Before you read, the Author's Notes will not be as long in future chapters; I had to explain a few vital points in this chapter. Plus, it's four in the morning, and I'm in a ranting mood.

NEW UPDATE: I Don't usually ask for reviews, but with the number of hits I was getting, I was starting to think no one liked the story... shows how long I've been away from fanfiction (and not by choice).

A/N: Hello, X here, or Nox, as I chose to become two years ago (I keep the same screen name for purposes of reference) is finally back. I have about ten fics on the drawing board, a couple on the writing stage, and over a hundred ideas in my fanfiction author files, which I may publish a few of, on a whim. This story will branch off into at least two tales, with a Haseo/Alkaid pairing as the first, a Haseo/Endrance pairing second, and maybe, if the readers (note: you people reading this) want a third pairing of their choice (Haseo/other), it can come to a review vote. However, not Haseo/Atoli (the girl bothers me), Haseo/Gaspard (I like Gaspard, but he's not the romantic type of companion, OR Haseo/Piros (This doesn't need any explanation, so why am I giving one?). Also, these stories will split off as unrelated stories under separate locations, but with the same first two-three chapters. Well, enough talk, on with the story! By the way, below, when I wrote Hot Pockets, It's an inside joke about Hot Topic, that my girlfriend, the local HT manager, and I share involving her grandmother's infamous ability to call stores by a weird name by accident.

Disclaimer: I don't own .hack, Hot Topic, Lord of the Rings, Steven King, Star Wars, etc.

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Chapter One: Ignition

My name is Ryou Misaki, a seventeen year old who lives in a lonely apartment. I wake up every morning to a dark, quiet house. No brothers or sisters running around, as I'm an only child. No parents, I don't know where my mother is, and my father visits once a month if I ask him to, which I don't anymore. I get up and, sometimes, have a quick breakfast before going off to school. My school, a private school of some renown, has mandatory uniforms. No piercings and no tattoos are allowed, as the school wants to 'be proper representatives of our nation's youth', clinging to the obsolete belief that clothing affects what we wear. On a trip to America once, I got a good deal of clothes from a store called Hot Pockets or something. I also got a little tattoo I never told anyone of, just because I wanted to, and it was the only thing I could get and hide, because education, while sometimes being unfair, is important. School is pretty non-descript, just standard affairs. Working at a grocery store part time, I spend my spare time working out and playing "The World". If I were a dramatic person, I'd say this is my story. But it isn't. This is about my other self, Haseo, The Terror of Death, Legendary PKKer and champion of the Epitaphs. This… is his story.

Delta, Hidden Forbidden Fable; also known as The Peaceful Vale of Koetche-Rath. In the battle against Cubia, the eight phases united with the Azure Knights of Aura and cast the Hidden One into the abyss. A special area was given for a special group, almost an home, but much more complex, larger, comprised of all the things that brought joy to the saviors of The World. A castle overlooked a field, a field connected to caves, to forests, to an ocean. This area was a revolution, even for the world, with different weather at different times, and sometimes there was night, sometimes there was day. A sometimes invited visitor could find Atoli, the Harvest Cleric tending birds, or find Bo, the Shadow Warlock, innocently wandering around, whistling a cheery tune. Or they could find Saku, the same Shadow Warlock not-so-innocently wandering around, being a complete bitch… but that's another story. Currently, a battle was taking place. An Adept Rogue, a Twin Blade, and a Blade Brandier were making good use of the ability to summon monsters for training, usually only an ability granted to rank ten guilds. As soon as CC Corp. had made the announcement that The World's level cap had been raised to two hundred, certain players had gone all-out on a training rampage. Haseo had always desired the power to protect and have fun, and thus desired bragging rights for reaching level two hundred. Alkaid was determined not to fall behind Haseo, partially because she had feelings for a certain Rogue that she did a very bad job of hiding, somehow concealing it almost exclusively from him. Endrance was determined not to fall behind Alkaid, as he also had feelings for a certain Rogue, which he made no attempt at hiding.

"Haseo, we're almost there. What do you say we take a break for now and go somewhere more private?" Endrance practically purred. "Just you and me, we could have so much fun. Just… the two of us." Of course, Alkaid was not overjoyed at this suggestion, though she was thinking something similar.

