RPG .hack//TRUTH

[DDG]

[SIZE=1]It didn't seem possible to ever get bored of torturing the Silver Knight, but after about a half hour of taunts, jeers and the likes, Kayla was off in her own little dream world; her head resting on the counter, drool trickling from her mouth and forming a small pool beneath her face. A half empty glass was in her hand, early having been filled to the brim with a non-alcoholic drink(not normally served at the tiki bar). Sora, Elk and Katsuki sat at the other end of the bar, now just chatting. The Silver Knight has somehow slipped away and was nowhere in sight.

Kayla slowly lifted her head off the counter and glanced around. [color=gray]"Eh? What time is it?"[/color] she asked. Katsuki turned her head towards her for a second.

[color=gray]"Six maybe? I don't know. I don't have a watch."[/color]

[color=gray]"Where'd Knighty go?"[/color]

[color=gray]"Dunno."[/color] Sora replied, munching on a chip. He shoved his hand back inside a bag in his right hand and pulled out a handful of chips.

Kayla jumped up from her barstool and began looking around erratically. [color=gray]"Well, I'm going to find him! He doesn't deserve to have any fun on this vacation!"[/color] she shouted before sprinting off to the water. Sora, Katsuki and Elk glanced at each for a moment before following suit. As Katsuki caught up with Kayla, she questioned her.

[color=gray]"Why'd we come to the water?"[/color]

[color=gray]"Well, I figure, that Knighty would want to 'drown his sorrows,' and, since this is the closest water to us, he must be around here somewhere!"[/color]

[color=gray]"Oh, brilliant deduction, Detective Kayla."[/color]

[color=gray]"Detective Kayla... I like the sound of that. Detective Kayla... Sounds familiar though."[/color]

Katsuki hit her over the head. [color=gray]"Of course it does, you dimwit! You're probably thinking of Detective Conan! You know, Case Closed?"[/color]

Kayla nodded. [color=gray]"That sounds right. Man that show rocks."[/color]

[color=gray]"Yeah, but now's not the time to obsess over it. Look over there!"[/color] Sora said and pointed to an area of the water far out from the shore. A man was flailing his arms and continuously sinking beneath the water before jumping back up again.

[color=gray]"Hey, is that guy drowning?"[/color] Elk questioned, wading a little farther out into the water.

Katsuki nodded. [color=gray]"Yeah, and not only that, its Knighty!"[/color] Immediately, the four of them waded out as far as they could before swimming as fast as they could possibly muster towards Knighty.

By the time they had reached him, he was under the water. Kayla took in a deep breath and dived under. Moving her feet as fast as she could behind her, she swam deeper under the water, ever searching for Knighty. Suddenly, a pair of hands wrapped around her mouth. Kayla pulled the hands off and spun around. Knighty was there, grinning, with a snorkel and goggles on his face. Kayla shook her fist at him and he made the appearance as if laughing.

[color=gray]"Jerk."[/color] she said, releasing all the air in her lungs and out into the water via large air bubbles. He laughed again as she began swimming to the surface. He swam along side her and surfaced a few seconds afterwards. Kayla swung a punch at his head, which he quickly dodged by diving under the water for a few seconds.

[color=gray]"What the hell? What's up with this?"[/color] Katsuki asked, noticing the Silver Knight's goggles and snorkel.

Kayla scowled. [color=gray]"He was faking drowning to play a trick on us. And he tried to drown me!"[/color] she accused, shaking her finger at him.

He shook his head quickly. [color=gray]"No, no! I wasn't! I swear! I was merely trying to make it seem as if I--"[/color]

[color=gray]"If you were saving me? Yeah, shove off Knighty. These three all know that I'm a pretty damn good swimmer."[/color] Kayla finished with disdain resinating in her voice.

[color=gray]"But, well, um, uh--"[/color]

[color=gray]"Come on, lets go teach him a lesson."[/color] Kayla said, grinning mischieviously.

[color=navy]OOC: Ok, finish er up Mai.[/size][/color]

[Che]

[SIZE=1][FONT=Arial]"Katsuki, are you warm? You haven't drowned have you? Are you getting enough to drink? Don't go into the wa--"

"Mom! Shut. Up. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself. Especially when all of my friends are around. I won't do anything 'bad,' alright? Don't answer that. Ok, well, love you. Bye."

Katsuki hung up her cell phone. "Phones are evil!" She shouted, throwing it into the sand. "Your mom again?" Kayla asked. "Yes." Katsuki muttered, grabing her cell phone again and stowing it into her bag. "Any ideas on the Knighty situation?" She asked. Kayla shook her head. "I regret to announce that I am completly out of ideas." She said.

The girls sighed. "Wait a second..." Katsuki muttered, diving for her bag and rumaging through it. "Whatcha looking for?" Kayla asked. Katsuki grinned at her and took out a small piece of paper and her cell phone. "OK, once I got really bored, and I started searching the phone book for Knighty's phone number...for prank calls and stuff. Well, I found it, and I called it once, right? You know who answered? His [i]mother[/i]. Silver Knight lives with his mother." She explained. Kayla laughed.

"So, you're going to call Knighty's mom, and then...?" Kayla asked. Katsuki gave her a thumbs-up. "Just listen to my side of the conversation." She said for punching in the number. "Hope I'm not roaming..." She muttered.

"Oh, hello Miss Knighty's mom! How are you today? Me? Oh, I'm just fine. But....one of my friends isn't. She is a victim of a really nasty prank your son pulled. He almost drowned her, you know? What? Where am I? Oh please, I wouldn't want to get him in trouble. Well, ok. If you say so..." Katsuki spoke with a dangerously sweet voice, and was doing her best to sound innocent. Then, she proceeded to tell Knighty's mom where exactly they were. "Well, if you're really coming, m'am, could you [i]not[/i] tell him it was me who called to chat with you? I wouldn't want to ruin our friendship. Well, goodbye, m'am."

Katsuki shut her cell phone. "Now all we have to do is watch the fireworks fly." She said, laying down on her towel. Kayla was in stiches. She was litterally rolling on the ground laughing. "I've never [i]ever[/i] heard you call anyone 'm'am.' It's scary!" She said. Suddenly, Sora and Elk sat down next to Kayla and Katsuki. "What's so funny?" They asked Kayla. "S-she c-c-called Knighty's mom!" Kayla said, still laughing. Katsuki grinned even wider. "We're going to have one more old lady on the beach today. But we have to act...polite." She said. It was at that when everyone burst into laughter. [i]That[/i] plan was going to go down hill fast.
[COLOR=DarkSlateBlue]-------------
XD[/COLOR][/FONT][/SIZE]

[DDG]

[size=1][color=gray]"Hit me."[/color] Kayla tossed Katsuki a card.
[color=gray]"Hit me."[/color]
[color=gray]"Again? You're face up cards totalled are already at seventeen!"[/color]
[color=gray]"I don't care. Just give me another card."[/color]
[color=gray]"Alright, its your money."[/color] Kayla tossed her another card; a three. Katsuki grinned and flipped over her face down card.
[color=gray]"Twenty one. I win."[/color] Her face down card was an ace. Katsuki grabbed the spare change that had been placed on the table and and deposited it in front of herself.
[color=gray]"Wanna play again?"[/color] Kayla asked, shuffling the deck of cards. Katsuki nodded and began counting out change to place as a bet when an enraged older woman stomped passed them, towards where the Silver Knight was sitting on a towel, tanning in the sun. Kayla and Katsuki stopped what they were doing and carefully observed the following events.

[i]Later, in Kite's van[/i]

[color=gray]"That was so funny! Knighty, I didn't know your mom could hit so hard! She just looks like such a frail woman!"[/color] Kayla commented as the van moved quickly down the highway and away from the beach. The Silver Knight held his hands over his face to hide the horrible welt now forming on his forehead.

Katsuki snickered. [color=gray]"And it was even better when she turned you over her knee and---"[/color]

[color=gray]"Please! Spare me the pain of remembering!"[/color] The Silver Knight shouted and shoved his fingers in his ears.

Katsuki and Kayla shrugged. They both pulled their laptops out from their bags and logged into "The World."

[color=navy]OOC: Now that the Beach Party is officially over, its time to get back to other events. We have to fight Cubia next, if I'm not mistaken. So, lets get this RPG active again ^_^[/color][/size]

[Neko]

OOC-That is just so like you 'non-trapped players'...going out on a party while I'm stuck in a game...*laughs* ||θ-Endless-Corrupted-White Devil|| Kia's blades quaked in her trembling hands as she stood amidst the sleet-white field. If I'm going to be stronger, she thought, I need to be able to deal with any environment we go to. Kia walked around for a little while, getting used to the frigid snowy climate. When she felt comfortable with it, she began to run. Finally, she walked up to a chaos gate. A buzzing sound, and her enemy was revealed: a huge, blue-skinned dragon glared menacingly down at her. Kia took a step back, suddenly frightened; her idea had been to test her strength, not to commit suicide. She dashed away from the huge wyrm, attempting an escape. / run program src="ruerom.exe" target="_player(Kia)" / A blue whirlwind whipped up around Kia, picking up shards of glass-like ice. Kia squealed, covering her head as the deadly wind tore around her. She made it through the cyclone attack with only one cut on her left arm, and instead of waiting to see if that dragon had any other brilliant ideas on it's mind, she ran from the fight and quickly gated out. ||θ Capital Dun Loireag|| That was way too close, Kia thought to herself, shaking off the last of the snow from the field she was just in. I guess I really am useless as a fighter. Well, that settled it; she was totally useless to the group now. Just dead weight, more for them to worry about. Oh, get over it, she scolded herself, you'll find something they can use you for! They have returned. Kia simply shook her head in response to the strange voice. She wasn't startled; she didn't care enough anymore to be startled. She simply walked over to the chaos gate and warped back to her normal root-town. ||Δ Capital Mac Anu|| Kia realized her mistake even before opening her eyes. She had completely forgotten about the Cobalt Knights' little escapade here. A man wearing full body armor and that face plating that was the sign of the cobalt knights walked up to her. As far as she could tell, he was the only person in the immediate area. "Stupid scanning," she heard him mutter, as if he wasn't really excited about what he was doing. "All right, your name?" he asked her, probably something they were routinely doing now. "Kia," she said compliantly, trying to hide the fear inside her. I'm just a normal kid playing 'the world', she told herself, nothing special, just a normal, legally-contracted videogame addict. "Right," the man said, taking down her name. "And your password?" Kia locked up, panicked. It had been so long since...since that happened, that she had long forgotten her password. "Ummm...I, erm...forgot it!" she nearly squealed. Nice going, moron, said a voice in her head, and the next thing he's gonna say is... "Forgot...?" that cobalt knight asked, confused, "But, erm, miss, if you forgot it, how can you be in here, playing right now?" A thought seemed to dawn on the man. It dawned on him very slowly. "Hey, wait a minute...you're one of those crazy illegal NPCs, aren't you?!" The man tightened his grasp on the halberd, smiling. "Well, well, well...it looks like I'm finally going to get to handle a case on my own...about time!" He swung the halberd downward, and in the time it took Kia to see the flash of the blade, it was there at her face... ...But it stopped! Kia's eyes grew wide as her arm darted out, catching the pole of the halberd, stopping it cold. It hadn't been something she'd done, her reflexes weren't that fast. She felt a strange energy running through her body, like every piece of her being was alive with electricity. The halberd tore itself from Kia's grasp, and swung again, faster and more lethal this time. In a blink of movement, Kia felt herself whirling off to one side of the attack. And now, she felt more confident...powerful. "You should have never come to me," she said airily, the energy inside her growing. She grasped her blades out of their straps, flashing them dangerously. The knight shouted and swung once more. Kia blinked, and twin daggers drew across each other before her in a blur of movement. The halberd fell into two pieces on the ground. The knight dropped what was left of his broken weapon and took a step back, shaking slightly. "Ummm...a little help ba-" He started to call over his shoulder when four screeches of metal-on-metal emanated from his back. His eyes went wide as a fifth metallic shriek sent a reddened dagger clear through him, Kia grinning slightly from behind. The buzzing energy seemed to flow out of her and into the man, who jerked violently once before falling in a heap on the ground. Kia stifled a laugh as she walked, unnoticed, throughout the town... ...But she could never know that in the real world, a middle aged man had just fallen unconscious onto the floor, the GAME OVER screen flashing across his screen. OOC- Kia, Kia, Kia...whatever are we gonna do with you?! *insert maniacal laughter here*

