volieredeatori | .hack//Reparation, chapter 4

.hack//Reparation
Chapter 4 - AIDA and System AI

******

It had been a shock to discover a new Lost Ground.

But it had been even more of a shock to discover there was someone already there.

Through the Moon Circle, Enoki had discovered the previously-inaccessible area, now tentatively named Starlit Ruin Gefallene Himmel, and the mysterious figure deep inside of the ruins. Uncertain of what else might be found there, he'd called in the two people he'd been working most closely with to investigate the new AIDA threat, giving them the keywords to the area and meeting up with them at the Chaos Gate under a dark, weakly star-flecked sky that gave barely enough light to see by and threw their faces into frightening shadow - he almost shivered, caught himself just in time, and breathed slowly. "Please stay on your guard," he warned, summoning Dark Toge to his hands, the scythe's familiar weight making him feel better already. "We don't know what's here."

"We know we don't know," Haseo quipped dryly, trying to break some of the tension, though he clutched the bladeguns DG-X tightly in uncertainty and his eyes darted about as if trying to catch any out-of-place motion; beside him, Endrance managed a strained laugh at the flat joke and held the handle of Princess Blade in what would have been, had his hands been uncovered, a white-knuckled grip. They both watched Enoki now, waiting for a reaction, but there was none, the blonde Adept Rogue simply holding his scythe at the ready and starting slowly into the ruins - a crimson glance was exchanged between the other two, silently wondering at the normally amiable Enoki's sudden lack of humor, but they followed without saying anything, making their way through puzzling labyrinths and dangerously narrow passageways until they reached a door that seemed to glow faintly with some otherworldly aura. A look passed between the three of them, but none seemed to want to break the silence until Enoki finally spoke, his voice almost inaudible. "I will try first."

But before he could put out his hand, the glow brightened, and the door seemed to simply melt away.

Haseo tensed, Endrance stepped back, and Enoki lifted his scythe; nothing happened, however, and they all exchanged another glance before entering the room, looking around. It appeared to be the ruins of a system much like the Serpent of Lore or the Moon Circle, but long-unused and covered in dust; one thing, however, was most certainly not old and ruined, and that was the figure that floated in midair at the far end of the room, seemingly caught in a wind that lifted long violet hair into a flare around the slender body to nearly hide the catlike ears at the sides of the head. From where they stood, anything else was indiscernible, such as gender or features; Enoki hesitated, then decided to take the risk, moving closer to try and get a better look with Haseo and Endrance flanking him on either side.

Closer, the figure appeared to be female, wearing a black and purple bodysuit that clung to her like a second skin, as well as gloves and boots that seemed to be made of some material that was whiter than white and magnified the faint starshine it caught - that, then, explained the brightness of the room, Enoki thought, but his musings were interrupted when Endrance, close beside him, made a barely inaudible noise and seemed to suddenly shrink back on himself as if afraid. Concerned now, he turned to the tall Blade Brandier, not liking the way garnet eyes had grown dim and hazy with what could possibly have been tears. "Endrance?" he started cautiously, giving a small headshake without looking when Haseo opened his mouth, daring to touch Endrance's shoulder with his very fingertips. "Endrance, are you all right? Is something wrong?"

Endrance swallowed hard, took a stumbling step back as if Enoki's touch had pushed him; he seemed unable to speak, though his throat worked fruitlessly to produce sound, finally emitting a shuddering whisper so weighted with emotion that it made Enoki's soul ache. "Mia..."

As if that were some sort of magic word, the figure suddenly stirred, raising her head to reveal pupilless eyes of a flat greenish-blue.

"Mia," Endrance repeated, again in the same heavy whisper, taking a step towards her; he didn't seem to notice the blankness of her eyes, or how they suddenly snapped into normalcy when her gaze fixed on him, slitted pupils expanding outwards and lending some depth to the turquoise plates of her irises. He just continued to take those slow, halting steps forward, pausing directly in front of her and lifting a hand, almost-but-not-quite touching as if afraid, his shoulders giving a single convulsive jerk before he slowly sank to his knees, head bowed so he no longer had to meet her eyes. "Mia."

Enoki frowned, drawing Haseo out of Endrance's earshot, but remaining close enough to keep an eye on him. "Mia?" he questioned.

"That AIDA cat that was always sitting on his shoulder." Haseo, too, was frowning. "He called her Mia. I wonder..." He trailed off then, leaving his sentence unfinished, but it was clear what he had been about to say - he wondered if perhaps this, too, was AIDA, and unearthing the memories Endrance had striven so hard to bury. "But even if it...if she is," he corrected himself quickly, "she doesn't seem like she wants to hurt us. It sounds weird, but I think she wanted to be found. I think that's why she's here. Have you ever heard of AIDA acting like that?"

