.Hack: Penance
A .Hack fanfiction by Renfro Calhoun
Disclaimer: Project .Hack and attached characters/concepts belong to Bandai and Cyber Connect. They are used without permission, but with the utmost respect.
Notes: Happens following the end of Quarantine. (Thoughts), [text], {email domains}. Sorry if this chapter seems kinda slow. In my effort to curb my tendencies towards cliffhangers – and to build up conflict between certain individuals you may be able to guess – there will be a notable sparseness of plot here. But fear not! As last week, more is coming, and quite soon – as in, sooner than Monday night :)
This chapter written under the influence of: Mad at Gravity – Find the Words
Chapter 5 – Timely
-----------------------
The whiteness of her outfit greeted him before her voice; he spotted her in the middle of a nearby bridge, and strode past the parapet towards her, returning the smile she bore.
"Hey, Ryoko!" called Kite as he joined the axe-wielding warrior. Her weapon stood taller than she, loosely clasped in her right hand, casting a light shadow over the rest of her body. Her dress, slightly out-of- character for a heavy melee fighter, was of a pure white, lined with lace and matched in color by her gloves and boots. Framing her short, blonde hair was a shiny, golden halo, flanked by a pair of angelic wings which sprouted from her upper back.
Everything about her suggested a demure demeanor, which was only reinforced by her soft, sweet tone of voice. "Good evening, Kite. I'm glad you could come. How are you tonight?"
"I'm fine, thanks. And how are you?" he asked. "You said you needed help with your axe?"
"Yes, well... it was a little foolish of me," she meekly began, averting her eyes. "I went to a Spring of Myst to upgrade my axe, but when Monsieur appeared, my hand slipped, and I selected the golden axe by mistake." To emphasize this, she lifted her weapon an inch or so, and Kite finally noticed that it was, in fact, a golden axe; a commonplace and fairly weak weapon.
"I see. So you lost your other axe... have you picked up another one at the shop yet?"
She nodded. "Yes, it's in my inventory. I'm sorry to have to ask, but... will you help me upgrade it again?"
"Sure!" he replied, opening a menu and firing off a quick party invite, which Terajima was quick to accept. Her portrait and stats appeared next to his, and together they left for the nearby Chaos Gate.
"The Springs only upgrade weapons on fields with certain conditions," thought Kite aloud. "I don't know which ones, but it always happened on fields that ended with 'Sea of Sand.'"
They came to a stop at the gate, and Kite semi-consciously punched in keywords to generate the field; Ryoko stood close by, patiently waiting for the teleport sequence to begin.
"Ready?"
She answered with a quiet "Mm-hmm," and a nod. Seconds later, both vanished from sight as the rings engulfed them.
They reappeared in a sprawling desert, sands shifting beneath a burning sun, a slight haze in the air causing the horizon to shimmer. Rock formations and cacti dotted the area, and nearby loomed the gaping maw of a huge, dead sandworm – a creature so large that its innards formed a dungeon of sorts.
"Let's see... ah, there's the Spring," said Kite, pointing in a direction that only looked arbitrary. "Let's go!"
With Kite in the lead, the two dashed to the east, sand shuffling beneath their boots. The path was mercilessly clear of portals, although some monsters had apparently spawned outside of them; a handful of animate weapons and armor floated by in the distance, looking dangerous but giving no indication that they had spotted a target.
Reaching the Spring, Kite stepped to one side and motioned for Ryoko to proceed. Her golden axe disappeared for a moment as she seemingly removed another axe from thin air and daintily tossed the massive weapon into the shimmering pond, where it splashed loudly and sank instantly to the bottom.
In a flash of sparks and light, a teardrop-shaped creature appeared, composed entirely of water and with a goofy-looking smiley face on its 'front'.
"Did you lose a golden axe?" Monsieur asked, his voice rising to a high pitch, almost cracking. "Or, was it a silver axe?" An unheard answer from Ryoko prompted it to speak again. "Whaaat? Neither one?"
As the water spirit went through its typical routine, Kite casually turned away and eyed their surroundings, watching for monsters. He noticed several odd shapes twisting and weaving on the horizon, thanks in no small part to the waves of heat coming off the sand; passing the shapes off as architecture of the field, he made no effort to think further about them.
