CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

How this works basically is that everyone writes a part of this story. I write a chapter, then someone else will continue. Then someone else will take up from where the other left off, and so on. I only ask that you try to keep things in the perameter I put them in. You may make another post to the story, but please wait till someone else has posted. Okay, lets begin!

MY TURN! Chapter 1

It was raining outside, just as it had been for the past three weeks. Rock and his sister Serra were sitting on the couch, randomly sorting through a box of old games.
"This stinks," Rock finally snaps, exasperated. "The rain won't stop, no games we haven't played a dozen times already, there's NOTHING TO DO!!!"
"Well, there has to be something!" Serra replies stoicly, continuing to sift through the games. Then they hear the doorbell ring. Rock opens the door, and in enters Guy, his best friend.
"Heya folks!" Guy shouts, leaping in. "So what's on the agenda for today?"
"Sitting around and being incredibly bored," Rock answers grimly.
"No, wait! how about a massive multiplayer?"
They both turn to look at Serra, who's sitting in front of the Wii and staring at the screen. The boys walk over, Rock asks, "Why, what's up?"
"They've got this new thing on here: Massive Multiplayer, Online and Real. Looks interesting."
After a time spent in thinking, the boys nod in agreement. "Fine, lets go it." They grab remotes, as Serra selects the opion. There is a sudden bright flash, and the room is empty. The screen flashes again, and credits play across the screen: Welcome to Massive Multiplayer Online and Real. Please enjoy your stay and watch out for ever-present hackers."

oh, just to finish up, I'd like to ask that no games with immoral problems be used in this story. You may use stuff like Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, even Mario Bros if you must. Thank you for understand. Next!

(Quick question. I would love to continue the story, but I don't really understand what's going on? Are they just playing a game online, or is it like virtual reality?)

Cheetah wrote:(Quick question. I would love to continue the story, but I don't really understand what's going on? Are they just playing a game online, or is it like virtual reality?)

the latter. And they don't realize it yet.

"Watch out!" Rock grabs Serra's arm and jerks her backwards, just in time to save her from being crushed under the hooves of a huge reddish brown mare that goes galloping by.
"Hyaah!" the boy riding her shouts as they rush past, as if he doesn't even notice the three people he almost trampled.
"Watch it!" Guy shouts after him, but he remains ignored. He turns back to Serra and Rock. "Where are we?"
"I have no idea." Rock says as he views their strange surroundings. They were in a meadow, surrounded by the greenest grass they'd ever seen. The meadow was dotted by the occasional tree, and a single broken down fence cutting half way through the meadow, but nothing else.
"Wait, what's that?" Serra points downhill were the tree grow thicker and eventually look like a forest. They can just barely see two giant trees standing close together and looking like some kind of opening into the forest.
"Let's check it out." Guy says excitedly and heads in that direction.
"Wait! Guy!" Serra calls after him. "Where do you think you're going?"
Guy turns around to answer her, and abruptly disappears.
"Guy!" Serra screams and she and Rock run to where they last saw him.
"Stay back, or you'll fall in too!" Guy warns them.
"Hold it, wait here." Rock says, stopping his sister. "Guy! You okay?" he asks, picking his way carefully to where he heard his friend's voice.
"Yeah, but how do I get out?" Guy asks.
Then Rock sees it. A deep hole. He cautiously peers down and sees Guy at the bottom.

~Thanks for posting, Cheetah! I was thinking this had been forgotten.

"Well, this is a fine kettle of fish!" Guy crosses his arms and glares up at the sky, like this was all its fault. Rock shakes his head, thoughtfully scratching his head.
"Well, there's gotta be something," he mutters.
Serra walked over, peering into the hole. "We could get him out," she says slowly, pulling her thoughts together. "But it'll take teamwork. Lots of it. Rock, think you could hang on to my feet, lower me into the hole, then I grab Guy's hands, and you pull us up?"
"I'm not sure," he answers. "But what the heck-nothing else to try, is there?"
Up to a point, it worked out beautifully. Rock, holding Serra's feet, lowers her carefully into the hole. Guy grabs her hands, and, slowly, Rock starts pulling them out. Then out of nowhere he hears a loud bellow, and looks up. Coming toward them was about the nastiest wild boar you've ever seen, with large tusks and horrible bloodlust in his eyes. Rock moans.
"Hey guys?" he says. "I think we have a problem.

"What?" Serra and Guy both ask at once. Slightly annoyed that their upward progress has ceased.
"Just pull us up already!" Serra yells, "This is killing me!"
As the giant boar charges towards them, Rock can think of only one thing to do. He lets go of Serra and she and Guy drop into the hole with screams of protest. At the last possible moment Rock dives to one side and the boar just misses him.
"Oww." Rock moans. He'd fallen into a patch of leafy bushes, but there was something hard and lumpy underneath.
Guy looks up just in time to see the boar rush past, just inches from the edge of the hole. "What was that? He calls out.
The boar squeals in rage and spins around to face Rock once again.
"Oh, no." groans Rock. He grabs the hard object as he stands up. It's a bottle of strange green juice.
"Weird." Rock comments and then switches his attention back to the immediate threat. the boar begins another wild charge, kicking up dirt and glaring hatefully at Rock.
"Teeheehee..." a high pitched giggle startles Guy and Serra. They both spin around just as the dark cave is illuminated by a dozen tiny floating lights hovering over a small pool. "It looks like your friend needs help." the squeaky voice says again and the giggle is echoed by a dozen others.
"Are those fairies?" Serra asks in awe.
"But we can't help you." the voice continues mischievously. "Not unless you can catch one of us."
As the giggles increase to a fairies version of hysterical laughter Guy and Serra hear a thud from up above and Rock cries out in pain.
"What do we do?" Serra asks frantically, shaking Guy in her terror.

