Divided Connections (TFF Royalty Only RP)

[Andromeda]

The sun was beginning to hide behind the mountains in the east with the tall skyscrapers lying in opposite position of the mountains. Shoula was the capital of the Green Till Region one of the most mountainous regions on the planet of Shulita. The land that the city was built on was the largest area of flat ground in the entire region. This allowed for the quick, easy growth of the city becoming a major spaceport for the planet. Most of the business and heavy traffic was done on the west end of the city where there were the skyscrapers, ports, industries and major corporations. Along the west was the Green Shole River acting as the hub of travel for both space and land.

Along the mountain’s borders filling the gap between the main city and the rising earth was the residential districts of the city. A vast area of marginally divided cities all part of Shoula, the only distinct divisions was the lines found on a map. The residential parts of the city were slowly expanded as required with the growth of the city. Each district of the city built all at once almost to provide the increases in population. There were larger districts as several slowly merge together over the years and became one. They would usually feel separate like isolated community until those invisible barriers crumbled and the people integrated together as one. Now there were large districts too large to be considered districts anymore and took on names like they were individual cities simply mashed together.

Then there was the skyway transit system that connected the entire city to the main downtown city of Shoula. The skyway existed as a multi-tiered track system that heavily filled parts of the sky. Along with the transit system was the hyper-roadway elevated above the city often running parallel with the transit. Both served their purpose and in spite of all the technological advancements that gave the transit speed and reliability, there were still people that enjoyed traveling on their own. In fact there was a large part of the population that did own their own transportation, it made getting to the exact location that much easier. Even though there were laws in place that prevented the use of them in the deepest inner city where there was no room for such individual transports people still preferred to take themselves around the city where it was allowed.

Sarah however, really was not in the luxury of having her own transportation. She had too many expenses already that it would have been unreasonable to have one. Between college loans, rent on her small apartment, food and sundries, there was hardly anything left in her purse aside from hard candies. The transit was the only way that she could get around the city, it did mean walking the rest of the way, but it was worth it in the long run. Travel by transit was faster than any other method, so she did not mind the exercise, which was healthy for her.

She brushed her hair back behind her ear with her hand as she looked around the car. The entire length of the car was enough to fit sixty people sitting and even more standing if needed. It was usually lighter on passengers when she was returning home from college, the way she preferred. Most of the people that were rushing home were already gone an hour earlier with the normal work shifts ending. She usually stayed at the college’s library to avoid most of that trouble, but she could not avoid it all.

The car was slightly crowded with a few people standing around as the car smoothly slid on the tracks. There was a mother and a couple children across from her; the children were playing with each other not sitting down. The two of them had been looking at her off and on for the last minute, it left her a little uneasy though she was used to it by now. However, they began to stare at her now that she was looking at them for that brief second. It was her mistake that she looked up when they were looking at her and their eyes were locked on her now.

Their mother broke their concentration on her. “Stop staring at her,” the woman whispered to her children. The children however had less manners not being so discrete with their voice.

“She looks weird.”

“Yeah, what’s wrong with her eyes?”

Sarah turned away looking in another direction touching her finger to her glasses. She made the tint on them darker making it more difficult to see her eyes. It was something that she should be used to, though however thick skinned she might have been it still hurt from time to time.

“Is she sick?”

“Stop it now and be quiet,” the mother said.

“But…”

“You shouldn’t stare, especially at ones like her. Now come along, we reached our stop.”

The three got up and walked out of the car onto the platform along with others. Sarah caught faintly something from the children as they walked out. “Isn’t this the wrong stop?” She looked in their direction a little surprised, though more disgusted by the woman now than the children. The car left the station continuing its course further away from the main city.

The scene that the children had created made her more attention leaving her with an unsettled pain in her stomach. She now had more unwanted stares at her than she could handle. If it were not for the fact that she was too far away to walk home, she would have left the transit car immediately. She was going to have to endure the uneasy ride that she had, it was thankfully only a few more minutes. Though it was going to feel even longer now, she sank down in her seat looking down.

It was not long that she noticed someone sitting down next to her. She was tempted look to see who it was, but felt it was best to simply ignore whomever it was at this point.

“People have no manners these days,” said the person.

She looked up at the one sitting next to her a little surprised that someone was speaking to her. It was a young man, probably college age or possibly older. He was wearing rather plain clothes, so she could not really tell much about him by appearance. She did not really know what to say back to him, but she had to say something not to be rude to him. “Um…its okay, I’m used to it.” Sarah looked away from him trying not to meet with much eye contact; her hair fell in around her face.

“Well even so, you shouldn’t have to be. You’d think after everything and all these years people would be over something like this.”

She really did not know what the man was getting at with his words. It was not as though she did not disagree with him, but she was failing to see the point in him telling her these things that she already knew. It was unusual enough that someone was willing to sit down next to her without saying something about her heritage, but to have someone talking like this to her. Most of the English people did not like her or her family that much; it had been like that for as long as she could remember.

The English speaking parts of the galaxy were retreating into their shells over the last hundred years. From a historical standpoint, a lot of it began when they suffered a heavy defeat against a smaller force. The circumstances around it were left a mystery, but what did come out of it was that there was a betrayal within the military ranks. Back then the English Confederation was made up of numerous planets with more than just English. The betrayal was from another group that was part of the Confederation mostly Germen and French, though part of the group were Chinese with a few others that were unconfirmed. This led to a change in the war and a forced cease-fire that left the English home front demoralized.

Ever since they had been pushing towards isolationism removing people from their Confederation that were not English. It was all under the idea that they were trying to remove the threat of betrayal, but it created fear among the people. Now it was hard for Sarah because she was half Japanese and half English, making for even more hatred since she was in part one of them, but tainted now.

Sarah looked back at him, there did seem to be a genuine quality on his face. There was not the hint that he was making fun of her or trying to be cruel like so many people often did. He was a strange one it made her curious. “If I may ask, why did you sit down next to me?”

“Hmm? Well I saw those two staring at you. You must have beautiful eyes to have them so captivated.”

“Well, I…what sort of answer is that?” Sarah was taken off guard, it seemed like he was actually trying to flirt with her. She did not know what to do he seemed nice enough. Her own gut reaction had her wanting to run away off the car all the way home, but she was still too far away.

“I am sorry, I did not mean to offend you.”

“No, you didn’t, but…”

“Something wrong?”

“N-no.”

“Can you do me the honor of taking off your glasses?”

“Huh? Why?” She had too much attention already from the people that were on the car. If she did that, they would all begin to look at her again. The ride home was already unbearable for her thanks to those children and everyone trying to not be around her. Now there was this guy next to her that seemed to only want to make matter worse for her. She was feeling cornered and did not know where to go.

The car stopped at her stop, though she probably would have gotten out either way. She ran out of the car at the last second before the doors shut leaving a trail of tears in her wake. The man that had been talking to her had rushed after her only to get stopped by the doors. He had barely noticed the tears in the seconds before she was gone. The transit car left immediately in a burst creating a wake behind it that blew around Sarah.

She was feeling a little better now that she was away from them all, but her mind was still thinking about that man. It was hard to get him out of her thoughts as she walked home. In an effort to try to change the subject she turned on the news feed that rolled across her glasses. That did little to get her mind off of him, but it did provide something that would distract her every so often when something interesting came up. She did not know what it was about him that made such a strong impression on her. Those last few seconds were terrifying for her; she was scared of what was happening. He had been so close to her, inside her space that no one was allowed to enter. The thought was making her face red. Sarah shook her head to try to stop thinking about it.

There was a lot of news today; it was hard to keep all of it straight. Though when there was a galaxy out there and almost a trillion people living out there a lot can happen. It just made it even harder to decide what was important to report. The general galaxy news was running right now.

“The Chinese and Italian fleets continue their five day standoff in the neutral space of around planet M-9802. Ambassadors have begun talks to try to back down their military today, but there still remains no agreement at this time.”

“A terrorist attack on the planet Huron Kore has left ten thousand dead and thousands more injured. Military officials, government agents and local police are still investigating the scene. Right now it seems that there was an overload in a power grid that caused the Ghonmic Labs complex to blow up. It is suspected that the overload triggered the explosion of an experimental generator that caused the twenty block radius to be destroyed.”

“Unification talks continue in spite of the delays from several of the delegates. The ships carrying the remaining delegates will be arriving in two days at Phorene at which time the official summit will begin.”

“In Entertainment, Mythos Entertainment creators of the popular Fantasy Hour Online reports that they have now broke the 50 million mark making it into the top ten most played online games today.”

That last report made Sarah smile a little. “I remember when they were testing the beta and there were only half a million people playing. Hard to believe that it’s been six years since then.”

She finally made it back to her apartment, which was a small room in a ten-story complex. The building was in an older part of the city that had been renovated twenty years ago. However, Shorin Coral was far older than that with twenty other districts merged together, the area was built almost a hundred years ago. It was in what they sometimes referred to as the Eighth Ring of Shoula.

The city was expanded slowly away from the main city in a radial pattern creating a ring every few decades. The rings were normally five miles thick and ranged between twenty or fifty miles long. There were currently ten rings, the tenth being the newest and furthest from the main city. Much of it was still under construction and remained incomplete. It would another fifty years or more before there would be another ring. Though they were almost touching the mountains at this point, the city was running out of room to expand in.

Sarah dropped her things down on the floor nearby the door as she entered. The room was small for her, but it had enough for a bed, kitchen, her terminal, and a place to sit. It was nothing fancy, but as a college student she did not need much more than that anyway. It was all one room with a small divider for her bed in one corner and opposite that was the kitchen. Then the other side had the bathroom with a closet and her main living space.

She changed out of her school cloths getting into something a little more comfortable to be sitting around and lying around her room. After that she prepared her dinner and turned on her terminal to finish up the work that she had left over from classes today. Once all of that had been completed she pulled out her mind link device and laid down on the floor.

The initial start up of the game was beginning; she crossed her legs bouncing one up and down waiting on it to finish. There was another update today that needed to be grabbed before she could go into the world. Fantasy Hour usually made small changes to the game on a regular basis to keep everything stable and to continually grow the world so that it could maintain the large number of players. It was one of the few games that did not split up its population across numerous worlds. It had challenges with maintaining such a vast world, but it did make for a more enjoyable experience since it felt like a living world with so many people.

The update was now finished and she was brought to the main screen to select between her characters. She saw her two that she had created, Gnurin and Yerune. It had been a long time since she had even logged on with Gnurin, though his days were past her at this point. He had little use to her other than the fond memories of playing him. She logged in as Yerune the pink haired Heavy Sword. There was almost no reason for her to keep the pink hair at this point; it was a dare someone made with her. But she still kept it around; it made her stand out as being unique. There were few people with their hair still dyed. The event was over two years ago and it was popular for everyone to have their hair dyed then, but few people actually kept it.

She was dropped in the overcrowded metropolis of Belbois one of two in the world. Belbois was the older of the two and had been around since the beginning when there were only a few other cities to work from. It was part of the Kingdom of Berihelm and was a beautiful city with stone and marble work in all of the buildings throughout. There were large pillars everywhere supporting the upper city that raised above the small valley the city rested in.

