.Hack//Legacy

[2ndPower]

Feeling the swell of the ocean waves throughout the ship, Barger rested in the only cabin on board. It had been an adventure ever since he had logged on this morning. Probably the most he'd ever done in one day, in fact. He'd been on both sides of the law, so to speak: fighting that monstrous creature that had been hacked into the game to prevent it from reaching town and bringing many others into comas, then running head-on into the Scarlet Knights and defeating them, bringing the wrath of the system upon them all. Or something like that, Barger wasn't sure. He looked out the porthole. It was beautiful. It wasn't exactly real, but Barger preferred it that way. Reality was boring. He actually preferred it here, in this world. It'd been a very long and tiring series of events, and they had all almost lost their lives, but it had been worth it, at least in his view. He was closer to finding out what had happened to his close friend Delor than he had ever been before, and if all went well, he'd be able to beat the answers out of that hacker, Jarek. Before that, though, they all needed to become stronger. That was the purpose of this venture, they were exploring, trying to find stronger enemies, better treasure, and more riches. Their skills were just about all that they could rely on right now.

Barger was brought from his reverie by a shout from above. Apparently they'd found a new land. Good. Barger had gotten back into perfect condition, and was ready for some action. He sat up, and stepped out onto the deck. It was kind of a small ship, but it served their purposes, and it was the best that was available for rent. Looking up, he saw their target, a medium sized island. It was kind of quiet, but hopefully that meant that there'd be no other players there. Few ventured out to sea, which is why they went there. Less competition. They were in a hurry to gain power, and other people would just get in the way.

Meliegent brought the ship in as Barger and Luna took down the sails and threw over the anchor. His hair flapping about in the wind, Barger set down the boarding ramp, then they all walked down, onto the beach. This island was dominated by a jungle, from which a constant hum was comming from. Various forms of wildlife could be seen, but no obvious monsters or treasures. Oh well, it was at least worth checking out. "Let's go." Said Barger as he grabbed his spiked blade and headed into the jungle.

[Strong Bad]

As the boat slowly rocked along the animated seas, Meliegent started to feel a little sea sick. Even though the seas were just pixels, it was so realistic that he couldn't manage.

Land Ho!!

A Medium sized island was spotted up ahead and soon the ship was tied to a small wooden dock leading out from the mainland. Barger set down the boarding ramp and walked off the ship, Mel and Luna following close behind.

It was a vast Jungle filled with sounds of life. It was obvious something was here, keeping this place alive. Some kind of Gaurdian. Most maps/regions had a "Boss" or "Gaurdian" to them... the only trouble was finding them.

Mel started to hack wildly at random vines and branches. After a couple of minutes, the plants started to replenish themselves. Hmm... this place really was alive... Creepy!

"We're going to have to find some kind of path or entrance to this monstrous joungle." suggested Meliegent.

He stepped back and took a better look at his surroundings... vegetation as far as the eye could see. Hmm.. What to do.. what to do...

[Zell]

Luna was amazed at far they have come. He, Barger, and Mel were fighting a hacker that is probably one of the best. Luna just had one secert he had to tell the guys.

He jumped off the deck of the ship and looked around. He relized it was time to tell the truth to his friends. He turned to face them and said "There is something I have to tell you. My father has me trapped inside the game. I'm not able to log out and he won't let out unless I turn you guys over to him, or stop that hacker. He beliezes you guys are the reason for everything happening around here. I'm going to ask this one thing and that question is Will you help me?"

[2ndPower]

"Luna," Barger replied. "Has there ever been a time when I've not backed you up? Of course I'll help you. Still, it's quite cruel of your father to trap you in here. What's to say he won't do the same to us? Not that I'd mind living the rest of my life here, but I hate being restricted." Barger leaned forward, contemplating the events at hand. "I suppose it doesn't change much, we still need to become more powerful, and to do that, we'll need to get through this jungle."

