K: Hey people! Sorry it's been so long since I've updated anything… ^^; I've been sidetracked by scanalated Naruto manga and Gaia Online… ; *is attacked by mob of angry readers* O_O; AACK!! *is beaten up until they deem she's had enough* X.X;
Y: -_- 8@|@.... And to think- I saved you from Rabble and his blunt objects of doom…
K: *groans and picks herself up off the ground* U- urusai, Ya-chan… -_-;
Disclaimer: I haven't even gotten any closer to beating MUTATION (cuz' I haven't played in 4 months… ^^;) yet. Do you really think I'd be committed enough to create it? ;
Dedications:
- Marduk (Candy goooooooood…. XD And thanks- I'm feeling a lot better now. ^_^)
- Silvermoonstar-tenshi (^^; Like I said- sorry I'm so slow. I haven't had much inspiration, and distractions like Gaia don't help much either… ;)
- Redtail-Kun (-_-; Shut up… I'm not much of a gamer, okei? *sighs* Anyhoo, glad you liked it, and thanks for at least TRYING to decipher the titles. ^_~ Better luck next time!)
- Lisht Sieger (*nod nod* Yep- we all know what happened to Tsukasa, right? ^^; Mysterious voices + angsty character = BAAAAAAAAAAAD news… ;)
- Jupiter Sprite (Heh heh- same here. Love writing cliffies, hate being on the receiving end. XP I hope you write a .hack fic soon- I'd love to read it! ^_^)
- WingJade (*bows* Why, thank you. I'm flattered you think so highly of my writing. *blush*)
- Wolf Lupin (I'm glad you're so enthusiastic, Lupin! ^_^ Hope you're just as happy for the arrival of this chapter… ^_~)
- Akemi-sama (^_^ Glad you like it! And like I told Marduk, I'm feeling much better now, thanks. The one Cartoon Network is airing is .hack//SIGN, and they actually did a pretty decent job of dubbing it. *nod nod* I have the sub box set myself, but the captions are really messed up… X.X; True, a lot of the original context is changed to make it more understandable for English-speaking people, but it's really up to you if you would rather have the sub. [I was just impatient and decided to buy the set so I could know what happens before others did. ^^;] Of course, the sub box set is probably cheaper than all 4 separate dub DVDs anyway… :P)
Notes: The little contest to figure out the chapter titles is still going. So far, no one's attempted a guess yet… -_-; COME ON PEOPLE!!! THEY'RE HELLA EASY!!! ;
Gosei no Ai
Synthetic Love
Gate IV: Solus
(Kite)
Where am I? What is this place? Hn… I've lost track of how many portals we've gone through, I don't even know anymore…
All I know is that it's dark- very dark. Like I'm in a dungeon or something... That mysterious person left a little while ago, so I guess I'm on my own. I wonder why she took me here? Didn't she say she would take me to Yasuhiko? Or was she just bluffing?
Sigh. "I'm too naïve for my own good, sometimes…"
Deciding it would probably be better if I knew vaguely where I might be, I start walking around, my hands held in front of me. I never know when I might bump into something since I can't see, so feeling around for them before I do seems like a good idea. Pretty soon I find a wall and, after taking off my glove to examine its texture better, I figure out it's made of sandstone or something. It's definitely some type of cave dungeon, but it feels like it's been carved into. A temple, maybe?
Frowning, I slide my hands along the wall until I find something cold and metallic. Tracing the object with my fingers, I come up with the mental image of an unlit torch in a socket screwed into the stone. Perfect.
Kneeling, I take off my pack, rummaging through it until I find my collection of scrolls. I'm glad they stuck a seal on each of them, a different one for each spell, since that way I can tell which is which even in the dark. I find a scroll marked with a single line that branches at the bottom with 2 short lines on either side of the main line and recognize it instantly as the kanji for "fire." Dumping the rest back into my bag, I raise the fire scroll above my head and activate it. Lighting the torch with the blazing remains of the parchment, I heft my pack back onto my shoulder and take a good look around.
As expected, the walls are worn and crumbling stone. The light of the torch doesn't reach all that far, so I keep to the wall, searching for more torches in the gloom. First one, then another, until all 6 of them are lit. With that done, I find I'm in a fairly large room, and a staircase behind me leads down to another realm of shadow. What is this? Am I supposed to find my way to Yasuhiko?
Shaking my head, I open my bag once more, pulling out a fairy orb and releasing it. The golden light envelopes me for a moment, then darts down the flight of stairs. I wait a few minutes, then it comes back, its duty fulfilled. Now that I have all data of the floor beyond, the light dissipates and bursts into a shower of sparkles, gone. Glancing at my newly-formed map, I let my eyes follow along, finding the most direct path toward the chamber marked "DOWN." Apparently, this level doesn't have any treasure chests, nor magic portals. How strange…
Then again, this isn't a normal dungeon, is it? I could be walking straight into a trap. I mean, I don't even know that person, whoever she is, and she seems to know all about me. She even lured me here by saying she'd take me to see 'hiko-kun. It all makes sense…
Datte- I can't just pass up this chance. If there's just a small possibility he's really here…
Sigh. "Why do I have to be so stubborn?"
