EXPLANATIONS>>>>>

This is a thought that occurred to me just sorta' now-ish. You see, now that I'm out of college and I'm still quite into Divergence, I realize that I should be getting back onto the horse which is my next main story, the one following CODE. But since it's been such a wait and the damn thing's been hard to think up stuff for and so on, I figured..."Why not give people the bonus of a series of short tales to read?". So, that's pretty much what I'm inclined to do.

This thread is dedicated to the exploits of the characters from ".hack//CODE", any other related full-story I write, and just the .hack world in general. Here, there will be the Short-Cuts, the small tales which exist before the stories, between the stories, after the stories, and so on. (So basically, the more I actually write and put on Divvy, the more I can put in THIS thread without really giving away too much plot. I'd recommend reading what else I've got first, though.)

This means that the stories written in here are not connected to the happenings of Divergence, even if things that I've mentioned in my use of Canti here end up in this. My work and Divergence are like two parallel worlds, which I'm sure you get since I wrote this stuff to be able to fit around existing canon. I'd rather that people didn't post in this thread since the only thing I'm putting in after this next initial post is whatever short story comes to mind.

For the record, I have plans to finish my sequel story and MAYBE write a story which is situated around GU with a new central-main character. The stories below, I will catelogue in order to fit the timeline of my longer stories. (In case anyone doesn't know, my first two main stories take place after the original series of .hack games, as in everything involving Kite. The third story, assuming I write it, will take place after GU, in all probability.)

So, I categorize these Short-Cuts like this...

BC - Before Code, as in prior to ".hack//CODE", but still after the games.

BD - Before Desolation, as in before the ".hack//DESOLATION" story, which isn't even done yet.

AD - After Desolation, which won't happen until I get off my butt and finish it. (It will be pretty awesome, though.)

A??? - Ha ha ha... This doesn't mean anything yet. But when it does, it'll refer to a time after the events of the story I haven't even started. The thing is, I probably WILL write it, because these thoughts NEVER leave me alone.

Anything that happens below this post is my doing and probably going to be half-crazed and composed of things that wouldn't fit in my main stories. Some may be foreshadowing or creepy, while others may be ridiculous and funny. You read at your own risk here, folks, but I hope this is to your liking.

"God-dammit, dammit!"

These were the words that emanated from the direction of the Item Shop in Mac Anu, which sounded distinctly like someone was cussing out the NPC, but that was not actually the case. To the average user, this was not something to be paid too close attention to. However, out of all the average people walking around, one of them recognized the voice and especially the level of irritation. By the stairs, a kid-like Blademaster stopped short and looked over, noticing the dark and winged Twin Blade who had shouted.

Drake: Canti? What's going on, man? C'mon, the shop dude can't be that bad.

The Twin Blade looked up, surprised to see Drake there. He was a higher-level character than him, higher by far. Even still, he acknowledged Canti as senior for varying reasons, such as the circumstances in which they met, and just the fact that he was older than the kid in the first place. Canti grimaced, though, holding onto his left arm at the wrist, the arm with the scar. Drake's eyes widened suddenly.

Drake: Whoa! Hey, you're not ummm...? You alright?

Canti: What? Oh, right. No, it's not that. The data's fine. I injured my hand today at work and it's really making it hard to play.

Drake: Maybe you shouldn't, then.

He deadpanned at the Blademaster.

Canti: I live alone and I don't have much else to do. So it's either sit around and be bored or get on the game.

Drake: How bad is it?

Canti: It's like my hand is on fire.

Drake: I dunno if you should really be on when your character has feedback...

Canti: Thanks for the concern, kid, but it's precisely why I'm on Mac Anu. I just wanna kill things.

