Chapter 4 Encounters
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Twilight arrived in Dol Dona to tell Haseo about the meeting mentioned in the favor Recht gave her back in Lumina Cloth. She planned to get that over with, take a quest, and write a letter to Princess Celestia about her research on The World. It was a simple plan, and hopefully it would please her mentor. After all, studying the workings of another world isn't exactly an easy task. Especially in regards to the online game: The World: R:2. Using her time wisely she figured out how to send Haseo an email telling him to meet her in Canard's HOME so she could tell him. She arrived at the entrance to Canard's HOME the quickest way possible (warp point) and saw her friend in demonic-looking black armor there as well.
"Oh, you're here. Great." She said to him.
"You said you wanted to tell me something important, right? Then let's go inside." Said Haseo.
"Yes, let's." They went inside so other players wouldn't be able to overhear them and consequently make plans to ambush Haseo. The chances were slim sure, since they all probably thought he was still level 133. That or they just knew of his skill as a player and somehow figured out that he de-leveled. Either way however, they didn't take the risk.
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Once inside Haseo's guild's HOME, they quickly went straight to the point with their conversation. Haseo turned around and asked Twilight the simplest question a person could possibly ask in this situation. "So, Twilight, what did you want to tell me?" He asked.
"Well, basically, a player wants to meet you at Θ Hidden Forbidden Sacrament to talk about something. I don't know the details of why, but he said it was something important and had to do with his job." She explained.
"What's the player's name?"
"His name is Recht. He was the player Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and I fought in the arena."
"Huh. And you agreed to the favor because...?"
"I was just doing what any other player would've done in that situation. Is that a problem?"
"A player could pk you at any time when your not in town y'know."
"Well of course it's possible. But he just seemed like a person we can trust."
"I don't know. You just met him, right?"
"Well, yeah you're right about that. But we haven't known you for very long either. But we trust you and you trust us. Right, Haseo?" Asked Twilight, thoughtfully smiling at the slightly scowling boy in black armor.
"...Whatever." He said to Twilight, in defeat.
"Well... anyway, good luck with that meeting." She bid him.
"Right." Said Haseo, walking out of the HOME, past the central part of town, and to the chaos gate. He entered the keywords to Θ Hidden Forbidden Sacrament, and warped away.
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Haseo warped into the area and walked forward a little bit. He started to reminisce. This area, known in The World's backstory as the Great Temple of Caerleon Medb, held a very special significance to the black clad adept rogue in more ways than one. For one, it was the area that he acquired his scythe, Ticking Death, one of the Lost Weapons, which embodied the lost power of Epitaph User characters. For his It was also the last area that he saw his good friend, Phyllo. He walked to the pedestal were his lost weapon once was; taking in the surroundings and reminiscing the battles he and his party members went through to get their Lost Weapons. After a few more seconds of waiting for the player he was supposed to be meeting, he heard a voice. A woman's voice. "Haseo, you're here." It was familiar to the adept rogue. He turned around to see a see a woman with revealing red clothing, pink hair tied into two large ponytails, and glasses. This woman was one of his colleagues. The Epitaph User for the seventh phase: Tarvos, the Avenger.
"Pi?" Said Haseo. "What are you doing here?"
"Recht had other things to take care of at the last minute in the real world. I'm here in his place." Replied Pi, maintaining her professionalism.
"So, what did he want to tell me?"
"Recht meant to give you information regarding the incident involving you a while back."
"You mean when I was trapped in The World?"
"Right. He's conducting an investigation into it. And what he found was... interesting."
"What?" Wondered Haseo, kinda curious himself seeing as how he saw it firsthand.
"Apparently whoever modified that area's coding lives in the same part of Tokyo as you."
"...Wait, how do you know I live in Tokyo?" He asked, suspicious.
"I believe Kuhn told you in one of his emails." Right. Haseo remembered in one of Kuhn's emails. He told him that Pi was probably using her admin rights to search for them. To Haseo it looked like she'd found them.
"Is it someone I know?" Inquired Haseo.
"I'm not quite sure. But it's possible."
"Is there any other info I should know about?"
