Nonsense Cyberspace

The room is dark. Not pitch-black, but poorly lit, a large white computer screen providing most of the light. It’s a large room, though the size does not seem entirely too imposing. No, the size of the room is not frightening at all—it’s the lack of life in the dark room that seems troubling. The only living creatures in the room are a man and a woman, sitting at a fancy, long table at its center. The table was quite lovely, made with deep wood and decorated with elegant taste, a long white tablecloth and some flower arrangements particularly. However, there was no food on the table, except a small bowl in front of the man. The scene, overall, might have seemed tense…

At one end of the table sat this man. His hair was luxurious—long and platinum-colored, flowing and full of life. He wore a wonderfully tailored, dark Victorian suit, the exact color which was unclear for the poor lighting. The lacy cravat at his chest was still particularly apparent, as was the shining crown of pearls woven into his hair, which cumulated at the center of his forehead with a golden musical note. An eighth note with no partner, specifically. His position indicated boredom, if not lethargy. The Orchestrator, for that was his name, idly tapped his bowl as he looked at the woman behind him.

She was lovely. Tall, and wonderfully thin, she stood perfectly straight and rigid. Her hair was a sharp contrast to The Orchestrator’s: cut short and elegant, with a deep black tone. It wasn’t nearly as thick as her partner’s hair, either. Her outfit was not much different in taste, featuring mainly a long black evening dress made of thin fabric. It had no straps, and faded into lace at the ends. The back was open, but this didn’t seem to bother the woman—her fine, white back was nicely exposed. Her skin was extremely pale, especially in contrast with her black dress. She stood on short black heeled shoes, mostly concealed by her dress. Her name was Amalia, and she looked down calmly at her master as he turned to face her.

Then, the silence as well as the darkness of the scene was broken. A light flicked on behind them (from where it came wasn’t exactly clear), and The Orchestrator flamboyantly declared, in his high, musical voice, “Amalia, fetch me more rice!” His arms swung out widely as he exclaimed.

The cold woman stared at him expressionlessly. “We’re out of rice, sir,” she stated as though it were perfectly obvious.

The man took on an exceedingly surprised expression, eyes wide. “No rice? But I could have sworn I had some. Are you sure about this, Amalia?”

“You ate it all, sir,” she stated just as plainly as before. “Yes, we did have rice, but it’s gone now.”

“What?! This is a complete travesty!” The Orchestrator exclaimed, placing his hand to his head melodramatically. A bit of violin music started to play from somewhere. Amalia didn’t seem amused by the melodrama, as she simply stared at him.

He cleared his throat then tapped his fork against the table, imitating a baton. The music stopped and the maestro of the game looked innocently at his companion. “We must go get rice, then. To the supermarket!”

Amalia blinked emotionlessly, then gave a small sigh. This was the man who could summon violin music and random lights within his world—the Nonsense Game—and he wanted to go to the supermarket to get rice. She understood it perfectly, being his Companion and all, but still. He quite simply found it amusing. With an almost irked expression, Amalia began to speak, “I believe you have more important things to do than--”

She was cut short. Her countenance twisted like she had just been pinched, or maybe had an epiphany. Her eyes widened from their sleepy stance, and her lips parted with a tiny gasp, a slight sound of surprise escaping her.

The Orchestrator made a similar face—his eyes opened wide, and his lips curled into a smile. He set down his fork in the empty rice bowl, which promptly vanished, as it was no longer needed. He silently flipped his hair back and stood up, suddenly much taller than his Companion.

“Well, what do you know. Some sort of shift, was it?” He asked Amalia smoothly, knowingly, his voice like honey.

“Yes,” she stated plainly. “I believe that was the first Player to arrive. Do you agree, sir?”

“Yes… the recruitment program was launched earlier today. Soon, we’ll have several players for this Game…” He laughed slightly, his musical voice giving off a note of haughtiness, enough to put any listener’s stomach at unease. “I suppose the rice can wait, then. For now.” For the first time all day, The Orchestrator seemed serious, with a sly smile that even Amalia would admit was creepy.

She turned to the computer screen, her expression once again cool. This time, Amalia sat down in the large chair, surrounded by keyboards and buttons, while The Orchestrator hovered behind her, observing her work. This was her task: to oversee and alter the creation of User Programs and Companion Programs. Occasionally, The Orchestrator provided his input, usually in a dramatic manner. But for the most part, the room became silent, and The Orchestrator put out the light calmly. The Game would soon begin…

~*~*~

The players had arrived. There were many of them—well, the more the better, The Orchestrator thought with a grin. They had just received their Companions, like Amalia was to him, from the strange computer monitors which he had sent to scan them for proper data forms. Basically, they would detect and make sense of the player’s thoughts, then form a suitable Companion from that data. It was simple enough, to him at least.

And so, The Orchestrator made his announcement to the players. He was quite excited, shown by the dancing look in his eyes. With minimal restraint, he explained his Game and the rules the players had to follow. ((of course, this speech can be found in the "Introduction".)) As he finished, he gave an unnerving, slightly terrifying laugh and cut off the screen. And so the games begin, he thought with a thin smile.

