Thanks for reviewing! YA!
Island
Ryuoku slammed his teeth into the apple with as much force as his jaw could muster. It was good. He finally found food, and he didn't waste any time in devouring it to the core.
It was a strange thing. Ever since he fell threw the black void, he could actually feel pain, and be hungry inside a game. Ryuoku had landed on an island, and there didn't seem to be any way off of it.
**FLASH BACK**
Ryuoku fell out of the void, and into a tropical climate. It was warm and sunny. The perfect vacation spot. He could see sand as it drew closer to him. Hopefully the fall breaker wouldn't hurt too badly.
How wrong he was in hoping this. As he hit the ground, Ryuoku felt rather then heard his back crack. He hadn't broken anything, but it hurt. The pain was so intense; he was delayed in moving his face from the burning coals that were grains of sand.
He couldn't even breathe through the sand. Ryuoku choked in the welcoming air when he finally managed to roll over onto his back. The pain grew more intense. As he looked, Ryuoku saw his own health bar was down. From reflex, he used a healing potion.
Immediately the pain in his back vanished.
So weird, he thought.
Ryuoku stood up, and looked at his surroundings. He was standing on a small beach with two rocky hills on each side. In front of him, were a few trees, and a small circle of what looked like snow.
Snow? That didn't make any sense at all. He stumbled towards it, only to become instantly cold. He backed away from it slowly, and ran around it. On the other side, his stomach rumbled.
He was hungry, and there didn't seem to be anything to eat around the island. Time passed, and he grew hungrier. He soon collapsed on the beach.
He opened his eyes, and saw whom he knew was Aura standing over him.
"This is the only thing I can do for you right know. Please... understand my meaning. Rescue the one who awakened me. 'Suffering' is the last key. Understand this, you must go to 'Lost Eternal Suffering'! Hurry!" she said in her whispery voice.
Ryuoku struggled to grasp what she just said. The first two words she said. He could have sworn that he heard the wavemaster in the capsule say them. But if they were keywords then....
"Wait! What server!?" Ryuoku cried as the girl began to fade away.
"Destruction," Aura whispered before fading away completely.
Ryuoku just sat in the void for a while, and then saw an apple tree in the distance. Slowly the blackness faded, and Ryuoku saw that he was awake again. What was going on? He ran over to the tree, and plucked an apple from its branches.
**GAME**
"Where... am I?" he asked himself, and then plucked another apple from the tree as calm winds blew across the beach.
* * *
Varuchio glared at the screen. This had gone too far. The five players had to be stopped.
"I want them stopped," he said quietly, and then started to yell. "I WANT THEM STOPPED NOW!" He slammed his fist down on a button, and then laughed.
The five of them who had defeated phases were still warping. Now, however, they were warping to his destination, not theirs. He laughed harder, and watched the scene unfold.
* * *
Sharie was the first to arrive at their new field. She gasped at what she saw, and just somehow knew that Ryuoku wouldn't be here. Something was wrong, and she didn't like it.
The others soon gated in, and all gasped as well. They were in a giant maze of plain walls. They were in a labyrinth.
Cheetra choked on the news that there were two paths. Neither one differed from the other, and she was completely confused.
"Since there are two paths for us to take," Subaru mentioned. "Perhaps it would be wisest to separate into two groups?"
"I don't know," fretted Kenshi. "What if one group goes down the wrong path and gets lost?"
Sharie gave him a sly smile. "From what I see," she started. "We have two people who know Rai Rom in the group. Subaru, because of her strong equipment, and Tsukazi. Since the walls aren't too high, then Rai Rom will be noticeable from another end of the maze."
"I get it!" said Tsukazi. "If one group finds an exit, then they would cast Rai Rom on the ground continually until the other group could navigate to it!"
"Right!" said Sharie. "And as we walk, we'll walk in straight rows. While we're walking, we'll each drag our weapon in a straight line. Since it's a dirt ground that would leave a visible line. That way, when the group of two finds the exit, then cast Rai Rom, the group of three just has to look for the set of parallel lines to finish the journey, and vise versa!"
"Okay," Cheetra said. "Now what'll the groups be?"