[DDG]

[FONT=Trebuchet MS][COLOR=Navy]OOC: My mistake, next we're supposed to fight Macha, then Cubia, Tarvos, Cubia for the final time and then Corbenik.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=DarkRed]Kayla's character materialized before the spinning Chaos Gate. She slashed her staff at invisible objects before sighing.[/COLOR] "I still miss my old staff," [COLOR=DarkRed]she muttered, anger now coursing through her body.[/COLOR] "Damn Lios, damn him!" [COLOR=DarkRed]She bashed the end of the staff against the ground in a rage before swiftly making her way down a set of steps, past the Recorder and across the large bridge curving over the slow moving river.

She wasn't sure where she was going and she wondered where Sakura had gotten off to. Hadn't she been right beside Kayla at the Chaos Gate? [I]No, I guess she hadn't. If she had been, she'd be right beside me at this very moment. Maybe she's wandering around here somewhere, I mean, I did take a little whlie to check my email before I logged into the Root town. She probably got here before I did... Guess I'll just have to find her.[/i]

[B]And if I run into Kia, I'll tell her I can't talk because I'm looking for Sakura.[/B]

Her conscious, popping in again. Another argument with herself was going to ensue.

[I]No. I refuse to treat Kia that way. If I run into her, I'll ask her if she'd like to go to an area with me. She probably hasn't had anything much to do since we all went to the beach.[/I]

[B]...Refuse to treat Kia that way? You did it before, just earlier today. What's the reason for not doing it now?[/B]

[I]Plenty of reason not to. She's my friend and even if... there's something manifesting inside of her, she deserves to be treated like any other person, er, player.[/I]

[B]Just keep telling yourself that. You'll regret it in the end...[/B]

The "Devil's Advocate" side of her conscious had craftily ended the argument, leaving Kayla with menacing thoughts and plenty of other things to ponder on for awhile. She slowly came back into reality and wondered when she'd sat on the ground at the end of the road that ran through the Mac Anu, in the corner of the spacious square where players congregated to trade items, areas, information, etc. Her staff was resting against her shoulder and she was staring at the ground.

She lifted her head up and observed a nearby group of newbie players; there sure were a lot of those lately. Level one players who had no idea what was currently going on within "the World," no idea of the danger that was increasing in intensity with each and every passing day. The group was currently trading items and chatting away; they all seemed to know each other quite well. School friends presumably.[/color]

"I'll give you this Kai for your Steel Blades."
"How about your Kai plus your Amateur Blades?"
"No way! You'll be totally ripping me off!"
"Alright, alright. Kai for Steel Blades."

[COLOR=DarkRed]Kayla giggled at the idiocy of the two. They glanced in her direction with glares on their faces.[/COLOR]

"What's so funny, huh?" [COLOR=DarkRed]the female Twin Blade asked.

Kayla smirked.[/COLOR] "Its just that, you're actually the one ripping him," she nodded her head at the male Twin Blade, "off. Steel Blades are a better weapon as they increase Physical Attack by three, Physical Accuracy by two, Magical Attack by one, and Magical Accuracy by two. While on the other hand, Kai increases Physical Attack and Accuracy by two and Magical Attack and Accuracy by one. Also, Steel Blades' attack is Tiger Claws which blows Kai's attack, Saber Dance, right out of the water."

[COLOR=DarkRed]The Twin Blades stared in dismay at the Wavemaster's knowledge of weapons. The male pulled his Steel Blades back from the female's outstretched hands and equipped them. The female frowned and re-equipped her Kai before grumbling about how she could have accidentally just received a better weapon, while giving her male friend the worse one.

Together the two walked off, along with their other friend who had been watching with curiousity as the Twin Blades had been conjuring up a deal.

Chuckling to herself, Kayla failed to notice a pink haired Twin Blade stop beside her.[/COLOR]

"Kayla, I thought that was you," [COLOR=DarkRed]said the Twin Blade, smiling at the Wavemaster. Startled, Kayla's eyes scanned the square and finally spotted Kia, towrering above her.[/COLOR]

"Hey Kia. How ya been?"[/FONT]

[Neko]

||Δ-Aqua Capital Mac Anu|| It was by pure coincidence that she had found her. Kia hadn't even been following that strange instinct, and she'd still somehow managed to stumble upon Kayla, who'd been so absorbed in laughing at a couple newbies that she hadn't even noticed her. "Hello, Kayla," she said as she walked to kayla's side, "I thought that was you." Kayla turned to her. "Hey, Kia, how ya been?" There was that momentary hesitation again. Was that distrust Kia saw in Kayla's eyes? No, no...you're just being paranoid, Kia! Get a grip! nonetheless, that second of uncertainty had sparked up Kia's fiery temper again. Lately, she'd been having more and more problems managing her anger. "Oh, I'm fine, thanks..." she laughed in an obviously sarcastic manner, "considering all my friends just got back from a stupid party that I was never really invited to, or indeed informed of, and I've just been nearly killed by a Cobalt Knight!" Kayla recoiled slightly, probably surprised at the sudden outburst. "Kia, what's your deal lately? You haven't been yourself lately! It's like you're not even on our team!" "Are you trying to imply something?!" Kia shot back icily, gripping her blades tighter, barely able to contain herself from lunging at Kayla. "Are you calling me a traitor?!" "No, no, of course not!" Kayla shook her head, "But Kia, don't you see it yet? You're detaching yourself from the rest of us! I want you on the team as much as you do, but we'll never get to see that happen if we can't trust each-other!" Kia laughed sardonically. "Trust? Funny pick of words, since half of the team is against me! And who's fault is that, Kayla? Who went and spread crazy rumors about me? Who told everyone I was one of...one of them, one of the eight?! Don't talk to me about trust, Kayla. I'm...I'm..." Kia sighed, the anger had burned itself out, nothing but emptiness now. Kayla stared down at the ground, thinking. "Don't get the wrong idea, Kia...I wasn't trying to turn everyone against you...I just felt like you were acting a bit...strange." Kayla shook her head solomnly as she looked back up at Kia. "But that doesn't mean I'm not still your friend." Kia's hands loosened their grip on the deadly-sharp blades. "Okay, okay. Just tell me something, Kayla." "What is it?" Kia smiled ominously. "When do we fight Macha?" OOC-I think I'll leave that question to DDG to answer. :catgirl:

[DDG]

[FONT=Trebuchet MS][COLOR=DarkRed]Kayla took a moment to ponder the question. She wasn't sure herself when they would be fighting Macha. Helba was still tied up with her legal issues and hadn't been online for a few days, leaving a lot of the work involved with the Phases in Kayla's hands.[/COLOR]

"I'm not sure, Kia," [COLOR=DarkRed]Kayla finally said.[/COLOR] "I'd say a few days to a week until we fight Macha. I'll have to see if I can contact Helba."

[COLOR=DarkRed]Kia nodded her head absently. A silence sat between the two for a few moments, only broken by the talking of players nearby. After almost ten minutes of silence, Kayla finally spoke.[/COLOR]

"Ah, we're almost home. Sorry Kia, I'll have to get off now. Plus, my laptop battery's going dead. I'll log on again later when I'm at home, okay?" [COLOR=DarkRed]Without waiting for a response from Kia, Kayla logged out.

--Back in the van--[/COLOR]

"Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Please tell me we're there!" [COLOR=DarkRed]The Silver Knight exclaimed desperately as both Kayla and Katsuki had shut their laptops off and were tormenting him. Everyone else in the car was beginning to get sick of hearing the Silver Knight scream out random things to block what Kayla and Katsuki were saying.

A sigh of relief went through the group as Kite pulled up next to the first house: Kayla's. Gathering up all her things from the van, Kayla wrenched open the door and hopped out.[/COLOR] "See you everyone!" [COLOR=DarkRed]She shouted and started up the driveway to her house as Kite pulled away.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=Navy]OOC: I'm a bit out of it on ideas. I'll try and write some more next post, but for this is all. Sorry its so short, though ^_^;[/COLOR][/FONT]

[Che]

[SIZE=1][FONT=Arial][COLOR=DarkSlateBlue][U]--Back in Kite's Van--[/U][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Navy]Katsuki's mouth was watering.[/COLOR] "Dammit, I can't wait until I get home!" [COLOR=Navy]She shouted before digging in her bag and grabbing a container. The group stared at her like she was insane.[/COLOR]

"What's in there?" [COLOR=Navy]Sora asked, pointing to the container. Katsuki gave a selfish pout and protectantly held the container closer to her.[/COLOR]

"Nothing. Never you mind. Go away. They're mine!" [COLOR=Navy]She muttered. That caught everyone's interest.[/COLOR]

"Tell us or I'll kick you out of my van and you'd have to walk the rest of the way home."
"And then you'd have a lawsuit from my mother to deal with."
"Point taken, but the fact remains."
"Fine. They're special cookies I made last night."
"Special?"
"Family recipe. Best damn cookies you'll ever eat; almost addicting."

[COLOR=Navy]Katsuki opened the lid and the aroma of vanilla, chocolate, and butterscotch filled the car. Everyone was practically drooling. Silver Knight's hand inched to the container, but was slapped back by Katsuki.[/COLOR] "You're [I]so[/I] virtuous, [I]Brave Knight[/I]. Stealing from a child. I should tell your mother." [COLOR=Navy]She mumbled. Silver Knight paled. Everyone laughed.[/COLOR]

"Katsuki, can we please have some cookies? Please?" [COLOR=Navy]Elk asked. Katsuki pondered for a moment before handing Elk, Sora, Kite, and Knighty a single cookie each.[/COLOR]

"At least you have manners, Elk." [COLOR=Navy]She mumbled before stuffing a cookie into her mouth. The rest of the group did as well.

A cheesy way of describing the taste of the cookie would be 'complete bliss' so we'll leave it that.

