hackGU: Return Chapter 11: Choice, a .hack/sign fanfic

Okee dokee, Chapter 11 disclaimer:

.hack, .hack characters, and anything else .hack related do not belong to me.

Ginny, Aurum, Axel, Hikaru, Kuroha, 'The Guild Master' and Rei belong to Miffin. Don't take them, or else…

Eon, Koji, Denki, Shiruba, Aqua, Sijez and the plot all belong to me. If you want to use anything, ask

All right, I might as well explain why Yata acted uncharacteristically last chapter. The reason? He. Is. Human. Too. Though he doesn't act it 99.99999 of the time, he is still a human; therefore, he has basic human emotions, like anger, sorrow, and happiness. (XP) So, getting mad every once in a while will indeed happen to him as well. Blame it on stress or whatever…everyone will blow their top once in a while. (Like how Axel will also be smart once in a blue moon as well.) He'll also show some signs of stress this chapter as well. Why? XP Because I hate his Macabre-guts, and I BET that he feels loads of stress anyways…who WOULDN'T with Axel?!

In this chapter, Libra appears. EvillyDisturbed helped me come up with the design…so all bow down to her creative-might! (Bows)

All righty! Thanks for being such a loyal reader (As well as extremely patient); if you're still reading this chapter! Now, to begin: Welcome to Chapter 11: Choice!

Chapter 11: Choice

She was faster than Eon had anticipated, as the dog girl narrowly dodged yet another long swipe from Aqua's fans, only to be hit hard by a kick to the stomach; sending her flying into the back wall of the Arena.

Eon grunted painfully, as she glared up at the Macabre Dancer.

"Done already…?" Aqua asked mockingly, as she leisurely flicked her fans shut, then open once more. "I thought that you'd have at least a little more fight in you…considering you just defeated the almighty 'Team Silencer'."

Eon could hear the vicious snarls of Shiruba from within her head, as she stood up slowly, leaning her weight against the wall behind her.

Calm down and keep you head! She ordered angrily, as the dog slowly silenced herself. We'll need to think this through, if we want to get out of this in one piece.

The dog girl tensed as she forced herself to stand on her own two feet, away from the supporting wall. Her good eye gazed around Aqua for any sort of advantage that she could take, but nothing came to mind, or into sight.

"You're not going to find any help here." Aqua assured, as she took a step closer, making Eon flinch back instinctively. "This place has flat ground, and there's nowhere to run that I can't follow. You might as well just stay here and fight, unless you want to end up comatose, like the rest of my prey." She explained, a sadistic smile plastered on her face.

Eon forced herself to grin, though she felt far from happy, or even thrilled for a 'challenge'.

"Fine, if you insist." She spat angrily, her eyes slitting as she glared at the Dancer before her. "But I won't be the one to end up in a coma after this!"

"You seem confident in that…" Aqua said, as water suddenly materialized around her twin fans. "Let's see if you're all talk, or worth my time…"

----------------------------The Frozen Paradise: Saal Haku: Hades-----------------------

He sat in his chair, simply watching the impending panic of the dog girl as she faced Aqua head to head; now running from her continuous 'Aqueous' attacks. She weaved through the waterfalls of liquid, only to nearly slam head-first into the next pillar.

Her friends were not faring much better than herself…

His chair swiveled a bit as he looked upon a newer monitor; Axel and Hikaru were now being chased within another AIDA Server, with Denki and Koji in hot pursuit.

With a dark grin, he weaved his fingers together, and held his chin on them, as his elbows rested on top his desk in the real world. He had been planning this for a while now… It was always good to see that everything was running smoothly.

First, he would see if they were really a threat. It was true, that they obviously had no- where near the control of their Guardians, as he had on two within his control…but even so, complications had added themselves to that. Not only had they awakened later than he would have hoped, but the Guardians had also chosen mere children as their hosts…something he did not enjoy the thought of at all…

Next, (if they got past this stage) he would infect them… They would be no good to him in his new world, if they would not obey him willingly! Only the AIDA Explicants within his grasp would be strong enough to completely engulf a Guardian and its Master…but it would take time. Even Aqua, who had been one of the first of his infected slaves, took weeks to completely move under his control…so how much longer could these children last?!

Time was not a matter either way. He could simply allow the AIDA to corrode their characters for months, so long as G.U. stayed within his control. Normal AIDA could last within a character for weeks, without them noticing…not to mention his newer and stronger Explicants; easily able to hide their presence from even the most prying of eyes…like those of the G.U. leader Yata. Simply spamming a few areas with minor AIDA Annas or Helens would be enough to distract their foolish operation from his plans…as well as making their work seem worth-while to CC Corp. He couldn't have the Corporation attempting to reset the Server before the time was right. Until all of the AIDA within The World was under his control, it would create a catastrophe worldwide if that were to happen…the forth Network Crisis…only this time, a mere stand-off between nations would not be the result. Computers worldwide would stop working for humans, and strange, deformed AI's would be born within moments of the crisis' beginning, for the few that still functioned. People would be forced back into the dark ages; before lights, technology…and even knowledge would be lost if this were to happen.

He could not allow the AIDA to spread before he was finished with it…

A bright flash distracted him from his thoughts, as he looked back to the monitor with the Knight and Ninja. Both of them had started the summoning of their Guardians…now, the true test had begun…

------------------------Epsilon Roaring Crying Beast: AIDA Server----------------------

"Oh my…we do seem to be in quite a pickle!" Denki stated cheerfully, as he smiled up at Ginryuu, now towering over him. She reeled back on her hind legs, before quickly shooting her head down towards him, jaws agape. The Blade Partizen's grin grew a tiny bit, as he gracefully hopped out of the way, and onto a large boulder, before quickly jumping off as she tried to smash him with her tail.

