Disclaimer: I do not own any more of the .hack conglomeration than copies of the games, manga and anime. This plot happens to be mine, but allusions and references are made to events within the games/anime. And I do change things about the after-game things that happen (such as a tweak with the return of the bracelet and the heading off to Hidden Darkside Holy Ground to reclaim Mia...). So, no flaming!
About reviews: I would LOVE to have at least one person who reviews every chapter and gives me feedback other than "It was wonderful" or "It sucked." Suggestions, comments, and critiques are wanted and welcome.
Chapter 4Kite – The World (what did happen to Kite.. oh and this begins the day before the preceding two chapters)
The bracelet... Why did I wind up receiving it? The powers... The fear... The mistrust... The decisions... Most of all the responsibilities. Why did I wind up with all of these? All I wanted to do was play the World and have fun, but then Yasuhiko... And I had to help him. I found out about others, about the problems and felt an obligation to help bring an end to the mayhem... because of the bracelet. Because of it, I was the only one who could defeat the invincible monster. I was the only one who could destroy each of the eight phases. I was the only one who could open areas sealed off by the system. All because of it. But what about me? Everyone looked up to me because I could keep a level head and make reasonable decisions... and I had the bracelet. But... What if I never received the bracelet? What if someone else had been given this weighty object? Would the World still have been saved? Would the coma victims be awake now? Would those who have become my friends still be my companions? Would they still follow my lead?
I'll never know... But what if...?
"You! It was you who brought about my downfall! You who contrived to have me killed that the worthless Aura might be born. You who attacked me, though without me you would have no means with which to attack or with which to escape your lonely reality. Fool! You will pay! You will not die, but you will watch others die by your own hand. You will watch those you thought your friends curse you even as you feel their pain and their suffering coupled with your own. Yet you will be able to do nothing. In time, you will be mine, my puppet. Yes, you will pay."
The bitter words hissed through Kite's skull, sending shivers through his very soul. But he clung to the words for they were the only things there inside the void of darkness where he lay. The boy couldn't move, couldn't struggle or make a sound. Even if he should have been able to open his eyes, nothing could have been seen save darkness. Without the voice, there would have been no sound. Without the burning of the words through Kite's ears, there would have been no sensation save a bitter, unrelenting chill. Without the voice, there would have been nothing.
"But did you think that was all? No... That is but the easiest of it. I will consume you from the inside. I am now a part of you, a part of your mind, fool. And I draw my strength from you. The more you struggle, the stronger I become and the weaker you shall grow. Go ahead and contend me, then, but know that I will laugh at your futility. You will not even escape me in what you term 'the real world.' You take your mind with you everywhere. Not a thought will you think that I will not know of and, in time, not a move will you make without my direction, for I will devour your mind. Oh, you will still be able to observe, to see and hear all that you do and you will know full well what you do, but it shall be I who controls you. And you can do nothing! Not now, not ever!"
The words burned with a painful intensity now, searing into Kite's memory. Somehow, he was now able to speak, but all that came out was a low moan of dread. However, despair had not overtaking the intrepid hero yet. Mustering his energy and resistance, he strove to move, to break free of the prison where he lay.
"Let me go, Morganna!" he shouted into the darkness. However, Kite's voice seemed barely a whisper in the dark. "You will never control me."
The voice cackled and it was terrible to hear. The laughter was like ice that had been coated in grimy oil and set on fire. It crackled and hissed, but was slick and sickly.
"But I already am, my puppet," came the reply as the laughter faded.
Kite shuddered, the dread weighing more heavily upon him. Still, he struggled against the will forcing itself upon him. Slowly, after a thousand years, it seemed, Kite was able to struggle to his feet, opening his eyes and squinting through the darkness. He took a step, then another and collapsed, the pressure too much to bear.
"Aura," he whispered.
"She cannot hear you," said the voice. "Even if she could, Aura wouldn't come, not when you are tainted by me. Already those whom you would deem friends fly from you."
"No! Aura!"
The voice laughed and kept on laughing as Kite staggered to his feet and began to stumble forward once again. He managed a few more steps then fell. This time, he could not get up. The boy's quaking muscles wouldn't support his weight. The voice only snickered, then fell silent. Only the echoes reverberated in Kite's ears, but those, too, faded into silence. But the utter stillness was worse.
