.hack/Polarized/A.Hero's.Lament
by
Chad 'Graeystone' Harger
XXXXX
I am standing beside the person I thought was my enemy. All this time I believed Kite to be the threat to both The World and the real world. Moments ago the real Kite appeared with his friends. Kite asked the thing I was fighting who he really was. The answer was as shocking to me as the initial shock I felt when I remembered Aura was the Deadly Flash virus that killed my parents. This thing my friends and I have been trying to fight all this time was none other than the Pluto Kiss Virus.
"Please tell me he was lying again," says Piotr.
"I don't think he was," says Mistral. "If Pluto was hiding his identity all this time he wouldn't be so callous about giving it away."
"Return, others," says Unknown.
"You're right," says Kite. "We won't be going back to Annrika's place. Helba decided it was too dangerous. Before we came to get you, Helba said there was a giant build up of data that was trying to track you. There's a safe place we can go using one of Helba's backdoors."
They follow Kite and Shugo. I haven't moved. "Comrade Chase, you coming?" asks Piotr.
"Huh, yeah sure," I say. I feel like I am running out of steam. First those battles we lost and now all these revelations. It's starting to get to me.
We go through the portal and appear in an area that's completely white. Given our track records with anti-logout fields, Piotr and Unknown's reaction are understandable. "Trap!" yells Piotr and he extends all his teeth and claws.
"Its ok," says Helba. "This area is an old meeting place where the system administration would gather and pass judgment on rule breakers and cheaters."
"Much to my regret this place is the safest area we could think," says Kite.
"Its not that bad," says a female Heavy Blade.
"You weren't nearly deleted either, Blackrose," says Kite.
Annrika comes up to us. "Thank goodness you three are ok." She runs over to me and hugs me. My face reddens. Who is she in real life? "Chase what happened? Why did you run off?" she asks.
"We will discuss everything after introductions are made," says Shugo. "Chase, Unknown, and Piotr, let me introduce you to some of the legend of The World."
We are introduced to Ouka and Wiseman who we already know. Piotr is amazed when he's introduced to Blackrose, Elk, Gardenia, and Piros. They are part of the original Dot Hackers. It doesn't take long for Piros to get on Piotr's nerves. Despite my mood I have to laugh. The introductions are finished when the players known as Bear, Crim, and Mimiru give their names.
"Where's Orca? He should be here by now," says Blackrose.
"I know it's unusual for him to be late but he'll be here," says Kite. "In the meantime lets get started. Chase and his friends have a lot of questions on their minds that they want to ask."
"I only have one," says Piotr. "What in hell is going on around here?"
"That is a good question. First I have a question," says Helba. "Is Aura and Zelphie ok?"
Even though they are real I am still angry toward them. "Pluto Data Drained them and I hope Aura suffered," I say.
Everyone looks at me in silence. "What did you say?" asks Rena in a threatening tone.
"You heard me," I say.
She walks up to me. "Take it back!" she demands.
Unknown who is standing a little bit in front of me and to the side holds out her arm puts her spear between Rena and I. "Don't," she says to Rena.
"No one talks about Aura like that," says Rena. She tries to ready her sword. Crim grabs her wrist before she can bring her sword around. "Let go," says Rena.
"Unknown has been around since Fragment. Do you think you can fight someone who's been around since the beginning?" asks Crim. "He . . .she, whoever this person is, is not someone you make angry."
"You got that right," I whisper.
"I know you just said something mister!" Aunt Miko yells from her room.
I turn down the send volume "N-nothing!" I yell back.
"Sister, don't start any fights," says Shugo. Rena mutters something and backs off.
Mistral comes over to me. "Chase, why don't you like Aura?"
Despite the grating sound of her voice she is just wants to help and I do owe Annrika an explanation. "The reason why I ran off earlier and the reason why I don't care for Aura is because she's the Deadly Flash virus. My parents were two of the people who died," I say. "Aura tried to affect me like so many others but like the history books say, it was over as soon as it began. I ran off because the memories came back." I don't mention what she did to me. I don't feel like talking about that in front of people I hardly know.
"That can't be possible," says Crim. "Even though Aura looks to be somewhere around nineteen or twenty, she's only been active for only a short few years."
"What Crim, Mimiru, and I along with others who're unable to make it here, witnessed the beginnings of Aura," says Bear. "The original Dot Hackers helped to bring about her actual birth."
"Its her. I'm sure of it," I say. "When I first met her I got a feeling of déjà vu. When I finally remembered I discovered it was her voice that triggered the déjà vu."
"This doesn't make any sense," says Shugo. "There's a huge gap going on."
"Not exactly," says Helba thoughtfully. "Remember that when you take everything we know about Aura away what is then left?"
"A computer program," says Piotr.
