.hack//DIVERGENCE Main

[Zhao Xun]

None of it really made sense to me, and though I'd solved the puzzles in our quest with Suraisu with relative ease, this one had me stumped. I rolled it around in my head every which way, trying to slowly untangle the subtle meanings that had to be hidden within each message. One of them was right, and the rest were traps....

Between the Red trees
Ahead the stills yowl
Between the Blue trees
Scandal sees even now
Between the Green trees
Needlepoints rites
Between the Brown trees
Repress dogma
Between the Black trees
Astral rends keen

After several unsuccessful attempts to glean secret meanings from these cryptic words, I began to hurl them around within my skull, back and forth, beating down every possible angle with no results still. I was going from perturbed to annoyed, and from annoyed to pissed off. There was NOTHING hidden in these words, at least not as far as I could tell. I was about ready to just start attacking these signs in a blind rage, when Senna piped up from amidst the group.

“I vote that way. The message can rearrange to ‘progress made’,” she said, pointing towards the brown trees.

I blinked, then looked at the sign again. Wow, she's absolutely correct. That was fast.

"Well, I'm with Senna on this one. She's perfectly right about what those letters rearrange to, and I can't find anything in these signs but an anagram. Brown has my vote."

Having spoken my piece, I slowly sat down on the ground, waiting to hear what others had to say.

[Zan]

Zan simply watched the rest of the fight unfold slowly but surely, the group following suit and taking down the remainder of the enemies that had once stood before them. Where ash had risen to give life, there was only ash once more. Would that change? Would something rise up again and halt their progress further? Probably, but the lycanthrope didn't care. All he cared about was reveling in the adrenaline the fight had given him. The battlelust had cured him of his boredom and he was praying that feeling would stay. The Heavy Blade didn't need to be sick of his teammates or the situation any longer than was necessary. Perhaps that mindset had only been a part of his time spent in the Hideout. Although that place gave him rest from everything, it didn't seem too good a place for his mind (if only because it made him think too much on things best left dead and forgotten). A thought occurred to him then, a thought that urged him to stay away from that place. When this little adventure was done, perhaps he'd wait for everyone else to be ready to move on by slumming around in Carmina Gadelica. It could work.

The group's walk over the eternity of ash was quiet, various contemplations filling the heads around him. His eyes told him a handful of seconds before the others that the seemingly endless field of black and grey snow was...endful. Full of endness? Eh, whatever. Almost too drastically, they were stepping into green and towards a number of obscenely decorated trees. Only some sort of amateur or deliberate moron would be unable to see the connection between the tree colors and the six elements of The World. Another elemental puzzle, eh? After the six rooms of the last Hub field, Zan could only pray that they wouldn't have to conquer each and every one of them. The difference in the yellow tree and the summary Rayo had given them back at the Hideout told him that, though they had gone through one, the puzzle offered up suggested at only one real solution. They could probably widdle it down to one answer by beating down the five (now four) other possibilities, but that was so freaking tedious. It looked like everyone was going to have to pull together their brains and--

"I vote that way," Senna said. "The message can rearrange to ‘progress made’."

--that would happen. Had the lycanthrope completely zoned out of the brainstorm session that had gone on, or had the Long Arm single-handedly taken out a riddle that Zan was certain would have bent his brain in half? Sadly, he was betting on the latter option. Anagrams or what not were never his strong suit. They hadn't been in high school and they certainly weren't being friendly towards him now. Rather than be jealous or anything of the sort, the Heavy Blade was simply impressed. It was about time they had another riddle solver on their team. By the looks of Raquar, he was fairly smart, the way he carried himself telling of one used to ponderings and the constant use of his noggin. Thing was, the kid hadn't exactly been speaking or participating much as of late, so he had counted him out of the race. Thank God for Senna having a sudden flash of insight or whatever the hell it was that turned her onto the answer. They needed to rally together more people like her. If Nall was going to be kidnapping newly comatose players, he needed to snatch up more Sennas.

Flashmail!
To: Zan, Armina
From: Rayo

Zan, Armina,

We’ve got a forest that won’t let us try to go back, and a field with alternate paths, and a cave somewhere down the yellow path where our eyes are near useless. We can’t cover ourselves perfectly, but we can try to guard ourselves the best we can.

With your nose Zan, can you cover the front? I’m sure Nighthand/Silverblade and Nall will be there, but Nall’s horrible at warning us of anything, and frankly you’d just do a better job of it than the former.

I’m not sure how well you can control it for what I’m asking Mina, but how possible would it be for to work rearguard and try to just be receptive towards random thoughts floating about? If my hunch has any basis, you might be able to pick up the thoughts of whatever could try to follow or ambush us. I don’t know how many thoughts come from normal monsters, but it should conceivably work on hackers and enhanced AI units.

Thanks.

Rayo

Flashmail! End

Rather than immediately jump to go with Rayo's plan of recon as soon as he could, Zan found himself eyeing Armina. She...could read thoughts? They had a fucking telepath in the group now? Groaning, not caring about the negative thoughts stirring around in his skull, the lycanthrope couldn't help but feel the annoyance itch at the back of his head. Zan was too paranoid already about his thoughts, afraid to let the Beast or Nulus have too much handle on him and, what, suddenly someone was able to poke around and read from him whenever she wanted? Wonderful. He wasn't sure if it was something she had to focus on or not, but oh well. The Lycan would just have to adjust to this little insight. As long as she didn't go preaching to everyone else how completely twisted his Beast could be, it didn't have to matter. What did, however, was helping Rayo along with his little pre-emptive planning. The brown trees, eh? Why not? Doing this little sniff test hadn't given them much to work with in the last Hub, but things could change.

Stepping closer to the middle of the path laid out by the brown trees, Zan took a deep breath, allowing every molecule of smell offered to him ahead filter in. It was true that Zan hadn't been expecting much, but this was ridiculous. All he had gotten, apparently, was the smell of forest and ash. Well, no shit. He was in a place that bordered both, damn it. A tilt of his ear towards the path gave him nothing but your usual forest noises and the steady, delicate fall of ash to the ground. Was there burning even out there or, for some reason, was he being fed information through his senses that only reflected where they currently stood? How did the bastards even know to craft field aspects around his abilities? Had they even done that or, more likely, was this Marionette playing some sort of game with him? That seemed like a really, really bad idea if the puppetmaster wanted the lycanthrope to be any sort of real help to him. Hopefully he was wrong. Hopefully he just had terrible luck with his senses in hacked fields.

Turning to Rayo, he spoke in a voice loud enough to carry to all that had gathered. "All I can smell is forest and ash and, sadly, that's about all I hear as well. As well as you can 'hear' ash, anyway. Doesn't look like we're getting too much help with my senses this go around. Either way, I vote for the brown tree path as well. I'm sure Senna knows what she's doing."

That taken care of, reminded of Marionette as he was, the Lycan was quickly busy with another task.

Flashmail!
To: Marionette
From: Zan
Subject: At the Hub

As I'm sure you're well aware, the group has arrived at the previously visited Hub. You said you'd be having me do something soon and I need to know just how 'soon' is that? I don't want to have to worry about flaking out during a fight because you're looming around somewhere ready to snatch me up.

An actual answer would be nice, if you know how to give those.

