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Nighthand
Master of Games
Posts: 1265
Joined: Mon Mar 31, 2003 9:23 pm
Class: Bladesmage
Location: ...Tracking...please wait...

Post by Nighthand » Thu Apr 26, 2007 7:20 pm

"As caustically as Zan put it, he's right; we should probably complete the Hub we've already partially assaulted. At the very least, we know one path not to take. Also, Nall isn't going to send us all off again. We're all tired, and some of us have a lot of thinking to do. We'll move out a day or so after all of this is decided and everyone's satisfied. I know Dien's already getting his beauty sleep..."

Silverblade paused, thinking. What else was there to talk about? Questions seemed to have been whittled down to nothing, and no strong objections had come up about going to the half-done Hub...

"Suraisu's dead. Probably." Nall said, in response to Canti's overly-persistent question. "He's as dead as hackers ever are, which doesn't mean much. I had to get out of there before the whole tower collapsed onto me. Maybe he's at the bottom of the rubble... maybe he made it out alive. I don't know."

In the silence that followed, Silverblade once more spoke up.

"Well then, I guess unless there are more questions, or objections to repeating Pulsating Light Trap Core, the meeting is adjourned."

--------------------ooc:
Short post, but I answered most everything in posts during the week. We move out next thursday; use this week to get your last-minute questions in, objections if you have any, and stocking up. Rest too if you want to RP that.

Thursday, May 24th, is 4 weeks from today. If you're doing a solo, it should be done by then. For training room quests, that's the cutoff for having rewards apply to this current quest. Other solos will be graded case-by-case in how they affect other things, like participation in this quest. Basically I don't want lingering solos to drag on.

User avatar
Senna
Awakened Player
Posts: 150
Joined: Sat Jul 01, 2006 10:28 pm

Post by Senna » Sat Apr 28, 2007 3:42 am

Boring and useless.

That was how she was viewing the meeting now – an exercise that started out with a good idea but ended up not giving her any real information she wanted. Some of it, like the lengthy dissertation on what got them stuck, was useful. Some of it, like the brat attempting to.. well, she could only guess shame others by their brazen walkabouts, but hadn’t he been standing like a lost puppy out in the city when she first saw him in passing … was only tiresome. And some things she felt certain was useful to other people, but she didn’t have the slightest care for whether or not Nighthand was still Nighthand or the brat was the brat or any of them was anything. As far as she could see, it was a great wad of talking – lots and lots of talking, as these seemed to be some of the most yammer-driven people she’d ever encountered – but no real talk about why these Elites, if they were so much powerful than the admin, should have just set up some sort of trap for them when they returned to the place they’d already dared.

Yes, there was nothing like doing exactly as expected when trying to outwit a dangerous opponent.

Still, she didn’t feel like joining the dutiful stand-and-deliver everyone seemed to be doing, announcing their names like a file of kindergartners back from summer holiday. Besides, from what little she’d seen of these Freedom Fighters, it would make little difference. They tended toward a good deal of focus on their goals. She had no reason to think suggesting it might be stupid would make any difference to any of them any more than it had to Canti. She supposed it was a good thing in general – a never-say-die sort of attitude – but when just sitting here gabbing was probably making their goal more dangerous, it was frustrating.

She did find one bright spot in the meeting – an old friend whose face was the first she was REALLY familiar with in this group. Others she’d known before or come to know since joining, and most of them had earned a measure of respect, varying amounts depending on who they were and what they’d done. She had no doubt she’d not earned a whole lot of respect herself, but it didn’t really matter. Hac, though, she’d faced down a number of opponents with – and in one memorable occasion, he had BEEN the opponent. She was glad to see him, though she didn’t wasn’t to intrude on the ongoing oratory with anything so mundane as a greeting. To that end, she simply nodded her hello. There would be time to talk later, assuming both they and she were not correct and they weren’t headed toward imminent death – real death. It wasn’t something she could compass yet. She wasn’t sure what it would take for her to be able to do so.

While she didn’t understand this – a problem of being too close, unable to see the forest for the trees, as the saying goes – the main reason she was antsy and frustrated with this meeting was exactly that – death, or at least the way danger in here had suddenly become real. It was still new for her, and the way she’d been able to avoid freaking out was not thinking about it. But sitting here, hearing the mechanics of this virus thing being laid out like notes from a professor’s lecture, hearing people pepper questions back and forth that she didn’t care about, she was falling into the old mechanics of being a student in a lecture hall. To do that was simple – listen to the proceedings with one ear and let most of your mind wander. The unfortunate part was this new surrounding dominated her thoughts. And if she let herself be inactive and think, she’d likely wind up a self-obsessed emo whiner. To that end, the proud part of her preferred to be a sullen, angry self-obsessed person. It seemed the lesser of two evils.

All this was just sub-stuff however. On the surface, she was just irritated with the meeting. Boring and useless. Yee-ha.

It was Zan’s caustic tirade that finally brought her attention full-on to the present, to the fact that things might be winding down now. She was less than pleased with Nighthand… Silverb… whatevertheheck his name was’s plan of disbursing so everyone could do some thinking. Senna’s eyebrow twitched at the thought. Sleep, maybe. Sleep might be a worthwhile thought.

She didn’t wait for the meeting to break up for real, but pushed back her seat and headed from the room. Maybe she’d try to catch up with Hac a bit later. That aside, if she was stuck here, she wanted to get going.

It had to beat the alternative.
Senna, level 33 Long Arm (710 HP/180 SP)
Most common kit: Ichigou, Racoon Earcaps, Air Bracer, Snow Panther, Winter Coat, Graceful Book
Spells/Skills: (Critical Hit/Death) Repulse Cage, Ap Corv, Ap Vorv, Rai Rom, Rue Zot, La Repth
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Hacorie
Ikkitousen
Posts: 105
Joined: Thu Sep 30, 2004 11:30 pm
Location: Here and there.
Contact:

Post by Hacorie » Sun Apr 29, 2007 3:03 pm

...

Hacorie was appalled that Phoenix had said. The Blademaster had basically said his questions were more important than Hac’s meager ones. As his anger began to rise, Hacorie tried to breathe slower and heavier to calm himself down. His anger problem was one in which he could rid, but that one personality trait is what made Hacorie, Hacorie. There was a good side to Phoe Phoe’s interjection however. He actually answered Hac’s questions a bit. Of course Silverblade also spoke up right after Phoenix and gave a longer explanation saying the same thing. The team had lost track of the light elemental Wavemaster named Gingi, and they had made a large scale war break out where the Freedom Fighters were the targets of the Elites and the Administrators. Damn...they have had it rough since I have been gone. That sucks...

Moving his azure eyes back and forth between each member who had actually introduced themselves as Silverblade had requested, Hacorie tried to keep everyone’s names he had just learned with a face. The first was a Wavemaster who had a stack of papers between his hands. It seemed that the papers were a form of some sort to describe whoever fills it out. “I need one of those!” Hac said as he perked his head up to meet the Wavemaster named Rayo face to face. With eyes steady, the Heavy Blade paced toward Rayo while extending his arms for one of the pieces of paper. Taking one of these, Hacorie began to look over the basics. Name . . . Class . . . Abilities . . . Equipment . . . Items . . . Guess I better get started. the player thought to himself as he finally took a seat while taking in the rest of the meeting.

As he began to start pressing the graphite pencil against the thin paper, a familiar voice spoke above the crowd. His words were quite different that Hac had remembered. This player reminded the Heavy Blade of how another player, from the when Hac was around, also criticized Nall. Instead of being Phoenix, it was Zan... His words were strong and to the point. It seemed that Zan wanted to get the meeting over with so the team could destroy the next hub instead of listening the mindless self-centered stories of Nall. Ending his minute speech with a metaphorical and stereotypical car joke, Zan had seemed to not care where the group went for. Hac guessed he just loved to fight. Maybe he is Irish...oops...now I am stereotyping...It must be contagious.

About done filling out the survey, Hacorie decided to interject, but as he lifted his head and opened his mouth, another player spoke up. She said her name was Sekai, but her speech was a bit laggy; she stuttered a bit with the passing of a few words. After hearing the archer’s name, Hacorie zoned out once again just so he could finally finish the stupid paper which was now getting even more annoying with each passing moment. After a few more seconds passed, Hacorie leaned back in the chair he had picked. With a smile on his face he lightly pushed the paper. “Done...” He whispered as he looked to see if Rayo was still in the room. Peering at where he had been sitting, yet another new voice interjected into the conversation. This Twin Blade character did not say his name however, only a bit about some sort of Hacker which was a new member of the Elites.

Nall rebuts the question with an answer that was not really an answer. It was more of an ‘I don’t know’ with a lot more words put in the middle to make it sound like he was truthfully answering the question. Even though Hacorie did not know who this Suraisu character was, the Heavy Blade believed he was still alive since Nall was not giving a definite answer. After all, it is better to be prepared and accept someone may be alive than just assume they are dead. Because, when you least expect it...BAM!!!...they will show up once again.

"Well then, I guess unless there are more questions, or objections to repeating Pulsating Light Trap Core, the meeting is adjourned.”

“Hold on!” Hacorie called as he finally got a word in edgewise. “I believe you all said that one of the hubs had already been assaulted by a few of you? Well that group obviously had to retreat due to certain reasons, correct?” Assuming the answer was yes to all his questions so far, Hacorie continued on. “Well this is my input on the matter: If one group attacked and failed at the second hub...would it not be safe to say that this Marionette has strengthened the defenses for another assault. If it knows the first hub was destroyed...I believe it would have actually called more help to defend the partially assaulted one. This may include some help from the third hub’s defenses.

Thus, I believe we should go after the third hub. This character in charge of it all, if thinking correctly, should think that we think....confused yet?....anyways it should know we would decide to take the one failed at earlier. That is why if we attack the third and untouched one, we should have a higher rate of success. I know a lot of this was confusing...but I hope everyone got the just of it. Questions...comments?

Oh, and here is this sheet of paper Rayo” Hac said as he sat back down as he handed the sheet of paper to the Wavemaster. While waiting for some sort of reply from Silverblade or any other member of the team, Hacorie watched as a certain Long Arm relieved herself from the meeting.

I wonder if she is taking this whole thing as hard as I did. I sure hope not...I do not wanna see another stupid accident like I had...

Flashmail
To: Senna
From: Hacorie

Hey it has been a long while, neh? Well I am glad to see you again. Too bad it had to be under these circumstances. Being trapped in this game...and all that jazz. Anyways...I just wanted to tell you that it would be better if you tried to trust almost everyone here. You seemed to have an annoyed face on as you left. I left this team a long time ago to find myself, but in the end...I knew my place was helping my kind here to find a way to escape. So on a lighter note, let’s catch up in the field. I think it will be fun to compete with you once again.

End Flashmail
Hacorie
Level 36 Heavy Blade
Gold: 21237

Equips
Oceanic Aura/Sharktooth-Ice Helm-Winter Coat-
Shiva's Rings-Bondage Pants
---Water Magic, BL Yokohama

Wishlist:
Level Meh Up
Weapons: Sakabatou/Rock n Roll/Peace Blade
Body: Knight's Armor
Other: Earthlore/Feng Shui
--------Water/Earth Scrolls

User avatar
Marionette
Elevated Player
Posts: 29
Joined: Sun Sep 03, 2006 4:24 pm

Post by Marionette » Wed May 02, 2007 7:03 am

Flashmail
To: Silverblade
From: Marionette
RE: messagE

I knoW whaT yoU arE. caN thaT helP yoU wherE yoU arE goinG?

End Flashmail


Flashmail
To: Lighteria
From: Marionette
RE: messagE

blackeneD birD iN enlighteneD bodY; yoU knoW noT whaT tO dO. wilL thaT ignorancE bE thE deatH oF yoU?

End Flashmail


Flashmail
To: Senna
From: Marionette
RE: messagE

yoU lacK confidencE iN yourselF; buT wilL yoU stilL finD iT iN yoU tO fighT againsT mE wheN thE timE comeS? oR wilL thaT despaiR keeP yoU froM thE fighT?

