Disclaimer: Ok, I don't own .hack or anything from it save the characters
I have created. Bandai owns the rest.
PG-13: I could probably get away with PG, but not sure just how violent it might get later, so better to be safe.
Author's Comment: So you know, all areas mentioned can be reached in the game and are to a great degree accurate.
Warning: So everyone knows, this will be the last time I am going to say it. This has spoilers for those who have not played .Hack: Outbreak.
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In some ways, Balmung felt guilty at having such a unique perspective to 'The World' and as he soared high above the masses of Dun Loireag, he didn't mean by having played since the time of Fragment. Of course, he and Orca had been the only players to defeat The One Sin, and Orca had declined the special character modification kits that Balmung had accepted.
It wasn't the wings that players always asked about though, it was how he had beaten The One Sin, the impossible quest. Neither Orca nor himself ever answered that question; it was their own business and no one else's. Now though Orca couldn't answer that question if he wanted to. Balmung growled sotto voce as the muscles in his gut tightened and he clenched his fists harder. Even though he'd joined forces with Kite now, someone who he had slowly been gaining more and more respect for as a warrior and as a person; against his own better judgement in the beginning, it was hard to think of his partner, Orca of the Azure Sea, lying comatose in a hospital bed.
Unclenching his fists as he once again gazed down towards the Chaos Gate, Balmung smiled as he spotted the tiny red figure he'd been waiting for. Even at this distance, it wasn't hard to spot Kite, his outfit after all was quite exotic. Twisting his arms so that the feathers would catch the down-current, Balmung went into a steady dive, careful to keep himself in control. When he'd first made the modifications, it had taken him several months of practice to master the art of flying, and many of his memories of that practice involved unplanned meetings with trees, and more painfully, the ground. Orca had often laughed at him during those times, but he was the only one who would have dared, at least to his face.
Adjusting his descent every so often as he moved in towards the Chaos Gate, Balmung missed the heads of several players before halting himself with some difficulty a few feet above the ground just in front of Kite, the power of his wings kicking up a light cloud of dirt and releasing several feathers before he settled himself down on the ground. Nodding slightly as Kite chuckled at his quite noticed landing, Balmung smiled as he noted with a glance that Kite was also the only person not in total shock and awe. He got that a lot.
Returning his attention to Kite, he began, "I thank you for responding to my Flash Mail so quickly."
Kite nodded. "It was no problem. By the way, do you do that often?"
"It um. . . depends. I find that sometimes a different altitude helps bring out a different thinking and helps clear the mind." A slight red tone flushed over Balmung's cheeks as he said it. Obviously it was a small point of embarrassment, but Kite more than understood. "Anyway, I have learned through a few of my contacts of a room that seems quite out of place here on this server. I thought we might take a look at it. I have attempted to contact BlackRose as well, however there was no response."
"Yeah," Kite responded, "She told me that she had a tennis meet today, so she wouldn't be on."
Balmung folded his arms draping the feathers across his form like a mantle and began to ponder. It would be far better tactically, not to mention tactful for them to wait for BlackRose to arrive, especially since she would forgive neither of them for going to such an important place without her. While he didn't know her as well as Kite did, his previous encounters, albeit bias due to their being on opposite sides for so long, told him that she would be loud, rambunctious, and if previous experiences meant anything, willing to call him several unpleasant names, an ass being the first to come to mind. On the other hand time was of the essence if they wanted to get to the area without certain complications.
Coming to a decision, Balmung looked up at Kite and replied, "Kite, I think that-"
A sudden tug on a pair of feathers of his right wing brought Balmung's sentence to a halt as he swung around to face the threat, hand gripping the hilt of his sword. His eyes came to focus on a pair of players, one a Heavy Blade with a fair resemblance to BlackRose and a Blademaster; both were cowering back in both awe and fear. Releasing the hilt of his sword, Balmung closed his eyes and sighed; he really hated it when people tugged on his feathers.
Taking in the two players now, Balmung once again crossed his arms forming the mantle image to himself. "What can I do for you two?"
The Blademaster gulped, then inched ever so slightly forward. "A-are you Balmung o-of the Azure Sky, the D-descendent of Fiana?"