~*~*~

Meanwhile, the players stayed confused, scattered about the woodlands area of the Nonsense World. The only thing there to guide them was their Companion, each fully aware of the nature of the game. They understood that they would need to learn to fight using the powers given to them by The Orchestrator, in order to complete challenges. They were also aware of the Challenge Gates in the area, which could be accessed in order to activate a challenge. Completing all of them would supposedly allow passage home…

Noobs roamed the edges of the woodlands, but this area was overall pretty safe. It was a sort of save point—somewhere they could relax a bit, without being attacked. However, there were very few Challenge Gates within the save point… only tutorial-type levels, with practice battles where you cannot die and all that jazz. The players who played a lot of video games before entering Nonsense probably understood this innately. It seemed like a simple enough setup… but then again, there were plenty of other Users around, along with their Companions. Maybe it would be a good idea to make some friends, and get used to the Game?

Juste just let out a deep dissapointed sigh, in everything he could pull himself in was a random world created by what appeared to be a mad man. "This is the nonsense world! Ha, well thank you captain obvious! As your mad appearance didn't reveal it already." He softly bumped his feet against what appeared to be a log. Woodlands indeed, and that is when it struck him. If this area has been set in a slight medieval era, then... How was his companion, let alone his weapon set in a futuristic theme?! If there was anything that would make sense in the slightest, then it sure hell wasn't this! Then again, if you think back to the introduction... Yeah, it's no use trying to get some sense in here. Juste shoved his hands in his pockets and gave his eyes the time to examine his so called 'companion' once more. A robot, and it didn't really seem to know... Anything! Just a statue of cold hard metal plates, great...

Juste just thought this robot might be the silent type, but he was far from it. The introduction was different from how he would have done it, a blunt straight forward introduction. 'Cybrax, robot warrior at your service.' It amused Juste how for the first time, someone took the time to introduce himself, or rather itself to him. Let alone the 'At your service' part, which seemed slightly odd. Figures, robots were made to serve and protect mankind. At least it was different from his very own reaction. 'Juste...' was all he could blurt out, not even taking the chance for a proper introduction. Maybe Juste had something on his mind? Then again, what was the last time he didn't have something on his mind? The robot would serve as a great companion, he hoped... First Juste should try and examine his current level, if this really is a game, then it would be best to start practising with the weapons you have.

He lifted his weapon in the air, taking a close look at the decorations. The blade looked like it was made out of various metal plates each and every one of them had a slightly lighter tint grey. Clearly they weren't all from the same source , like they had been melted together as a puzzle. The lines had been marked with a red-ish colour and they all seemed to move towards a red orb looking thing in the centre of the blade. The hilt was decorated with a red lint and at the edge of the hilt was a long tail of chains that would hit the ground when the weapon is lowered to Juste's side, maybe a better understanding of this weapon would help in getting used to this world? Or at the very least being able to protect from anything that looks remotely dangerous. "So, what'ya think...? Surely they wouldn't have created you for shits and giggles. If you have some information in that head of yours, I would be very pleased if you told me some basics." Juste lowered his weapon to his side and the tail of chains bumped on the ground, making a small cloud of dust rise from it, his eyes staring into 'his'. Well, seeing it was a visor of some sort, Juste thought it would be his eye.

"So, what'ya think...? Surely they wouldn't have created you for shits and giggles. If you have some information in that head of yours, I would be very pleased if you told me some basics."

A dull glow flickered from within the visor as Cybrax retrieved the appropriate data. "As you already know, this is the Nonsense Game. What you probably have yet to discover is that not everything is as it seems to be. For example, you may want to replace the word 'impossible' with 'very improbable'." After saying that, he decided to run a quick system check, just in case something... very improbable had happened during the time in which he was created.

>RUN: SYSTEM_CHECK.exe

Starting program...

...

Armour strength: 100%
Sensor strength: 100%
Mobility: 100%
Central processing: 100%

All systems stable.

Looking around, Cybrax continued talking to Juste. "The immediate area is under protection from any and all enemies. There are also Challenge Gates here which you can use to get used to your combat techniques and fighting skills. Remember, I will be here to assist you and provide fire support should it be necessary." He held out the laser pistol for his User to inspect.

After this, Cybrax just stood there, awaiting further instructions...

Carmen rubbed her head, there was a sharp pain in the back, probably from when she fell. She stood up, her legs shaking from dizziness, and tried to stable herself on a tree.
"Where on Earth am I?" She asked, inspecting her arms and legs to make sure she hadn't injured herself. She tended to do that a lot. She turned to the boy who was next to her. He seemed to be sleeping, and she didn't want to leave him all alone.
Carmo checked her pepper spray ring to make sure she hadn't broken it, it was fine.
Then, she looked at the boy. He seemed about her age, with silvery blue hair and tan skin. He was handsome and had silky looking clothing on, with blue markings on his arms and face.
"You must be my guardian," She whispered, touching his arm, "I feel like I know you." Carmen felt some sort of connection with this boy, as if she had seen him in a dream or something.
His face was so peaceful as he laid there. The forest seemed eerily quiet, and it was unsettling. She sat down next to him, bringing her body as close to his as possible, he made her feel safe. Not so alone.

