Level Up!

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A/N: I got this idea from a dream. I woke up in the dead of sleep and was like “Zomg that is a good idea” then spent the next 20 minutes after that writing it down. Then went back to bed, but when I woke up I forgot that happen, then I remember when I got to work and went over my ideas since I was going to write that night. So I thought I dreamed the whole thing.

Ranting aside! Hopefully this doesn’t suck too much. Don’t quote me on that area word though, I just randomly made it up.

// - Avatar’s inner voice which only other EU’s and Avatar’s can hear

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Logging into the world Haseo had decided to do nothing but raise his levels. He was determined and nothing would stand in his way of this. Not Yata's investigations, Atoli's pestering, Canard’s… cardnarding (or whatever it was that he was supposed to be doing as its guild master), or even his avatar's taunting. Which he hadn't heard in some time and thought that was a little weird; he almost started to miss the obnoxious three-eyed figure.

Almost.

The rogue was also hoping to party with the two best people to level with, Matsu and Silabus. Sure, taking on a high level area without a cleric was a little insane, but Silabus had began taking on that role more and more often, leaving the two adept rogues to dish out the damage.

Matsu was great to hang out with and had the same hung-ho about challenges that Haseo did. Silabus balanced the two out with his cautious nature, making sure the two didn’t get in over their heads, and when they did, he was there to bail them out.

Secretly Silabus was happy that he was made into the temporary healer of the group. The reason for this also came from a hard learned lesson. The last time the trio went out, Silabus had forgotten to restock his items and the two rogues had little in the means of healing items. So with Haseo's nature of never running from a fight and Matsu's go all out-ness it had been an exhausting and tough dungeon bout. Thankfully the area was only three levels higher than them, anymore and it would have been an absolute brutal trek.

Haseo learned after that point to carry a bit more in the way of items, and to make sure Silabus had enough as well.

The crimson eyed rogue, standing off to the side of the Chaos Gate in Breg Epona, eyed his party list.

...And made a very disgruntled noise, starling a girl that had just warped in. Even more so at Haseo's intimating 3rd form towering above the small beast like girl, who ran off crying.

Haseo didn’t even notice; too busy cursing to himself about the status of his member address list. He looked, and looked again, and looked one more time to make sure that he wasn’t just seeing things.

Everyone was either busy or offline, with the exception of two. The first who always tried way too hard giving him a headache in the process and the other, well, what the hell was she doing not being busy anyways? She was always busy. Even if her status was not busy, he knew that she was busy with her obsession and Haseo would rather not take her away from that, not that he would want to party with her when he didn’t have to.

At first Haseo thought that her name came from the desert until he actually saw it. Come to think of it, she did look like a big piece of strawberry pie. That aside, all she ever did when he had to party with her was to order him about like she was the leader. Always lecturing and reminding him about keeping his guard up at all times and to be careful. Pfft.

Haseo sighed in exasperation and closed the menu. Then, with another noise of frustration, threw his arms over the railing and looked down at the scenery below. It consisted of nothing more than blue sky and fluffy clouds from the place he was standing. Standing anywhere else would have given him a much better view in the way of buildings and plants, but it’s not like he was even playing much attention to what was in front of him to begin with. No, he was still complaining and sighing silently to himself.

So much for nothing stopping him from leveling, apparently this would be the something.

//You know what, this wont stop me at all.// Haseo internalized. Why, he could just go out and level by himself. Then he remembered the last time he tried to do that and quickly changed his mind.

It wasn’t as though the ones he wanted to party with would be busy forever, and maybe if he did a quick run though of a field, they would be available.

Though Haseo was somewhat against it and hoped he wouldn’t later regret it, he sent a party invite to Atoli. She needed the experience anyways, so it wasn’t going to be a total waste of time. Or so he hoped. This time however, he would pick the area words, maybe something four or so levels above, not too much to overwhelm them but not too less to be boring. He wanted Atoli to have her hands full so that she would spend less time talking and more time doing something else.

"Thank you for inviting me Haseo!" The blonde haired cleric said as she warped in and walked over to the silver haired rogue that was still leaning against the banister. "I’m a little... surprised, but I promise to do my best for you!"

"Yeah, that’s great. So, are you ready, or do you need to prepare?" Haseo asked in an indifferent tone, not even glancing her way.

"Haseo!" Atoli cried, raising her voice more than she had meant to, making Haseo cringe.

"What now?" Haseo said turning to look at her.

"Um... nothing! I---I'll go prepare! It-it won’t be long!" The blonde hair cleric stuttered out and took off toward the elevator before Haseo could give her that pissed off look of his.

