hackGU: Return Chapter 13: Ranking, a .hack/sign fanfic

Disclaimer: .hack/G.U. and anything to do with it doesn't belong to me. I wish it did, but if you're reading this chapter, I bet you did too.

Axel, Hikaru, Kuroha, 'The Guild Master', Ginny, Aurum, Hunter, and Rei don't belong to me, but in fact Miffin.

Eon, Aqua, Sijez, Shiruba, Denki, Koji, and the plot belong to me. Don't take them without asking, or I'll be forced to put a voodoo curse on you until you give them back.

Now, finally making an appearance after so long, the one, the only, Ado! Property of Dusk Ado. Do not take him, or else he'll hurt you…really, really hurt you…badly…with a spork…

Yippee! After so long, I can finally get on with the Tournament! Whoo! The Tournaments take up almost half of the first two .hack/G.U. games, and about a third of the final one (if I remember correctly…). I hope it won't take up quite that much time in this fic…but who knows where it'll lead me…oh well. Say la vii.

Chapter Notes:

- God Chim Chims are special Chim Chims that raise the affection level of the characters in the party by two levels. (The little spinning orbs around the larger one) Axel refers to it in this chapter, so keep it in mind if you didn't ever meet one.

- 火: Ka or Hi. Both mean fire in Japanese. (Ka also means Tuesday!)

- 暗闇: Ankoku; means darkness. (One of the many words for darkness; I gave up looking after 20.)

- The 'One Sin' was apparently some monster that Orca and Balmung fought together sometime before the beginning of the first .hack series. It's the battle that won Balmung his wings, and what made them both so famous in The World. Look it up if you're so interested. I'm lazy! (According to Miffin, it was a dragon…)(Miffin's note: If you really want to find out about it, read .hack/AI buster. It's a novel, so if you don't like those, too bad for you. :3)

-Chewbacca is a furry beast-thingy in Star Wars. I do not own Star Wars, but Chewy is awesome. ' w'

- Sorel is the name of one of Miffin's characters, but isn't directly in this story…I just love Sorel so much that I named a team after him, even though they're losers… XP

"EGGPLANT!" insider's joke… (Miffin's note: XD)

WARNING! THIS CHAPTER IS BLEEPING LONG!

Welcome to Chapter 13: Ranking. Enjoy the chapter, pukos!

Ranking

By now, it was a faint sight that haunted her every night. She didn't even know who he was, nor could she see him clearly any longer, but she knew to hate him. Eon grit her teeth as she stared at the tall man, towering over her, now nearly shadowed black from the loss of her memory regarding him. He had broad shoulders and short hair, though she could no longer tell the colour. The only thing that stood out on him was his ever-so-familiar left arm. The arm that killed her back then…

She could see a small smile visible on his face, though couldn't tell why he was smiling; it was too dark. He spread his arms wide, as if welcoming her, as she attempted to reach for her blade, but it was too far away for her to reach. She looked down at herself, even though she knew what was already there. Her body…no…her PC body was disappearing. Small speckles of green light shone around the hexagonal edges of where the attack had hit her, leaving a hole clean through her chest, and eating away at her remaining data… It moved way too fast for her to dodge, or to even defend against. It was like an arrow…triangular, and red; or at least, that's what she thought she saw…

She looked back up to the man, surprised to feel the tears begin to fill her eyes. Wasn't this a game…? Why was it so real then…? It hurt…she was so tired…

It was funny, Eon suddenly noticed in sick humour. Back then, during that fight at least…it was as if she could see just fine. No handicaps…just her, and this tall man…though it was hardly a fight that she wished to remember. It was over in instants , anyways.

"Become," He said lightly, in a voice that she would never allow herself to forget, even if she did lose his face. "Become the Judgement." And with that, he slowly turned, and began to walk away from her, as if she never existed in the first place.

Eon howled in anger and pain, as the man gave her one last look under his tinted glasses, before just vanishing from her sight, as if never existing either.

Eon reached for him, only to scream in gargled shock, as she watched green light eat away at her fingers, and small, transparent hexagons fall from her fingers, arm and hand.

"No!" She howled one last time, before falling over slowly, and everything suddenly became black…

Ripping her claws back hard, and thrusting her elbows down and angled, Eon quickly finished off her opponent with an easy spin-kick to the head, before landing casually. She instantly turned to guard against a new face to her left with no trouble, before igniting her claws, and shooting them towards the Edge Punisher in an 'x' position. He was forced back, but didn't loose his footing, as he guarded against the attack with his large broadsword. Eon made a slight face of discontent, before continuing her short assault, kneeing him hard just under his rib cage.

The Edge Punisher made a strangled noise that was somewhere between a grunt and gurgle of pain, before lowering his guard for just a second. One second of shock, and Eon took it as her last chance. Moving quickly, she made a simple uppercut motion with her right hand, only to instantly feint it into an elbow to his head, before turning her back to him, and forcing her right leg under him, twisting it behind his left ankle, and slamming him with her back and left elbow.

He instantly lost his balance, but Eon didn't bother finishing him off. She quickly jumped just out of range of an oncoming spell from a Shadow Warlock, (who Hikaru was supposed to have finished off a minute ago) before landing a number of inches from Axel, who had just annihilated her previous prey with a lightning-like spell.

They stood back to back for a long moment, waiting. They watched all of their remaining opponents, before she finally spoke.

"Are you sure that you should be here right now…?" She questioned easily, before beginning to cast a medium-strong fire spell. "Yata could get mad at you for ignoring another one of his calls."

Axel made a small, uncaring grunt, before guarding against a foolish Harvest Cleric with his twin blades. He forced all of his weight towards the Cleric, and her staff instantly separated from his blades, as she fell over like a sack of potatoes. He made a devilish grin, before stabbing her easily with his short-sword-like blades, until her character kneeled on the ground, transparent and unmoving.

"Who cares what that baldy thinks?" Axel asked, half angrily, half tiredly. "If he wants to call Hikki and me, then tough luck. He's got more of a chance catching a God Chim Chim, and making me like him. We're not his pets, like his little Avatar-goons."

Eon made a light grunt, contemplating on what to say, before casting her spell towards the Shadow Warlock, who the slow Hikaru was still attempting to skewer with his Lance. She dodged Hikaru easily, but took the slight damage of the fire attack, paralyzing her just long enough for the Lord Partizan to hit her head on with his attack, as she intended. The girl died instantly, and kneeled on the ground like her other Arena comrades.

"You know that's not what I mean, Axel." Eon said quietly, so their remaining two opponents couldn't overhear them.

It had been two days since she had refused to rejoin G.U. after her experience with Aqua, and Axel and Hikaru's tango with Denki and Koji. Axel and Hikaru had refused to tell G.U. the entire story; she was the only one who had. That made her happy to know that they were more loyal to herself than Yata, but at the same time, concerned. She may not have the same education as all of the schooled G.U., but she could tell that there was trouble in G.U. right now. Axel and Hikaru continued to ignore Yata's calls, (seven times already, just for today) and stuck close to her like glue. She wondered if they were just doing it out of concern, or the fact that Axel wanted to prove a point: he was not Yata's pet. Yata could never whip him into one, and both of them knew it all too well.

From what she could gather out of the tidbits of information Axel and Hikaru would let slip, Yata was extremely concerned about the possible threat of Hades and Crystal Seraphim right now; more so than ever before. He seemed to be working non-stop to try to track them, or find a way to hack into Hades, but the firewall guarding the Guild wouldn't allow him even the simplest glimpse of it. He also seemed to be more interested in them and their Guardians right now, to the point of trying to get the two of them to go nowhere without an Epitaph User with them within The World.

Axel absolutely hated the idea. That could be another reason for their sudden devotion to her as well…though it also seemed that Yata was trying to get Pi and Kuhn to dog her from time to time; she managed to escape them by Logging Out, or changing Servers quickly though…

Eon narrowed her eyes at the thought of Crystal Seraphim; Aqua in particular. She herself had been training non-stop so that she would stand a chance against her in their next encounter…though she knew that she was still nowhere near her level. Her hit points were only at half right now, having taken only four whole hits, and a spell…it was pathetic. She needed more training, though that was only one of her problems right now. There was also only one day left until the Warrior Palace Tournament actually started, and they had yet to make the ranking. Sure, they gained double the WP points, having only half the total number of players available to join the party, but still, rank number 15, with 8 being the lowest…? That'd take some more time…time that they didn't seem to have…

She unconsciously bit onto her thumbnail in the real world, before nibbling at it hard. (Good thing she had a one-handed controller…) If only they could take care of their ranking first. Once they got to eight, or higher even, that'd ensure them a place in the Tournament, then she'd have time to train between their matches...

Eon instantly snapped back into The World, as she realised that Axel had just body slammed her out of the way of a powerful shot-attack from a Steam Gunner across the Arena floor.

"Don't zone out on me, Eon!" The Twin Blade ordered angrily, before racing towards the Blade Brandier to her right, who was obviously advancing towards them from her blind spot.

She grit her teeth hard, as she ducked her head down lower, and with a sudden burst of speed, shot towards the Steam Gunner at an alarming rate. Out of all of her stats, her speed was her highest, on par with that of her devastating attack power. Only Axel was faster than her, but why wouldn't he be…? He was a ninja after all…or so he claimed…

The Steam Gunner made a small cry of shock as Eon glared up at him with her golden eyes; her claws raking upwards at his torso. He somehow managed to tap the 'O' button to defend with his large rifle-like weapon, but it hardly helped. As soon as the wolf-child finished her slash, she flipped herself onto her hands, and kicked a powerful right foot into his jaw, sending him soaring through the air like an ungraceful bird, only to slam back-first into the large, blue barrier which surrounded them.

He coughed a shocked yelp-growl, before managing to land on his feet, and aiming his steam-weapon at her. Eon stood ready, though her stomach churned uncomfortably. Her character wasn't built for defence. Neither the defensive, nor magical-defensive stats were all too high, not to mention her moderate sum of Hit Points. She was also at half health the way it was…one powerful attack, and she'd be done for…

She didn't expect the speed of the shot; it was over for her the second the small, circular bullet hit her PC body.

