Thank you everyone for your continued support. It means a lot to me. Continuing on with this fic is going to be emotionally hard for me, but I will be able to continue on, thanks to you guys, I was able to recruit a new editor. Allow me to introduce you to TDLBallistic. From this chapter on, she'll be lending her aid to make this story as great as possible!

TDLBallistic: Thanks! It's a pleasure to be here! A little background about me; I've been a fan of the .hack franchise for about 13 years now. I remember the first time I saw the series, it looked so interesting... so I ended up buying/renting all 3 games! I'm so glad we finally got a remaster. My other favorite series would have to be Kingdom Hearts, but I also enjoy TloU, L4D, FNaF, Spyro, Portal, and very recently Warframe!

Kyyteo: Interesting! Thank you for agreeing to do this by the way. Have you done this before?

TDL: I've been writing since I was little, though I only started to take any of it seriously around 2010 when I created my first roleplay blog on tumblr. It was a great experience, and it's helped me with the blogs I've written for since. I've also helped other fanfiction authors in the past, as well as my friends with their stories or essays for school.

Kyteo: Well I look forward to working with you. In any case, we hope everyone enjoys the newest chapter.

"Your total is 74,657 yen!" The cashier cheerfully exclaimed, a wide grin stretched across her face. Kitchi felt a bead of sweat roll down the back of his neck. He had originally been saving this money to go on a vacation with Akira... however, given the ominous email he had received from Aura, the money instead went towards buying a brand new M2D as well as a few upgrades for his PC to ensure it could run The World: R2 smoothly.

With a resigned sigh, he swiped his debit card to complete the purchase. There was no turning back now. The cashier quickly handed over the bags containing his new equipment, bowing in appreciation as he exited the store and walked towards the car he had received as a gift from his father. It was an older model; a 1990 Toyota Celica All-Trac. Though a little worse for wear, it was an overall reliable vehicle that excelled at its primary function. He was forever grateful for the gift, and to have such supportive parents.

Kitchi climbed into his car, sighing once more as he turned the key in the ignition. Anxious fingers combed through his hair, eyes slowly drawn to the bag which now sat innocently on the passenger's side seat. Somehow, however absurd it might sound... he felt as though it was staring right back at him. A sudden chill ran up his spine, prompting him to shift his car into gear as he pulled out of the parking lot.

As soon as his tires hit the main road, his mind erupted into a stream of disquieting visions... thoughts and ideas of all the numerous ways things could go wrong in the fast approaching future. Thankfully, his brooding was soon interrupted by the ringing of his cellphone. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips, instantly recognizing Akira's ringtone. Being the cautious person he was, he enabled hands-free mode before answering so as not to be distracted while driving.

"Hey, I'm just leaving the store now. I got the new hardware." He could practically hear the smile in her voice as she responded, even separated through the phone.

"Did you get me one too?" she teased. He hesitated a moment before replying, quietly. "I could really only afford mine." A chuckle echoed from her end. "I'm just messing with you! I'm gonna buy my own gear after I get off work." Kitchi sighed in relief. Even after knowing her for so long, he wasn't 100% confident in his ability to tell whether or not she was messing with him.

"Alright, I guess I'll see you when you get home tonight. Alright? I'm gonna get everything set up, and create my new character."

On the other side of the phone, Akira sat at her cubicle. She was currently on break from the call center. Smirking to herself, she crossed her legs into a more comfortable position while they spoke. It was just like him to be so impatient. No matter what opinion he asserted to her or himself, he still loved MMO's. "Alright then, but just don't get too far ahead. Okay? We agreed that we would be in this together."

"Mmhmn. Is it okay if we order a pizza for dinner tonight? So we don't have to take any significant breaks?" He asked, his tone hopeful. She sighed, a hand coming up to slowly rub at her temple in mild annoyance. With him, it was either pizza or beef stew as his meal of choice. Not that he was a picky eater, but it seemed to her that lately he wouldn't eat anything else.

" Y'know, you're gonna get fat if you keep eating that kind of food... but, fine. We'll get pizza later. Anyway, I gotta get back to work. I love you, Kitchi. "

"I love you too, Akira." With that, their call ended. Kitchi enjoyed the rest of his drive home in relative silence, wondering what The World would be like after 7 years... and on a darker note, the new impending threat Aura had forewarned. An unimaginable power, which not only held the potential to put an end to countless virtual worlds... but the real world as well. He shuddered at the thought, finally pulling into the complexes shared parking lot.

