.hack/Gathering of the Unwilling
Chapter 09
Started Chapter: 08-March-2008
Finished Chapter: 09-March-2008
First Post: 21-March-2008
Last Edit: 10-March-2008
Disclaimer:
All original materials belong to their respective owners. Dot Hack belongs to Bandai and CyberConnect2. No copyright infringement is intended.
This story ignores the existence of .hack/LINK, the deletion of The World R:2 and the release of The World R:X. Characters from .hack/LINK may or may not appear.
Chapter 09
- Delta Hidden Forbidden Dead Wood, Dead World of Indieglut Lugh - Game -
- 12:04 AM, Saturday September 23, 2017 -
Saku's heart beat so fast, she was almost sure Endrance and Sakaki could hear it. She was at a loss of words, and she refused to believe Endrance had his blade placed in her throat. Sakaki openly laughed at the situation, and Endrance's eyes were covered by his long blue hair. She wondered what was he doing, and what the hell did Mia mean.
- (Onee-chan! Snap out of it!) - Bo tried to make Saku react.
- (Bo... what is he doing? I do not understand... Bo... I am scared...) - Saku answered in her mind.
- (I... I do not understand what Endrance is doing... but you need to get away from him! If Sakaki is here then it is a serious situation!) - Bo reasoned.
- (He is not... pretending this time... is he? I can not see his eyes anymore... but before this... those eyes he had... they scared me...) - Saku thought.
- (Onee-chan! You need to...) - Bo started to say.
- "Ah! How sweet! Is the little boy worried about the fate of his dear sister? What a crybaby!" - Sakaki mocked, while Saku's eyes widened.
- "Wha... What are you saying?" - Saku stuttered.
- "What do you think I am saying?" - He grinned - "I am just stating the fact that poor little Iori is crying his heart out for his dear sister, Sakura..."
- "How the HELL do you know that?" - Saku tried to move, but Endrance took hold of her neck, while pressing the blade further.
- "I said to not move..." - Endrance whispered.
- "I know a lot of things girl... like the fact that you do not exist on the real world. That you just manifest inside The World... or so you say... I think you just are an imaginary thing of poor little Iori who is traumatized because his dear sister was a stillborn" - Sakaki mocked.
- "SHUT THE HELL UP!" - "SHUT THE HELL UP!" - Both Saku and Bo screamed at the same time.
- (What? Both voices at the same time? So they are really two different beings in the same body... hehe... well we do have Artificial Intelligences... and a player born from a human cell... so... what is so strange about this? No matter... I can still play with their little minds in order to extract Gorre...) - Sakaki thought - "My... my... feisty are we not? Deny it as much as you want... but you are just simply a very confused boy..."
- "I... I will kill you... I WILL KILL YOU!" - Saku screamed.
- (Onee-chan... I... I know you are here... I do not believe his words... so please... calm down!) - Bo pleaded.
- "Endrance... if you wish to know about Mia... do not let her get near me." - Sakaki ordered.
Endrance rose his sight and stared hard at him. He then turned his sight towards Saku, and noticed the angry tears flowing from her eyes. - "As you wish..."
- "Why are you... doing this...?" - Saku asked.
- "I told you before... you should not be here... if this happened it is because of you did not listen..." - The Blade Brandier answered.
- "... am I not... your friend... ANSWER ME!" - She yelled.
- "My only friend is Mia..." - He coldly answered.
- (Onee-chan!) - Iori yelled as he felt something snap in his sister.
- "ORZAN ROM!" - Saku screamed as she summoned the 2nd level wind tornado, which pushed Endrance away from her.
Sakaki watched from the sidelines, as he covered his eyes from the dust thrown by the girl's technique. His grin widened upon seeing the state in which the girl stood. Saku's tears flowed freely from her eyes, mixing with blood from a faint cut on her cheek, which was caused by Endrance's blade as he was pushed away by the wind magic.
- (Onee-chan... it... it hurts...) - Bo said
- (Bo? What... what are you saying?) - Saku asked.
- (My face... it is bleeding...) - The boy answered, shocking the girl.
- (How?) - "How?" - Saku thought first, and then repeated out loud.