As if in slow motion, Eon watched from the M2D screen before her eye(s) uselessly, as her body fell to its knees, and suddenly became transparent; allowing the violets, greens, and reds of the aurora above to make a ghostly reflection in her translucent shadow.

Eon grit her teeth together hard, to not yell out or possibly even curse, as she realized that even if she did manage to defend, with the meagre amount of hit points that she had, she'd have died anyway from the power behind the attack.

Her shoulders hunched in the real world for a brief moment, as she imagined what all of the viewers were thinking with her pointless death. She could have kept her hit points up, to avoid such a foolish thing…but didn't…that was just like her! Worst though, she thought of what Aqua, and even the random distribution of G.U. members were thinking as well. She knew they were here. She already saw Aqua before the match had officially started, and caught a glimpse of the 'Terror of Death', before he moved from his viewing area; possibly for a better seat.

Eon shook her head hard, before pinching her sharp index fingernail into the flesh of her thumb to snap her out of those thoughts. She knew that Axel and Hikaru would revive her before the end of the fight, but they'd also lose a certain number of WP Points from the use of a revival item and her death. There was an even greater penalty for leaving her dead, so revival was their only option.

All I can do now is wait… Eon thought, suddenly calm, before taking in the Arena's surroundings around her for the first time. The sky was a dark, navy-black, with shimmering white and pale yellow stars in the distance. A large aurora blazed above the Arena in ever-changing arrays of red, violet, blue, and green. She noticed the odd comet fall in the distance of stars, as well as a clear, red full-moon, hidden tidily behind the graphics of the aurora. It seems like this area was made for more than just one type of viewing, the wolf-child thought almost humorously, before turning her attention from the sky towards the crowd. As always, they erupted in loud cheers for both sides, and players could be seen making bets on which team would win, to CC Corp.'s displeasure. She slowly scanned for any familiar faces within the crowd, instantly catching sight of Silibus and Gaspard, deep in conversation with some cocky-looking red headed girl. Alkaid, was it…? Whoever it was, she seemed like a tough foe either way. Her posture gave that air about her.

Looking down a few sets, and to the right, Eon saw Aqua starring straight at her from her usual spot. The Macabre Dancer stood with her arms crossed strongly, yet her legs braced, as if she feared an attack of some kind. Eon had to look elsewhere after a matter of seconds within her gaze. It was worse than a cat's; never blinking, and always contemplating something that couldn't be seen. Eon quickly scanned the crowd to Aqua's right, noticing Kuroha hugging tightly onto the purple-haired member of Crystal Seraphim, and the Trump Joker known as Koji. They all stood behind the main line up of cheering parrots at the rail; obviously they had not been noticed, or they'd have been hounded with questions and invitations by now.

So half of their team's here… Eon thought coldly, as her gaze moved on. Without seeing any more Crystal Seraphim members, she looked to the left. No one caught her interest until she caught sight of Pi's pink hair, and then Kuhn's blue ponytail next to her. Haseo was quietly speaking to Kuhn, every so often surveying the progressing battle below him before continuing; possibly with a new topic.

Eon raised an eyebrow in the real world. Until now, she never caught sight of them in their arena matches; not together, at least. She could smell an interrogation of some sort later…lovely…

She managed to catch sight of a few more familiar faces, before vision suddenly swayed in her M2D, as her character instantly stood up from its kneeling position. Eon made no effort to thank Axel openly, though gave him a small nod of appreciation as Hikaru sent a strong Pha-Repth spell flying her way.

That was the funny thing about Hikaru's new character; he could use Harvest Cleric healing spells. Things that couldn't be bought in shops…as if he was a Holy Paladin or something…

Over half of Eon's hit points had returned to her now, though just barely. Without a second though, the beast-like girl flung herself at the only remaining opponent; an oddly nimble Blade Brandier. Eon couldn't help but smirk as her claws locked with the Brandier's thin blade, and both of them attempted to push the other back; to gain the advantage they needed to defeat the other one. It was obvious by now that the Brandier couldn't stand up to their team's combined might, but he didn't give up if he noticed it. Apparently, taking down one of them with him was better than just surrendering against bad odds.

Eon gave an amused, cat-like grin, as she easily hopped away from the Brandier, only for him to desperately slice at her horizontally with his blade. Taking the advice of an extremely old videogame that she played before, Eon flipped her feet down, kicked off of the floor, and landed on the flat of the sword, just as it reached an inch from where her torso had previously been. She stood on it with perfect balance.

Eon gave a mocking wave to the shocked man, as Hikaru finally released his pro-longed healing spell; completely filling in the rest of her hit points. Axel whistled loudly, as Eon's golden eyes slit dangerously, and her grin gained wolf-like features. She didn't prolong his death. Before he knew what had happened, Eon was behind him; small embers trailing towards the red moon in her wake, and her left claw outstretched; it had obviously pierced straight through him.

"All right Eon!" Axel cheered enthusiastically, as all of the members of the opposition party vanished from the field in an eerie orange-grey light. "You pulled off a Dark Link!"

Eon allowed herself a broad, wolfish grin.

"Did you like it?" She asked, placing down her controller, and stretching her hands before herself until they cracked loudly. "I've been working on it for a while now."

"Duh!" Axel chirped, as Eon allowed her eyes to stray back into the audience. "It takes guts to pull off something like that just after a death—what're you lookin' at…?"

"Crystal Seraphim left." Eon murmured in interest, though more to herself than the Twin Blade or their tall companion. Well of course they're gone! She told herself mentally. If they stayed, they'd NEVER get outta here in one piece with all their fans!

Axel cocked his head to one side. By his expression, Eon could tell that neither he nor Hikaru had noticed their silent enemy-watchers.

"Crystal Seraphim was—" Axel asked, but Eon merely gave him a shrug with her shoulder blades before he could finish. She knew that she saw them. Axel furrowed his eyebrows in thought, before Eon gave a small sigh, and explained why they left so early.

"They've been here every match since yesterday." Eon added slowly, "Them, and a few more players as well…"

"Like…?" Hikaru asked, more curiously than anything.

"Mmm…" Eon mumbled as she looked up the crowd; slowly scanning for the faces she had seen just before their opponent's defeat. Most had vanished, including their G.U. 'companions', though one remained. "Him." She said simply, angling her head towards five rows from the top, and seven rows to the left.

Axel squinted and mocked shading his eyes in the dark server, before spotting the character Eon had pointed out, standing right next to the left separator. He was tall and extremely pale, wearing a forest-green leather jacket with black accents around his neck, arms, and waist, as well as black, baggy pants with '火' on his left leg, and '暗闇' on his right. His right sleeve was cut at the elbow, with the arm taped to as far as they could see. A strong-looking vambrace, complete with claws, rested on his left arm; both arms crossed, and his face intently looking down at them, obviously interested in the match. By his build, he seemed to be a Blade Brandier, though with no weapon out, it was hard to tell; their only evidence was a sheath to his left side.

"He's been at all of our matches." Eon said carelessly, as she crossed her arms in a similar fashion to their stranger, before shutting her eyes and stretching once more in the real world. When she opened her eyes again, she saw Hikaru and Axel both staring at her with strange, confused expressions on their faces. Eon flinched back an inch instinctively, before glaring at them.

"What?!" She demanded.

"Are you sure you're half blind?" Axel asked, sticking his finger to his mouth as Eon's ears flattened threateningly, and she bared her canine-like fangs at him. "Because, you know…even we didn't notice that guy—" Before Axel could finish his statement, Eon was in front of him, leaning low, before elbowing him hard in the stomach. The Twin Blade doubled over as he lost a good chunk of his remaining hit points, before looking up at the Seraphim with large eyes.

"What was that for…?" He asked with his ever-so-famous 'kitty look'.

"Hrmph." Eon growled, before glaring back up at the possible Brandier.

His hair seemed to be a dark red with lighter highlights, though hard to see with the ever-changing aurora. Just as she was about to look away, their eyes made contact, before she could see a large smile crawl onto his face.

What's HE smiling about…? Eon wondered, still in a half-pout, before he suddenly began to wave enthusiastically down to her; a large, full-hearted smile on his face as he did so.

The Seraphim's breath stayed in her chest for a long moment, in shock, as she watched him wave to her.

What's UP with him?! Eon demanded mentally, as she starred at the Brandier in awe for his courage. She didn't even know the guy, yet he acted as if they'd known each other for years. Who was he…?

Her hand twitched to her side as she contemplated on what would happen if she waved back, before quickly being interrupted by the 'Spoils Screen'.

Gained:

"-2 Healing Potions

-Ol Repth Scroll

-710 GP"

Eon made a face at the pathetic gains, before the WP screen popped up after it with a 'plink'. As expected, they received a penalty for her Death and the 'Revival Medicine', but to her surprise, they gained most of it back with the speed of their victories.

Nice… She thought, nodding to Axel with a small grin. He noticed their gains as well. This'll put us up to rank twelve…no, eleven! She noticed giddily, as their PC bodies were suddenly surrounded in bright, spiralling blue light, and transferred from the Arena floor. She shut her eyes as the light flashed to its blinding peak, and smiled to herself in the real world. If this was what they gained from just one set of fights today…what would happen if they fought just two more sets…?

When she opened her eyes, they were standing just a few steps from the green teleportation orb to the left of the Arena Registration Counter; Pi, Kuhn, and Haseo watching them silently.

Eon's heart skipped a beat. She put on her best uncaring expression as she attempted to pass them. Unfortunately though, the Tribal Grappler grabbed her wrist hard, and yanked her so they were face to face; Pi leaning down a bit to see her eyes clearly under Eon's unruly bangs.

"We need to talk." She said simply, before towing the dog-girl towards the wide steps; Haseo and Kuhn half-herding Hikaru and Axel as well.

Eon made a small 'fhh' sound as she found that the Grappler wouldn't let go of the death grip on her arm so easily, and soon after followed wordlessly. She didn't know what this was about (not that she wanted to), but knew that it'd be better to go without a fight. She couldn't hide a small snicker though, when Axel mentioned to Haseo that it was rude to ask for a date in such a fashion.

Once the six of them reached the Warp Panel, Pi turned to Eon and slowly released her grip.

