RPG .hack//WORLD(pg)

[Nothing]

(I jump around chronilogically a bit. Just a warning, although I don't think it will be too confusing.)

~Mac Anu~

Helba floated high above Mac Anu, looking down upon the misfortune of the trapped players, who were now being slaughtered by the monsters. Helba, as good a hacker as she would, couldn't brandish her weapon in town either; it was all she could do to save herself by floating above the chaos. She couldn't gate out, either. She was trapped like everyone else.

When a player was killed by the monsters, they gave one final gray flash before they became like gray statues. Mac Anu was full of flashes now, like fireflies in the forest at night. Two bright flashes in the center of town, on the bridge. Helba didn't even have to see the players to know who it was; Orca and Balmung had fallen. Pity, they had done all they could to get other players out of harms way, though those attempts seemed pretty much vain right now. Helba looked for a rooftop she could wait on until the monsters were gone; she couldn't think of anything else.
------------------------

A boy sat at a monitor in an internet cafe. He had just came to Mac Anu for a quick resupply, and now he couldn't gate out. The monsters had overlooked him at the time, but it wouldn't last. He stood by the Chaos Gate and watched the monsters destroy every player there. Then he had an idea; there was a crate in the far back of Mac Anu, and from there he could probably get to the roof. It meant going through three dozen goblins without a weapon, but he had to try.

The boy ran as fast as his controller would let him, narrowly sidestepping three orcs, that took a swipe at him. Something caught the corner of his eye, but he couldn't be sure; it looked like a snow white girl admist the goblins. looking straight at him. When he looked straight at her, she vanished, and was replaced by a hundred goblins, all still pouring out of the single gate. He barely made it to the bridge, where a line of goblinsawaited him on the other side. He stopped in an ever-narrowing spot in the center of the brige, when a goblin leapt at him from behind. The boy turned around, but could do nothing as the goblin's sword fell. He closed his eyes from instinct, but his vizor never beeped "Game Over." He opened one eye, to see Balmung blocking the goblin with his own body. "Go!" He shouted. The goblin's attack diminished half his life points, but it gave the boy a little longer to escape. There was nowhere to go, and the boy just stood there stupidly.

The same goblin sidestepped Balmung and took another shot. Balmung again blocked it with his body, pushing the boy off the bridge. The boy saw him flash and turn gray as he fell.

The boat that at one point had carried the Crimson Knights was under him, luckily, and he crashed in the back. An orc aside the river saw him, though, and lept onto the front of the boat, rocking it violently. It leapt at the boy before he could even think of dodging. In desperation, his hand instinctively went to the defend button.

The orc's sword fell, but hit something hard. The boy stared in shock, for his own sword now stood between the orc and he. He could fight.
---------------------------

ALLRIGHT! Everybody in this starts in the slaughter, and for some reason, they alone can fight the goblins. NO SPELLS OR SKILLS! Only melee attacks, and remember that you're still level one!

[natchan]

Xia ran down the alley way as fast as her animated feet would carry her, she had her weapon which was a plus, but she still couldn't cast which was still a downer on her part. She stopped at the end of the alley way when she had confirmed that she was not being follwed, her breathing was heavy and she was doing everything to regulate it, but fear and confusion still ran through her mind. Only moments ago she had seen the amazing Lord Bulmung flash grey as he saved a younger players life. It was a relief when her staff apeared in hand but when she attempted to cast only the shout of angry goblins sounded, thats when she turned and ran toward anywhere but where she was.
"What is going on, nothing like this has ever happened, and I can't seem to get a hold of anyone I know. Are they all grey flashes as well. I need to find someone, saftey in numbers is deffinately the advice that I would follow now." She replied to herself continuing to glance down the alley way, making sure that no one was following her. She looked around at her suroundinds to see what was around her, she needed a plan, and she needed one fast.

[Neko]

Initializing program: .hack//WORLD loading...please wait program running ||Δ-Aqua Capital Mac Anu|| Kia watched the slaughter from the safety of the roof of the magic shop, which she had reached with the aid of her superior twin-blade agility (not to mention with the help of the boxes in the back of the alley). She laughed bitterly to herself as the goblins, lowly level-one-field monsters, relentlessly hunted down the players in the town, one by one. And then she saw him. Him, the only one out of all the people she had ever cared about who was still playing. She watched in horror as Balmung of the Azure Sky jumped valiently in front of a player, shielding him from a goblin and taking the blow himself. Kia shuddered as Balmung's grey corpse fell to the ground before dissolving into nothing. It did not surprise her when she discovered that her blades were resting lightly in her clenched hands; none of CC Corporation's new 'rules' ever seemed to work on her, who didn't even technically exist. The massive blades almost pulled her down into the fighting below as the boy whome Balmung had just sacrificed his life to save drew his own weapon in surprise and began slashing furiously at a goblin. Kia leaped down from the building, landing lightly on her feet, even as the goblin fell back in grey and disappeared. She walked up to the boy and readied her blades for a strike. He looked at the massive blue blades almost frightfully, and Kia lunged... ...slicing apart a goblin which had lunged at the boy from behind. The boy looked at her half-surprised. "Don't mention it," she said icily, "if Balmung would sacrifice himself to protect you, you must be worth saving."

