.hack//LIMINALITY Fan Fiction / .hack//SIGN Fan Fiction ❯ .hack//CHECK ❯ Mistake ( Chapter 16 )

Chapter 16 // Mistake

I thought they were only a rumor., she thought. She, then, remembered what she had read on the message boards the other day:

"Subject: Shadow

Yeah, I saw something weird just now in a dungeon. It didn't register as a monster, and if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't know it was there. I'm an Armless, so like, I can detect everything. It was a humanoid-looking thing it had no distinguishable features or anything, but it did carry what looked like weapons. It was more like some kind of shadow or something...

Re: Shadow

Well, that's exactly what it was. A Shadow. It's one of the new classes.

Re: Re: Shadow

Nonsense. Stop spreading rumors. No one even knows HOW to make a Shadow. It's just a myth. I'm reporting you for trolling. You freakin' troll."

Naomi stood straight up. "So, you're a Shadow."

The figure appeared right in front of her. "Yes... What of it?", said the voice.

"Then I've already won. Hacked characters are illegal in the Grand Prix.", she said.

"Oh, but I'm quite legal. I can assure you of that." said Fang.

"How is that possible?", she asked.

"The ways of the Shadow are lonely ways. We exit the way we arrive. No fanfare, no bang, not even a whisper.", continued the figure. "We exist by being alone. We become strong by ourselves, we face hardship by ourselves, and we become invincible by ourselves."

Naomi looked confused. "Huh?"

"We, the Shadows, have made it to level 99 without ever joining a party."

"Oh, is that it? Well, geez, that's no big deal. It just means that it's a class for the modern pathetic super-geek."

"WHAT!?"

"Tell me. Are all Shadows D&D rejects? Must you all make such a melodramatic speech? All you did was play a game."

"I'll make you suffer!!!" Fang threw several daggers.

#Thuck, Thuck, Thuck, Thuck# They were all in a straight line in the ground in front of Naomi.

"Crap!", screamed Naomi as she somersaulted backwards, and slid a bit. #BA-BOOM!!!#

Fang appeared behind her... #PING, CLING, CLANG# Naomi had deflected two daggers and blocked a horizontal slice. Fang used his free hand to swing his dagger at Naomi... #CLANG!# Naomi blocked, and threw a roundhouse kick. Fang vaulted into the air, and threw more daggers at Naomi.

She back flipped to avoid them. #Thuck, Thuck, Thuck, Thuck, Thuck, Thuck, Thuck, Thuck...# She slid to a stop, and began running to her right just as Fang appeared behind her. #Thuck, Thuck, Thuck, Thuck, Thuck, Thuck, Thuck, Thuck...# Fang appeared in front of her. She lunged at him, but he jumped out of the way. She rolled, and continued running and turned right. No explosion?, she thought as she ran. #Thuck, Thuck, Thuck, Thuck, Thuck, Thuck, Thuck, Thuck, Thuck...# She did a roundoff, and fired off a fireball. "Giga Flame!", she said. "Crap!" shouted Fang. The fireball hit him, and knocked him out of the sky. ??? I can't target him!, she thought, What gives?!?! Naomi looked around. She couldn't see him. All she could see was the daggers that she'd been dodging that were scattered about the field. This isn't good... I've got to do something..., she thought, The Goggles!

She grabbed the goggles that were resting on her forehead, and fitted them over her eyes. Suddenly, the field became a wireframe. "Gotcha.", she said. She was looking at a man who appeared to be in his twenties. He wore a tight black shirt, and blue cargo pants. He had jet black hair, and darker eyes. She could see that he was moving towards her. Naomi rushed him and performed an uppercut slash. 500. She, then, brought her other blade around, and slashed his torso. 503. She continued the spin, and landed a roundhouse kick. 25. Fang flew backwards.

"Very good." he said, "Now I'll show you something." A dagger appeared in his hand, and he tossed it behind him next to one of the daggers he had previously thrown. "It's a little trick I like to call... DOMINO BOOM!" Suddenly, the dagger he had just thrown exploded, and triggered a chain reaction of explosions.

"SWITCH, SWITCH!" she shouted. Naomi changed places with him, and changed back. She then stared at him blankly. "What?", asked Fang. Suddenly, the dagger next to where he was lying exploded. #BA-BOOM!# Naomi was knocked backwards from the shockwave, and slid along the tall grass a little ways. She, then, flipped her goggles onto her forehead. A red 10582 rose from the space Fang previously occupied.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE WINNER OF THE CYBER CONNECT GRAND PRIX IS NAOMI.