The Terror of Death Unleashed

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Synopsis: Ovan wants Haseo to get stronger, but Ovan is getting impatient. So what happens when he decides to help Haseo along the only way he knows how...by breaking him? What will be the result of Ovan's plans? Note: The characters may be just alittle OOC, but I tried to stay as close as I could to the original. Theres quite a bit of HaseoXAlkaid with alittle HaseoXAtoli, too. This story occurs during volume 2 of the G.U. series but follows down a slightly different path, so you'll see some major scenes the same as in the games, but some others that are either altered a bit or taken out completely. Anyways, I hope you like it and please feel free to critique/review me.

This is Part1 of my .hack//G.U. fanfic. The characters depicted in this story are not the author's (k-su), but are the creative property of .hackConglomerate as well as any other repective owners.

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Azure rings descend from the sky as a black figure materializes before a grand cathedral. The silver haired young man began making his way up the stairs with a fixed gaze on the large doors before him, his black armor clattering with every step he made. The only thought that crossed his mind was Why? Why had Ovan summoned him?

As he entered the brightly lit cathedral, his eyes wondered down the aisles on both sides, shifting back and forth until his gaze moved to the altar in the very front. A tall, tanned man stood before the altar, back turned to the young man. His left arm appeared to be locked away by a large cylinder-shaped container that rested at his side. Suddenly, the tall man spoke.

"Welcome, Haseo."

"What do you want Ovan," Haseo grudgingly asked the man. The relationship between Haseo and Ovan had taken a negative turn over the course of the last few months. Haseo's eyes could not hide the bitterness he held towards his former guild master.

"Haseo, I'm hurt."

"Save it, Ovan. Just get to the point."

"Very well…"

The white-clad steam gunner turned to face the adept rogue as he began. "Haseo, I called you here to give you a warning."

"A warning, huh?"

Haseo found himself slumped over on a bridge, looking out into the waters that ran through Mac Anu. It was the first time he'd visited the bridge in months. It was here that he used to seek advice from the old man Phyllo. He could imagine the small brown beast character floating above the railing next to him, as he would impart advice and wisdom to Haseo during his early days in The World. Phyllo was always there, no matter what, but now no one remained. Phyllo had died months ago, much to Haseo's grief.

Haseo pondered the words Ovan spoke to him before, back at the cathedral. Ovan said on my current path, I'd never be strong enough to stop AIDA or Tri-edge, he thought out loud.

"Hey there, Haseo. What are you doing there all by yourself."

Haseo turned to face a small character wearing a plaid skirt, long striped stockings and a big hat that pointed up on one end and down on the other end, adorned with small sun and moon symbols suspended above the points.

"Hey, Bo. I was just thinking about some stuff. What are you doing around here?"

"Oh, nothing. I just got a new accessory from the guild shop that raises my spell casting abilities. You want to see?"

Haseo stared back at the eager Bo for a moment before answering. "Yeah, sure." Bo held out his hand, revealing a gold-encrusted bangle with wave characters engraved in a pattern around it. "That's pretty cool," Haseo replied as he read the stats and description of the item.

Bo put away his bangle, then turned back to Haseo. "Well, its time for me to go. Me and some friends were gonna go try that Gathering Shadow quest in Dol Dona. I hope you feel better, Haseo. Bye." Bo waved as the silver-haired young man watched him leave. "Bo…he's a good kid," the black PC thought to himself.

Tri-edge is a challenge that you alone must overcome…alone.

Ovan's words lingered in Haseo's mind. Alone, huh? So are you saying that after all that's happened, Ovan, I should just forget about Bo? About everybody? Are they really a hindrance to me?

As he continued to ponder about these matters, Haseo remembered that he had somewhere to be.

Standing idle by the chaos gate in Celestial City Dol Dona, Haseo awaited the arrival of two more party members. Today, they had agreed to do some training in preparation for the third round of the Holy Palace tournament. This would also give their team a good chance to bond, given the strange tension he could feel between his teammates.

Lately Haseo felt like he was in the middle of a tug of war, with Alkaid and Atoli seeking his attention. Atoli seems somewhat jealous of the former arena empress and Alkaid didn't help matters with her teasing. The other day, Alkaid had taken Haseo on a training mission without the harvest cleric, then told Atoli about how the two had gone on some 'hot, super-secret training' which really put the adept rogue in an awkward situation. However, they had managed to make it through the first two rounds of the tournament, so the situation wasn't unbearable.

Atoli…Alkaid…

Their names lingered in the black PC's mind. For some reason, he felt rather warmly towards the two all of a sudden. But why? It was true that Atoli and Haseo had progressively grown closer over the past few months, so that much was to be expected. However, he and Alkaid had only been friends since entering the tournament, yet they seemed to have grown fairly close in this short time, also.

As he continued to daydream about his two partners, he didn't realize that the two had already arrived.

"Hey, Haseo. Ready to go?"

"Sorry to make you wait."

"Huh," Haseo looked up and nearly fell back at the sight of the two female players.

"Atoli. Alkaid. What are you two doing here?" Alkaid placed her hands on her hips and leaned in close to Haseo's face. "Don't tell me you already forgot. Jeez, Haseo. Training, remember?" Haseo lowered his eyes. "Oh yeah. Sorry about that." Alkaid backed off after seeing his unusually submissive response, as Atoli stared with worried eyes at his expression.

"Haseo, is something wrong," The harvest cleric inquired. Haseo didn't want anyone worried about him so he shrugged it off. "No, just daydreaming, I guess." He didn't want to continue the conversation because he knew that he'd end up snapping at his partners and that's the last thing Haseo wanted. So he headed to the chaos gate, Alkaid and Atoli close behind.

"So, what kind of keywords are we using this time?"

"Well, Master Zelkova gave me come keywords for…"

"Actually, Atoli, I have some keywords of my own."

"Oh, ok," Atoli said, somewhat disappointed as Haseo entered in his keywords. "We're heading to Dancing, Her, Snow Caps." After preparations were complete, Haseo's party was whisked away in rings of azure light.

To Be Continued...