.Hack: Penance
A .Hack fanfiction by Renfro Calhoun
Disclaimer: Project .Hack and attached characters/concepts are property of Bandai and Cyber Connect. They are used without permission, but with the utmost respect.
Notes: Happens following the end of Quarantine. (Thoughts), [text or writing], {email domains}. Ahh, it feels good to be back. And with that in mind, happy 4th of July, everybody! :)
This chapter written under the influence of: Rush – Test for Echo
Chapter 2 – Point of Entry
-------------------------------
The rings faded, as they had thousands of times before, crossing his body to seal his transportation from one area to another; in this case, a barren wasteland of earth and rock, with unusual stone formations and the occasional cactus-like plant to break up the monotony.
Kite scanned the horizon, watching for unopened fields; he'd guessed, and correctly, that the party before him and Stolls had cleared the area top to bottom, slain every monster and gathered every treasure. At least, that's how it looked.
The Wavemaster was thinking similar thoughts. "Well, least we don't have to worry about monsters... not that the level is high here, anyway."
"Right. That means we can look for that man," said Kite. "They said he was dressed in dark clothes... maybe he's near the dungeon."
"Well, he's bound to find us sooner or later, I think we're the only ones here. Let's check out the dungeon anyway."
The Twin Blade fell into step behind Stolls, keeping close enough to spring forward and protect the Wavemaster if necessary. He noticed Stolls constantly scanning the area, eyes wide with concern.
(He's worried,) thought Hiroshi. (I can't even imagine who this guy is, or what he wants...)
Dry earth was crushed under heavy boots as the two strode through the arid plains, whistling wind and minute background music the only accompaniment to their progress. Every now and then a small stone would tumble here or there, blown to one side by a strong gust of wind and briefly setting their nerves on edge.
As they reached the dungeon entrance, Stolls suddenly stopped. "Hmm... I don't know, I don't think we should go any further. This doesn't feel right," he 'said', his voice still absent.
Kite glanced over at his companion. "Yeah, I think so too. This seems kind of strange... even if it is an event character."
The two took another appraisal of their surroundings, scanning in vain for anything out of place. "I should've asked where they found him," Stolls mused with a frown.
The Twin Blade strained his ears, hearing very little aside from the air itself. "Hmm," he mumbled, just barely audible. After a half-minute of listening, he turned back to Stolls and shrugged. "I don't think anybody's here."
"Well, that just sucks," said Stolls in what Kite could only assume was a tone of dismay. "Should we try the dungeon?"
"Maybe... huh?"
A quiet clop caught their attention, the sound of leather hitting earth; a footstep that put both on edge.
Before Kite could say anything, a Private Message from Stolls flashed across his eyes.
[From: Stolls Someone's here. Sounded like it came from the other side of the entrance. Fan out, but don't get too far away. And don't make too much noise.]
Kite silently acknowledged the instruction with a nod, and adjusted his stance accordingly; he began to circle the perimeter of the entrance, walking heel-to-toe to stay quiet. From the corner of his eye, he saw Stolls doing the same, sneaking away from the entrance, his head shifting left and right in anticipation.
Slowly, the Twin Blade rounded the structure, hands tightly clasping his weapons. He heard another footstep, and then another; his teal eyes were fixated on the edge of his vision, body tensed and ready to strike.
Suppressing the urge to cry out, Kite wordlessly leapt out of his stealthy posture and charged the rest of the way around the structure, blades at the ready. Spotting no target, he released a long-held breath and took another in its place. "Nothing," he said softly.
Calmly, yet cautiously, he made his way back to the front, and saw Stolls in the distance, carefully poking his head – and staff – around a blind corner of a stone arch. The lack of noise or text told Kite that the search was fruitless, and the look on the Wavemaster's face confirmed this as he turned around.
"Don't see 'em." Stolls shrugged. "Maybe he gated out?"
"I heard more footsteps over there," said Kite as he approached, "but when I looked, there wasn't anybody there."
"This area's pretty wide open." The magician's chest rose and fell, his lips parted in an unheard sigh. "He could be anywhere. Hell, we could be jumping at shadows."
Kite was more reluctant. "I don't know, I still think he's nearby... maybe he thought you'd be coming alone."
"Could be."
Footsteps challenged their ears, hasty and rapid; past a distant stone totem, Kite distinctly saw a human-shaped figure fleeing, quickly disappearing behind yet another rock formation.
"Over there! Let's go!"
Kite charged at full speed towards the figure, followed closely by Stolls. As he neared, he could see trails of dust lingering in the air, as if whoever it was had recently passed by, and in great haste.