Yerune walked through the under city, the massive arches supporting along with the pillars. The ceiling that felt like it could crush everything and everyone in an instant. The streets were crowded with people, the commoners of the world. The upper city required access to be in and while there were a large number that did have access, millions still did not have access. Belbois’ streets of the under city were commonly used for trading items, setting up shops for those that were ‘AFT’ (away from terminal), generally sleeping. Then there were others looking to group up with players and fight monsters to gain levels. It was the best place in the world to look for anything; however even with the wide streets there were thousands of people crowding out the path.

She missed the days when the streets were easy to navigate and when the city was smaller. The last time she ran through the city end to end, it took her half an hour to get through. It made her grateful that they were kind enough to place teleporting room throughout the city. Most people had to pay for the teleporting cost, but once you had finished a quest it was free from there after. It was one of the first quests she had done, that and the leyline teleporting quest to give her access to teleporting to the numerous locations in the world.

She brought herself out at the edge of the city, not really feeling like going up to the upper city tonight to look for something to do. There was something going on in Ferholm the other city that matched Belbois in size, but she was not too interested in the event. It was not a game event, but some little gathering to go hunt down some Great Beast that had just been added to the game. She had read about it appearing in the Jhurdis region to the east of the Kindgom of Hilmill, where Ferholm was located. It was supposed to be a new dragon, but no one knew how it spawned so everyone was getting together to come up with a plan. Yerune probably could have handled it with a party, but she had stopped taking part in that area of the game when she retired Gnurin.

It had been a while since she had been to the southern regions, so she picked at random a city to teleport to. The city was Torifin, part of the Melifois Empire that stretched through much of the southwestern lands. Torifin was located in the northern part of Melifois where there was warm climate and the beginning of the Loughin Desert. There were still green plains surrounding Torifin, though the desert was a short distance on mount.

She entered the city of Torifin, hundreds of people running about the rough stone streets. There were carts lining much of the outer part of the city where selling goods took place. Most of the city was small brick or wood houses that were slowly falling apart. Torifin was a forgotten part Melifois Empire and much of it was run down at this point. Near the center of the city was a large castle, the remains of the Torin Monarchy before it collapsed. The castle required access as well, but Yerune felt like roaming outside.

The plains were plagued with animals and monsters alike that felt like feeding on anyone that might be walking through. Yerune easily killed several of the aggressive ones that saw her as a threat in their territory. Though she was quickly becoming surrounded by a pack of Fire Tongue Wolves, normally easy for her to handle. However, their strength and overall stats are increased when they are together in a group making them far more deadly. She needed to end it quickly before her health was too low to recover from.

Yerune switched out her high-speed axe for the slower more deadly Deathtoll, a two handed sword. However before that she activated her transfer ability allowing the speed from the axe to be transferred for one attack along with all of her built up break, which normally would be lost in the changing of equipment. She then charged up her break into one attack the Cry of the Fallen, an area of effect attack only possible with the heavy two-handed swords.

She pierced the ground with the sword releasing the cry as streams of energy and magic pouring out from the sword. A wave of magic burst from the impact stalling all of the monsters and then the streams pierced everything around her felling all of the wolves that were attacking her. She pulled out the sword from ground panting from the attack stopping in motion upon hearing the sound of another wolf behind her. The attack had not killed all of them one remained barely alive. The wolf leapt up to attack her, her health already drained low from the requirements of the attack.

The wolf was about to land a killing blow on her when it was brought down in mid attack. She looked around to find out whom it was that had saved her. A figure walked towards her with the sun behind them making it difficult to see who it was that was approaching.

[Victoria]

The sun seared against her semi-exposed back. Her skin was pale underneath all of the clothing. Though the revealed skin was tanned brown. It proved that she was an active warrior that fought almost the whole day away. Off in the distance she saw a lone warrior with an axe that fought off a horde of wolves. She took care of the lot for the most part except for one lone wolf that survived the onslaught. It was about to land a blow that seemed a finishing one.

Shino didn’t care for people being incapacitated by creatures. She preferred to do it herself. As soon as the wolf leaped into the air, she had already used Shunpo to close in the distance between herself and her prey. She sliced it into pieces with her katars; Vulgar Guillotine. She threw the blood from the katars onto the ground and slid the blades back into their sheaths. She turned her body toward the weakened warrior and started walking toward her.

Shino licked her lips as she walked toward the lone girl.

“It’s dangerous to wander around here alone, you know.”

“Thank you for saving me right then, miss.” The girl said as she stood up and dusted herself off. She straightened herself up and wanted to shake hands. Shino smirked and took her hand. She grinned maliciously and pulled her in and used Shunpo to appear behind her as she fell forward and slashed her across the back, making the killing blow.

However, as the girl faded away back to her spawning point, she turned around and asked Shino why she done what she did. She didn’t have an upset mood in her face. It seemed as though she was disappointed in Shino. It was then that Shino just stood there flabbergasted. Why?

Why had she started killing people back then? Of course she was bored of helping people, but to actually wonder Why she started in the first place escaped her. She was the very first person to not get angry with Shino. Shino enjoyed the emotional reactions of her victims. But to slay someone who had no anger toward her, only disappointment…

It made her feel horrible. She still had inkling to kill people, but she thought to herself:

I will never kill that person ever again. I hope I get to apologize to her some day…
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Himiko logged out for the time being and removed the device from her head. She plopped down on her bed and wiped the tears from her eyes. Why was she crying? Did that mysterious warrior have that much of an emotional effect on her? It was just then that she got a call on her cell phone. She sniffled and wiped her tears away again. She hit the talk button.

“Hello?”

“Greetings, is this the Kimitsu Detective Agency?”

“Yes, this is Himiko speaking; How may I help you?”

“Well, there was a murder late last night and we still haven’t figured out a suspect. But we think it has to do with an organizational feud between factions.”

“Alright, I’ll be right there.”

She let out a sigh and slapped her cheeks to pump herself up. She changed out of her pajamas and into a pair of black slacks and a grey tank top. She took her briefcase which held all of her detective equipment. A laptop, a print duster, a lock pick, her K.D.A badge, some small envelopes and plastic bags for evidence. She last put on her favorite hat and set off for another mystery.

[cetra_aeris]

The young girl took a towel to her long dark colored hair. The robe around her body glowed a pale white as the rising sun shone through her small window. A sigh escaped her lips as she tossed the towel aside, aiming for the basket of laundry, but missed it terribly.

Her blue gaze was sleepy as she walked past the window and into a small room. It was plain, except for a few pictures here and there. Many were of catologs and articles on Earth that she had found. Research that many found useless, but she found it interesting.

Lynn ran her fingers through her wet hair as she reached out for the clothes layed out gently on top of the bed. The long powder blue flowing skirt and a long sleeved pearl white, V-neck top seemed even lighter compared to her tan complexion.

She quickly slipped on the clothes and a pair of socks before slipping out of the room again. The clock on the table near the door shone in bright red digital letters 6:37. On that very same table lay a brush which was picked up and quickly run through the drying hair.

She walked into the other room and smiled wondering over to a computer set up in the corner near the window. Taking another glance at the time on the clock she moved toward the chair and settled down. "It feels like it's been forever..." she said before reaching for the device next to her computer. "I've still got some time before classes start, so why not have a little fun?" She stated to herself logging in and gazing at the welcoming screen to Fantasy Hour Online. She waited for the updates and eagerly gazed at the next screen showing her characters.

She had only created one character, but she had never felt the need to chose another. She enjoyed playing as Hikari, her silvery/ blue haired character with a spunkey attitude. It was nice since she herself was so quiet.

She also loved the adorable wolf that her character had as a beast. Though the spiritualist type characters weren't very popular she had found something about them interesting.

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Her long pale colored hair flowed upward as she dropped into the Metropolis Ferholm. She landed with a soft thud, not a one of the other players paying heed to her arrivial, which was fine by her.

She stood up straight and fixed her hair with one hand, holding her metal staff Akirane in the other. Not being noticed was something she preferred. It made it easier to get around the thickly populated city. As a spiritualist, she was not among the favorites, and when others just thought her another mage of some sort it made things much more pleasent.

She moved through the tight crowd of people, happy to be back, but not enjoying the extreme amount of people. She moved quickly heading to one of the nearest teleport devices so she could leave the city. She was pretty sure she had everything she needed and the quest to use the teleports was the last one she had taken before school started again.

She reached and let out a relieved sigh as she stepped onto the platform. She let her unusual black eyes gaze at the tall buildings around her for a moment before they faded from her vision.

[Andromeda]

Yerune walked away from the respawn point a little sad, it was not so much that she had died. Death did not mean a lot to her anymore, it just meant that she had to regain a little experience back nothing that trivial. What had her sad was that there were people in the game that got an enjoyment out of killing people. She never really understood what it was that made them want to do it. This was hardly the first time she was prey to someone, but even still there never seemed to be a reason for it. After having dwelled over it in the past, she just decided that she would not give them the satisfaction of the kill. She simply accepted that it was part of the game and did not allow it to get to her.

When she was fading away, she had seen the expression on the woman’s face. The woman did not know how to response to her, she was in shock it seemed at the reply. It might not change her, but it at the very least soured the moment of any pleasure. There was nothing more she could do thinking about it anymore.

There was still plenty of time before she was going to need to log off for the night. Yerune wandered through the city of Torifin for a while exchanging some of the items that she had gained from the wolves for money. It was not a lot, but it did add up eventually. She was going to need some new equipment soon, so she had been building up some reserves for that time.

After that she decided to aid someone in the quest to gain access to the castle. It was a simple quest for those that knew what they had to do, but for someone still new it would be a challenge. The quest involved going out to the Rugonic Tomb, which was generally a fearful place for people. Even for her, she did not take great pleasure in the trip. The requirement was to make it to a specific location in the tomb where one of the ancient kings of Torifin was laid to rest. If you brought back proof of your victory in quieting the spirits the guards would grant you access to the castle.

The person that needed the quest was a mid level Apothecary, which would be useful for Yerune in a place like this. She did not know how skilled they were as a healer, but she had to trust them. If they wanted it badly enough they would support her so that she could be victorious.

When they arrived at the entrance of the tomb the apothecary became hesitant. “This place is impressive, but it makes my stomach churn.”

“I’ll be here with you, don’t worry. It looks scary, but just walk in with smile and don’t let them see your fear,” she said grinning to him. She could see that his hands were shaking, not even the staff that he carried with him could steady him. Yerune approached him and took his hand in her in hands to try to comfort him. “No worries, I’ll protect you.” She smiled warmly trying to remain cheerful, even though in this place she could feel the ominous aura it exuded. “Just remember your magic and I’ll do the rest, okay?”

Yerune started walking in pulling him along with her down the stairs. The stonework for the tomb was falling apart, many of the steps were cracking. The archways looked like they would hold for another few centuries, but there were places where it was falling apart. There was even a ghost that roamed through the stairs, not a monster to fight, but simply a wandering soul that gave warnings.

