Hey guys, I had lost my flashdrive otherwise this would have been up a week ago...I found it in my school bag n.n'
Anyway, here's the chapter so enjoy~
Chapter 8
A new way to fight
The NPC bowed to Rowan and said "My apologies for almost deleting you. For some reason I could not restore you so I was forced to reconstruct you within parameters of the game. Due to that though, your weapons had to be replaced if you where responsible." In a calm voice.
Rowan blinked a few times and then asked "Wait, what? What do you mean Delete?"
The NPC smiled and held his hand in front of Rowan and a small screen opened. On the screen, it showed a flash back of what happened when Rowan found the NPC. The NPC saw Rowan and held his right hand in front of him, the jeweled bracer growing sides to it to look like a bow. He then held his left hand to it, a arrow of blue light appearing and stringing to the bow. He swiftly pulled back and shot the arrow at Rowan, who screamed out in pain. The NPC gasped as he realized something, and Rowan's figure started to deteriorate. He swiftly shot a new arrow, this one golden, and Rowan turned a bright gold for a few moments, and when it cleared he was in his new form on the ground out cold. The NPC floated to him and scanned him, saying "Mind detached from Body, But not permanent." And opened a Chaos gate above him. Rowan entered it as the boy did as well, ending the video.
Rowan blinked a few times and said "So it was you who did that, and this to me...why though?"
"I thought you where AIDA. It is always hunting me." The NPC said "I am the program created by the programmers to fix bugs in the game. I developed a artificial intelligence due to AIDA infecting my file and repaired myself. Now, AIDA can't completely finish it's work unless it destroys me."
Rowan blinked a few times and said "AIDA, not cool...Someone actually made AIDA?"
The NPC nodded and said "You must save your friends, this mind lock won't last much longer. You have my power, that can reconfigure AIDA's data, so use it wisely." The NPC said, pointing to Rowan's bracers. Then Rowan's mind went blank as he found himself back at the fight with the AIDA Witch. His hands gained the new gloves he got from his fight with himself, and he found himself charging forward swiftly. He punched her in the back with his right hand, and she arced her back in pain screaming out. The runes on the blades started to glow as he started going in to several swift punches and kicks that forced her to face him and take the beating. He finished with a upper cut to her chin that sent her up wards and twisted around with a finishing punch to her gut, sending her flying with a strong force of energy. He stood there, panting slightly as she slammed into the tree. Sho and Kycoo looked at Rowan confused, but didn't argue as they stood beside him with their weapons drawn, lance and scythe held ready. Rowan took a step forward as the witch stood up in anger. She drew her claws out and let out a screech that made Rowan's ears hurt. The other two didn't seem to be affected, but she rushed forward swiftly and went to attack Rowan. Rowan swiftly drew out his new twin blades, and went into a skill trigger. He rushed forward, and slashed to the left, followed with a right slash, then upwards to throw her in the air. He then pulled his blades down, slashing through her head and sending her back to the gound with the fourth slash. As he landed, he didn't let up on his assault as he started to lay into her with his weapon. She grabbed both of his blades and hissed at him, rearing her head to start to bite into him. After a few seconds of holding his blades, how ever, she noticed that the blades' runes started to glow a heavy read and her hands started to take major damage. She screamed and released them, her hands half destroyed as if she stuck them into a vat of acid. Rowan went to slash her, but she just flew backwards and stood over the water. She had a look of anger and hatered as she used her mouth to start a data drain process. Rowan regonized it immediately and turned to look at Sho and Kycoo. He said "Get out of here! NOW!" And turned back to see her almost finished charging. Sho and Kycoo both stood beside him instead how ever, and Rowan cursed them saying "I was going to run too..."
Sho sighed and said "It won't kill us, we'll kill her!" to which Kycoo nodded. "We're in this together now!"
Rowan looked up at the energy charging and remembered from the video about the boy's bracers.
"You have my power, that can reconfigure AIDA's data, so use it wisely."
