.hack/FRAGMENT

Saya

version 3.0

Meeting Death in the Face

new topic posted 10.9.05

Erika sat beside the bridge and stared out at the water. Lovely though it was, there was still that hint of the beauty it had lost, the slight state of decay that was omnipresent throughout 'The World.' She ran a pale, delicate hand through the water and reveled in the shivers it sent down her spine (although, running one's hands through dirty water, real or virtual, is never a very smart thing to do). She was thinking about the statue in that strange place that she had met Balmung, Shugo, and Rena a few days before. That poor girl; bound and caught in chains and even though she wasn't real, Erika couldn't help but feel a pang in her chest every time she thought of that beautifully carved face. It looked so familiar, but so different at the same time.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the voice of a young man spoke so suddenly that the Twin Blade jumped a little and withdrew her hands from the water (finally, someone tells her that she shouldn't be playing with the water, I only wish it could have been me). "It probably isn't all that great for your character, for all we know it could have a virus in it or something."

Erika looked up and saw a tall young man, fairly feminine in face and build, leaning against a long spear-like weapon with its tip dug into the ground. "Really? Would it really mess with my character?"

The boy laughed, a nice, calming sound. "Maybe, no one's gone near the water in any of the cities since the game was rebooted. I used to play before all of that stuff happened, it's kind of sad to see how 'The World' has gone down hill since Aura disappeared."

"It's still beautiful..." He looked at her strangely and laughed, Erika blushed. Was it really that funny? Or was she showing her naivety concerning the goings-on of 'The World.'

"I guess it is…You know, you're a really interesting person," Erika smiled but didn't know what to say. She never knew what to say when people complimented her (I on the other hand accept such compliments with such humility…). "You're new, right? How about I show you this great area, hardly anyone ever goes there so you don't have to worry about people making fun of you if you die. I know that's why a lot of newbies tend to not level up very well."

The girl smiled and pushed a wisp of unnatural white hair out of her crystal blue eyes. "Alright, are you going to form the party?" He shook his head, "Do you want me to?" he shook his head again, "Then what are you planning, for us to just meet there?"

"Sounds good," the boy replied, a white smile spreading across his dark, tanned face (what a weird guy). As soon as he gave Erika the keywords, he walked away and disappeared at the Chaos Gate.

Erika sighed and stood up, everyone she met so far in 'The World' had turned out being strange (everyone except the amazing and wonderful Koto!). She walked over to the Chaos Gate and disappeared in a spiral of golden light.

The silver-haired girl appeared in the middle of a beautiful meadow and a gust of wind blew through her hair and clothes. "Hey!" she called to the boy that had invited her. "Hey, where are you?" she hadn't even bothered to ask him his name. She would have to when she found him.

After a few moments, the boy appeared, his dark hair blowing into his equally dark eyes. Everything about him was dark, almost as if he was trying to hide, to remain anonymous. "I was looking everywhere for you!"

"And I was watching you destroy those monsters that got in your way. You're pretty good."

Erika smiled, her blue eyes sparkling happily from the compliment, "Thank you. It's because of this friend I made online. She keeps getting better and better and I've been staying the same…"

"So you've been training on your own for a while?" Erika nodded, "I understand completely. It's usually a lot better to train alone."

"Is that why you didn't want to join a party?"

The strange boy smiled almost satanically and shook his head. "Because I am Death…" (come on, man, you couldn't think of something more creative?) "the Player Killer known as Death…"

The teenager's blue eyes widened, a Player Killer? She had enough passing knowledge of the game to understand that Player Killers were usually very high levels and that when they killed another player, it messed with their experience points. "A…a player killer?" It was a natural reaction, whenever she was nervous, Erika tended to repeat things that had already been said.

After all that work, having a player killer come by, target her of all people, and get rid of the experience points she was building to get to the next level! The boy—Death—nodded, apparently pleased by the girl's reaction. "I guess you'd better run."

Erika stared a moment but did not move. After a while she finally said, "There wouldn't be much of a point. I'd have no chance of beating you in a fight, and I don't have much of a chance of running away. Long Arms are usually some of the faster characters, right?

Death laughed (it sounds so creepy to say that, doesn't it?) a cool, calming sound, all things considered. "You know what? You're pretty interesting, I like you. And trust me, that's a good thing. I'm not very nice to the people I don't like," (yeah? And threatening to kill a person's character is nice?) "How about you and I start a party, I can help you level up…"

"I was actually waiting for Balmung to come on, he promised to help me, but he's late. So, sure. Let's start a party!" she replied enthusiastically, not fully comprehending the power in casually mentioning the name of Balmung of the Azure Sky.

It felt nice to have another new name in her directory. Meeting someone new, it felt like making a new friend. "I'm surprised," Death said after a moment of silence that had settled on them when they had formed their party, "I tried to kill your character, but you aren't mad. You would have let me."

Erika shrugged, "Like I said, I didn't have a chance of saving her, right? You probably could have killed me before I could gate out. But look at it this way, I'm friends with Death himself," the two of them laughed as they made their way down the field's hill and towards a glowing gate.