Barger performed his Blade Fury special attack on the plants, slicing through many in a short period of time. The only were able to make a few steps, though, before all the plants regrew. Meliegent was right, they needed to find some sort of path through here. Didn't seem to be any from this level, though. Maybe if he got a higher point of view. He hacked his way towards a tree that looked climbable, and started moving up.

"There's no path, but there's a clearing over there!!" He yelled down, pointing towards the northwest.

As he was climbing higher in the tree, a thought occurred to him. If they couldn't make their way on the ground, maybe they could going from tree to tree, like some wannabe George of the Jungle. He voiced this thought to those down below. As he finished, he saw the plants on the ground start to tremble. A vine snapped up and wrapped around his ankle. He freed one hand to reach for his blade, but was jerked down, and fell onto the beach. He lay still for a moment, and the plant was dormant. "Seems to be sensitive to sound." he thought. Silently, he drew his blade from its place at his side. with no sound, he raised it, then swung it down, severing the plant, which shrunk back into the jungle.

If they were to make their way through the trees with those plants below, Barger was going to need to be very careful; not being nearly as agile as the two Twin Blades, he'd be making more noise. He climbed back up the tree as quietly as he could, then stepped from one branch to another, then from there, leaned out, grabbed another branch, and swung into the next tree. From there, he reached for a vine, and used it to swing over to a third tree. He made his way through four more like that, before the branch he grabbed broke. He grabbed onto another part of the tree, keeping him from falling, but the sound drew the attention of another vine on the ground. It snapped up, grabbed him by the wrist, and hurled him somewhere into the jungle.

[Strong Bad]

Meliegent kicked the dirt in front of him. There didn’t seem to be any way into this monstrous beast of a jungle. Barger attempted his own hacking method and it got him nowhere. He proceeded to climb up one of the trees, drawing the attention of some vines at the tree’s summit. The vines quickly snapped up and wrapped around Barger’s leg. He swiftly drew his sword and responded by slicing the vine apart.

”This is going to be one dangerous jungle…. Should be worth while…” thought Meliegent.

Barger then swung from one tree to another. ”There’s no path, but there’s a clearing over there!!” shouted Barger. Meliegent nodded towards Zell and started to scamper up the tree. Barger continued to travel from tree to tree; he was surprisingly good at it… I wonder if he’d done it before. Meliegent kept up to him the best he could without attracting the attention of the vines.

Suddenly the branch Barger was grabbing for broke! He fell briefly and grasped onto another limb of the tree. All this commotion caught the attention of some vines below, they sharply snapped up and grabbed him, tossing him somewhere into the jungle.

”No!!” Meliegent shouted. He quickly caught up to where Barger had fallen and dived randomly into the jungle where he saw Barger being tossed. He sliced and diced his way down from the trees. The jungle was surprisingly thick and pulsating with life. Barger was lying on the ground, vines beginning to wrap around him. Mel landed beside him and began to slash wildly at the life spreading around his body. More and more vines started to snap towards them, if they wanted their characters to survive, they’d have to escape to that clearing.

Mel stood his ground and spun swiftly, chopping the advancing plants before they got the chance to strike. ”Barger! Can you move? That’s get out of here! Zell!! Lets get goin’! Shouted Meliegent. They were in a sticky pickle indeed!

[2ndPower]

The vines were crawling all over Barger, pulling him down, restraining him. He was struggling when he could, but that just made them pull harder. Mel had managed to free parts of him before he had to turn around and play defence, so that left Barger something to work with. A little panicked, he reached over his chest with his right arm, and tried to rip apart the vines that were binding his left shoulder to the ground. He yanked them out of the ground, but more immediately grew in, taking their place before he had time to move. Time to use your head, Barger thought. The obvious isn't working, what more can you do? He reached out again, but not for the vines; he reached for his inventory, and used a speed potion. His arms whipping about wildly, he managed to rip off all the vines before they could grow back.

