Innocence
Chapter One: The New Player and a Near-death Experience
The player looked around in fascination. This was his first time in 'The World' and he marveled at how real it seemed. He stood in a green field, that of which was filled with all sorts of flowers. He smiled as a slight, fragrant breeze blew past him. Then he took a look at himself. He now wore a black and silver uniform that had gold trim and had a crystal sword at his waist. He had long, silvery-black hair that was tied back with gold cord. His face was adorned with a tattoo, as all players' faces in 'The World' were, and this was also silver. It stretched across his face over the bridge of his nose. The unusual parts about him, however, were his ears, eyes and tail. His eyes were feline, and an eerie shade of pale blue. Wolf-like ears rested on top of his head, and a wolf tail stuck out behind him.
"Aren't you an unusual sight?" a leering voice asked, from behind. Whirling around, the new player unsheathed his sword just before the voice's owner could strike him.
"Ooh, and a sword expert too. What do you call yourself?" the voice's owner asked, obviously impressed by the new player's skill with a sword.
"Wolf." The new player replied, shortly, then asked, "And who might you be?"
"Some call me the 'royal pain'. Others call me Sora." The first speaker said, with a cocky grin.
"Well, Sora, I don't intend to stick around here and play with you all day. I've got better things to do." Wolf said, before vanishing from sight.
"Hmm………….I think we've got a new problem case on our hands." Sora said, snickering as he looked at the spot where the new player had stood before moving to the next server.
"You mean that he could be another Wavemaster?" Subaru asked, when she'd heard the news about the new player. Sora smiled and nodded.
"He was very rude. He also had an unusual player appearance. I think you should look into it." Sora said.
"We'll see. So far, he seems to be obeying the rules." Subaru said, before she and the Silver Knight moved on. Sora smiled to himself; he'd get Wolf, and teach him for snubbing him!
Mimiru sighed as she waited for Bear to arrive. She looked up when she heard the telltale sound of someone arriving on the server, but was a little disappointed when she saw that it wasn't Bear. Instead it appeared to be a new player………………with dog ears and a tail?!
"Hey!" Mimiru shouted, startling the player that had just arrived.
"Hello!" the new player replied.
"You're new to 'The World' aren't you?" Mimiru asked, a little eager to get to know the strange-looking player.
"Yes, I am. This is the first time I have had the time to try this out. I'd heard that this is a lot of fun, but have never been able to find out for myself." The new player said, glad that he had found someone with some manners.
"What do you call yourself here?" Mimiru asked, curiously.
"I chose the name 'Wolf' because my family considers me to be a lone wolf." The new player replied, seeming to be very friendly despite his name.
"I see. You sure chose a weird form, but I guess it fits. And you're a swordsman too." Mimiru said, noticing the sword Wolf carried with him.
"Yes. I know how to use a sword in real life, so it must have carried over into this as well. Strange thing about it, though, is that this sword is clear." Wolf said, as unsheathed the blade and looked at it.
"You're right. It's just like that sword Ashura carried in RG Veda, only it has a more ornate crosspiece and it's longer. Would you mind if I held it for a moment?" Mimiru asked.
"Sure, go ahead." Wolf said, as he handed his unusual sword to the girl.
"Wow! It's so light! Almost like a feather! You must be a skilled swordsman in order to have something like this!" Mimiru said, enviously, as she tested the weight, then handed the sword back.
"I almost wish that such swords existed in real life. Even though it looks fragile, it seems to be as strong as a normal sword. It certainly stopped that Sora person when I used it against him." Wolf said, as he gazed at the clear, crystalline blade.
"You've met Sora already?" Mimiru asked, with some disgust in her voice.
"Unfortunately yes. I assume that he isn't well liked?" Wolf asked, as he sheathed the blade.
"That's an understatement. He's disgusting. What's worse is the fact that he's a player killer." Mimiru said, rolling her eyes when she thought of the obnoxious player.
"Player killer?" Wolf asked, suspiciously.
"It means that when he kills a player here, the player has to do everything he or she did again if their data wasn't saved. He mostly picks on female players." Mimiru said, noticing when a slight look of concern crossed Wolf's features.