Somewhat satisfied that he would look after himself, the young Blademaster left him for now. His worries were legitimate, though. When his character was infected, it made for a subtle feedback through the brain that allowed him to be affected by things from The World, psychosomatically. That is, if the mind can be shut down and put into a coma by the Twilight, then it is possible for other things to occur as well, such as pain or physical scarring. If the brain thinks it, it can be done. Presently, Canti left for the Chaos Gate and set it up to give him a random place for killing. He ended up with an Earth-based area full to the brim with types of goblins. Perfect. Everyone loves killing goblins ('cept maybe the gobs themselves). And he spent a good deal of time doing this...right up until he hit the landmine.

*POW!*

Chunks of earth flew up as he was thrown back by a bomb that should never have been there and certainly wasn't operating at a Mac Anu level of damage. Canti landed on his back and quickly rolled to his feet. There was suddenly an alarm blaring and some flashy red text moving across the sky, to be seen from all corners of the field.

...THE AREA WILL BE STERILIZED...THE AREA WILL BE STERILIZED...THE AREA WILL BE STERILIZED...THE AREA WILL BE STERILIZED...THE AREA WILL BE STERILIZED...

"So, it seems I didn't get them all."

Canti's black eyes went from staring up to glaring left at speeds best not considered by man. You see, a decidedly gruff-sounding voice had spoken up just then, coming from a person who was not there two seconds ago. He looked like...a Mac Anu NPC, those guys in the greenish suits with the black hair, only this one seemed more stern somehow, and thereby freaky in his own right. This didn't exactly put off the Twin Blade, though.

Canti: No, you forgot to check under my ass. So, who're you, then? I didn't call for an Item Shop.

"Do you really know nothing?"

Canti: Hey, watch it, golden oldie. It's been one of those days and I am NOT in the mood.

"Very well. I am Lios, Section Chief Administrator. And I had been cleaning up a hacker's little boodytrap maze until you unceremoniously SAT on one. Now, we're caught in the trap, whatever it is."

Canti: If an admin like you can't handle some geek-boy's plaything... Wait a minute. I know that voice.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"I wouldn't recommend allowing this character design. It's the sort of altered and illegal appearance that some hackers use."

Canti: Which is WHY I'm frigging ASKING! So it's a legal thing!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Canti: You're the jackass that tried to stop me from getting this character design!

Lios: Is this really the time for that? We are trapped here, you know. At least until the trap is deactivated.

Canti: Oh...yeah. I guess that's important.

It was then that the alarm ceased and spires of earth began to fire out of the ground at random. They were rather strong Earth-based attacks, though, forcing the two of them to run.

Canti: Hey, why're you running? I thought Admins were invincible!

Lios: You are mistaken. Admins are characters with the highest stats, but we have to BE characters to interact with The World.

Canti: Alright, fine. Then why aren't you killing the landscape with your doom rays?

Lios: My special programs do not apply to this situation. And some of them have been disabled.

Canti: Fat lot of good you are.

A massive stone wall shot up in front of them and a goblin firing squad came up behind them. Canti was about to leap into action when Lios merely smashed through the wall and went into the hole. Shrugging, he followed him.

Lios: Highest stats, no weapons. So, I default to a fist-fighter.

The firing squad actually attempted to follow them, and it appeared that there were these biplanes with goblins in them firing down at the two of them. This place had become a warzone! Lios worked on deleting the goblin planes, one after the other, but stopped short on the last of them as he heard a distinct Fwoosh! sound coming from Canti's direction. He paused, thought about it, and deleted the last plane before commenting.

Lios: What happened to the firing squad?

Canti: They...fell down and died.

Lios: Only, I couldn't help noticing the smoldering black spots where they use to be standing.

Canti: That's because they fell on some landmines.

*Thump!*

Lios: But I deleted them all!

*Thump!*

Canti: Minus the one I 'found'.

*Thump!*

Lios: I was making a final sweep! I would've had them all!

*Thump!*

Canti: Look, if you... Er, wait. Do you hear something?

*Thump!*

Lios: Now that you mention it...

