To Lily: Thank you for your kind review! I was honestly thinking I wasn't going to get one! Yes, this does take place right before game three so yes, it absolutely is a "it gets worse before it gets better." and I plan on capitalizing on that to the fullest. Lol. Still, Thank you so much for your kind words as it makes me feel better about Silabus's backstory in particular!
Ryou quietly pulled the blinds shut to engulf his hotel room in some much needed darkness. Once the hotel room was dark enough, he sat down on the bed and grabbed his M2D. He inspected the headset just to make sure there weren't any cracks or outward damage. When he had ripped it off a week ago he never bothered to check it over. Once he was sure it looked fine; he put it on over his eyes and turned it on.
The screen before him flickered for a moment and his heart skipped a beat fearful that he had damaged it internally. Thankfully, after another violent flicker it straightened itself up and he was met with the usual homescreen.
A frown fell on Ryou's face as he looked at his background. It was a screenshot he had taken of Silabus and Gaspard at Shop Acorn helping the copious amount of players that had swarmed them after Haseo (and Silabus for that matter) won the Demon Palace Tournament. It was just a pretty shot that he couldn't help but to take it and make it his background. (Not that he'd ever tell them that.)
Haseo moved on to his Email almost immediately just so he was no longer looking at that picture for the time being.
There were a lot of emails waiting for Haseo to read. Most were asking him if he was doing alright as it's been a while since his last login. Even Antares got into the mix. Then came Gaspard's emails. There were four in total. He hadn't read any emails yet, but he could tell just by the subject line that in each email the little beast was getting more and more distressed as the days of silence passed him by.
The emails, when Haseo finally opened them, weren't much better.
To: Haseo
From: Gaspard
Subject: A bug?
Hey, Haseo! I don't mean to bug you, but whenever you get online again can you check to see if it says Silabus is online for you too? It says he's online but he's not answering any of my messages! So, I'm wondering if my computer is glitching?
From that one email it repeats with Gaspard growing more and more concerned for Silabus no longer answering him, to Haseo being quiet and not answering his messages. The last message Gaspard sent to Haseo had to be the saddest.
To: Haseo
From: Gaspard
Subject:...
I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I know you want to be left alone. I get that, but…I have to know… does Silabus not want to be my friend anymore? Can you just tell me that? I figured you might know since you two are always running off together without me and…
I'm sorry. I'll leave you alone…
"Oh, Gaspard…" Haseo was mentally kicking himself in the ass. Gaspard was insecure and Haseo knew this and yet he left Gaspard alone for a week while Silabus was gone…
'I'll make it up to him. I swear it.' He decided before he finally put his plan into action. His plan? Talk to Kuhn and Atoli first. They should be the first to know what happened. So, he sent them both a very short and to the point email asking them to meet him at Delta Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground.
He backed out of his emails after that.
Then, he scrolled all the way the to The World and just paused before he hit the login button. His hand lightly shook for a moment before he finally hit the button. Haseo was officially back into The World.
The first thing to greet him was the warm colors and lively atmosphere of Dol Donna. Haseo actually kind of missed Dol Donna during his time away from The World. Still, as much as he wanted to stay and soak up the nice atmosphere he didn't want the others to see him Online, and he get bombarded with messages from his peers and friends asking him where he's been. No, he spun on his heel and tapped on the warp gate. From there he warped to Mac Anu and then immediately warped intil Delta Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground.
The soft music of the are filled his ears and Haseo looked at the haunting cathedral. 'It's always here where bad things seem to happen, isn't it?' He could only think as he started the trek towards the cathedral. It was quiet, serene, and just all together… heartbreaking. As Haseo knew the news he was about to deliver was going to break both Atoli and Kuhn.
Walking inside the cathedral; Haseo's footsteps echoed around him as he spotted the Tri-edge sign. The sign that Ovan engraved there when he PK'd Shino. "I thought it couldn't get any worse at that moment… god…" He put his arms on the bars blocking off the sign and podium in question. "...how wrong I was…" He whispered and lowered his head.
The doors opened only seconds later. "Haseo!" Atoli chirped with happiness as she started running towards him and she wasn't alone.
"Haseo, buddy! I was getting worried!" Kuhn smiled as he leisurely walked up to him. His posture and demeanor made Haseo frown a little.
'Has he not noticed Silabus? If that's the case then either Gaspard never once tried to contact him, or he never tried to get into contact with either of them during the week I was gone.' He thought; a tad peeved at both of those ideas. Then again, Kuhn distanced himself from Silabus and Gaspard-
'For the very reason you've summoned him here.'
