The Red Wand
Chapter XI: The True Goddess
(Play Wild Arms 3: Succubus Princess)
Everyone heard it. All the players in The World, all the characters logged in, all the NPCs, everyone. They all heard the screams of pain.
Somewhere in the Human World, a woman suddenly gasped in shock, as she dropped a rather expensive vase, her hands clutching her heart.
"An?! Honey what's wrong?"
"M-Mariko…it feels like…I just lost…a very important part of myself…"
The blue haired woman stared at her lover, confused. Lost a part of herself? Come to think of it…she has been acting jittery lately…
The other woman shuddered…as flashes of images shot through her mind. The deep connection she had with the Child of Light remained, however weakened. Her eyes widened in shock as she understood.
"Aura…"
Mariko's head spun so fast for a moment An thought her girlfriend's neck would snap.
"What did you just say?"
"Aura…something's happened to Aura…"
"…I'll e-mail Yasuhiko…he'll be able to tell him."
"Mariko…I think its time…Tsukasa and Subaru…returned to The World…"
"Sir! Massive data corruption is spreading!"
"The e-mails are flooding in! Everyone's saying something about a horrible scream!"
"What the HELL is going on?!"
"I don't know sir…but the servers are holding steady…it's just the data that's failing."
"Is it another AIDA server?"
"I think so…but not affecting the entirety of The World. Just one area."
"Damn…that's where we sent Shinzaki…"
"M-mother?"
Everyone stared in shock. Nobody could comprehend what just happened in front of them.
That's not gonna last…Our job is to stall for time…why did we have to get the shitty job?! Cause we were the only ones to know Alicia's plans Miko…looks like I'm gonna have to play the bad guy for a while…does that mean you have to let them beat the crap out of you? Hell no! Bad guys only get the crap knocked out of them when they're official bad guys. I'm just playing a role…therefore I can knock the crap out of them all I want. Oh well…at least you'll get to go toe to toe with the Infinity Eight…I always wondered how I managed to get beaten by that white haired guy…
Xenmaru rolled his eyes.
Because as powerful as you were…you were nowhere near as strong then, as you were when Kite was around.
"You…how could you?!"
He shrugged. "I'm just following orders."
Yata's eyes widened in recognition.
"So that's who you are."
The group turned to him. "What are you talking about Master Yata?"
"This…he is no ordinary player."
"We know that."
"No Endrance…he is the Shinigami."
Pai gasped.
"No way! Impossible!"
Xenmaru smirked. "It's about time you figured it out. Y'know, the Suits are really pissed at you for not answering their summons when this whole thing started."
The others were confused. Zefie's eyes widened in recognition.
"You…are the Shinigami? The one who took out a fully leveled AIDA at level 50…without even having all three upgrades you picked?!"
"Yep. Since that day the Suits haven't been asking much of me. Figure they had Yata doing the important stuff, and I'll admit, with your avatars you were better off fighting AIDA than I was…I got lucky that day."
"Why?! Why did you kill mommy?!"
Zefie's personality had slipped back into her child form's mind.
"Like I said…just following orders."
Haseo growled. "So you're nothing more than a CC Corp. lapdog!"
"Hey, I resent that. I never said I was following their orders."
"Then who?!"
"Someone higher up than CC Corp. That's all I'm gonna say."
Kuhn glared and drew his weapon.
"Special case or not…you killed Aura…you killed your own friend!"
It was then…that the surprise happened.
Aina walked forward. Ovan said nothing…choosing instead to analyze the situation…and watch confused as his little sister walked away from him.
As she walked forward, she sent Xenmaru a private message.
"I know."
"You know what?"
"I know what you did. And I know why you did it. I met her, once before. Just after I was released from within Onii-chan. I didn't know who it was…or what it was…but she gave me a piece of herself. Just like she did the same with you. I didn't recognize her…until she returned my memory of it. I know what you planned, and it's risky…but I'd like to help."
"y'know. For a kid…you're pretty badass."
"Thanks. I try."
She smiled at him, and then turned around. She stared at the group.
"If you want to fight him…you will have to fight me too."
Kuhn snarled. "Coward! Hiding behind a child! Come and fight like a man!"
"But I'm not a man."
This took them all by surprise.
