"I'm Nies Hellum. It's a bit weird, I know, but I liked it" Niels Hellum seemed rather nervous, kind of like how Alex was outside of Deep Ground Online. Smiling in what he hoped was an encouraging way Jukebox waited for Nies to continue.
"Um. I haven't tried driving yet, been a bit too...nervous about it. Surely a noisy assassin wouldn't be a good one? I mean... well... you can't really be an assassin if you're noisy-stealth and all that, but I suppose...yes, we probably should look for intel"
Nies chosen vehicle was a simple four door sedan with off-road tires, it was green of course.

“Well this is the perfect time to learn, I’ll get us out of the city then you can drive,” pulling open the driver’s door and checking the sun visor for the keys Jukebox got in and waited for Nies to get in the passenger seat
“On a side note, Nies, have you ever seen a magic trick? Y’know what the basic principle to those tricks is?... While showing off the left hand, they do the trick with the right hand. I like that idea, don’t you? Even when you know the principle behind it, it can still surprise and amaze. Anyway let’s get going,” having found the keys Jukebox had the engine roared to life and made sure Nies was in her seat.

“Now, please put on your seat belt. Not everyone is as courteous a driver as me.” Putting on his seat belt Jukebox revved the engine and shot out of the garage like a bat out of hell. Jukebox weaved through the streets, barely missing pedestrians and sideswiping a parked car... or two, three actually. Honestly though, Jukebox was confused.
“That’s weird, usually they hear me coming and the streets are bare long before I get here... wait... wait... Heeeere... weeee... GOOO!” and with that Soundtrack of Life activated.



Putting the pedal to the metal Jukebox ripped through the streets and finally burst out of the city limits. “I LOVE driving!” glancing at Nies, Jukebox asked “You want a turn?” as he offered Jukebox saw an Ivory Mask convoy drive on by... with a little Level 1 cat girl hanging on the back of the last vehicle. “I don’t think I have ever seen a stranger scene... sorry, you can have your turn in a sec, I have a question for that kitten.”
Driving up behind the Ivory Mask convoy, Jukebox wound down his window and Soundtrack of Life changed tracks.



“Hey, um Miss? Fanged Ranger here, it's kinda my Guild's job to look out for Level 1's... Do, do you want a ride? I’ll let you be in the car!”

When Azaga buried his hand in his coat to fetch something, Corpse Collector instantly drew out one of her pistols. She aimed it at Azga, fully expecting some kind of weapon or spell or whatever Class this guy was. So it was to her great surprise that she saw the Player hand out to her a bag of money. Raising an eye, Corpse Collector slowly retracted her gun and gingerly took the pouch, eyeing it suspiciously before storing it into her inventory.

“….the hell is your problem? And what’s with your voice? You swallowed a bottle of milk or something? What, do you just give out free money to every pretty girl you meet? Well, I’m not that easy to court weirdo so don’t get any funny ideas or I’ll pump your body full of bullet holes.”

Still, Corpse Collector’s greed overruled common sense and she would have taken the money regardless. And hey, maybe if this guy was so charitable than maybe he’d be willing to cough up some more along the way? Perhaps it was best to stick around this drama queen after all. Grinning, she held up her hand to make him pause before turning away and running off somewhere. A few minutes passed before she returned with a two-seater motorcycle. She revved up the vehicle and motioned for him to hop on.

“So I take it you wanna visit the Black King too? No? Too bad, cause that’s where we’re going. You’re my free money ticket so consider us mutual comrades for now. Now shut up, hurry up, and get your ass on. Oh, and don’t worry about the ride. I paid for it.”

The sound of running was heard, faintly getting closer. Shouting coupled along with the footsteps, indicating that Corpse Collector had flat out stolen the bike. Seeing Azga’s reaction, she merely shrugged before revving up her ride again.

Little did they know-or rather, anyone heading to the Black King’s District-a massive wave of Dissolutions had suddenly sprang up right in between the District’s entrance and Faded City, connecting all the pathways of the other Guilds. What was strange about it though was that the area had been cleared out earlier, either by passing Outlaws or Moon Rider herself. Now they had just reappeared with little an effort, simply existing into the game.

Of course, the only ones who would see the massive horde gathering would be Arms Slave and his crew given how close they were to the Ebony Stryker border. Moon Rider was unaware, her focus keen solely on the battle at hand. She raised an eye as both Flan and Newt stood up against Midnight Soloist and apparently Rocket Lancer, despite his critical health.

“I noticed you flipped a coin before answering me Midnight Soloist,” the Black King said calmly as the fight raged on. “Could it be that you relied on a chance of luck just now to decide your fate? I do admire your ambition and the charisma you seem to carry, but I am curious as to why you would rely on a random factor such as that.”

If Moon Rider was fazed at all by the battle taking place right before her, she did a good job of now showing it.

