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[PP-F1] True Fear - Uprising Arc: Chapter 3 (Prometheus, Artemis)


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Pick, like the previous few nights had been wandering around the wilderness of the first floor, seeking for players who came out at night with a venomous desire to join him in his cause. He had recruited a few already, and some others that won't be important to him in the future - just henchmen to be completely frank. Pick was looking from either extreme intellects - people who are tactical in combat, or extremely powerful, aggressive players who won't back down from a fight. Pick wanted an assembly of the best of the best, and he knows exactly how to approach the recruitment process. People came out at night - and these people were usually the ones that he would like to recruit. Pick fixed his mask, making sure that it covered his face completely before standing under the direct rays of the moonlight. He was standing on the top of a slope, and as he looked around, there weren't anyone else on there except for the moon as his only companion. It shined down at him, making him appear pitch black to the normal human eye to those underneath him - if there were any individuals.

He chuckled, knowing that his plan had already started. The domination game had already begun, and he was the player controlling the pieces on a chess board. He just needed more pieces, and those willing to over come this world of Aincrad with him. The game was over as soon as it started - Pick was sure of it.

@Prometheus @Artemis

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Prometheus is wandering through the plains after a long day of hunting and gathering. "Whew, That was a lot more work than I thought it would be. I better head back soon. Don't want to die in the middle of the night." He walks back towards the town of beginnings and stops. "C'mon Bubbles, I still gotta buy you a cake." He shouts to a girl in the field of flowers. I swear, I've spent so much col on her, I'm gonna go broke. He pulls up his inventory and removes his sword. It's pretty late too, so we can't just sleep out in the field, not with the PKers out here. He walks back to the girl in the field. "C'mon, It's getting late, we should go." He flicks her in the forehead and chuckles. He looks at her and tilts his head. "Oh Shi..." He turns and runs away. "I'm sorry kiddo, I thought you were daydreaming. Well, at this point would it still be day dreaming?" He stops suddenly and rubs the chin of his helmet.

@Artemis @Pick

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Artemis sighed in boredom, "are you bored Luros, cause I know I am." She blinked at her cat, who only yawned at her. Love you too Luros.  She rolled her eyes in sarcasm and fiddled with a bright yellow flower. Where is that blasted Prometheus? I swear to the gods if we don't come back soon... She trailed off when she heard a very familiar voice and a very familiar nickname. She stood up and waved both of her arms in the air. "What took you so long? I've been waiting for eons!" She shouted back, giving him a small glare as he walked back to her. "Alright, lemme just get-" She stopped mid-sentence when he flicked her on the head. "Why you little ifrit! Come back here!" She ran after him, Ailuros following closely behind her.

Coughing as she made her way to him, she waved a finger in her face. "Flicking is a no-no! I'm only to do that!" She huffed, slapping him lightly on his shoulder. "Don't throw logic into this! I'm one with you yet mister!"

@Prometheus

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It was then that Pick heard some random gibberish coming from insignificant players from down far behind him. Pick slowly turned his head so that only his mask was showing, while the rest of his body was still turned the same way. He didn't need to turn his entire body in order to see what was behind him, and he quite frankly did not feel the desire to do so either. Who would be stupid enough to linger on this floor in the darkest of nights that the first floor was quite renowned for. Pick sighed underneath his mask, keeping his cold, blue eyes staring in the direction of the two players whose words were louder and bigger than themselves. However, they too began to show form: A tiny little girl and a strong looking man who was much bigger in size compared to them. Actually, now that he looked carefully, the man was actually being chased by the little girl, as if the little girl was playing with him. What a grown man, Pick chuckled, realizing that the two players have yet to notice him. Brilliant. He thought - childish, and annoying to be frank. He continued in his own mind as slightly turned his body towards the two players. He was wearing all black, so he would be hard to spot, and it would probably seem like his mask was the only thing that was within his figure in the darkness.

"Haha," Pick chuckled, "Having a fun time in the middle of the night, huh? Do you think this is a good time to be doing something like this?" Pick asked - at that time, he could see the two players fully, and he recognized one of them - the blonde one.

@Prometheus @Artemis

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Prometheus, having initially ignored the shadowy figure, looks at it through the corner of his eye. “Artemis, get behind me.” He takes on a serious tone, one which he had never taken with her before. “Do you think it’s a good time to sneak up on people having fun? Or are you suicidal?” He asks, grabbing his sword. Bubbles hasn’t seen me fight yet, I was hoping it wouldn’t be so soon. He begins to draw his sword and watches the mask, “Any closer and I’ll have to kill you.” He draws his blade fully and points it at him. Bringing his sword arm back and resting the blade on his right bicep, he has officially readied for a fight.

