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Hidden: Achievement Unlocked!

​

42 HP

MAX HP

69 EN

MAX EN

Status: Unconscious, Mental Agony, and Potato.
​

Alphabet Chocolate wasn't sure when exactly had she woken up. Minutes and seconds bled into each other until there was nothing more than a smudge to indicate the passage of time, Alpha's own mind lingering still in swaths of fluffy white that clouded her head. All she knew was that she had spent some time with her eyes shut, consciousness slowly retreating from the warm coat that had kept her in the pleasant thoughtlessness. Unfocused thoughts were followed by clarity which, in turn, was followed by an eerie sense of dismay and horror. It was difficult for her to remember why exactly she was in this state and where she was but, when the past events had managed to push itself back into her mind, she sprang up like a stressed coil, heart beating at the mere fleeting image of Das Weiss haunting her.

"Oh jeez!" her back straightened up, stiff as a board. She scanned the area and, finding the foreign woman's presence absent, felt her shoulders relax. A quick rub to her temples to remove the strain and metaphysical knot that had lied there revealed beads of sweat taking the place as a newfound home. She wiped them away mercilessly, shaking her hand and splattering the salty drops onto the floor. Her chest felt heavy, her head ached with the phantasmal pain she had experience before, and her entire body felt exhausted, ready to split in halves should she exert herself too much.

A few of her fingers found themselves stroking the smooth petals of her rose, finding comfort in the warmth that the intrusion produced. The roots, dug deep into her flesh, gave her the sense of an embrace; a kiss; a loving experience unmatched by any other physical manifestation of the emotion. It was with that that she gained a semblance of peace. "Well," she coughed, scratching at her parched throat desperately as if the act of slicing through the upper layer of skin with her nails would cure the thirst that had settled upon her. "That was weird."

The itch and sting subsided and, pleased, she took another look around the room, now with narrowed eyes examining every inch of every observable surface. It was then, and only then, that she had noticed the other person in the strange, unfamiliar room with her. "Seigi?" she rasped out cautiously, reaching out to feel the girl to make sure she was real. Why wouldn't she be real? Still, Alpha just needed to know, even if she didn't understand where that feeling of disbelief originated from.

CHOICES:
A). Attack [Seigi].
» B). Ask [Seigi] how [she] is doing.
C). Catch [Seigi] with a Poké Ball.
D). Challenge [Seigi] to a dance-off!​

And then she grinned, the familiar, Cheshire expression settling upon her face like drying cement. No longer was it fluid and indecisive, uncomfortable in the mold it found itself in; the grin was solid, sturdy, and completely confident in finding its place on her lips. "Seigi! Oh, man, I didn't get to say anything to you yet! It's been forever! Saw you talking to the guys, didn't hear a thing, but I really wanted to talk to you! Didn't get to, though," her face darkened, a pout replacing the smirk. Her cheeks had a light pink flush and she bit her lips, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head at remembering the embarrassing fainting display that had happened right before the eyes of all her friends. Humiliating. "Well, uh, let's just forget that. Boring stuff! Anyhow, how've you been doing?! You gotta tell me everything!" she insisted, trying to grab Seigi's hands into her own, completely oblivious to the shadows that lurked underneath her friend's bandages.

@Seigi

 

Seigi was lost in thoughts as her bandaged hand gently stroke the unconscious girl's face. Mainly, Seigi was worried, but with the silence in the room, she couldn't stop herself from thinking about what had just transpired. About herself as well as Alphabet. Especially when it came to the rose in the girl's head.

A innocent fashion statement or? The crimson-hair could literally feel the unnatural vibe it was giving off, quite similar to Wendy's. Her best friend even warned her about this. But... Seigi couldn't be too sure - not to mention she hated to think about things that weren't certain. A waste of energy.

Unlike the 'new Wendy' she had met recently, Tenebris, Alphabet was just... different. An upbeat, joyful, laughing girl that even Seigi problems keeping up with from time to time. So, no hasty conclusions. Instead, Seigi could just ask Alphabet, carefully, once she was better. Though, even then, her first priority was to make sure Alphabet was right rather than cross-examine her.

When @Alphabet Chocolate suddenly jumped up like a sleeping bird that had just heard some loud noise, Seigi nearly fell from the chair beside the guest room's bed. "Alpha!" Before the raven-haired girl could even think about embracing Seigi's hands, the red-hair gave her friend a firm, but short, hug, before returning to normality or, rather, literally hand-holding each other. Normal was relative for Alphabet anyway.

"Are you doing alright? How are you feeling?" Urgh, these were the stupid standard questions, even if Seigi meant it. Instead, Seigi gave Alphabet a confident smirk. "There isn't much to tell. You just... fell unconscious? Lady Weiss took care of you, I think. I also skipped on the briefing because priorities. We're going to punch some big mean tentacle monster really hard!"

Seigi looked down for a second before adding. "Though, you should be aware, that there's a chance you won't be able to access your UI anymore after dying to them." It wasn't too bad to quickly catch up on old-times thou, right? "Otherwise, the usual! Doing heroic things and punching baddies!"

Seigi now took a look around. Right, Hector... "And Hector... probably marking the entire mansion to be his own?"

@Alphabet Chocolate
@Bradwynne Lambert
@Roland Rutledge
There you go, interrupt girls time and all D<

 

"Yup, I can feel my limbs so that's a good sign! Thanks for asking, Sei!" Alpha did a few arm circles while the nickname slipped out unnoticed. She felt a few muscles pop back in place, which felt quite relieving honestly. The soothing stretches did soften the blow that came with Seigi's own confusion of the events. Knowing something happened to you but not knowing what? Isn't that the strangest, awfullest thing. A feeling of inadequacy and disappointment is what it is. "Aww, you mean I flopped over like a fish for nothing?" she whined, hoping deep in her heart it wasn't true. She'd take an alien invasion or a telepathic insurgence over this. Fainting for nothing? She'd never be able to live this down, especially since it happened smack dab in the thick of things. As soon as that feeling faded, however, a pit of anxiety bubbled at the mention of Lady Weiss. "That's the lady's name? The one with the bad eyes?" she asked nervously, thumbs twiddling and twitching uncomfortably at the reminder. Not even the existence and potential fight against a tentacle monster managed to replace that sense of foreboding with excitement of any sort. Sure, she was slightly thrilled to hear about a new beast to fight (together with her friend, before they get revenge on whatever eldritch abomination that had killed Seigi in the first place) but this 'Lady Weiss's' existence seemed to plague her at every turn, at every sharp thought and steep contemplation. An omen.

