Chapter 5 – Overcoming

A/N's: Hey! My next chapter here, I hope you all like it! I already love the feedback from the other chapters, makes me feel nice!

Here we go!

"No way!" Iam lauged. She, Chikoro, and Orizo were all sitting on the bridge in Mac Anu on the Delta Server after a long dungeon adventurer. Orizo had just made an announcement and Iam could hardly believe her cybertronic ears, "You're joking!"

"Nope," Orizo shook his head, "It's true."

"Your uncle owns a game store!" Iam asked again and he nodded. "That's WAY too cool!"

"Yep…my uncle owns the place. It's pretty popular among "The World" gamers. You can buy cool headsets, expansion packs, and other awesome stuff there. There's even a "The World" parlor there."

"It sounds like so much fun!" Iam smiled, "Is that why you're so into games Orizo?"

Orizo blushed and then paused. Finally, he nodded, "Yeah…my uncle really got me into it…and my mom."

"How about we all walk to it before school tomorrow?" Chikoro offered to the two, "It'll be fun!"

"Sure," Orizo nodded, "I don't mind. It opens really early anyway. How about we meet at your house Iam?"

"I'm game."

"Great," Orizo smiled and then, paused and looked panicked, "Oh crud! It's already 9:00! I need to do my homework!"

"Why were you goofing around!" Iam reprimanded, "Seriously!"

"Uhh…oops, gotta go, see ya tomorrow!" With that, Orizo logged out, Iam wanting to bend the golden rings he disappeared into.

"Jeez…he really ticks me off sometimes…" Iam sighed and leaned against the bridge with Chikoro, "Well…want to go on a dungeon adventure or something?"

"Hey Iam…" Chikoro asked and Iam raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah?"

"How…do you feel about Orizo-sama?" Iam blushed, or virtually blushed at least. She bit her lip.

"W-we're just play with each other online…that's all…"

"Maybe I should rephrase my wording," Chikoro sighed, "How do you feel about Hiromi-sama?"

Iam paused and looked at the wooden planks of the bridge, her eyes refusing to meet the inquisitive ones of Chikoro. Her eyes, still glued to her bright red boots, blinked a few times and then, she spoke softly. "Umm…actually, I'm pretty tired. I'm not in the mood for a dungeon adventure today. See ya…" And with that, Iam quickly logged out, leaving Chikoro alone on the bridge of Mac Anu.

"SHIZUMA! Give me back my shoe, I'm going to be late!"

"No way!" Shizuma laughed as he ran through the halls of Mai's house, carrying her loafer shoe with him. Mai threw on her blazer and straightened her bow as she chased her annoying brother through the house. "Have to catch me first!"

"GOT YA!" Mai cheered as she jumped on the little boy, sending him sprawling onto the carpet. "My shoe."

"I won't give it back until you let me do something…" he told her, pouting, hiding the shoe under his chest, making sure she couldn't grab it when he was off guard.

"What?" she asked, annoyed.

"Let me play "The World"."

"No." With that, Mai grabbed the shoe and forced it on her foot.

"Why not!" he asked in a whining tone.

"Because you'll just mess up," she sighed, "You don't know how to play."

"I could learn!" He insisted to her, "C'mon Mai!"

"I'm going to be late to meet Ayumi and Hiromi," Mai sighed, grabbing her school bag and lunch, "See ya little bro! "The World" is a big kid's game!"

Shizuma only frowned and stomped back into the house to have breakfast while Mai ran out the door where her two friends were waiting outside her mailbox. "Hey guys!" She waved to them, running over to join them. "Ready to go?"

"You bet," Hiromi nodded, "Wait till you meet my uncle, he's a hoot, I swear."

"You'll have to introduce your uncle to your future wife!" Ayumi gave Hiromi her usual morning glomp and Mai gave her usual morning fume.

"A-Ayumi!" Mai blushed and pulled Ayumi off. "C'mon! We'll be late!"

"Hey Pops!" Hiromi gave a call as he opened the glass door, a little bell tinkling as he pushed it open. A few people, playing at computers with headsets on turned around, then immediately went back to their games. "How's it going?"

"Oh, hey Hiromi!" Mai looked up from the players at the computers to see a tubby man with brown hair and a matching beard waving to them. His hair, almost matching Hiromi's in color, had a few gray strands sticking out from it. He was wearing an apron that read, "Start Button", the name of the store. "I see you brought your girlfriend and your mistress along!"

"P-POPS!" Hiromi blushed and so did Mai. Ayumi giggled.

"Yes Mr. Pops, I'm his mistress," Ayumi cooed in Hiromi's ear, "Right Hiromi, darling?"

"N-N-NO YOU'RE NOT!"

Hiromi's uncle chortled and motioned to three chairs near the front desk. The kids sat down, Hiromi still blushing lightly. "Pleased to meet you. I'm Junichi Mimura, Hiromi's uncle."

"I'm Mai Yanagi," Mai introduced herself.

"Ayumi Kanzaki!" Ayumi bowed her head.

"Hmm…it's not every day Hiromi brings in cute girls to my store," he laughed, "And two blondes? What are the odds?"

"P-Pops!" Hiromi reprimanded, "I came to show them the store!"

"Ahh welcome to "Start Button"," he gave a regal bow, "We supply all the latest and greatest games and equipment. Please, look around. Because you're Hiromi's friends, I'll let you have a game at the Parlor free."

"Parlor?" Mai questioned and Hiromi smiled.

"Don't you know anything? A parlor is where they have a certain online game installed and you just have to log in with your character to play," he explained.

"Oh! Sorry I'm so stupid!" she huffed and tried to playfully deck Hiromi.

"SOTA!" A voice came from the back of the store and the three looked inside the open door that led to the employees' place. "WILL YOU STOP FOOLING AROUND!"

"Jeez Fuko, give me a break…" said the other voice, obviously Sota, "I was just having a little fun."

"Oh…those are my latest employees," Junichi laughed, "They always fight, I shouldn't have hired them together."

"That would have saved me a load of grief." From the door came a woman with a matching apron, indigo top and black pants on. She had black hair in a braid and heavy framed glasses. "He is such a pain!"

