Disclaimer: Leverage is (c) 2009 Leverage Holdings Inc. That's according to the DVD box anyway.
Massively Multiplayer
[Username]:
[Password]:
[Authentication Code]:
Hardison smiled as the familiar login box appeared on his screen. This was one of the few things he actually paid for out of his own money. Of course, he had cracked the authentication algorithms and could enter any of a dozen numbers and have them accepted, but he had only done that as a challenge for himself. He felt it was important to support video games companies as much as possible and he had a particular dislike of piracy.
It was the day after their return from San Lorenzo. There were no clients or jobs lined up for the foreseeable future and Nate had given them all some much needed time off, on the understanding that if something were to come up they would all be straight back. So Hardison decided to spend his time catching up on what he had missed on the online world.
He entered his details, selected his character – a level 85 troll shaman named Noseslasher – and pressed the button to enter the world. He sat back and cracked his knuckles. The mighty Noseslasher had returned to the ancient world, ready to dispense justice and right wrongs and visit elemental vengeance upon Alliance scum. The loading bar finally filled and Hardison leaned forward to see what wonders were in store for him today.
[Aggbbbrbrbru says]: Greeting friend! Visit .am for all you gold need! We offer 10 gold for 4 USD! Do not delay for this limited time offer! You gold is wait for you!
Hardison shook his head in disbelief. Gold farmers. He still couldn't get his head round the fact that there were people out there who, rather than actually play the game they had paid money for and earn rewards like gear and mounts the proper way, were willing to pay even more money to disreputable companies to have it delivered to them at someone else's expense. He was acutely aware of how hypocritical an opinion this was for him to have but hacking into a corrupt CEO's account and cleaning out all his funds was one thing. Cheating at video games was just wrong.
He sent off a report to the game's administrators about the gold spammer and looked around for something to do. After the latest expansion there were more places to visit and more quests to take but for now he decided to visit some of the lower-level areas as they didn't seem to have changed all that much. Plus, he liked finding people new to the game and helping them to get started on their way. There were surprisingly very few players willing to do that and so he saw it as doing his bit for the community. Also, you never knew who might be on the other end.
He hadn't been to the elf starting zone recently so decided that might be a good place to go. The journey took him about half an hour. It would normally have taken about ten minutes but Hardison was in no rush. He just wanted to take in the scenery and enjoy the ride. He finally reached the elves' capital city, its golden computer generated spires reaching majestically into the blue sky, and started wandering around looking for someone who might need help.
He didn't have to look for long. He saw an elf, a female with blond hair in a wavy ponytail – quite a common style for people new to the game – who appeared to be either lost or unsure what to do. Probably both. She would walk forward a few paces, then turn around and walk back, then move to the side and back again. Her name, according to the text above her character, was Anoniel and so Hardison opened a chat box to her.
[Noseslasher says]: Hi there, you ok? Need any help?
A few seconds later he received a reply.
[Anoniel says]: Hi, I've only just started playing this game and I have no idea what to do.
[Noseslasher says]: That's not a problem. I'll give you a hand. Unless you're waiting for someone else that is.
[Anoniel says]: No, not really. My friend loves this game and I thought I'd give it a go, see what it was all about. It looks really nice.
[Noseslasher says]: That's good. You meeting your friend here or is she going to tell you to go somewhere else?
[Anoniel says]: It's a he actually. He's a really nice guy. And no. I don't even know what his little person thing looks like.
Hardison smiled when he read that. She seemed nice enough. If it was a she of course, you could never be one hundred percent sure. He started typing again.
[Noseslasher says]: No problem. I'll stick around until he shows up. If that's okay with you of course.
[Anoniel says]: Would you? That would be great. You seem like a really great guy.
[Noseslasher says]: *blush* Thanks. Look, come over here to where I am. This is the starting point.
For the next hour or so Hardison helped Anoniel with the first few quests. He was careful not to tell her exactly what to do but offered hints as to where to go and what to look for and, more importantly, how to fight the monsters that inhabited the world. Along the way he started to chat to her a bit more.
[Noseslasher says]: Right click on his body. No the other one. So you and your friend, are you...?
[Anoniel says]: Are we what? What was that?
[Noseslasher says]: Archer. Better run up close for those ones. Are you going out with each other?