[natchan]

Xia saw no way out of this alley way and deciced that it was time to book it somewhere safer. She poked her head out to check her surroundings and thats when she saw her, the non existant player. She could see her heading toward the player that Bulmung had saved.
"Well its worth a try, after all safety in numbers." She replied to her self as she took off running for the river side. Two near by goblins quickly began her pusuit, but she stopped dead in her tracks and turned smashing the leading ones skull in with her staff. Then side stepping the next opponent she cracked his kness causing him to buckle under his own weigh, and then finished the job replying out loud.
"No more running from such low level creatures as you fools." She then returned to her run toward the river, she easily reached her destination as she made a running leap for the baot floating by. She land lightly behind the non existant player, heaving a sigh of relief to see more characters, but mostly not for capsizing the boat.
"I hope you guys don't mind company, becasue being alone in this crazy situation would deffinately not be my first choice. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Xialynn, I normally just go by Xia, but whatever." She replys holding out a delicate hand.

[Brooklyn]

[I][B][COLOR=DarkSlateBlue][SIZE=2][FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode]OOC: yeah it started!!

Loki spear appeared in to his hands, not trying to find out why he brought it up and slashed down on a near by goblin. I t let out a scream o f agony, then it turned to face him. A club from another goblin hit him in the head, then a blade cut the monster in to two separate pieces.

? Ya? damned monsters go back to yer? fields and leave us alone? said a pissed of looking blade master in a harsh sounding voice.

All around the server people?s weapons began appearing. He looked down into the river and to his surprise saw what seemed to be party on a boat talking to one another. In the reflection he saw a goblin about to strike. He had no time to react to it and was throne into the river. Awaiting the splash of water and game over he put his hands on the head set but the game over never came. Instead of water he had landed on, what seemed to be a coble stone road. He looked around the water had been replaced with this street. The boat had now tipped over and the wave master, twin blade, and blade master fell out to the street. Then another magic portal appeared under the bridge a Mu Guardian came out of this one, and it headed right for Loki. Loki?s reason for being in the world flashed before his eyes.

His father had told him of the newest case at work (his dad is a detective). Some one had sent a letter and a painting to the police office. The note talked about the Epitaph of Twilight or something and how this person had the original text and he was now keeper of the Epitaph?s world. The painting was of Mac Anu only a huge castle replaced it and there was a wave master in blue robs standing in the middle. Loki knew that the world was based of the epic poem and wanted to investigate first hand on the world, but then this mess started. What the castle ?it was on?..a coble stone path

His thoughts were interrupted as he tripled. The Mu Guardian raised its blade and was beginning to bring it down. He was doomed?..

OOC: I?m not sure if hackers were responsible for this mess or what, you never said did you. Oh well it started ^,^ . PM me if I need to change anything.


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[natchan]

Xia caught her balance as the boat suddenly tipped over, she was surprised when she found herself standing on the cobles stone road instead of the river.
"What in the world is going on here?" She replied as she watched the other two players catch their feet. She scratched her haed a moment as she looked past the other players to find another player being attacked, and he didn't look like he was in godd condition. With out speaking she dashed between the two charaters infront of her, her staff held high as she leapt into the air. She watched as the creature turned to face her, he attacked her in midflight causing her to crash to the gound. Her staff fell from her hands and landed 10 ft away from her grasp. The Creature lifted his weapon in the attack position. Xia shut her eyes tightly preparing for the blow. 'Is this how I go?' she thought to herself 'do I die saving another character, just like Lord Bulmung?'

[Nothing]

I tried not to exclude your character, Wave of Death, without manipulating her. I hope I didn't do something wrong!

It took the boy a minute to realize exactly what had happened. At first, he thought the boat had risen up and dumped them on shore, but he soon found, as Xia had taken off, that the river itself had become solid. There was now a clear path, which goblins were slowly filling up. The boy watched Xia fall, but he hesitated. It was possible that, if he did go to rescue her, the path would collapse around him, trapping him in a crowd of furious goblins.

He looked the other way to see the path was practically clear, and there was a hole big enough on shore for him to get through. He could make it to the roof yet. He had to choose fast, his window of opportunity was closing. "Is it really worth it?" He asked himself finally, turining at last to the Mu Guardian, who had both Xia and another player the boy didn't recognize defenceless. He took one last look back at Kia, who was focusing her attention on both the Mu Guardian and the surrounding goblins, and ran forward as fast as his controller would let him, through the ever narrowing path.

