.hack//Dark Enigma Saga

thedudewhosadude · Post by **thedudewhosadude** » Wed Aug 04, 2004 1:21 am

Yes, I am well aware that this will make 3 'live' (if you can call the other two live) fics. This is the one of the old fics that I never posted on here. While re-installing my computer (yes, I am well aware of Windows ME's incredible suck) I ran across these files in my old Windows directory and took them out. .hack//boundaries also had a lot of suck, so I decided not to revive that one, but to rather cast Rip Maen on my other one. This one takes place offline for the most part, and really doesn't have a place in the timeline. I'll be gone for a week on Friday, so I'll be cramming the next chapters of the three stories so you all have some reading while I'm gone

Anyway, here's chapter one of .hack//Disconnected!

Chapter One

â€œAh! That was a good round!â€� I said enthusiastically to my friend Travis. He took off his headset and layed down on my bed. We had been playing the game â€œThe Worldâ€� for at least six hours!

â€œDude, I am so tired!â€� Travis said lethargically. Heâ€™d been over since about one PM, and it was now seven. We had never played â€œThe Worldâ€� for that long in one sitting! However, we got a lot accomplished. Travis leveled up to level fifty-three, and I leveled up to level fifty.

"Hey Travis, you want anything to eat?â€� I asked him. We had played through dinner, and I was getting rather hungry.

â€œNah, Iâ€™m fine,â€� Travis said casually. Somehow, something didnâ€™t seem right. Travis was usually a bottom-less pit when it came to food, yet he seemed fine now. I turned around and left the room, pausing outside the doorway. I heard my bed creak and footsteps on my wood floor, but I just brushed it off and went downstairs. I opened up the refrigerator and took out some Mac â€˜nâ€™ cheese. After nukeing it with the microwave, I went back upstairs. I walked as silent as a shadow to my room, and saw Travis playing â€œThe Worldâ€� again.

â€œCouldnâ€™t stay away from it could you?â€� I asked him. He whipped around in his chair and took off his headset.

â€œHow can I? Itâ€™s such a good game!â€� Travis exclaimed. He seemed really excited again, which was a change from what I had just seen from him. Recently he had become very interested in â€œThe Worldâ€� and was playing it almost non-stop.

â€œWhile that may be true, youâ€™ve got to take a rest every now and then,â€� I chided Travis. I sat back down next to him and put my headset back on. We were in an area that I had never seen before. I looked around and saw just one thing. It was a chapel, and it was rather elegant at that. We appeared to be on some sort of island, and all around us was an ocean. I looked up the stats of the place, and found that it was an extremely low-level place.

â€œHidden Forbidden Holy Ground?â€� I asked Travis. It was such a unique looking area, and it somehow seemed magical. There was no apparent field, but it looked like we could go inside the chapel.

"Yeah, this place is, well, Hidden, may possibly be Forbidden, and I'm guessing by the chapel that it's Holy Ground," Travis said. 'There aren't any monsters here on the outside, or any magic portals," he said. "So do you want to go inside?" Travis asked. I nodded and we headed into the chapel.
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After reading this, I guess that it might have a point in time in the .hack universe....maybe....

Puppy · Post by **Puppy** » Wed Aug 04, 2004 3:04 am

Wow, this is pretty good. Since it takes place in reality, it gives a whole new perspective to "The World". But I was not aware that Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground is surrounded by an ocean, and I thought the field would be popular, because the keywords are right below Bursting Passed Over Aqua Field in the games.

thedudewhosadude · Post by **thedudewhosadude** » Wed Aug 04, 2004 5:50 pm

Well, the .hack saga never really reveals what it is....it's just misty, which got somewhat seperated from the chapel due to BT's spell. The reason why the field wouldn't be popular is because of its lack of monsters. Although if we were to think about this seriously, it would just be another "Subaru's Room" i.e. Tiny with nothing to do, but people go there anyway. The next chapters should be up by tommorow!

