.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 after the end of Quarantine. (Thoughts look like this.) More Liminality characters; away from my discs at the moment, so I'm going off a quick GISing for appearances and data. As always, corrections are appreciated. Blame any and all incoherency on jet lag :)

And with that out of the way, Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

This chapter done to the tune of: Foo Fighters – All My Life

Chapter 29 – Who Played Who

"So why didn't you call emergency services?"

Dean grunted as he stuffed the compacted tripod into the duffel bag, loud clinking and rattling noises as it jarred the rest of his equipment. "Because," he said to the phone wedged between his shoulder and his ear, "I think that's what he wanted me to do. They're been one step ahead this whole time, and I think I found a way to even the odds."

Masamoto's voice crackled briefly through the line. "What are you talking about?"

"It's a hunch," said Dean, "but I might have a lead to another of their hideouts. I'm going to pay Tokuoka another visit, see if he's thought of anything else to say."

"Why would he have anything else to say?"

Dean was more careful with the digital camera, placing it gently beside the tripod. "He was more than just a number cruncher. I think he wanted me to find out about Aura from someone else; why, I don't know, but I have a feeling he'll tell me a little more."

"And if he doesn't?"

"I'll kick his ass 'till he does," he said flatly, immediately, as if a reflex. He then bent down and picked up a black tape recorder; stopping only to check the tape, he tossed it into the bag with the rest of his gear.

Masamoto chuckled. "You know, it worries me when you say things like that."

Dean smiled. "Kidding, I'm kidding. I know the rules. I'm one of the good guys now, remember? If anything, I'm the last he's gotta worry about."

"Actually, I was going to suggest wearing gloves. It'd be a good idea not to leave fingerprints if you're going to get rough."

The detective laughed for a moment, and then froze in place. "You… you're serious?" he asked, unable to detect the humor in the lieutenant's voice.

Masamoto was more than happy to spell it out for him. "No, I'm kidding. Be discreet, I haven't finished the paperwork yet."

Dean blinked, puzzled. "Paperwork?" he asked, as he absently bent down to pick up his empty Glock from the nearby dresser.

"You'll see later. Call me back when you have something. In the meantime, I'll look into this Range Rover for you, but no promises. It's a big city."

"I know, Mas. Thanks anyway, and I'll call you if I find out anything. Later."

The Civic rumbled merrily as it careened down the freeway, weaving casually between other cars, trucks, and everything in between. Concrete and steel sped by through the windows, reflecting the sun with pinpoint accuracy into Dean's eyes, which might have affected him if not for the sunglasses.

A larger problem was his all-dark attire, black longsleeve button-down shirt covering a navy blue t-shirt, both tucked into a pair of matching slacks. Only his leather jacket served as a contrast, brown against the black. Though inconspicuous in low light, the dark material was doing wonders to absorb and trap heat against his body, causing a light sweat despite the 40-degree temperatures outside the car. The sweat was aided by the psychological stigma of carrying a pistol, even though it lay securely in the duffel bag on the passenger seat.

He caught sight of a speed limit sign, and coolly eased off the accelerator to match. The last thing he needed was some inquisitive cop pulling him over and getting curious about his bulky cargo.

(Junichiro held out on me,) thought Dean, (I just know it. If he can give me a clue where else these guys might be hiding…) he threw a look at the bag again. (Just a few shots should do the trick.)

A faint warbling drew his attention towards the glove box, the nesting place of his cell phone. Careful to keep the wheel steady with one hand, he popped the hatch with the other and pulled the device out, hitting the receive button with his thumb. "Yeah, Dean here."

"Dean Stollis?" a female voice asked.

Mildly annoyed, he replied, "No, Dean Martin. Yeah, it's me. Who's this?"

"This is Helba."

Dean jerked his head back, but kept control. "And what can I do for you, Miss Helba?"

"That's an interesting question," she said in an increasingly memorable low, lilting voice. "I was actually hoping to do something for you, detective."

"I'm listening."

"I presume you've spoken with Tsukasa?"

He flipped the turn signal as he started into another lane, throwing a quick glance over his shoulder. "Yeah, the girl, right? Tokuoka sent me to her, and I'm on my way back to grill him some more. What about it?"

"And you know what she is, right? Aura, that is?"

Dean rolled his eyes. "Look, these minutes aren't cheap. You getting to a point anytime soon?"

Admirably, she did. "They're going to strike again soon. I don't have the details, but someone will meet you at Tokuoka's."

