Disclaimer: .Hack is the property of Ban Dai entertainment. I don't own
it, so don't think to sue me...
Oh yeah...I'm borrowing a character from .HackSign in this chapter also. So don't freak if you don't recognize this person...I didn't invent them either.
Remnants of a Shattered Heart Chapter 3: For Mia
"Hah!" The pink and fluffy Twin Blade echoed as she successfully dodged the Tetra Armor's violent blow that cracked the digital stone floor of the virtual dungeon. She wasn't exceptionally good at fighting; in fact her level had not gone up much since she started the game some several months ago. But her speed and agility as a Twin Blade class made her very adept at running away. That she was very good at.
Making her way to the wooden door at the end of the hallway, she exited the room and closed the heavy gate behind her as the mace fist of the Tetra Armor tore away chunks of the computer-generated door. "You can't come in!" She screamed before abandoning her attempt to hold the door closed against the much larger monster and running for the stairs that would lead to the level below.
Arriving on the next level, she cast a Fairy Orb and realized this was the last level of the dungeon. Having some time to spare, as there weren't any monsters in the entrance, she took a few moments to plot her course and heal her dismal hit points back to full health. She was really quite peeved, as two of her classmates were supposed to come along with her on this adventure, but decided to bail at the last minute. Regardless, she just had to make a mental note to kick the both of them when she got to school tomorrow.
Staring at the visual map in her viewer settings, the Twin Blade made her way into the next several rooms, hugging the wall and successfully avoided tripping any of the magic portals. She had become quite good at sneaking as well. She often wondered, at times like this, what the fun of the game was anyway. Why did people play so much, other than to waste their time? Of course, she couldn't even figure out why she played, or why she hadn't stopped as of yet, only that she knew there must be something fun about this game for everyone to waste all that time. So that was her answer then, she kept playing to find out what reason she had to keep playing.
Turning the corner, she came to the last room, the room holding the large treasure chest and the ominous statue that towered over it. She had heard there were Golden Grunties in this dungeon, but hadn't found any yet. Gathering quite a collection of the rare statues, the Twin Blade often wondered what their use was...other than being really ugly. She stopped, however, just short of opening the chest, as she heard the muffled sobs of someone coming from behind the large urn. Curiosity getting the better of her, she walked around the man-sized vase to peer at the player hiding behind it.
He, at least she thought the gray and blue lump huddled in the corner was a he, appeared to be a Wavemaster. His knees were folded against his chest and his face was buried in his arms as his whole body shook from the sobs that rang out of his body. He hadn't even noticed she was standing there, and didn't seem to care even if he did know.
"Hi," the fluffy Twin Blade said as the Wavemaster's head rose suddenly to look at the pink striped person standing before him, his eyes red and swollen from the tears. 'Yep,' The Twin Blade thought, 'It was a guy.' "So, what's wrong?" She asked, propping her hands against his shoulders and leaning heavily on him, craning her head at all angles to look over the weeping Wavemaster. "Are you hurt? Have you been injured? Did your friends abandon you too? When that happens you just have to kick them you know...that's what I'm going to do tomorrow when I see them." She said, standing up and thrusting her leg at the open air as if to emphasize her point. "Are you lost? Ticked off? Want to be alone? Want to be with people? What's wrong?"
He stared at the Twin Blade, seemingly lost in her conversation as the whole interrogation took less than a few seconds. He wasn't really sure what to say, or even if he had the energy or desire to talk to her. Taking his silence as cue to keep talking, the interrogator plopped herself on the floor opposite him and seemed to tilt her head from one side to the other to get a good look at him. He looked familiar, but she couldn't place from where. Nevertheless, she continued to talk to the silent Wavemaster.
"Oh, I haven't told you my name have I? I'm A-20. The twentieth person in my class to join the world so all the other names were taken. Stupid A-6 and A-14 were supposed to join me here but they chickened out. I'm going to kick them tomorrow...a good hard kick." A-20 said, looking at him as she rocked back and forth on the stone floor. "Well, I've told you my problem...so it's your turn, what's wrong?"
The Wavemaster just stared at the babbling Twin Blade, not really willing to tell her his problems, why he felt so empty inside. He wanted to be alone, but he was always alone, and that condition never gave him any comfort. It was just how he spent his life, alone and unloved.
