Authors Notes: Well, here it is; the first chapter of AUDD; AUDD standing for Alternate Universe Dark Duality. I hope to be able to make it even a little dark, because... well, this story is not intended to really be 'happy'. I'm not used to writing dark things, so please don't mind me.

I'm hoping that you can pick this up from the fanfiction, but I'll tell you guys anyway. I mentioned it in the beginning of the prolouge, too. It's in first person from Haseo's point of view, but 'Haseo' is actually sort of like the player version of him – not the in-game character. He's just a normal guy. There is no The World in here, though. No online games. I'll let you figure out everything else yourself.

Wow... looking back on this, it's actually quite a weird concept. I hope you guys are going to be okay with it. Sorry!

There are no set 'couplings' for this story, actually. I'd like to leave the option open for whatever, so there will be scenes of Haseo and just about everyone. But nothing set in stone or permanent.

... h...

... hey...

... it's time to wake up now, isn't it? You've been sleeping so long...

Come on... get up...

Come on, Haseo...

That nagging voice repetitively yet gently crashed against the edges of my mind, like the soft waves of the returning shore. My mind stirred to the voice; a voice I was all too familiar with. Soon, the recognizable sounds and images of the world began to return to me. My eyes slowly shifted open and were greeted by a white ceiling, white sheets, white pillows, and an odd, brown-haired friend that stuck out like a sore thumb. It was a greeting that was more than welcome.

I stirred in the bed, twisting under the blankets and wrenching a hand from beneath to place on my forehead. The colours beat against me, but I could tell I was slowly adjusting. His soft laughter came from beside me.

"Tired, sleepy head?" He asked, cocking his head to the side. His body was sharpening itself away from blur in my eyes.

"What... time is it...?" I managed to force out, closing my eyes once more and turning the world back to black.

"6:30." The response came, the same voice from before. "School's long over. You've been out since third period."

"'Out'...?" I tried to piece together what had happened earlier, but my mind was a blur. All I could remember was something about white and red... something that was white and red, perhaps. I wasn't even quite sure what had happened since second period. My memory was foggy.

"You were mumbling in class," he started. I could hear him shift in his seat, obviously worried. "And then you suddenly looked like you were going to be sick. I asked you if you were okay, but you didn't respond. Then you were falling out of your seat. You gave us all quite the scare!"

... h e y ... h e y , y o u l o o k ...

... c a n y o u h e ar m e ? ... h e y , a ns wer me ...

... h ey! W hat' s wrong? H...

Suddenly, those words came back to me. The blurry, tiny voice in the back of my mind from before - even though I could barely remember what 'before' was. It had been him all along, hadn't it? I opened by eyes again and turned to face him, studying him. My vision had returned, and the sick feeling I got from looking at colours was gone. He was rubbing the back of his head and laughing nervously. I just smiled and rested deeper into the pillow of the hospital bed. I wasn't much for friends, but I was quite attached to those I had – in fact, the whole three of them. It just so happened that he and I were inseparable, no matter how much I picked at him.

"... have you waited this whole time for me to wake up... Kuhn?"

"Well, for most of it," he responded, turning his head for a moment to look at the closed door of the hospital room that we sat in. "There was a point in time where I left for a minute because there was this female nurse that needed a hand carrying some things..."

I rolled once again onto my back and smacked my forehead with my hand.

"I should have known...! You're just a total idiot, aren't you...?"

Kuhn laughed. "You look terrible," he stated, trying to change the conversation.

"Not bas bad as you."

"Don't be so mean!" His tone was jokingly upset, as mine was jokingly cruel. "Here..."

Kuhn lifted himself from his seat and flopped down beside my bed, quickly picking me up and resting one of my arms around his shoulders. I got the hint – I lifted myself up as well, and he helped me over the room. It was a lot harder walking than I remembered. We stopped at the other side in front of a streakless mirror that replicated ourselves back. In that shimmering image, I saw the both of us.

