The Aura of the World
It was going to be the first time since his disappearance that I logged into The World. I had quit on that day, but perhaps a new type would be a new beginning for me. Perhaps I could get him back.
He was killed by a bug, not just a little accident type bug, but an impossible one. I saw it, and I knew everything was useless against it. He said it wouldn't be much of an issue; that he would be there the next day, but as I waited and waited for him to return to school, it wouldn't happen. Finally, after six long months, he came back, but he completely ignored me. Had he blamed me for the incident? I tried to talk to him, but his friends would try to keep him away, and he wouldn't even recognize me. I just gave up on him, Sora, my partner in crime, a PK.
Pretty soon, everyone was talking about the fire that had destroyed CC Corps data of The World. No one knew where it had come from, it just happened. A while after that, they began to speak of a new version of The World, it was sometimes called R:2. I think even Sora started to play it, so I decided that online might be the only way to contact him.
I bought everything I needed for my return to The World. I observed the rules and regulations, then set my character as close to my original as possible. If there was any other way, at least he could recognize my character. I typed in my settings, double checking on the main ones.
Name: Mai
Class: Heavy Blade
Gender: Female
Race: Human
It showed me an image of my character. She had short brown hair, the front bangs wrapped in blue ribbons that matched her eyes. She was wearing a black midriff shirt made of belts, and a blue skirt with a large black belt tilted to one side. She had two large bracelets around her wrists, and a small symbol that was similar to an upside down triangle on her left cheek. I continued, and sighed as the program slowly loaded. Once I was able to log in, I immediately did, although I was caught by surprise when a young girl's voice whispered in my ear, "Welcome to The World"
I waited as my character appeared on the screen, then as it appeared in first person view. I turned to see two people looking at me. I didn't have to listen hard to hear them. PKers, I suppose.
"You think she's a n00b?" the girl asked. Her name was Asta.
"No way! Check out her stats! She's 180!" The guy, IYOTEN, scolded.
They both grumbled, probably in anger and confusion. But I was as befuddled as they were. 180? Seriously? This has got to be a glitch! But . . . I was at this level with the old Mai, and, it saves me the work of leveling up. I took a look at my other stats, each being exactly the same as before. It was really like the old Mai from before had jumped out of R:1 and straight into R:2. It was odd that no message gave any warning into this, but it didn't matter, since I didn't care.
I noticed them looking at me again. I smiled, and walked over toward them. "Hey, like my levels? To tell the truth, it's not that hard to get there. If you want, I'll show you."
"Sounds great to me. The better the level, the better the PK." Asta said. "Works for me."
I was confused for a second, since the writing wasn't on the bottom of what she said, and since it was normally not normal for a PK. to state their opinion out loud. Perhaps it was a form of secret chat. "Ok. I'll lead in the area so I can show you what to do." I said, adding them to my party. They both nodded, and I led them into Winding Multiple Magnified, which was level 40. I pulled out my sword, and Asta asked a question.
"So, what's this big secret?"
"Nothing really." I said, observing the shape of my blade, "but I do have a question." They both nodded, and I continued. "You two are PKs, correct?"
"Who told you that?!" Asta said, slowly losing her composure.
You did, moron. "I just figured as much. I do feel a bit of a kinship though. I mean, I PK as well." I saw them relax, "the issue is . . . I absolutely despise competition." I lifted my heavy sword.
"Asta, escape. Now!" IYOTEN yelled as he pulled out his blade. He charged at me, but I easily dodged the attack and ran to block Asta's escape. She fell, backing slowly, I quickly struck her down.
He attacked once more, but it caused no damage.
"Your turn." I laughed as I ran after him, dealing 9,999 damage with a single blow. He fell to the ground, and the barrier disappeared, revealing a young harvest cleric.
"I . . . I thought that . . . you might need some help against those PKs . . . but . . ." he said nervously.
"Hey, it's okay. I'm Mai, what's your name?"
"You're not gonna hurt me, are you?" he asked nervously.
"No. I don't think so."
"My name's Zebra. I'm level 38."
"Ok. Now I really won't PK. you. How about I give you a cool item, and this never happened?"
"I couldn't accept something like that."
"It's ok. It's my goodwill. Here." I gave him a Spell Yi Ji.
He looked at me for a second, then logged out. I followed his lead, since spending any time there would have no use to me. I quickly looked at the map and absorbed the data. Mac Anu here was much larger than the old one, now divided into five districts. I left the dome area into the central area. While I was walking there, a random memory hit me.
"Hey, Sora? Why'd you pick the name Sora? It's exactly like your real name. It's kinda lame, ya know?" we were fighting together in a dungeon, and I had just thought of it.
"Well, I was going to be -----. But it was already taken."
"Why -----?"
"Dunno. I just like that name. Like Mai, why'd you chose that?"
"It means 'dance'. And when I made it, I was referring to the graceful way I would kill monsters and other people."
"Okay."
I couldn't remember the name he had told me. It could be a clue to his whereabouts, but I still couldn't remember it. As I walked into the central area, the first thing I saw was a small shop.
"Welcome to shop Acorn!" the rotund beast-type declared proudly.
"A guild shop? Do you have 50 healing serums?"
"Sure do. They're 150 each."
"Let's see . . . 150x50 equals . . . 7500 GP, correct?"
"Yeah."
"Well, here you go. Thank you for the serums!"
"Thank you!"
I smiled and walked away, but I turned to see an Adept Rouge with black armor and silver hair that seemed to be combed back with antennas on top. The armor made it look like he had huge hips. He approached the shop.
"Oh, Haseo! Look! Someone bought an item!"
