It was illuminated enough, the streets Docktown. Apollo had arrived with Luther, TankGod and the others only minutes before it had gotten dark. To their confusion there wasn't any other players in the immediate area, not even the ones who had started the quest. The sun had long set since then. Apollo had long since followed TankGods group inside while most of the players from Luthers splitting up to explore the town.

"Some more ale my miss!" Tank hollered from his seat in at the table. Neontiger sat at his left while Rich was at his right. In the background the soft tone of the bards lute helped to keep the inn alive.

"You're lucky this stuff is cheap." Neon said after a large sip. "I don't think I would pay for the real price for just the nostalgia effect." The rest of the guild sat around the table, Apollo had found his own spot seated at the end opposite of Tank. Other than them, the bard and the bar staff, the only other body Apollo could identify was of a fat NPC tucked in in a corner booth by the stairs.

TankGod laughed loudly. "Still a good way to kill time in my book."

Apollo often wondered what the real drink tasted like. He sighed. One day. The blue mage found himself glancing at the mantle of the fireplace, where a large tentacle was nailed to the wall. Bit of an odd decoration for this part of the world. He told himself before glancing back towards the table, the waitress having just delivered the next round. Apollo watched as a small token of currency escape his inventory. He took a drink.

The pub door swung open, smacking against the inn wall. Apollo wiped his mouth. At the entrance a women had appeared with several others behind her. She was dressed in a golden dyed adventures outfit. Apollo flinched when he saw her bright, red-dyed hair. For a moment he thought he saw Uloveme. She quickly scanned the room before her eyes landed on Tanks table. The woman smirked. Apollo recognized her name tag at that moment, T.

"So….are you the ones that started all this?" She waltzed towards them. Upon closer look Apollo guessed she was in her late-twenties. Seriously are her and Ulove like sisters?

Tank grinned at the woman. "I'm afraid we're in the same boat as you all, just waiting for midnight." He leaned back and took a big gulp of his ale.

The girl stopped in her tracks, gritting her teeth. "The hell? We've looked all over the town, where are these people?" Apollo looked down, doing his best to avert her gaze. Well she definitely has that same mean eye contact. TankGod seemed to bask in it.

"I don't know maybe they're taking a nap? How are we supposed to know?"

Apollo peaked up to see Beasts eyes narrow. Rich raised a hand and spoke in a softer tone.

"Don't mind him. Honestly they're probably just making final preparations. If they're the same people that took down the last boss then I don't think they'll just run from the fight." Rich added a smile for good effort. Beast scoffed.

"Whatever." She said, already turned around and on her way towards the door. "Come on guys, let's go find something to do for two hours." The men ahead of her nodded and scuffled out quickly ahead of the woman.

For a moment the soft lute was the only sound in the room.

" T?" Cheesus looked around the table. "Who even was that?" He settled on Apollo. "Well?"

"I don't know every high level player in the game." Apollo leaned back in his chair, recalling past events. Maybe just the nicer ones. "Honestly I think you guys are the first ones I've had any full conversations with in the two or three weeks."

"Yeah because you're so bloody far ahead of the rest of us." Cheesus jabbed back with a laugh and raise of his drink. A few of the others echoed it. Apollo sighed. Not really…

"She did have a point, aye." Neontiger said, looking at his brother and Apollo. "We only have two hours left, where are these people?"

"Like I said to I don't think they would just up and leave after killing the first boss. It's just a waiting game now." Rich assured his friend.

Tankgod burped long and loudly. "I'm buggered too, let's just wait it out." the others laughed, Apollo yawned. If it was possible in-game he felt like his feet would have been numb then. He stood up and stretched. Guess now is as good of a time as any. He took one last look at the table of friends he had made over the last day.

"Hey guys I think I'm gonna have to step out for a bit."

The laughing stopped, and the whole of the group looked at him wide-eyed. "What do ya mean?" Neon asked. Apollo scratched the back of his head.

"I…uh…got something I gotta take care of outside of town."

"Mate, the fight is in two hours." Cheesus added in. "Can't it wait?"