Guy instantly divea at the fairy, who flies away quickly, tittering. He grimaces.
"Catch one!" he shouts. "Or two! We've gotta save Rock!"
He hears another loud shout, grimaces, and dives at another fairy. "Miserable little monsters," he mutters. "Hold still!"
Rock fell to the ground, clutching his gored leg. The beast was coming again, ready to finish the job. He closes his eyes, clasps his hands and prays he won't feel any pain, at least.
Suddenly, he hears loud shouts and yips, and opens his eyes. He sees several men on horseback, holding varied equipment, riding hard toward the boar, whooping and yipping at the top of their lungs. The boar, seeing them coming, runs away, leaving Rock. Rock groans, and sees one of the riders coming toward him.
"You okay?" he asks. The boy slides off the horse and walks over. "That leg looks mighty messed up."
Rock stares, startled, then feels the pain anew erupt in him. He groans weakly and faints.
Serra collapses to the ground, exhausted. "We'll never catch one!" she cries. Guy pants heavily, his chest heaving as he sought air. "We can't stop trying!" he says between gasps. A fairy flew in front of his face. "Can't catch! Can't catch!" she titters.
He smiles faintly, a thought occuring to him. "You're probably right," he agrees. "We're just not fast or clever enough."
It titters. "So right! Too slow! Too foolish!"
Serra stares at Guy like he's crazy. Guy continues leading the fairy on, who begins to become relaxed. Suddenly, he brings his hands up and snatches the fairy out of the air, grinning. "Gotcha!" he laughs. "Now you'll have to help us!"

"Trickster! Trickster!" the tiny fairy squealed as it wriggled in Guy's grasp. "It doesn't count if you do it that way!"
The other fairies all giggled at their comrade's plight, ready to turn their attention to a new victim of their teasing.
"He caught you! He caught you!" they chanted mockingly. "What will happen to poor little Kimi now?"
Serra stepped closer to Guy to better examine the fairy. It had the face of a little girl, Serra would have guessed her to be nine years old. Her big eyes matched the color of her shoulder length, pale violet hair. She was absolutely tiny, not even as long as Serra's pinkie, and skinny too. She wore a simple white dress. But the most fascinating thing about Kimi was her wings. Serra had always thought of fairies with butterfly wings, but Kimi's were actually like tiny, feathered bird wings. They were dazzlingly white and almost seemed to sparkle. Just one of them was as long as Kimi's whole body.
"Hurry up already!" Guy shouted impatiently. "I caught you, so now you have to help Rock!"
The fairy sniffed as tears began rolling down her cheeks. She had given up her struggling and now used her hands to wipe her eyes.
"What am I supposed to do?" Kimi asked defensively, acting like Guy was the bully. "I'm three inches tall and only fourteen days old. I haven't even been outside yet."
"Right! Right!" the other fairies tittered, still not in the least bit concerned for little Kimi. "Kimi is an unwanted! Can't even heal people yet. Nope! Not even a scratch. Wrong fairy! Wrong fairy!"
Guy seethed with anger, unconsciously squeezing Kimi a little tighter in the process. Her crying picked up in volume.
"Come on, Guy." Serra grabbed Guy's arm and pulled him back to the opening. "We'll just find our own way out. Rock needs us."
"No! No!" the other fairies yelled, "Not back in the light! Not with Kimi!"
Guy and Serra ignored them and stepped into the light, with Serra still touching Guy who had forgotten to release the baby fairy. As soon as the sun's rays touched Kimi, all three of them vanished.
"So sad." the fairies murmured mournfully, "We wanted more fun."
In the blink of an eye Guy and Serra found themselves in a strange new place. It looked like the inside of an enormous castle, but everything was made of ornately carved wood. They were standing on a giant stone floor in the center of a sun carving.
An elderly man stared at them in surprise. Or rather, he stared at the fairy in surprise. "Kimi? he asked with his forehead wrinkled in confusion. "What are you doing here? You weren't supposed to come for another week."
Guy, in his surprise let go of Kimi and she fluttered over to the old man, her wings flapping like a hummingbird's.
"It was these two." Kimi answered, still crying. "They did it."
The old man glared at them angrily as Kimi rested on the tip of his staff. "What do you think you're doing? Taking fairies from the caves before they're mature enough! That's outrageous behavior! Human children should know better!"
"We're not children!" Guy shouted back, frustrated with this whole thing.
"Guy..." Serra tugged on her friend's shirt anxiously.
"Well, there's nothing else to be done." the old man said, ignoring Guy. "You'll just have to take care of Kimi until she turns twenty one days."
"What!?" Guy and Kimi shouted in unison.
"You're putting that beast in charge of me?" Kimi asked. "He wanted me to fight a wild boar with my bare hands!"
"Guy..." Serra tried again.
"You keep that pixie!" Guy retorted, "I don't want anything more to do with it!"
Kimi flew in front of Guy's face, looking outraged. "Take that back! I'm not a pixie!"
"Look," the old man said, trying to be patient, "You took Kimi out of the fairy cave so she's your responsibility now. She can't survive on her own and I'm too busy. The last thing i need is one more distraction from my work."
"Wah!" Kimi bawled, "Master Ogary doesn't have time for me!"
"Look, old man...!" Guy shouted but was interrupted by Serra.
"Guy! What about Rock?!"

