[OP-F4] admit it, you're all here for the puppy COMPLETE!

[XWuZHeAR 0]

Over time the name of X had begun to fade away... The name of he the performer, he the wolf tamer, and he the fist fighter. This great disappearance has occurred due to a long sleep brought on for unknown reasons. The boy slept soundly in the branch of a tree closest to the ground with his familiar curled up on his lap against his stomach. All in the virtual wilderness was quiet here, almost too peaceful however this was not the reason for this month long hibernation. The young man had his signature guitar out of his inventory leaning up against the tree with in reaching distance. The beautiful silver engraved string instrument shinned in the rising sunlight with an almost orange glow. the wind then gently blew cool air through the boy and pup's hair moving almost in sync wit the leaves on the branches over head. the boys hand had then slipped off the branch and dangled towards the ground below unraveling just three inches of his hand wraps letting the loose bandage flow with the wind. In this exact spot the boy has been for the entire duration his absence. Forever resting dreaming of glorious and despairing things he will not remember upon awakening. The animal also in deep sleep upon his lap has begun to whimper the softest of cries just barely audible over the flowing winds for he missed his master dearly more than anyone else in the entire game. At just the exact moment this shriek of loneliness reaches the boys inner ear a simple twitch of the index finger and thumb is visible on the dangling hand. All seeming in one fluid motion the wind begins to pick up...

for today Aincrad has a player returning...

Edited June 1, 2016 by XWuZHeAR

[Macradon 0]

Walking on yet again the 4th floor. Macradon only remembered this place as the place where he soloed another field boss. He wasn't too attached to these floors other than the first where his shop was. 'Why am I even here' he asked himself in his mind, still thinking about why on the 4th floor when he could be grinding and farming elsewhere. He had been completing so many different quests, why was his mind taking him here of all places. 'Oh well ... better just wander around for a bit' he thought as he would get out into the snowy scenery. He would take his first step onto the cold snow and as his foot touched the ground beneath the snow he remembered 'This is why I hate this floor' he said as the cold was annoying for a person like him, and when he didn't have any clothing other than his starting clothing, he would just freeze. He was wearing his normal attire as always, the beginner clothing, never changed it to anything else, not because he didn't want to but because he couldn't find anyone who would make him some clothes he wanted. He would be wearing his armor on top of the clothing. His sword was still in his inventory just to make it easier to wander around without weight on the back. He would have it at ready if anything should jump at him. As he walked he noticed something or someone, just laying there with a beast on top of him. Neither of them seemed hostile so he would just walk over to see if the someone was ok. "Uhm, excuse me? It's a bit dangerous to sleep out here" he said as he was approaching the person. 

[Azide 0]

Azide dabbed at his face with the sleeve of his coat and was only mildly surprised to see that the snowflakes remained frozen and intact; this particular floor was notorious for its harsh temperatures, after all. Still, the nearly unbroken cover of white gave the place a picturesque appearance, and made it a somewhat popular place to be for those who could stand it.

Although he made the occasional visit for that very reason, he'd arrived here today with the intent of paying a visit to a certain shop. His teeth chattered bitterly like one of those wind-up toys, and he wondered how anybody could consent to living here for any extended period of time.

A jet of frigid wind sent snow streaming into the air around him, and made his jacket flutter about in the chilly breeze. But more interestingly, as the wind picked up, it brought with it the sound of an awfully familiar voice...

[XWuZHeAR 0]

Around in the snowy forest winds picked up as if to signify some sort of warning rather than welcoming. X has been asleep for around a month or two now with no logical reason apparent. then suddenly the sound of snow compacting under a players boot broke the silent and peaceful atmosphere almost as much as the wind did. X was sleeping with his hood over his head that is until the wind blew it back revealing his young looking face. The pup upon his lap shivered for just a moment seemingly out of character for a husky or wolf breed.

... what the hell am i doing here?... i thought as if my brain struggled to move as if it needed to stretch after being asleep for so long. I tried to move but my body resisted disregarding my brains command. just then i heard the voice of a player... something about it being dangerous? What time is it? and how did this player get into my room? wait am I... even in my room?