Apollo started to back towards the door. "I know, I know. It's kind of a pressing matter. I'll be back later." The group was silent for a moment, Apollo bumped into the door with his back.

TankGod burped, again. "Alright, well. We'll be right here brother, try to make it back in time if you can." He then raised a drink at Apollo and smiled, the others did the same. Apollo returned a smile half-heartedly before quickly exiting the building.

The outside was just as brightly lit as before, but still noticeably empty of a few players. That Beast girl will be the first of many, too many for me. Apollo felt his palms start to sweat a bit, he shrugged it off and turned right towards the road leading out along the lake. Overheard the moonlight illuminated the pathway outside of the town brighter than most nights. Apollo put his hand in his pockets, trying to calm his breathing. Inside he could still hear TankGods booming voice followed by the others laughter. They'll understand. Maybe I'll run into them again too, later on. It'll be alright. He told himself as he exited the town line. They have their own group dynamic, I don't want to ruin that by being around too long. He shook his head. Don't want to be a burden.

With the buildings out of the wave the cool breeze of the lake brought the full cold of the night blowing into Apollos face. He wiped his nose before putting his hands back into his pockets. It would be a long walk before he reached Gallinero again.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Maia had set in the underground cave of an inn for the last hour. They had quickly arrived after at the Gypsy Camp of Vadoma after they started running, Quill having shown Maia most of the way. Though he had not uttered another word to Maia after they arrived, she followed him regardless. What wounds they had were healed by the food and drink in the camp, but Quill didn't make notice of any of it. The man had sulked in his seat ever since they step foot in the make-shift gypsy pub. She tried speaking to him from across the table.

"Quill?" She began slowly. "I'm….sorry…"

Quill didn't respond, not a single movement of his muscles.

Maia sighed sank back her in own seat, her face falling to a frown once again. They had both seen it, had lived it, yet there was nothing they could do. He took him out in two hits. Another player. Even if I had my weapon we still would have had no chance… She ran her hands through her hair. Who the hell was that? And why are they doing that? What do you even gain from that? Maia looked back up at Quill.

The mans long blonde hair covered his eyes, but not the deep frown he wore on his face. He had been sniffling earlier, but had soon stopped in favor of not making any sounds at all. He'll need time. She told herself. Maia looked up to see the rest of the inn in a much different mood. The gypsy NPCs happily danced and talked with each other in pre-scripted events they had done thousands of times prior. Even music was played by a bard from the outside. Maia couldn't have felt worse. She opened the menu screen.

Up in the corner, she saw it once again. The Global Quest, midnight. Maia stared at the text for a moment before she closed the menu. She buried her head in her forearms. Not now, not today.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Ryuu was the first to reach the top of the hill. He quickly scanned the area before looking back towards FistOmen. "Are you sure? I don't see anything from up here?" Fist was much further down the hill, slowly hobbling towards its grassy peak.

"Yeah, all we got to do is cut through the woods and we'll get there a lot faster…." He seemed out of breath, Ryuu often wondered just how the cardio game mechanic worked. Note for later. Fist reached the top, scanning with his own eyes. "Ah…..shit….."

Ryuus thoughts mirrored Fists words. They had been walking for hours then, but it didn't seem like they were any closer to the camp. The view ahead of them was so densely packed with trees that Ryuu couldn't even find sight of the water.

"I'm telling you we should've just gone along the lake, that way we wouldn't be stuck in the forest alone at night."

Fist shook his head. "Don't be blaming this on me boy. You're the one that got us all wrapped up in this, I'm just trying to find the fastest way out."

Ryuu sighed. "True, I guess. But that still doesn't change the fact that we're lost." Ryuu full turned his body around, checking every direction. "We just have to pick out the lake from up here and go to it, from there it should be a straight shoot to Docktown." Ryuu was thankful for the bright light of the moon above in that moment.

"I'm not seeing it." Fist crossed his arms, Ryuu assumed he would be shaking his head as well. "It's there, we have to just really look hard." He assured.

"Shit…."

"I know, I know. It didn't say a time limit though, so we should be alright."

"Ryuu, I think we gotta problem."

