[IC] Deep Ground Online (Hiatus)

[KoL]

Eclipse Princess

BGM

---

Eclipse Princess tuned her to look at Rocket Lancer as he entered her fight with Arms Slave. True, that wasn't a duel at all, it was just a battle between an Outlaw and the Sweepers, Eris just had to behave accordingly. "Ho~? Things are starting to get interesting now." Cassandra watching her fight brought a renewed sense of self to Eris, perhaps even a revelation, epiphany, etc. The thing is, Eris wasn't going to go down here, not in front of the only person other than her mother that liked her and could understand Eris eve if just a little.

Defeat, wasn't an option anymore.

As Rocket Lancer tugged the chains, launching both Eclipse Princess and Arms Slave toward one another (and being drawn in himself) Princess smiled, finally getting the chance she had been looking forward to. This was going to end fast that she swore. As soon as Eclipse Princess was almost at point blank with Arms Slave, she gathered a ball of crushed space on her left palm, extended toward Arms Slave's face.

"Evade this!" Eclipse Princess said, as she launched her Spatial Collapse right on Slave's face, Lancer wasn't safe as well, since the area of effect was big enough to get the two of them. Following her attack (that snapped the chains like wet noodles), Eclipse Princess used her Sunder to try to destroy a pair of Arms Slave's daggers, if she succeeded, the remainder of damage from breaking the couple of flimsy weapons would go all to Arms Slave.

Lets see how long they can hold against Eclipse Princess once she made her mind about the fight.

---

@Caits, @RoflsMazoy, @TheWindel, @Lucius Cypher.

[Ryonara]

Hibiki Toho

”No problem! Let’s go!”

Hibiki escorted Itusko home, expecting her to simply live at the dorms. She was surprised to see that Itusko actually lived in a fancy apartment in the city. While Hibiki lived in a fairly well-to-do home with her family, this apartment seemed even more classy. A lot of fancy cars, a big lounge, and even some rather intimidating security guards. Even Hibiki’s own home only had a single guard, and he mostly just a glorified housekeeper. It helped that he was also Hibiki’s uncle.

Once they arrived to the lounge Itsuko asked if Hibiki wanted to come in for snacks. ”Sure!” Hibiki didn’t notice the woman that Itsuko kept glancing at. Hibiki just thought it was because Itsuko was jumpy. She seemed rather neurotic and might actually have problems, so Hibiki just kept quiet and tried not to make a big deal about it. Hibiki might ask more once they go in for snacks, since she at least knew that it wasn’t polite to talk about that sort of thing in public. ”And yeah, I don’t mind having your number. Do you want to write it down or should I give you my info first?” Hibiki figured that Itsuko was a student at Purple Crown, so she just looked for her name in the directory so Hibiki could send Itsuko her information. Then Itsuko could send Hibiki her’s and they could keep in touch.

”You can just call me Hibiki. That’s what my friends call me, so you can too.”

@KoL

[Lucius Cypher]

ARMS SLAVE

"Rocket Lancer?!"

Arms Slave was pleasantly surprised to see his old friend here. Honestly these past few days have been rather hectic, so Arms Slave wasn't able to keep up with all his contacts. He lanced right into Arms Slave's chain and sent him and Eclipse Princess rocketing right towards each other. Admittedly this was not what he had planned, but Arms Slave would adapt. That was the Sweeper's way after all. As he came closer and closer to Eclipse Princess, he spent the few seconds to call her out. "You know nothing, Eris!"

If Arms Slave wasn't wearing a helmet, Eris would see his smile. While she might be able to move her sword arm, Arms Slave's chains didn't break. Rocket Lancer wasn't stopped. He wasn't even hurt; and that was because Arms Slave was protecting him, his Aura of Agony ensuring that the only person being hurt was Arms Slave. Not his allies, not his weapons, just the avatar himself. He was taking heavy damage and already lost half his health from one attack, but that didn't phase him. "All you know is how to kill! You don't know how to protect anyone, not yourself, not Cassandra, no one!" As his body was about to get hit by Eclipse Princess's swords, his Readied Mind was able to see her path of attack, and he readied his daggers. He knew that this weapon wasn't going to be strong enough to block her blow, and that if she had a clean hit it would break his weapon and just continue through him. But that's why it was called a parry dagger. Instead of blocking the attack, Arms Slave maneuvered the dagger to redirect the strike to overshoot him as his body crashed into Eclipse Princess.

At the same time Arms Slave's last hand shot out it's final chain. Because of the gravity field it wasn't able to go far, but now it didn't. The chain simply crawled out of Arms Slave's wrist and would soon start to wrap both him and Eclipse Princess up. The other chains did the same, tightening around Princess as they started to bind her and Arms Slave together. Before the chains could engulf him, Arms Slave shouted out to Rocket Lancer. "Lancer! Drag us to hell, together!"

And Rocket Lancer would have to be fast. Arms Slave tried to parry the attack, but when his dagger just made contact with Eclipse Princess's blade, it broke. If it was just a regular strike Arms Slave would have parried the strike and give himself an opening to stab Eclipse Princess. But instead the blade shattered and failed to stop the blade as it plunged into his body. He could feel his life draining from the wound, and he tried to hold on for as long as he could. With his final moments he looked at Eclipse Princess in the eyes, seething with anger. "You should just leave and never come back. No one wants you. You'll only bring suffering."

Soon Rocket Lancer would feel the chains fall as Arms Slave's corpse was left tied up to Eclipse Princess. Short of someone stopping by to resurrect him, he was dead.

@KoL@RoflsMazoy

---

RETSU GOROSHI

Retsu flinched. Yoshino called Arms Slave her brother, which made the red head glare at Yoshino. "He... Do not call him that. I have nothing to do with him." Retsu certainly wasn't going to admit having some sort of familiar relationship with Arms Slave or Asahi. So far he's been nothing but an embarrassment to her. Always causing problems, practically interfering with her work because of his antics. He had to, of all people, fall for Yoshino's cousin. Retsu hoped that he didn't try to press his advances or worse, go for Yoshino's half-sister. One of the few times Retsu hoped that Chiyo would continue to be a bitch and deny him if he ever thought to ask her out. Retsu made a mental note to keep track of Chiyo as well.

As the two girls continued home, they stopped by a bus station. The new apartment could have been reached on bike, but Retsu left her bike at her old dorm. She still needed to move it, and the rest of Retsu's stuff, to her new dorm. Eventually the bus arrived and the two girls would have to take it if they didn't want to take too long to get home. But while on the bus, Retsu whispered to Yoshino. "Perhaps it would be best if you checked up on the situation, Tsugumi-san. It'll be a few minutes before our stop. More than long enough for you to do what you need to do." At this point Retsu was quite aware Yoshino was the Black King, and she figured that Yoshino also knew that Retsu knew. Even if she didn't, Retsu wasn't going to make a fuss about it. Meanwhile, she responded to Broker of Fortune. If they were going to meet in person, then Retsu may as well kill two birds with one blow: She'll meet the Broker at the club.

To: Broker of Fortune
From: Dark Wraith
Subject: Re:Business
Meet me at The Network.

@TheWindel@Lonewolf685

[Jedly]

Shiro Kawabata

To: Eris Reinhardt
From: Shiro Kawabata
Subject: Re:Reply

”Hey, looks like somebody’s got her head firm on her shoulders. Good guess, as expected of a princess! Glad to hear that you’ll soon be discontinuing your murderous rampage, but judging from my sources, you’re currently in the midst of battle and probably won’t even have a chance to look at this message. I’ll be bringing a friend too, ‘cause who said only three could be a crowd? See ya there.”

