.Hack//Heist
A .Hack fanfiction by Renfro Calhoun
Disclaimer: I claim ownership of nothing related to Project .Hack.
Notes: Takes place between Infection and Mutation. Parentheses indicate thoughts. Sorry for the long wait; coupled with a week-long loss of connection, I was a little unsure how to approach this chapter, since it basically reprises the events of chapter 2, only from Kite's POV - cut-and-pasting with a change in perspective seemed a tad too lazy, yet I didn't feel like rewriting the entire thing from scratch, so there's a few repeated lines here and there. Fret not, however; new stuff is on the way, and sooner than later.
(I'll be damned... I actually put something informative in the notes. The system works!)
Chapter XVI - Broken Ice Redux
------------
"Kite!"
The voice rose over the din of the aqua capital, singling out the Twin Blade and causing both him and his partner to turn in its direction. Approaching them was a party of three men - a Long Arm, an Axeman, and a Wave Master, all appropriately armed and armored.
Unsure which was which, Kite smiled into the midst of the group and waved. "Tamon, hi! Are these your friends?"
The Long Arm was a tall, athletic man clad in an open blue vest and matching slacks, shoulder-length blonde hair highlighting his olive-colored eyes; standing at the front of the party, he strode up to Kite and nodded. "Sorry we're late." A glance at BlackRose prompted him to continue. "I suppose introductions are in order."
With a smile, TamonAdillo introduced his companions; the Axeman Deisart, hidden within a reddish-brown, frighteningly top-heavy suit of armor - again, all too common in The World - and the Wave Master Stolls, a slight, pale-skinned young man, garbed in a black robe, gloved hands loosely clasping a long blue wand. Though none of the trio looked more dangerous or out of place than the hundreds upon hundreds of other players Kite had seen, he detected a distinct hardness in the eyes of Tamon and Stolls.
Kite recognized the look immediately; he recalled bearing a similar expression after his inaugural battle against a Data Bug. A quiet part of him took solace in the fact that these men, at the very least, knew what he was up against.
Introductions on Tamon's part finished, Kite bowed slightly. "Nice to meet you both," he said. "I'm Kite, and this is BlackRose." He indicated the Heavy Blade with a pass of his hand, and she nodded in response. Kite caught a suspicious glint in her eye as she scanned the party opposite them, though her posture remained neutral, one hand hooked behind her back to rest on the handle of her massive weapon.
"So, you wanted to ask about something?" she asked, facing Tamon.
Tamon cleared his throat. "Yes, well... this may sound a little strange, but..."
Deisart cut him short as he took a step forward, his armor making an audible clank as he moved. "We need your help. There's a monster at Delta, Buried Geothermal Spiral, and we believe it's been... altered."
Kite peered at the visor in Deisart's helmet, quickly guessing what the men were about to say. "Altered?"
"Hacked," came the answer from Stolls. "It had infinite hit points, as far as I could tell." The Wave Master sighed, shoulders sagging slightly. "It got all of us."
The Long Arm nodded, his jaw set firmly, all traces of humor gone from his sharp, pointed features. "We were going to try again, but I'm afraid that without a hacker, we can't do anything. That's why we need your help." He paused. "So, what do you say?"
Kite cocked his head left and threw a glance at BlackRose, his eyes seeking hers, as if in search of permission. Her normally soft features were hard-set - another look he'd grown accustomed to as a sign of impending trouble - and she nodded to him; for emphasis, she gave the hilt a firm squeeze, wringing it slightly.
The Twin Blade hid a smile. (A newbie, huh?) he thought, briefly reminded of his first encounter and subsequent adventure with the warrior next to him. (Well, you had me fooled.)
His mind quickly returned to the task at hand; he nodded back to BlackRose, and faced Tamon. "What's the name of that field again?"
-
The picture cleared and sharpened, the aqua capital giving way to the image of a barren, dusty landscape. Pockets of solid text and computer code scarred the ground, the naked framework upon which The World rested. Nonsensical strings of characters drifted through the air, unhindered by the rain which twisted away from the cracked, cloudy sky.
Kite found little surprise in the bizarre vista before him, but something inside tightened in anxiety as he realized the men were telling the truth - with the obvious problem that would entail.
(There really is a Data Bug here,) Kite thought. (They just keep coming...)
Unbeknownst to him, the thoughts of his slightly more feminine partner fell along similar lines. (What keeps causing these things?) she wanted to ask.
"This is new," said the Wave Master, his tone dry, yet with a hint of genuine bemusement.
