.hack//Gathering of the Unwilling

Chapter 29

Started Chapter: 28-March-2009
Finished Chapter: 08-April-2009
First Post: 08-April-2009
Last Edit:

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 29

- Old Apartment, Passau Bavaria, Germany - Real Life -
- 10:50 AM Germany, 06:50 PM Japan, Saturday September 30, 2017 -

The young woman played with a stray lock of hair, which dangled in front of her forehead, while she sat comfortably on the couch, with her legs folded to her side, still wearing her pajamas. She had been woken up almost four hours ago, by the A in C major sounds resonating from her Television, and had been following the events on the game since then. Her smile widened as she her own prediction came true... as she chanted that the Twilight was a time for light to come, the boy named Haseo had been saved by his tenant, the Phase Skeith. As the events unfolded she felt her stomach grumble in protest, requesting food. Giggling a bit, she stood up, feeling the carpet on her bare feet.

- "It seems things are evolving again..." - She said as she glanced through her window, watching the Danuve river through it, as she witnessed the transformation Haseo was passing through.

The young woman stretched her arms as she walked outside of the room. - "She has a lot of friends? Ne?" - The young woman said as she smiled fondly at a photo above her desk.


- Various Locations - Real Life -
- 06:50 PM, Saturday September 30, 2017 -

Sakuma Ryo cursed as he pressed his automobile's claxon. Previously that day he had been secluded at the outskirts of a rural town, where he was gathering information for his new novel. Deciding to take a break, he turned on the Television, only to curse upon seeing what was taking place. Hearing his cellphone ring, he checked Helba's email and cursed his luck. He had chosen a place without Internet connection, in order to not get distracted. Seeing the scene on TV, when Sora appeared, he tried dialing An's number, but was not able to connect due to technical issues, or so the operator had said. Cursing, he took his keys and ran to his car, only to find himself, several minutes later, trapped within a sea of cars. Through the radio, which remained unhacked, he heard about a severe car crash, involving 30 vehicles, in the very same road he stood. Resigning, he watched the battle on his cellphone, hoping An's decision to return to the game was not a bad one.

BT's player, Hiramitsu Machiko, watched the events, while drinking a beer, on a local bar in Touhoku, looking bored. Up to this day she still was single, after a disastrously failed relationship with Crim's player, Chiba Shin, and a one-sided infatuation with Bear's player, Sakuma Ryo. Glancing yet again at her cellphone, seeing Helba's email, she pressed the necessary keys to delete the email. She no longer wanted to be involved with The World. Paying her drink, she walked away, into the chaos on the streets, due to numerous car crashes, due to a malfunction on the traffic lights.

Crim's player, Chiba Shin, stretched as he opened his eyes. He smiled at the sleeping body of Misono Mariko, Subaru's player, who slept soundly besides him. Glancing at his watch, he saw it was already mid-morning. Half-asleep, he walked towards the window, half opening the curtains to glance at the busy streets of Barcelona. Her rehabilitation was going smoothly thanks to the doctor they were recommended to see here on the lively Spanish city. Hearing a sudden crack, he cursed when he saw he had stepped on his cellphone. Grumbling, he tried to save the chip, knowing he would need to get a new one. He decided to let Mariko sleep late, for she was still tired from the session with the doctor the day prior. Grumbling, he stepped into the bathroom, intending to take a bath, wondering what the ruckus on the streets was about.


- Delta Root Town, Eternal City Mac Anu - Game -
- 06:30 PM, Saturday September 30, 2017 -

Silver Knight sighed as he sat besides the fountain at the main street of Mac Anu, where player shops where usually opened. He glanced around at the normal players, while reading the logs on his screen. Most of the players were talking about the weird events, while a very few complained about not being able to watch their shows. The Blade Brandier had received Helba's email, asking him to remain on standby at the Root Town, awaiting further instructions. Fighting a headache, product of watching the game and the TV at the same time, the man kept waiting, expecting Helba's instructions.

- (Why am I here anyway? I should be fighting alongside them... it worries me that Sora has appeared like that... huh? What is this? Tsukasa and Mimiru? Wait a moment... she still has that monster with her?? And... woah!!! Three Data Drains??... Argh... screw this!! I need to help them!!) - The man stood up, his blood red eyes glowing.

- "Wait." - Silver Knight heard a voice. - "You are needed here. For a task that is being prepared..."

- "Who are you?" - Silver Knight turned around, seeing a smiling short blue-haired boy. His eyes widened upon recognition. - "You are... Moon Tree's..."


- Theta Hidden Forbidden Battlefield, The Coite-Bodher Battlefield - Game -
- 06:50
PM, Saturday September 30, 2017 -

The gathered players watched in awe the new form Haseo had taken. Kite, being supported by BlackRose, wondered what had transpired in front of him. Not only Skeith had forsaken Morganna, but all the other seven Phases had done the same thing. They joined Haseo and brought forth this new form. He gulped as he felt the power emanating from the boy, creating an incredible pressure in the air. He risked glancing around and he saw the same bewildered expression on the faces of his companions. He smirked for the first time in hours. The table had been turned.

BlackRose felt her heart racing as the transformation of Haseo took place. The boy's will was amazing. And his power had grown ten fold with this new development. Seeing her fiancée smirking, she knew things would be better, as they had hoped from the start. Turning around, to look at the two girls that came seeking for Haseo, she saw Alkaid with a wide smile, and a few tears on her eyes, whereas Shino's character remained unmoving and unfocused. Akira idly wondered if Shino had left. Before she could ask she saw as the focus returned to Shino's character, which promptly fell in line with the rest of the characters.

- "You okay, nya?" - Akira heard Mistral questioning Shino, who nodded in response, stating something had happened offline, but that she was back, for she had come to help her friend. Akira wondered what could have happened.

Tsukasa, still on Mimiru's arms, struggled to stand up. The Heavy Blade, helped by Carl, aided the WaveMaster to stand up. Her breathing was heavy, due to the strain of using her long un-used ability to control the Twilight Guardian, which had vanished after Haseo had been freed from the rogue AIDA. Her eyes never left the sight of the winged Haseo... the new form of the boy she promised to befriend. She smiled while thinking she would not walk away anymore.

Hokuto, from her hiding place, jumped in joy upon seeing what was happened. After the doctor's had declared that Reiko's pulse had stabilized, she logged in back immediately, earning a few confused glances from the Doctors, who still remained surprised at the events of the prior minutes. Seeing the new form of Haseo she knew what had happened with Reiko was connected with this. Smirking, she told Albireo what she was seeing, causing the male to smirk. The confused doctors left the room as Haruka typed fiercely.

Away from battle, coughing and dripping in muddy water, Sakaki glared at Haseo. Clutching his sliced chest, he gasped for air as AIDA began to pulse over his body. His sight went black as the virus began to pass over his neck. Glurging, he saw no more.

Clenching her teeth, due to the pain on her virtual nerves, caused by the forceful ripping of data out of her arms, Morganna glared down at Haseo. The boy responsible for all of her failures. The boy who aided in Tsukasa's freedom. The boy who aided on Aura's revival. The boy who stole her Children from her. Enraged, the AI gathered power on her body, intending to repair the damage data through backups and defragmentation of her code. Her chest clenched in pain as she felt a sudden pull over her body.

Haseo glared at the AI responsible for all the pain in the game. If the new jumbled memories on his brain were to be believed, this woman... this AI was the cause of all the suffering many went through... for the suffering he went through as a child. He always wondered why his parents did not want him to play The World, which promptly lead him to play in secret. This was the reason for that. This was the reason for his lost childhood. It had not been a bad hit to his head due to an accident involving him falling from the stairs. No... it had been an elaborated lie in order to protect him... to take him away from the game. Ironically he returned anyway. He frowned trying to take the foreign thoughts from his head. It was not the time to think about it. No... it was time for payback.

