Post by Hayate on Dec 8, 2006 23:45:18 GMT -5
Chapter 6: One Farewell, One Hello
Thursday, May 18, 2017 (continued):
Just as Yulie did here before I arrived last time, I gazed at the moon. It was amazing how real it looked, even in a game. Moments later, Yulie arrived through the transporter. “Hi! …Huh? What happened, Akira? You look different.”
“It’s a Job Extension. An Adept Rogue’s special ability.”
“Oh, okay. So, what did you want to talk about?”
“Yulie… If I were to go away without warning and never return…would you cry?”
“What? What are you talking about, Akira? …Are you going somewhere?”
“I might be. But, if I do, I don’t want you to cry like you did for Rubina.”
“Akira… I don’t understand. Are you quitting <The World>?”
“To tell you the truth, I don’t know.”
Yulie had a deeply concerned look in her eyes. “Can you tell me what’s going on?”
“Sorry. But I can’t. Just know this: no matter what happens to me, I don’t want you to be sad.”
“Akira…”
“I want you to have these.” I walked up to Yulie and handed to her a pair of dual swords.
“What’s this?”
“The dual swords I obtained from the Beast Statue at D Peaceful Leading Freedom. A memento of the first adventure we had together.”
“You’ve held onto these for this long? …Huh? Akira? Where’d you go?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Friday, May 19, 2017:
I know it was kind of harsh for me to leave Yulie like that yesterday, but I never really cared for long goodbyes. As soon as I logged in, I headed for Raven’s @home to meet with Yata at the Serpent of Lore. “…Have you decided?”
“Well, I’ve done a lot of thinking and, yes, I have decided. If it’s for the good of <The World>, I’ll bond my character with Haseo. Even if I fall into a coma in the process.”
“Glad to hear it. Pi.” Pi, the pink-haired woman had walked in as soon as she was summoned. “I ask you once again, Akira. Are you sure you wish to go through with this?”
“Yes, I am. I’ve learned that sometimes you have to sacrifice the ‘one’ in order to save the ‘all’.”
“That’s very noble of you. You and Pi will be heading to D Great Cursed In-Laws. Haseo and Kuhn will be waiting for you there. Pi?”
“Yes, Master Yata. Follow me, Akira.”
Meanwhile, at D Great Cursed In-Laws…“…Tell me again why I’m doing this, Kuhn.”, Haseo asked his fellow G.U. member.
“I thought Yata already explained this to you, Haseo. You and Akira’s data are gradually deteriorating. It wouldn’t be long before you’d both fade away. So you’re going to bond your PC with Akira’s and that should prevent the deterioration.”
“And that’s it?”
“That’s it! …But there is one little problem.”
“What’s that?”
“There’s no telling what’ll occur. There’s about a 30% chance that you’ll both… You know…”
“No, I DON’T know! That’s why I’m asking!!”
“There’s a chance that you both will fall into a coma…”
“Say WHAT!?!? Why didn’t you tell me this SOONER!?!?”
“Because we knew you’d react this way! But, don’t worry about it, Haseo. 30% is a small percentage if you think about it.”
“Kuhn… If I survive this…I’m gonna kill you.”
“Hehehehe… C’mon, you don’t mean that. Oh! They’re here!”
Only seconds later, Pi and I arrive to the area via the transporter. Needless to say, I was scared stiff. Pi faced me worriedly. “Are you ready, Akira?”
“Yeah. Let’s do this.” I walk up to and look Haseo the PKK in the eye. “We meet again.”
“Whatever.”, he replied apathetically.
“Y’know, I just realized something. If we survive this, I’ll probably forget all of your memories, won’t I?”
“What’s the matter? You scared?”
“Hehehe… Terrified, really. What about you, Haseo?”
“Tch! There are things in this world a lot scarier than this.” He must’ve been referring to Tri-Edge. “So, what do we do first?”
“Concentrate your energies towards each other. Haseo, focus your thoughts as if to conjure your Avatar.”
“Okay, sure.” Haseo assumes a stance and focuses his energy. “Come on… Come on… Come on!”
