Note: By the way, for all that's needed to know, Elk's Player is male. I really don't know if it EVER told you in the game, and so I don't know. But he's a guy. Sarath and Raven I think are mentioned in this chapter. They are characters us at Blue Sea (we created this, and Cinnabar Scarlett, who's user ID we are using is one of us and he wrote it) created, and visit our .hack//WAVE homepage for bios on them. There's a link to it on Cinnabar Scarlett's profile page, supposedly. ^-^ Happy reading. Enjoy, and please give us feedback!
.hack//WAVE
submergence: 002
The sun was high in the sky now, signifying noon. It beat over the plains and rocky mountains of Dona-Roiak, and the Players all could feel the heat even without that being part of the Upgrade. It was a lazy Saturday afternoon, and Tsukasa lounged around, leaning on the wooden-railing around the cliffs behind the Chaos Gate, loitering, and trying to waste time. He had no homework, and didn't have anything better to do than sit around in "The World". Not to mention he had an appointment with Elk. They were going to do the Church dungeon, and this time, Elk would show the way through Chaos Gates.
Tsukasa felt the bump of the ocarina again. Although he had been informed that the item had been banned when the System Upgrade came in, he just couldn't part with it. He couldn't quite remember how, but he had gone through a lot to get it, and he couldn't just delete it, or something. And Elk wouldn't let him, even if he did want to get rid of it. Elk liked the secret server; it had more of that grass.
"H-hey," Elk greeted Tsukasa, stammering in his usual fashion. "H-h-how was your… s-school week?"
He shrugged in answer. "Nm."
"'Nm'?" Elk repeated the vague sound. "N-not that g-g-good, eh?"
Tsukasa shrugged again, and stood up straight. "Well, let's go."
"You don't… sound too… h-happy."
"You don't sound too comfortable."
"E-eh?"
"You're always stammering." Tsukasa explained tersely. "It's annoying."
"S-sorry…" Elk stuttered, and then realizing he did it again, he blushed and looked away. At least the characters in the game didn't blush… only their players.
They began walking in silence towards the Chaos Gate, when a PC materialized out of it.
She was a HeavyBlade-user—like Mimiru—and had blonde hair in much the same style. Her armor was more detailed, however. It was rimmed with gold in a twisting-vine pattern, and large green jewels were prominent, embedded into the silver backing. Her bright orange eyes glistened with the sunlight, and the emblem of a phoenix showed on the shining armor. Her black tights were stitched with the rays of the sun going across them, and her knee-pads were replicas of a stylistic sun seen on tapestries in one of the dungeons. As her honey-eyes took in the two WaveMasters, she smiled with glee.
"Elk, Elk, Elk!!" she screeched, jumping forward and grabbing his hands. "You're back!"
He looked worriedly at her, and tried to slip away from her grip.
"I heard about that new PK attacking a blue-tone WaveMaster on the BBS, and I was soooo worried that it might be you, and so I was freaking out, because sometimes those PKs do things that harm the player as well as your character, and I didn't want anything bad to happen to you, and I was going to call you, but you were online, so I decided to try to find you here, and then Raven got me to do this dungeon, and then—" she paused to take a breath from her fast rambling, and smiled. "And then there was some stupid boss and I died, but she lived—of course—and I had to re-log in, and so I logged in, and that's the main log-in/out game, and then I found you two here, and… Who's that?"
"T-t-that's…" Elk stammered, "T-t-ts-suka-s-s-sa."
"'T-t-ts-suka-s-s-sa'?"
"I'm Tsukasa," he corrected, moving his white bangs from his purple eyes.
"Oh, I was just humoring Elk here, with his stuttering habit and all," she grinned. "You're kinda cute. Tsukasa is it? Where do you live?"
He glared at her and said nothing.
"Aw, c'mon!" she laughed, and then whispered to Elk, "Does he have social disorders or something?"
Tsukasa heard, and glared further.
"Your cute friend's kinda' pissy," she whispered rather loud. "What's his problem."
"I'm not a guy," Tsukasa pushed his way passed her, and decided that it was better logging out than having people talk about him right in front of him.
Elk pulled out one hand from the girl's grasp, and reached it out towards Tsukasa. "No, don't go—!"