End Flashmail


Flashmail
To: Zhao Xun
From: Marionette
RE: messagE

A fielD oF asheS, A fielD fulL oF memorieS. whaT wilL yoU finD iN thE dusT?

End Flashmail


Flashmail
To: Canti
From: Marionette
RE: messagE

yoU hunT foR thE onE witH thE bladeS, yeT yoU knoW noT iF hE liveS oR rotS. wilL yoU eveR finD ouT?

End Flashmail


Flashmail
To: Cypher
From: Marionette
RE: messagE

thiS patH yoU folloW, onE yoU werE placeD oN sO lonG agO... wherE dO yoU hopE tO enD?

End Flashmail


Flashmail
To: Dien
From: Marionette
RE: messagE

sleeP awaY, buT leT noT thaT burninG spiriT dwindlE. iT maY servE yoU welL.

End Flashmail


Flashmail
To: Reinier
From: Marionette
RE: messagE

thE eartH iS yourS tO commanD, buT whaT wilL yoU dO wheN thE sanD rebelS againsT youR toucH? caN yoU hopE tO gaiN it'S trusT agaiN?

End Flashmail


Flashmail
To: Phoenix
From: Marionette
RE: messagE

onE poweR foR anotheR; iS thE tradE equaL, oR iS thiS A losS oN youR parT? whaT pricE musT yoU paY foR thiS onE?

End Flashmail


Flashmail
To: Rayo
From: Marionette
RE: messagE

yoU havE A minD welL suiteD tO analysiS; yoU makE thE planS thaT keeP yoU anD yourS alivE. wilL yoU continuE tO garneR sucH trusT?

End Flashmail


Flashmail
To: Hijinx
From: Marionette
RE: messagE

thE untameD souL rideS iN youR bodY, buT whO knowS thE trutH oF yoU? dO yoU knoW froM whencE yoU werE borN?

End Flashmail


Flashmail
To: Armina
From: Marionette
RE: messagE

innocencE haS alwayS beeN youR domaiN. yoU begiN tO maturE, buT whaT darkeR sidE wilL yoU seE?

End Flashmail


Flashmail
To: Raquar
From: Marionette
RE: messagE

yoU havE beeN througH mucH, buT iS anY oF iT meaningfuL? oR doeS iT palE iN thE facE oF thE trialS oF youR neW comradeS?

End Flashmail


Flashmail
To: Sekai
From: Marionette
RE: messagE

twO iN onE, iN shareD bodY iN harmonY; caN yoU lonG survivE iN thiS worlD yoU finD yourselveS? wilL yoU parT wayS?

End Flashmail


Flashmail
To: Hacorie
From: Marionette
RE: messagE

thE mistresS oF icE waS youR idoL, buT whaT haS becomE oF heR noW? wilL yoU meeT thE samE fatE, oR wilL yoU forgE youR owN patH?

End Flashmail


Flashmail
To: Nall
From: Marionette
RE: messagE

yoU knoW morE thaN yoU thinK yoU dO. caN yoU discoveR whaT thiS alL meanS?

End Flashmail
whaT happenS wheN thE puppeT pullS thE stringS?

User avatar
Zhao Xun
Elevated Player
Posts: 63
Joined: Fri May 12, 2006 3:09 am
Location: Wherever I'm needed.

Post by Zhao Xun » Wed May 02, 2007 9:57 pm

The plan was set. We were heading back, and though for most of those assembled this was merely the next step on their journey of liberation; for me, it was a trial of redemption. Could I really hold my own with these people, most of whom I barely knew? Or would I falter and stumble again? I had to try and keep the pressures of what I was hiding from eroding the barriers I had erected within myself, or I would lose everything all over again. Chaos within myself was something I had dealt with already... I wasn't interested in going through that experience ever again.

I glanced around and saw Rayo, and realized I had never really answered the question he posed me before. We had had our game of chess, yes, but it had been naught more than that. IT should have been a reunion of sorts, if even a small one. I had to make amends somehow, and though I couldn't clear things up with him instantly, I could at the very least give him the beginnings of an explanation. I wished I could give more, but... I couldn't recall everything that had happened since I left that last field. It was mostly a dark, cold blur.
Flashmail!
To: Rayo
From: Zhao Xun
RE: Apology

Body:
Rayo... sorry I was cold to you during our match. I wanted to talk to you, but... I just couldn't somehow. So I'll tell you everything I can now.

You asked me what happened after I disappeared from the field. Well, I'm not completely sure myself, but I do know I entered into a conflict with my other mind. The details are fuzzy in my head, so I can't give you much, but I feel as though a sort of fusion has taken place. I'll fill you in if I can remember more. I just want you to know... I trust you.

End Flashmail
There. That would do for now.

I suddenly heard the chime of a bell that announced that I had a new flashmail. Had he received it and written back so fast? Impossible... so who was this one from?
Flashmail!
To: Zhao Xun
From: Marionette
RE: Message

Body:
A fielD oF asheS, A fielD fulL oF memorieS. whaT wilL yoU finD iN thE dusT?

End Flashmail
Marionette again.... I had encountered him but once, while adventuring in Pulsating Light Trap Core... what could he want now? And what could it mean? A field full of memories? Could it be that what I was missing would come back to me? I wasn't sure. But also, I wasn't sure if I wanted them back. But... how could Marionette even know what was going on in my head?

What was going on?
Flashmail!
From: Zhao Xun
To: Dien
RE: Marionette

Body:
He appears to be back, but... it's as cryptic as ever. I got a message addressed solely to me... did you get anything of the sort? Flashmail me when you wake up, I need to talk to someone about this, and I'd prefer it be you.

End Flashmail
It was all I could think to do, really, was bother Dien about it. Nobody but him and Canti had been there with me since the beginning of my real troubles, and I felt like I had never made a connection with Canti, though I'd tried. Dien was... more like me, I suppose. But that didn't matter. What did matter was that Marionette's message had shaken my confidence once more, and that wasn't something I could stand to deal with right now.

I simply had to hope Dien would wake up soon. I needed him now more than ever.
Zhao's Profile

Wishlist:
Levels
Slayers
Other level 16+ Twin Blade Weapons
Cougar Bandanna
Snow Panther
Level 16+ Twin Blade Armor

Miakita hazu no tasogare ga
Konna ni kirei dato naita

User avatar
Lighteria
Well-Oiled Machine
Posts: 176
Joined: Fri Oct 01, 2004 12:59 am
Location: :noitacoL

Post by Lighteria » Thu May 03, 2007 3:43 am

The meeting was seemingly winding down to a close, especially when Silverblade declared the meeting to be adjourned. With Lighteria's plan having been shot down, the meeting was slowly turning less from an information collection and planning session and more towards a bunch of white noise that could distract him from his seething rage. He'd actually thought the plan had a good shot at working, secretly he still did, but the sweeping logic of why is plan is flawed and the subsequent progression of the meeting kept him from voicing opposition. Things were already getting too conspicuous for his tastes.

Ugh, where's that stupid cat? Isn't she supposed to be chiming in with a smug but well thought out opinion?

Meanwhile, on Sekai's lap...
Mew... Mew... Meow... Mew. Mew. Mew. (Comfy... Warm... Has fingernails.. Best. Lap. Ever.)
*Purrrrrrrrrrrr*


Back to Lighteria...
Ah screw it. I work better by myself anyway. Heck, just sitting here for ten minutes I've already got a list of thirty-two things I hate about them, 21 of them having to do with that twin blade over there... who... is... he SCOWLING at me? Ugh, let me add unbalanced to the list. I swear, a resolution to this mess can't come fast enough. That kid better be working his butt off out there, if I find out he's gallivanting around town instead of at the computer, or worse just... checking things out. ...RRGG!! I will be SO ticked off.

He glances to Renier for a second, thinking about what the heavy blade said before.

So very ticked off.

Having been half listening to the meeting, Lighteria pipes up in response to the blond heavy blade's concerns.

"These elites can mop the floor with the Admins, despite the minor victories yo- we've had, I doubt they see us as much more than a nuisance, just figuring the ones we beat were careless. Even so, the probably figure that if we couldn't break through the FIRST time, there's no way we'd do it the second time anyway. They seem arrogant enough to not give a damn about reinforcements and whoever is guarding the third hub would probably never share his defenses for the second guy." He sits back in his chair. "Not like it's hard to code up a monster or two anyway, I'm sure they put the guards back to 100% already anyway so it's really just academic which one yo- we pick."

He coughs to clear his throat, shutting his eyes. "It's not like they know what we're doing any more than we know what they-"

*New Flashmail*

"..."
I hate flashmails.

The twinblade's eyes widen lightly as he reads through the mail.

From... Marionette? ... ...Isn't that the guy guarding the hubs?

...Blackened.. bird... Oh. No. Nononononononono. He can't know. He CAN'T.


He glances around quickly, almost suspiciously.

Someone has to be playing a prank or something. Reindeer’s the only one I straight out told about this. He has to be screwing with my head. ...But then how'd he know the name Raven? I didn't go that far into detail... Unless the kid told him about me beforehand and he pieced it together. ...No, that's giving him too much credit. The kid's too shy to talk to freaking anyone and there's no clue to my being involved.
...But... DAMN, that just leaves Marionette to actually know what happened. For God sakes, *I* barely know what happened to me.


The twin blade takes a deep breath and silently gets up from the chair, heading towards the couch, sitting down and folding his hands together in contemplation.

...I'm going to have to go with them. If this Mari... guy knows this much I'm either going to have to beat the hell out of him or get him to help me. Doubt I can get there by myself from the sound of it too. ...UGH. I can't believe I'm going to be spending more time with these people. This day can't get any worse.
Lv. 37 Twin Blade (180 SP)
Weapon: Rashou (Thunder Coil- 30, Suvi Lei- 20, Mumyn Lei- 30) (Life Drain)
Armor: Holy Tree Mail (Juk Kruz- 20) - Scarab Earring (La Repth- 20, Rip Maen- 40) - Time Sandals (Ap Do- 15) - Forest Gloves (Juk Kruz- 20)
GP: 14384

Wish list (In order of priority): Angel halo accessory, chibi angel wings, Bone Armor, Professional

Lighteria: "Obsessively updating my profile since Fri Oct 01, 2004 7:10 pm"

Zan
Exalted Player
Posts: 206
Joined: Sat Jan 22, 2005 10:28 pm
Contact:

Post by Zan » Thu May 03, 2007 3:55 am

With the meeting winding down, Zan was once again allowed a chance to zone out. Thankfully, though, this particular bout of zoning didn't involve a half-dream that risked a Merging in front of the group. Until he was able to work the kinks out of that butt monkey, he'd keep it under wraps. Sure, technically Raine could probably run her mouth about it (had she been watching), but the lycanthrope was banking on her not caring enough to mention it. The only thing Zan was really concerned about it was unnecessary pressure from the group to use it when they needed it. Sounded good on paper. Thing was, the Heavy Blade had no actual choice when he and Nulus became two separate people again. People, of course, being loosely used to describe the First. The separation depended on the whim of whatever it was that he and the Shade became. Who knows? Next time it might decide that it likes being what it is and finds no need to allow them back into existence. Zan was rather fond of existing, thank you very much. Plus, if the separation never took place then Lowen would be on her own. The Lycan doubted the Merged was going to distract its own ambitions for one of Zan's. Or...were Zan's ambitions still in there somewhere? Bah, no way to know.

The trance was broken by the sudden absence of Senna, the Long Arm walking out before the meeting could come to full completion. The moment Hacorie opened his mouth and began blabbing, Zan decided he should follow her lead. Pushing off of the way with a graceful, nigh-floating motion, the lycanthrope waved the group a stoic 'see-ya' before emerging back into the common room. Although the fabled green couch called to him once more, he wasn't entirely sure he'd resist a good sleep. Did he want to wake up all contorted on a couch when there were decent beds in the barracks? Nah. It served well for cat naps (wrong animal ignored), but not the good eight-hour shit he was looking forward to. The option of another meal was a blatant temptation and, always able to go to bed easier on a full stomach, Zan had no reason to resist. The walk there involved nothing particularly fantastical or amusing, but it did feature a good zombie-esque look on the Lycan's face. Boredom and fatigue had seemed to permanently set his revealed, scarred face in that fashion. The Heavy Blade could feel the word 'zombie' pinging an interest in Nulus and, after only a few seconds, the bastard spoke up.