I stood at the front. My face looked terrible; I looked worn and exhausted and sick, but for obvious reasons. It was something that would go away with short time. Brown eyes that almost seemed maroon watched back; they were often called red by other people. Black strands of hair fell against my cheeks, reaching down just above my shoulder. One of my bangs was brushed behind my ear, the other beside my eye. A white hospital gown dressed me, but in the corner of my eyes I could see the remnants of a wrinkled, dark red and beige, private high school uniform.

Kuhn was behind me, still holding me up. His grin never faded; it was something just as present as any other permanent part of his body. His long, medium brown hair was pulled back into a low pony tail, tied off with a black leather string. Ocean blue eyes studied the mirror just as I did, but without the confused expression I held from being still slightly dizzy. He was still in that red and beige uniform from the hours before. His face and body were the kind of things girls – and, well, I guess some guys might too – screamed over; the proof was in the fact that he had a strongly growing fan club. It was funny how he could never get a girlfriend even with all of them around. Sure, he had dates, but never a permanent girlfriend. I guess the girls had good taste.

I smiled weakly at the current mess that was myself. Kuhn laughed, and to get back at him, I turned as much as I could without collapsing and screwed his hair up with my hands. That way I wasn't the only one who was a wreak. He protested in a friendly manner and then repeated the gesture back to me, and this play of friendship continued on for a couple minutes.

Like a never-ending dream. A world I never wanted to leave... this tiny room, with just him. A tiny room within a distasteful and morbid place that we liked to call 'earth'.

"Yeah, I'm doing alright. ... No, I don't really know, but the doctors think it was from stress. With exams coming up... Yes, I will be attending school tomorrow. ... I'll be fine. Kuhn is with me. ... Mmn, probably. But he doesn't mind. ... Don't worry so much. I'm okay. ... Yes, it's fine. ... Don't leave work just for me. I can take care of myself. ... Okay, I'll look for it. ... Okay. Mm. Alright. ... Thanks. Don't work too hard." Click.

I hung up the phone. The receptionist at the front counter of the hospital smiled at me.

"You got a hold of your parents?"

"Yeah," I responded, standing as straight as I could. I had just recently remembered how to balance.

"Will they be picking you up?"

"No, I'm going to be walking home. But Kuhn will be with me."

She nodded. Everything was signed and done. The doctors would talk to my parents tomorrow when they were off of work about what had happened today, but they didn't expect anything serious. I had already received the whole 'don't work so hard' speech from them and I was sure to get it from my mother and father later as well. I turned from the counter, dressed back in that private school uniform, and headed for the door.

Everything that I knew about was all second hand information. I couldn't remember at all. Apparently, during second period during school, I had become very distant and I didn't look very well. When third period came, about half way through, I began mumbling things that didn't make sense. That's when Kuhn started to worry, and he tried to ask me if something was wrong. After no response for a minute, he tried again, but louder, and by this point the teacher and other students had noticed. It wasn't long after that I apparently fell sideways out of my seat and collapsed onto the floor, not waking up until that moment in the hospital with Kuhn. The cause was unknown. There was nothing physically wrong with my body, which was proven thanks to tests and checkups. I had stayed in the hospital until late in the evening; dark was coming on now. With my parents working late tonight I was going back to an empty house, but it was alright. They were more than supportive and I maintained quite a good relationship with them. I understood that sometimes they just couldn't be there.

I stepped outside of the hospital and noticed Kuhn waiting at the side of the road. His head instantly shot in my direction when the door opened. He ran over, and we both greeted each other silently without any actual display.

"So?" He asked, turning his head slightly to the side.

"Yeah, they said they'll be here in ten minutes," I lied through my teeth, but my expression remained neutral. He sighed with relief.

"Thank goodness... my dad's going to really get angry if I make him wait any longer. Then I guess I'll be going." He told me, turning on his feet. "See you at school tomorrow?"

"Yeah. I'll be there," I nodded.

"Good! I hope you feel better tomorrow!" He ran off, heading towards the hospital parking lot. His father had been there for a half hour and Kuhn had made him wait to make sure that I had a way home. I wasn't going to inconvenience either one of them anymore. I turned to head my own way, ready for the long walk home.