"Yes. There is also a possibility that the hacker is currently playing the game on another account. Be on your guard and use your Avatar sparingly." Warned Pi, annoying Haseo somewhat with giving him warnings he didn't really need anymore.
A few seconds later, Haseo received notice of a new email from the typical message on his screen that was displayed should a new email arrive. He said his goodbyes to Pi and walked toward the platform in the center of the temple and warped back to Dol Dona. Since the only place you can log out in The World is in a town. Upon arriving in said town, he immediately logged out to check his inbox.
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Upon returning to the real world Ryou checked his email. He found only one new message. It was from Applejack. The subject was, 'Howdy Haseo'. Ryou checked it. It said:
Howdy, Haseo. It was really fun, going on that first adventure. Albeit really dangerous and not something I'd want my sister to be in on hehehe... Do you want to go on a quest? It's called Hunter's Work. The others are either offline or busy. So I'm inviting you. I'll let you decide the third person to invite. See you there!
Applejack.
(A quest, huh? Well this is new. Let's invite Applejack and someone else, and take the Hunter's Work quest.) Ryou selected The World icon on his desktop and logged into the game again. For his first quest taken with a pony.
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When he logged back into The World, Haseo invited Applejack and someone else into his party. When said pony player arrived, she saw the other player Haseo had invited for this quest. The player looked like a girl, but she couldn't quite tell either way, and was rather short. She... or he, was dressed in purple and green harlequin-like attire with an exposed midriff, an oversized jester hat with sun and moon ornaments on the left and right sides respectively with the moon up and sun down, and red stripped leggings. This player also had blonde hair like she did, only slightly lighter in color, and dull pink eyes.
"Howdy, Haseo. Glad you could make it." Said Applejack, pleased that the adept rogue accepted her quest invitation. "Who's your friend?" The purple clad player standing next to Haseo began to speak.
"Um, My name is Bo. It's nice to meet you miss..." Said the player now known as Bo.
"Name's Applejack. Pleasure's mine, Bo." Said Applejack, recognizing Bo as being male. "You ready to go, Haseo? Bo?"
"Um, sure." Said Haseo, awkwardly.
"Yes ma'am." Said Bo, passively, almost as soft spoken as Fluttershy.
"Well let's go then, time's wasting!" Applejack ran toward the wooden gate that led to the town square, where all the NPC shops were. Haseo and Bo had to run after her. They walked through the gates and by the time they were at the other side, Applejack was already at the quest shop, waiting for the two with her arms folded. Haseo and Bo walked up to her, Haseo scowled slightly at the edge punisher with the hat, .she felt somewhat guilty, but not much. Putting the past minute and a half aside, Haseo walked to the quest shop receptionist NPC, registered his party, and received the area words for it: Θ Anarchic Metallic Second Guess.
"So you'll be taking this quest? Please wait a moment." Said the duck NPC who manages the quest shop. A moment later, a short NPC walked up to them that looked like the NPCs managing the shops in Mac Anu. It's arms (which were obscured by it's sleeves) were moving quite a bit as it approached the party.
"Okay, listen up." Said the NPC, being very brief with the party. "I received a tip from an anonymous man. He said criminals have gathered in a field and are planning to attack the town and it's inhabitants. I need you to find them, and stop them. Do whatever you can to complete your mission."
"Alright now, you boys think you can handle this quest?" She asked the two boys who were accompanying her.
"I've fought groups of players like this before. So I can do it again." Said Haseo, with confidence that one could mistake as arrogance.
"I'm not sure. But I'll try my best, Applejack!" Said Bo, cheerfully.
"Then let's get going! This quest isn't gonna complete itself." This time she just walked, allowing Haseo and Bo to catch up with her easier. They walked past the other players in Dol Dona that were going about their business as well. Planning their PKs, trading items, and a few were at the stands, selling items so that their guildmasters could get more money. Including Gaspard, who was selling items for Canard. Despite his habit of overpricing the items he presented, players thought he was cute so they bought the merchandise anyway. When the party got to the chaos gate they entered the keywords and the blue rings whisked them away to yet another adventure.