Guy blinks, then nods, coming back to his senses. "Right...Rock. We need to help Rock. But how?" he swats at Kimi, who was fuming. "This thing is useless, and I doubt the old guy is worth anything either!" He looks around. "And where the heck are we?"
Serra shrugs. "Well, if we're in, there's gotta be a way out." She turned to go elsewhere, when Kimi buzzed into her face.
"What, you aren't going to just leave me here?" she snaps. "Thanks to you blasted humans, I'm stuck! I can't leave you until I've matured!"
"So what?" Guy snaps. "You're the one who decided she wanted to be annoying. Well, think of this as your reward! I'm done! Goodbye!"
"No, wait!" she pleads. "Please...I won't be annoying anymore, I promise! I'll do my best to help too, but I'm still little so I can't do much! But I'll do my best! In return, you have to promise to stay with me! Okay?"
Guy glances at Serra. "Do we dare?"
"We can't just leave her," Serra replies, feeling traces of pity. "She is so little. We can help her, can't we?"
Guy snorts. "Right. Sure, what the heck?"
"Yippie!" Kimi flies about in ecstacy, lighting pecking him on the cheek. He instantly swats at her, but she hides behind Serra. He grimaces. "Why do I have the feeling I'll regret this?"

"Keep Kimi out of the sun for the next week." The old man had told them, "She can only be in it for short periods of time. Fairies have healing powers, but since Kimi can't control them yet she can't let her wings collect more sunlight than she can handle, otherwise her powers will be locked up forever."
"Stay in Serra's hood!" Guy ordered Kimi, "Or you'll end up even more useless than you are now."
Kimi hovered near Guy's shoulder as they walked through the trees. After the old man had given them their instructions and told them how to get back to the fairy cave, he'd given them each a hooded cloak and sent them off with a twitch of his staff and a beam of white light. They'd found themselves in the middle of the forest.
"There's not that much sunlight here." Kimi argued as she avoided the occasional patch of sun. "This is my first time out, and I want to see everything."
Serra smiled as Kimi flew in crazy patterns all around the nearby trees, stopping occasionally to examine a fallen log or a patch of moss.
Guy groaned and kept walking. "When are we supposed to get to that bridge the old man talked about?"
"I don't know." Serra answered. "But it does seem like we've walked farther than he said it was."
"Great. We're probably lost."
Kimi flew back to Guy's shoulder, "I know you're worried about your rock and everything, but they're pretty hardy after all. You should lighten up."
"I told you before!" Guy growled, swatting Kimi away, "We're not looking for a rock. He's my friend, and his 'name' is Rock!"
Kimi quickly hid in Serra's hood. "That 'guy' is really grumpy. He scares me."
Despite what she said, Kimi had hung around Guy more than Serra for the entire trip, and she was actually concerned about his opinion of her. She simply couldn't help but tease him, and she pretended like she didn't care.
Serra would have found the whole thing amusing, and probably would have joined Kimi in teasing Guy, if she hadn't been so worried about her brother.

It was dark out. The sky was brilliantly lit with stars, mixed with sparks from the campfire that shot upward and then floated around lazily until they gradually faded and disappeared.
Looking around, Rock guessed that he was still in the same field. He could just make out the black edges of the forest in the distance. A horse snorted behind him and crunched loudly on something. Rock sat up and turned to see. He recognized the kid who had talked to him just before he passed out. He was stroking the horse's neck and feeding him carrots.
"Glad you're awake." he said. "How are you feeling?"
Rock tested his leg. There was no pain. It was just barely sore. The wound he had suffered was completely gone, leaving only his torn pant leg.
"It should be fine. One of my friends had a fairy." the kid explained.
"Where did they all go?" Rock asked, seeing that they were alone.
"They wanted to get to the village before dark, so they went on ahead. I, on the other hand, believe that making friends is the best way to get through the game. So just remember, you owe me one. My name is Monty, by the way. What's your's?"
"Rock." He answered. "What about Serra and Guy?"
Monty looked at him curiously, "Who?"
"Oh, no." Rock groaned, imagining his sister and his best friend still trapped in the cave after all this time. He stood to his feet and carefully began searching around. "Where's the cave?" he asked.
"You mean the fairy cave?" Monty asked. "We saw it earlier, but there was no one there besides the fairies."
"What do you mean?" asked Rock, worriedly. "Even if they could have gotten out, they wouldn't have left me."
Monty shrugged. "Maybe a crevice opened up and they switched games, or they found a flute and accidentally warped somewhere else. Either way, the best place to start looking for them is the village, which is where I'm going. You're welcome to join if you'd like. It can be dangerous out here at night. You don't even have a weapon yet. I'm assuming you're a new player, so you should go to the village anyway to get some training. That's where the new guys are all sent to, so your friends will most likely be there too."
"What do you mean by players?" Rock asked.