"Wait, that's my line- I mean, we all have been working hard, so let's go out and celebrate! Together… all of us! What? Endrance, stop giving me that look!" Haseo was spending too much time considering their requests to note either Alkaid's slip-up or the ensuing catfight. On one hand, he wanted that new level, but on the other hand, they were all level one-eighty-six, and had done so in less than two days, by pulling an all-nighter and running on caffeine.

In the end, he suggested that they all get some sleep then meet back up in a Mac Anu tavern. Immediately after voicing this, he noticed that Alkaid and Endrance had both fallen down the hill, both players having finally passed out from exhaustion. Trying not to pay too much attention to the ripped clothing, and things that were just barely concealed, he just logged out and e-mailed them. Trying at first to sleep, Ryou found that, tired as he was, he could not. Quite easily thinking of the reason behind this, he went off to take a shower. He would have taken a cold one, but a hot one would just feel so refreshing. As the water ran through his hair and down his back, he tried to calm his libido. Priding himself on not being perverted, he was still a young man. Finally, after a relaxing shower, he crawled into bed and gave his consciousness away to rest.

Sleeping peacefully for a good while, without having to worry about school (as he was on break), he would have been able to say it was the best sleep he had ever had; then came the dreams. Finding himself in a forest, he chased after a figure in the distance. After what seemed like hours, he caught up and grabbed the person by the hand, whereupon his vision faded, coming back in a bed, cuddling with a blanket-covered someone who seemed familiar. Wanting to find the identity of the person he was cuddling, he pulled the covers back from the individual's face, only to wake up just before the face was uncovered. He sat up in bed, sweating and panting. Holding his face in his hands, he attempted to think of who the person was. Finally getting up, he got on his computer, at the same time searching his desk. While searching for a lighter, he checked his emails to find that Alkaid and Endrance were logging in in about ten minutes, having gone off to eat and take showers, which they described in more detail than was needed (much more detail). Logging into The World, he took a long drag off of his cigarette. He then ordered a private room at his favorite back-street Mac Anu tavern, The Rogue's Respite. He then rode his steam bike back to the Chaos Gate just in time to catch Alkaid log in.

"Hey, Haseo! Feel better? Oh god, that shower felt so good, the hot water running down my—" She was abruptly cut off as Endrance logged in, much to the relief of Haseo (who was having 'technical difficulties' in real life). However, Endrance apparently did not notice Alkaid, as he began to address Haseo without realizing she was there.

"Hello, Haseo. Do you feel better? My shower was wonderful, the hot water running down my—" He didn't get to finish, as Alkaid proceeded to throttle him quite harshly. Haseo again did not notice this as his real player ran to the bathroom to dunk his head in the sink. After all, this from both of them was too much for his poor imagination. Finally returning, he calmed them both down, telling them to follow him to the tavern. He may have, on another occasion, invited them to ride on his steam bike, but he probably couldn't handle that at this point. As a side note, they would probably have fought over who got to sit directly behind him anyway. After a few minutes of walking, he led them into a building filled with characters, all sitting around sipping tea or drinking fairly quietly.

"Wow, Haseo. This is the first quiet tavern I've ever seen in The World!" "It certainly is beautiful for having so many people." For once, Alkaid and Endrance put aside their rivalry and acted as the friends they were outside of fighting over Haseo. Spending three uneventful, relaxing hours in their private room, they all headed back to Koetche-Rath, where they all laid under the stars, with Haseo in the middle, of course.

To be continued in Chapter Two: Detonation

Well, what did you all think? Chapter one is done, and there's an hour until sunrise. It was a little short, but I'm really tired. Chapter one is done, and there's an hour until sunrise. For the record, nothing overly important is going to happen in these beginning chapters, except for the setup for the rest of the story(ies), and next chapters preparation for the mystery pairing (I say mystery, because not even I can predict who will be picked, if anyone is.). Oh, and by the way, can anyone guess what band did the songs I've named the first two chapters after? I'll just say it's a metal band, whose name starts with T. Anyway, I might work on the second chapter a little, and then I need some sleep, so Read and Review. Thanks everyone for reading my first chapter, even though I doubt anyone really liked it. Still, thanks, people, your reviews (if they come) mean a lot to me! Look forward to next Chapter. Detonation!