Second Frontier

---

Before, Outside of Second Frontier
Eve sat in the library, reading her Mass Media Law textbook quietly to herself as time slowly slugged by. This was her final bit of homework before her well-deserved weekend from the pressures of reality. Finals were just around the corner but she had studied and done everything she possibly could to be caught up in almost everything. So now all she had to do was relax and take a break, and this weekend she was going to be using her time and break on Second Frontier, one of her favorite games.

Her eyes scanned the pages of the final paragraph, being in the home stretch made her stomach turn as excitement filled her body. It had been a few months since she last played the game and with the new expansion meant a lot of new things to discover and a lot of the old things to re-discover. Not to mention all of the friends she made online on Second Frontier, she pretty much lost all contact with them. Her friends on the game were pretty tightly knit, and she did talk to a few of them outside of the game, but it had also been awhile since she last talked to any of them in or outside of the game.

The blonde student packed up her books as she looked outside the fourth story window of the library. Night had came quick, and she would have been at Taylor's getting ready to party if she didn't already plan to take a break from reality with Second Frontier. Making her way through the building she was met with familiar faces across campus and varying parties and organizations. Each waved and said their greetings and goodbyes with Eve simply replying back to each of them with her sweet, happy-go-lucky smile. The girl was on a mission, and that mission was to get to her house and play games for a good few straight hours before sleeping and then doing it again in the morning and the rest of the weekend. Eve had even worked out extra hard the past week so she could have a few rest days for the weekend and be uninterrupted.

Never with silence or the chance of being hit on or asked to join someone for a party, Evie wandered home in the warm, night sky of Spring. She made her way up to her apartment and just tossed everything onto her off-white sofa before heading to her room to update Second Frontier with the new expansion of "The Brave Ones," that came out just yesterday.

"I wonder if any of them will be on?" She mumbled to herself, "I know Jackie and Rolly were busy with starting college, and Braeden was finishing up his semester too..." The most exciting thing for her about the game was honestly all the friends she made. It wasn't that she didn't have many friends outside of the game, it's just that she felt that the friends she made in-game understood her a little better than most. It was like the fact that she didn't need to hide the fact that she even played Second Frontier from them, or games in general. People expected some sort of norm for her, which was that she was a pretty, smart blonde woman who should be doing what pretty, smart blonde women were supposed to do.

As she popped the expansion pack into her computer she watched the loading screen automatically ring up. "Five or more hours!?" She blurted out, sighing in disbelief. "That's like years, I have to wait even longer now!" Rubbing her eyes as they watered, a yawn escaped her lips. It must have been fate then, as a wave of exhaustion overcame her body. "Guess I'll have to start tomorrow." Making her way towards her bed, she slipped in under her covers, stripping off whatever extra layers she didn't need off. That is when what felt like a sharp needle stabbing into her head made her shriek. There was a throbbing pain in her head as she held her head tightly, rubbing it to soothe the pain.

She slipped herself a few strong headache medicine from her drawer next to the bed as it eased the pain. "Everything has to happen at the same time, doesn't it?" With another yawn, Eve was slowly drifting off to sleep, as her eyes met with the Second Frontier updating screen... "[Welcome to Second Frontier, the Brave One.]"

---

Present, Inside Second Frontier
Eve felt something wet dripping on her face as she slept. At first it was just a few drops, then it became a constant wetness not just on her face, but all over her. "What the-" She cracked her right eye open and was met with what seemed like the brightest light in the world, greeting her face. It was morning, a very bright morning. The the sun was in her face and what was even stranger was that she wasn't in her bed, she was outside in the middle of a field. "What's going on here?"

She blinked her eyes a few times, adjusting to the brightness of her surroundings, picking herself off the ground. She looked across the open valley as she saw a few buildings in the distance, a cornfield, and a few farm animals. "Did I get drugged last night or something?" Scratching her head she winced in pain as her hand carved at her scalp. She was wearing metallic gloves of some sort, which were very strong and hurt a lot. "Since when?" The girl muttered to herself. Something was off, and she had no clue what it was.