"It worked!" exclaimed Terajima, causing Kite to face her. She held her new axe up high, with a long, white handle and a garish bronze-colored blade that nonetheless looked capable of cleaving through a few inches of steel.
Kite smiled. "How many more times do you need to upgrade it?"
"I need one more level," she said. "Would you mind if we went to another field?"
"Not at all! C'mon, we'll go now."
The two quickly gated out of the desert, and reappeared at the Chaos Gate in Fort Ouph. Kite effortlessly opened the field menu, again inputting random keywords, save for the last one, which he knew was guaranteed to land them in yet another desert – with another Spring of Myst which would be able to upgrade the weapon.
The rings came once more, depositing them in a field remarkably like the last one, with the notable difference that monster level was quite a bit higher here.
With a frown, Kite noted that their target was on the other side of the map; using a Fairy's Orb, he further discovered that six portals lay between where they stood and the Spring. Though Ryoko and he were far higher in level than the field, he didn't feel up to fighting through so many just to make it there.
"Is something wrong?" asked Ryoko, looking with concern at Kite.
"Oh... it's nothing." Kite shook his head. "Just a lot of portals. Would you mind if we rode a grunty there?"
"I'd like that." She bowed her head slightly. "Please."
The Twin Blade sheathed his swords and deftly removed a wooden flute; he inhaled deeply, and blew into the instrument, fingers playing out a short tune. In response, a cloud of dust appeared on the horizon, quickly growing closer.
"Mon ami!"
The words almost echoed in the sunlit sky, reaching their ears long before they could actually see the finely-dressed cow-like beast running towards them. Golden curls flailing madly in the wind, the Noble Grunty skittered to a stop before them, posing proudly, its tail wagging back and forth.
Kite hauled himself up onto the saddle, straddling the grunty's back. He then offered a hand to Ryoko, who awkwardly attempted the same, squeezing onto the seat behind Kite; she slung her axe over her shoulder, her dress forcing both legs to one side.
"Hold on!" shouted Kite, grabbing the reins and giving the animal a light kick.
The Noble Grunty snorted and began to buck as it took off, bouncing comically with every step across the scorching sands. The same stone structures and desert plants of the last field were present here, too, and passed by them blindingly fast as the grunty ran.
Although recent upgrades had ensured that a grunty could not toss off its rider, Terajima couldn't help but feel nervous, bouncing along with Kite on the beast's back; she silently wondered whether that rule applied only to the player who had raised the grunty, and not any additional passengers.
A sharp jolt nearly threw her off the saddle – or at least felt as such – and she instinctively leaned forward and looped her arms around Kite's waist, holding on tightly.
Kite detected the intrusion into his space, and the sides of his face grew warm; though he couldn't actually feel her, he could almost sense her body molding to his, her head just above his shoulder as she watched their surroundings appear and disappear.
(She's just holding on,) he thought, which didn't stop his heart from beating a little faster.
He wasn't given much time to dwell on the subject, as the Spring soon appeared on the horizon, and was reached shortly afterward. The grunty slowed to a halt, and Ryoko released her hold on Kite and slid off the side onto the ground, pausing to adjust her dress; Kite swung his leg over and did the same, dismissing their mount with a wave of his hand.
"Farewell, mon ami!" squealed the grunty in its faux-French accent. It then scampered off into the distance, vanishing over the horizon.
Weapons in hand, Kite and Ryoko approached the spring, and Kite deferred to the Axewoman as before. "Go ahead."
As she threw her axe into the pond, a sudden burst of static cut across Kite's vision, startling him. "Huh?"
Ryoko turned away from the pond – which had since been graced with a visit from Grandpa – and peered at Kite. "What is it?"
"Did you see that just now?" asked the teal-haired boy, pointing vaguely at the air.
"I didn't see anything unusual," was her reply. "What did you see?"
Offline, Hiroshi lifted a hand from his controller, knocking at the side of his visor. "I don't know... maybe it's just my display."
Looking puzzled, Ryoko quickly finished her conversation with Grandpa and retrieved her axe, now a level higher. "Is everything okay?" she asked as she rejoined him.
"I think so," said Kite. After a beat, he followed with, "Yeah, it's fine. I think I'm just seeing things."
She nodded, and cheered back up. "Well, thanks for helping me, Kite!"
