.hack//DIVERGENCE Main

[Asgard]

Time passed...The group conversed for a while as Gingi and the other outcasts of the human body led Wren, Asura, Tokki and the other members of the Vanguard, sans Asgard. As they all entered the hideout, the thought of some was what happened to the newly hacked character, who proclaimed himself the sole leader of the group and the strongest person alive. But as the hours went on, they diminished to small talk.

Tokki spent some of her time sitting over by the faint feline, Wavemistress Vera. Even though she practiced being adamant and emotionally stable in the eyes of battle, the longarm had to make sure that Vera would be alright.

Nighthand was alone in a corner where the least amount of light shone. His barrier was shadow. He felt the calm of nothing. But he was far from peace. The Heavy Blade's eye twitched constantly. He had almost grasped the ultimate dark power, the one that Asgard held in battle. The evil blade's picture was branded on his mind; branded on his SOUL. He knew that if he truly wanted to be a force of nigh unimaginable power, he had to get that sword...

Kodel, sprawled out on one of the beds, tried to think of anything but the pain that he had caused himself and the harm inflicted on him by Vera in an attempt to quell her rage. He was regenerating little by little with Dun Loireag's built in regen system, but the claws of the Wavemistress gored him badly. He would need at least the night to get back to an average standing...

Xeromessia and Armina had enough of a day. Retreating to a bed for each of them, they lay silent, thinking of current events and the strange occurences that has happened to them and their allies. All was not well, but there was no sign of recovery. Only a lapse in the system...

Hijinx, Kain and Shugotenshi continued their games. It was fun until someone loses an eye though. Tirath looked on from the wall, sitting on one of the spare beds. It was a good idea to get a bed before everyone started getting tired.

The rest of the Vanguards, however, talked amongst themselves. In only took a few hours or so to unite the clan and begin conversing about the current events that unfolded in their laps. They heard a million and one rumors about the ones who are trapped in the game, but only thought of what they were labeled: only rumors. False truths. Tall tales. Straight out lies. Now they were dead center with the rest of the team in the matter. As of now, their bodies in the real world would be limp now. No sign of life. Only a heartbeat to prove their existence. They had to find a way to get out of the new hell put before them...

All the while, Gingitsune, the matriarchal figure of the group, sat down in one of the chairs. The wise Wavemistress was thinking so many things at once, that an average person's head would implode. It had been what seemed a lifetime since they lost Nall and they still haven't found any clues of how to stop Twilight, the impending force that kept them all locked away from their real world bodies and doomed to play its sinister game. As she pondered, Cybele, her newest and incredibly powerful acquisition, began to shine a deep blue: sadness. She knew that everyone felt it when it came to Nall, but Cybele made it seem even heavier than before.

Even if Nall's sacrifice wasn't bad enough, Asgard had finally come back from what had seemed to be thin air. The last she saw him, the ex-Heavyblade was trying to rest after what had happened to Nall. Now the topic of concern was how powerful he became in the time that Gingitsune and the group had used in completing Theta Lucid Arbor Illyiad. He now was truly hacked, like others in the group, but something was much different in him than Tokki or Vera. Cybele interrupted, vibrating in her hands. The tip of the wand began to emanate a white and black aura. It felt as if the wand was fearful of the weapons he now fashioned: Ultima, the lightblade, and Awaikage, the soul edge. Gingitsune trailed off into another thought, making the mysterious wand slow and still to a halt....

It was night now on Theta server, as the battle for Vera's mind was well past noon and the only thing that the group could do was wait until everyone was ready for tomorrow, or wait for Asgard to show up. Either or, no one could fathom on what tomorrow would bring them.

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That was an inexcusable act. If you hadn't made the change in speed, you would have been torn asunder by the Wavemistress' flames...

"I wasn't going to be harmed. You and Wryneck have nothing to worry about."

The sun broke over the horizon, off towards the mountain range in the east. Dun Loireag was once again bathed in the light of the virtual, but realistic, solar star that stood at the core of the galaxy. The players of "The World" milled out from every nook and cranny of the small, highland town, amassing teams for dungeon runs, bartering with each other for trading and challenging each other to duels. It was a carbon copy day, much like every day before it and every day after.

Out of sight from anyone, Asgard sat upon the rooftop of the grunty stable. He could see his new friend, Kjata the Grunty, frolick around the stable, much like the stereotypical baby grunties of the past. Yet, the word of the day was not Grunty. It was, in fact, Dualist.

Cross-legged and staring out into the vast beyond, Asgard sat. One of his swords, Ultima, was impaled into a rockface that was merely feet away. The other, Awaikage, was still gone.

"We are still very cross with you. We had made a deal after all. You help us gain back our family and we will help you vanquish Twilight. Was that too much of a task for you to handle? Can you humans not even complete the simplest of tasks?

Emotionless, Asgard looked outward to the rising sun. He longed for the freedom that defeating Twilight would give him, but what would it cost him? He knew firsthand that to gain something, sacrifices must be made. Those sacrifices were plainly obvious to him: Innocence, blood and lives.

"I know what you are thinking, fleshbag. There will be cost for your freedom. Do not expect the adversaries that are tainted by the virus will take you lightly.

"I don't. I don't expect anyone to take me lightly. This game was made to test the resilience and the will of the people who play it. My will is nigh indestructible and you know it. You can feel it. That's why you and the cloaked one chose me."

"But you still have to learn that there are no such thing as absolutes."

As Asgard spoke, Awaikage mysteriously appeared in the same rockface, inches away from Ultima.

"I know what I was saying, Wryneck. That's why I said 'nigh'. There is nothing absolute about this. I am just reinforcing the fact that I am much more powerful than I ever was when I was Thor."


"Then why don't you prove it to me???"


Asgard's focus faltered. He rolled to the side and clasped the hilts of his swords and pulled them out of the rock face. Without any warning, he screamed "Ani Blast!. From the tip of the living dark blade, a wide beam of black energy erupted. Yet, it continued onward into the sky, as his opponent sidestepped far in advance.

It was Tritoch...

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"Alright everyone. Listen up." Gingitsune and the others were outside, as the sun cleared the final mountain to the east and was shining down upon them at a thirty degree angle. The wavemistress went on. "Seeing as we have no leads at all on where to go next, we might as well make most of this day doing something else so that we won't get rusty." Gingitsune heard a few chuckles, one notably coming from Tokki. "So lets go to the gate and get us a field of choice. It won't be long before people are going to log-"

She was interrupted by a voice. "Ani Blast!" It almost seemed familiar to the group. Just as sudden as the voice rang out from a place unknown, a concentrated beam of darkness flew overhead, sending a wave of mountain rock, dust and sand into the air.

Another beam shot out and detonated on the ground with great ferocity, sending two players off their feet and off the mountain, down into the cloudy abyss below.

"What was that?" Nighthand questioned, drawing his Heavyblade. He looked around for cause, but found nothing.

"Everyone! Weapons ready!" Wren ordered fiercefully. The Vanguards wasted no time in arming themselves for a possible battle. The other fighters wasted no time in unveiling their weapons as they waited for a sign. The group was overall strange to the others in Dun Loireag, as they retreated from the blast site, near the Grunty farm, to the Chaos rings, near the hidden hideout.

But still, the group saw nothing. Yet, they could hear something. Now that the panicking was gone, they could hear the clash between weapons. It intensified, up to the point that the microscopic gravel beneath their feet began to shake.

A sudden *CLANG* erupted from the Grunty Farm, as Tritoch, the Wavemaster Three, skidded across the ground, stopping centimeters from the Elf's haven. He was breathing heavily; something that players thought could never happen.

An admin was being bested. But who could do that?

