FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Aeria

The headlights of my blue RX-8 reflected off the road, illuminating the pavement to allow myself to see forward. The yellow lines of the road reflected back at me like beacons. A car with beaming headlights came passing by. With a soft whoosh of air, it passed by my car, and I shouted impurities at the careless driver.

"Who the hell puts their brights on in the middle of a freaking highway?!" I shouted loudly into the windshield like I was talking to the person face to face. A sigh left my lips, and trailed off. A loud yawn escaped my mouth after the sigh, and my eyes became watery. The clock by the radio in the car displayed in green "12:01 A.M. December 24th, 2013." Christmas Eve. Every house I passed by probably had at least one Christmas tree inside a window and there were no houses without the bright, cheery, multiple colored lights on their rooftops.

Giving myself a light tap on the face as my eyes started to betray me, I encouraged myself by telling my brain there was going to be a new game when I got home. Looking over to my right, a bag with the nearest electronic store laid lifelessly on the passenger seat. A smile crossed my face. Not only was it one of the most anticipated games of 2013, it was one of the most revolutionary. My heart started to race as I thought of opening up the game, and playing with my friends.

I didn't realize how hard I was pressing the gas pedal until I passed a speed limit sign that rudely awakened me of how fast I was actually going. When I finally made that right turn to turn off the highway to go onto the back roads, a sense of excitement blew over me.

"I am going to be one of the first to play this game!" I shouted out loud. Then I realized how much my wallet shrank in the past hour. One full paycheck spent on a disk that sends you to a fantasy realm, and a console to boot. Part of me regretted the purchase.

But then I realized that the part of me that gave a damn was turned off.

As the familiar back roads of Illinois curved deeper and deeper into the forest I was traveling in, the darker and darker the road got. The towering trees that lost their leaves because of the cold winter weather still blocked the moon with their branches even though they were naked. No matter how much the moon tried to break through the tree line, the velvet like streams of moonlight couldn't penetrate through.

As I clicked on my left turn signal, a driveway laid before me in the light, and my lip curled into a smile at arriving home. A Christmas tree shined brightly through the large window that was set on the first floor of the two story house. The light reflected off the windshield, and it blended together into magnificent colors. I clicked the button for the garage opener as I thought about the game in the bag. Driving the car in with barley contained excitement, I hurriedly put the car in park, grabbed the bag with the console and game, and ran inside. Luckily, my parents were asleep, and I snuck in efficiently across the white rug which muffled my footsteps.

Walking up the stairs, a window above lit a path for me to follow. The light spilled across the cream colored walls, and I clung to the wooden rail as my eyes adjusted to the darkness before me. I turned a sharp left into my room. A right would have taken me into my parent's room. At that moment, I heard a distinctive snore from my right.

Sure enough. The two "watchful guardians" were fast asleep.

I slowly opened the door to my own room and closed it as silently and stealthily as I could. The door closed with a forced creek and I put a finger to my mouth acting like it was going to make a difference to how soft or loud the door would groan in disapproval. I let the knob go to alone in my room.

"Finally." I sighed as I knew I would not be interrupted by anyone or anything anymore. I placed the bag on my egg shaped seat. Emptying my pockets, I put my wallet, phone, loose change, and keys on the top of the wooden colored dresser. I kicked off my shoes to feel my room's tan carpet hug my feet, but something smelled strange as I sniffed in the comforting air of my room. Looking over to the bookcase in the back left of my room, a Fabreeze air freshener can was placed on top. A note was taped on to it.

"Your room smells like pizza, and Mountain Dew. I decided to do you a favor. Love Mom."

Pulling off the note and putting it into a trashcan nearby, the scent of an ocean breeze cascaded over me. I secretly thanked my mom as I took another sniff of the air around me. The scent reminded me of the light aqua blue color of my walls in my room. For a moment I could hear waves crashing against a rocky shore line and feel the sun's warm rays bathing my naked face. Then I realized that Illinois doesn't have a beach.

And that it was the middle of freaking winter.

Sitting by the bag, I opened up the contents. The bag rustled as my hand grabbed the first object inside. Pulling out a box labeled "Virtua", excitement cursed through my veins. A smile crossed my lips as my eyes fell upon the picture. A white rectangular device was wrapped around an arm. The black background contrasted the tan arm of the wearer while the snow white device only had a screen that said in deep blue letters, "Virtua." Bellow the title it read, "A renovation." Not exactly the cleverest title, but I didn't care.

