Dot Hack FMG 2: Atoli's Strength Part 1

Note: Contains female muscle expansion




It had been nearly four weeks since Haseo had last heard anything from his ever-pestering Harvest Cleric friend, Atoli. Normally, in the past, he would have been thankful to spend some time away from her and her incessant preaching. He found himself growing steadily concerned over her absence lately, though. The last time he had seen her, the two of them, including Kuhn, had been training in a particularly difficult dungeon, taking on any monsters that confronted them. Unfortunately, on the second to last floor, they were defeated by a very powerful boss enemy. Always willing to make herself feel guilty, Atoli blamed her own failings as the sole reason for their defeat. Haseo and Kuhn tried to convince her otherwise, but she refused to listen.

"If only I was stronger, then I wouldn't be getting in your way all the time, Haseo!"

After that despairing proclamation, Atoli had logged out, leaving Haseo in the position he was in now. For the first few days, he didn't worry at all; she probably just needed some time alone. After a week, however, Haseo tried sending her an e-mail. He told himself that he wasn't checking up on her, he just wanted some advice on items, that was it. She didn't respond. Haseo visited Pi and Yata, who seemed to have a large amount of control over The World's constant data, in hopes of information on Atoli. They said they hadn't seen her at all either. Neither had Silabus, Gaspard or anyone from Moon Tree. Most of the time, Atoli's member address reflected that she was online. She turned down all requests to form a team. Haseo couldn't begin to fathom what was going on in that crazy girl's head.

And then, one day, he suddenly received an e-mail from her. It told him that she had 'finally grown strong' and that she wanted him to see. Instead of just asking to meet up in one of the server towns, she wanted to show off her new skills fully at the arena in Lumina Cloth. Haseo felt like he had no other choice but to take up her request.

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Haseo stepped out of the Chaos Gate before his body had even finished materializing. He had no time to waste. Atoli's scheduled match was supposed to begin soon. Twisting his way through the crowds of players, many of them spectators for the upcoming battle, the silver-haired youth eventually reached the registration booth. Haseo had been apart of many battles in the Arena before, but this was his first time going as part of the crowd. He was about to ask the woman for a ticket when a familiar voice called out.

"Hey, Haseo! Over here! I got seats for both of us!"

Haseo spun around. It was Kuhn. With a playful smirk on his lips, the Steam Gunner tossed a small, glowing blue plate in the boy's direction. Haseo caught it without trouble. He looked at it; it was the card that would allow them into the Arena's stands.

"What's going on? Kuhn, did Atoli ask you to come see her too?" Haseo asked.

"That's right," Kuhn said, nodding, "I guess she wants to make it up to both of us, after what happened before. I'll tell ya, I'm looking forward to seeing how much she's grown! She's probably raised her stats a lot, or found some really rare equipment, or something! Don't you look forward to it, Haseo?"

"Geez...that girl can be such a handful..." Haseo sighed.

"Yeah, but you sure don't seem to mind putting up with her will all the time!"

"That's...that's none of your business!" Haseo hated to admit it, but Kuhn was right. He wasn't sure whether he liked Atoli as more than a friend, but he sure did act like a devoted boyfriend to her sometimes. For someone who had spent so many years of his life as a brooding, angsty youth, this was a lot for him to accept about himself and the changes in his attitude. He pinched his temple; of course, he didn't actually feel it in real life, but it seemed to soothe his headache a little.

"Okay, let's head on inside! I definitely don't want to miss this show!" Kuhn laughed.

Haseo and Kuhn followed the line leading into the Arena, and soon, they had reached their seats. From their current position, the two of them had a clear view of the Arena's main platform. Haseo looked higher up, at the two columns on either side of the platform. The competing teams were usually situated on those columns. He saw the team that Atoli would be fighting against; a lance-wielding Lord Partizan, a feminine Twin-Blade, and a massive Tribal Grappler. The Grappler wore a pair of fighting gloves that resembled golden dragons; they were an incredibly rare, and incredibly powerful, weapon for that class. Haseo believed in Atoli, but he worried about how strong these opponents might be for her. After all, Atoli wasn't accustomed to fighting. She usually advocated getting along and being friends. However, she had chosen to set this all up in the first place. Atoli must be confident in her chances of winning.

"Hey." Haseo said aloud.

Kuhn looked at him. "What is it?"

"We're usually Atoli's teammates when we enter the Arena. Who did she get to help her with this?" Haseo asked.

"Huh...I don't know..."

Before the two of them could converse further on this, the Arena's commentator began his announcements through the loudspeaker. After making the usual remarks on thanking the crowd for coming, the commentator began listing off today's competitors on both sides. He hesitated for a moment before continuing; everyone's attention was drawn to the column where Atoli and her team was supposed to be. And yet, it was empty. The only ones present was the enemy team. They didn't look too happy about being stood up, either.