Before she could tell Seigi about her own bad feelings about the woman, all thoughts about the situation was shoved back upon hearing the latest bit of news. "Wait, wait, wait, I think I remember something like that...that happened to, uh, what's her name...Ashi! It's been awhile since I've seen her; she looks like a zombie and everything now," she shivered at the thought and, although Terry's death would soon be long forgotten after Vermilion's plans came to fruition and her darling companion was revived, the mere image of the rotting undead terrified her still. She could barely tolerate Lucia's minions without expelling all of her stomach liquids. "Oh my god, is this gonna be like that one show where everyone got trapped in the game world and they have to get out by winning the game or something...Spy Kids! The second or third movie, methinks!" her eyes widened. "What if this is all a conspiracy," she reached out to grab Seigi by the shoulders, shaking wildly. "Like, the government has been taken over by lizardmen so they're planning to dissect everyone but they can't do that while we're conscious so we're stuck in the game while they're doing experiments with us in real life! And you can't log out cause you've already been captured by them!"

She heaved, lungs barely able to keep up with her rapid-fire words and intense thoughts and theories. "And-and-and," she breathed, struggling to keep herself together. "Hector! Ooooh I tied him outside to a tree! How long have I been out?! Hector gets really cranky whenever he doesn't get dinner. If he doesn't get his chicken alfredo by eight then he'd really start marking his territory. He likes to pretend he's not potty-trained when he's angry," she groaned at the thought. "Rudolf's gonna be so pissed."

Her hand rubbed at her temples again, the new pieces of information she received (and the lack of it) starting to stress her out. And, after another heavy breath, she massaged her shoulders to relax the tense muscles. "Ah well," she plopped back down on her bed, the back of her head buried around that soft, comfy pillow of utmost warmth and comfort. "When life gives you lemons, forget about the lemons in the first place, go back home, and lay down and chill. We totes need to have a spa day or something, Seigi! Just forget about all the drama llamas around here and the lizard people and just have fun. Here's the agenda for today: we get Hector, we beat up some bad guys, and then we go out for ice cream! Er, well, to be honest all my plans never end up working. You know what they say: you make the plan, execute the plan, you expect the plan to go off the rails, and then you throw away the plan!"

She rolled over to her stomach, once again facing Seigi (albeit much lower than eye level). "What's the number for room service? I'm starving!"

@Seigi @Bradwynne @Roland Rutledge

 

At the instigation of the Duke who employed him by placing a massive debt on his shoulders, Bradwynne closely followed Seigi, but it would not be evident that he was tailing her. He was at the head of a formation of three guards, marching on a fast but rhythmic pace, and even the jingles of their armor were synchronous with each other, very pleasant to a classic musician's ear. More than the command of the Duke to guard the entrance of the room where Alphabet Chocolate, an acquaintance of his who had to be moved there after whatever had been done to her by Des Weiss, he wanted to know everything about the current situation. Apparently this girl was afflicted with a power of a Dissonant origin, such a poor girl, very bubbly but afflicted with that kind of monstrosity at a tender age. But what bothered him the most was the rose in her possession. He paid no heed to that rose when he first met her when they fought off the bandits near Vintergard that had caused their imprisonment. Well girls always did adorn themselves with flowers to show both their beauty and their innocence, and it was so common both in Terrasphere and the real world. But when he had heard the words of Weiss, he was crestfallen. Sure this girl sometimes did have murderous tendencies, but afflicted with something of a Dissonant origin? If there was really a girl afflicted with such powers it would have to be... wait, when he saw Magi... wait she was going by the name Tenebris Cordis by now, she also had a rose within her possessions. Could it be the source of the Dissonance that Weiss had sensed in Alphabet? Wait, it should be early to do conjectures by now. He should investigate further into the matter, not only for the Duke, not only for himself or Seigi or Ashiore Evretto. It was for all of the players of Terrasphere; he would not let their real bodies be corrupted by an entity that sought to control reality.

Taking note of the time that the two met each other, there was a quick change of the inner guards, and the new guard, though similar to the former by the armor and the tabard that he wore, had different weapons: the former had a longsword slung on his waist, the latter had a huge broadsword sheathed on his back and what looked like a sabre (which was actually a katana on a sabre mount) sheathed on his waist. The height was also considerably higher: the newcomer stood at a shade higher than six feet including the armor. The newcomer quietly shut the door while the two were preoccupied with each other, and watched on, motionlessly and soundlessly, as if he was just an armor display in the room, as the two talked with each other.

Having entered the room by a change of guards, Bradwynne just watched the conversation of the two without saying anything. Of course it was guard ethics that whatever goes on in a room stays in that room, but as he was sent here by the Duke himself to break that ethic, he would plunge it to the hilt. He would claim the information for not only himself, but for Majolica, for everyone that would help him in destroying that god that was not contented with this world. Over his dead drop dead gorgeous body... wait that right then was an overstatement. All right it should be enough with the nonsense thoughts, time to listen in.

Bradwynne was trying not to yawn from what he was hearing right now. All of the things he was hearing then were nonsense. Yeah Seigi, Alphabet had fainted, can't you see? Yeah, Seigi, you can bring your punching nonsense to the raid, Judas Iscariot... err Krelian had quite a simple plan for it. Yeah I know you liked punching anything left and right. And don't worry about Hector, he would be constantly fed during the stay in the manor, same with Alphabet. We were never such cruel people to domesticated animals, or cooperative prisoners. Yeah Alpha it was quite like that scenario in the movie... and no your conspiracy theories were too unbelievable, although this situation was also unbelievable by itself. Ah all right that's a new thing, chicken alfredo by eight? I will take note of that, but I will be needing a cookbook. Why are those so expensive anyway? Hopefully guards had an access to the library, for he would really need it. But when he had reached the last thing, although he quite did a great job restraining himself, he was terrified of dying again. His mind was then filled with curses on Roland, he did not care if he was a duke, but if he died here while not letting these two escape, he would really have it, except if he would give him a raise. Yeah, a freaking raise. He would try to guard Alpha, and if Seigi agreed to the escape plan he would face two demigods much more powerful than himself, and he would not be given a raise for that? Well damn it, if it would be true. And so he then readied his mind for every movement, while he himself was still motionless.

