Disclamer: I do not in any way shape or form own .hack or its characters.

Notes: Ages- Tsukasa, Mimiru, Kite, BlackRose, Mistral, Mireille, Subaru - around 16 or 17.

Sora, Crim, Silver Knight, Ouka, Gardenia- late 20's

BT, Sanjuro, Helba, Moonstone, Nuke, Rachel, Bear- Late 30's

Hotaru, Reki, A-20, Ryoko Terajima- around 7 or 8

Macha- ? Unknown

This is my first fan fic ever written, so review with constructive criticism. FYI, constructive criticism is when you tell the person what they are doing wrong and how to fix it; not just telling a person that they suck and have make a bunch of mistakes.

I'm sorry for making you wait so long, I have a couple of good excuses. 1) I've been busy with school and other stuff lately. 2) I wanted to take my time with this chapter and make it really good because I felt that the last chapter was horrible. Please forgive me and enjoy.

Summary: An alternate universe where the game characters from dothack are not game characters, but real people. It is not part of a game, but reality itself. Tsukasa is a parentless child living in the city of Dun Loireag. After having an unusual field adventure will his classmates, his boring life starts to change, but will it be for better or worse?

Reviews: Please review me if you like this story, reviews will give me insentive to create new chapters and or stories

The whole cannot be changed. We have already lost that chance.

Because the time left to us was short, We were mistaken in our path.

But now do we realize, We should change not the whole, But the Parts.

"Epitaph of Twilight" (Fragment)

DotHack: Reality ch. 7

By: TsukasaTheFominian

Saturday had finally come after, what Tsukasa could classify as, a fairly good week. First, he got his report cut down to eight pages thanks to his encounter with Sora. Before he left, Crim had talked to BT and convinced her to trim down his report because of everything that had happened to him. She thought it was his own fault for going out into a high level field on a whim, but did understand that being trapped in the field and terrorized by a thief hadn't been their planned day so she had given in, but not by much. With all the new ideas that he got from the outing, Tsukasa could have easily have made a twelve-page essay, but cut it down to eight so he wouldn't be a show off.

Mimiru, Kite, and Black Rose were all keeping their mouths shut about his powers, which he had been grateful for since he didn't want to die. They had also been treating him with more kindness and had been asking him how he was. He was beginning to respond to them a little more then just a one word "fine" or "bad", actually thanked Kite and Black Rose for not ratting him out, and had even had a short conversation with Mimiru about his Guardian. He had also invited all of them to the Festivals in Mac Anu, forcing all of them to have a double take on what he had said and ask if he was feeling ok. This only slightly annoyed Tsukasa because he knew they were all joking, they all asked their parents if they could go, and all of them agreed after they found out that the Red Thunder himself would be their escort. Bear was going as well since he had always wanted to see Mac Anu's famous fall harvest festivals where people give praise to the Twilight Dragon and to nature.

Tsukasa had also taken his little fan club to the park to keep his promise to them. He had worked on his paper during that time and had told the three of them his plans for the weekend. He soon found this to be a mistake since it caused an eruption of begging and pleading from the children to be taken as well. He had said no at first since he didn't want any of them to get lost in another city, but finally caved after three hours of constant begging, wining, and puppy-dog eyes. He figured that his friends could help him look after the chibies, and there was also Bear and Crim who would help as well.

One of the best things was that happened was that he finally got to see the sleeping girl somewhere during his three days of chaos. He didn't know how he had found the small girl that was fast asleep and floating above a bed, but he knew he liked to be with her. One day a year ago, he had been cleaning out a dungeon with his Guardian and had finally gotten down to the Got Statue. When he opened the box, there was a light so blinding that he had to close his eyes, after he reopened them he found himself in a strange field with the girl. After he left, he found that he needed a Chaos gate back to the area, but he could go there if he wanted to. He never told anyone about that place and never planned on taking anyone there, since he felt that it was the one place or thing in The World that was truly his, and not just borrowed.