Mitskie · Post by **Mitskie** » Thu Aug 05, 2004 11:35 am

hey good chapt story hurry up and post chapt two okies,suuuu!!!!

thedudewhosadude · Post by **thedudewhosadude** » Fri Aug 06, 2004 1:51 pm

Here's chapter Two!

Chapter Two

The innards of the chapel were the same as any real world chapel. There were pues, lamps, and what appeared to be an altar. There was also a pedestal in front of the altar. I noticed that there didn't appear to be a map for the area. I backhanded Travis when I noticed the lack of rooms. "You idiot! Why are we in an area with no rooms or treasure in it?" I said to him.

Travis pulled off our headsets and motioned me to follow him to the back of my room. "What are you doing?" I said to him. He motioned me to be quiet and started to whisper in my ear.

"There's a secret here. That pedestal really is a box! Inside of it...well, I can't tell you about that just yet! This place is a secret though, and I don't want anyone else to know about it. I'm trusting that you won't tell anyone about this place, right?" Travis said to me. There was obviously something amazing inside that box if Travis went this far with security. We were out of range of the microphones in the headset, and he wouldn't even talk in a normal voice. There had to be something of great use in that box.

"Don't worry, your secret's safe with me," I assured him. We put on our headsets again and plunged back into the game. Now that I knew about the box I started to wonder about its contents. Could it be a rare weapon? A new enemy? Or perhaps it was that Key of the Twilight thing everyone was talking about recently. I glanced over to Travis and noticed that he was fooling around with his tounge again. He always played like that; twisting his tounge this way and that. Inside the game Travis was walking up to the box so I followed him.

Travis opened the box, and a near blinding light filled my headset. The light remained there for a minute or so, but then subsided. "What the hell did you just do?" I said to Travis. He laughed and pointed to his controller.

"Why don't you switch to first person mode and take a look at yourself?" he said. I reluctantly pressed select and looked down at the reflective floor. I appeared to be the recorder, and my name even changed to 'Recorder'. I looked over to Travis in the game and noticed that he had changed as well. He was now a ninja-like character with red bandages around his head and waist. His name had also changed, and it was now Sora.
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Have fun with your summer reading!--Andrew Sensei (Thanks Elk!)

Puppy · Post by **Puppy** » Fri Aug 06, 2004 6:48 pm

Nice place to stop ^_^ It's very good so far.
What do you mean by recorder?

apostle13 · Post by **apostle13** » Thu Aug 12, 2004 9:55 pm

I think he means a mod, like the Recorders that save your game. Or maybe not. Read to find out, I guess, lol.

Shuhei · Post by **Shuhei** » Sat Aug 14, 2004 4:44 pm

i like it so far... whats a recorder?

Darkness_Approaches · Post by **Darkness_Approaches** » Sat Aug 14, 2004 6:46 pm

If I remember rightly a Recorder is an NPC you talk to in order to save your progress in "The World".

thedudewhosadude · Post by **thedudewhosadude** » Mon Aug 16, 2004 3:22 pm

Yup Yup! Your right! A recorder is the guy that saves your data in the root town. Chapter 3 should be up soon! It'll be longer too!

apostle13 · Post by **apostle13** » Sun Sep 12, 2004 6:44 pm

So...When exactly is "Soon" going to come, rofl. I love this one xD

thedudewhosadude · Post by **thedudewhosadude** » Sun Oct 03, 2004 5:59 am

Oui! I am SOO sorry for forgetting about my fanfics! Due to school, bass, and cosplay construction (for June :p) I didn't have time to make new chapters. I've calmed down with the whole cosplay thing, and now I can manage time between homework and everything else. Anyway, I'll try to post 1 chapter of each story per week. Also, I'll be posting all the stories here, that way I won't have to resurrect two more dead threads. So, this counts as the chapters for the week. First up is .hack//Disconnected!

Chapter Three
"Woah! Dude! This is awesome!" I said to Travis. I never knew that there was a character mod option in the game! His character looked a lot better than mine did; mine was just a wrinkly old man. His character, rather Sora, looked like some kind of ninja assassin. It was then that I remembered seeing him. "Hey! I saw a character just like Sora before! He was PK'ing this blonde lady in the shadows on this field," I said to Travis. "Who, this?" Travis said. He ran up to the box and opened it again. Once the light cleared, I was back to myself and I could see the same blonde woman, apparantly named BT. "Yeah! That was her! How'd you know?" I asked Travis. He switched back to Sora, pulled off my headset and led me to the back of the room.

