I know what you're all thinking. I got the whole "Avatar as the example" from Ultima IX. It was one of the few things that Origin had on the right track, but ended up turning it into crap! I think I did a better job of it here. You might also be wondering why I didn't include much detail at the start of this fanfic. Well... You have to beat Ultima VIII to see why. It has all the details in the endgame.
 
 

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