The Offline Gathering: Reboot

A/N: This will make more sense than the original, promise.

"Silabus,

There's a dungeon I want to clear for the treasure at the Beast Statue. Meet me on the field of Sigma Competing Youngest's Conclusion today at 10. Don't tell anyone.

-Haseo"

Yuuichi stared with a slight frown into his headset, reading the short message again. It seemed unusual for Haseo to ask him to a specific destination, let alone have the tag line, "Don't tell anyone." What was going on?

Deciding it was useless to speculate on anything that was going on in Haseo's mind, he logged into The World.

He was unsure if anyone else felt exactly as he did about The World. He knew he would be addicted to it the first time he created his character, and every time he logged in anew, it was like a religious experience. The sound always hit him first. If he could, he'd have background music for real life as well, the same sort of breathtaking orchestral pieces that evoked the taste of adventure on the wind.

The next to load is the surroundings, the Chaos Gate revolving slowly as everything loaded. He could stare into the center of that Gate for hours, the glowing orbs never creating the same pattern twice, like a snowflake, beautiful, unique, but exactly the same. Hard to describe, he thought, embarrassed that he had considered many times writing these musings down into a creative essay and turning it in for credit. His Japanese teacher already knew he had a problem with video games; no need to cement that label onto him.

The final part in the load process was one that he always looked forward to the most. All of the Player Characters generated, ending the loading process, turning all movement in The World smooth and perfect. Outside, the morning sun grew warm and glistened brightly off of Mac Anu's canals. The dull hum of PC discussing strategy, haggling at the stores, warping in and out, cheering happily, arguing, whispering softly to one another, this was the absolute best part of The World. The players. They made this world come alive in ways no other MMORPG had ever before. The World seemed to know it, too. It breathed in the life and sighed around the characters, like something alive. Silabus knew, dimly, in the back of his mind, the world wasn't really alive, that it was all complex computer code, and if he were to reach up and take the headset off his face, he'd just be staring at his computer's screen saver.

But the world lived around him now, and he took to the Chaos Gate and warped to the Sigma Root Town, Breg Epona. During the next load screen, he took a moment to set his availability to hidden, so that no one would see him as active in their address book. Haseo said tell no one, and if anyone knew he was in game and ignoring them, they might want explanations. He'd rather not lie to his friends, that's all.

Breg Epona was bright. No building for the Chaos Gate, he spawned on a bridge, overlooking nothing but bright, bright blue sky. It took him a moment to adjust to the brightness of the area. He could've dimmed the visual output in his headset, but what fun would that be?

He quickly spun and entered the keywords into the Chaos Gate, leaving almost as soon as he arrived.

Sigma Competing Youngest's Conclusion, according to his knowledge of keyword properties, should be a desert area, islands of sand connected to each other by rock bridges, floating in the sky, as all fields tended to do. But in this field, it was storming hard, wind rushing into his eyes and dragging at his clothes, rain pelting mercilessly into his face. He crouched and shielded his face with his arm, trying to see his friend through the onslaught. Again, he could always have turned down the realism on his headset, connected as it was to the implant in his mind. But it was what made the game so real, even this small echo of real effects on his body. He could feel raindrops hit his back, and the weight of wetness in his hair. It dripped down his face and blurred his sight. How could he ever turn such beautiful effects off, for comfort?

"Haseo!" He shouted through public messaging. There was no one on this field, no one talking, at least. The silence would've been deafening if not for the constant roar of rain hitting rock, the rumbling thunder, lightening cracking so hard through the air around him he shook from it's intensity.

He waited, listened. No response. He wondered if weather conditions actually affected the range of the messaging system. So cool.

He needed to find Haseo, or at least the dungeon, and wait for him there. He had to be careful, however. The level here was so high, if he ran into a group of monsters, he'd have a time of it fending them off by himself. To be honest he thought to himself as he began to navigate through the area, it looks like it'd be difficult going even with Haseo by his side. He spotted a duo of monsters he'd only seen in fanart before, and grimaced. Careful.

Inching along the perimeter, he skirted around the two to the bridge, hoping this was the way to the dungeon. The rain dripping down his back was sending literal chills down his spine. He briefly considered turning the realism down, and in that moment, a pair of large red figures charged him. Battle commence.

"I can take you." Silabus said, drawing his sword. His words were strong, but he wavered, checking how many smoke bombs he had left. None. Crud, he forgot to stock up on items before leaving Breg Epona. "No choice then."

He hurled himself at the first Lava Tail, beginning with a barrage of sword thrusts. He let out the breath he had been holding, glad to see it's HP bar drop.

The other Avian threw itself into a pecking attack from the side, throwing sparks in it's wake. He tried dodging. No use. Still cooling down from his own attack. He defended instead, and took the brunt of the damage.

He winced, letting out a gasp. It felt like having a hot fork prodded into his arms. His HP dropped, his grip on his controller tightened. Not good. It took almost as much damage from him as he did from it's buddy. Their was still some healing items to choose from, but why couldn't he have brought a Harvest Cleric?

