Author's Note: First of all, a thousand apologies for keeping you all waiting! To keep a long story short, my Internet utterly crapped out on me for the last month. I write each chapter in Google Docs, because I don't have Microsoft Word installed on my Windows partition. I was completely unable to watch any of the cutscenes/Let's Plays for .hack/G.U. Volume 1, and I couldn't even write in Google Docs! Hopefully, something like that will never happen again! On the plus side, all this time being unable to write has given me ample opportunity to flesh out the idea of where I want these fics to go.
Yes, you read that correctly. This is only Volume 1 of Reconnect. How many Volumes will I have? Well, that's for me to know, and for you to wait and see! Now then, this chapter shall re-introduce some characters, introduce another, and hint at the make-up of one side in this conflict that hasn't been touched upon yet: Maleficent's forces. Now, how do you make a character who has suffered from some serious Villain Decay a force to be reckoned with once again?
Simple: have her Legion of Doom filled with Dangerously Genre Savvy villains to make up for Pete's utter incompetence!
Before I forget, I haven't played tennis before, unless you count Wii Sports. So forgive me if I screw up the rules on how tennis works.
Tokyo University Tennis Courts
Riku would be lying if he said he wasn't a little nervous. True, it was just a practice game, but he was still going up against Akira Hayami. It didn't help that much that he had, for all intents and purposes, looked up the basic rules of tennis the night before. As far as he could tell, he just had to hit the ball in such a way that his opponent wouldn't be able to hit it back four times. Simple enough. Except that, from what he'd heard, Hayami was something of a tennis protege. He knew he had no chance of even beating her. Still, that wasn't the reason why he'd requested to practice against her. He had to confirm something Yen Sid had told him.
"About time you showed up!" Riku blinked, looking across the court at the brunette. She had a superior grin on her face. This was her turf, so to speak.
"You say that as if I was late for something. Obviously, I'm not." He crossed his arms, smirking cockily at her. Riku took note that, outside of the court, Daichi was watching, a soccer ball tucked under his arm. Perfect. Two birds with one stone, he thought.
Akira narrowed her eyes at the boy, frowning slightly. She knew he'd looked familiar. He was that punk who just transferred here recently. Well, now was as good a time as any to knock him down a few pegs. "You ready to play or what, kid?"
'Kid'? You're not that much older than me… Riku frowned, but it quickly shifted back into that cocky smirk. Time to borrow a line from a friend back home. "Pfft. Playing is for kids." He bounced the tennis ball once, before tossing it across to her, giving her the opportunity to serve. "This is serious!"
Akira felt her respect for this punk go up just a little bit...not that she'd ever let him know that. "Don't expect me to go easy on you just because you're younger than me."
Thwack!
"Wouldn't have it any other way!" Jump to the left, hit it back.
Thwack!
Akira was already at the ball, hitting it to Riku's right. He wasn't nearly fast enough to stop it in time. "Fifteen-love." She took a quick swig from her water bottle before tossing the ball over to his side, to let him serve.
Thwack! Thwack!
Riku didn't even see the ball come back before he heard her call out "Thirty-love." Light, she was just as good as people said she was! She wasn't even breaking a sweat.
Another thwack, and Akira was calling out yet again. "Game point." Riku shook his head, accepting the ball and tossing it idly up and down in his hand.
"Say, you ever play a game called 'The World'?" A gentle serve, keep the pace slow and the conversation flowing.
"If you're talking about the new one, I haven't played that one. I played the older version." Another thwack, this one gentler than the fierce ones before.
Good, I've gotten her talking. Now… "I just started playing R:2 recently. Been hearing some pretty weird rumors." Not too far from her, but not too close either.
Thwack!
"Weird in what way?" She almost mirrored his serve; not too close or too far from him. To Riku, she was clearly interested in the topic.
Thwack!
Time to see if Lea's information is right, he thought grimly. "Weird in the sense that players are falling into comas," he said, loud enough so that Daichi would hear it too. Return to her, in a way that it would be child's play for her to hit back for the win.
Thwack!
"Fifteen-forty," he said grimly. She'd frozen up, the ball sailing right past her. Daichi's head had snapped to look at him so fast that he had to have given himself whiplash. Riku didn't even make a move to return the serve that gave Akira the win. He'd gotten exactly what he'd came for. "If you wish to discover the truth, seek out Yata, of the Guild Raven. He should know more." Riku turned and began to walk off. Was he forgetting something? Oh, yeah!
"If you're worried about your old character data, don't be. It's been updated for Revision 2...BlackRose. Kite's too." He'd shown them a glimpse of the rabbit. Now it was up to them if they were going to chase it down the hole.