With his reply sent, Shiro got up from his seat and stood in the center of the desk arrangement. During the time that he was preoccupied with messages, Ken had continued to spur the conversation between Aaron and himself. ”I-I’m sure there’s some underlying cause for her to lash out like this. Although she didn’t speak too highly of our raid party during the battle, she doesn’t strike me as somebody to purchase an Outlaw Declaration because her mood dictated as such.” The club president rubbed his chin in an attempt to deduce a reason, but he soon came to a dead end. ”Well, since she is your friend, I highly suggest you stay out of this one. Not because I don’t have faith in you to stay alive, this is just a fight she needs to wage on her own. Kinda like how a protagonist goes through a hectic conflict, at the end of which he or she has a revelation and sees things from a new perspective. At least, that’s what I believe is the case.” After Shiro chimed in, he crossed his arms and began to mull.

They were currently sailing through dire straits. The very image of the young Strykers was in peril thanks to the infighting all of the involved characters had propagated. Just then, an incessant ringing began emanating from the student. He and Ken quickly exchanged glances before the latter caputed the attention of his club members, ”Would you all mind stepping out for the time being? We have some important matters to attend do.” A few murmurs floated between the students as they shuffled out of the room. Just like that, the club room had been seemingly transformed into a command center. The president turned to Shiro and gave him the go ahead. He returned the nod and accepted the voice call.

”Drauni, this is Moon. You’re on speaker. What’s your report?” He was fully aware that he had just exposed his identity to Nyx, but since they never visibly crossed paths, it was fine.

There were a few seconds of heavy breathing before a shrill voice ”MOOOOOOOOOOOON!!! I’M SCAAAAAAAAAAARED!!!” A small breath escaped Shiro’s lips as he supported his temples. ”Really? Sounds to me like you’re having a blast. And judging from the explosions in the background, literally!” He replied wryly, exacerbating the situation in spite of the Stryker’s emotional distress. ”He’s like this often…” Ken whispered to Aaron from the sidelines. ”Alright, Drauni, calm down and speak slowly. E-nun-ci-ate. What’s happening?”

The Stryker regained his composure and spoke in lieu of the progressively devolving battle. ”A-alright. I managed to gather fifteen Strykers from our raid group and placed them at all connecting streets to the gate. So far, no players have been able to pass our blockades.” As Drauni spoke, Shiro envisioned the layout of the city in his head. For a first year, the kid knew how to strategically place resources quite well. He would surely scale the ranks of the Strykers, if he ever managed to suppress his sheepish demeanor. ”But there’s been a recent development pertaining to the battle.” Shiro raised an eyebrow at this new information. He swore he heard somebody shout “Fatal Acceleration” in the background, but it was hard to discern the war cry over the song of blades. ”A third party who may be affiliated with Arms Slave just made an appearance. He has a pretty unique ability, and seems to be turning the tide of the ba- Crap, we’ve suddenly got a flood of players making their way to the gate!” Moon, who was planning on keeping viewers to a minimum, now understood that his efforts were in vain. The boy who lacked a serious complexion clicked his tongue. Subtle irritation exhibited itself as Drauni continued to annotate the generating situation. ”Diverting remaining members to the gate! They’ll hold off the players, but I don’t think they’ll be able to stave them off for that long. Are you able to dive?!”

Moon digested Drauni’s plea for help and looked over to Akane. The girl calmly read his expression and relaxed her stature on the desk. She suddenly became still since she had just entered DGO. ”Ken, mind holding the fort while I’m away?” Ken gave him a slow and nervous nod, unsure how to react to this foreign face of Shiro’s. ”Aaron, I’m sorry that there isn’t much to do right now, but I'm going to back on my word here. Things aren’t sitting well with me, and I’ve got the feeling your friend’s about to get into some deep shit.” The boy made his way over to a vacant desk and took his seat, then proceeded to enter DGO.

---

Paper Moon

Constricting Inhibitions

Paper Moon stared blankly at his friend’s corpse, his utterly solemn gaze downcast. He was able to catch the tail end of the battle, but was only a mere moment too late. Perhaps he could have been the voice of reason in this entire ordeal. He could have, by the grace of time, made an appearance and forcibly blared the voice of reason into both of their ears. But unfortunately, Fate was ranked an echelon above Time, thus it ultimately had jurisdiction over the proponent of the hourglass. Strawberry watched from the front of the crowd that had came to a halt before the city gate. Arms Slave didn’t strike him as a person to willingly sacrifice his EXP on a whim, so he must have seen some ultimatum before he bit the dust.

Right now his IRL counterpart was probably sufficed with the turn of events, but contrastingly, the rogue was not. He fixated narrowed eyes on the princess’, burrowing down into her very being comprised by series of repetitious code. ”So, are you content with this outcome? Well, are you?!” His voice hadn’t hit the intensity of a bark just yet, but agitation was clearly woven into every word. Although he didn’t wholly agree with that the Sweeper should have incited the Berserker further, he felt the need to shoulder a fraction of his rage. ”Did you seriously take every minute factor into account when you arrived at this resolution? You, as a primary representative of the Ebony Strykers, valued your own personal vendetta over these people?” Paper Moon threw out his hand back at the bystanders watching in unanimous silence. He didn’t intend for a riot to break out among the players. No. He wanted to permeate that impertinent mentality, while he simultaneously tried to step out of his own by even going so far as to speak in this manner.

”These people saw you fly into the battlefield, defend their new haven, and best a dissolution singlehandedly, yet you willingly tarnished that image they held in such high regard! You went ahead and abided by your own will, no matter what outward appearance would take form of the black kingdom after this event. I’m not even wholeheartedly devoted to the Strykers, but I have friends in their numbers. I think of those close to me before I set myself on a course that may put them in the line of harm. Did you do the same?” He noted Nies Hellum the two Sweepers passed her on their way to the scene. What did she think of this requiem? Did she believe Eclipse Princess’ actions were just? The anger in Moon’s voice suddenly died out as he recollected himself. His furrowed brows had eased slightly. ”...But I don’t entirely believe you should walk away after this. These people need you for what lies in theirs, and now, yours and my path. You should take a chance to rethink your values, and find out where your allegiance truly lies. For your sake, and theirs. You brought upon yourself a weight to carry when you decided to wield that blade. Now decide what that blade defines.”

Most of the raid group began to usher the players back into the city, all of whom complied after witnessing the spectacle. The remainder began to carefully gather the bodies of the Sweepers who fell to Eclipse Princess. A zephyr blew past the two, still locked in their staredown.
@Lucius Cypher@KoL@Mega Birb@Caits@RoflsMazoy

[Lonewolf685]

Kanbaru Otoko

Kanbaru rose from the train station bench as Retsu's reply came in, short with the fluff but still enough meat on the bones to have Kanbaru's interest. Slipping on her sunglasses even if the sun was on the decline, she left her preferred spot for people watching and moved towards the line that would take her where she needed to go with hurried steps. It wouldn't do anyone any good to be late to the meeting, and considering The Network was a nice club in her opinion it wouldn't hurt her to show up early.

Luckily for her the train arrived shortly thereafter, and she boarded the line that would bring her within boarding distance of her meeting point. There was some temptation to log onto DGO while the train carried her onwards, but she pushed it aside in favor of maintaining her faculties and awareness of the outside world. After all, this was still Japan. Even with her wits about her, girls by their lonesome traveling by locomotion should still be wary of predators. Besides that though, Kanbaru knew that when she logged on the long awaited Profession system would be online and she would be hard pressed to tear herself away to get off at her stop on time.

The appeal of an MMO was that it leaves you saying 'Just one more quest!' every damn time, and this effect was always strongest when new content was dropped on the player's laps. "Though I imagine she is going to need Broker of Fortune, so I'll have to get online eventually." Considering it was a campus city and the Purple Crown had a heavy influence on the surrounding ecosystem and economy, Kanbaru was fairly certain The Network could provide rental booth's for diving into Deep Ground Online. Or they just had a private area for other uses they could appropriate if the need arose. Whether this was why Retsu choose the local or not was a mystery that would solve itself soon enough.

The familiar feeling of deceleration washed over the student, her stop had been reached. Having departed the train Kanbaru sent a reply message whilst her feet carried her the last few minutes to The Network.

To: Dark Wraith
From: Broker of Fortune
Subject: Re: Business
I'll be there shortly.

