Through the blue flame door. The flames licked at the character's bodies, but did not harm them, rather it was much more like a comforting notion, trying to reassure that things would turn out alright, if such a thing were possible. Questions were thought of, but they would have to wait, because then, at that point, everyone's FMD goes black.

A sound is heard, almost like a large raindrop hitting the surface of a body of water, and then it is seen. At first it is faint, only a slight red tint amidst the darkness in a circle that flows out from the centre, but then the ripple strengthens, taking on a lighter, bluer tinge as well as growing in intensity as the blackness fades into static. Then, suddenly, a violet ring amidst the spectrum appears, then lengthens horizontally, engulfing the screen. The sound of a large oceanic wave is heard as the purple weaves back and forth as though it were water you are cutting through. At times, the screen inverts in colour with a brief hint of static, and then you finally reach the end of the purple wave, with both sides exiting your perspective.

Suddenly, from below rises what appears to be an oval stone mosaic, lengthened vertically, with a crystal at its top. From the mosaic, the front portion of a face juts out, so that rather than an oval mosaic it just appears to be the front half of a humanoid face, without warning and roars before disappearing off the screen at the top. A second follows the first one's path and growls rather than roars. The tone of the first seems feminine, and the tone of the second seems masculine. They then appear together toward the left side of the screen as red words appear on the screen. The back of one has a yellow circle, and the back of the other has a blue circle.

"Take this!" They shout in unison, their teeth chattering for a moment before their faces meld back into their mosaic forms.

The red words are as follows:

At the top right: pHAse: 5
At the middle right: GORRE
At the bottom, centred: The MACHINATOR

The screen then fades to white.

When the screen returns, the two mosaics are hovering in the air before the group, but where the group actually is unknown. The area appears to be a large, rectangular, floating island, with two stripes of orange hexagons running parallel across it lengthwise. Bits of other floating land can be seen to the side of this island, but nothing can be seen past that, as it is blocked from sight by swirling clouds.

"The candidates that seek the power of the fifth," The left mosaic says, its crystal shining blue and its face showing briefly.

"Well, if you want our power, prove to us you have your own first!" The right mosaic says, its crystal shining yellow.

Rei and Gho Lightning grin, "That's why we're here!"

"Kimono! Kusardo! Whether you help or not is up to you, and if you do, strike only the one with the yellow crystal and back." Gho Lightning calls.

"Kiku, we'll undoubtedly need your help!" Rei Lightning calls back to the cleric, who still seems a bit dazed after running into Maera.

Kiku shakes her head, clearing away the daze, "Right!" She calls.

"However," Gho Lightning says to the rest of the group, "You all should be aware of one thing. This monster, if you use the term, cannot be destroyed."

However, in spite of this fact, perhaps the largest concern for each person present is not this opponent that's in front of them, but the feeling within them of something else. It's almost as though those hours spent playing before were nothing more than a dream, and now the characters were waking up, with something else beside them as well.

"Gorre the Machinator?"

It was the same name Maera called Gho and Rei Lightning; come to think of it, she also mentioned that there were "four others." The red words that proceeded them read something about "Phase 5", then "Gorre", and finally at the bottom, "The Machinator." Being familiar with games, this looked like the warning advisory that a boss battle was about to ensue, but what followed was like no boss encounter he had ever experienced.

It began with the glitched wall. At first, his hesitation was based on grounds of violating the game's rules and venturing into "hacker territory." This, in itself, was a new psychological experience, not unlike one's first snorkeling adventure in cold waters; you would be anxious about how long you could survive in such territories before either chickening out or having ill luck with your surroundings. Too bad it only foreshadowed a more unsettling event...

"They can't be destroyed? So we just have to defeat them, then, right?"

He would've been the first to strike until he had a second thought. Those that seek the power of the fifth... as in, Phase 5? Gorre the Machinator?
Kusardo recalled Gho Lightning saying something about searching for a "power" at this destination. At this point, he was beginning to have second thoughts about having ever agreed to going with them. If they do in fact achieve this "power" they're after, who's to say what they'll do to the party?

