5- Awaken
The Terror of Death- Awaken
In this present moment, there were a lot of things that Haseo was trying to process. First, there was meeting Hoofstrong and Ironwings earlier that day, which turned out to be a lot different than he originally thought since these two changelings wanted to help the Empire instead of find a way to harm it. Second, there was when he met both Princess Celestia and Luna in person, who turned out to be Cadence’s aunts. Something that he did not know until just recently. Both Alicorns were originally surprised at the fact that Haseo was “The Terror of Death” that they had heard before, but Cadence assured to them that he wasn’t exactly an enemy. In fact, they even had brought somepony from Canterlot to help the Empire and assist in anyway he could that went by the name of Sunburst.
Lastly though, there was when… somehow… the two friends that he remembered from a long time ago… crashed in the courtyard by the training barracks. Seabus and Tessa… now known as Kite and BlackRose, were now in the Crystal Empire. How? He was not sure… but something told him that taking this chance now to catch up and introduce them to Cadence and Shining later might answer some questions that were lingering in his head. Not to mention that he might have to answer a few of the questions that they might have as well.
BlackRose was swinging her sword in bizarre ways, giggling like a maniac, while Kite was quiet. Which wasn’t like him at all, Haseo noted. He used to talk any chance he got. In fact… this was a bit similar to the personalities of the actual characters in .Hack. To an extent of course. “So… I would assume that you two have some questions to ask me?” He said, taking a guess at what they would do in response to that.
“What happened to us-” Kite started, but BlackRose cut him off. In more ways than one. Kite’s hat was cut off of his head.
“This is awesome!” The swordswoman shouted, not even noticing the fact that she tore her friends hat to shreds. Kite looked at the hat passively.
“Now I’m incomplete.” He said, almost monotonously. Haseo chuckled a bit, stretching out one of his hands to scratch Kite on the head like he was a little child and smiled.
“I’m sure that we can find somepony to fix it. In fact, I’ve been helping Cadence make some changes around the Empire that might remind you two more of The World than anything else.” The Adept Rogue insisted, helping Kite pick up the pieces of his hat that fell to the ground.
“Cool!” BlackRose said, before she accidently let go of her blade and it went flying into a wall… inches away from Sunburst’s head. “Oops… Maybe I should… Y’know… Stop?”
Kite glared at her, “You think?” That had Haseo laughing a bit to himself as he looked back at the two of them. Despite a change in identity and appearance, they both still were his friends and seeing this made him remember of what life was like before he ended up in Equestria… before he met Princess Amore and her daughter Cadence…
Before he became The Terror of Death. Yet, there were still some things from his most recent encounter with Sombra that bugged him.
“Is something wrong?” Kite asked, his torn up hat resting on his blue head. Haseo sighed, looking back at Kite as he tried to process something.
“Not really but… there’s something that’s bothering me… a couple of days ago, I helped free the Crystal Empire from King Sombra and reunited with Cadence… but during the fight between Sombra… he had found something that I didn’t think was here until I saw it firsthand…” The Adept Rogue looked back at the two of them and took a deep breath before getting the chance to speak again. “I’m going to automatically assume that you are familiar with AIDA?”
“Kinda…” Kite replied. “It’s been awhile…”
“Well, when I fought Sombra… I actually found out that he had uncovered AIDA while I was frozen for 1000 years. It turned him into a monster and was the reason why we are trying to rebuild the Crystal Empire after all the damage it caused.” Haseo explained, recalling back to his encounter with the mad king of darkness some time ago. “I’m just concerned that this may not be the first time that we’ll be encountering AIDA… and since the only ones who can truly defeat AIDA are those with avatars…”
“... I don’t think I have one of those…” Kite stated, slightly confused.
“I understand that… the only person I know of that has one right now is me…” The Adept Rogue added on. “How I defeated Sombra… was with Skeith.”
“The thing that killed Orca in the first game?” BlackRose asked. Haseo remembered she only played the first five levels of the first game then quit.