"And computer programs and software have versions," says Shugo.
Mistral looks at Mireille and rubs her head. "While Harald may have been a great programmer he wasn't a parent."
"Ah, mom," says Mireille with embarrassment.
"I just had a very unpleasant thought. If an earlier version of Aura went crazy because of bad programming or whatever, is it possible that Pluto is actually one of Harald's early attempts at creating an AI?" asks Wiseman.
"Who's Harald?" I ask with effort. I feel my heart loosing its strength as the burden becomes heavier by the moment.
"Harald is the creator of The World," says Annrika. "But this other stuff. My research never hinted at any of it."
"Uh-oh," says Piotr. "I think in real world we made major mistake. If Harald responsible for Pluto Kiss then kid in jail is innocent."
"I can see why Harald went missing," says Blackrose. "Someone might have become suspicious. I always thought he vanished because he didn't want to answer the questions about some of the strange stuff in The World's programming."
"This doesn't answer the question of what went wrong with Harald's earlier attempts," Piotr points out. "Pluto is insane. I've never seen a real person with insanity like that."
"I believe it had to happen quickly," says Helba. "Pluto's data is hard to read even for me. What I did see shows there's no even flow of data within him. Its all chaotic and jumbled."
We are silent for a long time trying to figure out how Pluto went crazy. It is Gardenia who speaks first. "Like a plant given too much water and ends up dying, the same thing happened to Pluto."
"What would be the equivalent to water?" asks Annrika.
"Other data, information," answers Gardenia.
"Its been theorized that if a person is given too much information at once it can cause the mind to snap," says Wiseman.
"It had to have been a large amount of data to affect Pluto like that," says Mireille.
"I understand," says Mistral with excitement. "Pluto was exposed to the Internet!"
"And the Internet is nothing more than data and information," says Helba. "Being a programmer, Harald would of course have the latest and fastest connection available. Not being prepared for such a large amount of data and information the onslaught would overwhelm Pluto."
"It explains another relationship between Aura and The World," says Crim. "The World is like a giant filter toward Aura and most likely Zelphie." Crim looks at me. "Aura gains her knowledge from how people interact with each other in the game."
It makes sense to me now. The World prevents too much data from the outside sources like the Internet or even the real world from leaking in. Arua and Zelphie must somehow absorb the data from the interaction between players and from that they learn what it is like to be human.
"Now that we got that out of the way, I asked a question earlier before everyone returned," says Annrika. "Why did the rest of you people appear now?"
"You can thank Pluto for that one. I wanted to come back and help but I discovered I couldn't login," says Ouka. "According to Helba, Pluto set up a fence around our accounts. Instead of deleting our accounts which would raise too many flags, Pluto made sure our login information never made it to our accounts."
"Pluto's worm was based on the passwords instead of the character names," says Helba. "Whenever a certain password was used Pluto's worm would seek out the incoming data and delete it before it reached the accounts. When I discovered how the worm worked it became a simple matter of everyone changing his or her password. Aura put protection around Chase and his friends' accounts so the worm could not affect them."
"CC Corp jokes aside why didn't they pick up on it?" asked Piotr.
"It is like trying to log into an ISP through dial-up. Halfway through the connection, you abort the process. The ISP would consider the attempt an error of some kind," says Wiseman.
"And the reason why we never told CC Corp is because we didn't want to force Pluto's hand," adds Bear. "Unlike past threats Pluto is being cautious. He never shows himself too much and if we cause him to move too soon, who knows the kind of damage he can cause."
"Except when there is a big enough threat," says Annrika. "Chase, Cubia, and Net-Slum."
"More, Dot Hackers, where, they?" asks Unknown.
"On standby," says Mistral. "We couldn't risk too many of us logging in at once."
"What concerns me are the players who're helping Pluto," says Rena.
"Many of them are players wanting to play the role of the villain. They think taking over The World is part of the game," says Helba. "But there is a small hand full that are quite dangerous. I have been known to help government agents track down criminals. During my research I discovered the real identities of a couple of Pluto's captains. One of them is Mikhail Veniski."
Piotr says something loud in Russian. "I know that name," he says. "Mikhail is terrorist from way back." Even I take the word seriously. Because of the worldwide network and other things, terrorism gradually faded away. But to have a resurgence of such things is bad.
"We'll have to teach them that attacking The World is as a bad idea as attacking the real world," says Bear in a dangerous voice.
"Agreed," says Helba. "But as saving The World tradition goes we need a leader."
"That's a good idea," says Shugo. "Now who should we pick?"
Its take me a few seconds to realize everyone is looking at me. Unknown pats me on the back. "Congratulations."
"Pick someone else," I say in a tired voice. "I can't help anyone. I really don't want to help Aura."
