.Hack//Heist
A .Hack fanfiction by Renfro Calhoun
Disclaimer: Project .Hack and attached concepts are property of Bandai and Cyber Connect.
Notes: Takes place just after Mutation begins. Parentheses indicate thoughts. People who've spent hundreds of dollars on real MMORPGs should be forbidden from complaining about spending or = $200 on a fake one. Those of us guilty of the former will know why.
Chapter XXIV - Battle Mode On
------------
It was on before either could get up or ready their weapons. It was on the second their adversary arrived, a fact evidenced by the sudden burst of static which scratched the sky.
Reluctantly releasing hands, Kite and BlackRose stood up and drew their respective blades, scanning the area. Carefully, they circled around the rock where they had sat, and spotted the empty silhouette of Delphi, standing perfectly still atop the snow many yards away.
Kite grit his teeth, tightening his hold on his blades; BlackRose did likewise, steeling herself for the inevitable.
"Tagged entities Zero and One detected," said its highest voice, its echo dampened by the falling snow.
"String definition: Kite, Blackrose," said the monotone.
"Action: Termination of tagged entities is desirable," finished the baritone.
"It is -"
"GiGan Zot!"
Its speech was cut off as a sharp fang of rock punched through the ground, stabbing into the black emptiness where it stood.
"Vak Kruz!"
Before the remaining chunk of shadow could regenerate, a spherical shower of flame rocketed into it and exploded, blasting it into a fine mist.
Kite raised an eyebrow. (That was... easy...) "Just like last time. It'll probably come back mad again."
"It had to be done," said BlackRose with a smirk. "We don't have all night here."
Kite grinned, then frowned as the shadowy figure reformed. "Then let's do it right this time."
Together they charged towards Delphi, who quickly sprang into action.
-
"You're not him. What happened to Fukada?"
"He didn't make it."
"A shame. Well, I suppose that means your job's done here, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it's over. I just got one more thing I need to take care of."
-
"Diiiiiiie!"
Her ear-piercing cry preceded an acrobatic flip in the air, the heavy blade whirling with uncommon expertise as she tumbled and brought it down in a powerful overhead smash; Delphi was quick to dodge, but not quick enough, and the sharp, heavy edge tore a long, jagged path through its mist-like substance, ethereal tendrils of shadow drifting away and evaporating.
Delphi reacted as if it were not struck at all, and came around with a strong roundhouse kick that knocked BlackRose back several paces. It gathered energy in its palm and prepared for a charged strike, but was interrupted as its hand was severed by a short sword, its wielder laying into Delphi from behind.
For Kite, the experience was at once disturbing and frustrating. For one, their attacks met with no physical resistance whatsoever - no solidity to the pitch-black shadow, forcing them to constantly adjust their stance to prevent from being thrown off-balance by their own attacks. For two, it seemed to regenerate effortlessly, with no indication that they were doing any permanent damage.
The only point of relief came from that the target registered on his heads-up display, its name garbled behind meaningless keyboard symbols and numbers.
The two slashed and slashed, scoring hits despite the monster's best efforts to evade, yet it returned the favor just as enthusiastically, hands and feet transformed to lethal weapons that struck with all the force of flesh-and-blood, charged attacks and short electrical bursts cutting through armor with little trouble; its ability to hover and fly aided its dodges, yet Kite and BlackRose's combined magical prowess forced it to try its luck in close quarters.
Scores of ice shards swirled up and around both Blades, slicing across skin and cloth alike, tearing large portions of health away with them. Recovering quickly, Kite launched at Delphi and thrust a blade forward, through the 'chest' of Delphi; he came around with the other through the thing's neck, decapitating it for a second or two. He circle-strafed right to allow BlackRose room to strike, which she gladly did, swinging her blade back and forth like a pendulum.
The tattered shards of Delphi retreated, moving as if still attached to their human form, to which it reformed in an instant.
"Damn!" shouted BlackRose. "How are we supposed to kill this thing?!"
"Dean said I can Data Drain it! We've gotta do more damage!"
Delphi lifted off into the air, a dozen feet off the ground and away from the two fighters. It raised an arm high, a ball of fire gathering in its outstretched hand.
"It's charging again!" Kite pointed one of his daggers up at it. "Now! Rue Kruz!"
The two cast, but not quickly enough; the ball streaked away from its hand before either of their spells could land, and sailed without error towards them.
"Move!"
Both jumped away as the ball smashed into the icy ground, violently exploding outward and blasting them into the air, tossing them aside.
