Chapter One

Two Worlds, One Reality

The warm sun slowly crept over her motionless face. The life-giving light snuck slowly over her eyelids as she began to flicker her eyes open from the bright light. Her deep emerald green eyes slowly adjusted to the light as her pupils shrank at the overpowering beams. Slowly rising from the small bed which she laid upon, the girl looked over to a small wooden stand with a black digital clock which was shaped like a star. The bright red LED lights shined 7:49 AM. Her eyes quickly widened as they met the blaring red lights of the clock.

"Oh no! I'm going to be late for class again!" She gasped as she fumbled out of her bed covers. In her haste to get out of bed, the covers became entangled on her legs, causing her to tumble out of bed and hit the wooden oak floor on her head with a hollow thud.

"Ow..." She muttered as she rubbed her head and removed the covers that had fallen atop her. She hopped over to a nearby closet as the covers finally gave way from her legs and opened the floppy shingled doors. A few sets of clothes hung before her as she sifted through each set. Some were casual blue jeans and t-shirts, while others were various dresses and night apparel. After about a moment of searching the closet, she removed her school uniform from a plastic hanger and ran out of her room into the adjacent hallway. She slid on the hard wood floor in her white knee-high socks as she tried to stop and enter the bathroom entrance.

She began to skid into the bathroom before grabbing onto the marble-like counter that resided in it. She nearly tossed her clothes onto the counter before glancing up at the large rectangle shaped mirror. Looking in the mirror was like seeing Medusa herself. Her long brown hair was in quite a mess. She grabbed a comb and frantically began to brush her hair and keep it in line. Soon the radical hair had been put under control and her hair neatly flowed down her back, almost to her thin waist. Placing the brush back down on the counter, she grabbed her white dress shirt and pulled it over her head before realizing she hadn't changed out of her tank-top and night shorts.

"Too late now…" She muttered under her breath as she finished buttoning the shirt and jumping into her black skirt that barely reached past her night shorts. She shook her hair that had made its way in front of her eyes and looked back in the mirror at herself before rushing out of the bathroom and into the hallway again. She was careful not to slip on the floor as she entered the kitchen and looked over at the table. There was a lime green piece of paper on top of the various pieces of newspapers and pens. She picked it up and began to read it.

"Left to work early, be back home for dinner, have a nice day at school Alexis. Love Mom and Dad." She read to herself aloud. She sighed as she placed the note back down on the table.

"They're almost never home now. They always say that…" She whispered to herself while running over to the nearby door. Her black school shoes were lying right next to it. She slipped them on and tied the laces before rushing out of her house and locking the door behind her before taking off down the sidewalk. She ran down the sidewalk and could feel the morning sun beating down upon her. Even though it was almost winter, it made the sun's warmth all that much better to feel. The streets were rather busy with the morning crowds making their runs around the town. Some of the local store owners were just walking out to set up their stands. Some of the shop keepers waved to Alexis as she ran down the sidewalk; however she didn't pay much attention.

"Oh man, I hope I don't get into too much trouble." Her voice quivered slightly as she finally arrived at the high school gates. She ran through the tall open gates and rushed to the front door of the school. The school was rather small and only had one floor compared to all the other two story high schools that were in the big cities. She quickly pulled the glass doors open and walked down the hallway in search of her first class.

"112…114…ah there it is. 116." As she began to twist the door knob down and open the door, she could hear her teacher Mr. Miamosou already giving his lecture on a math lesson. She tried to sneak in as quietly as possible with Mr. Miamosou's back turned to the board writing a formula.

"and…Miss Ito…" Mr. Miamosou changed his topic in a heartbeat as she past behind him. Alexis froze as she slowly looked over to her teacher who still had his back turned. "I'm asking you to see me after class please. I need to have a chat with you." His voice was a low drawl as he continued writing on the marker board.

"Yes sir." Alexis nearly whispered before taking her seat near the center of the classroom. She placed her head on her desk and closed her eyes. Alexis was dreading what Mr. Miamosou could want with her after class. After what seemed like an eternity, Alexis felt a light poke on her left shoulder. She turned her head over on her desk to see her best friend smiling back at her. Her name was Irene Yata.

