Jump to content

[OP-F1] Another Lost Soul of Aincrad


Recommended Posts

Funny, how just a few hours ago, things were so simple. Talking into thin air, communicating with his fans... Eschaton wasmore than happy. He was overwhelmed. And now, in the span of just a few hours, he... Well, he was still overwhelmed. But this was different. It's as if he didn't quite understand what this meant in the long run. Sure, he was terrified- But it wasn't the giant wizard that had scared him. It was the people. So many had jumped to their deaths just minutes after the announcement, and he'd seen too many running to the next villages, looking to not be slaughtered by their fellow players. With just a word, his world had been shattered, that much he knew.

 

But he'd be damned if he wouldn't at least try salvaging what was left. Mainly, the people who had reacted like him. Scared, terrified, confused... But willing to act like descent human beings, at least for the time being. He'd been prowling the streets for... What, half an hour? Trying to look for a friend, a fan, someone with answers-

 

But ultimately, he'd found nothing but jabs at his enthusiasm. People jumping off the map to their doom- Uninitiated players trying to commit crimes against others, only to discover they couldn't- And ruin. Not in the perfectly rendered graphics of the town around them, but in the player's faces. They were all lost, aimless, scared... With the exception of one person. Or rather, a voice.

 

”Helloooooooooo!”, had rang one of the voices through the streets, filled with innocence and enthusiasm. Ignorant of all loss of hope. Absent of all despair. It was... 
Too good to be true.

 

All at once, Eschaton released a half-laugh (half-sob), and a smile came onto his face. The moment had been so unexpected and out of place, he couldn't help but cheer up just a bit. He'd deal with the rest of his emotions at some other time. He had to. Otherwise, he'd be consumed by them. Resting his hand on one of the stoney walls of the buildings around him, Eschaton took another laugh,

 

And then turned the corner, advancing into the crowd, a slight laugh still on his face. But, unlike the previous voice, he could control it a bit better. "Am I too late for the party?" he asked, jokeful tone masking the real question: What's going on?

Link to post
Share on other sites

Inaba watched curiously as the scare man had given a wave of hello and walked off to talk to another group of players."Disappointing." He muttered to himself. It was a player he wouldn't get information on. There were others at least to cure his curiosity. Such as Annabelle who had managed to introduce herself to every person in a similar way.

The red haired girl who must have stopped walking finally caught up. She had introduced herself as Airi and had given a curtsy which Inaba had to poke fun at. "Very formal aren't you?" He said playfully before turning his attention to some newcomers.

One of the new comers, introduced themselves as lee and mentioned something about scrambled eggs which he was unsure of if they even existed within the game. 'Something i'll have to find out at another time.' He told himself. "Well, we're not all eggs to begin with so that's something." Inaba didn't know if what he said had any meaning and said it just to see the responses.

The second new comer didn't give much of an introduction though his hair looked odd so that was enough for Inaba to give a greeting. "About as well as someone who was just told they weren't able to log out. So things are going really well." Inaba said seriously in return to the amusing question.

He gave a chuckle at the energetic Belle threatening promise of revenge on the person who had trapped them here.

Inaba saw another new person join up with the quickly growing group asking if he was late to the party. "Looks like it's still going and given the current situation will go on for awhile." Inaba gave another chuckle towards the situation. He was very amused and was looking forward to what else would happen.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Husky could only chuckled slightly. Shaking his head as the other two player averted their attention to the other group of two or three players. Standing from behind, he over looked as the two groups greeted each other in such cheerful manner, despite the situation. It's quite bizarre to see how the group of players differentiated themselves completely from everyone else. It's almost seemed like they've forgotten about the information that were just released. 

Anyhow, it's none of his concern at the moment. There are still other players surround them, players who's in need of help and guidance. Seeing that his job is finished, Husky slipped past behind the group, and turned to the other direction. His help is needed elsewhere, and he will try to consult everyone as best as he could.