Kite grunted loudly as he fell to the ground, phantom air wrenched from his lungs as his body reacted to the blow. Drawing ragged breaths, he stood up and quickly scanned the skies, watching for Delphi.
His eyes went wide as he spotted the shadow, still hovering but much closer now, one arm pointed to him; surrounding it were several jagged, two-dimensional crystalline shards, colored like a rainbow and spinning like a blender. They tilted outwards, towards him, and multiple flashes of static and code tore across the snowy plains.
He froze. "No!" he cried, but his body would not move, struck numb by the impending attack. The shadow turned its hand sideways, appearing to extend its fingers and pointing them all at Kite. (No!) he cried again, silently this time; ripples of force roared through his body, and he felt himself being lifted from the ground as he was struck, repeatedly, by the shockwaves which shook the ground beneath them.
"Ah...aaaaaahhhhh!" came the strangled yell of pain, his throat nearly crushed as his vision faded, lines of code stretching out from the shards and ensnaring themselves around him, squeezing tighter and tighter, as if to shatter every bone in his body.
In the midst of it all, he realized that he could feel. He actually *felt* the pain, and that knowledge only made it more painful.
"KITE!"
A different sort of pain stabbed into him as BlackRose tackled him, knocking him to the ground, ice-cold snow cutting into the back of his neck; it became a blessing, however, as the strangling text vanished and the shards of the creature's bracelet faded away, the field of battle coming back to his eyes. Before the feeling of feeling went completely away, he felt a few strands of hair tickling his cheek, and as he scrambled to his feet he noticed BlackRose doing likewise, a concerned look in her eye.
"Are... are you okay?" she asked; her voice was slow and labored, and she unsteadily wobbled on her feet; apparently, the data drain had affected her too in the process of breaking its hold on him.
Still shaking off vertigo and residual pain, Kite could only nod. Glancing back at Delphi, he assumed a weak fighting stance, hindered by his fatigued muscles and aching bones. Again he noticed that he could feel, though the lack of cold suggested he wasn't feeling anything from the game anymore.
"God..." muttered BlackRose as Delphi neared. "It's still coming!" She hefted her blade high and tensed up, preparing to leap in and strike as soon as the opportunity presented itself.
Both players shared a "huh?" when it suddenly stopped moving.
"Secured server compromised," said the voices. "Files missing; attempting to locate."
Regaining his balance, Kite cocked a curious eyebrow, throwing a look at BlackRose. "What's it doing?"
She shook her head slowly, eyes still trained on the shadowy figure, wide but less panicked than confused. "I don't know."
"Search complete," the voices suddenly blared, a hastiness to them that could have been anxiety. "Data erased... sector is secure. Outside access probable."
(Outside access?)
Both watched in surprise as the static returned, warping the colors of The World to their direct negatives and back again; the shadow twitched and convulsed, as if in some sort of seizure.
"ERROR! ERROR!" screeched the voices. "Critical data compromised!" Ones and zeroes began tearing through the void of Delphi's 'body' at a machine gun pace, almost blurring the darkness to light as it continued to tremble.
(Maybe now...) Without thinking twice, Kite sheathed a blade and raised his right arm towards the shadow; he felt the unseen bracelet tremble slightly, silently approving of his choice in target. (Let's see how YOU like it.)
Bracing his arm with his free hand, he widened his stance and flattened his palm outward, causing the shards of the bracelet to appear. Once again The World fell away, replaced by a dizzying field of static that only grew more intense with each passing second; the shards spun and solidified, and angled outward as Kite pointed towards Delphi, returning the favor it had so readily extended to him.
Lines of code lashed out at Delphi, some securing around its incorporeal form, some punching straight through; the static flashed once and again as pulses of raw energy shot through the lines, smashing into Delphi and shattering the shadow into countless pieces, all of which vanished mere seconds afterward.
The bracelet vanished, taking with it the sky of static and orchestra of white noise. All that stood opposite the two Blades was snow, rocks, and more snow.
Kite let out a long-held breath, shaking his head; unsteadily, he inched backwards, not yet convinced that the thing had been beaten.
"Kite?"
He looked over at BlackRose; sword at her side, her eyes were on his with a question in them, which she quickly voiced. "Is it dead?"
Kite took another glance at the spot where he guessed Delphi had been standing. He replayed the data drain in his mind, watching once again as the darkness was broken and splintered like glass, spraying out into the air and dissolving as if all that had kept it together was the data he had stripped from it.
