[IC] Sword Art Online: Neon Colossus

[Experiment 249]

---

The 26th floor. Somewhere nobody had ever been before but those that stood around Pterrophos. A field of green stretched out with a few mountains and a village nearby. Nobody had seen any of this before and it was breathtaking. Winding rivers and very small groups of trees barely being able to be classified as a forest dotted the landscape. A few large animals or monsters were off in the distance walking at a leisurely pace, going undisturbed until now.

They had done it, made it to the front lines and then some. A precise swipe brought the tip of his rapier to his shoulder before it was quickly thrust into the air with a shout, a loud "WOO!." Pterrophos was so pumped from that last victory, he hadn't delivered the final blow but he and the rest of Neon Colossus' warriors cleared a floor boss with the best of them. They had lost 2 guild members in the fight, as well a 1/3rd of the people who ran in with them. It was a difficult fight with a ridiculous jump in difficulty but the group managed. He turned to face his men as in the background talks of making a new guild were made, something about Knights of the Blood Oath or something. Whatever it was wasn't Neon Colossus and wasn't his concern.

"Men." he spoke proudly. "We lost two of our finest today, Ghesh and Turnit will be missed, and we will hold the official funeral for them tomorrow evening, but for now we yet again stand victorious, and officially more than a quarter of the way done with this game and we're almost out." He looked at the weary and physically exhausted troops behind him. Some of them weren't even fighters but had joined up to help in any way they could. They were tending to the most heavily wounded passing out healing crystals. A swipe of his hand brought his menu up, and he selected his rapier which vanished from his hand. He continued flicking through menus until a bottle of some sort appeared in his hand. He took a drink from it and opened a trade menu up with the closest member. "Everyone, take a drink from this. For brotherly reasons or something. It has 50 uses so..." A pause as he remembered the two fallen once more. "So it... It'll have some extra for the funeral tomorrow. Tonight we celebrate our lives!" He raised his fist in the air and let out a guttural "WHO" noise.

[Ryu]

Useless Backstory

Attania slowly walked about the city, trying to find some sort of refuge, trying to find some sort of place where he could be alone. He had no money to afford a room to himself, nor did he actually have anything in his inventory to sell. All he had was his armor -- which was in shoddy condition -- a broken Katana, and a dagger.

His last purchase had cost him all of his coins when another player had somehow managed to con Attania into buying a rather crappy Katana which had a very low durability. As soon as his friend had heard of this, of course, they had all decided to go on a tangent of how the boy was, in their words, "so innocent that someone could probably take all of your candy... by asking you." Of course, after his friend was done teasing the poor boy, they went off to a shop and repaired all of his equipment before heading into a dungeon with a rather large group of players. With the large group, they went into the dungeon feeling safe -- feeling secure. They felt rather invincible, almost as if they couldn't be killed.

They were wrong.

Attania's friend -- his last friend -- had died in the dungeon, died protecting the boy when his Katana broke. There was no one else to blame but Attania. When the dungeon was all done, while everyone cheered that they had made it out alive, Attania could do nothing but stare at everyone else with eyes of despair. Slowly, he departed from the group and made his way towards the city, in hopes of trying to find refuge, in hopes to find somewhere where he could sulk.

Eventually, he found a rather small alleyway to duck into. As he ventured into the alleyway, the sounds of the city began to die down, and as he looked both ways down the alleyway, he leaned against the wall, slowly sinking down before placing his hands on his face as these mysterious droplets of water began to crawl down his face.

"You lost a friend, huh?" A mysterious voice called out, causing Attania to lower his hands and turn his head to where the voice came from, only to find another player crouched down, staring at Attania with a rather friendly grin. Attania recognized him from the party that he had left. "I followed you when you left the party... you weren't cheering along with us, and seeing as how the other guy died..." The boy, which seemed to be around the same age as Attania, held out his hand, his grin somehow managing to grow wider. "My name is Ghesh."

"Attania..." Attania said as he grabbed the hand and shook it.

"Would you like to come with me?" Ghesh asked, prompting Attania to wipe his tears away with his hand. "I have a guild... it's a bit small right now, but we're looking for more people... come with me and you won't be alone," Ghesh stood up, holding out his hand towards the boy once more, almost as if motioning for Attania to grab it. "Losing friends isn't very easy... it hurts, a lot! But, your friends wouldn't want you to... to be alone, would they?" Attania slowly shook his head, knowing what his friends would make him do right now if they were still here.