"Rai Cyclone!" From the rooftop of the farm, Asgard pushed forward, towards Tritoch. Halfway through the jump, Asgard sent himself spinning like a top, much like a Heavy Axeman's Tornado ability. Only that the blade's lightning was amplifying the spin to make it blindingly fast. Tritoch held up his Stormlord Rod at a parallel in front of him, effectively blocking Asgard's skill. The Dualist retreated a few feet away, trying to catch his breath.

"Asgard!" Xeromessia called out. Asgard looked over to his side, his eyes dilated and aflame with a white light.

"Watch out, Oniichan!" Tokki screamed. Asgard looked at the LongArm and realized. Tritoch struck his wand down at Asgard, but effectively blocking it with his two sword in an X pattern. He struggled for a moment, trying to stand his ground, then pushed Tritoch away.

He looked back to the group for a second. Eyes widening, he belted, "Watch out!" He couldn't finish another sentence as Tritoch began his offensive maneuver again.

The group turned around, prying their sight of the battle away and to their rear, where the Chaos Gate lay. Streaming out from the portal were players of which the group had ever seen. They were adorned in ornate red armor and seemed to breathe fear itself out from their noses. As they armed themselves, one of the players, a Fist Fighter, pointed to the group and yelled...

"LEAVE NONE STANDING! GLORY TO THE ADMINS!"

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OOC: There you go. One big new plotline to sink your teeth into. There is exactly one of the Red Guard going for each player. YOU can decide what class they are (Twin Blade, HeavyBlade, Blademaster, Heavy Axeman, Fist Fighter, Wavemaster and Long Arm). Don't bother going after Tritoch after you defeat yours, help the others. You have been warned

EDIT: The Red Guard's level is 20

[Kodel]

Kodel walked behind the large party, cracking his neck loudly. Gingi was planning an outing to break in the newest members, so he figured he’d better go along. It would get really dull sitting around the hideout all day. Plus, outside, the hackers could try something again, and despite the danger involved, he was all for that. He needed information about Twilight and the wave as much as everyone else. He specifically wanted one man in particular, but he was only a treat in a much larger focus.

Suddenly the area exploded in chaos. One moment, they were walking to the Chaos Gate, and the next, spells of incredible power and ferocity were being flung around the platform, near the Grunty Farm. A lance of blackness shot out of the commotion and blew a chunk out of the ground comprising the root town, throwing two PC’s would had just warped in off the floating mountain.

Everyone was yelling, and Kodel heard someone shouting orders. He already had his weapon out, and was scanning through the dust cloud for the attackers. They hadn’t been attacked specifically, but those were spells that only two groups would reasonably have access to: hackers and administrators.

Suddenly a wavemaster skidded out of the field of debris, his staff whirling around his head, coming to a halt a short distance away from them. Kodel didn’t recognize him, but he could clearly make out Asgard, bellowing a skill attack that bounced off the wavemaster's guard with a flash of lightning.

Several people, him included, called out to him, and started to advance towards him, to help one of their number. Kodel was about to join them when he noticed something that made his breath catch in his throat. With his new vision, he could clearly make out the crescent moon tattoo stenciled on the man’s forehead, as well as several distinct and specific tags attached to the mans player data. The wavemaster was an administrator.

“Asgard, what the hell are you doing?!?!” Kodel screamed. He had known for a while that CC did not care in the slightest about their plight, but he had never been insane enough to try and rouse that sleeping giant. With the hackers on one side and the admins on the other, their remaining time alive might well be measured in minutes.

As if on cue, he heard the warp in of nearly a dozen members. He spun to see an entire platoon of Crimson Knights, fully decked out in their ceremonial blood red armor, materialize in front of the Chaos Gate.

The leader, his hands both gauntleted in wicked looking punch gloves, raised his hand in almost a salute to their party.

"LEAVE NONE STANDING! GLORY TO THE ADMINS!" the leader bellowed. Kodel barely heard him. “Ap Do.” He muttered. This day had NOT started well. They were all now marked by the administration for… for… Kodel didn’t know what for. He was certainly going to find out later though. The platoon launched themselves towards them, and Kodel dashed between their numbers, towards the three who remained standing in the back. Their Wavemaster’s, who probably had as many incredibly powerful spells as Asgard's opponent did. Several off hand blows were directed at him, but none connected. He was afraid they might all try to gang up on him, but there were too many targets already within striking distance for them to swarm him without leaving themselves completely open.

He closed on his target, bringing his Phoenix Wing around in a swooping arc, which connected soundly with the Knights long two handed staff, tipped with giant rubies at both ends.

Not bad Kodel mused. He stuttered quickly to one side, parrying a blow with his quills and countering rapidly, striking the knights armor in the side. It was hard trying to stay out of the way of the mans staff, and still stay close enough to avoid any spells the other wavemaster’s might try to hit him with.

They circled each other tightly, the Knight using his wizard’s staff as a bo, clocking Kodel several times in the chest and head, but not without taking counter strikes from Kodel's red and orange Phoenix Wing. He twisted and ducked, activating a skill “Ani Slash!” His speed got him through the wavemaster’s flowing defense, and the Knight’s armor crumpled inward across his midriff, cutting open entirely as Kodel yanked the blade away. It angered him slightly that, despite all the solid hits he had gotten, he still hadn’t done any real damage. Time to cheat, he realized. He let his defense falter, and the wavemaster snaked in a blow to his stomach, knocking the wind out of him and sending him to one knee

Suddenly seeing an opening, the Wavemaster knight raised his staff above his had, intending to bring it down and crack Kodel’s skull. “Fooled you.” Kodel said, driving his left hand forward. His talons slipped between the crack his earlier blow had made, and his black hand sunk almost to the wrist into his opponent’s abdomen. The Knight managed a sudden “AH!” before his scream suddenly cut off, and he slumped over, his body fading away rather than turning to ash.

Kodel whirled, surveying the scene. He had taken far too long with his single opponent. Some of the other players might need some help. He looked for an opening where he could lend his sword.

[Wren]

Wren turned and looked unto the Chaos Gate where a slew of crimson armored Player's marched forth. "Crimson... Knights? I thought they were gone, dispelled from The World." Prometheus in hand, Wren only took a few moments to contemplate this new bit of information. When some of the others ran forward to meet this thread, Wren followed suit. You're not a leader here, Wren, remember that! This is new turf, leave the leadership to Gingitsune and Asgard. A dark aura seemed to bleed from his sword, the Prometheus, as he ran forward into battle. This was an odd feeling, an exhiliration he'd never experienced before. Now it was time for Wren to truly test his mettle in open combat. Don't forget! If you take a wound, you take a wound. This is more than a game, now. Remembering this, he called out to the other Avantgarde, "Don't let them hit you if you can help it! Remember, we're not merely playing anymore. You could get killed!"

Finally the line was drawn, when Knights hit Illegal Players, two massive waves crashed and crackled against one another, spreading players to the outer expanses of the Highland City's borders. Wren spread his wings and flapped them a few times, hoping he could remember how he had used them just the other day against the Wavemaster. With his last free second a quiet "Ap Do" escaped Wren's lips. All he'd done began to come back to him: the spinning, flying, attacking. Fighting another player was far different from fighting a computer. Players were smarter, but they're also weaker in more areas than one. With a leap, Wren vaulted into the air and chose a target with his solid jade eyes: another Blademaster. Come to papa...