"Paid for it, hm?" Azga chuckled softly but hopped on anyways. He was pleased to see that she didn't take his 'bait' to flirt with her but instead met his true goal; to appear that he was. As they drove off, his cape flared behind him with the wind, making him thankful that it was partially attached to his arms to secure it from nearly falling away. He adjusted his glasses and looked at her as she drove. He was thankful to find someone who actually knew how to fight in his party, even if it would be only for a brief time. Back when she had been asking him questions, his only response was to smile with his eyebrows raised. Honestly, this girl seemed a bit rough around the edges but she could have easily left him behind. The fact that she was giving him a ride said more about her character than just being an irritable girl, for better or for worse. At that moment he realized they hadn't introduced themselves to another. Not that it was necessary with usernames over their head anyways, but it was still the polite way to go.

"By the way, My name is Azga. The Amazing, if you will. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Corpse Collector." He nodded to her before leaning back and looking at the digital sky. "May I ask, why are you headed to see the Black King anyways? You don't seem the type to work well in a group."

"Tch. Damn. Bastards beat me to it." Arms Slave peered into the hole in the ceiling, noticing the two players who seemed like they were challenging the Black King. Kinda made Arms Slave want to join. However they had bigger (Or more) fish to fry then with each other. Announcing his presence Arms Slave shouted from the hole in the ceiling and into the hall below.

"Ayo! Drama bombs! Looks like trouble's coming. Red and White's are coming in force, and it looks like the locals want in on the fun. Get ya shit together, they're here in about five minutes!"

Arms Slave looked at the coming horde and didn't think they even had that much long. He knew that his two contacts within the White and Red guilds were purposely leading their respective mobs from different locations into the city. This was just to ensure a minimal amount of fighting between the two factions, at least not until they clash at the heart of the black city. Dissolutions were popping up now too, and Arms Slave didn't think this was strange, but this may pose a problem for the oncoming mobs and anyone else stuck in the city. The outlaws he couldn't really control; they were doing their own thing, and he doesn't even know where most of them are at now. At least not until he felt a blade cut into his backside. "Bastards!"

Throwing a wild slash behind him, Arms Slave managed to clip a rogue who tried to get a backstab off of him. A nasty bit of damage, but nothing that Arms Slave was overtly worry about. He looked at the rogue, a level 2 fellow with a glowing red name. The mark of an outlaw. The four-armed hulk flourished his axes and fired a Chain Catch onto the building itself. "Alright, a little foreplay before we really get into it. Let's go, outlaw!"

---

The Outlaws were the first to hit the Black Capital. A whole gang of them, 15 in all. Most were low levels 1 and 2, but amongst them was a level 5 utilizing stealth. The others were meant to simply swarm the other payers; most were rogues, but they had a few warriors amongst them that could serve as meat shields. Two were fighting Arms Slave outside, while the rest had gone inside, either by busting through their own windows or knocking down the front door.

"WELCOME HOME MOON BITCH!"

The first action from the first wave of Outlaws: The 7 rogues took out their machine pistols which looked like Beretta 93R. They fired a spray of bullets into the hall; what they lacked in individual accuracy they were making up for in volume. Classic Dakka. Some used two, doubling their firing rate and dropping their accuracy proportionately. Then the warriors came in, about five blood thirsty berserkers who were suppose to act as meat shields. They all had huge weapons; big swords, big axes, big hammers, compensating their lack of multi attacks for one big smash. They attacked the nearest non-Outlaw to them, with gusto and fury.

The level 5 was more subtle. He was stealthing into the fight through one of the holes on the ceiling. His personal stealth field extended not only to him, but any equipment he was using: including the rope being used to bring him down. But he did not hit the floor immediately, but hanged out in the air so he could get the drop on someone unaware of him. If he had Icarus Strike this attack would be so much more powerful, but he'll settle for the regular sneak attack.

---

It was a long walk to the Black City, but Dark Wraith did arrive a the edge of town. Fortunately, before the Dissolutions showed up. She was forewarned about their arrival thanks to her readings from the system, but did find it strange they would spawn here. Dissolutions don't spawn in the city, and not even near it usually. Sure a player could lure one inside, but that was different. Something was amiss here. And Dark Wraith assumed that the Black King might have some clues as to what's going on.

Dark Wraith arrived to the city with her staff in hand. A staff which by itself bolstered her magical abilities, like all staffs would. But this one in particular was created through a boss soul; The Gravelord. In Dark Wraith's hand her Necrotic abilities, which were essentially all of them at this point, had an increase. And she could forcibly take over one of the undead of others, so long as she has no undead herself. She doesn't suspect she'd be fighting Necromancers here, but one could never be too careful.

There was fighting happening at the Black Castle. Sighing, Dark Wraith went into a jog. "Honestly... She needs to not make these sort of announcements..." She hurried onwards towards the castle, a spell ready in her staff to cast and kill.

Smitten Kitten was holding on pretty tightly on the back of the vehicle. She was almost certain no one could even see her. At least no one inside, which is why she nearly jumped when she heard someone call out to her. She almost fell off, but caught herself before she became known as "Road Kill". She turned and looked at the person who spoke to her. "My parents told me not to ride with strangers!" Which was ironic because she had essentially tagged along with a bunch of strangers without even asking them. He offered to at least let her ride inside, which made her more suspicious. However this was an opportunity she could use. "Where are you going?"

