.hack/G.U.
ALTERNATE TRUTH
PROLOGUE
He stood at the edge of a hill, overlooking the field. Below him, a large group of Player Killers gathered, harassing two small Harvest Clerics. Both quickly fell to the blades of the killers. He could hear their laughing from where he was, they had greatly enjoyed today's kill. He laughed softly to himself and hopped down to their level, where he walked over to the group.
While they were busy chatting amongst themselves, he quickly kicked one of the PKers to the ground, garnering all their attention. He simply smirked.
"Having fun?" He asked.
On the face of one of the PKers was a look of fear, he backed away, "Th-The Terror of Death…" He quickly hid behind a taller player, "It's HASEO! The PKK!"
Haseo grinned, and quickly drew a pair of golden short swords from his back. Wasting no time, he dashed forward, cutting down three of the PKers in one strike. A pair of them surrounded him, but he dispatched them with ease.
Suddenly, a larger group came at him. Haseo sheathed his swords, then in a white flash drew a large black scythe, and cut them all down with a spinning slash. A few more PKs came at him from the air, but he leaped up and killed them with another slash.
Upon landing, the PK who had recognized him, Negimaru, charged at him and knocked his scythe out of his hands. Negimaru grinned, but did not get a chance to enjoy his small victory. Haseo grabbed his face and blew him away with a blast of light.
Only two PKers remained. The first one, a short stocky man with a broadsword charged at him and swung. Haseo leaped away, then drew his own broadsword, a violet chainblade. The two blades clashed, Haseo knocked the PKer's sword out of his hands, then cut him down before he could react.
The last PK, a tanned woman with a spiny sword, swung her blade at him, but her attack was blocked and she was easily knocked aside.
"Damn…!" She murmured. Haseo placed his sword near her neck.
"I'm surprised, I didn't think you'd be that strong," The woman said, "I guess the rumor about you killing one hundred PKers isn't a lie after all."
"Do you know 'Tri-Edge'?" Haseo asked. She looked up at him with a confused expression. "He's a legendary PK shrouded in blue fire," He said in response to her face, "They say players that get killed by him never come back to the game."
"Oh come on!" She laughed, standing up and pushing his sword aside, "Don't tell me you believe that bull. Some old forum fairytale." She picked her sword up from the ground, "Now then, you think you can go up against me, the great Bordeaux and walk away like nothing hap-"
Bordeaux was cut off by Haseo's sword. The teeth of the weapon grinded into her side, and Haseo cut her down. Her lifeless body fell to the floor.
"Yeah, I think I can," Haseo said, turning away. He scoffed at the weakness of his opponents, then disappeared from the area as azure rings surrounded him.
ETERNAL CITY: MAC ANU
Haseo reappeared in the dome of Mac Anu, "The World"'s basic root town. Players around him watched, obviously recognizing him. He didn't care, it was something he had gotten used to in the past six months. His fame as "The Terror of Death" worked in his favor. If the PKs feared him, they would be more inclined to give him what he wanted, information on "Tri-Edge".
"Tri-Edge", a PKer that had taken something dear from Haseo. The life of his friend, Shino. His reason for playing "The World". All he wanted now was revenge, and he would do anything to get it.
Putting those thoughts aside, Haseo walked out of the dome, and into the streets of Mac Anu. Dozens of players filled the area, chatting, stocking up on items at the shops, taking on quests. Basic things done in an MMO, things Haseo never bothered to do, as it often got in his way. His goal here was to find possible PKers, then hunt them down for any information they had on Tri-Edge.
"Hey, you!"
Haseo stopped and looked back. Behind him stood two players. A tall man with long green hair dressed in noble-like clothes. He couldn't get a clear look at the other player, but he could tell it was a girl.
"You, the player that smells of death. The Terror of Death, right? You're the PKK, Haseo," The man asked.
"So what? I don't have time for this." Haseo scoffed.
"Players that kill other players are disgraceful. I agree it's disgusting how PKs run rampant these days, but that doesn't make it okay for PKKs like you to deal with the problem by force," He explained.
"What's your point?" Haseo asked.
"You have no authority, no right, so why?"
"And you're saying YOU have authority?" Haseo shrugged and turned around.
"I am the leader of Moon Tree's Second Unit," He said, "You can call me Sakaki."