When the ghost spoke the apothecary clung on to Yerune not expecting it to speak. “Beware adventurers, travelers and thrill seekers the spirits are restless and do not take kindly to trespassers. Turn back now before you lose your soul to them.” The final words from the spirit frightened the apothecary enough that he bolted for the entrance and dragged Yerune along with him.

The apothecary was breathing heavy collapsed on the ground still shaking with fear. Yerune was spread out on the ground having tripped on the last step from being pulled back up. She pulled herself up slowly dusting herself off. Yerune walked over to the apothecary giving him a warm smile to try to encourage him.

“I’m sorry. I’m such a coward,” he said.

“Don’t worry about it. It is a scary place. If you don’t want to continue you don’t have to.”

“I’m sorry.” The apothecary disappeared in a sparkle of lights, he had logged off. Yerune sighed looking around a little before walking back to Torifin. He was rather cute, she thought, the way he ran away. It might have been embarrassing, but it made her smile. She could remember the first time she went in there, it terrified her just as much. The place felt so real, but she had others with her that supported her. She hoped to see the apothecary again and help him through the tomb.

Yerune continued through Torifin looking for something to do. Sarah let her continue to walk in a wide circle looking like she was doing something while she got up. The adventure at the tombs was a little exhausting. She went to grab a glass and filled it with water thinking about game. There was still so many people joining, it was easy to forget that most people had not been everywhere yet. It was amusing watching someone’s reaction for the first time since it reminded her of her first time. They were always excited and ready to take things on. She enjoyed seeing people experiencing new parts of the game.

Sarah walked back to her terminal and loosely placed the mind link device back on. She laid back on the carpet trying to think of what she was going to do. There was still plenty of time from the clock, but she wondered if there was anything else that she wanted to do. Her bed was looking inviting right now. She decided to give it a few more minutes and see if something happened, otherwise she would go to sleep.

[Lai]

[OOC: sorry, this is only half of my introductory post. I've been doing it in small intervals. It's been a hectic time for me. Though I've used the excuse in the past, I figured I could at least show you guys I'm still in this.]

Every morning, Sethe would lay in his bed for an extra after his alarm would
sound, trying to muster up the strength to pull himself out of his bed for
another bland day at University. This had been the routine for nearly seven
months; the alarm would sound at 9:30, Sethe would lay in bed for an hour, pull himself to his feet at 10:30, and drag himself to his first class of the day at 11:00 still dressed in his pajamas. He kept a toothbrush and a bottle of water packed in his bag so that he could brush his teeth on the way to his class. He attended a somewhat small university, concentrating on all forms of art from physical to digital.

For three days he would go to class for six hours straight, all day in his
pajamas. The other four days of the week were spent programming, studying, and playing games. He was taking eighteen credit hours a week and was lucky enough to get them all jammed into three days. He preferred it this way; if he felt like sleeping for the entirety of a day, he could do so without missing any work.

He was wearing his green plaid pajamas today. He wasn't wearing any boxers, so people could plainly see him sporting his morning business. He didn't really
mind. What he had was no mystery, and it wasn't as if he was intentionally
showing it off. Besides, it would go away by the time he got to class. Every so often he would see a few pretty girls chit-chatting away on some of the many abstract art pieces scattered around campus, and would sometimes wink or make rude gestures at them. Some giggled, some glared, and some just ignored him. No matter what the outcome was, he didn't care. It never came to an actual conversation between him and them, so he wasn't worried about anything becoming awkward.

Classes were usually spent in a daze. Professors always taught out of the book for forty minutes then gave a five minute electronic quiz. Two hours of reading at the beginning of the week prepped Sethe for the rest of the week so he only went to class to get the good grades on the quizzes.

After his series of classes for the day ended, he dragged himself back to his dormitory. He stripped naked, opened his door, and made his way to the public shower dragging his towel behind him. The other students glanced out past their open doors before withdrawing their faces looks of disgust. Sethe let the water beat down on his face for a while before turning the water off and dragging his own naked body back to his room.

After his routine was all through, he changed into a clean, red plaid pair of flannel pajamas. He edged his way into his computer chair, and booted it up. As usual, the first thing he did when he booted up was not homework, check his e-mail, or pull up an instant messaging service, but booted up his most recent addiction, Fantasy Hour Online.

The game took forever to boot up, as usual, so Sethe had time to pop open a soda and a can of Pringles. As he was slipping the third and fourth chips into his mouth, he typed in his user name and password. When he saw the small figure of his dream girl on his screen, he winked at her and bowed his head.

"How's my babe doing today?" he asked as a floor-mate stuck his head in the door. He propped an eyebrow at Sethe and retracted his head without saying a word.

When Arielle was first booted up, Sethe spent about a half hour killing lower-level monsters right outside of town, taking the experience away from the lower-level characters. Every once in a while he would toss in a "n00b" and get an emoted "spit" or an expletive in return. One person went as far as sending him a private message, threatening him with a higher-level character. Sethe retaliated by casting a paralyzing spell on the character, then luring over a higher-level monster to finish him off.

He had no real mission to accomplish today. He didn't feel like getting involved in any quests at the moment, and already had a ton of extra gold, so he just walked Arielle around town to try to meet people. He had been trying to get into a guild for some time now just for the sake of having people to talk to when he played the game.

When he got to the center of town, he sat Arielle down and put up a permanent message of his interest in a guild. He flicked on the television and watched some cartoons while he waited for a potential message.

[Victoria]

Himiko pushed the keys on her electronic keypad lock and activated the security system to the building. The data traveled throughout the building, so that if the signals were to ever be disrupted, the alarm would flare around the neighborhood. She cracked her neck and walked down the porch stairs and unlocked the electronic lock to her hover cycle. She pulled out onto the traffic and continued to make her way to the crime scene, stopping at the occasional stop light and intersection with stop signs. After what seemed an eternity has passed, she arrived at the building where the murder took place. The building looked like a major corporation business. She could see the reflections on the windows. She took a deep breath and walked inside. One of the many secretaries of the building guided her to the crime scene where the police were located. She nodded to the secretary and went the rest of the way herself as she could see the yellow tape used for crime scenes.

The detective in charge noticed her walking in and motioned her over to the location. Before she arrived, he was fixated on the layout of the room and the type of scenario.

She saw the detective and walked toward the scene of the homicide. She looked around the room and took in every small detail that she could. Himiko’s mind shuffled all of the possible data she collected to see if she could come up with some hints. All of this within the few moments it took her to walk from the door to the detective in charge.

Her high observation skills are amongst the best in the universe, so she would have been able to see any minor detail that has been missed by the CSI (Crime Scene Investigators). She gave a soft sigh and scratched the back of her head.

“So, what do you think happened here?” she asked as she sat down on a nearby chair and brought out her laptop. He explained the scenario as she input the room design into her computer.

“We believe this to be a locked room scenario. All the windows and the door were locked from the inside. We don’t see any other way of entry for the suspect. We know it couldn’t be suicide because of the strangulation marks left imprinted.”

She scratched her forehead and stood up. She adjusted her glasses and started walking to a specific area within the room. The detective was baffled by her actions and raised an eyebrow. He followed her until he noticed that she started walking into the bathroom.

“Locked room scenario, eh?” She stood on the toilet seat and felt around on the ceiling. She knocked around and found a hollow area. A smirk ran across her face as she went back out and brought her laptop into the restroom. She looked at the floor plans and noticed something strange. She pushed in the hollow area and discovered a hidden ventilation shaft from the old ages.

“It’s not a locked room scenario anymore, sir” She popped her head into the shaft and looked around inside. “From the lack of dust in this ventilation area, it shows it has been used recently. So the suspect most likely used this old shaft as a secret passage into the room the victim was staying in. It was a well planned murder.”

She left the passage open for further investigation and lifted the toilet seat up.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me” She gently shoved him out of the room. “I have to use the little girl’s room.” She closed the door and sat down.

A moment or two later the toilet flushed and she stepped out of the room. She sat back down on the chair.

“Well, we know how they got in, now for the rest of the case. Who, When, and Why. They’ve been strangled here in their own room, so we already have the where.”

“Ms. Himiko, that aside, how did you know about the old ventilation shaft and where it was?”

“Oh, that?” she yawned. “When I first arrived here, I noticed how old this building was, so I had a hunch that it still had old technologies hidden within its walls. My laptop confirmed my hunch when I input the floor plans of this room into my architectural program. It discovered hidden areas that weren’t visible to the eye.”

He scratched the back of his head. “I see. Thank you for your hard work.” He plopped down on a chair and wiped the sweat off his brow.

“No problem, just doing my job.” She saved all the data on her laptop and closed it up. “I’ll take care of the rest tomorrow. It’s getting really late. If I’m going to be at my best, I need my rest. Be sure to give me the address of the person who reported it in.”

He nodded. “Yes, you’ll get the information tomorrow morning. Goodnight, Ms. Himiko.”

“Good night.” She yawned and gathered up her belongings and walked out of the building. She drove back home and turned down the alarm, only to set it back on a few minutes later after changing into her pajamas.

She put the virtual headset back on and flew right back into Fantasy Hour. Hopefully she would find the girl from earlier and apologize to her. If she wasn’t mistaken, she came from the city of Torifin. She had been there before, which was lucky of her. So now all she had to do was teleport there. Hopefully she isn’t too late.

Her RL body transformed as she went into the game. Her figure and height slightly changed and her pajamas evaporated into her assassin gear. She landed in the plains where she last logged out. She used her teleportation skill to teleport herself to the city of Torifin. Unfortunately, there had been a lot of people she killed in the past there, and most of them fled when she arrived. She just shook her head and sighed, knowing she did it all to herself. One such person had the courage to stand up to her.

“What do you think you’re doing here, you bitch!? Don’t you remember that you’re not welcomed here?”

She couldn’t look the Apothecary in the eye. “I’m looking for someone…” she spoke softly. She bit her lower lip.

“Looking for another victim, eh? How typical. You just can’t stop can you? You sick whore.”

She just sighed and kept her head to the ground. “I…I’m not…”

“Look at me when I’m talking to you!” he grabbed her by the chin and forced her to look at him. With her watered eyes, she looked at him and quickly glanced away.

“…What do you want from me?”

“You know damn well what I want. What everyone wants… We want you to stop your evil and repent for all that you did! Player Killing may well be legal, but it’s unethical! You’re just lucky we’re in town and not outside.”

“…I’ve already stopped…” she sobbed.

“Yeah right, like you expect me to believe that, you conniving fox. You’re just saying that so you can attack us from behind like before. We’re not falling for it this time, Shino.”

“No, I…”

He let his grip of her go and she fell to her knees. Onlookers started crowding around, wondering what was going on. Luckily the girl she was looking for was one of the onlookers. Again, she had a disappointed, yet concerned look on her face.

“If you really did stop, then you’ll let everyone here get their retribution against you, especially those weaker than you!”

