.hack//USERS
Chapter 2: REPETITION"So he looked like that Wavemaster? What was his name… Tsukasa?"
"Yeah, if I remember the wanted posters from Mac Anu about a year ago."
Diana and Gil sat on a bench together in Carmina Gadelica, speaking in English.
"It's bizarre," continued Diana. "He said he was going to meet Lady Subaru. Wasn't there some scandal between that other Wavemaster and the original 'Subaru-style' player about a year ago?"
"I heard they were in love," said Gil, arms crossed.
"In love? How can you fall in love through an online game?"
The male Twin Blade sighed. "It's happened to me. A long while ago, at the dawn of the millennium, I used to play text-based role-playing games with my friends on the original 'net through Instant Messanging clients. And I fell in love with one of them… and their character."
"That's weird."
"I was young at the time. When I met the person in real life… I didn't have the feelings for them that I had for their character online."
"So you're an old guy?" Diana snickered. "I remember you saying you moved to Japan a long time ago."
Gil stopped a moment, looking a bit aghast. "Déjà vu," he said.
"The feeling you've done something before?"
"Yeah, that. I suddenly got a rush of strange memories… By any chance, do you know any ganguro-looking Heavy Blades? It seems like I've had this exact conversation with one before."
"No, not a
one. I've seen them around, though. Seems like a popular style for female Heavy
Blade characters. Is the conversation playing out like you remember it?"
"I believe my line was 'This
is not the physique of a child. I guess an edited character doesn't mean much
on the web,' or something like that."
"Curiouser and curiouser."
"Indeed. But my Children's Lit professor in college agreed that Lewis Carroll was a complete stoner."
Diana laughed, louder, this time. "Hey, can I ask you a question?"
"Sure."
"What do you do? For a living?"
Gil paused yet again, easing into an uncomfortably long silence… and finally chuckled. "I think I'm supposed to tell you that you have three guesses."
"Is that some kind of adult-career-explaining rule I should know about?"
"Mmm… You could say that."
"Well, I'm still a student," proclaimed Diana. "So there!"
"Great. But that's not going to encourage me divulging my career to you!"
Diana made a frustrated grunt. "I'm going to have dinner with my host family. See you later for that dungeon."
"Heh. Alright, see you. Meet me at the field we decided on earlier, okay?" He waved as the femme Wavemaster logged out, then stood with a hop to wander about the newly restored Lambda server. It had crashed minorly yesterday afternoon, along with Theta, and was given a 24-hour cool-down period. At least according to the CC Corp. mailer.
Crossing one of the bridges near the chaos gate, Gil wandered down into the market district. Shopping, shopping, shopping… Back when he lived in America, he had hated it. But living in Tokyo had brought out the shopper in him.
A female Heavy Blade pounded a fist on a countertop nearby. Her ganguro appearance… perhaps this was the Heavy Blade Gil had had a flashback about.
"These prices are an outrage! What do you take me for, some kind of newbie?"
The shopkeeper jumped and took a step back. "These are the prices the CC Corp. set down for the items I'm to sell! I don't want to break their rules!"
"Fine," said the lavender-tattooed swordswoman indifferently. "I'll take my business elsewhere."
As the woman walked away, Gil ran after her. "Excuse me! Ganguro Heavy Blade!"
Hearing this, she spun around, wielding her enormous weapon inches from the Twin Blade's nose. "Don't ever call me that, you insolent bastard. Now, what do you want?"
Gil took three steps back, losing his balance and falling on his butt. "Geez, relax, would you? I just wondered… have we met before?"
"Look, if you're trying to pick me up-"
"…I can forget it."
The woman tilted her head. "…How did you know what I was going to say?"
He stood again, watching the Heavy Blade sheathe her weapon. "Intuition. Your name isn't… Mimi, is it?"
"No, I'm Hina. What do you call yourself?"
"You can call me Gil."
"Well, 'Gil', I'm not really interested in talking to you. So if you don't mind, I'll be on my merry way."
"Ahh. All right, then. Hope to see you again."
"Wish I could say the same," said Hina, waving over her shoulder indifferently, an air she put onto many of her actions.