"And now you're trying to get me fired!" A man came from the door this time. He had scruffy dark brown hair that was kept in a loose ponytail and was very tall. He had a rugged figure, but wore the employee apron anyway. "And I thought we were friends."

"You thought wrong!" the woman growled, "Will you please just leave me alone! I always have to make up for your mistakes!"

"Oh hey guys!" the man waved to the three kids, "How's it going?"

"YOU'RE NOT EVEN LISTENING!"

"Hey…you're the boss's nephew right?" the man asked and Hiromi nodded, "I've got just the thing for such a ladies man like you!" He went behind the desk and rummaged around for a few minutes, until he smiled and pulled out a red velvet box. He opened it to reveal a red ruby bracelet, "Like it?"

"Umm…sorry, I'm not into jewelry," Hiromi tried to smile.

"Not for you dolt!" the man sighed, "For one of your lovely ladies here."

"Why are they selling jewelry at a Game Store?" Mai questioned, a little annoyed by the man.

"It's not ordinary jewelry," the man explained, "If the player wears it, it is digitally programmed onto their "The World" character design. Boyfriends often give these bracelets to their girlfriends over the game."

"Oh wow!" Mai smiled, eyes lit up, "I wanna try it!"

"Step right up," the man jumped over the desk and took Mai's hand as if she were a Princess. She walked over to a computer and sat down. "Here…" he placed the bracelet on her wrist, "A beautiful bracelet for a beautiful lady."

Hiromi fumed slightly, as did the woman with the braid. "Will you stop fooling around for once!" she screamed and the man sweatdropped.

"Jeez…leave it to the She-devil…" He sighed as Mai placed her headset over her head and quickly logged into her character. "Hey…this bracelet matches your color scheme, cool. I like the violet by the way…really sexy – OW!" The man looked up, his head forming a huge bump where an ashtray had hit him, "FUKO! I was just kidding!"

"Huh?" Fuko asked, her hand already holding a radio. "But…I didn't throw it yet."

"Then…" the man looked over and saw Hiromi, breathing heavily, his hand looking as though he had just thrown something. "Ahh…lover boy's jealous. Well, I'd make my move if I were you. She's a beauty and I just know that hundreds of guys are going to be all over her if you don't make your claim."

Hiromi blushed and fiddled with his feet as the man yelled at Fuko for trying to throw something at him. Ayumi fumed and quickly turned to see if they had any yellow bracelets for Hiromi to give her.

Iam materialized in front of the Chaos Gate portal in Mac Anu and immediately looked at her wrist. She squealed as she saw the red bracelet on her wrist. But she then sweatdropped as a cloud saying "¥5000" appeared. "Eeeks…pricy…"

"What a beautiful bracelet," Iam looked up and gasped as she saw none other than Kalen standing in front of her, smiling away behind his black goggles. "Did your boyfriend give it to you by any chance?"

"Hey!" Iam took out her spear, "What are you up to?"

"Nothing," he shook his head, "I just wanted to invite you somewhere."

"Oh yeah!" Iam spat, "Don't think for a second that I trust you, cause I don't!"

"Why not?" Kalen asked, "I did save you from Izaile."

"How come you know his name!" She asked accusingly.

"Umm…because he was screaming it before…" Mai sweatdropped.

"But that was before you got there!" she told him.

"I have the power to make my character invisible to Game elements," he shrugged, "It's common knowledge for a hacker like myself."

"Why is your character so weird?" she questioned, looking over his wires and keyboard.

"I like it," he shrugged, "It was voted coolest character design in the Net Slums."

"Net…what?"

"Anyway, I want to invite you to an area," he told her, "It's really important."

"How so…?" she questioned, eyebrow raised.

"I'll explain later," he told her and typed over his keyboard, "The area will most likely be on the boards, but I'll send you an e-mail anyway." He smiled and tucked the board under his arm, "Ciao." With that, he logged out.

"I…I wonder what he wants there…" she paused and bit her lip, "Well there's no way that I'm going without Orizo and Chikoro!"

"So…do you like it?" Sota asked as she took off her headset.

"It's really pretty!" she smiled, "But I don't have the money for it now… I'll have to ask my parents for it for Christmas or something."

"Or you could ask your boyfriend," Sota suggested.

"OH CRAP!" Ayumi screamed and Mai looked at her with worry in her eyes.

"What's wrong!"

"Look! It's already 7:55! We'll never make it on time before the school gates close!" She grabbed her bag, "C'MON!"

"ACK! COMING!" Mai grabbed her bag too, "C'mon Hiromi!"

"Coming…" Hiromi took his bag, but fingered around in his pocket. "Hey mister…" he asked Sota, "How much is that bracelet?"

"¥5000," Sota smiled, "A bargain. You're thinking of getting it for her?"

"J-just wondering," he blushed and ran towards Mai who was waiting at the front of the store.

"What was that about?" she asked him.

"Nothing…let's get."

"Sure," she nodded and Hiromi went through the glass door. She moved to follow him out but then stopped. She paused and turned her head where she thought she saw a glint of light behind some boxes. But, just as quick as the glint had come, it was gone. "What the…?"

"MAI!" Ayumi screamed to her, breaking her out of her fantasies, "We're going to be late! C'mon!"

"Ack!" Mai blushed and ran outside, "Sorry, let's go!"

"And stay out there!" Unfortunately, Mai, Hiromi, and Ayumi had been late, and had been forced to endure the old "Holding Buckets of water in the hall" punishment.

"Eurrg…Mai this is all your fault!" Ayumi accused her.

"Huh! How's it my fault?"

"You were the one ogling that stupid bracelet!" She said, "If you hadn't been taken in by that salesman then we wouldn't have been late!"

"Oh yeah, and you rummaging through bracelets for Hiromi to give you didn't slow us down at all!" Mai shoved her face into Ayumi's. "Don't you dare pin this on me!"

"Why you!" Ayumi headbutted against Mai, Hiromi becoming suddenly wise and staying out of it.

Mai was ready to face off against the blonde cheerleader, but stopped, as she saw the same glint as before behind Ayumi's head around the corner. "Hey…did you see that?"

"If you mean your stupid face than yes!" Ayumi growled.

"No! That glint behind the corner…"

"How could I have seen it when I was facing the other direction, stupid!"