"Alright, Taylor!" Evie shouted to no one. "This is very funny, dressing me up and throwing me into the middle of no where, but can we stop now? Taylor!?" She listened as there was still no reply, only the echo of her last word repeating over and over. Taylor, Taylor, Taylor...

Checking her hands, she noticed more about the engravings on her gloves. It was in an odd language that she hadn't seen before, or at least not in real life. "Gauntlets? Wait... these are my Summer Alexis Gauntlets... But wait, how?" She then hesitantly, but curiously examined her whole body. Noting and noticing that her sleepwear was now swapped with an Angel Silk dress, Myra's Graves and Belt Set, and a Summer Alexis Breastplate, all from her game of Second Life. "Ah ha, that's it! Second Life! But when did I log on?"

A sharp ringing then sounded, bringing Evie down to her knees, and causing a throbbing pain in her head, just like before when she was first falling asleep. "What's happening!?" She shouted, holding her head in pain. Whatever it was, the blonde woman hoped it would end soon.

Real world. Before second frontier entrapment.

"Honey. Would you like some more sweet potatoes? You're looking ever so thin dear..." Crooned the little old woman shrewely, liberally splashing more of the pureéd substance onto her victims plate before any objection could be made. "No Harold. You've had enough." She added, firmly deterring her partner's efforts to attain a seconds serving of pork.

Aeisha laughed a little inside as once again her parents went through the elderly couple routine they seemed so fond of. Despite appearances neither of Harold nor his tiny framed wife Helen were actually that old. In actuality both of them had completed very successful careers and retired early into their fourties. Aeisha's father for example had only just hit fifty. Nonethelss the two of them seemed to feel their retired status entitled them to act like old age pensioners and Aeisha had no intention of altering this aspect of their eccentricity. Other aspects however she would've swapped out any day.

"So. How's that job of your's going Aeisha?" Harold said turning his attention away from the forbidden article of pork and onto his daughter. Aeisha switched immediantly from internal laughter to internal groaning. These interrogations never went well.

"It's going ok." Aeisha replied subversively. "My biggest sale yet shipped out yesterday and the customer seems pleased with it. Today's pitch was a little dissapointing but it's still salvageable."

"And?" Her father said expectantly.

"Look. I'm not going to get a promotion within two months of joining the company Dad." Aeisha replied a bit more firmly this time. "I've been offered some additional training in my current role which is hopeful but they're hardly going to consider me for the senior staff opening this early in."

"Have you applied?"

Aeisha sighed from exasperation and reluctantly admitted she had not applied for the senior staff position.

"Well I think you should..." Her mother butted in before being interrupted by the buzz of Aeisha's phone vibrating. Aeisha hastily pulled the phone out of her jacket pocket and flipped it open. A client. Not just any client either. This was the customer she had made her biggest sale to. They were calling well outside of business hours but at this point Aeisha would have taken any excuse to escape her situation so she politely excused herself from the table.

"I should probably take this." She said looking apolagetically at her parents who shrugged at one another. This was commonplace for them. "It's about time I headed off anyway"." She added. Her parents came stood as she did, coming round the table to give brief hugs good bye before proceeding to clear the table. Aeisha stepped outside. Her parents were lovely most of the time but when they put the pressure on her boy did they pile it on high. Aeisha sighed relief before returning the call.

Thirty seconds later Aeisha was more agitated than she would have been if she had stayed inside. "What do you mean you can't pay for the products? They're already shipped! No... No we can't just take them back. We made them to your specifications just as you asked." There was a brief pause as the customer made an agitated objection before Aeisha replied teresly, trying her absolute best to hide the frustration from her voice. "I'm afraid you're going to have to take that up with someone senior. My authorisation only goes so far on these things." Another brief pause. "Yep. Mhm. Ok. Goodnight to you too... Yes I'm sure I'll be hearing from them tomorrow." She said politely before slumping into the drivers seat of her tiny red punto and letting out a great breath of exasperation. She rubbed her temples firmly as she tried to clear the flood of frustration that clouded her mind before deciding that these were tomorrows problems now. It was late and there was nothing she could do about her situation straight away so she might as well relax and enjoy herself. Aiesha presented her phones screen with her middle finger before slinging it into the passanger footwell and switching on the cars cd player. She drove home singing (Smile like you mean it. The Killers. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wr4SVUH1MbM&sns=em) with her mind clear of the problems that had plagued the day.