"We'll be going to Mac Anu, understood?" She asked, not trusting the dog-girl to obey her, "Once there, we'll be going to Raven…do you still have your key?" She questioned, only to meet Eon's lazy shrug. The Tribal Grappler glared at her harshly, and repeated the question once more with twice the force, only to have Eon thrust the card in front of her nose.

"Is this it?!" The wolf-child spat sarcastically, before turning to the Warp Panel, and transferring to Mac Anu.

She wouldn't make it easy for them, if they really were trying to make her change her mind about G.U…

--The Eternal City: Mac Anu: The Serpent of Lore--

The sight greeting them in The Serpent of Lore truly shocked Eon, as she starred at twenty-odd faces watching their arrival almost hungrily. She narrowed her eyes slightly, before hearing Axel gasp deeply.

"Gabi!" He called loudly to his lion-like Guild Master.

The tall, tan-coloured beastman gave the broad grin that he was famous for, and waved to Axel in greeting. Obviously, he didn't find it odd to be addressed by a subordinate in such a way…

"Axel!" He called back cheerfully.

"Gabiii!"

"Axelllll!"

"Gabi!"

"Axel!"

"GAB—UGH!!" Axel gagged, as Eon easily hit him in the gut with her shin, before turning back towards the large party of people.

Some of the faces were familiar, mainly being the Epitaph Users, all present, and Icolo, from the various screens she'd seen in previous tournaments. Others included some Kestrel members, such as Gabi, now wearing a confused expression as to who would willingly hit such a strong PKer like Axel, and some of the higher-ranking Moon Tree members, sticking to the opposite side of the room; obviously staying as far away from Kestrel as they possibly could.

A few new faces showed themselves to Eon, though mostly from the people that she couldn't recognise…and that of four strangely high-postured players next to Yata.

Admin's…Eon thought sickly, flicking her nose up in disgust for a moment, before looking away from them. If they noticed her do so, they said nothing about it.

Axel slowly stood back up with a wince, even though Eon doubted that he felt any pain at all, not being in an AIDA Server or fighting, and then looked around like herself and Hikaru.

"So…you having a party or something, Yata…?" He asked, sticking his hands into two of the many pockets located in his pants.

Yata rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly, before looking down at them from his high position on his lotus flower-like platform.

"No, Axel," he said slowly, eyes in a bored expression, though both Eon and Axel could tell that he was annoyed. "If you were to have read one of the seven short mails that I have sent you today, you would have known about this meeting here, today…though unfortunately, not all are present as I would have hoped…"

Eon cocked her head slightly, before leaning back on her heels for a moment, and crossing her arms before her strongly. She gave them all as strong of a look of defiance that she could muster, before suddenly speaking to Yata.

"So what are they all here for then, Yata?" She asked, narrowing her golden eyes as she did so, giving him and his surrounding party the hint that she knew nothing of this. "When I first heard of 'G.U.', it sounded more like the secret type of Guild, not a socialable one…and if this isn't a party, then I presume it isn't very good for us three…"

Though it was light, Eon could hear the slight sigh come from inside Yata's throat.

So it ISN'T good after all… She thought tiredly, forcing herself to stand as tall as possible; even her body in the real world sat at higher posture than normal.

Yata rubbed the bridge of his nose for a moment yet again, as he thought about how to answer her question. She obviously wasn't going to make this easy for him, and he understood that fully. At last, he decided to be blunt and truthful. If she didn't like it, (as he knew she wouldn't) then she would just have to toughen up.

"If you look around yourself, I can presume that you will be able to recognise at least half of the faces in here. Gabi, of Kestrel, and Zelkova from Moon Tree…even our Epitaph Users are all present here, today." He started calmly, though his eyes held hers evenly. Now it was a battle of attrition; the first one out of new moves lost. He took a small breath before continuing, keeping in mind his wording for the child. "Putting these new faces aside for the moment, it has come to my attention by the unfortunate events of two days ago, and possibly even earlier than that, that Team Crystal Seraphim and their Guild, Hades, can not be left alone with their now-proven possession of AIDA Explicants." He paused, but began to speak instantly when he saw her eyes gain a deadly, red-gold glare to them. "Therefore, considering the circumstances behind the only known way to eradicate an AIDA Explicant, we of G.U. and of CC Corporations,"--he motioned the four Administrator PC Bodies to his side--"have decided to put your personal safety into our top priority. Where we can not stop you from playing The World, especially with the possibility of needing your assistance with an Explicant, we can place you in the protection of other powerful players; to wear off the possible threat of being targeted by other AIDA-infected players, or simply PK—or PKKers." He added, looking at Axel sharply, as he seemed to show the same amount of hate in his eyes as Eon. Hikaru remained still and silent, as he expected, though his face seemed to be slightly troubled and thinking.

Judging by the expressions on all of the faces in the room, Eon could safely presume that they all knew about G.U. and its functions, especially after hearing Yata say it outright with not so much as a blink. They all grinned at the three of them as if they thought that they couldn't protect themselves from the 'evils' of The World. Eon couldn't help but squeeze her hand into a tight fist on her desk in the real world, scrapping her nails against it as she did so. Who were they to even presume that about themselves?!

"You won't have to worry about a thing with any of us Icolo around," a short, red-headed character said as she stepped away from her Guildmates. She was the same person that Eon spied talking to Silibus and Gaspard in the Arena; Alkaid, former Demon Palace Arena champion, before Endrance…then Haseo. "We'll make sure no one messes you up!" She promised cockily, a wolfish grin on her face.

"Heh, you really gonna trust her?" A dark-skinned player asked, standing near Gabi. There were two other players next to her, one tall and very large; an Edge Punisher. The other was thin with green hair, and stood as if he were a zombie of some sort; leaning over so his hands nearly hit the ground. Her own character name read 'Bordeaux'; obviously she was a part of Kestrel.

She grinned wickedly over to Alkaid for a moment, before turning back to the three of them; mostly towards Axel and Hikaru than Eon.

"She wouldn't last a minute against a PKK." She declared, shrugging, only to have Alkaid instantly spit back an insult to her past-PKer.

As the two of them began to argue just how useful they'd be as guards, Zelkova stepped forward, Kaede at his feet.

"Hello!" He greeted cheerfully, and made a deep bow as a child might do. "It's good to meet you all, Guardian Masters!"

"Yes." Kaede said simply, before her and her child-like master moved aside to allow their allies to nod or show their respect. There were only three players with them. One of them was the ever-so-famous, past-PKer, Matsu, who gave a large grin and an easy two-fingered solute, before listening in on Alkaid and Bordeaux's heated argument. 'Hiiragi' as his…or her character name read, nodded to them and said something, but Eon didn't pay attention, as she looked to the final Moon Tree member, 'Saphora', by her name. She only nodded, before looking away, and concentrating on the wall.

Gabi said a few words as well, but Eon ignored him as she noticed Axel's PC body slowly becoming more and more tense. Before she could say a thing, she heard Axel slam his fist onto the desk hard through his mic. He glared at everyone, even Gabi, with slit, green eyes, and clenched his teeth together hard, as if trying to force himself not to introduce them to his colourful language. Everyone looked up from their conversations, even Bordeaux and Alkaid, before he spoke.

"Do you really think that we'll agree to this…?" He questioned slowly, looking at each and every face, as if Ginryuu was glaring with him. "Do you really think that we'd allow you to do this to us?!" He demanded, and there was another slam. Hikaru's PC body went completely still, as he tried to calm Axel down in the real world, but the Twin Blade continued. "How dare you think of us as nothing more than weaklings! I'm one of the top PKer's in Kestrel, and Hikki here has enough defence points to outlast the One Sin!" He yelled, everyone focused on him, and unmoving. "And Eon here!" He shouted now, before motioning to her widely, "She outlasted one of the hardest teams in the Warrior Palace Tournament Ranking alone not too long ago! How can you all even think that we need your help defending ourselves! In some cases, we're probably even better off without you! Who doesn't wanna kill a Moon Tree member, or try their luck on one or two Icolo's?!" Axel demanded, before shutting his mouth and twisting it strangely, as quiet swears could be heard away from the mic. Eon could hear them from next door herself. He was ticked…and for good reason too.

"Axel, you're taking this the wrong way…" Pi stated, taking a step away from the other Epitaph Users as she did so. "With more people in your group, it will be less likely that you will be attacked by Crystal Seraphim, or at least last longer if you were to be attacked again. That would give us more time to get to you if there really was a problem."

"And if we're not attacked again?!" He demanded, slit eyes turning their blaze towards her at full blast. "Then what?! We'll have wasted who knows how much time with people we don't even want to know! Not to mention the Tournament…"

"About the Tournament…" Yata said, cutting him off and looking at them from over the rim of his glasses. "Almost everyone here today has a Team within the ranking already. There's no point for you to continue on, especially if we'll be needing you for the finals against Team Crystal Seraphim." He explained, "Why put yourselves in danger, when you'll be battling them anyway?"

"Why…?" Eon asked coldly. "Why else, Yata? Because we want to beat them too. We won't rely on you guys or your strength to take them down. We'll get them ourselves, without your help."

She crossed her arms smugly, believing she made a good point, before Yata slowly shook his head, and an Admin by the name of 'Enforcer' stepped forward. (What an original name for an Admin…) He wore police-officer-blue armour, and a large burette, similar to Atoli's, in a paler shade of blue. He had the same tall character-model as the other Admins, and no distinguishing marks on his skin as other plays normally had. His hair was chocolate-brown and semi-long, straight with a few curled bangs at the end. Eon couldn't tell his character class, but she presumed it wasn't a Brandier with no sheath present…maybe a Steam Gunner…? Who knows…

"That is where you are wrong though, Player 'Eon'." The tall man said calmly, his sky-blue eyes seeming to look straight through her. "This isn't something that you can do alone." With that, he turned slightly to face Yata, before the Macabre Dancer waved his hand over the floating sphere, and a large, transparent monitor appeared before everyone. Heads and bodies turned in sync, as a large, pixelated image appeared on the blue screen. It was slightly tinted in blue-green, and seemed to be taken in a large cave-dungeon. It was difficult to see with the large, magnified lines on the screen, but the main focus of the picture seemed to be a large, blobby-black image, with what appeared to be Haseo in front of it.