Not containing my excitement any longer, I felt the box until I found the grooves against my fingers. With a swift motion, my fingers gripped the side of the box and I pulled the styrofoam that was protecting the console out. Inside the mold, a small, rectangular, and white console about as big as my wrist sat inside. Feeling curiosity at the size of the console weld up inside of my chest, I grabbed the box it came out of and turned it over reading the words, "Not actual size."

Huffing, I decided it would be of my best interest to figure out how the hell the device worked. I picked up the small computer, weighing it in my hand. It was surprisingly heavy, and I felt myself marveled by it. Two Velcro straps hung lifelessly bellow. My brain then cleverly decided I should read the instructions.

After pulling out the paper, and reading the instructions for five minutes, I pulled the Velcro straps around my wrist, and waited for something to happen. The directions were simple enough. Put the screen facing you, the buttons facing you, and the front of the device pointing outward. Nothing happened. The device sat lifelessly around my wrist with the screen starring back at me blankly.

I sat for five more minutes, thinking that maybe it would turn on itself if it detected my pulse. That is what the monotone voice said on the commercials. Still, nothing happened. Anger started to simmer, and I was about to give up when I saw the button to the right of the screen. There were no other buttons except that one distinct button that every console has whether big or small, wide or flat, or strange. That button was the start button.

The urge to slap myself across the face was becoming ever more present. Pressing down the white button that was barley bigger than the top of my pinky finger, I knew that this time there was no doubt that I screwed up. Then I read I needed a charge cable to plug into the side so the battery didn't run out while I was playing.

Ugg.

After plugging in the cable to a nearby outlet on the surge protector for the TV, I pressed the start button again with increased agitation. To my excitement, the screen flickered to life. In deep blue letters, "Virtua" was written across the screen. Bellow the title, it said, "Welcome!"

A whoop of excitement rang across my room. Finally, it was time to enjoy the console! After asking several questions on what my name was, how old I was, where I was located, and what my ethnicity was, the urge to just play a freaking game became greater. After filling out each individual bubble, I was greeted with the homepage of the console.

"Hello Jacob! My name is Aeria. What would you like to play?" The obviously female voice said. I nearly jumped out of my chair at that. Hearing about how this console was powered by AI, I didn't know what to expect. My eyes fell upon charmingly beautiful women who had blond hair that was curled. When she talked, her lips moved with the grace of a regular person, and I instantly dispelled the notion she was an AI until I saw the lower right button glowing.

I decided to press it, not reading the words on the side. The women walked out of the screen like it wasn't even there, and appeared standing right by me. Watching in awe as the once trapped women started to materialize on my rug, I rubbed my eyes to check if this was real.

"Is this real?"

"Yes." The hologram replied with a candid smile. So fake, but so real at the same time. I pulled the console tied to my wrist up to my face and looked it over. A light shined out of the side. My hand moved over the light curiously, making the holographic women disappear. Luckily, it wasn't magic.

"I see you found what makes me appear before you." She said as she walked over to me. Her body got so close to mine I could look into her blue eyes. She gave a grin at my speechlessness. "Surprised?"

"No. I am just SO used to walking holograms now a days that I barely noticed you."

"Your sarcasm is amusing."

"What the hell are you?" I said while reaching into the bag that had the game I purchased.

"Whatever you want me to be. Anything you can imagine me as, I can become." She said while watching me curiously. "You imagined me as this."

Putting the game by my side, my eyes starred at the cover of the game. On the front cover, a picture of a wolf with a sword on his back looked behind him. A lush forest lay in front of him while the moonlight that broke through the large branches illuminated his armor. A hood over his head covered his ears, making his image look even more mysterious. The stars twinkling in the background shined exactly like the sword he was unsheathing.

"Now who do I look like?" Aeria said to get my attention. Gasping as the wolf from the cover lumbered over me, my instincts told me to run, but I remembered that she...it...was a hologram. Her beautiful hair was gone and replaced with the dark grey hair of the wolf. Her nose was no longer a nose, but a muzzle and her eyes were a deep orange capable of piercing any man's soul. A tail was on her backside which swung from side to side. Her fingernails were replaced with sharp claws and her hands and feet were large paws. Teeth the size of large daggers were in the hologram's muzzle and the muscles of the wolf defiantly gave the beast a intimidating appearance.

"What are you?" I said again.

"As I said before," The hologram said, "You can call me Aeria."

"Aeria it is."

But the name sound so familiar....

Turning back into her regular form, a blond girl stood before me once more. Thank God. Virtua really amped up their newest system. Holograms, what could be next?

"I think I have a few things that can surprise you..."

