Infinite

[Wolfsong]

Okay, people! I finally was able to get this re-setup. Lets get this thing moving again. I'll go ahead and repost the last, important posts, and then we'll get moving again.
Here we go!

Wolfsong 11-18-2012 02:36 PM

-Mirage-Tobikomi-Secluded Beach
the sound of moving water filled her ears. There was a presure on her eyes, or was it only imagined? She forced her eyes to open, and had to blink several times. Her eyes felt extremely gritty. Her muscles were stiff and very sore. However she sat up anyway, groaning. She was seated on a beach, out in the middle of nowhere. her clothes were in tatters, and her face probably didn't look any better. With great effort, she managed to stand.
"So you are still alive!"
She whirled around, then grimaced as her sore limbs cried in agony at the sudden movement. Biting her lip, she glared at the person in front of her: an anthro-hare. She seemed relieved.
Anthro: "Thank goodness! I was so afraid- but you are still alive. Here-" she sifted through her pack and pulled out some lii, a weed that would restore some healthpoints. "-Eat this. You look like you need it. I'm Tobikmoi."
After a struggle with indecision, Mirage took the offered lii and ate them.
Mirage: "Thank you. I am Mirage." After a slight hesitation, she asked, "Can you tell me where I am?"
Tobikomi did not hesitate. "Quite a few miles south of Fafnir Rdiges. I'm only down here because I'd heard interesting things about the place. That, and I accidently fell into the teleportal. You were floating face up in the water with dolphins pushed you to shore. I suppose that's how you survived. I pulled you out and have been hoping you were alive despite everything."
So Fafnir hadn't killed her, but had thrown her quite far. that he had been so strong still shocked her. Also puzzling was that the mods had not showed, but left her to die. Very puzzling indeed.
Mirage: "Thank you- for keeping me alive. Please tell me where the teleportal is. I need to get to Central City immediantly."
Tobikomi: "Better yet: I'll take you there. I need to find a friend who I got separated from anyway, so I might as well tag along."
Mirage decided it wouldn't hurt to have someone around, particularly since she still felt extremely weak.
Mirage: "Alright, lets go."

-Central City Ruins
Both Mirage and Tobikomi were speechless when they saw what little remained of the once grand city. Well, not grand, but it looked better than this. Tobikomi stood where she was, her mouth agape and expression amazed. Mirage shook off her astonishment, taking a few steps before coming to a pause again.
"How did this happen?" Tobikomi finally gasped. "The city...it wasn't like this a few hours ago! What happened?!"
Mirage spotted something. "Why don't we ask them?" she suggested, pointing to a group of seven people standing not too far away. Tobikomi nodded slowly and followed Mirage as she started toward the group.
=Remus/Adrian, Eric/Romulus, Nancy/Lily and Pierce/Landon

Pierce nodded slowly. "Wow. Any idea which dragon it was?"
"Raynag," Remus replied. Nancy had taken a position between him and Pierce, and Remus was noticably giving Pierce odd looks. Nancy hadn't explained everything about Pierce, but he had noted several odd things she had left out. "He just appeared and tore everything to pieces. We're lucky to have survived."
"Where were the mods during this?" Pierce asked. Romulus wondered if he was digging for something.
"Working," Romulus replied. After a moment, he said, "We believe Raynag was controled into doing this, however, by a group of hackers." he gave Pierce a very direct look.
"Interesting," Pierce replied blandly. Then he smirked. "Working, Romulus? Where? If this is the work of hackers, wouldn't the mods be here in force?"
"That is none of your business!" Romulus snapped. This guy got under his skin easily, surprisingly. Pierce's smirk broadened but before he could talk further, Nancy suddenly intervined.
"Look! Someone else is here!" she said. Everyone turned to see two people coming toward them.
"Mirage," Oracle breathed. "She still lives."

Oddood198 11-18-2012 04:44 PM

Saify listened quietly to the explanation given as to the current state of Central City, apparently, some dragon called Raynag had been taken control of by hackers and decimated the entire city. That didn't make sense, though, no matter how powerful the dragon was, it was still just a monster and had probably been slain hundreds of times before, even by lone adventurers, so how had it managed to crush the entire city by itself? Maybe things were different in this game, she supposed.
Saify turned to look when Nancy alerted them to the newcomers, one of them looked rather blue, even her hair, strangely enough. The other one looked... purple, covered in purple fur. What does that remind me of? Saify wondered, not quite grasping the answer in the back of her mind.

AdriTan 11-18-2012 05:21 PM

Rinya looked at the two new people coming their way. At first she thought that the light was playing tricks on her eyes, but then she realized they really were just blue and purple.

[Wolfsong]

Romulus blinked, startled. "Mirage? You're alive!"
"Yes, somehow," she replied. She glanced around, then said, "Quite a mess here. What happened?"
While Romulus filled her in, Pierce contacted Silk.
"Ready?"
"Ready."
"Then fire when ready. Lets get this show on the road." he smiled slightly. "And get that other thing ready."
He heard a chuckle. "Alrighty. Good, I was wondering if you had really lost your mind."
He smiled. "Not today, Silk. Not today. Lets go."

