I don't own Runescape, but all non-Runescape characters are mine.

I make a reference to yen in this chapter. At the time of this writing 1,000 yen is equal to about 9.36 USD.

Chapter 1

If it will please the court, I have been asked to keep a record of my role and the roles of my companions in the incident, which here has been previously referred to as the "Gate Affair," and thus I deliver the following account.

My name is Sara Yuuki, and at the time of the events in this account, I was sixteen years old. The summer had just begun, and I was excited to begin a few months of relaxation, though this was hardly going to be the case. If it will please the court, I will now read from the account.

It all started in June, last year. I woke up in the pale sunlight of Saturday morning. A quick check of my old-school analog alarm clock revealed the time to be 4:55 in the morning. I groaned, I hated when this happened. Now I'd never get back to sleep, and would be tired later. I grudgingly accepted this and rose to prepare for my action-packed day of sitting around watching old re-runs.

I stood up and padded over to my mirror, to check the extent of the damage the night had done to my hair. I looked in the mirror, and a slightly slumped, bedraggled version of me stared back. If I lived anywhere else but Tokyo, I might be considered average-looking for my age; average height of about 5 feet 6, average bust, average figure- everything else about me is distinctly non-Japanese. My skin is tanned, brownish. My hair is a very deep brown, almost black, and shoulder length. I suppose someone might consider me pretty, but at the moment, I didn't look it at all.

I forced myself into a pair of silky track pants, and a plain black t-shirt. I automatically stepped into some sandals and trudged zombie-like down the hall.

Upon entering the living room of our apartment, I discovered the source of my awakening. My brother, Isaac, had gotten up very early indeed to watch his cartoons. He was kneeling at our low table in front of the TV, shoveling rapid spoonfuls of sugary cereal into his mouth.

"You'll make yourself choke, if you keep eating that fast," I commented as I entered the compact living room. Isaac jumped and twisted around to face me, nearly spilling the cereal all over himself. I apparently am quieter than I think. Though his eyes were widened with surprise, it was easy to see he was not my biological brother. He has an Asian face, like mom and dad, with black hair, with streaks of blonde (he'd been begging to get them done for weeks).

"Sorry," he replied, placing the cereal down on the low table, "I had to wake up early today. Did you hear what's going on this morning down at the VR Center?"

I sighed. If my younger brother wasn't watching cartoons, he was spending his free time at the Virtual Reality Center, entering various fantasy worlds in his head. "What is this time, brother? Some new and more exciting VR movie?" I asked tentatively.

"No, Sara," he sighed, frustrated at my lack of insight, "It's much better! Have you heard of the game Runescape?"

I continued to stare back, completely nonplussed. "No."

"It's amazing," he said, ignoring my response, "there's all sorts of stuff you can do, and all sorts of well…there's a lot of stuff, and they're releasing the VR version of it today!" he continued to shove spoonfuls of the rapidly decreasing cereal into his eager jaws. He swallowed so quickly I thought we was about to spit the mouthful back up, and to my amazement managed to continue talking. "So now you can do stuff in the game like you're ACTUALLY THERE! It sounds so intense, and the VR center opens at 6 today, and I want to be first in line…"

"Shush, you'll wake mom and dad," I whispered urgently, as he was shouting now, "I'm going to assume you want me to go with you, and probably try out the game with you." My brother's eyes welled up like a sad puppy's. I rolled my eyes. "Fine. But we have to go now, the trains will be crowded." He jumped for joy and I told him to keep it down, or Miss Takanawa next door would start complaining again.

I headed back to my room to dress, looked in the mirror, and remembered I was dressed already. I freshened myself in the mirror for a minute, until I looked pretty much decent. I stuck with the plain black shirt and pants outfit- though I had assembled it hastily, I thought it looked alright. After all, we were going to the VR center, and nobody could see what you were wearing in virtual reality.

