Devin's POV
Not long after the sun began to rise in Alfheim Online, I woke up bright and early, ready to take on the day...well, more or less. My internal clock was kinda out of whack since back on Earth mom got that job that required us all to wake up early and help her get ready to head out.
God, I miss her...
My family had their annoying moments, more times than I'd like to admit in my situation, but that didn't mean I hated them. I just...wish they'd ease up on the rules a bit sometimes. And my brother...who knows what he's up to now? Not only did he join Core for whatever he has planned, but he tried to kill me and Luna back in Jack's world. Could he really just want petty revenge? All I know is that if he joined Core, then to JD, that monster is no more than a means to an end to him.
Rainbow Dash was still out like a light, snoring rather loudly all the while, and knowing how lazy she is from the show, that was a given. I decided to take this time to go for a little walk on the streets of Sylvain, to get a little bit of exercise and clear my head a bit, I've been known to overthink things when I'm deep in thought. I exited our room in the inn and headed out into the streets, and thankfully, not a lot of players are active this early in the morning.
Man, even in the daytime, this place is beautiful...huh? What's that?
I turn to my left and saw a Moogle Shop was set up. In the shop area. As if nothing was wrong. I hoped that no one else could see it, otherwise it would just raise a million more questions that I didn't need right now. I approached the Moogle running the store and he took of me.
"Hello, kupo! Would you like to check out my wares?" the Moogle greeted.
"Sure, just...quick question: how did you get here and can anyone else see you?
"That's TWO questions, kupo, but I'll answer them all the same: first, I came here via a crack in reality, it appeared to my clan and we saw what was beyond it, so now we have shops in all of the towns of this funny world, and second, no one here can see me unless any of them have collected at least one Munny Orb, kupo."
Okay, so basically it's impossible for them to be found out, since Munny only spawns when a Keyblade wielder destroys a Heartless. Good.
"See anything you'd like to buy, kupo?"
I took this time to see what all he had in stock: Potions, Hi-Potions, Ethers, and the like, even an accessory or two, but not everything is here, like Mega-Potions and Elixirs, maybe I need to progress further like in the Kingdom Hearts games?
"Oh! There's one other thing, kupo!" I looked at the Moogle, "We recently started building Keyblade Forges!"
"Keyblade...Forges...?" I asked, confused.
"Yes, for upgrading your Keyblades, kupo!"
Upgrades? For Keyblades? Is this a new mechanic that was introduced in the game series? Either way, this seems like a good way to strengthen Gazing Eye a bit and there's NO WAY I'm passing this up. Besides, who knows how long it'll be before Rainbow and I make it to another town?
Note to self: tell Rainbow about these Keyblade Forges. "Sounds awesome to me, let's check it out!"
"Great, kupo!"
2 Hours Later...
After some experimenting with some materials I didn't even know I had, with some from the Moogle shopkeeper, of course, I was able to at least get Gazing Eye to +1 from the Forge, but the weird thing was, it was called "No Name +1", guess there's no weapon rename feature in the games yet...eh, oh well. I'll just nickname it Gazing Eye, no skin off my bones. Not long afterwards, I bought some Hi-Potions and Ethers for the road and headed back to the inn, where the others were waiting for me, Rainbow Dash more so unamused.
Good thing I had an excuse planned out before leaving the Moogle Shop.
"Oh, uh...hey guys, I just took a walk and got held up at the shops, looking for some cool gear, sorry."
"Oh yeah, that reminds me," Kirito spoke up, looking at the short sword on his back, "I don't think this is gonna be enough."
"In that case, let's find some gear and items at the shops, I may have been gone a while, but Leafa surely knows her way around the market better than any of us."
Kirito then checked his inventory for money, and found a currency called "Yuld", while he, Leafa, and Yui were getting ready to head out, I took the time to tell Dash about the Moogle Shop and its Keyblade Forge, even how the shop got here.
"Seriously...?!" she whisper-shouted, "So, I can make my Keyblade stronger...?!"
"Yes, but you need certain materials for that, and we don't need Kirito and Yui getting any more suspicious of us than we've already made them," I whisper back, "Patience, Dash..."
Rainbow quietly groaned, "Fine..."
Once we made it to the shops, Kirito was able to get himself a rather large black double-edged greatsword befitting a Spriggan like him, making Leafa cover her mouth giggling at him. While they were walking around, I took Dash to the Moogle Shop and see if we could upgrade her Keyblade a little, fortunately, yet unfortunately, I only had enough of what was required for one more upgrade of her Keyblade, which is now "Hero's Crest +1". I had some Munny leftover to get Dash some Hi-Potions just in case I couldn't heal her, so now we were heading back with Kirito, Leafa, and Yui as they were headed to the tower in the center of town; Leafa explained that if one from ALO (Alfheim Online, for short) were to travel long distances, they would need to start at a very high vantage point, causing Kirito to grimace a bit at the tower.
