dothackers.net

Hello, all! This is my first post, and because this is technically creative writing and not fanart, I'm plugging my .Hack FanFiction here. Might also post it here, too, if you want.

ANYWAY. Here's the sitch (and the pitch, too).

.Hack//SEEKERS is a post-G.U. fiction taking place in 'The World R:2'. In it, the Guild 'Seekers' are searching for the mysterious Xth Form, and their only lead is the possessor of this form, Haseo. However, with his status as a Chaotic PK still very much intact, Kalma cannot do much until a new player, Lykala, enters the scene. Following a startling discovery, Kalma realises that finding the Xth Form may take them far deeper into 'The World's history than they ever imagined!

There is an entirely new cast of characters, as well as pretty much all of the old ones - and both are as important as each other! I have a large host of fanfictions under my belt, so this isn't going to be your Mary-Sue-OC-and-Romance-Filled Fiction. No. This is an epic (and I don't mean quality, I mean genre). The story is planned to carry over a few sagas, each spanning a stage in 'Seekers' journey.

The first, 'Chasing Rumours', is available here! Or, if you'd like, I can also post it on here. Let me know what you think through the poll and/or through replies for more detailed responses.

Anywho, this is Chaosbahamut123 signing out. I hope you enjoy .Hack//SEEKERS if you read it on LiveJournal, and I hope you give me the opportunity to share it here, too!

Bye for now!

I can think of no reason to discourage it. So please, go right ahead and post it.

(A/N: Okay! This fiction doesn't work in chapters - it works on Area Codes. Thus, sometimes entries will be a little shorter or a little longer. This is the prologue and the first entry - enjoy!

Σ Ignorant Discord's Fate:
"So... You're 'Broken Blood Kalma'."

With heavy, pain-laboured breaths, the silver-haired Tribal Grappler glared up at his adversaries. The larger of the two, scythe shouldered, wore a smug grin that spoke volumes about his present satisfaction. His partner, however, was far more difficult to read. "I expected more from a Chaotic PK, to be frank with you."
Broken Blood Kalma spat and stood upright, as best as he could. "PKK?"
"Damn straight. People like me put people like you in their place." the scythe disappeared in a flash of green. "But, I can tell that you're not at all focussed today, so I'll be nice and let you slide."
His partner's fans also disappeared, but Kalma was more than aware of her ability to fight without them. "I don't need to focus." said he, sighing. "It seems my title precedes me."
"Huh? What the heck're you spouting now?" the scythe-wielder rounded on the Tribal Grappler, squared up to him. His height meant that Kalma had to look up just to meet his eye. "Don't make me change my mind, you pathetic PK."
"I'm not a PK." whispered Kalma, cool in the face of this man's fury. "Not anymore."
"Faltion, we're wasting time with him." said the girl. "Let's just head home and find a dungeon or something."
The scythe-wielder - Faltion, Kalma presumed - ignored his partner. "What d'you mean, 'not anymore'?"
"Exactly that." Kalma explained. "My status as a Chaotic PK is no more. I'm still blacklisted, but I've given up the title of 'Broken Blood Kalma'."

The area around them seemed shocked into silence. The trees fell still, the ambient music seemed quieter. Even the Chaos Gate, humming ethereally in the distance, seemed to slow its rotations and lose its glow. "You've given up PKing." Faltion laughed, thorough disbelief and sarcasm dripping from his voice. "Like I'd believe that! Why would a Chaotic PK give up PKing?"
He paused, then crossed his arms and met Faltion's eyes. Purple glinted mysteriously. "Have you ever heard of 'Xth Form'?"

Δ Eternal City Mac Anu:

"Get up!" jeered one voice, racked with derisive laughter.
"Ha! Like he's gonna get up after that!" answered another. "Was Scarlet Thrust really necessary?"
"As always, no. But the look on that guy's face was priceless!" face down in the dirt, Lykala's HP meter flashed red; completely empty.
The option to return to the Root Town was all too tempting. "Hey, why don't you revive him so we can do it again?"
"Sounds like fun! Just give me a moment to- Aww, he disappeared."
"Pathetic noobs... Always run away when you kick them in the teeth. No wonder they're so skittish nowadays!"
"Haha! I hear ya. Let's see if we can find him in the Root Town!

====================================================================================

Lykala's fist hit the wall. Hard. If it were real life, it would definitely have hurt him. But it wasn't. It was a game. A game in which he had just been slaughtered by PK's. How could he have trusted them, he thought angrily. Hitting the wall a few more times to pound the frustration out, eventually he curled up against it. This wasn't the way it was supposed to be. Lykala, wearing armour and a long travelling coat designed for famous travellers, shouldn't be curled up against a wall moping about how unfair it all was.

Yet there he was. In all his pathetic glory.

He was about to log out ten minutes after logging in, when a voice distracted him. "Hey there."
Lykala was instantly on guard. A player of reasonable level - much stronger than his level 1, at any rate - stood in front of him. She had the strangest hair colour - icy blue, streaked by purple, and her eyes were equally blue. He immediately noticed the lack of pupils. "What's got you down?"
Fuelled by his first ever interaction, Lykala averted his gaze. "Nothing." he focussed on the man-made river that ran parallel to the alley he hid behind. Mac Anu, the city was in, was a place filled with water and steam technology created by humans. All new players, and even some old ones - PK's especially, so it seemed - hung around in this jewel of a town. Protected from monsters by an immese magical shield, absolutely no conflict came to the place. As such, the only assaults available were verbal ones. The woman laughed quietly, surprising Lykala. "I know that look. PKed?"
"Is it that easy to guess?" whispered he, crestfallen. "My first ever adventure, and I get PKed. Some game..."
"Hey, now. Don't get upset. So your luck wasn't all that great." she offered a brief smile, that curled incredibly pale lips up at the corners. Lykala didn't answer the gesture. "Why don't you come with me and I'll turn that luck around?"

He flinched. Was she a PK too? She certainly didn't seem all too menacing; but then again, neither had the first group. She wore predominantly cloth, in the form of a battle dress and long sleeves that completely covered her arms. The armour that covered her chest and feet was hardly menacing, and carried the same motif as the rest of her model; an icicle.
Deciding not to risk it, Lykala pushed his way past her. "No thanks."
She either wasn't used to rejection or just stubborn, but after a brief moment to compose herself, the woman gave chase. "Hey! Wait up!"
"I don't want help." Lykala snapped.
"I know, I know. You've made that clear!" she dashed ahead of him, span, and held out her hand. "But at least let me give you my member address, in case you change your mind."
He considered turning around, but she would most probably keep on harrassing him - further, the only thing back down the way he came was a dead end, so he'd have to face her again sooner or later. Lykala sighed, ran his fingers through his hair. "Don't hold your breath."
They exchanged member addresses, but as soon as that was done Lykala was out of there.

Mac Anu, as it turned out, was actually a fairly quiet place. As he wandered, he compared the atmosphere to that of an open-air market; players buzzing back and forth, bartering and exchanging whatever came to mind, be that tips, information or items. The harbour - there for purely aesthetic reasons, for the only mode of transport according to the manual was the Chaos Gate - appealed to him most. Due to the lack of anything there, the only players around were passing through or role-playing. He sat down to gather his thoughts, by the edge of the ocean.
Lykala contemplated what to do, gazing absently at his reflection. Chocolate brown eyes, and equally brown hair streaked by midnight blue stared back. His armour was light, more akin to a vest than anything else, and was a stark white compared to the dusty charcoal of his coat and trousers. Should he try an area by himself? That wasn't the best idea, considering his level and first job class as a Steam Gunner. He was an Adept Rogue, and wasn't certain of when his Extension Quest would come around.
That left him with one practical option; finding a party. Not that he wanted to - his first interaction was enough for him to shun any other form of it for a long time. However, it wasn't about wanting. He needed the party in order to survive.
"Well, look who it is!" yelled a voice that he instantly recognised. "Hey, over here! I found him!"
The PK's from before circled like vultures. The Lord Partizan crouched so that their eyes were level, though Lykala adamantly refused to look at him. "It's rude to leave a party without telling everyone, y'know."
"Yeah! And we were going to be nice and revive you!" giggled the other girl, tapping him with her foot; a harmless gesture, with no consequence, but one that annoyed Lykala nonetheless. "Awww, has the ickle Rogue lost his dummy?"
Silent treatment. Always worked with bullies, and that's all PK's were. "Hey, say something! We're being nice here!" the jeering laughter, however, clued him in on the already obvious lie.
"Don't bother trying to make him talk; he's probably AFK, crying like a baby." he was certainly not away from his keyboard. The laughter howled like the most annoying of insects.
"That's all the noobs do, eh? Cry, complain, whinge about how it's not fair."
Lykala's fists clenched. He wanted to hurt them, so badly. He'd had enough of their jeering, they'd killed him once already. Wasn't that enough? Didn't they have better things to do than kick a guy when he was down?

Obviously not, but his silent pleas were heard and answered. "Hey!"
The player from before rushed up to Lykala and squared up to the two PK's. He didn't acknowledge her, though; she was just fighting for her right to PK him, after all. "What do you think you're doing?"
"What does it look like?" the female PK smirked. "Being friendly to this little noob."
"Oh? Friendly, is that all?" replied she. "If you're being friendly, why have you been kicking him for the past minute or so?"
"Don't butt in!" scolded the Lord Partizan. "He doesn't mind it, do ya?"
Lykala averted his eyes and stared at the water's surface. The blue-haired woman spoke for him. "PKing may be alright, but verbal bullying is against the code of conduct for this game. So unless you want your asses reported to Moon Tree and some sys admins, I'd leave this guy alone."
"Ha! What would Moon Tree do?" the pair of PK's laughed, cocky. When Lykala looked up, he saw the woman's inconspicuous wink in his direction.
"Well, I'm sure Matsu would like to do something." the name - whoever Matsu was - struck a nerve with the PK's. They fell silent, eyes wide with shock.
"Y-you wouldn't dare report us to him!"
"Wouldn't I?" she cocked a daring eyebrow. "Try me and find out."

The thick tension between the three lasted for a painfully long moment, then the female PK snorted. "Hmph. We've got better things to do anyway. Let's go."
Two pairs of heavy footsteps signalled their retreat, causing Lykala to sigh with relief. However, a feather-light third pair, followed by the scuff of cloth on concrete, meant that he was now alone with another PK. "Phew! Those were the guys that PKed you before, I'm guessing."
"Great. Not only do I have normal PK's on my ass, I've now got a stalker PK, too." Lykala hissed through gritted teeth, bitter and harsh. The woman stared at him, confused.
"...Who, me? A PK?" there was a barely suppressed laugh, that did nothing to smoothe his frayed nerves. "I'm not a stalker, or a PK. I'm just a girl who wants to help a new player out. Is that a problem, or something?"
"How do I know you're not a PK?"
"I can show you my stats page, if you'd like. That's got my kill count on." said the woman, matter-of-factly. "But again, that's just my word and some text data, isn't it?"
Lykala didn't answer. Once again, the famous traveller he wanted be was just an illusion; instead, he was the same as ever. Isolated, alone, pathetic. The woman took his silence as a non-existant acceptance of defeat. "Come on. Join my party and I'll help you level up."
"I don't want to."
"Then you'll be stuck with level one and PK's for a long time. Especially as an Adept Rogue. It'll be fun! I'll keep my weapon to myself if it'll really help. Oh! I know!" she clapped her hands together, cheerily and triumphantly. "I'll give you my weapon! That way I can't attack you!"
"Huh? Why would you do that?" asked Lykala.
"Well, it's the only way you're going to accept that I'm not a PK, right?"
He sighed heavily and accepted defeat. He wasn't going to get rid of her any other way, than joining her party. So if she PKed him, big deal. He'd just know better for next time. Pulling up his friend list, the first two entries were filled by his first party members. The third was the woman sat next to him. Username; Glacies.

He swiftly deleted the first two, and sent an invite to the third.

This is a great start to fanfic! I loved how you describe everything so clearly and how each character's personality is said through their actions. Your writing style is really smooth and understandable!

Lykala sounds like your normal guy just trying to make his way in The World.(Both? xD) I'm really looking forward to the next part. This story sounds like a great next generation .hack World. Can't wait until you post again. ^_^

Δ Severe Swift Exile:

The Chaos Gate rippled, its rings faltering in their eternal cycles for a mere instant as their magics transported Glacies and Lykala to the field.
"Δ Severe Swift Exile..." he mumbled, taking in the shadowy caves and soft drip, drip of an implacable water flow. "Lovely name, in my opinion."
Glacies grinned. "It's a good way to keep the PK's at bay, if you choose a horrible sounding area. When they go after people just logging in, they'll choose friendly area names."
"You sure know a lot about it." Lykala said, still slightly suspicious on her motives.
"When you see it practically every day, you'll know a lot about it too." Glacies hovered by the entrance to the cave, beckoned with her hand. "Come on! Let's get started!"

She led him through the cave, Lykala marveling in the sheer detail of the slightest element. Water splashed in puddles around them, pooling occasionally at their feet. The drips echoed, bounced around and amplified the illusion of a drowned or subterranean cave. It was dark, the only lighting coming from small, eerily faint orbs of light that danced and circled the area like little lost sprites. "There!" hissed Glacies, gesturing to a group of three monsters. They circled a small shrine, diligently guarding whatever was inside the stained and water-rotted treasure box. "Monsters! See them?"
They were stout creatures, blue-skinned and lumbering with no real sense of spatial awareness. One would occasionally bump into another, or grunt in disdain as they stumbled on a pebble. A large hunk of wood swung carelessly in all of their hands, as impromptu weapons. "You know how to fight, right?"
"Yeah." Lykala nodded, keeping his distance. They could still gain the element of surprise, seeing as none of the three beasts had spotted the pair. "It shouldn't be too hard, so long as I can keep 'em away."
"Want me to hang back, so you can get used to it all?" he shook his head, analysing and estimating their probable speeds and strengths.
"I'm gonna need you to keep the heat off me. What job're you?"
"Edge Punisher." she said, hand unconsciously reaching up to where the hilt of her Broadsword would normally be.
"Right. So we should go for individual targets." he explained that he was a Steam Gunner, and that so long as the enemy was kept away from him, he could deal out hits unhindered. Glacies nodded silently, then edged over to the monsters. Lykala kept at a fair distance, gauging the maximum range.