-~- Present day -~-

The Black Iron Palace, the place where the dead reside. As Husky gazed toward the giant stone wall, filled with names, all ordered alphabetically. He saw his, standing among all others. So many heroes, many valiant warriors has met their end here, either fighting for liberation, or fallen victims of terrible attacks from other players... other monsters. He looked at the wall in solemn, his eyes scanned each row, trying to find the girl, the first person he had talked to since the day everyone is trapped in AinCrad. 

"What was her name again... I just can't seemed to remember." Husky squinted, trying his best to remember. She must have introduced herself, but it has been a year. The memory was fading in his mind, and he can't seemed to grasp a hold of it. Searching for her name, he scanned his eyes across a particular name on the dark obsidian wall. "Kyoko" the name written out. He don't know if it's true, but he had a hunch that was her. He could only hope that fate be on her side, or the pink haired one, Annabelle. 

_____________________________________

- Husky has left the thread - 

Link to post
Share on other sites

It seemed that the oddly cheerful pink-haired girl with the mad laughter was drawing a lot of attention. A tall man with grayish black hair approached them and introduced himself as Lee, adding a small joke about 'finally meeting people who aren't turning into scrambled eggs'. He probably meant the number of players who were completely broken by the announcement, but she wasn't sure. He had probably already heard her name, so she smiled and gave him a small wave of acknowledgment without saying anything else. Then another man, with bright yellow-blond hair that kind of hurt her eyes, approached them. He didn't give them his name so she refrained from telling him hers for the time-being. So she settled for a greeting and a short, vague response. "Good evening to you too," she said, turning to face him. "We're doing okay. Mostly." 

At her last word, she looked back to the girl who had stopped crying just a few moments ago. The dark-haired girl introduced herself as Kyoko and apologized for her previous behavior. Airi moved forward to pat her back gently. "It's alright. That announcement was quite nerve-wracking,” the red-haired player said in a quiet voice. Then she stepped back quickly, a bit afraid how the pink girl would react since she was pretty unpredictable at the moment, and gave Kyoko an assuring smile. "Don't worry about dying all too much. You'll be fine, as long as you travel with a group and avoid taking too much risks. And most of the players here are experienced gamers. I bet they'll get us out of here in no time."

The somewhat strange girl giggled madly and cheerfully introduced herself, with a curtsy directed to Airi. She smiled appreciatively in reply, but other than that, she didn’t know what else to say or do. Airi didn’t handle people like her very well and usually avoided them. And then Belle (she decided to call her that since it was the simplest of all the possible nicknames she provided) then said that she wanted to meet the man who made the game. With her cheerful tone and bright smile, Airi couldn’t tell what the girl truly meant. She mentally added it to her long list of 'stuff to learn about a girl named Belle'.

Yet another person joined them. By this time, Airi was having a bit of trouble tracking the flow of the conversation since everything was pretty much happening all at once. It didn't give her much time to think. He didn’t introduce himself like the other new guy, instead asking if he was too late for the party. “Not really.” Airi said in reply. Then she noticed Belle introducing herself to all the new people so she followed. "I'm Airi. Pleased to meet you." she said with a pleasant smile.

She caught the floofy-haired Inaba's side comment and the blush appeared before she could stop it from coming. She wondered if it was the comment or the tone of his voice which was obviously a bit teasing. “Just with the curtsy.” Airi mumbled, looking away from him slightly. She then noticed the man who she first saw talking to Kyoko (did he introduce himself to her? with the number of people and names she had to take in, she had completely forgotten) leave the group and approach another group that also took the announcement quite badly a few ways off. “So he was looking to help people cope with the announcement.” she thought out loud, in a voice quiet enough only for her and maybe the people standing beside her to hear.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Lee would turn his attentions to another male player which had rather vibrant hair color, a red with a nice bit of yellow. Lee would tilt his head in the newcomers direction in an acknowledgement "Hello, hello. Name's Lee aannnndddd...." He would look back to the group as Kyoko would apologize for the breakdown to which he would chime in "I don't think anyone blames you seeing as, all things considered, pretty tame reaction." Lee's attentions would follow Kyoko's to another broken soul whom seemed even further in a world that was even more distant than they were. "Some people just need a bit of...breathing room to adjust. We are all coping in some way or another."