A few goblins were wise to him, and darted in front of him. The boy rolled forward and made quick work of three as he came up. Whether Kia was with him or not, he couldn't tell, such was the havoc he now faced. It took a wild leap on his part, but he succeeded in getting into the clearing the Mu Guardian had made for itself, and its prey. The boy rolled again, and dealt a staggering stab to the monster, who was momentarily distracted from Xia. "Xia!" He shouted. Xia's eyes popped open, and she made a scramble for her staff, just in time to save it from being swallowed up by the now closing circle of goblins.

Loki had also recovered, and ran to the opposite side of the monster, where he struk a quick blow. He darted back as the monster turned with his flailing club. "I'm Grim, by the way, if it comes to us dying here!" Said Grim.

[natchan]

Xia grasped her staff tightly in her hands and delivered a series of blows to the enclosing goblins. She rushed forward to join the group of players against the Mu Gaurdian. She took a side to her self and tightened her grip on the weapon.
"Right any brght ideas now guys?" She replied glancing at the surrounding goblins.

[Neko]

||Δ-Aqua Capital Mac Anu|| Kia glanced back briefly at the boy, who had run off to face the Mu Guardian, seemingly the leader of this horde of monsters. Almost absentmindedly, her hands whipped the two massive blades around in impossibly fast arches, keeping the mass of goblins the had now completely surrounded her at a safe distance. As she looked back, she saw the boy take a wild lunge at the Mu Guardian, distracting it from another female player so she could get up and grasp her staff. It Occurred to her that they might be in trouble if they were low-level players, and that she might be able to help them out if she could get to the Mu Guardian. Turning her head back to the mass of goblins that were running suicidally into her blades just to keep those blades in one place, though, she realized that she wasn't going anywhere fast. It would have to be done anyway. Kia turned her attention back to the blades she had been whirling around herself to keep the goblins at bay, and stopped swinging them for a moment so she could change her course. In the instant it took her to stop, the sea of goblins almost engulfed her in the blink of an eye, but she managed to get into a new pattern of attacks, focusing her blades in only one direction, trying to cut a path to the Guardian and the other players. She could feel herself wearing out, though, the restless attacks straining her weak arms. Can I get there before losing out...? she wondered.

[natchan]

Xia could see the other femalr character changing her direction toward them and the gaurdian, just then she leapt out of the way of a massive swing from the Guardian. Then the only idea that seemed like it might work struck her, it would be risky and it might get them all killed, but so would stading around or even running away.
"All the blades focus on the top half of the body I'll take the knees." She shouted this not knowing if the other players would follow suit or not. She then dove in a tight roll toward the Mu Guardian and swung her staff as hard as she could, hitting her target successfully. Then as quickly as she had dove in she leapt out of the way of another attack. Speed was definately the players weapon now, becasue their level certainly wasn't.

[0ber0n the Neko]

OOC: Sorry for being late... ^_^ :catgirl:

IC:

The World.exe
LOGIN.
Username:Orange_shadow
Pass:********

WELCOME TO THE WORLD, ORANGE_SHADOW.

The warp rings enveloped Max as he sifted slowly into The World. He took a deep breath, and opened his eyes. He was treated to the familiar scene of Mac Anu. His eyes lingered for a moment over the rivers that ran through the scenery.

"What?" Orange_Shadow said. He looked around. "What's going on?"

He heard the sounds of battle, grunts and squeals were heard. "A battle? In town?" Orange said.

He then heard the heavy pating of an orc behind him. "Gah!" He yelled, running out of the way. He groaned when the :BATTLE START: notification flashed at the top of his screen. "Tell me this isn't happening..." He drew his sword. He turned on some music, and swallowed hard. "Alrighty!"

He ran to attack the orc, who took 10 damage.

:ORC swings at ORANGE_SHADOW and misses!:

Orange breathed a sigh of relief. Orcs were very inaccurate, and would be taxed hard to hit him while he continued to dodge fluidly.

:ORANGE_SHADOW hits ORC for 11 damage!:
:ORC uses SNIPER SCOPE!:

Orange's heart skipped a beat. "That skill... it's a high level!" He remembered being in a party with higher level characters and seeing only high level monsters do it. It increased attack speed and accuracy.

:ORC hits ORANGE_SHADOW for 15 damage!:
:ORC hits ORANGE_SHADOW for 10 damage!:

Orange was down to one hit point. "End of the road..."

He heard a *CLANG* and the Orc was dissolving. "What!?" Orange said, relieved. He proceeded to heal himself, wondering all the while what happened.