Shino did nothing but nod in agreement. She stood up and softly spoke. “Go ahead…”

He was stunned at where these events were turning. Maybe she really did stop her antics, but there was no real way to know for sure. “Then let’s go outside. If you’re really willing to that is.”

She looked to the ground and just walked outside the town. The Apothecary and the onlookers followed outside. The axe girl from earlier stayed behind mostly because she was confused by Shino’s current actions. Did she affect her that much just by not giving her the satisfaction of killing someone again? What was different about her than any other person? She did not understand and followed just to be sure.

Outside, Shino was clubbed by the Apothecary and she just stood there taking the repeated attacks from everyone she’s ever killed. If this made them feel better, then so be it. When Shino died, she just spawned right back in town and walked back outside for more beatings.

After a while it was getting hard to watch the different ways she was getting killed. The onlookers started sliming down and doing other things. The girl was the only one that remained. Even those that kept attacking dwindled down to two people: The Apothecary and a Spiritualist. The two that remained attacking her began growing weary. It must have gone on for a good ten minutes or so.

Shino just took a deep breath. “…Are you satisfied now?”

The Spiritualist never spoke, just shook her head slightly and put a small gap between her thumb and index finger. “A little bit.”

The Apothecary however, was more than satisfied. He also felt somewhat ashamed for how low he became just to get revenge. And after seeing Shino’s feelings, he sighed.

“Look. I’m sorry for being a bastard, but I hope you don’t go back on your word. If you do, I won’t ever forgive you. And just to make sure you don’t, I’ll be hanging around you more often. Isn’t that right, Tokino?”

The Spiritualist nodded while smiling. She placed a hand on Shino’s shoulder and wrote with a special pen that wrote in the air what she wanted to say.

We’ll be counting on you to behave yourself now. If you ever double cross anyone again, you will be punished by us, okay?

Shino sighed and fell to her knees again. It seems after all the mayhem in the town she gained two new ‘friends’, if they were to be called that.

[Andromeda]

She had been sorting through a few of her items in her bag before logging out for the night when the town suddenly became alive with dialogue. After a few seconds she quickly disable her log as voice would be enough with so many people talking. It was pointless to attempt to read everything that was coming through. The town had been quiet a moment ago, this change made her curious to know what was happening to create such a stir. Whatever it was there seemed to be few that were not engaged. This had her worried to know what had everyone upset as they were.

Yerune pushed through the outer crowd the best she could until she reached to the front. There were still a great number of people between her and the scene that was occurring. However, she had enough of a view that it became clear to her quickly what was happening. She did not know how it had started, but it was clear that the victims were out for blood. ‘Some take this game too seriously…repent…’ Yerune looked away and walked back out of the crowd as they all followed the woman as she marched to her death.

It was a puzzling scene for her to watch. This was atypical for someone like her who got a thrill from the killing of others and watching their prey’s reactions. They seemed to live off that emotion. She did not understand why someone like that would allow their victims to have revenge. However, it was not as though there would be any enjoyment from the act. The woman was simply letting them beat her up it would be rather empty. Even revenge for purpose seemed empty.

Yerune sat down on some soft hay piled in the corner of a stable that was near to the respawn location for Torifin. She watch the woman respawn only to walk back out and die again. The act continued for some time, Sarah was becoming tired of both watching it endlessly continue and from simple fatigue. The mob eventually realized the emptiness of the effort and slowly fell away to other tasks until the Assassin was alone.

She saw in the distance the Assassin at the edge of the town not moving. Sarah did not know what the urge was that she had to walk over to the woman, but she soon found herself standing nearby. It seemed a contradiction that someone so ruthless would appear so broken at this moment. This was a strange change of heart to be witnessed. Sarah found it difficult to actually believe that it was a change though; she had seen people wanting to change so many times.

Yerune drop her axe to the ground, the end of the shaft at a sharp point that dug into the earth. The tips of the blade came to rest at the surface. She leaned against her axe for a second before slipping her thighs neatly into the curvature of the backside of the axe blade. Then she crossed her legs in a manner that looked even more painful and comfortably rested her hands at the top of the shaft at the handle. She peaked rather playfully around the handle tilting her head to the side at the woman.

“You sure know how to work a crowd,” she said with a grin.

“Huh? That a joke?”

“Miserable attempt at one,” she said blushing. Yerune looked around the field seeing that it was still empty of animals or beasts. “Happiness melts away the sorrow. Looked like you could use some of it.”

“Aren’t you carefree. Talking with the person that killed you.”

“Carefree?” she said thinking about it to herself. Yerune gave the impression by her gestures that she seemed a little bit of an airhead, but it was more just a role. “I guess so,” she said cheerfully. She then looked away again as her posture seemed to change. Her expression became more serious in contrast to the moment before. “They say that I’m already miserable enough in real life that I should be more cheerful. Might be right. Don’t know why I came over here really. Guess it was the eyes, I’ve seen them before perhaps.”

Yerune got up off of her axe that she was using as a seat and dusted herself off. She quickly changed back to the warm expression she had on her face earlier. “That is enough gloomy, serious talk for me.” She stretched her arms and back a little rubbing her backside a little. “Not nearly as comfortable as I thought it might be. I can’t stay around, getting a little late here. Buh-bye!”

Yerune waved and started to walk over as she began to log out. The woman interrupted her before she could leave though. “Who are you?”

She turned around; Sarah realized that she had all of her user information hidden from being accessed at the moment. Most times she preferred to remain anonymous and simply help people face to face. “Oh right! You can call me the Pink Haired Heavy Sword! Heh heh.” After that she finished the logging out process and disappeared from the game world in a sprinkle of light. It left the woman more than confused by the encounter.

Sarah pulled off her mind link device and loosened her hair a little from the closed feeling it provided. She laid back on her bed thinking about the way she ended the conversation it. It was a little uncharacteristic for her to be so mysterious and playful, but she was in a strange mood. She had felt as though she was in a strange mood all night, possibly a little happier than usual. There was nothing she could figure out to why, just something in the way things were.

While she finished up a few things before going to sleep her mind recalled the young man from the train. It puzzled her why he was coming up in her thoughts suddenly. She tried to change the subject to something else, like her classes in the morning. However, as she lay in bed he returned to her thoughts again. He acted strangely towards her in a way that she was not used to. Most the people tended to ignore her because of their own fear or prejudice, but he did not seem bothered by that. She wondered whom he was keeping her awake for longer than she wished.

[Victoria]

Tokiko the spiritualist just smiled and hung around Shino. She got her small dose of revenge and now felt like being a genuine friend to the crippled assassin. Out of the corner of her eye it seemed one of the onlookers had stayed behind out of concern. She carried an axe and had pink hair. She smiled and waved.

The Apothecary had to log off and attend to real life matters. Shino never did get his name, but perhaps Tokino knew his name since they appeared to be friends.

“Tokino, what’s that guy’s name?”

Tokino got out her pen and wrote “Misaki.”

Shino nodded and sighed. She lay motionless in the field of grass as she stared at the sky. The girl with pink hair came up to her out of the blue. As if something drew the girl to her.

She dropped her axe to the ground and sat in a curious position while she leant against the axe. Shino cocked a brow and somewhat cringed.

She thought to herself, How does she find that comfortable?

“You sure know how to work a crowd,” she said with a grin.

Both Shino and Tokino glanced toward her, and then each other, and then back to her.

“Huh? Is that some kind of joke,” Shino asked.

“Miserable attempt at one,” the girl said as she blushed. The girl glanced around the area. “Happiness melts away the sorrow. It looked like you could use some of it.”

Shino sat up and chuckled softly to herself. “Well aren’t you carefree, talking to the person that killed you earlier.”

“Carefree?” she seemed to think to herself for a while. “I guess so.”

Then her expression changed to a serious one. “They say that I’m already miserable enough in real life that I should be more cheerful. They might be right. Don’t know why I came over here really. Guess it was the eyes, I’ve seen them before perhaps.”

The girl stood up from her axe she used as a seat and dusted herself off. Her previous expression had returned as soon as it had left.

“That is enough gloomy, serious talk for me,” the girl stretched her body.

“Not nearly as comfortable as I thought it might be. I can’t stay around, getting a little late here. Buh-bye!”

The girl began to log out and walk away. A light bulb popped in Shino’s head and she interrupted her before she did.

“Wait, what’s your name?”

“Oh right! You can call me the Pink Haired Heavy Sword! Heh heh.”

She then logged out to be seen another day.

Shino sat on the floor and wondered what just happened, but more importantly wondered what kind of alias “Pink-haired Heavy Sword” was.

“Tokino, am I the only one that finds that name weird?”

Tokino giggled softly to herself and wrote, “No, I did too.”

“Well, I have a job to do Tokino, I’ll see you later.” Shino stood up and stretched. Tokino did the same and waved to Shino.

“Goodbye for now.” She wrote.

Shino waved and logged off.


Himiko took off her headset and plopped herself down onto the bed and sighed. That had been the roughest time on the game since she’s been on; though she made three new friends out of it.

If Himiko really wanted to, she could get the Pink-haired girl’s user information and say hello, but that would be abusing her skills and job. Though, if the user had somehow been involved in some crimes, or knows someone who has…

Perhaps it was time for an interview.

[Imposter]

Doug raised his head with a start from the worn out pillow on his bed. The sound of a Billy club rattling against the metal bars, the footsteps of guards and prisoners alike shuffled against the concrete flooring, finally murmurs and yells all ran into Doug’s ears. He rolled over and looked out of his cell into the hallway.

Had I really seen what I thought last night? Was I just tired, or was I hallucinating? The thought slipped into his mind as he rubbed his eyes. With a yawn and a stretch he sat up on his bed. A guard stood outside the cell looking at Doug with a condescending sneer.

"Good mornin' sunshine, you better enjoy your last hours here. We wouldn't want you to slip up before you get out."

The guard opened Doug's cell and 'encouraged' him to get out and head to the cafeteria. Doug stood up now towering over the guard. The corners of his lips curled slightly knowing he was the bigger of the two. He scuffed his way across the cement floor out of his cell and into the main hall. The sight of hundreds of other cells just like his own all occupying other convicts still amazed him. He filed into the line of green over suits until he got his meal and headed out to find his seat.

He approached the familiar group of green over suits, and sat beside the oldest of them all. Today's greeting was different than the many others he had received.

"So the time's finally here isn't it Doug? You've served all your time eh? You did well kid, I'll give you that. You know I ain't very good at saying good bye to my friends unless it's in a body bag. Just don't forget about us okay."

Doug smiled and turned to the man who had showed him the ropes of the low security 5th prison of Kharisis. This man had seemingly picked up where Doug's late father had left off. Despite the stern face of the man Doug looked at he saw the same eyes of compassion he had seen in his father.

"Yeah, I guess it is Fredric...Thanks for the good bye, and trust me I won't forget any of you guys. You helped me get along after all. I truly appreciate it....who knows I might see you on the outside someday."

Fred and Doug chuckled, for they both knew the only way that was going to happen was if Fred would somehow manage to escape. Fred and his posse all got up. Fred put an outreached hand on Doug's shoulder and nodded.

