1Note: I'm very sorry for the massive gap in time since my last update. I did the first error of the chapter some time ago and then went into an inaction slump-ish thing. I don't know. Anyway I finally finished it up and made it a little longer than previous chapters to make up for my failure. Many apologies! *bow*
ERROR 28
"I don't have time for this," BlueRose groaned as Mac Anu disappeared.
He now stood on nothing, and the area around him had become a large extended blue grid. He could not warp out or disappear as long as he was in the Avatar Combat Grid. Macha, staring down at him, slowly unfurled its long arms and shot forward with incredible speed. It swung its sharp claws at BlueRose repetitively, who struggled to avoid each attack. A normal character could not easily damage him, but he was unsure as to how he would handle direct damage from a Morganna Factor.
"Stay still, insect!" Endrance screamed as he continued to attack furiously.
"Sorry, but that would involve me getting hurt," BlueRose grinned and drew his Gatling gun, but was unable to take aim while dodging Macha's claws.
Azure Kite didn't take long to join in the fray. Changing into his Azure Flame God form, he entered the ACG and joined Macha in attacking the corrupted AI. BlueRose, cursing to himself, drew BlackRose's sword with his left hand and used it to block Azure Kite's attacks as he avoided Macha's.
Mia stood some distance away, watching the battle. She, unlike the other players in Mac Anu, had been able to follow her companion into the ACG. She could also see the two Avatars' character forms inside the larger monster body. She watched Endrance intently, and then glanced down at her clenched fist. In it she held a single stem of Aromatic Grass.
"Elk…" she muttered and looked back up at Endrance. "Why didn't you tell me?"
She had immediately recognized her infected phase as Endrance's Avatar.
"I should have known," she sighed. "Only Elk would spend two hours picking Aromatic Grass."
ERROR 29
"DONE!" Kite leaned back in his chair so suddenly that it tipped over and landed on the floor. Ryou tried not to laugh as Kite irritably stood up and kicked the chair.
"Finally," Kite sighed and walked around his dorm room in circles. Ryou watched silently as Kite walked off the stress of his twelve-hour workload.
"OKAY!" Kite hopped back into his chair and quickly opened his e-mail. Scanning through the spam, he singled out an unread e-mail and opened it.
"It's from CC Corp.," he mused.
CONGRATULATIONS!
PLAYER Kite, YOU HAVE WON THE WORLD'S ANNUAL RANDOM SELECTION CONTEST! YOU WILL BE AWARDED A RARE AND VALUABLE ITEM THAT WILL PLEASANTLY ENHANCE YOUR GAMING EXPERIENCE! PLEASE SPEAK TO ANY MERCHANT IN THE GAME TO RECEIVE YOUR PRIZE! THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT OF CC CORPORATION BY PLAYING THE WORLD!
DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS MESSAGE. IF YOU FEEL THAT FOR ANY REASON YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE RECEIVED THIS MESSAGE, PLEASE CONTACT CC CORPORATION TO INFORM US OF OUR MISTAKE.
"What?" Kite stared in disbelief at the message. "No way..."
This was too fishy. The last time Kite had won any contest from CC Corp., it had been a attempt by Lios to take away his Data Drain power.
"Might as well check it out," Kite sighed and turned to Ryou. "You should go check your mail to see if there have been any updates.
"Got it," Ryou got serious quickly and left to check his computer.
Kite logged in and warped into Mac Anu. He knew he couldn't remain in the town long or fans would start crowding around him, so he ran quickly to the Save Merchant.
"Congratulations!" the Merchant spoke in voice chat, impossible for most NPCs. Kite immediately recognized the voice.
"I knew it was you, Lios. What do you want?" Kite still didn't like Lios very much, and didn't feel like wasting time with him.
"Here's your prize!" Lios ignored Kite's rude response and transferred the item to his inventory.
"Hey- what the-" Kite exclaimed as he checked his inventory. "Lath Blades?! Are you kidding me?! These are Noob weapons!"
"I had to give you something or I'd be a liar," Lios replied.
"Nothing you do at this point will change the fact that you are a massive liar," Kite grimaced and deleted the blades.
"Watch yourself," Lios growled. "I called you here because we need to talk."
With that a loud screech ripped through the air and Mac Anu disappeared. The two now stood alone in a familiar blank space. Some distance off there was a large bed covered in and surrounded by numerous stuffed bears.
"There. Now you can't go anywhere," Lios chuckled.
"Watch me," Kite tried to gate out but could not. "Ugh. Fine, what do you want to talk about?"
"We should talk about BlueRose," Lios lifted right hand. It glowed brightly as two chairs and a table formed before him. He sat and stared and Kite expectantly. Kite sighed.
"I guess this will take a while," he groaned and sat.
ERROR 30
BlueRose continued to run frantically across the ACG while avoiding and repelling the attacks of the two monstrous players. He was extremely skilled, but was beginning to get sloppy. He had already received a few minor blows from both attackers, and was unsure how much longer he could last against their onslaught.
"Can't we just call it a day?" he whined as he ducked under one of Macha's attacks. As he rolled and tried to regain his footing, suddenly Azure Flame God Kite grabbed his and lifted him high into the air. There he held BlueRose for a moment, and then slammed him back into the ground with incredible force. BlueRose's defense broke, and he became vulnerable to Data Drain.
Macha flipped onto his back and his rose dressed opened into a large eye as his Avatar's Data Drain attack loaded up.
"I will be taking back my character data now," Endrance laughed menacingly as the eye glowed with red light. Power surged through his body as he prepared to launch his destructive attack.
"NO! STOP!" BlueRose could not move. Azure Flame God Kite held him pinned down.
Time slowed as Macha's attack reached it's full charge. BlueRose struggled violently in Azure Flame God Kite's grip. Realizing he could not escape, he became still. His character began to pulse quickly. Light emanated from his character as he began to change form. He reverted to his first appearance, becoming slightly smaller. From the newly loosened grip he freed his arms and grabbed Azure Flame God Kite's wrist. Concentrating strongly, he began feeding on the Avatar's data.
Azure Flame God Kite quickly flung his arm forward to free himself from the parasite. Macha changed his direction and targeted the body of BlueRose as it moved through the air. BlueRose drew his Gatling gun and aimed directly into the eye of the Data Drain and fired. The attack shattered and Macha was defeated.
Kicked from the ACG, Endrance landed hard on the Bridge in Mac Anu. Mia exited the ACG and rushed to him. Sitting up, Endrance put his face in his hands and cried out with rage.
"DAMN IT!!! I'VE FAILED!!" he breathed loudly as his body shook. Mia tried to comfort him to no avail.
Back inside the ACG, Azure Kite had returned to his normal form and stood before BlueRose.
"You know, it doesn't really matter what you do," Azure Kite sighed.
"What does that mean?" BlueRose had returned to his smug demeanor.
"You're deteriorating. You've failed to destroy Aura because you're too weak. If we manage to get into Fragment with Aura's Door, you'll die anyway."
BlueRose stared silently at Azure Kite. The air seemed to grow cold as the two stared each other down. Suddenly BlueRose exploded with laughter and actually doubled over onto the ground. When he finally recovered, he looked up at Azure Kite with his familiar sadistic grin.
"You're such an idiot. You don't know anything. Go through the door if you like. I've already done my job," BlueRose stood silently and exited the ACG. Once he had returned to Mac Anu, he glanced at the shaking form of Endrance, grinned, and faded out of the Root Town.