"Damn pest! Stop moving!" The silver dragon ordered, as Aurum slowly stomped up behind her.

"Please, calm down, Ginryuu…" He pleaded, only to meet her angry, green gaze. With a sigh, the golden dragon gave up on his attempt to calm the temperamental beast, and turned his attention down to Koji, who was quickly shuffling through his deck of cards. The Trump Joker finished as soon as his eyes met the dragon's, and whipped out three blue cards.

"Take this, beastie!" He yelled, as he threw them at Aurum.

On impact, the cards exploded into huge glaciers of ice and crystals, gluing the dragon's feet to the ground. Aurum slowly looked down at his legs, then to the Trump Joker, before ripping his left leg out of the mess of ice, and attempting to stomp on him. With a shocked yelp, Koji barely managed to hop out of Aurum's way, as he pulled out another blue card, and threw it at his chest. Aurum gave an uncomfortable grunt, as he used his large claw to wipe off, what would seem like a bit of frost to a beast of his size. He then slammed his enormous fore-claws into the ground, creating a large shockwave, and sending Koji flying.

"U-ugh!" Koji cried out, hitting one of the few hills littered throughout the area. He slowly forced himself to stand, pulling out another deck of cards from his trench coat's pocket as he did so. "I won't go down that easily…" He promised, eyeing Denki, who was calmly jumping out of the now rampaging silver dragon's way. He took a deep breath, quickly shuffling the deck without ever looking at it, and stared up at the dragon, then down at his Knight-like companion.

Gotta go for the blonde… He thought, as his hands stopped moving around the deck, and drew three black cards; never lifting his eyes from his opponents. He's going to be weaker than the dragon…and we don't need to hold back…

Koji threw the three cards at Hikaru with all of his might; quickly fleeing behind the hill as soon as they left his hand. The knight cocked an eyebrow in confusion, before being slammed back by the force of the first card, only to watch a black aura surround his body. The two other cards quickly followed after the first, sending Hikaru flying halfway across the field with their might, and slamming him onto his back.

"Hikaru!" Aurum called, concerned, only to see the knight shakily stand up.

"Hikki!" Axel yelled, looking down at him from Ginny's shoulder. "Are you okay?!" He demanded.

"Yes…" Hikaru answered, though tired and a little strained. He stood up to his full height, and opened his blue eyes to half-glare at Koji. He slowly reached down to the ground of the AIDA Server, and forced his hand into the earth. After moment of complete silence, he pulled out a large, pointed lance, and held it ready at his side.

"Let us finish this…" He murmured, a small tinge of anger in his voice, as he quickly slammed the point to the ground, sending a large stream of stalagmites towards the hill Koji was now hiding behind. It shattered, as if it were nothing more than glass, as Koji narrowly managed to jump onto the tip of one of the stalagmites, and catapult himself up, and over the attack.

The Trump Joker glared at the Knight. He knew that this wasn't going as expected. Though they had these…Guardians, or whatever they were called for such a short time, they'd already passed preliminary training stages…something that took Aqua a few months to get used to.

"Denki! Let's finish them now!" He yelled, as he jammed his two decks into his pockets, and raced towards another hill, about thirty meters away from his current position.

Denki made no attempt to respond, and only jumped away from Ginryuu gracefully once more, before hopping up, onto her claw, and onto her snout. With a polite, yet mocking bow, he did a back flip off of it, and landed on the ground with no trouble at all; quickly spinning himself around, and racing towards the hill as Koji did so.

Ginryuu roared angrily, as they both reached the hill within seconds of each other; quickly holding up the palm of their right hand to the other. They touched their palms together, and pushed lightly; a sudden purple-black aura surrounding their PC bodies. The aura began to grow faster and faster around them, as Ginryuu attempted to smash them to bits with her tail, only to be shot back by the force of thousands of AIDA bubbles, now protecting their masters. The bubbles then began to form around the two of them, and started to create a noticeable shape. They moved from side to side, as if trying to find their own personal spot, before suddenly fixating themselves into one place, as more AIDA shot towards them and connected; like a giant, black jigsaw puzzle.

The purple aura began to glow a brighter, lighter shade as more of the bubbles added themselves onto the mess; now at a way faster rate than before.

Koji couldn't help but grin in satisfaction. The two of them were now staring at their transformation helplessly…and now he would show their worth to Hades! His Guild Master had explained to him beforehand, that the Guardians, Ginryuu: The Tempest, and Aurum: The Protector, were the closest bonded Guardians, only second to possibly that of Light and Darkness. Now was time to see if that was true…

If they could survive the awesome power of their Libra, then he would be correct…

-----------------------The Warring City: Lumina Cloth: AIDA Server---------------------

Eon dodged frantically as Aqua continuously blasted more and more Aqueous spells at her; never needing to worry about a foolish 'Tech Bar' to fill within this Server, as she noticed.

The dog girl bit her teeth together hard, as she finally shot herself around the curve in the wall; trying to take as many seconds of a breather that the crazed Dancer would allow her to have. She could understand now, why she was forced to fight within this Server. Normal 'game rules' did not apply here. There was no 'Tech Bar', for one thing. Aqua could blast her with as many spells as she liked…so long as her MP stayed up…at least that remained unchanged. She also noticed that the spells were way more powerful than normal…possibly because the game forced them to only take off a minimum, fixed rate within the system…or it could be her 'fire' attribute that she gained from holding Shiruba within herself…

Eon slowly looked around the corner, only to withdraw her head instantly, as Aqua shot a beam of ice at her, nearly taking her head off. Small fragments of ice glittered off of the stream, and plastered themselves to her cheeks and nose, instantly making her shiver from both the cold and fear.

