DM 1988: Well, this chapter took longer than expected.
Tsukasa: It's about time you got here. Hay Lin and Elk came down with the cold.
DM 1988: Well, aren't you happy?
Tsukasa: Not exactly. They treat me like some sort of servant, tending to their every whim for the last, I don't know.
DM 1988: Well, let's get this on the road. You know the drill, people. Elisabetta Gnone created W.I.T.C.H. and those guys at Project .hack created .hack//SIGN. The only thing I created is this story.
Hay Lin: Tsukasa, can you come here, please?
Tsukasa: DM, start this already!
Log Entry 9—Interrogation
Simultech Industries 8:35 PM
At Simultech, many employees have, over the past few hours, headed home for the weekend. Many of them were hoping to not deal with the snowstorm, but some were less than lucky.
As Levin Bishop, the director of Human Resources at Simultech, was locking all the doors in the building, he heard the sound of a keyboard clicking in one of the offices. He walked towards the sound and noticed that one of his co-workers was still here.
He entered the room where the single mother, of a child from her side and the pale skinned child she had adopted, was half-awake at her keyboard while at the same time checking her e-mail. Levin asked if she was alright but the woman insisted she was fine. He then noticed the screen showing stats of an avatar that the woman was portraying as in the online game known as the World. She appeared as a witch with a purple dress. She wielded a staff and bore an amulet that looked similar to the Heart of Candracar. Levin tried to warn her about the incident involving the attack earlier this week.
However, the woman told that there was nothing to worry about as she was just logging out. As Levin exited out of the room, Susan began to turn off her office computer when she heard a sound, confirming that a new message has appeared. She decided to open it. The message read:
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 "I know you aren't trying that hard to find her. I know you aren't really that close to her. There's a good reason why she ran away from you. And only you know the answer as to why. That's why when I find her, I'm taking her in my custody." 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000- Tom V. -00000000000000000000000000
However, after she read it, she turned off her PC with contempt. She stormed out of the building to her car in the cold night.
The World 8:36 PM
"Who does that guy think he is, telling me to hold back?!? To think I had a crush on him."
"Well, Corny, maybe there's something about that player killer that strikes a bell."
"Irmy, I going to sock you, next time you call me that."
While Tsukasa and Elyon have logged out of the World, Cornelia, Taranee, Hay Lin, and Irma along with Subaru have remained in the World. Cornelia was furious at the fact that Tsukasa tried to tell her to stop the attack. The others wondered if the illegal player known as Wiru is really who they think it is.
"Cornelia, maybe you're taking this a little seriously. The World is made for everyone to enjoy themselves and to take a break from reality. Remember what Wiru sai-" said the blue haired Axewoman, Subaru softly.
Cornelia cut her off by responding, "Maybe you should try telling that to your albino boyfriend, Subaru! Because of him, Wiru has escaped and he could end up killing more players. He's just the same as that white haired freak a year ago. And now, Tsukasa's acting just like the one that shall not be mentioned here, a year ago."
The comment silenced Subaru, making her stop dead in her tracks. A flame inside her body grew to unimaginable level, making Taranee to stand up to Cornelia, being fed with her totalitarian attitude.
She then yelled at the top of her lungs, "Cornelia, so what if Tsukasa was an illegal player! That doesn't mean you can criticize his actions towards helping us with this dilemma with Wiru! If Will was here, she would do the same thing!"
When Taranee gave her two cents to Cornelia, everyone looked shocked at her statement. They stood for a few minutes before Cornelia raised her hand and slapped Taranee across the face. Cornelia towered over Taranee with a cold glare in her eyes.
"Do…not…ever…mention…..her…name" whispered Cornelia in the darkest tone that the Guardians had ever heard from Corny. "Everyone, we meet here sometime tomorrow morning."
Hay Lin, Irma, and Subaru's jaws dropped at what just happened. They couldn't speak even a peep. As Cornelia logged off for the evening, Taranee got up and wiped the small streak of blood off her face.