Δ Peaceful Leading Freedom
"Attention! Bringing one noob to the dungeon! Repeat, bringing one noob to the dungeon!"
Haseo's eye twitched as Sora stifled a laugh at Gaspard's proclamation. "I told you that I'm not a noob!" Haseo growled.
"I know, I know, you're really the Terror of Death, right?" Silabus sighed, crossing his arms.
"I can understand you wanting to role-play something like that, but I'm not really sure if you should do 'Terror of Death', y'know?" Gaspard stated.
Haseo's jaw nearly dropped as Sora snorted at Gaspard's words. R-Role-playing?! I wouldn't be caught dead doing something like that!
"Player Killers are going to come after you and it'll definitely be rough for you…" Gaspard continued, his tone hinting that he'd had issues with PKs before. Haseo didn't care about that right now.
"Hey! Just shut up and listen!"
"So, you're saying you're really the PKK Haseo, the Terror of Death." Silabus said, once Haseo had finished his explanation. "And when you logged in, your level went down from 133 to...1?"
"No way. I've never heard of a bug quite like that. Wow." Gaspard was shocked.
This was the first time that Sora had heard this part of the story from Haseo. From what Sora understood, the level cap was 150 in this game. To go from nearly there, back to the beginning…it was like when Sora had woken up, before the start of his second journey. He could certainly sympathize with Haseo.
"I'm not lying!" Haseo crossed his arms at his proclamation, as if he was daring them to disagree with him.
Sora nodded. "I believe him."
"Oookay, but, still…"
Silabus chuckled. "Gaspard, Sora, that's what he's role-playing."
"Ohhh, now I get it. Heh, that's some really complicated character background." Gaspard nodded in understanding.
Haseo palmed his face, letting out an exasperated groan. "It's not role-playing!"
"Don't be embarrassed." Silabus smiled kindly. "We'll accept your character concept."
"Just relax, and come with us!" Gaspard placed his hands on his hips, in a pose that he was sure looked heroic.
"Will you please listen to me, already?!" That was about as close to begging that Haseo got, but to no avail, as the two had already begun heading off. Haseo begrudgingly went after them, with Sora right behind him.
"For what it's worth, I believe you. I mean...I was there, after all." Sora whispered to Haseo.
"Shut. Up. You could have told them that…" Haseo growled back.
"Do you really think they would have believed me if I had?" Sora shrugged. "Just go with it. It's not that bad."
Oh, how wrong Sora was. Haseo had made it to the next level of the dungeon, and his patience was at it's end. He knew about basic combat, dammit. He knew about the Skill Trigger, dammit. He knew about Rengekis, dammit!
"Hey, Haseo."
Silabus, I swear to God, if this is something I've heard already…
"Do you know about Awakening?"
The retort died before it had even left Haseo's lips. "...No, I don't," he admitted.
"See? I knew that you were a noob!" Gaspard smiled.
"H-Hey!" Haseo tried to sound irritated, but he was pretty sure he just came across as tired.
"Now, now, Haseo! We'll tell you all about them, so don't scowl!" Silabus smiled.
"Yeah! No scowling! This Guild runs on happy faces!" Sora pumped his fist in the air enthusiastically. "Although...I've never heard of this either."
Haseo sighed, looking down at the ground of the cave dungeon. Oh, well. Might as well… "Yeah." He looked back up to the Canard trio, forcing a smile onto his face. "So, what is this Awakening thing you were talking about?"
"Well, it's a special attack that you can do together with your party members." Silabus explained. There were some monsters wandering aimlessly nearby; perfect timing. "Do you wanna give it a shot? It's a lot easier to understand it if you're in battle."
"Yeah, that sounds good. Let's do it! I'm gonna do my best!" Gaspard looked excited. "What about you, Sora?"
"Actually...I don't think I can do Awakenings." Sora replied. At the incredulous looks the others gave him, he continued. "I just browsed through my options menu, and I don't see an option for Awakenings…" He shrugged, before putting his hands behind his head and grinning. "I guess it's a trade-off, given that I've got a Unique Job. So, I'll just have to sit this one out. Good luck, Haseo!"
"Hey, I haven't agreed-"
Silabus didn't give Haseo a chance to finish. "All right then! Let's go encounter some enemies!"
As the three ran off, Sora spent some time double checking his menu. Yup, no sub-menu for Awakenings. Instead, there was something else that was grayed out, the text illegible on it. It was definitely a shorter word than "Awakening", however. "Hmm, what could it be?" he mumbled aloud.
