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Nighthand
Master of Games
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Return to Mac Anu: A Saga's End

Post by Nighthand » Mon Aug 29, 2005 3:07 pm

The golden chaos rings descended around the party, leaving them in the familiar setting of Mac Anu. Relief was plain on the face of Nighthand, finally able to relax. Never mind that they were a bedraggled bunch, attracting stares of the few who noted their injuries. Never mind that among them walked a dragon, attracting yet even more stares. Never mind that someone in the crowd was bound to recognize them as strange players and probably call the Admins about them. Never mind all that.

They were almost back to the hideout, ignoring the stares. Nall moved on ahead, slipping through the alleyways to open the door before they arrived. Once there, Nall stayed long enough to see them all settled, then slipped out the doorway again. Nighthand, under normal circumstances, would have followed him and talked, but in this case he was too tired. While he didn't look as bad as the others, he was just as exhausted. The intensive use of his hack, as well as prolonged use of the Nightblade had drained him.

He quickly set Zan down on one of the beds, and claimed a couch for himself. He stretched out, relaxing his body, even while his mind raced.

He watched the scene over and over, Nall secreting away the Titan's Armor, just as he had Kuja's Cloak so long ago. He had explained himself back then, claiming that no one else could use the item and that he would hold onto it... He hadn't even used it himself until recently. Would he do the same thing with the armor, hide it away and use it himself sometime later? It seemed the most likely course of action.

What would he do with the items, anyways? What happens if he gathered up them all? Obviously then the hackers would all be dead, or at least incapacitated enough that Nall could deal with them... What then would become of the group? More importantly, what about The Master of the Elites that Nall had mentioned so long ago? What about Nall? Would the items combine into something fantastic? Would they corrupt Nall and turn him against the rest of them? Could they stop him if he did? What about their comas, their whole reason for this fight? Maybe the items have something to do with that, maybe they can, when put all together, be able to pull them out of their comas. There was just too little information to tell.

What next? What would they go do now? Two of the elites were dead, leaving only six. Only. One is far too many.

Unable to keep his body still any longer, Nighthand came to his feet and paced the hideout. Reinier was still unconscious, and it looked like Lighteria had passed out from his own exhaustion. He couldn't blame them, he wanted to do the same thing himself. It was only his racing thoughts that kept him awake.

Stepping to the doorway, Nighthand opened it and looked out on the root town. There really wasn't much to see. It was probably late, there weren't many players on at the time. A few walked back and forth between the shops, and doubtless a few more were out at fields at this very moment. Every last one of them was oblivious as to what was going on behind the scenes. None of them knew what the Admins did, none of them knew of the hacker elites, their server, or this battle for life and death going on underneath their very noses. They went on, playing their game that's much more than a game, oblivious to it all.

A sound behind him made him turn, and he noticed Zan stirring. Giving one last glance to the town, he noticed a man on a distant building, scattering what looked like little papers to the town below. Nighthand blinked and the figure was gone. Thinking nothing of it, he closed the door and went to take a seat next to Zan's bed.

"So, you're awake." Nighthand said. Zan muttered something in reply, mostly incoherent. " I'm gonna bet you're sore from that beating you took, and from the transformations."

"If I could move or focus on the five of you that are sort of tilting around, I would say something witty."

"Well, at least we won. You did pretty good against that bird."

"I didn't do anything against anyone, Nighthand. He did it all."

"Your inner wolf-man is still part of you, you know... maybe not as controllable as you'd like, but still a part nonetheless."

"Maybe. Well, probably. Doesn't mean I have to recognize it as such. Who wants to recognize something that has them imagining just how delicious you would be in small, fun sized bits. Or large, meaty hunks, whichever."

"True, not even Silverblade was that bad back then..."

"If it were just that, I'd be okay. I could deal with it. But it's the danger, the very likely danger, that I could flip and seriously hurt one of you guys. Probably not you, no, but some of the others I couldn't guarantee safety to."

"Don't worry about that too much... If you get out of control, I'm pretty sure Nall and I could handle you. Besides, there are SOME perks to living in a video game. Not all deaths are final. But anyways... you should get some rest now. We're safe in the hideout, and there's no new pressing goal to run out and do, so take some time to heal up. Sound good?"

"I know this is a video game, I get that. But if everyone goes where I go when I die, even if only for a fraction of a second, than I don't want to inflict that on anybody. It's...I don't know, it doesn't matter I suppose. But yea, that sounds like a plan. We'll talk more when I wake up again, yea?"

"Yup... I shouldn't be going anywhere. Though the way I feel, it might be when I wake up too..." Nighthand left Zan's bed and headed back to his couch, slumping in it. Lighteria and Reinier seemed to be okay, so he let himself drift off into sleep.

(ooc: alrighty people, if anyone's coming back now, make your appearance... other than that, just the typical "rest and recover in the town" scenario for the moment. Oh, and Nall's back. His computer had died again, so he opted rather than to stress out about fixing it, he would just wait for his laptop. His laptop is here now, so for this week (until thursday) he'll be around, and then next week he'll be at college and much more reliable.)

Zan
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Post by Zan » Wed Aug 31, 2005 9:29 pm

The woman swung in magnificently intricate patterns, her body weaving, her child’s small digits latched around her own. It was a dance of celebration, a dance of joy and a dance of life itself. That’s what she was to the child; life. She was always glowing, always on fire; a passion for existence that drove her every movement, inspired her every word. She was the angel above him, the angel who made him smile, the angel who made him laugh, the angel that wiped away his tears. Gorgeous brown hair fell in bouncing curls past her shoulder, eyes giggling a hue of emerald that made her eyes an uncanny resemblance to some lush glade lost to the normal pack of humanity. The white waterfall of lace and silk fell from her form, the wedding dress adorning her like a sunset adorns the skies; captured beauty. His father and his mother had never been ashamed of having him before they were married and carried no shame with the wedding date that, due to financial issues, came almost five years later. They were a happy family, complete.

The memory was gone in a flash of bright, hot light, light that died down to reveal the bellowing, pudgy form of his now-drunkard father. Conner was older now; a twelve year old pre-teen crouched, huddled into the corner of his bedroom. All he could do to drown out the noise was study the hideous way the veins in his father’s neck bulged, the way his temples seemed to pulse with the irrationality of his fury. There was no angel to dance with him now, no one to love his father but him. It wasn’t enough. His mother’s death had made something in his dad break, shatter. The jagged pieces of the man’s mentality cut Conner with each word, lacerated him with each shout. That’s when the real memories ceased and the Beast’s corruption seeped in once more. Another faded fizz of light brought Conner towering over the corpse of his mother who laid still and cold, her back to the air, blood pooling from her stomach. The puddle of crimson washed in a stain over the cool tile of the kitchen, a kitchen Zan had never seen in his life. The putrid smell of an outhouse told the lycan his teeth had ripped through her intestines, a vivid sensory image seeming to confirm such a suspicion. The Heavy Blade paid no attention to the slumped figure of his father on his beloved chair, one side of his neck turned into so much ground beef, minced flesh. A deep breath taken, Zan’s eyes lofted to the ceiling, a wicked grin completing the fictional tale.


