I am –SO- sorry! To all of you that have been waiting for me to finish this, I apologize. This story has been sitting in the back of my mind for so long and I finally got a chance to work on it again. Once I get to chapter five, I'll start posting my .dothack//DUSK story, but for now let me get back to this. Man, what's a busy-high-school anime-lovesick author to do?
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Chapter Three: Crimson Lightning and Angel Wings
Cause when there's you, I feel whole
And there's no better feeling in the World…
Despite her sheer exhaustion, Tawna was awake and alert the next day, with all her homework turned in. She couldn't wait for the day to end so she could go home and play the World. She hadn't had a partner since Sieg and the thought of playing with somebody was actually exciting. When the bell rang she was the first one out of the building.
Hardly catching her breath as she pulled the laptop out from underneath the bed, she tapped the plug into the wall and slipped the visors on.
With no mail, she logged straight into the World. "Okay. Now, let's see if this flashmail works." She brought up the other window and waited.
"Hey. I'll be there in a second."
In the next moment he gated into Mac Anu.
"So what's the plan?" Balmung asked hurriedly.
"How about a 'good afternoon?' It's nice to see you too!" Savana snapped.
"I don't have time for this." In a swift movement he grabbed her arm and pulled her into the chaos gate.
They stumbled through into an abandoned area. Savana fell up against Balmung, her head resting against the soft white fluff covering his left shoulder. Suddenly her amber eyes opened wide as she realized what she was doing. Blushing badly she jumped out of his gentle embrace to find a hue of crimson in his own pale cheeks.
"Balmung, why'd you bring me here?"
"I can't stay in the Aqua capital for long. I draw to much attention to myself. I just picked an area to jump into." He explained.
She sighed as she turned away. "Sorry. I'm just tired and really irritable today."
"So I've noticed." He muttered, turning away.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"
"I said you couldn't even notice." Looking over one shoulder he smiled at her sheepishly.
"Do you have any plans for today?" The female blademaster asked, smiling slightly.
"Not for a while. Why?" he shrugged indifferently, as if holding all the power he had was nothing to him.
"Then do you want to go check out a level that Sieg was last seen at?"
His ivory eyebrows raised and his face grew serious. "Sure."
"Man," the woman swordsman gulped. "Level 28. I'm way in over my head."
"You'll be fine. You've got me, remember?" Balmung's hand flew to his blade.
"Well than prove your worth!" she told him shakily as three Mu Guardians appeared out of nowhere.
"Fine with me." With one swipe of his mighty blade, he ripped through two of the metal monsters
"How do you fight these things?!?" she yelled, defending herself with the length of her sword. Suddenly the steel armored mess pushed forward, sending Savana back on her butt on the soft sand. The guardian's red digital eyes flashed as it closed in on her.
Balmung dashed over, thrusting his sword into the monster and watched it shatter into a million pieces.
"That's twice you've saved my life." She stared up at him her amber eyes shining in gratitude.
"No problem." He extended a hand and helped her up.
"Wow." For the first moments since they arrived they got to stare at the area. The sky matched that of the corrupted temple they had visited the night before, but the ground are was much like a desert with nothing but sand stretching for miles.
"It's kind of eerie, but at the same time beautiful."
"I agree." Balmung's tenor voice was soft and deep and his slight touch on her arm made her blush. "It doesn't look all that out of place, does it? And there seems to be no one here."
They approached the dungeon by going through wave after wave of constant battles. Savana learned how to fight against the odd but extremely powerful Mu Guardians and her EXP paid heavily. The dungeon itself was crawling with all kinds of monsters. The blademasters cut their way through floor by floor. Playing along side Balmung felt just like it had with Sieg and for the first time in a while Savana felt confident about her abilities. When they reached the Gott statue on the 5th floor, the winged swordsman insisted she open the treasure and take the credit.
"You didn't have to do that." She told him as they walked back to the entrance.
"You need it more than I do. What level are you now?" he seemed a little distracted but nonetheless pleased.
"26." She replied happily. "And at least now we've got items to trade."
"Yeah you need a sword stronger than level 8." He smiled. "But you're doing very well."
