taintedline

[taintedline]

t i t l e: ice cold w o r d   c o u n t: 759 t a s k   d e s c r i p t i o n: This one will be about what is happening around your character outside the game. Explore how their family is reacting, what is happening to their body, how the world around them is changing, etc.

The first moment that she realised that she had lost them was when she touched his hand. His hand was cold to the touch. It was ice cold, as if whatever part of life was left in him had already left his body. It was only the slow pulses of the heart beat monitor that left her convinced that there was still someone living within this shell of her son. The tips of her fingers tracing the wrinkle strains covering his skin, moving over the marks of age and the memories engraved there in the scars from his adventures. And when she reached across to the next bed, the same block of ice was all she could find of Emeline as well. Both of their finger nails were growing, although Emeline’s were arching forwards at a more rapid pace and the black of her nail varnish looked comical now that it was followed by the pale colour. Fleur clutched at the thick fingers of her son, clinging at them as if just holding on would provide him with the strength he needed in order to return to her world. The one thing she wished was that she could see his face, that she could see both of their faces, but she had been told that it would be devastating to attempt to remove the helmets from their heads.

The second time she realised that she had lost them was when she bent forwards to snatch at the tangles of brown hair that fell from beneath her dark helmet. The fact that she couldn’t take the helmets off was terrifying – just yet another reminder of how cut off they were from her. She knew that at this moment they were locked their heads somewhere, unable to move or doing anything for themselves, and she couldn’t help but wonder if they knew on that side what was happening in the real world. A tear slipped down her cheek, and her hands tightened around what grip she had on them, holding them to her as she wished she had earlier. Seeing them both here was almost too much for her to deal with. Her son and her granddaughter locked in this place for who knows how long, and she was scared for them. She was so scared for this was a world she didn't understand. She had tried when the gaming had started - she honestly had - but she couldn't enjoy the gaming world as much as her son and Emeline. If anything she only brought them down rather than aiding them on the few times that they had attempted to play together. After that it had become easier to just watch and pretend to comprehend the things that they were discussing.

Those were the days when she had still seen Emeline. Now the brunette was all too busy to have the opportunity to spare some time for her grandmother. First it had been that she was busy with college, then it had been her desire to support her friend through his problem and now it was the gaming world once more – throwing the barriers between them and separating them more. And as much as Fleur wanted to hate it, she wanted so much to hate the bulky helmets and what they represented, she knew that she would never be able to hate it. The games had always meant so much to Emeline and Laurent; after all that was how they had gotten into this mess.

The third time was the last time. The despair that filtered through her was sharp and putrid. It was this time that she realised the strands of hair were greasy between her fingers and the pale tones of their skin were so pale, too pale, and it filled her with horror. They were paler than she had ever seen them before, their bodies almost unrecognisable in addition to the gross weight loss they’d endured since the beginning of this all. The medical tubes didn't help either; in a way they were almost mocking - Fleur should have been using those long before Emeline did.

Finally all the old woman could do was let her head fall, to close her eyes and block out the skeletons of her loved ones. Instead she recreated them in her mind; she recreated the bright spark of fire that had been Emeline and the loyal and dependable vision of Laurent that she always held dear. Then she prayed, she prayed to whoever was listening for the return of her angels.

[taintedline]

Emeline laughed, her smile casting a glow to her skin that she hadn't experienced since the start of this game. It felt good to be able to laugh again. "I can almost imagine it." She reassured him, given that she knew exactly how much game experience Jack had. "I've been doing the same; just grinding away." 

"Immediately before meeting you?  Looking for a mining point out here.  Outside of the first day, I’ve been doing quests and whatever I can to level up.  Should’ve seen me the at first.  Looked like a complete idiot."

[taintedline]

Sounds like we're going to war; I like it. I'd love to fight back against whoever did this to us. I think we're all doing the same thing, but I'm sure with more people you guys will be able to take on the first boss in no time.

Open to anyone that wants to get involved. We’re kind of calling it the… the front lines. People who are willing to go ahead with clearing the floors and having each other’s backs while we do so. Most of us are grinding and questing right now just so that we can get to a good level to take on the first boss.

[taintedline]

Emeline, likewise. You must be grinding away at those levels if you've gotten that many dropped items.

I’ve killed a lot of butterflies. Just put it that way. I’m Setharus, nice to meet you.

[taintedline]

Emeline almost laughed at Jack's explanation. Sometimes she forgot how little he knew about the world that she adored; it was humorous listening to him explain the reason behind his choices while she mentally compared his laidback choice with her own deeply-thought out decision. Unlike Jack, Emeline had spent ages debating which species would be the best choice and then which class would be strongest. 

"I'm a siren." Emeline finished for him, tugging at the insignia on her shirt so that it stood out a little more clearly. She glanced up at him as he swore, watching in confusion before she received the request. Then it all made sense. Within seconds she had selected yes and the proud banner blazed before her for a moment.

TAINTEDLINE and NIGHTJACK are now friends.

