The words [color=orange]"Can I see?"[/color] barely registered to Akio after he had just seen the 1 line reply from the unknown responder, suitably named, [color=violet]John Doe[/color].

[color=green]> John Doe: cant talk fighting monster will get back to you[/color]

[i]"No caps? No apostrophe? No punctuation?"[/i] These errors in one's grammar caught his attention as the only reason why someone would rush a message out like this was in fact if the said person was actually in danger... But if that was the case, did that mean that "The Hack" was real? [i]"No, that couldn't be right. I...I just had a nightmare."[/i]

He began to think back to the previous night and what happened, the moment he logged in, the creature that broke through the window and his immediate ejection out of that dream. Could that be all real? Was there another world out there that mirrored this one, and was it full of more monsters? More importantly he remembered how he saw the two knuckle-buster like devices and their beckoning call for his attention. [i]"Could they be?"[/i] He wondered if they were some kind of weapon, especially since John Doe was apparently fighting one, and no one in their right mind would go into a fight with bare fists. His interest began to peak and he could feel his desire to re-enter The Hack.

[color=orange]"So, …uh ……what do you know about that ………uh …… the …… uh ………… The Hack?"[/color]

The words carved through his thought process like a shooting pain and it instantly bought his attention to the workshop surrounding. More importantly he suddenly looked at the young girl asking the question wondering himself what it was that she knew about the world.

Akio hesitated for a moment before replying, "Why do you ask?" He couldn't help but notice the way she phrased her question considering how bubbly she appeared earlier, and now she seemed to clam up into a shell. He wasn't sure whether to completely tell her or not. A regular person wouldn't believe him if he mentioned anything about the world that he saw, but Alex on the other hand seemed to be growing more pale with every moment that passed. "Are you feeling alright? You're looking like you've seen a ghost."