- "You are connected... thanks to Mother's influence... whatever happens to the PC... will happen to the player..." - Sakaki read her thoughts. - "Endrance... kill her now... and I will tell you about Mia..."
- "Do you promise?" - The soft voice of Endrance asked.
- "But of course... I shall tell you all you desire... just... get her." - He grinned.
- "Very well... it shall be done..." - Endrance turned around, facing Saku, with his Seductive Rose pointed at the girl.
- "What about Haseo...? Did you not say you loved him? Sakaki wants to kill him... so why?" - Saku said between tears.
- "I told you... I only care about Mia..." - Endrance answered.
- "I do not know who Mia is... but I do know this... I do not know how could I love you... you..." - She whispered. - "I... hate you... I HATE YOU!" -
Saku casted a Dek Vo, intending to slow down Endrance's movement, so she could instead target Sakaki. She ran towards the green haired man, starting to cast a light spell, the OrLei Zas, only to be stopped as a blade crashed upon her Grimoire. She struggled to keep her grounds, as Endrance pushed her with all his might. She cried in pain as Endrance kicked her away.
- "Why did it not work...?" - She panted, but received no answer from Endrance.
- "Ogre Sword" - Endrance exclaimed as he wiped his blade towards Saku, who received the impact with her Grimoire. She was sent flying, and fell upon the water surrounding the white tree. After half a minute she emerged from the lake, coughing, while water dripped from her clothes.
- (Onee-chan! Are you okay?) - Bo's frantic voice resonated on Saku's mind.
- (I do not think... I can hold much longer... without relying on... Gorre... En-sa... Endrance is too strong...) - Saku answered in her mind.
- (Then do it! I do not know what he is doing, but he is hurting you! Anyone that hurts you is my enemy!) - The boy replied.
Endrance calmly walked towards Saku, and pointed his sword in her face once again. Saku only glared at him, as she bit her lip strongly, drawing blood, a gesture that was being emulated by Bo in her mind. In the real world, Iori's lip bleed. The girl could not see the man's eyes, as his long blue hair once again shielded them. Saku was about to summon Gorre, when a sparkle on Endrance's face stopped her cold. Tears. He was crying.
- "Endrance?" - Her voice cracked with confusion.
- "I... can not... do it..." - Endrance whispered.
- "Huh? Can you not? Or will you not?" - Sakaki spoke. - "Do you not want to know about Mia?"
- "I want to know but... I... I finally found friends... I... can not do this to them... I CAN NOT!" - Endrance yelled as he turned around, and ran towards Sakaki, casting a Flash Sword move, but all three strikes were parried by Sakaki. - "I once had friends... and I cast them away to be with Mia... I will not repeat that same mistake..." - He said as he struggled against Sakaki's blade.
- "So you have decided... too bad..." - Sakaki spat as he punched Endrance, sending him flying backwards, crashing besides Saku, who only stared at him.
- "I... do not know if I can forgive you... even if you did not finish me off... you were clearly trying to do so... we will have a serious talk after this... for now... we need to finish him off. You are not aware it seems... but he is using AIDA again..." - Saku said, as she stood up, while Endrance's eyes grew wide.
- "AIDA? But it..." - Endrance tried to said, but stopped upon seeing the virus manifest over Sakaki, granting him his Zenith form. - "I... see..."
Sakaki smirked as he saw both opponents getting ready to fight him. Two against one did not worry him, as he trusted in his own abilities... or rather AIDA's. He ran swinging his blade towards Saku, who received the impact with her Grimoire. While the girl struggled to keep her place, against the infected PC, Endrance tried to slash Sakaki's side, but the thrust was parried by Zenith's AIDA blade, which protruded from its back. Sakaki briefly glanced at Endrance, and he smirked as he used the Tiger Blitz skill on him, at the same time he kicked Saku on her stomach, sending her backwards.
- "Ite..." - Saku cried as she fell.
- "Bastard... I... I will stop you... I am sure... that is what Mia would have desired... Ahh" - Endrance stated, as he started to glow purple.
- "Really now? Are you going to use her then? Macha? Do you not hate the Phase?" - Sakaki mocked.
