Flamegirl remained quiet, unsure of how to take the tonal shift back down from shock in the discovery that the Forbidden Power was being hunted for again to a relaxed discussion.
Gamecrazed took over the situation, responding to the question presented by the newbie. "There's no line to take quests," he flatly explained. "You just need to approach this circle with your group of friends and press 'Accept' when everyone in your group is present."
SparkleLight gave a nod and a smile. "Thanks for telling us," she responded. "We're not really experienced in this game entirely."
"It's okay," Gamecrazed continued, "We all had to start somewhere in this game."
A gasp from Nylocke was heard as he pushed past Gamecrazed toward DragonAlong. "Another dragon member?" Embracing DragonAlong in a hug, Nylocke's eyes welled up in joy. "A second dragon in this vast world, under the sky created by the Webmaster himself! I-"
Nylocke jumped up, still gripped to DragonAlong as he proclaimed his joy, "-NYLOCKE, NO LONGER THE ONLY DRAGON OF TOME!-"
Landing back down, his hug remained as DragonAlong's face began to turn blue, "-shall share his excitement with this fellow dragon as his brother in arms!"
Nylocke's grip finally loosened, causing DragonAlong to collapse to the ground. "Perhaps I got a little too excited about this meeting," Nylocke sheepishly chuckled. "Sorry, Sir DragonAlong."
"Not a problem." DragonAlong shakily responded, trying to get back to his feet.
Jackedin helped lift DragonAlong up and looked to Gamecrazed. "You're not gonna do something like that to me, are ya?"
Gamecrazed sighed, "Forgive Nylocke, he's a little more into the game than most other players."
PartyPrincess quipped in, "I'll say."
"Ya'll waiting on somepo-" Jackedin began to say before backpedaling, "-er, someone?"
Flamegirl quickly took control of the conversation, "We are, but that's nothing to worry about, you can get ahead of us."
FasterThanRainbows passed the trio of players into the quest marker, "Well, guess that handles that."
The rest of the gang soon followed, but DiamondsForever remained out of the circle.
"C'mon, Diamonds!" FasterThanRainbows cried out, "Let's do this! I- We've been waiting to do this since we got on!"
DiamondsForever tapped her hand on the sword hilt at her side, "Why can't we join these players as well? After all, they do have experience in the game itself, not to mention that it would greatly increase our chances at completing the quest successfully."
Aflutter shuffled her hooves nervously, "I don't think they would be interested in that, unless, they are okay with that."
Nylocke prepared to speak before being interrupted by Flamegirl, "It's appreciated, but we're also waiting on him to tell some news we've recently learned." Her eyes bore into Nylocke, "Right, Nylocke?"
Nylocke gave a sigh, "Of course. Personal affairs, really."
DiamondsForever reluctantly entered the quest marker as well. "Well, if we meet again, lets do something together. A friendly competition?"
Nylocke gave a nod. "Of course, m'lady, Diamonds. I'm sure we would all enjoy that very much."
FasterThanRainbows pressed the 'Accept' button and the group vanished from the map, making Flamegirl breathe a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness they left, I didn't know if I could hold up any more patience with them around."
Nylocke turned to Flamegirl, "They were friendly players wanting to learn more about the game and of ourselves, there is nothing wrong with that."
Flamegirl crossed her arms, "Then telling them about what you just went through shouldn't be an issue then?"
Nylocke reacted in shock, "I would never! Such recent players should not know of the Forbidden Power or of our troubles!"
"Exactly," Flamegirl agreed.
"Hey guys," Alpha's voice called out. Flamegirl, Gamecrazed, and Nylocke waited for Alpha and Kirbopher to get closer. "Ready to go?"
"Not quite," Gamecrazed spoke in a deadpan manner.
"What, left your arm blade at home?" Kirbopher sarcastically replied.
Nylocke clenched his fist and looked to Alpha, "I don't believe we're going on this quest, Sir Alpha and Squire Kirbofer. Another issue has come up."
