Disclaimer: this is not mine...well not .hack anyway..the individual STORY is...ahh...whatever.
AN: after months, here is the sequel....and you lazy bums left me to figure out the sequel name MYSELF..so no credit!! *cookie monger* YES I call the "real" Sora "Sora"...I always do. Let us establish this finality...Crim is spelled C-R-I-M....thank you...lol
Torment: Chapter 1: Anxiety
" Sora.....please open the door, we won't hurt you....Sora?" Came the voice of the boy's mother.
The boy shook his head violently, shouting that he wouldn't let them in...it was only natural his mother was anxious....this was the fifth night in a row that the boy had woken up screaming, from dreams that skittered on the edge of his consciousness, hiding in all but lingering dread from his mind.
Everything had faded now...except the image of the girl...lying in a rapidly growing pool of blood, unmoving...
" Sora! We only want to help! Open up...please..."
" NO!! LEAVE ME ALONE!!!"
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" I find it strange--don't you?" Bear said cooly, eyeing his companion carefully, before continuing his line of thought, " I have never seen Mimiru absent from the World for such an extended period of time before..."
" She's a little girl...She has chores and such, you know." BT replied callously.
" Yes....But it's not like her to not tell anyone about it."
" Yeah, whatever..." She sighed.
" Depressed because Crim hasn't logged on in a while, either?"
She have Bear a scalding look, then huffed and said, " Hardly, he's an adult, he can handle himself, he's very busy."
" True, but combined with Tsukasa being absent, which admittedly isn't very unusual...this all feels....wrong..."
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Tsukasa shivered as he felt the digitalized wind howl through the girl's, usually peaceful, clearing. He whimpered slightly as he rocked back and forth slowly, his white-knuckled grip clutching his knees, which were tucked securely under his chin.
He tried to close his eyes, to let sleep consume his weary bones, to hide from the despair that strangled him viciously, threatening to squeeze out the final, wavering, drops of life left in him. Despite his efforts, he could not escape the pain, the sinking knowledge that he had been the lone contributor to Mimiru's tragic death....
" No...No...I-it wasn't my fault!!" He sobbed.
" Tsukasa..." Came the sickly-sweet voice of Morganna, " Do not concern yourself with her death, she is not important, only you, I, and her are important...."
" B-but....She was my friend!!!"
" Tsukasa!" It snapped, " I said forget about her!!"
Forget about Mimiru??!....No! Not when he had caused this....no matter what Morganna might believe....
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Crim scowled fiercely at the floor as he leaned against a wall near Mac Anu's Chaos Gate...Tsukasa had not met up with Subaru here for days! He did not know what he planned to do if he found Tsukasa....at first he had thought he would kill him....but now he was unsure...he was certain of little these days...how could he be expected to think clearly when she....? He wondered sometimes how he had ever existed before he had met her....or how he could continue to....angrily he staunched the wave of tears that threatened to overwhelm him, at the thought of his obsession, his burning desire....the time for tears was long past...now...now he had to figure out what he could possibly do next...
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" Sora...." An oddly familiar voice whispered, from the dark abyss of his dreams.
" Who's there?!" The boy asked in a paranoid voice, eyes darting about frantically, trying to pinpoint the source of the voice through the murky gloom.
" Sora...." The voice repeated itself, " You must return...."
" R-return? Where?! Who are you, and how do you know my name?!!"
Suddenly, from the darkness, a tall woman walked up to him, smiling, her skin was of a medium tone, her hair chestnut-brown, and she had strange, yellow markings as her only clothing.
" I...know you?"
" Your friends need you..." She said, her voice a whisper.
" My...friends??..." He repeated numbly, " Who are you?!"
Suddenly, he was sitting bolt-upright in his bed, a soft light filtered into the room, the computer hummed softly, the interface of the World beckoning for him to log on....but he had not left it on....slowly, he walked over to it....he was needed....Mimiru had said so....
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The young leader of the Crimson Knights, Subaru, sighed as she sat on the 'throne' provided for her....why had Tsukasa ran off like that? Why had she not seen him since? Where was Crim?
Many questions boiled in her mind as she sat there, only half listening to her second's report.
" Silver Knight." She said abruptly, cutting into his speech.
" Yes?"
" I...think I'll log out now..."
" But...Lady Subaru?!" He protested, but she only ignored him, walking away, through the empty halls of the 'Crimson Castle'.
" Subaru...." Came a voice from behind her, it echoed strangely in the corridor.
Quickly, Subaru turned to face the speaker, and was mortified by what met her eyes.
Mimiru stood in front of her, a deranged smirk locked in place on her face, her hair was completely out-of-place, her head cocked awkwardly to the side. Her armor was chipped badly, it's strap broken, but most terrifying was her waist, it had a gaping hole, crusted almost completely over with dried blood, and fresh blood ran along her torso and thighs, covering them almost completely.
Subaru shrieked in horror, and gasped, " Mimiru!! what happened?! Let me help you! Do you have any potions??!!!"
Mimiru laughed hollowly, the sound of it echoing eerily from the walls, " help me?...You did this to me!!"
" What are you talking about?!" Subaru asked, confused.
"YOU!!! IT'S ALL BECAUSE OF YOU!!!! " She screeched, clawing at Subaru, " And now you'll pay!!!"
Shocked, she took a step back....how could that have hurt? She wasn't infected by the virus...was she?? Suddenly, Mimiru leapt at her, sword drawn, Subaru screamed, and fell backwards out of her wheel-chair.
She felt a wetness on her cheek.....
Numbly, she brought her hand up to it, and gazed down at her fingers, already knowing what would be there.
Blood....
AN: what'd ya think? I just saw the final episode of .hack, so I was in a funk for a little bit, then I wrote this...hrmm.... R&R please!!!
`Yusagi Sombermoon