Damn. This is not looking good, thought Kusardo, expecting a baleful outcome from all of this. But, in any case, he was there now, and he could either log out or stick around for the finale, disappointing or not. It wouldn't matter, because this was nothing more than a game; and from the looks of things, a really weird one.

This would normally put all doubts aside for the somewhat cynical player behind Kusardo... but there was something that, let's say, more deeply immersed him into The World than ever before. Something that began when Maera called him Skeith, that can best be compared to what a mother would feel when her child kicks at the wall of its womb. There was something ... not physical, like an alien bursting through his stomach, but very similar. It was almost like there was another person waiting to take control of the actions he makes through Kusardo. More accurately, it was in Kusardo, and by some miracle he was now acutely aware of it as if he possessed Kusardo's digital body instead of his own. The sensation, or rather the awareness, was mind-boggling and beyond description, but... perhaps it had always existed, right back to the first time he donned the FMD and created his first Wavemaster character. He had always been immersed into the game, and that was part of why and how he enjoyed it; but now that he felt the genuine grip of fear and uncertainty in The World, his eyes had been opened to a truly different facet of this game's reality.

Kusardo spent his round guarding. Between this growing sense of hell breaking loose and a possible conspiracy on Twin Lightning's part, he wasn't sure what kind of move to make.

Blackness... the FMD had shut down... no there was simply nothing to be recieved through the visor... it was.. empty.

Then, it started up again and Kimono found herself in a realm unbelievable to her senses, and while her mind rejected it for any sese of reality, virtual or otherwise, the gnawing in her abdomen, like that rolling feeling of bile rising in the pit of your stmoache told her otherwise... this was real.

As the warning flooded the screen, and TL's two halves started barking Orders, Kimono could only shake her head trying ot focus on so much happening at once.

"Yellow, back, healing, unkillable, right, right.. oh what ever happened to the excitement of pong!" With that Kimono launched into an attack at the back of the Yellow target like the twin's had stated, and hoped they weren't leading her to a premature character deletion.

And so thus did the fight begin, and although the unknown is what the party was facing, they knew better than to wait for explanations. Those would have to wait, if they came at all. Gho Lightning waited for nothing, not even confirmation that any of the others would help, and quickly ran right up to the half of the Phase that held no physical resistance.

"Tri Strike!" Gho Lightning calls, slashing horizontally twice before ending with a strong, downward strike with his dual blades.

To everyone else's astonishment, Gorre's HP, which before said 5000/5000, now, after those three hits, became 4&!9/5000.

"Is that all you got?" The mosaic with the yellow crystal upon it asks tauntingly as the Phase suddenly whirls around the area, trailing a blue afterimage with its speed.

It stops just as suddenly, and although Kimono rushed forward to help, at that moment Rei Lightning holds her back, "Wait!"

With the two halves spinning, Gorre hovers into the air, then slams down upon the ground, sending out a shockwave that would've otherwise hit Kimono. After this, both Gho and Rei Lightning use their Skill Triggers, rushing up to the Phase.

"Tri Strike!" Gho Lightning calls as he repeats his attack.

"Lateral Moon!" Rei Lightning calls, hitting Gorre with an upward slash before jumping into the air and following through with a strong horizontal blow.

Kimono takes this opportunity to strike as well, her scythe easily hitting both halves of the Phase. However, only on one does damage register, while on the other half it only displays zeros for damage done.

Kiku quickly runs after the others, as she would have to heal as quickly as possible if needed. Kusardo, however, keeps to the sidelines, uncertain if felling this opponent would be worth the risk.

Gho and Rei Lightning quickly retreat after their strikes, indicating to Kimono to do so as well, as Gorre once again wavers around the field.