"Then come with me and you won't be alone!"

Attania meekly looked at the trade menu for a few seconds, almost as if he was hesitating, but punched the accept button swiftly after he had made his mind. Attania brought up his menu and quickly cycled through it before he found the bottle, which materialized in his hand. Attania brought the bottle to his lips and tilted his head upwards, taking a rather deep drink from the bottle before turning towards the next guild member and opening up a trade menu with them.

Normally, Attania didn't drink anything unless it was water -- including soda or juice -- but just this once, he made an exception. It was a drink, a drink towards Ghesh no less. A drink towards a friend of his who, while he had no idea how much he meant to his other guild members, meant a lot to him.

[ReaptheMusic]

It was Repageroy that opened his trade menu next with fast, deft hands. He easily swiped it to his lips once the drink had materialized and passed it along to the next person. He had other things on his mind than the two fallen members, both of them he barely knew anyways. He made his way to Pterrophos.
"Hey man, look," He began his palms outward towards his team mate. "You don't plan to have the celebration in a safe zone or something, right?"

Meanwhile, Durdansa looked on from her spot far down the line. Her vibrant red hair blew softly in the wind, the braids not flowing as much as the loose hair in her high ponytail. It bothered her that these two men, both of whom hadn't really done much for their team, were being celebrated. With that in mind she decided to pass on the potion being passed from player to player. He seriously called them 'their finest?' Please. They weren't even close to 'their finest.'

[caliban22]

Khârn echoed his guild master's call Sleep well my brothers....you will be missed he thought to himself. You had fought till the end, none may challenge your courage nor your place as our saviors... You gave your life in pursuit of a greater cause then the self he thought as he pulled up a menu and unequipped his sword. "I promise to carry on your rage" Khârn whispered to himself as he took off his helmet. Khârn was no stranger to death, he had fought since day one. He had lost many brothers and sisters on the way, each one like a scar upon his soul. The pain from the aching muscles nor from the fighting was nothing compared to the lose of all of the men they had lost today.

Khârn slowly walked the battlefield as he looked over the wounded lost in thought as he did so. "Khârn do you need healing?" a voice asked breaking his train of thought. "hmm?" He asked as he looked to the source of the voice. A young woman no older then 18 holding out a crystal "oh No I am content at the moment. Save your crystals for the others." he said with a half smile as the girl nodded and moved on. Khârn had been the thick of the fighting acting as the tip of the spear. He and all the berzerkers that were crazy enough to volunteer were placed in the bloodiest area of the fighting. They had inspired the men in these areas to fight their hardest, by leading from the front they slowly pushed to the boss.
During the fighting Turnit had been beside him during the entire battle, to his last breath he Stood next to Khârn supporting him. During the few days prior to the assault on the boss he and Turnit had spent many hours talking about their lives back home,about love, about anything really to get their minds off the inevitable assault. Turnit had been a kind kid, with a smile that could brighten a room. At night they would spar and see who could best the other, very rarely did turnit ever best him. Khârn had saw the blow that would end Turnit's life, the look of fear on his face as he died. Khârn sighed at the thought "I will miss our conversations." he said softly

[Kalas]

A sigh of relief left Mez's lips. Another victory, another boss killed, another floor cleared. It was a strange feeling. One that felt new every time, despite having survived the past twenty-five floors. The price of this feeling, however, had taken it's toll. More so this time than any other. Two members of his guild; Neon Colossus, had lost their lives in this battle. Ghesh and Turnit, two veteran members from back when the guild was first formed. They were both good fighters and even better people. He would surely drink to their memories.

Ignoring the large Congratulations notice that still hung in the air, Mez heaved his massive greatsword; Judgement, onto his back and sheathed into its equally massive scabbard. Unlike many others, he preferred to keep his weapon on show. Some would think it a display of strength, others a warning or threat. For him, it was a reminder of the weight that lay upon his shoulders. A weight that was as unrelenting as it was ruthless. He had lead the charge against this floor boss, just like he did every boss. Standing side-by-side with many others of his guild - Khârn, Turnit & Pterrophos to name a few - his voice roared out as he cleaved his enormous weapon through the air landing the first blow against their enemies.