I walked back to the living room and turned into the kitchen. I grabbed my brown shoulder bag and slung over my left shoulder. Next, like some well-oiled machine, I automatically walked to the refrigerator, and swung open the door. I retrieved a bottle of orange juice, and an apple, and slipped them into my bag. I closed the bag and joined my brother in the living room. He was just finishing writing a short to our parents. He looked eager to go, wearing his windbreaker and blue jeans. We made our way out of our apartment, down the stairs, through the lobby, past the half-sleeping doorman ("Good morning, Daisuke") and out onto the street. The street was crowded with stern-looking Japanese businessmen and businesswomen, shuffling to whatever destination they were headed to. We joined the crowd slowly trickling into the subway station, and purchased our tickets. We boarded a train with great difficulty, and eventually arrived at our station. We emerged to the streets, which were now bathed in gray early morning light. We crossed the street, and finally arrived at the Virtual Reality Center.

The center is a modestly sized building on the outside, but the reception lobby inside is absolutely massive. The effect was only amplified, as the lobby was packed to capacity with excitedly chattering Japanese children, most no older than my younger brother, but a few were my age and then were even a couple of frustrated-looking adults. We joined the mob and there was immediately a feeling of closing-in. Even though my brother and I had ridden the crowded Tokyo trains for years, this incredibly crowded building made me uncomfortable, and I found this very unsettling.

I checked my watch, and found it was 6:15 am now. The mob of kids had started to form lines in front of the receptionists, and kids excitedly handed over money and received plastic VR cards allowing them access to the machines. Most of the cards being handed out were printed with the logo of a sword, and some stones. I looked up and noticed the same logo printed on a large banner. The stones each had a letter embossed on them, spelling out the word "Runescape." The banner announced "Runescape VR Launch this Saturday – Special Price on Access Cards - ¥1,000 – Today only!" This was fortunate, because I only had about 2,400 yen in my pocket.

After what seemed like an hour, we made it to the front of the line. After a frustrated man who had come to see a movie walked off with his card, we advanced to the receptionist's desk. A bored-looking teenage boy with an exceptional amount of pimples was working our line. His face seemed to brighten slightly when he saw me. I rolled my eyes.

"What can I get for you two today," he asked in a droning, mechanical voice.

"Two access cards for Runescape VR, please," I asked.

"Big surprise," he responded, "Your names, please," he said, turning to a computer screen on his right.

"Sara and Isaac Yuuki," I responded. He looked up; clearly he didn't think we were related. "I'm adopted," I said, and he went back to the screen. He typed in the information, and two cards dropped into a chute attached to the computer. He picked up the cards, and handed them to us. I handed him 2,000 yen for the cards.

"Enjoy yourselves," he said, and moved on to the next in line. We walked into the slightly more spacious (compared to the crowded lobby) adjoining corridor. The hall was lined very few dozen feet with large double doors. They were marked with signs, mostly advertising various VR films that were shown within. I took a moment to examine my access card more closely. The card was printed with the Runescape VR logo, and had my name in raised lettering, along with my account ID number, which happened to be 00908. There was also a small, square, shiny orange foil stamp in the bottom left corner, which had a dragon's head in it.

"That's neat," I said, twisting the card up and down, so that the light danced on the shiny orange foil. I showed it to Isaac.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed, making some nearby kids look over in alarm. "My card doesn't have that on it." I thought this was weird, but ignored it. We continued down the hall, and reached another desk manned by a sole operator, a large white man with sunglasses. He checked our cards and allowed us into the next hallway, telling us our machines were in room 9. We trooped down the hall, and eventually made our way to room 9. We slid our cards in keycard module on the door, and it clicked open.

Inside were a dozen machines that looked like elaborate dentist's chairs, with strange metallic purple visors extending over them. One kid who looked a little younger than me was already hooked up to one of the VR devices. His body was completely motionless, as his mind was in another place. We sat down in two chairs next to each other. Reading some instructions on the armrest, we lowered the visors over our heads, and placed the in-ear amplifiers in our ears. I looked at Isaac, and he nodded. We both slid our cards into the chair's slot, and pushed the Log in button at the same time.