[Oddood198]

Saify looked at the newcomers, the blue-haired one, she didn't recognize, but she knew she had seen the purple rabbit before. It took her a moment before she realized it was Tobikomi, whom Saify had met shortly after starting to play Infinite. She remembered how she and Tobikomi had been separated when Saify had happened upon Pierce's lair.
Saify opened her mouth to say a greeting, but promptly shut it again. Maybe if I try talking to her, she'll be upset at me for leaving, or maybe she'll just have forgotten me already. She thought, then,upon taking a closet look at the Anthro-hare, Or, then again, maybe it isn't Tobikomi at all, just another Anthro-hair with purple fur.

[Wolfsong]

Tobikomi saw Saify, and instantly ran to her. "Saify! You're alright!" she laughed. "I was so worried when I lost sight of you outside Central City! Are you okay? Do you know what happened here to make such a terrible mess?"

[Oddood198]

Saify was surprised when Tobikomi ran to her. She was stunned, speechless, even. "Uh, it wa- um, a, dustrag? Ah, um, Rayner?" She stammered, trying, but utterly failing to put together a coherent response, having extra difficulty in trying to remember the name of the creature who had done this. She could feel color rushing to her face, and stared down at the ground to try to hide it.

[Wolfsong]

Tobikomi looked puzzled, then something occurred to her. "Sorry, am I being a little overbearing? I'm just worried, you know. You disappeared out of the blue, and I've been worried sick about you...then I got chased around by this weird boar-like creature and couldn't go looking for you...just worried, ya know?

Elsewhere...

"What is going on?!" Bieda hissed angrily. Her hands gripped the shoulder of the man next to her. Her hand may as well have been a claw, considering how sharp her nails were. The man winced as he answered.
"The moniters are messed up. For some reason, we can't get a reading."
"Darn it!" another moderator was suddenly throw to the ground as a terrific burst of energy from the computer he was working on bit the dust. He slowly, shakily got to his feet. "Pardon, ma'am," he addressed her, his voice somewhat off. "But not only are the monitors not responding, they're...well, what you just witnessed. They won't respond, and if we push, we get hurt."
"What the heck is this?!" Bieda whirled around to see the Chancellor, his eyes wide in horror. "Bieda, what's happened?"
"Someone's hacked the main controls," she reported. "We're offline until we can get this running!"
The Chancellor nodded slowly. "This calls for immediate action," he said finally. "Gear everyone up, then get down. Since we can't find out anything up here, we're all going to have to do some field work. I want five of our best together, Bieda, you will lead. Everyone else split up into groups of two- find someone you know you can work with."
"But sir!" an angelic person said quickly, open worry in her eyes. "I've never done fieldwork before! I wouldn't know where to start..."
"Just look for anything unusual!" Suddenly, there was a loud noise behind them. The Chancellor whirled around, and his eyes widened. "You-" Something smashed into his face, and he landed hard, despite the deceptive softness of the clouds they stood on. He tried to rise, tried to struggle to his feet, but when the next hit came, he was swallowed by the darkness.

[Oddood198]

Saify looked back up at Tobikomi, who now seemed worried, and Saify could tell that her sincerity was real. "No, it, I, it's just..." She began, tripping over her words, trying to put something together to say that would ease her friend's mind, but nothing came to her. She stopped for a second, inhaled deeply, exhaled, and then took in another breath. She smiled slightly, looking up at Tobikomi, who was taller than her, "I'm glad you're okay, too." She said.

[Wolfsong]

OOC- I'm gonna wait until Adri makes her post, then we'll move again.

[AdriTan]

Rinya smiled at the reunion, but was also puzzled, "So.... That dragon is not supposed to be that strong... But why would someone want this?" She pointed to the destruction.

OCC: Sorry I've been out so long. Been really sick. Hopefully I'll only get better!

[Wolfsong]

"I'm not sure," was Romulus' reply. "A display of power, perhaps? To show what they can do? I really cannot say." After a moment, he again addressed Mirage. "We are currently looking for a possible hideout. Perhaps you could help us?"
Mirage slowly shook her head. "I'm afraid not. I have...something of my own I must attend to." She glanced around, then said, "Perhaps when that is done."
Romulus nodded. "I wish you luck."
"And you as well." she turned and walked away, soon vanishing into the destruction.
Remus glanced around, then said, "The place we're headed to, its a lot further back, as I recall." He turned purposefully toward the back alleys.
Pierce watched him a moment, then decided. "Shall we, perhaps, join you?" he asked. "Many hands make lighter work, and the more of us together means the more of us against them."
"Hey boss, you do realize they're headed straight for us, right?"
"Yes, however, if we work this out, then we can escape. Listen! Set up for an immediate evacuation. Try to get everything into the marshes, since no one goes in there much anymore. However, I want you to hang out, with it, got it? Once I use it, we'll have ourselves a handy new weapon."
"Right...very well, should I recall the legions?"
"Yes, get them down here, if you please." He smirked. "Also, try to get a bead on Mirage. If we could gain her prowess through this...we'll be unstoppable."
"I'll try, boss, but I'm not sure the system can take the stress much longer."
"Just do your best."
"ready to go, sir."


