Fragments of a Shattered Mirror

Disclaimer: I do not own, have not owned, and will never own Bandai or the .hack franchise, including the anime, games, manga and characters, situations, items, and places therein. I do, however, own this plot. It's mine. My own. My precious! Muahaha!

Futher Disclaimering: Uh.. This chapter… uh… is rather disturbing. Um… and it is because of this chapter that the rating gets upped to an 'M'. However, before I change the rating, I would like your input. Please. I have mixed feelings about this chapter… and I would really like your opinion. It was the product of letting my sick and twisted mind wander one night from about 10:30 PM till like 1 AM. And then I edited it… And now… I'm not sure I like it… Err… read it and I think you'll see why. But, please do not report me for having the wrong rating or for having a chapter like this. Instead, just tell me what you think of it and if you think I ought to keep it or write a different one. Personally, I'm leaning towards writing a different one, although I like the psychological sort of torment… err… But please do tell me what you think of it. Please!

Chapter 14

Upside Down Castle

The dark one gazed thoughtfully at the wavemaster, now unconscious, lying limply upon a pile of rubble. It had been so easy for Morganna to knock Tsukasa unconscious. Barely any effort at all, in fact, with the stronger seal around this realm, all but severing the connection between Tsukasa and Aura - No protection for the poor wavemaster. A cruel smile curled the dark one's lips. This would be fun.

Kite himself had been unconscious on arrival due to Morganna's mental influence, and he now lay prone upon a different pile of crumbled stone. The dark one wondered what to do first with the pair. Kite, the dark one knew, had to be kept alive, but he could still be toyed with. Furthermore, Kite at least counted Tsukasa as a friend, and Kite did not like to see his friends harmed. But how to prevent the twin blade from getting in the way? The dark one debated between binding him to a wall or one of the many pillars, and controlling the twin blade completely. It was just possible that Morganna could control Kite while giving vitality to the dark copy. Yes, controlling him was a good idea, but if the twin blade broke free from her influence even for a short while, events could jump out of her control, and tying him up would be so much easier.

The decidedly evil smirk still adorning the dark one's lips, Morganna made her preparations for when the pair awakened; she also made a few precautions against the arrival of Kite and Tsukasa's friends, especially the irksome Aura and the pesky hacker Helba.

Mac Anu

Blackrose, upon receiving no email reply from Kite, had emailed Orca, since the two went to the same school. However, no response came, and the girl emailed Balmung. Again, no reply. Therefore, she tried Mia and Elk. Still no reply. Beginning to freak out, Blackrose logged on, appearing in the Water City of Mac Anu. Luckily, at least for her, she had but a few seconds time before Mia, Elk, Orca, and Mimiru appeared clustered at the chaos gate. All four had grave looks upon their faces.

"Hey… guys?" greeted Blackrose, tone tentative and worried. "I tried emailing you, but I got no reply, so… uh… Where're Kite and Tsukasa? And isn't Balmung with you? The thing ( translation: List of friends. I'm assuming there'd be one saying which of the people with whom you've exchanged member addresses were on) said he was online."

Orca and Mimiru looked distinctly uncomfortable, and Elk looked rather unsure. Therefore, Mia took the initiative.

"Balmung was data drained, and he is in a coma in the real world, I believe," said the purple cat. "Kite and Tsukasa are… gone. Morganna has them…"

"Wha-?" Blackrose's face was a picture of confusion. "What do you mean Balmung was data drained! By whom? Why? And what do you mean Morganna has Kite? She physically took him some place or is he… is he.. no.. he can't…"

"Possessed? No, he is not possessed," replied Mia with a sigh. "Morganna warped Kite and Tsukasa to a place separate from, yet a part of this place."

"Eh…? Where is that? And what about Balmung?"

"The place I speak of is essentially a great upside down castle. Helba and Aura are working on a way to access it right now. They'll alert us when they've broken through the barriers. But about Balmung… Well, if you want to know the details of what all happened, ask Orca and Mimiru. They were actually there."

"Well?" Blackrose turned to the blademaster and the other heavy blade. "What happened to… to Kite and Balmung and Tsukasa?"

