II. REBIRTH OF…
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S Pulsating Truth's Worst Core. What a strange place. Kite walked through a large doorway-like area into…Hey! This is…Net Slum! As he walked through the large numbers of failed, pitiful character data, he also kept an eye out for Helba. After all, I had promised.
"Kite? It's really you!"
Turning around, Kite's hopes were crushed when it wasn't Helba.
"Oh, it's you…Tartarus…Hey, you don't happen to have seen Helba here lately, have you?"
"Yes, she has been coming here often asking of you, but she just left. Now, there are only those two here." Tartarus pointed to two characters talking to each other; a wavemaster with a pretty girl.
"Oh ho! So there you are, Elk! And you're girlfriend's pretty cute!" Kite exclaimed before he could stop himself.
The girl, who was of the heavy axeman class, looked up. She had startling cold eyes for someone of her beauty. Immediately, Kite felt he had been mistaken. Ewww…who would like her? She looks so…scary!
"Tsukasa, is he the one?" she asked without any emotion at all.
"Y-yes, S-Subaru…" So it wasn't Elk, it was Tsukasa! How could he have gotten the two mixed up again?
"Tsukasa! Good to see you! So, how are you doing anyway?" Kite asked in concern.
"Okay," Tsukasa managed, not taking his eyes off of the girl known as Subaru.
"Hey, are you Kite? You're pretty good-looking!" Subaru immediately brightened up at seeing Kite approaching her. She got closer to Kite.
"Don't lie, Tsukasa. You aren't okay…not from what I've heard." I completely ignored Subaru.
"Who told you that?" Tsukasa asked defiantly.
"Kite… do you think I'm pretty?" Subaru asked.
"Sora told me. He said you had problems at home." I knew perfectly well that she was trying to flirt with me. Little licentious brat.
"Sora's such a…little kid. Don't mind him."
"But really, Tsukasa…that note…it was written in blood…"
"That was just red ink!" Kite noticed that Tsukasa was purposely avoiding his gaze.
"Ughh…why is everyone ignoring me?!?" Subaru was so angry she gated out of the area.
"Wait! Subaru!" Tsukasa called after her.
"Finally!" Kite grinned at Tsukasa. "I think your girlfriend likes me."
A light pink tinged Tsukasa's cheeks. "Girlfriend? What are you talking about?" Then he looked down. "S-Subaru hasn't really been herself lately."
"What do you mean?"
"She used to be a kind person, really. Two years ago, she graduated from high school. I was sad, but Mimiru always kept us two in touch, and I could always speak to her over the net. Then, a year ago, Mimiru also graduated and moved to go to college. She just came back for summer break when this happened. Skeith…"
"I'm going to high school next year."
"Wait, you're not even in high school yet? You're pretty young! Almost as young as Sora!"
"I'm assuming then that you're old?"
"That's not important. Anyway, this place…Net Slum, is the only place in the game where we can talk without being overheard."
"What do I have to prevent the rebirth of? Sora never finished his sentence."
"Morganna Mode Gone."
"Morganna…"
"And there have been rumors of another being…the AI… I don't really know much about any of them. Sorry I'm not much help, but you are the one with the bracelet."
How does he know? Oh yeah…Helba…
"Kite?" Tsukasa asked shyly. "Will you help me save Mimiru? Please?"
"Sure. That was all you wanted to ask me?"
"Yes. Thank you."
"Hey, Tsukasa? What's your real name?"
"My real name…Uggabugga."
"What?"
"Just kidding. If you want to know my real name, it's…gasp"
"What is it?"
"Behind…"
And as I slowly turned around, I felt my heart clench up and any happiness I had dried up. Behind me was…Skeith…
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"Oh, Kite…WHERE ARE YOU!?"
"BlackRose, don't work yourself up into a fit." Balmung was afraid. Not of Cubia or the Eight Phases; they were dead. He was afraid of BlackRose's temper.
"Why not? He's been gone for an ENTIRE WEEK!!! What if he's fallen into a … oh no!"
"BlackRose, please…will you stop worrying for more than one second? Kite's tough, remember? Cubia, data bugs, the Eight Phases…He won't be defeated so easily."
"Kite!" Please be okay…
"Skeith!!" I didn't expect to see him so soon…
"Skeith…Where's Mimiru?"
"Please, Tsukasa, calm down!"