-Zan

Flashmail! End

What to do now? Well, while everyone was busy making up their minds, Zan was going to make sure every piece of his was intact. A look for Nulus revealed the Shade looming behind him, floating a bit higher than usual to make himself seem superior over his 'owner.' The look on Zan's face only gave him a mental 'What?' from Nulus. Shrugging it off, not caring what games the First played with him as long as he left the group alone, the lycanthrope found himself once again mulling over what the field held for everyone. Was it going to be as mindlessly exhausting as the last? Would they have some let up in comparison? Questions were never Zan's strong suit and, deciding to stop asking them, he felt his impatience in the void begin to grow. There were too many things the group didn't know going into this and, for him, too much he didn't know about Marionette's intentions. The quest part didn't bother him, they hardly ever knew what was going on with anything, but he couldn't simply wave away the puppetmaster issue. Marionette would have to be verrrrrrry delicate with how he handled the situation or Zan was going to be wrongfully outed as some sort of traitor.

Here was to hoping the puppetmaster as smart as he was cryptic.

[Fuzzhead]

Ding, flashmail! Now bring on the hell. A field of ashes was the destination, but brashness was out of the question. Silk needed to stay strong and do no wrong if he intended to belong in this group of unfortunate souls. He’d prefer the toll to be a gnoll – not a mountain; gleefully getting bowled over by an entrance fee was not how he intended to get free from this prison.

Pulsating Light Trap Core
Truncating Millsap’s Whore

Three golden rings were set to fling the Fist Fighter to the field; one that would perhaps yield some results for releasing what had been sealed. In a matter of seconds, he arrived, only to be beckoned, by the footsteps amongst charred land.

All around were flames and devastation, sooty black pain, so without hesitation, the Fist Fighter went on his way. The sky was black with suffering, but thankfully there were no portals hovering – his unseen companions had done well. The number of footprints was a tell, and although he couldn’t be sure, he estimated at least ten, perhaps more. For his own sake, Victor hoped for more, or this would be an annoying chore. Smaller groups were harder to dupe.

Before too much time, he left the ashes and grime, and arrived at forest. Blessed with impressive greenery, the forest was huge and foreboding – no place for tomfoolery. Silly as it may be, the Fist Fighter felt the clutches of destiny coming swiftly. He began at a steady trot, realizing he had made it this far without a single enemy fought. Marching through the underbrush, he hoped he could trust Senna to give good directions. Perfection wasn’t necessary though, Silk was sharp on his toes, and he had a minimap for guidance.

A glance ahead saw a group of fighters, tightly gripping their weapons for fear of some unknown threat. Treading lightly was advised, as Victor did not want to meet his demise, especially on the verge of freedom. A clearing aplomb with warriors of all kinds, some were strong, some were weak, and some had abnormal spines.

Announcing his arrival beforehand would be best; pouncing wouldn’t be a way to invest the time he had already spent seeking out some friends. “Hi,” he said from afar, not like he was a movie star, but more like he had a scar on his face and was scared to show them.

“I’m Silk. I know Senna,” he said, hoping that he didn’t have an antenna growing from his head like an elk. “May I join you?” If all went smooth, they wouldn’t avoid him like the flu.

[Sekai]

The last monster fell, Kira's eyes narrowing as she stared out over the desolate landscape and looked around, checking behind her to make sure that nothing had been flanking them the entire fight. It was dead; completely and utterly dead, no sign of life or energy or spirit left in this damned place. How the hell they even managed to breathe in this dead world was something she wasn't getting. Hell, she didn't even recognize who's realm this field fell or had fallen under; not even Wryneck would have accepted this devoid of life and spirit would for his own. Her wings beat the air softly, keeping her aloft as a sharp pain in her side had one hand pressing gently, almost absent-mindedly against the area as she waited for everyone to finish doing whatever they were doing and move on.

"You did really well back there."

Kira turned her head, pupils missing from the brighter-than-usual gold eyes as she regarded the black winged guy, what was his name again... ahh, Canti, with an unreadble expression on her face at the praise. Done really well back there in that fight? Who the hell was this guy kidding and trying to score points with? That had been the single most battle of suck that she and Sekai had ever been in since they'd become aware of each other's individual presence. Not only had they been sent crashing into the ground multiple times and managed to get hit by several spells, Sekai'd just lost a shitload of ground and progress when it came to the unpleasant bastard who had a T for the start of his name and with the Darkness element. After a long, silent moment, the white haired girl turned her attention on the road ahead of them as the party began to slowly move out.

No, they hadn't done well at all and a feeling that transferred itself deep into the bones of this body and made it ache told her that it was going to get a hell of a lot worse before it was going to get any better.

"Not even close to acceptable."

The Archer replied, voice frosty with an undertone of frustration and the pitch of the woman's voice somehow... deeper, more firm than the usually soft-spoken girl's shy one. She lifted the wings a bit, dropping rapidly to the ground before halting and breaking the fall to set herself gently on her feet, fold the wings back into place against her back much like a typical bird would and straightened her spine and posture before walking straight ahead like the rest of the party. No, she had no social skills, sure she hadn't always been such a bitch but hey, hackers were notorious for destroying social skills. Rainbow colored trees a little while later did nothing to improve her mood and, to be more than a little blunt, she was about ten seconds away from asking if there were any places in these damn hacker fields that actually required a live sacrifice of another hacker.

Because there would be no tears shed or prayers said for the victim of the sacrifice, well, no prayers of ascention anyways. Damnation? Better bet your ass she'd be condemning the rotted remnants of whatever they had in place of a soul.

A female, the second one she'd seen who was a Long Arm, damn but she missed her old class, suggested taking the normal-ish looking tree's path. Fine, let's just pack up and get this shit over with; that was she could worry about what to do with Sekai, restart the 'ther-' dammit what the hell was it called again. See what happens when she gets pissed off? She couldn't even think straight now.

Anyone who looked over, or might have, to see what she voted would see her looking off into the direction of the brown tree. Her little one was awfully quiet, probably still trying to repair the nasty damn crack she'd felt appear in the girl's mind from the near-hallucination, but still there as a strong presence within their mind. As irritated as she was with the lapse in progress and the three steps back they'd had to take, Kira sent a gruff form of comfort down the link between the two of them, the girl receiving it gratefully and apologetically sending her gratitude in return.

Dammit but it was hard to be mad at her sometimes.

[Nighthand]

The decision seemed to be made and, huh, go figure. A word puzzle hidden in the signs. It figured. Of course they wouldn’t have picked up on it this time either, had it not been for the eye of Senna. She seemed to have a knack for this sort of thing; she’d no doubt be invaluable for puzzles. Though whether or not “thinking like the hackers” was a good thing or a bad thing, Silverblade wasn’t at liberty to decide.

Silverblade and Nall’s glances met and, after a shrug passed between them, they set off. Nall started to head down the path, his eyes scanning around for anything he could see, leaving Silverblade to speak.

”Well, that seems as good a reason as any. Brown path it is.”

The heavyblade did little more than nod at the newcomer. Senna had vouched for Silk, so, he’d be watched but not confronted. So many people to watch among the group, now…

(dot dot dot. We’re walking along the path. It’s long and boring. I don’t want to write it.)

After a long and boring walk through woodsy, boring nature, the group emerged into a clearing. This clearing, too, was big and boring, but it was their destination. How did they know? One clue may have been the lack of exit, especially considering the path that disappeared behind them. Another clue, and probably the biggest one, was the large temple entrance. Modeled after some kind of Greco-roman structure, it was little more than a façade with a door in it. The door stood open, revealing a torch lit staircase descending deep into the earth.

