Author's Notes: Hey Minna-san! I want to thank each and every one of you for your awesome reviews! What Koori said about my fic becoming the next .hack really touched me. I would love to see this become a manga/anime/video game (it would probably be a better manga or anime then a game). Please, keep reviewing, I absolutely love you guys!

Okay, now onto the fourth Chapter!

Log On!

Chapter 4 – The Perfect Party

Mai thought that Ayumi being a ring holder was a good thing. She hung out with them a lot now and the three ate lunch together frequently. Mai and Ayumi had become pretty close and Mai even thought they could be friends...

How wrong she was.

Every lunch, Ayumi sat with them, that was true. But also, every lunch, Ayumi hung over Hiromi, making him eat her food and flirting shamelessly with him. Mai felt her face becoming red every time Ayumi made moves toward her best friend. "Say Ahhh Hiromi-sama!" She laughed, holding out a piece of rolled omelet with chopsticks. Mai chewed her Yakitori chicken hastily, as if trying to ignore the scene before her. "I made this omelet myself!"

"Ermm...ahhh," Hiromi reluctantly opened his mouth and Ayumi plopped the omelet in. As she chewed, he smiled lightly, "Hey, this is good Ayumi!"

"Oh Hiromi-sama, you're too kind! You flatter me!"

"No really, it's great!" Hiromi smiled and Mai felt her blood pressure rising. She jumped up and ran over to Hiromi, her Yakitori box in hand.

"Here!" She extended the chicken to him, "Say ahhh! I made this chicken myself!"

"Then why is it in a store bought package...?" Ayumi asked deviously, pointing at the plastic container the chicken was kept in.

"Ack!" Mai blushed, "Okay...so I did buy it. I can't cook at all, but I have excellent taste when it comes to buying food!"

"Ahhh!" Mai blushed as Hiromi bit the Yakitori off the stick it was skewered on and chewed lightly, "This is great Mai!" He nodded to her, "You DO have good taste! Here," he pulled out a piece of sushi from his lunch and held it out to her, "Say ahh!" Mai blushed and looked at it warily, "Don't worry, I'm a good cook. I do all the cooking at home." Mai smiled and bit the sushi.

"It IS good," she nodded once she swallowed, "You're a great cook Hiromi! Where did you learn to cook like that?"

"Oh...I learned by myself," he told her, nodding.

"Really?! That's so great!" Mai exclaimed and Hiromi blushed, "That's really cool Hiromi!"

"Hey, stop flirting with my boyfriend!" Ayumi glomped her arms around Hiromi's neck and nuzzled against his cheek.

"ACK! He's NOT your boyfriend!" Mai threw Ayumi off.

"But I have a ring just like his!" She extended her middle finger and waved it at Mai, "See?"

"Grrr!" Mai blushed as she saw what Ayumi was doing, "YOU DID THAT ON PURPOSE!"

"Hee hee!" Ayumi giggled, "Hey speaking of which!" She became suddenly serious, "We should probably keep an eye out for more of those Data Bug monsters so we can defeat them and bring peace to "The World"!"

"I don't see how it's any of our business," Mai told her sternly and took another bite of her lunch. "Since when are we "The World"'s saviors?"

"But we have the power to get rid of them," Ayumi pointed out, "Shouldn't we get rid of them if they're hurting people?"

"No, we shouldn't," Mai snapped at her and Hiromi sighed. To him, it was obvious why Mai was angry.

"Mai..." He began, "Moyotu isn't our friend anymore. She attacked us and innocent players. We have to think of her as an enemy now."

"I don't have to do any of that!" Mai snapped at him and then collected her lunch and started to get up, "Moyotu's still our friend, I know it! I'm not hungry anymore...I'm going to the library..."

"Wait Mai!" Ayumi called out to her and Mai stopped and turned around, "Let's play tonight! It'll be fun..."

"Ayumi's right..." Hiromi nodded, "How about 4:30?"

Mai thought for a second, then sighed and shrugged, "Sure, I guess I could."

"So we'll see you on tonight?" Ayumi asked smiling.