As soon as the first round of cookies had been devoured, everybody held a hand out to Katsuki. [/COLOR] "Can we have another, please?" [COLOR=Navy]They asked in a slightly creepy unison. Katsuki complied. They repeated this process until a single cookie was left.[/COLOR]

"No! This one's mine! I only had one, and the rest of you unchivalrous pigs got the rest!" [COLOR=Navy]Katsuki shouted as they each asked for the cookie. A couple whimpers and a few curses came from the boys, to which Katsuki replied with a huffy 'hmph.'

She was about to lift the cookie to her mouth when Silver Knight, quick as lightning, snatched it out of her hand. Katsuki growled at him and her hand was curled into a fist when Sora slapped Knighty on the back of the head, shouting[/COLOR] "selfish old geezer," [COLOR=Navy]and stole the cookie from him.

Katsuki beamed at him. [/COLOR] "Thanks for getting it back for me." [COLOR=Navy]She said. Sora grinned mischieviously at her.[/COLOR]

"Who said I did it for you? This cookie's mine!" [COLOR=Navy]He said. Katsuki glared at him and punched him hard.[/COLOR] "Owww! What was that for?" [COLOR=Navy]He whined. Katsuki punched him again.

While this was going on, Elk had managed to take the cookie from Sora without him noticing. The older boy was about to sick his teeth into the baked good when the van swirved violently.[/COLOR]

"KITE!" [COLOR=Navy]Was the shout that everyone could here. The driver was no longer paying attention to the road, but was glaring at the group in the backseats and had his hand outstretched in Elk's direction. Kite was also trying to get the last cookie.

Katsuki paled.[/COLOR] "Kite! Watch the road!"

[COLOR=Navy]Swirve.[/COLOR] "Gimme the cookie."

"Kite! Watch the road!"

"I want that cookie, dammit!" [COLOR=Navy]Swirve. A car was narrowly missed. Honks were starting to be heard all around their van.[/COLOR]

"Car! Kite! There's a car!"

[COLOR=Navy]Swirve. Another car dodged.[/COLOR] "Give me the damn cookie!"

[COLOR=Navy]A loud, deep honk was heard. A semi-truck was in front of them.[/COLOR]

"DEAR LORD!"
"KITE!"
"HOLY CRAP! A SEMI!"
"Wha?"
"KITE! WATCH THE GOD DAMN ROAD!"

[COLOR=Navy]Kite turned to see the truck in front of them.[/COLOR] "What? It's only a semi. Now give me th--" [COLOR=Navy]His words started to sink in.[I]Only a semi...[/I][/COLOR]

"HOLY SHIT!"

[COLOR=Navy]A violent swirve and the van missed the semi.

...
...

Only problem now was that the van was upside down in a ditch. Everyone was glaring at Kite. Kite gave them a weak smile.[/COLOR] "At least we didn't crash into the semi." [COLOR=Navy]He said.[/COLOR] "So...where's the cookie?" [COLOR=Navy]Everyone looked at Elk, who shrugged.[/COLOR]

"I lost it in the chaos." [COLOR=Navy]He mumbled sadly. The entire group sighed, but Katsuki's mood brightened when she saw the wonderful, yet, troublemaking cookie on the floor.[/COLOR]

"MINE!" [COLOR=Navy]She shouted and dived for it. Needless to say, a dogpile formed.[/COLOR]

[U][COLOR=DarkSlateBlue]--Four Hours Later--[/COLOR][/U]

"Katsuki, honey, what happened?! That van certainly wasn't that beat up when it picked you up!" [COLOR=Navy]Katsuki's mother gasped. Katsuki, whose hair had been messed up in the fight over the cookie and now had a shiny new black eye for the same reason, snorted.[/COLOR]

"I refuse to ever bake again." [COLOR=Navy]She mumbled before storming up to her room and contemplating how to get her revenge.

She had lost the cookie to Sora; whom was given murderous glares from everyone until he was dropped off.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=DarkSlateBlue]----------------------
Far from my own baking skills =P[/COLOR][/FONT][/SIZE]

[Neko]

OOC-*Hold up a jealous hand* What, no cookies for Kia? You guys are so selfish...*Laughs* ||Ω-Net Slum|| "Helba, how're we doing on pinpointing Macha?" Kia asked, trying to hide the anticipation in her voice. Helba looked down at her, giving her what passes for a quizzical look, if you can read facial expressions without being able to see someone's eyes. "I'm working on it, Kia...but really, I think you should sit this one out," Helba replied, sensing Kia's eagerness, despite how she tried to hide it. Kia glared at her. "You know me better than that, Helba. I'm not going to just sit out on an important fight. Nobody's gonna stop me from helping you guys." "I wouldn't say that to a hacker," Helba smirked playfully, "I could easily shut you out from the field if I wanted to." Kia jerked like she'd been slapped by the remark. Both of them knew she didn't have a good comeback from that one. "Fine..." Kia sighed at last, getting a devilish idea, "I'll sit this one out. But when you figure out the field, can you give it to me, so I can tell the others?" Helba thought about it for a moment before agreeing. Could she have really fallen for it?! It was such an obvious trick! Now that Kia would have the field name before everyone else, she would be able to get there before telling them where the field was, and then they'd have no choice but to let her fight alongside them! Kia smiled. "Thanks, Helba. I don't know what we'd do without you." And with that, Kia warped back to Mac Anu. ||Δ-Aqua Capital Mac Anu|| Kia opened her eyes only to find Mia walking around vacantly, that strange dazed expression in her eyes again. She walked up to Mia, smiling. "Hey, Mia, how've you been? It's been a while!" she said cheerfully. Mia's head tilted at an awkward-looking angle, looking back at her. "Elk...where's Elk? Where'd everyone go...?" she asked, her voice different than usual. She'd been like this a few times, Kia realized. "They went off on some stupid trip, they'll be back soon. Are you feeling okay, Mia?" Kia reached out to feel Mia's forehead, though even as she did, she remembered that touching Mia while she was like this could be a...painful experience. Too late... But as Kia's hand touched Mia's forehead, nothing happened, no static reaction, no nothing. But...but there was a sort of pulsating feeling. A throbbing sensation, like that of a heart beating, amplified a billion times over. Kia's own heart slowed to match the slow, steady throb. A soft light began to glow around the two as the throb grew louder, drowning out every other sound in the area. Kia, sufficiently freaked out by now, tried to draw her hand away from Mia. But she found that there was no strength left in her body; she couldn't move, let alone pull away from Mia, who was now staring at her with eyes that almost seemed to be glowing white with energy. And a moment later, Mia was gone. Gone. Just like that. No reaction. Kia backed away slowly, a ringing sound in her ear. She glanced left and right, but couldn't find Mia anywhere. Frightened, she organized a quick message. TO: Mia FROM: Kia SUBJECT: Where'd you go?! Hey, Mia, what just happened? Where are you? No sooner had the message been sent than a voice started droning at her, an automated notice: We're sorry, the username: 'Mia' , you are trying to reach does not exist. Please re-check your spelling, or try again later. Doesn't exist?! Kia's mind raced, trying to sort the situation out. How is that possible? We've all known Mia for a long time! Kia paced back and forth for a little while, trying to come up with some logical answers. None of her theories worked very well, needless to say. Maybe the others can help figure it out, she thought, and arranged another message. TO: Kayla, Sakura, Sora, Elk, Kite FROM: Kia SUBJECT: Missing In Action Mia's gone MIA. I can't find her anywhere, and the game directory's saying she doesn't exist! We gotta check it out, I'll explain what happened when you guys get here. Usual place, you guys know where to find me.

OOC-The beginning of the revelation is finally near! except...nothing's going on right now...I'll let you guys figure this out, as if you haven't already. *Laugh*

[Che]

[Font=Arial][Size=1][COLOR=DarkSlateBlue]OOC: Teehee...Mia...MIA...they're the exact same thing....with different meanings...*suddenly remembers English class* Mia's part of a homophone! Mwahahaha! ^_^
-----------[/COLOR]

[COLOR=Navy]Sakura giggled. She knew she shouldn't have. It was an urgent situation. Mia was missing. But...Kia's choice in words...they were too funny.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=Indigo][I]TO: Kayla, Sakura, Sora, Elk, Kite
FROM: Kia
SUBJECT: Missing In Action


Mia's gone MIA. I can't find her anywhere, and the game directory's saying she doesn't exist! We gotta check it out, I'll explain what happened when you guys get here. Usual place, you guys know where to find me.[/I][/COLOR]

"Mia, M-I-A. MIA, M-I-A. You have to admit, it's a little funny, Kayla."[COLOR=Navy] Sakura said after being punched on the arm by Kayla for laughing while she read the email. Kayla's mouth gave a twitch of a smile.[/COLOR]

"Do you really think that it's so funny, that you have the right to laugh when one of our friends is missing?" [COLOR=Navy]Kayla said, regaining her seriousness. [/COLOR] "We've got to go find Kia!"

[COLOR=DarkSlateBlue][B][U][CENTER]The Usual Place...[/CENTER] [/U] [/B] [/COLOR]

"And then she was gone! Just like that!" [COLOR=Navy]Kia explained incredulously. Kayla was deep in thought, as was Kite. Elk had a really worried and depressed expression on his face, mumbling 'Mia' every so often. Sora had his usual, carefree grin on his face.[/COLOR]

"Things are getting exciting finally." [COLOR=Navy]He said. Glares from him all around, except from Sakura, who was also grinning. She couldn't help it. She had to point it out to Kia.[/COLOR]

"Hey Kia, did you know..." [COLOR=Navy]She started. Kayla groaned and put her head in her hands; she knew what it was. [/COLOR] "Did you know that in your email you put Mia, M-I-A, is MIA? I just found that funny."

[COLOR=Navy]A loud shout of [/COLOR] "Sakura!" [COLOR=Navy]and two bouts of cackling laughter showed that only one other person found it funny. Sakura was sure Sora's antics were rubbing off on her; next thing she knew she was going to be saying things like "chum" and "chupop" like Sora did on his PKing sprees.

She giggled at the thought, and received another scolding from Kayla.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=DarkSlateBlue]---------------
OOC: I might as well put my thoughts on the email into the story. Don't worry, Kia, I'll give you a rare item later. ^_^[/COLOR][/Font][/Size]

[DDG]

[FONT=Tahoma][COLOR=Navy]OOC: I was going to mention that exact same thing. The whole, "Mia's gone MIA." And, you know, shouldn't "chum" be "choom"? He doesn't say chum, as in, how someone in England might call their friend their "chum." Or, "chum" as in dead fish. But I wont elaborate.[/COLOR]
[center]- - -[/center]
[COLOR=Red]Kayla shook her head. She was irritable; Sakura and Sora had been giggling about Kia's email for the past fifteen minutes. No progress had been made on the subject of Mia's disappearance and her not being in the user database.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=DimGray]"What if she changed her username?"[/color] [COLOR=Red]Contributed Sora, finally able to contain his laughter.

Sakura nodded in agreement.[/COLOR] [COLOR=DimGray]"Yeah, what if she changed her username? Then her old name, Mia, wouldn't be in the user database anymore."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=DimGray]"Is it possible to change your username?"[/COLOR]

[COLOR=Red]Everyone turned to stare at Kia. She gave them all a searching, puzzled look.[/COLOR] [COLOR=DimGray]"What? Can you?"[/COLOR]

[COLOR=Red]Kayla figured out Kia's naivety in the matter first.[/COLOR] [COLOR=DimGray]"Its a new feature that came with the latest version upgrade of 'the World.' Since you're a trapped player, the system probably doesn't recognize you as an 'actual player,' someone who could read and receive emails so the system treats your character more or less like an AI, meaning you don't get the service upgrade emails. However, that's just one part of the system, the part that sends out the upgrade emails to the users of the game. The rest of the system treats you as a regular player -- to an extent. You can access all the servers, areas, view the board, read and send emails, but you cannot log out.