He smiled, the doubt draining from his mind. "Yeah," he said, his voice soft, almost muted amidst the howling winds. "Yeah, I think that did it."
"Hmm." She smirked, casually arcing her blade over her shoulder and sheathing it. "Hmm hmm," he muttered, a muffled laugh hidden behind her tightly pursed lips. Eventually they parted, just wide enough to form a grin. "Heh heh heh..."
Kite felt compelled to join, which he did; his smile broadened, and soon he found himself chuckling with her. "Hehe... hah hah..."
Their chuckling grew louder, in seconds becoming full-fledged laughter, Kite nearly doubled over, BlackRose arching her back and shouting hers to the heavens. It died just gradually, leaving both grinning like idiots, slightly flustered and breathless.
"Ahhh," she exhaled musically, assuming a more casual stance. "So that's it?"
Kite nodded. "Yep."
"Good! Let's get out of here." She spun on her heels, throwing a look back at him. "You coming?"
Still holding his smile, Kite strode up to her side. "Let's."
Just before the rings surrounded him, he swore he felt a firm, but gentle hand take his. With a smile, he squeezed back before The World fell away to nothingness.
-
"Huuuuaaaahhh... huh?"
His yawn trailed off as he heard someone clear her throat from behind. Hastily, he discarded the VR gear and glanced back at the intruder.
Hiroshi's face lost most of its color. "Uh... mom!"
Expecting harsh reprimand, he was surprised to find her leaning against the doorframe, a small smile on her face. "Good morning, Hiroshi," she said, almost teasingly.
He blushed. "Er... sorry, mom. I kinda lost track of time."
She nodded. "I know, I know how you are... a whole other world to wreck, hmm?"
The boy couldn't help but grin. "Well..."
His mother offered a faint chuckle before turning away. "Good night, Hiroshi," she said as she drew the door shut. After a beat, he heard her add, "And get to bed" through the door.
"Good night, mom," he replied as he logged off and shut down. He punched the monitor's power button and wearily shambled over to his bed, fatigue finally taking its toll. As he reached for the lightswitch, he threw one last look at the lifeless monitor, and then at the visor which rested on the desk beneath it.
"Good night, BlackRose."
- End of Chapter XXIV
A .Hack fanfiction by Renfro Calhoun
Disclaimer: Project .Hack and attached concepts are property of Bandai and Cyber Connect.
Notes: Takes place just after Mutation begins. Parentheses indicate thoughts. People who've spent hundreds of dollars on real MMORPGs should be forbidden from complaining about spending or = $200 on a fake one. Those of us guilty of the former will know why.
Chapter XXIV - Battle Mode On
------------
It was on before either could get up or ready their weapons. It was on the second their adversary arrived, a fact evidenced by the sudden burst of static which scratched the sky.
Reluctantly releasing hands, Kite and BlackRose stood up and drew their respective blades, scanning the area. Carefully, they circled around the rock where they had sat, and spotted the empty silhouette of Delphi, standing perfectly still atop the snow many yards away.
Kite grit his teeth, tightening his hold on his blades; BlackRose did likewise, steeling herself for the inevitable.
"Tagged entities Zero and One detected," said its highest voice, its echo dampened by the falling snow.
"String definition: Kite, Blackrose," said the monotone.
"Action: Termination of tagged entities is desirable," finished the baritone.
"It is -"
"GiGan Zot!"
Its speech was cut off as a sharp fang of rock punched through the ground, stabbing into the black emptiness where it stood.
"Vak Kruz!"
Before the remaining chunk of shadow could regenerate, a spherical shower of flame rocketed into it and exploded, blasting it into a fine mist.
Kite raised an eyebrow. (That was... easy...) "Just like last time. It'll probably come back mad again."
"It had to be done," said BlackRose with a smirk. "We don't have all night here."
Kite grinned, then frowned as the shadowy figure reformed. "Then let's do it right this time."
Together they charged towards Delphi, who quickly sprang into action.
-
"You're not him. What happened to Fukada?"
"He didn't make it."
"A shame. Well, I suppose that means your job's done here, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it's over. I just got one more thing I need to take care of."
-
"Diiiiiiie!"
Her ear-piercing cry preceded an acrobatic flip in the air, the heavy blade whirling with uncommon expertise as she tumbled and brought it down in a powerful overhead smash; Delphi was quick to dodge, but not quick enough, and the sharp, heavy edge tore a long, jagged path through its mist-like substance, ethereal tendrils of shadow drifting away and evaporating.