Wren came swooping down on the Crimson Knight, both hands on his sword's hilt. Expecting a blow, the Knight rose his sword to counter, perhaps parry. Whichever the case, their blades met while Wren was in mid-air. He had to flap his wings a few times to keep from being thrown back out of the fray. Then he fell upon his knee, the Prometheus tilted upwards ready to strike. There was a pause, the recoiling shock of the landing. Such a feeling was new to Wren. But he leapt forward all the same. His sword came 'round in a rising arc, aimed to cut through the upper torso of the Knight. Of course this was a rudimentary move, and the Crimson Knight blocked it skillfully. The two Blademaster's swords were pushing against each other, grinding in a deadlock. Wren was at the disadvantage, and felt that he would lose this struggle. Gritting his teeth, Wren looked down to his feet, which were burrowing into the dirt to hold their position the best they could. At this moment he realized he had a second sword. Of course!

Letting his Prometheus fall, Wren took a step away from the Knight, pivoting in a circle so his back would be to his foe for a heartbeat.

In this moment of weakness, Wren took a devastating blow to his shoulder. Part of the injury was sustained by his wing, the excess bone slowing the blade's descent so it wouldn't do as much damage to his arm, but the cost was still hefty. The Blademaster's eyes welled up as he tried to constrain the pain that he was feeling in his body. His left arm went numb for a moment and his left wing was stinging like fire. He couldn't do anything. Still Wren went on with his plan, gritting his teeth trying not to let the physical pain get to him, too much.

Reaching for his second blade, Wren came back around into a small leap, flapping his wings in hopes of startling the player. At the last second his sword rose from its scabbard and then fell by a merciless hand. The Corpseblade cleaved through a weak point in the Knight's armored shoulder, causing his skin to shift like sand and then vanish.

Wren noticed two more Knights and reacted as quickly as he could, dropping to his knee he picked up the Prometheus again, letting his Corpseblade fall to the ground. He quickly blocked the rod of a Wavemaster that had fallen to strike his hindside, the force of the blast knocking the Knight back as a Long Arm came towards him. Quickly Wren rose his left hand out at the player and shouted, "Rai Kruz!"

Two runes formed, one around the ankles of Wren, the other around the ankles of the Crimson Knight. When the gold circles of light broke, several bolts of lightning fell upon the Knight from all sides, sending waves of electrical shocks through his player. This wouldn't kill him, of course, but it would injure him well enough.

Out of habit Wren picked up the Corpseblade and sheathed it, keeping his Prometheus at hand. Who to aid, now. He knew in his heart and mind that he was of no match for the player Asgard was fighting, but he had to do something. Beads of sweat were running down Wren's face, wrapping themselves around his nose. "Does anyone need a hand?!" He shouted out. Though his voice was all but drowned out by the battle, he wondered if anyone would reply.

((OOC: Sorry for shortness, I didn't wanna overdo my first actual fight... It was shorter than I thought it would be. ~_~ ))

[Asura]

Asura draws forth his Patriot, the earth element blade being drawn from its sheath with a clashing sound caused by the sword being drawn out. His eyes quickly search around to see the fighting that is going on, though his idea was to pick out whatever foe was not being fought in order to relieve pressure from his allies. A fight against two enemies would be much harder then a fight against one enemies, so if he took too long to defeat his foe, or was defeated himself, his allies would have a tougher time. Considering these characters are admins or working for the admins, it would be a tough fight indeed. The Blademaster takes a few swift steps forward, ready to deal with the first foe he came across, ignoring the possible downsides of lacking the rare items or powers an admin may have.

The Blademaster comes across a Long Arm, the powerful player wielding a weapon known as the Ichigou, a weapon Asura knew due to the fact that it was within his own collection of rare items. With Death and Critical Hit built within the weapon, any fight against the Long Arm of the Red Guard would be a risky fight indeed. A quick flash of information pops into the Blademasters head: He had heard that a group called the Crimson Knights had been disbanded some time before he had joined the war. Perhaps this group was remenants of this original band, though he doubted it. Chances were that it was a complete coincidence that would just make his fight harder then before.

Almost immediately as the Blademaster draws closer, he is met by the swinging of the Repulse Cage technique, the spear swinging out in a wide arc that forces Asura to leap back out a few paces in order to avoid the powerful attack. Almost immediately as the technique ends, the boy leaps forward, raising his sword into the air for his own technique. As spirit is gathered into his blade, earth like runes appear around the Patriot, embuing it with the magical properties and strength of rock.

"GAN SLASH!" The powerful strike is sent downwards towards the admin helped Long Arm, threatening to slice the player in half with the force of the strike. However, something unprecedented in Asura's luck happens, as the player brings up his lance to collide with the sword, knocking the other player back from the recoil of his strike. Even as the cloaked boy spirals into the ground, the Long Arm leaps forward to make another quick downwards strike.

Asura, still recovering from the shock of being knocked back, instead rolls to the side, letting the blade impale itself into the rocky ground of Dun Loireag instead. As Asura forces himself to his feet, he tries to calm down his breathing, gaining control of himself. He is currently on the defensive from a series of attacks, instead of being on the offensive as he would rather like. He had never had to deal with fighting a Long Arm, much less one with such powerful rare items to boost his stats so much. He would have to be more careful with his movements if he wanted to win this fight, not to mention winning the fight without any serious damage.

Asura backs up a few steps, feeling his feet start to graze the edge of the cliffs of Dun Loireag. He would either have to be assisted from his predicament soon, or go on the offensive to take out the other player before he was defeated. Either way, he wouldn't last much longer in his current situation, so it would be vital that he at least defend against the Long Arm's powerful techniques.

[Hijinx]

Smiling widely and showing her teeth, hijinx leapt into the fray. As she ducked swipes, stabs, slashes and chops, she thought about her choices.

Maybe my masterblades, or the shadow blades? I could always use those other ones, but they aren't that great..... oh well. Time for an old trick I guess.

Hopping left and spinning, she catches a charging player in the back of the head, sending him spralling on ground. Popping herself into the air she avoids another blow. While holding on to the arm with hands, she kicks out sideways and smashes a twinblade in the chest, causing the player to roll backwards into a wall. Switching her arm around quickly she tosses the player whose arm she was holding away from her and persues the twinblade. As she advances, she belts another knight in the face and trips him.

Grimacing slightly, the twinblade rises to her feet. "You don't fight fair! Damn hackers! Always cheating!" Pulling out the shadow blades, hijinx flashes a toothy grin and closes her eyes. Well now, that's a matter of opinion. If I have such skill available to me, I'm bound to use it." Snarling in ager, the player spits and curses. "That's a load of crap! Those skills are all hacks and you know it! Get ready to die rabbit!" Charging headlong at hijinx she slashes rapidly for the neck. Jumping backwards hijinx slices for the face and blocks a shot to the ribs with her other blade. Pivoting on a heel she connects with a slash in the left side of the stomach on the player. Retalliating with a vicious kick, the opposing twinblade hits the rabbit in her crossed blades, forcing hijinx to slide backward.

Sneering at the wasted effort hijinx jumps into the air and begins her dance from the tournament. "Axe-masters can't take the damage from this attack very well. Maybe you'll be fast enough to dodge it...... What was your name anyway?" The players jaw drops as she stares in disbelief. Quickly regaining her composure, she snaps back at the rampant blader. "Yamija Hurom! And that's the last name you'll ever hear!" Nodding to Yajira, hijinx finishes her dance and cackles menacingly. "Good to know, I'll make sure to carve that on your tombstone!" Yajira screams in surprize as a massive cloud of blackness envelopes the island and random knights begin to holler curses into the dark.

OOC:Fights should never end on the first post. Gingitsune sama! If I get a present, can I have a Bom ba ye!? They're so coooooooooool! Side note! Me and nighthand posted within seconds of each other! Please note that nighthand's post happened first! Tck no worries nighthand, no one has to change a thing.