"I didn't do anything," he said modestly. "You did all the work. All I did was call the grunty."
"Yes, but..." she hesitated, reaching a hand up to lightly clasp the amulet dangling around her neck. "It was still nice of you to come with me." She bowed her head once more. "Thank you very much."
Kite felt the flush return to his ears, and grinned sheepishly as he scratched the back of his neck. "You're welcome, Ryoko. Are you ready to go?"
"Yes, I'm ready."
Before he could open a menu, static again flashed briefly across his field of vision, blacking out even his heads-up display for a moment. "What the..."
"Kite?"
He saw Terajima staring oddly at him, and shrugged. "It happened again. Maybe I should log off and check my visor."
She pursed her lips, looking around cautiously. "Do you... do you think it's..."
Hiroshi could almost guess what she was about to ask. "I don't see how it could be," he said through his avatar. "You're not seeing anything, are you?"
"Nothing."
"Hmm... yeah, it has to be my visor. I'll check it out after we leave."
He heard Ryoko mumble something affirmative as he brought up the appropriate menu and issued the 'gate out' command. The system obeyed, calling up the same teleport rings that had brought them to the field.
When they could see again, the aerial city stretched around them, with even more players running this way and that as 'The World' hit peak usage hours.
A familiar chime rang in one ear, indicating the arrival of new mail. He faced Ryoko, who was smiling at him. "Well, I'm going to log off for now," he said, not entirely sure how he had helped the girl, but glad regardless to have had her company. "Do you need anything else before I go?"
"No, I think I'll be fine from here," she answered. "Thank you again, and take care!"
"Yeah, you too!"
-
From: BlackRose {theworld}
To: Kite {theworld}
Subj: Want to check it out?
I saw you were online; did you get my email earlier? What did you make of the one I forwarded you?
The boards are down right now, but earlier tonight there was a post about another strange character, this one at Delta: Hidden Corrupted Paradise. I thought it was the same as the one you told me about, but it doesn't sound like the same from the description.
Message me when you get on!
- BR
-root:1388051; kernel047 – message erased 21:09, 2/6/11
- End of Chapter 5
A .Hack fanfiction by Renfro Calhoun
Disclaimer: Project .Hack and attached characters/concepts belong to Bandai and Cyber Connect. They are used without permission, but with the utmost respect.
Notes: Happens following the end of Quarantine. (Thoughts), [text], {email domains}. Sorry if this chapter seems kinda slow. In my effort to curb my tendencies towards cliffhangers – and to build up conflict between certain individuals you may be able to guess – there will be a notable sparseness of plot here. But fear not! As last week, more is coming, and quite soon – as in, sooner than Monday night :)
This chapter written under the influence of: Mad at Gravity – Find the Words
Chapter 5 – Timely
-----------------------
The whiteness of her outfit greeted him before her voice; he spotted her in the middle of a nearby bridge, and strode past the parapet towards her, returning the smile she bore.
"Hey, Ryoko!" called Kite as he joined the axe-wielding warrior. Her weapon stood taller than she, loosely clasped in her right hand, casting a light shadow over the rest of her body. Her dress, slightly out-of- character for a heavy melee fighter, was of a pure white, lined with lace and matched in color by her gloves and boots. Framing her short, blonde hair was a shiny, golden halo, flanked by a pair of angelic wings which sprouted from her upper back.
Everything about her suggested a demure demeanor, which was only reinforced by her soft, sweet tone of voice. "Good evening, Kite. I'm glad you could come. How are you tonight?"
"I'm fine, thanks. And how are you?" he asked. "You said you needed help with your axe?"
"Yes, well... it was a little foolish of me," she meekly began, averting her eyes. "I went to a Spring of Myst to upgrade my axe, but when Monsieur appeared, my hand slipped, and I selected the golden axe by mistake." To emphasize this, she lifted her weapon an inch or so, and Kite finally noticed that it was, in fact, a golden axe; a commonplace and fairly weak weapon.
"I see. So you lost your other axe... have you picked up another one at the shop yet?"
She nodded. "Yes, it's in my inventory. I'm sorry to have to ask, but... will you help me upgrade it again?"