 

Woah. Woah. Woah. @Alphabet Chocolate had quite a lot to say! This, and that, and hector, and chilling, and lizardmen. Well... it was a sign that Alphabet was as good as always, no? Alphabet just kept on talking and talking!

Where was Seigi even supposed to start?! Right, Alphabet still reminded the martial artist of her old self, in a sense. Which was a good thing? Albeit a bit too much, it was an innocence Seigi would love to regain. Closing her eyes for a second, Seigi took in a big, deep, breath before speaking up.

"Yes the stereotypical German looking anime girl is called Lady Weiss and she cared for you and Ashiore the Zombiegirl got hit by that bug and can not access her UI but I don't think Lizardpeople are behind it just some error that will surely be fixed also Isekai anime are pretty popular though it is bizarre that it would happen in reality I can not deny it is kind of exciting and"— Seigi's face started to change in color a bit —"I am kinda stuck too so is my best friend but it will all turn out okay because the good guys always win I am sure we just have to defeat the big bad dissonance monster ALSO I think what you wanted to say is if life gives you lemons make lemonade even if you do not like lemons it is the only lemon you might get and lemons are awesome anyway and I am pretty sure I saw hector running around somewhere before." With that done Seigi now started a small coughing fit that turned into a small giggle before smiling at the raven-haired girl, giving her a thumbs up.

"Well, that's that! Glad to have you on my side! We deliver Justice to that thing, we're both too awesome to die anyway, and then have a girls day and night! Including an ice-eating competition and all. No boys allowed! Not even Hector." With that out of the way, Seigi eyed the rose.

Weiss put literally everybody's attention in the room on that thing. The crimson-hair felt really bad about even trying something manipulative as that. Wendy told her to be careful but... she had to find out more, too. "So..." She tried to find the right words before falling silent again, clearly troubled.

...
...
...

"GAAAAAAHHHHH SCREEEEWWWWW THIIISSSSSSS!" The hero cried out. "A Hero doesn't do stupid manipulation bullcrap and whatnot. GUTS AND EFFORT." Instead, she'd do it her way.

"ALPHABET!" Seigi yelled out before getting very, very close to the rosed girl's face, crawling half on top the bed. "Can you keep a secret? Yes? PINKIE SWEAR! You won't tell anyone about this conversation! Not even your imaginary best friend OR your parents! Just you, and me..." She now eyed the silent mook standing in the corner. He was just some faceless NPC, right? Non-important! Good for him.

"...and the faceless NPC standing guard that doesn't matter anyway! You'll take this conversation into your graaaaavvveeeee! Me too, by the way."

IF, and only IF, Alphabet decided to take the holy, sacred vow:

Hidden: Why so Serious

Seigi would now ask, a simple question. "Are you buddies with Vermillion..." Who else did she know? Could as well go all the way. "Trizzaldi the Tyrant Snitch or Wen- Magi Heart, urm, Tenebris? Das Ein Magia?"

IF, and only IF, Alphabet decided to NOT take the holy, sacred vow:

Hidden: Fetch me some Food

For a moment, Seigi's face darkened, before regaining her usual smile and shrugged. "Alright..." Instead looking at the armored Brad. "Hey, Faceless Guard! Fetch us some food if you will, yeah? And something to drink, too!" After all, Alphabet just asked after the room service.

Not only did Alphabet press Continue, she had now even a choice to make! If only she could buy more save-slots for 10 bucks a piece... .

@Alphabet Chocolate
@Bradwynne Lambert
@Roland Rutledge

 

Alpha stared at the new change of guard, having not had noticed that there was another person in the room until the inevitable change of shifts. The man (?) was nearly double her size and covered top-to-down in impenetrable armor. There was no reason for Alpha to suspect the man was anything other than a guard, much less a fellow player and casual acquaintance. As it were, she held little to no interest in the man and promptly wrote off his existence in her head (which she wouldn't have done if she knew he was the blonde-haired boy who she promised would have a place on her future pirate crew). She shrugged and sat back up, hugging the pillow close to her chest as she listened, avidly, to Seigi's words. She was absorbed in the girl's babble, eyes open, ears perked up, back straightened, and mind alert. Seigi's commentary was both amusing and pleasant to her ears.

"Oooh, Hector doesn't count as a boy though since I neutered him! Couldn't let him go running off and making litters of pups, you know? Well, I guess he still thinks of himself as a guy and gender identity and all that so technically he is a guy but he's emasculated? I don't know. Do wolves even care about their sex?" she blanched at the thought and buried her face in her hands. "Oh my god, did I just subject him to a lifetime of confusion?! Oooh, I knew I should've got him in therapy! Maybe that's why he's such a hard butt all the time!"

The dawning realization brought a tear to Alpha's eyes. "Gah! When we're getting ice cream, we so gotta take Hector to the dog psychologist or something; they'd know what to do! I think I traumatized him!" her eyebrows were furrowed. Her shoulders dropped and, with another sigh, she gave her friend a hard pat on the shoulder, eyes intent. "But first: ice cream. I don't wanna think about dog...reproductive organs...anymore! Ew!" she spat like the mere thought of it repulsed her. She shivered. "Yup, let's never go down that line of thought again. Uh, Hector can deal with it himself; girl's night. We'll just fetch him some ice cream and that'll be that! Perfect apology, right? And, heh, get it? Fetch?"