[Nighthand]

Nighthand rushed from the hideout with his Magnifier drawn, as soon as he heard Asgard's attack. the scene that greeted his eyes was complete chaos.

on one hand, Asgard was keeping the admin at bay. he seemed to be doing wel on his own, so nighthand figured that it would do no good to try to join in. instead, he aimed for one of the red guards.

the man he aimed for was in the very back, hiding in the shadowed edges near a building. darkness being his calling, nighthand could see the man fine, and aimed his first lunge for him.

leaping high into the air, nighthand came down in a vertical slash at the red guard. expecting to easily take out the man, he was surprised when their swords met, and he was thrown to the side. almost instantly, the other heavyblade was on top of him.

"You are no match against me, Rebel."

as he spoke, nighthand could see his face clearly.

dressed in the red armor like the rest of the red guards, he could barely be told apart from them. but then, he wore over his armor a red cloak, and his hair flowed long down his back. and his eyes, his eyes were a burning red, the counterpart to nighthand's black. in fact, this heavy blade was a counter to him in every way.

rolling to the side, nighthand rose in a slash that was almost sure to hit. the heavy blade blocked it, and with tremendous speed, was suddenyl behind nighthand.

"You really have no chance. so here, i give you my gift before i defeat you. Ap Do!"

Nighthand felt a sudden burst of energy flow through him. the red guard had cast Ap Do on him! must be to make it a fairer fight, he thought.

"With this sppedboost, you may giveme a challenge, rebel."

"You fiend. i have to defeat you, one way or another."

"You? defeat me, a level 20 red guard? don't make me laugh."

"Level 20? bah, you should be no problem for me, a level 31."

there was a twitch in the eye of the red guard, but it was gone too fast for nighthand to catch it, if it really was there at all. using his newly given speed, nighthand raced in a circle around the reed guard.

countering him perfectly, the guard followed him, so they were racing in a circle around each other. no attacks happened, it was merely a contest of speed.

the contest a draw, the two began flicking out attacks. nighthand stabbed, but it wa blocked. he pulled his sword up in time to parry the swipe of the guard and send one of his own. this too was parried, and another thrust came from the guard.

a spinning circle of flashing steel was all that could be seen from the outside of the pair. dust began rising into the air, as their moving feet kicked it up.

suddenly, nighthand leapt, lashing out with one of his feet. the guard took the blow to the chest, and was thrown off balance. but just before nighthand would have been free, the guard reached out and caught his leg. twisting, the guard brought him down onto the ground, with a resounding smack. releasing his grip on nighthand's leg, the guard tried to stepback, but nighthand bounced from the impact and caught him by the shoulders. falling backwards, nighthand kicked the guard high into the air.

rolling into a crouch, nighthand watched as the guard gabbed the lip of the building and used it to flip himself even higher into the air. at the peak of his leap, he rolled, coming down headfirst with a strike at the ready. nighthand leapt up to meet him.

identical poses, the two heavy blades swung at the exact same time, their blades impacting. a shockwave blazed out from their impact. nighthand had poured all the fire energy he could in the short time into his blade, and at the same time the guard had added his own water energy. the two conflicting elements, striking with such force, exploded violently, sending nighthand up into the air, and the guard crashing to the ground.

his senses disrupted by the proximity fo the explosion, nighthand was unable to control his fall. he struck the ground not five feet from his enemy.

coming to their feet at the same time, nighthand could feel his speed wearing off. the guard, however, was still as fast as ever.

"You feel your spped decreasing, Rebel. but you see i am as fast as i always was. i have auto AP Do, and you have nothing!"

not willing to use one of his newly gotten speed charms, Nighthand tried to keep up with the images of the guard. the guard circled him madly, lashing out in a strike, barely parried by nighthand. his blows became faster and faster, until nighthand could barely see them, let alone parry them. he had one chance left.

Leaping as high as he could, nighthand landed on the peak of one of the nearby buildings. looking down, he could see the battle raging below him. the enemy heavy blade stopped in his spinning, and leapt in a fast thrust that nighthand had no way of avioding.

luckily, nighthand had guessed correctly on asgard's next choice of attacks, and of tritoch's guard.

the terrible force beam of Ani Blast shot by just in from of nighthand. he could feel the power contained behind the blow, and wanted that power for himself once again. the guard felt the power too, but in a different way. he screamed as the blow intended for Tritoch struck him fully. the darkness energy consumed him, and he was no more. only a small spatter of ash and a single shard of his blade hit nighthand. the metal shard of the blade stuck into his clothing.

pulling it from it's place in his shirt, nighthand took the fragment of blade and stuck it in his pocket. being a pack rat in real life made him not think secondly about it.

nighthand collapsed on the rooftop, catching his breathbefore picking another fight.

[Gingitsune]

The cheerful suggestion of the outing was not so much out of Gingitsune's mouth as the sounds of warfare reached her ears. There would obviously be no time for games today, and whatever the new players already knew, they'd have to put into practise. She wasn't horribly concerned for them, she had faith that they were atleast strong enough to deal with this scum... and if not, then they would be aided as best as possible.

Her long nails flexed impulsively around Cybele, the wand was now positively crackling with beauitful golden energy, showing the Wavemistress's almost impossible joy at being able to battle once again.
It was something that never left Gingitsune, this joy, even after so many battle the mere clashing of swords and crackling of attack was enough to send her into ecstasy. There was something about battle that pitched one head first into the unknown, a place where one could leave behind all one's troubles and focus only on staying alive. There were no rules, nothing to follow, just kill or be killed.

Gingitsune's bushy fox tail waved to and fro as the Red Guard emerged from the Chaos Gate. They were an impressive looking bunch if nothing else. Gingitsune leaned forward, the hood of her cloak falling forward and cowling her face so that it was in darkness. All that one could see was her strange, glittering white smile as she made her way forward jauntily.
One of the Red Guards immediately detached for each player present, and Gingitsune found herself face to face with a male Fist Fighter armed with a long metal Chain.

His face too was hidden from her, masked in ninja fashion so that she could only see his eyes, black and thunderous as a raven's cry in the dark of night. He took up a defensive pose, the chain held in one hand and then limply trailing around the ground, ready to strike her at any moment.

Her long-nailed fingers curled and uncurled around Cybele, flexing almost lazily, and she stretched one leg out, and put one arm forward, keeping the one holding Cybele to her side.

"Are we honourable then?" she asked. sarcastically, the smile on her mouth widening in a maddening, infuriating sort of way.

"I will kill you." the fighter said, simply and with no emotion.

"Then we begin!" Gingitsune said, leaping backwards with sudden premonition and just avoiding the long chain that whipped towards her with incredible speed.

"Not bad..." Gingitsune said, "Though not quite good enough."

With an upward leap she soared above his head, did a flip in the air and landed behind him before he could react. Within seconds he was encompassed in a golden aura of energy and feeling the pain of millions of pulsating energy particles practically pulling his body and soul apart.
As soon as it began, it was over, the orb relenting and Gingitsune giving him time to recollect himself.

That technique was something special and deady, and it was a bit too early in the game to use it, she now saw. The expression in the eyes of the Guard were a mix of fear and intense pain. With another wave of Cybele the pain vanished from the Guard. Fair play, not necessary perhaps, but in this case more fun for Gingitsune.

Without wasting time the Guard picked himself up and launched himself forward, rushing toward Gingitsune with a barrage of kicks and lashes with the chain. To his surprise the Wavemistress met the kicks with her own legs, and countered the chain with her wand, diverting it's course.