"Due to Morganna's programming, all AI created by her are endowed with the abilities of a normal player, other than the fact that they're AI's and cannot log out of the game. Since trapped player's characters become similar to AI's in the fact that they cannot log out, the game treats them and considers their character data as an AI's. And because Morganna is the one who caused the said player to become trapped, her programming treats the trapped player as an AI that it created, bestowing it the abilities of a normal player."[/COLOR] [COLOR=Red]The other four blinked at her in response. She laughed tentatively.[/COLOR] [COLOR=DimGray]"Basically, Kia doesn't get upgrade emails, meaning she doesn't learn about the new upgrades to 'the World' via official announcement in the emails. So, ah, back to the original question: players can change their usernames by filling out a 'change name' form."[/color]

[COLOR=DimGray]"Well, uh, that was, uh, extremely, um . . . ."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=Red]Sora finished Sakura's thought.[/COLOR] [COLOR=DimGray]"Extremely educational."[/COLOR] [COLOR=Red]He held his head in mock agony.[/COLOR] [COLOR=DimGray]"Oi, too much information for my poor brain to handle."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=DimGray]"D-did you come up with that by yourself?"[/COLOR] [COLOR=Red]Elk questioned, forming a new admiration for his friend.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=Red]Kayla grinned at the four.[/COLOR] [COLOR=DimGray]"Not all of it, no. Helba explained some of it to me, then I put a few things together myself. Things that just seemed logical. It all came together after awhile."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=Red]Sakura rolled her eyes.[/COLOR] [COLOR=DimGray]"Well, the next time you explain something, put it simply and bluntly! Don't go into a huge talk about AI's and Morganna's programming and stuff like that!"[/COLOR]

[COLOR=DimGray]"So, Mia could have changed her username?"[/COLOR] [COLOR=Red]Kia asked again, to bring the conversation back on topic. Kayla nodded.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=DimGray]"But then again, even if she changed her username, that doesn't explain why she disappaered all of a sudden. Unless . . . ."[/COLOR] [COLOR=Red]Kayla's thought trailed off and she left the others in suspense for the next five minutes.

It was finally Sakura who brought the Wavemaster to speak her thoughts. Sakura raised the butt of her right blade and slammed it against Kayla's skull. The force knocked Kayla forward. She stumbled, but caught herself, turned for a moment to observe the four standing around her and then spoke:[/COLOR]

[COLOR=DimGray]"The mystery of Mia's disappearance could be something quite simple, really. Are any of you familiar with IRC?"[/COLOR] [COLOR=Red]Sakura raised her hand straight up into the air. Kayla frowned, ground her teeth together and continued.[/COLOR] [COLOR=DimGray]"Well, its a chat program, one of the very first that was ever made. Anyway, within IRC are thousands and thousands of channels, or chats. Many people use these channels to leech manga, anime, music, etc. from other users offering the files, but that's irrelevant.

"Sometimes in a channel, the admin's of the channel, will perform a sort of 'clean-up' of the channel. I'm actually not sure the details of what the clean-up does, but I do know that when it happens quite a few users in the channel are forceably booted and made to restart the channel.

"And in other cases, such as sites or programs that use servers, the administrators will perform annual clean-ups of the servers. Such is the case with the instant messenger program, MSN Messenger. They perform clean-ups for their servers on occassion and upon doing so, all people currently signed in are forceably signed out and not allowed to sign back in until the clean-up is done.

"If you take in consideration that 'the World' uses servers and that they would need to be cleaned up every once in awhile, to remove excess, useless data, and in doing so, certain users may be forced to log out and unallowed to return until the clean-up is complete, then maybe that's what happened to Mia. Because if you mix what happens in IRC channels and what happens on programs such as MSN Messenger, 'the World's' server clean-ups could force players to log out(possibly because of the deletion of a cookie or a certain cache file during the clean-up) and disallow them from returning until the clean-up is complete.

"But, uh, that's just a theory and it could only be proven if we found out 'the World's' server clean-up schedule. Then we could see if there was a clean-up going on at the time Mia disappeared."[/COLOR] [COLOR=Red]Kayla let out a breath of relief and sat on a nearby box, leaving her companions to ponder what she'd said.[/COLOR][/font]

[Neko]

OOC- Wow, I understood, like, three words out of all that. Congratulations! Kia tilted her head ever so slightly, trying to at least pretend she had an inkling of what Kayla had just said. Sora, apparently, could relate. He came up and tapped her shoulder, whispering while he thought nobody was looking. "Erm...did you actually get any of that?" He asked in a slightly shaky voice. Kia shook her head just perceptably, looking perplexed herself. Sora sighed in relief. "Oh, good...I'm not alone, then." Crack. "I heard that," Kayla said airily, waving her staff menacingly. Sora rubbed his head in a rather convincing imitation of the pain of someone who has just been hit over the head by a relatively large staff. Sora mumbled something extremely rude, and was rewarded again with another swift knock to the cranium. "so, what you're saying..." Kia spoke up suddenly, clearing her voice, "...is that we shouldn't worry if Mia suddenly disappeared. yet." Kayla nodded, obviously pleased that someone, at least, seemed to get what she was saying. Kia didn't but that was alright, because lucky guess or not, she had pretty much 'hit the mark', or so they say. "But we'll know something's wrong if she doesn't log back on within the next...half hour, shall we say?" Kayla replied brightly. Everyone nodded in agreement, and decided to meet in the alley of Mac Anu in a half hour if nobody could find Mia. And with that, the group scattered. Kia decided to take charge of searching Mac Anu, since 'she was the most familiar with the place'. (The real reason was that she was kinda scared of the high-level players in other servers, but she didn't figure that would fly too well with the others) So, after all the others decided where else to look, and left on the search, she began to look all over Mac Anu for some sign of Mia. I wonder how Elk is feeling about all this... Kia thought, the image of Elk's seemingly eternally depressed face popping into her mind. It was no great secret that he liked Mia. Kia frowned. She would find Mia. For Elk. Half an hour later... Kia slammed her fist against the rock wall, which had the opposite effect as intended, in that it hurt her fist more than it hurt the wall. "Where the hell is she?!" she shouted, getting some odd glances from some players nearby. Kia had been spending the past half-hour tearing through every street, shop, and canal of Mac Anu looking for Mia with a rather persistant stroke of utter non-success. In short, she had failed. Miserably. Remembering the meeting, she stepped into one of the boats in the canal, one of the empty ones. She yawned, stretching back, a wave of indifference coming across her, suddenly. To: Kayla, Sakura, Sora, [spoiler]*****[/spoiler], Elk, Kite From: Kia Subject: No luck... I've searched all over Mac Anu, and I got nada. It's been a half hour, and we agreed that if nobody found her in a half hour, something was going on. You guys find anything? I'll be in one of the boats in Mac Anu. If I'm sleeping when you get here, hit me, or something. Not too hard!

[DDG]

[font=tahoma][color=gray]Having volunteered to search for Mia in the newly reopened Omega server, it having been closed to be repaired after a glitch had caused half the server to completely disappear, Kayla wasn?t sure how long she?d take to search the entire server for the mysterious catlike player. She knew from Helba that a few years ago the regular Omega server had been too unstable for anyone to use, thus, Helba had used a small part of Net Slum to be turned into Omega Server for as long as it was necessary.

Needless to say, soon after ?the World? was once again safe from Morganna and all areas were stable again, the old Omega server replaced Helba?s Omega server. Kayla had only been to the Omega server once and that was only to talk with players and exchange information. She definitely hadn?t seen a majority of the server, as it was certainly the largest of the servers.

Thinking about the events that had happened three years ago made her remember what Kite and Helba had said about Macha: Mia was Macha.

But that had been three years ago and the two were pretty sure that Mia could not become Macha again. Those were the keywords, though: pretty sure. Not positively sure, not absolutely, completely sure, only: pretty sure. It could be someone else . . . a different AI or . . . a trapped player . . . but it could always be Mia again. She was acting oddly, but maybe that was just a reaction from something that was happening within the internal workings of ?the World?.

Was it better to be suspicious of Mia being Macha or of someone else being Macha . . . someone like Kia? Neither were good options and both were probable.

[i]Mia isn?t a real player . . . she was an AI . . . but even AI?s show up in the access logs, right? That?s one way Administrators track them down. So, if we can check the access logs we should be able to find her . . . but, like Sora said, she could have changed her name so . . . we don?t search for her name, but . . .

Well, if she was a regular player, you?d use their IP address but what do you use to find an AI? On the access logs and in their user profiles, they?d have a ?hidden IP address? like someone who was behind a router. So . . .

. . . you search for all the users with hidden IP addresses! Of course! While the others are scouring the servers, looking for her, I?ll check the access logs and see if she might be in a field or something.[/i]

Kayla glanced around and casually walked into a small alley behind a shop. She leaned against the wall, hiding in the shadows and set to work.

Fifteen minutes later she?d managed to open the access logs and was waiting as a list of all the users with hidden IP addresses was compiled. A small beep informed her of the search being finished and she looked at the list.

One hundred eight users currently had hidden IP addresses. Nineteen of them had accessed using a regular IP address lately, ruling them out. That left eighty-nine users who were either behind a router, an AI or a trapped player. Not a player who was currently in a comatose, but a player who was no longer living on the outside. Comatose players [i]had[/i] an IP address. Their IP address was the IP address of the main computer at the hospital they were checked in at.

Kayla scrolled through the list, removing any names that were sharing the same IP address(the comatose players), leaving her with approximately thirty users. Of the thirty, she recognized twenty-one had AI?s. Which meant that eight users [i]had[/i] to be accessing behind a router, with the remaining ninth person being Mia.

Clicking on the link to each person?s profile in turn, Kayla looked at the head shot of each player, then at what was listed in their profile, just in case Mia?s character data had been altered somehow. A realization set in as Kayla reached the end of the list.[/color]

[center][color=blue]-Delta-Aqua-Capital-Mac-Anu-[/color][/center]

[color=gray]Wandering around Mac Anu allowed Kayla to think. The server wasn?t as busy as it usually was. Well, actually, it was busy, just not where Kayla was wandering. Some kind of contest or prize give away was happening near Elf?s Haven and Kayla was over by the Magic Shop. She stopped walking and leaned against the wall, watching the river.

