.hack/The Rising of the Wave

A fanfiction by Sargent Snarky

Genre: General

Rating: T / PG 13 for mild language, thematic elements, etc.

Summary: A novelization of the games. Nothing more. Nothing less. Kite is, of course, the central character.

Spoilers: Not if you take it as you play the game. If you haven't played the games and you skip to the, like, fifty seventh chapter, of COURSE there'll be spoilers, but if you just read it as you play the game or something like that, then there won't be.

Note: Although I will in many instances be taking thing directly from the games, in conversations, descriptions, et cetera I take artistic license, so it won't be exactly like the games.

I do hope you will permit me this drivel. In a way, this will probably serve as notes for me for other .hack stories in that it is a basis, more or less, of how I tend to picture things in the games.

Chapter III

The next evening (after dinner, as he rarely had more than a few minutes of breathing time beforehand, if not because of schoolwork and soccer, then because of schoolwork and cram school, which he detested), when Kite flicked on his computer from sleep mode, he saw that he had new mail. So, without further ado, he opened it and was surprised by an email from Blackrose and another email from someone named Helba, whoever that was. First, he opened the one from Blackrose.

"From: BlackRose

Subject: I believe you

I don't really understand it, but I will believe you. I'm actually really busy (aren't we all? Kite muttered to himself), but I'll help you when I have time, so call me up."

Kite replied with a simple message:

"Subject: Thanks

Thank you. It's good to know. See you in The World, then."

And then he went on to read the other message.

"From: Helba (There was a picture of an odd woman wearing white with a tall hat, blonde hair and a high collar, as well as a red and gold visor covering her eyes, rather like Jordi from the Next Generation of Star Trek. Kite didn't recognize her.)

(A/N: Sorry for those of you who aren't Trek-ies… Um… I watch it when I can, 'cause I rather like Star Trek. And anyway, Helba's eye visor does look a lot like Jordi's. Only it doesn't have LEDs blinking across it.)

Subject: Data Drain

I've seen your powers. You can rewrite the monster's data by performing Data Drain following a Protect Break.

If you use it wisely, it will be very valuable in the future. You will need its powers. However, you must beware, for with each drain, you draw some of the virus within you. Indeed, you cannot avoid being contaminated with that virus as long as you continue to posses and wield it.

You can check the spread of the virus within you by a gauge in the Skill Selection Menu. When the spread is at 100, there may be a lethal effect on your character as well as potentially detrimental effects upon yourself, so be aware of the spread of viral infection.

However, if you go without employing the skill for a long time, or defeat monsters without using it, the spread will decrease little by little, so do not let it get above 100.

And another warning: You are always being watched. Though you may not wish it, you will be the eye of the storm in The World. That is the fate of the one who bears the bracelet.

Prepare yourself."

'She knows about my bracelet…Who is she?' Kite wondered this and more, staring at the email and rereading it several times as he took in the information given him.

After a long several minutes, without replying, he closed down email and opened The World. There was only one new post on The Board, and it was an advertisement posted by a Goblin, of all things, for a battle. Apparently an event. Kite took note of the key words given just in case. And then, he logged into The World.

0 0 0 0 0 0

Delta Server: Root Town

Mac Anu

0 0 0 0 0 0

As Kite warped in, two players were standing at the Chaos Gate, chatting. Kite would have ignored them, except what he heard caught his interest.

The first – a white and red armored Heavy Axeman who, according to Kite's cursor, was named Edajima – said, "I saw a strange character in the alley. It looked like a cat. :-) Is it possible to edit like that?" (A/N: You can type in smiley faces when playing The World, so if a character types in a smiley face in the game, I reproduce it here.)

The other player – a silver and blue armored blade master named Sieg – replied, "A cat? Oh yeah, I saw it, too. I prefer bunny girls, though."

They shared a laugh and then departed amid the golden hoops. Kite stood thinking for a moment or two, then decided to go and see this cat player for himself. He was purposefully ignoring the fact (or perhaps hadn't registered it yet) that he could still feel the cobblestones beneath his feet, which should have been utterly impossible, but there it was.

However, as he ambled along down the main street, that he could feel slowly dawned on him, along with the realization that he could even smell a few things. The smell of the canals (certainly a cleaner canal aroma than any in the real world) and the fragrance of a player's perfume as she passed by mingled in his nostrils. And he stopped, wide eyed. Pulse increasing a bit, he took a couple deep breaths, which were tinged with scents, in an effort to calm himself.