A sudden sound went off above them.
"What is it?" Savana asked, looking up at him.
He shook his head, ivory hair flying into his eyes. "I have to go." His voice was a mix of surprise and urgency. A gold column surrounded him and then he was gone.
"Balmung! Oh, come on! I can't gate out from here!" Savana clenched her fists as she walked through the dungeon and finally found her way back to the exit.
"I wouldn't go out there if I were you."
She turned from the massive doorway, for the first time realizing she was not alone in the dimly lit room.
"There's a nasty sandstorm outside."
"Who are you guys?" the blademaster turned, staring at the two men.
"I'm Crim, master of the heavy spear." The one speaking wore a long red and gold jacket and pants. A blue symbol of the sun covered his pale, muscular chest. He had spiky navy blue hair on top of his head with a long ponytail in back. His amber eyes glinted in the shadows.
"Man, do you always introduce yourself like that?" his friend grinned.
"Yeah? So?" Crim cried defensively.
"Nah. It's just toward the ladies." He told Savana with a smile.
"I DO NOT!!!"
His friend laughed. "I'm Hiko." He held up a hand in greeting. "A heavy blade."
This man wore long black shorts and a vest showing off his tan muscular chest. A purple kanji was imprinted o his forehead, the same color as his amethyst eyes. His long silky black hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail and onyx bangs shadowed his face.
"The only one left to introduce themselves is you, little lady." Crim winked.
"I'm Savana, a blademaster." She said suscpiciously.
"You don't need to be afraid of us Savana. We're not P-killers." Hiko smiled as if reading her mind.
"On the contrary, we hunt P-killers." Crim yawned, boredly twirling his spear.
"And why are you here?" Hiko asked her out of casual conversation.
"This may sound a bit crazy," she blushed. "But I was going through this dungeon with Balmung."
"Balmung?" Crim raised his navy blue eyebrows.
"Man, it's been a while since we formed a party with him!" Hiko whistled.
"Tell me about it." The long-arm murmured, his amber eyes softening as he dropped his voice.
"You guys know him?!" Savana gaped, her own golden eyes widening.
"Yeah. It's-"
"A long story." Crim cut in, glaring at his friend. He looked over, his eyes widening slightly as a slight smile touched his lips. "Hey, there you are."
The blademaster blinked taken back and turned to see a woman walking toward them, coming in from outside. She wore a beautiful jade top with sheer emerald sleeves that fell off her shoulders. A pair of khaki pants clung tight to her legs, a silver belt falling diagonally across her waist to rest against her thigh. She had long sky blue hair that fell to her waist and bright amethyst eyes that glinted in the dim light. She was holding a magician's staff under one arm that tapped against the ground lightly as she stopped.
"Hi." Savana waved to her, but the women just stopped straight in front of her, her pretty face a mask.
"Did you say you knew Lord Balmung?"
The crimson-headed warrior nodded. "Yeah. Why do you want to know?"
"Hikaru, don't even start." Crim growled a warning.
"Yeah, she's cool. Just let it go." Hiko added, crossing his muscular arms.
"I want to know because Balmung just happens to be my big brother." She replied, brushing a strand of her hair off her shoulder.
"Your…brother?!" The female swordsman blinked as the woman walked even closer. As the woman turned, she nodded toward Crim, but Savana's eyes widened as she saw the wings coming out of Hikaru's back, white feathers that fell past her waist to make her look like even more of a heavenly angel.
"He isn't my real brother you know." The wavemaster rolled her eyes. "But from the first day I played this game he's looked out for me. He adopted me, in a way. He helped me edit my character, and gave me my wings. So," she dropped her voice to an almost threatening growl. "When I ask what business you have with Balmung you better damn well tell me."
"Fine. Your brother is helping me in an investigation. A friend of mine is sick and we're trying to figure out what could have caused it."
"Yeah right." Hikaru snorted. "You're probably one of those girls who hang off his every word, one of those little prissy girls who annoys him till he crumbles and lets you stay by his side. Don't you think he has enough to do?!"
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Crim stepped forward, seriousness written all over his face.
"Crim…" the sorcerer gritted her teeth.
