.hack//RE:Boot

Arsenic laughed a bit, then turned as a reminder he'd set on his computer went off in his headset. Fifteen minutes remained until the race, and he still had to find Hitomi.

"Well, then, the best of luck to you, Rhyme." He turned back to the girl, smiling as he did so. "Just remember you've got Hitomi and I to contend with out there." He added the last part jokingly, then flipped backward over the railing of the bridge, making his way toward the Chaos Gate. As he reached it, he sent a quick message to Hitomi to meet him at the coordinates for the race, then he turned, looking at the gate and closing his eyes. "Endless, Blazing, Fast Horse!!" And with that, he was warped through the Chaos Gate.

Kisaragi woke to the sound of birds outside his window and groaned a bit, wondering how long he'd been unconscious. He shook off the sleep and stood, walking to the kitchen counter and making himself some coffee, then gathering everything he would need for the day into a bag while the coffee brewed.

"So, I believe I'm going to need my gear, naturally... It'd be best if I took the notes I've kept over the years. I'm certain that Rika's not going to be too worried about it, but I do love a chance to share the Epitaph with someone who is unfamiliar."

He laughed a bit to himself, pouring himself some coffee and grabbing his bag, heading out the door. He'd been preparing to get Rika into the World for weeks now, and was still unsure if Kiryu knew anything about it or not, though he couldn't fathom that she wouldn't have told her brother by now.

As he started the car, he reached over, pressing a button on his radio and smiling a bit as a recording of his notes started to play through the speakers.

---about an hour later---

Kisaragi arrived at the restaurant, stopping the car only after he'd allowed the recording to finish the sentence that it was on, then smiling somewhat nervously to himself as he thought of what others would think, had they been party to the events of his ride. Pulling his bag from the passenger's seat, he made his way to the front, arranging a table for three outside, then ordering himself a drink as he sat to await the others, opening his notes and glancing quickly over them one last time to see what would be most useful, and what would not.

Rika removed her headphones as she saw Yui's car pull up, running eagerly to it and taking a seat in the passenger side, hugging her old friend before they took off. She smiled, placing her backpack in the back seat of the car as they began to move, and pulling a notepad from the front pocket of it, going over a list.

"So, Onee-chan, I got the headset and controller that you recommended me, rather than the ones like Kiryu has, and I've got my computer and a copy of the game that I picked up for next to nothing. I think I'm all set." She watched Yui nod, and then turned her attention to the road, looking out the window beside her as she thought back over the time she'd known the older girl. The two had been close from almost the instant they'd met, becoming great friends, almost like sisters. Rika had been distraught when she'd found out that Yui and Kiryu had split, worried that she wouldn't be able to see her "big sister" anymore.

To her surprise, she'd gotten a call almost every week from Yui since, and the two had stayed in touch, despite the distance in living between them. Rika smiled, shaking her head to clear her mind a bit as she looked up, taking notice that the car had stopped, and that they had arrived at a restaurant. Is this... Where we're meeting that guy?

She reached into the back seat, pulling out her backpack with all of her gear, watching Yui do the same, then following her over to a table, where a man sat, a visor beside his laptop, a binder on top of it that he seemed to be looking through studiously. She couldn't help but laugh a bit, and threw up her hand, yelling out to him.

"Kisaragi-kun! Yui-chan didn't tell me you'd be here, too!"

Kisaragi looked up as he heard the voice, pushing his glasses back up his nose, cursing them under his breath for constantly sliding as he researched. He smiled as he saw Rika and Yui making their way to him, closing his notes and clearing the table to make room for the two of them.

"I was beginning to wonder if the two of you were going to make it or not." He laughed a bit, standing and lightly bowing to them before returning to his seat. "So, where shall we begin?"

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Meanwhile, at the Event Area
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ladies and Gentlemen, it's the day of the big race!!! Everyone's gathered to see the competitors give it their all, but only one team will make it out on top!

The announcer's voice rang out across the area, echoing across the track as he spoke.

Attention all racers, there are 15 minutes until race time! I repeat, fifteen minutes until race time!!! Gather your partners, make any last minute adjustments that are necessary to your bikes, and meet at the starting line! Any who are not present when the starting countdown begins will be disqualified from the Event!