“Not exactly,” The Adept Rogue retorted, having the two of them off to the side so Sunburst wouldn’t overhear their conversation. “In the games that Haseo is from, there is a group of eight Epitaphs called “avatars” that someone can call upon when they need help. They are based off of the eight phases of the cursed wave from the first game series… Kite, mind helping me with this? I don’t want to overcomplicate things.”
“They’re basically summonables that are based off of bosses from the first games.” Kite stated. “Right?”
“For the most part. Yet, I can call upon Skeith’s power when I need too and still use my Data Drain when necessary,” The Adept Rogue said to them. “Still, nothing has happened since then… but it’s just unsettling…” It was then that Haseo remembered that he still had to introduce the two of them to Cadence once she was done conversing with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. It had been some time since they left, so maybe it was the right time to go back and introduce Kite and BlackRose to her as well. “Well, maybe I shouldn’t exactly worry on it right now. There’s no need to be superstitious about anything for no reason…”
He soon lead the pair to the front door of the castle, opening it for them and letting them inside the place as they had the chance to look around and see the interior of the crystalline castle for themselves. As he walked though, Haseo remembered something that he wanted to mention Kite and BlackRose in regards to potentially meeting some of the ponies that are helping with fixing up the empire. That included Radiant Hope, Sunburst, Hoofstrong and Ironwings too along with Princess Cadence and Shining Armor as well.
“Oh… My… Sand… Are those…?” BlackRose pointed to a group of ponies, which she just realized were there.
“Oh god no…” Kite groaned as he stared fearfully at her.
“Ponies!” BlackRose tackled one in a hug, squealing like a little girl.
“LOOK AT THIS MARE’S ENERGY! TRULY, THIS IS THE BEAUTY OF FRIENDSHIP!” Yelled Hoofstrong as he joined in to hug Shining Armor. Causing Haseo to facepalm himself as he looked back at Kite.
“I was going to warn you about that… But I guess I was a bit late.” The Adept Rogue sighed as he whispered the last part to the Twin Blade. “Hoofstrong over there… is a bit like Major Armstrong on Fullmetal Alchemist… even has a sister that’s cold as steel… No pun intended-”
“I heard that welp! Ten laps around the castle!” Yelled Ironwings before turning to her brother. “That means you too Belas Barge, get moving!” Haseo sighed a little, looking back over to Hoofstrong before having to excuse himself so they do what Ironwings had demanded from them before returning back inside.
“Belas Barge?” Kite raised an eyebrow. “The heck does…” Kite stopped talking all of a sudden the second that the changeling by the same name reappeared in front of his face.
“You have something to say? You can say it after your fifteen laps around the castle!” Ironwings growled. “Or would you like that to be thirty laps?” She asked with a smile as she suddenly seemed much more terrifying to Kite.
Kite rolled his eyes. “I’m a civilian, innocent of any crimes, go bug someone else.” The Displaced then started to walk away. Ironwings smiled showing off her fangs before slowly drawing her sword.
All that caused Haseo to do was facepalm himself before groaning a little. “Uh oh… You shouldn’t have done that, Kite.”
“If you fight me, I won’t be responsible for your life.” Kite’s eyes turned hollow as he stared at Ironwings. Haseo was surprised by this. His friend was always so lively, but his eyes showed a pain that wasn’t there the last time they saw each other.
Now though was when Haseo was beginning to feel concerned.
“So, are you gonna assault me, or can I take a peaceful walk around this garbage looking city?” Kite added. Which lead to Haseo smacking him over the head.
“Show some respect man…” Haseo growled. “We may be friends, but I’m the protector of this city and Princess Cadence is in the same room… Please don’t do or say anything stupid, it’s for your own good.”
“What are they gonna do, throw me in jail for not liking this city? Newsflash, it’s sparkling and hard on the eyes.” Kite stated coldly.
“Seabus, you’re scaring me…” BlackRose said, looking at Kite worriedly.
“Kite, calm down…” Haseo insisted, before saying something that would catch him by surprise. “Don’t go all Tri-Edge on me, right now.”
“Tri-Edge…” Kite shook his head, “I’m leaving, it’s obvious I’m not wanted here.”