Tsukasa, Listen to your friend. There's nothing you can do. After all, remember you brought this upon yourself.
"Hey, Tsukasa! Who's that woman talking? I don't recognize her voice."
"No…not you! I- I'll destroy you!"
Please, Tsukasa…Remember that I was your friend. I gave you a chance, and when you chose to disobey, that's when I set this creature off. It's your fault more than anyone else. However…Kite, you are a different matter. Join me. As long as you walk with me, I will protect you.
"Don't listen, Kite!"
"Who is she? She'll…protect me?"
Yes, I'll always protect you. Just go wherever you please, and I shall be by your side.
"It sounds like a good deal." Maybe this woman can get rid of Skeith for us.
"Quick! Cast her off before she becomes more powerful. Her words are already getting stronger."
Do not listen to his words, Kite. He is a dirty traitor. He had ripped me of my power before. Come, Kite.
"Can you get this monster that you set off to go away again? Do you have the power to do that?" Kite was very curious to know this new being's powers.
That depends on the strength of your character. If you really wish for it to disappear…
"Hey, did you hear that, Tsukasa?"
"……"
"…Tsukasa?"
I must…have you as well…Tsukasa…Become a part of me!
"Who's that voice? No, it's not a voice…it feels like a thought being transmitted into my head. It's…SKEITH! (Geez, that's his voice?) Let go of Tsukasa!"
Tsukasa was no longer conscious. Skeith had knocked him down and was getting ready to perform Data Drain.
I must have them all…all four females who took part in my birth…
Hurry up, Skeith…You must destroy them quick…Then I can deal with Kite…
Morganna…Do not interfere…or I will get you too…
W-What? Do not disobey me, Skeith!!!
I must…have them all……………………………Only you…Tsukasa…left…
Noooooooooooo!!!!!!
Then, all was quiet. Skeith disappeared into a large multi-colored hole, leaving Tsukasa behind. Many colored light beams started shooting around everywhere. One hit Kite through his chest.
"Wait! Skeith! Mysterious girl! Don't leave yet!" Kite needed to know. He needed to know who they were.
"Who are you? Who are you? I need to know." Then Kite lost consciousness as well.
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Kite got ready to fight. This was going to be easy. It was the last Data Bug in "The World". Then, this MMORPG would no longer be corrupted. This was it.
His party members were Tsukasa and Subaru.
"Tsukasa! Magic! Subaru, First Aid!"
"All right, Kite," said Tsukasa. ("Hey, that rhymes!") "You're the boss," Subaru chanted cheerily.
"This is the last one, and then there'll be no more!" Kite was ready to fight. The magic portal opened. The Data Bug was a Mushroom King.
"What? This is a low-level dungeon monster. Oh, well…" Kite thought to himself. He watched to make sure Tsukasa cast the right element-type spells, and then got into action himself. As he was hitting…
"Hey, Kite! Watch out!" He heard Tsukasa's warning one nano-second too late. Oops. He died. As he woke up as a ghost, he began pleading with Subaru, having a pretend fight.
"Hey, Subaru, don't just stand there, revive me!"
"Sorry, no more Resurrects… Who told you to be careless?"
"Please? Pretty please with a cherry on top?"
"Well… I have the Rip Maen spell…"
"Oh, Subaru, if you heal me, I'll buy you five Artisan's Souls!"
Subaru giggled. "All right, all right, Rip M– !"
"AAAARRGHH!!!!" A scream came from Tsukasa.
"What's wrong, Tsukasa?" Subaru was distracted from resurrecting Kite. "Oh, my gosh! Stop!" The fungus mushroom Data Bug was stomping on Tsukasa on both feet.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Kite was baffled and scared. "Tsukasa, you're HP is down to 0! How come you haven't become a ghost yet?"
"Oh, no! The Mushroom King won't stop! Stop! Please! He's already dead! Why is he still alive? Let him die, so I can heal him! Rip Maen! Rip Maen! Rip Maen!!!"
Finally, as if the Mushroom King heard her, he stopped. Tsukasa lay there, his character flickering and almost ceasing to exist. Then, the Data Bug advanced to Subaru.
"N-No! Don't hurt me! Save me! Kite! Tsukasa! I can't do this!" Like the coward she was, she ran and disappeared from the room. Kite assumed that she turned off her computer. The Data Bug resumed to torturing Tsukasa.
stomp crunch stomp STOMP CRUNCH Bones cracking. Hearing the yells of pain, Kite couldn't help cursing.