"I tried a few other classes before settling on Wavemistress- and I managed to master most of them, especially the fist-fighting..." she said, remembering the days of sitting in front of her computer, bleary-eyed and sick of trying to master the moves- and yet she had, and here she was using all of her skills.

The Fist Fighter was well-trained. Though it had not been an easy decision of Gingitsune's as to what class she chose, she had been quite attached to the fist-fighting class. She remembered her days with a Dragon Fan, Kaze Nunchaku, and Brass Knuckles and grinned as she managed to block each of the Guard's parries, to his consternation. She backed away witha quick leap, and once again the long metal chain shot straight after her, with a deft movement of her wand, Gingitsune caught the chain around it, turning the Guard's move into a desperate little game of tug-of-war.

The Guard pulled stubbornly on his end of the chain, and Gingitsune felt Cybele being pulled forward. Planting her feet hard on the ground she concentrated the energy emanating from Cybele into the chain, heating it with intense light. Within seconds the chain was super-heated, and with a yell the Guard dropped it just as it melted away into nothingness. Gingitsune grinned widely leapt forward just as the Guard once again got on his feet. This time with a barrage of punches and kicks he attacked Gingitsune. Twirling her wand with great speed above the ground, Gingitsune deflected the punches, and the kicks she dodged with dance-like agile steps and movements of her knees- which had become slightly sore as a replacement shield

Gingitsune blocked another kick to her stomach with her knee, and brought her wand around with incredible force, catching the Guard on the side and sending him hurtling down. Before he could recover Gingitsune decided to experiment with a few more of her wand's powers, something equivalent to torture.

As she concentrated, the very sky became pitch black, starless and sunless... as she closed her eyes she felt herself gathering the light from around her, and indeed, in the very sky above the Guard's head gathered an intense ball of writhing light. Opening her eyes suddenly, and bringing her wand tip crashing to the ground the ball of energy hurtled downwards and onto the Guard, exploding in a blinding array of light, and shooting from it random beams of luminescence.

For a second all of the fights ceased as the darkness was replaced with an impossibly intense light.As the light cleared it revealed a chasm blown into the ground of Dun Loireag, still crackling with the light energy that had created it. Standing over the edge Gingitsune peered down into it, it seemed as if the dark hole went on forever.

As for the Guard, it was simple to say that he was no longer there.
Obliterated from the force of the light into nothing... Not even a ghost.
There was a sudden pang, a hope that he was not one like them, one in a coma- or else Gingitsune would have just committed her first outright intentional murder.

Light returned to sky of Dun Loireag once again as if it had been gathering again its own energy after the blast.
Cybele itself glowed pleasantly, purring with energy like a content cat.
Gingitsune flung her hood back and turned her head towards the battlefield, many of her comrades had also finished their battles, and with a quick leap she covered the expanse of the chasm, now filling itself up with data, and made her way into the thick of the fighting.

"Would anyone like any assistance?" she asked.

[Phoenix512]

As Phoenix was listening to Gingitsune, he heard a voice from afar. He didn't know whose voice it was but he knew what attack was called out. It was a darkness blast which he never saw before but heard of it. Any attack in a root town is a bad thing. He looked at the expressions of the others and realized that they knew the voice that yelled out the Ani Blast attack. Phoenix drew out his Singing Blade out of his steath and was ready for a possible battle. He followed the others from the hideout to the Elf's Haven where the battle between a wavemaster and a blademaster with two swords was taking place. Phoenix was amazed by the skills of the two fighters and the attacks that they could excute. He heard Xeromessia called out to the blademaster and calling him "Asgard". Then Phoenix remembered the name Asgard from the conversation from Asura earlier. Phoenix was suprised that he forgotten that Asgard was the player with the two swords and that class was called the Dualist. As he was remembering Asgard, he looked behind to the Chaos Gate and noticing that there were players covered in red armor of various classes. He saw a fist fighter pointing towards the group and said.

"Leave none standing! Glory to the admins!"

Phoenix was about to laugh from the ancient, but pathetic declaration from the fist fighter as one of the red guards was charging at him. He noticed that he had a weapon that he never saw in the World but in ninja movies. He had a pair of nunchakus and they were black. He remembered hearing about a new class called the Fist Fighter. He figured that the red guard was a fist fighter but Phoenix never fought a fist fighter before. He saw the nunchakus heading towards him and managed to block them with the Singing Blade. An odd sound was formed between the metal of the sword and the wood of the nunchakus. He still knew that the first attack didn't mean much but it was the end result of the fight. Phoenix was trying for a counterattack against the fist fighter but the fighter was able to parry all of his attacks with the nunchakus. Phoenix took a small leap backwards to get away from the fighter in order to formulate a plan against the fist fighter but the fighter jumped into the air and his right foot was on fire. Phoenix was ready for this since the fighter couldn't change his angle of attack. He sidestep to his right to avoid the fighter's kick and had his blade below his waist ready for a slash attack. "RUE SLASH!" His blade was beginning to cover with an blue aura and forming ice around the blade. Phoenix was suprised that the red guard left himself open like that as he swung his sword at the midsection of the fist fighter. The attack caused the fighter to fall into the ground as the fighter coughed out blood from the blow.

Phoenix approached towards the fallen fist fighter and was caught unexpected from the fighter using his arms to propel himself forward to kick Phoenix. He went backwards from the attack and felt a little pain from the attack. He forgot that he can feel real pain in the World now and had to be even more careful what he does now. Phoenix saw the fighter going for another jump kick and again he was ready for it. He aimed his sword towards the fighter's foot and slashed at the fighter with his sword. The fighter landed unusually on the ground since his foot was cut up from Phoenix's sword. He managed to reduce the fighter's maunverability but the fight wasn't over it as the fighter was slowly approaching Phoenix. He swung his sword at the fighter but the fighter managed to tied up his sword with nunchakus. He noticed that both of the fist fighter's fists were on fire and Phoenix couldn't avoided them. He let go of his sword as he scream in pain from the dual fire fist attack. He couldn't get to his sword since the fighter was blocking his way to the sword. He felt a kick to his head from the fighter as his body was still feeling from the burns of the previous attack. Phoenix was down on the ground and saw the fighter was about to make the possible final attack. He heard the fighter began to talk to him.

"I like it when my own fists and feet just pound on a body instead of some sword. You will feel the true power of the human body as you have no sword to help you now." The fist fighter statement made Phoenix remembered something. He had another sword with him. He saw the fighter jumped into the air and his good foot was on fire. Phoenix pulled out his spare sword which helped him in many battles, the Fugaku. Phoenix raised his sword at the fiery foot and said, "Revolver!" The sword pierced through the fiery foot as multiple stabs causing the fighter to lose the ability to even walk properly. Phoenix got back up from the ground and walk towards the fist fighter. He raised his sword into a stab position. His body was in pain from the various attacks that he receieved from the fighter. He looked below the fighter for a second and said.

"I'm sorry for doing this to you but you were in the wrong place at the wrong time." Phoenix then stabbed at the fist fighter's chest and effectively killing his World body from the Theta server. He felt sorry for the fighter but his life was in more danger than the fighter and right now, he needs to survive. He casted Repth on himself and the familiar blue light healed his injuries. The spell felt very good on him and waited for a minute or two before going to help his other partners if they need it or not.

[Kain]

Kain followed the group towards the Chaos Gate, he was in the back. The player knew his low level was nothing compared to the other players or the monsters in the field. He was very nervous, but was too scared to speak up. So, Kain figured he could only do his best. How good would his best be, what happens if he dies here, where will he go? So many questions surged through Kain’s mind that he wasn’t even paying attention to what was happening. Kain kept walking, and suddenly smacked into one of the other players. They all appeared to stop, as a group of players came out of the Chaos Gate. These weren’t any ordinary players, they were Crimson Knights.