I walked alone and silent against the people that dotted the streets. My expression was a thin line for a mouth and only partially opened eyes. I couldn't look wide at the world anymore; unfortunately, a lot of things were disgusting. Once upon a time, the world had been a beautiful place. But now it was filled with murderers and rapists, thieves and cheaters. Litter scattered the dark alleys. The cars and trees were lit by a very dim orange glow; the bare pieces of what was left of the sunset before the dark settled in. The streets were dirty, but the people acted as if everything was alright... as if everything was perfect. I hated walking alone, especially through the city, because it gave me time to dwell on these thoughts. Thoughts like these weren't so pretty. I tried to focus on my feet; one in front of the other and then over again, but the chatter from conversations filled my ears. A child cried somewhere near. Was this really our beautiful world? It was the world I was born in, at least; it was what had become of a once pure place. Now there probably wasn't even a single pure being left. My thoughts were grim. What else was one to think? That was really the way things were.

Sometimes one would wish that it would all disappear. But that was terrible, wasn't it? Humanity still had a chance somewhere. To wish for it all to disappear was far too much.

In the distance, there was the cry of a girl.

I was unsure if I should have gotten involved, so at first I just kept walking. I turned into the alley that led to the shorter path to my home. Figures moved in the darkness near the end. I stopped at the front of the tunnel, gazing down into the abyss that I couldn't see into. The cry of the same girl came, but there was more than one figure.

Suddenly, it hit me as to what was going on. Startled, I darted inside on first instinct. Running blind into the darkness. I called out, "Hey, are you alright?!", and in response there was a "Please! Help me!" and another cry. I pushed my way through the lightless world. The scene burst into view. Three older men were robbing a younger girl, one probably only a year younger than me. Bright blond hair fell against her cheeks, short and a mess as of now. Her blue eyes looked distressed and tears ran from them. Her attempts to fight them off were obviously in vain.

I dashed without thought. I rammed into the closest man to her and knocked him to the ground. He was caught off guard and she screamed in shock, running into the wall behind her. Suddenly a fight broke out between me and him, and the other two stood in the back and stared, obviously not interested in a loosing battle against a teenager. It was a flurry of fists and kicks and struggling. For minutes we continued, until he and I were both beat up and exhausted. Using the last of my energy I slammed him in the face once more and pushed up off the ground, sprinting down further into the alley. The man screamed after me, but his friends stopped him; the girl was more important to them. There was a moment of silence as I ran further and further away, until a sudden scream broke out again – this one of a male voice. They had discovered by now that the girl was gone. She had escaped while we fought and the other two were distracted, probably to a place where we would never see each other again. As long as she escaped, that was what mattered.

Suddenly, I was far away from that area and beyond the alley. Darkness had set in; night had come. There was no more orange glow painting anything into light anymore.

This world...

I walked, eyes focused on the ground. I cussed in my mind about bruises and cuts I now had. Maybe I shouldn't have helped her in the first place, but my sense of justice wouldn't have let it be that way.

This world... it's so--

My pace slowed as I was out of breath. Not only was my gaze focused, but it was now trapped in a glare; a heart-piercing glare that wouldn't let up. Feelings tumbled over in my mind; dark feelings and thoughts. My mouth remained closed; I said nothing. There was no one else around to hear me or see me anyway.

-so... disgusting.

Everything-

I couldn't imagine that people had become so heartless as to choose targets that were so much weaker than they were. I couldn't imagine why people would steal or murder or do anything like that. I just didn't understand at all. I didn't understand people at all.

Everything should-

--disappear.

Just disappear.

"Hey, asshole!!" The voice from the man I attacked came from behind me. I knew he was chasing me now.

Disappear.

Disappear and never return.

Disappear, disappear, disappear...

Suddenly, my head pounded, and a loud ringing noise – like the sound of a tuning fork – tore through my mind.

I stumbled. The world spun for a moment, and before I knew it I was on the ground, holding my chest and screaming out. It wasn't the men – they weren't even close to me yet – but it was something else. Something different. Something that felt like it had happened before...