Holy shit. Soulless humans walking around groaning and devouring chunks of flesh?

Yes, Nulus, that generally categorizes a zombie.

You should so be that! It'd be sweet! You'd have your friends waking up and running around shouting stuff like 'Arg! Where's my arm?! Has anyone seen my arm?!' Or, or, 'MEH SPLEEEEEN. MEH SPLEEN GOT ATE'D.' Think about it.

Go die, Nulus.

Loser.

Asshat.

Rather than toss back another insult, the concept of an actual ass for a hat intrigued the First enough to send it back to contemplative mode. Good, that was something. The end result would probably be more horrid eating the limbs of his companions, but it was still blissful silence for the time being. All of his mental clashing had skipped time enough to bring him blinking in front of the impatience of the chef, the NPC drumming his fingers in annoyance along the counter top. Hmm...what to get, what to get? Another raw steak mountain vaguely appealed, but why just steaks? Why not an entire, skinned torso? Ordering that and his usual Big Gulp of 'kool-aid', Zan hefted the raw slab of meet and bone onto a table and set the huge black jug aside. Allowing the mind of the Beast to do its thing, Zan only vaguely remembered the following seconds; elongated canines tearing into chunks of the thing, crunching past bone and prying the things open with the ensuing wet pop of snapping sinew before slurping down the marrow buried within. By the time he was finished and the last drop of the thick, ruby syrup had settled in his stomach, Zan reclined and indulged in an audible belch. A twig of bone fragment was used as a toothpick as he left the remains of the carcass and meat globs for the NPC to clean up.

Now what had been the plan again? Ah, yes, sleep. Sleep would be a good desert. Arriving at the barracks revealed an already unconscious Dien, the kid apparently exhausted from getting his ass handed to him by a scrawny she-bitch of a woman. Zan had seen Kira in ghosty-form before and, sure, she was hardly scrawny. That didn't matter though, the body she had used to throttle the poor Blademaster was and that was simply all that mattered. For Zan, anyway. Sekai was probably riddled with guilt or other clammy feelings, but she'd deal. The chick was tough, no doubt about it. The other one, Raquar, hadn't seemed very active. Aside from his part in settling the fight, he seemed withdrawn from the meeting and everything else that had come about since. Was it truly so horrible here? Or, more likely, was it something more? It could be the simple dislike of being unable to wake up in your own body, but the shell shock he seemed to possess didn't come from something like that. Not usually. Zan had only seen that look in accidental murderers or witnesses to horrendous things that would make his Beast roll in delight.

Wait.

Zan felt like he was emerging from a fog then, a temporary peek outside of his body to stare at the person he was right then. The thoughts he had been having recently, the boredom, the disregard for his meat and blood inhibitions and the feelings of those around him...it just wasn't him. Was this the leaking taint of sharing the mind with a sociopath? Was it an echo of being Merged? Trying to think too hard on the subject had Zan squeezing a hand over his face, the motion coupled with a groan as he plopped down on the nearest bed. Nothing seemed quite right these days and, sadly, it was easier to give in to the rash and rude impulses that had been surfacing as of late. No one really cared if Zan was a dick, if he ate like the monster he was part of, or even if he simply stopped caring. Some, maybe, might be concerned for a passage of time. The Heavy Blade knew, however, that his absence would only be a drop of water in the ocean of things that have come and gone from the Freedom Fighters. That all noted, why did it matter? Why did he have to keep himself separate from whatever was happening to his brain? It was just too hard, too unrewarding. Not worth it.

The lycanthrope's will a weak thing at the moment, he allowed the need to be 'himself' fading back into the fog. The bed was too soft, too nicely crafted for his tastes to simply waste time worrying about who he was becoming. Everyone changed to some extent, if only blooming into the person they had always carried inside of them. Who was he to resist the natural pull of things? Staring up at the ceiling, he found his thoughts drifting to what was up ahead. When he'd wake (or, more accurately, when he was forced to wake) they'd be off to the next Hub and the next clash of puzzles and monsters and insanely crafted boss creatures. Oh, and then there was that whole 'working for Marionette' thing. The puppetmaster dude had said he'd be contacting Zan soon enough in some of their recent flashmails, hadn't he? The contract had come, as far as Zan knew, with a promise to keep the Freedom Fighters well and alive as long as the Heavy Blade worked as a lackey or a pawn or whatever the fuck it is he was going to be under Marionette's manipulative strings. The moment the protection was not enough, the moment something happened to his friends where the guy could have stopped it? He'd have no trouble saying 'fuck you' and dropping whatever allegiance he had sworn.

Question was...would Marionette let him?
Lv. 50 Heavy Blade
Wishlist
Special: Levels, GR Sendai, PL Sakai, Darklore.
W: Tonosama Sword, Mineuchi, Jundachi.
A: Samurai Helm, Able Hands, Rare Greaves.
I: Holy Sap, Treebane, Cooked Bile, Nightbane.
EX: Elemental Summon (Lv. 2), Overdrive (Lv.1), Elemental Attacks (Lv. 2), Enhance Dark, Elemental Breath (Lv. 2).

Reinier
Awakened Player
Posts: 164
Joined: Fri Oct 01, 2004 4:49 am
Location: UNKNOWN ERROR, please try again later
Contact:

Post by Reinier » Thu May 03, 2007 4:04 am

“I'm always a bit happy when your fall asleep. It's the gateway between our spirits. It's the only real time I can communicate with you as a person.” Abraxas' words carried throughout the room. Garrett rolled up to an upright position on the bed, to see the dragon in a more human form. Abraxas reclined in a chair, his right foot propped up on his left knee, with a Bible plopped in his lap. His foot wiggled impatiently as he shut the book and held it up to Garrett, and said, “Ever read it? Interesting stuff involved. Genesis is pretty awesome. God went all biblical on Sodom and Gomorrah. That whole raining sulfur down upon the blasphemers 'n what not...”

“Is there a point to all of this, or are you just going to stuff your religion down my throat? I need rest. There's no telling what we're going to encounter in this next quest, we both know this. Y'know, in theory you know this, cus of that whole “mind connection” deal you're rambling on about,” Garrett muttered, rubbing his eyes while staring down at his feet.

A frown appeared on the man's face. He let out a sigh, and set the bible down on the table behind him. “I'm not stuffing my religion down your throat. Jus' sayin' that in times like this that maybe you'd like to have something more. Something that's always there for you. But with that aside, I'm curious and need to hear this directly from you. What will you do once we're out of this game? Adapting to the real world once more will be strenuous. There's no telling when we'll get out. You were, what, sixteen when you first entered the game? We don't even know how old we'll be when we're out. What if we leave in our thirties? So much could've happened. We'd be awakening with barely a high school education.” His words were crisp and thought out. He hesitated at times, but for the most part it was readily apparent that he had thought about this long and hard.

Garrett simply grinned, and attempted to hide his own fears. “No worries. We'll get out soon enough. If there were a God, he wouldn't be trapping innocents such as us in a hell like this. What sort of 'savior' would do that to his own children? God is dead, and he is not listening to us anymore. Fate? Destiny? It's in our hands now. It's time we take control of our own lives, so stop you're fucking praying and do something about this.” Garrett rolled out of bed and walked out of the room, not realizing how mad he truly was about this whole ordeal.

He stepped through the archway, finding himself in unusual surroundings. The hustle and bustle of capitalism at work buzzed through the air as people casually walked by the boy without a care for anything other then themselves. Garrett blinked a few times, then scratched his head. He turned to his companion. “This hardly constitutes as resting. Or necessary, for that matter. I just want to sleep. No more of you in my mind already, sheesh...” Garrett muttered to his friend, forgetting that the people walking by didn't even exist.

“And belittling my beliefs was? Do you remember what happened at this mall, those few years ago? I do, but only through a little bit of prying. Stroll around for awhile, take in the sights, and remember. Maybe it'll help you with what you're going through...” And with that, the boy walked over to a pretzel cart. Garrett followed swiftly behind, rage beginning to boil in his blood.

“What will being in a fucking food court do for my problems? My only problem is getting out of this fucking place! That's it!” Garrett screamed while he found his partner simply eating his pretzel merrily.

“Technically, we're not in the food court. The food court is upstairs, and the pretzel stand is downstairs. We're not talking quantum physics right here or anything.” Abraxas took a bite of his pretzel, somewhat relieved to be fighting about something other then The World. Even though he couldn't taste the pretzel, or be nourished by it, he was content with at least pretending to be human for awhile.

“The pretzel stand is an eatery. Eateries are a part of the food court. Problem solved. Duh, come on man,” Garrett argued, knowing his point had won. The dragon boy simply chuckled, and took another bite. He looked Garrett straight in the eyes at that point.

“Bullshit. Eateries that operate within the designated square downstairs count as food court. Anything outside of said designated square counts as an autonomous unit for mid-mall snacking. But this is all besides the point. The big picture right here is, that we might miss what we came here for.” Abraxas took a nibble off his pretzel, then pointed with it, extending out his pinky. In a straight line away from the pinky, there stood Garrett, Andrea, Godric, and one other person that Garrett couldn't recognize.

Garrett's eyes widened as he broke out in to a sprint towards the area, tunnel vision beginning to set in. The only things he concentrated was on the four teenagers. His heart began pumping, his fingers tingled, sweat began to pump out of every pore... He knew he would be too late, but he ran anyway.

The chain of events happened. The piercing clamor, the shout, the grunt from the boy as he keeled over. Future Garrett came to a stop next to Past Garrett, and let out a sigh as he felt a tear well up. He fell to his knees at the same time as his past self, and simply looked at his friend laying motionless with the end of a hammer protruding from the back of his skull. “Some guy was just up in the rafters fixing a broken pipe or something, if I remember correctly... Hammer slipped as he tried to holster it, and it slipped at just the right angle that when it hit his ladder, it just punctured Nick's skull. Killed him instantly... God died with him that day, to me anyway. I blamed myself, cus I was the one who wanted to go to the mall that day...”

Garrett felt a hand clasp his shoulder, as his friend let out a sigh. “The moral here is not to blame yourself for mishaps you have no control over. You never know what will be thrown at you, ever. I know your constant turmoil with being in this world, and it burdens me as well because of our close connection. Your pain is my pain. As well as my pain is yours. Just remember that we have someone to go through this with. We're linked for a reason. Nall chose to message you for a reason, and-”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Reinier burst out of his sleep wide eyed and breathing heavily. It was at that moment that he remembered a nagging question that pained him from day one of his comatose state. Reinier leaped to his feet and began his hunt for Nall. He could he a low rumble coming from the meeting room, and due to the fact he had been incapacitated for an unmeasurable amount of time, he had to assume that they were holding a meeting. It would make sense, anyway.

It's rude to just cut off people in the middle of their epic speeches. Sheesh. I see bonding moments don't work with you...

“Nall!” Reinier called out through the crowd. He cut his way through, until he found himself face to face with the Blademaster of Time. “I've got a nagging question that hasn't ever been answered. Even at the springs you said nothing about this, but I need an answer now. Why did you pick me to join the Freedom Fighters? I was like, level four or five at the time. There must have been some reason why you would want me at that low of a level.”

"Why....? Potential, I guess. You were already a little more touched by Twilight than the normal player, though I don't know why. So I sent you the flashmail to get you to come. Underhanded, sure, but I needed all the fighters I could get."

“Potential? A hunch? That's it? You put me in this hell from nothing more then a fucking hunch that I might have potential!?” Reinier lost it. He grabbed Nall by the collar, knowing full well the repercussions of his actions. He began to full out yell, “YOU DRAGGED ME IN TO YOUR LITTLE GAME BECAUSE I MIGHT HAVE POTENTIAL? BRIBERY'S YOUR BIG GAME? WHAT THE FUCK KIND OF SHREDDED SOUL DO YOU HAVE?” Reinier began to shake furiously with rage just by being so close to the Blademaster. He could feel the collected sands from his journeys begin to float and flux about his body.