"Sure," Mai smiled weakly, "You bet."

At about 4:00 after school, Mai logged onto her computer and saw that she had some new e-mail. She opened it and saw that the message was from Chikoro and it read "Some Answers Needed."

Iam,

Hey, this is Chikoro. I wanted to ask you about what Orizo-sama was saying at lunch. Who's Moyotu? How is she connected with the Data Bugs. I'm a ring holder too! I deserve to know!

Chikoro

Mai felt her face becoming red and her anger slightly rising as she read this. She quickly clicked the "Reply" button and titled her message RE: Some Answers Needed

Chikoro,

Look, Moyotu had nothing to do with that Data Bug we found! There was no report of another player there was there? I don't think so! So that proves it wasn't Moyotu's fault! Moyotu is a good friend of mind and Hiromi's...she's just a bit confused right now.

Iam

Mai sighed and rolled her eyes as she exited out of the message. But then, her eyes widened as she saw she had another message, this one from CC Corp, creators of "The World". The message was titled "Special Weapons Giveaway!" She clicked on the e-mail and read what it had to say:

Dear Valued Customer of "The World",

Today, for this day only, we are having a very special event on the Delta Server! This special event is entitled "Weapons Race" and is open to all players.

If your party succeeds in the tasks given to them, you will be awarded special and rare weapons for your class and formatted to fit your level! This event is being held at

Delta, Billowing Forbidden Sun Demon

Only 50 lucky players can have these rare weapons! Come quickly, before they're all gone!

Signed,

CC Corporation

This was so cool! Mai quickly logged into "The World" Log In Screen and heaved a sigh of relief when she saw that there were no new board messages. She quickly logged as the clock almost reached 4:20.

Iam materialized quickly and saw that a lot of people were heading towards the Chaos Gate. "Eeeks!" She cried, "I hope Chikoro and Orizo get here before all the cool weapons are gone!"

"Hey Iam!" Iam looked up to see Orizo and Chikoro coming over the bridge of Mac Anu, racing towards her, "You finally got here! You got that e-mail about the special event right?"

"Did I ever!" Iam nodded, "Quick, let's get those cool weapons! Mine definitely needs an upgrade!"

"We're all Level 7 right?" Chikoro asked and the group nodded. It seems that all of them had gained two levels from the excursion the other day, "Then great! Let's form a party!" The group formed a party and ran to the Chaos gate to get to the special area.

"Okay..." Orizo looked over the keywords, "Delta, Billowing Forbidden Sun Demon, right?"

"That was it!" Chikoro nodded, "Quick, let's go!" With that, the group warped to the area.

As the group materialized in the area, they saw that it was a vast desert with cacti everywhere. They also saw a few other parties heading toward the dungeon. "Quick!" Iam told them, pointing toward the dungeon, "We have to get there before there are no more weapons left!" They all started to sprint towards the dungeon with all their might, not wanting to be left out of the rare weapons. As they entered, they heaved a sigh of relief as they saw the NPC still standing in the room. "Welcome to the Weapons Race. In the back of B1 is a room with a monster. Defeat this monster andcollect the item it drops to gain the weapons. Be quick, others might get to the monster before a new one is created."

"C'mon!" Chikoro grabbed Iam and Orizo's wrists, "I want those weapons!" The group trudged along with Chikoro through the dungeon, another party wandering through with them. Finally, they reached the large room in the back and went inside.

FIRST MONSTER: (It read across their screen) DEFEAT IT USING ONLY MAGIC

"That's my department!" Chikoro ran up to the monster as it materialized. The monster was a large dog with three heads, a fire type monster called a "Guard of Hell". Chikoro did not waver as she raised her staff and screamed, "VAK KRUZ!"

"No!" Orizo told her as the spell hardly affected the monster, "It's a Fire Type! You need Water spells!"

"Well you could have told me that sooner!" Chikoro rolled her eyes and raised her staff again, "RUE ZOT!" The monster fell back from the elemental damage and Chikoro pummeled it with more of the same spell, "RUE ZOT, RUE ZOT, RUE ZOT!"