"Tell me about it. I have no idea where we are."

FistOmens hands ignited and he launched a fireball down the hill. Ryuu heard a rugged voice scream at the bottom, followed by several curses. He looked down to see a bandit rolling on the grass trying to extinguish the flames on his back.

"Uh oh…" All around them at the bottom of the hill were bandits, dozens from what it looked like at first glance. Ryuu withdrew his pistols, firing both at the bandit on fire at the bottom. The first hit shut the NPC up and the second separated his body into thousands of crystals.

"Damn it, damn it I knew we shouldn't have been out after dark." FistOmen lit another fireball and lobbed over at the group on the other side of the hill. A sharp scream quickly followed.

Ryuu fired his pistols again as well. "Good thing we're both specialized in ranged attacks, aye?" Both bullets landed in two separate eyeballs down the hill. Though Ryuu was disappointed to hear only one bandit curse.

"Not against this many." Both of FistOmens hands glowed. "This is some zombie apocalypse shit and I'm telling you…." He charged a fireball twice the size of those before, lobbing it behind his back. "…I aint got time for that!"

"More xp for us at least." Ryuu said with a smile. He was thankful for the moonlight, brightly illuminated the horde of bandits below them. Though for everyone they took down the hill top it seemed two more would rise from the bottom. He kept his breathing steady and fired as fast as his characters abilities would let him. When they get close I'll use it, should buy as some more time. He looked at FistOmen. Hopefully he has something similar.

"We can't let them get closer!" Fist yelled. The horde was enclosing rapidly, Ryuu could begin to hear their taunts and curses much louder than before. Just a little closer…

"What do you boys think you're doing?

There was an audible bounce that Ryuu couldn't describe. What bandits were ten feet away in every direction were then scattered in the air and rolling down the hill at an alarming rate. Ryuus eyes widened. He went to look at Fist but between the two was a woman covered in a red cloak. Her arms were outstretched, a feint distortion emanating from them. Ryuu read her name tag. Uloveme.

"Who are you?" FistOmen was quick to ask. The force of the womans attack caused her hood to fall down, revealing chestnut brown hair and feint smirk.

"Does it matter? Let's just focus on saving you guys." She began to move down the hill. "They're too many to fight like this, follow me." Down below her a bandit charged, but its speed and footing were quickly thrown out of the way by an invisible push.

Ryuu looked at FistOmen, the black mages hands still glowing with fireballs. Neither knew what to say. Uloveme looked up at the with piercing green eyes.

"Coming?"

Both men followed her down the hill and into the tree line, the swarm of bandits quickly falling behind in what he guessed was the cliché AI pathfinding method. Ryuu glanced back to see that their number swelled far beyond what he originally thought. He swallowed a lump in his throat and kept moving. Only when they reached the road did the woman let them stop. Both Ryuu and FistOmen felt out of breath, but not enough to not ask.

"Who are you?" FistOmen stopped, causing Uloveme turned around. Ryuu finally got a good look at her face.

She looked to be in her late 20s, her face was thin, yet strong looking. The kind that Ryuu only saw of someone who was in shape before the game. There was no mistake on the hill he realized, her eyes practically glowed green. That eye contact too, jeez she must have been in charge of something back before.

"Are you guys really that uncomfortable about being saved by a girl?"

Ryuu put his hands up passively with a smile. "No, just curious I guess." Uloveme stared Ryuu back down until his eye contact broke. Satisfied, she turned back around.

"I'm just out trying to find people like you who are trying to make their way to Docktown at this hour. This game can get pretty dangerous at night you know."

Both their eyes widened. "Wait? You know where Docktown is?" Ryuu asked.

Uloveme nodded. "Of course, you guys are wanting to watch the battle too huh?"

Both Ryuu and FistOmen scratched the back of their heads. "Not exactly…We're actually trying to get our friends back."

Uloveme raised an eyebrow. "Back? Back from who?"

"An NPC, it was part of a quest we, uh…" Ryuu looked up at FistOmen. "…I was doing. Things kind of got out of control and our friends were taken. Now it says we have to go to Docktown to save them."

