DreamScape Ch. 5

Looming Darkness

"Naga is not online tonight" Deathex said as he looked at his friend list, noticing Shock's name light up as he logged on. He was currently sitting outside of Pavillia with some company. The two of them were sitting upon one of the marble staircases that lead into the city.
"Hmm..." MadAlice said, looking at her list and shaking her head a bit, "no...she's probably online but set herself to invisible..." she said as she then closed her list.
He thought about that for a moment before closing the list, "probably, should we go grind a bit?" he asked, of course this meant they might get level ups, and leave the others behind a little, but it was worth it for those hunts.

"Yeah...not too much though," she said, still kinda just sitting there.
"Alright" he said standing up and offering his hand to help her up. She smiled and placed her hand in his, using him as support to get up.
"You're lighter than I remember" he teased
"Are you saying that I was fat?" She asked, making a face at him.
Quick, say something to save face "No" Genius "What I meant was, have you been eating less?" She just stared at him before laughing.
"You're so dumb sometimes," she said, laughing. He arched a brow before moving his hand to tickle her side, just to get a squeak out of her.
"No." she said, smacking his hand.
"Ooh, feisty" he teased. She just smiled, moving away from him.

"Let's go and grind already," she said, the smile on her face never leaving. He nodded, going with her to Cindersia to grind some Lava Beasts since they gave good XP. Of course once they entered the heat hit them like a truck. Even a tropical inhabitant would feel this kinda heat.

"Damn" he said fanning his face a bit "Forgot how hot this place gets"
"Same..." she said, fanning herself as well while trying to at least get use to some heat. He walked with her, passing by other mobs and getting closer to a river of lava.
"So hot" Gust said, using wind to try and cool herself, all she did was circulate the hot air. Allowing it to go under clothes and deeper into the hair Making them more miserable.
"Gust!" He said. "Sorry" she said with a sheepish smile. Alice just giggled, finding his reaction funny.
"There they are." he said pointing at the beasts that lined the river. "Show time" he said drawing his sword
"This should be good," she said, taking out her bow and stringing an arrow to it.


They tethered several beasts, the mobs turning to face them. "Wind's Reach" he said, using the wind to extend his blade and attack them from a distance.
"Spirit clone," she said, having the clone move for them while moving away to hit them with Black Plague. They split apart, forming smaller more numerous versions. They all turned and began toward her, her arm working fast to string the arrows and fire them, killing the little buggers. Deathex had Gust fly around and use Wind Barrage on the ones that were still after him, cutting them into their smaller versions before cutting those. The river bubbled and a giant beast emerged, attacking them with a projectile of lava. Deathex and Alice dodged it by taking to the air with a jump.

"Cursed Shackels!" She fired an arrow, the spiritual chains of the shackles bursting from it and restraining the beast. "5 seconds, let him have it!"
"Gladly!" he said before using the wind to rocket forward. "Wind's Howl, Blade Flurry!" he unleashed the attack doing massive damage.
"Black Plague!" She fired the arrow, poisoning the beast following with her normal attacks to whittle down its health. Soon its molten body hardened before crumbling into dust, the two of them earning some EXP for their efforts.
"No level ups, at least we aren't getting too far ahead" he said as he checked his stats. Alice smiled happily, glomping Deathex.
"Gah!" he said almost losing his balance. "Yes we did good" he said patting her head.
"I know." she said happily, looking at him with that big smile of hers. He smiled back at her, what is it about that smile of hers... he thought. Gust flying around them happily, cheering at their victory.

"What else should we do?" She asked, pulling away a bit.
"More grinding, since we didn't get a level up." he said. Of course they were hot, sweaty and tired.
"It's really hot..." she whined softly. He thought for a moment, it wouldn't be a bad idea to call it quits and go somewhere less heated.
"Let's go cool off in the waters of Aqueous." he said taking her to the Shuttle system that carried them the long distance to Aqueous. Lakes were everywhere, rivers flowed, water was everywhere there. Even the air was damp with moisture. He found a lake a bit away from all the other players swimming and splashing around. Soon as he found the right one he ran toward it pulling his mask down as he did so. With a loud splash he jumped in, the water rippling from the sudden disturbance in its tranquility. Alice giggled, but decided on grace for her approache, following him in with a dive. Both of them resurfaced, Deathex spitting the water in his mouth out before taking a deep breath. The cold water relaxing to someone who had just been surrounded by nothing but lava. Alice was the same, just enjoying their swim.

