Thanks for reviewing! Please be patient for the delayed updates. I've
been so busy lately. Thanks! In reward for waiting, this chapter's going to
be pretty long. Again, really sorry for the delayed update.
Mansion
Subaru couldn't believe it. They thought that they were finally out of the nightmare? Of course they would be wrong. Sitting in front of her, instead of the much-wanted sight of Mac Anu, was a mansion.
"How much more of this are we gonna have to deal with!?" exclaimed Sharie. "This just isn't fair! I mean, what did we do anyway?"
"Sharie? When you first visited the girl in the forest, how come you didn't fall down a hole like we did when we were together?" Ryuoku asked.
"Eh? I really have no idea..." replied the heavyblade.
"Maybe someone was throwing the switches?" suggested Tsukazi. Subaru recalled her conversation with Sharie. Maybe there was someone behind this nightmare.
"But then..." started Kenshi. "Why are we here?"
"What do you mean?" slurred Cheetra.
"For each spot we've gone, there's been someone there to help, but who is it this time?" Kenshi answered.
"You don't think it could be that girl, do you? The one we met before we fell?" asked Subaru.
"It most likely is," started Kenshi, "But what is she doing in here?"
Varuchio laughed inwardly to himself as the group tried to figure out his plans. They were hopeless. If only they had even the slightest idea of his true plans.
He thought about this for a little, and the started to glare at the screens in front of him. How had they gotten so far? Someone had to be helping them get to each other. Who installed that escape system?
He sat for a little, and suddenly burst out in laughter. How could he be so stupid? Wasn't he in a virtual hard drive? He could easily edit his own search engine for the rival.
Laughing to himself, he went to work.
The inside of the mansion was...well, just plain horrifying. It was the only way Kenshi could put it. The great hall looked like it would have bee beautiful once, but was horribly different from anything near a formal mansion.
Cobwebs were everywhere, dust was on the ground, and the only thing that wasn't covered in dust was a staircase with a red carpet covering the steps. A broken chandelier hung in the middle of the room. There was only one door in the room, and that was at the top of the stairs.
Kenshi shuddered internally. The place was giving him the creeps. He glanced over at Cheetra. She was smiling broadly.
"Why are you so happy?" asked Kenshi. She looked like she was going to explode with joy.
"Because places this creepy are bound to have some high level monsters!" she beamed.
"So?" Kenshi said slowly. Cheetra turned to face him with a glare.
"SO," she said with annoyance in her voice, "that means that these kinds of places will have high level monsters that give out a truck load of experience!"
Kenshi sighed.
The old wooden stairs creaked beneath his weight as Ryuoku climbed them. The others followed closely behind him. They had decided to go through the only door there.
The entire place made Ryuoku uneasy. Why were they even trying to save this girl? What purpose did she serve to the virus? A thought flashed through his head.
"Sharie," he whispered to the heavyblade behind him.
"Yeah?" She answered back, seeing no reason to whisper.
"Do you remember what that girl said right before we fell into this virtual night mare?"
"Wasn't it something about someone named Varuchio?" she replied. Ryuoku thought for a minute, muttering to himself.
"Varuchio," he whispered under his breath, trying to remember the girl's words. "The creator...!" He suddenly jumped up and startled the rest of the crew.
"The creator of what, exactly?" demanded Cheetra.
"The creator of the virus!" Ryuoku was interrupted by gasps all around. "The creator of the virus! The girl we saw said it was some guy name Varuchio...something-or-other!"
"Varuchio Zespugo," muttered a timid voice. Everyone turned to the back of the group where the voice had come from. It belonged to Kenshi. Seeing all the looks he was getting, he hastily added; "I have a good memory span."
"Then, could you remember this for me? It's probably useless info, but we can never be too careful," Ryuoku said to the blademaster. "Can you remember the keywords Lost, Eternal, Suffering?"
"Lost Eternal Suffering..." he repeated. "Which server?"
"That's the funny part. The person who told me this, said that the server was Destruction," Ryuoku said.
"Yeah right. And who told you this?" Sharie smirked.
"Aura. That's why I'm taking a lead on it." Ryuoku said in defense of himself.
"Aura? Are you serious? The fabled virtual character that gave help to the legendary dot hackers? Get out," Sharie said.
"No, it's true! I've seen a lot of her lately," Ryuoku said. "I even have a mail from her. Subaru? What is it?"
Subaru had fallen to her hands and knees, and stared at the floor.
"It was..." she started.
"Go on..." urged Tsukazi.
"Destruction server was a limited server that appeared for one week in "The World". It was an event. Whoever could find an item using the three new keywords would win five golden gruntys and two silver gruntys as a prize," she started.
"What happened?" asked Cheetra.
"This is what I forgot until now," she whispered.
"You mean that Tsukasa disappeared on this server?" demanded Ryuoku.
"Yes. We were called in because a long arm saw some strange monster that was impossible to defeat, and it had a blue glow around it." She paused for a moment, and then stood up. "The same blue glow as the virus." Subaru looked at the others for a little. "Can you guess the field that monster was spotted at?"
"Lost Eternal Suffering," Kenshi said flatly.
"That field was nothing but a dungeon. We had found a strange door, and were about to open it, when a giant monster came down from the ceiling. It attacked us, and kidnapped Tsukasa." She paused for a second, and her eyes watered. "This is my entire fault. If I hadn't asked An to play again, she'd still be safe," She sobbed for a little, but quickly wiped them away, desperate not to let her emotions get in the way of her job.
She thought a little. "Destruction server looked a little like..." Subaru was interrupted by an omnipresent voice. The owner of the voice appeared on a screen above the door they were headed to.
"Like Net Slum," said the voice.
"Helba!" cried Subaru in surprise as the hacker appeared in the screen.
"I've been helping you for a while now on this twisted game Varuchio is pulling." Helba paused. She looked around the amount of the haunted house that she could see, and continued. "It is not safe here for me to reveal any more of what I know. I shall e-mail your accounts with more information. Until then, this is all I can help you with."
"What exactly can you help us with in this place? Are you gonna find us a way out or somethin'?" Sharie demanded.
"Now now, don't be too hasty for answers young Sharie. This entire mansion is loaded with traps, tricks, and puzzles. That is what I can help you with. Unfortunately, I will have to be a little vague on what you have to do." Helba paused again. "For the first puzzle, which is in this room, every place has more than one exit."
"What is that supposed to mean?" demanded Tsukazi.
