RPG .hack//TRUTH

[Che]

[FONT=Arial][size=2][COLOR=DimGray]Katsuki could feel pressure in the back of her head. In her chest. Her pulse was racing, she could feel it-No, she could [i]hear[/i] it. Her eyes stung, despite her tears. A few hiccups came here and there.

The worst part was the nausea. God, she felt like she was going to throw up on her keyboard. But no, she held everything in. Sure, she hadn't been hit with a Data Drain, but she didn't need it.

This? This was all fear.[/color]

Sakura shook, eyes wide, staring straight at Kite. She hadn't known that the scream came from her.[color=navy] "Kite, please, don't,"[/color] she breathed again, her vocal chords. She didn't even realize what was going on. She wasn't seeing Macha attack everyone around her. She didn't see Kayla, Sora, Kite, Subaru, Silver Knight, and all the rest being attacked by not Kia, nor Mia, but Macha.

She saw only Kite's wrist, glowing with the Bracelet. Threateningly, it sat on his gloved hand, waiting to be used against their friends. Kia had been their [i]friend[/i]. How could they fight her like this? The same with Mia! [i]We're comrades! Friends! Companions! We held bonds that went deeper than just 'online buddies'. Why are we fighting each other like this? It'll only result in comas, deaths, and other maladies and ailments.[/i]

[color=navy]"I don't want this!"[/color] Sakura said, her voice finally reaching her own words. [color=navy]"I don't want this at all! I just want everything to go back to normal! I want Dad, I want Kia, I want Mia, I'm sick of this damn game! Of these Phases! Morganna, Aura, the damn Bracelet! I'm sick of it all!"[/color]

She hadn't realized she went down on her knees. Or that she had dropped her weapons. Or that her eyes, both in reality and the game, were red and puffy and still streaming with tears. Her hands were on her head, and she was about to collapse on the ground completely.

[color=navy]"What the Hell kind of life is this, where I'm supposed to kill my best friend?!"[/color] She shouted to the dirt.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Macha, hovering above, a sinister smile playing on her face. No sign of that emotion that held while Kia was in control, only a program, designed to kill. [COLOR=Navy]"d0N't y0U |1k3 tH3 g@m3, 5aKur@?"[/COLOR] Asked the Temptress.

Sakura didn't even look up. Somewhere behind her, Kayla was screaming for her to get up. But she couldn't. Sakura couldn't will herself to get off her knees. [i]What would it be like, being in a coma?[/i] She wondered vaguely. [i]Will I become a trapped player? Or will I be blessed with a peaceful sleep?[/i]

[color=navy]"Probably not..."[/color] She mumbled. Finally, she looked at Macha. Footsteps behind her signaled Kayla and Kite's approach. They would hassle her, if she was a trapped player. Wouldn't let the subject down. [i]Fine then.[/i] She thought, a new sense of determination coming from that simple thought. [i]If I can't get a moment's peace, then I won't take the offer at all.[/i] Staring at Macha straight in the eye was like staring at your worst fear.

[COLOR=DimGray]Coincidentally, for a split second, Katsuki saw a clown in Macha's place.[/color]

Finally, Sakura flipped through her inventory, and found the lone scroll she had left.

[color=navy]"The Moon."[/color]

With a sigh of relief, Sakura stared at Macha's status ailment, and waited for everyone to take advantage of it, seeing as she couldn't bare to do anything herself.[/size][/FONT]

[DDG]

[size=1]Not dead. Just resting. =) (Lookie! A little congratulatory graphic I made for TRUTH ?- [url=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v61/DDG14/truth-stats.jpg]click here[/url] *hearts Paint Shop Pro*)

Oh, and randomly? I wrote a post for TRUTH exactly one year ago to this day (don?t ask [i]why[/I] I still have it saved on my computer ? I just [i]do[/I]). It?s sad that I notice things like this.[/size]

---

[color=gray]?ThAt?S nO fUn.?[/color]

[color=darkgreen]Kayla could have sworn that everything suddenly stopped, if only for a split-second. The field jerked and a ripple spread through midair ? like someone had just hit the ?pause? button on a VCR.

When the game ?resumed,? the ripple spread across and down the field. Kayla smacked her computer monitor, not sure if it was the game or her computer playing tricks on her.

But more ripples appeared and interrupted the normal game flow. The field jerked, spasmed. The players lagged with robotic movement. The background music took on an undertone of static, even lapsing into silence for brief periods.

Kayla?s eyes shot up and away from the ripple pulsating across the ground beside her and locked eyes with Macha?s, latched onto those cold, emotionless orbs and widening her own as things made their slow fall into place. Like Tetris, the blocks came down, she spun them, fit them, moved on to the next as it fell, made it fit.

[i]Don?t they understand? Can?t they see it?[/I]

She spoke.

But there was only silence.

Was her microphone busted as well? Was this fight taking its toll on her electronics just as much as it was on her emotional and physical well-being?

[i]No, no. Something?s wrong. Don?t . . . understand, but . . . I do.[/I]

There was a resonance. An incessant whir or maybe . . . something.

Then static and . . .

Nothing.

Her headphones too? She couldn?t believe it. Wasn?t . . . right.

What had Macha said?

She couldn?t recall. Couldn?t think clearly. Couldn?t [i]do anything[/I].

Her head throbbed and she dropped a hand away from her controller to clutch it.

And there was a sudden buzzing in her ears now, encompassing and all consuming. Impenetrable, indestructible . . .

Misunderstanding and . . . what?

She grabbed at her ears, bumping the neuro goggles upward and sending her view askew.

Her head spun. Her stomach churned.

And that damned [i]buzzing[/I]!

She flicked her headphones off and pulled her goggles warily back into place.

There was, at first, silence, disorientation, a lackluster attempt to remain balanced.

Her staff struck out at the ground and held her up as she stared, watching in unimpressionable awe while her team mates fought the monster that was beckoning, beckoning, [i]calling[/I], cooing, soft words of easy nature and nonchalance to her, to them, taunting [I]the world[/I] and everything beyond.

Macha blocked a blow and sent the Blademaster flying backward.

[i]Buzzing, buzzing, [b]buzzing[/b].[/I]

She gasped, reached up and made to fling her neuro goggles away because the [i]white noise[/I] was [b]everywhere[/b], in everything. Emanating, resonating, resounding habitual chaotic introspective syllables of understatement and resent and [i]hatred[/I] and [i]loathing[/I].