Irene was about the same build and height as Alexis which was around 5'6". She had shoulder length black hair which flowed freely around her head. Her bangs were dyed a deep red and flowed down the front of her face. Irene's eyes sparkled their bright blue color as Alexis finally turned and noticed her.

"Hey Alexis, why were you late again to class? Forget to set the alarm again?" Irene nudged Alexis on her shoulder.

"Well partially yea, but I've had a lot going through my mind lately you know?" Alexis whispered back as Mr. Miamosou continued his lecture.

"Oh yea, isn't this the time of year that…" Irene stopped for a moment before continuing. "…that your brother lapsed into that coma?"

Alexis nodded solemnly. "Yes it is. I…" Alexis was cut off mid-sentence as Mr. Miamosou stopped writing on the marker board and cleared his throat.

"Girls, am I going to have to send you out of the classroom?" He questioned in a serious tone of voice.

"No sir." They both spoke in unison as they reverted back to paying attention to their teacher. Mr. Miamosou eyed both of them before turning back around and writing an equation on the board.

"Now class, if you take the variable here and factor it…" Mr. Miamosou's lecture was interrupted as the bright tiled lights above on the ceiling began to flicker. A few of the students gasped before the flickering lights subsided.

"That's odd. Now back to the problem…" Mr. Miamosou was interrupted yet again as the lights started to flicker on and off again before finally cutting out.

"Nobody panic, it's probably just a small power failure." Mr. Miamosou adjusted his tie slightly as the students began to talk amongst themselves. Irene leaned over to Alexis who had put her head back down on her desk.

"Oh, would you get up already? Stop moping around like that, it's not going to help you ya know?" Irene began to poke Alexis on the head.

"Stop, come on Irene." She grumbled as she waved a free hand at Irene to stop. Irene continued poking Alexis on her head even as Alexis tried to stop her with her one hand. Right as Alexis took her head off the desk to make Irene stop poking her, the crackle of the PA system came to life.

"Attention all students, this is Principal Kashyuki speaking. Due to a recent power grid failure on this side of town, we will be cancelling the school day as of now. All after-school activities are also cancelled. Please safely get home and enjoy your weekend. Thank you." The PA system clicked off before there was dead silence in the dark class room which was lit up slightly by the sun light coming in from the few windows.

A few of the students immediately packed up their belongings and walked out of the class room as Mr. Miamosou simply let out a deep sigh. Alexis and Irene looked at each other for a moment before following suit with the rest of the class who had begun to leave as well. As Alexis passed by Mr. Miamosou, she saw him glance at her.

"This is after class now Miss. Ito." He spoke with almost a harsh tone in his voice. Irene looked at Alexis as if being lost. Alexis turned to meet her eyes.

"Just wait for me outside Irene." Alexis then turned back to Mr. Miamosou as the rest of the class filed out.

"Alexis, you've been a good student at the beginning of the year, but this is no time to start slacking off. You're late to my class nearly every day of the week now and your grades are starting to suffer. You're not as attentive in class and you haven't been doing as well on your tests as you normally do." Alexis began to open her mouth but Mr. Miamosou put a finger up to his mouth as if to say 'let me finish.'

"Now I know this time of the year is hard for you, but you have to at least keep your academic priorities on top of your life. Now can you at least do one thing for me and get some good rest over the weekend and show up on time for my class Monday? Is that too much to ask?" Mr. Miamosou sounded reassuring and calm in his voice.

Alexis looked down at the Mr.Miamosou's desk before looking back up at him. "I can try. Thank you Mr. Miamosou." She nearly was whispering to him.

"Alright Alexis, now get going and try to relax a little ok?" Mr. Miamosou began packing his black leather briefcase with various papers as Alexis strode out of the classroom and down the hallway. Irene was there standing patiently for her in the near deserted hallway.

"I wonder if the power is out on your side of the city Alexis." Irene chimed in her question as they opened the glass doors of the school exit and walked down the sidewalk.