"On the right, we have Atelia, a Level 75 Twin-Blade with a penchant for-"

Suddenly, his lengthy description (and the build-up for his joke) was mercifully cut short by an intruding, but familiar, voice. "Oh, uh, please, please hold on a moment! I'm so sorry for being late! Just...give me a second to get inside...here...!"

"What? Who said that? Is that the challenger, deciding to finally make her big entrance?" he shouted into his microphone, his words spurring on the audience, who began looking every which direction in search for the mysterious owner of the voice. Haseo sighed. He really wasn't expecting too much out of this.

"That's...right! I got a bit preoccupied flexing before I realized the match was about to start! Sorry!"

The column where Atoli was meant to stand seemingly crumbled to pieces instantly. A blonde-haired figure was emerging from the wreckage. The commentator, or rather the man controlling him from his computer, felt like he had been doused in ice-cold water. It was literally impossible for players to be able to damage any of the structures in the Arena; they were rendered purely for the sake of appearance, and had been designed outside of player interaction aside from the pre-battle introductions. What had just been done was outside of the system's laws. As the figure responsible for such a feat stepped onto the Arena's main platform, it became clear to everyone that it was Atoli herself. She looked up at the crowd, waved to them, and struck a pose. But, she hardly looked anything like the woman many of them were so familiar with. Haseo's player nearly dropped his controller in shock.

'That's Atoli?'

The Harvest Cleric was absolutely ripped, looking more like a bodybuilder than a healing mage. Not even many Tribal Grapplers had a physique such as hers. It was clearly a hacked body; such muscle size was not possible to make in the game's 'character creator'. Atoli's once-short blonde hair draped her backside, several feet longer than it ever was. The wing-shaped mantle of her dress now resembled an actual pair of angel wings. She stood a full three feet taller. Her hat had been disposed of. And yet, the real changes were below her neck.

Atoli's arms were massive; her biceps bulky and her forearms swollen with muscle. They looked as hard as steel itself. Her chest was broad, stretching the upper half of her green dress to the point of tearing, and her cleavage exposed. Her breasts were larger at a F-cup going on G. Atoli's stomach had developed into a perfect set of six-pack abs. It was in her lower half, however, that much bulk had been placed. Underneath the fabric of her white stockings, one could clearly see the brawny shapes making up her many leg muscles. Her hips were wider than her arms, and her legs looked strong enough to carry someone of such size as herself. It was more than likely that she had destroyed the pillar with just her legs alone. For some reason, she was still carrying her staff in hand, but compared to her, it was just a twig with a ball attached to it.

"What...this...who..." The commentator couldn't even begin to form a sentence. Most of the crowd were infected with the same temporary speech impediment. Haseo really didn't know what to make of all of this. He felt a little embarrassed that it was kind of sexy seeing Atoli like this, but that was the least of his worries. There were so many improbabilities regarding this scenario that it was mind-boggling. He was concerned for the girl. How had she changed into this form in over four weeks?

"Wow!" Kuhn started chuckling to himself, rubbing his chin with a cheeky grin, "I'm really glad I came to the show now!"

"Kuhn, get serious! Something's happened with Atoli! I'm pretty sure that a character model can't be changed this much with just a piece of equipment or a special item! And it looks like she's going to be fighting on her own!"

"Huh?"

Suddenly, the Lord Partizan, the Tribal Grappler and Atelia the Twin-Blade from earlier teleported onto the stage. While her two allies appeared quite intimidated by the muscle-bound woman before them, Atelia, their apparent leader, only seemed to be indignant with both Atoli's extravagant entrance and her appearance. She took a step forward, and swung one of her blades through the air, a warning.

"You're that Atoli bitch who requested to fight us? Just who the hell do you think you are, making a grand spectacle like that? And where the hell are your teammates? Arena battles are supposed to be three-on-three, you know!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you." Atoli giggled, "That column was in my way, that's all. And I'll be fighting by myself!"

"What?"

"I hope you all will treat me well." Atoli bowed her head.

Atelia despised being patronized more than anything, regardless of whether it was really being done or not. She was beginning to grow angrier and angrier by the second. Finally, she just couldn't take it anymore. "Latvor, kill that bitch!" she screamed, ordering the Lord Partizan to take on Atoli.