"Well...maybe you're not feeling well. You sick?" She asked, leaning a little closer to look at him again. "So, what's your name?"
"Uh...Elk." The Wavemaster said, fixing his eyes to the ground.
"Hmm...I thought you looked familiar Elk but I don't remember your name. Not even sure if I know who you remind me of...maybe I saw you in a root town or saw who you remind me of in a root town and thought you were the other person." A-20 counted off, trying to figure who it was he reminded her of. Finally giving up, she looked back at Elk.
"I'm not surprised...no one knows me." He said miserably, his voice quivering as a new wave of despair threatened to drown him again. Only Mia truly knew him, but she was gone.
"Well that's not true, I know you...at least now that you introduced yourself. So next time I see you...or maybe that guy who reminds me of you, I can think...hey, there's Elk, instead of saying, 'hey, there's that guy.' See how introductions are useful?" She said, smiling at Elk. "No one would know who anyone was if they didn't introduce themselves. So...are you sick then? Why were you crying?"
Elk paused a moment and breathed heavily as he remembered his betrayal of Kite, the betrayal Morganna did to him, and the horrible cycle of pain that swelled within him since Mia's apparent deletion. It was more than he could sustain. "I...I did something terrible, and made a horrible mistake. And I don't know what to do."
"Well that's easy." A-20 chimed, no longer rocking back and forth but having stood up she took to bouncing up and down. Whether she did this because she was bored or because she saw other Twin Blades do this she wasn't even sure, but it was somewhat enjoyable. "My teacher tells us that nothing is really a mistake as long as you do something to make it better. So if you made a mistake, just do something to fix it, then it's not a mistake anymore."
Elk stared at the babbling A-20. She reminded him of Natsume in some way, but wasn't sure how that was relevant now. He didn't see how just doing one thing could undo all the damage he'd already done. "I...I don't think I can. I've messed up really badly."
"Well...what did you do that was so bad?" A-20 asked, leaning down to look closer at the suffering Wavemaster. When he closed his eyes and shook his head, she realized he didn't want to tell her and took this as another opportunity to further explain. "Well, did you mean for it to happen?"
"I'm not sure..." Elk said, looking once more at the ground and refusing to focus on the bouncing Twin Blade. "When I did it, I suppose I meant something to happen, but everything went really wrong and I wasn't expecting that."
"Well, if you did something that came out the way you didn't intend, then that's a mistake too isn't it?" A-20 said again. "So, just find out what you can do to fix it so you don't have to see it as a mistake any more. Everyone's allowed to make mistakes, but to leave them like that isn't good either. At least that's what my teacher says. I'm tempted to challenge that logic some times."
"That sounds...awfully simple." Elk said, looking at A-20 as he digested the words she told him. "Is it really that easy?"
"It has to be easier than doing nothing." A-20 piped in. "Your not helping the mistake if you don't do anything to fix it are you?"
"But..."
"If you're just going to sit there, then you'll just keep feeling bad won't you? Why not do something to make everything better?" A-20 said, bouncing up and down once more before looking suddenly to her right, a frightened look painting her face. "Uh oh, I forgot about my school assignment and mom found out. I gotta go. Next time I'll give you my Member address so we can talk more. Bye bye." And before Elk could say anything to the rather hyper Twin Blade, she gated out of the field.
Taking a deep breath, Elk stared around the dungeon. It took him a moment of silent contemplation to realize that A-20 was right. He had messed things up badly, but not doing anything to fix them would make them worse. Morganna lied to him, betrayed him just as he betrayed his friends. He knew he couldn't ask for their forgiveness, not until he helped stop the Wave that was coming...that was his only penance. He would do it, for Mia.
Elk gated himself out of the dungeon and field, returning instantly to Net Slum. Frightfully turning his head from side to side, Elk made sure no one was around before lunging toward the Recorder's shop and hiding behind the nicely stacked grouping of barrels. He found it strange that there were no players present in the makeshift root town; even the NPCs were missing from their shops.