And Macha was talkingtalkingtalking and hissing and purring and cooing and crying and Kayla?s head was [i]pounding[/I] and she wanted to cry, wanted to scream, wanted to do every little thing she was finding herself incapable of doing as it [i]continued[/I] and [i]refused to stop[/I] even as she begged and pleaded under her breathed in bated whispers, between pants and dry sobs.

[i]Macha, Mia, Mia, Mia, Mia, Mia, Macha, Macha, Macha . . .[/I]

And none of it made sense because she could hear Mia and Macha and Macha and Mia but there was no [i]Kia[/I] and someone couldn?t just up [i]disappear[/I], could they?

But . . .

A whisper. Shallow and overpowered by the shouting and the rest.[/color]

[color=gray][I]?Please . . . help.?[/i][/color]

[color=darkgreen]Kayla retched and everything slowly spun in her vision. The field, her team mates, Macha, Sakura, Kite, Blackrose, Subaru . . . they spun, misshapen and misaligned and morphed and merged and mingled . . .

And she was sick of all the synonyms and the words and the alliteration and maybe the assonance and the confusion and the noise, dear God, the [i]noise[/I] and . . .

She flung her neuro goggles off and slipped from her chair, onto her knees, eyes wide and searching, tears flowing freely with snot running down her nostrils and into her open mouth as she panted, breathing for what she felt like was the first time in forever.

Had she been holding her breath? Between the nausea and the nostalgia and neurotic trauma? The assault and the assertions and asinine acidity of it all?

Alliterative misappropriation of the facts and factual misappropriate alliteration. What the hell was going on? She groaned, held her head and fell to her side, eyes focusing immediately on the neuro goggles nearby.

She could see . . . them, the field, her team mates, Macha. Fighting, fighting, fighting and they [i]didn?t understand[/I].

The Moon . . . it?s impossible. Status ailments . . . Macha . . . the Temptress . . .

Doesn?t work. Doesn?tdoesn?tdoesn?t.

The one?s who were under the spell were her team mates and she was leaving them to die.

Her stomach lurched again and she forced herself up, grabbing the neuro goggles and sliding them on before feeling around on top of her desk for the controller.[/color]

[color=gray]?Kia . . . in there. Somewhere. Trapped. In trouble . . . Macha, Mia . . . can?t . . . doesn?t.?[/color]

[color=darkgreen]She sucked in a breath and shook her head. Everything was jumbled and jammed and she couldn?t make sense of it.

And then, she could.[/color]

[color=gray]?Kia . . . Kia! She?s . . . in there! Trapped! Stop it! Stop it! STOP IT! You?re killing her dammit!?[/color]

---

[size=1][strike]Coherency? Who needs it? I sure don?t.[/strike] Two wrongs make a right, but why do two dashes make a line while three make...nothing? [strike]I see your post and raise you eight. Let's get this show on the road.[/strike][/size]

[Neko]

[SIZE=1]Neko has been a good girl and waited. She's checked the boards every day! And, alas, she was beginning to lose faith. Bad Neko! Bad! DDG said we'd see this thing through to the end, and so by jingo, we will!

Although, Neko must admit...*eyes twitch as she reads DDG's post*...DDG-chan broke Neko's brain... :animedepr Neko doesn't think she can top that last one, but she'll give it a shot.

Oh, and by the way, that last post is now officially Neko's favorite section of this story or any story, and Neko thinks DDG wins about six internets for it.

No, Neko doesn't know why she's speaking in third-person. She just is.

EDIT: Oh, and the TRUTH stat graphic wins, as well. Could Neko have a banner-legal version pwease?[/SIZE]

----------

[COLOR=Navy]What was happening? Random, inane half-sounds, nonsensical strings of sentences patched poorly together into a static carnival of insanity. Ten million voices filled her head, shouting, always shouting. About what? Here was a Macha, there was a Mia, and in between thousands of fractured voices. A misaligned reality clashing with a misaligned fabrication.

Mia, Macha.

Mia, Macha.

A Mia and a Macha.

A Mia and a Macha!

A Macha and a Mia!



…A Mia and a Macha…?

…[I]What[/I]…?

Separate from the fighting, the hurting, the pain, her mind reeled. Two entities were fighting for control of her body. Neither of them were her. Mia? Macha? Who…?

And while these other people were fighting, trying to hurt her, trying to kill her, one just stood there. But at the same time, that girl, too, was reeling. Shaking, falling over, writhing on the floor. Who was she?

A word came to her.

Kayla. But…but what was a ‘Kayla’, exactly? Oh, yes! Her best friend! How could she have forgotten? But…but she was in so much pain. Why?

Mia and Macha. Macha and Mia. Macha, Mia. Mia, Mia, Macha. What the Hell…?

She wanted to scream in pain, in frustration, in despair, in [I]hatred[/I], but she couldn’t do anything. Couldn’t scream, cry, or even blink, or even cover her ears, could only watch and listen to the shrieking voices drowning out everything else.

What place did she have in this battle between two more powerful minds? Mia and Macha. Whoever came out on top, she lost. But why? What had she ever done to deserve this? What made her deserve to be a slave of her own mind, her prison, her body?

Kayla, Sakura, Subaru, Balmung, Kite, Blackrose, Helba. Friends. Why? The Phases. Morganna. Bad. Enemies. Cursed Wave. Random words flitting through her head at twenty billion miles a minute, and still, she could only think about what everyone else was going through, could only concentrate on a girl superimposed on the Kayla, pulling herself desperately back up to a desk.

And suddenly, she remembered. No, no, more like she [I]realized[/I]. There was no reason for any of this to be happening. The Hell with this Mia, this Macha. This is [I]my[/I] body, dammit! [I]Mine[/I]!

With all her might, Kia managed to seize control. [COLOR=DimGray]Why are you hurting them?![/COLOR] She demanded. [COLOR=DimGray]What are you doing to Kayla?![/COLOR]

[COLOR=DimGray]Your so-called friends are trying to kill you,[/COLOR] a thought from one of the other minds observed. Macha.

[COLOR=DimGray]If this is what I’ve become, then let them kill me,[/COLOR] Kia shouted angrily back at…herself…? No, no. Macha. Must focus. Focus, Kia! [COLOR=DimGray]You deserve to die, too. You'll destroy the real world![/COLOR]

[COLOR=DimGray]The ‘real’ world, you say?[/COLOR] the voice purred. [COLOR=DimGray]The [I]real[/I] world? Which world is more ‘real’ to you? Is it this world that is the fake one, or is it that one? You live here. If they succeed in their goal, you will cease to be. It will be [I]your[/I] world that is lost.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=DimGray]Shut up![/COLOR] Kia shouted. That couldn’t be true. Kayla, Sakura, Kite and the others…they were her friends. Her [I]only[/I] friends. They were almost like family to her. They would never do anything to hurt her. They wouldn’t…would they?