Haseo! That was the name that Sora had spoken of. I had to ask, it's not like it would be embarrassing if he wasn't, especially since this was an online game. "Umm . . . excuse me . . ." I said, looking at Haseo.
"Oh, you're the one who was at the shop a minute ago, right?" the beast, Gaspard, said.
"Yep. I need to ask your Guild Master a question, though. Do I have permission?"
"Uhh, sure." Haseo said.
"Is your real name Sora? I'm Kimiko Chiyo, if that helps at all."
"Oh! You're that girl in my class!"
"You know her Haseo?" Gaspard asked.
"Of course he does! He and I played R:1 together for a long time until he fell in a coma."
"Huh? You were in a coma, Haseo?" a girl with a squeaky voice asked. Her name was Atoli.
"Yeah, I was." Haseo said, "But I don't think you and I have ever met." He said to me.
I was speechless for a second, "What?! You're kidding! Those friends of yours have brainwashed you! You and I . . . we were . . . an inseparable team! How could you just . . . "My tears were beginning to blur my vision.
"I'm sorry, but I don't really know you. Don't insult my friends!"
"Fine." I said, turning. "But, ask your mom. She probably hasn't given it to you. FYI, your 'friends' didn't even care while you were in the hospital for those six months. I was the only one who did."
I logged out, pulled off my headset, and hopped onto my bed. I left my computer on, and shifted my gaze to an object resting on my nightstand. It was a small picture frame, holding a drawing I did of our characters, and our picture next to it. It was one of the two of us, when we had gone to the park, and still were friends.
I remembered when he was in a coma, and how worried I was. I would visit him practically every day, and I would bring him something for when he would wake up. My only hope was his promise, and I held it dear.
"You have mail" my computer announced.
I got up and sat in my computer chair, opening my mail area.
Sender: Haseo
Subject: I'm Sorry
I'm sorry about earlier, that I didn't believe you and stuff. I talked to my mom, and she gave me the stuff. I still don't remember anything, but maybe you can remember for me. Let's go to Σ According Temple's Hot Wind, ok?
I was really happy that he believed me. I would definitely log in, but time would limit me. It was already ten, and school was tomorrow, so I set my alarm for eleven. I logged in as quickly as I could, seeing Haseo at the Chaos Gate.
"You know, it's awfully late." I said, sneaking up on him.
"Oh. So you did come." Haseo said, turning.
"Of course. Why would I miss a chance to play with you?" he blushed, and I couldn't help but laugh. "Aww, are you blushing?" I asked.
"O-Of course not!" he said, turning his head away. "Can we just go?"
"Sure ;)" I nodded and entered into his party, and we both transported to a dungeon. It was a temple type, but it was only level 100. "This is kinda weak" I said, glancing at him.
"Well, sorry." Haseo grumbled. "Not everyone can have as much of a high level as you."
We started walking around the area, and I used a fairy's orb to make it easier. Pretty soon, we saw an opponent. "I'll handle the healing." I said. "That way it won't be instant KO."
We surprised every one of our enemies, and I rarely had to use any healing spells. He was a really good fighter. It took only two minutes for him to annihilate two Duster Goblins and a Long-Lived-Lord.
"You're not bad. Can I ask you something, S-Haseo?"
"You were about to call me Sora again. . . . Sure, I suppose so."
"I can trust you right? I mean, it's something I haven't told anyone."
"Ok. Yeah, you can trust me."
"I really should be at level one right now. The second I logged in, everything was exactly as it was when I quit a long time ago. My level, my items, my equipment, everything. I didn't tell anyone, since I didn't want it gone, and I'd be at a low level, so I thought you wouldn't talk to me."
"You didn't tell anyone, because of me? I'm flattered." He said sarcastically.
"Well, I kinda enjoyed the benefits. I mean, there were these two PKs when I logged in, and I tricked them and PKed them. I think their names were IYOTEN and Asta. Recognize them, Mr. Terror of Death?"
"Yeah, they PKed me when I first played."
"Then I got revenge for you. Speaking of which, you're not gonna kill me, are you?"
"No, you are a friend after all."
"Cool! I'm not gonna get killed by my old partner!"
"Partner? You mean I was a PK.?"
"Absolutely! We would pick on those who picked on others!" I looked into the room we were approaching.
"Hey, are those black dots glitches?" I walked toward them, wondering if they were similar to the glitch in Mac Anu where you could end up under it.
"Wait! Don't take another step!" Haseo said. I turned to look at him. "It's dangerous! Just stay here, and I'll take care of it."
He ran up to the thing, and I entered the room. If it was dangerous, why would I let him risk himself again? "Come on, Come on. I'm right here." Red symbols appeared on his body, and the dots became a giant-purple-jelly-bean-with-antenna looking thing. "Skeith!" he yelled, becoming the monster in many of my nightmares.
I fell backwards, unable to speak. Skeith, or he, approached the monster, swinging at it with his scythe.
Please don't be afraid. He's still a friend.
Who are you?
A friend. What you see now is him fighting an AIDA, or Artificial Intelligence Data Anomaly. That thing is the cause of many people now in comas. She paused, waiting for me to respond, when I didn't, she continued. Haseo is fighting as Skeith to destroy these anomalies. He is one of the only things that can.
Haseo dealt another blow to the AIDA, then used some special move on it that made it disappear. He then transformed back into himself, and landed softly back on the ground. He walked back to me, but seemed surprised that I was on the floor.
"Are you hurt?" He asked.
"No. I just . . . I just . . ." I began to cry. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry! I shouldn't–"
"What are you talking about?!"
"That thing you became . . . Skeith."
"You saw it?"
"I wasn't supposed to? But . . . that same thing was what put you in a coma a long time ago."