"GRRROOOOOOOOAAAAAARRRRR!!!!!"

Picture now, an Admin and a Twin Blade looking up up up into the eyes of a gigantic beast. One...massive...friggin...goblin. Humongous size, super stats, dark leathery skin, big ears, and a row of weird-looking spikes running down its back onto a lizard-like tail that trailed after it.

Canti: Holy mother of jib, it's Gobzilla!

Lios: Jib?

Canti: Yeah, as in it's gonna jib us all over the place if we don't beat it.

Lios: It's the center of the virus.

Canti: That? That thing is what's holding all this mess together?

Lios: The data for the game-hack is congealed inside its head.

Canti: So...blow up its head!

Assuming that the delete command translates into The World as a densely powerful spell with a permanent effect, this would mean that it was a highly-destructive ability kept in the hands of CC Corp employees. The reason Lios hesitated on this, though, was because the hacker that laid the trap in the first place did it in such a way to alter the way the field was set to function. You didn't have the administrative precident in a superimposed tiny world created by someone else. This was what blocked some of Lios' commands and was suppose to trap users. As for Gobzilla, its stats were equal to his Admin avatar. It was never to be defeated... However, directly after he flung his delete blast at it, a humongous explosion of black-and-orange flames erupted from the creature, engulfing it entirely. And...was it his imagination or it suddenly highly-degraded before the delete took effect? Hard to say. It happened so quickly that he hadn't seen Canti back up out of sight for a moment. Looking back at the Twin Blade, though...

Lios: Strange effect...

Canti: Heh, strange monster.

Lios: You know, I noticed you haven't been attacking all that well, or that much, that I can see. Is there something wrong with that arm? The one with that scar?

Canti: No, man. I got hurt while fixing cars today.

Lios: Your hand was hurt.

Canti: Yes...

Lios: And yet you still continue to play.

Canti: Just call me a sucker for punishment.

Lios: Interesting...

The Admin vanished, then, leaving him alone. And then, for one brief moment, Canti laughed out loud.

Canti: Damn, I thought he was catch me! I can't believe I had to stick around for that lame-o hacker's goblin parade when I could've blown the whole fragger up on my own and called it a day! Or hell, I could've just left! God, what a day...

Of course, he hadn't been sure about Admins who took NPC forms. They looked so damn useless in a fight, but after seeing Lios smack a wall open with his weaponless hands, Canti realized that those guys were actually quite a scary bunch. At least having Balmung around as a Blademaster still made sense... The Twin Blade gated out of the field, completely missing the goblin with white gloves that came later...placing landmines.

"Was he really serious? What a mess..."

In the deepest, darkest pits of an Omega Server dungeon, Balmung of the Azure Sky had plunged down and down into the lowest level to find him. It wasn't hard, since the guy had practically advertized his location, way down here in Unspeakable Evil-Eyed Sanctum. Why did the nutcases always chose the most hideous dungeons to crawl in? The living hallways squelched with every footstep until he finally found the place. And now, the fella was gone, with nothing left behind but an unexploded cauldron - which exploded upon his arrival - and a decorative altar made from the bones of the background scenery. Why, though? What was the point? That was when the white Blademaster picked up the soiled cloth. Something was written on it.

Balmung: "Grilnick, Grilnick". Okay...

Yeah, that didn't help any. It was like he left that intentionally as a joke, as though to say "Ha-ha! You're too late to catch me!". Balmung sighed, letting the cloth go. He really needed a brake, or someone else to handle this guy. Of course, he wasn't through here yet. Not with that low growl coming from behind. This was still a high-level place, never a good spot to let your guard down. Swinging back with his sword, he struck all three heads of the Cerberus hound and took flight to avoid its retaliating jaws before selecting a Level-4 Rue spell and inundating the creature with it.

Balmung: Alright, that's enough 'fun' for now.