In an instant, the whole room was on edge. Sheena and Raine were on their feet, Sheena's assault held back only by a gesture from Nall. "You have no idea. You've just scratched the surface. The things I've done... You're the least of my evils." He shook off Reinier's grip and stared him in the eye. His gaze was cold, deadened. "You're another soldier in my war. Chosen out of millions because you were closer than the rest to being here anyways, without our help."

Reinier sighed, and began to choose his words. He didn't know if he should feel proud that he was chosen from millions to be apart of the group, or disgusted that he couldn't even ask nicely to join his army for his war. “Wasn't the wars of past clue enough that the draft system is flawed? I'm no more special then any other gamer out there. The only perk to me is that I'm witty. Doubt you direly need that in a war...” He whiped away a tear from his eyes, showing off his youth and immaturity. “I had so much, and it was crushed in an instant under a vine. How can you demand this from us?” A certain calm had drifted over the boy, as shown by the sand gently collecting against the boy's skin.

Nall reached out and down, scooping up a handful of the sand pooling around Reinier. He let it sift through his fingers, the grains falling in an arc until they eventually met and merged with the sand already on his skin. "Not special? You're leagues above and beyond any 'normal' player of this game." The sand gone, he dropped his arm. "We've all lost, here. This is a war. I don't keep saying that for no reason. You're a part of it now, and like any war, there's three choices. You can stay and fight with us, you can die, or you can desert and go to the other side. Just know; we're the ones that have a chance of making it out again."

Reinier gave his sheepish nod, before being interupted by an incoming Flashmail. Marionette? He didn't recognize the name, and it was out of the ordinary for even his friends to send him Flashmail.

To: Reinier
From: Marionette
RE: messagE


thE eartH iS yourS tO commanD, buT whaT wilL yoU dO wheN thE sanD rebelS againsT youR toucH? caN yoU hopE tO gaiN it'S trusT agaiN?

Reinier looked up to Nall, and simply asked, “Who's this 'Marionette' character? He just sent me a threat-matic Flashmail. It's not very settling...”

"He's the guardian of the Hubs. As near as we can tell, that's it. So far, he hasn't notified the elites of our attacks... but then, he hasn't gone out of his way to let us in, either."

Reinier rubbed his chin. “Why would he go out of his way to send us Flashmail? He can't be that much of a guardian if y'all managed to go and destroy one... Is all of his Flashmail this cryptic and foreboding?” Reinier asked, unable to shake the feeling that his powers were at stake soon. He's lost too much, and losing that would be too devestating for him to handle.

"Yeah, they are. As for why he sends them... He's trying to creep us out, I think. Shake our morale. He's been flaunting knowledge about us when he can."

So it's not outside the realm of possibility that he's a seer of sorts, I would suppose.

Reinier vomited up what the dragon had said. “So it's not outside the realm of possibility that he's a seer of sorts, correct? If that's the case, then he might well be just as impossible to kill as Melzas... That boney bastard creeps the fuck out of me...” Reinier paused for a moment. “Is it possible that it's Melzas? The name's not as obvious this time, but do you think?”

"I've been watching for signs it's him, but no. As near as I can tell, Melzas isn't involved. This is far too crafty for him anyways. Too subtle and too patient. Besides... Melzas is killable. He can't actually read minds, it just looks like he can."

“Just looks like he can? Then how does his powers work then? I can pretend to be a Pokemon master, but it doesn't turn out that well.” Reinier scratched the back of his head, his mind full of confusion at this point. The biggest thing on his mind was how Marionette knew about his bending abilities when he couldn't recall using it in the field. Maybe the vomiting sand was a clue...

"Melzas watches everything with incredible precision and attention to detail. The eye, his Twilight Item, analyzes it all and tells him as quickly as he can think, what it sees. He can tell by the way you hold your weapon, the subtle breathing changes, and all of that body language, when you're about to attack. He can tell by the sand gathering on the corner, where the attack will come from. He can tell, from a look at the projectile, where the best place to put his blade would be to deflect it."

Reinier blinked, rather impressed. “Even Ray-Ray can't think that fast... that's pretty entense. I'll give'm that, that's pretty awesome. At least we know that it's possible to defeat him... that's what matters. I've gathered what little information I needed to know, so I'm going to go crash on the couch. When we're moving out to assault the hub, just come wake me up.” Reinier snapped his fingers and shot out his index to Nall while clicking his tongue and giving him a wink as he walked off. Back to the commons for the boy, to fall in his chair to gradually drift away in to his slumber. One quick Flashmail, though...

To: Marionette
From: Reinier
Subject: Hello

How do you know about my abilities? Are you simply a neutral party, or a more devious being then the Elites?
Image
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Reinier's Wishlist: Sakabatou|Sharktooth
Abraxas' Wishlist: Complementry|Summon
The Hack's Wishlist: Wall lvl 2

User avatar
Marionette
Elevated Player
Posts: 29
Joined: Sun Sep 03, 2006 4:24 pm

Post by Marionette » Thu May 03, 2007 5:04 am

Flashmail
To: Reinier
From: Marionette
RE: knowledgE

I aM whaT yoU makE oF mE. neutralitY iS aN illusioN. I havE watcheD yoU, longeR thaN yoU knoW. I knoW yoU morE thaN yoU knoW.

End Flashmail
whaT happenS wheN thE puppeT pullS thE stringS?

Raquar
Ikkitousen
Posts: 108
Joined: Tue Apr 10, 2007 8:28 pm
Location: Hiding in the shadows

Post by Raquar » Thu May 03, 2007 7:44 am

The hallways were confusing. Rooms here, stairs there, openings in general in apparently random places. He wandered about for a bit, Sekai more or less following behind him before finding a room that contained people. That was good. People signified something important. Not always, but sometimes. The boy pushed the door open, sliding into the room hopefully unnoticed. Slipping towards the back, he paused to snatch up one of the forms lying on a vacated desk. He might as well chronicle the few meager possessions he had on him. It wasn’t much, but maybe whatever he had would help . . . maybe.

He stared at his rather short list in slight bewilderment. That was it? He knew he wasn’t the best stocked, but this was just pathetic. He had no elemental scrolls to speak off, and nothing super amazing, the rarest items in his possession were probably the triad of Cooked Bile that rested comfortably within his vest. Hopefully that would help with something. The Long Arm felt rather guilty as he sent his personal inventory off over to the Wavemaster he had met earlier, Rayo was it? He didn’t have much, and he imagined the older man would probably feel like he would end up babysitting a new and probably useless recruit. What an absolutely splendid first impression to make.

He watched as people slowly trickled into the room. Thankfully, they seemed to be mostly ignoring his presence, opting instead to talk to the older, higher leveled and more experienced of the two new ones. And while he felt bad for the Archer, it no where near equaled how relieved he felt to not have to deal with people or answer questions at the moment. Let them pester her, she was probably the more friendly of the two, assuming they got to talk to her and not the psychotic bitch that shared her body. Thoughts of Kira made his own musings shift towards the thought of Torv. He hadn’t heard from the man since the whole event on the top of the tower, and a soft search yielded nothing. Maybe the . . . infection or whatever it was had shaken him up a bit. Then again, maybe not, but the boy was left no more time to worry about it as a Heavyblade simply exhuding the air of leader paced into the room. Various chatter around the room died down quickly, eyes shifting attention to the figures standing at the front of the room.

After the descended hush was dispelled with a few murmurs, the show got underway. The largest of the leading figures, tagged as Silverblade, spoke softly but with a presence of command, his words carrying to the back arches of the room. He seemed to be regaling the basic story of . . . these people, and judging from the looks on some faces, he wasn’t the only one whose first time hearing this was now. He also introduced the two players flanking him, the female Raine, and the male Nall, who seemed to be the other leader figures of this little group. And then the questions started. They came in slowly at first, then pouring in later. Raq tried to glean as much information as he could, but the only thing that made any sort of sense of him were the few names he caught and the general idea of what was going on.

Nall, Raine, and this guy Silverblade, they at least seemed to be decent fellows. It would probably be the best bet to stick with this group or whatever it was at least for now, until he got stronger, and could take care of himself. Besides, maybe they could help him develop the so-called “Powers” that he could theoretically manipulate the Twilight that had infected him into. He stared at his hand, noting simply skin and the indent of a vein here and there. It didn’t seem to possess anything special, but who knew, maybe someday at sometime something would pop up. And if it did, perhaps these people could help him harness and control it. Then he could start looking for a way to get himself out of this mess. In the mean time, the best goal was probably to try and keep a low profile. If he didn’t bug too many people, and could keep his own in combat in whatever sort of assault these people had planned, maybe he wouldn’t be a burden.

The boy’s eyes shifted around the room constantly, observing different people as the thoughts and words of the leaders sifted around his brain. He eyes searched for recognition just as his mind sought familiarity and understanding. Both failed. His eyes noted only Sekai as somebody he knew, and still much of the story, or whatever it was, didn’t make sense. Hopefully it would in time. It seemed the basis was in an invasion of something or another, for the moment he might as well follow along. He might learn something. Either way, it’d probably be better than sitting around wherever they were doing nothing.

He was jolted back to the situation at hand from the rather bitter tirade of the Heavyblade he had met earlier, Zan was it? It seemed all was not bread and butter as it seemed, and some amount of discontent stirred within the ranks of even these . . . Freedom Fighters or whatever. His eyes shifted around the room, silently thanking Sekai as she handled the interaction parts for them. He wasn’t quite sure what it was, but something with dealing with people, just didn’t seem like something he wanted to do. He didn’t know if it was because of what happened with Tiral, just that something was up. And it didn’t matter exactly what.

The boy stared around as the talking died off at all the new faces in the room. Making new friends was probably a very good idea, but who first? No names or faces or personalities jumped out as being overly friendly or warming or acquiescing. Maybe he should keep to himself for now, and worry about the whole introduction, friend, comrade, thing later. That’s what he would do. For now, if he could stay out of the way, he would. The soft ping of a flashmail distracted him from yet another topic, but his eyes widened in shock and surprise as he opened the thing and browsed it.
Flashmail
To: Raquar
From: Marionette
RE: messagE

yoU havE beeN througH mucH, buT iS anY oF iT meaningfuL? oR doeS iT palE iN thE facE oF thE trialS oF youR neW comradeS?
What the hell was this? And who was Marionette? The name had come up briefly in the conversations before, but its not like any of it made sense to the boy. Before he had summoned up the guts to ask a question, somebody did it for him. He overheard somebody talking to Nall about this Marionette character, and from what he could glean, the thing was not pleasant. Apparently it was the guardian of the hubs they were planning on assaulting. And if he messaged them? And was watching them? In this supposed safe place? Oh. Fuck. Yay. He shook his head; this was all a little much. He didn’t respond to the cryptic flashmail, deciding instead to let it brood inside his inbox. He yawned, a small weariness settling on his bones.