Tokyo University Co-Ed Dorms
"Akira, you sure he wasn't just saying that to psyche you out?" Daichi was worried. Ever since that practice game against Riku earlier that day, Akira had been subdued, somber even. She was a far cry from the girl he'd fallen in love with, and it worried him.
"Daichi, he knew our old usernames. And...he somehow knew that coma victims from The World would be enough to throw me off my game. What if he's right? What if those rumors are true? What if...What if they're back again? Could you really sit and do nothing if that was the case?" Akira looked at her fiance, a determined look in her eyes. Daichi knew that look; whether he liked it or not, she'd make her own decision. He could either stand beside her or not, but she would be going back to The World.
Before Daichi could reply, there was a knock at their door, followed shortly by the sound of footsteps walking away. Going and opening the door, he saw that there was a package sitting on the floor, the logo for CC Corp displayed prominently atop it. He chuckled as he brought it in, opening it up. "I guess I don't have much of a choice, do I?"
Fortunately, the installation of the game didn't take very long at all; the wonders of modern technology. Their log-in information was still secure, but they changed their passwords, just in case. With a resolute nod to each other, the two founding members of the legendary dothackers returned to The World. "I wonder if anyone else is still playing," Daichi wondered aloud, flexing his hands experimentally. He vaguely remembered seeing a forum post years ago about a controller that you wore like a glove. These must've been them.
"Only one way to find out!" Akira grinned, slipping the FMD over her eyes and tightening her hands into fists. If these rumors were just that, rumors, then it might still be fun to play every once in a while. But if it was like seven years ago…. Only time would tell.
Δ Server Root Town: Eternal City Mac Anu
The sound of running water met the ears of the two R:1 veterans as they logged into The World for the first time in seven years. The few players there didn't even spare them a second glance as they appeared, even though they were both level 30 despite apparently logging in for the first time. "Wow, everything looks so…" Kite's words died in his throat, a blush crossing his face as his roaming eyes locked onto his fiance's PC next to him.
"W-What?! What're you looking at?!" Apparently, Kite wasn't the only one that had forgotten how...risque BlackRose's character had looked, much to the latter's chagrin. With the updated graphics, she looked even more exotic to the Twin Blade. The Heavy Blade-no, wait they're called 'Edge Punishers' now-leaned down to his eye level, poking a finger into his chest as she pouted, gripping the handle of the large zweihander strapped to her back. Kite idly noted that her character seemed a bit taller, but that may have just been his imagination. "Listen, in case you haven't noticed, you're being very rude! It's impolite to stare like that! It's just like the real world."
The two of them blinked, before they both started giggling, drawing a few stares as they quickly erupted into full-blown laughter. "Haha! Just like old times, huh?" Kite laughed, rubbing his nose.
"It sure is. I gotta say, it feels good to be the taller one again." BlackRose smirked, patting the much shorter Twin Blade on the head.
Kite pouted, before he began walking forward. "Come on. Let's get going," he mumbled. Opening the double doors leading out of the dome, Kite's breath caught in his throat as he took in the sight of the eternal sunset of Mac Anu. "Wow…"
"'Wow' is right…" BlackRose had stopped beside him, taking in the sight of the sprawling city before them. "Hey, um...how are we supposed to find this 'Raven' Guild? Everything's...different."
"You are Kite and BlackRose, yes? I believe I may be of some assistance, kupo." The two of them looked around for the deep voice that had addressed them. "Down here, kupo!" The duo turned their gazes downward to see a small form bobbing in the air at the bottom of the steps. Donned in a black cloak that fit it's diminutive size, with tiny purple wings occasionally fluttering behind it, white fur, and a large pink nose and pom-pom, the strange creature nodded it's head, the deep voice coming forth the figure once more. "I see that you have decided to come, kupo. Let me be the first to say 'Welcome back to The World.' I'm sure you have many questions, kupo, but save them for later, kupo. Yata would speak with you soon, kupo. Follow me to the Mercenary District, kupo."
With that, the strange creature floated over to the green teleport pad nearby. "Wait!" BlackRose called out. "Who are you?"
The creature paused, it's tone becoming nostalgic. "I have been called many things. A prophet. A sage. A mured moogle. Truthfully, I am a simple scholar, kupo. History often repeats itself. One simply need to look for the patterns, kupo." The moogle, for that was what he was, turned to face them, inclining his head slightly as he spoke in a voice that commanded respect, despite his small size. "I am Cid of the Lufaine, and we have much work to do to ensure the safety of this world."