Kirbopher only sighed, hearing his name mispronounced again.
"We've all been excited to see this new quest that Webmaster had been developing, what's going on?" Alpha asked.
Flamegirl spoke up, "It's back, Michael."
Alpha's ears perked up at his real name, Flamegirl had used his real name before in a rather dire situation after the final confrontation against the Forbidden Power and Zetto. He knew Flamegirl's real name as well, Stephanie, and had learned so much about her from just being a part of the game with her.
Nylocke clenched his teeth and gave an apologetic look to Alpha, "It's the Forbidden Power..."
Alpha's eyes shot wide, memories flooding back of being possessed by the virus and its capability of hurting others in real life. "What?!"
Kirbopher's reaction of disbelief followed, "No way..."
Nylocke continued, "Yes, Alpha and Squire, the beast that was sealed away may still be here."
Alpha gripped onto Nylocke's chest piece in fear, "How? How, Nylocke?!"
Nylocke whimpered, "I- I don't know! The only thing that tipped me of this unfortunate news was an attack on me done by hackers!"
Alpha let go of Nylocke and began pacing in a panic, "No. Not again. We got rid of it, there's no way its still out there!"
Kirbopher remained still as Alpha passed him, "Calm down, Alpha, maybe the hackers were behind the curve on what happened."
Nylocke grimaced, "Not if the other hacker is what I just realized..." He composed himself again, "Do you all remember the first hackers we fought together were?"
The group seemed to struggle until Kirbopher slammed a fist into his hand, "It was a slime guy and a raccoon!"
Nylocke nodded. "I'm sure that same raccoon was accompanying the other hacker that assaulted me."
Kirbopher put a hand to his mouth, "Him, again?" He murmured.
Alpha continued to pace, hands to his head as he spoke, "This is bad, really, REALLY bad!"
Gamecrazed spoke up, "We need a plan to go about this. How about we inform one of the moderators? It would at least get some kind of report written down, even if it gets rejected."
"But who would believe us? One year is a heck of a time to report about everything that happened!" Flamegirl argued.
Alpha finally stopped pacing and got with the group again, "We need to find the Forbidden Power first."
Nylocke gave a whine, "We're going to hunt for the damned Drain Edge keeping that thing at bay?"
Kirbopher nodded to the plan. "We need to cover a lot of ground if we do this. Since we don't have a clue where it could be, we need to be as thorough as we can. Alpha, stick with your girlfriend Flamegirl and go over to ;Sanctuary, it should be easy to spot the thing in a non-combative zone. Nylocke, you and Gamecrazed go over to ;Lavendera and check over every rock and crevice you can."
Kirbopher began heading away from the group, "I'll stay here in ;Mechcity, I've got some friends who owe me favors here who could lend me a hand."
"Kirb!" Alpha called out to his friend, making him stop. "I swear, this won't be like the last time we had to struggle against this thing. Promise."
Kirbopher's face remained down and away from the group, "I really hope you're right." With that, he left the street, going toward the harbor.
"Sir Gamecrazed, let's make haste to ;Lavendera and search for this great evil so that no one else needs to suffer from it!" Nylocke cried out in bravado.
"Let's go," Gamecrazed said before both of them shot off into the sky in a white light toward ;Lavendera.
Alpha began his teleport to ;Sanctuary when Flamegirl touched his shoulder.
"Michael, I'm sorry that this had to happen... especially since-" Flamegirl began.
"I know," Alpha quietly acknowledged. "It's nearly our own anniversary since we met too."
Both of them remained quiet as the white light of the teleport sent them toward ;Sanctuary.
***
SparkleLight groaned as her face smacked the desk in front of her. "Why can't we get this quest thing to work?"
The NPC clerk raised an eyebrow in confusion, "Milady, are you feeling ill? I comprehend some of your language, but without the right font, I'm left confused still!"
DragonAlong whispered into PartyPrincess' ear, "Why's he sound like a medieval Zecora?"