“No, wait! Kite…” Haseo protested. “I’m sorry I… I was the one who said something stupid… I haven’t seen you or Tessa in over a thousand years. The last thing I want to do is see you like this…” However, who spoke up next was not him or Ironwings, but instead Cadence.
“General Ironwings. You are dismissed… I want you to think over your actions and unnecessary aggression towards guests of the empire before reporting for duty again.” She sternly ordered, causing the general to sheath her sword before leaving the room. “As for Kite and BlackRose… I would like both of you to actually stay and help us. We as a city are rebuilding after the devastation that Sombra put this city through and would greatly appreciate your help. Any friend of Haseo is a friend of mine and I want to welcome you with open arms… we can provide a room for the both of you if you wish.”
“That’d be awesome!” BlackRose shouted happily, grinning with her eyes closed.
Kite sighed. “No one bosses me around… Remember that…” He then made his way back to his friends.
“Seabus, what’s up? You’re moodier than I remember.” BlackRose said, looking over Kite worriedly. Kite’s eyes widened, but didn’t react beyond that. Haseo himself wanted to add something to the conversation, but decided not too so he wouldn’t say anything he would later regret. Not to mention that he felt something that sent a shiver down his spine as he looked behind him and outside. Something did not feel right… but this was not from Kite.
Instead… it was somepony else. And it felt way too similar to the one lavender unicorn that was Shining Armor’s little sister.
Ponyville
Everywhere she looked, Ponyville was in total disarray. This whole fiasco began the moment that the mare named Trixie came into town and challenged her to a duel. The first time around, things didn’t turn out the way she hoped… now, things were getting worse. She did everything she could to prepare herself for the second duel. But now, as she was standing her ground, all Twilight saw her opponent do was laugh as she smirked viciously.
“Is this really everything that you are capable of, Sparkle. Trixie honestly expected you to be more prepared for when you faced me again.” The cyan unicorn taunted. “No matter, with this amulet, anything you do to Trixie is beyond pointless.” Twilight knew that her claims were no laughing matter. The amulet had caused enough destruction already, but not just to the town. Throughout the course of the duel, several spells that the unicorn had cast caused collateral damage and had struck some ponies.
However… when Twilight saw her opponent again… something was happening… The Amulet herself was radiating… and the moment Trixie looked at it, her eyes changed. What was once the eyes of a rival… now stared at the artifact in horror. “W-what!? This isn’t… This isn’t what Trixie asked for-!!!” The mare herself tried to yank the amulet off, but it clung onto her. Digging deep into her neck as bubbles of black now began to spread all across the mare. Twilight herself could not believe what she was seeing… and prayed to Celestia that somehow, this was a dream.
But it wasn’t… This was no dream at all. This was real… AIDA, the same thing that Haseo told them had corrupted King Sombra, was now trying to take control of Trixie.
“S-sparkle!!” She immediately lifted her head, staring as Trixie as she tried to resist the effects of the virus that was taking hold of her. “H-help me-!!!” The mare’s plea’s though lead to her being completely consumed by the black goo that absorbed her… Forming a completely new figure. One that was shaped like Trixie… but with darker fur, shadows radiating from her body and black liquid bleeding from her eyes as it opened her eyes… where what was once white eyeballs… was pitch black with Trixie’s eyes being blood red.
“T-trixie?” Twilight stared in disbelief along with all the other mares and stallions watching. But the mare didn’t say anything… Instead, it let out a piercing screech, sending out spears of darkness that tore through anything in it’s path. The Element watched in horror as her friends tried to run from what was happening. She wanted to join them… but something in her resisted and prevented her from running.
She wanted to help her… help Trixie… even with everything that she had done, Twilight believed that it wasn’t her fault. The Amulet… No, the AIDA that was in the Amulet, caused her to lose control of herself… She wanted to do what she could to rescue her… but realized that she couldn’t. Recalling what Haseo told her, only an Avatar like his could defeat it… But he wasn’t here… Instead it was just her… and only her.
All alone…
You’re not alone, child.
At this, Twilight opened her eyes. She had expected for what was controlling Trixie to come at her and kill her. But… everything around her had slowed down to almost a complete halt. Hesitating, she looked up, asking a question to whoever just spoke to her.