The same dream, the same sequence of reoccurring events that had gone from horrifying to annoying, a monotony held to the images. It was a dream he’d been forced to experience for what had to have been at least a week. Though it was true his recent expeditions hadn’t allowed him much sleep, it was a film that haunted him on more than one plain of unconsciousness. Whether he was fast asleep, momentarily dozed, or even daydreaming, he was followed by it. The dream, the repetition of gore and monstrous visages, was relentless in its pursuit to drive him off the edge and into the arms of his Beast. He didn’t wake up this time in some cold sweat, frozen, unable to speak or scream. No, he simply stirred, a light movement signaling his exit from the dream. What he had woken from hadn’t been the dream, but the odd knot in his stomach; hunger. No longer were such views met with horror, but famine. The hunger left him a few minutes back into consciousness, but it was an unpleasant sensation nonetheless. Fatigue and the feeling of a full-body Charlie-horse met his waking moments as well, opened eyes revealing duplicated images, leaning this way and that. The massive number and sustained time of his transformations had drained him of any perceptible energy. It was one of the less enjoyable side effects he had to deal with, but not necessarily the worst. His attention was drawn elsewhere at Nighthand’s reproach, the man seeming to loom over him.

"So, you're awake." Nighthand said. Zan muttered something in reply, mostly incoherent. "I'm gonna bet you're sore from that beating you took, and from the transformations.

"If I could move or focus on the five of you that are sort of tilting around, I would say something witty." The faintest hint of a smile curled upon Zan’s lips.

"Well, at least we won. You did pretty good against that bird."

"I didn't do anything against anyone, Nighthand. He did it all." There was a bitterness to his voice, not against the Bladesmage before him, but at the exhaustive properties of the situation.

"Your inner wolf-man is still part of you, you know... maybe not as controllable as you'd like, but still a part nonetheless."

"Maybe. Well, probably. Doesn't mean I have to recognize it as such. Who wants to recognize something that has them imagining just how delicious you would be in small, fun sized bits. Or large, meaty hunks, whichever." Again the humor was back in his voice, though less apparent then its last expression.

"True, not even Silverblade was that bad back then..."

"If it were just that, I'd be okay. I could deal with it. But it's the danger, the very likely danger, that I could flip and seriously hurt one of you guys. Probably not you, no, but some of the others I couldn't guarantee safety to." There was a necessity to the fact, an almost forboding lilt to the syllables.

"Don't worry about that too much... If you get out of control, I'm pretty sure Nall and I could handle you. Besides, there are SOME perks to living in a video game. Not all deaths are final. But anyways... you should get some rest now. We're safe in the hideout, and there's no new pressing goal to run out and do, so take some time to heal up. Sound good?"

"I know this is a video game, I get that. But if everyone goes where I go when I die, even if only for a fraction of a second, than I don't want to inflict that on anybody. It's...I don't know, it doesn't matter I suppose. But yea, that sounds like a plan. We'll talk more when I wake up again, yea?" It was simply too hard to think right then, a void of energy that seemed to enhance his hunger that much further lingering in the pit of his stomach.

"Yup... I shouldn't be going anywhere. Though the way I feel, it might be when I wake up too..."

With that Nighthand drifted over to a couch his posture seemed to claim as his own, a sort of overwhelmed look to him. The air was too still now, the absence of conversation giving way to silence and, in turn, the deafening atrocity that made up the majority of his thoughts. Zan had come to accept that, though he could control himself in both his human and Clabro form, the Beast had territory over the full transformation and the more surfaced layers of his mind. It was akin to being talked at all day by someone who made you want to scream or lash out at whatever’s close to you. Letting a sigh press past his lips, the Heavy Blade folded his hands behind his head, cradling brunette tresses in between his fingertips. Every seemed either sleeping or unconscious, so there was no one else to drown out the noise that raged inside of his head. There were so many questions he could have asked Nighthand and it would have been a prime opportunity to do so, but the lycanthrope didn’t want to rob the man of what he was almost sure was much needed sleep. If there was anyone getting less sleep than Zan, it was the darkness affiliated Heavy Blade that half-sat, half-slumped in the nearby couch.

It was hard to imagine his body lying undisturbed and carefree in the hospital, merely a husk of flesh with no one home to animate it. Each day he spent in the World was a day he seemed to lose from the real one, as if memories in the virtual world replaced those that reality had installed. It was almost certainly an overreaction to the stress applied to him as of late, but it was a scary possibility to consider. Would Conner lose himself in this place? Would he become Zan? Depending on how long he was stuck in this place, when and if he ever got out, how would he act? Would the Beast still linger around his brain? Come to think of it, who in the hell was Conner anymore? The odd schedule of his cooking classes, studying, and minor dabblings into the more arcane sides of life seemed to be the virtual reality now. If Zan was already suffering from this loss of identity after only a few weeks trapped and infected by the Twilight Virus, how did people like Nall and Nighthand feel? How were they back in the real world? It would have humorous had it not been more on the side of irking and unsettling. Though he was sure Nighthand and Nall didn’t want his pity, he couldn’t help but dish it out. Again he was faced with the weight of his own selfishness and the realization that he wasn’t the only one in this.

Though he was definitely tired enough to take another nap, facing that dream and the hunger it brought bubbling into his gut was simply something he was in no mood to do. He’d more than likely regret it later, but that would be then, this was now. Living in the here and now seemed the only real way to make it with the Freedom Fighters. Looking at the big picture made him panic, made him want to ask questions he knew he shouldn’t be asking. All the future seemed to hold for them was violence and struggle, hardship and pain. None of the above seemed appealing. What was the point of it all, really? Zan had simply assumed it was to free themselves from their comas, but what if it was bigger than that? Zan was fully aware of the evils CyberConnect was capable of. Did it perhaps take a look into what exactly those evils were? Was this about exposure more than it was about salvation? So many questions and no smart time to ask them. Being accepted into the group seemed to be more about handling the situation than questioning it. If Zan was going to be stuck in this God forsaken place, he definitely didn’t want to be stuck with people who found him off and persistently irritating. So he’d keep such intrigue to himself and let those questions become answered with time, rather than direct ‘interrogation.’ So, with another bout of curiosity stifled, Zan found himself lost in his dreams once more; smiling at the beautiful, butchered corpse of his mother.
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).

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Nighthand
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Post by Nighthand » Thu Sep 01, 2005 5:29 am

Nighthand yawned, stretched, and came fully to wakefulness on the couch he had claimed long ago as his. The area didn't seem to have changed much. Reinier had rolled over, Taimat had twitched, and Zan was stirring. Lighteria was dozed in another bed, and Nall was still elsewhere.