DiamondsForever snapped her fingers, an idea forming in her mind. "Stand aside, SparkleLight, I believe I know how to speak with this quest giver." She gave a brief cough and began speaking in a more formal tongue. "Mine cohorts are not so elegant in their speech, but I am willing to speak for them. Reports have reached our ears of assistance you perhaps require? Please, enlighten us with your task so, maybe, we can gain life experience and maybe even combat experience if we are forced into it."
The man at the desk smiled, now better comprehending what needed to be done. “Of course, now it makes sense! The urgency behind their voices, oh, how could I be so dense?” He pulled back from the desk and reached into a drawer behind him, pulling out a scroll. “;Mechcity is indeed a fair place of profit, but for my needs, I’ll be making a deposit.”
Rolling out the scroll, the keeper continued, revealing a section of ;Lavendera. “More specifically, a deposit of supplies, more than enough to make a surprise.”
ForeverDiamonds went into business mode, her tone more authoritative and stern. “What sort of surprise are you planning? Nothing that will be of harm, I would hope.”
The NPC only chuckled, “Harm? No, no! Not of the sort! I was about to continue, until my words were cut short!” He gave a cough and made a circle on the map. “Here is where I need my things to be, and with enough help, a new town will be made by decree! ;Tradecity will be its name. Players will flock to it, and make it a place of acclaim.”
ForeverDiamonds continued to sort the information as she tried to run numbers on how dangerous the journey may be. “A noble challenge, trying to build a new place in an area that consistently sees players attempting to annihilate one another. What makes you sure that this town will be successful or not be torn apart by other more evil characters?”
The man gave a sad look to the group, “I don’t. Only by the will of the Webmaster shall my efforts be made to succeed and grow or fail and wither." His face lightened up as his eyes looked over the seven players, "With you and your friends, all I ask is an escort, just let me know if this pay is good and we'll deport!"
With that, a screen pulled up, revealing a brief overview of what the quest, the pay, and options to accept or decline the quest. ForeverDiamonds gave a small grimace to the pay, 4500 credits. Divided evenly, each of them would receive 500 credits only for something that may be more dangerous than the quest giver was letting on. She checked her in-game wallet and only saw 100 credits from the initial starting kit.
"Hoowee! An ol' fashioned caravan run! Been awhile since even the Apple family did a long haul cross-country!" Jackedin excitedly hooted.
PartyPrincess cocked her head sideways, "I dunno, walking a long time with just a trail and maybe a guy jumping out and going 'OOGA BOOGA!'? BO-RING!"
SparkleLight read over the mission details in careful detail, "It looks simple enough. Remember girls, we've just started, so something as easy as this should be well within our current skill set."
DiamondsForever pressed the 'Accept' button and saw a smile go over the NPC. "Oh, good! For only a short moment, I had thought that perhaps you would not agree! I promise you, when the town is completed, you'll be rewarded in the future as well, trust me!"
The NPC left from behind the counter and toward the door of his shop, only stopping to turn back. "If you need to take time to plan out what needs to be done, do it now. When your ready, step outside; and to the town we'll say 'Ciao!'" With that, he left the store and the seven group members to make a plan to keep the caravan from being attacked in any angle.
***
Back in ;Lavendera, Rockoon's rampage had been decimating the landscape and any other unfortunate victims caught in the blast of his bombs. A trio of players had been sprinting away from the abnormally fast raccoon and attempting to keep their heads low to avoid any attacks.
"Help! Hacker!" One yelled out, hoping to catch anyone's attention. As the player screamed out his plea, his two friends were blown into ashes by a bomb that had landed next to them. "Someone! Anyone!"
His run was halted by a cliff wall, forcing him to slide and try to think of another way to escape.
Username: ImnotLion
Class: Animalistic
Power: Lion
"You've gotta be kidding me!" ImnotLion yelled out as he turned. Getting into a fighting stance, ImnotLion watched his pursuer close in, another figure blocking the only exit from the crevice.