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The area they arrived in was a dark and rainy field. They looked around to see if they could see any monsters or other players but it amounted to nothing. Except for some trees that contained Chim Chims and some barrels. They went to search for other players that may be in the vicinity so they could beat them and complete the quest.
"See anything yet, Haseo?" Asked Applejack.
"No. What about you Bo?" He asked the young shadow warlock.
"No, Haseo. Sorry..." Replied Bo, apologetically.
"Where are they hiding...?" Muttered Haseo, a little frustrated with the party's progress or lack thereof. They checked a little bit longer and then headed for the nearest platform. Haseo was angry that the quest was all one big lie. Applejack though, was especially miffed by this turn of events. At least Bo and Haseo learned her hatred of lying and foul play the best way possible. At this point, they would be at a platform in less than a minute. But when they got at the platform, they saw another party, seemingly waiting for them.
"Hey guys. Look it's him. He's the guy we want!" Said the leader of this new party, a tall man in red armor.
"Really? Sweet!" Said the player to his left, a short, stocky man in green robes.
"Finally! It's been... ten minutes, right?" Said the player to his right, a yellow clad boy as short as Bo.
"Yeah. Now we earn our keep." Said the leader. "Hey, Terror of Death. I hope you're ready for a beating." This party drew their weapons, a lance, fans, and broadsword respectively confirming their classes as lord partizan, macabre dancer, and edge punisher, respectively. Haseo's party returned the favor and drew their arms, Haseo's dual swords (Heine's Invasion), Applejack's broadsword (Broad Sheaf) and Bo's grimoire (Infinite Spiral). The battle initiated. The whole party focused using their skills on Haseo. The one with fans used the spell 'MiDek Vorv' lowering the physical defense of the entire party a little bit. The other two also used skills and focused them on Haseo, being a more skilled player. And focusing on him was their best bet at being victorious over one of the most infamous players in The World. The arts 'Scarlet Thrust' and 'Tiger Strike' were used by the lord partizan and edge punisher players in the enemy party against Haseo. Haseo managed to block both of their skills and Bo healed Haseo with the spell 'Ul Repth'. Haseo then used the art 'Whirlwind' at the player in green. Using a physical attack damaged him more, because macabre dancers have less physical defense due to them wearing robes insted of light or heavy armor. Applejack went after the other broadsword wielding player. They exchanged blows and skills, but Bo supported her with attack magic. She managed to claim victory. Soon, the green clad player was also defeated by Haseo. All that remained was their leader. Haseo lunged at him, used weapon change, and used the art 'Shell Breaker' on him. Soon his HP was almost at it's end. Bo was given the Honor of finishing him off. He used the spell, 'OrVak Don'. His HP was a thing of the past. The opponents were on their knees to no one's surprise.
"Damn it! I can't believe this..." Said the party's leader.
"You-you wouldn't have beaten us if the Terror of Death wasn't here!" Said the second member, referring to Applejack.
"WE"LL REMEMBER THIS!" Said the third member, before they disappeared and respawned back in Dol Dona. The party gained some EXP and GP.
"That's one down. Do you know how many more we have left?" She asked Haseo.
"No. We'll just have to keep searching for the other parties." Responded Haseo, plainly. They went further into the area to look for them so they could complete this quest. They crossed a bridge and arrived in an expansive clearing in the middle of the area. They had searched here previously but found nothing. Now they might find something here. While looking in this area, Bo turned his head to look around the area and spotted some strange black things in the distance in the distance. And one of them seemed to look humanoid. Wondering what it was, he walked toward it almost without thinking. Haseo noticed this sudden change in Bo's behaivior and tried to stop him. "Bo, hey!" Shouted Haseo, trying to wake up his small friend.
"Haseo... look over there!" Bo pointed his finger at the general direction of these 'things'. Haseo looked in that direction. After some focusing, he quickly realised what it was.
"...AIDA. Here?!" Shouted Haseo. "Damn it..." He ran closer to the familiar black specs that continued to plague The World. The other two followed. Once he was a few meters in front of it, he tried calling Skeith so he could fight it. But...
"Hey, Haseo. Can I try it?" Asked Bo, interrupting Haseo before any patterns formed on his PC. Applejack was surprised with such a bold request. "Just this once?"