"Why is he allowed to come on at all if he kills players?" Wolf asked.
"Don't know. But I guess he supposedly has special privileges now that he's helped catch Tsukasa." Mimiru muttered, with some anger in her voice.
"Who is Tsukasa?" Wolf asked, curiously.
"He's a player that has been unable to log off of 'The World'. It's thought that he's the Wavemaster." Bear's voice said, as he and BT approached Mimiru and Wolf.
"I see I should have looked at the message boards when I logged on. This is my first time here, so there is much I have to learn before I can move about with confidence. Why was this 'Tsukasa' captured? Has he done something wrong?" Wolf asked.
"It's a long story. We'll tell you about it while we take on a dungeon or two." Bear said, noticing when Mimiru gave BT a dirty look before she walked past.
"Well, what do you two call yourselves?" Wolf asked; changing the subject so tempers wouldn't flare.
"I'm Bear, and this is BT." Bear said, introducing himself and his female companion.
"I'm called Wolf. Pleasure to meet you, Bear, BT. But I think the young lady doesn't like BT-san very much." Wolf said, having noticed the hostile look Mimiru had thrown at BT.
"I guess she doesn't, since she saw that I'd helped capture Tsukasa. Mimiru has gotten attached to that mysterious player for some reason or another." BT said, as they all traveled to the one of the dungeons in 'The World'.
Sora watched as Wolf walked along with Bear and the two women. He smirked when he saw the sun glint off of Wolf's crystal blade.
"A sword like that should be easy to break. Why does he have that, I wonder? There is no other sword like it in 'The World'." Sora thought, as the quartet disappeared into the server's dungeon.
"You're mine, Wolf." Sora whispered, as he followed them in, ready to give the newest player his first taste of player death.
"Cheery place." Wolf muttered, as he looked around at the dank, cob-webbed recesses of the dungeon proper.
"What were you expecting? A few neon signs and some clean floors?" Mimiru asked, with some sarcasm in her voice.
"No, I was thinking more in terms of Dracula's castle." Wolf replied, in kind. This got a chuckle from Bear and BT. A loud roar somewhere in the deeper parts of the dungeon interrupted the moment.
"Please tell me that wasn't a balrog." Wolf muttered, as he unsheathed his sword.
"It wasn't. Are you a Tolkien fan?" Bear asked.
"Hai. I've read the books and seen the movies. It is one thing to see a balrog in the movies, but it would be something entirely different to actually face one." Wolf said, as the roaring started getting closer.
"Hey, Bear, is it hot in here, or is it just me?" Mimiru said, as the air around them started to get a little bit warmer.
"You're right. It is getting warmer. BT, were there any messages about a change in dungeon monsters on the message boards?" Bear asked.
"I didn't see any. What about you?" BT asked, as nervous looks started getting exchanged between Mimiru and Wolf.
"I didn't see anything either." Bear said, just before the owner of the roaring entered the dungeon proper.
"Balrog………………….I think we've got a problem, minna………….." Wolf muttered, transfixed by the sight.
"Then let's get out of here!" Mimiru shouted, as they all broke into a run. Without further word, all four players broke into a frantic run. Never before had they ever faced anything like this, and true fear was upon them. As they ran, they passed Sora, who gave them an odd look as they passed.
"What are you running from?" Sora asked.
"A balrog! Come on, unless you want to get killed!" Wolf shouted, as he grabbed Sora and pulled him along. Sora didn't have time to argue, for almost as soon as Wolf had pulled him away from where he'd stopped, the balrog in question appeared behind them.
"How did that thing get here?! The message boards didn't say anything about a monster change!" Sora shouted, as he started running on his own.
"I have the feeling that even the higher ups of this place don't know what is going on. They're probably as in the dark as we are!" Wolf said, as they raced out of the dungeon and to a strange, floating bridge.
"Great. The Bridge of Kazaad-dum in broad daylight." Wolf muttered, as they stopped on the far side of the bridge and watched the once-fictional monster approach.
