Chapter 5

( Disclaimer applies as do the notes for previous chapters.)

(The theme song for this fanfic is The Sound of Silence by Simon and Garfunkle... If you've heard it, great! If not, go and listen to it!)

If I only exist in the World... Do I still have a soul?

The World

The standard three golden rings cascaded downwards, illuminating briefly Kite as he warped into Lia Fail. He gazed at the angular buildings and haphazard textures of the Net Slum version of the omega root town. It really was a shame that the admins had not yet finished the reconstruction of the original server because it was supposed to be quite lovely, a real work of art for the programmers. However, the players would have to make do with Helba's awkwardly constructed version.

Kite was just starting off for the Recorder to save his game when another materialized behind him.

"Kite!" called this other. When the twin blade turned around, he found him to be Elk.

"Hello Elk," he said, his voice tinged with weariness.

"A-are you going to Hidden Darkside Holy Ground? D-did y-you get an email from Aura?" the wavemaster questioned.

Kite nodded. "Yea. I was going to go save and stock up on Health Elixirs before going, though."

"Can I come with you?"

"Sure. D'you think we should take anyone else?"

"Umm... It might be dangerous... But..."

"It's OK," said Kite. "We can always leave and come back or ask someone to meet us there if it gets too rough."

- - - - - - - -

A few minutes later, the pair was ready. Elk had joined Kite's party and each had equipped themselves with their best armor and weapons, bringing along a few extra items in case they needed another element. Then, they activated the chaos gate and warped away.

A moment or two passed before Kite and Elk materialized in a dark field, still littered with patches of raw data. A few white strands of numbers and letters floated here and there, appearing and disappearing every few seconds. Glancing at the map in the corner of his vision, Kite noted that the dungeon wasn't immediately visible.

"I'll call a grunty so we don't have to worry about any monsters yet," he said.

"OK."

Therefore, Kite brought out a small flute and played a short scale. The particular scale he played called a Noble Grunty and the suit-clad creature came galloping out of no where with a cry of "Mon Ami!" The twin blade clambered on and helped Elk to follow. Then, Kite kicked the grunty's sides and they started forward, the creature trotting merrily along towards the dungeon as directed by his master.

A few minutes later, they entered between wiggling giant's fingers, descending into the labyrinth. The pair walked forward, heading for the first door, but Elk cried out suddenly as a figure appeared floating in the air above the entryway. The figure looked like a pink cat with red eyes. It wore a strange, pointed hat with a buckle on it and buckles also adorned its shoes. Its brown and tan clothing was loose, but not to baggy extremes. Somehow, the boys knew it was female.

"A cat..." breathed Elk.

The cat's tail flicked once and she looked at them. Then she bowed and floated backwards, fading into the wall.

"No! Don't go!" The wavemaster then turned to Kite.

"It was Mia!" cried Elk. "Did you see that? That was Mia!"

Kite nodded. "Let's go after her, then."

Therefore, the two hurried forward. However, in the next room there was only a magic portal. They ran forward and it flashed, fading as it released the monster contained therein. It was a large creature that looked as if it was mostly comprised of blue ribbons, spinning about like a top. Sickly green patches dotted its surface, glowing. The status of the monster only displayed garbled numbers and text.

"A- a data bug," said Elk, his voice barely above a whisper.

Kite merely nodded and leapt forward to attack. That seemed to snap Elk out of his stupor for the wavemaster immediately began to cast strengthening spells upon his comrade. Kite dodged the monster's slow strikes, but couldn't avoid getting hit by spells. Therefore, Elk also concentrated upon healing the twin blade. After a few minutes of steady attack, A blue shield appeared around the monster and exploded with a shattering sound.

Kite jumped away and held up his right arm, supporting it with his left. Then he cried, "Data Drain!"

The bracelet around his wrist glowed blue and expanded, multi-colored rays of light shooting off of it and piercing the opposing monster. The screen glitched into backwards colors for a moment, a few stray bits of light flying back to Kite even as the bracelet faded from view. Then, the images were restored and the chartreuse patches had disappeared from the creature. Kite winced and moaned softly as there was a sudden pain in his wrist, but it faded, so he paid it little heed. He did, however, notice that he received no item, neither weapon nor virus core.