But Elk had no time to contemplate the missing players as Lios, Helba and Wiseman all gated into the field, followed closely by Balmung. Elk wanted desperately to walk up to them, to beg forgiveness for his betrayal, but now wasn't the time. Considering what he had done, they may very well gate him from the field thinking he might again betray them. He'd rather stay hidden, until he knew he saw his chance to do something.
However, as Elk thought about his own uncertain course, he did not notice that Helba was not among the party members, until her voice came from behind the hiding Wavemaster.
"Lose something Elk." Came Helba's silky words, as the young player turned to face the mysterious hacker.
"Uh...no...I just..." Elk stumbled with his words, but a gentle, reassuring smile from the often-distant Helba eased any of his fears.
"You needn't worry Elk, I won't tell them you are here." She replied, looking where the others had assembled by the Chaos Gate. "I had to do a last minute system check to determine that my server was running at optimum efficiency before we confronted the Wave, that's when I saw you. In truth, I'm glad that you had come...I was worried for a moment that we had lost you."
"Y...you were worried...about me?" Elk said, unwilling to believe that anyone cared for him...worried about him. It seemed too much to hope for.
"Not myself so much as all of your other companions. Particularly Kite and BlackRose have been most concerned." Helba said, returning her gaze to Elk, an unreadable expression akin to amusement playing across her face. "In truth, your betrayal has made things most interesting. All my virus would have done would be to slow the Wave down, and allow us a bit more time. Indeed, events have become most interesting. But speaking of Kite and BlackRose, they are late." Another smile tugged at the corner of the hacker's lips, a knowing tone in her voice. "I suppose they are...preparing for the final battle in their own way. Ah...here they are now." Helba said, addressing the entrance of the two final members they waited for.
"Elk, I will be locking this field down once the Wave arrives. If you wish to leave, now is the time."
"N...no. I have to do something...I've done so much already that I have to fix it. So I'll stay."
"As you wish. This will not be easy, especially without Kite's bracelet, but all we can do is try." Helba responded, floating back to the party. Elk watched silently from the corner, wondering what was to come or even if he would be any help. But the war was coming to an end, and he had to do what he could to help. "For Mia."
# # #
Authors note: I know I ended this a bit suddenly. The last chapter will be coming as soon as I get some time. Thanks to everyone for their great support and comments.
Oh yeah...I'm borrowing a character from .HackSign in this chapter also. So don't freak if you don't recognize this person...I didn't invent them either.
Remnants of a Shattered Heart Chapter 3: For Mia
"Hah!" The pink and fluffy Twin Blade echoed as she successfully dodged the Tetra Armor's violent blow that cracked the digital stone floor of the virtual dungeon. She wasn't exceptionally good at fighting; in fact her level had not gone up much since she started the game some several months ago. But her speed and agility as a Twin Blade class made her very adept at running away. That she was very good at.
Making her way to the wooden door at the end of the hallway, she exited the room and closed the heavy gate behind her as the mace fist of the Tetra Armor tore away chunks of the computer-generated door. "You can't come in!" She screamed before abandoning her attempt to hold the door closed against the much larger monster and running for the stairs that would lead to the level below.
Arriving on the next level, she cast a Fairy Orb and realized this was the last level of the dungeon. Having some time to spare, as there weren't any monsters in the entrance, she took a few moments to plot her course and heal her dismal hit points back to full health. She was really quite peeved, as two of her classmates were supposed to come along with her on this adventure, but decided to bail at the last minute. Regardless, she just had to make a mental note to kick the both of them when she got to school tomorrow.
Staring at the visual map in her viewer settings, the Twin Blade made her way into the next several rooms, hugging the wall and successfully avoided tripping any of the magic portals. She had become quite good at sneaking as well. She often wondered, at times like this, what the fun of the game was anyway. Why did people play so much, other than to waste their time? Of course, she couldn't even figure out why she played, or why she hadn't stopped as of yet, only that she knew there must be something fun about this game for everyone to waste all that time. So that was her answer then, she kept playing to find out what reason she had to keep playing.
Turning the corner, she came to the last room, the room holding the large treasure chest and the ominous statue that towered over it. She had heard there were Golden Grunties in this dungeon, but hadn't found any yet. Gathering quite a collection of the rare statues, the Twin Blade often wondered what their use was...other than being really ugly. She stopped, however, just short of opening the chest, as she heard the muffled sobs of someone coming from behind the large urn. Curiosity getting the better of her, she walked around the man-sized vase to peer at the player hiding behind it.