Rowan threw his hands to the side while closing his eyes to concentrate, the blades disappearing as the bracers started to glow a light blue. A golden arrow formed in his left hand as the right bracer turned into a type of bow that stayed on his wrist. Rowan then opened his eyes quickly and loaded the arrow onto the golden string of light that connected on the bow. He drew the arrow back and shot it almost as soon as he did so, As the data drain was being fired as he drew it back. The golden arrow gained a blue aura as it flew into towards the blast that is data drain, and collided in air. The room's sound exploded in static and it looked like the room was warping around the collision of the attacks. The data drain was absorbed into the arrow as it flew on as if it wasn't stopped at first and struck the witch in the chest. She screamed out in pain as her body started to warp around the arrow and she fell to the water as a normal girl. She looked as she did when she first showed up, but above her where the black spots. From the spots formed a pink AIDA, shaped like a large pray mantas. It screamed out in rage and started to fly towards Rowan and the others as he drew back a second arrow. This one was a red color, and had dark blue runes running all over it. As Rowan took aim, the data drain circle appeared around his bow and the sound of Data drain's charge could be heard. Finally, the tip of the arrow gained the small circle of collected data that was data drain, and he shot it towards the enraged AIDA. It struck the AIDA and it screamed out in pain as the small arrow and data drain engulfed it's entire body. The data drain started to pull the AIDA apart inside as it cried out in some inhuman cry. Finally, data was pulled from AIDA and it collected in Rowan's right hand into a red crystal that looked like a rough, uncut ruby with a inside glow. Rowan looked at it for a moment, and then let it go into his inventory. He sighed and ran towards the water to help the girl.
After they got her out of the water, they laid her down and looked over her. Rowan felt his neck prickle, as if they where being watched, and turned around while drawing his blades. Standing in front of him was a man in a dark blue robe with a white mask. The mask looked like some kind of animal mask, like a bird. Rowan frowned, as his eyes gained the red glow again, and he could see he was different than normal players but not AIDA. The man sighed and then said "Where is it?"
Sho stood up and asked "Where is what, the AIDA that attacked us or the poor girl it possessed?"
Rowan looked back at Sho and he added "He's a CC-Corp GM."
Rowan turned back to look at him and thought 'So that's why he looks so odd, should have known...'
"You, the player who's been edited. Where is the NPC that edited you?" He demanded again hatefully "Answer now or be deleted!"
Rowan bit his lip as he realized the NPC he was talking about. "I don't know, If you can't track it what makes you think I can?"
The Admin sighed and said "Fine then, I will just delete all your characters. Don't bother coming back either." And raised his hand
Sho laughed and said "I wouldn't do that if I was you. I have information."
The GM stopped and said "Well then speak up."
"I have recorded this entire thing on my computer. You do that, and I'll have this to every news station on the planet. Rowan is a lost one as well, and if you delete him it will count as murder." He said with a evil smirk.
The GM cursed under his breath and said "You little shit...Don't think you can threaten me." And sent energy to Sho. The energy was dark as it hit him and data started to run all over his character. After a few minutes the GM suddenly had it thrown back on him and he screamed out in surprise. The data stopped and Sho stood while the GM was fell to his knees.
"If you are going to try and hack someone, know what the hell you are doing. Thanks for all the records I needed on the lost ones that you had as well as the AIDA files and that NPC." Sho said, crossing his arms.
The GM stood up and held out his hand saying "I am deleting your ass now, I hope your a lost one so you can die!" and sent out a dark energy wave towards the group. Rowan jumped in front and crossed his arms in front of him, his bracers glowing a sky blue. A large bubble shield covered the group and protected them from the GM's attack. Rowan sighed and and stood normally as the GM cursed. "So he gave you protection against our power. That NPC is getting too fucking annoying."
Rowan frowned and said "This girl is a lost one isn't she?"
The GM looked down and gasped. He then said in surprise "Crystal!" and ran over, pushing Rowan out of the way. He sat down beside her and ran his fingers though her hair "I thought...how...Why do you have my wife here!"
Rowan sighed and said "That was the body AIDA was using, I stripped it from her with the ability that the NPC you are hunting down gave me. Then you almost deleted her with us. You are not that bright are you..."
The GM stopped and said "How, how..."
Sho walked forward and said "Your higher ups didn't tell you what the hell was going on did they? Well, AIDA attacks players and traps their minds and game bodies in the game. Then, they use it as a tool to attack more players under your radar. So you are trying to hunt and delete lost ones, just like your wife."