Mirage soon found herself at Sven's shop...or what was left of it. It seemed to have been totally decimated by Raynag. "He must have been hacked too," she thought. "And immensely powered up. Again...why?"
"Mira?"
She turned, then smiled. "Manny! You're still around."
Manowar walked over, his face somewhat grim. "Yes, but only just. I came maybe a second ago, and went immediately to find Sven." He looked at the empty shop and shook his head. "Is he...?"
"I'm not sure," she answered sadly. Then she remembered something. "Manowar, you said before that you had something to tell me. Would you please tell me now, since we...have time?"
He seemed very uncomfortable suddenly, then set his shoulders like he was about to do something unpleasant. "Mirage...ValiantOne...Jason's dead."
Her eyes widened, and her breath came out in a tight gasp. "Wh-what? How do you..."
"He was in the hospital, came three weeks ago. We...knew each other, from our time spent adventuring, you know?" He was speaking quickly, as though trying to get it over with. "He asked me to tell you. I'm sorry, Rachel."
She stared into the distance, an almost absent look in her eyes. Suddenly, she flung her head back and scream, a loud, long, heart-piercing shriek of her heartfelt pain. She doubled over and collapsed, shaking, cowering against the ground in agony.
"Jason..." she murmuered, weeping uncontrolably. "Jason..."
"There she is!"
Manowar drew his broadsword as several men, of varied races, came over. They were all armed, and clearly focused on trouble. He glared at them levely.
"Who are you?" he demanded.
One of them stepped forward. "Just finishing up a bounty," he said. He pointed to Mirage. "We'll want the girl."
Manowar stepped into a fighting stance, his huge broadsword between them. "I don't think so," he replied grimly. The other nodded slowly and drew his own sword.
The fight was short, and messy.
Manowar saw several more coming, flocking into the streets in massive numbers. He doubted they were all for Mirage, but he wouldn't have been surprised if they were. He shook her shoulder.
"Mirage, we have to go!"
"I...can't....ahhh..."
After a moment, he gently lifted her up, holding her with one arm while the other carried the sword. "I'll protect you then," he told her quietly. "I'll keep you safe."
She curled up against him, still sobbing. He gritted his teeth and flung himself against the waves against them, roaring a loud battlecry.

OOC- boy do I feel grim, now after writing that. Just in case you people are wondering, this is the beginning of the closing of Mirage, Manowar, and Sven's story. Blip emailed it to me before he left, so I'm going to finish it up for him. I'll need Mirage at the end, anyway, so I'll kinda have to XD. Just in case you folks were wondering.

[Oddood198]

So, from what Saify gathered, the group they had met were going to investigate the supposed hideout of the hackers behind the attack, and Pierce was offering to go with them. If Pierce goes, I think I'll go, too. She thought. She decided it was best to stay close to Pierce, as he seemed to have a cool head despite everything that was happening, and he was a good friend. Saify looked at Tobikomi, "W-what are you going to do?" She asked timidly.


OOC: By the way, I don't suppose anyone remembers what Saify's user's name was? Probably not a big deal, I can make something up if I have to, but I doubt it really matters anyway.

[Wolfsong]

Pming the character sheet to ya, buddy!

[AdriTan]

"I'll come. I'm new to this game, but if I want to ever play it the way it's supposed to be played something will have to be done about all this craziness. Besides, it will be an adventure!," Rinya smiled.

[Wolfsong]

Tobikomi grinned. "Sure, why not? Its best if we all go together, considering its hackers and we don't want the game to get ruined, yeah?" She turned to Romulus. "You can count us all in!"
Romulus nodded slowly, his eyes on Pierce. "Very well. You're help will be appreciated."
The digital sun was setting in the distance, its colors red, orange and black, when Remus finally brought them to the alley. The red lightning bolt seemed to glow eeriely as they all walked to the very back.
"It was somewhere around here," he murmured, feeling around the ground.
Pierce, an odd smile on his face, walked past him and stomped hard on the ground. The trapdoor creaked, and the sound echoed hollowly within.
"I think I found it," he said, smirking back at Remus. Carefully, he tipped it open with his foot. Romulus eyed him strangely, communicating to Oracle-"He knew. This is a trap!"
"What should we do?" he was surprised when she asked him. He had no clue. And already, Pierce was leading the others down. Oracle ground her teeth.
"Its not too late! Quickly-"
"Go, my friends! The time has come for us to take our rightful place!"
"Run, Oracle!" Romulus gasped, grabbing her arm and pulling her away as, suddenly, mobs of people poured from the trapdoor. Oracle looked back. "What about Remus? Saify? The rest?!"
"We'll just have to hope for their safety," he said between clenched teeth. "Right now, no one is safe. We must reach the moderator's homebase! We have to warn them!" Oracle nodded with one frantic look back. She activated the teleportal, and they vanished.