I wasn’t completely sure what Haseo was doing, but whatever it was, it stirred something deep inside my character. “Ahhh! What’s happening to me!?” Both Haseo and I started to lift off of the ground. “Whoa!”
“Would you shut up!? I’m trying to concentrate over here!!!”
“S-Sorry!”
“Come on… I’m right here… SKEITH!!!” All of a sudden, Haseo transforms into this giant puppet-like monstrosity.
This, in turn, stirred the insides of my character even more. I was even beginning to feel it in the real world. “What’s…going on? I don’t…feel so good! Something…something inside me is…trying to force its way out…! AAAAAHHHHH!!!!” It was the same as before. My character’s expression changed to that of Tri-Edge and he assumes control of himself. “…”
“Pi… What’s happening to them?”
“It’s as Master Yata had said, Kuhn. Haseo and Akira are two sides of the same coin. Whatever one side does, it affects the other.”
“Okay, Pi. What next?”, Haseo inquired.
“Fire Data Drain at Akira.”, Pi instructed bluntly. “If my hunch is correct, Akira should become one with you once you Data Drain him.”
“Why do I feel like you’re just making this up as you go along? …Alright, fine. Akira, you may want to hold on to something!” Mass amounts of data gathered around Skeith’s right arm and it formed into a cannon, just like Akira did at the labyrinth. “DATA DRAIN!!” A sphere of blue and purple light shoots out from the cannon…
…and collides with another sphere of light. “…” Akira let out a low-pitched groan after firing his own Data Drain blast.
“What the hell!? He’s able to use Data Drain too?!?”
“Haseo, have you not been paying attention? You and Akira are exact opposites. Whatever you can use, he can use.”
“Damn it… Data Drain! Data Drain! Data Drain!” Skeith fired blast after blast after blast, but every single one was countered by Akira’s blasts. “All right, that’s it!” Finally being pushed to the brink of aggravation, Skeith unleashed his scythe. “You wanna play rough? That’s fine by me!!” At last, Skeith rushed in.
Akira was prepared however, as he had drawn his bayonet. He charged in at Skeith as well.
“Wait! Why are they battling, Pi?” Kuhn questioned. “If they’re two sides of the same coin, aren’t they evenly matched?”
“Perhaps. Haseo simply wants to absorb Akira. Maybe this is Akira’s defense mechanism. This is a good way to see which side is more powerful…”
It was a perfectly even battle. For every swing of Skeith’s scythe, Akira retaliated with a swing of his blade. For every blast from Skeith’s palm, Akira retaliated with a gun blast. “Damn you! Why! Won’t! You! Stay! Still!?” Haseo was getting increasingly frustrated with the battle’s progress. He then stopped for a second to catch his breath. “Man! How am I supposed to beat this guy if he knows my every move?”
Kuhn thought for a minute, and then came up with a solution of his own. “I think I know! Akira! You have to take control over your character! Make him stop moving long enough for Haseo to attack!”
But it was pointless. I pushed the buttons on my controller nonstop, hoping it’d have some sort of effect, but nothing. What else could I do? Akira was unstoppable…
…Unless.
Unless I was connected to my character through more than my controller. Maybe our hearts were connected as well. I began to concentrate all of my thoughts on Akira. Slowly but surely, our minds became as one. I opened my eyes and found myself staring Akira in the eye. He simply stared back with Tri-Edge-esque eyes. In an instant, he drew his dual swords at me. “Akira!! Listen to me!! This is your player talking to you!!” Akira said nothing and charged at me. “No!! You have to stop!! Please!!” No response. Akira was about 15 feet away now. “…STOP!!!” Only when I shouted at him did Akira finally stop running towards me. “Listen, Akira. There’s a whole lot at stake here. If you and Haseo don’t combine your PCs, it’ll have a serious effect on <The World> in the future. Everyone playing the game may become comatose, and we’ll never learn the reason why. Do you understand?”
Akira’s eyes returned to normal and he looked me square in the eye. “But…” Suddenly, Akira shed a tear. “…I’m scared.” Pretty soon, tears came streaming down his face. “I’ve never been more scared in my life.”
“…You don’t have to be scared, Akira.”
“Huh?”