Kite blinked, keeping his own surprise in check. (This is new?) "It wasn't like this before?"
Stolls shook his head. "No. The creature was in the dungeon, but this..." the Wave Master trailed off for a moment as he walked up to a missing patch of ground, experimentally tapping his foot against the lines of code in its place. "I... don't know what to make of it."
"Did you know about the creature before you came here?" asked BlackRose, craning her neck left, then right, keeping a wary eye out for monsters.
Tamon idly rapped the end of his spear against his leg, searching for words. "Well, not exactly. We thought there would be some kind of boss monster here, but we didn't know about these Data Bug things... least we'd never seen any."
Kite nodded, sheathing a blade and removing a fairy's orb from his pocket. He held the tiny jewel aloft; seconds later, it disappeared in a flash of light, and Kite's eyes briefly fidgeted, mimicking his controller as Hiroshi scanned the heads-up display, which now revealed every point of interest on the map - or lack thereof, in this case. "Huh?" he mumbled, failing to detect any unopened portals in the field. (No portals... is somebody here already? Then...)
"What is it?"
Giving the map one final glance, he turned to face BlackRose. "All the portals in this field are open," he explained, drawing his right-hand weapon once more.
"What?" Stolls blinked at Kite, clearly puzzled. "Someone beat us here?"
The Twin Blade cocked his head left at Tamon. "When did you guys come here?"
"Was about three days ago." Tamon frowned. "We cleared the place out, except for the bug, but they should've respawned by now."
"Hey, maybe we should get moving," said Stolls. "Find the monster before somebody else does."
(Yeah...) Kite exchanged glances with each of his new comrades before replying. "All right, let's go."
He heard the darkness in Tamon's voice as he spoke. "Should be on the bottom floor. Right where we left it."
-
The party quickly made its way into the depths of the field's dungeon, with nothing barring their path except empty air and silence. Not even a single jar, skeleton or treasure box could be found, further implying that someone else had gone before them, and recently.
For the most part, Kite ignored the chatter between his companions, increasingly nonplussed despite his prior experience with the out-of-character phenomena that surrounded him. Adding to his confusion was that the field had been unlocked, a sign that either the decay of the field had been overlooked, or it was very recent.
The five paused at a four-way junction, where Deisart suddenly moved to the lead. "The monster is this way," he said softly, yet with a carefully subdued urgency. "Let's go."
Kite's confusion doubled as he scanned the open doorway, which lacked the tell-tale purple smoke indicative of a Data Bug. (What's going on here?) he thought.
Together, they passed through the door into a massive stone antechamber, highlit in a dim purple hue and devoid of life. Their footsteps echoed loudly through the room, the only noise audible to him aside from the whirring of his computer, a world away from where he now stood.
"I don't like this," said Tamon. "I do not like this, this is too easy."
"Someone beat us to the punch," added Stolls. "Someone else brought down a Data Bug. Somebody tell me why this worries me."
Kite knew why. He slowly moved to the center of the room, his interest in searching it now secondary to his concern over the Wave Master's implied statement. "Does someone else have access to Data Drain?" he audibly wondered, his thoughts alternating between hope that it was another player who possessed the ability, and fear that it was another monster. Briefly, his mind returned to the battle with Skeith, and he was instantly reminded of the pain that accompanied his being Drained in the midst of combat. That he had felt pain in the first place was the more disturbing aspect of the attack, but the experience itself was far from pleasant, white noise clogging his brain and whip-like shockwaves pummeling his body as his character's data was rewritten to include every status malady in the book.
He shivered, though equipment attached to him did not register the movement.
Kite returned to his senses just in time to notice that his companions were silent. Second to gain his recognition was that he now stood in a very large shadow, which was rapidly growing longer and wider.
"Look out!"
Kite barely had time to recognize the speaker before a set of pink hair and tanned shoulders torpedoed into him, bowling him over and knocking him out from beneath the shadow. He felt himself and his attacker slide to a halt, barely a second ahead of a loud *WHAM* as the body of an enormous, bird-like creature crushed the ground where he was, the room shaking from the impact.
"Mmnn... aw, damn it."
He suddenly became aware of the figure that had tackled him, hearing her groan slightly as she crawled off of him and sat up. "Are you okay?"
Kite looked up at BlackRose, momentarily flustered and disoriented as he nodded to her. "I'm fine... I think." Slowly he moved to his feet, gathering his blades in the process; he took a deep breath of air and released it, physically and psychologically rattled by his brush with digital death. Quickly recovering, he smiled at BlackRose, who had yet to stand herself; sheathing a blade, he offered a hand to help her up.