"Chase, please," says Annrika.
"I'm sorry and good-bye," I say. "Can I get back to root town from here?"
"Yes," says Helba who is uncharacteristically being helpful. "Step through this portal."
A portal opens up in front of me. Unknown tries to stop me. I push her away and I step through the portal not caring how angry Aunt Miko will be with me for giving up.
XXXXX
I make my way to the Chaos Gate to log out once and for all. I'm almost there when Kite calls out to me. "Chase, wait up! I want to talk to you."
"No," I say. I reach the Chaos Gate and get ready to logout.
"I've been where you are right now. Fighting an uphill battle and every time you think you make progress another disaster happens that makes things worse than before," says Kite.
I turn to him. "Its nothing like what you've experienced! Did Aura withhold vital information, like I don't know, murdering your parents?"
"It was an earlier version of her. The Aura we know can't be held responsible for what another version did," says Kite.
"When I confronted her and asked why she killed my parents she turned her head in shame. The guilt was in her face," I say. "If she's expecting salvation and destruction from me she can find someone else to do it."
Kite looks at me with surprise. "What did you say?"
I get a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. "Salvation and destruction," I say slowly. "When Aura gave me the Bracelet she said it can bring salvation and destruction at the whim of the user."
"Its not what she told me when I received my Bracelet," says Kite in a low voice. I can hear the concern in his voice and it's not his character's role. "She told me salvation or destruction."
One word makes a difference. "You had a choice. It seems I don't," I say. "Another reason why I want out."
A player logging into the game appears next to us. It's a Barbarian Swordmaster and I draw my weapons thinking its Basilisk. I then realize this player has green tattoos. "Kite, is that you?" he asks.
"Yeah, its me. Orca, I'd like you to meet Chase, the newest member of the red Twin Blades," says Kite.
"Sorry I don't have time for getting acquainted," Orca says to me. "Kite, my partner has done something stupid. He thinks that monster is you and has gone after him on his own."
"This isn't good. How does Balmung expect to stop Pluto?" says Kite.
"Balmung said something about Omega-13 spells. I figure either you or Helba knows what he meant," says Orca.
"Let's go see Helba," says Kite. He looks at me. "All I ask is this be the last time. We both know Pluto will use the Bracelet on Balmung if we don't hurry."
I look at them both. I don't need the annoying part of my mind to tell me that Orca's fear is all too real. He must have been a victim of the Bracelet at some point. "Alright Kite, one last time then I'm gone for good."
XXXXX
We return to the meeting place where everyone is waiting. I ignore my friends as Kite, Orca and I make our way to Helba. Something odd happens first. Unknown sees Orca and approaches him. "Hello, Orca," says Unknown in the same tone of voice she uses in the real world whenever I am in deep, deep trouble.
"Can we save it for later? Balmung is in trouble," says Orca.
"Later, then," says Unknown. I look at her and she shakes her head. It's enough to tell me that neither Aunt Miko nor her character will tell me what that was all about.
"Helba, Balmung went after that fake Kite. He said something about the Omega-13 spells," says Orca. "Do you know what he was talking about?"
"It seems Balmung has gone from a self-righteous fool to a self-sacrificing fool. To answer your question, to my regret I do," says Helba. "The Omega-13 spells are twenty-six virus cores divided up evenly into two spell scrolls. The scrolls are to be used against Aura."
"Lios gave him those spells," mutters Blackrose who isn't happy.
"No, Aura gave Balmung the spells," says Helba. Even I do a double take. "At the time Aura was afraid of herself and what she might do if she ever became corrupt like Morganna did."
"Why didn't she tell us about it?" asked Shugo.
"This was just before you started your adventures. I did ask her why she didn't entrust the spells with me or Kite," says Helba. She sighs and says, "She answered by asking me if I or anyone else could pull the trigger. She knew Balmung was the only one capable of doing it. Apparently he still harbors some resentment toward her because of what happened in the past." Of course they couldn't do it. They consider her a friend.
"Will Omega-13 work on Pluto?" asks Annrika.
"If Pluto was indeed programmed by Harald and if the two of them share the same code, then maybe," says Helba. "Both are so different now it's going to be a very big maybe."
"What're we standing around for? Let's get moving," says Mimiru.
"No," I say. "If we all go then we risk losing everyone. With the power Pluto has we can't risk it." A smile forms on my face. I may be tired and in a hurry to get out of the game but it doesn't mean I can't make a plan. "Only three of us will be going. Helba, Annrika, and I will go. Annrika and I are the smallest and lightest characters so Helba will be able to carry us."
"I will be flying," says Helba.
"Its quicker than going on foot," I say.
"Why not take myself or Kite?" asks Shugo.