Clenching his Scythe tightly, Haseo bent his body as his new wings tensed. With a cry of war, he lifted off at an impressive speed, his wings sending waves of dust around where he stood. The gathered shielded their eyes, not wanting to know if the AIDA infection of the server would make them feel the dust on their eyes. Haseo's sight was centered on Morganna as he flew, gritting his teeth in rage. The superior AI, seeing him approach, centered its energy on a ball of energy, intending to sent it crashing down on the boy. A sharp pain on her body made her gasp, making her lose control on the ball of energy, which fell down, from her grasp, incomplete. Her eyes widened finding herself unable to move. Haseo, seeing the ball of energy, used his wings to evade it and, sending a new wave of air, increased his speed. Before Morganna could scream her rage, at finding herself immobile, Haseo's character stood directly in front of her. And a sharp pain filled her virtual senses.

Without allowing the AI any chance to escape, Haseo had centered all his power on the scythe, slashing the AI from left hip to right shoulder, creating a massive gap. The AI screamed in pain as the slash ended, and coded data began to slip out. Haseo, not wanting to grant her more time, prepared to behead her, when a squall of air pushed him away, making him lose his grasp on the Scythe. He ignored his weapon as it fell down on a nearby swamp, as he shielded his face from the onslaught that had begun behind the AI. Grey liquid fell from Morganna's mouth, as if it resembled blood. On closer inspection you could notice the grey liquid was a deeply condensed stream of data, which began pouring from the witch. The coded data began to circle around the screaming AI.

- "What the hell?" - Haseo wondered. In the ground, the dot hackers and company held similar question on their faces.

A concerned BlackRose questioned her fiancée about the turn of events. - "Kite... you were there when Morganna was erased the first time. When Aura sacrificed herself. Did something like this happened back then?"

- "No... it did not. I... really do not understand what is happening..." - Kite answered. His words put everyone near him on edge. Alkaid clenched a hand over her chest while Shino prayed.

Thunder began to fall around the screaming AI. A new pulse of energy emerged from her body in a violent way, making Haseo cringe as he stood his place on the air. The boy glanced downwards, only to see those gathered trying their best to hold their ground as the squall of air began to pulse more and more strongly. Unknown to him, the lights on the real world began to flicker wildly all around the globe. Tokuoka Junichirou cursed as he feared Amagi's computer shutting down. To his surprise, the machine withstood the pulse. The image on the television sets around the world flickered for a second, but soon returned to the strange view. Iori and Kouta, alongside Akira's parents, watched in confusion. Aina, on her hospital bed, sighed in relief as the hospital's emergency plant kicked on, allowing her to see the events. Silver Knight saw several bugs appear around the Root Town, whereas Zelkova merely smiled as several Grunties approached them. Crim's player, still oblivious to the events, cursed as the hot water stopped, freezing him as the cold water fell on him. BT's player decided to walk, instead of using the subway, as she saw the energy flicker yet again. Bordeaux's player screamed in rage as the light went off on her house, disconnecting her from whatever was happening. The hackers at the warehouse, leaded by Kuro Bith, did everything on their power to protect the connection, remotely, of those Aura and Helba had gathered. At CC Corp Shibayama Saki cursed as she asked why their plan was taking so long. Iwazaki Ken, Lios' player, asked her to calm down. Natsume, meanwhile, kept wandering around the Forest of Pain.

Morganna's scream filled the ears of the present. The reaction around her became more violent as each second passed. Frowning at his fallen weapon, Haseo summoned his Dual Guns, intending to strike the witch at the distance. Pressing the trigger, he cursed as he saw his bullets being reflected by the strange reaction happening around the AI. - "Damn it!!"

Seeing Haseo struggle, Kite clenched his hands. Side glancing at his friends his eyes meet with those of Akira's. Seeing the determination on his eyes, the girl nodded. Pushing his way through the group, Kite ran away from the central plaza, going towards the abandoned structure behind the Chaos Gate. He ignored the calls from his companions, who saw in confusion. Jumping towards the Chaos Gate, Kite used it as a jumping platform to launch himself towards the castle, hoping it was not a completely inaccessible background. With the impulse he gave himself, Kite barely reached a window. He cursed as he felt himself slip, only to be surprised as a gentle hand took hold of his wrist. Kite's eyes widened as he saw a blond Wavemaster, clenching her teeth as she tried her best to aid him up.

- "Who?" - Kite asked.

- "No time! Whatever you are planning, do it now!!" - The Wavemaster replied. - "If you are going up... there is a path inside here!" - She pointed behind her. - "What are you waiting for? GO!!" - Kite nodded.

- "Are you okay??" - Akira's voice reach his ears. He blinked at not seeing the chat screen, so he guessed she asked him offline.

- "I am fine. A girl helped me. I wonder who she was..." - Kite answered as he ran. He idly heard more gunshots, making him believe Haseo kept his onslaught on the AI.

- "I believe I know who she was..." - Balmung's voice reached his ears now. - "I remember seeing her with Albireo once... it was pure luck I saw her helping you."

- "Ah... so that who she was..." - Kite answered back as he ran. As he exited the building, on its top floor, he saw Haseo on the sky, still attacking Morganna. At the distance he saw as Alkaid, Shino, Rena and Shuugo ran towards the area where Haseo's Scythe had disappeared. BlackRose stood besides Mimiru and Carl, protecting Tsukasa. The rest of the dot hackers stood around the central plaza, watching the battle with their weapons ready. - "HASEO!!"

Kite's shout made the Holy Form of Haseo glance towards the tower. He saw as the green haired boy's arms lit on fire. Understanding his intention, Haseo flew away from his path. - "AZURE FLAME DANCE WILDFLOWER!!" - Kite shouted as the flames erupted from his arms, flying towards the AI. Balmung, on the ground, told his comrades to run towards a safer place. Haseo saw as the wind, around Morganna, absorbed the flames, morphing the squall into an inferno. A tornado of fire roared around the AI, making her screams intensify, to the utter horror of those watching online and offline. Haseo shielded his faces from the heat as Kite panted on the tower. Hokuto, who stood behind Kite, related the events, to Albireo, offline.

- "Whoa... that must have hurt..." - Shuugo gaped.

- "Onii-chan!! Stop that and help us!!" - Rena screamed. The boy glanced back, only to fight down a blush, as he saw the muddy water dripping from his sister, from Alkaid and from Shino. The four of them had jumped inside the swamp as the flames had dangerously approached them, thanks to the onslaught caused by the squall.

- "Uh... yeah..." - Shuugo answered. He saw as the three girls tried to pry free the fallen Scythe.

Around the central, the dot hackers sighed in relief as the Wavemasters of the group, Mistral, Mireille, Hotaru and Tsukasa, ended the protective shields. Tsukasa panted at the strain, but Mimiru did not scold her. She knew her friend had done whatever was needed to protect them. Mimiru smirked as she heard BlackRose scolding Kite for almost burning them all to crisps.

Anything else that could have been said was forgotten as the infernal tornado ended, taking the squall away with it. The eyes of Morganna were covered by her burnt hair. Summoning his doppelganger BroadSword, the Heine's Shadow, Haseo shot towards the AI. As he prepared to impale the witch, a blue protective shield was casted, making him crash backwards. As he tried to recover from the impact, a crack was heard and several dark beams of energy crashed upon each of his wings, making Haseo grunt in pain as he fell. He crashed on a swamp, splashing mud around. Alkaid, upon seeing him fall, forgot all about the weapon and ran towards him. Coughing the messy water, Haseo found his back pressed over Alkaid's chest, who had her arms under his armpits, trying to get him out of the water. He did not have any chance to speak to her as a heavy laugh filled the area.