The Annabelle would shoot off another list of known names though he was quaint on the Bellum and with the way she acted, he figured either she would die soon or he'd be hearing a lot about her in the future. Bellum would aim to console Kyoko from breaking down any further in what he would assume to be her own little way. Another voice would come out form behind him asking if he was late for the party to which Lee would turn to notice another male player approaching and it caused him to be thankful for something. It was nice that they were in a safe zone.

So many people seem to be on the fringe that murder wouldn't be too off the mark but Lee would raise a single hand in a wave and a greeting "Sup." Inaba would speak up about them not being eggs which...wasn't wrong. Husky would rise and seemingly bid his farewell in his attempt to go and help others that would need a white knight to get through the panic. Airi seemed nice enough though he wasn't sure what it was that her coping was as she seemed to be a nice medium, not broken but just enough panicked "Well, they say that it is easier to get through stressful events with those with similar problems so, where does that leave us?" He would then gesture to the small group.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Eschaton approached and Inaba greeted him. It seemed the formation of a legitimate group was underway; a small army of players who were collectively preparing to face the challenges ahead of them. She smiled at Eschaton, electing to be polite and hoping to give off a better first impression than the one she had given to the majority of the group.

Inaba gave a quick chuckle after greeting Eschaton, which prompted Kyoko to place him in her mental roster of people who were dealing with the situation at hand way better than she had. Holding herself in comparison to him and Belle made her feel quite inadequate; after two years of surviving on the streets, she would have expected a higher level of emotion fortitude from herself, but at the same time, being weak was refreshing. Letting people in, was refreshing, and Kyoko felt unusually peaceful in the presence of the group.

Lee also offered his helping of comfort, even going so far as to call her handshake with hysteria a "tame reaction." While she could not agree that she had reacted appropriately to the situation at hand, Kyoko greatly appreciated his offering of comfort. Then he posed the question she had wondered herself. "Well, they say that it is easier to get through stressful events with those with similar problems so, where does that leave us?"

Kyoko looked to her new pink-haired friend. "Belle and I have arranged to travel together. Gonna try and level up. It might be a good idea for all of us to stay in touch, though, just in case we need backup somewhere down the line..."

 

Edited by Kyoko
Link to post
Share on other sites

(Apologies for the bleh post, I was in a hurry but didn't want to keep you guys waiting any more)

The newest arrival greeted them, another person who was actually smiling, finally! Belle smiled and waved at him, and by now, her endless greetings were likely getting old. Nevertheless, she continued.  "Heloooooooooo! I’m Annabelle! You can call me Belle! Or Anna! Or Bella! Or Bellum!" Chimed Annabelle, absolutely overjoyed at the arrival of another happy camper in Aincrad.

The mixed responses to her assertion that she'd like to meet the one who trapped them there was all but lost on Belle, who interpreted the laughter as agreement, and the uncomfortable looks as... Well, she didn't notice them. Or at least, she pretended not to. Sometimes it was easier to feign ignorance. As Airi stepped forward to comfort Kyoko, Belle was actually tempted to lash out, a surprisingly powerful emotion, even for belle, stirring deep inside her. She would say nothing for now, however, and Airi seemed content to keep her distance after she spoke. That was good. This was her friend. 

That said, Belle had no trouble speaking happily to Airi once she backed off, especially when she commented on Husky. "I think he was looking to take advantage of people." She huffed. He'd gotten awfully handsy with her friend, even though he'd never even met her before. The way Belle saw it, he was preying on her moment of weakness, and that was unacceptable. "That's probably why he left. Too many other people showed up to help." She said matter of factly, smiling at the others, as if to thank them for their kindness.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...