Nall saw no threat, Zan could smell nothing out of the ordinary, and nothing deemed now the time to attack them, so they proceeded down into the caverns.

The door, of course, slammed shut behind them. How else could the level have been designed? Everything seemed planned to leave them with no escape route.

Eventually the staircase leveled out into a long and surprisingly well lit hallway. This opened up gradually until it was pretty much room-sized. Just when the end was in sight, a sudden cry from Nall send everyone running.

”RUN FOR IT!” Simple enough. The reason became apparent in a matter of seconds, as a hail of blades began to rain from the roof. The entire hall was filled with them, and they fell at a speed that could only have been matched had they been fired from a cannon.

Under normal circumstances, the party would have been slaughtered just then and there, but Nall was here. His immense speed had him little more than a blur around the group. The swords seemed to be bouncing off some kind of barely visible shield as the group ran for the far door. Nall was moving as fast as he could manage, his blade flashing around, deflecting the blades that otherwise threatened to take all of their lives. One by one, everyone passed through the far door under the safety net of Nall’s protection… all, that is, except for one.

The door slammed shut, a heavy stone barrier several feet thick, trapping Nall on the other side.

”Huh… Well, that was definitely designed for exactly that reason.” Silverblade muttered to himself. ”We may as well move on.”

It wasn’t long before the next trap became apparent. This one, it seemed, was geared towards Silverblade and his own particular set of powers. From the very door that had trapped Nall away from them erupted a beam of lightning. Silverblade’s senses identified it as a simple Rai Don, cast at a right angle, and hurtling towards them. The only problem was, it wasn’t a single lightning bolt, but a constant stream of power. There was only one thing for it.

”Keep going! Ani Kruz!” Silverblade shouted. The group continued their run, all save Silverblade, who held his ground.

The Ani spell took form an instant before the Rai energy overtook him, and he immediately harnessed the energy for his own purposes. He took hold of the spell and forced it into a column of black energy. His own power; using opposing elements against each other, canceling them out.

Something was wrong, however. Perhaps the taint of Xenobia reached him as well, or perhaps the unnatural force of the spell assaulting him was taking its toll. Either way, the spell wasn’t a fixed drain on his SP; it was constant. And, unlike an elite, his SP was limited.

Well, Marionette wanted to trap him so trap him he would. A moment later, and the second door slammed shut, trapping him in his little room. Just as he was about to run out of SP, the thunder shut off. He was alone.

Flashmail
To: Zan
From: Marionette
RE: cluE

holD uP thE dooR.

End Flashmail

The cryptic message was soon explained to the werewolf, who had ended up in the front of the group due to his speed. Another section of the wall was falling, and the group would be trapped if they didn’t somehow stop its fall.

The werewolf, putting two and two together, took his turn to save everyone. Using every last bit of strength he had, he heroically held up the wall so everyone else could get through. Then, before he could duck through to the other side, a segment of the closing wall opened up and swallowed him. He found himself in blackness.

-------- -------- Up ahead -------- --------

Sounds of battle reached the ears of the party, now bereft of three powerful characters. Who could be up ahead fighting already? Could Nall have found an alternate route and be facing the boss of this area?

Once the party made it to the end of the hall and around the corner, to the room where the battle was taking place, they saw what it was. A small figure, no more than a foot tall, floated around in the air haphazardly casting spells. Rue Roms and Rai Dons crashed all around, but to no avail; her target was unaffected. He was dressed in black and the height of a tall man. An old-style trenchcoat with a jagged red hem and cuffs was buttoned down the front. Black pants melded seamlessly to highly pointed red and black boots. A pair of black gloves covered normal-enough seeming hands. The only really odd things were a thin, wiry tail ending in an odd circular emblem and a comically large mask/helmet, done out in black and red, a sadistic grin plastered on its face. He danced spastically about the room, dodging the spells with ease, toying with the fae.

Upon the entry of the group, the fighting stopped. The man in black stood upright, then bowed comically with a flourish. ”Ah, I see you’ve made it. You’re too late, though! I’ve captured the fae, and there’s nothing you can do! So… ta ta!”

The figure danced to the far wall, then slipped through a door that slammed behind him, locking with a loud click.

The short blue figure sank to the floor, and those who had been to this field before would recognize her as Elin, the fae they had seen and followed for a short time. She sobbed, pleading for the help of the group.

”Please, help my sisters! That horrible man is just toying with you; he gave us all parts of the key to get through. They’re in the side rooms; I’m the only one that managed to stay out for as long as I have. Please! He’s hurting them!”

And, sure enough, there were five other doors in the room, each leading off at some oblique angle. Each of them was identical, and opened only for one person. Elin explained. ”He made it so only one person at a time can go through a door and be in the room, aside from my sister. Please, someone, go help them!” She sobbed, and refused to speak another word.

------------------------ooc:

Five doors, five people. First come first served. Also, no one can do more than one room. Post claiming a door and I’ll PM/IM you with details of what you’ll find inside. As I said; the guy is toying with you, he’s not really making it hard.

Zan, you’ll have another thread in a moment, in the Library. It’s only temporary, you’ll be back in this one for the boss fight or, depending on timing, earlier.

For people who don’t get a room… well, this will probably be a rather dull round, I’m sorry.


Edit: Allow me to clarify. Write a normal post, like you would any other round. Then somewhere in it say whether or not you want a room.

[Zhao Xun]

Swords raining down upon us... if it wasn't for Nall, we'd all have been through right there. Those blades would have torn me to pieces in short order, leaving me nothing but chopped up meat, and the same fate would probably await the stronger members of the group as well. And if the threat of being skewered and diced wasn't enough, we became seperated from Nall as we fled.

Not good... what if whatever summoned those swords just does the same thing again? Without Nall, we're just fodder if we're forced to try and live through it. Maybe a few of us would make it out, but not enough to finish this dungeon intact.

I barely had time to dwell on that fact as a bolt of lightning burst forth from the door and crackled towards us. It once again seemed like I Was looking at my own demise, but this time Silverblade stepped up. He threw himself in front of the lightning, then yelled to us "Keep going!" before letting loose an Ani Kruz in the direction of the stream that threatened our very existence, digital as it may have been. I didn't think twice before following his orders, not stopping to see what he had in mind. I had faith in him to keep us alive.

My speed served me well, allowing me to keep up with the group with ease, but it seemed that that would not be enough as a third trap was sprung. A section of the wall began to fall down in front of us, threatening to block our path, and our third hero within but a few minutes stepped up. Zan held the stone in place long enough for us to dodge through, but he also ended up trapped and separated.

We're now bereft of our three most powerful allies... what are we to do if something else comes that we can't handle? What if these traps just keep coming until we're all alone, and then the Elites come to eliminate us one by one? That would certainly be the end of our little group, and the end of each of our minds too....

I shook those thoughts out of my head, knowing they could only hurt me as we continued through the field. Continuing down the hall, I could hear the sounds of spells being cast ahead, and as we rounded the corner, I could see their source. Something small... trying to defeat something at least five times its size. What could be going on?

As we advanced forward, not only did the fighting stop, but I recognized the small being as Elin, the fairy we had helped on our last visit to this field. Had she found herself in trouble again?

