AN: Sorry for the delay in this chapter, but my main concern has been
editing what I have previously written. The new version of the story is
now up, and I finished this today as well, so everyone is happy! ^_^ Here
you'll be introduced to the other online personas (for the moment), and I
think it's the best I've written for this yet! Enjoy!
.hack//dimensions
Chapter 3: Newbies
Kakera walked forward, entranced by the scenery around her. There were so many people, so many buildings. She couldn't help but stand there and stare.
"Jeez, so many newbies now," commented a swordsman to someone with a spear behind Kakera. "This place is overrun with them!"
"They just opened up a new server somewhere," replied the spearman. "You have to give them a break though. It's not their fault that they have no idea how the game works."
"Humph, that may be so but it gets annoying to have these idiots walking around."
"You were a newbie once too you know."
"Yeah, but I wasn't as bad as these people!"
Kakera listened intently to the conversation behind her. She wasn't happy with the "idiot" comment, but now she knew the general attitude people had to players who were new. "Newbies" was the pet name that they were calling people like her. Well, that label would not apply to Kakera soon enough.
The heavy blade continued down the street, looking around. She had no idea where to start on her adventure, but then she heard some voices that sounded familiar.
"Brad! Give me back my staff!"
"Your staff? I believe I picked it up in that dungeon."
"But you can't even use it! And it's a lot better then the one I have!"
"Maybe I should sell it and get something for myself then."
"No!!!!!"
Kakera walked towards the voices, and found the two fighting boys. The tall one was holding the staff that was causing the argument up in the air, taunting the smaller boy with it. He had long green hair pulled back in a ponytail, and wore red pants and a long sleeved red turtleneck shirt. Rectangular black buckles were placed around his neck. On his hands were green squares, and coming up the sides of his face were long green rectangle marks. Kakera could see a glint of metal up both his sleeves which must be his weapons.
The smaller boy was jumping up trying to reach the new staff, his own lying on the ground beside him. He was a head shorter than the tall boy, but had a large blue hat that added to his height. Spiked red hair could be seen coming from underneath his hat, and a long blue robe with lines of yellow covered the rest of his body.
"Brad, Tuck? Is that you?" Kakera asked.
"Jenny?" asked the tall boy, looking over. "Whoa! I didn't recognize you!"
"I didn't recognize myself either," she admitted. "I wouldn't have been able to tell who you two were either except how you were arguing."
"Well we wouldn't have been arguing if Brad would just give me my staff!" yelled Tuck, still jumping for the staff.
"Fine, you can have it," said Brad, and dropped the staff into his little brother's hands. "Can you start calling me by my online name though? It's Rai."
"Rai? I like it." Kakera smiled, and continued. "My username is Kakera. What's yours Tuck?"
"Tobira," he replied, examining his new staff.
"Tobira? Doesn't that mean door?"
"Well, I like it!" yelled Tobira, and turned to Rai. "So are we going to that dungeon now or what?'
"Sure, it should be a cinch to go through this one, now that we have Kakera with us." Rai smiled and turned to Kakera. "You are coming to the dungeon with us, right?"
"Uh, sure," quickly replied Kakera. "Although I don't know how much help I'll be. I've only been in the game for five minutes."
"So? We've only been playing for half an hour, and look what we got in that dungeon." Tobira held up his staff and smiled. "And that was just with Rai attacking and me healing him. Since you're a heavy blade, it should be easy because we'll have two attackers."
"Wait, what character classes are you two?"
"Well, I'm a wave master," Tobira informed her. "I use spells and stuff. Rai is a twin blade. He's very fast with attacks and has some abilities."
"Come on already!" yelled Rai. "I have an area picked out already. Let's get in a party together and go through the chaos gate!"
*********************************************
In three beams of yellow light, Kakera, Tobira, and Rai arrived at the area.
"Chosen Forbidden White Devil," whispered Rai, looking around the eerie level. The area was covered with snow, and the sky was a mix of dark blue and purple. Mountains could be seen in the distance, but they were probably just there as part of the background. The area looked abandoned, no one in sight.
"This is a big change from standing around in that city area," commented Kakera, as she walked forward. "So where are these 'evil monsters' that we have to fight?"
"They're in little gates that are all around. You have to walk near one for them to come out. Let's see... aha! There's one over there!" Rai pointed to a large spinning golden gate to their right. He walked forward, and the gate disappeared, leaving in its place a huge dragon-like creature.
"Ah! That's a lot bigger then the ones we fought before!" cried Tobira, holding his staff in front of his face to hide himself.
Rai smiled and shook his head. "This area is a higher level than the last one we were in. Don't worry; it'll be a cinch now that there are three of us. Come on Kakera!" Blades shot out of Rai's sleeves, right above his hands. He ran towards the monster, and sliced at it with his blades as he ran past. He stopped once he got past it, and turned back.
The dragon did not have a single scratch on him.
"Rai! That didn't do anything!" cried Tobira. "It says on my screen that he still has full hp!"