“W-who are you!?” She asked.
We are here to help… You are one of eight beings with a powerful gift to fight this infection. A guardian to you and to others you protect. In front of her now, a small light began to glow as a book began to take form in front of the unicorn. One with a sigil of a sun in the middle with a crescent moon around the edge. Once Twilight had seen the book fully take form, all the pages in the book began to swiftly move. Inside were spells and abilities that she had not seen before from all the times in the archives or in the library. Call us by name… and we will come to aide you.
Around her, time soon began to hasten around her, giving her only seconds to protect herself from the attack that was just inches away from Twilight’s face as she cast a defense spell that blocked the incoming spears. Behind her, she heard someone she truly cared for call out to her through the chaos that was happening.
“Twilight! Come on, we gotta get out of here!!” Spike shouted, trying to convince her to run while she still can. But the Unicorn refused to give up… she was going to save her friends… the town… and most importantly… save Trixie as well.
“No… I’m not leaving…” She firmly stated, the new grimoire she acquired opening once more as she looked back at her. “Spike… stay with the girls… I’m going to put an end to this.”
“But Twi-!”
“No BUTS!!!” Twilight snapped at him. “I’m sorry Spike, but I don’t want you getting hurt. Let me handle this.” The dragon didn’t object and instead ran straight for the others, only noticing for a brief second the cyan markings that were beginning to form around the unicorn’s body. As she flipped through the pages of the book, the mare soon began to talk to herself… trying her best to maintain composure… but to also call upon the voice that she had heard inside her head.
“I require your side… Help me save my friends… save my home… and save Trixie. This was not what she wanted… this wasn’t her fault… Help me rescue her… HELP ME…” The Mare told herself, all while the monster in front of her unleashed a raining barrage of spears to try and skewer her. But… everything soon changed.
“GORRE!!!”
One moment, something did not feel right to Haseo, the next moment, he felt a surge of power flow throughout the entire room that felt similar to whenever he would use Skeith. Shortly thereafter though, something fell over and crashed onto the floor as it shattered into pieces.
“Oh dear,” Cadence responded in shock and disappointment as Haseo turned around. He noticed that a vase that was previously on a nearby windowsill had fallen over and shattered on the ground. “This was the vase that Twilight gave me as a wedding gift… Now I need to get this fixed. Haseo, can you help me out please?” The moment that she turned to see Haseo though… she could tell that something was wrong. “Haseo? What’s the matter?”
“I… just felt something… big. It was a surge of power… almost like when I would use Skeith.” He told her. “I think an Avatar has awakened.”
“Are you sure about this?” She asked him, looking a little more concerned than anything else. “I mean, I felt something brief as well, but it didn’t feel like when you used your avatar to defeat Sombra.”
“That’s because not all of them are the same. There are eight different ones, each with a different ability and a different host… However, where it’s coming from is concerning me the most… And with the fact that the Chaos Gates we started making aren’t finished yet, I fear that I won’t make it in time if I tried any other methods.” Haseo clenched his fist to himself before looking back at Cadence. “Cadence… what was the name of that town that Shining’s sister lived in?”
“Wait, you mean Ponyville?”
“That’s the one. I felt the surge from there.” Haseo told her. “Cadence, please do me a favor and teleport me there as quickly as possible. I fear that… whatever this is, it can spiral out of control if left unchecked.”
Cadence nodded and before Haseo’s closed his eyes, the Adept Rogue heard her say something to him. “Please make sure that Twilight is okay… promise?” He nodded his head to her and a few short seconds later, he found himself being whisked away shortly before landing on solid ground. But when he opened his eyes, what he found… stunned him.
Somehow, AIDA was in ponyville… trying to lay waste to everything around it. But what stood out the most was what was fighting it. It was an avatar… the Machinator… Gorre. He hastened to try and make sure that Twilight was okay while sticking to the rooftops of the building’s around him. He could see the civilians, he could see Twilight’s friends and even her assistant Spike… but no signs of Twilight… anywhere.
