Disclaimer: Yeah, you guessed it. First chapter.
Okay, guys, here's chapter five! I'd just like to say I won't be able to get new chapters up very quickly because I am taking exams. Since this is a stressful time, please forgive me if my writing has errors. With that said, I hope you like it!
"Looking back, I have this to regret, that too often when I loved, I did not say so." - David Grayson
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Potential
By Moonlight'sSpell
************************************************************************
Chapter Five: Protector
Bear, Mimiru, and Tsukasa hurried to Helba's side. Bear looked down at the prone body of BT in shock. They had arrived to see Helba, in a cloud of dust, standing over her. But. . . BT's body had not turned that familiar shade of gray, so she wasn't dead. But as far as he knew, there was no way your Player Character could become unconscious. . . unless you yourself were. . .
"Helba!" Bear shouted. "What is the meaning of this?" He looked down at BT again. She lay sprawled on the ground, eyes closed, with no signs of life. He wondered what she was doing in the real world. Was she. . . could she have fallen into a coma? He pointed an accusing finger at Helba. "What have you done to her?"
Helba only smiled. "Why are you so angry? After all, it was you who gave me the information I needed to find her."
Bear flinched. "I had no idea you were planning anything like this! You owe us an explanation."
Helba sighed. "No. I owe her an explanation. But, sadly, I cannot give it to her yet. And so I will tell you instead. But you must promise not to say any of this to her."
Bear frowned. "Very well. None of us will reveal what is said here. Now start talking."
The white-clad hacker paused, as if gathering her thoughts, and began her tale. "A long time ago, when my name was not Helba but Anna, I had an older brother. . . he was six years older, but we were always very close. He was always energetic and a little childish, but he had one oddity in particular: he hated computers. He would not touch them if he could help it. Of course, in our time, computers are necessary, but Bentley never played computer games, never downloaded anything off the Internet. . . and I am quite sure he would have hated this game."
Helba paused again. "You're probably wondering what on earth this has to do with BT, but my brother had another oddity: his eyes. They were a brilliant green, a more intense color than any of us had ever seen. It was strange because no one in our family had green eyes; even my own eyes were not green but cloudy blue.
"Bentley was successful in avoiding computers for most of his life, until one day when he found himself faced with a problem he could not escape. In order to solve this problem, a computer expert was necessary. And so he sought out Harald Hoerwick, the creator of the most successful online game in history.
"Harald agreed to help my brother, but on one condition: Bentley had a debt to him that later would have to be repaid. Bentley agreed because he was willing to give up anything to accomplish his goal, and was so hasty in his decision that he did not fully understand what it meant.
"You see, what Harald asked of my brother was his eyes."
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Sora logged back into the game only to find Crim already there. He ran over to him. "Crim, do you know what happened to BT?"
Crim shook his head. "But there's no way I'm going back there. Did you see what Helba did?"
Sora just smiled, and his thoughts seemed far away. "You know," he said softly, "I had thought I would be the youngest one. BT's only seventeen. . . I never would have imagined it."
Crim didn't quite know what to make of the sudden change in topic, so he just decided to go along with it. "What, how old are you?"
"Eighteen," Sora whispered (A/N: He is in *this* fic, anyway). "How strange. . . seventeen. . . she seemed so much older than that."
Crim was still confused, but he had just realized something. "Well, I'm nineteen, so I beat you both! But why are we talking about this anyway?"
Sora abruptly stood up. "I'm going now. I have to save her. I know it seems ridiculous, but. . . I just have to." And he disappeared from sight.
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Helba paced back and forth as she spoke. "Have you ever heard the saying that eyes are windows to the soul? Well, Harald's eyes were green - the exact same green as my brother's. However, in all other respects they were completely different. And when he spoke with Harald, he would only say he needed someone with eyes of that specific color. . . and so my brother merely thought he was being asked to participate in some experiment. But the reality was something my brother could never accept.
"The reality," Helba sighed, "was that this experiment would not be completed in time for my brother to take part in it. And so, he was not volunteering himself, he was giving permission for another - another person with those same eyes."
Bear frowned. "But how could he have the right to promise Harald someone else's eyes?"
"He had the right because - " Helba stopped abruptly. "Ah, here he comes! I require you to leave now."
"But," Mimiru sputtered, "you haven't answered - "
"And I will not answer now," replied Helba, "but I will tell you this: my brother's last name was Telfair."
"That means nothing to me," said Bear.