Delphi reacted as if it were not struck at all, and came around with a strong roundhouse kick that knocked BlackRose back several paces. It gathered energy in its palm and prepared for a charged strike, but was interrupted as its hand was severed by a short sword, its wielder laying into Delphi from behind.
For Kite, the experience was at once disturbing and frustrating. For one, their attacks met with no physical resistance whatsoever - no solidity to the pitch-black shadow, forcing them to constantly adjust their stance to prevent from being thrown off-balance by their own attacks. For two, it seemed to regenerate effortlessly, with no indication that they were doing any permanent damage.
The only point of relief came from that the target registered on his heads-up display, its name garbled behind meaningless keyboard symbols and numbers.
The two slashed and slashed, scoring hits despite the monster's best efforts to evade, yet it returned the favor just as enthusiastically, hands and feet transformed to lethal weapons that struck with all the force of flesh-and-blood, charged attacks and short electrical bursts cutting through armor with little trouble; its ability to hover and fly aided its dodges, yet Kite and BlackRose's combined magical prowess forced it to try its luck in close quarters.
Scores of ice shards swirled up and around both Blades, slicing across skin and cloth alike, tearing large portions of health away with them. Recovering quickly, Kite launched at Delphi and thrust a blade forward, through the 'chest' of Delphi; he came around with the other through the thing's neck, decapitating it for a second or two. He circle-strafed right to allow BlackRose room to strike, which she gladly did, swinging her blade back and forth like a pendulum.
The tattered shards of Delphi retreated, moving as if still attached to their human form, to which it reformed in an instant.
"Damn!" shouted BlackRose. "How are we supposed to kill this thing?!"
"Dean said I can Data Drain it! We've gotta do more damage!"
Delphi lifted off into the air, a dozen feet off the ground and away from the two fighters. It raised an arm high, a ball of fire gathering in its outstretched hand.
"It's charging again!" Kite pointed one of his daggers up at it. "Now! Rue Kruz!"
The two cast, but not quickly enough; the ball streaked away from its hand before either of their spells could land, and sailed without error towards them.
"Move!"
Both jumped away as the ball smashed into the icy ground, violently exploding outward and blasting them into the air, tossing them aside.
Kite grunted loudly as he fell to the ground, phantom air wrenched from his lungs as his body reacted to the blow. Drawing ragged breaths, he stood up and quickly scanned the skies, watching for Delphi.
His eyes went wide as he spotted the shadow, still hovering but much closer now, one arm pointed to him; surrounding it were several jagged, two-dimensional crystalline shards, colored like a rainbow and spinning like a blender. They tilted outwards, towards him, and multiple flashes of static and code tore across the snowy plains.
He froze. "No!" he cried, but his body would not move, struck numb by the impending attack. The shadow turned its hand sideways, appearing to extend its fingers and pointing them all at Kite. (No!) he cried again, silently this time; ripples of force roared through his body, and he felt himself being lifted from the ground as he was struck, repeatedly, by the shockwaves which shook the ground beneath them.
"Ah...aaaaaahhhhh!" came the strangled yell of pain, his throat nearly crushed as his vision faded, lines of code stretching out from the shards and ensnaring themselves around him, squeezing tighter and tighter, as if to shatter every bone in his body.
In the midst of it all, he realized that he could feel. He actually *felt* the pain, and that knowledge only made it more painful.
"KITE!"
A different sort of pain stabbed into him as BlackRose tackled him, knocking him to the ground, ice-cold snow cutting into the back of his neck; it became a blessing, however, as the strangling text vanished and the shards of the creature's bracelet faded away, the field of battle coming back to his eyes. Before the feeling of feeling went completely away, he felt a few strands of hair tickling his cheek, and as he scrambled to his feet he noticed BlackRose doing likewise, a concerned look in her eye.
"Are... are you okay?" she asked; her voice was slow and labored, and she unsteadily wobbled on her feet; apparently, the data drain had affected her too in the process of breaking its hold on him.
Still shaking off vertigo and residual pain, Kite could only nod. Glancing back at Delphi, he assumed a weak fighting stance, hindered by his fatigued muscles and aching bones. Again he noticed that he could feel, though the lack of cold suggested he wasn't feeling anything from the game anymore.
"God..." muttered BlackRose as Delphi neared. "It's still coming!" She hefted her blade high and tensed up, preparing to leap in and strike as soon as the opportunity presented itself.