//I really hope she isn’t like that the whole time.// Haseo thought to himself, going back to staring idly out at the blue cloudy sky.

"I’m back and ready to go. So... um... " Atoli announced a few moments later which was a lot quicker than Haseo had anticipated.

"What?" Haseo asked as Atoli looked at him with that uncertain look of hers. What was her problem?

"Is... is it just... us?"

//Oh yeah, that’s right.// Haseo remember that Atoli had emailed him some time ago about wanting to go with just the two of them some day. He kept brushing her off and eventually forgot about it.

"Is that a problem?" He asked as he folded his arms over his chest trying to not sound to rude about having to put up with her.

"You remembered! I’m so happy!" Atoli squealed and almost hugged him, but when she saw the look on his face she composed herself. "So, shall we go?"

"Yeah, but this time, I'll pick the area."

"Whatever you say, Haseo!" Atoli beamed, swaying her hips from side to side in a shy school-girlish manner.

----------------- [Excited Dusk’s Route ----------------------------

"Hm, this is a pretty nice area." Atoli said after a moment of warping in.

It was a cloudy, grassy field area, and taking a look on the map indicated that it was a boss type field. It was also four levels above them. It contained four medium sized separate islands and already had four barrels within kicking range. As far as monsters went, there didn’t seem to be any in view.

"You'd say that about any field area..." Haseo said quietly hoping she would be too busy admiring the area to hear him.

"Don’t you think field areas are the best? Well, at least these kinds. I don’t care much for the wilderness ones, they're too bare." Atoli commented, not having heard the previous comment thanks to her admiring of said area. She turned and walked closer to the rogue.

"Ya, I guess. Let’s just go fight something." Haseo said a little impatiently starting off toward the second island.

After two fights on the second island area Atoli called for a rest. "That was..." She took a breath. "Kind of... a challenge."

"Yeah. Its great, isn’t it?" Haseo said grinning and stretching out his arms a bit.

"Hm. It’s... okay. I guess." Atoli repiled noticing how excited Haseo was about this. She still didn’t see what was great about this kind of thing, but even so, she was spending time with Haseo and no matter what she would try to make it a fun time.

Four more battles later and Atoli was exhausted. She was panting and out of breath, her HP and SP levels almost non-existent after the last battle in which Haseo was almost killed a few times and left her painfully trying to keep him healed while she herself kept getting smacked around.

"Jeez Haseo! You should look out for me better; I died twice while trying to heal you!"

"What am I supposed to do? I was surrounded, and besides it’s not like I left you there for dead." //Although I did want to...but then I’d have to look after myself and that would be even more of a pain...//

"W-well..."

"You have to try to defend for yourself sometimes because I can’t always be there, you know." Haseo said as he angrily kicked a nearby barrel his back to her.

Atoli didn’t say anything, but she wanted to. She wanted to tell him that even when he wasn’t busy he’d ignore her cries for help and let her die, but if it came to him dying she would never hear the end of it. She knew as that had happened once before.

//She needs you, Haseo.// A voice spoke up from beside Atoli. It sounded different, sweet and gentle like an angel’s voice.

At the sound of this strange un-Atoli like voice, Haseo turned around.

...And stood there with a raised eyebrow and open mouth.

There, standing next to Atoli, was another figure. It was as if Atoli had suddenly jumped into a cloning machine, and one that wasn’t of the scary doppelganger variety, which, although would be a little shocking could at least be explained. This, this could hardly be explained at all! The figure’s likeness was standing there next to her, and apart from the green hair and eyes was almost her splitting image. Haseo had to rub at his eyes to make sure that the previous battle hadn’t knocked him so silly that he had suddenly developed double vision.

"What the----"

//She needs your love and attention. Your help.// The voice said again, sounding as if it came from the air instead of her mouth. He noticed that the figure was holding onto Atoli's hand in a manner that was much like a child holding onto a life-sized doll.

When had she appeared and when she had started to hold onto the blonde haired clerics hand Haseo had no idea. "Who the hell are you?" The rogue asked still taken aback by the figures sudden appearance. The surprise on his face was clearly evident as was his actions as he took a step back.

The step back sent him bumping into something that he didn’t even know was there, and hadn’t been up until a moment earlier. Before the rogue had a chance to whirl around and see what exactly it was that he had ran into the something’s black slender arms sounded him wrapping around his chest and waist possessively.

"Haseo..." The deep celestial voice of the figure that had captured him responded.

"You!" Haseo cried out as he immediately recognized the voice. He started squirming and twisting trying to escape only to be hindered by an all too familiar paralysis which now held his body still as he rested back against his avatars chest.

