There was so much to do. So little time. Retsu hated this. Once she was alone, she let her frustration show. Irritable, started breaking things, had a short fuse. It was bad enough that she could have been able to mount a defense for the Black City earlier that day (While not too serious of a lost to her, still annoying to have to deal with everyone who'd be complaining about it later) but now Yoshino was keeping secrets from her and got herself caught up into more trouble. Retsu wanted to help, really, but she also wanted control. She couldn't let Yoshino go a day without stirring up another world war. And than there was Michael... What did Yoshino see in that guy? Was it just because he was the Red King? Retsu didn't see him as big of a threat as she made him out to be, at least not in Deep Ground. But for Yoshino, Michael was second only to the Silver Jester. And than there was him too. Just who is he, how is he able to do what he can do, and what's his end game? Why kill the king and torment Yoshino? And why just her? Retsu got to thinking and wondered if it was something that all the Black Kings had to deal with. The Silver Jester never revealed himself until after Yoshino opened up application for the Ebony Strykers. Where the Black Kings suppose to be guardians of the Silver Jester, perhaps? But regardless of all that, Retsu had to rest. It was going to be a long day, and she needed to get things ready. Instinctively she went to check her messages but remembered that she had switched out to Hibiki's experimental new chip. She would have access to Deep Ground only. Retsu wondered how this would affect her hacking abilities since they were more akin to inborn abilities as Dark Wraith than reliant on her chip. But she didn't worry about that for right now. Her main concern was to get ready for the announcement tomorrow and make sure that Yoshino is safe. ~ Later that night ~ Something was wrong. Retsu could feel it. It was like being watched by snipers; you know they're there, but you don't know where. Retsu kept a calm demeanor, as she often would when she goes paranoid. She sat on her bed at her home drinking some warm tea. It was suppose to help her calm her nerves, which either it did only a little or not at all considering that she also had her gun next to her. Would it have been a bad thing that she's so used to sleeping with a loaded fire arm that she hasn't shot herself yet? She looked at the pistol and wondered what had gotten into her. "Dammit. Why am I doing this to myself?" Locking her pistol away in a secret compartment near her headrest, Retsu laid down to sleep. Her last thoughts before succumbing to her dreams weren't of the dangers she'd have to face tomorrow, but about Yoshino. Retsu was worried for her. She wanted to protect that girl, and the smile she hides behind her locked heart. And than Retsu woke up. But immediately she knew that she was in Deep Ground. "Is this... A Dream?" She said to herself. She knew this place. Retsu and Yoshino had fought the Silver Jester here just the day before. But something was wrong. Retsu looked at her hands and noticed that she lacked the bone-like gauntlets that was normally part of Dark Wraith. She had no skills, no stat screen. "What's going on?" Retsu thought that perhaps Hibiki's chips were more flawed than she let on, but than there was a message in her mailbox. The Silver Jester. "Of course. Son of a bitch..."

Greetings Players of Deep Ground Online. From your standpoint, you may be wondering many things. Allow me then, to enlighten you of your situation. In short, you are now placed within the Deep Ground Program indefinitely. However, as you also may notice, you are each stripped of your Player Avatars and their abilities. Also take note that your Private Messaging systems among one another are no longer functional. In short, you are completely human and trapped within this world. The game is simple; your minds in the living world are still connected to your chips. However, I have made some rather amusing enhancements. If you die in Deep Ground, a lethal electrical charge will be sent to your brain. You will die instantly. Why have I done this? That too is simple in itself. You people are so… Interesting. Please have fun with this new addition to the Deep Ground experience.