"You've got stuff to do. So we'll leave you to it. It's been some of the best years these past seven."

With that the group made their way through the cafeteria and out of view. Doug finished his meal shortly after and made his way back to his cell. He looked over what little belongings he had and started packing them away. Upon picking up the mind link device to FHO his expression saddened. Not because of the experiences he had had throughout his time spent here but because it was a gift from his mother. He had got a message a few days ago that his mother had been hospitalized due to a stroke.

As soon as his belongings were packed up another guard appeared and asked Doug to follow him to the head office. He was informed that his ride had arrived. He carried his luggage along with him as he made his way to the head office. Inside two familiar faces awaited him. He expected the warden but not the second. It was Zach a colleague from the law firm.

"Mr. Pearson here has already arranged everything for you to be on your way Mr.
Questor."

The warden's words quickly gave way to the reason why Zach had arranged everything. Zach quickly rose out of his seat and shook the warden's hand and grabbed some luggage. His feet moved swiftly and in huge strides. Doug knew what it meant instantly and followed suit. Doug hardly took time to embrace his freedom when he exited the prison. Something else had already begun to trouble him.

Inside the small transport craft Doug watched Zach intently. Zach could never think up a distraction quickly enough outside the courtroom.

"So...uh...I guess you’re going to go into politics now that you’re out of prison. It's what all the other big shot lawyers did...hahaha."

"It's my mother isn't it Zach?"

Doug's tone surprised even himself. He couldn't figure out if it was overly compassionate or that he had suspected it the whole time. Zach nodded in reply. The rest of their conversation was sparse and revolved mostly on Doug's mother's condition. Zach informed him that she had suffered from another stroke. Doug's mind went into overdrive and time seemed to speed up. In a blur he found that the transport had now arrived outside the main hospital in Shoula.

Zach led the way into the palliative care room. Doug ran close beside his mother who radiated the joy of seeing her son. Doug quickly held a hand and smiled at his mother.

"I see you finally got him here Zach. Thank-you very much, you’re too kind sometimes. If you wouldn't mind though, I would like to chat with him alone for a little while." Zach nodded and made his way out of the room.

"Before you say anything you need to know that I look worse than I feel. Also, before you started saying anything there are some things I need to tell you. Your new home is an apartment in the Eighth Ring of Shoula. It isn't much because I didn't think you would want a huge fancy home to attract all the attention of the press. Zach will give you a ride there after we chat ok?"

"Yes ma'am. Mom, I didn't know it was this bad. I'm sorry I haven't been around. We missed out on seven years of each other and now it looks like we won't be able to make it up. I'm sorry..."

"Oh hush up now! You did what your head told you to do and that's what is important. I know just as well as you do what is wrong with me if not more so. You’re just like your father always blunt. I have already talked it over with Zach and all the arrangements have been made for whenever this ol' hunk of junk decides to call it quits. I want you to not worry about it too much. Go home and get yourself use to it ok? Now I need my rest."

Doug kissed his mother's forehead and obtained the apartment key. Making his way out he met Zach just outside the door of the hospital. They both got into the transport and looked at each other. Finally Zach broke the silence.

"She has one hell of a way with words doesn't she?"

"Aye. That she does Zach. Can I ask you a serious question?"

"Shoot."

"Do you think you could dig up some information on the 5th prison? I'm not sure but something happened last night and I think it might be because their experimenting with the convicts. It's not unheard of...most of the high security prisons do it trying to find cures for diseases."

"I can't help you directly Doug, the higher ups would have a hay day if they heard I was helping you out. I can give you a name. Himiko Kunimitsu, she's one of the best private detectives I have ever heard of. I know you've got the money for her too. Ask her to look into it. Anyways here's your stop. I've got to get back to the firm. Welcome back to the real world Doug."

"Thanks. I'll see you around Zach."

Doug exited the transport and obtained his luggage. His new home resided on the sixth floor of the building. Upon entering his new found home he quickly went to the phone. Asking the operator for Himiko Kunimitsu, after the operator put him through Doug was greeted by the answering machine.

"Miss Kunimitsu, my name is Doug Questor. I heard of you from a friend and was wondering if I could employ your services. You will not be able to reach me by phone but you might find me on FHO, my account name is One_who_is_free...there are no spaces but underscores in between the words. Thank you for your time."

Doug hung up the phone and unpacked his belongings. The apartment was small but fit Doug's standards perfectly. There was enough natural light from the windows, sound proof walls. His mom had chosen the best place for him to start his new life. Finding the mind link device he booted up FHO and logged in as Lysander. One moment he closed his eyes as Doug and the next he was Lysander. It amazed him that the process seemed so flawless. He wondered how other people could play as a different gender or different proportions. He had never tried a character of that type.

Lysander's surroundings began to entice him. He found himself on a small ledge of a mountain. The ground surrounded by blue flowers, animal and monster noises radiating from the ground below, the wind hitting his face and the beginning of the sun setting. The surreal setting caused him to remember how much Shoula had changed in the past seven years.

Slowly his mind began to process everything that had happened throughout the day. He sat down, his armor clanking against itself and his sword and shield hit the ground beside him. Lysander's eyes began to fix on the flowers. He had heard once heard that a lot of the surroundings found in FHO could also be found in real life. He hoped that one day he would be able to see one of these flowers in real life.

"Had I really seen what I thought I saw last night?"

Lysander's voice echoed off the mountain to the valley below.

[Andromeda]

Sarah had trouble getting up in the morning having her thoughts keeping her up much of the night. She had finally been able to fall asleep, but her sleep was cut in half almost. It made getting through her classes difficult with her eyes trying to shut on her every few minutes. The short period before her next class she allowed her eyes to rest. It was not much, but it was enough that she was more alert through the rest of the day. There was only one consolation to the day, the classes she had were her lighter ones. They were just simple general education courses rather than focusing on a major.

Classes were over however and for that she was glad. The day was still early, but she was too tired to stay late and work as she usually did. She could actually avoid the evening rush to go home. All that was on her mind though was her bed and how warm and soft it was at the moment. Her was thoughts were snapped back to reality as train arrived at the station.

The train ride back was quiet as she kept to herself in the corner with her glasses up close to her eyes. She paged through one of her textbooks to look busy, but her eyes were barely scanning the pages. Her fatigue was making it difficult to concentrate on anything. It was making the ride home even longer for her as all she wanted to was just rest for a while.

She looked up from her book a moment to see where she was in the ride. They were still in the inner city. It was probably no more than a few minutes since they had left and yet it felt so much longer. Everything was moving at a slow pace, even the people walking through the car. Just watching the view was making her tired. She closed her eyes for a moment to yawn through her book only to find that her stop was being called. Sarah stood up quickly and looked around to see that it was truly her stop. As she was collecting her things to get off it dawned on her that she had fallen asleep, it only made her panic even further.

Sarah stepped off the train with plenty of time as well as relief to be home. Her nap, though unwelcome, did leave her well rested. Several people pushed around her to get on to the train as one of them caused her to drop her book she was holding. She had rushed to get off the train that she did not pack it away. When she bent down to pick up the book there was another hand going after the book as well. She tilted her head up as she continued to reach for the book until she paused in surprise.

It was the man from yesterday on the train, the one that had spoken to her. She did not know what to say to him at the moment. There was only one thought that was running through her mind. “What are you doing here?” She had not meant to say it out loud to him, but she was not able to stop her mouth. Her face turned red the next moment, as she wanted to take it back.

“Hello to you,” he said with a smile on his face even though she had been rude.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to say that.”

“No, it’s alright.” He picked up her book, as she had remained frozen. “Here you go.”

“Oh, thank you,” she said bowing quickly once she had stood up.

“You don’t have to bow to me.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I hope I didn’t offend you.”

“N-no. Don’t need to be so formal.”

“I’m sorry.” Sarah was pushed aside from the masses of people trying to enter the train. The two decided to find their way to the side of the station out of the way of the traffic. Sarah was unable to find enough words to form much of a sentence. She did not know what he wanted and why he happened to be at the station she was exiting on.

“It’s a little crowded here, want to take a walk?”

“Uh…what?” She had barely managed to find something to say. He kept leaving at the edge of having words to say. Everything was so confusing at the moment.

“A walk, there is park nearby. If you want to that is. Just thought it might be a little easier than standing around here.”

“Oh…sure…” Sarah followed behind him down the stairs still trying to figure out what was happening. She was remaining cautious, since she did not know who he really was. There was the part of her that thought he was some con man trying to get her and another part thought that he was just normal person. She did not know what to believe, so many of the people she knew did not like or trust her. It made her distrust others just as much, but there was something about him that she was having difficulty not trusting.

As he had said there was a park nearby to the station. The area around the station was mostly small businesses and a few apartment buildings. It was packed around tightly to make use of the lack of space the city had to develop in. So the park was a valuable piece of land, since it was the least developed and took up a city block. There were few parks in the city, but it was important to have some greenery around all of the metal and cement.

Sarah remained quiet during their little walk to the park, but the silence was making her nervous with uncertainty. She looked over at him, as he seemed to be walking as though she was not even next to him. One moment he was asking to go to the park and now he was pretending like she was not even visible. She narrowed her eyes a little behind her glasses and turned herself towards him a little. “Who are you? Why were you at the station just now?”

“I was waiting for you. I’ve been waiting since last night.”

“What? You’re not serious?” she said looking at his clothes, they were different from the previous time she meet him. He was wearing a business rather than the casual appearance from yesterday.

“Well not the entire time, I did have to sleep,” he said with a grin.

“Be serious.”

“Actually I was on business and I was just returning to the city when I saw you leaving. I had hoped to see you again soon. You ran off so fast the last time.”

Sarah stepped back from him in surprise. “W-why did you want to see me again?”

“I wanted to see how beautiful your eyes were.”

“W-what? Y-you say strange things.”

“May I?” he said approaching her just one step closer.

She backed away from him nervously. He was acting unusual for her. Everyone ignored her and tried to be cruel to her that she did not know what to do about someone that actually wanted to be closer to her. The man was actually interested in her and did not care who she was, he even knew already. “I’m sorry,” she said holding her hands up around her face to push her glasses further up her nose. She kept her hands up to protect her glasses from being taken away.

“You shouldn’t be ashamed of them. Don’t worry about what everyone else thinks.” He raised his hands up to her hands slowly to see if she would back away. Sarah wanted to back away, but there was something else inside keeping her still. He placed his hands on Sarah’s hands gently. She could feel the warmth from his hands. They were soft; she was expecting them to be coarse. He pulled her hands away from her face slowly along with her glasses. The tint that was blocking out the sun was gone making her close her eyes briefly as she reacted to the brightness. “They’re quite beautiful.”

Sarah’s face was turning red again as he was staring at her. She did not know what to do. Her feet had the urge to run and give herself some distance, but her mind was still curious. A sound in the distance alerted her to someone walking through the park. Out of instinct she turned herself away to keep herself out of sight. It was enough to pull her out of the fog that was filling her head. “Who are you?”

“Oh, I’m sorry I haven’t introduced myself have I? My name is Sean. And you?”