Then Kite told himself it was nothing to worry about. If he could feel or detect some things that normal players probably couldn't, then it wasn't anything to get excited over. It wasn't harming him and, in fact, would probably enhance whatever he was doing here, so he might as well just accept it. But, that didn't stop him from worrying a bit as he once more began his ramble through the Water City of Mac Anu.

So preoccupied with it, he didn't realize when he'd turned down a side alley until he reached the edge and nearly fell into the canal. Catching himself and wondering whether he would have felt wet, should he have fallen in (which was unlikely given the game parameters generally forbade swimming), Kite sighed and turned the corner, just following the side street to see where it would go.

Just rounding the corner at the other end of this stretch was another pair of players, whom Kite didn't see right away as he was looking towards the ground. One was a wavemaster wearing robes that were predominantly blue, though the loose sleeves were white. His hat was also blue and his hair was a greenish teal, though his eyes were blood red. On either cheek he had a blue green "F" of sorts, and he carried a staff wrought like an ornate shepherd's crook. A crimson ribbon had been tied off just below that crook and it dangled long and heavily down, though the wavemaster kept it somewhat wrapped up to avoid dragging. The pole of the staff was blue, but the end and the crook were a light tannish color, and the crook had red zigzag stripes around it. In the midst of the crook floated a deep red orb that matched the wavemaster's eyes.

His companion was the cat player whom Sieg and Edajima had been talking of, and she was an interesting character indeed. She was slim and moved with a hip swaying, effortless grace, accompanied by an also swaying tail. Her fur was purple, save for her muzzle, inside of her ears and belly, which were white. Her ears were long, pointed and tall, almost like a rabbit's, though too triangular for that. Her eyes were cat's eyes, of course, but they were yellow and intelligent, large and mirror-like in that they showed nothing and reflected everything. On her body, she had a green and white body suit that was also armor in spots. However, there was a gap on her thighs and tummy, and the part covering her feet and serving as her shoes was purple and white. On her arms and hands were gloves reaching to her elbow, but no farther. She was most likely a blademaster.

The two walked along, apparently good friends, and the wavemaster was chatting amiably to his friend. "Hey! I found a great area that's full of aromatic grass. Wanna go?" he asked with enthusiasm.

"Yeah, sure!" said the cat player, less enthused, but this was in part because she had quite suddenly become distracted by… something. She could feel it. She could smell it. But she wasn't quite sure what it was. Still it had a familiar flavor. And so, her ears perked up and her tail twitched as she leant forward, eyes darting around, seeking this fascinating thing.

As the wavemaster said, "Great! Let's get ready then," she started off, running down the alley to Kite.

The wavemaster, confused by this sudden change, stared after her a moment. "Uh, Mia?" he queried as he ran after her.

From several feet away, Mia called, "Excuse me!"

Kite stopped, looked up, saw her coming and gestured to himself, wondering if he was really the intended target.

"You, yes you," said Mia as she stopped just in front of him. She leant forward, still all perked with curiosity, and stared at his right wrist. She then pointed. "That's a unique bracelet. Can I take a look?"

Then, before Kite could offer any sort of reply, she snatched his hand and held the arm up to eye level as she gazed at this bracelet, which was invisible to all other eyes. The wavemaster, meanwhile, skidded to a stop beside them and nearly lost his balance. He stared at Kite's wrist, too, although he was rather confused by all of this.

Kite also did a bit of staring, but it was at Mia for a moment, his eyes wide with surprise. Although he could feel the warmth of her hand, he ignored it, instead concentrating on the more pressing issue. "Can you see it?" he asked, as if to make sure she really could see it when he couldn't.

"Yes of course," she replied, and he glanced at it. "Do you mean to say that you can't see this nice bracelet?"

Kite shook his head, and the wavemaster stared harder, glancing between Mia and Kite.

"Even if you can't see it, as long gas you know it's there, it's the same thing as seeing it, right?" said Mia. She then poked the bracelet, and it became briefly visible, at least to Kite, as if in reaction to the touch. It also brought a slight shock, as if Kite had been zapped with a bit of static electricity.