Eon had to squint to see what he meant by the image, only for her heart skipped a beat, and she couldn't help but widen her eyes in shock as she looked at it. The black thing wasn't a blob at all, but a large, AIDA-like beast, beginning to engage battle with Haseo, the moment before they'd be lost into the seemingly impenetrable Cyberspace. It wasn't the AIDA that surprised her though; it was the shape of the AIDA. Long horns stuck out of the barrage of AIDA bubbles, and three tails could be seen whipped out of the black mess. It's purple-black, translucent body showed great eyes, filled with mediocre intelligence, and detest for the Epitaph User.

It was Capricorn; an AIDA Explicant. The Explicant that Eon and Shiruba themselves had Data Drained…back against the 'Terror of Death', as it despised so much before.

"By the look on your face, I'd presume that you've already figured out just what that is…" Enforcer said coolly, knowing how to hit her, and hit her hard. "This just goes to show one of the differences between an Avatar and your Guardians. Though they can Data Drain, it has no effect on Explicants. This one…'Capricorn', I believe, appeared only a day ago, and sent four other players out of this World as Lost Ones…just as you once were, am I not correct…?"

Eon's stomach churned. She didn't look at him; her eyes were still glued to the screen, though she could feel pair after pair of eyes set themselves onto her slowly. The term 'Lost Ones' was not new. It'd been around for about eight to nine years, if Eon was correct. When Players mysteriously vanished from The World, and ended up being in a Coma in the real world; that was a 'Lost One'. Admins were normally charged to clean up the posts on the Forums, but they could never clean up what other players already knew, and the gossip they could pass around so easily. Eon swallowed with difficulty, as she slowly pried her eyes down, and onto Enforcer. She felt sick just to look at him; full of humiliation, anger, and guilt the most. He used this against her, without even her knowledge of such a thing existing before hand…it was cruel, but she knew the reality of it. He wanted her to feel the guilt she now had. Whether those numbers were true or not, or even the image in itself, Eon couldn't help herself from feeling some tang of feeling towards what could happen to other players, if this really was true.

Shiruba… Eon asked silently, her eyes not budging from Enforcer. Is that true…?

There was a long silence, as all the beast-like Guardian did was breathe in and out slowly. Eon could sense her hesitation, and her guilt. After what seemed like an hour of waiting, the hound spoke.

Yes, it is. She said simply, though as if not even speaking to Eon, but to herself instead. Yes…we can not truly Data Drain an Explicant…

Eon was unfazed by the answer, seeing as the evidence was right before them, but Shiruba continued on.

We can not Data Drain to destroy Explicants like an Avatar, Eon, but we CAN Data Drain to break them up, and weaken them. She explained curtly, and with a small growl in the throat. As 'Sir Blue' over there said, it is a difference we have from Avatars, but at the same time, they cannot truly even begin understand just how important our 'Data Drain' can be. If we Data Crack an Explicant, and THEN Data Drain it, we break its body, consciousness, and the connection to its Master away from each other, and it becomes split into fragments. Those fragments will not stay away from each other forever, like Capricorn up there, but when it DOES return to each other, it can no longer create an Explicant's impenetrable shield, nor can it combine with another consciousness ever again. They can not even be considered Explicants without those two factors. They have their brain, but even an Avatar can now Data Drain them, and destroy them with the same amount of trouble as a normal lesser-AIDA.

It was then that Eon noticed Axel and Hikaru listening just as intently as she was. Shiruba had explained it to all of them, to her relief; now she wouldn't have to attempt to explain it to them at least…

"That so…" Axel muttered with interest, though his eyes remained half closed, giving an him an almost bored look. He slowly stretched his arms around, closing his eyes as he did so, before suddenly punching his right fist into his left palm. He opened his eyes, blindly staring forward, as if there was something at Enforcer's feet. "Then that solves our problems anyway," He stated in an unnervingly calm way. He looked up to Enforcer, then to Yata with that same, semi-bored look, before allowing a small, half-hearted smile onto his face.

"You thought you got us there, didn't ya, Baldy, Blue's Clue." His green eyes slowly narrowed, before his canines entered his grin. "Too bad our Guardians say it differently than that…"

It was hard to notice, but Eon managed to see the slight bob of shock that came from Enforcer, though Yata seemed unfazed by Axel's comment; he must've been used to it from all his time in G.U.

"What do you mean…?" Enforcer asked lightly, trying to keep his edge, though they already knew that it was gone.

"Just what I said," Axel answered coldly. "There's a totally different story to our Data Drains."

"A different story?" Another Admin scoffed. He was an inch or two taller than Enforcer, wearing pale-green instead of blue, though their character designs were the exact same. His burette covered almost all of his short, silver-blonde hair, and piercing auburn eyes glared at them stubbornly; he didn't believe in the connection to their Guardians; all three of them could tell. A small, blue-violet triangle marking was under his left eye, turning a pale blue every time his expression flinched or changed. TehAdmin was his name.

"How can there possibly be another story?!" He demanded harshly. "Do you expect us to believe that there could possibly be a different reason to purposely postpone these Monsters' demise?!"

Eon couldn't help but make a cold, disbelieving grin in the real world; eyes full of distaste for the new Admin. This guy was some piece of work, considering what sort of things CC Corp. Admins must see every day; the reports they receive, and the Forum posts they need to delete. To not believe in their Guardians, to her at least, was like not believing in air.

"Oh…?" Axel murmured coldly, his green eyes flashing again. "Wanna prove it, Leprechaun?!"

"Axel, please…" Hikaru murmured quietly, trying to calm down his shorter companion. "Let's just explain what Ginryuu told us…"

Ginryuu…? Eon wondered, narrowing her eyes in slight suspicion, before hearing the familiar 'bing' of a Short Mail. She opened it hesitantly, before noticing Hikaru himself had sent it to her.

I apologize for not warning you of Capricorn sooner.

Eon made a small grunt in her throat in the real world, too light to hear in the microphone, and continued to read.

We did not have the time to explain what Ginryuu explained to us earlier, but Shiruba seems to have done a better job explaining then we could have. I hope we will have more time in the future to discuss this matter…but as for now, please leave, before Axel says anything that may upset you.

Eon cocked her eyebrows in confusion, and looked up to Hikaru slightly, but the knight only shook his head, and nodded towards the door. The wolf-girl twisted her mouth in uncertainty; even though she wanted to leave more than anyone else, she wasn't sure if she could. Besides…upset? What did he mean by that?! Just what were they hiding from her…?

"Please, go. We will tell you how things turn out." Hikaru insisted, and with that, he turned his back to her, and Axel did the same.

Curiosity welled up inside of Eon instantly, but she knew that she had been dismissed, even if Yata and the other Admins didn't like it.

Making a small, two fingered solute to the higher-ups, Eon turned on heel, and exited the Serpent of Lore without hesitation. It wasn't her place to argue with such loyal friends.

--The Warring City: Lumina Cloth--

The Warring City was the only place that Eon could think to go, other than just plainly Logging Out. There were enough people here to hide in the crowds if someone really did decide to follow her, and more than enough things to do to keep her occupied until the meeting in the Serpent of Lore was over.

She stepped calmly from the Warp Panel, and headed straight for the Registration Counter on impulse. It didn't take long to reach it at her walking pace, but considerably longer than the other Players, running to and fro randomly. At times, she wondered if they even were players, and not just NPCs…

Instantly, the Registration NPC spoke to Eon, and asked what she wanted to do. She was about to select 'Survival Match' battle, before noticing the current line up for it.

She groaned inwardly, seeing the long list of names and teams. Twelve or so teams were lined up to begin their fights in a couple of minutes; enough teams to take up the Warrior Palace Arena for at least a half hour. Someone was even cocky enough to enter solo, like she was about to do.

"Forget about that…" Eon muttered darkly, twisting her mouth in a dissatisfied way. "Should've fought while I had the chance…"

She groaned aloud, and tossed her head back to look at the dark sky above through her thick bangs. She should have known that people would want to get in some last-minute WP Points. How else would they be able to get in?! The Ranking for both sides seemed to be untouchable to most teams by now, but some high rankers, Team Shinigami included, might be able to pull off a miracle if they fought hard enough, or won enough battles…

Eon took a deep breath, and blew it out her nose before brushing her bangs up with her hand.

Well, she thought a little tiredly, better not waste the trip…

Eon lowered her head slightly to see the light green Warp Panel leading to the viewing area with her left eye. She tightened her lips together in thought, before deciding it'd be better to stay in The World, in case Axel and Hikaru finished in the Serpent of Lore earlier than expected. She could always Log Out if Yata kept them that late…

Thus, Eon casually sauntered towards the large, green orb, and selected an area at random, before quickly teleporting to the giant, grey stands, overlooking the Arena.

--The Warrior Palace: Viewing Area B-16--

There weren't many spots left for a half-blind, short-built player like Eon. She growled irritably in her throat before finally finding a spot semi-clear of players, next to a large separator to her left.

"This sucks…" Eon muttered coldly to herself, as most of her line of vision was instantly cut off by the large piece of cement-data.

She crossed her arms loosely over her chest, and glared down at the match, now finishing with some team by the name of 'Sorel' as the victors. They pranced around like they owned the Arena, and cockily shot their arms up in the air, declaring themselves already the victors of the next match.

Eon scowled at them coldly. She hated cocky teams like them. It was their type of team that she liked to take out in the Arena the most. Teams that could never truly work together, as she, Axel, and Hikaru could do so well themselves. A team that would need all six players to put up a decent fight…if that…

"And it looks like Team Sorel is the victor for round three! Congratulations Team Sorel, in your victory over Team Flare Blitz!" The announcer yelled into his microphone, one hand sprawled on his desk, the other holding the mic. "And now we've got a treat here today, folks!" He chirped, eyes almost bulging with anticipation. "After making the A-Stream Ranking, a famous challenger reappears! Let's hear it for his welcome, everyone! Now, entering the Arena after achieving SECOND Rank in the A-Stream, the one, the only, ADO!"

Cheers erupted so loudly around Eon that she had to cover her ears in the real world, or risk partial deftness for the rest of the night. People hooted, and others whistled loudly from their mics in the real world, while bouncing up and down wildly.