He worriedly looks back at Artemis and thinks for a moment. One wrong move and she’s in danger, I’ll wait for him to attack first. I don’t want to lose her. He swiftly looks back, tightening his grip and standin lower to the ground. “We can fight and one of us can die, or you can tell me why you’re here.” The players fiery eyes full of rage lock on the mans heart.

@Artemis @Pick

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Artemis helped as an Familiar voice echoed through the air. Craning her head towards the figure, she covered her mouth and looked the other way. Holy mother of... he scared the heck out of me. She looked back at the player and squinted at him. He also looks like he came out of a movie I watched. What was it called again..? She scratched her chin. Snapping her hands, her eyes lit up in realization, I remember! It was the Purge! She looked at the masked guy again and sighed. Of course a guy dressed up like he came out of the Purge... somehow encounters us at night. What a flippin’ coincidence. Not taking her eyes off of the stranger, she scooped up Ailuros and blinked rapidly. This is confusing me.

She looked in between Prometheus and ‘the masked dude’ for a good two seconds before massaging her temples with a groan. “Seriously, can you guys stop. Like literally, just stop,” she shook her head and ‘tsked’ them. “Men are so bothersome,” The player muttered, mostly to herself.

@Pick @Prometheus

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Pick stared at the two in silence as he watched the red-eyed man immediately jump into a defensive stance. Pick was observing the two players, and it seemed that one of them was extremely rushed and perhaps not even that clever, however, he seemed ready to fight at all times. Still, it was polite that he decided that he would at least ask him what he was doing before starting a fight. Pick chuckled, making the chuckle loud enough so that the two players can hear it get louder but it was a full laugh - the one thing that he noticed was the fact that the man had stood in front of the blonde girl, as if he was protecting her - no... he was protecting her. "You know, having someone to protect can only bring you down," Pick exclaimed, using his voice changer to make his voice even more creepier than the way that he made his voice deeper. "What if something was to happen to her? She seems like she doesn't want to fight that much, don't you think so? Don't you think - the weak doesn't deserve to survive, while the powerful deserves to." Pick got closer to the man, staring straight at the red-eyed man. Pick didn't know how strong the man was, but it wasn't important at this stage, since he knew that he had already won the battle. He wouldn't dare attack Pick with that blonde-haired girl around, because Pick could literally attack him. It was obvious that he was protecting her at this point, with the fact that he just decided to jump in front of her.

@Prometheus @Artemis

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"You see, I disagree. I have something to fight for. If you want to be a great warrior, you must have a reason to fight." He looks back at Artemis and smiles. "I have something to fight for. I have to keep a promise." He steps forward. "I have a feeling you don't want to fight just yet, you probably also have a plan." He tilts his head and stands straight up. "I used to want to watch the world burn. Because fire is so intriguing. Do you know why fire is intriguing?" He readies himself again. "Fire doesn't care who gets burned. It just goes and destroys everything." He steps forward again. "Look, it's obvious I don't want to fight..." He drops his sword arm and stands up straight, thinking about something. "Neither do you. I may not be the smartest, but if you planned to kill us you would've taken me out by surprising me. Then attacked her head on." He walks forward, staying close enough to put himself between Artemis and danger, and laughs. "But that would've been a mistake. That girl over there, is way stronger than either of us." He sheathes his sword. "So, what do you want?"

@Artemis @Pick

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Artemis blinked at as the stranger spoke. Tilting her head, “then what’s the point of fighting at all?” She mumbled, scratching her chin in thought. “Gah, whatever, you men are weird.” The player side stepped away so she could take a good look at the stranger before massaging the bridge of her nose. “Look, I don’t know what emo phase you’re goig through, but don’t scare people like that. That mask is hella creepy,” She shuddered, glancing in another direction. “If there’s no weak people, then what’s the point of being strong? You’re not even strong anymore if there’s no weak people,” she stated, her brows furrowing. “And don’t act like you were always so strong, dimwit. You were weak at some point in the game too.”

She giggled and coughed seriously right after. “No I’m not... Wait, I mean hell yeah I am! Of course I’m the strongest person right here!” She puffed out her cheeks and straightened her back, causing Ailuros to nearly fall off her shoulder. “Oops, sorry Luros...” she mumbled, scratching behind the cats ears for a few seconds.

@Pick @Prometheus

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"You're into fire? So why are you protecting this girl if the fire that you love so much doesn't care about what it burns, just that it continues to survive through burning and destroying other things?" Pick asked, "And there are some people who would kill without a surprise attack just to watch their victims suffer. I guess that fact is unimaginable, since you don't seem the violent or destructive type. If you are, it's like you are protecting a flower from burning. How pathetic," Pick finished, and that was when he heard the fact that the blonde girl was stronger than both him and the red-eyed player. Pick doubted it, since the man could not tell Pick's levels without him exposing it to him. Pick made sure to never expose anything about him that would make him look weaker, or stronger... his level was not out there. His doubt was confirmed, however, when the girl immediately defended herself with "No I'm not..." Pick smirked under the mask, getting closer to the red-eyed man.