Now is not the time for pondering questions such as these i need to wake up to go play at a show today. However no matter how hard i struggled and tried hard all i could manage to do was twitch my dangling finger a little. I then quickly thought up an idea and then with out letting another thought interfere i acted. with all my willpower i managed to make a fist activating the martial arts skill which involuntarily flexed all the muscles in my arm and dragged me to the ground.

Upon hitting the snowy grounds I along with my familiar immediately were greeted by a strong wind and waking up, me frantically saying "Where the hell am I? What am i doing here?"

I then checked my menu to see the time to tell if i was late for my show or not. Within a first glance i saw i wasn't late to the show, but within a second glance i realized I've been asleep for almost two months.

"What the hell happened?" I said searching the area for an answer.

[Azide 0]

He shook his head- it would be ridiculous and even arrogant to entertain such a thought. The idea that he could recognize something as obscure as the faintest of whimpers... at best could be chalked up as wishful thinking, and at worst implied a certain level of delusion. So perhaps he was a crazy man, as he could have sworn that the soft mewling reminded him of a certain lupine-esque looking pup. 

How long had it been since he had last seen or heard from X, the jokester of Square One? They hadn't spoken in a very long time, to say the least. Could the little miscreant perhaps be hiding somewhere nearby? It was a curious thought, however unlikely. Being an arctic floor, it was a safe bet that there were many wolves scampering about, whimpering and howling up and down the hillsides. But then again, he had never heard any of those mindless mobs whimper quite like that.

If there existed only the slightest chance of finding X somewhere around here, he supposed he could humor the possibility and have a look around. With a last glance at the time, he adjusted his course and began to head upwind, towards the source of the sound.

[Macradon 0]

"What happened? I don't know, maybe you feel asleep" he said as he would take a quick glance at this boy. He was sitting down with his familiar, something he hadn't seen in a long time, his own familiar as well. "You know it's dangerous to fall asleep out in the wild. First off the mobs out here, second off the PK'ers who can just move up to you and kill you" he said. It would be a shame if anyone were to be killed that way. He would think about it, what was someone doing out here in the snow only with his familiar, not even a single friend to guard him while he was sleeping. It seemed like this certain someone had been sleeping for quite a while. He was still unsure why anyone would fall asleep out here in the cold, but he would just shrug it off.

[XWuZHeAR 0]

I fell back now in the snow as my pup tackled me back with surprising strength licking my face quite excessively due to our long time away from each other consciously. I then opened my menu again in dis-belief. As I just now noticed the person who found me, after explaining the dangers of sleeping in the wild my first instinct was to laugh however this was overcome by the pure shock I had after looking at the date. Hey you! What does the date on your menu say? I asked thinking maybe my menu could have gotten glitched some how. After a few split seconds of drive by thoughts I decided to check the locations and level of my friends next on my menu. Shockingly they were now higher than me, but i realized on the tracker screen one was near. One who also disappeared for some time although i don't think like this. Bring him here. I ordered my dog to do so after i pointed at the name Azide on my friends list. Maruchan then ran off into the distant forest to do as I told while i looked over at the rising sun. Hey guy... do you recognize my guitar over there at all? I asked the player who had found me really just wondering if my fame has died out by now and if i would have to start back up again.

[Azide 0]

The morning sun filtered through the edge of the forest, painting the fresh sheet of snow as if it were a newly opened canvas. Rays of warm light came streaming through the forest's frozen branches, making long shadows of ancient gnarled trees flicker and dance in the calm breeze. 

As he approached the outskirts of the quiet woods, the unmistakable patter of footsteps caught his ear, and made him take cover behind the base of a wide trunk. On instinct, his hand had naturally made a move towards the grip of his rapier, much to his annoyance. "I'm not exactly in the best form at the moment..." he quickly reminded himself. Months of disuse had done a number on those practiced movements required by the elegant weapon, and he did not wish to find out the extent of the damage just yet.