Remus found himself back-to-back with Rinya, fighting hard against the awesome force against them. "What the heck-" he gasped, just dodging an attack that would have killed him. He stabbed back, and the fox-man died with a scream. "We need to get out!" he shouted at Rinya. "Can you see anything of the trapdoor?!"

Nancy had been flung over Pierce's shoulder, and she was pounding on his back as he ran through the passages. "You jerk!" she was shouting. "You tricked me! Again!"
"Just doing what had to be done, sweetheart," was his reply.
"You're evil!"
"Just doing my job."
He reached the dead-end, and opened up the secret lab. Silk grinned at him from the floor.
"Its ready," he announced. Pierce smirked, an oily unpleasant smirk.
"Then lets finish this," he said. "By tomorrow, this world will be in our control."

OOC- okay, everyone's involved!

[AdriTan]

Rinya looked desperately while dodging and fighting attackers. "There! The trap door is still open! But there's got to be dozens of crazy looking goons around it!," she yelled and pointed with one hand and with the other quickly grabbed an arrow, stuck it into a rival, then froze him from his stomach down. Wow! Clearly ice was the right choice! she thought.

[Oddood198]

Saify stood there for a moment, stunned, as a horde of people suddenly burst out from the trapdoor they had been going down. It seemed that the hackers they were after had been expecting them, and the hunters became the hunted.
Saify, being small and weak, was immediately swept along in the surging wave of people, like driftwood before a tsunami. She looked around frantically for someone, anyone, that could help her, but none of hr comrades were in sight. Just then, over the swarming melee that was taking place around her, Saify heard a familiar shout, she couldn't make out the words, but she recognized the voice as Nancy's. It sounds like she's in trouble. Saify thought, And she's below the trapdoor. She had to get down there somehow, find some way to help, but there was no way she could force her way through this crowd.
She thought frantically, discarding idea after idea, until finally, she remembered her ability, and a thought came to her. That'll do it. She thought, closing her eyes and doing her best to block out the sounds of the violence all around her. She focused with all her might, on one task, one simple idea, and put all of her effort into making it manifest. And before her feet, it slowly did just that. black boots formed first, then greaves, and then a cuirass, and soon a huge warrior stood before her, or, an image of one, at least. It looked... Quite similar to Sauron from the Lord of the Rings, but she figured that would still work just fine. She focused on controlling the image, and she sent it barreling through the crowd, it's hands were empty but it shoved aside all the people that saw it anyway. It was a poorly made image, really, but among this chaos it seemed most people weren't interested in discerning reality from illusion, and so illusion became reality. Saify ran right behind her shadow-warrior, following in the path it made, until she finally made it back to the trapdoor and descended into the darkness.
She ran along the corridors, as fast as she possibly could, to get away from the madness topside just as much as to help Nancy. "Nancy!" She shouted, her voice uncharacteristically loud from the virtual adrenaline pumping through her.

[AdriTan]

Busy and yet bewildered, Rinya saw Saify follow her creation into the trap door. She couldn't imagine such a shy person having so much power. "Remus! Did you see that? We have to get to the trap door! Saify just went in there calling for Nancy! Ideas?"

[Wolfsong]

Remus grimaced. "We can't get through this, even if we wanted to help her! We'd be lucky to get out in one piece!" Looking frantically around, he realized there were several tunnels, some empty while others were packed. "Look, there's some tunnels there! Lets aim that way and hope they open up nearby!"

Pierce whirled around, eyes wide as he heard Saify shout. "How did-that wimp got past the guards?! How?!?!"
Silk shrugged. "However she did, you'd better hurry. Otherwise, your plans could get messed up."
Nancy, held in place by a powerful energy, struggled to get free. "Saify!" she shouted. "Don't come! Get out! Get away!"
Pierce whirled around, smirking at her. In his hands was a small black circlet, just large enough to fit on her head. Nancy's eyes widened. "but-that item was banned, Pierce!"
He smiled. "Does that matter, when there are so many reasons to work around the rules?"