"STUPID!"

"It's going to be a long day…"

"I'm telling you Ayumi, I saw this glint!" Mai told her in the locker rooms as they all changed into their gym clothes, "At the game store, AND in the hall! It's really creeping me out!"

"You're hallucinating," Ayumi waved her hand as if to suggest the matter was of no importance, "You probably just saw something shiny."

"I guess…" Mai sighed as she pulled off her shirt, "But it's really odd that" Mai stopped.

"What's odd?" Ayumi asked but Mai didn't answer. She just stopped and then…

With one fleeting motion, Mai's shampoo bottle had been chucked into the trashcan at full speed. "Mai!" Ayumi asked incredulously.

"OW!" A scream of pain echoed through the room, and all the girls looked around towards the trashcan to see who had just spoken.

"Come out." Mai shoved her hand into the trashcan and rummaged around for a tiny bit until she smiled, "Peeping Tom!" She threw her arm up to reveal a boy wearing their school uniform and sporting a hefty pair of circular glasses. He had shoulder length black hair and pale skin. The girls squealed and quickly put their shirts on as the stranger stood on his feet. "Who the heck are you?" Mai asked him.

"S-S-Souchirou Hibiki," the boy stated with racked confidence, "And I am NOT a peeping tom!"

"Then what were you doing hiding in a trashcan in the GIRL'S locker room, Hibiki-san?" Mai questioned, her lip quivering. He didn't answer, but his eyes stared with resolve and Mai saw the shine go off of his glasses. "Hey…" she paused, "You've been following me haven't you?"

"What?" he asked, nose turned upward.

"The glint I always saw was from your glasses, right?" she asked him and he blushed and scowled.

"How dare you insinuate that I, Souchirou Hibiki, would follow someone as lowly as you!" He gave a snobbish pout, "It's horrendous to even think about!"

"Lowly…?" Mai asked him, a bit hot in the face, "Then why did you follow me!"

"Like I told you!" Souchirou snapped, "I was not following you! I was following Ayumi-sama!"

Mai blinked a few times, and tried to put what he had just said together. At the game store, in the hall, and right now…Ayumi HAD always been with her. "So…" she all of a sudden became very dark, "You're not a Peeping Tom but you are a stalker?"

"I've admired Ayumi-sama from afar for many weeks now!" Souchirou began a long and dramatic speech, "It would take me hours, no, days to express my affection for her!"

"Well…express it, OUTSIDE OF THE GIRL'S LOCKER ROOM!" Mai grabbed Souchirou by the color and promptly threw him out to the cheer of many girls. Mai, in a huff, walked back to Ayumi who had just put on her gym shirt. "You know him?"

"Oh…him?" she asked, nodding her head to the door, "Nope."

"Ayumi-sama!" Mai almost choked on her rice ball as Souchirou fell from the tree the three were eating under that lunch time. It seemed that Souchirou had been following them all day… "I've decided to stop expressing my feelings for you secretly and come right out! I do not fear rejection from you!"

"Okay…you're rejected," Ayumi gave him a sharp boot onto the pavement and Souchirou went flying. But a few minutes passed and he was back, carrying five box lunches.

"Ayumi-sama, I had my five star chefs prepare lunch for you. Four different Japanese courses and some western food as well."

"Oooo yummy!" Ayumi laughed and took one box. She opened it to reveal some Tempura noodles, "It looks delish!"

"Ayumi-sama…actually said a kind word towards me…" Souchirou savored the moment, "The measuring cup of my life is full…"

"That's one small cup," Hiromi commented as Ayumi took some chopsticks and picked up a noodle.

"Say "ahhh"!" she laughed and Souchirou blushed.

"Of course! Ahhh"

"NOT YOU DOLT!" she gave him a sharp hit across the head, "Hiromi-sama!"

"Mi-Mimura…?" Souchirou asked, as though his reality had been shattered to pieces. He was in his own little black and dark world, ignoring Hiromi trying to push Ayumi off and Mai raging as usual. "Ayumi-sama…love Mimura…? IT CAN'T BE!"

"So Hiromi," Mai smiled, "Umm…someone…" she stressed "someone", "Invited me to an area. They said it was important. Wanna go?"

"Sure," Hiromi nodded, "We're all level 10! Only 5 more levels until we move up to the next server!"

"What!" Souchirou put back the pieces of his life for a few moments to rejoin the living. "Ayumi-sama plays "The World"!"

"Uhh…yeah…" Mai nodded, "We all do."

Souchirou didn't say anything after that, he just got up and walked way silently. "Thank God he's gone…" Ayumi sighed, "What a pain."

"He really likes you though," Mai told her, "You should be nicer to him."

"But I already have Hiromi-sama!" Ayumi cooed and gave Hiromi a hug around the neck.

"ACK! GET OFF!"

"Guys…" Mai suddenly became serious and the two turned their heads toward her, "The someone that invited me to that area…it was Kalen! You know, the black hacker."

"The what…?" Mai looked around to see a boy looking at her, "Did you say Black Hacker?"

"Uhh…yeah," Mai nodded, "Why do you ask?"

"He's super famous," the boy told them, "He snuck into dozen of networks and I hear he even hacked into the American Pentagon Computer!"

"What for?" Mai asked.

"That's the mystery! No one knows. Some think he's looking for something, some say he just does it to prove that he can. But one thing's for sure," the boy sighed, "He's dangerous, super dangerous."

"Woah…that's heavy," Ayumi bit her lip after the boy had walked away. "Mai! We shouldn't go traipsing off wherever this guy tells us! He's dangerous!"

"Please…" Mai sighed, "Those are probably just rumors."

"Mai, Ayumi's right," Hiromi told her, "He may be leading us into a trap!"

"Because we have the power of the rings," Ayumi rationed, "He probably is going to try and extract our powers! That would give him the power to rewrite data!"

"But those only work on Data Bugs, right?" Mai asked, "What's the point of that?"

"As far as we know," Hiromi told her, "We've never tried it on another normal monster. It might work…"

"But what would it do?" Mai asked, "We don't have any idea. I say we trust him! He did save us from Izaile." Mai didn't know why, but she was curious about what Kalen wanted her to see. It was obviously something important and her curiosity had gotten the better of her. Now, after being as wary of Kalen as the other two, she knew she needed to see what was going on in "The World". "Look, I know that "The Black Hacker" isn't exactly the most inviting name, but hey, he might want to be our friend."