Working in tandem, the wavemaster and twin blade quickly dispatched the Astro King and Kite opened the treasure chest that appeared. It contained a single Hanged Man scroll.

"I have a ton, do you want it?" he asked Elk.

"It's OK. Keep it," replied the wavemaster. "I have an item with that spell on it, so I don't really need the scroll. Come on! Let's go get Mia!"

The twin blade nodded and ran through the right-hand door, matched step for step by the anxious Elk. There was no portal in this next room or the room after that, but in the third room in that direction, a trio of Dark Maidens lay in wait. Elk struck two with Pha Rai Rom and Kite killed the third with a Me Rai Don.

Then the pair moved to the next chamber in which another of the corrupted Astro Kings appeared. They defeated it in much the same manner as before. This time, however, when Kite had data drained the monster, the icy pain like needles drove into his wrist and did not abate quickly. A chill filled the twin blade and he shivered, unable to move for a moment. In that key moment, however, the Astro King turned its attentions to Elk and killed the poor wavemaster. Returning a moment later as a ghost, Elk cried out to Kite.

"Kite? What's the matter? I... I don't like being dead. Please revive me?"

The words seemed to snap the twin blade out of whatever strange trance he was in just in time for him to dodge a swipe of the monster's blade-tipped pendulum appendages. He ran a safe distance from the Astro King and used a Resurrect upon his friend. Then, a moment or two later, Kite proceeded to give to Elk a Mage's Soul as well.

"Merrows Pha!" cried Elk, channeling the energy and directing it towards the monster with his staff. A strange little creature with what looked like ice crystals for limbs appeared over the wavemaster's head and looked at the monster, even as a large, elaborate, blue circular design flashed upon the floor beneath it. Ice appeared out of nowhere, slamming into the Astro King and encasing it. Then the solidified water shattered, the summoned creature disappearing and major damage appearing in red numbers above the monster's head. Unfortunately, the spell had not killed it, but Kite was able to finish the job with a few well-placed hits.

"I'm sorry, Elk," said Kite. "I just... phased out, I guess. I don't know what's happening to me..."

Elk shook his head and replied, "It's OK. You shouldn't beat yourself up about it. After we find Mia, you ought to log out and rest, though. Even through your avatar, you look tired."

"I am tired, and I think I still have a fever."

"Then what are you doing online?"

"The email from Aura. I couldn't ignore it. Did you see the message boards, by the way?"

"No. I read the email at a friend's house and then hurried home and logged in. Mom won't be back for a while." The last sentence Elk said with a sad, resigned air. "But, let's find Mia!"

They continued down to the fourth level, fighting similar enemies, corrupted and normal. However, at the sixth level, they saw the pink cat once more, floating just in front of and above the doorway.

"Are you Mia?" asked Elk.

The cat's lips moved, but no words came out. However, Kite heard them spoken in his mind. He felt something else stir in his mind, too, the same thing that had tried to press through before. But this was only a stirring, a shifting and it effected the twin blade little.

"Macha," he murmured, speaking the cat's name aloud.

Then the feline vanished and the pair hurried after. An eternity of fighting monsters passed and Elk grew more concerned for Kite. The twin blade would phase out for a moment or two, usually with a moan as if some pain assaulted him. His eyes would cloud over and Elk thought he saw a dark glimmer about Kite's wrist. Then at a word or cry from the wavemaster, Kite would snap back, though he retained a dazed look for several moments. As they progressed in the downward spiral, these moments became longer and more frequent and it became more difficult for Elk to bring his friend back. Finally, after a particularly difficult battle with a data bug monster and one of these phases that nearly cost the pair their digital lives, Elk told Kite to stop.

"Look, you're sick," began the wavemaster. "Maybe we should take a break. This isn't good for you! For some reason, it seems to get worse every time you use the bracelet. Maybe it's the static pattern? B- but you need rest!"

Kite sighed. "Rest... Eternal sleep would be wonderful, dreamless bliss, but I promised I'd help you find Mia. I won't leave now," he said. "But you're right about it getting worse with the bracelet. My infection rate is nearly 100 because of all the data bugs we've encountered. If we come across too many more, then... No, let's not think about it..."