"You mean you don't know?" Monty stared at him incredulously. "You are green, aren't you?" he shrugged. "Fine, I'll tell you about it, at least, what I know.
This is an extemely recent attempt at making fully successful 3-d virtual reality worlds. You probably entered through this strange new ap you found on your wii, right?" Rock nodded slowly, listening carefully. "Well, the only way out is to pass through portal after portal, until you find one that leads homeward. That's your end goal, as well as fulfilling anything else you care to. Of course, you can leave otherwise, but its a little complicated, so everyone prefers portal hopping. Its easier."
Rock stared at the ground, trying to comprehend that. "So...I could help the main character? What world am I in now?"
"To the first, you could, but you could also join the dark side if you wish. As to our current world, its Twilight Princess. You've played Legend of Zelda, right?"
Rock snorted. "Who hasn't?!"
"Right." Monty grinned. Then he rose to his feet. "If you want finer details, you'd have to somehow manage to find a mod who knows, or look it up online. Right now, though, I was on my way to Ordon village to restock up. You wanna come?"
Rock stood, grinning. "Sure, why not? And maybe I'll find Guy and Serra on the way," he thought.

"So where are we now?" Guy snapped, a little ticked. The sun beat down heavily, and it agrivated him.
"Don't worry, I'm sure we're close-There it is!" Serra shouted, pointing. And indeed, there was the bridge. It stretched over a vast chasm, and Guy looked it over nervously. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" he asked.
"Positive," Kimi said, smiling. She peeked from under his cap, looking around curiously.
Serra took a deep breath, and started crossing. So far, everything went well, right until they reached the center. Suddenly, the bridge vanished, and they were falling into the chasm. Guy, of course, was inclined to be sarcastic.
"Oh yes, this was a fine idea!" he snapped. "Thanks, you old blasted geezer! We're dead meat!"
Suddenly, the world below seemed to stretch out, and a vast black crack, deeper than the charm, appeared. Serra screamed, just as they fell through. Kimi clutched Guy's hair with her tiny hands, and Guy grabbed Serra's hand.
"Whatever comes, lets at least stay together!" he said. She nodded glumly, and they waited to see their fate.

(Kimi stays with them, okay?)

"Now look what you've done!" Kimi squealed. She was trembling from head to toe. "First you take me from my cave, and now you take me out of my world!"
Guy ignored her as he surveyed their new surroundings. It wasn't anything like the field they'd first arrived in or the woods or anything else they'd seen so far. They were in the middle of a heavy fog. They could barely make out the buildings around them It appeared to be a peaceful village. Or perhaps it was an abandoned village.
"Where are we now?" Guy wondered aloud.
"Oh, no." Kimi whispered anxiously, huddling deep in Guy's hood. "It's probably a ghost town. One wrong step and we'll be attacked by creepy spiders."
"Don't be ridiculous." Guy muttered. "Why don't you come out? The fog's hiding the sun."
"Huh uh." Kimi answered in a muffled voice. "I'm not coming out until it's all over."
"Suit yourself." Guy said with a sigh.
"Maybe we can find someone who can help." Serra suggested as she headed to the nearest cluster of buildings.
"Yeah," Guy said doubtfully, tagging along behind her with his hands shoved in his pockets, "Just like that old man, right?"
Serra knocked on the door of the nearest house. "Hello!" she called out. "Can someone help us?"
The door creaked open and a small child peeked her head through. She looked up at Serra curiously. "What are you doing outside?" she asked.
Serra started to answer, but the girl spoke up first, suddenly looking very excited. "Are you Lord Eliwood's soldiers? Wait a moment I have something for you!"
Serra looked at Guy in surprise as the two of them were left alone outside the house again. Guy simply shrugged.
"Here." the girl said as she reappeared at the door. She held a slim sword in her arms. "This was my father's but he's dead now. I want Lord Eliwood to have this. It's very rare. It's called a Wo Dao."
"Just when I thought things couldn't get any stranger." Guy mumbled to himself as he examined the sword. He had to admit it was pretty cool looking, but it was so light he doubted it was real.
"Sorry, I don't have one for you." the girl apologized to Serra, mistaking her look of surprise. "But please, take this. Perhaps you can trade it for your own sword." she handed Serra a small red stone, perfectly round and smooth as silk. "Tell Lord Eliwood that I am grateful to him for protecting us."
As Serra was admiring the perfection of the stone the door of the house slammed shut.
"Wait a second." Serra pounded on the door. "We need help! At least tell us where we are."
"You can't visit those houses twice." a voice spoke behind her.
As Serra spun around to see who was there the gem flew out of her hand and dropped in the cobblestone street.
"Who are you?" asked Guy.
The strange young man observing them gave a mischievous half smile and stepped towards them. Guy held up the Wo Dao in what he hoped was an intimidating stance.
The stranger stooped down and picked up the red gem to examine it. "Nice." he said, "This should sell for quite a bit." he walked up to Serra, ignoring Guy and his sword. He closed her hand around the stone, now gritty from the dirt it had fallen in. "You should keep better care of this." He said and then he turned to walk away.
"I asked you a question." Guy reminded him angrily.
"You should get out of here while you can." the stranger answered without stopping or even looking back. "I expect someone will be arriving very soon to meet Lord Eliwood. You should leave now if you don't want involved in the battle."
"What!?" Guy asked, "A battle?"
"And the name's Matthew, by the way." the stranger said as he disappeared into the fog.
Guy wisely decided not to follow him.
"I like him." Kimi said with a giggle, still hidden in Guy's hood.
"How would you know? You didn't even see him." Guy argued.
"I can tell. He's tricky."
"What do we do now?" Serra asked, looking around nervously, expecting trouble any second.
Guy sighed and stepped back onto the road. "We'll just find someone else who can tell us where we are." he said.
Serra hurried to follow him. The last thing she wanted was to get separated from Guy to. She was still worrying about Rock as she stroked the red stone anxiously. It took her a moment before she realized that something was wrong with it. It wasn't just gritty with dirt. It was rough and slightly oblong now. She opened her hand to look at it and was surprised to find just an ordinary grey pebble in place of the red gem.
Matthew fingered the gem, extremely pleased with his find, as he left the village to rejoin Eliwood's company. "Amateurs." he muttered with a cocky grin. "They don't even recognize a thief when they see one."

