.hack/FRAGMENT
Saya
version 10.0
Appeared Out of the Sky
new topic posted 12.6.05
It was a rare occasion indeed that Erika decided to check the message board (sometimes it's convenient, but most times it's just a nuisance). She was surprised to see a topic about a strange area that sounded oddly familiar to the girl. A place in which streams of data floated into the vast emptiness of the sky, a place that caused a person's screen to shift in and out of focus. It sounded like an interesting lead, and the teenager needed a way to get the file that she had just sent Koto out of her head.
A week: that was how long it had been since Erika had found and sent that file. It wasn't like her friend to take such a long time on something like that (hey, I do have a life outside the computer that I need to keep up with as well). The girl entered her favorite city and breathed in the not-quite-so-fresh virtual air. She looked through her member addresses to see who was online and noticed that only one of the many odd friends she had made was only online: Death.
It had been a fairly long time since the last time the two had met, though they did often converse through e-mail, and before she found the last file they had done some training together. But that was about it, since this newest mystery she had not spoken (or typed as the case may be) one word to him. Hopefully, he wouldn't decline an invitation.
Erika waited impatiently for the boy to reply as she wandered through the streets of Mac Anu and listened (not even half-way interested) to the conversations taking place around her. Once or twice, the Twin Blade heard mention of the strange area, but never anything about how to get in, or what was there. In a matter of moments, a young, dark Long Arm strode over to where the girl stood, leaning against Mac Anu's main bridge (guess that meant he didn't need to send a reply, then).
"I was looking at that very same message just before you mailed me," Death said, smiling as he stood beside the girl and leaned his elbows against the side of the bridge. "An interesting coincidence, don't you think?"
The way he said it sent chills down the girl's spine, but her character did not show it and she made sure her voice would not either. "Definitely. So, what did you think about it?"
The boy looked thoughtfully at a gondola floating below them, they were quite popular in 'The World' but generally either the very wealthy, very well-known, or very influential characters could hitch a ride. "In some ways it seems to be a hoax, but in others…" he shook his head and pushed his dark bangs out of his even darker eyes. "Right after I read your e-mail, I went back to the post to reread it, but by that time it had been deleted. Obviously, CC Corp saw it as some sort of threat, but the fact that there were no keywords suggests that it isn't real."
"Yeah, but did you notice that there was no name under who posted it? I checked when I was looking at it. Nothing there, it was like it had just appeared out of the sky." Out of the sky! Why hadn't she thought of that before (because you're a fool, Erika, a fool!)? Maybe that mysterious program, that girl, Sky, was the one who had posted it, in an attempt to lure out the person who had those files that she was so desperate to get those virtual hands on.
Death watched her a moment then he leaned back, his hands still holding tightly onto the railing so that he would not fall over backwards (though that certainly would have been entertaining). "You seem different than usual."
Erika looked down at her hands, she had tried extremely hard to hide it, was her aggravation really showing in her character? Or had the boy heard it in her voice. "Yeah, well, I just came from a trip to a place that I loathe going to."
"Loathe is a strong word…"
"I don't know anyone who likes going to the hospital," both IRL and in the game, Erika clasped her hands over her mouth. She hadn't meant to say that, one of the reasons she had joined the game was so that she wouldn't have to deal with people treating her as if she could break any second of her own accord. As if there was something wrong with her, as if she needed to be treated differently otherwise there would be dire consequences. If the people she met in 'The World' started treating her that way, she wouldn't know where else to go.
The boy studied her closely, "Why are you so upset about saying that? I mean, I understand people might treat you differently, but this is a game, it's not like I'm going to stop sneaking up behind you in sneak attacks. So, why'd you have to go?"
"Does that really matter? Either way, I went."
Death shrugged his shoulders and heaved his lance over his shoulder, "You're right, it doesn't matter. That's why you shouldn't get so worked up over it. Don't stress too much, you'll have a heart-attack," he turned around and grinned before walking away and disappearing into the crowds but one last message from him appeared on the girl's screen. "It's been nice talking to you, surprisingly. But try not to stay away for too long again, you'll make me think that you're afraid of me and that wouldn't do at all…"