Disclaimer: I do not own .hack//SIGN or any of it characters. I do own my character Lain Auska X and my thoughts.
.hack//SIGN
Episode Two: Return on the Supposedly Dead
Saga: Born from Darkness
Lain opened her eyes and looked around the new area she seemed to be in. She shot up from the ground in shock. She was in a dungeon before, with that man. Who was he? She couldn't remember anymore. She tried to think more about what he looked like and what his name was, but all that ended up with was a headache. Wait? Wasn't she dieing in a dungeon too? Or was this all a dream? She looked down at her stomach and saw nothing. No blood. Nothing.
"It must have been a dream…?" Lain said laughing it off. She was still extremely nervous. She couldn't remember what had happened a few hours ago. All she could remember was that she was in a dungeon, she was fighting with a virus, got stabbed in the stomach, was supposedly dead, and then ended up here. But how could this have happened?
Lain shock her head in anger and then sighed. "What's going on?" Lain asked herself. "I don't remember anything. I don't know how this could have happened. Ah! This is just so frustrating!" She threw her hands down at her sides and then sighed again. She slumped down to the ground and then fell down so she was lying on her back. "I just want to remember what happened. The whole thing. I only remember fragments. I need to run into the character again. Maybe he could help me…?" She sighed again and then closed her eyes. "What am I to do now?"
"I have an idea!" someone shouted out to her. This person was near and its voice was quite annoying.
Lain opened her eyes and almost screamed out in fright because this person as standing right in front of her. He had green hair that was tied back with a piece of black cloth. He had long black gloves on and what seemed to be his weapon were long knives inserted in his gloves. He had three brown belts around his middle. The rest of his clothes consisted of something that looked like a black jump suit. His shoes were actually black boots. They had a platform thing that was only half an inch tall on the bottom.
He looked down at her and smiled a little evilly. Lain got uncomfortable and then backed up a little. After she was a good five feet away from him she stood up from the ground. She looked at him and then put her hands on her hips and sighed so hugely that he thought he was being insulted.
"What did I do?" he asked getting annoyed at her. "I just wanted to go into a dungeon with you. Nothing more. Just a quest? Or no? Or maybe yes?"
"What?" Lain asked yawning at him. She stretched and then grinned at him. "Who are you?"
"Who are you?" he asked ignoring her statement.
"Lain," Lain replied too him. "And you?"
"Sora," Sora replied with a silly smile. "So how about it? Will you go into a dungeon with me?"
"Sorry," Lain replied backing up away from him. "But I have to decline. I haven't really had all that much good luck with dungeons so far. Maybe another time?"
Sora looked at her sadly and then walked a few steps closer to her. "Well if you won't go into a dungeon with me," Sora began and then paused at Lain's confused look. "What are you going to do?"
"I don't know," Lain replied. "I've only just started this game. I want to get a look around the serves. I got killed and then I left my guide that was supposed to be showing me around this place."
"What if I said I could be your guide?" Sora asked still grinning at her. "Would you accept?"
"Probably not," Lain replied closing her eyes and then turned her back to him. She began walking in the opposite direction of Sora who was now starting to get really aggravated with her. She opened her eyes and then waved over her should at him. "Maybe I'll see you around?"
"Or not," Sora said. His tone was totally different now. He sounded mad. "What is your problem? You've just declined something your going to regret. What was it that you said again? You're a rookie? Well first lesson rookie. You don't decline anything from Sora. That is unless you're looking for a fight."
"What?" Lain said turning around. As soon as she turned around she saw Sora fling the knives further out of his gloves. He charged at Lain who whipped out her sword immediately and blocked his attack. "Look I'm fine! I don't need a guide! Maybe another time!? Not now though!"
"Stop talking and fight!" Sora yelled at her. He charged again this time throwing his weapon at her face. It stopped inches. She looked at it and then noticed he had only on hand in her face. Where was the other!? She got her answer a second latter as she felt a pain go through her arm.
Lain screamed out in pain. She dropped her sword and then fell to her knees. Her hand that had been clutching the sword flew to her arm, which was now bleeding. Blood was coming out of her wound fast. Soon it was all over the ground in front of her and all over her hand.
"What!?" Sora yelled out in surprise. "The message boards didn't say anything about this. Players aren't supposed to bleed. This is just a game. This isn't real!"
"What the hell was that for!?" Lain screamed at Sora madly. "Just because I declined your offer doesn't mean you have to get all hostile on me! I didn't do anything!" Lain got up from the ground. Her cut had disappeared and blood was no longer flowing.
"How did you do that?" Sora asking in surprise.
"What bleed or heal?" Lain asked him annoyed now.
"Both," Sora replied looking fascinated. "How?"
"I don't know why I'm bleeding," Lain replied to him. "If players can't bleed then there must be some sort of glitch. But along with the blood I can fell pain. Lots of it. I healed my but because I did a heal of a lot of hacking before I entered this game. I made myself able to recover faster than normal. I guess I have become immortal if not wounded to bad. That is if I don't bleed to death. I have to lose so much blood before I won't be able to do that."