"Ah, I see you’ve made it," said the second figure, a man clothed all in black with hints of red whom I could only assume was some sort of boss in this field. "You’re too late, though! I’ve captured the fae, and there’s nothing you can do! So… ta ta!" And with those words, he made his exit through the back door, locking it as he went.


”Please, help my sisters!" cried Elin, drawing my attention away from the man's brisk escape. "That horrible man is just toying with you; he gave us all parts of the key to get through. They’re in the side rooms; I’m the only one that managed to stay out for as long as I have. Please! He’s hurting them! He made it so only one person at a time can go through a door and be in the room, aside from my sister. Please, someone, go help them!"

We had already seen three bouts of heroism and sacrifice this in this field; why should I not join them? I had to try and help... somehow. Without thinking twice, I walked slowly to the fourth door of the five Elin had indicated, opened it, and stepped through.

[Phoenix512]

After Phoenix finished off with one of the Ember Knights, he watched Sekai in combat to see how good she does in a battle. Great. Another person who can fly. At this rate, I’m going to be the only one who can’t get off the ground. She took out the last Ember Knight with little problem. It’s nice to have a true long range combatant in the group now.

The battle with the ash knights was finished which everyone followed Silverblade. Even though Phoenix had been here before, he had no idea where to go but trusted Silverblade to get them to their next destination. After a few minutes of walking, the blademaster noticed a wall was in their way. He remembered from last time that the wall was not there before. He deduced that the wall was a barrier for the fire to create the ash knights. Once passed the wall, they continued on the forest path that disappeared behind them like before and reached the different colored trees riddle crossroads.

Phoenix decided this time not to give an opinion since his take on it lead them in a dark cave that ended with a giant snake. He hate snakes so much before fighting that thing and hates them even more now. He thought it would be better if someone who had not been here before to figure it out. Good thing for Phoenix that Senna figured out the trick to the riddle which was that the signs were anagrams. Even though they did not figured out all the signs, the one between the brown trees seemed to make the most sense.

Before the group left the intersection, another player joined them. Phoenix was wary about this newcomer for a number of reasons especially that Senna invited him to come here. What she’s thinking of bringing this guy here? She should know the dangers of being with us. If I was her, I would have a mile long pole on me to keep off people from coming to this group. No matter, he probably be watched about everyone here except for the newer people.

Nall and Silverblade decided to use Senna’s suggestion and go on the brown path. After walking a while, the group reached their destination which was a temple. Damn Marionette. What’s with the long paths? Does he want us to be bored before he decides to kill us all? After reaching the temple door, they descended a flight of stairs that lead to a regular room that contain blades on the ceiling.

Even Phoenix’s wind-enhanced speed pales in comparison with Nall’s time abilities as the Time Elite deflected blades to allow the group to escape with their lives. Just like all good deeds, this deed had its price as Nall was isolated from the rest of the group. Before they could deal with Nall’s isolation, the next danger was sprung. A lightning bolt of constant power attacked the group and it could be only stopped by the Silverblade. Once again, the group lost another member against Marionette’s isolation tactics but these tactics would cost them one more member. Zan was lost to them as he held up a wall that would have trapped them in the room.

It was certain that these traps were designed to remove the group’s three most powerful members. As an enemy, Marionette was very dangerous and Phoenix was constantly reminded of that fact. As the remaining members of the group walked in the hallway, they heard sounds of fighting. Once arriving to the room, he saw a familiar figure in the room. It was the fae named Elin who guided the party last time but disappeared during the snake fight. She was fighting against a masked man who really loved his black in his wardrobe. Phoenix deduced that the man in black was the one who kidnapped her sisters which he confirmed by Elin as he ran off in typical villain style.

At this point, Elin told the group that her sisters are behind five doors which only one person can be in at a time. It was obvious that Marionette wanted to isolate the group even further with the old time favorite of “divide and conquer.” Before Phoenix could do anything, Xhao already entered the fourth door. He was not sure if Xhao was not thinking straight when making that decision. The blademaster felt that the odds were against Xhao in surviving but he or anyone else cannot help him now. If he managed to survive, more power to him.

It was obvious to Phoenix that he should take a room since he was a veteran and could take care of himself easily. He was not going to say anything else to the group about who should go since they will decide by themselves naturally. He spoke out to the group to which door he was going to take.

“Guys, I’m going to take door number one. Have fun in deciding who goes to the other doors and use good judgment in doing this.”

Phoenix walked up to door number one and opened it. Let’s hope there won’t be any snakes in this room or Marionette will get a special stabbing from me when we ever meet. He enters the door and awaits for whatever dangers in the room.

[Zavier_D]

Zavier was shocked to have undergone such a ridiculous ordeal after coming back just moments before. He had arrived on the field, only to find the remnants of a forest…and a group of players moving on. He knew Nighthand wouldn’t stand to welcome him there; it wasn’t his style, and one of the reasons why he made such a good leader. He explained things for those who made it on time, and for the rest…well, best to just fall in line and get ready to learn.

He had followed them down the path, picking out Silk among the crowd. Undoubtedly Silk knew he was here, and Zavier had mixed feelings. They were both part of the Unity….in fact, Silk was part of the leadership of it, given Zavier’s problems…but now he was trapped in this game as well. No matter how he looked at it, the hackers were winning. More and more people were being trapped, subject to the game’s laws. A hack here or an element there seemed trivial compared to some of the powers he had seen. He had seen a hacker utterly bend him to her will. A specialized Vak Don wouldn’t do anything to that type of power.

Power….

He had to get stronger, he knew it. The Heavenly blade glimmered in its sheath, and the dragons inside of him called out. They wanted him to be stronger, and they wanted him not to have to depend on them for every fight. They were tools, yes, powerful tools in fact, but they were still only that; if a carpenter put no force behind his hammer, he’d never set a strong foundation. And try as he might, he had been delayed. Going to search for his dragons…being stripped of his powers and almost forgetting who he was seemed only a fraction of his past, but it had consumed him. “Although…it won’t hurt to pester him a little bit. I haven’t’ seen him in a long time, after all.”

Flashmail
To: Silk
From: Zavier
Subject: Hey.

It’s been a while Silk…I see you’re become trapped in this game as well. You seem stronger than I remember…I remember when you could barely hold your own in a duel. I won’t take much of your time, but I did want to ask you one thing…

Why do you fight with this group?

End Flashmail

That seemed to be enough for the moment, so he turned his attention to the giant field in front of them. It had no exit from what he could see, and he could see…

‘Ah…” he muttered to himself as his eyes settled around the entrance of a building. It looked like a temple of some kind…though trying to figure out exactly WHAT type of temple in the World it was didn’t really matter. They could see inside, a winding staircase that was barely lit by a torch. He followed behind the group, his hand on his blade. Suddenly, everything seemed to go crazy: lights, shaking, doors, people being left behind…

He was now in a room with 5 doors facing them, listening to rants of some girl.

One character walked through the fourth door, not a word spoken. Slowly, person walked up…he recognized the name Phoenix, though he hadn’t seen that player for ages. “Guys, I’m going to take door number one. Have fun in deciding who goes to the other doors and use good judgment in doing this.”

Zavier looked at the remaining doors, and knew he had to prove himself…not even for the rest of this group, but for himself.

“I hope you all don’t mind…the 3rd door seems to need a visit.” Zavier walked to the door and opened it, curious as to what awaited him…

Ooc: Numero 3.

