(PP-NK-F4) Not dead yet

[Lee 0]

The walk had become something far more than just a stroll through the snow at this point and it was almost as if the air itself was nothing but a solid mass. Wading through the snow under foot as well with the information that Jomei had not become aware of. It would seem that, to the conciseness of the small group that none of them were rightly sure how to break such information. To have gone through so much and, on top of that, tell someone that kind of news, news that while you were no where to be found, a life you once knew was gone. That you could have done something but were unable to, regardless of what the situation was or what you could have done. Lee would look to Calrex as he brought up the monsters of other quests that were on this floor, Piera simply moved around the question entirely and Zandra, Zandra would fall back, moving past him to be in the back which was the greater sign and Jomei took it.

Lee would come to a stop as he noticed that Jomei had and wasn't going to move till an answer was given. Lee would raise a hand up to cover his mouth, letting his fingers run around the hair on his face, coming down into a fist only to repeat this motion a few more times, aiming to find a right way. Was there? He wasn't the best with bad news, he only aimed to fix things afterwards. "I'm taggin' out." Lee would throw his hands up as if to surrender and would turn to the side to look back out at the forests trees, talking to himself softly at this point. "This would be so much easier if this was like any other online game. I mean, is it really so much to ask for. I just want to play a nice co-op game where death only sets you back, not back in the ground."

[Piera 0]

She didn't really know what or who the NIght King was, but she recognized 'Avalanche' easily enough and so nodded in concurrent to Calrex's statement. "Both of those sound Not Good." Sure they might be able to survive the encounter (or at least most of them), but she didn't want to risk it considering how emotionally compromised they were. Or risk running into whoever had held Jomei captive, those bastards.

Green eyes flickered all around them, paranoid about getting flanked or caught by surprise, even with the Ultramarine Knight and Berserk Healer as a guards. The former had taken point but the latter? Head turned to locate the girl before she realized she had fallen behind and seemed very quiet. She must also know of Lowenthal's fate and feel just as torn as the rest of them. It must be even worse what with their relationship. Lowenthal had been like a brother to them both, but he and Jomei had known each other long before Piera had met either of them.

Then she noticed that Jomei had also fallen behind. No, not just fallen behind but stopped walking completely. She froze to a standstill at his posture, so much more tense than just a moment before. At his even and demanding toned question, Piera clenched her jaw so hard that she felt like she was damaging her avatar's teeth. Her eyes immediately darted to Lee, looking to him as always in a tough situation. His response left something to be desired, though she could hardly blame the man. While the four of them had always been friends, he hadn't been nearly as close to the other two as she had.

Lips pursing at Lee's choice of words as he muttered to himself, Piera inhaled shakily and stepped closer to Jomei. Her expression said enough on it's own, but she still felt the need to say it aloud. Face full of regret and grief, the brunette took the Irishman's right hand in both of hers, gripping it gently before saying in a small choked voice, "Nick. He, Lowenthal....Adachi," She swallowed around the lump in her throat before continuing determinedly, "He's dead. He was killed two months ago. In a full health loss duel." There was a pause as the healer debated whether she should tell him the whole truth. She didn't want her friend to rush off in search of vengeance, but he deserved to know everything.

The alchemist's grip tightened on his hand as if to physically anchor him as she finished with tense voice, "Against Ariel." Spitting out the woman's name like a curse before taking a breath to calm herself. Green searched into green as the former guildmates' eyes met, the ones behind glasses swimming in tears, "I'm so sorry. I-I didn't even know how until a few days ago. J-Just don't do anything reckless Nick. He wouldn't want that for either of us. Okay? We have to stick together now." Her right hand left his to rest on his shoulder, gripping it as she pulled him into a tight hug. "You have me and Lee and Calrex and Zandra at the very least. We're not alone."

[Calrex 0]

"Well, it seems there's no getting around this then."

As Jomei seemed to pick up on the tense air in response to his previous inquiry about Lowenthal. Zandra, Lee, and Piera all previously had tried to avoid or redirect the topic, but it seemed that the ginger-haired swordsman would not take "no" for an answer on this one. For good reason as well. From what Calrex knew, he and the now-deceased Master of Shadows had been really close friends, even from before their days as the Velvet Room. 

First was Lee, who seemed to give up and "tag out," seeming to start partially going on about a different type of online game where death wasn't permanent. It reminded the bluenette of a particular game he had played when he was younger, back in high school, or at least part of his time at "a" high school. "Now that I think of it...it has been some time since I played that. Maybe if I get out of here I'll need to check that game out again, although I'd guess my version would be years behind the current release."

Next came Piera, who decided to do probably the harder, but correct action: Telling Jomei the truth. The words that left her mouth were on point, and the Ultramarine Knight could only commend her for her courage to deliver the hard news. Lowenthal had been close to all of them, and hearing the news of his death a second time didn't make it any easier. She offered encouraging words to the man at the same time, reminding him of what he had that remained still of value, the people around him.

With a small sigh to himself Calrex gave a nod, walking up to and standing a few steps behind, but still within the invisible "conversation area." "Piera pretty much spelled it out. Unfortunately I wish I could give more details, but the first that I got news of it was during an event boss fight, so any knowledge I have is second or third-hand at best. In fact Ariel was the one that delivered the news, although any reasons or things surrounding the actual event she didn't tell. I wanted to find out more, but since it was right before the battle commenced, there wasn't time to investigate. I'm sorry Jomei."

His hand slowly clenched into fists in his jacket pockets. It was true that he had only heard about it from Ariel at the fight, where much tension was instantly built up as a result. Right then Hikoru had divorced her, and the recently returned Mack didn't have enough authority or jurisdiction to effectively bring the other participants into line. Since the bluenette himself had gotten caught up in the latter issue, he wasn't able to inquire further to the blonde spearwoman. "That may be something I'll need to find out later on about if I can. Unfortunately I don't think I'd be able to hold a similar conversation with Ariel like I did with Opal when she was still alive."

Looking forward again he reaffirmed Piera's words, "If you are ever in need of someone to turn to you can always reach out. It's not like I really have a 9-5 or anything that would take up my time."

[Zandra 0]

My feets had fully stopped when the man I was engaged to stopped as well. Not surprisingly have he felt the mood and understood there was something wrong. Seemed to be my geature to be the trigger as well. My head tilted forward and my red hood threw a shadow over my face as I listened to the others replies. The man Ive barely met before didn’t really wanted to go deeper into the subject and I glanced at him, seeing he turned around to look away from the group. Next, the other healing alchemist spoke up. She seemed to have the courage to tell him. These two I haven’t met much back in the old days. Yes, we was a part of the same guild, for a short while. But I cant say Im actually that close to any of them. Not even the man that no longer playing this game was that close to me. Ive met him some times, but never got to know him like some others her in this death game.