Δ Peaceful Leading Freedom
Haseo had to admit, he was having a bit of fun. He'd forgotten what it was like, to go dungeon-crawling with other players. He was taking the lead, and had already gotten to level 3. It would be slow going, but maybe he'd be able to get back to where he was before, so he could finally take on Tri-Edge. Speaking of which, maybe they knew something about him? "Hey, um, do you guys know anything about...Tri-Edge?"
"Tri-Edge?" Gaspard tilted his head. "No. What's that? Some kind of...event monster or something?"
Figures. No point getting mad at them about it. They just play this game for fun. Haseo turned to face them. "It's the screenname of a PK."
Silabus rubbed the back of his head. "Never heard of him."
"Me neither." Gaspard looked down, a bit sad that he couldn't be of help.
"Doesn't ring any bells." Sora shrugged.
"Well, that's...fine. Let's keep going." Haseo sighed, heading to the next Steam Door. The Beast Statue should be right behind it.
Haseo's guess was spot-on, as soon after the four players stepped through, the background music changed from the eerie cave dungeon theme to the serene theme associated with Beast Statues.
"This is a statue of Folset, the God of Law in The World's backstory." Silabus explained. "But we just call it the Beast Statue."
"And there is the treasure offering. See?" Gaspard pointed. "Go on and open it, Haseo!"
He nodded, walking up and kicking the chest to open it. However, instead of the chest simply opening up...nothing happened. "What the…?" Haseo kicked it again. Nope, still nothing. The chest didn't even budge. It was then that he noticed that there was a rather large padlock on the chest. "It's...locked."
"Locked? You sure it's not just bugged?" Gaspard frowned.
"Relax, guys." Sora chuckled. "I've got this." Summoning forth the Kingdom Key, Sora walked forward and tapped the top of the chest twice, the padlock clattering to the ground as the chest was unlocked. Sora's eyes widened as he read the pop-up, before a wide grin split his face as the Beast Statue faded into light.
"So? What did you-" Haseo was suddenly interrupted by a voice behind him that caused his eyes to widen.
"Hey, little Haseo. Been a while, huh?"
The four of them turned to see Bordeaux and Negimaru sneering at them, with Grein looking on impassively.
"They're-they're from Kestrel!" Silabus stammered, fear slipping into his voice.
Gaspard looked confused. "Huh? Wha? Hey, who are these guys?"
"Famous Player Killers!" Silabus murmured, glancing around to look for an escape.
What the?! Not now… Haseo thought. Of course, now of all times they had to show up. He was level 3, Silabus and Gaspard were about 5, and Sora was about 8. Each one of them had to be at least level 10.
"Well, well. Look's like you haven't been keeping up since the last time we met," Bordeaux stalked towards them, tapping her sword against her hand in anticipation. "It took me a little while to recognize that you were really the Terror of Death," she chuckled unpleasantly.
"What?! He's real?" Silabus looked over his shoulder at Haseo, shocked.
"You're really, really the Terror of Death?" Gaspard sounded, fittingly enough, terrified.
"How amazing. I mean, what a coincidence running into you here! I tell you, it has to be destiny!" Bordeaux shifted into her stance, ready to pounce.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Haseo asked, trying to feign ignorance.
"Yeah, right, moron! Gimme a break. Someone sent me an anonymous email," Bordeaux sneered. "So I decided to come and have some fun. Now, what should we play?" She smiled cruelly, a manic gleam in her eyes as she pointed her sword at Haseo. "Well for starters, how 'bout I 'love' you...to death!"
Gaspard made an attempt to be the peace-maker. "I-I don't really know what's going on, but p-p-please, no violen-Guh!" Bordeaux swung out, KOing the Shadow Warlock in one hit.
"Gaspard!" Silbaus stared in horror.
"He got in my way," Bordeaux said, like she was discussing the weather. She walked forwards, boxing Haseo against the cliff. There was nowhere for him to run.
A brief sound of static hit Haseo's ears, and he found himself falling to his knees and clutching his side, both online and offline. Ah, hell. What is this?! His heart rate was speeding up. Just what the hell is going on here?! What's happening?! Gaspard is down, Silabus is too weak to fight them, and Sora's...where's Sora? Before he could continue that train of thought, a spike of pain shot through his head. He grit his teeth a groaned. He would not scream, dammit! Not for these damn PKs! He was vaguely aware of Silabus shouting at him, telling him to run. But where the hell was Sora?! He'd been right behind him a few seconds ago. Had he ditched him?
"Are you scared? Man, I just love that expression. You know what I mean? God, there is nothing like PK."