"Sure!" he replied, opening a menu and firing off a quick party invite, which Terajima was quick to accept. Her portrait and stats appeared next to his, and together they left for the nearby Chaos Gate.
"The Springs only upgrade weapons on fields with certain conditions," thought Kite aloud. "I don't know which ones, but it always happened on fields that ended with 'Sea of Sand.'"
They came to a stop at the gate, and Kite semi-consciously punched in keywords to generate the field; Ryoko stood close by, patiently waiting for the teleport sequence to begin.
"Ready?"
She answered with a quiet "Mm-hmm," and a nod. Seconds later, both vanished from sight as the rings engulfed them.
They reappeared in a sprawling desert, sands shifting beneath a burning sun, a slight haze in the air causing the horizon to shimmer. Rock formations and cacti dotted the area, and nearby loomed the gaping maw of a huge, dead sandworm – a creature so large that its innards formed a dungeon of sorts.
"Let's see... ah, there's the Spring," said Kite, pointing in a direction that only looked arbitrary. "Let's go!"
With Kite in the lead, the two dashed to the east, sand shuffling beneath their boots. The path was mercilessly clear of portals, although some monsters had apparently spawned outside of them; a handful of animate weapons and armor floated by in the distance, looking dangerous but giving no indication that they had spotted a target.
Reaching the Spring, Kite stepped to one side and motioned for Ryoko to proceed. Her golden axe disappeared for a moment as she seemingly removed another axe from thin air and daintily tossed the massive weapon into the shimmering pond, where it splashed loudly and sank instantly to the bottom.
In a flash of sparks and light, a teardrop-shaped creature appeared, composed entirely of water and with a goofy-looking smiley face on its 'front'.
"Did you lose a golden axe?" Monsieur asked, his voice rising to a high pitch, almost cracking. "Or, was it a silver axe?" An unheard answer from Ryoko prompted it to speak again. "Whaaat? Neither one?"
As the water spirit went through its typical routine, Kite casually turned away and eyed their surroundings, watching for monsters. He noticed several odd shapes twisting and weaving on the horizon, thanks in no small part to the waves of heat coming off the sand; passing the shapes off as architecture of the field, he made no effort to think further about them.
"It worked!" exclaimed Terajima, causing Kite to face her. She held her new axe up high, with a long, white handle and a garish bronze-colored blade that nonetheless looked capable of cleaving through a few inches of steel.
Kite smiled. "How many more times do you need to upgrade it?"
"I need one more level," she said. "Would you mind if we went to another field?"
"Not at all! C'mon, we'll go now."
The two quickly gated out of the desert, and reappeared at the Chaos Gate in Fort Ouph. Kite effortlessly opened the field menu, again inputting random keywords, save for the last one, which he knew was guaranteed to land them in yet another desert – with another Spring of Myst which would be able to upgrade the weapon.
The rings came once more, depositing them in a field remarkably like the last one, with the notable difference that monster level was quite a bit higher here.
With a frown, Kite noted that their target was on the other side of the map; using a Fairy's Orb, he further discovered that six portals lay between where they stood and the Spring. Though Ryoko and he were far higher in level than the field, he didn't feel up to fighting through so many just to make it there.
"Is something wrong?" asked Ryoko, looking with concern at Kite.
"Oh... it's nothing." Kite shook his head. "Just a lot of portals. Would you mind if we rode a grunty there?"
"I'd like that." She bowed her head slightly. "Please."
The Twin Blade sheathed his swords and deftly removed a wooden flute; he inhaled deeply, and blew into the instrument, fingers playing out a short tune. In response, a cloud of dust appeared on the horizon, quickly growing closer.
"Mon ami!"
The words almost echoed in the sunlit sky, reaching their ears long before they could actually see the finely-dressed cow-like beast running towards them. Golden curls flailing madly in the wind, the Noble Grunty skittered to a stop before them, posing proudly, its tail wagging back and forth.
Kite hauled himself up onto the saddle, straddling the grunty's back. He then offered a hand to Ryoko, who awkwardly attempted the same, squeezing onto the seat behind Kite; she slung her axe over her shoulder, her dress forcing both legs to one side.
"Hold on!" shouted Kite, grabbing the reins and giving the animal a light kick.
The Noble Grunty snorted and began to buck as it took off, bouncing comically with every step across the scorching sands. The same stone structures and desert plants of the last field were present here, too, and passed by them blindingly fast as the grunty ran.