"Haseo?" Atoli's voice was laced with concern as she tilted her head at him once she was close enough. Her eyes mirrored this concern and he knew it only increased tenfold when he turned away from her to look at the tri-edge sign.
"Haseo? What's happened?..." Kuhn's demeanor changed once he noticed how down Haseo actually looked.
There was a pregnant pause between the trio. "...Have…either of you talked to Gaspard?" Haseo finally inquired.
"Gaspard?" Atoli whispered in response as she paused to wrack her brain. "Only once. He asked me if there was a bug involving Silabus's name; if it said he was online for me. It had and I told him that. That was it"
"Yeah, same. Why?" Kuhn and Atoli walked up to him.
Haseo finally turned back around to face them. He kept his eyes shut; unable to stare at them, to look at their faces when he would deliver the blow. "It's Silabus… he… guys… he's gone. He's a lost one."
"That's not funny, Haseo," Kuhn snarled and even though Haseo couldn't see it, he knew that Kuhn's fists were most likely balled. "I-I figured you of all people-"
Atoli had the opposite reaction of Kuhn. She gasped. "No!" That cry alone broke Haseo's heart. "It's not true!" Haseo could hear her violently whipping her head side-to-side trying so hard to deny it. "Not Silabus!"
'That's right. She would often message Silabus… god, how many messages had she tried to send him asking for reassurance or advice? The same as Gaspard? More?'
Haseo gasped when his collar was grabbed and he was forced to look at an enraged Kuhn. "Tell me you're joking!" Kuhn suddenly demanded, his face twisted in rage, and Haseo saw tears in Kuhn's yellow eyes. "Just-" A sob erupted from his mouth. Haseo felt his own tears start to well up, no doubt his character emulated this. When Kuhn saw the tears in Haseo's eyes he leaned his head down so his forehead was resting against Haseo's shoulder. "-Just say it's a joke! Please…" He whimpered while lightly knocking his fist against Haseo's other shoulder.
"I'm…I'm sorry!" Haseo whined while leaning down and letting out his own sob. "I couldn't save him. I tried- god how I tried. But…" He bit back another sob threatening to escape. "I'm sorry…" He repeated.
Kuhn started to shake against Haseo. "...how?..." Kuhn whispered so softly that Haseo almost didn't hear him at first. Haseo felt Atoli's hand on his back as she leaned in and hugged him and Kuhn at the same time. Tears pouring out of her own eyes as she was biting her lip.
"My best bet is that… he was PK'd, like Alkaid and like Shino… He- he emailed me an area word… I got there and… he was right at the gate. He was right there! And… he was fading… he vanished in my arms." Haseo shook against his too friends while he tried his best to suppress his growing sobs. His shoulders shook while he wrapped his arms around his stomach. "I'm so sorry, Kuhn. I really tried to protect both him and Gaspard." Haseo whispered.
"..." Kuhn only gripped Haseo tighter, so tight that the shaking was more apparent now as Kuhn was trying to control himself; while hiccuping sobs escaped his mouth. Atoli let out a loud cry, probably one of the loudest Haseo ever heard while she buried her face against his chest and continued to weep.
"He- he…" Atoli couldn't bring herself to form a sentence before she slowly sank down to her knees, finally letting go of Haseo and Kuhn alike. Then her sobs became distant and Haseo realized that the real Atoli, the woman behind the player, had taken off her headset to cry a little more comfortably. Her sobs were loud and heart breaking.
Kuhn suddenly fell to the ground just the same as Atoli. Unlike Atoli, the real Kuhn didn't take off his headset. "Dammit!" He punched the ground. "Dammit!" He punched the ground again as it was clear his anger was getting dangerous. "Dammit! Dammit! DAMMIT!" He roared in rage and there was a distance Thump! The real Kuhn no doubt hitting something in anger.
Then… silence. Say for weeping and sniffles from all three them. Haseo soon fell to his knees just the same as the other two. "..." Ryou brought his hand up to wipe tears away and Haseo mirrored this movement. "I'm going to find who did it… and I'm going to make them pay." Haseo finally spoke after a long while of weepy silence.
Kuhn then spoke, his voice low. "...how long has he been a lost one?"
"...A week now."
"You rat bastard!" Kuhn all but snarled now. His tear-stain face twisted in unjust anger. "You knew this whole time! And not only did you not bother to tell any of us you- you went away! How could you be so selfish!"
"Kuhn!" Atoli gasped finally back from her crying. Her voice was shaky and laced with sadness, but she still sounded upset at him. "I know you're angry but you can't take your anger out on him!"
