Cause pretty girls deserve to die.

[LOGIN: SHADOWRUNE] [PASSWORD: ********] > > > [PASSWORD ACCEPTED] [LOADING...] You've stepped into the virtual universe known as Terrain of Magical Expertise. Within this expansive, interactive world, players of all ages, genders and races across the world unite together to a single community of social networking and gaming. With an unprecedented level of customization, you can create a personal avatar character to interact with friends, and battle foes... [SKIP DIALOGUE? >Y/N] [>Y]

Welcome to TOME. ShadowRune plunged into the familiar battleground territory of ;Lavendera, her breathing already labored with anxiety. She'd spent a full weekend away from the game ever since her failed quest with her cohort ObsoleteIvory, after her stubborn refusal to break character and lower her volume resulted in their discovery by the enemy and rendered both players under a forced loss. Since the incident Rune couldn't bring herself to face her friend, riddled with guilt due to Ivory's passion to train up for the next Gemini Tournament.

Of course, the welcoming escape of Terrain of Magical Expertise had continued its temptation to reel Rune back in despite the failed mission, and come the start of the new week the spell caster figured now would be a better time than ever to apologize.

Rune took her time in approaching the usual hangout spot where she'd meet her friend, ruminating over every detail on what she could say to Ivory. Every possibility to be out of character only lead to her overthinking, and so with a brave face she assumed her outwardly voluminous attitude and character. To her relief, Ivory had already logged on, facing their campfire with an unreadable expression.

"Ah, if it isn't Ivory. It's a pleasure to see you again, my dearest companion," She greeted warmly.

The pianist, however, barely so much as looked up from the firewood pile as his metalhead friend approached.

"Yeah, right. Hey." He mumbled. Rune's confidence instantly wavered, yet she put on her usual smile.

"I trust that you have, er… recovered from Friday's troubling ordeal?" Rune asked as she took her seat across from Ivory. He didn't let it show, but his mood soured at the reminder.

"Oh, yeah. I've forgotten all about how you completely blew our cover and cost us a level-up," The pianist gritted.

His metalhead companion sagged, yet she tried again.

"I think if we try again, we can truly vanquish that foe that has been plaguing our path of strength for so long," Rune offered.

"No. It's over." Ivory declared firmly. For a long moment, Rune was silent, needing to process.

"I do not think it's as over as you think—" She started.

"This is over, Morgan!" The player snapped. "I've had it up to here with your stupid role-playing crap and how loud you always are! It's like you're so ignorant to control your volume!"

ShadowRune shrank back, her exterior beginning to crumble right at the mention of her name.

"Clayton, I-I'm sorry…" She murmured at what may have been her quietest ever.

"Oh, NOW you decide to be quiet, when you just want me to forgive you throwing us the BIGGEST quest we can access before the goddamn Gemini tournament?! We're so far behind, and the tournament is three days from now! I don't give a shit how sorry you say you are, because you're only sorry that I want to quit."

ShadowRune opened her mouth to protest, right as ObsoleteIvory pulled up his hologram screen for his friends list.

"Wait, Clayton, please—"

But he wouldn't give her the time of day. After removing ShadowRune from his friend list, Ivory glared at his former friend for one last time before the log-off beam surrounded his character.

And so Rune sat, completely alone in an overwhelming silence at the one space she'd managed to find joy at in all of her time of playing TOME.

A moment of quiet grief passed.

Long.

Agonizing.

It felt like ages before she decided on her next move.

"So… that's how you wanna play, huh."

The metalhead stood from her seat, clenching her fists and tugging her cloak hood over her face.

"Fine by me."

With a coldness barely concealed by her mask, ShadowRune trudged along to ;Mechcity.

Meanwhile, on another side of the virtual commune, TOME Veteran Nylocke landed on the sidewalk with his own cheery air about him. While his friends in the Western hemisphere were busy with classes for the day, he decided to get some casual time in before the Gemini Tournament in a few days.

