.hack//Revelations

'The World R:2' was a world of chaos thanks to the rise of AIDA. Players who were infected by AIDA fell comatose or their PCs reeked havoc on the non-infected players. Only a select group of players could combat this threat: the Epitaph Users. The legendary PKK, Haseo, The Terror of Death, lead the mission to exterminate AIDA while gathering the other Epitaph Users as well as valuble friends who supported him. Together, they triumphed over AIDA with the help of Ovan's 'Rebirth' and saved the World; after many trials and tribulations, the group succeeded in veering the World from a life-threatening crisis. 'The World' returned to "normal" with new players joining everyday, PKs out PKing, arena members aiming for the title of Emperor, and players enjoying an AIDA-free 'the World'.

Haseo, alongside the remaining Epitaph Users and his friends, watched over 'the World' until it was time to go their seperate ways. Some moved on to better jobs that required most of their time; others moved to colleges and universities, stepping up into the real world. And those that remained eventually left 'the World' themselves. The network crisis was over, nothing more than a bad dream in the space of time and was soon forgotten.

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Job Class: Blade Brandier

Race: Human

Gender: Female

Name: Celeste

"The World" log in screen appeared after the character had been customized. 'Alright, let's get started.' The goggles were donned and the controller taken into hand followed by the 'click' to sign in. The music paused for a moment as the game interface loaded and then the menu showed itself on the screen. The player paused to look at the options of logging in, reading the forums, or reading the history or background of 'the World.' The decision was made to log in and check out 'the World.' The music paused once again but started back up almost instantly as the screen showed a picture of the /\ server Root Town. It took only a few moments for the game to load and the screen to change to show the Root Town. 'The World R:2' had been updated a lot since it first came out, according to her friend who had recommended she play.

Mac Anu: The famed newbie player town. Celeste took her first steps forward and moved outside the dome where that Chaos Gate was housed. Stepping out into the animated sunlight revealed her character's features: the body was slim but strongly built. On her feet, she wore thigh-high, heel-less, black boots. An elegant kimono covered her body but the front was slit and ruffled to show the long, smooth legs. The kimono was white with small lavender flowers printed at the collar and ends of the sleeves, and a large, lavender bow wrapped around her stomach to tie in the back. Her complection was an ivory color, making her appear pale in the sunlight. Her eyes were of deep amethyst while her hair was waist-long and raven black.

She blinked and looked ahead of her along the walkway. She viewed the scenary a moment before descending the stairs that led from the dome. She walked along a long pathway that crossed a bridge suspended over a calm, clear ocean of water. Beyond the bridge was a gigantic arc that she passed under to reach the market where a large fountain stood in the center surrounded by guild shops. The number of players was astounding to her as the square was nearly over-run with people buying from shops and conversing with one another.

Her eyes looked over the entire market before she decided to continue down one of the paths. Her course took her along a winding path that began at the south end of the market and turned east to lead along a red, brick wall ally. It led east for a while before opening south again to a railing that overlooked more of the waters that surrounded Mac Anu. She paused momentarily to view the waters as they drifted by before continuing her exploratoin of the town. She turned right and walked along the railing and crossed the bridge past a group of players that were chatting excitedly amongst themselves. Her path took her east a bit more before opening out again but to a large harbor where a large, wooden ship was docked directly in front of her.

Celeste stepped forward to the edge of one of the piers and gazed out over the vast ocean. 'So realistic,' she thought as the tide calmly drew in and out, leaving the area in a tranquil peace. "Tony," she whispered as she thought about a time she and her older brother had gone to the beach at sunset. It was similar to this, yet no one was to be seen for miles on that sandy shore.

~ "Tony!" A child called back to a teenage boy. "Hurry up!"

"I'm coming. Sheesh, you're hyper today, aren't you?" The boy smiled down at the innocent child as he finally reached the peak of the sand dune.

The child giggled up at him and took his hand, leading him down to the water. Huge eyes filled with wonder stared out at the horizon and the vast miles of waves coming in and out, washing the shore and tickling the small, bare toes. "It's beautiful Tony." The small head turned and looked up at him. "Will we ever come back?" ~

Celeste came back from her daydream as someone shoved her forward, nearly off the pier into the waters. As she regained her balance, she turned to see who pushed her. "What in the world do you think you're....?!"

"Hey!" Celeste blinked as she looked at the boy in front of her. Dark brown hiking boots covered his feet while he wore loose, grey pants and a plain, black tank top. His eyes were a piercing blue with light brown hair and brown cat ears sticking out of his head. A blue collar was around his neck.

"Who...?" Celeste began asking when he cut her off.

"Oh, come on. You should know who I am. Well, I guess I am only your big brother, right?" He winked at her with a smile on his face.

"Tony?!" Celeste stared at the boy in front of her for a moment longer before leaping forward to embrace him. "Oh Tony! I've missed you big brother!"

Tony chuckled a bit and held her loosely. "I've missed you too. How've ya been?"

