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. Parentheses indicate thoughts. Comin' up on the home stretch. It's times like this I wish I got paid, because if it weren't for my chronically short attention span I could do this all day. It probably wouldn't be as good, but who cares? I'd be making money! Oh, I miss making money...
Uh... oh, right. Sorry. Read on! :)
This chapter done to the tune of: Stone Sour – Bother
Chapter 18 – Break the Rules"What'd you want to talk about?"
Glancing over his shoulder, Balmung gave a nod to BlackRose, Ryoko and Sanjuro, who stood waiting at Dun Loireag's Chaos Gate. "Go on ahead, we'll catch up."
He watched for a moment as the leader of the party – BlackRose – got the attention of Lios. After an invisible conversation, the three of them vanished, leaving the Descendents of Fianna behind.
Balmung turned back to Orca. "I've been thinking about something ever since we ran into the character – the black one. Helba inferred that he was an AI of some kind."
"Yeah, I read the logs," said Orca. "What's your point?"
"I've been trying to figure out who put him here, and for what purpose." He folded his arms – covered by metal guards – across his chest, shifting his weight to his left leg. "Nothing seemed to make any sense; create a program based around key events in one man's life? What could they gain from that?"
Orca shrugged. "They're after Morganna. Perhaps this is part of some plot to draw her out somehow? Bring her back from... well, wherever it is she went?"
"That's just it," the Blademaster countered. "We THINK they're after Morganna. That's what the program told us, but who put that program there?" Pausing for a breath, he added, "What if someone told him what to say? Someone who wanted us to do exactly what we've been doing – trying to follow this thing around?"
Orca's thick eyebrows bunched together as he stared at his white-haired comrade. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying we haven't considered the possibility that this... thing... is being controlled somehow. That maybe it's not an AI after all, but character we've been told is an AI."
Skeptical, Orca silently motioned for Balmung to continue.
"Let's work backwords on this one. In their last meeting, Kite said Stolls was uncharacteristically rude to him." He raised a hand, palm up, and gestured to Orca. "Why would he suddenly drop character?"
Orca pondered the question for a few seconds. "Hmm... well, maybe it wasn't necessary anymore? He did say it was like they both knew it wasn't really Dean."
"Exactly," Balmung said firmly. "With this character running around, of course it would throw doubt on the Wavemaster. He wouldn't have dropped character unless he didn't need to pretend anymore, or he didn't need Kite to believe him."
Some of the confusion in Orca's eyes began to melt away, his features softening accordingly. "Go on."
"There was something else that bothered me. He mentioned how he 'knew' that people had broken into his apartment to kidnap him, but he couldn't remember it happening." He stopped to look around, making sure nobody was eavesdropping on the conversation. "Let's assume that he had the foresight to put a copy of himself on the internet, and had the technical expertise – or the help of someone who did – to do so. How could he possibly have that kind of information at the time? He claimed to have been asleep at the time. Even if he had help, he couldn't possibly have told someone about that, much less be in any condition to put it on a computer."
The doubts were becoming clearer. Orca lifted his head, seemingly on the dawn of a revelation. "So you're saying someone else put that AI on the internet... someone behind all this, perhaps."
A dark look crossed the Blademaster's flawless features. "I'm saying there are inconsistencies. I, for one, am reluctant to trust what this 'Dean' has been telling us, and it's very possible that 'they' want us to meet up with this last character."
Orca let out a low moan of frustration. "Well... what do you want to do, then?"
"I told this to you for a reason," said Balmung. "I want you sign off."
The muscular warrior gaped, dumbfounded at the order. "What?!"
Balmung leveled a steely gaze at the Azure Sea. "I don't know what's going on, but it has me worried. There's a chance we might be walking into a trap... and I want someone to stay outside who knows what we know so far."
"But why me?" Orca shot back. "Why don't you warn the others if you're so suspicious??"
Balmung inhaled sharply, teeth clenched firmly together. "Don't misunderstand me; I will tell them, too. For one, though, this may be our only chance to find out what's really going on." He looked up at his friend, hints of sorry somewhere deep within his eyes. "And besides, I... you already..." The words were mangled in his mouth, his tongue firmly tied. "Yasu, I feel bad enough as it is."
Orca's face twitched, an involuntary reaction. His hand went up to halt the Blademaster. "Look, just... just forget about it, okay?"
A sad smile climbed onto Balmung's face. "I'm trying." The smile was quick to vanish, and he steadied himself. "Then how about this. You wait out of the game for Kite to contact you. When he does, you message us with what he found. Then we'll see for ourselves what's really going on."
It was Orca's turn to smile. "That's more like it."
His voice was quiet, resigned, with a trace of cynicism. "I'm leaving this tape behind as evidence. Someone has to know what they were up to." There was a small rumbling, a tremor in his throat that could have been a weak growl. "If you'll pardon the cliché, if you're reading this, then something probably happened to me. Something bad."