Zan sat up, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. He looked tired still, as if his sleep had been haunted by nightmares. He looked around, his eyes meeting Nighthand's and he slid out of the bed. He walked up.

"Nighthand, mind if we talk a moment?"

Sure, have a seat... What's on your mind? Nighthand said, patting the couch next to him. He seemed haunted, and sat.

"I know that deaths aren't necessarily final, even for us, but I can't just stay here knowing that one night my hunger can drive me to do something to you guys. Any of you. I know it's a game, but doing what the Beast wants to do is something that'll haunt me. Virtual or not."

Nighthand sighed. He should have seen this coming, the man had been acting oddly, even for him. "So, what do you want to do?"

"I think I just need to get away from here, from you guys, from everything. Just for a little while until I can trust myself again. I won't be much use if you can't rely on me not to go bat shit in the middle of a fight. Just a little time, that's all I want."

"So... you want to leave us, even though there's only a few of us left."

"I know it seems selfish and melodramatic, and it is. But it's something I have to do. If I can't trust myself, you can't trust me. I'll keep in touch via Flashmail and if at any time you need me back, I'll be on my way. Things just seem sort of calm right now and I figure if I don't take my chance now, I won't get another one."

"Fine... go. And if you're gonna flake out on us like this, don't come back until you've got control of yourself."

Nighthand probably sounded harsher than he wanted to. Unfortunately he had to; Zan was right in that much at least. He would be a danger if he didn't have control. He had to sound harsh, or else the man might change his mind and stay a danger. His words had their effect, and Zan's voice grew cold and stern.

"That was the plan, Nighthand. Thanks for making this easier."

When Nighthand held his peace, Zan turned on his heel and stalked out of the Hideout. Off to find himself, and come back a better man.

"Don't die on us, Zan..." Nighthand whispered, silently wishing him luck.

Nighthand was sad to see him go; he had a valid point as well. Without Zan, their numbers were drastically limited. Nall, himself, Lighteria and Reinier were all they had. Not enough to challenge another Elite, barely enough to be a party. So many people had disappeared, went off their own ways along the line. Nighthand could remember the days of fighting in a party of over a dozen. He could remember when they were split up into smaller groups because there were so many of them.

So many faces lost over the years. Kayin, Kurai, Argilus, Ramza, Ruri, Kodel, Armina, Rayo... So many gone, dead, lost, or just following their own path. So many faces he might never see again. He wondered, sometimes, if their fight was futile. Sure, they had already killed two of the Elites... but was that really enough? Or would it just enrage them?

A noise from the front of the room forced Nighthand's head up. Nall had entered, and was gazing around the room.

"Nall, we need to talk."

Nall continued to scan the room, then replied, his voice dull.

"Oh?"

"Yeah... Come sit. We need to figure some things out." Nighthand motioned to the place Zan had occupied just moments before. Nall raised an eyebrow as the comment set in, then slowly made his way over, collapsing into a comfortable position on the couch.

"Figure what out?"

"Isn't it obvious? Look around; this is us. Zan went off to go find himself, because he was too insecure and didn't want to accidentally kill us. Lighteria has potential, but he's still relatively weak. Reinier is the same. How many others of us are there? Can we count on someone to return, like Asgard, or Tirath, or Gingi? Can we count on pulling in yet more innocents into our struggle? Of all the time we've been fighting, there have been so many people who have joined us, only to die or disappear, or break away. How much longer can we keep this up?"

Nall let out a loud sigh and closed his eyes. He stayed like that long enough for Nighthand to wonder if he drifted off into sleep. Suddenly, without his eyes opening, he spoke.

"It's true that we've... lost a good number of people.... You are the only familiar face that I can see from the first time shit hit the fan..."
Nall paused for a moment.

"I don't know what we should do... Involving more innocent people wont be very ethical and we can't really go on the way we are...not now."
Nall though about what he said. His face showed puzzlement, as he wondered where the word 'ethical' came from. It was unlike him to use fancy words.

"There was a time when I worked alone, or in a trio... Now, nothing short of an army will satisfy what we need...."
Nall shook his head.

"Anyways... What's your point? I can't just drag people off the street, admin's are tightening security... The hackers are on our backs... There's not much I can do in the recruitment department."

Nighthand sighed. He didn't know either. He just was in one of those funks, where he lost all hope.

"How can you do it? How can you keep up with this, day after day? Being stuck in the game, waging an impossible war... I know there's more you're not telling us, or haven’t had the chance to say. How long have you been stuck here? Do you even know if there's a way to get us out of these comas, after we win?"

He paused, gathering his thoughts.

"Do you have any clues, any idea for what we can do next?"

Nall opened his eyes and leaned in close. Everyone else in the room was passed out, but he wanted to make sure his words went only to Nighthand.

"I know how to get us out, and believe me, you don't want to know anything more then that. How do we do it? The elites. We need to kill them, all of them."
Nall leaned back, still talking softly though, now almost distant.

"I know no other way... I don't remember much of the outside world, nor do I remember when I lost consciousness... This is MY world now... my...real world. Your world seems like a fantasy, dream to me... This is all I know, and as always, we will continue to fight."
Nall paused. He realized that Nighthand wanted a more specific answer to his last question. Nall wasn't sure he wanted to give it away, but it couldn't hurt the already horrible situation.

"Most of the quests we've been on are searching out fields which we think have 'clues' in them... The truth is, we don't even know how the hackers server is connected to The World, where, or how to get in... But there would be signs showing up somewhere in this game, as well as clues of how to get in..."
Nall thought about adding something else, but he decided against it. This was all that needed to be said at the moment.

Nighthand relaxed a bit, at least reassured that they could get out, eventually. Even if the task they had to complete was nearly impossible.

"So... do we know where to go next? Or are we fresh out of survivable adventures?"

Nall gave a small laugh, more of a hiccup then anything.

"Not at the moment... I don't want us doing anything.... excessive until we're all fully recovered.... If I came up against anything right now, I'd probably just go to sleep and hope it went away..."

"Well, we can't just stay here, we won't find anything that way... Any ideas?"

Nall
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Post by Nall » Thu Sep 01, 2005 5:33 am

Nall sat on the couch beside Nighthand weak, tired, and completely vulnerable. Yet, he was still being probed for answers. He couldn't really blame the heavy blade, there weren’t many times when Nall was able to simply talk. Not to mention something DID have to happen. They couldn't waste time in the hideout pondering the meaning of life....or this game.... The problem was, Nall didn't know what to do. He didn't have any leads, none what-so-ever.

"Well, funny you said find... I suppose that if we don't have leads, we can go find them? Well, that is, to the best of our abilities... No one in this room knows where or what to look for..."