Soon, the monster was destroyed and done with and the group cheered. Then, where the monster had been, a treasure chest appeared. "Ooooh! Treasure!" Chikoro smiled and opened the chest. As it opened, she took out a piece of paper that said, "The sound that a cat makes..." Chikoro looked at it oddly, then stuffed it into her bag. "Wonder what it does, oh well! Let's keep moving!" With that, the group ran down to the next level.

As the group reached the next room, another monster appeared, this one reading:

SECOND MONSTER: DEFEAT USING NO MAGIC

The monster that materialized was a Mu Guardian, a flying machine with long metal talons to destroy them. "Well that's easy," Chikoro smiled, "Let's go!"

Iam and Orizo rushed forward, "Hyah!" And attacked. As they fought and fought the monster steadily wore down their HP. "Chikoro!" Iam called to her, "First aid!"

"Right!" Chikoro nodded, "La Repth!"

In a second, a white light flashed and they were back in the first room on the second floor. SECOND MONSTER: FAILED. It read across their screen. TRY AGAIN. "You mean we're not allowed to use magic on ourselves either?!" Orizo asked indignantly, "Then how're we supposed to survive?"

"I have plenty of Health Drinks," Iam pointed out, opening her back and nodding to the many vials, "So, I guess I'll heal..."

"Trade them to me," Chikoro held out her hand, "You need to focus on attacking. I'll heal." Iam looked warily at Chikoro and Chikoro rolled her eyes, "I'll give them back, jeez!"

Iam reluctantly let Chikoro use her Health Drinks, and the next time they faced the Mu Guardian, the group, working as a team, quickly disposed of the monster and another chest appeared. This time Orizo went up to it and opened it carefully, "Rhymes with the beginning of the nology that you just fought." Orizo's eyebrows raised and he too stuffed the scroll in, "What is with this event? Nology isn't even a word. Do they mean "no" as the beginning? It's confusing..."

"I don't know." Iam shrugged her shoulders, "But we should probably keep going, the next room is the last, then we can get those items!"

"Wait!" Chikoro told her and Iam turned around, "You forgot your Health Drinks." She quickly gave back Iam what was left of the Health Drinks and Iam looked pleasantly surprised.

"You actually gave them back..."

"Of course!" Chikoro rolled her eyes, "We're a party right? We can't have people not being honest with each other can we?"

Iam bit her lip and nodded, "I guess not...

"C'mon!" Orizo motioned to them, "Let's get to the next floor!" The two girls nodded and they made their way down to the next level.

"There it is!" Chikoro pointed as a small Skull Warrior appeared, menacing at them, "That's the last monster!"

THIRD MONSTER: DEFEAT WITH ONE BLOW

The group remained silent for a moment, "What...?" Iam asked, "But that's impossible! None of us are strong enough for that!"

"But then how do we defeat it with a single blow?" Orizo asked, "It seems close to impossible!"

"Well they wouldn't have put it in the event if it wasn't doable!" Chikoro told them, "Let's try it! GAN DON!" The earth converged on the monster and it fell back, staggering. Then, it died. "We did it!" Chikoro laughed, "We actually beat it!" A couple seconds passed, but the monster didn't de-materialize. No chest was revealed. The group looked around silently. "Well..."

In a flash of white light, they were returned to the first room on the third floor.

THIRD MONSTER FAILED

"What?!" Chikoro asked, enraged, "THAT'S STUPID! IT DIED WITH A SINGLE BLOW RIGHT?!"

"I don't get it..." Orizo asked, "We beat it with one spell..."

"Maybe magic won't work!" Iam told them, "Let's try a physical attack!"

"Yeah!" Chikoro nodded, "Let's try again!"

The group rushed in and Iam gave the monster a critical hit with her spear and the monster fell over dead! "We did it!" Chikoro cheered again, "We actually did it!"

In a flash of white ligh—

"WE GET THE PICTURE!" Chikoro screamed to the poor author as the group found themselves in the same room as before, "JEEEZ! WHAT IS WRONG?! WE'RE BEATING IT WITH ONE HIT RIGHT?!"