@Lucius Cypher

[Mega Birb]

Aaron Fletcher

Aaron nodded to Ken, figuring that he had the right idea in mind, and calmly listened to what this 'Drauni' had to say. The Strykers apparently had some good leaders and lots of potential. While he figured that it would be a problem for him in the future, he had no intention of becoming an Outlaw to solve it. He took a vacant seat that was near him and smirked slightly to the others. "Keep things locked down here, okay?" He didn't bother to wait for a response, logging in to Deep Ground like he did almost every day.

---

Nyx

The assassin spawned where he had left off a few days ago, just outside of the Black City. Reading through the screens on the inside of his mask, he got a warning about open combat taking place between two powerful individuals at the gates. "I swear, if I have to defend another point in my life..." He started a slow jog to the entrance, arriving just in time to see Arms Slave die.

Sauntering up to the gate, he heard Paper Moon give a surprisingly defiant speech, despite the terrifying Berserker before him. He could be cut down in an instant, and yet there he was. With his own words in mind, Nyx drew a pistol out from inside his cloak and shot into the air once, gaining the attention of anyone that was still around. "In all honesty, I'd love to see the Strykers tear themselves apart at the seams. But I wanna see the story progress a little here, and I'm sure most of you do as well." He carefully tucked his firearm back into his cloak, continuing with his hands behind him.

"What I'm most interested in, however, is why the Black King allows this to happen. They've sat idly by as Stryker slays Stryker, comfortable on a throne of corpses at this point. Is your king letting Natural Selection run its course, or are you people entertainment?" He awaited a response, chuckling slightly as he received none. "That's what I thought." He sat on a piece of debris from the battle mere days ago, as some of the wreckage was still present.

He gazed up at Eclipse Princess, his amber eyes appearing to pierce through all her defenses from behind his mask. "Is killing a troll for a day at the most really worth becoming an Outlaw? I expected more from you, Eclipse Princess. I genuinely did." He paused for a moment, dropping his right shoulder and letting his arm dangle freely. "The world will be coming for the EXP you're risking just by logging on now. And don't pretend you can survive an onslaught like that, all it takes is one forceful hit and you're defenseless. From there, well, you can figure it out." The sound of steel grinding on steel could be heard briefly as his dagger slipped into his hand from his sleeve, the worn leather of the hilt conforming perfectly to his palm and fingers. Deep notches could be seen along the blade, some fresh and some old. This was the weapon of a determined killer, one who wouldn't be stopped from achieving a goal if the mind was set to it.

Before Nyx was the golden opportunity that was Eclipse Princess. She was never vulnerable, and she was powerful, but time wasn't on her side. If her declaration wasn't voided by the Black King, she was screwed.

"Anyone can betray anyone." The Assassin pressed the point of his knife to his left index finger and turned the sharp weapon between his fingers, examining it closely. Three moves is all it would take, and that sweet EXP would be his... but that was just outright dirty. Even the darkest of Rogues have standards. "I'll be hunting you in 24-hour's time. If I were you, I'd get a head start. Either that, or get your declaration cleared." With that, he slid his dagger back into his sleeve, a light shink heard as the steel slid into it's scabbard. His warning issued, he stood back up and crossed his arms, ready in case one day was too short for the Berserker.

At this point, his attention was turned to Rocket Lancer and Paper Moon. "As for you two, your leader is dead and you have minimal backup. With a war on its way and an enigma surrounding the Strykers, you'll be best off as carrion fighters. Walking in at the last moment and killing off the last of the fighters, then claiming victory for your own." He knew backlash would come for that comment, but he wanted a good story to be written about this generation's Strykers. That, and someone would have to give the Harley's a threat on their own. "I hope you prove me wrong."

His challenges issued, Nyx stood defiantly. He had walked into enemy territory and badmouthed them while doing so. In all honesty, he was surprised a sword wasn't pressed against his neck.

@Jedly@KoL@RoflsMazoy

[RoflsMazoy]

Rocket Lancer

"Tch, there goes the fun." He muttered.

He lowered his accelaration and his lance planted into the ground. He pulled it out and kicked the chain back towards Eclipse Princess so at least it looked bette for their 'audience'. He'd had a plan. When facing someone of Eclipse Princess' calibre you needed a plan and some tricks up your sleeve. The 'trick' he was about to use was one his body had come up with but he hadn't been able to use it effectively until now. There was also no one else on earth that'd be able to use it unless they had his abilities so there was no way Eclipse Princess would be expecting it either.

But now there was some heroic speechlord and some killjoy edgelord butting in, and mincing words every once in a while was nice, you know?

MyfuckingEXPgoddamnitstopdoingshitandgodieinafireorsomethinfuckofffffff He thought.

He wasn't angry.

"You all talk about dying as if it means something." He spat. "Who the fuck cares about who died today? They'll be back by tomorrow, doing whatever the hell they were doing, with some piss ass EXP reduction or whatever. What the hell's the point of crying about it? You just fuck off for a day or so then come back like nothing happened. Fucking pointless is what it is."

Then he turned to address Edgelord, who sort of pissed him off more than the others.

"I can picture you hunting down Princess Fucking Edgy like I can picture a mouse hunting a lion. She's gonna fuck you up." He said. "And it doesn't even matter if you kill her or not, she can just come back the day after and kick your ass. Who the fuck do you think you are? Assassin Jesus? I don't care about some shitty war or whatever, because unless it's coming in within the next 2 hours it won't make a single. Fucking. Difference."

Then he turned to address Mr. Trust and Justice speechlord. He sort of liked that kid but he was still sort of annoying.

"And as for you, I don't know what the fuck you're talking about either but at least it didn't sound as stupid as the other guy. 7 out of 10." He said, giving paper moon a thumbs up. "If I were someone else right now I'd say it was pretty good, but I just don't really give a fuck."

He hopped onto his lance as if to fly away and not come back.

"Oh, and maybe next time you shouldn't deliver that speech while she's fully chained up with a corpse danling off of her." He said.

Then he took to the skies in a streak of yellow.

---

@Jedly@KoL@Mega Birb and @Lucius Cypher 'cause your corpse is present at least

[Lord of Evil]

Across the desolate plains, seen by few, 2 featureless metal men ran, both lightly armed. Black spires loomed ahead and soon the black city was in their view. As the 2 metal men crested a hill, they slowed down and prepared to stop. Corpses were piled high close to the entrance and it seemed that 2 avatars were squaring up to fight each other. The 2 metal men slowly walked down the hill and came closer to the source of the commotion.

As the commotion grew into a duel the metal men got close enough to listen to the chatter but were careful not to be seen. Flitting through abandoned buildings they quickly found a suitable one and entered. Ascending to the third floor, one metal man stared out the window at the crowd while the other hid in the shadows. He'd come late, but he got the gist of it. A sweeper against a high-level relatively infamous user, Eclipse Princess. The other combatant had a unique avatar with 4 arms. Thomas was sure that he'd heard of the 4 armed man before, possibly in connection with the sweepers.

As the metal man watched, another combatant joined the fray. With plenty of time to think, Thomas deduced that the new combatant must've been a sweeper ally of the 4 armed avatar. As more and more people turned up to watch, including an avatar with an entire fan club around them, it was clear that Thomas's gamble had payed of. He'd assumed that going to the black city would give him something interesting to see and it turned out that he was correct. This was definitely news material, though he was sure he was missing a few links.

One avatar - possibly linked to the sweepers, with a distinctive mop of blond hair - called out and confirmed his suspicions. There was clearly something going on with the Eclipse Princess, but Thomas couldn't figure it out just yet.
"Later." The puppet master muttered. "This is worth watching in its entirety."

Thomas recorded what he'd seen, he'd need to after all. This was a large story for sure but there was a high chance that it was linked to another bigger story. One that Thomas just had to find out about.

