[OP- F20] Surprise, Surprise...

[Oikawa 1]

Steps resounded against the cavern walls. Echoing and falling on ears that weren't present to hear them. Golden armor shimmered before suddenly snuffing out as a figure entered the shade of mountain hole. Crested within the middle of the cavern lay a single stone dial. Light embellished the stone like a beam from the gods, producing a shadow reminiscent of a watch from olden times. A smirk manifested along the blonde's features as he approached the dial. Intian symbols were scratched into the granite of the dial, leaving him to wonder what they stood for. Simple deduction would lead to symbols pertaining to the telling of time, but knowing the world they lived in, simple deductions were in fact not so simple. A gloved hand found its way to his chin. Smoothing over the hairless portion of his face before stopping as he sat upon the dial.

How long has it been now? A few months since my disappearance? Hmph, too think I had outgrown the cowardly notion of running away from my problems. It seems that's a trait I will never rid myself of. His thoughts continued to spiral but was shortly interrupted at the sound of something, or someone approaching.

Blade drawn, the golden knight rose and faced the entrance from which he came.

"And to what do I owe this pleasure?," he roared.

[Beatbox 0]

"Just a player that doesn't know his way." he said out as he roared across the cavern, he leaned his back against the wall of the cave giving him a smile and a wink. "You must be the player that disappeared from the frontlines. Am I not?" he said as he extended his hand outwards to him with a smile "Beatbox's the name, and there isn't much to me. Its an honor to finally see you." he bowed before him. He leaned back up against the wall and looked towards him with a interested glare "So... what made you decide to go into hiding? I remember why I did months and months ago... I wanted to escape the harsh reality of this world... however I came to terms with it... and I have made my mistakes, but we're all human and do the worst decisions at times." he gave him a wink knowing about what he has done before looking towards the other wall "I know the tale of what you have done, however I do not believe you are a bad guy, you're one of the best players here at the moment, we all need you." he said with a smile.

@Oikawa

[Calrex 0]

"Okay...what the heck is in this cavern?"

After wandering along for some time, Calrex gave a curious look as he looked into the cavern he had stumbled across. It hadn't been too long since the twentieth floor was unlocked, recent enough that he could still recall the events of the floor boss battle clearly in his mind: The team composition, participating players, attacks, etc. 

Luckily enough, to his relief at least, the twentieth floor seemed to be a nice change of pace compared to majority of the lower floors. Brightly lit mountains that seemed to almost reflect the game-rendered sun, farmlands, and the like all lent towards a more pleasant appeal compared to the eternal conflict, darkness, and gloom that seemed to be common for the previous floor.

"Well, might as well take a peek inside."

He was already ready for combat with his Grand Blade II, Tide Pendant, and Amethyst Charm, but of course with his new skill mod he could easily change from versatility to damage with a swap from straight sword to Martial Arts. Upon stepping inside he could hear voices from further in, and a few more steps forward they came into view. One was a young man he had seen a couple times before, one that was working his way up in the player ranks. The second person seemed to have armor that was reflective enough to also reflect sunlight, but as the color scheme and recognizable face came into clear view the bluenette gave a friendly smirk to the familiar individual.

"Good to see you again Oikawa. Still got the all gold look going?"

The self-titled "Faint" and community-titled "Para-god" stood before him. The Ultramarine Knight had known the blonde back from the early days back when his level was still in the low single digits. He was the man that helped train him and Teayre up to fighting levels, and was also one of the founding members of the Spectrum Coalition back in its unofficial form. The blonde had made a name for himself amongst many players, and even in his absence the bluenette had a feeling his name was still being uttered.

[Baldur 0]

Baldur jogged to catch up with Calrex, "Wait up Cal, I don't have all my energy back yet. Some of us aren't max level yet." Baldur said with a playful tone as he teased his kouhei. The fact that their levels were so far reversed always amused Baldur when he thought of Calrex like a little brother, rather than the highest leveled player in the game. The bluenette, however, was also one of his oldest friends, and their experiences had formed a bond between them that Baldur had treasured, much like the ones he had formed with Ariel, Crow, Ray, and Oikawa. How Baldur had come to find himself being the sensei to many higher level players was beyond him, but it did help him feel like he was contributing to hid guild when everyone was vastly higher level than he was.

His voice, and his smile, died off as they rounded the corner and stumbled upon two faces he hadn't expected to see. Beatbox, and Oikawa. Two of Baldur's four favorite blonds in this floating castle.

His mouth opened to say something, but then Baldur caught sight of the ancient sun dial, and he walked over to it. Slowly, he ran his hand over the top of it as he admired it carefully.

"I've seen something just like this in the real world... See how, aside from just telling the time by the position of the sun, it's got like... two levels to it. Where it steps down here... and where it raises up here... those supposedly told of the change in the seasons... or well... I guess I should say when the days begin to grow longer, and when they begin to grow shorter."

He had once seen them on top of a mountain in the sacred valley. It was at the top of the sun temple, and while hadn't been as old as something like... say... Stone henge, it always amazed him at how advanced ancient cultures could be. Definitely not the work of Aliens. 

