Fawlen: Meh, this story will continue...just slow...really slow...like a turtle.
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Wizard101.
Warning: There will be a few cussing in this story.
Not everything has to always depend on magic. You don't always have to learn magic to defeat monsters. People just think it's easier. Honestly, I think they're wrong. Magic seems like a waste of time. It takes time to cast a few spells, and if you don't do it fast in a battle…well, let's just say it won't end up pretty. The Spiral isn't as innocent as it looks in games. The place is like a battlefield.
The monsters here are vicious. They won't hesitate to come after you. It doesn't matter if you walk on the sidewalks, they'll still come after you. They're not generous. They don't give you turns to cast spells, and you definitely don't re-spawn after you lose all your health. I don't know what all of you think, but this place is truly like living in Hell.
Many people have lost their families. We barely have any food and there's barely any space for anyone. The people that are richer are selfish. They don't care about the food shortages because can buy it with their money, and they certainly don't care about other people dying. They live in their safe, comfy home with a few well-trained guards to protect them. I sued to envy the people in the high society when I was younger, but now, I despise them. I truly hope I'll never have to meet one of them.
This isn't a game. This isn't just for fun. People die every single second of the day. It's not like the game 'Wizard101', it's different. And I hope that one day, you'll be able to see just how cruel it really is, because the game isn't a game. It's a trap. Once you play it, you'll get sucked in. And there's no way out. The graphics you see are all just a lie. Nothing more but a mere illusion. Merle Ambrose doesn't exist. None of it does. But the world I currently live in does.
The blood. The scream. Giggling. Death. That's all I see and hear in this barren landscape. I frantically search my surroundings, trying to find some sort of hint on what's going on. What I find shocks me. There lies three dead bodies just a few feet ahead of me. One female, and two male. My head began to spin, and I stumbled on my own two feet before collapsing on the ground. Those bodies are Hope, James and Lucas – my deceased family. I crawled towards their body in desperation, in need to know if they were still alive. I know this is all just a dream, but I miss them. I miss seeing Hope's smiling face, James's overprotective spirit, and Lucas's beautiful ocean blue eyes. I just had to see them!
But as I crawled closer to their bodies, it seemed like they grew farther away from me. I shook my head and pushed myself to go faster, but no matter how much I tried, they were still too far for me to reach. Why? Why couldn't I save them? Why was I such a weakling? None of this would've happened if I didn't just stand there and watch them die. If only…if only I was stronger.
"But you aren't. You're not strong at all. You're weak, a pathetic little girl who couldn't even protect her family." A voice whispered.
I shook my head, covering my ears with my hands to block the voice out. No, just leave me alone, I thought, closing my eyes tightly with tears leaking out.
"Poor, little Alessia. You should've been the one to die, not them. Not sweet, angelic Hope. Not the brave and kind James. And especially not Lucas. He made a mistake to save you. He should've saved himself." It whispered again, but another voice joined. It was Hope's voice that joined.
I choked back a sob and curled up in a ball. "No, stop it! I didn't mean to."
"Oh, but you did. You could've saved them. But no, you just stood back and watched as your family died. You could've stopped that Skeletal Pirate from stabbing Hope, you could've taken the hit for James, and you could've pushed Lucas through the gap rather than fleeing." This time, James's voice was added into the mix.
"No, no, no, no, stop it! I don't wanna hear this!" I screamed. I clutched tighter onto my hair surrounding my ears, close enough to rip the strands from my scalp.
"You'll always hear it! Because you know why? It's your past, it's not made up. It'll always be your past, and it'll always be your fault! You don't deserve to live!" Now all three of my deceased family's voices were combined with the voice.
"It's my fault. I know I shouldn't have been the one to live." I sobbed. All around me their voices began to fire more harsh comments, most of them were asking why I was the one to live while they died. What hurt the most is when I heard Lucas's voice tell me he regretted saving me, that he should've saved himself and left me to die.
A sharp knock on my door awoke me from my slumber, and I shot up from my bed, my breath heavy from the nightmare. I shakily stood up, wiping the sweat that accumulated on my forehead, and walked towards the door. "W-who is it?" I asked. I silently cursed myself for stuttering. It showed weakness, and I couldn't have that.
"It's Zalman, ma'am." I heard the familiar deep voice of my subordinate.
"Right, and tell me why you've come so early in the morning to address me in my room?" I replied back. I still sounded a bit winded and hoarse from my dreams, but luckily, I didn't stutter like I did earlier.
"Um, excuse me for saying this, ma'am, but it is currently 1200 hours." Zalman said, a hint of nervousness in his tone. He was afraid I would do something to him because of how high my rank is, but I'm not like that. I wouldn't hurt a fellow knight.
My eyes widened in shock at Zalman's statement. I hurriedly walked over to my window in my small room and threw the wooden shutters open. What he said is true. By the fake sun's position, it was 12 o'clock. I was supposed to be up seven hours ago! I rushed back to the door and said, "I see, thank you for informing me, Zalman. I shall be down at the training grounds in just a moment."