- "You really are rash boy." - Cubia's voice was heard as he flew besides Morganna. - "But I must say I am hurt... since you all forgot about me. Tsk tsk." - He mocked.

Morganna's enraged face lifted and she glared at Cubia. - "Damn you Cubia... what are you plotting?"

- "Ah... so you noticed I held you down..." - He smirked. The exchange shocked the gathered players.

- "Since that damn brat attacked me... I have felt your energy surrounding me... keeping me in my place..." - She panted. - "I... gave you... your life back... and this is... how you repay me?"

Cubia's smirk disappeared, only to be replaced by rage. - "Listen to me woman. I am tired of your constant nagging. Stop acting almighty in front of me. You are nothing but a failure." - He smirked as his face twisted maniacally. - "You were only my stepping stone for greatness!!" - He flew behind the woman, hugging her close to his chest.

- "What are you doing?" - She freaked out.

- "Completing my task. The one he... Amagi... entrusted when he programmed me..." - His fangs enlarged. To the horror of the present, he sank them on Morganna shoulder, making the AI scream. The group saw as the coded data that had spilled out of Morganna began to wildly move around them, creating a new squall of air, as it was drained back. Morganna's body began to wither more that it was, as the data began to be absorbed. Upon the shocked sight of the gathered, Morganna's body began to crumble slowly until nothing was left.

Cubia, with a smirk on his face, began to laugh hysterically as his body began to pulse. Both Kite and Haseo felt the familiar energy, from their own fights against the previous Cubia's, that the power on the AI was increasing exponentially. The AI had betrayed Morganna and absorbed her into his body. - "Go... my Gomorra..." - He smirked as thousands of monsters began to materialize around the area...

- "Damn it!" - Haseo cursed as he stood up, freeing himself from Alkaid's grip. He glanced at her eyes and silently both nodded. Haseo took off, flying towards Shuugo, Rena and Shino, who had freed his Scythe. The Twins lifted the weapon for Haseo and he took it mid-flight, shouting a thanks. Alkaid ran besides Shino and both prepared for battle besides the Twins.

- "You know? This could get messy partner..." - Balmung exclaimed, behind Orca.

- "Ah... I agree..." - Orca grumbled. He saw as the rest of the dot hackers prepared for battle.

- "It would be suicide for us to remain together on the same place... we need to separate so we are not an easy target..." - BlackRose stated besides the two. They nodded their agreement.

- "Mirei-chan... please be careful okay?" - Mistral told her daughter.

- "You too Mom..." - Mireille answered as she readied her weapon besides Ouka, who cracked her knuckles.

- "Oh dear..." - Ryoko murmured. She left a gentle squeeze on her shoulder, provided by Gardenia. She smiled at her friend.

- "It would not be a final battle without a big fight, right?" - Usagimaru smirked.

- "Baka... we already had one. This guy just had to hack everything by re-starting it." - Rachel scolded and Usagimaru shrugged.

- "Fight." - MoonStone spoke.

- "Yeah yeah. I know you can speak more than three words now. So shut yer trap." - Marlo smirked.

BlackRose smirked at the words of her companions. Glancing to the tower, she saw Kite nod. She winked at him and awaited the signal from their leader. - "FIGHT!!!!" - Kite roared from the tower as he unleashed a new wave of flames towards the Gomorra.

- "Yes!!" - The group exclaimed as they separated.

Splashing mud as they ran, Shuugo and Rena slashed Gomorra after Gomorra, while Alkaid used her speed to destroy any monster approaching Shino, who was healing and using attacking spells non-stop, consuming her magic points. Shuugo had to tackle Rena once, for a Gomorra was about to slash her neck from behind, only to stand up immediately as the creatures shot their beams at the water. Shino protected them with a well timed shield, while Alkaid slashed the creatures. As soon as the shield went down, Rena jumped over Shuugo's shoulder, using her Calamity technique. Without enough time to breath, she immediately slashed another wave of Gomorra.

The group of Marlo, MoonStone, Gardenia and Ryoko ran towards the stairs leading to the Chaos Gate, attracting a wide number of the creatures. The Long Arm of the group pierced one of the creatures directly through its core, ending its virtual existence, whereas Ryoko broke through the guts of another with her axe. Marlo, without stopping the heavy string of curses, slashed two at the same time as he saw MoonStone slash four at an impressive rate. - "Four." - The Twin Blade smirked making Marlo mad. - "So ya want to fight eh? All right!! I will get more than you dofus!!" - The friends glared at each other. - "Ten." - Gardenia simply stated, making them wide eyed. Ryoko giggled besides her friend.

Mimiru and Carl killed monster after monster while Tsukasa panted on the floor. - "You need to log out Tsukasa!!" - Mimiru exclaimed, but Tsukasa refused. - "No! I can fight too! I will not abandon anyone anymore!" - The WaveMaster declared as she stood up, heavy breathing. Casting a wood spell, several Gomorra found their end, pierced by the thick roots appearing from the floor. - "Tsukasa!!" - Mimiru ran besides her friend. A Gomorra managed to pierce her shoulder as she got distracted. She fell besides Tsukasa who, seeing this, screamed. - "No!!! TWILIGHT GUARDIAN!!" - Carl could only see in fascination as the Bell Monster appeared and started destroying Gomorras at an impressive rate. Mireille, who had been besides her Mother up to now, kneeled besides Mimiru and started healing her. The Long Arm PC of Junko stood besides her, defending the three, while the Gomorra continued their onslaught.

At the right end of the Plaza, besides the swamps, the group of Rachel, Usagimaru, Ouka, Hotaru and Sanjuro fought side by side. Hotaru remained in the middle of them, casting healing spells whenever needed. If her class had been one of the new version of the game, she would surely be a Harvest Cleric, for she always had favored healing spells over the offensive ones. Usagimaru, whose shoulder still stinged, was not fairing very well, not being able to use his spear to its full potential, due to his injury. Rachel, his partner in everything, never left his side as she slashed the demons away. Sanjuro protected the back of her young friend, Hotaru, as she continued the healing. He always had a soft spot for the WaveMaster ever since that day where the timid girl had asked him for directions. Ouka crushed the creatures with her fists, a bit enraged at the fast movements of the creatures. She had power on her side, but range was being her weakness at the moment, for the creatures preferred to shot beams from a distance, so she had to resort to high jumps at every moment, depleting her magic points.

At the central plaza, BlackRose, Orca and Balmung slashed the creatures, while Mistral used her magic to protect them. BlackRose's face showed frustration as the creatures continued their attack non-stop. She tried to glance at Kite, but could not see him between the creatures. She thought of calling him offline, but decided against it, in order to not distract him. Her only sigh of his safety, was the gradual breathing she heard from his place, besides her, offline. She heard the cries of battle above her and assumed Haseo had taken off once more.

Haseo, in his Holy Form, had tried approaching Cubia, in order to stop him, but the Gomorra were making his task practically impossible. For everyone of the creatures he slashed, three more appeared on its place. Frowning, he twirled his Scythe, killing the unfortunate creatures on its path. Feeling a foreign presence besides him, he made to slash, but managed to stop as he saw Azure Kite and Azure BlackRose protecting his back. - "Oh yeah... you can fly... gave me a lot of trouble back then..." - Haseo smirked as the AI grunted in answer. - "Yeah yeah... I also like you... beh..." - Haseo summoned his Dual Guns and began to snipe any creature on sight.

- "Damn it... this is getting us nowhere..." - Kite grumbled as he used his flames non-stop. Hokuto, besides him, had joined the battle, sending spells besides the dot hacker. - "Guess I can not type more huh? Good thing I finished it already..." - The blond Wavemaster grumbled making Kite blink. - "Type?" - The green haired questioned. - "Oh silly... you have not recognized me yet?" - Upon his confused face she snickered. - "Lets leave it like that."