"It's one of the bonuses that you get from switching characters!" Travis said to me enthusiastically. "Not only do you gain their apperance, but..." Travis dropped down to a near inaudible whisper. "You also get their memories! Isn't that awesome?" Travis said. He seemed happy, but I was a bit scared. "How are these people's memories available to us? Are there other people using these characters? How did you learn about this? Why are you doing this?" I had a million questions, but I just couldn't sort my thoughts out. "C'mon, let's get you a new character," Travis said. "Actually," I replied, "I would like to go stay as my original character, if I could." Travis shrugged and said "Fine, it's your choice. Well, I've got to get going home now, but if you ever want to switch to someone else, just ask me, okay?"

After Travis left, I ran back to the computer and checked to see if we were both still logged on. I have a habit of logging off as soon as I am done, but luckily Travis was still logged on. I grabbed his controller and put on his headset. Immediatly I was flooded with flahes of images. There was BT on the floor in grey, a wavemaster with white hair, a long arm with blue hair, a member of the Crimson Knights, a floating cat, a female heavy blade, and a young girl in white. Everything was just cramming in so quickly. I was about to pull of the headset when I heard a word; just one.

"Bingo."
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Oh yeah, I might as well mention this now, .hack//Disconnected takes place around the same time as //Dark Enigma. Here's .hack//Dark Enigma!

Chapter Six

Kite tried to remember all the areas he had been to with his friends. There were so many that there was no way to pin-point an area that would have an item of that person. Then again, why was he even doing this? Would collecting all the items pull them out of their current state? What if it didn't? What if he was just wasting his time with all this? Kite decided to log off for the day and take a break.

In the real world Kite took off his headset and lied down on the bed. No, not Kite, but Taro took off his headset. He knew that he shouldn't be resting with his friends in their current condition, but he needed some time to sort thing out. Things were just spinning out of control. He was just running around in a game aimlessly. Taro decided to head outside for a bit of fresh air, so he walked outside and looked around. It was still daylight outside and the air smelled crisp. Taro noticed that the daily paper was still out on the curb, so he went to go pick it up. The headline read "15 Fall Uncouncious; Pokemon Redux?" "15 fall unconscious?" Taro thought, "That must be about my friends!" He ran inside and started to read the full article.

"It has been reported that about 15 people have all lost consciousness around the same time within the past month. They were all found with their headsets on, playing a popular game, "The World." None of them have awaken from their comatose state, and there hasn't been any fluctuation in their status. When we questioned CC Corp, the company that made the game, they responded that nothing within the game would cause anything to happen to a person in the real world, and that it is absurd of a person to think that a game can cause real damage. However, we were able to speak with an ex-employee. He didn't want his name revealed, so we will refer to him as Mr. Doe. Mr. Doe told us that several other people have also fallen unconscious. He believes that the online game, "The World" is at fault. However, Mr. Doe appeared beaten and didn't look quite too reliable, so all this information is just rumors. We'll update on any further findings in this mysterious case."

Taro threw the paper away. "What a bunch of idiots," he thought. "Of course CC Corp's to blame! They're the ones that made this damn game!" Taro let out a sigh and decided to visit Yasuhiko in the hospital. On the way to the hospital, he passed by a girl with long blue hair in a wheelchair. "Poor girl," he thought, "Who know's just how long it's been since she's walked?" He felt a bit of sympathy for her, and then realized just how long it had been since Yasuhiko had walked. It was nearly a year since he had first met Aura and gotten caught in the affairs of Morganna and "The Wave." Taro paused at the hospital entrance when he noticed a girl standing in front. She had short chestnut colored hair, and appeared to be staring at the building, lost in thought. "Excuse me Miss," Taro said, "But what are you looking at?"