"Hmmm..." He looked around, and no monsters were in sight. "That's a relief... must've been a glitch."

He wandered around, looking for the stores. There were NPCs operating them, but they were not able to be selected. He looked around, and saw characters in battle mode with other monsters.

He rushed away, trying to log out.

:You cannot log out at this time. Please enjoy your stay in The World.:

He felt himself go into a cold sweat. "Can't tog out?"

"WATCH OUT!" said a voice, and he was set upon by three seperate goblins. He grinned. He could take goblins easily.

He drew his sword again. He rushed at the party of goblins, and slashed each one of them once, and then running to the next, giving them little time to react.

:ORANGE_SHADOW hits GOBLIN for 20 damage!:
:ORANGE_SHADOW hits GOBLIN for 21 damage!:
:ORANGE_SHADOW hits GOBLIN for 19 damage!:

He smirked as the goblins fell. Then he was bumped into by another player.

OOC: I'm thinking the player is you, Xia... your choice.

[Nothing]

Alright, we're taking a roadtrip, so anybody else who hasn't posted yet needs to figure out their own way of getting here. I tried to do this without manipulating anyone's character.
**
Grim understood Xia's plan, but found it impossible to focus on the Mu Guardian at all. The ever-growing sea of goblins were closing in on all sides, Grim was having enough trouble keeping them from overwhelming them. He was given a second's rest, though, when he desprately swung his blade, and took out two goblins at the same time. The ones behind them hesitated to attack.

Grim took the opportunity to survey the situation. He saw Orange Shadow, and took a quick head count. There were no players left, he realized. Outside of Kia, Xia, Loki, Orange Shadow, and himself, there were no players left. Mac Anu was buldging with goblins, and every one of them were focused on the last remaining players.

Grim realized he was panting, and his arms were burning from the strain of swinging his sword. But...why? Then, hope drained from him when in the corner of his eye, he saw a flash. He turned, expecting to see another statue-like player, but instead could no longer see Kia, who had been slowly working her way through the sea of monsters. He uttered a low scream, imagining her dead. Then, another flash. He turned, and Loki was gone. Xia, Shadow, and himself were the only ones left. They squeesed together back to back, as the crowd engulfed them.

With a flash, Grim stumbled backwards. Shadow was gone. Grim didn't even know he was screaming as the goblins came ever closer. "Get down!" Xia yelled, as she whirled her staff in a circle around them. Grim saw it pass over his head, then dissapear. Xia was gone. Grim stood up again. There was no room for him to manuver. He made one last desprate swing, and lost his grip. His sword sailed through the crowd. It was hopeless, Grim could barely lift his arms. Then he saw the flash for himself, as a girl dressed completely in white appeared from nowhere, and flew at him. She touched his forehead, just before the last blow was strucken, and a white light engulfed him.

In the real world, Grim gasped, and threw himself out of his computer chair. On the ground he twitched frantically, kicking his limbs and screaming. Then, the light faded, and it was over. The light faded, and he was no longer in Mac Anu.

Water drops on a puddle woke him up. He was lying on the floor, of where he didn't know. Red sand covered the ground, and it was trickling rain. The sky was gray, and bits of code floated through the air. He remembered the story he heard of Tsukasa, and rapped on his headset. Good, he was still really at home. His eyes refused to focus, so he could only see the silohuettes of the other players, no wait, not all of them. He could distinctly make out two others, one was huddled on the ground, slowly making their way to their feet, and the other was sitting nearby. Where were the others? "Where are we?" He shouted, to nobody in particular.

[Brooklyn]

[I][COLOR=DarkSlateBlue][SIZE=1][FONT=Century Gothic]OOC: Retro sorry but I?m not sure if I got a game over or what. Howerver since you did not specify how we flashed away I?m taking it as we were warped as well, because Kia
(if any thing like Kia from .hack//truth) a nonexistent character then if she got a game over then she would stop being, and that would suck for her so I?m going to RP like we were warped as well, hope you don?t mind!!

Loki was the second to rise from the now unorthodoxly formed party. Kia was already standing up in what seemed to be an area of some sort. Reddish sand formed the foundation that they were atop and rain trickled down from the gray sky. Orange_Shadow rose up to his feet and looked around. Loki looked puzzled as he tried to get things straight in his mind, Kia was looking out into the distance were you could see a dungeon, and Xia was just starting to wake up and lift her self to her feet.

?Where are we?? asked Loki as if any one knew.

?An area for beginners in delta server I think.? Replied Kia as if they had not just been attack with a mob of goblins.

?I feel way tired? said Xia ?like I was really fighting those monsters back there? she finished flopping down on a near by rock to catch her breath.