[Fuzzhead]

A boring hike, that’s what he had signed up for. At least he was out of that blight, and he wasn’t confined or beaten senseless like the new kid in school. Still, there was no fooling around in this grueling group of gamers, as Victor would soon see.

“Run for it!” one man screamed. A storm of knives rained on their heads, but with amazing dives, the one man saved them from requiring meds. Dreading his own death, the Fist Fighter was quick to exit the chamber, only to many people’s anger, to discover that their savior had been left behind. Finding that the danger was not over, a surge of lightning attacked, and another warrior stepped up to purge it with a wall of nightly black.

Twice he had been saved, but that wouldn’t be the last. A powerful wolf found himself outclassed by a massive wall, and by the way his acquaintances behaved, his loss was a sad occurrence to befall. So yet a third fighter was left behind, and already, Silk could see the atmosphere was tighter, and that the team was in a bind.

And then at the end of the path, a short little gal was fighting a mean fellow, a man with a stash of other little gals that he could beat up like jello. With a laugh, the man disappeared, and the action had cleared, and apparently there was a decision to be made. Stay with the others? Not today – Silk would choose his own door, and he would floor anyone who stood in his way.

“Number five, please.” And the live fighter heaved his boxing gloves in the air; a practice jab here, a right hook there, if anyone dared, he would not be spared. The warrior strutted to his path, not knowing what to expect. Best to take this easy; not to be cheesy, but he was putting his life on the line. Nine lives the Fist Fighter did not have, so taking a stab in the back would be something he wanted to lack. Still, ready or not, it was time to start. If death waited for him on the other side, he would be sure to glide like the fly cat he strived to be like.

[Sekai]

Swords falling, the dude with green markings on his face getting trapped and left behind while swatting the blades like flies, and then Hi ho Silver getting stuck playing shoot the beam? Dammit, what the hell was going on here and why were people getting seperated?

Oh wait, stupid question. When bad things happened, it could only be the result of one thing-

This has to be the work of.. hackers!

...okay, Kira decided as she imitated Sekai's little obsessive-compulsive habit of pinching the bridge of her nose as she darted past where Fangs held the door up-cut off from him too dammit all to hell she was by herself with unfamiliar people now, no more American cartoons. Ever. Stupid twitchy little science teacher from that one stupid fairy show was affecting her brain again. Bastards, had to be a hacker program in those silly foreign country shows. Had to be.

With her breath caught and a quick look around her, there was a rather persistant desire to just go shooting things and wasting nine kinds of SP to vent her anger. Oh and yes, there would be cursing, lots and lots of it at that point. People were walking through doors, some ...midget smaller than Sekai was, which was all too impressive in Kira's mind, was shrieking about the stereotype devil hurting her sisters. That tail needed to be set on fire or something, she decided after catching a glimpse of the bastard himself.

Well, as that one song Mika tried to sing all the time and failed spectacularly at doing so went, it was time to go through the door.

((OOC: Door two and dammit I'm going to go hang my head in shame for this post))

[Senna]

"Wow. You're right! That was really sharp."

The voice sounded familiar, but Senna had to look around a moment before realizing first who it was and second WHERE They were. It was finally by glancing down that she found the speaker – the little cat from before.

“Thanks.” She had to admit, the thing WAS cute. It was impossible to be aggravated with the cat.

Speaking of which, the little furball was working through another of the puzzles. "...Astral rends keen... I read darkness... ....ant reel?" A pause for thought, then she (she?) continued, "....oh, wait. Eternal! That's gotta be it."

SEnna couldn’t keep herself from smiling and nodding her agreement at the cat’s logic, but another member of the group – apparently the one they had to thank for the cat being here – seemed less than impressed. He clapped in a decidedly unenthusiastic way, to which the cat responded with a hiss.

“Eh, I thought it was good work,” Senna commented to the animal. It certainly seemed more worthwhile to talk to than its owner. Though there was still that feeling of I can’t believe I am talking to a cat.

Silk appeared not long after. She offered a smile and a wave in greeting, though she wasn’t feeling talkative right now. Too keyed up. She would have to catch up with him at some point though.

The rest of the group seemed to have no different ideas on which way to go, so after a while, Nall simply started walking. Silverblade might have given the order, but Senna felt sure people were walking even before he said something. Nall had a pull around him. Nothing explainable. Perhaps it was just that he usually looked like he knew what he was doing.

So they had chosen, and now they were walking. And Senna had to admit, she was NOT a fond of this long, meandering path they were taking. Not that they had much of a choice in the matter. The path went only one way, in a decidedly Alice in Wonderland manifestation, but she found herself tense as they walked. Nothing came out of the woods at them, as it turned out, but something could have. And on a one-way path was NOT the best place to fight, especially in a disorganized and uncoordinated group such as they had here. Senna had to admit, she felt a little better with the larger group. It seemed there were a good number of high-level people. They might stand a better chance out here.

Well, except for that whole disorganized and uncoordinated thing. That could kinda stifle the winning feeling.

The trees finally opened out a little (thought they also closed up behind them, in an ever-present reminder of how much they were being herded along. Funny how that feeling of being a cow in a cattle run seemed to be associated so very heavily with their adventures.) What they saw before them was a bit unexpected for the layout. Perhaps it shouldn’t be, given the malleable nature of the game, but it was hard to let go of some of the things considered normal for so long.

Realities had changed, but perceptions had not, in other words.

The door to this new structure stood open, the interior lit by a mix of ambient light from the outdoors and the flickering glow of torches that could be seen within. With no other choice, the group strung out even further and followed a wide staircase into the underground, in a matter similar to that of the last field. Perhaps this was a good omen. Well, as good an omen as they could hope to find in a place like this.

The stairs ended in a hallway. Being tense was really beginning to wear on Senna. She didn’t mean for it to continue, but it seemed impossible to switch off. PERhaps if-

”RUN FOR IT!”

The shout galvanized the group into action. Again, as in the clearing, there was very little looking around, at least from her. Nall said run – shouted it – so she ran, trying to consciously keep her weapon from tripping up anyone else. There was a sense of motion – a lot of motion – and ahead, she could see the source of some of it. A hail of swords eh? Here’s what they got for walking in without a plan, without knowing what was going on.

None of the swords landed on the band of fighters, who poured out through the door at the far end of the hall. There was only one downside to the entire thing.

Nall hadn’t gotten through.

This wasn’t the last such thing though. Next up was Nighthand, who fell defending them from a light-based trap, then Zan, who held yet another door up so the rest of them could get through, but didn’t get through himself. So, the group that arrived was severely cut down in the power department. And they didn’t arrive to a rest. They arrived to a battle – human versus midget.

Well, maybe not human. It had a tail. And it wasn’t a midget either. It was flying and casting spells. And it wasn’t really a battle anymore either, as at their arrival, the larger of the pair took his leave from the scene and the smaller one seemed to collapse in on herself. She gave them just enough information to sound like a program to Senna, then dissolved into her own sadness.

The group was given the rules. Split up. Well, there were ways to make this work out. The right people chosen to go, to stay. Senna walked over toward the fairy, but she was useless, refusing to say a word. Frustrated at the lack of information, she looked up… and blinked in disbelief. Fouralready gone through the doors and a fifthgoing. She thought she recognized the form disappearing through the door, and aimed a spell at the form before she was out of range – Ap Torv. Accuracy probably couldn’t go awry on a range-based fighter, neh?