"Can we tell them? I know you look tired, and I know a good place you can rest, much more efficiently than here. We can talk about that later, but... what about them? If you're as tired as you look, you need rest now, and explaining to them wouldn't be too beneficial..."

Nall paused and took a moment to truly breath in the thought. Rest. He hadn't gotten true rest since... well, since before shit hit the fan.

"Well... I can kind of tell what the clues would be like... But I'm not an expert... I'm the muscle, Raine and Sheena are the scouts. And you're right, explaining that I really have no clue what we should do wont exactly be beneficial."

"Can you contact Raine and Sheena, have them explain? Either to them, or... well, they could tell you what they would need to know, and you could leave a flashmail or note or something here..."

Nighthand paused; he didn't want to do all the thinking for the blade master who was supposed to be their leader. Nall sighed at the thought. Raine and Sheena were the last two people he wanted to have any contact with right now.

"I COULD contact them... I've thought about asking them if they found any more leads but... No, not right now. I don't want to talk to them..."
Nall pause only for a second, he wasn't in the mood to elaborate.

"We could leave a note for everyone here when they woke up... But what are they gonna do while I'm resting? Last time I went off and left you guys you nearly got yourselves killed."

"Well... Each of us have unique powers. We could have them split up, much like Zan already did. Go to a field somewhere, try to train their hacks and improve. Last time, we were dumb enough to go somewhere all together; we didn't know that the hackers could sense us. But if they all split up, the concentration of twilight would be less, they'd be harder to detect... Who knows, they might stumble on some kind of clue."

Nall thought about the proposition for a good while. It was true, the hackers wouldn't detect them if they were scattered... He was very skeptical about finding a clue, but it's not like the clues were hidden very well. If someone did find something, it would be noticeable enough to mention, even if Nall wouldn't be able to figure it out.

"hmm.... Well, you might be on to something... As long as they go alone, they will be fine. Alright, lets leave them a note and go to wherever you're talking about. They can go wherever they like when we're gone... I'm very curious to see your resting spot."
Nall paused, looking Nighthand over carefully.

"There's not many things about The World I don't know about... Lets see if you can surprise me."

Nighthand grinned, looking forward to the prospect.
"It's a long story, but I'm fairly certain you haven’t stumbled upon the place already; the denizens have some quite effective shielding, and they'd have told me if you had visited."

Leaving it at that enigmatic statement, he stood.
"Lets get the note out of the way, then I'll tell you about it on the way to the Gate."

Nall raised an eyebrow. For once, Nall was the one that was being toyed around with. But if he could do it to them, it was only fair that Nighthand have fun with his secret.

"Very well."
Nall scribbled something on the paper telling everyone else to go do whatever they wanted, alone. It also mentioned that if they find anything weird, to take note of it. Though he hesitated before writing the last part. It seemed pointless.

"Let's get going."
Nall put forth obvious effort at moving from his comfortable position on the couch and got up. He opened the door and started walking towards the chaos gate, certain that Nighthand was following.

"Who are the Denizens?"

"Well, it all started a long while ago, back in Garaa's tournament...."

(OOC: Ok, for anyone that's not clear, everyone is going on their own separate solo's for this part. Some specific details will be pmed to you or told over IM. Basically, do what you like ^_^ It's a good chance to develop your characters. Any questions, you know who to ask.

Oh, and as to where you're supposed to post your solo's, don't place them all in this forum, I'd prefer you post them in the library ^_^ You can post whatever you want here saying how you got from one place to another if you like, or you can just put that in your solo post, whatever you like.)
Nall//Blademaster | SWORD | Time Headband | Kagayuzen | Hands of Life | White Boots | {Life Drain}{Skill Drain} <Rue Crack> <Rue Revolver> <Ap Do> <Miu Lei> <Ol Repth> <Rip Maen>

Phoenix512
Exalted Player
Posts: 304
Joined: Thu Nov 13, 2003 10:42 pm

Post by Phoenix512 » Fri Sep 02, 2005 7:44 am

Phoenix suddenly found himself on a rooftop on Mac Anu. The last bit of memory before waking up was him fighting a Blademaster but he couldn’t make out the face. Along with being on the roof on Mac Anu, he found that he has no shirt on himself. The only thing that he sees on his chest is scarred tissue. It’s still there. The wounds of my battles. They won’t disappeared regardless how many healing spells or items I used. It’s the mark of the dark Twilight. The mark who I was supposed to be. It quietly laughs at my misfortune and curse. Until I find some way to remove the Twilight from my body and be able to return to the real World, the mark will always be there laughing at me because it can.

Phoenix looks around at his surroundings to find a familiar face by his side. It was his pet, Suzaku. She was currently sleeping at the moment but it seems that she was looking over him for quite some time. He decides to wake her up from her nap. Suzaku, wake up. It’s Kazuma. The guardian suddenly perched upright and spoke to Phoenix. You finally awoke, Kazuma-sama. It has been at least a day when I found you. I tried to wake you up but with no avail. I am happy that I am back at your side. Phoenix ponders the thought that he has been out for a day but it seems that he has been out longer than that. He questions Suzaku about what happened to him.

Suzaku, how did we escape from the dungeon? My memory isn’t working very well right now. Tell everything that happened before I woke up here right now. Suzaku began to tell Phoenix about what happened during the dungeon. After I was captured by the Dark Rider, I could not maintain consciousness by the cage’s energy field. The next thing I knew that I was here in Mac Anu seven days later. The group was fighting off a transformed Hijinx while trying to save the rest of the guardians inside of the hideout trapped by her. They managed to defeat her somehow which they immediately left to go after Nall. I stayed behind hoping that you would come back. Soon after they left, I felt your presence in this server. I immediately flew to your location and found you unconscious. I noticed the scars on your midsection and tried to use Repth on them but it did not work. So, I decided to stay by your side afterwards.

It took Phoenix to moment to digest the information that Suzaku just told him. He couldn’t believe that he has lost eight days of his life. He had no memory of what happened to him. His guardian had also lost about the same number of days. He wished he knew what happened to him but one thing is clear to him now. Phoenix has a new reason to defeat the Elites. Suzaku, I have something to tell you. It seems that I was a failed experiment by one of the Elites but I don’t know which one. I could be a clone of the original Phoenix character or even the real one. The Elites were experimenting with a new strain of the Twilight so they could make zombies out of real players. I was the first test subject of this new strain. As you could see, the strain didn’t the desired effect. I’m not even sure if this story is the truth or not but I know it has a high possibility it could be. Suzaku, read my mind and try to recover my memories.

Suzaku began to probe Phoenix’s mind and said, I’m sorry, Kazuma-sama but your memory is blocked to me. I cannot access anything at all. There seems to be something blocking your memory. My guess is that it is a barrier to block any attempts to read your mind along with another barrier that blocks the last eight days from you as well. There is also the dark side of your mind to deal with. It could be that the barriers within your mind were designed to block the dark side of the Twilight. So many questions, so few answers.