Inhaling, Balmung repressed a sigh. He was asked this question too often, although at least this player had said it with far less stutters than most. "I am. Now if you don't have something pressing, I would ask that you excuse me. I need to finish discussing something of great importance if we wish to restore order to this world."
The two players' jaws dropped even farther at that, their eyes then drifting to Kite. With his usual amused smile, Kite gave them a quick wave, causing both their faces to tinge a slight shade of red, the Heavy Blade even more than the Blademaster. Balmung, catching this, turned his head toward Kite and said, "You know these two?"
Kite nodded. "Yeah, I gave them a hand in the field a few weeks ago. I believe they're names are Mycinity and . . . Barricade was it?" motioning to each in turn.
Kite's acknowledgement of recognition only caused Mycinity's cheeks to grow warmer, her eyes beginning to regain some of their hazy dreaminess from a few minutes before. *Are kids will be so cute. * Glancing back up at Balmung, something else ran through Mycinity's mind, and as it did she could barely contain herself. "Kite, you know Lord Balmung?"
Before Kite could answer, Balmung spoke up. "Yes, after certain recent. . . events within "The World" I realized that I would. . . that is I asked. . ."
"We're giving each other a hand to figure out what's going on in "The World" so we can do something about it." Kite jumped in to relieve Balmung from what was obviously not an easy thing to do. It was quite clear Balmung rarely needed to ask for help, and admitting that to another had to be extremely difficult for him.
Meanwhile Mycinity's mind had reverted back to her fantasies. Now as the image of her and Kite walking down the streets of Mac Anu arm in arm with the little versions of Kite and Mycinity running at their feet, a new image appeared, one of a plumed Blademaster. "Come on kids" she spoke, "Say hello to your Uncle Balmung." She then grinned as Balmung kneeled down to pick up one of the little Kites and began to toss him lightly into the air before catching him. "Careful Balmung, don't drop my baby boy." Balmung nodded and flipped the kid onto his back, letting the miniature Kite's hands wrap around his neck as he supported him, pretending to fly, causing the child Kite to laugh happily.
As Mycinity's eyes remained glazed over, little mutterings escaping her lips, Balmung raised an eyebrow towards her in slight worry for her sanity, especially when he was almost certain he has caught her muttering sotto voce something about him playing nice with 'little Kite'. Well sane or not, he had no intention of explaining himself to the likes of them. "Come on Kite, let's get going. We have to hurry before Lios locks the area off and it gets more difficult to enter."
Kite nodded and taking a step towards the Chaos Gate, the two teleported off to their destination, leaving Barricade with his jaw nearly touching the dirt and Mycinity humming and muttering away happily in her own little world.
Watching the events from a safe, hidden distance, a pair of players, one male and one female, hover just off the ground with intrigue. The blonde-haired female all in white with an extremely unusual staff kept an utterly emotionless face, the male Wavemaster all in black from his exotically designed robes down to his midnight black boots, even his slicked back, jet black hair, merely frowned indignantly. After a moment the woman finally spoke, "Hmmm, those two little children could be a problem if we want this to turn out appropriately."
The Wavemaster just nodded. "Queen Helba, would you like me to deal with them then?"
Pausing a moment, Helba then shook her head. "No, they may yet be just what our little boy needs to do what he must do, or they may not. Either way, it's best not to jump to conclusions just yet." The Wavemaster let out an audible sigh, closed his eyes, and nodded. Still gazing off at the pair, Helba then said, "Liet?"
"Yes my Queen?"
"I want you to observe them for awhile, and determine if they are an asset, or a liability. Don't forget, our little boy must be ready for what is to come, for Aura's sake, for all our sakes."
"As you wish." The two watched the pair a moment longer before teleporting away themselves.
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"Oh come on KenRyu, Kenny-san, Ryu-dono? Please please PLEASE will you trade it to me?"
Covering her forehead with her hand as a headache was beginning to come on KenRyu sighed deeply and continued walking, a frantic and painfully flattering Elnon on her heels, popping his head up left and right trying to gain her attention. "For the last time Elnon, I don't want to trade any of these nice rare items with you! I got them from that sweet young guy fair and square. Besides, they're pretty good stuff."