“We’ll meet together in the Sanctuary and fly off to the Moon after then,” Yuuki laughed, steam hissing from the vents of her Heavy Arms as they revved themselves up to combat-readiness. And then, the white noise silenced itself, leaving only the sound of her breaths rasping in her ears. Her eyes widened, even as her world narrowed, the entirety of her concentration on the mage before her. That was her win condition: kill the mage that looked like she came from League of Angels.

Long, light brown hair. Blue, arcanic tattoos. A lithe, hourglass figure. A dress that split apart at the center to reveal her thighs. A sword, so Monodextrous Casting.

A wry smile on full lips. Good. It was good to smile.

The Midnight Soloist felt her smile growing as well, as the world came back to her. Newt had summoned her minions, and in response, a single Heavy Arm began to click and churn, gears unlocking, cables reconnecting, parts folding and melding until they became pillars, hammers to smash apart Newt’s petty defenses.

“Chance of luck? That’s a little redundant, isn’t it?” Yuuki replied, rolling up her sleeves, as her rose-pink eyes flicked back up to the impassive King. “And don’t you enjoy surprises? Or are you the type to pour weed killer over your lawn because all you want is manicured grass?”

“Because, I, for one, love surprises! And that’s why Yuuki does what she does!”

In that instant, the sounds of gunfire erupted from behind her as outlaws rushed in, guns blazing. With that impromptu signal, the Midnight Soloist dashed forwards, right as the flaming sword conjured by Newt came into existence. In another second, the bladed projectile fired, grazing the black-cloaked player as she homed into her target. The summoned imps, their pitchforks glowing with red heat, were also converging onto her, but she disregarded them.

“Surprise!”

A click, and then a boom, as the Land Demolisher’s hammer smashed into Yuuki’s boots mid-stride. In an instant, she was blown forwards, flying past the imps and narrowly dodging the swing of a berserker. Somersaulting through the air, her two Heavy Arms extending to their maximum length of two meters to sweep and catch the fragile mage.

“GOOD LUCK!”

After all, Rocket Lancer was the one closest to those random berserkers now.

Emma listened to the Midnight Soloist's rant. This chick is nuts! Who does shit like this off a coin flip?! Emma was at the very least relieved when she saw the small androgynous avatar leap into action for the Ebony Striker's side. Maybe there's some hope yet... but it looks like our King doesn't see fit to join the fight. But it looked like the number of combatants was growing. Gunfire erupted from neither side, but luckily the shooters weren't very accurate.

It looked like the Black Kingdom now had an outlaw problem. This fight was rapidly becoming too big, the two errant players were hard enough to deal with by themselves. As the Midnight Soloist took flight Emma quickly redirected her minions towards the other hostile player, who now had to deal with both them and her sword flying towards him. Alright, time to move! I've got to be careful of those crazy arms. A portal ripped opened on the ground directly next to Newt. She dived through head first, barely avoiding the Soloist's attack. Emma reappeared... right above the Soloist's flight path, sword pointed down. She was going to catch the Soloist in the air and skewer her.

If Nies hellum was being honest, she wasn't at all confident in jukebox's ability to drive. He had after all nearly knocked her over. Still, she climbed into the car, nodding as he talked. She buckled her eat belt on, not particularly interested wit a date with the road, she was silent and almost sombre, as she did so. Ths was why she enjoyed DGO. People actually seemed interested in her, and in having her around, even if all she could do was heal them.

nies grabbed onto her seat as Jukebox went roaring out the garage, almost at once hitting a car but managing to swerve and miss it. She made a little sound, not wanting to die today, not wanting to distract Jukebox. He made a comment that the streets were usually empty for him, before activating his ability, the song echoing once more. yes, please don't stop him. I don't want to be in a car sandwich she thought to herself.

she was incredibly relieved when Jukebox got them go the city limits, figuring that that meant they were slightly safer from hitting things then they otherwise where. When he glanced ovdr at her, she managed a smile, as he offered to let her drive. She didn't get a chance to answer as the convey came passed, and they saw the cat girl. When Jukebox initiated conversation with her, the girl replied.

nies hellum let out a snort of laughter at the girls comment. Chances were, she knew noone on the convey and had just jumped on for a ride, the way she was hanging on, theu probably didn't even know she was there. The comment just seemed silly when you put it in that perspective. She shifted so she could speak too, "Don't mind him. He seems peculiar but is okay. We are headed to the black city, if you wish to tag along. Its safer then hanging on, and potentially falling. You don't want to become road kill, do you?"

Oh, so Yuuki's her name? He thought. Wait, is that her real name or her avatar title?

The flaming sword grazed the robot arm girl but its primary target was still him. With no where else to go, he rocketed upwards as rather inaccurate gunfire filled the hall below. The imps got taken out and the sword wasn't exactly going anywhere. As he went up, there was a loud crash and he looked over to where robot arm girl was. The mage they were fighting seemed to slip in the ground.

That's dangerous! He thought.

There were only so many places the mage could go but not many of them were going to be good for his ally's health. He boosted forward and deactivated his rocket, dropping from the sky and immediately charging a Fatal Accelaration.