The female Heavy Axe with the gothic appearance, Kaede, jumped in front of her, impeding her escape from conversation.
"You! You're the swordswoman who saved me yesterday! I'm so happy to be able to see you again. Thank you for your help. I can't thank you enough."
Hina turned arrogantly and logged from her account, leaving Gil to approach the frail-looking girl.
"You know her?"
"Yessir. She assisted me in battle… When I was too weak to continue fighting."
"'Too weak'? I can't imagine that… I've got a little bit of time. Would you like to go on a dungeon adventure?"
Kaede was taken aback.
"And no," continued Gil. "I'm not trying to pick you up."
~*~*~
Rumors spread quickly in The World. One was starting right now.
"I hear Subaru's started logging in again," said the helmeted Blademaster, CV-100, leaning against a fence in Dun Loireag.
"Who's Subaru?" asked the young Twin Blade who had paid the Blademaster most of her money for what he had deemed "valuable information". Raulen was sick of being played for a fool.
"Subaru was a Heavy Axe character who used to be the leader of the Crimson Knights, an honorable society who upheld the rules and netiquette of The World. She disbanded the group, and a Blademaster named SilverKnight ended up picking up the slack. He used to be one of her underlings. Nowadays, no one knows that happened to the knights, or Lady Subaru for that matter."
"You sure know a lot."
"That's what players like you pay me for, isn't it?"
Raulen smiled and giggled. "That's something good to know, about the Crimson Knights, I mean. I'm always up to learn more about The World."
"There's a lot to learn. The game's been around for a long time."
"I guess, yeah."
An awkward pause. Then:
"I know the guy who completed the Gaia's Beast event," said Raulen.
CV stood and took up an astonished look, hidden beneath his helm. "You're kidding!"
"Nope! His name is Jinn, and he's a really nice guy. He's online right now. Maybe I could get him to come to the Theta server if he isn't too busy?"
That name. Jinn.
"Kitsune…" muttered CV under his breath, somewhat taken aback.
"A fox? He's not a fox. He's a Long Arm." Raulen giggled. "I'll send him a Flash Mail, hold on-"
"No, that's alright. I really don't feel like I need to meet him. In fact, I'm going to leave right now. So… Don't bother." He was gone hurriedly, nervous voice still hanging in the air. Raulen questioned what the hell his problem was… going from eager to terrified in a matter of seconds.
Speak of the devil. Jinn had just sent her a party invite.
From the Omega server!!
Raulen nearly fell from the fence she was sitting on, replying that she didn't have the skill or priority, as a player, to enter Omega.
Jinn's response was, "You want to see the Root Town, though, right?"
Of course she did.
"We don't have to go into any dungeons. You have to see this place! It's amazing!"
"I guess it couldn't hurt. But no dungeons… I bet the monsters are scary, even for you."
Stepping up to the chaos gate, Raulen felt a curiously wicked air about it today… Something felt amiss. She didn't want to access that server.
"What are you waiting for?" called Jinn. "C'mon, it's great!"
Raising a gloved hand, a fizzy trio of rings tore her from Dun Loireag. The warped transference between servers began to hurt her eyes, and she had the sense to take the visor off her head for a moment, peeking nervously when the resolution of server change was complete.
This wasn't what the instruction booklet for The World had described the Relic City, Lia Fail as. It was much different. Disturbing.
Fat, square buildings sat under a dark sky, lit only with what looked like streetlight from invisible lamps. There was a foreboding, dirty feel about the place. It didn't seem populated. Raulen was the only player here.
"H-hello?" she squeaked. "Anyone here? At all? Jinn?" The Twin Blade was terrified, but stepped forward with caution. "Is this really the Omega server?"
It took her a few minutes before she began to walk about. It was a large area… but there was no one here. No one at all. The impoverished buildings had no entrances that she could see.
Turning a corner, she noticed a shaft of white light. Something was descending through it.
"Do not be afraid," said a matronly voice. "I'm not here to harm you."
Raulen didn't tremble. The vibrant light was comforting, and the female figure descending it was inspiring to see.