"Thanks," he said, his voice soft and sincere.
With a wink, she took his hand and pulled herself up to her feet. "Don't forget," she started, "you owe me now... partner."
Kite grinned, and began to reply before movement from his right caught his attention; he and BlackRose turned back towards the body of the monster, where Tamon stood, poking it with his spear.
"Is this what you were fighting?" asked the Twin Blade.
Tamon nodded. "That's it, all right. Somebody worked it over but good."
"But there's no one else here," said Stolls, brown eyes darting from one corner to the next, desperately seeking any sign of movement, of life.
"Potential hostiles detected."
The voices came from all corners of the room, echoing deeply; a chorus of cold monotone, piercing falsetto and powerful baritone, all speaking at once and as one.
"Who's there?!" shouted Tamon, spear raised before his face, ready to strike.
"That question cannot be answered. The language necessary to define Delphi as 'who' does not exist."
Kite blinked. "Delphi?"
A bolt of lightning suddenly burst from the creature's body, ending several feet in the air; everyone slowly circled around the body, weapons ready, eyes wide in surprise and curiosity. The bolt swirled and twisted madly above the corpse, which quickly began to dissolve into thin air. A shadowy void began to gather in the thick of the current, slowly spreading and expanding outward to take on a vaguely humanoid form, growing arms, legs, and a head.
As the figure became whole, the bolt vanished, taking with it the remains of the monster; the human-shaped blackness hovered perfectly still for a moment, lines of white computer code occasionally flashing through its 'body'.
"Guys?" called Tamon, visibly unnerved.
"Did you kill that thing?" challenged BlackRose, spreading her feet out to a more balanced, combative stance.
"Negative. The host was attached to this location; it was discarded."
Deisart spoke up, his voice neither calm nor confident. "Run!"
Without warning, the apparition raised an arm skyward, causing a shockwave to erupt in a circle from the center of the room, radiating outward and shaking the entire room. Cries of alarm and panic came from the group as each struggled to stay standing, Tamon failing at this and falling flat on his back, his head bouncing painfully on the floor.
Delphi slowly descended to the ground, approaching Tamon. "Viral scan complete," said the voices; Kite briefly made note of the fact that they did not seem to come from the apparition itself. "Entities... unknown."
"Haaaa!"
With an earth-shaking battle cry, BlackRose charged forward, blade at the ready; a powerful overhead slash was quickly followed up with a horizontal swing, splitting the creature into four parts, lines of visibility drawn through the void by her weapon.
Its right hand, attached to one of the fourths of the creature, sprang to life and gestured to the Heavy Blade, causing a bolt of electricity to arc out towards her. She brought the blade up in a block, deflecting the brunt of the bolt into an explosion which pushed her backwards somewhat, but did no real damage.
Emboldened by her successful attack and subsequent defense, Kite rushed the remains of Delphi, swords at the ready; he met with Deisart, who approached from the other side, and immediately went to work, hacking and slashing expertly at the pitch-black quarters of shadow. Kite found that the creature bore no apparent substance, his blades slicing through the shadowy figure as if he were fighting fog; nevertheless, between his short swords and the Axeman's oversized trademark weapon, the figure was stripped of its humanoid shape, chopped into countless shards by sword and axe alike.
As the Twin Blade and the Axeman disengaged from combat to steady themselves and regenerate spent ability points, a brightly glowing ball of fire snaked deftly between both fighters, igniting the shards of darkness and vaporizing them. With them left the sounds of combat, leaving only heavy breathing, relieved sighs, and Tamon's pained groans as he stood back up.
"What... what just happened?" he asked. "What was that thing?"
Slowly, Kite relaxed, suddenly noticing how tense he was, the muscles of his player clenched and ready for action, despite their obvious unneccesity. "Did... did we get it?" he asked, his eyes fixed on the spot where Delphi had stood.
"I think so," said BlackRose, stepping forward. "I've... never seen anything like that monster. What was that... that 'Delphi'?"
A single voice spoke, chillingly mechanical and monotone. "Analysis: the purging has failed."
Another voice, high-pitched and lifeless, continued in its stead as everyone frantically scanned the area, searching for a target. "Status: the primary defense system has been compromised by hostile entities."
A third followed, baritone and heavy with bass. "Conclusion: the primary defense system is obsolete."
(What is this?) Kite whipped his head around, his heart pounding. (It's not dead?)