"Hah, good chase," Rockoon smirked. "We had fun, me destroying everyone that was close to you, you screaming like a dying goat, its really unbecoming of someone who plays off as a king of the jungle."
ImnotLion growled, simply looking like a guy wearing lion pajamas. "And you think its fun to purposely be as annoying as possible, you little rat?!"
Rockoon's smile vanished into irritation. "I'm not a rat. Raccoon's are NOT a part of the rodent family! How many times do I need to explain this to uneducated losers like you, huh?"
ImnotLion activated the battle grid, enclosing the two players in a boxed area. The battle grid had been upgraded with the ability to accept or deny players that wanted to enter in mid-battle, which was immediately locked by ImnotLion, restricting the area to the two of them. "I'm not going down without a fight, cheater! I'll have you know, I have fought with sixty-three of my friends in a tournament style setting and came out as first!"
Rockoon faked fear as he waved his fingers, "Oh, no. Big bad player thinks he's a big shot." His sarcasm halted as he put a hand to his side. "Yeah, like I'll have a problem with you."
ImnotLion roared upwards, getting psyched as Rockoon pulled an arm back, summoning a bomb.
"Say goodbye, kitty!" Rockoon laughed, hurling the bomb at ImnotLion.
ImnotLion finished his roar and stared into the bomb coming at him, with an accurate swipe, he caught the bomb and began spinning in place. "You first, rat!" He yelled out before the bomb sailed back in the direction of Rockoon.
Rockoon's eyes shot out in fear and shock before he ducked the incoming projectile, making the bomb hit the grid wall behind him. "How the-?"
ImnotLion flexed his fingers, causing his claws to shine. "It's called, skill. Maybe if you didn't have to rely on cheats, you'd get some."
Rockoon angrily huffed and yelled out, "Bomb time! Bomb time! Bomb time!" With that, he shot into the air and began throwing as many bombs as possible down, shadowing ImnotLion as they fell. As Rockoon fell, he watched ImnotLion for his expression, only seeing the annoying smile still remain on his face instead of fear. For a single instant, both of them looked at each other, ImnotLion still smiling, as if to say "You couldn't beat me fairly, even if you tried."
The explosion that followed was close to the equivalent of a tank shell hitting the side of a building, leaving an empty crater as the battle grid vanished.
Rockoon huffed, "I'm done with this, lets get back to GM."
MentalMusic stepped from the entryway of the crevice to Rockoon, humming a tune that may have been playing in his headphones. "Oh? All done with the symphony? How... mundane."
"I'm just wanting to get to the next part of what we need to do," Rockoon snipped. "Is that so wrong, freak?"
MentalMusic shut his eyes and shrugged, "For someone with so much experience in the game, I had assumed that maybe I was going to see something new. Sadly, the dynamics and pace was all unoriginal." MentalMusic's eyes opened and a slight chuckle came out. "But, I was surprised to see that last score between yourself and that player, hee, hee, hee~"
Rockoon had steam coming from his ears from anger, "And what was so surprising? That I took him down in an efficient and clean manner?"
MentalMusic began guffawing loudly, "HA, HA, HA~ That?" His laughter cut off as his face turned serious. "You think that I would be impressed by a player, without having the need to cheat, had nearly defeated you?"
"Whatever," Rockoon spat, "Let's just go and-"
"YOU!"
Rockoon and MentalMusic looked up, seeing two players outlined in the setting sun of TOME. "What now?" Rockoon frustratedly groaned.
"Did you think that justice would not come for you, criminal hackers?" The dramatic voice continued.
MentalMusic gave a long sniff and sighed, "Those dulcet tunes, have I heard them not too long ago?"
One figure jumped from the high ledge to the ground below as the other figure sank into the ground. In the remaining light, Rockoon and MentalMusic saw Nylocke as he rose from his kneeling position back to his feet. Another player came up behind him, Gamecrazed.