D-dang it…! She thought angrily, ducking down, and pushing her leg out sideways; though not out far enough for Aqua to target it. This is getting ridiculous!

You've got that right, squirt. Shiruba murmured coldly. She's way outta your league…

Eon couldn't help but twist her face into something between a pout and frown as she wiped frost from it.

So you're telling me that your bet is on the crazed water-chick winning?! She demanded, slowly inching back on the balls of her feet.

I did not say that. Shiruba said calmly. I was only saying that she is superior to you in every aspect.

Yeah…SURE sounds like your bet's on her… Eon thought, as she moved back a tiny bit more. But how can I help that?! She demanded.

You can't. Shiruba explained simply. There are some enemies that you must face and defeat…and others that you must flee, until the time is right. When that time comes, then it is only fate that decides the winner.

"You sound so corny right now…" Eon muttered coldly, as she hunched her head closer to her shoulders. "But if what you're saying is true…then how could I 'flee', as you like to call it…?"

Shiruba was silent, as if in thought for a long, almost unbearable minute before answering.

Whether in a regular Server or not, you are still within The World She explained. Now, our only chance is to look for an exit… However unlikely it is to find it, it is still here…we need only search.

Eon slowly nodded her head, before her ears perked up. Aqua had been silent for quite some time now… She couldn't help but move her head around the corner slowly; her heart beating faster, and harder than normal.

She wasn't there…

Eon could hear her heart beat even louder in her ears, as she forced herself up from her crouching position, and tucked her head closer to her shoulders defensively. How did she get past?! Didn't the back alleyway lead to a dead end…? So where could she have possibly gone?!

…wait…stupid question…

Eon grit her teeth together hard, as her ears perked; listening for breathing, footsteps, or the next spell to come flying her way. Obviously Aqua could not only control this area, but change it to her will as well…

Lovely…

----------------------The Eternal City: Mac Anu: The Serpent of Lore---------------------

Yata paced silently to and fro. His hands were clamped behind his back hard, and his eyebrows furrowed.

It had already been ten minutes since the end of the 'Team Silencer' match, and Eon had yet to emerge from the Arena. Even with a lagging PC, it would take little more than a minute to log out, and appear in front of the Warp Panel…nonetheless, he had lost all contact with both Axel and Hikaru since that time as well…

Something wasn't right.

He unconsciously took his thumb in the real world, and bit onto it in thought; a bad habit that he had had since before even playing 'The World'.

The fact that they were all missing, was what bothered him the most. The only possible explanation, to his standards, was that they had either all logged out, or rebooted from The World for some reason…or they had been transported to an AIDA Server… Could Team Crystal Seraphim have already made their move? No…if that was so, then that would mean that they had the ability to create AIDA Servers! That was preposterous!...but then again, Pi's report of 'Kuroha' and 'Hunter' of Hades, showing signs of AIDA Explicants made things all the more complicated…

He nibbled on his thumb a little bit harder; his eyes glazed to the screen, and his ears blocking out all other sounds, but that of the light buzzing from the monitors before him.

If 'Hades' could truly create AIDA Servers…then the question was not 'did they begin', or 'where did they go'…it was how did they do it? It would take gargantuan amounts of AIDA to create a Server…nonetheless at least two Servers, for the different areas that the three had vanished to.

Unless they had some sort of 'AIDA spawning' machine, or some sort of device, capable of creating AIDA Servers with select amounts of AIDA, then it was impossible…but then again, was the very thought of such things existing even reasonable as well…?

Yata took his thumb from his mouth, and rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly. Though he could not help but wonder how any of this was at all possible, he knew that this was not the time to be dwelling on it. He slowly removed his hand from his face, and placed both of them over the sphere in front of himself. He slowly moved them, making little transparent screens appear randomly all over the monitor.

His eyes narrowed a bit, as he looked into the area that the two Guardian Masters, Axel and Hikaru, had vanished within. He knew that Eon was most likely experiencing as much difficulty, if not more, wherever she was now…but saving two Guardian Masters to one was in his top priority…not to mention, The World's as well…

------------------------Epsilon Roaring Crying Beast: AIDA Server----------------------

It was…different, to say the least…

Bubbles of AIDA floated between a perch for the dish-like scales lazily; the plates hovering with nothing attached. Under them were long, metal chains dangled lifelessly; strange, elaborate patterns on the end of each chain, and slowly flashing from pure black to crimson. Large, round pale-teal counter-weights slowly hovered above the dishes in a clockwise pattern, touching down every so often, and making the scales instantly shift from one side, to the other. The colour of the dishes was dark silver, with even darker, blood-coloured engravings, of an unknown language. The perch was a countering bright gold, with darker shades at the sides; also holding the strange writing.

Denki slowly floated leisurely around the dishes of Libra, hands in his overly large under-jacket sleeves. His smile never faded, as the life-like surroundings suddenly cracked and vanished, and a twilight-like cyberspace suddenly appeared around them; swallowing all that was once 'living'. Axel and Hikaru had to move quickly, to force themselves off of the disappearing ground, and into the air, where they tilted and turned uncoordinatedly. This was their first time in a real Cyber battle after all…

"Heh, amateurs…" Koji muttered coldly, as he floated down, and took his place on the perch. With the sound of heavy flapping, a large, black raven appeared behind him, and took its place along side him; it's large, taloned feet clutching onto the bar at his sides, and its huge body hovering over him. The eyes of the ferocious-looking avian were glowing crimson and slit; its black feathers making them stand out exponentially. Around it, black flames slowly crackled and burned, with small AIDA bubbles spewing forth from the blaze. The tail of the bird wasn't very friendly-looking either. The extra-long feathers were razor-sharp…and slowly twisting around, like the tentacles of a Malboro.