Barely having heard Kite's grumble, from the real world, BlackRose grumbled in agreement. The number of creatures was not going down fast enough for either Kite or Haseo to try and strike at Cubia, despite their off the chart abilities. Not even Tsukasa's Twilight Guardian was being able to diminish their numbers fast enough. - (Damn... damn... come on Akira... think... think... what can we do?) - As she triggered a Calamity, Akira thanked that Helba had integrated a part of the new system upon their characters, allowing them to use their techniques faster, without dwelling inside the menus. - (Wait... what if?) - "Hey! Orca! Balmung! Cover me!! I need to check something!" - She shouted and the other two nodded. Akira opened her own menu and scrolled through her skills menus. Her eyes widened and a grin soon found her face. - "Yes!!" - She ran away from her companions, who glanced at her in confusion. - "Do not follow me!!" - Akira slashed three Gomorra out of her way. - "Okay... lets try this!!" - She started to swing her weapon, and herself, in circles. - "AZURE STORM CALAMITY SAKURA!!!" -

The cries of pain, from the Gomorra, gained the attention of the gathered. They saw, marveled, as a pink tornado emerged from BlackRose, who stood on its epicenter. The Gomorra being touched by the tornado were being slashed in pieces, before disappearing in data dust. On closer inspection, Haseo, who glanced at it from the sky, managed to see that the tornado was being formed by tiny cherry blossom petals... sakura petals... and from the sight of it... every single petal was a blade itself.

- "Wohooo!!" - Usagimaru cheered from the stairs. Kite, in the tower above, smirked.

- "Saw that partner?" - Orca asked dumbly. - "Think we also have something?"

- "Only one way to find out." - Balmung smirked.

- "Nya... no new spells..." - Mistral pouted as crocodile tears fell from her eyes.

- "Aha!! I do have one too!!" - Orca beamed, whereas Mistral's pout enlarged.

Orca and Balmung nodded at each other as they ran away from each other. Mistral eeped and ran towards the Wavemaster-less group of Marlo. - "Anyone else here have any new techniques?" - She asked but received negatives as answer. - "Guess only them four did... if Aura indeed created clones of them... it is reasonable..." - She panted. - "But I still wanted a new spell!! NYA!!!" - She pouted making Marlo laugh, thus she hit him on the head with her staff. - "Ow woman!!"

- "Onii-chan?" - Rena asked.

- "Nothing..." - Shuugo grumbled.

- "Well... we are not the original after all..." - She smiled as she continued to attack.

- "But I have a Bracelet..." - He grumbled.

- "And what else do you want Kunisaki!!" - Alkaid reproached as she slashed another Gomorra.

- "Passing through!!!" - Orca yelled as he ran between Rena's group. When he gained enough distance, and had enough Gomorra after him, he unleashed his new technique. - "AZURE SEAS SLASH WAVE!!!" - He slashed the swamp and smirked as he saw a grand wave emerge, roaring as the new formed Tsunami obliterated the Gomorra on its path. - "Uhh... good thing I did not aim towards anyone here..."

- "Damn right you ass!!! You almost hit us!! I am going to kick your ass for this! Legend or not!!" - Alkaid roared as the water dripped from her. Shino and Rena blinked besides her, also drenched. Shuugo, meanwhile, tried to fight down a nose bleed as the water pressed the clothes, of the three females, closer.

- "Uh... sorry?" - Orca said.

Balmung, meanwhile, had ran towards a lone Kiosko besides the swamp. Jumping above it, he felt his wings flexing. Wide-eyed he saw as the kiosko, where he intended to stand, was left down. His smirk grew wide as he felt the wings moving, signaling his new ability to fly. - "Oh yeah! Now this is what I call traveling!!" - On the ground his companions saw him marveled. Barely he heard Mireille stating she wanted to fly and Ryoko saying it was not fair, since she also had wings. - "Heh... oh well... lets do this..." - He gathered energy on his blade. - "AZURE SKIES SPIRAL MAELSTROM!!" - A sphere of slashing wind manifested around him, obliterating the creatures in range. As the sphere died down, he felt a pressure on the air, and saw Haseo soaring besides him, directly towards Cubia, as path had been opened when his sphere slashed the creatures away in the same path Kite's flames and BlackRose's tornado had stricken.

- "You are mine!!" - Haseo yelled as he summoned the Scythe once more, intending to finish the battle once and for all.

Cubia smirked as he saw Haseo approach. His eyes becoming black, he began to gather flames on his fists. - "Megiddo Flame!!" - He shouted as twin balls of fire launched towards Haseo. The teen managed to evade the first one, whereas the second one crashed over him, causing an explosion.

- "Haseo!" - Shino and Alkaid shouted as Cubia laughed. His laughter died as Haseo emerged from the dust cloud created by the explosion.

- "Like that can stop me!!" - Haseo shouted as he slashed Cubia's left arm off, making the AI scream painfully.

As Haseo flew behind, due to the momentum of his speed, he turned around to slash Cubia again. The enraged AI stopped frowning and smirked. - "Just kidding..." - He opened his mouth and unleashed a ball of energy. - "Ark Bullet!!" - He caught Haseo directly on the chest, making the boy spat some blood, worrying Mai and Yuki in the real world. The impact sent him flying towards the tower. Cubia frowned as he saw Balmung catching the other winged PC. He flew above, in order to evade Kite's flames and BlackRose's tornado, both unleashed towards him. Both techniques impacted each other, but instead of canceling, they combined to Cubia's horror. The flame tornado which emerged was similar to the one that had surrounded Morganna minutes prior. The inferno struck Cubia, who roared in pain.

- "You okay?" - Balmung asked as he lowered Haseo to the floor, coughing.

- "Yeah... ghh... I will be..." - Haseo spat blood as he stood up. He glanced to the sky to see Cubia inside the Inferno. - "I think I need to drain him to end this..."

- "Seems like the only way... though I fear the repercussion of you using that power in that form..." - Balmung stated as he saw Alkaid, Shino, BlackRose, Rena and Shuugo running towards them. Mistral's group stood besides them, panting. Kite jumped from the tower, standing besides them as BlackRose's group arrived. - "I mean... in that form... it would be as if you were using Eight Data Drains at the same time..."

- "Is there another way?" - Haseo yelled. - "Look! We are losing time!" - He pointed at the blazing inferno in the sky. - "The number of the Gomorra is not going down either. We need to destroy the source!" - He coughed some blood.

- "He is right." - Kite pointed out. - "If we do not stop it... whatever may happen... it could be too late. Everybody is tired... we can not hold much longer." - He said.

- "Worry not people..." - A voice reached them, but it was not registered on the chat window.

- "What the?" - Haseo exclaimed.

- "Helba!" - Kite shouted. - "What do you mean?"

- "Pig head... I mean... Lios... and his people are centering the power of their servers on this. My people are working on this as well. We will contain the emerging pulse..." - Helba replied.

- "Nice!" - Mistral jumped happily besides Mireille, who had approached them as well.

- "Then its time..." - Haseo glared at the place where Cubia stood. Extending his right arm, the gathered saw as the flower shaped form of a Bracelet manifested around it. "Data..." - Before he could finish, a big explosion emerged from within the inferno in the sky, sending gusts of wind to them, pushing them to the ground. More Gomorra began to emerge as an enraged Cubia appeared.

- "So you... think... you can... disrespect me... LIKE THAT?"! - He shouted, covering the slump where his arm stood before, with his hand. - "NEVER!!" - AIDA particles began to manifest around Cubia, repairing the damage on his virtual body. Raising his hands, he cracked his fingers, making his legs morph into twisted and rotten roots. Evading the flames Kite sent him, as he saw the transformation, he began to fly higher, evading a Data Drain shot by Haseo. His destiny... the head of the Dragon dungeon of Megin Fi. The Inverted City of Megin Fi began to crumble as Cubia attached to its settlement, making the blood freeze on the veins of the present as the enormous eyes of the demonic dragon of war opened. The Mag Hell dragon had awakened. And Cubia's naked torso stood on top of its head, controlling it.