Phoenix replied back to Suzaku’s comments. With no leads to even begin to answer these questions, we should probably meet up with the group to see what’s going on with the Elites. I’m not sure if I want to stay with them or not yet. For now, they’re the only ones who could help me cure my condition. So let’s go now, Suzaku. Suzaku suddenly transform into a red, feathery shirt instead of a necklace like she usually does. I feel that you should at least wear a shirt until the scars are gone or you fine something else to wear. I decided to become your shirt as a disguise in town or when you do not need me.

Phoenix was about to head to the hideout when he saw Nall and Nighthand leaving the hideout walking towards the Chaos Gate. Hmmm? I wonder where are those two are heading? I don’t care where they are going but they are going to take me regardless. They have answers that I need. He was about to jump across to another roof when he noticed that his body was not at half gravity. Strange, I’m seemed to be at normal gravity but I haven’t applied my power on myself. Maybe during the eight days that I was gone, I mastered the ability to switch my own gravity without feeling pain or focusing on it. Time to switch to half gravity. He began to jump from roof to roof until he was near the Chaos Gate. He floated down to the ground level and met up with Nall and Nighthand.

Phoenix had a rather serious expression on his face when he began to talk to the both of them. “Hello, long time no see but this is not the time for old reunions. I know you two are heading to somewhere that you don’t want the others to know. So I want you to take me as well. I won’t accept no as an answer. I have personal sake with the Elites as I found out some things about my past. I won’t discuss it here in front of these people. Also, I have lost the past eight days and want to remember what happened to those days. You may doubt me now but I will explain once we leave this town. You will take me one way or another. I need answers not training. I will try to stop you if you don’t allow me to go with you. I won’t stop for anything this time until you take me with you or knock me out. I rather not use violence but this battle means more to me now than it ever did before. Don't deny me of my answers.”

Phoenix with serious expression and all waited for Nall and Nighthand to answer to his request to take him with them.
Phoenix
Level 48 Blademaster
Equipped Skills: Vak Revolver, Gan Revolver, Dek Vorv, La Repth, Juk Kruz, Rue Kruz, BiVak Rom, GiGan Zot
Other Skills: Rue Kruz, Rip Synk, Rip Saem, Crack Beat, Rue Slash, Ani Slash, Gan Crack, Gan Revolver

Wish List: Phoenix's Fire, Gold Necklace
EX-Spheres: LV 3 - Overdrive, LV 3 - Curative, LV 3 - Elemental Breath

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 » Fri Sep 02, 2005 5:26 pm

Nighthand was just about to answer Nall, and launch into the long and complicated story that he called his life, when out of nowhere, Phoenix floated down in front of them. He stopped in his tracks, Nall doing the same. Before they could react, the blademaster launched into a speech fit for a politician.

“Hello, long time no see but this is not the time for old reunions. I know you two are heading to somewhere that you don’t want the others to know. So I want you to take me as well. I won’t accept no as an answer. I have personal sake with the Elites as I found out some things about my past. I won’t discuss it here in front of these people. Also, I have lost the past eight days and want to remember what happened to those days. You may doubt me now but I will explain once we leave this town. You will take me one way or another. I need answers not training. I will try to stop you if you don’t allow me to go with you. I won’t stop for anything this time until you take me with you or knock me out. I rather not use violence but this battle means more to me now than it ever did before. Don't deny me of my answers.”

Nighthand stood still for a moment, stunned at the verbal onslaught. Then he began to laugh, a low chuckle, shaking his head with a grin. Nall looked at him oddly, but not for long. His face grew disinterested and he swayed on his feet, his energy running low.

"Boy Phoenix, you never change do you? So serious, all the time... Unfortunately, you chose probably the worst time for this."

He paused, wondering what the blademaster's reaction would be, then continued.

"You see, we just came back from killing another Elite; something we haven’t done since Kuja. As you can probably see if you looked, Nall is on the verge of exhaustion here. I'm taking him to a field I know to rest, a place he can be safe while he recovers, without the pestering questions of everyone."

He chuckled again, remembering how even his short burst of questioning had worked out; Nall was clearly too exhausted to go into detail. He had pushed himself far too much on the mountain climb, using his time powers almost constantly, and it was showing.

"To be frank, Phoenix, no. You're right about not wanting anyone to know of the field. The Soul Shrine is a sacred place, and it's guardians are powerful. They let me in when I stumbled on it accidentally, because I can help them, and have. However, they will forsake me in an instant if I bring too many people; their secret is more important than any of our lives to them. You can't follow us to this field, as it's only open to those I tell the residents to let in. Of course, you could note down the keywords I say as we go, but you wouldn't make it far. If you were even granted access to the field, you'd probably be killed within moments. They aren't usually violent, but they do need to keep their secret."

This much was true, at least. Verona wouldn't let in anyone he didn't tell her about, and anyone breaking in would be met with the Seraph's wrath. While the Seraph didn't have much power outside it's field, inside it was god. Nighthand planted his feet, making it known with his posture he would remain where he was. As yet, however, he didn't draw a weapon or make a move for his scrolls.

"So, here we are. Nall is exhausted; a fight right now would either kill him or knock him out. You wouldn't get your answers then. I'm here as well; even with Nall weakened, I got at least a little rest. I wonder if you could deal with us both. I, too, would rather not use violence, not in the town. We're wanted enough as it is. A fight between us would be unnecessarily destructive. I know your gravity powers, but you've also seen mine; I don't need to move to be able to use my spells."

He paused again, collecting his thoughts. Their options were limited. Taking Phoenix and Nall to another field would be a gamble; who knew what they might encounter, and with the three of them together they made a bright beacon to the Elites to their location. That was another reason to bring Nall to the Shrine; the shielding. Even the hideout wasn't necessarily safe, the hackers knew the hideouts existed. Taking Phoenix to the Soul Shrine with them was out of the question. He would need to be tested as well, and from the look of him, he wouldn't pass. Besides, Arra and Verona had trusted him with their secret; bringing more people could make them turn against him. They wished sincerely to help him, and their cause, but protecting their field was the foremost goal. A battle between them... Nighthand was powerful, and had plenty of spells at his disposal. He had no idea how Phoenix's gravity would affect them, but he could flood the area with enough power to make that effectively null. He could probably move fast enough to knock the blademaster out, but then they would have to deal with his body and escape before he woke. The warning not to follow would likely not be enough; the blademaster was, if nothing else, stubborn. Beside him, Nall slumped against the wall, his eyes closed. He had remained silent. He may have fallen asleep against the wall, as tired as he had been. Even if they were able to answer the blademaster's questions, Nighthand doubted Nall would. He wasn't the kind of person you wanted to corner.

"You really have no choice. Talk here and now, ask your questions. If we can answer, we will. If you refuse to talk here in the Town, so be it. Wait for us to return. There IS no other option."