He turned to face the crowd of people that were his surviving guild mates, noticing Pterrophos - the leader of the guild - making a speech to their recently departed members. Mez began walking over to the growing congregation. As he did so, he came to stand next to Khârn, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You fought well today, Brother. Our fallen would be proud." Mez then opened his menu and accepted the drink that Pterro has passed out. He drank it quickly, fading memories of his lost friends flashing quickly in his mind.

"Back to the Guild Hall then?" He suggested. "The recon teams will have news for us in a few hours, when we're summoned for the next front line meeting. We can feast to our fallen brothers there."

[Cinderella Man]

Amidst all of the celebration and the mourning, there was Divinity, standing with her arms crossed and waiting for the drink to be passed around to her. Her face was grim, and her lips were held together tightly. Another boss came and went, another two guild members slain for the good of everyone else. A couple of floors ago, she might've been a sobbing mess. But she'd come to realize that shedding tears and wasting time wasn't going to revive anyone. She sheathed her sword as loudly and with as much flair as she possibly could before accepting the drink from whoever it was that passed it to her, faces didn't really matter right now.

It only took a couple of seconds for her to down it and then pass it on to the next person, then seat herself on the ground with her legs crossed. Sitting then turned to laying on her back, which lead to her swatting and people's legs to make them move so she could get comfortable while she waited for the younger guild members to compose themselves. "Pterro! When are we leaving?!" She shouted out, giving no consideration to conversations possibly going on.

[Experiment 249]

Pterophos had been staring off into the distance, occasionally someone from another guild would approach and talk to him, calculating losses and delivering news between the guild leaders present on the new floor. There were talks of a new lead guild after the Aincrad Liberation Front's heavy losses left them unable to lead the charge anymore. He was sure Neon Colossus would get it being on of the bigger guilds on the front lines, but that would be discussed formerly at the meeting. For now, they had 35 members waiting back at the guild's headquarters for their returning friends and families who had not yet heard the news.

The first voice he heard was form the guild's only orange member, Repageroy. He was orange for stealing one too many times, and therefor had to be careful about where he was and was not and hindered a lot of the possible meeting locations inside of the guild, front line meetings simply did not consider him when choosing locations. "I know you can't get into safe zones without the guards attacking you, but that's your fault. However, the celebration will be in the headquarters on floor 14 outside Panareze, so you should be fine." He turned back to face the fields in front of him.

Another messenger from another guild walked over over condolences for their two lost members and bringing a message crystal that read out 'THE TWENTY-FIFTH FLOOR HAS BEEN CLEARED. HEAVY LOSSES WERE FELT BY THE AINCRAD LIBERATION FORCE WHO WILL BE WITHDRAWING FROM THE FRONTLINES PERMANETLY AFTER RECEIVING FALSE INFORMATION ON THE BOSS. SCOUTS WILL BE ON FLOOR TWENTY-SIX FOR THE NEXT FEW HOURS.' It was the headline of the next paper that would circulate through the world. He scanned the articles and the only mention of his guild was in the picture of Mez and Khârn charging up with Kirito and Heathcliff taking the spotlight. The picture mentioned them only as "...along with two members of the Neon Colossus guild."

Mez Was the next to speak to him. He suggested they recuperate before the impending front lines meeting after the scouts who were now just dust specs in the distance had returned with what they had found. "You're right, we should head back, and before everyone gets caught up in the deaths." He looked to the messenger who had been visiting and motioned asking if it was cool to leave to which she gave a thumbs up symbol after consulting one last guild leader. He turned to face his guild, most of which were sitting or laying down. He heard Queen's shout and mouthed '1 minute' to her. "Ahem! Ladies and Gentleman of the Neon Colossus strike team, we are to return to the 24th floor at once! We have a feast..." He paused bringing up his messages and finding the one from the guild's kitchen master. It read the feast was ready, and so he continued. "A feast ready! Those of you who are invited to the next front lines meeting know what is coming in a few hours, and might I suggest Mez and Khârn check the front page of tomorrow's paper! You might enjoy it!. Now, follow me through!" He shouted, pulling out a corridor crystal that he used to open a gate to the guild's front door.