I covered my mouth, feeling like I was going to be sick. I was hunched over, on my knees and balancing on one hand, eyes slammed closed. Everything pounded. I was being beat by an imaginary force; an imaginary wave of power or something of the sort. On top of that, I felt a sharp pain in my side, and I was knocked to the ground. They had caught up with me and were using this moment as time for a cheap shot. I barely opened my eyes to catch sight of them, but I couldn't hear what they were saying as they loomed over me. My ears were being attacked by that ring over and over again, and with each passing second it became louder and more consistent. As I watched the blurry scene, the men suddenly caught sight of something behind me and they lost interest in me for the moment. They began to back away slowly, but not enough to run away; their leader wouldn't allow it. Things began to slow and turn to normal. The sound wouldn't go away, but I felt like I could at least stand. And I did just that – stood and turned around, one hand now clutched to my chest and the other one hanging lifelessly by my side.

A sight I could have never imagined before filled my eyes, and I was overtaken by the strangest, most awkward feeling in the world. The sound stopped abruptly.

I've... found... you.

A figure materialized within the air. It slowly began to piece together, one bit at a time, gradually forming the body of a human out of nowhere. The figure was curled in the air, feet hovering above the ground as it's new silver mane of hair scattered and tangled within the wind that it's creation was making. With a glitter of magic, red lines and symbols lined his face and his stomach, creating patterns of tattoos. His body was naked like the body of a newborn, but in the form of an adult... no, wait. In the form of someone my age. In fact, he had my face and my body structure. His hair was like mine but more wild and a metallic silver shade. His eyes were closed. His expression was calm and gentle, like that of a sweet, sleeping child. A naive, sleeping boy, suddenly born from the air and magic.

It made no sense. My head still spun. My eyes were glued to his closed ones, just as those behind me were. The difference between I and they was that they were about to turn and run. I was captivated by this mysterious being, invoked with two feelings at once; the glorious feeling of birth and that a wonderful thing had just happened...

And the deadly, strong sense of absolute fear.

Slowly, it's arms let go of the knees it had clamped so close to it's abdomen and his feet fell so that they touched the ground. He stood on his toes, the rest of his body shaking slightly. More magic lined his body, surrounding bits of him like long threads of ribbon. They vanished with a flash and suddenly he was adorned with black clothes that revealed his shoulders and stomach. Belts wrapped around his chest and just below his waist; everything was black, black, black, save for the buckles and the beginning of his gloves on his wrist, which was golden. Belts danced down his arms. His arms collapsed at his sides, ever so gently swinging with the slow and barely noticeable movement of his body. It was in tune with the gentle breathing that now started from his chest. His head dropped down, facing the ground. For the first time since he had began to appear I moved; I took a slow and careful step forward, as if testing the ground. Now he and I were separated by a bare meter of distance.

"You're..." I started, breaking the silence of voices.

"...z...ero... val...ue..." A small voice, almost exact to my own, mumbled from him.

I started again. "Wh-"

His head shot up, and his mouth opened, getting his first large gasp of air. It then leveled again, rocking back and forth and facing my exact direction. Immediately, without warning, his eyes finally opened; almost catlike or demonic, they were painted with a pure red and partially slit. Both of our eyes caught each other. My mouth was open, my chin was twitching... finally overtaken by the realization of fear. He was the opposite. At first his expression was neutral. He cocked his head ever so gently to the side, watching me and studying everything about me. His eyes scanned me, taking in all that he could. They were large and innocent and betrayed the way he appeared physically.

He dropped down onto the ground on one knee. His head bent down for a moment and he held one hand over his chest somewhat daintily. He then looked back up again with an expression of almost seductive joy, and opened his mouth to speak the first complete word of his life.

"Skeith," he stated, pressing his hand closer to his own chest.

"Sk-Ske..ith?" I stumbled out. Was that his name? He only nodded, head cocked back to one side in childish amusement. He continued to watch me, and then I realized what he was waiting for; he wanted me to do the same. I tried to regain composure, since I was still startled from what had happened, and placed my hand on my own chest. "H... Haseo. Ha-se-o. That is... my name."