"We might as well check. I have nothing better to do right now since my parents said they won't be home until dinner." Alexis looked at a clock that was stationed on a street corner. She squinted to make out the time which read 8:33. Alexis and Irene walked silently back to Alexis' house. It was almost as if someone had punched the mute button on a remote since Irene was normally always talking about something. Alexis kneeled down and removed a key from under a barren mat and unlocked the door with it before placing it back under the mat.

Alexis reached over to the side of the wall as she entered and flicked the light switch there. There was a click from the switch; however none of the lights flickered to life. Alexis flicked the switch up and down one more time for good measure before giving up. "I guess we lost power over here then." Alexis sighed. "I'm going to be bored out of my mind if half the city doesn't have power."

"Not exactly Alexis. One second." Irene removed a thin black cell phone from a shirt pocket and flipped it open. She punched a few buttons before placing the phone up to her ear.

"Hi mom, it's Irene. I'm just calling to find out if we still have power because it went out at school and we were dismissed. Alexis doesn't have power at her house and…Oh we do? Alright that's good. Hey mom, do you think Alexis can stay over for a bit or even the night?" There was silence for a moment as Irene looked over to Alexis with glee. "Oh she can? Great! We'll be right over. We're going to walk ok? Alright, I love you to mom. Bye." Irene withdrew the phone from her ear and folded the phone shut before placing it back in her shirt pocket. "Well Alexis, don't just stand there, you're staying the night!" Irene was ecstatic as she jumped up for joy.

"Oh right. I doubt my parents will be home for dinner anyways, so why not!" Alexis rushed to her room and swung open the closet doors. She grabbed a pair of casual clothes, a set of night clothes, and some fresh underwear. She scurried around her room looking for her backpack which she had forgot to even take to school today and finally found it hiding underneath her bed. She zipped it open and placed the books which had resided in it on top of her bed before stuffing her clothes in it and running to the bathroom and grabbing her toothbrush. She rushed out of the bathroom as quickly as she ran into it and arrived back at the entrance of her house where Irene was still waiting patiently.

"Well that was sure quick Alexis. I don't think I've seen you move that fast since our last track meet!" Irene chuckled a bit.

"Ha ha ha Irene. Very funny." Alexis rolled her eyes as both of them walked out of the house. Alexis turned around and reached for the key under the mat once again and locked the door before placing the key back in its hiding place.

"So do you have anything in mind to do?" Alexis looked at Irene as they walked down the sidewalk.

"Well, I can probably guess the power is out at the mall and there's not that much to do anywhere else. Hmmm. Oh I know, we can just go back to my house and we can login to The World and play!" Irene's face lit up with joy. "I heard they just reset the entire game and that it's a whole new World. Not the old one from a few years ago."

"I don't know…" Alexis almost whispered as she lowered he head.

Irene grabbed Alexis by the shoulder. "Stop that. You need to stop living in the past like that. It wasn't your fault about what happened to your brother back then. Can't you at least play it again? With me at least?" Irene looked at her with eyes full of pity.

"Well…" Alexis thought for a moment. "Alright, I'll play again."

"Yes! Thank you Alexis." Irene embraced Alexis before they began to walk down the sidewalk. The two walked for about twenty more minutes before arriving on the other side of the city. This side of the city was considered the more wealthy side as there were a lot fancier homes as well as stores.

Alexis definitely had a strange best friend. Even though Irene was from the wealthy side of the city, she wasn't as snobby and uptight like the rest of the boys and girls that went to her school. Something about her just seemed to click right with Alexis and they both got along very well aside from being on different sides of the city. Even though Irene was wealthy, she tried not to show it off a lot. She seemed to like hanging around with Alexis more than with friends from her own neighborhood. She even hung out with Alexis at school more than other students from her own social status as well. They would always stick together with each other during track practice as well as during lunch hour. Alexis and Irene are a near inseparable duo.

A car horn beeped twice as Alexis and Irene looked to find the origin of the sound. Looking around, Irene waved her hand high recognizing the sleek blue vehicle immediately. The car pulled up next to them and the driver rolled down the window.

"Hi Irene and Alexis! I just thought I'd do some grocery shopping before you guys got home. Get in and we'll go home."