Jumping at the words, I started blabber uncontrollably. "H-how did you-? Wh-what did you-?" Walking over, she put a finger to my lips, silencing me. She grabbed my wrist and turned it over. What did I get into?

"You didn't read the directions, did you?" She said with a look like a mother starring down her children for misbehaving.

"Who reads directions anymore?"

The hologram sighed disappointed. "Look."

Pulling the console away from the arm with the straps still around my wrist, Aeria pointed out four sensors on the corners of the device. "These sensors can read emotions. Listen, I don't have much time, but I have to get you in the game!"

The whole tone of the conversation changed in that instant. It sounded frantic, almost worried. It wasn't like its demeanor from before. Next thing I knew, I felt like a ragdoll at the mercy of a lion. Her hands were on my shoulder and....

Wait a minute..............

When did holograms get to feel anything? Or touch anything. OR have emotions!

Glaring at her suspiciously, I knew something was wrong. In other words, my "spider senses were tingling." All of a sudden, I felt something enter my mind like a sword piercing the skin. It was faint at first, but it started to get stronger. My hand started to shake violently, reaching for the box.

I didn't like what was happening. I tried to fight what was happening, but I felt so powerless. My vision started to flash violently and I felt the control from my body fading. "I don't wish to do this. I am sorry. I have to do this quick before Virtua finds out..."

How is it controlling me? What is it first of all and what does this whole situation have to do with Virtua, the creators of the game? My head started to get lost in a fog, muscles started to twitch and lock up, and my mind was being unwillingly given over to this AI, "I will not let you do this to me!"

I tried to shout those words, to get help, but they only came out in a powerful mutter. My arm opened the case, revealing the small data chip. With shaking fingers still battling for control, my fingers grabbed the chip and brought it towards the console not under my jurisdiction.

It wasn't the fact that I didn't want to play the game. I wanted to play it undoubtedly. It was the fact that the hologram was controlling me to do so. The small data chip started to get closer to the console until eventually the rectangular device knew about the presence. It let off a chirp to acknowledge that there was a data cartridge nearby and a small opening as large as the data disk opened on the side.

The disk slipped inside and in large letters on the upper right part of the screen, "loading" appeared. My arm around the console started to feel strange like ants were crawling up the side. It was almost as if my whole body just stopped moving.

Then it felt as if a fist slammed into my chest and my eyes closed shut. "I'm sorry" was the only thing I heard before I blacked out. Some gaming experience this turned out to be...

It felt like I was laying in darkness for a long period of time. I had dreams. Unique ones that were unable to be interpreted. The darkness felt so warm to me and so inviting. It was like a temporary stasis. Next thing I knew, something chilling blew through the darkness which made it fade away.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

When I started to awaken, I felt something cold on my back. My eyes slowly opened like flowers opening to sunlight in the morning while my mind flashed and throbbed violently as it adjusted. "Ugg, what the hell happened?" I mumbled to myself.

"Wake up." A voice said close by.

Shuddering violently as a cold wind blew across my body, I wrapped my arms around myself. At first, I ignored the voice, but something was so strange about it. It was high pitched and almost annoying. But most of all...

So foreign.

Opening my mind to the situation, the environment starred back at me like I stared back into it. My mind was a whirlwind of thoughts. The trees, being leafless, were just branches. I slowly started to lean upward and felt my mind throb like it went through a rough night of sleep. An uncomfortable sensation was over my lips and I licked them to realize they were chapped. My mouth was dry, my eyes were watering, and my ears were ringing with the voice...

"That's it. Wake up, Jacob. We have much to get done."

Putting a hand up to the sun that was blinding to me, I slowly started to stand on my legs. They wobbled like jello and I had to get support from a nearby tree to help me stand straight upwards. That's when I saw my hands...

"When did I get gloves?"

Holding up my hands, I saw the woven material hugging my hand. It was leather and a charcoal black. My other hand held its twin. Walking over to a tree, I put my hand up against it and felt the bark. It felt so rough under my hand like real bark would feel.

"Is this real?" I said to myself as I felt the rough edges of the tree under my smooth skin. It felt so real, so alive, and so brilliant. I heard the sound of metal brackets hitting each other and I looked down to see I was wearing bronze armor. It looked as beautiful as the sunlight that reflected from the snow made the bronze shimmer. Then I realized it wasn't night time anymore. The sun was up. The grieves I wore were made of a light chainmail so I could move around appropriately. I could feel the weight of the armor on my body.