A small envelope appeared in front of her.[/color] [color=indigo]?New mail,?[/color][color=gray] she muttered and quickly accessed it.[/color][/font]

[font=verdana][color=royalblue][size=1]To:[i] Kayla, Sakura, Sora, *****, Elk, Kite[/i] From: [i]Kia[/i] Subject: [i]No luck... I've searched all over Mac Anu, and I got[/i] nada.[i] It's been a half hour, and we agreed that if nobody found her in a half hour, something was going on. You guys find anything? I'll be in one of the boats in Mac Anu. If I'm sleeping when you get here, hit me, or something. Not too hard![/i][/color][/font][/size]

[color=indigo][font=tahoma]?I wonder what everyone will think when I tell them. . . .?[/color] [color=gray]Kayla murmured, before replying to the email.[/color][/font]

[font=verdana][color=royalblue][size=1]To: [i]Kia, Sakura, Sora, *****, Elk, Kite[/i] From: [i]Kayla[/i] Subject: [i]Omega = all clear I didn?t find a single trace of Mia in Omega Server . . . and everyone, if you?re still searching, hurry up and get over here to Mac Anu, all right? I?ve got something to tell everyone. I?ll be in the boat with Kia, but I?m not going to tell what I?ve discovered until everyone?s there.[/i][/color][/font][/size]

[color=gray][font=tahoma]She sent the message and looked back at the water to find the boat with Kia in it floating by. Walking up to the water?s edge, she reached out and grabbed the boat and pulled it up to the shore. Kia remained motionless, sleeping seemingly peacefully as Kayla hopped in the boat and pushed off from the shore. Kayla sat on the complete opposite side of the boat and stared out at Mac Anu, thinking as she waited.[/color][/font]
- - -
[font=tahoma]OOC: You?re all going to have to wait until my next post to find out what happens =P And by the way, who's ***** supposed to be? Or was that just a mistake? Because I was reading back a few pages and noticed that the first email Kia sent was addressed to "Kayla, Sakura, Sora, Elk and Kite" (and Che and I both forgot to include Kite in our posts, eheh >>). *shrugs* Or maybe its a secret, eh?[/font]

[Che]

[SIZE=1][FONT=Arial][COLOR=DarkSlateBlue]OOC: *sighs* Fine! I'll post! Get off my back! *is talking to the voices in her head who are making her feel guilty about neglecting the thread* *glares at the fifth voice* Wait a second, I've been neglecting the entire forum, and you're just worried about .hack//TRUTH? Have you been talking to DDG's voices?

*is being forced to apologize by the voices* Sorry, everyone...
----------------[/COLOR]

"MIA! MIA! COME OUT, COME OUT, WHEREVER YOU ARE!"

[COLOR=Navy]Sakura's shout echoed through the Lambda server, but it only rewarded her with strange looks from the other players.[/COLOR] "Mind your own business," [COLOR=Navy]she snapped at them.[/COLOR]

"Will the real Cat-Player Mia please stand up?" [COLOR=Navy]she tried with no luck, though she succeded in making her mind wander to Eminem for a split second. This was getting embarassing, and was going nowhere fast. She had searched every nook and cranny of Carmina Gatelica, and came up with nothing. But she would give it one last shot. If Mia didn't respond to this one, she definately wasn't in the server.[/COLOR]

"OH MY GOD MIA! KITE IS DATA DRAINING ELK!" [COLOR=Navy]Sakura shouted at the very top of her lungs. Strange looks all around, and some ex-Crimson Knights gave her a somewhat worried look. She merely shook her head at the to tell them that it wasn't true. But still, Mia was not to be seen.

Suddenly, her New Mail alert sounded. Quickly, Sakura checked it. There were two of them:[/COLOR]

[COLOR=Indigo][B][I][CENTER]To: Kayla, Sakura, Sora, *****, Elk, Kite
From: Kia
Subject: No luck...

I've searched all over Mac Anu, and I got nada. It's been a half hour, and we agreed that if nobody found her in a half hour, something was going on. You guys find anything? I'll be in one of the boats in Mac Anu. If I'm sleeping when you get here, hit me, or something. Not too hard!


To: Kia, Sakura, Sora, *****, Elk, Kite
From: Kayla
Subject: Omega = all clear

I didn?t find a single trace of Mia in Omega Server . . . and everyone, if you?re still searching, hurry up and get over here to Mac Anu, all right? I?ve got something to tell everyone. I?ll be in the boat with Kia, but I?m not going to tell what I?ve discovered until everyone?s there. [/CENTER][/I][/B][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Navy]Sakura decided it would be best to just send a small reply instead of something lengthy and probably veering off topic.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=Indigo][I][B]To: Kia, Kayla, Sora, Elk, Kite, *****
From: Sakura
Subject: No Mia

;-; Couldn't find her, and made a fool of myself in the process. Meet you in Anu.[/B][/I][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Navy]And so, the female Player Killer went to meet the two in Mac Anu.[/COLOR][/FONT][/SIZE]

[Neko]

Δ-Aqua Capital Mac Anu Perhaps it was the calm, peaceful atmosphere of the quiet city. Perhaps it was the warm, gentle breeze blowing softly through the canals. Perhaps it was the gentle swaying motion of the boat as it floated down the passageway. Whatever it was, Kia had dozed off roughly forty seconds after sending her message to the others. Crack. "Owww..." Kia groaned as her eyes snapped open. She rubbed the back of her head painfully as she gave Kayla a glare that would set the fear of the more violent gods into most men. "What was that for?!" Kayla smiled one of those big, disgustingly happy smiles, waving her staff slightly. "Well, you said in your mail to hit you if you weren't awake, you know..." This got a laugh out of Sora, who had arrived shortly after Elk and Kite, who followed Sakura to the boat. Kia frowned. "Well, one, I didn't mean 'with a weapon', and two, I said 'not too hard'. How long have you all been here?" she asked. "Oh, about ten minutes ago, I'd say," Sora laughed. "We all decided to let you wake up on your own, but, well, Sakura here, she got tired of waiting, and told Kayla to-OWWW!" Sakura shot him a deadly look, and whispered something inaudible into his ear, and Sora stopped talking. Immediately. Seemingly satisfied, Sakura turned to face Kia with a dull expression, never releasing her hold on Sora's arm, which looked twisted - and rather painfully - behind his back. "I didn't tell Kayla to do anything," she said flatly, and not terribly convincingly, either. Kia decided that there were some things she wasn't entirely interested in knowing the truth about. "Well, whatever. How did you guys' search go?" she asked, tilting her head to one side. She managed to be only slightly discouraged when she got negative answers from everyone, including Sora, who had a look on his face that made it obvious that he had managed to find something more 'important' to do with his time. "I did, however, have something I was hoping to talk to you guys about," Kayla said after a moment of uneasy silence. In that moment, Kia thought she saw that distrusting look in Kayla's eyes again, but it was gone so fast that she decided that she must be getting paranoid. In the meantime, the rest of the group had gone silent. "Well, please....do tell us, Kayla," Kia said quietly. "We're all ears."

Okay, never again will I try to do funny. It saves us all a lot of time and trouble. Oh, and sorry about the *****. I'm gonna chalk that up to me going totally braindead for a second there. Pay it no mind.

[DDG]

[COLOR=Navy]She wasn't quite sure how to say it. She'd thought it over since finding out, but there really wasn't any particular way to go about telling them. There was no way to sugar coat it. The facts were the facts.

Wait -- of course there was no way to sugar coat it! It didn't [i]need[/i] any sugar coating. Kayla almost smacked herself on the head for being an idiot, but she resisted and took in a slow, deep breath, then almost froze and didn't say anything -- we all know public speaking is harder than it looks -- but calmly informed the other five the startling news.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray]"Mia . . . isn't listed in the access logs. And hasn't been. For a long time."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=Navy]Sakura opened her mouth to ask a question, but Kayla cut her off.[/COLOR] [COLOR=Gray]"Yes, of course AI's are listed in the access logs."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=Navy]There was silence. Then . . .[/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray]"So, was she . . . deleted then?"[/COLOR]

[COLOR=Navy]Kayla turned to Kia.[/COLOR] [color=gray]"If she was, she'd still be listed in the access logs. I think . . . she really [i]did[/i] just disappear into thin air."

"So, she disappeared, hasn't been recorded as using the World in the access logs for . . . awhile . . . what the hell is going on?"[/color] [color=navy]Sora was stating the question that everyone had wondered, but hadn't asked.[/color]

[color=gray]"I . . . I don't know. I really don't frickin' know. It's just getting . . . confusing. Even to me."[/color] [color=navy]Kayla shook her head and leaned against the side of the boat, closing her eyes to think.

The other occupants of the boat proceeded to do the same.[/color]

---
Short, sweet and to the point...

[Neko]

Δ-Aqua Capital Mac Anu Everyone's appropriately sullen mood did not serve to lighten Kia's thoughts as the silence that she had been hoping would clear after Kayla's ponderings dragged on for the better part of ten minutes. What am I doing here? she asked herself for the millionth time. She sighed hopelessly, with the unintended effect that Sora turned to her, probably itching for an escape from the choking silence. "What's up, Kia?" He asked loudly, with the intended effect that everyone on the boat turned their head to Kia simultaniously. Creepy. Kia took a deep breath. There wasn't much of a way to say something like this without tearing yourself apart. "Guys..." Kia said in a weak, defeated voice, "I...I can't do this anymore. I'm scared...scared of what could happen. Every time we fight the phases, I almost die. I can't keep getting lucky forever. One of these days they're gonna get me. I don't wanna be a hinderance to you guys anymore. I'll help you defeat Macha, but after that...I'm done. I'm sorry." Kia closed her eyes and braced herself for the onslaught of shouting that would come. But all there was was that deafening silence again. Finally, Sora stood up and got ready to start shouting something, but Kayla silenced him with a threatening finger pointed at his direction. "It's okay, Kia. We understand." Kayla said these five simple words with a profound calmness that tore Kia in half. There was no way she'd be able to live with herself after abandoning them in the middle of the 'war'. Ω-Endless-Eternal-Love song. Tell the others. -Helba Well, I guess it's time to wrap this up, Kia thought to herself, looking down at the wooden floor of the boat. "Umm...I'll see you guys in a little bit. I gotta go check something." Kia jumped lightly off the boat and walked slowly to the chaos gate, mumbling the Field where her last fight would take place.