A groan escaped Elnon's lips as he continued to trudge after her, Wakizashi having already departed with yet another haiku poem. Honestly, KenRyu was really enjoying this in a small way, all annoyances aside. It was rare to find someone like Elnon who always acted like he was some kind of aristocrat, which he very well may have been given how many of the old noble families were still around in Japan, grovel and beg. Calling her 'dono' though, he must really want these items.
They had all been rather shocked when that Wavemaster, Elk was his name she thought, had asked for Aromatic Grass. It was, by far, the most useless stuff she had ever come across in 'The World' yet she had also been the only one of the three who had been carrying any. She was just glad she hadn't gotten around to emptying her inventory of items the other day, and had five pieces from that other area.
Even she had been shocked when he had pulled out the items he was willing to trade for all five. Elnon's face had been as white as a ghost, and upon departing from that room after Elk had used a Sprite Ocarina, he had been like a loyal, extremely energetic puppy nipping at her heels.
"PLEASE Ryu, you luscious, intelligent, wondrous beauty. I'll do ANYTHING if you just give me that Rod of Pattern! What would you like, name it and it's yours! It's not like it is of any use to you anyway. Ooooh rare item. . ."
Turning to the right and making her way down the stairs to the lower dock of Mac Anu, KenRyu did her best to ignore him. As she reached the edge between the dock and the back alleyway near the water though, Elnon's hand grabbed her shoulder. Turning with fury as she swatted his hand off her, she froze as she met the sad, pathetic eyes before her. As she watched he mouthed the word 'please' but no sound came from him. Sighing again, she suddenly grinned as a fun idea hit her.
"Fine," she said with a coy grin, "I'll tell you what. Get down on your knees, beg me and kiss each of my feet, and I'll consider trading them with you."
Elnon stepped back in shock, eyes widening as he realized what was being asked of him. "Me? Humble myself like that. . . in front of. . . you? Surely you're joking."
Crossing her arms and frowning harshly, she glared at him. "Do you really think I'm joking El?"
"But. . . for me, someone of my. . . to do that, it's just totally demeaning. After all I'm a-"
"You, Elnon, are a Wavemaster, or here you are. Whatever rank or economic status you might hold, no matter how old you are, in this place, you are just a Wavemaster. So, what will it be?"
Staring back at her with barely contained fury, Elnon stood there for a long moment, then slowly, begrudgingly lowered himself down to his knees, bowed down before her and muttered off something sotto voce.
"What was that, I couldn't hear you."
""Please Ryu-dono, Mistress and flower of this world, I beg that you please trade me the Rod of Patterns you have." A smile crossed KenRyu's face, and her left foot slid slightly forward. Ever so reluctantly, Elnon leaned in and kissed the foot, then over to kiss the right one as it moved to replace the left.
As he finished, KenRyu stated, "Very well, I will consider trading it to you." She then brought her hand up to her chin and looked up slightly as if pondering something very hard. A few moments later she looked down at Elnon who was looking up at her still from a kneeling position. Grinning evilly KenRyu then said, "Ok, I've considered it, and my answer is still no." She then stuck out her tongue at him, turned and began to skip down the alleyway.
"WHAT!?" Jumping to his feet, Elnon brandished his rod in hand, anger flaring through his eyes. "How DARE you say something like that to me! I'll PK you, you stupid little brat!" He then took off down the alleyway after her. Spotting her halfway down, he grinned as he saw she wasn't moving at all, and that her back was still turned. Moving up behind her, he called out, "DIE!"
All KenRyu did in response though was to point her hand further down the alleyway. Pausing to look at where she was pointing, Elnon's eyes widened as he spotted what appeared to be another player sitting on a pile of crates staring out towards the water. But it couldn't be a player though, after all, he'd never heard of a player with the form of a purple cat before.
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As he dropped yet another monster with his San, Kite knew they had to be getting close. They were already on the fifth floor of the dungeon after all. Glancing over at Balmung, who had just dropped two monsters of his own in a single attack, the two straightened themselves up and moved towards the only other available door.
"Are you sure this is the right place?" Kite asked as they moved forward.
"Yes, my source should be trustworthy. According to him, it's somewhere on this floor."