Despite the large rant and internal troubles that Alpha had verbally said aloud, a blanket of silence fell over the room. Alpha was no stranger to silence. There were many times when she had to do stealthy missions (such as infiltrating the Stokbon Sweets Emporium) and grab a few limited-edition candies while avoiding employee detection. What was strange about this picture was that Seigi seemed to be at a loss for words and, for the entire time that Alpha had known the girl, Seigi could never be described as hesitant or quiet. The uncharacteristic stillness that had taken over Seigi seemed almost unnatural and quite unexpected and, before long, Alpha couldn't help but burst out in another frenzy of words, seeking to close this awkward moment between them and hopefully cheer the other girl up a bit.

GLASS HER
PAY RESPECTS
ASK HER WHAT'S WRONG
BITE HER ELBOW​

"What's wrong?" she smiled, the reassuring twist of her lips not reaching her eyes. She struggled to resist the urge to grab Seigi, lift the girl up, and squeeze the life out of her with a tight, suffocating hug. It took all her willpower not to just kidnap Seigi, jump out of the window, and carry the girl bridal-style to the nearest ice cream shop where she could insist that everything would be okay and that Alpha would be her best friend...forever.

Before she could cave in and do one of those two things (or both), a splitting scream got her heart rushing a mile per hour. She jumped, her bottom meeting the floor with the pillow cushioning the wrong side of her body. Her head knocked into the wall and she probably accidentally hooked a few things with her foot, causing something to make a loud clang. "Ow, ow, ow!" she winced, slowly massaging her head which would undoubtedly be bruised had this not been a game. She didn't have much time to complain and whine about the injury, however, before she perked up after registering Seigi's loud proclamation.

Why So Serious...
Route Selected...
Game Saving... Please do not shut down game while saving is in progress...
Initializing...​

"Aw, there's the Seigi we know and love!" she shouted back on the top of her lungs, a wide, toothy grin gracing her face as she leaped up onto her two feet and pulled Seigi into another hug. "Oooh, a secret?" Alpha's curiosity peaked and she couldn't help but offer Seigi her pinky finger. "Don't you worry, Alphabet Chocolate's the best secret keeper around!"

No, she wasn't. That was a lie. A lie that was so false that even Alpha herself believed it to be the truth. It wasn't that she was bad at keeping secrets but that she had a terrible poker face and was far from being as reserved and tight-lipped as a politician or even the other average person. A talking penguin could hold secrets better than her.

"Oh!" she frowned a bit although she held no ill feelings. "My best friends aren't imaginary! Well, unless you think you're imaginary, Sei!" she laughed and reached to give the girl a slap on back. If anyone asked, Alpha would never admit that, at the moment, she seriously considered the possibility that Seigi was a figment of her imagination for that quick second before the physical action had proved it wrong. Solid. Good.

"I mean, I've got you and Rudolf and Narth and Cain and, uh, Magi-kinda. Kinda creepy," she shuddered at the thought. "But she's pretty cool, too! We hung out once so I guess she's a super cool friend! And there's Icy, who's more of a rival to be honest. And Ivan! He's a son to me, really! Celes...Hector...Lucia...Vermy especially!"

She kept counting the number of people she could list on her fingers. "Merks, when she was still playing. Wonder what she's up to nowadays! She's kinda Magi-level creepy but she was the first friend I ever had! And there's Nalani and Aaron and," she paused. In a quick move of her hands, she reached into her pocket and withdrew the glowing red fragment that she kept on her person. A gentle smile wormed its way onto her face, her eyes soft and gentle. It was a faint, loving sort of tenderness that she reserved solely for him. "Terry," she caressed the glowing object with pure adoration. She held it up to her cheek. "Oh, he's the sweetest. He loves fish sticks and belly rubs! Raised him since he was a puppy, you know? There's no one else I love more than him, to be honest...no offense! Not even my mom or dad or anyone; they're all jerks. Terry's special, though. I'd do anything for him."

She shook her head out of her thoughts and placed the fragment back in her pocket with utmost care, careful not to get a single scratch on it. "Anywho! What'd ya wanna talk about? It'll be just between you, me, and big and scary over there!" she jabbed her thumb over at Bradwynne's general vicinity.

And the question Seigi asked filled Alpha with glee. "Oooh, you wanna talk about Vermy and stuff? Of course I know her! Don't know anyone named Trizz-al-di or whatever, though. Sounds a bit familiar? Who knows! Tenebris, huh? I hear people call Magi that all the time but I've got no idea who this Das Magi whatever is. Is that Magi's sister?"

She contemplated the brief thought that Magi could have someone with a blood relation to her and paled somewhat. "Hopefully that sister of hers would be less...uh, angry. I love Magi but sometimes she just scares me...doesn't mean we're not best friends though! And Vermy, you mentioned Vermy! Do you wanna see her? I can let you visit if you want! I think Vermy'll be super happy to see you! She loves new friends! Oh, c'mon! Let's do it, let's visit her! It'll be great, Seigi! C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!"

The thought of Seigi meeting Vermilion filled her with elation, an excited bounce to her steps as she ran around the room in circles from anticipation and eagerness. She loved introducing her friends to each other! And maybe they could have a tea party or eat cookies or something while they were at it!

@Seigi @Bradwynne @Roland Rutledge

 

Bradwynne almost stifled a yawn, fortunately he just halted by gulping a mouthful of air. Oh lawd this would hurt his insides, and he would need a doctor... and how many times should he remind himself he was a doctor? The needless talk still continued to be thrown by both sides, and maybe would continue to be thrown while he was still here. Maybe they were too uncomfortable with a suit of armor staring blankly and directly at his front. Well maybe he would extract more information if he was just outside and eavesdropping on them. Maybe this mansion of Roland had those portraits that could serve as spying devices as well as decoration. Maybe that way he could eavesdrop without intruding much of the conversation... wait. He was now hearing Seigi trying to extract a promise from Alpha not to hide anything from her. It should look like the plot was starting, and so he should be glued to the edge of his seat... wait his armor should be as immovable as if he was confined in a block of dried cement. If he should stay in that position, not moving, most likely they would just treat him as an NPC.