When I herd Piera saying another name, the name of the killer, I suddenly flinched and looked up at her. I small wave of rage bubbling up inside me when hearing how she said it. But before I could find out something to say, she had continued talking. At first I was afraid that Piera would spill the relationship I have with the lioness. Thou it dosent seemed so as she continued with telling him to not do something reckless. I took a few steps forward, looking at the back belonging to Jomei.

I closed my eyes and took some deep breaths when Calrex was on the same track as Piera. Now everyone had said their opinions. Well, everyone except me. And Im pretty sure I am supposed to tell at least something. I gulped as my right hand took a steadier grip around the axe and my left started swiping in the air infront of me. The small area around us was lighten for a few moments when my simple town clothing was exchanged for the dragon-themed armour ‘Inferno’. Most iconic to it was the large pouldrons as well as a pair of horns on my head. I had no idea what they would do when telling what I was going to tell them next. But Pieras courage to tell the truth had somehow infected me and I felt I could just tell everything. And I wouldn’t risk anything.I took another look at each one of them before I opened my mouth.

‘’Well, Piera seemed to have told you the news about your friend.’’ I gulped and took a steady grip of the axe. Was this really the right thing to do? I don’t know but I guess I will do it anyway. ‘’She also told you who the killer is.’’ I threw an angry look at the alchemist. ‘’And I think you should follow her advice of not doing something reckless. Since… well… I’m probably… no. Im going to stand by Ariel’s side.’’ I entered a defensive battle stance in case anyone of them would attack me as my eyes was shining and cheeks being wet. And not from the falling snow. I said it. I knew I had to do this choice sooner or later. And it would probably only been harder if I waited. ‘’Jom… Nick. I do love you. I really do.’’ I gulped. My heartbeat was rising and it would have hurt if feeling pain was possible in this game. ‘’But I have to make a choice. I don’t expect you to forgive me.’’ I held the axe in both hands. A small ‘spish’ was heard when my tears turned to steam after hitting my armour’s jawlike mouthguard and sadness showing in my face.

-equips 'Infernno'

[Jomei 0]

The silence after Jomei demanded to be told what had happened felt like an eternity, the knife that was anticipation and fear driving slower and slower into his chest. Even more so when Lee "tagged out" from telling Jomei the truth. The only sound he heard now was the slow crunching of snow as someone walked closer to him. The spectacled brunette walked to his front, a sad look in her eyes. She took Jomei's hand in her own, holding it tight. Jomei looked into her green eyes, watching as tears swelled before glass. Jomei's serious expression began to match Piera's. As his scowl turned into a frown and his brows pinched, he waited to hear what he did not want to learn. Lowenthal was dead. Jomei's shoulders slowly fell, as did his head as he stared at the snow at Piera's feet. Words escaped him, he only stood there in disbelief. 

How could he be dead? Jomei thought to himself. What could he have done to have gotten himself killed? Piera's words seemed to come out slowly in Jomei's mind. Only focusing on her first sentence. It was once the brunette finished speaking that Jomei registered what she had finished with. Another player had killed him. Jomei's hands twitched, as his free hand slowly curled into a tight fist. His body began to tense up, waiting for Piera to tell him just who had done it. 

Ariel.

Immediately, a fire started in Jomei's chest. Part of him wanted to reach for his sword and immediately rush off to find Ariel, and avenge his best friend's death. However, just as soon as the thought crossed his mind, it dissipated as Piera held him in a tight hug, asking him not to do anything reckless. Jomei's breathing heightened for a moment before taking a deep breath. "I.... I can't believe it. How could... why would...." He took a step back, breaking away from Piera's embrace before throwing his hands to his temple and screaming, before falling to his knees. "Dammit...Dammit! I shouldn't have been careless and got captured.. I.. I should have been there for him.. F*** F*** F***!!!" Tears rolled down his cheeks as his fist pummeled the snow at his knees. 

After exhausting himself, he sat there in silence... until Zandra spoke up. As she spoke, he heard the sound of armor moving. But Zandra wasn't wearing armor.. And then she said she was going to stand by Ariel's side. Jomei slowly rose to his feet and turned, eyes red from crying. He looked at the woman, who was now fully donned in her armor, wielding her battle axe, and standing in a defensive position. "Z...Zan.." He could not believe what he was hearing. His fiance was.... willing to stand with the woman who killed his friend. "How.. How could you." His voice was accompanied by a deep bellowing growl as anger rose up from his lungs. "Lowenthal was our friend! My friend! He was my brother! There with me..us from the start! And you're willing to stand with that bitch who killed him?" Jomei's eyes were filled with rage and hate as he grit his teeth, pointing viciously at the raven haired woman as he yelled. "Did you agree with it?! Did you want Lowe killed too!? Would YOU have done it?!" His eyes went to her axe, "And now you stand there, with you're weapon drawn to me?... Do you want to kill us too?" Jomei's hand swiped upwards, opening his inventory. After a moment, a small bronze object materialized into his palm. He held a key between his thumb and index finger, the second key to their beach home. The man brought his hand over his shoulder before tossing it forward to Zandra, the key landing in the snow at her feet. The ginger than reached across his body and ripped his rapier from his belt and held it, pointing at the armored woman he once loved "Don't lie to me.. If you truly loved me, you would not betray me like this." . Slowly, he sidestepped so he stood equally between Piera and Lee. "If you want a fight.. you'll have it. " He took a deep breath and glared at Zandra. "If not, then I think its time for you to leave." 

[Lee 0]

Lee wasn't the best in sad situations. He didn't like the feeling and felt he was never truly equip to ever deal with the first stages when people were sad and were not sure what it was they wanted. He could joke and play around and even be one for the use of venting but to console someone to tell them it was alright and that being sad was okay, he just couldn't do it. Piera would be the one that seemingly took the road of most resistance as she would come forward and console Jomei, telling him that the man that he had asked for was no longer in this world and most likely, not in the real world either if what they were told years ago to be true. Lee himself did not know the specifics of Lowenthal's death either so when he had heard that it was in a duel of all things, he wasn't rightly sure how to feel. He did know that once that was said, there was less weight.

The name of the accused was someone named Ariel and the way that Piera said the name, he could FEEL the disdain all over the word, simply oozing with hatred. He would hear his name being said to which he would look back to Jomei and nod his head in agreement, still wordless but sincere in appearance. Calrex would come to chime in about how he only knew during a boss fight what had transpired and wasn't entirely sure on what the specifics were. Lee saw Zandra equip her armor and draw her weapon to which he could only assume that she saw something the rest did not. Lee would look around and see nothing out of the ordinary but surely she was preparing to valiantly defend her now wounded and fragile lover from unseen foes.....or...not.

Zandra would state that she would stand by Ariel in the fight to which Lee would have a baffled look on his face "What the actual f*ck lady." It was the most descriptive thing to say at the moment. Lee and Piera were currently at odds but he never had the thought of doing or saying something of this magnitude. Jomei would surely have something to say about the matter and that he did. He told her of how Lowenthal was the first person they grew close too and that siding with Ariel was something that was simply unheard of. Jomei would then throw a key out to Zandra that he would assume to have some significance and then he would take an equal stance against her. Lee would bring his shield around. While he thought the situation had taken a turn that one would not have expected, he was in it as he would turn his attentions toward Zandra. "I just do not understand how the hell, in any light, you think siding with someone else, regardless of who the fu*k it is, over the person you considered to be your lover. Sh*t is more than broken in your logic here lady."

