A/N: Sweet, thanks for all the awesome reviews:) Ok, here's the next chapter. Just to let you all know, TRI-EDGE WASN'T IN THIS CHAPTER. (note the past tense...) Because of the high demand from all you wonderful reviewers, I was forced to go back to the chapter and edit it, adding Tri-Edge in. (Make a note of this, because revising something I've already written is something that I NEVER do. EVER. Krissy knows about that) So, I hope you all like it better this way. As for my opinion, I'm indifferent. :) Please review and tell me what you think!

Logging On

Chapter 5

The Dot-hackers leveled through the ranks of the Sage Palace tournament quickly, easily defeating every party despite only having two players. No one believed the leader of their first battle when he claimed that they were the original dot-hackers, but Kite and Blackrose didn't much care. They may not be remembered, but they were certainly making a new name for themselves.

Still, when they noticed the name Haseo as their next opponent, they were stumped.

"That name sounds really familiar," Blackrose pondered, leaning against the wall of the waiting room. Kite nodded in agreement.

"I think he used to be the emperor for the previous two tournaments…" he recalled, "He's probably going for all three."

She narrowed her eyes, "Then he's most likely strong. We'd better be careful with this one."

"Right," Kite nodded, and Blackrose shrugged herself off of the wall, heading for the door. Kite held it open for her, and they walked outside, into the familiar arena. This time, the crowd went wild when they appeared, their reputation having grown substantially because of their continuous wins.

At the other end, a male character clad in a slightly armored, formal outfit put one hand on his hip. His clothing, like his hair, was white, the Japanese sign for death. As soon as he saw them, his eyes widened and focused on Kite. He narrowed his eyes, pulling out two intricate guns, each with a long, see-through orange knife coming out of the bottom. The announcer finished his rambling, which was the same at every battle, save the names, and rang the bell.

"Begin!" he roared, and the leader, Haseo, began shooting. Bullets hailed at the dot-hackers, and they jumped away from the firing.

"Guns?" Blackrose protested loudly enough for Kite to hear, "How come he has guns?!"

Kite rolled to the side, "I don't know, maybe it's a new R:2 class!" he jumped up and began running towards Haseo. The bullets stopped momentarily while he reloaded. The two partners of the previous emperor split up, and one came to attack Blackrose while the other cast continuous healing spells.

"I don't have time for you!" Blackrose jumped to the left to dodge the spear that thrust at her before slicing her sword through him once. The character vanished on the spot, turning into a ghost. She didn't even pause to consider how low his level must have been before sprinting towards Haseo.

The barrage of bullets was back, constantly shooting at her. She weaved, but it was inevitable to take damage. Her health bar dropped to about halfway, and Kite chanted a spell to heal her. She didn't even see where he was, but thanked him nonetheless.

Haseo stopped firing once she got close, "You're done for!" she cried, jumping into the air and bringing her sword above her head for the ultimate attack. He sidestepped the attack and moved to swipe her with the knife-like energy beams on the bottom of his guns, using them like swords. She ducked and rolled, but Kite was already there, and the ghost of the Harvest Cleric who had been healing Haseo floated by, wispy-white. Kite slashed with his twin blades, throwing in a fire spell for good measure.

Haseo grunted as his HP dropped before swiping around to slash Kite. The dot-hacker, however, was already gone, coming up beside Blackrose, weapons ready. Blackrose tightened her grip and smirked.

"You're going to lose. You can't fire; the range is too close. And when it comes to a battle between blades, we'll win."

The gun-wielder glared at Kite, "I'll kill you, Tri-Edge! No matter what it takes!"

He closed his eyes, concentrating. As Blackrose and Kite watched in horror, a phase took shape, engulfing his body and growing to the size of a three-story building easily.

Kite's blood ran cold, and he glanced at Blackrose cautiously. She was frozen in place, staring in terror as the phase brought back unwanted memories for them both.

"Skeith…" she whispered, taking an unconscious step back. Kite put away his weapons, grabbing his right arm as Skeith readied his scythe.

"Kite, it's Skeith!" she cried in panic, coming back to her senses.

He nodded grimly, "Just calm down, Blackrose! We've defeated him before, we can do it again." He sounded much more confident than he felt as he stared at the giant monster.

Blackrose took a deep breath and nodded, "O-okay. Let's go!"

He flashed her a smile before she lunged forward, slicing at Skeith. It made a sound that resembled laughing at her attempt, and she backed up.

"Physical attacks don't work, Kite! Try your Data Drain!"

"Right!" Kite held his arm up, once again bracing it with his left hand, "Data Drain!"

The bracelet unfolded, and light beams shot towards Skeith. The phase flickered and disappeared, leaving Haseo panting on his knees. Blackrose dug her sword into the ground, leaning against it as Kite's bracelet disappeared once more.

"H-how?" he rasped, staring in surprise and malice at Kite.

Kite folded his arms, "I could ask you the same thing."

Haseo scowled, "How did you come back… Tri-Edge?"

"Tri-Edge?" Kite repeated, "I don't know who this Tri-Edge is, but my name's Kite."

Haseo stared at him in disbelief, then glanced at Blackrose, who nodded in agreement, "Kite…?" he repeated slowly, and his angry gaze became contemplative.