- "Holy crap..." - Marlo cursed and everybody nodded.


- Monitoring Room, CC Corp Headquarters, Tokyo - Real Life -
- 07:20 PM, Saturday September 30, 2017 -

Shibayama Saki, Kamui's player, cursed as she punched the console in front of her, enraged. Iwazaki Ken, Lios' user, rubbed his temples as he saw the events. The team on the room watched in amazement what was happening, while those near Saki cowered in fear, at the evident rage on the woman's face.

- "This is bullshit!! That thing can not be real! Its a background for god's sake!! For another dungeon!!" - Saki roared, throwing things to the floor.

- "But its also a Lost Ground..." - Ken sighed, ignoring the glare of the woman.

- "That is why I told you we should investigate them further!! Delete even!!" - She shouted.

- "You know we did not have the means to delete them... they were engraved on The World from the start..." - The man sighed.

- "But we never witnessed this thing on the previous game!!" - Saki screamed.

- "You think I do not know that? But does this means it did not exist? Damn it! Harald Hoerwick himself could have created it!! The background story given on the second game was written based on the Lost Ground we found! Not the other way around!" - He yelled, making Saki cringe.

- "Sorry... I was out of line..." - Kamui's player sat down.

- "You are stressed. We all are." - Ken sighed. He glanced at the monitor to his left where the image of Helba appeared. - "What now?"

- "We proceed accordingly to the plan... we must trust in them. Our move has not ended yet." - The hacker stated as she disappeared.

- "Tch... damn you Helba... and yet... thank you..." - Ken whispered to himself.


- Theta Hidden Forbidden Battlefield, The Coite-Bodher Battlefield - Game -
- 07:20
PM, Saturday September 30, 2017 -

Haseo allowed Shino to heal his injuries to the best of her ability, while resting his back on Alkaid's arms. Kite had convinced him to rest for a bit, to get treated, while the rest of the dot hackers fought down the new wave of Gomorra that the Mag Hell Cubia had unleashed upon them. He had refused at first, but a swift punch to the chin, courtesy of the red-haired twin blade, had made him accept. Besides them stood BlackRose, Hokuto, Carl, Tsukasa and Mimiru, whereas the rest fought the creatures.

- "Any bright ideas?" - Haseo asked Kite.

- "None. I can honestly say I am blank... this is getting out of control... this new Cubia has an unbelievable power."

- "Tell me about it... this bastard is nothing like the one from two weeks ago... this one makes that seem like a pathetic level one goblin..." - Haseo sighed.

- "Are... your friends...?" - BlackRose asked.

- "I can feel their essences... they seem to be sleeping though... giving me access to all their power... not like I am using it well... tch..." - Haseo cursed.

Hokuto murmured to herself as she watched the battle. - "It is not moving... is it?" - She asked. Her words made them curious and they all glanced at Mag Hell.

- "She is right..." - Carl stated. - "Ever since he fused with that thing... it has not moved..."

- "The Inverted City of Megin Fin..." - Shino said, gaining their attention. - "That Dragon, the Mag Hell, is actually another Lost Ground... Cubia gave it life by fusing with it... but it still is a Lost Ground... or was..."

- "What is Lost Ground?" - Tsukasa questioned.

- "Areas that CC Corp has no control over. They say they are autonomous and have existed since the beginning." - Haseo explained.

- "But we never saw one like this on the previous game..." - BlackRose said.

- "We have." - Mimiru said, gaining the attention of the others. - "Do you remember Tsukasa? The place where we encountered Harald?"

- "How could I forget... that day was the first day Morganna punished me for not obeying her... she almost killed me..." - Tsukasa shuddered.

- "It was thanks to that day that Sakuma-san sought you..." - Mimiru whispered.

- "I... have a slight memory of that..." - Haseo cursed. - "Damn this jumbled memories..."

- "It will all come back to you. Calm down." - Carl said.

- "The Gomorra... they are changing..." - Kite said and everybody glanced at the sky. As the leader of the Dot Hackers had stated, the Gomorra had begun a process of metamorphosis, gaining new characteristics and forms. - "Damn... this are... like that time..."

- "He is giving attributes to them... like the first Cubia..." - BlackRose said.

- "Meaning?" - Alkaid asked.

- "If he is creating different types... there is a big chance there are Healing Gomorra..." - Kite cursed. - "We need to reach him and finish him off.

- "That is what I was trying to do from the beginning Genius!" - Haseo roared as he tried to stand up, yet Alkaid held him down as Shino had not finished the healing process.

- "FL1 7H343..." - Azure Kite said as he suddenly appeared besides them, scaring them.

- "WAA!! A ZOMBIE!!" - Hokuto freaked out, making them sweatdrop. - "What? I had not seen him up close!" - She blushed.

- "Yeah... I was thinking of that... with Haseo and Balmung's new ability to fly... we can get there. Also, you and Azure BlackRose can fly as well. How many of us could each of you carry?" - Kite asked.

- "I guess two..." - Haseo grumbled. Azure Kite nodded.

- "So if we assume Balmung can take two as well... twelve of us can go there..." - Kite suggested. - "But that would diminish our numbers down here... we can not risk leaving our companions alone against all those Gomorra..." - He cursed.

- "Assuming Balmung takes you and me." - BlackRose said. - "And that Azure Kite takes Orca and Shuugo... that would mean we can still take four more people..."

- "Why Shuugo?" - Kite asked.

- "He has a bracelet. Not as powerful as yours... but a Bracelet nevertheless... we may need all the power we can get." - BlackRose answered.

- "Then that means I am going too..." - Tsukasa stood up slowly. - "The power source of my Twilight Guardian is a Bracelet..."

- "Tsukasa!" - Mimiru froze.

- "I will take care of her. Believe me..." - Haseo found himself saying, gaining the attention of everyone. - "Tch... this jumbled memories... how do I know he is a she beats me... but I get the feeling that her friendship saved me once... right?"

- "You are remembering..." - A lone tear fell from Tsukasa's left eye.

- "Shuugo's potential can not be reached without Rena's presence. Remember... she is a BlackRose." - Balmung stated as he approached. He had ran towards them after Kite sent him a Flash Mail. Orca, Shuugo and Rena ran behind him.

- "Huh? What about me?" - Shuugo asked, but everyone ignored his question. Rena ran besides Alkaid.

- "I want to go..." - Alkaid whispered, making everyone glance at her. Before anyone could protest, she spoke again. - "Yet I know I would be useless there..." - She said with her hair covering her eyes. - "So... please... return safely..." - She kissed Haseo on the cheek and ran, not glancing at him, towards the battle.

- "Chika-chan!" - Rena's shout was muffled by Shuugo's hand.

- "Rena! Remember! TV!" - He said and she shrugged him off, mad.

- "Chika..." - Haseo whispered.

- "She cares a lot about you..." - Carl whispered. - "Do not be rash again, ne?" - She ran towards the battle likewise.

- "We will always be friends... remember that..." - Mimiru whispered to Haseo as she also ran to battle.

- "So it seems we will have two open slots..." - Kite spoke.

- "Three. I am staying with Alkaid." - Rena spoke. - "I trust in Onii-chan... he will not need me..." - She winked at him and then ran after Alkaid.

- "Sure you can do it without her kiddo?" - Balmung asked Shuugo.

- "Yeah... do not worry about me..." - Shuugo replied as he saw the back of her retreating sister.