[KoL]

Eclipse Princess

---

Eclipse Princess broke the chains just as Arms Slave fell dead, she wasn't even sure why they didn't snap before, to say the truth. She kicked the corpse away from her, forsaking the EXP crystals that Slave had dropped. Actually, Eclipse Princess hadn't got a single EXP crystal from EXP crystal from anyone she killed, or any item she broke (the ground was literally littered with freeby EXP, for anyone who wanted to grab it), she wasn't here to level up, after all.

Players started flocking at the gates, spearheaded by both Paper Moon and Nix, just as Eclipse Princess stored her sword. Eris listened to all they said about her, a knowing expression on her face, it was the truth after all, there's no way to deny it... yet. "All of you!" Eclipse Princess shouted, her voice was uncharacteristically pained, not even a hint of her usual vitriol and rage spewing out of her lips right now, "You know nothing of my motivations, how can you judge me like this? No, it's actually not that you don't know, rather, you chose to ignore it, all of my pleas. What else could I do?"

"Life threats aren't trolling. If you don't know about it, let me tell you again. There are assassins, nay, murderers, within your group. People that kill and hurt others because of a videogame. But nobody listens, nobody cares, it's not against them, after all. Why should they care?" Eclipse Princess summoned her menu as she walked up to Nix and Paper Moon and showed them her combat log, including the text file where Arms Slave confessed being an Eraser (And like killing people!), lie or not, this wasn't something one should be joking around.

"I-I just don't want to lose my only friend. Can't you see? If you want to keep on being friends with a killer it's your problem, I don't care anymore. I know you'll ignore me, like I always. I just want Cassandra to be safe!" Then, Eclipse Princess turned to Nix, a mix of returning rage and sorrow was evident in her teary glare, "You want the experience? You can come and get it! I'll not fight you, I'll not fight anyone else. I'm full of this game, and full of being a harbinger of strife!"

Eris was so out of her mind, again, that she even forgot that Nies was a few steps away from her while she talked about out of this and even began to cry, out of the sheer pressure of the situation, "If you two want to talk to me come to the Purple Crown Shopping Arcade/Mall's food court as soon as you can. I-I'm just full of this. God, why everything I do always ends up the same?" Eclipse Princess logged out just as she said so, the look in her eyes not promising good things, at least for someone who knew Eris as well as Cassandra did.

---

Itsuko Mariann Kanzaki

---

"Ah, thank you! Please, come on. Also, you can call me Itsuko, then. I really hate when people use my surname the whole time." Itsuko said to Hibiki, giving the other girl her contact info, after exchanging a pleading gaze with the suit dressed woman, who whispered back that "tomorrow" with an overly serious expression on her face before leaving the lounge. "I-I don't have many friends, people are usually uncomfortable around me because of everything." Itsuko said as they boarded the elevator and stopped at the penthouse of the Tower-C. The buildings weren't particularly high, just 25 floors, each, but the standards inside of them were literally out of this world, to own a two-floors pent house in a place like this Itsuko's family must be absurdly rich.

However, there was no trace of anyone as soon as they entered the luxurious apartment, in fact, it didn't even looked so much like a high-grade penthouse should look. Sure, there were some fancy furniture, and a huge TV, but the place was littered with manga and comic books and a few fashion magazines of all kinds and genres, on the walls, where one would expect expensive paintings and other art work, Itsuko had mostly posters from, idols/bands, anime and movies as well as action figures and such. The corner of the living room was taken by gym equipment and training dummies and on the low table there was a partially assembled model kit for the custom M1911 that belonged to a certain snake-themed, one-eyed badass from an old tactical espionage game that was the third of its series, a few weird looking wires and another kit for the gauntlets of a certain blondie who had a disarming encounter. All in all, the place looked more or less like what you'd expect from the room of a chuunibyou afflicted otaku, which was strange given that any parents wouldn't allow this sort of rubbish to stay on the front door.

Anyway, as soon as Itsuko got in, she said "Hibiki, feel free to read any of them, watch the TV/disks or play the video games while take a shower and get something for us to eat. Oh! If you want to use the bathroom there one on the left corridor and I can leave the bath water hot, if you want to go in, after I'm done." Itsuko's phone began to ring as she talked and, after excusing herself, she answered it with a surprised expression on her face. "Oh! It's you! You won't believe it, I made a new friend. Can I ask if she wants to go out with us tonight? I can? Thank you, Huntress! I love you, see ya!" As Itsuko hang the phone, she turned back to Hibiki, "That was my friend on the phone, she said I can ask if you want to come out and party with us tonight, Hibiki. You can answer me later, I'll be back in no time."

Itsuko would be back in about half an hour, after taking a shower and taking out some of the bandages. She was wearing a casual style clothing, for a night out with her friends and had a lot of random snacks with her, about anything from pocky to hot pockets and a few cans of melon soda. "I'm sorry, Hibiki, this is all that I could find, if you want anything else I can order it. Anyway, I have to thank you again. It's really good to have friends come over." Itsuko said with a shy smile on her face, despite the whole situation, she was clearly the most nervous there, after all, Itsuko wasn't the most socially able person in the world.

"So, what do you want to talk about, Hibiki? I'm sorry, but I'm not the best when it comes for this kind of thing."

---

Eris "Valkeyr" Reinhardt

---

"I-I can't take this anymore! Why am I always like this?" Eris yelled between tears as she woke up on the real world. Why, despite how much she tried, nothing good ever happened to her? Or better, it wasn't that good things didn't happen, but rather that Eris broke everything she so much as gazed at. Fate wasn't something real, Eris refused to believe in, to acknowledge it, but on moments like this her life philosophy and faith were put at test.

Nobody cared, nobody listened, nobody liked her, save for her mother and Cassandra. "I-ugh!" Suddenly Eris felt like throwing up, the damn pain of the cramps and the distress getting the best of her. Defeated by her own body and broken minded, Eris went to the toilet. After ridding her stomach of whatever was left on it, Eris stared at her pitiful reflection. She felt like smashing the mirror in front of her, but the pain from last time snapped her out of the idea.

Instead of getting a new cut, all that Eris did was fall to the floor and sob silently. It was to much for her. Why things had to be like that?

"Why? All I wanted is for Cassandra to be safe and nobody cared. Am I really as bad a children as father thinks? God, I never even wanted father to hate me..." Eris continued to mull in the darkness, why... why... why?

---

@Caits, @RoflsMazoy, @TheWindel, @Lucius Cypher, @Lord of Evil, @Mega Birb, @Jedly, @Ryonara.

[Lonewolf685]

Hildr Reinhardt

---

The door to Eris' apartment swung open without a fuss, allowing a statuesque woman entrance into the domicile. Security hadn't given her a second glance, and why would they? Their pay came from her books after all. Hildr Reinhardt hadn't known what she would have found upon entry, the only certainty being that Eris was still inside, or rather, she hadn't left through the front door. One may have questioned how there was anyway to leave a tower but through the front door, but Hildr didn't raise a daughter with such a one track mind.

"Eris? Are you online at the moment?" She called somewhat rhetorically, not expecting an actual answer if that was the case. Striding through her daughters home Hildr soon found that the living and bedroom where lacking the catatonic form of her dear berserker and let out a hum of discontent. It had been assumed that their relationship was on the mend, but perhaps Eris really had snuck out, though that raised significant questions on the nature of or Eris' information gathering skills since this house call had no advance notice.

The Reinhardt matriarch's ears quirked, a muffled sob drawing her attention to the master bathroom. It was a bit late to concern herself with intruding upon her daughter's privacy, and Hildr pushed open the door to find her only daughter in a pained state of despair. "Eris dear! What the Hell happened?!" She knelt down beside the sobbing child, arms enclosing around her as maternal instinct dictated. "Talk to me dear. I'm here now."

Eris lifter her head, the bloodshot eyes staring at the woman in front of her carrying all the guilty in the world behind their gaze. She didn't thought anything at all when her mother embraced her, crossing her arms behind Hildr and clinging to her mother with all her strength. "Mo-mom, why? Why all that I do never works? Everyone hates me, even dad, why?" Eris cried while burying her face on her mother's chest.