Arch rubbed his hand over his face, blinking rapidly. He pushed himself slowly to his feet, thinking about how that had all come about. The Nonsense World? What is that? And who was that crazy guy, the er...Orchestrator? Arch looked around, studying the place where he landed. It was in a forest, a quaint little place, a bit dim, but nice. Arch could also hear the sounds of something breathing. That freaked him out a little.
"Hello?" Arch called out, a little uncertain.
There was no reply. Arch stumbled around a bit, his feet catching on roots hidden in the underbrush.
"Who is there?" He called, louder this time.
He had a fleeting thought that maybe what ever it was that was breathing might be asleep and he didn't want to wake it or what ever else lived in the forest, but it was too late. The breathing sound was gone. Instead there was a light sound, like someone walking but much too soft. Arch's heart pumped madly, and his pupils dilated with fear. what ever it was it was coming for him. Arch started to back up, pushing his long red hair, sticky with sweat, out of his face, and tripped. He let out a loud surprised sound as his back hit the ground.
"Oh, sorry, did not mean to make you fall." Said a breathy but distinctly male voice, from the same direction as the soft crunching sounds.
Then an interesting creature stepped out of the gloom. He was a little taller than Arch, about six foot two, and it was very thin. Arch recognized him instantly.
"Eos!" he cried, scrambling to his feet. "How did you get here? You are just a figment of my imagination." Arch took a hesitant step forward and started examining his new companion.
--
Eos was wearing a loose shift like tunic with a leather strap across one shoulder so his eye tattoo was revealed. It was the pride and joy of any Kämier. He allowed Archer to touch his hands, his face, and unfolded his wings to let Arch examine those too. It made him feel like animal preparing for slaughter, but Archer seemed so excited. Eos figured he could tell Archer what he knew while he bounced around like an eager child, his green eyes flashing gleefully.
"I am your companion." Eos said as Archer bent his wing to watch his back muscles ripple and his shoulders expand. "I am here to help you with the nonsense game and provide help when you need it." His voice was oddly breathy, and he did not like the sound of it, but his mouth wasn't shaped to say these words. He closed his grey eyes and sighed, for now Archer was poking his chest where the tattoo was.
"Do you mind?" He asked, just a little grouchy.

As Leo slept he shifted bumping in to carmo it startled him enough to rouse him from his slumber " huh.... "he said half asleep as he sat up as the sunlight shone in his face lighting up his blueish hair" I'm sorry did i take your spot." he said looking at carmo then slowly starting to wake up." wait where are we...oh how rude of me." by now fully awake." my name is Leo miss." he said with a smile and a small but heartfelt laugh."now i remember. welcome to the nonsense game I'm your companion Leo. I'm sorry for falling asleep like that when i first wake up it's kinda like memory loss for about five seconds or so" as he finished speaking he was rubbing his head in kind of a heart felt apology. "so where to. I'll follow you to the end."

"Follow me? Are you some sort of stalker?" Carmo laughed, she offered her hand to Leo, "My name is Carmen, call me Carmo."
She looked at him, he seemed really nice, not someone she should be afraid of, more like a new friend. "So, it seems like you know a lot more about this place than I do...All I know is that this is some sort of game that we're in."
She rubbed her head, again, it was starting to sting in the back where she had hit it. "Do you wanna go explore this place? By the way that guy was talking, it seems like there are more people here than just us. Lets go find 'em."
She began to walk off, believing that she heard talking from this direction.
Carmo finally found what she was looking for, there was a red head guy talking to another guy who had a tattoo.
"Hi, my name's Carmo. Are you as clueless as I am?" -she turned to where Leo should be behind her- "Leo! I found people, over here!" She called, not too loud, just enough for Leo to hear her.

Somewhere in the forest, there was a small ball of dragon, just laying on the ground. He had woken up from one weird dream, only to find out that the man called the Orchestrator was real after all. Now, he was laying face down to the ground; tail limp and eyes forward. He was a little confused at the moment as to why the trees were so tall, as they seemed to tower over him more so than usual. Even the grass seemed bigger. He rolled over and sat up, only to realize that his hands didn't exactly look normal. Instead, they seemed like poorly draw wings. He pulled them to his view, only to realize that they were wings. His oval eyes widened with shock. Why did he had wings? He looked out to his feet, as he was sitting now. They were very large... And clawed... And... Not normal. He looked around suddenly realizing that he had turned into a tiny, armless dragon. He gave a scream, hearing his voice only made him want to cover his nonexistent mouth. It was so annoying...

Slowly, the little dragon began to understand that this wasn't some sort of crazy dream... It was real, or at least sort of. This Orchestrator guy must have something to do with his tiny balled up, dragony ways. He stuck one foot out to try to walk, only to topple back on his face. He wiggled and pushed himself up with his wings. He sat back down and began to pout. This was degrading. Slowly he stood again and began to walk a little, learning how to compensate for lack of legs and gain of feet. Soon, he found himself hopping as though he were a kangaroo. He gave a small laugh. This wasn't so bad... Suddenly, he slammed into something and fell on his tail. Luckily, it worked as a perfect spring to put him back on his feet. He looked up at the what he had bumped into and angrily yelled at it.

"Hey! Watch where you're-" He paused looking up at the massive man. Wasn't that... Him? That was certainly what he look like, only he didn't remember having horns, a tail, and scales. "Why are you in my body?!" He cried. The figure tilted its head to the side and spoke in a rather strange voice.