Though she could appreciate the urgency of the situation, it was hard not to feel… set up. “Does anyone think before acting?” she muttered, completely disregarding how often SHE acted without thinking.

[Rayo]

Senna’s path was chosen, and before long they reached a temple which probably housed the hub. After a series of perfectly well placed traps, the group was split up into nine groups. Well, groups wasn’t the right term. Eight of these players were completely on their own, most by choice. The remaining batch wasn’t doing anything useful, and remained together. Senna, Hijinx, Canti, Reinier, Lighteria, Raquar, and himself.

Turning back to the door that he had last passed on through, the wizard chanted a quick incantation, LaRue Zot, but nothing. The series of ice pillars did little to either destroy or lift the door, making the level three spell useless. Zan was beyond his help, and therefore that also went for Nighthand and Nall. Mostly beyond their aid actually, but not completely.

<Nall, Silverblade, Zan,

Respond on whether or not you guys are alive. I can’t budge the door to get back, I doubt we have the power to do so on our side. If you end up getting killed, you should be capable of passing through walls without an issue, right? I’m waiting in the room beyond Zan with a few of the others. I’ll resurrect anyone who can make it here. Sekai, Phoenix, Zhao, Hacorie, Silk, and Zavier separated and moved into five separate rooms to rescue five faeries. Elin is in the room with us, same story as before if you can recall it Silverblade. The rules of this place seem specifically designed to split us all up individually. Whatever I can do to keep the rest together and bring the others back, I will. At least we’re not completely separated yet. I’ll mail you again if I find out anything useful. Keep safe.

Rayo>

What a bunch to be with though. Raquar was new to this, Lighteria was questionable as far as commitment, and Hijinx was too sporadic to rely on heavily. Reinier and Senna were probably his best bets if they came under attack. The wave master wasn’t expecting anything though, they were isolated and out of the way. The enemy would strike once they didn’t possess even the numbers they did now. Blowing on his Grunty Flute, Bell popped out of nowhere to his side. How the grunty reached him defied logic, but it probably was just tied to his character data. Besides, it wasn’t as if they were in Yamiyo yet. The mage mounted the animal, staff drawn. Blast away the enemy, revive the dead, rescue the injured… all of those were duties to be carried out if the time came.

“Hey Senna, I couldn’t help but overhear. Mind joining me for my back up plan? If any of those five go down and it allows us through, we’re ignoring the stupid rules. Hop on my friend Bell here and we’ll pass through at the same time. We rescue whoever went in, possibly grab a flying bug, and pull back out. Rinse and repeat if need be. I’ve mailed those left behind, but no response yet. Just be ready.”

[Lord Canti]

"Not even close to acceptable."

(And...that was Kira. In that sentence alone, Canti could see the kind of temper the other Archer had been trying to explain to him earlier, and why someone like that might be trying to beat the ever-loving shit out of Dien, their confessed hacker. Kira's demeanor gave the Twin Blade the shivers...somewhat. She was an icy one, for certain. Still, Kira didn't seem to quite understand the meaning behind his statement. It's not easy to handle a situation like this when you KNOW your life is on the line. Sekai did well enough, and that's all that mattered. In any case, the team came upon an area with several paths between trees and...a freakin' riddle. Well, Canti wasn't too bad at them, but this one...he was totally lost in. It was only when Senna mentioned "Progress Made" that he got the hint. Anagrams... He fucking SUCKED at anagrams, so instead of bothering...he didn't try. The Long Arm seemed to have it already, regardless, so why bother? The only other thing catching his eye at the moment was Lighteria, who appeared to be arguing with his cat... Honestly, why not put the cat in charge? Kit seemed more competent overall. Ah well... This led on to Nighth- Errr, I mean Silverblade taking them between the trees of brown and down that path, but not before someone called Silk came in, declaring that he knew Senna. What was this? Open Mic Night? Damn, but this group was getting large... No sense complaining, though. An army was an army, so they may as well use it.)

Canti: Be all I can fucking be... Right dad?

Hmmm? What's that?

Canti: N-nothing... My dad was in the army, before he retired.

Really? What was he like?

(Canti was a little hesistant to speak to a voice in his head out-loud while others were gathered nearby. Since nothing was happening for a while, he would probably be noticed if he said things to the one monitering his brainscans. So, he answered in his thoats, which she could hear.)

Canti: I don't think he was cut out for it. Not really a killer guy, you know? I always figured it was because of that...

It caused the heart failure.

Canti: I think so...yeah. Maybe his heart was always like that. Though...it doesn't run in the family. I dunno...

Still bothers you, huh?

Canti: He was all I had, Rey! You don't know what kind of life I've had! I- Oh, hang on. Looks like we're onto something here.

No worries. I'm not going anywhere.

(They had come to a clearing with a temple sort of configuration in it, leading into a cave of some sort. It didn't appear dangerous...yet...so they went inside. Canti felt the hairs on the back of his neck rising, telling him that there WAS something here, but only because it was the PERFECT TIME for something to go wrong. Oh, and the doors slammed behind them anyway, so...yeah. Then, as they went through a fairly-level hallway - Canti expecting an Indiana Jones boulder the entire time - Nall yelled "RUN FOR IT!" with good reason. The ceiling was suddenly firing a ton of blades from above, and only their quick motions and Nall's actions were keeping them alive. Canti moved like a blur himself, a little black blur that wasn't as fast as Nall, but MOVING, regardless. Shortly thereafter, Nall was trapped in that hallway by a thick and heavy door that none of them could move, and THAT door was firing off lightning spells, which Silverblade began to counter himself. Naturally, the Twin Blade was on the move from THAT as well. No likey the zap-zap, you could say... Up ahead, another door was coming down and Zan was the one to hold it up, in an effort to get them to move along. Canti obliged in this, but he was quickly becoming aware of the pattern. They were separating the heaviest hitters from the newer Freedom Fighters. It was an ugly, cutthroat tactic that Canti didn't like, very similar to what he'd experienced in the event from last night...)

Canti: Eh? What's that?

(He heard the sounds of battle up ahead and assumed the worst. Why? Because it made more sense than optimism at this point. Score one for the manipulative bastard. He was etching out another grandmaster scheme for...some reason...and it was working. Suddenly, Canti had this bizarre impression of having gone through the looking glass. The team found themselves watching a battle between a fight of fantasy characters...)

"Ah, I see you’ve made it. You’re too late, though! I’ve captured the fae, and there’s nothing you can do! So… ta ta!"

(...with the villain making his escape through a strange door...)

"Please, help my sisters! That horrible man is just toying with you; he gave us all parts of the key to get through. They’re in the side rooms; I’m the only one that managed to stay out for as long as I have. Please! He’s hurting them! He made it so only one person at a time can go through a door and be in the room, aside from my sister. Please, someone, go help them!"

(...and the victim begging the kindness of strangers.)

Canti: Oy...

(All part of the puzzle, all part of the game. The puppetmaster merrily makes them dance 'round and 'round until they all fall on their collective ass and scream for mercy. This...was all starting to get on Canti's nerves. Everywhere he turned, he found himself being strung along by some guy that probably wanted him dead! What the ever-loving HELL! Now then... There were these five doors that led to probably five different locations, and five different problems. Canti was with Senna on this one. They didn't even think about it. They were being led around by the nose, and Canti had had quite enough... His temper began to manifest physically...through fire and shadow dancing across his body, leaving smoke and whisps of darkness to rise off of his winged self. Maybe it was the fact that this stuff seemed to happen all the time, or his lack of sleep, or his general frustration at everything - but sometimes, Canti just had to SHOUT...)