"I see . . ."
Look out!!
I turned to see another AIDA heading toward us. "Look out!" I yelled as I pushed Sora out of the way and pulled out my broadsword, slashing the thing in two.
"No! You idiot!" Haseo yelled. "You'll–!" he stopped short once he realized it disappeared.
"What did you do?!" This statement didn't come from Haseo, but instead from a woman with pink hair and skimpy clothes. She approached us.
"Pi . . ." Haseo said, not expecting her.
"Who is this?" she demanded, glaring at Haseo, and pointing at me.
"Uh, two things," I said, already highly disliking this person, "One it's impolite to point. Two, ask me instead of him for my name. That's rude too. By the way, I'm Mai, S-Haseo's friend." Haseo face palmed, and I could predict what he was thinking. I was too used to calling him by his name, that I kept forgetting to call him by his name in this game.
"Pi!!" A guy yelled as he ran into the room. "Geez, you startled me when you just ran off like that" He had blue hair pulled back into a high ponytail, golden eyes, and a bright yellow outfit. "Oh, who's this?"
"I'm Mai."
"So . . . uh . . . why are we just standing here. Pi . . . you're scowling again." He joked. "By the way, I'm Kuhn. You could always just–"
"Oh Kuhnie." Haseo said. "I wouldn't flirt if I were you." He grinned almost as wide as I did. "She can be really dangerous."
"Can we please cease the small talk? I want answers. Now!" Pi demanded.
" . . . Well . . ." Haseo began, he was interrupted by a beeping. "What the hell is that?"
"Oh. Oh!" It was the alarm I had set. I reached over to silence it. "Sorry, Haseo. I gotta go. Now don't start telling stories while I'm not around without telling me at school tomorrow, okay?"
"Sure."
"Whoa! Haseo's a kid? A teen, even?" Kuhn said, fake surprise on his face. "That's unbelievable! So much anger for just one kid!"
I smiled at that comment, and left the area using a return feather and a platform. Once I returned to town, I logged out and emailed Sora, giving him my thanks. I then turned off my computer and went to bed, quickly falling into a deep sleep.
The room was white. It wasn't the painful kind of white, just . . . blank. It seemed to go on forever, yet I still felt trapped inside. I squinted my eyes to see farther, and I saw something. In a split second I was closer to it. It was a small bed, and on it, sat a young girl. Her hair was silvery, her eyes a deep blue, and she wore a white nightgown. Somehow I felt safe, yet I couldn't think of anything to say, so she spoke first.
"My name is Aura. You are Kumiko, correct?"
"Yes. Are you that girl who spoke to me? Are you that goddess that was part of the game?"
"Yes I am. As a matter of fact, I'm able to talk to you often. Even in your dreams."
"Okay, how do I know I'm not dreaming? That I'm not making you up?"
"I can talk to you in the real world too." She smiled, and began to fade away.
"Oh. I guess it's time to wake up."
"One more thing: You are Mai."
As she disappeared, I thought about her statement. I wondered what she had meant . . . maybe it was just my imagination, but, maybe she had meant that everything that happened to Mai would happen to me. But, I was playing as Mai, so it would only make sense that way. My head was beginning to hurt, so I just closed my eyes in the white room and woke up in my own.
I wasn't really positive that my dream was real, but it didn't really matter. Whether she was really there or not wouldn't make too much of a difference. At that moment in time, there was only one thing I knew for sure: I had to get ready for school.
I was really excited about today. Sora and I were both sophomores, and our class schedules were practically identical. I hoped that he would spend some time with me, because of what happened yesterday. I hurried down the staircase after I finished getting ready, grabbed my bag and some toast, and left for school. I walked down the street, and it didn't take long to get to the school.
I headed straight for my class, as I usually did, and sat in my usual seat. The teacher was busy working, and it would probably be a while until the other students began to arrive. I grabbed my sketchbook and began to draw. It's amazing how shapes become people, and how simple circles become faces. I was so absorbed in my work, that I lost track of time. I looked at my finished piece of work.
"Oh, wow. Is that Haseo?" Sora asked as he sat down next to me.
"Oh. You're talking to me?" I said sarcastically. "Your friends aren't really gonna like that."
"They got used to it before, didn't they?" Haseo shrugged. "So, are you going to play tonight?"
"I guess so. Why, are you?"
"Yeah. Do you remember those two you met the other day, well, their guild master wants to meet you. He says it's important."
"I'm not gonna get yelled at, am I? If I am, I'm not going."
"I highly doubt it. Even if they were, you have a bad temper and you are a legendary PK., they wouldn't stand a chance."
"So true." The bell rang, and students went to sit down for attendance. After, everyone continued with their conversations, it was study hall, and the teacher felt that the kids could waste time as they wanted.
One of Sora's friends ran up to where we sat. His name was Evan, and he was the only decent friend of Sora's. "Guess what I saw last night? A lot of people are making a big deal out of it."
"Just tell me, Evan." Sora said. "Or I'll force it out of you."
"Okay, okay. No need to get violent. Anyway, the PKK Haseo was seen with a PKer. Not only that, but they went to a dungeon together, and hung out."
"What's the big deal?" I asked. "Can't people hang out?"
"Normally, yes. But this is the PKK Haseo! He absolutely hates PKers! As far as we know, he spent a long time hunting down tri-edge. He basically demolishes any PK in sight, like when he killed 100 at one time." Evan sighed, "He's my hero."
"Stop fangirling on me." I said. "So, what do you think about this, Sora?"
"I have no opinion on this."
Evan grinned, "By the way, Sora, You haven't told us your character name, everyone's dying to learn it."