[FONT=Arial][SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkRed]OOC: Hehehe...party time! As long as we don't actually get to the fight within the next post, do whatever you want. Just remember; Kia wants to stay alone. Doesn't mean she has to, but she does have an attitude problem. :catgirl: [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[DDG]

[FONT=Georgia][SIZE=1]It's that season, you know, the Christmas one and I figure, why not give TRUTH another post to kickstart it back into gear? Couple more months and it'll have been two years since it began. Think maybe we'll have at least five more posts by then? XD Sorry for not posting. School is troublesome and I've been majorly suffering from Procrastilaziosis lately.[/size]

---

[font=verdana][color=royalblue][size=1]To:[i] Kayla[/i] From: [i]Unknown Sender[/i] Subject: [i][NO SUBJECT] I have some information that may help you. Reply to this message ASAP if you?re interested.[/i][/color][/font][/size]

[color=navy][i]What is this?[/I] Kayla shrugged and replied.[/color][/font]

[font=verdana][color=royalblue][size=1]To:[i]Unknown Sender[/i] From: [i]Kayla[/i] Subject: [i][NO SUBJECT] What?ve you got to tell me?[/i][/color][/font][/size]

[font=georgia][color=navy]The ?unknown sender? responded immediately.[/color][/font]

[font=verdana][color=royalblue][size=1]To:[i] Kayla[/i] From: [i]Unknown Sender[/i] Subject: [i][NO SUBJECT] There's more at stake here than just a game. This is the second crisis to have plagued The World--both with the same circumstances. You should know by now that something else is going on.[/i][/color][/font][/size]

[font=verdana][color=royalblue][size=1]To:[i]Unknown Sender[/i] From: [i]Kayla[/i] Subject: [i][NO SUBJECT] A conspiracy?[/i][/color][/font][/size]

[font=verdana][color=royalblue][size=1]To:[i] Kayla[/i] From: [i]Unknown Sender[/i] Subject: [i][NO SUBJECT] Exactly. CC Corp is responsible for everything that's been happening. They're trying to make money . . . by causing a global network crisis. Meet me in Sigma, I'll tell you everything I know.[/i][/color][/font][/size]

[font=verdana][color=royalblue][size=1]To:[i]Unknown Sender[/i] From: [i]Kayla[/i] Subject: [i][NO SUBJECT] How do you know about all this?[/i][/color][/font][/size]

[font=verdana][color=royalblue][size=1]To:[i] Kayla[/i] From: [i]Unknown Sender[/i] Subject: [i][NO SUBJECT] I'll tell you, just come to Sigma. The Grunty farm.[/i][/color][/font][/size]

[color=navy][font=georgia][center]* * *[/center]

Kayla leaned against a wall in Mac Anu. She wasn't sure what to make of the meeting in Sigma. Her informant had been generous in exposing CC Corp. secrets. . . .

The World was a sham . . . the CC Corp. wanted to control the entire global network and make as much money as they could. The World was the beginning of that . . . from the first crisis, they knew what The World was capable of doing. They'd created Morganna's backup program before the last phase had been defeated and Aura was born, then they'd initiated the backup program three years later, so that the Phases could wreak havoc upon The World once again--only this time, they knew how to control them and would eventually direct the Phases outside of The World and turn them into viruses.

They'd make promises to the consumers after the global network destroyed itself that they were the way to go . . . only they could come through and stop another one from happening. It was ambitious, but Kayla knew it would work . . . because they were CC Corp. and people believed them. They came through during the first crisis didn't they?

The only way to stop them was to defeat the Phases . . . and then . . .

Defeat the game itself. A virus to destroy everything that had to do with the Phases, Morganna, Aura, the Epitaph . . . then an antivirus that would fix the game so it could run without those files.

First step: defeat the Phases.

Phase number six, to be precise.

Kayla pushed off from the wall and made her way to the Chaos Gate, finding Helba the first objective on her to-do list.[/color][/font]

---

[size=1][font=georgia]Deleted and reposted--and much better this time. Just another reason why I shouldn't write anything to do with .hack after midnight... *smacks self*[/font][/size]

[Che]

[SIZE=1]Sakura sighed. She was bored. And hyper. And worried. And also a little frightened. Not to mention hyper. Kayla had specifically instructed her not to eat food many times before, because it gave her too much energy, and she always continued to eat food. And excess of food. Which gave her more than too much energy. Which was always very annoying, especially to herself.

But, this time it was different.[COLOR=Navy] "What if I get Data Drained by Macha?" [/COLOR] She asked Sora, her fifteenth questin within fifteen minutes. Yes, this time, her imagination was running wild with numerous situations of the upcoming battle, and stating them all in questions to her not-so-patient partner-in-crime.

[COLOR=Navy]"You're not going to get Data Drained, Sakura,"[/COLOR] Sora answered, monotone, also completely bored, but not as hyper or worried as Sakura.

[COLOR=Navy]"What if [i]you[/i] get Data Drained?" [/COLOR] Sakura gasped. Sora rolled his eyes. This was about the third time she asked this.

[COLOR=Navy]"I'm not going to get Data Drained, Sakura," [/COLOR] he replied. Sakura opened her mouth to ask another question, but quickly, the green-haired player killer interrupted, [COLOR=Navy]"Where do you think Kayla has gone off to?"[/COLOR]

Sakura looked around the boat. Everyone had scattered but them, without her noticing.[COLOR=Navy] "Oops," [/COLOR] she mumbled under her breath. [COLOR=Navy]"Probably to go see Helba or something. Hey! What if Kayla gets ambushed by Lios in Net Slum?!"[/COLOR]

Sora groaned. That was it. The last straw. [COLOR=Navy]"Sakura! Shut [i]up[/i]!" [/COLOR] Sakura, finally realizing all of her worrying had depleted all of Sora's manners, nerves, and care for the battle, laughed. Sora, who had never been able to stand being laughed at, revealed his weapons, and Sakura stopped laughing.

[COLOR=Navy]"Uh, thanks for the chat, Sora. But I think Kayla just Flash Mailed me! Meet you in Net Slum, later!" [/COLOR] With that, Sakura quickly exited the boat, making a mental note never to laugh at Sora in a bad mood, and making a hasty retreat to Net Slum.
[COLOR=DarkSlateBlue]----------------
There is a conspiracy between DDG and Neko! Hence, I did nothing important but meet up with Kayla. I don't want to mess anything up :animestun [/COLOR] [/SIZE]

[Neko]

OMG! I was really, really worried this had died! Well, I hope we can get this kicking again. Oh, and by the way, I totally spaced out on the actual field phase 6 is, so I made one up. If there's a problem, I can always change it. Three cheers for the edit button!

And five cheers for getting this thing going again! Wai!

---

Kia sighed, shivering slightly. The cracking buzz of the corrupted field, the eerie ringing burning into her ears. So...this is it... she thought, My last fight. I guess now that I'm here, it's safe to tell the others where I am...

To: Sora, Kayla, Sakura From: Kia Subject: Phase 6 I found phase six, come to Ω-Endless-Eternal-Love Song.

With a sigh, Kia took a step towards the dungeon. It was still way off, but for some reason, she could tell where it was. She was calm, unusually calm. After this, there would be no more fighting, no more pain, for her. She could live out the rest of her long, long life in peace. And she would never offer to help another group of kids again.

But before that, she had to survive one last fight. Macha, the temptress. Macha seduces with the sweet trap, the sweet snare of conciliation. Kia shuddered, and thought of turning back. It wasn't worth the risk. Why should she care whether or not the others all fell into comas? It made no difference to her, she could still talk with their characters, the only part of them she knew. But would they ever forgive her for turning her back on them?

No. This was something Kia could not back down from anymore. The others have probably gotten my message by now, she thought, I should hurry. Kia raced down one last hill, entering the dungeon where Macha was waiting.

She ran, unhindered, for a few rooms, before running into her first portal. She gripped her tiny daggers firmly, ready for battle. Anything but a dragon. Something small, please... The portal activated, but as it dissolved, it left nothing behind. Not even a treasure chest. Very freaky. The game never did that; the portals always left at least something. Shaken, Kia ran further down, until she reached the purple flames.

With one last breath, she was ready. If she waited for the others, they would force her to stay behind, for sure. Certainly, Helba would have told them that Kia was specifically instructed to stay back. There's no going back now...

Kia took a step forward, and vanished into the flames. She opened her eyes, and glanced around, her entire body tense like a bow ready to snap. But there was nothing there, not even a buzz. Dead silence.

"What in the world..." she wondered aloud. She stood straight up, wondering if Helba had in fact given her the wrong area, or if Macha had moved.

Hello, Kia. I've been waiting for you.

"Who the hell is there?!" Kia shouted, snapping back to attention.

You know who I am, Kia. It's been...a while. Kia's eyes widened. It couldn't be...there was no way. But as she stood and thought about it, the more and more sense it made. The razor-sharp daggers slipped out of her limp fingers as she stared blankly at nothing.

Welcome home, Kia.

---

I have officially maneuvered Kia to where she needs to be. I would ask that, given the circumstances, I can start the fight with Macha, once everyone has arrived.

[Che]

[SIZE=1]They were travelling through the dungeon. It seemed as if they were going rather slowly. Sakura couldn't have been the only one who felt this way, right? I mean, sure, Kia was fighting Macha right now, and Sakura was worried as hell, but still. They were moving as fast as they could without wasting SP or scrolls. No, no. It was worry that was seemingly slowing them all down.

At least in Sakura's point of view.

They needed to move faster, or else Kia was done for. No matter how much she leveled up, she was still a newbie compared to the others. And besides that, she felt the pain, she could actually [i]die[/i], unlike the others.

And then...

They fought another monster. Another data bug. Another room.

Was Sakura getting into a routine? [i]De ja vu[/i] seemed to be kicking in. Every Phase, they practically did the same thing. Fight, fight, next room, fight, next room, Phase. What would happen if, no, [i]when[/i] they finished? Would they start getting nostalgic for these days? Would they recreate the Phases, just to get the routine back?

[COLOR=Navy]"Kayla?"[/COLOR] Sakura asked meekly. They were in the middle of a fight. A large monster, Magic Resistant. Kayla looked at her.

[COLOR=Navy]"What? Did you get damaged?"[/COLOR] Kayla asked, noting the slightly weak way Sakura was speaking. She looked worried, as if something completely different from the task at hand was on her mind, [COLOR=Navy]"Are you okay?"[/COLOR]

Sakura looked around. No, she wouldn't express her concern just yet. Not when they still had a Phase to fight, a Kia to save. [COLOR=Navy]"Uh, yeah, just...Can you replenish my SP? I'm getting a bit tired of this guy..." [/COLOR] To make it seem even more realistic, Sakura even managed one of her trademarked 'Let's get this over with' grins. Kayla nodded and did as she was told.

As soon as that fight was finished, they found the door with the purple flames. And Sakura's worries had only intensified. Whatever was waiting for them behind the flames, Sakura knew it was going to be big. Bigger than just Macha alone.[/SIZE]

[Neko]

Ph34r with great ph34r the almighty power of angsty, emo-characters! Arise, minions, for my time has come!

...

...Okay, just pretend I didn't just do that. Please?

---

The two blades fell to the floor from her limp hands with a dull clang as Kia realized the obvious truth. She had known that this would happen since the battle with Fidchell, but she had always continued, always helped the others, vainly hoping against it. A tear slid down her deathly pale cheek, dropping onto the ground the sound echoing, multiplying into a ripple that echoed throughout the entire area.

It is time, Kia. They're coming.

"No!" Kia shouted miserably. "I can't do this to them! They're my friends!"

Friends? You have no friends. That band of misfits are only humans, Kia. You are Eternal.

"Shut up!" Kia squealed, clasping her hands to her ears. A screeching buzz filled her ears, static screams. When she opened her eyes, they were blank white. She looked down at her hands, and they were beginning to turn slightly purple. She looked up, and suddenly, for one moment, Mia was there, staring at her. Then she was gone.

"What...what's happening to me...?"

You know what's happening, Kia. You're being granted a wonderful chance.

Kia didn't say anything, could barely move as her data was modified, her character being altered into a new body that wasn't her own. It wouldn't be to long now. She was almost done. She could suddenly feel a small group of people appearing behind her, one-by-one.

She turned slowly around and wiped a tear away as she saw Kayla's and Sakura's shocked faces, followed by everyone else. It would break her heart to have to fight them. She only hoped that, when the time came, Kite would be able to bring himself to Drain her. This was not going to be the time for human emotions.