Yet, my brain told me I knew better. This was an illusion and I remembered Aeria and her holographic appearance. A thousand questions jumbled inside my skull. The snow beneath my feet softened my fall as I felt my body almost black out once again. It was as if I was fatigued mentally. Physically, I was fine, but something was adjusting psychologically.

"It may take you a while to get used to your new environment."

"No shit." I said sarcastically to the air.

I instantly recognized that voice. The computer, no it was more than a computer, that THING's voice that got me into this situation in the first place. I put my hand to my ear to feel for an earpiece, or any sound device for that matter to find a transmitter. My hand brushed against nothing, but the cold air.

"Where the hell am I?" I said softly, in a terrified voice. I was a mouse in a cat's cage. My instincts were on full swing. Each breath I took started to get faster and faster.

"Your stress measurements are off the charts. Take a breather. I need you alive. What you are suffering from is common for a novice player as yourself." The voice said calmly in the back of my mind.

The vocabulary she used ringed a bell. The word "player" isn't really used unless....

A person is within a game.

That's when reality struck me in the forehead. It all pieced together. The armor, the surroundings, and even the voice all started to make sense. I was within the video game called, "Virtua." I didn't even think about it till I was sitting in the snow in disbelief. It was all so overwhelming. Waves of emotions crashing onto me like the sea onto a sand covered beach and I didn't know how to react.

Punching a tree extremely hard, I quickly realized that pain was within the game as well. I clutched my throbbing fist and realized that this could be more than just a game.

"Where am I?" I said out loud as I looked around hopelessly, trying to find an exit out of where I was teleported into.

"You know exactly where you are." Aeria's voice spoke, "You are in Virtua."

"So this is the game I bought."

"Precisely."

"So why am I in this? Why did you teleport me in?" I yelled into the cold wind, hell bent on finding answers within the strings of air that surrounded my face. The voice sounded like air itself. So soft, so fake, but so real.

"And why the hell am I here? I never asked you to put me into the game." I said as I pulled out the sword on my back. It came out of its sheath with a sound of metal against metal. The sword was surprisingly light.

"You are here because....I-I need your help."

My mouth fell open. "Why would an AI need my assistance?"

It was pure silence for about five minutes. The only thing I could hear was the cold wind blowing against trees and the sound of another person's footsteps.

"Because I have a problem."

The voice was behind me now. I turned around quickly to see something that made my heart race and my mouth go dry. I took a step back and starred face to face with the AI hologram that I spoke with before, but as a jaguar.

Her black fur clung to the light armor she was wearing. It was fur armor with leather straps wrapped around her arms that held a case for a dagger. Her breastplate was simple leather woven into fabric that allowed agile movement without being constrictive. I never even heard her walking around me before. She must have been watching me the whole time with her blue eyes. The pants she wore were long, and boots that came up just below her kneecaps were silent as she walked. A scarf was thrown around her neck to cover he face from the breeze and a bow and arrow were both present in her hands. A quiver rested on her back. It was untouched with the silver trim on the sides shining bright.

"How are you talking to me?" I said after I was done looking at her attire.

She walked over to me until we were standing shoulder to shoulder. Putting her finger in the air like something was present there, she expanded her two fingers like she was prying air apart. I noticed a square start to get larger until it was displayed before us. The almost transparent square showed an item's list, but quickly disappeared when Aeria waved her hand. I instantly remembered a trailer I saw of the game. The menu could be moved by swiping one's hand.

When Aeria was done waving through multiple menus, I noticed a tab blinking at the top right. The word "Chat" was displayed in blue colors, signaling that a new message has arrived. She tapped the chat button, displaying another square to the bottom left of the one huge square. The chat box had several different tabs that read, "Shout", "Whisper", and "Private."

Aeria tapped her claw on private which pulled up my name. "Jacob" was blinking in blue letters and every word we both spoke to each other before we met showed itself on the screen. Her ocean blue eyes glanced over at me.

"That is how I talked to you." She said as she put a finger on the top of the box and one at the bottom. She started to move the box to a close until her fingers met. The menu was gone, but I knew I would see it again very soon.

"How did you do that?" I asked curiously. I wanted to know more about the game that I was now stuck into. What Aeria needed help with can wait. Curiosity has always got the better of me.

"It is part of the game." She said back simply ignoring the question with a very broad answer, "Follow me. We need you to pick your class."

A flash of memory flew back into my mind as I recalled the wolf on the front of the case. I was going to pick a class just like him. I was overwhelmed at the amount of detail that was present as I walked with Aeria. Everything from the environment to the sound system in the game was perfect. I didn't think virtual reality could ever be accomplished. Different gaming companies tried to make virtual reality an actuality, but many failed.