"After I help Balmung, I'm still leaving. Only reason I'm doing this is because I felt the Bracelet's power up close and personal," I say. I ignore the looks and questions of why I'm not in a coma.
Annrika and I talk hold of Helba's hands and we float through on of her portals and when we appear it's digital hell below us.
XXXXX
According to my status screen this is supposed to be an Earth Area. Below us the land is torn apart. The sky is filled with cracks as if a madman reached out with a giant hand and tore chunks of the ground out. The strange thing is the holes in the sky filled with letters and numbers.
"Here we go again," sighs Helba.
"What do you mean?" asks Annrika.
"The holes you see are best described as instabilities of The World's data. The data that hold The World's graphics together is falling apart. It's the first sign of corruption within The World," explains Helba.
I look at the data as we fly past. Like the tunnel I saw when I used gate hack, this data is real. "What happens if all the data is exposed like this?" I ask.
"The World will completely crash," says Helba. "Of course that would be the least of our worries."
"How could it get worse?" asks Annrika.
There is only one way it could become worse. "The real world could be affected," I say. "I can see damage to the Internet but how could it get worse than that?"
"What people play in is imaginary. What makes up this imaginary world is real. The World has become so complex that the data is compressed beyond most people's realizations," says Helba. "This is partly due to Aura's various works she creates. CC Corp can make all the new Root Towns, dungeons, items, and everything else they want but it's Aura who makes them come about. Arua and I realized this a while back during Shugo's adventures. Up until Pluto's return Aura has made sure The World's actual growth was slowed. She made sure things were limited to only items and new players until CC Corp could find better technology that could handle the growth."
"The World has become a bomb," says Annrika.
"That's right," says Helba. "Unlike Kite's original journey, The World is more dense now in terms of raw data. If Pluto pushes the area between the fictional world and the real data too hard then we could have a disaster much bigger than his original appearance as Pluto's Kiss."
I look down and see a group of people. At the front of the group are Balmung and Pluto. Balmung is getting hammered. "Chase, your Bracelet," says Annrika.
My Bracelet is glowing. Pluto is getting ready to use his. "Can we get down there in time?" I ask.
"I doubt it but we can try," says Helba. She descends lower to the ground.
I can hear Pluto say, "Spineless insect!"
"Time for justice!" replies Balmung. He throws two scrolls at Pluto. The area lights up with rainbow colors. The colors fade and Pluto stands there with that insane look and smile on his face. Balmung is stunned that the destructive power didn't work.
Pluto raises his hand and blasts Balmung hard. Balmung tries to get up but can't. Now Kite raises his right hand. His Bracelet is no longer what I'm used to seeing. It has taken the form of fire and Pluto aims at Balmung.
"We're not going to make it!" yells Annrika.
"Can you throw me in between them!" I say to Helba.
"You know what'll happen," says Helba.
"I survived once before," I say. "Now hurry!"
To my surprise Annrika kisses me on the cheek. "You better come back," she says.
"I will," I say. I want to tell her how I feel but I can't. This isn't the time or place.
Helba uses her power and launches me like a missile. Pluto smiles with sadistic pleasure at Balmung. "Maximum Data Drain!" he yells.
A scream of pain cuts through the field and it's me. I drop the controller as I bend over in pain. I look at Pluto then I look down seeing that Data Drain's beams have impaled me. "You," says Pluto with anger and surprise. His control is so great he has stopped the action of Data Drain. "You!" he laughs with glee. "The thorn in my side!"
I try to stand up but the strain is too great. I see Annrika and Helba come at us. "Just get Balmung out of here!" I manage to say. Pluto looks at them and is about to blast them with his free hand. Helba stops and raises her staff. Balmung floats up into the air toward them. "Get out of here, run!" is my last command after Balmung reaches them.
"No more mercy," Pluto says to me and history repeats. Something around my body shatters like glass. I scream in pain as my body convulses. "This time you die!" says Pluto. "Maximum Data Drain!"
Chase's body explodes as my screams become so loud that it draws Aunt Miko to my room. Everything is spinning and once again I feel my mind being pulled away from my body. Pluto isn't messing around this time. I don't think I'll make it through this time. I feel Aunt Miko grab me. "Chad, Chad!"
Someone tears the headset off of me. I look at a concerned woman. It's hard to concentrate, as everything seems to become farther and farther away. This woman, I know her I think. "A-aunt Miko?" I ask.
"Hold on Chad. Everything will be fine," she says.
There's something important I have to tell her. "I don't think I'll be able to do my chores for awhile," I mutter.
"Don't pass out on me nephew," this woman says. Why does she call me nephew and who is this crazy woman? Everything is going dark as my body goes limp. "Chad, talk to me!" she says.
With the last of my strength I manage to say, "Why do you call me Chad? My name is Chase."
To be continued . . .