An engine roared, and a white shape on a silver steam bike came breaking into the fray, crashing straight into one of the hulking birds.

"Silabus!" Haseo shouted, diving off the bike to Silabus' side, "Are you alright?" His wing mantle cut a line in the rain as he spun to face their foes.

"I am now that you're here!" Silabus replied, morale suddenly high, the pain in his arms and fear at losing experience points fading to the background.

"Ghost Falcon!" Haseo dashed at the two birds, slicing them higher and higher into the sky with his dual swords.

Silabus ran around the edge of the attack, ready to let loose his own, "Razor's Edge!"

They defeated the giant birds, gaining an item of little value.

"Let's go!" Haseo said, excitedly summoning his steambike and hopping on. Silabus took a moment to feel a sense of awe at the bike. The engine had been upped so high, he didn't recognize it. Could that one even be bought in the shops? What was Haseo's rankings in the races again? It seemed absolutely impossible for one player to be so perfect in one go. High level, PK Champion, Guildmaster, and Race Champion? If they had a Chim-kicking competition, he'd be first place in that as well.

"Get on." The blade brandier realized the rogue had been sitting astride the bike, patiently watching him zone out. His gold eyes met and held Silabus's own brown eyes. Yuuichi flushed. It felt like Haseo was staring past the PC and into his own eyes. Silabus heard a small ringing in his left ear, as a text box opened in the corner of his eye.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry about that." He accepted the party invite and climbed on the bike.

Haseo revved the engine and took off. Yuuichi's character instinctively grabbed around Haseo's waist to stay steady, hugging closely. With Haseo lying almost parallel on the bike, it seemed like he was laying on him.

"Ehh!" Silabus squeaked. Without knowing how to make his character let go without jumping off the bike entirely, he left it alone, trying to ignore the growing warmth of Haseo being communicated to his real body. Such personal contact. Is Silabus blushing right now as hard as Yuuichi, Yuuichi thought, confused. He wished he knew how to switch to third person to check, but they were at the dungeon's opening now-

And now they're flying down the stairs of the dungeon. Good.

Haseo shifted slightly, and they came skidding to a stop just before slamming into the rock door. Silabus hurriedly dropped off the bike, gasping, as Haseo calmly slid off and recalled the bike into his inventory.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"I'm alright." Silabus sighed, finally catching his breath, "Just still not used to your driving. I'd hate to see manage a car."

Haseo laughed as he opened the giant door. "Good thing I live in Tokyo. It has so much public transit, it'd be a pain to even park a car, let alone drive one."

"Tokyo..." Silabus mused as he followed Haseo in, "I think you've mentioned that before. How is it, living in such a big city?"

"Don't you live in Sendai, Silabus?" Haseo said, glancing to the side at him, "That's a decently sized city."

Silabus waved it off. "Nowhere near as big as Tokyo, though. That's absolutely massive. I've always thought I should take a trip there sometime. It seems so silly to live so close and never to have been there."

The Outbreak of Battle, as Haseo ran into the next room and clocked a wizard-type monster on the back of the head.

The surprise advantage helped out, as they took care of them quickly. Silabus was suddenly struck at defeating such high levelled monsters. How long had he been playing at around 20-30 before Haseo came into his life? Just some noob role-playing as the Terror of Death, and a year later, he was nearly 140 thanks to that same "noob."

Haseo sighed. "You should visit soon if you're coming. When summer comes, it gets too hot to go anywhere." He walked through the hallway, kicking a stray Chim-Chim as he went. "And the tourists get bad after spring. Can't leave my house without tripping over an American."

Yuuichi considered it as Haseo really dug into his rant about tourists lining his stairway, like literally "laying on the stairs." He had always wanted to visit Tokyo, and there was a Spring Break coming up two weeks from now. He never had a real reason to go, that was the only problem. He was not the type to just go somewhere for fun, and with good reason. He didn't exactly have money problems, but he would if he added lavish vacations to the mix. What with his tuition, rent, all the other things that went into living, and not to mention keeping his World subscription up, and perhaps a technical doodad or another... He really did spend a good chunk of money on this game, didn't he?

Another battle brought them through to the end of the floor. The stairs down looked foreboding, no torches in sconces lining the way down like the halls. Haseo melted into the shadows, lost even with his gleaming white armor within seconds of stepping down.

"Silabus?" Haseo asked, reappearing in front of Silabus. "What's up?"

"I'm considering it. Coming to Tokyo." Silabus plunged into the darkness past him, swirling around the circular stairwell until reaching the puddle of light at the end.

"Yeah?" Haseo said, sounding intrigued.

"I mean, I'd like to," Silabus said, checking for monsters in the next room. Clear. "It's just it'd take a lot of funds. I suppose I might be able to wing it, but it might leave me short this month." He stopped to think in the doorway, watching the group of monsters in the next room meander one way, then the other. "I'd have to look into train prices, and how much a hotel would cost..."