"He has a friend to play with us!" MentalMusic gasped. "This is such good news! I love it when a performance piece just adds that little extra something that you didn't get to hear the first time!"
Rockoon grumbled at MentalMusic before locking eyes with Nylocke. "I'll say it once, lizard boy, log off and there won't be any harm done to your account."
Nylocke's sword pointed forward at the two hackers, "You would think that I would back down after what you have told me of your plans? Hear me now, players of ill repute! If it is even down to my dying breath, I will put a stop to your hunt for the Forbidden Power and its harmful secrets!"
MentalMusic twitched his head to look at Gamecrazed, his eyes wildly looking over the Morphological player. "I want that one! I want the new artistic piece!"
Rockoon gave an unenthused sigh, "Yeah, sure."
"Nylocke," Gamecrazed spoke up before a fight could begin, "What about our own hunt? We know that they'll come back, even if we beat them."
Nylocke's face determinedly stared down the two hackers that jumped him only thirty minutes ago, he knew that what Gamecrazed said was true, but he also knew that Nylocke as a character would not accept that as the logical answer. "It is not a matter of if they come back, Sir Gamecrazed, it is a matter of lost honor! I have lost against the restrained one in conflict, but I will not have both of these criminals escape me while they are here!"
MentalMusic squirmed in joy, "Ooooh, a change in tone from the first confrontation as well! An elegy of vengeance!" His eyes continued to peer between the two players in front of him. "If only you were with us instead of against us, oh, the places we could go!"
Rockoon whipped out bombs in both hands, "Enough chatter, let's dance!"
MentalMusic sprinted forward as Rockoon threw both bombs, preparing for a duo attack. "Insane power and speed is what we all need!~" He sang out, striking a bomb with a kick as he flipped, sending the projectile at Gamecrazed.
Gamecrazed could barely dodge the attack as the other bomb came between him and Nylocke. The bomb exploded, sending Nylocke skidding on his feet and Gamecrazed to not be seen anywhere.
Nylocke's eyes went to MentalMusic who only stared back, jolting his head in the direction of Rockoon. Nylocke gave a glance at Rockoon and saw the player tunnel into the ground.
Nylocke turned back to MentalMusic, who only winked as Gamecrazed trapped him in a dark hand, hoping to end the battle in the realm of shadows.
Nylocke was left alone with the shadowy hand still gripped tightly at the center of the crevice, waiting to see a hint of movement in the ground to tell him where Rockoon was hiding.
In the shadow realm, MentalMusic was fending off against every dark, gooey tendril that tried to get him until one finally snapped around an ankle and hung him upside-down. The face of Gamecrazed pushed through the slimy wall and looked at MentalMusic. "Do you yield?"
MentalMusic only began chuckling as he stayed there. "Keep me here, pound my face in, do anything you please! The only issue is, what's going to happen to your friend while you are busy entertaining me?"
Gamecrazed continued to watch MentalMusic with an increasing anger as MentalMusic began laughing and spinning in his one position.
***
SparkleLight made her way to the front of the caravan, holding up a flaming ball to light the way. It was definitely a new experience creating magic without the use of a horn, but that didn't stop SparkleLight as she made short work of figuring out how to use Burning Hand. Behind her, PartyPrincess and FasterThanRainbows covered the front of the traveling carrier. DragonAlong and DiamondsForever covered either side, occasionally switching off with the rear group of Jackedin and Aflutter.
"We're nearly there," the NPC cried out. "Just need to enter that fissure and I can build a temporary lair."
As the NPC said this, a loud boom rang out and a bright light ahead of them signaled its origin. SparkleLight held up a hand to stop the caravan and signaled the group to come to her.
"Somepony is up ahead," SparkleLight whispered to the huddled gang, "And from how it sounds, they have some powerful spells."
"What are we going to do?" Aflutter asked.
"Dragon, Rainbows, Diamonds, you all come with me and we'll scout out what's ahead," SparkleLight quickly assigned roles, thinking on the fly. "Aflutter, Party, and Jacked, stick with the caravan, if we come running back, then you'll know there's trouble."
