Author's Note: After careful deliberation, I've decided to write a ".hack/" fic. For those who've read other stories of mine, I hope you enjoy this one as much as my others. Take it away Disclaimer!
Disclaimer: Angelglory does not own ".hack/".
Quick Background: This begins just about one month after the very end of Quarantine. (After Kite gets the Bracelet back and after Mia is "reborn", so to speak…) "The World" has been upgraded again, with the Omega server, Lia Fail, being fixed and the adding of two new character classes.
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Chapter 1: The Scythe and The Wingless
He was sick of it. Sick and tired of being caught under the shadow of him. "It's happened too many times, I tell you!" It made him sick how many times he had been mistaken for him!
His name was Suma! And he was not Kite! Nor was he a poser!
He had thought about quitting "The World". But he couldn't, not until he made a name for himself, not until people knew who he was!
It started about a month and a week ago. There was an event held called "The Forgotten Evil". And he was the first to clear it. He beat it so fast that no one really had time to hear about it. As a prize, he was awarded his own special attack. He called it "Swirling Scythe" after his favorite attack, "Swirling Dark".
His other prize was a mistaken identity. That's when all of the players started mistaking him for that damn Kite! It pissed him off beyond believe. He was Suma the Scythe, not some Kite look-a-like!
And with that, he took a deep breath and sighed. Looking down at his keyboard, he grumbled and typed in his password. He'd log on; maybe he wouldn't be mistaken today.
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHThe three yellow rings circled around the Twin Blade as he materialized in Mac Anu. He looked around dully at the town before him. He yawned and rested his hands behind his head.
"Great, another boring day," Suma sighed.
He turned towards the Chaos Gate and went to enter some random Keywords when…
"HEY!" a voiced called out.
"Oh great, a newbie," Suma thought, turning around to see a Long Arm standing in front of him. "Yeah, what can I help you with?" the Twin Blade asked aloud.
"You're that Kite guy, right? I was wondering if you could trade with me. Please?" asked the Long Arm.
Suma's right eye twitched. "Damn it! Not another one!" he yelled in his own mind. "No! My name's Suma, not Kite! What makes you think that I'm him! HUH!" he barked at the newbie.
The Long Arm jumped back a few steps, almost falling down the stairs behind him. "W-Well, I heard Kite was a Twin Blade and wore red clothes. So I just thought…you were him. I'm sorry, I just wanted to trade," the player replied.
Suma sighed again, crossing his arms. "Alright, alright, I'm sorry. Just next time…don't jump to any conclusions. Just because you see a red Twin Blade, doesn't mean that it's Kite. I'm Suma the Scythe, and don't you forget it OR what I look like. Okay?"
Suma wore a long red coat. It was buttoned at the top and open on the bottom. A brown belt was around his waist with two straps of the sides, holding his blades in place. His pants were red and were tucked into his light brown boots. A light brown cloth was wrapped loosely around his neck, hiding his mouth when he looked down. His face was pretty plain, only a red "V" on the left half of his face. His eyes were a piercing amber yellow. And his hair was a black as night.
The newbie Long Arm nodded and apologized again, "Alright, I'm really sorry. I'll be more careful. G'bye." And so, the player logged out.
The Twin Blade grumbled and shook his head. "Maybe I'll check the Board for any new Keywords…" he mumbled, logging out as well.
Suma browsed the Board's topics. Nothing of immediate interest could be found as he scrolled down the list. Not Keywords, not anything. Until he reached a new topic titled, "Meetings". Inside, two players were talking about a place to meet up.
"This looks interesting, maybe I'll get some new Keywords," Suma thought as he read on.
The last message read, "Okay, let's meet at Delta: Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground."
Bingo! Suma had found what he wanted, a new place to go. Maybe he'd find something good to sell, or maybe even a new weapon or piece of armor.
Feeling giddy, Suma quickly logged back into "The World". As he appeared in Mac Anu again, he turned to the Chaos Gate and entered in the Keywords: Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground.
He spent as much time as possible on fields or in the dungeons. That was usually his salvation from the Kite accusers.
Materializing onto the entered field, Suma saw that a large cathedral lay before him.
Wow, never seen a place like this in "The World".
The Twin Blade shuffled his feet towards the large church doors. This place, to him, was beautiful and majestic. But at the same time, seem to hold a dark secret inside its old decrepit walls.
As he reached the entrance, a Blademaster emerged from inside the building. He gave a small wave to the player as they Gated Out. Must've been one of the players that were meeting here.