“I’m here right by your side.” I walked up to Akira and extended a hand to him. “We’ll face this together.” He looked down at my hand hesitantly. But I was his player. He knew that he could trust me. He took my hand and, in a blinding light, I was back in control.
Haseo simply looked at a motionless Akira. “…What just happened? He stopped moving.”
“Haseo! Now’s your chance! Do it before something else goes wrong!”
“Got it!” Skeith aimed his cannon once again… “DATA DRAIN!!!” …and fired. The sphere of light that shot out of the cannon strikes me with full force. My data splits apart into fragments and is vacuumed in by Skeith’s right arm. All that was left of me was a broken-up body. “…What now? Is it done?”
Pi examines the remnants of my body. “I’m…not certain. The Data Drain was successful, but… Huh?” Just then, the gaps in-between my body’s data fragments start to shine brightly. “What’s…going on?!”
I began to feel a great pressure inside of me – in the real world as well. “AAAHHH!! The pain! Make it stop…! Please…MAKE THE PAIN STOOOOOOOP!!!!”
Then, Haseo began to feel the same pressure inside of him and he clutched his stomach in pain. “AAHH!! What the hell…is this?!?!?”
“Pi?”
“Akira’s character data is reacting to Haseo’s… They’re breaking apart!!”, Pi exclaimed.
“What can we do?”
“…Nothing…”
In unison, Haseo and I screamed in pain. It felt as if our insides were being torn to shreds. “No… I don’t want to die…”, I whimpered. “I don’t… I DON’T WANT TO DIE!!!!” I don’t know what became of Haseo, and I probably never will. But I knew full well what became of me. For lack of a better explanation, my character data shattered into pieces, and before I knew it…
…I was gone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Yulie’s Diary)
Friday, June 9, 2017:
SUMMER VACATION’S FINALLY HERE!! I’ve been waiting for this day all year!! Two whole months of nothing but goofing off and having fun!!
It’s been exactly three weeks since I’ve last seen Akira. The things he said to me right before he disappeared are still echoing through my mind.
‘If I were to go away without warning and never return…would you cry?’
‘If I do, I don’t want you to cry like you did for Rubina.’
‘No matter what happens to me, I don’t want you to be sad.’
I still have no idea what he meant by all of it. I wondered if I’d ever see him again, or what he was doing right now.
“…Yulie?”
“…”
“Hey, Yulie.”
“…”
“Yulie!!”
“Huh? Oh! Zetsu, what is it?”
“You okay? You were spacing out.”
“Sorry, I was just…thinking about something, that’s all.”
“Something…or someone? You were thinking about Akira, weren’t you?”
“…Maybe.”
“Don’t worry, Yulie. We’ll see him again. I’m sure of it.”
“Thanks, Zetsu.”
“No problem. Now, come on, Darius gave us an assign--” I tried my best to keep myself from laughing at what happened next. Zetsu bumped right into an Adept Rogue with light blue hair and fell over. A major case of déjà-vu. “Hey! Watch where you’re going!”
“Sorry about that. I wasn’t watching where I was going. It happens to me a lot.”, the Adept Rogue replied apologetically.
The two got to their feet and dusted themselves off. “You’re a noob, aren’t you?”
“Yeah. This is my first day playing <The World>. I just logged in a minute ago.”
As with any newbie, Zetsu wasn’t interested. “Yeah, yeah, spare me your life story. Man, noobs are swarming Mac Anu lately!” With that, Zetsu walked off in a huff towards the dome. “You coming, Yulie?”
“Be with you in a minute.” I walked up to the blue-haired Adept Rogue and greeted him personally. “Hello there.”
“Hi, Yulie.”
“Huh?” A feeling of warmth swept through me. “H-How did you know my name?”
“That guy you were with said your name, didn’t he?”
“Oh.” False alarm, I guess. “Well, anyway, welcome to <The World>. It’s nice to meet you.”, I exclaimed as I shook his hand.
“Same here.”
“…Well? Are you gonna tell me your name or what?”
“OH!! Sorry, sorry! I always do this! I’m such an idiot sometimes!” He took a few steps away from me and bowed courteously. Meeting a gentleman in <The World> was indeed a pleasant surprise. Upon bowing, he spoke the following words:
“Pleased to make your acquaintance! My name is Akira!!”
