.Hack/Premonition
"That treasure box better be around here somewhere…"
A feminine voice echoed in the dark cavern.
"I've been searching forever! Plus I can hardly see what's in front is me…if this treasure isn't worthwhile I'm going to PK…"
The woman stopped. Another set of footsteps could be heard deeper in the cave. Or was behind her? She did not know, everything echoed in this dungeon so there was no telling where the sound was originating from. Her emerald green eyes gazed into the darkness as she carefully moved forward as she hoped that the other player in this dungeon was not after the same thing she was. Although even if that was the case, she would easily take care of them. A sly smirk swept across her lips as she patted both holsters that contained her dual guns at either side of her hips.
"Hmm?"
The female stopped short and squinted. Was that a light at the end of the hallway? Hopefully it was and not another room with a monster. She grew quite tired of these enemies here. Most of them were quicker than she thought and underestimation was her greatest weakness. 'Only a few potions left…try not to do anything stupid, Valentina, ok?' She told herself. The footsteps echoed once again and Valentina gazed behind her. 'No sign of anyone…better hurry though.' Right now was not the time to play coy. Valentina began to sprint down the hall towards the light ahead. Soon enough she emerged into a room with a floating statues and a chest in the corner. The room was bright and it caused her to squint. 'Damn dark cave…stupid light…' As her eyes began to adjust, Valentina started heading towards the chest. 'It's about time.' She thought as the gleeful smile came about. Kneeling down next to the box, she began to open it when she heard a voice a few feet behind her.
"No! It's a trap!"
Valentina's eyes widened as she saw some kid jump towards her but it was too late. The chest was already open, she saw a bright light and the floor began to crumble beneath her and the kid. Both of them fell down a dark shaft and soon enough Valentina found herself on the sprawled out on the ground.
"Damn…kid…."
Valentina mumbled as she sat upright and rubbed her head. Where was she? She then looked up and saw a small light above her, about a hundred feet or so. 'Stupid trap…' Valentina stood and groaned as soon as she noticed what was on her screen.
"That fall took half my hit points?! Great…"
She mumbled a few curses then looked around her. Least this room had some sort of light. Candles flickered occasionally on the walls around her. Skeletons were hanging from shackles and some were broken, bone by bone, across the cold mossy ground.
"Where's the way…"
"Juk Rom!"
A sudden gust of wind came from above her as the kid who tried saving her came swooping down, interestingly enough using a wood spell to break his fall. As the spell ended and the kid was on the floor, Valentina began to glare at her "savoir."
"What the hell is your problem?"
The kid had a quizzical look on his face but it soon turned into a childish smile.
"You're ok!"
He exclaimed as he giggled and waved his wand about. Valentina gritted her teeth. Who was this kid? The male had silver hair, it roughly came down a bit passed his earlobes and bright blue eyes. His outfit was like any other Wavemaster's, a robe with a hat. His robes were mainly black but it had a single purple line that extended from his shoulder to his wrist. The hat, of course, matched the style and color of the rest of his garment but it seemed a bit too big for him. Valentina shook her head in disbelief and sighed. She better get out of here before the kid became attached to her like a leech.
"Hey Miss, why'd you open the box?"
Valentina raised a brown as she gazed at the child who was oddly happy for someone stuck in what was made out to be a torture chamber. She sneered slightly and turned around. Valentina had to find the exit and fast.
"Oh!"
The boy exclaimed as he got all giddy once again.
"You're a Gunslinger. I don't see many female ones…usually all the male ones are PKers…are you a PKer? Huh?"
He began to follow Valentina around like some lost puppy but no matter how much she ignored him he kept asking questions. It was quite irritating to say the least but it as soon as she saw the door on the other side of the room she began to sprint towards it.
"Wait!"
The male began to run after her in hopes…well…for whatever reason he had. Valentina stopped at the exit and saw that it was locked shut. 'Guess that means there will be a fight coming up…'
"Aw…it's locked. Hey Miss…what's your name?"
Valentina turned to face to boy and sighed. She was stuck with him for the time being so she might as well get him to shut his mouth somehow.