"Aura," murmured Kite a third and final time before his mind slipped into unconsciousness. It seemed to him, before sleep descended completely, that there was a response, a warm presence.
A pale hand rested upon his shoulder and a voice whispered into his ear, "You mustn't let yourself fall to the darkness! Kite, please..."
- - - - - - - - -
Kite moaned softly as he awoke. The boy didn't bother to open his eyes, for the throbbing in his head was painful enough without the sudden intrusion of light. After several moments, however, the headache receded sufficiently that the he was able to open his eyes a fraction. Finding nothing brighter or more disturbing than the vision of the menu to log in or check the message boards visible through the nuero goggles still upon his head, Kite sat up, slowly. He found that he had fallen asleep at his computer, it seemed, while playing or logging into the World.
Kite removed the goggles and blinked, looking around at his room. The controller lay upon the desk right next to where his hand had been and the screen showed the same thing as the nuero goggles. The boy glanced at the clock. It was nearly midnight. A long nap then, he supposed.
Besides the still sore head, Kite's right wrist ached as well. Furthermore, despite the nap, he felt more tired than he had after his soccer coach had made the team run - not jog, but run - five kilometers, then do at least half a dozen full field line drills (also known as suicides - see note at bottom) and finish off with calisthenics. The reasons for this strange weariness and for the aching wrist escaped Kite and the more he thought about them, the more puzzled he became. Adding to this enigma, the boy couldn't seem to even remember what he had been doing before he fell asleep. Playing the World was the most likely answer, but Kite just couldn't recall.
Shrugging off the vague feeling of paranoia, Kite turned off his computer and stumbled to bed, collapsing upon the sheets without even bothering to get under them. Barely a few minutes had passed before he was asleep. That night, strange, horrible dreams clouded his sanity, but only left shadows the next morning; Shadows under the eyes and shadows in his mind.
- - - - - -
"Hey Kite! You O.K?" questioned Yasuhiko of his friend at lunch the next day.
Kite utter a reply, but it was made incoherent by the fact that his head was face down in his arms on the table.
"What?"
"I said, 'I'm just tired,'" repeated Kite, raising his voice.
"Hmm... If you say so," replied Yasuhiko with a shrug. "But that isn't like you. Are you sure you aren't sick?"
"No," muttered Kite. "Well, maybe I am. I don't know..." He didn't really want to tell even his best friend about waking up in the middle of the night with no memory of what he'd been doing or about the dark dreams.
"If you really don't feel well, go see the nurse," suggested Yasuhiko. "From what I saw, you just about fell asleep in history. That's my job. You're the one who takes down notes. You and that Amaya girl. I swear history's the only subject where she isn't taking advanced, advanced, advanced classes. But never mind about her, Kite, go see the nurse. If you get me sick..."
Kite lifted his head to gaze at his friend. He had dark circles beneath his eyes and his face looked chalk white. "Maybe you're right," he sighed. "But I don't want to miss school. I have a test tomorrow in math and I would like to know what will be on it."
"Then call someone tonight. Would you like me to march you down to the nurse myself?"
"Fine!" exclaimed Kite, getting up from his seat and stumbling out of the cafeteria.
Making his way through the school hallways, Kite wound up at the nurse's office after but a few minutes. She was inside, seated at her desk and typing something. No one else was there, no one in the plastic chairs, no one on the bed, no one in the little room to the side. Therefore, Kite entered and gave a swift bow.
"I don't feel very well," he murmured.
The nurse gazed at him a moment before rising and commanding Kite to take a seat in one of the plastic chairs before her desk. "You don't look too well, either," she replied, stepping around her desk. "Hmm. (She placed a hand upon Kite's forehead) I think you have a fever. Let me take your temperature."
An electronic thermometer was produced from a cupboard and Kite was forced to hold it under his tongue for thirty seconds.
"Ah! Your temperature is 102 degrees!" exclaimed the nurse. "You should be home resting. Tsk. Shall I call your mother, or would you rather do so?"
- - - - - -
Some thirty minutes later, Kite lay at home in bed, his mother hovering over him with worry. She had given him medicine to keep down the fever and an ice pack. Then, the mother had wrapped her son in blankets.
"Kite," she questioned as she finally began to head towards the door. "Why didn't you say you weren't feeling well this morning?"
"I didn't want to miss school," replied Kite, his voice groggy.