"I'm dead remember? I don't have a body, I don't have a self. I'm just data now. I've got a conscience, yes, but I'm still nothing more than 1's and 0's in a floating mass of data. So why should I fight like a man, when I'm truly data?"
That shut Kuhn up for the moment.
"Besides. I'm not hiding behind her. I'd have to shrink myself insanely to do that. She chose to fight with me. And if you're reluctant to fight because you don't want to hurt her, that's on you, not me. She's made her choice. And considering all the bullshit she's been through, I think she's earned the right to be able to control her own life."
Aina nodded…and surprisingly so did Ovan. "I agree."
They all turned to him.
"Onii-chan?"
"He's right. Aina has been through a great deal. She has earned the right to choose her destiny."
Pai exclaimed. "But she's just a kid!"
"So was Sakaki."
Everyone turned to Haseo.
"So is Atoli, so was Kite, so am I, and so is Yata, and Sakubo, and Shugo, and Rena and most of the others. It doesn't change a thing. I was a kid when I was Sora, and yet I ended up being one of the key parts to the creation of Project GU. I was the one who bought Tsukasa time to get away with Aura. It doesn't matter if she's a kid in real life, she's become an adult in this game…and since we're not in real life, she's as old as she wants to be."
Ovan drew his weapon. "Not to mention…it gives me a chance to see how much she's grown."
Despite the prospect of fighting her brother…Aina smiled.
"Let's just see, onii-chan."
"I don't care what any of you say, I refuse to fight a child!"
"Then fight me instead."
They looked at Xenmaru.
"There's eight of you…well technically nine if we count Saku and Bo being split. Four for both of us. If you've got a problem fighting a kid, then fight me instead, Breast Physics."
"W-what did you just call me?!"
"I'm fighting you too."
"Whatever."
"Haseo, you and I will fight him as well!"
"Atoli?"
She stared at him with such intensity that he backed off immediately and agreed.
"Alright then, those are the teams. Me against Pleasure Pillows over there, Banana Boy, Captain Grey, and Bird-Girl. Aina will take on The Mask, Pimp-Master Rose, Shine-Specs and Twinrova."
Bo shyly spoke. "Umm…what's a Twinrova?"
"Fused form of two extremely ugly old women."
Saku fumed. "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING AN UGLY OLD WOMAN?!"
Yata simply mused. "You have a nickname for all of us…don't you?"
"I have no life. Literally. So time to think these things up is in abundance."
Everyone drew their weapons.
Aina looked at her group…and closed her eyes.
Suddenly, three glowing orbs flew out of her body. One was Black, one was Purple, and one was Silver. Her eyes snapped open in surprise.
The three orbs slowly started spinning around her.
"What-
(Play Wild Arms 3: There's Only One Family Named Schrodinger)
Before Ovan could finish his sentence, the orbs formed a ring of light around Aina, and then crashed into her. She lifted off the ground, as the area around them distorted. When the colors returned to normal, she was still in black and white. Suddenly, color began returning; however, where there was once white, there was black, and the same in reverse. Her hair turned black as well.
She landed softly, and opened her eyes. The others gasped.
Her eyes…
Were blood red.
She began floating in the air, a wicked smirk on her face. Suddenly, twelve black spears flew down around her and her chosen combatants. The spears glowed, and a wall of light surrounded them.
"Well…I guess that gets them out of the way."
He cast a spell. Giant meteors rained from the sky, sending his group flying.
"What the hell was that for?!"
"I'm the bad guy…remember?"
Kuhn glared. Oh I remember alright…
Shocked with the change in the little girl, the group could do nothing as she called forth flaming blue blades of energy and banished them at the group. Endrance's sword became a whip again, and he twirled, creating the rose-petal barrier his avatar was known for.
The action snapped the others out of their surprise. Saku fired a ray of light at the girl, while Bo summoned claws of darkness from the ground.
At the same time, Ovan leveled his gun, and fired a sonic blast at his sister, whilst Yata was content simply monitoring her, analyzing for weaknesses.
The girl smirked again, and a dome of energy appeared around her, blocking the light blast, and the wave of force. However, the claws of darkness broke through, dealing a small bit of damage to her. She scowled and raised her arms. From beneath her attackers, twin snake-like dragons shot from the ground and spiraled around each other. The two beasts fused and created a vortex of razor sharp winds. Though being attacked, Endrance cracked his whip at the child, the weapon cutting through the wall as if it were nothing.