"&SD5@ D@#!JD Todd." It said and smiled slightly. It pulled out what appeared to be a card with the little dragon, Todd's name on it. Todd stared at the card. It had welcome written beautifully on the front, but the rest of the card was written in Fochen. Wait, why did this strange man (who looked exactly like him) know Fochen? The figure smiled and pointed to himself.

"!S@3 Simon." Todd looked over the figure with a slightly skeptical glance.

"You're name is Simon, huh? Alright, Simon, why do you have my body! And why am I this little dragon! And why can't I have my body back..." He ended the sentence with a loud whine. Simon scratched his head and looked at Todd as though he didn't understand, before going into more Fochen. Todd listened to the man, a little confused by his own language, but soon managed to figure out what he was saying.

"My companion? Alright... That's sounds dandy. What's up with the megaphone?" Todd asked. Simon looked at the Megaphone of %@A#4 and slowly began to explain that it was his weapon. Todd seemed a little disappointed by the weapon choice and began to go on a small rant about how he wanted a weapon. Without warning, Simon picked up the Megaphone and screamed into it. Todd looked a little scared for a moment, when suddenly a book fell from the sky and hit him on the head. It was a heavy book, about the size of two rather fat cats. Todd squirmed out from under the book and looked at it. The title on the front said "The Fochish Book", which Todd assumed must mean the book was written in Fochen. Oddly enough, all the pages were blank though. Todd turned to Simon with a scowl.

"What am I supposed to do with this? There's nothing to read and I don't have any hands... What happened to your shirt?!" Todd stared at Simon, who's shirt had randomly disappeared while Todd had been looking at the book. Simon scratched his head and shrugged before pushing his glasses up.

"!89SD@ #J@23@ AWEN!^3 Todd!" He paused for a moment and looked at his shirtlessness. "And I don't know." Todd felt a happy wave run over him when he heard the Enlgish, but Simon's suggestion wasn't the best.

"I can't hit people with it, I have no hands." Suddenly, the large book began to float behind it's master. Todd stared at it with a rather confused look to his oval eyes. This was really weird.

"Ok... Companion... Simon shirtless megaphone man... Let's get this Nonsense Game, or whatever that fruit with the stick called it, over with."

"carmo a beautiful name." Leo said with a smile as he started to stand up. " hey don't wander off to far." he said as he chased after her his hair glimmering in the sunlight. " no unfortunately i don't know much." he said as he looked in to the forest ahead where he had heard something like talking." yes id love to. but what was that." he thought as he was getting closer to carmo. he stepped on and snapped a small branch. just as he heard her speak. making him jump." I'm sorry my fault." he said holding his hands up in guilt.

Carmo smiled as Leo came into view, "Leo, you don't have to apologize."-she looked back at the others in front of her- "I'm going, now."
She turned around and grabbed Leo's wrist. "Leo, let's go see if there are others around here, okay?"
Once again, she rubbed her head with her open hand, she still felt a bit dizzy, and the pain wasn't subsiding. But, she figured that if she kept walking, it might feel better.
As she walked, she found another pair. One was a guy, and another was this little dragon thingy. She ran up to them, and smiled.
"Hi, I'm Carmo. Do you guys know anything about this place?" She looked to them both, her purple eyes flashing back and fourth between the two.
"Oh, and this is my companion, Leo."

Eos looked up when he heard a twig snap. He had rather good hearing for a creature with out ears. He could feel the vibrations, and those translated into words. He put a hand out and hushed Archer, who was examining his wing scales. Let's go see if there are others around here, okay?
He heard. Archer looked up too. he had heard the voice as well.
'People.' He mouthed at Eos.
Eos nodded. Of course there would be people, hadn't the Orchestrator said that? Eos blinked when Archer motioned that they follow who ever owned that voice, and followed, making not a sound.
--
Arch on the other hand, was making plenty of noise, He wasn't good at walking stealthily. Several times he stumbled and found Eos's cool hand on his shoulder, keeping him steady. Eos seemed to be having no problem walking silently, but that was probably because of the gas in his scales that was lighter than air and helped him to fly. After a bit of walking, they heard the voice again.
...anything about this place?
Arch shot Eos a glance, asking what he should do. Eos shrugged, and Arch sighed and kept walking. Well, shuffling through the leaves more like. when he got closer he kept hidden behind a tree, not by his own choice, but because of Eos's strong hand keeping him back.
"We need to evaluate their threat level." he whispered in Arch's ear.

Changing 'impossible' with 'very improbable'? That was some... Lame information. Okay, partially lame then but still, like Juste hadn't figured out you should prepare for the unknown, or in this case the imposs- very improbably. He sighed slashing his weapon at thin air, amazing how quick it was comparing it with the actual weight. Maybe the game made it so? A small feint buzzing sound came from Cybrax, Juste quickly turned his head and squeezed his eyes looking at the now dimly glowing visor on Cybrax's head. What the hell is he doing? Good thing it is too dim to get noticed anyhow. Not to mention, what would you notice? A dimly lit blue-ish light? Or a giant robot... When it seemed his companion was done Juste shook his head and shrugged.