Thursday, May 18, 2017 (continued):
Just as Yulie did here before I arrived last time, I gazed at the moon. It was amazing how real it looked, even in a game. Moments later, Yulie arrived through the transporter. “Hi! …Huh? What happened, Akira? You look different.”
“It’s a Job Extension. An Adept Rogue’s special ability.”
“Oh, okay. So, what did you want to talk about?”
“Yulie… If I were to go away without warning and never return…would you cry?”
“What? What are you talking about, Akira? …Are you going somewhere?”
“I might be. But, if I do, I don’t want you to cry like you did for Rubina.”
“Akira… I don’t understand. Are you quitting <The World>?”
“To tell you the truth, I don’t know.”
Yulie had a deeply concerned look in her eyes. “Can you tell me what’s going on?”
“Sorry. But I can’t. Just know this: no matter what happens to me, I don’t want you to be sad.”
“Akira…”
“I want you to have these.” I walked up to Yulie and handed to her a pair of dual swords.
“What’s this?”
“The dual swords I obtained from the Beast Statue at D Peaceful Leading Freedom. A memento of the first adventure we had together.”
“You’ve held onto these for this long? …Huh? Akira? Where’d you go?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Friday, May 19, 2017:
I know it was kind of harsh for me to leave Yulie like that yesterday, but I never really cared for long goodbyes. As soon as I logged in, I headed for Raven’s @home to meet with Yata at the Serpent of Lore. “…Have you decided?”
“Well, I’ve done a lot of thinking and, yes, I have decided. If it’s for the good of <The World>, I’ll bond my character with Haseo. Even if I fall into a coma in the process.”
“Glad to hear it. Pi.” Pi, the pink-haired woman had walked in as soon as she was summoned. “I ask you once again, Akira. Are you sure you wish to go through with this?”
“Yes, I am. I’ve learned that sometimes you have to sacrifice the ‘one’ in order to save the ‘all’.”
“That’s very noble of you. You and Pi will be heading to D Great Cursed In-Laws. Haseo and Kuhn will be waiting for you there. Pi?”
“Yes, Master Yata. Follow me, Akira.”
Meanwhile, at D Great Cursed In-Laws…“…Tell me again why I’m doing this, Kuhn.”, Haseo asked his fellow G.U. member.
“I thought Yata already explained this to you, Haseo. You and Akira’s data are gradually deteriorating. It wouldn’t be long before you’d both fade away. So you’re going to bond your PC with Akira’s and that should prevent the deterioration.”
“And that’s it?”
“That’s it! …But there is one little problem.”
“What’s that?”
“There’s no telling what’ll occur. There’s about a 30% chance that you’ll both… You know…”
“No, I DON’T know! That’s why I’m asking!!”
“There’s a chance that you both will fall into a coma…”
“Say WHAT!?!? Why didn’t you tell me this SOONER!?!?”
“Because we knew you’d react this way! But, don’t worry about it, Haseo. 30% is a small percentage if you think about it.”
“Kuhn… If I survive this…I’m gonna kill you.”
“Hehehehe… C’mon, you don’t mean that. Oh! They’re here!”
Only seconds later, Pi and I arrive to the area via the transporter. Needless to say, I was scared stiff. Pi faced me worriedly. “Are you ready, Akira?”
“Yeah. Let’s do this.” I walk up to and look Haseo the PKK in the eye. “We meet again.”
“Whatever.”, he replied apathetically.
“Y’know, I just realized something. If we survive this, I’ll probably forget all of your memories, won’t I?”
“What’s the matter? You scared?”
“Hehehe… Terrified, really. What about you, Haseo?”
“Tch! There are things in this world a lot scarier than this.” He must’ve been referring to Tri-Edge. “So, what do we do first?”
“Concentrate your energies towards each other. Haseo, focus your thoughts as if to conjure your Avatar.”
“Okay, sure.” Haseo assumes a stance and focuses his energy. “Come on… Come on… Come on!”
I wasn’t completely sure what Haseo was doing, but whatever it was, it stirred something deep inside my character. “Ahhh! What’s happening to me!?” Both Haseo and I started to lift off of the ground. “Whoa!”
