megafan505: Hello! I am back with the next chapter of the fic already. Sorry I took so long to get it up but I started back at school so I was preoccupied. I got two reviews so far! Hooray for two reviews! I would like some more but not much I can do about it. This chapter was originally going to be split up into two parts, but I decided to extend on each part instead. Look forward to the next chapter soon. If I don't have it up by this time next month, then hit me over the head with an ice cream scooper. Also, I would like to promote the online game "The World." You can download it for free at It is very fun! Here's the disclaimer.

Disclaimer: I don't own .hack/ or any of its characters. The only things I own are characters such as Akira, Natsume, Taro, and the plot line of this fic. Iam, Orizo, Chikoro, Zaiten, and Prisma all belong to Magical Girl Pretty Sammy-Chan.

.hack/Chosen

By megafan505

Chapter 4: The Hidden Chapel

Yamano appeared before the Chaos Gate. He had been training by himself all day. It was something that was very dangerous but he was barely able to make it. He had been training in level one areas so he didn't get as many experience points as he had wanted, but he really had no choice. He had barely made it through the training that day. He would not have been able to survive going to places that were higher leveled. Luckily he had gotten enough to get up to level five.

He walked over to the board to check and see if there were any new messages. There was one that was entitled, "That Girl"

Subject: That Girl

Author: Gaelics

I was walking around in a dungeon one day and I saw a bunch of people fighting a really weird monster. It was all covered in some green specks and its Hit Points were weird. I couldn't see any of them clearly except for a Long Arm girl. They all had a ring on, the one she had was red. They all held out their fingers and some light came from their rings. After that the monster became normal. Anyone know anything about that girl, I want to find a ring like that!

There was one response to the message.

Subject: Re: That Girl

Author: Ramos

I don't know anything about rings but I saw a Long Arm girl that hadsome kind of weird red gloveor something. She was with about three other people.The others had hand guards just like the one she had, but they were different colors. I followed them to an area. I think it wasΔ Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground. They might still be there, I'm not sure.

"A group of people that have Data Drain abilities?" Yamano asked himself, "Maybe they have something to do with Celestia."

"Hey Yamano!" two voices shouted to him simultaneously. He turned around to see Nabuko and Roat.

"Hey guys," he said nonchalantly, "You see the board?"

"The post about the guys who can Data Drain?" Roat asked, "Yeah, we saw it."

"You ready to go?" Nabuko asked as she sent Roat and Yamano invites to the party.

Both of them nodded at the same time and quickly accepted the invites. They ran over to the Chaos Gate. "Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground!" they all shouted and jumped into the Gate.

The gold rings swiftly floated to the ground and the three of them appeared. It was an area unlike any they had ever seen before. They stood on a paved stone walkway which seemed to be some type of bridge. In front of them there seemed to be some kind chapel. It had a set of large doors that were almost half of the height of the chapel. It seemed to be around the time of sunset, but a small rainbow was visible in the distance. As they turned back to see what the pathway was attached to they saw nothing. The chapel was floating in mid air.

The three of them slowly walked forward and found that the set of large doors were slightly cracked open, just enough for them to walk through. The chapel was had very high ceilings, so high that it almost felt like it was almost outside. As they looked up at the height of the ceiling they notice several pendulums hanging from it. They were all gold in color and swung back and forth like metronomes. Tick, tock, tick, tock, they swayed like they were marking off each second. The three of them stared at it for so long that they were almost sent into a trance by them.

