(OP-F1) <<Unbroken>>

[Aeternum 0]

Aeternum had found a tower in the middle of the woods. Upon investigating it, he discovered a ladder and climbed to the top, eager to see the view. That is why he now sits on the ledge, legs dangling over, and observes a clearing not to far away. Aeternum blinked rapidly, adjusting his eye to the fading light that would soon be night, and took off his eye patch, humming a pleasant song. It had been a while since he had relaxed, and it felt nice.

Unsheathing his blade and setting it down, propping it up against his side, he said aloud, "The view is magnificent." And indeed it was. The trees, with all of their vibrant colors, slowly darkened until, at the horizon, they were simply black silhouettes. The sky was a mix of purple, blue, and pink, with light pink clouds here and there.

Aeternum smiled, at least he was able to enjoy the sights, and not be serious like some of the other players. This game had not broken him yet.

That is when IT dawned upon him.

Looking down, he realized just how high off of the ground he was. Basically hissing, he pushed himself backwards, landing in the center of the tower. He clutched his sword, breathing heavily. This was bad, really bad. Crawling over to the ladder, he looked down, and then regretted it. He couldn't climb down now, he was scared. A faint whimper escaped his lips.

[Piers 0]

Piers walked around a forest on Floor 1, despite the dangerous possibilities, in need of thinking alone. He felt really embarrassed with the way his fighting skills went with his first boar. He felt depressed at the loss of his master. The only good feeling he'd felt this whole first week was a lust... but that was never too satisfying in the end. The butler ran a hand through his raven hair, bangs falling back in place, before noticing a tower over the rest of the tall trees. Curiosity took over and Piers found himself nearing the tower in no time.

 

He entered and noticed there was nothing of true interest inside. Piers almost turned around but noticed a ladder and headed towards it, dress shoes clicking on the ground and echoing with every step. He glanced up, adjusting his glasses, and saw the boy peering down, emerald eyes meeting the other's.

 

"Do you require assistance?"

 

The butler asked aloud, adjusting his glasses again. He wondered why the boy was up there or why he couldn't just climb down the ladder, but it didn't matter. Just in case he needed another player by his side, or so he thought it was a better idea to have one, with him while heading back. Besides the situation was quite interesting. More stories to tell later.

[Aeternum 0]

Aeternum stared at the player for several moments before shaking his head rapidly. "N-no. I'm just fine. Enjoying the view, you know?" Mentally, Aeternum growledd, did he really just say no? He opened his mouth to speak, but froze as he, once again, caught a glimpse of the forest below. He drug himself across the floor and huddled against a short wall. He sighed, knowing he might be up here a while.

Eventually, he spoke, saying to the newcomer, "What brings you here? And also, a pleasure to meet you. Call me Joyce." Suddenly, he slapped his face, not hard, and checked for the eye patch. Realizing it wasn't there, he opened his inventory, desperately searching for it. It wasn't there. Looking around in panic, he went to where he had sat, finding it dangling halfway over the edge.

Snatching up the patch, he hastily put it on before returning to his spot by the wall, prepared to listen to the player once more.

[Piers 0]

Piers frowned at the boy's response. Obviously he was lying with the way he stuttered but Piers only shrugged. He followed the boy and climbed the ladder, standing after he got to the second level, hands in the pockets of his pants. Piers glanced at the view, it was indeed beautiful. He'd seen better but it still looked amazing nonetheless. 

 

"Quite the view, indeed."

 

The butler paused before speaking again, tapping his chin in thought before bringing the hand back down into a pocket.

 

"The tower intrigued me. I thought I'd find something different, but it wasn't a complete loss coming here I guess."

 

Piers shifted his gaze to Joyce, wondering where the eyepatch had come from. Oh well he'd find out sooner or later.

 

"I'm Piers, it's a pleasure to meet you as well. Now are you sure you don't need help? I could get you down from here. Like that story where the princess is rescued by her knight... Ah yes, Rapunzel. How about it princess?"

 

He bowed, placing a hand over his heart while greeting himself. Piers flipped his bangs to the side and smirked while joking with the boy. He chuckled lowly and shook his head to indicate he was only joking. The butler held his hand out to Joyce as an offer to help him once again.

[Shinex 0]

The wind blew causing the trees to rustle. Shinex was just lying down on the branch of a tree. He was napping. I never thought I'd come to the forest again. Shinex would think to himself. He shivered thinking about his experience here. Those Little Nepents were vicious. Shinex got it off his mind.

