.Hack//Relapse
A .Hack fanfiction by Renfro Calhoun
Disclaimer: Project .Hack in no way belongs to me. Ditto for attached concepts, characters, and... some third thing, I guess. I dunno, things in threes tend to sound better for some reason.
Notes: Takes place during Outbreak. (Thoughts), [text or writing]. Nothing in particular to note this time, but some of you more attentive fans may find a familiar face in there. Some of the minor characters in this game deserve a nod once in a while, if nothing else because how odd it is to find an imposing, axe-wielding armored tough guy going on about his cats. That's just funny no matter how you look at it :)
Chapter 20 - Relic
------------------
A soft humming accompanied golden teleport rings as they slid over a trio of adventurers, bringing them into contact with their surroundings: a barren wasteland of snow and ice, dotted by towering boulders and clumps of rock. Boots of steel and leather crunched into the snow, the only audio to compliment an otherwise deathly silent field. As with the rest of 'The World', splashes of computer code and graphical glitches marred all visible surfaces; the sky above their heads was broken to reveal a multicolored nothingness, shattering the tentative illusion of reality.
Mere months ago, this would have tipped Kite off that something was wrong with the field; now, it was all too expected.
"Are you sure there's something here?" piped up BlackRose, scanning the area with one hand on the hilt of her blade.
"This is the field he wrote down," replied the Twin Blade. "I don't know what it was he found out, though."
Balmung pulled a Fairy's Orb from his inventory and held it up; with a twinkle it vanished, and the Blademaster's eyes twitched as his player checked the updated minimap. "There aren't too many fields here, and the monsters are rather weak," he said. "In fact, it looks like we have a clear path to the dungeon."
BlackRose relaxed her vigilant gaze. "Maybe someone's already here."
"Maybe," said Kite. "Well, let's check out the dungeon anyway."
The red-clad boy took point, his party close behind as they jogged across the bitter white plains. A strong gust of wind brushed over nearby hills, sending clouds of snow into their faces; though they were immune to the physical chill, a stray fleck of ice occasionally found its way to an exposed eye, causing the player in question to instinctively flinch.
"What are we looking for?" called BlackRose as they tromped through the snow.
"I don't know," was Kite's answer. "He just said the graphics looked weird."
"But that was back before you started playing," said Balmung. "Before all this started happening."
"Yeah... that's right. So there has to be something here..."
Before long, the trio arrived at the dungeon entrance; a massive stone tower, tinted blue and encased in ice, the gaping maw of an archway providing a means into the structure, where a set of steps descended into the darkness.
Following the steps, Kite and his companions found themselves in a long hall; white pillars lining the walls and a length of red carpeting stretched out over the tiled floor, leading to a doorway in the distance. A faint yellowish hue hung in the air, accenting the cavernous room.
The first thing to catch their eyes was the total lack of graphical hiccups; the walls were free of decay, not a trace of binary code to replace even an inch of digital brick and marble.
Balmung 'Hmm'ed loudly, serving as the sole vocal comment, although surprise could be found on each of their faces.
(It looks fine to me,) thought Kite. (Did they fix it already, or was he talking about something else? I know this is the right field...)
Nonplussed, the Twin Blade pressed forward, followed shortly by Balmung and BlackRose. The carpet muffled their footsteps as they passed through the hall, and then another like it.
Leather and steel clacked against marble as the carpet ended, depositing the team in a large, circular room with a spike pit in the center and exits in all cardinal directions. As above ground, their footsteps were the only human noise to be heard, the dungeon quiet and calm.
And empty.
"Still no portals," said BlackRose. "No treasure chests, either. Someone was definitely here not too long ago."
A thorough search of the level provided a momentary distraction; the team stumbled on an unopened portal, which housed a pair of Harpy Queens. Being a good ten levels over the field's toughest monster, and armed with a surplus of Earth scrolls, Kite dispatched the avian beasts almost single-handedly, earning a slight look of faux contempt from BlackRose. Excluding the encounter, they found nothing; level two was more of the same, with two unopened portals in isolated corners but otherwise completely ransacked.
They came to a stop in a small junction room with a pool of water, the surface of the pool flat and undisturbed; before they could pass through, BlackRose spoke up. "Hey, could we wait here a minute?" she asked. "My mom's calling, I'll BRB!" Without waiting for approval, her operator relinquised command of the pink-haired avatar, who froze in place between her two partners.