I can imagine Zalman nodding his head and saluting, his right hand over his heart and bowing his head slightly. "Yes, ma'am, but Head Captain has informed me that he wants to see you first. Apologies for my rude behavior. I shall take my leave now." The sound of retreating footsteps were heard, and I knew then that Zalman really did leave.
I sighed and shook my head. Zalman was too polite for his own good, but I guess that assisted him in moving up the ranks. "Now what does that old geezer want?" I muttered, running my finger through my hair before getting ready for the day.
I walked towards my dresser and stared at my appearance in the mirror hanging above the dresser. I looked like a complete mess, and I'm glad I didn't have Zalman see me or else he would'vew gone all mother hen on me. Sometimes I wonder if he's the one that should be looking after me rather than the other way around. I turned my head, unable to look at myself any longer, and grabbed my brush to at least tame my matted, sweaty blonde hair. (It was disgusting, but the sweat was from the nightmare I had, which I shivered involuntarily at.)
In the end, my hair didn't look as bad as it did earlier. I managed to untangle my locks, but my hair looked greasy and flat. I can't go out looking like this. My reputation will diminish if I look like I finally broke from the game. I scowled at my hair and pulled it up in a high ponytail. I then proceeded to "fluff" my ponytail, as one could say, to add more volume and make myself look more presentable. I looked better, but those bags under my eye didn't exactly help.
"All right, face, you win this time. But next time, I'm gonna win." I sassed at my appearance, the mirror mimicking my move. I stuck my tongue out and swiftly turned around, strutting away like a diva.
After my little smackdown against my mirror me, I began to change out of my sleeping attire and dressed for the day. My every day clothes normally consisted of: a quarter-sleeve, button-up white shirt, bindings wrapped tightly around my chest, black spandex shorts, and the standard uniform for dames. But rather than the standard red and silver accents they had for the armor, I decided to change it to my own design using blue and gold accents. (Lucas did the same thing with his armor, so I decided to follow his example.)
It became a hassle when I realized I should've done my hair after I got dressed because my precious hair was caught by the collar of the armor and I had to walk around the room without seeing where I was going. To be honest, if anyone were to see this, they would've thought I was decapitated and running around my room, bashing my body against the wall while I'm at it, like a headless chicken.
Finally, after I got dressed and redid my hair, I was ready for the day. I adjusted my leather sword belt and sheathed my sword. It was mandatory to carry a weapon around with you in case of an attack. With everything ready to go, I set out to find the Head Captain – a pesky old man who is too much of a perv.
"So, from what I've heard from Zalman, you seem to have a reckless plan, do you not?" An elderly man with a long white beard with equally long white hair to match questioned.
I nodded in confirmation. It's best to stay silent when talking with this old geezer or else something stupid might happen.
"Hmm," he stroked his beard, a hard thinking face set upon his old features, which made him look like he's constipated. "And what makes you think I shall allow such a mission to happen? And the success rate of it is very low."
"Even so, this could be our chance to help us escape. I've been observing many players now, and their skills have evolved. If we utilize their powers, we can escape from this hell." I countered, glaring at the man.
"Your words are true. People have gotten stronger, but risking their lives to do this is absurd. If this mission fails, we'll have less people to start with." He argued.
I rolled my eyes. "But if this plan works, we don't have to worry about more people dying! We'll be back in our world, free from this hell!"
"Alessia, that is enough! This plan too risky! My words are final!" He barked, slamming his hands against his stone grey desk.
I shook my head. "No, I shall not stop. This plan may be idiotic, but it's our only chance." I stared defiantly into his grey eyes, not backing down one bit. He stared back calmly, a small smile displayed on his wrinkled old face, his arms crossed bemusedly.
At last, he sighed and shook his head, chuckling slightly. "I can never argue with you, it seems. Fine, I shall allow this mission, but there is one condition."
I knew it, I thought. He would never allow this unless there's something else. "And what is this condition?"
"The condition is to have the infamous thief that keeps stealing our supplies to join your team and stop this thievery. If you are able to do so, I shall allow your foolish plan to happen. Are we clear?" The old man bargained.
I scowled and nodded my head.
"Good. Now shoo, you interrupted me when I was in the middle of reading." He waved his hand in a shooing manner, lazily picking his perverted book off his desk.
"Yeah, yeah, we all know how you love your precious porn books." I mumbled, slamming the door behind me. In the room, I heard him curse profanities at me and state that the book isn't porn, it's an elusive tale of two young lovers doing sexual activities with one another to show their passionate love. Ha, yeah right. I can't believe this perverted old man is the Head Captain.
I sighed and shook my head at his antics, then smirked. Finally, my plan will be set to motion and I can finally live as a normal human being rather than live like some mindless drone inside a game. Other people can accept to live in here, but there is no way in hell am I staying for the rest of my life. This is real. This is a life or death situation, not some fanciful game where all you have to do is survive and you're living the life!
No, I intend to escape.
Even if it means dealing with a criminal.