In the course of the three days Tsukasa also began reading the book he had gotten from Bear, The Epitaph of Twilight, by Emma Wieland. It was the only original text made while the war against the "Wave" was in progress. It gave a description of the world before the war, what happened during the war, how the war ended, and the aftermath of everything. Large sections of the text were still missing, but people were able to piece everything together after a while and fill in the blanks. Most history texts were made long after the Abominable Wave was defeated, and there was no personal knowledge of those involved with it's defeat, but Emma had been their, she saw and knew what was going on, and personally knew the people who had fought the hardest. It was rumored that she and Herald were also lovers, but that could not be proven. The only reason the text was not taught in schools was that it was only copied a few times. It was discovered that those who copied it die in the most gruesome ways possible, or suffer unimaginable insanity.

Tsukasa gave a slight smile when he saw the trio run up to him, dressed in traditional kimonos for the two-day event. The festivals would start at mid-day of Saturday, go all night, and end at mid-day Sunday. All the kids love it since they get to stay up all night partying without getting yelled at by their parents. Reki, A-20, and Ryoko were just as exited for those reasons plus they got to go to another city, which was completely new for all of them. Most orphans their age never even get to go outside of the orphanage area, let alone out of the town. Seeing that they all had everything they needed (weapons, money, extra bags, extra cloths, and maps of the town with info on were to go) they set off for the Chaos Gate where they would meet up with Crim and the others.

Black Rose and Kite were waiting at the gate and were surprised to see the little kids with him and began to ask questions about them. Tsukasa explained about the kids being with him at the orphanage and begging to go with them. Mimiru and Bear came in half way through the explanation and were able to fill in the blanks from where they came in. They waited there for about ten minutes before Crim finally showed up, when he saw the crowd, he thought Tsukasa went a little overboard. When he had invited him to bring some friends, he had expected him to only invite two or three people, not seven; three of them under ten no less. The others did seem to be responsible, and since Bear had decided to join them the burden wasn't all his to bear, so he was ok with it. He also had a friend to introduce to the orphans, and she could help out as well. Crim raised his spear high into the air and said, "You all ready to have some fun?" He was met with a chorus of excited "yes" and they were off to Mac Anu for, for many of them, their first festival in Mac Anu.

As they warped in, they were all hit with a blast of music and laughing coming from all around them. Stalls were set up in the streets, people lined up to buy from them. Musicians were playing fast paced tunes that were making many dance wherever they could. The streets were overflowing with people; many little kids were running in between crowds and stands, playing games with one another. The streets themselves were covered with figures and ropes of harvest waste, like parts of foods they didn't use. A few powerful Wave Masters had even used their magic to make glowing lights that changed color every few seconds. It really was a site to behold.

The little ones were overflowing with excitement and started running down the streets to join in the fun, but they were soon held back by the powerful arms of two adults and four teens who didn't want them all to get lost so soon. Reki, A-20, and Ryoko all started struggling to break free while an unknown woman started to mock them.

"The great and powerful Red Thunder who commands all the Silver Knights can't even get three little kids under control, I never thought I'd see the day."

They all looked over to see a tall, beautiful, blond long arm smiling at their predicament. Crim stands up to greet her while the others force the kids to hold still for a minute. "It's been a long time since I've seen the legendary Gardenia how have you been?"

"Fine. I got your job offer and wanted to tell you that I think its interesting. I'd have to check it out first but I think I'm up to it."

Crim turned to Tsukasa and the other orphans and addressed them. "I want you to meet Miss. Gardenia, she is going to be the new head of your orphanage by the beginning of next week." Everyone only stairs at him like he's talking gibberish, so Crim continues. "I've been looking into your caretaker's history, and got more then enough evidence to get her thrown out of the entire city forever. I've taken it up with your city's Administrators and they have agreed to get rid of her and put in Gardenia as your new caretaker. She worked in the local orphanage for about 5 year's so she's more then qualified. I wanted her to join us today to meet Tsukasa and see what he thought, but now it looks like I have even more people to introduce her too."