“Everyone! Weapons ready!” Wren could be heard screaming. Kain wasn’t sure if he ordered everyone or just the Vanguards. Nonetheless Kain wasted no time in readying his measly Stun Sword for battle. His low level could almost mean instant death, compared to that of the Crimson Knights. There seemed to be enough enemies for everyone. Kain was hesitant to charge into battle; maybe he should stay in the back and try to heal. This wouldn’t work; he probably had the most SP out of everyone. Kain tugged down on his hood, and then combed the strands of hair that stuck out. This would be his first real fight since finding out he couldn’t log out of The World. Kain took a deep breath and joined in the quarrel. "Don't let them hit you if you can help it! Remember, we're not merely playing anymore. You could get killed!" Kain smiled after hearing this. If I can help it, let’s just hope I don’t die within the first five minutes of the fight, Kain thought as he looked for an opponent.

Kain glanced back and saw that everyone was pairing off with an opponent. "LEAVE NONE STANDING! GLORY TO THE ADMINS!" The leader of the Crimson Knights shouted out. Kain shook his head and darted some slashes that weren’t aimed at him. That’s when Kain saw who his opponent would be, a Heavy Axeman that had its back towards Kain. As he ran towards the player he heard other shout out the spell ‘Ap Do.’ Kain didn’t have that, so he had to fight a member of the Heavy Axeman class. This was the only class that he had a chance of surpassing in speed. The player didn’t know Kain was advancing, so he held his Stun Sword over his head and jumped in the air sending it into the Knight’s armor.

A clanging sound echoed throughout the area as Kain’s Stun Sword bounced off the armor. The sword vibrated in his hands and Kain took a step away from the Knight. The knight turned around and stared at Kain quickly. It appeared to be surprised that he was attacked by such a low level player. Kain shifted his weight a little and waited for the Axeman to make the next move. The Knight wasted no time, as it charged at Kain. The Heavy Blade did his best to block the attack. He threw up his Stun Sword and it managed to block the axe, the recoil of the attack knocked the blade into Kain’s chest. He stumbled backwards and then fell, and the Knight walked over to him. It was tapping its axe gently against one hand, waiting for Kain to stand up. When he did the monster charged and lunged forward with the axe. It crashed against Kain’s ribs and he fell back. “Ugggh,” was the only sound that came out of Kain’s mouth as he fell to the grass. Its normal green color was now a scarlet thanks to Kain’s blood. The attack caused Kain to cough up blood.

Still, Kain stood up, he wasn’t going to fall that easy and let everyone down. The Knight charged once more and came down with a hard vertical slash. The Heavy Blade dove out of the way as the axe slammed into the ground, picking up pieces of grass and dirt. A little bit of blood rolled out of the corner of Kain’s mouth. He stood up once more and wiped off the blood with the back of his hand. The Knight appeared to have his axe stuck in the ground, so Kain would use this to his advantage. Instead of slashing at the player he tried to do a combo, kneeing it. Obviously, this didn’t work as well as planned. His knee smacked against the Knight’s armor, and it didn’t do anything. The Heavy Axeman didn’t even seem phased by the attack. Kain’s mouth opened to say something, but nothing came out. Suddenly, the burning sensation of pain built up in his knee. Kain bent down and began to rub it gently, while the Knight was struggling to pull out its axe. Finally it did, and began to laugh. Kain pulled himself up and wondered if he had time to cast ‘Repth.’ The answer was no.

The Knight ran at Kain again, and used a flying knee of its own. The knee smacked into Kain’s chest and he went flying backwards, his head slamming into the ground. Kain rolled over and pushed himself up on all fours. The Heavy Axeman seemed to be planning another attack while Kain could only spit out blood. He tried to stand up, but his knee lacked the necessary strength. Kain let out a groan as the player lifted him off of the ground with one hand and then threw him a couple of feet. Kain was being treated like a rag doll. He wanted to see if anyone could help, him but they appeared busy in their own fights. Surprisingly, the Knight walked over and assisted Kain to his feet. Kain smiled as if to say thanks, his usually white teeth were stained red with blood. The Heavy Blade felt a little woozy and then realized that the Knight was mocking him; Kain wouldn’t have any of this.

He spat blood at the feet of the Heavy Axeman, an act of disrespect. Kain raised his blade and tried to ready himself for any attack that the Knight had planned. The Knight lowered its shoulder and began to kick the dirt behind it, almost bull-like. It then ran at Kain, he tried to side-step the attack. It didn’t work. The shoulder of the Heavy Axeman plowed into Kain, bringing him straight to the ground. The Knight appeared to have lost its balance as well. It quickly toppled over and fell on Kain. He struggled to move, but couldn’t. He was also losing health rather quickly, and knew that the end was near. Until, he heard Wren and Gingitsune ask if anyone could use any help. Kain struggled to make out some words. “I need h…” He was cut off by the Knight’s elbow. It landed the elbow into Kain’s stomach. The Heavy Blade tried to gain breath, it was the only thing he could do.

[HackerNuse]

Tempest entered the hideout, she looked around at small place the warriors had built for themselves. It wasn’t much but she knew it was the safest place that she or any of the other vanguards could be at the moment. The sanctuary was littered with a couple of beds and a few resting areas, still untrusting of both memories and friends, she hided within the shadows of the room. She stood against the wall, with arms crossed and one leg straining to keep her up and the other pushing on the wall, contemplating everything that had happened. Her wings reacted to fit the small space. Her heart still raced and pounded within the small confinements of her chest, yet she was no longer scared of what had happened, just unsure of what was to come. From what she saw, these players, like herself, had been unable to log out of the world, and remaining hidden from all those that threaten them, outcast from the society around them.

Was this how she would live her life, to be in constant fear of the administers and their power of deletion, to fear that death could come at anytime and she would have no clue what would happen to her then. Everything was still so new to her, and it just needed time to get used to. Like her memories, which began to slowly come back to her, it would take time before she was really ready to step out from the shadows in which she hid herself and into the light of the world she was now in. She looked around at her new surroundings, each player had quickly settled in, and engorged themselves into activities. Kain, Shugotenshi and Hijinx find pleasure in their games, she watched intently as the players intermingled with each other.

She so dispirtly desired to be with them, but she was ready to rejoin them, she still needed more time. She slowly sunk into the corner that she resided in, curling herself up in a ball, she watched on at the happiness that surrounded her. Until she had fully regain herself, her memories, the part of her that would once again make her whole, she would never be one with these people, no matter how many times they claimed to be her friends. As night grew upon Dun Loreg, the nosie from within and outside the hideout began to die down. Tempest could hear a few remaining voices, some she had not heard before, but she was able to make out one, she recognized it as Wren’s. Wren’s voice sparked another flash back of memories, she saw the fight with the Wavemaster, of Wren and the other Vanguards, of how they all fought heroically against the powers of the black hat hacker. Of how they all nearly lost their lives, but just as quickly as the images came they began to faded back into the abyss. And once more her pasted was shrouded in the mysterious mist that was her mind, with dawn’s arrival, Tempest awoke to see that most the new players had left along with all the Vanguards. A couple of lingering characters remained in the room, getting ready to head out into the city once more.