"Endless, blazing, fasthorse..." The chaos gate reacted and a blue light enveloped Rhyme transport her to the desert area where the event was starting. There was still time left till the race started so she decided to read the post about the event, she skimmed it over again but this time she would find a ruling she over looked when she first read, "No more or no less then two people per team!" Joanna quickly slams down her visor and takes to the forums to quickly find a a partner. Jo hadn't any friends since her arena partner betrayed her and no real life friends played.

LOOKING A PARTNER FOR TODAYS EVENT WILL PAY, SERIOUS OFFERS ONLY!

The thread was quickly filling with trolls and toxic post accusing her of being a noob and poking fun at her for being kicked off her arena team. Joanna let out a deep sigh and rested her head on her keyboard, it sucked being so known sometimes. She slipped her visor over her eyes and waited hoping someone serious would approach her, however, at this point she would take anyone.

Kazujin bowed to his master, after a hard day at work with his Dojo, and had ran back home to log back in. His foot steps were fast and his breathes were heavy.

After forty minutes or so he had arrived, ran into his room and had shut his dooor with the sound of his lock clicking. He stumbled over his books, dropping his bags on the floor and jumped from side to side before sitting into his computer chair in front of his desktop.

He slipped on his visor and began to explore the web. He began by looking through his messages, checking to see if there was any. None.

He continued to look through the news. Nothing interesting that he hadn't seen before hand.

He then looked onto the forum, looking for anything interesting-- when he found news about the race. Even more interesting, someone requesting a partner.

"Character name: Rhyme.." he mumbled to himself. He thought to himself, thinking of how he had never been apart of a race before this point. He didn't know what he'd be doing-- but, he did want to help. After scrolling through the toxic posts of trolls and idiots, he posted his reply.

"I'm not that experienced myself, but I suppose I can help." He had replied with a sincere gesture.

"Good luck, Raven." Yui thought to herself while entering the cafe. Even though not logged in, Yui's mind was back in The World, exploring the importance of all things digital. She wondered about how her new character format would be accepted by the net society. Scythe would be considered K.I.A. Most likely deleted, at the thought of other players. It wasn't strange, what with the reports of so many players going comatose while playing The World now a days. This would help her re-evaluate the worth of the enemy hackers. It would let her get closer to people who would otherwise distrust her. As Yui approached the table that Kisaragi sat, she raised her bag onto it in a casual swing.
"Don't be so impatient," Yui said before taking her seat to the left of the man. She aided Rika in finding a seat. "Did you order us anything?" She questioned Kisaragi while opening her bag and pulling from it her gear. Her laptop, headset, controller and a few... extra accessories. Yui got it all set up while waiting for Kisaragi's answer. They would have to get Rika set up into the game eventually and when the did, she wanted to make sure everything was ready. According to the information she got, Kisaragi had been gathering equipment for Rika, awaiting the time she logged into the game. At the same time, Yui herself had been thinking of locations and tactics to teach the girl. They were here to help her now, but if the girl didn't become self sufficient, it would be a problem. The hacker did have quite a bit on her place. While she loved Rika like her own little sister, she couldn't let it interfere with her online tasks. Especially with the enemy hackers about.