"Shh. It's okay, I got you dear. I need you to tell me what's going on, can you do that?" Hildr cooed, rocking Eris back and forth to sooth her troubled daughter. She was well aware of the attempt on her life and that there was some difficulty on Deep Ground Online, it was why she had some of her old gear sent to her before she came to Japan, but there was only so much she could find out without actually being able to return to DGO herself. Alternatively the issue could have been something in reality, the harsh world of academia always serving as a breeding ground for cruelty. Regardless of the threat to her daughter's peace of mind, their days were soon to be numbered with Hildr on their trails. "Your father couldn't love his left hand, dearie, and those two are certainly well acquainted. Don't forget I'm here for you and I love you no matter what others say or do."

Eris sobbed and tried to clear her throat before speaking, the proximity with her mother calming her a great deal, yet the voice that came out of Eris' lips was pained and a bit hoarse "It's how people treat me, no, how hey ignore me, mom. I know that they aren't lying. How can someone lie about killing other persons? Lives aren't toys, even if you have to take one, you have to treat it seriously." Eris trailed off a bit before continuing, as she tried to explain the real problem without crying, "They threatened Cassandra's life, she's my only friend, the only person that understands me other than you and I tried to tell people and they laughed at me, I-I had to try something, anything to keep her safe, but now everyone hates me and thinks that I'm nothing but trouble for them..." Though, after letting it out, the tears return once more.

Tearing down a wash cloth from its drying hook Hildr dabbed at her daughter's cheeks before pressing Eris into her mother's chest. The Reinhardt Matriarch didn't want Eris to confuse the roiling sea of wrath that was her face for something that was directed at her. No, Hildr's enmity was aimed at the phantoms who persisted in threatening Eris' life. "There are always going to be people who are callous with the lives of others, even more so when everything is a game to them. They are going to try and tear you down because they can't stand seeing you be better then them, and they are too craven to face you directly." It was all she could do not to put her fist through the dry wall and ruin a perfectly good wash room. As big as she spoke her options where woefully limited in regards to her daughter's private life. It wasn't like she could hop onto DGO or drive down to Purple Crown and start beating kids into submission like the old days. "You can't worry yourself with appeasing these people, they are fickle and weak. Poor enemies and worse friends. This Cassandra girl, she sounds like a good sort. And you must think well of her if you'd go so far to protect her. Heh." Hildr snorted, a remarkably unrefined gesture as she attempted to inject some levity into the situation before her. "Is she the princess to your black knight? You remember how you used to always want to play as the Black Knight, rescuing the beautiful damsel from the nefarious king?"

Eris sobbed one last time, resting her head against her mother and staying silent as she cried just for a bit more, before a chuckle left her throat, because of the issue her mother brought up. "Mom! That's from so back ago, I was just a child back then. Anyway, I don't know for sure what she's to me, I tried a deeper relationship with Cassandra, but it might not work after all. The one thing I know is that she's important to me."

"Perhaps not so much a Princess as she's a battle companion? Which is actually funny, since on DGO I'm the princess. Either way, she's on my room right now, still on Deep Ground, she might be coming over at any minute. I don't want Cassandra to see me crying, we should go back to the dinner room." Eris said as she dried out the last of her tears, "But you are right, mom. They are all idiots for hand waving things like that, but it doesn't mean that I have to be like them. After all, I'm your daughter, not? I can't go around embarrassing my mother." Eris smiled as she tried to get back to her feet.

"You couldn't embarrass me if you tried to, dear. When i was your edge I had hundreds gunning for my head, though I was always a provocateur in my own right." Mother and daughter rose to their feet, Hildr guiding her child out into the dining room once she felt that Eris had recovered enough to be presentable."Though if you and Cassandra do...become a thing, I want you to know I don't expect grandkids until you are at least in your mid twenties~ As much as i would love more kids to spoil I'd like for you enjoy life a bit outside of the game before you think of starting a family." The Reinhardt Matriarch rubbed her daughter cheekily, setting her down at the dining table while she stood behind her, hands rubbing her shoulders soothingly."Now what is it you are going to do now? I imagine you and Cassandra have some evening plans~?"

Outside, a certain blonde sighed as she waited in the car. Figures Hildr would take so long to talk to her daughter. Honestly, why didn't she just do the simple and easy thing? Whatever.

[Jedly]

Paper Moon

Paper Moon’s eyes lingered on the spot Eclipse Princess just stood, but not in her usual iconic stance. Her stature had weakened drastically along with her spirit. All he could do was wordlessly listen to her soliloquy, every single point she made just as valid as the one preceding it. The words “I just don’t want to lose my only friend.” especially sunk in, and after they had registered and branded themselves on his conscious, he had finally affirmed his theory. At least he managed to avoid an enraged mob from forming, but he wished there was a better way he could have gone about it. Judging from Princess’ cry, his words had made their way into the Berserker’s mind too. Now that his suspicion had been confirmed, he could progress through this endeavor with a proper aim.

”Earth to Paper Moon, are you reading me?” Strawberry Baby’s voice dragged Moon out of his muse with a hand firmly placed on his shoulder. The mage didn’t have her usual abrasive expression painted on her face. Instead, she faced the boy remorsefully. She too had watched from the sidelines in awe of the speech. Behind her Drauni was still in the middle of directing the cleanup crew. Even though Moon was a Sweeper, he knew all too well that this incident couldn’t be simply swept under the rug. ”This is Ghost Rider, I read you.” He tried to respond with a joshing smile, but couldn’t find it in himself to maintain the complexion. The boy stared up at the sky, watching as the trail of Rocket Lancer’s yellow dissipated. Melancholy was something Moon rarely had to combat, but now he was entirely engulfed in it. Normally, he would have almost instantly followed up Nyx’s provocation with a witty retort, but he knew that the Assassin only wanted to give the Strykes a little push. His face ashen, the boy called out to Drauni, ”Hey, think you can manage?” The Stryker made an okay gesture with his hand with his attention still fixed on hauling a corpse.

Strawberry Baby’s mien next to Arms Slave’s corpse distorted and glitched as Paper Moon logged out, taking his leave from the scene.

Shiro Kawabata

A look of honest apology was the first thing Shiro saw when he woke up. Ken was most likely provided with live updates from Drauni. Great. He didn’t have spend time filling him in. ”Shiro, it’s not your fau-” The club president’s delicate voice stopped short as the recipient of his closure curtly stood up from his desk and rushed past him. ”I-I need a moment.” He choked out before slamming the door behind him. He only made it two feet to his side until the feeling in his legs gave out. The student sluggishly slid down the wall and soon found himself in a slump. His head drooped loosely as he breathed in through his clenched teeth. A real life reenactment of a marionette cut from its strings.

Shiro wasn’t distraught because he didn’t understand Eclipse’s pleas. It was due to the fact that he completely understood them, almost to the extent as if they were his own. Her directive is almost identical to his. Protecting those dear to oneself regardless of how many, that is Shiro, and as he had just confirmed, also Eris’ resolve. With Cassandra as her the only person she could rely on, it’s only natural that she would prioritize her above all else. Yet Shiro couldn’t sit around knowing a mentality like that had brought about such happenings. Shouldering all of the derision for one person was noble, but if she were to fall, that collective would only cascade and fall onto the person she loves. The boy could only feel contrition for the girl. But tonight, he would make amends, and hopefully put an end to the loop Eris has placed herself in.

Shiro remained there, with his head resting on crossed arms supported by his knees. Curled up in a little ball, even the normal passerby would raise a few quesitons. Meanwhile, Ken and Akane waited for Aaron to return to reality.
@KoL@Mega Birb

[TheWendil]

Yoshino Tsugumi

“Of course you don’t. Still doesn’t change the fact that you’re related. You can’t choose who your family are Retsu. Obviously,” Yoshino said with a hint of bitterness. Seems the two girls had more in common than initially planned. But the Student President was used to dealing with annoying and estranged siblings. Retsu’s drama was old news for her.