Somehow, Kite felt that if the infection within his data did reach 100, not only would a system error ensue, as Helba had told him, but that whatever was inside him, seeking domination would emerge with full control. Though he could barely remember more than the darkness, pain and menace of the dreams, the twin blade knew that it would not be pleasant. He glanced at the map in the upper right-hand corner of his vision.

"We're on the fourteenth floor," he murmured before Elk had a chance to reply to what he had said before. "D'you think the dungeon is much deeper?"

The wavemaster only shrugged, staring at Kite with a worried expression. And then they moved on. Three battles with uninfected monsters later, the pair emerged into an empty room.

Suddenly, there was a slight flash and a purple barbell creature, exactly like the golden Guardians Kite had fought elsewhere, materialized in front of them. They barely had time to register its appearance before red words floating in front of their eyes announced that Kite and Elk had entered battle mode. Kite ran forward and began to hack away at the creature's gelatinous hide while Elk cast a few offensive spells and the occasional healing spell. Looking at the monster's status as displayed on their screens, the pair saw only garbled digits where it's hit points should have been, but the hp gauge depleted normally.

Eventually, they emptied its hp gauge and the creature writhed, then disappeared, the bracelet contained at its center falling to the floor. But then it didn't. Instead, the bracelet stopped a few inches from the ground and floated upwards, something new forming around it. Kite and Elk's visions became filled with static and flashes of the opposite colors as a new barbell thing formed. This one, however, was quite unlike the others. The most noticeable difference was the plate armor adorning its hulk, a single spiky protrusion from each segment. The second main difference was that there was no bracelet. Instead, within the center there was a cat... Macha.

The feline's two crimson eyes half opened, gazing at Elk and Kite. The orbs were filled with pain and a pleading as if for help. Then, the barbell creature twitched and the eyes closed once more.

"Mia!" cried Elk and the creature attacked.

One of the prongs on the armor flashed and a powerful wood spell was hurled at them. Again, Kite felt the will stir in his mind, but he felt it pause, as if debating whether to seize control be patient. Apparently, it decided the latter. Elk registered severe damage, as did Kite. Therefore, the wavemaster quickly cast Pha Repth and Kite rushed forward to attack, slashing at the monster. It quivered, but the only other response was that it cast another spell at Elk while lashing out at the twin blade with two of its polygonal prongs. Kite barely dodged one thrust, but the other he couldn't avoid. It sliced across his shoulder, cutting the cloth and digital flesh. However, in the real world, Kite felt the searing pain of mingled fire and ice. Gasping in agony, he reeled backwards. Again, that other presence within his mind arose

That other mental power, seethed forward and with it returned mixed fragments of memories concerning the dreams and the meeting with Dusk. For long moments, Kite's mind writhed in conflict, but the foreign thing was driven back, barely. By this time, Elk had cast Pha Repth again and the digital wound upon Kite's shoulder was closing. He carefully avoided any more swipes by the monster as he attempted to drive the residual memories away as well.

At long last, the thing ceased its movement, quivered once, then began to dissolve. The cat inside curled up, shrouded by a faint glow. More light began to collect around the figure. Then, the light dimmed slightly and the body unfurled itself. And it was revealed to be Mia. Her eyes remained closed and her body floated gently downwards. But when her paws touched the ground, she staggered a step and put a hand to her head. Elk and Kite ran forward.

"Mia!" cried Elk, radiating pure joy.

"Hello Elk," said she.

Then, the cat looked past Elk at Kite. "Hey, that's a neat bracelet! Mind if I have a look?"

"Mia? You've lost your memories," said Elk.

"You can see it?" asked Kite, lifting his arm so that Mia could look closer.

She held the wrist, examining the artifact carefully. The occasional blue polygonal ring flashed outward. Kite barely kept himself from wincing, for every time the bracelet flashed, an icy pain wrapped about his wrist, just as it had done during the battles.

"What, you mean you can't see this fine bracelet?" asked Mia. "Oh well. As long as you know it's there. That's the same thing, isn't it?"

"Yea, it is," said Kite.

"Umm... We'll make new memories, Mia!" proclaimed Elk. "Let's go!"

Elk a few steps towards the doorway, then stopped, looking back at Mia. The cat gazed at Kite a few moments, as if seeing more than simply his outward appearance. Then, she turned and joined Elk, taking his hand before the two warped out of the dungeon. Kite followed barely a moment later and the three teleported back to the root town together.