[Piera 0]

Scowling at Calrex's words but not the man himself, Piera muttered angrily, "Apparently she was telling everyone that he committed suicide and just left her all of his items. Like he would do that." She had so much more she wanted to say and bring up, but it was too soon, too fresh. Now simply wasn't the time. At the Ultramarine Knight's affirmation of her saying that they would all be there for their ginger friend, she smiled gratefully and nodded, looking back to Jomei.

He was taking it about as she expected. She let him slip from her embrace, seeing that he needed some space. But watching the Irishman come apart was heartbreaking. She never wanted this to happen. They should be celebrating his escape and having a warm drink at the bar right now, catching him up on things and planning action against his captors. Not...this. As the ginger cried out, falling to his knees, Piera's hands flew to her mouth, tears streaming down her face from behind her glasses. She was silent, letting her friend grieve. At least until he started in on himself.

Hands going to his shoulders as she knelt beside him, the brunette shook her head, "Jomei, no. Do you blame Lee and I for getting captured? You can't blame yourself for this. You didn't ask to get captured any more than we did." If anything, he should be blaming her. She hadn't kept up with either of them after they rescued Lee and herself. Simply hid away from the world, terrified to go out again after what happened. Biting her lip, she waited for him to realize this and round on her.

But before he got a chance to, the bespectacled woman looked up as Zandra spoke and she blinked a few times. She hadn't been wearing her armor just a moment ago. Why...? At the hostile look expressed at her informing Jomei of Lowenthal's murderer, Piera stared back reproachfully at her fellow alchemist. What was going on with her? She nearly wished she hadn't asked, even in her mind. Because the reason was practically unbelievable.

Staring at the Berserk Healer in shock as she stood there before them fully armored and armed, Piera had no idea what to do. Jomei stood and her eyes flicked between the two opposing lovers, the brunette slowly standing as well after wiping the cold moisture from her face. She could hardly believe this was happening. Why was Zandra defending Ariel? How could she? It just didn't make any sense. And both Lee and Jomei voiced this, though she personally felt Lee was more to the point with it.

As the Irishman asked if she wanted Lowenthal dead and possibly kill them as well, Piera inhaled sharply, unconsciously taking a step back, glancing worriedly at Lee. She wasn't sure if how on par Jomei was with her, but Lee and herself likely wouldn't survive such an encounter. Though perhaps with Calrex's assistance they would have a better chance. Four against one weren't bad odds, even given the woman's high level.

The throwing of a key seemed highly significant even though she herself didn't know what it was, but the drawing of his weapon was even more so. It prompted her to equip her spear as well, the same one Lowenthal had given her so long ago. But like Lee and Jomei, she simply held herself at the ready, brow furrowed and lips pursed in an expression of frustrated hurt. She may not have been friends with Zandra, but they had both been a part of the Velvet Room and both cared about Jomei. Shouldn't that have been enough? Apparently it wasn't. Lee's words on the matter summed it up nicely in her opinion and it made her heart constrict with a warm passion as she knew that even when they were at odds and currently fighting, they agreed on this and could stand together.

Shaking her head slowly, the brunette stated, "I thought better of you than this Zandra. You may have had to make a choice, but this is not the right one, that's for [censored] sure. Walk away right now and go back to your new lying murderous friend." The older alchemist tried her utmost to sound harsh and intimidating though inside she felt anything but. "And don't think about trying to contact any of us again."

[Calrex 0]

After having seen things between players for a good couple of years now, Calrex felt like he had pretty much witnessed every disagreement and how it had developed. This had its certain nuances that set it apart, but the jist of it was still the same. He was glad that Kayaba had not decided to replicate headaches in the game, because if so the bluenette would have been praying for painkillers from month two. 

The first spark seemed to be Zandra, as self-defensive as an action it was. However, it was also pointless, something he would need to point out before the situation decided to escalate. The second was Jomei, who understandably was not in the most calm of states with the news he had received. If something similar happened to himself, Calrex wasn't sure if he could act differently. Part of it came from grief, and with his partner's statement part of it was spite. Understandably, Lee and Piera decided to take Jomei's side. The Ultramarine Knight wanted to put his thumb and forefinger to the sides of his nose out of reflex, but the lack of pain in his avatar's brain hindered that, "Geezes how many times am I going to have to do this..."

Without drawing his sword, or switching to his armor, or any action that would be taken as a sign of caution, he slide his foot out to square them with his shoulders before slamming his fists together, his forearms already swirling with light blue energy, the power of his <<Howl>> skill. Just like he had done at the Spectrum Coalition hosted floor meeting, he released the monster-like bellow from the impact between his fists, the booming roar echoing around them, louder than any raised voice or battle cry could make. With a small sigh he lowered his hands back into his jacket pockets, taking a position so that he could clear see the "sides" of the argument. To his right were Jomei, Lee, and Piera, the trio that in terms of this conversation, were strongly against what had happened to Lowenthal. To his left was Zandra, who was obviously close enough to Ariel to possibly know more than the four others combined.

"Alright, before you all start pointing your weapons at each other, take a step back and think about what's going on here for a second. We just rescued Jomei from a bunch of player-killers, obviously ones that could hold up and torture someone of his level. They may have stayed back for now, but don't you think they wouldn't capitalize on a situation like this, right now? Say all four of you decide to fight, which I will point out first and foremost none of us can do so without starting up a duel. Think right now is going to be any different?"

Looking over at Zandra first the bluenette's eyes flashed disappointment for a moment before he continued, "Zandra, I would have hoped you thought better of us than to start equipping your armor and weapon. Doing so is a clear message that you're expecting a person to start charging you instantly. Think any one of us is gonna pull a dumb stunt like that? Plus you declared your stance without giving us any more information. Did Ariel maybe say something to you that she decided to leave out from her grand announcement? Because that would certainly be helpful right about now."

Turning to face the others, he looked over at Lee and Piera first, "I understand where you guys are coming from, and while I would normally agree, here I may have to take a more middle approach. It is true that your lover should be there to support you, but there are times where they need to check you, especially what you're thinking if rather foolish, moreso if you don't know the whole story. Piera, would you not yell something to Lee if he was about to go charging at a floor boss by himself, or deluding himself into thinking he was 'beyond saving' or some bulls*** like that? If you guys are afraid of player killers, than you should be careful who you interact with. I can easily give you a list of frontliners that have taken lives, people that are still respectable in spite of that mark on their record, and due to recent circumstances I would also be on that list."

His voice remained without anger or relentless drive, closer to being matter of fact. What he said was all true: Teayre, Oikawa, Hikoru, and many others both green and orange all had taken lives. Yet people still trusted them in spite of that. From what he knew, Lee and Piera had yet to be exposed to that reality, but it was better to warn them now than have them find out later. There was one last person he needed to address, looking over at Jomei.

