.hack // RP Version 3.0 //

[xX W i l d Rendezvous Xx]

Hawk nodded in thanks to Edin, then glanced down his inventory. "There's only one way I can think of," he replied. He chose his KazeGun and equipped it. For some odd reason it was pulsating and the runes were glowing slightly. "But I need to ask you a favor," he said, "stay out of my way." With that he drew up the KazeGun and pointed it, leveling the tip towards the squid's body. Its red eyes widened and it roared in fury, bringing its tentacles down to strike. "Not today, beastie!" he muttered, holding the trigger steady. An aura seemed to gather around the gun, building as the weapon continued to pulsate. The tentacles and their thunderous shockwaves were nearly upon them when Hawk pulled the trigger, shouting, "FOR TSUYUNA!!!" Instantly a huge blast occurred and the screens went white for what seemed forever...and then the vision returned to reveal the scene.
The water was no longer boiling and its red color was gone. The squid was gone, but where it used to be was a mass of black, floating fragments of data. Before Hawk could even guess what it was, it darted off and flew into the distance, seeming to go to another plane.  

[xX W i l d Rendezvous Xx]

Hawk glanced down at the KazeGun. He had never really thought about why it was so strong, or why it did the strange things that it did. "This," he explained, "is the KazeGun. From what I've learned of it, you can't buy it in a shop or earn it in a special quest. I've tried looking it up dozens of times, but it doesn't seem to show up in any database anywhere." He held it in his hand, turning it as the graphic sunlight reflected off of its surface. "I got this from some sort of digital spirit. I can't quite explain it...all I know is that I was gated to some sort of place -the Net Slum- then I came in contact with it and it gave me this. It said, 'This is your heart.'" He had conveniently left out the fact that the essence had referred to him as Derek Weilant, not wanting to give away his identity. He then belted the KazeGun and looked to Edin, "You know, I couldn't help but Tsuyuna's staff had similar markings to my KazeGun. I wonder if her staff is a special kind of weapon as well. Maybe we- " He stopped abruptly in mid sentence and his eyes widened as he remembered. "Tsuyuna!" he gasped. He then began sprinting along the water's edge towards the gate, watching for any sign of her in the water as he made his way to gate out. "We've got to find her, Edin!" he called.

Tsuyuna walked cautiously down the tunnel. She had no idea how she had gotten in here; The last thing she remembered was standing at the cascading waterfall at Arche Koeln and glancing down at the water, then suddenly feeling as if she were being pulled downward. She regained consciousness to find herself in a long, stone-walled tunnel that seemed to span on forever in front of her and forever behind her. She began to step down its passages, deciding it was the only way to get herself out and find out where Hawk and Edin were. The tunnel was dark and after time she found herself shivering, "Edin-san? ...Hawk-san? Oh great...I-I'm..." She wanted to say "scared", but she could not bring herself to say it, even in the lone tunnel without a soul in sight. As if responding to her emotions, the runes on her Mystec lit up and glowed, casting a light into the shadows. Tsuyuna glanced at her staff in confusion. "How does it do that?" she wondered.
*************
After what seemed like hours of wandering the tunnel, she eventually noticed something ahead. It was a large opening held by a rectangular rock entryway. Anticipation filling her, Tsuyuna ran towards the exit. She dashed out into the air, blinking in the slightly lighter atmosphere. Suddenly the tunnel behind her began to close up, a stone door covered in runes now sliding into place. She watched as it closed, then glanced out to view her surroundings. An ancient, broken temple enclosed the area with slight stone structures. Beyond was a vast vat of endless, starry space. In the center was a strange platform with several shining red orbs on each point of it with a blue rune-circle in the center of the elaborate set up. She slowly stepped down onto the platform, gazing around in both awe and curiosity. "Where am I?"  

[xX W i l d Rendezvous Xx]

((LOL! Yer not a "noob," I'm just way too over literate sweatdrop ))

Tsuyuna noticed that inside the red orbs were items that resembled weapons, much like the ones she and Hawk carried. Yet they were different. She approached orb and get a closer view of its interior. Suddenly, her staff flashed and the weapon inside the orb shattered, breaking into millions of fragments which vaporized into thin air. "HOLY CRAP!" she screamed, leaping back as it broke. "Oh no! What did I do? The thing's...gone!" she thought. Really, what had occurred? It was almost as if her Mystec had completely destroyed it -overpowering it to the nth level. "Wait a minute," she muttered, thinking. She then remembered an old piece of info she had read bout a strange temple named "Caerleon Medb" where eight powerful objects were kept. These objects were referred to as the "Lost Weapons" and had a sealed beast that protected each one of them. Silently, Tsuyuna counted the red glowing orbs: eight. "Oh my God!" she gasped, "I just broke one o' the 'Lost Weapons'! An' I thought it was jus' a myth!" She had only been in the area for barely two minutes and already she had caused damage to something. Just her luck, breaking an object that she hardly even knew about. But why did it break at the presence of her Mystec?  