Uloveme smiled, her face brightening up like a light bulb. "Oh so you guys are on the Bower Front questline are you?"

FistOmen reared his head back. "Woah, hold up! You've done this before?"

She laughed. "Sort of. Let's just say I had to have a friend help me out." She motioned the two with her hand. "Follow me, we should be able to take care of this one pretty quickly."

The way was surprisingly quick through the woods to Docktown, and Ryuu discovered that they were closer to the lake than he thought. Guess Fist was right about that one. He told himself as they walked the path along the shore. Beside them the lake glistened in the moonlight brightly. Uloveme hurried them, and it was within the hour that feint light of Docktown came into view.

"Get ready," she warned. "It hasn't been revealed to you guys yet but basically Aladdin is a will user, and he teleported your friends here instead of physically moving them."

"Damn. Didn't know NPCs could be all crafty like that." FistOmen said flatly.

"Oh, they definitely can, this isn't even the worst I've seen." She assured the two. "But regardless he's going to try to use some spells when we confront him. It shouldn't be a problem with the three of us, but just be ready."

"What about after that? It says part five out of six, what happens in the last part?" Ryuu asked.

Uloveme laughed.. "I think it's best if I don't spoil it. Nothing bad though, I promise." She winked at Ryuu.

The skill user nodded, resting his hand on his pistol. "Well as long as our friends are okay that's all that matters." Ryuu wasn't sure whether or not he heard the red cloaked woman chuckle again after that.

"Welcome to Docktown." Uloveme said as they walked into the brightly illuminated towns not ten minutes later. Lights covered all of the houses with several lanterns dotting posts along the street floor, almost blocking out the moonlight overhead. She had them stop in front of a small inn, inside Ryuu could heard what sounded like several different male voices speaking. Uloveme gave the two men a quick nod before she opened the door. Ryuu took a deep breath.

"-aye that's what I'm talking about! It's like they made the game difficult for short guys on purpose!" A player boomed from a table across the room, the men around him all laughed in response. Only when Uloveme pointed near his table did he make any note of them. Ryuu read his name tag, TankGod.

"Glad you guys could make it." Uloveme began, recognition sparking in the mens eyes.

"Hey! You're that lady from Gallinero, that really high leveled one that knew our friend!"

She smiled but waved them off. "We can talk about that later, for now I'm going to need you guys to do me a favor."

The men at the table all looked at each other and shrugged. TankGod responded. "What's that?"

Uloveme pointed to a spot across the room that Ryuu hadn't looked at yet. His eyes widened. Seated in a small, elevated booth next to the stairs was a very fat figure dressed in purple. It was Aladdin, and he was alone from what Ryuu could tell.

"See that man? Well he is a quest NPC that has business with these two here." She pointed behind her back with her thumb. "He kidnapped two of their party members and they won't be free until we complete this part."

One of the other players at the table tilted his head, Ryuu saw his nametag as RICH. "So what's the favor then?"

"Just try not to get caught in the middle of it." She smiled. She turned back and nodded at Ryuu and FistOmen before moving towards Aladdin. Ryuu placed his hand on one of his pistols. Uloveme turned to Ryuu. "You have to initiate it Ryuu, just be ready."

"But what about our friends?"

She shook her head. "They're okay, he just as them locked in the basement. We just have to beat him here to get them out, alright?"

Ryuu nodded, taking the final steps forward. He cleared his throat and fully withdrew one of his pistols, aiming it at Aladdins head as he spoke.

"Aladdin!" He called out loudly, the NPC slowly turned towards him. His eyes began to glow a feint violet. Ryuus trigger hand began to sweat, and his breathing hastened. Just got to wait for it to start, then I can shoot. Aladdin rose from his seat. Ryuu took an instinctive step back, but raised his second pistol at the man as well.

"So you've come then." The fat grinned, puffing his chest up while his eyes only glowed brighter. "A mistake my friend, a mistake. Now you will have to pay for it." Aladdin reared back one of his arms, the palm of his hand glowing a similar hue as his eyes. Ryuus trigger finger twitched. Almost….almost….