Shrugging it off, he pushed open the door and slipped inside. Organ music hummed throughout the large room and sent a chill down his spine, in the real world. He ran his hands over the wooden benches, thinking…
This place…is kind of eerie. And where's all the treasure? And the monsters?
The Twin Blade grumbled aloud, "Grrrr…There's nothing here. Damn it!" he shouted.
"Is that you, Moseja? Did you forget something?" a voice asked. It came from the front row of benches.
Suma hadn't noticed her before, but a female Heavy Axeman was sitting there the entire time. The Twin Blade stood silent for a few moments before speaking up.
"Uh," Suma stammered, "M-Moseja? No…My name's Suma."
The female player was staring at a statue wrapped in chains. Finally, she turned around and glanced back at Suma. "Oh? Then have you come for solitude?" she asked.
"Uh, no, I…um…" Suma was at a loss of words.
Holy hell…she's gorgeous.
Suma restricted himself from doing anything in the real world, although, he did get a good look at the Heavy Axeman.
The girl had light brown hair that curled around her face, yet stuck outwards in the back. Her dress was a mixture of blue and white. The dress itself was white, but had a light blue streak going down the middle. Her white gloves were long and went up past her elbows. Unlike all of the other female Heavy Axeman, she had no wings on her back. One of a kind…
The Twin Blade quietly walked towards the other player, trying and failing miserably to hide the blush on his face. When he finally reached the front bench, the Heavy Axeman smiled at him.
"My name's Eterni. Would you like to sit with me for a while?" she asked, scooting over to make room for the Twin Blade.
Suma nodded, sat down and crossed his arms. "So, uh, you like coming to this place?" he asked, glancing at the statue.
"Jeez, I was never good with women," he thought, mentally slapping himself across the face."Yes," Eterni replied, "This area is one of a kind. Not many people come here. I like to think of it as my own special area."
Suma listened diligently, nodding a little. "Hmm, your own special area. That must be nice. I could use an area like that for a change. You know, to get away from it all."
Eterni look at Suma with interest. "I see now…you're that player. The one who looks like Kite."
An agitated smirk crept onto Suma's face. "Yeah, I'm Suma the Scythe. How'd you guess?" he muttered.
"Well," the Axeman began, "You look like him. But I know you are not him. In fact, I saw you earlier. You were yelling at a Long Arm for calling you Kite."
The Twin Blade looked away and scratched the back of his head. "Heh heh…So, if you think I'm a jerk then why be so nice to me?"
"I don't think you're jerk. You seem very nice. A nice sensitive boy, that's what you are," Eterni answered.
Suma's blushed brightened as he looked up towards the high ceiling. "Aw, jeez…Cut it out!"
"I wish all the boys were like you. That's the kind of guy I need," Eterni jested.
Suma's face was completely pink with embarrassment. "We just met! Stop talking like that!"
Suddenly, almost as appearing out of thin air, a blade shot out to left of Suma's head. Same with Eterni but on the right side. A demented cackle echoed from the seat behind them. The wielder of the blades leaned forward, a sick grin on his face.
"Well, well, well, isn't this grand? A couple of love birds flirting with each other," the man said.
He was a Twin Blade. His skin was as pale as a ghost and his hair was a dying gray. His eyes seemed dead to the world around him.
The player held both his blades close to his prey; close enough to cut them but not quite.
"You! You really love following me don't you, Specter Phantom?" Suma blurted out, as he eyed the other Twin Blade.
The man, apparently named Specter Phantom, cackled again, drawing Suma closing. "Of course, I've been wanting to kill you for a long time. Eh hah hah ha ha hah! And now I can! Isn't that grand?" he asked tauntingly.
"That's enough, Specter," another voice called out.
A male Heavy Axeman and a Blademaster came walking down the rows of benches. Not far behind them, a young Wavemaster followed sluggishly.
The Heavy Axeman had blonde spiked hair that hung down over his face. A large scythe/axe rested on his right shoulder. He wore a long blue and black robe similar to a Wavemaster's, but had brown belts hanging over his shoulders. The edges of the robe were torn and tattered and scarcely hid his black boots.
"But Truth, he's just having a little fun. Don't be so uptight," the Blademaster commented.
"M-Moseja?" Eterni suddenly called out to the Blademaster. "What are you doing with these people?"
"Sorry there, Eterni," Moseja spoke up, shrugging his shoulders, "I just followed my orders. Personally, I got nothing against you."
Suma looked back at Blademaster. It was the same one that Gated Out when he got here. He then looked towards Truth and the quiet Wavemaster.