Balmung shared a look with Kite, who offered a slight shrug in return. "Well, why don't I look around a little more; you wait here with her, and PM me when she gets back."
"Right."
With that, the white-haired Blademaster spun on his heels and dashed into the next room, footsteps gradually fading from earshot.
Left with an inanimate BlackRose, Kite nonchalantly strolled up to the pool and sat down along the edge, dangling his feet just above the water's motionless surface. He glanced back at his statuesque companion, smiling slightly in appreciation; he had yet to tire from simply watching her, partly from their adventures online, and partly from just how well she was suited to her name.
Accepting that both of their characters were merely a collection of ones and zeroes on a computer somewhere, and that they were not necessarily representations of their real-life selves, he found himself nonetheless drawn to her, becoming more and more interested in finding out who the real her was.
Fear also played its part, but not fear that he had been misled; she had given him no reason to distrust her, nor had he looked for one. They had shared far too much to lie to each other over something so trivial as age, or school, or hobbies, or whatever. It was fear of what lay beyond a meeting offline; what to do, what to say.
Nevertheless, he had decided it long ago, and still he decided it anew with each glimpse of her. He wanted to meet the real her. Maybe not now, but someday... someday soon.
BlackRose suddenly sprung back to life, leaving her fixed posture and approaching Kite. "Back! Had to take out the garbage," she explained, her nose wrinkled slightly. "Hey, where's Balmung?"
"He went to go look around a little more," said Kite, standing up. "I'll send him a message."
"Hey, guys! Wait up!"
Both turned at the sound of loud footfalls through the northern archway. Seconds after the first of them, a female Wavemaster scurried into the room; a short, blonde-haired girl with thick glasses and a sea-green outfit, which consisted of an expensive shirt, shorts, cap and shoes. Thin white stockings covered most of her legs, and she carried a long, golden wand in her right hand.
Most curious was the stuttering in her running animation, as if every other frame of movement had been erased.
"Gu...ys!" she squeaked in a halting voice. "Wa...ait up!"
"Uh?" grunted Kite in mild bemusement, watching the Wavemaster dash through the room, right past the two of them as if she hadn't noticed their presence.
A second's delay punctuated her reaction; she cocked her head at the Twin Blade, and then scampered up to him, light blue eyes wide and lively. "Hey, did... you see anyone... come through here? A L...ong Arm and a Blademaster?"
Kite shook his head. "No... we thought there was another party here, but they must've gotten here before us."
BlackRose backed his statement. "Yeah, they're probably a floor or so below us. We're waiting on one of ours to get back."
"Oh, man!" With a light groan, she stamped her foot on the tile with a loud *CLOMP*. "This is... supposed to be broad...band! I've gotten disconnected three times tonight!"
A quiet chime was heard only to Kite; he tilted his head back, looking up at nothing in particular as a private message appeared before his eyes.
[From: Balmung
Heard voices on B3; think that other party's down here, but nobody's touched the Gott statue. Meet me by the stairs.]
"Kite? What is it?"
"It's Balmung," he answered, turning to the Wavemaster. "I think your party's on the floor below us."
"Oh... thanks!" she exclaimed. "But... my connection is... acting up again, could I... follow you down? I need to check the op...tions again."
Without needing to see BlackRose's nod of approval, Kite smiled amiably at the girl. "Sure, come on! We'll lead the way."
"Thank you!" She reached up with her free hand to adjust her glasses, the action somewhat jerky and uneven thanks to her faulty connection. "Oh, by the way, I'm Heavy! Nice to meet you."
"And you, too," Kite replied, starting for the doorway. "I'm Kite, and this is BlackRose."
Donning her typical casual smile, BlackRose offered a quiet "Hiya," in greeting.
With a short bow, Heavy took up step behind Kite and BlackRose as they continued through the dungeon, once again coming upon fancy red carpeting that led them through the towering halls. Though populated by the occasional breakable, the rooms were totally devoid of anything noteworthy; no treasure chests, portals or symbols.
"What did Balmung say?" asked BlackRose.