Gulping, I gather my courage and take the first step down into the unknown darkness.
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(BlackRose)
Hmmm…. I'm guessing Elk is really depressed about this whole Kite thing- he chose such a desolate field. Didn't he say he liked flowery, hilly plains? It's so dark here… I may not be a psychiatrist, but I definitely don't have to be one in order to see he's in a sullen mood.
He's smiling at me as I walk toward him, but it just doesn't seem to reach his eyes. It's like a mask he's wearing to disguise his true feelings… Like the one I always wear. He looks very frail, standing there with the digitized wind blowing his silver-blue hair in his face…even effeminate. Than again, Juumontsukai do wear outfits akin to dresses…
Banishing my thoughts, I smile back in greeting. He bows slightly, and as he raises his head, I see the mask has melted away, only leaving worry and sadness to adorn his pale features.
"Thank you so much for coming, BlackRose. I really didn't know who else I could call…"
I brush him off with a wave of my hand. There's no need for all this formality between us- we need to move on to the business at hand.
"Please, just tell me what's wrong with Kite. Is he… okei? He didn't go off by himself and face that monster he keeps talking about, did he?"
He shakes his head, and when I catch his gaze, I see his crimson eyes are dull and hazy- dead. "Iie- nothing like that… It's just… He… I…"
He paused, biting his lip and breaking eye contact. He seemed lost- as if he had no idea what to say. Then it dawned on me- he really didn't know what to do, whatever it was had never happened to him before. I placed my hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him like 'Kaa-chan always used to whenever I was like this.
"Go on… Daijoubu desu…" (It's alright) I murmured, and he dipped his head in a curt nod.
"Well I-"
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(Kite)
It feels like I've been wandering around for ages. I've gone through so many floors, I've lost track of which level I'm on. This place is like a labyrinth or an underground castle- it just keeps going and going until you're so hopelessly lost, you'll never find your way out again.
Sighing, I stride through the corridor and into the next room. It's spacious, and there are 5 lit torches lining the walls, snug in their holsters. The sixth is missing.
I've somehow managed to find my way back to where I started. How the hell is that possible?! I only went down, so I can't have come back- it's against natural law!
Datte, this is The World. Those laws don't apply here unless someone writes it into the program. Therefore, things like this are perfectly plausible, right? However… Why is this the first time it's happened? I know it's not a normal dungeon… Could it be that this place, wherever it is, lies outside The World?
If it does, then how did I get here? How did that girl take me here? Is she a hacker, like Helba? No… She hinted that she wasn't human… Though, she could be lying.
Scowling, I think about what I should do now. All of a sudden, something screeches to my right, nearly giving me a heart attack. I whirl around, prepared for an attack, only to see an ancient iron grate rising into the ceiling. Chotto- that hadn't been there before, had it?
I cautiously approach the new door, wary of what might lie beyond it. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, I enter. A rush of wind pushes me back, blowing out the torch. Cursing, I close my eyes and count to 60, allowing them to adjust to the light, or lack thereof. While they are still closed, something brushes against me, and I hear the tinkling of the girl's laughter somewhere in the distance.
Frowning, I open my eyes, gasping as I saw what had touched me. It was Yasuhiko's avatar, Orca, his whole body a ghostly white. He was floating, his features frozen in that same horrified look he had when data drained so long ago.
I collapsed, staring at him as he hovered in midair. Tears cascaded down my cheeks, and I cupped his pale face with my gloved hands. Choking back a sob, I leaned over and embraced his lifeless form, my face buried in his chest.
//Beautiful, isn't he? I find death fascinating, don't you?//
I jerked upright, a chill running down my spine. I wanted to scream at her, hurt her, tear her to shreds… I wanted to make sure she paid for doing such a thing to him. Yet all I could do was sit there, frozen, shaking in rage and fear.
She stepped out of the shadows behind me, her dress whispering in the wind as she glided up to me and placed her arms around my neck. She leaned over, holding me close as I cried in frustration at my own weakness.
//Shikashi- this is not true death… They are very close to it, but it is not the same…// (however)
She moved so that she was facing me, then trailed her finger down my cheek and smiled eerily. Drawing me closer, she parted her lips and approached mine.
//Show me death…//
Her lips are like poison.
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K: Aack! How dare she!!! She stole Kite-kun's FIRST KISS!!! *growls angrily*
Y: -_-; You're the one who wrote it in, baka.
K: *scowls* Shut up. *sighs* Anyway, do you know who the 'mystery girl' is yet? I gave you one helluva hint! ^_~
Y: Ne~ Most people probably haven't seen that series yet, aibou. And those actually reading the manga version have no clue since they haven't translated that far yet…
K: *scoffs* So what? I'm sure SOME people might know who I'm talking about…
Y: -_- Donna ni demo da na…
K: *shakes her head* Well, that's chapter 4! Hope you enjoyed it, everyone! ^_^ So- who's the creepy sadistic bitch? Will Elk and BlackRose ever find our hapless Twinblade? Will Elk realize he cares about Kite more than Mia?! And that she only loves him as a brother or close friend?! Hope so!!! *crosses fingers*