Sword Art Online: Recurrence/Rebirth

[Max]

I wasn't even sure what to think, Viola was like an entirely different person. She showed up in some pirate getup, acting like some kind of vigilante out to catch every sleazeball out there. Her accent was thick, and she annihilated her opponent like a true Protector. Maya woke up in the meantime and began conversing with Viola, confused about pretty much all of the events that just transpired. I chose not to question the pirate thing right now, and moved past the two ladies towards the boss door.

"Come on Guybrush. You too Aurora. Our boss awaits." I invited Crod into my party, and then turned to face the others. "I figure with Crod as my tank, and then me as our speed, the two of us can handle ourselves as Team A. If there aren't any objections, then Viola, Maya, and Renegade can make up Team B. Stick with your team, and if things get too hairy, get out of there. I wouldn't want anyone getting disqualified."

With that, I took a deep breath and pushed open the boss door. As we entered the tower, we were in a large circular room with stairs visible in the back. The stairs led upward to the next floor, finally allowing us to proceed. Of course, an invisible barrier covered the entryway to the stairs, keeping out those trying to proceed without fighting.

The room, which was initially dark and empty, lit up a bit as torches began to glow. To the left I could see the figure of an enemy forming, probably our boss. He moved towards the center of the room, and then I noticed another figure coming from the right.

No... "Really, no. I am not okay with this."

Floor 30 Boss: Gargantuan Goblin Siblings

HP: 3500 (a piece)

Weapon (Horace): Twin Axes

Weapon (Harriett): Twin Maces

Skills: ???

Bio: The Gargantuan Goblin Siblings are relentless in their assaults. The caves and the forests, originally their homes, have been scavenged by travelers as of late. Supplies have been running short, and their goblin brethren have been getting slain more regularly as the travelers attempt to make their way to the next floor. Horace and Harriett wait in the shadows to get revenge on anybody who made their way all the way through their home.

Great, so now we're the bad guys. It's neat that they try to give the bosses stories and all, but I don't really think that the goblin AI show any form of personality.

The two goblins slowly raised their weapons, and then the torches that had recently lit in the room slowly dimmed out once again before Horace and Harriett leapt back into the room's shadows. I drew my katana and listened carefully.

"Alright guys, we have no info on their skills since we are the first ones to attempt this fight... Be on your guard, these bastards are huge, spritely, and stealthy." I heard the faint found of footsteps quickly shuffling throughout the room, and I slowly moved closer to Crod.

 

[Shinra]

-and who here said goblins are overused?-

"MP3 sync, boot up Persona 4 OST, I'll face myself."

The music led itself into the familiar melody and I turned to face the second goblin that came from the right. "They may have the advantage of strength but we have it in numbers and I reckon that most of us can keep up with them." When I mean most of us I meant everyone except Crod, maybe Musa. But I knew that Crod could most likely hold one of them off while most of us focus on taking the other down then we could bring our full strength down on the remaining sibling. "I may not be the leader here but may I advise we distract one while focusing on the other..."

 

[Lone]

There was a flurry of colors and lights that flashed past his sight. Lone sat upright suddenly and looked around, he seemed to be holed up in a shack of sorts, but where he couldn't remember. He looked around a bit, a few computer generated rats scuttled about around him and out of sight from his movement. He waved his hand and a menu screen popped up and he checked through his items, skills and at the floor map to reorient himself with what was around. "What the hell was I doing last I was on here? Leveling to take the floor boss?" He blinked a bit and drew his sword which looked a bit weathered, but that was just a time generated effect.

He stood up and dusted himself off, he stopped a moment sword drawn. He quickly side stepped an ax smashing through the ceiling and into the shack. He blink at the sunlight and noticed a large ogre like creature that was barreling down on the shack. "Well aren't you an ugly SOB." He dashed for the door and made it outside before a second ax slammed through and literally destroyed the small house. He looked up to a large two headed and four armed ogre that was wielding a pair of axes and a pair of hammers.

"Why is it I can't just come back in with a simple time, I have to see your ugly ass and then take you out." He waved up the menu screened and searched through his quest menu. He kept an eye on the ogre while he searched through a long list. "Ah, here you are. Ogre Lord Kines." He chuckled a bit. "I get the pun, Ogre Lord-Over Lord. Heh." He very swiftly closed the menu and jumped back from a roar and a hammer to his left. He brandished his sword once more and spun it in his hand. "Ok big guy, your 100,000 exp point reward is mine." He ran at the monstrosity, roaring.

 

[Cassette-Disk]

"Arrr." Viola answered Maya as she checked the menu for her currency. That was...quite a bounty. "A purple crocodile could stowaway on yer ship an' yeh wouldn't even notice, would ya? Perchance I'll be telling you once we pull back to port. All's you need to know now is that the ale's on me tonight. And jus' make sure to keep yerself awake out here from now on." The group made their way into the boss room, and Viola was glad for the previous fight. She was now warmed up and felt more nimble, though it was most likely just her imagination. The two goblin siblings appeared from the shadows as if to only make their appearance known before retreating into the dark. "No need to fear, lads!" Viola called out to them, "We're only 'ere to plunder yer booties. And kick 'em while we're at it."

---​

I threw a small rubber ball at the ceiling and caught it as gravity pulled it back down to me. Then I threw it right back up, careful not to throw it too high up and into the rotating ceiling fan. The nights weren't as hot, but summer was still just starting so I might as well make it a habit of turning on all the fans and leaving the windows open. Thank god they had screens on them; I hate dealing with mosquitoes. I was lying on my bed, just wasting time. I should probably be playing the piano, but...eh. I can stand to skip a night. If I kept playing everyday I might just end up with carpel tunnel or something. I had a bad habit of placing my hands at the keys incorrectly so my left wrist always hurt after long sessions. It's something I've been working on changing, but fixing that problem while still playing perfectly can be difficult. I threw the ball up into the air again.
"I'VE GOT BALLS OF STEEL"
The ball hit me on the forehead as I looked at my phone before it bounced off the bed and onto the floor. That's his ringtone. His ringtone. I scrambled off my bed and dashed on the carpet before my foot slipped on the rubber ball, causing me to fall flat on my face. Glad Zoey wasn't awake to see that. I clawed at the carpet like a cat in a bathtub as I crawled to my desk, reaching up to my phone while climbing to my feet.
"Hey. Sorry it's been a while. Work's been kickin' my ass lately. Do u have time 2 talk?"
"to talk." I corrected out loud. Those were the nerves talking. I walked back to my bed, kicking the small ball to a corner as I sat against the wall my bed rested on. I clicked at Saito's name in the text message before sending out the phone call. Okay, just keep it calm and collected. It's just a phone call. I heard the ringing go off three times before the fourth one was cut off, telling me he had answered mid-ring. "Saito, hi!" I blurted out before he had a chance to answer. so much for 'calm and collected'. "Don't worry about not having called or whatever, I've been busy too. And, and, and I know your new job's probably really taxing on you. Or at least, moreso then waiting tables anyway, haha...um. Sorry. I know I'm kinda blathering I just kinda..." miss you. "...I just, you know..." I quietly backed my head against the wall behind me. "How--how are you?"

