.hack//Reparation, chapter 3

[merikuru]

.hack//Reparation
Chapter 3 - Blue Lightning

******

"--and when you've got it weakened and off its guard, that's when you move in for the killing blow. Watch me closely, now - Razor's Edge! Feel my sting, weakling!"

The edge of Blade Thread, gleaming wickedly in the dungeon's eerie lighting, sliced through the creature as if it were nothing more than air, earning several startled gasps and a round of stuttered, awed applause as the blue-haired girl wielding the sword turned, propping the blunt side of her blade against her shoulder and putting her free hand on her hip with a cocky grin. "See? There's nothing to it. Once you've got the enemy off-guard, you can go for the kill no problem. Think you got it down now?" She snapped her blade arm out to the side in a sharp motion, then lowered the sword back to her side, running her thumb lightly along the handle. "We're moving on that way," she went on, referring to the direction she'd gestured in, "and there's plenty of enemies, so you guys will have plenty of chances to show off what you're made of. Don't worry, though - if you get into trouble, we're here to cover you." She smiled, inclining her head slightly towards her two companions, a slender young man with brown hair and a pink doglike creature with a happily-wagging tail. "Silabus, Gaspard, you guys ready to move out? Time to watch these kids make us proud!"

"You really do have a way with new players, Agate," Silabus remarked as he and Gaspard fell into step beside her, the group of newbies following along behind. "I don't think I've seen many players grow as fast as those trained by your hand. If we could bottle your modus operandi, we'd be rich in no time flat." He started laughing, Agate and Gaspard joining in with bright looks on their faces, though Agate's expression soon faded into something wistful and distant as she thought back to her own first days in The World. She'd been like these kids, once; inexperienced and scared, not knowing what to do, and then she'd met Silabus and Gaspard and her entire life had changed. Under their firm but kind guidance, she'd grown, matured, blossomed into a worthy member of Canard and thrown herself wholeheartedly into training newbies at their side. It had all been going so well...too well, she remembered, and her lips gave a slight downward twist of disgust.

She'd learned the hard way not to be overconfident.

From the day she'd met them, she'd been aware of the rivalry between Canard and Kestrel, and the thought of it had sickened her. She'd wanted to do something, anything, to make sure her friends and their guild would be safe - she'd been stupid, she reminisced, but the anonymous message she'd received saying several members of Kestrel had cornered Silabus and Gaspard had infuriated her, and she'd rushed off to try and help without a second thought. The instant she'd set foot in the area she'd been given the keywords to, she'd begun to realize something was wrong - this area was a much higher level than any of them would dare to set foot in without a good reason - but it was when realization had hit her, and she'd turned to run, that it had happened. Struck from behind, PKed in a single blow.

Silabus had told her later, after she'd been revived and brought back to Canard's @HOME, that he'd been warned of the trap set for her and had tried to come after her before it was too late, but had only arrived in time to see her fall to the ground unconscious. He'd quickly worked to revive her and take her away from the area, but that was only the simple part - from then, it had been difficult, trying to restore the old, cocky Agate from the broken shell she'd become, victim of her own overconfidence. For a long while afterward, she hadn't dared to leave her friends' side, which was probably the biggest help of all; slowly, they'd managed to coax her into opening up once more, and eventually, their concern had returned her to herself. Determined now to take the lessons she'd learned and do her best with them, she'd officially joined the guild and set about training new players as well, imparting onto them the knowledge and techniques she'd learned during her own time playing.

"Agate?" Gaspard's worried voice snapped her back to the present, and she realized she'd stopped walking, lost in her thoughts. That was dangerous. What if the newbies had needed help? she scolded herself, shaking her head a bit and reaching down to rub Gaspard behind the ears. "Hey, don't worry about me, I'm fine. Just thinking a little, that's all," she said as brightly as she could, and lifted Blade Thread, resting it on her shoulder again. "C'mon, I think I see some enemies up ahead. Why don't you guys go first--" She turned to address the newbies with that statement, giving them a reassuring smile and taking a stance that suggested she'd be ready to dash in at the first sign of trouble. "And we'll back you up if things get tough? I know it's gotta be scary, being your first fight, but there's no need to worry. We definitely won't let anything happen to you!" Her confident words seemed to do the trick, as the group hesitated only slightly before dashing forward at the startled enemies, yelling battle cries and wielding their assorted weapons.