Orca and Mimiru looked at each other, waiting for the other to begin, to blurt out what happened. Neither really wanted to recount the grizzly details, even if they reduced it to merely the draining of Balmung. After all, although it was against the twin blade's will, Kite had helped in the data draining. However, after a few awkward moments of silence, Mimiru began to tell Blackrose. Orca took up the story here and there and added comments and things he thought important. As the tale progressed, Blackrose's expression became a mixture of horror, sadness and grim determination.

When the recount was completed, the pink tressed girl said, "Well, don't think I'll stay behind. I'm coming with you!"

Elk – surprisingly, due to his shy nature – was the one to reply: "We wouldn't expect anything else from you, Blackrose."

The heavy blade smiled weakly and briefly. Silence followed. An awkward silence. No one was quite sure what to say. Therefore, no one said a thing. Mia cocked her head and ears as if listening to something, perhaps a conversation of one of the other players milling about Mac Anu. Then, she grinned a pointy toothed grin.

"Aura and Helba have found a way to watch and listen to what's going on between Kite, Tsukasa and Morganna," she explained upon seeing the questioning looks of her comrades. "Therefore, let us depart to the Net Slums, where it may be more easily explained by the hacker and Aura themselves."

And so, after a few moments, they went, as a group, first to the third server, and then directly to the Net Slums.

Upside Down Castle

Tsukasa was the first to awaken, stirring groggily and fluttering open bleary, dazed eyes. It was several moments before her surroundings, much less her predicament or recent events even began to come together. During that interval of confusion, the wavemaster groaned softly, not even realizing she made a sound. Thus, Morganna was aware of Tsukasa's awakening ere Tsukasa was even aware of it herself.

The wavemaster's lavender eyes, finally focusing, found themselves gazing up at a stone ceiling in grave disrepair. The roof was not in danger of falling down, but its surface was pockmarked and eroded. Turning her head a little, Tsukasa beheld large, evenly spaced pillars supporting the ceiling, though in places, the pillars lay in pieces dispersed across the floor, while in other spots, the columns were cracked; it was a wonder they stood at all. Turning her head a little more, she saw a rubble-strewn floor of large tiles that might once have been painted. Now, only tints and paint fragments remained where the tiles were intact. Many, however, were smashed, chipped and cratered.

And standing upon those tiles a short distance away, maybe a meter and a half at most, was a shadowy figure that was a perfect caricature of a certain twin blade named Kite. This figure, however, was not Kite, but a dark clone, a physical form taken by Morganna. And the dark one was grinning such a chilling smirk that sent shivers down Tsukasa's spine. The dark one took a step towards the wavemaster, then another. His pace was a slow saunter, nonchalant, yet somehow menacing.

"Hello, my little Tsukasa," murmured he, a single dark, velvety voice soft and seducing, yet another voice of harsher tones spoke, too. The two sides of Morganna given inflection. "We're going to have lots of fun, you and I."

Tsukasa tried to squirm away but found herself paralyzed. Seeing the slight widening of the wavemaster's eyes, and a renewed fear, the dark one only smiled more broadly. Squatting down next to the girl, his smirk shifted to a leer. A gloved hand caressed the wavemaster's cheek, and Tsukasa could do no more than glare. No lethargy nor physical bonds impaired her movement that she could see, so why could she not move? Why could she not retaliate?

The dark one reached his hands beneath Tsukasa and lifted her head and torso up. Still, the wavemaster found herself unable to move. Then, much to the girl's horror, the dark one's lips fastened upon her own. Against her will, the lips caressed her own, then a tongue was thrust into her mouth, exploring every corner. To her own self-loathing, Tsukasa felt a stirring within herself, a tingling physical lust for more… more of the kiss… and then more after that. And she trembled in the dark one's hands as he kissed her with fervor and passion, pressing her tightly to his own warm body. His hands stroked her body, fingers somehow stirring up a greater physical lust.