"And not a Gandalf in sight." BT added, as hope began to fade.
Meanwhile, as though in response to BT's words, Tsukasa looked up. He winced as pain from bruises and other injuries protested against his movements. To his amazement, the cat player, Maha, floated above him, with a decidedly anxious look on his kittenish face.
"What is it, Maha?" Tsukasa asked, as he slowly got into a sitting position.
"Your friends are in danger, Tsukasa." Maha's voice said, in his mind.
"My friends?" Tsukasa asked, a little surprised that he even had any friends in 'The World'. Maha nodded.
"They are fighting against something that is not supposed to be here. You are their only hope." Maha said, urgently.
"But I can't get to them. Those guards took away my staff and blocked my healing abilities. I've also been blocked from teleporting. How could I possibly get there in time?" Tsukasa asked, with despair in his voice.
"I have your staff here. I don't know if I can do anything to unseal your powers, but I will try." Maha said, as he handed the boy his staff. With a wince, Tsukasa stood, and leaned heavily upon his newly recovered staff.
"Where are they?" Tsukasa asked, with some determination emerging in his voice.
"They are in the next server's dungeon area on the floating bridge. The balrog has them cornered there." Maha explained, as Tsukasa gave him a confused look.
"What's a balrog?" Tsukasa asked.
"There's no time to explain. Go now, Tsukasa, I have just freed up enough energy for you to teleport. Go!" Maha ordered. Obeying the cat player's order, Tsukasa raised his staff into the air and teleported. But this wasn't without consequences; for when Tsukasa vanished from his cell, burning pain tore through him as he moved from server to server. When he reappeared, he was on the aforementioned bridge, just in front of the strangest player he'd ever seen.
"Tsukasa!" Mimiru yelped, from behind BT and Bear.
"Get back! Get back all of you!" Tsukasa shouted, and strangely enough, they listened to him. They gathered on the far side and watched as the young Wavemaster faced off with one of the most fearsome monsters in literary history.
"Get out of here! You're not supposed to be here!" Tsukasa shouted, leaping painfully back as the balrog took a swipe at him. Tsukasa continued to lose ground until he was in the center of the bridge.
"He needs help." Wolf said, as he watched Tsukasa lose more ground to the balrog.
"There's nothing any of us can do. Swords won't work against that thing, and we don't have a wizard on hand to take that thing out." Sora said, for once deadly serious.
"Are you just going to sit there and let that thing take us out? I, for one, am through running." Wolf said, as he gripped his crystal sword and ran towards Tsukasa.
"Tsukasa! Split the bridge! Make it crumble from beneath it!" Wolf shouted, as he got alongside the weakening Wavemaster and blocked some of the damaging heat with his sword.
"But…………..I don't know…………….how……………I'm so tired…………….." Tsukasa murmured, gasping in pain as one claw slashed across his chest.
"Just focus on your staff, the power you hold, and the ground beneath the monster. Don't worry, I will help you." Wolf said, as he allowed the Wavemaster to lean on him.
"Tsukasa! Wolf! Move! You'll get killed!" Mimiru cried, frantically. But she was ignored, as both players waited for the right moment to split the bridge.
"You shall not pass!" Tsukasa shouted, as he slammed his staff down. At first nothing happened, and the balrog continued to advance.
"You will not pass! I will not let you hurt them!! Do you hear me? YOU WILL NOT PASS!" Tsukasa screamed, as he threw all of his strength into splitting the bridge, drawing from hidden reserves, and also drawing from the strength of the player behind him. Once again Tsukasa slammed his staff into the ground, this time successfully splitting the bridge and sending the balrog plummeting to its death. As Tsukasa's consciousness faded, he heard his friends cheering for him, and felt the strange player's arms catch him and carry him back to the safety of the gate.
"Mother…………………I did good this time, didn't I?" Tsukasa thought, as darkness stole over him.
Author's Note!
I have only seen but a few episodes of .hack//SIGN, so please, don't be too harsh in the reviews. This is an alternate universe and it starts after the fifth episode ('Captured'). I hope this is a passable attempt! ^ ^;;
Gemini