-----------------"(Delta) Endless Blazing Fast Horse"-------------------

Raven sat aboard his steam bike with his partner just behind. The steam bike was in a locked position, keeping the players from getting any sort of cheap head start. "If Scythe were here, she'd disable this lock." The grappler smiled at the thought before his fists tightened around the handlebars.
Raven glanced back at his teammate to see the PC chosen for this task. He was a Flick Reaper - It was recommended by Scythe herself. After accessing the many tactics behind a high speed on bike race, the girl had settled on the idea that their classes together would make a well balanced team. With Raven behind the controls, able to coordinate close range swift melee strikes with his fists should an enemy get too close - And a Flick Reaper behind, using their scythe to strike at ranges and in AoE Motions. Scythe was confident in Raven, and Raven was confident in Scythe's strategy, however...
"Ehehehe~" The flick reaper with his feet to the ground, partially sitting on the back of Raven's steam bike, was balancing his scythe on one hand while jesting with himself, watching the shifting pole arm.
"He's an idiot..." The Grappler sighed and went on with thought while waiting for the race to begin. Everyone was at the starting line, so the race could begin any minute. He fully intended on winning, no matter what.
>
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Hitomi sat on the back of Arsenic's steam bike with her left arm wrapped around him. Her body was pressed against his in a way that, in the past, the Hacker would have no doubt killed her for. There was a slight smile that showed over her lips. "Easy win," She whispered to Arsenic as her hand rested upon her sword. The Admin was getting anxious as she awaited the countdown.
Hitomi, the Admin, was a lot like a PKer in many ways. Administrators weren't supposed to exist in The World R:2. This was due to CC Corp. wanting to stay as uninvolved in the game as possible for purposes that were discussed to considerable length on the forums. While they still watched from behind their screens, not many of them bothered to enter the game itself. Hitomi was one of the only ones that decided to take a more aggressive stance in protecting the game from cheaters. Even more so - at the sight of a cheater, the admin has the ability to remove them harmlessly from the game and ban them. Hitomi however took a combat stance toward this, insisting that she would not delete them if they could best her. She made it a painful process. This admin truly had a craving - a lust - for watching the look on peoples faces as she eliminated them. She hid this the best she could for professional reasons. "Almost time..."

-----------------------------Delta Server, Mac Anu-----------------------

The race was just about to begin. In the skies around all of the servers, a screen appeared that showed varied camera views of the starter lines. Some watched all the contestants, others watched one in particular - either at a distance or a close-up. As one of the images showed Arsenic upon it, TESMEI's hands pressed to her chest, her eyes winced in a bit of concern mixed with jealousy. It had naught to do with Arsenic, but rather the sight of someone she knew competing in the event. She turned from the screens to walk back to her shop. The twin blade wanted oh so badly to be part of the race, but she only wanted one teammate. That teammate hadn't been logged into The World for a few days and so she missed her chance to ask the person or sign up herself.
As TESMEI reached her shop, she turned and threw her arms outward as she fell back into the bags of items. "Mmm!!!" Her hands shook through her hair, a great deal of frustration. She could just imagine the bounty she could get from whatever the reward in the race was. With nothing left to do and nobody coming up to the shop today, she sighed and watched the skies to keep a close eye on the race and her friends competing in it. "Good luck, I guess..."

Kisaragi shook his head, pressing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose and opening his notes. "I didn't know what the two of you would want, so I didn't even attempt to order for you." He turned to Rika, folding his hands over his notes and leaning forward against the table. "So, Rika... You're going to join The World today. That's an amazing step into the gaming realm, considering I'm certain that you don't have any prior experience in an MMO, as far as I know."

He flipped a few pages, stopping on one that looked older than the others, tattered and frayed along the edges, and discolored an almost yellowish hue from age. The page itself was covered in stains and marks, and he took special care to remove it as gently as possible from the notebook, placing it on the table and opening it to reveal it was actually three pages, all stuck together from the wear and tear of the years.

"You see, Rika... The World has a history that I'd like to share with you first, so that you can better understand the world that you're about to join." He turned back to Yui, a light smirk betraying the fact that he intended to use this as an opportunity to teach Rika a history lesson, as well. "Yui... Have you mentioned anything to her about... The Epitaph of Twilight?"

----------------------------------At the Races----------------------------

Arsenic leaned back against the bike, an arm wrapped around Hitomi as he stared up at the screens in the skies, watching them pass over all the entrants, stopping for a moment to look at one in particular. He heard Hitomi whisper the phrase "Easy win" and snapped back to the here and now, rather than searching the screens, realizing that he, himself, was becoming guilty of the very thing he so often called Hitomi out on. A part of him wondered if it was just from being around her so much as he turned to her, smirking a bit. "Yeah, definitely an easy win."

"Yui... Have you mentioned anything to her about... The Epitaph of Twilight?"