"Just that he heard voices, but the Gott statue treasure hadn't been opened." Without breaking stride, he added, "They're probably somewhere else on the floor. He said he'd wait for us by the stairs."
"That's... odd," said Heavy, "we usually go... for the Gott statue first."
"Hmm..."
Within minutes they arrived at the top of the level two stairs, as deserted and cavernous as the rest of the level. Before any could comment on the notable absence of Balmung, Kite's head cocked upward to glance at another unseen and unheard PM.
[From: Balmung
Get down here now! Go straight from the stairs, there's something here!]
"What the...?"
"Another message?" BlackRose peered quizzically at the young Twin Blade. "What's going on?"
"I think Balmung's in trouble," said Kite, anxiety creeping into his voice. "Let's go!"
The three broke formation as they dashed down the stairs, each moving as fast as their feet - or, in Heavy's case, their latency - would allow. They quickly descended to the third basement level, entering a large room filled with a series of clockwork gears, all churning loudly beneath the thick, sturdy catwalk upon which the party stood.
Ignoring the noise, Kite pointed to the door straight across from the one they came in through. "That way!"
Charging through the doorway, the trio entered yet another long hall, and came upon Balmung, standing next to a Long Arm and another Blademaster. All stared, dumbstruck, at the closed gate which covered the only other exit from the hall, and only Balmung turned as Kite's group approached.
"Balmung?" asked Kite, clearly puzzled. "What is it? What did you find?"
"Shhh!" hissed the Long Arm, a tall man in a gaudy blue-and-purple outfit, with long green hair and a silver spear. "Can't you hear them?"
The two parties joined, and Kite quieted himself, straining his ears. He nearly fell over when a man's voice hollered from beyond the gate.
"I said, THAT'S ENOUGH! I don't want to hear any more of your inane babbling about some girl! Just tell me what the hell is going on!"
A second voice, softer, lilting; almost musical. "I told you everything... she is proof of my love for her."
The first man again. "But what does it mean?? What in god's name were you trying to do?!"
"She is our only hope... if only..." A long, deep sigh. "If only... she could have seen. Seen what I have dedicated to her."
Kite glanced first at BlackRose, and then at Balmung, the former returning his look of confusion.
"Who are they?" whispered the Heavy Blade. "And what are they talking about?"
Staring intently at the blackness behind the gate, Kite could only reply with a strained "I don't know."
"Look, just come out and tell us what we're dealing with. Nothing's gonna happen to you, I promise." The voice grew weaker, less hostile and more compromising. More desperate.
"If only she could have seen... she would know. I could have stopped her, but the choice is no longer mine to make."
A burst of static split the screens of everyone present, colors reversing to their negatives and back again; the room shivered, rumbled, causing brief cries of alarm. Just as suddenly, all was normal, and a loud, rusty grinding was heard as the gate covering the passage slowly opened.
"Look," muttered the Blademaster, a shapely blonde woman in a steel-colored knight's outfit with an ornate, enruned longsword. "It's open."
"Let's check it out," said Balmung.
The six were through the gate in a matter of seconds. The gateway behind them disappeared, depositing them all in a room of pure white, with no visible walls or doors. Kite recognized the style of the room as one he had seen before - something clearly not intended by the game, but left there by the game's makers; strange still-frames of rooms, with broken chairs and long-untouched beds, piles of teddy bears or a mostly hidden photograph of a woman.
A desk sat in the 'corner' of the room, an unpowered computer and table lamp resting on its oaken surface. Before it, a high-backed leather chair lay tipped over, and next to that a wastebasket teetering on its edge, frozen in place in the process of falling.
"But I still have one choice," whispered the second man, the origin of the voice impossible to determine, seeming to come from everyone at once.
"Wh-what... what is this?!" BlackRose half-yelled, whirling around nervously.
"A computer," said Balmung. "Is that... that logo on it..."
"Cyber Connect?" Heavy read from the side of the desktop. "Is this... someone's office?"
Kite took a step forward, his eyes on the computer, but he stopped when he felt something hard beneath his foot. Arching his heel in surprise, he backed off and knelt down, squinting to get a better look at the offending object. His eyes widened in recognition, and his gasp of shock quickly brought the attention of his companions.
A single bullet shell lay silently on the invisible floor, the head gone and powder spent.
