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 Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2009 4:22 am
OC: Okay, what do you get when you watch too much .hack and play too much MMORPGs? This. Undoubtedly. This is a pretty old story I was working on before stumbling on 1/2 Prince. (Prince, yay!) Added 13th of September, 2008.
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PART 1:
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Lai Dreamspring couldn't hold back her excitement any longer. She'd been waiting for this game for almost half a year. Hell, everyone had been waiting for this! Eco-Net had been this year's most sought-after MMORPG development, and people had been talking about how different it was from the other games of the field. Lai sighed wistfully. Imagine. An interactive console with no borders, no invisible walls, no linear plots! Real-like graphics --- it's almost like you're actually IN the world yourself...
Well, won't that be nice?
The screen blipped to darkness, only to come alive once again with the program's loading wallpaper. Twenty. Thirty. Fifty. Seventy. Seventy-five percent. :ai forced a gulp down her already-dry throat.
Eighty.
Ninety.
It's almost loaded! Lai's grip on the mouse tightened.
One hundred.
The loading screen, too, disappeared. Her excitement built up with anticipation. Lai fidgeted restlessly in her seat. "It's done! I can't believe it's done! I'm on Eco-Net!"
[Welcome to Eco-Net. Please enter your Username and Password.]
Username: fairfly4481
Password: **********
Lai pressed the 'Enter' key. Come on, come on! Can't you open any faster?!
The screen changed --- not exactly the picture Lai'd expected. The intricate 3D-ish backgrounds and sprites that belonged to her chosen character's mother town should have appeared, not this. Lai blinked at the jumble of rippling colors and pixels. There were patches of black where data drifted to faded sections and emerge in full color again.
The monitor crackled, the speakers let out a haunting, whining sound. Lai winced, and bent to press the Restart button, thinking it must have been a bug and a reboot would just about clear everything up.
But then, the monitor let out an outrageous whir and emitted a bright flash.
Lai felt the floor leave her feet.
Then, nothingness.
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Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2009 4:25 am
PART 2:
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"Ow..."
Lai's eyes flew open. They stared off into space for a while before blinking to full awareness. The PC! Did it get fried?! What just happened? What was that?
She did a double take and looked around.
What is this?!
She was pretty sure she'd been in her room before she'd passed out. Where she is now, however, sure wouldn't be... and not exactly in any part of her neighborhood... or even still, this world. Looking at her feet, she could see the concrete (?) shift just the slightest, with changes in shadow and color in between. Lai thought she could see --- pixels?
Impossible!
Gradually, the graphics around her changed, and the surroundings stabilized. Lai got a good look around her. "This is --- my chara's mother town! That bug must've passed, but..."
Why am I still here?
She inspected herself, fingered the clothes she was now wearing. Beginner's vestment - more specifically, a sage's. Lai eyes the staff that she was holding. Eco-Net's not supposed to be a first-person virtual world game. What am I doing here? How can I get out?
"You can't. It seems there's a virus all over the Internet," a small, childish voice pierced through her thoughts. Lai whirled around, startled. Did someone just ---
She stopped and blinked.
A chibified girl floated in front of her, smiling sweetly. She giggled shyly and somersaulted in the air. Lai gaped. The apparition didn't fizz or fade with each passing data surge, it was strange.
Step. Step. Step.
Her hand reached out and jerked the girl's hair downwards.
Could she be the virus?
"Ow, that hurts! Let me go! How dare you call me a filthy virus!" the girl squealed, swatting Lai's hand away. "Hmph! Such manners! What a misfortune to have you as my charge!"
"What? You're the weird one here!" Lai snapped. "Now tell me how to get out of here!"
"I don't know. I'm just your guide here!"
Guide?
"Bao's right. Even I don't know how to. Everyone, too. Shame," both turned to see the newcomer. Lai looked at the costume he was wearing. An assassin's garb. And with those colors and equipment, I could only guess what his level is.
His character name read, "Mittsu."
"Mittsu," she acknowledged the name. "What do you mean?"