What're they cheering for?! She demanded mentally, slowly lifting her hands from her ears as the cheering died down to its normal level. She turned herself ninety degrees, and twisted her head to look at the nearest fan to her, about twenty feet away; slowly following his eyes towards the platform the newest team would appear on.

A team…? She thought, mentally kicking herself for not getting it. She turned herself once more so the separator was cutting off most of her line of vision, but not enough to miss the platform as spiralling light suddenly appeared. She had to squint her eyes a bit for a better view of the new team appearing, only to bounce a bit in shock, recognising the player that appeared.

His red hair waved a bit with the 'wind' of the Arena, and he stood casually; his black eyes slowly scanning each and every one of the enemy's faces. His arms were crossed over one another, showing his shining Vambrace, and he seemed to lean back a bit, slightly bored. He slowly blinked, lightly cocking his head to the side as one of his opposition began to trash talk to him, before smiling cheerfully; not bothering to answer the player in a similar fashion.

"Idiots…" She murmured coldly, wondering why such a high ranking team like Ado's (as his name read on the large screen behind the fighting area) would even want to fight such weak teams…nonetheless alone. She slightly narrowed her eyes, tiredly, wondering just how strong this stranger was, before the sound of a buzzer rang for the fight to begin, and three Edge Punishers raced toward Ado at full speed; seemingly underestimating their higher-ranking foe.

Eon watched as carefully as she could without moving from her spot, though bits and pieces of his movement was too hard for her to pick up without her full left eye's view. All that she knew was, one second they were all about to attack at once…and the next, they all flew towards the bright blue barrier, as if weighing nothing more than a pound.

Her hand twitched on the railing, and she furrowed her eyebrows in question, though knew that it'd be unwise to move from where she was. Saying that there was an open spot for this match, the chances of being seen by someone, and being hounded with questions and invitations was something she didn't want to deal with today. She stayed put; watching in full interest as the red-haired warrior casually lowered his right arm, holding a long blade, slightly curved at the end like a Japanese Katana.

He had hit them with the butt of the blade.

--The Eternal City: Mac Anu: The Serpent of Lore--

"Then it is an agreement," a tall Admin said calmly; both hands lightly grasped behind his back, as if a sign of authority. "If you can complete the Ranking for the Warrior Palace Tournament, then you may enter…on the condition that you do not face Team Crystal Seraphim within this time, and honour your agreement to go around The World--other than Root Towns--with at least one other player."

Axel scowled at Justice, but the forest-green clad Admin only accepted his look openly. His black eyes watched Axel calmly, and acceptingly. Out of all four of the Admins here, he seemed to be the most reasonable and understanding at least…

He wore the same generic armour as the other Admins, and was an inch shorter than 'CCcronie'. His hair was a light-to-dirty blonde, and unlike the other Admins, or most characters in The World for that matter, he had a moustache, leading to some short sideburns and a small, scruffy beard on his chin. His build was broader than the other three Admins, though not by much, and his ears were slightly pointed.

"Is that the agreement then…?" He questioned, not harshly, but to make sure there was understanding on both sides.

Axel held his breath for a moment, slightly looking over to Hikaru, next to him in the real world, before allowing his character to nod slowly.

"Yeah…I guess…" He murmured solemnly, resisting the urge to break something. The only reason he stayed behind was to try to reason with them not to give themselves 'guards'…but that had obviously failed, seeing how twenty minutes had already passed, and not a single thing they'd said in argument seemed to work in their favour…especially not with the old Admin…

"We will have to tell Eon…" Hikaru pointed out quietly to Axel, looking slightly troubled. He too, was hoping this would have worked in their favour without the hot-headed child.

"Yeah…" Axel muttered back, kicking the ground with the sole of his foot silently. "She won't like it…"

"We will make preparations for her to gain everyone's Member's Address that was here today, and the others that could not make it here…all you need to do is tell her the news." Justice promised, slowly releasing his hands from behind his back and holding them to his sides.

"Lucky us…" Axel said sarcastically, eyes half closed as he imagined just what the dog-girl might do to them after finding out their fate for the next few weeks…

Justice smiled as the various famous faces from around The World began to leave after giving Axel and Hikaru their Member's Addresses.

"One more thing…" He said quickly, before Axel and Hikaru could leave themselves.

"Hm?" Axel slowly looked over his shoulder at the tall Admin. "What?"

Justice hesitated for a moment, before finally speaking.

"I…think it is best if you do not mention one of our…arguments to Eon." He started, choosing his words carefully.

"Why not…?" Hikaru asked, one blue eye half open, and looking at the green Admin.

"Which one?" Axel asked, curiously. Why couldn't they tell Eon what they'd said in here…?

"Mrn…" Justice tightened his lips, before closing his eyes, as if a moment of mediation, and speaking.

"You cannot tell her of Ovan. It will ruin our agreement, and make her twice as likely to do something foolish, I assure you." He said curtly.

Axel turned his head to the side, and gave him a confused look.

"Why can't we tell her about Ovan? Didn't he get ridda the AIDA before? Isn't that kinda important?" He questioned.

"It is important," Justice agreed, "but all the same, you can not tell her."

"Why not?" Hikaru asked again.

All of four of the Admins in the room looked solemn and shifted restlessly; drawing the attention of the seven remaining Epitaph Users.

"Because," said Justice at last. "Because Ovan was the one that PKed her, and sent her out of this World as a Lost One, just over four months ago…"

--The Warrior Palace Tournament: Arena Floor--

"You're going to lose." Ado said calmly. His blade was held loosely in his right hand, and he stood heavy on his left leg, noting the six new competitors surrounding him from the back, sides, and front. "I cannot be taken down by individual players like yourselves…" He said with an air of coolness.

Ado smirked as two of the players lunged forward, then moved.

Before anyone, in the arena or the stands, realized what happened, Ado appeared behind an Edge Punisher, casually twirled his blade over his head, and stabbed the player through the back. One down.

"As I was saying..." Ado smiled contentedly as the remaining five players flinched explosively, reacting in shock to the sudden burst of speed that Ado had displayed.

"You cannot win…"

"W-we'll see about that!" A tall Shadow Warlock announced before quickly beginning to cast a powerful spell. His companions instantly stepped from Ado's front to protect him, and the remaining two on his sides lunged at the Brandier as fast as they could.

Ado made a small, unamused sigh, before easily hitting the nearer of the two with the back of his blade, and then flinging him into the sky, only to drop onto the second player comically.

Groans could be heard from the two players as the audience burst into hysterical laughter. Apparently, Ado was well known for these sorts of 'Battle Tactics'…

"Give up…?" Ado asked yet again, leisurely stepping towards the Shadow Warlock and his remaining two companions.

"Never!" the Warlock announced, finally sending out his prolonged spell. The small red circles tracked their way under the feet of his two companions, and flew straight at Ado with deadly speed. The Shadow Warlock, Chewbacca, could feel the anticipation all over her body. He did it! The spell would hit, and he would finally kill the 'invincible' Ado! He shook with delight and anticipation.

Only three seconds to go…

The Brandier did not move.

Two…

His eyes trialed from the Warlock to the spell, suddenly taking in the threat…

One…

His eyes narrowed…he knew he could not escape…

Zero…

The spell exploded into a hurricane of fireballs, all raining down on Ado at once, throwing up a huge cloud of dust into their eyes with the impact of the cold, hard floor.

"YES!" The Shadow Warlock howled in victory. "We win!"

Howls could be heard from the crowd as the smoke slowly began to clear for everyone to see…

Eon's eyes narrowed for a fraction of a second, before her dog-like ears flattened backwards. Without even noticing, a low growl arose from the inside of her throat as she watched the smoke clear from below. Her hand clenched the side railing so hard, that a loud crackle of metal could be heard, though Eon didn't notice it as well; she was too busy looking down below.

"Why…him…!" She growled, barely able to contain herself any longer. Her claws itched on the rail as she glared down to the still-clearing smoke.

Her eyes flashed a deadly gold glare down at the team below, before straying from the smoke to behind the players.

"It missed…" She murmured coldly, remembering the small, red spiral of light. "He cheated…it missed…" She repeated, clenching her teeth together hard.

"We WIN!!" Chewbacca howled to the crowd once more. "WE—"He began, only to hear the unsheathing of a thin blade.

He turned as quickly as his PC body would allow him, but it was already too late; a thin, metal blade was already pressed to his neck, and his allies already lay dead on the floor…

"B-but…how?!" He demanded, but the Blade Brandier did not answer. His black eyes were emotionless, even for a game, and he showed no hint of mercy from his stance.

"P-please…!" Chewbacca begged, but it was too late. The Brandier pushed his blade with all of his power, instantly beheading the cocky Warlock.

He stood there, holding the hilt of his sword easily as his eyes surveyed the ground his opponent's body would have fallen, if it were not just a computer program…

"I told you…" He said quietly, as the first cheers permeated the shocked air around him. "I told you, no individual player like you can defeat me…"

Cheers illuminated the air within the arena, echoing so fiercely that it seemed as if the entire server was within the real world. Ado closed his eyes calmly and twirled his sword expertly, before sheathing it at his side, instantly making the blade vanish. More cheers arose from the crowd as he turned toward the bulk of the audience, and opened his eyes again casually. He began to easily survey all of the faces within the crowd, looking from left to right in the arena stands. His eyes did not stop moving until they fell upon a familiar short player, glaring down at him in full resentment.

"Hmm…?" Ado looked up at the wolf-like child with a confused expression, drawing faces from the crowd to look at her as well.

What is she doing in MY spot…? He wondered, cocking an eyebrow in the real world.

Eon had trouble hiding the anger on her face; even her PC body was showing signs of it.

I gotta go… She thought quickly, noticing the curious looks around her. NOW…

With a quick flick of her tail to the closest player, she span on the spot and headed towards the large green orb; ignoring all of the blank and curious stares behind her.

Let them think I'm 'jealous'… She thought. Who cares what they think… Eon reasoned with herself. He's a cheater, whether they saw it or not…

And with that, the beast girl left the Arena stands.

Ado crossed his arms silently and watched her stalk off.

"What's with her?" He asked himself, before the Spoils Screen interrupted him. After taking a careful look at his useless earnings, the Blade Brandier easily allowed himself to be teleported outside of the Arena. Once out, he took one careful glance around, to avoid any of his 'fans', before quickly stepping down the stairs and up to the large Warp Panel.