"Thanks mom!" Irene opened a back door for Alexis before getting in on the other side herself. The car seats were rather comfortable and had the latest technology inside. There was a GPS system in the front dashboard, a miniature fold out TV, and temperature controls for the front and back of the car.

"Thanks Mrs. Yata!" Alexis replied as she sunk into the comfortable seat. Irene's mother turned around in the driver seat to look at Alexis.

"Oh it's not a problem at all Alexis, you know you're just like family to us." Irene's mother had a long red coat on and had black hair just a tad bit longer than her daughter Irene. Her eyes matched her daughter's as well. Irene's mother swiveled her body back around as Alexis and Irene buckled their seatbelts. The car's engine hummed back up as they began the drive to Irene's home. Alexis couldn't help but just sit back and close her eyes during the ride. She was almost about to fall asleep until the car came to a stop. Alexis could feel her body jerk a little and flickered her eyes open slightly to notice they had arrived at Irene's house.

"Come on sleepy head, you can have time for that later!" Irene giggled as she was already on Alexis' side of the car and had the door open for her.

"Mmm?" She moaned as she rubbed her eyes. "Oh wow, I really must be out of it. Did I fall asleep?" Alexis stretched a little before grabbing her bag and getting out of the car.

"Oh not really. You were about to before we stopped though." Irene continued to laugh at Alexis as they walked to Irene's house. The walkway to the door was rather lavish with a myriad of flowers that were aligned next to the walkway. To the left of the walkway were a few cherry blossom trees that decorated the lawn. They were placed in a triangle shape fashion. Looking over to the right of the walkway, there was a beautiful garden of flowers of various colors. In front of Alexis and Irene was the beautifully crafted house. It was the normal red brick color and had bay windows in the front. The door was painted a pitch black and had a golden door handle. Irene's mother was already at the front door and was fiddling with the handle as she inserted a key and turned the handle down. The door opened and Irene's mother began to walk back to the car.

"Ummm, Mrs. Yata. Do you need help with your groceries?" Alexis questioned in a meek voice.

Mrs. Yata turned to her. "No no dear, I can get them myself. Just go on in and make yourself comfortable." Mrs. Yata smiled as she turned back around and opened the trunk of the car. Irene had already walked inside and removed her shoes. She had placed them near a coat rack that hung to the side of the den. Alexis walked in and did the same with her shoes and placed them next to Irene's. The den was rather large compared to Alexis' home. There was a rather large plasma TV screen hung neatly on the white walls. Pictures of various sizes decorated the wall opposite of the TV. Most of the pictures were of the family as well as relatives. In the center of the room was a glass coffee table with a few teen magazines scattered on it. Situated near the coffee table was a dark red sofa and in the corner was a recliner of the same color. A rather small, but tall bookcase stood next to the recliner in the corner. Above were a few track lights pointing in various directions that lit up the entire room. The kitchen was connected to the den which sported clean and polished black counter tops. A hallway connected the Den and kitchen which had three rooms. Irene's room was at the end of the very end of the hallway with the bathroom adjacent to it. The other room was the master bedroom.

"Alrighty then, I'm going to change in my room now. You can use the bathroom." Irene walked into her room and shut the door. Her door to her room was a normal wood color with a poster of a sun that was either rising or setting over an ocean.

Alexis walked into the bathroom and closed that door as well. She dropped her bag on the pristine counter top which had a marble like texture. She peered into the bag and grabbed the casual clothes she had taken from her closet. Just a simple pair of faded blue jeans and a lime green tank-top. She quickly removed her school uniform and night clothes before jumping into her casual clothes. She folded up her uniform and night clothes neatly before placing them back in her bag and opening the bathroom door. She turned to the left where Irene's room was and noticed the door already open. Alexis walked in to find Irene already setting up for their journey into The World.

Irene's room was just a tad bit larger than Alexis', however it had a lot more gadgets in it. Irene was lying on her bed as the computer at her desk was loading The World. Irene picked her head up off a pillow as she noticed Alexis walk in. Irene looked over to see the computer finally at the login screen. Irene rolled off her bed and leaned over her computer as she began to type. Alexis began to walk over to the computer as well.

"Alexis, do you have a login?" Irene stopped typing for a moment.

