.hack//G.U.: The Staircase to Nowhere

.hack//G.U.: The Staircase to Nowhere is an Alternate Universe fanfiction by DarkMira6639 begun early in 2008.

One day, Ryou Misaki finds a mirror that lets him to talk to someone in his head who claims to be his Epitaph. It isn't long before he finds out about parallel worlds and that there are other Epitaph users like him. But things don't remain safe for long as fighting among the users break out and, for some reason, everyone feels the need to single him out...

Comes recommended on the Fanfic Recs page.

": I would rather die."
 * An Arm and a Leg:.
 * Bigger on the Inside: Haseo and Atoli go into a house that turns out to be this.
 * Brainwashed: Endurance takes control of Atoli at one point during their fight.
 * Break the Cutie:.
 * CPR: Clean, Pretty, Reliable: Subverted in that when
 * Defeat Means Friendship: So far,.
 * Delayed Reaction: It's not a comical example, but it takes some time for Haseo to realize that if.
 * Diary: Atoli writes in one.
 * Dreaming of Things to Come: A dream Atoli has appears to be prophetic.
 * Driven to Suicide:.
 * Face Death with Dignity:.


 * Fatal Flaw: Each of the Epitaph users has one physical/mental flaw that can spell the end for them in the Goddess Morganna's war; Haseo has his photophobia (his sensitivity to light), Atoli's fear of being alone, Endrance's weak lungs, and Kuhn's color blindness.
 * Flashback Nightmare:.
 * Heroic Albino: Haseo.
 * I Know Your True Name: If an Epitaph user learns the true name of another Epitaph User, he/she can control their fellow user and make them do anything.
 * Master of Illusion: Atoli and Shino's town.
 * More Than Mind Control: Ovan does this to Atoli.
 * The Multiverse: Each Epitaph user grew up on a different world and they can travel from one to another. Haseo's most resembles our own (and so far seems to be the most technologically advanced).
 * Parental Abandonment: Both of Haseo's parents have died, leaving him with an evil stepmother and stepsister to boot.
 * Parental Favoritism: Haseo's stepsister is favored by his stepmother..
 * Psychic Link: The Epitaphs and their users communicate by thought.
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning: Subverted due to Haseo's Heroic Albino status. It's just genetics.
 * Speak in Unison: Haseo and Skeith do this when they are perfectly synchronized.
 * Split Personality: Saku and Bo.
 * Transformation Sequence: Each user goes through this when releasing their Epitaphs.
 * Transformation Trinket: Epitaphs and users transform and communicate using a hand mirror.
 * Wicked Stepmother: Haseo was saddled with one of these.