Just what I needed, PKers. Specter Phantom is enough by himself…but three more?
Suma had had various encounters with PKers before, especially Specter Phantom. The crazed Twin Blade had become obsessed with trying to kill Suma, almost to a point of insanity. Suma had also run into Truth before as well. But that Wavemaster was a new face, and he didn't seem too interested about the whole situation at all. Looking closer, it was more obvious that he was hiding pain.
That one's no PK. Looks like they're dragging him around with them, as a punching bag.
Specter cackled again and looked at Eterni. "Eh hah hah ha ha hah! Truth, can I kill the girl first?" the psychotic man asked.
"Not yet," Truth answered impatiently, walking front of Suma. "So, Suma, you thought you could really hide from us?"
Suma scoffed and cocked and eyebrow. "Who said I was hiding? You guys just suck at finding me," he retorted.
"You little maggot!" Truth yelled, as Specter Phantom released Eterni and held both of his blades close to Suma's face.
"Can I kill him now? Please?" Specter begged.
Truth flicked a strand of blonde hair away from his face. "Go ahead."
The blades drew closer to Suma's neck and were about to sink in when suddenly…
"Stop!" Eterni held her axe up, facing Truth. "Leave him alone!"
Truth just smirked as Specter almost snapped. "Nether! Get over here," he barked at the silent Wavemaster.
The Wavemaster, Nether, walked forward and stood in front of Truth, acting as a shield from Eterni's axe. The boy wore traditional Wavemaster clothes. His sleeves were dark gray rather than black like the rest of his wardrobe. His hat pushed his silver hair down over his face, leaving his eyes in the dark. His body trembled and ached with pain as he stood before Eterni.
The Heavy Axeman drew her axe back hesitantly. Eventually, she dropped her weapon in failure. She couldn't do it; the Wavemaster didn't deserve to die.
"This is taking to long. I'll kill him!" Moseja stepped up and swiftly impaled his sword through Nether's stomach. The Wavemaster fell to the floor with a sickening thud, and then vanished from the cathedral. Perhaps he was the luckiest of the group…
Suma kept silent, mostly because he was watching the statue of the entwined girl the whole time. He was watching the chains. The chains, they were unraveling from the statue one by one. Each link of iron fell quietly, unbeknownst to the PKers or Eterni.
"What the…?" Suma murmured aloud.
The other four players looked towards the statue as it began to glow, surrounded by bright green hexagons. The screen began the flicker with static. It was followed by a sound…
The sound rang out, signaling a coming threat…an approaching end.
Without warning, a rippling wave disturbed the very being of the cathedral. And from it emerged a grotesque distortion of logic. A large monster had come from the wave, covered in the green shapes identical to the statue. It had long lumbering arms and spikes sticking out all over its body. It roared and bellowed upon seeing the five players standing before it.
Specter shot a look of extreme rage at the beast. "So, even the game itself tries to stop me from killing the Scythe! You damn monster! Get the hell out of my sight!" he snarled.
The enraged Twin Blade leapt at the monstrosity, only to be slapped out of the air and driven into the wall with incredible force. The impact killed Specter Phantom instantly, despite his high level, his body vanishing like Nether's.
Moseja said nothing; he only backed up and ran for the door. But before he could get too far, the monster swung its other arm and bashed the Blademaster into the ground.
Now only three remained and Truth was up next. "Stand back…I'll show you how it's done." The very way he moved to attack was like one fluent motion. He ducked underneath the beast's arm as it swiped at him. Before you could blink, he was already close enough and slashing like crazy at the behemoth.
Regardless, the monster seemed unfazed by the onslaught as it raised both its arms up. It quickly brought them back down, crushing the Heavy Axeman, in its clawed grip, into a disfigured mess.
With all of the PKers dead, Suma and Eterni were the only ones left. And surely they were next to die…But…
Unexpectedly, the cathedral doors flung open. And now standing in the doorway was a red-clad Twin Blade, a pink-haired Heavy Blade, and an armored Blademaster with wings. They rushed down the rows of benches, weapons prompt for attack.
The Blademaster soared into the air and landed in front of the beast. "Rue Crack! Hah!" The monster swung at the swordsman, but he had already leapt into the air.
With his sword held above his head, he clasped it tightly as he brought it down and cut the monster down the middle. The female Heavy Blade ran in for a strike next.
"Calamity!" Planting her large blade into the floor, she used it as a mount and raised herself into the air. Building on the momentum, she pulled the sword out from under her and swung it forward. The monster cringed and stumbled back.