The little girl didn't expect such an action, and watched in horror as the whip wrapped itself around her arms. The winds suddenly faded, and Endrance smirked. He had a plan…problem was, he wouldn't get to use it.
He yanked on his weapon, pulling the girl to him…however her eyes flashed red, and her body was alight with electrical currents. The wave of lightning shot through her and into the weapon, slamming into Endrance who couldn't react. The whip acted like a conductor, and he was electrocuted. The thorns cut into the girls arms, but she was able to escape, and evade one of the light beams Yata's disks fired off.
Mou! Maybe this was a bad idea taking them all on at once…
She mentally shook her head. Iie! I can do this! I've just got to think like they do! I won't let Xenmaru-nii down!
Ovan leveled his gun as well, timing his shot in coordination with one of Saku's spells. He fired as she launched it, so his attack would be concealed within hers. Aina blocked the attacks with the barrier, which again shattered. But before anyone could react, she retaliated by letting fly a torrent of lightning from her fingers.
The others dodged out of the way.
Mou ii! That barrier only blocks two attacks before its out! But…I wonder…
An idea came to her mind. It was risky, but it just might win her the battle.
She noticed the group was scattered…and took note of where the others were.
When this is over…if my math grades don't sky-rocket from this…
She then flew right at Endrance, placing herself between him and Bo. She landed in front of him, and he swung his whip. Perfect! She hopped over the attack, and the whip slammed into Bo, who had fired a spell at Aina, which hit Endrance. The others took no notice of this because she was rushing them as well. Yata moved his disks in between him and her, and had them fire. The disks were arranged in a diamond like pattern. The top one fired, and she ducked below it, the bottom fired and she twisted to the left, the left fired, and she spiraled around it, and then to the right. Finally when the right one fired, she had positioned herself right in the way of Saku, who got hit by the last beam, taking her out as well.
Yata blinked in surprise, only to be taken out of the fight by a swift kick to the nose from the little girl.
If this were real, his nose would be broken…pretty badly.
She landed from her assault and turned to her brother. They smiled at each other, and then Aina charged. He fired a shot. She lifted off the ground and began flying at him. He fired a sonic blast; she twisted out of the way. He summoned multiple lances of darkness; she ducked, weaved, twirled, and evaded every one of them. She was close enough. She cupped her hands together, a ball of dark energy appearing between them. Ovan leveled his gun, preparing one final attack. Just as the two were about to unleash their power, a wave of force slammed into everyone, as the battle area shattered. The force was so powerful it knocked Aina out of her transformed state. Ovan caught her as they fell.
Looks like…time's up…
(Play Sonic Riders: Digital Dimension)
Pai charged at Xenmaru, who hopped to the side, and kicked her in the stomach. The mixture of momentum from her dash, and the kick to her midsection flipped her over his leg, which he then spun her around a couple times, before slamming her into the ground, and bringing the leg down on her back. The move took off a LOT of HP from her. He back-flipped out of the way of a gunshot from Haseo, and twirled away from a sonic blast emanating from Kuhn. He sensed something approaching from behind, and flicked his right wrist. A beautiful Katana appeared in his hand, and he twirled to meet the cross strike from Atoli.
Damn…she's strong…
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Haseo level his guns, and fire. He turned back to Atoli, and vanished, causing a small ripple of air where he once stood. She stumbled forward, and was pelted by the shots Haseo fired.
"Ow, ow, ow, DAMMIT HASEO!"
Haseo, Pai, and Kuhn all flinched when they heard her scream at him.
Xenmaru silently re-appeared behind Kuhn.
"You've no time for distractions."
The Steam Gunner whirled around, only to meet a fist to his face. Xenmaru then tripped him up, and kicked him away, only to hop to the side, narrowly avoiding a punishing strike from Pai. He raised his leg, and brought it down, but she had rolled out of the way at the last moment. She punched at him, but he brought his sword up, flat side facing her, to block the strike. He then twisted his body left, and lifted off the ground, delivering a kick to the side of her head. She dropped and was barely surviving. Kuhn leapt at him and knocked him to the ground, only to be sent flying off by a two footed strike to his stomach.
Xenmaru kicked him back into the air and grabbed the man by his hair.
"Y'know…you're really fucking annoying."