His peaceful stroll through ;Mechcity, however, was soon short-lived— the dragon of the cold steel caught a small crowd gathering to observe a nearby fight. Murmurs of amusement were heard among fellow players, and after carefully filing through the players, he found out why.

The sectioned off battle grid was occupied by two players, one familiar and one unfamiliar; Odboll, the foul-mouthed and dirty-minded hacker that Nylocke had caught harassing Flamegirl just recently, and a player he didn't quite recognize. Her avatar was a grim contrast to the filthy hacker's— her form was mostly shrouded in a black coat, save for heavily belted boots that shook the terrain slightly with each stomp. Her eyes were concealed by a half mask reminiscent of a corroded skull, and her weapon of choice was a broomstick doubling as a microphone. Nylocke watched in slight awe as the stranger cracked her broom mic onto the ground, causing a shockwave of sound to knock Odboll back and stun him.

"DON'T FUCK WITH ME, YOU E-GIRL SLUT! I'LL RAM MY COCK DOWN YOUR THROAT!" Odboll snarled, earning a sneer from Nylocke.

"NOT IF I SLIT YOURS, FIRST, YOU SNOT-SHADED SPERM! BURN IN THE FIRES OF PANDEMONIUM, I SAY!" Roared his opponent.

Odboll screeched as the sheer volume of her voice cracked the squares of space he'd pulled up from the ground. He desperately folded himself into his ball body, charging to flatten the player.

Before he could reach her, however, she let out a deafening shriek into her mic. Jagged rock shot out from the ground due to the force, sending the hacker through the air as the "LOSE!" message flashed over his avatar.

The battlefield barrier finally lowered, but it seemed the mysterious player wasn't done.

"WHO ELSE WANTS SOME, HUH?!" She shouts at the crowd. Not a response was heard from the small crowd of TOME players, and awkwardly they began to dissipate, leaving only Nylocke.

The dragon-wielding swordsman braced his sword, though he attempted a peaceful introduction first.

"A sound-based vigilante? Quite the new character concept," He remarked in wonder.

To his dismay, his friendly demeanor was cut off by the opponent cracking her microphone against the ground, shaking the terrain between the two players.

Another battlefield wall began to snake its way around them.

"DON'T PATRONIZE ME, FILTH!" She snarls. "I am ShadowRune, and let it be known that mine will be the name to champion the Gemini Tournament and rue every opponent who dare stand in my way!"

Nylocke wasted no time as soon as the fighting terrain formed. His expression hardened while he sported his sword.

"Well, if it's a fight thou art asking for, then have at thee!" He commanded, surging forward.

Both players collided into one another with a clash.

Rune jabbed the microphone end of her stick into Nylocke's open abdomen.

He grunted under the force of the blow. Hissing through his teeth, he swung the flat blade of his sword. It clanged against the mic stand and knocked it away from him.

He then shoved the same flat end into Rune's form, sending her staggering backwards.

The monochrome player roared in frustration.

Just as she began to raise her mic to her mouth for her next sound attack, Nylocke's sharp blade surged.

Magic pulsed through the air. Ice energy slammed into her and inflicted her with cold damage.

Rune fell backwards onto her back with a grunt. She sat up almost immediately and grabbed her mic once more.

"I WILL DEVOUR YOUR SOUL, YOU PUTRID WORM!"

Her voice boomed into her mic. The air around them shook from the force of the sound waves.

Nylocke shuddered and lost his footing. He tumbled face first into the asphalt of the city.

The dragon was quicker to regain his footing, facing Rune with a glare.

Nylocke slammed his blade into the ground.

The terrain cracked beneath his strength.

"Devour this, you vagrant vigilante!"

Rune fumbled over the quaking earth. Her mic slipped from her grip, falling into the abyss below.

"DAMMIT!" ShadowRune cursed, dropping to her knees and letting out a frustrated yell.

Nylocke paused in his attack, his character wavering. He scrunched his eyebrows together, making an attempt to cover up.