 

[Peace]

After Saito sent his text, his eyelids started falling. Following several failed attempts to keep them open, he started to remember things called time zones. Right, she's pro'ly asleep or sometihn', he figured succumbing to sleep. I don' see any harm catchin' a few Z's.

The ex-waiter was about to drift off in the land of dreams until...

I've got big balls
I've got big balls
They're such big balls
And they're dirty big balls
And he's got big balls
And she's got big balls
But WE'VE got the BIGGEST balls of them all!​

AC

DC singing about parties scared the living bejesus out of the young man to the point where he was awake and catapulted his phone into the air out of sheer shock. His tries at catching it only launched it to somewhere else. He was finally able to catch it after his fourth try by leaning over his coffee table. When he saw that Crystal was on the other end of the line, he started to panic a little. Crap! She's callin' back! What do I do? What do I do?

Answer, you moron, the logical yet snarky part of his brain retorted.

Right, he said sliding his finger across the screen of his cellular phone. He put the device to his ear and as soon as he took in a breath to answer, he was cut off.

"Saito, hi!" the girl exclaimed, making him pull his phone away from his ear a little. In his head, he remarked If my usual music habits don't deafen me, this girl will, as he sat on his couch. Though despite the comments, he was glad to hear her voice. During this she rambled on about his text.

As she started trailing off, his ears strained themselves in anticipation to hear what she was going to say next. When nothing came of it, he held back a disappointed sigh and thought Actually I don't know. I may do the 'Next, you're gonna say' thing sometimes, but I can't read minds. Crystal broke him away from his thoughts by asking how he was.

"I'm a bit tired from work. I just got baaaack..." he answered, dragging out the last word to look for a clock. He recalled that didn't take note of the time he got home so he told her "A few minutes ago. Overall I've been alright. Workin' mainly."

Just mentioning his job made him think back to that guy. "Though that's been pissin' me off lately," he said with a tinge of anger in his tone. "For the past month, I temporarily took over for someone until they can hire someone else. Since then it seems that every couple of days someone outside my department wants me to do their job for them. I swear there must an office pool goin' on to see who can get the half Asian guy to do their work for them."

Going deeper into his complaints, he added "If it weren't for the pay, benefits, and possibilities to make connections for what I wanna do, I'd be more than glad to wait tables again. At least doin' that I can move around. It sucks sitting at a desk all night."

Saito realized that he was letting his emotions get the better of him. He took a calming breath and said "Sorry. I didn't mean to dump all that on ya," while rubbing the back of his head.

"How's everythin' goin' for you an' Zoey? Still makin' musicians out of the newbies?" He asked trying and failing to put his second question to the rhythm of I'll Make a Man Out of You. "Any bizarre adventures or shenanigans to speak of?"

 

[Roxie1563]

I could feel my heart beating within me as I stood in amazement at the giant duos, my right hand gripping on the handle of my rapier. Quickly, I checked on my friends to be sure they weren't backing down from a challenge; Apparently, they aren't and seems to me that Viola is awfully chirpy about it as well considering her spouting out in pirate gibberish.

I could hear Musashi explaining the plans that could work to take down the duos, but I had another plan and it was the same that Crod, Rene, and I used way back in the beginning inside the God-awful cave. I gave my look to Rene, hoping he'd understand what I was following through as I took my first dash toward the right side of the ax-wielding Goblin that seemed to be full of wrath for those who dared to defy coming inside their home.

"Hiya..!!" I cried, my rapier in hand as it cut across the shin on the left side of the giant then rolled under him when he brought down his left ax down onto the ground. I twisted around to, again, cut the other side of the shin then following that with Quadruple Pain, ensuring it would at least slowed the giant long enough for my companions to follow through as I jumped back to regain my breath.

Taking a small moment to see how Musashi and Crod was doing with the other giant, I quickly gave a huff of air upward of my hair so it'd be out of the way during the Boss battle I felt would end one way or the other.

I thought of how far I've come since the day I joined S.A.O to investigate what my brother had been up to when I heard the whistling air of the second ax coming down on me. I snapped out of it and using my other skill, managed to jump back a foot or two away as it slammed down to the solid ground, the very earth of itself vibrating.

"Oh, crap..." I murmured out-loud. "This one must be feisty..!" I thought to myself, my mouth showing signs of twitching into a smile when the mental image of a crying goblin going home because of a lady whipping his ass all over the place. Chucking just from the image alone, I shoved it aside so I'd be ready again to leap back into the action.

I stood in a good position as I doubled gripped my rapier, ready to strike again and did so again alongside next to Viola.

 

[Shinra]

Renegade smiled as he got Maya's gesture as she took to the right side of the Axe wielding brute. He took to the left as he gripped one of the blades at his hip and used Quickdraw swipe to open up a diagonal slice across the goblin's chest, Allowing Maya to roll through the legs of the enemy. He grabbed the second blade and simultaneously triggered his sprint skill and Quickdraw swipe to attack as he backed away from the boss, hoping that Maya would follow up. When she didn't the bruiser turned around brought down the second Axe down Renegade was dashing back towards the enemy to nail it from behind but he was to slow... The Axe came down but luckily Maya dodged it and Renegade was set up. He triggered Quickdraw swipe into the second strike of Sweep-Soryuken then as the goblin rose back to full height and turned it's head to face him he spun away with two blades in his hands and landed twin spiral strikes with both blades across the brute's face making it roar and cover it's face with it's hands, dropping both axes in the process.

As Renegade landed he sheathed both blades and closed his eyes as the Axe wielder stumbled toward him. "Maya! Sprint into Quadruple pain Now!"