Tempest unsure of what to do, quickly stood up and got herself ready as well. Should I go, the thought came across her mind as she bit her thumb, I know I have to leave this place sometime if I ever wish to find away out I can’t just lock myself up in here. I must go, I must go, the words echoing throughout her mind. Walking out of the Hideout was like a whole new world, the sun was bright, as it began it’s rotation around the sky. She covered her eyes and blinked a couple of times, just to get use to the change in light entering her eyes. Her pupils began to contract allowing less flow of light into her eyes, and she could once more see her way around the grassy Root Town. Even those she was quit far from the others, she noticed them off into the distances. She ran as fast as she could to catch up with them, fumbling a couple of times on rocks and such, but she was once more able to reunite with them. The others looked behind as Tempest bent over and gasped for breath, turn their attention back to the matter at hand they watched on. Tempest could hear the forceful voice of Wren shouting out “Weapons ready!!!” Tempest quivering hand griped the leather handle of her blade, was she ready for battle, I am not, I can’t fight, I have to go. Fear over taking her, as the rumbling of the earth below her shaking her off balance, all eyes turned toward the Chaos Gate from which was the epicenter of the quaking. Knights in crimson red armor began to charge out shouting "LEAVE NONE STANDING! GLORY TO THE ADMINS!" Their voices seeming to bellow throughout the world, they came at the small group of hacked players, carrying swords, spears and axes.

Each solider, shouting and cursing the players, Tempest watched on in fear as more knights began to flood the gate. She had know clue what to do, where was she to go, was she to fight, or should she run, but she couldn’t leave her friends behind she had to stay she had to, I am to weak to fight them, my level is no where near them, I am going to die, I don’t want to die, I want to live, I want to make it out of this place, her eyes lowering, her pupils sharping as they continued to watch the Knights come at them, I want to live and no one will stop that. With that something snapped, she had completely lost it but not in away you would have expected her to. Instead of cracking and falling to the floor, and smirk could be found across her face, her eyes no longer showing the innocents and nervousness they once did. Now they were filled with hatred, and bloodlust, she was completely insane at this point, and the sheading of human blood was the only thing on her mind. Her desire to runaway and hide existed no more now she would stay and fight, she would stay and fight till every once of blood in the Knights body had spilt, until she had lad waste to everything in sight. With her hand now gripping the blade tighter than ever she pulled the blade out and charged at one of the knights.

[Asura]

Asura decides that in order to press the advantage against his Long Arm opponent, he'd have to make another forward strike. Of course, he needed to distract the admin long enough to keep him from noticing where the strike would land, so a bit of dialogue would be useful for this matter. He would try appealing to the admin sense of justice, though it might fail, he might be lucky enough to spread the seeds of dissent within their numbers, causing an attack to falter. He was pressed against the edge of the cliff, so it was his last chance to push his opponent back; it was that or death, the latter beinging infinitely worse. Asura holds his Patriot forward, keeping it out as if to address his opponent, not showing any offensive motions for the time being.

"So... is this what the admin have been reduced to? Attacking players within the World? What ever happened to the sense of justice the groups such as the Crimson Knights once knew?" Asura says, his voice calm, cool, and collect in an attempt to sway his opponent's thoughts. While this single action would inevitably do nothing to stop the admin, it might be the first step in a few more efforts to destroy the admins efforts. "I would imagine that some sense of honor would keep you from killing another player, no?" Asura leaves room for his opponent to answer, knowing that a single moment of doubt would allow him to force his attack further, gaining him some distance from the edge of the cliff.

His opponent opens his mouth to speak, only to see Asura's blade thrust forward, driving under the Long Arm's guard just under the right ribcage. The Long Arm's one moment of doubt had been just enough to deal a bit of damage, though it wouldn't be a killing blow through the high level gear his opponent inevitably had. A second strike is given out by the Blademaster as he tilts his body, ramming into the other player's weapon with his right shoulder. The weapon and player are sent backwards, forcing them to the precarious edge of the cliff where Asura once had been. The limited range left after the shoulder ram keeps the Long Arm from drawing free its weapon again for a strike, while Asura holds his Patriot to the other player's neck, ready to make a quick cutting motion to kill off the deadly opponent.

"Guess what... even if every player was weaker then your group... we've got one advantage. The will to live." Asura capitalizes this point with a sudden kick into the Long Arm's stomach, knocking the player over the edge. He hadn't wanted to see the blood from a cut on his sword once again, so instead the battle would have to end much simpler. His bloody had already been stained from the stabbing motion, the artificial blood dripping upon the grass on the floating town. The Blademaster prepares himself to sheath his sword once more, only to be interrupted by the sight of Kain being mauled by a powerful Heavy Axe of the Guard. He quickly makes a quick few steps to close the distance between himself and Kain, prepared to help out his ally.

"GAN SLASH!"

To Kain's view, he would suddenly see the Heavy Axe that was once mauling him drop to the ground, the earth-enhanced Patriot driving into the player's skull. The blood drips from the player's body as he turns an ashen grey color, obviously defeated from the strike. He hadn't been prepared to deal with a second attack, too focused on the battle against the weaker player. Asura spits on the body in disgust, ashamed at what the admins had been reduced to. Instead of helping players that needed help, they destroyed.

[Hijinx]

"What the hell do you call this!? Once I catch you, I'm gonna rip your legs off!" Gripping her blades tightly, Yajima crouches low and looks around. Laughing histerically, hijinx calls out in the darkness. "I call this fun. Actually, this is really fun! Watch this! SHADOW REPLICATION!" Appearing around the twinblade are 5 hijinx's, each moving at incredible speed in a running stance, practicaly in still frame. As yajira backs up slowly, she looks about in terror. Muttering under her breath she repeats to herself the same phrase. "This is not happening! Why can't I win?" As suddenly as the shadows had appeared, they vanish along with the copies like a light switch. The instant all of the things vanish, a vicious kick lands straight on yajira's jaw from her right. Sailing over the edge in shock, she logs out of the game in a stupor.

Jumping in front of Hackernuse, she holds an arm up to stop her.Smiling brightly she allows the player opposing nuse to advance before whooping and droping her arm. Stepping back, she waits to block any and all fatal attacks the other player may use.

[Vera]

"How fun." Vera said as she walked out from the hideout and smiled at the fighting. "To kill or not to kill, what a question." she said as her eyes flashed blood red.

"Kill the admins, we want too kill the others." Senko said to Vera as she gave a quick nod. Smiling Senko said a few words and moved her hands. At that moment a shock ran through Vera's body as the blades of a twin blader came through her stomach. "Hmph, that wont work now, our kitty has a fail safe, she never dies, but she does become useless till she is restored."

"Owwie that hurt me." Vera said as she removed the blade and turned around with a large smile. Grabbing the twin blade by the throat she lifted him high. She ran her free claw along the wound as she licked the blood of them, then she gripped his leg and with one horrible jerk it was ripped from his body.

The screams of the twin blade echoed through the battle as she throw his leg into the melee. Laughing evilly out loud she gripped his other leg as she repeated the horrible process. Vera released his body as it fell too the ground bleeding badly. "Fun isn't it?" she said stepping on his body as she gripped both arms; digging her claws in deep as she tore them from his shoulders. With both arms in hand she beat him across the face as she dug her feet claws into his stomach. Giving another evil laugh she tossed the arms into the raging battle as she bent down and get a hold of his head. "Life...is not for the stupid." she said giving a quick jerk as blood began too spew from the neck as she turned around as throw the head at Tritoch.

ooc: yay blood

[Neo...]

"LEAVE NONE STANDING! GLORY TO THE ADMINS!" The legion of crimson warriors quickly began to flood the area, cutting off any possible escape routes. The players that occupied the field started to spread apart, each having to face the perils of this assault on their own. Neo now stood alone in this battlefield.