"Me neither," Mimiru said. Tsukasa merely shook his head.
"Then you have not given the matter enough thought," said Helba. "Now GO." And in the blink of an eye, they were transported out of the dungeon and back to the root town, leaving Helba alone to greet the approaching Sora.
"Well, you certainly took your time," Helba said calmly as Sora came running over.
Sora was startled. "What? How did you know I would be coming?"
A smile tugged at the corners of Helba's mouth. "Let's just say I have good instincts. But now I have a favor to ask of you. It concerns," she looked back to where BT lay, "your friend."
"You're not making any sense!" sputtered Sora. "You did this, didn't you?"
"It was not completely my doing. I had not thought Morganna would dare to interfere, but unfortunately I was mistaken. It is because of her that the girl does not awaken."
"But what can I do about that?" Sora asked in exasperation. He had imagined having to fight Helba, not chatting with her!
"You can wait," Helba responded. "She will eventually wake up, but I have neither the time nor the patience to guard her until then. You, on the other hand, since you were obviously hoping to rescue her, should have no problem making sure monsters don't attack her. For if she is killed or her helmet is taken off while she is like this, it could have disastrous results." She raised her staff. "I think that's about all you need to know. Now, I've stayed here long enough, and I really must be going." And she disappeared before Sora could say a word.
He groaned. "Great. Just great. So now I'm just supposed to sit here until she gets up? That could take hours! Sheesh, it's not like *I* should be the one to save BT from whatever Helba was going on about. I really don't owe her anything."
That was all very well in theory, but then Sora looked back at BT. She seemed so helpless, just lying there like a broken doll. . . He sighed. "Yep, I'm going to do it. Why do I get myself into these things?"
And so he sat down next to her and waited. But it was different than he had imagined. He lost track of time completely, not knowing if minutes had passed or hours. And, somehow, it wasn't boring at all. He found himself just staring at her, and realized he had never noticed the way her golden hair fell around her shoulders, or how, even in sleep, sadness lingered in her face. And then, he suddenly noticed something. He could not name it, but it was somewhere within himself. . . a feeling, perhaps? It was certainly odd, and seemed to grow with every second that he sat there.
*It's probably just that I feel weird sitting here like this,* he thought. *It'll go away as soon as she wakes up. Then things can go back to the way they were before.*
Just then, BT stirred, slowly opening her eyes. She groaned and put a hand to her forehead. "Ow! I feel like I got hit by a bus." She tried to get up, and noticed him sitting there. "Sora? Why are you here? What's going on?"
He was suddenly unable to speak, for, instead of disappearing with BT's awakening, the feeling only grew stronger. What was it? "Uh. . . Helba said something. . . about making sure you were okay. She had to go somewhere. She was kinda vague." *Brilliant, Sora,* he chastised himself. *That's got to be your most eloquent speech to date.*
BT looked as if she were going to snap at him, but something in his face must have stopped her, because her eyes softened. "Well, I guess I should be taking this up with Helba. It's not your fault, after all." She groaned again. "Oh, my head! This stinks."
"Maybe you should logout," Sora suggested. "Go lie down or something. Take a *real* nap." He even managed a grin with the last part.
"Yeah," BT said, but she was staring at him in a funny way. "I think I'll go do that." And she disappeared, leaving him alone with this weird feeling.
It had been a long day. He decided he'd get some sleep as well. He also decided. . . that it hadn't been so bad, looking after BT. Somehow, he just didn't want anything bad to happen to her. *Well, that's something I should be able to do, at least,* he thought. *I'll. . . protect her. Even if I can't do anything else.* And turned off his computer and went to get some well-deserved rest.
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Yay! That was fun to write. I will put in other characters more, I swear. I just love BT/Sora stuff! I hope you guys liked reading it, and I gave you a nice long chapter to try to make up for the delay. Just bear with me here!
MortalSora: Actually, I have no idea how old BT is, but in *my* fic, she's seventeen. Oh well.
Lady Death: See? Lots of explanations in this chapter! I just like some suspense, that's all. :)
death-resurrected: Yeah, I guess I am being a little rough on BT. . . but I would never kill her! She's way too cool to die.
RSMB: It's difficult (exams are the worst), but I get things done eventually.
Witticism: I completely agree; Sora is simply the coolest thing in all animedom. One day I shall marry him. :)
Taltos: I would be honored to be on your recommendation page! And, as you can see, I have included even more ages! I've gotten good at this now. :)
Thank you guys so much and please keep reviewing!