The latter shrugged. "I've been wandering around, trying to figure things out since all of this started, Ashura."
Hm? Oh, right. My chara name.
"What did you find? Anything?"
Mittsu was quiet for a while. "Sounds ridiculous, but you wouldn't mind if I tell you, then? No?"
"Go ahead. I'm listening."
"Well, I don't exactly know how to tell you this, but it seems those who were playing Eco-Net --- or any other sort of RPG game online --- at the time of the malfunction, were pulled into Cyberspace."
"That's crazy!"
"I thought you said you wouldn't mind if it sounds ridiculous?"
Lai waved him off.
One, because she's feeling outright surprised and confused. Two, is because she was getting supremely uneasy being the center of that piercing green gaze. Mittsu laughed, muffled beneath his scarf. "Then, shall I tell you more?"
"How'd you know the other RPG's are involved?"
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Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2009 1:09 pm
Wow! This is such a cool story! I'm jealous of them. I always wanted to play virtual reality, regardless of whether I'm trapped in it or not. 3nodding I kind of wonder what happens when they die? Please continue the story!
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Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2009 3:44 pm
OC: Well, in the cyber-world, game rules apply, but I'll post what happens when the charas die (too much). I won't spoil it, though biggrin
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PART 3:
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"There are others here who play other RP's apart from Eco-Net. Looks like any game-map is accessible, so long as you meet character level and requirements."
"Huh?"
"Ah, here's the punch. The malfunction's caused the different RPG's to merge. It's possible for you to set foot on another RPG game map if you happened to play that RP's game, too. Lucky Omniscient Players," Mittsu shook his head. Lai raised her brows. "Aren't you an Omniscient?"
"No. I'm a new head here. This is my first game, first time on online RPG. So, sadly, my roleplay stretch is limited - to only Eco-Net. Would've been nice if we'd gone on a party, but oh well..."
"Mhmm. I just started Eco-Net after all. But if what you said is true, then if I'll exit this map right now, another RP's map will meet me instead?"
"If you could. If you haven't played that RP before, you'll be rejected permission. If you try to enter, you'll be thrown off."
"Oh," Lai's eyes traveled wistfully to the far corner of the town where, she knew, another game map was probably waiting. Mittsu caught that gaze and chuckled. "Looks like you're ready to go. You're an Omniscient after all!"
Her eyes bolted to him in surprise.
Mittsu laughed, his eyes twinkling in amusement.
"With you looking like that, I could tell. Curious?"
"You betcha."
The assassin shrugged. "In that case, you better check your equips and note them before leaving so you're sure they're all there by the time you return to this kind of world map. And don't forget this."
Mittsu trudged up to Lai and gave her a diamond-looking prism that danced in several colors. Then handed her a simpler object, an orb. The little pixielike girl suddenly spoke again, after quietly hovering some distance away during the conversation. "Daddy! You're giving that to her?!"
"Of course. You forget, Bao, she is new to Eco-Net. All newcomers are entitled a guide until they reach their respective transcending levels," Mittsu said cooly, pushing the things toward Lai. Then, with a begrudging voice, he added, "And don't call me 'Daddy'. I hate that."
"But I'm your Guide!"
"I heard you call her your charge."
"You told me to!"
Lai put her free hand up. "Now now, you two don't fight over me. I'll buy a Guide, or get one after completing a few beginner's quests, alright?"
"No, no. I insist! Since you will be travelling through mixed warps, you'll need someone to orient you in case you stumble upon Eco-Net parts. Bao here is already deeply familiar with them, so she'll alert you and identify what objects or people or creatures you'll happen to meet," Mittsu explained, looking pointedly at Bao, who pouted. "Plus, if you ever are on any of our maps, you could PM me via Bao's orb. Sound alright?"
Lai blinked. "Are you sure? How will you go around then?"
Mittsu fingered his scarf.
"I'm already transcended. I'm cool. So, how 'bout it?"