Silabus started forward, then paused beside Agate, laid a hand on her right shoulder. "...Are you sure you're okay?"

Agate shrugged as if unbothered, "Yeah. It's nothing."

Looking unconvinced, Silabus nevertheless dropped the subject, though he let his hand linger on her shoulder for a moment longer. "All right. Let's get into our backup formation, then," he said, and drew Blade Fern up parallel to his chest, he and Gaspard taking up their stances on either side of Agate as usual.

You guys... Agate smiled wistfully as she brought Blade Thread down from her shoulder, sliding her right foot back in preparation to move if the need arose. I don't know what I'd do without you. I hope I never have to leave your side.

~*~

The training had gone flawlessly, as it usually did, and the three were in high spirits when they returned to Canard's @HOME, Gaspard chattering brightly away about how well things had gone while Agate and Silabus were content to listen and interject a small comment every so often - it was involving enough that none of them noticed the figure standing by the inner door until they'd actually reached the door, Agate's eyes falling on the familiar form when she started through the archway, a startled look crossing her face as she instinctively thumped a hand down on Gaspard's head, the motion half-pat and half request for silence. "Haseo," she said, her tone even save for the note of surprise that laced it. "What are you doing here? Did something happen?"

Haseo looked amused, probably at the fact that it had taken so long for anyone to notice him, straightening up from where he was leaning against the wall and shaking his head slightly. "If something had happened, I'd have come to find you instead of waiting here," he pointed out, bringing a small blush of embarrassment to Agate's cheeks that threw her wave tattoos into stark relief against the faint pink. "I just wanted to talk a little, that's all. Silabus? You mind?" He slanted a glance at the brunette, a look that read let's talk alone - Agate saw it, and immediately knew things weren't as fine as Haseo was pretending, but hid it easily. She did have to wonder what was going on, but she knew better than to eavesdrop; if she was supposed to know about it, Silabus would tell her later.

"Gaspard, c'mon," she said brightly, feigning an unaffected tone, "let's go check on the shop, all right? Let those two have their boy talk." She rolled her eyes as if the thought bored her, silently thankful when Gaspard nodded slightly confused agreement and followed after her. Either he knew something was up too and knew better than to ask, or he genuinely had no idea was was going on. For his sake, she hoped it was the latter; she felt unsettled enough just from catching that one look, and she was sure Gaspard would feel even worse than her if he'd caught it too. Since they'd met, but more so since she'd officially become part of Canard, she'd looked at him like a little brother, doing her best to cheer him on and keep his confidence up, and she genuinely disliked seeing him upset in any way. (That seemed to be most people's reaction to him, too, when she thought about it.)

It was simple to slip away once they'd gotten there; Agate feigned panic at having forgotten a few items and simply dashed away, calling a breathless "Mind the shop for a bit" back over her shoulder to Gaspard and only slowing to an unhurried pace once she was sure she was out of sight range and wasn't being followed. She knew she shouldn't, but some part of her desperately wanted to know what was so important that Haseo would want to talk to Silabus about it alone, and she quickly made her way back to the @HOME, where the two were engaged in what seemed to be nothing more than idle chatter. Confused, she dared to move close to them, though it took all her willpower to act natural and not freeze up when Haseo suddenly looked up and pinned her with an unreadable crimson stare. "Oh, hi. Sorry, I forgot a couple of things," she shrugged, playing at being nonchalant as she made to walk past them, arms crossed. "I'll just get them and leave you to your conversation."

"Agate, it's okay if you listen. You should know about it." The soft words from Silabus stopped her in her tracks, and she simply stood there for a long moment before turning back, taking cautious steps closer until she was at Silabus' side and facing Haseo, who now looked so deadly serious as to make her turn her eyes to the floor. There was silence for a long moment, then Haseo shattered it with a very quiet murmur, "Enoki has found the source of the new AIDA - it's coming from Δ Hidden Forbidden Bulwark."

Agate's lips pursed themselves into a frown. "Δ Hidden Forbidden Bulwark? Isn't that the keywords for Morrigu Barrow Wall?"