Yamano shook his head. He had almost lost focus of the reason that they were there. They were looking for that girl and her group of people. They needed to find out what they knew about Celestia, if they knew anything about her at all. Nabuko and Roat shook their heads as well and looked forward. A moderate distance away from them they could see an altar. There were two statues of girls standing on top of the platform. One of the statues was kneeling down, holding in her small hands ten rings. The other one stood upright; in her hands she held a bracelet. The girls looked awfully familiar to Yamano, but he could not figure out what it was about them that made him feel that way. He felt he had seen them somewhere before? Both of the girls looked an awful lot like Celestia but they were different somehow. Then it struck him. In his first encounter with Celestia he had seen those girls standing with her. He opened his mouth to say something, which even he himself didn't quite know what it was going to be. But when the words came out they felt familiar, "Aura," he said and then paused, "Prisma." He didn't know why he had said that but apparently those were the names of the girls. Between the two statues he could see a flower, a red spider lily. That flower had always been one of his favorites, but he could never get any because they were had poison.

Down in front of the altar there was a fence with two girl characters leaning over it. One of them got up and turned around. She was a Long Arm with violet hair. "Oh hello," she said as she saw the group, "I didn't know we had company, my name's Iam."

Yamano looked at her with a sudden bit of surprise. He had not really noticed her there before she said anything. "Oh hello," he said walking closer to her slowly, "I'm Yamano." He bowed slightly and then noticed her hand. On it, she had a red hand guard, just like the one that they were talking about on the boards. "That hand guard," he said starring at it, "Did you get it from a girl named Celestia?"

A confused look came over Iam's face, "Celestia?" she asked him, "I'm sorry, but I don't know who that is? I got this from… well…" A hesitant look came over her face, as if there was something that she wanted to say, but didn't know if she should or not. "I got this from a girl named Prisma." She turned and pointed to one of the statues, "That's her."

The other girl character walked over to them. She was a Wavemaster and she had a yellow hand guard on. Her hair was blonde and all of her clothes were yellow as well. She had on a long skirt with another, shorter one on under it. She held a staff shaped like a cross, which was a pretty basic Wavemaster weapon. "Hi, I'm Chikoro," she said grinning. She glanced at the hands of Yamano and Nabuko, and saw the rings they had on. "You guys have rings too?"

"No we don't just have rings," Roat said walking forward and holding out his hand, "We also have a bracelet. What do you mean 'too' anyway? Last time I checked, those weird things on your hands weren't called rings. Rings are something you wear on your fingers aren't they?" Chikoro began to glare at Roat and he stuck out his tongue in response.

"Stop taunting Chikoro-sama!" a voice shouted. From behind a pillar a Heavy Blade walked out, "Do not worry Chikoro-sama! I, Zaiten, the Brilliant and Bold shall protect you from this vile fiend!" He wasn't like normal Heavy Blades though. This one had the Samurai sub-class, meaning that he used a katana as a weapon instead of the large swords that most Heavy Blades carried around. His katana had a silver and green handle. The rest of it couldn't be seen as it was in the sheath. The Heavy Blade himself was relatively tall and had long hair as well. It was in a ponytail that started from the back of his head and went down about half way down his back. His eyes were a deep hazel brown, which matched the color of his hair and his clothes were brown and green.

Chikoro crossly and quickly turned to Zaiten. "I don't need your help!" she shouted, emphasizing the word 'your.' She turned back to Roat and continued to glare at him. "To bad PKers are hated so much," she said, lifting up her staff, "Or I would have just knocked you off on the spot." She closed her eyes and shrugged, "Oh well."

Akira turned and looked at Zaiten with a strange look on his face. "How many of you guys are there?" he asked, noticing that Zaiten had a hand guard as well.

"Just one more," a voice came from nowhere. From out behind a pillar a Blademaster walked out, "Well, there are about six more of us, but I'm the last one here." He had on a blue hand guard which looked just like the others'. He was slightly taller than Iam was and wore clothes that were all blue with the exception of his black shoes. His hair was spiky and white. He also wore a headband and a vest with sleeves that went down to his wrists. "Hey there," he said lifting up his hand in greeting.

"Orizo-sama!" Chikoro shouted, "You'll protect me from this brute right? After all, you are my boyfriend." She ran over to the Blademaster, apparently named Orizo, and looked up to him. A strange look came over Roat's face. He almost looked sad for a moment.

