.Hack//LOST (PART C)--PROMISE

[The-Missing-Spade]

Indigo sat quietly for a while longer. She pondered about what Sauna's character had told her when she finally met him. Before the white portal closed he told her to believe. Then afterwards, when she had visited Sauna's actual body in the hospital she heard the same words come out of his mouth. Although, she still felt a little uncertain about that. There couldn't really be a connection, at least, not one that made any sense.

Suddendly she found herself broken off from her thought as she heard the familiar voice of Kyo, who seemed to have found her somehow. She lifted her face to make sure it was him within the darkness. "Hey Indigo, whats up? Long time no see, huh." Kyo said as he approached her. Indigo stood up from the crate and gently jumped to the ground. She smiled at him for a moment and then placed her hands on her hips.
"Good afternoon, Kyo." She said softly. "H-how did you know I was here?"
He starred back at her as if not wishing to respond, something Indigo had acustomed herself to accept. She simply continued smiling and then released her arms. At that moment, another familair voice echoed across the alley. Indigo recognized it as Yoshikuni's. Indigo greeted him as well as he approached her.

There was a temporary silence around the alley as Indigo wondered whether to tell Yoshikuni and Kyo what she had experienced. However she feared they might think she had finally lost it after everything, and so simply looked away and then turned around. She faced the brick wall in front of her as she prepared to speak.
"Well. . .I visisted Sauna yesturday again. But, there doesn't seem to be any improvement in his condition." She could feel her heart pounding on her chest as she spoke, still hearing Sauna's words ring like bells across her consience. Then as she was to continue, she turned around and saw the appearance of a third character in the distance, behind Yoshikuni and Kyo. He walked into the end of the alley and met with them, asking if we knew where to find a player named Yoshpetos. Indigo instantly forgot what she was gonna say and approached the newcomer.

"I-I'm sorry. I don't believe I know where such a player can be found." She said in her usual soft tone, almost depressing in a way. She began to wonder why someone would ask a couple of strangers hiden in an alley for another person. Perhaps it was because that person, Yoshpetos, frequented this same spot, she thought. "Well I'm sure if his from around here he will come back." She continued. "If you'd prefer we can leave, if this is your usual spot." She suggested, feeling akward at the moment.

[hollow44]

"haha hi everyone!" keith shouted as he ran toward the group with a big grin on his face.. "haha sorry i'm late? but hey! newcomer! what's ur name? I'm keith! okay? and i'm officially indigo's number one guardian!" then keith stared at the guy's strange marking.. which made keith a bit nervous.."uhhh.. those marking are pretty cool.. haha" then keith felt silent since the guy looked pretty serious...

[AiperonOfLight]

"Hi there keith!" Yoshikuni turned his attention to the character, Shirai who had asked about someone named Yoshpetos. "Yoshpetos? Hm.. that name rings a bell. Is he a friend of yours, Shirai?"

[The-Missing-Spade]

The conversation came to an unexpected hault once everyone heard the voice of Keith coming at them. By this time Indigo was surprised everyone knew where she had been the entire time, that or everyone had found her by mere coincidence. She happily bowed towards Keith and said hello as she did so. Afterwards, she turned towards the player and for first time noticed his dark marks all around his character's skin. Keith pointing it out sooner also help. She took a step forward and examined the steams of black that seemed to have crawled all over his character. Intrigued, and interested she stood upright and looked at Shirai suspeciously.

"Those markings. You must have obtained them at an event, correct?" She asked. "I don't recall them listed in the game's original item list."
Indigo liked to check the game's item list once in a while, being located in [The World]'s official website. She was able to obtain her rare "ThirdDrill" Twin Blades by checking the list and having realized it was updated with new items and weapons.