"So, you said something about Challenge Gates? Interesting..." He paused to absorb the weapon that almost literally got shoved in front of his nose. A laser gun? I wonder how much power that thing would have... Maybe those gates will answer it for me. When the robot retracted his gun Juste looked back up again, did his companion show any emotion whatsoever? Or was it just a huge block of metal plates with an artificial brain? "At any rate, are you able to locate one of those gates? It is better to get started with getting familiar with you as my partner, and this sword as my weapon. Seeing how I got zero percent combat experience." The moment Juste let those words leave from his mouth he let out a deep sigh.

He turned around and started making slow steps into a random direction. I do wonder, what will these gates be like? Simple challenges? Or could it be real action combat? Not to mention, what the hell happens when you die in this game? Re-spawn? Revive? Guessing I am here with my real body... Sort of I think... Naah, I am probably just over-thinking this dying thing. Juste raised his weapon to let it rest on his left shoulder, as he did so the chains slammed into his back. A small grunt of pain left his mouth. Seems that is one of the reasons he would need to learn how to use this weapon as soon as possible. "You lead and I'll... Ughh... Follow..." Juste frowned, blowing away some of his blond hair that fell over his mouth. Time to get this thing started...

Suddenly, Carmo began feeling weak. She was more dizzy than before, and she started to faint. It was from hitting my head earlier, wasn't it? She thought as she began to black out, I should tell the others.
In a voice much like a whisper, she began to talk, "Leo...I hit my head...I'm blacking....blacking out...." The, everything went black, it was as if she was floating in sheer dark nothingness. Her consciousness left her, the last thing she remembers is hoping that someone had caught her...

((okay, so she's going to be out cold for the rest of the week, just carry her around places and stuff, see ya on Friday!))

leo smiled as he felt carmo's hand on his wrist and he couldn't help thinking that hey this might not be that bad. as the pushed forward untill he heard carmo say something and by the time he opened his eyes again she was falling.using the grip that she had on his wrist as a guide he grabbed her whist and spun her in to him." carmo...great some companion i am." he said with a sigh as he picked her up and started carrying her off. thinking hope there is a river nearby. as he continued walking. trying to find either a small clearing or creak.

Watching his User wander about made Cybrax wonder what he was thinking about. Most likely why he was brought here. Couldn't blame him, really...

"You lead and I'll... Ughh... Follow..."

With a nod of acknowledgement, Cybrax walked in the direction that Juste was about to go. He didn't exactly know where the Challenge Gates were, but he was certain that one would be located sooner or later. You just had to keep wandering around until you found something...

After a few minutes, Cybrax considered himself fortunate to have feet that didn't make too much noise with each step; they had come across what looked like a clearing with several different people - no doubt other Users and their Companions - dotted around. He quickly crouched in a nearby cluster of bushes, motioning for Juste to do the same. Scanning each face present, adding the visual data to his memory banks, there were a few individuals of noteworthy obscurity; the tiny dragon-thing that squeaked in an indignant manner, the unconscious girl and the two strangers at the other side of the clearing who could only just be seen among a large patch of ferns. What would their reaction be to seeing him and Juste? Cybrax decided to evaluate the available options...

Option_01: Await futher orders from User. (98% relevance)
Option_02: Break cover and introduce self. (75% relevance)
Option_03: Attack unknown Users/Companions. (32% relevance)
Option_04: Self-terminate. (0% relevance)

He decided to go with the most relevant plan. "Juste, it is your choice on what action we should take. Shall we wait here or introduce ourselves?"

The forest was vast, beautiful decorated with large trees, here and there some bushes and Juste was more then certain he could hear a river flow in the direction he and Cybrax were walking. If you would scratch the thought that all of this was created by a mad man who wanted his game tested by, well, Juste? He did mention others roaming around this world... 'Rule number five in this world; avoid all human contact at all cost.' It surprised Juste how silent his companion could walk, even with a possible weight that is comparable to a truck. Or maybe a car, no time for exact data on a robot's weight as that wasn't the point here. The point was survival, gathering knowledge, information.

Juste turned around only to find his companion to be in an eavesdropping position. Watching closely from the bushes, and it motioned for Juste to join him. Curious... What could be so important that we stop dead in our tracks? When Cybrax pointed at a group Juste turned his head and raised an eyebrow. Surprised they had found some users already, a bunch of non-organized kids. Even if Juste was a kid himself, this group seemed far too... Cheery, too obvious. A little dragon, thing that seemed to be speaking with a boy, or... Dragon boy? He didn't know what to make of that. Odd was probably the word Juste was looking for. Then there was the unconscious girl that was being carried away by a boy, long silver hair... A slight wolf-ish features? Then the last two, a fiery hair coloured boy with some random creature. Juste shrugged, cracking his neck in the process.

He did not want to choose between the options Cybrax gave him. What was the point? Sure, they weren't hostile. But what Juste wanted, they did not have, answers... He rose up from his kneeling position and motioned for Cybrax to follow him. "I have no use for them, they don't have the answers I need and I most certainly don't want to meet up with them. First things first, learning some basics. I don't know how to use my weapon let alone how to fight with someone like you, assuming that we are both going to fight in a hostile encounter... Now I ask again, can you gather any data on a nearby Challenge Gate?" For the first time, Juste seemed to have given a larger answer then usual, something amused him about his companion. Maybe it was the simplicity the robot had, or just its endless serving. I'll take a look into that later... For now, priorities. Challenge Gates... They are my first step into getting some information about this world. I hope...