 

[SwagStarIV]

Floor 30| Village Gate (Long story short... Blah. Ace in the fray!)

Ace arrived at the gate, recognizing the poor economic design of the map. He made his way to the nearest bulletin board and tried to find an open store. To move his store on this level would be preposterous, but he wasn't worried about it. The prices on the higher floors were steeper, if your level didn't match. Good thing he had been creeping on the lower levels. It had been a while since he actually went higher than 20. Ace walked to the bazaar and bought some potions. Instantly he ran through the players towards the fields. His journey has just now started, and he thinks, I should definitely make my way into the farthest corners. With the wasteland landscaping, it should probably bring in some fine monsters... The natural look shows no real direction, but who knows. We'll find something!

He dashed forward out the exit of the Town leading into the depths of the autumn scenery. Ace thought, Maybe I should party up with a guild. More than likely this stages floor won't last much longer. Quicker we beat the boss, the better the rewards! He looked towards the cloudy sky and was presented with a message. It read, "250,000 col added to your account! Your store on level 18 has been bought by..." Ace quickly confirmed the message and spotted a monster in the nearby field. Ace charged towards the knight with his sword drawn. He sliced twice and lunged back, removing the dagger on his waist prepping for the knife throw skill. The knight raised his arm sending of a streak lightning, followed by a thrust forward and Ace launched the knife into is helmet. As the knight flew pass his sheathed ninjato, Ace crouched and his feet began to glow with a green shine. When he leaped up he released his technique with a yellow arrow blazing his feet along with a blue lining. Ace roared, "Gengetsu!" The knight was already finished, but Ace liked ending with a flash of glory. In the distance a small horde of the knights were charging in his direction. Ace revealed his hidden kunai pouch, and removed two. As he prepped the knife throwing skill, he counted, 1, 2, 3... Oh. Looks like 8. Ace smirked, I guess he called in the reinforcements. Fun times...

 

[Cassette-Disk]

Crystal listened on as the boy listed off his job's shortcomings, nodding along as if he could actually see her. The more he went on, the more at ease she felt, falling back to the familiar sound of his Irish accent. Looks like staying in Dublin wasn't helping him get rid of it, though that might be for the best; hearing Saito with an American accent would be disturbing.
"Sorry." He said after a quick breath, "I didn't mean to dump all that on ya." She could almost imagine him scratching the back of his head while saying this, going so far as to even see the goggles around his neck jiggle slightly. He probably didn't wear them to work though...did he?
"No, it's fine," the pianist answered, "it can't be easy being the new guy there. Just make sure not to, you know, assault anyone." Crystal joked. "But really, if you need to vent, I'm all ears. Just cuz we're not...you know, together, doesn't mean I don't care." The girl rubbed the side of her forehead with her middle finger in thought for a second before going on. "Like, in my piano class. I don't know if god is playing a prank on me or what, but I swear I must have been put in the wrong class. Everybody's awful at the keys. They have trouble preforming a G Minor arpeggio for christ's sake! I can't be doing with this, I might catch their stupid." The pianist slapped her forehead as she shut her mouth. Great, now I'm rambling. "Sorry, didn't mean to go off like that. You know how it goes." Crystal said miserably.

"Any bizarre adventures or shenanigans to speak of?"
"Well, Zoey found this mask a while ago and whenever she puts it on she says she wants to prowl the night and drink the blood of the innocent." She answered back jokingly. JoJokingly. Heh. Wordplay. "Aside from that, nothing much. She's started getting into the game called...uh...Sword Online Arts or something. It worries me though. I was reading about it and apparently there was some huge incident in the past that killed a ton of the players. I know it'll never happen again, but what if it did happen again?" The girl shook her head. "Forget it, that's silly." There was a slight pause where she looked up at the ceiling fan. This was nice. Though she always had Zoey with her, she still felt as if something was missing and this was it. ...Wait, I have Zoey, but who does he have? The thought weighed down in her mind. "Okay listen, I'm...uh, I'm gonna get super sappy for a minute, so fair warning." Crystal took a quick breath before forging forward. "I haven't put any real thought into this so it might just be nonsense, but here goes.

"I miss you. Like, yeah we both agreed to call it when you moved and yeah you're way over there Ireland but I can't freaking get over you. I'm not trying to make you feel down or anything, I just want you to know that I'm here for you and care for you and I swear to god if you fall for some Irish barmaid I will fly over there and mop the floor with her." Maybe that was pushing the boundary a bit, but still. "Not even just that, but there's no one here who's a good sparring partner! That's the dumbest thing in the world, but I went to a spot in town I heard about and was kicked out! It's little things like that that make me wish you were still here. Hearing your accent and having someone who actually knows how to cook and I just...bleh." Crystal halted her stream of consciousness and bumped her head against the wall behind her again, suddenly feeling like an idiot. "Sorry." She told him, switching her phone to her other hand. "I just worry. Like, if you're doing okay over there. Getting along with other people and dumb things like that. I can't help it, I guess."

 

[Peace]

Saito sat there quietly listening to Crystal answer his inquiries. The red-eyed lad cracked up at Zoey's supposed blood sucking escapades. When he realized she just made a JoJo reference, he thought alarmed Oh someone's god. What has she become? It's like she's turned in to some sort of music-obsessed, brawlin', JoJo nut. After a beat, he pondered Why does that sound so familiar?

...

Oh wait, that's me.

A smirk broke through at that self-deprecating thought. His smile grew a little more when a warm feeling spread in his chest. One that seemed like it was forever ago since he last felt it. Hearing her troubles, complaints, and reassurances put him at peace. This nostalgic feeling reminded him of all of his little gestures he'd comfort her with. He shook his head to rid himself of those memories.

What came next put him at a loss for words. She... misses me? was his first and only thought for a while. A flurry of emotions assaulted his mind while his heart threatened to escape from his ribcage. Happiness that she feels the same he does. Confusion about this current situation. Worry with a tinge of anger that she went out looking for a scrap. Nervous that she brought up her feelings and was most likely expecting an answer.

"I... I..."

His mind then became a battlefield on which his emotions and logic fought. When his brain decided to work again, he thought Maybe I shouldn't have texted her. Stirrin' up all of these lingerin' feelin's, his self-doubt taking over. Plus, what can I do all the way in Ireland? he asked himself. That was followed by the urge to play it cool and say that it's only logical for her to say all of that because of their history and they haven't talked in a while. But thinking that even for a second made his heart hurt.

