Chapter One:
I had stayed up late again, and couldn't sleep. It happens to be an on and off problem for me lately. Some nights I don't get any rest until about five am. Tonight was not quite that bad. I didn't let out my first yawn until it was ten at night. Xander didn't seem too phased. I get the impression he has more late nights than I do. I had been sitting on the couch playing Diablo three with Xander beside me watching. He kept asking me a lot of questions like, "What is the point to this"? "Why did you do that"? "That guy dropped an item, how come you didn't pick it up and sell it for more money"? And so on. It was almost annoying, but I also kind of liked it. I have quickly grown fond of his attention and voice in the last fourty-eight hours.
"The point is to gain experience which makes me stronger", "Well than just off the guy already. This is just a game", "No. Like in real life you can't just kill the big bad with no effort at all", I reassured him. Xander frowned and slouched into the seat next to me, propping his arms behind his head. "Well I don't think I like this game very much then", he said defeatedly with his first yawn of the night as well. I grinned slightly and shook my head with silent giggles as I pushed buttons and destroyed demons. This was almost as fun as killing real demons in reality. Not quite however. It wasn't as empowering or fulfilling, (like many things). I was beginning to get the impression that he didn't want to go upstairs until I was already in bed. ...Challenge accepted. I paused my game and game went into the kitchen.
"Hey, what are you doing over there"? He asked me with his curiously tilted ajar off the couch. "Getting some energy. Want some"? My voice was fluid and seductive without noticing it right away. My face flushed slightly and then turned tomato red as I just tossed him a beer, and snatched a pansy hard lemonade for myself. "You uh, you shouldn't be drinking that", Xander told me with a voice that seemed mixed with fear of getting in trouble for being a bad watcher, and amused to see what would happen next. "Like many things I do my own bidding in the shadows", I mused clinking the bottle against his drink. With a light tink we both sipped some back. He had a hesitant, nervous, and curious look to his faintly pink face as I sat back next to him. I slowly leaned in as if to kiss him, and watched as his face lit up, and his eyes screamed with yellow and purple flags. Then with a growing, teasing smirk I grabbed my controller, held the drink between my legs, and continued to play my game. Xander kept watching me and the tv with equal facial expressions. Some I could not really read. "You really get into this stuff", he said flatly letting out another faint yawn. I nodded my head and said, "I really get into a lot of things", and we shared an equally tempted, playful glance before laughing a bit.
Xander sat forward and got down onto the ground for a moment where his butt stuck out. Now, I am not one for butts, I will say that little peep show of his boxers and the muscles in his back was pretty pleasant. "What are you doing"? I asked him as my face twitched a bit with curiosity. He reached forward into the drawer of the entertainment center as he grumbled in his tired voice, "I am going to play too". I thought about that for a moment, and decided this would be amusing. "Okay, do you think you can handle the heat"? I asked him with a brow raised. He turned to face me with a controller in his hand, "Oh, I deal the heat, I don't handle it. Think you're game"? He teased with a raised brow as he connected the controller and sat back down. I had to leave my current game screen so he could make a character. His choices were, Barbarian, Demon Hutner, Monk, Witch Doctor, and Wizard. He was about to choose the Barbarian when I commented smugly, "the demon hunter is pretty much sexy". "Oh, yeah"? He said looking at me and pushing buttons choosing the demon hunter and entering the game.
We had entered into the game together, and I mean ENTERED into the game together. It was different, and it was weird. The characters were real, and we were not us, and yet we were still us. I turned to face Xander who was checking himself out. "Watch where you point that thing"! I called to him dodging the careless aim of his hand crossbow. He gave a sheepish grin and said, "Oh, sorry haha", as he looked around trying to figure it all out. "See if this is what normally happens when you play this game, then I can kind of see why you would want to play it all the time instead of being out in the real world. "No. This is not normal and screams of dark magic", I told him softly as I walked forward and looked around New Tristram.
Something was not right about this at all, and something about it screamed immaturity which leads me to believe whoever is behind this is male... Then something new and kind of happy occurred to me. If this is real for now then I can really meet Tyreal and Leah! OMG~! I did my best not to let out a fan girl scream or to do a little dance in front of Xander. That would have been really embarrassing! I walked over to the merchant who smiled, and held his jolly belly trying to get me to buy the things he had looted from fallen people. "It is very sad that this world is coming to an end, but it makes for a really good business"! He said as I rolled my eyes. "Wait, the world is coming to an end!?", Xander sighed and stood back a moment with a whole slew of emotions flashing across his face. "Can anyone come up with any new ideas that don't involve the whole world ending please"? He pleaded softly while I inquired about Leah.