"Bracelet?" queried the wavemaster, whom Kite saw to be named Elk. He tilted his head to one side. "Hey, what are you talking about? I can't see any bracelet, Mia."

But the cat player ignored him. Instead, she nodded to Kite and brushed around him, back to her usual slow, hip-sway walk. Her voice containing a hint of a purr, she looked sideways at him. "Well, thanks a lot for letting me look at your bracelet. I have a feeling we'll meet again… some how. Well… See you around."

Elk took a few steps after her, then stopped, looking back at Kite with a thoughtful, calculating expression. Then, he turned and ran after Mia, calling, "Hey Mia, what about the aromatic grass?"

Kite stared after them, then looked down at his wrist with a sigh.

0 0 0 0 0 0

Upon returning to the Chaos Gate, after some more wandering, contemplating the events of the previous day, as well as a few interesting encounters with fellow players, Kite stood and stared into the twirling portal for several minutes. Where was he to go? He sent a Flash Mail to Blackrose, but she wasn't on. And he decided that his level was probably entirely too low to take on the goblin event.

Reluctantly, however, he eventually settled upon returning to Bursting Passed Over Aqua Fields. At least that way he could check and see if any changes had occurred to the field. He might find a clue. And so away he warped.

0 0 0 0 0 0

Delta, Bursting Passed Over Aqua Field

0 0 0 0 0 0

Appearing in the middle of the tranquil field, Kite at first thought nothing was wrong (apart from his ability to feel the breeze and smell the fresh air). But then it occurred to him, as he looked around, that there were no magic portals. There were no monsters on this top field. However, the blue Spring of Myst icon still flickered upon the map, so Kite determined that, as long as he was here, he would visit it.

Coming up to the pool, he stopped at its edge and looked down into it. It was nothing more than a round spring that steamed and shimmered and bubbled a little. Nothing more, save perhaps a faint glow. His cursor targeted it, so he selected the spring and an option to throw a piece of equipment was given him. So, Kite threw his Amateur Blades in.

Immediately, causing Kite to start and take a step backwards, there was a flash on the water and a large blue gelatinous drop creature popped out. It had wide eyes and a clownish smile. Kite immediately disliked it, and this distaste only grew when it began to speak.

In a very annoying, almost condescending and very fake (as if he were a parody car salesman) voice, the tear drop (who was apparently a Monsieur Lv. 1) said, "Did you lose a Golden Axe? Or was it a Silver axe?"

Kite was given the choice of either axe or the selection of neither. Following what he'd read of in the board, he selected 'neither'. The infuriatingly slow speaking Monsieur replied, "What? Neither one? Hmm… Let's see… Then is this it? Till Next Time! Good bye!"

After it bequeathed a new item to Kite, it zipped straight upwards into the heavens, leaving a brief wake of glittering water droplets. Kite checked out his weapon's new stats and saw them to be an improvement, luckily. He now had a lovely set of Phantom B lades, which were better than his Steel Blades, so he changed equipment.

Only now did he head into the dungeon. First, down the steps, and then past the two treasure chests Orca had used in his tutorial and into the first room, the T intersection. Kite took every step warily, at the same time unconsciously listening for any change in the background music. But, there was no need, for nothing happened, at least not in this room. No pale girl. No tall, dark thing wielding a red wand. No green patched and sickly glowing monster. Indeed, there was nothing.

At the end of the room, Kite turned right, deciding he might as well check every room. And, once more, there was nothing out of the ordinary. The room was just as it had been when he and Orca had entered it that fateful day. Letting out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, Kite continued on. And, crossing to the room on the left, Kite wondered if the entire dungeon would be normal, or if, like the lack of portals on the surface, there would be random glitches.

Entering that room, he was surprised, therefore, to find that the portal was there, as it ought to have been. And out of it popped two Deadly Moths. They looked as they were named, for they were large moths with a skull pattern on each wing, white against the mottled charcoal of the rest of the wing. They fluttered for a moment as the remnants of the portal faded, then chittered and flapped forward. Kite met them in the attack.

These turned out to be more difficult than the Goblins that had earlier populated the dungeon, for not only did they have higher hit points, but they also had stronger and more accurate attacks. And this, of course, led to them hitting Kite. Which hurt, despite the hits coming from a stingerless insect.