Both players shared a "huh?" when it suddenly stopped moving.
"Secured server compromised," said the voices. "Files missing; attempting to locate."
Regaining his balance, Kite cocked a curious eyebrow, throwing a look at BlackRose. "What's it doing?"
She shook her head slowly, eyes still trained on the shadowy figure, wide but less panicked than confused. "I don't know."
"Search complete," the voices suddenly blared, a hastiness to them that could have been anxiety. "Data erased... sector is secure. Outside access probable."
(Outside access?)
Both watched in surprise as the static returned, warping the colors of The World to their direct negatives and back again; the shadow twitched and convulsed, as if in some sort of seizure.
"ERROR! ERROR!" screeched the voices. "Critical data compromised!" Ones and zeroes began tearing through the void of Delphi's 'body' at a machine gun pace, almost blurring the darkness to light as it continued to tremble.
(Maybe now...) Without thinking twice, Kite sheathed a blade and raised his right arm towards the shadow; he felt the unseen bracelet tremble slightly, silently approving of his choice in target. (Let's see how YOU like it.)
Bracing his arm with his free hand, he widened his stance and flattened his palm outward, causing the shards of the bracelet to appear. Once again The World fell away, replaced by a dizzying field of static that only grew more intense with each passing second; the shards spun and solidified, and angled outward as Kite pointed towards Delphi, returning the favor it had so readily extended to him.
Lines of code lashed out at Delphi, some securing around its incorporeal form, some punching straight through; the static flashed once and again as pulses of raw energy shot through the lines, smashing into Delphi and shattering the shadow into countless pieces, all of which vanished mere seconds afterward.
The bracelet vanished, taking with it the sky of static and orchestra of white noise. All that stood opposite the two Blades was snow, rocks, and more snow.
Kite let out a long-held breath, shaking his head; unsteadily, he inched backwards, not yet convinced that the thing had been beaten.
"Kite?"
He looked over at BlackRose; sword at her side, her eyes were on his with a question in them, which she quickly voiced. "Is it dead?"
Kite took another glance at the spot where he guessed Delphi had been standing. He replayed the data drain in his mind, watching once again as the darkness was broken and splintered like glass, spraying out into the air and dissolving as if all that had kept it together was the data he had stripped from it.
He smiled, the doubt draining from his mind. "Yeah," he said, his voice soft, almost muted amidst the howling winds. "Yeah, I think that did it."
"Hmm." She smirked, casually arcing her blade over her shoulder and sheathing it. "Hmm hmm," he muttered, a muffled laugh hidden behind her tightly pursed lips. Eventually they parted, just wide enough to form a grin. "Heh heh heh..."
Kite felt compelled to join, which he did; his smile broadened, and soon he found himself chuckling with her. "Hehe... hah hah..."
Their chuckling grew louder, in seconds becoming full-fledged laughter, Kite nearly doubled over, BlackRose arching her back and shouting hers to the heavens. It died just gradually, leaving both grinning like idiots, slightly flustered and breathless.
"Ahhh," she exhaled musically, assuming a more casual stance. "So that's it?"
Kite nodded. "Yep."
"Good! Let's get out of here." She spun on her heels, throwing a look back at him. "You coming?"
Still holding his smile, Kite strode up to her side. "Let's."
Just before the rings surrounded him, he swore he felt a firm, but gentle hand take his. With a smile, he squeezed back before The World fell away to nothingness.
-
"Huuuuaaaahhh... huh?"
His yawn trailed off as he heard someone clear her throat from behind. Hastily, he discarded the VR gear and glanced back at the intruder.
Hiroshi's face lost most of its color. "Uh... mom!"
Expecting harsh reprimand, he was surprised to find her leaning against the doorframe, a small smile on her face. "Good morning, Hiroshi," she said, almost teasingly.
He blushed. "Er... sorry, mom. I kinda lost track of time."
She nodded. "I know, I know how you are... a whole other world to wreck, hmm?"
The boy couldn't help but grin. "Well..."
His mother offered a faint chuckle before turning away. "Good night, Hiroshi," she said as she drew the door shut. After a beat, he heard her add, "And get to bed" through the door.
"Good night, mom," he replied as he logged off and shut down. He punched the monitor's power button and wearily shambled over to his bed, fatigue finally taking its toll. As he reached for the lightswitch, he threw one last look at the lifeless monitor, and then at the visor which rested on the desk beneath it.
"Good night, BlackRose."
- End of Chapter XXIV