"How many times do I have to tell you this!" Orizo shouted, "I am not your boyfriend!" He began to brace his teeth as he looked at her. The look on Roat's face faded into a slight smile. Iam stood behind Chikoro, glaring at her. Akira turned and saw Roat smiling.

In the real world Akira typed in /whisper, which was the command for talking to one certain person and then he had Yamano turn to Nabuko. "I think that Roat might like Chikoro," he said snickering. A look of surprise came over Nabuko's face and she began to laugh a bit as well. They turned to see Roat glaring at the two of them.

"I'M STANDING RIGHT HERE YOU KNOW!" he shouted, "I CAN HEAR EVERY WORD YOU'RE SAYING!" Yamano's eyes opened wide.

"You heard me say that?" he said, switching back to normal speak mode by typing in /talk. "But I had it on whisper mode," he said, scrunching his face slightly, "Only Nabuko should have heard me."

"That's because this is a holy place," a voice came from behind them. They turned around to see a girl character who was a Wavemaster. Her clothes were merely a loosely fitting shirt and a skirt which went above her knees. Around her neck she wore a black buckle and she wore a white witch's hat. Her hair was blonde and the rest of here clothes were white. "You aren't allowed to hide anything before the face of God," she continued smiling, "Or at least that's what one of my friends told me." She walked up to the group and bowed slightly, "Hi! I'm Hokuto!"

Everyone except for Chikoro and Roat bowed back. The four who had the hand guards on put their hands behind their backs, apparently so that Hokuto wouldn't see their special items. Yamano was the first one to move forward. "Nice to meet you Hokuto," he said smiling, "I'm Yamano." The rest of them slowly came forward and introduced themselves as well, except for Roat and Chikoro who continued arguing.

"Wow, it's really been a while since I came here," Hokuto said as she looked around. She slowly walked forward, looking toward the ceiling. When she came up to the altar of the chapel she stopped at the fence. She looked at the two statues. "Hey, there's a new statue here," she said turning around, "Do you guys know when this came in?" Orizo and Iam looked toward each other strangely, as if they knew something but didn't want to say anything about it. Hokuto shrugged and turned back to the altar. She looked at the flower which was between the two statues and smiled. "Hello Lycoris," she said, her voice seemingly fading off into the distance.

"Lycoris?" Roat asked, "You're talking to a flower?" He turned to Yamano and Nabuko and put his hand to his mouth. "I think that there is something weird with this girl," he continued. If Hokuto had been paying attention to him she would have heard him, but she seemed to be in an almost trance-like state.

Yamano walked forward and put his hand on Hokuto's shoulder. "Are you okay?" he asked. She just stood there staring at the flower.

Then a strange sound came out of nowhere. At first no one could tell what it was, but slowly it got louder. Soon it came so loud that everyone in the chapel could clearly hear it. "It sounds like a girl," Iam said, looking towards the ceiling, "It sounds like she's laughing." Yamano's hand slowly came off of Hokuto's shoulder and fell to his side as he saw what was happening. The flower that was between the two statues began to glow a faint orange. Then it slowly began to rise in mid air and the light from it continued to grow stronger. Hokuto's mouth slowly curved into a smile.

The light around the flower grew so strong that for a moment nobody could see anything for a moment. A few seconds later the light faded. They all looked up at the altar where the flower was. The flower was no longer there. Instead there was a girl dressed in red. She looked just like the statues which were up on the altar but she seemed younger. She had silver hair with a few small, red streaks through them. She had no shoes on and she was floating in midair. Yamano didn't know why, but she seemed familiar to him. Then it came to him, she was one of the people that were with Celestia. Her name was on the tip of his tongue but he couldn't quite say it. It was almost as if something were forbidding him from knowing it.

The girl looked in the direction of Hokuto and smiled. Hokuto just stood there for a moment. Yamano and the others could hear sniffing. Apparently in the real world, the person who played her was crying. Nobody could see her crying of course, because she hadn't typed in the control for her character to start crying. "Lyco…" she said looking up to the girl. Apparently Hokuto knew this girl somehow.