Fortunately the two girls thought of him that way, and so the true information gathering began. It kicked off when Seigi inquired Alpha about being buddies with a certain Vermillion, Trizzaldi which she called a tyrant snitch and... when he heard the name Magi Heart, he tried to restrain himself. So Seigi knew where was Magi all the time he tried to search for her? And Alpha might have also known? So, where was Magi currently staying right now? That was the question floating within Bradwynne's mind, and he hoped to hear all about it as he listened. Alpha then mentioned a string of names, but as she also mentioned the name of her pet, he should be careful to analyze what those names stood for. Rudolf? Never heard of him, although Alpha was insinuating that he was living in this manor. Never heard of that name though. Narth? Also an unfamiliar name. Cain? Would she mean Cain Darlite who was quite close to the new Magi, from what he had seen in Zalra? Icy? Looks like it was just a pet name, was not sure though who owned it. Ivan? Did she mean one of his close companions? Celes? Did she meant that girl Celestine who had pulled a prank on the wagon he was riding in? Hector, it was the dog he was sure about it. Lucia? The Duchess of North Astorea Lucia Mierz? And of course Vermy, Vermillion, and it seemed that she had a huge adoration for that person. Vermillion... he needed to take note of that name, greater than all the others. Merks? By the way she described the person, did she mean... the Merkaba that wrote the journal in Emil Trevelyan's possession? She did say that the person had stopped playing a long time ago, but it seemed impossible, given her passion in the dark arts in this world. Wait... what if, she caused all of the Dissonance in this world? That would explain the UIs of the people who died from the Dissonance being locked out. The residents of this world should not have the power to do that. The only explanation could be that there was a player who was trying to manipulate both the virtual world and the real world. That, for Bradwynne, was unforgivable. She can mess with the players' virtual lives, and he would be happy to go against her in a battle, and there would be no grudges that would be brought in the outside world. Might be, enemies in the virtual world, friends in the real world, but if she would try to toy with their helpless bodies in the real world... God knows who does not pay.

The load of information that he had received from the conversation should be noteworthy enough to be reported to the Duke, and he could derive a rough picture of what was happening in the whole Terrasphere. But of course more information would lead him to a clearer picture, like an eight-bit image transforming to a sixteen-bit one. Although Alpha only mentioned after everything that this Vermillion had a certain abode, that should add to the information he had. Hopefully the two would divulge more information as he just stood there motionless and soundless. Let them think that he was just a simple mook, when he was really more than that. Although his actual position in the Duchy was just that: a simple mook.

 

That went way better than Seigi had expected. Even before she talked with Alphabet about the Promise to Keep, the raven-haired girl had already spilled the beans. Wow, just like that? And... Seigi wasn't even being manipulatively mean at all! Awesome. @Alphabet Chocolate seemed to know a lot of people though, but what ultimately mattered, right here, right now, was her connection to Verm.

"Ice Cream is the perfect apology." Seigi added, on the side, in regards to Hector and their promised girls night before... actually, what was Seigi even doing? What the hell man.

The suddenly again orange-haired girl had known Wendy for a long, long time. She had seen... the changes? But Alphabet? There wasn't any malice at all. No darkness? Just... goof.

Lots of goof! If only Seigi had been a responsible adult to note the fine differences, but for her, Alphabet seemed more-or-less fine. But SOMETHING had to be wrong with her? Wendy said she had been changed. Or was her best friend an exception? Then again she also said people with roses could be dangerous or not. Regardless, from what she experienced Seigi knew that this wasn't right.

"I'll definitely, absolutely, totally, will save you!" Seigi now gave Alphabet another firm hug. They hugged it out quite a lot, huh? Alpha probably wasn't even aware what Seigi had meant.

"BUT..." The hero-girl now loosened her grip to look Alpha in the eyes. "I just told you, this is a super mystic duper secret between us! Maybe, and just maybe, you can tell Magi - alone - BUT not Verm! Definitely not her! You see... one of these days, when I'm even more awesome, I gonna pay her a surprise visit! You wouldn't want to ruin that surprise, right? That said..." This was fine, right? "I don't even really know how to even visit her."

@Alphabet Chocolate
@Bradwynne Lambert
@Roland Rutledge - do you even exist.

 

As Detective Bradwynne listened in, Alpha continued to eagerly swing her arms around in broad swishes and swipes. "Ice cream is the best!" she agreed, giving Seigi a thumbs-up from both hands and a clipped nod. "Not chocolate, though! Hector might try to take a lick and I don't think there are a bunch of veterinarians in Astorea. Huh. Maybe that should be a new reform-thing. Free veterinary insurance and health care to all mammals! Vote for Senator Alphabet Chocolate at the polls for medical reform today!"

Alpha grinned broadly, the picture of her standing next to a ribbon titled World's Best Politician gleaming from the podium she stood upon, proudly pinned to her chest as a crowd cheers, frozen in her mind. For a moment, it was as if she was temporary displaced from the room she was in and was, instead, at a celebratory inauguration. "Thank you, thank you!" she loudly proclaimed, bowing to her fictitious audience that, in reality, was solely comprised by Seigi and the disguised Bradwynne. "It is an honor to be your King-Queen, Leader of All, and One and True Pharaoh!"

The vision seemed to subsist for a while longer before she snapped out of it, the silly, goofy turn of her lips not diminishing in the slightest. She straightened her back up, ready to swing her arm around Seigi and drag her out to the ice cream parlor, but was engulfed in a firm hug before she could do much else. Despite herself, Alpha melted into it with a squeal, momentarily forgetting about forcibly lugging Seigi out of her and to Stokbon's Sweets Emporium.

"Daw, hug time!" she giggled and wrapped her arms at Seigi, resolved to hug her even tighter. Alpha used all her force to squish Seigi between her arms and chest. "I have no idea what you're talking about but kudos for friendship bonding moments! This is the best. Hug. Ever!" she exclaimed.

When Seigi had loosened her grip, Alpha reluctantly withdrew from the embrace, already craving the physical display of affection not even a full second after it ended. Unfortunately, all good things come to an end and Alpha found herself staring Seigi straight in the eyes, the heroine of justice looking awfully stern. "Why so serious?" Alpha lightly asked, pulling her weight back at her arms which were now propped up behind her. Her legs were crossed over each other and she seemed to be awfully relaxed despite the surge of threatening news that she had woken up to.