She smiled happily perfect, he won't see it coming she slowly swam up behind him, with a playful cry she grabbed his shoulders and dunked him. He took a breath just before going under, a smile on his face as he turned the tables. Spinning around in the water he grabbed her ankles and tugged her down under with him. She squeaked at the onset of his hands on her ankles before taking a breath as she was pulled under. He smiled at her once she was under the water, just floating there, some  bubbles escaping him as he exhaled slowly. She looked at him and smiled back, happy they were having fun. Though her lungs disagreed begging for some air. She pointed toward the surface and then swam to it. Deathex right behind her, both of them taking a breath as they resurfaced.

"Ah...that's so much better than lava" he said as he closed his eyes. Alice giggled before glomping him again, feeling so playful.
He laughed, "you're quite affectionate today"
"Because I can be without others really watching....I wanna avoid the teasing." she said, looking downward a bit to hide the small blush on her cheeks.
He chuckled, "you really think they'd tease you?" he asked, holding her with one arm
"Maybe." she said cutely.
He found that funny, and cute. "you're silly"
"No...you are," she said, smiling.
"why am I the silly one?" he asked
"Because I said so."
"Oh really?" he asked, leaning closer
"Yes really," she said, gazing at him. Her heart racing because he was getting so close. She did her best to hide her squeak when his nose soon touched hers. A smile on his face.
"You win" he said before his lips met hers in a kiss. She blinked as her cheeks flushed red, surprised yet happy that he did that. A rush of excitement going right through her from her head to her feet. He held the kiss, her lips soft and sweet, it was addicting how great it felt to share this with her. She finally kissed him back shyly. Bubbles could be heard rising out of the water near where they were. She heard that looking toward it, curious.

"Mobs?" Deathex asked as he turned to look as well.

A man rose out of the water, Black hair, silver eyes, a scar on his right cheek, a 5 oclock shadow with lengthy stubble. An outfit resembling an assassin of medieval times Gray and black with different blades strapped to his body.
"Well hello, Alice" His voice scratchy and none to pleasant to hear with that creepy dialect.
Her eyes went wide, her immediate reaction was to back up a bit. "What are you doing here?!" Deathex moving to shield her.
"Oh you know, just playing a game, watching you...oh yes" He said with a shallow chuckle, almost raspy sounding. Deathex growled "back up pal" he warned, not in the mood for this shit. She hid behind Deathex, scared but trying to put on a brave face. "Go away!" She shouted

"No, I won't, I never will" he said moving to grab her, only for Deathex to grab his hand and squeeze, you could hear the material of his gloves stretching a bit from how hard he was squeezing. The man flinching a little.
"Fuck off" he warned, "Before I decide to make you look uglier"
"Kid, get out of the way" Deathex then tethered him, "Gust, Wind Barrage" She obliged moving right in front of the man's face before unleashing the attack.
"I warned you, fucker" Deathex said before the man swam to shore and climbed out, Deathex hot on his heels. The man pivoted and pulled out his Glaive, thrusting it toward him. He dodged and drew his sword, striking the man in the stomach with the blade. Alice watched, pretty much unable to really do much from how scared she was. She climbed onto shore as their fight moved further from the lake.

The two of them continued to fight, Deathex dodging each attempt to harm him from the man. His sword and fists doing the work as he beat this man down into the dirt, winning the fight. "Now fuck off, don't let me catch you near her again" he said.
"Oh you shouldn't worry about that" he said with a chuckle, "You can't be around her forever" He said slinking off. Deathex earned 4 level ups from that victory, his stats getting higher and stronger. He saw a bright flash on the stat screen before the words FINALE UNLOCKED

"Finale...what" he shook his head and closed the stat screen before going over to Alice. She was shaking, still pretty scared and doing her best not to cry.
"Alice, are you okay?" he asked putting his hands on her shoulders. She looked up at him, her eyes tearing up and the shaking barely stopped.
He pulled her into a hug, "it's okay, he's gone" She nodded, hugging him back and feeling a little better. She was glad he won, but was shaken up by that man's threat. He just held her, knowing she needed it.
"Who was that guy?"
"A stalker of mine...from when the game first started..." she said softly, whimpering a bit.
fucking jackass people I swear he thought, "It's okay, I won't let him get you."
"But he was able to get me once before..." she whispered, trembling again.
"He did?" he asked, surprised by that, and angered as well
She nodded, holding onto him. "It was when I first started playing the game..." she said softly, "he saw me and became obsessed...." He moved to sit with her, letting
her talk.