Kite just nodded. He didn't doubt that Balmung would lie to him about this, but it was obvious that Balmung was getting a little anxious. Perhaps he wanted to show that he could help Kite out with more than his fighting prowess. It didn't matter to Kite, someone like Balmung on his side was more than enough.
As the pair stepped into the next chamber, a strange sensation came over Kite, and he knew they had found it. Looking around, the pair stood again in a white room that seemed to go on forever and ever. In front of them was an oval coffee table with a tea set upon it, two blue and white ceramic cups on saucers on either side of a small teakettle, except that the spout was missing. Steam slowly came up from the hole where the spout should have been, and as they moved closer Kite noticed that the cup on the left had a huge bite mark taken out of it on one side as well.
Just on the other side of the coffee table sat a beige couch, adorned with flowery pillows. To one side stood a wooden end table with a small lamp on it and a picture frame. The picture within though was completely blank. Some ten feet above a ceiling fan spun slowly.
As a table clock floated by upside down, a voice began to talk as if out of the air itself.
"Subtle and coy in the setting of the trap, Macha moves amongst the others without Knowing why it is done. A herald of the Wave."
Macha. Kite had heard that name before. It was a name listed amongst Skeith and the others in the Epitaph of Twilight. This was another piece, he knew it. But what did it mean? Glancing around yet another room like so many others he had seen, them too bearing cryptic, nearly non- understandable messages, Kite wondered if they had any meaning in them at all. Well, for the sake of Orca, and all the other coma victims, he was going to find out. He had to.
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Well, I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter. I apologize for the delay in getting it out, I've had a fair portion of it done for some time, but papers, work, and illness have all taken their toll. Hopefully once finals are over in a couple weeks I can get back to this in earnest.
Just a few notes, while this is a piece of the Epitaph, it is completely original. Outside this fanfic it has no purpose at all and doesn't exist.
Oh, one last note, not to spoil what might be coming shortly, but there is a reason I chose General as one of the descriptions of this. It's because it has a little of everything, and that will include tragedy. While I won't hint at who, someone is going to be going the way of Orca and BlackRose's brother. Won't say when or where though, but I hope that if this chapter didn't wet your appetite, that this will. R&R people, it motivates me.
PG-13: I could probably get away with PG, but not sure just how violent it might get later, so better to be safe.
Author's Comment: So you know, all areas mentioned can be reached in the game and are to a great degree accurate.
Warning: So everyone knows, this will be the last time I am going to say it. This has spoilers for those who have not played .Hack: Outbreak.
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In some ways, Balmung felt guilty at having such a unique perspective to 'The World' and as he soared high above the masses of Dun Loireag, he didn't mean by having played since the time of Fragment. Of course, he and Orca had been the only players to defeat The One Sin, and Orca had declined the special character modification kits that Balmung had accepted.
It wasn't the wings that players always asked about though, it was how he had beaten The One Sin, the impossible quest. Neither Orca nor himself ever answered that question; it was their own business and no one else's. Now though Orca couldn't answer that question if he wanted to. Balmung growled sotto voce as the muscles in his gut tightened and he clenched his fists harder. Even though he'd joined forces with Kite now, someone who he had slowly been gaining more and more respect for as a warrior and as a person; against his own better judgement in the beginning, it was hard to think of his partner, Orca of the Azure Sea, lying comatose in a hospital bed.
Unclenching his fists as he once again gazed down towards the Chaos Gate, Balmung smiled as he spotted the tiny red figure he'd been waiting for. Even at this distance, it wasn't hard to spot Kite, his outfit after all was quite exotic. Twisting his arms so that the feathers would catch the down-current, Balmung went into a steady dive, careful to keep himself in control. When he'd first made the modifications, it had taken him several months of practice to master the art of flying, and many of his memories of that practice involved unplanned meetings with trees, and more painfully, the ground. Orca had often laughed at him during those times, but he was the only one who would have dared, at least to his face.
Adjusting his descent every so often as he moved in towards the Chaos Gate, Balmung missed the heads of several players before halting himself with some difficulty a few feet above the ground just in front of Kite, the power of his wings kicking up a light cloud of dirt and releasing several feathers before he settled himself down on the ground. Nodding slightly as Kite chuckled at his quite noticed landing, Balmung smiled as he noted with a glance that Kite was also the only person not in total shock and awe. He got that a lot.