He ringed himself out of the dungeon and then logged out of The World entirely. There was no way he was spending his entire shift tailing after one lone whacked-out player. Of course, if he had stayed just a little longer, Balmung would've heard...

"Grilnick, Grilnick."

...from the shadows.



There are plenty of knights in The World. Few of them act that way, though. Out of those who do, still fewer actually do it well. In order to act in the nature of a knight, one must never get too lost in the part. Otherwise, you end up like Piros or just as cheesy. One particular knightly-type had had enough experience with serious issues within The World to know what was right and what was just plain goofy shit. Decked out in his darkish armor with no helmet, Niko knew the one golden rule of trade. Namely, if you're going to be a true knight, you don't just do it to impress people. Acting that zealous will never get you anywhere. For instance, that guy he saw a little while ago at Fort Ouph...

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

He'd found him hanging about one of the lower regions of the high castle, balancing his character on one of the railings. It was a Wavemaster with a sort of tan-orange cloak-and-hood. Niko had been practicing with his sword when he noticed him, and the Blademaster headed over, kinda' curious.

Niko: Hey, what's up, doc?

"Well, I am, naturally. Not for long, though."

Niko: Oh no! Hah, don't tell me you're gonna jump and splatter yourself.

"Did you ever wonder where The World goes? I mean, if you traveled beyond the limitations?"

Niko: I could tell you some stories.

"Don't WANT stories. Don't need to worry 'bout this body either. Just a vessel to serve..."

Niko: Could you make that sensible, please? I can't read through blatant nuttery.

The way the guy had been talking was somewhat unhinged. Now, you could definitely see someone talking nonsense in The World without it being a problem. A number of people like that just crave attention. Even then, there's a limit to how far you go into this act before you're creepy enough to either be shunned or be concerned about. This guy was teetering towards Option B, turning suddenly to look at Niko through his goblin mask.

"Celebrating. That's what I'm doing here. It's all set in motion now, so don't forget the magic words!"

Niko: Abracadabra?

"No." :thumbdown:

Niko: Klaatu barada nikto?

"NO!" :angry:

Niko: I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts?

:zap:

Niko: Agh!

"Don't be a wiseass."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

And then, without another word, the Wavemaster had jumped off of the fort, laughing in a manner that buried the creep-o-meter needle into the "Very Creepy" side. Just what was his problem, aside from the obvious...like that he'd been playing this game too much. Ah well. Niko began to wander around, considering a jaunt through the Chaos Gate to see what he could get away with in one of the fields.

Niko: Now, should I call Canti, or-

"Grilnick, Grilnick."

*Thud!*

Niko: Hmm?

Just 'round the corner of one of the booths, he heard it. He only looked out of idle curiosity, but the sight suddenly drew more concern from him. Niko was staring at a grayed-out character deleting itself. It didn't look like virus intrusion. He even checked to see by holding the Twilight Bracelet on his arm next to the player. No reaction... Well, at least it wasn't dangerous, whatever happened, but something was still wrong here. It looked like a forced deletion of the character, and it wasn't admin-sanctioned, to be sure. Niko drew his sword, looking around for anyone who might've done this. Nobody was around...

Niko: Well, that's a bummer.

The corpse was cold - and disappearing - and there was no clue in sight. What the heck was he suppose to do with this? There wasn't even anything remotely Twilight-ish about it! Scratching his head, the dark-haired Blademaster shrugged and headed for the Chaos Gate. Something would turn up. He just knew-

"Grilnick, Grilnick."

Niko: Gril-what-now?

He turned his head back suddenly as a Heavy Blade in red-and-black demon-shogun armor gated in, name of Shokune. He looked down at the Blademaster - being taller - and cleared his throat to get Niko's attention.

Niko: Oh, sor- Whoa!

Shokune: Bit of a shocker, yeah. Everything alright?

Niko: Not sure... Did you...hear anything just now?

Shokune: Nope.

Niko: I see. 'Kay, nevermind.