-lol, laughed at that one. I like Matthew, don't you? Also, I just realized, this game, Guy and Serra? This could get really funny. By the way, despite memory search, I cannot recall what town they're in now, nor story part. So I'll work with Rock until I can get a bead as to where we are.

Rock bid farewell to Monty, who rode off to catch up with his friends. He had managed to secure a sword and a slingshot, as well as other various useful things. Now he just wanted some direction.
"Perhaps the forest is the best place to start," he decided. Thus decision reached, he quickly started for the forest.
It wasn't that dark, it was quite pleasant actually. However, he had this odd prickling on the back of his neck, the further in he went. He knew suddenly, without really understanding why, that there was danger about. His hand trailed to his sword, quietly gripping the hilt. He was growing more and more scared, but he refused to let it overcome him.
"I'm not afraid," he told himself. "I'm not afraid. I can handle this."
He came to this spring, a beautiful, clean place. Peace was here, but that undercurrent of danger was still there. He gently bent down beside the spring, cupped his hands, and drank of the pure water.
"This is very good," he decided. He straightened, then whirled around as he heard a horse's whinney. Into the area came a girl leading a horse. Apparently not noticing him, she slammed a gate closed, and then saw him.
"Who are you?!" she gasped.
"Just a player," he said quickly. "I don't mean you any harm, honest! I'm just...trying to figure out where to go from here."
She was quiet, then nodded. "Fine. But stay out of my way." and she led the horse to the water. He backed away quickly; clearly she was upset about something.
"Ilia?" Rock turned, and saw a small boy standing near one of the small, hilly walls that enclosed the spring. The boy came over to talk to her, and Rock moved away from them both.
"A gate," he murmured. "Wonder if there's any real way past it. But then, how'd the kid get in here?"
He glanced around where the boy had been standing, then spotted it, a small hole in the wall, just large enough for him to fit through. Rejoicing over his good fortune, he quickly crawled through and escaped. Grinning, he started to head deeper into the woods. He heard talking, so he looked back and saw a man run from the gate toward the wall with the hole.
"huh. Wonder what that's about." Suddenly, he heard loud rumbling. Startled, he dove to the side and put his back to the wall, drawing his sword.
Coming toward him were three ginormas boars, like the one that had tried to kill him! Except, these pigs had riders, odd green creatures that somehow managed to stay on. The lead one was much bigger than his fellows, and was much scarier. Rock cried out in alarm, and the big one spotted him. He rode on past, and Rock, thinking that maybe they would pass him by, turned to try to run past the other pig and rider.
Something, a wooden climb, smashed down on the back of his head. Sparks exploded in his eyes, and he collapsed again. His last coherent thought was: "This is beginning to become a habit."

"If we run into that creep again, I'll..." Guy was so angry he couldn't even finish, and Serra wasn't sure she wanted him too. She had never seen him this angry before.
"Will you try to steal the gem back?" Kimi asked curiously.
"Forget that stupid rock, I'll beat him to a pulp next time I see him!"
"That's probably a better idea for you." Kimi giggled, "I don't think you could match him at wits."
Guy rummaged around in his pockets trying to find Kimi as he yelled at her for insulting him.
Serra didn't pay them any attention as she looked around her, growing ever more concerned about their predicament. Ever since Matthew had disappeared the fog had grown even thicker. They could barely see more than a couple of feet in front of them. And she was certain that she'd heard strange noises echoing around them. Horses' hooves clattering on the cobblestone. Someone whispering. But suddenly everything had become unnaturally still. It made her think of the calm before the storm.
"I think we should keep moving, Guy." Serra said in a soft voice. Turning around, Serra was startled to find herself alone.
"Serra? Where are you?" she heard Guy call out. He sounded close by.
"I'm right here." Serra answered, running towards the sound of his voice.
"Serra?!" Guy called again, as if he hadn't heard her.
Serra stopped in her tracks. Now it sounded like he was behind her. She turned around and headed in that direction, getting more and more uneasy as she searched for Guy and called out his name, not knowing that she was going in the wrong direction.
"Where did she go?" Guy wondered, feeling a little worried himself. "She was right here a minute ago."
"I don't know." Kimi answered. "You two are supposed to be taking care of me, not the other way around."
"Serra?!" Guy called out again.
"Over here." Serra answered, but she sounded strange.
Guy hurried in the direction of the voice. Then he saw a figure in the fog.
"Man, you scared me to death, Serra." he said, relieved. "Are you...?"
Guy stopped in his tracks as soon as he was close enough to realize that the girl before him wasn't Serra.
"Who are you?" she asked, looking a bit perturbed. "I don't think I've seen you before. Are you with our troop, or just a villager perhaps?"
Guy opened his mouth to explain, but she cut him off.
"Anyway. You can be my bodyguard until Erk gets back. I don't know what happened to him. He was right here a minute ago, then I turned my back for just a moment and he was gone. By the way, how did you know that I'm Serra? I mean, I know I'm popular and all, and everyone in Eliwood's company must have heard about me. But how did you recognize me?" She blushed. "Is my beauty and natural royal bearing that obvious?"
Guy was speechless. What a ditz. he thought to himself. What's she doing here? And why does she need a bodyguard?
"Oh," The strange girl who claimed to be Serra pointed at his sword. "You use a Wo Dao? You must be a myrmidon, huh? Just like Guy."
"I am Guy." he answered, now thoroughly confused.
"Huh?" Serra looked equally confused. "That can't be. If you're Guy, then who was that other fellow with us who said he was Guy?"
"Look," Guy decided it was time to change the subject and part ways. "I'm sorry I bothered you. I thought you were..."
"Watch out!" the girl screeched, grabbing Guy and sharply jerking him out of the way as a spear whistled past his head.
"What?" Guy started in alarm. "What's going on?"
"Oh, Guy!" Serra squealed, "You have to protect me!" She clutched his sleeve in over dramatized fear as she peered into the fog.
Suddenly their attacker was visible. What looked like a medieval knight on horseback was suddenly visible through the fog, charging towards them, another spear raised over his head ready to be thrown.
"Quick, Guy!" Serra screamed. "Do something?"
"Do something, Guy!" Kimi squealed as well.
Why me? Guy wondered, Why do I get stuck with all the crazy, annoying girls?