"I already have an idea what's going through your head Jomei. You want vengeance for Lowenthal, as I'm sure many people close to him do. However we still need to face facts. First of all, if you decided to go Rambo and try to take Ariel on your own, do you think you would win? It's been some time since I last saw you, and she's only gotten stronger. Heck she's toting around one of the strongest two-handed weapons skills and remains a more than competent damage dealer. I don't think she'd be able to one-shot you, but do you think you'd be able to last against her in a battle of attrition? What about if Lee and Piera here decided to help you, first of all would you let that happen?"

Taking a moment to catch his breath Calrex shook his head, almost like a parent having to give a stern to talk to their children, "...and say that you did manage to kill her, where would that leave you and the rest of us still stuck in here? A frontliner, a veteran one at that...would be dead. Someone that consistently came to the floor raids to help push progression, just like Opal and Oikawa after what happened with Zel and Dom. I don't see any up and comers remotely close to the contribution level that many of the top frontliners have, and even so I doubt their durability is comparable. With Lowenthal dead that's two that would be down. Do you think we'd still be able to even make half of the clearing speed we have now with that? In the end the only thing we'd have is two people dead and X amount of time added to our s****ty stay here. I don't think Lowe would have wanted that for any of us, vengeance-driven or otherwise."

With that he lowered his arms out of his pockets, crossing them as he sterns looked at the people to both of his sides, "So if you guys want to keep this quarrel going, I'd suggest you guys can it for now until we get back into the safe zone. From there you all and do whatever the hell you want, because I've seen enough of these things that it's like watching a bad drama over and over again. At least the NPCs in there as used to PCs bickering, unlike the monsters out here."

[Zandra 0]

Crimson eyes looked into olive ones as my sentences have ended and Jomei answered. At first he said that he was our friend and then he asked if I was part of the murder. And even if I planned to murder them right here and now. As answer to his words I just looked at him with sadness in my eyes. I felt like being pierced thru the chest when he accused me for wanting to kill them here and now. But it didn’t seemed like he was done. There was more. What he then did made my eyes widen. For several months, maybe even so much as a year ago I did thru days and weeks of grinding bougth a house. A beach-house for me and Jomei. Because of my strong love to him, I didn’t asked for anything in return and took the whole cost on myself. But now, the key I gave him came flying thru the air and landed infront of me. I looked down at the small object. Any outsider seeing this would probably don’t think it would be that big of a deal. But to me it felt like a shot at the heart. That house was filled with so many memories of my time with Jomei. Next a rapier was drawn and pointed at me. My legs was shaking, no, my whole body was shaking, trying to hold the tears back. My breathing was heavier and next the feel of a lighting strike me when hearing the words ‘"If not, then I think its time for you to leave." This made the strength leave me and my legs gave up. I fell down in a sitting position in the snow.

‘’Nick, I would never kill Lowenthal. I know he was your friend. But honestly, I didn’t knew him that well. He was my guildleader for awhile yes. But the only reason I was in Velvet was because of you! I would probably never have joined them if it wasn’t for you!’’ I threw a look at the other Velvet members. They both seemed to have their own opinions in my choice. Lee just didn’t understood me it seemed, and I don’t blame him for it. After all, I haven’t said my reasons why standing on Ariels side instead of the man I love. Both of them had equipped their weapons and it seemed they was ready for a fight. ‘’Three versus one wasn’t the best of odds. But would I be able to do it? No, what are you thinking? Why would you even considering that for just a second?’’ I thougth to myself. But when Piera told me to go back to Ariel, my eyes was filled with anger and without thinking I activated my charge skill. Half a second later my axe fell to the ground and laid there beside the bronze key. But myself I was right infront of the healer. Our faces only inches from eachothers. So close I felt the warmth from her breaths. My burning eyes looked thru the glasses. ‘’You know nothing Piera. At first, she was my friend long before I even spotted you for the first time. Second, just because you don’t knows about the truth, dosent mean others is lying if they isn’t telling everything.’’ Then I just stared at her for a few seconds before walking back over to the key. I bent down and took up the key. I looked at it for a few moments before putting it into my inventory. Then I picked up the axe and turned to the rest of the party, my stance more relaxed but nerves ready to act if someone would decide to make an attack.

‘’Lee, you don’t have to understand how the hell, in any light I think. This dosent have anything to do with you.’’ I said with a slight tone of arrogance in my voice. Then back to Jomei again. ‘’Nick, there is a lot I would like to tell you. To explain the reasons behind my choice. But I think its better if you don’t know them and just hate me instead.’’ I gulped. ‘’You know, Ive carried stuffs inside me before. This isn’t the first time.’’ That was when something hit me. I swiped thru my inventory and a few moments later I held a potion in my right hand. I opened it and took a sip from it. After only a few seconds its effect kicked in. This potion made it so I got much more insensitive. Then I spoke up ‘’But actually, you can see it from the good side…’’ I took a look at each one of them. ‘’…with his death, there is one person less to worry about.’’ I said, putted on a fake smile and let out a short laugh. I this didn’t killed his feelings for me, I don’t know what will.

I raised and eyebrow and looked at Calrex as he seemed to be holding a speech. ‘’Hehe, is that so Cal. So if I would have stood here unarmed and unarmoured, you don’t think the trio over there would take the opportunity to kill the maybe only person that is standing on their friends killers side? About information, I can spill some for you.’’ I turned the group as a whole. ‘’I was on the place where Lowenthal was killed. I saw Ariel landing the finishing blow and didn’t made a thing to stop her.’’ Truth be told, I didn’t made something because I saw the duel just a few seconds before it was finished and then was stunned and couldn’t even move until Ariel was out of sight. ‘’Some time after that, I met her at an inn. We have a small chat. Then we had a little duel. A lot happened during that day, and Im not ready to speak about it to players I barely knows.’’ A look at Lee and Piera. ‘’Maybe if it was only you…’’ a look at Jomei. ‘’… and me I could have told you everything. But not with these ones around.’’ I rolled my shoulders to get my muscles and reflexes in shape. ‘’Also, it seems you want me to leave, so guess I have to go. After all, I have a few player killers to take care of.’’ I looked at the direction where I first ran into the group. ‘’If your lucky, there wont be a Swedish berserk healer beside Ariel when you meets her.’’

[Hikoru 0]

(OOC: I really don't have time or the patience to read every single detail, but I just got the gist of whats happening, and this has to happen eventually... *breathes* Vengeful Hik is a go)

Hikoru approached after he noticed a few players gathered in an area on his home floor. His shop was located here for a reason as he loved it, but he didn't come here as much as he did when he was a lower-levelled player. He came across them, sulking along the ground out of sight. He started to overhear the conversation about halfway, but he heard the girl with the glasses say that Ariel was the one to kill Lowenthal. He was taken aghast. He had never heard of something like that. He was told that he was pushed off, that he had chosen his death. No, no she was lying. She was trying to kill his fiancee, the woman he still loved. She wanted her dead, and he wouldn't let that happen. Quick as a flash, he used his <<Sneak Attack>> Mod with his <<Charge>> and soon appeared before her, knocking her to the ground and picking her up by the scruff of the neck, holding his dagger, Limbo's Fang, to her throat. His eyes were wild with rage, confusion, sadness, multiple feelings coming to light all at once as he looked into this girls eyes.