Upon entering his home, he went straight for his computer room and began the careful process of taking apart his PC to install the new parts. It was a bit of a struggle at first, as he had to figure which piece went where, or which wire attached to which part, but he eventually got the hang of it. Once he was satisfied that he had everything put back the way it was supposed to be, he eagerly powered on his computer. He sat down in his chair with the manual for the new game in his hands, opening it to read.

He thumbed through it, as the computer installed the necessary drivers for his new devices, reading up on the game's remastered lore and races before he finally got to section which listed the various classes available to play. A confident smirk spread across his face when he saw that Twin Blades were still in the game. He knew exactly what class he was going to choose once he got in.

As if on cue, the ALTIMIT OS program finished its installations and was ready to be used. He noticed two new icons on his desktop. One said The World, of course, and the other one was something he had heard about from friends. It was a new virtual card game called Crimson VS. He made a mental note to himself to check it out later, when he had time.

He dragged his cursor over The World icon, hesitating.

No. He wouldn't let his fear and doubts get to him, not now. Not when Aura needed him; not when The World needed him. Shaking off what remained of his nervous energy, he double-clicked the icon, and with it the program immediately launched into a simple registration page.

The young man stared blankly at the screen, contemplating what he was going to use as his online alias. It didn't take very long for him to decide, of course. There was really only one name it could be; the one name that fit, even after all this time. He typed his choice into the required field, a soft grin gently turning the corners of his lips.

Username: Kite

Password: ********

And with that, his registration was complete. His M2D went dark for a brief moment as it loaded the games millions of assets- finally displaying a start-up page with a sword and the remains of a ruined city in the background behind it. Something deep in his stomach churned with anticipation.

It was reminiscent of the login screen used for The World R:1, but while the older style could be described as more fantastical, or rustic, with its burned scroll and runes… this newer style obviously found its roots in the steampunk subculture. He smiled when he saw there was a community forum that the devs supported, alongside an official site for the game that he assumed would contain a plethora of useful information.

Though he doubted too much of the lore or core mechanics had changed between the two games, he decided it might be best to do a little reading. He opened the official site, perusing the various the patch notes and interesting tidbits of information... slowly returning returning to his old habits.

After catching himself up on all major changes, patches, lore, what each class specialized in, and whatever else had managed to catch his interest- he felt confident in his knowledge of game's inner workings. More or less. He wouldn't put off the inevitable any longer… it was time to finally log into the game.

He expected to be redirected to a character creation screen, but after a few moments of waiting without any apparent response from the game… he began to realize something was off.

A completely white, featureless void met his vision.

With growing unease, he thought that his brand-new M2D had suddenly malfunctioned and died on him only after a few minutes of use. He was getting ready to yank the thing off his head until he noticed something… odd. His eyes widened- gaze drawn to an enormous, glowing red triangle in the middle of the room; a huge chunk of textureless earth floating eerily in the center. Sitting atop the slab was what appeared to be an antique rocking chair, and a great number of books.

The more he looked around the room, the less inclined he was to believe that this part of the typical first-time user experience. Just as he began to move, he heard something; a hauntingly familiar sound, which shook him to very depths of his being. The delicate chime was unmistakable. A cold sweat broke out across his body; an involuntary shiver travelling along his spine. That noise…

It was an A in C major.

Muscles tense and on high-alert, Kitchi began thoroughly scanning the area for anything he hadn't noticed originally. A full minute passed without any change, until something new seemed to materialize from the very emptiness of the room itself. It's appearance was that of a small ball of blue fire, and it made a swift b-line towards him- gradually growing in size and intensity. It was a vivid, spiraling torrent of Azure flame. Kitchi was forced to shield his eyes, the light too intense at this distance to continue staring.

As the blue light behind his eyelids gradually faded, he slowly pulled his arms away and blinked back the remaining white spots in his vision… only to be met with a sight that left his mouth comically agape..

It was the avatar of a twin-blade; their outfit a strange mixture of burnt orange and yellows, criss-crossed with stitches. They sported spiky teal hair with messy bangs, most being trapped beneath a similarly stitched and colored cap as their main attire. Their cheeks were marked by red, triangular-shaped wave symbols. Even with these minor differences- such as the model's overall patched-together appearance and intimidating pale blue eyes… there was no mistaking the familiarity.

This was his old character: Kite.

The twin-blade exhaled a long, breathy groan as he shifted his piercing gaze up and down Kitchi's currently transparent body. He made no move to come nearer, merely watching. "What... is this?" the user asked, though not expecting any real response his strange guest. He took a cautious step toward his old character model, when he suddenly heard a familiar voice... as soft as it was kind.