(A/N: What happens when they return to the root town is described in a previous chapter. And this next segment is just this random bit that doesn't really fit in with the chapter after this one, nor does it fit anywhere else so far. Therefore it goes here. But it does have relevance to Blackrose and Kazu popping up a few chapters down the road...)

- - - - - - - - - - -

The real world

A weary sigh escaped the lips of a slim girl, sitting, doing homework at her desk in her bedroom. She had tanned skin, deep brown eyes that could either have the melty, doe-eyed quality that made people's hearts melt, or that could have a steely glint to frighten even the most determined pest; she had dark brown hair whose longest layer, when strait, brushed the shoulders. However, the ends were curved up. Her bangs were the only strands not flipped perfectly out. They were split into two thin sections, currently pinned at either side.

The girl wasn't really a girl at all, but a young woman, a sophomore in high school to be precise. And she was sighing for she could hear angry shouting from down stairs. Any moment now Kazuo would come into her room, looking afraid and sad. Three... Two... One...

"Sis? Akemi?" There came a knock at the young woman's door.

"Come in, Kazuo," she said.

A boy at least three or four years younger opened the door. He looked remarkably similar to his sister except for the hairstyle and color. His hair was a lighter brown, more tan or dark blond, really. And it was shorter, though it needed a haircut, seeing as how his bangs fell nearly to his nose.

"Mom and Dad are fighting again," he murmured. "Why? I know I've asked you a hundred times, but why must they fight?"

"Oh, Kazuo," said Akemi. "Again, I don't know. They... just don't seem to love each other anymore... or get along. They've been very stressed and they are taking it out on each other."

"I wish they wouldn't," replied the boy, coming over and sitting on his sister's lap, though he was a tad too big.

"I know, Kazu," murmured Akemi, wrapping her arms around her little brother. "I wish they wouldn't either, but..."

She trailed into silence as she had done so many times during earlier repetitions of this same conversation. For long moments, the siblings sat thus, taking comfort in each other's presence as the shouting of their parents continued.

Suddenly, Kazuo asked, "Why can't things be simple here like they are in The World?"

Taken aback by the unexpected question, Akemi was silent for several moments. Then she replied, "I honestly don't know... But I do know that nothing is as perfect or simple as it seems. The World is the same way."

"Mm."

Author's Notes

I don't think this chapter is as good as previous chapters, but part of that might be because I've been interrupted so many times in its writing.  As for the dialog between Kite, Mia and Elk, or when Elk and Kite saw Macha a couple times, that's approximately what they said.  If it is not exact, please forgive me.  I wrote that last bit at school and was unable to go and re-watch the scenes for refferance.

Also, thanks for any patience you have... and if there is something wrong with this chapter, please let me know, but don't flame me for it... I don't mind being burned, but I don't like it when people burn my paper.  It's mine, I tell you, My OWN, my precious... -hugglz paper and laptop and computors she uses to upload this story-

Anyway.. REVIEWERS:

Shar-Dono: 
Thanks for reviewing yet again!  Umm... after I'd already posted the chapter, I went back through and edited out the narrative lapses as well as changed a few things involving the messages from the boards.  I did mean admin...  oops...  But I've corrected that, too...  And it can be System admin... not admid.. I don't know why I had that d... anyway...  poor Kite, indeed.  While in this chapter, I don't think I went about it right, I was trying to show the struggle between poor Kite and yon Morgonna...  If you've any suggestions as to what I could do better, please say so!

Dreamcaster555:
Kite is... ok?  Hahahaha...  eh.. He isn't ok... he still has a fever (that is caused by a virus -wink wink-) and Morgonna is making his life hell... eheheheheheheheheh!  BTW, I can say for certain that Tsukasa's dad will come into play in the next chapter, at least a little...

Tsukasathefominian:
But ranting is fun!  weeeeeeee!  And, thankies for reading & reviewing!

Sesuna:
so bad you'll cry?  That'll be the day... -attempts to picture thy tears-  -fails-  The anime of twilight doesn't really talk about much that happened in the video games beyond the nessesary references to Kite, Blackrose, and the other .hackers... and of course Balmung & Sanjuro are in teh anime...  So's Silver Knight...  But he's only in one episode.. Anyway... Now I have 1 prologue and five chapters.. yay!