"Suggestion: a vessel for the primary defense system is desirable," said the first.
The second continued. "Warning: all previous vessels were confined to one location."
"Action," began the third, "a different vessel is required."
The voices merged once more to form a singular harmony. "It is so."
Darkness gathered at the center of the room, the humanoid figure of Delphi emerging from the shadows and coalescing into solidity once more. A stream of white code flashed through its 'head', briefly giving the impression of eyes staring out into the group.
(Maybe if I Data Drain it,) thought Kite. (But... what is this thing? 'Primary defense system?') The creature raised its arm once more, and Kite knew another attack was pending; hoping to preempt the strike, he rushed forward, blades at the ready.
As Kite entered within reach of the monster, it sprung into action, ducking down low to avoid a slash to the neck. The apparition quickly dashed behind Kite, arm held high, a tight sphere of energy condensing in its open palm.
(Damn!) he thought, whirling to block the attack; he felt the creature strike him in the back, the energy ball exploding and blasting him off the ground. He flew several feet forward and collided roughly with the floor, half-sliding, half-rolling to a stop before Deisart, standing completely still, as if paralyzed.
He heard BlackRose cry his name, and then the sound of steel whistling through air as the Heavy Blade lunged at Delphi; he cocked his head and watched as Deisart suddenly launched over his prone form and into battle, joining with BlackRose in attacking the shadowy figure, which deftly evaded both of their strikes.
Groaning from an imagined pain, Kite slowly sat up; a flash of fire caught his attention, and he looked up just in time to see a fireball erupt from Stolls' outstretched wand. The Twin Blade gasped loudly as the apparition conjured up its own fireball, which easily deflected the Wave Master's and rocketed unerringly towards him. The ball hit the ground with the force of a wrecking ball, brilliantly exploding and blasting Stolls aside.
Joining the action, Tamon whirled back and, with a mighty grunt, heaved his spear forward; Its attention back on BlackRose and Deisart, the spear flew unnoticed towards the shadow until it hit home, striking a glancing blow to Its side, slicing effortlessly through the blackness and knocking it away. The spear dropped to the floor, ethereal wisps of darkness trailing from its sharpened head.
"Go!" ordered Tamon, who quickly retrieved his spear and faced down the apparition. "Everybody go, now! Get out of here!"
Kite noticed Deisart obediently vanish from sight as his player logged out; half from instinct and half from fear, Kite sprang to his feet and raced to join BlackRose. "Let's go!" he shouted, lashing a hand out to grab hers as his other hand produced a sprite ocarina. Seconds later, shimmering rings of gold encircled them both, dispelling the corrupted dungeon and its occupants from their sights.
A faint sensation of movement encumbered the Twin Blade as darkness filled his vision; he got the vague impression of flying up through a long, dark tunnel, the ground beneath him all but a memory as he drifted in silence. The sharp juxtaposition of being pulled from heavy combat and thrust into pure isolation physically unbalanced Kite, and he instinctively squeezed the hand that held BlackRose's, her body gone from sight but her hand still tangible, perceptible.
Briefly, he felt a faint pressure along his palm and fingers that could have been her squeezing back.
The isolation was just as quickly broken when another image appeared before his eyes - above ground at the field, dungeon mouth at his back and endless rocky terrain at his front. The image stretched and pulled into the third dimension, enveloping him; the golden rings reappeared, finalizing his escape from the dungeon.
A glance right reminded him that BlackRose was there; reluctantly, he released her hand, his eyes meeting hers in a mutual expression of what-the-hell-just-happened. Both her friendly and aggressive demeanors were all but lost, her eyes wide, her lips pursed into a flat line, hinting at the clenched jaw and teeth beneath them.
"Kite."
He turned towards the voice, and saw Deisart standing before him; though his armor hid much of his movement, Kite got the distinct impression that the man inside was shaking.
It was all Kite could do to keep from joining him. "Deisart... what happened? What was that thing?" he asked, anxiety pulling his vocal chords tight and strained, raising his pitch to just beneath an octave. "Where's Stolls and Tamon?"
"I-I... I have to go!" stammered Deisart, the armored figure once again disappearing in a swirl of golden rings. Just before he faded completely from sight, he raised his arms to his head and began violently tugging at his helmet. Kite could almost picture the player performing a similar movement outside of The World.
Struck dumb, the Twin Blade found himself at a loss what to do; he turned to BlackRose, who could only stare back silently, her expression changing from confusion to worry.
(Now what?)