“Sarah, Sarah Toya,” she said before letting out a yawn suddenly.

“Heh, a little tired?”

“Its your fault that I am,” she blurted out at him.

“Huh?”

A light on her glasses flashed suddenly drawing her attention. It was only supposed to flash when there was something important coming through to her. It made her confused what would be coming that was important. There were not too many things that were set to alert aside from her parents. She interrupted Sean and put her glasses back on. With the activation of the packet a news feed came across her lens.

Sean was looking down at a device at his hip that was suddenly going off as well. “Breaking News?” he said puzzled by the text he saw.

“You too?”

“What is it?”

“I don’t know yet, its some news report. Its on all of the channels.”

“Does your glasses have an open video port?”

“Yes?”

Sean pulled out something from inside his jacket pocket. He opened his palm to show her a portable image projector. It was an expensive piece of equipment, but it would allow her to send the feed to the device so they both could view it. They sat down on the bench out of the way as Sarah connected to the device. After a minute the news feed was being projected in the air in front of them with audio coming out of the small device.

“…possible act of terrorism?” the woman at the news studio said before the video switch to someone else at the scene of the incident.

“It is uncertain at the moment what is causing this. All traffic and business has halted at Grehn Square with onlookers frozen in fear or confusion. Many are fleeing the area afraid of what may happen next. Not even the police know what is happening at the moment. There are reports that it is malfunctioning holo-projectors that are the cause of this anomaly. However, it is all speculation right now.”

The video showed images of the people staring and looking up at something. There were a few blurred shots of what they were seeing, but it was too hard to make out clearly. It seemed familiar to her, though it did not seem possible that she would know what it was.

“If you’re just joining us. All activity has stopped in the Grehn Square block of Herm City on Planet Arkineme. Early reports from those at Grehn Square say that it is an animal or monster roughly thirty meters in height. At 12:05 Arkineme time, the animal appeared in the middle of the intersection bringing an immediate stop to all traffic. The animal does not appear to be real as it has passed through several objects already, but the scale of the image is causing mass panic throughout the city.”

“I can’t believe this is happening,” Sean said.

“What is going on there?”

“According to reports we are receiving right now the animal has disappeared. The police are instructing people to continue about their business, trying to return the city to normal. Electronic investigators are arriving on the scene to begin their work to solve the mystery of the appearance of this animal in Grehn Square. The disappearance ends the twenty-three minute…”

Sarah turned it off, as they were not going to get anything more out of the report at the moment. “What was that? A malfunction in image projection matrix? Or did someone hack into it as a prank?”

“Strange…”

“Yeah,” Sarah said yawning again suddenly. “I’m sorry. I should be getting home. I’m too tired to stay out here.”

“Alright, have a safe walk.”

“Thanks. Oh, wait, I didn’t catch your last name.”

Sean was already walking away. “Its Ralstone.”

Sarah took a minute to process it and looked up in surprise as she tried to find him. He was already gone. “Ralstone…Ralstone, the largest corporation on the planet!?” She was in shock for a moment to know that she was talking to the son of the CEO of Ralstone Corporation. It took her several minutes before she pulled herself together and began walking out of the park. She slowly walked home thinking about both the news report and meeting Sean Ralstone.

The news report was coming up in her mind more frequently as the image of that animal seemed to be familiar to her. She ran a search through the uninet when she got home to confirm her belief. It was a monster from Fantasy Hour Online. She had seen it many times while wandering the game, most people had. It was a fairly common monster; she could not believe that she did not think of it before. “What is a monster from the game doing in the real world? It must be a hacker…but why…”

[Xeim]

A young, Asian girl sat at the kitchen table of the apartment she shared with her mother, the latter of whom was out shopping. The lights in the building were off, and so the girl read from the open textbook in front of her by the light of a candle. The table was square, tiled, and cluttered with many different papers. This girl seemed the model student with her head always in a book. Yet, upon the book she was supposedly reading, sat a small pad of paper on which she was doodling.- various symbols of various peoples from various MMO's.

It was just another cold, dark night for her, seemingly alone in her home doing her homework. Or so it appeared.

Seth inhaled a deep, greedy breath. His fingers twitched in anticipation as they clutched an old-fashioned gun. Within it were three shots- two blanks and a lead bullet. Lead was a thing of the distant past, and yet Seth loved it- every part of it. It was simple and unique in this world. It was perfect for killing.

He now stood on the fire escape outside of the young girl's apartment. An icy breeze swept past him down the alley, and Seth shivered, though whether it was from excitement or the cold, not even he could tell. “I…am…justice,” he whispered.

Why would he not be? These people were scourges to the planets. They glided their way through school with no effort at all. It seemed as if their every moment was spent studying, and yet, when it all came down to it, they were on the Uninet playing games more than anything else. It was people like these, people who had everything come to them easily, who caused the rest of the population to suffer.

Seth pulled out his phone. It was small and round, and fit perfectly in the palm of his hand. There was a tiny LCD screen at the top, with a single button underneath. You pressed it to talk to the machine. You could do a number of things- check the time, the outcome of the previous night's sports game, or even find the meaning of a word by simply speaking it. Seth pushed the button to get the information he desired.

“How may a help you?” the phone asked in a quiet voice.

“Information on my location”

“ Your current location is a back alley on Maple St. in the city of Cruxean. Cruxean is the most advanced city on the planet S-342, however it is still only the equivalent of your home planet Septhos from over 300 years ago.”

Seth smiled. That meant there wouldn't be any advanced security systems to avoid.

“Tell me the current time of the western hemisphere of planet S-342.”

“Ten twenty-five and four milliseconds, post-median.”

Seth swore. The girl's mother would be home in a matter of minutes! It had already been well over an hour since she left. If he didn't hurry in-

“Shit. A slang word used as an exclamation of frustration, terror or both. It can also be used to describe-”

He pushed the button on the phone again, and it turned off. He had to act fast. There was no room for mistakes. He began to creep up the fire escape- slowly, carefully. All of his feelings of excitement or happiness were gone. He was angry now: angry at the time, angry with himself, and angry with the young woman he was about to kill.

It was only one or two minutes later that he arrived outside the girl's living room window. Now, he had to be very quiet. If he gave away his presence before he arrived within house, the girl would have the police at the door within seconds. It was vital that he made it through that window soundlessly. Carefully, he pulled on he bottom to lift it up. It was locked.

“Damn,” he breathed.

The only way left was to break through the window. He brought his elbow up to the thick glass. It was a breathless moment, one where you're not quite sure where things are going to go once its passed.

Then, the window shattered in a waterfall of tiny shimmering particles. And with it, shattered Seth's breathless moment. Everything happened quickly after that. The young girl screamed the high pitch scream characteristic of most young girls, and Seth could almost taste her distress. He lived off of it.

“It's time for a nap,” he whispered.

“Onegaishimasu! Don't hurt me, onegai!” she cried.

“Broken already? You're no fun,” he cackled, and pulled the trigger. The shot rang out in the night, disrupting the peaceful silence previously present. But, the girl did not die. She sat, in the corner of the room now, with tears in her eyes and fear distorting her face. Though, upon realizing she was alive, she looked up at Seth with a look of gratitude.

“Don't give me that,” he growled. “Sheesh! Chicks like you really are no fun!” And, he pulled the trigger a second time. This time however, it was not a blank that left the barrel.

Blood splattered the wall and the girl slumped to the floor, her eyes blank and lifeless. Seth grinned, and his own, gray eyes shimmered in a sick happiness. Could any other action give one such a feeling of euphoria? Was it possible to feel happier than he was now? But his happiness was short lived. He had to leave before the neighbors came and broke down the door, or worse, the mother returned from her shopping venture. He was out of the window in a flash, his long bleached ponytail swishing, nearly gracefully, behind him.

'It's all just a game…an amazing, exhilarating game. And here I stand, the main protagonist, more than ready to face my archenemy. But when will he rise?'

+++

Seth entered his run-down hotel room. The walls were painted a sickly yellow color, and the carpet near the bed was stained with who knows what. Frankly, Seth didn't want to know. He entered the bathroom off to the side of the door and examined himself in the mirror. His plain white tee shirt was crisp and clean. He had made sure not to allow a single drop of blood land upon it tonight. It was the last clean one he had left, and he wasn't about to go shopping on such a backwater planet. Tomorrow morning he would leave. He had overstayed already.

He turned on the faucet and splashed crisp cold water on his face. It was an extremely refreshing sensation, and he reveled in it, though it didn't compare to killing. He glanced in the mirror again. There seemed to be more gray in his hair today then there was blonde. Seth swore that the prominent color of his hair changed from day to day, but since he had no means to prove it, he decided he didn't really care.

“Fantasy Hour Online…” he murmured, and smiled. It was a place of deceit, and yet it was a beautiful haven. And, perhaps today he'd get some information on the woman he was searching for. The one he chased without knowing exactly why. He had only seen her once, and yet, she had captivated him.

He was now looking at the screen to choose his character. Only one name existed on the list- Solomon.

+++

What does it take to truly hide?

Seth asked himself this after the disbandment of the Royalty. He had refused to make a new character- he had become too attached to Solomon to let him go. So instead, he had searched for a way to hide. The prestige of the Royalty was too much to handle. He hated walking into a city only to have all eyes turn upon him. It was every criminal's fear- to be noticed. It had taken him ages to find a conclusion, but one day he stumbled across an old item in his inventory used to change your character's appearance.

And, the princely, blonde haired Solomon had exchanged his appearance for one of death. Silver hair and golden eyes designed for fear. It was this man who now walked around the mid-sized city of Nakiakasu. It was a mid-sized medieval town, bordered by mountains to the east and the sea to the west, and in essence, it was beautiful. Not many people dared travel here, as it was rarely the center of quests or events, and the few that did were in search of rest and a good story or two. The non-player population of the town was about 1,000, but there were on fifty or so players in it at any given time. Solomon was a regular. He had even set the calm town as his spawn point.

He made his way to the Illusion, the town's tavern. It was a small, quaint building, and one of the few made out of stone. Many candles provided light to the Illusion, and the building gave off a very homey feeling. Solomon smiled as he opened the door, revealing a set of very sharp teeth. As soon as he was inside, his worries left. He was in a world of merriment. There were only four or five people within the tavern, but all of them were in good spirits. They danced merrily around the building with extra large mugs in their hands. Solomon wondered what was going on in their player's minds at the moment.

Reaching the counter, Solomon ordered a medium sized mug of rum, paid for it, and walked up the stairs to the left of the counter. This way, he could watch the crazy antics of the drinkers without getting forcefully drawn into them himself. Upstairs, two battle worn heavy swords stood pouring over a map in front of them so intently that they didn't even notice Solomon approach.

'Battle plans, eh? How many beasts are they planning to hunt I wonder…'

“The eastern seas? Hmm…I heard their was a mighty tough challenge taking place out there right now,” he stated as he approached.

One of the warriors turned around, clearly startled. He had a long scar running down the side of his face. “And what's it to ya, eh?”

