Does the title make you excited? Because that was the point. Anyway, go ahead and read. I won't hold you up any longer.

CHAPTER 6

COMA

The group quickly warped back to Root Town without going further into the dungeon.

"What was that thing?" asked Magora.

"We've already said, we don't know," said Suzaku.

"Well I wish we did," said Akazu. "That thing freaked me out!"

"Well, I'm tired," said Kite. "I'm logging out."

"Me too," said the rest of them, and so they logged out for the rest of the evening.

When he reached the logout screen, Kite saw there were new posts on the board. He opened them, and then the first one was titled, "Chat Commands".

He opened it.

Subject: Chat Commands

Author: Michoru

People, do we really need Chat Commands? I mean, we can all get by easily without them right? What do you think?

There were a couple of replies.

Subject: RE: Chat Commands

Author: Waffle

Yeah, you're probably right.

Subject: RE: Chat Commands

Author: Yip Yip

I think so too.

Subject: RE: Chat Commands

Author: Jikaryu

Uh huh. I think that's a cool idea.

There was another subject thread on the board and Kite opened it.

Subject: Coma

Author: Ninku

Hi. I just started playing this game yesterday, and my friend Yusuke was showing me around. We went to an area called Delta Beautiful Eternal Melody. It was fine at first but when we opened the treasure chest in the Gott Statue Room saw a large glowing tablet, and it recited a strange poem. Then the area turned into this weird place with green hexagons all over the ground, and then suddenly this weird thing with a red wand appeared. Then put the wand behind my friend and this big glowing thing appeared around its hand. Then it shot these blue things out ofthe glowing thingand they hit my friend and he disappeared. Then I suddenly got warped out of the area by something and then when I got back to root town I had a weird item called "Epitaph of Twilight" and there was no description. Then Yusuke's mom called me and said he had fallen unconscious and was in a coma in the hospital! Does anyone have any information? Please help me. Oh! I almost forgot! When I used the item I heard that same strange poem. Here it is:

Yet to return, the shadowed one

Who quests for the Twilight Dragon

Rumbles the Dark Hearth,

and Helba, Queen of the Dark,

has raised finally her army.

Apeiron, King of Light, beckons,

at the base of the rainbow they meet.

Against the abominable wave,

together they fight.

Alba's lake boils

light's great tree doth fall

power-all now to droplets turned

in the temple of Arche Koeln,

returns to nothing,

this world of shadowless ones.

Never to return, the shadowed one

Who quests for the Twilight Dragon.

"Tha'ts scary," said Kite to himself. "I wonder if it's true or a hoax."

He returned to his desktop and saw he had new mail. It was from Tsukasa. He opened it.

Dear Kite,

Sorry I was rude to you when we first met. I'm just not good at meeting new people. I'd like to get to know you better. Let's go to a dungeon sometime. How about D Great Smiling Gate? I hear there's a rare item there.

Kite decided to reply.

Dear Tsukasa,

Yeah! That sounds fun! I'd like to get to know you too. How about we meet tomorrow at three or so? I'll see you then.

He then decided that as long as he was on his desktop, he'd mail his Michoru.

Dear Michoru,

I read your post on the board. Also, did you read the thing by Ninku about the coma victim? Scary, isn't it? And didn't the guy say that the creature had a red wand? Do you think it's the same creature that attacked us at Bursting Passed Over Aqua Field? I mean, it's possible. Anyway, I'll see you online tomorrow. I promised I'd meet another friend at three so you can go ahead and level up at another field while I'm gone.

He then shut off his computer and lay down on his bead, then shut his eyes and fell asleep.

He woke up the next day, a Sunday, and went to the kitchen downstairs. His brother, Kenji, was already eating breakfast.

"Morning, Kenji," said Kite.

"Morning," he said through a mouthful of oatmeal.

"Is there any oatmeal left?" asked Kite.

"Yeah," said Kenji. "It's in that pot on the stove."

Kite went and put some of the oatmeal into a bowl and then started eating it.

"Hey, is The World fun?" asked Kenji.

"Yeah, it is," said Kite. "Why?"

"Well, I was just thinking, I might like to play it," said Kenji.

"I'm not stopping you," said Kite. "But you'll have to get your own copy."

"Well, I have the money," said Kenji. "I've been saving for a couple of months. I'm planning to head to the game store later today. Do you want to come?"

"Sure," said Kite.

"OK," said Kenji. "I'll call you when it's time to go. By the way, what's your character's name again?"

"Kite," he told his brother.

"I like that name. Can I call you that?" he asked.

"Sure, if you want to," said Kite.

"Cool," said Kenji.

"Anyway, I'm going to see if any of my friends are online right now. Call me when you're ready to leave," said Kite.

