First and foremost I would like to apologise to my dear readers of Dragged Away From All They Know for not updating in so long and starting a new story. However my muse has fled with my plot bunny and my friend has instead forced a new plot bunny upon me.
Now, this is likely to be the most serious chapter of the whole story so if you are looking for something serious, go elsewhere, if you are looking for randomness and crack then it will come soon.
Disclaimer: I do not own 1/2 Prince (dammit), only the few OCs that will be incorporated into this story (Qiuyue/Skye and Kuzii/Fukuko) for which the ownership is shared between myself and Fukuko-chan
Rated T for swearing and nakedness that shall come in the next chapter.
Chapter 1 – Second Life
Dark sapphire eyes close on reality, letting dreams take over for the hours of darkness till morning comes again.
The dark orbs are revealed once more in the dreamscape, appearing black with thin veins of silver where the moonlight reflects off the lighter hues. Trees line the perfectly circular clearing occupied by the young woman, thick black hair falling to her shoulders in light waves.
Before she has time to observe anything more, a figure steps out from the shadowed edges of the forest. Long red hair falls to his hips, held back by a band of bones with a small horned skull just off centre at the top, with bangs framing his face and accenting the tattoo on his right cheek. The man wears a military style coat with a metal spaulder on his right shoulder. Large, red, dragon-like wings shift restlessly on his back as his piercing gaze from cat-like blue eyes lands on the woman before him. A second woman followed the demon-esque man, strait hair like mahogany sitting just below her shoulders, light sea-blue eyes betraying slight fear and confusion.
"Kuzii?" The second woman's eyes snapped to see the first, quickly slipping past the man, she hugged the other.
"Qiuyue? Any idea where we are?" They simultaneously glanced at the winged male that stared impassively at them from the shadows of the tree line.
"You are here at my wish, the location is irrelevant. Xiao-Lan, Prince in Second Life, shall need assistance soon. I have decided you would be well suited to help her. Come." The man held out a hand for them, his eyes staring steadily at the pair. The two women hesitated, wondering why a character from a manga they often read was wanting their help, but Kuzii was the first to jump forwards, obeying his command, when the passive stare turned into the beginnings of an angry glare. Qiuyue followed at a more dignified pace, refusing to make a fool of herself by acting like a frightened rabbit. Kuzii grabbed the out-stretched hand, Qiuyue placing hers more gently on top while throwing a despairing glance at her friend.
"You shall enter Second Life, one as an NPC to always watch over her there, the other as a player that can see her outside as well." A cold wind starts to pick up, whirling around the small group, though not disturbing any leaves on the surrounding trees. Darkness threatens to overcome the women's visions.
You must find Prince in Second Life. Qiuyue shall also find her as Xiao-Lan. In Second Life your names shall be Skye Ravenfeather and Fukuko." He indicated Qiuyue and Kuzii respectively before fading and leaving the pair to fall into darkness.
Cerulean eyes blinked slowly, squinting in the sunlight as their owner's mind screamed silent insults at the sun for being 'so damned bright'. A groan escaped the woman as she stood, a long curtain of china black hair falling to her knees, sliding across her body in response to her movements like fine silk.
After a few minutes of frustration trying to push the added length away, she gives up and pulls the lot into a rough ponytail that's held in place by an extra strand of hair tied around the rest.
"Hey, are you a new player?" The woman turned around to see a brown haired and eyed girl with a sword at her side, "I can show you the ropes around here if you like."
"I think I've got it covered, thanks anyway." The girl flinched slightly at the piercing stare levelled at her and the cold, harsh edge to the elder's voice, which was a product of her personality rather than any grudge against the younger.
"Well, PM me if you need anything, my name's Scarlet Falcon" The woman nodded and turned away, allowing Scarlet Falcon's posture to relax.
She spoke quietly as she left, "Skye Ravenfeather."
Skye exited the Newbie Village, wanting to take out her frustration, of the non-sensicle situation she found herself in, out on the slimes that populate the lightly wooded grassland outside the village, discovering in the process that it's incredibly therapeutic to punch slimes till they die. After levelling a couple of times, she actually paused to take note of the items she had acquired. She sold the items deemed useless – e.g. a knife, slime essences – kept a low-level wand and bought some health potions as she headed out again to kill some water spirits in order to gather their essences for the quest to become a mage. The only mishap that occurred during this time, before she finished sitting comfortably at level ten, was when a crab got thrown at her and tangled itself in her hair. Completing the quest, Skye received a much more powerful ice staff, also gaining the abilities Rain of Hail and Freeze.
The young woman continued to train alone, being much the solitary type of person, swiftly rising through a few levels while fighting the wolves and skeletons in the forest that extends from the border of the village. Skye thought to fight her was East in order to reach the main city of the Southern Continent but ended up going South-East due to her lack of sense of direction, soon coming upon the marsh that sits at the forest's edge and continues until it reaches the foot of the mountain range which runs from the coast to the continent's centre.
A wet, muddy and severely pissed off mage steps onto the relatively dry land at the other edge of the marsh, untangling a crab from her hair (again) and glaring at it as if it were the cause of her current predicament. Namely, the fact she now had a great mountain range in front of her. She throws the crab at the mountains and comments quietly to herself, "I hate my life."
Dark sapphire eyes, with thin cerulean veins disrupting the dark colour, open as the virtual reality glasses are removed from them. Qiuyue yawns and blinks sleepily, glancing around the new room, so different from her normal one. Panic starts to rise until her memory catches up with her and she realises that her interaction with the Dictator of Life was not just a dream. The young woman rises, exploring her new house. She finds most things the same as she had before, which was a bonus for her to find a job as she still had her degree in Chemistry. A quick flick through the morning newspaper revealed an opening for a university Chemistry teacher, which Qiuyue jumped for an evil cackle beginning in her mind as she though of how much she could torment the poor little students…
And we have a chapter, it only took me a day to write which has got to be the fastest I've ever written a chapter.
Anyways, reviewers get cookies, an extra one for anyone who notices the Hetalia reference.
Rest assured that the seriousness will vanish rapidly and crack will soon follow.
Your apologising-for-having-a-new-plot-bunny-but-it's-multiplying-so-can't-be-ignored author
Kouseki