When Aiesha finally arrived home it had been dark for over two hours. Despite this, possibly because of the vast quantities of caffine she had consumed in order to arrive home safely, Aiesha was not remotely sleepy. She changed into her most comfortable bright pink onsie (the one with the "cute kitty-cats" on it) and sat down in front of her computer monitor with a mug of hot chocolate to play some Second Frontier. Of course instead of the game Aiesha was greeted with a lengthy update screen as the expansion pack began to install. She plonked her head down on the desk from disappointment. That being said it was probably for the best. She hadn't realised how tired she was. Aeisha yawned and stretched before grabbing her hot chocolate and heading off towards bed.

Real world. Moments before second frontier.

Aiesha shuffled over to her bed, hot chocolate in hand and eyes bleary. For a moment she considered going through the proper bedtime routine of doing her teeth and such but then decided screw it. She was too tired and would make doubly sure they were clean in the morning. The various articles of clothing on the bed were tossed on the floor to make room for her, another thing which could be sorted in the morning, and Aiesha rolled into bed. A quick sip of hot chocolate was taken and then she lay back in bed putting the hot chocolate on the bedside dresser as she did so.

"Ouch!... Double ouch!" A sharp stabbing sensation had emanated from and into the back of Aiesha head. This distraction had then caused Aiesha to spill hot chocolate on her fingers and the bedside cabinet. Drat! Now she would have to go... Uhhh... Aiesha yawned and forgot what she had been thinking about. Within the next few moments she was fast asleep.

---

Inside Second Frontier

The dainty, harmonic song of birds permeated the air and a light breeze slipped gently through the forests branches as Aiesha begrudgingly began to stir from her sleep. Her bed seemed to swing oddly with the breeze and the previously supportive mattress rolled and rippled with each little movement she made.

"A dream?" She thought sluggishly as she tried to snuggle into her pillow. Dreams could wait. Aiesha snuggled into her pillow and tried to lie out flat, seeking the refuge of an undisturbed sleep once. Seemingly in response to her attempt her pillow yanked itself out from beneath her head and she face-planted into the harsh fabric of the hammock beneath. Aiesha opened her eyes. She was in a hammock, she realised.

Aiesha jolted to consciousness suddenly, trying to sit as she did so. The sudden motion caused the hammock to roll over and spill her along with the rest of its contents onto the forest floor. Aiesha's face fell upon the soft, furry pillow she had just been using and for the first time she got a proper look at it. It was a tail. The end of it featured glossy black fur in a few rings before the tail became dominated by bushy gold fur. Aiesha's gaze followed the tail back until she could turn her head no further and so she turned her body too. The tail moved with her. This was getting frustrating. Aiesha tried the same technique once more before leaping on the tail, grabbing it and pinning it to the floor.

"Owwwuh!" She exclaimed, leaping back from the tail only for it to follow her once more. Grabbing the tail that way had really hurt her... Her tail. The realisation of what was going on began to hit Aiesha or, perhaps more accurately, Felicity. she moved forwards to very gently touch her tail. It was soft to the touch and the fur upon it felt healthy and lush. Felicity tried to move her tail and found it responded instinctively, swishing side to side as though she had had a tail all her life. This was weird.

Felicity stood up and looked herself over. The parts of herself she could see further confirmed she had undergone a physical change. The parts of herself she couldn't see were covered in oddly familiar red armour. Her hands were also covered in fur, albeit much much shorter and smoother than that on her tail. She could rub her hands together without the fur interfering. She rubbed her face. The same fur was present, short and smooth, but far more interesting was the shape of her face. She had a muzzle. It wasn't a very projected one but it was there nonetheless and upon the end of it was what felt like a cats nose. Felicity opened her mouth and poked around with a finger. Sharp carnivorous teeth and a rough, cat-like tongue. By now felicity was almost certain of what was going on.