The little kids were overjoyed by this news because it meant that they wouldn't have to be afraid anymore. Ninni was a horrible woman who was mean even when she wasn't drunk, she only rarely did anything around the house because she had become so fat, and used a lot of the funds for repairing and cleaning the orphanage to buy liquor. The trio quickly broke out of the grasp of the older people and flung themselves at the new woman. Gardenia quickly fell because she wasn't expecting such a hello, but kept smiling at the children's enthusiasm. Tsukasa only looked on judging the new woman. He was only staying in the orphanage for another year, and he was really afraid to leave with Ninni still around, since he was really the only one who could challenger her and stop her from doing anything too harmful to any of the little kids. Without him there, nobody would be able to stand up for the orphans, so he really needed to do his self appointed job and make sure this new woman was strong and kind enough to take care of all the kids.

After everyone exchanged a few pleasantries, they decided to split up into two groups. Crim, Kite, Black Rose, and Mimiru would go off one way, while Gardenia, Tsukasa, Bear, A-20, Reki, and Ryoko would go another, they would all meet up in two hours at the central bridge for a speech from Subaru then go from their.

Crim's group walked around looking at all the shops and buying a few souvenirs, until they came upon a strange person in a strange costume. Costumes on festival days weren't that new, but nobody had ever done a cat mime before. Half pinkish purple, half white with completely red eyes, and a hat with ears popping out of the top of the hat, it was by far one of the most convincing costumes Crim had ever seen. The cat performed many mimicking stunts, while also doing a few slight of hand magic tricks that got many a spectator clapping and throwing change into the cat's bag that it set out. Mimiru gave out her fair share of coins as well and even asked what his name was. The cat only gave Mimiru a card that said "Macha (pronounced Ma-ha and yes that is how it's spelt, I don't know why, but it is.)" without saying a word and returned to doing his tricks. Kite put a little bit of coins in Macha's bag and thanked him for a nice performance and they all walked off. Nobody knew that Macha wore no costume, but was a mutant. A strange mutant that looked like a human cat, instead of just having some sort of mutated appendage like many do. He quickly told his mistress by telepathy that he had found Kite, and was now on the lookout for Tsukasa.

Tsukasa's group also came across an odd commodity after a little time of wandering. Everything about the city excited the children, and Gardenia was beginning to gain Tsukasa's approval, seeing how she was able to keep track of the three energetic midgets without any help from Bear. Like Mimiru's group, they all were seeing the sites and buying souvenirs, but the kids really couldn't decide what to buy since there was so much and everything was so new to them. Their money was given to them by Tsukasa who got it from a dungeon, so they wanted to get something that would last for a long time. Ryoko had already gotten a beaded necklace with a small emerald in the front. A-20 had gotten a pair of dangling ear rings with sapphire in them. Reki was the only one who was undecided, spilt between getting an accessory which increased defensive magic, or one that increases offensive magic. A-20 and Ryoko's items didn't have any magic enhancements, and that's what Reki wanted. He finally decided on the defensive item since it looked cooler to him; it was a broach with red stones in the form of a shield. Tsukasa was the only one still looking over him, since the others had gone to see a display which had gathered quite a large crowd.

They discovered a small girl with two pets putting on a show. One pet was a baby grunty, the other was a rather large dog. The girl, being a Wave Master, had enough magic to make a few obstacles of fire and ice appear for the animals to jump over and maneuver through. She also had a few balls and rings which her pets stood on and jumped through as well. The grunty was only a baby and didn't do much, but the dog was spectacular, jumping over everything, doing back flips, standing on it's hind legs, there was nothing it couldn't do. Many cheered and many coins were given to her, some people even gave out food for the grunty and the dog as well. Tsukasa himself wasn't too impressed by the displays, but the others loved it and couldn't get enough. The only other one of their small group was Reki, he was so mesmerized by the girl that he didn't realize that he was suppose to be clapping. Tsukasa was able to notice this immediately and knew that he had a crush on the little girl. He was a little troubled at the idea of Reki having a crush on someone who he wouldn't see after today, but decided that it was ok.

The girl finally announced that her name was Hotaru with her amazing dog Ouka and her grunty, Grunty. She was finally ready to do their finally, but needed a volunteer from the audience for help. Every little kid in the area was yelling and waving their hands trying to get her attention, all except for Reki because he was too embarrassed to go up with the same girl who he thought was the most beautiful in the entire world. When Tsukasa realized that Reki wasn't planning to even try to get Hotaru's attention he decided to give him a push, literally. Hotaur's attention was immediately captured by a young boy who came stumbling out of the audience and fell on his face. Reki only looked back and glared at Tsukasa for pushing him onto the ground, but froze and slowly turned his head when someone his age put her hand onto his shoulder. He as staring into the face of his Hotaru, and when she asked how he was, he immediately began to blush as bright of a color red as humanly possible (or animely possible).