[COLOR=DimGray]It’s true![/COLOR] The voice laughed. [COLOR=DimGray]It’s true, it’s true, true, true, all true! All true![/COLOR] And the voice grew louder, and louder, and Kia thought she might die from the impact of the voice, and she couldn’t control her body anymore, and everything, the players, the field, the struggling girl, all shook and shivered and bent out of existence.

And suddenly, although she couldn’t focus, could hardly breath, Kia felt a sudden, sharp stab, a painfully sweet puncture. She looked with shocked eyes at a deep cut along her stomach as Sakura jumped in for another, equally painful blow. Macha controlled the body, but the pain was all [I]hers[/I] to bare. She screamed silently inside herself.

One last plea. Kayla was still being mentally assaulted by Macha, everyone else seemed unaffected. One last desperate cry before fading out of existence forever. One last effort. Have to put everything you’ve got into it, or it won’t get through. [COLOR=DimGray]Please…help…[/COLOR]

And that was it. She could do no more than watch, and listen, and scream in pain at each and every blow inflicted on her as Macha relentlessly continued fighting, deliberately threw itself in front of every attack. Macha had sensed her silent cry, and the pitch, the noise, the nausea, had only increased. If Kayla was hearing what she was, then she was surprised Kayla wasn’t already dead.

Another attack. Another deep pain. Another silent scream. And she knew that she was dying. And somehow, it almost seemed a relief. After all, she’d already died once. How could this be any worse?

But then…

[B]“Kia . . . Kia! She’s . . . in there! Trapped! Stop it! Stop it! [I]STOP IT[/I]! You’re [I]killing[/I] her, dammit!”[/B]

K…Kay…that girl? She was defending her? What? [COLOR=DimGray]No…no, don’t try to save me, I’m already gone.[/COLOR] She held her arm out, a ring formed around her wrist, and fired a blast of light at the nearest player. The blue-haired girl wielding an axe flew back, lifeless. A few people might’ve shouted. With the pitch of that constant screaming, it didn’t really matter. But that one girl was trying to [I]save[/I] her! Suddenly, she felt a renewed energy. A shattering sound. Another Protect Break. The boy in red leveled his arm at her and powered up an attack.

[B]“Kite, [I]no[/I]!”[/B] the girl shouted. [B]“You’ll kill her…you’ll [I]kill[/I] her! She’ll never come back!”[/B] The boy’s hand wavered, hesitant. A warm feeling inside. A mental smile. She had won.

[COLOR=DimGray]We will beat you,[/COLOR] Kia said simply.

[COLOR=DimGray]The others might, someday. As for you, you’re just like us. A Nothing.[/COLOR] She jumped forward in the blink of an eye, ran straight into the girl, and suddenly was holding her, again, a foot off the ground. Her wrist began to glow…

Now or never. No strength left to try again. [COLOR=DimGray]You will never take my friends from me.[/COLOR] She surged up one last time, and seized control of just that arm. The entire battle froze. Macha glared hatefully into Kayla’s eyes. But a sudden change swept over her features. A friendly smile. A sorrowful smile. Best of friends. Do it now.

[B]“…K-…Kia…?”[/B] Kayla choked out.

[B]“Your call, Kayla,”[/B] Kite shouted, his outstretched arm pulsing with the energy that would end her. [B]“Your friend, your call.”[/B]

[B]“I…I c-can't…”[/B]

[B]“If you don’t do it now,”[/B] Kia whispered in her normal voice, [B]“You will never get another chance.”[/B]

[B]“B-but I…”[/B] Kayla stopped mid-objection. The look in those strange eyes looked almost human. But they were set and determined and there was no changing her mind.

[B]“Do it,”[/B] Kayla cried. Kite nodded, the blast loosed itself. Kayla closed her eyes, didn’t want to see it happen, couldn’t see it happen. Kia felt it, too. The sweeping rush of destruction racing to meet her. Racing to destroy her.

[B]“Don’t forget me,”[/B] were the last words she whispered before being blown fifty feet through the air.

----------

Amidst the shimmering light of raw power, a girl floated, stranded in a raging inferno of blinding radiance. She could feel her body peeling away, could feel everything being torn completely apart. The voices in her head were gone, too. [COLOR=DimGray]You belong with us, Nothing,[/COLOR] was the last thing one said, before being silenced forever. Finally, the girl landed on the floor with a dull [I]thud[/I]. She was out instantly.



[B]“Kia…Kia? Are you…are you alright?”[/B]

The girl opened her eyes. There was a bright sun glowing up in the sky. She heard water nearby, too. Her vision was a blur, but it was coming into focus slowly. Six people were staring down at her anxiously. She sat up, shook her head a bit.

[B]“Where…am I…?”[/B] she asked.

[B]“Mac Anu, Kia. But don’t worry about that right now. How are you still…well...[I]here[/I]…?”[/B] One of them asked.

The girl pointed to her chest. [B]“I’m a…[I]Kia[/I]…?”[/B] she asked slowly, trying to understand.

[B]“Well, we certainly [I]hope[/I] so,”[/B] a green-haired person smirked rudely.

[B]“I see…”[/B] the girl said in that same slow, hesitant voice. She looked around at the group of people, stared at them long and hard. She even tilted her head to one side. Finally, she pointed her finger at the brown haired one holding a staff. Her finger swept across until it had pointed at each of them, from left to right.

[B]“And…who are [I]you[/I]…?”[/B][/COLOR]

----------

[SIZE=1]And so, Kayla has gone through the equivalent of having your brains smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped around a relatively large gold brick, and Kia's just...well, Kia's being an amnesiac, and Neko would like it to stay that way until further notice. Try to avoid too much contact with her. Neko would say that even though Macha was destroyed, it pretty much won this battle, huh?

EDIT^2: Oh yeah, and if anything important happens after the Macha fight (Neko hasn't played the game for so long now she can't remember), that can happen before Kia wakes up.[/SIZE]

[Che]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=Indigo][FONT=Arial]((Yargh. I couldn't and still can't think of diddly squat to write here. I think it was my brains that got smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped around a relatively large gold brick...))[/COLOR]
- - - - -

[COLOR=Black]Sakura knelt down next to Kia.[/COLOR][COLOR=Navy] "You mean, you don't remember us...at all?" [/COLOR][COLOR=Black] She asked hesitantly. Honestly, truthfully, she didn't want to know the answer. She wanted to log out right then and there, but...