* * *
Ryuoku sat on the beach. Night had fallen, and he could tell he was growing tired. He thought he was seeing static. Wait...was he tired? No, he didn't think so. He was actually seeing static!
Red letters flashed across his screen. When they were still, they spelled out: Phase Seven: Sea Travos: The Terrorization of Loneliness.
Ryuoku jumped to his feet as the static cleared, only to see that the island had changed.
"Oh my god."
The few trees had turned black, with evil eyes and the long palm leaves turned into king cobras. The sand had actually turned into burning coals, and Ryuoku's health slowly dropped by standing on it. The cliffs turned into two giant squids, and kicked off into the see. Four red fire lines stretched up what was left of the half-square beach. Two gaping holes appeared just above the two trees in the center. If you were to look at it from the sky, you would see a skull. The nose would be the two demon trees, the eyes would be the holes, and teeth formed by fire line.
Ryuoku dodged the sparks being flung at him from the fires. Something was happening that shouldn't be. He cast Ol Repth for the fourth time before running. Without looking, he ran into one of the trees.
Two branch arms grabbed him, and he saw drool leak from one of the cobra's mouths. A mouth of fangs actually started to form on the trunk, and Ryuoku was being shoved into it.
A tongue wrapped itself around his middle, slightly cutting off his air supply. It pulled him closer to the looming darkness of its mouth.
"Damn-it!" he choked through gasps of air. The being soon swallowed him, and his world went black.
* * *
Sharie ran through the maze with her partner, Subaru. It was getting darker in the maze. Somehow, whatever light force had been lighting their way before was fading away. They wouldn't be able to see soon.
Enemy after enemy ran after them. They tried to avoid most of the fights, but couldn't escape all of them. Sharie and he friend had to occasionally battle.
The battle level must have been high in the field, for the monsters were level seventy at the least. If Subaru died, Sharie would soon after.
In one of the battles (consisting of three Jealous Cobras) Sharie was charmed. She figured it would were off before too much damage could be done, because they were out of Restoratives and had to wait for all effects to were off.
Her assault on Subaru halted when the Axeman was almost out of life. She was about to use a Healing Elixir when Sharie was charmed again. She took another swing out of Subaru, and to her horror, killed her only hope of survival. At only level twenty, she knew that she would soon be gone.
* * *
Varuchio laughed to himself in his office. This was definitely a better show then he could have ever imagined. His rivals would soon be gone, and Ryuoku's fear was about to finally kick in.
Life was perfect right now for him. A little to perfect. Things were going so well for him, he didn't realize that Tsukasa had opened his eyes. It was only briefly, and he soon lost consciousness before being able to think, but that meant his permanent sleep tank wasn't perfect. And if given the right tap, could shatter.
* * *
Ryuoku didn't understand it. He was awake, but wasn't he just eaten? He was in his house, and was just ordinary Ryu again. He sat on his bed, remembering his friends. When he got out of this place, he would have them for support, and he would know that he was never alone.
The phone rang. Ryu went to run for it, and realized that his feet were smaller, and couldn't run as fast. He was five, and very independent. Now that he thought about it, the world was still faintly new, and all over the message boards were posts about a troublesome wavemaster named Tsukasa who had a run in with the crimson knights.
Tsukasa! Wasn't that the name of Subaru's missing friend? And Subaru! Oh how he remembered everything. Lady Subaru of the Crimson Knights. It all made since.
Ryu remembered the phone, and had to use a stool in order to reach it. As he picked it up and answered with the usual 'Hiyaki residence, Ryu speaking, who may I ask is calling?' he heard comical sobbing.
"R-Ryu," choked a feminine voice. "Come over to the hospital across the street. You need to know something about your father."
"M-Mom?" asked a worried Ryu.
"H-Hurry," There was a click, and the line went dead. Wasn't the hospital across the street from him where his mother had been staying the past few days?
He walked out of the apartment building, and into the down pouring rain. He ran across the street into the hospital. Why did this look so familiar to him?
The hospital's automatic door slid open, and the smell of medicine dug its way up Ryu's nostrils. A nurse with hair covering one half of her face glanced at him sadly. Her purple lipstick covered lips told him to follow her.
Ryu was worried, and hastily followed. Desperate to know what his mother had been hiding, and where his father had been the last few days. He ran after the nurse, and started to feel dread.