"I believe your blademaster will be able to help you with these." Helba countered, indirectly answering his question. "For the second, watch the ceiling. The third one, thickness is a very uncertain prospect. In the fourth puzzle, what is the correct response?"
"Hold on," Ryuoku started, "how are we supposed to remember all of this?"
"Don't worry; I've got it all so far." Kenshi answered in place of Helba.
"The fifth is a strategy game, and the last puzzle," she paused, giving Kenshi a chance to prepare for an obviously very long clue. "The sixth is to find the real one of the enemies, and to give it what it wants. Good luck,"
"Wait," said Cheetra, "How did Varuchio know to plant all of these traps?"
"For a moron, he knows how to plan ahead. He knew that this girl is the key to him, and that you would eventually come for her. All though you may not know it, She is important. Do not let her out of your grasp. Good luck," With that, Helba disappeared from the now black screen.
"What know?" asked Kenshi. "Should we look for the puzzle?"
"I don't know." Ryuoku said, and then reached for the handle of the dark door. He pushed it open with his weight, and toppled out of view.
Varuchio had turned off the screens that he watched his enemies in when the girl in blue started to cry. It was getting way too emotional. His search engine needed the screens anyway.
"Now," he started, a dark smile creeping over his weary features. "It begins,"
His fist smashed the flashing blue button on the control panel, and the search began. Names and pictures of possible culprits flashed by his screen in split seconds, and deleted those who it could not possibly be.
As the number of names began to decrease, his anticipation grew. Finally, after only a few seconds that seemed like hours to Varuchio, the finale two culprits appeared.
"Really likely," Varuchio smirked as the name of one of his rivals appeared with no photo. "Who else is here?"
Varuchio clicked a button on his control panel, and the face of Helba appeared.
"That little-!" The rest of his violent retaliation to the news was cut short as he warped out of his office. The area of where Helba currently was was located in the bottom right hand side of her profile. Under her current server, was listed Destruction.
"Ryuoku!" cried Sharie out of concern for her comrade as he toppled out of view. She ran to the now dark hole where the door once was. He had just plummeted out of view.
"Ryuoku!" she cried again. He wasn't gone. That she swore to herself was impossible, and yet, something inside her grew into a horrible dread.
"Do you think he..." Kenshi started, uncertain of what to say exactly. "Might have died?"
"Don't ever say that!" roared Sharie, although the doubt was of her own words creped into her voice no matter how hard she tried not to let them. "He's not gone."
She tried to convince herself, but was failing. She felt a lump in her throat, and she knew what it meant. She tried to swallow it, and it hurt; but it still somehow managed to reach her eyes, and she started to sob unevenly.
"Sharie," Subaru soothed. She walked over to the girl and lightly placed a hand on her shoulder.
Sharie's mind raced. Was he really gone? Before she could tell him how she had really felt about him. She had been growing close to him lately, and now she would never know if he cared about her.
Tears fell freely from her eyes, and she no longer tried to hold them back. A few splashed on to something just out of view from the light of the hole.
It was a heavyaxeman, struggling to keep hold of the rock he had grabbed on the way down, all the same; he was enjoying the show above him. So this is how they would feel had he been gone. A sly grin slid across his face.
"Hey, if you'd miss me if I was gone, then why don't you pull me up and save yourself the grief?" Ryuoku's voice echoed up from the hole.
"Ryuoku?" asked Sharie uncertainly. "Is that you?"
"Why don't we find out?" asked Tsukazi. He took a few steps forward, and cast Rai Rom in the hole. A single bolt of lightning illuminated the darkness. Ryuoku was hanging on to a single rock sticking out of the wall.
"Ryuoku!" Sharie said in surprise. Her tears dried, and she threw herself into the hole as Ryuoku began to slip. As she grasped Ryuoku's hand, she realized that nothing was holding her up, and that she herself would plummet to her death. Cursing herself for letting her emotions take over her actions, she waited for the painful drop down the hole.
It never came. Something was around her ankles, and so she was alive.
Subaru instinctively grabbed the heavyblades's ankles when she jumped. Then sighed at the weight of two "virtual" people. She couldn't keep her ground, and was expecting to fall in too.
Tsukazi grabbed Subaru around the waist when she lost her footing, and was quickly supported by Cheetra who wrapped her arms around his gut. Kenshi cautiously gripped on to Cheetra, and together, they pulled out Ryuoku and Sharie from the hole.
"Puzzle one," panted Kenshi. "Found."
"But where is the other...!" Cheetra started, but stopped; and stared in disbelief at the small door hidden roughly behind a potted plant that they hadn't noticed before. "How did we miss that?"
"I don't know," answered Kenshi, staring at where her gaze was locked. "But I'll bet that's the other exit that Helba hinted about."
"Well, let's go." With that, Ryuoku walked over to the plant, and shoved it aside. He was still the first to open the door, but he didn't put even half of his wait into opening it.
The next room was dark, and Cheetra couldn't see a thing. There was a faint glowing in the distance, but that was all. The group walked over to it slowly. As she neared it, Cheetra saw that it was a giant star with five pints. On each point was a circle with a symbol burning in it. On was lit up, and on it were depicted two doors.
Each other symbol was of something that matched one of Helba's clues. The second point had a ceiling drawn on it. The third had an arrow drawn pointing both up and down, depicting thickness. The fourth was covered in question marks, and the fifth was blank. Other then the symbols, only two doors were visible.
"What now?" asked Kenshi.
"How about, we split into two groups, and each take a different door?" suggested Ryuoku.
"Alright," said Sharie.
"Okay, Tsukazi, Sharie, and myself will take the first door. Subaru, you'll go with Kenshi and Cheetra." Ryuoku said.
"Done," said Subaru dismissively, and with that, they walked in their groups to the separate doors.
A large number was printed on each door. The first one had a two, while the other had a three. The first door opened with ease, while the other one required a little work do to rusted bolts. Subaru wished Ryuoku and his group luck with their challenges, and walked out of view from the other three, and so Ryuoku lead his group into the second puzzle.
Watch the ceiling as Helba's clue said, and so the walked down the hall that appeared in front of them with the opening door, and into the main hallway.
The main hall had a floor like a checkerboard. No one could see the ceiling in the endless void of darkness swelling up in the ceiling.
"I don't understand her clue," moaned Ryuoku. "Why didn't we take Kenshi with us?" He walked out into the main hall. He immediately felt air rushing down on him.
"What is that?" asked Ryuoku.
"The ceiling!" cried Sharie as she saw the matching checker-ceiling fall from wherever it had been placed at light speed. She slammed her eyes shut, as the ceiling crashed onto the marble floor.
