[center][b][u]Moon Rider-Black King[/center][/b][/u] “War?” A tiny smile formed on the Black King’s otherwise stoic face, proving that, despite the mythical rumors of her famed cold nature, she was indeed still human. “Yes….I suppose you can call it that.” Could her actions really be considered as something so simple as that? It certainly seemed that way; declaring that your elusive Guild that seemed to interact as little as possible within Faded City was finally receiving willing participants could be pretty much chalked up to starting a war. Moon Rider knew that certain individuals would not take kindly to her proclamation; some would even go out of their way to spite her outright. Assumptions of a certain Red and Orange King brought her hand to tighten the grip of her weapon, and she mentally dismissed the notion for more positive thoughts. And then there was White King…..no doubt she had heard the message as well. But Moon Rider was ready, all too ready, to confront the one called White Terror once more. She was entirely convinced that the other player would become the most hostile towards not only her, but her Guild as well. The very thought of the Ivory Masks, their leader and their method of gaming, made her temporarily forget the new face before her. Blinking to regain her composure, she smiled once more at Dark Wraith’s pledge to fight. “So you are the first to swear allegiance to me? Then you are correct in assuming that there is much work to be done. You may perhaps be wondering why, of the many years I’ve waited, that now I choose to open the gates of my District.” The black-clad girl leaned forward in her throne, the red of her eyes almost glowing in the low-light. “Would you like to know my reasoning? To be the first to hear the words of which will be spread for others to come? It’s simple really.” Moon Rider lifted her sheathed sword and swept it to show the misty city around them. She had always been so dramatic…but fortunately she had the power to back up all the pep-talk, and so it wouldn’t be acceptable to chuckle in the presence of the King’s court. “Unfortunately, I’m afraid you’ll have to wait just a while longer Dark Wrath; at least until the others have joined us. And I assure you, there will be others. But before we begin any plans of direct conflict with the other Kingdoms, there are some…alternative matters the Ebony Strykers must settle. Our first mission is to hunt down a specific player of Deep Ground. Hunt them down and make sure they are never able to log into the Deep Ground Program again.” All of sudden, her words carried weight. Moon Rider smirked as she crossed her legs, the situation and plan she was proposing suddenly becoming all too real. “Tell me Dark Wraith. Have you ever heard of a player with the name Corpse Collector?” --- [center][b][u]Corpse Collector[/center][/u][/b] Unbeknownst to either of the two, a strange phenomenon had begun to occur. Dark portals were being summoned at seemingly random points of the Deep Ground map, springing up almost everywhere in Faded City. There were really nothing but small pockets of closed-space. Any player should have known what the tell-tale signs meant, and so it was really no surprise to see a wandering enemy NPC crawling out. A [url=http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110725031321/egamia/images/f/ff/Arakune-blazblue-calamity-trigger-picture.jpg]Dissolution[/url]. Horrible things that resembled no known animal of the real world, and so could only manifest as figments of a twisted imagination and the unlimited potential of the gaming world. A normal migration of the NPCs was to be expected, as much as their horrid external appearances. Black tar pooled at the creature’s lack of a real torso, and its body resembled that of an erect pile of sludge. A mask with three holes concealed its face to the world, and bone-like appendages sprouted out from its make-shift back. Alone, the things were fairly easy to deal with if one were Level 3 or above. In large numbers, and most players would quickly find themselves being quickly overrun by the mindless shells if their guard was done for any given moment. Three such portals had materialized on the game map; two of which in locations that had never once been intruded before. In fact, the sheer sight of it repulsed and defied all that was possible to the mind. And yet there they were. Five Dissolutions in the Yellow King’s court. Five Dissolutions in the White King’s court. The third portal yielded only one specimen, the NPC slithering out of darkness like a demented serpent. Searching around for fresh prey, it gave off a low keening sound that chilled the blood of new players. Its gaze became flushed with red, and it immediately pounced towards the closest victim of its choice. The Avatar named Smitten Kitten. --- Elsewhere, a certain [url=http://img-cache.cdn.gaiaonline.com/3d544cff0c86b2304330b9535347a415/http://i667.photobucket.com/albums/vv34/Cirrus_Maximilian/Silver%20Rain/anime_girl.jpg]individual[/url] watched a fast-moving and mobile player zoom and zip across the map at rapid speeds. Giggling to herself lightly, she skipped a few steps before activating one of her many passive skills. It was only a quick little teleportation, but it covered enough distance to get the job done. Soon enough, the girl’s Avatar landed directly on the roof of Arms Slave’s vehicle. Smiling, she tapped the metal top with the tip of her boot. “Excuse me Mr. Arms Slave, but can you stop your car for just one moment? I’m in dire trouble, you see…maybe we can help each other out?” Had Arms Slave chosen to glance at the interface of his new arrival, he would have seen surprised to see nothing. Nothing at all. No Level indicator, no Class identifier…nothing. The girl was a blank slate. Well, that wasn’t entirely true to say. The only thing that did show up to the eyes of every other player was the name of the girl’s Avatar. It read [b]Corpse Collector[/b].