 

In the past, Shinex was pretty slow. He struggled in combat and struggled in getting gear. The quest Secret Medicine of the Forest was by far a nightmare for Shinex. The mobs he faced scared him for days. He nearly died a few times. That's what scares him the most. He's gain a few more levels and is now struggling again. He currently rests to loosen stress.

 

"I think that's good enough for today." Shinex sat up and looked around. "Oh right! I saw that tower earlier. I didn't even know there was one in the floor." Shinex rubbed his eyes and stared at it. He notice somebody look out of it. "Hm, somebody must be enjoying the view. Now the question is, should I head up there?"

[Aeternum 0]

Aeternum winced at the name, but took the Piers' hand. Standing up, he said, "I have an idea, though I'm not sure it will work." With that, he gestured towards his eye patch, "Perhaps I can use it like a blindfold, which may help on the descent." He took a step towards the ladder, and coughed as he,yet again, saw just how high they were. This sucked, and was frustrating as well.

Aeternum pointed at the ladder, saying uncomfortably, "Would you go first, just in case I fall, you might be able to catch me?" He blushed, feeling too dependant. He also blushed because, in his mind, he saw Piers in shining armor holding Aeternum who, surprisingly, wore a princesses outfit. He looked away, shocked at his own imagination.

[Piers 0]

Piers smirked and complied, heading down the ladder first after helping the boy up. He had no idea what was so bad about heights.

 

"Once I jumped from a two story building. It's not so bad, you know." 

 

Very quickly, after bragging, Piers descended the ladder by climbing halfway and then jumping the rest. After he landed, the butler fixed his tie and brushed off his suit. 

 

"Are you going to jump now? It'll be easier than waiting for you to climb."

 

He held out his arms and winked at Joyce.

 

"I'll catch you. Then we can run away together and live happily ever after in your castle!" 

 

The butler glanced innocently up at the boy and tilted his head, bangs falling in his face. This situation was fairly amusing to him. A different one for sure. He really wanted to know what Joyce would do next since he seemed terrified of heights. Surely the butler catch the boy, not like he had a choice anyways. Well... he did but decided upon catching him already.

[Aeternum 0]

Aeternum followed, having blindfolded himself, and was terrified when he heard Piers yell from far below. Aeternum had frozen, he was alone on this ladder. When he heard Piers say jump, he sighed, thinking: why not? Clinching his teeth, he let go and pused back.

As he fell, he yelled, "If you let me die, I will haunt your castle!" Now, some people see their lives flash before their eyes, but not Aeternum. He vividly saw Prince Piers' and Princess Aeternum's life, and felt the urge to vomit as he fell. What was wrong with him today?

He considered yelling some obscenity at Piers, but refrained.

[Piers 0]

As Joyce jumped, Piers stepped forward and prepared himself. When the boy collided with him, Piers got knocked back but managed to stay on his feet. The butler held onto Joyce tightly bridal style. He turned on his feet and ran out of the tower, into the forest, the boy still in his arms.

 

"Now off we go! I'm sure my trusty steed is to be found somewhere."

 

Piers kept running and stopped after they were a distance from the tower, and gently set Joyce down. The butler noticed they'd run past someone who looked like they'd been relaxing. He then turned back to Joyce and patted the head of the younger male.

 

"I told you I'd catch you. You know, you're the first princess I've seen without a dress. You should probably consult a tailor with that problem."

 

He chuckled, British accent full of humor. Though his eyes shifted over to the mystery player every once in a while. The butler was curious as to who that was.

[Aeternum 0]

Aeternum sighed with relief when he was caught, but was taken aback when Pier started to carry him away. He pulled down his eye patch just in time to see another player, whom he could not recognize while moving. When Piers finally set him down, he coughed, feeling a touch awkward. He looked Piers up and down, deciding that, yes, he did look rather... handsome? Aeternum nodded to him in thanks and said, "Thank you for your 'assistance', even if I might have nearly died.

Aeternum offered his hand, saying in a sing song voice, "Oh Prince! Thank you so much. I was terrified!" Then he remembered the other player, and quit playing around. He looked in the players direction and nervously laughed.

Way to make a fool of himself.

