Author's Note: Um. Don't hate me?

Title: IRL

Rating: T

Description: Final Fantasy is the latest and most popular large scale MMORPG released by the L'Cie Corporation two years ago. Millions of players have joined and participated since. All are completely unaware of the game's biggest secret except for one Hope Estheim. Chancing upon that secret led to an encounter with a frosty eyed woman with eye-catching rose colored tresses.

Disclaimer: Just no.

PROLOGUE

The young man stared in wonder at the scene unfolding before him. A dark, deserted, and desolate metropolis. Building after building, some beyond and some just below the horizon. He caught a glimpse of a lone shore in the distance. As he dropped down from the portal, he took in as much as he could of his surroundings. He landed on the ground with an audible thud. He glanced back up and saw that the portal he had passed through had already disappeared. He raised his hand and slowly summoned a small ball of fire to light his steps as he explored the so-called hidden location 'VALHALLA'. Ever vigilant, he cast Shell and Protect in preparation for any ambushes; the absence of players did not equate to an absence of vicious monsters.

Passing by a few buildings, he felt that it had not been designed for exploration by players at all. There were no save points, no stores or even NPCs . What else would one expect of a secret area that had not even been mentioned by the game developers? Was it simply a patch of junk code they forgot to remove?

He didn't know how long he had been walking or how far he had gone, but there was one place that had immediately caught his attention upon his arrival. The tallest building was definitely keeping something, the winding structures around the top a dead giveaway. As the rule of adventurers' go, leave no area unexplored and leave no treasure untouched.

He ambled along the empty roads; his sight was focused on the distant building, but he was still very alert to his surroundings.

Finally arriving at the threshold of his target building, he found two large very old wooden doors. He gazed thoughtfully at the two doors then raised his hand and cast an Aeroga that pushed them wide easily. Beyond the doors and at the very center was a single Cieth stone waiting for him, floaring soundlessly and letting out a faint red glow. Drawing closer, he paused for a moment and began casting his usual array of defensive spells. He double-checked his equipment and items one last time and turned to face the stone. He took a breath readying himself for whatever place he would be teleported to. He placed his left hand on the stone and watched the scenery suddenly dissolve around him.

His vision turned white momentarily, and suddenly another voice registered in his ears.

"He has arrived, kupo." A cute voice echoed. His eyes readjusted to the sudden dimness of the room and focused on the floating throne framed with crystals junctures a few meters away.

It was not so much the throne, but rather the beautiful rose-haired woman seated on it looking down at him that had his gaze transfixed. Her lips were pressed into a firm line and her blue eyes were sharp and fierce, boring into him.

She slowly stood up, her attire catching him off-guard. It was strange. He was not familiar with her equipment at all, and he had already completed his item list at this time. There was also no Valkyrie class in the game design. He discreetly casted Libra to gain a little bit of information on her. She didn't seem to be a monster nor was she showing his open hostility. If she wasn't a boss, what was she?

An information pop-up soon appeared above her head as soon as he finished his spell.

UN: Lightning

Class: Unknown

Level: Unknown

HP: Unknown

MP: Unknown

He stared, dumbfounded. In another breath, her figure flickered slightly and she suddenly disappeared from her previous position. She reappeared a second later about two steps from where he was standing.

Avatars in the FF world were based on the original appearance of a person. The person in front of him right now was nothing less of stunning.

"Mog, begin data transfer upon contact." Her stern voice resounded in the enclosed area. There was a light raspiness to her voice.

"Roger, kupo!" A small pink creature with wings and a red bobbing pompom on its head suddenly appeared from behind the woman. It was carrying a small staff and flew from left to right.

Momentarily distracted by the unknown familiar, he failed to notice when the woman took another step closer and pressed her palm against the chest of his avatar. He stared in surprise as strips of code data began to appear and rotate around her arms.

Could she be – taking his information? That's illegal and against the agreement upon sign-up!

He struggled to break free but found his body completely immobile. Paralysis!

He closed his eyes and visualized his menu, swiftly choosing to auto-cast Dispel. He opened his eyes and slightly moved his fingers. In the next moment, a Thundaga spell came crashing down from the ceiling and targeted the woman in front of him.

He jumped backward from the impact and was momentarily blinded. He opened his eyes to see the outcome of his attack. His eyes widened at the sight of the woman standing completely unfazed and untouched on the same patch of blackened ground where he had aimed his spell.

His spell had definitely hit and that was one of his strongest magic spells! How could she be unharmed? He gazed at the status bar above her head and his jaw slackened.

HP: Immortal

Immortal?

Impossible! NPCs only showed 'Invalid' whenever another player tried to attack them and even final bosses in games were never immortal. Sure, some had cheap regenerative abilities and numerous forms – but they were never designed to be immortal unless…

He gazed at the figure with his brows furrowed, "Are you a System Administrator?"

Her eyes flickered slightly at that question.

"I can see why Caius would choose you." She said vaguely with a quiet sigh.

"Download was incomplete, kupo. Shall we try again?" the cute floating creature asked the woman.

"No need. I got what I needed." Her gaze had been wholly focused on him during their conversation.

He silently cast Haste on his body. He may not be able to damage her, but he could at least try to run away.

She raised her hand slowly – that single action opened up Hope's menu and immediately moved onto the log out pop-up.

To be able to easily tamper and manipulate his menu like this only proved his guess true. He shot her one last look and saw the same indifferent expression on her face.

"You can't run," she said softly but very clearly in his ears.

Next thing he knew, he was suddenly staring at the ceiling of his apartment. He slowly pulled off his Virtual Platform. There were beads of sweat on his temple and he wiped it away with the sleeve of his shirt.

"What just happened?" he asked out loud, a flash of electric blue reminded him of the encounter once more. He shook his head slightly and gazed at his platform for a few seconds. He picked it up and placed it by his head board.

He definitely wouldn't be playing for a few more days. He picked up his laptop by the nearby table and one by one began to methodically change his account passwords and double the security of his files. That woman had gotten quite a bit of dirt on him and he knew a lot of people wouldn't hesitate to take advantage of some of that information. He spent the whole night backing up all his data and changing all of his email addresses. It was better to be safe than sorry; he wasn't a multimillionaire, but he had amassed quite a bit of money from working over the years and there were some things in his possession that others would covet.

At around 8:00 AM of the next day, he finally lied back down on his bed and stared at the ceiling in a daze.

"Lightning," he murmured.

You can't run.

Hope Estheim slowly opened his eyes just he was drifting into sleep.

"That's not to say that I won't try my hardest to do so." He said determinedly, finally succumbing.

Endnote: Um. Leave a review? Ha ha!