[Blade of Scheme]

The words flash at the top of the screen as Gorre's two mosaics go on either side of Rei Lightning, and spin in a circle faster and faster, taking her health gauge down to critical.

"Repth!" Kiku calls, a swirl of white sparkles quickly enveloping Rei Lightning and recovering a portion of her health bar.

"Thanks!" Rei yells back, before striking the Phase again with a second strike of Lateral Moon before backing away again.

At that moment, however, a bizarre cry echoes around the area, sounding very much like a cry of pain. From the tone and pitch, it sounds as though the source is Azure Kite.

Gho Lightning curses something under his breath, "Gorre! There's little time, and you know this!"

Gorre pauses in consideration, "Agreed." The blue half says, "Very well then, you are indeed the best candidate we have seen."

"Could be better, but it's not like we're too picky." The one with the yellow crystal adds.

"However, there is one last test for you." The one with the blue crystal says.

"Just try to hit us in our other form!" The other finishes.

At that point, both halves of Gorre seem to explode, leaving behind an orb, one yellow and one blue, of light. Their stone mosaic bodies disintegrate into sparkles of violet, which quickly are absorbed within Gho and Rei's character bodies.

The two orbs of light merge, although their two separate parts can still be seen. After the light fades, Gorre's new form can be seen. It almost appears like a bizarre doll, with a round head, with two halves of a crescent moon jutting out of either side, and conical arms and body, hovering over a spherical centre that has appears similar to an eye. At the back, it has a flat diamond shape hovering behind it, as well as almost a sled-like shape below it. In this form, Gorre is primarily blue in colour, with the crescent moon coloured yellow.

"Catch me if you can!" Gorre calls, before zooming around the field, trailing a blue afterimage in its wake.

(Picture of this form of Gorre: http://images.wikia.com/dothack/images/d/d6/Gorre.jpg (specifically, it's the one on the right currently))

He quickly forgot his reluctance when he heard the cry from Azure Kite. Maera was hot on their heels, and if they wanted to stand a chance against her, then they had to have the odds in their favor. This wishful thinking, however was taken with a grain of salt; if those three presumably high-level characters aren't fairing so well against her now, then what did that say about his team's chances?

"Gho! Rei! You have my support. Get him where I stop him!"

Kusardo decided to give himself the benefit of the doubt. As quickly as his data-based body could move, the galvanized Edge Punisher made his way ahead of Gorre's flight path and, waiting for the right moment, swung his heavy blade in front of him to block his path.

Gorre's speed easily outpaced everyone present, and even as Kiku tried to use a magic spell, she had nothing to lock onto. Kusardo and Kimono both decided to rush ahead of Gorre's path, in an effort to divert it, but in the meantime, Gho and Rei Lightning look thoughtfully at one another.

"Rei, have you analyzed our data yet?" Gho Lightning asks.

"Yes, and we have it!" Rei Lightning responds.

Gho Lightning smiles, "Good, let's do it then!"

With a burst of static across everyone's screen, Rei and Gho Lightning reform into the single Twin Lightning character.

"Alright, do your best Kusardo and Kimono!" Twin Lightning calls, evidently being controlled by Rei.

Kusardo manages to get in front of Gorre, but right when he is about to slash his sword threateningly, something else happens. It doesn't feel like he, the player, is holding a controller, but rather holding some sort of pole arm and slicing it across horizontally. For a moment, it doesn't look as though Kusardo is wielding a broadsword, but instead is wielding some sort of wand, with a long red shaft piercing a 'Q' shape at the top of it. Kusardo twirls this weapon around and slashes, causing Gorre to rear back and change direction, to away from Twin Lightning. It is only for a split second, and right afterwards it appears that Kusardo was always wielding his broadsword, leaving his player only with the tingling sensation of wielding the staff.