"…….Bitch…" muttered Taranee.
"Taranee, are you alright?" said Hay Lin.
As the Chinese girl rushed to Taranee's side, Irma looked at Subaru with confusion.
"What's up with Corny? I don't think Mr. Cruz is that bad, right? Subaru, you know Soma for some time, right?"
"Soma? Oh heh heh, you mean Tsukasa?" giggled Subaru.
"Yeah. Can we talk about this tomorrow?"
"Sure. Maybe Tsukasa himself will be here with us. I'll try to contact him again, even though he won't respond to it immediately."
"I don't know about contacting Soma-kasa. Corny's already mad at him for earlier. I guess it's worth a try."
"Well, I'll be logging off now."
"See ya, Subaru. Oh, and sorry about earlier." said Irma as Subaru logged out of the World.
Irma went to the others and looked at each other with worry.
"I don't know about Cornelia's actions. I'm sure Tsukasa will help us get to the bottom of this." said Irma.
The spectacled Fire Guardian then said, "I hope you're right about this, Irma. If Cornelia keeps this up, then I don't think Will will ever come back…."
The Vandom Residence 8:45 PM
The blizzard was getting more and more intense with each minute passing by. Inside, however, was a more pleasant, serene environment. The ceiling fan was quietly humming in the living room. The speed of the blades circulated the warm heat around the house and the kitchen. The TV's volume was kept at a minimum, though the TV mentioned something about Angels and the Third Impact.
Where was Tsukasa, you asked?
In the middle of the living room, where he'd plopped himself on the floor. His arms and legs spiraled out as he gazed at the ceiling; his ghastly purple eyes appearing as if it were in a trance. His white hair laid out on the floor like an old duster.
"Should I have stay quiet about what happened in the World?" the white haired individual asked himself. "That guy Wiru, he sounded like I know everything about the World. Why is he so desperate to escape reality? Does he really hate the Guardians that much?"
As he remained on the floor, his thoughts turned to Elyon. From the time she helped him get reacquainted to the game to her helping his friend Subaru after being attacked by Wiru. While it was good that she took a liking for him as a friend, Tsukasa thought about what he said regarding Will.
"Can you tell me what happened to him…?"
"…….Why do you ask?"
"Uh, never mind."
"Maybe we can talk about this some other time."
"Sure. Maybe later, I guess."
"Maybe I should've just shut up about this whole thing. I mean, it's not like those Guardians of the Veil trust me in the first place; being that I was once a rouge player myself."
As the heat began to make his eyes drowsy, Tsukasa realized that if he is to continue finding out the true nature of Wiru, then he must play longer intervals in the World.
"This sucks…"
As he was about to close his eyes, the phone rang. Tsukasa immediately jumped up at the moment it rang. He went towards the phone (it wasn't cordless) and answered it.
"Hello?" Tsukasa answered as the reception on the other side of the line was jumbled. It made it hard for Tsukasa to hear clearly.
"Tsukasa, it's me…Susan. Listen, I'll be...coming in late because of…the blizzard…Right now, I'm…calling from the…supermarket while…picking up dinner. The snow is making it hard for…anyone to see and my cell phone is getting…nothing but static because of it. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that. Okay, bye."
CLIK!
"Well that's too bad. I've been in situations like this before."
Tsukasa went to the kitchen to put hot water on for tea and then went to his bedroom.
However, as he went to his room, something struck Tsukasa's mind. It was like his mind trying to tell him to look in the locked room that he saw earlier. At first, he resisted. However, he decided that it might lead him to clues regarding Will's disappearance and what caused it to happen.
It was unknown to him if it was locked, but he jiggled the door knob lightly. It turns out the door was open.
As he entered the room, he noticed that most of the room had all of the stuff boxed up. There were some stuff, however, that remained unboxed. The computer stood in the corner of the room. Stuffed frogs laid on the bed, along with a notepad that looks like it hasn't been touched in a while.