"...Good luck, Bo." Said Haseo, giving his approval. Bo walked in front of the party, closer to AIDA. He stopped and did something Applejack couldn't believe. Bo heard a computerized a in c major note, and baby blue patterns appeared on him as he said these words:
"Please... we need your help. We're right here...! Gorre!" Applejack could've sworn she had heard two voices during that sentence, not just one. And in perfect unison as well. Light engulfed the young shadow warlock and the party reapeared in what looked like Avatar space. Now, Applejack bore witness to the fifth phase, the Machinator: Gorre. She learned Bo was an Epitaph User. She found it weird that a little kid like Bo could have the same abilities as Haseo. His Avatar was baby blue in body, had and a sphearicle head with two horns pointing upwards, looking like a crescent moon. Gorre's body seemed to be held together by another sphere, this sphere also held two 'things' that could resemble legs. The fight between AIDA and Gorre began. The variant was a basic 'Anna' type AIDA, in the shape of a protozoa with five flagella. This was perfect for Bo since he recently awakened. He started by summoning bubbles from his body to stop it from moving too much and after a few seconds, he grabbed hold of Anna and shouted "Saku!" Then another body appeared. A baby pink one that looked similar to the baby blue one. But with a headress in place of horns and a skirt of sorts. Both resembled the sun. The pink one began beating on Anna with her fists, before finishing it with an uppercut. The body stayed pink for some reason and it's attacks changed. Gorre grabbed it's 'skirt' and spun it around over it's head as it became a spinning wheel of blades. Once again resembling the sun. Gorre hurled it at Anna, who was overwhealmed by slashes. But the anomoly hed on and managed to fire a lazer at Gorre, who managed to avoid it. Gorre then fired small energy shots out of it's body from all directions, hitting Anna multiple times and breaking it's protect. Bith bodies prepared to Data Drain Anna. They focused their energy into the skill and... let it lose! They fired at Anna and hit it. The data flowed into Gorre and it disappeared. Gorre then dispersed. Bo reappeared in the same fashion as Haseo. He slowly descended and landed lightly on the grass.
"...There may be more AIDA here. You prepared, Bo?" Asked Haseo.
"Ha! Haseo, you dummy! Can't you tell by now?!" Bo's sudden insult shocked Applejack. Bo turned around; she and Haseo saw that 'his' hair looked spikier on the sides, and the positions of the sun and moon ornaments on his hat switched. The sun was now up, and the moon, down.
"Saku? You and Bo switched again huh?" Said Haseo.
"Yeah. And it's my turn to play now!" Said 'Saku'.
"Wait a minute! What in tarnation is going on here?" Shouted a confused Applejack. "And who are you?" She asked the short shadow warlock in purple.
"She's Saku and he's Bo. Read her character name." Said Haseo. Applejack looked at the character's name and man was she surprised to see that it read 'Sakubo'.
"So you mean there's two in one, righ t?" Wondered Applejack.
"Yeah, Bo's player has a twin sister. She plays the game too." Answered Haseo.
"Okay, now everytihng makes sense again. I mean, Saku and Bo switching like that was just wierd!" Said Applejack with an expression of slight fear. It seemed that spontaneity scares her a little bit. The party moved forward and proceeded with their quest. Minutes passed and nothing had changed. No new parties had shown up to challenge them. But those minutes of waiting paid off as their next opponents approached them. An elegant looking man in richly decorated yellow and tan clothing with a large blue ponytail that would make Rarity cringe and blue wave symbols on his cheeks and forehead. He was walking with two girls, one in red, and one in blue. It was a man Haseo knew very well.
"...Kuhn?" Said Haseo, knowing full well why the Epitaph User of the 3rd phase, Magus was there
"Hey Haseo! How's it goin'?" Asked Kuhn, happy. "You in this quest too?"
"Yeah." Responded Haseo, simply.
"Really?" Kuhn was surprised for some reason. "Then I guess that means you're the guy we're looking for."
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Haseo wondered what his yellow clad opponent/friend/colleague meant when he said 'the guy we're looking for'.