The guild headquarters was a small castle built on one of the many islands near Panareze. It was large enough to hold 200, but housed only 48 currently. It was a beautiful wood and stone building standing 4 stories tall. The interior was adorned in bright colors inspired by the guild's name, decorated by the guild members as well. Of course only some of the members stayed in the castle, it was rare to ever see it empty and unheard of on a day such as this where a floor had been cleared.

Once there they would find all remaining members of the guild not chosen to journey into the boss room who lined the path into the headquarters waiting to hear the news of the battle. Some were excited for the return, regardless of the looks on some faces walking through to portal, some caught on fast that all was not well, especially the ones who counted the heads. One of the newer members was heard talking about how he was glad they lost two members because now he had a chance on the strike team. Within seconds of hearing it a screen popped in front of the girl's face that read 'YOU HAVE BEEN REMOVED FROM THE GUILD 'Neon Colossus' BY Pterrophos.' There were no goodbyes said, just silence. Most happy faces faded to sad ones. The doors to the guild hall opened to a feast prepared out for 50 members. Smells of the food filled the room and it was beautifully prepared. A smile crawled across the face of Pterrophos but he did not turn around to tell everyone to sit down and begin feasting yet. He walked around the table, taking two specific chairs out of the table and putting them in the front of the room near a podium.

"Now we can begin!" He shouted. The crowd outside was bitterly silent until some of the younger members pushed through and ran to their seats to begin eating. The mood was brightened and the remaining guild members began talking to the 12 returning heroes as well as finding their seats. Everyone had their regular group of admirers asking them questions about the battle, with the remainder that would be around Ghesh and Turnit simply ate in silence. "we won, by the way." Pterrophos walked to his seat at the head of the table. It was big enough for two chairs to sit side by side but he sat alone.

[caliban22]

Khârn slowly walked to his seat trading sad smiles and greetings. It's been a long day. he thought to himself as he sat in his seat among the younger members. Many of them looked at him in awe, and some in fear. Informally he was in charge of the younger weaker members, many of them went to him for sparing and to hear his stories of battle. "Khârn why did he take Turnit and Ghesh's chairs?" one of the newer people asked. With a soft smile he looks at the source of the voice. A young girl no more then 15 looked at him, she was one of the newer people who had joined. She and Turnit had been very close. In fact she had been a very common topic that he would always tease Turnit about since she would follow him around like a puppy. The relationship between was by no means romantic, as best as he could tell the two were like brother and sister, "You will learn pup..." he said softly as he looked down at his plate. There was no way he describe how or why they did things, only that we honor the dead in our own ways. "How did he die?" the girl said softly, barely loud enough for him to hear . Her voice quivered as she spoke with a look Khârn could tell him, she was barely holding it together. "He died well pup...weep not for his passing, smile for all that he has left you...for you are the inheritor of his dreams" he said softly as the girl looked at him tears welling in her eyes "How." she repeated "Like a man" he said as the memory of his death flashed in his mind "Like a man..." he repeated softly "Enough of this grim talk pup, Later tonight maybe but now is the time for celebration." he said with a smile as one of the other members ran up to him

"Khârn you and Mez got your picture in the paper!!" the boy said wit ha smile "my friend runs messages for some of the other guilds and she told me two members of our guild got their picture taken! when she showed me the picture it had you and Mez!" he said excitedly not pausing once to draw breath. "Easy now brother...you say Mez and myself are in the paper?" he asked. The boy nodded his head "Yes they don't call you by name but you two kind of stand out enough that even people outside our guild would know its you...granted they would have to know you and see it but I...no not gonna rabble sorry a habit I.." Khârn cracked a smile and laughed "Don't worry just calm down...its not a big deal" he said as the others chuckled "Look its just a picture, the article is not about us, but the fighting as a whole...we are but a small part of it." he said

[ReaptheMusic]