Retsu sighed. Stuck in a game. The Silver Jester's game. This was the plot of many science fiction virtual reality games, and she imagined that at some point they would have to defeat the Silver Jester if they had any hope of escaping. Despite all of that, Retsu was talking it rather well. At least panicking wasn't going to do much but kill her, and she needs to be alive to get anything done. Retsu looked around and spotted Yoshino easily, but she was cautious. This could be another trap by the Silver Jester to lull Retsu into a false sense of security. Not that Retsu had any means to defend herself even if it was, though she did have some items in her inventory she could use for an escape. "Tsugumi-san." Trailing the kings was oddly more boring than Donny thought it'd be. As interesting as it is to know just who are the kings and queens of Deep Ground, Donny would have preferred to have been fighting them than doing all this cloak and dagger nonsense. Not out of any sense of warrior honor or anything, he just found it more entertaining to be fighting than to stalk in the shadows. As the day winded down Donny left to go home. It was raining, everyone was leaving, and his job was done. He was given coordinates to a loot cache near where he last logged out from. He figured that he'd get to it when he got home. "What... The fuck!?" The Black City was gone. Left in it's place was a crude White City, with towers and ramparts emblazoned with the new King's emblem. Arms Slave didn't get a chance to investigate further before he was under fire by the towers. Luckily he was in his War Machine which was able to tank the shots like they were mere pebbles, but he knew he was in unfriendly territory. He had to get out, so he booked it in the opposite direction of the city. "Shit. SHIT! This is why we should have just fought those sons of bitches instead of keep trying to spy on them!" Arms Slave cursed continuously even after he had managed to escape the dead zone that was the Black City. He headed to his loot cache a fair bit away, but was disappointment in the equipment. This was stuff that he got back when he was level one. Granted, he could alter level these items into more suitable equipment, but this was like promising fried chicken to someone and than giving them an egg. This killed Arms Slave mood to go on a counter raid and he just logged out for the night there. But he would be back soon enough. After logging out Donny made himself some dinner, hung out around the internet, played a few other games. He thought about the battle he'd have tomorrow afternoon at the Red City. He was suppose to lose, granted, but that was only if the former Green Queen could stop him in time. He was certain that the other kings would have thought his Mayhem Riders would have been stopped due to the destruction of their city, but they'd be naive to think that would happen. They never needed a city to be a powerful force in Deep Ground. They had each other and their war machines, which was more than he could say about others. Donny fell asleep with these thoughts, but not before messaging his fellow Mayhem Riders about the raid.

"As some of you may know, we lost the Black City. Looks like they intend to spawn camp us, so get out ASAP. Meet me near the ruins of the Green City. After that, we'll ride on our enemies."

Donny fell asleep with that message in mind, but he could never imagine what was going to happen next. He was in a deep sleep dreaming of some vague nonsense when he found himself in the driver's seat of his War Machine. He was still very tired and thought nothing of it at first. He had dreamed of being in Deep Ground plenty of times before. He laid there for some time just watching his dash board, but eventually he woke up. And when he did he was still in his War Machine. Donny sat up and looked around. He felt cold for some reason. He looked at his arms and noticed that he only had two. "Alright, so I'm not Arms Slave...." Donny still didn't know what was going on. This was a dream, surely. That's what he thought. Than he noticed the message in his inbox. At first he thought it was one of his Mayhem Riders responding to him, but instead it was the Silver Jester.

Greetings Players of Deep Ground Online. From your standpoint, you may be wondering many things. Allow me then, to enlighten you of your situation. In short, you are now placed within the Deep Ground Program indefinitely. However, as you also may notice, you are each stripped of your Player Avatars and their abilities. Also take note that your Private Messaging systems among one another are no longer functional. In short, you are completely human and trapped within this world. The game is simple; your minds in the living world are still connected to your chips. However, I have made some rather amusing enhancements. If you die in Deep Ground, a lethal electrical charge will be sent to your brain. You will die instantly. Why have I done this? That too is simple in itself. You people are so… Interesting. Please have fun with this new addition to the Deep Ground experience.

Donny couldn't believe what was going on. Stuck in the game? This was like a dream come true. If he was like anyone else, they'd lack any abilities as their Avatar, stuck with their weak, human bodies. But Donny had his War Machine, and so did his Mayhem Riders. The boy broke into a grin and tried to message the others, only to find that his Private Message system was removed. "Damn. Alright, well I'm sure there are some at the Green City already. Hn he he he he.... Gah ha ha ha ha!" Donny laughed manically as he drove his War Machine out to the ruins of the Green City. In the distance other War Machines were starting to flee from the Black City towards the ruins of the Green City as well. Donny was already beginning to think of his speech that he'd have to give to the others to calm them, and eventually lead them. This was like some sort of post-apocalyptic, where everyone is left with nothing. "In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king!"

"Tsugumi-san." Hearing a familiar voice, Yoshino glanced to her left to see Retsu. Her initial reaction was relief that the other girl was alright. Her second was confirmation of the Jester’s words. Retsu was well inversed in the domain of hacking, and so for her to be trapped in the game as well was enough proof to the Student President that things were indeed dire. “It’s me Retsu,” Yoshino called out, taking steps to her second-in-command before pausing a few feet away. Knowing the Yakuza, she would no doubt be skeptical about her place right here and now. So as to prove that she was the real Yoshino, the Black King straightened her posture and sharpened her eyes. “You can be at ease Retsu,” she said calmly. “I’m not an illusion; I just got caught at a bad time.” The commanding tone of none other than Moon Rider herself. And just to make sure she settled any lingering thoughts of doubt… “Besides, I don’t quite like those pajamas. They’re less fitting than the ones you wore at my dorm,” she added in coyly. Before she could say anything else, a sudden “oof” echoed softly to their right. Caught off guard, Yoshino whirled around to glare at the newcomer, only to relax when she realized that it was just another Player. Well…sorta. The girl really couldn’t be defined by her physical traits, seeing as she was dressed in nothing but long pants and a straight-jacket, though the ruffles of a black and white dress were seen peaking out from her bonds. Blond hair was whipped about back and forth as the girl narrowed her orange eyes at the two others. And that’s when Yoshino realized. Of course. If what Jester said was true, then everyone was at their last spawning location. That meant… The golden-haired girl stood up on shaky legs, spitting sand out of her mouth and wiggling once more in vain to escape her miniature prison. “The fuck are you two looking at?” Elsewhere, at the Green City no less, the massive sprouts of Dissolutions began to diminish suddenly. Rather, they began to scurry away, much like smaller animals would hasten to escape a predator. Something huge was erupting the sand. Something…monstrous. Rising out like a titan of vengeance, a massive Dissolution climbed out of the craters left from destruction. With a clawed hand, it heralded to the heavens above, dragging itself out finally and standing tall. It was a mountain of doom and end, large enough for all those approaching the Green City to bask in its unholy glory. A giant Dissolution, hiding underneath the city all along.