She rushed forward, pulling her blade from out of a flash of green on her back. With a single hand and her momentum, the blade carved through the first beast. Her high level meant its instant demise.
Whilst the first monster faded into nothingness, a blue ring shot up around the two groups; a battle fence. Lykala was right up at the edge. With the battle theme ringing in his ears, he opened with a skill; "Thorn Shot!" he cried, leaping into the air. He unleashed a barrage of bullets. Each one pierced his target with punishing force.
The monster reeled, but didn't die. Looking at the HP Meter on his heads-up-display, that attack had only done a little bit of a damage. Luckily he had Glacies on his side. She leapt up into the air and delivered a whirlwind slice that finished the survivors off.
As quickly as the battle fence had appeared, it vanished in a flash of light. Experience points were allocated, Lykala getting the higher number because of his level. "Nice job!"
"Nice job? I didn't really do much..." she shouldered her blade so naturally. It was gargatuan, as tall as she was. It was sleek, and carried with it a cold air. Compared to his basic, level one weapon, it was incredibly impressive.
"Well, how about next time, you do the killing?" Glacies offered. "Other encounters aside, we've got at least two more groups to deal with."
"Huh? How are you so sure?" she directed his attention to the chest. He opened it with the expectation of getting an item, but instead was rewarded with a key item; a Symbol Fragment. "What's this?"
"Symbol Fragments are needed to get to the Beast Statue at the bottom. There's three for each area, so that means at least two more encounters. Come on!"

They worked their way through the dungeon's first floor, exploring every nook and tackling every enemy. Before long, Lykala's confidence in Glacies had increased dramatically. He was certain that she wouldn't PK him - she would have done it by now, he assumed. A smile touched his features; his first friend in 'The World'. "Hey, Glacies..." he whispered, whilst she used a Health Drink on him to restore some HP. "Why're there so many PK's about, anyway?"
"Huh?" she paused and thought about it, scratching her head. "I'm not sure, to be quite honest with you. I only joined a few months ago. You'd have to speak to a vet player to find out."
"Vet player?"
"A veteran. Someone who's been around from either the start, or at least a year or so." she giggled. "They're pretty easy to come by. Not many people stop playing 'The World'."
"I see..." he glanced at his Bayonet, twirled it absently with skill he knew he didn't have in real life. Glacies watched him for a second, then nodded approvingly.
"You've really settled down, now. I'm glad."
"Yeah, well, I've not seen any PK's around and you're a nice gal." he shrugged and put his weapon away. "Come on. Let's get this dungeon done."

Finding the second and third Symbol Fragments meant traversing all three levels of the cave. As they descended, the area became more and more water-logged. The enemies got stronger, too. By the time they had reached a large, ornately designed door on the third level, Lykala's level had shot up from one to six. "Remind me to get you some new equipment, when we get back to town." Glacies said, patting his shoulder. "You did good! All that's left is to open the door and collect the treasure."
Targetting the door automatically locked the Symbol Fragments into place. The door itself looked incredibly out of place - bright gold locked into dull, black, moist stone. With a rumble and a shower of debris, the gateway shuddered, slid back to reveal a giant shrine room of sorts. "Well, here we are!" Glacies exclaimed, leading him up to the altar. "That there's the Beast Statue."
Lykala looked up at the grand, wizened figure. Its meditative position was both awe-inspiring and terrifying, thanks to its looming gaze and tusked mouth. "Folset, the God of Law." he whispered.
"Huh? Folset?"
"Yeah. Folset guards the Morrigu Barrow Wall." Lykala recited. "Only those who are worthy are allowed past, into the City of Dawn Airceltrai." he glanced across to Glacies, who stared blankly at him. "The realm of this world's gods."
"How... the heck did you know that?"
"I spent a little while studying the lore of this game, like I always do." he gestured to the treasure chests. "Maybe these offerings are like bribes, trying to pay their way into heaven."
"Maybe. I just call 'em Beast Statues, 'cuz its easier." she laughed, and let him open the pristine chest. After receiving the item, the statue of Folset shivered, then vanished in a flash of blue. "I'm impressed, though. I'd never expect a new player to know so much about 'The World'."
"That's what I get for having to wait in high school after buying it." Lykala laughed to himself. "That was torture."
They laughed, but it was cut short by a second rumbling; the door was opening again. Lykala turned and spotted three players; the center of which by far the most terrifying. "More players?"
Glacies recognised the middle one, stepped in front of him in a flash. "That's... no way. What's he doing here?"
"Huh? He? Glacies, what's go-"
"Lykala, don't say a word." she said, far more terse than she had been before. "Just trust me, and do what I say, and you'll be alright."
"Would you mind telling me what the hell is going on?" the other party's pace was slow, and their members looked like they were discussing something. Drawing her Broadsword, she afforded him an exceedingly brief explanation.
"That man in the middle's a Chaotic PK - the worst of the worst. He's known as Broken Blood Kalma!"
"Broken... Blood?" they were almost in front of Glacies and Lykala now. She raised her weapon and, with a fierce cry, charged.
The leftmost party member - a giant of a man - reacted with a quick burst of speed. A scythe appeared out of nowhere and blocked her attack. "Huh?! A PK?" he grunted, shoved Glacies back towards a baffled Lykala. "Looks like there's a vermin infestation. Lemme take care of them."
He stepped forward, neither of the other members stopping him. Glacies backed away, placing herself between Lykala and the man. That caused him to pause, then realise why she had attacked so violently. Confused, Lykala decided it was best to stay silent. "Protecting a newbie, eh? Fair enough."
The scythe vanished and the man extended his hand. Glacies didn't trust him; her hands tensed around the Broadsword, so much so that it trembled violently. "Relax! If we were PK's, you'd all be dead by now."
"He is a PK, though!" her pupiless eyes fixed on Broken Blood Kalma, who seemed completely unfazed by the accusation. "And a Chaotic PK, at that!"
"My reputation precedes me, as usual." he spoke in a calm voice, world-weary. Lykala edged around his friend, allowing him a better look at Broken Blood Kalma. Black leather and heavy belts, along with a lightly armoured jacket, gave the impression of someone particularly dark. His eyes were a mystery, shrouded by silver hair. "You can relax. I gave up PKing a long time ago."
Her Broadsword stopped trembling, but Glacies kept it pointed straight at Kalma. In the face of such an ardent player, he simply shrugged. "Like you could do anything to stop me, anyway. Put the weapon away, please."
"Not until you tell me what a level 125 is doing in a level 1 area." she demanded, but when Kalma said nothing she complied with his request.
"We're searching." said Kalma, simply. The tallest of the group, the scythe-wielder, shot a surprised look at him.
"Kalma, is it really such a good idea to-"
"Tell them our intentions? Why not, Faltion?" the smile was friendly, but without eyes to secure those feelings Lykala was wholly unsure of the gesture. He edged behind Glacies. "It's not like three people alone will be able to do what we're planning."
"He's right." said the third member of his party - a woman dressed in similar clothes to Kalma. However, she wore chains that coiled around her waist and right leg, all the way down to her boot. She carried an air of secretive confidence, wholly different to the fiery and cool temperaments of her allies. "We could use the help."
"Of a newbie and his guardian? Seriously?" Faltion threw his arms up, when neither Kalma nor the other woman gave him a verbal response. "Fine, fine!"
"Sorry, but what's going on now?" asked Glacies, as confused as Lykala.
"If you're interested, come to the harbor at Mac Anu." Kalma instructed. "We'll talk there."

@HOME 'Seekers'
Kalma led the group along a narrow alleyway in Mac Anu. Faltion and his other partner, Michiru, took it easy and absently discussed things. The other two - the female of the pair introducing herself as Glacies, and the new player as Lykala - were a little more hesitant. That much was understandable, he mused; after all, had they met only a hand of weeks ago, he would have PKed them both without so much as a second thought. However, things were now different. He was no longer Broken Blood Kalma.
Shaking that image for the rest of 'The World', though, would be an infinitely more difficult task. Kalma fell back into step with Lykala; Glacies instinctively, inconspicuously edged between them. "Don't you trust me?" he said, not in the least surprised by her protective nature.
"Not in the slightest." replied Glacies, firmly. "I don't believe that you've dropped your title as a Chaotic PK."
"Huh. You seem to know my blacklist." he whispered. "So tell me, Glacies, what did the bounty say about my Modus Operandi?"
"You... like to travel alone and take out full parties. The stronger the party, the more likely you'd target them." she recalled, with some difficulty.
"Precisely. I am not alone, and you are neither a full party, nor are you particularly powerful." Kalma stated, staring at Faltion's back. "So why would I PK you in the first place, when there are more challenging targets around?"
"Uh..."
"People so often forget what others really are, just like you lumped me in with a culture I have decidedly abandoned." Glacies hung her head, ashamed. "You would do well to remember that each member is an individual."
"Yo, Kalma." Faltion called, "We're here."
"Here?" Lykala spoke, for the first time since meeting Kalma. His voice was tremulous and guarded, not entirely trusting of anyone. "Where's here?"
"Our Guild's @HOME." he sent them both an item; the Guild's key. "You're not members, but with that, you can access our headquarters."
"Why go to all this trouble just to chat with us?" asked Lykala. "Couldn't you have done it in the area we were in before?"
"It's not something to talk about, when people can overhear you." Michiru answered, hands on her hips. With each movements, the chains she wore chimed quietly. She vanished into the @HOME, swiftly followed by Faltion.
"You can turn away, if you want." Kalma explained, looking at Lykala in particular. "I can understand if you don't want to get involved in something like this."
"Something like what? I don't even understand what it is!" he replied, slightly frustrated. Glacies placed a calming hand on his shoulder. He sighed. "Whatever Glacies' doing, I'll do. I'd rather not wander around alone and get caught by more PK's."
"Fair enough." Glacies nodded to Kalma, who led them inside.

The @HOME was fairly spacious, containing little more than a few chairs and a stack of crates in the corner. Faltion sprawled out on the largest of the furniture pieces, eyes closed and apparently stealing a quick snooze. Michiru perched on the end of one of the crates.
In the middle of the room, stood a curiously dressed baby pig. At least, that was what the initial impression was for Lykala, who promptly voiced it. "What's with the pig?"
In angered response, the creature howled and leapt at Lykala, only to be caught by the tail. Kalma let it dangle as it raged loudly. "I'm not a PIG, moko! I'm a Grunty, moko!"
"A... Grunty Moko?"
Glacies laughed, relaxing slightly. "Grunties are magical spirits that watch over Guild @HOME's. They're like automatic managers."
"That's right, moko!" squealed the Grunty. "I'm Broken Grunty, moko! Don't you dare forget it, moko!" Broken Grunty had almost completely forgotten that it was currently upside-down; remembering it now, it looked pleadingly up at Kalma. "Please let me down, Guild Master... I'm getting nauseous, moko."
Kalma dropped him without due consideration. He hit the floor with a resounding crash, but was instantly on his feet and dusting himself off. Put next to him, Broken Grunty dressed very similar to Kalma, right down to tiny little carmine gauntlets. "Welcome to our Guild, guys!" Faltion yelled, not moving an inch from his sofa.
"Yeah. Welcome to 'Seekers'." Kalma added, with a brief smile.
"'Seekers'?" asked Glacies. "What're you seeking?"
All three guild members exchanged a brief glance, nodded in unison. Then Michiru began to explain, from her perch. "Recently, rumours have been going around the BBS and in-game about a player with a new kind of Job Class. Since he's an Adept Rogue, no-one's quite sure how he got the extension."
"But, anyway." Faltion interjected. "Players're calling it 'Xth Form', and that's what we're seeking."
"Xth Form... sounds powerful, right?" Kalma whispered. "We're like rare hunters, except what we're looking for isn't an item, it's a job class."
Glacies nodded her understanding; Lykala, on the other hand, was completely lost. Whilst they conversed, he busied himself with talking to Broken Grunty. "So, why are you keeping this under wraps?" she asked.
"Being rare hunters, we want to get there first." Faltion grinned. "Nah. A lot of people aren't bothered by it, so we're just keeping it that way."
"I'm not even sure we can get it." Kalma added. "But it's worth a try, in my opinion."
"I see..." Glacies looked across to Lykala. The conversation with Broken Grunty had failed, so instead he just looked at the @HOME in mild wonder. "I don't know about joining. I mean, Lykala... well, this is his first login, so he's still new to everything."
"We won't be hauling you off on missions and to high-level areas, don't worry." Faltion assured, the tension from before forgotten. "But five pairs of hands is definitely better than three."
"That, and there are some places low-levels can get to without attracting too much unwanted attention." Kalma said, with a humoured smile. "More than a few people are still after my bounty, as you can probably guess."
"Sounds fun." Lykala added, to Glacies' surprise. She looked at him and found excitement in his normally defensive eyes. "I'm in, if Glacies is."
She giggled and shook her head; looking for her permission with everything, she mused. "Sure, I'm game. Let us know when we can help."
"You can help right now, actually." Faltion explained, jumping at the opportunity. "We know the screen name of the player who has this job class, but we're not sure where or who he is, precisely. Maybe you could go and find him?"
"Sure! What's his name?"
"Haseo." Michiru informed them. "He's gotta be a high level, so check the other servers."
"Oh! You don't know Haseo?" there was a brief pause, in which all eyes turned on Glacies. "Um... he's leader of the newbie-support guild? Canard? I've never met him personally, but he's pretty well thought of."
"Canard, eh..." Lykala had returned to talking to Broken Grunty; even though the latter was still offended by the 'pig' remark. "I guess that makes it harder for us to get there, as well."
"Well, that's good for us then!" Glacies exclaimed. "I can drop Lykala off and see if they'll help out, and try and talk to Haseo whilst we're there."
"Brilliant!" Faltion grinned and punched the air. "There you go then! Your first assignment!"

Δ Blurry Obsessive Slacker:

"Are you sure it's okay?" asked Glacies for the umpteenth time, as Lykala looked around the area. "Faltion did offer to help you level up."
"It's fine, really." he replied. "I've got some new equipment, thanks to you, so I should manage." they had agreed to let him level up a little more before heading to Canard, but Glacies had realised how late it was, not long after warping to Δ Blurry Obsessive Slacker. As if to demonstrate his thoughts, she released a huge yawn and sighed.
"I'll make it up to you tomorrow. Catch you then!" she wandered up to the Chaos Gate and teleported out of the area.
Lykala crossed his arms and looked out. A small chain of islands, linked by wooden bridges, held Symbol Fragments and a Beast Statue. That much he could tell from the area information. What he couldn't tell from that screen, however, was the detailed scenery surrounding him. Flowers shot up eagerly from the grass, drinking the spotless sunlight and wafting lazily in a breeze that blew in from the islands' east coasts. Birds dotted the grass, pecking and searching for nourishment of some description.