And this led to Kite crying out in pain and alarm. "What the hell?" He grit his teeth against the pain, however, and fought back, though he wondered aloud, "Why? Why does it hurt? It's not supposed to…"

But, the Deadly Moths did not answer. Instead, they kept up the attack, forcing Kite to grin and bear it, so to speak. Well, until he saw a blue polygonal orb appear around one of the moths and shatter. Then, as the monster recoiled, a small box appeared in Kite's vision, attached to the monster and proclaiming Data Drain OK. Kite hesitated, and then, reluctantly, but deciding it was better to try it out now rather than later, he commenced a Data Drain.

First, he stepped back and somehow – he wasn't quite sure how; he just knew it instinctively – activated the bracelet, causing it to materialize about his wrist, glowing brightly, pulsing as it sought to expand and be put to use. The words Data Drain fell from Kite's lips as he lifted his arm, holding the bracelet out towards the Deadly Moth, which remained in place, its insect eyes glaring malevolently at Kite.

This second Data Draining was different from the first, and yet all too similar. Like before, he was jerked forward a bit, and his entire wrist ached with a stabbing pain. And like before, as the bracelet opened up and the ribbons of light and data went streaming towards the moth, he felt some of his own energy be drawn directly from his body, which also was quite painful. But, unlike before, the feeling of something else being drawn into himself was not so strong. Indeed, it was almost nonexistent. Still, that didn't make the sensation any less miserable.

When the draining was complete, all that remained, where the monster's data had been reconfigured, was a Worm, a level one critter with the lowest stats imaginable. The rest of the data had been rewritten, by the bracelet, into an item. And that item was an Earth Sword. It sat in Kite's inventory.

After the bracelet faded, and Kite's arm was allowed to drop, at which point he drew his blades again, he stood there, breathing hard and staring for a moment, before a chitter from the remaining Deadly Moth brought his attention back to the matter at hand. He then proceeded to finish the battle, choosing not to data drain the second Deadly Moth. The Worm had run to the farthest corner of the room, but Kite chased it down easily enough and killed it in one blow.

Following this battle, Kite used a Health Drink to replenish his hit points and moved on to the lower floor. However, he did this slower, and more hesitatingly than before. Being able to feel things like the ground and the breeze was one thing. Being able to feel every blow from an enemy monster, however, was quite something else, and Kite did not like it. What, he wondered, would happen to him if his avatar died in The World? He'd checked his real body where he'd been hit, and there were no bruises or marks, but they still had ached. What would an online death feel like?

He tried to push these thoughts from his mind, as he descended the stairs to the second level, but to no avail. Nor could he keep the images from his last venture into this dungeon out of his mind. So, it was with great trepidation that he stepped into the crossroads from which he and Orca had been teleported to that bizarre island of the girl and the monster. However, he needn't have feared, for there was absolutely nothing there. The background music didn't even flicker.

So, Kite entered the right hand passage. There was a portal there, but it disintegrated into nothing more than a treasure chest. It wasn't even a locked one, and within it was a magic scroll, which Kite took. And then he made his way across to the other room. Inside this one, unfortunately, were more monsters. Three Deadly Moths, to be precise.

Kite uttered a very nasty curse as they descended upon him, batting him between the three of them, almost as if they were playing a game of catch. But Kite, to his credit, merely clenched his jaw, held his controller in a death grip and concentrated on fighting back. And his methodology this time was to use a little magic. The scroll he'd earlier received, to be precise. It was a wind scroll, and it did a number on the moths, killing them all. "All Dungeon Portals Open" flashed across Kite's screen in yellow.

One Health Drink and the opening of a treasure chest later, Kite stumbled back into the central crossroads and made his way to the Gott Statue room where there was… nothing. He'd already taken the treasure once, and the game didn't allow players to take the same Gott Statue treasure more than once. And so, there was nothing else for him to do.

With a heavy sigh – Kite had been hoping (and yet dreading) that he might find something, anything leading him to or hinting at an answer – he turned and made his way back to the surface, where there were still no portals, and then returned to the Root Town. From there, with nothing more than a stop at the Recorder to save his game, Kite logged out and went to bed, mind still awhirl with questions. He had considerable trouble falling asleep that night.

Author's Notes:

Lookie! Mia! And Elk! Squee!