"No, I thought I'd leave the history stuff to you." After giving the old wrinkled pages of what Yui could only assume was the Epitaph of Twilight a glance, Yui went back to looking at her own computer. She paid little attention to the old mans obsession with the old stories. Yui herself had an interest in The World, but while Kisaragi's fascination dealt with texts and stories, hers dealt with legacies and internal securities.
When Yui thought back about the origin of The World, where Kisaragi might think about The Epitaph, Yui thought about Fragment. Where it all began. No game designed around the concept had ever gone without some sort of black ink. It was her favorite subject - things that she shouldn't be looking into. Instead of trying to teach Rika about where it all started, Yui prepared to teach Rika about where she'd be going. She brought up several files with multiple firewalls over them. Her left hand rose to her cheek and just over her ear where a device like a bluetooth was located. After clicking on it and scrolling it back, she began to enter a code onto the screen of the laptop. The file she had designated opened. As it did, she could see information detailing the customization and the information of multiple in-game things - not just from The World R:2 but from its previous installments. The first thing that she opened was her character data. As she began loading it, animations detailing the functionality and design of this file appeared. Her character file only appeared simple, with many complex compressed files loaded into it. Small hacks that would give her character an edge in the smallest of ways. Increased reaction time, increased general speed, increased durability. So many things to make her better then average but installed in such a small way that they would seem unnoticable. It was only to the well trained eye that a player could see the importance of a half second faster reaction time. While looking over this, Yui had considered giving Rika's character her own enhancements - but ultimately decided against it in fear of what the admins would do should she be caught. She moved on to another file. All of them were covered by hundreds of intense layers of protection, ensuring that even should anyone manage to get their hands on her computer or files, they would not be able to access them.
After a few seconds of pondering over the concept of her character and her other black files, Yui looked up from her computer to stare Kisaragi in the eyes. "I showed her the technicals, like gameplay." Gameplay... She almost laughed at the thought of it. Yui showed Rika average gameplay in the most un-average way. She showed Rika her character traversing areas single-handedly taking on hordes of monsters that should be far too strong for her. She showed Rika the dangers of wandering into player killer zones before turning it back around and annihilating them. She showed Rika items that could not hurt a fly, then shifted them into weapons so powerful they could bring down legendary events with a single swing. It would have been more appropriate to say that she showed Rika what she was missing out on - what Yui herself considers gameplay. Still, she was hesitant to reveal it all to Kisaragi due to his fascination with many rules of the game. He knew she was a hacker, sure. But if he knew how far she had fallen into the reality that is hacking... How would he respond? She sat quiet in wait for Kisaragi's no doubt long and boring history lesson to Rika. She promised that she would help, no matter how boring it might be to do so.

Kisaragi swept a hand through his hair, pushing it back out of his face in a futile effort, as it fell right back into place when his hand returned to the notes. "Alright, then. I suppose it's best to start at the beginning." He turned to Rika, leaning back in his seat as he began to summarize over the notes for her, the tattered pages being his only reference point. "Rika, we're going to get into the World, but first I have to tell you a story. First... I want to tell you about a woman of amazing talent. A woman by the name of Emma Wielant." He took a notable moment in thought, a smile crossing his face as he continued. "She was born in 1972 to a rich West German family that ran an old winery near the Rhine. Her mother died when she was very young, and her father passed when she was but 18. Emma was a clever girl, Rika. Her father's will named her uncle as her new guardian, and set her up for a trust fund, which she could only access once she had turned 20. But her uncle was a greed-filled man, and in an attempt to steal the inheritance all for himself, he offered to legally adopt her. This is where Emma being clever comes into play. She saw right through her uncle, and refused his offer. Emma would, soon after, enroll in a nursing school, as a means of supporting herself in the meantime. However, on the eve of her 20th birthday, Emma was under so much pressure and stress that she fell ill, the overworked young lady coughing up blood in a case of hemoptysis. This was a minor case, and Emma was able to return to better health, though she would take a retreat at her physician's request, and thus she went on to check herself into a health resort in South France. While staying there, Emma had some type of supernatural experience which led her to pursue studies in spiritual consciousness and existence, a field known as anthroposophy, and the works of Rudolf Steiner. It was then that she began work on the Epitaph." He paused for a moment, taking a sip of his drink, then took a deep breath, continuing.

