Insaneiac: UUUUUUWAAAAAAAAH! Chapter three must have been the spice that makes things right then. For the people that have itching for some actual action to start taking place, your wish is about to become a reality. Some more mystery to this little shindig as well.

Disclaimer: I do not own .Hack//GU. Wish I did, but I don't.


Chapter 4: Rumors and Messages


"Alright. There is someone wreaking havoc in a dungeon." A fiery Adept Rogue spoke as he glanced at his two party mates. He rubbed his hands together slowly before dragging his index and middle fingers on his right hand down the side of his face. "I'm not sure how, but we've gotten reports of several novice teams going missing. Even a couple veteran players are gone. One guy came out and was a mess, crying about murder and bodies everywhere. He kept mentioning a single, cloaked figure that stood among all the corpses. We sent in a team already to take a look and we've heard nothing from them." With arms crossed over his chest, Matsu let a long silence take hold over the area before glancing to the side.

"Someone?" One of Matsu's party members interjected, a Blade Brandier by the name of Yosai spoke up. The most distinguishing feature to his character that was not already copied by other human type male Blade Brandiers was a plain white mask with a hood that covered the rest of his head. He wore a large blue jacket that was left unbuttoned and wore a battle vest underneath with no sleeves. A pair of black training pants and sandals completed the Blade Brandier. "You mean as in a single person?"

They were standing on the bridge that led into the Chaos Gate room of Mac Anu. They had established their party already and were preparing to hunt down the culprit of whatever had happened at this dungeon. While it really was not something too unusual for The World, the targets themselves were. A third of all the disappeared players where under Moon Tree's personal protection. That meant that either Kestrel had decided to wage open guild war on Moon Tree, or there was a single person out there that reveled in causing pain and chaos and was sporting a death wish. The thought of either sparked a nerve in Matsu that proceeded to develop into a seething anger.

"That would be the case. And we are going to go and "talk" with this idiot. I'd go ready for a bit of a fight though. Anyone who goes out and slaughters people under our protection is asking to get an ass kicking and probably couldn't give a damn about being sociable." Matsu made a clear effort to add sarcasm to the word 'talk', indicating that he was not counting on there being any diplomacy in this case. While it was still a disappearance case on paper, Matsu had a feeling that the mystery guy was nothing more than an overpowered PKer.

"Who would attack the Safe List? Not even Kestrel is that foolish." The third member, a tall female Lord Partizan by the name of Hoshiko, spoke softly. This one wore a nearly full suit of steel armor that cut off at the shoulders. At the shoulders of the armor extended cloth sleeves that stretched out just past her hands. Her velvet hair was cut short and left in a messy fashion.

"I don't know about that. It is run by Gabi after all." Yosai added as he crossed his arms. Despite being the taller of the two, Hoshiko simply went silent at this. "Where is this whole thing happening then boss?"

Matsu knew he picked these two because they worked well with each other and, as a whole, the three were a team that moved flawlessly. They almost seemed to be able to read each others thoughts. That being said, when the two were not on missions or training together, there were no bigger opposites. 'Hard to imagine these two are best of friends.'

"Bursting Passed Over Aqua Field." Matsu stated as he started off towards the Chaos Gate. He began rotating his left arm out to the side as he walked and let a smirk slip onto his features. "I hope this PK knows just how much trouble he's in."

------ Dol Dona ------

Haseo stepped out of the enlarged guild hall entrance and smiled. With the intermediate guild hall established, he had been able to upgrade his steam bike and turn it into something more befitting of the Terror of Death. A rather complicated custom paint job (that cost him well over forty thousand GP to get done) turned it into a pitch black and velvet beast with a flaming maw on the new frontal plate of armor, and painted on devil wings that extended along the sides of the bike. The bike really was the cherry on top for Haseo though, and the Adept Rogue was more interested in letting Silabus and Gaspard know that the guild was established.

He had already spoken with Yata on the subject of the tournament. It was one of the reasons why Haseo was feeling more pleasant than usual. Yata had been ready to suggest the tournament to Haseo in the first place, and was beaten to the punch on it. In the end, Yata had been more than happy (which was more to Haseo's chagrin than not) to approve Haseo's decision to go through the tournament. While their brief conversation had been relatively fruitless, Yata had been able to confirm the contents of the mysterious short mail for Haseo. Or at least, in so far as identifying that there was a theoretical connection between the Holy Palace, AIDA, and Atoli's epitaph.