He stood up and wielded his spiked blade. There were plants rising up all around them. He moved directly behind Meliegent, so they could cover each other's backs, and unleashed another Blade Fury attack. Coupled with his enhanced speed, this was devastating. His blade was a blur as it severed one plant after another. In 20 seconds, the area in front of him was desolate, the jungle being unable to regrow the plants as fast as he chopped them down. "This way!" Barger shouted. "The clearing is nearby."

He ran for a few seconds, hacking down whatever plants were in the way, then he reached the clearing. There was some sort of shrine in the center of it. Barger took a step forward. The ground started to rumble, slightly. He took another. Vines grew out of the ground where there were none before, forming an arch that looked more protective of something than anything else. He took a third. An enormous plant resembling a massive Venus Flytrap erupted from the ground. Barger stopped, and held his blade at the ready. Things were not going to be easy, yet.

[Strong Bad]

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea coming here after all..." Meliegent thought to himself as he watched the giant plant gain mass while erupting from the ground. This was definetally a mini-boss of sorts. It reaked of good EXP. They couldn't pass an opportunity like this up.

"Fire Element would probably be the most effective in this situation." Stated Meliegent. Hopefully Barger had some tricks up his sleeve... Mel didn't have much when it came to fire, perhaps his agility would help out though.

Mel survayed the clearing, looking over to Barger but still keeping an eye on the Plant. They had to think of a strategy for this beast... Attacking head on probably wouldn't be the best approach. Perhaps from either side? Where was Zell!?

Mel check his inventory it was almost bare... he should have spent more money on items than his attire... though he did look pretty snazy. Oh well... He'd do his best but this was going to be a major team effort. He got into his fighting stance, ready to spring at any given moment.

"Well Barger, if you have any suggestions... I'm all ears!" Meliegent laughed to himself and prepared for the battle up ahead.

[Kyreaan]

Ky was on deck of the boat staring out into space. Every so often he would look down at his hand full of cards. "Hmm, only two...I wonder how long it would take to fill my collection...." he muttered to himself. The humanoid boar was holding a group of two items, the Hanged Man and the Moon. "hmmm"

Eventually he turned around and noticed everyone was gone. The boat had stopped, and appearantly someone had moored the boat. "Hey! What the..."
Ky quickly started to sprint towards to woods. It had been a while since he was in a forest area, but he still remembered how to navigate oneself through. As he ran, he drew his curved and black sword.

"I remember...woods...that means..."

Ky made his way to a clearing where he heard the others yelling. He stopped right at the tree line and looked up at the giant plant.

"Fire Element would probably be the most effective in this situation." Stated Meliegent.

"No, wait!" Ky shouted. "These forests! They're going to be filled with 'Wood Elements', you got to use 'Earth'!"
Ky was big when it came to the six elements in Fragment: Earth, Fire, Water, Wood, Thunder, and Darkness. Each had its opposite. Personally, Ky stacked his equipment so his Darkness element was high.

He raised his sword into air and cast a spell to help out, Barger. "Rig Saem!"

[Strong Bad]

Meliegent's eyes darted around rapidly. The plant seemed to be growing and appeared ready to strike. Their time was running thin...

"No, wait!" Ky shouted. "These forests! They're going to be filled with 'Wood Elements', you got to use 'Earth'!"

"What! Wouldn't that aid them? Fire! Fire is what we need! Burn them back to digital Hell!" Meliegent screamed.

The massive beast stood several feet into the air now. Massive vines covered in viciously sharp thorns snapped and wiggled wildly in the air. The beast opened it's monstrous mouth and let out a shrieking howl.

Ah Crap... muttered Mel. He swiftly darted to the other side of the plant, sprinting and jumping along the ground. Once he had arrived, he got back into stance and called out "Lets do this!"

Mel just hoped Ky knew what he was doing...