Subaru was the first to walk on to the crystal floor. It was a mysterious place. The floor looked like it was made out of tons of glass bricks cemented together horizontally, and then spray-painted black.
What did these things have to do with thickness? Could it be the thickness of the glass? The first brick seemed pretty solid.
Kenshi and Cheetra walked casually onto the first brick with her.
"What does thickness have to do with this place?" asked Cheetra.
"I don't know," replied Kenshi uncertainly.
"What ever it means, we'll find out soon enough," Subaru said, and then walked onto the second platform. The glass immediately groaned under her weight, and cracked. She jumped to the side of the panel just before a loud crunch met her ears as the platform shuttered into destruction.
Subaru's sigh of relief was greeted with another groan from the third glass panel she had landed on. She knew what would happen should she stay there for long, and quickly pulled herself to her feet. She lunged towards the first glass brick as the third gave way, and just managed to make it.
Gasping, she whispered, "I think I know what the third puzzle is."
"I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead, I've been crushed by the ceiling, Ohhhh, I'm dead!" Ryuoku muttered to himself when he heard the crash of the ceiling. He held his head in his hands and was crouched onto his knees.
He slowly stood up and saw that he wasn't dead. The ceiling had crashed down, but there where holes in it. Actual holes! One of them saved his life!
He saw Sharie standing in the hallway still with her hands grasped tightly over her mouth. The initial shock of what had just happened was still sinking in.
"I know what the second puzzle is! Want me to let you know?" joked Ryuoku.
How is he laughing, thought Sharie, when he just almost died?
"So we should just dive from hole to hole in order to make it across!" exclaimed Tsukazi. "I'll illuminate the dark ceiling with a lightning ability and we can make it across!"
"Alright!" cheered Ryuoku. With that, they started their way across the room.
Subaru lead her team across the dangerous glass. Before each panel, she would slam it hard with the bottom side of her axe. If a panel cracked, then they would walk around it. Using this process, they made it across the room, to a door labeled with a four.
"Looks like we get problem four," commented Kenshi.
"What was Helba's clue for this door?" asked Subaru.
"It was 'what is the correct response'," recited Kenshi.
"Then it looks like we might have to answer questions." Cheetra said.
"So let's go," said Subaru. She pushed the door open, and a dark room with a single door met her eyes.
Here's the question!
The voice was so loud and so sudden that Kenshi was thrown to the ground.
Looks like we have a volunteer to answer it!
The voice blasted again, and Kenshi felt his throat go dry as his vision of his friends melted away into nothingness.
How they made it across the room with a ceiling that was threatening to crush them with every step, Sharie would never know. All she knew was that she was panting from the mad dash that they made to the hallway at the end of the slamming ceiling.
The last few feet of the room had caused a doorway to appear not to far away from the group. Ryuoku saw that the ceiling was still rising for another plummet, and suggested that they run to the final hallway.
"Are you nuts?!" was Sharie's protest, but she was drowned out by Tsukazi's answer of, "We'd better hurry!" So they sprinted across the marble floor in haste.
The door was still far away when Sharie heard the 'click' sound that the ceiling made when it was ready to fall. Two more tiles and she heard the 'chung-clink' of the ceiling locks being released. Three more tiles where gained in Sharie's haste before she felt the air being pushed down on her from the ceiling. Another six tiles and she were at the door, and she only had time for three.
Ryuoku and Tsukazi had already pushed the door open, and had run into the safety of the hallway. Five tiles before she reached the door. Tsukazi reared around saw that Sharie still had a good distance between death and safety. Three tiles. She had managed another tile.
Two tiles were left, and the ceiling crashed down.
Ryuoku stared in puzzlement, as Sharie was still standing. There had been a hole right where she was standing. The ceiling started to rise again, and Sharie dove into the hallway.
After she caught her breath, she stood up to see Ryuoku grinning at her.
"Some fun, huh?" remarked Ryuoku, and Sharie wanted to hit him.
Helba sat quietly in her office. She knew that someone was coming. She just never bothered to care. It was probably Varuchio. It was about time that he found her office.
"Let the game," she began, "Begin."
Varuchio reared around the corner sharply, and banged his elbow on the virtual corner. Pain immediately surged through his whole arm, but he paid no mind to it. He had grown used to pain in cyber-space.
He burst into Helba's office without thinking. All he saw in the circular room were several screens much like his own in his office, and a large office chair, like one that the boss of a company might have. Sitting in it was,
"Helba!" roared Varuchio. "How dare you meddle in my plans!"
"Well," she began as she turned the chair around to face him before standing up. "What did you expect me to do as you savagely destroyed the entire population of the world, hm? Sit back and watch?"
"How dare you talk to me like that!" growled Varuchio.
"Or else what?" smirked Helba. "This is an online game. I can go anywhere I want, and not care who I get angry,"
"You little-!" Varuchio gritted his teeth. "I'll get you!" He leaped into the air in hopes of catching her.
"Ta-ta," Helba said, dragging out each word. She warped out of her office in a shower of yellow rings.
Varuchio landed on the hard metal floor from his leap. He quickly pulled himself up, and stared at Helba's computer screen. His mouth ran dry and his eyes grew wide at what he saw on the blue monitor. On the screen, was a five second countdown that had just began, and on the bottom in little yellow letters was the word, 'self-destruct'.
"Whaaaaa!" screamed Kenshi as he fell into the dark abyss. What was happening? Where was he going? Nothing made sense anymore.
After what seemed like an eternity of falling, he landed on a hard metal floor. He rubbed his head, and sat up.
Kenshi ended up in a circular room. As soon as he arrived, lights flickered on. He was standing on a floor made up of eight metal panels that were apparently being pushed together by something in the wall.
Are you ready?
There was that voice again. What was it doing? What was its purpose?
"Ready for what?" Kenshi asked, looking around wildly for the source of the voice.
Your first question is...
"No, wait, stop!" cried Kenshi in despair.
How many members can you have in your party at a time in "The World"?
"That's it? This is all I have to answer?" asked Kenshi in puzzlement.
Your answer is... "That's it? This is all I have to answer?"... Incorrect.
"No! That wasn't my answer!" exclaimed Kenshi. The floor beneath his feet opened a little to reveal something red under his platform. "What is that?" he asked himself. He examined it a little closer, and saw that it was lava.
If he answered too many questions wrong, he would die.