- End of Chapter XVI
A .Hack fanfiction by Renfro Calhoun
Disclaimer: I claim ownership of nothing related to Project .Hack.
Notes: Takes place between Infection and Mutation. Parentheses indicate thoughts. Sorry for the long wait; coupled with a week-long loss of connection, I was a little unsure how to approach this chapter, since it basically reprises the events of chapter 2, only from Kite's POV - cut-and-pasting with a change in perspective seemed a tad too lazy, yet I didn't feel like rewriting the entire thing from scratch, so there's a few repeated lines here and there. Fret not, however; new stuff is on the way, and sooner than later.
(I'll be damned... I actually put something informative in the notes. The system works!)
Chapter XVI - Broken Ice Redux
------------
"Kite!"
The voice rose over the din of the aqua capital, singling out the Twin Blade and causing both him and his partner to turn in its direction. Approaching them was a party of three men - a Long Arm, an Axeman, and a Wave Master, all appropriately armed and armored.
Unsure which was which, Kite smiled into the midst of the group and waved. "Tamon, hi! Are these your friends?"
The Long Arm was a tall, athletic man clad in an open blue vest and matching slacks, shoulder-length blonde hair highlighting his olive-colored eyes; standing at the front of the party, he strode up to Kite and nodded. "Sorry we're late." A glance at BlackRose prompted him to continue. "I suppose introductions are in order."
With a smile, TamonAdillo introduced his companions; the Axeman Deisart, hidden within a reddish-brown, frighteningly top-heavy suit of armor - again, all too common in The World - and the Wave Master Stolls, a slight, pale-skinned young man, garbed in a black robe, gloved hands loosely clasping a long blue wand. Though none of the trio looked more dangerous or out of place than the hundreds upon hundreds of other players Kite had seen, he detected a distinct hardness in the eyes of Tamon and Stolls.
Kite recognized the look immediately; he recalled bearing a similar expression after his inaugural battle against a Data Bug. A quiet part of him took solace in the fact that these men, at the very least, knew what he was up against.
Introductions on Tamon's part finished, Kite bowed slightly. "Nice to meet you both," he said. "I'm Kite, and this is BlackRose." He indicated the Heavy Blade with a pass of his hand, and she nodded in response. Kite caught a suspicious glint in her eye as she scanned the party opposite them, though her posture remained neutral, one hand hooked behind her back to rest on the handle of her massive weapon.
"So, you wanted to ask about something?" she asked, facing Tamon.
Tamon cleared his throat. "Yes, well... this may sound a little strange, but..."
Deisart cut him short as he took a step forward, his armor making an audible clank as he moved. "We need your help. There's a monster at Delta, Buried Geothermal Spiral, and we believe it's been... altered."
Kite peered at the visor in Deisart's helmet, quickly guessing what the men were about to say. "Altered?"
"Hacked," came the answer from Stolls. "It had infinite hit points, as far as I could tell." The Wave Master sighed, shoulders sagging slightly. "It got all of us."
The Long Arm nodded, his jaw set firmly, all traces of humor gone from his sharp, pointed features. "We were going to try again, but I'm afraid that without a hacker, we can't do anything. That's why we need your help." He paused. "So, what do you say?"
Kite cocked his head left and threw a glance at BlackRose, his eyes seeking hers, as if in search of permission. Her normally soft features were hard-set - another look he'd grown accustomed to as a sign of impending trouble - and she nodded to him; for emphasis, she gave the hilt a firm squeeze, wringing it slightly.
The Twin Blade hid a smile. (A newbie, huh?) he thought, briefly reminded of his first encounter and subsequent adventure with the warrior next to him. (Well, you had me fooled.)
His mind quickly returned to the task at hand; he nodded back to BlackRose, and faced Tamon. "What's the name of that field again?"
-
The picture cleared and sharpened, the aqua capital giving way to the image of a barren, dusty landscape. Pockets of solid text and computer code scarred the ground, the naked framework upon which The World rested. Nonsensical strings of characters drifted through the air, unhindered by the rain which twisted away from the cracked, cloudy sky.
Kite found little surprise in the bizarre vista before him, but something inside tightened in anxiety as he realized the men were telling the truth - with the obvious problem that would entail.
(There really is a Data Bug here,) Kite thought. (They just keep coming...)
Unbeknownst to him, the thoughts of his slightly more feminine partner fell along similar lines. (What keeps causing these things?) she wanted to ask.
"This is new," said the Wave Master, his tone dry, yet with a hint of genuine bemusement.