* * *
Sharie saw Subaru struggle to breathe, and Subaru knew how Tsukasa felt. She finally knew how he had felt when he had died. She knew what death was, and hated it. It made her stomach turn, and she couldn't focus. The pain slowly died away, and she was on her feet again.
"What happened to me?" asked Subaru.
"I just used a resurrect, that's all," Sharie said uncomfortably. Subaru knew what she was thinking. This girl thought Subaru would hate her for killing her, but Subaru wasn't one to hate.
"Sharie, it's alright," she said sincerely.
"Really?" she asked hopefully.
"Yes," said Subaru. With a final swing, she killed the last Cobra, and they were back on their way through the maze.
* * *
Ryu practically ran to keep up with the nurse. Where was he going?
She stopped in front of a room, and a small tear fell down her cheek. Ryu knew that it was for him. As he walked in, he saw his mother sobbing uncontrollably over someone in a hospital bed.
It was a man. He had many scars, and many of his body parts were in casts. But the face wasn't. The face belonged to-
"Dad!" Ryu cried. He ran over to his dying fathers side. Tears immediately swelled in his eyes.
"Ryu," he said weakly.
"Y-yes?" he choked.
"I need you, to save... "The World," and our world," he said.
"I don't understand,"
"You will son. And...I'm sorry... we didn't play catch last Saturday.
The words hit Ryu's heart like daggers. He had been so desperate to play catch with his dad the last time he saw him on Saturday. Now his father was going to die with regret.
"Don't be," he whispered as fresh tears stung his eyes.
"Good Bye...." He closed his eyes. That was the last time Ryu saw his father awake. He didn't actually die, but went into a deep coma until only a few months prier to his knew version of "The World." His mom gave up on him waking up, and pulled the plug.
Ryu ran out of the hospital, crying. His father had died in a car wreck because someone had cut his breaks. Now Ryu would be all alone in the morning. He ran out into the street, and a car swerved off the road so as not to hit him.
"Watch where you're going ya crazy kid!" growled the driver. Ryu collapsed in the bed of his house, and just cried.
Suddenly he was older, and Ryu couldn't remember what was happening this time. He walked over to the ringing phone, and picked it up.
"Ryu Hiyaki?" said a scratchy voice from the other end.
"Y-yes," answered Ryu recognizing the voice of the hospital clerk.
"Your mother has just...passed on,"
"NO! NO! I WON'T ALLOW THAT!" cried Ryu. Now he was all alone. No one would be there for him anymore. His family was gone, and that was all he had to know.
Mail flashed under his account. Without thinking, Ryu clicked it open. Sharie's face shown out from it. It read: Ryuoku! Be strong! You'll never be alone! We're you friends and we'll never leave you alone! No matter how hard things get!
Four other mails flashed under the account. They were all from his friends, and he knew that he had support. He put on his headset, and logged into the world. He heard the cry of a monster, and saw a snake with a sword through it crumble into pieces.
* * *
The wall in front of Subaru and Sharie crumbled. Standing in front of them, they saw Cheetra, Tsukazi, and Kenshi waiting for them. A red gate gleamed on top of a pedestal.
"Great ta see ya!" Sharie exclaimed.
"Ditto," said Tsukazi.
"Oh no! Look! It's Ryuoku and he's unconscious!" exclaimed Subaru, noticing Ryuoku limp body on the ground. They crowded around him, and he slowly got up.
Ryuoku just then realized that he never had logged out, and knew his mother was still in the hospital. They walked up to the gate.
"Good to see all of you guys," he said.
"So how was phase six?" asked Sharie.
"How'd you even know I fought a phase?" demanded Ryuoku.
"I tell you later, but how hard was it?" she asked.
"First of all, it was Phase Seven," said Ryuoku.
"What? No way!" said Sharie.
"Who cares! We're safe, and home free! Let's go!" Cheetra exclaimed. They all ran to the gate, and warped out.
* * *
"Help...me," said a voice. It was trapped, and needed to be rescued. Did anyone care? Yes. Someone would come. It knew that.
**END**
End of chapter! No more Island! I'll update soon. Please Review! BTW, sorry I took a little while. Thanks!