I shook my head and smiled, "Evan, you should go back to your friends. They'll think I've stolen you, too."
Evan walked away. I looked back at Sora, "So, you're a PKK huh? Ooh, I should start hiding."
"Funny, very funny."
When I got home, I went straight to my room and finished my homework. It was easy stuff, and once I was done I emailed Sora.
Sender: Mai
Subject: you had better answer!!
Yo! You almost done with your homework? I'll meet your friends, but I absolutely refuse to log in if you don't answer back! Were we supposed to meet in Mac Anu?
I began to sketch again. This time the drawing was one in which Mai and Haseo were observing a treasure chest. When I was about halfway finished, Sora replied.
Sender: Haseo
Subject: This may take longer than I thought . . .
I can't understand the homework! This'll take forever!
Sender: Mai
Subject: The math homework?
Is that what you're having trouble with?
Sender: Haseo
Subject: Yes.
I can't understand a word of it.
Sender: Mai
Subject: -sigh-
You're hopeless, you know that? Ok, all you have to do is remember SOHCAHTOA. In other words, sin opposite/hypotenuse, cosadjacent/hypotenuse, Tanopposite/adjacent. Then, you set up the equation. For example, you have a triangle that has a 40-degree angle, a hypotenuse of 5m, and an adjacent of 4m. You need to find out the opposite, so then you can use two equations, SOH or TOA. Then, you plug one of them into an equation. Like so: tan40opposite/4.
Understand?
Sender: Haseo
Subject: Thanks
I'll meet you at the chaos gate in half an hour.
I sighed, then logged in. Thirty minutes was a long time, but I could wait. I looked at the chaos gate. I could clear an area in thirty minutes.
Go to Δ Lost Hidden Temple.
I sighed, and entered the words into the chaos gate. It showed no image of the area, so I figured it must be some secret area. I entered it. When I entered it, I found the area to be identical to the one in my dream. Aura was sitting on the bed again.
"I'm not dreaming, am I?"
"No. This is completely real. You need to learn how to protect yourself from AIDA." Aura said. She waved her hand slowly, and an Anna type AIDA appeared in front of me. I took a step back, ready to run if it became necessary. It only stood, well, hovered there, waiting. "Imagine it as an AIDA shaped punching bag."
A large broadsword appeared in my hand. The blade was similar to that of a blue flame, yet I could feel no heat come off of it. I swung it, and a large flame shot off and struck the AIDA.
"It was a fluke that you had destroyed the AIDA. Normally, regular weapons can't even touch it. But this, you can use on both normal enemies and AIDA. You are also able to block attacks by AIDA with this, if you use it correctly."
She then showed me a special move, called Yoshi Ribbon. Ribbons of flame would shoot out from my sword, then surround the AIDA so tightly that it was unable to move. It turned into a sphere around it, then an explosion of light burst from the middle. I tried it, and I got it.
"You learned that fast. Now, you can only use this move when the AIDA's HP is higher than yours. Otherwise, it's rendered useless. On Epitaphs, though, you can use this once your gauge is full. It takes a while, but it is very similar to a data drain."
"Data drain? You mean the skill that Haseo used on that enemy?"
"Yes. All you have to do is lower the HP of the foe until you perform a protect break. In this moment, you can Data Drain an opponent."
I tried it. I had already made it so that the AIDA was under a protect break, so I then held out my hand, focusing on absorbing the data. A large flame shot out of my hand, and consumed the AIDA, then returned to me. I opened my hand, observing a small crystal.
"That's a virus core. You can use that to open some locked doors. You'll know."
"Ah!" A thought just smacked me in the face, "Haseo! Aww man! I was supposed to meet him an hour ago!"
"Don't worry. In the real world, it's only been a couple minutes. You'll be fine." She raised her hand, opening a dark portal. I stepped toward it. I looked back, as to say goodbye to her, but she had vanished, just like the bed and the other things. I sighed, and walked through it. I warped into the Mac Anu area, and waited by the Chaos Gate. Haseo logged in a few minutes later.
"Were you waiting long?" he asked.
"No, not really." I said, smiling wryly. "Shall we go?"
We left the dome area, and I asked Haseo where we were heading.
"Well, we'll have to go to the Mercenary district. But you know, you don–"
"Don't you dare say I don't have to help. I want to save this place too. I don't want to let you have all the fun."
He looked at me in a way that said 'you're an idiot', but he continued walking. We walked into the Harbor District without talking. I was trying to think of something to talk to him about, so I wasn't paying much attention to where I was walking. As expected, I ran into someone.
"I-I'm sorry." I said, trying to walk around her. She blocked my path, and I looked up at her. "Is there a problem?"
"Oh there you are, Haseo." The woman said. "I've been looking for you."
"B-Bordeaux? How are you–?!"
"Haseo?" I said, almost growling, "how many girls do you know?" It was as if every member in his party was a girl.
"Who are you, his girlfriend?" Bordeaux asked, smirking.
"And what if I am?" I smiled sweetly.
"How about I cut that smile off you're pretty little face?"
"I'd like to see you try. You're way outta your league."
"Oh, lookie here, a little girl who's not afraid to get PKed by Kestrel."
"Kestrel? If I heard correctly, weren't you kicked out? Oh, I doubt you and your little friends could scratch me. You're against the pro of PK."
"What? You're a PK?" Bordeaux said, obviously stunned.
"Way to go, Mai." Haseo said, face palming.
"What?" I said. "Oh, right! We have a date to keep, don't we? Smell ya later, Bordeaux!"
Haseo looked at me, scowling. We continued to head to the Mercenary district, but he still wouldn't stop glaring at me. "What now?" I whined.
"That was a stupid thing to do."