"Kuhnie, do you know him?" Said the first girl.
"Is he a friend of yours?" Said the second girl.
"Yeah, something like that. But he's our opponent now..." Replied Kuhn, whipping out his bayonet, Silent Jade and continuing, "I dedicate this battle to you two. Your beautiful eyes will be my sword." Said Kuhn, dramatically referring to his 'girlfriends'.
"Oh, Kuhnie!" Said girl A, fawning over him.
"Let's go then!" Said girl B, also fawning over him. Both girls drew staves; identifying them as harvest clerics. Haseo's party also drew their arms and commenced. Kuhn started the first skill of the match, 'Tempest Blast' directly at Haseo and his allies. He fired, Haseo and Saku managed to block the attack in time, but Applejack took more damage. It also didn't help that she was lower-leveled compared to Haseo and Saku. Haseo saw an opportunity and attacked his colleague, using a skill of his own, 'Tiger Strike' in this case. It damaged him some but his 'girlfriends' just healed him with 'Ul Repth' afterwards and increased his physical attack a little bit with 'Ap Corv'. Haseo realized that taking out the two clerics had to come first, and he and his party focused their efforts on them. Haseo and Applejack concentrated on one cleric while Saku supported them by keeping the other two off their backs with attack magic. Despite their efforts, Haseo and Applejack only got her down to just a little more than half of her HP. Kuhn fired a second 'Tempest Blast' at the party leaving no time for them to block it. They took damage and some of the other cleric's damage was healed. But Haseo and Applejack tried it again. And like before, Saku kept them at bay, this time more aggressively than before. This time, it worked; 'girlfriend 1' was beaten by our two broadsword wielders after a combination of skills. The next step was defeating either 'girlfriend 2' or Kuhn. All three of them agreed on Kuhn since clerics in general had little in the way of attacking and steam gunners have very high attack growth. The party began focusing it's efforts on Kuhn. Haseo switched to his scythe and used 'Heavenly Wheel' on his friend; sending Kuhn into the air and hit with circular slashes. He was sent flying into the battle fence and lost one extra hit point. Then Saku used another attack spell, 'OrZan Rom'. Damaging her womanizing associate even further. Applejack was left in charge of fending the last cleric lady. Which only lasted a few seconds before she casted a spell of her own, the spell 'Zan Rom'; using it to attack Haseo. It worked and Kuhn's assailant was thrown into the air by the whirlwind she cast and flew a couple of feet. He retaliated with a skill, 'Chaotic Strike', using it on the cleric who casted magic on him. The damage dealt wasn't enough to best her, but it bought a little time to refocus on Kuhn. Kuhn was under attack again. Haseo had built up enough hits to start a rengeki. Doubling the damage dealt by his 'whirlwind' skill. Seeing the cleric about to heal Kuhn, Applejack went to assist Saku in keeping the steam gunner's remaining cleric friend in her place. And soon, with just one more skill from Haseo's scythe, Kuhn was beaten. All that remained was Kuhn's other 'friend'. Which they beat quite easily with their combined powers and rengeki attacks. Also, being a cleric meant that her fighting abilities were very limited. Kuhn's party was defeated and they gained more EXP and GP.
"Aw man!" Cried Kuhn in defeat, getting back up. "Well, Haseo, looks like you won. Although I'm not sure you know what you winning means in this case."
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Asked Haseo, a little impatient.
"Kuhnie, I can't believe we lost to that guy!" Said girl A.
"Does this mean we failed the quest?" Asked girl B. Kuhn turned to the rest of his party.
"Don't feel bad. This is not your fault. I was just too distracted by your beautiful eyes. I was bound to you from the start." Said Kuhn, attempting to woo those two clerics.
"Oh, Kuhnie!"
"Your such a martyr!" Haseo just sighed in annoyance. He always did find it annoying when Kuhn did things like this.
"Well, Haseo, I'll see you later." Said Kuhn, waving and warping away with his 'girlfriends'.
"...Glad that's over with." Said Haseo, simply.
"Does he always act like that?" Wondered Applejack, asking Haseo.
"You have no idea." Replied Haseo, thinking that Applejack would get the idea. She didn't quite get the idea.