With horrific results.

"Aeria, who created this game?" I inquired.

"Harmonic s. Everything you see before you was created by scratch since there is not a virtual reality program that succeeded. This is the very first." She answered as she made a right. Ducking under a branch, I followed with haste. Aeria's footsteps started to grow in pace, her feet just glazing the snow as she walked.

"Slow down I-" I said, but it was too late. She started to run. Her black fur was tainted with snow that was kicked up. Cursing, I equally started to run after her. The tree branches moved by me in gray blurs as my own pace quickened and I had to duck and dodge past many branches that were in my path.

"WAIT!" I shouted as Aeria's black fur disappeared. She was so fast. Her agility made her a very fast runner and the area between me and her was dwindling. The armor on my chest felt so heavy I decided to stop, take off the bronze armor to remove some weight, and run after her in a winter shirt that consisted of fur that covered the shoulders, and the chest.

That's when I wasn't watching where I was going and slipped. My body lunged onto my back as I slid across a frozen lake until finally I stopped right dead in the middle. I should have noticed the tree line starting to spread, but I was too busy concentrating on foot prints left by Aeria and following her trail.

I punched the ice with my fist in anger for losing Aeria. She was my only lifeline out of this strange place and I was furious that she just randomly ran off. As my eyes traced over the large lake I was now in the center off, I fell onto my own reflection. Shock ran through my body at my appearance as it reflected back at me. I looked like a totally different person.

My not so neat black hair in real life was now even blacker then before. It was almost midnight black. The back side of my hair was spiked while two bangs in front were braded and tied. They were small and I was surprised I didn't notice them while I was chasing Aeria.

What surprised me most about the change in my appearance were my eyes. Instead of being an aqua blue, they were a more intense yellow that reminded me of a bee. My appearance still showed my age, but I looked more tribal. I noticed a tattoo coiled around my arm and it reminded me of thorns as it snaked around my arm. The ink was a dark black and reflected off of my bare skin that could be seen through the white cloth of the undershirt.

"Well well well. What do we have here?"

I looked up to see a bandit tossing a very sharp dagger into the air. The handle had an emerald blade and the curve of the blade was sharp enough to slash the ice that I was standing on with ease. The blade had such an elegant design that I mistaken the dagger for a prince's. I thought I was about to talk with a noble man until I noticed his attire.

He wore a bandanna over his head and a tight fitting dark black jacket that showed a green undershirt. His pants were black while the moccasins he walked on were a light tan color. His red hair that peaked out from under his bandanna was wild and untamed. The only problem with his appearance was that he was a cheetah.

His dotted tail swished back and forth as he walked across the ice towards me with his dagger in his palm. "So, you must be a new guy around here?"

I looked around at my surroundings before gulping and then nodding. Whatever position this man had me in, he defiantly had the better one.

"Ahh. Good. So you don't mind if I ask you to hand over whatever possessions you have on you?" He said while grinning.

"No."

"Good. Now be a good little boy and hand over whatever you have. Don't make me ask again." He held out his hand. I mimicked what Aeria did before and opened my menu to see my item box. I saw a 3d model of my character, also known as me, rotating around. He had a few bruises on his leg and I quickly looked down to see my own leg had a few purple spots from landing on the rock hard ice.

Then I noticed the red X across my sword and a necklace that was also in a small square by itself by wasn't painted over by the red X. There was also red Xs across the bottom. Remembering how much inventory space Aeria had then me, I put two and two together and figured out that to get the red Xs away on the bottom, a player has to unlock them by crafting pouches to hold items in. Feeling for my sword on my back, I realized that my only defense against the bandit was gone and remembered the red X across the sword. It must be laying by my bronze armor when I took it off.

I cursed under my breath before realizing that my doom was coming. Feeling around for anything that could store an item, my hand landed on a leather pouch strapped crudely around my waist. Pulling out a black coin purse, a shining silver necklace, and a strange artifact that glowed mysteriously, I put them in front of me. The artifact was shaped in a key and it seemed to get the cheetah's attention the most. The bandit gave a smirk.

"Very good. Now if you don't mind, I will be taking these-"

Before the cheetah could finish his sentence, an arrow came screaming down in front of his hand. He pulled his hand away quickly and with a growl, looked toward the area where the arrow was shot from. He didn't have time to blink before a dagger was up against his throat. Hell, my own eyes didn't have time to blink. I quickly picked up the items I put on the ground, placing them back into my own pouch.