"Yeah, I do. I think I remember it." Irene stepped aside as she let Alexis lean over at the computer. Alexis typed in her information and then sat back on the bed where Irene was. Irene grabbed two grey virtual world headsets as well as two controllers and tossed one of each into Alexis' lap. Irene placed her headset on as Alexis put hers on as well.

"Ready Alexis?" Irene questioned.

"Yup Irene!" Alexis replied.

"Alright. Here we go into The World!" Irene couldn't contain the excitement in her voice. Irene pressed a key on the computer as the headsets came to life. In an instant Alexis and Irene were sent careening down a spiral of colorful numbers and letters before emerging into a town. Alexis took the scene in as she looked around in awe for the first time in years. She hadn't been back for a long time and perhaps it was a good thing to be back in The World. Irene materialized right next to her as her character loaded.

Irene was dressed in a long white robe with red edges on the tails of the robe. Her facial features and hair were near identical to her real life body. Her hood was edged in a bright red as well. Her robes had a few symbols of a pink color on them. They were in groups of three triangles that criss-crossed each other in an almost star appearance. These decorated the robe in a symmetric pattern. Irene extended her hands which were covered in form fitting black gloves and twirled her staff around in a circular pattern. The staff was a dark blue color and almost looked as if it was made up of smooth crystals. The tip of the staff glowed with three round gems which were red, orange, and yellow. Stomping her feet with her black robe shoes on the ground, Irene glanced over to Alexis with a smile.

"It's good to be back here." She smiled as she studied Alexis. Irene raised an eyebrow. "Oh, have you not logged on since they made their revision to The World? You're just a normal recruit class right now." Irene pulled on Alexis' plain, khaki colored shirt. "I think it should ask you to choose a class since this would be your first time logging into the new World. I'm a Harvest Cleric." She smiled with glee as she let go of Alexis' shirt.

Alexis also looked very alike to her real world self as she finally snapped out of observing the town. "Uh…yeah, it just popped up a message box. Hmmm, there are a lot of classes to choose from last time I remembered playing. I played a Wavemaster before but I don't think I want to try that again, I didn't do to well. Maybe I'll try the Blade Brandier class. I think I could handle a sword better than magic." Alexis smiled a little bit before Irene grabbed her by the arm and dragged her away from the gate portal that shimmered behind them.

"Hey! Where are we going Irene?" Alexis was nearly tripping over herself as Irene dragged her through the crowds.

"You'll find out when we get there." Irene giggled as she pushed her way through the crowds of the streets. There were a myriad of people in the streets of the town. Some were sitting or standing on the sides chatting locally while others were stopping by at some of the market stands and purchasing items. Alexis and Irene finally arrived to a small concrete bridge and crossed over through into the other side of town. A wooden sign hung on a post that read with bold and black letters: Kifstaf Bazaar.

"I still don't understand Irene." Alexis muttered as she continued with Irene in hand.

"We're shopping for your armor silly!" Irene giggled as they finally stopped at one of the numerous merchant buildings. Irene let go of Alexis' hand as they slowly walked through the doorway.

"Ah, welcome to my wares! My name is Bestro, how can I be of service to you two ladies?" The man was rather large and round with a dark orange vest covering a white shirt.

"Well we're just browsing for some armor and maybe a weapon for my friend here. She's a Blade Brandier." Irene smiled.

"You've come to the right merchant then!" The man gave a large grin as he extended his hand to the side. An array of swords as well as armor and clothing hung on neat shelves and walls.

"Go ahead Alexis and find something you like." Irene nudged Alexis towards the vast selection of items.

"Oh I couldn't have you pay for me Irene." Alexis whispered.

"Don't be so modest Alexis! You're my best friend, just choose some things, I got it all covered!" Irene stood back with her arms folded as Alexis began to browse the man's wares. Alexis scanned the clothing and armor with a keen eye until she finally found something that appealed to her. Alexis picked up the outfit and examined it. The bottom was comprised of two halves of a skirt which had a feathery appearance. It was a beautiful red in color at the top of the skirt and the colors faded to a crisp white farther down the skirt. Black leather pants were also laid underneath the two side skirts. The top piece was a long black coat with large collar and chest flaps. Two dull bronze buttons held the coat together just above the waist. The coat seemed to flow seamlessly behind the skirt halves. The cuffs also had large flaps that were folded back along the sleeves of the coat. A pair of black form fitting gloves similar to Irene's was also placed on top of the outfit along with a pair of short boots. Alexis pointed at the armor set that lay before her eyes.