Haseo nodded, looking mildly surprised that she knew the keywords. "That's right. It's coming from deep within the area, apparently; Enoki told me that even he feels uncomfortable setting foot in there, what with the AIDA being so aggressive and infecting the local creatures. And if even Enoki doesn't want to go in there..." He trailed off, sighing and shaking his head. "Enoki's trying to gather a team, now, to go in and purge the AIDA. He wants all the Epitaph Users to go with him, so naturally, I've been called along. There's...there's a very high chance none of us are going to come out of there alive. I wanted you to be the first to know about this, in case anything happens to me." Another headshake, and he glanced away slightly, not meeting either Silabus or Agate's eyes.

"You've gotten through worse things than this," Silabus said after a moment, forcibly locking down the sadness that filtered into his voice. "With Enoki leading you...I'm sure you'll get through this, Haseo. And we're all here for you...we all believe in you."

I've heard enough, Agate thought bitterly, even as she forced a smile and nodded her agreement to Silabus' statement. Enoki this, Enoki that. You always look his way, but you never once look at me. I've had enough of this - go on with your talk if you want, but I'm leaving. She stifled a snort and turned sharply away from them, her ponytail whipping out behind her before settling down her back again, waving a hand vaguely in response to the looks she was sure she had to be getting from them. "I'd better get back to Gaspard, he's probably waiting for me. I'll keep you guys in mind, Haseo," she said with a brightness she didn't really feel, and strode off before she could get an answer.

Of course, she didn't go back to the shop. Instead, she warped to Morrigu Barrow Wall to see the situation for herself, perching atop a crumbling stone pillar like a lanky, brightly-colored bird of prey and looking slowly around, shading her eyes with a green-gloved hand. Even here, where the sun shone down and illuminated the scenery with its ethereal beams, she could sense the presence of AIDA; it tainted the air, left a chill in the warmth that otherwise permeated the area, and she found herself shivering suddenly, stretching her legs out beneath her and letting herself down from the pillar to the grass below. "Maybe he wasn't exaggerating," she murmured nervously to the still air, and summoned Blade Thread to her hand, scanning the area once more for signs of nearby AIDA before she began to slowly walk along the cliff's edge, ignoring the uncomfortable prickling at the back of her neck as common sense told her to get the hell out of there. She wanted, despite the danger, to see how bad things were with her own eyes, in the hope there might be something she could do.

She began to relax when she saw no AIDA or infected creatures - just the normal creatures that roamed the area, nothing she couldn't handle on her own, and she decided it was as good an opportunity as any to get in some training and take her mind off of things. Slowly, keeping her guard up as best she could, she fell into the familiar dance-like patterns that made up her unique fighting style, and slowly the tension dissipated as she cut down enemy after enemy with quick swipes of her blade. It was ironic, she mused, how fighting always calmed her down; usually it was meant to do the opposite, to get one's spirit fired up, but she certainly wasn't complaining if it made her feel better. Smiling slightly now as Blade Thread neatly sliced through the final enemy standing in her way, she took in a long breath and let it out, turning her face up to the sun and shouldering her blade in her usual pose. "Then again, maybe he was wrong after all," she said, and laughed.

Her guard had lowered just enough that she never sensed the streak of black bubbling through the air behind her.

"Honestly, I can understand being worried about a new AIDA infection, but making it sound like such a huge thing...AIDA was destroyed once, it can be destroyed again. It's too bad I'm not an Epitaph User, I'd give that AIDA a run for its money!" She thrust her arm sharply forward and made as if to fence with an unseen enemy, pretending to parry some invisible strike and following up with a quick riposte, laughing again as she lowered the blade to her side. "I'd almost be tempted anyway...it's got everyone so worked up and acting completely unlike themselves. At the risk of sounding like Gaspard...this isn't The World that I know, and I don't like it at all," she sighed, her face serious now as she turned to leave the area. "Oh well. I guess I'd better get back and make sure Gaspard hasn't managed to somehow burn down the shop or something. I love the kid, but really."

Her steps were quick, but even as she reached the warp, the black streak bubbled up behind her again; a cold touch drifted over the back of her neck, and her vision went completely blank.

~*~

Something was wrong. That was the only thing Silabus could think. Something was terribly wrong.