He sent off the short mail to Silabus shortly after exiting the home and propped himself up against the wall beside the guards. Haseo still had not forgotten how Silabus and Gaspard had abandoned him to the wolves. Haseo was no stranger to fighting by himself, but seeing as how Silabus and Gaspard were practically the cause of the entire event, they should have stuck around.

'Speaking of deserters, when I find that brat…I'm going…I'm…' Haseo sighed as he considered the various methods of torture he could implement, fixating his glare on the ground. He tried giving it additional though; plotting out what horrible damage he would do to the kid. However, he eventually gives up with a grunt. He crossed his arms rather unpleasantly and continued glaring at the ground. In a very short time, everything had gone exceptionally pear shaped.

"Hey, did you go and see it yet? That weird item?" A voice muttered. Haseo's head lifted from the ground and stared at a nearby group of PCs. It was not an odd thing to catch conversations that other people were having in The World, and while Haseo would normally discount it, there was something else about this one.

"The cathedral right? Yah I read about it. D'ya think it's true about Tri-Edge?" Another said. Haseo's eyes opened as widely as they had ever been before as images of the infamous PKer flashed past his eyes, and as images of Shino's disintegrating body followed.

'WHAT?! TRI-EDGE!?'

"No one can take it though. A message pops up. It's mostly a garbled mess, but when you take the letters that are actually there and put them together, it spells out a message of sorts." The third player in the conversation added. "It says 'To: Skeith.'…What does that mean?" There was about to be more discussion when a hand clamped on the shoulder of the person just speaking and spun him around The speaker himself was a character in silver samurai armor with a yellow cloak over it. "Oh, Emperor…what can I-" He tried to speak, albeit nervously. He became dimly aware of a powerful glare in Haseo's eyes, one that could have burned down a small village.

"Where did you see this?" He spoke sternly. He gave the player a moment of hesitation before clamping the other hand on his other shoulder and shaking him. "Now! Where did you find out about this!?" He was nearly yelling, completely unaware (unlike his unfortunate victim, who was stuttering and trembling now) that the other two players had run away.

"I-i-i-i-i-it's on the ru-ru-rumor boards…I swear!" The player, named Maxtt, stuttered nervously as Haseo tightened his grip on the player's shoulders. He looked to be on the verge of crying as his assailant glared even harder. "I SWEAR!!! I saw it on the rumor board…yah. The topic's called…um…um…Mystery Let-t-t-er. PLEASEDONTEATME!" He yelled at the end as he broke down into horrified sobs.

Blinking once, Haseo let go of the character and logged off the game. In his wake was Maxtt, who had proceeded to roll up into the fetal position and sob uncontrollably. Shortly after the Emperor's departure, the two fellow players returned and stared wide-eyed at their friend.

"Dood, are you okay?!" One of the two stated rather loudly, garnering even more of a crowd.

"His eyes were a sea of fury and destruction." He whimpered in response.

------ Offline, Forums ------

Ryou wasted absolutely no time in pulling up the Rumors forum and scrolling through the topics page. It only took him a moment before he pulled up the sought after file with a look of grim determination. 'If this has anything to do with Tri-Edge…then have I done ANYTHING!?'

Poster – Nuada

Has anyone been to Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground as of late. It seems Hulle Granz Cathedral once again plays a strong role in the rumors circulating around The World. Seems there is now an item there that is simply floating above the statue-less altar inside. Apparently, the letter is directed to someone named Skeith, once you get through that garbled mess of whatever that comes up when you try and take the letter.

My Sources have actually detected a rumor regarding this as of late, despite it being a completely new addition to the Cathedral. The say it is a letter from all those killed by Tri-Edge that will only open for a champion. If the rightful owner does not come and claim it, then everyone who has touched the letter falls into a coma.

There's another as well though. They say the letter is from the person that once stood on the altar and contains all the secrets of the World, including how to save the Lost Ones and Tri-Edge's one great weakness. I don't know about this one, as my source for it was a new person that kept repeating certain words. He was a weird one…

Ryou did not bother reading any longer, and signed off the Rumors board as soon as he read the two rumors for it. If any of this was true, which it usually never was, then perhaps he was finally getting somewhere. He opened up The World again, and paused when he saw the official forums announcing there was new content. He sighed and pulled up the forums for the game, and stared at the first topic.