Lykala drew his Bayonet and shouldered it, taking in the new weapon's sleek design and heavy blade. He wondered if any PK's were about and - if there were - how he would get away from them. Without Glacies' protection, he was incredibly vulnerable; and knew it. The isolation hit a familiar nerve and brought the smile he felt from before into a tiny frown. He was cautious in his first few steps, but when no PK's leapt out to strike him, he found his first group of monsters. They were smallish, blue lions. Manes of card-like protusions fanned out around their neck. He took careful aim, fired. Watched as the battle fence burst into existence.

And only barely noticed the spell that erupted around his feet. Water battered him, buffeted him around. It was a small hit, but left enough room for the second of the lions to rush Lykala. He couldn't block the flurry of blade-like fangs. This hit was much, much worse. He quickly downed a Health Drink, and prepared a skill of his own, but was interrupted. He stumbled to his feet; almost laughing at how quickly his words to Glacies had turned on him.

After an extensive battle, Lykala emerged victorious - but only barely. His supply of Health Drinks severely diminished, Lykala slipped past the rest of the groups, staking out a spot to recover and relax. A small field of flowers, bursting with colour, seemed viable. He dropped into the field, lay down, and sighed. "Man, that was unexpected..."
The sky was flawless and clear, white clouds drifting lazily across his field of vision. No particular shapes caught his eye; he wasn't one for cloud-watching. The weather was so different to the overcast night that he knew loomed outside of his window, and maybe that was why he particularly enjoyed it.
Safe from further attacks, Lykala considered his position. His first log in - not even hours after installing it - and he was part of a huge event that he didn't wholly understand. Xth Form, Seekers... they were just names to him. He didn't get the problem with Kalma; he seemed nice enough. Glacies was still wary, though. Perhaps he should be, too.
And he had joined a guild! Not officially, he corrected. Lykala only held the key to the @HOME. His job was to find the newbie-support guild, whatever they were called. He racked his brain for the name, but it escaped him. Thinking on it, though, Glacies knew it, so he didn't need to worry. They would find it tomorrow.
The thought of Glacies brought a smile to Lykala. She was kind, honest, and more than a little bit protective of him. He sensed a strong friendship blooming, and hoped that it wasn't just a one-time thing. With Glacies, he was safe from PK's. Safe to relax, be himself, and enjoy 'The World'.

A rustle caught his attention. He tilted his head. A pair of feet. Human feet.

Lykala sprang up and drew his Bayonet in one fluid in movement, lashing around to face the player sneaking up on him. She squealed and leapt back. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to startle you!"
His eyes were sharp and accusing, finger tensing on the trigger. The relaxation of a few minutes ago was completely forgotten. White stockings and a mantle resembling angel wings were completely non-threatening. The blonde hair and innocent green eyes were apolgetic and fearful. "I'm really sorry!"
"Who are you?" he demanded. "A PK?"
"A... a..." the woman shook her head fiercely. "No! Heavens no!"
Her passionate rebuttal caused Lykala to relax a little bit. The Bayonet's muzzle lowered a fraction. "I'm not! Honestly! I-I mean, I'm just a Harvest Cleric, so I couldn't do any damage, even if I wanted to..."
High-pitched and panicked, Lykala's accusing eyes failed utterly. His paranoia slipped. "I'm sorry... it's my first log in, and I'm a lil' wary."
He put the weapon away fully and sighed heavily. The girl sighed also, but with relief instead of frustration. "It's quite alright. I didn't mean to sneak up on you like that, so it's only natural." the girl giggled, "You seemed pretty relaxed, so I wasn't sure whether or not to disturb you."
He offered a brief half-smile, looking around to see if anyone else was nearby. No-one. "Some warning would've been nice..." he mumbled, but he shook his head and held his complaints. "You scared the bijebus out of me."
"I-I'm sorry." said the girl, for the umpteenth time. Lykala shouldered his Bayonet, and attempted to bring the topic away from their meeting, before it upset her more.
"You like it here?" he asked carefully. Immediately, the Harvest Cleric changed over; she smiled brightly.
"Oh, yes!" she exclaimed. "It's number fifteen in my top favourite places!"
"Fifteen, huh?" he mumbled. She must have been around a long time to have fifteen. "Out of how many?"
"Uhm..." there was a brief silence, in which her character stood absolutely still; presumably, her player was doing something away from the keyboard. "I have one hundred and thirty-two all together!"
Before he could stop himself, he expressed his surprise. "Th-that many?! How did you find them all?"
"Wandering, mostly." answered she, still smiling. "I like to take it easy."
"One hundred and thirty-two..." Lykala parroted. "What's in the top spot?"
"That would be... Θ Hidden Forbidden Virgin Peaks." she giggled, seeing his blank expression. "You won't have been there, if this is your first log in."
"I see." Lykala returned to a sitting position and - to his surprise - the Harvest Cleric joined him. "Um... not to sound rude, but, uh, who are you?"
"Oh! I never told you my name, did I? I'm Atoli."
"Atoli." whispered Lykala, nodding. "Nice name."
"Thank you! What's yours?"
"Lykala." he mumbled. "Not a very good name, mind. Just a spur of the moment thing..." in truth, he had spent hours thinking, but it all came to naught when that time was rewarded by a PK.
"You must have picked it because it was good, though." protested Atoli. "Otherwise your name wouldn't be Lykala, hmm?"
"Yeah, I guess so." watching the field dance aimlessly in the breeze, Lykala felt his nerves smooth over.
"You said this was your first log in, right?" asked Atoli, hugging her knees. "How are you finding 'The World'?"
Lykala considered the hours he had just spent playing; being PK'd, leveling with Glacies, speaking with Seekers about the mysterious Xth Form. He stared absently into the sky, with birds passing overhead and ambient music filling his ears; he almost forgot to answer Atoli's question. "It's... good. Finding it nice, to slow down if but for a moment."
A light, breathy noise joined the music; to his surprise, it was Atoli laughing. "S-something funny?" when she didn't stop, he grew defensive and edged away.
"I'm sorry!" she apologised, half-laughing. "I've just never heard someone else say that."
"What d'you mean?"
"Well, I spend a lot of time with new players." Atoli explained, drawing her knees up. "And most of them are only interested in leveling up and getting good equipment. They don't really care much for relaxing and enjoying this game, you know? So, to hear a new player say that is... nice, I guess." her smile became rueful, almost sad but not quite there. "Even some of my friends don't understand."
"It's good to stop once in a while." Lykala agreed, attempting to cheer her up. "If you're running all the time, you'll end up too tired to keep going, or trip up on your feet, right?"
"Right!"

Lykala stood up and drew his Bayonet again. His eyes locked on to a group of monsters nearby, circling a chest containing a Symbol Fragment. His conversation with Atoli had boosted his confidence somewhat, and he felt ready to try his luck once more. "I think it's high time I got back to running." he announced, to which Atoli nodded.
He was about to charge the enemy, when she called after him. "Hey, wait!" with a running speed slightly slower than most, Lykala had to wait for a little longer. "Do... do you want some help?"
"Help?"
"I'm a Harvest Cleric!" she smiled, twirling a brightly coloured staff. "So I can save you some Health Drinks with my spells. If you want, that is."
He glanced back at the monsters. They were mechanized brutes, swinging about on carelessly long and heavy forearms. Drill-like heads twirled and gave a sharp, threatening appearance to their conical bodies. The three of them would no doubt be a challenge, and an inventory check told him Atoli's help would definitely help him survive. However, he was still slightly wary of forming a party with anyone, outside of Glacies. "Um... Alright, then."
She sent him her member address. Checking it, he was surprised to see her level was only a little bit higher than Glacies; level 40, to be precise. "Wow. You don't spend a lot of time leveling, do you?"
"It's not why I play 'The World'" she admitted. "If you invest all your efforts into the numbers, you'd never notice the beauty all around you. My friend is always trying to get me to level up, but I don't enjoy it..."
Lykala toggled an invite to Atoli, and she accepted it. "I guess that's nothing to worry about. So long as you enjoy what you do, you should keep doing it."

Atoli's distraction had eliminated any chance Lykala had at earning a surprise attack, but it didn't matter; with her healing spells at hand, they soon fell into a rhythm of relaxed combat. Each battle was long, but never arduous - exciting, but never frustrating. Eventually, he forgot all about the fighting and took to walking with Atoli once more. She had a peculiar effect to her speech; a certain tone, or attitude, that disarmed Lykala and made him want to just slow down, instead of focus on leveling. "So, you deal with a lot of new players?"
"Yes! I work for a newbie-support guild, but most of the time our leader takes care of the new players. I just sit back and help out where I can."
A bell rang in his head, born from Faltion's words; a newbie-support guild. The one with a name he couldn't remember. Canod? Carnoodle? Something like that. "Newbie-support guild?"
"We give out advice and help, to give new players the skills they need to become top gamers in 'The World'. We're called 'Canard'!"
Canard! That was it! "Canard? As in, with Haseo as guild master Canard?"
"You've heard of us?" Atoli exclaimed. "Wow. I didn't think we were that famous! Where did you hear about us?"
Realising that saying the name of a wanted PKK - even if he had given up his name - was a bad idea, Lykala obeyed common sense and answered vaguely. "A friend. So you're a member?"
"Yes! And on that thought, why don't you join us?" Lykala eyed her curiously; her enthusiasm was slightly unnerving, but this was a fantastic opportunty to meet Haseo and ask him about Xth Form. "It's a great way to meet people, and our doors are always open! You can boost your levels, use our services, or even just sit around to talk!"
"Now you sound like a marketing campaign." Lykala joked, shrugging. "Sure, I might as well." he had invested some degree of trust in Atoli now, and was prepared to risk meeting more people. Perhaps 'The World' wasn't so bad after all. "Where do I sign up?"
Atoli's smile positively shone. "Come on! I'll take you to our @HOME!"

Canard @HOME:

The walk to the @HOME, for Lykala, was incredibly tense and nerve-racking. The Σ server was one he had never visited, and looking at the level range, wouldn't be doing so for a very long time. Yet Atoli - also levels and levels below the range - very confidently strode through the streets, past every veteran and possible PK who looked curiously at the particularly weak pair.
From nowhere, Atoli sighed. This confused Lykala, who instinctively asked what was wrong. "The air of this place." she whispered. "It's so sad, don't you think?"
"Sad?" he looked about him. The community by and large seemed quite active and cheery. Only, now that he looked past the players, he could see what Atoli meant. The NPC's all wandered quite slowly, as if burdened by some invisible weight.
"The Dual City, Breg Epona." said Atoli, coming to a stop. "Years ago, this place served as a weapon factory for the humans, against the Beasts."
Recalling his time studying the lore, Lykala hummed his understanding. "A place that's known nothing but the drive to slaughter an enemy."
"Yes." Atoli nodded, smiled briefly. "All in the name of bringing back the Gods, Humans waged wars against the Beasts. They believed it their right to resurrect the Gods on their own, without the Beasts' help."
They fell into contemplative silence together, but before long Atoli pointed to a small Vital Vista outside a gate. "There's our @HOME." explained she, granting Lykala access with a key. "Come on in!"

A great ruckus greeted Lykala's ears, as he entered. Much shouting and crashing, as well as some oinking. Confused, Lykala jumped back as a small, beige-skinned and grey-haired object flew past his field of vision, grunting with much surprise as it did so. "HEY, oink!" it yelled, leaping to its feet - something that revealed its height to be only a little larger than Lykala's ankle. "How DARE you assault the Guild Master like that! OINK!"
It leapt into the face of a player who had stormed into the main hall, delivering what seemed to be a very painful flying kick. The player fell to the floor but before long had thrown the thing across the room once more.
"Damn rodent!" rebuked the player, jerking his thumb towards himself. "I'm the Guild Master!"
The pair continued to fight for some time, to Lykala's bemusement and Atoli's surprise. She squealed when the player kicked the small thing towards her. Completely unaware of her presence, he stormed over to the thing and picked it up by its hair.
As it flailed and yelled threats, Lykala realised that it was a Grunty. Dressed in a black sleeveless biker jacket and a crimson scarf, it would have looked threatening were it not for the fact that it was a small, googly-eyed bipedal pig, and that it was dangling upside-down. The player threw it once more. "That'll teach ya!"
From nowhere came a red-haired girl, dressed in a decorated battle outfit, and delivered a gut punch to the thrower. "HEY! QUIT ABUSING OUR MASCOT!"
To Lykala and Atoli's combined surprise, the Grunty kicked her as well. "I'm the GUILD MASTER, oink!"
A three-way fight, filled with bickering, ensued. By now, several other players - presumably other members - had gathered to watch and laugh, though none seemed to be interested in stopping it. Atoli watched, with what Lykala realised was incresing frustration. He backed away when she huffed, and stormed over to the three.
"You THREE!" she yelled, with anger Lykala didn't expect from such a demure woman.
Arranged in a pile - the thrower beneath the girl, and the Grunty sandwiched between them - they all looked up at Atoli. "Oh. Hey, Atoli." said the girl, punching the thrower in the ribs as she did so. "What's up?"
"What do you think is up?" she hissed, face turning an incredible shade of red. "You three! Fighting! Again!"
"He started it, oink!" squeaked the Grunty, wriggling away from the pile to hide behind Atoli's leg.
"Did not!" protested the man, ignoring the fact that a girl was now sat on him. "He called me his servant! I'm sick of it!"