Island
Ryuoku slammed his teeth into the apple with as much force as his jaw could muster. It was good. He finally found food, and he didn't waste any time in devouring it to the core.
It was a strange thing. Ever since he fell threw the black void, he could actually feel pain, and be hungry inside a game. Ryuoku had landed on an island, and there didn't seem to be any way off of it.
**FLASH BACK**
Ryuoku fell out of the void, and into a tropical climate. It was warm and sunny. The perfect vacation spot. He could see sand as it drew closer to him. Hopefully the fall breaker wouldn't hurt too badly.
How wrong he was in hoping this. As he hit the ground, Ryuoku felt rather then heard his back crack. He hadn't broken anything, but it hurt. The pain was so intense; he was delayed in moving his face from the burning coals that were grains of sand.
He couldn't even breathe through the sand. Ryuoku choked in the welcoming air when he finally managed to roll over onto his back. The pain grew more intense. As he looked, Ryuoku saw his own health bar was down. From reflex, he used a healing potion.
Immediately the pain in his back vanished.
So weird, he thought.
Ryuoku stood up, and looked at his surroundings. He was standing on a small beach with two rocky hills on each side. In front of him, were a few trees, and a small circle of what looked like snow.
Snow? That didn't make any sense at all. He stumbled towards it, only to become instantly cold. He backed away from it slowly, and ran around it. On the other side, his stomach rumbled.
He was hungry, and there didn't seem to be anything to eat around the island. Time passed, and he grew hungrier. He soon collapsed on the beach.
He opened his eyes, and saw whom he knew was Aura standing over him.
"This is the only thing I can do for you right know. Please... understand my meaning. Rescue the one who awakened me. 'Suffering' is the last key. Understand this, you must go to 'Lost Eternal Suffering'! Hurry!" she said in her whispery voice.
Ryuoku struggled to grasp what she just said. The first two words she said. He could have sworn that he heard the wavemaster in the capsule say them. But if they were keywords then....
"Wait! What server!?" Ryuoku cried as the girl began to fade away.
"Destruction," Aura whispered before fading away completely.
Ryuoku just sat in the void for a while, and then saw an apple tree in the distance. Slowly the blackness faded, and Ryuoku saw that he was awake again. What was going on? He ran over to the tree, and plucked an apple from its branches.
**GAME**
"Where... am I?" he asked himself, and then plucked another apple from the tree as calm winds blew across the beach.
* * *
Varuchio glared at the screen. This had gone too far. The five players had to be stopped.
"I want them stopped," he said quietly, and then started to yell. "I WANT THEM STOPPED NOW!" He slammed his fist down on a button, and then laughed.
The five of them who had defeated phases were still warping. Now, however, they were warping to his destination, not theirs. He laughed harder, and watched the scene unfold.
* * *
Sharie was the first to arrive at their new field. She gasped at what she saw, and just somehow knew that Ryuoku wouldn't be here. Something was wrong, and she didn't like it.
The others soon gated in, and all gasped as well. They were in a giant maze of plain walls. They were in a labyrinth.
Cheetra choked on the news that there were two paths. Neither one differed from the other, and she was completely confused.
"Since there are two paths for us to take," Subaru mentioned. "Perhaps it would be wisest to separate into two groups?"
"I don't know," fretted Kenshi. "What if one group goes down the wrong path and gets lost?"
Sharie gave him a sly smile. "From what I see," she started. "We have two people who know Rai Rom in the group. Subaru, because of her strong equipment, and Tsukazi. Since the walls aren't too high, then Rai Rom will be noticeable from another end of the maze."
"I get it!" said Tsukazi. "If one group finds an exit, then they would cast Rai Rom on the ground continually until the other group could navigate to it!"
"Right!" said Sharie. "And as we walk, we'll walk in straight rows. While we're walking, we'll each drag our weapon in a straight line. Since it's a dirt ground that would leave a visible line. That way, when the group of two finds the exit, then cast Rai Rom, the group of three just has to look for the set of parallel lines to finish the journey, and vise versa!"
"Okay," Cheetra said. "Now what'll the groups be?"
