[hider=The before times...]
The rain pounded against the windowpane in an unending torrent turning the world outside into a mash of fuzzy shapes and smudges. Victoria sighed again as if her expressed displeasure would have some sort of magical effect on the weather but, as expected, the typhoon continued to batter the Yokohama and she was stuck inside for the day. Pushing herself off the couch, her bare feet slapped against the hard wood floor as she plodded into the kitchen but even the contents of the well-stocked stainless steel fridge could not interest her. The door swung closed and her gaze fell onto the sticky note left by her mother, the bright yellow paper standing out against the metal. 

[i]Dinner is in the freezer.
Don't forget to preheat the oven. 400!
Watch your brother, please.
Be home tonight.

Love,
-Mom[/i]

Victoria's bright green eyes rolled after reading over the note again. She loved her mother but she'd been home from university for two days already and her family hadn't given her the time of day. Maybe she was expecting too much? Sometime's it's hard to remember that they all have their own lives even when she's away...

Passing back through the living room Victoria made her way into the small study that housed the family computer and was not surprised to find her brother illuminated by the screen's faint blue glow. He was fiddling with some new toy and didn't notice his sister's approach until she tapped him on the shoulder. "What do you have there?" She said, pointing to the strange device.

"Jesus, Vic!" He spun in his chair, slightly startled, a look of annoyance shooting across his scruffy teenage features. A small smile curled on her lips as she ruffled his hair, much to his displeasure, before she nodded at the strange helmet he held in his hands. With a huff, he returned to his examination of the device. "It's a new video game... Just came out. I'm trying to get it installed." 

"Oh..." She muttered, quickly losing interest in the talk of virtual reality games; didn't they all have enough problems in the real world to deal with? An awkward moment of silence ensued as Victoria wracked her brain for some sort of connection, some common ground to meet her brother on but she was coming up short. Thankfully, a buzz from his cellphone sitting on the desk drew away his attention as he moved to answer a text. "Well... Would you like to go see a movie or something? I'm kind of dieing of boredom..."

Her eyes watched him as he typed excitedly, failing to respond until after a long moment. "What? Oh, ya... Sorry, but I was just gonna head out for a bit. Mimi sorta invited me over to watch a movie at her place..."

Her eyes narrowed and her lips drew into a thin line. "Ben..." She grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest in suspicion.

"Aw, c'mon! It's innocent, I swear!" The teenager shot back, sinking into his chair beneath his sister's unwavering gaze. "I'm 17... Not like I'm a little kid anymore."

 "Well..." Victoria muttered after a moment of thought. "Tell your girlfriend I said 'Hi' and don't be out late or Mom will have a fit..."

"Ya, ya... I know how to handle mom." Ben replied, face breaking out into a mischievous smile. "Mind if I, eh... Borrow some money for the train? I sorta blew my allowance on this game..." With a pained sigh she rummaged around in her pocket and dropped several crumpled bills into his hand. "Thanks! I seriously owe you one!" Bolting past, he snatched a jacket and an umbrella and rushed out into the rain. She watched him walk down the narrow street towards the train station before his image disappeared into the haze.

"Damn..." She muttered, running her long fingers through her short red hair as she contemplated her confinement. Slumping into the comfortable computer chair, Victoria spent several minutes staring at the Google search window but couldn't find the mood to surf. With a break from school and basketball practice, she needed something to focus her energies on and watching hundreds of random cat videos hardly seemed fitting. Inevitably, her eyes fell back to the helmet and after a moment she gingerly picked it up. It was a strange device, very few buttons, a thin glass visor, and thickly padded on the inside. "Sensors...?" She thought aloud, running a finger along the inside of the rim. Glancing up at the computer screen she spotted a window with a flashing message.