Yeah, I know. Chapter 3 is short. But… I felt that was the best place to cut it off. I was going to add in the first goblin match, but it doesn't really fit there, so it'll be in the beginning or middle of the next chapter.

Also, I'm not going to include random conversations with other player characters in every chapter… mostly because it doesn't always fit or flow or whatever. Heh.

And… I know that Kite's venture back into Bursting Passed Over Aqua Fields isn't really in the game's plot, but I highly doubt I'm the only one who, when first playing, went back there as soon as I could, just to see if anything was there, besides using the Spring. So… I felt justified in including it. He would have gone to Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground, too… but I figured he'd probably do that with Blackrose.

On other matters…

I still need a script of Unison. Or a link to place where I can download it safely (I don't want to be uploading viruses and stuff on here with it) and for free.

And you guys would have had this up last week, except that I was off in the Caribbean. And.. OMG! I ACTUALLY TANNED A SHADE!

For you to understand just how much of a miracle that is, I must tell you a little explanation. First off, I am very pale. Not albino, as I actually have pigment… just very, very, very pale. I make Snow White look tan. Well, not the cartoon, because that's a cartoon and I hate the cartoon Snow White, anyway… her voice annoys me to no end, among other things (like she's an IDIOT), but that's beside the point. What is the point is that, as previously stated, I am very pale. Not unhealthily so in that my lips aren't chalky and my cheeks aren't drained of color, but you can trace the veins on the underside of my arms from wrist (and sometimes palm) more or less all the way up to my armpit, depending on the light.

All of my friends also agree that I am absurdly pale. Indeed, in a chatroom (which I wasn't at, 'cause I don't have IMs) of people from school, they were having a hyperbole contest involving paleness. Stuff like "I'm so pale I make snow look dark" was being bandied around. So then, my friend Char says, "I'm so pale I make Snarky look tan." And they then declare her the winner. (Actually, she used my real name, but I'm not going to post that here.)

All of this is just to emphasize the fact that I am pale. And to amuse you. Anyway, in the normal course of a summer, I rarely burn (unless I fall asleep in the sun for hours on end) and I barely tan even half a shade. Plus, by the time school rolls around, any minuscule tan fades in a week or so. Only if I were to spend hours and hours outside in the awful muggy (aka humid, sticky and hot) summer air would I tan much. So, for me to tan that much in that short of a time is a miracle. –grins broadly- But, it'll disappear by Monday, I imagine, when I've got to go back to school. Blah. Oh well…

Anyway, now that I've subjected you to my natterings that probably make me sound like I'm a self-centered northern European-descended vapid girl who can't shut up, (which is only partially untrue, as I really am desceneded mostly from northern Europeans, I am a girl, and by and large I can't shut up)… let me move on to replying to the unsigned reviews.

Rayne: Meep! I forgot to reply via Uber Flare… and I'm too lazy to do it now. Sorreh! And with the cats, I was only using people I'd encountered during that particular run.. and Acerola hadn't shown up, otherwise I'd have used her. O.o But really! Everyone I talked to, pretty much, was obsessed with cats! Ah well.. Thanks for reviewing! (I'll remember next time!)

Senkai Ninja / Rogue A.I.: Heyoo! -blushes- Thank you for all the praise! And the stars. I'm glad my novelization has been so well received. And don't worry… I definitely will have the Goblin Tag in here, though I don't know about the phantom SIGN characters… When I get to them is when I'll decide. But, yes! The sidequests will be here! Not necessarily all of them, though. Like the item collector one will only be in here when Mistral yammers on about it, as she undoubtedly will. Heh. Anyway, thanks for reading and thank you once again for the compliments. (yay for ego boosts!)

Until next time,

Sargent Snarky

PS: Random Trivia Questions for you!

Next chapter'll be dedicated to whoever answers them correctly! If you can't answer them all, that's fine. Answer's will be posted next chapter, regardless of anyone answering them.

Question 1: Who is Seig in real life?

Question 2: Who is Seig's rival in the game?

Question 3: Why did Seig select "Seig" as his particular name?

Question 4: (easy one!) Who won the One Sin event?

Question 5: What was the prize for winning the One Sin event?

Lastly, Question 6: Why was Balmung the recipient of the prize and not Orca? (if you don't know this one, try looking in A.I. Buster.)