"Sheesh," the HeavyBlade-user character sighed, putting her hands on her hip-guards. "Well, I'm a guy."
* * *
Tsukasa curled his legs up to his chest, and rested his head on his knees. His back was up against a large, rocky pillar. He closed his eyes, and felt like disappearing.
"H-hey…!" Elk said, coming up to him. "I th-thought that you l-logged out."
"Well, I didn't," he answered. "Stop stammering. It's really annoying."
Elk looked hurt, but tried not to show it. "Sorry."
"So, do you want to do that dungeon?"
"S-sure."
They stood up, and began to walk away.
"I'm s-sorry about Sarath," Elk said, trying his hardest not to stammer. "She likes to hang out with me in 'The World'. I think her player's a guy, or something. B-but, she's actually really nice."
"Good for her." Tsukasa said. "Where's the dungeon?"
"O-over th-th-there," he gestured with his staff at a large, black hole in the middle of a rocky outcropping. "I heard that it's pretty hard. R-Raven—she's a comrade of Sarath's—likes to do hard d-dungeons. I've tried it o-once, but I d-d-died."
"Nm," Tsukasa mumbled. "It looks like some place I was. I thought we were going to the church dungeon?"
"The BBS said that its in a restricted server now," Elk explained. He was getting the hang of talking without stammering.
"What do you care?" Tsukasa inquired. "You're the one that likes that secret server with the smelly grass."
"D-don't…" he stopped. "I just like the grass. A friend of mine gave me some, a while ago."
"What was there name?" Tsukasa asked, trying to make conversation as they walked into the dungeon.
"Mia. She was a cat-PC."
"'Mia'?" Tsukasa was reminded of Maha, that cat-PC that he had met in 'The World' when he had been stuck within it. Maha had given him a sprig of the aromatic grass, too. "Never heard of her."
"It doesn't matter," Elk quickly said. "Don't worry about it."
As they walked, a glowing orange orb appeared in front of them. Tsukasa held out his staff, and it turned into a large monster with curled horns atop its deranged head and a frothing mouth baring sharp fangs. He closed his eyes, and concentrated on a spell.
"Fire Ball!" he shouted, thrusting his staff outwards, at the monster. A blazing ball of virtual fire, surrounded by flashing rings of red, glowing magic was thrown forth, and it engulfed the enemy with a blast of light. Tsukasa closed his eyes, and held his staff out defensively, incase the creature decided to attack him.
When the light faded, he saw that the monster was still standing. Its health-meter was full-up, and he frowned. It must be immune to fire magic.
Elk stepped forward, and pointed the front of his intricately-engraved WaveMaster's staff out at the monster. It roared, and slashed out with its spiked tail as if it were a club. The two boys jumped and dodged it, and they landed back on their feet. Elk closed his eyes, and a blue substance formed around his weapon. Spinning like rings around a planet, the blue ice-magic got larger and larger, until it was too heavy and cold. He swung his staff like a baseball bat, and the sticky magic was pushed off, flying through the air like a ball until it hit the monster. It engulfed their enemy with ice, and it was temporarily frozen.
Tsukasa's dark violet eyes widened; he was impressed. "Soul Shatter!" he called, sending forth a blast of vivid yellow magic that shattered the ice and the monster like lightning. Its HP bar cascaded down to '0', and the monster faded into a ring of light.
"It's dead," Elk pointed out, walking over to where it had been and bending down. He picked up two items and threw one to Tsukasa. "Here. They're Potions."
"Thanks," he mumbled.
Elk smiled vaguely, and they walked on. The two WaveMasters soon came to an intersection of two different paths through the cave. Elk sighed, and turned to Tsukasa to decide which way they would go.
"Hey," a sarcastic smile flashed onto Tsukasa's face, but Elk couldn't see it through the dimly-lit dungeon. "It's a dark, scary cave. Let's split up."
"Huh?" Elk inquired. "But—"
"It was sarcastic," he said. "Let's go right."
"Why?"
He shrugged. "Because it's the right way. 'Right' is right and left is… not. Let's go."