Kimono stands in Gorre's way, but despite pressing the 'x' button to swing, the character doesn't do anything. However, the player feels a bizarre feeling, as though something were sliding through her torso and out of her body. Then, everyone's FMD shows an enormous blade, appearing almost like a wooden sword with a plain guard and a cylindrical stake for its blade, slams into the ground where Gorre was about to go. The Phase rears back and heads toward Kiku. Yet, as quickly as the blade appeared, it vanishes, leaving only Kimono shown returning her scythe to a ready stance.

Kiku visibly pales as Gorre heads toward her, and then, from the sky, an immense beam of light slams into the ground in front of Gorre, causing it to head toward Twin Lightning.

During the party's attacks, Twin Lightning was not merely standing still. Her right hand is held out toward Gorre, with no weapon in it, and around the wrist is a peculiar bracelet, appearing to be made up of blue hexagons and yellow pentagons. The background fades into static, and five strange structures, seemingly made out of data, appear evenly around the bracelet, almost parallel to Twin Lightning's arm, before beginning to angle toward Gorre. From the tips of these, streams of 0's and hexagons fly out, tipped with a triangular graphic, to impale Gorre as it turns from Kiku toward Twin Lightning. The bracelet and the static and the Data Drain all fade, leaving Gorre just hovering in the air, seemingly stunned, as the background graphics return to what they were before.

"Excellent." Is all Gorre says before fading into an orb of violet light that floats to and is absorbed by Twin Lightning.

The background of the floating island fades, to be replaced by a square room, probably within the dungeon of the area Xi Chatting Snaring Twins. There is a platform just opposite of the only door out of the room.

Twin Lightning breathes deeply, her inhalation shown by her character's graphic. "Well, there's no time to waste. I'm sure you all have questions, but those will have to wait until we get out of this area."

At that moment, a second cry of pain is heard, just through the dark doorway. Once again, it sounds as though the source is Azure Kite.

[~ .hack//SIGN Soundtrack - Limits ~]

"What... the hell?" Kusardo gasped in wonder and bewilderment. For an instant, he felt like he was actually wielding a pole-arm with his body rather than pressing a button on a controller. Wait, a pole-arm? Where in the hell did that come from? He's supposed to be using a giant freaking broadsword, not a pole-arm! The same thing would happen to Kiku and Kimono, and he would be none the wiser upon witnessing it, only concluding that he's not alone. Finally, the complete Twin Lightning returned to deliver the final blow on the madly floating Gorre in a display that was another new sight for him. Whatever he had done, it wasn't any normal spell or skill. The best description for it was some sort of hacking tool manifested in the game as an impressive, but unlisted attack.

Try as he might, the confused and enthralled player couldn't wrap his head around this strange occurence. Remembrance of that name, "Skeith", came up quickly in his efforts. Surely "it" was the one responsible for his sudden switch in weapons; it felt like a rank and devilish imp that stole rest in his body, drowning out the sound of his heart with it's own dark, foreboding heartbeat.

His body... but, which one? The one inside the game, or the one wearing the FMD? It seemed that,beyond any sort of logical reason, he was fully conscious in both of them; that is, fully aware and in control of his digital avatar as well as his physical body. How that could be was a mind-boggling problem. The only things connecting him to the game were a virtual reality headset and a controller, nothing more! There wasn't an electronic spike or a USB port embedded in his skull. Without either of those things tethering him directly to the electrical inner workings of his computer, there was no way he could transfer his consciousness--his self-awareness--into a graphically generated body. It was impossible, or at least it would be, unless he's being made to think that it isn't somehow. But how, and for what purpose?

No answers came. He was between the choice of standing there, searching his mind for some cryptic and hidden answer, and moving himself to find the answer elsewhere. In any case, if he didn't move, he would end up at the mercy of the terribly powerful Maera... and the thought trailed off. He knew too little to expect what the worst of such an encounter would be; but nevertheless, he had experienced far more in The World now than ever before this night.