"No, no your lying! She would never kill him! She only watched as he fell off the edge! She took his coat before he did so!!" He said, eyes on fire and his teeth grit. He looked at the others, and recognized Jomei, Calrex, and Zandra. He looked to Zandra and Calrex, eyes wide and full of hope. "You know the truth right? Right? She didn't kill him! Right???" He asked, starting to have a sense of doubt in his voice. He looked into their eyes, and saw what he saw as sorrow. His dagger dropped as he looked, letting go of the girl's collar and turning. "Right? She wouldn't..." He came over to Zandra "She would never..." He looked at Cal, and tears started to form "She... She..." He fell to his knees "Why.... Why would she..." He looked one last time as tears formed "W-why would s-she kill him?..." He said, his voice wavering as the anger left him, and was only full of sadness, regret, confusion... He didn't know what to do anymore. His tears his the ground silently, unsure of how to take this new information... He would have to find out on his own, he would need to see if it was true.

[Morgenstern 1]

(Just saying, I can't understand where the heck everyone is. Ummm... you might be captured, I am confused) 

Jonathan would walk upon the fourth floor, usually what he did upon his off days. When he was not farming, training or completing guild work, he was here to enjoy himself a bit. Watching the snow fall, and the chilly breeze was soothing enough to him. The silence of the frosted floor was nice as well since there was always such little amounts of people here that he would not have to listen to anyone. Then something was heard. A sound of the howl skill. He knew exactly what the skill sounded like after using it so much. That meant that one of the few tanks on the floors were also here. He smiled and moved in that direction, anticipating a friendly low level grinding monsters, or perhaps even a Shield and Beat. 

He trodded quite a bit of distance before being able to see the players. There was quite a large group out here in the snow. They were North of Snowfrost Town and below the hill he stood upon. There appeared to be yelling, a quarrel was happening. A character of blue was down there, most likely where the howl originated from. Calrex. The blond figure equipped his items and would instantly be covered head to toe in white armor. His sword would hang at his side and his shield lay in his left hand. He hustled into the group of players, his run displaying even more horrifying things. An Orange haired man stood with a blade pointed at the woman he had known to be Zandra. This player and he had seen eachother once before. At his first boss meeting. Zandra had fallen to her knees and stood there blubbering things that made zero sense to him. He burst into view and sided to a stop between the group of players. He faced The orange haired man who held the rapier. 

"Enough" was all that was said form the blond. The Dawn Breaker would do his best to ensure there was no spilling of blood here. "There is no need for weapons, put them away" He confidently commanded. He was overly confident that he could take anything that this man threw his way. Then the sights became worse. In a flash, a dark haired player had a hold of the woman behind Jomei. She was held up with a dagger to her throat. The man screaming at her with a mixture of anger and sadness. The man was Hikoru. Instantly worrying Jonathan swiftly said the man's name, hoping to make sense to him. This was not an act that a Paladin of their guild, or any member should be pulling. "Hikoru" He said. Hikoru dropped her and his dagger, appearing to be lost for a moment. "Hikoru?" he asked once more. 

 

[Jomei 0]

A lot was going on in Jomei's min. A lot. Zandra had just sided with Ariel, Piera and Lee mostly with him. Calrex, not exactly taking sides, but more so speaking logically to the others in the group. Trying to diffuse the situation. Where a normal headed Jomei would listen to Calrex and agree, the ginger was not in the right state of mind, and only picked certain things out of the conversation to talk on. Jomei turned his head quickly to Calrex with an angry glare, his voice starting off in a growl. "I don't care about frontliners, veterans, player killers, or what any of us are. I don't care about defeating bosses, or finishing this game.. Not right now.... My brother.. my best friend.. is dead.. Whether he was murdered or not.. He's gone." Jomei's voice calmed down as tears ran down his cheeks again. "I..I'm not going to.. try and get revenge.. I just..." Jomei rubbed his eyes with the back of his fist and then looked at the four around him, "What has this game turned us into?"

"Maybe you didn't know Lowe that well.. that is true. But you knew how close I was to him. How much he meant to me. That should at least be enough." Jomei held his hand with his rapier out to the side before he dropped it to the ground. Before the sword hit the snow, it vanished in a white flash back into his inventory. He was done fighting.. He looked down at the ground and only listened to everyone talking. Zandra scolding Piera, addressing Calrex and Lee, and then moving on to Jomei. Addressing him by his real world name. There were many things she wanted to explain to him, most likely things that Ariel had spoken to her about, maybe more about herself. Who knows, it didn't matter to him anymore. The man just wanted to leave at this point. 

Suddenly, Zandra's tone of voice seemed to change.. Somewhat more sinister, and seemed to care less. Apparently there was a good side to this, which got Jomei's attention so he rose his head and looked into the woman's eyes curiously. In her eyes, now there was one less life to worry about. Jomei's hands balled into fists. The noirette then revealed that she was there when Ariel killed Lowe, and she did nothing to stop her. The man felt his blood boil once again as he began to shake.. but then he released a breath, and the tension in his body seemed to release. Jomei looked at Zandra one last time with disgust. "Goodbye.. Zandra." 

Jomei figured it was over. At this point, he felt sick to his stomach and wanted to go..anywhere. Anywhere but here. He wanted to go home and... oh yeah, he didn't have a home anymore.. Next best thing would be to go to the pub an- Out of nowhere, a shadow rushed at the brunette, and with wide eyes, Jomei rushed forward, equipping his rapier once again. The figure had knocked Piera onto the ground and then picked her up by her neck. Jomei immediately recognized the man as Hikoru. The ginger pulled his rapier from his belt once it reappeared and held its point to Hikoru's back. "Hikoru. Let. Her. Go." Jomei said demandingly, not afraid to strike if Hikoru hurt Piera in any way. Once the man let her go, Jomei returned his rapier to his belt and let out a sigh of relief. ."Its true Hik. Ariel killed him.. but they know more than I do", expecting them to explain to Hikoru the truth. Jomei said to the rest of the group as he began to walk away. "I can't be here anymore." another man came to approach the group, who asked everyone to put their weapons away. He also seemed to know Hikoru by name. Though Jomei could care less at this moment. Reaching to the back of the poncho over his armor, Jomei pulled a hood up over his head and shoved his hands into his pockets. He did not turn back to the group, nor cared if anyone followed him. He continued his slow, pained walk back to Snowfrost. 