[Oddood198]

Saify froze as she heard Nancy's voice, she couldn't see where they were, but she could figure out the direction from the echoes, but... Nancy was warning her, telling her to stay away. If Nancy was in trouble, then Saify had to help her, otherwise... She didn't even want to think about what would happen to Nancy. But, still, it was so scary...
Suddenly, Saify wished she were somewhere else, anywhere else, but here. She didn't know what to do, she was so torn, she knew she was weak, and if she went to help Nancy and ended up in danger herself, there would be no escape. I... can't do anything... She thought, slumping against the wall and sliding down it, I just wanted to help, but now that I'm here...what can I do? Maybe... Maybe I was right, and I really am useless. That's why I started playing MMO's, isn't it? Because I thought I could be a great and powerful hero. But even here, I'm just a scared little girl. With that thought, Saify began to cry, she couldn't help it, but the tears just came to her. Even in this game, she found she was just sitting alone and crying.
And then she remembered Pierce. He had always been so strong, so cool, and when Saify was in danger, he, a complete stranger, ran to her rescue. I wonder how he always manages to be so strong... She wondered. Now that she thought about it, when she thought of the person she wanted to be, Pierce was the perfect embodiment of it.
"No." She whispered to herself, pushing her arm against the wall, slowly moving back to her feet, "No. No, no no no." She gritted her teeth, forcing back her tears, "I'm not going to fall back into that weakness. Not this me. This me will fight, and become a strong and reliable person, just like Pierce!" She made a fist, and as she concentrated on it, a long, thin sword appeared in it. "I'm coming, Nancy." She said, then sped down the corridor again, a look of fierce determination on her face and a resolve shining in her eyes that had never been there before.

[AdriTan]

Rinya noded grimly, "You're right. Okay let's do this." Immediately she froze the nearest opponent's legs. Then she took a huge breath and froze the largest creature nearest to her, a minotaur, and climbed on top of him using her gripped shoes. From there she shot as many strange characters with her arrows as she could.

[Wolfsong]

OOC- I feel kinda sorry for Saify-what a blow to come

Romulus and Oracle arrived to a scene of chaos. Mia Uomlith Allnein was in ruins, destroyed, a shadow of the glory it once boasted of. The golden, magnificent temple-like buildings had crumbled, and some few stones carried traces of fire and blood. Oracle passed a mod with his throat cut and shivered.
"Who could do such a thing?" she whispered.
"The hackers, doubtless," Romulus hissed. "So much destruction. Those miserable monsters must be more widespread that we thought-"
He tripped, falling heavily. Oracle cried out, and he rolled over for a better look. His eyes widened and he scrambled over.
"Chancellor!" Oracle cried, urgently shaking the still form. "Chancellor! Please wake up!"
"Don't shake him," Romulus cautioned. "He may have internal injuries. We'll need a proper doctor and possibly-"
"Excuse me, but would you refrain?"
They both looked down incredulously. Regarding them with a dry, humerous smile were the Chancellor's open eyes. He continued, "An iboprophen would probably be best, a healing drought at worst. I've got a splitting headache, and unless that blow cleaved my head in two, then that should be the least of my worries."
Romulus smiled. "Good to see you, Chancellor. Do you by any chance know who did this?"
Chancellor nodded. "Do you know Reysa?"
"The mod who chose to be a monstrous, demon-like persona?" at his nod, Oracle asked, "So he did this?"
"Apparently he and the hackers have been working together for some time. You do know Reysa was the one who suggested adding slavery to the game? He said it would give several quests for the players, but I belive now that he was just wanting to use it as a cover for him and his followers." He sat up, clutching his head. "My gosh."
"Is no one else left?" Oracle asked quietly, while Romulus fumbled around in his pack.
"I'm not sure. My thanks-" he took the healing drought Romulus offered and drank sparingly. He glanced around, then rose unsteadily. He looked around, then gasped and tettered over to the body barely visible in the mist. "Biera, my gosh! What could have possibly taken you down?"
And indeed, there lay Biera, her pale eyes half-closed. Her body was riddled with cuts, bruises and worse. Arrows protruded from various spots, and there were definite signs of somethign having ravaged her side.
"Oh, nothing, only that rotten no-good son of a mangy dog!" Biera gasped, coughing up a little blood. It was perfectly clear she was dying, and would not last much longer. Romulus tried to give her some drought, but she shoved it away. "It won't do any good, not now. I'm too far gone. I'm surprised I'm still conscious." She looked at the Chancellor. "Reysa had his men attack me first, but when I managed to get through and start trying to stone him, he transformed. Here are the results." She roled her eyes toward her injured side,. "Pay him back for me, Okay?"
Unexpected tears came into the Chancellor's eyes as he firmly clasped her hand. "Bieda, my right arm and mod, I will sorely miss your aid in this."
"Tosh, I'll be coming back. You wouldn't get anything done otherwise."
"Yes, but we'll have this mess straightened out before then." The Chancellor shook his head. "Bieda, I know I never told you, but now as this is my last chance, I shall do so." He suddenly grinned. "I always thought you were beautiful, despite your ever so rough manner."
The old fire, and even some fun, burned in her eyes. "You filthy little leech. You'd hit on a tree if I put a skirt on it, you-" she gasped again, and the fire died.
"-piece of offal," he finished, smiling sadly. "And you died with the fire still strong in you, just as you always wished." He closed her empty eyes. He stood, hands clenched. "Don't worry, old friend. I'll avenge you and everyone else."
"You'll want a hand, I presume?"
They whirled around, then Oracle cried out in delight. "Cyrano! You came back!"
Romulus started in awe at this player, this living lehend as he was known. he stood in the archway with his hands on his hips, head cocked slightly. His black hair was tied back in a short tail which the winds made it thrash about, as though it had a life of its own. His bright brown eyes sparkled, despite their sadness as they took in the mess. Two black, wolfish ears twitched, alert for every sound. His long, bushy black tail stood erect. On his back was strapped a broadsword that was even taller than he was. he grinned at their shocked faces.
"Yes, I'm back." He glanced aroudn, adding, "Look like I'll have another mess to clean up, too."