"An empty shell. An imperfect recreation of my greatest champion, and my dearest friend." A young woman gradually came into being behind the Azure Knight. She was clothed in a white gown, a shawl of the same color draped around her shoulders and clasped together with an infinity symbol.

"Aura..." Kitchi breathed, in awe. Even after receiving the email that led to his return to virtual space, he still couldn't believe that she was here right now.

The A.I. smiled delicately, delighted to be reunited with her old companion. "Hello, Kitchi… I was beginning to fear you would never come... I'm so glad you're here." She floated closer to him, reaching out and gently taking his incorporeal hand within her own… and odd as it seemed, Kitchi could actually feel the sensation of their flesh against his real hand. "I'm so sorry, Kitchi… I feel awful, calling you here. I know you've settled down, moved on from The World… but I would not have called for you back for over something trivial."

He squeezed her hand in return, a reassuring smile appearing on his ghostly visage. "I'm the one who should be apologizing. It took me forever to get here. I had to buy brand new hardware and make sure everything worked, but… it's honestly so great to see you again." Slowly, Aura released his hand- moving back a few feet. Her expression was dire. "You must make contact with the children of Morgana. The 8 Phases will become your allies." Closing her eyes, she recited the verses of an old poem. The words felt vaguely familiar to to him.

"... Riding the wake is Skeith, the Shadow of Death to drown all that stands. Mirage of Deceit, Innis- Betray all with the flawed image, and did aid the Wave… and by the Power of Magus, a drop from the Wave doth reach the heavens- and creates a new Wave. With the Wave, Fidchell, the power to tell the dark future… hope darkens. Sadness and despair rule. Gorre schemes when swallowed by the Cursed Wave. Macha seduces with the sweet trap. Wave reaches the Pinnacle, and escape none can. Tarvos still remains with more cruelty to punish and destroy… and with the turbulent destruction after the Wave, only a void remains. From deep within the void arrives Corbenik."

Taking a moment to pause, her face softened- the words she spoke next were new.

" ...the curse has been undone. The once cursed Wave now stand together, unified. Riding the wave is Skeith, The Terror of Death… to defend all who are worthy. Mirage of Deceit, Innis... learning to accept her true nature, protecting all she holds dear. And by the power of Magus, a drop from the Wave doth reach the heavens… to breathe new life into being. With the Wave, Fidchell… the power to predict a hopeful future- instilling faith, courage, and valor into his listeners. Gorre plans as one, swaddled in warmth and acceptance by the Wave. Macha wraps her arms about her treasured friends, and captures her foes in the wake of her claws. Tarvos fights to uphold honor and justice... to punish the wicked, and shield the innocent. Though lost, the last of the Wave shall be restored... Corbenik rejoins the Wave, bringing an end to the nightmares that befoul our dreams."

… as suddenly she arrived, Aura's ethereal form began to slowly fade away. "The three Azure Knights, who have fought valiantly in defense of their home for so many years… they will unite to aid the user who awoke the Ultimate Being. Together, with the combined might of the 8 Phases… no threat can hope to prevail. Now the time has come for you to reclaim your power, Kitchi. To take your rightful place among these brave warriors. Become once more, Kite of the Azure Flame."

As the last remaining signs of Aura's presence faded into white mist, her words still ringing within his mind, Kitchi's old avatar reached out an arm to his counterpart; an invitation to finally take the reigns of power that slept dormant inside the program's code.

It was a lot of information to take in all at once, but he tried to commit her words to memory, as Aura's words were never meaningless, and once he was ready, he looked the twin blade in the eyes, and said "Well.. once more unto the breach huh?" He extended his hand towards the AI based on him, and a soft glow enveloped the two.

Slowly, starting with his fingers, the twin blade's body began to flake away into bits of light, traveling towards Kitchi and reassembling itself around his respective body part. Kitchi watched with wide eyes as he started to become corporeal, and the areas that were stitched together on what aura called an empty shell, were made whole around him.

Upon reaching the AI's head, it let out a soft groan again, and although it was difficult to see before he completely faded away, the now whole Kite could have sworn that it was smiling in content. The newly reformed twinblade looked down at his body, turning his arms over and rotating his legs slightly, before curling his fingers into a fist.

"I'm back." His eyes flashed with a determination as he felt a sense of confidence flow through him, as if he had found a part of him that he had been missing. Around his right arm, though only visible for a brief moment, the bracelet aura had given him when he first used the Book of the Twilight glowed softly as if it was happy to be reunited with its former master.