Shino stood up as she finished the healing. - "Well... I guess its time for me to help them as well. Be careful Haseo." - She bowed to the rest and left.

- "5741..." - Azure Kite told Azure BlackRose, who nodded and floated towards the battle. - "41D..."

- "So in the end we have one open slot." - BlackRose sighed and then glanced at Hokuto.

- "Hey! Do not look at me! I am not a fighter!" - She crossed her arms in front of her face.

- "I will take that slot then." - A new voice reached their ears. The group glanced around to see a smirking tanned man with mismatched eyes. He was besides a blond man and small child.

- "Albireo!!" - Hokuto screamed as she leapt at his arms.

- "Whoa! Easy there!!" - He laughed. He noticed the gaze of the gathered on the small child.

- "Is that... Aura?" - Tsukasa whispered.

- "Hello. My name is Lycoris. Aura is my Mommy." - She smiled sweetly at them.

- "Whoa... I did not know Zefie had a sister..." - Shuugo said. - "Wait... you look familiar..."

- "You were there when Zefie-chan took my data. Remember?" - Lycoris smiled.

- "Ah! I remember!" - Shuugo said.

- "As interesting this may be... can WE GO??" - Haseo shouted bringing them back to the present. - "We kinda have an emergency here, remember?"

- "Oh yeah..." - The group chanted making Haseo sweatdrop.

- "Still the same desperate brute I see." - The blonde spoke.

- "Hiiragi..." - Haseo glared.

- "Oh please. Stop that. You are gonna make me blush!" - He mocked but then changed his voice. - "We are counting on you Haseo. I was with your friends before they... joined you... they trust you as well. Do your best." - Hiiragi stated and Haseo, surprised, nodded.

Shuugo was about to approach Haseo when the teen glared at him. - "Do not even think about it Kunisaki..."

Grumbling, Shuugo approached the Zombiefied clone of Kite, the Azure Kite, followed by the real Kite. Orca stood besides his friend, Balmung, whereas Albireo approached them as well, after saying goodbye to Hokuto and Lycoris, who took the WaveMaster above the tower once more. Tsukasa and BlackRose stood besides Haseo.

- "I still do not like leaving them to fend off the Gomorra by themselves..." - Kite grumbled as he saw the battle raging.

- "Worry not!" - Lycoris shouted from the tower. "Look over there!!" - She pointed towards the swamp in front of them, where the graphics seemed to be cracking.

- "What the?" - Haseo wondered out loud. A sudden screeching sound was heard as the graphics continued to crack, gaining the attention of everyone on the Lost Ground. Cubia glanced above his shoulder, to see what was causing the noise.

A very wide section of the background broke, revealing a coded pathway. From it a small girl emerged. Several of the gathered shouted her name upon recognition. - "ZEFIE!!" - The small girl cleaned the virtual dust from her dress and then coughed on her small fist. Glancing at them with a pout she suddenly smirked, and shouted at the top of her lungs. - "CHARGE!!!!!!!!!"

From the crack hundreds of players began to appear, running towards the Gomorra, slashing, piercing, burning and destroying them with no mercy. Spell after spell. Technique after technique. Rengeki after Rengeki. The numbers of Gomorra began to diminish, making Cubia mad, who in turn increased the production of them from his body.

- "Saburou! Midori! Antares!" - Haseo shouted as he saw them.

- "Sirius!! Taihaku!!" - Alkaid's shout was heard among the battle.

- "Sophora!! Matsu!! Infini!! Furufuru!!" - Hiiragi's shout was heard as well.

- "What about me!!??" - Raid shouted.

- "Are this...?" - Kite was dumbfounded.

- "All the players Sakaki defeated at the Omega Root Town." - Albireo spoke. - "It was our mission to get them out."

- "Will they be okay?" - BlackRose's worried voice reached Albireo's ears.

- "Worry not. Aura has given them her blessing. It was necessary to get them out." - Albireo smirked.

- "If you do not need me. I shall join my team." - Hiiragi spoke as he ran towards battle.

- "Okay people. We wasted to much time, Lets go!" - Haseo roared as he took off, taking Tsukasa and BlackRose by their waists, making Kite grumble.

- "Uh... yeah..." - Balmung took off, taking hold of Orca and Albireo's fists.

- "Hey! We are last!!" - Shuugo shouted. He felt Azure Kite taking hold of the back of his shirt. - "Huh? Wait!!" - Azure Kite took off, almost choking Shuugo, whereas Kite simply took hold of his fist, sweat dropping at the sight of Shuugo. On the ground, Rena covered her face in embarrassment.

As the group took off a dark shadow observed them from the cover of the building. It disappeared inside the swamp seconds later.


- Various Locations - Real Life -
- 07:40 PM, Saturday September 30, 2017 -

As diverse accidents occurred around the globe, the hackers led by Kuro Bith hacked through the systems on every airline throughout the planet, doing everything on their power to stop every flight through the battle, expecting the number of tragedies to be reduced. Kuro Bith ate a chocolate bar as he, himself, hacked through the systems on the subway lines, making them stop slowly, to the annoyance of their passengers, who ignored the danger they were passing through. Unfortunately, they could not stop the civilians from using their own vehicles, so the number of tragedies, due to car crashes was big. - "Tch... I do not like covering for CC Corp... but if the government knew about this... the net would be finished... and Aura with them... life's a pain sometimes..."

As Mariko Misono kept sleeping at Barcelona, Chiba Shin cursed at finding the power was out on their hotel room. He sighed in defeat as he walked to the window. His eyes bugged out at the sight of several car crashes below. One precisely on the Hotel's door. - "Uh damn... seems we will not be going on... great..."

Bordeaux's player, Nina Kirchies, cursed as she ran through the street, seeking a Cybercafé with power, in order to log. She ranted to herself as she kept seeing the events on her cellphone. The subway line near her home was apparently out of service, enraging the fourteen year old half-german, half-japanese blond girl.

At Amagi Jyotaro's apartment, Salvador glanced above the shoulder of Tokuoka, who typed code at an impressive speed. The reporter got a headache trying to read the code. Piroshi, meanwhile, worked on a code on his own on his laptop. Gendor, likewise, typed code on his own computer. Sighing, Salvador sat down on the couch, and glanced at the screen, showing the new Cubia. - "Heck... that thing is huge... wonder if he is trying to compensate for something..." - His words, spoken out loud, made the other three men on the room snort in laughter.

At CC Corp, Shibayama Saki ate her fingernails, whereas Iwazaki Ken surrendered to tiredness, sitting on the couch, as he drank a coffee. The man's eyes wanted to close badly, but he kept glancing at the screen. - "Come on... you guys can do it... come on..." - Saki simply spat her cigarette in anger.

In America, a black haired girl clenched her fists in anger as she bit her lower lip, drawing blood, as she watched Salvador Aihara's newest Online Jack. In anger, she threw the monitor to the side, as tears flowed from her eyes. - "How dare they...?"

In Germany, the beautiful young woman undressed as she prepared to take a bath, humming a background song from The World. She was not watching the events anymore.

Likewise, in Germany, Aina kept praying for the safety of her brother and Haseo. Her eyes lit upon the sight of all the players appearing to aid. - "Wish I could be there... do your best... everyone..."

In a Japanese Hospital, a young girl, who went by the name of Hori Mayumi, gaped at the TV when the reinforcements appeared on the Lost Ground. She remained speechless as she glanced at a single player on screen. Looking down at her brother, who laid comatose, she whispered. - "Asta is there... Onii-chan... you are..."

- "Wohoo!! Go Haseo!!" - The player of Gaspard yelled as he watched the events on his TV. His reaction made all this Crimson VS real cards fall to the floor, but he did not care. Taking hold of his microphone, he asked Silabus player if he had seen the newest development. His character remained motionless online.