"Careful in there," Jackedin said with concern.
SparkleLight was about to say something to comfort Jackedin when another explosion went off, much closer than before.
"You're mine, dragonbreath!" A voice echoed out.
A badly singed Nylocke hobbled into sight, trying to avoid further damage. "You again?" He said in surprise before moving towards them and gripping onto the caravan's front.
"Help!" The NPC screamed out, "I'm under attack!"
"No, no! We know him!" SparkleLight began as another figure came into sight.
"Hiding behind girls?" Rockoon chuckled, "You really think I'm not going to destroy them too?" DragonAlong pushed past the girls and stood above the small raccoon who had since stopped laughing. "Oh-"
DragonAlong gave a strong uppercut to the small raccoon, sending him flying high and far away.
"Whaaaaaaaaa!" Rockoon yelled out until his voice could no longer be heard.
DragonAlong flexed his arms and gave a thumbs up. "Did you just see that? Nothing but pure power!" He looked to the group and was disappointed with them all focused on Nylocke instead of what he did, making him huff, grey smoke shooting from his nostrils.
"You poor thing!" DiamondsForever cried, "What did that... thing do to you?"
Nylocke winced as SparkleLight attempted to soothe the wounds with Crystal Water, "It's nothing to worry about, but I must go back to help my friend Sir Gamecrazed!"
Nylocke attempted to stand but found himself unable to do so, the attack from Rockoon having took too much out of his health bar.
Without prompt, FasterThanRainbows rushed forward towards the darkness before stopping short of being out of sight. "C'mon! Let's save this Gamecrazed guy and get this quest finished!"
Aflutter and Jackedin helped Nylocke to his feet and led him to the back of the caravan, PartyPrincess waved out to her friends as they rushed into the fray, "Come back to me! Promise me you will come back to me!" She cried out in dramatic fashion before pulling out a handkerchief to stop tears from going down her eyes.
FasterThanRainbows reached the open crevice first, seeing a dark blob in the center. As it blew apart, she saw the exhausted avatar of MentalMusic, still laughing despite his legs barely holding him up.
"More~" MentalMusic harshly gasped.
FasterThanRainbows took a step back, unnerved by the sadistic creature in front of her.
"Get down," she heard from behind her.
MentalMusic gave out a sharp intake of breath as his high-pitched laughter rang out. His laughter continued as he sprinted toward FasterThanRainbows.
Before the laughing maniac reached her, the sound of a blade swinging and something igniting greeted FasterThanRainbows ears. She saw the head of MentalMusic nod down towards her before disappearing with a LOSE! graphic in his place.
In shock, she stayed in place as SparkleLight, DiamondsForever and DragonAlong passed her and looked around for any other hidden surprises. She remained still as SparkleLight started shaking her, "Dash? You okay?"
FasterThanRainbows finally snapped back and looked away, "Ye- Yeah. I was just really caught off guard by that guy."
The caravan finally moved in and the NPC jumped out. "Whew! We made it, and with only a... few distractions."
DragonAlong crossed his arms, "If you call a raccoon that tries to blow up others and an escapee from the psychology ward as a 'few distractions'."
Nylocke was led out of the caravan, his wounds healing faster than anything the girls have seen before. As he came out, Gamecrazed reformed beside him.
"You look beat up," Gamecrazed spoke with his usual canter.
Nylocke grunted, but straightened up. "I'm glad that I ran into these players again, otherwise, I might have lost a lot more than a few credits." He attempted to straighten his beard, only to see it blow away as ash. "My beard! My glorious, magnificent beard!"
Gamecrazed turned his focus to the girls as Nylocke began to lament the loss of his facial hair, "What are you all doing here to begin with?"
PartyPrincess raised her hand up high and tried to get Gamecrazed's attention. "Me! Oooh, ooh, ooh, pickmepickmepickme!" Without waiting for a response, she continued. "We had to lead this guy here to set up the chance to build a new town!"