"I'll go, just because you insist on going," Hiromi told her, "And I don't want you to get hurt."

"Ayumi?" Mai asked the girl and then noticed her hands were slightly shaking.

"I…I'm scared," she told Mai, "I'm afraid that I'll go into a coma just like all those other people. Give me some time to think," she said, "I'm not promising anything…" And for the rest of lunch, Ayumi was silent.

Mai dashed from her car and almost immediately booted up her computer when she got home. As she looked at her desktop, she noticed she had new mail and she warily opened it. It was indeed from Kalen.

Meet Me Here

Mess:

Hey, meet me at Delta, Timeless Aging Fort Walls, today. I'll be waiting. If you have questions, bring 'em.

Kalen

Mai had too many questions to even count, but she would be sure to bring them. She then tentatively saw that Kalen had left another message…and this one was entitled, "SUPER IMPORTANT, READ NOW!" She warily clicked on it and then read the message.

SUPER IMPORTANT, READ NOW!

Hey! I just realized…I'm working the late shift at work tonight, I can't meet you! Sorry! Tomorrow, I promise! Meet me on at 4:30!

Kalen

P.S. Sorry! I need a better planning book!

Mai almost fell over as she read the message. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME!" She sighed and picked up the phone. She quickly called Hiromi.

"Hey Hiromi…" she sighed as he picked up the phone.

"Oh…hey Mai, something wrong?"

"I'm connecting to Ayumi too…" she pushed the three way calling button and dialed Ayumi's number.

"He-hello…?" Ayumi asked wearily over the line.

"Hey Ayumi," Mai sighed, "It's me and Hiromi."

"Oh, Mai, Hiromi-sama…" She paused, "About meeting you on tonight…"

"Save your breath Ayumi…" Mai sighed, "I just got a message from Kalen. The dork has to work late at his job."

"His job…?" Hiromi asked, disbelieving, "You'd think that an expert hacker would be loaded…but he's working the late shift at a job?"

"I seriously think we've got the wrong guy here," Mai sighed, "There's no evidence that he's "The Black Hacker" and I seriously doubt that he is. He's probably a harmless computer geek."

"Well, that's too bad!" Ayumi laughed, "I would have gone, but now that plans are canceled"

"We're going on tomorrow at 4:30," Mai told them and she could almost hear Ayumi gulping over the phone, "Ayumi, there's seriously nothing to be worried about, this guy is completely harmless."

"I agree with Mai," said Hiromi, "There's absolutely zero way a screw up like him is "The Black Hacker"."

"All right…" Ayumi sighed, "See you guys tomorrow at 4:30…"

"Hey…tomorrow's Saturday, how about we do some leveling before that?" Mai suggested, "C'mon, it'll be fun."

Ayumi paused, "Sure…whatever… Look, I gotta hang up, I've got laundry to do."

"Okay…see ya, let's say at noon?"

"Whatever," Ayumi responded again, "Bye."

Mai and Hiromi heard the "click!" of Ayumi's phone and Mai could only give a dejected sigh to her partner on the other line, "She's still scared out of her wits."

"Hey, I'd be too," Hiromi sighed, "But I can't let you go alone." Mai paused, and blushed at his kind words. "That…that would be even scarier than me being in danger."

"H-Hiromi…" Mai spoke softly…

"See you tomorrow then?" he asked and she gave a small "yep!", coming out of her blush fritz, "Bye then."

Mai hung up the phone and threw herself on her bed, Kalen's e-mail still open on her computer. She looked over at it and then sighed, "Just some computer geek…just some computer geek…" She bit her lip and blushed again, "I wonder…what Hiromi meant by that." She stopped and shook her head, "Why's my heart beating so fast! This is stupid." She shut off her computer and shut off the light, "I'm going to sleep."

Mai logged in about 11:45 the next day to find no new e-mail from "The Black HACK" as Mai had amusingly named him. "Computer Otaku" and "Geek in Black" were also some of her favorites that she had giggled at all night. She clicked on "The World" and the game loaded.

She gulped as she saw there were new board messages, but she knew she had to click on them. She saw there were two. The first one read, "Where are you Men?"

Sub: Where are you Men?

Author: Yutaro

Mess:

Hey, Men! You told me to meet you at the root town and you never came! And worse you won't answer my e-mails! It's really PISSING ME OFF! XP So you'd better answer to this message, or else!

There was a reply, and Mai clicked on it, knowing what was coming.

Sub: Re: Where are you Men?
Author: Wikiwen

Mess:

Men is my friend that went comatose after that monster beat him! I leveled up a lot and went back to fight it, but the area looked totally normal, I don't get it.

Mai figured that after they had beaten the Data Bug in that area, everything had gone back to normal. It was odd…she thought that since the Prism Players were spreading this infection, the infection would stay on the area, growing through the network, only halted for a short time. How was it that after they beat the Data Bugs, the areas returned to normal?

Mai decided this was a question for Kalen and lodged it into the back of her brain and she cycled down through the messages to one that read "Comatose: Help Me Out!"

Sub: Comatose: Help Me Out!

Author: Uteni

Mess:

OMIGOD, HELLLP! I was with my best friend from school and we were playing right? But then, the area turned all weird and I could see the 0s and 1s and it was like crude data! The graphics got messed up, and I thought that it was just a glitch, so we kept going. But then…there was this kid in white and green and then BAM! This huge monster came out and beat my friend! She went into a coma after that! Last time a message like this was posted, the area went back to normal. Whoever fixed it, HELP!

The area was Delta, Timeless Aging Fort Walls! Help!

Mai closed the message and bit her lip. Kalen was right, the area was on the board. It seemed that more and more people were falling victim to the Prism Players. This kid…in white and green…who could he be?

Mai closed the boards and quickly logged in. There wasn't a second to loose.

"Hey!" Iam smiled as she saw Orizo and Chikoro waiting for her at the Chaos Gate, "You guys ready for some serious adventuring!"

"You bet!" Orizo nodded, obviously trying to keep spirits up, "Ready Chikoro?"