"But honey, if you're sick, you ought not to strain yourself. Ah well, sleep well, son. I will come in and check on you ever hour or so, O.K?"
Kite nodded his ascent and watched his mother depart, closing the door softly behind her. Then, the boy closed his eyes and drifted off into the slumber he had been longing for, yet dreading the entire day. However, he didn't dream and his sleep was restful.
- - - - - - -
It was perhaps an hour after school would normally have ended when Kite awoke once more. To his surprise, he felt much better. Though still tired, his head no longer throbbed and he had forgotten about the ache in his wrist. Therefore, the boy set aside his ice pack and sat up. Yawning and pushing aside the covers, Kite rolled out of bed. He stumbled over to his computer and turned it on, wondering if a friend had emailed him the homework.
Checking his inbox, Kite found that it was not so. However, an email from Aura caught his attention. It read:
"This is my birthplace.
This is where my mother was born. And now, another life is about to be born.
But at the same time, there is something that wishes to prevent its birth.
Only you...
Only you will be able to stop the same mistake.
(omega) Hidden Darkside Holy Ground."
'Wasn't there an email from her earlier?'
Kite scanned through his list of recent emails, but couldn't fin the email he thought he had received. He checked the 'to be deleted' email section, (it only deleted emails twenty-four hours after being sent there), but the mail he sought was not there.
'Was that email just a part of the dreams? But, no... It couldn't have been...'
The boy contemplated logging in and checking it out, but he heard the sound of his mother's footsteps upon the stairs. Therefore, he closed the email and opened a blank one, entering Yasuhiko's address and beginning to type a request for the day's homework. The door to his room opened and the woman stepped in.
"Oh, Kite, you're awake!" she said. "Are you sending an email to a friend for your assignments?"
Kite nodded.
"You still look tired and unwell, honey," said the mother, coming over and feeling her son's forehead. "And you still feel hot. Once you've sent the email, go back to bed, ok? Are you hungry?"
"Not really," replied the adolescent in all truth.
"All right. I your father called while you were asleep and he hopes you'll get better soon. I'm not supposed to tell you in case this doesn't turn out, but he thinks he might be able to get home from the trade-show in America on Sunday or Monday instead of Tuesday. I know how much you miss him when he's gone. I do, too."
Kite smiled and his mother hugged him, ruffling his hair. "Drink plenty of fluids and make sure you rest some more, OK? I already told the school you wouldn't be there tomorrow, so you needn't worry about homework. Let me know if you need anything."
Kite nodded again and his mother smiled, then left, closing the door carefully behind her. Then, he sent his email and started up The World. While it was loading, he contemplated the message he had received. Just before he selected the 'Log In' option, an icon indicating that there was something he hadn't read on the boards caught his eye. Therefore, Kite selected it and began to scan the board threads for any new topics. He found three, one of little importance being a short post about the reinstitution of the item list completion contest. The other two, however, attracted Kite's attention.
Thread: A strange, terrifying thing I saw (dated the day before)
Message: What is it?
By: Ant Man
Earlier today, I logged in for the first time and went to a low-level field for beginners. Delta, bursting passed over aqua field. I encountered portals on the field and on the first floor of the dungeon. Then, on the bottom floor, I entered a room that was a crossroads and that's when I saw it... and heard it, too
There was a guy, a twin blade I think, wearing red clothing, including a hat. He was talking to this weird, ghostly girl. She had a black dress and black hair and gray skin. The guy stepped forward and there was this flash of light, then he yelled as if in agony and doubled over. Then the guy collapsed, but he didn't turn gray like you are supposed to when your avatar dies. The girl's eyes were suddenly bright red and she looked at me, grinning holding me with her eyes! God, I've never been more scared in my life! Her eyes burned with fire and hate!
Then she held her hand over the guy and looked down. This weird black stuff fell from her hand into the guy and she slowly faded like sand running through an hourglass or something. It was really freaky! And then I noticed that the background music was gone and I heard a cackle that froze my blood. I almost peed my pants. The background music didn't return, but I went over to the guy to see what had happened, but before I'd gotten within five feet of him, something around his wrist flashed and a orb half made of hexagons or something and half made of random beams of light surrounded him and contracted. Then he was gone and the music returned.
