.hack/Polarized/Intermission
by
Chad 'Graeystone' Harger
XXXXX
"This isn't happening," I say to Aunt Miko. The sky is filled with images of The World.
"It started a couple of hours after you were knocked out," says Aunt Miko. "The holes are becoming bigger."
"What happens if the whole sky is filled with images of The World?" I ask.
"Helba spoke of three theories. The two worlds merge and become one and everything becomes really interesting. The second is that one world ends up destroying the other. The third one is more likely according to Helba. Both worlds end up being destroyed because two pieces of matter cannot share the same space at once. In the game, its our sky that is filling up The World's sky and landscape," answers Aunt Miko.
I clench my teeth in anger. I've had enough of this. The time for self-pity and complaining is over. Its time I finish Pluto off for good. No more running away. No more distractions. Its time Pluto paid for his crimes.
I go to my computer. It is on with The World running. "How come my computer is still on?"
"When a person logs out or dies in battle that's it," explains Aunt Miko. "Pluto has taken over CC Corp's servers and is preventing anyone from logging in."
"Why haven't they shut down the servers?" I ask. I know I won't like the answer to this question.
"Pluto went to the root towns and Data Drained a lot of players. So far fifty people are in comas," answers Aunt Miko. "He also caused any CC Corp employee who was at a computer to go into a coma and that adds to the body count."
"In other words he has hostages," I grumble.
I put on the visor and body suit. Then I remember that I can't. " Chase is gone," I say with frustration.
"No he's not. There's good news and bad news," says Aunt Miko. "The good news is that Helba saved some of the data before it was completely drained. She, Balmung, and Mistral were able to put Chase back together. The bad news is that they had to make him level one again. Let me tell them you're coming so Chase will be ready. I'll be at my computer so I'll shout when its time."
"This'll be fun," I say dryly at the prospect of fighting a war with a level one character. As if things weren't bad enough all it would take is one well-placed hit and I'm out for good. I wait a couple of minutes then I hear Aunt Miko yell. I lower the visor and take control of Chase. I get the feeling it's the last time I'll be using him.
XXXXX
Everyone stares at me with disbelief. "Are you sure its him?" asks Blackrose after a long silence.
"Its me," I say. All they need to hear is my voice.
Piotr walks up to me and hugs me hard. "Comrade." He picks me up and spins me around. "Comrade!"
"Let him go. You'll give him vertigo and he'll throw up," laughs Annrika.
Piotr set me down. I look at everyone and they're confused. "How did you come out of the coma?" asks Bear.
I had thought Annrika and Piotr would have told them about me. They honored my decision to keep my mind a secret. Now I have to tell them. I don't mind now. I'm getting a handle on it so it won't be as bad. "Years ago when Deadly Flash struck, my mind was nearly yanked out of my body."
"You accused Aura of causing it," says Rena.
"I was wrong about that. Aura was involved but not as the cause. Because her voice was the last thing I heard back then, I thought she was the cause of Deadly Flash when I started to remember," I say. "It won't take much thought to guess the real cause."
"Pluto was responsible," says Kite.
I explain to them what happened to me. I leave the personal stuff out like how I never moved from the side of the road that holds all that is real in my mind or the looks on my parents faces as they laid dead in a heap.
"The Bracelet must affect both parts of a person's mind. The real things and the fictional things," says Shugo.
"It's a huge paradox," I say. "In my mind the Bracelet is considered a thing of fiction."
"All we have to do is reject the fact that Data Drain can affect our real selves," says Crim.
"Little, bit, doubt, Bracelet, affects, mind," says Unknown.
"If I understand you correctly, then yes," I say. "It would have to be a one hundred percent rejection with no room for error. Aura called me polarized in that I am an extreme and the rejection of fiction is what keeps me from being fully affected."
"That's means things like movies and TV shows," says Blackrose.
"Doesn't affect me for very long," I say in a tone that means I don't want to talk about that part of it. "When I face Pluto, I have to do it alone."
"Bad idea Chase," says Piotr. "You can't face him now at only level one."
"I lose we all lose," I mutter. "I know the risks and I'm not happy about it. The first time he Data Drained me, he thought he put me into a coma where I'd be out of the way. The second time he out right tried to kill me. It's the only reason why I went down like I did the second time. The only thing that saved me was my adjusted mind."
