I'm only going to say this once, and it will apply to all chapters from here on.

Ragnarok Online and it's various monsters don't belong to me. However, the story scenario and the characters within this story do belong to me!

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Chapter 0: Because Before There's Anything, There's Zero!

"Hiiiiiiiyeeee!"

"Ungh… it's too early in the morning for this… wake me up in 4 hours…"

"No, you mustn't… (sigh) Alaylle needs us here so that we can finish this. (sigh)"

Alaylle knocks on the screen. "Hiiiiiiiyeeee!"

Karian shakes her head and groans. "I got woken up early for this? Alaylle, you just said that."

Kaori nods her head slowly. "That's true…"

Alaylle blinks her eyes. "Oh… right… uhh…" She then brightens considerably and smiles happily. "I'm Alaylle and you're probably wondering what in the world this chapter is about! It's more of a chapter 0. The author needs this chapter because the web page that used to have this information vanished."

Karian shrugs. "It was a cruddy web page anyway."

Kaori shakes her head slowly. "It didn't look the nicest or neatest, but it had a lot of content…"

"Anyway! First up is character introduction! Uhmm… I'm first!" Alaylle smiles happily. "I'm Alaylle Rabbien! It's nice to meet you! I'm the main character in this story!"

Karian groans and massages her temples. "Hangover + Alaylle equals not good. You don't have to shout you know."

"It is her story though." Kaori sighs and nods slowly.

Alaylle is a 16-year-old Amatsu girl who is 5'7" and will certainly not tell you her weight. She has obviously well cared for silken black hair, nearly always tied up into a ponytail with a big red ribbon tied into a bow to keep it in place. She has bangs that cover her forehead and several strands that fall in front of her ears that frame her face. She has amber colored eyes that glint golden when light hits them just right. She has smooth and soft skin, although she's slightly pale. Slight bordering on frail describes her build perfectly. Alaylle's voice is sweet and soft; usually too soft, often making her have to shout to be heard. Her usual clothing happens to be pink kimono with draping sleeves and a red hakama. The sash she wears around her waist is purple and is tied into a big bow in the back.

"That's right! I love these clothes! And this ribbon too!" Alaylle fiddles with the ribbon in her hair.

Karian crosses her arms in front of herself. "I hate to say it, but… pink is the perfect color for Alaylle… and those clothes do suit her."

Kaori nods slowly. "They are the same as her mother's clothing, so I have no complaints. (sigh)"

"Okay! Now it's Karian's turn!" Alaylle gestures over to Karian. "She and Kaori are my friends!"

Karian grins. "About time! You might not know it yet, but I'm the real reason you're reading this story!"

Kaori shakes her head calmly. "That's not true at all."

Karian happens to look very similarly to Alaylle. She has the same height, same hair color, same eye color, and same age as Alaylle. The similarities end there, though. Karian prefers wearing her hair loose, so it's about two inches below shoulder length. She likes having a hair band in her hair rather than a ribbon. Her complexion is very tanned, which makes sense, as she's a gypsy girl from Morroc. Her build is slight, but she's very lithe. Her clothing varies immensely, but she loves colorful clothing. She tries to get all the colors of the rainbow and then some in each outfit she makes.

Karian also happens to have a penchant for stealing things. If an object is not cared for, she'll swipe it without a second thought. Of course, "care" is a pretty broad definition for her. If it's not bolted down, the person obviously doesn't care for it. And if the object can be pried up from it's bolts, the person obviously doesn't care for it enough.

Alaylle waggles her pointer finger at Karian. "Stealing is wrong!"

Karian rolls her eyes. "Who asked you? Besides… I'm just… borrowing."

Kaori sighs, stares at the ground, and starts to blush. "I-it's my turn isn't it? I… I don't know if I can do this… (sigh)"

Alaylle blinks her eyes. "But it's easy, Kaori! We'll help you out!"

Karian nods. "What she said, minus the yelling."

Kaori bows her head. "Th-thank you…"

Kaori is a 15-year-old Prontera girl and is an inch shorter than Alaylle and Karian. She has wavy blonde hair, usually kept in place by two hair clips shaped like butterflies. She has emerald eyes, but they are rarely seen. Much of the time, she's looking towards the ground with her head slightly bowed. She is pale and frail, but healthy. She just doesn't get out of her house too often. She loves green clothing and tries to keep up with the latest Prontera fashions.

Kaori might act soft mannered and submissive, but she can certainly stand up for herself. Kaori also has this rather extreme obsession with Alaylle's mother. She tries to act like her, follow her around, and talk to her often.

"Hey! That's right! What's with that anyway?"

Alaylle looks over at Karian teary-eyed. "K-Karian… it was my turn to speak."

Kaori blushes deeper. "I-I just think she's the most wonderful person in the world…"

Alaylle smiles happily. "Oh, that's right! I should talk about my Mommy and Daddy! Mommy looks just like me! Well… except she's taller… she works at a flower shop in Prontera! Daddy is a blacksmith and… umm… well… he's dressed like one of those blacksmiths you see running around town! You know… that white rumpled shirt and those jeans… He also has this brown hair that looks like it needs combing! Oh yeah! He has brown eyes too! But… well… they're darker than mine and Mommy's!"

Karian glances carefully at Alaylle's clothing and Kaori's clothing. "You two look like a Christmas clothing shop exploded."

Kaori shakes her head slowly. "And you look like the dye shop exploded."

Alaylle sweatdrops.

Karian stares down at Kaori. "Oh yeah? You need to get out more, Kaori! If not, people will mistake you for a ghost at night!"

"Perhaps, but too much tanning is bad for the skin." Kaori looks up at Karian. "Ara… is that a wrinkle I see? If I'm a ghost, then you can be a ghoul."

Alaylle double sweatdrops.

Karian gets close to Kaori staring her straight in the eyes. "What did you say! I'm not a ghoul! And you should stop mixing in whatever Amastu words that you hear from Alaylle's mom or you'll end up sounding strange!"

Kaori gets equally close to Karian's eyes and returns the stare. "Aahh… did I touch somewhere sensitive there? It's better than being a maniac that steals every single thing that she can!"

Alaylle triple sweatdrops.

Karian glares at Kaori. "Submissive ghost!"

Kaori glares right back. "Pyromaniac thief!"

Alaylle bursts into giggles and Karian and Kaori quickly follow.

Alaylle tries to catch her breath after giggling and smiles happily. "Sorry about that! Karian and Kaori do that all the time! They fight like good friends do!"

Karian and Kaori blush slightly and point at each other, both of them saying at the same time, "I'm not friends with that! I'm friends with Alaylle!"

"Eh heh… I'm happy! I have two really good friends that also happen to be friends with each other!" Alaylle smiles happily and clasps her hands together in front of her. "You can tell because they're blushing with embarrassment, not anger."

Karian and Kaori glance at each other and exchange a soft smile.

Alaylle nods her head. "This should be all of the background information that was on the website! Oh, and of course, you got to see our personalities before we get into the story too, so that's a nice bonus!"

Karian shrugs. "Okay, so I guess this was worth getting up early… still… I'm going back to bed. See you in a while."

Kaori glances down at the ground. "Please keep me in mind… even though I don't say much…"

Alaylle folds her hands in front of herself and bows. "Well then! Let's start the first chapter then! Start the usual preview and reinstall the fourth wall!"

-End of Chapter 0

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An Unlikely Story

Alaylle: "Every story has a beginning!"

Alaylle: "A beginning that starts a series of events in time's flow!"

In Chapter 1: "Might As Well Start At The Beginning!"

Alaylle: "What starts as a simple errand turns into so much more…"

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