"Mmmkay," Lai shrugged, smiling. "Thanks a lot, Mittsu."
"No prob, Ashura. See you round then?"
"On any Eco-Net map."
"PM me alright? I could teleport to where you are, we could party up then."
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Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2009 3:50 pm
PART 4:
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Lai nodded, and tucked the orb and prism in her training pouch. Mittsu whistled and clucked his tongue. "I forgot to tell you about that prism. It's a Prisma for emergencies. Your account is allowed five slots, for character generation. Should you decide to create, you will be able to make a chara with the same level to any of your chosen existing characters in the game, complete with stats and skill reset and program option for it. Only that Prisma can do it. It's rare, so don't tell anyone where you got it from. There are Prismas you could buy from the NPC shops or get in quests or from monsters, but they vary. Bao will explain to you."
"Thanks, Mittsu. Whew. Now all I have to do is to digest all that. Hahaha."
"No sweat. My job," Mittsu waved, tossing his scarf over his shoulder.
"Right."
Bao opened her mouth to protest again, but was silenced by Mittsu's gaze. Finally, she turned and followed Lai to the other side of town, where the latter would begin exploring. Let's hope she's worth it, Daddy.
Lai stopped to look at the signboard above the door to a building. General Goods. Her pouch opened, and searching hands rummaged through the contents. "I have 700 Bits on me. Aw, pretty small, for an Intelligence-type boosting allowance."
She looked longingly at the rare Prisma, wondered how much it would cost in appraisal, but decided on better and closed the bag.
The shop was dingy and a bit crowded with other players, some dressed in Eco-Net's signature designs, others in costumes of different RPG games. The hubbub was noisy, and it was largely about the recent incident - the "malfunction" - with exclamations of panic, despair and a struggle for reassurance. Lai quietly made her way over to the NPC at the desk. "Hello, I'd like to make a purchase."
"Could you believe their gall, those jerks," Bao grumbled, straightening her creased clothes. "We're not some common item you could just pick up and sell, or just throw away! Hmph. Disgusting. Pushing, shoving - no etiquette at all!"
Lai finished packing her things. "Calm down, Bao-chan. There are different people you meet in RP's after all. Even outside of Eco-Net. They're just like that sometimes, can't be helped. It's all this stress about the big problem right now. It does that to you."
"Hmph. I don't know how you could even cope like this," Bao crossed her arms. Lai slung her bag over her shoulders and glanced evenly at her companion. "I'm in pieces, Bao. I'm not too happy about what's happened, either. I'm just not being obvious, is all."
"Then why don't you complain? To the GM's or anyone?"
A sigh.
"Here, you won't get anything out of complaining. GM's take a while to sort through everyone's problems, but not all get them solved. Besides, it'll just make it worse - you'll feel more jittery. If you submit to it, it'll do more than to make you feel bad. Psychology," Lai shrugged. "I'm the type who loses focus if I wallow too much in self-pity and stuff like that. It's best if I don't try to mind too much, and just work my way little by little."
For a minute, Bao was quiet.
"Fine. I still think some guys are jerks."
"Even Mittsu?"
"Daddy's a bigger jerk."
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Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2009 4:53 pm
Wow.. This rocks! Usually I don't read very far into fan-fictions (or whatever this is) but this one has me hooked. It would definately make a good manga. Keep up the good work~
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Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2009 5:43 pm
I like your character names! I also like how this isn't one of those re-used storyline things. ^.^ Great job so far!
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Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 1:55 am
OC: I LOVE your signature, Sugar. XD That's new. XD istickers, thanks loads wheeee! ^_^
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PART 5:
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Lai laughed. She and Bao made their way to the town gates. "Hmm. Say, Bao... why do you call him Daddy anyway?"
Bao flushed. "It's a secret. I'm not supposed to tell."
Lai didn't pry any further. For the latter's stubbornness, asking would be futile anyway.
They stopped before the great doors. Bao fidgeted uneasily. Lai smiled reassuringly and went ahead to the sentries posted on either side of the passage. The guard looked at her over and began to respond. "Your statistics for Lunatic Moon are accepted. Access granted. You may pass, Ashura."