"I'm so...sorry...everyone..." she cried, hoping they would remember her as the little girl she had been, not the monster she had become. And with that, she lost her last shred of humanity, finally becoming what she had once fought so hard against. She leapt back about thirty feet, flipping through the air.

When it landed, Macha was ready to kill.

Phase 6: Macha, the temptress,
Kia, the Betrayal

---

*Whew* Ah, it's finally time to play. I hope this turns into a nice-sized battle. I think there's plenty of room for emotional conflict here, if you know what I mean.

EDIT: Wow, I just realized how short my posts are getting. I'll get back to work on making things nice-n-long next time. Bai-bai!

[Che]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=Indigo]Seeing as DDG-sensei lied, I guess [i]I'll[/i] post next. :animecry: Sensei, you liar! Apologize!
---------------[/COLOR]

[COLOR=Navy]"Kia,"[/COLOR] Sakura whispered. It wasn't happening. Not Kia. Sure, she was getting an attitude, but Kia was always nice, wasn't she?

Sakura's eyes widened, and she stared upon the Phase. It wasn't Kia. It was Macha. Macha wasn't Kia, Macha was a Phase. A pawn of the system. A creation of Harold. Not. Kia.

Sakura knew Kia more than she knew. And the memory came back to her. It hit her like a tidal wave. And it brought tears to Sakura's eyes.

[COLOR=Navy][i]It was winter. Last year. Katsuki was 11. In one hand, she held a book. In the other was a hot chocolate that she sipped slowly as she read and walked.

It was when she passed an alley that Katsuki noticed something. A girl? A girl with a laptop. [COLOR=Black]"Hey there,"[/COLOR] Katsuki greeted, [COLOR=Black]"You okay?"[/COLOR]

The girl looked up and took off her Neuro Goggles. [COLOR=Black]"You're playing The World, aren't you? My dad's crazy about that game. Say, aren't you cold?"[/COLOR] She asked, stepping into the alley. The girl was wearing a T-shirt and blue jeans, in the middle of winter.

[COLOR=Black]"What's your name?" [/COLOR] Katsuki asked, slipping her coat off and draping it over the girl's shoulders. [COLOR=Black]"I'm Katsuki."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=Black]"Kia,"[/COLOR] the girl replied shyly. Katsuki smiled.

[COLOR=Black]"Alright, Kia, if you log off, I'll buy you something to eat. My treat," [/COLOR] she offered. Kia lookeds at her, and nodded.

Later, when the two reached an internet cafe. Katsuki looked around. There was that guy that worked part-time at the video store again. On The World. Again. Didn't he have a life? And then a little farther along, she saw a few kids from her school...And look, Kayla.

Katsuki didn't draw attention to herself. Who knows what Kayla would say if she knew that Katsuki had dragged some strange girl to the cafe. "C'mon. I'll get you a coffee, and you can tell me why you were out there, okay?"

After the two got settled, Kia began to explain. She ran away when she was 9. She was 13 now. Katsuki smiled sadly, and listened. After a while, the two were envoloped in silence, and Katsuki felt increasingly uncomfortable. Finally, she stood up and walked to the counter, and pulled out all the money she had on her.

[COLOR=Black]"Get me whatever won't spoil,"[/COLOR] she ordered, [COLOR=Black]"And however much I can with however much this is."[/COLOR] Of course, this caused the clerk to glare at her, but obliged. When her 'order' arrived, Katsuki swaped the things in her bookbag with the food.

[COLOR=Black]"Here," [/COLOR] she said to Kia, [COLOR=Black]"Take this with you. And keep my coat, okay? It may not be much when it gets colder, but it should be something. And I know it's not a lot of food, but it does taste good. I bet if you ration it out well, you could have enough for a few weeks. Okay?"[/COLOR]

Kia smiled and nodded. [COLOR=Black]"Yeah, sure," [/COLOR] she replied. Katsuki smiled, and pulled out the change she still had.

[COLOR=Black]"Keep this too,"[/COLOR] she said. Kia pocketed the money, and Katsuki nodded to herself, [COLOR=Black]"I've gotta go now. I'm late, and my mom's gonna kill me. It was nice meeting you, Kia. Be careful out there." [/COLOR] With that, Katsuki left.[/COLOR][/i]

Sakura stood in the middle of the field, dumbfounded. Were they the same Kia's? What were the odds of that? The Runaway Kia had died later in the season, Sakura remembered seeing it in the news. She remembered...crying.

She died playing The World.

It [i]was[/i] her.

[COLOR=Black]"Kia," [/COLOR] Sakura whispered. It wasn't happening. Not Kia. Sure, she was getting an attitude, but Kia was always nice, wasn't she?

Sakura's eyes widened, and she stared upon the Phase. It wasn't Kia. It was Macha. Macha wasn't Kia, Macha was a Phase. A pawn of the system. A creation of Harold. Not. Kia.

[COLOR=Indigo]------------------
Wow. I saddened myself. And managed to work in an insult to the Silver Knight in the process. Woo! Yes, I know this is a circular post thing...[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[DDG]

[color=navy]Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion ? like a deleted scene from the Matrix.

Macha stood, threateningly, in the middle of the battlefield, looking nothing like what the first Macha had been. Something like a smirk was on her face, and Kayla wasn?t sure if a phase could have emotions and facial expressions, but perhaps this one could because this phase was more than just a phase, it was two of her friends.

Mia and Kia, her friends, they had become the sixth phase. Mia had become the sixth phase again, as much as Kayla hadn?t wanted it to be true, it had happened, and she hated herself for being so ignorant, so trusting in that her friend wouldn?t allow the same thing to happen twice, but she should have known, because Mia didn?t know anything about what had happened before, and had no way of stopping herself from becoming a phase again.

Kayla shook her head. It wasn?t happening. It wasn?t happening. It wasn?t happening. [I]Justadreamjustadreamjustadream.[/I]

She couldn?t believe it, didn?t want to believe that not only had Mia become a tool of Morganna, of the system, of CC Corp., but Kia had as well.

[b]ItoldyousoItoldyousoItoldyouso,[/b] her Devil?s Advocate was screaming at her, but she wasn?t listening because all she could do was watch in horror as the monstrosity that two of her friends had become began attacking the party, her other friends, as they attacked it.

No, her. It had a gender. It was a she.

The Twin Blades were doing their best acrobatics, avoiding attacks of Macha?s and distracting her while the Heavy Blades, Blademasters, and Heavy Axes began a physical onslaught of their own attacks. The Wavemasters stood out of the way, some casting spells, others derelict to healing the party.

Kayla couldn?t remember if there were any Long Arms in the party, but if there were, they were probably mixed in with the attack front. Hell, so many players had joined the cause against the Phases, she was having trouble keeping track of them all.

She watched from the sidelines, unable to move because outside the game her hands were shaking and she was crying and she wasn?t sure if she?d be able to hit the right buttons on her controller to actually attack ? as if she actually wanted to. She felt torn, half of her angry and vengeful toward Macha ? toward Kia for becoming Macha and not giving her enough signs that it was a possibility she should consider ? and the other half of her upset and inconsolable because it wasn?t [I]just[/I] Macha, the sixth phase, that they were fighting ? that she would eventually have to fight ? it was Kia inside there somewhere.

[I]Kia?sgoingtodieKia?sgoingtodieKia?sgoingtodie,[/I] she kept thinking and suddenly all she wanted to do was Gate Out, but she knew she couldn?t because the field was locked down. She?d already missed the chance leave ? had missed it a while ago.

She didn?t want to be here, didn?t want to see Kite Data Drain Macha because then she?d have to accept that Kia was going to die and would be gone forever.

But Kia was already dead, which made it weird to say that Kia was going to die, but [I]she was going to die[/I] because she was still alive in The World. The World. The only place that Kia [I]was[/I] still alive and could remain living.

Her hatred for CC Corp. and everyone who worked there was growing as she thought and she knew this, even though she knew that not everyone at CC Corp. was evil, that not all of them wanted to take over the technology world.[/color]

[I]?The World?s a sham. This is something you need to know. It?s a sham, and CC Corp. is behind[/I] everything [I]bad that has happened. They don?t care about the comatose patients, don?t care about the families, and don?t care about how many more people are going to die or fall comatose.?[/I]

[color=navy]Kia could only live if The World was still functioning. Once The World was gone, Kia would be gone forever. CC Corp. was planning on destroying The World to achieve their goals. Morganna would become a virus and The World would collapse before the virus spread to the rest of the ?net and a global crisis arose as the ?net fell and any computer not using the ALTIMIT OS died.[/color]

[I]?They?re not all bad people at CC Corp. Most of them don?t know what?s going on ? they?re just doing their jobs, monitoring The World as usual.?[/I]

[color=navy]Macha was casting a spell. Kayla forced herself to step back a few feet and was barely outside of the spell range.[/color]

[I]?Balmung is suspicious of what?s going on. Lios is too and should become more cooperative as he uncovers more. He?ll be a larger asset in the future and be more trusting of your side than CC Corp.?s.?[/I]

[color=navy][I]Miu Lei, damn![/I] Kayla quickly flipped through her inventory for the right item as her party members began to unwilling attack one another. The other Wavemasters were doing the same.[/color]

[I]?Kamui knows exactly what she?s doing and exactly what is going on. The Cobalt Knights have not been dispatched into The World to help keep peace and order ? they?re looking for players to throw the blame on once the crisis is over. Looking for how they can plant the evidence.?[/I]

[color=navy]Blackrose swung her blade at Kite as Kite fought with Subaru.[/color]

[I]?They?re looking for hackers.?[/I]

[color=navy]Kite was dead, and Subaru was near it. With weak arms, Kayla swung her wand as one of her cursed comrades approached, blade held high, ready to attack.[/color]

[I]?They?re looking for[/I] you[I].?[/I]

[color=navy]The Silver Knight regained his senses and blinked, confused, before turning and running back to rejoin the attack front against Macha.[/color]

[I]?Everyone who opposes them, they?ll use as their scapegoat. They?ll name names, and many will be arrested.?[/I]

[color=navy]Macha was lashing out against the players with a vengeance, enraged that her previous attack had not deterred any of them. Kayla still could not bring herself to attack.[/color]

[I]?You?ll be hated, despised if you?re caught, and everyone you know ? your friends, your family, your fellow teammates ? will be too. This is what CC Corp. wants. And in the end . . .[/I]

[color=navy][b]Attack her,[/b] she was screaming at herself. [b]She?s no longer Mia! She?s no longer Kia! She?s a heartless monster, completely emotionless! Stop stalling, you idiot! Attack, attack, ATTACK![/b][/color]

[I]?. . . you?ll all be executed, because the legislation to execute all cyber-terrorists will pass without argument. It doesn?t matter that most of you are children. You?ll be seen as terrorists, go down as terrorists, because that?s how today?s world is.?[/I]

[color=navy]Kayla raised her wand, willed herself to cast a spell.[/color]

[I]?I?ve read the reports. I?ve seen the plans. I don?t agree with them, but to remain in the fold, to continue to provide you with information, I must act as if I do.?[/I]

?PhaVak Don!?

[I]?You mustn?t tell anyone you know me. It?ll jeopardize my infiltration. I?ll contact you again as soon as it?s possible.?[/I]

[color=navy]Kayla watched as Macha jumped and spun in the air, then flipped and landed nearby.[/color]

[I]?This is all . . .?