[Beatbox 0]

"Like I've warned you Zandra. I knew that a result like this would happen." he had said from behind a tree in which he had hid in stealth for the most part. He had looked to Morgenstern, then to Hikoru, then to Piera, then to the man he's never met before, then to the fabled Jomei. He had smiled "Before I say anything Jomei, might I add you had a build that I wanted to strive for, and that's what I had succeeded in. You could say I am a fan, however..." he had gotten serious once more "This is not the time for this. Zandra, I don't care if she is your friend, Lowenthal was loved by many: Hikoru, Jomei, Members of Knights of the Blood, Piera, possibly that man I never met, and me included. And if she went out to eliminate that one figure that everyone loves, then why even continue to trust her and why form an alliance to place such a bad name upon you. And yes, I know why she did. She's backsh*t insane, she liked killing Lowenthal, she said it in front of my damned face. There's something wrong with her, and for all I know you. Making an alliance was not a great idea to be fair in the long run, you've cost yourself a lot. And as much as I would give you another chance, I cannot till I understand why. And I don't care what the hell kind of game this is, and I don't care that you can get away with murder once you are in the clear. She will not be unscathed, she will have the revenge placed upon her. And you will not stop the upcoming fate, unless you want to be a part of the same." he looked at Zandra with an angered look but did not unsheathe his sword or talk to her in an angered tone. He waved his arm back to the group and looked back and yawned "Lookie here, I'm not gonna fight her or you. I made a vow to Lowenthal that I'd find why he did challenge her to that duel, and I will fulfill his wishes. However, I am not gonna make the same mistake twice. Nothing good comes from death anymore, remember that. If you can prove to be an ally again, then I'll be considerate to give you a second chance, but for now. It's a beautiful day outside only getting corrupted by the alliance of two." he said before walking away in the distance, no where to be found.

- Beatbox Joined, and Left the Thread.

[Lee 0]

OOC: I dislike you all of you for the pain you have put me through.

Lee would let his attention head toward Piera as she would then state that Ariel's story was that it was a suicide and that Lowenthal gave his items to the player before hand. Which, in all honesty did sound far to suspicious to be truth though it was up for debate. As for her reaction to Jomei's breakdown, he saw it coming from miles away, she was far too prone to being emotional. She would bring up the fact that no one was to be unnecessarily blamed for their own kidnapping so everything that had happened with Lowenthal wasn't  to be placed onto Jomei. Though, what Piera said when she finally saw Zandra armored would cause him to slowly turn his attentions to the brunette in a very dumbfounded manner. 'What the f*ck are you on about you dumb hoe?!' He wanted to say this out loud be he wasn't rightly sure just how to bring it into the tense situation at hand. AND THEN she dared to group them all together in telling Zandra that she wasn't going to contact any of them from this point on to which it would be visible as his once tense posture began to slouch with the other load of stupidity that the woman was displaying. He wouldn't be told what to do from her and what he could only deduce to be her womanly hormones going into overdrive from the situation that she was speaking on his behalf which wasn't a good thing.

Calrex seemed to want his own piece to be stated and he was going to make sure that it was known by using his howl skill to make it a point to gather the attentions of those around to which Lee would turn his head back toward the player. He would bring up a very good point that the players that had kidnapped Jomei would surely aim to capitalize on the strife between them if they had the opportunity. Lee would straighten his posture to a more lax one while still holding his weapon and shield up. He would continue to state at Zandra that it was her position that caused such an aggressive reaction and that she might have knowledge they did not. He was making valid points... that was until his next few statements. He listened as he aimed it more to Piera about Lee and that if they were to distance themselves from PK's then it would shorten the list tremendously and Calrex would be among them. "Hey, don't group me in this. I think I'm doing a da*n well job." He would continue to speak to Jomei now about how vengeance would logically not make sense as the power gap was too great at this point even if he did want too. Though, Lee would give a lightly similar dumbfounded look though this time to Calrex when he spoke of the vengeance leading to one less front-liner "So what your saying is, a front liner can kill who they want because they are too important? Nah, can't no right minded person get behind that." Though, he did seemingly recover as he simply added that they should finish the fight in a safe zone so that any immediate danger would pass to which he would nod.

Zandra seemingly gave in as she would collapse to the ground at the accumulated pressure of everything, the key Jomei threw being the straw that broke it all. She would state that while Lowenthal was someone she knew, it was Jomei that knew him as a friend and he was the reason she joined the guild and gave little in terms of caring for Lowenthal but did not bare any ill will toward him, not anything worth killing over. Though, it was Piera's words that seemed to be the turning point as Zandra would slam her axe into the ground and charge Piera which would cause Lee himself to swing his sword around and point it at Zandra's side as she would speak about Piera knowing little of the situation. While he wasn't on Piera's side, he wasn't going to let her simply die either. Zandra would end with her words and then speak to Lee about not knowing how she thought to which he would reply simply "Yeah, you got that right." She would then speak to Jomei and take something from her inventory and down it to continue on. What it was, he wasn't sure. She would go on to then finally say that she aimed to deal with the kidnappers and that if they were lucky, they would not see her next to Ariel in the future. Though, knowing these specific individuals, it would not be anywhere as easy as Zandra thought it to be.

It was during this that another flash seemed to burst onto the scene as it was yet another player which would cause Lee to once more bring his sword up to the back of this players head "You F**kers Need To Quit This Sh*t Right Now." He was getting really tired of these quick rushes on the person that he was currently pissed at but they were making this really, really hard which only caused him to grow more and more ticked at the overall situation. Lee would watch as the player would let Piera down and would just as quickly break down at the information that was seemingly not only new to him but very detrimental. Lee would simply let the break happen as he was already fuming with anger but more boiling than anything.

Another player would appear which was simply amazing at the simple gall. He appeared stating that enough was enough when he didn't even know what point they were at. The plate armored player disliked these kinds of white knights with a passion when they seemed to interject themselves into matters that might end up becoming worse.

Jomei did not want to hear what Calrex had to say as he was in the right, for the most part and one that Lee seemed to agree with the most in terms of what he said. He didn't like the fact that his friend was no longer of this world and that someone would simply try and sweep it under the rug because of one reason or another. As he would speak about what the game was doing to them, Lee would simply let his sword lower with a defeated sigh "Does it matter? Only a select few choices are put in front of us Jomei. We just have to grab what we can, when we can and try and make due." He didn't like trying to throw out nuggets of wisdom in these kinds of moments but everyone was overlooking the silent so it wasn't really an option. That aside, he couldn't help but chuckle inwardly at all of the weapons that were simply being dropped on the ground around here. This place would surely go off if someone with a metal detector came around. He was pleased that Jomei took the same defensive stance as Lee had when the player that attacked Piera did what he did though he seemed to know him. After all that was said and done, Jomei seemingly didn't want to be there anymore. He would take his leave. Lee would sake his head as, in the pit of his stomach, was feeling all the worse knowing how he felt after his own experiences though he didn't have this to greet him.