He gated out.

Balmung screwed his eyes up at this at the time, but soon realized that he and the other Blademaster had been drawn into the same thing, unwittingly. So then...there was more to this than just the looney Wavemaster. Because later on, a number of complaint reports had come in from users who had been booted out of The World, their characters deleted. The Azure Sky decided to meet with Niko here, at the serene and properly-restored server town of Lia Fail, to discuss things. The young Blademaster knew things, and he was trustworthy enough to speak to at an Admin capacity, given that she had some faith in him. Niko made his way up the stairs and found Balmung sitting under a tree.

Niko: You rang?

Balmug: I did.

Niko: So-

Balmung: "Grilnick, Grilnick", right? It's just a phrase, a meme that somebody started during the Twilight Incident. It has no meaning.

Niko: Except that I heard it shortly before a player character was PKed and deleted. D'you think someone's using it like a calling card?

Balmung: It's possible. Take a look at this.

A Flashmail was sent Niko's way, which he immediately looked at, giving off an arched-eyebrow expression at its contents.

Niko: What the heck IS this?

Balmung: It's a post removed from the message boards, written to stir up trouble.

Niko: Hey, this Gobos wouldn't happen to be a kinda'-short fella, orange-tan cloak, with a goblin mask on? If so, I think I've met him, and it wasn't long after that the deletion occurred.

"-nick."

*POW!*

The two of them froze for a second and looked where the quick explosion happened. Another tree, farther away, was grayed out and self-deleting. A few players were now leaving that area. Niko could just make out a shape, well-camouflaged in distortion.

Balmung: Excuse me. This is what they pay me for.

Niko: I'm not leaving this to you alone!

He flew into action, drawing his sword and landing in what he hoped to be the front of whatever this was. The World looked like a kaleidoscope through its camouflage, and it was a significant bulk in there, to be sure. Somebody's pet monster, no doubt.

Balmung: I'll settle this, here and now. Show yourself!

It was not a pretty sight. Imagine a bulbous form with a ten-foot height, almost as wide as it was tall. It was a number of pale colors, but mostly gray and black with highlights of green to match...what looked like glowing and unblinking eyes. It was standing on nothing, because apparently legs did not exist, and there were instead vibrant red-glowing tendrils whipping about, none of which were attached to the body. They, like the arms, seemed to be free-floating in of themselves. The grayish-purple arms themselves were big and muscular, the knuckles of the three-fingered hands dragging along the ground. The head appeared to be a part of the torso without a neck, and there were these unattached floating spike-claws flitting about as well. No idea what they were for, precisely.

"Gril...nick, GRILNICK!"

Niko: Two things come to mind about now. One, I think we know what that guy was working on. And two...this is the thing responsible for the deletions.

Balmung: Which makes its master a hacker. If only Lios were here...

It was his off-day, but he'd have a field-day with this. The two of them jumped back suddenly as a green thunderbolt struck down at their positions. Despite the lack of feet, the creature moved after them as though it were a giant, making heavy thumping sounds. Then, it raised its fists and backhanded the both of them with incredible reach! They tried to block, but only Balmung managed to keep his place, Niko ending up pinned against a tree, which shook vigorously before Niko cut it down using Revolver. The Grilnick thing flinched at the attack, but there was a problem. They couldn't see whatever damage was being inflicted. Towns didn't show HP gauges. Balmung took a flying stab into its bulk and bounced off afterward by a swift ram-strike. The creatured growled, and then set off a random series of green energy beams from the eyes, hitting them for random small damage, but also...

Balmung: Deks! Clever beastie.

Niko: They must work here because it's encoded to. Here, you take the left and I'll take the right and we'll...

The two of them leapts at the monster and stabbed into its palms, then ran right around in back to cast Rue and Rai spells respectively while the arms couldn't move. Strangely, the back of the beast looked cut off somehow, like it was sliced from something else. A faint ethereal glow came off it. The thing pulled its arms out from their swords, turning to let off a series of direct lightning strikes of green that knocked the Blademasters back a ways.