Kia shook her head 'no' and tilted her head to the side. [/COLOR] [COLOR=Navy]"Should I?" [/COLOR][COLOR=Black] She asked.

There was a simuntaneous groan from the group. After all their efforts of saving Kia and defeating Macha...Kia didn't even remember them.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=Navy]"Yes, you should,"[/COLOR][COLOR=Black] Sakura sighed,[/COLOR][COLOR=Navy] "But, since you don't, hello, Kia, my name is Sakura."[/COLOR][/FONT][/SIZE]

[DDG]

[FONT=Times New Roman]"Sah...koo...rah?"

[color=DarkGreen]Kayla slumped against the nearest wall, the end of her staff slipping and hooking into a crack in the cobblestone beneath her feet. She clenched her hands around the wood as she fell slightly forward and the staff kept her from falling flat on her face.

This was....nuts. Completely and utterly crazy.

Mia had, once again, become Macha, the Temptress and sixth phase...and then....Kia had become a [i]part[/I] of the Temptress. The phase had been defeated, Mia was...gone and Kia was...was....

Suffering from memory loss.

Kayla shook her head slowly, trying to make sense of things.

It wasn?t Kia?s memory loss that worried her so much as how she (and everyone else) had failed to consider that it was even [i]remotely[/I] possible that Mia would become phase six again.

How? How was it possible? Kayla knew the original story of the dot hackers like the back of her hand. It wasn?t as if she had just [i]forgotten[/I] what had happened the first time around. She knew exactly what it had taken for Mia to become phase six, how she had done just that, been defeated and thought gone for good, and then brought back later with no memory of what had happened...

Was it the fact that she had been brought back after Morganna?s destruction that had caused everyone to think things wouldn?t be the same the second time around? That Mia would be exempt somehow from Morganna?s clutches? Was it all just false hope? Everyone hoping that their friend wouldn?t go down the same path again?

Or...was there something else involved? Something...more sinister? Could the game be manipulating [i]us[/I] as much as we?re manipulating it? Could...could it...

Kayla shook her head once again. It was too much to think about at this point. The circumstances of everything happening within The World at this point suddenly becoming much more complex than she, or anyone else, had originally foreseen...

She lifted her head up and met the gaze of Sakura. Sakura?s expression was somber and Kayla had a feeling that her own visage was bearing an expression similar.

Something suddenly clicked inside the masses of swirling thoughts about past and recent events in The World currently cluttering Kayla?s thoughts and, using her staff as leverage, Kayla pulled herself off from the wall.

She nodded, her face grimly set, and turned to the group of five while they made failed attempts to jog Kia?s memory.[/color]

?Everyone ? ?

[color=DarkGreen]All five turned to face Kayla.

She blinked, her mouth hanging half open in slight shock that she had gotten their attention so easily, before quickly clearing her throat and continuing.[/color]

?I would like to request that we conduct a meeting ? ?

[color=DarkGreen]Sora snickered.[/color] ??Like to request that we conduct?... hah! What are you, thirty??

?Shush!?

? ? in the real world, to discuss what is going on without ? or with less, anyway ? fear of eavesdropping by parties which currently seek our immediate banning, deletion and even arrest.? [color=DarkGreen]Kayla paused, waiting for any response from the group.

When she received none, she went on.[/color] ?As there seem to be no complaints, I am declaring the meeting to be officially ?on,? for noon tomorrow at the Cyber Café. And if the five of you would be so kind as to contact the others and inform them of said meeting, I would appreciate it.?

[color=DarkGreen]And with a final grim smile to the group, Kayla logged out and stumbled off to bed.[/color][/font]

[Che]

[FONT="Verdana"][SIZE="2"]The next morning, Katsuki stumbled into the bathroom and immediately proceeded to be sick. She was miserable. It took her hours to fall asleep after she logged out and even after she did, it was a sleep plauged with nightmares. The girl couldn't get the image of suffering Kia out of her head.

[COLOR="Navy"]"Ki...a..."[/COLOR] She moaned before vomitting in the toilet again.

They killed her. Sure, she came back as an amnesiac AI, but they still killed her. And Mia. Kia and Mia. Dead.

Finally, after a few more moments, Katsuki picked herself off the bathroom floor and jumped into the shower, to clean herself of the sweat, tears, and fear of last night, and the grossness of this morning.

- - - - -

[COLOR="navy"]"Mom! I'm going to the cafe for a donut. You want anything?"
"Blueberry muffin, please. Don't do anything dangerous."
"I won't. Just a meeting."[/COLOR]

- - - - -

Walking in, Katsuki looked around, and instantly spotted her favorite male companion. [COLOR="navy"]"Sora!"[/COLOR] She called, waving and running over to him.

[COLOR="navy"]"How are you doing?"[/COLOR] He asked, looking at the girl. She held out her index and middle fingers, making a V.

[COLOR="navy"]"Better now,"[/COLOR] she lied chirpily. [COLOR="navy"]"You?"[/COLOR]

He shrugged. [COLOR="navy"]"Fine, I guess. You see Kayla anywhere?"[/COLOR]

Katsuki looked around, looking for her commander and chief.

[COLOR="Blue"]---------

Let's get this thing going! Woo hoo![/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[Neko]

Omigosh I have missed this! Agh! But I was left at a point where I couldn't really do anything, even though it was my 'turn'. Sorry bout that. Hopefully, we can get this story kicking again, it's sooo much fun to do!:catgirl:

[COLOR="Navy"][SIZE="1"][B]"Kia. Kia. Kia."[/B]

No problems there.

[B]"Kayla. Sakura."[/B]

Fine.

[B]"Sora. Kite. Subaru. Silver Knight."[/B]

All good. A snicker at that last one, but she didn't know why.

Whatever.

[B]"My name is 'Kia',"[/B] she told herself, walking through Mac Anu. [B]"K-i-a. Kia. This is 'the World'."[/B] Well that seemed silly, of [I]course[/I] this was the world. Otherwise where would it be? But the others - this 'Kayla', and this 'Sakura' - had played up that fact to great importance. Like it was a word play, or a double-meaning. They called themselves her friends. She thought that took a lot of nerve on their part, calling themselves someone who didn't even know them's friends. If she'd had friends as lively as that bunch, she figured she'd've probably remembered something about them.

But on that account, shouldn't she know something about [I]herself[/I]?