An old man watched as his grandchildren played around in his study, where he was watching the TV. He raised a cup upon seeing several faces he recognized. - "Wahaha!! Things are getting interesting!!" - The novelist, Daijirou Washio, player of Gabi, said as he drank some sake. "Ah!! That is life!!"

- "Go Haseo-niichan!!" - Iori yelled. - "Go Akira-neechan!!" - Kouta yelled. - "Can somebody explain what is going to me?" - Akira's father yelled. Fumikazu, at the hacker warehouse, was trying to sound innocent as his mother phoned him, silently promising Kouta a kick for blurting out Akira was in the game.

In all... almost every single soul in the globe was waiting for the outcome of the battle. Okay okay... half the world was sleeping and the other half did not understand a thing... they just wanted to see their reality shows again... blissfully ignorant of the true danger.


- Theta Hidden Forbidden Battlefield, The Coite-Bodher Battlefield - Game -
- 07:40
PM, Saturday September 30, 2017 -

As the group flew evading the Gomorra, multiple spells were being shot from the ground, destroying the monsters in their path, thanks to the organized commands of Saburou, Midori and Sophora. Zefie, who was flying besides them, used her tiny, but lethal, punches to help open a path. Haseo smirked all the way. Soon, thanks to the opened path, the nine players and one AI descended in a narrow hallway behind the Mag Hell's head. They almost fell as their feet touched the moving floor.

- "It feels... as if it was breathing..." - Shuugo murmured.

- "Ovan once told me..." - Haseo began to say, gaining the attention of his companions. - "That this place was where everything began to go downhill... but that there was no going back..."

- "Fitting words." - Kite said, as he massaged his wrist.

- "Yeah... powerful words..." - BlackRose agreed.

- "I do not get it..." - Shuugo said, causing Albireo and Tsukasa to sigh.

- "M0V3..." - Azure Kite ordered.

- "Yeah yeah..." - Haseo grumbled as Orca and Balmung snickered.

- "Quite a bunch..." - The voice of Cubia put them on alert. The ground rumbled, making a wall fall. They managed to escape the falling rumble, in time to see the head of Mag Hell appear. Cubia's torso visible emerging from the top of its head. - "Your purpose was over when I was able to take over Morganna's power... you are now a nuisance... be good and DIE!!" - The mouth of the dragon opened, showing them a ball of energy. The dragon spat it towards the group, who cursed. They had no time to move.

- "P4073C7!!" - Azure Kite said as he jumped in front of the group. Kite shouted at his alter ego, as BlackRose held him back. Haseo grimaced as he saw the energy ripping the AI warrior to shreds.

- "Damn it!!" - Haseo cursed as he started to shot his Dual Guns at the Dragon's head, trying to make Cubia stop the attack.

- "Ah!!" - Tsukasa screamed as she saw an arm being ripped away from Azure Kite, followed by a leg.

- "This is insane..." - Albireo spat as he shot a beam of light from his Wotan Spear, trying to use the debugging system on the creature.

- "Albireo!! Aim at Azure Kite!!" - Zefie shouted, surprising the group. - "Now!!"

Albireo redirected the blast towards Azure Kite, following the order of the small AI. As his beam impacted Azure Kite's back, the AI's body began to pulse. The discarded limbs flew back to him as the other two separated from the main body. - "What is happening?" - Orca roared. - Suddenly the Twin Blades of Azure Kite elongated and metallic wings began to emerge.

- "This is!!" - Haseo stopped shooting. - "The Azure Flame God!!"

- "What?" - Kite exclaimed in surprise.

- "Yes. The power Azure Kite used when we it believed you were using your Avatar to bring destruction." - Zefie explained. - "A power mode he had not been able to access since then... until he was debugged..."

- "Uh... I guess it was a good thing I was here... right?" - Albireo questioned, only to double in pain as Zefie punched him.

- "I think Zefie still has a mean right hook, hehe." - Shuugo laughed, only to receive a punch as well.

Haseo and the original Azure Knights watched as the Azure Flame Good used his own power to push back the ball of energy, making Cubia roar in anger. The power of Aura's servant pushed the energy back, until it returned inside the dragon's mouth, causing a grand explosion, which sent Azure Kite crashing to the wall behind the group. Zefie ran to its side. As the smoke went down, Cubia emerged, enraged. The dragon's mouth had practically been obliterated. The eyes of the dragon seemed dead as well. Before he could do anything, Cubia was the target of Kite's Flames, BlackRose's Tornado, Balmung's Maelstrom, Albireo's Beam, Haseo's energy shots, Tsukasa's Twilight Guardian and Shuugo's lower level Data Drain. Orca stood dumbly besides them, finding out he could not use his new power without water. - (USELESS!!!)

Cubia, broken, spat coded data as he barely survived the onslaught. He called forward a Cure Gomorra, but it was cut in half, courtesy of Orca. - (YOU SEE!! I AM NOT USELESS!!) - He clenched his teeth as he created a protective barrier around his main body. He ordered the dragon to move, to make the players lose their footing, but Haseo and Balmung, who were flying, kept their attack on him, making the AI unable to summon more Gomorra. - "HOW DARE YOU??" - He screamed as he made a dragon's limb crash upon them. A sickening crash was heard and the limb went limp, as it had moved in an impossible angle to reach them. Cubia, enraged, took his chance and began gathering AIDA particles.

- "Hmmm... Hmmm... now who is having trouble?" - A voice said from behind Cubia, who glared at the owner. The winged Victorian form of Sakaki.

- "You? You still alive?" - Cubia whispered.

- "Foolish little AI... you thought you could control us? You thought this punny little human could control us?" - The Victorian's voice became mechanic, surprising the group.

- "Sakaki? No... it is not him..." - Haseo whispered.

- "AIDA?" - Cubia questioned. - "You are... autonomous?"

- "You really thought Amagi's genius was going to be wasted on you? A low life AI? Your purpose was to capture Morganna... her power was too big..." - AIDA explained.

- "Dude... this is so deus ex machina... everyone was using everyone..." - Shuugo suggested, making them sweatdrop at the truth in his words.

- "I am almighty!! You can not control me!! I am Amagi's real plan!!" - Cubia spat. He cursed as his body began to spasm.

- "You already have us within you... there is no escape..." - The mechanical voice of AIDA multiplied, making it seem as if hundreds of voices spoke at the same time.

- (HELP!!...) - A voice reached Haseo's ears.

- "What? Who said that?" - Upon BlackRose's confused face, Haseo glanced towards the AIDA creature. - (It came from... there? There!! There it is again!! This voice... Sakaki? Why can I hear it... Atoli's power... of course... this bastard dares ask for help? No... AIDA feeds on human emotions... and darkens them... I should know... it morphed me into that monster... and Sakaki... is supposed to be just a brat... now where did that come from? Yata? I see... Yata discovered his age... the poor bastard is dead and... WHAT THE FUCK?? YATA IS MY AGE??? BASTARD!!!) - Haseo shook his head. - (Ugh... I better stop seeing this thoughts before I come upon Endrance's...) - Haseo cleared his head. - (So I guess... in the end he was another victim... poor bastard...)

Without warning, Haseo launched himself towards the AIDA creature, who had begun to absorb the defeated Cubia. He tried to slash at it, but AIDA particles began to slash at his wings, making him fall to the Abyss. The Twilight Guardian's timed reaction allowed Tsukasa to save Haseo from falling to his doom. - "Damn!" -

- "That thing is getting more powerful!" - Kite shouted as he sent his flames towards the creature, with no result.

- "Keep focused!!" - BlackRose yelled as she sent her own tornado at the black AIDA beast.

- "Its not enough!!" - Shuugo screamed.