Getting on the bus, Yoshino mostly kept to herself while adjusting her glasses. She was known not to be a social type and Retsu was quite fine in having their trips spent in silence. A sort of mutual understanding was between them in that kind of regard. So it was thus surprising when Retsu leaned over to suggest she check up on the Ebony Strykers.

Raising an eye, Yoshino did just that with a commands from her mental chip. But what she saw was hardly out of the ordinary and it didn’t seem enough of a hassle for her to devote her time with. Both Princess and Arms Slave were thorns in her side but they didn’t have to be.

“Seems Arms Slave has died while Princess logged out in a distressed manner. You should probably talk to Eris at some point. I get the feeling you two have a lot in common,” Yoshino said. Surely not because both girls were anti-social, dramatic, edgelords. Certainly not.

She was more concerned with the hussle this was gaining among the Strykers, news of the two idiot’s battle spreading like wildfire. The mob seemed to have dispersed following Eclipse Princess’ logout but she could already feel the rumors crawling their way into the other Guilds. Yoshino adjusted her glasses a second time and narrowed her eyes. Her employer was not going to like this.

Back in the Blue Guild, Blue Joker chuckled at the blue girl who had showed up out of the blue. She seemed chipper enough though he suspected it was probably because she had just leveled up. Well, whatever floated her boat. Hands in his pocket, he glanced at the Blue Guild’s gates and then at the secretary.

“So you must be pretty important, huh? Well like I said, I wanna join your Guild. Seems pretty cool and all, y’know? Eheh, especially when a cute girl like you is giving me a private tour. JK, JK! Should really relax a little more kid, eheh.”

---

@KoL, @Lucius Cypher

[Lucius Cypher]

ARMS SLAVE

Once more, Arms Slave floated in that limbo of death in Deep Ground. Usually these moments only lasted a few minutes of real time, though it was also during these times Arms Slave was able to review his death. Literally, there was a kill cam and everything. Not the most glamorous way to die, but he supposed he had to do it. He had to prove a point that, win or lose, he wasn't going to just let Eclipse Princess do whatever she wanted. As he waited to see if he was going to respawn or not, he received a few messages from the audiences. Most were jeers and insults which he promptly ignored, though a few came from the players who were suppose to go on the treasure hunt today. He simply told them that they had only a minor set back and that tomorrow they should be able to resume operations. For now, they should try to hide or otherwise protect themselves and the vehicles for the treasure hunt; who knows if Eclipse Princess was going to cause more bedlam, or if the city would start rioting and looting. That would be fun.

Eventually Arms Slave found himself back at the Sanctuary in the Black City. Evidently no one chose to bring him back to life, and he noticed a 1/3 of his EXP gone. Fortunately for him he never had much to begin with, so he only last a paltry sum. Arms Slave quickly got onto his feet and was going to go back to fight Eclipse Princess, but not before stopping by a reflective fountain. This fountain had no real purpose aside from being decorative, though Arms Slave could see his reflection in it. He flexed to see if his body was still fully functional, but while he did so he got to thinking. Why was he fighting in the first place? He had said that he would kill any Outlaw that opposed the Black Guild, even if they were a Stryker. He supposed that Eclipse Princess fell under that category. However as he looked at his reflection, this thoughts drifted back to Yuuno.

For the longest time, Asahi never really thought about the actions he did for the Sweepers. He had always grown up with the idea that he'd do anything to protect his friends. That's why he fought for the Sweepers, as most of his friends were in the organization. When they were in trouble he'd protect them. When they were constantly harassed by Outlaws, he'd find the outlaw and kill them. And not just in game; he has blooded his hands more than once for the Sweepers. Either he had sent them a bloody message or were direct, not to mention the various other people he has personally made an enemy of while hanging out with his friends. Gangs and lowlives who picked fights and held grudges, and Asahi wasn't really that different. That was his life, and for the most part Asahi accepted it.

But seeing Yuuno so... Scared of him. It made him wonder what he was really doing with himself. He said he'd help his friends make a future for themselves, but doing what? What he did here in Deep Ground wasn't too different from what he does in real life: he fights, he roams, he gets into trouble and generally causes a ruckus. It was all good fun, but honestly speaking, it was pointless. He enjoyed it, sure, but he wasn't making a future for his friends. He was just distracting them and himself from the reality that more than likely, they'd end up part of Asahi's crime family, either as scummy businessmen or enforcers. Asahi might have a better chance at a glamorous job by inheriting his father's position, but aside from his own ruthlessness, Asahi doesn't know how to run a business.

Asahi, as Arms Slave, pondered these thoughts and wondered what he could really do about it. Book learning and training was good and all, but those were generic solutions. Not that they wouldn't work, but they were too simple. They were about as useful as saying "get better", leaving Arms Slave with no direction by whatever he was doing before. Then his words thought back to what Eclipse Princess said, that she kept calling the Sweepers killers and murderers. Despite his own defiance, it wasn't as if she was wrong. While it might be unfair to say that all Sweepers were killers and murderers, there was no doubt in Asahi's mind that he was guilty of the things she accuses them to be. Indeed, the more he thought about it, he did realize that she was right. But that didn't mean he agreed with her.

Arms Slave walked out of the Sanctuary and looked towards the guild hall. From that moment, he had a different goal to pursue than this pointless interaction with Eclipse Princess. He would, if only out of spite, change the Sweepers. Make the lies become the truth. He did not know who the Sweeper's true leader was, if they ever really had one, but Arms Slave decided that he would lead them into a new age. There was much to do before he would get to do that, and the first thing he'd need to do is find out his his real friends were. Arms Slave had plenty of Sweepers and other players who'd willingly follow him into danger, but what he wanted wasn't just some raid or deathmatch. He had a bigger goal in mind and that called for players who could think bigger. For now though, he had other obligations to attend to. Arms Slave logged out of Deep Ground and returned to the real world.

---

RETSU GOROSHI

"If that's true, then we would be mortal enemies." Retsu didn't like herself very much, and if Eris was like her, than she was certain the feeling was mutual. Retsu was aware of how vile she was, and merely hides it under a mask of apathy and using others to dirty their own hands while hers remain immaculate. But that didn't mean she wasn't responsible for the suffering of others. So if Eris was anything like Retsu, capable of bringing ruin and tragedy to others simply because she willed it, then they would hate each other. If not for what they can do, then because there was someone else who was their equal.

That aside, it seemed like for the moment the feud between Eclipse Princess and Arms Slave was over, if only for now. And Retsu was going to ensure that it won't happen again. She just knows that one of the Erasers had already done something to capitalize on this, she only needed to figure out who was responsible. But that was Retsu's problem, and not Yoshino's. At some point perhaps the two would have to have a serious discussion about guiding the Ebony Strykers to ensure they don't implode on themselves, but for now Deep Ground was a distant issue. Now they still needed to get home.

The bus had stopped near the new apartment. There were still plenty of girls moving their belongings in, and for some they may find that they still had a lot of space. The daughters of the various men in the Goroshi's family business now lived here, and had already taken up a good half of the building. The rest of it were mostly associates and workers of the family, mainly women and a few enforcers. Obviously some dirty business also occurred here in the past, but now that most of the girls moved in, that operation was moved elsewhere. Retsu and Yoshino had one of the better rooms located near the top, though Retsu had specifically chosen a certain room: the central room. It was the only room with it's own express elevator, and there were only four other central rooms, with Retsu and Yoshino taking the second from the top, right underneath the penthouse. Technically they could have moved into any of the four central rooms, as they were reserved for important members of the Goroshi family. Retsu wasn't one of them, but she ignored that and managed to get a key anyways.

The room was nicely furnished, though Retsu still hasn't finished getting all her stuff here. At least her part of the room was cleaned and organized, for the given definition of the word. What took the most space in Retsu's room was a series of computer servers. Within these servers were backup data to Deep Ground itself; it was here that she tested and developed new ways to cheat the system. It mirrored the game down to the code, only that it was completely voided or any other Avatars. Here Retsu could directly link herself into Deep Ground and play at her own leisure, altering the setting to make things as easy or hard for herself as she wanted. The servers weren't always here and were actually back at her family home, but once she heard that these apartments were available to her she took the opportunity to move it. However nowadays Retsu doesn't use the server for plying Deep Ground; she's trying to find out it's secrets.