?Unbelievable? I know. But it?ll become more and more believable soon enough. And as forewarning, I suggest you leave the hacking to Helba from now on.?

?But ? ?

?Rather an adult who?s been ready to face the consequences of her actions for three years now go down for cyber-terrorism than a child, wouldn?t you say? Helba doesn?t want to see you, or anyone else trying to save The World, be arrested.

?If, in the end, you all fail, Helba will do her damndest to make sure she?s the only one implicated.?[/I]

[color=navy]She froze as Macha reached out with a purple hand, beckoning. She moved her mouth, speaking, but Kayla couldn?t understand what she was saying.

The rest of the party was running over and Kite was shouting something, but Kayla couldn?t hear anything anymore, anything except for Macha.

[I]Stoplisteningstoplistening,[/I] she was telling herself, but she couldn?t because the words of The Temptress were too tempting to resist.[/color]

?It?s going to end here.?

---
[size=1][color=navy]Lots of plot stuff. Yay. And a few things foreshadowing the ending. Fun, huh? And it so hasn?t been two and a half months since this was last posted in! *shifty eyes* Oh, and erm, happy belated two year anniversary![/color][/size]

[Neko]

[COLOR=Red]-*holds up a wine glass out of nowhere* A toast, to two years of fun! Hooray! *Drinks down the [I]apple juice[/i] that was in the wine glass, what the Hell did you [I]THINK[/I] was in it?!*

-Edit: To hell with saving space, I can't read my own post on size 1![/COLOR]

[COLOR=Navy][FONT=Tahoma][B]"iT'S gOInG To enD hERe."[/B] [I]Hah, what a joke,[/I] she thought to herself as she gracefully sidestepped another strike from her friend. What a fun game this was! [I]The power of a Phase is an amazing thing,[/I] Kia thought to herself. [I]Come, friends, let us play, once again. There is so much fun to be had.[/I]

All fun and games! How could she have been so [I]ignorant[/I]? When she had fought with the Phases, they had seemed like agents of the devil itself, great and terrible monsters with immeasurable power and deadly killing intent. But she didn't have an urge to kill, or some greater evil driving her to fight. She was having [I]fun[/I]. Like the little child she was supposed to be.

The phases were just [I]children at play[/I].

With her transfromation, She had gained an impressive arsenal against her opponents. Discontent with simply fighting them, she had opted instead to stand back and laugh as Blackrose had offed Kite just before he managed to dispatch Subaru. How disappointing, how pitifully weak they were. She stood back patiently and waited as the team revived Kite and healed Subaru. The whirl of blades that was Sakura, which had before seemed so threatening, seemed no more than tiny brushes across her skin as the Twin Blade tried to overpower her. [I]Fool[/I].

Kia lifted a hand casually and knocked Sakura away. In the blink of an eye, she was right there beside Sakura again, and with another blow, the player was gone. [I]Score another one for me[/I], Kia thought to herself with a smile, even though she knew that the others would surely revive her. Ah, well. Their ability to come back to life was nothing more than a balance to counteract her newfound power. After all, she wanted to play fair with her friends, or they might get upset and leave. No good, no good.

But out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly glanced a familiar face, distant from the others. [B]"K...kaYLa..."[/B] Her voice was a deadly purr that threatened to tear the air apart. Of all people, Kayla was the last person she would expect to refuse to play. How could she betray her? It was almost maddening that this girl, whom was supposed to be her friend, refused to play with her. She jumped away and held out a slender arm, begging Kayla closer.

[B]"iT'S gOInG To enD hERe,"[/B] she whispered, knowing that Kayla would hear her. The others were preparing another rallied strike, but they were of little importance. Kayla took a slow, hesitant step forward. [B]"COmE on, kAYLa, dOn't you wANt tO pLay wiTh Me...?"[/B] Kia asked. [I]It'll be lots of fun, promise,[/I] she added silently, in a voice only Kayla could hear. Kayla backed away for a moment, then resumed slowly creeping towards her.

Kia grew impatient. She blinked, and a spell flew forward and hit Kayla. Charmed, Kayla's body was now hers to control. Kayla suddenly spun around, and whirled her staff dangerously in front of her.

[B]"[I]PhaVak Don[/I]!"[/B] she shouted, and incinerating flames rained down from the sky, burning against the rest of her comrades just as they were about to converge on Macha.

[B]"Kayla, what the [I]Hell[/I] are you doing?!"[/B] Blackrose shouted angrily as Kayla fired another spell.

[B]"She's charmed,"[/B] Kite answered, nimbly rolling off to the side as more incendiary rain fell down like a torrential downpour. [I]Yes, yes, Kayla, this is where the fun is![/I] Kia laughed to herself as she watched the others dance around, trying to dodge Kayla's formidable magic power. Silver Knight died twice, Subaru once. The rest somehow managed to survive. She was in the middle of casting another spell when Kayla suddenly stopped.

[I]No,[/I] Kia could hear her think to herself, shaking her head, [I]I won't let you use me like this![/I] Kayla suddenly turned around and unleashed the flames of retribution on Kia, raining spell after spell on her in rapid succcession. The others took advantage of the moment to dart in and score some quick hits. [I]Well, she seems to be enjoying herself now,[/I] Kia thought gladly to herself, still focused solely on Kayla, completely ignorant of the pesky little flies trying to beat her into submission.

She let her mind wander a bit too long after all, and it surprised and worried her greatly when suddenly she heard the sound of shattering glass, and realized her protection was broken. Furious, she knocked the group away and jumped back. When she landed, Kite's hand was glowing with a strange power. The others wisely backed away, allowing him a clear shot. In an instant, she knew what he aimed to do. [B]"Oh, nO yOU DoN't,"[/B] she grinned, thrusting her own arm out. A similar ring of power glowed about her wrist.

[B]"Kite, NO!"[/B] Kayla shouted as the Data Drain shot out. At the same time, Kia lashed out with her own drain. Someone screamed as the two streams clashed in midair and ripped apart the data there. Where once a distorted field had shown, now raw data shot through blank white space in the tear in coding. Slowly, the gap patched itself up, and Kite loosed another blast. Kia simply stared at the stream of ravaging data and smiled as her protective shield encased her again at the last second, reflecting the blast in all directions.

[I]Oh, I'd forgotten about that,[/I] Kia laughed in her mind, holding out her arm in wonder. Of course! As a phase, she could use data drain just like Kite! [I]I've always been jealous of him,[/I] she thought smugly to herself. The group dashed back in to resume the battle, with the exception of Kite, Kayla, and Sakura, who sensed something was amiss. Kia took exception to the attack, and her blades suddenly appeared in front of her. Slender, delicate fingers wrapped around familiar blades, and as she touched them, the blades doubled, tripled in length, and grew serrated. This was more like it.

There was a brilliant flash of movement as Blackrose brought her massive sword down in a crushing blow. Kia suddenly apeared behind her, and with three nearly invisible strokes, the heavyblade went down. Subaru met a similar fate. The twin blades whirled dangerously in Macha's hands before dismantling Silver Knight's sword. With a sneer, Her arm shot out, and she raised him up high into the air before firing the data drain at him. There was a collective [B]"NO!"[/B] as he fell to the ground. He got up weakly, but a slash across the throat laid him out on the ground.

With a high-pitched laugh, Kia brought her killing arm down to bare on Subaru, and a similar blast shot towards her, like the judging finger of a vengeful God. Subaru reeled back, but could not escape the deadly beam of light stabbing at her. Down she went.

Kia turned her eyes, burning white with power, to Sakura, who was gaping incredulously at Subaru and White Knight. She would be the next to go. It was almost unfair. It was like Kia had a God Mode cheat and her friends didn't. Oh, well. It was their own fault they hadn't ascended with the phases, when Kia had. She held her arm out. Another data drain set itself up. Sakura whirled around just in time to see the brilliant flash of light that would spell her doom.

But it didn't. With an almighty shout, Kite dove in front of her, his own wrist glowing. His bracelet activated, but not soon enough. He skidded limply across the ground. [B]"Kite!"[/B] Sakura shouted.

[B]"Don't worry about me, I'm fine,"[/B] Kite replied, staggering back up. [B]"It just knocked me around a bit. What about you two?"[/B]

[B]"We're fine,"[/B] Silver Knight's voice bellowed as his faint silhouette stepped forward along with Subaru's. [B]"But we could go for a good ressurect."[/B]

[B]"Thank god, she didn't kill you,"[/B] Kayla breathed. [B]"You gotta be more careful, Kite! You're the only one that can-"[/B] Kayla cut herself off, and that hesitant looked crossed her face again. [I]What's eating her?[/I] Kia thought to herself. [B]"You're the only one that can...that can kill her..."[/B]

[I]What is with the drama?![/I] Kia silently shouted to herself, enraged. With invisible speed, she was right in front of Kayla. Before she had any time to react, Kia's arm lashed out and her hand wrapped firmly around Kayla's neck. She made a funny gagging noise as Macha hoisted her into the air.

[B]"whaT'S tHe MAttEr wITh yoU, KayLa?!"[/B] she shouted. Her wrist suddenly began to glow with energy right under Kayla's neck as the Data Drain powered up. This time, she was serious. This time, she would tear Kayla from her body. Then they would both be forever, they could be friends [I]forever[/I]. [B]"iT'S OnlY A gAme..."[/B] she purred with a smile as the ring completed itself. She looked up into Kayla's eyes, exhilirated with the game. But as she looked up into Kayla's eyes, there was something there that made her hesitate. To Kia, this was all a great, exciting game. But Kayla's eyes were filled with terror. Kayla wasn't having fun. She...Kia struggled with the idea.

Kayla...didn't want...to...die.

[I]Kayla didn't want to die[/I].

Kia's eyes snapped wide open as she threw Kayla down, the ring of light shattering around her wrist. [I]What...What've I been doing...?[/I] She thought to herself. She gazed to the left and right, realizing for the first time that all the others bore a similar expression of fear. [I]I'm...I'm hurting them...I almost...Killed...[/I]

Kayla slowly staggered back up with a cough - for Kia's reach had extended beyond the game, through the neural goggle and straight into her brain - and looked up at Kia, who stared back down with what almost seemed like sorrow, if such a conveyance was possible with no pupils. Her gaze shifted to Sakura, whose blades were quivering in her shaking hands as she held them up unsteadily in a defensive stance.

[B]"Guys..."[/B] Kia whispered, her voice returning to normal. [B]"I'm -"[/B]

[B]"Now's our chance!"[/B] Kite shouted, seeing her hesitate, lunging in with blades flashing. Kia screamed and jumped away, shielding her head with her frail, purple arms.

[B]"Kite, STOP!"[/B] someone shouted.

Kia wanted to scream, wanted to beg Kite to stop lashing out at her, but she couldn't move. Her hand began to glow again. Macha was taking completely over. Now Kia was truly helpless to aid her friends, would only be able to watch as Macha lashed out at her friends with even more ferocity than before.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Red]-Ah, much better. It's fun writing up this story again, after so long. Do what you will, everyone, but if possible, I'd like to take the last post of the fight. If anyone wants to do anything immediately following the battle, my post will end pretty much right after the battle's over. Happy posting![/COLOR]