Okay, I think that settles chapter 1. Lets move on.

MY TURN! Chapter 2

Rock groaned, stirring faintly as life returned to him. It was hard to tell exactly what he was lying on-there was something insubstantial about it. He felt a little fuzzy too. Slowly, he opened his eyes. He was sitting on a cliff, up near the sky. He could hear strange noises, odd bird calls he'd never heard before. Something else too, a kind of moaning that sent chills down his spine. Then there was suddenly an unearthly howling that made him clamp his hands over his ears.
"What the heck?!"
He stumbled to his feet, then noticed something. His hands were somewhat transparent, to his eyes at least. The world around him was shadowed. Sky and earth looked sickly.
"Where am I?" he asked the air. "Last I remember...ouch...." he clutched his head. "What on earth happened next?"
Looking around, he saw a path of sorts that would take him back down. It would require a lot of roof-hopping, but he was up to the task. His scabbard thumped his legs, and he glanced at it, eyes widening. His sword was gone!!!
"Someone stole it," he thought. "Or maybe it was dropped, when...whatever happened."
There was that howling again. He glanced around quickly, but there was no sign of anything around him. Slowly, cautiously, he proceeded to climb down. The rocks were sharp, and he cut his wrist on one. Grimacing, he tried to keep going, when the rocks suddenly broke underneath him. He yelled as he fell, down...down....down....
He had the brains to cover his head, so he at least didn't black out. His body was bruised and battered, and he just lay there. he was almost in shock, but was managing to hold it together. Slowly, he made it to his feet again, and looked around. He was at the bottom of the valley, near a path that lead closer to what looked like a volcano. He didn't think that would be a good place to go, so he decided to go further into town. He was just getting started, when something howled again, much closer this time. His head swiveled to find the source, and when he found it, he froze.
Standing not far from him were three large, black, strange creatures, the stuff of nightmares. All were turned in his direction and coming toward him.
"Fine time to be without a sword!" he mentally scolded himself as he turned to run.

"Guy?" Serra called out fearfully. It had been so quiet a minute ago, but now she felt like there was a raging battle all around her and she just couldn't see it through the fog. Horses' hooves clattered on the road. Clashing steel and roaring battle cries echoed through the town. What was going on?
Guy!" she called again.
Suddenly a figure appeared before. He was a soldier clad in armor and wielding a heavy broad sword. He turned, saw Serra and raised his sword, screaming a war cry.
Serra froze in terror.
"Move!"
A strange young man darted out of the fog, shoved Serra to the side and engaged the soldier with lightening speed. With his agile body and lighter sword the younger man was able to easily outmaneuver the soldier.
"What is wrong with you?" the stranger said, turning to face Serra upon defeating the soldier.
Having fallen to the ground, Serra stared up at the young man in shock.
"If you don't want to lose all your progress, I suggest you start playing serious." The youth started to turn away.
"Wait!" Serra quickly stood to her feet and rushed after him, unwilling to be left alone again.
"I wouldn't suggest you come with me." he warned. "It is my goal to advance into the thick of the battle."
"I'm lost." she explained. "I can't find my friend I was with."
"What's his name?"
"Guy."
The stranger stopped and looked at Serra curiously. "Wait a minute. So, it wasn't me you were calling earlier?"
Serra shook her head.
Guy studied her for a moment and then sighed as he gave. "You really are new to the game aren't you?" He gave his sword a quick examination. "This only has two more uses. I guess I should go and see Merlinus. You can come with me. Your friend might be there."
"Thank you." Serra said in relief as she followed close behind him.