No one says anything. They know that while in a coma a person is still alive. Dead on the other hand is something else entirely. Everyone becomes uncertain. Even Helba now has doubts.
"What do we do if you fail?" asks Mireille.
Piotr closes his eyes. His voice is full of pain when he says, "We all log out."
"Are you suggesting we quit?" yells Blackrose. "Hearing that quitter talk once from Kite was bad enough! I'm not putting up with it here!"
"I prefer the term finishing it once and for all one way or another," says Piotr.
"We went through this once before!" says Blackrose. "We can't just let the coma victims die."
"I agree with Piotr," says Kite.
"You've gone psycho!" yells Shugo.
"This isn't Morganna who just put people into comas! We all knew the rules back then! We fought the Phases and defeated Morganna and everyone came out of their comas and everything was set right!" says Kite. "But as much as we don't want to acknowledge it, the rules have changed! Chase said that Pluto tried to kill him! That was something Morganna was never able to do! Add to that the fact that if we lose, our world may be destroyed!"
The way he speaks is adamant. He knows something that I don't. "Kite is right," says Bear. "We can no longer act like players who in their innocence got caught up in some strange and all too real adventure that has a direct impact on the real world."
"We were chosen to be warriors," I say. "I won't go into the fight at half strength and filled with doubts. We have something Pluto and his goon squad doesn't have and that's conviction. I realize now that when Aura and Pluto were exposed to the Internet long ago, Aura resisted the overflow of data with all her strength. Pluto on the other hand didn't even bother. Even if the two worlds do merge it doesn't mean it's the end. Pluto will just start absorbing more and more data." Those words make me realize something about Pluto that bothered me while I discovered the truth while in the deep sleep. The euphoria he felt as he tried to drain me during Deadly Flash. He was getting high off the information. He's an addict and data and information is his drug. I figure real data is like high cut heroin. He's like the addict who robs and steals to get his daily fix.
"The problem will be that damn shield of his," says Shugo. "His army is nothing in comparison."
"What shield?" I ask.
It's a reversal of an anti-logout field. Instead of being unable to gate out, a person can't gate in," says Bear.
"What about Gate Hack?" I ask.
"Virus Cores are needed and the only who could make them are Aura," answers Helba.
"I've been thinking about that," says Annrika. "Why not have Shugo or Kite weaken one part of the barrier with Data Drain then the other will use Gate Hack on the spot. At the same time Helba can use one of her backdoors to keep the hole open."
"Data Drain will weaken the barrier. Gate Hack will attempt to open a portal and my backdoor program will make up for the lack of viruses," says Helba. "It is a good plan."
"What about his army?" I ask.
"We've taken a good chunk of them out. Because of our reputations, we were able to sway some players away form Pluto. They realized what they were doing had nothing to do with a made up adventure. We figure the rest of the Pluto's army is made up of terrorists and players who just don't care. Chase, there's something you should know," says Crim. "Its about healing our characters. Because Pluto has so many Wavemasters, it makes taking any of them out difficult. So Helba created a virus that makes healing items and skills useless."
"Level one and no healing. No pressure there," I say sarcastically. I do understand the reasoning. The war could go on for a long time as long as the characters can be healed.
"We've been fortunate so far. Our experiences with things like this give us an edge," says Ouka.
"When I go after Pluto, I'll need everyone to fight hard so he can't get anybody to help him," I say.
"How will you fight him with newbie equipment?" asks Piotr.
"I'll think of something . . .I hope," I say. "In soccer there's something I usually do before the game starts. If we can spare a hour I want to go to Bursting Passed Over Aqua Field if it hasn't been taken over."
"Its clear," says Helba.
"Good, first floor dungeon entrance will do," I say. It's a small room so it will do.
"I will leave the portal open until you return," says Helba.
"What're you up to?" asks Annrika.
"It, fine," answers Unknown. In the real world, Aunt Miko knows what I'm doing.
I walk over to her and take her hands. "This is something about me you have to figure out," I say. It's a little bit of payback for keeping me out of the loop concerning her real identity. Helba opens a portal and I step through.
XXXXX
In sports, players are sometimes shown sitting or standing with their heads lowered in thought before a game. They say they're running the game plan through their minds. Trying to get focus. Others pray to God for inspiration or victory. While we all say we do those things, the real truth is that we want some peace and quiet because everything becomes very loud very soon.
