.hack/FRAGMENT

Saya

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version 22.0

Trick of the Sky

new topic posted 9.1.06

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I'm back, did you miss me? Why am I asking? Of course you missed me! You better have otherwise I'm going to block you from ever reading this topic again…I mean…

So, I'm back from the vacation of a nightmare. Horribly boring, but I have been keeping tabs on what's been going on with this topic, thanks to Erika. And my dear Wave Master? You're right, I'm not at all pleased with you ruining the surprise…not at all pleased. When I get my hands on you…!

Um…I mean…How have you all been? I'm fine, thanks for asking. I might as well get back to the story, shouldn't I? I could always delete all that stuff I just said, make my life easier and all, but what would be the fun in that?

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Erika logged into the popular internet game known as 'The World' for the first time that day. She had just returned home from school to her 'mother's' continuous worrying, as of late, and was itching to get back online (considering how she can log in from no matter where she is, I think it was very courteous of her to wait until her mother stopped speaking at least, which is much more than I could say I would have done myself).

A message for a new e-mail appeared on her screen and this one was, somewhat surprisingly, not from Koto or the others. Instead, it was from the legendary Neo-Dot-Hacker (I don't know if that's what they're called or not, I just think it has a nice ring to it) known as Shugo, insisting that she look up a new topic that had appeared earlier just that day (sometimes that boy's gaming schedule makes me think that he isn't from this country, despite the fact that he's on the Japanese server—does he skip school to go online?).

With nothing better to do, the girl exited and double-clicked the link that would take her to the message board and scanned the screen to follow Shugo's directions precisely. It wasn't too difficult a topic to find, and when the girl read it over she realized how lucky she was to have found it at all. Within a few hours, she was sure, it would be deleted (we have a right to free speech, no matter what you may think, CC Corp!).

It contained three key words alongside one of the symbols that had become familiar during the teenager's time playing the game as well as a bit of interesting information regarding an area that seemed to 'blink in and out like a bad television set.' It sounded just like one of the areas in which they were generally certain to find CC Corp's missing fragment files (they often post threads about having lost yet another file, it warms my heart every time I see them).

The girl exited the board and re-entered her e-mail to send a quick message to the boy who had led her to that newest find before entering her favorite city, the one that lay upon the sea in an attempt to mirror the famed Venice that rose above the sea in Italy: Mac Anu. As soon as the ghost-like Twin Blade had gated into the city, she searched through her list of contacts to see who was on to travel to this mysterious, infected area. No one was on, what convenient timing (I was doing chores for my mother, so it wasn't my fault, I swear!).

But judging by the e-mail she was just receiving, it was clear that Shugo and Rena were on, and by looking through her list of contacts, it was also clear that Balmung was on. At least those were three that the girl knew she could count on to help her on her personal quest (or two, since one never knew exactly what Balmung was doing when he was online and almost always 'quite busy.') The teenager instantly sent messages to the three of them before making her way to their favorite meeting spot: the little café overlooking city's dirt-stained river.

The Twin Blade stepped into the café, a small bell ringing loudly (despite its lack of size) through the room. She was expecting to have been able to order something—tea perhaps?—and was surprised to see the twins (and Balmung) sitting at their usual table (no one dared take the table of the Neo-Dot-Hackers, just in case they decided to come in for a visit).

They obviously had been deep in conversation since they didn't notice the girl's entrance until she pulled up a chair (dragging it across the ground to make it as loud as possible, sneaky little girl) and sat down to lean her elbows against the table (actually, they still didn't notice, she had to cough a few times to get their attention…and I thought I was oblivious). "Erika!" Shugo greeted her with a wide smile while Rena jumped in surprise and Balmung crossed his arms and leaned back into his chair, a concerned look on his face (or was it a thoughtful look? I was never very good at telling the difference).

"Hey," the other Twin Blade greeted them, finally. "I saw that thread on the board earlier…"

The others exchanged significant looks before Rena answered, "It's already gone."

"What?"