- "Yes... I hate her... for taking Mia away from me... but that will not stop me from using her power... if it came to me it must have been for a reason... and I will not hesitate! Grant me power Macha!" - The Blade Brandier stated, as Macha started to materialize around him.
- "How sad Mia must be... for you to hate her so much..." - The Edge Punisher laughed.
- "What? What idiocy are you saying?" - Endrance stopped summoning Macha, as Sakaki's words felt like a slap to the face.
- "Idiocy? No...no... you mean to tell me... you never noticed? But of course you did not notice... you are an idiot! And I already knew that, I must add, since that is why I sent you that email..." - Sakaki smirked.
- (What is he doing? Why is he not summoning Macha?) - Saku grunted in pain on the floor.
- (I... do not know... something weird is happening... to him...) - Bo coughed.
- "Stop rambling! What do you know?" - Endrance yelled.
- "Impatient are we not? All right... I will tell you... even though you did not do as I said... think of this as my treat. You see... the very same Avatar you currently hate so much... and its previous Phase form which you despised so much... they are in fact... - He laughed. - "Oh this is so rich... why do you think Macha came to you of all people? It is simple... Macha became attached to you... because she had shared so much with you!"
- "What... are you... implying...?" - Endrance was confused. - "I... I do not have time for this... Grant me power Macha!" - He begun the summoning again.
- "My... have you figured it out? And you do not want to listen to me?" - The man smirked.
- "Shut up!" - Avatar Macha roared with Endrance's voice. The feline form of Macha sprinted towards Sakaki, preparing her claws, with the intention of slashing him.
- "Mia's true form is Macha." - Sakaki smirked.
Saku's eyes widened as she saw Macha disappearing, leaving only a pale Endrance behind. He stood with his hand stretched, unmoving, just a few centimeters away from Sakaki. The green haired PC took advantage of the situation, and soon held Endrance's neck with his right hand, raising him from the floor. Endrance gasped for air, and tried to struggle against the hold, without success.
- "You... lie..." - Endrance spat between breathes.
- "You know I am telling the truth... that is why Macha disappeared... you are feeling guilty of hating her... and you currently can not summon her again... am I wrong?" - He laughed.
- "Mac...ha..." - He called, without success. - "Mia..." - Tears fell from his eyes.
- "No worries... since you hate Macha so much... I will take her away from you..." - Sakaki said, as the black bracelet formed on his left hand. The star shaped bracelet started to grow as he called forth its power. - "DATA..."
- "ORVAK DON!" - Sakaki heard, and just an instant later he screamed in pain as the hellish fire impacted his back. He fell, in his knees, without losing his hold on Endrance. He glanced backwards, and saw Saku panting, and struggling to stay on her feet.
- "Oh yeah... I forgot you were there..." - He smirked, as the AIDA started to heal his burnt back.
- "Let go of him..." - She said.
- "Why? Did you not say that you hated him just a few minutes ago? I can get rid of him for you..." - He mocked.
- "Like hell I will allow you to! I am the one that is going to kick his ass!" - She roared, as Bo declared his agreement on her mind.
- "As you wish..." - Sakaki said, and then glanced at Endrance. - "I will deal with you later... not that you can do anything anymore..." - He threw Endrance to the water, like a rag doll, where he simply floated unmoving. - "Did I break him that bad? Oh... my bad..."
Saku grew enraged at the sight. She started to glow red, intending to summon Gorre, but Bo's words stopped her. - (Onee-chan! Wait!)
- (Bo? Now it is not the time I...) - She tried to ignore him.
- (I said to wait! Let me help you! I... I want to fight too! Draw my power as well from the very beginning!) - Bo yelled, stunning Saku.
- (Bo... all right... thank you) - She sweetly smiled at her brother.
Saku's red glow died down, and Sakaki laughed at her. - "Giving up so soon? I expected a better battle from you..."
- "Like hell I will surrender... I just needed to... reboot" - She smirked -
- "We will not let you do as you please!" - "We will not let you do as you please!" - The twins said at the same time. - "Grant us the power of the sun!" - "Grant us the power of the moon!" - "GORRE!" - "GORRE!"