The girl loosened her hold on him and smiled brightly. "I've been doing well. Mother has been teaching me and I've improved a lot in more ways than one. So what about you? How has college been?"

"It's been alright. Kinda lonely without my adorable little sibling clinging to my arm." He winked at her again while smirking.

Celeste blushed at this. "I-I did not always cling to you!!!" She protested.

"Oh really? Then why was it that everytime you met someone, you'd hide behind me?"

"Th-that was when I was younger... You know I don't do that anymore. Not since mother...."

Celeste soon felt Tony's fist lightly land on the top of her head. "Lol. I'm just kidding. I know you're not like that anymore. I just love teasing you, you know." He winked again.

"Hmph." Celeste turned away from him and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Aww, c'mon. You know I was just kidding. Don't be like that." Tony tried to get her to face him again, all to no avail. "Hmm... Come on. I'll show you how to move around in-game."

"I read the manual. I know how to warp with the gate's and everything."

"Well... How about I show you one of the most beautiful fields in 'the World'?" Finally he had her interest piqued as he noticed her turn her head and glance back at him.

"..... Okay. Show me."

He nodded. "Alright. Let's get to the Dome and warp out of here to the field. Race ya." With that, he turned around and dashed to the warp point on the other side of the harbor. He soon regretted making it a race as he saw Celeste dash ahead of him. Tch... I forgot that blade brandiers are fast.... Not to mention.... Her skills.... He speed up, but a little too late. Celeste was already warping to the Dome as he reached the warp point. He quickly warped to the Dome as well, but saw her already walking through the doors which lead inside. "Aww man...." He walked up the stairs to the entrance of the Dome and stepped inside.

There stood Celeste, waiting for him in front of the Chaos Gate. "I thought you were going to beat me here," she smirked at him.

He walked up to her and sighed. "Yeah, yeah... be quiet." Celeste smirked at him but kept silent as he added her to his party and activated the Chaos Gate. "Delta: Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground!" Blue swirling data surround each of them as they were transported away from the Root Town.

When the screen finished loading, Celeste found herself starring up at a large, gothic cathedral, bathed in the light of the setting sun. She and Tony stood on a bridge-like balcony that overlooked the lake in front of the large church. Beyond the lake shores, rocky hills rose from the earth for as far as she could see. Her gaze swept back to the cathedral to stare at the large doors which appeared old and unable to move on their hinges.

Tony smiled lightly at her amazment and took her hand. When her gaze turned to him, he tilted his head toward the cathedral doors and led her inside. Two rows of pews filled the room, seperated by an aisle that they walked down together. At the end of the aisle, an empty pedistal stood with a faded inscription and behind it, a large, stain-glass window with the sun light shining through to light the room. The walls were a plain stone grey but with the stain glass, they shimmered in brilliant shades of red, blue, yellow, green, purple, and orange.

However, out of everything in the cathedral, the empty pedistal caught Celeste's attention. She pointed at it with her free hand. "Why is there an empty pedistal in such a grand cathedral? Was CC Corp unable to come up with anything? 'Cause that'd be pretty pathetic and they should fix it..."

Tony shook his head. "No. This area isn't CC Corp's making. Delta: Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground. A Lost Ground."

Celeste looked at him, rather confused. "Lost Ground?"

Tony nodded while walking up to the pedistal. "Yeah. They're special fields in 'the World' that just appeared. CC Corp never designed them and can't delete them either. They're like.... Original parts of 'the World'." He turned back to her smiling. "As for the pedistal, it wasn't always empty. However... If you had seen it in R:1, the way it was originally, you would have said it was a sad sight."

Celeste tilted her head and walked closer to the pedistal as well to stand next to her brother "And why is that?"

Tony turned to the pedistal again and reached out a hand to touch the inscripition. "....Because there used to be a statue of what is said to be a goddess here. But her eyes were sad and she was chained to the walls, bound here until her knights came to set her free. The goddess... Aura."

Celeste looked at him like an awe-struck child listening to a story of good versus evil. "A-Aura? You mean... The Aura from mother's story? The.... AI?"

Tony nodded. "Yeah. 'The World R:2' is basically the same as 'R:1' But Aura saw no reason to stay in 'the World'. She moved on, but she still watches over 'the World' and the entire network.

She looked back up at the pedistal, thinking to herself. "It's kind of hard to believe that mother's story was more than pure fiction... It certainly didn't sound real."

Tony nodded. "Yeah. But when I heard other people describing the area and past events within the 'the World', I knew she had been telling the truth." He turned back to her, smiling. "Mother was a dot hacker that saved 'the World' from a network crisis and freed Aura."

Celeste glanced at him before looking back at the pedistal and the stain-glass window beyond it, a slight smile upon her lips. "Yeah..."

He watched her for a while before taking her hand in his and giving it a light squeeze. When she turned to look at him again, he flashed his usual smile and together, they stared at where the statue of Aura used to stand, remembering their mother's story of the Legendary Dot Hackers.