"Guy, watch out!"
He ducked from the sword and punched the guy in the solar plexus. The man gasped, then fell back as Guy punched his face. He was breathing hard. Having lost his sword, he'd had to resort to his hands, which wasn't easy at all. He took the sword from the unconscious man and hefted it while Kimi flew around his head, clapping her hands and laughed. "You're cooler than I thought, Guy!" she laughed.
"Yeah right," he snorted, still annoyed. Serra, the pink-haired idiot, had been clingy all through the battle and refused to shut up. What's more, he was getting the uncomfortable feeling that someone or something was watching him. Straightening ubruptly, he said, "Lets get away from here."
"You know what, i think I'll introduce you to Lord Eliwood after the battle," Serra told him. "For an idiot boy you're rather nice and you protected fragile little me! You're a truly splendid fine! We should be together all the time!"
"Heaven forbid," he muttered. He quickly ran off, followed by Serra while Kimi clung to his shoulders.
All was still a moment, then a cloaked man materialized from the shadows. "Interesting," the person said. A golden eye glinted under the hood. "What a splendid opportunity." He quietly followed the retreating figures.

"Hey, come over here!"
Rock saw a girl beckoning him. Figuring whatever she would do couldn't be worse than what those things might do, he ran toward her. She started running, shouting at him to follow. The monsters stopped following after a while, but the kids kept running. Shortly thereafter, they came across a huge wall, dark black and covered in fiery orange designs. He experimently pushed against it, but couldn't go through it. The girl sighed.
"Aw, heck, he hasn't cleared the Twilight up yet. Oh well, I'll just cheat a little." She twisted something on her wrist then grabbed Rock's arm. "Hold on to your socks!" she told him. Minutes later, there was a sudden flickering in the world around, then they were standing on a great bridge. The ruins of one, at least, for the middle was missing.
"Ha-ah!" the girl laughed. "That did it! We're out!"
"How did you do that?!" Rock asked incredulously. "How did-just like that- how?!"
"You mean you...oh, you must be new. Its how we travel, and how we get home. See?" she pointed to his wrist. He found he wore a steel bracelet though it had no adornments. He stared at it curiously. "Simply twist it and say or think of where you want to go. Easy!"
"But I was told the portals-"
"Oh, you ran into Monty. Idiot, don't listen to anything he says. The random portal appears, but its really all in the wrist."
"What if I just want...I mean, what if I don't know where to go? What if I wanted to find someone?"
She considered a moment, then said, "Well, could work, could not work. Its not entirely precise, but it beats nothing. Be careful, there's a lot of worlds here." She twisted her bracelet, smiling. "Now I must bid you farewell. Until we meet again."
"Wait, who are you?" He asked quickly.
"Mimi!" and she disappeared.
He sighed, then looked at the band. "Here goes nothing." He twisted it, thinking. "Take me to the world my friends are in."
The world flickered, then changed.

"Well, well. What do we have here?" Matthew's mischievous smile broadened when he saw Guy leading Serra into camp.
"You!" Serra said with a mixture of surprise and anger. She strode towards him purposefully. "What are you doing here, you thief?"
Matthew raised his sword, instantly stopping Serra in her tracks. "I was re-equipping," he said innocently, "My iron sword wasn't quite up to standards for this battle, so I came to upgrade to a killing edge. What's this business about me being a thief?"
Serra's resolve disappeared as she looked down Matthew's blade. A tiny red gem didn't seem worth getting killed over.
"Ready for that rematch, Guy?" teased Matthew as he turned away from Serra.
"Anytime you are." Guy answered, grinning confidently.
"Hmm," Matthew looked disappointed. "Guess it'll have to wait then."
Guy growled in frustration and walked past Matthew towards the giant tent pitched well away from the battle. Serra hurried after him.
The tent was guarded by a mounted archer.
"Hey, Rath." Guy raised a hand as he greeted the horseman.
Rath nodded in return, but said nothing.
As they approached the tent Serra noticed Rath eyeing her suspiciously. She stayed close to Guy to confirm that she was with him.
"What are you doing here?" Guy stopped to ask him. "Weren't you at the front lines?"
"Yes. But Will asked me to return with him. We were both low on arrows."
Guy glanced at Serra, seeming to remember her for the first time since entering the camp. "You wouldn't happen to have seen any other newcomers, would you?" he asked Rath.
The horseman looked Serra over once more before answering, "No."
Serra's hopes fell with the simple answer. It was bad enough to get separated from Rock, but now it seemed she would be unable to find Guy either.
"Well, he might still show up." Guy said encouraging. "I'm going to the front lines. Rath, maybe you could help her search for awhile."
Rath's expression was unreadable as he considered the request. "I don't suppose she should be left in this fog by herself. Will and I will look after her." he turned his attention to Serra, "If that's what you want."
Serra hesitated for a moment. Guy seemed a tad friendlier than this quiet archer and so far he'd proven himself to be a great swordsman and protector. She knew nothing about Rath in contrast. Yet Serra could tell that Guy was impatient to rejoin in the battle and she didn't really care to be a part of that.
"All right." she said, nodding in agreement.
"Great," Guy said with relief.
"I'm sure Will will be thrilled," said Rath in his dry, almost emotionless tone.

