.hackBARON

.f.a.m.i.l.y.t.i.e.s.

A carrier pigeon flew up from the house, leaving the town. It was a light gray and its wings were white. The town of Baron became smaller and smaller under the pigeon's view. To the beach it went, following the coastline. For days it flew, resting only a little.

By the time it reached its destination it was so tired that it soared straight into the tower window and rested on a desk. Yang's wife noticed it and sat in front of the pigeon. She took out the message and let the bird rest in its cage. She fed and watered it, then sat again to read what the letter had said.

With a sigh she lied it down next to a piece of stationary and picked up a quill of her own. Dipping in the ink, she brought it over the paper and began writing. She enjoyed writing letters between herself and her son. It was much more private than messaging him through the network. This way they could have more privacy, regardless of how long it took the pigeon to reach Fabul.

She wasn't a non-playable character. In fact, she was a pretty good character, in her opinion. No one ever thought to play the wife of Yang. Instead they wanted the big characters like Cloud or Rinoa. There just wasn't any good roleplay in that. Using a character that doesn't have much of a history one could be pretty flexible with the biography.

The quill pen scratched against the paper as the ink began to dry. She dipped it again and started on the next sentence. Her neko ears twitched as a fly twirled around her head. She wore the usual peasant wife dress with an apron tied around it. There was a small hole in the dress where her spine would exit her body and form a tail. It swished around behind her as she wrote.

Alot of people who met her thought her to be a cat-person. Often they were mistaken. Yes, she was a person, but she was not a mix of a domestic cat. Yet she was a mix of the wild feline known as the caracal. Her son had inherited many of her great attributes, along with his father's.

He had the ability to shape shift into a caracal at will and like his father, took great interest in the martial arts. Though, unlike his father, he didn't choose to become a monk. He had left Fabul and became a wanderer. Since he didn't stay in the Kingdom he didn't inherit the name "Ace of Fabul," instead, he chose to use "Ace of the Caracal." It seemed to suit him better.

She put the quill away and blew on the paper. When the ink had dried she twisted it and placed it in the small satchel tied to the bird's leg. It hopped out of its cage and onto her hand. Its talons softly wrapped around her index finger as she walked toward the window.

It was becoming night and Yang would return from his students. He was training young men to join the army of Fabul. Ace could've joined the army but he chose to be free and left. Lifting her hand to the window, she gave the pigeon a push into the air. It flapped its wings wildly as it flew off into the darkness.

A few days had passed for the house in Baron. Ace slept in his cot as a pot boiled over on the stove. His companion Rose would have attended to it but her eyes were too heavy to allow her to notice. She had her head against her hand and her legs crossed. Her body was against the wall and table. It was midday and she was exhausted.

She didn't expect a game to tire her out as the real world had. Many real things came with being stuck in the virtual world. Like the need to eat, sleep, and potty. This really did bite. Her head began to bob as she tried to keep it up. She couldn't keep her eyes open for the world.

The login beep caused her to jump but nothing more. She twitched and relaxed once more. Rydia goofily snuck in the door, looking around. She zipped in and checked under the table--out the window--all through the small studio. Celes wasn't there. Her face became wrinkled with a huge grin.

"I BEAT HER!!" she cried, "WHOOO!"

She was about to do a victory dance but that was stopped by a log hitting her in the temple.

Thwok!

"Oooww!" she whimpered as she turned around to see Celes leaning into the sill.

"No ya didn't. Now keep quiet--they're trying to sleep."

Rydia whined as she picked up the log. She followed Celes' path outside and toward the wood pile.

"What're you doing?" she asked, placing the wood in a stack.

"I'm chopping wood."

"So they'll have something to keep them warm when the server decides to change the climate in the game?"

"Yyyep."

Celes chopped the wood and Rydia stacked it. Every once in a while she'd bring wood inside and set it next to the fire. As the sun began to set Celes sliced her last piece of wood. As a natural reaction to work, Celes took the back of her hand against her forehead to wipe the sweat but there was none. She seemed a little surprised but placed her hand on her hip and watched the sunset.