Topic – Sirius is DOOMED!

"Oh no…" Ryou spoke quietly, blinking a couple of times before he pulled up the topic. "…Crap…" He suddenly seemed to grasp that the scene he made in Mac Anu would begin to make things more complicated.

Poster – Eddie

I can't believe it! I was just at Mac Anu and I can't believe what I saw! The Emperor Haseo and former Emperor Alkaid are going to team up to take on the Holy Palace!!! I wonder who they are going to take for a third member…maybe they'll audition for a third member! Can anyone imagine what that would be like; teaming with two of the Demon Palace's most feared! OH man, Sirius hasn't got a hope in hell against a team like this!

"Great. As if beating Endrance didn't make me enough of a celebrity before, now I have to worry about this as well. It's going to be real hard to get anything else done about AIDA." Ryou spoke as he closed the topic. Without anything else to distract him, he logged onto The World.

------ Delta Bursting Passed Over Aqua Field ------

They had walked through two straight forward hallways in the cave type dungeon and noticed nothing wrong or anything out of the ordinary. Quite the contrary, as there were even monsters that lurked in the room before the second hallway. Weak goblin type monsters that may have very well simply died from the glares Matsu shot at them rather than the demonic drill attached to the end of Hoshiko's spear. Yet aside from the monster crew waiting for them, there was nothing out of the ordinary.

Then they saw the Blade Brandier hanging from the wall just above the exit of the tunnel, impaled with his own sword into the level. His character had already gone grey and meant that there was no player present, but the fact that the body was not only still in the field but also impaled as such was more than just a shock to Matsu. In an instant, he had his bayonet in his hands and gripped it tightly. The only one whose face had not registered any shock was Yosai, and that was only because he had a mask on.

"How…" Yosai muttered weakly before whipping his head to Matsu and pointing at the body. "How the HELL does that work?!" He yelled before staring back at the body. Matsu did not bother with a response, but rather stared down towards the tunnel on the opposite side of the room. There were two more bodies crumbled against the wall at either side of the tunnel entrance. And upon looking closer, Matsu realized that one of the two was a Moon Tree member. One of the people sent in to find out what was going on.

"Looks like someone left us breadcrumbs." Matsu said stoically as he began walking towards the marked tunnel. "I'm convinced this isn't Kestrel. They might be lowlifes, but this is…this is below even the lowest of the Kestrel scum." Matsu growled under his breath before kneeling beside the dead guild member. He turned away when he saw that the face had his eyes frozen in a shocked stare of horror. This player not only never seen it coming, but it had been instantaneous as well. He was struck and then he was dead with no middle ground to change faces at. A further look verified that this particular member was one of Nala's veteran players as well. Taking a moment longer, he also realized that the other two bodies were Safe List players.

"I need to send a message out to the rest of the Seven. Whoever we're dealing with here is not some chump PKer." Matsu added before standing up. It took no longer than a moment before he realized he was blocked from doing so. "Huh?" Matsu mumbled before trying again. The same result occurred. "The hell?"

"What is it Matsu?" Hoshiko asked.

"I can't send short mail in here. Hoshi, give it a shot." The tallest member of the three paused for a moment as she composed a short mail, and was distraught to find it was blocked. She gave her head a woeful shake and stared at Yosai, who just finished trying the same thing. "So, not a damn one of us has contact with the Sev-"

A death cry echoed through the tunnel they were all standing it, and before Matsu could so much as blink, the three had started running down that hallway. There were still players alive. They made a quick pair of turns before running into another large room with no monsters in it, stopped after taking no more than two steps. Their eyes had all shot open and their pupils shrunk in horror as they beheld the scene in front of them, and even Matsu found himself at a complete loss for words and wit. Hoshi's body had begun to tremble as her eyes surveyed the scene and Yosai's head switched from place to place slowly. Not a one of the three has ever seen such carnage before in their lives.

There were bodies everywhere, grey ones that meant the players were dead. They littered the floor like the leaves from trees do on the turn of summer to fall, and many where impaled into the ground by there own weapons. Those that did not liter the ground where nailed to the wall by swords and spears, most of the weapons impaling the victim through the neck. Each one of them had a face that seemed like they were screaming when they had been PKed. As Matsu swung his gaze from side to side, he not only saw a very large number of Safe List players and the remainder of Nala's team, but also Kestrel PKers and simple novices as well.