[2ndPower]

As Ky's spell washed over Barger, he leapt to his feet, completely rejuvinated. Need to use an earth spell, huh? He couldn't use spells, he wasn't any sort of spellcaster, but maybe he had something that would work. He used an item from his inventory. It had been given to him as a gift when he helped a rookie player out of an advanced dungeon, but he had never had the need to use it. It was supposed to be some sort of magical item, but Barger had no idea how it worked. As it took effect, he hoped for the best.

Small gems began floating in the air, twinkling in the sunlight. It looked almost like a small star field. The gems embedded themselves in the ground. Then nothing happened.

"That was... dissapointing." Barger said, as he dodged around a strike from the plant. He performed his Blade Field technique, batting another strike away. The plant struck a third time, connecting and knocking Barger to the side, but he kept his feet. The gems, after a brief moment, lifted from the ground, carrying large chunks of earth and stone with them. These chunks all thundered in towards the giant plant, striking it many times. With each strike, the plant shrunk, until it was merely man sized. It wasn't moving, but Barger hadn't gained any experience, so it wasn't dead yet.

"It's vulnerable!" He shouted, "Go for it!!"

[Strong Bad]

As the beast was pumbled by massive chunks of rock and earth, Barger shouted, "It's vulnerable!" He shouted, "Go for it!!"

Meliegent was on it. He quickly dived into the air and began thrashing wildly at the plant. His twin blades were leaned towards the thunder element and sparks began to fly rapidly as his strikes increased. The plant screeched in pain and twisted violently. Meliegent continued striking the beast until it burst into flames. Mel quickly hopped backwards, preventing himself from being damaged.

A golden aura circled around Meliegent and exploded in the air. Level Up! Mel had gained a couple levels due to this battle. He guessed this whole journey was worth the trouble. Mel looked around and saw as the other's levels increased as well.

"Pretty good EXP, eh?" Mel said and began to chuckle. That was an intense battle... Hopefully they could find more. He used a healing potion on himself and walked over to Barger.

"Any suggestion as to what we do next? I assume there'll be more challenges around here... Maybe even a big treasure to make up for it... Shall we continue searching?"

Meliegent ran around in circle's randomly while waiting for a response. Hey, it's a computer game, it's not like he's going to get tired.. right?

[2ndPower]

When the gigantic plant was defeated, Barger gained 3 levels, and with those levels, he gained a new skill. He loved the feeling one got when a new skill was realized, a feeling of enlightenment sort of bubbles up from inside you.

"There's a shrine that the plant seemed particularily defensive of." Barger said, pointing it out. "I suggest we go there."

They walked over to the shrine. All plant growth seemed to retreat from around the base of it, except for the remnants of the monster they had just killed. Perhaps there was something there that prevented the plants from growing. They got within a few feet of the shrine, then the ground crumbled beneath them, leaving them to a long drop.

Barger twisted in the air, landing on his feet. Something desperately wanted to keep them from the shrine. He stood. It was dark and damp down here. Some sort of cavern. He tried climbing the walls again, but they were just too slick. He was determined to get into the shrine now, it had become a matter of pride.

"Looks like we'll have to find some other way out." He said to the others.

They walked for a little while longer. It was a veritable maze in here! There was no sign of an exit and they had run into many a dead end. This way was getting them nowhere. Barger stopped for a second to ponder what to do next.

[Suzu Kitamura]

*typing*

Screename: Seiji
Password: ******

Entering... Theta Water City Mac Anu

Seiji entered the server and started to walk down the stairs glancing on all the excited players running around from the Elf's Haven to Magic store, across the bridge, and Item shop to Armory. Such a beautful city that Seiji enjoyed each day he'd log in, there infront of him was a clocktower that shined off the twighlight sky in the background. He began walking across the bridge his hand rubbing across the handle, looking at the tiny boat flowing across the river. It all seems so real to him with all the BGM's and sound effects of water and calmness in Fragment. As he got to t