I guess that crash-landing hurt more than just his body, it also hurt his pride.
Leafa was pushing him into the structure's main entrance just as I noticed Yui returning to Kirito's shirt pocket after coming back from somewhere.
Hmm...wonder where she was this whole time...?
Upon entering, Kirito glanced around and marveled the place, then Leafa grabbed his wrist and pulled him to what looks to be the elevator while saying, "This way, slowpoke! You too, guys!"
I smile at Leafa's cheerful attitude, but noticed that I wasn't being stared at favorably by the other Sylphs, and considering the fact that I'm wearing mostly red (my favorite color), including me being classified as a Salamander didn't help my popularity in this town at all.
"HEY!!"
Everyone turned to Dash, who looked rather pissed and glaring at them all.
"YOU JERKS GOT A PROBLEM WITH MY FRIEND?!?"
Just like that, everyone went back to their own devices, making my companion calm down slightly.
"Thanks, Dash."
"Ehh, don't worry about it, you're not just my teacher, you're my friend now."
Needless to say, I was touched by her words, "Yeah, you're right. Let's go, they're waiting for us."
Dash nodded and we continued towards Kirito and the girls to the elevator, ready to leave and press forwar—
"Leafa!"
Oh, for the love of God, what NOW?!
We were stopped by a trio of male Sylphs, two of them short on the left and right and the center one was taller than them, and also appears to be the one in charge.
"Oh, uh, hello Sigurd..." Leafa greeted nervously.
"What's this I hear about you leaving the party? Is that true?" the tall guy I'm pretty sure is Sigurd said.
"Well, yeah it is."
"Do you have any idea how much that's going to upset the other members?"
"You said it wouldn't be a problem if I joined ONLY if I had the time. You also said I could quit whenever I wanted to!"
"Yes, I know what I said, but you've been with us for a while now, everyone knows you. If you leave us, it's going to damage the reputation of the party!"
Leafa was at a loss for words at that last comment, and Dash was behind me, but I could almost feel her murderous intent directed towards this "Sigurd" person. In normal circumstances, I would try and keep the peace...but this isn't a normal circumstance. Not only that, but I consider Leafa to be my friend, and I never leave a friend hanging like this.
Kirito beat me to the punch, though, "Party members are NOT items." This surprised Leafa as he approached Sigurd.
"What did you say...?"
Kirito got within striking distance of Sigurd before he stopped and continued, "Party members aren't items, so don't expect them to be on call for you. They're not your armor, they're not your sword, they're not your equipment."
While Dash was admiring Kirito's courage and resolve, I decided to walk over myself and add my two bits, "And another thing, if you said she can leave anytime she wanted, why stop her now? I really detest people who don't keep their word, and then try weasel their way out of it."
"You son of a...!" Sigurd went for his sword, "I bet those big mouths of yours got you two thrown out of your own territories. Let's see what ya got, you Spriggan and Salamander trash!"
"You can't handle what I got. Especially 40% of my own strength." I commented.
Dash was ready to step in herself, until Leafa spoke up, "Okay, that's it, enough! Kirito and Devin are my new partners, including Dash here, so leave them alone!"
"What?!" Sigurd looked shocked, but recomposed himself, "Leafa! You're abandoning US, to be a renegade like THEM?!"
Leafa was shocked at the idea, but steeled her resolve, "Yes. I am. And I'm not coming back, EVER!"
Sigurd narrowed his eyes and drew his sword, "I don't give a damn about your kind buzzing around my party members, but if you think you can steal them, then that's another story! If you're stupid enough to waltz into another race's territory, then it's your own damn fault if get killed, renegades!"
Kirito looked bummed at this, probably because he ended up provoking Sylph without trying to, but I had my own reaction.
"Put that toy away..." I squinted at him, "...You'll poke your eye out with it."
This angered him to the point where he tightened his grip on his weapon. The standoff continued until the guy on the left tried to stop his boss.
"This isn't the time or place, Sigurd," he began, "If we kill these guys in front of all these people, we're gonna look bad."
This shocks Sigurd, making him look around at all the possible witnesses in the building staring at us like a fight is about to break out.
"...I'd do what he says, pal." I add.
Sigurd grunts, then sheathes his sword, "Once you cross our border, you better run and hide, Leafa. I never expected you to betray me like this, never. But you'll regret it soon enough." With that, Sigurd and his posse turned around and left.
"Tch. What a wuss." Dash said.
"Got that right." I agreed.
Leafa sighed, "I'm really sorry you guys got dragged into all that drama."
"It's cool." Kirito assured.
"You shouldn't have to put up with that kind of crap. You're NOT his property. You're your own person." I said.
"I'm worried about you, though. Are you sure about this?"