Juste sighed once more, lowering his blade to his side, carefully this time. You never know how for sound can travel, and they were still within range of that group. "Well, let us go... There is no need to act all sunshine and rainbows when you are stuck in a mad man's world. Not to mention, there is no use to team up with people who have the same amount of knowledge as me. Not to mention, a large group making so much noise, so carefree is too dangerous. Too obvious. No, I am content with you as my partner." Juste turned around and slung his weapon over his shoulder, slowly continuing the road to wherever a Challenge Gate may be located.

Eos kept his hand tight on Archer's shoulder as he heard the sounds of two more join their midst. They didn't come out into the open, and Eos could not see them, but he could see them. Eos forced Archer lower, then crouched down next to him. He silently handed Archer the weapon he was meant to have. A quiver of two arrows, the one that had been hanging over his shoulder by a leather strap, and a bow. He motioned for Archer to stay silent, and pushed the weapons into his hands.
--
Arch looked at the bow with wide eyes. He started to say something, but Eos's expression told him that that would be a bad idea. Arch put the quiver over his shoulder and shifted it to a comfortable position. Then he examined the bow. It was a sleek thing, black and elegant.
Eos beckoned to Arch and they crept away, out of range of the other two.
"What did you do that for? I wanted to talk to them!" Arch said angrily.
Eos sighed. "They may have been hostile. that is why I'm giving you your weapon now."

"I have no use for them, they don't have the answers I need and I most certainly don't want to meet up with them. First things first, learning some basics. I don't know how to use my weapon let alone how to fight with someone like you, assuming that we are both going to fight in a hostile encounter... Now I ask again, can you gather any data on a nearby Challenge Gate?"

"Affirmative. There is a Gate not too far from our current position. In... that direction." Cybrax pointed to their left, which was in the direction of the sound of rushing water from earlier. He then got up to follow Juste in the indicated direction, towards a Challenge Gate. Although the probability of finding it would be roughly 63.8%, give or take a couple of decimal places, he decided to omit this little detail and keep moving.

Approximately twelve minutes of walking later, Cybrax could see the Challenge Gate in plain view, on a river bank. The Gate was a circle of boulders, each one with runes carved into them, as if they were used for rituals of some sort. He didn't let this fool him; there were no religious organisations within the Nonsense Game. Then again, there could be. You never knew...

"This is a Challenge Gate," Cybrax explained to his User "There are many of these scattered throughout the Game. This one is not very... challenging, since it is near the starting zone. It is little more than a single arena with some targets to decimate." He scanned the area around him, detecting no threats. Even though there were no enemies allowed here, what was there to stop a User and their Companion from attacking them? Well, there was the risk of suffering The Orchestrator's wrath as a consequence of breaking the rules, of course...

Expecting Juste to follow, Cybrax stepped into the circle. The forest seemed to melt away, replaced by something that resembled the Colusseum, albeit much smaller. The arena was littered with training dummies, some of which were even shambling around like they'd been possessed.

Raising his weapon, Cybrax calmly opened fire on a small group of the moving targets. Each crimson-coloured bolt of energy incinerated them one by one. When all of the group were nothing but an abnormally large pile of ash, blowing away in the slight breeze, he decided to await his User's next command.

As the gate came into view, Juste slowed his pace even more to absorb the giant creation. Runes had been carved in the rocks that stood in a circle, perhaps a religious symbol? Or it could just be a random inscription. 'Please do not set foot in here or a deadly curse might struck anyone nearby.' Yeah right, probably a curse that turns you into a chicken for five second, or some crap like that. When the gate grew closer Juste took a good look at each of the runes, absorbing their appearance. Perhaps they would need them in a later stage, or perhaps even in the challenge itself. "Nonsense game indeed, first we get a random introduction. After that my companion and weapon is both set in a futuristic era while the world itself is slightly medieval looking. And now these runes, what does this mad man want...?"

Focused on the runes Juste noticed Cybrax motioning for him to get into the gate. He rose up from his kneeling position and made his way into the gate, or portal... Which you prefer. A quick look if anyone was following them and both Cybrax and Juste would be off, learning. "No challenges, eh? Whatever, all I want is some techniques and some information about this world." In a split second both Juste and Cybrax got themselves in an arena of some sort, here and there were possessed puppets roaming around, to dumb to be some kind of threat. Though, better be on your guard, you never know what could hit you. Juste nodded in his thoughts, acknowledging the fighting spirit and skills Cybrax had. The robot would surely make a great companion.

Giving his eyes the time to absorb the area, Juste made his way to a few possessed puppets. The second he was just a few metres away from them, he lifted his sword in a clumsy and rookie-like way. With luck, Juste was able to hit one of the dummies and cut its hand from its body. The two dummies that were left started moving more smooth, ready to attack Juste who was trying to figure out what he just did and examining the struggling dummy who was now grabbing on his feet. "Tsch, now that isn't really fair is it?" Not knowing what he should be doing, Juste slammed the dummies head with the chain that was attached to the end of the sword's hilt. A small crack grew on the dummies head and it became motionless.

