Note: Aaaaas you guys have probably noticed, this story does not run parallel at ALL to the games in any way besides that of some of the characters being mentioned. Prior knowledge of the game is not needed to understand ANYTHING in this story. Just saying. As for some of your reviews… check the bottom of this document (after you read it, hopefully) to hear my comments on what you took so much time to graciously tell me. Me. Not us. Blue Sea has been prolonging this chapter for a while, so I wrote it without their guidance; not like I heeded their words anyway…). So, please read and don't forget to review with your awesome feedback that you guys have been giving me!!

.hack//WAVE

entanglement: 003

Tsukasa stared down at the bug between his feet. It wandered around aimlessly and bumped into his brown sack-shoes. He pushed it around with the metal end of his staff, and rolled it over onto its back. "The World" was pretty boring now that he was no longer captive in it. It hadn't been the best experience in the world (note: pun not intended), but at least he had had fun in the end. Now everything just seemed to mundane for him to have much fun. He'd already done it all; everything worthwhile in "The World". That was one of the many reasons he stopped playing it for a long time. After being omnipresent, after having that power taken away, everything was boring.

"I guess that everyone knows about what happened to me…" Tsukasa murmured, not bothering to look at Mimiru.

"Well, duh!" she exclaimed. "It was on the BBS for so long, Bear, B.T. and I looking for you, questions about it, and then after you got out… other people could overhear our conversations and junk…"

"Nm," he mumbled. "This is stupid. I'm logging out."

"No!" she ordered. "C'mon, Tsukasa. I still think this game is fun. Let's do a dungeon, or something."

"Dungeons are boring. They're noting compared to what I went through."

"Well, if you try to live your character in the game, then it's fun! Pretend that it's real life, not VR, and then everything's more fun! Try to stay alive—pretend that it's your real life."

Tsukasa glared at her.

"What happened to you?" she groaned. "I thought you changed. You actually used to talk to Subaru and I at school, now you're just silent and cynical—just like you were when we first met."

"That's how I really am."

"No it's not!"

"How would you know?" he rolled his eyes. "You only knew the virtual me. My face at school is different, too. You don't know what I really am like."

With that, Tsukasa stood up, and began to walk away towards the nearest chaos gate.

"Tsukasa!" Mimiru called after him. "Don't be mad! I wasn't trying to piss you off!!"

He ignored her, and was about to teleport to Mac Anu, but someone bumped into him. Looking down, he saw the cowering figure of Elk, the blue WaveMaster whom he'd met a week ago. Elk quickly mumbled for forgiveness, and pushed passed him, running and stumbling over his long tunic and his own feet as he tried to get away. Tsukasa turned his head and watched as Mimiru jumped out of his way; watched as the character fell on his face in the grass. Slowly, Tsukasa walked over to him, and bent down.

"Are you okay?" he asked it more like a death-threat than a concerned question, but there was some feeling meant in it.

"D-don't let it n-n-near me!!" Elk screeched. "G-get out of my way before it g-g-gets me!"

He tried to push himself up passed Tsukasa, but he fell back down as he stepped on his tunic. Mimiru raised one auburn eyebrow inquiringly, and waited for an explanation. Tsukasa made no movement to help or hinder him.

"Who?"

"T-that PK…" Elk tried to get the words out. He used his staff to propel himself off the ground, and began to run awkwardly away. However, he stopped when he saw a figure materialize in front of him. Elk made a feeble scream of terror, and jumped away.

The new figure was the faceless PK dressed in the black robes with the double katana blades. It reached out one dark arm, and grabbed a hold of the WaveMaster's trembling shoulder, bringing him closer. Elk screamed more, and Tsukasa and Mimiru stepped forward.

"Let him go!" the HeavyBlade-class player commanded, taking her long, thick sword from its virtual holster on her back. "I don't know who you are or what you think you're doing, but it's wrong to hurt other unwilling players in 'The World'!"

The PK tilted its white face towards her, and she frowned. Featureless, mundane, strange, blank. That's what its face was. The PK took one of its katana blades from its sheath, and threw it like a shrunken at Mimiru. She brought her sword up, quick as lightning, and the long weapon rebounded off to the side, spinning through the air and sticking into the grassy mounds of the land in Dona-Roiak. Mimiru readied her sword for another attack, but the PK made no move.

"H-help…!" Elk stammered as the PK brought its arm around his neck to hold him. The WaveMaster clawed with his small hands at the PK's black gauntlet, but it was to no avail. His fingers didn't even register the tiniest vibration or damage.

"Let him go!" Mimiru shouted. "We'll fight you if you don't!"