Balmung: Is there any chance that this is a form of Data Bug, if even one that's been edited someway by a hacker?

Niko: It's impossible. My Bracelet isn't reacting at all, so there can't be a virus involved.

Balmung: Then I guess it really is some wild dream of that Gobos.

Niko: Balmung...we have a way out of this, if your own abilities aren't enough.

This actually got under the Admin's skin, and with a scowl he took off after the Grilnick creature to slash it repeatedly while flying swiftly around it in a matter of seconds, temporarily throwing its bulk into a tree! He landed...and looked back at Niko for a second.

Balmung: That's as a last resort only. Are we clear?

Niko: Y-yeah... :blink:

Balmung: Good, because you're up.

Niko: I'm up, as in...? WHOA!

As a testament to the unknowable strength of an Admin, Niko was thrown head-first at the recovering monster and - in a fit of panic, literally button-mashed the controls to victory, slashing into the main bulk repeatedly and finishing with a Revolver! The creature, having been taken completely off-guard, suddenly faded away like a ghost, leaving not even that weird distortion effect behind. There was a signature groaning sound as it did, so it seemed they had reached its HP limit.

Niko: So, d'you think it's dead?

Balmung: Well, it's certainly not around anymore. Hopefully, that means the hacker's pet is defeated. The place it emerged from was deliberately altered to look bizarre, like he was summoning demons. But demons like that never existed in The World.

Niko: No...they were worse. Seems like looking unnatural is becoming a fad in The World.

Balmung: Oh?

Niko: Yeah, I met a demon shogun guy by the name of Shokune. He was alright, though.

Balmung: Hmmm...

Niko: What?

Balmung: Possibly nothing. It's just that Gobos' only response before we nipped the thread was from a Shokune, apparently interested in hearing his truth.

Niko: I'd say that's at least checking out.

Balmung: Lemme run a trace on his movements.



Unsurprisingly, Shokune was exploring the dungeon right back in Ω Unspeakable Evil-Eyed Sanctum. By the time they'd caught up with him, virtually every monster on the bottom floor was dead, thus making it easier to move around. They found the tall demon shogun in a large pulsating room with four exits, and he appeared to be pondering something when Balmung spoke.

Balmung: Shokune, explain your connection with the hacker, Gobos.

Shokune: Hmm? Oh, hey there. I've been trying to find the guy.

Balmung: We know that, but we do not know your purpose.

Shokune: Easy. I was asked to put a stop to him, because he's an idiot. Don't you find his actions immaturish?

Niko: Yeah, but it's not funny when he actually ruins people's accounts.

Shokune: The other good reason to finish him off.

Balmung: Agreed. Then I take it you'll help us, then.

Shokune: In a way, you're the ones helping me, but it matters not. Let's go find us a kooky goblin-man.

Finding him was the hard part. Shokune was certain that Gobos was back here, but there was no further sign of him. The only good thing that came out of the long and irritating search was that Balmung silently verified that Shokune had had no contact with Gobos at all. It was when they finally exited the dungeon that something finally happened. The three of them looked up and...there was a portal in the sky.

Niko: What the...?

Balmung: It's just a graphic. This isn't the Apocalypse.

"Ah, but it is!"

Standing atop the dungeon head was their man, the Wavemaster known as Gobos. He had been waiting for them, though it was not clear what he was doing now. Wavemasters were not notorious for their solo victories. He probably knew that himself, so what was the deal here?

Gobos: The old gods are waiting to become again. Their potential lives inside the code of The World, and soon it will awaken. These are the words of the beast of shadows.

Balmung: Give yourself up. I've placed a seal on the entire area just now. You cannot leave.

Shokune: Verify something, please. You are Gobos from the message board?

Gobos: I am he and he is me and we are all together.