Enoki shook his head, looked at Endrance, who was still on his knees and shivering as a white-gloved hand touched his face awkwardly. "No, I haven't...but I think you're right," he agreed, more confused now than anything. "Normal AIDA would have attacked us by now. If she is AIDA, then she's a non-violent form of it...and perhaps something - no, someone who can aid us." He pretended not to notice Haseo's look of surprise at his own correction, instead watching as Endrance finally turned his head upwards and reflected starshine glittered in the tears on his face. "Mia, huh? I guess it's as good a name as any," he shrugged, then took a few steps closer to put himself back within their hearing range, noting with some interest how the catlike ears jolted straight upright at the sound of his footsteps. "Do you mind if we call you Mia?" he asked, trying to sound non-threatening.

Mia's eartips flicked, but just as she seemed to be on the verge of an answer, her eyes went wide and she dropped to the floor, curling herself into a fetal position out of what seemed to be fright.

What the--? Enoki spun, instinctively calling his scythe back to his hands, and felt a deep terror sinking into him as well; beside him, Haseo swore shakily under his breath and whipped his hands up, letting his bladeguns reform in loosely-clenched fists and warily eyeing the figure that stood there. The image of a young man cloaked in blue flame, wearing raggedly-stitched red clothing and staring at them from his single visible eye, an alarmingly bright green that seemed to pierce right to the soul - the AI program who had, much to everyone's surprise, been discovered as a sort of system maintainer, repairing damaged data and ridding The World of that data which could not be fixed.

With Azure Kite there, logic dictated Mia could be nothing but AIDA.

Enoki swallowed hard, then spoke. "We mean you no harm," he said as firmly as he could manage, only just managing to keep the quaver out of his voice and lowering his weapon against his better judgment. "This is not the AIDA you are meant to destroy. This AIDA wishes only to help. We have no wish to fight you, but we cannot allow you to take this AIDA from us." His voice nearly cracked on the final word, but he kept an iron grasp on the last shreds of his courage, opening his hands and letting Dark Toge fade, trying not to flinch beneath Azure Kite's unwavering stare. "Leave us alone. Leave her alone. She has no quarrel with you."

For a moment, he was unsure if Azure Kite understood, but sagged with relief when the AI simply turned away and vanished into blue flame, which soon faded to nothingness.

Haseo let out a long breath he hadn't realized he was holding, bladeguns fading away as he lowered his hands. "Enoki, you are insane," he stated with no small amount of awe, looking back at Endrance, who had drawn himself into a protective crouch over Mia's curled-up form. "But...that's weird, you know. It's like she wanted to be found because she knew he was going to be here. Am I the only one getting that feeling?" He flicked a sideways glance at Enoki, whose expression read much the same, and felt rather relieved that his line of thought seemed to be obvious; relief soon made way for a dark frown, however, and he moved closer to Endrance and Mia, kneeling to peer at the trembling AIDA. "You have some kind of connection to Azure Kite, don't you? What is it?"

Mia looked at him with frightened eyes and a reluctant nod, but said nothing.

"Well? What's the connection?" Haseo crossed his arms and waited, letting out a sigh when she again refused to answer. "You understand what I'm saying, don't you? So answer the question already." This time, he bit the inside of his lip hard against the urge to keep repeating himself until she answered, his frown growing still darker at every moment of silence that passed until a thought suddenly struck him. Just because someone could understand, it didn't mean... "You can't talk, can you?"

Mia's ears flattened down as if in sadness, and Haseo sighed, putting a hand to his head as if feeling a headache coming on. "Okay, fine. So you can't talk. Big deal. We'll figure it out some way or another. But right now, I want to get the hell out of here so we don't have a repeat of that freaky little incident. Enoki, Endrance, you coming?" He rose and started for the doorway, Enoki at his side; hesitating a moment longer, just looking sadly at Mia, Endrance finally stood and followed them, his shoulders set at a rather unhappy angle. Silence fell as they walked, but as they reached the first turn that would take them back into the labyrinth leading outside, a sudden sound came from behind them and Endrance let out a startled gasp, freezing in his tracks.

"What? What is it?!" Haseo whirled, as did Enoki.

The sight that met their eyes was definitely not what either of them had expected to see, but at the same time, it wasn't wholly unexpected. Mia was there, hovering behind Endrance with her feet a few inches off the ground, tightly gripping his hand; she looked deeply afraid, as if begging them to take her with them, and it took Enoki only seconds to make his decision. "Come with us," he said softly to Mia, whose ears, still flattened down from earlier, quivered and stood fully upright in surprise. "We'll keep you safe. I promise." He smiled at her, and though she didn't smile back, something in her eyes seemed to soften in a sort of acceptance, her head dipping slightly in a nod of what was likely thanks.