Kite blinked, keeping his own surprise in check. (This is new?) "It wasn't like this before?"
Stolls shook his head. "No. The creature was in the dungeon, but this..." the Wave Master trailed off for a moment as he walked up to a missing patch of ground, experimentally tapping his foot against the lines of code in its place. "I... don't know what to make of it."
"Did you know about the creature before you came here?" asked BlackRose, craning her neck left, then right, keeping a wary eye out for monsters.
Tamon idly rapped the end of his spear against his leg, searching for words. "Well, not exactly. We thought there would be some kind of boss monster here, but we didn't know about these Data Bug things... least we'd never seen any."
Kite nodded, sheathing a blade and removing a fairy's orb from his pocket. He held the tiny jewel aloft; seconds later, it disappeared in a flash of light, and Kite's eyes briefly fidgeted, mimicking his controller as Hiroshi scanned the heads-up display, which now revealed every point of interest on the map - or lack thereof, in this case. "Huh?" he mumbled, failing to detect any unopened portals in the field. (No portals... is somebody here already? Then...)
"What is it?"
Giving the map one final glance, he turned to face BlackRose. "All the portals in this field are open," he explained, drawing his right-hand weapon once more.
"What?" Stolls blinked at Kite, clearly puzzled. "Someone beat us here?"
The Twin Blade cocked his head left at Tamon. "When did you guys come here?"
"Was about three days ago." Tamon frowned. "We cleared the place out, except for the bug, but they should've respawned by now."
"Hey, maybe we should get moving," said Stolls. "Find the monster before somebody else does."
(Yeah...) Kite exchanged glances with each of his new comrades before replying. "All right, let's go."
He heard the darkness in Tamon's voice as he spoke. "Should be on the bottom floor. Right where we left it."
-
The party quickly made its way into the depths of the field's dungeon, with nothing barring their path except empty air and silence. Not even a single jar, skeleton or treasure box could be found, further implying that someone else had gone before them, and recently.
For the most part, Kite ignored the chatter between his companions, increasingly nonplussed despite his prior experience with the out-of-character phenomena that surrounded him. Adding to his confusion was that the field had been unlocked, a sign that either the decay of the field had been overlooked, or it was very recent.
The five paused at a four-way junction, where Deisart suddenly moved to the lead. "The monster is this way," he said softly, yet with a carefully subdued urgency. "Let's go."
Kite's confusion doubled as he scanned the open doorway, which lacked the tell-tale purple smoke indicative of a Data Bug. (What's going on here?) he thought.
Together, they passed through the door into a massive stone antechamber, highlit in a dim purple hue and devoid of life. Their footsteps echoed loudly through the room, the only noise audible to him aside from the whirring of his computer, a world away from where he now stood.
"I don't like this," said Tamon. "I do not like this, this is too easy."
"Someone beat us to the punch," added Stolls. "Someone else brought down a Data Bug. Somebody tell me why this worries me."
Kite knew why. He slowly moved to the center of the room, his interest in searching it now secondary to his concern over the Wave Master's implied statement. "Does someone else have access to Data Drain?" he audibly wondered, his thoughts alternating between hope that it was another player who possessed the ability, and fear that it was another monster. Briefly, his mind returned to the battle with Skeith, and he was instantly reminded of the pain that accompanied his being Drained in the midst of combat. That he had felt pain in the first place was the more disturbing aspect of the attack, but the experience itself was far from pleasant, white noise clogging his brain and whip-like shockwaves pummeling his body as his character's data was rewritten to include every status malady in the book.
He shivered, though equipment attached to him did not register the movement.
Kite returned to his senses just in time to notice that his companions were silent. Second to gain his recognition was that he now stood in a very large shadow, which was rapidly growing longer and wider.
"Look out!"
Kite barely had time to recognize the speaker before a set of pink hair and tanned shoulders torpedoed into him, bowling him over and knocking him out from beneath the shadow. He felt himself and his attacker slide to a halt, barely a second ahead of a loud *WHAM* as the body of an enormous, bird-like creature crushed the ground where he was, the room shaking from the impact.
"Mmnn... aw, damn it."
He suddenly became aware of the figure that had tackled him, hearing her groan slightly as she crawled off of him and sat up. "Are you okay?"
Kite looked up at BlackRose, momentarily flustered and disoriented as he nodded to her. "I'm fine... I think." Slowly he moved to his feet, gathering his blades in the process; he took a deep breath of air and released it, physically and psychologically rattled by his brush with digital death. Quickly recovering, he smiled at BlackRose, who had yet to stand herself; sheathing a blade, he offered a hand to help her up.