Shame, revulsion and anger filled Tsukasa's mind, warring with the utter tingling delight for dominance. Through the kiss – which seemed never to end – Tsukasa's body betrayed her, releasing a moan of pleasure. Then, finally, the dark one's lips left hers, and she was left breathing in gasps. Tsukasa had not even caught her breath when again his mouth was locked with hers, tongue again tasting and teasing. Now, of all moments, the control of her mouth returned in part to her, and, though her mind screamed at her not to do so, she was kissing him back, her own tongue pushing into his mouth, exploring it as thoroughly as his had her own. And for that, he kissed all the harder. After that…

- - - -

Net Slum

Even Aura and Helba had ceased their attempts to unravel the web-like barrier around the upside down castle to stare in horror at what was going on in that realm. All of them: Mia, Elk, Orca, Mimiru, and Blackrose stood stricken, staring into the thin screen through which they could see Tsukasa and Kite within the upside-down castle realm. What they saw now… was disturbing to watch, to say the least, yet they could not tear their eyes away. A horrible mixture of brutality and sensuality.

"Oh my god," moaned Mimiru, shuddering, near tears for her friend. "Amaya… That bastard son of a bitch... what the hell does he think he's doing! If we ever get there, I'll tear him to pieces!"

Elk was white and shaking. Blackrose and Orca were as horrified and disgusted as Mimiru, though the two were less vocal in expressing it. Mia, however, simply looked angry. Her fur stood slightly on end, and her lips were curled back from her pointed teeth in a snarl. Helba's face was expressionless.

Aura, eyes sad, pained and tired, shook her head and murmured, "That isn't Kite… Mother… why are you doing this?"

- - - -

Upside-down castle

Amid the twisting guilt and ecstasy, sudden, intense pain assailed the wavemaster, and she screamed, or tried to. However, the dark one's mouth over hers prevented an actual cry of distress. The agony and the ecstasy existed side by side in a paradox of sensation. It felt as though every ounce of energy, however, every scrap of mental resistance was torn away in that excruciating pain. Somehow able to keep his mouth clamped upon hers, the dark one stood, pulling the limp wavemaster up with him. He seemed now to be sucking something through her mouth, draining her stamina, her endurance away.

Then, just as the pain began to taper off from its peak, he let her drop, and Tsukasa indeed fell quite limp upon the ground, violent shudders wracking her body for a time. It was then that control of her own limbs returned to her. However, no energy remained for her to move, save to curl up into a shivering ball. Tears began to stream from her now tightly closed eyes, and, along with the tremors, sobs wrenched through her.

Dark laughter echoed through the chamber, repeated manifold as the sound waves bounced off every available surface. Summoning a last bit of energy, Tsukasa curled herself into a tighter ball. Every inch of her body now ached. The wavemaster felt as though she could die and would die, but she didn't. Sleep wouldn't even come that she might replenish the energy stolen by Morganna.

Meanwhile, the dark one stood some distance back, watching. Then, abruptly, a tortured cry of distress and horror tore from his lips as he collapsed, the sheet of ice melting from his eyes and the wicked smirk faced into an expression of shock and self-revulsion. But it wasn't the dark one, then, who… who did all that. It was Kite, albeit controlled by Morganna.

Pushing himself weakly to hands and knees, Kite stared at the ground through tear-blurred eyes. Shame in his cerulean eyes, he barely managed to lift them to look at the huddled wavemaster a short distance away. Seeing the pathetic state of the figure, he staggered to his feet. Barely able to walk, though somehow managing, Kite made his way the few steps to the wavemaster. He bent down, picking up the torn robe, then gently moved to wrap it around Tsukasa.

She stared up at him with accusing, fearful eyes, haunted eyes. Though she lacked the energy to do so, Tsukasa tried to move away from him, hissing, "Don't touch me."

Kite winced, face a picture of guilt-ridden misery. Ignoring her command, he wrapped her in her robe. Then, he backed away, moving towards a nearby pillar, against which he sat, head in his hands, though he watched Tsukasa out of the corner of his eye. After a moment or two, she pulled her robe tight about herself, though she continued to shudder.