[~.hack//Extra Soundtrack - Attack 07 & Bridge 01 (Battle Intro and Battle Theme)~]

Just as he was about to make a move, the pained cry of Azure Kite pierced the air like a fire alarm, freezing him in his place for a moment. "Azure Kite," he uttered, "... sounds like he needs some help. Think you can lend a hand with that new power, Twin Lightning, or are we really going to run?"

Kusardo didn't look particularly thrilled about jumping into the fray against Maera, but neither was he totally resigned to leave the mysterious trio to fight this foe alone. He was still shaken by all that had transpired on his little quest but he chose to be firm against it. If he had a good reason to stay and none to leave, then he would do just that.

"Holy..Urgh..." Somewhere out in the real world Kimono's player lurched over in her computer chair, while in the game from her stomache protruded this massive broadsword albeit bearing no particularly captivating markings. AS it struck forward, barring Gorre's path, Kimono-the player felt as though something deep inside her had just been released; in a mixed cumulation of feelins akin to wretching, and having butterflies in one's stomache simultaneously.

As Twin Lightning reformed and conquered the machinator, acquiring whatever power it was they had been questing for, the pained cry of Azure kite reached their ears, and TL suggested a withdrawl. It was Kursado surprisingly enough to pitched the possibility of aiding the mysterious trio, and Kimono found that despite her uneasy stomache, there was something gnawing at the back her her mind to jump in and aid those who had allwoed them to escape. Something within her told her she should 'avenge' the actions of those who were by the sounds of it sacrificing themselves to allow TL and themselves to further their own goals.

"Can we really leave them to die after they allowed us to get this far in the first place?"

Twin Lightning considers the option briefly, her eyes closed in thought as she considers the possibilities. If she aided the Azure Knights with Gorre, would that be enough to defeat Maera? No, if that was the second cry of Azure Kite, that meant...

Twin Lightning shakes her head, "If she can kill those three, we can't fight her and hope to win as we are."

Kiku, who had been silent, her hands shaking slightly, murmurs, "I don't think... I'll access for a while."

"Why not?" Twin Lightning asks for everyone.

Just then, there is a flash of blue from the other room, and through the doorway, what appear to be bits of azure data fly through, disintegrating into the air.

"Run!" Twin Lightning yells, quickly turning and heading toward the rotating platform.

Kiku turns as well, but then Maera strikes. Dashing through the doorway, Maera grabs Kiku by the shoulder, and spins, so that Kiku is facing her, but Maera is now in the way between her and the platform. Maera's other hand then comes up to slam into Kiku's face. At that point, Kiku is sent back through the doorway in the explosion of a sphere of green hexagons around her. The green hexagons linger in the air for a moment before fading away.

Moving quickly, Maera ducks below Twin Lightning's strike as she turns, bringing her slim rapier to bare, then Maera flips forward onto her hands and spins, bringing her leg out to kick Twin Lightning in the chest. The force of the impact is enough to send Twin Lightning into the wall, cutting her hp to 3/4. Unfinished, Maera then rolls backward and flips upright, her head looking through the doorway with her left hand pointed through the door, her right held toward the group warningly, wand now in hand.

At the left wrist, a bracelet similar to the one Twin Lightning used appears with a burst of light, however, its colours are different, with violet hexagons and aquamarine pentagons. The Data Drain array forms, and fires through the doorway. Kiku's ear splitting scream is heard as it hits.

"I'm sorry, but I can't just let you disappear now can I?" Maera asks quietly, almost regretfully, seemingly directed toward Kiku, as her bracelet disappears.

At that point, Maera's wings flare, and she disappears into their light, which fades after her.

Kusardo ran to where Kiku lay quickly, suggesting an air of urgency in his wake. He had forgotten that this was supposed to be a game.

"Kiku! Are you all right? What..."

Before he asked the next question, he realized how silly he must be sounding. The player felt like he was completely immersed in the game, and the scene that transpired before them was a real and frightening occurrence. He let go of his controller for a moment and exercised his kinesthesis, feeling his fingers move outside of the virtual game world. The experience was surreal, having to realize that you're not really inside The World, but rather outside of it controlling your character with a controller. Even though he knew that he had the controller in his hands, it seemed that he simply forgot the controller existed.