The first sensation I felt in this world was falling. I had my eyes squeezed shut, for fear of seeing wherever I was falling to. I opened my eyes, and I was surprised to find that it was still dark. Just as I was starting to enjoy the sensation of the wind rippling through my hair, I saw my first glimpse of the new world I was about to enter. I was descending from dark clouds, which were progressively growing lighter and thinner. After a few seconds, I could see a vast expanse of water. Would I fall into the ocean? My question was answered two seconds later as an island of lush green grass came into view. I could make out a few buildings and some dirty paths. Suddenly my joy at the sensation of freefall turned into a different emotion: panic. My first day and I was being dropped from thousands of feet onto hard ground! So much for Runescape, I thought. As the roof of the building I was about to fall onto came closer, I closed my eyes and hoped it would be over quickly.

Oddly, I felt myself floating gently down now, and floating upwards, to a sitting position. I opened my eyes, and saw myself floating three feet above the red tile roof of the medium sized building. I nearly shouted with relief! A three-foot-wide hole in the roof opened up, and I drifted down to the carpeted floor underneath. I took my first steps in this new world- and it felt marvelous! I was as if this was really the real world.

I took a minute to look around at my new surroundings. The building I had entered appeared to be someone's house. I could see a few pieces of furniture, and some stairs leading upstairs. A few decorative paintings adorned the walls. The room was filled with about a dozen other people, which I could only assume were other players like me. I next looked down at myself. I was surprised to find I was still wearing the same clothes I had left the apartment in. However, the shirt seemed a little looser, and the pants were now made of heavy canvas-like fabric. I found I also had my bag, which was now also made of heavy canvas. I checked the contents of my shoulder bag, and found it still contained the apple and orange juice I had placed in it this morning, though the orange juice was now in a glass vial. I touched it just to be sure it was real.

On my left wrist, I noticed I was now wearing a large and ornate gold bracelet, with a big red gem set in the middle. I touched the gem, and it was smooth to the touch. I then recoiled in surprise. As though the gem were a gypsy's crystal ball, a cloudy, white number '10' appeared in the gem. Puzzled, I saw another bracelet on my right wrist, with a large blue gem. I touched this gem in the same way as the other, and what looked like a miniature spreadsheet appeared in the gem in the same way as the other gem. I saw a number of icons, including a sword, a heart, a bow and arrows, and a tree. Almost all of the icons had a 1 next to them, except for the heart, which had a 10. Realization dawned on me, and I realized what the red bracelet was for. Touching it would show me my current health, which was currently 10 points. Feeling a bit smarter, I looked around for a way forward. After a couple of seconds, I saw an odd looking man with a puffy red hat and a rather flamboyant outfit. Since he looked so distinctive and was talking with a few other new players, I figured it would be a pretty good idea to talk to this man.

After he finished lecturing another player, I approached him. "Hello!" he exclaimed, a massive grin stretching across his face, "Welcome to the world of Runescape. I see you've acquainted yourself with your two status bracelets already."

"Sort of," I answered, holding up the bracelets, as if to prove I knew what he was talking about. He nodded, a grinned even more broadly.

"That's right, those are the ones. The red one shows your remaining hitpoints," he continued, "if they reach 0, then you will die." I shuddered, and he laughed. "Don't worry, you do not actually die. You simply lose all but your 3 best items, and you'll appear in Lumbridge." Noticing my quizzical look, he added, "That's a town you'll be going to in a couple of hours." I nodded.

"Could I see your account card for a minute?" he asked. I rummaged through my bag, and found the credit-card sized ID card. I handed it to the man, and he considered it for a moment. He grinned once more, and looked up at me once more. "Could you please continue through this door on my left?" he indicated a small door to his left, my right. I headed towards the door, when I noticed all the other new players were heading to another door on the opposite side of the house.

"Are you sure this is the right door?" I asked, puzzled. The man handed me my card back, which I slipped back into my bag. He smiled.

"Please go through the indicated door," he replied dismissively, and turned around to greet another new player with a hearty "Welcome to Runescape!" I sighed and turned around. I was clearly getting no more answers out of this man. I decided I should feel some sort of honor or privilege to be allowed through this alternate door, but I felt none. It all felt very weird. I nonetheless walked confidently through the door.