Rydia came back out after taking the last stack inside. She watched the sun beside Celes but noticed a black spot on it. She squinted her eyes, trying to figure what it was. As it got closer its shape began to take form.

It was the carrier pigeon Ace sent the other day. Celestial Being smiled as Rydia went inside. The bird swooped past Celes as it entered the window. It landed on its perch and pecked at its wing. The emerald haired girl took the message from the pigeon and gave it some feed.

She sat next to Ace and shook his arm lightly. He wouldn't budge, so she shook him again.

"Ace?" she whispered, "Ace? The carrier pigeon returned."

He muttered something she couldn't understand. She didn't say anything, she just listened as she waited for him to awaken. He felt around his cot for a while, then put his hand on his bandage and opened his eyes, squinting.

"You're still in pain, aren't you?" Rydia asked.

"Of course he is." Celes snipped, bringing over warm tea. "He wouldn't recover just by taking a nap, ya know."

"N-no it's fine." He said, "Could you read the letter to me? There isn't much light anymore."

"That's why we light candles," Celes said, turning to the table, already beaten to the candle by Rose. The candle glowed softly in contrast to the deep dark outside.

"I'll read it.." Rydia said, holding the letter out in front of her.

"No," Celes snatched the letter out of her hand, "I will."

"Geez, Celes." Ace joked, "Ya don't have to be a control freak."

"I'm not," she defended herself, "I just don't trust her."

Rose would've said something but decided against it. She didn't want the tension in the room to grow more than it could have. Rydia sighed, looking down from Celes and over at Rose. The woman just shrugged, her gaze suggesting not to fight it.

The letter was read aloud, though she didn't sound arrogant in reading it. There wasn't much emotion in her voice but they understood what it meant.

Basically what was told to them through writing was that they hadn't heard from Cecil in a while, but he'd been offline longer than usual because his brother suffered from shock. This happened while he was in front of the terminal. He was logged onto the server at the time.

After the shock he'd passed out. No serious damage to his body was found other than he'd fallen comatose. Like Peter, he was in the hospital. Ace's mother believed that whatever was happening to him must've been happening to Golbez as well. He was still active in his duties to Baron. Always online.

Though this was serious, this wasn't the only matter of late. Several incidents of a monster similar to the one on the continent of Baron had happened around the world. The only place that hadn't been attacked yet was that of Mysidia. Those who came in contact or had involvement with the beasts suffered offline seizures and cases of comatose. Many suffered only seizures, and woke up--the rest died. The ones who were in comas were unable to log out.

"Damn!" Ace sighed, his hand clenched and tense. "Where the hell are these monsters coming from?"

"Like I said. They didn't have the scent of a monster from the Blue Planet." Rose inquired.

"Then where the hell are they from!?"

"They're probably from the second moon." She tried to clear it up.

"How would they come from the second moon when the second moon is gone? I don't even think Cecil created it when he made this server." Celes interrupted. Rydia kept quiet. She thought of how to find an antidote for Ace's wounds. It hadn't been a week and the wounds expanded over his abdomen. Pretty soon they would cover his entire chest, then his body. How painful that would be.

They were still discussing the second moon when Rydia spoke up.
"I know this may sound corny, but.." she started, "I think the cure for Ace's illness actually comes from that monster."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Celes gave her a look, making her feel inferior.

"What I mean is.. You know. We found the cure for the flu by allowing the flu bug to weaken and use it in our bodies so we could become immune to it. Perhaps it could even cure it."

"I didn't think you paid attention in school Rydia," Rose smiled, "But you've proven me wrong."

"Oh god," Celes sighed.

"You mean we have to go back to where we found that damn thing and track it up? That's a hell of a death wish, Rydia." Ace exclaimed.

"But maybe if we could catch it.." Rose put her hand to chin.

"But the poisonous gasses..." Rydia frowned. "It was just an idea.."

"It just may work.." Rose stood up, walking away from the table. She began to pace. This was her way of thinking loudly.

"Rose--" Rydia warned.

"But you forget," She took out her mask, "I have this."

Rose twirled it on her finger.