?Should we go to the dungeon and level up some? Suggested Shadow

?I think so we would have had a chance if we were a higher level? said Loki

?A much higher level? said Xia

?I can?t help but notice were is Grim?? asked Kia

?OMG your right, was he warped to this area too.? Asked Loki

? He would go to the dungeon if he was , lets go? said Kia as if she had known him her whole life.

?LOL quite the leader aren?t you? said Loki as the group headed off to the doungeon.
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[natchan]

Xia walked along with other players as questions ran through her mind. [I]What was goin on in Mac Anu? Why couldn't she cast during any of that, and how did they get here? [/I] She though silently as she walked.
"Your mind looks busy, something on your mind Xia?" Shadow replied breaking the silence around them.
"Well yeah, look at what we've just been through. What was going on back there, I don't about you guys but when I logged on this afternoon, I was not intending on being massacered by monsters in Mac Anu. Also why couldn't cast back there, I tried and nothing happened except for me almost getting my head smashed in." She was obviously quite irritated by the recent events. She brushed her dark green bangs away from her eyes as she looked up into the dark rainy sky heaving a deep sigh.
"I just want to know whats going on, thats all." She stated quietly, almost to herself. "I must say though, considering the odds, you guys did great. Those were some awsome blades skills back there, very impressive. I'm glad I'm on your guys's side."

[Neko]

||Δ-???-???-???|| Kia stopped suddenly when they reached the dungeon, glancing back at the little group of misfits that now formed the party that had survived a full-scale assault on Mac Anu. Peering into the dungeon entrance, a shiver went down her spine, frightened of what might happen to her if she went in. "You guys...you guys go ahead. I need a rest," she sighed heavily, every bone in her body aching from the battle. "How do you get tired playing a game?" one of the others laughed sarcastically. Kia shot the player a loathing stare. She didn't want to tell these strange people her secret, at least not until she learned a bit more about them. "Shut up and go, newbie!" she shouted, irritated that she was being insulted by a lowly level one player (which was slightly hypocritical, now that she thought about it). That seemed to shut the girl up pretty good. "Suit yourself", the girl shrugged, walking into the dungeon, followed closely by the others. Kia sighed her approval and leaned against the stone wall surrounding the dungeon. She looked at the massive, blue, illegal blades she was holding, wiping off the reddish-black goblin blood that had stained it. Normally there was no blood in this fake world, but to Kia, everything was all too real...

[0ber0n the Neko]

OOC: Hmmm... so we're going for a dungeon crawl? Neat.

IC:
Shadow felt very fatigued from the previous battle. His arms still burned intensely from the blade, and from the attacks from the goblins. It seemed impossible, but he felt like he could feel every blow he incurred. He turned to Xia, who was standing near him. "So... what happens next?" He asked, sounding almost disinterested.

:XIA shrugs:

"I have no idea... Kia led us to this dungeon... maybe we should go inside?"

Shadow unsheathed his sword, indicating his readiness. His wordless act of concurrence was followed by general agreement all around.

-----Now Entering Area : Crystal Caverns-----

The party moved onward, looking at the new area, in all its detail. Xia looked over the edge of the platform they were traveling on. She reached out, and broke off a
large piece of emerald from the background area. "Gah!" She said, almost dropping it. "How did I do that? There are 'Invisible Walls' on the background set, normally..." her voice trailed off in amazement.

:XIA obtains EMERALD:

Shadow looked the large crystal over. "Hm..." He said. He tried himself, but was repelled by the familiar 'Invisible Walls'. "I can't do it." He said, very matter-of-factly.

Xia looked over her inventory, and sure enough it was there. "Weird." she said.

:a GOBLIN appears!:
:a FAIRY BOMBER appears!:

:BATTLE MODE START!:

"Huh?" Shadow said. He turned to see nothing. "Come with me, Xia." She nodded, and walked along after him. He looked around, and saw nothing. Then, he saw the fairy bomber, which was in suspended-animation. The goblin was also frozen. "What... is this?" he muttered softly.

He turned to Xia, who was clutching the crystal. She looked at it, and then the monsters. "Illegal item!" she exclaimed. "It's a glitch! They can't fight us because I have this crystal!" she beamed.

Shadow gave her an impassive look. "Mods are gonna pick that item up, and they're going to give you hell. Lose it before we get picked up." he said, betraying a sense of worry in his voice. "Wouldn't want you to get deleted." he said, walking off.

Xia groaned, and looked around. She put it in her stash, using a pair of "Icarus Feathers" to send them there. The goblin and fairy bomber immediately became active.

"Shadow! Battle!" Xia said, feeling cornered.

"Right." he said.

:ORANGE_SHADOW hits GOBLIN for 20 damage!:

"Ga nom!" said Xia.