There was a checkered floor much like the chess board design on the marble floor of the ceiling crashing room. There were many paintings of various pictures depicting different forms of "The World" monsters. On a few of the paintings were drapes designed like the type in a mansion. There were torch holders every few feet or so that flickered merrily with crackling fires. It was the hallway after the second puzzle, and it was in this hallway that Sharie walked in deep thought.
What was happening to her? Her feelings towards Ryuoku. After the incident, she promised never again to...dare she even think of it? No, she couldn't be, could she? Because of that incident two years ago.
FLASH BACK
Crystal sat on her porch expectantly. She was only fourteen, and to her, life was always a sunny day. She had just gotten a phone call from her boyfriend. They had been dating for five months now. He said that he would be right over.
The first cloud appeared only a few moments after the call. It was just a plain and fluffy white cloud, that in Crystal's mind looked like a heart. Fifteen minutes past, and it started to drizzle.
Splash.
Crystal looked up from her feet to see her boyfriend walking up to her slowly. His usual pace.
"Shane," she started lightly. "Your late you know!" Crystal put on a faint mocking voice. Fifteen year-old Shane grinned lightly.
"So, am I grounded?" he asked leisurely.
"Don't use that tone of voice with me!" she joked. Shane laughed, and then scooped her up into a quick hug.
"Want ta come over to my place? We could play "The World"," Shane offered.
"Alright, lemme just grab my coat," she said, and then Shane said something strange.
"Are you alright Sharie?" he asked in a voice not his,
"What?" Crystal asked, confused.
"I asked if you were alright,"
The incorrect voice came again, and she was snapped back to cold reality.
PRESENT
"Are you alright?" the voice asked again, and Sharie nodded. Her memories of the past sometimes let her get carried away.
"You've just been quiet for so long, it's not like you," added Tsukazi.
"Just thinking," she said. The two accepted the answer, and shrugged it off. Sharie looked back at her feet, and drifted away again.
FLASH BACK
"Here we go, user name Tycoon, and password Storm," Shane commented as he typed in his password.
"Silly name," Crystal said.
"Well, I'm going to give you this account, and my copy of "The World," Shane said.
"How?" asked Crystal.
"Done," Shane said, and handed her a disc.
"Wow," she started. "That was fast,"
"Oh crud," Shane moaned.
"What is it?" asked Crystal, a little confused.
"I left my jacket on your porch. I'll just go grab it," Shane said. Crystal smiled affectionately, and he gave her a short kiss good bye before running out into the pouring storm and running down and across the street.
Crystal really loved him, and started to get worried after half-an hour. She walked out onto the porch, and saw him just across the street. He started to run across.
Maybe if the thunder hadn't boomed at that precise second, he would have heard the truck's horn. Maybe if it hadn't been raining so heavily, then Shane wouldn't have tripped. There were a lot of maybes, but there was still the same result that Crystal witnessed. The truck couldn't stop in time to avoid hitting the figure lying on the road, and Crystal screamed.
Crystal spent the next seven months of her life in mourning. The one person she had trusted her heart with, had left her. At that moment, she had forgotten how to love. All she felt was hate. Hate at the truck driver, and hate at her, for not seeing the truck for Shane.
The Hate eventually died, but she never learned to love again. Not even the unconditional love of a parent remained in her heart. She remained unattached to anyone.
It was one fated day that she reached in her pocket, and found the disc that Shane gave her. She used his file, and through that, learned to have friends. She learned how to be friendly, but she never let anyone close enough to hurt her if they left her life.
It wasn't that much later that she started her own account at the age of sixteen. She gave it a name named as a female version of Shane in her book. She was Sharie from then on. It was soon after that, that she met him.
He was an obvious new-be, just standing around awkwardly, but something about him sparked an interest. Something that reminded her of Shane, and she gave her false smile to him, to mask the emptiness of her heart, and she got Ryuoku's member address in return.
PRESENT
Kenshi looked at the now growing hole in front of him. He had about two more chances left. The first three he said indirect answers, and was rewarded with an opening that now almost filled the room.
One more chance! There was...
"I've had enough! I'm a blademaster! I can make my own exit!" Kenshi cried, and slammed his blade into the wall. To his surprise, it easily broke apart, and he jumped into the room next to him, and almost jumped for joy when he saw Subaru and Cheetra waiting for him in front of the number six.
"Number six," he started.
"The final puzzle," Cheetra finished, and all three of them walked in.
"Number five," started Ryuoku. "Alright!"
"Let's go," said Tsukazi, and they walked in.
Sharie looked at the surroundings of 'a strategy'. There was a board on a small table in the middle of the room. On the other side was a machine.
Welcome to the strategy game of puzzle number five, said a smooth and cool voice. You must now play Monopoly against this computer. However, you may only go around the board once. If any one of you passes the amount of money needed to beat the computer, you may move on to the next room.
Without hesitation, the trio quickly sat down. Trap or not, they needed to escape. In the end, they each had a piece and started out with fifteen hundred dollars. Share was the car, Ryuoku was the hat, and Tsukazi was the dog. They were only allowed one die to roll.
After a few turns, they had all managed to scrounge up a few properties, and, thanks to the one die, managed to make monopoly's and build houses. Tsukazi got three hundred more, Sharie six hundred, and Ryuoku made an even one thousand more. The machine managed to double it money.
Tsukazi rolled again, and bought Park place and Boardwalk, and got hotels on them both. Sharie and Ryuoku threw the game to make it to boardwalk, giving Tsukazi another four thousand dollars. He had a large sum. The Machine couldn't even beat it. The door behind the opened, and they all walked through.
"How anti-climactic," said Ryuoku in a groan.
"Oh cheer up, where in the sixth puzzle," said Sharie, and surprised herself as she couldn't tare her gaze away from him.
Cheetra was the first to see them walk in, and quickly showed Ryuoku's team the final puzzle. There were seven statues of the seven phases in front of them.
"Alright, who has any idea what to do?" asked Subaru, and every one stared at Kenshi.
"Well, I think that we want to give the statue that we haven't encountered yet what it wants." Kenshi said.
Everyone pointed out their statue, and they all huddled around the seventh.
CAST RAI ROM ON ME it boomed. Tsukazi obeyed, and it shattered, revealing. A door.
Sharie was the first to step through, and tears of joy formed on her face as she saw a normal chaos gate, and the black haired girl standing in front of it. When Ryuoku walked in, she ran to him.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
"For what?" asked Ryuoku soothingly.
"For everything that I've done," she replied. The group shrugged it off, and walked over to the chaos gate, knowing for a fact, that there was the long awaited sight of Mac Anu on the other side of it.