If what Silver had said was true, he had a day or so. Maybe he could rest for a bit, be more prepared for the ordeal that lay ahead. Like Marionette said, did anything he had done matter? Probably not, but that meant that he had something to prove here, hopefully he wouldn’t be swept away by the immensely higher leveled characters. Hopefully he could help somehow. Hopefully, he wouldn’t end up permanently dead, his comatose body simply stopping, seizing up and stiffening, going cold and passing on. All while he was trapped inside a game. Ugh. He grasped his head in his hands and squeezed, the pressure relieving some of the thoughts boiling through his brain. Perhaps a day of rest wouldn’t be bad. He moved farther back into the corner, sliding down and stretching, half laying down half sitting against the wall. He allowed his eyes to close, his breathing to become soft and regulated. Maybe he would snap back to normal after a nap. After all, he seemed so . . . very . . . tired.
Level 28 Long Arm
Archspear, Newt Necklace, Smith's Gloves, Wyrm Scale, Kuja's Thong Dress
EXP: [700/1000]

WISHLIST
Levels
Weapons: - All
Armor: Head - Scarab Earring
Body - Nothing until Mid 30's. Ninja Garb Hand - Nothing until Mid 30's. Leg - Nothing until Mid 30's.
Items: Cooked Biles, Darkness Scrolls (Any and All)

User avatar
Sekai
Ikkitousen
Posts: 123
Joined: Tue Apr 10, 2007 11:04 pm
Class: Archer
Location: Liminality

Post by Sekai » Thu May 03, 2007 1:41 pm

There really nothing more Sekai was able to glean from the information, well, that and having an assload of sedatives in her system wasn't helping her concentrate and really think of anything helpful to say. She kept her mouth closed for the most part, trying to will the effects of the medication and such out of her brain and clear up her thoughts, though met with little success as she gave up the fight for the time being. With people leaving left and right, a confrontation's loud noise nearly had her jumping half out of her skin and unconsciously shrinking back away from it as one player went after the man with green markings on his face. Not completely unlike hers, she wondered if he was a part of the Juk affiliation or if he were something different all together before shaking her head and trying to tune the fight out so that she could think of what she was going to do next. Two consecutive Flash Mail arrived at the same time, surprising the girl as she looked up, eyes distant for a time and her head tilted to the right slightly as she opened the first one and scanned the contents.
To: Sekai
From: Ko_Inuyasha
Subject: Re: (none)
Message:

Hey you two sure you're ok? No complication with Kira? Not that Kira isn't more than one complication on her own. I'll see you guys next time either of us is feeling insomniac.
Anyone watching would notice her expression turn slightly distressed and uncomfortable at reading whatever she'd been sent, hands temporarily stilling in mid-scratch of the kitten's ear as she bit her lip and began to figure out just how exactly she was going to respond to that particular flash mail... or even if she could respond to it. Her hands automatically returned to their duty at the sound of the kitten's purr beginning to dwindle, after all, at least someone should be enjoying themselves in all of this madness. Kira on the other hand, was in a bit of a snit concerning how Sekai was behaving and where her thoughts were going.... oh, and one couldn't forget the blatant antagonism and insult inside that damn mail as well.

Ooo he's going to get knocked on his face, pinned down while I aim and fire a specific arrow right up his-

Sekai quickly replied to the mail from her friend and sent it off before one currently ranting AI managed to get a hold of it and add her two cents into the message.
To: Ko_Inuyasha
From: Sekai
Subject: Re: (none)
Message:

Kira sends her greetings and well wishes. Please take care.
I'll send him a greeting and some well wishes alright; well wishes and greetings that involve a-

'Oh hush, you wouldn't have given him that item if he didn't deserve it and you know it. There is nothing or wishing of anything going, well, you know where, because he's a nice person. Besides, you two have a lot in common.'

Kira's impression was that Sekai was full of crap and that she and that bastard had absolutely nothing in common, her second impression upon reading the next flash mail, while Sekai was frowning in confusion, was to promptly flip her shit and try force Sekai to let her respond to the goddamn thing.

Wha-what on earth? What was this, some kind of sick idea of a joke? Who was it? Sekai's face paled, wave marking on her cheek standing out against her skin as she felt the first rush of panic begin to clear the cobwebs in her brain. Sure Zan-san, Raquar and Dien-san knew of she and Kira's situation but... who was this stranger, besides what little she had heard of during the meeting? How did they know of their circumstance? Did... did it foretell some sort of forthcoming event that would split the two of them? Would they be forced to seperate because of some kind of unfortunate event in the very near future? Surviving in this world... one that wasn't her own but was Kira's, could... could it be that she was receiving a warning of her own impending and permanent demise if she continued along this road?
Flash mail
To: Sekai
From: Marionette
RE: messagE

twO iN onE, iN shareD bodY iN harmonY; caN yoU lonG survivE iN thiS worlD yoU finD yourselveS? wilL yoU parT wayS?

To: Marionette
From: Sekai
RE: messagE

How did you know about the two of us? Where are you watching from and why are you sending us these questions? What are you looking for and are you asking something from me? Please be a little clearer... I don't understand.
Shivering as if she'd been doused with ice water, the young woman looked around nervously, as if expecting to see a specter in the shadows and just waiting for her to let her attention and guard down. When nothing turned up in her search, the anxiety only increased until the movement of someone to her left startled her into practically falling out of her seat. Heart racing, she watched as Raquar shrunk back and put himself into what he believed was probably a fairly secure and out of the way place before slumping back and closing his eyes. All concerns about her issues faded like smoke in the breeze at the sight of her team mate just... going down like that and not moving; w-when had he suddenly looked so... old? This was supposed to be a place for fun... not stress and heartache, not on this magnitude. What was it about this world that made people lose sight of themselves, of who they were trying to become and what their mission and ultimate goals and dreams were?

What was the price of being in this world?

Gently shifting in her seat, she bent down to give the kitten a soft kiss of appreciation on the forehead before whispering softly into the kitten's ear and beginning to implement a bit of plan, just because he looked so exhausted lying there propped up against the wall.

“Thank you very much for cheering me up. I hope you aren't offended when I move you to my friend's lap so you can give him the same warmth and comfort you've given me.”

Gently picking up and cradling the purring gray fuzzball, Sekai carefully and quietly moved over to where Raquar was sleeping, watching him to make sure he truly was asleep and not just closing his eyes because he wasn't feeling well before gently setting the kitten in his lap and watching her curl back up into the same position she'd had the kitten in. Now she wanted one of her own to carry around with her. She could just see half of the members she'd traveled with in the Army of Darkness, Ko especially, shaking their heads and muttering about girls and baby animals or something of the sort. Undoing the clasp to the odd sash-like garment around her waist and quietly shaking it out into full form, the five foot nothing girl with long hair carefully tucked it around Raquar's shoulders and quietly slipped back and away to give him a bit of distance in case he woke up.

All was good and he was apparently out like a light. Boys and their particularly strange habits of falling asleep in the most unusual of places and in the oddest positions, she thought to herself shaking her head and removing the clip from between her teeth and looking down at the yin-yang symbol with a thoughtful look on her face. She could probably use it as a hair clip to keep her hair manageable without hitting someone in the face with it now that she examined it a little more closely. Popping the side that came undone off and holding it between her teeth once more, Sekai reached back and gathered her hair in both hands, smoothing the edges, save for the tapered bangs that tended to cover her ears, into a low ponytail before she held it with one hand and managed to wrangle the clip into fastening the thing in the back and just below the base she'd originally wanted it to be at. There, she thought to herself, carefully smoothing back and checking the strength of the item, as well as the thigh length 'tail' of white hair that followed behind her to make sure there weren't any kinks or anything unsightly about it. Damnable habit of checking her appearance from her mother, the girl thought with a bit of frustration before letting her hands fall to her sides and looking around the room.

It was more than likely time for her to make her exit as quietly as possible, the Archer decided and slipped out the door to the meeting room and back into the hall way to wander to the heavens knew where and explore the place that was to be the temporary “home” for herself, for Raquar and for Kira. White wings folded neatly against her back and her ponytail between the two snowy appendages, the amber eyed girl paused in the middle of the next room and frowned, more than a little lost as to which way was which and where everything led to. This room seemed... formal and somehow very... what was the word she was looking for? She frowned, looking around the room at all of the assorted furniture, including a rather well loved dark green couch that looked semi-beat to hell... at least in her eyes. Probably was comfortable as hell though, as Kira pointed out the logic in seeing things that weren't so well used compared to things that were used.

Survey says that the more worn they were, the more comfortable said object was probably going to be in. She made a mental note to come back to the room, not feeling like going into the sleeping quarters, okay fine, she was just... well... not used to co-ed sleeping quarters was all and made a decision to go straight ahead into the next door she saw ahead of her. Blinking at the rows of what appeared to be shops for item supplies and the like, Sekai spotted another lighter opening and, as the saying went, was bit by the curiosity bug. Peeking around the door frame, what looked like a split diner and kitchen had her blinking in surprise and timidly looking around the corners to see if anyone were in there.

...Five says it was the wolf man and I know that ain't what we think it is in that jug thing the dude has to come and clean up. But hey, if they have a meat locker especially for him? Another five says they'll have something we can eat too.

The NPC looked at them expectantly, not bothering to clean up the, ah, carcass in the corner seat where the last fighter had come in and gorged himself, waiting for the girl, well, girls to make up their mind. Kira preferred a more Westernized style breakfast while Sekai had grown up on the traditional kind and was accustomed to it. After an amusingly mental game of jan-ken-pon with the AI, Sekai felt a very small form of victory as she proceeded to order the Japanese style breakfast and gingerly sat on the stool that rested in front of the counter to wait for her food. Somewhere varying in time, the girl lost in her thoughts, the food's scent drifted to her and she blinked as the chef walked over to take care of the carcass left behind. Bowing as she broke the chopsticks apart, she murmured the traditional phrased used for centuries to start a meal.

“Itadakimasu.”

Um... hopefully that wouldn't be boiled for soup stock, she thought to herself as she put another bite of rice from her chopsticks into her mouth, chewing the food thoughtfully before reaching over and snagging one of the tsukemono to crunch on thoughtfully. Kira was always close to the surface when she ate, likely a curiosity thing to see what things tasted like and if she personally liked it or not.

Pickled things are nasty in general but, you really seem to enjoy these things.

'Still sulking about the umeboshi incident are we?'

Sekai couldn't resist, a giggle escaping as she chewed her food as Kira let out a rather kettle like shriek of indignation and scolded her for the reference.

You wench! You said you wouldn't bring that up!

Giggling became harder as she managed to finish the rest of her rice bowl in a few more moments, surprised by how hungry she was before remembering the diet she needed to follow. Despite Kira's sharp reprimand for even thinking of the word diet because, in the AI's much valued self-opinion, she was far too thin for her own good and needed some flesh on her bones outside and inside the game. Sipping the miso soup and finishing off the last of the pickles, not to mention feeling very contented with a full stomach, the girl set down her utensils and her dishes before bowing once again and speaking the phrase to end the meal from her home country.

“Gochisousama deshita. Um... if it isn't too much of a bother... would you happen to have a bottle of water I may take with me?”

Blinking as the said item was suddenly in front of her, still chilled from where ever it had been, Sekai bowed in thanks and took the water bottle in hand, unscrewing the cap and taking a small pull from it and sighing afterwards. She was probably just a little dehydrated was all, really, and a little tired from everything going on at once. Wandering around had lost the appeal, all she wanted was a book to read and maybe a place to go and curl up on to relax. Finding herself in the common room again, her eyes found the dark green lumpy couch in the corner, one of the darker ones much to her dismay, and found herself drawn to it and sitting on it before she knew what she was doing. She stared off into space for a little bit, lost in her own thoughts and not sure what she should do before she yawned, trying to keep herself awake by drinking a little more from the large water bottle.

Go ahead and sleep little one. Nothing'll happen for a while anyways and I'll stand guard over you. I was out longer than you were because of that shit in the tower temple thing. I hate that orange purple crap.

“Won't they attack you though if they just see someone unfamiliar standing or sitting next to me in ghost form? I don't want that flash mail to come true...”

Sekai voiced, worried about the way things would go if Kira would be caught, and looked up as she felt the tug and temporary brightening of her body as the AI split herself into ghost form and stood there in front of her. She still looked like some fierce tribal warrior princess, albeit one from a different time zone than say... a certain warrior who'd irritated the living daylights out of her and had caused her to say a few completely unladylike things. Was it just her or were Kira's eyes and expression softening, looking less fierce and, well, inhuman? Kira's head tilted to the side, opposite to the direction Sekai found her head had gone when she'd been staring at the AI, her face turning red as she looked away from Kira's teasing grin that broke out and fumed.

“You're so mean!”

“You were the one who brought up the umeboshi incident little one. I just got my payback.”

Kira retaliated with a rakish grin, kneeling down and propping her spear against the wall before watching the girl curl up on the couch, head resting on her hands and long eyelashes brushing against her cheeks as her eyelids grew heavy and close before struggling to open again.

“Go to sleep little one, I'll still be here when you wake up. Not going anywhere.”