Ah, too much thinking again. Thinking too hard made her head hurt. She thought. Did it? She didn't know. Best not to think about it. Hmmm.



Who was she again?

Kia. Oh, yeah, that was it. She'd have to focus harder. It'd be kinda silly to keep forgetting things as simple as your own name, wouldn't it? Most inconvenient.

[B]"Kia, Kia, Kiaaaa~..."[/B] she repeated the word over and over again until it lost its meaning and just floated around meaninglessly in her head. A few people gave her an interesting look as she passsed them by, randomly weaving throughout the vast network of streets.

[B]"Well,"[/B] she finally stated to herself, having nobody else in particular to state it to, [B]"I guess there's really no point in worrying over any of it. I mean, I'm here, right? That'll work for now."[/B] There. That oughtta keep those wierd questions in her head from bugging her for a bit. Sure, she was completely clueless as to what exactly was going on, and what her circumstances for being here were, but whatever. As soon as her...what was it again? ... ...ah, yes, 'friends'... got back from...wherever they had gone, they'd explain things to her more clearly. At least, that's what they'd said.

Although, admittedly, when they said that, they seemed almost as confused as she was. Disturbing.

She suddenly found herself looking down into an alley that appeared to be a dead end. There was this strange feeling of...familiarity...to this place. So she decided to investigate. She followed the alley, made a short turn, and, sure enough, dead end. Boring. She sighed, and began to turn around.

[B]"Kia."[/B]

Hmmm...?

She turned back around.

[B]"Kia. A word to define an individual."[/B] She had looked at herself in reflections in the water before, but this was a bit different. What was talking to her appeared to be...herself. Only there was something a bit different about her. Tight black leather for her clothes. Her hair was longer, and seemed a bit more silver-ish than her own bright pink. Her eyes also, deviated from her usual pink, and appeared slightly reddish. In her hands she held two wicked, curved scyth-like objects. It was like looking into a mirror, only with some of the features changed around. The girl extended her hand to her and spoke.

[B]"Are you...'Kia'?"[/B]

She shook her head. [B]"I...I'm not sure yet."[/B]

The girl almost seemed to smirk cockily, like she was making fun of her. [B]"Maybe, but [I]I[/I] am."[/B] And with that, the girl turned away, walked a few steps, and vanished into the wall, logic be damned.

And for a second, she remembered something. Just for an instant. She couldn't even fully grasp what it was before it slipped away again, but it must've been terrible. Her head exploded in pain. It sounded like a large bomb-powered chainsaw grinding away at her skull. She clamped her hands down on her ears so hard her fingernails drew blood, but the shrieking noise didn't stop.

Kia, Mia, Phase, Kite, Bracelet. Kayla. Sakura. Friends enemies WorldgameMorgannaSkeithrippleCubiadraindataTwilight!

[B]Aura[/B].

She passed out from the pain.

And later, when she woke up...

[B]"Kia. K-i-a. Kiaaaa~."[/B] Playing around with these sounds she could make with her mouth was so amusing, that she completely forgot about everything again, only wondering when those people that she could already only vaguely remember would return.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

Hmmm. I kinda like doing the 'confused Kia' writing style. It's funny, but retains a sense of seriousness. This could be fun.

[DDG]

[color=green]Kayla woke up two and a half hours after having passed out in her bed. She woke up hot, tired and drenched in sweat -- sweat not even caused by the summer's heat, but rather sweat caused by her dreams. No, no, not even dreams. They had been nightmares. Nightmares of the sort that she hadn't had since she was a child.

Minutes after awakening, she couldn't even remember full details from the nightmares that had plagued her tortured sleep full of twisting and turning, with covers and sheets being tossed to and fro, before eventually settling upon the floor in a ragged heap. She could only remember the slightest feeling of fear, of terror, and momentary flashes of disjointed images -- colors, mostly, with the occasional distorted face or shape thrown in the mix. And after even more minutes had passed, these memories also faded and slipped away, falling back into the depths of her subconscious mind.

Falling back only temporarily, she knew. As soon as sleep was to overcome her once again, the nightmares would return with full-force.

With this in mind, Kayla sat up and stumbled from her bed to her desk before logging in to The World.

Seven hours later, after her first time in a long time spending insomnia-induced hours leveling up within The World, she finally saved, logged off and decided it was time to head to the cyber cafe.[/color]

[Che]

[FONT="Century Gothic"][SIZE="1"][COLOR="Blue"]Alright! DDG has assigned me the task of conducting the meeting-post, and so I'm going to do my best! I know I'm not the best at serious posts, so please bear with me! *pumps fists* Yosh[/COLOR]

- - - - -

Katsuki called out to her friend as soon as she saw the girl walk into the cafe. [COLOR="DarkSlateBlue"]"Oi, Kayla! We're over here!"[/COLOR] Kayla trudged over, yawning and looking quite dazed through half lidded eyes. [COLOR="darkslateblue"]"Are you okay? You don't look so good, Kay."[/COLOR]

[COLOR="darkslateblue"]"I didn't sleep well,"[/COLOR] Kayla responded. [COLOR="darkslateblue"]"Let's start this."[/COLOR]

Everyone gathered around the table, and Katsuki handed Kayla the coffee she had ordered her. Kayla took the cup and sipped at it a little before standing up.

[COLOR="darkslateblue"]"Kia and Mia both had their data modified, no doubt by Morganna, and combined them to make Macha,"[/COLOR] Kayla began, recapping what they already knew. [COLOR="darkslateblue"]"To defeat Macha, Kite used Data Drain. The Data Drain caused a separation between Kia and Mia, resulting in Mia's disappearance and Kia's memory loss."[/COLOR]

[COLOR="darkslateblue"]"Right,"[/COLOR] Elk murmured, nodding his head. He'd been awful quiet lately as well... it must have been Mia. Fighting this battle must have hit him harder than the rest of them.

[COLOR="darkslateblue"]"So, what do we do about Kia's memories?" [/COLOR]Katsuki asked worriedly.

Kayla shook her head. [COLOR="darkslateblue"]"I have no idea. The only thing to do, I think, would be to continue going after the Wave."[/COLOR]

There was a long puase, and everyone was lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Kite spoke up, [COLOR="darkslateblue"]"Kayla, isn't there anything else we can do?"[/COLOR] Kayla gave him a quizzical stare, and he continued. [COLOR="darkslateblue"]"Not counting these incidents with Kia, we're following the same basic path as the last time this happened. Since obviously what we did last time wasn't a permanent solution, shouldn't we try taking a different approach to this?"[/COLOR]

There was a murmur of agreement all around. [COLOR="darkslateblue"]"I suppose, but..."[/COLOR] Kayla trailed off, thinking. [COLOR="darkslateblue"]"We'll see. It's hard enough doing what we're doing now, so we may not be able to figure out another strategy, but we'll try."[/COLOR]

There was another pause. Everyone began formulating their own strategy, but, when Katsuki asked, [COLOR="darkslateblue"]"Anyone think of anything?"[/COLOR] No one decided to speaak up.