"Seriously?" Haseo stood next to him and raised an eyebrow. "I live in Shinjuku, and I have a guest bedroom."

Yuuichi's jaw dropped. He'd never considered that before. But why would he? He and Haseo, they've been playing this game together for so long, but they've never met in real life. He wouldn't presume on Haseo to put up a stranger on the internet in his own house. Although, stranger...?

Haseo was still watching him, always watching, arms crossed, one gold claw tapping impatiently.

"I-I just-" Silabus stammered, "It, it seems rude to ask." He took his ponytail in hand and began fiddling with it.

Haseo leaned into him. Silabus took a step back, tried to keep the space between them, uncomfortable standing so close to him, but bumped into the wall. "Well, I won't make you ask. Silabus, whenever you come to Tokyo, you are welcome to stay at my house, for as long as you want." He gave a playful grin and added, "I'll even feed you, too."

"Th-That's nice of you to offer." Yuuichi realized he had a lot of saliva in his mouth, why? "But, what about your parents? Wouldn't they be mad if you had people over without asking them?" Haseo sighed, turned to the next room.

"I live alone." He said, shooting a glance at Silabus before heading forward.

Silabus jogged to catch up in time to enter battle at the same time as Haseo. This next bunch, mecha beasts, were noticeably harder to deal with than the ones on the floor before. Haseo even threw a health potion at Silabus's head, exploding into a glittery-fog, his health instantly full again.

"Thanks. Geez, I didn't even notice my health was getting low." He picked up the item the beasts dropped. Armor, nothing fancy, might get a few gold at the guild shop.

"No problem." Haseo continued on without pause.

The next two floors went by with no break between fights. Maybe Haseo needed to be somewhere, and had to finish the level quick?

"Haseo..." Silabus said, at the threshold of the boss room.

Haseo looked sidelong at him, almost warily. "Yeah?"

"What are we here for?"

He chuckled. "You'll see." He reached and touched the great door. It moved thunderously, dust spreading into the air. Yuuichi coughed reflexively.

The boss stood, a giant idol silhouetted against the torches around the cave. It roared to life, stumbling towards them.

It's a high level, but it was slow, and projected it's movements seconds before attacking. Although it was technically the most difficult monster in the area, as long as they were careful to watch for attacks, they were hardly touched. Much easier to deal with than being bombarded by multiple swift beasts.

The beast crumbled into a pile of rocks. Silabus nudged the remnants with one brown boot in hopes of a cool item, but no. Of course not. They ran through to the last small room. A statue of a girl stood overlooking a treasure chest at her feet.

Silabus stopped to watch Haseo open it, but Haseo motioned for him to take it.

"Huh? But I thought you wanted it?"

"I wanted to get it for you."

"Well, that makes no sense!" Silabus said. "Why couldn't we tell anyone we were getting this if it was just going to be for me?"

"...! I'm sorry. That wasn't nice of me. I guess you did do this for me... In your own twisted way." Silabus assumed he was blushed all the way to his toes. What was it about being with Haseo alone that made him so impulsive?

"Open it. You'll understand." Watching, always watching with those gold eagle eyes. Were his red eyes as observant as these? Silabus knelt down and unclipped the metal hooks from the lid, and lifted.

It was almost empty, except for one small item in the bottom. He lifted it into the light. "A Crimson VS card?"

He inspected the specifics of the card, when he reached the rarity, he gasped.

"No way... No way!" Silabus said, amazed. He didn't play Crimson VS himself, but he knew enough that Ultra Rare was the best kind. "This card- Holy shit, Haseo, this is so rare! How did you find this!?" He paused, confused why Haseo bust out laughing.

"Ha hahh," Haseo had another fit of giggles before calming down to stutter, "That was the first time I've ever heard you swear! So, sooo worth it!"

"Ohh." He was always screwing up in front of Haseo. Why couldn't he calm down? Why was he so... embarrassed? No, he's sworn in public before. He watched Haseo, who had sat on the ground next to him, still grinning broadly. He tried to gauge his own reaction to that face, the lean muscled body under stretched armor. Those eyes. What color were his eyes in real life? He was struck with the sudden, strong need of seeing Haseo's eyes in reality.

"Silabus? You've been acting weird all day." Haseo said. "Are you ill?"

Exposed.

The word popped into his head as Haseo spoke. Like he already knew everything Silabus thought, and was just pretending to not know for... what reason? Maybe so he didn't frighten his blade brandishing friend, like a psychic pretending to not know the future.

"No, just thinking." Silabus said, sliding his gloved forefinger down the edge of the card. Although he had already made up his mind. "Why give me a Crimson VS card? I don't play." Odd how the game transmitted that feeling to his mind like he was touching it with his bare finger.

"So you could give it to Gaspard," Haseo said, stretching backwards, armor clanking, his abdominals taut against his clothing. "You like giving things more than getting things, after all. There's not really anything I could give you that you'd be excited about, unless it was for someone else."

Yes, Yuuichi decided. He would go to Tokyo.