"He flirts with women for kicks." Said Saku, bluntly. Now Applejack had the idea. Pushing that aside they went ahead, retracing their steps. They thought if they did, they would eventually find their last opponents somewhere in this rainy place. Unsurprisingly, they found no leads. At first that is... until more black dots appeared before Haseo's eyes. He knew it was AIDA.
"...Damn it! Again? Saku, leave this to me." Said Haseo, to the small indigo shadow warlock.
"Hmph, do whatever you want. Just stay away from Master En!" Said Saku back, being a brat. The computerized note was heard once again in Haseo's head and the red patterns appeared on Haseo. This time for real.
"Alright, come on, come on. I'm right here... SKEEEEEEIIIIITH!" Blinding red light shrouded Haseo as his avatar, the first phase, Skeith, the Terror of death with which he shared a title, appeared again from said light. Applejack noticed immediately that Skeith looked drastically different than before. Skeith retained the horns on its head and knees, but that's where it ended. Skeith's body was now more gold than black in color and a white face with two 'scars' on each eye The 'sash' that it once had was gone, and now rings floated over it's clawed hands, spherical feet, and back. Skeith summoned it's now golden scythe and began fighting 'Anna'. Skeith fired stun bullets, now faster and more accurate than in it's previous incarnation. Anna fought back with energy projectiles but was stunned and Skeith slashed at it three times before sending a gold-colored energy ring from the scythe it's way. It wasn't long before Anna would be Data Drained. But Anna fought back using it's Algol Laser, firing it at the grim reaper-like entity that Haseo summoned. Skeith managed to avoid the blast and continued firing stun bullets at Anna. Being able to move and fire at the same time made taking out a little bit easier. Skeith stunned it again, and went for more of Anna's HP. There was only a little bit of it left. Skeith went in for the kill and slashed the rest of AIDA's HP away! The Protect Break was performed and in place of the scythe came the cannon that allowed Skeith to Data Drain appeared. Anna tried to escape by moving around and firing more energy bullets, but it didn't do any good. Anna stood still for just one moment and Skeith fired on it. The cannon changed shape into a sun and the Data Drain took it's effects on Anna. The data flowed into the sun-shaped power on Skeith's right arm; then Anna dispelled and it was all over. Skeith itself was then dispelled and Haseo landed on the ground.
"Wow..." Said Applejack, in awe. "When did your giant monster thing look like that?"
"After my job extension, my Avatar changed too."
"Oh... what's a job extension?" inquired Applejack.
"It's a quest that let's an adept rouge equip a new weapon after completing it. This is actually my third form."
"Ah, okay, I get it." Confirmed Applejack. "Also, who's Master En?" She wondered.
"His name is actually Endrance. He used to be the Demon Palace's emperor before me. And an Epitaph User."
"...Okay then." Said Applejack.
"...Let's go." Said Haseo, leading the party. It only took them less than a minute before they found the next party. It would've been a standard party if it weren't for two peculiar faces in it. One of which, Haseo and Applejack knew, especially Applejack. The party consisted of it's leader, a young man about Haseo's height wearing a black poncho and indigo hair and eyes, a young girl in white robes, and a certain random someone...
"Hi guys! Are you in this quest too? Oh this is so exiting!"
"Pinkie?!" Said Haseo and Applejack in unison. It was their happy pink friend in the opposing party.
"Oh, did you meet my new friends yet? See, this is Shimegane," she pointed to the white clad girl who was assumed to be he party's magic user, "and Recht." Pinky then pointed to the man in black that wasn't Haseo.
"Ah, Haseo. It's an honor." Said Recht, putting his arm on his chest and bowing in a serving sort of manner. Haseo just scowled slightly at his opponents; intimidating Shimegane somewhat.
"Wait... you're the one Twilight asked me to meet. At Caerleon Medb." Said Haseo.
"Hmmm...? Ah, yes, I must have forgotten about that. I assume Pi gave you my message then?" Wondered Recht.
"Yeah." Replied Haseo.
"Good, good..." Said Recht, creepily, his head bent slightly down. "So, Haseo, you're it then?