(I knew I wasn't hearing things,) he thought. (Let's find out who... or what this thing is.) As they neared, he couldn't shake the feeling that whatever it was, it was watching them, and closely.
"Stop!" shouted Kite. A heartbeat later, Stolls called out as best he could, broadcasting "Come out and show yourself!" on the 'shout' channel, ensuring at least that it would be seen by anyone in the area.
As before, the two split up upon reaching their target, this time circling around the column of stones simultaneously. They rejoined only to find each other, and no trace of their stalker.
"Damn it! Where did he go?" Stolls grimaced, glancing up, down and all around. "This guy's fast..."
"Aaahh!"
Someone – or something – landed behind them with an unceremonious THUD; whirling around, Kite spotted a glimpse of the man, hunched over and knees bent from having leapt off the top of the rocks. He was dressed entirely in black, slacks and a long-sleeve shirt covering much of his body, with a pair of dark sneakers on his feet. Even his hair, which was short and sharply cut, was black.
(Sneakers?) thought Kite. (What the hell?)
"Hey, you!"
The man didn't even bother to look back as Stolls trained his wand on him, dashing off with surprising, though not inhuman, speed. The Wavemaster hurriedly invoked a paralysis spell, but to no avail; the man in black kept running, without ever looking back.
"Wait!" called Kite, breaking into an open stride in pursuit. Behind him, he heard Stolls join the chase.
The black-garbed man kept up his pace, clearly running for all his worth; he weaved back and forth between large rocks, under towering arches, and around spiky green lumps of vegetation. However, Kite was not so easily lost, keeping close track of the runner despite his evasive maneuvers.
Over the loud footsteps and stiff gusts of wind, Kite heard the man panting, gasping for air. Again, Kite was puzzled, though only briefly as he tried to keep up.
Rounding another clump of rocks, the man in black disappeared from view; Kite quickly scurried around the rocks, but muttered in confusion when he couldn't spot his target.
"He just vanished," muttered the Twin Blade. "What the hell is going on?"
A scuffling of shoes preceded the answer; Kite whirled around to see a clump of dirt – with a hand attached to it – sailing towards his face. The dirt collided hard with his face, sending dozens of particles into his eyes.
"Ahh!" he cried out; though there were no physical effects, Kite's vision was temporarily blackened. At another time, he would have remembered the update announcement which permitted monsters – and players – to be able to more thoroughly interact with their surroundings, including for combat purposes.
Right now, he didn't even have the time to notice he'd been struck again, a sharp blow to his stomach doubling him over and sending him to the ground in a crumpled heap.
Hiroshi instinctively flinched and yelped in surprise; again, he was spared from the physical damage of the blow, but his avatar was briefly stunned, and he could do little but struggle to his feet and blink repeatedly until the dirt had cleared from his eyes. For a second he sensed that the man was standing over him, and then with a shuffling of footsteps he was gone.
"Kite!" called Stolls, his text bubble visible through his momentary blindness. "What happened? Where'd he go?!"
The Wavemaster scrambled up to his teammate, helping him to his feet. His vision clear, Kite hastily looked around, stamping his foot in irritation when he failed to spot his assailant. "He's gone..."
"Are you all right?" asked Stolls. "What happened?"
"He blinded me," explained Kite, stooping down to recover the blades he had dropped in the scuffle. "I'm okay, but I think he got away."
"Damn it," grumbled Stolls – at least, Kite guessed it was in a less-than- pleasant tone. "All right, the hell with this. I'm done playing this guy's game. Let's get out of here and come back when we've got a full party."
"Good idea," Kite replied. "This guy is really fast. He's like those goblins."
"Yeah... maybe he had a speed charm or something. In any case, let's get going."
Sheathing his weapons, Kite nodded. "I'm ready."
Stolls paused where he stood as he cycled through an unseen options menu and selected the log-out button. Before he could click 'yes,' however, he was stopped by Kite, who suddenly pointed to the ground and said, "Wait, look at that!"
Slightly off-put, Stolls cocked his head at the Twin Blade. "What is it?"
Kite knelt down, examining the ground near where he had fallen, vaguely marked by a human-shaped imprint in the loose, dusty earth. His eyes were fixed on a spot just over a foot away from where his head had landed.
There, written lightly in the dirt, was a single word, a name: [Hiroshi]
Kite could feel his blood turn to ice, his heart stumbling over a few beats. He cocked his head back at Stolls, a worried expression in his eyes, before turning to the prior object of his attention.
"Kite?" called Stolls, following the boy's gaze to the name in the dirt. "What... is that...?"