Repageroy's face broke into a large grin when he heard the feast was ready, and practically barrelled past Pterophos into the dining hall with a 'WHOOP!' of delight. "Ahaha YES!" He laughed as he made his way around the table, his eyes wide and mouth watering. He waited to see where Pterophos would sit before claiming one of the empty seats next to him and hastily making his plate and scarfing everything down nearly as soon as it touched his plate. Seeing as he had a reputation for 'deft hands' it wasn't any surprise a few ladies came and hung on him. The spear bearing twins, Virtri and Virtuoso, with their spiky white hair instantly leached onto him.
"Neeee~ Repageroy the way you flung that dagger into the guy that was attacking sis' was just so cool~"
"Nee~ Nee~, No but that way he dodged that broadsword totally screamed Matrix!" The two of them gushed, little heart icons appearing over their blushing faces. While Repageroy smiled at the attention, he couldn't help but to consider that last comment.
"Hm... well... you know..." Repageroy began thoughtfully, causing the twins to perk up and listen. "Technically, what we're in now is kinda like the Matrix..." This caused both the twins to squeal and say things like. "Repageroy think's I made a point!" "Kiyaaa He's so cool~"
"L-ladies please, a mans gotta eat!" He laughed, scratching his head.

****

When the doors had opened to the guild, Durdansa crossed her arms. Though a feast sounded good, she had much work to do. Quickly, she opened up her menu and prepared a message to Pterrophos;

"I shall catch up with you later. Too much needs to be done and if I stop to relax then, well, I just wouldn't be a very good head of reconnaissance would I? ^_^ I'll celebrate with everyone later. Please do not wait up for me. We had a great battle and you all deserve the rest!
-DURDANSA"

She waited until she saw the 'message sent' confirmation icon and closed her menu. She looked up to all the dejected face of the guild member that had just been kicked out of the guild. Hmph. She knew better than to voice her opinions with that pig headed leader around. She put on a smile and waved to the the loser who had been kicked out of the guild and those who had yet to go through the portal.
"Heeeey guys! I understand you're all tired and wanna eat, but who would like to go with me on a scouting mission to secure the area! I'd really appreciate it!" Upon the word 'really' she batted her eyes a bit and kept on her warm smile, giggling a little as her white skirt billowed in the wind. Naturally, she was speaking to anyone who may have not gone through the portal to the feast yet, she was hoping for some company while she was scouting.

[Ryu]

Attania, who was just steps away from entering the portal with a somewhat defeated look on his face, looked over to the source of the voice who gave out an offer to scout the area. Attania, who was around ten feet away from his fellow guild mate, stared at Durdansa, unsure if he should accompany her. Ghesh was Attania's friend, he was the one who had pulled Attania out of the slump, who had invited him to the guild to make new friends... and in all but one moment, Ghesh had managed to push him back into a slump.

On one hand, he wanted to feast to Ghesh, wanted to celebrate him for who he was, wanted to celebrate him for the friendship that he had forged with him, but on the other hand, Attania wanted to forget about him quickly. Attania looked over to Durdansa once more before slowly raising his hand.

"I'll go," Attania uttered out, his first two words that he had ever said to another guild mate of his -- who saw him as quiet and... more or less of a loner.

[Cinderella Man]

Pterro wasn't full of shit, for once. It was about a minute, maybe, when they were finally compelled to return to the magnificent guild hall for an even more majestic feast. Divinity nearly trampled people trying to be one of the first into the hall for the banquet, but did stop when Pterrophos removed the chairs of Ghesh and Turnit. She hadn't known either of them too well, but the imagery of their chairs being removed was enough to actually illicit an odd pit of the stomach feeling within her. "Now's not the time to be a fuckboy, Maya, now's not the time." She whispered to herself, taking a deep breath and walking to the feast table and taking her usual seat not too far from the girls fawning over Repageroy.

She snorted, assorting her meal before her. "You girls would be camels if you were any thirstier." Divine said in jest, her usual edge returning to her voice. She then tore into her meal, the hunger that she felt returning as the scents and sights of all the food around her invaded her senses compelled her to do so with as much force and speed as she possibly could. This was a plus for her as people that ran around her to ask her what the battle was like were rewarded with garbled chewing noises. On occasion, even a middle finger or two.

Her highness is eating, peasant folk. The "Queen" though to herself.

[Kalas]

As he stepped through the portal, Mez was greeted with the sounds of jubilation. Looks like the feast had started without him, but no matter. Despite wanting the be on the front lines, he never really wanted the fame that came with it. That said, he didn't shy away from it either. To him, it was all another responsibility to shoulder, another means of protecting those less able than he was. Upon joining SAO, Mez had wanted to prove himself to be the best. Now it wasn't about proving anything, he needed to be the best. Otherwise everyone who relied on him would perish, an eventuality he simply couldn't allow.