[COLOR="darkslateblue"]"Any other concerns?"[/COLOR] Kayla asked. At receiving no responses, she shrugged, and sat down. [COLOR="darkslateblue"]"Meeting adjurned, then."[/COLOR]

A few people left. A few people got on the computers. Kayla was still seated, thinking as she sipped her coffe. Katsuki frowned. [COLOR="darkslateblue"]"Say, Kayla," she said, standing up next to her, "you know what we haven't done in a while?"[/COLOR]

Kayla shook her head. [COLOR="darkslateblue"]"What haven't we done in a while?"[/COLOR]

[COLOR="darkslateblue"]"Let's go to the video store,"[/COLOR] Katsuki suggested, grinning madly.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[Neko]

[COLOR="Navy"][SIZE="1"][B]"So, I'm inside some kind of game..."[/B] she muttered quietly to herself, not wanting to seem odd in front of so many people. She had done a bit of asking around, done some information gathering while waiting for those other players to return, and while she didn't understand most of the details, she had been able to conclude that the world she was now looking at - [I]through her own two eyes[/I] - was not the real world. Some kind of online game. for some reason, this concept made perfect sense to her, and she didn't question it.

She also didn't question why, then, she couldn't 'log out' of this world. That particular question, when she did any amount of thinking on it, set her mind on fire with the pain of thousands of memories she wasn't ready to remember yet.

At any rate, she was getting bored. Well, if this world was really a game, then she would just have to play it. She walked up to this 'chaos gate' thing that one of the friendlier players had told her about, and selected three keywords from the screen that appeared in the blue-ish field inside the revolving circle. The field was outlined for her, along with a bunch of numbers she didn't really understand. Dungeon type, monster type...area level 27...didn't make any sense to her, so she simply nodded and stepped into the blue haze, disappearing instantly.

She reappeared in a sunny field with beautiful scenery. [B]"Wow..."[/B] she sighed, admiring the view. She took a deep breath, taking in the sweet air, basking in the cool breeze against the warm sun. This was some game. She set out in search of a portal. It didn't take her long to find one.

The portal dissolved in front of her, leaving six rather scrawny-looking goblin-ish creatures. [B]"Small fry,"[/B] Kia smirked. The entire concept that there were twenty-six levels between her own and this area simply did not register with her. The goblins all turned to face her, brandishing little knives.

[B]"That's kinda cute,"[/B] she laughed. She reached back and unsheathed her own weapons - two ornate, deep-blue blades, about a foot and a half long each, and held them out in an offensive stance. She briefly wondered where exactly she had gotten the weapons from, but she shook her head, realizing that she really didn't care.

Within moments, the six enemies had surrounded her, and drew in for the kill. Kia smiled as one drew closer a bit quicker than the rest and lunged in for a quick stab. She easily whirled off to the side, bringing one of her own blades down in a braining arc. The blade cleaved through the beast's skull and followed through down to the chest. The thing fell, lifeless, to the ground. The others seemed to halt for a moment, considering.

[B]"Not so tough, are ya?"[/B] she laughed, exuding infinite self-confidence. She dashed nimbly forward and swung both her blades crosswise across another goblin. It fell, minus it's head, and disappeared. She giggled with excitement. [I]This is too easy[/I], she thought. She dispatched the rest of the enemies in similar fashion.

With her opponents defeated, she took a moment to catch her breath, and looked down at her body. She was certainly built for this kind of game; her limbs were lithe and nimble, her figure thin and wiry, better suited to evade-and-retaliate tactics. She got the impression she wouldn't take too well to being hit, but she wasn't even worried about that, with how agile she was.

The next portal hummed as it left, and out emerged an enormous, hulking creature completely covered in armor, with a giant spikeball attached to its right arm. [I]This seems more like it[/I], she thought to herself as she lunged forward. She dashed in and swung her blades. The strike clanged uselessly against the heavy plating the creature wore, and the wavering of the air beside her announced that huge spikeball as it swiftly came in from the side in a wide sweep. She reacted just in time, jumping nimbly over the thing's arm before it struck her.

She drew back for a moment, considering. How could she combat a creature that was fully clad in impenetrable armor? She glanced up at the thing's head, where one big, red eye glinted evilly at her, exposed by a parting in the helm so that the monster could see. [I]That[/I] was its weakness. Go for the eye. But how to get up there?

An answer presented itself to her as the massive creature lumbered over to her, bringing its mace-like arm down in a deadly smash. She jumped to the side nimbly, and the ball fell with hammer-like force to the ground, sending up a spray of grass and dirt shooting outwards from the shock of impact. In an instant, she sprang up onto the spikeball and sprinted up the thing's arm, scaling the beast. She smiled to herself, her blades glinting in her eyes. As the thing broughs its arm up, she leapt up again, drew back a blade, and plunged it deep into that red orb that was the beast's eye. There was an otherworldly moan as the creature fell back, bringing its arm up to smash her against it. She vaulted nimbly off of its shoulder and landed safely on the ground as the Tetra Armor fell to the ground, crushing its own head with its arm.

[B]"Whew..."[/B] She sighed, catching her breath. "Now [I]that[/I] was a fun one. She felt a bit tired, so she decided to return to the town she had been at. The mere thought of returning was enough to trigger the gate-out, and within seconds, she was back.

She smiled to herself. This truly was a fun game. She ran off to the central plaza, hoping to find the others there, but, to her dismay, they still weren't there. That was a shame; she'd like to go on another adventure, but have someone else there with her. It'd be more fun that way. So, she picked a corner to lean up against, and she waited.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

Kia's new personality is incredibly cheerful and somewhat reckless, no?

Those are bugged weapons that she got from Kite, by the way. Aside from the fact that she deals 'real' damage to enemies (like if you stab it's head, it'll probably die), this helps to account for how strong she is.:catgirl:

[DDG]

[COLOR="Green"][i]The video store, huh?[/i] Kayla idly smiled, approving of Katsuki idea. It [i]had[/i] been awhile... and what better way was there to relieve some stress than to have some good ol' fashioned fun? With a dork who works at a video store, no less.