END
Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry! For the delayed update. Please don't stop reading because I was a little late. I'll be quicker with the next chapter, I promise. Please review!
Mansion
Subaru couldn't believe it. They thought that they were finally out of the nightmare? Of course they would be wrong. Sitting in front of her, instead of the much-wanted sight of Mac Anu, was a mansion.
"How much more of this are we gonna have to deal with!?" exclaimed Sharie. "This just isn't fair! I mean, what did we do anyway?"
"Sharie? When you first visited the girl in the forest, how come you didn't fall down a hole like we did when we were together?" Ryuoku asked.
"Eh? I really have no idea..." replied the heavyblade.
"Maybe someone was throwing the switches?" suggested Tsukazi. Subaru recalled her conversation with Sharie. Maybe there was someone behind this nightmare.
"But then..." started Kenshi. "Why are we here?"
"What do you mean?" slurred Cheetra.
"For each spot we've gone, there's been someone there to help, but who is it this time?" Kenshi answered.
"You don't think it could be that girl, do you? The one we met before we fell?" asked Subaru.
"It most likely is," started Kenshi, "But what is she doing in here?"
Varuchio laughed inwardly to himself as the group tried to figure out his plans. They were hopeless. If only they had even the slightest idea of his true plans.
He thought about this for a little, and the started to glare at the screens in front of him. How had they gotten so far? Someone had to be helping them get to each other. Who installed that escape system?
He sat for a little, and suddenly burst out in laughter. How could he be so stupid? Wasn't he in a virtual hard drive? He could easily edit his own search engine for the rival.
Laughing to himself, he went to work.
The inside of the mansion was...well, just plain horrifying. It was the only way Kenshi could put it. The great hall looked like it would have bee beautiful once, but was horribly different from anything near a formal mansion.
Cobwebs were everywhere, dust was on the ground, and the only thing that wasn't covered in dust was a staircase with a red carpet covering the steps. A broken chandelier hung in the middle of the room. There was only one door in the room, and that was at the top of the stairs.
Kenshi shuddered internally. The place was giving him the creeps. He glanced over at Cheetra. She was smiling broadly.
"Why are you so happy?" asked Kenshi. She looked like she was going to explode with joy.
"Because places this creepy are bound to have some high level monsters!" she beamed.
"So?" Kenshi said slowly. Cheetra turned to face him with a glare.
"SO," she said with annoyance in her voice, "that means that these kinds of places will have high level monsters that give out a truck load of experience!"
Kenshi sighed.
The old wooden stairs creaked beneath his weight as Ryuoku climbed them. The others followed closely behind him. They had decided to go through the only door there.
The entire place made Ryuoku uneasy. Why were they even trying to save this girl? What purpose did she serve to the virus? A thought flashed through his head.
"Sharie," he whispered to the heavyblade behind him.
"Yeah?" She answered back, seeing no reason to whisper.
"Do you remember what that girl said right before we fell into this virtual night mare?"
"Wasn't it something about someone named Varuchio?" she replied. Ryuoku thought for a minute, muttering to himself.
"Varuchio," he whispered under his breath, trying to remember the girl's words. "The creator...!" He suddenly jumped up and startled the rest of the crew.
"The creator of what, exactly?" demanded Cheetra.
"The creator of the virus!" Ryuoku was interrupted by gasps all around. "The creator of the virus! The girl we saw said it was some guy name Varuchio...something-or-other!"
"Varuchio Zespugo," muttered a timid voice. Everyone turned to the back of the group where the voice had come from. It belonged to Kenshi. Seeing all the looks he was getting, he hastily added; "I have a good memory span."
"Then, could you remember this for me? It's probably useless info, but we can never be too careful," Ryuoku said to the blademaster. "Can you remember the keywords Lost, Eternal, Suffering?"
"Lost Eternal Suffering..." he repeated. "Which server?"
"That's the funny part. The person who told me this, said that the server was Destruction," Ryuoku said.
"Yeah right. And who told you this?" Sharie smirked.
"Aura. That's why I'm taking a lead on it." Ryuoku said in defense of himself.
"Aura? Are you serious? The fabled virtual character that gave help to the legendary dot hackers? Get out," Sharie said.
"No, it's true! I've seen a lot of her lately," Ryuoku said. "I even have a mail from her. Subaru? What is it?"
Subaru had fallen to her hands and knees, and stared at the floor.
"It was..." she started.
"Go on..." urged Tsukazi.
"Destruction server was a limited server that appeared for one week in "The World". It was an event. Whoever could find an item using the three new keywords would win five golden gruntys and two silver gruntys as a prize," she started.
"What happened?" asked Cheetra.
"This is what I forgot until now," she whispered.
"You mean that Tsukasa disappeared on this server?" demanded Ryuoku.
"Yes. We were called in because a long arm saw some strange monster that was impossible to defeat, and it had a blue glow around it." She paused for a moment, and then stood up. "The same blue glow as the virus." Subaru looked at the others for a little. "Can you guess the field that monster was spotted at?"
"Lost Eternal Suffering," Kenshi said flatly.
"That field was nothing but a dungeon. We had found a strange door, and were about to open it, when a giant monster came down from the ceiling. It attacked us, and kidnapped Tsukasa." She paused for a second, and her eyes watered. "This is my entire fault. If I hadn't asked An to play again, she'd still be safe," She sobbed for a little, but quickly wiped them away, desperate not to let her emotions get in the way of her job.
She thought a little. "Destruction server looked a little like..." Subaru was interrupted by an omnipresent voice. The owner of the voice appeared on a screen above the door they were headed to.
"Like Net Slum," said the voice.
"Helba!" cried Subaru in surprise as the hacker appeared in the screen.
"I've been helping you for a while now on this twisted game Varuchio is pulling." Helba paused. She looked around the amount of the haunted house that she could see, and continued. "It is not safe here for me to reveal any more of what I know. I shall e-mail your accounts with more information. Until then, this is all I can help you with."
"What exactly can you help us with in this place? Are you gonna find us a way out or somethin'?" Sharie demanded.
"Now now, don't be too hasty for answers young Sharie. This entire mansion is loaded with traps, tricks, and puzzles. That is what I can help you with. Unfortunately, I will have to be a little vague on what you have to do." Helba paused again. "For the first puzzle, which is in this room, every place has more than one exit."
"What is that supposed to mean?" demanded Tsukazi.
"I believe your blademaster will be able to help you with these." Helba countered, indirectly answering his question. "For the second, watch the ceiling. The third one, thickness is a very uncertain prospect. In the fourth puzzle, what is the correct response?"