Haseo paused, running the name "Moon Tree" through his head. He had heard the name before, but didn't care enough to ask what it was. He figured it was either a guild or the name of an Arena team, "What's Moon Tree? A guild?" He laughed, turning and walking up to Sakaki. He stood at level with him, and scoffed, "Sorry pal. I've already got enough friends. And I don't need your charity group following me around." He turned away again then started walking.
He didn't get very far when he heard a softer voice, a girl. "Do you always interrupt people like that? Sakaki wasn't finished taking to you yet!"
Haseo sighed, turning to face the girl. Before he could respond with one of his usual flippant answers, he suddenly recognized her. A small dress, a wing shaped mantle on her back, and a big circular hat. "Shino?!" He said, shocked.
The girl seemed confused. Sakaki interrupted them by walking up and putting a hand on her shoulder, "Do you know him, Atoli?" He asked.
"Atoli?" Haseo questioned, looking back at the girl.
"No, why?" Atoli responded.
Sakaki chuckled at Haseo. "A case of mistaken identity. It's not uncommon to meet players with similar characters in an online game, you know."
Haseo glared at him, "You better watch it, you son of a-" He was interrupted by a ringing sound. The sound of a Flash Mail. 'What the? Flash mail huh...?'
The message read; "Delta: Hidden Forbidden Waterfall. Meet me at Arche Koeln."
'Arche Koeln? Who sent this?' A familiar figure caught his attention. Past Atoli and Sakaki, in the middle of a crowd of players stood a tall man dressed in blue and white clothes, and more distinctly a large black canister on his left arm. A very familiar figure. One Haseo knew from before Shino's death at the hands of Tri-Edge.
"Ovan?!"
He rushed past the two players before him, and into the crowd. But Ovan was already gone. Haseo looked around to see where he might have went, but couldn't find him. 'Fine. Arche Koeln it is.'
Before he could go back to the Chaos Gate, Sakaki stopped him. "Hold on a moment. I'm not finished with you yet," He said, "If you PKKs succeed at what you're trying to do, you'll be no different from the PKs themselves, you fool!"
"Shut up!" Haseo said, "I don't have time for you or your cult!"
Haseo stormed off after that.
DELTA: HIDDEN FORBIDDEN WATERFALL
ARCHE KOELN WATERFALL
As the azure rings dissipated, Haseo found himself in yet another familiar spot. He stood on a bridge overlooking a gigantic waterfall. In the middle of the bridge, there was a bright orange A-shaped sign. Tri-Edge's sign. But Haseo didn't pay any attention to that. Beside the mark stood Ovan. Haseo clenched his fist in anger, and walked over to the man.
"Ovan! Where have you been these last six months?" He said.
Ovan turned toward him, adjusting his orange sunglasses, "Been a while, Haseo. Or perhaps I should say The Terror of Death."
Haseo was silent as Ovan walked toward him. The older man eyed him for a second, grinning in approval, "You've become strong. Much stronger than before."
"I was forced to." Haseo said, "Because of you. You left us. Why?"
"I was busy. Such a small seed. I couldn't wait to see what was inside. So I raised it." Ovan replied.
"You raised it? What the hell are you talking about, Ovan?"
Ovan laughed, "Metaphors aren't meant to be taken seriously, Haseo."
Haseo scoffed, not having a response. Ovan stared for a second, then said, "Do you want to know about Tri-Edge?"
That got Haseo's attention. He whirled around to face Ovan, "You know Tri-Edge?!" He asked. Ovan looked up to the sky, seemingly lost in his thoughts as he reminisced about their old days in the Twilight Brigade. A guild Ovan had ran, one that Haseo and Shino were both members of. But something happened that caused Ovan to disappear, and the guild was disbanded. Shortly after that, Shino was PKed by Tri-Edge, and fell into a coma in real life.
"Six months now," Ovan said finally, "Shino still hasn't come out of the coma. Ever since Tri-Edge killed her."
"So...you knew about Shino, then." Haseo said.
"Yes." Ovan replied, "But, if you were to meet Tri-Edge, maybe you could find out how to revive her. Or, maybe if you killed Tri-Edge, that would be enough to bring her back."
Haseo was silent, so he continued, "If my information is correct...he will return today. At the scene of the crime."
The scene of the crime. Haseo knew instantly what Ovan meant. The Hulle Granz Cathedral. A place that had existed in "The World" since its first version.