"Oooh!"

Realization dawned on her and Alpha's quizzical expression at Seigi's sudden mood swings shifted to complete understanding. "You and Magi are gonna throw Vermy a surprise birthday party! Don't you worry, I've seen this stuff before all the time on Nickelodeon! Like, you gotta keep quiet and stuff and BOOM! Confetti! I gotchu boo!" Alpha grinned, stretching her arm out to give Seigi's nose a boop. "Hmm, I'll totally give you a ride there if I get to make the cake, though! I got the best idea: triple-layer chocolate, vanilla, and hash brown flavored jelly cupcakes cut in the shape of fire hydrants! I got this awesome free taxi cab teleportation service to her place so you can totes tag along!"

She paused and, although the smile didn't slide off her face, her shoulders stiffened and her eyes struggled with something. As if she didn't know what to say. "You're already the awesomest, Sei," she offered awkwardly, reaching out to pat Seigi on the shoulders. And then she threw her head back, cheeks patted pink. "Aurgh, that's so embarrassing and cheesy! That's what someone would say in a Disney Channel Original Movie! Forget I said that!" she whined.

@Seigi - hug partyyy
@Bradwynne - u snitch
@Roland Rutledge - rest in peace

 

Some time had passed since Alpha had fainted in the middle of the meeting. Roland was forced to do his duties and finish it, after all the fate of several others were on the line. Additionally he had to spend even more time securing support from the like of Lucia, who continued to be a pain at his side. With a sigh, he stepped back into the Grand Hall, nodding at his servants as he did so. It seemed there would be relativity little mess for them to deal with, their guests hadn't even stay long enough for a meal. That was good, he had his staff run ragged in preparation for the event. The manor hadn't received visitors in quite some time. Much less entire entourages of five to six different political parties all converging at the same time. He imagined he likely disappointed quite a few of them with his run down and dilapidated fortress, but it at least served it's purpose.

Pushing forward, Roland opened a large set of doors revealing a stone stair case which he immediately ascended. It always bothered him that all the living quarters were up a flight of stairs. Even his own was up on the third floor. With his current physical statistics this wasn't an issue, but what if he grew old, or infirmed. He could imagine dukes of old, ruling from their bedside, unwilling to make the trek back up the stairs due to arthritic ankles. Even the guard's barracks was located near the top of the wall near the front gate. At least if they grew old they could always quit, however. Roland's journey today, only took him up a single flight of stairs, however, which he reached without to much effort.

A quick glance into the hall left him disappointed. He didn't see the guard he had requested to come here posted outside. Pausing Roland briefly considered heading back down the stairs he had come up, in order to fetch a guard for the room but after a few long moments of thought decided against it. Instead he marched forward to the large wood door, pushing it inwards as he entered into the guest room. Like most of the guest rooms, he entered into what the locals called the sitting room, which was a lounge like area which consisted of a couch, a lounge chair, and a writing desk. On the far wall was the exit to an enclosed balcony, while on the near side was a private lavatory.

Roland's attention however, was focused on the opposite side of the room which lead into the actual bedroom. Here he saw @Bradwynne, dutifully keeping an eye on the quarters themselves. "I expected to see you outside." Roland said in an exhausted tone, as he jerked his thumb backwards. "The balcony should be secure, head outside and make sure no one comes in." He didn't wait for his guard to respond, it was after all a direct order. The lack of guards in the wing still concerned Roland though. There should have been more than the single person he had tasks to play door keeper.

With a grunt he pushed through, entering into the bedroom where he saw both Seigi and Alpha embroiled in a conversation.Being just in time to hear, "You and Magi are gonna throw Vermy a surprise birthday party! " gave Roland pause. Allowing the young girl to finish her fanatical tale. In the back of his mind he tried to process this information but not before turning and giving Seigi a glance. It was the girl from the meeting who had claimed to have been killed by an eldritch abomination, afterwhich she had been unable to log out. "No", Roland thought, "I know her from somewhere else as well". She was with me during the original fight with the dissonance. The crazed berserker. She hadn't had those hand wraps at that time, her affliction must have occurred after... There has to be something I can do about it, maybe some sort of device that will force me to wake up after so much time has passed.

Shaking his head, Roland, forced the thoughts out of his mind. No, he needed to focus on one thing at a time, for now it needed to be Alpha. With a stern face he turned towards her, intent to interrupt whatever conversation the two were having previously. "I had hoped that Rose would eventually wilt and die on its own, but from what Wiess has said, it doesn't seem like that will be the case..." Roland sighed, his expression softening, slowly he moved back, grabbing a chair and pushing it near the two. "We need to know more about it, if its related to the dissonance it could be harming your real world self as much as your alter ego." With a geasture he pointed at Seigi, "For example, she's now unable to log out, something, which can be very dangerous in the long run. I can't help Seigi right now, but I think if you can give us more information, we can help the two of you. I know Vermilion gave you that rose, I was there in her mansion as she did so. She didn't seem as eager to kill you, as she did me...is she this Vermy you're referring too? Is Magi Heart wrapped in this too now?" Roland waited for his answers, hoping the girl would stay sane long enough to give them to him.

@Seigi
@Alphabet Chocolate

 

Bradwynne was clearly liking what he had been hearing from the moment that he started eavesdropping into the conversation of the two girls up until then. He was then became acquainted with what he could be facing in order of their appearance and importance. First he should of course battle Titanius, to see how the Dissonance should work. Then, he would have to talk to this person named Vermillion, to know about what kind of Dissonant power had afflicted Alphabet and of course Magi, and what should he do to clear the Dissonant power on them. And then he would settle the score with the god creature who wanted to control the reality as well as being of a gid status in this world. Of course he would need allies to do that, and so he should need to hold on to potential allies while he would settle the score personally. That way he would not be troubled very much as he would do what he should: save the players from being locked into the game, save Magi from whatever was afflicting her, and save the players from further malefic plans of this god who was not content with what they had in Terrasphere. He would make sure that he would attain those goals before he decided to leave this game for good. He was never the type of person who would leave anyone hanging while facing a terrible situation that might translate to reality.