"I don't get it either..." Orizo confessed, "I don't understand what they're asking us to do."

"Only the most clever can clear this event..." The group turned around and gave a slight gasp as they saw a man decked out in a tight white top that reached his neck with a v-neck opening. He wore tight long white pants and white shoes. White armbands completed his armor, along with a yellow ponytail holder that held his long blonde hair. Everything on his armor was lined lightly with yellow and he had yellow markings on his face. The man, obviously a Heavy Axeman, had a large axe, silver and yellow striped, on his back. He smiled a handsome smile, "I guess I'll go first...watch..." He walked into the room, followed by the trio and they watched him eagerly. The monster once again appeared and charged at the man. The man didn't even take out his weapon. He just waited for the monster to come and then...

Blew on it.

The group fell over as the monster writhed and died on the ground, a treasure chest appearing in front of it. "WE DIDN'T THINK THEY MEANT LITERALLY!" Chikoro told him and he laughed again.

"Sorry!" He bowed, "I must go, just go back out and come back in. You can beat it that way." He ran out of the room, waving to them, "Good luck!"

As he disappeared, the group sighed dejectedly and walked out of the room, only to backtrack back into it. "But hey..." Iam pointed out to her fellow adventurers, "How did that guy know how to beat it?" The trio stopped and thought for a second, dumbfounded, "That was only his first time in the room right? He didn't even know what the instructions were before he came in."

"I...I guess he just is a quick thinker..." Chikoro told them, "We didn't even catch his name..."

"Oh well," Orizo shrugged, "Look! There it is!" The monster once again materialized, and Iam stepped forward. She took a huge breath and blew on the monster. It, like the last one, died instantly and a treasure chest appeared. "I feel stupid..." Iam told them, but got down on the ground and opened the chest anyway. "It's a riddle..." she told them, out to me. It's my turn to rest, and your time to be. Your brother has been here watching over our children all day. Who am I? Rhyme my name for the final clue." Iam shook her head, "Another weird clue." She placed in her pack and waved her hand to the door, "Let's go! We get our cool weapons now!"

"Right!" Chikoro and Orizo said simultaneously and the group sprinted forward to claim their prize.

"Welcome to the last leg of the Weapon's Race." The trio looked at one another oddly as they saw an NPC standing in front of the door to the final room, "Now, you must use the clues you received to finish the following sentence: To clear this event, your party must have this vital element:..."

"The clues...?" Chikoro asked, "I don't get it..."

"Those scrolls!" Orizo reasoned and took his out, "We need to decipher them."

"Of course!" Iam took hers out and sat down with the others. They laid their scrolls out on the ground and looked at Chikoro's first. "The sound that a cat makes..." Iam wondered.

"Mreow?" Chikoro asked, "No...that can't be right, there's no word that starts with Mreow..."

"What about...mew?" Iam asked, "But that would be an odd word..."

"I've got it!" Orizo told them, and they looked eagerly at him, "It's purr!"

"Yeah!" Chikoro nodded, "That's got to be it!"

"What about the next one though?" Iam asked, pointing to Orizo's clue, "Rhymes with the beginning of the nology that you just fought."

"No?" Orizo asked, "Purrno?"

"Sounds like porno..." Chikoro pointed out to be greeted by a large smack on the head by Iam, "Ow! Sorry..." She giggled, "That can't be right. What did we fight?"

"A Mu Guardian..." Orizo told her, "But what kind of "nology" is that...?"

"Of course!" Iam put her fist in her hand, as if to say that it was so obvious, "Tech!"

"Tech?" Chikoro asked her questioningly, "Oh! I get it! The Mu Guardian is a machine, right? Or looks like it...so it would be tech-nology!"

"What rhymes with tech though...?" Orizo asked and the group thought long and hard for the answer.

"I got nothing..." Chikoro sighed, "Let's move onto the last one. Iam, read it again."

"Kay," Iam nodded and read the clue, "Sister, sister, comeout to me. It's my turn to rest, and your time to be. Your brother has been here watching over our children all day. Who am I? Rhyme my name for the final clue." She ruffled her brow, "What does that mean?"