Hiroshi felt his own breath shorten in concern. "Maybe I'm dead, maybe they just got me... I don't know. But if you find this, get ahold of Lieutenant Aniki Masamoto with the police, fourth precinct. Tell him where the office complex is. If I'm anywhere, I'm probably there. If you need any of my documents, the login is 'SDR,' and the password is 'samspade' – one word."
There was a sniff, a cough, and then about ten seconds of silence. Just as Hiroshi reached for the 'stop' button, Dean spoke once more. "I guess it could be anybody who finds this, but... what the hell. Hiro, man... if that's you on the other end... I just want you to know that I didn't want you to stick your neck out for me. God knows you've done enough for me since we've met, but... thank you. You took a big risk, and you didn't have to."
"It's jake of you man. Really." A stilted chuckle. "Now hurry up and call the cavalry, will ya?"
Static followed the detective's voice. Hiro waited a full minute before hitting the 'stop' button; the impact caused the tape recorder to wobble and topple over, falling on its back to the desk. The gravity of the situation made a similar motion on the boy's shoulders, and he fell back into the chair, slouching low.
(Those guys must've caught him,) he thought. Even in his head, he sounded faint, indistinct. (He really is in trouble. And he needs help.)
The thought hit him like a sack of bricks. (My help. But... I'm no hero. I'm just... just me.)
His doubts were overridden. (What am I thinking?! He's in danger! I have to call the police!) He sat up straight and picked up the phone, punching out 119 and bringing the handset up to his ear.
"Emergency services."
Hiroshi cleared his throat, trying to sound as cool and collected as possible. "I need to speak with Lieutenant Masamoto. It's about Dean Stollis, I think he's been kidnapped."
"One moment, please."
Wedging the phone between his ear and shoulder, Hiro leaned forward and opened the documents folder again. Armed with the password, he rifled through the file titles, searching for anything that stood out.
He found one. ('Discrangerover'. Well... that's one way to keep track, I guess.)
Before he could double-click, a firm, older man's voice came through the phone. "Masamoto."
Momentarily startled, Hiroshi sat up straight and took the phone in his hand. "Sir, my name is Hiroshi Nakosuke. I'm a friend of Dean's, and I'm at his apartment right now." He started to speak faster, trying hard to convey all the evidence. "I-I don't exactly know what's going on, but he left notes indicating he was headed to some place called the Shikima office complex. He said..."
Masamoto cut him off. "All right, all right, slow down. How did... um..." he could be heard mumbling to himself, fumbling with the question. "Oh, where to start. All right. First, tell me where he is. I've been trying to get ahold of him since yesterday. You said the Shikima office complex?"
"Yes," Hiroshi answered. "He said something about a man named Felix, who he'd followed to that building. There was something about Aura, too."
"Aura?"
"Yeah, I... oh. Oh, wait." He fumbled, briefly forgetting where – and who – he was. "Uh, n-nevermind. But there's something going on with 'The World' and Dean. Someone's been impersonating him in that online game, but when I came to his apartment, nobody was here. I spoke to a repairwoman who says she hasn't seen him in a couple days."
Off the phone, Hiroshi clicked on the document and typed in the login and password.
A door creaked open over the phone. "Just a second, Koji," said Masamoto, away from the mouthpiece. He spoke again to Hiro. "Now do you have proof?"
"I have his tape recorder here. He left a message."
"Can you play it over the phone? Let me hear it."
Hiroshi reached out and snatched up the tape recorder, paying no heed to the document on screen. He hit the rewind button, and after a few seconds, hit play, pressing the speaker up to the mouthpiece. Dean's voice came back, flawlessly reciting his lines.
"...probably happened to me. Something bad. Maybe I'm dead, maybe they just got me... I don't know. But if you find this, get ahold of Lieutenant Aniki Masamoto with the police, fourth precinct. Tell him where the office complex is. If I'm anywhere, I'm probably there. If you need any-"
Hiroshi stopped the tape, and put the phone on its perch next to his ear, just in time to hear the officer curse. After a beat, he continued. "Okay, okay. I'll head over there personally to check it out. Did he say which floor?"
"No, not specifically... oh, wait. He did say it was one of the vacant floors."
"Hahhh... that helps a little, I suppose. Listen, thanks for the information, Hiroshi. We'll look into this. There's one thing I want to ask you, though."
"Yes?"
There was a slight pause. "This might sound like an odd question, but are you, by any chance, the player of the character Kite in 'The World'?"
Hiro drew his head back in surprise, just an inch but sharply so. "Y-yeah... why?"
"Hmm. Dean told me a little about you. I'd say his faith in you is well placed." There was a tangible sincerity to his words. "Thanks for the help, son. You've done more today than you know."