"Mez, you're back!" Came a raised, female voice filled with relief. Next came a hug that nearly bundled him to the floor. Mez stumbled as he regained control of his balance, then returned the embrace. "I was so worried! Then I heard about Ghesh and Turnit..." It was Sasha, his close friend though it was clear to everyone that the pair were more than just simple friends. She had thrown her arms around his neck and pressed herself against him, almost as if she never wanted to let go. Mez comforted her as her voice trailed off, going quiet. He could tell that she was upset about the guild's most recent loss.

"It's fine, Sash. I'm fine." He began, grabbing her shoulders softly and pulling back to look into her tearful eyes. Mez wiped away a tear from her cheek and brushed back the fringe of her perfectly white hair that had fallen over her face. "See? All in one piece." He followed up with a sheepish grin. He'd never really been one for emotions but Sasha was the one to bring that out in him. She seemed to calm down rather quickly, returning his smile with her own, whilst blushing slightly. "Come, let's see what you've cooked up this time. I'll let you know what you could do better." He said coyly. The pair had always partaken in Cookery contests, though more often than not Sasha would stand as the victor.

They walked, arm in arm, into the massive Guild Hall that awaited them, Mez was taken aback by the sheer amount of people. Despite still being a small guild, Neon Colossus' membership had grown substantially, he had yet to adjust to the full number of the guild. As they strode past members of the guild who were already eating, he noticed their glances of admiration. He also heard talk that he and Khârn had appeared in the latest newspaper issue alongside Kirito and Heathcliff, although they weren't mentioned by name. "Look at you, you're all famous now." Sasha joked, tugging on his arm playfully.

"Sometimes, Sash, you really are hilarious." He replied in the most deadpan manner he could manage. They soon arrived at their seats, a couple of chairs down from Pterrophos and opposite to where Khârn was sitting. He started to remove his over-sized greatsword when another guild member took it from him carefully, then struggled as they went to place it on a nearby weapon rack. As they sat down, two plates were then instantly brought out, piled with delicious food and laid down in front of them by a pair of younger members of the guild, each of them with wide grins on their face. "Thanks." He said before digging in. Front line fighting was hungry work.

[Experiment 249]

As the feasting continued, Pterrophos was approached again and again by his "unofficial" secretary, Lauent. She could barely go more than the distance back to her chair and then back to Pterrophos' ear whispering something that made his face look brighter and brighter each time she said whatever it was. In truth, the paper had spread and the two resident guild heroes were making a name for the guild. They had 12 new applicants, all high level. Some were fighters, some were just living in Aincrad. The guild would be at 75 members at the moment, had Laurent not stoop up again, this time she didn't even bother walking up to Pterrophos, but instead sent him a message. Pterrophos read it privately and smiled giving a nod of approval to his secretary.

Pterrophos stood once more, clearing his throat loudly. "Everyone, everyone please. I know that this isn't much of a time for celebrating, but I have a surprise for you all. Especially you, Khârn, if you could please stand." He made his way over to the man, Laurent in tow. "If you could follow me for a moment? I'm sure you'll love this." He let out a giggle and shimmied his arms. Laurent had been tapping him throughout the walk, each tap meant a new member. they were at 75 total members if his math was right, and 46 were sitting in this room, considering the two who went scouting. He awaited Khârn's response before he would lead him to his surprise. There was still some talking going on but most were watching the two waiting for the surprise.

[caliban22]

Khârn blinked in stunned silence. wonder what it is he thought to himself as he stood up. Each movement sounded heavy as he stood as he walked slowly "My friend you honor me with such generosity." He said with a smile. He hope whatever the surprise was, he would be worthy of it.
Khârn hoped that surprise would lift his foul mood, the lose of some of comrades in arms was a hard thing to get over " what is this surprise brother?" He asked with best attempt at a warm grin.

[ReaptheMusic]

"Alright!" Durdansa grinned at Attania who had made his way over to her. "Let's get going then. I definitely want to find some towns for shopping in. Afterall, gotta have a place where the guild can go and do something for fun until we make it to the next floor." She stretched, then turned and started walking the opposite direction of where the portal closed. Large, grassy areas expanded out before them. As she walked, she looked at Attania out of the corner of her eye. "Uh... Attania right? You sure don't talk much. Has the guild been treating you well?" She hid how irritated she was that he wasn't prone to talking.