As he listened further, Bradwynne heard Seigi say that it was an exceedingly high secret, which should be only known to them two (and, by the pledge, him also) and Magi Heart, but not Vermillion. He wondered why should Vermillion not know about the thing, and he wanted to know more about what was transpiring between this circle of acquaintances, when Roland suddenly came in and, before taking note that he was expecting him to be outside the room, commanded him to be there. Bradwynne was being torn between hearing every conversation in the room and obeying the orders of the superior, and he did not like it. But remembering Weiss' words, he just offered a guards' salute and saying, in broken words, "Y-yes... my l-lord..." before moving slowly towards the door, and opening it. He decided on entering the room, not that because he would not hear a thing within the room from the hallway, but it offered him an opportunity to act when the next visitor would be uncooperative. He would just use the small hole in the door to see who was about to go in. It was the advantage of knowing every nook and cranny of the manor, he knew exactly what to do within any room. But there's always a nemesis when he was moving out of any room.

Lost in thought, Bradwynne opened the door, and was about to walk out when his iron boots tripped over the threshold of the door, his body and face falling flat on the ground. Now dang it. He was always equipped with chain mail when he was going the rounds within the manor as he only used full armor outside the manor to scare intruders off, and he forgot to change armors that time. He was always up on his feet after a trip with medium equipment, but he could not do so while wearing armor. He was struggling to stand up, but up to no avail until after a few times and he was able to stand up and close the door. Even until then Bradwynne's face was blushing due to embarrassment, but at least he had heard Roland's final question before closing the door. And it was so loaded with information that he needed to analyze it all in the light of the new informaion.

Maybe it was a blessing in disguise that he was really clumsy and always fighting the threshold of every door of every room within this blasted mansion, or else he would not have received this line about what Roland knew. And so, he was trying to contemplate what he had heard from Roland, if it would help him, while keeping watch on the hallway.

@Roland Rutledge @Seigi @Alphabet Chocolate

 

Well, it seemed like Seigi got Alphabet on her... side? The hero-girl wasn't quite sure. @Alphabet Chocolate was weird. There was still so much Seigi didn't know and... in fact. Screw it, the orange-hair learned all she wanted to know for now. Alphabet was connected with Wendy, Vermillion, and a bunch of others. Next time she would meet Wendy again she could simply ask for more clarification about the roses.

"Oh! Oh, I'll give her the greatest and bestest cake, ever. The hard-to-swallow-alone-variant!" God. It nearly felt bad to say things like these. It was like fooling a 5-year-old but not really lying. "Just make sure to keep it between us, right?" And with that, Seigi got praised by her.

That felt, honestly, kinda good. Really good? When was the last time anyone honestly complimented Seigi except herself? In fact, this was kind-of sudden that the orange-hair could feel a few tears welling up, except...

...with the face-less armor, @Bradwynne , doing its own comedy gag and @Roland Rutledge literally cutting into the little chat they had like an adult taking away some children toys, the entire vibe/mood suddenly changed! As if everything became ten-times more serious.

"Eh..." For a moment, Seigi was at a loss for words. What the Duke spoke made sense. He knew. A lot? But... theoretically... "AAAAAHHHHH!" Why? Why? Why? Alphabet Chocolate was such a random wild card that it was hard for Seigi to make any valid conclusions. The girl hated guessing. Ther was only one truth, her truth. Justice.

And justice was direct, frontal, honest, nice, and warm. Right. "ALPHABET!" Seigi yelled out once again as she pointed her finger at her nose. "Ignore this tactless guy for a second who just barges into girl-talk like no one's business!" She nodded. If it had come so far, could as well go that extra mile too, huh?

"You said you don't like how We- Magi acts and all, right? Well. That's because of Vermillion! I don't like how Magi acts, either. She used to be a lovely, sweet, and cool girl. Way more awesome than me! So I'm pl- GOING to beat Vermillion up at the surprise party I am throwing! You're in?" If Magi was on Seigi's side, then surely Alphabet could too? "It might... hurt... you... but we're friends! I'll definitely protect you, too." The orange-haired girl added as her face moved once again closer to Alphabet's. Was it do or die now?

@Alphabet Chocolate blame Roland for all that is happening asdf.
@Roland Rutledge I blame you
@Bradwynne Hi.

 

Alpha had a pair of shifty, suspicious eyes. She had the decency to look sheepish at Roland's sudden onslaught, a taut smile pulled over her face as she internally fretted as to what to do. Beads of cold sweat dripped down and her lips were pursed. She found the corner intersection between the walls and ceiling to be of strong interest right now and was dutifully examining it, totally not trying to avoid Roland's inquisitive interrogation. The man was like a Crusader singing 'Deus Vult' as he burst into people's houses and began asking questions like: "Did you sleep with the milkman?"

Yes. That was exactly what Roland was at the moment and she briefly wondered if this was a shared feature between all members of royalty. As far as she knew, anyone of noble standing immediately gained weird psychedelic, supernatural powers (like making people faint on command and summoning fire gorillas from Gorilla City and shapeshifting in purple-haired girls) and probably had some brain surgery or whatever that made them more prone to doing the craziest of things. Like asking nonsensical questions.

She was going to keep out of this and feign ignorance (she ain't gonna touch this with a ten foot pole) until he mentioned Seigi. And then Alpha's ears perked up and, without a hint of hesitation, she turned her head at a breakneck speed (she swore she heard a crack from the sudden movement) and regarded Roland with newfound respect. As if she just realized that the man was a valuable informant and an honorable figure instead of some weird best friend of hers that had a hobby in crossdressing and a problem with alcohol. It was like watching a college best friend who watched football and went to strip clubs nightly grew into a managerial businessman with a fancy suit overnight.

She spluttered a bit but then decided to look between Seigi and Roland frantically---she didn't know who she should pay attention to. "Wait, wait, wait what?" her arms were swinging all over the place which was a fine representation of her current state of internal affairs. She looked at Seigi. Then Roland. Then Seigi. Then Roland. And then she looked at the ceiling when it all became to much and the lights above was as fascinating as an elephant hitching a ride on a turtle's back. "Seigi?" she whimpered out, smoke practically wafting out her ears as her brain-engine decided to crash like a Windows 64 error message.