I sit Chase down on the floor and have him lean against the wall with his head lowered. I pause the connection between Chase and I while I sit down in a chair. I slump a little bit and lower my head and let my mind wonder. I do this for a while until I'm interrupted.
I look up at the voice. It's Mistal. "Did something happen?" I ask fearing the worst.
"Making sure nothing happened to you," she answers.
"Thanks and tell everyone I'll be ok. If anything happens you know about it immediately," I say. Mistral gives a questioning look. "It'll be fine." They don't know Aunt Miko is Unknown and if anything did happen all I'd have to do is yell loud enough so she can hear me.
"If you say so. Sorry to bother you," says Mistral.
She goes to leave when I realize I have a question that I want answered. "Mistral, wait minute please. There's something that's been bothering me. How well do you know Aura?"
"The Dot Hackers know her a little bit better than most players. Of course the majority of players don't know about her. She tends to keep to herself," says Mistral.
I can hear the disapproval in her voice. "You don't agree with her doing that," I say.
"She can handle it but I don't know about Zelphie," admits Mistral. "Mireille and her friends helped Zelphie grow by directly interacting with her."
"Mireille called you mom a couple of days ago," I say with curiosity. "Is that part of your characters?"
Mistral laughs and says, "No, she's my daughter in real life. I gave her my old Mistral character a couple of years ago. I didn't know at the time what she'd be involved in. I'm just thankful it wasn't as intense as what I went through. I'm still not happy with her being involved with this current crisis. A mother's love I suppose." I close my eyes realizing I'm jealous. These are the kind of things I missed out on because of Pluto and my mind. I know Aunt Miko tries but it isn't the same.
"If Mireille has your old character how did you get a new one?" I ask. The rule is one account, one character.
"I was involved in helping Aura defeat her mother and getting Aura to be properly born. In this case, born means that her programming got straightened out," says Mistral. "My daughter helped Zelphie grow and learn. As a thank you gift, Aura created a duplicate Mistral character for me. She said it wasn't fair that my daughter and I couldn't share The World together."
This is the second time someone mentioned Aura's mother. "Who was Aura's mother?" I ask.
"Morganna," says Mistral.
I stiffen in shock. "You mean that psycho girl at Net Slum is Aura's mother!"
"You met her," says Mistral. "Not the most comfortable of meetings, was it?"
"She freaked me out and Pluto was scared of her," I say. "What disturbed me the most was that Morganna let herself be data drained."
"Helba told us about that while you were knocked out," says Mistral. "Whatever she's up to can't be good."
"We'll cross that bridge if we have to," I say. Like in soccer, I have to worry about today's opponent instead of the one that I won't have to worry about for days. "Something has been bothering me about Aura. Before you and the Dot Hackers appeared to rescue my friends and me, I confronted Aura thinking she was Deadly Flash. I threatened to data drain Zelphie. Aura didn't lift a finger to protect herself or Zelphie from me. Yet when Pluto appeared, Aura didn't want him to data drain Zelphie."
"For a player, using data drain means to rewrite data into something else. For an AI to use data drain, not only is data rewritten its also absorbed and assimilated into the AI. The only reason why The World still exists is because Pluto has Aura's data and information and that makes him the current Core. At least that's what I think. There isn't any FAQs about the Bracelt after all," explains Mistral.
"If I manage to data drain Pluto, then would Aura and Zelphie be free?" I ask.
"If they're strong enough," says Mistral.
Still so many questions and not enough time to get them answered. Time is something none of us has. "Thanks for answering my questions," I say. "Tell everyone that I'm fine and that they don't disturb me unless it's an emergency."
Mistral takes the hint. She waves bye as she steps through Helba's portal. I spend the rest of my time enjoying the peace and quiet while coming up with a plan. At the end of the hour I hear Aunt Miko's voice. "Chad, its time," she says.
"On my way back," I shout back.
I return to the others and they're waiting for me. "Is everyone ready?" I ask.
"We are," says Shugo.
"One of the reasons why I never bothered with fiction is because I didn't want to ruin it for others," I say. "I didn't want to be the fifth wheel or anything like that. I'm finally getting control of the part of my mind that was changed. After I finish off Pluto and we set The World straight, I'm going to start playing and enjoying the game. Pluto is probably expecting us to use Helbla's portals to get close to the barrier so we're not to bother. Instead we're going to show them what we're made of. Crimson Knights, Dot Hackers, and Descendents of Fianna. Those words mean something. They show each of you are the greatest players of The World. Its time to show Pluto and those who sided with him what legends are made of and what it means to mess with something wonderful like The World. As soon as each of you exit the portals, I ask that each of you fight with all your strength and might. This may be our last battle and even if we lose I want to make sure they'll never forget our names and what we fought for."