He spun like a top, and then let go, sending Kuhn flying. He slammed into the slowly rising Pai, and the two of them were then blasted by a follow up energy blast Xenmaru fired at them.
He turned to see a blur of green and white, and brought his blade up just in time to block Atoli.
The two of them became a whirl of blades and light. Atoli would swing left, and Xenmaru would block it, only to twist his blade and kick her in the stomach, just as she swung right, which he would bend backwards to avoid. She brought her left blade down, which he met with his own, only to have to roll to the side to avoid her right one. She would twist and swing her blades, and he would block, sparks raining on both of them from the ferocity of the girl's attacks.
Kuhn and the other two were stunned.
"Our best Harvest Cleric…is also one of the most skilled twin-blade user's I've ever seen…and she's not even a Multi-Weapon!"
"Maybe that's why she's so good at it. It comes from within, literally."
Xenmaru smiled at the girl.
"Feels good doesn't it?"
She glared and continued attacking. "What?!"
"The power. Finally being in control. Being strong enough to not be a burden. Feels good…right?"
The two broke their attacks. Atoli was panting, while Xenmaru wasn't even breathing heavily.
She nodded at him, signifying she agreed with his statement. The power DID feel good…and it felt so…right. The confidence she had when she was using her Avatar's power…completely overwrote the meekness her parents had instilled upon her. He smiled at her again, and then vanished. No ripple. He was there one second, and gone the next.
She barely had time to gasp before a fist implanted itself in her stomach. All she saw was a blur.
Flashes of light would appear in everyone's vision with each attack the seemingly invisible Xenmaru made upon Atoli. Suddenly he re-appeared in front of her, blade held in front of him, next to his head. His left hand was pointed, palm up towards her. His right leg was bent, and his left was extended in front of him. He pulled his blade back, and vanished again. All they saw was a blur slam into Atoli, and flashes of light with each strike he made.
Suddenly a ring of glowing blue broadswords appeared surrounding the blur, their rotation also causing a great deal of damage to Atoli. The swords vanished for a moment and re-appeared surrounding the girl. He made one final strike, and vanished again, appearing behind her, with his blade to the side, as if he had just made a great swing. The swords continued spinning, and then stopped. They all slammed into her, and then exploded sending a wave of energy out from her.
Xenmaru stood as Atoli fell to the ground, groaning.
He stepped over to her, crouched next to her head, and smiled.
"Practice Atoli. Take Innis' confidence in you, and put it towards yourself. You're a strong girl, now just show the world."
He stood and faced Haseo. The two stared each other down, neither one making a move.
However, before either of them could, a wave of force came from the side, and slammed into the group.
Looks like time is up…
The two groups gathered, with Morgana, Zefie, and Natsume racing up to them.
"What the HELL is going on?!"
Xenmaru turned to the glowing ball in the sky.
"Looks like it's done regenerating."
"What?!"
"I said-
"We know what you said. We just don't understand what you mean by it."
"The AIDA, while we were fighting, was healing itself. And, knowing insanely powerful beings, was probably getting stronger."
The ball flared with light, and then slammed into the ground. When the light cleared even Xenmaru was surprised.
The creature was no longer a Kitsune. It now had three lupine heads, a lion's body, nine snake headed tails, and a pair of gigantic eagle wings.
"...Holy Bitching Shit Fuckers…"
The group blinked and looked at Xenmaru, whose mouth was open wide in shock. He blinked, and shook his head.
"Seriously…whoever makes these things has GOT to cut back on the drugs…"
Aina giggled at that. The beast however didn't find it so funny. All three heads roared at them, which caused the area to shake.
A glowing light appeared in all three heads.
They fired small beams, which converged into a giant orb that fired a larger beam.
"Oh…SHIIIIII-
Ding…
A bright white light appeared in front of the beam. The attack was blocked.
(Play .hack GU: The Hope of Dawn)
When the light faded…Xenmaru smiled…as the others gasped.
"M-Mommy?"
Aura…the child of light…was floating in front of them. Her dress was the same, if a bit less…floaty. Her eyes were the same bright blue, and her hair was the same brilliant white…however it had a slight…purple tint to it.
She floated down to the group, smiling at them.
"It's about bloody fucking time you showed up woman! That thing was about to fry our asses!"
She smiled brightly at him. "Many apologies Shinzaki-sama…I don't think any of us knew how long it would take…"
He huffed. "No…we didn't. That's why Aina and I bought you some time…unfortunately we seem to have bought them time as well."