Tsukasa grabbed the notepad and took a gander of it. However, just as he was about to open it, the tea kettle screamed downstairs. He took the notepad and went downstairs to turn the water off.
A few minutes later, Tsukasa plopped himself on the couch with a cup of tea by his side. Tsukasa opened the notebook and began browsing through the pages in the notebook.
As he skimmed quickly through the pages, he saw some doodles that were drawn. The various sketches that appeared in the notebook ranged from landscapes to dragons, from fairies to various anime characters.
"What the heck?"
One of the sketches caught his attention. It showed two people back to back; one of them appearing as some sort of fairy, while the other seems to have on normal everyday attire. The fairy had on a purple long sleeved top and a bluish green skirt. The normal person wore a red turtleneck and a grey hoodie. The trait they both shared in common is that they both have red hair and chocolate brown eyes. Unfortunately, they both also appeared to be very unenthusiastic and depressed. Tsukasa glanced at this picture and saw that it was drawn by Elyon Brown.
"She looks so sad in this sketch. Do I see her before? In my dreams?"
A flash occurred in Tsukasa's mind involving a lone fairy in blood stained snowfield. "I'm hiding from those people that harmed me. Including you."
"No, it can't be. It's just a drawing."
When he turned the page, he saw some text on the page. However, what he noticed on that page is that some of text was scribbled over. He could not decipher any of the words other than "the World is my only escape from this sick, sad world. The place where I can escape the pain and sorrow I experienced in reality."
Tsukasa was struck with confusion as he continued reading through the notebook to a point where it awoke another unwanted memory.
"Where did you get this?!?"
"A-at the game shop?"
SMAK!
"I do not approve of you owning this machine that every kid has to have! Now go back to that shop and return that damn piece of shit!"
"NO! I rather stab myself than return this game! At least I have something worth owning and it's not YOU as a father!"
He then closed the notebook nervously. He could not understand everything he read so far in the notebook, but what he read reminds him of what he was like a year ago.
"This is going to be harder than I thought…."
He decided to put the book back in the room where he found it. Tsukasa felt he shouldn't keep it in his room for his own reasons.
When Susan came a few minutes later, around 10 minutes after nine, Susan and Tsukasa had chicken that she picked up at the supermarket. Susan noticed that Tsukasa has barely touched his food.
"What's wrong, Tsukasa?"
No answer came from his mouth; ever since he got here (which is only yesterday), the dilemma involving Will and what's happening in the World rose uneasy feelings for him.
"…It's nothing, really. I'm fine." was all he could come up with.
"Oh, really? Tsukasa, the principal called, stating that someone punched you today. Are you sure you really okay?"
An irritated Tsukasa simply stated, "Yes, I'm alright."
"Tsukasa, I know that something's wrong, with the way you answered. Please tell me what's wrong." pleaded Susan.
"Susan, I told you; there's nothing wrong. I'm just tired, that's all. I'm going to bed." Tsukasa quietly said as he excused himself from the dinner. He walked up to his room and closed the door shut.
"Did he go into that room? N-no, he couldn't, right?"
Fadden Falls 10:00 PM
"Why are you crying? Did something happened?"
"Get away from me!"
"Listen to me, I'm trying to help."
"Damn, can't seem…….to get…any sleep. Those voices; they keep playing in my head like a broken record." muttered Whedon, as he struggled to get some sleep for tomorrow's game.
"Who cares if you die in the World? It's just a game."
"Why are you acting like this?"
"……..leave…me…alone…."
"Are you telling me that you rather be stuck in this game than to try to be with your friends?"
"Tsukasa, the one player who couldn't log out. The one who fell into a comatose state over a year ago. It seems that the little wavemaster is trying to warn me of the consequences of being stuck in the online video game." thought Whedon.