[Anoniel says]: Ah he got me. No nothing like that although...
The next few lines of text came slowly as though she was thinking about what to say.
[Anoniel says]: I kind of wish we were. I mean, I really like him. He does all these little things for me and I don't really say thank you for them. He is such a nice guy and he's never mean to me even when other people are.
Sounds like me and Parker, Hardison thought to himself with a smile. He didn't say anything though and let her continue.
[Anoniel says]: It's just that I don't know how to tell him that I like him. It should be easy but it's not. I've never really been able to tell others how I feel about anything. I...
There was a long pause.
[Anoniel says]: I think I love him, but I have no idea how to tell him that. What if he doesn't love me back? What if he only sees me as a friend? It's hard. I've never been like this before.
Hardison nodded, even though he knew she couldn't see him. He could well relate to that.
[Noseslasher says]: I know what you mean. Sometimes it's easier to tell a complete stranger more about yourself and your feelings than someone you know. On here it's just a few lines of text.
[Noseslasher says]: Seriously though, you should try to tell him how you feel. I know it's hard but you'll both be better for it. Watch out! Mage behind you!
[Anoniel says]: Got him, thanks. And thanks for the advice. I'll try but it might be a while before I'm able to.
[Noseslasher says]: It'll be worth it for both of you. By the way, Anoniel's a nice name. Did you come up with that yourself?
[Anoniel says]: No, I got it from some website that spits out random names. I just liked the look of it. Whoops! Got attacked from the side there!
[Noseslasher says]: It's an elite. There we go, that's done him
[Anoniel says]: What about you? You seem to know a lot about girls. Do you have a girlfriend?
[Noseslasher says]: No. I'm like you. There's someone I work with who I like but things haven't really gone anywhere yet. I mean, I like her and I'm pretty sure she likes me but we just haven't been able to tell each other how we feel.
[Anoniel says]: We make a good pair don't we? :) Come on, I need to find some sort of treasure around here for the quest. By the way, thanks for helping me with this. I really appreciate it.
[Noseslasher says]: My pleasure. I enjoy doing it. There's not enough people willing to help the new guys. Pity really.
Hardison suddenly had an idea.
[Noseslasher says]: Do you have a microphone by any chance?
[Anoniel says]: Yes, it's built into the computer. Why?
[Noseslasher says]: If you want I can help you set it up then we can talk to each other. It'll save breaking off in the middle of a fight to type stuff.
[Anoniel says]: Sure, sounds good to me. What do I do?
Hardison patiently walked her through plugging her microphone in and configuring it to work with the game. There were a couple of times he had to go back over a step but eventually she was ready.
[Noseslasher says]: Okay, now just push the tab button to talk.
He made sure his own microphone was ready and his loudspeakers were on. Soon a voice came over them.
"...this working? Hello? Can you hear me?"
Hardison couldn't believe his ears. He sat back in his chair, stunned. He would know that voice anywhere. He heard it on a daily basis after all.
"Parker?"
"Ha... Hardison?"
The elf on the screen suddenly vanished and a message appeared in the chat box.
[Anoniel has been deleted from the game].
Hardison just sat dumbfounded, looking at the screen. He didn't even react when a large beast came along and slaughtered Noseslasher. He didn't even reach for the mouse to resurrect his character.
His mind was in a turmoil. He had been talking to Parker all this time! All the while she had been talking about her friend that she had feelings for she had been talking about him! And all he had told her to do was to say how she felt! How could he have been so stupid?
At the same time his insides were leaping with joy. Parker did love him! She was just too nervous to say anything! If he had died at that very moment he would have died a happy man.
Then his insides grew still. Parker had no idea how to cope with what she was feeling. He would have to play things very carefully and patiently or else she would run away from him like she had done just now.
Why couldn't things be easier?
Hardison was interrupted in his thoughts by his phone bleeping, indicating a text message had just been received. He picked it up and turned it on. There was one new message.
We have a new job.
Nate
Hardison sighed. It looked like the holidays were over. He would have to figure out what to do about Parker later.
He just hoped she was still talking to him.
A/N Something a bit different? I tried to make the game as generic as possible but yeah it's still kind of obvious which one it is. I hope it was easy to understand. It made my hands hurt writing all those brackets!
Anyway there's still a lot more to come so thanks for reading so far.