"Do you wana help me with my last act?"

The young boy could only blush even brighter and nod his head while Hotaru helped him up and held his arm while she announced that she finally had a volunteer, gaining many cries of disappointment from everyone. The only thing going through Reki's mind was 'I can't believe I'm touching her. I can't believe I'm touching her. I can't believe I'm touching her.' Hotaru gave him three glowing orbs, which all contained an advanced spell made by a friend of hers. When she said so, he was to break the orbs of magic with his hands and release the spells. Hotaru set Ouka up to make a running jump, the first jump was normal, and one of the spells were activated to make sparkles flutter down around the dog, the second flip was magically enhanced by Hotaru, which made Ouka jump twice as high, and the spell which was activated caused live sparkles to go zooming around the area. The third and final jump was even higher then before and everyone was amazed when the third spell formed a dragon of sparkles which at Ouka, but then exploded and disbursed showering everyone with beautiful sparkles which didn't burn, but didn't die out at all. They were like little glowing fire flies softly lighting the area, if it had been at night, it would have been the most romantic thing ever.

The applause afterwards were none stop as were the cash flow and grunty food. It was almost too much for Hotaru to handle, but not with Ouka and Reki helping her collect everything as well. Everyone else with Reki also help with collecting stray items, and return them with smiles and introductions. Reki introduced Hotaru to everyone, the little ones wanting to know if they could pet/ride her big dog. Hotaru agreed to this, which made Ouka cringe inside, knowing just how much she was her father in liking to torture her. While she was busy being crushed by two little girls, the adults and Tsukasa stayed behind to ask some questions.

"So Hotaru, are you here all alone?" Bear asked.

"I have Ouka with me, but other than her, no. My daddy couldn't come today because he was to busy. He collects treasures, but hasn't been doing very well lately." Hotaru never was one for telling lies, but she could bend the truth amazingly well. Sora had always told her never to talk about her home, who he was, or that Ouka was a werewolf, so Hotaru was just as vague in her descriptions. Sora was a treasure hunter, but he stole other people's treasures, and he couldn't get the treasure from Kite, so it was true that he wasn't doing well lately. Nobody suspected anything bad from a cute little girl though, so everyone believed in her vague descriptions and just accepted it all.

The center town bell rang, indicating that time had flown and it was already time for the two groups to meet up and have lunch together. Everyone started to say goodbye to Hotaru, but Reki cut them all off.

"If you don't have anyone to spend the day with, why don't you eat with us?"

Hotaru didn't know how to react to that, so she looked over to Ouka for a little guidance. The werewolf only nodded her head, saying that it was all right.

"Sure! Is that ok with you sir?" Addressing Bear.

"Why not, everyone else should be ok with it."

"Everyone else?"

"Our friends split up with another adult so we could move around easier." Ryoko explained. "Were going to meet up with them and then go have some lunch."

"Sounds like fun" replied Hotaru.

Tsukasa was next to speak since he is getting a little impatient but still glad that Reki had made a friend. "Then lets go and get some food."

---------------(TBC)---------------

A/N:

I was originally going to make this one huge one combined with the next chapter, but decided against it becasue this one is taking to long. And I finally was able to get Aura back into this whole mess. Thats a lot of work when you don't really have everything planned out. I'm planning on reposting some of the other sections soon to improve on the content and to add the summary.

Fuzzyhead: Yes, this isn't part of a game, but reality itself. I need to redo the summary to include that.

the-dragon-of-darkness-17: I'm taking my time and reading the stuff before I post. Thanks for your hints. And I'm now publicly sorry for calling you a guy, you can't know these things from just reading stuff.

Blackheart Syaoran: Thank you for your constant reviews and support BH Syaoran.

Vampwriter: Thanks for the reviews, I alwasy need them.