Disclaimer: I do not own Maple Story….

Authors Note: Sorry for the long wait, I went to Australia for two weeks and then I was sick and then I went to Virginia for a wedding! Then I got writers block….but I still managed to give you Chapter 5! (If it's bad, blame the block!) IF YOU SEE BOLDNESS THEN ITS A SWITCH SCENE. THE LINE THINGY WON'T WORK!

Chapter 5: Meeting

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It was a cold day in Henesys, which was pretty rare for the always sunny town. Not a lot of people where out today, even the monsters kept to themselves. Harsh winds blew and little drops of snow were coming down. Ice covered the ground, making it too hard for any taxi to come to Henesys.

"Geez, my stupid over protective Mom just HAD to teleport me here. I would've been fine walking."

The voice came out of a girl with a black bandana and black sunglasses with a wooden wand.

Yeah, she thought to herself, I'm totally unnoticeable. It's the middle of winter and I'm wearing sunglasses. Nice move Mom.

Her Mom didn't want anyone seeing her blue Angelica-styled hair because not a lot of level 10s have that style so people would think she was rich.

"Mom, there is no problem with them seeing I'm rich!" she shouted to the sky.

Oops….she thought, bad move. It's a good thing no one's here.

And that was a true statement. Looking around, she could not see any one anywhere.

Maybe it's just too cold….she thought. But since when has coldness stopped people from coming out? She wrapped herself in her winter coat and kept walking.

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On the other side of Henesys, a thief and his brother just came through the portal.

"Whoa…where did the sudden coldness come from?" the younger one asked.

"No idea, it was way warmer in Lith Harbor…."

"If I knew it was gonna snow here I would've brought my coat."

"You can always buy yourself one."

"From who? There's no one here. And I bet all the shops are closed."

"Well, aren't you going to get a move on? Your journey awaits." His brother said sarcastically.

"Ha ha ha, aren't you funny." He replied smartly, and started to walk. "Where am I going again?"

"The Hills east of Henesys." He replied.

"Right, where all the easy monsters are, thanks." He waved to his brother who went back into the portal.

I wonder where my parents are…he thought. Probably in some place warm. I bet Sleepywood is warmer than here! His thief clothes were no protection when it came to warmth.

The clouds look different than normal snow clouds, he thought looking at the sky. They are dark, really dark. I wonder if that means….

Bang! He was soon on the ground, his hand on his head. He looked up and saw a girl scrambling to get all her things.

"Here, let me help you." He said, grabbing items and putting them in her book bag.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"My name's Yumi." She said, pulling out her hand for him to shake it. "I'm sorry for banging into you; I guess I was a bit preoccupied."

"Nice to meet you, Yumi, so tell me, why are you out on a day like this."

"That is the same question I could ask you. I'm here because Henesys is a great place to train."

He finished picking up items when he saw a black bandana on the ground.

"Here," he said picking it up, "is this yours?"

Yumi looked up at her hair, finally realizing that he saw her hair the whole time.

"Your hair is blue?" he asked, looking at her strangely, "Is that like, natural color or did you dye it?"

"I dyed it. My natural color is blonde, but blonde hair on me looks bad."

"So you colored your hair…..blue?"

"Umm….yeah."

"I can tell you're lying through your teeth. You did it to annoy your parents didn't you?" he said smirking.

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. Why do you want to know?"

"Good point, I shouldn't be asking you anything. But I just wanted to know why a level 10 would have such a weird hair color."

"Why do you care if I have the hair color blue? It's not your information. It's not like you're my friend or anything. What if I just liked the color blue? You do not need to know!" she said, glaring at him. What was his problem?

"Whoa there, Yumi, calm down a bit. I'm just a very curious guy and when I see something strange," he said pointing to her hair, "then I like to know answers."

"Well why don't you be curious somewhere else?" she said, getting up and walking away. "It was nice to meet you."

He just sat there, what a weird girl. Suddenly, he got an overpowering feeling that there was something dark here. Was it her?

"Wait!" he shouted. "Don't move another step! You'll run into him!"

Yumi stopped, and turned around to face the thief. "Is this some type of joke? I don't see anyone around here."

"Not yet, but they're"

"Right here." She said, cutting him off. Darkness swirled around and the two level 10s were surrounded.

"Do you know them?" he asked Yumi.

"I assumed they were friends of yours." She answered.

"Just keep backing up…." He said.

And so they did, because pretty much it was the only plan they had. It was working pretty well, they were getting farther, and farther away from the black figures, but then they hit a wall.

"Where did this wall come from?" Yumi asked.

"I don't know…it wasn't here a second ago." Then he touched it, "They made it." He pointed at the shadowy figures.

They pointed back. Then they pointed at Yumi. They had picked their targets.

"Yumi, run, get out of here. I think they want…..me."

"And leave you defenseless and alone while I'm safe and sound? Gosh you sound like my Mother. 'Get out there Yumi it's too dangerous.' Well I'm staying, because it's not nice to leave people in trouble."

Yumi smiled at the thief and he smiled back.

"Do you have a plan by any chance?"

"No." then she put her finger on her chin and did a little thinking pose and said, "Well, I know one way to get out but we can't do it."

"Why not?"

"Because we aren't priests or have a priest. Well, they have this skill called Mystic Door. It would transport us to a different town."

"Do you see a Priest around here?"

"No…"

While they were talking the figures moved closer….and closer….then one reached out to grab Yumi…..

"Lucky Seven!"

Stars flew through the air and hit the figures. They turned around, alarmed.

"Savage Blow: Dagger!" Six daggers attacked the figures. The hits were so accurate and so hard that they were forced to retreat.

The fog went away and the two could see their rescuer clearly. It was a Bandit.

"Stay together." Was all he said before he hasted away.

"Well….that was odd." Yumi commented. She turned to look at the thief, but he was already walking away.

"Hey, you, come back here!" she shouted. "Didn't you hear what he said, stay together?"

"I guess we could train together for a little while." He said grouchy. Who was that Bandit?

"Yay! I always wanted someone to train with! Hey, since we're gonna be traveling together, would you tell me your name?"

"Jade."

TO BE CONTINUED!