Okay, guys, here's chapter five! I'd just like to say I won't be able to get new chapters up very quickly because I am taking exams. Since this is a stressful time, please forgive me if my writing has errors. With that said, I hope you like it!
"Looking back, I have this to regret, that too often when I loved, I did not say so." - David Grayson
************************************************************************
Potential
By Moonlight'sSpell
************************************************************************
Chapter Five: Protector
Bear, Mimiru, and Tsukasa hurried to Helba's side. Bear looked down at the prone body of BT in shock. They had arrived to see Helba, in a cloud of dust, standing over her. But. . . BT's body had not turned that familiar shade of gray, so she wasn't dead. But as far as he knew, there was no way your Player Character could become unconscious. . . unless you yourself were. . .
"Helba!" Bear shouted. "What is the meaning of this?" He looked down at BT again. She lay sprawled on the ground, eyes closed, with no signs of life. He wondered what she was doing in the real world. Was she. . . could she have fallen into a coma? He pointed an accusing finger at Helba. "What have you done to her?"
Helba only smiled. "Why are you so angry? After all, it was you who gave me the information I needed to find her."
Bear flinched. "I had no idea you were planning anything like this! You owe us an explanation."
Helba sighed. "No. I owe her an explanation. But, sadly, I cannot give it to her yet. And so I will tell you instead. But you must promise not to say any of this to her."
Bear frowned. "Very well. None of us will reveal what is said here. Now start talking."
The white-clad hacker paused, as if gathering her thoughts, and began her tale. "A long time ago, when my name was not Helba but Anna, I had an older brother. . . he was six years older, but we were always very close. He was always energetic and a little childish, but he had one oddity in particular: he hated computers. He would not touch them if he could help it. Of course, in our time, computers are necessary, but Bentley never played computer games, never downloaded anything off the Internet. . . and I am quite sure he would have hated this game."
Helba paused again. "You're probably wondering what on earth this has to do with BT, but my brother had another oddity: his eyes. They were a brilliant green, a more intense color than any of us had ever seen. It was strange because no one in our family had green eyes; even my own eyes were not green but cloudy blue.
"Bentley was successful in avoiding computers for most of his life, until one day when he found himself faced with a problem he could not escape. In order to solve this problem, a computer expert was necessary. And so he sought out Harald Hoerwick, the creator of the most successful online game in history.
"Harald agreed to help my brother, but on one condition: Bentley had a debt to him that later would have to be repaid. Bentley agreed because he was willing to give up anything to accomplish his goal, and was so hasty in his decision that he did not fully understand what it meant.
"You see, what Harald asked of my brother was his eyes."
************************************************************************
Sora logged back into the game only to find Crim already there. He ran over to him. "Crim, do you know what happened to BT?"
Crim shook his head. "But there's no way I'm going back there. Did you see what Helba did?"
Sora just smiled, and his thoughts seemed far away. "You know," he said softly, "I had thought I would be the youngest one. BT's only seventeen. . . I never would have imagined it."
Crim didn't quite know what to make of the sudden change in topic, so he just decided to go along with it. "What, how old are you?"
"Eighteen," Sora whispered (A/N: He is in *this* fic, anyway). "How strange. . . seventeen. . . she seemed so much older than that."
Crim was still confused, but he had just realized something. "Well, I'm nineteen, so I beat you both! But why are we talking about this anyway?"
Sora abruptly stood up. "I'm going now. I have to save her. I know it seems ridiculous, but. . . I just have to." And he disappeared from sight.
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Helba paced back and forth as she spoke. "Have you ever heard the saying that eyes are windows to the soul? Well, Harald's eyes were green - the exact same green as my brother's. However, in all other respects they were completely different. And when he spoke with Harald, he would only say he needed someone with eyes of that specific color. . . and so my brother merely thought he was being asked to participate in some experiment. But the reality was something my brother could never accept.
"The reality," Helba sighed, "was that this experiment would not be completed in time for my brother to take part in it. And so, he was not volunteering himself, he was giving permission for another - another person with those same eyes."
Bear frowned. "But how could he have the right to promise Harald someone else's eyes?"
"He had the right because - " Helba stopped abruptly. "Ah, here he comes! I require you to leave now."
"But," Mimiru sputtered, "you haven't answered - "
"And I will not answer now," replied Helba, "but I will tell you this: my brother's last name was Telfair."
"That means nothing to me," said Bear.
"Me neither," Mimiru said. Tsukasa merely shook his head.