The girl just floated there for a moment smiling. She then looked forward and began to float towards the others. She landed on the ground and turned to Yamano. She waved her hand, signaling him and Hokuto to come over. They both nodded and walked over. Hokuto opened her mouth to say something but the girl put her finger to her lips, to tell her to remain silent. The girl began to hover a bit higher and she held out her hands. A bright white light began to glow from her and soon it surrounded all of them. They couldn't see the chapel anymore, just each other. Nabuko looked around, "This is just like my vision," she said, turning to Yamano, "I had a dream just like this. I couldn't really see who it was that was there, but I saw our outlines."

The girl held out her hands again and this opened her mouth to say something. "Hello to you who guard 'The World' and all within it," she said smiling still, 'I have come to bring you great tidings of joy. For this message I deliver to you, that you are not alone in your quests. You have already had those that were with you, those who you know in another world." She began to turn around, looking at everyone in the group. "But now," she continued, "You are bound to each other by the very will of 'The World' itself. The stars have decided your fate long ago. That fate is now being shown before each of you. Your purpose is being fulfilled."

The girl's face, which was before filled with joy, now had a bit more serious and solemn tone to it. Her voice also began to grow softer. "But beware, for you also have many enemies to come across," she said.

Zaiten was the first on to notice something happening. He held out his hand and caught what looked to be a red flower petal. "Look yonder," he said pointing upward. All of them except for the girl looked upward and saw many red flower petals falling from the sky. They also saw the four pendulums that were in the chapel, swinging back and forth. Those pendulums were the only things that remained there from the chapel.

"Your destinies have been intertwined," the girl continued, "The stars which hold each of your destinies are crossing each other's paths." As she said this the white background began to turn a slight blue. It was a light and pale tone, but blue none the less. "My time with you now is almost over," she said as she began to fade away, "But do not fear, for we shall meet again one day. The guardians of 'The World' have decided so long ago. My sisters shall minister to your needs as well." One final smile came across her face.

In the blue background, the image of a man appeared. He had very long hair and was sitting upside down in some kind of throne. He looked as if he had been broken apart by something, like a virus or a glitch in the game. He had a kind look on his face despite his strange appearance. "Come, my daughter," he said to the girl, "The first one that I gave birth to. Come and be with me." His figure multiplied and was able to be seen in all directions. He began to smile as well. Then, along with the girl, he slowly began to fade away.

"No, Lyco!" Hokuto shouted as she fell to her knees, "Don't go! I want you to stay here with me! I know where Al is, we can be together again!" Apparently this girl meant a lot to Hokuto. She tried to reach out to the girl, as if she was going to grab her and make her stay. The girl simply looked down at Hokuto, smiled, and waved. Then she and the broken man disappeared from sight. A large, clear crystal appeared above them all where the girl was.

Yamano's ring began to glow and he knew what it meant. "Guys, I think we have to Data Drain that thing," he said pointing toward the crystal. "I know it sounds strange, but I know this," he explained to the Iam and her group, "Just trust me."

Roat walked over next to Yamano and put his hand close to his. "I can hear it," he said looking directly at the crystal, "It's telling me to do that as well." His bracelet and Nabuko's ring began to glow as well. Nabuko nodded and walked up to Yamano's other side.

Iam and Chikoro walked up close to them as well and held out their hands. Zaiten soon followed after them. The three of them looked over to Orizo, who was still standing in the same spot. "Ah, what the hell?" he asked, shrugging, "I've been through stranger things in 'The World' before." He walked up next to them as well.

Yamano turned and looked at them all. They all had their arms extended in the direction of the crystal. They nodded in response and shouted the words. "Prisma's Data Drain!" shouted Iam and her group. At the same time Yamano, Nabuko, and Roat shouted, "Celestia's Data Drain!"