Too late. Juste couldn't react to the two dummies behind him who now slammed into him. With a feint grunt Juste was knocked onto the ground, and withot hesitation the two dummies jumped on him to prevent a counter attack. "You'd think these things are brainless!" Juste mumbled through his pushing and shoving of the dummies. "Get off!" He punched one of the dummies heads which seemed to give in and made room for Juste to crawl away from the other one. "Oi! Cybrax! A little laser would be nice!" Juste yelled out as he once more got pushed to the ground. At least I know my starting level now... He tried fending them of by blocking their hands with his sword.

Todd gave a rather strange yell as two new figures walked up. The booked lifted higher in the air as if he was about to hit them, but then he stopped. They didn't seem like threats of any sort. The little dragon watched as the girl walked up to his companion and began to talk to him. He then began to wonder if this would happen often. It seemed they thought that Simon was the user and that, being a little dragon, Todd was the companion. A angry mark appeared on his head as Simon stared at the girl. Simon gave a strange, backwards sounding scream and attempted to hide behind the one foot tall dragon user. Todd stared at him and grumbled,

"What the heck was with that?" Simon began spouting off what sounded like complete randomness and Todd's eyes turned into horizontal lines. He sighed and spoke in a rather low version of his voice, "You're scared... Of talking to girls? There is no way that you are a part of me." Simon gave a strange whine and Todd just shook his head. He looked up the girl to introduce himself, but she suddenly passed out. He stared a little confused. When what appeared to be the girl's companion picked her up and wandered off with her, a sweat drop just appeared on Todd's head.

"That was weird..." He looked at Simon to speak a little more, but the dragon man was glancing the other way. Todd walked over to him and began to poke him with his tail, but Simon was still staring into the trees.

"!NK#2S !J%Q2 O3@..." Simon spoke the words in a rather serious way, and Todd just stared before finally replying with, "Ok, I'm pretty sure that was just gibberish." Simon turned to his little dragon user and made a rather frustrated face. He then reached down and grabbed the little dragon from his tail. Todd began to squirm and yell rather random things as he attempted to get free of Simon's grasp. Without warning, Simon chucked his user into the forest, at the two figures he saw watching them. The two were leaving at the time, so Simon had to throw Todd in order to get him there in time. Unfortunately, Todd did not understand this.

"Simon you are an ass!!!" Todd screamed as he through the air at a rather high speed. He then remember his wings and spread them. Now, that worked, as he managed to glide over to the people Simon had thrown him at, but, he didn't exactly fly or know how to stop. So when he reached them, he flew over them and slammed into the tree in front of them. He slid down the tree, eventually landing upside down on the ground. He had swirls for eyes for a moment as he spoke something involving birds. He finally managed to regain control of his sight and looked up at the two before him. One had arrows, the other wings. He looked at the one with wings and grumbled.

"Tell me Simon didn't kill me, and that you aren't the angel sent to reap my soul from my body and drag me away to Hell." His eyes turned into horizontal lines again. Simon quickly caught up with his user and began to yell.

"@J$2J #$KL2 !8J -.-...." Todd turned to him with a slightly angered expression. He rolled over and used his tail to get him on his feet again. He stormed over to the dragon man and began to swing the Fochish book at him furiously.

"They're could be enemies? You could be an enemy! You threw me into a tree you moron! I ought to strangle you! In fact, I would if I had any hands!!!" Simon gave a very sad face, allowing himself to be hit in the shin by the book, which shockingly, knocked the seven foot tall dragon man onto his back. Simon got up a moment later; rubbing his head and making a rather childish expression. He then looked to the two standing not far away. He held out a hand and some folded paper and scissors appeared. He turned around for just a moment before turning around and unfolding the paper into a chain of paper dolls. He smiled at the two.

Eos made a sound of surprise when a small object flew towards them. Archer jumped back and ended up falling over onto his back, the bow out in front of him. As he regained his balance, Eos stared curiously at the thing, a dragon. Or at least, that is what Eos guessed it was. It started muttering something about birds, then it noticed them.

Tell me Simon didn't kill me, and that you aren't the angel sent to reap my soul from my body and drag me away to Hell.

Eos raised one eyebrow and put out a hand to help Archer up. Archer clasped it and as he regained his balance, stared at the creature. Archer opened his mouth to ask what exactly was going on, but at that moment another creature entered the scene and started yelling things in what seemed to be gibberish. The little dragon began to hit him, yelling comprehensible things at the taller man, who seemed to be half dragon, and knocked him over. Eos blinked, and the Man was upright again, holding a piece of paper and some scissors.
--
Arch watched the going-ons with an air of confusion about him. When the taller man, who Arch assumed to be the User, turned around and held out the chain of paper dolls, Arch said, "Um...Who are you? Why did you throw your...er...dragon at us?"
Eos sighed, and Arch looked at him. "What?" He asked in a whisper.
"That one is not the User, he is the companion. The other one is the one who can speak English evidently, thus is the User." He said in his breathy way.
"Oh." Arch said, turning his gaze to the small creature. "Well, who are you and why did your companion throw you at us?" He fingered his bow, not because he was ready to use it, but because the sleek wood had a nice feeling on his fingers. It was sleek and soft, almost as if it was furry, but not.