After the awkward pause, Kusardo began to move again. A sigh could be heard from the PC body, and the avatar of the Edge Punisher sooned followed with speech. "All right," spoke the player through Kusardo in a mild tone, "what's the big deal, here, huh? Why does Maera want her?"

As soon as Maera's attack, the 'data drain' his Kiku's character, sending her barreling into the other room Kimono screamed, so loud that out in the real world a passerby could only stop and stare at the house from which it emanated. Meanwhile, Kimono was rushing for the winged woman, though her scythe caught nothing but empty pixels, void of anything to damage.

"Kiku!" Kimono called, and even as Kursado pushed TL for information, Kimono was rushing to the side of the harvest cleric who up until now had really been her only 'friend' in the World.

The damage had been done, the enigma had vanished, and now all there was left was questions to be asked, and answers to find.

Lying, crumpled upon the ground, is the form of Kiku. Across her character's graphic are bizarre patches of missing colour, replaced with white noise, static, which is able to be heard through the FMD. Yet, strangely, she isn't dead, as is evident by her shivering body and rapid breaths, almost as though she were hyperventilating. She just lies there, as though in shock, and even though Kimono and Kusardo rush toward her, her eyes don't seem to register them. They just stare blankly ahead.

"All right," spoke the player through Kusardo in a mild tone, "what's the big deal, here, huh? Why does Maera want her?"
Twin Lightning runs over as well, examining Kiku's body carefully. "This is bad." Rei murmurs, "When a monster is Data Drained, there are little side effects unless they are Protect Broken, and in that situation their data is just rewritten to something that is either of a lower level or killable. However, when a Player Character is Data Drained, the player could lapse into a coma for a short period of time, and their character can have status ailments inflicted upon them as well as hp and sp loss, possibly enough to cause character death. But, when a Player Character is Data Drained after being Protect Broken... well, it's impossible to determine all the possible consequences of it."

Twin Lightning looks over at Kusardo, "If Maera was right, in saying that Kiku can carry the Eighth Phase Corbenik, well... the power of that Phase in particular is enormous, capable of making the entire internet perform a complete restart; its full power, like that all of the Phases, is unknown, although Corbenik in particular seems to hold the most potential. Maera seems to want that power to be available. For what purpose, well, I can't even try to guess."

Twin Lightning turns back to Kiku, examining her, "Her character data is very unstable right now. We should leave the area just to be sure that our remaining here doesn't negatively affect the data's stabilization." Rei says solemnly.

Kusardo seemed to stare at Twin Lightning as the girl behind the character explained. He then turned to look at Kiku, who looked to him a lot like someone suffering a heart attack while their very life essence seemed to erode away at an accelerated pace; it was freakish and unsettling in the realism of The World, and he felt the line between that and reality blur and dissolve in his experience. Behind his graphical character's solid, somber, and serious face, the player ... simple didn't know what to think, and so thought almost nothing.

"I'm ... going to log out," he said in his simple tone. And with that, his character disappears in a flutter of blue rings.

Her character data is very unstable... Kimono ran the thought of it over her mind, the look of the pale and white noise afflicted Kiku made her sick to her stomache, and her character stood there still, silent as the player choked on guilt and sorrow and fetched a kleenex.

In a few moments she returned, to find Kursado gone. "This isn't a game, not anymore." With that she herself logged out. Off to check the boards and her mail.

Twin Lightning watches as both Kusardo and Kimono log out.

"Their first day in the World, and they're already involved with the things hidden in the core of it." Rei murmurs, looking at Kiku's stricken form, "You more than them."

"There's nothing I can do here." Rei murmurs to herself, "Recover soon, Kiku, and be careful."

With that, Twin Lightning wanders over to the platform, and warps back to town.