"Why don't you give the new guy a chance?" Aeria said as she pushed the dagger against his throat again to signal she wasn't kidding.

"Tsst. Fine, whatever. It won't make much of a difference when he is dead."

He starred at me with no remorse whatsoever and spat, "You're lucky your bitch helped you out on th-"

At that remark, Aeria took her hand and slapped him across the face. While the bandit was busy tending to his now red cheek, Aeria threw me a dagger that she pulled out of her arm case. I caught it crudely, almost fumbling it before catching it.

"Might want to defend yourself now..." She remarked.

I had no idea what she meant until I saw a cheetah charging at me with his teeth bared. He held his blade with the blade pointing out towards the lake in a sideways hold. His hand was wrapped around the grip when he took a swing at my chest.

Jumping backwards away from the blow, I slipped on the ice out of reach luckily. If his upper cut connected, I would have surely been dead when the blade hit a main artery.

"Are you going to strike back or what?" Aeria's voice chided in.

Before he could process what was about to happen, I was already sliding on my moccasins towards him. I held the curve dagger away from my face to prevent it from slashing my cheek. But before I even could get to him, my feet slipped on the very slick ice. My body did several barrel rolls until it ended up near the end of the lake. The bandit was laughing his ass off.

"That is rich! Someone should have videotaped that!" He mocked and was hunched over holding his chest.

"You next."

"What?"

Aeria put her foot right on his backside and pushed. He slipped, fell and rolled all the way down to where I was. That was when I noticed the bar above his head. Above a red bar that read "HP", level 3 was printed neatly above that. Bellow his hp bar was a light blue bar that read "MP." I knew exactly what they were when I saw it. They were Heath Points and Mana Points.

Sliding over to the bank, I pulled my body over the edge and finally back onto snow. I flopped onto the white powder before pulling myself back up and facing my enemy. He did likewise, his eyes fiercely starring into mine. It reminded me of a sick game of cat and mouse. Haha, cat and mouse....because he is a cheetah....

"So-some women you have..." He slandered as he shook off the dizziness from literally being forcibly knocked around.

"You can have her if you want her."

"You can keep her." He said chuckling sinisterly. He raised his blade, preparing to strike me down. I held up mine even though I knew it would be hopeless. He was a higher level. It would be easy for him to vanquish me.

"Now where were we?"

He started to circle, watching me closely as I equally analyzed him. He threw his blade to his other hand and smiled when he saw my eyes watch his blade closely.

"Yes, follow the shiny object." He taunted and giggled like he was actually enjoying the moment before he would strike.

"It will be the last thing you ever see!"

Without any hint of what would've happened, he dived at me and slashed my ankle. Pain, real pain that I could feel, burned in that area. I gritted my teeth, fighting through it. I slashed at a tail that dove by me and rolled out of harm's way.

"Not so tough without your girl!" He said as he went back to circling me as I held my ankle. I pulled up my hand to see a bit of red from the attack. It wasn't deep, but it still stung.

"Ohhhh. Poor little human. Did I hurt you? I apologize." He laughed a high pitched, evil laugh that sounded animalistic.

"You're probably wondering, 'Why do I feel pain?' Well, that is a good question! I realized that this could be more than your average video game..." He said while walking forward slowly.

Anger was boiling up. The taunting was starting to get to me. I tackled him when he got close and held my dagger to his throat as I sat on top of his chest, but as my hands tried to touch his fur, he faded away.

I tackled air.

"What the hell?!" I yelled as I got back up into my fighting stance to see him laughing like a madman playing with toys.

"AHAHHA! You fell for it! Wow, you are stupider then you look. Mana, you novice, is what powers my class choice."

Reality hit me straight in the forehead. I realized that his class was a thief.

I ran up to him again and this time connected a punch in his chest. I heard the air get knocked out of his lungs. It was defiantly a strong punch. I noticed a +1 appear in the upper right to see "Hand to hand increased by one skill point." I couldn't help, but chuckle.

Stumbling backwards, the cheetah growled and held his chest in pain. "God damn, always ruining fun."

He brushed off his shoulder before charging at me once more. This time our blades connected and there was no turning back as we crossed daggers. Sparks flew onto the snow, melting some of the powder.

"You really think you stand a chance?" The bandit taunted as he gave the sword a rough push which made me stumble backwards. I hit against a tree and kicked off of it to lock swords with him again.

Jumping back as he disengaged the locked stance and took a slash at my chest, I felt the air of the blade brush up against my skin. The cheetah ran at me, his eyes blazed with anger. But before he attacked me, the sound of an arrow being discharged from a bow echoed through the forest.