"Umm…yeah…" she nodded and then went up to the Chaos Gate, "Let's go! Right?" she smiled to her two friends, as if seeking some support and they returned happy grins.

"Right!" Iam ran through the portal, "I already picked out the area, c'mon!" The other two smiled after her and threw themselves into the Chaos Gate, ready to face whatever came their way.

But little did they see, in the corner of the alley of Mac Anu…a glint came from something shining…

It was about 4:15 when the group got back from leveling, Chikoro's blood pumping excitedly, "Woah! A level for each of us! That makes level 11!"

"Only one more until we reach the next server!" Iam laughed, "And we all got new weapons too!" Iam brandished a new spear with a decorative silver top and red ribbon called a "Rouge Spear". Orizo didn't take out his new "Levi Blades" two large tri-blades colored blue, but he blushed at them anyway. And Chikoro wasn't shy as she waved her yellow pointed staff with a floating ball on the top called a "Ramuh Staff". "Too cool!"

"Can't wait to use them in action, right?" Chikoro asked.

"So you're coming to meet Kalen?" Orizo asked her and she stopped.

"Umm…yeah…sure…" she nodded, sweating, "I mean…I'm sure it's fine…right?"

"RIGHT YOU ARE CHIKORO-SAMA!" A bellowing scream of encouragement came from the other end of the Chaos Gate, and Iam, Orizo, and Chikoro all looked up to see who had just screamed. "How can you be wrong!"

It was a man, and a tall one at that. Iam guessed he was at least 6ft, and his large chest and arms only added to his appearance of high stature. He had brown hair in a high ponytail that went to his back and matching brown eyes. He had a confident smile on his handsome face. His armor looked like a Samurai in full armor, only the breastplate, arm guards and leg guards were colored forest green while the clothing underneath was a much brighter green. His pants, in a hakama style, matched the bright green of his shirt, and he wore traditional zori sandals with tabi socks. His tekkos (arm/wrist guards), green lined with silver, covered his hand gloves. In his hand was a katana (Japanese sword) with a silver and green handle. The blade shone of silver that reflected in the virtual sun.

"Uhh…what class is he?" Iam asked, "I didn't know there was a samurai class…"

"There isn't," Orizo said, "He's a Heavy Blade. Some heavy blades just specialize in samurai type equipment."

"Chikoro-sama, what a cute character design you have!" The man walked over to Chikoro, smiling widely, "Are you impressed with mine!" He struck a ridiculous pose.

"Who-who are you…?" Chikoro asked, "I don't think I know you…"

"WHAT!" the man asked, amazed that Chikoro didn't remember him, even though Iam was sure they had never seen him before. "I recognized you immediately because of your ring!"

"You…you…" Iam pointed, almost not believing herself, "Souchirou…?"

"Yes Iam-san!" Souchirou's character glanced her way, "It is I! Souchirou Hibiki! But here, I like to be called…" He puffed out his chest, as if expecting a fanfare while he did his silly introduction, "Zaiten, the Brilliant and Brave Samurai!"

"Zaiten…?" Orizo asked, "I didn't know you played this game."

"You didn't mention it when we were talking about "The World" at lunch…" Iam pointed out.

"Heh heh," Zaiten chuckled, "That is because I had not started playing this game until yesterday afternoon!"

The entire group sweatdropped, "What level are you?" Iam asked.

"11! Why!"

"EGADS! HOW'D YOU GET THAT HIGH IN ONE DAY!"

"Heh heh, fool!" he laughed, "I spent all night leveling this character so I could party with Chikoro-sama!"

"Who's the fool…?" Orizo asked, facefaulting.

"Well…Zaiten-san," Iam sighed, "We're kind of in a hurry to meet someone, so if you don't mind, we'll be taking our leave."

"Wherever Chikoro-sama goes, I shall follow!" Zaiten announced, grabbing Chikoro's arm to be greeted by a large head smack by Chikoro.

"Hands off! There is zero way I'm going with you!"

"Zaiten…this is a private party, you can't come." Tapping his foot on the ground, Orizo tried to explain.

"LIAR!" Zaiten accused, "YOU JUST WANT TO HAVE CHIKORO-SAMA ALL ALONE SO YOU CAN DO UNMENTIONABLE THINGS TO HER!"

"PERVERT!" Chikoro whacked him across the head once more, leaving a large cyber bump.

"Look, Zaiten, we're leaving!" Iam grabbed her two friends, only to have Zaiten latch onto Chikoro's legs.

"YOU SHALL NOT TELL THE GREAT ZAITEN WHERE HE CAN OR CANNOT GO!"

"IF YOU DON'T GET OFFA ME IN ONE SECOND I'M GONNA TELL YOU WHERE YOU'LL YOU BE – IN THE HOSPITAL!"

"CAN WE PLEASE JUST GO!"

"NOOO, I MUST GO WITH CHIKORO-SAMA!"

"Wow…look at those people over there…causing a big scene…"

"I know…"

"LET ME GO!"

"HE'S WAITING FOR US!"

"I MUST GO WITH MY LOVE!"

"THAT'S IT!" Chikoro grabbed Zaiten and threw him off of her, "FINE! You can go, but I'm not!" She started to walk away, "I'm logging out, he's too creepy!"

"Chikoro, wait!" Iam ran after her, "Please! Zaiten doesn't know the key words; he can't follow us!"

"He'll find a way to follow us," Chikoro said, "I'm not going!"

"You're just making excuses!" Chikoro stopped over the bridge as Iam snapped with the harsh accusation, "You're just scared, so you don't want to go!"

"SO WHAT IF I AM!" Chikoro spun around, tears in her eyes. "SO WHAT IF I'M SCARED!"

"We're all scared!" Iam screamed, "But we have to go anyway! Orizo told me that going is scary, but some things…like letting me go by myself…are scarier! You've got to come!"

"I'M NOT STRONG LIKE YOU AND ORIZO-SAMA!" Chikoro cried, "I'm too scared!"

"You're just cowardly!" Iam snarled, "You just want to save your own hide! WELL THEN FORGET YOU!"

"Wait – Iam!" Chikoro called after Iam, who was now stomping towards the Chaos Gate, but she stopped, her face red, tears flowing down her face, "FINE! LIKE I CARE!" She quickly logged out in a rage.