"We are weaker than her? Get out of the way, weakling. It should be her protecting you, not the other way around. I am looking for players who show strength, not worthless players." Pick grunted, standing close to the red-eyed man and looking him straight in the eye with his blue eyes. "Unless you have something to say against that." Pick finished, adding one more word to the sentence, "Weakling."

@Prometheus @Artemis

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Prometheus hears the word and quickly glares at Pick. His chin moves up and he looks down at Pick, clenching his fist. “I may be weaker than her, but that doesn’t mean I just watch her get hurt.” He releases the pressure in his hand and reaches up grabbing the handle of his sword. “Would you like me to show you how much of a weakling I am? I will.” He begins to draw his sword, and lifts up his leg. Releasing the handle, he falls forward, putting his hands on Pick’s chest and pushing with all his might. He turns back to Artemis with the look of sorrow in his eyes and turns back to the masked man.

”Just remember, you started this.” He walks up to the player, now standing over him. “I’ve been fighting all my life, all this game did was make me less aggressive.” He looks back at Artemis and smiles. It was fun while it lasted, but all good things must come to an end. “Remember my promise.” He says, glaring at the player in front of him. “I don’t plan to kill him unless it is necessary.” He says, looking at her again, this time his eyes read “I’m sorry.”

@Artemis @Pick

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Artemis sputtered, “little... flower? I got to hand it to you, you’re terrible with metaphors but okay.” Frowning, she put her hands up in defense, “look buddy, no ones protecting me,” she said, giving a forceful shove of her elbow into Prometheus’s arm. “I’m no damsel in distress nor am I a heroine in some fairytale in y’alls head, okay?”

She scoffed, “as if I, they might Artemis, could get hurt! Puh-lease children, I am untouchable!” She huffed, crossing her arms arrogantly. “Slow down children,” Artemis blinked as she watched things get a little bit too forceful. “Just calm down, put the sword down, and breathe.” She inhaled sharply until she felt like she was going to explode. Exhaling quickly, “see that wasn’t too hard... kind of.” The girl blinked, “hold on, hold on. We can reason, right? Eh? There’s no need for swords and crap.” Shuffling in front of Prometheus, she pressed her finger on his sword and pushed it down, “better? Yup,” she brushed her hands off and sighed. “See, now that wasn’t so hard, right?”

@Prometheus @Pick

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Pick smiled as the man seemed to get angrier when he provoked him. The man seemed as if he was trying to sound smarter than he actually was, and now that Pick realized he was actually quite an aggressive player, Pick could begin to formulate a plan. He was shoved backwards, but he was able to land on his feet although it was quite far from his original position. Pick could care less, though, since no damage had been dealt to him. Actually, now that he thought about it - perhaps it was better if damage had been dealt, because then a battle would have been formed, and Pick would truly test out the two player's skills. The thing that threw something off for Pick, which he thought was really suspicious was the fact that the man had yet to fight him, even though he keeps trying to seem tough. "Be careful there. Let me just remind you. In this game, your strength doesn't translate from real life. No matter how much you push me, if your blades can't do the talking, nothing else will work. Are you strong enough to wield the blade? Or are you just another one of those tough talkers who wishes they were as strong as they talked like they were? Let me tell you... those are the types of weaklings that I love to trample under my feet." Pick backed off a few steps, cautiously looking to lure the man towards him, and show him what truly hid under those enraged eyes of his. Muscles, but no brains... those were actually quite useless to Pick.

"Ah, but that's where you are wrong, misses." Pick exclaimed, politely addressing the girl, showing a hint of the Pick from the morning. "This game is Swords Art Online. Reasoning? Nah, there's no point of that. Real men do their talking with swords, right?" Pick exclaimed, shifting his focus back on the aggressive man. 

@Prometheus @Artemis

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“Artemis head back to the cafe, I’ll either die here or see you there.” He says, reaching up and grabbing his sword off his back. He starts to walk forward, not breaking eye contact with the player in front of him. Prometheus thinks he’s stronger than this player, but, he never lets his guard down. He’d been in too many fights to make that mistake. “Do you have a deathwish or something? I hope you know I plan to either die or win.” He says, pulling his sword to his side, still trying to conceal his true plan to slash downwards, taking the man’s arm off. He gets within range and quickly pulls his sword up. With all the might in his body and all the hate in his heart, he drops the sword, aiming for a blow that wouldn’t be fatal but would be effective. I didn’t go for the kill. What is wrong with me? Am I going soft? This man, did he know the old me? I have to kill him. And I have to make sure it’s painful. “I’m sorry, I am a monster, but I can’t change who I am. All I can do is try to aim for the bad guy.” He apologizes to Artemis, still hoping she won’t hate him.