Level 1! He reached level one charge as another portal appeared above Yuuki. His body started to emit a weak yellow light.

...Level 2! He reached level two as the mage came through. The light became stronger.

...And Level 3! His light reached peak as the mage started to bring her sword down on Yuuki.

He unleashed his skill, lance point speeding for the mage's back.

Morgan Hazelnut - Flan

Flan didn't have the luxury to make sure the attack landed successfully. In a flash, the throne room was filled with barbarians and the like threatening to take over, or kill the Black King, or whatever. Whatever the case, Morgan's focus switched from the battle at hand to leaving on good terms with the king. With the last of the three jumps, Flan flew over to the king and rested in a defensive pose should someone decide to attack. "Sorry, your elegantness, but it appears I won't survive after this battle. If you don't mind, I would ask that you allow me to officially join under your command. I'd hate for this to be our only chance to talk. I will, of course, follow your orders, but truthfully, my only goal is to find out who you are, both as a person and as the Black King of old. Either way I will fulfill that dream. Feel free to choose as you see fit."

After accepting the party request, Faust began walking shoulder to shoulder alongside her two new companions. They were going at quite a brisk pace, though she noticed Static seemed to have the least trouble going at such a speed. And considering the blur she was when she had collided with Havoc, it was a safe assumption that she was the speedy type.

Faust thought a bit on what to do. There was likely something happening at their desired location. People were traveling from all over towards it, and not all for the same reason. When it came to the black king, it seemed conflict was imminent. Clenching her fist with some excitement, Alica wondered how the fight would turn out. She was curious to know what her new allies were capable of.

Looking now to their faces, she tried to get a read on them. It was always a thought that ran through her head. What were they thinking? Their opinions on her or their current situation? She supposed she could only know by asking, though that was a bit odd.

"...So" She began, picking up the silence where Static had left it. After some chatting and a surprisingly short walk, they came up to their first obstacle as a team. An odd black wall of game enemies that shouldn't be where they are. A clash of battle could be heard in the distance, though the squirming mess ahead of Dissolutions. As the group came closer, the nearest ones took notice. A low crawling one with quite a few creeping arms, and a long standing one with two flailing appendages.

"Time to play!" Faust shouted out, more of a heads up to her party members then a warning to her enemies. She threw her two arms ahead of her and casted her favorite spell. A purple glow around her limbs and quickly metal pieces formed from nothing, then molded around her. After 20 quick seconds, she had two new sets of gauntlets and boots on her. She then charged towards the taller creature accosting them. Reaching it in a few seconds then throwing both her arms up, palms out facing and open. Casting her next spell near touching the beast. A flash of light and a spark of energy. The thing was shocked and knocked back some distance, stunned and dazed with a small chunk of it's health gone. In the time she had reached and hurt this enemy, the other was quickly coming on her side.

"So.."

Havoc turned her head to see what Faust would say. She'd been wondering how much further they had to go and thought maybe she could ask but did she really want to that person.

Faust seemed to focus on something ahead and Havoc turned to look.
"Time to play!"

The shout gave Havoc some clue as to what to expect but she was still taken aback at the grotesque forms of the Dissolutions the weirdly gangly limbs on bloated bodies creeped her out a little. She swallowed the lump that had appeared in her throat as she accessed her inventory and clicked on her weapon, A two-hander labeled 'Ogre Sword'.
The huge weapon appeared and for the first time she felt its weight in her hand. It was heavy, in the real world she wouldn't have been able to move it an inch but as she hefted it onto her shoulder and charged forward tattered cape fluttering behind her, she felt that here, in DGO matters would be very different.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Two of the creatures were in the groups immediate vicinity, Faust had gone for the taller of the two leaving the crawler unchallenged. Havoc headed for the crawler. Faust had been quicker off the mark and was already engaging the tall dissolution. The crawler had begun stalking around Faust and so was not in position to resist as Havoc came on. At full charge she shrugged the sword off her shoulder to her side and as she drew within range of the vile creature she turned, bringing the sword around with all of her momentum behind it in a furious blow that cut through the creature like a knife through hot butter, starting at it's head and running down it's entire length. Critical hit markers followed the sword as limbs were amputated, organs mulched and bones shattered.

The creatures HP rapidly dropped only stopping at around 30%. The creature, now aware of Havoc spun to face her and Havoc who had danced back out of range after delivering her blow began to advance on it again, her sword held low and back its 'point' dragging along the ground behind her, the scrape of metal on the rough ground sent a shiver up her back and a manic grin spread across her face.
"Here here little critter."

---

Level: 1
EXP: 0
Next Level EXP: 10,000

---

The Corpse Collector initially ignored Azga’s attempts at small talk. Wasn’t it obvious who she was? After all, their usernames were displayed right above their Avatars so introducing themselves seemed kind of pointless. Besides, it wasn’t like she could actually see him anyway. But his follow up question made a wry grin snake up to her visage.

“Ain’t it simple flutter boy? I’m going over to the Black Guild to kick the King’s ass. Simple as that. See, he’s been pissing me off for quite some time now with his whole mystery bull crap going on. Doesn’t help that he kills some of my friends just for fun.”