[Shinex 0]

Two guys were in the tower instead of one. One of them looked familiar to Shinex though. The guy with an eyepatch. He remembers seeing someone like that in Square One. "I'm gonna go check that place out." After getting closer, he saw the player with an eyepatch getting carried by the other one. Shinex was lucky he was farther away from the two. He had his mask on and was laughing behind it. He walked up closer to the tower which revealed him. He stared and examine them. "So, I'm assuming you're new?" He was asking the one who carried the other.

[Piers 0]

"It was my pleasure, fair maiden."

 

Piers almost took Joyce's hand, but it seemed the boy had paused, so Piers just shoved his hands back into the pockets of his pants and quit messing around as well. He turned when he heard a voice.

 

"Yes, I'm new. To the game of course. New isn't my name. I'm Piers, pleased to make your acquaintance."

 

The butler bowed out of instinct. When he got back up, Piers fixed his tie and stared at the stranger.

 

"Who might you be? If you don't mind me asking. It seems as if you already know this young man."

 

Piers motioned with his head over to Joyce standing nearby and smirked, flashing pointy teeth.

[Aeternum 0]

Aeternum recognized the player, and grunted. A guild member, of all people. Pleasant. Aeternum backed up a little and, mimicking Piers, bowed in turn. He laughed lightly and said to Shinex, "I presume you saw what just happened? Well, there is nothing wrong with a little role play, right?"

Aeternum felt like an idiot, but also felt like this would be a great story to tell a higher up someday. He felt the blush return, and simply looked at his feet, feeling awkward as hell. Would this hamper any reputation he might of had?

He frowned. Princess Joyce. A lovely nickname, if he was in prison.

[Shinex 0]

Shinex seemed a bit confused on what Aeternum was saying. "What's this about role play?" When seeing Aeternum getting carried down, he thought he fell or something. He never saw those two 'role play anything.' He decided to not ask questions on the events that happened. "Either way, what brings you guys here? I just came here to relax." Shinex pulled down his mask revealing the bottom part of his face. He looked up at the tower which he never saw. Was this thing seriously here since the beginning of the game?

[Piers 0]

"Just a silly joke is all."

 

Piers glanced back at Joyce with a playful and teasing expression at his blushing. Why he was blushing was rather obvious and made Piers want to tilt his head back in laughter. He wondered what was going on through Joyce's head right now that made his so embarrassed and flustered.

 

"I found this poor boy trapped in a tower and brought it upon myself to save him and bring him to safety."

 

The butler blinked idly a few times before crossing his arms. His gaze shifted back to Shinex. 

 

"Mind answering my question? I can't refer to you properly without a name."

[Aeternum 0]

Aeternum sighed, saying uncomfortably, "I had climbed to the top song said tower, and had been enjoying the view until... my fear of heights started bothering me." He smirked, "Then this manly man showed up and, er... rescued me. Almost like I was a maiden in distress." A thought accrued in the back of his head. Perhaps he could join the guild?

Aeternum shook his head, if they ran into each other again, he would bring it up. Returning his focus to what was actually occurring, he said, "Nice to see you... Shi... nex?"

[Shinex 0]

The man next to Shinex's guild mate looks and sounds a bit older than Shinex. He's probably in his early twenties just like me. It's good to see somebody around my age. Aeternum started speaking. To Shinex, he always seemed like that shy fellow. After hearing Aeternum say his name, Shinex looked at the man next to him. "That's my name right there. Now I'd love to know yours." Shinex only remembers Aeternum's name from listening to his other guild members. He's not normally the guy who comes to start conversations. That is until he joined SAO. He's been a little bit better when it comes to talking.

[Piers 0]

Piers rolled his eyes before shaking his head. 

 

"Yes this manly man right here saved the day."

 

The butler pointed to himself before crossing his arms once again.

 

"I'm Piers. So how exactly do you two know each other? Just curious."

 

Piers kicked at a few blades of grass with one of his dress shoes. He was used to making small talk but it was getting a little boring. Though he could admit honestly he was curious about both. The butler always wanted to know about everybody. Especially since in the game he didn't have resources to ask about history, which meant it was up to him to figure things out.

[Aeternum 0]

Aeternum looked at Piers with surprise. Somehow, he had managed to get the guild mentioned without knowing Aeternum's plans. Odd. He laughed and said, "Well, friend, we happen to be in the same guild, Square One. I had seen him once before, and, luckily, was able to remember his name."

Aeternum decided that now was as good a time as ever to try recruiting, but froze as he started to speak. Why? He didn't know, but after a second attempt at speaking, he gave up. Perhaps he was unsure, but about what?