"I must not have had a clear hit on him," admitted Rai. "Let me try again!" Rai ran towards the dragon again, and sliced its side. Once again, there was no scratch on the monster, and on Kakera's screen she could see that no hp was being taken from the creature. The dragon itself looked like it saw Rai as only a small pest that could be easily disposed of. It started running towards Rai, and the now scared twin blade ran in fear.
"Ugh, looks like I better do something," said Kakera in a determined voice. She raised her sword and ran towards the creature. She sliced at his leg, but that looked to have no effect as well. The dragon turned towards Kakera to attack, and she had to dive out of the way before she was made into its dinner.
"What?" Kakera was puzzled. "I've squashed monsters bigger than this in my sleep!"
"This is a game, remember?" said Rai. "You don't have your robot powers here! Your level is on your screen, it's the same as the rest of us."
"Ugh, great."
"Rai! What level is this place anyway?" screamed Tobira, still hiding behind his staff.
"Uh.... Level 16."
"What?!" yelled Kakera as she jumped out of the dragon's attack again. "But we're only level 5!"
"But I figured we could handle this," admitted Rai. "Uh, let's get out of here!"
"Fine by me!" replied Tobira, and started running away from the creature. Kakera and Rai ran after him, with the dragon in hot pursuit.
"Can't we get out of this area?" asked Kakera, panting as she ran.
"Not if we're in a battle situation," answered the startled twin blade. "We can only leave if we defeat the monster or get away from it, but it looks like it won't let us do either of those things."
"Shit!" cried the heavy blade, as the claw of the dragon caught her leg, bringing her down.
"Kakera!" screamed her friends, as she tried to escape the clutches of the dragon.
Suddenly the shadow of a man shot across the sky, jumping over the creature, the sound of a sword slicing through flesh following him. He landed next to the creature, as it froze and suddenly burst into bits of data. There was no sign of it ever existing as Kakera rose to her feet.
"Kakera, are you okay?" asked Tobira as he and Rai ran over to her.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied as she shook herself off. "But who saved me?" They looked over to the man now rising to his feet as well.
He was dressed in a long brown coat that blew in the wind. He had black pants and a dark grey shirt that showed muscles buldging out. At his side was a long sword, with small lines coming up each side of the blade. He turned to look upon the group, and Kakera saw he had spiked up black hair. But what truly entranced her was his dark brown eyes that shined with kindness and concern.
"You shouldn't have been running around in an area beyond your level," he said as he sheathed his sword. "Luckily I'm out patrolling for newbies in trouble. By the way, my name is Aoshi. Welcome to the World."
.hack//dimensions
Chapter 3: Newbies
Kakera walked forward, entranced by the scenery around her. There were so many people, so many buildings. She couldn't help but stand there and stare.
"Jeez, so many newbies now," commented a swordsman to someone with a spear behind Kakera. "This place is overrun with them!"
"They just opened up a new server somewhere," replied the spearman. "You have to give them a break though. It's not their fault that they have no idea how the game works."
"Humph, that may be so but it gets annoying to have these idiots walking around."
"You were a newbie once too you know."
"Yeah, but I wasn't as bad as these people!"
Kakera listened intently to the conversation behind her. She wasn't happy with the "idiot" comment, but now she knew the general attitude people had to players who were new. "Newbies" was the pet name that they were calling people like her. Well, that label would not apply to Kakera soon enough.
The heavy blade continued down the street, looking around. She had no idea where to start on her adventure, but then she heard some voices that sounded familiar.
"Brad! Give me back my staff!"
"Your staff? I believe I picked it up in that dungeon."
"But you can't even use it! And it's a lot better then the one I have!"
"Maybe I should sell it and get something for myself then."
"No!!!!!"
Kakera walked towards the voices, and found the two fighting boys. The tall one was holding the staff that was causing the argument up in the air, taunting the smaller boy with it. He had long green hair pulled back in a ponytail, and wore red pants and a long sleeved red turtleneck shirt. Rectangular black buckles were placed around his neck. On his hands were green squares, and coming up the sides of his face were long green rectangle marks. Kakera could see a glint of metal up both his sleeves which must be his weapons.
The smaller boy was jumping up trying to reach the new staff, his own lying on the ground beside him. He was a head shorter than the tall boy, but had a large blue hat that added to his height. Spiked red hair could be seen coming from underneath his hat, and a long blue robe with lines of yellow covered the rest of his body.
"Brad, Tuck? Is that you?" Kakera asked.
"Jenny?" asked the tall boy, looking over. "Whoa! I didn't recognize you!"
"I didn't recognize myself either," she admitted. "I wouldn't have been able to tell who you two were either except how you were arguing."
"Well we wouldn't have been arguing if Brad would just give me my staff!" yelled Tuck, still jumping for the staff.
"Fine, you can have it," said Brad, and dropped the staff into his little brother's hands. "Can you start calling me by my online name though? It's Rai."