System admid? Anyone? Is this normal? Is stuff like this supposed to happen? I'm scared... I thought the stuff a few months ago was just hype, but now I'm not so sure. What happened?! I want to keep playing, but I don't want to be in danger...
' Was that 'guy' me? I... I don't remember... I don't remember that, but...'
Message: What the hell?
By: Bell
No way is stuff like that supposed to happen! Freaky... Have you gone back to that dungeon and seen if anything like that happened again? Maybe it was just a dream. Or maybe you're making this all up!
Message: woah!
By: Nuke Ukasumi
Wow! I wish I could have seen something like that! It sounds just like a movie. Hey, maybe someone else in the dungeon was board and uploaded a horror mod? It's pretty close to Halloween, y'know.
'Figures that's what Nuke would say... Does he have any grounding in reality?'
Message: uh...
By: Ant Man
I went back to the dungeon with some friends, but nothing was out of the ordinary and they laughed at me... But I tell you that what I saw was real!!! I'm not making this up!!!
And Halloween was in October... It's February... And I don't think it was a mod... aren't those illegal?
'Hmm... This happened yesterday...'
Message: Re: uh...
By: Blackrose
Yea, mods are illegal, but it could have been a hacker. Still, are you sure that the player was a twin blade? Can you describe him and the girl in more detail?
Also, the things that happened a few months ago are done! The World is safe now. But what you saw is definitely NOT normal...
'Blackrose...'
Message: Descriptions
By: Ant Man
The guy had teal hair and wore a red vest over a whitish shirt along with the red hat and the pants. I think he was wearing gloves and boots and he had a pack on his back, but I didn't get a really good look at him.
The girl didn't seem to have legs, she just kind of floated. Her dress was black and her hair was even blacker. Her skin was kind of pencil lead colored. Her eyes were bright red!
'Was that really me?! What happened... Why can't I remember?!'
The other message sequence ran thus:
Thread: Glitches
Message: Data flashes
By: Cossak Leader
I was wandering around in a field that had recently been restored from that weird data-patched way it was. There weren't any trails of data floating in the air and the sky was in tact. Good job, Admid!
But I think you missed a few little bits because I saw one or two little flashes of static and data. They disappeared as soon as I looked closer, but they were still there.
The field was Omega, Splendid Emerald Nobleman.
Message: others
By: Heavy
Other data patches appear sometimes in other fixed fields, too.
'Is there a connection? Or is this just some bizarre coincidence? What's happening?!'
AN
Suicides / line drills are when you run a short distance to a line then back. Then you run to a line further away, then back. Then you run to a line even further away then back. One suicide is the entire set of running to and from the lines. hehe... You can guess at why they are called that.
In this chapter we found out a bit of what has happened to Kite. Muahaha... Confusion reigns supreme for the adolescant. If you have any guess about what will happen to him in the future, go ahead and post them if you must... But I would prefer it if you would email them to me instead. That way you won't spoil it for other people. My email is dragon 17 starband . net ... Just ignore the spaces
Reviewers:
So I lied... I thought it would take me longer with the next chapter, but this section wound up being so long that I decided to split Kite's escapades into two chapters. The next one will be the one that takes me a while 'cause I haven't had an opportunity to finish the board where you rescue Mia. Stupid #$& slow leveling up... -sigh- I'm even leveling up on a lvl 98 field, but I'm still only lvl. 94. gah... Some day I'll manage to get Kite high enough that he doesn't die after a bunch of dungeon levels of data draining and so that I don't have to spend an hour hacking away at an invincable monster before my infection rating is low enough to data drain with little risk. Yea, I do know about the lvl 99 Bracelet that appears when you data drain The Guardian, but The Guardian doesn't appear as frequently as I would like it to. -sigh- Anyway, enough ranting!
Sesuna:
since your email is down and since you only reviewed the latest chapter a yesterday or today, I'll just respond to your review here. I responded to the others over email. swee!
Anyway, I'm mean to most of my character. With the exception of Reki. Because I can find no way to be mean to the manga version of him. I don't like the version of him in the anime of Legend of teh Twilight Bracelet. They (being the producers) turned him into a backstabber! -cries- Back to topic: Thanks for reviewing. Yes, yes I am very mean to Kite. If I wanted to be mean to you and my readers I could spill the beans on what dreadful things lay in store for our hero. muahaha... -ish hugged-
Umm.. Anyway, please R & R! For name referances, see previous chapters...