Haseo grinned, clenching his fists in anticipation, "Finally...I'll get my chance...!!"
"Yes. It is something only we can do." Ovan told him, but his words were lost to Haseo, who was wrapped in his his anticipation for the upcoming battle with his nemesis. He turned toward the Platform that would return players to town. "I'll meet you at the Cathedral, Haseo. There are some things I must do."
And he disappeared in a flash of blue light. Haseo waited for a moment, then returned to town himself. His next destination: the Hulle Granz Cathedral.
DELTA: HIDDEN FORBIDDEN HOLY GROUND
HULLE GRANZ CATHEDRAL
The Chaos Gate transported Haseo outside the cathedral. The area was basked in an eternal sunset, giving the area a golden hue. Before him stood the giant gates of one of the more popular Lost Grounds. With no intention of waiting for Ovan, Haseo walked forward to the gates, and entered the cathedral.
The inside was decorated exactly in the style of an ancient church. Each footstep of his sounded throughout the room. Haseo walked up to the altar, where another Tri-Edge sign glowed. Seeing the mark brought back memories. One stood out, when Shino had first taken him to this area.
"They say there used to be a statue of a girl here," Shino said as the two of them looked upon the altar. Haseo glanced over at her, a confused expression on his face, "A girl?" He asked.
She walked up to the altar, "Yeah. She was called Aura." Shino replied.
"Why'd she disappear?" Haseo asked.
"Who knows?" Shino shrugged, looking back at Haseo over her shoulder, "Maybe she lost her interest...lost hope for this world."
Haseo was drawn out of his flashback by a sudden sound. A strange, musical note. It sounded familiar, but he couldn't figure out exactly how. Before he could attempt to remember it, he noticed a light behind him. Turning around, he saw a small, flaming ball of blue energy. It exploded and he jumped back, skidding across the floor.
The area where he had stood was now covered in azure flames. In the middle of it stood a figure, which waved the flames away, revealing it to be a man dressed in ragged orange clothes, green hair, an orange hat, and an almost zombie-like face. He pulled a pair of swords from his back, revealing three blades on each. At this point, Haseo instantly recognized him.
"It's you...You bastard..." He clenched his fists. In the real world, he was sweating, trembling, this was also reflected by his character. "Because of you...it's you...that killed Shino!!"
Haseo charged at him, leapt, and drew his swords, "TRI-EDGE!!"
He swung a sword, but Tri-Edge blocked it easily with one of his own. Haseo wasn't stopped by this, he unleashed a furious flurry of slashes at Tri-Edge, attacks that would normally fell normal PKers. But Tri-Edge blocked each and every one of Haseo's attacks with a simple flick of his wrist. Haseo's anger grew with every one of his attacks.
Realizing that he would break through Tri-Edge's defense with his dual swords, Haseo sheathed them and drew his broadsword, then quickly resumed the assault. He swung his sword, but Tri-Edge blocked this attack just as easily as his others. The teeth of the broadsword grinded against Tri-Edge's blade, causing sparks to fly all over the area. Tri-Edge took his other sword, and swung it at Haseo. A blue flash of light was all the PKK saw, and he was sent flying across the room, his broadsword incinerated.
Haseo weakly picked himself up, cursing his opponent. As he looked up at Tri-Edge, images of Shino flashed through his mind, and his anger only grew at the thought of being unable to avenge his friend.
"I can't...no...I won't lose here!!" He said, drawing his scythe, his final weapon, "It's not over yet!"
Before he could swing the weapon, another flash of blue light filled his screen, and his scythe was destroyed just like the broadsword. As he stared in disbelief, Tri-Edge grabbed his face, and sent him across the room with a blast of blue flames. A similar move to what Haseo had done to one of the PKs from before.
When he recovered from the attack, he saw Tri-Edge hold his hand out. A strange, crimson, crystal-like bracelet appeared, and a bright light started resonating in his palm. Three larger crystals spun into existence, stopping after a few spins. Before Haseo could react, several bright beams of light shot from the bracelet, piercing Haseo's body. He screamed out in pain, a pain that he had felt in real life as well.
He gazed upon his enemy one more time, before his character erupted in a bright explosion. What was left of his body fell back to the floor. The last thing he could see before his screen faded to black was the silhouette of another man. Who, he could not tell before consciousness was lost.