"I dunno..." Orizo sighed and turned to Chikoro, "You got any ideas Chikoro?"

But Chikoro didn't answer. She just looked long and hard at the clue, and then smiled widely, "I've figured it out!" She nodded and grabbed their hands.

"What is it?" Iam asked her.

"I'll tell him, one sec!"

"But what if you're wrong?" Iam asked her, snatching her hand back, "We may not get another chance!"

"Trust me!" She told her, "Just trust me!"

Iam stared at Chikoro, smiling widely, so confident in her answer, for the longest time. She waited, feeling the roof of her mouth grow dry. She sighed, and then, reluctantly nodded, "I trust you."

"Okay!" She ran over to the NPC, "We have our answer!"

"Please submit answer," the NPC nodded and Chikoro cleared her throat.

"Perfection!" She jumped in the air and the NPC nodded.

"Event cleared." The door behind him opened, "Please proceed to receive special equipment."

"Wow..." Iam smiled admiringly at Chikoro, "How...how did you know "perfection" was the answer?"

"Easy!" Chikoro told them, "I'm the queen of rhyming games! Tech rhymes with fec in perfection doesn't it?"

"Yeah," Orizo nodded, "But what about the last clue?"

"That one was easy!" she told them, "Sister, in the poem means "Sister Moon" and the one watching over his children, us humans is "Brother Sun." Sun rhymes with tion!"

"That's amazing Chikoro!" Iam threw her arms around Chikoro and gave her a big hug, "You figured it out!"

"Yeah..." Chikoro nodded, "I did, didn't I?"

"And..." Orizo smiled at the girls, "Since we cleared the event, I guess that means our party has "perfection." Right?"

"Yep!" Chikoro nodded, "Best friends forever!"

Iam just looked at the ground. She thought of the nasty e-mail she had sent Chikoro, and how she hadn't told her the truth about Moyotu. She remembered what Chikoro had said earlier...

"We're a party right? We can't have people not being honest with each other can we?"

"Just trust me!"

"Best friends forever!"

"Umm...Chikoro?" Iam spoke softly and Chikoro turned around to see what Iam was saying, "Can we talk after we get the weapons?"

"Sure!" She nodded, "Why not? But for now, let's get before they're all taken!" She ran into the room, followed eagerly by Orizo, and then, Iam, sighing lightly and smiling as she ran in.

"Woah!" Iam's mouth opened in shock as she saw that the room was stocked to the brim full of players of every level, and class. They all were trying to get out, but the exits were blocked!

"Somebody help us!" A female wave master called, "I can't gate out! My console won't turn off either!"

"I can't get out!" Another voice screamed, "It's too crowded!"

"What's going on?!" Chikoro yelled to the group over the roar of the crowd, "Why is everyone in here?"

"We came for the weapons!" A female heavy blade answered to them from the crowd, "But when we got here, there was nothing! And the doors are locked! We're all trapped!"

"Where's that guy who helped us?" Orizo screamed to Iam and Chikoro, "Maybe he knows what's going on!"

"Yeah!" Iam nodded, "Let's find him!" The group tried to wriggle around through the crowds, but it was impossible. The flux of the many people sucked them in, making it almost impossible to turn around! "Guys!" Iam grabbed their hands, "We can't get separated!"

"We'll be stuck here forever if someone doesn't do something!" Chikoro told her.

"Welcome one and all!" The trio looked up, along with the rest of the gargantuan crowd to see none other than the man who had helped them before floating in mid air! "Welcome to your reward."

"What are you talking about?" a voice from the crowd asked, "Are you the one keeping us here?!"

"Well...kinda..." the man bowed to them apologetically, "Sorry! But I can't let you go until I test out my latest Data Bug creation! I'm sure it'll be stronger than the one Circera made!"

"Data Bug?!" Iam asked, "He...he must be...with..." She bit her lip as she looked up at him, smirking at the frightened crowd and she knew that she couldn't deny it anymore. "You must be with Moyotu!" She screamed to the man, "How dare you hurt these innocent players?!"