She didn't notice as Bradwynne carefully left the room to keep watch in the hallways.

And then Seigi, being as Seigi-awesome as usual, burst in with the most profound set of words Alpha had ever heard. Tears stung her eyes as she nodded viciously, practically rocking her head back and forth like a 90's grunge rock metal band goth kid. "Yeah! Come back when you stop being a part of the male establishment thing!" Alpha said passionately, having no idea what she was talking about (she heard similar words being spoken on the news once and she felt like it was somewhat related to the situation at hand).

She was completely enthralled, excited that Seigi considered them to be part of some sort of group together. Like a club or a sorority or something. The Girl's Talk Club: exclusive only to the cool kids. She refused to admit that Roland was kind of, sort of, a little bit, cool. But that was to be expected when the man rode on horseback with weapons slung over his back and charged in like an action-movie protagonist into the fray.

Unfortunately, Seigi seemed determined to burst her little bubble with her next statement and Alpha immediately blanched at the heretical words. "I-I mean...sure, Magi's kinda...y'know," she slowly made vague motions with her hands, discomfort apparent on her face at the thought of the snickering Magi Heart openly threatening her. She wasn't completely, totally dumb (she preferred the term misunderstood) and, even if she liked to ignore whatever she didn't like, it was difficult to forget that haunting expression on the girl's face. But Magi wouldn't actually hurt her---they were friends. It was just a phase. Like an edgy emo teen phase that everyone seemed to go through half a century prior (during her grandparents' generation). It'll pass.

"But Vermy wouldn't ever ever ever ever ever do anything mean to us," she insisted, hoping that these two would see the light (if not, then she'd forcibly open up the curtains, shove them through the window, enlist them in an astronautical program, and then open the airlock so they could bathe in the glowering light of the sun). "She's like...the best! Like, the bestest of all the best of the best friends or a supermom or something! Beating her up is like," she struggled to find a decent comparison. "Sucker punching an angel who is disguised as a philanthropist that has the face of the hottest, sweetest boy band singer with the biggest heart! It's like kicking a puppy or telling your mom that the food she just made wasn't the most delicious meal in the world or telling your grandpa that you're not five anymore and you don't like that disgusting plate of grits n' curry he made with love!"

She teared up. "Ooooh, I love you too Sei! You and Rudolf and everyone! But don't worry! Roses are the newest fashion trend, y'know? Everyone's wearing them! Icy and Celes and literally everyone! I'll get you one too if you want, Seigi!" she offered and then reached out to pat Roland on the head. "And okay, Vermy might've accidentally killed you and everything but it was a total misunderstanding! She just doesn't like guys, y'know? I understand her; cooties and everything are dangerous! I mean, my real life mom gave me a vaccination shot for that already but Vermy ain't got no immunity for them nasty germs!" she gave an exaggerated shiver, hoping to present a reasonable case to the apparently punch-happy duo. "You'll see! And then we can all go and help cure Seigi of whatever it is!"

The last statement, for some odd reason, seemed to fill Alpha with dread as she remembered her friend's predicament. And she didn't know why.

@Roland Rutledge - how dare u interrupt girl time
@Seigi - ONE PUNCH GIRL!
@Bradwynne - time out corner

 

Bradwynne was standing at the wall near the door of the room, contemplating about all what had been said within that room while keeping watch of the hallway as meticulously as possible without disrupting his chain of thoughts. Of course, as one of the guards of the manor, he needed to guard it and the Duke himself from any intrusion or harm, now that the situation had escalated beyond their control since they had in custody one who seemed to know all about the hierarchy of the group of people that were infected by a Dissonance-like power, so irresistible that, not only they could not resist the power, they seemed to have embraced that power in their arms. This was the most insidious kind of power, since not only were their lives in the real world were in danger, they might be endangering the whole Terrasphere... heck even the real world with their actions. And, as he heard that Seigi wanted to stop this person called Vermilion, and as he knew Seigi's reputation as a very veritable hero amongst all those who sat down in that meeting about taking down Titanius by word of mouth of the other people there, this Vermilion person was up to no good. And so the web of the Dissonant influence had widened beyond what he had thinking all along, and it was so dizzying that he was almost about to puke. He did not realized it yet, but this thought dawned on him. That this monster called Titanius...

That this monster called Titanius, with the pestilence that it caused within the whole Western Astorea, with its numerous death counts, and what seems to be its immensity that was perfectly supported by its great power, was just a pawn in this whole scheme of things regarding the origins of Dissonance and the god that made all this: Nyarlieth. And they could face something much more dangerous than Titanius, including this Vermilion person, in the near future. And it might be inevitable that they would have to face the ones they matter the most in the near future. And so, not only he should prepare physically, mentally and morally for this series of interactions, but also emotionally. He should need to stifle his emotions when someone who mattered to him dearly would become one of the hurdles in his drive to save both the Terrasphere and the real world from the horrors of Dissonance. He would, and should, fight them, with all of his might and precision, as him being swayed easily by his heart would harm not only him, but his companions, and might become detrimental to their progress.

Maybe that was why in that meeting of the heroes against Titanius and monsters like it in the near future, Des Weiss advised him to be patient in all things, and seek guidance before he would act. Such impatience in this kind of situation would spell danger to every person he would go with, and so he should always think before he would act. And this order by the Duke was a test in his patience. He wanted to hear more about this problem regarding Vermilion, but since the Duke ordered him to guard the hallway, he had no recourse but to do it. Maybe it was all for the best.

And so, putting all his sensory skills into practice, he then scanned the hallway diligently for any threat that might enter this area. Every unnecessary detail in the area would be viewed by him as suspicious, for he knew the extent of the threat that was looming in this manor. They had one of Vermilion's lackeys in the house, and the Duke was never in good terms with that person, and so Vermilion might send some help her way to free her from their grasp. The Duke needed her there as much as he was until all information had been extracted, and so he would guard this hallway and the room behind him with all his might.

@Roland Rutledge @Seigi @Alphabet Chocolate