She failed to mention how those friends of hers were nothing more than low life Hackers and that this was all because of some pity revenge scheme. Before she could continue, they blasted out of Faded City and down the road towards Ebony Stryker territory. Looking around, she saw no one else for miles; chuckling to herself, she unfastened one of her hefty pistols and twirled it around to show off. With one hand gripping the bike, she aimed it in front and fired once.

“Shoot to kill, Death Penalty.”

For a moment, nothing seemed to happen as the bullet simply fired forward with a crack. Then the Dissolutions began to show up, one after another as they began to fill the wasteland with the enemy NPCs. The Corpse Collector placed her gun away, speeding between the growing crowds of enemies. There. That should slow down anyone that wanted to get in her way.

“You like my cool ability? It’s great for birthday parties too.”

As they sped on by, Corpse Collector’s newly created wall of spawned NPCs flourished. It was skeptical, if not downright dirty. Surely an ability like that shouldn't even possible in the DGO system? Even so, her summoned Dissolutions would rush on and engage with Havoc’s group along with any of the Colored Guild convoys carrying the gathering troops and really anyone else that wanted to enter Moon Rider’s territory.

At the Black District, deep in the throne room, Moon Rider glanced up at the perched Flan. She took in the lower leveled Player’s words, frowning as she stated the urge to know the real her. That was very unlikely but Moon Rider did not deny her request to join her, accepting her in less than a heartbeat. In fact, she began sending out request PMs on a massive scale, forwarding the messages to practically anyone in DGO. As a Colored King, she had both that right and influence.

Now, every Player right now would receive an invite into the Ebony Strykers. With all of Deep Ground Online converging onto her District, it wouldn’t be long before her territory would become a warzone. It was best then to gain whatever allies she could now since everyone apparently wanted to wreck her property. She made sure to specify though, sending legitimate invitations to regular Players while separating job offers and sending those to every mercenary.

A certain Avatar named Shadow Shot would receive such an offer in the form of a PM, far away into the Blue Guild. It was common knowledge to everyone that a King could very well send a message to everyone currently online if they wanted. It was rarely utilized however, mostly in part with the pride and arrogance that seemed to follow a Colored King.

Not Moon Rider. No, she was quite willing to do anything it took to ensure her victory. That in mind, she raised a hand to cease the fighting between the people in front of her, mainly Midnight Soloist, Newt, and Rocket Lancer. She ignored the ones fighting above her as well as that extra presence stalking around in her throne room. It was probably a cloaked Player to be honest, but the Black King wasn’t worried about that. After all, as a King, she could easily take out a small army if she needed to.

“That’s enough Newt. Fall back and concentrate your efforts in driving out these Outlaws. As for you, Midnight Soloist, Rocket Lancer. As you can see, I’ve sent invitations to you both. As you can see around you, we are currently under attack. Why waste your time fighting one another when you can ensure both of your survival by joining me and crushing these forces?”

The Black King smirked as she heard the sound of gunfire getting closer and closer to their position. Yes, things were getting to be quite interesting. Admittedly, none of these Players so far were strong enough to become her Deputy-which was half the reason she had opened up her gates-but at least she would build up her Guild once more.

“Why risk your lives on chance and luck when you can fight alongside a full King of Deep Ground Online?”

Azga's eyes widened as he turned and watched the dissolutions beginning to show up from the Corpse Collectors shot. He listened to her explanation before a big grin spread on his face and he laughed.

"Absolutely diabolical, chere! I like your style."

He then turned his face to the direction they were heading. As the motorcycle continued on its way the wind swept through his spiky blonde hair and made his gold earrings jingle with the sway of the road beneath them. His cloak, too, billowed behind them, giving the duo a rather quirky, but definitely intimidating, appearance. The black guilds territory was starting to surround them and it made him realize his own opportunity to showcase his talents for something practical. He sat up in his seat and rose up in his position on the bike, bracing his foot against the back seat to keep him from toppling in the wind. He raised his dragon staff up with both hands before letting it go, his hands surrounding the now hovering object which was kept up by magic. His gold eyes seemed to glow momentarily as he cast a spell.

"Shadows that be, Hide."

With a bubbling sound effect, a translucent aura appeared around the motorcycle as it moved through the territory and then disappeared from vision entirely. He caught the staff in midair as it began to fall and plopped back down in his sidecar. He looked up at her before she could begin to ask questions.

"Witch doctor trick," He explained with a smirk. "Our status should be hidden from anyone nearby should they be able to have sensory feats or abilities. We're going in undetected." He kicked his feet up and put his hands behind his head, relaxed. "Afterall, if this guy is as bad as you say he is, I have no qualms helping you in taking him down, chere."