This internal conflict made Saito want to slam his head into something. His fist quickly met the area between his eyes. The half-Irishman hit himself so hard that he started to bleed a little. He then let out a stream of air through his nose as if he was relieving the pressure from inside his head.

After his head cleared up and his hand laid next to him, he replied "Hearin' all that made me happy because I... I miss you too. I miss your voice and all of our conversations and jokes. I miss your music whether it be just listenin' or playin' with you. I also miss bustin' on you because Zoey messed with your ringtone for the eightieth time as well as the occasional spar."

He took a breath and continued. "It really sucks not knowin' anyone here. I mean I get along fine with my neighbors and coworkers. I just don't really have anyone I consider a friend." He realized this wouldn't quell her worries. So he added "But don't worry. I'm eatin' and exercisin' well. I've been learning more songs on bass. Haven't really gotten into any fights since I got here. Which now that I think about it is really freakin' borin'."

Maybe I can fly over there one of these days. The bassist opened his mouth to say this but he cut himself off. No. I don't wanna get her hopes up if it doesn't come true in the end. Plus, I didn't know how much money I have in the bank or how much personal time I have. Then, I have to give notice at work and- Ugggggggh.

Saito then remembered her warning from moments ago. He remarked in his head with a laugh escaping his lips And I was the one afraid of being the crazy ex. "While we're threatenin' each other," he started. "If I hear about you lookin' for a fight club or whatever again, I'll fly over there and kick your ass!" As soon as he realized the implications of what he said, Saito hastily added "I-I mean I know you can handle yourself in a brawl, but I don't want anythin' to happen to you or Zoey." At this point, Saito's face and brain felt like they were on fire. He shyly said in addition "'Cause I... You know. Care."

"And the only thing you need to worry about with Zoey is keepin' her away from old ladies with arrows and priests. You don't want the universe to reset, do ya?"

 

[Roxie1563]

Rene hollered for me to go ahead, but a quick glance at my skills indicted that one of them was going under the cooling period and told him so. "Just give it a mom-" I started to say when the giant Goblin came down toward Viola, his hands on his face after what Rene did to him.

"Viola, look out!!" I screamed to her as I ran at my normal speed while silently cursing to myself for using the Sprint skill earlier on to cause damage. I managed to reach her and pushing her out of the way as I stood, my head looking up and gasping as the giant came down upon me, his ass aiming for me.

With a loud crash, all was quiet for an moment until the Ax-wielding giant ignored his face and started on his ass as he got up from the pain that caused from me, my rapier poking out on the edge of his left buttock. I groaned on the floor, surely feeling every inch of my virtual body in pain. I gave out a huff then a low snarling building up inside me as I awkwardly and slowly got up on my feet, my left hand going to the back of my belt where I usually kept potions and other things and got out one potion and drank it.

That's it! I had had enough of being woman-handled by a freaking ugly giant goblins and two of them and I'm going to win this thing with my friend, darn it all!

With that, I ran fast and activating my Sprint Skill at the same time, aiming for my rapier that was sorely stuck on the left buttock of the Ax Giant and jumped high in the air long enough for me to reach my rapier then swung all the way up to the ceiling. I noticed that Viola was being checked by either Rene or Crod or even Musashi as the other Giant, being the brother he is, shoved the hurting giant to take over while the other recovers.

Growling at the others those who would dare to think to beat them, he used one of the maces to hit me as I came down, the sharp pain cutting across my face when it got to me. I was able to grab one of it at the last second then dropped down to the floor, my sword aiming right down to his feet which it did go through the big toe. The giant screamed in his native tongue as I leaped back to regain my breath.

Looking to the others, I spoke out in earnest. "That was crazy yet it worked, you guys!" I smiled at them, but knew it wasn't over. "Hey, Musashi... Think you can beat that? I bet you can't... Unless it's really a bet?"

I gave an quick side look to him then Crod, Viola, and finally Rene as we gathered up our courage to keep on going.

 

[SwagStarIV]

Racing towards the small group Ace knew they needed to be dealt with shortly his problem was their tempo. The small statue gave them a slight mobility advantage. The first soldier attack bluntly, but was dispatched to the side with a parry. He confronted them with just his sword and mangaed to hold them at a 3 man pace. Swiftly shifting between his sword and martial arts tactics, he prepared an Embracer attack, thrusting his arm into the nearest soldier and elbowing the one behind him. He followed with a roundhouse kick and took to the skies. 3 of the knights shot their jousting arms as arrows. The distance distracted Ace, but only enough to set his trap. From his hidden Kunai pouch he launched two kunai to his left, then followed up with another Gengetsu on the stunned soldier. Still, the battle was young.

Ace continued to counter the group, watching their tactics so to gain a better sense of the upper levels mechanics. With 5 knights attacking Ace rushed his foes and defeated 1 with a storm of attacks. Gripping the dagger on his waist, he spun around slicing another monster and prepared another Kunai toss. The long-range fighters canceled his preparation and Ace had no choice but to retreat. Either that or risk a massive amount of direct damage. The Jousting arrows whistled pass his leaping body. Ace twirled in the air, slinging his dagger at one of the long range soldiers. Once it hit he briefly landed and sprint towards the farther group. After retrieving his dagger from the stalled soldier, He leaped off its body and threw 2 kunai at its comrades. He followed this with a dropping vertical slash. Ace had gained an incredible sense of swapping items at incredible speeds, so this was a cake walk. Before he knew it, he had wiped out the ranged enemies and crushed two more afterwards. Ace thought, 2 left.

Ace had retained some damage from the various spikes being shot earlier, and slowly descended in speed and aggression. These last two enemies were the only thing in the way of him and the rest of the map. The distance traveled during the battle was more alarming than they were though. Ace turned around and charged for the final blows. Then, as if time slowed, he attacked. Right slash, Down slash, Turn, Right slash, Kick, Gengetsu! Scissor Kick, Embracer! Uppercut! His last blow sent this for flying towards the brewing clouds. It seemed like a change of scenery would be nice. I must be getting closer! Now or never! Ace took off into the atmosphere roaring for a fight.