The AI ordered her gently but firmly, reaching out one ghostly hand and touching the girl's cheek with her fingertips, an unusually gentle and unguarded expression of fondness and affection for the usually rough and somewhat obnoxiously antagonistic AI. Whatever bond between the AI and human was, it was looking to be a pretty damn strong one at that, being as Sekai leaned her head a little closer, eyes closing as if she could feel the woman's touch against her skin and sighed deeply. The body slowed down and her lungs let out a long sigh before she seemed to let herself go limp, side rising and falling to the deeper rhythm of sleep. Kira's hand moved from the girl's cheek, flickering as if she were trying to make the hand form solid and barely managed to make it work long enough to tuck a strand of the white hair behind the girl's ear. The wings had stretched out and were now making themselves into a sort of makeshift blanket for the girl, covering her from shoulders to the top of her thigh in a feathery soft and downy warm blanket.

“Not going anywhere...”

She repeated softly to no one in particular as she leaned back and kept her eyes on the three entrances someone could come from in case someone tried to come and wake the exhausted girl up. She'd be the one answering questions from this point and until Sekai woke up thank you very much. No use waking a sick little one up when there was someone healthy, if a little transparent, to answer the same things.

((OOC: Yes we have a boogeywoman in the form of a tribal amazon-esque looking long arm. She's sitting right beside Sekai.))
Image

Name: Sekai
Level: 54
EXP: 0000/1000
Class: Archer
Clan: Army of Darkness
HP: 835
SP: 347

Currently Equipped:

Einherjar: Kira, December, Zorya

Head: Bat Earrings (Ola Repth 40, Rip Maen 40)
Body: Saint Cross (Rue Zot 10, RaJuk Zot 30)
Arm: Protect Ring (Ap Vorma 15, MeJuk Kruz 20)
Leg: Ninja Anklet (BiVak Rom 20, GiGan Zot 30)
Add-Ons: Forestlore, Wood Magic (permanently raised Wood Offense/Defense by +3 total)

Wishlist: Levels, Summon: Wood, Archer Weapons, Light Armor

Lord Canti
Exalted Player
Posts: 300
Joined: Sat May 13, 2006 3:58 pm
Location: In da' plains of hell, natch.

Post by Lord Canti » Thu May 03, 2007 8:20 pm

"Suraisu's dead. Probably. He's as dead as hackers ever are, which doesn't mean much. I had to get out of there before the whole tower collapsed onto me. Maybe he's at the bottom of the rubble...maybe he made it out alive. I don't know."

(It figures... Even the man who was there, who actually fought against him, didn't even know. It was enough to drive a man out of his freakin' mind. He could almost see it in his mind. The dark tower was destroyed, laid to waste because of their respective powers. But did that mean ANYTHING? Hell no. It only left questions, unanswered ones whose ability to find any information on was rapidly becoming less and less possible. It frustrated Canti to no end. He waited, in great anger, for things to progress, until finally...)

"Well then, I guess unless there are more questions, or objections to repeating Pulsating Light Trap Core, the meeting is adjourned."

Canti: It's about fucking time...

(Visibly angered and not in the mood to talk to one single person at this time, Canti departed from the room in a rush and found himself back in the commons. This was all going nowhere. What good had anyone here been in order to help him? Nobody shared his thoughts on the matter, and nobody really even cared that much. Suraisu could be dead, could be alive, and nobody knew or cared...save for one. He wasn't entirely sure why this was, but he needed to find some sort of answer to the question before it drove him mad. And speaking of which...

New Flashmail!

Canti: Hmmm? Oh great... Him again... Doesn't this guy have a better hobby?

To: Canti
From: Marionette
RE: messagE


yoU hunT foR thE onE witH thE bladeS, yeT yoU knoW noT iF hE liveS oR rotS. wilL yoU eveR finD ouT?

(Canti was muttering to himself in the commons area about this, angrily so. His outwardly pissed-off appearance probably made him hard to approach at this time, as he was cursing under his breath about Mr. Deus ex Machina here. He then got an idea, and stormed off downstairs to go train.)

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Canti's Training Session - http://glasscharm.org/diverge/viewtopic.php?t=1109

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

(A little while later, a more refreshed-looking Canti appeared back upstairs. He looked as though he'd been through some serious hell, but oddly enough...he seemed alright. What happened was basically...he needed to be able to blow off some steam...and got something in return that he hadn't been expecting: A peace of mind. During his battle with the clone of the former-guide, Suraisu, he understood what it was he needed to do, and damn anyone who thinks him wrong. Since nobody else was going to even try, he was gonna find out on his own. So saying, this required a smug retort to their little tormentor.)

TO: Marionette
FROM: Canti
SUBJECT: 'thE bladeS'

Yes, Mr. Puppetmaster, I will find out. Thanks for asking.


(Like it or not, the armchair villain-wannabe was gonna be watching him, so why not give him a heads-up? The worst that could happen was that he'd end up on the dude's candid camera file, and then have to pay for that later in some sort of pesky way. Marionette was suspected as being the guardian of the Hubs, but for some reason...he'd been allowing events to pass. Why? That much, Canti could only guess at, but it didn't matter right now. Heading into the commons once more...he paused, as there was somethign ever so slightly unfamiliar there now. Sekai was resting on a couch...and was being watched over by an unfamiliar person. It wasn't one of the new people that he recognized, so he wondered...was this Kira? Well, if it was, then that made sense. In any case, Canti shrugged. Nothing wrong here, as far as he could see. He headed for the hideout's Chaos Gate and was gone not a moment later. They'd kill him for this, he was sure, though that was assuming nobody else beat them to it.)
I'll have a doozy of a sig later, I swear. It'll reflect ".hack//CODE" an' everything.

Hey look! A profile! It's got items and stats and things! Cool! If it isn't fully up to date, it will be, so don't worry 'bout it.

User avatar
Nighthand
Master of Games
Posts: 1265
Joined: Mon Mar 31, 2003 9:23 pm
Class: Bladesmage
Location: ...Tracking...please wait...

Post by Nighthand » Thu May 03, 2007 8:48 pm

"Not to flat-out ignore what you've said, Hacorie, but I really doubt it. Marionette seems to be toying with us more than he's actually putting forth a defense. He's deliberately kept himself in the shadows, and has even sort of... encouraged us? I don't know. I think either hub is fine, they're probably both just as defended as they were before."

That, on top of Lighteria's caustic explanation, essentially covered all the bases on way of explanation. Pulsating Light Trap Core it is.

As there seemed to be no further issues to be brought up, the meeting was dispersing. Nall made his way for the kitchen, a luxury it had been a long time since he'd experienced. There, he immediately started drowning himself in whatever alcoholic beverage came to mind. Reinier.... The boy brought up memories Nall didn't want to experience again.

Sheena, eying Reinier warily lest he attack Nall again on his way out, stuck around the meeting room for a while. Raine did too, for a moment, before retreating in the direction of the Training Room. Soon after, she wouldn't be anywhere to be found, not for a while at least.

Silverblade, lost in his own thoughts, found himself back in the common room, sitting across from Sekai and her guardian angel. He eyed them dully, wondering how effective they would prove in battle. Wondering how they came to be together. Wondering where Nighthand was, and where all of this was going. Thinking.

Alright so the sitting there and having a staring contest with this guy didn't work or seem to get the message that he could, you know, buy a clue and quit staring like a moron. Guess that meant it'd be up to her all to wonderful people skills she was infamous for in order to get the message across.

"You know, the lesbian sex show isn't scheduled for another fifty eight hours in Theta server. Might wanna consider grabbing front row seats there."

Just to make sure she hadn't disturbed Sekai, her head turned and checked on the girl curled up, sleeping like a rock and tucked under her wings, before she was satisfied that she wasn't in one of the light sleeping phases again. Let the games begin, she'd been under some stress lately, might be fun to take a decent portion of it out on this guy by being a wise ass. If that didn't work? Eh, she could always go and chase that Blademaster around the room and threaten to throttle him again. Just for shits and giggles.

Silverblade raised an eyebrow and smiled, slightly. "I like you. As much as the idea intrigues me, though, I'd stick out like a sore thumb in Theta. They don't like me there anymore. What'd you say your name was?"

"Sore thumb, yeah, I can see it. Names have power don't y'know, Kira is all people get."

”Kira it is, then. I'd ask about how you came to be attached to her, but then I'd feel obligated to tell my own story, and that's a lot of effort for the moment. Besides, I should probably be resting and preparing for this hub... the damn things aren't easy.” He paused, taking another sip of the wine. ”Besides, it's nice to be let out now and then. Nights has a thing about doing it all himself, so he doesn't let me fight very often.”

"You're like me aren't you, well, in a sense anyways." Kira responded, pupil-less eyes narrowing a little as she tilted her head slightly to the right. "Sekai doesn't have that issue about letting me out to fight, then again, she's the one who insists on teamwork three quarters of the time." A glance at the water bottle and a bit more of the water vanished without her touching it.

”Like you... Yeah, I guess I am. I know it's true, but it doesn't feel like it, some times. I have all of his memories, but they're like a library to me. I can browse and read to my heart's content, and it's LIKE they're mine, but they're not. Not really. I have no memories of my own, save the ones I'm making right now, with Nighthand gone for the moment.”

Kira's eyebrow went back up at that. "Created or amnesia if you don't mind answering. I was the second of the two options for a little while and have a majority of it back."

”Created. A hacker named Gravis made me and spliced me on to Nighthand's character data when he was fortunate enough to have captured him. Basically, I was created as an attempt to steal Nighthand's mind, body, and powers for Gravis. It... didn't work. Rather than subvert him, he and his accomplices subverted me.” He sighed. That was a long time ago. ”Now I'm here, fighting along side all of these people... really, without much purpose or goal. I don't have a body to get back to, a family to save... I'm not really sure why I'm here, even.”

Near-growl at the mentioning of 'hacker'. Didn't help that 'Gravis' sounded like 'Garvix' either. "Hackers don't get that AI aren't servants they can control; we have our own minds dammit and we do whatever the hell we want. She huffed, blowing her bangs out of her face. "Two ways you could go about this; continue being used as a basic bookshelf and guard-dog to an extent, or you can start collecting random bits of data to make yourself a body, find a purpose and a goal and go from there. Memories are what you make of 'em and it's all about opportunity. If data collecting ain't your thing; look for a way to earn yourself a permanent body." She shrugged. "You're the only one who can answer the question of why you're here; not me, not some damn hacker, especially not some damn hacker actually, and not anyone else in this place."

”Heh... I repeat what I said before. I like you. You've got spirit, something I find lacking sometimes around here... Not to mention it's kind of nice to be able to talk to someone other than Nights. He's kind of a sarcastic asshole.” He stood, arms extended and back arched, wings loosening and twisting themselves a bit. Stretching. He yawned. Watching Sekai sleep was making him sleepy. ”I'm going to go get some rest. Tomorrow will be a long day.”

"Some call it spirit, most call it being a pain in the ass. I prefer calling it wisdom. Too bad about the host; I got lucky with mine so far. Naive as she is." She leaned back, likely popping her back from the way her hands went around to her lower back and pushed up. "Long days are my favorites; I have an excuse to be in a bad mood and kill shit. I'll likely be back with Sekai by the time you're back up, I'll be out and about in the battlefield though, shouldn't be too hard to figure out."

Silverblade nodded. There was always a difference in combat styles when a different person took over, no matter how similar. ”I'm sure I'll see you out there. Just... be sure to survive, at least for the next fifty eight hours.” With a sly grin, the heavyblade was gone, into the barracks to sleep.

<center>----------------The Next Day----------------</center>

Waking up was easy enough, and for the first time in a while, Silverblade felt rested. Crawling out of the barracks bed, he was somewhat surprised to find Nighthand still not there. Apparently, whatever his father had called him away for was taking more than just a few hours.

A leisurely breakfast and a stop at the shops followed, the heavyblade making sure he had everything he needed for the journey they were about to embark on. Cloak lined with scrolls, armor equipped, items at hand, sword ready. Looked like he was good to go. As he was finishing up his preparations, Nall joined him.