Returning his attention to Kite, he began, "I thank you for responding to my Flash Mail so quickly."
Kite nodded. "It was no problem. By the way, do you do that often?"
"It um. . . depends. I find that sometimes a different altitude helps bring out a different thinking and helps clear the mind." A slight red tone flushed over Balmung's cheeks as he said it. Obviously it was a small point of embarrassment, but Kite more than understood. "Anyway, I have learned through a few of my contacts of a room that seems quite out of place here on this server. I thought we might take a look at it. I have attempted to contact BlackRose as well, however there was no response."
"Yeah," Kite responded, "She told me that she had a tennis meet today, so she wouldn't be on."
Balmung folded his arms draping the feathers across his form like a mantle and began to ponder. It would be far better tactically, not to mention tactful for them to wait for BlackRose to arrive, especially since she would forgive neither of them for going to such an important place without her. While he didn't know her as well as Kite did, his previous encounters, albeit bias due to their being on opposite sides for so long, told him that she would be loud, rambunctious, and if previous experiences meant anything, willing to call him several unpleasant names, an ass being the first to come to mind. On the other hand time was of the essence if they wanted to get to the area without certain complications.
Coming to a decision, Balmung looked up at Kite and replied, "Kite, I think that-"
A sudden tug on a pair of feathers of his right wing brought Balmung's sentence to a halt as he swung around to face the threat, hand gripping the hilt of his sword. His eyes came to focus on a pair of players, one a Heavy Blade with a fair resemblance to BlackRose and a Blademaster; both were cowering back in both awe and fear. Releasing the hilt of his sword, Balmung closed his eyes and sighed; he really hated it when people tugged on his feathers.
Taking in the two players now, Balmung once again crossed his arms forming the mantle image to himself. "What can I do for you two?"
The Blademaster gulped, then inched ever so slightly forward. "A-are you Balmung o-of the Azure Sky, the D-descendent of Fiana?"
Inhaling, Balmung repressed a sigh. He was asked this question too often, although at least this player had said it with far less stutters than most. "I am. Now if you don't have something pressing, I would ask that you excuse me. I need to finish discussing something of great importance if we wish to restore order to this world."
The two players' jaws dropped even farther at that, their eyes then drifting to Kite. With his usual amused smile, Kite gave them a quick wave, causing both their faces to tinge a slight shade of red, the Heavy Blade even more than the Blademaster. Balmung, catching this, turned his head toward Kite and said, "You know these two?"
Kite nodded. "Yeah, I gave them a hand in the field a few weeks ago. I believe they're names are Mycinity and . . . Barricade was it?" motioning to each in turn.
Kite's acknowledgement of recognition only caused Mycinity's cheeks to grow warmer, her eyes beginning to regain some of their hazy dreaminess from a few minutes before. *Are kids will be so cute. * Glancing back up at Balmung, something else ran through Mycinity's mind, and as it did she could barely contain herself. "Kite, you know Lord Balmung?"
Before Kite could answer, Balmung spoke up. "Yes, after certain recent. . . events within "The World" I realized that I would. . . that is I asked. . ."
"We're giving each other a hand to figure out what's going on in "The World" so we can do something about it." Kite jumped in to relieve Balmung from what was obviously not an easy thing to do. It was quite clear Balmung rarely needed to ask for help, and admitting that to another had to be extremely difficult for him.
Meanwhile Mycinity's mind had reverted back to her fantasies. Now as the image of her and Kite walking down the streets of Mac Anu arm in arm with the little versions of Kite and Mycinity running at their feet, a new image appeared, one of a plumed Blademaster. "Come on kids" she spoke, "Say hello to your Uncle Balmung." She then grinned as Balmung kneeled down to pick up one of the little Kites and began to toss him lightly into the air before catching him. "Careful Balmung, don't drop my baby boy." Balmung nodded and flipped the kid onto his back, letting the miniature Kite's hands wrap around his neck as he supported him, pretending to fly, causing the child Kite to laugh happily.