Felicity stood up, feeling the moderate heft of her characters light/medium armour and inspected the other possessions that had fallen out of the hammock with her. A pair of swords, a hat and a shield. The smaller of the two swords was a normal sized katana sheathed in red that matched her armour with a shield in the same colour. The most recognisable element though? The greatsword. Felicity saw it and, like the final piece of the jigsaw puzzle sliding into place felicity realized what was going on. She was in Second Frontier!

Claire lay on her bed, bedsheets pulled tightly over her head, a soft blue light pierced through the fabric to illuminate the wall opposite her, and showed the silhouette of her body. It shook as she spoke, murmurs halfway between giggles and hushed exclamations of excitement. From time to time a male voice could be heard, deep and rugged almost, but as the hours past this voice would slowly grow more hoarse with sleep. They'd been online all day, playing their favorite online games and chatting about nothing in particular. She'd mentioned, at some point, that she had to do her chores before it got late, but she never got around to them. It was getting late and he muttered something about having to wake up early tomorrow for work, she could hear him rub a hand over his chin and nose as he sniffed. She smiled meekly and nodded, although he couldn't see her, and quickly rejoined with a hushed goodnight. As the call ended and the blue light of the screen faded, the girl lay there, suddenly aware of the hour and how sore her body was.

She pulled the sheets from over her head, her short hair a gnarled tangle, and swung her body off the bed. Landing quietly on her rug, she arched up like a cat, and gave a tired sigh. Her shoulder ached, pulsed even, as blood began to flow into it again. She walked about her room, bathed in the light of her now white computer screen, and looked at her desk idly, as she always did when she was in deep thought or organizing something in her head. It was a mess, but an organized one; on top of it was the dead monitor of her old computer and around it were pens, nail things, thread, half made dolls, a sharpener, a journal, gums and chewy candies, and her schoolbag. She paced over as quietly as she could, sensing that in the room below her her mother lay quietly, knowing that she too was probably awake, but would not give this knowledge away to her with careless movements.

Her hands clasped the now flat bag, which was usually thick with books and notebooks and her calculator. Today was a school day but she hadn't gone. Her mother didn't like that. But the doctor had said little physical activity until their next appointment, which would be tomorrow. Claire pursed her lips as she remembered how enraged her mother was and instead diverted her attention to her cell phone, dangling from its keychain a bear plush, which made her smile once she saw it. She clasped it in her hand and thumbed it as she thought of who gave it to her. Suddenly, as if he'd read her mind, her phoned buzzed with an alert of having a new text message. She flipped it open and read; "New Update. Check 2F."