The girl turned to him and said, "I'm just looking at the hospital, that's all. I used to be, well, I guess you could say I was a resident of the hospital. That was a long time ago though, and I've gotten better since then." Taro noticed that she now looked at the hospital in a sort of dreamy way, like she was remembering a favorable event. "I don't know why I get happy whenever I see this building, even though it was basically my prison. I guess it's because it was also where I met a very important friend of mine." She suddenly seemed to notice that she was pouring her soul into a total stranger and said, "Oh, I'm terribly sorry. I have a tendincy to talk quite a bit, even to people I really don't know. What's your name?"

"Oh me? My name's Taro," Taro said. "And yours is?"

"My name is An. Pleasure to meet you!"
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.hack//Dark Enigma--The Other Side has been placed on a temporary hiatus. It's just too hard to develop two stories at the same time that have to link together. I'll bring it back once I reach a certain story arc in //Dark Enigma. I'll try to have at least one chapter posted per week, and yes, this post does count for the week of the 3rd. So, happy reading!

thedudewhosadude · Post by **thedudewhosadude** » Sat Oct 16, 2004 5:25 pm

Several updates! 1) The title of this thread has changed to '.hack//Dark Enigma Saga' as now all the names of my current fan fics are all part of the Dark Enigma universe. 2) The name of .hack//Disconnected has changed to .hack//Dark Enigma--Disconnected. 3) I have started yet another fic of the //Dark Enigma universe, entitled '.hack//Dark Enigma--The Hidden Heroes' Chapter 0 is posted later on. 4) .hack//Dark Enigma--Disconnected now takes place around the same time as the original //Dark Enigma, that way all of the stories happen around the same time. So, first up is the original, .hack//Dark Enigma!

Chapter Seven

"An, huh? Well, it's nice to meet you!" said Taro. Taro couldn't notice that An seemed incredibly happy, like she had a wonderful time recently. "Um, excuse me, but may I ask why you're so happy?" asked Taro.

"Well, I just met one of my friends. She and I met online, and by chance met offline. We've kept a friendly relationship for quite a while now. You see, when I was in the hospital, she kinda helped me through my long stay there." An sighed and looked at Taro. "You don't look quite too happy. Care to talk about it?"

"You see, quite a few of my friends..." Taro started to say. He couldn't tell An about how his friends were trapped in "The World,"; she wouldn't believe it. "Well, they've all become quite sick, and one of my friends happens to be in this hospital."

"Oh, I'm so terribly sorry," said An. "I'm sorry if this is salt on a wound, but for how long has your friend been in this hospital?" An saw that this question made Taro quite uncomfortable, so she didn't bother him about it too much. Suddenly, Taro spoke up.

"Yasuhiko's been in this hospital for almost a year," said Taro. An gasped and asked Taro almost another question almost immediately.

"Please tell me, did Yasuhiko fall into this hospitalized state as a result of playing the online game 'The World'?" Taro tried to answer, but his mouth was frozen. "How did she know about The World? Could I trust her with the fates of my friends?" Before he could answer, An was already running away.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go check something!" An said to Taro. "Don't tell me that she's still not gone! I have to alert the others!" An thought to herself. Taro just stood there looking at her running into the distance. He disregarded the event and walked into the hospital. He knew his way to Yasuhiko's room by now, and all the hospital staff knew Taro. "Room 2501," thought Taro. "Just like the Puppet Master...but Yasuhiko's no puppet!" Taro though. Then again, once he walked into the room and saw Yasuhiko hooked up to all those tubes and machinery, Taro did look like he was soely dependant on his "strings", the tubes of vitamins keeping him alive. Taro stood there for a moment, just looking at his helpless friend. Then he turned around and left.
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Short? yes, sadly.
Purposeful? YES (thou shall see later on)

Now's the newly named .hack//Dark Enigma--Disconnected!