"Hold on," Ryuoku started, "how are we supposed to remember all of this?"
"Don't worry; I've got it all so far." Kenshi answered in place of Helba.
"The fifth is a strategy game, and the last puzzle," she paused, giving Kenshi a chance to prepare for an obviously very long clue. "The sixth is to find the real one of the enemies, and to give it what it wants. Good luck,"
"Wait," said Cheetra, "How did Varuchio know to plant all of these traps?"
"For a moron, he knows how to plan ahead. He knew that this girl is the key to him, and that you would eventually come for her. All though you may not know it, She is important. Do not let her out of your grasp. Good luck," With that, Helba disappeared from the now black screen.
"What know?" asked Kenshi. "Should we look for the puzzle?"
"I don't know." Ryuoku said, and then reached for the handle of the dark door. He pushed it open with his weight, and toppled out of view.
Varuchio had turned off the screens that he watched his enemies in when the girl in blue started to cry. It was getting way too emotional. His search engine needed the screens anyway.
"Now," he started, a dark smile creeping over his weary features. "It begins,"
His fist smashed the flashing blue button on the control panel, and the search began. Names and pictures of possible culprits flashed by his screen in split seconds, and deleted those who it could not possibly be.
As the number of names began to decrease, his anticipation grew. Finally, after only a few seconds that seemed like hours to Varuchio, the finale two culprits appeared.
"Really likely," Varuchio smirked as the name of one of his rivals appeared with no photo. "Who else is here?"
Varuchio clicked a button on his control panel, and the face of Helba appeared.
"That little-!" The rest of his violent retaliation to the news was cut short as he warped out of his office. The area of where Helba currently was was located in the bottom right hand side of her profile. Under her current server, was listed Destruction.
"Ryuoku!" cried Sharie out of concern for her comrade as he toppled out of view. She ran to the now dark hole where the door once was. He had just plummeted out of view.
"Ryuoku!" she cried again. He wasn't gone. That she swore to herself was impossible, and yet, something inside her grew into a horrible dread.
"Do you think he..." Kenshi started, uncertain of what to say exactly. "Might have died?"
"Don't ever say that!" roared Sharie, although the doubt was of her own words creped into her voice no matter how hard she tried not to let them. "He's not gone."
She tried to convince herself, but was failing. She felt a lump in her throat, and she knew what it meant. She tried to swallow it, and it hurt; but it still somehow managed to reach her eyes, and she started to sob unevenly.
"Sharie," Subaru soothed. She walked over to the girl and lightly placed a hand on her shoulder.
Sharie's mind raced. Was he really gone? Before she could tell him how she had really felt about him. She had been growing close to him lately, and now she would never know if he cared about her.
Tears fell freely from her eyes, and she no longer tried to hold them back. A few splashed on to something just out of view from the light of the hole.
It was a heavyaxeman, struggling to keep hold of the rock he had grabbed on the way down, all the same; he was enjoying the show above him. So this is how they would feel had he been gone. A sly grin slid across his face.
"Hey, if you'd miss me if I was gone, then why don't you pull me up and save yourself the grief?" Ryuoku's voice echoed up from the hole.
"Ryuoku?" asked Sharie uncertainly. "Is that you?"
"Why don't we find out?" asked Tsukazi. He took a few steps forward, and cast Rai Rom in the hole. A single bolt of lightning illuminated the darkness. Ryuoku was hanging on to a single rock sticking out of the wall.
"Ryuoku!" Sharie said in surprise. Her tears dried, and she threw herself into the hole as Ryuoku began to slip. As she grasped Ryuoku's hand, she realized that nothing was holding her up, and that she herself would plummet to her death. Cursing herself for letting her emotions take over her actions, she waited for the painful drop down the hole.
It never came. Something was around her ankles, and so she was alive.
Subaru instinctively grabbed the heavyblades's ankles when she jumped. Then sighed at the weight of two "virtual" people. She couldn't keep her ground, and was expecting to fall in too.
Tsukazi grabbed Subaru around the waist when she lost her footing, and was quickly supported by Cheetra who wrapped her arms around his gut. Kenshi cautiously gripped on to Cheetra, and together, they pulled out Ryuoku and Sharie from the hole.
"Puzzle one," panted Kenshi. "Found."
"But where is the other...!" Cheetra started, but stopped; and stared in disbelief at the small door hidden roughly behind a potted plant that they hadn't noticed before. "How did we miss that?"
"I don't know," answered Kenshi, staring at where her gaze was locked. "But I'll bet that's the other exit that Helba hinted about."
"Well, let's go." With that, Ryuoku walked over to the plant, and shoved it aside. He was still the first to open the door, but he didn't put even half of his wait into opening it.
The next room was dark, and Cheetra couldn't see a thing. There was a faint glowing in the distance, but that was all. The group walked over to it slowly. As she neared it, Cheetra saw that it was a giant star with five pints. On each point was a circle with a symbol burning in it. On was lit up, and on it were depicted two doors.
Each other symbol was of something that matched one of Helba's clues. The second point had a ceiling drawn on it. The third had an arrow drawn pointing both up and down, depicting thickness. The fourth was covered in question marks, and the fifth was blank. Other then the symbols, only two doors were visible.
"What now?" asked Kenshi.
"How about, we split into two groups, and each take a different door?" suggested Ryuoku.
"Alright," said Sharie.
"Okay, Tsukazi, Sharie, and myself will take the first door. Subaru, you'll go with Kenshi and Cheetra." Ryuoku said.
"Done," said Subaru dismissively, and with that, they walked in their groups to the separate doors.
A large number was printed on each door. The first one had a two, while the other had a three. The first door opened with ease, while the other one required a little work do to rusted bolts. Subaru wished Ryuoku and his group luck with their challenges, and walked out of view from the other three, and so Ryuoku lead his group into the second puzzle.
Watch the ceiling as Helba's clue said, and so the walked down the hall that appeared in front of them with the opening door, and into the main hallway.
The main hall had a floor like a checkerboard. No one could see the ceiling in the endless void of darkness swelling up in the ceiling.
"I don't understand her clue," moaned Ryuoku. "Why didn't we take Kenshi with us?" He walked out into the main hall. He immediately felt air rushing down on him.
"What is that?" asked Ryuoku.
"The ceiling!" cried Sharie as she saw the matching checker-ceiling fall from wherever it had been placed at light speed. She slammed her eyes shut, as the ceiling crashed onto the marble floor.