[Macradon 0]

Standing there in the darkness, Macradon just stared out into the cavern's halls. It was all dark, nothing was really showing him any ways. "Whelp ... what do I do now?" he thought as he was confused, and probably lost in these caverns. He just sat there, thinking that all was lost and he would be needing his Teleportation Crystal to get out, which was quite the waste. He would hear some voices echoing through the halls of the cavern, following through the cavern's tunnels, Macradon would finally find the light. "Freedom, here I come!" he said as he went on towards the light. It did not take long before he would see a small group of people, he knew them, all og 'em. Beatbox, Calrex, Baldur and ... was it Oikawa? "Where has he been?" Macradon thought as he began to approach the group. "Hey guys, what's going on here?" he would ask.

[Baldur 0]

Baldur looked up from the dial when he saw that Macradon had shown up, he seemed surprised to see them all as if he had been wandering the caves for a while. It certainly was a strange place for an impromptu meeting of several frontliners, it almost beggared belief. A mischievous smile spread across Baldur's face, but he quickly suppressed it. Standing up from the sun dial, Baldur leaned on it as if it were a meeting table.

"I'm sorry Macradon, but now that you've stumbled upon a secret meeting of the Illuminati, we can't let you leave. You have to either be sworn to secrecy and join our ranks, or else you all owe us drinks when we get back to town."

It was impossible for Baldur to keep a straight face, and while he finished the words with a degree of solimnity his face broke into a smile as soon as he said the word Illuminati. Turning to Beatbox and Oikawa, Baldur gave them a nod in greeting since he had ignored them only a moment ago.

[Macradon 0]

Coming up, Baldur would be the first to talk. Listening to what he said, Macradon would let out a slight chortle and scratch the back of his head. "Haha, yeah nope" he said and quickly spun around and began to walk back into the cavern. But as he was just a few meters away from where he was before, he would turn around while walking backwards and hold both of his hands up, making a triangle with his thumbs and place it over one of his eyes. "Like I'm not already watching you!" he said with a smile on his face and would stop up and walk back up to the others. "So what's the real deal?" he asked the lot. Pretty surprised to see Oiakawa of all people again, it has been quite some time since he last saw him, couldn't even remember how long it was, multiple months at least.

[Oikawa 1]

"One of many," responded the blonde as he lowered his blade to a more reasonable height. Cautiously stepping back, he allowed the newcomer to finish before responding to anymore of his inquiries or statements.

As the younger blonde finished up, a breath escaped the Faint as he rested along the cavern wall. Arms crossed in the usual fashion, his gaze danced until it fell upon Beatbox. With the lad's attention on him, he answered.

"There's no one specific reason for my absence. A culmination of things have come to pass, begging for me to exit the esteemed light of the frontlines. That said, my absence may continue a bit longer for a multitude of reasons I'm not willing to discuss." A breath was drawn before an unusual scowl began forming along the man's features as he continued.

"You're rather foolish to give such blind faith to someone you've only just met, even more foolish given the cursor floating above my head. Misplaced faith such as that is what got Zelrius in the predicament he was forcibly removed from."

Crimson eyes flickered not soon after, as a being stepped towards the mouth of the cave. As it moved forward, a familiar scheme of blue and a voice to match identified the person as none other than Calrex. As he fully entered, a question was tossed at the blonde causing a slight grin in response.

"Still got the all blue look going?" he quipped as he glanced to the entrance once more to spot another old friend making an appearance.

The samurai glided past the two initially. His attention affixed on the sun dial still centered in the cavern. Deciding to hold his tongue, Oikawa let his gaze wander back to Beatbox and Calrex. However, this motion was short lived as padded steps echoed from the back of the cave and yet another front-liner showed his face.

Macradon...

Baldur was the first to respond to the man's question. Giving the Knight a hard time and insinuating the meeting revolved around conspiracy group that seemed loosely defined even in the real world. A chuckle escaped Oikawa as he listened in.

As their banter finally subsided, Oikawa answered Macradon's more serious inquiry.

"For once this wasn't planned. To think so many of you were roaming this area at this time, it's rather coincidental. But no matter. What brings you all to this area?"

[Beatbox 0]

"Foolish? No. I am not as damned as Zelrius was. I am simply giving my utmost respects toward one that is great in power. I don't care for dying, nor do I want to become greater than anyone, for that I show my respects and not put foolish judgement about a false cursor or not." he said as he looked forward towards players that were coming this way, all of which he knew about or were good friends or ideals with: Macradon, Baldur. Then one he hadn't gotten to fully meet, yet he knew him all to well with the rumors that spreaded around, he smirked and said out "Same as ever huh Baldur? Keeping yourself aware of things that you have seen in the real world?" he chuckled. "Macradon! How has the Knights of the Blood Oath been treating you?" he gave his introductions to everyone. Then looking towards Calrex, the man he never fully got to meet "...and I see the man the legend is here. I've heard many things about you, Calrex." he smirked as he extended a hand forward with a slight bow of respect "Beatbox, it's a pleasure to finally greet you in person." He looked over to Oikawa that had asked the question of why we are all here and Beatbox had said "Because the boss raid had been finished and I'm getting myself acquainted with the area."