"He knows who I am," whispered Kite. (He was after Stolls... and he knows me, too... who is this guy? And what does he want with us??)
"Shit..." The Wavemaster looked around nervously, taking a defensive posture as he stepped closer to Kite. "I think we'd better leave... now."
"Me too," said Kite, rising to his feet. "Let's go. I think this guy is after both of us now."
Stolls didn't bother to reply before exiting the field, teleport rings encasing both of them.
For a moment – just long enough for his mind to wander – Kite was plunged into darkness as the field fell away and the Root Town began to load, ready to appear in its place.
(Is this something to do with Cyber Connect? Delphi, or Harald, or anything?) he thought. (Who would be angry at Dean, who would also know who I am in the real world?)
A facsimile of rushing wind ruffled his clothes and hair as some unseen barrier was penetrated. The world around him became visible again, the rings appearing and subsiding as Fort Ouph appeared beneath his feet.
"Well, that was a bust," remarked Stolls from his right, facing the teal- haired fighter.
"What do you think we should do now?" asked Kite.
He replied with another phantom sigh, and then added, "I don't know... that didn't seem any event character I've ever heard of. I think this might warrant some further investigation."
"I think so, too."
Stolls rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "For now, though, I suggest we both keep away from that field. Since he was waiting for us there, maybe he can't leave." His eyes narrowed. "I can tell you this much, though; he's dangerous, and clever too. Until we find out what it is we're dealing with, don't go there without me. Got it?"
Kite nodded. "I won't, don't worry. Let me know when you're ready, and I'll see what I can find out about this."
"Right." Stolls glanced over at the Chaos Gate, worry etched in his expression. "Well, I have a few things to take care of offline. I'll catch you later, Kite."
With a brief exchange of waves, the party disbanded; Stolls faded from view as he logged out, and Kite was quick to follow suit.
The World was wrenched from around him, replaced by a flat, lifeless menu screen; a push of the 'exit' button, and Hiroshi was back at his desktop, prying a blank visor and headset off of his spiky black hair.
A glance at his computer clock refreshed his memory: almost 6pm, dinner less than a half hour away. Despite the sudden rumbling of his stomach, he found himself with another concern on his mind, and a single thought persisted amidst a sea of bad memories, things he had told himself were long behind him.
(Is it really over?)
- End of Chapter 2
A .Hack fanfiction by Renfro Calhoun
Disclaimer: Project .Hack and attached characters/concepts are property of Bandai and Cyber Connect. They are used without permission, but with the utmost respect.
Notes: Happens following the end of Quarantine. (Thoughts), [text or writing], {email domains}. Ahh, it feels good to be back. And with that in mind, happy 4th of July, everybody! :)
This chapter written under the influence of: Rush – Test for Echo
Chapter 2 – Point of Entry
-------------------------------
The rings faded, as they had thousands of times before, crossing his body to seal his transportation from one area to another; in this case, a barren wasteland of earth and rock, with unusual stone formations and the occasional cactus-like plant to break up the monotony.
Kite scanned the horizon, watching for unopened fields; he'd guessed, and correctly, that the party before him and Stolls had cleared the area top to bottom, slain every monster and gathered every treasure. At least, that's how it looked.
The Wavemaster was thinking similar thoughts. "Well, least we don't have to worry about monsters... not that the level is high here, anyway."
"Right. That means we can look for that man," said Kite. "They said he was dressed in dark clothes... maybe he's near the dungeon."
"Well, he's bound to find us sooner or later, I think we're the only ones here. Let's check out the dungeon anyway."
The Twin Blade fell into step behind Stolls, keeping close enough to spring forward and protect the Wavemaster if necessary. He noticed Stolls constantly scanning the area, eyes wide with concern.
(He's worried,) thought Hiroshi. (I can't even imagine who this guy is, or what he wants...)
Dry earth was crushed under heavy boots as the two strode through the arid plains, whistling wind and minute background music the only accompaniment to their progress. Every now and then a small stone would tumble here or there, blown to one side by a strong gust of wind and briefly setting their nerves on edge.
As they reached the dungeon entrance, Stolls suddenly stopped. "Hmm... I don't know, I don't think we should go any further. This doesn't feel right," he 'said', his voice still absent.
Kite glanced over at his companion. "Yeah, I think so too. This seems kind of strange... even if it is an event character."
The two took another appraisal of their surroundings, scanning in vain for anything out of place. "I should've asked where they found him," Stolls mused with a frown.
The Twin Blade strained his ears, hearing very little aside from the air itself. "Hmm," he mumbled, just barely audible. After a half-minute of listening, he turned back to Stolls and shrugged. "I don't think anybody's here."