"Yes…the AIDA have converged into their ultimate form…though it looks…rather unpleasant."
Everyone was stunned. Zefie ran up to Aura and hugged her. "Mommy! You're alive!"
She held her daughter and smiled. "Of course…but it's all because of Xenmaru-sama."
"I think I speak for everyone present when I ask what the HELL are you talking about?"
"I was split in two. I was incomplete. Alicia was my shadow, my other half. Without her I was weakened. Which is how the AIDA appeared in the first place…however once she awoke they returned. Because of our separation, this world was in peril, as was yours. Xenmaru…took care of Alicia. He talked with her, learned from her, and she from him. He restored her love for The World. She still resented Morgana, and to an extent Tsukasa-sama, but she knew…what she had to do. I was completely unaware that a shadow of myself existed. But when she grabbed me, after protect breaking me, I thought her program had failed, I thought she was going to have me killed, and take out the rest of The World with me…but she had Xenmaru-sama use Data Drain…to separate our data again, for it to reconfigure back into one being."
"So…because of him…you're…whole?"
"Yes."
"Why him? Why not Haseo? Or any one of us?"
Xenmaru cut in. "Because other than Aina, who met Alicia today, none of you would have been suitable for the job. Alicia met with me, and trusted me, and I her. She may have been able to convince Aura of what needed to be done, but the rest of you would have gotten in the way. By doing it the way we did, not only did Alicia get her revenge by causing Aura pain, but she fulfilled what she knew she needed to do."
"I still don't get why it couldn't have been one of us."
"Because you'd have hesitated. Not only that but you didn't have my connection with Alicia. She had told me of her ideas from the very start. So I knew what she was planning…though I'd hoped we wouldn't have to…"
Aura looked at him sadly. She walked over to him as he turned away from the group.
Damn girl…why the hell did I have to get involved with this shit…
She surprised everyone, him included when she wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him.
"She's not as gone as you think."
He didn't even look at her. "I know. She's there, in you, but mixed in. Like sugar in tea. Problem is, I like to be able to taste the sugar dammit."
She smiled sadly.
"You might be able to. But first…we have to get rid of that thing."
"Yeah, yeah…honestly…I wish I was still alive so I could demand some serious payment for this crap…"
He turned his head. "I'm still gonna kick your ass for that by the way."
Surprisingly, Morgana smiled.
"If we survive, go ahead."
He scowled but nodded.
"Alright…so how the hell are we gonna fight this thing."
"Only three people will fight it."
Everyone looked at Aura. "Skeith, Cubia, and Myself."
Haseo leveled his gaze on the girl. "Uhh…Aura…we can't summon our avatars…remember?"
She smiled at him cheekily while Xenmaru shook his head.
"I happen to be fully complete now…Captain Grey."
Xenmaru burst out laughing. "Oh damn do I wish I was taking a drink right now! That spit-take would have been awesome!"
"Did she just…"
"Call you Captain Grey? Yes."
Aura smiled. Xenmaru sobered up and looked at her.
"Not as gone as I think huh?"
She looked at him. Staring right into his eyes.
"Nowhere near it."
He smiled slightly. "Good. Now…what say we kill this bad lab experiment."
She smiled back. "I say lets."
Aura began to glow, and domes of energy surrounded the Infinity Eight, and Xenmaru. The domes shattered, and they all felt it.
"So that's what it feels like…"
"Everyone ready?"
The others nodded. Aina, Zefie, Morgana, and Natsume all stepped back.
"Good luck Mommy!"
"Kick its ass Aura."
"Onii-chan! Ganbatte!"
"Good luck Xenmaru."
The group stared at the monster, who roared in defiance.
"Well then…lets get this show on the road!"
Seventeen frikkin pages. You people better be happy…
Wolfy: read. READ DAMN YOU READ!!!1111!!!
Yamimaru: In a sense, yes. They won't gain Xth forms, or anything near it, but once in a while, if they can't fully use their avatars, they can call upon some of their respective Phases' abilities.
PirateCaptainBo: One more chapter…and then it's over. I wonder if it'll be as long…
One chapter to go. The next one is the last one…unless I make an epilogue chapter or something. The fight's almost over…and the ending…hopefully will surprise everyone…