What he did notice though is that the monster that was trying to fight Gorre… was slowly beginning to try and gain the upper hand. He watched the Avatar fight from a distance and could tell one thing for sure… that whoever was fighting was still adjusting to the changes with it’s form. It was able to blast off shots of energy to severely damage it, but the main problem was that this monster that was formed by AIDA was faster in terms of speed. He wanted to call on Skeith’s power to help whoever was down there, but realized something.
That Gorre wanted to put their opponent in that position. “Paradise Invite!!”
Like in the original .Hack//G.U. games, Gorre had two counterparts. A red one that was an offensive focused fighter and a blue one that was defensive focused. The original host of Gorre was a Shadow Warlock named Sakubo in the original games and they had two separate forms because Sakubo had two different players that would take turns playing a single character. With one taking control of Gorre's offensive capabilities with the red mode and the other taking control of the Avatar's defense oriented blue mode. However, this wasn’t entirely the case. The Avatar Gorre that was in front of him now instantly changed colors from red to blue instead of switching forms as it caught it’s opponent in a trap of bubbles. Before switching back and landing a powerful series of blows once caught. However, there was one particular detail that Haseo noticed while watching this fight.
Gorre was not trying to hit the opponent’s body… but rather something around it’s neck. An amulet that was glowing with power… and that looked to be the source of AIDA. The Avatar was trying to rip it off of the host and break it away, which she was able to do in a short amount of time. Tossing it into the air as the black bubbles that were around it’s opponent began to fade away, revealing a mare inside the masses. All the while both forms of Gorre were soon present as their arms extended into the form of a cannon with all the strength they had remaining to destroy the source of all the calamity that happened here.
“DATA DRAIN!!!”
That voice… Haseo knew for certain. But he could not believe that it was actually who he thought it was. “No… freaking… way…” As the smoke cleared and he tried to rush down to the stage that was nearby and when the dust settled, what he found startled him.
It was Twilight Sparkle… with the markings of an avatar across her body as she tried to stand up while they faded away. She was an Epitaph user… just like he was… How, he was uncertain. But upon a closer look, he noticed that she had a book underneath her as she still tried to get up. That was when she noticed the Adept Rogue rush to her, stunned and surprised. “W-what? H-haseo?!”
“Easy there. You’ve been through a lot… just stay with me right now,” He told her, chanting Repth as he let the healing spell slowly restore Twilight’s body. “Do you remember what happened?”
“W-well… Trixie had an amulet and was slowly-.” That was when she realized what she said. “Oh my gosh, Trixie!!”
Haseo turned his head in the direction that he was facing, looking back at the mare in front of her as both him and Twilight went over to the Unicorn mare. Checking her pulse gave him a sign of relief, but the mare’s body was severely injured all over the place. Bruises, cuts, scrapes and even worse injuries. He used Repth again in order to help close any immediate wounds, but the mare still needed medical attention.
“Is s-she…” Twilight was going to continue, but a hand from Haseo told her to not immediately jump to conclusions.
“She’s okay… she still has a pulse and is breathing, but has a lot of injuries all over her body.” The Adept Rogue told her. “We need to get her to a doctor and quickly.”
“B-but didn’t you just heal her?” Twilight asked, sounding a little panicked in the process.
“Repth is a healing spell yes, but it heals only external injuries. I don’t have anything in order to stop any internal damage.” Haseo advised her. “I’m not a cleric or a healer, so she needs to be brought to a hospital.” Luckily for them, the rest of Twilight’s friends were soon rushing back over once the chaos died down, along with a mare that looked to be a nurse in appearance.
“T-twilight! Are you okay!?” Spike asked, and he was just as equally surprised as the girls upon noticing Haseo was here too.
“I-i’m fine. But Trixie needs medical attention,” Twilight told him and the others. “Nurse Redheart, can you get her to the hospital as quickly as possible. She needs help.”
“Help!? Why help her after she tried to wreck Ponyville?!” Rainbow Dash protested.
“Because this wasn’t what she wanted…” Twilight told them as Nurse Redheart began to take Trixie away in an emergency cart used for carrying patients to the hospital. “She was infected by AIDA like how King Sombra was in the Empire.”