With an earsplitting shriek, the raven lifted off of the bar once more, and flapped its wings heavily; making small bubbles of AIDA spew in every which way. The bird flapped even harder, raising its altitude a bit, before forcing itself at the two Guardian Masters in question. The large feathers on its tail quickly shot around its giant body, as the bird approached its prey; razor sharp tips aiming to pierce their PC bodies to nothingness, as it had done so to too many others before.

Axel was the first to react, in the form of a surprised yelp, before he grabbed onto Ginryuu's fore-claw hard to balance himself in the air, and pulling out his twin daggers. With a short yell, he sent a lightning-like spell towards the oncoming skewers, only to watch them have no effect as the bird closed in fast.

"Damn it!" Axel swore angrily, as yanked himself higher into the air with the help of Ginny's claw. "Do something already!"

Ginryuu growled viciously at the order.

"You didn't need to tell me that!" She bellowed, before banking her entire body to the left hard, and shooting her right claw towards the Raven quickly.

The attack hit its mark seconds before the bird could reach the four in question, and it retreated soundly; the injured wing almost instantly regenerating with the help of the AIDA-flames.

Axel grit his teeth together hard, as he glared at the two of them. Koji was grinning smugly. He must have known that this…thing, could regenerate faster than any of the AIDA Explicants that he'd seen so far…not to mention that there was still the fact of the perch, (most likely controlled by Denki) which had yet to make a move at all.

The knight could hear his companion swallow hard. He knew that Axel only acted like an idiot for appearance's sake…the fact that he was serious now meant that this would be a problem for them both.

He slowly reached his lance-arm back once more; eyes slightly open to see what was happening around him.

He withdrew his hand quickly.

It was no good. Not only did he feel more than a little nauseous from their aerial positions, but there was absolutely no 'earth' left in the entire area; the element that both he and Aurum thrived upon. He couldn't use any earth-based spells or tech without extreme difficulty in here…and the white 'earth' below them, was nothing more than mere pixels in this place…

Hikaru leaned over somewhat, as he attempted to hold down his supper. He was beginning to wonder why he of all people was chosen for this specific job… He for one, got motion sickness, height sickness, sea sickness, air sickness…any sort of sickness in the book really. How in The World could he have been chosen as a Guardian Master?! He had a slow character to boot…even if he was the one that made it slow…

"Calm down." Aurum advised to them soothingly, as he slowly allowed his gargantuan head to hover over them. "This will be a hard battle…but I am sure that it is something that you two can overcome, if you put everything you have into it."

"Yeah." Ginryuu said with a cruel snort. "You'd better too, unless you wanna end up in a coma, you useless buffoons."

Axel made a small, pouty face, before turning his attention back to the giant Raven and its perch-like companion. He couldn't let Ginny get under his skin. Not right here, and not right now. Too much was on the line…he didn't want to spend the next ten years of his life in a coma!

Hikaru slowly tilted himself forward once again; a blue eye open to see his opposition. Unlike when he was on the ground in The World, he couldn't judge distances with his M2D, since it no longer existed. Normally, he'd be able to sense vibrations in the ground as well, (as little as they were in the game) to direct his attacks as mostly counter-strikes or spells. His head lowered once more, as he felt nauseous again, but he forced it back up to watch them carefully. Aurum was right. If he wasn't careful, they'd kill him in no time flat.

----------------------The Eternal City: Mac Anu: The Serpent of Lore--------------------

They were quick to respond to his 'Short Mail', Yata acknowledged as he turned to face the Epitaph Users. His face, like always, was hard and serious, but his heart in the real world was pounding as fast as a rabbit's. He couldn't help but wonder what they were thinking now. Of him…of his decision…and of his state as their leader…?

Enough of those foolish thoughts! Yata told himself. There are more important things to think of right now!

He silently took a deep breath to calm himself down, before taking a step towards the six subordinates.

"Thank you for all coming on such short notice." He said calmly (which was not easy). "Now, we can get to business…"

The Epitaph Users watched him quietly, waiting, and listening like they had always done for him before. Their expressions were serious, and hard. They could tell something was amiss…most likely because Axel had yet to make a foolish comment, or Eon was not there to complain about their 'summon'…not that she was allowed into G.U. any longer…

"I can assume that you have all noticed the missing presence of our Guardian Masters, Axel, and Hikaru." Yata said calmly, his eyes slowly moving from one Epitaph User to the next. They never move an inch, or fidgeted. They only watched, and waited. With a small sigh of relief, Yata continued. "I have reason to believe that not only these two Guardian Masters, but Guardian Master Eon as well, have been transported into AIDA Servers to the will of Team Crystal Seraphim."

The faces of the Epitaph Users hardened, and some, including Haseo, narrowed their eyes slightly in thought. Kuhn had clenched his hands into fists, and was glaring at the ground.

"How'd they do this without us noticing?!" The Steam Gunner demanded. He could tell that something was wrong, when Eon didn't appear at the Warp Panel after her fight. He was going to congratulate her there…but no one had appeared for him to congratulate.

Yata shook his head slowly, as he crossed his arms comfortably before him.

"I am not sure how they managed to pull this off…" He admitted, his eyes dark under his tinted glasses. "But either way, there is a high possibility to that they are currently fighting against either AIDA Explicants, or Crystal Seraphim members themselves." He explained.