"Chikoro's gone," Iam said sharply, "Let's go."

"But we can't go without her," Orizo insisted, "C'mon Iam…"

"Yes we can!" Iam snapped, "I really don't care about her…"

"I'll go!" Zaiten piped up, and both Iam and Orizo turned their heads to see him getting up from where Chikoro had thrown him. "There's probably a rare item at this area, so I'll get it and give it to Chikoro-sama!"

"But wa" Orizo started, but Iam cut him off.

"Sure, whatever," she shrugged and input the keywords. "Three heads are better than two."

"Iam!" Orizo whispered, "But what about Kalen!"

"He probably doesn't know anything anyway," Iam sighed, "Let's just get this over with, I'm not in a good mood."

They exchanged member addresses with Zaiten and he joined their party. With that, they warped to the area where the "Black Hacker" she meant, the "Black HACK" would be waiting for them.

"My goodness!" Zaiten exclaimed as they landed in the area, which was covered in ice, and, as usual, completely bugged up. "This is quite odd!"

"Hey, you made it," they heard Kalen's voice talking to them from seemingly nowhere and Iam looked around hastily to find him. "Meet me at B3, kay? I'll be waiting."

"Great," Iam huffed, "He's sending us on errands now, oh well…let's go."

"Who was that!" Zaiten asked, bewildered, "We must have stumbled on an event! And an event means RARE ITEMS FOR CHIKORO-SAMA!"

"Yeah…sure…whatever," Iam chewed the inside of her mouth, "Let's just go."

"Argh…no…this one isn't rare either," Zaiten pouted as he pulled out another "The Death" scroll from the treasure chest of the monster they had just defeated, "I need to find a rare item! And worse of all, this dungeon, although odd in appearance, doesn't seem to be odd in anything else. Especially treasure."

"Almost there," Iam sighed, as if nervous, "We're on B2, Kalen should be on the next level."

"And look," Orizo pointed, "This is the door that leads down to B3."

"Now's the time to prove this guy doesn't know squat," Iam smiled, "Let's head down!"

"W-wait for me!" Zaiten called, "There are still treasure boxes here! They might have rare items for Chikoro-sama in them!"

"OH STUFF IT!" Iam screamed as she whacked him on the head with her spear, "Get a move on already!"

"C-coming…" Zaiten weakly said, rubbing the bump on his head and following the other two down to the last level.

"We made it!" Iam called as they entered a large open room in the dungeon.

"So you have…" Iam and Orizo's ears perked up as they heard a voice that wasn't Kalen's.

"Another player?" Zaiten asked, "I KNEW IT! YOU STOLE ALL THE RARE ITEMS THAT WERE MEANT FOR CHIKORO-SAMA! SHOW YOURSELF SO I MAY DEFEAT YOU KNAVE!"

"You're silly mister!" Came the voice again, a young one that laughed. "Real stupid too!"

"ARRRGH!"

"Zaiten wait…" Iam cautioned, "Who's there!"

"Hmm…but wait…" the voice said again, "One…two…where's the third ring holder! Don't tell me she didn't come, but you brought this bozo along instead?"

"She couldn't come," Iam brandished her spear, "But we'll do fine without her…show yourself."

"I feel real cheated," the voice sighed, "Izaile got to fight all three of you, and I get stuck with only two! No fair!"

"Show yourself!" Orizo commanded, unsheathing his blades.

"Fine, fine, fine, jeez, big kids are so grumpy!" Out of the shadows lept a white and green figure so fast, that Iam couldn't even see it as it kicked her straight across the face, making her back into the wall at an alarmingly high speed.

"Iam!" Orizo screamed and rushed to her side. He looked back and saw that the figure had landed and was smiling a big toothy grin.

"That's what she gets for being mean!" the figure laughed and stuck out his tongue. It was a boy. A small boy with a white long sleeved shirt and matching white vest. He had shorts that were white and brown scruffy hair that was a chestnut brown. He had a headband that was white with green triangular markings, and the same markings lined the rest of his clothing, even his white boots. On his belt were two gauntlet gloves that had spikes on the knuckles.

"Wh-what class is he?" asked Iam, getting up from the wall, "That's an odd weapon."

"He's a fighter," Orizo explained, "It's an advanced class that uses your hands and gauntlets to fight instead of usual weapons. That's why his kick must have affected you so much…even with his small size."

"Hey!" the boy pouted, "I'm not small! I'm in Middle School!"

"Hey kid," Orizo spat, "Are you with Moyotu?"

"Yep!" he laughed, "I'm with Moyotu! She and I are bestest friends! I'm the Fourth Prism Player!"

"You, a kid, are a Prism Player?" Iam asked incredulously.

"And my name ain't kid!" the boy pouted, "It's Koga! K-O-G-A!"

"All right…Koga…what do you want with us?" Iam asked, standing up.

"I'm here to fight you and destroy you," Koga smiled a happy grin, "I've worked super hard to make a really good Data Bug! My best one yet! I'm just a kid, and all the others think I can't handle it, I'll show them!"

"A-A-A Data Bug!" Iam asked, "Where…?"

"Ahh don't worry," Koga waved his hand, "It's not invisible! I'm not like that cheater Izaile! He's so full of himself! I'll bring it out soon."

"Why did you attack those two players!" asked Orizo.

"So that one would put up a message on the boards and attract you guys here," Koga shrugged, "I thought it was obvious."

"You…!" In a flash, Orizo had his hand on Koga's shirt and was holding him up in the hiar, "Didn't your mom ever teach you that putting people in comas is wrong!"

"Moyotu says that we have to!" Koga spat back, "She's always saying that it's a necessity! And I'd believe her over you!" With that, Koga bit Orizo's hand and Orizo dropped him.

"Koga, Moyotu is wrong!" Iam spoke, "Hurting people is wrong no matter what the circumstances!"