He sighed inwardly. There was no way of knowing if logic could prevail over stubbornness in the blademaster.

"Make your choice, Phoenix."

Let's see just how intent on this he is.

Hijinx
Exalted Player
Posts: 591
Joined: Thu Apr 03, 2003 11:28 pm
Location: New look, check it out!

Post by Hijinx » Sat Sep 03, 2005 12:23 am

OOC: I thought it was solo time after nall's post :flopsy: ...

"BOOOOOOOOOOOOMBS AWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!"

Confusion engulfed the players as the yell echoed across the town, demanding attention from everyone capable of hearing. They looked around themselves expectantly, looked down, then up, but could not identify the source. A posted GM scanned the area with increasing aggitation, someone was hacking the broadcast system and had tampered with the locks and passwords. As if to add a conclusive finish, the sky made a low "ding". No sooner than everyone's attention was focused upward, a barrage of water balloons began to fly upward, seemingly passing through the ground itself and soaking everyone. In the air above, a rabbit with a raincoat shot over the canal, leaping from building to building effortlessly. Several seconds later, the ground stopped throwing the bulging water-filled items, a signifigant pause lingering as the balloons that hit no one slowed to a stop and hung there forever and no time at all. The descent began, drawing a collective groan from the masses as the rest collapsed in a rain of reds, blues, and yellows. In the mean time, a familiar rabbit with a raincoat had reached her objective,taht being nighthand and , holding a small velvet bag in her hand. She entered the hideout without a fuss, ignoring the sound of millions of splatterings outside.

"Hiya! Look what I ma..."

Hijinx frowned in irritation. Urbosh was supposed to warn her when people were leaving so she could cut them off and play. She shrugged the feeling off and bolted back outside, zipping over the crowd that was still at a loss to the wetness of their clothing, CC corps sense of humor, and for some the presence of a foot on their head as a player sprang over them.

Her targets were easy enough to find, they were standing around near the chaos gate. Taking a particularly poweful bound, she shot forward and braced herself as she slid to a stop in front of them. A small wave of water glided past as she smiled at a Nall, Pheonix, and Nighthand cheerfully.

"Now, like I was saying! Look what I made!"

A sharp whistle summoned urbosh, who was impossibly hard to see in the water.

"Table please!"

The blob formed a table and waited, he liked where this was going already, and he didn't make any attempt to stop a contented burble as Hijinx pulled a large tray of steaming cookies out of the bag and set them on the surface her pet provided.

"They almost got burned too! Good thing that timer worked!"
Hijinx the Lucky Former Rabbit
Level 35.000 Fist Fighter
Equip: Fist Guards, Wyrm Hide, guard cap, Snow panther, silver bracers
Item: 5 ressurect, 2 antidote, 10 healing potions, 6 Emperor's Soul, 3 Raging Earth, 5 Ice Floe, 4 Gale Breath, Knights Bane, 10 Speed Charms
Money: 1103gp
"The problem with life is there's no back-ground music."

Asgard
Exalted Player
Posts: 285
Joined: Wed Apr 02, 2003 4:28 am
Location: Carmina Gadelica Alleyway

Post by Asgard » Sat Sep 03, 2005 6:33 am

Asgard sighed a little on the inside, as he sit upright against the wall, hoisted over the ground by the bed he had taken refuge upon for over two days. The wound in his back hadn't healed completely, as it still shot pain throughout Asgard like the knife insertion had done back at the Maneki Library. The visual imprint of burning, all-consuming rage, combined with sudden pain and blackness, was all that the Fist Fighter could think about. At that point during the fight, he felt like nothing mortal could slay him. But in the end, it was just a plain dagger, the one a Twin Blade newbie would carry, did him in.

Asgard swung off his bed, hearing the giggling cries of people outside, followed by what sounded like watery explosions. He couldn't tell if it was a threat or a prank.

That is, until he heard Hijinx roll by. Then he knew what the 'dealy' was.

The Fist Fighter quietly reached around his body and pressed against the back wound. A quick feeling of burning pain shot up through Asgard's spine, alerting his brain of the terror that still existed. Asgard retracted his hand within sight and saw that even the bandages, his armwraps, were still quite moist and soaked with vermillion. The Fist Fighter unraveled the giant bandaid and quickly discarded it near the bed in which he had slept before, and quickly unraveling his scarf with one free hand. This will have to do, he thought to himself, as he wrapped the scarf twice over his wound, tightened the silky material, and tied both ends at the back. He winced once as the pressure sunk into the wound, preventing the flow of the blood for at least a while.

Sitting back down on his bed for a second, he rested his head within his palms and delved down into his own consciousness. He had hoped that his period of being out of commission made the elements which he could control a bit restless. But as soon as everything faded from vision, four glows appeared in its place: One red, one cyan, one green, and one mahogany. Fire, Ice, Nature, and Earth were still within his command. Smiling in his palms, he retracted his head upright, seeing Nall and Nighthand leave the abode. He could hear the ramblings of Hijinx, peddling her delicious wares for free to anyone who came even relatively close to her proximity. It was amazing how her voice could carry so far.

I really shouldn't hang around too long. Who knows when those psychotic hackers or those troublesome cultists of the blade will come knocking. Asgard shot a glance over by his bed to see that his torso tunic was still partially buried underneath his pillow. He grabbed the form fitting leathery tunic and slid it over his body, covering the wound and surprisingly, not interfering with the bandage knot. Asgard reached to the bedpost near the pillow and scooped up the strap holding the squareish satchel which contained one of his hacks. With his things, he made way for the exit to the Mac Anu street, looking at those exhausted from whatever the "Beastmaster" event was.

===============================================

"Make your choice, Phoenix."

Asgard heard Phoenix and Nighthand currently in heated conversation, with Nall pretty much unconscious beside Nighthand, and Hijinx sitting down with her pet blob turned table, peddling cookies. Asgard quickly sidestepped the two in confrontation, as they both seemed ready to let pandora loose on the whole server town. Nall slowly slumped a bit down, falling down to the pavement, but Asgard was there to catch the exhausted one. "Easy there, buddy. You look like you could use a treat." Asgard threw one of Nall's arms over his neck to help him walk, little by little, over to Hijinx. He set Nall down, still holding him upright. "Hijinx! This man needs cookies...lots of em. But don't try and choke him. He's no good to us when he's suffocating." Asgard put Nall's arm onto the table, but didn't seem to break him out of the 'completely sedated' look.