The GM stood up and took off the mask, ripping off his GM cloak. He was a young man with red hair that stood straight up, like Vegeta from Dragon Ball Z. He had two wave marks like fire on his cheeks that where black, and was dressed in a complicated outfit of Black and red straps that wove together into a thick armor. He looked to the group and asked "How can I get her back to her body, tell me!"
Rowan sighed and said "She has to be hooked up to the game first, and logged in. I'm still trying to figure it out myself, because I've not returned to my body yet."
At this time she started to wake up. Crystal looked around and saw her husband and gasped. She reached up and hugged him saying "Ron, what happened! The last thing I remember was black spots, I was in a place that was so crowded, it was horrible. So many people crying, we where all scared. What happened?"
She broke down in Ron's arms and his face softened. He then said "There is a virus loose in the game, it attacked you and then used you to gather more victims. Your separated from your body and you are in a coma now. I joined the GM's to find you, and...they almost made me delete you...I'm so sorry...Crystal...forgive me please..."
The guys stood around the group and sighed. Rowan then said to Sho "How many lost ones are reported..."
"About five hundred..."
Rowan sighed sadly and said "CC-corp is using families of victims to try and cover their mistakes, and it almost cost two people their lives. I bet plenty more have died because of CC-corp."
Ron looked to them and said "Nope, we can't delete anything AIDA has touched. We can't even repair data in the game that it has messed with either. Also, we honestly can't shut down the servers."
Rowan frowned and said "What?"
"If we shut down the servers, AIDA will just spread itself to the World Wide Web, then just Imagen what would happen if it got into a military data base. We're being regulated by the government, as a high security risk. I am actually working in the team that's meant to contain it into a flash drive file so we can just destroy it." Ron said. "But we didn't know about it being a AI, every time we release a anti virus, it evolves faster than the AIDS virus. Almost immediately."
Suddenly three more GMs appeared around them. They said "You talk to much Ron, you are compromising security."
Rowan frowned and said "And you aren't doing a better job when you are killing the lost ones?"
The three GMs looked at each other for a few moments and asked "What do you mean?"
Ron pointed to Crystal and said "AIDA is using the minds and world bodies of the lost ones as it's vessels. We destroy AIDA, we destroy them. It is murder.."
The three GMs stayed silent for a few moments then one asked "How did you sepperate this young lady from the AIDA then?"
Rowan raised his wrist and said "That NPC you are hunting gave me the ability to do it. Data drain."
The GMs again where silent and said "You are also a lost one, your description had changed a lot but we found your key. How come you are different?"
Rowan shrugged and said "Both unlucky and lucky I guess. I now have the ability to strip AIDA down, but now I guess you will want to dissect me or something like that."
The GMs said at the same time "We wont, we actually want you to work for us so we can fix this."
Rowan said coldly "Forget it."
Ron said then "But, don't you want to save all the others?"
Rowan said "Of course I do, but I won't be controlled blindly like you are. I will work on my own, and you won't get in my way."
Ron nodded and said "Then will you allow us to assist you at least?"
Rowan pondered for a moment and said "I will only talk to those in charge. So tell them to get their lazy asses in game and speak to me."
After a few moments the GM who remained quiet spoke up, her voice female "They will meet with you tomorrow. Until then, do as you wish but do not spread word of this. The panic would force the world shut down, which would lead to a major world wide crises."
Rowan nodded and said "And remember, if you try any bull shit we'll just start throwing the information around. You try to black mail us, you will burn just as fast."
They signed and agreed. All but Ron and Crystal disappearing.
Crystal stood and asked "What can I do until I can return to my body? I don't want AIDA to try and infect me again. How can I be safe?"
Rowan said "You can stay with me, I'm stuck here too so I can protect you. I'm the only one who can."
Ron nodded and said "At least let me give you a home and free guild so you have a place to stay in privet."
Rowan nodded and said "I can accept that. Make me the leader and name it Midnight."
After a few moments it was done and he smiled "There, all done. You have the max home at the best city. Plus, you can customize it with no gold cost. Think of it as my payment to you to cover my debt."
Rowan nodded and saw that both Sho and Kycoo where already in. Rowan took out a key and handed it to Crystal so she could enter with him. Ron then opened a portal and said "This will take you directly there, so we can go sit down and relax."
They nodded and entered the portal, and stepped into the elegant looking home.