"Saal Haku should do…" Ado muttered to himself, before punching in the coordinates and transferring away.

--Epsilon: Southern Caller's Hawk--

The field was a large desert area, stretching from horizon to horizon. Few plants were scattered here and there, and the open blue sky towered above enormous cliffs, climbing up thousands of feet into the air. The ground was covered in milliards of cracks from the merciless sun, and no water could bee seen in the area at all. There wasn't a single cloud to be spotted in the sky, and only the high-pitched scream of a player could be heard echoing throughout area.

"Hah hah hah hah hah haaaaah!!" Bordeaux laughed maniacally as her blade pierced through the girl's guard, and through her chest.

"You like that?!" She demanded, before stabbing her again and again to the cheers of her companions. "Then take some more!"

"Yeah! Go Bordeaux!" Negimaru egged on, shooting up his arms up to cheer. "Kill her!"

Bordeaux finally delivered the finishing blow, and the player fell lifelessly to the ground before her, before vanishing in an eerie orange-grey light.

"Heh…easy as ever…" She snickered, turning to face Grein and Negimaru.

"Yeah, that was great Bordeaux! Strong as always!" Negimaru complemented endlessly, before Bordeaux finally held a hand up for him to stop, looking around the blue barrier slowly as she did so.

"Wh-what is it, Bordeaux…?" Negimaru asked, turning his head quickly from side to side as he did so, not understanding what she was searching for.

"…the barrier has not vanished…" Grein pointed out quietly after a few moments of silence.

"H-huh?!" Negimaru looked across to the still glowing blue barrier, before over to Bordeaux. "Wh-what's wrong with the barrier Bordeaux…?"

"Hmph…seems like we have another challenger…" She murmured quietly, a small smile crawling onto her lips.

"Another…what?!" The Twin Blade demanded, only to hear a pair of light foot steps behind himself.

"Hmph…and who're you?" Bordeaux asked, slowly turning to face their newest opponent.

With a small chuckle, he gave nothing more than a mere shrug, before unsheathing a nearly plain thin blade from his side.

"Nothing more than your average PKK, I'd say…" He murmured in an amused response, as his red hair began to waver slightly with the light breeze of the area.

"That so…" Bordeaux muttered, as she held out her rose-thorn blade. "Let's see what you got then, PKK…" She said evenly, lowering herself into an attacking position.

Her opponent merely stood easily with his sword pressed against his right leg. He gave no air of threat, nor any sense 'power'.

"Ladies first…" He said with a small polite bow.

"Heh…you'll regret that, punk!" The tan Brandier yelled, as she lunged at the pale man at full speed.

"EAT THIS!"

With a small grin, Ado watched her move as if in slow motion.

With pleasure… He thought, before lowering himself into an attacking stance as well, faster than all three could pick up, and lunging right back at her.

We shall see how long you last…

Eon kicked the Chim Tree with all of her might before ten little blue monsters fell out around its roots. Within seconds all ten Chim Chims where flying away from the enraged Seraphim, crying out small 'kuus' before hitting the ground and vanishing.

That wasn't very nice… Shiruba mentioned with a small chuckle.

"Be quiet…" Eon ordered, stomping towards the next tree in the barren server. Her good eye never strayed from the path ahead, though it never looked directly at the Chim Tree either.

'Stupid cheating jerk!' Were the only words echoing throughout her head until she reached her destination, casually kicking the tree without so much as a glance at it.

Again, ten more Chim Chims fell out, though this time two yellow and eight blue. Eon barely moved an inch before kicking three blue Chims into the tree trunk, and one more into a yellow Chim, before all vanishing into nothingness.

Good shot… Shiruba murmured with interest, as the wolf-girl easily hit the remaining four blue Chims with only two steps.

"I said be quiet…" Eon said in a warning tone, though she knew herself that she couldn't harm the Guardian within her PC body. She brushed off that fact though, as she watched the final yellow Chim run randomly to and fro near the edge of a cliff.

Hmm…are you going to chase it…? The beast asked calmly.

Eon could imagine her golden stare watching her back.

"No…" She muttered quietly after a short pause. "No point…"

Exactly… She said evenly. So why go out of your way to torture those lil' buggers?

"Because it's easy, fun, and I don't wanna break my hand on my desk." Eon answered with a flat look in the real world. "You're a Guardian…you can't say that you didn't see that guy cheat!" She suddenly spat angrily, and tossed her head to look in the air, as if she could see Shiruba's large, wolf-like body.

There was silence on both of their parts, before Shiruba made a small sigh.

Maybe, maybe not… She murmured quietly, more so to herself that Eon. It all depends on what you consider 'cheating'…

"What's that supposed to mean?" The dog-girl asked angrily, but no reply came; she could imagine though, a lazy shrug on Shiruba's behalf.

"As 'helpful' as always…" Eon muttered, crossing her arms and looking up at the sky angrily.

Then why don't you find out? Shiruba questioned after a brief pause.

"Find out what?" The dog-girl asked, ears twitching impatiently.

If he was cheating or not. Shiruba answered simply.

"How?" Eon asked, forcing herself to stay cool.

Simple. Go fifty paces north and enter the battle area. Your little 'friend' is in there.

Eon's eyes widened before turning her PC body to face north. It was faint, but she could see the small, dim blue outline of a battle area in the distance.

"…why didn't you say that earlier…?" Eon asked coldly as she began to jog towards it eagerly.

You didn't ask. Shiruba pointed out; another invisible shrug.

Eon growled lowly.

Always that excuse…

"H-how…?" Bordeaux asked weakly as she fell to her knees. Negimaru and Grein had already died three times, if not more, and she herself was in no better shape by now.

"Hmm…four minutes, thirty seven seconds…I must commend you on your fight; it was longer than most I've faced…" Ado said, all emotions drained from his face as he stepped towards the darker Brandier. "Now, any last words, Bordeaux of Kestrel?"

"Shut up…" Bordeaux said weakly, as she forced herself up and clumsily ran at Ado, rose-thorn blade thrust before herself.

"I see…" Ado said simply, before appearing behind Bordeaux. "So be it then."

Within a blink of an eye, his blade pierced just under Bordeaux's chest, and swept down through her PC body, nearly severing it in two.

"Rest in peace then…"

"Ag-AGHHH!!" She cried out, before falling to her knees once more, and vanishing in an orange-grey light, just as her victims before.

Ado casually spun his blade around, before sheathing it on his left.

"Too easy…" He remarked, before hearing an electric sensation from the barrier outside.

"Hmm…?" He turned to face the source of the sound.

Someone's entering…? Reinforcements? He wondered, and quickly redrew his blade from its sheath.

Within seconds, the barrier's shield gave way, and a silver-haired player dashed in, quickly turning to face him.

They stood there, starring at each other wordlessly, before she slowly moved into a fighting stance; Ado copying the motion as well.

Hmm…so they called another reinforcement from Kestrel…someone from Team Shinigami no less… He thought, eyes narrowing to watch her movement closely as she began to prowl around him like a wolf. This fight might be more interesting than the last…

A PKer, huh… Eon thought angrily, as she slowly moved around Ado counter clockwise; her good eye always facing him. He's going down then…

Aren't Axel and Hikaru PKer's as well…? Shiruba questioned reasonably.

They are, Eon answered mentally, but at least they don't cheat in the Arena.

Ado turned forty five degrees to follow her movement, and Eon suddenly took her chance and lunged at his right, claws out like a feral animal. Ado blocked her easily with his blade, and she separated from him within an instant, before attacking once more, lower. Again, his blade guarded against her attack, and Eon was forced to kick off of it with her foot to get away from his counter; a sweeping strike upwards. The instant she landed on her feet again, Eon quickly hopped to the left, avoiding a long cut from the blade narrowly, before holding up the back of her right arm to guard against a quick diagonal slash.

They held their position for a matter of seconds, both shaking slightly from the force upon one another, before Ado suddenly broke away, hopping twice backwards to give each of them some distance.

Eon's eyes narrowed as noticed the slight indent on her Health Bar.

I've already taken more damage than him… She thought, biting her thumb lightly in the real world. I've gotta try a different approach…

Suddenly, as if he read her mind, Ado flipped his sword around in his hand, pointing the blade to the ground, before stabbing it down hard and deep. He murmured a few faint words that Eon could neither hear nor understand, before a black, ominous shadow began to snake its way away from the shadow of the blade, underneath the sword and towards her.

Eon's stomach churned uncomfortably, and she couldn't help but step back slowly.

What is this…? She wondered, noting the sun of the area was behind her. It shouldn't be coming this way…

Be careful… Shiruba warned seriously. This is not a normal attack…

Wow, you think? Eon couldn't help but ask sarcastically, as the shadow continued to crawl towards her like something from the undead. Carefully, she measured the distance between herself and the barrier behind her, and slowly began to head towards it, moving ten degrees counter clockwise from Ado with every four steps.

The shadow continued to snake after her at its leisure pace, but began to expand outwards as she avoided it.

Eon clenched her teeth together hard in the real world as she noticed.

It'll cover the entire battle area at this rate… She chomped onto her thumb hard. I've gotta leave at least SOME place to dodge the attack, whatever it is…

Eon suddenly slowed her steps, allowing the shadow to catch up to her more quickly. It snaked in an arc-like fashion, still attached to Ado's blade.

C'mon then…let's see what you've got, PKer…

Ado cocked an eyebrow in interest as Eon slowed.

So she'll face it, even though she doesn't know what it is… He thought, allowing himself a small grin. Interesting PKer…most would avoid with all costs…

His ink-black shadow slowly cornered the girl, leaving all but the little space she was standing in clean of its grasp, and a small chunk behind Ado and to his left. It swirled around her, almost invisible in the hot server, slowly closing in until there was not a spec of land for either of them to see. The dog-girl tossed her head left to right slowly, eyes scanning the ground for any sort of attack. Her ears were flat wearily, and her tail's fur standing on end. She could tell it was a risky choice…

Ado's smile widened a bit, as he lifted his right foot from the ground, and held it over the shadow.

This will end it… He thought, before stamping down on the inky blackness with all of his might.