"Lunatic Moon?" Bao's brows raised. Lai merely returned the gesture and stepped towards the gates that had begun to warp to show an open way. She could feel the wind coming out towards her from the other side. Closing her eyes, she took a step forward.
Immediately, that wind rose to a violent gale that whipped her hair to and fro. Not far from her, Lai could hear Bao's stifled squeals as she fought to keep her balance. Lai reached out to pull the latter towards her, but when her hand closed in, she grasped only emptiness. The Guide had disappeared. "Bao! Bao!"
The wind died down, and Lai found herself standing in one of the dark alleys in Lunatic Moon's world. Lai immediately began searching for her companion. "Bao! Bao, where are you?"
And she prayed the vortex hadn't blown her into an unfamiliar map.
But...
"Ashura! Over here," a tiny voice came from her pouch.
Odd. That sounds familiar. Could it be---
Lai saw her pouch glowing and hastened to open it. The orb Mittsu had given her flashed on and off faintly. It was from that that Bao's voice seemed to come from. The girl brought her face close to it, examining the ball. Her mouth uttered barely audible words, "Bao?"
"I can't get out. It must be because I'm not a guide for this RP."
"Aa. Could you see me?"
"Yes. Strangely enough. So this is how Lunatic Moon looks like."
"Mmhmmm."
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Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 3:39 pm
Aww... Lai's alone in the game. I have a question bugging me now. If they jump from game to game, do they use passwords? Or is the need for passwords erased because they're in the game? Oh, and I first saw the text in my siggy on a facebook bumper sticker. ^.^ It's stayed the same for like half a year. *I am an uncreative person*
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Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 3:50 pm
OC: Yeah, they're already logged in, after all. So, if you happen to play an RP of any sort, and since the others are merged with it, no pw's needed. XD Oh. Here's what Lai looks like. The little chibi's Bao. Lawl. Aww. Don't say that. XDDDDD You chose a catchy phrase O_O you gotta be creative to find those nice ones with a punch.
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Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 7:53 pm
Ahhhh! Your story's just tooo awesome! I don't know what does it, but it just pulls me in and wants me to find out what happens next in your story! x333
This'll be truly a story worth reading now~! C:
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Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 3:44 pm
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PART 6:
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Everything was dark, donned only in shades of blue, black and grey with a bit of white. This was, after all, a city where night was eternal, and only the moon made its cycles.
Lai looked at herself then, suddenly aware of whether she was wearing the appropriate clothes and equipment, or whatnot.
And relaxed.
For her sage's beginner clothing had transformed into a full set of clothes, a black long coat over a high-collared tight-top and fitting pants with knee-high boots. Belt straps topped it, one of which held her supply bag --- the others just there for show. A smaller belt hugged her right calf, holding a holster. A short sword hung on her back. In here, Lai recalled, she was a stealth-type bounty hunter, with a good number on her level.
"What was that? I heard something," Bao said in hushed tones. Lai tensed, and instinctively dropped to a low crouch, making her way to the dark shadows of the dumpster a few feet off. They waited with bated breath for any sign of movement.
Shadows crept up the alleyway, accompanied by grunts and sniffs. Lai dared to look out of the corner of their dumpster and stifled a gasp of recognition from the figures. That hunch, the four-legged stance. These are Cauls.
Monsters of this map?
Lai had to keep herself from jerking violently. Her eyes shot to the orb she was still holding. Bao's mental giggle filled her mind. I'm linked to you, since I'm your Guide. Don't worry. I don't go into your personal business. This link comes in handy for situations like these. So - these Cauls - what are they?
Like you say, monsters. We call them Spawn here, since they just about pop out from nowhere. These guys, Lai paused to press herself closer to the dumpster side. Are something between some four-legged animals and human clones thrown together.
Beautiful.
Cute little things, aren't they?
