//------------------------------// // Dark Awakening // Story: .hack// Pony Protocol // by Shaq-of-All-Trades //------------------------------// Twilight had managed to find the NPC offering the Job Extension quest, and had just gotten to the dungeon, when she made a terrifying discovery. This wasn't a normal dungeon. No, this dungeon was a puzzle. Twilight loved puzzles, but this one was just ridiculous. There were platforms everywhere, and different warp points to reach. There was also no way to differentiate which warp points she needed, and since dungeons didn't have maps, no way for her to know which way to go in the first place. "You have got to be kidding me!" Twilight face-planted the ground in annoyance, when she got a flash mail from her brother. 'When you start off, there are but two choices: hold back or push forward. You think you have three, but you only have one choice here. -Shining Armor' Twilight read the message, then looked at the platform she was standing on. Aside from the Chaos Gate behind her, there were three warp points: one to the left, one to the right, and one directly in front of her. Figuring her brother's message was a clue, she went to the warp point directly in front of her. She touched it and appeared in a hallway. She walked along it and came upon two more warp points. One was positioned to her left, the other one past some monsters to her right. She prepared to rush the monsters when her brother sent her another message. 'Just because something is right, doesn't mean it is what you need; just because something isn't right, doesn't mean it isn't true. -Shining Armor' Twilight figured the clue meant that going to the guarded warp point wasn't what she needed, and the left path was the one she had to take. She shifted back, then walked over to it. So on and so forth, Twilight kept getting into different puzzles involving warps, and Shining Armor gave her cryptic clues revealing the correct warp. After what seemed to be ages, she made it to the last warp. It was at the end of a hallway, blocked by a room filled with energy beams. They blinked on and off in a confusing manner, and some even moved. Twilight couldn't make head nor tails of it. Another message from Shining Armor appeared. 'A Shadow need only fear the light; that which bears a false nature can cause it no harm. Where the light shines, darkness is burned away, yet it is also born. This is your final test Twilight. Grow strong and happy, sis. -Shining Armor' Twilight studied the beams. They all looked alike. Twilight stepped closer to a wall of beams she knew flickered on and off, then looked at the floor. Her shadow flickered with the light. An idea formed in her head. She moved to a steady wall which lead deeper into the room, and noticed that she couldn't see her shadow at all. "So, the ones that cast my shadow are real, and the ones that don't are fake," she hypothesized, then put her hoof to the light. She passed through without taking any damage. She walked through, and with a cool head, made her way through the maze of lights. She stood before the last warp point, and exhaled. She touched it, and was in front of the hall that lead to the Celestia/Luna statue. She walked forward, and opened the chest, revealing a simple water potion. Though the item clearly wasn't obtainable any other way, the simplicity of it incited a bright spark of irritation in Twilight. She shook her mane, then walked over to the Chaos Gate. AS she left, Shining Armor looked in from the shadows. He smiled. "Way to go little sis." he whispered. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Twilight stood before the NPC that had given her the quest, and presented the item. After some congratulatory dialogue, Twilight's vision darkened. She looked around confused. Suddenly, she flew into the air, and began to glow red. Her body convulsed, and spasmed outward. The markings on her body disappeared, and her armor slowly grew to cover more of her form. Where once there was only leather straps across her shoulders, chest, and legs, now, bronze covered her stomach and formed an arch on her back. A sash ran down her back, and split to run by her tail. Her markings reappeared on her cheeks, though they were different from before. "Looks like I got my Edge Punisher abilities back," Twilight said with a smile. She pulled out her new weapon, a broadsword that was nearly twice her size. It felt good. She made her way back to Lumina Cloth and met up with Spike and Vinyl. They whistled at her. "You two ready for this?" "Since you're packing more heat, course I'm ready!" Vinyl whooped. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be," Spike muttered. "Besides, since Matsu doesn't use his Edge Punisher skills anymore, we should be fine." Twilight nodded, and the three waited to be teleported to the arena. Once they were, Matsu (who had apparently been teleported in first) walked up to Twilight. "Hello there, Terror of Friendship. I just want you to know that I can't stand you PKK's." "And I can't stand upstarts who think weakening themselves makes them better," Twilight retorted. Matsu's eyes seemed to blaze a little brighter. "There's that legendary attitude I've heard so much about. Well guess what? I've got a little wager for you," Twilight was beginning to get tired of all these annoyances. Bets here, meetings there. She needed to deal with Rainbow Dash. She might be the connection that Twilight needed. "Well? What do you want?" Twilight demanded, receiving an evil smirk. "I'm not going to hold back in our battle. If I win, then