As if some sort of liquid, there was a ripple all through the shadow. Neither he nor the girl flinched. They both knew at least that part was harmless…

Silence filled the air.

Neither of them stirred, other than the girl's eyes slowly scanning the ground. She stood at a strange angle for Ado; her head facing to the right slightly, and lowered a bit.

No matter… Ado thought calmly after surveying her for a few moments. No one has ever escaped this move and survived…

Suddenly, a pulse-like sensation came, making both of them tingle slightly. Ado stood unfazed, but the girl flinched a bit, before calmly taking her stance once more.

Ado cocked an eyebrow in the real world. Normally, they were too shocked to regain their composure…what a strange girl…

Another pulse came, only this time a bit louder; slightly shaking the battle area. Both players stood ready; the dog-girl's eyes slowly looking back up at Ado, before to the pool of absolute blackness surrounding her once more.

Ado made a silent grunt.

Here it comes…

Eon's ears perked suddenly. Her head twitched from side to side as fast as a bird's, and her hair stood on end, even in the real world.

It's coming, be ready! Shiruba warned sternly. You cannot be hit by this, understand?!

As if I didn't already KNOW that… Eon thought to herself, before lowering her PC body towards the ground, and standing on the balls of her feet, ready.

It came like a wave, tunnelling underneath the darkness; it would have been downright invisible, if not for the server's bright sun directly behind the wolf-girl.

Here it comes… Eon thought, all nerves on end. Her body itched to run, to jump, to hide, but she knew she couldn't move just yet. One moment's error could mean the end of the fight...herself the loser…

I can't take any risks… she told herself, as the wave continued to rush towards her, zeroing in on her exact location, and becoming smaller and smaller by the second. It sunk lower into the blackness, obviously trying to go about a ground assault, and Eon's ears moved down and backwards. Her eyes slit dangerously, as she watched closely the movement of the burrowing wave, as if it was alive itself.

Shiruba, can you tell when it comes up? She asked, though already knew the answer.

No… The beast answered unnecessarily. As I said…it is not a normal move…it is like asking me to measure an AIDA Explicant's conciseness.

Eon made a small grunt in her throat, as the wave suddenly dived under the sea of shadow, and everything went silent.

Neither she nor he stirred, her looking at the ground carefully, and him looking at her calmly.

Eon's ears lightly twitched carefully, as she moved her head to look at the ground. She did not want to risk moving her body in any way, or risk being caught at an awkward angle. She breathed as lightly as she could in the real world, trying to listen carefully for the sound of pulsing, digging, anything!...but nothing could be heard. It was as if the wave had vanished off of the face of The World.

"Hmm…" Eon suddenly growled, as her eye strayed a bit too far from the ground, noticing Ado's stance. Her ears suddenly twitched with interest, before pretending to look back at the ground again; the corner of her eye watching him carefully, as he slowly raised his hand into the air.

So that's it…the trick to your technique…

Ado lifted his hand slowly, and pushed his fingers towards the palm of his hand, never straying his eyes from the pool of darkness surrounding himself and the girl.

His black eyes watched her with interest, being the only character to ever last this long with him solo, but he had no time to 'play' with weaklings like her…it was time to end this…and what better way than an original technique?

Now, to finish you, PKer… He thought, as all five fingers were enclosed in his palm. He lifted his arm high into the air slowly, opening his mouth as he did so.

With a brief pause, Ado held his hand in the air, wondering if he should say anything to the girl. She fought well, he had to admit…but no individual player would beat him…not like this, at least…

At last, he decided to save any words, or risk insulting her efforts, before throwing down his hand fast, and extending his fingers out as he did so; palm down to the inky darkness below them.

"Shadow Spikes!" He called loudly, as the ground beneath them shook rapidly. The shadow shook, rippled and churned around the dog-girl, throwing off any chance of figuring out where the attack would come from, nonetheless what the attack would be like, and Ado grinned lightly.

This is the end… He thought, before looking from his dark attack, and to the dog-girl.

With the shaking of the battle area, it was hard to tell at first, but after a matter of seconds of looking at her, he noticed something…something different than most players, PKer's or no, that he had ever seen or fought…

He couldn't help but narrow his eyes confusedly as he looked at the girl…it was such a strange sight to him…

She was smiling…smiling wholeheartedly at that…

Eon didn't bother looking at the shadow anymore, as she smiled at Ado.

I dunno where it'll come from… She admitted to herself, but…it doesn't matter…because, no matter what it is…I won't lose…not to you, and not to anyone…!

Heh heh…I like your spirit, brat! Shiruba barked, her invisible golden eyes ablaze. Let's get this guy!

With that, Eon crossed her arms before her chest in an 'x' fashion, and shot her wings out from her back in a small flaming tempest. She stood low, eyes surveying the ground evenly, before suddenly rushing in two feet, narrowly avoiding a sudden Reaper's Dance-style spike flying out of the ground from her previous position.

"Heh…that all…?" She questioned, as she dug her right claw into the ground, and hopped away on all fours, narrowly avoiding a second, only for it to fly high into the air with the first.

She kicked herself around and did a back flip to avoid one more of the spikes, only to be clipped in the side by a fourth one. She grunted lightly, but quickly extended her wings and glided away from two more, trailing up after herself.

That's six… She noted, her good eye watching the ground carefully.

She suddenly tilted her left wing inwards, making a sharp left turn, narrowly avoiding a seventh one, before quickly pulling in both wings, her nose skimming the eighth.

Eon held her breath as the eighth one flew up, taking off a miniscule chunk of her remaining HP.

Th-that was close… She noted, seeing her Hit Points nearly at half. The wolf-girl looked up at the sky, with all eight spikes twirling magically, slowly spinning in a clockwise circle.

Wait for it… Shiruba warned, as the spikes slowly began to lower themselves towards the players.

Eon's stomach churned as she watched the spikes begin to raise their speed on their decent, before duplicating into two, then four each.

Her eyes widened in the real world, as well as The World.

This…is not good…

Eon slowly took a step back as she watched them begin to rain down randomly within the battle area. She dived out of the way of one of the spikes, just to narrowly avoid a second.

"Eep…!"

Ado watched in genuine disbelief, as the wolf-like child continued to dodge the spikes narrowly.

Normally the players would be dead by now… He thought, narrowing his eyes. Just who is this girl…?

He watched as she continued to roll, jump, and pivot, before noticing the general direction of her dodges; towards himself.

…so that's it… he though, a small, amused grin on his face. She saw straight through the attack…

With little reason to continue the merciless rain of spikes, Ado quickly drew his blade from the earth, making the shadow and spikes vanish instantaneously. He flicked it to his side casually, before entering an attacking position once more; the dog-girl slowly copying after regaining her composure.

She was breathing heavily and shaking slightly from the attack, but she watched him carefully nonetheless. It was obvious that she wasn't going to make this an easy win for him…

"Hmm…" Ado grunted, suddenly allowing a small grin onto his face. "You did very well…" Eon growled at him threateningly, as he expected, but he continued. "You are the first player ever to see through my Shadow Spikes technique…" He explained, placing the tip of his sword lightly onto the ground as he did so. "May I ask how you did it…?"

The wolf-girl was silent for a matter of seconds, before allowing a small shrug, assured that he would not strike her.

"Call it a feeling." She admitted. "I just…knew it…"

"I see…" Ado murmured with a small grin. "Well then…shall we continue then?"

Eon grunted as she raised her claws again, bouncing her weight from the balls of her feet.

"I will take that as a 'yes' then." The Brandier said calmly, as he raised his sword as well, flicking it to his side, before holding it before himself. "I shall finish this then…"

Eon's eyes narrowed at those five words.

We'll see about that… She thought, as her ears perked up intently.

I won't let you cheat…

Ado suddenly rushed at her, more quickly than she anticipated, bringing his sword down onto her hard. She just barely had a chance to defend against the blade, before he suddenly slackened his grip, and flipped the blade around, lifting her off of her feet.

Eon couldn't hide the shock from her face as he did so, before he flipped her into the air easily. There was a second's pause before Eon was able to react, and just narrowly shot her wings out to slow her decent, throwing off the Brandier's second strike to a mere clip of the leg.

She landed harshly, before collapsing onto her left side, grunting with a look at her HP bar.

Stupid defence stat… She scorned mentally, as quickly looked to Ado's previous position.

He wasn't there.

Eon's ears flattened backwards, and she growled even more threateningly than before.

He did it again… Were the only words that she could think of.

Her head was spinning. Everything was going by so fast now. She looked to the left and right, but no Ado could be seen. The wolf-girl made a small howl of anger, before quickly forcing herself to pivot on the spot, making her legs turn in a more than awkward position on the ground, before taking her right arm to guard against a strike.

With an in pained growl, she forced herself to pivot once more, (nearly sprawling herself onto the ground as she did so) to bring up her left arm up to guard against another invisible attack, before slashing at the air.

Eon's eyes narrowed viciously, as she looked around the area, and finally, she couldn't take it anymore. She raised her head into the air, and cried out angrily as loudly as she could, before slamming her fists into the ground, and forcing herself to sit on her knees weakly.

"Enough is enough, you cheater!" She called, glaring at the ground; stifling small sobs of anger in the real world. "Why can't you just fight fairly?!" The wolf-girl demanded, hitting the ground again hard.

"Why can't you just stop warping?!"

Ado nearly tripped over his own two feet when he heard the comment about 'warping'; nearly making him slam head-first into the barrier. He quickly managed to catch his footing though, and stood before the dog-girl in utter shock.

"How did you know that I was warping?!" He demanded.

Eon was silent for a matter of seconds, before finally forcing herself to stand up weakly. She glared at the Brandier in full distaste, before pointing at him angrily.

"I didn't until you just TOLD me!" She yelled.

Ado couldn't help but allow his jaw to drop, before placing his hand on his face tiredly.

"I can't believe I just said that…" He murmured to himself.

"Neither can I, cheater…" Eon growled. "You did the same thing in the Arena too!"

"H-hey, look…it's not what you think…" Ado started, but Eon cut him off with a glare.

"It isn't? Then tell me why it's a rule, from CC CORP. that warping is illegal?!" She demanded, shaking with anger. "How can you say 'it's not what you think'?! You're character was obviously hacked anyway! That spell with the spikes wasn't part of the game either!"