"Someone who?"

"An associate, you might say," said Helba. "I'm sending him precisely because I seek the same answers you do, detective."

Dean snorted. "I find THAT hard to believe. Helba, or whoever you are."

A soft chuckle. "Speak with Tokuoka. My associate will meet you there. You'll have to pardon his manners, he's… shall we say, not a people-person."

"Oh, that's terrible," said Dean sarcastically. "Because this city's been sooooo hospitable to me thus far. I'd hate to have to deal with somebody who isn't courteous or polite."

"Don't be difficult," she chided, almost playfully. "It's unprofessional. Be glad you're not Junichiro."

"Yeah, yeah… don't sweat it, I'll meet your guy. But I'm gonna want some answers to this sooner or later. Emphasis on sooner."

The line clicked dead, but not before he heard her mutter "You're not the only one," under her breath.

Knock knock knock. "It's open!"

Dean tested the knob; the door swung open easily to his touch, and he stepped into the apartment, making sure to remove his shoes before advancing another step. He spotted Tokuoka on the couch facing the TV, and before he could greet the ex-Cyber Connect employee he caught a glimpse of a second man, to his right in the kitchen.

"How you doin', Ichi?" said Dean out the corner of his mouth as he faced the other man – a wiry-looking fellow, perhaps in his late 20's or early 30's, hair short but thick, and wearing glasses. He wore a plain white overshirt, with a collared green shirt beneath it, tan slacks and worn running shoes; not much to distinguish him, save for the amused look on his face. "Who's your friend?" the detective asked as he closed the door behind him.

Junichiro stood up and joined Dean along with the third man. "Sato, Dean Stollis. Dean…"

Dean's eyes shot wide open. "Sato? Wait, wait, wait." He pointed a finger accusingly at the bespectacled stranger. "Are you the guy who was outside the restaurant?"

The look of amusement passed, giving way to confusion. Sato glanced at Junichiro. "What's he talking about?"

Eyeing him up and down, Dean mentally slapped himself; the frame was off, the age was visibly different, and the lack of a weapon was an even more obvious clue. "Damn, nevermind. Some nutjob with a sword and that same name accosted me and… a friend of mine outside a burger joint. He was with Felix."

Sato nodded, smirking. "Ahhh, the Mr. Croker I've been hearing about. That's actually the reason I'm here."

Dean arched an eyebrow. "Hold that thought." He turned to Junichiro. "I spoke to Tsukasa… er, An. She said that…"

Tokuoka interrupted him. "Maybe you should listen to what Sato, or should I say Bith, has to say, it'll save time."

Dean looked at 'Sato' strangely. "Bith?"

"It's a long story," said Sato, nodding to Junichiro. "And either is fine for now. As you've no doubt surmised, I am the one Helba sent you to meet."

"I was on my way here anyway," Dean said dryly.

Sato looked annoyed for a moment. "Do you want to hear this or not?"

Grumbling, the detective looked to say something, but instead folded his arms over his chest merely stared back at Sato.

"Thank you," he said with faux sincerity. "Following the aftermath of Morganna's defeat in the world – I trust you know what I refer to – we began trying to track Aura, as she seemed to… vanish." He gave a sideways grin, half-heartedly, at Tokuoka. "It seems our little espionage, though useful at the time, has created a whole new set of problems."

Sensing Dean's prodding stare, he continued. "In any case, this… attack on Aura is the first we've seen of her since. And suffice it to say, that they used Helba's own hacking protocols to try and extract Aura has been, well…" his eyebrows twitched, a hint of anxiety, "frustrating. We've been trying to help you and the others in finding out what these men want, but I'm afraid that what we have in technology, we lack in human intelligence."

"That's the million dollar question, isn't it," said Dean. "What they want."

"I sent you to An because you had to speak with someone who has seen her firsthand," said Tokuoka, drawing Dean's attention away from Bith. "It's difficult to describe in technical terms. Practically, however… she is the most advanced, lifelike AI ever produced by man. I doubted you'd believe me even if I told you straight out."

"I might have, but I guess that doesn't matter now," Dean replied. "Anyway, I do know that she's a key component of 'The World', and that Felix and company have been meeting with heads from both companies. Either he's playing both sides and stealing the middle, or… or I don't know, maybe they're even working together, pooling their efforts to get Aura, and use her."

Sato nodded. "My guess as well. Like my colleague said, she is the next generation of artificial intelligence. A step beyond the boundaries of programming. If it were possible to… encode a soul, I would say that Harald did exactly that with Aura."

