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Slowly, Melody's eyes opened, taking in the sight around her.  Confusions swept through her like a storm; this was most certainly not her manor!  Her family owned a few marble statues, yes, but this looked more like a marble [i]room![/i]  The floor, the walls, even the ceiling...!  And her eyes were still somewhat dazzled from...  She shook her head.  [i]Calm down, Melody.  Think.[/i]  She was often like this; sudden surprises tended to throw her for a mental loop!  So she focused on breathing, just as her teacher had taught her, and let the memories come back to her.

As the confusion faded, clarity gradually returned.  She remembered finishing her lessons for the day, then spending some time playing the piano.  So far, a perfectly ordinary day.  One of the maids had informed her that dinner would soon be ready, so Melody had returned to her room to change into something more comfortable.  [i]Ah, and that's when it happened![/i]  She could recall the little PING of her computer alerting her to a new message.  She always liked to stay on top of any such messages, so she checked it immediately.  It didn't seem to have a sender... or perhaps the address was simply cloaked?  She'd clicked on it anyway.

[quote][center][b][u]The Digital World Needs Your Help![/u][/b]

Evil is afoot in the Digital World. Rival armies vie for control of the land, and heroes are needed to save the innocent! You've been chosen to protect those who can't protect themselves. What say you?[/center]

[color=lime][u][center][code]I want to help![/code][/center][/u][/color][/quote]

For several moments, Melody sat staring.  Was this some sort of advertisement?  Was someone asking for help?  Armies and heroes were quite a way's off from her idea of reality.  Finally, it dawned on her: this must have been for a game of some sort!  By clicking the link, she would surely be taken to the mysterious game's homepage and invited to make an account.  [i]Well, I HAVE been looking for a new experience lately...[/i]  Melody very rarely played video games, so this would certainly be something new for her!  "Oh, why not?" she asked her computer, smiling as she clicked the link.  Then, she recalled her screen becoming very fuzzy, and just as she feared she'd stumbled onto a virus, the computer - no, the entire ROOM - had gone so brightly white!

...And now she was here.  [i]Well, that explains... um... nothing, actually.[/i]  Her mind was clear and sharp again, but that sharpness did little to explain how she'd come to be in this empty marble room.  She looked around, trying to find some sign of life or a potential exit... but there was nothing as far as her eye could see.  "...Have I been kidnapped?" she wondered aloud.  What sort of kidnapper could move her to such a place as this without her feeling any sort of sensation?

That was when a curious sound reached her ears, and a small [url=https://wikimon.net/images/thumb/e/e8/Kudamon2.jpg/320px-Kudamon2.jpg]creature[/url] rather suddenly popped into being!  "Wha-  What are [i]you[/i] doing here?!" it asked her, eyes wide and tiny claw pointing.

[color=DA7EE0]"I have no idea!"[/color] she answered back, hands on her hips in both shock and minor indignation.  [color=DA7EE0]"I was quite comfortably in my room when I suddenly found myself here!  I should think [i]you[/i] would know more of this situation than I would... um..."[/color]  It was only then that she realized the creature she was talking to was, in fact, a [i]creature.[/i]  And quite unlike any she'd ever seen before!

"Well of [i]course[/i] I know about it!" the creature answered.  "We're the ones who pulled you all here!"

Melody tilted her head.  [color=DA7EE0]"'You all?'"[/color]  By her eyes, she and the creature were quite alone.

The creature ignored her.  "Gah, what are they [i]doing[/i] up there that we'd have a [i]latecomer[/i] of all things?  You missed everything!" it snapped, as though it were somehow Melody's fault.  Before she could protest such a thing, however, the creature let out a deep sigh.  "Uuuuugh...  Fine.  Okay human, here's the short version: evil is stirring, there's bad things happening, and you guys need to stop it.  Good?  Good!"

[color=DA7EE0]"Now wait a-"[/color]

"Good luck!"  The creature wriggled and twirled about in the air, and rather suddenly, the room around Melody - and the creature itself - disappeared!  She felt a rush of wind all around her... and soon realized it was because she was falling!  With a scream, she had just enough time to notice the other humans gathered below before WHAM!  A young man with blonde hair had come running up to the group just in time to break Melody's fall.  Granted, it hadn't been a very dangerous fall... but it was still an unpleasant landing.

[color=DA7EE0]"Owww...!"[/color]  Slightly dizzy from the sheer rapid speed of everything that was happening, she pushed herself up into a sitting position, only to realize she was still seated atop the young man!  [color=DA7EE0]"Oh!"[/color]  She quickly threw herself off of him, leaping to her feet and quickly brushing her dress off.  [color=DA7EE0]"I'm so very sorry for that!  I...  Well, I actually have no idea what's going on."[/color]  She looked around the collective people, intending to ask them for information, but the looks on their faces suggested they might be in the very same clueless boat as she.

It's then that she realized that she was in the middle of a forest, surrounded by trees and without a single other being in sight.  Looking around, she couldn't see a building, a road, or even another human!  ...Er, beyond those immediately around her, of course.  [color=DA7EE0]"May I ask where we are?  And... how exactly we came to [i]be[/i] here?"[/color]  Did anyone even know?  She certainly didn't!