Author's Notes: Yeah, so, I have no idea where this is going. Isn't it wonderful? Also, to address Jonathan's concern over BlackRose's pregnant state, she will be participating in The World but not in any situation that is too stressful. However, the fact that she is pregnant is vitally important. whistles innocently And, to all those of you who are underage, I'm nervously debating putting in an "adultish" scene. It's not a lemon (love scene), I've only written two of those in my life and I blushed the entire way through and then passed out afterwards after vowing 'never again'. But the scene would reference adult situations. If I decide to keep it in, it will have a suitable warning of course. This is just to let you know of the possibility.

FYI: During real life scenes, I'll be using the characters real names, Kenji and Akira. While in The World, I'll usually refer to them as Kite and BlackRose.

Whew! Enough of that. On to the ficcage.

Wonderland of My Own Making

Chapter Two

Kenji,

Sorry to contact you like this. I know it's sudden but we're running out of options. There's something going on and there's no one else or I wouldn't be writing you. A friend of yours "acquired" your email address and so I'm sending this on the behalf of everyone, not just myself.

I can't say anymore here but please, if you can, come to The World, to the place you first met Orca online. I'll explain everything to you then and the choice will be yours.

Your characters will be waiting for you.

Be careful, it's no longer just a game.

Yasuhiko

Kenji watched intently as his wife's dark eyes roamed the letter, chewing at her bottom lip as she read between the lines. Outside their windows, night had fallen, encompassing their bedroom in quickening shadows. The house was quiet except for the hissing of a few candles that Akira had lit earlier, their flames sputtering in the hot wax. Kenji though saw nothing but his wife's face and when she finally looked up, he could see the wheels of her mind turning swiftly.

"He wants you to go to Mac Anu."

It was not what he had thought she would say, but he nodded, shifting his weight on the bed beside her, toes curling into the carpet anxiously. He felt fourteen again and suddenly all their memories of the past seemed not so long ago.

"It looks like there's something going on in The World, something big and he thinks I can do something about it."

"We," Akira corrected and he blinked, thrown off his stride.

"What?"

"It says 'your characters', plural. He wants both of us."

Kenji decided to debate that point latter, when he was sure he could win. "The question is, how did he find us? After we moved here, I lost contact with him."

"This friend of yours that he speaks of, maybe he had something to do with it. He "acquired" our email address." She paused. "What does Yasuhiko mean by that?"

"I think he means a hacker," Kenji said thoughtfully, "Maybe Helba?"

Akira's expression cleared. "I'll bet you're right. Wow, do you think she's still playing in The World?" She snorted at the notion and Kenji's mouth twitched before he managed to redirect his thoughts back to the matter at hand.

"Well, if Yasuhiko is, it's not too impossible to believe that some of our other friends are too. After all, the game has been updated several times and it's still a big phenomenon. It's gets more advanced every year." He trailed off when he saw that Akira was staring at him, surprised.

"What?"

"You actually want to do this, don't you," she said quietly. "You want to go."

Unsure of what answer she was looking for, he chose the diplomatic path. "I… I don't know."

For a moment neither of them said anything, all their times spent in The World flashing before their eyes, memories conforming into tangible things that crowded around them, clamoring for remembrance. Then Akira leaned into his shoulder, locks of her dark hair brushing against his cheek, and he knew that that moment was real, and not the faded illusion of time spent within an artificial landscape. He would trade all of his time spent in The World if it meant he got to keep having real moments with the woman next to him.

But no matter how true that thought was, Kenji was not a selfish person, and the idea that others might be in trouble weighed on him.

"I thought we left all this behind," she said softly, threading her fingers through his. He squeezed her palm.

"I did, too."

"You were The World's hero, the Bearer of the Bracelet, and I can see why they would call on you again, but you're no longer the Kite that existed back then, and I'm no longer the BlackRose The World remembers. We've got other priorities." She lifted his hand and placed it on her belly, her eyes catching his. "I know you're thinking it's your responsibility but it's not. Even if you go back, you won't have the Bracelet. You'll have no more power than anyone else." A flash of annoyance, or maybe disbelief crossed her face. "It's only a game, Kenji, surely they can do without you."

His look to her was one of compassion. "You know it wasn't a game back then, and it seems that it's more than that now as well, if what Yasuhiko is saying is true. It's no longer just a game." He exhaled slowly, his eyes focused on some distant point. "But you're right, there's too much going on right now, and I'm sure there are others that can protect the users in The World. It seems strange he would even ask me, after all this time."

"Besides, he didn't give you any details. We're not even sure what the situation is. It could be anything."

Kenji nodded. "You're right."

Akira sighed dramatically and stood up, weaving slightly as she caught her balance. "Well, come on then," she said, heading out of the room. He jumped up and stumbled after her, confused.

"What are we doing?"

"Getting your old stuff out, of course," she said, opening the door to the closet in the guest room and pointing to a box that she had relabeled "old computer stuff." He glanced at her as if she were crazy.

"Didn't we just agree we were going to stay out of it?"

She put her hands on her hips. "I agreed that we would stay out of it, but you on the other hand…" She shook her head. "I know you won't be able to let it go until you've checked it out for yourself, so let's go." She pointed at the box and he stepped in front of her to lift it out, following her as she headed to his study. Once there, he set the box down on the desk and took out his old goggles, staring at them as if he had never seen them before. His wife made an exasperated sound in her throat.

"You're really hopeless, you know that?"