Weird, she thought, what about work? She scuttled back over and climbed into bed, quickly clicking the Second Frontier shortcut only to be greeted by a loading screen giving her the option update. Excitedly she double clicked download and watched as it began to process; hugged a pillow under her chin, she watched for a bit. After a minute she pulled out her phone once more and tried texting him back, but her texts were failing to send. Barely alarmed she assumed he had just turned off his phone or something, always one for full immersion with first plays of any kind. And so she turned her head back to the load screen: 10% it said. She smiled, the update was probably going to be the best, she imagined cool implements for better immersion; she prayed for knew races and new monsters and new armor. By now, though, her head felt heavy and she began to lull to sleep. The last thing she remembered was a screen reading 11%.

~~~~~

She woke up what felt like moments later, her whole right side felt as if it were being pierced by a thousand tiny needles, she cried out and sat up. Her first thought was that she'd fallen on her rug or something. Eyes still closed and skin alive with how raw it was on her right side, she quickly brushed whatever it was that clung to her skin- she soon found out that it was dirt. Blinking she looked down at her hands, now lightly dusted with chalky brown, and then quickly to her aching side. She gasped as she touched her ribcage, knowing now that she had fallen for sure. It was so dark, was her first thought as she looked about, and could barely make out the trees a yard around her. She could clearly feel the ground below her, which was obviously not her bedroom floor, and the chill of open space air affirmed her assumption that she was outdoors. She could hear what she believed were forest sounds; trees rustling and branches raking against one another, grass swaying with the gentle push of the wind. The dewy smell about her entailed that it had just recently rained, yet the ground about her was dust dry. Once her composure was regained, Claire stood, her legs wobbling a bit as she braced herself against a thick tree trunk to her right.

With growing concern she wondered how she had gotten there; she'd watched strange cases of sleep walking on the news a few weeks ago, but since she never showed the signs she ruled herself out as being plagued with something so annoying. Could someone have taken her there? This deeply disturbed her and her lower lip began to tremble, because if this were true that meant that they could possibly still be here. She stepped back against the tree, heart pounding, and braced herself. As she tensed she tried to listen closely to her surroundings; she stood there for what felt like minutes when she heard a soft rustling somewhere in front of her. It was approaching with periodic pause and this unnerved her to a point where she could not control her shaking. Suddenly, whatever it was let out an ear piercing squeal, and burst from the grass, only to take off past her. It sounded like a boar; but the mass of whatever it was seemed much too large to be one.

Thoroughly spooked she almost jumped out of her skin as she heard a familiar sound close by her; she swung and arm out, sensing that whoever or whatever had made the noise was by her, and her hand struck what felt like loose fabric, a cloak. She looked up and into the eyes of someone she had never seen before and yet felt a strange familiarity with them. It was laughter, she thought, and knew then who she was facing. She reached up, confidence now pouring into her, and pulled back his hood,

"Its only you."

Adreana sighed, finishing the last sentence in her English book before shutting it and leaning back in her black, leather chair. Homework was too boring now a days, way too boring. Sure, she loved English, but the homework was just awful. She flicked through her other books quickly, making sure she had nothing else to do before putting them back in their order.

Adreana took a sip of her coffee before searching under her bed for a old chest that seemed out of place in the neat and clean room that was her bedroom. Her desk was probably the most orderly thing in the room, but she liked it that way. Then her friends came to mind. They were probably all at a outing of some sorts or sleeping, so it was a quiet night for her. Normally, she'd hang out with them either over online or in person. Either way, she didn't mind. Eventually, she found the chest and took out a small pill. She put it in her mouth and had a sip of coffee, swallowing it with the pill. Vitamin pills were disgusting, but she had to have them.

Thinking about sleeping, she yawned and rubbed her eyes, feeling a little drowsy; Adreana got up and started getting into bed when she remembered about Second Frontier. She turned on her computer and then clicked on the shortcut for it. Looks like there was a update. She clicked to start the update and then patiently waited for it to finish, exited and thinking about the things it would include in the update. Adreana went to go put back the chest when she felt a sharp pain in her head, almost like someone was tugging on her brain itself. Soon, she fell to the floor, head pounding and after a few seconds, she passed out, only seeing the chest in front of her before it all turned black.

---

Adreana awoke on the rough texture of the dirt floor to birds chirping. She looked around before slowly getting up, back covered in dirt and her face feeling the dry bits of it. She was shocked to see a wide and beautiful field in front of her. The lush, green grass waving in the wind as she stood up. She stood there for a few moments before looking at the ground. This definitely wasn't her bedroom. Was she dreaming? Adreana pinched herself, just to make sure. She winced in pain a bit, knowing now that this indeed wasn't a dream. Now the question was where on earth was she? That was around the time she realized her hands were more pale than before and that they were more delicate. She was dressed differently, too. She grabbed a piece of her hair and then noticed it was white instead of brown. It couldn't be....could it? Was she her Second Frontier character, Yilvoxe Galleria? Just to make sure, she checked her armor and such. Light weight armor with a turquoise necklace and two crooked daggers...This was indeed Yilvoxe. Then it hit her. She was in Second Frontier! Her elf assassin, Yilvoxe Galleria, was now Adreana. Excitement hit her as she giggled and smiled, wondering what could come out of this.