"Thanks," he said, his voice soft and sincere.
With a wink, she took his hand and pulled herself up to her feet. "Don't forget," she started, "you owe me now... partner."
Kite grinned, and began to reply before movement from his right caught his attention; he and BlackRose turned back towards the body of the monster, where Tamon stood, poking it with his spear.
"Is this what you were fighting?" asked the Twin Blade.
Tamon nodded. "That's it, all right. Somebody worked it over but good."
"But there's no one else here," said Stolls, brown eyes darting from one corner to the next, desperately seeking any sign of movement, of life.
"Potential hostiles detected."
The voices came from all corners of the room, echoing deeply; a chorus of cold monotone, piercing falsetto and powerful baritone, all speaking at once and as one.
"Who's there?!" shouted Tamon, spear raised before his face, ready to strike.
"That question cannot be answered. The language necessary to define Delphi as 'who' does not exist."
Kite blinked. "Delphi?"
A bolt of lightning suddenly burst from the creature's body, ending several feet in the air; everyone slowly circled around the body, weapons ready, eyes wide in surprise and curiosity. The bolt swirled and twisted madly above the corpse, which quickly began to dissolve into thin air. A shadowy void began to gather in the thick of the current, slowly spreading and expanding outward to take on a vaguely humanoid form, growing arms, legs, and a head.
As the figure became whole, the bolt vanished, taking with it the remains of the monster; the human-shaped blackness hovered perfectly still for a moment, lines of white computer code occasionally flashing through its 'body'.
"Guys?" called Tamon, visibly unnerved.
"Did you kill that thing?" challenged BlackRose, spreading her feet out to a more balanced, combative stance.
"Negative. The host was attached to this location; it was discarded."
Deisart spoke up, his voice neither calm nor confident. "Run!"
Without warning, the apparition raised an arm skyward, causing a shockwave to erupt in a circle from the center of the room, radiating outward and shaking the entire room. Cries of alarm and panic came from the group as each struggled to stay standing, Tamon failing at this and falling flat on his back, his head bouncing painfully on the floor.
Delphi slowly descended to the ground, approaching Tamon. "Viral scan complete," said the voices; Kite briefly made note of the fact that they did not seem to come from the apparition itself. "Entities... unknown."
"Haaaa!"
With an earth-shaking battle cry, BlackRose charged forward, blade at the ready; a powerful overhead slash was quickly followed up with a horizontal swing, splitting the creature into four parts, lines of visibility drawn through the void by her weapon.
Its right hand, attached to one of the fourths of the creature, sprang to life and gestured to the Heavy Blade, causing a bolt of electricity to arc out towards her. She brought the blade up in a block, deflecting the brunt of the bolt into an explosion which pushed her backwards somewhat, but did no real damage.
Emboldened by her successful attack and subsequent defense, Kite rushed the remains of Delphi, swords at the ready; he met with Deisart, who approached from the other side, and immediately went to work, hacking and slashing expertly at the pitch-black quarters of shadow. Kite found that the creature bore no apparent substance, his blades slicing through the shadowy figure as if he were fighting fog; nevertheless, between his short swords and the Axeman's oversized trademark weapon, the figure was stripped of its humanoid shape, chopped into countless shards by sword and axe alike.
As the Twin Blade and the Axeman disengaged from combat to steady themselves and regenerate spent ability points, a brightly glowing ball of fire snaked deftly between both fighters, igniting the shards of darkness and vaporizing them. With them left the sounds of combat, leaving only heavy breathing, relieved sighs, and Tamon's pained groans as he stood back up.
"What... what just happened?" he asked. "What was that thing?"
Slowly, Kite relaxed, suddenly noticing how tense he was, the muscles of his player clenched and ready for action, despite their obvious unneccesity. "Did... did we get it?" he asked, his eyes fixed on the spot where Delphi had stood.
"I think so," said BlackRose, stepping forward. "I've... never seen anything like that monster. What was that... that 'Delphi'?"
A single voice spoke, chillingly mechanical and monotone. "Analysis: the purging has failed."
Another voice, high-pitched and lifeless, continued in its stead as everyone frantically scanned the area, searching for a target. "Status: the primary defense system has been compromised by hostile entities."
A third followed, baritone and heavy with bass. "Conclusion: the primary defense system is obsolete."
(What is this?) Kite whipped his head around, his heart pounding. (It's not dead?)