At Kirito's concerned words, Leafa mumbled something we couldn't hear and began pushing Kirito to the elevator. Dash and I hung back for a minute to talk.
"Something tells me that Sigurd guy is gonna give us A LOT of grief from this point forward..." I tell her.
"Yeah...we better keep our eyes peeled..." Dash warned, making me nod at her.
We followed Kirito and Leafa before the elevator doors closed.
We made it to the top of tallest tower in Sylvain and started getting ready for take off while admiring the sights.
"Wow...this is an amazing view." Kirito complimented, "The sky's so close, It's like I can reach out and touch it."
"I know, right?" Leafa began, "Whenever I look up at that sky, everything else feels so small." she then held her hand out to that very sky, then lowered it back to her side, "The timing couldn't have been any better. I've been thinking about leaving here for a while now."
"Um...full disclosure and off-topic, but I'm not very good with heights..." I lamely comment.
"Uh, what about when I flew you all the way here?" Dash asked, almost offended.
"Oh no, I trust you when it comes to flying, especially not letting me fall..." I hesitate for a moment, "...it's everything else about being this high that frightens me."
But our commentary went unnoticed when those two continued their conversation with Kirito leading next, "Okay, but...I feel like it's sorta my fault you left on bad terms with those guys."
Before Dash could comment anything, mostly likely about who cares what they think, Leafa replied, "Yeah, well, I don't think it could've happened any other way."
"...What do you mean by 'renegade'?" Kirito asked our million dollar question.
"A renegade is a player who abandons their territory; if you get branded as one, everyone's gonna look down on you."
"Who gives a crap?" I say, surprising them, "Let the babies stay in their cribs and whine about us. Those close to us should be all that really matters, not everyone else's opinions."
Kirito nods at me and turns back to Leafa, "And you're cool with that?" he asks, just to make sure.
"Yeah. I don't really care." Leafa confirmed, "But I don't understand why everyone's so quick to tie each other down like that. I mean, what's the point in having wings, ya know?"
Dash nods in finality, appreciative of that response, Kirito looked a little concerned for Leafa, and me? I stared at her in respect, not letting what people think get to her; once, I cared about what people thought of me, and I ended up losing a cool friend...who also became my first girlfriend, now ex. It was back when I was 9-years-old, the kids around us were ridiculing our relationship, and I don't know what came over me that day, I just...broke it off.
That day still bothers me like nothing else, my regret still heavy even now. To be honest, what I did to her didn't even hit me until years later, that alone worsened my guilt. Her name was Ashley...something. She had black hair in a ponytail and wore glasses. I never even bothered to learn her full name. My hope was that, even if she never forgave me, I would apologize for what I did to her, she deserves to at least know that I regret what I did, especially if she hates me forever.
But now, I'll never get the chance.
Man, I was a dirtbag back then, and I didn't even know it...
Yui took this moment to come out and voice her opinion, "You humans are so complicated," she began, "Honestly, your psychology is confusing, why do you act so horribly to each other when all you want is companionship?"
Leafa glanced at Yui curiously, "What do you mean?"
"If it were me..." Yui leaned over and kissed Kirito on his cheek, "I'd do that, it's simple, straightforward, and efficient!"
Leafa now looks pretty shocked, "T-That's an amazing A.I., do all Private Pixies act like that or just yours?"
Kirito had a strange look on his face while Yui looked triumphant, "No, just mine, but she's a weirdo." he proceeded to pick her up and stuff her back into his pocket.
"I guess you would know, huh?" Leafa then looked thoughtful, "'All we want is companionship'...huh."
Dash and I glanced at each other at Leafa's response, until the elevator opened behind us.
"Leafaaaa!"
We all turned around and saw that kid from yesterday, "Hey Recon." Leafa greeted, casually.
"How could you do this?" Recon ran up to us, "You could've at least said something before you left!"
"Oh, sorry, I guess I forgot." Recon slumped at Leafa's words.
"Why'd you quit the party all of a sudden like that?"
"Well," Leafa took a moment to think, "I really didn't think too hard about it, I just did it. What're you gonna do, though?"
"As if, Leafa!" he drew his dagger as a sign of loyalty, "It doesn't matter where you go, my sword belongs to you and you alone!"
Me and Dash stared at him at surprise and respect as I thought, Whoa, that's some dedication! I wonder what Leafa will say to tha—
"I don't need it, but...thanks..."
The two of us deadpanned at her reaction, Geez, that was cold...
Recon slumped again as he groaned, "...W-What I meant by that was, I'm gonna go with you, wherever. That is, I'd like to go, but, there's something that's been bugging me."
"What is it?" Leafa asked.
"I can't really prove anything yet...but there's a few things I wanna look into some more, so I'm gonna stay in Sigurd's party a little longer." Recon turned to us, including Kirito, "Hey, Kirito, Devin, Dash?"