“Oh, not much. I was just curious to see if the quest was your intent. I'm satisfied now.” He smiled warmly, and then walked off to his usual table in the back corner. Though, clearly the heavy swords weren't done with him. They followed him to his table to continue the conversation.

“Those are mighty fine swords you're carrying around there,” the first one sneered.

“Why thank you,” he said kindly.

“You're really pissing me off, you know that?”

“Oh am I? My apologies. Though, before I completely fall from your good graces, may I impart some advice upon you?”

“Hmph,” said the scarred man.

“If you take part in the quest, make sure you have more than just the two of you. A battle at sea is much more difficult than one in the open land. And, judging by your attitudes I believe I can assume you haven't been playing long.” He smiled kindly once more, and took a deep swig of his rum. The delicious liquid made its way quickly down his throat, and warmed his stomach.

The man looked startled. “Y-you can tell just by-?”

“A party of five or six should do. Oh, and don't forget an Apothecary.” He finished his rum then, and left the loft of the tavern.

“Th-thank you!” the man yelled down after him. Solomon replied with a dismissive wave of his hand, as if to say “no problem.” He didn't know why he gave into the temptation to help people, but for some reason he just couldn't help himself. And though the advice he had given the two heavy swords was elementary, their gratitude still satisfied him.

Downstairs the men were still dancing about merrily. Solomon smiled and left the bar. He'd be back within the hour of course, but the sun was setting now. Solomon loved the grace it carried as it sank down below the horizon.

He walked to the western border, and stood on the edge of the land. The town was built right up to the cliff that hung over the beach, so there were no walls between it and the sea. Solomon was able to stare out at the clam, beautiful waves with ease. It was so beautiful. Its vastness was just as breathtaking within the world of Fantasy Hour Online as it was within the life Seth led. Of course, it was only here that he could truly appreciate its beauty.

And so he stood there silently, and watched the rippling water turn gold, then black.

[Andromeda]

Sarah laid back on the floor allowing time to think to herself. It had been a strange day for her and as much as she wanted to sleep now she was no longer tired. She could throw something at him, if he was actually in the room. However, it was not just him that had her heart pounding so heavy, though it probably was mostly him touching her there. The monster that appeared on that planet had her mind in a whirlwind. She did not know what to think or why someone would want to terrorize a city. They must have been a sick individual to do something like that.

She tapped her fingers on the carpet with it passing over her mind constantly. The two thoughts were going at her not leaving her alone. It was going to be impossible to sleep like this. Her hand grabbed the head device from its resting place under her bed and placed it on. ‘Only one thing that I can ease right now. It might not be an answer, but someone might know something.’

Her thoughts were transmitted through the device and she stared at a question before her now. She had two characters to gather information with and both would present their share of problems. Yerune was unknown mostly even if she had a friendly face and easy to speak with. But if she was going to get information Yerune might not be the best to approach with. However, Gnurin was well known throughout the community. Every single Apothecary knew what he looked like and just about everyone else knew of him too well that he would not be easily ignored. But with Gnurin he could speak to people that may know more and gain access to deeper areas. Though Gnurin was a bit of a celebrity, the ones that liked to stay more private may not want to be seen in his company.

Yerune was selected and everything warped away starting up the world. ‘It’s not his time to return.’ She was dropped back at the same location she had warped out before the previous day with that woman. Yerune looked around grinning glad to see the warm sun still high in the sky. She spun around preparing to go back to the town when she was suddenly attacked by an aggressive wolf wandering the fields.

It had leapt at her while she was turning, but she was able to avoid getting hit barely. She could see it closely as it past over her shoulder, it’s foaming mouth dripping on her skin. There was no time to waste as she pulled out her sword charging at the wolf. It was a weak low-level monster that would be difficult if she were twenty levels lower, but it would hardly be an effort. She had her heavy two-handed sword present to finish this quickly. It gave her a little drag in speed, but it was still enough for her to make contact with the beast.

Yerune left the now killed beast for the town. “Three hits, it was a little stronger than I was expected.” Torifin was as busy as it usually was for the time that she was visiting. She listened around to see if there was an idle talk about the monster in the news. There were a few things said, but the people were busy passing by for a quest that she was not going to bother them. She knew that if she were going to get anything done it would be in the main cities where everyone traveled. They were the largest and fastest means of gaining information.

She disappeared at the teleporting stone being placed in Belbois. The thick metropolis was looking just as busy as usual, though there seemed to be more activity than usual. There was a lot of chatter about the monster attack going around. It seemed to be a heavy debate topic in the bazaar streets of Belbois. Yerune listened for a while trying gain additional information quietly from the angry masses. There was a divide in the people’s view that was making her a little concerned about how this could affect the community.

“It was a monster from this game! Anyone who played this game knows.”

“But most people don’t. It doesn’t mean anything.”

“It was a person from the game that did it.”

“You don’t know that.”

“What you think they are trying to do? If people find out.”

“They are going to find out. Then everyone will know.”

“What’ll people do then?”

“But it was just one monster, doesn’t mean anything.”

“You’re so naïve. They’re trying to attack us.”

“No, why would someone do that?”

Yerune turned away seeing that it was quickly devolving into an unintelligent debate of emotions rather than facts. They were just shouting random thoughts of a paranoid mind. She walked down streets of the lower level of Belbois traveling to a specific point. There were stairs at the side of a massive archway holding up the ceiling. It was the small back alley entrance to the upper street. She entered a building immediately on the right of the stairs finding a teleportation stone. It sent her to a different part of the city.

She stepped out of the building before a large iron gate that divided the lower levels of the city from the upper levels. It would be here where she would find what she was looking for. At least that it what she hoped. If she was going to find someone that might know more it would be in the restricted areas of the city where few could go. Those that dealt in information were usually high level and made it difficult to be reach unless you were worth the time. They were pretty arrogant, but you could not just give your information to anyone.

The upper city of Belbois was brighter than the dark covered streets below. It was not buried under the levels or hidden by the valley completely. The buildings became larger and more elegant as the richer citizens lived here away from the peasants and common folk. She was technically common as well, but the quest gave her access as she had helped out wealthy and influential member of the court. The person was more than grateful for it being handled discreetly and as thanks was recognized by the guards for access. It was the same quest everyone went through for access, though one could go to a number of different NPCs for a different task. Either way they were all just as challenging, but required different tactics.

Yerune looked around a few smaller areas that Sarah knew of back when she was Gnurin. She had not made it public that she had switched to another character, so any of her old contacts would not know her. Most of the people running around the streets were high level or maxed out characters that were wandering with possibly no purpose other than boredom. If they were here they were probably killing time or gathering.

The first couple places left her with no one wanting to talk to her. There were a couple that stared at her strangely and disappeared. She was forced back to the streets to continue to look around. ‘Gnurin might have been more useful in the long run.’ Her walking lead her to the highest level of Belbois after most of her other options ran dry. Anyone that she talked to was too interested in money for information or otherwise lacked anything useful.

She had one last chance, her eyes were finally feeling tired. If this did not pan out then she would have to leave. The destination was reached when she turned to a dead end alley between two large mansions that held the two of the royal court families. Room was a precious commodity in Belbois, mansions took on a different meaning in the city where there was no massive grounds to spread out on. Yerune walked deep into the alley stopping at an empty spot.

“Hello, Lin,” she said to no one. There was no response only the wind blew through the alley kicking up her hair a little. “I know you’re here, Lin. You’re like clockwork. Only in this one spot for an hour each day. You like watching the lady of the house leaving. She is only pixels on the screen. At least I’m real.”

It was quiet still, but Sarah knew Lin too well. Gnurin and him went back to the early days of the game before the Royalty was even founded. He would come to this spot to watch, but it was also a meeting spot. However, in the time he had gained a cloak of invisibility from a Great Beast in the north. He used it to remain undetected in the city so that only those that knew could find him.

“Come on Lin, you still got twenty minutes before she appears. You can spare that time for me.”

“Go away little girl. You’re of no interest to me. You stand out too much.”

“Afraid of a little pink. You were always shy.”

“Quit acting familiar and leave me.”

“The King is in the grave to the north if the sparrow flies west.”

Lin removed his cloak revealing himself to Yerune with a rather surprised look on his face. Though the expression was quick to change to annoyance knowing that he was looking at mid-level character that was bothering him. “Who sent you? What’s a pink haired brat doing bothering me?”

“I need information, if you have it.”

“And why would I want to tell you anything? My fees are high and you don’t look like you can pay them.”

“Crimson falls when the night opens.”

“A friend of him, huh? He left a long time ago, but if he trusted you enough. What you want to know and be quick.”

Yerune smiled and nodded to him. “What do you know about the incident on Arkineme?”

“Oh that? Some monster was projected in the holographic matrix, had the people panicked for a while.”

“Something I don’t know already.”

“Tch! Fine. The details are still closed to the public, but from what I found out they have not been able to trace the person that hacked the projector. There was no traces left behind at the scene, the uninet was clean. It was as though it never happened. Whoever did it must be very skilled to cover their tracks so well that there was not a trace to be found.”

“I doubt there was no trace. You have a hypothesis?”

“It was a hack, but to be so untraceable they’d have to be extremely skilled with the best equipment. They probably using a program they made themselves specifically made for that task. There was probably feedback from the projector during the event that blurred or masked out what little was left behind to trace.”

“Not much, but thanks.”

“Well don’t bother me anymore, even if you’re his friend.” Sarah disconnected from the device once she left the alley. She placed it under her bed as she walked out getting something to drink. “It doesn’t make much sense why someone with such skills would be hacking to play such a meaningless prank. What purpose is there in such a display? Even not being caught the only one that knows is the person that did it. They can only revel in this quietly unable to do more.”

Sarah quietly drank the water from her glass and placed it next to the sink. She walked back to the bedroom to find that her glasses were blinking from their resting place on her bed. There was a bright light flashing across the cloth making it very noticeable to her. She quickly rushed to them to see what it was that had them flashing. It was another news alert, her stomach churned again thinking of what this could mean. There was only text summarizing the missed news report. Another monster had appeared, this time it was on the planet of Jur’din in the metropolis of Rhuri’ta. “What is going on?”

[Xeim]

Home. It’s how you describe the one place that brings warmth to your heart and peacefulness to your soul. It’s the one place that you’re always welcome no matter how early or late you show up at its doorstep. But what if you have no home? What if, as a wanderer you’re fated to call any place that will accept you “Home?” And what if this one special place ends up being a pub in a Uninet game called Fantasy Hour Online?

Most would rethink their life. But for Seth- or Solomon as he would be called at the moment- calling a dimly lit pub home was just fine. Currently, he was sitting at his favorite table. A small round one on the very back left of the second floor. There were no other customers in the pub, as it had gotten dark and most people in this area of the game had either logged off or teleported elsewhere, but the homey little place still remained open. The good thing about having a pub run by NPC’s is that it never really had to close. Solomon often rested here, and if he forgot to log out before falling asleep, he slept here too. And that was exactly what he was doing right at this very moment: sleeping. For most, it would be strange to see such an imposing figure with his head slumped over on the table, and his hand still gripping his empty mug. But there was no one to see him, so Solomon slept.