”You didn't have to tell them everything.”

”Yes I did, and if you were really thinking, you'd know I'm right. You see them all as troops in your war, and don't care so much when one of them dies. You don't tell them much in case they're captured, but they don't trust you. Some people, like Phoenix, I'm surprised even follows you anymore. Hell. I probably trust you more than you deserve.”

Rather than respond, Nall chose to change the subject.

”Will it be the same? The hub, I mean. Or will your past actions have changed it?”

”I suspect the latter, since the hackers have always been a persistent bunch. I don't know, though. There were no clues or anything.”

”I suppose we'll find out, then.”

Nall disappeared, off to do his own preparations. Neither Raine nor Sheena were anywhere to be found. Nighthand still had the little code-bomb Raine had made up for them, to save and destroy the hub... He was all ready to go. And, as a quick glance around him showed, so was everyone else.

”Let's go.” Silverblade headed for the gate, ever-serene in it's calm spin. He put in the keywords, and they were away.

-------------------------------------

The field they arrived in was drastically different from what Silverblade remembered. Where once had been a jungle, was jungle no more.

”What... Happened here...”

Taking a moment to think about it logically would provide the answer, but thought was a few steps away. Where there had been a dense jungle before, now was ashes. They HAD lit some of the jungle on fire in an attempt to smoke out the monsters they had found here... but still. They had no idea the guardian of the field would allow it to burn this long.

Almost as far as the eye could see, stretching out all around them, the land was flat and dead. Black ash covered the ground in a layer covering their shoes up to their ankles. Some ash still fell from the sky, a horrid gray snowfall that didn't melt away, only smear. Here and there, spots still smoldered. A bit of branch still burning, casting a thin stream of smoke into the air. The fire still burned in the distance, far behind them, but that wasn't the way they had to go. Far in the distance, in front of them this time, was a patch of green on the horizon. If his directions were right, that was where their clearing with the signposts was.

Seeing as there was nothing else in the ash-clearing, and only fire behind them, that seemed to be the way to go.

Flashmail!
To: Nall, Nighthand, Gingitsune
From: Zavier
Subject: (NONE)

“Nall, Gingitsune, Nighthand. I don’t know if you will read this message…I don’t know if you care. But…I need…anything. I need something, anything, to make myself believe that I have a purpose, that I’m not just data adrift in a world I cannot change. I need…

Flashmail End

Zavier, huh? Well, may as well bring him here. They could use all the help they could get.

Flashmail!
To: Zavier
From: Silverblade
Subject: Join Us


Never mind the name change, this is Nighthand. If you want to join us, now's your chance; come to Lambda: Pulsating Light Trap Core. We're right at the start, so you shouldn't have trouble finding us.

End Flashmail

Sending the flashmail, it would probably be only a few seconds before Zavier made his way to join them.

”Uh, guys? We've got company.”

Silverblade turned to face the way Nall was pointing. At first, he didn't see anything, until he realized what it was he was looking at.

The ashes themselves were the monsters, now, it seemed.

Piles of the black soot, a branch here and there, and the occasional ember were seeming to crawl together, shapes rising and becoming more and more defined. One, two, three... A quick count showed a total of sixteen of these piles.

As they watched, the ashes became more defined, until they were vaguely humanoid in form. Sooty blade blades in one hand, shields of ash in the other, they looked like dark knights walking through a forest fire. Some of them looks drastically different from the rest; much more defined, stronger-looking, more dense. Some even had wings.

It looked like it was time to fight.

--------------------------ooc:
Battle!

Soot Knights, Ash Knights, and Ember Knights

-----------------------
Soot Knights: Level 12 (There are 8 of these)
Medium attack power
Medium defense
Slow moving

Soot Knights are the least defined of the three types. They're also the weakest.

Special Ability: Ash Form. When struck by a powerful enough attack, they “explode” into ashes, and take a while to reform. The attack and resultant explosion don't hurt them, but it delays their fighting.

Special Ability: Weapon Imbue. The weapons these monsters wield, when they attack, will always have an elemental charge of the darkness element. Equal to a blademaster's Ani Crack

----------------------
Ash Knights: Level 25 (There are 5 of these)
Medium-high attack power
Medium-high defense
Reasonably good movement speed

Ash Knights are the more defined of the normal knights. They don't have the wings.

Special Ability: Ash Form. When struck by a powerful enough attack, they “explode” into ashes, and take a while to reform. The attack and resultant explosion don't hurt them, but it delays their fighting.

Special Ability: Weapon Imbue. The weapons these monsters wield, when they attack, will always have an elemental charge of the darkness element. Equal to a blademaster's Ani Crack

Ash Knights are able to cast any level 1 darkness or fire spell, excluding summons.

--------------------------
Ember Knights: Level 40 (There are 3 of these)
High attack power
High defense
Fast movement speed, able to fly

Ember knights are the knights with wings. They can fly, and don't hesitate to do so if it's to their advantage.

Special Ability: Ash Form. When struck by a powerful enough attack, they “explode” into ashes, and take a while to reform. The attack and resultant explosion don't hurt them, but it delays their fighting.

Special Ability: Weapon Imbue. The weapons these monsters wield, when they attack, will always have an elemental charge of either the darkness or fire element. This is equal to the blademaster's GiAni or GiVak Crack.

Ember Knights can cast any level 1 or level 2 fire or darkness spell, excluding summons.


Monster Count: Be sure to include this at the end of your posts.
Soot Knights: 8 Left
Ash Knights: 5 Left
Ember Knights: 3 Left



Alright, starting things off with a battle. Also, the quest is already at least 1/3rd over, I'd say. Though I suppose that depends on how you do in later puzzles... Anyways. Enjoy... or something... Yeah. Typical ooc stuffage here.

Zavier_D
Awakened Player
Posts: 167
Joined: Wed Apr 02, 2003 5:24 am
Location: Inside...multiple worlds...
Contact:

Post by Zavier_D » Thu May 03, 2007 9:31 pm

Light. Piercing. Bright…so bright. The light of Mac Anu was the same, the same as it had always been, but it hurt his eyes. For the first time in his virtual life, Zavier Dragonus actually shielded his eyes against the sun which, although in times past seemed always so gentle and comfortable, sent pulses of pain into his temple. He was still laying on the top of the highest building, oblivious to anything around him. He had been through a heck of an ordeal.

He looked at his hands, his armor, feeling the difference. He knew he wasn’t the same…would never be the same. He was a Dualist no longer, his powers of wielding Chaos and Order taken away by the very force that had given them. Not that he complained; in their place he had retried the powers of the Dragons again, and been able to reclaims his Dragon’s charge. One day he’d have to search for the Fire Dragon, now that he had the right to claim it as his own, but that day seemed far away. For the first time in his virtual life, he felt listless.

Not that there was nothing to do; it was the world, after all, and there was always something going on. But that sense of determination that was always present, that sense of purpose…diminished. Not diminished, forgotten, destroyed, erased, taken forcibly from him by his removal of purpose. Why was he given the dragons again? What did the Lady wish for him to accomplish now? And why was his guardian destroyed?

He closed his eyes, feeling the core of Bahamut within him. No one could ask for a closer friend, a creature who, despite all logic and programming had sacrificed his very essence for Zavier. If he had not, Zavier most likely would have loss his ability to contain his power, and possibly couldn’t have gotten his dragons back. He could feel the authority of the Wood dragon, the resolve of the Bronze Dragon, and the inner strength of the Water dragon stir within him. A few of the dragons were beyond repair, as told to him by the Lady of Twilight, and he knew that he would always miss them. But, times were changing, and he had to change with them.

He held out order, then chaos with both of his hands, slowly moving them through the air. They still gleamed with power, the dark subtlety of chaos, and the pulsating luster of order and balance. Yet, they did not move in accordance with him anymore. They were a part of him, would always be a part of him, but they would never fight for him again. He, for the time being, was subject to the World’s rules once more, and as such, he had to utilize its weapons. The quest for the powerful weapons would resume once more…he just hoped that he would have the luck to find another weapon like Jinsaran.

“But of course…,” he mused as a small laugh left his lips. Invoking the name of Jinsaran always led him to think of Cypher, and of Rayo, and of Wanderer and Tokki. The names of all the people he once knew, friends in their own rights and times, but people had had not seen in what felt like forever. He did not know if they even played anymore…knowing that for a couple of them it was not a simple matter of turn on, turn off. They were trapped inside this prison as well, never…well, possibly never leaving. The World had claimed him as its own, and it would release him when it wanted to. Trying to force your will upon it hadn’t achieved any results.
The smile left his face as he felt his second heartbeat, the core of Xeromessiah beat within him. In all honesty he wasn’t angry that Xeromessiah was a part of him. “Xeromessia of the H protocol, more specifically,” but it did mark a horrendous chapter in his life. Losing himself inside himself, a program taking over…he had not emerged unscarred. Even if his virtual flesh and armor did heal, his virtual mind still carried deep scars, some that would take years to heal, some…that would never go away. He had made the best of it, however, and renewed his vow to defeat the hackers who had done it to him.

Gingitsune. Guardians of the Free World. The names echoed, and he stood up this time, sheathing the swords. Gingitsune had been the first to explain what had happened to him, and had been the first to unite them. Some of them had created the guardians to protect the world against hackers, but they had failed. They weren’t strong enough on their own, and he hadn’t been able to stay with Gingitsune’s group for long. Gingitsune had left eventually as well, and he wondered if he would ever see her again. Something told him that he would, if only he had faith and waited…and waiting was something he had gotten VERY good at.

“Am I ready for this? This body still feels sluggish…it’s only been a short while since it was restored, but it should hold up. Just practicing with it should give me the ability to control it as well as I used to.” Slowly his white wings began to shine, and he jumped. The air of Mac Anu slammed into his body, and panic rushed through his body. “Stay calm, stay calm!” he told himself as the air wrapped around his body. Slowly the air began to gather under his wings, and the wings beat, suspending his body in the air. A wave of relief washed over him as he looked at the ground around him, watching the various players rush from store to store and to the chaos gate. He looked within himself, doing something he hadn’t done for years. He gathered the Wood power within him and evoked the power of the Wood Dragon. It rushed to him immediately, almost catching him off guard. He could feel the eagerness of the dragons as they responded to his call. He slowly transformed into the Wood Dragon, then the Bronze Dragon, and finally the Water Dragon. Each one roared about him, letting him know that they were there to protect him, that they would never abandon him. He sighed, letting the power return inside of him.

It was good to know that they would serve him as they had before.

But what would he do? He slowly moved about the air, taking in the familiar scenery for the thousandth time. What would he do? Unity was being run by Zhirin…but they didn’t need him right now. He needed purpose, he needed substance. He had regained his dragons, yes, but he still felt empty. The emptiness of not knowing why you’re here, or where you were supposed to go; he felt it all. It threatened to overwhelm him at any moment. He needed direction from an outside source.

He needed to be needed.

He did it before he could stop himself. 3 flash mails went out, went out to people he didn’t know were there but hoped, hopped to the maiden that they were. Gingitsune, Nall, and Nighthand, the true leaders of the rebellion…would they even recognize the name?

“Nall, Gingitsune, Nighthand. I don’t know if you will read this message…I don’t know if you care. But…I need…anything. I need something, anything, to make myself believe that I have a purpose, that I’m not just data adrift in a world I cannot change. I need…”

He stopped his flash mail there, too caught up to say anything else. He didn’t even know where they were, but he hoped, hoped as much…

His eyes widened as he received a flash mail.

His eyes widened further when he read the name.

“Silverblade? Who is that? How did he get my message…is the game…” Zavier stopped, however, as he read the first sentence. “Nighthand…so it s him. What does he have to say?” Zavier trembled as he read the message, taking in each word that was written.

Flashmail!
To: Zavier
From: Silverblade
Subject: Join Us


Never mind the name change, this is Nighthand. If you want to join us, now's your chance; come to Lambda: Pulsating Light Trap Core. We're right at the start, so you shouldn't have trouble finding us.