I found myself in a beautiful green field, with a lovely little garden filled with vegetables, which clearly belonged to the man I had talked to earlier. I headed off down the path, seeing no other way to go. To my right, I could see some rolling green hills, with buildings similar to one I had just left tucked in between. A small number of other players were running about in between the buildings. To my left, I saw a small wooded area, where a strong-looking woman was teaching some new players how to chop down some trees, and then light fires with the resulting logs. All of the players were wearing the same blue and red bracelets as I was. A fence separated me from the other players, and several looked over at me in fascination. I continued down the path for two minutes and made a right turn at a curve in the path. Here I found a sign which for the first time indicated where I was: Tutorial Island. Good, I thought: I have no idea what I'm doing. Eventually I found myself in a small circle of open ground, surrounded by wooden fence. I was once again frustrated: what was I supposed to do now? A few players on the other side of the fence sniggered at me, and I blushed furiously. The stupid game had lead me to a dead end! I felt like I wanted to scream. Suddenly, a high-pitched voice pierced the painful, awkward silence.

"WHOO HOO! MASTER!"

What felt like a very warm, deflated basketball collided with my head, and I saw the other players scatter for the nearby building, clearly frightened. I struggled to stay standing, and failed. I fell flat on my face, and it hurt. The red bracelet on my left wrist vibrated urgently. I touched it, and a white '9' appeared in the gem- I had lost a hit point from the hard fall.

I appeared to be on the receiving end of a powerful cuddle by a small, orange, scaly creature. I tried to shout "Get off!" but what came out was "Geroff!" as I tried to right myself. I sat up and saw my would-be attacker for the first time. The creature was about two or three feet long, and completely orange, but more of a sherbet orange color. The creature had a reptilian head, with large, excited eyes, a pronounced snout, and small horns on top of its head. The rest of the creature's body was a tapering, serpent-like tail- it had no arms or legs. It also happened to be floating in the air.

"Who and what are you?" I demanded, flabbergasted. The creature didn't seem to hear me. I continued to yell at me.

"Master! Master! They said you'd come, but I didn't think it would happen this quickly! Wow! Amazing! Gadzooks! You're the one who got the card! Yes you did!"

"Wait…what? Oh, wait a minute…" I reached for my account card, and held it up side-by-side with this creature. The small foil dragon's head was a dead ringer for the creature floating in front of me. I stood up, and brushed the dirt and dust off of my pants. "You haven't answered my question."

"Oh," said the dragon-creature, stopping abruptly, "My apologies, milady." He adopted what was clearly supposed to be a regal-sounding tone of voice, but it was not very effective, as his voice was so high-pitched. "My name is Manfred. But you may call me Manny, If you like." I stared.

"Why are you calling me master?"

"Because I am your companion, milady!" he replied earnestly, "I'm bound to accompany you on your travels, because you bear the mark of the dragon."

"This is hardly normal, I can tell already," I said.

"Well, I am the only of my kind in the whole world. Members can use a skill to summon companion creatures, but no spell can summon me, and you have me even though you're only a free player, and a noob at that!" he suddenly stopped, and clapped his tail to his mouth as though it were a hand. He looked guilty, as though he had just let loose a disgusting swear word.

"Um," I replied, completely nonplussed, "what's a 'noob?'"

Manny looked around, as if to make sure nobody was listening, and said, "It's a rude term for a new, weak, or obnoxious player. My sincerest apologies for allowing this word to pass my lips, milady." He hung his head in what was clearly a comical, floating-dragon-companion version of a bow. I smiled.

"I think it would be nice to have a companion such as you, Manny. I'd be honored if you'd show me what the hell I'm supposed to do next." I brushed some more dirt off my shirt, and adjusted my bag.

"It would be an honor to guide you milady," he said, and the fence around us dissolved into the ground. "Just to warn you, we may have to do a little bit of backtracking here."

Thanks for reading. Please review if it's not too much trouble, I want to know what you guys think! I'll try to get Sara and Manny through Tutorial Island quickly so I can get to the main storyline. Thanks again!

If you want to contact in Runescape my username is Cosmic Gecko.