"Interesting," Sora replied. He grinned at her and then rested his chin on his hand, which was now in a first. "I bet Subaru would want to know about this. A player such as yourself. I bet your better than little Tsukasa." His grin turned from interesting to an evil one as it had once done before.
"Who are they?" Lain asked backing up away from Sora. Her face was now showing fear. Who ever these people were she wasn't too sure she wanted to meet them. She gulped and continued backing up until Sora seemed to have gotten out of the thought he had just put himself in.
"There coming for you now," Sora replied. "Subaru and the Crimson Knights will be here soon for you."
"What!?" Lain yelled out. "I didn't do anything!? What did I do! I haven't committed a crime! Just leave me alone!" Lain had now figured out by now that Subaru and the Crimson Knights must be the ones who keep this game balanced. "Go away!" Lain turned her back to Sora and begun to run off but crashed into something hard. She fell to the ground instantly. She better not have crashed into a rock. She hadn't though. As she looked up she could see who what she guessed were the Crimson Knights.
"Is this her Sora?" someone said though the mass of knights. The person steeped forward to revel a girl. She had aqua blue hair, blue eyes and was carrying a huge battle-axe. "What is your name?"
"Lain," Lain replied backing away from the character that was in front of her. She got up from the ground and dusted herself off. "Why are you here?"
"Sora has informed us that you seem to be immortal?" Subaru said. "That is a restriction form this game. You will either have to remove this status from your character or be deleted from the game. Which includes that you will have to start over."
"This includes that I have to log off to do this?" Lain asked. Subaru nodded her head at Lain. "As soon as I re-enter can I go off on my own business again?"
"Yes," Subaru replied. "But if you re-enter and you still have that status you will be deleted instantly."
"Okay," Lain replied. "I will do as you say. But before I do. Can you answer one question for me?"
"Lady Subaru has no time to answer questions from lower players like yourself!" the knight in front of Lain said. She could see his face because like the rest of his body he was covered in armor.
"Silver Knight!" Subaru yelled out angrily. "I believe I will be the one who decides that?"
"Yes Lady Subaru," Silver Knight replied to her. He bowed to her. "Forgive me."
"You are forgiven," Subaru replied. "Lain is it? What will be your question?"
"Thank you," Lain replied looking thankful at Subaru's decision to answer her question. "Why can't I have this status?"
"I thought you were going to ask that," Subaru replied with a faint smile on her face. "If you have that status then everyone in the game will incline that they should have that status also. If everyone in the game did then how would we be able to set the balance? If the balance is corrupted then this game will just be chaos. Everything would be destroyed."
"Oh," Lain replied. "I guess I get it now…I'm going to log off now." A minute passed and Lain was still standing before the group of people who had surprised looks on their faces that she was still there.
"I thought you said you were leaving?" Sora asked Lain looking confused. "You did say that didn't you?"
"I did!" Lain shouted out. Her face turned from confused to instant fear. "I don't know what's happening! I can't log off! Something not letting me! I can't leave!"
"What!?" the knights and Subaru cried out. Sora had a wicked smile plastered on his face as Lain had finished talking.
"Can it be?" Sora asked looking now a little shocked. "Can she have the same case as little Tsukasa? Can you also be trapped in this game?"
"No that can't be possible," Subaru said. She had fear on her face along with Lain. "This can't have happened again! If it truly has…how could it have!?"
"I-I-I don't know!" Lain cried out. She fell to her knees. She couldn't believe this. She herself was suck in this game. Did it have to do with something that had accrued in the dungeon?
"Is there anything else that has happened here that shouldn't have happened?" Subaru asked Lain. She still had a fearful expression but seemed to be getting over it.
"I can bleed," Lain said. She got up from the ground. If she was trapped in this game and could bleed…what would happen if she died in the game? Would she be dead in the real world? "I can bleed as if this game were so real for me. What…what if I died here!? Would I be dead in the real world!?"
Everyone around her seemed to have not thought about this because they gasped at what she had said. "And another thing," Lain said getting up from the ground once more. She walked over to her sword and pulled it out of the ground. She re-sheathed it and looked over to the players. "Who is this Tsukasa you all keep talking about!?"
"Maybe," Subaru said. She paused after she said this because she went into a deep thought. "Maybe I could take you to Tsukasa. We have him presently captured at the moment. Yes, I see no harm in this. Come Lain. I will take you to Tsukasa."
After Subaru had finished talking she disconnected everyone from the server they were presently on (well all besides Sora who was token back that we wasn't allowed to go with them) and connected them to a dungeon that was being heavily guarded by more of the Crimson Knights.
"Lady Subaru," the knights all said bowing to her. "What is it that you wish to do here?"
"I have come to put Lain in with Tsukasa from now," Subaru said. "When she is done talking to him let her out of the cell. But leave Tsukasa in there. I still need to have a word with him."
"Yes Lady Subaru," the knight said closest to the cells door. After he had finished what he was saying he opened the door to the dungeon/cell and let Lain enter. As soon as Lain was inside of the dungeon/cell completely she heard the door shut behind her. She turned back and looked at it. She could see people though the bars at the top. She gulped at what she was about to do. She turned her head front and began to walk towards the boy that was sitting on the ground in a ball in front of her.
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