He walked to his room and switched on his computer. He saw he had new mail. He opened his mail and saw a message from Helba.

Kite,

You need to understand the importance of the bracelets that you and your friends have. They are the key to restoring balance within The World. Also, when you use the Data Drain, a virus spreads slightly throughout the system. If you use it too often, it'll be like Pluto's Kiss all over again. Occasionally, when you Data Drain a monster, you find a virus core. These are objects that you use to open up protected areas. I will contact you soon.

Helba

Kite closed the email and logged into The World. His friends were there.

"Did you get an email from Helba as well?" asked Michoru.

"Yeah," said Kite. "My brother says he's going to buy The World later. So we may have to bring him along at some point."

"That's OK," said Akazu.

"Hey, I was wondering," said Suzaku. "You all saw the post on the board by Ninku, right?"

"Yeah," they said.

"Well why don't we go to Delta Beautiful Eternal Melody? I think that from the messages we got from Helba, with these bracelets, we become important. And I think we're going to do great things in this world, and this sounds like a good place to start."

"You're probably right," said Magora. "We should go there."

"Yeah," said Akazu. "Let's head over there right now."

"Oh, wait," said Kite. "My brother's calling me. I've got to go. I'll see you in ten minutes. Don't go without me!"

Kite quickly logged out of The World and ran to the game store with Kenji. They looked in the RPG section and found a copy of The World that was discounted. They bought it as well as a user's manual and then walked home.

"Hey Kenji," said Kite as they were walking.

"Yeah?" he said.

"Have you thought much about your character class?" he asked.

"Um, not really," said Kenji. "What are they again?"

"Twin Blade, Long Arm, Wavemaster, Heavy Blade, Heavy Axeman and Blademaster."

"Hmm..." said Kenji, thinking. "Heavy Blade. That sounds like fun."

When they got back to their house, Kenji installed the game on his computer while Kite logged back in to his.

"All right, guys, my brother's installing the game. He should be here any minute," said Kite. "In the meantime, I'm going to buy some items."

Kite ran down the cobblestone streets and down some stairs to the item shop, where he stocked up on healing items. When he got back, there was still no sign of Kenji, but then three rings flowed down in front of the chaos gate and standing in the middle was a boy in a tight, sleeveless black shirt and a tight, short, kilt. He had long, dark green hair and green eyes. He wore black cloth on his forearms and shins. His feet were bare, and he carried a large katana on his back. He finished the look with a mark on his thigh, a red serpent eating its tail circling a six-pointed star.

"Um..." he said, observing his surroundings. "Wow, this place is beautiful."

"Hey," said Kite. "You sound like my brother. Are you Kenji?"

"KITE?" he said in shock.

"I can't believe that's you!" said Kite. "I never thought you'd go for a look like that! Your character is unbelievable! You look great!"

"So do you!" said Kenji. "You look so different from the real you!"

"OK, I hate to cut this short," said Michoru, "but I believe we were going to a dungeon?"

"Oh, yeah," said Kite. "Here's my member address."

Everyone exchanged member addresses with Kenji.

"OK, it's my turn to be party leader," said Suzaku.

"OK," they all said. Suzaku invited them all to join his party and they warped.

DeltaBeautiful Eternal Melody

They arrived in a lush, beautiful field at night, with rain silently falling from the skies. A beautiful tune was playing in their ears.

"Oh, man!" said Kenji. "This place is fabulous!"

They eventually made their way to the dungeon, down to the Gott Statue room. When they opened the chest, a haze enveloped them and when it cleared, they found themselves in the same area where Aura had given them the Book of Twilight and was Data Drained. The strange creature with the red wand appeared.

"Kite, what's happening?" screamed Kenji frantically.

"I don't know," Kite admitted. He was scared, too. They all were.

The creature looked down at them and pointed his wand at Kenji. He threw it and it hit Kenji in the stomach, and he was raised up on the wand. The creature held out his hand and the bracelet appeared.

"Kite!" pleaded Kenji. "Help me! I'm scared! I tried to reset my computer but I can't move! Help me!"

Kite noticed that Kenji was crying. But there was nothing he could do. He had to sit there, watching in horror, as that thing Data Drained his brother. The blue beams collided with Kenji, and there was one, long scream of agony before he disappeared.

"Damn you!" cried Kite. "I'll kill you!"

He ran forward and raised his staff into the air, when suddenly Helba's staff was hurled into the ground and they warped out of the area.

As soon as they got back to root town Kitethrew his headset onto the deskwithout logging out and ran into Kenji's room. He was lying unconscious on the ground. Kite grabbed his limp body in his arms and held him, crying. He didn't know how long he sat there like that, but he did know one thing. He was on a mission now.

Isn't that sad? Poor Kenji! (pp) Oh, well. Find out what happens next! And review! I want reviews!