"Well, that just sucks," said Stolls in what Kite could only assume was a tone of dismay. "Should we try the dungeon?"
"Maybe... huh?"
A quiet clop caught their attention, the sound of leather hitting earth; a footstep that put both on edge.
Before Kite could say anything, a Private Message from Stolls flashed across his eyes.
[From: Stolls Someone's here. Sounded like it came from the other side of the entrance. Fan out, but don't get too far away. And don't make too much noise.]
Kite silently acknowledged the instruction with a nod, and adjusted his stance accordingly; he began to circle the perimeter of the entrance, walking heel-to-toe to stay quiet. From the corner of his eye, he saw Stolls doing the same, sneaking away from the entrance, his head shifting left and right in anticipation.
Slowly, the Twin Blade rounded the structure, hands tightly clasping his weapons. He heard another footstep, and then another; his teal eyes were fixated on the edge of his vision, body tensed and ready to strike.
Suppressing the urge to cry out, Kite wordlessly leapt out of his stealthy posture and charged the rest of the way around the structure, blades at the ready. Spotting no target, he released a long-held breath and took another in its place. "Nothing," he said softly.
Calmly, yet cautiously, he made his way back to the front, and saw Stolls in the distance, carefully poking his head – and staff – around a blind corner of a stone arch. The lack of noise or text told Kite that the search was fruitless, and the look on the Wavemaster's face confirmed this as he turned around.
"Don't see 'em." Stolls shrugged. "Maybe he gated out?"
"I heard more footsteps over there," said Kite as he approached, "but when I looked, there wasn't anybody there."
"This area's pretty wide open." The magician's chest rose and fell, his lips parted in an unheard sigh. "He could be anywhere. Hell, we could be jumping at shadows."
Kite was more reluctant. "I don't know, I still think he's nearby... maybe he thought you'd be coming alone."
"Could be."
Footsteps challenged their ears, hasty and rapid; past a distant stone totem, Kite distinctly saw a human-shaped figure fleeing, quickly disappearing behind yet another rock formation.
"Over there! Let's go!"
Kite charged at full speed towards the figure, followed closely by Stolls. As he neared, he could see trails of dust lingering in the air, as if whoever it was had recently passed by, and in great haste.
(I knew I wasn't hearing things,) he thought. (Let's find out who... or what this thing is.) As they neared, he couldn't shake the feeling that whatever it was, it was watching them, and closely.
"Stop!" shouted Kite. A heartbeat later, Stolls called out as best he could, broadcasting "Come out and show yourself!" on the 'shout' channel, ensuring at least that it would be seen by anyone in the area.
As before, the two split up upon reaching their target, this time circling around the column of stones simultaneously. They rejoined only to find each other, and no trace of their stalker.
"Damn it! Where did he go?" Stolls grimaced, glancing up, down and all around. "This guy's fast..."
"Aaahh!"
Someone – or something – landed behind them with an unceremonious THUD; whirling around, Kite spotted a glimpse of the man, hunched over and knees bent from having leapt off the top of the rocks. He was dressed entirely in black, slacks and a long-sleeve shirt covering much of his body, with a pair of dark sneakers on his feet. Even his hair, which was short and sharply cut, was black.
(Sneakers?) thought Kite. (What the hell?)
"Hey, you!"
The man didn't even bother to look back as Stolls trained his wand on him, dashing off with surprising, though not inhuman, speed. The Wavemaster hurriedly invoked a paralysis spell, but to no avail; the man in black kept running, without ever looking back.
"Wait!" called Kite, breaking into an open stride in pursuit. Behind him, he heard Stolls join the chase.
The black-garbed man kept up his pace, clearly running for all his worth; he weaved back and forth between large rocks, under towering arches, and around spiky green lumps of vegetation. However, Kite was not so easily lost, keeping close track of the runner despite his evasive maneuvers.
Over the loud footsteps and stiff gusts of wind, Kite heard the man panting, gasping for air. Again, Kite was puzzled, though only briefly as he tried to keep up.
Rounding another clump of rocks, the man in black disappeared from view; Kite quickly scurried around the rocks, but muttered in confusion when he couldn't spot his target.
"He just vanished," muttered the Twin Blade. "What the hell is going on?"
A scuffling of shoes preceded the answer; Kite whirled around to see a clump of dirt – with a hand attached to it – sailing towards his face. The dirt collided hard with his face, sending dozens of particles into his eyes.