"What…the hell man." Yosai whimpered as he swung his head side to side. "How…how…"

"There is so much death here…it's suffocating." Hoshiko whimpered weakly

"It attracts them." A darkly powerful and hard toned voice spoke. All three turned towards the center of the room, and just now saw the other person in the room. The first thing that the Moon Tree elite noticed was the grey body that was impaled on the end of a wicked bayonet and the hand that gripped the side of the dead players face. The hand gripping the bayonet was in a cobalt gauntlet while the other hand was in a crimson one.

It was that image that restored Matsu to his former self, no longer offset by the sheer number of corpses in the room. "Okay, you are in a lot of trouble friend. You've gone and PKed the wrong people and pissed off the wrong guild!" Matsu brought out his trust bayonet and pointed it at the cloaked figure threateningly. "Now, if you want to walk out of this pl-"

"You," The figure interrupted before turning his head ever so slightly towards Matsu, "are annoying." The figure spoke as he turned to the side and the weapon faded away and into the character. "Tell me, what does your guild support? Is it strength? Or is it peace? Did you know that there is no difference between the two?" He carelessly tossed the dead player that he was holding behind him.

"So, you're a philosopher in your spare time huh?" Matsu shot back, unaware that Yosai had prepared to charge. "Well, that's great. Tell ya what…you come stand before the Seven quietly, and I'll make sure that you can spout all the philosophic bullshit you want!"

"There is no difference in what they are, but there are vast differences in how they are perceived. And both are equally useless things without a true center to revolve around." It was as though he were speaking to himself alone, ignoring the words of the Moon Tree members. "Do you wish to know what that something is?" He finally turned his head to face the threesome, and from within the hood flared a pair of golden globes, curved in the manner of a tamed fury. All three stumbled backwards as the eyes bore into them. The only difference was that Yosai's back step put him into a stance.

"No thank you. In fact, why don't you go and tell the Devil…" Yosai began before anyone else could speak, and then charged towards the mystery PKer at full speed. Dazzling Moonlight, his special blade, was poised at his side to cut through his target. He was dimly aware of Matsu and Hoshiko screaming for him to stop, but their pleas were ignored as he leapt at the last moment and descended upon his foe.

"AFTER I SEND YOU STRAIGHT TO HELL!" He swung with all his might at the side of the cloaked PC, and a clang rang through the room as the blade made fierce contact with the crimson gauntlet of the PKer.

There was no damage done. Yosai's eyes shot open as the other hand swung out and latched onto his throat with crushing strength. "You have no peace…you have no strength…where is yours?" The PKer spoke before tossing Yosai directly above him. In a flash, the sickle-like bayonet was aimed directly at the Blade Brandier, and an earth shattering boom echoed out as the dual cannons ripped into and through Yosai, killing him instantaneously and leaving a look of immaculate horror on his face. As he descended to the ground, the PKer swung the bayonet above him and knocked the body to the side, just in time for Dazzling Moonlight to stab through the PC's throat and imbed itself into the floor.

"Yo…sai…" Matsu muttered weakly, turning to watch Hoshiko's face slip from shocked and pain to furious. With a loud battle cry, she brought out her massive drill tipped spear and aimed it at the PKer.

"Chaos made flesh…the face of a coin in which both strength and peace circulates! I…" The PKer spoke again before twisting one hundred and eighty degrees and firing two shots at Hoshiko. Before Matsu could even blink, Hoshiko was sent careening into the cave wall behind her. A mere moment later, her just removed lance slammed into her chest and impaled her into the wall. The drill-head of the immense weapon was still spinning as her character went grey. Her head slid to the side and stared at Matsu lifelessly, a gaze of mixed horror and sadness on her features.

"…am Chaos Reaper. Leader of the Chaotic Triumvirate."

Matsu's head swung back to Chaos Reaper and his eyes, if possible, were even more fear filled than before. "The Triumvirate?! The bastards that won CC corp's stupid Adept Rogue contest?!"

"One and the same, true to the name." He began to walk towards Matsu, the tamed glare ripping a hole into Matsu's mental blockade. "You know Haseo, correct?"

"And if I do?"

"Then you have a purpose. Purposeful people live purposeful lives and die purposeful deaths." The drill finally stopped, leaving the room in perfect silence. "These people, all of them save for the fool Blade Brandier and the unfortunate Lord Partizan…died purposeful deaths. Or, at least they will have, should you serve your purpose."