Sighing, Asgard looked back to the Chaos Gate, brimming in blueish glory, partially encased in golden plates. With a look of determination, Asgard recalled on what he overheard Nall and Nighthand talk about, back in the hideout.
"Anyways... What's your point? I can't just drag people off the street, admin's are tightening security... The hackers are on our backs... There's not much I can do in the recruitment department."
He was wrong about the admins. Asgard personally knew, and so did Nall, that there was nothing that the admins could do to even TOUCH the elites. So they tried to keep the gaming populace at ease with promises of tigher security, increasing the amount of guards patrolling the root town streets in disguise. It was all just a big facade, but was the only thing they could do to have a sense of control in the issue.
"Go to a field somewhere, try to train their hacks and improve."
That was what drove Asgard out of his bed. He knew that game levels were one thing, but in order to take a firm stand, he had to unlock the 4 elements that still casted curtains over their power. Deep in his body, where the four elements who were unsheathed shone in the essence of his soul, 4 were dimmed: Yellow, Black, White, and Auburn. Thunder, Darkness, Light, and Wind. He knew now that he had to drive himself hard, for if he didn't, he would only weaken everyone else.

As he thought, down on the mottled table, something spoke to him in the back of his mind. Asgard suddenly got goosebumps on his entire body, as if a sub zero wind had just consumed him whole. After a second, Asgard realized on who the messenger was within his brain.

Asgard got back to a standing position, grabbing two of Hijinx's cookies. Thanking her kindly, he wove his hand over the open cobblestones of the Mac Anu walkway. One of the firmly placed stones shot from the ground and into Asgard's open palm. Holding it firmly in his hand, he released the grasp and revealed that the paint and dullness had withered from the stone, only to reveal a small piece of a clear crystal substance, similar to colorless Quartz. He offered it to Hijinx, who scooped it out of his hands and smiled widely.

"I saw the note....and pretty much overheard the entire conversation you two had..." Asgard paused, drawing in a breath of artificial air. "I'm going to unlock the rest of my power. Message me when you have some leads or if something goes wrong." He smiled and winked, offering an assuring nod to Nighthand and the semi conscious Nall. Asgard walked over to the gate, accessing the chaos terminal. Pressing a few keys and fidgeting with a few buttons, the chaos rings materialized all around him and scurried him off to his destination.
This is my non-banner profile. Read at own discretion!
Wishlist (Bolded sections denotate priority, in descending order)
In General: LEVELS
Pet-Related: EX-Levels, [Lv. 2]Overdrive Sphere, [Lv. 2]Ressurect
Armor: Dice Gloves (20 RARE), Golden Turban (42), Saint Cross (41), Protect Ring (41)
Weapons: Master Nunchaku (40 RARE), Three-Section Staff (37),
Items: (None)

Phoenix512
Exalted Player
Posts: 304
Joined: Thu Nov 13, 2003 10:42 pm

Post by Phoenix512 » Sat Sep 03, 2005 9:14 am

"Boy Phoenix, you never change do you? So serious, all the time... Unfortunately, you chose probably the worst time for this."

Timing was never a strong suit of mine. Everyone has better timing than I do. Wait, correct that. I have very good bad timing. Everyone has bested me with inability to talk to you or just beat me down like some cat. Phoenix continued to listen to Nighthand’s speech.

"You see, we just came back from killing another Elite; something we haven’t done since Kuja. As you can probably see if you looked, Nall is on the verge of exhaustion here. I'm taking him to a field I know to rest, a place he can be safe while he recovers, without the pestering questions of everyone."

They actually managed to defeat an Elite. I’m quite impressed but it seems the all-mighty Nall is weakened. Nall is only powerful when only at full-strength. Even the powers of God have their drawbacks as well. I wonder if the Elites have the same drawback as well… He heard Nighthand’s chuckle before he continued to speak once again.

"To be frank, Phoenix, no. You're right about not wanting anyone to know of the field. The Soul Shrine is a sacred place, and its guardians are powerful. They let me in when I stumbled on it accidentally, because I can help them, and have. However, they will forsake me in an instant if I bring too many people; their secret is more important than any of our lives to them. You can't follow us to this field, as it's only open to those I tell the residents to let in. Of course, you could note down the keywords I say as we go, but you wouldn't make it far. If you were even granted access to the field, you'd probably be killed within moments. They aren't usually violent, but they do need to keep their secret."

The Soul Shrine… Nighthand’s place of power. I wonder what he says is true or trying to ditch me. He hasn’t try anything to get away from me yet… Phoenix continued to pay attention to Nighthand’s words.

"So, here we are. Nall is exhausted; a fight right now would either kill him or knock him out. You wouldn't get your answers then. I'm here as well; even with Nall weakened, I got at least a little rest. I wonder if you could deal with us both. I, too, would rather not use violence, not in the town. We're wanted enough as it is. A fight between us would be unnecessarily destructive. I know your gravity powers, but you've also seen mine; I don't need to move to be able to use my spells."

He’s right about that. Nall can’t do much without his time powers. I could probably easily beat Nall. Nighthand on the other hand, his powers are a bit unpredictable but powerful if luck is on his side. He also has the level advantage over me as well. I can’t ensure victory over Nighthand. Once again, Phoenix hear Nighthand’s voice.

"You really have no choice. Talk here and now, ask your questions. If we can answer, we will. If you refuse to talk here in the Town, so be it. Wait for us to return. There IS no other option."

Nighthand sighed slightly before finishing talking to the blademaster.

"Make your choice, Phoenix."

Phoenix began to ponder his thoughts to his guardian, Suzaku. Well, what should I do old friend? Should I make good on my promise and attack Nighthand while leaving the weakened Nall alone or just allow to go to the Soul Shrine and just follow them? Suzaku transmitted her thoughts to the master of gravity.

There are some places in the World that are not meant to enter without permission. Perhaps this Soul Shrine is one of them. I think you just allow them be and do not follow them. You cannot risk Nighthand’s source of power and support.

Before Phoenix could give his answer, Hijinx appeared with her own pet in hand. What’s with her? Why does she goes out her way to just annoy me? Phoenix watched as Urbosh transformed into a table which the rabbit placed cookies on it. He was not amused by the sight. She interrupted me and Nighthand just show us cookies. I want to cook and eat her at this point but she probably tasted bad. Anyway, back to the situation at hand.

Phoenix tried to give Nighthand his answer when Asgard suddenly appeared into the picture as he placed the weakened Nall on the table. He asked for Hijinx for some cookies so he could help improve Nall’s health which in return, he gave her a piece of quartz. Before leaving the town, Asgard said that he was going to train to unlock his remaining power and message him if any leads or emergencies came up.

Phoenix watched Asgard exit the town through the Chaos Gate and turned his attention back to Nighthand. “Before an Elite comes into town, I decided not to follow you guys at the moment. I just feel that a dead Nall isn’t useful to me compared an alive one. Also, there’s something I thought I could do awhile you guys go on vacation. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind fighting you but the crossfire could injure my treasure which is bad for the both of us. I’m off for now. Let me know when you’re back from your trip.”

Phoenix began to walk away from Nighthand, Hijinx, and Nall when he suddenly stop in his tracks and said, “Two more things before I leave. One, rabbit don’t follow me unless you want to be food for me and Suzaku to eat. Two, tell Nall that a leader should not hide from his soldiers Nighthand. Goodbye for now.”