Sakubo started to glow yellow, instead of the usual red intended for Saku, or the blue reserved for Bo. Their combined essences glowed gold, and as the A in C major sound resonated, the twin avatar of Gorre manifested. Usually just one of Gorre's form was visible, as one remained sentient, while the other battled. But this time, both forms stood visible, side by side. The pink-red form, Saku, stood in all its glory besides the light blue one, Bo.
Saku's Avatar form of Gorre resembled a small pink red kid, with five petal razors, emulating a sun, floating around its head. The leg-less body floated above a pink sphere, with black patterns, which resembled an eye. Floating below the sphere stood a stem-like extension with two leaf-like extensions. Circling around the sphere also stood six petal razors, which resembled those around its head.
Bo's Avatar form of Gorre also resembled a small kid, but its colors were dark blue and light blue. On its head two different horns grew, which in a frontal perspective gave the impression of a crescent moon. Bo's form also rested above a sphere, from which two leaf-like extensions grew. Around the sphere several other sphere-like bubbles circled.
- "The two simultaneously? Now this is a first..." - He mocked, but in his mind he seemed worried. - (What the heck? How can they act at the same time? Are they really two beings in the same body? As a matter of fact... I am lucky Endrance broke down like that... two avatars at the same time could have been troublesome... but this form of Gorre counts as two already... three avatars would have been overkill... no matter... I will stop them here...)
Zenith Sakaki started to concentrate, as the AIDA revolved around him, making him grow into the Victorian form. It floated in the cave, barely touching the ceiling. Before he could try and teleport them all towards a phase area, the twins were already over him, attacking. - (Tch... I lost concentration and time back there... will have to battle here...)
Bo-Gorre started to fly around Sakaki, unleashing bubbles which exploded upon impact. The Victorian fired its Royal Bullets, intending to destroy as many bubbles as he could. By mere chance he was able to see the approaching razor thrown by Saku-Gorre, the Bloom of Destiny, and unable to escape from it, he lifted one of its wings, deflecting the spinning weapon, but suffered a massive cut on its appendage. He roared in pain as the blow made him lose his balance, sending him crashing upon the explosive bubbles.
- "Painful Blow!" - Saku-Gorre cried as he charged the Victorian, and crashing upon the pink orb on its chest, sent him flying towards Bo-Gorre. The boy captured its enemy, by taking hold of him under its wings, and cried for his sister to attack. She flew towards its enemy, and started to beat him up. The last blow sent the Victorian crashing upon the floor of the cave.
"Move over here Bo! Do not just stand there! We got to take advantage of this chance and win!" - Saku-Gorre cried at her brother, who flew towards her. Saku's left hand linked with Bo's right, while their other hands pointed towards the fallen Victorian. They started to glow as a familiar star-cannon of light emerged between them. - "DATA DRAIN!" - They cried in unison.
The blast impacted on Sakaki who, crying in pain, was promptly erased. Both Saku-Gorre and Bo-Gorre descended to the floor, panting, while sweat rolled from their faces. - "Did we did it?" - Bo asked.
- "It... seems so... we... won. We won!" - Saku cheered as she un-summoned Gorre. - "Bo! We won! Eh... Bo?"
Saku stood stunned. In front of her stood a wide-eyed Bo, whose mouth hanged open. Without a second thought, Saku launched herself at him, making them both crash unto the floor. They hugged each other, laughing and crying. - "So... it seems this was a side effect for using both halves of Gorre at the same time, ne?" - Bo questioned.
- "Yes... it seems... although it seemed to have been just temporal..." - Saku sadly stated, as Bo's body became transparent. - "But it was good to finally get to hug you my otouto... even if it was for just a short time..."
- "I agree Onee-chan... I am happy and... WATCH OUT!" - He cried, but not in time, as a blade pierced Saku's chest from behind.
- "Gah!" - Saku cried in pain, as blood dripped from her mouth. She glanced back, as was shocked to see Sakaki with a grinning face. - "How...?"
- "My... my... you two certainly gave me a lot of trouble. I commend you for defeating me. Too bad for you I defeated Kuhnie first." - Sakaki laughed. He was in his normal form, with a new addition. His left arm was now completely black, made from AIDA like his left eye. The same side of the wing Saku had slashed during their avatar-AIDA battle.