Whatever it was, the scampering had made short work of the distance between them, and he could tell that it would soon be within view. Azide exhaled slowly, wishing to keep his as low of a profile as he could manage, and watched in silence as wisps of frozen vapor trailed from his pale lips. 

Finally, the figure slowed, and he guessed that the creature must have caught his scent. He poked his head out from behind the aged oak and saw that his worries had been over nothing- not far from his refuge, he spotted a wolfish dog which paced around with deliberance, and every so often would stick its nose into the ground. 

He smile and shook his head as the gears began to spin; it was none other than Maruchan- the dog that had tagged along with X at the guild's first and final outdoor excursion. Leaving the safety of his wooden cover, Azide stepped out into the open and eyed the dog with a look of calm satisfaction. "So, I take it X must've sent you to find me," he remarked, his eyes drifting to the creature's footprints up ahead. He nodded, and gestured towards the direction from which Maruchan had arrived from. "Come on. Let's get you back home, little guy." 

[Macradon 0]

"The date? The same as yours I presume" he would say, confused if he didn't know the date based from the menu.
The boy pointed at the guitar and asked if he knew or heard about it. Well he didn't, he'd been away from the main settlements for a while, so if this guy was famous, he wouldn't really know. He was unsure of what to answer as it might hurt him if he's an artists. Though he didn't want to lie either so he just had to go in with what he knew. "Uhm ... no. I haven't seen nor heard about it before" he said hesitantly. Maybe he got famous in the mean time where Macradon wasn't with everyone, maybe he was a big shot until he

[XWuZHeAR 0]

The rising sun made the snow glow as if it was actually on fire instead of frozen. The player said the date on his menu was the same as mine so that meant this is all real, I've actually slept here for almost two months. Maruchan has probably run into Azide by now and should be on his way back already. I then pulled myself off the ground using the tree branch i had been sleeping on. Then I heard the player said he didn't really recognize my guitar at all. Well i suppose that's to be expected. Looks like im starting from the bottom again. I brushed the cold snow off myself and picked up my guitar to store it back in my inventory. However instead when i picked it up my hands just sorta began to act on there own and began playing music. This music echoed all through out the forest as the wind picked up with it only carrying the sound further rather than dampening it. Finally i got my hands under control and put the guitar into my inventory. It's been along time so yeah... I said to the player as I shook the rest of the snow off me.

[Azide 0]

"Wow, so you really are here after all," called Azide as he came to a sliding stop. Bits of snow were sent flying into the air as dug his heels into the ground in a timely manner. Aside him, the wolf-dog Maruchan emerged from the fringes of the forest. As it turned out, the creature was incredibly apt at maneuvering in the snowy terrain, and in fact he had struggled to match its relentless pace towards the end of their run.

He greeted the dark-haired rascal with a soldier's salute. The boy's tendency to aggravate him beyond measure had not quite been lost to time, although his case was certainly helped by the simple fact that he'd missed the jokester on some level. A crazy level that he found very questionable indeed, but an existent one nonetheless. "It's been a long time, X."

His eyes drifted over to the other player standing beside his former guildmate. "Are you a friend of his?" he asked, wearing his standard politician's smile. "In any case, I'm Azide. A pleasure to meet you on this most snowy day."

[Macradon 0]

"Huh ... me?" he asked. 'Of course its' me, idiot, there's no one else here' he thought and snapped back to the conversation. "I'm no real friend, I barely just met him, literally" he said with a smile, though he was answered wit ha greeting, he could not just stand back. "The pleasure is mine, I'm Macradon". Macradon was freezing in this cold snow weather, he wasn't wearing any comfortable clothes, only the starter clothes and his armor. It was cold, all this steel on his body. Though he had been on the 4th floor a couple of times, it was still difficult to get used to this cold weather. 'How can he ... I don't even know his name' he thought and quickly turned to the musician. "I'm sorry for not introducing myself! I'm Macradon, as you just heard" he said to the boy.