"In 1996, Emma met a talented young programmer by the name of Harald Hoerwick. Harald was also interested in anthroposophy and was using it to further uncover and develop a relationship between computers and humans. It was their common interest in this field that gave them a chance to meet and upon doing so, Emma developed an interest in Harald's talents while Harald developed an interest in Emma. However, Emma was already involved with a gentleman over 20 years older than herself, and thus any feelings poor Harald may have had for her would never be returned. Emma's greatest project, known as the Epitaph of Twilight, would soon be posted online and formatted in a means that no computer could ever directly copy, thanks to a line in the website's coding. However, it was never to be finished. Sadly, Emma died shortly after this in an automobile accident, on her way to a meeting with Harald. Sadly, Emma's work was lost to us all, as well. Her website was shut down soon after this, and then there was the Pluto's Kiss incident..." He lowered his head, a single visible tear rolling down his cheek as he continued to smile, looking down at the notes again, then returning to his story once more.

"Harald, affected deeply by losing Emma, began work on a new project. He called it Fragment, making it in an attempt to not let Emma's death truly be the end. Fragment, Rika, was the Beta program that became The World, as we know it today. Born of love and loss, of heartbreak and tragedy, The World stands true as a shining tribute to Emma Wielant and her Epitaph of Twilight, or so the rumors state."

He removed his glasses, placing them at the side of the table as he carefully, almost ritualistically, began folding the pages together. "So, Rika. Do you understand the importance of Emma Wielant to The World, and why I brought you her story before we could continue?"

Rhyme sat on her steam bike partner less and mare moments from being disqualified from the event, she was about to call it quits when she got a reply.

"I'm not that experienced myself, but I suppose I can help."

It was all Rhyme needed to see, she didn't care if she had to ride with a newbie as long as she got ride. She quickly wrote a reply. It's fine, just get to the race asap, I'll be the only one without a partner on a bike.

Rhyme looked out to the other contestants and was confident that her gameplay mechanics were above most the people here, however, this wasn't a fight in the arena and there was the power house team of Hitomi and Arsenic. Not to mention she would have to play carefully not to abuse the systems glitches with Hitomi's watchful eyes present. Although Rhyme hated moders, she saw nothing wrong in using mechanics set in the game whether it was widely known or not.

-------- Soul-------

Dark Soul had made his way to the event, even though he was not participating in the race he figured it would be a great learning experience. The spellcaster had been alone in the game most the time, only partying when he had no choice. He thought most the newbies like him would just slow him down, instead he played the game as a lone wolf and it seemed to work, he was already a lot farther then most people were when they started the game.

Soul got to a closer position and scanned the players on their steam bikes, he had recognized a couple of them from vids but only three players stood out. Hitomi, the ruthless admin. that would delete your ass for even thinking about breaking game rules and her partner Arsenic, he was pretty well known for his guild and choice in woman from what the forums day. The there was Rhyme, the exile who had been dropped from her arena team, she was high skilled and had a few pvp videos that he had watched to get a feel of the game play.

"If nothing else, this will be very interesting to watch," Soul ponders out loud.

Kazujin looked about for a reply, when he saw an instant response. After reading her gracious reply, he pushed back his visor, making sure it had a tight grip on his eyes and logged into the world.

----True Blade (Delta Server, Mac Anu)----

After much haste, True Blade made his way to the race. His eyes frantic, he looked about at the riders and ran through. He would then move upon a lone rider, one with a.. curious look about her. He stopped ahead of her, and spoke with a sincere voice, "Hi, were you the person in need of assistance? I'm the one who responded to your reply."

Rika had listened quietly throughout Kisaragi's lesson about Emma Wielant, making sure she gathered everything. She thought she had noticed Yui playing with her computer a bit on and off as he'd told the story, but she couldn't be too certain. After he'd finished, and began folding the papers, she nodded, acknowledging the question he'd asked.

"I think so. If I'm reading into what you're telling me... Emma Wielant is indirectly responsible for the creation of The World... Right?" She smiled nervously, taking a sip of her drink, then setting it back on the table, her eyes still glancing at the old notes Kisaragi had held throughout the lesson, though it had seemed as though it was out of habit. He had glanced down once, maybe twice... Did he really know all of this from memory? And if Emma's story was only the beginning, what else could there be to learn?