I'll give you the one thing I have from my past as a PK. It'll be more useful to you anyways. However, if I win, then you have to quit being a PKK." Twilight simply smiled and nodded. They shook hooves, then went back to their respective sides. The announcer began his countdown, and the battle was on. Spike and Vinyl were immediately set on by the two Moon Tree members Matsu had recruited for his team, leaving Twilight alone to deal with Matsu. The stallion seemed to spark, and he drew out a long blade that licked the air with flames. Twilight shivered and drew her own blade. He hadn't been joking; he was going to go all out. He was even using his forbidden skills. He dragged his sword as he raced towards her, leaving a trail of flames in his wake. He leaped high, raising the sword above his head. Twilight brought her blade up in a block, ready to stop an overhead smash. But that wasn't what he had been intending. Matsu stabbed the blade into the arena floor, flames erupting all around him. Twilight took the full brunt of the hit, unable to adjust her weapon in time. She flew into the wall and bounced off, miraculously landing on her feet. Matsu was before her before she could blink, and smashed her away to the side. She took both fire and physical damage. "Come on! Show me those legendary skills of yours!" Twilight plunged her blade into the ground, then cast a healing spell. It wasn't very strong, but it gave her enough of a boost to switch weapons. "Glad I picked up that spell book," she muttered, "Turns out it really was a life saver." Matsu was making his move again, but this time Twilight was ready for him. He leaped into the air in an attempt to finish her quickly with another blast of fire, when she countered with her own aerial skill, Sparrow Counter. Matsu was knocked onto the ground and temporarily stunned. Twilight set in on him quickly, using her speed to her advantage. Matsu was taking serious damage, when he knocked Twilight backwards and stood perfectly still. Spike and Vinyl were still working on their fights, though it seemed to be going in their favor. Twilight prepared to dash at Matsu when he swung his sword back. A fiery aura had consumed him. "Prepare for my ultimate attack!" he screamed. His aura flared, and engulfed his sword. He swung it and a large swath of flaming power coursed across the stage. Twilight gulped, and switched back to her broadsword. She'd only have one chance to survive an attack of this caliber. Waiting until the last moment, Twilight slashed onto the ground, then swung upwards with as much force as she could muster. Dust and pieces of the ground flew into the air, and a small break in the flames appeared. Twilight leaped through it, switching weapons in the process. Matsu was still trying to recover from his last attack when Twilight struck, so he took the full brunt of her blows. He collapsed to his knees, and looked at her. Though his eyes still burned, he smiled, as if a burden had suddenly been lifted from him. "I could feel you... holding back," he said. "I can say the same," Twilight replied, a smile on her own face. The horn rang alerting the two that the match was over. Twilight held out her hoof to Matsu, and he pounded it with his. "It was a good fight. I can't say I've had that much fun for some time." "Neither can I," Matsu admitted. "I have to admit, giving up being a PK was a bit hard at first. But seeing the smile on the faces of those players I help? It felt good. But there was always that part of me burning to fight some more. Now, I feel truly free. And since I'm a pony of my word, here's you gift: my Dragon Flame Blade. This bad boy was the reason I was once the Lord of Flames. Keep it, and get stronger." Twilight accepted the blade, and held it up. She felt grateful to the stallion, but before she could properly thank him, he was gone. Twilight felt herself being teleported, and was suddenly in the lobby with Vinyl and Spike. Twilight looked at the blade again, then gave it to Spike. "Twi?! This is Matsu's blade! I can't accept this!" Spike looked at the weapon with awe, and Twilight knew he was just saying it so that she could use it. After all, it was the strongest weapon she had right now. But she had to make up for what she said to him. She motioned for him to take the sword again. "Are... are you sure?" She nodded, and the dragon took the sword. He held it, and gave it a test swing. "Wow! This is so cool! Thanks a lot Twilight!" Vinyl patted Twilight on the back. "That was real sweet of ya, Twi. I knew it was the right thing to do, making you Canard's guild master. You 're a great leader!" Twilight blushed, and they waited for their last match. It would be the match which qualified them for the tournament, which Twilight had to win for more than one reason. The match came quickly, and ended just as quickly. It was so quick in fact that Twilight was sure it couldn't be real. But then they were placed on the board for the next tournament, and their first match would be that day. It appeared they had to win three to battle Rainbow Dash. Twilight looked to Vinyl, who looked ecstatic at the thought of making it to the tournament, and Spike, who still couldn't help looking in awe at his new sword. Twilight looked back at the board to see who they would face first, and her heart hit the floor. "You have GOT to be kidding me..." Vinyl and Spike rushed to see why she sounded so shocked, and their hearts sunk as well. Their first opponent was the ex-Emperor of the Demon Palace, Spitfire. "Oh man," Spike said, "I heard she never has a team when she competes. She always fights alone, and dominates. I don't know if we can win this one gals." "Man, don't go taking us out of the game before it starts. We've been going through opponents like a Derpy through muffins. If we can take out one of the top members of Moon Tree, and he was a legendary PK at that, then we can handle one ex-Emperor." Vinyl looked to Twilight. "You think we can win this, right?" "I think that we can't get discouraged, not when we've come this far," said Twilight after a moment. She felt a strange tingle in her heart. "Besides, we have to reach Trixie at least to protect the guild." Vinyl smiled, and even Spike's mood seemed to lift. With hope in their hearts, the trio waited for their first tournament match. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Twilight fought to stand. Vinyl and Spike were both down, and Spitfire wasn't missing even half her health yet. The flame-maned mare yawned into her hoof. "You bunch of wimps didn't stand even a sliver of a chance. Why'd you even come here? To try and beat Rainbow Dash?" Twilight managed to get herself half standing. Spitfire snickered. "You know, I'm sure that she doesn't play fair. She has that weird trick where she just instantly gets rid of your health. I haven't heard if any other players doing that. One way or another, I'm going to beat that scum into the ground and reclaim my throne." Twilight gritted her teeth. She was angry at Rainbow Dash, sure, but she was still her friend. She could think of several occasions where Rainbow Dash had been there for her, risking her own safety and happiness for her friends. Sure, she was a bit egotistical at times, but she was a great mare at heart. "I can't imagine what kind of scum she must be in real life. I mean, what kind of pony cheats in the arena? It's like she's thinks she doesn't have to try like the rest of us to get strong. She's a lowdown, dirty, rotten, pathetic mare. I'm going to beat into her the value of a true player. Then, if she can get the title back fairly, I might consider her worthy to fly in my air space." Spitfire began laughing, and Twilight felt something inside her begin to pulse. From the audience, Applejack and Rarity watched Twilight with curiosity. "Do ya think...?" AJ began. Rarity nodded her head, her face growing more and more dour. "Yes, Applejack, I do believe so. It seems that Twilight has found her trigger. It's always been there, just below the surface, but I think she's been subconsciously repressing it. But Spitfire's insults about Rainbow Dash are beginning to release those emotions she's tried so hard to hide. She's about to unleash the darkness in her heart... darkness we had to help grow." Applejack tilted her hat down. "Ah never did like what we had to do... but it's the only way to bring back Fluttershy and all them other players. Twilight is the bearer of that one, the phase who surfs this Cursed Wave. Still, I wish it could have happened some other way." "So do I," Rarity murmured, adjusting her glasses, "so do I..." Twilight stood glaring at Spitfire, who was still laughing at Rainbow Dash. The stirring in her heart was growing, but she couldn't quite grasp it. For a moment, she swore she could hear the voice again. She cocked her head, when Spitfire said something that crossed the final straw. "You'll never be able to beat me or her; you're too weak." Twilight's vision turned black, and her chest began to pound. Power began to surge through every fiber of her being. The voice rang clearly in her ear: 'Where are you?' Symbols began to emerge, and formed a armor around her. The power was like ecstasy. Twilight needed more of it. She knew this was only a taste, and the words to feel the rest of the power filled her mind. There were no other thoughts aside from getting more of the power. "I'm right here," she said, chuckling maniacally. "I'm right here! I'm right here, I'm right here, I'M RIGHT HERE!" Twilight sensed a presence behind her. 'I FOUND YOU.' Large, clawed red hands closed around her. Twilight could feel the delicious raw energy filling her until she was overflowing. She felt as if she could do anything. She could have whatever she wanted. She was unstoppable; nopony could stand up to her, nopony could hurt her. Twilight had felt as if she was a god. Her vision cleared from the darkness, and she saw Spitfire standing there, slower, but with the laugh still on her lips. Twilight reached out her hand, and it was as if she were outside her body. She looked down at the large puppet-like creature. It was an Avatar. Her Avatar. Her ecstasy doubled. The Avatar mimicked her action of raising her arm, raising it's own. A staff formed in its hand. Twilight flicked her wrist, and the staff surged with energy. A long blade formed, turning it into a deadly scythe. Still laughing, Twilight flew forward, and sliced through Spitfire with all her strength. Suddenly, everything returned to normal, and Twilight felt the power begin to slip away. She turned, and saw that Spitfire was on the ground. The crowd whooped and hollered their praise for her. She soaked it in, but secretly, she couldn't hear them. No, Twilight could only feel the echoes of the power she had summoned. She never could have imagined the power that an Avatar would present, but now that she had felt it, she knew nothing could stand in her way anymore. Anypony who got in her way would be crushed into nothingness. She couldn't restrain herself from laughing again. "This is it... this is what I've been searching for. With this power... I will kill Tri-Edge!!!"