Canti: That is ENOUGH!

(Score one wrath and fury.)

Canti: I am TIRED of these MOTHERFUCKIN' TRAPS in this MOTHERFUCKIN' DUNGEON!!

(And another for movie references. Canti took to the air, or about as much as this place would allow for considering it had a ceiling and all, and began to look around...carefully. There was something more to this place. There had to be. It was too simple and obvious for people to just walk into doors and go find keys or whatnot. They had more than enough people for those doors, so it was hardly impossible to find him, not with only five different locations. There had to be more to it, and Canti was searching high and low for it. Was there a clue? A hidden door? An EASY button? If there was any of that shit, Canti's black eyes were looking for 'em. Then, he heard Rayo talking to Senna about the 'people-not-looking-before-they-leap' thing. He swooped down to join them.)

Canti: Count me in on that. I've taken about enough of this shit as I can handle.

OOC: Nighthand, if I find anything, lemme know and this post will be edited to include its noticing.

[Phoenix512]

Phoenix entered the room behind door number one which was small, dark, and confined. There was a pit in the room that contained a small fire. This fire was the source of light in the room. Due to the small dimensions of the room, it was very hot and stuffy. The walls and floors had soot on them along with the ceiling which there was a small opening for smoke to leave the room.

The goal in the room was tied onto a spit and hanging over the fire pit. The fae looks like Elin except for the red-colored hair and dress was black with red hems. Phoenix realized what the room really was. This is a walk-in version of a barbeque pit. I hate the heat but at least there are no snakes in here. This seems too easy. There’s no big bad monster to fight. All I need to do is just free her from the spit.

Phoenix went towards the spit but the fire was too hot for him to free the fae from the spit. I guess need to put out the fire then. He switched to his Fishing Gloves and cast Rue Kruz at the fire. The ice had no effect on the fire which he confirmed with a second casting of the spell. I knew this seem too easy but luckily for me, I have another way to put out the fire.

The blademaster drew out his sword and took a knee. “WIND BLADE!” He made a short horizontal swing towards the fire pit and made sure that the blade would not affected the spit. The wind blade passed quickly through the fire pit and put out the fire with little ease. Once the blade impacted on the other side of the room, it did not damage the wall at all except displacing some soot.

Now the only source of light in the room was the fae itself. The light she projected was like Elin except that it was red. Phoenix went towards the spit and freed the fae. Once the fae was flying about, it spoke to the blademaster. “Thank you freeing me. My name is Maza.”

“You’re welcome, Maza. My name is Phoenix and your sister Elin is waiting for us on the other side. So let’s get out this barbeque pit and rejoin with the others. The rest of my group should be rescuing your remaining sisters.”

Using Maza as a source of light, Phoenix managed to find the door that lead back to the central room and went through with the fae. He found himself back in the central room with the others and noticed that he was the first one to come back from the rooms since Elin was the only other fae in the room. Maza flew towards Elin which probably made Elin a bit happier that one of her sisters has come back.

Phoenix noticed all the soot on his clothes and brushes it off to the best of his ability. He wondered if he was going to be even dirtier by the time they finished off this hub. Then he went towards Rayo and the others as they were readied for a rescue mission. He decided to strike up a conversation with them.

“Hey guys, I really don’t think you will need to rescue them. Elin’s right about this guy toying with us. My room was easy to figure out except that it required my abilities to solve it. It was a walk-in barbeque pit that had a fire that can be only put out by wind not water. Unless you guys could generate enough wind that would not cause suffocation from the soot and smoke, you probably could not put out the fire easily. I think the others will have rooms with the puzzles that they can only solve. That would explain why only one person can entered a room at a time. Marionette probably created these rooms based on our abilities and if more than one person enters a room, it would cause an error with whatever scanner to generate the rooms for the specific member. Once everyone rescues the other four sisters, the easy part ends. I suspected that this guy is probably like Primal in terms of difficulty. So just relax for now.”

Phoenix sat down on the ground and continued to think about the current situation. So why is this guardian toying with us? Perhaps he’s trying to make us overconfident when he faces us. No, that’s not it. Most of us know the danger of facing hackers. Maybe there’s no rational reason for him to do this. He could be just insane but very powerful. The true danger is coming soon and hoped that we will be at full strength for it.

[Hacorie]

A quick flash, a blinding light, a few seconds are all phrases to describe the battle sequence in which Hac saw. Right as the monsters of ash formed, the group acted upon instincts and obliterated the competition. With sword still sheathed, Hacorie noticed he had not the time to do anything to help. He was now the one who was completely useless. After all, what use was a character who could not even draw his sword in time to attack while character of less experience adapted to the situation with ease. With hand on the hilt, Hacorie loosened his grip and ran up beside one of his true friends in the area, Senna.

“That was some quite nice work out there. You sure showed me up.” Hac said as his eyes squinted shut and a smile crossed his face. “I never thought I would say this, but I guess I am a little rusty. Next battle it won’t happen, haha.” Hac stated as his voice shifted to match his face, jolly and sarcastic. However, even though a smile was on his face, the intense reality struck Hac like a piano falling on a cartoon character. His remarks were actually his true feelings being masked by a sincere face and jolly tone.

I wonder if anyone will figure out my demeanor or happiness is just a veil for my true feelings.

A mere minute of rest passed by and the group started onward once again, following the lead of Silverblade. The crunching of ash and ember beneath his feet made Hac’s stomach churn. His throat suddenly became dry and so parched that not even Sprite could quench his immortal thirst. His glowing blue eyes began to fade in color with each passing step as the smell of burnt wood filled his nasal capillaries. Before the nasty smell could entice his entire body to fall to the ground in pain, the group reached the scenery which earlier seemed so distant.

In front of the entire group stood a small concrete wall. On the other side of this foot high wall, the lush and green forest started up, or it would be better to say continued on. The forest trees stood high, towering over the party. However, one noticeably unnatural piece of guidance met the eye of anyone who could see, a path in the midst of the forest. Without a word, Silverblade continued to lead the group. Hopefully it would not be to their doom. Focusing on the path in front of him, Hacorie’s eyes remained on the leader, hoping he would not get lost in the dense trees. For even though there was a path, every tree looked alike giving no opportunity to sense the true direction.

A small clearing reached the party as seven different signs met their path. The correct term would be the plural of path, paths. This is because there were six routes which diverged from the original path, each was marked with a separate colored leaf. The group who had been in the field before quickly seemed to throw one of the paths and corresponding sign out the window. Thus, all that was left was five ways to travel and six signs. One larger sign seemed to stand out to the Heavy Blade, the one with a bunch of words on it.

Your senses are muddled, your knowledge is low
You only desire to know where to go.
Your trail is broken, your guidance misled
A single false move here could leave you all dead.
So choose your path wisely and walk to it's end
And hope that a foe won't be made of a friend.

All right time to see if I can decipher this cryp....cryptic...This must be one of those traps that Marionette set for all of us. Time to see if maybe knowledge is something I can contribute to the team.

Between the Red trees
Ahead the stills yowl

Between the Blue trees
Scandal sees even now

Between the Green trees
Needlepoints rites

Between the Brown trees
Repress dogma

Between the Black trees
Astral rends keen

What the fuck is this? These words seem out of place and some do not even make sense grouped together with the ones around it. How are we supposed to decide which way to go? How are we going to progress onward? How are... Hacorie was quickly interrupted in mid-thought by the low voice of the Long Arm standing at his side.