"I went back to look a little while ago, it's already been deleted," Balmung answered mysteriously. How could that be? She had looked at it only moments before. As if he had read her thoughts (which somehow wouldn't surprise me; that guy's a little creepy), the winged Blade Master continued, "It's almost as if they were waiting for you to see it before deleting it. Sky…" the word hung in the air (no pun intended) as their surroundings became thicker, heavier.

That wouldn't have surprised the girl, to tell the truth. Not if it was that strange girl that had appeared in so many places in which Erika had as well. And their encounters had never been pleasant. What did that mysterious girl have against her? Was it because she looked like Aura, the AI that had disappeared years ago and that she so loathed?

The other three looked at her a moment before Shugo, uncomfortable with the silence as always, decided to speak. "So, we're going to go check it out, right?" he asked somewhat eagerly. That was the orange-clad Twin Blade for you, always eager to prove himself the hero and if it took a fight to do so, then he was eager and willing for that fight to take place.

Erika winked at the boy, "Of course," she said as she stood up and waited for the others to do so as well.

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The four players appeared in a desert, their bodies still wrapped in gold for a moment before it disappeared and left them in the darkness of the late night, just after the moon and stars had disappeared from the sky and before the sun had yet to rise. The darkest part of the night (CC Corp seems to have a love for the dramatic, don't they?).

In the distance, hidden briefly by a sudden sand storm that died only moments after it had begun, a young girl walked slowly toward them, her violet eyes gleaming in the non-light. Her movements were slow and deliberate, though she appeared almost as though she wasn't walking at all but rather floating along the ground (which would the only way anyone would be able to be graceful in the sand, even in a game).

It was an image that Erika would know anywhere, and from the looks on the faces of her companions, it was clear that they had some knowledge of the girl's appearance as well. How? The white-haired Twin Blade had no recollection of them ever having seen the strange girl. It was Sky.

"You're trying to return?" she said, looking directly into the teenager's blue eyes as she spoke. "After all this time, you think I will allow you to return? You do not deserve this world; you tried to give it up!"

No, she hadn't tried to give it up but had only tried to see a different world. She had always known she would return. Wait, what was she thinking? She had never been here before until that first time in the game when the Neo-Dot-Hackers had mistaken her for the same person she was being mistaken for now.

The image disappeared with a gust of the wind that blew sand into the virtual eyes of the four adventurers. She was suddenly gone, had she even actually been there at all? She looked at the other two, the area seemed completely normal to her. But did it to them? It was strange, but she had noticed that somehow she experienced The World differently from anyone else (and it only took her this long to realize that, the world welcomes its newest genius).

"The area seems fine," Shugo said expertly. And he would know, right? Considering the adventures he and his friends had experienced in the past, he would know a little bit about normal areas and infected areas, right? Or, he was just being an idiot and talking about things he didn't know. That sounded about right, too.

But then Balmung nodded his agreement; that settled matters. He might be a bit strange at times (or all the time, really), but he wouldn't joke or lie about this. "Maybe," he began thoughtfully, "she knew about it?" He exchanged significant looks with the other two, and a curious look from their fourth party member, the girl with the white hair and blue eyes.

Rena spoke this time, "We heard a rumor of an infected area a while ago, maybe a few months, and decided to look into it. We found a file and have been trying to open it since, but we can't get through."

Anger, disappointment, betrayal; emotions flooded Erika's entire being and distorted her lovely features. "Why didn't you tell me? We've been looking for those," she said, referring to herself and the other group of friends that she had met during her time in 'The World.'

"We wanted to look into it," Balmung answered, "to try and figure out what it was."

"But we couldn't," Shugo announced unnecessarily (it has long since been established that Erika is the only one who can do anything with those dratted files; the only reason CC Corp wanted them was because they were afraid of the fraud that was Sky). "So, take it…"

The boy apparently rifled through his items and held something glowing in his hand. Something in her heart told the other Twin Blade that this would be the final file, the final fragment. This would give her all the answers she was seeking. The girl took the item from him and the minute it exchanged hands her mind was flooded with memories and the scene around them changed.

The file was indulging them all, allowing all present to take a look into the past.