"What? Don't tell me you're afraid of that weakling?"
"No."
"Oh, I get it! You're afraid of her ruining your reputation! Well sorry for me being a PK!" I growled, and started walking faster.
"No! It's not that either!" Haseo said, catching up to me. "If I was worried about that, I would have said so earlier. If you don't remember, I'm already ruined."
"Then what is it?"
"It's nothing! We've just had a bad past, and I don't want anyone else to suffer for that!"
"I thought you said it was nothing." I teased. We continued walking, and I continued. "She was infected with AIDA, right?"
"Yeah. Who told you that?"
"No one. I just… sensed it. It was like one of those little black dots inside her. I guess it is gone now, though."
He thought for a moment. "I think you're the only one who can do that."
"Really? Then don't tell anyone, ok? I don't want to become a human guinea pig."
"All right. I won't." We had stopped walking, and stood in front of some wooden doors. I placed my cursor on it. It was called an HOME. "Do you remember Pi?" he asked.
"You mean the one with the large pink hair? Yeah, I do. She was the old hag, right?"
"I would refrain from calling her that, if I were you. She probably thinks you're annoying, since you're my friend."
"So, if I act really nice, then it'll throw her off?"
"Most likely." He said, smiling. He opened the doors to Raven's HOME, where Pi and Kuhn were waiting.
I took a deep breath. "I'm extremely sorry for my actions the other day. I was rude." I bowed my head low, glancing at Haseo, smirking. He sighed.
"Oh, wow, Haseo. Your friend actually has manners. You could learn a thing or two from her."
"Did you forget the reason we're here?" Haseo asked, obviously insulted.
"Oh yeah. I'm supposed to meet someone, right?" I asked.
"Yeah," Kuhn said, "I'll take you there."
"Hands off, womanizer!" I said.
"What?! Ouch!" Kuhn whined.
"I like this girl already." Pi grinned.
Everyone started arguing, mainly Kuhn trying to figure out how I knew it. Whatever it was. I rolled my eyes, and began to walk up the steps.
"I'll just escort myself, thank you. It's in here right?" I didn't bother waiting for a reply. I had felt something strong, so I already went to investigate. I entered the room, ending up in an eerie one called the Serpent of Lore.
"Welcome to the Serpent of Lore," a man said. "I am Yata."
"Let's skip the formalities." I said, "I'm sure you already know my name, and you were probably watching me from the start. So, tell me, what do you want from me?"
" I wanted to meet you, before 'he' does."
"He?"
"Do you mean Ovan?" Haseo interrupted. "I doubt she would want anything to do with him."
"Eeep! S-Haseo! When'd you get there?"
"She was about to call me Sora again."
"Of course I was! I mean, I had always called you that and–"
"What are you talking about?" Haseo said, raising an eyebrow.
"He hasn't said a single word." Yata said.
"But, but, I heard…"
"His thoughts, apparently. It would appear that Aura had joined with you, and by doing so, you are connected to the game, and its players. In other words, you can hear things others can't."
"Like Atoli?" Haseo asked.
"Even more so."
"So she's a mind reader? Cool! Tell me what I'm thinking about!" Kuhn said.
"That would involve the ability to think, which you lack." Pi said, but he ignored her.
"Hmm… women, women, and… oh yeah… women." I said, smiling at Pi's comment.
"I think this does pose a bit of a problem." Yata said.
"How so, Master Yata?"
"Although see is able to do things others can't by accessing the game, she can also acquire damage in the real world if she were to get hurt badly in the game. In other words…"
"If she were to be infected by AIDA, it could spread into the real world!" Pi said.
"But, doesn't it take extreme desires, a strong AIDA, or a weak willed person to be infected? Like someone who wanted to be infected?" Everyone looked at me. "What?"
"Where did you learn that?" Pi asked, getting in my face.
Uhh . . . Aura?
You'll be fine. You can trust these people.
"Aura told me while she trained me."
"Like the goddess Aura?"
"The very same."
"I see. " Yata said. "So it seems that you have actually met with her. Unlike the Epitaphs, she must have entered your character instead of being data made into a character. She must have entered your character and caused the events that happened with you."
"But why would she do that?" Pi asked.
"She must've thought you guys weren't doing a very good job. I can see why." I said, shrugging and sighing.
"But we've–"
"I don't really care what you have or haven't done. I don't even care for an explanation why I'm here. And, unless you can come up for a better reason to stay here, I'm gonna go."
"Perhaps it would be best for you to meet the other Epitaphs."
"No. If I meet them, then I'll meet them. But I'm not going to stay here any longer while you guys run tests on me with your guesswork. I'm gonna go. Haseo, come with me, will you?"
"Sure."
"See ya, Tarvos; Magus; Fidchell." I waved, and we left the HOMEfor the Mercenary District. We continued walking, and we were about halfway to the Harbor District when Haseo finally asked a question.
"You don't want anything to do with GU, do you?"
"I don't?" I asked, teasing.
"It sure sounded like that by the way you acted. So, if you want to be a part of it, what was with the act?"
"I want to see whether they really want me or not. Anyway, why should I worry about that Ovan guy?"
Haseo flinched, and it was obvious I hit a nerve. "He… seems to be using people right now to get what he wants. But, I'm not really sure what that is either. It was his fault some of my friends went comatose, and I didn't know it was him then, and I trusted him for a long time."
"Oh, sorry. Well, cheer up! Let's hang out at the Marketplace for a while, then you and I can go train, ok? It's not healthy to wallow in the past."
"Thank you Dr. Mai." Haseo said sarcastically.
We walked around the marketplace a couple of times, visiting a couple of guild shops then shop Acorn.