* * *
Ryuoku sat on the beach. Night had fallen, and he could tell he was growing tired. He thought he was seeing static. Wait...was he tired? No, he didn't think so. He was actually seeing static!
Red letters flashed across his screen. When they were still, they spelled out: Phase Seven: Sea Travos: The Terrorization of Loneliness.
Ryuoku jumped to his feet as the static cleared, only to see that the island had changed.
"Oh my god."
The few trees had turned black, with evil eyes and the long palm leaves turned into king cobras. The sand had actually turned into burning coals, and Ryuoku's health slowly dropped by standing on it. The cliffs turned into two giant squids, and kicked off into the see. Four red fire lines stretched up what was left of the half-square beach. Two gaping holes appeared just above the two trees in the center. If you were to look at it from the sky, you would see a skull. The nose would be the two demon trees, the eyes would be the holes, and teeth formed by fire line.
Ryuoku dodged the sparks being flung at him from the fires. Something was happening that shouldn't be. He cast Ol Repth for the fourth time before running. Without looking, he ran into one of the trees.
Two branch arms grabbed him, and he saw drool leak from one of the cobra's mouths. A mouth of fangs actually started to form on the trunk, and Ryuoku was being shoved into it.
A tongue wrapped itself around his middle, slightly cutting off his air supply. It pulled him closer to the looming darkness of its mouth.
"Damn-it!" he choked through gasps of air. The being soon swallowed him, and his world went black.
* * *
Sharie ran through the maze with her partner, Subaru. It was getting darker in the maze. Somehow, whatever light force had been lighting their way before was fading away. They wouldn't be able to see soon.
Enemy after enemy ran after them. They tried to avoid most of the fights, but couldn't escape all of them. Sharie and he friend had to occasionally battle.
The battle level must have been high in the field, for the monsters were level seventy at the least. If Subaru died, Sharie would soon after.
In one of the battles (consisting of three Jealous Cobras) Sharie was charmed. She figured it would were off before too much damage could be done, because they were out of Restoratives and had to wait for all effects to were off.
Her assault on Subaru halted when the Axeman was almost out of life. She was about to use a Healing Elixir when Sharie was charmed again. She took another swing out of Subaru, and to her horror, killed her only hope of survival. At only level twenty, she knew that she would soon be gone.
* * *
Varuchio laughed to himself in his office. This was definitely a better show then he could have ever imagined. His rivals would soon be gone, and Ryuoku's fear was about to finally kick in.
Life was perfect right now for him. A little to perfect. Things were going so well for him, he didn't realize that Tsukasa had opened his eyes. It was only briefly, and he soon lost consciousness before being able to think, but that meant his permanent sleep tank wasn't perfect. And if given the right tap, could shatter.
* * *
Ryuoku didn't understand it. He was awake, but wasn't he just eaten? He was in his house, and was just ordinary Ryu again. He sat on his bed, remembering his friends. When he got out of this place, he would have them for support, and he would know that he was never alone.
The phone rang. Ryu went to run for it, and realized that his feet were smaller, and couldn't run as fast. He was five, and very independent. Now that he thought about it, the world was still faintly new, and all over the message boards were posts about a troublesome wavemaster named Tsukasa who had a run in with the crimson knights.
Tsukasa! Wasn't that the name of Subaru's missing friend? And Subaru! Oh how he remembered everything. Lady Subaru of the Crimson Knights. It all made since.
Ryu remembered the phone, and had to use a stool in order to reach it. As he picked it up and answered with the usual 'Hiyaki residence, Ryu speaking, who may I ask is calling?' he heard comical sobbing.
"R-Ryu," choked a feminine voice. "Come over to the hospital across the street. You need to know something about your father."
"M-Mom?" asked a worried Ryu.
"H-Hurry," There was a click, and the line went dead. Wasn't the hospital across the street from him where his mother had been staying the past few days?
He walked out of the apartment building, and into the down pouring rain. He ran across the street into the hospital. Why did this look so familiar to him?
The hospital's automatic door slid open, and the smell of medicine dug its way up Ryu's nostrils. A nurse with hair covering one half of her face glanced at him sadly. Her purple lipstick covered lips told him to follow her.
Ryu was worried, and hastily followed. Desperate to know what his mother had been hiding, and where his father had been the last few days. He ran after the nurse, and started to feel dread.