But that would be later. Once inside Retsu went to go wash up. She intended to head to The Network soon, so while she washed up she made arrangements over the local area chat to arrange a ride. Another perk was that the apartment now had it's own personal chauffeurs around the city, and during school days there would be a bus for the girls. They haven't actually brought the bus yet, but it was planned.

@TheWindel

[Ryonara]

Hibiki Toho

"Everything? What about everything?" Hibiki tilted her head when Itsuko mentioned why people didn't like her. While she didn't know Itsuko very well, or at all, Hibiki didn't see anything to dislike about her. She was actually kind of adorable in a way, like a nervous but cute cat that wants to play but is afraid of you. Hibiki was worried that Itsuko is just so used to getting bullied, she may have started thinking that it's her fault. "I like you, Itsuko. There's nothing wrong with you."

Riding in the elevator with Itsuko, she felt a little queasy. The apartment was very impressive from the outside, but now that they were going up and very high off the ground, Hibiki was starting to feel nervous. She never liked heights. Fortunately they managed to reach Itsuko's apartment before Hibiki had an accident. After taking off her shoes she was amazed at the room. Amazed at how messy it was. There was so much stuff laying around that Hibiki was certain she'd step on something if she went any further. She did recognize some of the books however, and there were even a few light novels that Hibiki had always wanted to read but could never find. She was quickly distracted reading through the first chapter of a light novel when Itsuko mentioned something about a party. She had been so engrossed with the novel she didn't know what Itsuko was talking about before she left.

Eventually Itsuko returned with snacks and a new outfit. She looked trendy and it made Hibiki rather self-conscience that she never really bothered to dress up. Taking a hot pocket and having a bite, Hibiki immediately yelped. "Ow! Bleeeh... Too hot." Blowing on the hot pocket she took another bite, this one more manageable, though she still ate slowly. Once she finished her hot pocket Hibiki took a can of soda and had a few sips "Hmm... How about clothes?" Hibiki picked up a fashion magazine for young adults. "You look really cool Itsuko! I wish I could go out and buy clothes for myself, but I don't really know what to look for. A lot of the time I just end up wearing whatever my parents give me." As she flipped through the magazine Hibiki also remembered the book she was holding. "Or maybe we can talk about Overlord! I've been looking for the light novels everywhere, but all I can find is the anime and manga, and not even all of the manga."

[Lord of Evil]

Puppet master

Thomas recorded the entire thing, quietly deciding never to use it. The Eclipse Princess's speech had the air that it was revealed to the people she wanted to say it to - Thomas knew that it shouldn't go any farther. It was like she was declaring the 2 she addressed as her enemies, perhaps 3 including the arms slave, though he also knew it wasn't as simple as that. The fact of matter was that, while the speech revealed quite a lot, he didn't have enough to form his own conclusions. He was missing something important to the Eclipse Princess, something that happened perhaps a long time ago.

Regardless of what the princess's speech could've meant, Thomas had a few options.

What he did understand from the princess's one-man raid against the sweepers was that the sweepers were somewhat affiliated with the black guild, though he couldn't guess to what extent that was true. The Eclipse princess had also more or less confirmed the activities of the sweepers, though he could've guessed that much. So, Thomas could do 1 of 2 things. He could stick around and watch what the sweepers do, or he could go for the morally dubious route, spy in on the eclipse princess.

Not only was the last option morally dubious, it was also fairly difficult. He had no idea what the Eclipse Princess or the blond haired avatar looked like in real life. However, he was aware of that he could know what the other avatar looked like, since he had fan club and he was sure that he'd revealed himself to them or something. He was sure there was a forum post floating around somewhere there.

At any rate, that wasn't the problem. The problem was that it was likely a personal vendetta. Did Thomas have any business showing up to a party he wasn't invited for? Most importantly, if he did show up, wouldn't that make him kind of a dick? He certainly couldn't do both at the same time either, not by himself.

Thomas's mind churned for a little while, but he made his decision. Thomas logged out of deep ground.

---

Thomas Green

Thomas opened his eyes to meet his empty ceiling. Groaning as he got up he cupped his hand over his face to stifle the oncoming yawn.
"New message." He muttered tiredly.
The blue mail interface appeared next to him and he began typing with his free hand as he wiped the tiredness out of his eyes.

To: Alicia Lyra
From: Thomas Green
Subject: Espionage
Found a possible lead in DGO. Need you to track sweeper activity in the black city, I'm chasing the lead in real life. You're the only one that can do this. Be careful.

That was all he needed to say. He knew that his cousin would understand.

Sending the message, Thomas slid off of his bed and to his meager wardrobe. The advantage of a forgettable face was that he could wear almost anything and not stand out. He picked clothes that fit and a plain hoodie that made them not matter before putting on nondescript sneakers and picking out a book and a notepad. A normal student reading a book for a book report seemed like a good enough cover. But before he left, he had one more thing to do.

"Open forums." Thomas said.
He found the identity of the masked avatar: Aaron Fletcher. He stared at his quarry for a moment before downloading the student's picture to his phone, he was ready to head out. Exiting his apartment with a light jog, he headed in the direction of Purple Ground's mall. He needed to get there quickly, before his quarries, if he wanted any chance of getting decent closure. He might have had time. The exchange had been fairly emotional and he was fairly close to the mall. They would perhaps need time to prepare, Thomas had taken a few minutes at most. And even if he was coming uninvited, he was sure that there were others who would also gate crash. If that was so, he would need to get there before they did, and before the anti-interference measures were put into place.

@Whoever this affects, I guess, so...
@Jedly@KoL@Mega Birb

[Lucius Cypher]

(Whoops wrong area.)

[MarshiestMallow]

Nies Hellum

Interacting with:

Nies hellum looked over all who were there, standing there, almost an outsider, she gave a sigh, and said, loud enough to be heard, "When did the game become more important then being human? When did it become okay to treat people like this? When did it become okay to treat people based on their avatars, and not who they are? The game has destroyed you all. Mayhaps you will all find some shred of humanity, and realise what could be the true potential of this game. You all think its about acheiving a high rank, to set you up after graduation, but its not. The thing about humans is that sometimes, we nèed to give a hand to those that struggle, but you would all prefer to just turn a blind eye, rather then to help. I'm going, to see what damage you have done" Nies hellum meant to shame. She meant to cause pain, meant to destroy the very essence of what the game had become. Shaking her head, she logged out. There was no point staying online, right then.

Not when She knew Eris was upset.

[Hr]

Cassandra

Interacting with @KoL

Returning to the real world, Cassandra sat up, looking about. Perhaps she had taken too long to return, qnd Eris was even now doing something she'd refret. As she rose, Cassie heard voices. Stopping, she tilted her head, relieved to near Eris's voice. Another voice, one she didn't recognise. She hesitated, hating tne fact she was eves dropping, but not wanting to interrupt what seemed like an important conversation.

Biting her lip, Cassie tried not to listen, but it was hard as she heard her name mentioned. The conversation broke Cassie's heart. She wanted to go out there, to do something, anything. But she didn't, not yet. It was evident now that the other voice belonged to Eris's mother.

Waiting felt like an eternity, but said about moving to the dining room, Cassie waiting a moment, before heading out the room. Hesitating, she entered, "Excuse me, Mrs. Reinhardt. I'd just like to say a few things to Eris" she looked to Eris, and gave her a smile. "Sometimes i think you believe that I won't be there. That I'll suddenly change my mind about how important you are to me and just leave. That isn't going to happen, and no one will take me away either. If they try they'll find that despite what i have portrayed, I am not weak or...moldable to their ways.

You don't need to protect me, although i understand why you want to, because I want to protect you, too. Which is hard, because somehow you need protecting from yourself as well.