The night grew darker, and with it the bar. Many candles were snuffed out, as there was no need to waste wax when there was no one there to appreciate it. Outside, a dog barked and howled as it chased after a stray cat, and the stray cat screeched and yowled as it finally pulled out of the dog’s reach. It was hard to tell if these events were actually taking place, or if the sounds were merely programmed into the game, but really, what did it matter? They were the sounds of the night. They were normal, and didn’t disturb Solomon in the slightest. Nothing was out of the ordinary. That is, until two frustrated and rather new players burst into the small homey pub with shouts and stomping feet.

“Huhm….” Solomon said sleepily. “Huh?”

’I was sleeping in-game again…Heck, in my current situation I shouldn’t be sleeping at all…I need to get out of here…’

But something kept him from logging out. The two men who has stormed into the pub so late at night had sat down now, and seemed more upset than angry. They still had their information displayed, so Solomon was able to see their join date, level, and current equipment, as well as their names. Of course, since he had his information off, they probably were barely even aware of the fact that he was there. There were no bright colors over his head, announcing his presence. So of course, he couldn’t help but eavesdrop.

“-died. I swear, I can’t believe we did that poorly!” said one. He was slim and tall and had short, light purple hair.

“You know, rumor has it that there’s some ‘wise man’ who hangs out at this pub. They say if you can find him, he’ll answer any of your questions!” said the other. He was short, and chubby with long black hair.

“Legend. That’s what everything is. Legend.”

“Or legendary.”

“Hmph.”

Solomon decided he needed to make his presence known now. He stood, walked across the second floor and down the stairs. He needed to pay for the drink, anyway.

“Hey you! Have you heard of the so-called wise man wandering from pub to pub?” called the purple haired and apparently hotheaded one.

“Why yes.”

“Tell us about him then.”

“Kuku, he was the only one in this bar before you too swept in.”

“Y-you mean…?”

“Oh jolly good! We’re in luck, Sam!” cheered the black haired one. “Can you help us, sir?”

“Of course.”

“We’re trying to slay the dragon in the Northern Cave. We got a tip from an experienced player that we were at an adequate level.”

“And you sought him out in the dark?”

“It was dusk when we went into the cave, sir.”

“I see, I see. A level 10 Apothecary, and a Level 11 Battle Wizard… Well, long range fighting is very effective against the great Ice Dragon of the Northern Cave. But you two got royally screwed over by that ‘experienced player.’ With those low levels, you either need to max out your ether supply, or use items to lower the MP cost of your spells. My knowledge of Battle Wizards isn’t as vast as my knowledge of other things, but I do believe that to get those items you have to be on a rather high level anyway. And the items tend to not work on Apothecary’s, who need very strong defense if they’re operating in a two-man team. So my basic point is: go back with some higher-level fighters, or train some more. Level, oh, 50 should do. Did you get all that?”

“Sir, could you perhaps come with us?” said the black haired one, quietly, obviously awed by how easily the ‘wise man’ pulled this information out of his head.

“Oh, ho. If I went with everyone I gave information to, I wouldn’t have time to give information! But I’ll impart one more tidbit before I ask for my payment.”

“Payment?” Sam asked disgustedly.

“Yes, payment. To the northeast of here, there is a small meadow filled with flowers the bloom only at night. There is a species of monster, the Yamizuken that feed off these flowers. Great source of EXP, and there’s a good number of them there at any given time.” Solomon smiled. “Now, for imparting my knowledge, I ask of you-“

“You can shove that knowledge up your ass, you old miser.” said Sam.

“Sam!” yelled the raven, astonished.

“I ask of you one thing.” Solomon restated. “Have you, in your short travels, ever come across a young female player with the skin of palest white and the hair of darkest black and deepest red? She doesn’t exactly have a good reputation.” He chuckled at the last part.

“That’s it?” Sam said, his eyes widening.

“Well yes.”

“I’ve seen someone meeting that description!” cheered the black haired one. “Just the other day she was getting beaten up by some players pretty bad in the Torifin area. I don’t really know the circumstances.”

“Beaten up? Hmm. Well, thank you for your time,” Solomon said bowing.

And with that Seth logged off, swiftly, before either man could speak again.

<><><>

Back in his dirty hotel room, Seth folded his portable headset and stashed it in the bag that would contain his clothes- if any had still been clean. He then pulled his phone out of his pocket and asked it for the time.

“12:58 AM”

‘Jesus Christ, it’s already tomorrow! The police are definitely going to be on the case by now. Time to go!'

He entered the long narrow, and rather yellow corridor outside his room. Doors much like the one he stood outside of now lined this corridor. Downstairs would be the check out desk, likely with no one there to check people out. Seth knew that if he didn’t check out, he would become a suspect in the murder of the young Asian girl from earlier that night. So, when he reached the ground floor, he left a note with some money and the key clipped to it on the desk. Then he left the dirty little motel and walked into the clean, crisp night air.

From there, he would make his way out onto the road to call for a taxi to the spaceport. Once at the spaceport, he would purchase a ticket, and fly to a planet in another solar system. Everything was planned. He would be in the next planet by the time morning dawned on this one, and Seth would not be suspected. Unfortunately, this area lacked taxis at this hour. Seth would have to walk. But what would that make him look like, walking down the interstate with a briefcase? At least he had a white shirt on tonight. It was his only white one, and he had actually stolen it from a crime scene a couple of murders ago. He thought that it had belonged to his victim’s father, as it was much too large for the boy himself. He would have to cast it off soon, but maybe it would throw the people who saw hi off a little. Wearing the same color over and over would get him caught eventually. Every once in a while, he had to mix things up.

While he had been thinking so intently to himself, Seth had made it down the road and onto the interstate. He hadn’t even realized until a car honked loudly, and startled him out of his head.

“-ey! Get off the road!” someone yelled. Seth pushed himself closer to the edge of the interstate and began to walk faster. The smell of gasoline was sickening.

‘These people haven’t even switched to electricity, let alone hover crafts. How sickening.’

It would be a long trek to the spaceport. In fact, this long walk would probably throw his plans off slightly. He pulled out his phone.

“Distance to the closest Spaceport, and the allotted time on foot.”

“Distance set at two miles. Allotted time on foot based upon current traveling speed is forty minutes.”

Forty minutes. It didn’t seem like much, but to Seth, it was a lifetime. He needed to get out of this place now. In fact, he should’ve been at the spaceport already, yet here he was on the side of the interstate. He wasn’t about to hitchhike: he wasn’t going to stoop that low, so he began to walk. If he walked fast enough he could probably get there in a half an hour, which would be better than forty minutes, though not by much. On the way, he could always decide which planet to travel to next.

'Perhaps one with more Asian girls like that last one….I want one to really scream. Scream as if it’s the last thing they want to do. As if they’re dying to do it '

“Phone, give me a list of planets with an Asian population in one of the surrounding solar systems..”

“S-871, G8-76, Tokyo-”

“There, there. That one. Stop. I’m going to Tokyo.”

[Andromeda]

Morning light poured through Sarah’s window for an hour before finally rousing her from bed. She had classes again, but not so earlier that she needed to rise with the morning. It took her a few minutes to drag herself out of the bed and over to shower where she casually dropped her clothes that she had been wearing to the floor.

Sarah pulled her hair back letting the water wash over her taking a minute to space out a little thinking about what was happening with the monster incident. The images were haunting her thoughts for no explainable reason, but she could not ignore it. There was an ill feeling that seemed to be carried through it that left her feeling off balanced. A sudden burst of water in her mouth causing her to cough shook her senses back to reality. After realizing that she had been standing around thinking and doing nothing she quickly rushed through the routine and exited the bathroom seeking clean clothes.

While she found clothes in her dresser to wear she let the monitor turn on displaying the current news for the home planet rather than galactic news. The incidents with the holographic malfunctions had not even make the bottom of the headlines. She was about to switch channels when the final news item came through causing her to stop buttoning her shirt. “And finally the Jur’din Planetary Police have requested that the Galactic Police and Galactic Business Bureau open an investigation into the Uninet game Fantasy Hour Online and the company that created it Mythos Entertainment suspecting links to the attacks in the city of Rhuri’ta are tied to the online game. The GBB has yet to comment if they will investigate the company. However, in light of the fifth incident in the last six hours on six different planets the GP are putting together a task force to investigate these acts of terror and mischief…”

“I don’t believe it. This is getting out of hand. How can they think that the game is linked to the incidents?” Sarah walked out of the room finishing buttoning her shirt and entered the kitchen. “This must be an individual or group, but the use of the monsters from the game doesn’t make any sense. If this is a prank it has gone beyond a joke now. The GP are taking this seriously.”

Breakfast moved slowly as her mind was constantly distracted until it became so soggy they she focused on wolfing the rest down quickly. She put a slice of toast in her mouth and rushed back to get her pack already loaded up with her books. The bread bounced around her teeth as she locked the door and hurried out of the apartment to the train. Sarah worked on finishing the toast as she made it to the station not sure if she was going to be able to concentrate very well. Even flipping through a textbook for her class was not helping her focus. ‘This shouldn’t be bothering so much, but it is hitting close to home. I wonder if they will try to shut the game down. I doubt that they could manage that without getting millions of users upset. It is probably why the GBB haven’t done anything yet.’ The sound of the train shattered her thoughts pushing her feet forward.

The echoes of the mental trap persisted for her on the train and into her class. It felt like she was barely conscious at times, but after an hour she finally began to lose the distraction. Unfortunately, now that she was focused on the class the day seemed to drag on for her even though it was only a four-hour course. A short day, but it was the time that she would be needing to work on assignments, that while not piling up certainly were not going away on their own either.

Sarah walked through the campus heading towards the library when she suddenly received a call. The name that appeared made her take a step backwards into a student that was passing by. The two dropped their books to the ground along with papers and whatever else they were carrying. It sent Sarah into an uneasy frantic dive for her things trying to apologize at the same time and take the call. She pulled her things in close to her chest while backing away from the accident. On the display was his name ‘Sean Ralstone’. There was uncertainty and fear running through her veins at that exact moment that she had read his name. He was calling her and she did not know why.

“Hello…” she said cautiously while trying to keep walking.

“Hey! I got you; you know how many Sarah Toya’s there are on this planet? It was a little embarrassing calling up ten other numbers until I find you.”

Sarah nearly dropped her things again surprised the lengths that he went to find her. ‘With his resources, couldn’t he have just found out without calling every number listed?’ She did not understand this man at all and he was certainly not the picture of an heir to the largest corporation in Shulita. “N-no I didn’t, but why did you call them?”

“I guess I could have just searched a little deeper, but call me old fashioned.”

‘Old fashioned? Was that ever in?’

“So you want to get something to drink?”

The books that were loosely being held in her arms fell out again forcing her to be turned away from the call and go to pick them up. She did not know what to think about this man anymore. Nothing like this had really happened to her before, well not with an heir to a corporation at least. ‘Is he asking me out?’