Xander came up from behind me, gazing over my shoulder as I acted as if I have been here my whole life. "None of this surprises you"? "I have been raised by a family that has been through everything together, twice over. No. Nothing really surprises me anymore", I told him flatly as I walked to the Slaughtered Calf inn. He thought about that for a moment before nodding his head as he followed me into the inn. There I saw the tables, and little opening into the main room where people were sick and huddled together. So far so good, if that was even a word in my vocabulary right now. Then standing off to the front of it all was a tall, pale, gorgeous woman. "Leah"! I cried out with a happy smile as I approached her and hugged her tightly. "Uh, Hi", she said sounding a lot more confused then she felt. "Do I know you"? "I am Ren, and this is Xander", I said as I thought about the game and the black magic. I wanted to be tactful, which requires a lot more thought, common sense, and logic than I normally have. "We are seeking the fallen star, and were told to come to you for information", I said to her. Xander looked at me and was about to say something when I covered his mouth with my hand. He glared at me and raised a brow.
"Oh, well I myself don't know much ab-", she was starting to explain when a chorus of pained cries broke out. The group of people huddled together began to shake violently as their skin was turning green with a sort of sickening glow that would surround them. I could not help but feel like I was still just playing a game, and could hear the band, My Darkest Days playing inside of me as I raised my wand throwing magic at the turning figures. Xander stood there with his mouth hanging open as he watched me go. My body was proper and back arched as I flicked my hand sending magic to the ravenous dead that slowly sauntered towards us. Leah had pulled her bow back, and was shooting at them as well. When they all laid on the wooden floor in a blobby mess I turned back to Leah waiting for her to continue. "My uncle has been studying a lot of stuff, and he would be the one to be able to tell you what was going on. But you should help Captain Rumford first", she said to me. "Thank you", I told her grabbing Xander and leaving.
He followed behind me as we both heard a strange sound behind us. Xander had his crossbow ready as I clenched my fist. We looked back as a male mage came running up to us panting. He was sweaty and riddled with worry. "Hello there comrade, what pains you"? Xander looked at me weird for the strange way I was talking. "There were so many people rising up, and so many... dying", he said to me. "Well if we die we just respawn", "no. When you die in the game so does your body in reality", he said to me with wide eyes of panic. I looked back at Xander with a sigh and patted the man on the shoulder. "What level are you"? "Uhm.. Twenty three", "Okay. Xander here, he is level one. I am level sixty with two paragon levels. We can do this", I told him. "You don't understand! This is more than a game"! The man cried out to me. I nodded my head and helped him to follow us out. "How many people keep joining and getting stuck here"? He just shrugged and I sighed. "Well here are your options, you can either drool over Leah and try to seduce a vulnerable woman here in town... maybe even get drunk; or you can join me and Xander in the fight to destroy what ever magic has this hold on the realms", I told the person. They nodded their head and decided to stay back, freaking coward. "Wait, how come I can't stay behind and get laid?", complained Xander with a slight pout behind me. "Fine! Stay here Xander"! I said with an angry voice and scrunched face. I turned and left town before he could follow me and ran to Rumford.
"Let me through", I told him. I was not asking, and I wasn't even offering help. If Xander wants to waste his life sleeping around and getting drunk then fine. I huffed and rolled my shoulders as I could hear the hungry dull drones of the risen dead clawing at the barricade to get in. I raised my staff and incinerated the whole lot of them with ease. I felt this stingy anger bubblng inside of me and I needed to be killing things. This was the perfect place to be to get that done. Lightening flicked out from my hands and zapped all the enemies around me, but it was too easy. It was not satisfying my growing anger. I am trapped in a fantasy realm with a man I like, and he could care less. Doesn't even want to get through the realm. I jumped on top of a quil beast and started punching it blindly. "Die you son of a bitch"! I screamed as it's blood began to get on me. Then an arrow hit it in the face and killed it. It's body went limp in my hands. What? I looked up and saw Xander smiling and holding out his hand.