"Oi! Cybrax! A little laser would be nice!"

Turning around, Cybrax saw two of the training dummies had pinned Juste down. He couldn't use his laser on them; the risk of hitting his User by mistake was too great. Shaking his head in disbelief, he sprinted towards them, punching one of the dummies with so much force that it was sent flying into the arena wall. Picking up the remaining dummy, Cybrax ripped it in two and tossed the lifeless halves behind him.

Helping Juste get back on his feet, he noticed the dummy that hit the wall run back towards them, albeit at a more sluggish pace. "I am confident you will be able to finish this one off by yourself. It has been weakened so it won't put up too much of a struggle. Also, you might want to hold your sword with both hands for better control. Try to make good use of the chain as well; there would be a reason - however illogical that may be - that it is there."

Tharon shot up from his unconscious state, how long was he out? Were was he? Tharon rolled open to see the beast standing not so far from him, he said obvious angry "Tell me were I am now! Don't try anything!" The creature looked at him before hissing "Be quoit! I almost heard someone talking you fool!" Tharon was insulted and ignited in a even bigger rage "Well sorry! How could I now?! I can't read mind's you know?!"

Rage now snapped "It is your fault! Your fault! You little human!" Rage jumped on Tharon and tried to impale him on his claws but stopped him self "Be happy that if I kill you I die or you would be screaming for your mother now!" Tharon hit the snake on his face "Don't say anything about my mother!" Soon the two were screaming to the other and then rolling over the ground fighting until both were too tired to continue.Tharon was the first to try to say something not offensive "Well, let's be allies for the time being, tell me were are we?"

Juste rose up from the ground giving a soft 'Thanks.' to Cybrax. Staring at the dummies who were mostly just cracked and broken, Juste damned himself for being at this level, no excuse could make up for how weak he was. And for once, he was glad Cybrax was his companion. "You'd think you can only shoot things, but that was a rather powerful punch, yes?" A compliment, a rare thing for Juste to give, even more rare then giving his opinion on something. It surprised him as much that he didn't notice a dummy returning to him. A quick nod at Cybrax Juste grabbed his weapon, this time with both hands. A strong, steady swing would cut the dummies grabbing hands and with one last trust the dummies head cracked in two, rendering the dummy motionless, dead.

"Heh, that somehow worked. Seeing how everything is pretty much... Done, time to move forward? Supposedly this arena could have some information. I do hope so." After a long response Juste turned to the giant robot, waiting for his response.

Rage said with the annoying hissing tone of disgust "The nonsense game you fool! Were probably going to die if we don't do what the orchestrator wants! challenge gates and all that madness is what he wants of us. Do you hear what I am saying maggot? Your going to die!" Tharon laughed and gave the snake a comment "Probably yes, and your going with me, am I right?" Rage hissed from frustration "Don't think about maggot! I am going to live out of here!" Tharon responded before walking away "Well than we should work together." Rage's tale came on the side of a three and made is shake from the force of the impact before he followed. They then stopped suddenly because they heard something so they slowly left the area "Were is one of these gate's?" Tharon said it calmly but his companion responded angry "Don't be so full of your self maggot! There are scattered around this area we will see one when we see one!" They began to argue again about who's fault it was when Tharon almost tumbled over one. It was a simple hole in the ground only recognizable as a challenge gate because of a small glow. Tharon looked at it and tried to pass trough it but it was too small "What nonsense is this!" `Rage replied mocking "A nonsense game maybe?" Tharon still tried to make his way trough the hole, Rage was about to make another mocking comment but the ground seemed to just open and Tharon fell right into it being followed by rage that now was in full concentration.

They landed in a big hole and rage remembered the goal of this challenge gate "This one? This one is not a problem, the goal is to get out! How hard can that ever be? The orchestrator must think were fools." Rage tried to climb with his arms and legs but horrible slipped and landed on his back "I hate that guy!" They both jumped and grasped the earth only to fall back on the ground. Tharon landed on his back and then toughed the soil "Hey! Rage... how the heck do I know your name? Not important look at this!" Tharon had uncovered a switch, Rage nodded arrogant and Tharon pulled the small switch. The walls slowly began to move towards Tharon and rage, "We will be crushed! I Hate that guy!!" Rage exploded "You just had to pull that dammed switch! Maggot!" Tharon defended him self "Well you agreed!" "I nodded! That's not agreeing! Learn a little communication!" Then Rage had to pull his tail in because the walls closed in on them "We need to get out of here climb on my back Maggot!" Tharon jumped on Rage's back and then rage began to jump from wall to wall reaching the end just before the walls hit closed. Tharon laughed "Just like in the movies! Well done!" Rage was quoit for the difference and he screamed wile turning and finding his tail still stuck between the walls. Tharon sighed wile Rage grabbed his tail and tried to pull it out "Just like in the movies, a bad nonsense movie." He helped Rage and together the pulled the tail out and they fell backwards from the momentum. "So were is our reward?" Tharon looked to the skies thinking it would come from there but nothing came. He then looked to the by walls closed hols and found something written on it "Not a challenge!" Rage and Tharon together exploded in anger because of this joke that just seemed unfair in there eye's.