******

Virtuoso puffed her chest at Divinity's remark. "You're just jealous cause I got a body men can take seriously while you a flat ass hoe." She smirked, crossing her arms as her unitard's ears flopped about. Virtri looked at her sister with a mix of disgust and disbelief.
"Vee, that's not at all ladylike." Virtri murmured to her twin. Virtuoso just focused on Divinity with her smirk. As Virtri turned her head, she noticed Sasha walking with Mez and felt a gnawing sense of envy in her belly. She puffed her cheeks out before wrapping her arms around Repageroy and laughed louder at his previous statement. "Oh Repageroy you're so funny!" Repageroy was a bit confused by her actions but didn't complain. The Pterrophos made an announcement, bringing a hush over the room and causing the three to exchange glances. Repageroy's eyes followed them out of the room, a bit suspicious. Could he be doing what he thought he was...?

[Ryu]

Attania shifted his head over to Durdansa as she asked the question, trying to think up of a proper answer. In real life, he had always been a quiet boy, even when he was with his friends. It was only natural for his behavior in real life to transfer over into the game.

"The guild has been treating me well..." Attania said in a barely audible voice. "I'm just quiet, that's all," He tried to grin at Durdansa, although it was a grin filled with anguish over Ghesh. After a few seconds, he shifted his head back in front of him, trying to think of what else to say -- trying to think of how to keep a conversation going (something he's only done once a few times in his life). "I... I like the guild, but... I suppose I'm out of place because I don't talk much."

[Experiment 249]

With a firm grip on Khârn's wrist, he lead the man to the front of the hall, to the guild's entrance doors. "Khârn, as you may know, most people in the guild tend to deal with you, almost as much as the deal with me or Laurent. People like you, and well, I like you a lot too. And because of this love for people you have, I thought I'd put you right here for what's about to happen." Pterrophos spun on his toes to face the doors. He gripped the handles and shouted "What's a party without guests!"

He tore the door open, and outside stood maybe 30 new guild members, some armed to the teeth and wanting to fight, some were shifting through menus and others had food in their hands (nothing even close to Mez or Sasha's cooking, though.) All of them were there, however, to see two people (and sadly neither of those were Pterrophos.) They had heard of the heavy losses on the front lines and our guild was represented well by Mez and Khârn's looks of pure indomitable levels willpower. The way those two looked was apparently far more inspiring than anything Pterrophos ever did to try and attract new members.

"I know how much you love to get to know new members, so I got you 27 of them all at once. And Mez, you have to make sure they're good enough to fight with us." He raised his arms and faced the table of food as the new members all walked, ran, or pushed their way into the guild hall around the two. 75 members made them almost as big as the Divine Dragon Alliance, but Neon Colossus wasn't an all warrior guild. Pterrophos pat Khârn on the back and disappeared leaving him surrounded by admirers, and dragging a few toward Mez ass well. Only three stayed following him as he returned to his seat, asking about the two they were too nervous to speak to personally. "Now THIS is a party!" The mood of the 46 saddened members was getting coated in the joys of the 27 new members who were overjoyed to see these heroes and share stories of battle. "You three, grab a seat and... uh stand there and dig in to this food, best you'll find around here." He clapped after giving them the order, smiling at the growing crowds around Mez and Khârn.

A message popped up confirming one pair of scouts had returned, awaiting three other pairs before the meeting would start.

[caliban22]

Khârn stood in dumbfound silence what... he thought as the new recruits swarmed him. All of them either wanted to challenge him,question him about the fighting, or to train with him. with a hint of a smile raises his hands to calm the group "enough my brothers and sisters... Tonight feast and celebrate your acceptance into the guild." he said with a chuckle as many of them looked at hims confused by him calling them his brothers and sisters. Khârn motions for them to sit. "For he who sheds blood with me shall be my brother." he says "and every woman that stands with us shall be my sister." he says as he sits "welcome to the guild my brothers and sisters." as the others gather around him trying to find a seat "now to answer some questions...I will not dual any new people, I hold duels in the guild. Speak to Storm angel about signing up for that or if you have any questions." he says "You will not fight any higher ups in a duel, Mez, the guild leader, and I will not be allowed to duel you."
as he speaks many of them sigh "I will fight the winner..." he says with a sigh as they cheer for his last comment "This may be before or after Mez's training." he said before he whistled. out of no where storm angel appers at his side "Storm check with Mez to see how he wants to do that." he says storm nods "yes sir I will go now" she said with a smile before she ran off "now brothers let us eat and tell tales of battle!" he calls as the people around him cheer. and go into their stories.