Haseo's eyes flashed dangerously. Is that how these guys liked to play?! Picking them off one by one?! He grit his teeth hard together, before tightening his hand into a fist.

"What can we do, Yata?" The Adept Rogue asked sternly. "What can we do to help them?"

Yata made no effort to explain anything to them, and turned to face his monitors. His words would be no good to their unsophisticated minds…only Pi of the six of them would understand what he was trying to say. Reaching out a hand, he allowed it to hover over the sphere for the hundredth time that day (it seemed to him), as he opened up a file that he had just stored minutes before their arrival.

A large monitor appeared with a bright blue glow, hovering before all of the rest. On the monitor, was the coordinates for an area; Area Epsilon, Roaring, Crying, Beast. It was a large field-type area, with a few hills littered around. The grass, like normal, was a pale green, and the sky a usual blue. Around the area was a deep blue ocean, and a few Chim Trees could be spotted around…the only difference for this area, was that there was no Alters, or a Temple.

The Epitaph Users narrowed their eyes when they noticed the missing building. There were no areas that missed temples. Even quests had Temples! (Most, at least…)

Yata moved the monitor's view around a tiny bit, and made it magnify to one spot in particular; between a Chim Tree and a large hill.

"There," he said, "is where you must go, to enter the AIDA Server by my calculations. In there, the Players Axel and Hikaru are most likely facing a Crystal Seraphim member…though who, I am not sure. They never appeared in the normal area at any time, therefore, are not in the records."

Haseo nodded understandingly, as did the rest of them.

"And the brat then…?" Saku asked coldly. "Where's she then, baldy?"

Yata ignored her comment, but opened up another file, making a monitor just as large, appear before the first. He slowly moved the sphere in degrees, before zeroing into one spot, like before.

"I…believe that this will lead into the Lumina Cloth AIDA Server…" He said slowly, as he motioned a small a point, just next to the Black Market NPC. "But…I am less certain than the other area. The number of PC Bodies that constantly teleport in and out of the area makes detecting disturbances more difficult." He explained.

"Got it." Kuhn said with a small grin. "So all we gotta do is go in, beat up the baddy, and come out, right…?" He asked.

Yata was astounded by how Kuhn could be so blunt about a complicated operation such as this…it must have been cockiness from holding the Propagation within him…

"In a small sense, yes…" Yata agreed grudgingly. "But we have no way of telling who or what is waiting within the area." He explained. "Therefore, we will go to each Server in groups. Haseo, you will go with Kuhn, Sakubo and Pi to Epsilon, Roaring Crying Beast, to rescue Axel and Hikaru. I will go with Endrance and Atoli to Lumina Cloth, to find the AIDA Server within it, and rescue Eon…any questions?"

The silence told Yata that all was explained. Without a second to spare, he entered Atoli and Endrance into his party, and bid Haseo's party off. Haseo would be going solo, compared to the other three, who were safely in a party…something he did not entirely approve of…but The World gave them the unfortunate handicap of only holding three possible party members at one time…Haseo was the best for the job.

"All right, let's go." He ordered urgently, before racing out the door after them; Atoli and Endrance in hot pursuit. There was no time to spare.

----------------------------------Lumina Cloth: AIDA Server--------------------------------

Aqua walked slowly along the pathway of the back alleyway. Her eyes flashed from one direction to the other…but no dog girl in sight. She allowed herself a small grin, as her silver eyes glowed with interest. She had transformed the area to allow her around it like a circle…though it seemed that the kid had caught on in time, and somehow hid herself…

Aqua's hand tightened around her fans, as she continued to look around. She knew that the kid couldn't have left the area. She'd have felt it…so it was only a matter of time now before she found her or forced her to come out.

The Macabre Dancer lifted her fans above her head, before they were suddenly engulfed in cold liquid.

"Aqueous Beta!" She yelled, as her eyes slit dangerously, and she threw her arms down, sending long streams of water flying around the area. They hit everything before her, but nothing stirred.

Aqua's grin slowly vanished. She was sure that the kid couldn't have gone far…so where was she? Normally that'd have hit the mark, or at least make someone come out of hiding…especially a little brat with a 'fire' attribute…

Her eyes flashed, as she looked around behind her, where the attack had not gone. Could she have passed her somehow…? No, that wasn't possible…or was it…? Just how or where was this kid hiding…?

Eon watched Aqua with wide eyes, as she looked straight at her, then past her for the third time. She slowly, ever so slowly, hugged onto her knees tightly. She couldn't believe that Aqua had just barely missed her with the water attack. Sure, Aqua couldn't see her right now…and the fact that she could see her right now, was even more unnerving…but still. The fact that Aqua had the ability to make strange Servers like this, made her seem like she could see through walls, or could melt people's heads off with a glare…not saying that she couldn't, for all she knew right now…

The dog girl slowly moved her leg a bit, as it began to cramp up from her sitting position, only to pause instantly as Aqua looked at, and past her yet again. With a silent sigh of relief, she hunched her head into her knees tightly, and flattened her ears against her head, as if it would make a huge difference in how much Aqua could see.

She was glad now that her wings had more than two uses to them, as she had just found out. Not only could she glide for short distances, or use them in attacks, but they were also a good hiding place, as proved by Aqua; looking past her one more time. The wings were wrapped tightly around her body; the silver of the wings acting like a mirror in areas of high-light frequencies, like the bright yellows and blues of this Server. Sure, they were nowhere near as good as an actual mirror, or a chameleon, but it was all that she had. Best make use of them. She knew that if Aqua were to look closely enough, she'd see the curves of light around her…but it was all that she could do right now! Shiruba was right, she wasn't anywhere near her level. She'd be comatose within moments, if she faced her head to head, the way that she was right now.