Subaru was the first to walk on to the crystal floor. It was a mysterious place. The floor looked like it was made out of tons of glass bricks cemented together horizontally, and then spray-painted black.
What did these things have to do with thickness? Could it be the thickness of the glass? The first brick seemed pretty solid.
Kenshi and Cheetra walked casually onto the first brick with her.
"What does thickness have to do with this place?" asked Cheetra.
"I don't know," replied Kenshi uncertainly.
"What ever it means, we'll find out soon enough," Subaru said, and then walked onto the second platform. The glass immediately groaned under her weight, and cracked. She jumped to the side of the panel just before a loud crunch met her ears as the platform shuttered into destruction.
Subaru's sigh of relief was greeted with another groan from the third glass panel she had landed on. She knew what would happen should she stay there for long, and quickly pulled herself to her feet. She lunged towards the first glass brick as the third gave way, and just managed to make it.
Gasping, she whispered, "I think I know what the third puzzle is."
"I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead, I've been crushed by the ceiling, Ohhhh, I'm dead!" Ryuoku muttered to himself when he heard the crash of the ceiling. He held his head in his hands and was crouched onto his knees.
He slowly stood up and saw that he wasn't dead. The ceiling had crashed down, but there where holes in it. Actual holes! One of them saved his life!
He saw Sharie standing in the hallway still with her hands grasped tightly over her mouth. The initial shock of what had just happened was still sinking in.
"I know what the second puzzle is! Want me to let you know?" joked Ryuoku.
How is he laughing, thought Sharie, when he just almost died?
"So we should just dive from hole to hole in order to make it across!" exclaimed Tsukazi. "I'll illuminate the dark ceiling with a lightning ability and we can make it across!"
"Alright!" cheered Ryuoku. With that, they started their way across the room.
Subaru lead her team across the dangerous glass. Before each panel, she would slam it hard with the bottom side of her axe. If a panel cracked, then they would walk around it. Using this process, they made it across the room, to a door labeled with a four.
"Looks like we get problem four," commented Kenshi.
"What was Helba's clue for this door?" asked Subaru.
"It was 'what is the correct response'," recited Kenshi.
"Then it looks like we might have to answer questions." Cheetra said.
"So let's go," said Subaru. She pushed the door open, and a dark room with a single door met her eyes.
Here's the question!
The voice was so loud and so sudden that Kenshi was thrown to the ground.
Looks like we have a volunteer to answer it!
The voice blasted again, and Kenshi felt his throat go dry as his vision of his friends melted away into nothingness.
How they made it across the room with a ceiling that was threatening to crush them with every step, Sharie would never know. All she knew was that she was panting from the mad dash that they made to the hallway at the end of the slamming ceiling.
The last few feet of the room had caused a doorway to appear not to far away from the group. Ryuoku saw that the ceiling was still rising for another plummet, and suggested that they run to the final hallway.
"Are you nuts?!" was Sharie's protest, but she was drowned out by Tsukazi's answer of, "We'd better hurry!" So they sprinted across the marble floor in haste.
The door was still far away when Sharie heard the 'click' sound that the ceiling made when it was ready to fall. Two more tiles and she heard the 'chung-clink' of the ceiling locks being released. Three more tiles where gained in Sharie's haste before she felt the air being pushed down on her from the ceiling. Another six tiles and she were at the door, and she only had time for three.
Ryuoku and Tsukazi had already pushed the door open, and had run into the safety of the hallway. Five tiles before she reached the door. Tsukazi reared around saw that Sharie still had a good distance between death and safety. Three tiles. She had managed another tile.
Two tiles were left, and the ceiling crashed down.
Ryuoku stared in puzzlement, as Sharie was still standing. There had been a hole right where she was standing. The ceiling started to rise again, and Sharie dove into the hallway.
After she caught her breath, she stood up to see Ryuoku grinning at her.
"Some fun, huh?" remarked Ryuoku, and Sharie wanted to hit him.
Helba sat quietly in her office. She knew that someone was coming. She just never bothered to care. It was probably Varuchio. It was about time that he found her office.
"Let the game," she began, "Begin."
Varuchio reared around the corner sharply, and banged his elbow on the virtual corner. Pain immediately surged through his whole arm, but he paid no mind to it. He had grown used to pain in cyber-space.
He burst into Helba's office without thinking. All he saw in the circular room were several screens much like his own in his office, and a large office chair, like one that the boss of a company might have. Sitting in it was,
"Helba!" roared Varuchio. "How dare you meddle in my plans!"
"Well," she began as she turned the chair around to face him before standing up. "What did you expect me to do as you savagely destroyed the entire population of the world, hm? Sit back and watch?"
"How dare you talk to me like that!" growled Varuchio.
"Or else what?" smirked Helba. "This is an online game. I can go anywhere I want, and not care who I get angry,"
"You little-!" Varuchio gritted his teeth. "I'll get you!" He leaped into the air in hopes of catching her.
"Ta-ta," Helba said, dragging out each word. She warped out of her office in a shower of yellow rings.
Varuchio landed on the hard metal floor from his leap. He quickly pulled himself up, and stared at Helba's computer screen. His mouth ran dry and his eyes grew wide at what he saw on the blue monitor. On the screen, was a five second countdown that had just began, and on the bottom in little yellow letters was the word, 'self-destruct'.
"Whaaaaa!" screamed Kenshi as he fell into the dark abyss. What was happening? Where was he going? Nothing made sense anymore.
After what seemed like an eternity of falling, he landed on a hard metal floor. He rubbed his head, and sat up.
Kenshi ended up in a circular room. As soon as he arrived, lights flickered on. He was standing on a floor made up of eight metal panels that were apparently being pushed together by something in the wall.
Are you ready?
There was that voice again. What was it doing? What was its purpose?
"Ready for what?" Kenshi asked, looking around wildly for the source of the voice.
Your first question is...
"No, wait, stop!" cried Kenshi in despair.
How many members can you have in your party at a time in "The World"?
"That's it? This is all I have to answer?" asked Kenshi in puzzlement.
Your answer is... "That's it? This is all I have to answer?"... Incorrect.
"No! That wasn't my answer!" exclaimed Kenshi. The floor beneath his feet opened a little to reveal something red under his platform. "What is that?" he asked himself. He examined it a little closer, and saw that it was lava.
If he answered too many questions wrong, he would die.
There was a checkered floor much like the chess board design on the marble floor of the ceiling crashing room. There were many paintings of various pictures depicting different forms of "The World" monsters. On a few of the paintings were drapes designed like the type in a mansion. There were torch holders every few feet or so that flickered merrily with crackling fires. It was the hallway after the second puzzle, and it was in this hallway that Sharie walked in deep thought.