The arguing continued, and Lykala stood awkwardly near the entrance. A voice sounded from behind him. "They're so alike, they hate each other."
Dressed in green and with a long ponytail that curled into a spiral at the end, this other new face smiled at Lykala in the way a teacher would smile at his student. "Uh... who?"
"Oh. Death Grunty and Haseo." he pointed to them both; first the Grunty, and then Haseo. Shaggy grey hair and a silver, future-esque outfit set him apart from everyone else in the room. A strange collar fanned out behind his neck, like a symbol of some sort. His eyes were a fearsome red. "They've been bickering ever since he became Guild Master. It's funny to watch."
Lykala stared at Haseo, who was currently distracted by Atoli's shouting. "That's Haseo...?"
"Yeah." the man smiled and offered his hand. "I'm Silabus, by the way. You don't look like a regular member - new guy?"
"Sorta. Atoli just brought me here." Lykala explained how he had ended up at Canard's doorstep by encountering the Harvest Cleric.
"I see... that's quite a rare occasion."
"Excuse me?" asked Lykala.
"Atoli's rarely out and about like that on her own, so she doesn't get much of a chance to meet people in the way she met you. Normally, she sticks close by to Haseo." Silabus sighed, as the argument continued to drag on. "Just give me a moment. I'll sort this out."
He stepped boldly up to the three. "Hey, guys? Is this really the way to greet a new member?"
The reaction was instantaneous; Atoli covered her mouth and blushed; Haseo froze up; the other girl stared unabashedly at Lykala when Silabus pointed at him. In unison, the latter two asked, "New member?"
"Atoli brought him in just now. Didn't you notice?" the girl kept staring at Lykala. It was quite unnerving.
"Oh, right! " Haseo squirmed to get up, but the girl wouldn't move. "Hey. Hey, Alkaid!"
"What?" answered the girl, looking down at Haseo.
"Get the hell OFF me!" he pushed her roughly and stood, half-jogging over to Lykala. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Sorry about all that. We can get carried away at ti-"
His cheek molded around Alkaid's foot for all of a second, then he spiralled comically into some arranged furniture on the far side of the room. Two members who had been sat there jumped away, startled by the sudden addition. "Moron!" yelled Alkaid. "That's not how you treat your girlfriend!"
She stormed over to him, grabbed his ear, and dragged him away. Lykala could do little but stare, shocked into a dumbfounded silence. This was Canard? And THAT was their Guild Master? And his girlfriend?
This was one crazy Guild, he decided.

Fortunately, both Silabus and Atoli seemed perfectly capable of getting along. They apologised on behalf of both Haseo and Alkaid. "That's the norm, with those two." said Silabus, grinning. "They're as thick as thieves!"
"Are you still interested in joining?" Atoli asked, nervously. "I can understand if you're not, with that first impression and all."
Now Death Grunty was eyeing him curiously. Lykala returned the stare. Without warning it barked, "I'm Grunty! You're Lykala! Oink!"
Dismayed and thoroughly confused, Lykala mumbled. "That thing... knows my name." he was overloading; too much happening at once, and the lateness of the hour, meant that the niggling pain he felt in his head would need some aspirin, sooner or later. For the moment though, Atoli's despondant smile needed dealing with. "S-sure. I'm still game."
"Great. Here, let me add you to our member list." Silabus extended his hand for Lykala to shake; he returned the gesture. "Welcome to Canard!"
He was about to ask about the Xth Form - his primary reason for joining - but a yawn stopped him. He realised now just how late it was. Quietly, and smiling to both Atoli and Silabus, he made to log out. "Thanks for having me." he said, more to the Harvest Cleric. "I had fun."
"No problem!" the reply caused him to grin, just before disappearing.

Silabus turned to Atoli once he had gone. "Friend of yours?"
"Sort of." she responded, watching the place where the Steam Gunner had stood moments before. "He likes to slow down, like me."
"Aha!" a knowing smile found Silabus' complexion. "That's why. Why not just ask Haseo to go out now and then?"
"He's too busy with Alkaid." rebutted a wistful Atoli. "I think I should log out, too."

================================================================

When Lykala logged back in the following day, he was greeted by a completely empty @HOME. He checked his friends list, finding that Atoli was busy and Glacies was online. He was about to send her a flash mail, when Death Grunty caught him completely off-guard. "I'm Grunty! You're Lykala! Oink!"
He jumped out of his skin and glared at the small thing. "Don't do that!"
"Do what, oink?"
"Scare me!"
"Oooh, scared of my peerless skill, oink! I should'a known, oink!" for a brief moment, Lykala empathised with Haseo's feelings. This Grunty was particularly annoying, and he preferred the Broken Grunty at Seekers' @HOME. "Anyway, oink. I have a message from my trusty servant, Haseo! Oink!"
He opened the message. As it turned out, it was also signed by Atoli. It was an invitation to an informal greeting with the two. He smiled, happy that Atoli was wanting to make a better second impression of their Guild Master. The location; Δ Hidden Forbidden Radiation.
Hidden Forbidden... that rang a bell, somewhere back in his memories as a young teen, fascinated by everything the World Wide Web provided his nubile, inquisitive mind. It was something about the original version of 'The World', but he couldn't quite place it.
"You best get going, oink!" warned Death Grunty. "My servants don't like to be kept waiting, oink!"
Lykala nodded, but didn't leave until after he had sent a message to Glacies. They could meet at this area, and meet Haseo together.

Δ Hidden Forbidden Radiation... why did those first two words sound so familiar?

This is one of the best .hack fanfics I've seen (and I've seen LOTS) =o
You write pretty well ^^

Btw, some things I'd like to point out:

1- Dungeon-type areas don't have Symbol Fragments, IIRC '-'
2- Since Atoli participated in the Sage Palace Tournament before Haseo got his Xth Form, shouldn't she be a little higher leveled? At Lv40 you can barely survive at the Holy Palace, let alone the Sage Palace ._.

hidora wrote:This is one of the best .hack fanfics I've seen (and I've seen LOTS) =o
You write pretty well ^^

Btw, some things I'd like to point out:

1- Dungeon-type areas don't have Symbol Fragments, IIRC '-'
2- Since Atoli participated in the Sage Palace Tournament before Haseo got his Xth Form, shouldn't she be a little higher leveled? At Lv40 you can barely survive at the Holy Palace, let alone the Sage Palace ._.

Heya. Thanks for the feedback. I'll do my best to get a coherent answer for you.

1) The World in G.U. was pretty limited. In the novels (AI Buster, Another Birth) and so forth there was a lot more to each area - and that was just in R:1! You see a similar thing with the G.U. novels; because edits for the game weren't necessary, they could include a lot more of the original concept without the limitations of game mechanics and so forth; as an example, Ovan is Aina's father in the Novels, whereas in G.U. he's her elder brother. Furthermore, Aina passes away just before Shino is killed by Tri-Edge and turned into a Lost One. But all of that doesn't answer the question you pointed out. Basically, I'm expanding 'The World R:2' to more appropriately fit its name of 'The World'. So you can expect to see more things like unique areas, Lost Grounds, Events etc. It is, however, the same R:2 you know and love.

2) By a similar token, that's also the reason why I made Atoli the level that she is. I guess it's poetic/artistic license. Atoli's character, however much she develops as an individual, never left those peaceful, slow-going roots; no matter how much of a frustration it was to either herself or Haseo. So it's going on the assumption that she didn't partake in the Sage Palace tournament, and that someone else took her place.

They're valid questions, though, so thanks for asking them!

Δ Hidden Forbidden Radiation (Arche Koeln Waterfall):

Δ Hidden Forbidden Radiation, as it turned out, was nothing like any other area he had visited. Huge waterfalls surrounded him, and as he stood on a circular stone dais suspended in the middle, he was awestruck. " The Arche Koeln Waterfalls." called Glacies' voice behind him. "What can you tell me about that?"
"What can I tell you?" asked he, greeting her with a smile. "Why d'you say that?"
"You told me about Folset, before. I figured you might know about Arche Koeln."
He racked his brain, then realised with a jolt where he remembered 'Hidden Forbidden' from. "Power - now all to droplets turned in the temple of Arche Koeln."
"...You've lost me."
"Epitaph of Twilight." Lykala said. "Several years ago, it was the title of the poem 'The World' was based on."
"Incredible." Glacies said, nodding appreciatively. "Might buy it some time."
"Yeah, good luck with that." he joked. "Epitaph of Twilight was never published."
"Then how do you know about it?" Glacies asked.
"It's the core of 'The World's setting." Lykala explained, stuffing his hands into his pockets and gazing around at the scenery. "Like you said. I know about Folset, so chances are I know about the rest of the lore, right?"
"You sound so jaded." grinned she. "Are you sure you're a college student?"
"My college teachers are the two who told me about it." he added, smiling as he caught the mantle-wings of Atoli's character in the distance. "Come on. Let's not keep them waiting."
"I can't believe you met Haseo on your first log in!" Glacies beamed and led the way. He almost laughed - he didn't believe it, either.

Haseo greeted them warmly. "Hey! It's nice to meet you, Lykala."
Lykala returned the gesture and looked to Glacies. "This is a friend of mine. She's the one who suggested Canard to me."
"It's nice to meet you both." she shook their hands. "I've heard a lot about you."
"Really?" they exchanged a curious glance. "About Canard?"
"Among other things, yes." Glacies grinned at Lykala. "Your, uh... antics at the @HOME left quite an impression on Lykala."
Atoli smiled with humour; Haseo rubbed the back of his neck nervously and laughed. "Yeah... Sorry about that."
"What did you want to talk about?" asked Lykala, trying to figure out why Haseo and Atoli had done this.
Expecting something slightly more dramatic, he was disappointed to hear, "Uh... Nothing, really. We just wanted to welcome you to Canard."
"Oh." feeling slightly awkward, after a second, Lykala decided to explore the scenery with his eyes. Small spirits of a kind wandered the area, distracting him. Glacies nudged him into paying attention. "What?"
Without answering she looked to Haseo. "Say, uh... I heard on a forum about something called 'Xth Form'. Know anything about it?"
Haseo tensed a little; Atoli's smile faded into a nervous expression. Even Lykala was surprised - he hadn't expected her to be so forthright about it. "Xth Form?" asked Haseo, slowly.
"Yeah. At least, that's what they're calling it. Apparently some Adept Rogue got a new Job Extension not too long ago, that gave him some skills never seen before." her acting was flawless, and gave nothing away about her knowledge of the Adept Rogue's name. "I was wondering if you guys had heard anything about it."
"Can't say I have." said Lykala, to ease the tension a little. Glacies shot him a brief glance.
"I've heard rumours." added Atoli, "But nothing more."
"Same." Haseo shrugged. "Sorry. It doesn't sound like anything legal, though."
"Hm..." nodding, Glacies pretended to mull it over. "I suppose so. Well, anyway. I'll let you and Lykala have a chance to talk. See ya!"
"Hey, wa-" she was gone before Lykala could even ask her to stay. He sighed and watched wistfully after her vanishing character model.
"Strange." Haseo placed his hands on his hips. "A lot of people have been asking me about rumours recently."
"Well, you are kind of a rumour expert, all things considered." she smiled briefly and stepped over to Lykala. "Haseo has quite the history, no?"
"That's really not important, Atoli." Haseo began, but she carried on despite his protests.
"Haseo has quite a bit of reputation. He used to be an infamous PKK." when he asked what a PKK was, she amended briefly. "Player Killer Killer. He was called the Terror of Death."
His eyes widened considerably, as pieces slotted together into a very confusing puzzle. Hidden Forbidden. Arche Koeln. Epitaph of Twilight.

Terror of Death...

"He was named after Skeith?" Lykala stared at Haseo with fascination.
"H-how could you know that?" his hands shot to his sides and from a burst of green drew two menacing Blades. One was at Lykala's throat in an instant. "Who are you?!"
"Haseo!" squealed Atoli.
Lykala seized up, hair falling haphazardly over his eyes, masking his fear. What was going on? Why had he reacted so violently? "Haseo, calm down right now!" she was firm, finding herself quickly after the sudden, disorientating change of atmosphere. "What's gotten into you?"
When Haseo showed no sign of calming down, she pushed herself roughly between the two, into the path of the Blade. Lykala didn't relax; he backed away, mortally afraid. Haseo was now threatening, just as bad as every other PK out there, in his eyes. Lykala made to leave, focussing entirely on his footsteps, but Atoli grasped his hand and did something entirely unexpected.
She hugged him. It was an incredibly awkward gesture - her arms squeezed his waist and his neck tightly - but it calmed him slightly. "It's okay. He won't hurt you."
Still very wary of the Blade close to them, that now lowered the smallest amount, Lykala returned the gesture. Atoli was hesitant, too; he could feel that it was a spur of the moment gesture and not one she was used to, for that matter. Keeping herself between Lykala and Haseo, she confronted the latter. "I can't believe you did that, Haseo."
"H-hey! Sorry! I over-reacted, alright? Didn't you?"
"Don't apologise to me." she seethed. "It's Lykala you should be saying sorry to!"
He looked at Lykala in a way that screamed defeated, chastised little boy. He tried hard not to laugh - and also made a mental note to never get on Atoli's bad side. She was scary, when angry. "Sorry, Lykala."
He ignored it, stared at Haseo warily. His red eyes gleamed with suspicion. In response, his own, mundane brown orbs harshened. As if sensing the animosity between the pair, Atoli picked a side again.
"Haseo, you just threatened to kill him." Lykala checked his friend list; Glacies was offline, meaning there was no-one to run to bar Atoli, who wanted him to stay. He was backed into a dilemma. Stay and risk the rage of Haseo, or risk the unknown and death at the hands of a PK. Which one was more tempting?
He corrected that thought. If he stayed, maybe he could get a little more out of them both. A lot of things pointed to the Epitaph of Twilight; maybe the Xth Form was linked to it as well? It seemed highly likely, albeit bordering the impossible.
Atoli had apparently won, though Haseo did not explain why he had reacted so suddenly to the name. Instead, he asked, "What do you know of Skeith?"
His college lecturer's words sprang to mind. "Riding the Wave is Skeith, the Terror of Death, to drown all that stands..."
Blank faces. Lykala laughed a hollow laugh. "Seriously? You've never heard of it, either?"
"Heard of... what, exactly?" asked Atoli.
"Epitaph of Twilight." he told them what it was, garnering more blank looks. "Jeez..."
"What is it about?" he looked at them both; was 'The World' so clueless about its roots? Had it really been that long? Had Wielant's words vanished into the annals of fleeting memory and scattered myth?
He, a new player, knew more than two veterans. He smiled softly at the pair. "It's an epic poem, written by a German named Emma Wielant. It depicts a race of shadowless beings - that she calls sprites - that're suffering under a calamity known as the Cursed Wave. Skeith, along with seven others, are beings that aid the Wave. Skeith is the first, and brings a shadow of death upon the shadowless sprites."
"And the others?" Atoli whispered.
"I... can't remember the lines exactly, but I know their names and titles." Lykala counted them off on gloved fingers. "There's Skeith, the Terror of Death. Innis, the Mirage of Deceit. Magus, the Propagation. Fidchell, the Prophet. Gorre, the Machinator. Macha, the Temptress. Tarvos, the Avenger. Then there's Corbenik, the Rebirth." he watched as recognition dawned on the pair's faces. "Sound familiar?"
Nodding in unison, Haseo relaxed. "That's where you've heard of Skeith."
"Yeah. I'm surprised you know about Skeith and the other Phases, but not the Epitaph."
"Very long story." Atoli supplied, smiling gently. She apologised for Haseo's actions; though he himself seemed wholly unrepentant. "Well... this was an eventful welcoming, wasn't it?"
He saw through the attempt to avoid conflict, but gave her the courtesy of agreeing. "I think I'll head back, actually. I need to make a few calls, and I'd rather not leave you hanging."
She nodded, then Lykala turned to Haseo. Despite having relaxed, he still seemed suspicious. Lykala extended a hand. "Clean slate?"
Staring at it, for but a moment, as if it were an alien object, Haseo eventually reached out and shook hands with the Steam Gunner. "Sure thing. Welcome to Canard, again."