They all looked at the crystal. It began to have a few cracks in it but it wasn't enough power. Yamano turned his head to where Hokuto was kneeling down. She still had her hand held out as if she could reach into some hole and make the girl suddenly reappear. "Come on Hokuto, we need your power too," Yamano said to her, "She said that she would see us again some day. You may not have been given gifts like we have but everyone has power deep within them." Hokuto's arms fell limp to her sides and then she slowly got up. Her mouth curved back into a smile and she nodded.

Hokuto walked forward and held her hands close to her heart. She opened her mouth, as if to say something, but instead of words a song came out. There were no words to it, just a song. A light began to appear around her and she began to float upwards. The cracks in the crystal grew even bigger now, and then finally, it shattered. It broke into eight large shards, and each one flew towards a different person. It entered their bodies without harming them at all, it just went through them. The background around them all faded away and they were back in the chapel. They looked around strangely. Everything seemed to have happened so quickly and now they were back here.

"We did it," Yamano said grinning and turning to everyone. He wasn't exactly sure what it is what they did but he had a feeling that it had something to do with what the girl said, "All of our destinies are now intertwined. Since that is true then we'll all need each other's member addresses." He sent each of them an email with his member address attached to it. They all nodded and did the same with each other.

Hokuto walked up to the center of all of them. "Thank you," she said, looking around at the group, "Without you, I don't think I would have been able to see her again. By the way, her name is Lycoris. If you ever see her again, please tell her that I said hi." Everyone around her nodded in agreement. "Well, I have to get going," she said as she began to run to the exit of the chapel, "Nice meeting you all!" She ran out of the doors and gated out.

The rest of them stood there for a moment. "Yeah, I have to get going too," said Yamano. He bowed to Iam and her group and all of them but Chikoro bowed back. She was busy, still glaring at Roat. Nabuko bowed to them as well but Roat continued to stick out his tongue at Chikoro. They all walked out of the chapel together and then gated out.

A dark figure appeared floating in the chapel. "So, they have been bonded together huh?" he asked crossing his arms. He had shaggy black hair and his character seemed to be pretty young. He wore a visor over his eyes and was dressed in all black, including his shoes and gloves. It was the man who had sent an e-mail to Akira and Natsume. It was Kalen. He turned around to where the statues were on the altar. The others hadn't noticed, but there were four statues there now. Two of them were the same, but now there was a statue of Celestia and another one of Lycoris as well. His mouth slowly curved into a smile and then he slowly faded away.

The next day Yamano logged on and made his way over to the BBS Station in Mac Anu. There were several new messages there but only one really attracted his eyes. It was by someone named W.B. Yates and it was titled Hope of the Red One. It was a web poem that someone had posted.

Subject: Hope of the Red One

Author: W.B. Yates

The witch of a pure heart

The knights of guardians

Together they unite in the Holy Ground

The red guardian, innocent in all ways

She comes to the with a prophecy

That they shall all be together

The father of creation comes for her

Together they depart for their own world

To be seen again one day

The crystal of bonding comes before all

The power of the Prism and the Celestial forces unite

Together with the pure song they shatter it

The stars which hold the destinies of all

Now the knights' stars cross each others path

Together they shall conquer all

From the Holy Ground they depart

To meet again, in a distant land someday

Together with the guardians and the one who wears the stars as eyes

"How?" Yamano asked himself, "How could they know this?" The only ones who were there that day were his group, Iam's group, and Hokuto. How could anyone else have possibly known about what happened? The only way that it could happen was if one of them had another account. The message had been posted a few minutes ago so he figured that if someone he knew posted it, they wouldn't be on their other account. He pulled up his friend list. On it, he saw everyone he knew was online except for Hokuto. "The witch of a pure heart," Yamano muttered under his breath.

mega: Well, that's it for the fourth chapter. I know, not much moving along as far as the plot goes, but I wanted to put characters from 'Log On!' in more than just a cameo. Well, I'll try to get up the next chapter as soon as possible. See you later!