"Ahh!" he cried out; though there were no physical effects, Kite's vision was temporarily blackened. At another time, he would have remembered the update announcement which permitted monsters – and players – to be able to more thoroughly interact with their surroundings, including for combat purposes.
Right now, he didn't even have the time to notice he'd been struck again, a sharp blow to his stomach doubling him over and sending him to the ground in a crumpled heap.
Hiroshi instinctively flinched and yelped in surprise; again, he was spared from the physical damage of the blow, but his avatar was briefly stunned, and he could do little but struggle to his feet and blink repeatedly until the dirt had cleared from his eyes. For a second he sensed that the man was standing over him, and then with a shuffling of footsteps he was gone.
"Kite!" called Stolls, his text bubble visible through his momentary blindness. "What happened? Where'd he go?!"
The Wavemaster scrambled up to his teammate, helping him to his feet. His vision clear, Kite hastily looked around, stamping his foot in irritation when he failed to spot his assailant. "He's gone..."
"Are you all right?" asked Stolls. "What happened?"
"He blinded me," explained Kite, stooping down to recover the blades he had dropped in the scuffle. "I'm okay, but I think he got away."
"Damn it," grumbled Stolls – at least, Kite guessed it was in a less-than- pleasant tone. "All right, the hell with this. I'm done playing this guy's game. Let's get out of here and come back when we've got a full party."
"Good idea," Kite replied. "This guy is really fast. He's like those goblins."
"Yeah... maybe he had a speed charm or something. In any case, let's get going."
Sheathing his weapons, Kite nodded. "I'm ready."
Stolls paused where he stood as he cycled through an unseen options menu and selected the log-out button. Before he could click 'yes,' however, he was stopped by Kite, who suddenly pointed to the ground and said, "Wait, look at that!"
Slightly off-put, Stolls cocked his head at the Twin Blade. "What is it?"
Kite knelt down, examining the ground near where he had fallen, vaguely marked by a human-shaped imprint in the loose, dusty earth. His eyes were fixed on a spot just over a foot away from where his head had landed.
There, written lightly in the dirt, was a single word, a name: [Hiroshi]
Kite could feel his blood turn to ice, his heart stumbling over a few beats. He cocked his head back at Stolls, a worried expression in his eyes, before turning to the prior object of his attention.
"Kite?" called Stolls, following the boy's gaze to the name in the dirt. "What... is that...?"
"He knows who I am," whispered Kite. (He was after Stolls... and he knows me, too... who is this guy? And what does he want with us??)
"Shit..." The Wavemaster looked around nervously, taking a defensive posture as he stepped closer to Kite. "I think we'd better leave... now."
"Me too," said Kite, rising to his feet. "Let's go. I think this guy is after both of us now."
Stolls didn't bother to reply before exiting the field, teleport rings encasing both of them.
For a moment – just long enough for his mind to wander – Kite was plunged into darkness as the field fell away and the Root Town began to load, ready to appear in its place.
(Is this something to do with Cyber Connect? Delphi, or Harald, or anything?) he thought. (Who would be angry at Dean, who would also know who I am in the real world?)
A facsimile of rushing wind ruffled his clothes and hair as some unseen barrier was penetrated. The world around him became visible again, the rings appearing and subsiding as Fort Ouph appeared beneath his feet.
"Well, that was a bust," remarked Stolls from his right, facing the teal- haired fighter.
"What do you think we should do now?" asked Kite.
He replied with another phantom sigh, and then added, "I don't know... that didn't seem any event character I've ever heard of. I think this might warrant some further investigation."
"I think so, too."
Stolls rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "For now, though, I suggest we both keep away from that field. Since he was waiting for us there, maybe he can't leave." His eyes narrowed. "I can tell you this much, though; he's dangerous, and clever too. Until we find out what it is we're dealing with, don't go there without me. Got it?"
Kite nodded. "I won't, don't worry. Let me know when you're ready, and I'll see what I can find out about this."
"Right." Stolls glanced over at the Chaos Gate, worry etched in his expression. "Well, I have a few things to take care of offline. I'll catch you later, Kite."
With a brief exchange of waves, the party disbanded; Stolls faded from view as he logged out, and Kite was quick to follow suit.
The World was wrenched from around him, replaced by a flat, lifeless menu screen; a push of the 'exit' button, and Hiroshi was back at his desktop, prying a blank visor and headset off of his spiky black hair.
A glance at his computer clock refreshed his memory: almost 6pm, dinner less than a half hour away. Despite the sudden rumbling of his stomach, he found himself with another concern on his mind, and a single thought persisted amidst a sea of bad memories, things he had told himself were long behind him.
(Is it really over?)
- End of Chapter 2