[center][i]Congratulations! 
You have successfully installed "NTO", the newest generation in full-immersion 3D gaming! 
Please put on the included headset to get started.[/i][/center]

Victoria stared at that screen for a long moment, contemplating her next move. She'd hadn't played a video game in years, besides the occasional visit to the arcade, and was unsure of how to begin. Her mind screamed at her to find a more 'productive' use of her time but that thought was quickly interrupted by the pounding rain and the memory that all her books were back in her dorm room. "Not like I have much else to do..." Without a slight shrug, she slipped the device over her head and activated the launcher. Dozens of lights flickered on the visor as she reclined far back in the plush leather chair and a faint beam scanned over her features. In an instant everything went black and Victoria thought maybe she'd done something wrong, or the program had closed, when suddenly a single message appeared in the center of her vision.

[center][i]Welcome to New Terra Online...[/i][/center]
[/hider]

A great cheer burst from the ranks of assembled players as Garnet finished his speech and directed his challenge to the rival 'New Terror' party. Victoriana Rose simply sighed at the insults and jeers the gathered masses were spitting out, having little taste for aggressive 'politics' when they all had so many other problems to worry about. Trying to remain focused on the deadly problem that they would be facing that day, her steel-gloved hand pulled down the UI's inventory menu for the hundredth time and she did another quick eyeballing of her equipment's stats and durability. Her half-plate armor gleamed in the daylight, a dark crimson color with gold highlights that made elegant patterns along the edges of her shoulders, chest, and bracers. Her black silk cloak was draped across her shoulders and gave her a rather imposing image around her noble, stoic features. "Hey, Rose!" A sub officer of the Liberation Group approached her with a slight wave and a friendly smile; a rather scruffy man of clear Asian decent with unkempt black hair, dark woodland leather armor and a green wool cloak of his own. He had a massive wooden longbow slung over his shoulder. "It's almost strange seeing you alone out here."

"Well met, Yanosuke." Rose said, turning to face the man with a polite nod of her head. She had little to do with the LG, but had dealt with this particular individual on two other occasions when she'd been asked to join their hunting group. Or rather, when she and her usual partner had been [i]hired[/i] to help them gather a few semi-rare mats from some particularly ornery Giant Hornets. Rose and Millicent were somewhat well-known in the smaller adventuring circles as their particular combination of skills made them a formidable and effective team. "Millicent should be around her somewhere, though I admit I haven't seen her since the LG meeting this morning."

"So you'll be tanking with SteelReign and Gerard. I take it they explained our strategy this morning?" The sub-officer pointed to two armored figures talking quietly a short ways away: one bald stony faced man with jagged full-plate and an imposing silver tower-shield and the other a kid who looked a bit younger than Rose with spikey blonde hair, sky-blue splint mail and a wooden round shield painted with the image of a matching blue eagle. Examining them for a moment, Rose then adjusted the large kite shield strapped to her own arm, eyes quickly glancing over the large golden rose printed on the black ebony surface; its sharp thorns glittering against the void. It had cost her a hefty sum to craft and then enchant with a few durability boosters but she was certain it was the best purchase she'd ever made. The shield had saved her from more than one potentially fatal encounter and would likely do so many more times in the future.

"I know Steel; he's a skilled warrior; we worked together during the Hive encounter last month," Her striking green eyes flickered back to Yanosuke as her free hand feel to her hip. "But I'm not so sure of this... 'Gerard'. His armor is lacking, to say the least, and his shield is incredibly weak. I'm not sure-" 

She was cut off by a wave of Yanosuke's hand, the annoyed look crossing his features a clear indication he'd heard the complaint before. "Which is why [i]you[/i] will be sharing center with Steel! Gerard was assigned the task of being our secondary and he still needs a bit of practice so he'll be watching at Steel's flank and learning the ropes, only jumping in if we need him." Rose's thin brow furrowed at the plan, not agreeing with using a dangerous and unknown [i]boss fight[/i] to train a rookie in the techniques of tanking, but just as she was about to voice her concern someone called out Yanosuke's name. Another officer stood a ways away, an annoyed look on the man's face as he unprofessionally gestured for the sub-officers presence. "It'll be [i]fine[/i]." The man said, ending their talk as he was already hustling towards his master like a dog looking for a treat. "Just follow the strategy and we'll have this thing dead by noon!" 

Rose's expression hardened as she flipped a lock of short fiery red hair out her face, eyes watching the man go and get pulled into the LG officer's tent before muttering under her breath. "Yes, but at what cost..."