"A soul?" asked Dean, hinting at disbelief.

Shaking his head gently, Sato answered, "Nothing so esoteric. It is analogy; as Junichiro said, she is merely a highly advanced artificial intelligence. In her, Harald created potential. She was indeed meant for a specific purpose – to fix, and replace, Morganna, among other things – but she was not designed exclusively for that purpose."

Dean cocked his head at the younger of the two men, making a mental note of the word 'potential'. "Wait… run that by me again?"

"Compare her to Morganna. She, too, was advanced, but she was still bound by the traditional rules of a program. She had specific goals, and employed firmly-defined methods to achieve those goals – the phases." He stopped to catch his breath. "Morganna was programmed with the Epitaph in mind. Aura has no such restrictions."

"She knew this," said Dean, filling in the gaps in his knowledge. "And that's why she needed to corrupt Aura."

"Self-preservation," said Sato, looking away for a moment. "If Aura woke up as intended, Morganna would be robbed of her drive, her sentience, and all else which was granted to her by the Echelon protocols crafted by one Seijiro Tanaka."

"Yeah," Dean murmured, a bell ringing somewhere in the back of his mind. "I remember him."

Sato stepped away from the group, towards the couch. Slowly, he sat down, letting out a quiet sigh in the process. "This, of course, is history, context; I tell you this in hopes that you can do something with it."

Dean and Junichiro joined Sato, the detective taking a seat on a nearby chair. "What do you mean?"

Sato looked at him curiously from behind his glasses. "You're the detective, aren't you? Can't you figure out what two of the most prominent software companies in the world would do with the ability to copy Aura? To create potential?"

"Ugh," Dean grunted. "Look, I've been over this. It's not helping." He leaned forward, planting his elbows on his knees. "You want to help me? You tell me how to find Felix, and where they're hiding. Motive doesn't mean a whole lot if we can't even get close." After a beat, he added, "Or even better, you could cut the bullshit and tell me where you and Helba fit into all this, 'cause I'm just dying to know that."

Sato and Tokuoka exchanged looks, and then the former looked back at Dean, that same amused expression on his face, one that made Dean want to punch him hard in the face. "That's another long story."

"Sure, whatever," said Dean with a frown. "So, great. I came out here to know more stuff that, while interesting, doesn't really help me. Meanwhile, Helba says they're going to try again, and somehow I don't think they're gonna leave clues just lying around like last time. Wonderful."

Both men fell into an uneasy silence, which was quickly, and abruptly, broken by Tokuoka. "Wait, Helba said they would try again?"

"Yeah," Dean replied. "She said she didn't have the details." He glanced at Sato. "She seemed to imply you would, or at least you could point me in the right direction."

"She instructed me to tell you what I know about Aura," the associate answered. "She passed no information to me about another attack."

A full minute passed before anyone spoke again. "Hang on," Dean muttered, snapping his fingers, gently at first and then louder. "Hang on a minute. You said Aura was meant to replace Morganna?"

"In a manner of speaking," said Sato. "She certainly has similar capabilities."

"Would that include memory?"

Sato blinked. "Obviously, yes."

"Memory of, say… an IP address? One that was being used to hijack one character and download something from 'The World'?"

Sato stiffened. "Maybe… we never did try to find her after the attack…"

"She would have to remember something about it," Tokuoka chimed in. "Even if we couldn't pinpoint exactly…"

"No, wait," Sato interjected. "It's too easy to fake an IP address. The best we could do… assuming we could even find her, the best we could do is narrow it down to a single prefecture, maybe a few square blocks or so."

"It'd be something," Dean finished. "And it'd give the police a smaller area to look for a vehicle… say, a silver Range Rover, one that's been dogging me for a while now. Is it possible?"

A short pause, a rubbing of the chin. A hesitant nod that told Dean all he needed to know. "It's possible." Thinking again, he asked, "but what good would that do?"

Dean held up an index finger, rifling through his jacket pocket with the other hand. "You leave that to me." Facing Tokuoka, he asked, "Can I use your computer?"

From: Stolls

To: Kite

Subj: The Plan

Hey man. Chat function's down, but I can see you're online. You got a minute? I need your help. We need to find Aura. Meet me back at Mac Anu's gate; contact Lios, and anyone else you think can help. I'll tell you what I have in mind as soon as we're all assembled.

- End of Chapter 29