As Mycinity's eyes remained glazed over, little mutterings escaping her lips, Balmung raised an eyebrow towards her in slight worry for her sanity, especially when he was almost certain he has caught her muttering sotto voce something about him playing nice with 'little Kite'. Well sane or not, he had no intention of explaining himself to the likes of them. "Come on Kite, let's get going. We have to hurry before Lios locks the area off and it gets more difficult to enter."
Kite nodded and taking a step towards the Chaos Gate, the two teleported off to their destination, leaving Barricade with his jaw nearly touching the dirt and Mycinity humming and muttering away happily in her own little world.
Watching the events from a safe, hidden distance, a pair of players, one male and one female, hover just off the ground with intrigue. The blonde-haired female all in white with an extremely unusual staff kept an utterly emotionless face, the male Wavemaster all in black from his exotically designed robes down to his midnight black boots, even his slicked back, jet black hair, merely frowned indignantly. After a moment the woman finally spoke, "Hmmm, those two little children could be a problem if we want this to turn out appropriately."
The Wavemaster just nodded. "Queen Helba, would you like me to deal with them then?"
Pausing a moment, Helba then shook her head. "No, they may yet be just what our little boy needs to do what he must do, or they may not. Either way, it's best not to jump to conclusions just yet." The Wavemaster let out an audible sigh, closed his eyes, and nodded. Still gazing off at the pair, Helba then said, "Liet?"
"Yes my Queen?"
"I want you to observe them for awhile, and determine if they are an asset, or a liability. Don't forget, our little boy must be ready for what is to come, for Aura's sake, for all our sakes."
"As you wish." The two watched the pair a moment longer before teleporting away themselves.
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"Oh come on KenRyu, Kenny-san, Ryu-dono? Please please PLEASE will you trade it to me?"
Covering her forehead with her hand as a headache was beginning to come on KenRyu sighed deeply and continued walking, a frantic and painfully flattering Elnon on her heels, popping his head up left and right trying to gain her attention. "For the last time Elnon, I don't want to trade any of these nice rare items with you! I got them from that sweet young guy fair and square. Besides, they're pretty good stuff."
A groan escaped Elnon's lips as he continued to trudge after her, Wakizashi having already departed with yet another haiku poem. Honestly, KenRyu was really enjoying this in a small way, all annoyances aside. It was rare to find someone like Elnon who always acted like he was some kind of aristocrat, which he very well may have been given how many of the old noble families were still around in Japan, grovel and beg. Calling her 'dono' though, he must really want these items.
They had all been rather shocked when that Wavemaster, Elk was his name she thought, had asked for Aromatic Grass. It was, by far, the most useless stuff she had ever come across in 'The World' yet she had also been the only one of the three who had been carrying any. She was just glad she hadn't gotten around to emptying her inventory of items the other day, and had five pieces from that other area.
Even she had been shocked when he had pulled out the items he was willing to trade for all five. Elnon's face had been as white as a ghost, and upon departing from that room after Elk had used a Sprite Ocarina, he had been like a loyal, extremely energetic puppy nipping at her heels.
"PLEASE Ryu, you luscious, intelligent, wondrous beauty. I'll do ANYTHING if you just give me that Rod of Pattern! What would you like, name it and it's yours! It's not like it is of any use to you anyway. Ooooh rare item. . ."
Turning to the right and making her way down the stairs to the lower dock of Mac Anu, KenRyu did her best to ignore him. As she reached the edge between the dock and the back alleyway near the water though, Elnon's hand grabbed her shoulder. Turning with fury as she swatted his hand off her, she froze as she met the sad, pathetic eyes before her. As she watched he mouthed the word 'please' but no sound came from him. Sighing again, she suddenly grinned as a fun idea hit her.
"Fine," she said with a coy grin, "I'll tell you what. Get down on your knees, beg me and kiss each of my feet, and I'll consider trading them with you."
Elnon stepped back in shock, eyes widening as he realized what was being asked of him. "Me? Humble myself like that. . . in front of. . . you? Surely you're joking."
Crossing her arms and frowning harshly, she glared at him. "Do you really think I'm joking El?"
"But. . . for me, someone of my. . . to do that, it's just totally demeaning. After all I'm a-"
"You, Elnon, are a Wavemaster, or here you are. Whatever rank or economic status you might hold, no matter how old you are, in this place, you are just a Wavemaster. So, what will it be?"