She plucked the goggles out of his hand and hooked them up to his computer. Then, before he realized what she was doing, she opened the bottom drawer of his desk and took out her laptop.

"Wait," he said suddenly, alarmed. "What are you doing?"

Her reply was nonchalant. "Going with you, of course."

"No."

She arched an eyebrow at him dangerously, the movement very reminiscent of his old partner, BlackRose. "No?"

A lot had changed, however, and he was not so easily intimidated by her as he had been when they were kids. Still, she could be scary when she was angry.

"No," he repeated firmly. "Like you said, we don't know what's going on there. If it's not safe, the baby…"

"All the more reason for me to go with you," she answered. "If we both go, you'll be too worried about me to do much more than look around. And if it's not safe, I'll logout immediately, as will you." Her eyes narrowed as an idea popped into her head. "And if you don't, you can better believe I'll shut your computer off myself."

He smiled weakly. "Will I ever win an argument against you?" She grinned suddenly.

"While I'm hormonal? Probably not."

He shook his head. "Do you know where your old goggles are?"

"I'll go get them."

By the time she returned, Kenji had brought in another chair and hooked up her laptop next to their personal computer, slightly relieved that this time his partner would be right beside him in both worlds.

Akira seated herself with the heavy grace given to pregnant women and set the goggles on her head as he connected them to her computer. When he was sure she was settled with controller in hand, he followed suit, picking up his own goggles.

"A short trip, Kenji," Akira reminded him as he clicked on the desktop icon. "Whether we find Yasuhiko or not, we're not staying."

"Alright."

Loading…

Welcome to The World. Login?

Login: Kite

Password:

Taking a breath, Kenji lifted a finger and pressed "Enter", feeling Akira do the same next to him.

Please wait…

Login accepted. Welcome back, Kite.

Exhaling in relief, he bypassed the message boards, heading straight for The World icon. With a double click, he felt a sudden surge within in his goggles and then…

…then he was in.

Standing before the revolving Chaos Gate in the middle of dusky Mac Anu, it was like he had never left. The Root Town looked almost exactly the same, with perhaps some updated architecture, but he could see the familiar underlying structure he had walked past so many times before. He could even hear the quiet lapping of the river as it washed against the docks and rushed under the bridge ahead.

And he was Kite again.

His character remained the same as it had been upon the moment of deletion eleven years ago, even so far as the items in his inventory and his equipped weapons. Lifting a hand, he pulled an aqua lock of hair in front of his face, marveling at it. It was strange, really, being back. He was Kite, but Kite was not him, at least, not the 'him' he had been all those years ago. He had changed, matured, and now that he was back, so must Kite.

"Wow, it worked! I wasn't sure if it would."

He turned, hearing his wife's voice, and felt a bemused smile curve his lips as his longtime partner, BlackRose, twirled away from the Chaos Gate, seemingly delighted with her own appearance. She laughed at seeing his expression.

"Go on and smile, idiot. I'm just glad I can actually see my feet." She came to his side then and he blinked, his brows drawing together.

"What's that?" He reached out to touch a mark just visible above the curve of her armor, directly over her heart. It looked almost like a tattoo, a dark blue color and shaped like a star. "You never had that before."

BlackRose frowned in thought, looking down at the strange marking. "I don't know. Maybe just an error in my data? Something Helba, or whoever this mysterious hacker is, missed?"

Or added, Kite thought apprehensively, but didn't share the thought aloud. Instead, he nodded reassuringly. "You're probably right. After all, its been awhile since we've used these characters."

"Speaking of which," she said suddenly, glancing around, "don't you think this place is strange?"

He blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Well, why is it so quiet?"

It was only by drawing attention to that specific fact that Kite realized they seemed to be alone, no crowds of people jostling each other at the Recorder, no one standing around the Chaos Gate picking out keywords. As far as he could see, they were the only two there, the heavy silence abruptly weighing on his shoulders. He had been so absorbed in actually being back that he hadn't noticed the place was deserted.

For a moment, he felt a desire to pull his daggers from inventory before dismissing the thought as foolish. After all, they were in a Root Town, they were perfectly safe. No monsters could attack them there and PKing had been outlawed long ago. Perfectly safe.

"Stay close to me," he murmured, faintly surprised when BlackRose obeyed him without comment, moving to stand slightly behind him. Together, they began to walk, the echo of their footsteps on stone ringing loudly in their ears. It was only when they had reached the bridge that they heard the voices.

"Up ahead," his wife said quietly near his ear, "It looks like there's a crowd."

She was right. On the other side of the bridge, in the large courtyard created by a square of buildings, stood a huge throng of people all watching and cheering for something in their midst. Kite couldn't see what they were so enthralled with but the situation looked familiar and he felt his body relax.

"It's alright," he said, relieved, "I think it's an Event."

BlackRose, still peering over his shoulder, seemed unconvinced but she nodded after a moment. "Let's go see what's up."

They continued forward over the bridge, the cries of the crowd tangling shrilly around them, raising the hairs on the nape of Kenji's neck as he sat in front of his monitor. By the time they actually reached the crowd, he was a mass of tense muscles and clenched teeth. Behind him, BlackRose didn't look much better, her expression grim and her lips bloodless.

Her fingers clenched around the fabric of the back of his shirt.

"I thought something was wrong. I've always had good intuition…" She trailed off but Kite didn't need to hear anymore. The sight before him was all too clear.

The crowd wasn't cheering.

They were screaming.

To be continued…