- End of Chapter 20
A .Hack fanfiction by Renfro Calhoun
Disclaimer: Project .Hack in no way belongs to me. Ditto for attached concepts, characters, and... some third thing, I guess. I dunno, things in threes tend to sound better for some reason.
Notes: Takes place during Outbreak. (Thoughts), [text or writing]. Nothing in particular to note this time, but some of you more attentive fans may find a familiar face in there. Some of the minor characters in this game deserve a nod once in a while, if nothing else because how odd it is to find an imposing, axe-wielding armored tough guy going on about his cats. That's just funny no matter how you look at it :)
Chapter 20 - Relic
------------------
A soft humming accompanied golden teleport rings as they slid over a trio of adventurers, bringing them into contact with their surroundings: a barren wasteland of snow and ice, dotted by towering boulders and clumps of rock. Boots of steel and leather crunched into the snow, the only audio to compliment an otherwise deathly silent field. As with the rest of 'The World', splashes of computer code and graphical glitches marred all visible surfaces; the sky above their heads was broken to reveal a multicolored nothingness, shattering the tentative illusion of reality.
Mere months ago, this would have tipped Kite off that something was wrong with the field; now, it was all too expected.
"Are you sure there's something here?" piped up BlackRose, scanning the area with one hand on the hilt of her blade.
"This is the field he wrote down," replied the Twin Blade. "I don't know what it was he found out, though."
Balmung pulled a Fairy's Orb from his inventory and held it up; with a twinkle it vanished, and the Blademaster's eyes twitched as his player checked the updated minimap. "There aren't too many fields here, and the monsters are rather weak," he said. "In fact, it looks like we have a clear path to the dungeon."
BlackRose relaxed her vigilant gaze. "Maybe someone's already here."
"Maybe," said Kite. "Well, let's check out the dungeon anyway."
The red-clad boy took point, his party close behind as they jogged across the bitter white plains. A strong gust of wind brushed over nearby hills, sending clouds of snow into their faces; though they were immune to the physical chill, a stray fleck of ice occasionally found its way to an exposed eye, causing the player in question to instinctively flinch.
"What are we looking for?" called BlackRose as they tromped through the snow.
"I don't know," was Kite's answer. "He just said the graphics looked weird."
"But that was back before you started playing," said Balmung. "Before all this started happening."
"Yeah... that's right. So there has to be something here..."
Before long, the trio arrived at the dungeon entrance; a massive stone tower, tinted blue and encased in ice, the gaping maw of an archway providing a means into the structure, where a set of steps descended into the darkness.
Following the steps, Kite and his companions found themselves in a long hall; white pillars lining the walls and a length of red carpeting stretched out over the tiled floor, leading to a doorway in the distance. A faint yellowish hue hung in the air, accenting the cavernous room.
The first thing to catch their eyes was the total lack of graphical hiccups; the walls were free of decay, not a trace of binary code to replace even an inch of digital brick and marble.
Balmung 'Hmm'ed loudly, serving as the sole vocal comment, although surprise could be found on each of their faces.
(It looks fine to me,) thought Kite. (Did they fix it already, or was he talking about something else? I know this is the right field...)
Nonplussed, the Twin Blade pressed forward, followed shortly by Balmung and BlackRose. The carpet muffled their footsteps as they passed through the hall, and then another like it.
Leather and steel clacked against marble as the carpet ended, depositing the team in a large, circular room with a spike pit in the center and exits in all cardinal directions. As above ground, their footsteps were the only human noise to be heard, the dungeon quiet and calm.
And empty.
"Still no portals," said BlackRose. "No treasure chests, either. Someone was definitely here not too long ago."
A thorough search of the level provided a momentary distraction; the team stumbled on an unopened portal, which housed a pair of Harpy Queens. Being a good ten levels over the field's toughest monster, and armed with a surplus of Earth scrolls, Kite dispatched the avian beasts almost single-handedly, earning a slight look of faux contempt from BlackRose. Excluding the encounter, they found nothing; level two was more of the same, with two unopened portals in isolated corners but otherwise completely ransacked.
They came to a stop in a small junction room with a pool of water, the surface of the pool flat and undisturbed; before they could pass through, BlackRose spoke up. "Hey, could we wait here a minute?" she asked. "My mom's calling, I'll BRB!" Without waiting for approval, her operator relinquised command of the pink-haired avatar, who froze in place between her two partners.