Just then, Lai felt a small breeze waft down from above. Blood running cold, she slowly looked upwards. A Caul stared down at her through soulless, marble-white eyes. Its face, though mercifully pixelated in several parts, barely concealed the hideous face given it by its designer. She flinched. "Why do these things have to be so damned ugly?!"
"Well, that's what's so cute about them, right?" Bao said. Lai's eyes focused on the walls above the Caul and coughed down a gulp. More of its kind were plastered all over the alley's sides, and Lai thought she could see just about more peering over from the roof. "Shiyeto."
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Lunatic Moon's a different place from Eco-Net. Though still an RPG, it might have a few different rules. **Note: The concept and description of Lunatic Moon is actually drawn from one of my other stories, Bloody Crescent, though the monsters Lai and Bao encounter are solely from Glitch.
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Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 2:16 pm
Ooh, cool monsters! ^.^ Bu Lai's a noob... Are they low-level monsters? sweatdrop Your lineart is very pretty. Did you do it yourself? I feel jealous nonetheless.
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Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 3:55 pm
OC: Hmmm. About levels, we'll see in this chapter, won't we? As for the lineart, yeah, I made that. ^^ That's more like Lai's revised illustration. Her first version was that she was just wearing simple boots over a high-collared dress. Short straight-cut hair, too. :p
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PART 7:
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The Cauls jumped all at once. Bao's squeals filled the air as Lai weaved through the mob into the clear. The monsters, surrounded them, hissing and spitting. One of them shot towards Lai in an attempt to drive her into its comrades. It's teeth met gunmetal. Lai had instinctively drawn the weapon from the holster and aimed it just as the Caul tried to bite on her hand.
Lai squeezed the trigger.
A resounding explosion echoed through the city.
The Caul lay motionless for a few moments, then it twitched and pulled itself up, its wound bleeding in profuse, pixelated goo. It's eyes had turned green. So had the rest of the mobs'. Lai cursed, put the gun back into its place, and reached for the sword on her back. "K'sou. That hit still left some HP in it. Now it's turned FURIOUS!"
"Run!" was Bao's frantic suggestion.
"Can't! These guys are physically-enhanced, and it just about triples when they're crazy. Running won't do!" Lai brandished her sword. The Cauls circled menacingly. Then a loud roar erupted from the back, and those that were loitering about behind the mob sprang into the air, aiming for the girl at the center.
That many---
Lai snagged some well-planted blows amongst the first to land, but the mob was too large to deal with alone. A terrific ripping sound followed by a spray of bright crimson, and Lai was driven to a kneel, free hand unable to grasp the bleeding that had erupted closely parallel to her spine. Bao squeaked faintly, unable to do anything within confines of her orb.
"Damn. I didn't think this would hurt this much," Lai glanced at her HP meter, which had gone down by a fourth. "Is this for real --- ow. It's bad if it is - I'm only five levels ahead of these things, it was easier leveling up on them from my comp seat."
An attempt to wound again. Lai ducked, rolled over.
And landed on her rump. She'd overbalanced from the state her back was in, sword still in hand, but clutched loosely. The Cauls chose that time to attack altogether. Lai raised her free hand to shield, thinking it would still be in vain. Bao's voice streaked through her mind.
Can't you cast some spells?!
On impulse, she blurted the first that shot to her. "RAPID DIVIDE!"
And as if unseen razors had started to dance in a protective barrier around her, the Cauls were torn to small pixels, bit by bit, in quick succession. The wave of shearing force accelerated in sweeping motion outwards, until the remaining frightened Cauls retreated to the ends of the dark streets.
Ashura: MP -35 points.
"They're gone, Bao?"
"Mhmm. You did it, Ashura! Way to go! What a splash damage!"
Lai's eyes were starting to lose focus, and despite Bao's startled shouts to keep her awake, she was starting to drift off already --- her consciousness was barely aware of the familiar click of another player's approach.
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Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 12:19 pm
Yeah Lai! Sage class is WIN! And your line art really is very pretty. Can't wait for the next chapter!
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