[XWuZHeAR 0]

I looked back as maruchan came to me and i scooped him up in my arms as he barked in my face still very excited to see me. Following was Azide who i half expected not to actually be there since he had disappeared prior to my coma. However the question still remained where the hell did he go? Well Azide aren't you quite the sight for well rested eyes? The guilds gone to hell since you've left I'm sure you already discovered, after it disbanded I kept helping the lower leveled players when i could; not sure if i can say the same for Rebekah and that psychopath. It actually was true, i did hang around the town of beginnings a lot even though my shop is on floor ten. The player who had found me had spoken up and finally said his name which was macradon which i thought i had heard at first macro dong but thankfully that wasn't the dudes actual name. Name's X not sure how to explain you finding me here, But if the date on the menu is true that means I've been asleep here for almost two months.

[Azide 0]

Azide scratched his nose and looked off to the side for a brief moment, before returning his gaze to X. His eyes twinkled to an almost unnatural degree as he spoke, and he raised his hands in front of him with a shrug. "That sounds like quite the story, X. Funny how much difference a few months can make, isn't it?" he asked, lifting a hand to meet the crook of his neck. Certain feelings had glazed his eyes as he'd turned from X's sight- these feelings swirled about in his head, mixing together in ways he didn't enjoy. "Anyway..." he chimed, "it's good to see you again- although I don't like the sound of a two month 'sleep'." A slight tilt of the head and a raise of his brow served to express his concerns. He would have to read up on the phenomena at some point, if they didn't get to the bottom of it by the end of the day.

Doing his best to maintain the chipper facade, he turned his attention back to the boy who had introduced himself as Macradon, and offered the player a firm shake of hands. "I don't mean to sound condescending, but it can be a bit dangerous to travel this floor alone- if not because of the many mobs, then because of the storms." He craned his head up so that his eyes gained a full view of the sky, and watched as the snowfall began to grow heavier. Around them, the wind howled fiercely in the distance, and he could feel the ghost of a once-powerful gale creeping up on them in a frigid prowl. "I think it would be a good idea for us to travel together for the time being. My friend X here always seems to have a few interesting adventures at the tip of his tongue, so I'm sure we won't be getting bored. What do you say?"

[Macradon 0]

'Huh ... two months. Maybe he was a big shot when I was out training solo' he thought as he had been away for a couple months more for his solo training, which didn't go great but it happened. He was surprised anyone could sleep that calmly in a game like this, he could've been killed, but luckily no one were to get him. He wasn't even sure how long he had been away on his training, but he did not remember any talk about X with his shiny guitar before or after his solo journey. "Two months, huh. So that's why I haven't heard about you" he said. "I've been out solo training the last half year, so you could still be remembered, just not by me" he said to get his feelings up again, so that he maybe still had a chance to get recognized as the artist he probably was. But then the other one would speak. "Oh you shouldn't be afraid of me getting down out here. The storm really wouldn't get to me." he said with his light cloth and steel plate. It was true that the storm out here was violent, but that didn't mean that Macradon wouldn't be able to stand it. 

[XWuZHeAR 0]

Azide seemed confused when i said i just took a two month sleep and to be honest i am very surprised im not feeling... emotions right now i actually think i may be drugged. ah no wait its a game; not like anyone can just stick a needle in me while passing by or slip something into my drink. Still how am i so calm about everything? Is it because the game had such a huge psychological impact i didn't realize made me think this is no big deal. Well either way i feel fine about it. For now anyways. Ah adventures right, right adventures, adventures I mumbled as i patted my pockets and flipped through my map which for some reasons had an insane markings of difrent locations i had no idea what meant. There's a skull and cross bones mark i put here but cant remember why! It looks cool lets go check it out. I proposed seriously not think about why its a goddamn skull and cross bones. It looks like i was searching for something before whatever the hell happened actually happened. Due to all the other crazy markings on my map i spotted something else. Wait! this ones a red skull and crossbo- NO wait! This one has a red skull and crossbones, flames, and a very long warning note i don't want to read... lets go check it out!

[Azide 0]

There was something to be admired in the young man's resilience, even in the face of his own subtle rejection. It reminded him of his earlier days in Aincrad- the sort of bravado that lived within every aspiring hero of this world. In many ways, it resembled the youthful vigor that so often guided the hearts of youth all across the world. There was a certain allure of independence, and even rebellion, amongst these teenagers and young adults. 