Kayla turned to Katsuki, thoughtful for a moment, before answering.[/COLOR] "We'll go to the video store, all right. But first..."

[color=green]And as Kayla whispered her devilish plans into Katsuki's ear, they both smiled.[/color]

**

"Huh?"

[color=green]It was short and greenish, a red hat covering its head and a gray beard covering its face, and it was sitting on the checkout counter before him. He blinked, slowly, confused as to its presence, before reaching out and touching it.

Ceramic. A ceramic garden gnome.

But what the hell was it doing there?

He blinked again. Touched the gnome. Blinked. Scratched his head. Blinked again.

Most of all, though, he was wondering how and [i]when[/i] it had gotten there. He hadn't been looking at that pretty girl in the parking lot for too long... had he?

He scratched his head in dull wonder, touching the gnome once again before deciding to ignore it completely. It was none of his concern why it was there and he didn't really care either way. He wasn't paid enough [i]to[/i] care.

It was only a few minutes later that, after having been staring at a whole [i]group[/i] of pretty girls making their way inside the video store, he noticed that the gnome was gone.

He scratched his head, squinted his eyes and then raised an eyebrow.

The gnome was looking at him from the top of the nearest row of videos. It was balanced [i]just right[/i] on the top edge, purposefully and precariously placed.

Someone was playing a trick on him, and he had a very good idea who.

The Silver Knight's placid expression turned to a disdainful frown as he glared out at the rows upon rows of videos, seeking out the two's hiding place with a careful, watchful eye.[/color]

**

[color=green]Kayla and Katsuki, hidden just behind the thickest portion of videos under the gnome's placement, whispered to one another, their next move in the works. Upon agreement, Kayla dropped to her stomach, army crawled a little ways toward the end of the aisle and eased two DVDs aside. She peered through the hole she'd made and eyed Knighty, following his gaze and hoping he didn't spot her.

She saw him glare in the direction of the gnome before moving his line of sight elsewhere. As soon as Kayla was certain the gnome was out of his peripheral, she signaled to Katsuki, who quickly stood, swiped the gnome and took off at a low run to the other side of the store, in the direction of the bathrooms.

The men's bathroom, to be specific.

It had taken some questioning of his fellow employees, but the few minutes spent gaining the knowledge of which stall Knighty regularly used on his bathroom breaks and when he usually took them were well worth it.

Kayla eased the DVDs back into their place and pushed herself into a kneeling position before pivoting and dropping back to her belly to army crawl to the far side of the aisle, just out of Knighty's immediate vision. Once at the end, she casually stood, nodding at the nearby customers who had taken to staring at her strangely, and made her way toward the bathrooms.

Knighty would be using them shortly, and she planned to be just around the corner, laughing her head off, when he flew off his rocker.[/color]

--

[color=gray]OOC: And I believe Che can finish this little scene up. :P[/color]

[Che]

[FONT="Arial"][SIZE="1"][COLOR="DarkSlateBlue"]*cracks knuckles* Okay, let's see what I can do here...

- -[/COLOR]

At first, Katsuki had pushed the door open with her back, her eyes sealed tightly. She was still innocent, in her own sense, and she was going to remain that way. [COLOR="Navy"]"Cover your shame, men," [/COLOR]she called, entering the bathroom. After there was no noise or confused murmurs or any signs of motion at all, the teen braved opening her eyes.

Empty.

[COLOR="navy"]"Thank God," [/COLOR]she sighed, before walking into the stall the other employees had described.

Katsuki sneered. [COLOR="navy"]"Gross..." [/COLOR]she breathed, looking around at the bathroom entirely. [COLOR="navy"]"Men are sick."[/COLOR]

The gnome was heavy in her hands, but she was doing her best not to think about it. The gnome, for the most part, was Kayla's idea, and, for once, Katsuki was rather hesitant. After all, it was [I]creepy[/I]. It just [I]stared[/I]. Nothing else. Just staring and smiling. The girl shuddered and placed it in the toilet bowl, as agreed.

Making sure that her favorite employee wouldn't get [I]too[/I] violated should he forget to look where he was sitting, Katsuki added one last touch. Perhaps it wouldn't be noticed for weeks, but she just couldn't help it. Taking out a pen, she wrote on the wall. A number, and the phrase, [COLOR="navy"]"For a good time. <3"[/COLOR]

It was Sora's number. She giggled and pocketed her pen, before leaving the stall and entering the next one. Locking it and perching herself on the toilet precariously (she was definitely not going to sit, and even if she did, her feet would show, so she "stood"), she waited with bated breath for the employee to enter his stall.

It didn't take long. Her watch beeped ten seconds before hand, so she had time to keep her breathing near-silent and make sure that she was overall unnoticed. Then, without any other warning, the squeaky door opened, and tired, unmotivated footsteps trudged into the stall next to Katsuki's.

The stall door hadn't even closed before she heard the skeptical laughter.
[COLOR="Navy"]
"You have got to be kidding me!" [/COLOR]he exclaimed disbelievingly, and Katsuki had to stuff her knuckles into her mouth to keep from giggling. [COLOR="Navy"]"They're in here somewhere, I know it!"[/COLOR]

A moment of terror; a fear of getting caught. The video store clerk had walked in front of the stall she was in a bent down, checking for feet. Apparently unsatisfied, he checked the next stall, and the next until he was storming out of the bathroom altogether, shouting, [COLOR="Navy"]"Where the hell are you two?!"[/COLOR][/FONT][/SIZE]

[DDG]

[COLOR="Green"]While Katsuki was doing her assigned task, Kayla was browsing a rack of DVDs two stacks away from the employee restrooms. From there, she had the perfect view of Knighty leaving the checkout counter and heading to the bathroom. And from there, less than a minute after he'd entered the men's restroom, she had the perfect view of his anger-flushed face and his teeth-baring snarl as he reemerged from the restroom.[/COLOR]

[COLOR="Green"]Eyes narrowed as he took a cursory glance around the surrounding area, Knighty shouted,[/COLOR] "Where the hell are you two?!" [COLOR="Green"]before glaring at the now-staring customers.[/COLOR]

"What are you all looking at?" [COLOR="Green"]Knighty scowled, glowered and glared some more before huffily turning to the nearest aisle and heading down it, on a futile search for the two girls whose torment never seemed to end.