"Then you have not given the matter enough thought," said Helba. "Now GO." And in the blink of an eye, they were transported out of the dungeon and back to the root town, leaving Helba alone to greet the approaching Sora.
"Well, you certainly took your time," Helba said calmly as Sora came running over.
Sora was startled. "What? How did you know I would be coming?"
A smile tugged at the corners of Helba's mouth. "Let's just say I have good instincts. But now I have a favor to ask of you. It concerns," she looked back to where BT lay, "your friend."
"You're not making any sense!" sputtered Sora. "You did this, didn't you?"
"It was not completely my doing. I had not thought Morganna would dare to interfere, but unfortunately I was mistaken. It is because of her that the girl does not awaken."
"But what can I do about that?" Sora asked in exasperation. He had imagined having to fight Helba, not chatting with her!
"You can wait," Helba responded. "She will eventually wake up, but I have neither the time nor the patience to guard her until then. You, on the other hand, since you were obviously hoping to rescue her, should have no problem making sure monsters don't attack her. For if she is killed or her helmet is taken off while she is like this, it could have disastrous results." She raised her staff. "I think that's about all you need to know. Now, I've stayed here long enough, and I really must be going." And she disappeared before Sora could say a word.
He groaned. "Great. Just great. So now I'm just supposed to sit here until she gets up? That could take hours! Sheesh, it's not like *I* should be the one to save BT from whatever Helba was going on about. I really don't owe her anything."
That was all very well in theory, but then Sora looked back at BT. She seemed so helpless, just lying there like a broken doll. . . He sighed. "Yep, I'm going to do it. Why do I get myself into these things?"
And so he sat down next to her and waited. But it was different than he had imagined. He lost track of time completely, not knowing if minutes had passed or hours. And, somehow, it wasn't boring at all. He found himself just staring at her, and realized he had never noticed the way her golden hair fell around her shoulders, or how, even in sleep, sadness lingered in her face. And then, he suddenly noticed something. He could not name it, but it was somewhere within himself. . . a feeling, perhaps? It was certainly odd, and seemed to grow with every second that he sat there.
*It's probably just that I feel weird sitting here like this,* he thought. *It'll go away as soon as she wakes up. Then things can go back to the way they were before.*
Just then, BT stirred, slowly opening her eyes. She groaned and put a hand to her forehead. "Ow! I feel like I got hit by a bus." She tried to get up, and noticed him sitting there. "Sora? Why are you here? What's going on?"
He was suddenly unable to speak, for, instead of disappearing with BT's awakening, the feeling only grew stronger. What was it? "Uh. . . Helba said something. . . about making sure you were okay. She had to go somewhere. She was kinda vague." *Brilliant, Sora,* he chastised himself. *That's got to be your most eloquent speech to date.*
BT looked as if she were going to snap at him, but something in his face must have stopped her, because her eyes softened. "Well, I guess I should be taking this up with Helba. It's not your fault, after all." She groaned again. "Oh, my head! This stinks."
"Maybe you should logout," Sora suggested. "Go lie down or something. Take a *real* nap." He even managed a grin with the last part.
"Yeah," BT said, but she was staring at him in a funny way. "I think I'll go do that." And she disappeared, leaving him alone with this weird feeling.
It had been a long day. He decided he'd get some sleep as well. He also decided. . . that it hadn't been so bad, looking after BT. Somehow, he just didn't want anything bad to happen to her. *Well, that's something I should be able to do, at least,* he thought. *I'll. . . protect her. Even if I can't do anything else.* And turned off his computer and went to get some well-deserved rest.
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Yay! That was fun to write. I will put in other characters more, I swear. I just love BT/Sora stuff! I hope you guys liked reading it, and I gave you a nice long chapter to try to make up for the delay. Just bear with me here!
MortalSora: Actually, I have no idea how old BT is, but in *my* fic, she's seventeen. Oh well.
Lady Death: See? Lots of explanations in this chapter! I just like some suspense, that's all. :)
death-resurrected: Yeah, I guess I am being a little rough on BT. . . but I would never kill her! She's way too cool to die.
RSMB: It's difficult (exams are the worst), but I get things done eventually.
Witticism: I completely agree; Sora is simply the coolest thing in all animedom. One day I shall marry him. :)
Taltos: I would be honored to be on your recommendation page! And, as you can see, I have included even more ages! I've gotten good at this now. :)
Thank you guys so much and please keep reviewing!