"Huh? 'It'? What does that mean?" Wondered Haseo, putting his hand on his hip.
"...So, you really don't know?" Recht giggled to himself... but then burst out laughing! Pinkie Pie and Shimegane joined him, pretty much laughing till their lungs were like unblown balloons. It continued for roughly half a minute with Haseo glaring the whole time, arms crossed. finally the opposing party ended their laughing fest.
"Haseo... heheheh..." Said Pinkie Pie, still slightly giggling.
"What is it?!" Shouted Haseo, somewhat ticked at their antics. (What am I missing here?) He thought to himself.
"Heh... Haseo. The description at the quest shop described a group of criminals that were going to attack the town and it's inhabitants. Remember?" Wondered Recht, his hand on his chin.
"...Hold on. You don't mean...?" Haseo had a strange feeling he knew where this was going.
"The villains in this quest... are you and your party." It did go where Haseo thought it would.
"Us?" Asked Haseo, just to confirm what he heard was true.
"That's right." Replied Recht, "Y'know what that means right?" He paused for dramatic effect.
"It means we get to have some fun with you!" Shouted Pinkie, enthusiastically drawing her bayonet, smiling her usual smile. The other two in the opposing party followed suit, Recht with his blade and Shimegane with her staff respectively. Haseo's party followed suit, drawing their arms. The battle fence presented itself again and both parties started at each other. Recht went for Sakubo for strategic purposes. Haseo intervened and used the art 'Whirlwind' against the blade brandier. The skill connected and Recht was damaged some. He went for Haseo then, leaving the rest of his party to themselves. Pinkie was in the perfect position to blast Haseo's party with a skill or two. And she did; blasted them with 'Tempest Blast'. Haseo took some damage and was consequently hit with a just-recovered Recht's 'Disaster Sword'. Haseo was unable to block either attack and took some damage. Sakubo retaliated from behind the scenes with 'OrVak Don'. Giving Haseo a chance at Shimegane. He switched to his scythe and used 'Heavenly Wheel', also damaging Pinkie Pie. Applejack took a shot at Recht first she slashed at him twice. Both attempts were blocked and Recht unleashed a charge attack; a cheap shot. Applejack got back up after being hit into the fence and was healed Haseo, who used a Revive Rain, restoring 200 HP to each member of his party. It wasn't much but it was more than Sakubo could do, being a shadow warlock. Haseo used 'Heavenly Wheel' again, this time on Recht. It did some damage to the rest of the party due to the nature of scythe skills. After that he slashed at his opponents recovering some HP and SP. Not much of either variable but he took what he could get and ran with it. At this point they were wondering what Pinkie Pie was doing during this time. At that moment Pinkie Launched a surprise attack on the party with 'Tempest Blast'. It both damaged the party and gave the opportunity for Shimegane to heal Recht. Haseo got up and switched to his broadsword where he launched a charge attack of his own on Shimegane. He took advantage of the player-discovered trick of using a skill the very second before a charge attack finishes to inflict even more damage on the cleric; in this case 'Shell Breaker'. Between Sakubo raining attack spells on the party and the onslaught of arts from Haseo and Applejack the cleric didn't stand much of a chance, and she was defeated. One down, two to go. Pinkie Pie used the art 'Sphere Bullet' on Haseo's party, damaging them. They recovered and attacked the pink-haired steam gunner. Recht attacked Haseo and was left by the rest of his party to go after Pinkie. Pinkie didn't really care about keeping a safe distance in this case. She's a flexible person. Pinkie blocked Applejacks attacks and Sakubo's spells almost as if she was aware of when they would occur. Haseo was still busy with Recht; trading blows left and right. During the fight Haseo and his party communicated and devised a strategy. While Applejack and Sakubo attacked Pinkie Pie, they would look for an hole in her defense for Haseo to attack. Simultaneously, Haseo would deal with Recht should the need arise. Applejack charged an attack and let it loose, sending Pinkie Pie into the fence. Haseo saw the opportunity and used the art 'Shell Breaker' on his party-loving friend. Recht charged at them and Applejack picked up Haseo's slack; attacking Pinkie alongside Sakubo. The broadsword's stunning abilities and Sakubo's attack spells provided a way to attack Pinkie efficiently and she was defeated in a matter of seconds. She sure put up a good fight though. Recht was the only one left. He got into a blocking position and took as many hits as he could from all three party members. Then he just... stopped; dropping his guard and allowing Haseo to take him down. It was all over; Haseo's party received the experience and GP that always happened at the end of a fight. The party opposing Haseo's was at their knees now.