He'd been talking with Haseo about the usual things - how life was, how things were going in his new guild (he'd left Canard several months before, passing the position of guild master back to Silabus, to join Wandering Souls when the new AIDA threat had been discovered), what his plans were after the AIDA had been purged from the system - but literally in midsentence, cold fear had lanced down his spine and he'd known in an instant that Agate was in trouble. He'd halfway been expecting it, he supposed; he'd seen her upset look, and he knew her too well to think she'd actually have gone back to the shop when she'd said she was going to, but it was still an unpleasant shock that had cut all other thoughts off and sent him running at full speed to the Chaos Gate. There was only one place he could think of that she'd be, and it was for that one reason that he didn't protest when Haseo caught up to him and insisted on coming along, just silently forming a party with him and quickly warping the both of them to Morrigu Barrow Wall.

She was there, as he'd expected, but he stopped short on seeing her, stark fear twisting his face. AIDA was everywhere around her, a gleeful dance of shadows and shrill sound just over the edge of physical hearing, snapping like sparks across her skin and bubbling from her fingertips as she huddled in a crouch in the middle of the field, hands pressed tightly to the sides of her head. She looked like she was in astonishingly deep pain, and he started towards her without thinking, only to bump into Haseo's arm as it shot out in front of his chest to stop him from getting any closer. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he heard the Adept Rogue hiss at his ear. "Don't get close to her! The infection's too deep, she'd just as soon kill you as look at you!"

Though the truth in Haseo's words was obvious, Silabus turned to him, aghast. "But..."

That word caught Agate's attention, and the both of them froze as her head snapped up, looking at them through frightening eyes that had turned completely black with the infection and staggering onto her feet; Blade Thread came to her hand in a ripple of shadows, and she stared, hunched over now into a position that made it appear as though wings should sprout from her back at any moment and carry her away. "You're...fools," she said in a voice that seemed to crackle with static, wavering in and out and echoing as though coming from a long way away. "Fools...for coming here. AIDA...is absolute, AIDA will...be everything...you make it...so easy for our...takeover to begin."

She laughed then, a shrill, insane sound, and tendrils began to snake out beneath her shoulderblades, arcing in grotesquely graceful curves and melting outward in the air to form what, indeed, appeared to be a pair of stylized wings that drew her farther upright. "Your bodies...will make a wonderful sacrifice for...the birth of our new ruler...as soon as this body itself is turned to dust!" Her laughter grew more shrill and she spun Blade Thread in her hand, where swirls of AIDA took hold of it and brought the point gently to her chest. "Look, you fools! This...will be the first sacrifice!"

"No!" The danger all but forgotten now, Silabus knocked Haseo's arm roughly aside and lunged at Agate, calling Blade Fern to his hand and bringing it down in a quick swipe that nearly disarmed her only through sheer desperation. "Listen to yourself! Listen to what you're saying and fight it! This isn't you - this isn't the Agate that I know! But no matter what, I'm not going to give up on you!" He was struggling now to hold her blade down, his arms trembling from the effort of it, eyes filled with tears of rage and sorrow fixed on the grinding metal as if somehow he could force Blade Thread away from her with that indescribable stare. "Agate, listen to yourself - listen to me! We're here to help you! We're not going to let the AIDA take you!"

"You idiot, I told you she's too far gone!" Though not wanting to approach, Haseo had done so anyway at the clash of blades, and roughly grabbed Silabus around the waist now, jerking him away from the AIDA-infected Agate and quickly moving in front of him as a shield in case she should attack. "Look, I know you want to try and save her yourself, but you can't do anything against AIDA! If anything's going to save her now..." He breathed deeply in, closing his eyes. "...Silabus, you've put all your trust in me before. I need you to do it again. Put your weapon away, get back to the warp, and don't look. I'm going to try using Skeith to clear the infection." He dared to take his eyes off Agate for a split second, turning them to Silabus in a silent, demanding plea for him just to do as he was told; their eyes locked for that instant, and the barest shred of something unfathomable rose in Silabus' gaze before he obeyed, turning and bolting across the uneven ground back to the warp.

Haseo turned his head back to Agate, and closed his eyes, concentrating on the pulse deep within him that was the life of his Avatar.

Yes...come on...come on.

I'm here...

I'm right here!

Knifelike, his scream rent the air, "SKEEEEEEEEITH!"