 

[Cassette-Disk]

There was a strained silence after Crystal's little speech that lasted a bit too long, though she felt as if she should have expected it. The last time they had talked was mostly small talk about unimportant issues; suddenly popping the cork on her pent up emotions would, of course, lead to a chain reaction. Saito formed a couple syllables in response before another short silence overcame him. This was then followed by him punching his forehead. I wish I didn't recognize that sound... Crystal thought to herself as she reflexively stood to reach for handkerchiefs to stop the bleeding before remembering the geographical differences that made it impossible. Instead she froze as Saito spilled his own guts out, her gaze steadying on the open window. It crossed her mind how difficult it must be for him to admit what he was saying, especially after his self-inflected brain punch. The pianist pouted as he brought up her looking for a spar, but it was quickly reverted as she felt her face flush as he ended his sentence.

"You're a real softie, you know." She whispered with a small laugh. "I know it's really lame but even though you're the chief, I've actually been worried you've been eating nothing but frozen food. I was also a bit worried you'd forget to practice with instrument. I know I keep busting your balls about it, but if you stay away from it you'll end up forgetting how to use it." The girl's mind suddenly jumped back to his fighting comment, causing her to switch gears. "And it wasn't a brawl...! You might have gotten me more into swinging, but I'm no street fighter. It was just some kick-boxing tournament. The only reason I was kicked out was because they frown upon not using protective gear." The girl paused to consider what had just escaped her mouth. "Alright, maybe you've rubbed off on me more than I thought." She said a beat later with a smile before switching the phone to her other ear. "Still, I'm glad you texted me. I didn't realize it, but I needed this. Zoey's gotten interested in some guy from work and she's trying to get tips from me like I'm a master or something. It's dumb, but I'm worried I'll lose her in some way or that she'll get hurt. He seems like an alright guy and all, but I dunno. It's all got me all feel-y and sappy, so I'm happy I got to talk to you again. ...Are you still bleeding?" She asked, suddenly remembering why she was standing up. "Sorry, I'm kind of scatter brained, I guess. Hey, it isn't too late over there, is it? I don't want to cause you to oversleep or anything."

 

[Shinra]

Renegade smiled as he saw Maya bravely take on the sister. He was the one to check and see if Viola was alright. He simply nodded his head as his sprint skill initialized and he ran in to support Maya. After injuring the toe of the brother who had switched in to protect. Maya had briefly retreated to heal and Renegade saw this as a chance. he approached the brother from the right side and as the brute tried to hit him with a horizontal slam with one of his clubs but Renegade predicted that and parried the bludgeon with one of his blades, using quickdraw swipe to slice at the wrist and cause it to drop to the floor. The brother tried an over head strike with the other club but Renn barely dodged the weapon and the slight shockwave afterward but the funny thing was... The brother destroyed the other club in the process. He laughed a little bit. "goblins... strong in arm but lacking in wit."

 

[Peace]

"Oh," was all that Saito could say when Crystal went into specifics about her activities, feeling silly about jumping to conclusions and turning a little red. Make that kinda crap clear from the beginnin', he thought as he made a moue and relief washing over him. Though he couldn't help but laugh a little about why she was kicked out along with more proof of his influence on her.

After she reminded him about his self-inflicted wound, the former street fighting man felt the blood running down his face and the small amount on his hand. He switched his phone to his other ear as he walked to his kitchen. While he got himself a wet paper towel and wiped himself off, he replied assuredly "I'm fine. You know I've taken harder hits than that."

In the process of getting a band-aid from his bathroom, he then told her "Also, it's not lame or dumb that you feel that way. It means you care and there's absolutely nothin' wrong with that." The red-eyed Irishman went back to his kitchen to pour himself a glass of water. Following taking a swig, he added "And don't worry. You're not gonna lose Zoey. You two are so joined at the hip that you make conjoined twins jealous."

The bassist sat back down on his futon and it was that moment that his eyes started to lower and a need for sleep started to attempt conquest. His mind went back to the purple-eyed girl asking about the time. Dammit, don't tell me these things. Saito thought as his head tilted downward. He shook his head and opened his mouth to argue against it but let out a long yawn instead. In surrender, he stated "Yeah, I should probably hit the hay."

While he got his blanket and pillow out of his closet, he told her "It was great talkin' to you again too. And if you wanna talk, call or text anytime." As he settled himself into his couch/bed, he said "Good night. I lo-."

When Saito realized what he was about to say, he felt his entire body freeze up. It even felt like the very air in his lungs did the same. For about a quarter of a minute, all that came out of his mouth were strangled sounds trying to fill in the gaps as he tried to think of something to say. Hell, he couldn't even think during this.

"Uh. I, em," he stammered trying to fill in the gaps of this now awkward conversation. About a minute full of more strangled noises later, his sputtering brain finally came up with "I. I'll. I'll talk to you later. Bye," as a unconvincing cover and quickly hung up.

The moment after that, he immediately facepalmed. The Irishman then yelled into his hands "Why am I such an idiot?! What the hell was I thinkin'? I thought I broke that habit long ago. And I had somethin' really good goin' there and I just had to screw it up! Agh!"

It would seem yelling at himself caused him to use up the last of his energy as he can't remember anything immediately after that besides everything turning black and the sensation of his side hitting cushion.

 

[SwagStarIV]

Ace wasn't focus on the impending enemies. His current concern was the gate to the boss. With such a vast plain, the boss could be anywhere. He could be wandering for days without actually finding the boss. Yet he still wanted to wait before he actually got serious in hunting for this door. Ace continued to dispose of the appearing monsters. Most the time he would slice through one and just continue running pass the group. Resulting in his current situation... Of a giant horde of monsters chasing after him! At least the environment was a natural eye candy, or else he'd have logged out. Still... The coursing cloud behind him wasn't fading anytime soon. Ace stopped and decided to deal with these monsters. "Alright team! Lets have a nice and civilized bout- woah woah woah! Not the face so soon! Ha! Thought you got me you little sucker. I'm not blind to you! Nor you, nor you, nor you or you and you. Matter of fact-" *Ching* Several kunai were shot from the grass. Ace was setting up traps with his kunai and some string. The released tension staggered the monsters and killed some as well.

Ace continued to sprint with the lead he had gained. Ace then looked back to see the monsters getting further and further. Ace thought, Hmm... I have been running beside this mountain... Maybe! Ace looked around for any landmarks and spotted a spring amiss this vast battlefield of serenity. Ace removed all his upper body equipment and laid into the water. His feet where kicking on the ground and Ace just laid there listening. Dhn. Dhn. Dhn. Dhn. Dhn. The muffled thud of his boots gave caused a slight beacon in the water. Ace liked to do small thins like this in the real world, but, due to his battle ready persona, never really got to do so in the VR. Ace was in though, then realized... I just had a mob of zombies coming at me... While underwater he pulled his menu up, equipped his battle armor, and sprung from under the water into an upright position. While kipping up he counted the number of monsters around. Summing up to be a measly 7. The assortment of lizards and goblins, plus the random puffball, seemed to be quite anxious to fight. And yet... Ace couldn't help but notice the lack of action.