[Rain 0]

Darkness surrounds the wanderer as he wandered this unexplored cavern of the 20th's floor. This had been his first time exploring in ages since his sudden disappearance from this world. Why the 20th? It was no reason really other than it's new unexplored lands. As he crept further into the darkness, he heared voices echoing just off the distance. Some of the voices felt familiar to him. Like ones he's been getting close with. "Baldur?" His mind wandered as he crept even closer. Soon, he began to spot the figures of the voices he's heard. He's definitely met them before. Members of the Spectrum Coalition. His heart began to pound faster. He has disappeared on them once before while he had some intentions of perhaps joining their guild. He's respected their members and enjoyed their company. He has to say something. He hasn't seen a familiar face for months now. He took a moment to take a deep breathe before finally stepping out of the shadows. "Baldur... Is that you? It's... been awhile."

[Calrex 0]

Calrex gave a laugh in response to Oikawa's return comment on his own unchanged color scheme. It was true. In fact his own self-title had the exact color he chose as part of it. He raised his hands in defeat, "You got me there man, heh."

Listening as Baldur joked about a conspiracy form amongst the members present the blunette gave a smirk. Conspiracy was always something of a semi-serious joke, since conspiracy theories in themselves were for the most part laughable, but other times true enough to make one nervous. After all, the player-killer guild Laughing Coffin could have been born, or the target of, similar theories.

His thoughts were disrupted for a moment as he looked to see the young man who had addressed Oikawa before his arrival turned to introduce himself. With a calm smile he gave a nod and returned the handshake, "Pleasure to meet you Beatbox. Not really sure what you've heard about me, but I'm guessing it wasn't reflecting me in a bad light, heh. I guess this would be one of the few times where 'Your reputation precedes you.' would be appropriate."

Looking back the Ultramarine Knight saw that Rain, the alchemist he had been acquainted with over a few encounters had made an appearance as well, giving a acknowledging nod. The player appeared to be addressing Baldur, so he decided to let them engage in conversation, replying to Oikawa's question, "Same as Beatbox here has said, with the floor boss cleared out I figured it would be a good idea to get started searching the area, at least to get a lay of the land. Not really aiming to get any clues on the next boss location just yet, although with the pace we had cleared the previous floor I can only assume someone really wants to, or is already starting the search for that. With Baldur along, we had to take care of a few creatures on the way here, so I guess we're also taking a break to recover energy."

[Macradon 0]

Nodding at Beatbox as he came with quite the question. "Well, you could say they rely on me more than ever, or at least they used to. I was given the Vice Commander role for some time, but It's going to be given back to the one it truly belonged to soon, so no hassle at all" he would say with a smile on his face. There wasn't actually too much happening that others should be knowing, at least not that Mack had actually made his reappearance in the Guild, as well as taking things in great hands with his mindset. Looking over, Macradon would notice a person, a person he had seen before, one he hadn't seen in a while though, Rain. "Ohey Rain, how's things going?" he said, asking the boy a swift question. Focusing back on what Oikawa asked the bunch, Macradon would reply "Well I've been scouting a lot, so looking around in a cave like that isn't something unusual ... but I got lost" he said with a small chuckle.

[Rain 0]

With each step getting closer to the figures, the wanderer began to realize that there were more people he knew other than Baldur. He quickly catches Calrex's blue eyes glaze over the wanderer as he crept ever closer. He of course didn't react to the wanderer's arrival. He was above and beyond the wanderer's capabilities, how can senpai ever really notice him. With a few more steps forward, the booming voice of the temporary vice commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath came at the wanderer. He spoke as if not even surprised to see him, after all these months. The wanderer slightly opened his mouth, reluctant to say anything at first. Eventually, letting out a few words. "H-hey. Been awhile, Mac..." His voice trailed off as his eyes scanned the cavern some more, quickly spotting Oikawa along with a player he recently met when he re-opened up shop on the 4th floor. "I see you're here, too, Beat."

[Baldur 0]

Baldur was enjoying just standing in the presence of good company as he watched everyone begin to reconnect and have pleasant conversations. A smile spread slowly across the gaijin samurai's face, not quite touching his steel blue eyes as he just soaked in the presence of his friends. There was a power here, among those gathered, it was a radiant, colorful thing that thrummed, but also ebbed and flowed. The fate of Aincrad and all the lives inside of it would depend on these waves and others like it. When they all moved in sync, there was nothing that could stand against them. With just the players in this room, they could probably defeat any boss that they came across, but such tactics left others behind. It had been the mindset of the Azure Brigade to become elitist and exclusionary. They wanted the power for themselves, and when that karma came back at them, and they reminded of their mortality, Aincrad was left shaken, the lives of many were lost, and progress was slowed. They needed to build, they needed to use that energy to pull more in, and pull them up. They needed to fill the ranks of the frontline once again.

"Rain? Is that you? It has been far too long my friend." Baldur walked over to the white haired player and embraced him in a giant bear hug, lifting him from the ground and threatening to squeeze an HP out of him.

"I am glad to see you out and about again."

 

[Beatbox 0]

Locked upon request, no SP rewarded.