Arms Slave swung around the building using his chains. Despite being a warrior his mobility with the chains allowed him to out maneuver the rogues fighting him. They tried, in vain, to shoot him down, but even if their bullets connected it could do very little against his DR 5. Barely scratch damage. The rogues also had to be careful not to be knocked off their feet from Arms Slave swinging around, which one of them failed to do. He lost his balance and started sliding off the rooftop, falling to his death. With one left Arms Slave charged right to him by retracting his chain. He took a few shots from the rogue's guns, sure, but the rogue then had two axes embedded in his chest. And that wasn't all. Arms Slave continued to pull himself upwards until he and the rogue was above the hole. Then he release his hold on the chain, and the two began to plummet to their deaths. Or the rogue did, as Arms Slave saved himself from the potential fall damage by using a chain catch onto the ceiling.

"Scrubs!"

He was soon fired upon, which forced him to lower himself right into the path of Rocket Lancer.

---

The firing squad advanced forward, never stopping to shoot unless they needed to reload. Their aim was abysmal, and their guns not particularly powerful, but with the sheer volume being pumped out it was only a matter of time before one of those bullets landed a crit. The berserkers initially engaged against Rocket Lancer and Midnight Soloist. They were about to charge when one of them started barking orders. "Forget them! Attack the King!"

The Berserkers moved around the other players, making a spirited charge strait towards Moon Rider. They abandoned any notion of defense for a full on offense; all five baring down on the lone king. Even if they were bisected or impaled, they could try to complete their blow so long as they could hold their weapon.

The level five rogue outlaw took the opportunity of Rocket Lancer's attack to stack some damage himself. He knew that Rocket Lancer was aiming for Newt, so he readied to drop right in the path of Rocket Lancer's attack, timing it so that he lands on Rocket Lancer himself. And to try to maintain a hold of the warrior, the rogue attempted to stab both his daggers into Rocket Lancer's shoulders. If successful, the rogue would then try to angle Rocket Lancer towards the Black King. If not, then he's still have a chance to land near Midnight Soloist and hit her while she's occupied with the other fighters. All the while the rogue would be invisible until he actually lands an attack, or someone manages to stay close to him.

---

It was then that black smog began to fill the room. The rogues didn't know where it came from; when it engulfed them they couldn't even see in front of their face. They began to fire in every direction, succeeding in absolutely nothing as their health was rapidly getting drained. They would die within three minutes if they couldn't escape the Miasma, and some before that. There were sounds of something getting smashed in the head, but it was masked underneath the sound of gunfire. Dark Wraith was casually finishing off the low level rogues by bashing them with her staff while they were stumbling through the miasma, doing more damage then usual thanks to the miasma lowing their physical defense to the point that even Dark Wraith could do meaningful harm to them. Of the 9, only 4 of them managed to get out of the black smog to escape their potential deaths in the toxic mist. Everyone else was either dead, or about to be.

---

At the outskirts of the Black City the Dissolutions were doing their thing. The Dissolution Faust was fighting against was soon joined by four more at full health. They growled, somehow, at the lone healer and attacked all at once: All five leaped into the air and pounced at Faustian Shift. They would sink their claws into her flesh, drag her to the ground, and then tear her apart if at least one of them could hold her down. One out of five.

Havoc's Dissolution snarled at her and backed up. Soon more Dissolutions joined it, but not just for a combined attack like with Faustian Shift. No, these Dissolutions jumped onto the lone one, healing it, fusing with it, and making it bigger. Much bigger. By the time all five were assimilated, the single level 1 dissolution became a level 2 giant slime dissolution. More claws, more damage, more mass, and more hurt. The beast roared at Havoc and flung itself into the air, intending to crush her underneath it's mass. It's impact radius was ten-feet; anything within would not only be crushed, but it would be adsorbed into it's body where it would begin to eat you alive.

Jukebox, Kitten, and Hellum weren't having it any easier. With Corpse Collector creating Dissolutions right in front of them, they wasted no time hopping onto the vehicles and causing mayhem. The front of the Ivory Mask crew got totaled when the Dissolutions forced them into a flip. creating fiery carnage. They had only seconds to spare before the Dissolutions would get to Smitten Kitten's ride as well as Jukebox's. They needed to act quickly if they wanted to both avoid the flaming wreckage, as well as the slime dissolutions that were going to jump them.

"My parents told me not to ride with strangers!... Where are you going?"
Jukebox couldn’t help but grin at this, doubting that the Ivory Masks had the slightest clue that the kitten was even there. Then Nies spoke up.

"Don't mind him. He seems peculiar but is okay. We are headed to the black city, if you wish to tag along. It’s safer then hanging on, and potentially falling. You don't want to become road kill, do you?" Hearing this Jukebox thought ‘He seems a bit peculiar?’ I’d be offended if it wasn’t true. leaning further out of the window he addressed the kitten

“Your parents are very wise; it is truly a bad idea to ride with strangers. It is almost as bad as clinging to the back of a guild truck. Anyway yes, Black City is our goal. I’m guessing most of DGO is heading there right now and probably where these Ivory Masks are head...ed.” Jukebox had just seen the Dissolution wave crash into the front of the Ivory Masks’ convoy, wrecking it. “Sorry, but I can no longer wait for permission kitty!”
Taking out his Walther PPK Jukebox aimed the gun behind him and emptied a clip into the rear windscreen, shattering it. Reloading, Jukebox re-holstered the gun.