He looked up at me curiously. "Haa...say...oh?"

"Yes... but all... as one word."

"Ha..se..o. Ha-se-o. Haseo?"

"Y-yes." I felt accomplished. Maybe it was that he was already speaking when it seemed like he had just been born. He smiled again. Pushing himself up, he carefully regarded the three behind me as well. They just stumbled backwards. Curiosity burst across his face. I looked behind myself and scowled at them, obviously not liking their company.

Before I knew it, 'Skeith' was right beside me. I jumped slightly. He grabbed my shirt by the right side of my body and lifted it up, and suddenly I felt as if I was being sexually harassed or something. What else was I supposed to think?! I pushed him back and jolted backwards, pulling my shirt back down and glaring in shock.

"W-what do you think you're doing?!" I almost screamed at him. He looked rather shocked, his eyes downcast to the ground. He should have expected a reaction like that! He didn't move for a moment, his mind obviously fixed on trying to figure out why I had reacted like that... or... was that really it?

He slowly brought his gaze back up, looking at my face with a sad expression. I calmed down a bit and gave him an awkward look, smoothing my shirt down. Suddenly, a sharp pain came from my side where I brushed against and I reeled back slightly. I had forgotten that while I had been down, one of those men had kicked me and it was probably bruised. Had he noticed that before hand? Was he worried about it? I gave him a stern look as if to tell him not to do it again, but I generally calmed down. I wasn't quite understanding the whole picture here.

"Yeah," I started, sort of sharply, "I got hurt. Everyone gets hurt sometimes. I got in a fight."

He stared at me with a tilted head, wanting to know more. I sighed.

"I got in a fight with those guys over there. Happy?"

He glanced behind me again. I turned around to look as well. The men were running back to their alley, not comfortable with people popping out of the air randomly and then sexually harassing other guys. I laughed silently; they acted so tough, and yet they weren't. I began to turn around to face 'Skeith' again.

"It's not s-"

His figure bounded off the ground beside me and burst into the air behind me. I whirled around to catch sight of him flying through the air, meters off of the ground, with his silver mane of hair whipping here and there and tangling with itself. He landed on the ground quite a distance away but just immediately leapt again through the air, his body now accented with the background of the stars and the sky towards heaven. I just stared in awe. He went in the same direction as the men and disappeared into the darkness. I was left, mouth gaping, mind still trying to register what exactly just happened.

I knew there was little I could do. I could follow him; but for what purpose? Or I could just go home. If we met again then that would be that. I bit the inside of my bottom lip, feeling ashamed that I was so confused. At home there were books and the Internet and a telephone so I could attempt to solve the mystery of this. But who could I tell? No one would believe me. The only thing I could do would be personal research, and that was it. Nothing else.

Caught by ideas and thoughts, I finally turned around and started walking again with an unsettled mind.

"I'm home."

My dull voice rang through the empty, gigantic house. It echoed off the walls lined with family portraits and other odd, decorative knick knacks. Of course it was empty; mom and dad wouldn't be home for a few hours yet. The grandfather clock ticked away in the living room. I poked my head inside the room, catching the hands revealing that it was nine-thirty. I kicked off my shoes in a random fashion and threw off my school coat, hanging it up on the banister. Without thought I was quickly up the stairs and turning right into my room, closing my door behind me out of instinct.

I pushed up against the door and used it as a guide, sliding down it and hitting the floor, pulling fingers through my hair and letting out stress with a large breath of air.

I sat there for a moment, unmoving. My mind whirled like an overworked fan. I tried to recall everything that had happened today. First, I collapsed in school for no reason. Then I was in the hospital, and then I left. Then... I met the girl. And the three men. And I got in a fight and ran off. I was chased down the alley... until I collapsed again. And then he appeared. Skeith. A man of silver, with pure red eyes. Sort of like... red and white. What significance did those colours have again? I couldn't remember. I held my head with my hands.

Red and white. Red and white...

