.:Initia. .
She knew it was a bad idea. Nothing good ever came from The World. This little excursion was temporary. Everything was temporary. She'd go in, take a look around, and find nothing worth staying for.
Mac Anu immediately brought a distinctive brand of nostalgia with its familiar scenery and background music. As in the original version, she found herself vaguely reminded of Venice. However, there were several little things that she decided must have been different in this revision. Little things that weren't necessarily wrong, but something in the air disagreed and turned the sentiment foul. It was like finding lettuce in your sandwich after giving the waiter clear instructions to leave it off.
No familiar faces greeted her as she scanned the milling crowds. Her eyes eventually settled on another new player being guided by a couple more knowledgeable rookies. Something niggled her memory. She looked again. Nothing was off. Just a couple kids showing around the new boy on the block. They had nothing to do with her.
She forced her attention elsewhere. Light chatter. Relaxing players. But the mood was all wrong for that.
A frown slowly crept onto her face. There was something hostile about the once familiar town. She suddenly felt unwelcome. She looked again, this time seeing things as they were instead of the mask and memory. Derisive chatter. Tension in the air. Darker eyes.
Everything clicked into place. PKs.
Her eyes flicked back into focus on the newbies who'd caught her attention earlier. She wouldn't be fooled. She'd seen this malicious game played out before. The pair had finished preparing their victim. They started towards the Chaos Gate.
Righteous fury she never knew she had abruptly boiled over. Before even thinking about it, she found herself storming up to the presumed PK duo. In an angry haze, she flicked through her chat settings for a suitable action emote. A moment later, a satisfied smirk curled it's way to her lips. They had just the one.
The beautiful sound of a hand slapping a deserving face echoed like music. She turned to the second PK and repeated the slap emote on her too.
They swore and faced her demandingly. The slighted girl spoke first, planting her hands on her hips and sneering. "What's your problem?"
Well, that was simple. "I despise player killers," she said the full version for the benefit of their would-be victim.
The girl PK laughed outright.
The male PK stepped forward with a scoff. "You must hate everyone who plays this game then. Who's to say he's not one too? You know, sometimes they fight back." There was something downright sinister about the way he gestured to the boy they'd been herding.
The boy in question frowned and crossed his arms. He made no move to leave, but didn't seem inclined to involved himself any further.
There was something familiar about him. She wasn't sure if she liked it.
She reminded herself not to get caught up by their words. Putting up an unconcerned mask, she both countered and affirmed the man's point, "Lying and PKing come hand in hand."
The girl regained her composure, although traces of that mocking laugh still ghosted over her face. "I dunno. He doesn't seem nearly as shell shocked as I would've hoped. Then again, we didn't finish working him either." The PK slung an arm around her victim's shoulder and leaned in.
The boy went rigid for a moment, then suddenly shoved her off, disgusted. He backed up a pace for good measure.
The girl grinned at the display. "Guess not. Too bad. You would've been fun."
"Speaking of. . ." The man stepped forward and cracked his knuckles. "You'd better watch your backs. Both of you." More disturbing than the newbie's threat was that the sentiment was echoed in the eyes of nearly every onlooker.
She stared back impassively. She'd read enough to assure herself that she couldn't be PK'd in town, and she never planned on sticking around long enough to explore the rest of this new World. The threat was lost on her. It still disgusted her though. The World had fallen.
The pair skulked off, their malicious game ruined for the time being.
She scowled at their backs for an extra moment, then let herself wander the quieter walkways.
Left relatively alone, the boy shot a few glances between her, the retreating PKs, and the unwelcoming crowd. It didn't take him long to follow her.
Although she could see him anyway, thanks to her camera preferences, she had her character model incline her head to watch him. They roamed leisurely for a bit, she cooling her head and the boy probably thinking himself into a knot. Soon they stopped in a quiet little section of the cyber town.
The boy made himself comfortable, leaning against one of Mac Anu's unmanned structures. His brow crinkled thoughtfully. It seemed he'd either gotten used to the casual action modules surprisingly quickly or nerve reading technology had pulled ahead in the past years. He shot her a puzzled glance, then averted his eyes elsewhere just as quickly. "Thanks."
It occurred to her that the boy hadn't said a single word the entire time. She shrugged in response. He seemed sincere. She felt a bit guilty about her initial distrust.
"How'd you know?" the boy asked.
She blinked a couple times as she processed his sudden vague question. Then it seemed obvious. She'd more or less saved him after all. Sighing, she propped one hand on her hip and deliberately turned her back on him. It seemed useless to even try holding eye contact with the boy since he'd proven himself ridiculously shy. No wonder he'd allowed himself to be led around by obvious predators. She was never very good with eye reading, but some things were stupidly obvious. She scowled. "The ones you really want to look out for always have a certain look in their eyes. You didn't even watch them for a second, did you?"
He didn't say anything to that, but she heard him shift his weight. The World's frightful detail certainly hadn't lost any luster. That was its key selling point after all: realistic human communication inside a fantasy setting of untapped depth.
She watched the water gently slosh the sidewalks. Puddles were strewn about the walkways. She could see the boy through a reflection in one of them. He sent flittering glances her way, but for the most part, his eyes seemed glued to a random spot barely a yard from his feet. A sigh slipped through her teeth. This guy had quickly proven himself even more reclusive than her.
For a moment, she wondered if he'd be alright. Then she caught herself. Of course he would. It was a just game. . . Sort of. Tsukasa's predicament had thrown a wrench into that argument.
Irritated with herself, she shook her head and clenched her hands. She'd been here too long. Log out, delete the program, and throw the install key into recycling, she told herself.
The standoffish boy in the puddle's reflection stopped her. Consciences were ridiculous sometimes. She turned around and also propped herself against the wall at a socially comfortable distance from him. "BT," she introduced herself. There hadn't been any incentive to think of a different screen name.
"Haseo," he returned.
Some time later, he detached himself from the edifice and made a small humming noise to catch her attention. She immediately and irrationally hated the sound. He spoke up, "I've got a few things I should be doing. . ."
Ah, he was leaving. Being a fellow recluse, she picked up on the odd way he trailed off and interpreted it. She answered his unspoken question reluctantly and against her better judgment. "I'll be on tomorrow."
.: . .
Disclaimer: "The World" and its characters belong to Cyber Connect2.
Aside: I give my words to Jesus and my Heavenly Father, that the works my hands might be pleasing in Their sight.