Remus followed Rinya, carving his way through the mess. Slowly, they managed to work into a tunnel, and broke free of the melee. He rushed into it. "Come on! lets hurry!"

Pierce stared at the doorway. "How close?"
"She just needs to turn down the passage. Are you sure you want to leave the door open?"
Pierce was quiet, then shrugged. "It doesn't matter. A confrontation will occur sooner or later. At least we have a new weapon." He grinned at Silk, and positioned himself just out of view, wanting Saify to enter before she saw him.
"It was nice while it lasted, Saify," he murmured quietly. "But now...business is business, and this is the chance of a lifetime."

[Oddood198]

Saify continued to run down the dark corridor, her hand held around her sword so tightly that it made her knuckles white. She knew what she was holding was just an illusion, but it seemed the system made at least the part she was holding solid to her, so she would be able to properly use it. She slowed down as a turn came into view, the stopped around the corner and put her head out, looking down it. There, just a short while down the corridor, she saw a room, it was too dark to make out details, but there was an open door and she thought she saw someone sitting inside. She moved back fully behind the corner, out of sight, she closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. This is for Nancy, and...for Pierce. She thought, then grabbed the sword in both her hands, spun around to the other side of the corner, and dashed down it toward the room, her sword tip raised and ready to attack anything that came at her.

[Wolfsong]

"So it turns out Reysa was supplying them all along?"
The Chancellor nodded. "While you three were catching up, I did some work with Reysa's database." He grinned wryly. "Hacking's actually kinda fun. I managed to revive some previously destroyed date, messages and graphs, some of which proved he was behind the last strike too." He shook his head. "That guy's got a lot to answer for."
"Yes, but he can't be planning all this. Strong and powerful he is, but he can't plan ahead very well," Cyrano said slowly. "Someone's doing that, someone familiar with the works."
"Grigor's back, but he's like Reysa in that regard," Romulus told him.
"Python's back," Oracle informed them quietly. "Though he's calling himself Pierce now."
Cyrano slapped his forehead. "Python! Of course! Not only a leader in the old group, but the mastermind of this one!"
"He's been around since the beginning," Oracle continued. "He's nearly as good as you, Cyrano. Didn't you two fight once?"
"When did you find this out?" Romulus asked.
"Finally managed to work past the block. The traces of the block go to Silk, a player who's almost constantly logged on, though we've never seen much of him."
"That's strange." Cyrano thought a moment, then said, "Well, if I know Python, considering most of the hands are on the table, he's probably playing his cards now. We'd better get out on the field before he's finished." He stood. "Get the remaining mods and have them go to the players, mercinaries, anyone they can get their hands on. We'll need all the hands we can get.

Pierce watched as Saify bolted through, and stepped from his hiding place with his smirk firmly in place. "You seem a little agitated, Saify," he said quietly, but there was a sinister undertone to his smooth voice. "Is everything alright?"
Silk glanced up, then stood, still fiddling with his laptop. "She's stable, boss...the other one. And the crown holds."
Pierce glanced at him, saying, "Good then, lets test it." He motioned at the corner. "Nancy, would you come here?"
Nancy emerged from the corner, her face expressionless and her once clear eyes now clouded and empty. The black circlet rested on her head, glinting coldly in the bright light. Pierce smiled as she came to stand docily at his side.
"Very good," he said. Then he turned back to Saify, chuckling slightly at her shocked expression, waiting for her reaction.

Manowar was breathing quite heavily. he had gained the hill outside Central, and was working his way further. All the bounty hunters had either quit or were dead. All that remained now was to get to safety. And still Mirage cried.
He stared at her quietly, then said, "Mirage, you need to let it go. The pain will just get worse if you let it consume you like this.
"I don't care," she whimpered childishly. he was quiet, then asked:
"He loved you a lot, didn't he?"
She blinked, startled by this sudden shift, then nodded slightly. "Yes...he did."
"And you loved him back?"
"Of course!"
He took a deep breath and hoped he'd say this right. "Don't you think then that you should try to live for Jason? He always wanted the best for you. Do you think he'd want you to act this way?"
She was quiet, staring off into space. At least she wasn't crying anymore. He considered his next move, when sudden thunder rocked the sky.
"At last I found you!" a way too familiar voice shouted. "Now I finally have the chance to get my own back."
Sighing in resignation, Manowar turned. There stood Grigor, but different. he was visibly powered up. Judging by certain things familiar to those in the know, he understood why.
"Where did you find merging crystal?" he asked. "And who are you merging with?"
"Does it really matter?" Grigor flexed a massive fist. "I've been looking forawrd to this for a long time. Both you and the girl are so finished in this world."
"Its just a game," Manowar replied quietly. Gently setting Mirage down, he drew his sword. "Must we do this?"
"What better time than now? What are you, a coward?"
"No I was just hoping to have a moment without interuptions." He shook his head, then rushed forward.