"Yes."

He continued to watch Kite warily, "I suppose I'll have to believe that… for now, at least. Finish me so that we can talk about this a bit more in a different setting."

"Finish you?" Blackrose repeated in amazement.

"I intended to beat the Sage Palace tournament on my own, but that idea is gone now. Go ahead, but I expect answers later," he didn't move.

Blackrose glanced helplessly at Kite, who shrugged, but nodded all the same. She ran forward to put on a show for the crowd, making a dramatic slice through the avatar. Haseo flickered and disappeared, just like Skeith had done moments earlier. The crowd went wild, and the announcer shouted loudly, "And the Dot-Hackers win again!"

Kite and Blackrose were gated out of the arena, arriving in front of the receptionist again. She bowed and smiled.

"Good job. I shall register you for another battle; come back when you're ready," she said pleasantly. Kite wasn't listening.

"How will we find—" he broke off as a chime rang through his FMD. He checked the message in front of him and a grin spread across his face.

Member address received: Haseo.

They decided to go immediately, and Kite sent a flash mail to Haseo requesting a meeting spot. Haseo wrote back, suggesting the area below the arena in the back alley of  Warring City Lumina Cloth. Unsure of where to go, Kite followed Blackrose as they wandered around the small town, searching for the staircase that would lead them to Haseo.

In The World, the  server was the highest-level server a player could go to. Now, though, its main event was the arena. Because of this fact, it was pretty small, but it still took a while for the dot-hackers to find the designated staircase. They followed the winding path into an open balcony-type place, complete with potted plants and a view of the night sky. The arena loomed behind them.

Haseo was alone, standing impatiently by the banister that signified the end of the balcony. He turned to face them, a scowl evident on his face.

"What took you?" he demanded. Blackrose matched his tone.

"You never exactly told us where this place was, you know!" they glared at each other for a while, before Kite stepped between them.

"We didn't come to fight," he told Haseo, sending a pointed look to Blackrose. She backed down, muttering under her breath.

Haseo eyed him, "How can you have that character design, Kite, was it?"

Kite nodded, "Our friend Helba, from the original World, transferred our character data from The World to R:2."

"You called Kite Tri-Edge. Who is that guy?" Blackrose spoke up, apparently having forgotten her anger at Haseo for the time being.

Haseo looked away, "He's a PKer, of sorts. A little while ago, he caused a lot of trouble, because everyone he PKed fell into a coma. He looked exactly like Kite, except with a lot of stitches and pointy teeth and such."

"Fell into a coma?" Kite repeated, frowning.

"Yes. I made it my personal goal to hunt him, because he attacked…" Haseo fell silent for a moment, "Well, let's just say that he attacked someone very important to me. I managed to defeat him recently, so I was really shocked when you showed up looking exactly like him."

Kite blinked, glancing at his unique attire.

"Throw in the fact that you could use data drain, and it's easy to see my reason for concern," Haseo remarked, looking back at the two, "But since you aren't Tri-Edge, you two must be Epitaph users… which doesn't make sense, because I gathered all of them to defeat Tri-Edge…" he glanced from Blackrose to Kite, a confused look on his face.

Kite cocked his head, "Epitaph users?"

"You could see Skeith, and you can use data drain. Only other Epitaph users can do that," he informed the pair. Blackrose scowled.

"We're dot-hackers, not Epitaph users."

He shook his head, "I'm not asking about your team name."

She crossed her arms, "I'm not telling you about our team name. I'm telling you that Kite and I really were dot-hackers in the original version of The World."

Haseo stared at them for a second, "That does make sense…" he deliberated.

"So, what about you? We defeated Skeith and the other phases five years ago. How come you have him… inside you, I suppose?" Kite asked.

"I'm an Epitaph user. I just told you that. Somehow, data was recovered of the old phases, and incorporated into the avatars of eight characters. I'm one of them. Normal players can't see the avatars, because they go into a different realm, of sorts, where only other Epitaph users can see. That's why the crowd barely reacted when I called Skeith," Haseo explained.

Blackrose thought for a moment, "But we're not Epitaph users. How come we can see your avatar, then?" she realized now that the Skeith they had witnessed was not the older, original model, but was modified, taking on traits of Haseo.

Haseo hesitated, "I'm not sure. Here, if you're free now, let's go talk to Yata. He's the guildmaster of Raven, a special guild for only Epitaph users."

Kite glanced at Blackrose and shook his head, "I'm sorry. I'd like to, but it's getting late, and we have classes tomorrow. Besides, I don't think Blackrose finished her homework," he ignored his partner's fierce glare.

"Oh, all right. Give me your member addresses, and I'll get in touch with you next time you log on, then. Is that okay?" Haseo asked.

"Sure," Kite gave his without hesitation.

Blackrose eyed him for a moment before sighing, "Only because you seem to know more than we do," she reluctantly gave her member address to him as well.

Haseo gave them a small smile, "I'll be in touch," and he logged out. Kite turned to Blackrose, who stuck out her tongue.

"I do not have homework."

A/N: Blackrose always has to get the last word. :) So, now things get interesting! Haseo appears at last... Stay tuned, because I'll be posting once I get more reviews:D