 

[Max]

I didn't want to open my eyes, but the sunlight had different plans for me. I pulled my blanket over my head to try and shield myself from the light trying to force itself between my eyelids, but that only worked until the air began to get hot and stuffy beneath my blanket. I decided to give up and roll out of bed, and rolled right over off onto the floor.

"Ow, dammit..." I said as I winced at the pain in my tailbone. My sleepy eye pulsated in pain as I tried to rub it awake, forgetting in my morning dreariness that I had gotten in a fight and hurt my eye pretty bad only nights before.

July 3, 2034

I'd managed to meander my way into the shower, and as the water hit my face I slowly let myself contemplate where I had ended up in these two lives I'd been living.

I was 21, working at Ned's Coffee Shop. Ned was like a father to me, and I continued to enjoy my humble going-nowhere-life as I scooted by on the pay checks I made working for him. I didn't live near any of my old school buddies or family, just alone in this apartment. Ned was pretty much the best friend I had, and the next closest thing I guess was Alex, this girl who worked at the coffee shop with me who happened to be deaf. Is it weird that despite her deafness, I like to describe her as having a 'loud' personality? We also just got a new worker, a guy name Carlos. He's polite, very polite, kind of a pushover if you ask me. I don't know that I'd exactly call him a friend, but he kind of automatically lands as number 3 on my list as of now.

And then there is Zoey. oh my God Zoey Brunt. She is so talented at Violin, she plays at the coffee shop frequently with her roommate Crystal. Crystal has these deep purple eyes and plays piano, but Zoey, she just has this crazy mess of long brown hair that drives me crazy. I don't want to use the term 'in love,' but I've kind of been in 'insert other term' with Zoey for a while now. I find her very attractive, and her spunky free spirit is really something to behold. We have a date tomorrow, the 4th of July, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't really damn excited.

I moved on out of the shower and dried myself off. After brushing my teeth, I slipped into a dark gray button-up shirt with and some red plaid boxers. I rolled up the sleeves on my shirt as I blew my wet hair out of my eyes and looked through the boxes of cereal.

"Dammit..." I muttered as I realized I'd just brushed my teeth. Well, everything is going to taste like crap now. I settled on eating crappy-tasting cheerios as I regretted the minty toothpaste I'd just scrubbed all over my teeth, and sat down at the counter. I glanced over to my headset as I poured my cereal.

Sword Art Online- essentially my second life. I could not believe how far technology had come that a video game could take us to such wonderous worlds. Several years back, there was a terrible incident where all of the players of this game became trapped, their real bodies comatose... Thousands died, but the ones that made it recovered, and the game industry didn't cease to exist despite the severeness of the incident. SAO continues, and a little tournament commemorating the players of the past is currently going on, a race to the top of Aincrad. I lived in SAO as a samurai named Musashi, and had gone through quite the adventure the night before with an odd crew of sorts I had recently come across.

There was Viola, the cute pink haired wonder recently-turned-pirate who referred to herself in the third person. Something about her really drew me to her, and I'd kind of taken to hanging around her in game whenever I'd logged on.

Next was Crod. We'd fought an epic battle over essentially nothing the other day. He was one of the greatest tanks I'd ever had the pleasure of partying with, and I would love to get him out of his shell and keep him around (although he seems more the lone-wolf type if anything).

Maya was next- she had a sharp tongue and a love/hate relationship sparked between us almost immediately. We're travelling together for the moment, but I'm not quite sure whether I stand on her good or her bad side (I kind of get the feeling she thinks I'm a sleazebag, while really I am just a natural protector of women).

Finally, I'd met a dude named Renegade. He was something else. He seemed to get along with Maya just fine (actually... everyone got along with Maya other than me now that I think about it), but he had a fighting spirit and seemed to have a mind more lost in the RPG than any of us.

These four and myself all managed to find our way to each other over the course of a couple fateful days, and partied up to fight the Floor 30 boss, The Gargantuan Goblin Siblings. We actually fought this thing for hours, staying up way later in the night than I had planned, but we did it. I partied with Crod, while Viola, Maya, and Renegade made up our second party. I was so sick and tired of Floor 30 being made up of nothing but damn goblins, and I harnessed that rage as we fought on. The first goblin was taken down by Maya's party while Crod and I wore down the second, and we all came together in the end to corner the second goblin and claim our places in history as the clearers of Aincrad's 30th floor. only 70 more to go...

After we cleared Floor 30, no one said much. We all gave each other stupid grins as we evenly split the loot, and climbed the stairs to Floor 31 side by side. Floor 31 held a new town, a town surrounded by waterfalls with beautiful buildings, and we quietly said our goodbyes in that place of beauty as we logged out. I then promptly threw myself in bed and zonked out, proud of our victory. I wanted to win that tournament so bad, I wanted to reach Floor 100...

And now here I sat, the next morning, July 3, 2034, eating Cheerios with the awful taste of toothpaste mixing with my milk. It was my day off from the coffee shop, so I could go ahead and just log into SAO if I really wanted to, but there probably wouldn't be anybody on yet. I had a habit of swinging by Ned's Coffee Shop and watching everybody work on my days off, so I could probably go in and tease Alex while I watch the new guy Carlos wander around confused. And if I'm lucky, Zoey will drop by. Yeah, I think I'll go in for a bit.

But first I should probably put on some pants. I rubbed my eyes again and winced in pain. Damn, it felt like I'd been asleep forever.

 

[Shinra]

I had spent the last two days grinding my way through floor 31 and 32... only taking breaks to eat, sleep and go to the bathroom... and since floor 31 was a lower interval based on the guide of SAO, it would mean that the mini bosses and bosses were solo-able up until floor 35 or so... I also thought of the floors above... Last time I was called in to do landscape work on this game we were finalizing concepts for the designs of floors 50 and higher. I also reached the requirements to unlock a peculiar quest called "Trial of the black swordsman."