The arrow was shot into the back of the cheetah who growled loudly before doubling over face first into the snow. I starred speechless at the body. In an instant, Aeria jumped from the branches of a tree and put the bow on her back for later use.

"You killed him!" I yelled a bit over dramatically as I stomped over to Aeria. From the pain I felt when the bandit slashed my ankle with his dagger, I knew that the arrow in his back probably didn't feel too great.

"No I didn't. It is an arcane arrow. Watch."

I looked over to the cheetah to see the arrow was mysteriously gone and an orange dust was left on his back. No wound, no holes in the armor where it passed through. It was all magically healed. His heath bar even dropped only by two points.

I looked back at her and said, "I take it back. So why did you bail on me by the lake?"

She gave me a strange look like I should have known the answer to the question. "I wanted to test you."

"Test me? What do you mean?"

Aeria just held out her hand, and I accepted it. She pulled me to my feet in silence. "I told you before, I need your help."

I shook my head and said, "How can I help you when I don't even know what is going on? How come I can feel this..." I said as I pointed to the gash on my ankle.

"Follow me."

Aeria led me deeper into the forest until eventually the trees got so thick, I the sun was blocked out from the thick branches that were over my head. Eventually, Aeria stopped, sniffed her nose, and opened up a bush to reveal a circular object that was about as tall and round as a sundial.

When Aeria walked close, a blue flame flew out the size of a small orb. It circled around the forest, lighting up the atmosphere with its strange glow.

"Use the key on the necklace." Aeria said.

I nodded, still compelled with getting answers from her. Taking the silver key and the necklace out of my inventory, I watched in awe as the key floated in midair until it connected with the medallion shaped like a key hole. The key turned to the right, and a sharp click was heard. In a second, the necklace shattered into a billion pieces on the ground. I gasped and jumped away as the pieces turned to a raging fire that transformed into a dragon. The flame flew into my chest, and I felt an overwhelming power rush through my veins. It was as if my whole body was throbbing with energy.

I let out a primal growl before losing control and shooting a fireball out my left hand to my amazement. Then I was on all fours panting. I starred at my steaming hands and looked at Aeria with a stunned expression.

"What just happened?"

Aeria smiled and said, "You just figured out your class. The Key of Knowledge chooses it for you by unlocking the necklace you acquired. It seems you're a mage."

At that moment, my head throbbed once more and I subconsciously shot another fireball but this time it came from my mouth. The raging inferno didn't burn my throat, but it was almost like it tickled. I felt like a roaring dragon ready to burn anything in its path.

"It seems you're a fire mage as well." Aeria said pleased that she introduced the necklace to me. I then noticed a red bar on the fireside of my vision and a blue bar bellow it. Above, a level 0 icon just clicked up a level. I was officially level one in the game. Part of my brain was in denial that this was even happening like it was a fever dream or something, but everything felt so real.

It felt so right.

Yet something was so strange and foreign about my new magical abilities. I clinched my fist like I was a predator sheathing my claws. I wanted to use the power to help, but I knew I couldn't control the magic. Right then, I realized that it was going to be hard to master.

"Now I want answers." I said as I stared into her eyes.

"What would you like to know?" Aeria said, now knowing that she deserved to explain something to me with everything I had been through.

"First off, I am in a game correct?"

"Correct." Aeria said simply after walking over to the blue flame shaped in an orb, pulling out a jar, and placing it the prison for later.

"So where is my family?" I said with growing concern. I wanted them to be safe. What happens if they got pulled into this too?

"They are safe in the real world while you are stuck here." She said.

I sighed with relief. They didn't have to go through with what was happening. "So how do I leave this world?"

"That's what I need your help with." Aeria said with guilt starting to spread across her face. "I cannot do this alone so I had to pull you in whether you like it or not."

"What do you mean?" I said with growing anger. I felt my blood start to boil and the magic start to flow in my body once more.

"You cannot leave."

Starting to grow confused, I walked closer to her to hear every word she had to say. "I can leave! The game can't do that to me!"

"Check your menu then."

I opened up the holographic menu once more, and flipped through all the tabs. I came up with nothing. I flipped through the settings tab. Still came up with nothing. Then I found a button on the top left corner blinking. It read "reality."

Looking at Aeria, she knew I required an explanation for the button. "That allows you to give you a third person perspective of what is going on through my eyes. I am not real and an AI program, but I have hacked the companies' software of the game and added that button to your HUD."

I hit the button and a separate box came up to see me laying on my bed like I was fast asleep with the console still around my arm, but the light glowing a light blue color that reminded me of the sky.