Eon bit onto her lip lightly, as Aqua slowly turned her back to the girl, and headed towards the plaza. She was waiting right now. That was all that she could do. Wait, and hope that Shiruba had found that exit that she was talking about earlier. The dog girl could sense that Aqua was getting agitated with this game of hide and seek. There wasn't much time left, and she knew it. If Aqua decided to summon Sora…it'd be all over for her…

----------------------- Epsilon Roaring Crying Beast: AIDA Server---------------------

Koji nibbled on his toothpick lightly, as his purple eyes surveyed everything below him. He was floating a good distance away from his feathered friend; allowing it to have a good time with its newest prey. He stuck his hands into his pockets, and leaned back into the air, as if in a giant bean bag chair. Things were looking up for them. Denki wasn't even bothering to fight yet! Was this truly all that these 'Guardian Masters' had to them? Pathetic!

His teeth bit into his toothpick a tiny bit harder as the Raven was shot back by Ginryuu's long, plated tail. The bird was sure taking a pounding today, that was for sure…but its regenerating abilities were just for that purpose. It seemed, to him at least, that the little specks that were the 'Masters' below him, had yet to figure out that there was only one way to get rid of a foe like that. Beat it up faster than it could reform.

A small smile tugged at his lips, as he moved his toothpick to the other side of his mouth, and bit onto it with his canine teeth. At this rate, both he and Denki wouldn't need to do anything at all in this fight. They could leave it completely to Libra. As Aqua would say, 'why dirty you hands when someone else can do it for you?'

By now, Axel could proudly say that he was now a master of 'floating around cyberspace'…even if it were only from being forced to from the non-stop attacks from the crazed bird-demon AIDA. He couldn't throw in a decent hit (saying that it would do anything), since the bird was too fast…and even if he did get a chance to make a move, the stupid perch-like thing behind it would move before it and defend it…then shoot another spell right back at him, and Hikaru…

This wasn't going very well…

"What're you doing, Bean-sprout?!" Ginryuu demanded dangerously, as she swiped her silver claws at the Raven, who easily avoided them and retreated alongside the perch-like AIDA. "Stop daydreaming, and do something!" She ordered.

"I would if I could!" He snapped back at the dragon, before floating a little bit higher, so he was next to Hikaru.

The poor Knight was paler than ever, but he was hanging in there; batting away the Raven with his huge lance whenever Ginny or Aurum weren't able to protect them from incoming attacks.

He slowly looked at Axel with the corner of his eye, but didn't turn, or risk vomiting.

"How much longer can we last…?" He asked tiredly, as the Raven slowly landed on top of the perch again; its black AIDA-flames burning the gold below it, only to be suddenly regenerated with masses of black AIDA bubbles.

Axel narrowed his eyes sadly. Hikaru, like himself, was normally an enthusiastic, 'look-at-the-bright-side' sorta guy…for him to ask a question like this, meant that they seriously were in trouble.

He clenched his teeth together hard, and shut his green eyes tightly, before inwardly listing off every swear that he knew. This wasn't what he was hoping would happen! All of their training, for however short it was, was for nothing in here! Sure, they could summon Ginny and Aurum…but what good were they, if they couldn't Crack their Data! Though Ginny would never admit it, she was doing all that she could just to protect Axel and Hikaru from attacks. They had no time to counter, and it was all their fault!

Axel slowly looked back up to the AIDA before him, before crossing his Twin Daggers into a guard-like position in front of himself.

"Ginny." He said slowly, as he forced himself to fly further forward.

"What?!" The enraged dragon demanded.

"If we hold our own, even for a few minutes, can you and Aurum Data Crack these guys…?" He asked, though he felt as though his stomach just dropped off of Mt. Everest.

This caught Ginryuu's attention, as she slowly swung her large, silver head towards the Twin Blade, and starred at him coldly with her slit, green eyes.

"Are you trying to tell me, that you, a human, can hold off their AIDA alone, without our help, as we try to Crack their Data?" She asked slowly, and in a dangerous tone. "Because if you are, then let me explain one thing to you, Sparky. An AIDA versus a human never turns out well. With one attack, that bird over there will pierce your body, and you'll be nothing more than a scattered consciousness in the real world. Stuck in a coma for the rest of your life…only years if you're lucky. You really think that we're guarding you because we're being friendly? HAH! Don't make me laugh, Sparky. A Guardian and its Master are what it takes to Crack Data for an Evolved Explicant. It can't be one or the other. That shrimpy kid-friend of yours was just lucky when she pulled it off…at least she didn't have Explicants that united with something when she did it. Once an Explicant joins with a Human, they become a collective thought, and it learns as fast as they do. It learns to think for its own, and learns how to operate with its new…'Master', shall we say…? They evolve, Sparky. They become stronger, and smarter than ever. Explicants know how to think, unlike normal AIDA…and just by combining with someone…something, they can boost their power over one hundred fold just by creating a strategy. Once an Explicant evolves this far, it's impossible for either you or me to Data Crack it alone."

Axel's stomach now dropped down into the Meridian's Trench. He didn't know that. He knew that it was a dangerous thing to mess with AIDA…but not that they 'evolved'. To just join with someone, then suddenly gain a consciousness, and become stronger…? This was something that he never stopped to think about…not that he really wanted to think of such a depressing thought. If all of Team Crystal Seraphim had an Explicant…wouldn't that make their team unstoppable? Six Explicants; six consciousnesses along with their own, to fight at their will, and able to send all that they touch into a coma…it was really a good plan, he had to say…

"Then what do we do to Crack Data…?" Hikaru asked lightly, through a gasp. He had managed to turn himself to face Ginryuu; Aurum now at Axel's side, and behind Hikaru.