Although recent upgrades had ensured that a grunty could not toss off its rider, Terajima couldn't help but feel nervous, bouncing along with Kite on the beast's back; she silently wondered whether that rule applied only to the player who had raised the grunty, and not any additional passengers.
A sharp jolt nearly threw her off the saddle – or at least felt as such – and she instinctively leaned forward and looped her arms around Kite's waist, holding on tightly.
Kite detected the intrusion into his space, and the sides of his face grew warm; though he couldn't actually feel her, he could almost sense her body molding to his, her head just above his shoulder as she watched their surroundings appear and disappear.
(She's just holding on,) he thought, which didn't stop his heart from beating a little faster.
He wasn't given much time to dwell on the subject, as the Spring soon appeared on the horizon, and was reached shortly afterward. The grunty slowed to a halt, and Ryoko released her hold on Kite and slid off the side onto the ground, pausing to adjust her dress; Kite swung his leg over and did the same, dismissing their mount with a wave of his hand.
"Farewell, mon ami!" squealed the grunty in its faux-French accent. It then scampered off into the distance, vanishing over the horizon.
Weapons in hand, Kite and Ryoko approached the spring, and Kite deferred to the Axewoman as before. "Go ahead."
As she threw her axe into the pond, a sudden burst of static cut across Kite's vision, startling him. "Huh?"
Ryoko turned away from the pond – which had since been graced with a visit from Grandpa – and peered at Kite. "What is it?"
"Did you see that just now?" asked the teal-haired boy, pointing vaguely at the air.
"I didn't see anything unusual," was her reply. "What did you see?"
Offline, Hiroshi lifted a hand from his controller, knocking at the side of his visor. "I don't know... maybe it's just my display."
Looking puzzled, Ryoko quickly finished her conversation with Grandpa and retrieved her axe, now a level higher. "Is everything okay?" she asked as she rejoined him.
"I think so," said Kite. After a beat, he followed with, "Yeah, it's fine. I think I'm just seeing things."
She nodded, and cheered back up. "Well, thanks for helping me, Kite!"
"I didn't do anything," he said modestly. "You did all the work. All I did was call the grunty."
"Yes, but..." she hesitated, reaching a hand up to lightly clasp the amulet dangling around her neck. "It was still nice of you to come with me." She bowed her head once more. "Thank you very much."
Kite felt the flush return to his ears, and grinned sheepishly as he scratched the back of his neck. "You're welcome, Ryoko. Are you ready to go?"
"Yes, I'm ready."
Before he could open a menu, static again flashed briefly across his field of vision, blacking out even his heads-up display for a moment. "What the..."
"Kite?"
He saw Terajima staring oddly at him, and shrugged. "It happened again. Maybe I should log off and check my visor."
She pursed her lips, looking around cautiously. "Do you... do you think it's..."
Hiroshi could almost guess what she was about to ask. "I don't see how it could be," he said through his avatar. "You're not seeing anything, are you?"
"Nothing."
"Hmm... yeah, it has to be my visor. I'll check it out after we leave."
He heard Ryoko mumble something affirmative as he brought up the appropriate menu and issued the 'gate out' command. The system obeyed, calling up the same teleport rings that had brought them to the field.
When they could see again, the aerial city stretched around them, with even more players running this way and that as 'The World' hit peak usage hours.
A familiar chime rang in one ear, indicating the arrival of new mail. He faced Ryoko, who was smiling at him. "Well, I'm going to log off for now," he said, not entirely sure how he had helped the girl, but glad regardless to have had her company. "Do you need anything else before I go?"
"No, I think I'll be fine from here," she answered. "Thank you again, and take care!"
"Yeah, you too!"
-
From: BlackRose {theworld}
To: Kite {theworld}
Subj: Want to check it out?
I saw you were online; did you get my email earlier? What did you make of the one I forwarded you?
The boards are down right now, but earlier tonight there was a post about another strange character, this one at Delta: Hidden Corrupted Paradise. I thought it was the same as the one you told me about, but it doesn't sound like the same from the description.
Message me when you get on!
- BR
-root:1388051; kernel047 – message erased 21:09, 2/6/11
- End of Chapter 5