Zavier closed his eyes. It was as if the Lady of Twilight had answered him, had felt the loneliness that he would feel. These were people like him…people trapped in this world, people chosen to defend the world against the wrath of hackers. They had banded together for so long, and Zavier had been a part of it at one point…but would they accept him? Would they welcome him?

Would they even recognize him?

“I’ll never know until I meet them. If they don’t want me, I’ll make them want me. It’s time to repay this world the debt that I owe…I’m coming Nighthand.” Zavier walked to the chaos gate, reciting the words that he had already memorized. As his data began to fragment and reform, a smile appeared on the inside.

This is where he belonged, and he was ready for the fight.
Level:33
SP: 170
Skills:Rue Crack/Rue Revolver/Ap Ganz/ Rip Synk
Equipment: Heavenly Sword/ Grand Armor/ Forester Helm/ Rusted Hands/ Flare Guard/Thunder Cloak
Items:1 Sprite Ocarnia/3 Healing Drinks/Komura/Head Gear/5 Ressurect/2 Knight's Bane/1 Vak Rom/1 Rue Rom
Dragons: Wood, Bronze, Iron, Water

http://z1.invisionfree.com/forums/DIVER ... c=6055&hl=

Hacorie
Ikkitousen
Posts: 105
Joined: Thu Sep 30, 2004 11:30 pm
Location: Here and there.
Contact:

Post by Hacorie » Fri May 04, 2007 6:22 am

At the beginning of his sma...large speech, Hacorie noticed as a few players began to leave the room. Slowly, but surely, the players diminished. Cold and icy flames began to form in his eyes as he turned to Nall and Nighthand. Stopping abruptly at the finish of his rambling, the Heavy Blade named Reinier stepped into the meeting room and seemed to try and attack Nall. However, the character was much smarter than his actions let him on to be. In a matter of seconds, the heightened anger and tension in the room subsided just a bit. Same rash actions as before I see. He has a point though. Wonder what he has been up to....

The blood curdling sound penetrated his mind once again; a Flashmail was received. Glancing at the sender, the eyes of Hacorie widened as his anger disappeared for a brief moment. Marionette...isn’t that the protector of the hubs? How does he know me, and what does he want? Hacorie conversed in his head as he fully opened the message to see what the text said. Scanning over the message slowly, he noticed the very annoying font attributes which the message had...some letters were capitalized while others were left lowercase. “Ow..it burns to read.” Hac said sarcastically as he shut the message. The icy opal glow emitting from his eyes began to grow while remembering a time in which he wanted to completely forget.

Flashmail
To: Hacorie
From: Marionette
RE: messagE


thE mistresS oF icE waS youR idoL, buT whaT haS becomE oF heR noW? wilL yoU meeT thE samE fatE, oR wilL yoU forgE youR owN patH?

End Flashmail

What a nice question he asked. It seems he knows not of my new found abilities. That seems to be a nice point in this dramatic experience. However, his message is quite cryptic. He knows me not, but he still knows of my past. To think, he called that lady my idol. She lost that title when she rammed her spear through my sternum. I care not about her...my abilities would have never matched her immense power, but I guess I will have to show him what I can really do. Hmm... since he is not attacking me yet, I guess I should send him a friendly reply.

Flashmail
To: Marionette
From: Hacorie
Re Re: Message

Guess we will have to see what I will do. When the time comes, you will see my true abilities shine. Your puzzling comments intrigue me though. Why not just come and meet me face to face? I may not be able to handle you by myself, but I trust all these people I am with. New or old, it matters not. We are all Freedom Fighters...and you are standing in our way...

End Flashmail


"Not to flat-out ignore what you've said, Hacorie, but I really doubt it. Marionette seems to be toying with us more than he's actually putting forth a defense. He's deliberately kept himself in the shadows, and has even sort of... encouraged us? I don't know. I think either hub is fine, they're probably both just as defended as they were before."

Darker and darker the hue of his eyes became as Nall spoke each word of his sentences. Thoughts of impaling the Blademaster with his sword hastily raced through his mind, and even the image of Hac teaming up with Reinier appeared; both of these quickly dissipated from his mind as reality set in. “Just the same as before...You have not changed one bit.” Hacorie said as he turned around and started to exit the room. Stepping one foot out the doorway, the Heavy Blade paused and spoke a few more words: “By the way...I also received a message from this Marionette character. Quite the riddler...”

Done talking, Hacorie clenched his fists tight together and completely exited the meeting room. His thoughts barreled through his mind as past illusions began to form within his subconscious. Just as before, I am ignored. My opinion does not matter to that fool. If we end up being completely decimated...I am gonna say three words to him...”Told you so”. That will be a spectacular day indeed, but no use dwelling on it now... Noticing the familiar point in the hideout, Hac saw that he was where he had came into the hideout from, but this time there was no blue vortex. Trying to avoid some complications with certain players who leave a meeting while someone is talking, Hacorie looked around to see if he could spot a certain character who had caught his attention earlier, Senna.

Servicing his surroundings, Hacorie noticed chairs, couches, and a fireplace. It seemed to be a common’s area for the hideout. It was actually quite nice, not like the ones at colleges, which were just too small to hold everyone who lived in the minute dorms. Liking what he saw, Hac started to head over to one of the chairs, but a small gleam caught the corner of his eye before he could sit down. The shimmering light was radiating from a dark and desolate corner where no light from the fire seemed to touch. There, leaning against the cold looking wall was the player whom Hac had wanted to speak to. The gleam came from her large Long Arm weapon. Smiling, he walked over toward her.
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Before he could even utter a word, the player spoke up. “Hey Hac. Sounds like I didn't miss anything much in there?” The player said as she looked up at him.

So she remembers me after all...

“You can say that again, just like the last time...all my input is ignored even when the whole meeting was asking for just that. He did not even consider my comments.” Hac said as his fist, which was still tightly balled up, hit into the wall creating a small thumping noise.

“That seems to be the modus operandi. I thought it was just me seeing the lemming-like rush because I'm new, but I guess not. Should be.... fun.” She chuckled humorlessly.

"Quite a turn around; is that a smile? Just a few moments ago you looked like a little Emo-kid about to slit your wrists. What's wrong? Not use to the 'feel' of things?” Hacorie asked with an emphasis on the feel since the players could now actually experience the world around them.

Senna shook her head as she replied once again to his questions, "Tired of just standing around. Tired of feeling like we're in a tunnel with only one way to go. And... yeah." Another chuckle. "Not used to the feel of things. How long'd that take to get used to?"

"Til I walked into that meeting room a while ago." Hac said as he lowered his head. "I found myself lost and all alone. I disappeared in mind and physical appearance until just recently. It took me a long time to accept the face that I was trapped, but one day it hit me like a gigantic boulder. I knew I would have to be here and listen to 'Nall the stup...Great'." Hac said as he seemed to roll his eyes at the name of the Blademaster who had insulted him only moments earlier.

She tilted her head in the direction of the meeting room. "So how long've they been in charge of the asylum?"

"Nall....since I joined up. Nighthand however, was more of a side leader. Another player named Gingistune was also in control. She was incredible in might and in personality. A true hero...but she has disappeared. I have no problem with Nighthand/Silverblade. He never treated me like crap." Hac replied while shifting his head to the ceiling while reminiscing.

"I'm not sure I trust people with split personalities..." Senna responded as her tone changed to one of seriousness.

"So do you not trust yourself then?" Hac chuckled as he hoped Senna took it as a joke by playing off his earlier comment.

She was still smiling as she said, "You know, I'm not sure anymore. So, I'd ask what you've been up to, but it sounds like a longer story than my attention can handle. So how about this... that Marionette thing send you a letter too?"

With smile stopping abruptly, Hac answered truthfully, “Yes, he/she....it did. Though I have no idea why. I have never met or heard of the creature. It is quite a puzzling matter. The message I received seemed to be directed only at me though, was yours the same?” I even replied back to see if even this thing would ignore me...”

The smile was definitely mirthless now. "That seems to be its MO. Cryptic messages. Roundabout intimidation. It's trying to get under our skin, I think, though I have to admit I'm... disappointed in my message."

"I sort of was in my own as well. It referred to my past and not my present. Maybe it knows nothing about the current me? I guess I will see when it replies...Well...I am getting a bit tired. Tomorrow will be a long day. You should get some sleep as well." Hac said as rounded white squares began to form as his lips widened horizontally. "I have a hunch my suspicion will end up being correct..." He whispered as he took two fingers to his head and flicked his wrist, creating a sign for goodbye.

"Sounds good. G'night!" Senna said as Hac shifted his weight and turned toward another hallway.
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Instead of walking down it however, Hac looked at the stone wall which was a bit rocky and sharp. With a slight movement, he moved his gloved hand over the texture. The cloth fibers which held the glove together, easily caught on the wall. Hearing and feeling the sound of tearing clothing, Hacorie shifted his eyes back up to the ceiling.

It really is fun being able to feel this game as if it were a real world. Everything is so glorious when one looks at it.

Finding his way to the barracks, Hacorie claimed an empty spot. Laying his few items underneath the bed, he laid back and smiled. “Finally, a good nights sleep. I need one of these.” He said to himself as the blue tint from his eyes disappeared as a thin layer of skin passed over his pupils. Now enveloped in the darkness, Hacorie, felt a sense of peace; a sense of ease. With no worries within the confides of his soul, the player slowly drifted off into a dream. No longer than had he felt asleep, his eyes reopened.

It was the next day.

Still groggy, Hacorie sat up and stretched his arms. The first thing he did was grab the few items he shifted under his bead the night before. Looking at his inventory, Hacorie decided he had everything that was needed. Plenty of items rested within the confides of his pouch. Each he knew would be used up by the end of the oncoming endeavor. Taking one deep breath, the Heavy Blade went back into the common room where everyone was already gathered.

“Let's go.”

Looks as if Nights is the new leader. Good, Nall was already starting to get on my nerves. Maybe yesterday was a fluke. I hope everyone was just a bit high strung from the last hub. Yeah, that has to be it.

“Pulsating Light Trap Core,” Hacorie called as the three golden rings appeared from the ground. As soon as he knew it, the place of hiding was no more and in its stead was a new place, one like Hacorie had ever seen before.

Looking around, the Heavy Blade noticed a barren field, lifeless and void of all movement except for the flowing wind and dancing flames. Small embers were seen on the ground shining through the blackened earth. Small stumps, burnt to a crisp could be seen around the field. Ash was everywhere; “I am guessing there was a fire?” Hacorie asked not really wanting an answer since the sights were self explanatory. The black soot that lay upon the ground was at least a few inches deep as it could be seen almost covering the boots of Hac.

Continuing to glance around, one eerie mark of land appeared in the distance; a patch of green.

Strange how that one little spot is green in this field of death. I see where our next objective is already...let’s have some fun...

“Uh, guys? We've got company.”

As Nall let out an explanation of what was going on, Hacorie turned in his direction while placing his right hand on the shaft, which contained the aquatic Heavy Blade, the Oceanic Aura. A shivering feeling began to run up and down the Heavy Blade’s spine as his body became as cold as ice. His skin slowly began to turn a pale white as his circulation slowed down a bit. Breathing deeply as goosebumps appeared, an unexpected smile crept upon the face of the player. He was ready for a team fight, it had been such a long time since he had been able to compete side by side with allies. Looking into the distance, the hot earth began to play tricks on the mind. However, the wavy air was no illusion, what was happening was reality.

The ashes slowly began to rise up from the calmed earth. There, the soot created many golem looking creatures, sixteen to be exact. It seemed that there were three separate types: two without wings and one with. The soot monsters slowly reached their finalized stages. The assault was about to begin. It was the first battle of the quest.

Fun time...
Hacorie
Level 36 Heavy Blade
Gold: 21237

Equips
Oceanic Aura/Sharktooth-Ice Helm-Winter Coat-
Shiva's Rings-Bondage Pants
---Water Magic, BL Yokohama

Wishlist:
Level Meh Up
Weapons: Sakabatou/Rock n Roll/Peace Blade
Body: Knight's Armor
Other: Earthlore/Feng Shui
--------Water/Earth Scrolls

Locked