"What ho? Giving up already, chaos bringer?"

The spell caster groaned in response, angrily rubbing at her face and shaking like she was crying. Though no tears were visible on her character model, Nylocke faltered completely at the signs of true distress. His face softened as his pupils formed into view.

"Yeah, just- just take the damn kill shot already! Make me lose and get me to log off of this stupid game I'm never gonna have any friends on again!" ShadowRune sobbed, pounding her fists into the dirt.

For a tense moment, the dragon of the cold steel didn't respond.

Then, ShadowRune heard a clang. Nylocke had surrendered his sword to the dirt.

When she looked up, meeting the dragon's gaze, his eyes suddenly had their pupils. His gaze carried a note of concern, soon masked by stubbornness.

"Hit me. With all that you've got. Let's end this."

Rune's own eyes found their pupils as she spluttered out of anger.

"You think you can throw this match?! Are you serious?! FIGHT ME LIKE A MAN, YOU FIEND!"

It was weak, but it was enough.

The shrillness of Rune's tone forced Nylocke back, sending him out of bounds and triggering an automatic loss.

The battlefield boundaries began clearing at once, with the dragon swordsman regaining his footing as he stared at the ground.

The dark spellcaster charged toward Nylocke now, her hands seizing his shoulders and making him flinch.

"You don't get to throw this shit for me, coward! I— I fought for so long to get to this point!"

Rune yelled at him, yet she was more desperate than angry now.

"Nay. I do not doubt your strength. But I see something waver in your gaze."

Nylocke finally looked up at Rune, their eyes meeting seemingly for the first time since their encounter began. He regarded her with sympathy, speaking only as himself now than his played hero.

"I won't pretend to know what brought you to this point. But I refuse to let you quit this game without a reason to enjoy it just a little longer."

The dragon pushed past the metalhead then, dipping down below into the wedge in the earth. Rune's boom mic had fortunately gotten stuck a few feet down, and he was able to recover it with ease. Flying high out of the crack, he lightly tossed the stick toward his opponent who caught it with a confused look.

Nylocke landed in front of her then, pointing a thumb toward himself with a smirk. As quickly as he was able to break character, his classical bravado returned once more.

"Lady ShadowRune, I challenge thee to forge a rivalry with yours truly. Let myself be the driving force that you seek to surpass within this realm for each day onward that you log on."

Rune straightened her posture, a new feeling stirring within her at the dragon's offer. She bit the inside of her cheek to steel herself, inhaling sharply.

"Just what am I supposed to gain by fighting you?" She huffed.

Nylocke's smirk sharpened into a grin. "A motivation, and a foreboding opponent to start. Thou wish to compete in the Gemini Tournament, yes?"

Rune grimaced, looking away. Struck in a sore spot, even if unintentionally.

"I… don't have a partner for it anymore." She grumbled.

His expression softened for a brief moment, yet in the next breath he shook his head.

"In that case, beyond that point, consider yourself mine opponent. But make no mistake, I pride myself on the resistance of womanly wiles from the likes of yourself."

The metalhead glared back at Nylocke, realizing his challenge and forcing herself back into character.

"If it's a rivalry you want, then I will vanquish you at the next opportunity I get," Rune glowered.

The dragon of the cold steel bared his teeth in a grin this time, clapping a hand on his new ally's back.

"Wonderful! A victory that I—"

Rune stumbled back as Nylocke leapt into the air then, shouting to no one in particular.

"NYLOCKE! MASTER OF FORGING COMPANIONSHIP WITH TROUBLED OPPONENTS!"

Within the next moment, he was back down on his feet, smiling as if nothing happened at all. His rival blinked twice, caught off guard by the display.

"—will cherish deeply."

The metalhead snickered, bursting into quick laughter and coaxing a chuckle from her companion.

"Oh, it is on like Until Dawn," She chortles.

"Pardon?"

"Aah, right. You seem the… faint of heart type."