"...Haseo. You're certainly very strong." Said Recht, seemingly complimenting the black adept rogue, but neither Haseo nor his party could tell what it was with his voice.
"That was so much fun! Wasn't it Rechy?!" Shouted Pinkie, still enthusiastic despite losing.
"...Quite." Replied the blade brandier, as calm as ever. "You fought well, Haseo." Haseo didn't really know how to take the compliment and stayed silent. "Anyway, I'll be going now. It's been a pleasure seeing all of you." He warped away, as did Shimegane.
"Well, that's all folks!" Shouted Pinkie Pie, also warping away, leaving the group wondering exactly who she was talking to.
"...So, how did the rest of the quest go, Haseo?" Asked Sakubo, who had reverted back to Bo.
"Bo... It went fine. We cleared it."
"So, what happens next?" Wondered Applejack.
"Now we report back to the quest shop and collect our reward." Replied Haseo, leading his party to the nearest warp point.
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When they returned to Dol Dona, they went directly to the quest shop, passing any other players that stopped to say 'hello'. They collected their reward from a vital vista other than the one they visited. It was primarily black in cover and had no hair or hat on it's head like the others. It congratulated them and left, leaving Haseo and Applejack somewhat awkward about the whole 'Haseo's the villain' aspect of this quest. But it didn't matter anymore. Applejack was the first to speak after the black vital vista had left.
"Well, thanks for doing this quest with me Haseo." She said, simply.
"Yeah, sure." Said Haseo, short and blunt.
"See ya 'round!" Applejack warped logged off and returned to her place of origin.
"Thanks for taking me with you on this quest Haseo!" Said an enthusiastic Bo. "Bye!" He too warped away. A few seconds later, Haseo received an email. He logged off immediately afterwards to see what it was.
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Upon logging off, Ryou checked his emails and found that he had more than one. The first was from Applejack with the subject 'Thanks'. She thanked him once again for the quest and how it was kind of weird. Ryou replied asking if she had gone on any other adventures like that with her friends or family. The second was from Pinkie Pie with the subject 'Wow!', telling him how it was a strange coincidence meeting up with him in that quest. It also strangely mentioned Pinkie calling him Ryou for some reason. Ryou sent replied asking more about her and telling her not to use his real name. The third and final new email came from Silabus with the subject 'Take a look', telling him that there was something interesting on the forum in the 'Rumors' section. He checked it and found that an anonymous player wrote something saying:
'Hello my rainbow haired opponent! I hope you're ready to face me! I will be there to inflict justice upon you for everything you've done! Meet me in Θ Misjudged Past's Blue Cloud. Prepare to answer for your crimes! AHAHAHAHA!'. Ryou figured that someone wanted to fight Rainbow Dash. The rainbow colored hair on her PC looked strange even by The World's standards. He saw all that he needed to see and exited the forum hoping to take a break from playing the game for a short while. But a short buzzing noise came to him; another email was sent to him. He checked his inbox. The email was from Fluttershy with the subject 'Help...'. He opened it.
'Haseo...
Please... I need your help. Someone on the forum wants to challenge Rainbow Dash...! I'm afraid whoever it is might have it out for her! She needs our help!
Please, come with me to Θ Misjudged Past's Blue Cloud... That is if you want to...'
"What?! Rainbow Dash's in trouble? Damn, when will she learn to control herself? Let's go with Fluttershy to Θ Misjudged Past's Blue Cloud to find Rainbow Dash." Ryou clicked on The World's icon and logged into the game again. Seemed to him like he would never get a break from his new friends.
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Sorry for the long delay, I had a lot of homework to do and couldn't find time to write. Please tell me your thoughts. Happy holidays!