:XIA casts GA NOM:
:GOBLIN recieves 30 earth damage!:
:GOBLIN hits ORANGE_SHADOW for 10 damage!:
:FAIRY BOMBER hits ORANGE_SHADOW for 5 damage!:
:ORANGE_SHADOW hits FAIRY BOMBER for 30 damage!:
:FAIRY BOMBER defeated!:
:XIA hits GOBLIN for 5 damage!:
:GOBLIN defeated!:

Xia jumped for joy. "Yahoo! We did it!"

Shadow smiled slightly. The expression passed as quickly as it came. "Yes we did. Well done."

"Follow me." Shadow said. He walked down the path, triggering a battle.

"Let's go." Shadow said, with renewed urgency. He drew his sword, and smiled. It was not an expression of joy, but an expression of sheer malign glee.

"Oh, bloody hell..." Xia managed t osay, before she was immersed into battle.

[natchan]

:Battle Mode Start:

"Tree gblins, we can take em!" Shadow called out to Xia who was closely behind him.

Orange Shadow easily dispatched of the two closest goblins whilst Xia cast at the third in back striking him down.

"I am so glad I have my spells back." Xia replied relief filling her voice. She leaned up against the cold stone wall for a moment.

"What's up? You tired?" Shadow asked feeling tired himself but not saying anything about it.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, and you now what the weirdest part is? Feel this wall." Xia replied touching her hand to the wall. Orange Shadow followed suit and touched his hand to the stone wall.

"It's cool, how is that we can actually feel it? This is way to weird." He tuned to Xia for a moment to ask her a question but she was lost in that world of thought again.

Xia quietly stood starring at the wall as she kept her hand against it. As nice as the coolness felt, it still sent chills down her spine, she knew that she wasn't suposed to be able to feel it. Out of the corner of her golden eyes she could see Orange Shadow glancing at her.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to ignore you, were you going to say something." She asked kindly smiling.

"Oh I forgot what I was going to ask, its no big deal." He was lying of course he knew exactly what he was going to say, he had just decided against saying it.

[0ber0n the Neko]

Shadow felt the wall at Xia's instruction. "That's too weird..." he said to himself.

He looked over to Xia. "Xia-" he began, but stopped himself. He knew that it would be strange to be told that by someone you don't know...

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to ignore you, were you going to say something." Xia said, smiling brightly. Shadow felt the blood rush to his face.

"Oh I forgot what I was going to ask, its no big deal." He said.

Xia looked shocked. "What? Is there something on my face?" asked Shadow.

"As a matter of fact-" She said. "There is... You're... blushing?" She looked shocked, ignoring the reasons for which he might be blushing. "You... can't... blush... in The World... Can you?"

OOC: Sorry for the wimpy length. I was cut short by the bell.

[natchan]

Xia didn't even bother to think of why Shadow would possibly be blushing, all she cared about is that it wasn't normal. Nothing that was going on was normal.

"Right well, shall we move on I'm sure therer are more monsters here some where." Xia replied as she began deeper into the dungeons. Moments later she spoke over her shoulder to Shadow.

"You know, I didn't mean to insult Kia, becasue I hadn't realized at the time, what was going on. I hope she doesn't hate me, I would hate to have just met some one and then have them hate me right off." Xia's voice was soft as they continued throught the dark stone halls.

"There up ahead, do you see them?" Shadow had spotted two fairy bombers. He readied his weapon and charged forward into the battle. His sword glistened in the dim light as he lunged at his newest enemy. He grinned as he swept his blade through the first and bashed the next with the hilt of his weapon, then reversing the attack into a thrust as he plunged the weapon deep into the body of the first fairy bomber. Xia stood back and watched as the young fighter fought with great agility, it didn't seem as though he even thought as he acted he merely knew exactly what he was doing whether he knew it or not.

Orange Shadow was about to cut down the next opponent when he turned asnd stopped just in time to watch it die from one of Xia's spells. Her voice still echoed off the walls of the dungeon, her eyes were shut as she stood silently in the same stance she had just cast in. Then she opened them slowly and smiled.

"Well this is going quite well, don't you think? I sure hope Kia isn't board outside waiting for us.Hey I just realized that I haven't seen Loki since we entered the dungeons, do you suppose he's lost, or just knows what hes doing?" She replied looking down at her staff and shinning a grungy spot with her sleeve.

[Brooklyn]

[I][COLOR=DarkSlateBlue][SIZE=1][FONT=Book Antiqua]Loki had not been lost, but rather n a state of thinking in the first room of the dungeon
[I] Why would they attack the delta server, dose it have to do with that note and the painting? [/I]

? I should go get Kia and see if she is all right. Monsters could attack her up there all alone.? He said walking up the stairs.

Once he reached the top Kia was still leaning against the wall looking at her blades.