Power flooded him, exploding outward; AIDA's shrieks danced in his ears as it simply melted away, the battle ending as soon as it had begun.

Haseo breathed silent relief as Agate's unharmed body fell to the ground, and dismissed his Avatar.

~*~

"I...I'm going to resign from Canard."

Her announcement met with horrified exclamations, Agate didn't dare look up to see her guildmates' faces, seated in a corner of the @HOME with her knees drawn up to her chest and her arms wrapped tightly around them, staring at the floor through tear-filled eyes. "Something like that...what I did...I can't possibly be a part of Canard any more. Knowing how easily I was drawn in, and how easily I let it take me...I'm not even fit to lead myself, much less new players!" She dashed a hand across her eyes, trying ineffectively to wipe away the tears and keeping her eyes firmly fixed to the floor tile she'd been staring at since Silabus and Haseo had brought her back to the guild.

"I - I can't even say if I'll come back to The World," she went on after a long moment. "I thought I could be useful for something here, and for a while maybe I was...but what am I useful for now? There's nothing I can do any more!" She might have gone on, but the sobs rising in her throat choked her voice to nothingness, and she pressed her forehead hard to her knees until she had herself under control enough to speak again. "So I - I'll leave. I'm sorry. It was really fun...getting to spend time with you guys and do things I love...but I just can't do it any more. Now, my reason for being here is...well, I don't even know if I really had one in the first place."

"Agate, don't talk like that. We need you." Silabus, having approached without her noticing, knelt down next to her now, resting his hand cautiously on her shoulder. "If you make one mistake in real life, you don't just give up, right? That's the same as it is in The World. Do you remember...you told me once that you felt like this was a second life for you, and you liked it even better than your real life? That you wished it was your real life?" He watched her, waited for a response of any sort, and went on when he caught one silver eye peering cautiously up at him. "So pretend this is your real life, Agate. You got upset. You messed up. It happens to everyone. Are you just going to give up on your life, just like that? Can you really throw away everything you worked so hard for? And--" Here, his own voice grew slightly choked. "Can you just throw away your friends like that?"

Both of Agate's eyes were fixed on Silabus now, the ring of purple around the edges of her irises darkened to nearly black with sorrow, and she simply stared at him, feeling trickles of horror welling up in her at his words. "My...real life," she echoed in a broken whisper, and wiped at her eyes, looking quickly away. "Give up on my life...throw away my friends..." In all honesty, she hadn't thought about it like that before, and now that she was thinking about it like that, she was terrified at the thought of what she'd even considered doing. The answer was simple, not even requiring thought: she couldn't possibly do something as cruel and heartless as that.

Letting out an indescribable, broken wail, she suddenly threw herself at him, burying her face in his shoulder and wrapping her arms tightly around him, sobbing openly now as his arms came up to hold her. "I'm so stupid! Of course I can't just throw everything away - throw everyone away - what the hell am I doing even thinking about it?!" Her fingers clenched against his back, and she felt his hand come to rest on her head, gently stroking her hair; slowly, the knot of anguish in her chest began to loosen at his touch, and she managed to calm to gentle weeping after a while, lifting her head only when she realized she'd completely soaked the shoulder of his shirt. "S-sorry," she managed weakly, trying to smile but failing miserably, instead attempting to dry her eyes on the back of her glove after a moment. "I...you're right, Silabus. Doing something like that here...it's just as bad as doing it in the real world. Even...even when I screw up, even when it's that bad of a mistake...I've still got people who want to help me and won't turn me away." This time she managed to smile, weak but genuine, feeling herself calm farther at Silabus' return smile. "Hey...do me a favor?" she asked suddenly.

Silabus blinked. "What kind of favor?"

"Next time I get into a mood like that, just hit me and tell me to stop being a jerk." Agate laughed, and when they realized she was only teasing, Silabus and Gaspard joined in, filling the air of the @HOME with its usual energy and cheer - and amidst the laughter, Agate found a single stray thought flitting through her head, one that really made her smile.

I said I hoped I'd never have to leave your side. Well, you know what? It's a promise now - I promise I'm never gonna leave your side. No matter what.

"Thanks, guys," she murmured softly, and without warning, pulled them both into a tight hug, laughing once more at their near-identical squeaks of surprise.