Well, thanks to my first review (ever!) I've decided to keep this thing going. So, thanks for the much-needed inspiration! I'm glad to know that someone enjoys my work. :3
Also, know that this'll take a while. I'm planning to cover at least most of volume one, if not all of it, and continue through each volume...eventually. I'll be starting a new save file to be able to keep up with dialogue (though I'll probably add a few changes to it) and the general plot. So, in other words, it's going to take a /damned/ long time. But, at least I'm doing it, right? x3
As before, I own nothing, because it would suck horribly if I did.
----------
It didn't take long for the delta server root town, Mac Anu, to load on my computer, and soon my character appeared in front of the chaos gate. I'd done it so many times that it was just part of the game. It almost seemed as if my computer were memorizing the fields now, since it didn't take long to load something. I started walking down through the Dome, to head to the Quest Shop. Maybe there would be a good solo player quest out. And I could always just eavesdrop on the conversations I was passing, after all. People would be bound to talk about--"So, it's you. You, the character that stinks of death." What the hell? "The Terror of Death. You're the PKK, Haseo."
What the hell? Why was this idiot talking to me if he knew who I was? Didn't he know I was /busy/, dammit!? Or, maybe...he knew something about Tri-Edge? I decided to at least stop to see. "Players who kill other players...are disgraceful. And, I agree it's terrible how PKs can just strut around The World so easily these days, but is it right that you PKKs have chosen to use brute force to stop them?" Why was he lecturing me!? What an arrogant son of a..."I don't have time for this! Not now." I had to find Tri-Edge! "You have no authority, and it earns you nothing! So, why?" For Shino, you ignorant--"I am the leader of Moon Tree's Unit Two. My friends call me Sakaki." Good for you. "And I'm afraid I cannot overlook your actions." Well, wait..."Did you say Moon Tree?" Had I heard that name before...? "What's that? The name of a guild?" Did he want to recruit me or something? "Hahaha...Sorry, Sakaki, but I've already got enough friends, thanks."
That guy was probably some jaded old man in real life. He sure could lecture like it! I turned around and kept walking towards the Quest Shop. A single, stupid interruption couldn't just pull me away from my goals. I couldn't let it. Not if--"Ah...! Do you always interrupt people like that?" Damn it! Couldn't these idiots leave me to finish my thoughts, at least!? I swear, I--"You know, Sakaki wasn't finished talking to you yet!" GEEZ! This girl..."Ugh..." I turned to face her. She'd get a piece of my..."Uh...?" "Shino!" What was Shino doing here? And...what would she be doing with that other guy? In some other guild? Why wouldn't she have told me she came back? Why would Shino...? "Atoli." What? "Do you know this person?" Atoli? "Uh...No?" She said it like a question. If she wasn't...then..."Atoli?" I had to say it again. She looked so much like her. So much like Shino...
"It's not unusual to meet players with similar characters in an online game like this." Sakaki again. Just the way he was talking pissed me off. "Hm...Just a case of mistaken identity." And that laugh of his! He didn't know anything! Who the hell did that bastard think he was!? "Hey, you...Why don't you just-" PING. "Huh?" A text message...Everyone just seemed hellbent on interrupting my thoughts today. Might as well read it. Delta: Hidden, Forbidden, Waterfall. Waiting at Arche Koeln. But who sent it? Wait, could it be...? I looked up. As if he'd be there. Wait, was that!? "Ovan!" What was he doing here? Ovan's here! I...have to go to him! Without even thinking, I started running and pushing my way past other players. I wasn't even thinking. It was as if I were...possessed. I just...kept thinking, if Ovan were here, then that might mean that Shino was finally back...for real! Not some look-alike. The real Shino! But, when I got there...Ovan was gone. Damn...
"Just hold on a moment!" Now Sakaki was even laying his filthy hands on me. His ignorance of the situation was becoming harder and harder to handle without just...I'll never see this bastard again. I'll just...leave him. It was easy to get his hand off of my shoulder, what with my character's sharp armor. Since I'd probably never meet him again, I decided to send him a nice glare as a goodbye gift. "Why don't you stop acting...a...lete...ool!" Whatever he was saying, he was getting too far away for me to hear it. Good thing, though. I don't think I could stomach even a fragment of another lecture from him. I had to see Ovan. Ovan was more important than anything else. Ovan...that...that meant...it had to mean...
Shino.