Ginny snorted angrily, before whipping her long tail, and slamming it into the Raven's face once more, sending the bird retreating yet again. Just as the avian was about to land, the perch suddenly moved forwards and tilted to the left, ever so slightly. Within a moment, black claws were reaching up from under Ginryuu, and trying to drag her down, into the twilit abyss below them. She roared in fury, as she clawed and scraped at the ghostly hands, but it was Aurum who managed to yank her away from their grip, to her displeasure.

"I could have done that myself1" She hissed angrily, as she hunched forwards, and let her long wings open up to their full extent; about fifteen feet each.

Axel rubbed his arm, where the strange hands had grabbed Ginny's forearm. They had left a black, smoking spot, and strange, red-purple liquid slowly dribbled out (Most likely blood). The skin on his own arm was worn away, and it hurt like a million mosquitoes trying to bite there at the same time.

Damn it! He thought, as he held onto it tightly, as if it would stop the pain. Stupid AIDA!

"I believe," Aurum started, "that the best way to go about this, is—" Both his head, and Ginny's shot up at the same time, as they looked at seemingly nothing. The AIDA also seemed to notice the strange anomaly that the dragons had noticed, as the Raven started to flap frantically, and screech louder than normal. The perch began to tilt from side to side faster than before, and electricity began to surround itself, as well as the Raven (though it seemed not to notice).

Koji's toothpick fell out of his mouth.

-----------------------------The Frozen Paradise: Saal Haku: Hades------------------------

He wasn't pleased. In fact, he was furious! Clenching his teeth together hard, so he wouldn't list off his overtly large vocabulary of swears, he slammed his hands onto his desk in the real world hard.

How could G.U. have found them already?! It had been little more than twelve and a half minutes in the real world…and yet, that foolish organization had managed to put together a plan and was already trying to interfere!

"No!" Yet again, he slammed his hands onto the desk, but did not feel the pain this time. They were numb. He didn't know what to expect if they managed to get in…and he couldn't keep them out for much longer either way. He was using all of its power already…or at least, all that he knew how to use. "Damn it…" He murmured coldly, as he glared at the screen with a golden eye, the other hidden under thick, navy bangs.

The distortion suddenly became noticeable on his screen, and he started to grind his teeth together angrily. The swirling of navies, purples and whites made him feel sick with wonder and anticipation. Surely, even if Koji and Denki were able to receive backup, it wouldn't help. He knew that there were currently four G.U. members on their way through this hellish portal…the 'Terror of Death' being one of them…

He cursed one more time under his breath, before pulling a keyboard forward. This was his last chance. If he didn't take this, he'd lose the AIDA Explicant of Libra…as well as two supporters if they were Data Drained.

'Change of plans', he wrote quickly; never taking his eyes off of the screen before him. 'They must make their choice, and now.'

----------------------- Epsilon Roaring Crying Beast: AIDA Server---------------------

Koji could understand his message just as clearly as Denki could, as they got up from their lazed positions in haste. A 'change of plans', and their 'choice', could only mean one thing. The cavalry was coming faster than expected.

"Damn…" Koji murmured, as he pulled another toothpick from his pocket, and placed it between his lips.

"Let's go." Denki said calmly, as he opened a forest green eye to look at their opponents. "We'd best not keep him, or them, waiting."

Koji nodded understandingly, as both of them gracefully hovered towards the two Guardian Masters, as if skaters on ice. The two of them stopped only once; to call their enraged AIDA-companions to stop, and allow them to tail behind themselves slowly.

"We propose a stalemate!" Denki called softly, as both he and Koji stopped a good distance away from the Guardian Masters and their Guardians; just to make sure they didn't decide to hold a grudge against them…

Axel cocked an eyebrow in confusion, and couldn't help but allow his jaw to drop by the Blade Partizan's sudden offer. After they had just beaten both themselves and their Guardians to a pulp for so long, why would they even consider calling a truce? Was it that weird, inter-dimensional-portal-of-doom slowly forming off a ways from them? If so…what was coming out of it that worried them?

He turned to look at Hikaru slightly, who had also furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and worry.

"Should we trust 'em, Hikki?" Axel asked his companion softly, only to hear Ginny scoff angrily.

"Why should we trust the bastards?!" She demanded, fuming as steam slowly floated up from her snout. She bared her teeth at them dangerously, but neither of them flinched as any other would do to see her in her angered state. They knew that she couldn't beat them…at least, not this way…

She grunted angrily, seeing their less-than-hoped for reactions, and shook her head, as if that never happened.

"What do you say, dude?" Koji asked, as he used his index finger to push the toothpick up, lifting his upper lip a little. "Wanna call it truce, or be sent into a coma, here and now?" He asked urgently.

Axel let out an uneasy grunt, as if thinking, but it was Hikaru who answered for him.

"We will be at truce, then." He said formally, in his usual slow way; though with more emotion than normal.

Koji's and Denki's grin told the two of them that they had made a mistake, as, one at a time, they waved their hand, and their AIDA Beasts slowly rippled and vanished into nothing more than black bubbles, slowly dispersing around the area. They leisurely floated over to the two of them, minding to stay far enough away from Ginny, and a ways off from Aurum as they did so. It was then that Koji reached into his trench coat pocket, and produced a small, clear, egg-like thing, with the shades of black, violet, and pink within it. Denki produced a similar ostrich-egg sized glob from within his overly-large, feudal-style jacket. They held them up for the two of them to see, before both Ginryuu and Aurum cried in outrage at the sight of the fowl eggs.