Although he really wished he didn't have to, Latvor knew he had little choice but to obey Atelia's demands. He threw himself at Atoli, and thrust his giant drill-shaped lance forward, intending to pierce her through the stomach. It would be a quick and efficient end to this battle. However, the tip of his weapon abruptly stopped short upon reaching Atoli's rock-hard abs. Latvor couldn't push any further. It was like trying to thrust through a wall of titanium. Still smiling, Atoli grabbed Latvor's spear and threw it over her shoulder. She then grabbed Latvor by the face, lifted him a good two feet into the air, and threw him away as well. His Life Points fell down to zero instantly.

Atelia did not let it deter her. She struck at Atoli's shoulder with her blades, while the Tribal Grappler threw a punch at her abdomen. Atelia's attack seemed to be nothing more than a tap on the shoulder for the bodacious Atoli, but the Grappler's punch seemed to affect her. She winced. With a slap, Atoli sent Atelia sprawling across the platform, and she started swinging her rod at the Tribal Grappler. She knew it wasn't the Tribal Grappler's own strength that had caused her pain. It was those golden-dragon gloves he had equipped; they were a very high level, and only belonged to the strongest players of the fisticuffs class. Atoli wasn't too worried though; it would take just one well-aimed strike to bring him to his knees. She smiled. She could feel her beloved muscles rippling underneath her clothes, growing bigger, stronger, the longer she fought.

She hoped that Haseo and Kuhn were watching her. She wanted them to see how strong she was now.

"Atoli..." Haseo was worried. This wasn't how Atoli should be. She never acted this violent and physical; she was supposed to be that scatter-brained, peace-loving, chronically-depressed Harvest Cleric he knew so well. This wasn't like her in the slightest.

"Yeah, this is really strange, even not accounting for the changes in her character model and everything."
Kuhn remarked, seeming to have been able to read Haseo's thoughts.

"What do you think we should do?"

"I'm recording this entire fight right now, and sending the feed to Pi in real-time. She'll let me know if she's figured out anything."

"Good idea!"

"We don't have to worry about her actually hurting anyone, since this is just a game, but then again, you can never be too sure..."

Haseo didn't like the sound of that. "What do you mean?"

"Well...we'll see."

Atelia screamed in her empty rage as she tried to cut at Atoli's back. One of her blades struck her on the traps, and it shattered, leaving the Twin-Blade with only one of her namesakes. Atelia was stunned; there was no way their weapons could be breaking like this. Weapons weren't designed to break in The World. This woman, with her huge, beefy body, and this incredible strength that went beyond the limits of the character class, it was clear just what was going on here. Atelia turned her gaze over to the Commentator and the other judges. She needed to have this crazy woman suspended for hacking her character.

"Stop this fight! Stop this fight! She's going against the rules of The World! This bitch is clearly cheating-"

Atoli bashed her elbow into the back of Atelia's neck and kicked her to the ground, eliminating her before she could say anything else. Atoli wouldn't dare let anyone mess up her chance to impress her friends, and to impress the crowd. Standing over the fallen women, Atoli could feel her biceps swelling with more muscle mass, and her thighs beginning to tear holes in her stocking. It was such a wonderful sensation, she could literally feel it through the computer. It never occurred to her just how strange that was. She proceeded to go after the Tribal Grappler, who, his gloves shattered, had given up all hope and was attempting to log out. Unfortunately, players were not allowed to log out from an Arena battle.

He was pierced through the chest by Atoli's staff a few seconds later. The crowd roared in approval. Atoli's dress was ripping all over as her muscles grew bigger and bigger, and her arms and legs were expanding further. Her height and hair length also increased by a few inches. Atoli moaned quietly to herself.

Haseo, however, still felt uneasy. "This is crazy..."

"It's even worse than just crazy," Kuhn remarked, tapping his hand to his temple, "I just got word from Pi. It's definitely some kind of surviving AIDA remanent that's possessing her, manipulating her mind and body, turning her into this crazy, fight-loving, muscle-bound psychopath."

"AIDA?" Haseo gasped. In the past, Haseo and his many allies had fought against the threat of the 'conscious virus' AIDA that had plagued The World. It was a dangerous and powerful anomaly that could affect people outside of the game as easily as it could inside. It nearly destroyed the entire internet infrastructure and sent many people into sudden comas. Haseo had thought that all of the AIDA had been vanquished along with Ovan. It seems now that that wasn't entirely the case. This was Atoli's second time being possessed by AIDA. That poor girl really did have the worst luck.

"Yep. And since we're the only ones here with the power to eradicate it, it means we're gonna have to step in and help Atoli out."

"Alright!"

"And, since you're her boyfriend at all, I'll be fair and let you be the one to Data-Drain the AIDA out of her. How about that?"

Haseo just rolled his eyes and started running down the seat aisle, toward the stairs. Kuhn quickly followed after him.