"Oh yeah? Well I bet you've never seen anything like this before!" Every turned to find that Sora had someone ended up behind all of them, and was running right into the center of the Kestrel trio.
"Sora, what are you-" Silabus never got to answer as Sora shouted out three words, followed by everyone becoming blinded by a flash of light.
"Give me Strength!"
The World That Never Was
The once pristine, white halls of the Castle That Never Was overflowed with massive, black, thorny roots. The artificial Kingdom Hearts had been deemed a lost cause; the massive heart-shaped moon was nearly gone, the hearts flowing down from it barely a trickle now.
"Well, that was a colossal waste of time and effort. What time we could have spent building up our forces, we wasted trying to salvage the artificial Kingdom Hearts on a whim," a cold, smooth voice stated.
"Oh, puh-lease! Quit your whining, you momma's boy! Who needs an army when you've got gods on your side? Those Key-wielding BRATS won't know what hit them! Hahaha!" The second voice was nasally and obnoxious, his cackle clearly portraying his madness.
"Do keep in mind that some of us are still working to reclaim the power that is rightfully ours." A figure robed in purple chimed in, her voice ringing with a dual nature.
"Well, whose fault was that for trying to rush things, sweetheart? There's a popular saying back on my world; 'good things come to those who wait.'" A fourth voice chuckled, taking a drag of his cigar. "Then again, sometimes you can lose sight of the long term when you've got what you want dangling right in front of you."
"Hmph, you're one to talk. You politicians are all the same, regardless of what world you're from. Always looking to grasp as much power as you can to further your own agenda." The third voice spat. "Part of the reason you humans make me want to-"
"Calm yourself, my dear." A fifth voice added, sweet and silky smooth like honey, but laced with poison. "There is no need to get riled by the words of this low-born rabble." He sneered in the direction of the fourth voice, certain that would raise his ire.
The fourth voice simply laughed as the mountain of a man behind it stood, flicking his cigar right past the sixth voice. "That's adorable, coming from the man who botched a simple fucking assassination job. If my boys had been there, then that blue-haired candy-ass would've been dead faster than you could blink." He paused, a sneer crossing his face. "Instead, you're the dumb fuck who ended up dying." A brief glow could be seen near the man's heart as the six voice rose, dark magic crackling in his hands before a massive weapon slammed upon the ground, drawing everyone's attention to it's owner.
"Enough of this pointless bickering, you fools!" A seventh voice proclaimed in a deep baritone, as it's owner entered the room. "You do the Mistress a disservice with it." He dropped into a one-kneed bow, armored gauntlet held over his heart as he lowered his head almost reverently in the direction of the Mistress of All Evil.
Maleficent smiled at the kneeling figure. "Why, Ser Garland, you took the words right out of my mouth. Truly, you are a gentleman." She swept a glare across the gathered figures, before returning her gaze to the knight. "Now, to what do I owe the pleasure of you joining us?"
The armored figure rose slowly, his massive horned helmet still held low. "My Lady, I bring forth great tidings." Garland paused, gazing at the first voice. "Sephiroth. You say we do not have an army. Allow me to...correct you on that statement." Garland and the others strode towards the edge of the Altar of Naught, gazing down upon the shining horde amassed at the base of the castle, effortlessly slaughtering both the few Nobodies that remained on this world and the few Heartless that Maleficent had left.
"Hey, hey, hey! What's the big idea? Why are these things destroying all our Heartless?!" Pete pointed an accusatory finger at the knight.
"Garland..." Maleficent's voice was trembling with barely contained fury, eager to explode. "What is the meaning of this?"
Garland remained calm under the numerous stares sent his way, ranging from intrigued to judging. "The Heartless are powerful, My Lady. This much is true. However, there is always the risk of one's heart being too weak and the Heartless feasting upon it. A single one of these beings is stronger than a hundred Shadows, and much more durable than them." He chuckled. "It also helps that one does not run the risk of having one's heart devoured by them. They are utterly loyal to us, and only us."
An eighth voice spoke, one that had been silent until now. "These creatures of crystal...do they have a name?"
Garland turned to the eight figure. Garland did not trust this man. True, he clad himself in shadow, but Garland wondered if he had a soft spot in him still. "Indeed they do, Golbez. They are called Manikins. They, along with the Risen, shall be the bulk of our new army."
Author's Notes: And there you have it. Maleficent has a new ensemble of bickering villains working with her. Hopefully these ones shall be more competent for her than last time. I was actually considering adding Caius Ballad into the mix, but I changed my mind at the last minute. He's already over-powered enough as it is.
Feel free to place your bets on who the others are, and who shall end up working with whom!