Ado watched Eon calmly until she finally finished speaking; her PC body shaking from anger and weakness.

"Are you done?" He asked, his black eyes emotionless for the most part.

She nodded her head once after a deep breath, but continued to glare at him angrily.

"Good, then allow me to explain myself." Ado said, sheathing his sword easily. "First off, I'll admit, my character was manipulated in some way…but was not yours as well?"

Eon made a defiant grunt, but the expression on her face told him all.

"All right, secondarily, since my character was indeed manipulated, it therefore must have…original techniques, no?" He asked again. "Such as yours and your 'Flare' ability

Eon made a low growl in her throat, but Ado continued.

"Then I'll cut to the chase, if you're that impatient…" He said with a small chuckle. "Simply, 'Through the Shadows' is an ability that my new character has, thanks to the…upgrade."

"'Upgrade'?" Eon asked, her eyes narrowed. "How can you put a hack like that?"

Ado shrugged lazily.

"Simple, I wasn't the one that did the hacking, nor was it something that I wanted." He explained. "Call it a…gift…from CC Corp."

Eon looked at him carefully, before flicking her head away to look at the barrier. It was obvious he wasn't lying.

Ado scratched the back of his head, before sighing.

"Still mad at me, huh?" He asked, Eon's silence being his answer. He sighed once more, before looking at the sky tiredly. "Well if you're going to be like that…then at least let me apologize…" He asked.

Eon's ear twitched as she crossed her arms ignorantly.

Ado sighed exasperatedly, before holding out his hand.

"Here." He said, holding a light strip of data. "This is my Member's Address. After you log out today, check your E-mail. I'll give you a little…present…" He explained, before turning his back towards her, and stepping towards the barrier.

Eon looked over her shoulder to the Brandier curiously, before he waved a hand over his shoulder.

"Characters can't leave a battle area until one or the other either dies or forfeits…so I concede." He said calmly as the blue flames quickly died down to nothingness. With a slight shake of his hand, Ado gave a simple 'bye', before quickly teleporting out of the area, leaving Eon to watch the blue ripples vanish after him.

After a minute of silence, Eon nibbled on her thumb again in the real world, before making her PC body reach for the floating blue strip of spiralling data.

"Gained Ado's Member's Address!" The screen sang as she gripped the data, making it vanish in a blue-white light.

"A present, huh…?" She questioned, looking at her PC body's hand as she did so. She flexed the fingers in and out, before making a fist, then slashing the air before herself with a pointed claw.

"This aughta be good…" She murmured sarcastically, before heading towards the Warp Panel, and teleporting out of the area as well.

--Epsilon: Holy Forsaken Capital--

"You were quite generous today…" An orange-clad man said, taking a seat next to a round table.

With a small chuckle, Justice took his seat on the opposite end of the table from him, and gave a simple shrug.

"These are children we are dealing with, CCcronie…you cannot expect them to do all that we want, unless they get something out of it as well…" He explained easily.

"Oh-ho…?" The tall Admin asked, leaning against the table, and looking at Justice with cold eyes. "Then what about allowing them to join the Tournament then? You know as well as I do, how dangerous that could be. You allowed them the right to bring no support in their party there!" He accused.

"So I did." Justice said calmly, before rotating his chair to the side slightly. He shut his eyes for a long moment, before looking at CCcronie with them at an angle. "So what? No matter how good they are, there is no way that they could have made it into the Tournament, CCcronie. I made sure of that." He explained.

The orange Admin opened his mouth to protest and accuse, but Justice held up his hand for him to stop. In this server, he was boss…

"I will explain it for you then, CCcronie." Justice said tiredly, as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "First off, even before they came to the meeting, they were only rank eleven of eight. That would mean they would at least need another five hundred WP Points to enter, saying that the teams ahead of them did not participate any longer."

"Secondarily, we made sure that the players Axel and Hikaru were with us longer than necessary. This made it harder for them to gain any points, if they could not participate in the Arena." He pointed out calmly.

"That leaves the girl though, Justice." CCcronie said angrily. "She's a soloist! She's used to fighting alone!"

"Ah, I am well aware of that, CCcronie." Justice said. "But you must take ALL things into account." He examined a ring on his finger for a long moment, before continuing. "Just look at her statistics now. Her defences, both magical and physical, are blaintly, pathetic. One powerful move, and she would be taken out of a match." He laced his fingers together, and held them before his chin. "Nonetheless…I made sure that there were too many teams for her to participate in the Arena between now and the end of ranking." He explained.

"Hmm…" CCcronie grunted, before grinning in satisfaction.

"If that is what you say, Justice…then I have no reason to doubt you…" He murmured.

"Precisely" The blonde Admin said calmly. "It is impossible for them to make the ranking, so close to the end of the deadline…"

--Ippikiookami Residence: A Half Hour Later--

Eon's fingers tapped irritably on her desk as she looked at the screen before herself. One little box continued to glow faintly, flashing '1 new message'.

"So…yeah…that's about it…" Axel said quietly into the phone, after explaining the conditions with G.U. "We're gonna have to go with at least one of those people there for now on…"

Eon's fingers stopped tapping suddenly, and her nails dug into the desk hard.

"I see…" She murmured, trying to keep her cool.

"Yeah…" He muttered back, surprised that she didn't throw anything.

Eon shut her eyes for along moment, before looking back at the blinking box.

"I guess we didn't make it into the Tournament then, either…" she said quietly, eyes narrowing a bit with regret. "I couldn't get in to fight…"

There was silence on the line, before Axel said, "Yeah…too bad too…they said that we could go in alone…"

Eon shut her eyes tightly, before hitting the desk with fist.

"Yeah…"

Both were quiet for a long moment, until a light voice called for Axel.

"Oh…just a minute; Hikki wants something." He said, before all went completely silent on the other end.

Eon made a small grunt, before pressing the speaker button on the phone, and placing it back into the holder. She then took her controller and scrolled to the side two, reaching the 'E-mail' option.

Might as well check it now… She thought, opening it.

After a few seconds of loading, a box popped up again, warning her of a new message…as if she didn't know…before she exited it and saw the actual unopened E-mail.

She squinted slightly as she read the sender.

"CC Corp…?" Eon muttered in disbelief.

That guy was with CC Corp…? She wondered tiredly, before opening the E-mail.

"Dear player Eon…blah blah blah…yatta yatta yatta…" She murmured, reading the useless formal introductions. "We are pleased to inform you that you and your Team, Team Shinigami, have officially been accepted into the Rankings of the Warrior Palace Torn…a…ment…" She stared at the screen with large eyes, utterly shocked.

"H-how?!" She demanded, scrolling down to read the details.

After achieving near-enough WP Points, you were rewarded by an anonymous player the WP amount of 55 000 WP. Because of this, you and your Team have now been accepted into the Warrior Palace Tournament, in the A-Stream, in 3rd place. Congratulations on your achievement! The schedule for fights will soon be posted on the official The World homepage. Please check regularly for your first match.

Thank you for you patronage in The World.

Eon's fingers twitched confusedly, as she tried to make sense of what she just read.

"Eon…did you just get an E-mai—" Axel started, but before he could finish, Eon flicked the 'call end' button. She was too shocked, nonetheless dumbfounded to talk to him right now.

'fwwa!'

Eon hopped a bit with the new message sound, before exiting the CC Corp. E-mail. She quickly looked at the sender's name, before instantly opening the E-mail.

Sender: Ado

Eon read the one sentence on the page, before clenching her hand into a fist hard on her desk.

"That jerk…we didn't need his help…!" She growled.

I hoped you liked your present.

Ado

Yippee! It's finally OVER! (Collapses)

16368 words on this word count…that's a lot…

All right, listen up, chapter rant time!

First off, top…five reasons I didn't update until now!

1) I'm lazy.

2) I was out of ideas until just recently.

3) I just got a job. (Oh whee…I just love it too…)

4) I just finished finals not too long ago.

5) My arm hurts! Gimmee a break!

You'd better enjoy this chapter, Dusk...took me long enough to get Ado to sound cool for you... (Though really, it was fun trying to give him cool moves...) (Dun hurt me for changing 'Shadow Spikes' a bit!) (Hides)

Hooray for clichédness! I swear those Admins had nothing better to do than be clichéd at the end of the chapter… But I used what…ten, twenty clichés this chapter? Yeah, running on Empty… That's party due to the fact that I worked EIGHT hours yesterday! So I'm tired…

As for what my job is, I work at the theatre now. Whee…! The only place that'll hire me, since they're severely understaffed. That, and it's the second most popular theatre in Canada…pick your choice. I've been working at the café the last few days…making frozen yogurt and coffee…jeez…I can't make that stupid milk foam! CURSES TO ALL YOU WHO DRINK LATTÉS OUT THERE…OR HOWEVER YOU SPELL THEM!!

Ahem…I'm okay now…

Currently, 44 pages…I know I said I didn't wanna write anymore looooong chapters anymore, but this one makes up for the three and a half months of lateness. 8) b (Sucky smiley! WHEE! Just look at that thumbs up!)

All right, I'm running out of stuff to rant about, so listen up people! I had a goal, to get this out on the 13th! Why, you may ask? Because, the 14this my BIRTHDAY! And I gotta work then! (Aren't I lucky…)

So yeah…be nice and gimmee the present of a review, because I already know that my 'B-day' is gonna suck. I'll either be stuck doing more café junk, or be cleaning theatres. Nice way to spend my day. Nearly 8 hours of work that day. Fun… (Schedule says 'HD' for 'House Door'…which means I should be ripping tickets tomorrow…for seven and a half hours…)

Yeah…just tell me what you think of the overly long chapter, and it'll make me feel better when I actually find the time to get on again…

I dunno when the next chapter update will be, since, again, I'm running low on ideas (Send me an E-mail if you've got any ideas. Not immediately going to the Tournament though…) so it might take a while otherwise…I might just write a 6000-some word chapter though, for a quick update before I go camping. ' ' b Thumbs up.

Okay…now I'm outta ideas, other than birthdays suck! :P Personal experience for the past ten years. So, until next time pukos… (Awaiting Miffin mote…)(MN: :D)See you!

(Fanfiction word count is 17463 words...that's a looooot...)