"Haseo . . . wait!" a voice said from behind us. I turned to see who the voice belonged to. The owner was a very tall guy who had long silver hair and a purple outfit. His name was Endrance. "It's been quite a while since we last saw each other."
"It's only been a couple days. I've been busy." Haseo glanced at me. He groaned as a short kid ran up toward him. The character's name was Sakubo, a short little kid with a ridiculous hat.
"Are these friends of yours?" I asked.
"Yeah. You see they're–"
"Macha and Gorre. I can see that. But, damn, must he be so frickin' tall?" It made me a bit self-conscious. My character was slightly shorter than Haseo's, and Endrance stood about two heads taller than Haseo.
"Is she a friend of yours?" Endrance asked. It seemed that he didn't really care who I was.
"Yeah. We were going to head out to a dungeon together."
"Oh. May I join?" Endrance asked, a little hopeful.
"Well, it was just going to be the two of us." His spirits crashed.
"Umm . . . I know this might be rude to say . . . but are you gay?" I asked the walking telephone pole.
"Only if you define 'gay' as wishing to give my entire being to Haseo," he replied, somehow keeping a straight face.
"Hmm . . . let me think. I think the answer is, yes." I said, sighing. "You're creeping me out."
"Master En!" The kid, Sakubo, whined. He paid no attention to her.
Haseo short mailed me. "Great. It's Saku. Whenever he ignores her, I get the bad part of it."
"Twins, right?"
"Yeah."
He and I went back into normal talk mode. "Are you his girlfriend?" Saku asked.
"No. Are you a fan girl? I thought they had gone extinct. Especially extreme ones like you. Hmm . . . I must've missed one."
"What did you say?"
"Must you make enemies of everyone?" Haseo asked.
"Yes. Let's go, shall we? I want you to catch up."
"Not fair." Haseo growled. We left the area, and headed for the Chaos Gate.
"What about θ According Exposed Hot Wind? That's not too hard."
"Sure."
We transported to a dungeon-like area. I instantly used a fairy's orb, since I have little patience for walking in circles.
"Oh. That's odd."
"What?"
"Look at the map. There's only one more room. That's not normal, is it?" I pulled out my broadsword. "I have a bad feeling about this . . . "
"Well, we can just go back. It's just a room, right? We'll just go somewhere else."
"Naw. It is only one room, so I think you and I should be able to handle it. I mean, what could go wrong?"
We continued to the next room, and both of us prepared for battle. I thought it could just be an event, similar to the ones that often occurred before the One Sin and the Return of the One Sin event. But once we entered that room, my hopes shattered. "This isn't right."
"You're right, Mai." A voice said from behind us. I turned, to see a blue haired steam gunner with a large metal thing on his left arm and orange sunglasses. The metal thing came off, and a large black one, which I knew to be AIDA came out of his shoulder.
"Ovan!" Haseo growled. So this was the guy who had betrayed Haseo. I could see why he could be formidable.
"Mai, you go back to town, I'll meet you there." Haseo said.
"But that would waste me coming here. All I want to do is talk to your friend."
"Well, I'm listening." I said, cautiously.
"Mai!" Haseo said, angry.
"I told you. I'm not gonna let you have all the fun. Besides, it's two against one."
"I just want your help . . . to bring back the Lost Ones. Like Shino."
"Sorry, I refuse."
"What do you mean? Don't you want Haseo to have his friends back?"
"He's got me, doesn't he?" I said sarcastically. "Anyway, I heard that you were the cause of her going comatose. I'm not gonna pick up your mess."
"That's too bad. It would be rather unfortunate . . ." In a blink he was a blur, and he stuck Haseo with his AIDA arm. "If he were to join her, would it not?"
Haseo flew across the room into the wall. He landed with a thud. "Sora!" I yelled. I ran to him, only to find that he was infected by AIDA.
"Damn . . . Mai! You're gonna have to Data Drain me!" he said as Skeith's symbols faded in and out on his body.
I took a deep breath. I didn't know what a Data Drain could do to him. Whether it would only take out the AIDA or destroy him as well. I bit my lip. I closed my eyes, hoping for an answer to appear in front of me, when nothing came, I opened them, only to see blue symbols glow on my hand. I smiled. "I have a better idea." I put my hand over the spot where he had been struck, and attracted the AIDA to it. It came out as a few small black dots, and I crushed them in my hand. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, but my character refuses to move."
"Sora, huh? You must be one of his friends in the real world. How sweet." Ovan said, smiling. He began to step toward us.
"Don't you dare take another step!" I yelled as I pointed my broadsword at him. "I will not hesitate to destroy you."
"Oh really?" Ovan said, moving as quickly as before. He struck me, and, even though I blocked his attack, I hit the wall, next to Haseo.
"Mai! Are you okay?" Haseo asked, looking over at me.
"I think so. Ow!" My arm burst out in pain. I had been pretty badly damaged, so it had affected my body. My character's arm had gone limp, but I still stood, my broadsword in my hand.
"Why don't you make it easy on yourself and just come with me?" Ovan asked. "You don't stand a chance."
Anger suddenly filled me, and I forgot about my injury. "I think it's the other way around." I charged at him, my speed increased ten-fold. "I think I owe you something," I said as I grinned. I grabbed his AIDA arm, and struck it in its core with my broadsword. Ovan fell to his knees, and tossed the arm at him as it dissolved. "Now we're even." He left the area, still clutching his arm.
I walked over to Haseo. "What was that?" he asked.
"Good question. It was definitely something stupid that I shouldn't have done, though." My arm began to throb, and I winced.