@Artemis @Pick

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“Wait, what?” Artemis’s eyes went blank for a second as she took the strangers words into consideration. “Well... good sir, if you were a real man— I bet you wouldn’t hide your face like that, hm?” She tilted her head at him, “if you were a real man, hiding behind a creepy old mask would be cowardly. Correct?” The player mused, shrugging her shoulders.

Artemis puffed out her chest and gave Prometheus a pointed look. “Excuse me good sir, I am anything but a lowlife coward. I’m not leaving here! No way, no how!” She huffed, crossing her arms with arrogance. 

“And you!” She turned to the creepy looking guy, “Don’t think you can come in here and talk crap without getting a good beating from good old Artemis!” She poked his chest feverishly. “So I suggest you get out of here before I claw your face off!” Artemis coughed shortly after her fit and gave a small innocent smile. “Thank you!”

@Prometheus @Pick

 

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Pick ignored the comments that the other two players were making. Being on the first floor, these players were definitely not strong, no matter how much they claimed to be. If Pick wanted to fight, he could definitely take at least one of them on, easily, not that fighting was particularly his style, though. Pick smirked, knowing that he had managed to outsmart the two players immediately when the man came forwards. He was rather big in size, which meant Pick should easily be faster than him with his light armor and the speed that came with his small size. As soon as the man had been provoked to take one step forwards, the man managed to distance himself from the girl... just that tiny amount of space would be enough for Pick to squeeze through and attack the man's weak point - his affection for this blonde, little girl whose mouth was too annoying for her own good.

Just like that, he managed to get there, squeezing behind the big individual before looking down at the little girl. "Can you please shut up? Strong players don't talk like a mosquito, you are rather annoying, but it seems that the man behind me wants to protect you. Don't try anything silly... you don't know my strength." Pick exclaimed, addressing both of the players. It was as if they were talking to imitate high-leveled players, but it's not quite working, as the way they talk doesn't fit the first floor. "Now, I'll be going up to the higher floors. Silly boy, you are not a monster. Actually, you are far from it," Pick chuckled, leaving immediately. He thought he had seen potential in the red-eyed man, but he was not a villain. He had previously said that all "he can do is aim for the bad guy". If he wanted to be a good guy, so be it... he can waste the rest of his time in this game protecting a young female while Pick moves on and progresses until he rules the world. He has no use for someone who thinks he is powerful enough to protect someone else without dragging himself down. "Silly boy. We'll probably never meet again after this." He told himself, looking at the moonlight as he distanced himself.

@Prometheus @Artemis

(As far as Pick can tell, Prometheus is not a villain. Prometheus is protecting a little girl, and he also does not have the intelligence that Pick would make an exception for. Unfortunately, Pick does not see a point in him, and will not be attempting to recruit him to his organization.

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Prometheus scoffs and turns to Artemis. “I’m sorry about that, I lose my temper sometimes.” He says, scratching the back of his helmet. He stands up straight and slouches. “I should’ve taken action earlier, I might’ve been able to keep him away from you and keep him under control.” He says. The man only wanted to protect the girl, even if it meant taking or losing a life. He had no fear of death, nor did he have any qualms with killing. He sat down and laughs. “Well what’s done is done. I think the player had some alterior motives, if he wanted to kill us he would’ve.” He says, closing his eyes and taking off his helmet, shaking his head. His fiery eyes focus on the girls eyes, still hoping she didn’t hate him after his childish actions during that confrontation. He looks at the ground and begins to think of everything she could possibly say about him being reckless and dumb and a hot headed ruffian. He sits there and prepares himself for the worst. His eyes shut and he waits. She could say anything and be right, how I was too violent, how I was a childish idiot. She’d be right. She must hate me. I hate me.

@Artemis

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The girl sputtered, “mosquitos?! Why you little..!”  She stopped herself and glared at the man. Breath in and out. “Just... get out of my face already,” she sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. What a jerk. Artemis watched him leave with a frown and turned to Prometheus. “Hard to believe there's idiots like him in the world, right?” She joked meekly, trying to lift the mood.

”It’s alright,” she shrugged. “I had to stop myself from launching my rapier into his forehead...” the girl murmured, scratching her chin. “Now that would’ve been a nice sight to see, huh?” She looked up and grinned at him.

”Nothing can kill me! I am the almighty Artemis!” She huffed, putting her hands on her hips with a sly smirk. “But at least he’s gone, I couldn’t stand the idiot.” She sighed and scratched the scalp of her cat with a faint smile. “So, you want to go out for that cake now? Sounds right about good at the moment.”

@Prometheus @Pick

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