Aladdin lunged forward and the room was engulfed in a bright purple light. Blinded, Ryuu fired both pistols in rapid succession at the man, yelling as he shot. Smoke mixed with the light, and Ryuus vision clouded without warning. The room went quiet to Ryuu, his ears rang and he coughed loudly. Seconds later he was able to open his eyes.

From the table at the back TankGod sighed. "Can't we ever go to a pub without cunts always starting fights…"

Aladdin stood motionless before, his avatar unmoving. The health bar lasted only a second longer before it was completely empty. But not by Ryuus bullets. Jutting out from the fat NPCs chest was a glowing blade, a katana. Moments later it was swiftly removed,, Aladdin shattered into thousands of little pieces. Revealing the man behind him.

He was decorated in iron plate armor from his neck down. His hair was of similar length to Ryuus but dirty blonde, with a trimmed beard to match. He had a groggy look to his face, yawning as he sheathed his blade his side.

One hit…? Ryuu was frozen, the man stumbled past him.

"Ah sorry about that. It's pretty good quest line you know…" He said as he walked, stopping only at the bar. "Loud too though, and when you wake we up like that that you're not gonna get good results." He looked at the bar maid. "Yeah just one sweet roll please."

Ryuu and FistOmen made eye contact, both bewildered. Ryuu turned to Uloveme. The woman pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration.

"Damn it Kungen!"

"Kungen?" Ryuu repeated.

"Huh?" The man turned around as he took a bite of the sweet role. "Uloveme?" He muttered with his mouth full. Just then a door unlatched from across the room, slamming against the wall as the two ran out.

"Ryuu!"

Ryuu turned to his left just in time to see Ellie embrace him in a hug.

"Ellie? Wait…wha-"

"Herman!"

"Uncle!"

Ryuu turned to see Herman running up from a door behind the bar, embracing FistOmen in a similar fashion. Ryuu shook his head. "Wait, what about-"

"You've been sleeping….the entire time…." Uloveme said, already at the bar next to Kungen. She pointed to the clock on the wall angrily. "It's eleven-forty! The boss is going to appear in twenty minutes! Everyone's bee looking for you for hours and you were sleeping? Do you have any idea…." Uloveme trailed off, Ryuu watched the man eat his sweet roll as she yelled.

"Aye, it will happen soon. We probably should get out there. Bet Luther and that Beast girl are already watching." Ryuu heard TankGod say from across the room. Moments later he heard the sound of several chairs scooting out.

Ellie shook Ryuu to get his attention.. "Ryuu, are you alright? I haven't seen you since the lake. I heard I was kidnapped but what's going on?"

Ryuu looked at Ellie, then at Herman and FistOmen, at TankGod and his group leaving, at the pile of loot where Aladdin was, at the 2D menu that popped in front of him, at Uloveme, at Kungen.

Ryuus eye twitched.

"Stop! Everyone, just stop!" He hollered at the top of his lungs. The inn went quiet, revealing the soft tune played by the bard near the entrance. Ryuu looked directly at the man with the steel katana.

"You just killed that potential boss in one hit, and now you're talking about the global quest thing. Who are you?"

Kungen swallowed the bit of roll in his mouth, all of the eyes of the room settling upon him. TankGods group stopped at the door, while both Herman and FistOmen looked up as well. Ellie looked at Ryuu, confused, and then at Kungen.

Uloveme sighed. "Sorry Ryuu I probably should have told you earlier."

Kungen stood up, lightly slapping his chest to help clear his throat. "No it's alright. I probably should have introduced myself earlier. My name's Kungen, and well, I'm the one who's going to fight that monster in…." He looked at Uloveme. The woman rolled her eyes, but nodded regardless. "….twenty minutes I'm hearing."

Ryuu let his hand drop to his side, his expression blank.

TankGod gasped loudly. "Wait…what?"

FistOmen added in. "Just you. One person?"

"Look it's a long story. The fight's gonna be soon so we'll talk about it after alright?" Kungen turned back around in his seat and plunged the last chunk of the sweetroll in his mouth.