"He's right," Haseo agreed with Kuhn full-heartedly. "I never should have left for as long as I had! It was stupid and it was selfish… I… just… I couldn't face you guys… but I got a wake-up call and I'm back now. That's all that matters."
"..." Kuhns anger slowly dissipated as his shoulders slumped. "...I'm sorry… I-... I need some time alone." He whispered before standing up.
"Take as much time as you need." Haseo whispered and Atoli nodded. Kuhn turned and walked out of the cathedral.
Once it was just Atoli and Haseo, Haseo sat back against a pew and brought his hand to his face. Once his hand was against his face he only shook his head. "... I'm going to get him back." He promised Atoli after a few moments of silence.
Atoli put her hand on top of Haseo's. "We're going to get him back. Him, Alkaid, and Shino!" She promised and Haseo looked at Atoli before he took her hand into his own.
"Yeah, we are."
To: Haseo
From: Kuhn
Subject: …
I wanted to say; I'm sorry. My reaction was a bit unfair towards you. I never really thought about the fact that Silabus was in your arms. You deserved to grieve. Although, I'm still upset. More than upset- pissed actually. This was the reason why I felt like I should leave Silabus and Gaspard behind. In the end it did nothing as Silabus still got taken away. I also feel foolish. Gaspard asked if Silabus's name said he was online and I didn't put two and two together. I just assumed that maybe Silabus wanted some time to himself.
How are you going to tell him?
To: Kuhn
From: Haseo
Subject: Re:...
I don't blame you for being upset. I think if the situation were reversed I would have been just as upset if not more. As for Gaspard; I want to talk to him alone. I know you're close to him, but I feel like he should hear about what happened to Silabus from me and me alone.
To: Haseo
From: Kuhn
Subject: Re: Re: …
I hope you know what you're doing. You have to be gentle about this, Haseo. Gaspard, as you know, is fragile. Once he learns about what happened to his best friend he's going to be a wreck. He might even quit The World because of it. Are you prepared for that?
To: Kuhn
From: Haseo
Subject: Re:Re:Re:...
I'm aware and I've already prepared myself for what's to possibly come. I'm going to do my best even if I won't be perfect. I do simply ask that if he comes to you after the fact; that you would possibly be a shoulder for him to cry on?
To: Kuhn
From: Haseo
Subject: Re:Re:Re:Re:...
What kind of friend would I be if I wasn't one? I'll be there for him the best I possibly can. I can promise you that.
A loud sigh left Ryou's mouth as he fell back on the hotel bed. He then looked up at the ceiling. He had taken his M2D off for the time being and was now just scrolling through forums once he exited out of his email.
He was going to talk to Gaspard tomorrow after he, Ryou, got back home. He was scanning the forums tonight for something special for the little beast. Something to 'soften the blow' so to say. Deep down Ryou knew that no amount of rare items will soften this blow he was about to give Gaspard. Still, it was something. Even if it was something small. 'I wish you were here, Silabus. If it were someone else that fell into a coma, Me or Kuhn for example, you'd know what to do and how to calm Gaspard down…'
Ryou rubbed at his tired eyes, yet still, he kept looking through the forums. Scrolling down and down through complete and utter nonsense until he found the perfect item.
He didn't make it home until around two PM the next day. Ryou was anxious the whole train ride. He kept thinking about what he was going to say and, more importantly, how he was going to say it.
When he walked through the door he gave his parents a quick greeting before immediately rushing to his bedroom. Swiftly he grabbed his M2D from his backpack while his leg started to bounce up and down anxiously. He plugged his M2D in to charge while he played, which was good timing because the battery was close to dying anyways. Once everything was plugged in and looked like it was functioning, he put the M2D over his eyes.
"Okay… I'm ready."
To: Gaspard
From: Haseo
Subject: Come adventuring with me.
Sorry for not answering your messages. This last week has been hectic and I want to make it up to you. Meet me at the warp gate in Dol Donna. I have an area that I think will suit you best. It'll just be the two of us. Okay? Besides, there's something important I need to talk to you about. Alone.
He had sent that to Gaspard. By the time Ryou had finished reading the latest news article he got a reply back.
To: Haseo
From: Gaspard
Subject: Re: Come adventuring with me.
I'm glad to hear from you! I was getting worried! Of course I'll go adventuring with you! I'll be waiting at the chaos gate!
"It's go time." Ryou said out loud before he zoomed out of his emails and scrolled to The World. He logged on in record time.
Haseo was looking inside of the dome at Mac Anu and he pulled at an earlobe. He then abruptly turned towards the Chaos gate where he immediately warped into Dol Donna.