Staring back at her with barely contained fury, Elnon stood there for a long moment, then slowly, begrudgingly lowered himself down to his knees, bowed down before her and muttered off something sotto voce.
"What was that, I couldn't hear you."
""Please Ryu-dono, Mistress and flower of this world, I beg that you please trade me the Rod of Patterns you have." A smile crossed KenRyu's face, and her left foot slid slightly forward. Ever so reluctantly, Elnon leaned in and kissed the foot, then over to kiss the right one as it moved to replace the left.
As he finished, KenRyu stated, "Very well, I will consider trading it to you." She then brought her hand up to her chin and looked up slightly as if pondering something very hard. A few moments later she looked down at Elnon who was looking up at her still from a kneeling position. Grinning evilly KenRyu then said, "Ok, I've considered it, and my answer is still no." She then stuck out her tongue at him, turned and began to skip down the alleyway.
"WHAT!?" Jumping to his feet, Elnon brandished his rod in hand, anger flaring through his eyes. "How DARE you say something like that to me! I'll PK you, you stupid little brat!" He then took off down the alleyway after her. Spotting her halfway down, he grinned as he saw she wasn't moving at all, and that her back was still turned. Moving up behind her, he called out, "DIE!"
All KenRyu did in response though was to point her hand further down the alleyway. Pausing to look at where she was pointing, Elnon's eyes widened as he spotted what appeared to be another player sitting on a pile of crates staring out towards the water. But it couldn't be a player though, after all, he'd never heard of a player with the form of a purple cat before.
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As he dropped yet another monster with his San, Kite knew they had to be getting close. They were already on the fifth floor of the dungeon after all. Glancing over at Balmung, who had just dropped two monsters of his own in a single attack, the two straightened themselves up and moved towards the only other available door.
"Are you sure this is the right place?" Kite asked as they moved forward.
"Yes, my source should be trustworthy. According to him, it's somewhere on this floor."
Kite just nodded. He didn't doubt that Balmung would lie to him about this, but it was obvious that Balmung was getting a little anxious. Perhaps he wanted to show that he could help Kite out with more than his fighting prowess. It didn't matter to Kite, someone like Balmung on his side was more than enough.
As the pair stepped into the next chamber, a strange sensation came over Kite, and he knew they had found it. Looking around, the pair stood again in a white room that seemed to go on forever and ever. In front of them was an oval coffee table with a tea set upon it, two blue and white ceramic cups on saucers on either side of a small teakettle, except that the spout was missing. Steam slowly came up from the hole where the spout should have been, and as they moved closer Kite noticed that the cup on the left had a huge bite mark taken out of it on one side as well.
Just on the other side of the coffee table sat a beige couch, adorned with flowery pillows. To one side stood a wooden end table with a small lamp on it and a picture frame. The picture within though was completely blank. Some ten feet above a ceiling fan spun slowly.
As a table clock floated by upside down, a voice began to talk as if out of the air itself.
"Subtle and coy in the setting of the trap, Macha moves amongst the others without Knowing why it is done. A herald of the Wave."
Macha. Kite had heard that name before. It was a name listed amongst Skeith and the others in the Epitaph of Twilight. This was another piece, he knew it. But what did it mean? Glancing around yet another room like so many others he had seen, them too bearing cryptic, nearly non- understandable messages, Kite wondered if they had any meaning in them at all. Well, for the sake of Orca, and all the other coma victims, he was going to find out. He had to.
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Well, I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter. I apologize for the delay in getting it out, I've had a fair portion of it done for some time, but papers, work, and illness have all taken their toll. Hopefully once finals are over in a couple weeks I can get back to this in earnest.
Just a few notes, while this is a piece of the Epitaph, it is completely original. Outside this fanfic it has no purpose at all and doesn't exist.
Oh, one last note, not to spoil what might be coming shortly, but there is a reason I chose General as one of the descriptions of this. It's because it has a little of everything, and that will include tragedy. While I won't hint at who, someone is going to be going the way of Orca and BlackRose's brother. Won't say when or where though, but I hope that if this chapter didn't wet your appetite, that this will. R&R people, it motivates me.