.hack/ANOMALY

II: Power

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The city of immortals...it had always been a place that endured through the many expansions of The World. After all, it was The Eternal City.

Walking out of the Dome, I ran pass a scantily clad Edge Punisher with pink hair, in what I thought to be an armored bra and skirt. Her body was decorated with wave symbols, making her very pretty, but I dared not look. Not many would, if they could feel her mood like I was; it was technically emanating off her.

Running across the huge bridge in front of me, I felt a strange sensation: feeling. How did this...? This was just a game...so why was I feeling salty wind against my face? Then I also remembered that thought I had in the Cathedral: I couldn't feel my controller.

Did this mean...that my consciousness now existed only in The World?

No, I tried denying myself, but to no extent would it help me. No, dammit! I'm not just...!

"DAMN IT ALL!" I screamed suddenly, causing many of the players near me to stare in awe. Then came their whispers. I ran off, using the nearest platform to get to the Dock. There I just sat near the gondola to Hy Brassil, too confused and angry to care about much.

"Hey, you!" a voice from behind me yelled.

I turned to find that Edge Punisher I saw at the Dome. She was staring at me sympathetically, almost sorry. Being as angry as I was, I immediately passed it off as a chance to ridicule me.

"What? Come to mock the freak who screams randomly at the Bridge?" I retorted, my voice thick with anger.

"What is wrong with you!? I just came to see how you were doing, you jerk!!" she said in a shocked, angry voice. I noticed the name above her PC-BlackRose.

"Why would I care if you came to see how I was doing? Maybe you haven't noticed, but I'm pretty pissed right now." I got up and began walking away, but the girl grabbed my gauntleted arm.

"You...you...YOU MORON!" she yelled at me, before a fist connected with my face, not exactly throwing me aghast, but certainly surprising me. It stung like hell.

It was about at that time I realized how much I offended the poor girl. She was certainly still mad, but I guess kindness would work now...

"Listen, I'm sorry. I'm just really not in the mood right now, so if you-"

"BlackRose!!"

A high pitched yell came from the crowd, irritating me to no end, especially right now, what with all this yelling.

"Mirelle! Just who I needed. Could you get your mom to talk some manners into this punk?!" BlackRose asked the girl.

This 'Mirelle'...she was a Harvest Cleric dressed in white robes, her hat splitting like bunny ears that covered her pink hair.

"The girl seemed cheerful for a moment, then she just stood there emotionless, and then her face contorted into a mess of anger and she marched towards me.

"You jerk, treating such a pretty girl like BlackRose so rudely! I should so pinch you!" And well...she did.

"Ow, FUCK! That hurt, for real! I'm kind of stuck in the damn game, you know." I yelled at her.

Both BlackRose and Mirelle went quiet for a moment, and then their mouths were moving, but I couldn't hear a thing. Damn private chat.

Then they both turned to me.

"Its decided," Mirelle, now the original player and not the mother, said, a grin forming on her face. "We're gonna be good friends!" she cheered, latching onto me immediately.

"Wha-!? OFF ME!!" I yelled, pushing Mirelle off forcefully.

"You're no fun, Friend-kun." she whined.

"One, I have a name, Parzem. Two, I happen to like being no fun. It usually doesn't attract weirdos like you and Slutty back there." I said, motioning to BlackRose, who in turn flashed me an obscenity from her finger and screamed something unmentionable, directed towards my grandmother.

"Hmph! We're gonna change your attitude towards us, whether you like it or not! We're gonna be friends!" I was surprised BlackRose said this, after what I just called her.

"Annnnnnnnnyways..." Mirelle said in a cheerful tone, "We're newbies too, and we found a great area for leveling up, so won't you come?"

The cruel side of my brain screamed for me to retort in a sour, mean and offensive way with many F-bombs involved, but a new side, a side a never knew existed, told me to accept.

Which I did. "Yeah, sure. I guess."

"YAY!!" Mirelle cheered, glomping me to the ground while BlackRose sighed in the background.

Unbeknownst to them, I had a strange feeling go off inside me. It was something I never had in the real world, nor had I had much of it here...happiness. Thats what I felt right now.

And for the first time in a long while, I felt my mouth curve upward, and a smile spread across my face.