- "What... do you... mean?" - She coughed on the floor, as Sakaki had taken out the blade, kicking her, and was currently licking the blood.
- "I must say... his Propagation ability works wonders... if I had not created that clone... I would surely have been deleted... That, combined with the Prophet's Teleportation saved me." - He smirked, then turned enraged. - "You almost deleted me... for that girl... I will make you suffer... I will kill your little brother... and then destroy you while I extract Gorre from you..."
- (Onee-chan! Switch with me! You are too injured!) - Bo exclaimed.
- (Bo... are you okay? Did... the blade hurt you?) - Saku questioned.
- (I am fine... I do not know how... but I am fine... please Saku! Hurry!) - Bo begged.
- (I see... we have not re-united completely then... then we have a chance...) - The girl said.
- (Yes! Hurry! Let me fight!) - The boy cried, as tears fell from his eyes.
- (I am sorry Bo... I love you...) - Saku said between tears. Bo looked horrified for a second, and then he knew no more. Saku shut him out, breaking their link.
- "Ah... so you managed to save him? Very well... I will allow it... as a prize for your 'victory'. But... I still need to finish you off though." - Sakaki mocked.
- "Heh... do your worst... I am sure he will defeat you..." - Saku smiled at him, through her glare.
- "And how will he do? He is currently broken." - The man laughed.
- "I am not talking about Endrance... but him... Haseo..." - She grinned in satisfaction as he saw Sakaki's face get angry.
- "Have it your way..." - He sneered - "DATA DRAIN!" - The dark bracelet of Sakaki grew into its star shape, and shot towards the girl, who closed her eyes, awaiting her end. When no pain filled her senses, and a cry of pain, which was not hers, was heard, she opened her eyes, shocked to see Endrance in front of her, taking the blow intended for her.
- "Endrance...?" - She whispered, shocked to see the man taking the fatal blow for her. As soon as the draining ended, ending the extraction of Macha, the body of Endrance fell backwards. - "ENDRANCE!"
Crawling as she could, Saku moved towards the man, who had taken the fatal blow for her. She put his head on her lap, as her tears once more emerged from her eyes. - "Why...?"
- "Because I am a coward who... could not... face his mistakes..." - He coughed as his body started to disappear in fireflies of light. - "I betrayed so many... Mia would be disappointed in... me... no more... I at least... wanted to save you... run... while you can..." - He said, as his body completely disappeared.
- "En-sama... you fool... I... can no longer move... you should have... saved yourself..." - She cried, not caring about the massive pain her sobs were causing on her damaged chest.
- "So he once again took the blast for another... ironic. He did that seven year ago as well... when he received Corbenik's Drain Arc instead of Kite..." - Sakaki stated.
- "Spare me the history lesson!" - Saku cried - "Just finish me off already you bastard!" -
- "As you wish Princess..." - Sakaki once again summoned his dark bracelet, and attacked Saku, this time without interference, extracting Gorre. He gave a last glance at the fallen body, before walking away, laughing.
- (Bo... Iori... forgive me... this was for the best... En-sama... I am sorry I said I hated you... you gave your life for me... even though I did not deserved it... Haseo... please... please be careful... you... must... win...) - Saku thought as her body disappeared in fireflies of coded data.
- Ichinose House, Room of Ichinose Kaoru, Yokohama - Real Life -
- 12:48 AM, Saturday September 23, 2017 -
Ichinose Kaoru laid on the floor, unconscious, with the M2D still on his face. His cheeks sparkled from several still fresh tears. A loud crash was heard from the door, as the frantic yells of his parents asked him if he was okay. Several minutes prior he had yelled at the top of his lungs, effectively waking them up. Upon his lack of answer, his father started to hit the door, with his shoulder, until he finally managed to break it open.
Upon seeing their son on the floor, the mother of Kaoru cried in surprise, and ran towards her son. Without missing a beat, Kaoru's father ran towards a phone, and dialed for emergencies, requesting an ambulance. Leaving the phone behind, he went to check upon his son. He found him with weak vital signs, so he started to massage his chest, trying to stimulate the heart, while his wife cried in despair behind him.