"Suggestion: a vessel for the primary defense system is desirable," said the first.
The second continued. "Warning: all previous vessels were confined to one location."
"Action," began the third, "a different vessel is required."
The voices merged once more to form a singular harmony. "It is so."
Darkness gathered at the center of the room, the humanoid figure of Delphi emerging from the shadows and coalescing into solidity once more. A stream of white code flashed through its 'head', briefly giving the impression of eyes staring out into the group.
(Maybe if I Data Drain it,) thought Kite. (But... what is this thing? 'Primary defense system?') The creature raised its arm once more, and Kite knew another attack was pending; hoping to preempt the strike, he rushed forward, blades at the ready.
As Kite entered within reach of the monster, it sprung into action, ducking down low to avoid a slash to the neck. The apparition quickly dashed behind Kite, arm held high, a tight sphere of energy condensing in its open palm.
(Damn!) he thought, whirling to block the attack; he felt the creature strike him in the back, the energy ball exploding and blasting him off the ground. He flew several feet forward and collided roughly with the floor, half-sliding, half-rolling to a stop before Deisart, standing completely still, as if paralyzed.
He heard BlackRose cry his name, and then the sound of steel whistling through air as the Heavy Blade lunged at Delphi; he cocked his head and watched as Deisart suddenly launched over his prone form and into battle, joining with BlackRose in attacking the shadowy figure, which deftly evaded both of their strikes.
Groaning from an imagined pain, Kite slowly sat up; a flash of fire caught his attention, and he looked up just in time to see a fireball erupt from Stolls' outstretched wand. The Twin Blade gasped loudly as the apparition conjured up its own fireball, which easily deflected the Wave Master's and rocketed unerringly towards him. The ball hit the ground with the force of a wrecking ball, brilliantly exploding and blasting Stolls aside.
Joining the action, Tamon whirled back and, with a mighty grunt, heaved his spear forward; Its attention back on BlackRose and Deisart, the spear flew unnoticed towards the shadow until it hit home, striking a glancing blow to Its side, slicing effortlessly through the blackness and knocking it away. The spear dropped to the floor, ethereal wisps of darkness trailing from its sharpened head.
"Go!" ordered Tamon, who quickly retrieved his spear and faced down the apparition. "Everybody go, now! Get out of here!"
Kite noticed Deisart obediently vanish from sight as his player logged out; half from instinct and half from fear, Kite sprang to his feet and raced to join BlackRose. "Let's go!" he shouted, lashing a hand out to grab hers as his other hand produced a sprite ocarina. Seconds later, shimmering rings of gold encircled them both, dispelling the corrupted dungeon and its occupants from their sights.
A faint sensation of movement encumbered the Twin Blade as darkness filled his vision; he got the vague impression of flying up through a long, dark tunnel, the ground beneath him all but a memory as he drifted in silence. The sharp juxtaposition of being pulled from heavy combat and thrust into pure isolation physically unbalanced Kite, and he instinctively squeezed the hand that held BlackRose's, her body gone from sight but her hand still tangible, perceptible.
Briefly, he felt a faint pressure along his palm and fingers that could have been her squeezing back.
The isolation was just as quickly broken when another image appeared before his eyes - above ground at the field, dungeon mouth at his back and endless rocky terrain at his front. The image stretched and pulled into the third dimension, enveloping him; the golden rings reappeared, finalizing his escape from the dungeon.
A glance right reminded him that BlackRose was there; reluctantly, he released her hand, his eyes meeting hers in a mutual expression of what-the-hell-just-happened. Both her friendly and aggressive demeanors were all but lost, her eyes wide, her lips pursed into a flat line, hinting at the clenched jaw and teeth beneath them.
"Kite."
He turned towards the voice, and saw Deisart standing before him; though his armor hid much of his movement, Kite got the distinct impression that the man inside was shaking.
It was all Kite could do to keep from joining him. "Deisart... what happened? What was that thing?" he asked, anxiety pulling his vocal chords tight and strained, raising his pitch to just beneath an octave. "Where's Stolls and Tamon?"
"I-I... I have to go!" stammered Deisart, the armored figure once again disappearing in a swirl of golden rings. Just before he faded completely from sight, he raised his arms to his head and began violently tugging at his helmet. Kite could almost picture the player performing a similar movement outside of The World.
Struck dumb, the Twin Blade found himself at a loss what to do; he turned to BlackRose, who could only stare back silently, her expression changing from confusion to worry.
(Now what?)
- End of Chapter XVI