He, at least she thought the gray and blue lump huddled in the corner was a he, appeared to be a Wavemaster. His knees were folded against his chest and his face was buried in his arms as his whole body shook from the sobs that rang out of his body. He hadn't even noticed she was standing there, and didn't seem to care even if he did know.
"Hi," the fluffy Twin Blade said as the Wavemaster's head rose suddenly to look at the pink striped person standing before him, his eyes red and swollen from the tears. 'Yep,' The Twin Blade thought, 'It was a guy.' "So, what's wrong?" She asked, propping her hands against his shoulders and leaning heavily on him, craning her head at all angles to look over the weeping Wavemaster. "Are you hurt? Have you been injured? Did your friends abandon you too? When that happens you just have to kick them you know...that's what I'm going to do tomorrow when I see them." She said, standing up and thrusting her leg at the open air as if to emphasize her point. "Are you lost? Ticked off? Want to be alone? Want to be with people? What's wrong?"
He stared at the Twin Blade, seemingly lost in her conversation as the whole interrogation took less than a few seconds. He wasn't really sure what to say, or even if he had the energy or desire to talk to her. Taking his silence as cue to keep talking, the interrogator plopped herself on the floor opposite him and seemed to tilt her head from one side to the other to get a good look at him. He looked familiar, but she couldn't place from where. Nevertheless, she continued to talk to the silent Wavemaster.
"Oh, I haven't told you my name have I? I'm A-20. The twentieth person in my class to join the world so all the other names were taken. Stupid A-6 and A-14 were supposed to join me here but they chickened out. I'm going to kick them tomorrow...a good hard kick." A-20 said, looking at him as she rocked back and forth on the stone floor. "Well, I've told you my problem...so it's your turn, what's wrong?"
The Wavemaster just stared at the babbling Twin Blade, not really willing to tell her his problems, why he felt so empty inside. He wanted to be alone, but he was always alone, and that condition never gave him any comfort. It was just how he spent his life, alone and unloved.
"Well...maybe you're not feeling well. You sick?" She asked, leaning a little closer to look at him again. "So, what's your name?"
"Uh...Elk." The Wavemaster said, fixing his eyes to the ground.
"Hmm...I thought you looked familiar Elk but I don't remember your name. Not even sure if I know who you remind me of...maybe I saw you in a root town or saw who you remind me of in a root town and thought you were the other person." A-20 counted off, trying to figure who it was he reminded her of. Finally giving up, she looked back at Elk.
"I'm not surprised...no one knows me." He said miserably, his voice quivering as a new wave of despair threatened to drown him again. Only Mia truly knew him, but she was gone.
"Well that's not true, I know you...at least now that you introduced yourself. So next time I see you...or maybe that guy who reminds me of you, I can think...hey, there's Elk, instead of saying, 'hey, there's that guy.' See how introductions are useful?" She said, smiling at Elk. "No one would know who anyone was if they didn't introduce themselves. So...are you sick then? Why were you crying?"
Elk paused a moment and breathed heavily as he remembered his betrayal of Kite, the betrayal Morganna did to him, and the horrible cycle of pain that swelled within him since Mia's apparent deletion. It was more than he could sustain. "I...I did something terrible, and made a horrible mistake. And I don't know what to do."
"Well that's easy." A-20 chimed, no longer rocking back and forth but having stood up she took to bouncing up and down. Whether she did this because she was bored or because she saw other Twin Blades do this she wasn't even sure, but it was somewhat enjoyable. "My teacher tells us that nothing is really a mistake as long as you do something to make it better. So if you made a mistake, just do something to fix it, then it's not a mistake anymore."
Elk stared at the babbling A-20. She reminded him of Natsume in some way, but wasn't sure how that was relevant now. He didn't see how just doing one thing could undo all the damage he'd already done. "I...I don't think I can. I've messed up really badly."
"Well...what did you do that was so bad?" A-20 asked, leaning down to look closer at the suffering Wavemaster. When he closed his eyes and shook his head, she realized he didn't want to tell her and took this as another opportunity to further explain. "Well, did you mean for it to happen?"