Taro woke up when something cold hit his face. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes and noticed that the sky was cloudy. The white kitten was still on his chest and he couldn’t find anything amiss. What had woken him up? Taro felt his face. There was a drop of… water? Another drop of water hit his hand and he realised what it was. Taro carefully lifted the cat off his chest and got up, droplets of water beginning to fall. He went inside the building, just in time as a wave of water drops cascaded onto the roof. It was now officially raining. Wonderful. Rain normally wasn’t a problem, but it certainly was right now. After all, he had a kitten and nowhere to put it. He couldn’t put it out in the rain, and the dorm wouldn’t allow pets. What could he do? Taro checked the time and noticed that it was already evening. He’d skipped out on the entire day of classes. That was bad. The cat woke up and stretched in his hand. Taro stroked the cat’s outstretched back as he thought. All he could really do now is go back to his room or something, but he should study to make up for missing the classes. Taro’s stomach rumbled and the cat meowed. First thing’s first. Taro thought. Food. Taro snuck into the kitchen and stole some food for him and the cat, and made his way back to the dorm room. Once there, he opened the can of Tuna he stole and set it on the floor for the cat. The cat meowed gratefully and began eating the tuna. Taro opened the packet of bread he took and began eating it. He wasn’t that hungry. As he chewed his bread, he thought about the cat. What would he do with it? Well, he certainly couldn’t exactly leave it out there in the rain. Whatever reservations he had, he’d have to keep the cat for now. He’d decide what to do with it later. After some time, the cat finished the can of Tuna and Taro finished his bread. It was getting late, so Taro decided to take a bath. Taro looked at the kitten, and found to his dismay that it was quite dirty, so Taro took it with him. Taro came out of the bath refreshed, with a sweet smelling cat who was clean. No fleas, fortunately. Taro settled down to bed in his cat pyjamas and the cat jumped onto his bed as well. Taro pulled his blanket up to his chin as the cat jumped onto his pillow and made itself comfortable. “Good night.” Taro said to no one in particular as he turned the lights off. Taro stared into darkness for a while. It had been a crazy day, running into 3 dudes, running away from 3 dudes. Running into a cat and a meeting, running away from the meeting with the cat. Skipping out all of his classes and stealing food… He had a lot of explaining to do. Well, he’d deal with it tomorrow. He was too tired now. Taro closed his eyes and went to sleep. And then he woke up staring at a blue sky. Taro got up quickly. He was still in his pyjamas, but he was no longer on top of his bed. He was on the roof of a dilapidated building that he’d felt like he’d seen before. Quickly, Taro got up and ran to the edge of the building, looking over it. A huge crater filled with dissolutions met his sight. He was in deep ground. With his pyjamas on. Taro was confused, but his question was answered, when he saw the message he had gotten.

Greetings Players of Deep Ground Online. From your standpoint, you may be wondering many things. Allow me then, to enlighten you of your situation. In short, you are now placed within the Deep Ground Program indefinitely. However, as you also may notice, you are each stripped of your Player Avatars and their abilities. Also take note that your Private Messaging systems among one another are no longer functional. In short, you are completely human and trapped within this world. The game is simple; your minds in the living world are still connected to your chips. However, I have made some rather amusing enhancements. If you die in Deep Ground, a lethal electrical charge will be sent to your brain. You will die instantly. Why have I done this? That too is simple in itself. You people are so… Interesting. Please have fun with this new addition to the Deep Ground experience.

Taro was in deep ground, without his abilities. But so was everyone. Taro quickly took out his phone which was mysteriously there, and turned it on. No service. Figures. Taro looked out at the crater again. The dissolutions ran away from the centre as a massive kingly dissolution came out from the ground. Taro hid under the cover of the building’s railing, peeking over it at the new dissolution in the centre of the green city. “Why is this happening?” Taro asked out loud, cowering behind the flimsy cover.