"Rai? I like it." Kakera smiled, and continued. "My username is Kakera. What's yours Tuck?"
"Tobira," he replied, examining his new staff.
"Tobira? Doesn't that mean door?"
"Well, I like it!" yelled Tobira, and turned to Rai. "So are we going to that dungeon now or what?'
"Sure, it should be a cinch to go through this one, now that we have Kakera with us." Rai smiled and turned to Kakera. "You are coming to the dungeon with us, right?"
"Uh, sure," quickly replied Kakera. "Although I don't know how much help I'll be. I've only been in the game for five minutes."
"So? We've only been playing for half an hour, and look what we got in that dungeon." Tobira held up his staff and smiled. "And that was just with Rai attacking and me healing him. Since you're a heavy blade, it should be easy because we'll have two attackers."
"Wait, what character classes are you two?"
"Well, I'm a wave master," Tobira informed her. "I use spells and stuff. Rai is a twin blade. He's very fast with attacks and has some abilities."
"Come on already!" yelled Rai. "I have an area picked out already. Let's get in a party together and go through the chaos gate!"
*********************************************
In three beams of yellow light, Kakera, Tobira, and Rai arrived at the area.
"Chosen Forbidden White Devil," whispered Rai, looking around the eerie level. The area was covered with snow, and the sky was a mix of dark blue and purple. Mountains could be seen in the distance, but they were probably just there as part of the background. The area looked abandoned, no one in sight.
"This is a big change from standing around in that city area," commented Kakera, as she walked forward. "So where are these 'evil monsters' that we have to fight?"
"They're in little gates that are all around. You have to walk near one for them to come out. Let's see... aha! There's one over there!" Rai pointed to a large spinning golden gate to their right. He walked forward, and the gate disappeared, leaving in its place a huge dragon-like creature.
"Ah! That's a lot bigger then the ones we fought before!" cried Tobira, holding his staff in front of his face to hide himself.
Rai smiled and shook his head. "This area is a higher level than the last one we were in. Don't worry; it'll be a cinch now that there are three of us. Come on Kakera!" Blades shot out of Rai's sleeves, right above his hands. He ran towards the monster, and sliced at it with his blades as he ran past. He stopped once he got past it, and turned back.
The dragon did not have a single scratch on him.
"Rai! That didn't do anything!" cried Tobira. "It says on my screen that he still has full hp!"
"I must not have had a clear hit on him," admitted Rai. "Let me try again!" Rai ran towards the dragon again, and sliced its side. Once again, there was no scratch on the monster, and on Kakera's screen she could see that no hp was being taken from the creature. The dragon itself looked like it saw Rai as only a small pest that could be easily disposed of. It started running towards Rai, and the now scared twin blade ran in fear.
"Ugh, looks like I better do something," said Kakera in a determined voice. She raised her sword and ran towards the creature. She sliced at his leg, but that looked to have no effect as well. The dragon turned towards Kakera to attack, and she had to dive out of the way before she was made into its dinner.
"What?" Kakera was puzzled. "I've squashed monsters bigger than this in my sleep!"
"This is a game, remember?" said Rai. "You don't have your robot powers here! Your level is on your screen, it's the same as the rest of us."
"Ugh, great."
"Rai! What level is this place anyway?" screamed Tobira, still hiding behind his staff.
"Uh.... Level 16."
"What?!" yelled Kakera as she jumped out of the dragon's attack again. "But we're only level 5!"
"But I figured we could handle this," admitted Rai. "Uh, let's get out of here!"
"Fine by me!" replied Tobira, and started running away from the creature. Kakera and Rai ran after him, with the dragon in hot pursuit.
"Can't we get out of this area?" asked Kakera, panting as she ran.
"Not if we're in a battle situation," answered the startled twin blade. "We can only leave if we defeat the monster or get away from it, but it looks like it won't let us do either of those things."
"Shit!" cried the heavy blade, as the claw of the dragon caught her leg, bringing her down.
"Kakera!" screamed her friends, as she tried to escape the clutches of the dragon.
Suddenly the shadow of a man shot across the sky, jumping over the creature, the sound of a sword slicing through flesh following him. He landed next to the creature, as it froze and suddenly burst into bits of data. There was no sign of it ever existing as Kakera rose to her feet.
"Kakera, are you okay?" asked Tobira as he and Rai ran over to her.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied as she shook herself off. "But who saved me?" They looked over to the man now rising to his feet as well.
He was dressed in a long brown coat that blew in the wind. He had black pants and a dark grey shirt that showed muscles buldging out. At his side was a long sword, with small lines coming up each side of the blade. He turned to look upon the group, and Kakera saw he had spiked up black hair. But what truly entranced her was his dark brown eyes that shined with kindness and concern.
"You shouldn't have been running around in an area beyond your level," he said as he sheathed his sword. "Luckily I'm out patrolling for newbies in trouble. By the way, my name is Aoshi. Welcome to the World."