How did it come to this? Why did this have to happen? He unsheathed his weapons and prepared himself for any strike that may head his way. Turning his body clockwise, the player scanned the area in hopes that he would catch one of the enemies off guard. The chances of such a thing were slim-to-none. These warriors were obviously quite strong. If this were the real world, I would have a fair chance of holding my own. But in this world... this game, your strength is determined by your level. He sneered at the very thought of those restrictions. Levels... if only there was a way to bypass such an inconvenience.

As Neo had almost completed his clockwise rotation, the red glistening armor of an approaching knight drew his attention back to the battle at hand. The crimson warrior donned a standard suit of armour, but it was all color coded into various shades of red instead of the default colors. His eyes were covered by his spiked helmet. Gripped between his two palms, he held the handle of the huge blade which he allowed to drag along the ground as he swiftly made his way towards the Twinblade. A growing scar formed across the grassy surface of the root town. Suddenly the knight leapt into the air and swung his massive sword around his back so that one edge of the blade was facing his own back, but the other was to be thrust down at the white-haired Vanguard. "For the glory of the Admins, I shall strike thee down!" As those words left the lips of the Heavy Blade, he made his first strike and swung the edge of the sword over his head and brought it down on Neo.

Damn it! The Twinblade jumped back in the knick of time. The mighty blow of the crimson knight's attack left a large scar in the area's terrain, as well as causing shards of the hidden earth to shoot up from the ground. The force of the warrior's attack had also caused the blade to become stuck in between the hard rocks that lay beneath the grassy islands of Dun Loireag. The Heavy Blade tried to pull the blade out with his bare hands, but it wasn't working out too well. Neo was still frozen in the same place where he hand landed from jumping back from the powerful strike. That attack... if it had hit me... would I have died? sweat began to roll down his face. He started to back away from the warrior, unaware of the other battles taking place around him. To Neo, all that existed was the scar of of the Heavy Blade's attack and himself. They don't know... they don't know anything! How can they justify such actions without the necessary information? They're unknowing murderers... all of them!

Neo grasped onto his the handles of his Spiral Edge blades tightly and crouched down towards the ground. His vision was becoming clear once more, as focused his attention on the still distracted Heavy Blade. This is the perfect opportunity for a surprise attack... I can't let the opportunity go to waste... I must strike! With a single powerful thrust from his legs, Neo rushed forward with his blades held out and poised to attack. The oblivious knight paid no attention to the oncoming attack. As he reached the edge of the small crater, the Twinblade leapt into the air and dove at the Heavy Blade. "TAKE THIS!!" He held his two blades above his head brought them down on the player's neck. Before any contact was made on the neck, the knight swiftly swung his right arm in front of the blades. The armoured plating on his forearm deflected the strike completed, leaving nothing more than a faint scratch on the knight's attire. Without a chance to react, the Heavy Blade's fist made contact with Neo's face. The impact of the blow shot Neo back out of scar and his body fell to the ground in a slump.

Such... power... The aching Twinblade opened one of his eyes just as his opponent had finally succeeded in his actions. The shimmering blade of the crimson knight was now freed from the ground which once held it bound. Neo was able to make out a small smirk on the knight's face as he stepped out of the scar and made his way towards the fallen player.

[Asgard]

Asgard and Tritoch continued their battle, blow after blow causing no damage as successful block after successful block was administered. The Wavemaster swung a baseball swing straight for Asgard's cranium, but nimbly ducked underneath the Stormlord Rod. As Tritoch pivoted, he kept the swing in motion and essentially went for a double or nothing attack. Yet, Asgard blocked the hit with both of the swords and held the Wavemaster there, struggling to push the rod forward and into his opponents head. As Tritoch struggled, he visioned a disembodied head in the corner of his eye. Swooping downwards, but keeping the staff where it was, the head passed overhead. The Twin Blade's noggin sailed for a distance and disappeared over the edge of Dun Loireag. Getting back to his feet, he stared Asgard straight in the eye.

"You're holding back. I can feel it." Asgard mentioned to Tritoch. The Dualist stuck his tongue out at Tritoch. The wavemaster growled.

"If I was going all out, I would have killed you already..." Tritoch responded.

"I severely doubt that."

Tritoch growled again. He brought his staff back and called to the heavens, "LANCEOR!" An odd wave of sound covered the city, as Lanceor, the epitome of Light, shone up from the cloudy depths of Dun Loireag. Holding a cannon-like stalactite under his arm, the being began to charge for a monumental attack. Asgard, however, brought Awaikage forward and pointed it at the summon creature.

"ANI BLAST!" A pressurized beam of darkness erupted from the blade tip straight at Lanceor. At the same moment in time, Lanceor released a high voltage present for Asgard, in the form of a lightning beam. The two attacks collided in mid air and exploded over the city in a ball of white hot fire and the darkest energies.

Suffering no harm from the attack, Asgard mounted an offense upon Tritoch. As he stood there, his body began to glow a faint white hue. "It's time you go home, Tritoch!" The aura grew brighter.

"TRI-BLITZ!" In an instant, one Asgard became three. All of the Dualists barreled at Tritoch with two glowing swords for each, both crackling with electricity. Stunned at a move he had never witnessed, Tritoch could only watch as the two clones and the one real began mercilessly beating him down. Every hit felt like being struck by lightning. Each one giving pain a new and brutal meaning.

The attack died and Tritoch could barely keep on his feet. He had to use his Wavemaster rod to keep himself from falling forwards. His technicolor battle robes began to cut and tarnish. "Fool. You should have killed me," was his only reply.

"But where is the fun in that, meatbag?" Asgard said in a ghostly tone. Tritoch didn't answer. He let a hand free and searched through his only pocket, located on his left hip. He grasped a bottle and pulled it out, drinking the contents happily. Within milliseconds of the liquid touching his tongue, his vital energies began to rise to their maximum. The tarnishes in his robe were gone. He broguht his makeshift cane backwards, standing tall on his two feet.

"A Healing Elixir. How quaint..." Asgard mentioned, twirling Ultima around his hand like a hula hoop. Tritoch didn't find his gesture so...amusing.

"Now for a plot twist, Mr. Hero..." Looking to Vera, the one who rudely threw the Crimson Guard's head at the Wavemaster, he motioned with an outstretched hand in her direction. A translucent shockwave shot out from his hand and struck Vera straight in the chest. "Now playtime ends..."

He raised his hand up high and Vera sailed into the air, much like a puppet with invisible strings. She floated motionless in the air, over the group. Tritoch motioned backward and Vera followed suit, traversing over the city and out into a groundless part of the city. She was at least thirty meters up and two meters away from land.

"Now. Here are the rules of engagement," said the coy Wavemaster, "If you try and jump for her, she dies. If you try and attack me, she dies. If I even SEE you look at me strangely, she dies. Now," he turned to Asgard, "I only ask for a simple thing. You come with me to stand trial and/or deletion, whichever is seen fit."

"And if I don't?" the Dualist asked.

"Tch," he started, "She dies...You have five minutes. If you value your friends life, then do as I say, whelp..."

Some of the party members were astonished that it had come to this. Threats. They looked at the floating Vera in complete dismay. Asgard corrected the situation.

"Don't just stand there! There's more Crimson Guards coming!" As he spoke, more of the red armored players made their way out from the chaos gate. The numbers were starting to become 3:1.

In this case, not good odds....

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OOC: That Quad Blitz move is something I'm working on. Pretty much like an Overdrive/Limit Break move, but costs a lot of SP. Maybe half. I'm working out the minor details on it, but I hope to have it when the first leg of "Tour de Monde" is done. Quad Blitz was my idea, so if you want to run your "Unleash" ability by me, PM me or e-mail facade001@hotmail.com

Also, now you can fight to your hearts content. This is just filler for people who want to keep posting. The guards are lv 20 too.

Later days...