Shokune: Well put.

Drawing his sword, Shokune leapt upon one of the waggling fingers of the dungeon entrance and launched himself off of it with surpising speed. Afterwhich, he used some kind of item and slashed the Wavemaster to death in a quick three-move flurry! It was over before it even started, it seems. Gobos collapsed and disintegrated once he grayed out. Then, an error message proclaiming that the data could not be found popped up and Shokune turned to face two Blademasters.

Niko: And...what was that?

Shokune: I said that I was hired to put an end to him, so I was given a hacked one-use item which would delete the next thing I struck my sword with.

Balmung: So then, your 'employer' was also a hacker.

Shokune: That's correct. You see, much as there is a hacker problem in this World and the real one, not all of them are inherently evil, or stupid. So, someone who's become quite comfortable in here sent me to delete his account. Of course, he could always get a new one, but this was a message.

Niko: Heavily punctuated. So, what's that make you, then?

Shokune: I'm an honest player. I like The World the way it is, lacking the fake 'gods of olde'. Speaking of which...ummm...

He pointed to a spot behind them that was weirdly distorted. Turning to look, Niko and Balmung found themselves staring as the creature appeared. It was...alot bigger than before. It must've been only partially 'manifested' before, because now...

"Grilnick Grilnick..."

...it was a multi-legged creature with a greater bulk, the original bulk having been only its front. The eyes had been mere simple eyes and that larger ones were on its sides. The big arms were now attached to the main body instead of floating, indicating that it had always had great reach that it could now freely access. The tendrils had been merely feelers and the spikes had been mandibles, all connected to a mouth full of wicked fangs. It was, in short, a menace.

Niko: I don't suppose you have more of those special items, Shokune...

Shokune: Hah, no. I was only contracted for the master, not the beast.

Balmung: But you'll aid us in defeating it, I assume.

Shokune: You have my sword, for that at least.

Except that the creature was not giving them a chance to strike, not when its eyes glowed and a thousand green lasers fired upon them from nowhere. All three were forced to take refuge behind the dungeon entrance, which soon deleted itself and left a hole in the graphics. The Grilnick-thing pursued after them and Balmung was now able to view its stats. They were rediculous, and yet ultimately bad for them because it meant the creature was going to be hard to take down.

GRILNICK-GRILNICK
LEVEL: 777
HP: 1,000,000
SP: 1,000,000
POWERS: Rig Saem, Rig Gaem, delete_command, enable_deks, transport_self, invisible_yes, delete_self_no

The creature pounded its long-reaching arms after them, causing the ground to vibrate as they moved out of the way. How did he manage to make this thing delete-proof? That should've been impossible for a non-Admin. It stank of outside help, which he hoped was not the case. Still, the beast shot at them again, but this time they were ready.

Balmung: Three-pronged attack, GO!

A Blademaster and a Heavy Blade on either side, followed by an Admin striking from above. The three of them cut along the Grilnick's body, slashing appendages, the head, and the back. The damage didn't seem to be much, but it DID topple over for a moment, giving them time to put some space between it and them.

Shokune: It seems formidable. I notice we didn't do much damage.

Balmung: It has an impossible level-indicator, so some of its stats are a bit out of order, but remains to have plenty of stamina. The whole monster is a glitch waiting to happen.

Niko: But it can still be killed, I take it.

Balmung: It would take hours, assuming we did well. It has a million HP and Rig Saem.

Niko: Suddenly, I understand why people hate hackers.

Shokune: The goblin-mask wanted to bring about old demons like gods, so he made a weird monster and fudged it up on purpose. It's like a bad joke.

Niko: Well, I'm not laughing. Is it still following us?

The winged Admin paused, looking back.

Balmung: ...No.

Shokune: Where could it have...oh. Crap.

Niko: What?

Shokune: We've been walking in one direction and the map wraps around, so...