[nobodyknows]

Shirai looked at Indigo and Keith suggestively, then sighed,"I honestly have no idea what they are. they're not an item, so I can't seem to remove them..." he sighed again,"and they seem to pulsate when I get near data interferences.. almost as if there's something inside me, slowly waking from a deep slumber, feeding off of loose strands of data.." he chuckled slightly, then sighed again,"all that I'm sure of is that these markings aren't just markings.. and in terms of how I got them.. I encountered a monster not too long ago that wasn't listed in the official database. it looked kind of like a human, and its eyes were redish, but it moved like no monster I've ever fought.. almost as if it wasn't bound by the World's limitations. After killing it, I suddenly lost conscience for about a minute, and when I woke up, these markings were covering my body.."

Shirai then paused, turning to face Yoshikuni after hearing what he said,"you might say we're.. acquaintances.. friends only on a basis of information excahange. He's currently searching the world for the strange creature I fought, thinking that it might benefit him in the future.." Shirai put his hands behind his head and looked up,"but I haven't heard from him for about five weeks.. and it says he's still online..."

[hollow44]

"hmmm... hey indigo.. don't u think Sauna and Yoshpetos are connected in some ways?" keith suddenly blurted out...."hey what u say Shirai? maybe u and indigo can help each other since u're all looking for someone"

[nobodyknows]

Sihrai looked confused,"Sauna? never heard of him before..." he looked up into the sky,"but if Yoshpetos' dissapearance has something to do with him.." he looked strangely pumped,"I'll have to go with you anyway.." he sighed, turning round to face the others with a grin on his face,"who knows.. maybe you'll run into that monster! that in itself is a good reason for me to tag along with ya.." he continued to grin widely, completely unaware of the shadow sitting just out of sight from the group, further into the darkness of the alleyway...

[kai the pkk]

Kyo: { leaning against the wall and then just snaps} can we just go somewhere and do something this sucks we should look for Sauna or yosheptos or whatever were not making any progress just sitting here he looks over his shoulder and catches a glimpse of the person watching them} * who the hell is tthat* { he looks back atr indigo and the others} well no need to worry the legendary kyo treasure hunter is with you ahahahahaha ahh screw it whats the point lets go

[AiperonOfLight]

"Hmm...
I know an interesting area...much like that monster, it shouldn't exist. Well what do you say? Should we go to Δ Hidden Forbidden Radiation? It's an area I am quite fond of. One of the lost grounds." Yoshikuni hoped that Indigo and the others would like the idea. "It's better than sitting around here wasting what little time we have and waiting for any leads. Besides, like I said before, perhaps Sauna's..." Yoshikuni looked at Shirai. "...Condition has something to do with other things that shouldn't exist."

[The-Missing-Spade]

Indigo felt the hairs on her neck stand as she heard Shirai talk about Yoshpeto's sudden dissapearance. When comparing both Sauna's character appearing in the game despite the fact that his ill in the real world, and Shirai's friend no longer in sight and yet online, they both seemed similar. However the possibility that both events were actually associated with one another in some way was still to low. Not enough to make an accurate assumption.

She crossed her arms and thought about the circumstances of each player, trying to make any sense of it. Finally she released her arms and looked directly at Shirai.
"I don't mean to sound rude, or blunt, but maybe your friend might be trying to avoid you somehow. I mean, if his character is still logged into the game than it must be somewhere here." She said. "In my little brother's case, his character is off-line...but I keep receiving messages from him despite that. And...despite the fact his actually in a hospital at the moment."

As she finished she heard Kyo's complaint about not doing anything and just standing around. Perhaps he was right, Indigo thought as she glanced at him. She could feel herself feeling a little anxious to continue finding Sauna. But the only problem was that she no longer had any leads. After all, Sauna's game character hadn't messaged her at all after the battle inside the Outer Dungeon. Having no where to search Yoshikuni suddenly suggested to accompany him to a Lost Ground.

Indigo felt a little uneasy at first wondering how visiting such a place would help, but she considered the possibility of receiving another message so she nodded in agreement facing Yoshikuni. "Okay, I guess I can go." She said. Then she turned and looked at Shirai, thinking about his friend.
"Interesting things have occured to us in these last days. Perhaps if you stick around, you might learn something." She said softly. "But I will tell something. What ever is occuring in this game, isn't something we should take for granted."