[Cinderella Man]

The Queen decided that talking with her mouth full would be quite the unsophisticated thing to do, so all she did in response to Virtuoso was gesture towards her own chest, then snicker at her friend's attempts to seem better than her. After finishing the meal she had laid out in front of herself (not entirely gorging herself, a queen must be light on her feet), she stood up and stretched her arms before leaning backwards and stretching her arms. "Pterrophos!" She called out loudly through the guild hall, hoping that her naturally carrying voice would catch the attention of the guild leader. "I require something to entertain me!"

While waiting for their "glorious" guild leader to heed her call, Divinity decided that the best thing to do would be to indulge one of the people that had previously come up to her to ask about what the battle was like. She was by no stretch nice about it, but Divinity explained with intense detail what it was like to fight that boss battle.

[Kalas]

Mez had been tracking Pterro's walk to the large doors of the Guild Hall, dragging Khârn along with him, whilst his assistant; Laurent, followed close behind. He seemed suddenly reinvigorated as if struck by lightning almost. Mez listened nonchalantly to the words he spoke to Khârn but he was more interested in filling his stomach. Sasha had stopped eating to witness what Pterro was up to, she always did say he was one for theatrics.

When Pterrophos cast open the doors, however, flooding the hall with outside light, Mez was awestruck with the sight that greeted him. He hadn't noticed himself standing up from his seat. Sasha let out an excited gasp and stood too, clapping at the prospect of this many new members. Mez could say nothing. He'd barely come to terms with having nearly 50 members, now they had over 70? And it was all down to a picture of him and Khârn. It seemed crazy to say the least.

"Stop gawping Mez! You still have food in your mouth!" Chided Sasha, slapping his arm lightly and placing her hand under his chin to close his mouth. He shook his head and swallowed his food before speaking outloud.

"H-How? Pterro, what did you do? This is incredible!" He began laughing. As the new members swarmed in, he could barely contain himself. Before he knew it, he was answering questions and re-telling the events of the most recent boss fight. The same young member who had taken his greatsword had, by now, retrieved it from the weapons rack and carried it back over to him. He thanked the young boy and proceeded to unsheathe it. An act which was followed by the cawing of some of the new members.

Before long, Mez noticed a dark-haired girl rushing over to him. It was Storm; the daughter of Sasha's friend D.W. or Dark Winter as most others knew her. "Hey Storm, what's up?" He asked just as she reached him and his crowd of admirers.

"Khârn wants to know what you'd like to do in regards to training and testing these new members." She looked slightly red in the cheeks, probably just as overwhelmed with this new revelation as he was. Mez looked over towards Khârn who was dealing with it in his usual manner. He envied him at times, being able to easily address people in a calm and controlled way.

"Well it's simple...We have ourselves a little tournament." Gasps of excitement came from a few members of the group. "We have a few hours to kill before the next floor meeting and what better way to honour our fallen brothers than a tournament in their name?" He suggested. "The winner will get the chance to spar with me one on one and receive personal training for the entire time that we're on this floor."

"Hah!" Came a sudden voice from within the crowd. "I bet you're not even that good!" Mez immediately searched for the owner of the voice but it didn't take him long to find it. It was a small boy, no older than 14 or 15. He had a full head of scruffy black hair and his armour was badly worn and damaged in places. His face harboured a scowl and his eyes were as black as the night sky. He looked like trouble.

Mez smiled at the boy. "What's your name kid?" He asked.

"Zeth." Came the reply, short and snappy, filled with an ebbing anger.

"Well Zeth...Challenge accepted." He finished, heaving his gigantic greatsword until it rested over his shoulder. Small cheers of excitment erupted from the crowd around him.

"But Mez! He's just a boy?" Sasha protested in his ear.

"So let him be a man and see how he likes it." He replied, turning to her slightly.

As the noise of the onlookers picked up around him, Mez began walking toward the doors of the hall. He glanced over his shoulder to see if the boy was following him and, sure enough, he was. The same scowl still plaguing his face.