It didn't take long to reach the warp back to Mac Anu, thanks to Mia's silent guidance through the labyrinth, but once there, she hesitated and flattened her ears back down, seeming to become depressed all of a sudden - Enoki and Haseo didn't notice, already transferring back to town even as Mia's demeanor changed, but Endrance lingered, looking at her with concern. "Mia?" he questioned softly, and gave a light tug to her hand, which still clasped his own in a grip almost painfully tight. "Haseo and Enoki have already returned to Mac Anu. Aren't you coming with us?"

Mia looked back at the labyrinth they had left, and spoke a single halting word, her voice quavering as though she were about to cry. "Ki...te..."

Surprise flashed through Endrance - so she could speak after all - but he hid it well. "Mia, we have to hurry," he said gently, giving another tug to her hand, and this time she acquiesced to being pulled closer and transported to Mac Anu.

~*~

"Welcome to the Soul's Cry." They stood now amidst the ruined buildings overlooked by the ledge Aspera had often stood on, and Enoki made a grand, sweeping gesture that encompassed the landscape around them. "Sunken City Schrei der Seele, the @HOME of the Wandering Souls guild. We can talk here without any interruptions." He turned to Mia, looking at her curiously; Endrance had informed him and Haseo of the development after they'd already transferred back to Mac Anu, and he was wondering now what else she might have to talk about. "Mia," he started gently, and started to put a hand on her shoulder, then thought better of it. "Please, tell us everything you know. We desperately need your help."

Mia's ears flattened farther, her legs drawing up to her chest and leaving her floating in midair, her posture that of a scolded child. "...AIDA," she whispered, and her voice trembled, as if from unseen tears. "I...AIDA. Kite wants...destroy..." She shivered and wrapped her arms about her knees, looking down at the ground, her tail twitching in agitation. "Kite...hates...always hated," she said mournfully, not looking up, even when Enoki gave in and dared to touch her shoulder gently. "But you...save AIDA, why? You..." She fell silent then for a long moment, but just when Enoki was about to ask if there was anything else she had to say, she spoke again. "Familiar. Feels...familiar."

"What does?" Enoki asked, curious despite himself.

Mia tucked her face down against her knees. "En...drance," she whispered, and said no more.

When it became clear they weren't going to get another word out of her, Enoki found Mia an empty room to rest in, then led Endrance and Haseo into the Moon Circle to speak with them alone. "Endrance," he started, pacing now, hands behind his back. "You were infected with AIDA, once. That AIDA absorbed your emotions, your memories - pieces of your soul. I think..." He looked up, pinned Endrance with his silvery-blue gaze. "It isn't a popular opinion, but I believe, as did Aspera, that everything in The World has a soul - even AIDA - and I think the soul of your AIDA survived." He paused there, waiting for it to sink in, continuing only when stunned realization flooded Endrance's eyes. "I think you're familiar to her...because deep within her, she holds the soul of your AIDA. And when you first saw her, you called her 'Mia' with no apparent reason or recognition - don't you think that's enough to support the theory?"

Haseo, leaning against a wall, gave Enoki a look that suggested he was a few SP short of Ol Repth. "You come up with the weirdest ideas, you know. But the freaky part is that it actually makes sense." He pushed off the wall and started pacing himself, his hands behind his head. "So, say this AIDA is pretty much the same AIDA that infected Endrance. What're we going to do with it? Her. Whatever," he quickly corrected himself when both Endrance and Enoki gave him a stern look. "It's not like we can just let her run loose, and are you really sure you want to keep AIDA here, even if she is harmless? Besides, we don't even know if--"

Enoki smiled and interrupted him. "She will stay with Endrance. After all, she seems to trust him."

"--she's--" Haseo continued, then broke off. "She'll do what now?"

"Stay with Endrance," Enoki repeated patiently.

"What the hell are you thinking? Don't just make decisions like that for someone! Right, Endrance?" Haseo retorted, but paused upon getting no answer, looking over to the Blade Brandier. "...Uh, hello? Earth to Endrance?"

Endrance's eyes were soft; a smile played about his lips. "I would be more than happy to take Mia into my care for the time being."

Haseo groaned and resisted the urge to knock his head into the wall. After all, in this place, he wasn't quite sure if the wall would knock back. "You guys are crazy. AIDA with souls, letting Endrance keep AIDA, Endrance wanting to keep AIDA...what the hell? Seriously."

Enoki and Endrance met each other's eyes and shrugged, smiling patiently and mouthing 'jealous' to one another - which, thankfully, went unnoticed by the now-grumbling Haseo.