The sound of an ambulance waked up the neighbors who, curious, stepped out of their homes, trying to see the reason for the commotion. Paramedics soon emerged from the Ichinose house, carrying the unconscious young man on a stretcher. The mother cried on the arms of a friend, while the father spoke with a paramedic. Seconds later, the mother boarded the ambulance, and left alongside her son, while the father remained behind, to close the house, and take his car to the hospital.
No one noticed the -NO DATA- message on the computer's monitor, as its circuits fried down. Before leaving home, the father got a burnt smell, and upon inspection found the computer on fire. With wide eyes, he ran downstairs, cut the power out, and then ran upstairs with a bucket full of water, which he threw upon the fire. As perturbed as he was, because of the current events, he remained calm enough to cut the power out, intending to prevent any other incident. Confused as he was, he left home, driving towards the hospital.
- Nakanishi House, Iori's Room, Tokyo - Real Life -
- 12:42 AM, Saturday September 23, 2017 -
Nakanishi Iori removed the blackened M2D from his face, horrified at what just happened. His face twisted in pain, and he started to sob loudly. Falling on his knees, which he then hugged tightly, he let his tears fall, as his forehead soon found the cool surface of the floor. He continued to sob for a while, unheard by anyone, as his parents had left to a reunion and had not arrived back.
- "Saku... why... why did you have to do it? Saku... SAKURA!" - He continued to sob loudly.
The black lenses of the M2D flashed red words, which then proceeded to reflect on the monitor. The text -NO DATA- mocked Iori, as he lifted his face. Standing up, he tried to log into the game, but only got the same message. Calming himself enough, he forcefully rebooted the computer, and then tried to log once again, this time only receiving the -ACCESS DENIED- message.
He lost her. He lost his sister. She did it to save him. But it hurt terribly. Crying his heart out, once again, he fell asleep, ignoring the fact that Sakura's sacrifice not only spared him from a coma, but also stopped the manifestation of another accident on his home.
- The Creator's Room, Lost Ground Unknown Server - Game -
- 01:14 AM, Saturday September 23, 2017 -
Morganna stood from her rocking chair, while she glanced towards her children. Magus, Fidchell, Gorre and Macha. Half of her children were back with her, and with them, her power started to recover. A few minutes earlier Sakaki had handed her two more of her children, in their new forms that she found marvelous. As much as she hated the human race, she was pleased to see her children in their new forms. She had immediately dismissed Sakaki.
- "Seems you are happy..." - An unknown voice resonated on the field.
- "Yes... I am happy... my children are returning... and my power as well... soon... everything will come to place... and I will have my revenge..." - Morganna answered the voice.
- "When will it be my turn?" - The voice, which belonged to a shadowed voice on the trees, asked.
- "Soon... be patient. Soon it will be your turn. For now... just rest." - Morganna instructed, while the figure just smirked.
- Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music Dorms, Room of Shoji An and Miyake Kira, Tokyo - Real Life -
- 01:05 AM, Saturday September 23, 2017 -
Shoji An gasped as she woke up. She breated loudly, through the mouth, as she found herself without air. She held her head in pain, and closed her eyes, willing the pain to pass, and for her chest to get rid of its sudden contraction. Her noise woke up her dormmate, who immediately jumped from her bed, worried about her friend.
- "An! You okay? What happened?" - Miyake Kira asked.
- "Water..." - An's voice broke down.
- "Wait..." - Kira stood up, as she ran to get a bottle of water, which she immediately handed to her friend. - "You okay now? What happened?"
- "I... think I had a nightmare..." - An answered.
- "You... think?" - Kira questioned.
- "I can not remember it... sorry... it just... agitated me so much... I can not understand it..." - An replied, as she held the cold water bottle to her forehead.
- "Hey! You are completely soaked in sweat! Let me check your temperature!" - Kira, who had short light brown hair, which grew below her shoulders said.
- "Hey... wait..." - An suddenly found Kira's forehead touching hers. She pouted as her friend checked her temperature. An had short dark brown hair, which went down to just above her shoulders.
- "Seems you are fine... but you need to get cleaned out of all that sweat. Come on... you need to take a bath." - Kira answered, as she started to unbutton An's pajamas.
- "Hey! I can do it myself you know!" - An groaned.