She was dressed all in white, a long gown completely veiling her legs. The shoulders of her outfit were broad, coming down in sleeves that flared from the elbow. On her head she wore a stiff, flat-topped miter, a red visor trimmed with gold before her eyes, and long, white pieces framing her ears, behind which flowed graceful, blonde hair. Her chest was nearly bare in contrast, her breasts only covered with white strips of cloth that crossed at the base of her ribs. In her right hand she carried a wand, the bottom of which separated in to four, parallel prongs from the shaft and the end of which held a red orb, encircled with perpendicular rings.
"Welcome to paradise," she said. "I am Helba, Queen of the Dark."
"'Queen of the Dark'?" Raulen stammered.
"Yes." It was a simple answer, one that dodged explanation for the reasoning behind the title. It was, indeed, a long story. "Be not afraid, as I assure you that I won't harm you. Now, how did you get to this place? Do you remember?"
"I… I passed through the Chaos Gate in Dun Loireag, heading towards the Omega server. To meet a friend. Is this it? The Relic City?"
"No, this is an area apart from The World on my own server, known widely through rumor and legend as Net Slum; a place to harbor hackers, illegal data, and deleted NPCs that I'm able to salvage. They can live their lives peacefully here in their own paradise. It was a mirror of the Omega server at one point, but the link has since been taken care of. Or so I'd thought." Helba smiled a beautiful smile. She was, truly, a work of art.
Raulen sighed, relieved. It wasn't a sinister place after all. "So that would make you… a hacker?"
"Correct. But I only serve to protect this world and those that enjoy it."
"Why is this place so barren? Where are all the… people? Or characters, or whatever would live here?"
The look of blissful temperance fell from Helba's face, her white aura dimming. "Alas, there are those that would disturb the peaceful inhabitants of Net Slum… Another hacker, one filled with malice and cruelty, destroyed my paradise. Perhaps the reason you were sent here was because I recently reconstructed this Net Slum server from her vicious attack. But it still doesn't solve why it was you and not someone else. I'm sure many other players have passed to the Omega server since Net Slum's reconstruction."
The twin blade fought back a tear in the real world. "So everyone living there…"
"Was destroyed, yes."
"That's horrible."
"Indeed, but we will persevere. Now, I should probably send you on your way to meet your friend, and I apologize for the inconvenience," Helba said, gliding forward, "But my delicate situation requires me to give you a rather bold, dangerous proposition."
"A proposition?" Raulen was curious. "I'm not a hacker, if you were asking."
"I'm quite aware. I need a player able to access the outside without drawing attention to help me do certain things in relation to this malicious hacker. Since you're the only player I've seen in quite some time, I'd like to ask this of you."
"Wait… This isn't some 'candid camera' event, is it?"
"Nothing of the sort, I assure you. I'd even be willing to encrypt your character data with a .hack protocol if you agree."
"'Dot-hack protocol'? What's that?"
"The .hack protocol was a tool an… apprentice… of mine developed based on the character ability edit given to a player by the name of Kite from inside the game that gives one's character data exclusive abilities in the game's interface. We studied it thoroughly, and are able to replicate it, usually putting it in the form of an item."
"But… what would you want me to do?"
"Players in the game are very influential, as the game itself employs a marvelous, nearly impossible-to-alter physics engine; no object or being is completely impervious to attack. Therefore, just being a player in The World is enough for the things I might call on you to do."
Raulen was hesitant. Helba could understand.
"I'll give you some time to think it over, but don't take too long in your response, I implore you. The hacker, Kitsune, intends to destroy the core foundation of The World itself."
"D-did you say 'Kitsune'?"
"Yes, I did. Do you know of her?"
"I'll do it, Lady Helba. I'll help you, simply because I want to know what's really going on."
"I extend my gratitude, Twin Blade Raulen. I only ask for now that you keep an eye open for suspicious activity. By tomorrow, I will have a tool to aid you in your work."
"Thank you, Lady Helba."
Raulen was forced from Net Slum, greeted with The World's login screen. She removed her visor and placed it on her console.
What just happened? she asked herself. Why was I so willing to take part in that woman's plan? I don't even know the whole story yet…There's something about her…Something… benevolent.
~*~*~
"Aura? Who's that?"