"Sometimes it's almost easy to forget this is all a game." She sighed, casting her gaze around for a moment before setting it back on Jack again. "So what were you doing before we met?"

"The whole ‘hard to kill’ part of the description stood out when I was in the character select screen.  Which apparently is paying off, since I’ve figured out that being a paladin means taking a beating so others can do their spell casting and attacks."

Quietly, he was pretty proud that he was picking up on things quickly.  It was also probably a good thing he was learning quickly, otherwise he’d have been dead back at the fire snail cave.

He puzzled at the insignia Emeline wore for a moment.  ”You picked….?”  Then another thought struck him.  ”Shit.  Hang on, let me send this before I forget….”

NIGHTJACK has sent you a friend request. Accept? {Y/N}

[taintedline]

How many butterflies did you have to kill to get that many? I've got my own fair share, but that's still pretty impressive.

I have collected about 400 Butterfly wings — would you like some?

[taintedline]

Well Taryn, is this group members only or is it open to anyone? I think it'd be good to have a few more people I could depend on in this place.

Oh! We’ve actually gotten a small group of people together to start leveling and working towards the first dungeon. I guess I just… forget… that not everyone is on the same page.

It’s a pleasure to meet you, Emeline. You can call me Taryn.

[taintedline]

[taintedline]

I know it would be a good idea to but I don't know if everyone's game with that. At the moment most people are still running around like headless chickens. I'm Emeline by the way. 

Don’t mention it. I’m glad to help however I can. After all, we kind of all have to stick together at this point if we want to make it out alive, no?

[taintedline]

Obviously Jack would have done something sensible like that but Emeline hadn't even though to check the message board. She'd immediately rushed further into the game in search of her father, not even caring to communicate with the other players - NPC's and PC's alike. 

"Maybe he has." She offered half-heartedly. Truthfully, she already feared the worst. They'd been in the game so long already and she hadn't seen a sign of him. There were only so many places he could go in the first floor. She felt better though, much better now that she had Jack here with her. "He's got to be around here somewhere." She forced her smile on to her lips, shoving her feelings down as she usually did in the real world. "So werewolf? What made you chose that?"

"Your dad thought the Total Immersion thing might help deal with treatments.  Doctor approved playing for short periods.  I was supposed to meet up with you guys, but then everything happened and I couldn’t find you. I left a message on the bulletin board at the starting town, hoped you guys would see it…"

He pulled back.

"We’ll find him," he said reassuringly.  He wasn’t just saying it as lip service.  He truly meant it.

[taintedline]

Emeline is now protected by SHIELD.

Thanks, I feel safer already. I owe you one.

Yeah, no problem.

Keegan casts SHIELD towards taintedline.

That should buy you time.

[taintedline]

Before she even had the chance to comprehend the situation, Emeline felt the older male's arms wrap around her body and she just sunk into his grasp unable to believe that he was actually here in front of her. 

"What are you doing here?"She exclaimed in disbelief. She'd known that her father was in the game with her, heck the two of them had uplinked together, but she hadn't known that Jack was here. Clinging to him now, she wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing that he had somehow ended up here with her. 

She swallowed slightly as he mentioned her father, her glee at seeing the other draining instantly. "He came with me but-" She thought the rest of the sentence was fairly simple. During everything that had happened, she'd lost track of him. 

Jack crossed the short distance between them and pulled her into a tight hug.  ”Oh my God, you’re here.”  He paused a moment as that sunk in.  ”Oh my God, you’re here.”

It was a mix of relief and horror.  He finally knew the whereabouts of one of his friends.  But at the same time, finding out that Emeline (who was as close to a sister has he’d ever had in his life) was trapped inside Death Incarnate wasn’t exactly a good thing either.

"Are you okay?  Your dad, is he…?"

[taintedline]

I don't see anything else to do around this place.

So I may as well keep trying to level up.

Do you hate butterflies enough to spend the whole time we’re here just killing them and getting measly XP?

[taintedline]

The more butterflies that spawn, the more I get to kill.

Is that going to be your personal mission for this game? Because that would get kind of boring due to, you know, them respawning every few minutes. 

[taintedline]

Emeline spun on her heel, her gaze easily falling on the male behind her. Her eyes widened slightly as she saw him, her mouth opening a second before closing again. "Jack?"

Jack looked up as he recognized the voice.  He turned his head slowly and couldn’t believe who he saw.  ”Emeline?”

[taintedline]

Okay then. A double team definitely has more chance of taking out those little pests.

Give me twenty minutes to recover then I'll be ready to head out.

Whenever you’re ready to seek out your revenge, sign me up.

Those butterflies deserve everything that’s coming to them.

[taintedline]

Well I can't do any magic so your minimal shield would literally be a God-send right about now. There's only so much I can do with a cutlass and when I get swarmed it's not much help.

They are disgustingly persistent little buggers. I can cast a minimal shield spell for you, but that’s about it. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to grind as much as I would have liked to get my level up so that I can cast better spells.