The other students, they don't understand because...because they aren't the type to charge in when all seems lost to protect someone that can't protect themselves even if it means more trouble for you-I may have angered Chiyo by the way-They have their loyalties, but its ever changing for what they can get out of it, for what tney consider is best for themselves. They don't care, and thats their loss. They've let the game completely rule them, and you haven't. They don't deserve someone like you.

They don't understand because they think DGO is just a game. They don't understand you because they can't even understand themselves.

I...you're so complex Eris, that I think i could spend tne rest of our lives trying to figure you out completely, but I know you are good. That you put others before yourself, and that you don't stop. I know you are tortured by what is expected of you, and I know that even now, you struggle with the belief thaf I am happy being with you, in whatever capacify you'll have me.

After all, I am a still here"

Cassandra stood there, feeling awkward not because of Eris, but because her mother was there. It was easy, simple, to speak witn Eris, even if it could be complex at times figuring out what Eris meant, but she didn't know anything about Eris's mother, didn't even know how her words would be taken.

[Mega Birb]

Nyx

Rolling his eyes, Nyx watched the second incarnation of Corpse Collector's mouth fly off on his lance. Only the reckless or stupid swore so much when explaining something, at least in the Assassin's experience. "Compared to a lot of people, I'm far from edgy..." Shrugging off Rocket Lancer's comments. He was sure there would be a way to knock him down a few pegs some time in the future. And then as Eclipse Princess spoke, he began to feel guilt eating away at his conscious like a hungry parasite. As she turned to him and spoke, that was the killing blow on him. A warrior throwing herself on a blade wasn't what he had expected, not even slightly. At this point, he had no intention of attacking her the next day, not while she was at her weakest.

Nyx knew the bitter pill was gonna be at the mall the moment she logged, and sat as he listened to Nies. She wasn't wrong, not at all. It was a wake up call if one existed. Without another word he exited Deep Ground, deep in thought.

---

Aaron Fletcher

Aaron awoke in the desk, leaving the room before Ken could even get a word out. He had a place he needed to be soon. He didn't stop to talk to anyone, making his way towards the Purple Crown Arcade and Mall. Regret swam through his mind for what he said, but the deed had been done. How Eris viewed him was entirely up to her now.

[RoflsMazoy]

Maybe it was time for him to log out. He hadn't been on for long today at all, but he figured he should let his body live a little bit. He was already tired and there wasn't much else for him to do today so it'd probably be a good idea. Well, there was one more thing though.

To: Arms Slave
From: Rocket Lancer
Subject: Bounty list

I've taken down Crimson Lash, Shielder, and Dunk Master.

Also, if I ever ask, don't tell me about today.

He sent the message, then he logged off.

---

"..... .... ...?" Kosuke's eyes flickered open.

His room came into focus as if he'd had his eyes closed for a long time. Did he fall asleep? He looked over at the alarm besides his bed.

"What the-?!" He said, pulling himself upright.

He'd been out for DAYS. He couldn't remember what had happened, but he'd been out for about three or four days somehow. He felt a sharp pain in his stomach, and he became aware that he was very thirsty. He stumbled out of his bed and made his way to his kitchen. He grabbed a glass, filled it with water and downed it in one gulp. Had he eaten or drank at all these past few days? What the hell had happened? There was a plate and some cutlery sitting in his drying rack to maybe he had. Then he suddenly felt that there was something behind him.

He whirled around and saw that it was only his fridge, but for some reason looking at it gave him an ominous feeling. He approached it cautiously, but the feeling only intensified until he was right in front of it. He didn't know how but he could feel there was something in that fridge. Something to be afraid of. Something dangerous.

He opened the fridge and..... it was a bowl of Spaghetti.

"..." He said.

The top row of his fridge had been cleared and the bowl of spaghetti placed on top. It was rather well made spaghetti too. He could tell at a glance the ratio of meat to spaghetti was perfect, and the cheese had been delicately grated directly onto it. The strangest thing of all? He wasn't afraid of the spaghetti itself. A certain incident had driven a fear of spaghetti deep into his subconsciousness, but standing here in front of this spaghetti, right here, right now, he didn't feel that fear.

No, instead, he felt there was something lurking behind that bowl of spaghetti. Something strong, something dark, something waiting to consume him once and for all. He tentatively took a string of the spaghetti and ate it. It was just the way he had once liked it. He thought he'd forgotten that taste once and for all, but there was something wrong about it. The feeling he had as he ate it wasn't of joy, all he felt was a cold sweat.

[KoL]

Itsuko M. Kanzaki

---

"You should take care with these, I just-" Itsuko tried to tell Hibiki that she had just taken the hot pocket out of the microwave, but by the time she finished the deed was done. "Too late."

"Oh! Do you have money on you, or a credit card? We could go shop on the mall. Someone like you would become even more awesome with some cool clothes. I can help you choose'em." Itsuko said when Hibiki mentioned fashion. Truth be told, Itsuko wore things that she thought that looked cool, not exact the same kind of fashion as other girls would go for, yet the random combinations managed to look very trendy. It helped that Itsuko had lived overseas for some time, so her taste was definitely influenced by Western punk fashion.

"Overlord, huh? I really like, have you ever thought how it would be to be stuck inside your Deep Ground Avatar?" Itsuko got up from the table and rummaged through a few piles of books around the left side of the living room with the skill of one who knows their own organized chaos better than anyone else, before coming back with the whole series and any extra material she could find. "I can lend you them, if you wish. Everything on the left side of the room are things I have already read, the ones on the right are those I haven't yet. Also, the next time you want a book, any book or magazine at all, I can give you the number of my bookdealer. She can literally get you anything, no matter how rare it's."

"Do you like music, Hibiki? We're going to a club tonight. If you can to come I'll introduce you to my friends, I'm sure they'll like you." Itsuko asked before falling silent for a few moments, breaking the silence again after she read an email that had just arrived at her phone. "I-I'm being rude, am I not? People say that I have no notion about how it's to live on the real world because I can have anything I want at anytime. That I don't know what is to make an effort to get something..." Itsuko fell silent again, looking to the side with a slight blush on her face. It looked more like she was ashamed of something than apologizing, though.

---

Eris Reinhardt

---

"You're weird, Cassandra O'Shera." That was Eris' immediate reaction to Cassandra's declaration, though it wasn't said in as much a hostile as an amused tone. "Just like you may never figure me completely, I'll likely never find all the pieces of the puzzle that's you. But, you know me, if there wasn't a challenge involved, I would not like it."

"Even so", Eris snuggled against her mother in a way that she would really only do with her mother and none else, before continuing, "For you to come and say all of this in front my mother, who you haven't even met up to now? It's just you who would do that."

Following that amused declaration, Eris chuckled, no... outright laughed "Anyway, Mom, this is Cassandra O'Shera, the girl who stole my nights' peace. And, Cassandra, this is my mother, Hildr Reinhardt, apologies for the overused cliché, but she's the best mother one can hope to have." With that said, Eris hopped off the table and began to walk to the front door, stopping by the shelf right beside it to pick up her cherished book and the turning back to face both Cassandra and her mother, "I'll be going now, mom, you can feel at home, after all you are. When I'm back we can talk more."

"Come on, Cassandra O'Shera, I'll not walk behind you, anymore, so I expect the same of you in relation to me. Let us draw a conclusion out of this ordeal. I can't let those people see my crying face for free, after all!" Yeah, there were conclusions to be drawn, but... that was only the beginning. "A blade, once broken can never become the same again, but who's to say it cannot be reforged into an even mightier weapon that can cut a path to a different future? This battle isn't over yet, but I won't be fighting it alone anymore." In a few minutes Eris descended to the Shopping Arcade, bellow the building complex where she lived and was waiting for the others, sat in front of her usual café.

It was time to change a age on Eris' life, for better or worse the old her was dead, but what would be of the future Eris, only time could tell.

BGM

---

@Caits, @Lonewolf685, @TheWindel, @Lucius Cypher, @Jedly, @Mega Birb, @Ryonara.

*I'll do Absinthe's part later, I'm running low on time. Sorry.