“And remember, AIDA grants those who are infected powers beyond their wildest dreams at the cost of their sanity.” Haseo added on while the whole group slowly began to walk towards Twilight’s home. “This… Trixie you have been talking about… lost control of herself because of it.”
“And all of that was because she wanted to be the best with magic… and beat me in a duel,” Twilight then remembered another fact to add on to the one that she had originally said already. “Like how Sombra wanted to defeat Haseo.”
“Whatever the case may be, it’s over now…” The Adept Rogue sighed, looking at Twilight for a moment… until they heard one other pony speak up.
“What confusing me though is how Twilight was able to save Trixie. All we saw was a bright flash of light and then saw some… thing fight that monster that Trixie turned into…” Applejack said before looking at Twilight. “Twilight, did you use something from that new book you are holding onto?”
“Uhh…” Twilight couldn’t exactly answer that question. But instead, Haseo answered it for her as they entered the Golden Oaks library and closed the door behind them.
“She didn’t summon anything….” Haseo told her as she looked at the other ponies. “Girls, can you promise me something? That whatever is said in here stays in here?” All of them nodded their heads, including Spike. “Okay good… Remember when you first met me in the empire and I explained about AIDA and how I originally beat it using Skeith?”
“Yes darling, I believe we do,” Rarity added on. “But if I recall correctly, only those who have avatars like yours can destroy that… thing. What makes this incident similar to the last one in the empire.”
Haseo sighed, looking back at everypony as he took a deep breath before speaking. “Like with the Empire, AIDA was there and defeated by my avatar… but this time, AIDA was here and defeated by a different avatar…” At that point, he looked back at the lavender unicorn and what he had to say next made everypony’s jaw drop.
“Twilight’s Avatar.”
When something that you hold dear is on the line, you must find it within yourself to awaken the power that is inside.
Thank you everypony for being EXTREMELY patient with this next chapter and a BIG thanks to both BronyParasite (for helping me with Kite and BlackRose) and ShadowInTheDark (The Hooftstrongs) for helping me with this chapter. I've been wanting to do this for sometime now and I feel as if now I finally get the chance to do it.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and look forward to more updates in the future.
-Frost
EDITED: 2/7/2019- Changed some of the details on Gorre so it was as accurate to .hack//GU as possible
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Holy throne, that was intense!
7622284 Thanks!
Awesome chapter, i really didnt expect Twi to get any avatar much less Gorre. Please more!
5his was a great chapter! Can't wait to find out who has the rest of the avatars.
I don't know...I don't particularly like the new human characters. Kite guy comes across as a sociopath jerk...that just happen to follow a somewhat lighter moral alignment.
7623935 both Kite and BlackRose were previously in the War of Shadows. So it's a transition from a war setting to a peaceful one since some previous events have always taught Kite to watch his back
7624144 There is a thing called military discipline...
That and he was addressed in a manner similar to a "Sarge" during military training that brought about a somewhat militaristic atmosphere. PTSD also doesn't excuse that because there are quite a few veterans with PTSD returning to military service for not being able to cope with civilian atmosphere...So the reason that ya just gave me failed.
*looks at Twilight* The Force strong with this one be
lauramartinbooks.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/ij8g4b.jpg
And this one just for giggles
img.memecdn.com/yoda-dog_o_122762.jpg
So twilight's Ava is comparable to a lance and shield? This reminds me of the chinese origin of the word "Contradiction"...
7637950 Gorre has two forms. One works as offense and the other works as defense. Plus, in the .hack//G.U. games, it's original host was a shadow warlock that had a tome as a weapon.
Nice one on the chinese terms though... and do note, I'm not trying to contradict myself in the process
7638010
I got that, the concept just reminded me of the origin story is all.
What could happen next lol.
8061417 You only noticed that now? xD
8061553 lol
7638010
just gonna point out that sakubo was just one kid with a split personality and not actually twins.
8948048
I was gona say that but looks like you beat me to it XD
9509466
That's been fixed.
Yes. I love this man. Keep him
10031598
Oh you haven't seen the last of him yet
I realized something, if these avatars appear upon a certain order and Twilight’s avatar is the sixth, does that mean two through five already appeared before and have their own users?
10372175
You'll have to wait and see