With this in mind, he decided to approach from a different angle. "You're right- I have full confidence in your capabilities, and I'm sure we're all aware of the insulating properties of light cloth and steel," he began, his words laced with a tongue-in-cheek-ness. "So instead, I ask you to join us as a friend. Perhaps you have some interesting stories to entertain us with while we travel, or have a few fancy techniques you could show us." 

He turned to X, who by now was espousing a list of various sites in which he'd held interest- all of which had been marked with various variations of skulls. Taking the chance to express his concern, he scratched at his head and looked at his old comrade appraisingly. "Before we go diving headfirst into the deep end, I'd just like to say that I'm far from peak condition at the moment- the only weapon of use on my possession is but a basic dagger, and my armor is most definitely outdated."

[Macradon 0]

As the man pointed out the light cloth and steel plate Macradon could only reply "Well yeah ... I haven't had any time or any luck finding someone to sew me some new clothes ... all I have is my armor I forged" he said as the cold steel wasn't really something good to wear in these conditions, but he had done it before and he would not be scared to keep on going. He was freezing indeed, but that was not holding him back. X began thinking about places to go, this might be something good. 'He knows about adventures, then this may actually be entertaining' he thought as he would smile of the thought of a short adventure after his solo training, now with someone else than him and his thoughts. 
Macradon would hear the man talking about his dagger, that it was still a basic dagger, Macradon could do something about it. "If you haven't already contacted someone to get you a better dagger, I could stand available for that job as I am a blacksmith" he would respond to the talk about the dagger. "Though for armor, I'm not the one to come to" he would say as armor wasn't something he did anymore, he was more into the doing of weapons, as he'd been doing that for quite some time.

[XWuZHeAR 0]

More and more i scrolled through my maps of not only this floor but others, for some reason i have tons and tons of markers placed that i don't remember placing like ever. I ignored the two players before me as they discussed armor i think as i kept on reading all these notes I've placed on my map. It seems I've been extremely busy looking for something but i don't remember what. Ha dagger? What ever happened to the rapier not that I care as a fist fighter which no one seems to want to do. I'm just wondering wasn't it a perfect? I asked azide since after being in a guild together you'd think i'd know what he used. I'l be honest I main fist fighting for reasons other than the hype or because I'm a suicidal idiot. That aside it doesn't matter what you fight with just hit the damn target and you'll be ok; besides I'm gonna be there so that's already a guaranteed win since my duel record is flawless. I said jokingly but then i thought about it and realized I've literally never lost a duel even to ariel before I even became a fist fighter. 

[Azide 0]

The chestnut brunette slid a hand to the fringes of his brown locks, and brushed the stray strands from his eyes. "I have no doubt that you would make a fine dagger, but my order is currently being processed by another Mack, coincidentally." His fingers moved to grasp his chin, and he eyed Mackrodon with a look of approval. "Nonetheless, I appreciate the offer. And who knows? Maybe someday you'll get a message from me, giving you a heads up that I'll be stopping by for another request."

Under the old system, he had kept not one, but two rapiers on hand. In everyday situations, he'd preferred a bleed enhancement to clear the average mob. At the same time, he'd also carried a paralyzing blade for the occasional, more challenging, opponent (whether that opponent were another player, or a menacing boss). It was not unthinkable that he should do the same in the future, though it was an idea which merited further consideration. 

Catching X's mention of his old rapier, he gestured with an open palm to the sheathed sword at his hip. "If you're talking about this, I haven't gotten rid of Quantum Slicer, it's just too classy to leave back at the lab. Still, I had a bit of difficulty readjusting after my absence, so I decided I'd start fresh with a dagger." Azide folded his arms across his chest and began a methodical tapping with the digits of one hand. "Oh? I suppose that if the man who's never lost a duel is on our side..." he lilted, recalling the fluke of a first-hit duel in which X had narrowly defeated Ariel, "then we have nothing to worry about. You can count me in."