I see the determination on their faces. They are all ready for this battle. I'm ready for this battle! "Balmung, Helba, you two will fly Kite, Shugo, and I to the shield."
"Don't worry partner, I'll leave some for you," Orca says to Balmung.
"I know you will my friend," replies Balmung.
Kite walks up to me. "There's something I want to give you," he says. He uses the gift command.
I'm surprised at what he gives me. "Are you sure about this?" I ask.
"Just wait for the right moment to use it," instructs Ktie.
"Do you know how this is going to end?" I ask. "And please give a straight answer."
"You're the one who has to make the decision," says Kite. "I don't envy you either." He walks over to his friends and the sinking feeling in my stomach returns.
"Good speech," says Piotr. "Want to come work for me?"
"How about after this mess dies down in the real world," I reply.
"Thanks for nothing," growls Piotr. If we win there's going to be some real major repercussions in the real world. No amount of spin will save CC Corp this time.
"What're the political ramifications?" I ask.
"I can't even begin to imagine," says Piotr. "The obvious part is that CC Corp gets shut down for good."
I lower my voice to a whisper. I don't want anyone to hear what I'm about to say. "But that'll destroy The World."
"Along with Aura and Zelphie," says Piotr. "There's another problem. If people dig deep enough they find our names."
"We're trying to fix this mess," I say with disbelief.
"You don't understand politics. We survive this, CC Corp gets blamed and they go out of business. To survive CC Corp shifts the blame. They'll blame us for causing a lot of this," says Piotr.
"Damned if you do, damned if you don't," I mutter.
"Welcome to politics," laughs Piotr.
I shake my head in displeasure. All the adults I know has something to say about politics and none it is good. We go over to Annrika and Unknown. "You ready?" I ask.
"Yes," says Unknown impatiently. If she's showing this emotion then it means Aunt Miko is tired of waiting.
Annrika hugs me. "You come back safe," she says.
"After I beat Pluto, let's go see a movie," I say.
"Are you sure?" she asks with surprise.
"I gotta a lot of catching up to do," I say.
"Just take it slowly," says Annrika.
I think of Pluto and his addiction to knowledge and information. I shudder at the thought of becoming something like him. "Don't worry I will." I say.
"The portals are open," says Helba. "I have opened them to strategic spots so we can cause the most amount of havoc as possible."
"Uh oh, she's enjoying this," says Mistral.
"I don't enjoy this mess but I do like the idea of being havoc to those who caused it," says Helba flatly. I am very glad she's on our side. Helba opens five portals.
"For justice!" yells Crim as he, Bear, Mimiru, and Orca step through their portal.
"May the grace of the Twilight Dragon be with us all," says Blackrose as she and his fellow Dot Hackers step through the second.
"For Aura and Zelphie," cries out Rena. She and her generation of Dot Hackers step through the third one.
It's my friends' turn. They don't know what to say at first. Then out of the blue Piotr lets out an ear-piercing howl. "Let's kick arse and take names!" I laugh as Unknown shoves Piotr into the portal. She goes next. Annrika turns and looks at me and nods. I nod back. I silently pray that they will be ok.
"Its our turn," says Balmung. "Anyone got any inspired phrases?"
"I have one," says Helba. "Booya!"
We laugh as we enter the portal. Everything goes white for a few second and then we appear high in the sky and I start to fall.
XXXXX
The first thing I notice as I tumble around is that the holes in the sky are getter bigger. The holes are almost on the verge of touching. Helba and Balmung swoop down to catch us. Helba grabs Shugo and I. Balmung catches Kite. We swoop low enough to get a good look of the ground. We can see our friends and allies tearing up the area.
"We better get some altitude before someone decides to look up," says Helba. She tightens her grip on Shugo's wrist. For some reason Helba told me to hold on piggyback fashion while she just holds onto Shugo's wrists.
"Why don't you carry Shugo differently?" I ask.
"I don't want him to get a nosebleed," says Helba dryly.
"I don't do that anymore!" yells Shugo.
"Yes, I forgot, you like to stare now," says Helba. "Even I can only take so much. Stop staring or else I let go."