Kayla snickered from her place, and picked up a nearby movie, intrigued by its title.[/COLOR]
[I]
THE WORM[/I]

[COLOR="Green"]Something was itching at her, in the back of her mind, but she couldn't quite grasp it. Frowning, Kayla turned the movie's case over and read the summary on the back.[/COLOR]

[I]When a computer program originally designed for good suddenly turns decidedly evil, creating thousands of copies of itself and setting out to control the entirety of the electronic world, it is up to one man (Bruce Willis) to stop this worm before it is too late.[/I]

[COLOR="Green"]The case dropped from Kayla's hands to the floor without her noticing as the solution hit her: a worm. A computer worm was the answer. Morganna was like a computer worm, and as such, they could change her back to what computer worms initially were created to be: programs used to improve CPU cycle use efficiency. Essentially, they could turn Morganna back into something less evil and more helpful. With the proper virus, they could corrupt her to do anything they wanted--turn her into the [i]good[/i] worm she was meant to be.

Kayla picked up the movie without thinking and headed to the counter in a daze. They had it. If they could create such a virus, such a program...they had her. But, Kayla rationalized, such a virus would be complicated. Extremely complicated. It would have to have some sort of learning capabilities in order to combat Morganna's own. It would have to be strong enough to overpower Morganna's already tight hold on The World. In fact, not only to overpower Morganna, but to overpower and change her entirety. And then, the program would, in the best case scenario, need to, after adapting to Morganna and learning her hold over each area of The World, quarantine her, and then slowly erase her fingerprints and corruption from each and every file. What an anti-virus program would call "cleaning".

An anti-virus virus. Ironic, but it was exactly what they needed.

Kayla purchased the idea sparking movie for ten dollars whilst still lost in her own thoughts, and sought out Katsuki at their assigned rendezvous.

And before Katsuki could even say a word regarding their successful mission, Kayla had interrupted her, smiling absentmindedly and saying quietly:[/color] "I have the answer."

--
[COLOR="Gray"]OOC: I believe I have provided enough information regarding Kayla's plan that someone else (*cough*Che*cough*) can do the "Kayla and Katsuki inform the gang" scene.[/COLOR]

[Neko]

[COLOR="Navy"][SIZE="1"]When they returned, Kia was gazing absentmindedly out at the world around her, watching the people run busily this way and that. She had decided that rather than go off adventuring on her own while they were away, she would sit right there and wait for them to come back. It would be awkward, after all, if they came back only to find that she wasn't there, and then went off looking for her on their own.

No, that wouldn't do at all. She would just sit right here in front of this 'chaos gate' thing until they came back - whoever 'they' were.

She was growing increasingly more frustrated at her lack of anything resembling short or long term memory, and found that this was aggravating her mightily.

A blue-haired boy wearing a funny hat and holding a staff stopped in front of her. He glared down at her with a fury that didn't seem to suit his gentle face.

[B]"You,"[/B] he muttered simply.

[B]"I'm sorry, what?"[/B] Kia asked politely, perking her head up slightly. At his first point in the conversation, she was feeling a bit confused, and was hoping that some sort of explanation would present itself.

The boy shook his head. [B]"...You..."[/B] he mumbled again.

This wasn't fair at all on Kia, who had not the slightest inclination of what this boy could possibly be upset at her for. Several thoughts formed themselves in her head and tried to take control of her mouth, resulting in something that sounded a bit like an [B]"Erm, um, erp...?"[/B]

The boy suddenly kneeled down, grabbed her by the shoulders, and slammed her back up against the wall. He looked up at her face, and a tear was streaking one of his cheeks.

[B]"Why?!"[/B] he demanded, anger unmistakeable in his voice. [B]"W-Why are [I]you[/I] here?! Why [I]you[/I]?!"[/B] His voice rose as he stifled a cry. [B]"If y-you're still here, th-that means [I]she[/I] should be back, too...! [I]Why isn't she[/I]?!"[/B] His tiny fingers clenched on her shoulders as he sunk miserably, his voice cracking.

[B]"[I]Why[/I], Mia...why won't you come back...why...[I]why[/I]..."[/B]

He was sad. She could sense this. And for some reason, it was her fault. Something she had done. She didn't know who he was, or how he knew her, but here he was, and she had done something to him. She tried to rest her hand on his head, tried to comfort him. He batted her hand away and stood up suddenly, fury and grief mixing in his eyes.

[B]"D-don't [I]touch[/I] me,"[/B] he growled. He took one last hateful look at her face, all helplessness and confusion, and turned away.

[B]"Where did you go, Mia...?"[/B] she heard him whimper as he walked away, [B]"...Please don't leave me..."[/B]

Kia stared after the boy, a tear welling up in her eye. What had she done? Was that deep sorrow her fault? [I]Why couldn't she remember anything[/I]?! She screamed in frustration, hitting her head on the wall once. She cried for a few seconds before wiping away the tears.

There was a buzzing sound behind her. She turned to find those two girls that she still remembered materializing by the chaos gate. She ran up to them excitedly, throwing her arms around one of them.

[B]"You're back!"[/B] she cheered happily. [B]"I waited for you right here, um..."[/B]

[B]"Kayla,"[/B] the one girl offered.

[B]"S-Sakura,"[/B] the other replied, trying to get Kia off of her. Kia stepped back as some more recognizable faces materialized behind Kayla and Sakura.

[B]"Hey, Sora, Kite, Subaru..."[/B] Sakura greeted, from left to right, [B]"...Knighty..."[/B] she finished with a giggle.

[B]"You...two..."[/B] the scary-looking guy growled angrily.

[B]"Hey, what?"[/B] Kayla laughed airily. [B]"You can't prove [I]anything[/I]."[/B]

'Knighty' began to say something, but the boy in the bright red outfit waved him off. [B]"Anyways,"[/B] the boy, Kite, said, clearing his throat. [B]"...you had something important to discuss with us?"[/B]

[B]"Yes,"[/B] Kayla nodded, [B]"...but I want everyone to be here before we begin."[/B]

Kite nodded, pausing for a moment. [B]"Balmung says he's on his way, he just wrapped up a dungeon."[/B]

[B]"Where's Elk?"[/B] Sakura asked. There was a general shift as everyone glanced around.

[B]"Nobody's...been able to contact him..."[/B] Subaru said timidly. [B]"We've all PM'ed him, but he hasn't returned any of our messages, even though he seems to be online right now..."[/B]

[B]"Is that so?"[/B] Sora shrugged, an air of irritation in his voice, [B]"Awww, then we're going to have to wait for everyone, aren't we?"[/B] He sounded vaguely displeased at the notion.

Kayla nodded. [B]"Yeah, I guess we'll just wait here for a few minutes..."[/B][/SIZE][/COLOR]