"Are you hurt?" Haseo asked. I checked. On my right arm as a large gash that ran from the top of my arm to my elbow. It showed no signs of bleeding, but it definitely hurt.
"Give me a minute." I said, getting out of my computer chair and heading to the bathroom. I grabbed a long roll of cloth, and wrapped the wound. I walked back to my computer, and put the headset back on. "Yeah I got hurt. But are you ok?" I asked. "Can you walk?"
"I think so." I grabbed his hand, and helped him up. He walked fine, so we headed back to town.
"Oh man!" I said.
"What? Is something wrong?" Haseo asked, worried.
"It's summer time!"
"Your point?"
"I can't wear any long sleeved shirts!"
"It seems that your brain has been damaged during that last battle."
"Not that, you moron. It means that I can't hide my injury."
"So? It's not like you're a bad liar or anything. Just make something up and stick with it."
"Ok. I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then." I logged out. I didn't have any new emails, so I shut down my computer. I quickly changed into my pajamas and went to bed.
This time everything around me was black. I couldn't see anything, and I could only hear the echo of my footsteps. "Aura?" I called out. I received no reply, and I was afraid that I could no longer contact her.
I had no idea how long I was walking, or how long I would continue. I didn't even know why I chose to continue, and my only guess was my curiosity. I didn't feel any fatigue, but I did feel a bit lonely. Out of nowhere, a light appeared in the distance. I walked slowly up to it, my legs not moving as fast as I would want them to.
When I got close enough, I realized it was Haseo. He turned and smiled at me, but as I got closer, he fell to the ground. He was injured badly, yet it still felt like forever for me to get close to him. When I got closer, I found all of his friends on the ground, injured in the exact same way that he was. They were already gone, though, and they began to fade. I sat next to Haseo, praying that he would stay alive.
"Please… please…" I cried, but he wouldn't look at me. "Come on! Please stay. I don't want to lose you again!"
He turned his head to look at me, and smiled weakly. But as he faded, so did the light. And as he disappeared, I was left alone in the darkness again. I looked at my hands, where I had held him. My hands were covered in blood. I heard a laugh, and a taunting voice kept repeating "Their blood is on your hands . . ."
It echoed and even though I tried to cover my ears to block the sound, it got into my head. I fell to my knees, trying to keep the mocking voice out of my head.
I sat up quickly in my bed. Tears were pouring down my cheeks, and I was breathing heavily. I wiped the tears away, and brought my knees close to my chest as I attempted to slow my breathing. My dream had brought my greatest fear to reality, and, even knowing so, I knew I had no way to avoid it.
Kimiko, are you ok?
Yeah, I'm fine.
Your mind was blocked for a while. I couldn't get close to you.
I thought for a moment. Aura, what would happen if I were to quit this game?
I would have no right to stop you. But I would still be with you.
I see. I looked at the clock. It was still a little early, but I decided to get ready. When I had finished, I checked my injury. It still hadn't bled, but it was healing rather rapidly. It would probably be gone in a couple of days, so I wrapped it so that it wouldn't get infected. It still hurt badly, but there was nothing I could do about that. I headed downstairs.
"Is something burning?" I asked myself. I wasn't aware anyone else was awake.
"Oh! Kimiko!" I heard my mom say. "I made you breakfast."
My stomach flip-flopped. I love my mom and all, but her cooking sucks. "Mom, you didn't have to. "I said as I sat down in a kitchen chair.
"Oh dear! Honey, what happened to your arm?" She walked toward me, and grabbed it to inspect it. I winced, but she didn't notice.
"I… fell. In my room… last night. I banged it against my desk."
"Oh you poor thing." She walked back and grabbed a plate off the counter. She placed it on the table in front of me, and sat down in a chair directly across. The plate held an egg, a piece of slightly burnt toast, and two pieces of bacon. It looked semi-edible, so I took my fork and cut the egg. I picked it up and was about to bite into it, when I noticed my mom was staring, a smile on her face.
"That's very uncomfortable, you know." I said. "I mean, by your expression, one could infer that you put poison in it or something."
"No! No! I've been taking lessons. So I wanted to see what you think."
I looked at her, and continued to eat the breakfast. It wasn't really good, but it wasn't terrible either. "You've improved." I said.
She smiled. "Well, I thought you deserved better food, since you always eat it anyway."
I smiled back, and took my finished plate, cleaned it in the sink, and put it up in the cabinet. "I gotta go now, mom."
"You know, you can tell me anything.."
I rolled my eyes. I would only tell her everything if I wanted to end up in an asylum. "Ok, mom." I left the house and grabbed my bag, I had only walked a few houses down before I herd Sora.
"Hey, Kimiko! Wait up!" He caught up with me, breathing heavily.
"Oh… hey, Sora." I said, my nightmare recurring in my mind.
"You ok? You seem a little out of it."
"Oh, I'm just tired."
"Yeah, me too. So, does it hurt?"
"Yep, hurts like hell." He smiled, noticing how I said it.
We walked to our class together in silence. I couldn't really talk to him for the rest of the day. Every time I tried the image just kept coming back. I knew it made it upset, and I knew he probably thought I blamed him, but I just couldn't speak to him. A nightmare had never affected me so badly.
The second I arrived home, I turned on my computer. I had no homework today, so I thought I could spend the time instead trying to send an email to Sora.
Dear Sora, I'm sorry. No, that doesn't work. Dear Sora, I apologize for being such a jerk to you. Naw, not that either.
That was basically how it went for about an hour or so. I couldn't think of the right way to email him. I sighed, hoping I would see him in the game; maybe that would make it easier. As I logged in, I noticed he wasn't online, he was probably doing homework or something.