[Oddood198]

Saify looked around rapidly, her mind in overdrive, immediately processing everything she saw. The dim room, the man sitting with a computer, and Pierce standing in the shadows. What she heard, however...was a little more difficult for her. From the brief exchange, it seemed the man with the laptop -who Saify was sure must have been the hacker- was working for Pierce, and they were testing some sort of object. And then Nancy stepped forward, and just for a moment, Saify was overjoyed to see her safe...and then she realized something was wrong with her. VERY wrong.
Saify stood there for several seconds, her mind completely blank, unable to piece together what was happening. And then, slowly, the puzzle came together, and she turned to Pierce, a look of shock and horror on her face, and her jaw hung slightly open. "You..." She said, it was all she could think of. She could feel the strength draining from her legs and they threatened to collapse.

[Wolfsong]

Pierce's smirk deepened as he saw the truth hit Saify like a ton of bricks.
"You really are naive, aren't you?" he said mockingly. "All I needed to do was spin just the littlest bit of a lie with the truth, and you swallowed it hook, line, and sinker. What a pathetic little piece of digital work you are."
"Boss, those other three newbs are working through the tunnels. Perhaps we should close off the door now?"
"True. Close off this doorway, and open the one to the marshes." He chuckled quietly. "You escape out that way-I'll have someone rendezvouz with you there. Meanwhile, I'll take Nancy here and finish those kids off. From there, I'll go to the mods' home, and finish the job once and for all."
"What if Cyrano comes back?" Silk asked, slightly worried. "We're finished if he shows up now."
"Pfft. He never could stomach killing an inocent. I'll distract him with Nancy and finish him from behind. He'll never see it coming."
"And what about her?" Silk motioned to Saify.
Pierce shrugged. "Her? Leave her. What could she do that would be of any consiquence? She's useless now." He turned, exitting, with Nancy following quietly behind. The door closed behind him.
Silk opened two doors, one to their left, one to their right. "You can escape out the right," he said kindly to Saify. "Take my advice, get far away from here. You won't want to be anywhere near the mods or those other kids when he gets through with them." with that, he exitted through the left tunnel and closed the door, leaving Saify alone.

[Oddood198]

Saify stayed still through the rest of the exchange, completely stunned, barely hearing what Pierce and the hacker said. It hardly registered in her mind when Pierce and Nancy left, and even less when the hacker told her she could escape through the open door.
Once she was left alone, Saify's legs finally gave out and she dropped to the ground heavily, and without even thinking she began crying. No, crying wasn't right, she was bawling. Like a child who had lost her favorite toy, Saify sobbed and wailed, burying her face in her hands because she didn't want to see anything in this world.
Vaguely, the thought registered in her conscience, she was being a fool right now. This was a video game, this whole thing was inside of a video game and she was simply overreacting far more than was acceptable. But that thought didn't help, it didn't take away the agony she felt in her heart. Game or no, Pierce had become a close friend of hers, even in just the short time they had been together, and now having him simply stab her in the back like that, it was a completely crushing blow to her.
She had another thought, that while she was sitting here, crying like a baby, Pierce was out there continuing his plan to... to, who knows what? He had Nancy with him, and he was putting everyone at risk. And what was Saify doing about it? Crying. She was weeping as if trying to fill a river. Suddenly, Pierce's last words echoed in her mind.

"Her? Leave her. What could she do that would be of any consiquence? She's useless now... She's useless now...useless."

While everything faded away, that one word remained burned in her mind. Useless. She was getting called that a lot lately, whenever she had a project with a group at school, or when she joined a party in a game, or when she forgot to do her chores, it was always that same word. Useless. But since she had started playing Infinite, she hadn't been called that once, until now. By Pierce. The one person she had to admire and look up to, had looked back down on her and said 'useless'.