Balmung shared a look with Kite, who offered a slight shrug in return. "Well, why don't I look around a little more; you wait here with her, and PM me when she gets back."
"Right."
With that, the white-haired Blademaster spun on his heels and dashed into the next room, footsteps gradually fading from earshot.
Left with an inanimate BlackRose, Kite nonchalantly strolled up to the pool and sat down along the edge, dangling his feet just above the water's motionless surface. He glanced back at his statuesque companion, smiling slightly in appreciation; he had yet to tire from simply watching her, partly from their adventures online, and partly from just how well she was suited to her name.
Accepting that both of their characters were merely a collection of ones and zeroes on a computer somewhere, and that they were not necessarily representations of their real-life selves, he found himself nonetheless drawn to her, becoming more and more interested in finding out who the real her was.
Fear also played its part, but not fear that he had been misled; she had given him no reason to distrust her, nor had he looked for one. They had shared far too much to lie to each other over something so trivial as age, or school, or hobbies, or whatever. It was fear of what lay beyond a meeting offline; what to do, what to say.
Nevertheless, he had decided it long ago, and still he decided it anew with each glimpse of her. He wanted to meet the real her. Maybe not now, but someday... someday soon.
BlackRose suddenly sprung back to life, leaving her fixed posture and approaching Kite. "Back! Had to take out the garbage," she explained, her nose wrinkled slightly. "Hey, where's Balmung?"
"He went to go look around a little more," said Kite, standing up. "I'll send him a message."
"Hey, guys! Wait up!"
Both turned at the sound of loud footfalls through the northern archway. Seconds after the first of them, a female Wavemaster scurried into the room; a short, blonde-haired girl with thick glasses and a sea-green outfit, which consisted of an expensive shirt, shorts, cap and shoes. Thin white stockings covered most of her legs, and she carried a long, golden wand in her right hand.
Most curious was the stuttering in her running animation, as if every other frame of movement had been erased.
"Gu...ys!" she squeaked in a halting voice. "Wa...ait up!"
"Uh?" grunted Kite in mild bemusement, watching the Wavemaster dash through the room, right past the two of them as if she hadn't noticed their presence.
A second's delay punctuated her reaction; she cocked her head at the Twin Blade, and then scampered up to him, light blue eyes wide and lively. "Hey, did... you see anyone... come through here? A L...ong Arm and a Blademaster?"
Kite shook his head. "No... we thought there was another party here, but they must've gotten here before us."
BlackRose backed his statement. "Yeah, they're probably a floor or so below us. We're waiting on one of ours to get back."
"Oh, man!" With a light groan, she stamped her foot on the tile with a loud *CLOMP*. "This is... supposed to be broad...band! I've gotten disconnected three times tonight!"
A quiet chime was heard only to Kite; he tilted his head back, looking up at nothing in particular as a private message appeared before his eyes.
[From: Balmung
Heard voices on B3; think that other party's down here, but nobody's touched the Gott statue. Meet me by the stairs.]
"Kite? What is it?"
"It's Balmung," he answered, turning to the Wavemaster. "I think your party's on the floor below us."
"Oh... thanks!" she exclaimed. "But... my connection is... acting up again, could I... follow you down? I need to check the op...tions again."
Without needing to see BlackRose's nod of approval, Kite smiled amiably at the girl. "Sure, come on! We'll lead the way."
"Thank you!" She reached up with her free hand to adjust her glasses, the action somewhat jerky and uneven thanks to her faulty connection. "Oh, by the way, I'm Heavy! Nice to meet you."
"And you, too," Kite replied, starting for the doorway. "I'm Kite, and this is BlackRose."
Donning her typical casual smile, BlackRose offered a quiet "Hiya," in greeting.
With a short bow, Heavy took up step behind Kite and BlackRose as they continued through the dungeon, once again coming upon fancy red carpeting that led them through the towering halls. Though populated by the occasional breakable, the rooms were totally devoid of anything noteworthy; no treasure chests, portals or symbols.
"What did Balmung say?" asked BlackRose.