Facing the way they'd been going again, they found a number of green explosions as the Grilnick killed regular monsters in its path to rampage towards them again. At this rate, it would end up deleting enough to ruin the field and force it to shut down, and then it would move to a server town and inflict the same, all because it could.

Balmung: Niko, I believe you have an out for us.

Niko: As long as you're certain.

Balmung: What do I care for a hacker's pointless creation. It's just trouble. I'd rather clean up the mess you leave behind.

Niko: Fair enough.

Shokune: Wait, what is he...?

Niko held out his right arm and a glowing green form appeared around it, the Beta Bracelet which destroys foes with viral power, sucking away their viable data. It then manifested the frontal section, followed by the five data-spires out in a star-shape. The energy amassed itself and the Grilnick immediately fired upon the Bracelet, doing no damage at all with its delete command attacks. It could not and an Admin could not. Niko shouted "Data Drain!" and five unearthly-colored and seemingly-solid energy-lines blasted into the Grilnick, causing a loud cracking/shattering sound...plus an explosion for effect. What remained was not a recombinated monster, but a series of large data fragments and ghosts like incomplete software and glitches, overlapping each other and distorting the light of the field into a hellish hue. The air and graphics were sparking slightly, due to the damage Niko had caused. From here, Balmung was able to forcibly delete the thing. However, after that...a chest appeared.

Niko: Huh? Looks like he left the winner a prize.

Balmung: Wait. Don't touch it. Might be a trap.

Shokune: It's not even blue. Come now, we can handle whatever comes out of that thing.

Balmung: I'm sorry, but this is where the rules must be followed. It's up to the Admins to decide what goes in chests here, not players. But I'll see to it you both get something for your help. Shokune, I won't ask you who your friend is, but if it was Helba, I would expect you to trust me with at least that.

Shokune: It's not Helba.

Balmung: Very well. You two can go, then. I'm going to fix this field and take a break.

And so, they did, not knowing what was in that chest. Better that they didn't, because he could read a chest's contents from the outside, easily. Inside was an item labeled "The Phoenix's Other Egg". You see, there is a story that when a Phoenix was suppose to die, it laid two eggs, one black and one white. From the white one came the Phoenix itself, reborn. But from the black egg, nobody knows... And in this case, it was better not knowing, at least not while on the system. Balmung removed the chest into Admin storage. Maybe he'd test it later, or maybe not.



He appeared. It was dark. His friend sat in the dark, specifically so that he would not be able to perceive whom he was talking to. However, one thing his friend had specified was that people would ask if this was an involvement of Helba, and his friend had told him that no, it wasn't. That way, if he came upon anyone that actually KNEW Helba, there would be an understanding that the legendary hacker was not the one doing this. Thus, whatever opinions would fall upon Shokune and the one that gave him the delete command item would at least leave the hacker's reputation unmarred.

Shokune: I was able to eliminate the account, as per your request.

"Thank you, Shokune. I'm especially pleased with your professionalism and common courtesy. You didn't have to help Balmung and the Blademaster anymore, but you did."

Shokune: It was right. There's nothing more to it than that.

"Indeed. So...business concluded, I have a question for you."

Shokune: Shoot.

"If I had been Helba, what would you have done?"

Shokune: It was still right to take that guy down.

"So, you don't mind using an illegal item to get rid of a problem?"

Shokune: If he wants back on, he can go get himself another account and not be a jerk about it this time. It only deleted the account, right?

"That's right. Again, thank you. You've given me some things to consider."

Shokune left, and the only other occupant of the room smiled. So, bad things cn happen for good reasons and good things can happen for bad. Well, she knew that already, but the point was that an actual human believed it. Basically, if you want a philosophical conundrum answered, you build an analogy to be tested in real-time. In this case, a lone and wily hacker provided a decent look into the nature of good and evil, and how the roles can be reversed. In which case, that may be the motivation that was needed. Now, to go get that egg. It could be very useful...