What was happening to her? Her feelings towards Ryuoku. After the incident, she promised never again to...dare she even think of it? No, she couldn't be, could she? Because of that incident two years ago.
FLASH BACK
Crystal sat on her porch expectantly. She was only fourteen, and to her, life was always a sunny day. She had just gotten a phone call from her boyfriend. They had been dating for five months now. He said that he would be right over.
The first cloud appeared only a few moments after the call. It was just a plain and fluffy white cloud, that in Crystal's mind looked like a heart. Fifteen minutes past, and it started to drizzle.
Splash.
Crystal looked up from her feet to see her boyfriend walking up to her slowly. His usual pace.
"Shane," she started lightly. "Your late you know!" Crystal put on a faint mocking voice. Fifteen year-old Shane grinned lightly.
"So, am I grounded?" he asked leisurely.
"Don't use that tone of voice with me!" she joked. Shane laughed, and then scooped her up into a quick hug.
"Want ta come over to my place? We could play "The World"," Shane offered.
"Alright, lemme just grab my coat," she said, and then Shane said something strange.
"Are you alright Sharie?" he asked in a voice not his,
"What?" Crystal asked, confused.
"I asked if you were alright,"
The incorrect voice came again, and she was snapped back to cold reality.
PRESENT
"Are you alright?" the voice asked again, and Sharie nodded. Her memories of the past sometimes let her get carried away.
"You've just been quiet for so long, it's not like you," added Tsukazi.
"Just thinking," she said. The two accepted the answer, and shrugged it off. Sharie looked back at her feet, and drifted away again.
FLASH BACK
"Here we go, user name Tycoon, and password Storm," Shane commented as he typed in his password.
"Silly name," Crystal said.
"Well, I'm going to give you this account, and my copy of "The World," Shane said.
"How?" asked Crystal.
"Done," Shane said, and handed her a disc.
"Wow," she started. "That was fast,"
"Oh crud," Shane moaned.
"What is it?" asked Crystal, a little confused.
"I left my jacket on your porch. I'll just go grab it," Shane said. Crystal smiled affectionately, and he gave her a short kiss good bye before running out into the pouring storm and running down and across the street.
Crystal really loved him, and started to get worried after half-an hour. She walked out onto the porch, and saw him just across the street. He started to run across.
Maybe if the thunder hadn't boomed at that precise second, he would have heard the truck's horn. Maybe if it hadn't been raining so heavily, then Shane wouldn't have tripped. There were a lot of maybes, but there was still the same result that Crystal witnessed. The truck couldn't stop in time to avoid hitting the figure lying on the road, and Crystal screamed.
Crystal spent the next seven months of her life in mourning. The one person she had trusted her heart with, had left her. At that moment, she had forgotten how to love. All she felt was hate. Hate at the truck driver, and hate at her, for not seeing the truck for Shane.
The Hate eventually died, but she never learned to love again. Not even the unconditional love of a parent remained in her heart. She remained unattached to anyone.
It was one fated day that she reached in her pocket, and found the disc that Shane gave her. She used his file, and through that, learned to have friends. She learned how to be friendly, but she never let anyone close enough to hurt her if they left her life.
It wasn't that much later that she started her own account at the age of sixteen. She gave it a name named as a female version of Shane in her book. She was Sharie from then on. It was soon after that, that she met him.
He was an obvious new-be, just standing around awkwardly, but something about him sparked an interest. Something that reminded her of Shane, and she gave her false smile to him, to mask the emptiness of her heart, and she got Ryuoku's member address in return.
PRESENT
Kenshi looked at the now growing hole in front of him. He had about two more chances left. The first three he said indirect answers, and was rewarded with an opening that now almost filled the room.
One more chance! There was...
"I've had enough! I'm a blademaster! I can make my own exit!" Kenshi cried, and slammed his blade into the wall. To his surprise, it easily broke apart, and he jumped into the room next to him, and almost jumped for joy when he saw Subaru and Cheetra waiting for him in front of the number six.
"Number six," he started.
"The final puzzle," Cheetra finished, and all three of them walked in.
"Number five," started Ryuoku. "Alright!"
"Let's go," said Tsukazi, and they walked in.
Sharie looked at the surroundings of 'a strategy'. There was a board on a small table in the middle of the room. On the other side was a machine.
Welcome to the strategy game of puzzle number five, said a smooth and cool voice. You must now play Monopoly against this computer. However, you may only go around the board once. If any one of you passes the amount of money needed to beat the computer, you may move on to the next room.
Without hesitation, the trio quickly sat down. Trap or not, they needed to escape. In the end, they each had a piece and started out with fifteen hundred dollars. Share was the car, Ryuoku was the hat, and Tsukazi was the dog. They were only allowed one die to roll.
After a few turns, they had all managed to scrounge up a few properties, and, thanks to the one die, managed to make monopoly's and build houses. Tsukazi got three hundred more, Sharie six hundred, and Ryuoku made an even one thousand more. The machine managed to double it money.
Tsukazi rolled again, and bought Park place and Boardwalk, and got hotels on them both. Sharie and Ryuoku threw the game to make it to boardwalk, giving Tsukazi another four thousand dollars. He had a large sum. The Machine couldn't even beat it. The door behind the opened, and they all walked through.
"How anti-climactic," said Ryuoku in a groan.
"Oh cheer up, where in the sixth puzzle," said Sharie, and surprised herself as she couldn't tare her gaze away from him.
Cheetra was the first to see them walk in, and quickly showed Ryuoku's team the final puzzle. There were seven statues of the seven phases in front of them.
"Alright, who has any idea what to do?" asked Subaru, and every one stared at Kenshi.
"Well, I think that we want to give the statue that we haven't encountered yet what it wants." Kenshi said.
Everyone pointed out their statue, and they all huddled around the seventh.
CAST RAI ROM ON ME it boomed. Tsukazi obeyed, and it shattered, revealing. A door.
Sharie was the first to step through, and tears of joy formed on her face as she saw a normal chaos gate, and the black haired girl standing in front of it. When Ryuoku walked in, she ran to him.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
"For what?" asked Ryuoku soothingly.
"For everything that I've done," she replied. The group shrugged it off, and walked over to the chaos gate, knowing for a fact, that there was the long awaited sight of Mac Anu on the other side of it.
END
Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry! For the delayed update. Please don't stop reading because I was a little late. I'll be quicker with the next chapter, I promise. Please review!