Lee would take hold of Piera's wrist "I just can't even right now and you sure as hell can't either." He had thought of just leaving though with everything going on, Piera was the Aggro magnet and that wasn't going to fly anymore. He would open his menu and send a message to Jomei

Quote

To: Jomei
From: Lee
Subject: Place

If you need a room, head to the third floor and head to the far sound and you'll see a small path between the mountains.
The place is open if you need some time.

 

After leaving the hellscape that was behind him and he was close enough to the town, Lee would release Piera without saying anything and would simply leave the clusterfu*k that was this stupid and idiotic floor.

-Lee Has Left The Floor/Thread-

[Piera 0]

Vaguely surprised at Zandra's statement that she would never have joined the Velvet Room if it hadn't been for Jomei, the alchemist realized that perhaps she had a point in not knowing the former guild leader as well as they did, but it didn't make what she did any less horrible in her eyes. A gasp caught in Piera's throat as one moment Zandra was nearly a yard away from them and the next she was mere inches from her face. A tense expression mixed with anger and surprise mingled on her face as she stared down the other healer. But as she began to speak, the fury overtook the shock and fear, glaring right back at the younger woman. "Yeah, well Lowenthal was my friend long before you ever graced us with your presence so back 'atcha." Her tone derisive. As the raven haired woman selected something on her menu before a potion appeared in her hands, the brunette's grip on her spear tightened warily as she watched it being drank. Who knew what the effects of that thing were? The woman couldn't just leave well enough alone though, speaking to Jomei so insensitively.

Wincing at the loud clapping Howl that Calrex unleashed to catch the attention of the heated group, Piera began to calm down, listening to what he had to say. He definitely had a point about not wanting to draw the attention of the PK's that Jomei had just escaped from. Just because they had left them alone when they saw he was no longer alone didn't mean that they weren't still watching and waiting for a golden opportunity. Best not to give them one she agreed with a sigh, lowering her weapon. But some of his words just made her more annoyed, her expression showing as much. "Lee and I might have our own personal reasons to especially hate most PKs but I'm not so stupid to think that they're all the same. I haven't been forced to take a life yet thankfully, but I know plenty of good people who have had to. You're just one of them Calrex. Jomei. Lowenthal. I don't hate Ariel just on the principle of being a PK, but because she murdered one of my best friends." Yet she was quiet as he spoke to Jomei about not fighting Ariel. Pursing her lips as he asked the Irishman how he thought such a battle would go, especially if she or Lee would join in.

At the Ultramarine Knight's argument that killing Ariel would be a bad thing simply on the principle of her being a frontliner though, the healer's expression turned indignant and Lee took the words right out of her mouth concerning that matter. Frankly it was a little disconcerting that Calrex would actually think such a thing. Granted she didn't know the man all that well, but based on what little she did know and from opinions of others, she would think he would specifically oppose such thinking.

"I don't care about frontliners, veterans, player killers, or what any of us are. I don't care about defeating bosses, or finishing this game.. Not right now.... My brother.. my best friend.. is dead.. Whether he was murdered or not.. He's gone. I..I'm not going to.. try and get revenge.. I just..." Piera blinked at the ginger's voice, green eyes looking over at her distraught friend before frowning in helpless sadness and staring at the ground as he asked of them, "What has this game turned us into?" For some reason feeling guilty, perhaps at having so much anger inside of her and lashing out at his now former lover.

Zandra's revelation that she had been there when Lowenthal was killed caused Piera's face to go slack from shock before her knuckles turned white around the shaft of her Bleeding Lance, hands shaking from anger. She had just stood there and watched. A very small voice in her head reasoned that she likely would not be able to do much else either, but the hate filled louder voice squashed it down, yelling that she could have tried to distract her at least, talk Ariel out of it on the basis of their supposed friendship, or at the very least message someone to come help! Anything but....nothing.

As Zandra insinuated that if she hadn't armed and armored herself that she would have been attacked by Jomei and herself, possibly Lee as well, Piera huffed with a slight sneer, "You're not worth the effort or the orange cursor. Even if you are protecting that b**** Ariel that killed Lowenthal-hgk!" The end of her sentence was punctuated with a grunt of shock as suddenly she was on the ground, her spear knocked out of her hands. Yet another player appeared before her, but this time, they didn't simply stop in front of her. The dark blur of an assailant picked her up off the ground by the scruff of her cape, choking her slightly as her feet lifted up off the ground, kicking uselessly in the air before her entire body stilled as she felt a blade at her throat. It had been a while since Piera had felt full body bone deep unadulterated fear, but it was instantly recognizable in that moment.

The woman went white as the snow they party of players were surrounded by, her eyes wide behind her glasses as she focused on the face of the person attacking her and shouting at her...and recognized him as panicked green eyes met enraged grey. "H-H-Hik..orku?" She asked with shaky choked voice. They didn't know each other personally, but she definitely recognized him as Ariel's fiancee...or ex-fiancee if the rumors was to be believed.

Glassy eyes blinking as she heard Lee and Jomei's voices, Piera let out a shaky breath, reminded that she wasn't alone, that at the very least if no one else, Jomei and Lee would try their best to protect her. Hikoru's desperately shouted questioned replayed back in her head and she began to put together that he also hadn't known the truth. Only what Ariel had said had happened. Even as he asked the others that surrounded them, he began to realize that she hadn't been lying. And that was hard enough to accept. Though she wasn't particularly endeared to the man given what he had just done, she truly empathized, though more so when he finally took his weapon off of her and let her go.

The alchemist fell to the ground, holding a shaky hand to her neck before glancing up and noticing that the head count had suddenly one more head than she originally remembered, and that wasn't even counting Hikoru. Not knowing at all who the white armored blonde was and not sure she cared anymore as he didn't seem overtly hostile as he tried to get her assailant's attention. Swallowing thickly, Piera stated without any emotional inflection, "The Monument of Life has the name of every single player in SAO. When they die, their name is crossed out and the reason for their death is listed. Lowenthal's death was 'Full Health Duel Loss against Ariel'. And no two players can have the same username...so that only leaves one conclusion." Green eyes glanced up at the new Master of Shadows as she slowly got to her feet with the aid of her lance, knowing that the knowledge wouldn't be easy to accept. But her attention was then solely drawn to Jomei as he dismissed himself from the group, her brow furrowing in concern for her friend.

Before she could even begin following him though, a hand gripepd her wrist and tugged her along and she almost tried to fight it before she saw that it was Lee's and she gladly allowed herself to be lead away from everyone else, though she did glance back one final time. "I don't think I want to odd anymore, let alone even." Her eyes flicked to try and see what he was doing with his menu, but all that she was able to make out was that he was messaging someone, though not who or what was said.

When the couple arrived at Snowfrost, Lee dropped her hand and teleported out without a further word, causing her to frown, hugging herself as she shook her head and ultimately decided she couldn't let Jomei go. Even if she didn't approach him, she just wanted reassurance that he was okay. Or at least as okay as the man could be in such a f***ed up situation.