I walked around town for a little while, but I just couldn't stop thinking. One thing led to another, and the nightmare would just keep coming. I walked toward the Mercenary District, and noticed a back alley. I knew people normally didn't go there unless they had a reason to, so I headed there. I sat near the end, gazing at the water. The graphics were surprisingly good for a scenery so rarely seen. It seemed to relax me, and the dreaded thoughts just seemed to drift away.
"Hey there." Kuhn said, walking up to where I was, then sat next to me. "You know, Haseo has been awfully worried about you."
"I know," I said, looking away. "But I just can't talk to him right now."
"I see." He looked into the river, following the current, until it looked like he was looking for somebody to enter the alley. "Well, it looks like no one's here, so why don't you tell me?"
"I can't." I held my knees close to my chest, and looked at my clenched hands. "I barely even know you."
"Well, you can at least tell me if something happened or not. I mean, I might be help, I've been around enough women."
I smiled at his joke. "No, I don't think anything really happened. If it did… it's all my fault."
"You really shouldn't be so hard on yourself."
"It was my fault…" I whispered.
"Hm?"
"I can't stop thinking that I should stop playing this game."
"Huh? But… why?"
"I'm dangerous to anyone who gets close to me."
"Aww, come on. It can't be that bad.."
"It was my fault." I repeated. "That he was hurt before. And it will be my fault if he… or any of you are hurt."
Kuhn was quiet. I looked down, trying to resist crying. "Hey, hey. Don't cry."
"I'm not crying!" I said as tears flowed down my face.
Kuhn smiled. "Yes, you are."
"Damn it! I promised… I promised…"
"Promised?"
"I told Haseo as he was fading… that I wouldn't cry anymore… but…" I was sniffling in between parts of my sentences, "he only laughed… and he kept smiling till he disappeared." The scene was appearing fresh in my mind.
I felt a pair of arms wrap around me in a warm embrace. "It's okay to cry sometimes." Haseo said. "Sometimes it makes you feel a bit better. Just… whatever you do… don't cry all over me."
"I-I'm sorry." I said. Kuhn smiled and walked away, just leaving Haseo and me.
"Hey, I already told you, it's okay. Just, don't keep everything inside to yourself. It's okay to trust some people with your feelings." He was still hugging me, but I didn't protest. I would be crazy if I did. "Now, why don't you tell me what you were going to tell that womanizer. I'm sure if you can tell him anything, you can tell me."
"But I'll just keep crying and sniffling." I said.
"That's why I'm still holding you. Problem solved." He smiled. "So when did you promise not to cry?"
"It was… right before you fell into a coma."
"Is it okay if you tell me what happened?" I nodded, and began to tell him the story, exactly as I remembered.
We were just heading to an easy area, just Sora and me. It was just as it had always been, we were an inseparable unit, one that was always in perfect unison. The second we had entered the dungeon, we agreed that we had a bad feeling about the area. But I had told him that nothing had defeated us yet, that nothing could. He reluctantly agreed, and we continued deep into the area.
I used a fairy's orb to identify where each of our opponents were, and we defeated them with ease. I was overconfident, and I had yelled "Nothing can beat us." He only laughed, and we would continue to the next room, annihilating every enemy, and going to the next floor to do the same.
We grabbed the treasure once we were done, and we left back into the room in which we had came. He paused for a second, and pointed out that an enemy was approaching us, and quickly. We ran, the feeling of dread getting stronger. But we couldn't escape. Every exit was blocked, as if this was just going to be a regular monster fight. It caught up with s quickly, and we couldn't identify it, is wasn't a monster we had seen before.
It was chasing a young girl, Aura. We had locked eyes for only a second, and a chill ran down my spine. She disappeared, only to be replaced by the monster, Skeith. Sora told me to run away as fast as I could, but my legs wouldn't obey. I could only watch as he fought it, each of his attacks missing as it moved at an ultra fast speed.
Skeith's weapon appeared behind Sora, and he appeared to be stuck to it, like it was a crucifix or something. He struggled, but he slowly began to rise in the air. Skeith used a move similar to a Data Drain, and it was an instant KO to Sora. Skeith disappeared and Sora fell to the ground.
"Sora! Sora!" I yelled as I ran to him, "Hang in there!" I began to cry, I knew that was no ordinary monster, and I was afraid that he would fall into a coma like other people who played this game.
"What are you all worked up about for? I'll just log in, and I'll have to level up more… "
I couldn't stop crying. He couldn't stand up, and he was slowly disappearing. "I won't cry anymore. I swear." I said.
"Hey! I didn't say that! …damn."
"What?"
"I'm really going to have to level up."
"Why?"
"So I don't lose again. I do have my pride, ya know." He grinned. "I think you're going to have to start training me again."
"It's a date."
"Yay. Rigorous training. My favorite." He said, sarcasm dripping from every word.
I smiled. He finished fading away, no longer in my arms, leaving me all alone in the dungeon. I kept crying, because now I knew for sure that I wouldn't see him again.
"So that's what happened…" Haseo said, sitting next to me.
"Yeah. That's why I was so angry at that Ovan guy. If he was the cause of you going comatose… I would have…"
"Hey, it's okay. I'm awake, aren't I?"
"Yeah…"
"Anyway, as long as I'm with you, the champion PK, I should be safe, right?" he teased.
"Aw, you're making me blush." I teased back.
"So… you and I were partners in crime, huh? That must've been interesting."
"I told you already. Anyway, our way was pretty similar to that of PKK. We would take out players who did wrong, and other PKs. It was the best."
We were quiet for some time. I was so happy to be with him, and the nightmare had vanished from my mind. I really wished it could last forever, but I still had the feeling it wouldn't. But I would enjoy it as long as I could.