Trying to defend itself, the behemoth swung its arms out and swatted the players away. The Blademaster caught himself into midair by use of his wings, while the Heavy Blade demolished the benches as she collided with them.
The Twin Blade went to check on his Heavy Blade friend, while the Blademaster flew back at the beast. "Rue Revolver!" he cried out.
The winged swordsman spun wildly as he launched himself at his opponent, slashing into it repeatedly. As a result of the onslaught of attacks, the green hexagons seemed to break off of the monster.
The Twin Blade finally stepped forward, something shining mysteriously on his right wrist. Suddenly, the light came to life as it grew into a large bracelet. It shimmered a bright green and blue and began spinning around the player's wrist. The Twin Blade aimed the oddity at the creature; the bracelet seemed to react. Then several beams shot from the bracelet and pierced the monster, completely destroying the emerald shapes surrounding it.
The Heavy Blade dashed back in as the bracelet subsided, unleashing her best attack and ravaging the beast. It fell down and vanished, defeated.
Things calmed down and everything went silent. Suma, who was hiding underneath a wrecked bench, remained hidden to eavesdrop on the three players.
"What's going on here? I thought all the Data Bugs were gone!" the Heavy Blade blurted out.
The Blademaster, calmer than the female, spoke up. "BlackRose, calm down. This isn't the time to get worked up. We have to figure out how the bug even got here."
The Twin Blade looked at the hand that the bracelet was on. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to use this anymore. But…But, it looks like…that this isn't over. There's something we didn't finish," he commented quietly.
BlackRose looked at the Twin Blade, holstering her sword over her shoulder. "What do you mean, Kite?"
Kite! That's him! Great…Just perfect.
Suma decided to come out of hiding as he pushed the broken pieces of wood off his body. Brushing himself off, he stood up and looked at the group of three. Although, he avoided eye contact with Kite.
"Oh, hey are you alright?" BlackRose asked Suma upon seeing him.
Suma shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, I guess…" he mumbled, walking past the group and back over to Eterni, who was lying on the floor unconscious.
The Heavy Axeman suddenly sprung to life when Suma shook her. "What? Oh, I thought I died. What happened?" she asked the Twin Blade.
Suma scratched his head. "Uh…I'm not quite sure. Something crazy…" he replied.
Standing up, he turned towards Kite. "So, yeah, what the hell did you do?" he asked, sounding more aggravated than thankful.
The other Twin Blade was caught off guard. "Well, I…" he began, looking at the bracelet as it began resonating when Suma got close.
Suma crossed his arms. "Come on, out with it!" his said, his voice raising.
BlackRose stepped forward, getting in Suma's face. "Hey, what the hell is your problem!" she shouted, "Is that any way to talk to someone who just saved your life!"
Suma glared a hole through BlackRose, nudging her back to the side. "Come on, Kite. Tell me…Tell me, why does everyone mistake me for you? Huh? Answer me that!" he growled.
Before Kite could even begin thinking of an answer, Suma trudged off towards the sanctum doors. Eterni ran after the Twin Blade as he left.
"He was certainly a rude one," Balmung commented.
"He's probably just jealous…" BlackRose muttered angrily.
Kite stayed quiet, but watched his counterpart leave. The bracelet's resonating faded as the Scythe left.
BlackRose looked to her teal-haired companion. "What's the matter, Kite? That moron didn't bother you did he?"
"No," Kite began, "It's not that. It's just…the bracelet. It was reacting to him. I have a feeling that we'll see him again."
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAs Suma appeared in Root Town, he immediately turned to log out.
Today was a disaster. Why'd I even log in at all?
Before he could leave, Eterni grabbed his shoulder. "Wait! Can I talk to you for a second?"
Suma turned around, not really in the mood for talking. "Yeah, sure," he mumbled.
Eterni twiddled her thumbs. "Listen, about earlier, before all that stuff happened…"
Suma didn't reply, but gave her a blank stare.
"Do you want my Member Address? I had a good time talking to you. But, I understand if you don't want it," the Heavy Axeman replied.
A small smile popped onto the Twin Blade's face. "Sure, I'll take it. You'd be my first one. Everyone else before you thought I was Kite."
Suma and Eterni exchanged Member Addresses.
Eterni instantly cheered up. "Great, then, I'll see you around, Suma!" she exclaimed as she logged out.
Suma smiled again to himself.
Okay, so maybe today wasn't all bad…
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So what do you think? Is that okay? R 'n' R Please! Thanks!