He blushed a little at the commendation. "I'm glad I could help."
"Believe me, you did. Is there anything else you can tell us?"
"Not much," said Hiroshi. "Just... can you just make sure he's okay?"
"We'll do our best. Take care, Hiroshi."
He didn't get the chance to wish the officer luck; the line clicked and went dead, prompting Hiro to set the phone down. He leaned back, the sturdy yet comfortable chair molding to his thin frame, cushioning him, drawing a long sigh past his lips.
(Well, I called the cavalry,) he thought, recalling Dean's final request. (Is that it, then? I wonder how the others are doing. Maybe they found that other character... the other Dean...)
Something nagged at his mind, causing his eyes to return to the screen. (They're still up to something in 'The World'.) He saw the file he opened. (Yeah, that disc... what was on it?)
Source: Disc recovered from Range Rover (LS-3909)
Date: 2/4/11
Summary: Outline of plan for extraction (copying?) of artificial intelligence entity "Aura" from The World, gathered from program on the disc.
Details: From what I could gather, the disc contained an upload to 'The World' – modifications for specific fields to accept user-altered characters. In other words, it's a hack. There are four of them altogether:
Sigma: Perceived Lifeless Fort Walls
Delta: Hidden Corrupted Paradise
Lambda: Dolorous Passed Over Prairie
Theta: Greedy Law's Messenger
This appears to be what I've called 'phase one' of their plan. The appearance of these characters has nothing to do with actually getting to Aura; rather, it's intended to get the attention of someone who can. I can only assume they either mean a hacker, or an administrator. It's likely they're looking for either Helba or Lios.
As it stands, these characters are tailor-made from me, from my past. But what I don't understand is that they aren't guided at all – it's purely cosmetic changes, plus some minor programming I didn't understand. They must intend to have someone act out the part of me; the characters are little more than new skins.
Be that as it may, the next step appears to be using whoever shows up, somehow, to summon Aura. Whether they intend to capture her, or merely copy her data, I am unsure. Most of what was on the disc was just an offline build of the areas; I didn't even appear as a character, it was still in edit mode. I'm gathering the rest of this from the attached text file.
I know this much: they intend to use me – my likeness, my history – as a decoy towards the end of taking Aura. How, I don't know. However, these fields were customized sequentially; I believe Greedy Law's Messenger is where the phase one will end.
Conclusion: The characters must be destroyed. Under no circumstance should any hacker or administrator interfere – that's precisely why they're there.
- DS
Hiroshi gasped. (Oh my god. Dean was right, it's all a setup! I've got to warn them!)
Thinking quickly, he minimized the document and opened the messenger program. It signed on instantly, the password memorized and locked by the program; the login, "Stolls".
(What the... oh, it's set to log on automatically,) he mused. (Gotta log in as a guest.)
As he scrolled the mouse over to the File tab, a text box popped up on the screen, barring his progress. "Well, if it isn't Mr. Stollis."
Hiro caught sight of the name atop the instant message – MiKura (BT). Though he didn't recognize it, its presence was enough to make him feel out of place, a foreign element in someone else's world.
Impulse had since acted on his behalf; he typed out a quick "I'm sorry, but I have to go. Someone needs help." He then hit the tab, and scrolled down to 'sign off'. At this, the messenger produced the usual login screen, and MiKura's message blinked out of sight. He couldn't help but feel unsettled, even as he switched over to a guest handle, and typed in his own login and password – allowing him access to his account by remote.
The program went through the motions of connecting, and Hiro's contact list appeared in the corner. He noted five, all of whom he expected to be online. Double-clicking Orca's name, he typed out, "Hey! I'm at Dean's, I just found something. Where are you guys?"
Yasuhiko was quick to respond. "Hiro! I was waiting for you. Balmung and the others went to the field. They just found the character, and they're following him now."
(Oh no!) He spoke with the voice of keys clattering. "It's a setup, they're all decoys. They're trying to trick Helba or Lios into appearing. Tell them to kill the character, right now!"
"Kill it?? Are you sure?"
"I'm positive. Hurry!"
He waited for almost a minute before getting a reply. "All right, I just told Balmung. What should we do, though?"
Hiro let his hands idle on the keyboard, index fingertips rubbing the small divots on their respective keys. He looked away from the screen, thinking as fast as he could. (Come on, come on... what can we do, here? What if they need our help?)
At this, his eyes fell upon a previously unnoticed pile of wire and plastic, wedged onto a small shelf built into the desk, below the keyboard. He slipped a hand into the shelf, and felt the cold, slightly dusty grip of a game controller. His thumb brushed against what he surmised was the eyepiece to a visor.
His hand flew back to the keyboard. "Meet me in-game. We're going to catch up to them."
- End of Chapter 18