"Can I try that one on?" She smiled at the shop keeper.

"Ah, the Eagle Fire armor. A very nice set that I just came across about two weeks ago I believe." Bestro scratched his chin as he smiled. "One moment miss." Bestro walked over and placed his right hand over the armor set and snapped his fingers with his left hand. In an instant Alexis' body shimmered a bright white light before fading away as the armor set on the shelf conformed to her body. Bestro snapped his fingers again and in a poof of smoke a mirror appeared in front of Alexis. Alexis gazed into the mirror as she saw the armor set on her. The flawless blend of reds fluttered down the left and right side of her legs leaving free movement for the rest of her legs. The black coat also stretched its coattails in a similar fashion as to the skirt halves. Alexis walked around a bit as she looked into the mirror and finally came to a stop in front of Bestro.

"I'll take this one!" She smiled as she brushed the skirt half that rested upon her left leg. Bestro looked over to Irene.

"You said you were paying for your friend were you not? Your total comes to seven…" Before Bestro could even finish his sentence Irene chimed in.

"Just take it from my storage account on the server. Name is Irene Yata and your authorization code for withdrawal is 583. If you don't know what code 583 is, I'll tell you that it's a code to allow you to only withdraw how much the item is that you state I paid for." She smiled. "Not that I don't trust you, it's just a security measure for my account that I use." Bestro snapped his fingers once again and the mirror disappeared.

"Very well Miss Yata, thank you for your business." Bestro gave a courteous bow to the two ladies as they began to leave the store.

"Oh wait one second you two." Bestro yelled as Alexis and Irene were almost outside of the store. Both of them turned around to see Bestro rummaging around behind his counter until he plopped a cloth bag on top of the counter. He unrolled the bag to reveal a beautiful sword along with a black leather holster. The blade appeared as if it was made out of crystals, similar to Irene's staff. The hilt was rather simple with a bland wrapping around the grip to prevent it from sliding in the user's hand.

"Take this as a token of my appreciation and a gift to a new player to The World." He motioned for Alexis to take the blade. Alexis looked at Bestro for a moment.

"Are you sure Bestro? I mean I don't think we could afford this…" Alexis spoke meekly.

"Of course I am. I enjoy helping new players. After all, we all were new at one point here." He chuckled a bit as Alexis took the holster and fastened it to her waist. She then took the sword and sheathed it in a quick motion in the holster. Alexis gave a deep bow to Bestro.

"Thank you so much Bestro." Alexis turned back to leave with Irene. The pair walked back out into the now crowded district and looked around. Alexis put her hand up to her head as if she had a headache. Irene looked over to see Alexis blink her eyes a few times.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Irene looked at her with a confused look on her face.

Alexis shook her head. "Nothing I guess." She removed her hand from her head and looked at Irene. "It just looked like the colors were all distorted or something for a moment. Like someone inverted the colors on a TV." Alexis shrugged her shoulders.

"Eh? It might be the headsets. I've had them since The World's first release. That would be the first time I would have heard that problem though, they haven't ever had problems before." Irene scratched her head as the pair walked back towards the concrete bridge. There were a few groups of people walking to and fro around the market area, but for the most part the crowds had died down quite a bit. Alexis leaned over on the railing of the bridge while Irene leaned her back against the railing. Alexis just gazed at the sparkling water as it reflected the sun's light back at her face.

"This place is so real. It almost can confuse you if you didn't know this was just a game." She whispered.

"Yeah, it is pretty impressive. I like to think of The World as my own personal vacation spot though." Irene laughed a little as they both looked off in separate directions. Irene was staring at the fast moving clouds that littered the sky as Alexis continued looking at the water.

"Devlin…." Alexis muttered under her breath.