Seekers @HOME:

"So that's what happened." finished Lykala, reclining into the sofa at the far end of the hall. Broken Grunty pottered about, shooting annoyed glances at him now and then - grudges were very hard to kill with that thing, he mused. He had just told Kalma, Faltion, Michiru and Glacies everything they had found out.
"Nothing specific about the Xth Form?" said Faltion, sounding slightly disappointed. "Just some poetry?"
"Well, if we can find the source, we can work from there." Kalma nodded approvingly at the Steam Gunner. "What can you tell us about the Epitaph?"
"Not much beyond what I've said. However..." Lykala paused, thinking on it. "I know someone who is practically an expert on the thing. I can make a few calls, see if she can join us now."
"She plays 'The World'?" he smiled, sweeping the room with one long, proud smile.
"Not only that." he whispered. "She's a veteran of the original version, too. And the beta before that."
"For real?" exclaimed Glacies, unable to stop herself. "How the heck do you know her?"
"She's my college lecturer. Well, one of. I don't have her number, but I do have the number of a friend of her's. Chances are they're free right now; both of them."
"Why didn't you tell us this earlier, kid?" asked Faltion, curious as to why he had withheld such a fount of knowledge.
"I didn't think Epitaph would factor into all this, truth be told." he replied. "I thought it would be an event quest, maybe some super strong boss. Nothing like this."
Kalma had fallen into a contemplative silence, his eyes masked by mercurial hair. "It wouldn't hurt to know more about The World's roots, even if it turns up cold."
"Should I make the call?" they all nodded, to which Lykala responded with silence. After a few minutes, they all picked up his voice - quieter than before, as if away from the microphone he used to talk. "Hello, Professor Watarai? Yes, it's me. How're you?"
As he made small talk, Glacies pondered about the player behind Lykala. There was definitely more to him than the nervous, withdrawn teen she had met not even 24 hours ago. "Is Professor Mizuhara around? Brill - Can I speak with her?"
After a few seconds, his voice changed over again as 'Professor Mizuhara' assumedly answered. "Yo, teach! How's it goin'?"
The entire guild shared a surprised glance and chuckle - Lykala had never used those words in that phrasing, and none of them expected it, either. "Sweet. Could'ja meet us online in five? There's some people I want you to meet, and they wanna know about the Epitaph."
He laughed as he heard her response. "Yeah - no-one I've met knows about it. Can you believe it? Okay, I'll meet you by the Gate. See ya!"
Lykala returned to present company wearing a smile, innocently asking, "What's with the looks?"
"That was your college lecturer." deadpanned Faltion, barely hiding his surprise.
"Yup. Great, eh? Anyway, I best go meet her. I won't be too long." he ran off towards the exit, with an eagerness Glacies had never seen before - unless he was with either her or that girl from Canard, he didn't like wandering out on his own.
"Kid's a teacher's pet." Faltion mumbled to himself. "Full o' surprises, that one."
"Do you think it was a bad idea to bring him in now?" Michiru spoke for the first time in several minutes, earning a laugh. "It may sound crazy, but I think Lykala may be on to something here. Haseo was known as the Terror of Death, named after that Skeith thing, and he has the Xth Form. Maybe the two are related somehow."
"Maybe. But I don't see it." Faltion said, shrugging dismissively. "An old poem linking to something like this? I mean, come on, that's a bit far-fetched."
"The Xth Form is equally far-fetched." Kalma interjected calmly. "It is something that exists beyond The World, and yet is also part of it."
"I guess..."
"Let's just see what Professor Mizuhara has to say." Glacies whispered. "We can piece it together after, and who knows? Maybe she'll have some info on the Xth Form, too."

There was a knock at the Guild's door, inviting a guest in. Kalma accepted. Lykala appeared first, and walking alongside him was a teenage girl scantily clad in white garments and a massive, pointy hat. Faltion's eyes widened. She was impossibly cute, and grinned at Lykala in such an affectionate manner. "Everyone, this is Professor Mizuha-"
Her hand flew over his head and he quickly corrected himself. "Ow... Uh, this is Hokuto."
"Better! Hi everybody!" Hokuto waved enthusiatically.
"That's... your college lecturer?" Faltion was at a loss for words, but she quickly answered.
"Yup! Name's Hokuto, and this guy is my ultra-special super-duper Epitaph-obsessed Literature student! Isn't that right, Ly?"
Lykala coughed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Y-you could say that."
She adjusted the glasses perched on the end of her nose, marching over to take a seat on the sofa. Lykala swiftly joined her, nervous and averting Glacies eye. She smiled gently; seeing him so nervous reminded her of the first time they met. "So! You kiddies wanted to know about the Epitaph, right?"
"Yeah. Lykala told us you were something of an expert."
"An expert, eh?" she punched her student's shoulder. "I'm flattered."
He looked away, suddenly distracted by Broken Grunty's comings and goings. "Oi, Ly. I'm gonna need your help on this one."
"H-huh? But you know mo-"
"You have my notes." Hokuto grinned. "So you get the joy of reading them out."
"Right..." she cleared her throat, stretched out, and beamed.
"Okay then! The Epitaph of Twilight. It's an epic written by a woman named Emma Wielant, way back when - this is before 'The World' was first released, by the way, and before Pluto's Kiss too. You... know what Pluto's Kiss is, right?"
All present nodded grimly - it was taught around the globe as the first Network Crisis. For seventy-seven minutes, across the world, the net shut down. Data was lost, chaos ensued, and had it not recovered when it did, the world would be plunged into destruction due to the US's self-defence systems. "Okay! So the poem itself is set in a world where shadowless sprites are on the verge of destruction, threatened by an entity known as the Cursed Wave. The armies of light and dark - led by Apeiron, King of Light and Helba, Queen of Dark - unite against the Wave in the hopes of combating it. However, the epic focusses on three characters, who are..." she pointed to Lykala to fill them in.
"Uhm... Saya, Gendor, and Lilith."
"Bingo!" Hokuto ruffled his hair proudly. "You learn fast. Anywho, Saya, Gendor, and Lilith are tasked with finding the Twilight Dragon, the only known being with the strength to defeat the Wave. The entire narrative is about their journey, and the opening stanza reads thus." again she pointed to Lykala, who read the verse:
"Yet to return, the Shadowed One.
Who quests for the Twilight Dragon
Rumbles the Dark Hearth,
And Helba, Queen of the Dark,
Has finally raised her army.
Apeiron, King of Light, beckons.
At the base of the rainbow do they meet
Against the abominable Wave,
Together they fight.
Alba's lake boils.
Light's great tree doth fall.
Power- now all to droplets turned
In the temple of Arche Koeln.
Returns to nothing,
This world of Shadowless Ones.
Never to return, the Shadowed One,
Who quests for the Twilight Dragon."
Glacies waited a moment, then asked, "So, how come the Epitaph was never published?"
"It was posted online." Hokuto said. "And it enjoyed immense popularity there. It was there for free, so who would want to buy it?"
"Emma Wielant passed away in 2004, and the Epitaph became her legacy. Sadly, the year following was also the year of Pluto's Kiss." she continued. "Her website lost, all that remains are fragments and transcriptions of a few die-hard fans, like myself."
Lykala took up the next explanation. "However, the Epitaph was never truly lost - it found its home elsewhere, in The World."
"How so?" asked Kalma, curious. He leaned forward, staring from behind his fringe - a sign, to Michiru and Faltion, that he was absolutely fascinated.
"Emma Wielant was an acquaintance of Harald Hoerwick, and he took the Epitaph and developed a game from it. That game was called Fragment, and was the beta for The World R:1."
"It's beautifully poetic." interjected Hokuto, smiling gently, "Harald's game - and all games following it - immortalized Emma and her work. Though so few people know of it, her influence is visible to this very day. Some Areas in The World are scenes taken straight from her poem, like Δ Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground."
Lykala clicked; that's where he had heard it before. "Didn't Professor Watarai mention that once?"
"That he did, Ly. Δ Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground - known in R:2 as the Hulle Granz Cathedral - is where Helba and Apeiron form an alliance against the Cursed Wave."
"I see..." Kalma thought long and hard, but found no connections. He brought the subject closer to the Xth Form. "And Skeith?"
"Skeith was one of eight 'Phases' of the Cursed Wave - its harbingers and its manifestations. He was the first, the 'Terror of Death'. Ly told me on the way here that he'd told you about the others, too."
Kalma nodded. "Being a veteran, have you heard of the Terror of Death elsewhere?"
"Yup! A player named Haseo was a PKK named after Skeith. Heavens know who named him that. Now then, it's my turn to ask questions."
He indicated for her to ask. "You call yourself Seekers, but what're you seeking? Something to do with the Epitaph?"
"Something like that." he replied, interlacing his fingers. "We're chasing a rumour, about the Xth Form."
"Oooh, I've heard that one! Sounds like fun!" Hokuto pulled Lykala into a one-armed hug. "And you got Ly to ask me to give some info? I can hep out some more if you'd like."
"Well..." Faltion seemed reluctant.
"It'd be good to bring Prof- Hokuto along." said Lykala, hoping to convince him. "She's brilliant at gathering information."
"I can keep secrets, too. If you're wanting to do that, anyway." she added, with an almost proud smile. "Plus, this looks pretty exciting. It would certainly liven up a teacher's day."
Kalma was loath to disagree; the more the merrier, as he saw it. "Welcome aboard."
"Awesome! Glad I can help out." Hokuto squealed excitedly, and almost forgot she was squeezing Lykala uncomfortably tight. "So what's your plan?"
"Plan?" asked Faltion. "We, er... don't have one."
"We were hoping your information would give us some inkling towards the Xth Form's origin, but sadly that hasn't happened."
"Aw, that's no good! Tell you what." she beamed and looked to everyone. "Let's have a field trip!"
A silence fell over the guild, all eyes staring oddly at Hokuto. "You know... a trip to gather some intel?"
"To where, exactly?" asked Glacies.
"To several places. We can split up and take 'em all at once!"
"Like Hulle Granz?" suggested Lykala; she grinned and nodded. "If we're studying the back story, we'll have to keep an expert with another member."
Kalma nodded, then added another suggestion. "Lykala, you know Canard and its members - perhaps you could try and coax some more information out?"
"I'll try and meet up with Atoli." said he, not particularly wanting to risk another encounter with Haseo just yet. "Maybe she knows something about it."
"I'll go with one of you guys to Arche Koeln and the other areas." explained Hokuto, bouncing to her feet. "And you, er..." she looked at Glacies, who hadn't spoke in a long while and hadn't introduced herself. She told Hokuto her name. "Right! Erm, you and the tall guy go and talk to the other players and see if you can find anything out."
"Sounds good." Faltion grinned, excited. "PR is my department."
"Michiru, you're with Hokuto and myself." Kalma took a sweeping glance at all the Seekers, unable to help the proud smile. They were finally getting somewhere, finally starting to take this seriously. They would find the Xth Form, he was certain of it. "Let's roll."

Δ Eternal City Mac Anu:

Faltion and Glacies had wandered Mac Anu for some time, the latter unsure of where to start. For Faltion, though, he was simply searching, taking her down back alleys in the hopes of finding some of the better quality informants in The World. Aside from the eleven official jobs, many players took on other self-proclaimed roles inside of the game, further diversifying the communities. Players like informants bartered information in exchange for rare items or money, whilst others - like singers - performed in the streets as a form of online busking. Even PKers were considered to be a class, as such. Faltion used informants regularly, but was picky; many were unreliable and oftentimes sources of grief, so he used only the ones he knew he could trust. It just so happened that the one he was looking for, however, was one of the most awkward to find.
"Did you know?" he asked suddenly, catching Glacies off guard. She tilted her head curiously. "That Lykala knew someone like that."
"No, I didn't." she replied, looking out onto the canal. Her reaction was clear in the reflection - confusion slid across her icy eyes. "Took me by surprise, really. I didn't think he'd be that confident around anyone else."
"It's hard to tell when you're online. Who you know as Lykala may be someone wholly different behind that screen. What's important is that the person you know as Lykala stays in The World, yeah?"
"I'm... not sure I follow." Glacies said, crossing her arms. Faltion sighed, chose his words carefully.
"When you play The World, who do you think you are?" the question caused Glacies to raise her eyebrows infintesimally. "Do you feel like yourself, or Glacies?"
"Glacies, I guess."
"Right. And is Glacies anyway similar to the person controlling her?"
"What are you, a psychologist?" Faltion chuckled and shook his head.
"When we play the world, we assume a personality based on who we want to be. Lykala, I'm assuming, hasn't got that experience. His player's personality bleeds through into Lykala's personality, creating what we saw back in the @HOME. Periods of surprise like that occur when we encounter people we know offline - the illusion we create, the illusion of our player characters, dissolves momentarily."
"I see... so the Lykala we saw back in the @HOME was more his player than his character?" Glacies pondered that, and realised that Faltion was making sense. If that was true, how much more of the person behind Lykala would they see, with Hokuto around?
"In order to effectively establish trust in a relationship online, we have to create an illusion of personality that remains constant, or be ourselves. When one tries to do both, the end result is a confusing mix that creates distrust. Online friends will wonder who they really are, and offline friends will wonder why they've put a mask up. No doubt you've wondered who Lykala really is?"
She lowered her eyes, feeling slightly perverse for trying to peer past the mask that - she realised now - they all hid behind. "What should we do?"
"Try and establish a firm relationship with him. Give him the space he needs to reform that mask - especially with Hokuto around. It's a period of adjustment."
"You sound like you're speaking from experience." Glacies smiled as they started walking again, turning down yet another alleyway.
"I am, to an extent." he replied, but didn't elaborate. They had reached his informant's regular hideout, a darkened alleyway complete with broken crates and leaking pipes. A shady figure concealed himself behind a small alcove in the near-distance.
"Who goessss there?"