"I'm going out on a limb here...more Black Fang?"
The oncoming guards did not stop. They kept running forward, swords drawn. Guy sighed. "This just ain't a good day for me."
He lept at the first one, sweaping aside the man's sword with his own and kicking him in the stomach. One down, two to go. Kimi and Serra watched him, shouting encouragement and suggestions.
"That's it, Guy! Knock him down and step on his face!"
"Girls!" was Guy's shouted, angry reply as he finished off the last one. He turned back to the girls, glaring. "Unless you want to be left behind, you'll shut up, please!" he said, remembering manners at the last second. Kimi huffed and settled on Serra's shoulder. Serra, on the other hand, began yelling at him. He wasn't even sure what she was saying after a while. He tried changing the subject.
"This sword doesn't look like it'll last much longer. Is there anywhere I can get a new one?"
"Oh sure, back at Merlinus at camp. I'll show you. Come on!" Serra grabbed his arm and rushed off, hopefully leading him the right way.
The cloaked man materialized again, still watching. A black-haired woman, dressed modestly in black tunic and white tights, appeared beside him.
"Ephidal," she said in a clear, impassive voice. "We are nearing the part where your part ends. From there, you will have no further choice in what occurs until things restart once more. Have you yet found one of the bands?"
Ephidal smiled. "As a matter of fact, I have."

Rock's world flickered and the terrain melted from the bridge to the seashore. He looked around him to see a a few buildings on the beach and a strange structure a short ways out into the water with a floating platform.
"So, what game is this?" Rock wondered, "It seems familiar."
"Hey, you're just in time!" a young girl's voice called out to him.
Rock turned to see a petite girl in her early teens, perched on a short stone wall and waving cheerily at him. "Welcome to Majora's Mask!"
"We're waiting for it to restart." said her companion. The big, burly man in his mid thirties stood on the other side of the wall, leaning over on it with his arms crossed.
"Uh..." Rock walked over to them hesitantly, still scanning the beach impatiently. "Is it just you two?"
"Yep," the man said, "This is me and my daughter's quality time. I'm Wade and this is June."
June smiled and waved again.
Rock tried not to look disappointed. "Sorry, I'm looking for some friends. You haven't seen anyone else around, have you?"
"Most everyone else left." answered Wade. Most people who were in this game left after it was beat. They don't want to have to start over from the beginning. But June and I aren't really playing serious."
"Did you try using your bracelet?" asked June, trying to be helpful, "It's used for more than just hopping games, after all. You can use it to warp back to party members."
"Party members?" Rock asked, getting a sinking feeling.
"Yeah," June answered, "You're friends are in the same party as you, right?"
"I don't really know." answered Rock.
"Then you probably aren't." said June sympathetically. "That makes it a lot harder to find people."
"Well, I guess I'll have to go look for them." said Rock.
"If they were here then they've probably moved on," Wade informed him. "But they might have just arrived, so it's worth a shot."
"Thanks!" Rock started down the beach, waving a farewell to June and Wade.
"Good luck!" June called after him.
There was a stream flowing into the lake that Rock followed alongside of. As he went he got an uneasy feeling, as if he were being watched. He looked over at the clear water of the stream, just in time to see a splash in the water and a dark figure darting away. He took a step closer to investigate, but there was nothing there.
"Must be my imagination." thought Rock and he continued on his way.

Serra clung tightly to Rath, eyes squeezed shut. Rath was shooting arrows with speed, and she had quickly decided she was sick of watching. She knew Will was following along, but wasn't sure exactly where. She heard an arrow wizz past and cringed.
"I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die!!!"
She was jostled by a sharp jerk, and realized that the horse had stopped. Cautiously, she opened her eyes.
Up ahead was a small group of cavalry, perhaps a dozen give or take, consisting mostly of lances but there were a few swords mixed in. Will looked unhappy.
"That's...some pretty bad odds," he said.
Rath spun his horse around. "Escape into one of the buildings. I'll distract them, and you pick them off as they come."
Will nodded and ran. Rath suddenly grabbed Serra and made her get off the horse. "Run," he told her.
She obeyed without hesitation, running away as fast as her legs could carry her. Fear lent her wings, and she was soon lost deep within the ruins. She couldn't even hear the battle anymore. She stopped still, looking frantically around.
"Guy?" she shouted. "Either Guy? Rath maybe? Will! Someone help me, I'm lost!"
"Poor child. What are you doing out here?"
Serra turned. Coming toward her was a man in a dark cloak. The hood was thrown back, revealing long black hair tied back in a ponytail, pale skin, and golden eyes. He was taller than Serra, and she cringed away.
"Who...who are you?" she asked. The man smiled.
"I am a friend. Come quickly, this place will be engaged in bloody conflict soon, and I personally would not like to be in the midst of it."

Merlinus struck Guy as the nervous type. He seemed constantly jumpy and was scared to death of being attacked. Guy was exceedingly grateful when he finally got out of that tent. As he left, he saw Serra engaged in what sounded like an argument with another guy, who looked perhaps a little older than Guy himself. Kimi fluttered in Guy's pocket now, sighing.
"Can't believe this," she whimpered. "When's night coming? I want out!"
"You and me both," Guy replied. He glanced around, continuing, "The worst part is, until something changes, I'm stuck with that Serra, and I still haven't found...my friend, Serra." He facepalmed. "I need to get out of here!"
"Guy!" Serra ran over, dragging the purple-haired mage along behind her. "Erk's joining us! We're off to cover Eliwood as he charges. Erk says we're almost at the gate!"
"How wonderful," he thought bitterly.