They turned, and began down the tunnel. It spiraled downwards into the depths of the dungeon, and Tsukasa began to feel unsure if it being the right way. Of course, the two paths would probably just meet up together soon, anyway. He narrowed his eyes and tried to make out anything in the darkness. There was no lighting anymore, just the faint, orangeish light coming from the large room they had entered through. There had been fiery torches there, but there were none here. Tsukasa wondered why. Shouldn't it be lit so players could see their way through? He ignored the thought, and checked his MP. Even though he had used two spells, it was still pretty high. He didn't need to use an item.
"H-hey, Tsukasa?" Elk asked. "What was that person in the secret server?"
He said nothing, and let his comrade continue.
"You never really told me; just said 'It's…', and then you left," he said. "Do you know anything about them?"
"Nope."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
"P-positive?"
He nodded. "It looked like someone that I met last time I played this game, but it wasn't them. That character… is gone."
"Oh." He stated. "Sorry—"
Elk was stopped by something grabbing him in the dark. He tried to call out to Tsukasa, but he could neither speak, nor see his comrade. A raspy voice spoke to him, close to his ear. The person speaking tightened their grip around his neck and shoulders, and held him captive with one hand over his mouth.
"Give it to me…" it hissed, like a snake. "You have it… Now give it to me!"
Elk tried to say he didn't have 'it' and didn't know what 'it' was, but the person's hand was in his mouth. They threatened him by jamming his whole mouth with their hand. "Give it."
The game registered a vibration shock to the player, like it always did when you were hurt. The Upgrade covered all sorts of things like that. There was a joke on the BBS saying that next, "The World" would register pain into the Players mind.
Elk's captor's other hand held a long katana blade, and after his not speaking, he could feel the blade puncture his tunic-shirt.
"Give me the item…" the voice whispered. "Give it to me… or die…"
Elk squeezed his eyes closed, and wished that Tsukasa would come to him and help him; wished that Mia would help him, or Raven, or Sarath. But no one came; no one could hear him. He was alone, stranded in the ocean. A stray child, like Tsukasa, with false wings of hope that were shattered like glass keys in the twilight under the moon. The PK's katana blade ripped through the center of his shirt, and Elk prayed that they wouldn't kill him. He hadn't saved for a long time, and he had done some important things since then… not to mention he'd have to find his way back to where he was, and then regain all his experience.
"DEAD SCREAM!"
Tsukasa's voice rang out loudly throughout the halls of the dungeon, and immediately, the PK disappeared. A flash of purple magic blew through the air, and hit the wall where the PK had been. Elk sunk to his knees, and fell onto his face on the staircase. The steps were hard and cold.
"You okay?" Tsukasa bent down next to him. "Need healing?"
"Nnnngg…" Elk groaned, trying to push himself up.
"Why are the PKs so interested in you?" he inquired. "That's the second time that one's fled after beating you up."
"I don't… know…"
"You sure?"
"…"
"Okay, then." Tsukasa stood up. "Well, we'd better get going. There's a couple more rooms down there, and I don't think it's a dead-end."
"…O…okay…" Elk pushed himself up, and crossed his arms in front of his chest to hide the tear in his tunic.
* * *
Pretty soon, after defeating three more cannon-fodder monsters and a semi-boss, the two WaveMasters stumbled into a room full-up with lava pits and falling boulders. It reminded Tsukasa of a temple in a videogame… which one was it again? Something about an elf going out to save a princess from an evil dark lord that stole one third of a sacred source of power… He gave up trying to remember it, and looked down into the bubbling reddish brine. Unlike the water in Mak-Anu, he couldn't see his reflection in the liquid magma. Turning back towards Elk, he motioned for them to cross a narrow wooden plank leading over the lava.
"This way," he said. "There's a switch across there that will close up the hole that some of the big boulders are falling from."
"Oh."
Elk tried not to look down as they crossed the narrow plank. Even though the Upgrade didn't register pain, it registered the falling feeling, and Elk didn't like that. Following Tsukasa, he found himself quickly on the other side, and sighed. He hadn't fallen down. He was okay. Tsukasa pushed the large ground-switch with his staff, and they heard the rumbling of stone moving. Just as Tsukasa had said, the hole in the ceiling on the right side of the room where the boulders were falling through was sealed. Elk was glad that there were torches to light the walls in this room, as well as the lava. He didn't like being in the dark. Things could sneak up on you in the dark, just as the PK had done to him.