?Wha cha doing? asked Loki

?Just waiting for Grim ?I guess.? She replied

?Well its kinda cooled out here want to go inside or something???

? No I?m?..?

?Well you see you seem to know a lot about the game so , I need to interview you.?

?What?

?Because I need to know every thing I can about delta, I want to solve this mystery.?

?Oh-sure? said Kia as she got up and walked into the dungeon with Loki.

?Ok first what is delta?s purpose??

?Purpose? Kia said ? what do you mean?

?Well dose it have a use or anything? Loki paused as they walked into the next chamber where a magic portal opened to reveal a fairy bomber.

Both Kia and Loki went up to it and with a few slashes killed it.

?Repth?

Kia?s Hp filled up

?What are you?doing?? she asked

?Repth? his Hp returned to normal as well before he continued ? If you die I can?t talk to you can I?

?NO-the answer to your question?well I guess it?s the first server so Newbis start there,I guess? said Kia.

?Why would you do that ?unless you are trying to stop people from playing?? He said but couldn?t continue because of the Magic portal.
[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/I]

[Nothing]

Grim stood up, disoriented. The silohuette on the ground was now on his hands and knees. Grim looked closer. It was a puchygos(the pig things). He looked at the other player, who was standing up. He was vaugely familiar, but it didn't matter. The player was stone gray, dead.

Grim realized that though he had been transported, his sword, which he had dropped in the battle(NOTE: everybody else still has their weapons, my character just dropped his) The player was a longblade, so there was no chance of taking his weapon.

He checked his inventory for a spare sword. No such luck. "Damn" he said loudly. He may have been level one, but his sword was at a much higher level. A more experienced player gave it to him when he started. Now he had to fight without it.

The puchygos was too small to ride, so he started walking.

:BATTLE START:

He paled. Without seeing it, he had activated a portal. There were only three goblins, but with no sword and few potions, he couldn't risk it. He ran.The dungeon came into view on the horizon, and he headed for it. More monsters, he thought. Great.

He ran inside, just as he activated another portal. He came into the first room of the dungeon, and saw an open treasure chest. Somebody else had been here, he thought. Was it the others? He had to hope they had gotten all the portals.

[natchan]

Aother battle finished up and Orange Shadow healed himself with a potion, he then turned to Xia her back was turned to him and she did not speak nor move. Shadow moved around to the front of her where he could see her wide golden eyes staring down at her hand, a deep gash ran across the top of it, red blood spilling from the wound. Shadow could see it in Xia's eyes, she was scared.

"That looks bad, you should stop it, here take this." He replied sifting through his gear and handing her a potion. She did not react to him, she just continued to stare. Then quietl she replied.

"This shouldn't be happening, I shouldn't bleed in 'The World'." There was a tinge of fear in her voice.

"Look just take this and bandage the wound, we'll figure it out." Shadow replied softly. Xia took the potion and drank it, she felt better but the woud remained. She then tore a peice of her skirt off and tried to tie it around her hand. Orange shadow could see that she was having trouble trying to tie it one handed, so he offered to help as he took the bandage from her.

[Neko]

||Δ-???-???-???|| Kia, over the course of what could possibly be described as the worst INFORMATION DENIED years of her existance in this god-forsaken game, had by now developed an amazing sense of patience. But now, a mere ten minutes after the others had gone into the dungeon, Kia felt her patience wearing thin. She peered into the dark cavern, wondering if something bad had happened to the others. What could be taking them so long?! she thought to herself. Then a voice whispered through her head that she had hoped she'd gotten rid of years ago. What does it matter?! a dark voice demanded in the depths of her mind, What do you care for these stupid people?! You don't even know them. They could be PKers! She shook her head slowly, reasoning with herself. Don't be silly, they seem like nothing more than a frightened group of new players. And this one seems nice enough... She turned her head to this player, this 'Loki', who gave her a strange look before returning to her own thoughts. And another player dashed into the dungeon, not so much as a hello to stop him. Kia looked down at the corrupted ground near her feet. "Loki," she said, her voice devoid of emotion or meaning, "weren't you and that sorry group of players looking for someone?" "Yeah," Loki replied, snapping out of her thoughts, "Why?" "Because I think he just ran right past us." Kia replied flatly. She walked into the dungeon, hoping this other player was at least a bit more experienced than the others at this game. "Hey, you there!" she shouted to the player, who had stopped in front of an unopened portal. "Yeah, what is it?" Grim asked, turning to face her.

[0ber0n the Neko]

OOC: If the "rare hunter" thing doesn't strike you as appealing, natchan, just tell me, and I'll never mention it again.

IC:
Shadow had helped Xia to heal the wound on her hand, but it was very difficult to understand just why these things were happenng. He stayed with her as long as she was bleeding, and eventually it stopped.