"Well..." he shrugged, "Moyotu is my leader! She did teach me how to create these Data Bugs."

"Well then where is it?!" Orizo asked, drawing his weapons, "I don't see any Data Bug!"

"Well..." the man giggled and the room became almost five times larger than before! The random players scrambled to the edges where they could breathe and the man continued, "That's kind of the point..."

WHAM!" In a second, Orizo had been smacked to the center of the room, taking major damage!

"Orizo!" Iam rushed to his side.

"Orizo-sama!" Chikoro quickly healed him and ran over to him, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine..." he spat, "But what was that thing?"

"It must be..." Iam grimaced, "An invisible Data Bug..."

"Invisible?!" Chikoro asked, flabbergasted, "Then how can we fight it?"

"You don't..." the man smiled, "That's kind of the point..."

WHAM! A loud force hit Chikoro and she screamed as she collided with a wall, "AHHH!"

"Chikoro, no!" Iam yelled, then turned violently towards the center, "You'll pay for this!"

"How is it invisible?!" Orizo asked, "It seems impossible!"

"I told you!" the man called down to them, "You have to be clever to clear this event! And I am!" he closed his eyes, "I control this Data Bug with my mind. It's my specialty. My concentration allows it to stay invisible."

"Great!" Iam told him, "That helps a great deal!"

"Well then..." Chikoro stood up, bloodied, but alive and looked at him, smiling, "Let's see who's the cleverest..."

The man's eyes flared and an angry expression became plastered on his face, "How dare you?! I am the cleverest of all the Prism Players! No mere regular player can match my wit!"

"Let's see!" Chikoro laughed and raised her wand, "In my opinion, you were pretty stupid to mention that you control that Data Bug's invisibility. Cause now..." She smiled, "I can do this! VAK KRUZ!"

"AHHH!" The man burned as the spell hit him and Iam saw that in a flash, the Data Bug was revealed to be a small white angel covered with green flakes.

"GET IT!" Iam wasted no time in attacking the Data Bug, Orizo at her side. But as soon as they had done about 200 damage, the monster became invisible again.

"Damn you..." the man cursed, "You made me loose my concentration..."

"Well that was kind of the point..." Chikoro smiled and the man raged again.

"HOW DARE YOU MAKE ME LOOK FOOLISH?!" he screamed, "FOR THIS YOU SHALL PAY!" He took out a scroll and laughed, "WIZARD'S BANE!"

"Ow!" Chikoro felt the affect of the spell come over her, "My magic...it's close to useless now!"

"Well that was kind of the point..." the man mocked and cackled, "Nothing can match the wit of Izaile!"

"Izaile?" Chikoro asked dumbfounded.

"Chikoro!" Iam yelled as she was hit once again by the monster, "Leave him to me!" She pulled out a scroll from her bag, "GAN ZOT!" She cast and the scroll disappeared as he was hit!

"AHHH!" he screamed and the monster became visible again! Iam and Orizo once again unleashed an all out assault. "How could you?!" he asked, regaining the monster's invisibility, "How could you use your scrolls right after you had been hit?! Isn't that your wavemaster's job?"

"No!" Iam told him, "Our job is to help our party members out when they're in trouble!" Iam nodded to Chikoro, "Because we're friends...right?"

Chikoro paused, then nodded, "Right!" The Wizard's Bane wore off and Chikoro gave a triumphant grin at Izaile, "EAT THIS, RAI DON!" The thunder made the man writhe with pain as he screamed bloody murder. Iam and Orizo quickly attacked the monster once more, this time, the words "PROTECT BREAK" coming across the screen. "We've done it!" Iam nodded to the two and extended her ring. The others joined her and pointed at the monster. In a huge breath they screamed:

"RED, BLUE, YELLOW DATA DRAIN!" The monster's green flakes disappeared as the lights, combined, hit it head on, washing it clean of its virus.

The group launched an all out attack on the monster until finally it flopped to the ground, destroyed and never to harm innocent players again.