"Where do we go now?" he inquired. "All the ways look the same to me."
"I don't know," Tsukasa answered. "Hey… there're some players over there. Maybe they know where to go."
"H-hey!" Elk exclaimed. "That's Raven and S-Sarath!"
"Your 'friends'?"
"I g-guess."
Tsukasa used his staff as a pole, and vaulted himself over the lava instead of walking across the narrow wooden board. Elk threw an ice spell, and made a pathway for himself across, running fast before the heat emanating from the lava melted it. He caught up to Tsukasa easily, and they walked over to the two female characters.
Raven was a HeavyAxe-type character, with a skin much the same as Subaru's. However, her short, neat hair was black and her outfit was gray-tone with tints of black and deep, deep blue. She had gothic-style markings on her skirt, and heavy boots instead of high-heels. Her wings, too were different. They were black, and much larger. Tsukasa wondered if she had tinkered with the skin herself, or found it somewhere on the net for download. But he didn't ask. It wasn't necessary to know.
"You're that cute guy from before!" Sarath exclaimed. Her blonde hair gleamed with the firelight, and her slightly-tanned skin bore the same type of wild markings as all of the other HeavyBlade skins. Tsukasa found that she had some sort of accent, and wondered if she was from Ōsaka. "The name's Sarath—though not in real life, mind you, and—Hey Elk! Guess what? I found my way back here after all, and Raven was waiting for me, and we saw some strange PK come in after us, but he disappeared in the darkness, and he didn't have any face, and it was sorta scary, and you said something a week ago about some PK talking to Mia, right?—well anyway, there was this really cool secret room in a niche in the wall in that dark staircase down here—did you see it?—and I found a cool item there, wanna see?" she paused to take a breath, but Raven interrupted.
"You are Tsukasa, right?" her voice was soft and sort of hard to hear with the bubbling of the lava and the crashing of the boulders.
He nodded. "So?"
"I've heard of you," Raven continued. "You were stuck here. You met Maha."
"You knew Maha?"
"Yes," she turned away, and said no more on the subject.
"Woooooow!" Sarath screeched. "You're the Tsukasa? I mean, it's not like, a really common name or anything, but I didn't think that the Tsukasa would ever come back into 'The World' after getting stuck here—I mean, I wouldn't—but you're here now, right? Hey Elk, are you two gonna come with us and do this dungeon with us, cuz you're such a strong Ice Mage and all, and my fire magic really doesn't to squat here, so are you gonna help us?"
"S-s-sure…" he said.
"Aw, sad that Mia's not here?" Sarath taunted, elbowing him in the arm. "Say, what are you hiding?"
Elk tightened his arms in front of the slash down his tunic's front, and didn't answer.
"Okay, then, don't tell me." she turned way in a huff, and then smiled. "Come on! Raven's like, ditching us here!"
Elk hesitantly followed the HeavyBlade-user girl, but Tsukasa stayed behind. The blue WaveMaster turned, and looked at him.
"Aren't you going to c-come, too?" he inquired, trying so hard not to stutter. "You wanted to see them."
"Nm," he mumbled. "Raven, is that her name?"
"Y-yes."
"I wonder where she knew Maha from."
To be continued in…
entanglement: 003
Note: Soooo… how was it? I know that nothing really has happened yet, but we're just setting up for the plot, okay? You need to know something about the characters' personalities, after all. I know that Elk is annoying, but he sorta talked like that in the game, sorta, and he does have a reason to be stammering, other than being uncomfortable. Raven is cool, and Sarath is played by some guy in Ōsaka! Ōsaka!! Yay!!! ^-^ Sorry. Anyway, yeah. Don't worry if you don't know anything about Mia or Elk—they're from the .hack games—because you really don't need to. Nothing that's happening to them in this happens to them in the game, so don't worry about it. And this story will get much better, we swear! Please give us feeeeeeedback! We live for feeeeeeeedback!!! Ōsaka = Osaka. I don't know if the special character will show up on fanfiction.net. This story was originally posted on our webpage, so some things won't show up here. Happy reading! Please drop us a line, or review!!!