"Is mine..." Skeith finished looking at the figure next to Atoli. "He belongs to me, Innis."

Innis, the Atoli look alike, was about to reply when Skeith interrupted. "Always and forever..." The tall figure of Skeith held the rogue’s body tightly against his own as if to show by action as well as words.

Skeith's body that was not the same type that Innis had appeared as. Sure, Skeith could have materialized as a Haseo look alike, but he did not. He appeared in the form of a black, spandex clothed, silvery haired, horned PC like character. Tall and slender, the odd hole in the mid-section that Haseo always wondered what would happen if he stuck his hand thought it. Skeith did it to show off to the other just how connected the two were. That he could manifest in his true AI form while out here, something none of the others were capable of.

"It’s a one sided love and this neurotic obsession will be your downfall." Innis replied, crossing her arms over the petite chest of her user’s look-alike appearance.

"Mine." Skeith reminded drawing his hands up to Haseo's face and running the long slender fingernails over it. "You will not, can not, take him from me."

"That is... " Innis paused, switching her glaze to the silver haired rogue who was still unable to move. She pointed a finger to him and continued. "For him to decide."

"Hn." Skeith responded disdainfully, turning his head to the side and licking at the boy’s cheek in a slow ostentatious manner, as if taunting the other avatar.

"Huh? W-what?" Atoli asked confusedly, having coming out from the trance like state her avatar had temporarily put her in. "AH!! Who----who are you and what are you doing to Haseo?!!" Atoli cried out in utter shock at the monster, err, demon like figure that was currently molesting a flustered slightly resistant Haseo.

Skeith only laughed at this. It was a wise move on Innis's part to have left. She obviously did not want to bring harm to her user by fighting with him, as it would have come to that if she had kept on with her yammering. Skeith had little patience with her and ever since she had awakened had been trying to get her user and his together.

He would not stand for that at all. Though it was surprising that she had manifested herself in front of them, she seemed to be getting gusty now.

"H-haseo! Um... I'll save you!" Atoli cried as she took out her staff and proceeded to beat it again Skeith's back. "Let go of him!!"

"Don’t you know who I am, Atoli?" Skeith asked as he let go of Haseo, letting him fall to the ground with a loud thud and a string of curses, and turned to grab, with one hand, the staff that was continuously beating on him.

"Uh...N-no..." Atoli squeaked out as she fought to tear her staff out of the avatars hand, but he was too strong and it ended up with Skeith laughing and swinging her around him in a strange type of game that was often played by children as their parents held their wrists and swung them in dizzying circles.

She lost her grip on the weapon and went flying off to land on the grass meters away from the two. Skeith turned his attention back to Haseo who was lying on the ground still unable to get up due to Skeith's paralysis.

"What do you think your doing!? Release me dammit!” Haseo angrily cried.

"Hn." Skeith was thoughtful for a moment, a finger up to his chin. "No."

Haseo growled at him then noticed Atoli sneaking up behind the avatar to strike him over the head with another staff. He didn’t know she carried two of them.

"TAKE THIS!!" Atoli cried as she slammed the staff down between the two long horns, aiming to hit the dark figure hard on the back of the head.

There was a loud thwack as the hit connected, but Skeith only laughed as he whirled around turning his eyes to meet hers. Scary, red crimson, glowing eyes with an unnatural black iris’s which made the cleric emit a small 'eep' and step back away from him.

"Don’t do anything to her. I mean it!" Haseo cried finally managing to sit up, the paralysis having moved to only restrict arm movement and currently held them against his back. Though it was not painful, it was annoying and frustrating to the rogue.

"...And if I do?"

"I... I won’t talk to you ever again."

"I only want to play..."

"No."

"Just a little?"

"Absolutely not!"

"H-Haseo?" Atoli questioned. She seemed confused by the conversation between the two, having not figured out who this scary, mysterious figure was.

"You’re no fun at all." Skeith said raising his hands in the air in a defeated manner.

"U-um... Haseo, do you... know this person?" Atoli called out again keeping her distance from the figure yet trying to maneuver herself over toward Haseo at the same time.

"Unfortunately yes."

"Oh, so does that mean you wish you never met me?"

"N-no!" Haseo replied not really wanting to discuss this with the cleric around. "Just go Atoli. I'll be fine here by myself."

"Don’t go. The fun part has just begun." Skeith added grinning and holding out a hand in invitation to her.

"Atoli!" Haseo cried demanding and wishing that she would just run off already.