The first thing to greet him was not the happy lively town that he's grown accustomed to over the past while, but rather he was greeted with the terrified cries of Gaspard.
"Leave me alone!" Gaspard all but wailed as he ran around the area. His arms out in front of him as it looked like he was trying to get away from someone, and he was. Haseo watched as another beast, one a little more generic looking and dressed in green, was chasing Gaspard around like it was a game of tag.
"C'mon, little brother! Give me your member address!" The other beast creepily laughed as he tried to get to Gaspard. "I gave you mine!"
"And I deleted it!"
"Oh that's mean!"
'Oh. It's Tanu.' Haseo felt his nose scrunch up once he realized who was chasing Gaspard. It wasn't a secret that Tanu had a thing for beast characters. He was proud of this too. It also wasn't a secret that the reason why Tanu had given up on Gaspard was because he found Silabus creepy. It almost made Haseo laugh for anybody to see Silabus as creepy. 'He must have noticed Silabus's absence, the cretin.'
"Waaaah!" Gaspard cried out as Tanu continued his chase. Which ended in Gaspard being cornered against an invisible wall, stopping players from accidentally jumping from the cliff, right beside the Chaos Gate.
"It's just a member address!"
"Silabus!"
"I haven't seen him for a while! Does he not like you anymore? That's a shame, I'll never abandon you like he had!"
Haseo heard enough. "Hey-" He didn't even give Tanu the chance to flee. Haseo reached around and grabbed Tanu by his green cloak and hoisted the little beast up high in the air. "-He said leave him alone!" He snarled in Tanu's face. "Now do us both a favor and-" Haseo threw Tanu on to the ground so harsh he was surprise he didn't damage the beast's health. "Leave! Before I do something I might regret later on!"
Haseo didn't want to admit it, but he enjoyed taking just a bit of his anger out on Tanu.
Tanu, on the other hand, learned one important lesson. That Haseo's ire was not to be tested. His face looked shocked and his jaw was dropped just slightly and for a moment he looked like he wanted to fight it… but he decided better against it. "I-...This isn't over!" Tanu suddenly roared in indignation before turning tail and running.
"... Thank you…" Gaspard gave a weak sigh as he peeled himself from the invisible wall. "He ambushed me.. and usually Silabus keeps him away, but…" He trailed off for obvious reasons.
"... are you ready? Or is there anything you need to get before going?" Haseo had asked in an attempt to change the subject. Gaspard caught on to this, but didn't say anything about it.
"I'm ready."
"Great!" Haseo then invited Gaspard into his party. Gaspard accepted seconds later.
"Did you want me to heal since we don't have a third member?"
"... no. I should have plenty of potions."
"Great!"
God, both of them were trying to be faux cheerful. It was almost pitiful. They were both trying to be happy for the other and it was showing in their fake tones and even faker smiles. 'He has to know this is about Silabus.' Haseo thought he was approaching the Chaos gate and went to his bookmarks where he had saved a set of words that, if the forums were right, granted them a nice reward at the end of this dungeon.
It had started out as quiet and tense. Gaspard was cautiously watching Haseo, almost like he was staring at a stranger. But, the farther up they went the less tense the beast became as he seemed to loosen up. Haseo watched, rather fondly, as Gaspard chased around a couple of Chim-Chims in circles; his stubby little legs unable to keep up with their fast pace.
They fought monsters together, and Haseo was quick to note that a lot of Gaspard's typed messages were often just ellipses say for when he needed a spell. They even managed to PKK a PK trying to hurt an innocent player. It was all rather fun, say for the obvious unspoken tension between them. Up they went, the dungeon in question having a total of four floors.
The last floor being the beast temple. It was when they were approaching the treasure chest did Haseo hang back for a moment. "Er… why don't you go a head and open the chest first. Then we'll get to what we need to talk about." Haseo encouraged.
"You don't want the treasure?" Gaspard tilted his head as he looked back at Haseo.
"Nah… I don't need it. My inventory is full anyways." A lie, but Gaspard didn't need to know that. Besides, Haseo was never going to claim this treasure anyways.
Gaspard hummed thoughtfully, but did as requested. He walked up and kicked the chest. "Oh wow!" He gasped out, showing the most emotion than he had during their whole adventure. "Haseo! I got a Crimson VS card! It's super rare!"
"Hey, what luck!" Haseo smiled as he walked up to Gaspard.
"..." Gaspard's facial expression changed in the snap of a finger. It went back to forlorn as he looked at Haseo. "Haseo… what happened to Silabus? Is he mad at me?" Gaspard's impossibly large puppy-eyes seemed to have gotten bigger as he looked at Haseo.