"Subaru! Stupid idiot! Cowardly abandoner! Come back! Come back and heal me!"
"Aaah!"
"No, Tsukasa! Tsukasa! Noooooo!"
"Kite!"
"Tsukasa!"
"Kite!"
"Tsukasa!"
"KITE!!! WAKE UP!!!!"
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Kite woke up with a startling jolt. Where was he? He was… in front of the computer terminal. On his screen was "The World." Had he fallen asleep while playing? His headphones came off when he fell unconscious and were lying on the ground. He checked the time. He had been playing/sleeping for 3 hours. His parents weren't home yet. Good thing. He put the headphones back on. He resumed the game.
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"Kite! Oh my gosh, you finally woke up!" BlackRose and Balmung were staring at him in concern. Maybe it was just his imagination, but to Kite, Balmung seemed a little uneasy.
"Where am I?" He could barely sit up and looked around sleepily. So Tsukasa's all right…
"Kite! You've got a lot of explaining to do!" BlackRose seemed truly mad. "What were you doing sleeping next to that- that wavemaster at Net Slum? Oh, thought you could get away with it, did you? And you- you were shouting his name in you dreams! What are you two doing that you can't tell me?" BlackRose was close to tears.
"Whoa, you make it sound like we're in love or something. There's nothing to worry about! I'm not gay or anything…"
"Oh, but there is something to worry about! Don't you know? In the real world, Tsukasa- he…he's not a boy!"
"Yeah, he's like a big man, or something…he's in high school or college…"
"No, that's not – "
"Don't worry, all we were doing was…all we were doing was…Wait!" As he cleared his mind, he remembered. "Where's Tsukasa? Oh, my gosh! Is he all right?"
"He's on the other bed," Balmung spoke for the first time. "We rented two beds from the Grunty Shopkeeper. Kite, you know how dangerous it is to be speaking with a character like… Well, you do know that Tsukasa has a criminal record, don't you?"
"Oh, yeah! I forgot to ask him about that!" Kite rushed over to Tsukasa's bed. He was breathing deeply and sweating a lot. "Tsukasa, are you all right? BlackRose…was I like this a few moments ago?"
"No, you were screaming and having dreams. But you weren't really panting or sweating. You were really still, like you had left your terminal."
"Kite…well, in truth…Tsukasa was good friends with Subaru." Balmung's face grew pink as he spoke.
"Subaru? That cowardly abandoner?"
"What do you mean? Subaru was one of the courageous women who helped the awakening of Aura! If I remember correctly…it was after Subaru, Mimiru, Tsukasa, and Aura left Morganna's lair that Helba claimed she found the unusual stream of data which was Skeith." Balmung seemed determined to back up Subaru.
Subaru? Mimiru? Tsukasa? Aura?
* I must have them all…all four females who took part in my birth…*
"That's it! The four females! But wait! Tsukasa? He's not…"
"That's what I've been trying to tell you, Kite!" BlackRose interrupted. "Tsukasa's a girl!"
Finally, amid all the loud conversation, Tsukasa woke up from his restless sleep.
Where am I? I can hear Kite's voice.
"What? He's a girl? I-It can't be," Kite denied it. He refused to believe it. Well, actually, it's most likely the truth…remember what Sora said…
Looking down at Tsukasa, Kite was surprised to see that he was awake.
"Oh! Um…sorry if we were talking about you…" Kite could feel heat rising up to his cheeks. If he really was a girl…
"Where am I? I need to get out. She has been reborn!" Tsukasa made a large effort to stand up, but fell down immediately. His ankle was sprained.
"Sorry, but you'll be down for quite a while," BlackRose seemed to take joy in putting Tsukasa down. "So you might as well explain what you're up to."
"What's wrong, Tsukasa? Was that woman…Morganna?" Kite asked gently.
"M-Morganna! Not her!"
"Balmung, you know her?"
"Yes, she was the one Orca had spoken about. Morganna Mode Gone…"
"Tsukasa, what did Morganna want? Did you do something to anger her?" asked BlackRose.
"I …oh, no…this can't be happening! Not again!" Tsukasa groaned.
"What is it?" Kite asked, confused.
"I can't log out."