"You can make whatever excuses you want. A PK is a PK and no crap like you're spewing changes that!" Matsu growled as he whipped his bayonet out. "And I should know that more than anyone! Don't take this personally …but you can take this purpose crap, bundle it up with your philosophy and your title and then…well, you can pretty much go ahead and shove the whole thing straight up your ass!" Matsu pointed the bayonet and fired at Chaos Reaper. The blast hit and he was hurled backwards and onto the ground in a heap. He slid a short distance before slamming his free hand into the ground and stopping himself.

"I see." He spoke before using the dug in hand to pull himself to his feet. Glancing down at the ground, he swung up his own bayonet and bounced the follow-up shot off effortlessly, dissipating harmlessly. "I will kill again. If you will not convey to him my words, then I will find a tool that will. I could use any of his acquaintances. I chose you because you are the most convenient, but that does not simply make you worthwhile." He slid the weapon away before quick changing to another job, Twin Blade. This time he pulled out a pair of very unique blades that were, in fact, a hybrid of tonfa and scythe. There was a protruding stabbing blade at the tip of the weapon, but the pitch black sickles outshined it entirely. He pulled both into his chest and held them in a crossed arm formation before whipping them both out to the side powerfully. This time, his crimson and cobalt gauntlets were plainly viewable, as well as dark red fabric that ran up the forearms before disappearing into the cloak.

"How cute, you have unique weapons. I bet your mother also says your special every morning too."

"Any player slain by my weapon is soul trapped. They remain in their corpse so long as I stay on the field or in the dungeon." The air was sucked out of Matsu and the words pushed him back a step. "They can hear every word, as the dead should. They are the judges that we must appease."

"Everyone…" He realized just what this meant. "Your weapons…they are all hacked! You're not only a PKer; you're a damned hacker PKer!"

"NEY!" Chaos shouted powerful, his voice causing the room to seemingly tremble. "I…am a knight, a reaper, a farmer and an avatar! I am not a doer of chaotic deeds…I only reap the seeds sewn by chaos eternal!" He took a step forward before dashing at full speed towards Matsu. By the time Matsu had his weapon raised, his opponent was already behind him. Three clean, shallow slices had been made on his player and while the damage was insignificant, it was a sign.

"Haseo…he is more than just a shell needing a purpose." Matsu spun just in time to deflect a blow, but not in time to stop a second which cut through him and damaged his character more than the last three attacks combined had. Again, another attack was loosed by Chaos Reaper and blocked, only for the second follow up attack that cleave right through his defenses. "Haseo is a Key."

"Good for him, I'm sure he'll be ecstatic to hear that…BUT I AIN'T TELLING HIM ANYTHING!" Matsu yelled as he went on the offensive now. It may have looked like wild slashing to the untrained eye, but in reality it was Matsu using continuous body motion to form a relentless string of attacks that forced blocks. Steam Gunners were designed for ranged combat, not melee, but could hold there own if it got to that point. Matsu prided himself on being just as capable in melee as he was at a range with a bayonet however. The two began stumbling backwards through the tunnel Matsu had come in from in the first place, and a grand clash formed as both the sickles and the bayonet met in the center. Matsu pulled his free arm back and drove it into the face of his opponent, his hand bouncing off a metal mask and his opponent's face bouncing off the closed fist.

Chaos Reaper went into a back flip and landed neatly on his feet. Matsu continued the assault, and instead of blocking any of the attacks, Reaper began to gracefully back step each individual attack, turning his part of the battle into an invigorating dance that began to enrage Matsu. The fiery Adept Rogue followed up an upwards slash with a fierce stab, and found himself staring at an arched over PKer. Before Matsu could do anything, Chaos Reaper turned the arch into a backwards handstand, kicking Matsu in the jaw with both feet and knocking him onto the floor. Still in the handstand, Reaper pushed himself upwards and went into a half front flip, driving the two sickles into the ground and just missing Matsu's head.

'This guy…he's amazing. It's as though he's…been in every kind of fight. He knows how to adapt himself to anything…' Matsu worriedly assembled in his head as he hurried to his feet and took a short leap backwards. He watched nervously as Reaper slowly pushed himself up onto his feet, his back turned towards Matsu invitingly. He shivered as he watched Reaper's head slowly twist towards his direct and glance at him from the corner of one golden eye.