"Valentina."
The boy began to ponder. For what reason? Only he knew but in the mean time, Valentina drew her dual guns.
"I'm Keriel!"
He finally exclaimed. He then began to admire her weapons. Valentina began to think about PKing the kid but felt bad doing so to a kid that was not a threat to her. Maybe he could help her in the incoming fight.
"Are you a treasure hunter?"
Valentina looked at the kid. What was his deal? Why ask tons of questions? Whatever the reason, she might as well answer it.
"As a matter of fact, I am."
She began walking towards the middle of the room and the Keriel followed. She wanted this fight to hurry on up so she could leave. The treasure was not even worth it any more. She might as well head back to Mac Anu and…
"Valentina!"
She spun around and saw Keriel jumping around and pointing to the revolving golden circle that indicated a monster would spawn there. 'Finally…' She thought as she glanced to the boy who was still prancing about.
"Can you fight?"
Keriel stopped bouncing about and thought about it. He nodded and Valentina shook her head. There was this feeling inside her that things would not turn out so well for either of them but still, two people fighting a monster is better than just her alone, even though she probably could have handeled it by herself.
"Let's go then."
Valentina began to head towards the golden circle with Keriel, who was all pumped up to fight, next to her. As both of them neared the monster circle, it began to revolve faster until its disapated and spawn something that Valentina sighed at. It was a mere Apir, a spell caster type monster that had little hit points but tons of mana point. It was just about the size of Keriel too. It began to wave its wand about and chanting some sort of language. Energy around it began to spark but Valentina had no time to waste. If this was the only obstacle then she should end it quickly. With one shot, the monster fell over and disappeard. Keriel clapped and did a little dance once again.
"Amazing, Miss Valentina!"
She shrugged and said nothing. It was no big deal but the kid seemed to enjoy the one shot show. It was somewhat cute how he envied her right now. Valentina even cracked a smile. Least everything was over, right? Suddenly Keriel stopped dancing and began to shudder. Valentina looked around and then saw what he was worried about. Even her eyes widened at this point. A skeleton-type monster that was clad in silver armor, weilding a greatsword was off in the distance. 'That…monster should not even be in this area…it's too high a level for this place.' Valentina took a few steps forward and gazed at it. Luckily enough it had not spotted either of them and was still walking around. The sound of the greatsword sliding across the ground sent chills down her spine. She was not scared of it but it was odd seeing that type of monster in this area. She looked behind her at Keriel, who was clinging to her leg and gazing at the monster. Obviously he was not used to the bigger creatures. It was true, The World was pretty realistic and that monster was about eight feet tall.
"Stay here."
She whispered as she slightly pushed the kid of of her. He nodded and she began checking her ammo. The worst case scenario was her running out of bullets in the midst of a fight. When all was done and well, Valentina began to cast her own spell.
"Ap Do!"
Valentina began to eminate a soft white light as began to engage the monster. The speed spell would hopefully prove useful in this situation but she never went up against something like this before. As she ran at double her normal speed, she began firing. The sound of bullet shells falling to the ground rang thoughout the room and the monster stumbled back. Some of the bullets hardly did any damage sine the monster was wearing armor. When her first rounds were finished, the monster began to retaliate. With weilding the large of a weapon, the monster was surprisingly fast. In one swift motion, the skeleton brought its sword right down, attempting to crush her but with her speed buff, she was able to dodge it in time. The monster gave a chilling wail as it retaliated with an even quicker blow, which caught Valentina off guard and resulted in her slamming into the wall.
Keriel bit his lip and shivered. What was he going to do? Valentina did not seem ok after that last blow but he knew he could not stand up to that monster. He contemplated what he should do but he could not let Valentina get KOed, otherwise that monster would come after him. He then ran as fast as he could towards Valentina, whom seemed to be paralyzed by the monster's last attack. The skeleton faced Valentina and cackled as he raised the sword for its final blow but was interupted by Keriel's voice.
"Suvi Lei!"