"Don't you know? She's a legendary NPC regarded by most as the Key of the Twilight. The rumor posted was that she was born from a surrogate mother, and the mother, jealous of her child, seeks to destroy her to the ends of The World. You're dense about gossip. You always have been."
"Don't take that arrogant tone with me, CV! Why do you keep following me? And why is it that you and I are always chatting in these stupid snow fields?"
"Because I feel like I need to look out for my little sister."
Diana nearly exploded. "I'm not even your real sister! And that's no reason, anyway! Just because mother and father adopted me doesn't mean I'm any less of a person than you!"
"You're also boring, little sister, with your same lame arguments... I suppose I could let you go into the dungeon to get yourself killed. Or maybe I'll save you the trouble and PK you here."
Where's Gil when I need him the most? wondered Diana, clutching her staff to her chest worriedly. CV pointed the tip of his sword at the center of the wand's cross, which lay over her heart. They had agreed to meet on this field… but he was nowhere to be found.
Something lightning-fast streaked from the sky, an undefined color, and ran through the helmeted swordsman. Gil clambered to his feet, winded from the fierce attack, and glanced at CV's gray, flayed body, a concerned look across his half-masked face.
"Was I too late? Sorry to keep you waiting. What's the deal with that guy?" The Twin Blade was out of breath.
Diana sank to her knees. "Y-you were just in time, actually. Thanks."
"Sorry if I cut it close… Do you still want to go on a dungeon adventure? I brought a friend."
Kaede dragged her axe behind her, jogging, huffing with the extra weight. "Sir Gil! Please, don't leave without me!"
Diana stood again. "A Heavy Axe? Cool!" She waved to the pale girl, who waved back. The corpse of CV-100 vanished from the play field before she arrived.
"Kaede, this is Diana, the Wavemaster I told you about. She'll be joining us on our adventure."
"Pleased to meet you," muttered the Heavy Axe humbly.
"Hey, no reason to be so shy," said Diana, a second wind coming to her from her previous brush with death. "We're all friends here."
The party made their way to the dungeon's mouth, a stronghold of formidable height around a stone archway. "Looks to be a castle dungeon," said Gil, hopping up the stone steps and through the doorway. The girls followed close behind.
On the inside, Diana held up a Fairy's Orb, giving her map a puzzled glance. "Someone beat us to this dungeon."
There were no yellow spots on the map at all, nor were there any blue. A look to the Players History was even more curious. No one at all within the past 24 hours had accessed this Water-based field, besides their current party and CV-100.
"Do you think that player that attacked you cleared this dungeon by himself?"
"No, I don't think he'd have been able to," replied Diana to Gil. "He's not of a high enough level to challenge this dungeon solo."
"Then this dungeon…" half-asked Kaede, waiting for someone to finish her sentence.
"…Has no monsters. Or treasure. C'mon, let's go down a floor or so."
Sifting through eerily empty rooms, Diana's revealed map guided them to a staircase into the second basement of the dungeon.
Another Fairy's Orb revealed the expected lack of treasure or items. Even what could be easily identified as the Zeit Statue room was empty. Standard breakable items like jars and warrior's bodies were scattered about, sure, but there was nothing otherwise.
And upon entering the second room from the exit, they came nearly face-to-face with another player. The Wavemaster, Taragon. Diana hopped and waved excitedly.
"Taragon! Taragon, over here!" She turned to Gil. "See, I told you another player cleared this dungeon. There must be a glitch in the Player Listing."
The green-robed Wavemaster began to dash across the room, but tripped and fell. Gil's party went to aid him.
"You alright, kid?" asked Gil.
"I'm… okay."
"Geez, this dungeon was creeping me out. I'm sure glad we found you. It explains all the missing stuff." Diana smiled at him, leaning around to look him in the eye. "But I almost never see a Wavemaster working alone. You must be powerful! Are you?"
Those words. Something in Taragon's fragile mind called to him, but he chose to ignore it. This girl wasn't a pest at all. In fact, he rather liked her.
"Did you speak to Subaru for me?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah… she said… uhh… she said…"
There was no answer Taragon could produce. Had he seen Subaru recently?
"I'm sorry," he replied, finally. I guess… I forgot."