"You will seek out Haseo. You will speak of this day. You will give him my message…and you will be his guide to me." Reaper spoke in a demanding fashion with a voice that was only just above a whisper.

Matsu had just finished an Ul Repth spell before he held his weapon out to the side and glared at Reaper. "I said I'm not your damn messenger."

"Then perhaps I will use one of the other captains of Moon Tree. Perhaps the flamboyant one…or maybe even Sakaki himself…" It was like a statue was talking to him, leaving his opponent completely unreadable. "Like I said, you are a tool. If you do not fit the job, I will simply discard you for a better one." The cloaked Adept Rogue twisted in his stance and held himself low to the ground as he charged Matsu. The Moon Tree Captain was quick in his response, firing at the ground in front of Chaos Reaper. Cursing at the last moment, Matsu twisted to the side and spun around an attempted stab, pressing the gun to the side of Reaper's head and firing.

The PKer went tumbling into the large room from the tunnel, throwing his weapons into the air before planting a hand into the ground and pushing himself into the air. He executed a quick back flip as he hovered through the air and landed softly on his feet. He watched as Matsu charged him with gun held out to the side with a grin that was hidden by the hood of his cloak. Chaos held each hand out to the side just in time for his weapons to land neatly back in his hands, spinning them expertly before holding them out to the side and glaring at Matsu with his golden eyes.

"There won't be another tool for you to use, Reaper. Not after I Put! You! DOWN!" Matsu yelled furiously as the two clashed weapons once more.

------ Sakaki's Private Area ------

"And that, Sakaki, is Atoli's current situation. She is completely unable to log out, and beyond all of that…her actual player is comatose. To be quite blunt, she is a denizen of The World now." Pi finished as she fiddled with her glasses briefly, and then crossed her arms. "Raven, as you will address it from here on out, is attempting to help Atoli…but it's a difficult situation."

Sakaki nodded once before turning his eyes over to Atoli, who had proceeded to sit at the far end of the area, remaining silent and still inside the structure. "Such tragedies…to have it befall such an innocent soul…" He words were heavy as he turned his eyes from her and back to Pi. "I will inform the Seven's Council in regards to this. I am sure that with our combined efforts, we can help Atoli."

"Right…" Pi began, eyes flashing to the side as she briefly considered something. They were quickly back on Sakaki's eyes however. "That being said, how is it that you not only know of AIDA's existence…but of G.U. as well. Those are strictly classified and, beyond that, AIDA can't be seen by the naked eye of normal players."

"I suppose we may thank Lord Zelkova for that information. He is the one that first informed us of AIDA. From that point onwards, we devoted time to studying the threat when we had time to spare. While he do not have something a grand as the Serpent of Lore, Zelkova is more than able to follow them from his own private sector."

Pi rubbed her temple gingerly as she realized what Sakaki was saying. "The more I find out you know, the more it troubles me. And there is no way into Zelkova area?"

"As I understand it, only he can allow access to his area." Sakaki took a few steps forward until he was standing beside Pi, albeit facing Atoli in the distance. "I assume then that, in attempting to free Atoli…our first step is to find a lead?"

A nod was the response before Pi began to walk off towards the gate. "I will talk with Master Yata on this. As soon as we have a lead, I will come before the entire Council with it. Please let me know if the Council comes up with any leads of their own. Are these terms agreeable?"

"Why, of course. You have my word, Pi." The two turned their heads to glance at one another, and used the moment to state what words could not. With the mood satisfied, Pi walked towards the gate and gated out of the area. He turned to stare for a moment longer before he received a dinging sound that notified a received short mail. He glanced at it expressionlessly before turning his full attention back to Atoli. As he reconsidered the words in the short mail, a very minimal sneer flickered on his face before it vanished altogether.

"I suppose even the God of Death plays a role in the great cycle." A smirk formed on his face as he considered this more deeply. "I wonder how he'll take it…when he finds out just how much of a puppet he is." And with his statements to himself finished, Sakaki of Moon Tree began to walk towards Atoli. And as he made his way to the Harvest Cleric that graced his division, a single bitter thought echoed in his head unhappily.

'It was not AIDA at fault for your pain, dear and innocent Atoli…it was his…and his…'

------ Delta Bursting Passed Over Aqua Field ------

"RENGEKI! WHIRLWIND!"