On the ground below, the battle continued to rage. Alkaid and Rena fought side by side, panting. Even with the reinforcements, the battle was taking its toll on them. Sirius and Taihaku battled besides them, aiding their fellow ex-Emperor. Marlo, who was thrown like a rag doll by a massive Gomorra, fell besides the red head. - "Damn!! This shit is crazy!!" - The black armored player spat mud from his mouth.

- "What is going on up there?" - Rena pointed at the blackening of the Mag Hell Dragon.

- "AIDA..." - Sirius cursed.

- "AIDA is taking power... this does not look good." - Taihaku suggested. As they feared, the Gomorras began to blacken, being empowered by the AIDA on them.

- "We need to trust in them..." - Alkaid said. - "I... I trust in Haseo..."

The deepness of her words were suddenly lost as Marlo cursed yet again. - "Uh... what the hell happened to the background music?" - Those nearby blinked at the strange music which began to play, making them wonder what the hell happened now.

- "WAHAHAHA!!!!" - A sudden yell put everyone on edge.

- "No... it can not be..." - Marlo cursed.

- "Uh... what is happening? I am getting freaked out..." - Mimiru asked as she ran besides Alkaid's group, followed by Rachel and Nuke Usagimaru.

- "I AM YOUR HERO!!! PIROS THE 3RD!!!" - A voice began to sing.

- "Its him alright..." - Usagimaru pointed out.

- "PIROSHI-SAN!!" - A sudden chorus, at top volume, reached their ears. Up Mag Hell, Kite slapped his forehead.

- "OINK!! This is not my theme song, BEEP!!!" - A robotic voice was heard.

- "Aw shut up ye of robotic eyes!! This song is better!!" - Piros exclaimed as he appeared from the sun.

- "Wait... did we had a sun on this background?" - Matsu's eyes twitched.

- "My eyes are bleeding..." - Raid complained.

- "Shiny!!" - Infini yelled with stars on her eyes.

- "Doomsday..." - Furufuru and Moonstone stated at the same time, blinking at each other.

- "SING WITH ME!!!" - Piros yelled, breaking several ears.

- "This idiot is insane..." - Haseo grumbled above Mag Hell. Even AIDA stopped to see the horrorific show, wondering how the hell this man had escaped its analysis.

- "I AM YOUR HERO!! PIROS THE 3RD!!" - "PIROSHI-SAN" - "FOR I HAVE WITH ME!! THE AIDA VACCINE!!!" - The words shocked them to the core.

- "WHAT?" - Haseo and Kite yelled.

- "He has what?" - Sirius spat.

- "OH YEAH!! YOU ARE OUR HERO PIROSHI-SAN!!" - Rachel and Usagimaru began to sing along, making Marlo mad, who in turned punched them. - "Shut up idiots!!"

Piros the 3rd, who had emerged flying on the back of Mecha Grunty, readied a cannon as he approached Mag Hell. - "Here it goes!!! The vaccine Tokuoka and I created!! Go!!!" - He shot the cannon towards the Mag Hell Dragon. The cannon ball flew towards the massive creature and, upon impact, caused a massive explosion, shocking the dragon to the core. Sparkles began to descend upon the Gomorra, making the AIDA infection disappear.

- "OH YEAH!!! I AM YOUR HE..." - His words were drown as he crashed upon the wall of Mag Hell, falling slowly to the swamp below. The gathered players below ran to catch him. Mecha Grunty did its best to try and lower the man slowly. - "roooo... heeeeroo...."

Above Mag Hell Kite stuttered at what had taken place, whereas Haseo grumbled that he could not believe he was in the debt of Piros. - "So... are we going to do something?" - Albireo questioned.

- "AIDA has been weakened! Destroy it once and for all alongside Cubia!!" - BlackRose yelled. - "Drain it!!"

Before Haseo could answer, he pressed a hand over his chest, in pain. Tsukasa ran to his side, only to be held back by Zefie. She begun to protest, but soon Haseo's PC began to pulse wildly. Before anything else could be said, light passed over Haseo, ending the Holy Form. And on its place... eight players stood.

- "What the?" - Orca asked.

- "Whoa... did someone see the truck?" - Kuhn grumbled.

- "Ow ow..." - Saku fell on her butt.

- "My head..." - Pi avoided falling on the floor as Albireo caught her.

- "Kite!" - Endrance said, besides Kite and BlackRose.

- "Seems... that power... ended..." - Ovan kneeled.

- "Indeed... not a experience I want to feel again..." - Yata answered.

- "Atoli..." - Haseo glanced at the blonde.

- "Haseo..." - Atoli glanced at the Xth form of Haseo.

- "Bad timing..." - Shuugo suggested, only to receive a slap on the head, courtesy of Zefie.

Zefie walked in front of the group. - "All of you can Data Drain... do it now that AIDA is breaking down. Erase what is left of it alongside Cubia!" - The girl ordered. - "Mommy will make sure nothing happens to you! Just do it!"

Kite nodded and glanced at Haseo, who nodded back. The two walked forward as the other epitaph users circled around them. Shuugo and Azure Kite stood up besides them. Albireo, Orca, Balmung and BlackRose walked besides Zefie, hoping for the best.

- "Eleven at the same time? Oh boy..." - Orca whistled.

- "I hope... there are no consequences..." - BlackRose prayed.

- "Yeah..." - Balmung stated.

Albireo remained in silence. Offline he grasped Haruka's hand. Several others began to mimic this motion, as Shuugo sought Rena's hand. Hiroshi, likewise, linked hands with Akira. Ryou's twitching hand, on his hospital bed, found itself enveloped on Mai and Yuki's hands.

- "DATA DRAIN!!!!!!!!!" - Eleven voices roared in unison.


NEAR-ENTER DOT COM

This is Salvador Aihara's ONLINE JACK!!

We investigate the hottest controversies on today's news. Welcome to a whole new episode of ONLINE JACK!!!

Salvador fell on his butt as he tried to somersault his way on screen. Tokuoka, in the background slapped his forehead.

So... yeah... welcome to another ONLINE JACK!!! Ejem

Tell us Tokuoka-san. Is the Anti-virus ready?

- Yes. We have uploaded it. With the source code, it was easy to make it. Piroshi-san is going to deploy it inside the game, where the biggest infection resides.

Ah! Excellent! This will be a day to remember!

- OH I AM YOUR HERO PIROS THE 3RD!!!

What the hell?

- Uh...

Is he singing?

- Ah... I need to smoke... bye...

Wait!! Do not leave me here!!!

- SING WITH ME!!!

Salvador ran.


"COMMUNITY BBS"

THREAD: The Gathering of the Unwilling

Started By: WB Yeats

So it seems the service is back online... here it goes! Before something else happens up on that dragon... and... I am not in the mood to edit this anymore... too many things happening at once...

"Gathering of the Unwilling"

As hands once stopped move again.
as She once defeated takes a stand again,

as those who fought must gather for those lost,

as the Heroes of Legend come home,
the Unwilling will Gather.
The Warrior who wears the Eyes of the Stars
who bore wittiness to the First Death.
The descendants of Fianna whose pride
and compassion will allow for nothing less.
The Sleeping Child and those who fought to
wake her from the Nightmare.
The Dot Hackers who would do all for a friend
and would fight for all.
The Detectives of the Foreign Land who fought for
the Awakenings once and do so again.
The Friends of the Daughter who love
the World as much as all.
The Minstrel from the Foreign Land who
wishes to the Truth.
And the Children of Morganna…
what was once an enemy now ally,
children of She who must be fought
have gathered under a new name as the Infinity Eight.
All for the love of Aura they will Gather.

Rumbles the Dark Hearth
Helba, Queen of the Dark,
has raised finally her army.

The Unwilling are Gathering
The Unwilling are Gathering

The World still turns
The World still turns

(Credits of the Poem to: Dark Queen Helba)