[nobodyknows]

Shirai smiled slightly, then nodded his head as if he'd decided on a course of action,"okay.. I'll go with you guys. there's definitely a chance that sauna's dissapearance may be linked to yoshpetos', but then.. what exactly was the pitch black creature that I encountered not too long ago? I've heard the rumors about that weird, black goo appearing off of dead monsters... but this thing was nothing like it. when I killed it, the thing that shot out was more like a-a vine..." he shivered slightly,"a thorny, shadowy vine."

[AiperonOfLight]

"Pitch-black??" Yoshikuni shot a nervous look at indigo. "The black mass? Like the one we encountered several times before? I wonder if by killing this monster ...you became part of the black mass?" Shirai seemed confused. "The black mass seems to be an anomoly that keeps on appearing as we search for any links to Sauna's condition. So, one would assume that it is somehow related. But by assuming we cannot be entirely sure. Shirai in what area did you encounter this monster?"

[The-Missing-Spade]

After Yoshikuni mentioned it, Indigo realized perhaps Shirai was speaking about the same type of anomaly they had encountered. The "black mass" that had appeared after they destroyed that sheep monster in the first temple, and then the black bubbles that came out of the King Chim Chim's head looked very similar. When you combined these incidents with the rumors about "goo" coming out of monsters in the game there was definetly some type of connection. But it did not establish a valid link between Yoshpeto's and Sauna's situation.

"Those dark vines you have on your character." Indigo said. "They were originally inside the monster you fought, correct? Well, considering everything that has occured it feels wrong to say it might have been some type of event monster. I mean, whatever we encountered in the beginning certaintly looked as though it could shift it's appearance." She said; implying he may have encountered the same thing only at a much smaller size.

Indigo looked away for a moment, feeling dreadful about the entire idea. Could it be that the "black mass" was actually connected to their dissapearance?

She stood for a moment, wondering if Yoshikuni was going to lead the group to their new destination, the Lost Ground.

[kai the pkk]

KYo: { stays silent for most of the conversation} Indigo stop worrying it will all work out in the end and wwho cares its jusat a monster maybe stronger but if you gus r gonna wuss out and **** about how dangerous or scared you or thinking you cant do it then I'll find them myself its better thought thats to much work so get off your ass! and do something!

[AiperonOfLight]

"I aggree, lets start off to the Archae Koeln Waterfall." Yoshikuni smiled. He started walking towards the chaos gate with the others close behind. He formed a party and entered the keywords.

>>Δ Hidden Forbidden Radiation
The sprawling golden water trickled of ruined peaks of what, at one point, may have resembled a city. Yoshikuni hoped that here they would be able to talk, with no eavesdroppers.

[nobodyknows]

Shirai followed Yoshikuni into the lost ground, looking as though his boredom had peaked, then there was a fuzz over the area as a pitch-dark, bird like creature suddenly flew over his head. his markings acted up, then he fell to the floor, trying to keep a grip on himself,"I knew it.. I'm more unsafe here than anywhere else.. but as long as there's no unwanted human attention.." he shakily stood up,"then It should be the best possible place we can go to in order to discuss the current events..."

[hollow44]

"wow.. this place is amazing!" keith stared at the sparkling waterfall...then suddenly a large shadow flew over.."u okay? Shirai?" keith watched shirai fell to the floor.. "hmmm.. Yoshikuni i don't think going here is such a good idea.. i mean..." keith gave a worried look..

[The-Missing-Spade]

Indigo paused for a while, looking around and noticing just how beautiful the setting for the Lost Ground was. All around them there were several water falls and statues of perhaps diety's were placed below the wall surrounding the area. The sky seemed a dull gold color, and as she starred up she caught a glimpse of a dark bird-like creature. However, as soon as Shirai hit the floor in some type of pain she turned and looked at him.
"Oh no. Are you alright?" She asked him, standing besides Keith who was just as concerned.