“Would you shut up!? I’m trying to concentrate over here!!!”
“S-Sorry!”
“Come on… I’m right here… SKEITH!!!” All of a sudden, Haseo transforms into this giant puppet-like monstrosity.
This, in turn, stirred the insides of my character even more. I was even beginning to feel it in the real world. “What’s…going on? I don’t…feel so good! Something…something inside me is…trying to force its way out…! AAAAAHHHHH!!!!” It was the same as before. My character’s expression changed to that of Tri-Edge and he assumes control of himself. “…”
“Pi… What’s happening to them?”
“It’s as Master Yata had said, Kuhn. Haseo and Akira are two sides of the same coin. Whatever one side does, it affects the other.”
“Okay, Pi. What next?”, Haseo inquired.
“Fire Data Drain at Akira.”, Pi instructed bluntly. “If my hunch is correct, Akira should become one with you once you Data Drain him.”
“Why do I feel like you’re just making this up as you go along? …Alright, fine. Akira, you may want to hold on to something!” Mass amounts of data gathered around Skeith’s right arm and it formed into a cannon, just like Akira did at the labyrinth. “DATA DRAIN!!” A sphere of blue and purple light shoots out from the cannon…
…and collides with another sphere of light. “…” Akira let out a low-pitched groan after firing his own Data Drain blast.
“What the hell!? He’s able to use Data Drain too?!?”
“Haseo, have you not been paying attention? You and Akira are exact opposites. Whatever you can use, he can use.”
“Damn it… Data Drain! Data Drain! Data Drain!” Skeith fired blast after blast after blast, but every single one was countered by Akira’s blasts. “All right, that’s it!” Finally being pushed to the brink of aggravation, Skeith unleashed his scythe. “You wanna play rough? That’s fine by me!!” At last, Skeith rushed in.
Akira was prepared however, as he had drawn his bayonet. He charged in at Skeith as well.
“Wait! Why are they battling, Pi?” Kuhn questioned. “If they’re two sides of the same coin, aren’t they evenly matched?”
“Perhaps. Haseo simply wants to absorb Akira. Maybe this is Akira’s defense mechanism. This is a good way to see which side is more powerful…”
It was a perfectly even battle. For every swing of Skeith’s scythe, Akira retaliated with a swing of his blade. For every blast from Skeith’s palm, Akira retaliated with a gun blast. “Damn you! Why! Won’t! You! Stay! Still!?” Haseo was getting increasingly frustrated with the battle’s progress. He then stopped for a second to catch his breath. “Man! How am I supposed to beat this guy if he knows my every move?”
Kuhn thought for a minute, and then came up with a solution of his own. “I think I know! Akira! You have to take control over your character! Make him stop moving long enough for Haseo to attack!”
But it was pointless. I pushed the buttons on my controller nonstop, hoping it’d have some sort of effect, but nothing. What else could I do? Akira was unstoppable…
…Unless.
Unless I was connected to my character through more than my controller. Maybe our hearts were connected as well. I began to concentrate all of my thoughts on Akira. Slowly but surely, our minds became as one. I opened my eyes and found myself staring Akira in the eye. He simply stared back with Tri-Edge-esque eyes. In an instant, he drew his dual swords at me. “Akira!! Listen to me!! This is your player talking to you!!” Akira said nothing and charged at me. “No!! You have to stop!! Please!!” No response. Akira was about 15 feet away now. “…STOP!!!” Only when I shouted at him did Akira finally stop running towards me. “Listen, Akira. There’s a whole lot at stake here. If you and Haseo don’t combine your PCs, it’ll have a serious effect on <The World> in the future. Everyone playing the game may become comatose, and we’ll never learn the reason why. Do you understand?”
Akira’s eyes returned to normal and he looked me square in the eye. “But…” Suddenly, Akira shed a tear. “…I’m scared.” Pretty soon, tears came streaming down his face. “I’ve never been more scared in my life.”
“…You don’t have to be scared, Akira.”
“Huh?”
“I’m here right by your side.” I walked up to Akira and extended a hand to him. “We’ll face this together.” He looked down at my hand hesitantly. But I was his player. He knew that he could trust me. He took my hand and, in a blinding light, I was back in control.