"I started off a couple years ago, back when it first launched. It was such an amazing experience, actually feeling a virtual world. I met someone who helped me through the game, we fell in love. That guy from earlier...he had harrassed me on many occasions. He had seen me since the day I logged in and followed me around, I didn't notice at first, but then it got worse. He started to talk to me, saying things like 'nice tits' or 'nice ass' shit like that." she said, taking a breath to collect her thoughts.
"One day he told me 'I have the power to find you' of course I brushed it off, thinking he was just an idiot. Then I started getting PMs from him, he wasn't even in my friends list. So I blocked him, then got another PM from him the next day...he sent my address and photos of my house" she said getting shaky as she began to cry.

"Hey now, easy" Deathex said, comforting her with a hand on her back.
"Right, sorry" she said with a small smile. "That was when...one night I was force ejected from the game...He was in my room, trying to get at me. I managed to escape and call the police, but he was smart...he left no trace. Locked my doors after that. Then a week later it happened again, he had a knife this time."

Flashback
"Found your key, you're mine now" he said as he had her pinned, she made sure to hit the wall near her head, her dad's room being in that direction. Her dad heard the noise and got up, moving to check on her. Her door was open and some man was on top of her. Her dad rushed in and grabbed the man before grabbing his shoulder, pulling him off of her and slugging him with a vicious right hook. The man fell to the ground and her dad stomped the hand with the knife still in it, the sound of bones breaking could be heard. Alice scrambled to grab her phone and call the police as her dad put his knees on the man's shoulders and assaulted his face with punches until the man stopped moving. He panted and looked at his daughter.
"They're on the way" she said, crying.
"Good, this fucker isn't getting away this time" he said, the man still breathing, just unconscious. Her dad used his work ties to restrain the mans arms and legs until the police arrived to take him into custody. Alice just hugging her dad the whole time, so glad he was there to help her when she needed it.
End Flashback

"He escaped a month later and we were put in protective custody. My boyfriend visited once, under escort of course. Then when he left...the car was T-boned...he didn't survive. That strange man never found me...for that I'm glad. It's only recently that I started playing again. You in fact were my first friend since I returned" she said with a smile. Deathex blushed and smiled back, humbled by that.

"Yeah, my life wasn't much in the sunshine and rainbows department either"
"What happened if you don't mind me asking."
"Well" he said, adjusting himself to get comfy. "I was raised in the slums, run down home, run down street, run down everything. City didn't give a rats ass about us." he closed his eyes. "my father was an alcoholic, constantly shouting. he never hit, just never shut up. My mom did her best to keep me and my sister happy under these circumstances." He took a breath and sighed
"He was driving that day, taking my mom and sister to see some movie my sister wanted to see...she was injured badly...he lived with barely a scratch, my mother died." his jaw clenched as he felt anger boiling up.
"He had been drinking before driving...the bastard...he hurt my sister, took our mother. yet he continued to drink until he finally fucking died!" he shouted that last part, panting a bit.

Alice just looked at him before hugging him close. He let her, hugging her back a little.
"I had to drop out of highschool to support my sister, I work so hard and barely make ends meet. I even resort to stealing from the market just to put food on the table. I was ready to give up and put us both in foster care...then I saw an opportunity. DreamScape had a contest, I entered and won my own copy and everything. It's thanks to this game that I'm still in one piece."
"I'm glad...that this helps..." she said softly, holding onto him.
He smiled, glad she was there. "I wasn't always the most well behaved kid. Acted out a lot, no thanks to dad. got in fights, got in trouble. this game lets me spend all that negativity in a constructive way, leaving me to feel better during the day. I even got promoted thanks to this game, making ends meet is a lot easier, but still tough" he said

"That's good," she said with a happy smile, "I'm just glad that I came back just in time to meet you."
"That's something we can both agree on" he said
She giggled at that. "So what should we do now?"

"Hmmm" he thought for a moment before a bright green light whooshed right in front of them, Gust going in her shirt. "Get out of there" "no, it's warm in here" she replied. "Gust..." he warned. Alice just blinked, confused over what just happened and looking down into her shirt. "What?"

Gust hid under her boobs, pressed against her belly. "Gust, now" "But it's cold out there" she said, Deathex moved to retrieve her from under the shirt, only for Gust to move upwards. Her head poking out of the small space in Alice's cleavage. She just sat there, confused and wondering what the hell was going on.

"Gotcha!" he said, grabbing the little sprite, his hand in her cleavage as a result. Gust just had a smirk hidden from both of them. not quite...for it is I, who has you Gust thought as she sneakily moved out of his hand and through her shirt, exiting from the bottom of said shirt. Alice just sat there, stunned at what just happened. Staring at his hand in her cleavage. He blushed, stunned by all this yet fully realizing where his hand was. Gust just flew behind him, hovering within eyesight of Alice, watching this as it played out.