She pulled her notebook and pen out, writing down the little pieces she'd remembered the clearest and writing them down, in case they had some kind of bearing on the game itself, wanting to make sure she fully understood what was happening at all times once she began playing. After a moment, her head lifted, and she turned to Yui, who had been silent for some time.

"You've been awfully quiet over there, Yui-chan." She smiled at the older girl, tilting her head slightly.

The crowds began to roar. All over The World, people were watching the twenty players gathered at the starting line of the event. The intensity was growing each second and it could easily be seen on the faces of the participants. The screens zoomed out from the individuals to display all ten teams lined up. Some of the teams were pretty typical; like the team of Raven & Reske. They were both players of different classes, determined to win. Others were a bit less common; like the team of Rhyme and Kazujin. A high level well-known player riding along with a newbie. Indeed, even with so few of teams, it seemed they were in fact still widely diverse. Some racers even went so far as to sporting a "Team Color" or their "Guild Flag".
"Racers, ready yourselves!" came over the speakers as the announcer spoke. The announcer was a player in robes not unlike that of a scribes. He stood to the side of the track, activating a speaker icon. The sound, not only on the track but across the world itself, was coming in perfectly. The coordinators of the event clearly put a lot of time and effort into it.
The teams mounted their respective bikes and readied themselves for the race to begin. VRRRMMMM!!! The overwhelming sound of all ten bikes being started at once filled the world. The sound of the engines roaring at once was a bit freightening to some players who didn't know what was going on, suddenly jumping at the sound of it. After a few moments of preparing, a set of lights appeared on the side of the screens and on top of the track before the players. One, the red light on the top/left lit. *BEEP*. Two, the yellow light in the middle lit up. *BEEP*. This was it. All or nothing, it was time to give it their all. The announcer swung his hand into the air, casting a spell. The second the spell unleashed-- Three! The light changed to green and the sky lit up with a bright explosion. "GO!!!"

Three. Two. One. "GO!"
The engines rev'd again, foot stomping on the gas. He was off. Raven's steam bike quickly tore off from the crowd with a terrifying screech to take the lead. Reske, his partner brought his arms up and through the air to swing his scythe full circle in a wide range to keep everyone else back. Any who would have come up close before the big start was finished would meet the Flick Reaper's scythe through their bike. Reske smirked, sitting in reverse on the back of Raven's bike. He waved before they took off to lead the pack.

Three. Two. One. "GO!"
"Arsenic," Hitomi shouted anxiously. "Now!"

Jason Moore leafed through the last few pages of the manual that came with rather odd looking equipment set up at his desktop. Everything seemed to be in order from there, and he'd taken a cursory glance at everything else. Jason was the kind of guy who preferred the hands-on experience, though. He'd learn about everything else as it came around. So without hesitation, he slipped the visor over his head and ran the login sequence. He was brought to a character creation screen, which made him purse his lips in slight annoyance. "Whatever man," he muttered as he threw things together on the sprite model, "let's just go." He paused briefly to throw on a bit of flair, but then he was ready.

A few blinks brought things into focus, and he turned his head to look around as sounds began to filter through. It looked like he was in some sort of town, he remembered reading a name vaguely...something MAC or whatever...before starting up. "Looking go so far," he says to himself, "let's see how she handles." He took his first few steps around The World with a slowly widening grin.

Three. Two. One. "GO!"

"Arsenic, now!"

Arsenic revved the engine once more, releasing the brake as he did so to kick the bike into gear and launch it forward onto the track. He ducked, swerving to the side as the Flick Reaper's scythe cut overhead, causing him to drop back a place as the race began. He gritted his teeth, a look of irritation crossing his face as he kicked the throttle into a higher gear, the bike rushing ahead to gain on the team ahead of them.

Rhyme looked at the noobie and noded, "yeah thanks for coming on such short notice, I'll pay you after the race. Hop on I think it's starting soon." True Blade noded then got on the bike with Rhyme and readied himself.

Three. Two. One. "Go!"

Rhyme's bike roared forwarded and sure enough players already tried to take each other out, she was able to dodge an attack that killed another player and took them out of the race. If they could survive this part of the race they could make it to the finish line, however, the rest would be challenging still.