Shugo lowers his head. "Yes ma'am."
"Quite struggling," Balmung says to Kite.
"I-I'm not struggling," says Kite nervously.
"Are you ok?" I ask.
"I'm fine!" he yells in an uncharacteristic manner. His words are real and not part of his character.
"You don't sound fine," says Shugo.
"I don't like heights for real," says Kite.
I can see Balmung blink in surprise. "All those times I offered to give you an experience in flying you always had some excuse and you were afraid of heights."
"And you call yourself Kite in the game?" asks Shugo.
"Its not as lame as using your own real name," snaps Kite.
"I'll remember to tell Terajima that," says Shugo with a wide smile.
"Remember what you did to Komiyan III? I'll make sure you'll end up uglier!" threatens Kite.
"I'll be good," says Shugo.
"There it is," says Helba. I look at the large black barrier rising up into the sky. It's as creepy and dangerous as it looks.
"I'm going to fly down to get a quick look at the ground," says Balmung. He nosedives and I hear Kite squeal in fear. "Sorry about that," says Balmung. He returns a few seconds later and he isn't happy. "Should've known he'd be able to that."
"Do what?" I ask.
"He has a bunch of monsters that are virus infected," says Kite. "He must be using Morganna's knowledge to create them. After you enter the portal, we can take care of them. I don't want them to being involved with our friend's battles."
"Then we open the portal from here," says Helba.
"Are you sure about it?" asks Shugo. "We are high up in the sky and if Chase lands wrong it may damage him."
"How would I land?" I ask.
"Normally but try for a crouch landing," suggests Helba. "In games that seems to work for some reason."
"And it looks cool," adds Shugo.
"Just time it right and you'll be fine," says Balmung.
It'll be about timing. The fictional heights and falling won't bother me. Its making sure I land properly is what will matter. I take the deepest breath possible and very slowly exhale and I collect my thoughts and focus on the goal at hand. Its what I do in soccer to get myself completely reading before heading out to play.
Shugo points his Bracelet at the barrier. "Data Drain!" The barrier starts to shake where Shugo hit it.
"Balmung, brace me," says Kite. "Gate Hack!" His Bracelet becomes big as him. Invisible forces start pull apart the affected spot.
"Initiating portal in three, two, one," says Helba. The spot spirals inward until there is a hole that turns white. Helba flies me over to the hole.
"Godspeed," Helba says to me.
"Thank you," I say. "I'll make sure I get a blow in for everyone Pluto ever harmed." I brace myself and with a boost from Helba's power I am pushed into the hole.
XXXXX
I appear on the other side of the portal. For as dark as the barrier is the area is well lit. As expected I fall down toward the ground. Any unexpected nervousness or fear a player may experience doesn't happen to me because of the adjusted part of my mind.
I see the ground coming up and some kind of golden glow. I attempt to land in a crouching position. I crouch at the last moment. It's not very graceful. Chase lands on his butt then falls backwards. "Real agile I am," I say. I use the body suit to get Chase standing again. I double check to make sure we're in synch.
I look around and see nothing out of the ordinary except for a golden ball that's glowing. Beams of light are being pulled toward it. I walk closer to it and I become dizzy. My adjusted mind is nearly overwhelmed. I feel like I'm going to be sick! The beams of light are information. There's all types; real, fictional, personal. My mind and stomach settles down as the beams of light stop being drawn into the golden ball. The ball's brightness fades and I can a see figure within it. I can make out the figure as the glow fades away. "Pluto," I say.
Pluto notices me. His body is whole. There's no sign of missing body parts or energy leakage. I know this can't be good. Pluto finally notices me. "Unexpected. Little concern one of you made it through," he says. "Shugo, you are no warrior." Even his speaking skills are perfected. Yet as I look at him I see he is part real part made up. With the constant flux of data and information he's always in I can't be sure what he is in terms of fiction and reality.
"Listen to my voice you idiot," I say.
"Why won't you stay down!" yells Pluto.
"I'd tell you but then I'd have to delete you," I say. "Of course I'm going to do that anyway."
Pluto's Bracelet turns into fire. He pours all his hate and rage into it again. The beams of fire come at me. The fire beams drain the very air leaving nothing but the exposed data that lies underneath. Now is the moment of truth for me. I brace myself and in my mind I raise my own barrier. The fire beams hit me and I scream in pain!
To be continued . . .