As Phoenix was walking towards the Chaos Gate, Suzaku asked him to where they are going. He replied back with the following. To the place where I started to begin to forget about the past. We are going back to Distrusting Fallen Angel. It’s probably a stupid idea to go back to the enemy lair but it’s the only lead that I have at the moment. Phoenix arrived at the Chaos Gate and transferred to Theta Server as the golden rings engulfed his body and made him disappeared from Mac Anu.
Phoenix
Level 48 Blademaster
Equipped Skills: Vak Revolver, Gan Revolver, Dek Vorv, La Repth, Juk Kruz, Rue Kruz, BiVak Rom, GiGan Zot
Other Skills: Rue Kruz, Rip Synk, Rip Saem, Crack Beat, Rue Slash, Ani Slash, Gan Crack, Gan Revolver

Wish List: Phoenix's Fire, Gold Necklace
EX-Spheres: LV 3 - Overdrive, LV 3 - Curative, LV 3 - Elemental Breath

User avatar
Cypher
Exalted Player
Posts: 235
Joined: Wed Mar 03, 2004 11:01 pm
Location: Who am I...?
Contact:

Post by Cypher » Thu Sep 08, 2005 8:03 pm

I’m so lost! No one helps, I can’t trust anyone anymore, not even my best friend…and what did I do to Vera!?

Lamentation, confusion, tears, all signs of guilt and sorrow. These feelings ran rampant inside Cypher, chasing every emotion down and destroying it. A smooth curvature formed on Cypher’s lip, the ends pointed down. No tears would appear, even when he wished them to come. Alas, even inside a game, one’s emotions can do away with even the strongest of warriors. Although at full power, and the ability to use and wield the game’s rules to his advantage, Cypher felt like not going on.

But I need to know…

On the other hand, something wrong and evil was brewing inside the administration. It appeared to be the same old story that dealt with the big companies: corruption germinates, sprouts in one, and spreads to a few more. The seed becomes a plant, a plant which slowly but surely blossoms. As the plant grows, its roots dig deeper and deeper. Only a solid strike to the root, removing it without leaving anything behind, would ensure its elimination.

Himself, he was a mere peon, instructed where to go, what to do, who to delete. Deception, fraud, deletion…a vicious cycle which he was unfortunately involved in. He stood powerless to strike against those who he had discovered to be unjust, yet at the same time, possessed the ability to bring everything down, given he acted at the right place and the right time. Many riddles, few hints, yet no answers.

Along with the agony groping inside, he felt anger, anger because he was sued, anger because he committed wrong for those who are wrong. Anger because he was not free…free to know, free to act, free to live. It was as if he was invisible; not recognized for what he was, yet used and abused for what he could do for them.

Them…them…

Three figures pop out in the corner of his eye. All three are immediately recognized. His stride is suddenly detains as he no longer wishes to tour the town. Being near the bridge, Cypher jumped down, away from any visibility, and looked on to the conversation brewing.

Them!

Phoenix, Nall, Nighthand. Three of many subjects which stood in his list for elimination. The administration wanted them out badly, yet he was never given any reason other than the usual ‘hacker’ tag. Cypher had an opportunity to do away with them once before, yet he never took it. Or maybe he never could…

Anxiously, he peeked over the ledge and tried his best to make out what was being said. He tried his best to listen, including inclining his head as close a she could without actually poking out and revealing himself, muting other player’s speech, and even raising their outbound volumes. But nothing, nothing began to work. He gave up on listening in, yet he still remained curious as to what they were doing in the delta server, and what they were talking about.

Vera…

Thoughts of her clan mate and friend began to arise. He had hurt her; he had changed her to something…something unnamable. He was guilty for her persecution. His powers had destroyed and re-created her, and then she disappeared. He couldn’t help think of her whereabouts as time passed. The tracker placed on her never showed her location, making him feel worse. However, this time he would not make the same mistake twice.

Many questions were ready to be submitted to those three, mainly to Nall. He had untapped a power in his sword, the Reliance, one he couldn’t use one he had disappeared. Phoenix was another he wished to talk to. He was not active in Fatal Exception’s events. In fact, even Hacorie had not seen him in some time. Yet he looked normal…

The three quickly disappeared, each gating to a certain field. Cypher quickly copied their keywords, finding two separate fields. It seemed Nall and Night had gone on to do their thing, leaving Phoenix to himself. Seeing Nall in such a pitiful state discouraged approaching, and instead made Cypher want to talk to Phoenix about what exactly was going on.

Once the coast was clear, Cypher trotted on to the Chaos Gate. Being under the bridge meant having some wet attire, something that needed to be taken care off before he met Phoenix. Suspicion was the last thing he wanted to give off. As he waited, he fetched for the keywords and saved them, ready for a one-click use as soon as he was ready.

Distrusting Fallen Angel...nice choice of words...
Wishlist: Ends of Earth (11 BM), Black Sharp Angel Wings, BM Swords (Rare/Common)

New sig coming soon!

Hijinx
Exalted Player
Posts: 591
Joined: Thu Apr 03, 2003 11:28 pm
Location: New look, check it out!

Post by Hijinx » Mon Sep 12, 2005 4:02 am

OOC: Looks like you forgot someone there, cypher 8) .

Openings to do something entertaining within this group were easy to come by, but it just wasn't something you could pass up. A deft flick of the wrist and firm grip on nall's jaw let her stuff a handful of choclate chip cookies into his mouth and lent her a moment to toss a few at nighthand. Snatching the rest up, she dashed to the chaos gate and bounced pointedly several times where asgard had stood, laughing and grinning the whole time. A hole opened up underneith her after a brief moment and Hijinx was gone, down her little hole. It closed a second later.

The area she had forced her way into was obviously not ment for the average person. It was a gray zone between servers, a place nobody could control or move about in without tremendous difficulty. Spinning around quickly, hijinx snatched a shadow out of the nothing, snapped it like a whip, and pulled it back in it's new form, that of asgard. She offered only a broad smile and pointed before blinking them both into a brand new place, one that was either better or worse. A cheerful voice waited patiently for two bings before making a brief announcement.

"Thank for using Pandora services, please feel free to call upon Pandora Corp again."

OOC: Have to make a new topic now, if anyone wants in PM me, I can make it happen :D !
Hijinx the Lucky Former Rabbit
Level 35.000 Fist Fighter
Equip: Fist Guards, Wyrm Hide, guard cap, Snow panther, silver bracers
Item: 5 ressurect, 2 antidote, 10 healing potions, 6 Emperor's Soul, 3 Raging Earth, 5 Ice Floe, 4 Gale Breath, Knights Bane, 10 Speed Charms
Money: 1103gp
"The problem with life is there's no back-ground music."

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