They ran further into the dungeon, and were met with a 3-way split in the road.

"Great. Now what?" Xia asked.

Shadow smiled his empty smile. "Treasure. We find treasure." He looked at her, mocking a scolding tone. "You were the one who wanted to be a 'rare hunter', I just agreed to help you!"

Xia looked at him, with a look of mischief on her face. "Well, it was your choice to help, wasn't it?" She decided to act on her earlier intuition. "Why did you agree to help, anyway?"

All she saw was a flicker of oddity. Shadow had changed, somehow. Instead of looking embarassed, he looked as if he had rapidly changed from placid to disturbed to frantic, and back to placid again in the space of a nanosecond. "I need a reason, do I?"

Xia felt ill at ease, and sat. "I'm going to heal, while there are no monsters around. You make sure it stays that way, all right?" She said, sternly. "While I heal, I'll check this map... and find the way we should go. Agreed?"

Shadow nodded. He drew his sword, ready to attack at a moment's notice. He smiled at Xia in his shellish way, and investigated one of the passageways. He saw a portal, and in the oter there was also a portal. The third one was unguarded, and highly unlikely to hold any sort of valuable treasures.

Xia stood again, indicating that the way to go was through one of the portals. Shadow ran ahead, ready to fight.

:BATTLE START!:

:a GOBLIN appeared!:
:a GOBLIN appeared!:
:a GOBLIN appeared!:
:a MAD GRUNTY appeared!:
:a LIMP KNIFE appeared!:

Shadow looked over the crowd of monsters. He held a speed charm and a nu mou charm in each hand. He activated a speed charm, and lobbed the charm at the Limp Knife, which was weak against lightning.

:LIMP KNIFE recieves 35 damage!:
:GOBLIN attacks ORANGE_SHADOW and misses!:

Shadow swung his blade, recieving the effects of the speed charm, and hit a goblin, and then his mad grunty companion. He swung at the next goblin, who was hit by a huge blast of fire. Both blows hit at the same time, causing a "Rare Attack".

Shadow felt his blade become consumed in flames. He swung it around in a circle rapidly, hitting every monster twice.

:RARE ATTACK! ORANGE_SHADOW uses FIRE BLADE CIRCLE!:
:GOBLIN is hit twice and recieves 150 damage!:
:GOBLIN is hit twice and recieves 139 damage!:
:LIMP KNIFE is hit twice and recieves 128 damage!:
:MAD GRUNTY is hit twice and recieves 170 damage!:

Shadow looked at his sword, which was no longer on fire. He looked over at Xia, who just smiled and waved. She gave him the thumbs-up sign. "Pretty awesome, Shadow!"

Shadow smiled, despite himself, not the empty smile that was so hackneyed, but the warm smile of someone very happy, who hasn't been for quite some time.

"Thank you, Xia. This way." He said.

They entered the door, and saw the Statue Chest.

Xia ran to it, and opened it. She smiled. "I got a new staff! And a Golden Grunty! Come get your item!" she said, beckoning him closer.

He reached inside, and found a :BANDANA: and a :CLAYMORE:, a blademaster weapon. "Thank you, Xia." he said, donning both. The bandana didn't add to his defense, but it gave him a speed bonus, and he always enjoyed being faster than the opposition. The claymore had slightly larger damage than his greatsword, but was much faster.

"Want me to escort you out, Miss Xia?" he asked.

She nodded and smiled. "I'd like that."

Shadow smiled, and put his hand on her shoulder, "Contact me. I'd like to do that again!" he said, and they walked off.

[natchan]

Xia walked down the dark tunnels with Shadow next to her. She was smiling at the idea of her new items, and looked down at the bandage on her hand. The bleeding had stopped awhile ago but she left the bandage on anyway.

"So what do you outside of the world?" Xia's voice was quiet, she didn't like silence so she was quick to spark the conversation.

"Huh? Outside of the world? Well not much really, I just have a normal life like everyone else my age. I go to school, chill with my friends. How about yourself, you hang out with your friends alot." Shadow asked glancing down at her. The look on Xia's face turned to embaressment as she looked aorund at the stone walls.

"I'm sorry, did I say something?" Shadow apologized.

"No you didn't do anything wrong. It's just... well... all my friends are in the world. I've never even seen my closest friend, but that doesn't matter he hasn't logged on inmost a month." Xia was silent for a moment then changed the subject.

" So ' rare hunter' huh... I like that." Xia replied, she was aout to speak but Shadow stopped her.

"Do you here that?" His voice was almost a whisper. They both strained there ears to listen. After a few moments they could hear a set of familar voices coming down the hall toward them.

"That must be Kia and the others!" Xia replied happily running ahead to greet them. Shadow lingered for a moment behind and whispered to himself.