"Hikaru, Savana means no harm. Let her be. Savana," he turned to her with a smile. "Hikaru cares about Balmung a lot. He means everything to her."
"He does not and you know it!" at that a crimson filled her cheeks. "Why are you so-"
Without warning the male warrior wrapped his arms around Hikaru, her face leaning against his bare chest. "You need to stop taking everything so seriously." He told her softly.
"Don't mind them." Hiko whispered to Savana, a bright smile on his face. "They fight all the time. But they've been together for about three months now. Ever since… Crim, got over Subaru…" he placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to blush at the sudden touch. "Crim, we have to get going. Kei's probably waiting for us."
"The sandstorm stopped, so we can leave whenever." Hikaru smiled.
"Yeah, Kei probably is wondering where we are." Crim smirked. "But then again, he is the blondest person I know."
"Well ladies, it's been real! See ya!" Hiko picked up his massive sakabatou sword and headed out to the lobby.
"Yeah, we have to get going." Crim leaned down, dropping a kiss on the wavemaster's forehead. "I'll see you later." He replied softly, squeezing her shoulder slightly before stalking out.
Hikaru watched him go before she sighed. Her eyes fell back on the blademaster, studying her for a moment. "Savana, huh?"
Not wanting to argue, she solemnly nodded and followed her back to Dun Lorieag.
"Keep up with me, and make sure nobody follows you. You got that?"
Again another solemn nod as she dashed behind the winged player.
Past the Grunty ranch there was a ledge that led up the side of the nearest mountain. The dirt path was seemingly brand new and spiraled around the huge rock, curving one way and then the other. Following Hikaru was difficult, especially since she could hover off the grounds, using the breeze to push her forward as she spread her wings.
At the top was a fortress of sorts, hidden by the cloud cover from the city level. And yet the clouds were thin enough to see the town through a gray white haze, as if the earth below was covered in fog.
The building was like a stone castle that was held up with supports against the sloping ground. It was a beautiful structure and Savana had no doubt whom it belonged to.
"This is Balmung's castle, where he comes when he has nothing to do or when he just wants to relax. Few people can come to this place; there are usually magic portals all along the road to get here and most players get in the lost fog. But this place exists, for those Balmung let see it." The wavemaster explained, looking at the building in admiration and pride.
"It's really pretty here." Savana said after a moment, hoping it was safe to speak up again.
She just responded with a nod before ducking her head. "Savana, answer me truthfully- how do you feel about Balmung? What is he to you?" Hikaru shook her head, long pieces of bright blue flying up over her shoulders. "I only ask because he is to important to me. But over me, he is more important to this place, to this world. If something happened to him like what happened to Lord Orca, I don't think there would be anyway to explain it to the millions of people who play this game." She explained before rolling her eyes. "That and the girls who think they are nothing but his personal fan club. They're just asking to be PKed."
The swordsman looked off onto the hazy view of the city, a bright smile on her face. "You have nothing to worry about from me, Hikaru. Balmung is just a friend of mine. He's a great guy, and I can tell how much this place needs. He reminds me of those Great War generals that lead the people on in the hard times. Everyone leads on him for support, and I can openly say I'm one of those people." She laughed slightly. "It still amazes me. The fact that a newbie character could team up with such a legend still makes me feel like I'm just dreaming. He's been the best of help." She looked down her cheeks burning with heat and crimson. "And I will admit too- he certainly isn't bad looking. But, I just met him. There is nothing between us, other then we are trying to solve this problem about my friend and Lord Orca." She sighed as if relieved she got all this off her chest and even Tawna leaned back against her bed.
"I see…" a long silence fell between them. "Savana, I have no doubt that what you told me was the truth. I'm sorry to have yelled at you earlier." She turned looking straight at her with a smile that made her pretty face seem to shine. "I hope you accept my apology and that someday we can be friends."
"Hikaru… There was nothing wrong with what you did. He's your brother, it's not like you were interfering. You had a right to know. I won't hold it against you." She held out her hand. "Friends?"
The wavemaster stared at her hand before nodding, beaming at her. "Friends." She responded as they shook on it.