Normally I would have lit up and jumped at the chance to hold his hand for a moment. I got up on my own and tossed the down the body of the little beast as I wiped off my hands and turned to keep going. Xander's face twisted in waves of confusion as he followed me and was practicing the use of that crossbow. We went on, walking down the muddy road splattered with pools and puddles of blood. Into basements nested with quil and the risen dead. Through mass graves, and finally made it to the Cathedral Garden. There I could hear the dull sounds of the dead, and was by now feeling a bit numb, and bored. I killed the wretched mother and stepped onto the blue waypoint to teleport back to town. Xander followed what I did.
When I had returned I found Rumford talking to Leah and they both looked unhappy. "We are going to have to stay here for a long while", I admitted to Xander. "What do you mean"? "I think I might know how to beat this. But it requires beating the whole realm", I mumbled to him softly. "Seriously"!? Xander shook his head and sighed. "I am sorry. When we get through with this I swear I won't bother you again", I told him flat with no more emotions in my voice. His face tilted with emotions and thoughts I could not read as I walked over to the two talking. "The wretched mother is dead, and I want to help Leah save her uncle" I told them bluntly. They both gave a stricken and baffled look. I didn't really feel explaining to them that this realm is a video game to my realm. "I can read minds. Trick of the trade with mages", I said with a smile tapping a temple. They both seemed to like that answer. "Okay, well let's get to my mother's old house", said Leah not really sure if she was up to the task at hand.
"Xander are you staying or coming with"? I asked him. He looked down at his feet for a moment and jogged over to my side. We all teleported to the garden. I looked up at his face, seeing some sort of mark left by my words. Have I been mean to him? I chewed on my lower lip and looked away from him. "Here let me get the gate", Leah said to us as she went to the lock. I wanted to touch his hand and make him feel good. I wanted to make up for what ever bad feelings he had to what I had said. Instead I followed behind Leah. We walked down a narrow muddy path killing the dead that crossed us. We did that until we reached her old house. "Here. This was my Mother's house", Leah said running to it with a glow of curiosity to her. It was sort of cute how she was eager to see the house, as if it held some sort of answer to her trillions of questions about her mother. "Hey look. A creepy looking basement. Let's go look", I said jumping in after Leah. The walls of the place were covered with spell books, bottles, brews, brooms, charms, rocks, feathers, feet, faces, shrunken heads, nails, fingers, and all kinds of creepy gross things. "People always said my mother was a witch. I just didn't believe them", Leah said softly in awe as she looked around. Xander has seen this kind of thing a time or two and knew to stay away from it.
With the dusty thudding of heavy weight I heard someone else dropping down into the basement with us. I looked back and saw another demon hunter. This one was a female. Xander's face lit up and he smiled. "Well you were right about one thing. The demon hunters are sexy", he commented checking the woman out. I rolled my eyes and walked over to he person. "Hello, who are you"? "I am Dancenightrose", said the woman holding a two handed legendary crossbow decked out in rare black and purple armor. "Why does that gamer tag sound so familiar...? What is your real name"? "Dawn", said the woman. "Dawn Summers"!? Exclaimed Xander as his face went flush with sheer embarrassment. I laughed then and couldn't help it. Xander shot me a look as Dawn joined me in the laughter. "Uh, yeah that would be me why"? "It's Ren and Xander", I told her as my laughter was starting to calm down. "Xander? You creepy little pervert of a man! Stop drooling and pick up your mouth"! Said Dawn sticking her tongue out. "Uhm, hi...", said Leah in utter confusion again.
"Oh, Leah this is my friend Dawn, and she will be helping me in our quest to the fallen star", I told her. Leah nodded her head softly not sure if she believed me or not. Then we all started to move forward into the main part of the basement. There we saw a big rock pit with a cauldron on top of it. The fire was lit, and the pot was hot. Someone had been here recently, and was most likely still here. Dawn and I walked forward slowly with our weapons at the ready. A swarm of risen dead a big dead beast that was once human came at us. I was not ready, and one of them fell down on top of me. "Ren"! Called out Dawn as she shot arrows into them. My staff was out and the only thing keeping the nipping corpse from eating my face off. A foot came into my view for a brief moment and then a hand. I took it as my heart had began to race with the fear that I could have really died just then. I saw Xander's face, and watched as his lips moved, but I wasn't actually hearing a single word he was saying to me. Then I saw the huge beast moving slowly towards us. I felt something push against me roughly, and then my body scraped the ground. My head was ringing, and my body was shaking weakly. I could not get up, and .. was I bleeding? I am injured? Oh god... Then everything began to fade to black slowly. Slipping into the sweetness of nothingness and dreams.