- "Okay okay... I will go and open the water then..." - Kira said, as she laughed, and left An behind.
- "What did I dream... why did it agitate me so much...?" - An whispered to herself.
Shouji An, currently a student of Architecture, currently lived on a dorm, alongside her friend Kira. She was still under the care of Sakuma Ryo, who had become some sort of adoptive father, after the fiasco with her real father. When she was little her mother had died, her father had stopped caring about her, probably because he had never been ready to be a family man, and had subjected her to years of neglect, mental and physical abuse. Trying to escape reality she logged into The World, where she created the WaveMaster Tsukasa, who in an unlucky turn of events, became possessed by a jealous AI named Morganna, which caused An to fall into a coma in the real world. Awakening in a foreign land, with no memories of her real life, Tsukasa found herself confused... or rather himself... as possessing a male avatar, and no memories made her believe she was a boy for all those months she spent in a coma.
Tsukasa suffered lots of trauma because of Morganna, but finally managed to wake up thanks to the aid of people 'he' had refused to trust at the beginning. Upon waking up she meet them. Sakuma Ryo, Bear, saved her from her father, who had tried to kill her by disconnecting her from the life support system. Misono Mariko, Subaru, and her became involved in a romantic relationship for a while, but eventually they broke up, since they believed it was not working, and rather both girls decided to stay as friends. Miyake Kira, Mimiru, had been, alongside Subaru, one of those that had cared most for 'him' inside the game, and eventually both girls became as close as sisters, fact that showed when they decided to room together at college.
In the seven years that have passed An has become a happier girl, free of worries, free of her abusive father, and has found friendship, and most important, she has found peace. Peace... something that she currently did not have, since her forgotten dream had shaken her so much, leaving her with an enormous uneasiness in her heart.
Miyake Kira, student of Film and New Media, once roleplayed as Mimiru, a carefree Heavy Blade. By pure chance she got involved in Tsukasa's life, and even though those were though times, she never regretted doing so. She had confronted things she did not understand, but it had been worth it, since seeing An's smile on the real world had been enough. All of them came close to lose consciousness when Skeith appeared in front of them, and if had not been because of Helba's prompt help, maybe their story would have had a sad ending.
Upon meeting with An in the real world both became very close, and often hanged around together as best friends. Their relationship became of sisters the day she had to console An, when she announced she and Mariko decided to end their relationship.
Kira stepped out of the bathroom, allowing An to bath in peace. Her sleep long forgotten, she turned the TV on, just to find shocking and disturbing news.
- "...as you can see in the background... even at this hour of the night the sky is illuminated... this caused by the Nuclear Meltdown at the Sendai Nuclear Power Plant that took place just about half an hour ago...the government is already mobilizing the army in order to help with the evacuation, while experts are already preparing the equipment to stop the radiation poisoning... the number of deaths is currently unknown..."
- "What the...?" - Kira watched with wide eyes.
To: Silabus at TheWorldR2 dot com
CC: Gaspard at TheWorldR2 dot com
Sender: Haseo at TheWorldR2 dot com
Subject: RE: Just letting you know.
Saburou is looking for me? Wonder what she wants... we have not spoken ever since my PC got reformatted.
Thanks for letting me know. I will email her.
Haseo
"There's only one thing real about this world and that's us! The players!"
To: Saburou at TheWorldR2 dot com
Sender: Haseo at TheWorldR2 dot com
Subject: What is it?
I heard you wanted to speak with me... what is it?
Haseo
"There's only one thing real about this world and that's us! The players!"
To: Haseo at TheWorldR2 dot com
Sender: Saburou at TheWorldR2 dot com
Subject: RE: What is it?
Finally I can email you!
Stupid private address... seems you also lost my member address when you got formatted...
Meet me at the Hulle Granz Cathedral this Sunday, around 5 PM and we will talk.
Saburou
"Well, I guess the PC body may be different, but the body's still the same."
To: Sakubo at TheWorldR2 dot com
Sender: Haseo at TheWorldR2 dot com
Subject: RE: Where are you?
Sorry for not answering before. I was kinda busy.
Did you need something?
Haseo
"There's only one thing real about this world and that's us! The players!"