Gamecrazed raised an eyebrow, "Really?"
"Yep!" PartyPrincess continued, "We're going to get paid and everything!"
As she said this, the NPC handed a bag of credits to her which instantly transferred to her money pouch.
"I'm going to turn in for the night, come back sometime when I start getting more things from ;Mechcity!" the NPC said cheerily.
"We'll do that," SparkleLight responded.
"A hideaway town in ;Lavendera?" Gamecrazed continued to question. "That actually doesn't sound like a bad concept."
"Wait, did he say night?!" Jackedin screamed. "How long have we been on?! There's no way that-!"
A pause came from the group before Aflutter spoke up, "It's still morning back home."
Gamecrazed was stunned at how little this group knew about TOME, even the most unaware player would have taken some time to read over the basics of the game. "The sun and moon rotate as normal in a 24-hour cycle, the only time it may act differently is in an area involving a quest. The light should come back when you leave here."
"Oh," Jackedin coughed embarrassingly. "That's good news, I needed to get some farm work done and I just entered a full-blown panic."
"This was a nice bit of entertainment for all of us," SparkleLight said. "Even if we aren't going to be online, we can still see each other in town like normal."
Nylocke finally stopped his mourning of his beard and sniffled. "You all live close by each other?"
Aflutter coughed, "Of course, we all gained a copy of the game and wanted to try it out together."
Nylocke almost began weeping again at the sentimentality of it all. "How tender and beautiful! The group of friends that remain close together in game and in life, a shade resembling of my own group of friends gathered from all corners of the Terrain of Magical Expertise!"
"Nylocke," Gamecrazed interrupted the starry eyes and bright smile of his friend, "Let's get back to our own task at hand."
Nylocke sent friend invitations to each of the players, "Let us see each other once more as friends when we meet again!" With that, he turned and began rushing off. "WHOOSH!~"
Gamecrazed disappeared as well, leaving the seven as they were.
"I like him!" PartyPrincess happily grinned.
***
In a hidden portion of TOME, Kirbopher stood in front of a glowing orange sign that read 'D-BUGGERS.ORG', clear irritation on his face.
"I thought we agreed to put a stop to finding the Forbidden Power after that attack," Kirbopher angrily spoke.
"We have," the heavily distorted voice behind the sign responded. "Our efforts were stopped per your request."
"Then, why is a hacker, under our former employ out trying to find it?!" he screamed.
"Rockoon is not hired with us anymore, and he still isn't," the voice continued. "If he is trying to find the Forbidden Power, then it of his own accord, or as we suspect, he is now working for someone else."
A visual blip came up, showing another sign, a set of gears running as 1s and 0s fell into them, the title saying 'CODECRUNCHR.ORG'.
"We believe this other group is making moves in TOME, already, high-profile hackers are signing into the game," the voice continued. "If they are making attempts for the Forbidden Power, then we'll have no choice but to re-initiate our efforts."
Kirbopher sighed, "I was afraid of that." His eyes shut for a moment, trying to think of the available options. "This means I'll have to re-log Zetto, and if Alpha or anyone close to me takes notice of his return, it could snowball all of the drama of the past again."
"This is something that we didn't want to go into either," the voice quietly answered. "But it is necessary."
Another pause of silence went between the two before Kirbopher spoke up again, "Three days. Get everything prepared in that time. Send out the applications, restart the vaccination program, and make a plan to confront this other group. Alpha and the rest of my friends will still search as long as we can."
"Don't let your friendship get in the way of what needs to be done, Kirbopher," the distorted voice warned.
Kirbopher contemplated responding back, but couldn't bring himself to tell Kizuna that his focus would be entirely on the Forbidden Power. He shivered, knowing what he was forced to do when he thought like that the last time. Instead, he ported out, leaving Kizuna to begin the process of finding the most dangerous virus and deleting it, permanently.