[Calrex 0]

"Whelp that went over about as well as I was expecting..."

As Calrex went through his responses, he could see the mix of agreement and disagreement on each of their faces. Giving a small sigh as they responded, the bluenette could try and understand where Piera, Lee, and Jomei were all coming from. Thinking back on his words just now, he could recognize the flaws in his arguments. After being trapped in SAO, for so long, most people understood that PKers were ever present, and that not everyone that did so had malicious intent. This apparently wasn't one of this situations. From the facts and evidence that had been presented, things weren't looking good.

Things seemed to unravel even more as Zandra gave her response. He had hoped that the black-haired woman could have given more insight, giving her the benefit of the doubt. But with her words the Ultramarine Knight wanted to either slam his face into his palm, or throw up his hands in defeat. At this point, he could tell there was no salvaging this discussion. With a small sigh he returned his hands to his pockets, giving a small shake of his head.

More people made their entrances, some in more neutral and others in more...aggravating ways, for lack of better wording. Hikoru, the first to appear, exemplified this as he appeared, most likely after lurking in the shadows, pinning Piera with a blade until he lost the drive, dropping his dagger to the side. This physically made him place his face in his hand, shaking his head, "...way to make an entrance there..."

The second to appear was Morgenstern, another up and coming player he had only briefly met up with on the thirteenth floor some time in the past. From what the bluenette could gather, he had somehow rubbed the young man the wrong way, as he could feel the aggression emanating from him, "I'll have to ask about that later, if he's even open to it. Geezes what in the heck is going on these days?"

Beatbox appeared next, someone he had yet to interact with, but he said his piece before departing almost as swiftly as he had entered. At this point most of the individuals present had begun to disperse, Jomei having been fed up with what had happened, heading towards the safe zone soon followed by Lee and Piera. Giving one last sigh to himself he put his hands into his jacket pockets, proceeding in that direction as well. As he did he looked over at Hikoru and Morgenstern, addressing the latter as he passed, "Thanks for the help. If you want to chat about anything, feel free to PM me. Hik...take care alright?"

With that he had said his piece, and offered the opportunity to talk with the blonde before entering into the safe zone. Making his way towards the teleportation plaza he swiped on his menu to start putting together a message.

Spoiler

To: @Jomei, @Lee, @Piera

Subject: Chat to Bring Up To Speed

Body:

Hey you guys, a lot happened just now. I'm sorry to have had things develop the way they did. Not sure if you guys still have respect for me or not, that choice is yours. However, should you wish to be brought up to speed on what's happening, feel free to let me know. I'll try to explain what I can. Take your time, no rush or time limit. You can name the place, else I can meet you at this tavern I know of. Jomei will know the one.

All matters aside, it's good to see the three of you still alive.

Calrex

Pressing send he stretched his arms, releasing the tension as he swiped on his menu, "Let's get out of here. This snow's starting to get a bit too heavy..."

OOC: Calrex Exits the Thread

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru's mind was at a dull standstill. The information, and the talk of the group proved it to be true, that Ariel had really killed Lowenthal. He held back tears, but a few escaped from him, hitting the ground and soon turning into pixels. He watched as soon the others left, and soon it was just him and a few others still standing. He was dead, both inside and out. He had trusted her word, that she had just watched him fall. To hear this new news... Piera, the girl he had tackled said what his name read on the Monument of Life, too specific to be made up. He went by her word, and hopefully she wasn't lying to him in this way as he was afraid she was. He felt like he couldn't trust anyone, not even himself in this moment in time. Calrex gave him a farewell and told him to "take care." There was definitely better wording that he could have given at this moment, but he didn't care. He needed to avenge Lowenthal if that was the last thing he did, and he knew that he had the most right out of everyone there. He had been his mentor, the teacher of his weapon. He had been there when he grandmastered his Dagger, and had given him Shadowed Path before the patch update, and he was going to be one of his best men at his wedding. And he was killed by his ex-fiancee, which meant that he was the closest to Ariel, and had the better chance of killing her before she knew what came next.

He grit his teeth and stood, the tears disappearing from his eyes as now they were only cold, and ready to kill. His vengance would come swiftly, but he knew that he needed to get stronger. He needed to get charge completed before he was ready to go. He needed to maximize his damage, get stronger before he would be ready. It wouldn't take him long though. He looked at Beatbox and Morgenstern, then looked away. They would only get in his way. He materialized into the shadows underneath his feet and soon disappeared from sight. He needed to go and train to prepare to kill her, and nothing would get in his way. He would live to see her die, and that would be his final goal, even if it meant his own demise

Hikoru poofs out of the thread, super cool-like.

[Zandra 0]

After my reply, several things happened. As expected the other players replied to my comments, and not it seemed they had the effect I wanted them to have. Now I truly was hated by the Velvet room guild. Thou in my heart I felt like I was torned to pieces, even with the potion. I tried to hold back the tears from appearing again, but when the man I love said goddbye to me, they started rolling down my cheeks. To Lee and Piera’s comments, I just gave them and look and a slight nod as I agreed to what they said. Suddenly Hikoru appeared, but I paid no attention to him. Only person I looked and focused on now was the Irishman. He turned around and started to walk away. That was when I dropped my axe, took a few fast steps forward to catch up to him. Then I laid a hand on his shoulder and turned him around. I looked deep into his eyes before standing on my toes. Then I held my arms around his neck and moved my lips into contact with his. I gave him a long kiss. One last kiss. The soften of his lips against mine felt wonderful. I closed my eyes and just stood there for several second, holding him tight. Then I took a step back, the wonderful feeling ended. My eyes looked at him. ‘’Goodbye… Nick.’’

After a last look at him, I turned around and walked to my axe. I picked it up and then headed in the opposite direction of everyone else that seemed to go back to the safe zone. I didn’t looked back even once. Didn’t wanted them to see my face. My face filled with sadness and wet from tears that just kept rolling down my cheeks in a neverending stream.

[Jomei 0]

Jomei continued his slow walk back towards the Floor's main settlement alone. Wanting to be alone, and hoping that no one followed him. He heard the sound of snow crunching under boots, but he did not slow his walk, and continued forward at the same pace. It was not until the hand on his shoulder and forceful turn that he stopped in his tracks, and spun to see the noirette he once loved. She was the last person that Jomei hoped would come after him. Without any words, only sadness and tears in her eyes, Zandra threw her arms around the ginger and kissed his lips, holding it for a moment. Jomei wanted to push the woman away, for this was only making this whole situation a whole lot harder. Before he had a chance to react, the girl had finished, and just held him in an embrace. Jomei kept his arms at his sides, looking off to the side and not at her. Finally, she had released and said goodbye, using his real world name, before turning in the opposite direction from him and walking off. With tears in his own eyes, Jomei turned around again and continued to walk towards Snowfrost, throwing his fist out to the side and punching a tree next to him out of anger, an <Immovable Object> notification popping up as he did so.

Thread Complete

+1 SP to all participants
((Will finish rest of rewards lateer))