I knew it from somewhere, but I couldn't come up with it. I wonder if it was important...?

It was useless. It wasn't coming to me yet; but the recollection of todays events reminded me that I had been in the hospital. I pushed myself up and wandered over to the other side of my room, through the dark shadows created by the lack of light. I looked into the mirror and was only able to see due to the bare glow of the moon from the window. I stood there, exhausted, but I didn't look sick. I didn't feel sick either – what the hell was wrong with me, then? It felt almost as if I was already better from whatever fit I had in school. I had never collapsed like that before... this was a first. I had no medical history or anything. It wasn't like it was a disease I was born with... and I hadn't been feeling particularly weak as of recent, either. I was eating well. I was sleeping well, too. I didn't do drugs or drink alcohol, and I hadn't been exposed to anything bad recently... and the only friend that I had who was sick was Kuhn, but he was always sick, and it wasn't contagious or else I would've had it ten years ago. With all of that thought of, there was nothing left to come to. There was no reason why I should've been collapsing today unless it was from heat exhaustion or stress; and none of the other kids were hot so I couldn't have been heat, and I wasn't stressed even the slightest so it couldn't have been that.

So that was it. There was no answer.

I sighed, turned away from the mirror, and collapsed onto my back on my bed. I contrasted against the blue sheets and the white pillows. My eyes fixed on the ceiling for a bit, until they wandered to the window that revealed the outside world through pushed back curtains. Maybe it was nothing. But if it was nothing, then I was just stuck wondering about that Skeith – he appeared out of nowhere, and then jumped higher than any human would be able to. He seemed worried about me. I probably would never see him again unless I went looking for him or he for me, but I had no intention of actually searching unless I really had to. I really was curious as to where he went and what he was doing right now, but it was none of my business.

There was a knock.

Mom and dad were home already? I suddenly felt like they had come home just for me. Slightly angry that they didn't listen to me, I called out "Come in," anyway, but nothing happened. No one came in. The knock repeated itself. I called out again, but still nothing. With an aggravated sigh, I sat up and slid off the bed, wandered to the door and opened it.

No one was there.

I cocked an eyebrow at the empty hallway. The knocking came again. I turned back into my room, realizing that it wasn't my door, but my window. The wind rustled my curtains...

Wait, wind?

The glass... the glass pane had been closed.

The glass hit against the wall with a thud as it was opened from the outside. I let out a startled, instinctive gasp and ran across my room towards the window, the fear that someone may be breaking in suddenly taking over my mind. Before I could make it, though, a black-gloved hand grabbed onto the ledge and pushed it's way inside my room and I was forced to halt suddenly, grabbing the computer chair beside me and holding it both defensively and offensively. The tense air exploded as a head glided through, silver hair lining it's path. My tight grip on the chair slid and the seat crashed to the floor with my hands still suspended in the air. He gently hovered through the air until his feet landed on my carpet, and his eyes burst open again with that deep red shade once more. He took a gasp of air and the curtains surrounded his figure, fluttering against his body and the air within the cool wind that came through and the moonlight that coloured his body like an angel's. He raised a hand to gently toy with the strands of silver that flew about, and he turned on one foot to face me, a grin on his face with those catlike eyes that studied me. I just stood, still in shock, unable to determine the reason why he was here... what he was doing here...

"Haseo," he said simply, still basking in the blue light of heaven.

"... S-Skeith," I said quietly, my head lowered slightly but my eyes sharply fixed on him.

"I'm happy that we finally met." The words broke the impression that I had of he being a newborn child. No; he really was intelligent. "Just this morning I was born, and you were the lucky one to be 'me'..."

"What the hell are you talking about?!" I finally exploded, thrusting one arm to the side in a sharp motion.

"You were chosen at random... by a fluke of God," he continued, his finger twirling around and his other hand firmly on his waist. "To be born again..."

"You're talking nonsense!" I shouted.

"It's like you've been... divided by zero."

The word, for some reason, held heavily in the room, and the aura of heaven and night continued to surround us relentlessly. The beginning of that dark night...