"Just that he heard voices, but the Gott statue treasure hadn't been opened." Without breaking stride, he added, "They're probably somewhere else on the floor. He said he'd wait for us by the stairs."
"That's... odd," said Heavy, "we usually go... for the Gott statue first."
"Hmm..."
Within minutes they arrived at the top of the level two stairs, as deserted and cavernous as the rest of the level. Before any could comment on the notable absence of Balmung, Kite's head cocked upward to glance at another unseen and unheard PM.
[From: Balmung
Get down here now! Go straight from the stairs, there's something here!]
"What the...?"
"Another message?" BlackRose peered quizzically at the young Twin Blade. "What's going on?"
"I think Balmung's in trouble," said Kite, anxiety creeping into his voice. "Let's go!"
The three broke formation as they dashed down the stairs, each moving as fast as their feet - or, in Heavy's case, their latency - would allow. They quickly descended to the third basement level, entering a large room filled with a series of clockwork gears, all churning loudly beneath the thick, sturdy catwalk upon which the party stood.
Ignoring the noise, Kite pointed to the door straight across from the one they came in through. "That way!"
Charging through the doorway, the trio entered yet another long hall, and came upon Balmung, standing next to a Long Arm and another Blademaster. All stared, dumbstruck, at the closed gate which covered the only other exit from the hall, and only Balmung turned as Kite's group approached.
"Balmung?" asked Kite, clearly puzzled. "What is it? What did you find?"
"Shhh!" hissed the Long Arm, a tall man in a gaudy blue-and-purple outfit, with long green hair and a silver spear. "Can't you hear them?"
The two parties joined, and Kite quieted himself, straining his ears. He nearly fell over when a man's voice hollered from beyond the gate.
"I said, THAT'S ENOUGH! I don't want to hear any more of your inane babbling about some girl! Just tell me what the hell is going on!"
A second voice, softer, lilting; almost musical. "I told you everything... she is proof of my love for her."
The first man again. "But what does it mean?? What in god's name were you trying to do?!"
"She is our only hope... if only..." A long, deep sigh. "If only... she could have seen. Seen what I have dedicated to her."
Kite glanced first at BlackRose, and then at Balmung, the former returning his look of confusion.
"Who are they?" whispered the Heavy Blade. "And what are they talking about?"
Staring intently at the blackness behind the gate, Kite could only reply with a strained "I don't know."
"Look, just come out and tell us what we're dealing with. Nothing's gonna happen to you, I promise." The voice grew weaker, less hostile and more compromising. More desperate.
"If only she could have seen... she would know. I could have stopped her, but the choice is no longer mine to make."
A burst of static split the screens of everyone present, colors reversing to their negatives and back again; the room shivered, rumbled, causing brief cries of alarm. Just as suddenly, all was normal, and a loud, rusty grinding was heard as the gate covering the passage slowly opened.
"Look," muttered the Blademaster, a shapely blonde woman in a steel-colored knight's outfit with an ornate, enruned longsword. "It's open."
"Let's check it out," said Balmung.
The six were through the gate in a matter of seconds. The gateway behind them disappeared, depositing them all in a room of pure white, with no visible walls or doors. Kite recognized the style of the room as one he had seen before - something clearly not intended by the game, but left there by the game's makers; strange still-frames of rooms, with broken chairs and long-untouched beds, piles of teddy bears or a mostly hidden photograph of a woman.
A desk sat in the 'corner' of the room, an unpowered computer and table lamp resting on its oaken surface. Before it, a high-backed leather chair lay tipped over, and next to that a wastebasket teetering on its edge, frozen in place in the process of falling.
"But I still have one choice," whispered the second man, the origin of the voice impossible to determine, seeming to come from everyone at once.
"Wh-what... what is this?!" BlackRose half-yelled, whirling around nervously.
"A computer," said Balmung. "Is that... that logo on it..."
"Cyber Connect?" Heavy read from the side of the desktop. "Is this... someone's office?"
Kite took a step forward, his eyes on the computer, but he stopped when he felt something hard beneath his foot. Arching his heel in surprise, he backed off and knelt down, squinting to get a better look at the offending object. His eyes widened in recognition, and his gasp of shock quickly brought the attention of his companions.
A single bullet shell lay silently on the invisible floor, the head gone and powder spent.
- End of Chapter 20