"Atoli... you like Haseo, don’t you?"

"Of course!" Atoli replied nodding but keeping her eye on the figure, uncertain about what it would do, was going to do.

"Do you... love Haseo?"

"Um... well..." Atoli said as she flushed several shades of red, swaying her hips in that shy manner she had whenever she was embarrassed.

"You would want Haseo to be happy, wouldn’t you?"

"Of course!"

"Then... tell your avatar that."

"Umm..."

"Go on, tell her."

"How----how do you?"

"Don’t listen to him, just go damn it!" Haseo screamed, not knowing what Skeith was up to, but whatever it was it wasn't likely to be good.

"Oh, so you two don’t have a connection then?" Skeith asked a mocking tone in his voice.

"Skeith! Stop it!" Haseo called out still stuck on the ground helpless and hating it.

Atoli gasped at the name, and took several steps back.

"Well?" Skeith motioned as if waiting for her.

"You----your..."

"The Terror of Death." Skeith grinned and gave her a slight bow. "You act as though it is the first we've met. We've met before, and I certainly remember you."

Atoli started to shake, a feeling of fear running down her spine, and it only increased as Skeith drew closer to her. Haseo was still screaming at his avatar to stop with each step and the avatar continued to ignore him.

Skeith stood uncomfortably close to her, so close she could feel his breath which she thought was strange and stranger still was the hint of peppermint coming from it. Never had she felt anything so real before, as if she was here, really here in this game… that her real self was here in this moment, this terror-filled moment as uncertainly welded up inside her at the unknowing actions of Haseo's avatar. The air around them smelled of peppermint as if the avatar had been consuming a large amount of candy.

//Leave her alone, Skeith.// The heavenly sweet voice of Innis called appearing once more due to Atoli's emotional cries.

//I will if you fight me. I'll even give you a reward if you win.// Skeith said snidely, motioning to Haseo.

"Hey! You can’t just decide something like that on your own!!" Haseo cried really getting pissed off and it showed by his actions of trashing about on the ground as he tried to get up.

This time Atoli was conscious and blinked at the clone of herself which had suddenly appeared right in front of her, shielding her from the malicious figure before her.

//Why? Because you are bored, or because you have something to prove//

//Because you are trying to take away my Haseo.//

"I don't belong to anyone! I’m not some toy!" Haseo angrily cried still squirming and twisting on the ground wanting to viciously maul the both of them in that second.

//This...// Innis mentioned with a wave of her hand over the area. //Wont last forever.//

Skeith summoned his scythe and swiped it at Innis. The movement was so quick that Innis barely had time to dodge, and the weapon sliced at the side of her cheek drawing a line of blood.

//He is mine.// Skeith said as he threw balls of paralysis at her.

Innis dodged them easily as her body gracefully fluttered around, feet hovering slightly above the grass. //Only for a time...//

//Why do you care anyways?// Skeith asked slashing the scythe at the floating figure as it barley managed to dodge the 3-strike attack.

//Because this girl... she deserves to be happy with him.//

Skeith sneered as he dodged one of Innis's long arms that tried to smack him. //That is...// Skeith threw his scythe, boomerang style, toward her. //For her to decide.//

The scythe was thrown so that it seemed likely to miss, but he was counting on the petite winged figure to move into it as he charged from the front, directing her right into its path. Innis, busy trying to dodge the attack from the front, never saw the scythe coming from behind as it sliced into her imbedding it self deep into her back as she let out a scream.

Atoli covered her mouth in shock then fell forward in pain, as if being able to feel the same.

//Well, it looks as if there is some connection between you two after all.// Skeith said with a satisfied tone as he pulled the scythe from Innis's back the blood spurting up and splattering onto him.

//Although... it was a bit late.//

//Pathetic. You lost your first and now you can’t even protect your second? Maybe you should try for a third?// Skeith said now pointing the scythe in Atoli's direction as if ready to strike her down.

//You wouldn’t.//

//Hehehe.//

"Atoli!!"

"N-no!!" Atoli cried out terrified.

//But I won’t. For Haseo's sake.// Skeith said as he dematerialized his weapon.

//You... you were always the strongest...//

//Don’t try to suck up to me now, just leave us alone, kay?//

And Innis vanished. The image of the bloody Atoli look-alike burned into the cleric’s eyes and the events of that day was one that Haseo wasn’t likely to forget. This was only one of the examples that proved to the rogue just how incredible cruel and possessive Skeith could get, and that the rogue never had a choice of whether or not he wanted Skeith around.

He was...

….A pet to his avatar forever and nothing would change that.

Nothing.

The End!