A light shot out of his wand and wrapped itself around the skeleton, freezing him in place with paralysis. The boy then made his way over to Valentina who just regained movement but was blinking red.
"Valentina!"
She quickly changed rounds and drank one of her very last potions. The red disappeard and she sighed. There was no time to waste to thank the kid for saving her life.
"La Repth."
Keriel tapped Valentina with his wand once and her health was near perfect. She smiled at the kid who smiled back but neither of them saw the light constricting the monster fade away. In that one moment, Keriel was knocked halfway across the room with one swipe of the greatsword.
"Keriel!"
Valentina cried out as she watched the boy lay motionless on the ground. She faced the monster who readied itself for another attack but Valentia needed to get over to Keriel. He risked his life to save hers but she hoped he still had some life left. She aimed her last rounds at the monster and an omnious green aura enveloped her body.
"Soul Shot!"
Sacrificing her last rounds three quarters of her hit points, the blast that errupted from her dual guns knocked the skeleton back far enough for her to run over to Keriel who had turned gray, indicating that he was lifeless.
"Keriel…"
She knelt down next to him and looked in her inventory for anything that could revive him but no such luck. She cursed under her breath again but something interupted her mumblings.
"Don't move."
Valentina knelt there in silence as she heard the cock of a guy. Who was behind her?
"You have what I want."
She had no idea what was going on. All that was heard nexr was a gun shot and the sound of her character hitting the ground. Valentina's screen darkened as the words 'Game Over' flashed in bright red letters.
"Hey…"
Someone was calling out to her? That could not be possible. All sound was muted when a player died. How could she hear someone's voice?
"Hey…miss…"
That voice. Valentina knew it from somewhere. It almost sounded like…Keriel! Suddenly all she saw was a bright flash of light and when the light had dimmed, she saw the boy who had supposedly been knocked out from that monster looming over her character.
"Great! You're alright!"
Keriel's voice held it's same cheery tune. Valentina looked around but saw no monster near them. Had someone ressurected them? Ressurection never happened that way. What was going on?
"Hey…are you ok? You seem out of it…I'm Keriel!"
Valentina did a double take. Why was the boy introducing himself once again? He already did it once.
"Keriel…what happened to the monster?"
She managed to say. Keriel had a quizzical look on his face when she asked the question.
"Um…what monster?"
Valentina stood and eyed the boy cautiously. Was he playing some sort of trick on her? He surely knew that was attacked, right? Valentina shot glances around the room but saw nothing she had not noticed previously.
"Hey, why'd you open the box?"
She froze up. He had already asked that question before. Valentina looked at the boy.
"You're a Gunslinger. I don't see many female ones…usually all the male ones are PKers…are you a PKer? Huh?"
Everything was happening all over again? Valentina blinked and tried to make sense of this. She was sure that monster had attacked Keriel, she was sure that the unknown player had PKed her, and she was sure that this all could not be happening again. Could it? If that was all a dream then…it was all too much. She began heading for the door that was locked the first time she checked. Keriel followed like he did before. As she got to the gate she saw it was locked again.
"Aww...it's locked. Hey Miss…what's your name?"
Valentina froze up once again. Everything was happening again. How could that be possible? Did she dream what happened before? Or did it actually happen?
"…Miss? Are you sure you're ok? You seem…"
"…Valentina."
Keriel was glad that he got a response.
"Are you a treasure hunter?"
'Exactly like before…' She thought to herself. If everything was going the same way then she what had happened previously, all the events, would have, or rather, will, happen again. Was it some sort of vision? That could not be possible. There was no way that she could have foresaw future events. Could she? Whatever the case she should replay everything that happened.
"As a matter of fact I am."
If the events followed exactly then Keriel should…
"Valentina!"
'…This is not possible.' Valentina spun around and saw the revolving circle that she saw before. Without hesitation she sprinted towards the revolving circle. As soon as the monster appeared, she attacked. Just like before Keriel was amazed. He began talking but Valentina was not paying attention. All of this was too surreal. Each event was happening like she saw and if things continued this way then both her and Keriel would be knocked out. Well, Keriel would be and she would be PKed.