===================================================================================

"Atoli!" called Lykala, waving from the bridge. Hearing her name she quickened her pace and met him halfway. She was wearing her usual smile, and greeted Lykala in a similar fashion.
"Hello!"
"Uh... Thanks for coming so quickly." he checked the time stamp on the message he had sent; not even two minutes had passed. "Sorry if I interrupted you doing somethi-"
"Oh, no no. I was happy to come along!" said she. "Haseo was a bit ratty, anyway..."
"He was? Was this about what Glacies asked him?"
"No, no..." they paused and looked away from the bustling crowds in the plaza across the bridge, and into the waterways that criss-crossed Mac Anu, parallel to equally labyrinthine streets. Lykala was sure that, somewhere along the line, he would get lost in this city. "It was, um..."
"What?" he prompted, watching her out of the corner of his eye. She had been so bright not seconds ago, and now the smile had changed into a dejected frown. She sighed.
"It was about you, if you're asking. Haseo... well, he didn't like me standing up for you." she laughed to herself. "He thought I should've taken his side."
"So... why didn't you?" the answer seemed obvious, but Lykala could think of nothing else to say.
"B-because you'd done nothing wrong." she explained, hastily. "Should I have sided with him just becuase he's my friend?"
He considered the possible consequences of her actually siding with Haseo. They wouldn't be standing here, if she had. He moved the subject away from that with a simple thanks and a soft smile, that seemed to alleviate a lot of her troubles. "You know, you've invited me to Canard, and introduced me to the Guild Master and his... er... girlfriend," the pause brought a small laugh to Atoli, "but you haven't told me anything about the Guild itself. Mind sharing?"
"O-oh! Well, Canard is only a small guild... about two hundred members or so, at last count. But it was originally even smaller! Just four of us."
"Really? That few?"
"Yes! Myself, Silabus - assistant Guild Master - Gaspard, our shopkeeper, and Haseo. We had a small guild in Mac Anu. In fact..." Atoli gestured to a small alcove where a few backalley shops were. Nearby stood a Vital Vista - steam robots created by the Humans - outside twin wooden doors. "It was right over there."
"Does look quite cosy." Lykala commented. "How did you get so famous, then?"
"We've been working hard with other Guilds, like Moon Tree and the Medic Union, to provide support for every new player." Atoli explained. "After a little while, things began to take care of themselves. We got officers, called in a few friends to help out, and before long the Canard you see today was born!"
"Moon Tree?" he asked, unfamiliar with the new names. "Is that another newbie-support guild?"
"Moon Tree is a Guild I used to be a member of. They support the abolishment of PKing, and provide support and protection to victims of PKers. They're one of the three major Guilds in The World."
"You said used to. What happened?" at this, Atoli frowned; a gesture Lykala was now horribly familiar with, even after such a short space of time. He didn't like it one bit - in a similar manner to her disarming words, her frowns crushed his mood. "I'm sorry. I shouldn'tve asked."
"No, no. It's okay." Atoli took a deep breath. "Just... some things happened that caused the person who invited me to join to leave. I left shortly after. There wasn't much left there for me but some tough memories, you know?"
"Yeah." Lykala agreed. "So Canard's officers. What are they like?"
"We're a real motley crew." Atoli giggled, beginning to explain...

====================================================================================

"Alrighty! We're allll set!" Hokuto bounced ahead of Kalma and Michiru, far more energetic than both of them combined. Probably several other people combined too, Kalma mused. It was refreshing; a lot of things were. Ever since quitting PKing, he had began to see the lighter side of things to The World. Things that he had experienced a long time ago, but had been dulled by the violence and adrenaline PK brought to his life. Part of him envied their weakest member, Lykala; everything was so new to him, like a newborn seeing the world around them. "How 'bout you guys? Ready to go look at the Hulle Granz Cathedral?"
"I've seen it before." Michiru said, "How about you, Kalma?"
"A few times. Not recently, though."
"Aha! You've seen it, yes; but have you ever looked at it?" she grinned at the pair, who seemed lost. "When you see something, you take in all the pretty graphics and the music and the scenery. When you look at something, you really experience it. The atmosphere, the story, the history behind it... Maybe you'll be inspired!"
"Inspired, huh." Kalma crossed his arms, gazed into the infinite blues of the Chaos Gate behind them. "You think this'll work?"
"Hey, it's worth a try." said Hokuto. "If not that, it'll kill the time until Glacies and Faltion come up with something."
"True." decided, Hokuto bounced around a little bit more, before turning to the Chaos Gate with an enthusiastic point at the rings.
"Alrighty! To Δ Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground!"

====================================================================================

"So lemme get this straight." Lykala looked at his hands, of which all his fingers were currently outstretched. "Silabus is your Assistant Guild Master, Gaspard is your Shopkeep, you're Moon Tree's liason, Bor...Bordeaux is Kestrel's, Piros the... 4th? Is your... uh..."
"Piros the 3rd." corrected Atoli, giggling as he struggled to remember them all. "He's our Graphics Manager. You know, all the forum signatures and the banners."
"Right, right..." he turned to stare at the water, head in hands. "How'm I gonna remember all these?"
"We're not expecting you to." she placed a calming hand on his shoulder. "So long as you remember the ones you spend time with regularly, I don't think anyone will notice."
"Yeah." Lykala paused, then grinned. "Well, remembering your name won't be so tough."
She smiled. "Do you know where Canard gets its name, Lykala?"
"Rings a bell, but I haven't the foggiest."
"It comes from the stabilizing wings on an aircraft." she explained, with a slow tone, as if recalling something from memory. "At least, I think that's what Silabus said it was. I just remember Canard as the French word for duck."
"That's quite cool." Lykala agreed, leaning against the banister of the bridge. They hadn't moved an inch since meeting, and watching the rest of the players run by, busy with something or other, turned out to be incredibly cathartic for him. "Helping players get their bearings, supporting them until they're ready to soar and become top players."
"Exactly!" she beamed, nodding enthusiastically. "Canard's mandate is summed up in their name, which I thought was always very nice."
"Yeah." he smiled, nodded. "Oh, by the way."
Atoli tilted her head a small amount, curious as Lykala shifted nervously. He scratched his cheek, averted his eyes. "Thanks for, uh... sticking up for me. I would've been a goner if you hadn't."
"It's no problem! I was happy to." Atoli bowed her head. "After all, you're the first person in a while who's enjoyed slowing down. It's rare you get to meet someone like that, and it's rarer still that I get a chance to slow down, too, so... I should be thanking you, really."
"Hm..." he thought back to Kalma's words. Was it really right? Did he have to find out about the Xth Form? He guessed not; Atoli was too nice a girl to use for information, and Lykala had formed a genuine attachment to the Harvest Cleric. With that in mind, he poked her still-bowed forehead.
"Hey. What're you bowing your head for?"
"W-well, I've always done it when thanking people." Atoli's nerves began to show through. "I-I'm sorry."
"No need to apologise. And there's no need for the formalities, either." he said. "And on that subject, why don't we go and slow down? Lay back a little."
"Really? You think we should?"
"I think we should lay back, until we're so laid back we're horizontal." he joked. "Come on. Show me one of your 132 favorite places."
"I... hmm..." Atoli thought about it; Haseo was thoroughly untrusting of Lykala, even if he had apologised. As such, he had warned her not to spend too much time with him - a point which they disagreed on, like many other points of late. Eventually, her opinion won through. "Alright! Which one?"
"I don't know any of 'em. You take me to one." trying hard not to smile too much, Atoli giggled and led the way to the Chaos Gate.

====================================================================================

"Who goesssss there?" hissed the player from behind the crates.
"IYOTEN." deadpanned Faltion. IYOTEN was a PK - but also one of the best Informants around. If something was going down, he was most likely to know about it. Pushing his pride as a PKK to one side, Faltion grimaced and forced his words out. "We're after some info."
"Info, ehh?" he stepped out from behind the crate, revealing a man of average stature supported by spindly legs. Grey hair fell unnervingly over his eyes, and a scarf partially masked a sharp, insiduous smirk. "I supposssse I may have what you're looking for... for a priccce, of coursse."
"Would you quit with the hissing?" Faltion grumbled, crossing his arms. IYOTEN's mannerisms got under his skin in a way no-one else managed. "It's really annoying."
"Whatever. What is it you're after, more PK locations?" a glance at Glacies, who stood a little ways behind the Flick Reaper, brought a new tone to his voice. "Or maybe somewhere quiet, hmmm?"
"Shaddap and let me ask, damnit. Before I reconsider my decision not to wipe that sorry smirk off your face." that threat hit a nerve. Iyoten backed away, scowling. Knowing victory when he saw it, he was quick to assert his dominance. "We're after info on the Xth Form. Heard any rumours?"
"Oho, so you're after rumours!" IYOTEN cackled. "Now rumours are more precious than info, more poetic, more... expensive."
"Don't make me beat you down, IYOTEN. You remember our deal. You give me info, I don't PKK you."
IYOTEN scowled once more, backed into a proverbial - and literal, Glacies noted - corner. "Hmph. Well, if you're being so blunt..."
"Spill it." Faltion demanded. Glacies couldn't help but shake her head; what did he say about PR being his department?
"Gods' Rebirth." IYOTEN answered, and they could tell he was glaring at them from behind that heavy fringe. "Now go away, before you ruin my rep."
"Gods' Rebirth?"
"That's all I'm giving, you ungrateful brute." when he made no further elaborations, Faltion gave up and stormed away. Glacies swiftly followed. "Oh, lady!"
"What?" said she; Faltion hadn't heard him call out, and so kept on walking. She was hesistant to linger, but there was something in the way he shouted that made her stay. IYOTEN knew something.
"That new kid, the Adept Rogue, you've been babysitting." he laughed darkly, to Glacies' dismay; how did he know about Lykala? "I've heard tell that a close friend of mine has her eyes on him. And not in the romantic way. Catch my drift?"
"Y-you mean, a PK?"
"And a tough one at that." he lingered on silence purposefully, which didn't help her growing panic. "In fact... She's very close to Chaotic status."
Glacies gasped, but wasted no time in running off. IYOTEN laughed raucously, thoroughly entertained. "That's right, run girly. You'll not get to him in time! Asta's very good at what she does."

'Kay, so before I get back to posting entries, I want to know what people think of it. If people're enjoying it thus far, I'll keep going. If not, then I'll retreat to LiveJournal and the people who do want to read it, can.

I should really set up a separate thread for this, but oh well.

What d'you guys think of Seekers? Good? Bad? Ugly? Be as honest as you want - I can take it.

I dunno about the others, but I'd like you to continue. It's been a long time since the last time a .hack fanfic caught my atention.

Btw, IIRC, IYOTEN's name is all caps ._.

...and I can't quite get myself to imagine Hokuto as a teacher xP

That it is, but in the JP version, it's just written 'Iyoten'. I've only played that, so I was going on that; the caps lock is just to distinguish him from the standardly-written names of everyone else.

In which case, I'll go and retcon that now. Thanks for pointing it out! After that, I'll post the next few entries - I have a lot more done than what's on here, but for sake of not getting too ahead of myself, I'm posting them slower here so as not to cause delays in updates.

If you want the full thing, feel free to visit my LiveJournal account, which has the whole thing. The link is in my signature.

Thanks again,
Chaosbahamut.

Δ Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground ~ Δ Heavenly Ruined Fountain:

Hulle Granz Cathedral stood in the centre of a large crater. "Navel of Lake." Hokuto had explained upon first arriving. "The Epitaph calls this first scene 'Navel of Lake' because of where it takes place. In the Hulle Granz Cathedral, Helba and Apeiron form an alliance against the Cursed Wave in the hopes of stemming it."
"If it's a lake." Michiru asked, cynical, "Why is it all dried up?"
"Presumably the Cursed Wave took its toll on the area's nature, destroying the lake. The Epitaph was never finished, so we can only speculate." Hokuto took a long moment to stare upon the cathedral's filigree doors and intricate stained glass window front. "But can't you feel it? That feeling of dread, and sorrow? The Cursed Wave was here."
Michiru shrugged, moved ahead of the rest. Kalma, however, was slightly slower. Hokuto was right. Everything about this area - the twilight ,the muted sky, the devastated lake, the sole cathedral standing in a midst of nothingness, seemed wholly despondent. Instead of seeing it, he looked at it, and understood. "Helba and Apeiron didn't succeed, did they?"
"There's a divide at that point." replied she, falling into step with the Tribal Grappler. "Most people seem to think that the forces of Light and Dark, along with the Twilight Dragon, beat back the Cursed Wave. The Hulle Granz Cathedral - at least, the building itself - was only a sacrifice necessary to win."
"And you?"
"I'm with you." she smiled in melancholy, and it reflected in her eyes. "I've pored over the Epitaph fragments for months, and I always come to the same conclusion. Helba and Apeiron didn't succeed, and the Twilight Dragon only just made it in time. This devastation was a result of the Wave slaughtering everything in its path."
"Who summoned the Wave?" Kalma came to a halt at the doors; Michiru had already gone inside, leaving the pair to talk for but a moment.
"It references to a being called 'Shadow', but never elaborates. Maybe it was the darkness in their hearts, or if the lore of The World is to be believed, maybe it was Cernunnos, God of Death. As with everything, we can only speculate."

The inside of the Cathedral was silent. No ambient noises, save for the ticking of four pendulum clocks that swung in perpetual unison.
Tick, tock, tick, tock...
Pristine marble floor reflected their appearances. Looking down, Kalma could immediately see past his hair and so averted his eyes to the altar at the front. It seemed... lacking. Like something was missing, but he couldn't tell what. He turned to Hokuto for an explanation. "Back in the original revision of The World, there used to be a statue of a young girl, bound by eight chains. Each chain represented a Phase of the Cursed Wave."
"Who was the girl?"
"She was called Aura. Nowadays, she's known as Aurora, Goddess of Life, but back then she was nothing more than some eye candy. To the players, at least."
"What do you mean, to the players?" Michiru called. She had found a place to perch; presently, she propped herself up against the railings.
"Harald Hoerwick, the lead programmer, created a program designed to evolve and grow based on who it interacted with. After a period, it became the Ultimate AI, with the aid of a bunch of players that became known as the .Hackers."
"Full stop Hackers?" Kalma inquired. Hokuto grinned.
"No, no. Dot Hackers. Don't ask me how they got the title, it seems strange. But they helped free Aura from something or other, by defeating the eight Phases wreaking havoc in The World's systems. In the end, Aura was freed and became the true Goddess of The World."
"Sounds bogus to me." said Michiru, ever the cynic.
"The truth, it seems, is stranger than fiction." Kalma rebuked. "Was this by any chance the cause of Pluto Again?"
"Bingo! You learn fast, Kalma!" said the Shadow Warlock, clapping excitedly. "The damage the Phases caused to the system is what caused the second Network Crisis. It wasn't as bad as Pluto's Kiss, but again affected everything, so they called it Pluto Again."
"That's all well and good, but come on! An AI that evolves? That's like saying it's-"
"Human?" Hokuto interrupted with a smile. "Exactly. But riddle me this. In a time where players fell into a coma when playing an online game, and then were suddenly miraculously cured following a strange series of events that were determined to begin inside The World, according to officials, is that really so far-fetched?"
"They did call 2005 the Twilight of the New Gods." Kalma said. Michiru sighed, shrugged.
"I guess so. But why isn't she here now?"
"Who, Aura?" the question brought a contemplative silence to Hokuto, who eventually shrugged her shoulders. "Who knows? Maybe she got tired of The World and left. Maybe she became the Goddess of more than just this world. Maybe she's gone all together."
Kalma stared into the endless motion of the pendulums. All of this was speculation; they had no real goal at the moment, no tangible leads.