"Deathex...what are you doing?"
"Um...trying to get Gust out of your shirt"  he said.
"She's not in my shirt...."
"Looks more like he's sampling the goods" Gust said. "You little!" he said, removing his hand and turning to chase after her. Immediately Alice stood up, her bow in hand with an arrow in the other. A scary aura just oozing out of her as she stared him down. He turned to look, seeing how mad she was.
"Shit" he said starting to run, Gust laughing her butt off as she watched. She strung her arrow and took aim.
"Cursed Shackles," she said firing the arrow at him. It met the mark, shackling him right to the ground
"Dammit!" He shouted, struggling to get free. She grinned, suddenly right there in front of him. He kept trying to move, 4 seconds remained. shit shit shit! he screamed in his head.

She kissed him right than and there, smiling. "You were suppose to take me out to dinner and a few other dates before putting your hand down my shirt, silly." He was completely stunned by that, his brain trying to recover from the shock.
"I...um...that...wha..." he said before the shackles ended and he could move finally processing what she said. "Dinner? Dates?" he asked before smiling. "Kind of hard to take you out when I don't know where you live" he said, actually liking the idea.

She giggled at that, smiling still. "And if you did know...would you actually do it? Or would you chicken out?"
"Oh i'd do it, in a heartbeat" he said before realizing he just said that, his mouth usually faster than his thoughts, but he didn't take it back and smiled at her. That caught her off guard a bit, a blush appearing on her cheeks.

"So will you give it to me, or will I have to convince you further?" he asked moving closer.
"Convince me how?" She asked, blushing more but trying to stay confident. His arms wrapped around her as he leaned his head closer to hers.
"The same way you convinced me that you're worth it" he said before kissing her again. She felt like she melted right then and there in his embrace, kissing him back happily but feeling so shy at that. He held the kiss for a bit before parting, looking at her with a smile. She looked back at him, smiling happily but shyly.

Flashback
He remembered that day so clearly. Weeks ago, he logged in. Walking around to find challengers and there she was, fighting some people. With his interest piqued he moved closer to watch. It was a 2 on 1 and she was winning.

She had a smile as she fought, pinning one down while focusing on attacking the other one. The one she pinned struggled while the other went down from her attacks.
"No!" the pinned one said. She turned her attention to him, grinning. He gulped, scared out of his mind. She held the bow with an arrow already notched.
"I'm sorry! Mercy!" he begged.
"Too bad." she said before firing it point blank at her opponent defeating him.
"Very impressive" Deathex said, she certainly had a presence that demanded respect She turned to look, a bit surprised that there was a spectator all the way out there.
"Oh thank you," she said, smiling.
"Im Deathex"
"MadAlice," she said, still smiling.
"Wanna go a round?" he asked.
"Sure, you better put up a better fight than they did"

"Ready when you are" she said as he took his sword in hand, a small sprite flying close by. "Two on one again?"
"Oh don't worry about Gust, she's a part of me. So to speak" he said before rushing at her. Alice didn't move, instead his sword went clean through her as if she wasn't real. "What the?" he began to hallucinate as she readied a shot from the side.
"Wind Barrage!" Gust said, deflecting the arrow as it flew.
"Hey!" Alice said before Deathex was suddenly up on her, using his best moves to unleash a devastating combo attack, She survived and got some distance. Using her arrows to try and do some damage as she got away. He used his sword and wind to deflect them, a few managing to hit. Gust had flown behind her as she readied another shot.
"Wind Barrage!" she pelted her in the back, launching her back at Deathex who then swiftly attacked defeating her and earning a healthy amount of level ups.

"What the heck kind of level 10 are you?!" she said in utter bewilderment that he was able to beat her so easily.
"One of a kind" he said with a cheeky grin.
"That's it! You're gonna be my friend and I'm gonna beat you!" she said pointing at him.
"Sounds good to me" he said as they became friends that very day.
End Flashback

"Ever since that day you kept trying to beat me" he said as he relaxed with her on the bank of the river.
"And I will beat you," she said, giggling a bit.
"Sure you will" he teased. She smiled softly while moving to do something. Sending him a pm.
"Hm?" He asked checking his messages and smiling "and a phone number? What a bonus" he chuckled
"Yup," she said, smiling happily at him. He took her hand in his. Smiling as he enjoyed their remaining time together.