"NO!" Izaile screamed, "My precious Data Bug! It was the epitome of my knowledge!" He grimaced and held out his hand, "You...I'll kill you all now! For destroying my precious Data Bug! DATA DR--"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you..." The trio looked up as they heard a voice come from seemingly no where. But soon, they saw, holding Izaile's wrist forcefully was a young man with black shaggy hair and a black visor that covered his eyes. He wore a black baggy jacket along with a tight black top and matching baggy black pants. Long combat boots and fingerless gloves completed the look of his armor, along with seemingly useless wires and cords strapped around his wrists. In his lap, as he floated in the air, was a laptop, and on his belt was a few wrenches, "I...really wouldn't..."

"Who—who are you?" Izaile's eyes were wide with unmistakable fear as he watched the young man, "You...you can't be...Kalen..."

"Right on the money..." Kalen smiled, "Now...your wit has been defeated...leave now."

"Grr..." Izailed grimaced at Kalen and then at Iam and the rest of the trio, "I'll be back!" he told them, "I won't let myself be defeated this easily!" With that, golden rings formed around him as he gated out of the Dungeon. Kalen smiled, and then lightly fell down to the ground. He gracefully landed and then surveyed all the players around the room. "I'm afraid I'll have to erase your memories..." he told them, "The Prism Players and their secrets should not get out to this many people." He typed on a few keys on his keyboard and soon every player gated out automatically. Only Iam, Orizo and Chikoro were left, staring at the strange man. He surveyed the room, making sure no one was left and then stopped as he looked at the players, "Hey!" he waved, "How's it going?"

"Are you one of them?!" Orizo asked, "A hacker?"

"No and yes," Kalen smiled and the group looked at him, confused. "I'm not one of them but I am a hacker. What else could I be with this character design?"

"We can't let you get away!" Orizo drew his blades, "You're just like the rest of them! You're a cheater!"

"Don't make assumptions little boy..." Kalen typed a few keys on his keyboard, "Speaking of which. Aren't you forgetting something?" He pointed over Iam's shoulder and she turned around to see a core with a "V" encrusted inside it. "It's your reward for Data Draining that creep."

"You know about Data Drain?" Iam asked him eagerly, "How?"

"All in good time...I'll explain later..." Kalen reassured her.

"But I have a question!" Chikoro raised her hand, "Izaile...he...he was about to scream something...it sounded like...Data Drain...does he too have that power?"

"Later, later," he explained, "Too many answers can rack ones brain I'm afraid." She shut his laptop and waved to the group, "But now, I must be on my way. You'll hear from me later." He gave a small wave once more and smiled, "Bye." With that, he gated out of the dungeon, leaving the trio alone.

"I feel the Prism Players influence growing..." Iam bit her lip worriedly, "All these questions...left unanswered..."

"I know..." Chikoro nodded, "But I guess...we'll just have to wait and see right?"

"Right," Iam nodded as well, then turned to Chikoro, "Umm...Chikoro...I wanted to talk to you, remember?"

"Hmmm...oh yeah!" Chikoro smiled, "What about?"

"I'm...I'm sorry for the e-mail I sent you..." Iam blushed, "If...if you want to know the truth about Moyotu then I'll tell you..."

"Oh no need!" Chikoro told her and Iam's eyes lit up. Could it actually be that Chikoro was respecting her feelings? "Orizo-sama already leaked the entire story to me!"

Silence partook the room for a few seconds, only to be broken by Iam's neck violently cracking as she turned to Orizo, "O-ri-zo..."

"Umm...well...she was persistent and um..." Orizo desperately tried to defend himself...

"PREPARE TO BE PUMMELED!"

"AHH, DON'T HURT ME!"

"TOO FRIGGIN LATE!"

"Ha ha ha!"

"Perfection" really wasn't the word...

FINISHED! I had fun with this chapter. I really think that Kalen will become one of my favorite bishonens (hot guys)...ahhh... It's pathetic, to have a crush on a guy you created...ahhh well...

REMEMBER, R&R!

Until Then,

Ciao for now!