"I'm not sure..." Elk said, looking once more at the ground and refusing to focus on the bouncing Twin Blade. "When I did it, I suppose I meant something to happen, but everything went really wrong and I wasn't expecting that."
"Well, if you did something that came out the way you didn't intend, then that's a mistake too isn't it?" A-20 said again. "So, just find out what you can do to fix it so you don't have to see it as a mistake any more. Everyone's allowed to make mistakes, but to leave them like that isn't good either. At least that's what my teacher says. I'm tempted to challenge that logic some times."
"That sounds...awfully simple." Elk said, looking at A-20 as he digested the words she told him. "Is it really that easy?"
"It has to be easier than doing nothing." A-20 piped in. "Your not helping the mistake if you don't do anything to fix it are you?"
"But..."
"If you're just going to sit there, then you'll just keep feeling bad won't you? Why not do something to make everything better?" A-20 said, bouncing up and down once more before looking suddenly to her right, a frightened look painting her face. "Uh oh, I forgot about my school assignment and mom found out. I gotta go. Next time I'll give you my Member address so we can talk more. Bye bye." And before Elk could say anything to the rather hyper Twin Blade, she gated out of the field.
Taking a deep breath, Elk stared around the dungeon. It took him a moment of silent contemplation to realize that A-20 was right. He had messed things up badly, but not doing anything to fix them would make them worse. Morganna lied to him, betrayed him just as he betrayed his friends. He knew he couldn't ask for their forgiveness, not until he helped stop the Wave that was coming...that was his only penance. He would do it, for Mia.
Elk gated himself out of the dungeon and field, returning instantly to Net Slum. Frightfully turning his head from side to side, Elk made sure no one was around before lunging toward the Recorder's shop and hiding behind the nicely stacked grouping of barrels. He found it strange that there were no players present in the makeshift root town; even the NPCs were missing from their shops.
But Elk had no time to contemplate the missing players as Lios, Helba and Wiseman all gated into the field, followed closely by Balmung. Elk wanted desperately to walk up to them, to beg forgiveness for his betrayal, but now wasn't the time. Considering what he had done, they may very well gate him from the field thinking he might again betray them. He'd rather stay hidden, until he knew he saw his chance to do something.
However, as Elk thought about his own uncertain course, he did not notice that Helba was not among the party members, until her voice came from behind the hiding Wavemaster.
"Lose something Elk." Came Helba's silky words, as the young player turned to face the mysterious hacker.
"Uh...no...I just..." Elk stumbled with his words, but a gentle, reassuring smile from the often-distant Helba eased any of his fears.
"You needn't worry Elk, I won't tell them you are here." She replied, looking where the others had assembled by the Chaos Gate. "I had to do a last minute system check to determine that my server was running at optimum efficiency before we confronted the Wave, that's when I saw you. In truth, I'm glad that you had come...I was worried for a moment that we had lost you."
"Y...you were worried...about me?" Elk said, unwilling to believe that anyone cared for him...worried about him. It seemed too much to hope for.
"Not myself so much as all of your other companions. Particularly Kite and BlackRose have been most concerned." Helba said, returning her gaze to Elk, an unreadable expression akin to amusement playing across her face. "In truth, your betrayal has made things most interesting. All my virus would have done would be to slow the Wave down, and allow us a bit more time. Indeed, events have become most interesting. But speaking of Kite and BlackRose, they are late." Another smile tugged at the corner of the hacker's lips, a knowing tone in her voice. "I suppose they are...preparing for the final battle in their own way. Ah...here they are now." Helba said, addressing the entrance of the two final members they waited for.
"Elk, I will be locking this field down once the Wave arrives. If you wish to leave, now is the time."
"N...no. I have to do something...I've done so much already that I have to fix it. So I'll stay."
"As you wish. This will not be easy, especially without Kite's bracelet, but all we can do is try." Helba responded, floating back to the party. Elk watched silently from the corner, wondering what was to come or even if he would be any help. But the war was coming to an end, and he had to do what he could to help. "For Mia."
# # #
Authors note: I know I ended this a bit suddenly. The last chapter will be coming as soon as I get some time. Thanks to everyone for their great support and comments.