0-0-00-0-0-0-000-0

The entire apartment smelled of bleach. The sound of bristles scraping against the floor, getting every nook and cranny, echoed throughout the space that Ryou had called his home. He had kept his house pretty clean consistently, but with the thought of a girl named Chigusa coming to live with him from now on…

Ryou redoubled his efforts, wanting everything to be perfect for her. He was surprised when Atoli had agreed to his instinctual blurb, and even more so when she willingly gave him all of her personal info without a second thought. The whole people placing their trust in him thing was still really new to the young man, but he can't say it didn't feel good.

Satisfied that everything was about as clean as he could get it, he wiped the sweat off his brow and pulled the mask that was covering his nose and face down past his chin.

To him, it looked like a vast improvement, when in reality it was now only lemon scented from the bleach. "Right well… I guess I should shower and get ready now…" He said to no one in particular.

Grabbing his cleaning supplies, he walked out of the spare bedroom that would become Chigusa's room, to the kitchen and dumped the water down the drain. Cleaning wasn't the only thing he did to prepare for her arrival. This whole thing had been financially taxing, and it made him do something he really didn't want to do.

A few days prior

"You want to borrow some money?" his father asked over the phone with a tone of surprise. It was extremely unusual for his son to ask for any sort of help, which made him worry he got mixed up in something sketchy or he got arrested.

"Yeah… I have a friend who is going to come live with me for a while… and I kinda need to buy new furniture and stuff…" Ryou glanced to the side as if he was avoiding his father's gaze through the speaker.

Mr. Misaki only smiled though, feeling silly to have doubted his son. "A friend? You've not mentioned anything like that before Ryou."

The teen was starting to get slightly annoyed though, as this request damaged his pride enough as it was. "Look, can you help me out or not old man?" to which the middle aged man chuckled and waved his hand absentmindedly.

"Of course of course. I was just surprised. As your father it would be an honor to help you and any friend of yours." He pulled up his banking app and started a transfer transaction, to his son's account. "How does 1,000,000 yen sound?" he asked, not even waiting for a reply before completing the transaction.

Ryou nearly fell out of the chair he was sitting in at the time. "A MILLION?! You've got to be kidding me? I don't want that much!"

"Oh?" His dad said coyly. "You should have been more specific with the amount then? Anyway it's already transferred." Ryou grit his teeth angrily. "Anyway this friend of yours…" He started again. "For you have to taken them in, they must be really close to you. You should introduce me sometime?"

Ryou sighed and said "Yeah sure dad…" He struggled really hard to get the next bit out. "T-thank you for loaning me this money, I'll pay it back as soon as I can." That took his father aback even more than he already was. There was a moment of silence before he flashed a genuine smile.

That was the first time in a long long time, that Ryou had ever called him dad, and even longer since he had thanked him. "My son, you never have to pay me back. I'm so glad to help you out whenever you need me to." And with that he hung up.

Ryou, clenched his fist harder and shouted at the phone, even though he knew that his dad had already hung up, "Don't think that this means I've forgiven you! I haven't forgiven you for what you did to mom!" Tears started to well up in his eyes as he remembered times when they were a family… when she was still alive… before he divorced her and she took her own life out of grief.

He wiped his eyes with his sleeve and checked his bank account. Sure enough, there was 1,000,000 more in there than the last time he had looked.

It had been a few days since then, and Ryou had been on a shopping spree. The once empty room now had a queen size bed against the wall in the upper right corner. It sat naked, as he was sure she would want to choose her own sheets and stuff.

Directly across from the bed was a full length mirror, with a white wooden frame. Upon closer inspection, you could see that the mirror doubled as a jewelry case, as there was a hinge.

A few feet from that there was the door to a small closet space, and then a mahogany desk, nearly identical to his, a foot after that.

He hadn't quite used even 200,000 yen much less the full million, but he would take her shopping afterwards, as he still wasn't sure what she would be able to take with her.

After a quick shower, and a change of clothes, he faced the door, ready to embark on the journey that would change his life in more ways than he could know. He reviewed one more time in his head which train he would be taking to get to Chiba, and set out.

Kyyteo: That took me quite a bit to finish writing, but damn does it feel good to get it done!

TDLBallistic: If you weren't a complete procrastinating Dingus, you'd have got it done a lot sooner. I guess I know where I should be cracking down on you.

Kyyteo: *laughs nervously* a-anyway. Thank you everyone for bearing with me while I finished this chapter up. I hope that the ones in the future will come out in a more timely manner (for my sake) and that you all enjoyed it. Until next time, fare thee well.