"Keriel…"
The boy stopped prancing about.
"Yes?"
"Do you remember anything?"
Keriel blinked once more. What a strange question. Of course he remembered things.
"That's silly, Valentina. Of course I remember things!"
Valentina figured as much. If Keriel knew what she knew then he would have been acting strange as well.
"When the next monster arrives, I want you to immobolize it."
"What monster? There's no more spawing points…"
Keriel began to look around and saw no more revolving circles. He scratched his head and looked back to Valentina. But before he could say anything, he heard a monster roar. Keriel spun around and his eyes widened.
"Wow! Miss Valentina, are you psychic or something?"
Valenina said nothing. Everything was playing out as it did. There was only one more event that needed to take place. Her being PKed by that unknown player. But something sparked within her. What happens if she changed the way she went about all of this? Whould there be any consequences? It was not only to save her life but to save Keriel's. She already knew how the monster would attack and how Keriel would try to save her but if she never got attacked then there would be no reason for Keriel to lose his life. Then she could focus on whoever PKed her or at least who wanted to.
"Miss Valentina?"
"…Yeah?"
"You dazed out for a second…"
"…Sorry. Let's get this over with. I need to get out of here and take care of other things."
"Okay!"
Valentina did not even have to check anything like she did before. She just charged with Keriel behind her. After a few minutes of fighting, the monster fell and neither Valentina or Keriel was injured. 'Now where is that guy…' Valentina kept her guns out and Keriel was doing his voctory dance once again. The gate opened and Keriel jumped for joy.
"Now we can leave!"
Valentina took one more glance around the entire room. No one.
"…I guess. Let's go."
Both players headed towards the gate and exited the room and eventually the dungeon. As Keriel left the dungeon entrance, he ran out onto the field.
"We made it!"
Valentina emerged seconds later but said nothing. Her mind was still on the fact that the PKer was suppose to be where she was but he was a no show. What was up? This was all too surreal. Did changing the outcome of the battle affect future? She laughed. That was ridiculous. Truth be told, she did not even fully believe that the vision she had was real. It was probably some lag or something. Maybe maintinence on the serve caused her game to spazz out. But then again…
"Valentina…"
Keriel took a few steps towards her. She eyed the boy carefully. He seemed down.
"Do…we have to part ways now?"
Valentina figured this would happen. She was now stuck with the boy unless she came up with some sort of excuse or reason.
"Well…"
"Today was fun…I don't have any other place to be. Can I tag along?"
"…Keriel…"
"Please Miss Valentina? I hate being alone…"
What a guilt trip. Valentina sighed and wondered what she should do.She could let him tag along. She needed to restock on supplies back at town and head towards her guild headquarters. Plus she needed to find her guild leader. She had a few words to say to him about these keywords he gave her claiming that there was some top notch treasure here.
"Fine."
Keriel's eyes widened and gleamed with childisht ecstacy. He jumped for joy and Valentina just chuckled a bit. She could not deny the fact that they kid was cute.
"I'll meet you in town then!"
Keriel waved goodbye as three golden rings surrounded him and gated him out of the field. Valentina just stood in the field and took one more look back towards the dungeon where she came. An eerie feeling came over her as she shuddered. But before she logged out she saw someone off in the distance, just watching her. He wore a black cloak and had shoulder length white hair that covered part of his face. He just stood there looking at her and she looked right back. 'Who is that?' Valentina kept looking towards the unknown male.
"Who are you?"
She called out as she began walking towards him. If he was a PKer then she should keep a safe distance. As she grew closer, the male said nothing and did not move. She stopped. Something was off about this situation. 'What a creep.' The male did not blink.
"Who are you?"
Valentina repeated.
"A PKer? A PKK?"
The male finally blinked and took a step back.
"You already know."
Valentina was silenced. She watched as the cloaked male gated out. 'What did he mean by that?' She stood there for a few more moments and shook her head.
"..."
She gated out herself and put what had just happened to the back of her mind.