“Well this doesn’t inspire confidence, does it?” slamming the wheel hard to the left Jukebox spins the car 180 degrees and shifted gear into reverse. Now traveling backwards Jukebox slammed the lower rear of the car into the rear of the truck causing the truck to shake slightly. Turning on cruise control Jukebox took off his seatbelt.
“NIES! Take the wheel!” Not waiting for a response Jukebox scrambled into the back seat and crawled onto the trunk. Legs shaking, he grabbed at Smitten Kitten and dragged her over, held her close, and fell back into the car shielding her as best he could. “GET US OUT OF HERE!”

Morgan Hazelnut - Flan

The King's Court was in complete and utter chaos. Flan didn't know exactly who the biggest threat here was, there must have been five or six different parties trying to achieve the same, but personal goals. First, Newt was alone in a big mess of people, though that place was way too crowded for Flan to be of any assistance. Second, a strange giant smokescreen covered the invading barbarians effectively halting their advance. Third, a group of charging berserkers obviously ignoring everyone else and charging straight at the king. As much as Morgan wanted to protect the king on a matter of principle, it was obvious there was nothing to be done. The king should be alright though, if she really was level 9 and at least half as awesome as the rumors stated. That only left four rogues, who were just now leaving the mysterious black fog.

Flan quickly equipped a white neoprene half-mask and a small bo staff from inventory before running straight towards one of the more vulnerable chargers. Just before they collided, Flan jumped at and over the berserker, locking the bo staff under his neck and preceded to front flip over his head, using the momentum to toss him towards the group of rogues just outside the harmful mist. It was unsure if the berserker would actualy hit any of the rogues, or land in the mist, or none of the above, but Flan continued to charge forward ready to fight any and all. The mask, hopefully to help protect against the fog if Flan decided to go swimming in it.

---

"Silver kick!"

The body of the Silver Streaker flew with foot outstretched, shining in the light of the sun, colliding with the face of a hapless outlaw, smacking the poor rogue backwards onto his back. The Silver Streaker retracted his foot as the outlaw was sent sprawling and ducked into a roll, coming up with a ready stance in front of the prone rogue. A girl lay cowering nearby, a would be victim of the outlaw rogue's vicious sneak attack.

"You won't get away with that on my watch!" The Silver Streaker said, grinning.

The rogue scrabbled backwards before getting upright. Although the Silver Streaker had named the kick, it was really just a normal flying kick, putting "normal" in quotation marks because flying kicks weren't exactly common. Having said that, it'd done a fair amount of damage and it'd had the intended effect. The outlaw was pretty pissed now. Pissed that a bald streaker came in to stop him from killing his prize, a level 1 new player.

"Don't get in my way, freak!" The rogue yelled.

The outlaw activated one of his avatar skills, flinging 5 ethereal knives in a deadly arc towards the Silver Streaker, but the Streaker wasn't worried. The silver streaker bent his knees and jumped, sailing clear of the throw, landing behind the rogue. The outlaw began panicking and whirled around before hastily taking aim. The rogue fired his machine pistol in various directions, but the Silver Streaker rolled to the side and began sprinting towards the panicking rogue. As the Silver Streaker came close, the outlaw put a hand on his knife. The Silver Streaker quickly came within striking distance and drew back his fist as if to punch the outlaw, but the outlaw was ready. Sliding out, the knife snaked outwards, speeding to meet the Silver Streaker's reckless charge. However, when the blade arrived, the Streaker vanished. Target gone, the rogue stumbled forward from the momentum of his swing.

"Nice try," The Streaker said, reappearing behind the outlaw. "but you're too slow. Take this!"

The Streaker bent low, fist drawn back as the rogue quickly began to turn. The rogue spun around quickly to look behind him at the Silver Streaker, or rather, the Silver Streaker's fist. As the rogue turned his head, Tim's silver fist rose up to connect with his chin. The Silver Streaker jumped, bringing his fist with him. The poor rogue's head was dragged along for the ride, pulled up by the force of the Silver Streaker's punch.

"SHINING..." The Silver Streaker said as he rose.

The two bodies rose in unison, one boosting the other. As he rose, the sun shone on his outstretched fist, reflecting a dull white light onto his arm. As he rose, the light became more intense before reaching its peak as the Streaker reached the crest of his jump.

"UPPERCUT!!" The Streaker yelled.

The Silver Streaker had reached the apex of his jump, but the outlaw's body didn't stop. The punch had sent the rogue flying through the air as the Silver Streaker neatly landed on the floor, still on his feet. The opposing outlaw wasn't so lucky.

The rogue landed head first, some distance away, but quickly got up, health bar half empty. His legs were shaking as he took aim at the metal menace.

"This is your last chance." The Silver Streaker said threateningly. "If you run away, I won't chase you..."

The rogue looked to the Streaker, and to the the quarry behind the metallic threat, and then back to the streaker. Wisely, the outlaw turned around and sprinted away. The Silver Streaker stared after his vanishing red nameplate, only relaxing after it had shrunk to a vague red smear on the horizon. He sighed, releasing his pent up tension before turning to his rescuee.