"SHUT UP!" In a sudden outburst, Koga screamed and Iam could notice tears in his eyes, "Moyotu isn't wrong! Moyotu's never wrong! I was alone, friendless, and hated, but she never gave up on me! She helped me! You think you know everything when you really know so little! I'M TIRED OF YOUR CRAP!" Koga raised his hand and started to make a decorative pattern in the air. Green 0's and 1's came from his fingers and he started to make a strange circle on the ground. Intricate patterns, laced in green started to form around Koga, enveloping him in a strange warm light. "Come out…come out my creation…come and destroy these fools! Prism Emerald Wo Kai Non Shi, DATA CREATE!" He took a vile out of his bag and added a drop of brownish red liquid that seemed to spread over the insignia.

Out of the circle came a terrifying demon like creature with hair sticking out in sharp and obtuse angles. Its red leering eyes and muscle bound form towered over the three heroes. It was covered in the green flakes as usual and had strange numbers for HP.

"W-WHAT IS THAT!" Zaiten screamed, backing into the wall.

"A Data Bug!" Iam growled, "Just attack it Zaiten, Orizo, keep us healed while Zaiten and I do the main damage!"

"WHAT ARE YOU THINKING!" Zaiten screamed, "It has strange HP!"

"It's infinite…"

"INFINITE?"

"But we can still beat it!" Iam told him, "Just trust me!"

"B-but without Chikoro" Orizo started.

"We've beaten Data Bugs without Chikoro, remember!" she asked him and he slowly nodded, "You only need two rings! ATTACK!"

Afraid, Zaiten charged with Iam and sliced the monster repeatedly. Orizo followed, healing with Health Drinks whenever possible to heal them. All they could do was try an attack while Koga watched, floating in the air.

"You'll die before you can beat it!" he screamed harshly.

"Iam!" Orizo called, "I've only got three Health Drinks left! Do you have any!"

"No!" Iam cried.

"Nor I!" Zaiten said.

"But that means…we're going to die!" Iam told them.

"NOT NECESSARILY!" Orizo screamed and threw his dagger into the monster's side. Over the monster, with the shield that broke, came the words "PROTECT BREAK". "NOW!"

"Right!" Iam screamed and extended her ring. Orizo followed her and they yelled:

"RED AND BLUE DATA DRAIN!"

Nothing…

"…It…it failed…" Iam paused, "What…happened?"

"STUPID!" They heard Koga taunt, "This data bug is way stronger than Moyotu's or Circeca's! You need at least three rings to defeat it!"

"B-but that means…" Iam's eyes were wide, "That we can't win!"

"Not necessarily…" Orizo said once more and pointed, his finger quivering towards the door of the room, where none other than the black clad Prisma stood.

"Hello…" she spoke.

"Prisma!" Iam screamed, "We don't have enough power to beat this Data Bug!"

"I know…" she nodded and then turned to Zaiten, "You are…Zaiten…am I right?"

"Why-why yes…" he nodded, "How are you aware of my name?"

"Come here…" she motioned to him, and he warily tiptoed over to the girl. She took his hand and touched his left middle finger, "This is for you…the power of the Green Data Drain…" When the light of her finger faded, a green ring was on his finger. "Use it wisely…" And with that, she disappeared.

"Za-Zaiten…?" Iam asked, disbelieving, "No way…"

"There's no time!" Orizo told her, "Zaiten, come here!"

"Why should I!" he asked, "And why won't this tacky ring come off!"

"Just extend your finger, point it at the monster and scream, "Red, Blue, Green Data Drain!"" Iam told him.

"If you do it, Chikoro will give you a kiss!" Orizo exclaimed and Zaiten blushed furiously.

"HERE I COME!" He pointed his finger at the monster, and Iam and Orizo pointed next to him. The three yelled together:

"RED, BLUE, GREEN DATA DRAIN!"

Nothing…

"Haha!" Koga laughed, "It seems you need four rings to beat it! How funny!"

"F-four rings…?" Iam asked, "Then we really are doomed…"

"What can we do!" Orizo wondered out loud, "There's nothing we can do!"

"Just keep fighting!" Iam told them, "Maybe we'll weaken it!"

The three launched an all out attack again, but the monster only laid more punishing blows. Orizo used his last Health Drink and Iam grimaced, What…the hell are we going to do!

"Iam!" Orizo cried, "We need a spell to heal ourselves with!"

"I don't have any spell!" Iam cried, tears forming in her eyes, "Orizo, I don't wanna die!"

"Neither do I…" And in a fleeting motion, Iam found herself gathered in Orizo's arms. She paused and blinked, then hugged him too, crying on his shoulder. "Mai…"

"H-Hiromi…" she choked as Zaiten kept the monster at bay. She felt Orizo reaching into his pocket and taking out something. The next thing she knew, she felt something clasp on her wrist. She looked down…and saw the red bracelet from the store. "H-Hiromi…"

"Mai…" he said, "I…I may never get to say this if I don't say it now. I…I think…I think I l"

"EAT THIS!" Iam and Orizo spun around as they saw a bright yellow staff rise in the air, "RAI DON!" It was Chikoro and she had just cast a spell.

"Chikoro!" Iam cried and ran to her friend from Orizo's arms and enveloped her in a hug. "You came!"

"I couldn't leave you behind!" she cried, hugging Iam, "I'm sorry…can you ever forgive me?"

"If you start healing our butts, sure!" Iam laughed.

"But-but I can't heal you unless I'm in your party!" she said, "And there's no more room, right?"

"That's all right!" Iam told her, "I'll disband from the party and fight by myself!"

"But that means I won't be able to heal you!" Chikoro told her, "You'll be in danger!"

"I know…" Iam gave a weak smile, "It's scary…but losing you guys…is even scarier." Chikoro stopped, smiled, and nodded. "I'm disbanding now!"

Orizo quickly invited Chikoro to the party, and she began with a "La Repth!" Zaiten spun around and laughed.

"Chikoro-sama, you came to save me!" He extended his hand and Chikoro gasped.

"That loser is a ring holder!" she asked in disbelief, "I don't believe it…"

"Quick!" Orizo said, "I just made it go into "Protect Break" again! Let's finish it off!"

"Right!" they both nodded and extended their rings, "Ready!"

"Ready!" Orizo nodded.

"Ready!" Zaiten called.

They all extended their rings together, took a deep breath and screamed as one:

"RED, BLUE, YELLOW, GREEN DATA DRAIN!" Out of their rings shot the light and it hit the monster full force, the lights combining to rid the being of its Data Flakes.