"Do those black vines occasionally bring you pain?" She asked, noticing how the vines pulsed across his body.
"Just what in the world are they?" She thought to herself.

[nobodyknows]

Shirai struggled to regain his balance,"you could say that... it's like these vines inject me with poison every-time one of those 'things' gets near me.." he pointed at the bird, which seemed to morph into the area level as he spoke. He sighed, the stretched his arm out, before slasing it with his own sword. no blood came out, and the vines on his arm receeded,"it's annoying as hell trying to 'deal with it', so I have my own methods.."

[The-Missing-Spade]

Indigo stood quiet for a moment, thinking how hard it must be for Shirai do deal with it by himself. She sighed and turned around then, having decided it was best not to ask anymore questions. "I guess we all sort of, find ways of dealing with things..." She whispered to herself; Shirai seemed to have heard as he gave her a puzzled look. Indigo knew she wasn't exactly keeping her situation "under control". Saying something like that just made her feel ashamed of her behavior; getting her emotions get the best of her.

>>>...

>>>...

>>> ? ? ? // ? ? ?
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BGM: .Hack// GU Trilogy OST (Sad Smile)


There was this beating noise echoing everywhere in the darkness. The more he heard it then more it sounded like the pounding of a beating heart. But then, slowly, it began to fade away and all that was left was the darkness. The boy slowly opened his eyes and saw the color of white take over. He stood up and looked around, noticing that everything in this space was white. But he wasn't alone. Ten feet away from where he lay, nearly awoken, there was a strange old woman with incredibly long white and pale hair. The boy could see several wrinkles in her skin on her face, and her eyes seemed shut; her mouth as well. The old lady sat on a large wodden chair with a golden-colored book placed on her lap. The book was opened, but the page she was on was blank.

The boy slowly stood up, feeling exhausted as he did so. He looked at the old lady then, feeling dissapointed.

"You saw her, did you not?" The old lady asked, her voice resonating everywhere. "Your sister, In-di-go."
The boy's eyes lit up but his mouth curved into a frown, he tied his hands behind him and looked away.
"Yes. I did see her. But. . .she didn't believe it was me." He replied, closing his eyes. "I knew she wasn't going to."

"You must be patient, young boy. . .Sauna." She said. "For the first time since you found me she has finally seen you. Although the path you took was blocked, you found a path non the less." The old lady lifted her head and her arm at the same time, pointing towards Sauna. "You have made contact." She said, her hands trempling and fragile.
Sauna's frown turned into a temporary smile then, releasing his hands from his back and taking hold of them once more in front of his chest.
"Your right. Maybe next time i'll find a path that could lead me back to [The World]. Then I can meet my sister and make her belive me..."

The old lady smiled then, and lowered her hand.
"But you must keep your guard." She said. "The shadows that lurk outside this room know you tread their paths. They will be looking for you."

"I know. Its because of those monsters that I havn't been able to find a right path back to the other world." Sauna replied, glutching his fists.
"But I'm not giving up...I've had another dream. I told my sister to come to a certain area. I found a path that took me to that field not to long ago, but it was also blocked. However, if I can see her once more...I think she'll understand."

The old lady smiled then.

>>>....

>>>...

>>> [The World]// Hidden Forbidden Radiation //

As Indigo wondered what else to do, she suddenly saw the message notice on the upper right corner of her screen lit up.
Instantly she felt a surge of excitment flow through her as she opened the message and saw that it had come from Sauna. This time however, she had actually received a message from him while logged in to the game, but as she looked at Sauna's online status it reported that he had not been online at all. This made her feel even more confused.
"How is this possible? How can you send a message without being logged in?" She thought.

"Guys, I just received another message. It's from Sauna." She said. "According to the message he will be awaiting our arrival at [Obstructed Leading Gate] soon." She stood quiet for a moment. "Looks like we got another lead."

"Is anyone going to come?" She asked.