“Anagrams?”

“Of course!” Hacorie whispered in response while trying to keep as silent as possible. Looking left and right, from sign to sign, Hacorie tried to pick the easiest sign to decipher. His eyes seemed to keep coming back to the green leaved trees. Needlepoints rites....I guess this is the phrase I will try and get. Hopefully it will be the right one so we can move on quickly. I do not want to be stuck with the lingering smell of burnt forestry in my nose forever.

By rearranging the letters in his mind a couple different times, Hacorie came to the conclusion that Senna should decide which was the best answer.

FLASHMAIL
To: Senna
From: Hacorie

Hey, I heard you say the word anagram so I think I have figured out one of the answers. It is to the green trees’ sign: Needlepoints rites. I got Endless Repetition or Desertion Plenties. Either way, I say we do not go down the green path. It would be the best, especially since the first would seem to get us lost and the second coincides with the last line of the note left by Marionette. Hope you have figured out the right way. I seem to be no help with the physical or mental aspects of being a Freedom Fighter. You however....One smart cookie. Haha.

END FLASHMAIL

In a matter of moments another conversation broke out between everyone. Senna began to talk to Silverblade about a character who was just like the Freedom Fighters. One who is undiscovered? Is that possible... Hac thought as he continued to eavesdrop on the situation. With a brief and believing voice, Nighthand allowed the entrance of the player, but Hac only had one thought: Who was the mystery character infected by Twilight?

“I vote that way. The message can rearrange to ‘progress made’,” Senna said as she took the lead in trying to decide which way to go.

“I concur with Senna. The brown would be the best possible path because when I translated green, I got two answers which disturbed me.” Hac said as he looked over at the crimson haired Long Arm

Seconds passed and a voice came from behind the group. Turning around while moving his hand to his hilt, Hacorie eyed a figure coming from the distance. As it neared, Hac’s jaw dropped.

“SILK, WHAT THE FUCK!?” Hac called aloud as the Fist Fighter came into view.

After a quick introduction from Silk, the group moved on through the brown path. A small temple quickly came into view as the forest began to thin out. There, the gigantic door stood open. Following the rest of the group, Hac entered the temple. As the group reached the innards of the landmark, the doors clasped shut behind them leaving no room for escape. Now the only way to go was through the poorly lit staircase.

Piling into the first room, Nall yelled to the group.

”RUN FOR IT!”

Why, nothing is even happening to us....or maybe it is....damn

With a slight gulp, Hacorie looked around to see the gleaming flashes of sharp objects falling from the sky. “There is no escape..” He said silently to himself as he ran for the door as instructed even though he knew it was for no reason; they would all die a horrible death. Just when all hope looked to be lost...a miracle appeared. It was in the form of Nall. Flashes of light filled the room as the falling objects were all deflected from the group. Nall had saved the group with his own power. However, one thing seemed weird to the Heavy Blade character...

Was this designed just for Nall...Does Marionette even know his secrets?

Diving through the doorway, Hacorie looked back to see Nall still deflecting the objects as the door closed him in. “He....saved...” Hac began, but was quickly cut off by a familiar sound striking his ears. More flashes of light came from the ceiling of the building. Each leaving a black mark on the ground. However, these few streaks of lightning were only the beginning. Hastily the ceiling turned completely white with a yellow tint. Many bolts came raining down, all seemed to be lost once again, but this time Silverblade stepped up just as Nall had.

”Keep going! Ani Kruz!”

Turning quickly, the Heavy Blade sprinted toward the closing door, barely making it as Nighthand was left behind, trapped like Nall. Inside the next room, the exit had already began to close, but Zan rushed forward with his lightning fast werewolf like speed. Without even saying a word, Zan grabbed hold of the door as everyone rushed through. Passing by the player, Hacorie gave a nod as thanks as the wall crashed behind him.

Panting for breath, many thoughts began to pass through Hac’s mind. He could not believe that three power players had already been separated from the main group. Now, only a few high levels remained with the gigantic group of freedom fighters; three or four being over the level of thirty.

It happened once again. I could do nothing to help the group; I could only run for my life as others protected us. Nall, Silverblade, and Zan alike were all heros. However, with them now gone, it my time to shine. I know we will all have to work as a team with three power house characters gone from the party. I am ready though. I am ready to give my life for the sake of the Freedom Fighters, just as those three did. It is the least I can do.

“Do not let your guard down people!” Hac called as the sound of battle reached his ears. Clasping his right hand on his back, Hacorie withdrew a large sword from its sheath, the Blessed Blade.

Moving toward the room where the sound was emanating from, Hacorie noticed something amazing and weird at the same time. A faerie and a weirdly dressed man who looked like a terrorist fighting amongst themselves. However, when the group was noticed, the fighting halted as the man spoke aloud to the group.

”Ah, I see you’ve made it. You’re too late, though! I’ve captured the fae, and there’s nothing you can do! So… ta ta!” With a queer movement, the character disappeared behind an open doorway as a concrete door shut behind him.

”Please, help my sisters! That horrible man is just toying with you; he gave us all parts of the key to get through. They’re in the side rooms; I’m the only one that managed to stay out for as long as I have. Please! He’s hurting them! He made it so only one person at a time can go through a door and be in the room, aside from my sister. Please, someone, go help them!”

Without even thinking anything through, players began to rush off in all directions trying to get a door. It reminded Hacorie of when he was younger, playing musical chairs, but this time it was with doors. The first to go was a Twin Blade named Zhao, second was Phoenix, third was Zavier, fourth was Silk, and last was Sekai. Of course the order in which they entered a door was not in the numerical order of the doors.

Once again missing an opportunity of having a bit of fun and helping out, Hacorie zoned out while staring at the floor, but even though he was doing nothing, he was still receiving audible voices.

“Does anyone think before acting?”
-“Hey Senna, I couldn’t help but overhear. Mind joining me for my back up plan? If any of those five go down and it allows us through, we’re ignoring the stupid rules. Hop on my friend Bell here and we’ll pass through at the same time. We rescue whoever went in, possibly grab a flying bug, and pull back out. Rinse and repeat if need be. I’ve mailed those left behind, but no response yet. Just be ready.”
–“Count me in on that. I've taken about enough of this shit as I can handle.”

Snapping back to reality, Hacorie decided to include his input in the whole situation. “Hmm...your plan could work Mr. Rayo, but what if the ways had a protection on them. Say, a barrier that will not allow anyone else to pass. Then what will we do? Now I know I am being a ‘party pooper’ on your plan, but it is just a thought. I have no plan of my own, but I just thought I would say a logical scenario since the fae said only one person could enter per room. Hopefully they all can handle it.

Another thing I thought of was also sort of grim. What if these rooms were just a diversion. I think that while our partners are trying to find these sisters, a harder foe will attack. However, it could be the other way around. We could stay safe while the others are fighting hard boss battles. If my first thought is correct though, I am sort of glad a few of us higher levels stayed behind, but I hope I am wrong...haha....seems I have went off on another spiel. Sorry bout that.”

Quieting down, Hacorie heard a familiar voice arise from the side of the room. It was Phoenix. He had already completed his room and rescued one of the sisters fae.

Maybe I overestimated this Marionette thing...