Haseo gave a sigh while he crossed his arms over his chest. "Gaspard…I don't think it's scientifically possible for Silabus to ever be angry-"
'Yuuichi Morino on the other hand…'
"-But- but it's been saying he's been online for a whole week now and he hasn't been answering any of my messages!" Gaspard shook his head from side to side as he loudly yelled. "Had I made him mad by asking him to join a quest with Prios? I know he mentioned that Piros is a little too loud for his liking but he assured me he was fine with Prios in a party because he makes me happy and- and- and-"
Gaspard was getting close to hyperventilating and Haseo got down to one knee. He then put his hand on Gaspard's shoulder. "-Calm down." His voice was calm and he kept his tone even. Haseo then sucked in a slow and slightly shaky breath. "Gaspard… Silabus isn't mad… despite what his online status says, he's actually not online."
"Huh?" Gaspard whimpered. "Meaning he's actually been offline this whole time? Has my game been-been glitching?"
"...Not exactly… Gaspard, what I'm about to tell you isn't going to be easy…"
Gaspard was already shaking his head. Like he knew exactly what Haseo was going to say. His green eyes were already starting to fill with tears. "N-no…" He whimpered.
"Gaspard, Silabus, he… he won't be coming back despite what his status says. He… he fell into a coma. I'm sorry, he got doll syndrome-"
"No!" Gaspard wailed. The heartbreak was real and clear in Gaspard's voice. Gaspard let out another cry. Gaspard moved forward slightly and Haseo responded in kind by pulling Gaspard into a hug. "Not Silabus! Not Silabus!"
"I'm sorry." Haseo whispered. "I wish it wasn't him either." He patted Gaspard's back. Another heartbreaking cry left Gaspard's mouth. His cries were loud. So loud that Haseo was afraid for Gaspard's mic.
"Ho-How'd it happen?! How'd it happen?!" Gaspard shook his head vigorously against Haseo's shoulder while he continued to cry. His animated tears falling below before vanishing into cyberspace.
"He was… PK'd by the wrong person from what I managed to figure out…"
Gaspard cried at that as he now pulled away from Haseo. It seemed like Gaspard was trying to speak, but he never formed a sentence between his shaky crying breaths.
"I can't-!" Gaspard finally howled out between his sobs. "I can't!" Then, Gaspard rushed to the warp gate and before Haseo could stop him, he was gone.
'Yeah, I saw it going like that.' Haseo sadly thought as he rubbed at the back of his neck. "Don't you worry, Gaspard, I'm going to bring Silabus and the rest of the lost ones back. I promise you!... I promise…"
Kouta Maki had logged out of The World almost immediately when he got to Dol Donna. Once he was out of the game, Kouta took his M2D off and buried his face in his arms on top of his desk. Then he cried. He violently cried at the lost of his best friend. 'That's it,' He thought in his sadness. He grabbed on to his shirt sleeves in an attempt to keep himself grounded; to avoid a panic attack. 'I'm done with The World.' His sobs became more haggard as his grief increased.
"What about you? Would you ever quit The World if the cases get any higher?" Gaspard's own voice resounded through his mind as he happily spoke to Silabus last.
Silabus had hummed softly contemplating Gaspard's question before answering back with: "Personally? No. I think I'm staying until the day they inevitably shut the servers down. Even if I'm the last person. I just love The World so much."
Kouta sniffled as he remembered that conversation. Sitting up just a little bit, he wiped some of the copious amount of tears from his eyes. His breath hitched as a sob caught in his throat. 'He was PK'd…'
Some selfish player felt the need to PK Silabus… why? Just for the fun of it? Knowing that they'd be putting him in a coma?...
'It's not fair… It's not fair!'
Sadness slowly morphed inside of Kouta. His emotions changing at that very moment as he remembered his friend's always smiling face. The way Silabus would always be there for him whenever Gaspard needed his support at that moment. 'I need to be there for him now.' Kouta realized as his body almost seemed to turn rigid as he looked at his computer.
He felt another emotion start to stir in the pit of his gut as his face morphed into a scowl. His hands shook slightly and he felt… angry.
'No, I can't quit… I'm going to find out who did this to you, Silabus. Just you wait…'
As I was writing this I realized I accidentally took Haseo's motivation for Shino being PK'd and gave it to Gaspard. But understand something. This is about grief and how different people will handle it. I, personally as canon doesn't state otherwise, believe that Gaspard, yes, Gaspard will want revenge for what happened to his best friend. Will he actually find out who did this? And will he go through with it are the big questions.
We'll see. :)