"Yeah? What's up?" I ask back.
"She has a habit of getting herself in trouble, I'd appreciate it if you guys could keep an eye on her."
"Yeah, sure. Whatever you say." Kirito agrees with a smile.
"No problem. She's in good hands." I agree as well with Dash giving a determined nod.
"And just to make sure we're absolutely clear," he began to approach us, "Leafa is my—"
Leafa stomped on Recon's foot before he could continue, making hop on his good one while clutching his other, "We'll be in the neutral zone for a while. Message me if you need anything." with that, she walked over to the edge of the tower.
Dash and I sweatdropped at that display, "Harsh much?" I uttered.
Leafa summoned her wings and took off as Kirito did the same with me having to use Dash as my wings.
"Let me get this straight, in real life he's your friend?" Kirito called.
"Yeah, something like that..." Leafa muttered over the wind.
"Mm-hmm~"
"Okay, what's that weird noise suppose to mean?"
"Nothing. Just a little jealous is all."
Yui takes this moment to poke her head out of Kirito's pocket, "Now that person's feelings I can understand. He must like you a lot. Wouldn't you say, Leafa? Do you feel the same way about him?"
Leafa blushed and flew a little faster, "I-I don't know! Geez!"
Dash and I chuckled at Leafa's predicament and I more so felt a little glad that someone in this world was looking out for Leafa.
"Hey, Devin," Dash began to ask, "what did that Kirito guy mean by 'in real life'? This IS real life, right?"
"Oh, that's right. I haven't finished explaining." Devin began as Kirito picked up speed without hearing us, "From my understanding, we seem to have found ourselves in a virtual world where role-playing video game stats are nearly everything here. Basically, numbers are power."
"Video game? You mean an arcade game back in Ponyville?"
"Oh, yeah..." I cringe, "Equestria hasn't advanced that far ahead yet in the game industry..."
"Huh?"
"Never mind."
"Hurry up, you guys!"
We turned forward to see Leafa calling out to us as we fell behind her and Kirito.
"Let's try to make it all the way to the lake without stopping!"
"Okay!" Kirito agreed.
"Alright!" Dash looked competitively confident, "Then let's race all the way there!"
"What?" I suddenly began to panic, "No, Dash, no, no, no, no, no—"
Dash immediately picked up speed as did Leafa and Kirito, making me scream in utter terror all the while.
"—NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
JD's POV
I approach the total scrub of a developer just as he was leaving the birdcage of "Titania" once he was done groping and taunting her. Blech. Get over yourself.
"Are you done goofing off?" I ask him.
Sugou glares at me, "Yes. I am." he's trying not to show any offense to me. Fat lotta good that's gonna do him.
"Good. Where's the project I asked you to finish?"
"My focus is towards the total control of the human soul, not some kid's silly pipe dream of reliving one of his favorite video ga—"
He barely dodged a swing from my weapon, which has now changed to have four Materia Slot-like holes to hold certain objects inside it.
"I know you're a relatively smart man...so act like it, and stop testing my patience."
Sugou lightly growls at almost being offed by the guy with an axe to grind towards his brother, "...Follow me."
I desummoned my blade and followed Sugou into the World Tree. We went deeper and deeper, until we stopped at a giant pair of double doors with bright lights shining through the cracks in the frame.
"In here." he directed me.
I entered without question, both of us knowing full well that I can easily escape and actually kill him should this be some sort of trick. Upon entering, my eyes widened at the sight...then a sinister grin plastered itself on my face.
"There, it's done. Happy?"
I gazed upon the digitally recreated Lightning Chariot from Kid Icarus: Uprising, complete with Phos and Lux, as I gave him my answer.
"Very."
Kirito's POV
After Leafa and I got our need to eat in the real world out of the way, we all, Devin and Dash included, decided to head off towards the Undine Territory, which was underground. As we were on our way, Yui poked out of my pocket and quietly tried to get my attention.
"What is it, Yui?" I asked her.
"It's Devin and Dash." Yui began, "Earlier when we all went shopping for weapons and armor, they headed to a shop I've never seen before with a little baby bear-looking creature running it."
"Okay...?"
"And when they left, I tried to see if I could interact with it."
"And?"
"Any and all access was restricted. I couldn't even get the shopkeeper to look at me."
I was shocked to say the least, "Then how...?"
"I don't know. But when I checked Devin's stats again, his No Name changed to 'No Name +1'."
We looked over at Devin and Dash, who are slowing down because of Devin's fear of heights and outburst after Dash tried to race us with him clinging to her for dear life.
"Hmm..." We need to keep an eye on those two.
3rd Person POV
Little did Kirito's group know that a party of powerful Salamanders were watching them and tailing them from afar using a red bat with glowing eyes as a tracer to follow them.
As per Sigurd's orders.