Chapter Four

I took just a bit longer to properly log out, and then I took off my headset. "What the hell just happened?" I thought to myself. Not only had I gained the memories of Sora, whoever he really was, but I also seemed to know plenty about Travis now. I felt a bit hungry, so I headed on downstairs to get some Mac and Cheese. "Wait a second, didn't I just eat a little while ago?" I thought to myself. It was true, I had just eaten, but I felt hungry, as if I hadn't. I stared to walk down the stairs when I tripped over myself and fell down them. "What in the world is going on?" I thought. It was then that I noticed that my feet seemed to have shrunk. I also noticed that my hands were somewhat smaller, along with the rest of my body.

"Did I go through some kind of reverse-growth-spurt?" I thought. I got up from the bottom of the steps and headed to the kitchen to get some food. While the food was cooking, I headed to the bathroom to take a leak. "No," I thought, "This definitely isn't mine!" It was then that I had the first look at myself since I had logged off. In the bathroom mirror I didn't see myself; I saw Travis. Somehow, someway, I had become him.
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Inexcusably short? Yes
Purposeful? VERY

Yeah, sorry about the severe shortness of these chapters, I was trying to basically start a new part of the plot in each story, and a little short blurb seemed the best way to go about it. Guaranteed, next week there will be normal length chapters. Lastly, is chapter 0 of .hack//Dark Enigma--The Hidden Heroes!

Chapter 0

The girl logged in as quickly as she could; she had to alert the others. Message upon message was sent out via Flash Mail, until one person replied. The mail said to meet at Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground, so she headed to there. After looking around for a bit, the girl thought that no one was there when suddenly someone warped in behind her. She whirled around to see who it was and sighed with relief when she saw a male figure standing there.

"You said there was something important you wanted to talk about?" said the male voice. "You said that she isn't gone yet. You can't mean her, can you?" The girl nodded her head and started to explain.

"I met a boy today...he said that all of his friends had become sick...but then I was able to figure out that by 'sick' he ment comatose. I was also able to find out that they became comatose as a result....of this game."

Bear gasped and took a step back. "Tsukasa, what are you talking about? Once Aura awoke, Morganna stopped her attack on 'The World'!" Tsukasa shook her head vigourously no.

"She's still here...I can feel her....but....I can't feel her..." Tsukasa said with uncertainty.

"Her? As in Morganna?" Bear asked. Tsukasa shook her head no again, and then Bear realized the truth. "You mean....Morganna is still alive, but....Aura is gone?" There was only silence. "Don't worry, I'll go round up the crew," said Bear. Bear warped out, but Tsukasa just stood there. "What has happened to Aura? Why can't I feel her anymore?" Tsukasa thought. Tsukasa started to cry, and then shouted out:

"AURA!"
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God, I felt like the Final Fantasy X-2 writers when writing this...ugh, over-use of pronouns=bad. For those of you that don't get the whole X-2 thing, I'll explain it. Due to the fact that in the first game you could name your character whatever you wanted to, they couldn't mention his name in X-2...it would always be "I'm looking for him, I saw this sphere of him, It might be him!" The common belief is that once Yuna says Tidus, Spira will explode
[/X-2 discussion]
Anyway, next week should be much more fulfilling! Longer Chapters! I promise!

Feedback is wanted (more than just "good job, keep it up"; I need some constructive Criticism....and yes, I am aware of the chapter length. So, anything aside from that would be welcomed)

Tsunami the Silver Dragon · Sun Dec 05, 2004 1:24 am

Well, so much for promises.

Just kidding.

As far as I can tell I can't find any errors.

In anycase, when you can please update this topic.

I really look forward to it.

thedudewhosadude · Post by **thedudewhosadude** » Tue Dec 21, 2004 11:55 pm

It is with deep regret that I must say that the .hack//Dark Enigma saga is officialy on hiatus. Note that this means that it will come back, just not within the next two months. And if this forum ceases to exist in the coming months, then simply send me an e-mail, and I'll send you the chapters as I create them. Right now I'm just too croweded with papers due (Anime impact on the U.S, "The Lord of the Flies") and movies that I'm commited to making with my friends (Virus Anticlea, Say "Hi" To Life) .hack//Dark Enigma will return, just not anytime soon. This is just a message to alert my few readers on the current status of the story.