At that moment, I wanted to wake myself up. I wanted my body to awaken from this strange nightmare. It was like my being was trapped in a dream and I am forced to watch in a distance as real life plays itself out in front of me.

"So I am guessing there are other players like this?" I said pointing to the screen of my form lying on a bed.

"Yes. Almost a million in fact. They are in stasis like you."

"Can they see their true selves like I can right now?" I said while looking at my room. Everything was the same. Nothing moved nor any signs of a struggle.

"No. I am the only AI that has hacked the program successfully." She said almost proudly.

"That means you're the only one that has hacked it. So do other players have an AI program to guide them like I do?" I asked as I eyed up the jaguar's appearance. Aeria's physical appearance allowed her a massive amount of flexibility. If she was real, it would be easy to see why she would get the class she was given. From what I remember from the many trailers I watched since she is able to enchant arrows and use small weapons, she is an archer/mage class. A hybrid is what the developers called the type. A player could choose a hybrid class to pare up with the original class they took at level one to combine powers.

Sure enough, when I looked closely at the top right, Aeria was level 10. It seems I do know a bit about the game after all. Aeria brought me back to what was happening when her voice spoke in a soft tone,

"Each player does get a guide for them, but I am the only one this...sophisticated. Most other AI just lead the player in the beginning and eventually disappear to help another. I will be helping you since I need your help as well and I can hack the game to make sure that happens."

"So how did you become the only one to be able to hack into the game?"

"Because I am the only AI being controlled by a human." She said while giving a smile.

Gasping at the words, I then yelled, "SO why the hell should I trust you?!" I stomped up to the jaguar and gave her a rough shake. "I don't even know who you are!"

"Ya you do."

"I don't."

The AI smiled again, no Aeria smiled again, "I am your sister."

Laughing at the statement and pushing her away, I jabbed a finger at her face. "Don't say that! She is dead! You're dead!" I yelled.

Aeria's voice changed instantly to one I recognized down to the pitch. The voice was recognized as the same age as my own, "Don't you know the bond between family never dies?"

At that instant I remembered the gravestone with her name on it, and the quote bellow reading, "Family never dies." I remembered the amount of tears that rolled down my face in the pouring rain of an April afternoon and my family huddled around the gravestone looking for answers that revolved around the three letter word, "Why?" I remembered the grief, pain, sorrow, and anger at now being there when that poor girl's fate was torn into pieces by a murderer that stormed into her dorm room on one school night and killed her in cold blood with just a dagger. No body was found. Just a note whose letter's were faded and worn when found.

Etched into the gravestone was, "Aeria Stone born 1994 and died2012." The sound of the church bells echoing in the distance gave a somber tone. Relatives from all over were sharing their grief with the family, each of them dressed so nice for an occasion so dark.

I knew Aeria sounded familiar. It was my sister.

Next thing I knew I was being embraced by the jaguar and pulled into a hug. "I finally found you. I have been looking everywhere for you. You moved so many times I couldn't even find you anywhere."

She was right. Since my dad was in the military, our family has moved a lot. I still didn't believe what I was hearing though. I couldn't process any of the information. It was as if my brain was frozen in a deep stasis like my body was frozen in real life.

"No." I said.

She unlatched the embrace, thrown off by what I said. My mind was so full of questions, wanting to get so many answers. I was being barraged with emotions. Anger for not being informed about my sister's presence, betrayal that she didn't mention it before, more anger because she pulled me into this, happiness that my sister was still alive and mostly just anger.

"You're not my sister. She is dead." I said, my voice rising.

"I a-"

"You're dead. You have been dead for a year."

"No. Your not listen-"

"YOU'RE DEAD!"

I ran up to her and grabbed her on her shoulders again. "I cried at your grave! I cried at your funeral. I cried at the obituary! I CRIED! You shouldn't even be here right now because you're not real! This is all fake! Everything that has been happening is just a dream!"

Paranoia started to grip me. I was overcome so strongly by what happened that I had no control over anything. Heat from my body literally set trees on fire. They just spontaneously combusted. "You are not real! You died!"

"Jacob, listen...

"Don't talk to me."

"Lis-"

"I SAID NOT TO TALK!" I yelled sternly. I stomped off, just walking away from Aeria. I wasn't even going to look back. I wasn't even going to ask any more questions. Blind anger was fueling my rage as I walked around in the forest with no destination in mind. My mana bar kept getting drastically lower and lower as trees all around me combusted into flames.

I didn't realize I felt weak until my face hit the snow.