He only hoped that the others would come up with something more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"This is number sixty-four!" Atoli exclaimed, with such pride. Lykala couldn't see what was special, in all honesty. It seemed the same as many other areas - a darkened dungeon, buffeted by winds from an unknown source. "Not this part, though. Inside, with the Beast Statue!"
"Why? What's there?" he asked, shouldering his Bayonet. The monsters seemed quite weak, but there were many and - as the Area Information told him - this was a long and winding dungeon - even if there were only two floors to it."
"A special area! Come on, let's go!" she was off before Lykala could even ask. Seeing that she wanted it to be a surprise, he simply smiled and followed suit.
They wandered aimlessly for some time, always avoiding the monsters. Before long, Lykala had all but forgotten about his weapon resting easily on his shoulder. "So... what's the story between you and Haseo?"
"Hm? Story?" Atoli shrugged. "There's not much of one, really. We just... know each other. I am a lot of who I am because of him."
"I see." the wind filled a companionable silence between the pair; Atoli content at the chance to slow down and enjoy things, and Lykala glad to see new places and the chance to spend some time with a new friend. The mission he had been given by Kalma had been pushed, far back in his mind.
"What about you, Lykala?" asked the Cleric, crossing her arms slightly. It was a sensitive subject, so she prepared herself for a rejection.
"Hm?"
"Do you have a particular story about The World? Or about your time in it so far?" they had come to a stop at a slope, down into the next level of a dungeon. The waterfall they faced raged endlessly, but something seemed different about it. The water seemed livelier, pulsing with an energy unseen, but tangible nonetheless.
"Oh, er... Well, I've only been playing for two days now, so nothing much inside The World." he lied, his gaze transfixed by the myriad shades of the water. "Save for our adventures."
Atoli smiled. "It's really fun, isn't it?"
"Yeah. Definitely beats levelling and trading."
"R-really? You think so?"
"You seem surprised." Lykala chuckled. "Come on, let's keep moving."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Any inspiration, then?" said Hokuto, after a long period of staring at the place where Aura should have been.
"I... think that this really is connected to the Epitaph, you know?" Michiru nodded to herself, assuring her thoughts. "Everything we've come to has been related to it, one way or another. I'm fairly certain that whatever happens, we'll be looking at this poem a lot more."
That was a general consensus. Kalma stared at his hands, thinking hard. "Well, what of Aura? Is she mentioned in the Epitaph?"
"Not once, but I guess you could consider The World's history as the Epitaph's future, right?"
"That makes sense." he said, brushing silver hair absently whilst he thought. "If that Harald guy really did model it on the Epitaph, then it would make sense that any events following it would be seen as something of a sequel to it. Right?"
"Precisely."
"So... maybe Aura's disappearance has something to do with it." their attention turned once more to the empty space. Now that he knew the meaning behind it, Kalma felt a strange sensation in his gut - like finding Aura would lead them to the Xth Form. He pondered on it; how would they find a lost program? One that seemingly no longer existed in The World. Sharing his thoughts with the other two led to yet another agreement, which in turn left them with nothing.
"Let's head back." said he. "Perhaps Faltion and Glacies have had better luck."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They carried on for some time, only reluctantly fighting monsters. At one point, they stopped for a break whilst he fetched a cup of coffee in real life. When he returned, Atoli was staring at something just behind his shoulder. "'Sup?"
"I-I think I just saw someone." she whispered. "Watching us whilst you were gone."
"Really?" he tracked her gaze, but saw nothing but misshapen, water-damp rocks. The wind was particularly strong, blowing strands of his messy hair across his eyes. "I can't see anyone."
Atoli made an uneasy mumble when they stood, to which he smiled reassuringly. "Come on! Where's that bright, cheerful Harvest Cleric from before gone, eh?"
"Huh?" Lykala continued to smile, and briefly grapsed her shoulder.
"When you smile, the world smiles with you. Let's keep up the good moods, eh? If someone's following us, we can worry about it when they approach us."
"B-but what if it's-"
"The what if's," Lykala assured, "don't matter. What matters is that we enjoy ourselves. We're supposed to be laying back right now - how can we do that if you're on edge?"
"S-sorry..." she averted her eyes, to his dismay. Doing his best to keep his smile up, for he was equally worried about whoever was following them, he cocked his head to one side in order to keep his own chocolate brown orbs level.
"No need to apologise. Let's keep going, hm? You've got me anticipating this special area you keep mentioning!"
Even that didn't cheer her up. He sighed, shook his head. "Alright, then. You leave me no other choice."
Atoli squealed; his arms had found her waist, and he hugged her tightly. "Cheer up, Atoli!"
"U-um... What're you doing?"
"Isn't it obvious?" he said. "Hugging you."
"B-b-but..."
"Aw, come on." he released her and grinned. "You hugged me, right?"
Atoli was thoroughly flustered. It had been a long time since anyone had hugged her; so long that she wasn't sure how to react. "You were really quiet when we first met... and now you're- you're..."
"What? Different?" he said, shrugging. "I gotta say - you've a habit of putting me off-guard. It may only be my first day, and your friend may have threatened to kill me not long ago, but it's fun adventuring with you. And when I'm having fun, I show it."
"O-oh... really?" Atoli seemed disbelieving. "You mean it? You're not just making fun of me?"
"Now why would I do something like that?" he rebuked, trying to sound as sincere as possible. "You helped me out of a tight spot, and showed me that I can have a time like this with friends. Why on Earth would I wanna make fun of you for that?"
"Um..." Atoli bowed her head; Lykala bumped it back up again, to see the starts of a brilliant smile in her sweet blue eyes. "I don't know."
Without another word, they began to walk again. "You said you didn't have any stories inside The World. What about before you joined?"
"Huh? How do you mean?"
"Why did you join?" she asked, eyes wandering. Unlike many other players, Atoli preferred to simply sit back and watch life go by. Numbers and competing hardly concerned her, despite Haseo's concerted efforts to get her interested in them. She thrived on stories like these - little bits that made the groups of pixels and numbers into true characters. Of course, that was only if they were willing to share them - if they didn't, she wouldn't press them.
Lykala, however, was perfectly fine with it. "It's not much of a story. One of my high school professors said it would be good to experience things like this. So here I am."

They came to a stop just outside the seal of the Beast Temple, hidden deep within the caves. Atoli ran ahead, shouting excitedly for him to follow. "Lykala, this way! Come on, hurry up!"
Laughing, he hurried to walk through the door and came to a large lake. It sparkled vigorously and several waterfalls that they had passed fed into the place. From the seal they stood by, a small path wound just underneath the surface of the water. Small orbs of light danced from the lake, too, providing soft illumination. Atoli's skin seemed to shine in it - Lykala less so. "Look! Isn't it beautiful?"
He crouched and ran his fingers through the pristine waters. Sapphires of the stuff clung desperately to his glove. "What is this place...?"
"After Humans captured Aurora, and fired her power in the Crest Gun, springs like this began to flood the caves." Atoli explained, kneeling at his side. "These waters are supposedly her tears, so they're called Sorrow Founts."
"Sorrow Founts, huh..."
"Hold on a moment!" Atoli exclaimed, before dashing over to the chest and opening it. She returned Lykala and held out her hand. "For you."
A small window popped up in his view. 'Aurora's Tear received!'
"Aurora's Tear." he studied it. It was only a small gem, no bigger than his eye, but shone with unbelievable vitality.
"They say that Aurora's Tears bring good luck and vitality to all who carry them." Atoli giggled. "There's a quest to make a special necklace from one, but I've never had the strength to do it. I'm content with just these jewels, anyway."
"Are you sure I can have this?" Lykala said, "I mean, if you like collecting 'em, you can have it."
"No, no! I want you to have it." Atoli smiled softly. "Besides. Like this, we can collect them together, right?"
"I didn't think about it like that, to be honest." he nodded and pocketed the small jewel. "Than-"

A heavy whoosh filled his ears, followed by the press of cold steel on his cheek. "Aww. Isn't that romantic."
Lykala daren't look up, but Atoli's expression was right in front of him; shock, fear, and recognition. "Y-you...!"

Δ Heavenly Ruined Fountain:

"Y-you!" Atoli shot to her feet. "What're you doing here?!"
"Atoli..." Lykala mumbled fearfully, all too aware of the blade inches from his neck. "Who's there?"
The owner of the blade laughed. Atoli steeled herself and yelled over the noise. "Get away from him, now!"
"Oh, with pleasure." Lykala was knocked careening into the air, by the flat of the hefty blade. He coughed and spat, scrambling to his feet. Atoli made to run for him but was forced to stop; the blade was now at her throat.
"Ah-ah-ah, little girly. Don't you help him out now." it was a woman dressed in black armour, with heavy bracers on her gloves. Her right hand span a huge, fearsome blade armed with saw blades along the edges. For such a fragile frame, she was unbelievably strong. An over-sized purple hat seemed much more menacing than Atoli's snow-white one. The large amount of flesh that was exposed was covered in crimson Wave tattoos. "Now do you see who's here, dear?"
A PK. His hands froze up; his first reaction to any PK he had encountered. "Aww, is the ickle noob frightened? What is this, your first log in?"
"Leave him alone, Asta!" Atoli yelled fiercely, but in her voice Lykala heard her desperate plea.
"Atoli...?" he breathed. "What's going on?"
"Why don't I fill you in- no, don't move, girly." the blade pressed harder against Atoli's throat. "You're just fine there. Now, dearest noob. I'm a PK, and I specialise in dealing with Canard-newbies like yourself! It's so fun."
Lykala gulped and backed away - or at least, was about to, when he caught Atoli's eye. They were filled with fear, and concern for him. He bit his lip; how could he run? Atoli was in danger, and she was afraid for him. But what could he do? He was only level seven! How could he have a hope in hell at defeating Asta, who was obviously a much higher level?
Atoli seemed to notice the panic in his eyes. "It's alright, Lykala."
"Alright?" he questioned, startled. "This isn't right. Not in the slightest!"
"Oh, spare me the drama." Asta grinned in a horribly playful manner. Her hand contorted and swung the blade around to point at Lykala. "Any last words?"
"L-last words?" Lykala stumbled backwards, eyes ablaze with fear. Asta stepped forward.
"None? Aww, too ba-"
"ZAN ROM!" a whirlwind sprang up at Asta's feet, buffeting her into the air. Atoli screamed over the din. "Run Lykala!"
Without further thought he slammed his feet into the ground, but Atoli didn't follow. He hesitated. "Don't worry about me. Go!"
"B-but..." the whirlwind died, and a battle fence sprang up around Atoli and Asta.
"I'll be fine, just go!" she yelled, as Asta stumbled to her feet. "Please, Lykala!"
The odds were clearly stacked against her. Asta growled, hoisted her blade. "Lil' ****... You'll pay for that!"
Lykala winced as the blade slammed into Atoli with punishing force; she slammed into the wall, but recovered and cast a healing spell. "As soon as you're dead, your little noob-friend is going down with you. Twin Moons!"
This time she unleashed a skill - Atoli's HP dropped to dangerously low levels. She recovered again, but it was only enough to bring her health to just above half way. If Asta attacked again, there was no doubt that Atoli would perish.
Blade poised, Asta was about to do just that. Atoli closed her eyes, prepared for it. At least Lykala could get away safely...

"Thorn Shot!" three bullets slammed into Asta, sending her careening into the opposite wall. Lykala put himself swiftly between the two, feet splashing the vibrantly glowing Sorrow Fount.
"Lykala!" Atoli shook her head in disbelief. "I told you to run!"
"Well I'm staying." he said, firm in an attempt to sound courageous. His trembling hands and shaky voice betrayed his true feelings, though. "You're not getting PKed. It's me she wants. Isn't that right, Asta?!"
Asta stumbled to her feet, surprised. The bullets had done absolutely no damage, but his sudden entry had caught her off-guard. "What the hell're you doing, eh? Where'd this chivalry come from?"
"It's me you want. PK me and let Atoli go." he demanded, steeling his voice as best he could. Atoli couldn't beleive her eyes - minutes ago Lykala had been mortally afraid of any PK. Now, he was fiercely staring one down despite the fact that she would kill him. She wanted to tell him to run, to get away, but it was no use - once inside, there was no way out of a Battle Fence without the use of special items. Lykala had signed his death warrant to protect her, but why?
"Hmph... I don't know what the hell you were thinking, but after what you just did to me, I think I'll PK you both." Asta ran forward and prepared herself. "Starting with YOU!"