The PK turned its head, its lustrous, black hair falling over its blank face, and motioned towards the sunken sun, setting in the western sky, beyond the boundless clouds. Mimiru and Tsukasa hesitantly let their gazes follow to there.

The sun?

Tightening its grip around Elk's neck, the PK stepped backwards and reached down, taking the katana blade it had thrown at Mimiru out of the ground and instead of sheathing it, it held it point down. The two former comrades stared at the blade, wondering what would happen. The PK began to etch something into the ground at Elk's feet. The blue-tone WaveMaster moved his feet away, for fear that they would be cut.

"Let him—"

Tsukasa whacked Mimiru in the shins with his staff to get her to be quiet. She glared at him, but then her teal eyes moved towards the picture on the ground. There were two people in the picture, one with long, flowing hair, and one with short hair. They both wore simplistic gowns, and their hands were locked. They were walking in a path with waves on either side, and a sinking sun in the center between them. Mimiru blinked, and raised her eyebrows questioningly.

"What the hell…?"

"T-t-ts-tsuka-s-s-aa!" Elk stammered. "Help me!"

Seeing that the two didn't understand its picture, the PK threw its head back as if laughing—but no sound came out. Mimiru tightened her grip on her sword, but didn't move. It took its katana, and began to move it slowly up to Elk's face.

"That's it!" the HeavyBlade-user shouted, stomping her foot on the ground and moving forward. "You're just playing with him. I hate you annoying PKs! Let him go or I'll see to it that you'll be thrown out of 'The World' forever!"

It said nothing, but just moved its sword until it was touching Elk's forehead. The crimson-eyed boy looked at the sword and swallowed his voice.

Mimiru charged forward with her sword, and tried to knock the katana away from the PK. However, the figure was nimbler than she, and it jumped up into the air over her, taking Elk with it. She turned around and faced it once more, trying to figure out when to attack.

"Tsukasa! That kid's your friend, right?" she whispered. "Help me out!"

Un-amused by her pathetic efforts, the Player Killer was about to throw its blade at her again, but Tsukasa ran forward. He did not use his staff, but held a ovular, shining object in his gloved hand. He brought it up to his mouth, and held it between his teeth as he grabbed hold of the front of Elk's shirt. He breathed out hard, and the ocarina made a shrill 'a' note, and suddenly, he and Elk disappeared from the Dona-Roiak server.

Tsukasa knew the item was banned.

He knew where it would take him.

But it was his only option.

To be continued in…

foundation : 004

Note: And here is to all the reviewers whom had questions:

Neohowler: Tsukasa really is a girl in reality, but since this is in "The World", and her character in "The World" is as male as you can be if you are a virtual bag of pixels, I am referring to Tsukasa as a "he".

Paladin: I appreciate you taking the time to say that, but I have some things to say. I am aware that Tsukasa is acting bitchy and uncommunicative. That is what his/her personality is. S/he did mature in the end of the series, and was able to make friends and talk to his/her friends fluently. However, his/her personality in whole didn't actually change more than that. Tsukasa is introverted, and never quite became extroverted and incredibly nice. Even near the end, s/he was never really nice and up to talking to everyone, s/he just cared about his/her friends and became more of a person. And, it is a fanfiction, not a real anything, so I can bend the characters to my will if I please to. Most fanfictions do that.

Fallenangel: Thank you for your understanding and nice review, and don't worry; not all reviewers are harsh, and you can just ignore the ones that are, because most of them have nothing to say anyway.

Gray: Yes, I have in fact watched the whole series, many times. I know s/he wouldn't avoid Subaru. It is my story, and I personally hate Subaru. She was annoying and not my type of character at all (though if any of you like her, that's okay with me; "to each his own"), and since this is my writing, I decided that Tsukasa would want to stay away from her annoying and clingy nature. Thanks for noticing that, though. And I was actually just emphasizing that he was stuck in "The World" for a long time, not necessarily giving an exact time.

Doktor Rhyste: *shhhh* You're not supposed to know that!!

Silver Reflection: It does sound like a replay of .hack//SIGN, but I assure you that it will veer off unto a different path after a while. And don't worry about Maha; keep reading and you are assured to be pleased with what will come.

AND THANK ALL OF YOU WHOM JUST GAVE FEEDBACK AND NO QUESTIONS! I CANNOT EXPRESS HOW MUCH I AM GLAD THAT PEOPLE ARE READING MY (and Blue Sea's) FANFICTION!! THANK YOU!!!!!!!

This will be continued, duh. Yah yah yah, review, please!!!