[xX W i l d Rendezvous Xx]

Hawk turned to Edin. "Of course she's okay," he replied, though still unsure himself.

Tsuyuna sat there, gazing around in confusion at the orbs. "If there's supposed to be a guardian beast for each one o' these things...then where was the one that was supposed to be guardin' that?" she wondered. Silence was all that answered her. Suddenly, she was struck with inspiration. She hastily typed:

Flashmail to Edin

Edin, I'm at Θ Hidden Forbidden Sacrament - The Great Temple of Caerleon Medb! I dunno how I got here, but...something's strange about this place. Please, hurry!

She quickly sent another identical one to Hawk. "I hope they get here soon!" she sighed, praying that nothing had happened to them in her absence.  

[xX W i l d Rendezvous Xx]

They came to the temple shortly thereafter. Hawk glanced around in wonder at the amazing structure surrounded by space. "This place is amazing," he gawked. Suddenly, he noticed a tiny figure standing by one of the red orbs. "Tsuyuna!" he called, dashing down to her. He stopped just in front of her, an angered expression on his face. "How in the hell did you get here?!"

Tsuyuna glanced up in surprise. "Hawk! Edin!" she called as Hawk jumped down to her.  

[xX W i l d Rendezvous Xx]

Tsuyuna struggled to keep herself from bursting into tears. "It was odd...I heard some sort of strange sound an' then I blacked out. Then I woke up in this long tunnel that took me forever to get through! Somehow it led me here an' then other crazy crap happened." she briefly explained. She then glanced over at Hawk and noticed the angered expression on his face, "What happened to you?"

Hawk could not believe his ears. "Are you just telling me that you randomly appeared here?" he growled. He then took a deep breath and sighed, "I guess I should be grateful at least that she's alive."
"After you fell into the water some sort of viral beast attacked us and nearly KO'd us. The whole entire time I was wondering if you'd ended up being one of those coma victims..."  

[xX W i l d Rendezvous Xx]

Tsuyuna smiled excitedly. "Aren't they cool? It jus' occurred to me just a few minutes ago...these are the eight Lost Weapons! These were said to contain powers far beyond the imagination an' were guarded by strong beasts. I heard rumor that some o' them were stolen, but it seems like they've all been returned now -all eight of them." She turned to glanced at the empty orb behind her. "Well, almost eight." she sighed, "Somehow I destroyed that one over there..."

"How in the hell d'ya somehow destroy something like that?!" growled Hawk. His knowledge of the Epitaph and the many secrets about it gave him more than an insight on the significance of these weapons. Still, if he was not careful, his own knowledge would end up doing him in. He could not let either of them know that he had a personal connection (and the only copy) of the Epitaph. He coughed nervously, "I mean seriously, if they're so 'powerful' and all, how did you destroy it?"  

[xX W i l d Rendezvous Xx]

Tsuyuna blinked. She had never thought about that. Could both she and Hawk have Lost Weapons? But it did not make sense...If there were already eight weapons here, then how could both of them have the legendary items as well? She stared at the Mystec in her hand. Suddenly she received something in her flashmail:

Flashmail to Tsuyuna

Your friend Edin makes a true statement. Aura mentioned to you that you possessed one of the "Keys"; From what I can guess, your "Key" may be one of eight others which may somehow replace the Lost Weapons. For what reason, I don't know. Maybe only fate can tell...

She tried to keep from looking surprised as she read the cat's message. "That's...that's ridiculous! Why would the game program want to 'replace' parts o' itself?! ...Or is it the game?" she wondered. Tsuyuna really was beginning to wonder whether these events which were happening to her were really part of the game. "You may be right, Edin." she said, "But I think it may be slightly different." Slowly, she approached the floating orb and placed her weapon inside it. The Mystec levitated perfectly and stayed in place as the orb changed colors, going from a deep ruby to a bright saphhire. The runes on both the Mystec and the pedestal began to glow cyan. Hesitantly, she then reached her trembling fingers into the orb again and gripped the Mystec. To her surprise she was not killed or struck down by lightning. She withdrew the staff with ease and the runes ceased emanating, but the orb still retained its sapphire hue. Aura's faint whisper echoed in her subconscious, "The Mystec: Angel's Wing..." She remembered hearing that faint echo before. Was it when she had looked into the waters of the lake?
Struck by inspiration, she turned to Hawk. "Put your weapon in one o' the orbs!" she told him.

He glanced up to her, pulled out of deep throught from when he had watched her actions earlier. Hawk looked to her in disbelief. "Why?" he snapped.