I smiled when the quest tasks updated and read them briefly. "Time to become a true legend."
_____________________________________________________________________________________

I plunged my blade into the face of the shade... I had lost count of the enemies I had defeated in the tomb. I was getting pretty low... I knew I should've messaged Maya or Crod to back me up... I downed another potion and felt it invigorate me gradually... I knew this was a trial but I wasn't expecting this much trouble. As I walked into a large room it lit up with torches and I saw my target... A shade in the shape of a human... the boss info soon appeared before me

The Shadow Bladesmaster
HP: 4000
Skills:????
A shade given the form of a formidable dual-wielding swordsman.

I put one hand on my left phoenix blade... "let us begin..."

 

[Roxie1563]

~JULY 3rd, 2034~

I laid on my back and my eyes wide open even after I already turned my alarm off at six. Yet I continued to lay there for a good two hours after managing to beat those damn goblins with my interesting friends I made inside Sword Art Online and in the process went onto the next floor of Aricrad: Floor 31.

It had taken many hours just to beat them up and even as I logged off to sleep, my mind couldn't just shut up for me to actually sleep until I did when my alarm woke me up. With an automatic groan coming out of me, I slowly got up and got myself to take a shower that caused me to take my time wondering how I ended up in two different lives yet they felt so similar that it was eerie in its own right.

There was my regular life, me working for Ned in his own coffee place aka Ned's Cafe where I pretty much worked as a cook, considering my skills to be close to Max's level in the cook place. Granted, I wasn't even considering working in a place like that, but life really knocks you out and put you in a better place if you don't agree with it at all. Plus it was nice to finally make friends of my own after being a such hermit for a year or two.

Ah, my friends. While Ned was my boss, I'd say Max was considered my true friend even after all those he did for me and while we did get into small fights, it wasn't really major enough for us to cut it off. Max, in a sense, was my supervisor through and through during work. He had the right traits to be considered leader of Ned's Cafe, of course. However, if there was one thing that could make his armor crumbles to a pebble, it would be that he had no clue on how to handle a girl.

I smiled at his poor attempts to ask girls out, but I suppose the one girl he would ask out had to be Music Girl whom after getting a text message from Max turned out to be Zoey. I frowned at the fact I didn't get her last name, but then again it was Max after all.

Next was the new guy, Carlos. I initially didn't think he'd be suitable for the job, but I'm glad I was wrong on all counts as he did his job right and from what I read from Max's lips is that he was a good cook in his own right. Carlos, by all books, is a nice guy but that's all I got out of him. I would have to talk to him more to get a general feel on him. Of course, there was that night..

I cringed at the thought if he brought it up, but it was my fault for bringing him up to my place, even if it was just to make sure I was all right. I'd have to be careful around him if he brought it up.

Then there was Crystal and her friend. God, she had that beautiful violet eyes that I thought really matched my hair color.. I felt myself smile at the sight of her eyes and suddenly shook myself to get rid of it. I wouldn't be myself today if I had to think about her all the time. Crystal is an musician that plays the piano while her friend, Zoey, plays something else at the Cafe pretty much. While I wasn't really a big fan of music, I couldn't help but feel so content while she played so much songs that I couldn't help but clap my hands for her once it was over.

After finishing up with shower and getting dressed, I cooked myself some nice salad for breakfast. As I sat eating my healthy food, I gazed at my helmet that led into another world. It's hard to believe how video games had came so far over the years later.

Sword Art Online- That was pretty much my other life that I loved so much than I thought. Granted, it might had taken my brother's life, I was determined to finish it in honor of his memory by reaching the 100th Floor and finishing it for once and all. In doing so, I came across some wacky friends that pretty much became a group. In that life, I was Maya, the goddess-fearing force to not be messed with and an skillful warrior with my rapier on my side, I was pretty much able to handle myself in any situations, if called for it.

As for my odd friends, I'd say the first person I ever met would have to be Musashi, the samurai whom I thought to be an idiot to come into a lesbian bar and ask me out. Granted, I didn't know he was asking me for help until after my head was clear of booze after hours of binge-drinking and sleeping with women online. It wasn't until days later that I saw him again, this time it was ME asking HIM for help on clearing the boss floor.

Next came Crod. While I haven't got the chance to fully really know him, I was able to glen some things out of him and by far of his own account, he had been playing online for some good years. Plus he had some wicked skills with that ax of his that saved our skins over the day inside. He's nice and easy to rely on throughout anything that comes our way.

Then there's Viola, the mace-wielding girl who recently turned into an pirate and referred to herself in the third person like she's the Rock of WWE or Deadpool, I wasn't sure on that one. I did, however, get the chance to see her in action during the boss fight and I had to admit, she was kicking all kinds of asses everywhere she goes. Somehow she reminds me of Zoey, whom is much more bubbly than I would admit to.

Finally, this is truly an odd person I ever had to meet up: Renegade. Like Crod, he's pretty strong with his own weapons and as recently to my surprise, can handle on his own by using his speed and power to even up the odds as it came to our favors. While I haven't talked to him more to get an idea of him, he did great throughout everything during our time on partying.

I snapped out of it as my phone went off. After stuffing in another piece of food, I reached inside my pant pocket and picked it up. That's when I realized it was from Crystal, whom I was glad to get some woman advice the other day, that wanted to see if I got her text.

I wondered what I should say, but being myself and knowing she knew some Sign Language that caused me some degree of shock throughout my body, I decided to shoot the wind.

"Hey, Crystal. I didn't know you texted me until I checked it just now. How are you doing on this fine day, hmm? " I wrote out. "Um, thanks for the help back there and there's something else I'd like to talk to you, but face to face." I took a deep breath and pressed the button that sent the message to her.

I seriously hope she wouldn't say no to my hopeful dream of hanging out with her tomorrow and tomorrow night for the Fourth of July as I cleaned up my table and dishes and with that done, I grabbed my keys and locked the door to my apartment then headed downstairs to Ned's Cafe. I grabbed the door open as I waved to Ned to let him know I've arrived on time then got to work for the long haul.

I glanced at the cash register then remembered that it was Max's day off. I smiled then quickly changed when I remembered the last time he teased me.

God, I hope he doesn't do that this year.. I had enough moments to last me some odd lifetimes as I cooked on for the customers that may come in anytime soon.