Haseo simply looked at a motionless Akira. “…What just happened? He stopped moving.”
“Haseo! Now’s your chance! Do it before something else goes wrong!”
“Got it!” Skeith aimed his cannon once again… “DATA DRAIN!!!” …and fired. The sphere of light that shot out of the cannon strikes me with full force. My data splits apart into fragments and is vacuumed in by Skeith’s right arm. All that was left of me was a broken-up body. “…What now? Is it done?”
Pi examines the remnants of my body. “I’m…not certain. The Data Drain was successful, but… Huh?” Just then, the gaps in-between my body’s data fragments start to shine brightly. “What’s…going on?!”
I began to feel a great pressure inside of me – in the real world as well. “AAAHHH!! The pain! Make it stop…! Please…MAKE THE PAIN STOOOOOOOP!!!!”
Then, Haseo began to feel the same pressure inside of him and he clutched his stomach in pain. “AAHH!! What the hell…is this?!?!?”
“Pi?”
“Akira’s character data is reacting to Haseo’s… They’re breaking apart!!”, Pi exclaimed.
“What can we do?”
“…Nothing…”
In unison, Haseo and I screamed in pain. It felt as if our insides were being torn to shreds. “No… I don’t want to die…”, I whimpered. “I don’t… I DON’T WANT TO DIE!!!!” I don’t know what became of Haseo, and I probably never will. But I knew full well what became of me. For lack of a better explanation, my character data shattered into pieces, and before I knew it…
…I was gone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Yulie’s Diary)
Friday, June 9, 2017:
SUMMER VACATION’S FINALLY HERE!! I’ve been waiting for this day all year!! Two whole months of nothing but goofing off and having fun!!
It’s been exactly three weeks since I’ve last seen Akira. The things he said to me right before he disappeared are still echoing through my mind.
‘If I were to go away without warning and never return…would you cry?’
‘If I do, I don’t want you to cry like you did for Rubina.’
‘No matter what happens to me, I don’t want you to be sad.’
I still have no idea what he meant by all of it. I wondered if I’d ever see him again, or what he was doing right now.
“…Yulie?”
“…”
“Hey, Yulie.”
“…”
“Yulie!!”
“Huh? Oh! Zetsu, what is it?”
“You okay? You were spacing out.”
“Sorry, I was just…thinking about something, that’s all.”
“Something…or someone? You were thinking about Akira, weren’t you?”
“…Maybe.”
“Don’t worry, Yulie. We’ll see him again. I’m sure of it.”
“Thanks, Zetsu.”
“No problem. Now, come on, Darius gave us an assign--” I tried my best to keep myself from laughing at what happened next. Zetsu bumped right into an Adept Rogue with light blue hair and fell over. A major case of déjà-vu. “Hey! Watch where you’re going!”
“Sorry about that. I wasn’t watching where I was going. It happens to me a lot.”, the Adept Rogue replied apologetically.
The two got to their feet and dusted themselves off. “You’re a noob, aren’t you?”
“Yeah. This is my first day playing <The World>. I just logged in a minute ago.”
As with any newbie, Zetsu wasn’t interested. “Yeah, yeah, spare me your life story. Man, noobs are swarming Mac Anu lately!” With that, Zetsu walked off in a huff towards the dome. “You coming, Yulie?”
“Be with you in a minute.” I walked up to the blue-haired Adept Rogue and greeted him personally. “Hello there.”
“Hi, Yulie.”
“Huh?” A feeling of warmth swept through me. “H-How did you know my name?”
“That guy you were with said your name, didn’t he?”
“Oh.” False alarm, I guess. “Well, anyway, welcome to <The World>. It’s nice to meet you.”, I exclaimed as I shook his hand.
“Same here.”
“…Well? Are you gonna tell me your name or what?”
“OH!! Sorry, sorry! I always do this! I’m such an idiot sometimes!” He took a few steps away from me and bowed courteously. Meeting a gentleman in <The World> was indeed a pleasant surprise. Upon bowing, he spoke the following words:
“Pleased to make your acquaintance! My name is Akira!!”