"Wake up, Reid! Wake up!" Reid felt himself being shook. He slowly opened his eyes to see Rain kneeling over him. Reid sat upright. His head hurt badly. "What-….. what happened?" He lifted his head. Rain stared into his eyes. "I….don't know." Rain admitted. "All I remember was that we were in a dungeon, and you fell down suddenly. I tried to pick you up to your feet, but something hit me in the back." Rain stood up and helped Reid to his feet. Reid looked around him. They were in a quiet back alley of the Root town.
"How did we get here?" Reid asked her while picking up her sword and handing it to her. She shook her head slowly.
"When I came to, we were here. I don't know. But…. That's…. not all of it." Rain looked at Reid, with fear in her eyes.
"What's wrong?" Reid was shocked to see her like this. Rain walked over to him, and laid her hands on his shoulders. She looked at Reid's face slowly.
"Can you, remember… your real name?" She asked with a shaky voice.
Reid stood silently, unsettled at what she had asked. He thought carefully. Then his eyes widened with surprise. "I- I can't remember…" He stuttered. Rain pulled his face close to hers. Reid could see the tears in her eyes. "Neither can I." She whispered miserably.
Chapter FourForgotten Memories
Reid gaped at Rain. "But….." He looked around in panic. This is a dream, it has to be! Reid thought furiously. He tried to move his arms and legs in real life. Nothing. There was absolutely no response.
Wait! I can just log out of the game! He braced himself. Nothing happened. He twisted his head to look at Rain. "I can't log out!" He cried.
Rain just lowered her head. "I know…" She murmured sadly.
Reid shook his head violently. "No! This has to be a dream!" He shouted out to himself.
Rain shook him by the shoulders. "It's not a dream!" She wheezed, practically in tears. "This is real." Reid pushed away. "We've got to tell somebody! Someone should be able to help us!" Reid told himself. He sighed heavily. He turned to Rain. "C'mon! We have to get help!" She nodded and picked up her sword.
They both walked out of the alley and looked around the town. It was completely empty.
"Where is everyone?" Rain wondered, strength coming back into her voice.
"I dunno." Reid responded, walking over to the railing that stood over the river. He leaned on the railing and stared down into his glassy reflection. This is real. He thought. And it feels like a nightmare. Reid's eyes searched the streets across the river. Nothing. Even the shops were empty. He tilted his head to the side. Who was that woman? Reid had almost completely forgotten about her. Rain hadn't been able to see her, but he had. What was the connection? Then, she stabbed him. No warning, nothing. Then she stabbed Rain too. Reid looked up into the sky. And here we are. He thought slowly. Stuck in a root town of nothingness.
"Hey!! Hey, kid! What the hell do you think you're doin'?" Surprised, Reid turned around. A large man in a large suit of armor was screaming at Rain, who had started looting the item shop while Reid was thinking at the railing. The man pushed her away from the item shop. Rain toppled into Reid and knocked him over. The man, who looked rather angry, took a few steps towards them. "How did you get here?!" He yelled at them. "The servers are closed for repairs!" He slapped his hand to his forehead. "God, if you guys are hackers, I will personally hand you over to the police!"
Rain stared at him blankly. Reid stood up quickly. "No, sir. We aren't hackers. Please let us explain."
The man folded his arms across his chest. "Well, I'm waiting." He said sternly.
* * * *
"I see. All of that is true?" Rain and Reid nodded their heads quickly.
"Hmm.." The man muttered something under his breath that Reid couldn't hear. Then he relaxed his eyebrows. "I am Mr. Webster, an administrator for The World. In fact, I'm also the Lead Sales Manager for CyberConnect USA." The man stood silently for a second, thinking. "Okay. You wait here." He pointed at the rail. "I'll be back in few minutes. Just… wait here." Mr. Webster logged out with a thoughtful look on his face.
Rain looked at Reid. He looked worried. She leaned against the railing.
"Are you okay?" Rain asked, playfully slugging him in the arm. Reid looked at her blankly, and then slowly smiled. "Yeah. I'm all right. I just… can't remember anything." Reid looked at his staff.
Rain nodded and leaned on his shoulder and commented. "It's strange. It's like…like… watching a movie where you know all about the plot, but absolutely nothing of the characters."
Reid smiled sheepishly. "That's a unique metaphor."
Rain shrugged. "I'm trying my best." Reid grinned again. Rain picked up her sword and looked at it as though she was looking at it for the first time. "My sword… looks different." Reid examined the sword. "It is different." He appraised. "It's stronger."
Rain looked at her hands. "I feel stronger." Reid knew what she meant. They had both somehow gone from lowly lv.1 newbies to lv.20 warriors. And gotten better equipment.
"But how?" Rain wondered as she tossed her sword into the air and caught it.
"Maybe it was a glitch. The same one that's screwing up everything right now." Reid guessed.
"Maybe." Rain tossed the sword up again. Reid was fascinated by all the new magic that accompanied his upgraded equipment he had acquired without knowing. "La Repth. That's good to have." He muttered to himself, remembering Rain crazy tactics. "Hmph." Rain responded. "I wonder when that guy's coming back. If he's not back soon, I'm going to 'check out' the weapon shop."
Reid rolled his eyes and looked again into the sky. It's all over now, at least. Reid thought.
Suddenly, three figures logged in right in front of the item shop. Mr. Webster was between the other two characters, who appeared to be extremely large Swordmasters in very heavy metal armor. They carried large, intimidating swords and helmets that covered their eyes. It gave them a cold and heartless look. Mr. Webster pointed Reid and Rain out to the two giants. "Kill them both." He ordered menacingly.