 

[Cassette-Disk]

"Good night. I lo-."
That's what he said. That was all he said before he turned into a blubbering mess and hung up. It didn't take a genius to see where he was going with that sentence and as the morning sun started peaking through Crystal's curtains, she squirmed at the unfinished sentence. Though she wasn't entirely sure why. Part of her was ecstatic about the implication, which made it impossible for her to sit still. It got her feeling warm and her stomach was filled with figurative butterflies that refused to leave, which made the idea of sitting still even more unbearable. But then there was the other part of her. The realist inside she had grown to resent even after accepting her. He was gone; Saito had left and he wasn't coming back. 'They' were over and no number of optimistic butterflies was going to change that. She herself had agreed to split up and knew that bringing her mind back to their relationship was unhealthy. But he contacted me, Crystal thought to herself as she spun around in bed for the literal thirty-seventh time that morning, He wanted to talk, he initiated and--oh god is this how a stalker thinks? Am I turning into a stalker? She turned in bed once more, making the 'turning in bed' counter hit thirty-eight. I just miss him, she concluded, I miss him and I'm trying to hold on. Her thoughts turned to Buddhism and their ideals of letting go of Earthly possessions and thoughts to reach Enlightenment. Would that also include relationships? Both romantic and platonic? Gah, 'platonic'! Crystal shoved her head under the pillow at the inside joke she and Saito always shared.
"You're such a butt," she muttered to herself quietly as the morning rolled on. Slowly and thankfully, she once again began falling asleep.

"WAKE UP!" The high toned and childish voice rang out as Crystal's bedroom door slammed open, "Wake up, wake uuupp~!" Zoey repeated in a singsong voice as she practically jumped on Crystal's bed, her natural upbeat and overall unwavering warmth shining bright against Crystal's mood.
"Zoey, no."
"Zoey yes! It's time to rise!"
"You aren't a morning person, why are you so hyper right now?"
"Because I learned a cool trick! Check this out! Blah blah blah, I'm Crystal, herp-a-derp-derp." This caused the pianist to shoot upright from her bed.
"What are you doing?! Oh god, what am I doing?!"
"Cool, right?!"
"No, this feels...wrong! Change it back, Zoey! Hurry!"
"Okay, okay! There, you happy?" Crystal felt her torso as if that could somehow tell her whether or not everything was right in the world.
"I...think so? Oh, yes. Good."
"Good, now WAKE UP!" Zoey ran towards Crystal's window and pulled the curtains open, which let in a stream of natural light. Crystal let out a hiss.
"I don't have class today, lemme sleep in!"
"Nope, you're awake now! Congrats."
"I hate you."
"You know you love me."
"I'd sell you to Satan for a bag of chips if I could."
"What flavor?" Crystal thought about it.
"Sour cream and onion."
"Ooh, good choice. I'd sell myself for that too if I could, I bet. Now come on, outta bed!"
"Just tell me what you want. Breakfast? I'll make you some if you let me crawl back in after."
"Tempting! But no, we're going to work!"
"We are? This early?"
"We are! This early, yes!"
"Max isn't working today, you know." Zoey's face practically broke in half.
"Wh-whaaa...?!" she squeaked, her voice breaking through another octave as already the shadow of tears appeared behind her eyes. Jesus! And I thought I had it bad!" Crystal thought to herself.
"N-no, but I mean, maybe he'll show up anyway? He knows you're working today and you're a 'thing' now, right?"
"Yeah..."
"Then go eat some cereal while I take a shower. He'll show. And I could use more solo practice so I might kick you off stage," she winked.
"You'd do that? You'ddothatformeseriously?!"
"Yeah."
"Okay, umm. Go! Go shower, gogogogo! I have a bowl of Coco-Puffs calling out to me!"

Around half an hour later, the duo made their way down the street, Zoey skipping along with violin case in hand.
"What should we play first?"
"It's still kind of early. How about some peppy classical music to wake folks up? Like Sonatina in G?"
"Which one's that one?" She asked as she carefully opened her case before pulling out a clear plastic folder full of sheet music: the pair's 'cheat sheets.'
"Number D-14." Zoey looked her parts over.
"Oh that one. It always reminded me of a Bugs Bunny cartoon."
"That's cuz they always used classical music in those old cartoons."
"Hmm... What about Scarborough Fair? I love that one."
"That's kinda Celtic, isn't it? Weird choice for an opener in the morning."
"It's either that or Greensleeves!"
"Greensleeves? Seriously? Why don't we do something from Thomas Newman or the Cinematic Orchestra instead?"
"Because those are orchestra-based which doesn't have the same pizazz when only two instruments are present? Duh."
"Scarborough Fair, then."
"Yesss!" Crystal's phone vibrated in her jeans, and she quickly scanned over the message.
"Hey, Crystal. I didn't know you texted me until I checked it just now. How are you doing on this fine day, hmm? Um, thanks for the help back there and there's something else I'd like to talk to you, but face to face."
This was...Crystal prodded her forehead trying to remember the face the name 'Alex' belonged to while her weak memory--especially with names--showed itself. You know this, she told herself, it's the...new guy? No, that was someone else. Oh! The Deaf...chef? Cook? ...Food creator? Crystal wasn't sure what her job title was, only that she worked in the kitchen. She tapped away her response quickly, since Zoey's shovings and pushes didn't give her much time to work with.
"No worries! I'm doing fine, and am on my way to work right now. Don't worry about yesterday though, as long as everything worked out! I'm almost there so you can let me know when we're on our breaks or something." As the pianist sent the message, she wondered about something.
"Hey, is it weird that I write texts in full sentences with proper grammar?"
"Yes! It is! omg, every1 types like this 2 save sum time!"
"Stop."
"Sorry." The rest of the walk was filled with Zoey's ramblings of the previous night's adventures in SAO. "...There were these giant lizard things, and this dude with a sword, and this other dude with a sword, and one guy with an axe running around naked and I was all like 'whoa whaa' and he was all like 'aaaah!' and--"
"Wait, why was he naked?" Zoey paused, tilting her head.
"I don't remember. I just remember him streaking."

It didn't take long for the pair to reach the coffee shop and after a quick wave to the other workers, they both made their way to the center stage. Even though it was relatively early in the day, the small shop still had more than a few customers sitting and eating in their booths.
"Hi," Crystal said easily into her microphone as she sat on the stool next to her piano, "We aren't usually in this early, but uh... thanks to some circumstances we decided to pop right in. So to start us off we're gonna play a piece named Scarborough Fair. You know, 'parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.' After that we'll see what happens, though I might give my partner the boot for a bit to practice something I've been working on on my own. Alright. One, two, three."