The final strike ripped through Matsu's body and hurled him across the room like a sack of potatoes, down into the tunnel that lead to the warp gate. He landed first on his neck before rolling and smashing his arm on a cliff. He was not ever aware that his bayonet had slipped from his grip and flew off the edge of the floor. That was the smallest of his concerns, however, as he realized he had a single point of health left.

"Your message is a simple one Matsu. You will tell Haseo that I will wait for him in the Holy Palace. You will tell him that I know the whereabouts of truth." He sheathed the two blades and grabbed Matsu by the throat firmly, lifting him off the ground effortlessly. "I know you will tell him, because I know you will hate me for this. This is not aimed to humble you; no…this is aimed to embarrass you. To spark the pride that you hold within you. And you know that if you lead Haseo to me…" He pulled out his bayonet, the Still Midnight, slowly and pressed it into Matsu' gut. "…that you will find me as well."

"Trust me…you'll see me again. And I swear, I'll be the last thing you see." Matsu spat.

"You know the path. Haseo is the key to the door that will bring you to me, and those words will send him on his way." He brought Matsu deadly close to him now, holding his mouth only a bare distance from his right ear. "Live your purpose well, Matsu of Moon Tree…so that you might experience a purposeful death." With that, he threw Matsu out in front of him, causing him to pass the Chaos Gate. Before he could say anything, Midnight Silencer claimed another victim. Both barrels fired at once and launched Matsu's dead corpse into the inky black infinity. And as Matsu plummeted, Reaper was almost ecstatic to see that, instead of frozen horror, there was scathing hatred on the face and in the eyes of Matsu.

Taking one final breath, Chaos Reaper turned his head to the ceiling and smiled. "Your move now." And with that, he warped out of the field.

------ Delta Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground ------

By Haseo standards, it had taken him a moment too long to remove everyone that had been in there before. Some had protested that this place was open for any and everyone, but Haseo had proceeded to throw them out one by one. After a while, many of the gathered players simply decided to leave by their own free will. There was mumbling, grunting and some angry hand gestures, but for the masses were compliant with the rather unreasonable request.

Once the citadel was empty, Haseo turned his attention to the far end of the beautiful chapel. He was not yet staring at the letter that hovered there, but rather at the glowing sign along the side of it. The only marking of where Shino had once been before fading away into the abyss and becoming a Lost One. He pressed a palm against his head as the memories of that horrible day flashed through his head, burning themselves deeper into his mind.

"Don't cry…Boys don't cry…"

He gave his head as hard a shake as he could before beginning to walk towards the altar, his hands closed into tight fists. He reached out his hand as he walked towards the letter, almost as though he was trying to call it to him. It, of course, did not move so much as an inch, and even seemed to pull Haseo towards it rather than the opposite. It was not long at all before Haseo had the letter tightly gripped in his hand when he realized that no message popped up. He frowned at this before pulling the letter towards his chest. The 'item received' jingle filled the room as the letter flashed and then disappeared into Haseo's chest.

And then the room filled with a voice. Steady and stoic with a darkly powerful undertone to it that prevented people from simply ignoring it.

"Haseo, Skeith, and the third...Find me and it will open. Open it and find the truth."

"The truth…" Haseo muttered as he reviewed the words over in his head. He could still hear the words in his head, like they were being spoken again. "And what's this crap about 'the third'?" He grumbled before turning around. With a long sigh, Haseo began to walk away aggravated. Sure, he had got the letter that was left there, but all it did was trigger a nonsensical mystery note from a mystery voice. A thick frown formed on his face as he considered once more the voice's words before making his way out of the citadel.

"It's late, I'm tired, and stuff is not making any sense anymore. I'm logging off for the night." Haseo spoke to no one in particular. Moments later, he gated out of the field and logged out of the game.

"Slow slow…" A voice spoke from behind the altar, as he glanced up at the ceiling. A grin worked its way onto K1ngf1sh3r's mouth as new words formed. "…Then again, I suppose that slow is good right now. Still slow enough to plan, to watch, to wait and see…and to prepare for when everything is so very fast fast."


A/N: So, hope everyone enjoyed the dose of action they got. There will be more down the road, especially with the Holy Palace coming up relatively soon. Chapter five will see the formation of the team that Haseo and Alkaid will be a part of, and the name for it. They might not make it to the tournament if they kill each other over the name.

Further more, from Chapter Five on, I am looking for a beta reader to sift through the mess of garbled mayhem that I call a chapter. If any are interested, all you need to do is PM me.