"NOW GO!" they yelled and with a full out assault, the monster was easily dispatched of.

"DAMN!" Koga cursed as his monster faded away, "You beat me! I can't believe it!" He growled, "I'll be back, believe you me!" And with that, he faded away.

"Great! He got away!" Iam cursed.

"Umm…Chikoro-sama…" Zaiten twiddled his fingers, "I'll humbly accept that kiss now."

"K-kiss…?" Chikoro asked, "What kiss!"

"Well…I mean Orizo and Iam here were going at it before you came and I just thought that we should get together too, so you wouldn't feel left out." Both Orizo and Iam blushed furiously and Chikoro turned to them, eyes red with rage.

"What-is-the-meaning-of-that!" She asked, ready to kill anyone who gave the wrong answer.

"NOTHING!" Iam insisted, "HE'S LYING!"

"Then what about this "kiss" I owe him…?"

"Oh…uh…that…well…"

"Hey…nice job there," Iam looked up to see none other than Kalen above them, clapping his hands politely, "Defeating that Data Bug was no easy task."

"Why didn't you help us!" Iam asked, "We could've died!"

"Oh please, I saw Miss Chikoro coming, I knew you'd be fine." He made a graceful land and faced them all, "So…we're here. Thanks for getting rid of the bug, now…any questions for me?"

"Question 1," Iam started, "Who exactly are the Prism Players?"

"A ring of ten hackers that have the power to create Data Bugs," Kalen explained, "You saw what Koga was doing. It looks like a magical ceremony, but it's really just clever programming, nothing more. I don't know as much about them as I'd like to…like why they're reeking havoc over the game."

"Question 2," Orizo interrupted, "Who's Prisma?"

"Now that…" Kalen smiled, "Is a mystery that I even I don't know about. All I know is that she is a wandering Goddess of "The World" who for some reason, has chosen you four to defend it."

"Question 3," Chikoro asked, gulping, "Are you…"The Black Hacker"?" Orizo and Iam looked at her and then at Kalen who smiled.

"So, you've heard of me." All three of the teen's eyes widened at his answer, "Yep…that's me."

"Why did you sneak into the Pentagon and all those networks!" Iam asked him, and he paused, his face becoming suddenly stern.

"I was looking for something," he told them, "But I didn't find it."

"But what were yo"

"Next Question…?" he asked and they knew not to bring up the subject again.

"Why is the infection receding after we beat these bugs?" Iam asked, "It doesn't make much sense."

"That's because the pigs at CC Corp haven't started Protecting the Areas…" Kalen said bitterly, "Once they start, and they will start soon…the infection will spread."

"What do you mean?" Orizo asked.

"The Prism Players use the technology that blocks players from going into areas to infect them," Kalen explained, "But soon…once their power grows, they won't need that anymore."

"How can we get into those areas and try and stop the infection!" Iam asked.

"You can't," Kalen said, "You can only slow it down by defeating the Data Bugs in those areas. To get into the areas…you use these…" He pulled out a core with a "T" encrusted in it and handed it to Chikoro, "I believe this belongs to you. Using the right combination of cores will help you to hack through the gates."

"And one more question," Zaiten finally spoke up, "Kind sir, what's up with these odd rings?" He lifted his up and his eyebrow raised. "That's odd…I could have sworn that wasn't there before."

"What wasn't?" Orizo asked and looked at Zaiten's ring. It had a decorated circle encrusted in the green crystal and held the character for "Break" in it. "Hmm…" He looked at his own, and found that he too had a encrusted different circle in his blue ring, with the character for "Power" on it.

Iam and Chikoro examined their rings to find different encrusted circles with the characters for "Dragon" and "Circle" in them respectively. "Your rings changed," Kalen explained, "And they'll change again, once I'd say, 6 or 7 hackers have been found. It seems that Iam has the power to keep the "Ryu Books" (Ryu means Dragon in Japanese), Orizo here can Data Drain regular enemies for cores and other items thus the "Power" to control his own ring, Chikoro is the holder of the Data Cores thus the circle, and it seems that Mr. Zaiten here," he smiled, "Is the one who can hack the gates." (Note: Thanks to the reviewer who gave me this idea. It's cool…I was pondering it before, but you gave me good ideas, thanks!)

"Wait…there are more of us?" asked Iam.

"Yes…" Kalen nodded, "There should be ten in total. You just have to find them." He smiled and waved, "Well, I'm afraid that I have business to attend to, goodbye!" And with that, he gated out.

"I guess that we should gate out too," Chikoro suggested, "I'm tired…"

"Yes…I'm using a Sprite Ocarina," Zaiten sighed, disbanding from the party, "I shall see you all tomorrow then! Goodbye Chikoro-sama!" He gated out quickly and Chikoro smiled at her friends.

"Thanks Iam…you really taught me a lot today…see you tomorrow!" She too left, leaving Iam and Orizo alone.

"Umm…Orizo…?" Iam spoke and he made a small noise to acknowledge he was listening, "Thanks for the bracelet…I love it."

"It-it's just an early Christmas present…that's all," he told her waving his hand, "Well…see you later then…"

"Wait!" she called to Orizo and he stopped, only to be greeted by a kiss on the cheek from Iam. He blushed the color of Iam's armor. "That's your present! Don't worry, I'll get you something else too, I'm not that cheap."

"Actually..." he paused and gulped, "That's fine..." Iam paused, blushing slightly, "See you later."

"Yeah…see you," Iam smiled as he too gated out. She smiled at everything around her, nodded, and used a Sprite Ocarina to gate herself out of the dungeon.

"Hooth!" Mai sighed as she laid down on her bed, completely exhausted from the day, "I can't believe everything that's happened." She noticed that her ring had changed in real life too, and that she still had on that wonderful bracelet. She smiled, and gave it a light kiss... "I wonder what he wanted to tell me back there..."

HOLY COW THAT WAS THE LONGEST CHAPTER I'VE EVER WRITTEN!

MY GOD THAT WAS LONG, 27 PAGES!

I hope you all enjoy it! Especially Souchirou! A cookie to whoever can guess who I based the Ayumi and Souchirou relationship on!

As usual, R&R!

Until then,

Ciao for now!