A flash of steel. Atoli had slammed her eyes shut, but upon opening them, she found Lykala's body falling to the ground. "No... no, no, no!"
He landed face first in the Sorrow Fount, creating an almighty splash that drenched his body. His Bayonet was completely immersed by the Fount's waters. "Lykala...! Lykala!"
She crouched at his side and rolled his body to face the ceiling, completely oblivious of Asta. "Come on, get up! Please!"
"Spare me the dramatics!" Asta laughed, "Just pick him up after you're dead!"
A rumble from deep within the cave froze Asta in her place. A disembodied voice rippled through the Fount's waters.
"Blood of the Key mixes with the Waters of Life. She who has spilt it, shall in turn have hers spilt."
"Wh-what? What's going on?!" she stammered, turning to Atoli. "What did you do?"
Atoli, however, was too busy looking around the cave in wild-eyed confusion. In the centre of the arena, the waters began to gather and assume a shape. Humanoid, shining with the vitality the Sorrow Fount brimmed with. "You raise a hand against the Key and his Champion?"
It faced Asta. She tried to back away, tried to flee, but walls of water buffeted her at every turn. The Battle Fence trembled in its attempt to contain this strange new being's power. Forming a spear from the Fount, the humanoid launched it at the helpless Asta. She howled in pain, but only for a moment - the waters tore her body to shreds of light, and seconds later she had vanished.
The being now turned to Atoli, who cradled Lykala's corpse protectively. "Do not be afraid, Champion of the Second Key." it spoke, and with it spoke the entirety of the Sorrow Fount. It was the voice of life; the voice of a god.
"Wh-who are you?" she whispered, but it didn't answer. Instead, its attention shifted to the bloodied and soaked Lykala. The water around him had turned a horrible dark crimson, losing its sparkle and lustre. The humanoid held out its hand, directing more of it over his body. It seeped into his every pore, and once it had done so, his skin returned to healthy shades. His eyes shot open. He sat upright, coughing and spluttering.
Whilst all of this happened, Atoli noticed that the water was gaining more features. Strong, thick-set arms, tusks, aqueous fur, and eyes that passed judgements on existence itself. Lykala stared up at the beast, at a loss for words.
"You asked who I was, Champion." said the being. "I am the last remnant of your pantheon. When you turned against us, it was I who surrendered his role in order to guard the gates. In time, you began to call me Folset, the God of Law."
"You're Folset...?" panted Lykala, still struggling for breath. For some strange reason, that resurrection had caused him actual, physical pain.
"Indeed. And you, child, are the Second Key."
"Huh? I'm what?"
Whereas most people would be frustrated by his slowness, Folset only elaborated. "You are the Second Key to the Gods' Rebirth. The one who holds you is your Champion."
"Gods' Rebirth?" Atoli whispered, confused. "What's that?"
"There was a time when three factions strived to bring back the pantheon. Arvakv, Ogmios, Teutates. Their petty squabbles and fruitless warring has denied them the right to find the Keys. This World has descended into darkness. The Keys are the light, the trigger for the Gods' Rebirth."
Lykala was forced to question himself. Was this real? If it was, this was one complex event. Folset stared at him, and answered his thoughts. "This is no trivial event, Lykala. The Hidden One rises. Aurora is locked away and the other gods begin to weaken. You are the second Key, the second release to this world's ending Twilight."
Instead of asking how the hell Folset had read his mind, Lykala looked to Atoli. She was thoroughly confused, deeply shocked; just as he was. "You said that Atoli was my Champion... what did you mean by that?"
"The Second Key has always been guarded by the Mirage of Deceit. She has been your Champion since before you even knew she existed."
"Mirage of Deceit... Innis?" his eyes focussed on Atoli's, but Folset gave him no opportunity to question her.
"Rise, Lykala. Accept your destiny as the Second Key."
His voice allowed no refusals. Slowly, he stood up - Atoli at his side. "Accept my Eye - it is the only way to locate the other seven Keys. Find them, unite, and bring about the Gods' Rebirth together with your Champions."
A bright light filled his vision - when he opened his eyes, Folset was gone, and a solitary orb floated in his palm. It shimmered with a faint light, similar to the Fount's waters.
'Folset's Eye obtained!' said the pop-up window. All was quiet, everything had returned to how it was before Asta had PKed him.
"Lykala... what just happened?" Atoli asked, staring at Folset's Eye.
"I don't know... I think..." he shook his head; this was major. Whatever this was, event or a real threat to 'The World', he needed to talk it through. "Will you come with me to Mac Anu? There's some people I need you to meet, some things we need to discuss, and some things I need to explain."
Atoli hesitantly nodded. Lykala stared at the jewel in his hand.

He was the Second Key to the Gods' Rebirth. Atoli was his Champion.

Kalma needed to know about this.

Δ Eternal City Mac Anu ~ Seekers @HOME:

Lykala was terribly scared when he warped into Mac Anu. He had decided to tell Atoli about everything - about Seekers, about Xth Form, about why he was told to join Canard and his change of heart. He was terrified of her reaction; she didn't seem to take well to any negative emotions, and lying would definitely not sit well. His nerves bled through into his disposition, causing Atoli to take note. "Is... something wrong, Lykala?"
"N-no, nothing." he lied, focussing on the street ahead. Bridges connected the streams that criss-crossed Mac Anu, and where they stood now was the bridge they had met on hours previous. "Listen, Atoli. Do you mind if I tell you some of this stuff now?"
"I'd like it if you did." she admitted, "You've kept me on edge ever since we got back from the Fount."
"Right..." Lykala closed his eyes, linked his hands and stared out onto the waters. Part of him still felt strange, as if this whole revelation wasn't real. Moments after reaching the town he had pinched himself, only to find himself wide awake. Even the pain of his resurrection was numb in his body. "Shortly after joining The World, I bumped into Broken Blood Kalma. Know him?"
"From the Chaotic PK bounties, yes. What happened?"
"He... it was weird. He said he's dropped his title of a Chaotic PK, and then told me about something strange." he decided to leave out Glacies involvement until later, as Atoli would undoubtedly sense betrayal. "He told me about the Xth Form."
"H-he did?" put on the back foot, she too averted her eyes from him. Matching his gaze at the water, Atoli whispered. "What did he say?"
"Just told me what it was, what he'd heard." Lykala explained. "At first I didn't believe it, but he convinced me to join his Guild. They're searching for it, you see."
"They?" Atoli asked.
"Yeah. Kalma, and a few others." Lykala chuckled to himself. "Even my college lecturer's in on it."
"A-and you?" Atoli sighed quietly. "You're part of it, too?"
"Sort of. I, well, to be honest I didn't think anything of it. But now..." he withdrew Folset's Eye, half-surprised it was actually there. "Now, I'm fairly sure that this has something to do with it."
"I see." part of Lykala was expecting an outburst like she had with Alkaid and Haseo. In fact, he thought he thoroughly deserved one for it. "And... is this who you want me to meet?"
"Yeah." he shrugged. "You don't have to, of course. But I think they need to know about all this. Who knows? If what that thing said was true, and I'm a Key and you're my Champion, maybe they can help us find out where the others are."
There was little point in denying that Folset - or whatever that water-being was - had appeared; the proof sparkled in the palm of his hand. He wasn't even sure what it was, or how it worked. His mind still dwelled on Folset's words.
"You are the second Key, the second release to this world's ending Twilight."
Atoli seemed lost in thought, just like he was. He wondered if she was actually hurt by the admittance. "I-I'm sorry for hiding this from you." he said, casting his eyes down. "I didn't really know how to-"
"It's fine." she interrupted, but in a blank tone that told Lykala she was not completely fine with it all. "At least you were honest with me. Can you do me a favour, though?"
"A-anything." normally he would have asked what first, but Atoli's upset demeanor caused him to immediately want to right it.
"I'll admit, that I'm not the best person for complete honesty. But please, don't keep secrets from me. Okay?"
Easy enough. That was the only huge secret Lykala had from her. He nodded, and together they walked to Seekers' @HOME.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Atoli was greeted by surprised stares; Lykala, by Broken Grunty's hooves. "Hey, ow!" he complained, rubbing his nose. "What was that for?"
"Calling me a pig, moko!" it was about to launch a second assault, but Glacies had quickly replaced Lykala's focus with a hugely relieved sigh.
"You're alright! I'm so glad!"
"Huh? What?" the rest of the Guild seemed slightly less worried - only Hokuto showed similar concerns, and offered an explanation for him.
"We heard that a PK named Asta had set her sights on you. Glacies wanted to go and find you, but when she got to the bridge where you said you would be, you'd gone."
"As you can tell." Kalma added. "She's quite relieved that you're safe and sound."
"Ah... yeah, about that." Lykala looked nervously at the Harvest Cleric, which in turn sparked questions.
"Who's that, then?" asked Kalma.
"It's... Atoli, right?" Glacies supplied; Atoli nodded, bowed low.
"I'm happy to meet you all."
"Sure, sure." Faltion jumped from his couch - almost all the members were now arranged in a tight semi-circle, around Lykala and Atoli. Feeling slightly claustrophobic, he suggested they make themselves comfortable.
Once done so, Kalma was the first to speak. "I assume you have brought Atoli here for a reason?"
"Yeah." from his pouch, Lykala withdrew Folset's Eye. He had to be sure. "Has anyone seen this item before, ever?"
Everyone - even Hokuto - said no. "Not even in events?"
"I have participated in most events held by CC Corporation, and never has that been a reward."
"What he said." added Hokuto, sat on one of the crates below Michiru. "What is it, anywho?"
"It's called Folset's Eye." Lykala whispered. "I- we, Atoli and myself, were given it by some weird thing that came from one of the Sorrow Founts." between them, they explained everything. Atoli had to fill in some events, such as the time when his character was technically dead. Once done, an awestruck silence had found purchase amongst all of them. Even Lykala, who had taken part in these events, found himself instilled by a sense of far greater things going on inside this game.
"That item, then..." Hokuto began. "Folset gave it to you?"
"Yeah. Right after he called me the Second Key."
"Weird." Faltion blurted. "All of us were told about - or thinking about - the Gods' Rebirth, too. And then you get approached by something like that?"
"Thing is, though..." Lykala averted his eyes, feeling quite childish for saying something so cliché. "I don't think this is just another event, y'know? When I was revived, it hurt. Like, an actual pain in my chest."
"You're probably right." Hokuto answered. "I saw some things in The World R:1 that weren't Triple-C events, and just couldn't be explained. But whatever this is, is something really important."
"How'd you figure that?" Faltion said, arms crossed and eyebrows furrowed in thought.
"Think about it, and it makes sense!" she bounced off her seat, so great was her enthusiasm. "Every major event in The World's history - Aura's Birth, Pluto Again - have never been official events. Gods' Rebirth is part of R:2's backstory, and what do you think would happen if we gathered these eight Keys?"
"The Gods truly would be reborn." Kalma nodded, interlacing his fingers and staring contemplatively at Atoli; she drew herself in slightly, shielding herself from unseen yet piercing eyes. "There's one thing I don't quite understand."
"Wh-what?"
"Folset called you the Mirage of Deceit, am I correct?" Atoli nodded, uncertain. "Why? The Mirage of Deceit is the name of Innis, the second Phase of the Cursed Wave. Do you hold some connection to it?"
"Hang on a moment." Lykala held up his hand. "Haseo's called the Terror of Death - Skeith's name. You're the Mirage of Deceit..."
Atoli was silent, her eyes hidden by her fringe. For such a brightly coloured character, she seemed awfully subdued. "Atoli?"
"I... I said I wasn't the best person for complete honesty, Lykala. Y-you remember that, right?"
He nodded, confusion slowly spreading across his features. "Haseo and I... and six others too. We all hold a connection to these Phases. No." she shook her head, and slowly corrected herself. "We are those Phases."
"Whoa whoa." Glacies blinked rapidly, as if to clear herself of confusion. "You've lost me. You are the second Phase?"
"In a way, yes." Atoli closed her eyes and sighed heavily. "Haseo'll be so mad if I tell you, and I'm scared you won't believe me."
"Atoli." Lykala smiled reassuringly, as he always tried to when faced with her slippery moods. "I've just been killed, and then resurrected by a thing that called itself the God of Law. Trust me when I say that I personally will believe whatever you say, yeah?"
"Seconded." Glacies looked to Hokuto, who also nodded. She felt strange, but dismissed it - right now it wasn't important that Lykala was paying more attention to Atoli than to her. That was just how this discussion needed to be.
"R-right." taking a deep breath, she began to explain, fearing the consequences of divulging this without Haseo's approval. "It was about a year ago now, but myself, Haseo, and six others learnt that we had the ability to... um... well, summon is the best word, I guess. But we could summon an Avatar, each one being one of these Phases that you talk about. I can summon Innis, Haseo can summon Skeith, and the rest can summon the other six. It sounds crazy, I know, but..."
She tailed off, hung her head. Lykala nodded. "That's what Folset must have meant by Champions. Each of the Phases is linked to a Key. So I'm linked to Atoli, as the Second Key, which would mean the other seven are also linked to another Key."
"I don't mean to interrupt," Faltion began, clearly meaning to interrupt, "but what're we gonna do with all this info? I mean, sure, we now know about all this, but isn't our focus Xth Form?"
"One may be linked to the other." Kalma rebutted, without looking back at Faltion; the latter sighed, shrugged. "Have you tried using the Eye, Lykala?"
"Huh? No. Should I?"
"Please." he hesitantly stood up, holding Folset's Eye straight out in front of him. He clicked 'use' in the item menu.

A flash of light burst from the Eye, and a voice Lykala recognised as Folset's rang out. "Unite the Keys, and the Trials of Twilight shall begin."
When the light faded, a soft blue aura had enveloped and linked Atoli and Lykala's bodies. To their great surprise, four other auras also surrounded the Guild members. Faltion was enshrouded in a wizened orange; Kalma, an abyssal blue; Michiru, violent red; Glacies, bright silver. "Holy mother of..." Faltion began, looking at his body. "The heck does this mean, then?"
"Well, if Lykala is a Key and he is enshrouded," Kalma began, unable to remove his eyes from his own aura, "And Atoli knows the other seven Phases, then it must mean that we are Keys also."
"All five of us are Keys?" Glacies exclaimed. "Seriously?"
"That's just too many to be considered a coincidence." Michiru mumbled. Lykala nodded.
The auras eventually faded. Hokuto, slowly, began to speak all of their minds. "You know what this means, right?"
Faltion nodded grimly. "This is real. We're gonna have to get to the other Keys and link up with our Phases, or Champions, or whatever the hell that Folset guy called them."
Atoli gulped. That meant that Haseo would find out. "Well, I sure as hell didn't sign up for this, but looks like we've got no choice, eh?"
Lykala agreed with Faltion, and sighed. This was all too much. Two days into joining The World, and he was already involved in something that would involve things well beyond his current strength. He needed to calm down, to think. "I'm... gonna go think on some things. Is that alright?"
"Sure." Kalma nodded. "Let's meet here tomorrow, okay? We need a plan of action if we are to find these other Keys."
"For sure. The World has over twelve million players." Hokuto said, rubbing her forehead and digesting everything that had just transpired. "And we need to find, what, three more people? If Atoli already knows the other seven Phases, that makes our job easier.
"Those 'Trials of Twilight' don't sound good, either." Faltion added, shaking his head and rubbing disbelieving green eyes. "'Kay. Catch you all later."