* * *
Sharie saw Subaru struggle to breathe, and Subaru knew how Tsukasa felt. She finally knew how he had felt when he had died. She knew what death was, and hated it. It made her stomach turn, and she couldn't focus. The pain slowly died away, and she was on her feet again.
"What happened to me?" asked Subaru.
"I just used a resurrect, that's all," Sharie said uncomfortably. Subaru knew what she was thinking. This girl thought Subaru would hate her for killing her, but Subaru wasn't one to hate.
"Sharie, it's alright," she said sincerely.
"Really?" she asked hopefully.
"Yes," said Subaru. With a final swing, she killed the last Cobra, and they were back on their way through the maze.
* * *
Ryu practically ran to keep up with the nurse. Where was he going?
She stopped in front of a room, and a small tear fell down her cheek. Ryu knew that it was for him. As he walked in, he saw his mother sobbing uncontrollably over someone in a hospital bed.
It was a man. He had many scars, and many of his body parts were in casts. But the face wasn't. The face belonged to-
"Dad!" Ryu cried. He ran over to his dying fathers side. Tears immediately swelled in his eyes.
"Ryu," he said weakly.
"Y-yes?" he choked.
"I need you, to save... "The World," and our world," he said.
"I don't understand,"
"You will son. And...I'm sorry... we didn't play catch last Saturday.
The words hit Ryu's heart like daggers. He had been so desperate to play catch with his dad the last time he saw him on Saturday. Now his father was going to die with regret.
"Don't be," he whispered as fresh tears stung his eyes.
"Good Bye...." He closed his eyes. That was the last time Ryu saw his father awake. He didn't actually die, but went into a deep coma until only a few months prier to his knew version of "The World." His mom gave up on him waking up, and pulled the plug.
Ryu ran out of the hospital, crying. His father had died in a car wreck because someone had cut his breaks. Now Ryu would be all alone in the morning. He ran out into the street, and a car swerved off the road so as not to hit him.
"Watch where you're going ya crazy kid!" growled the driver. Ryu collapsed in the bed of his house, and just cried.
Suddenly he was older, and Ryu couldn't remember what was happening this time. He walked over to the ringing phone, and picked it up.
"Ryu Hiyaki?" said a scratchy voice from the other end.
"Y-yes," answered Ryu recognizing the voice of the hospital clerk.
"Your mother has just...passed on,"
"NO! NO! I WON'T ALLOW THAT!" cried Ryu. Now he was all alone. No one would be there for him anymore. His family was gone, and that was all he had to know.
Mail flashed under his account. Without thinking, Ryu clicked it open. Sharie's face shown out from it. It read: Ryuoku! Be strong! You'll never be alone! We're you friends and we'll never leave you alone! No matter how hard things get!
Four other mails flashed under the account. They were all from his friends, and he knew that he had support. He put on his headset, and logged into the world. He heard the cry of a monster, and saw a snake with a sword through it crumble into pieces.
* * *
The wall in front of Subaru and Sharie crumbled. Standing in front of them, they saw Cheetra, Tsukazi, and Kenshi waiting for them. A red gate gleamed on top of a pedestal.
"Great ta see ya!" Sharie exclaimed.
"Ditto," said Tsukazi.
"Oh no! Look! It's Ryuoku and he's unconscious!" exclaimed Subaru, noticing Ryuoku limp body on the ground. They crowded around him, and he slowly got up.
Ryuoku just then realized that he never had logged out, and knew his mother was still in the hospital. They walked up to the gate.
"Good to see all of you guys," he said.
"So how was phase six?" asked Sharie.
"How'd you even know I fought a phase?" demanded Ryuoku.
"I tell you later, but how hard was it?" she asked.
"First of all, it was Phase Seven," said Ryuoku.
"What? No way!" said Sharie.
"Who cares! We're safe, and home free! Let's go!" Cheetra exclaimed. They all ran to the gate, and warped out.
* * *
"Help...me," said a voice. It was trapped, and needed to be rescued. Did anyone care? Yes. Someone would come. It knew that.
**END**
End of chapter! No more Island! I'll update soon. Please Review! BTW, sorry I took a little while. Thanks!