Self-loathing filled Kite's mind for what he'd done, though it had not been his will. Before he had even awoken, Morganna had forsaken her copy of him to concentrate her powers upon controlling the twin blade with out fail. Thus, she directed his every action until she released him, though Kite felt every touch his fingers made, every single moment of agonized bliss was his to feel, and with each shudder of pleasure running through his own frame, he heard Morganna's cackle sharp in his ears, though there was nothing he could do about it. Kite fought her every inch of the way, but to no avail. He, too, had lost his virginity quite against his wishes. Therefore, in a way, you could say he was raped, too.

The twin blade knew there was no way he could possibly apologize to Tsukasa. There was no way in heaven or hell he could bring himself to ask for forgiveness. Though his logic told him there was no way he could have overcome Morganna with almost her full concentration upon controlling his actions, especially when he had no chance to resist her to begin with, his heart and the rest of his thought railed him for not resisting enough, for letting this happen, for doing that to Amaya. With such turmoil of thought, he didn't even realize he was crying, sobbing with Tsukasa.

Author Notes:

… Well… Err… Not much to say that I didn't say in the notes at the beginning. Again please don't report me, and please please tell me your opinion on it… If you found it quite disturbing… well… it was supposed to be. –sigh- Besides.. I think my disturbed brain knew a bit of what it was doing... Err... Maybe... O.o

At least I don't have writer's block... I can tell you that... Last night I began writing the next chapter... starting with our friends in net slums, and I tell you.. with something for them to be creeped out and disturbed by.. makes thinking of what they would be doing a bit easier... Yeah..

By the way, About Balmung: No... He won't actually die. Actually, originally, when I first started writing this story, I was going to have him be visitng Tokyo for a bit... and, due to him driving a friend with whom he is staying to the hospital, I was going to have Balmung be there, coincidentally, when Kite's mom & Yasu come in... and Balmung ( while waiting for his friend to get stiches or whatever) over hears them... And, somewhat intruiged, he finds a way to follow them... And meets Yasu.. and they talk.. and yeah... But.. as you have read, events turned out differently...

To mah reviewers:

Theatre-sama: XD yes! Frontline news! Morganna's voice? Oh. You dont' hear her in the games. Just in SIGN... Y'know.. that woman's voice which talks to Tsukasa? That's Morganna. Well.. right now I don't have email, except for my school account... So I don't know when / how I could send you another character... But I do have one in mind. Oh. No. I still have three years left of high school. I'm a freshman. O.o Gosh, I don't even turn 15 for another 10 days... But yeah.. This is just an estimate.. and I'm sure I'm wrong, but I think there might be 5 chapters left.. plus the ending/epilogue thingy...

Steeple333: Indeed. The easter eggs rawk! Plus, in the third manga, some of the old characters do actually show up... as in Kite and Orca... They email Balmung. I just liked that touch. Yeah.. I think he is a Sora fan, too.. And someone who really likes drawing costumes... Y'know.. I'm thinking of doing a short "Kite-gone-psyco" story after I finish this one... Inspired by the lovely Kite v. Balmung thing... Completely AU and OOC, but oh well.

Cassiopia: Uh.. Twilight was upset at me killiing Balmung. I'm glad you liked that chapter. After working out the kinks, I think it was one of my favorite chapters to write...

AerisValeria: I set aside time to write. Before bed. I think I emailed you, but I have no email right now, so... Who knows if you replied or anything. I would have sent you this chapter for proofreading and whatnot, but I really don't want to use my school email for that.. because, well, the school might be a little irked at me. They have the capability to check emails... so they might check a really long one...

Twilight: -grins broadly- Muahaha... I have time to write, but I don't have time to type it up. xP Or post stuff... Except for right now. I thought I explained why Aura wasn't there earlier. -shrugs- oh well..

Again.. I'm still not exactly happy with this chaptet, but I thought I'd put it out there so you guys can give me an alternate (or agreeing) opinion on it. By the way, if I leave this chapter up, this'll be the only chapter like this. The only other 'dark' things which will surface'll be less... err... umm... like that. They'll lean more towards blood, depression, angst, anger... err... and more blood? Maybe someone else getting data drained.

Sargent Snarky