"How dare you offer such things to them?!" Aurum's voice boomed, and echoed loudly around the entire area, as his large, golden head swung low to see the two Crystal Seraphim members. "Have you no idea what they are?!" He demanded.

"You got that right, you old fart!" Ginryuu yelled, as more steam rose from the slits on her snout. "You think we'll allow you foolish humans to do such a thing?!" She demanded.

Denki shrugged, before placing the egg back into his jacket as if he had never showed it to them in the first place. He calmly hovered for a moment more, before opening a green eye to look at the two Guardian Masters.

"Tell me…do you know what those were…?" He asked, as Koji juggled his, before placing it into his overly large pocket again.

Axel shook his head slowly, and Hikaru said a simple, yet polite 'no'.

Denki nodded, before shutting his eye, and opening the other to look up at the two Guardians behind them.

"I believe that they could explain…but not without ruining our name and ideals." He explained easily.

Koji thrust his hands into his pockets, and leaned back again.

"Denki's right. Let us explain it to you…" He murmured lowly; a small grin on his face. "But, before we do that, you need to make your choice."

Axel and Hikaru looked at each other, confused for a moment, before turned back to the two AIDA Masters.

"What 'choice'?" Axel asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Isn't it obvious…?" Koji asked, as he forced his arms over his head, and held them together for a long moment, stretching.

"No." Axel said bluntly, making the Trump Joker chuckle lightly.

"There is only one thing that we wish of you, if we are to tell you our plans, and our ideals." He stated coolly, watching the black bubbles of AIDA move past themselves, and the Guardians and their Masters. It snaked along the ground easily, like a thick black mist, cloaking the pure-white hexagonal tiles, and blocking out the twilight surroundings for a distance.

"We want you to choose," he said lowly, and seriously, watching them with both green eyes. "Choose. Which side you will fight on?"

Thank GOD that's done. (Falls off of chair, and lies on the hardwood floor K.O.-ed) That took WAAAAAY too long, and even longer than it should have. So, before you start a cult, track me down and burn me at the stake, here is my top ten reasons for why it was so late.

------ZEROYASHA'S TOP TEN EXCUSES------

10) I. Am. Lazy. I couldn't force myself to sit at a computer and type, while we have three weeks straight of 4-day weekends. XP

9) I had to go to my Grandma's house for one of the weekends. Since she doesn't have a computer, there goes a weekend, and another chance to write… I will say though, it was boring…

8) I started Macbeth in English just last week. That, my friends, is a reason in itself! Through the 'thines' and the 'thous', I need to actually figure out what the heck they just said. (It doesn't help that I fall asleep in the middle of the readings) Thank GOD for the wonderful person that wrote notes in my book's margin…even if they're just random notes that make no sense to me without reading the entire line ten times. TT I'm going to fail the Macbeth finnnnaaaallllll!! (Bawls)

7) It took me a while to come up with this list. I wasted precious time coming up with decent and not-so-decent reasoning, so be thankful for this list! (Miffin's note: It's lovely. I edited it too, by the way.)

6) I had to send it to Miffin to get edited, unlike the last few chapters. That means that after the twenty-some times that I went over various parts of it, it went through one more editor, then through me again, then after uploading it to one final check, to make sure it didn't eat anything (as it has done before). Besides, I paid her a shiny nickel to edit this. Why would I not send it to her? owo (Miffin's note: It was shiny. (Smiley))

5) I don't have a fifth reason, therefore, that's my fifth reason for updating so late. Make sense? Good.

4) I want cookies, but no one makes me any!! GRAARRGGG!!!

3) Last weekend I was forced to endure eight of my relatives staying at our house. My house fits eight people in all, if lucky. Not twelve people that were staying. It was too crowded to move, and I couldn't sit in peace to write even if I did know what I wanted to write. So I retreated to my room and played FFIII for the whole 4-day weekend. Such a waste…

-My cousin also killed my computer twice, by plugging his laptop into it to connect to my internet. That severed all my connections, and I couldn't even open the simplest of programs without rebooting. For all you who don't know (which is most of you), I hate rebooting. ESPECIALLY for my stupid computer, which doesn't even like me to begin with. I'm too impatient to wait three minutes for this stupid thing to reboot. (And especially cautious now that I had to once do a hard reboot after a soft one, since it refused to turn on afterwards)

2) I just watched 25 episodes of D. grey-man in the span of two days. Gimee a break! My head hurt for a week! (That's also where I got 'bean-sprout' from for Axel, as well as other sorts of ideas. Akuma aren't that much different from AIDA…)

-Not to mention that spent 10pm-3am attempting to finish reading 'First Test' last night, to see if I could finish it without stopping. I failing with eighteen pages left...I couldn't even see the page by that time...

-I also spent close to three hours looking for 'Doubt & Trust' from D. grey-man's newest opening. Nice song.

1) For my number one reason of not writing, it's my over-active writer's block. (fizzle) You've got no clue how hard it is to force yourself to write, if you have so many long weekends straight to write, yet no ideas of how to get past certain parts. Writing for Denki and Koji was the worse. (Miffin's note: They're so loveable!)

And there you have it. My little list that I wasted too much time coming up with. XP Hopefully the next chapter will be easier, especially since EvillyDisturbed helped me figure out what Libra looked like. (Thank you! I'd still be stuckif not for you!) So until next time, ta-ta! Please review too. You guys have become good at that…unlike Miffin… (Miffin's note: (Cat smile) What be this "review" thing, you speak of?)

¬ ¬

…I'll kill you for that, Miffin…