I don't know why I didn't run the rest of the way to the chaos gate. I just didn't. Maybe it was because, just a little bit, I was mad at Ovan. But that made me want to see him even more. Why had he left? I quickly entered the keywords--Hidden, Forbidden, Waterfall--and warped to the Sacred Zone, Arche Koeln. Ovan would be there. He'd know about Shino for sure, wouldn't he? He...had to...Why else would he just suddenly appear?
I warped into the area. It still had that magical feeling to it...probably because it was one of the "Sacred Zones" in The World. I don't understand why they were put in. They just were. And the memories...That had to be why Ovan called me to this place in particular. Ovan. That's right. I was here to meet Ovan, not wallow in my memories forever. I turned, heading towards the end of the small pathway that somehow managed to become an area in the game. "Ovan!" So, he was here! It was him that wanted to see me here! Did he know about Shino!? He turned around after I called to him. Still had that feeling of superiority to him. But not like that guy from before. It made me...respect him, somehow, I guess. It was probably just because he revived me when I first logged in.
"It's been a long time, Haseo." He paused. "Or...maybe I should call you The Terror of Death?" Heh. Same old Ovan. He always did seem to know everything, though, even if he didn't seem to be directly involved. I never did know much about him, after all. "You've gotten quite strong--A lot stronger than you were back then." Was he praising me? "Well, I was forced to become strong...thanks to you." There was something about the way he said that, though...that made it seem like he wasn't talking about the same thing I was. "Where've you been!?" "Haseo...Always the reliable one...Ha, I knew I could count on you." For what? What's he talking about? He's walking towards the chaos gate...why?
"When the Twilight Brigade broke up...Why didn't you come then?" I was a little mad...okay, I was really mad for that. He just appears out of nowhere! What's he been doing!? If it's not been anything that would've kept him from coming back then..."What've you been doing the last six month-!?" "I was busy. It was such a small seed..." Is that a metaphor? Or is he a botanist? "I needed to find out what was growing inside." Inside of the seed? Ovan...you're so confusing..."There was only one way to find out. That's why...I decided to raise it." "You raised it? What are you talking about, Ovan?" "I'm speaking figuratively." That helped...a little. But, geez, could he be a little more vague!? Well, whatever. I don't need to know about his little seed. "When you suddenly disappeared, we all just...Why did you disappear like that!?" It was almost like it was because of his disappearance..."After that, Shino..." fell into a coma...I couldn't bring myself to finish it vocally. Shino...
"Haseo, do you want to know about Tri-Edge?" What!? Did he...know how to bring back Shino? "Wait, you know Tri-Edge?" How...could he? Was that what he was talking about before? "Six months now...and Shino hasn't come back to The World," so, he did know about that, "since Tri-Edge killed her. Meanwhile, the real-life Shino is lying in a coma." Of course. How could he not know about that? Shino was so set on getting through to him, after all. "And no one seems to know the reason why." She was always trying to get close to him..."Tri-Edge...He is /not/ a normal PK." "So, you knew! About Shino!" How could he just stay offline even though he knew all that happened!? "Yes, but that's all that I know." Was he searching for answers offline, then? "But, if you were to find Tri-Edge, you might learn something about Shino's coma. You may also learn more about what really happened that day."
What really happened? Was there more to it than just Tri-Edge PKing her? Did he...do something more to Shino!? "And...if you were somehow able to defeat Tri-Edge..." "Then maybe Shino would come out of the coma!" "If my information is correct, he will be back today...at the scene of the crime." "Scene of the crime? You mean...!" He'd be...back? I could fight him, then! Tri-Edge...I can finally kill him! "Delta: Hidden, Forbidden, Holy Ground. The place where Shino was killed." The Hulle Granz Cathedral! He'd be there...it was almost as if it would be just so I could kill him! Ha!
"Yes, finally! I'll get my chance! I swear, I'll bring Shino back! I'll do it, Ovan!" It was even more exhilerating than seeing Ovan for the first time in six months! "Yes...You and I. We're the only ones who can bring Shino back." "We're the only ones..." Yes, it was our duty alone. We had to do it. It was something special. Only us...Tap, click. Footsteps? "Ovan?" Why was he leaving already? Where was he going? "I'll meet you at the Holy Ground. There are some...things I must do." Then he warped out. Well, he'd be there. Besides, it didn't matter. As long as...As long as I could kill Tri-Edge! It was time! Time to go...to the Hulle Granz Cathedral!
---------------
Again, I really like reviews. :3 And, uh...hope you enjoyed this one. x3 I should update soon, assuming another school project doesn't come up. Dx Our science teacher's been feeling sadistic lately.