"Hey, are you -" He said as he turned, only to see a gun barrel aimed at his face.

The Silver Streaker moved his head as the gun went off. The bullet whizzed past his ear, nicking his health bar. The girl - also a rogue, it seemed - sat on the ground, gun pointed at the Streaker's head, shaking on the floor.

"Pervert!" She yelled, before shooting again.

"Woah!" The Streaker said, dodging the shot. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, but I gotta run!"

The Silver Streaker ducked and weaved away as the girl took pot shots at him before his skill cooldown went away and he disappeared into the distance. The wrath of the girl couldn't be avoided by him, however, and as he slowed down a long distance away, a bleeping sound emerged from his interface.

[You have been reported.] It said.

"Aw, man, not again." The Streaker sighed, slowing down.

The Silver Streaker stopped and opened his interface to get rid of the reported message. In all honesty, he was probably one of the most reported players in the entire game, but it's not like he could help it. It wasn't really his choice to be basically naked, but he didn't mind it so much anymore. Not as much as he used to anyway.

As he dismissed the notification, he noticed he had a message in his inbox. Opening it, he noticed that it was a guild invitation from the black king, oddly enough. He was sure that the black king had closed off his guild. And besides that, he didn't know why he was invited. It was likely that he'd refuse, but he was curious as to why the black king would send one to him of all people.

"Well, I should probably go over there to see what this is all about." The Streaker said. "It's not really that far anyway."

Indeed, it was actually pretty close to where he was right now. Where Tim had been before was a 20 minute walk away, roughly, and the Streaker was closer now. He would get there quickly if he sprinted. Tim got up, brushing himself off. Stretching his limbs, he quickly sped off towards the black city.

---

---

The streak of silver had to slow down near the city borders, however. A massive wave of dissolutions had somehow populated the city. Coming to a complete stop on a nearby hill, he spotted the ominous obsidian towers mired by a veritable black fog of dissolution monsters.

"What the heck is going on?" The Streaker said, confused.

Everywhere he looked, dissolutions. From his high vantage point, he could see some outlaw groups managing to hold back the tide, but they wouldn't last long. The Silver Streaker looked down and saw something close to him. A group of people had begun combating the dissolutions. Three of them, to be precise. One with a halberd, one with a massive greatsword and one with no perceivable weapon. The greatsword wielding person did a good chunk of damage to the surrounding dissolutions, but the remaining ones reacted, attempting to overwhelm one with numbers and fusing to make a more formidable threat.

"Woah, that looks bad!" The Streaker said.

Without thinking, the Silver Streaker quickly sprinted down the hill. As he sped down to the chaotic scene, he yelled a warning.

"INCOMING!" He yelled, coming up to the team fast. "SILVER KICK!"

The Silver Streaker's foot rocketed into one of the dissolutions menacing the weapon-less girl, knocking it into its 'friends'. The Silver Streaker landed on his hands and knees before getting up and readying a stance, facing the remaining dissolutions.

"Morning!" He said to the group, grinning. "Would you like a hand to fight these guys?"

Nies hellum flinched as Julebox shot the convey, shattering a window. Once more his music spiraled out and then he jumped out, yelling for her to take the wheel. She began to panic, she didn't know everything about driving, and now she was told to take the damned wheel? "No! It does not inspire confidence, especially if I'm driving!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, as she grabbed the wheel.

She scrambled into the drivers seat, shaking like a leaf as she tried to keep the car straight. She had no idea if she was doing this right and would have preferred her first drive. She was terrified she was going to crash into the other vehicle, and she was holding so tight to the wheel that her knuckles were white, and she couldn't believe she was doing this. She was pale as her nerves and worry drained the blood from her face, and she heard the thump of Jukebox falling back to the car, presumably with the kitten girl.

She turned furiously towards jukebox, her foot slipping into the accelerator, the car speeding forward, "are you bloody crazy? I don't know what the hell I am doing h-" she broke off in a squeal as she swerved the car to avoid hitting a large rock, and had trouble getting the car back into a straight line, "I don't even know where I am going! I don't even know how to make this thing stop!" she shouted

Shadow Shot was about to give up on a job, when as about the refreshing was about to stop, he got a message. Before he even opened it, he knew this was serious: It was from a character with the title '-Black King'. The Black King had sent him a message! He knew it wasn't personally, because why would he even do that? No, other mercs probably also got a job offer. He read the message, and like he suspected, it was a job offer. If it was from the Black King, Shadow Shot wouldn't refuse it, because of two reasons: 1 A job offer from a Guild King is always honorable, and 2 this was his way to get to know the Black Guild and choose if he wants to join it or not.

It wrote that if he wanted to accept it, he needed to go to the Black Castle. Shadow Shot didn't doubt if for a moment and went to the garage of the Blue Guild. Some vehicles were missing, indicating other guild members had taken them for a ride, but there were still a few motorcycles left. He took one of them, then left in the direction of the Black Guild. He was thinking about how much a King would pay him, as they were pretty rich and even though they didn't need much protection themselves, guilds (especially re-opened ones) were often targeted for attacks by other guilds or outlaws.