Slowly, the tears stopped dripping, the sobbing became weaker, and her shaking body began to still. Instead, her eyes opened widely, her teeth were bared, and her hands clenched into fists. "Useless..." She hissed, repeating the word, "Useless..." She slammed her fists into the ground, pushing herself up to her feet. "Useless..." She said, as if chanting, or it were part of an incantation. "Useless..." She felt something bubbling up in her, an emotion that she rarely felt, seeing her overcome with that feeling was an unheard of event. It was anger. And Saify was livid right now. "Useless!!"
She suddenly spun, lunging at the wall Pierce and Nancy had exited through, she grabbed it, pulled it, pushed it, and then imagined a sword and hacked it, but nothing could get through that door. Next, she went to the door the hacker had left through, repeating the same actions against it, with the same effect.
Finally, she looked through the open doorway. It seemed to be going the wrong way, but it would at least get her out of the tunnels. And once she was out of here, she was going to find Pierce, she would hunt him to the ends of the virtual earth, and she would take her payment from him. She ran through the door, not caring as it shut behind her.


OOC: Not sure WHY I made it so long. Got caught up in the moment, I guess. I hope I'm not getting too annoying, making these huge "crushed, but finding new resolve" posts with Saify.

[Wolfsong]

OOC- That's perfectly alright. I was moved.

Tobikomi, somewhat bewildered by the madness surrounding her, was still busy running as fast as she could. She wasn't sure how she'd gotten into the tunnels, but here she was, until she could get away. There was no sign of anyone nearby either, so she was feeling extremely lost.
"Guys?" she called. "Anybody? Hello?? AHH!!"
Seering pain exploded on her back, and she collapsed, stunned.
Pierce stepped casually over the body, surveying it critically. "One down," he remarked quietly. "And rendered useless. Two to go." quietly, he proceeded down the tunnels, followed by Nancy, bearing a legendary phoenix bow, a special bow that could not miss.

Cyrano led the way into the tunnels. Oracle, who had teleported them there, had miscalculated slightly, winding up somewhere unknown within.
"I hope the Chancellor can group everyone together again," Romulus said quietly.
"Yes, I really hope we can turn this around."
"Hey, we've got Cyrano. How can we lose?" Romulus asked.
Cyrano suddenly raised his hand. "Hush! Do you hear that?"
They listened carefully. Soon, they picked out the sound of running feet, rapidly coming toward them. Romulus glanced at Oracle, and prepared himself. Cyrano positioned himself in the lead, waiting. When the person bolted around the corner, Romulus gasped. "Hey, that's-Saify!"
Cyrano barely stopped himself from swinging a blow that would have killed her as she pelted forward, and caught her instead. "Put that thing down!" he shouted at her, twisting the sword out of her hand. "Don't take my head off, please! I need it!" He turned back to Romulus. "You know her?"
"Yes, she was traveling with Pierce, or Python, actually....though not with him, if you know what I mean." He smiled at Saify. "Its good to see you again. Are you alright? Where's Pierce?"

[Oddood198]

OOC: Phew, glad to hear. Didn't wanna be THAT guy that kept droning on and on with nothing anybody wanted to read.


Saify hissed in brief pain as the large man forcefully removed the sword from her hand, it disappeared with a small puff of smoke as it hit the ground. Probably a good thing he had done that, though, as she was about to start swinging.
At Romulus' questions, Saify answered quickly while a new sword formed in her hand, in a voice low and menacing, "He's gone, with Nancy. He was the one behind this whole thing and now he's done something to Nancy, she isn't herself." As her sword took shape in her hand, she clenched the handle hard enough that only the fact it was an illusion kept her from getting splinters. "When I find that sorry excuse of an ogre spawn, I'm gonna make him regret that he ever set foot in this world- or any prior."

[Wolfsong]

Romulus blinked, startled by this new vicious side of the shy girl. Cyrano, however, grinned.
"That sounds like a darn good idea," he said cheerfully.
Oracle, her face pale slightly, quickly said, "You said Nancy was acting strangely. Tell me, was she wearing a dark circlet on her head?" At Saify's nod, she buried her face in her hands. "That's what those black particles we found in Reysa's desk were! Python's got her snared in a slave crown!"
"A what?" Romulus blinked, startled. "What's that? I've never heard of those."
"Probably because they were banned and destroyed before they were ever put into circulation," Oracle told him. "Once placed on the person's head, the one who placed it has complete control over the person's mind and actions. He can make Nancy do anything he wants her to, be it to stay quiet and out of sight or slay multitudes, even if they are her closest friends. We have to stop them!"
"Where was Python last?" Cyrano asked Saify, then blinked. "I'm sorry, Pierce. You know him as Pierce. I'll try to remember that. Anyways, where was he when you last saw him? We may be able to find a way around this."

[Oddood198]

Saify honestly could not think of any halfway plausible reason they would even think of an item like that in an MMO, it just seemed like a bad idea, but there was no time to voice her thoughts. "He was in a room, down the tunnel, that way." She pointed behind her, "But the door's shut now. And he's left anyway. He was headed back for the surface, he'll be near impossible to find." She thought for a second, then remembered something Pierce had said before he left, "But not his accomplice; the hacker. He left through a door that Pierce said would take him to the marshes, and that someone would meet him there. If we hurry, we may be able to catch him."