"He's changed since I last heard of him. It's as if he wants to get away from everything that has to do with the World." chuckles the dark haired boy as an image of the wavemaster flashed in his mind. "And yet, he returned earlier tonight to save his blue haired angel Subaru while aiding Elyon, the one I attacked earlier this week."
Another image has flashed in his mind. This time, an arm threw out, causing some glass cups to shatter. The person who threw out the arm started screaming and bawling her lungs out. The other person put her arm around the other person.
"It doesn't have to be like this."
"Why I attacked her, very few know. Cornelia, Hay Lin, Taranee, Irma, Subaru, Tsukasa……Elyon. They all know why I did this. But they know nothing of what I really feel in this harsh reality." he lamented on this fact based on what he had faced the last six months. However, his body started quivering in pain. As more images flashed in Whedon's mind, he grew more and more resentful towards his past. His head pulsed at an extreme rate, with each memory becoming more painful.
"You don't deserve to be here!"
"What the hell were doing, hanging out with Caleb?!?"
"Why did you punch Mr. Collins? All he was trying to do is to see what's the matter with you."
"Oh, sure. That's your excuse every time, Mom. Why don't you ask yourself that same question as to what's the matter with YOU!"
"Where's that little girl of mine, Susan?!?"
"What's wrong with you recently?"
"Stop it, Matt!"
"W-why must…..it happen…to me. God…dammit….Why must I be torture like this!" he yelled as he first punched the portrait of the six girls and threw the picture at the door.
CCCRRRAAASSSSHHHH!
Soon, his fellow orphans gathered around his door, wondering what all the yelling was about. Whedon's door was unlocked at this time. The group of teenaged orphans opened the door and found that their friend was laying on his bed in solitude. His hands were bleeding from the punch he threw at the portrait.
As they cautiously approach Whedon, they noticed his voice croaked at a somewhat high pitch. Higher than his usual speaking voice. They weren't sure about how Whedon was acting recently. Usually for them, they always see Whedon as a quiet individual and not one that would break out in sorrowful tears.
But as they came closer to Whedon, he told them in a somewhat croaky, high pitched voice, "Leave…..me…….alone…"
The group at first was reluctant because they were concerned with the dark brown, red streak haired boy. However, they came to realize that he needed some time alone.
After they left, Whedon got up and stared at the snow outside. His pale, sullen brown eyes gazed at the glowing streetlights in the blizzard.
"They're getting closer and closer to finding out my true identity. But, once they do, I don't know what they will think of it…"
The next morning Heatherfield; 5:55 AM
RRRIIIINNGGGG!
"+groans+ Must it be so loud?" Tsukasa whispered as he got out of his bed and shut the alarm clock off.
He tiptoed down the hall to the room where he found the notebook last night, hoping to not wake up Susan.
"Well, at least she's still asleep; now to head to that room." Tsukasa whispered to himself as he got closer to the elusive room.
"Huh? It's…..gone."
He noticed that the notebook wasn't where he left it last night. The ghastly purple eyes that belong to Tsukasa looked at where the notebook once was, on the bed. Instead, he just saw the bed with only frogs on it.
"Maybe I must have misplaced it. No, I couldn't have."
As he searched for it, he heard yawning in Susan's room.
"Crap! Need to get out of here!"
As he crept out of the room, Tsukasa closed the door very silently and went to his room. When he got to his room, he heard a sound coming from his computer. He went towards his computer and checked it out.
"A new message? From Elyon? 'Meet the Guardians at Mac Anu tonight. But first, I need you to talk to about something that you asked about last night. Just to let you know, Subaru will drop by. See you in a few hours.' I-In a few hours….?"
DM 1988: I didn't know how this chap turned out.So did this chaper suck?
Tsukasa: Yes
Elyon: I think he means the readers, Soma.
Tsukasa: Ugh! What's with this Soma crap?
Elyon+giggles+ You're so easy to tease. Anyway, tell us how you think of this. Please Read and Review.