Lily229

Lily ignored the offer not wanting to make the situation awkward. “Where are we going anyway?”

“To the spam zone to chat with some people. Don’t be so antsy, I don’t bite.” Mini flashed her teeth, but keeping her gaze straight. She walked as if the world should revolve around her, she walked as if she had power. Mini stopped and looked at a girl wearing a bright yellow shirt. She let go of Lily’s arm and cupped her hands over her mouth. “Nice shirt!” She yelled at the girl standing not a few inches from her.

“Excuse me?” asked the girl.

Mini continued to shout loudly. “Sorry, but that shirt’s so loud I wasn’t sure if you’d be able to hear me or not.”

Lily stood there watching all of this wide-eyed. This girl’s insane, she thought.

The girl glared at Mini, she obviously towered over Mini. Mini put her hands on her hips and cocked her hips to one side. “Well?” she said impatiently, tapping her perfectly shined shoe.

The girl’s cheek turned a bright pink as she turned on her heels and stomped off in the opposite direction.
Lily looked down at her arm. Mini was no longer holding onto her, she thought that maybe, she should make her run for it now, but Mini was quick. She snaked her arm around Lily’s and continued her stroll. “Sorry about that,” she said, waving to some people as they passed. They must to have known her too because they waved back. “People with no fashion sense really bug me is all.”

“It was still pretty mean.” Replied Lily.

“Yes, but it got my point across. Here we are!” They stood in front of a long hallway, at the end of it was what appeared to be a tiny room. Lily debated on pushing the girl down and running away, she had to go back and meet Sakura. “This is the Spam Zone. Quite and interesting place, and Shino just recently added it on.”

When they entered the tiny room, Lily was amazed. What was thought to be a tiny room was just a small portion of a gigantic room. Hundreds upon hundreds of tables and empty, carpeted space stretched out beyond seeing range. The place looked bigger then the Forum building itself, maybe even as big as the town. Lily looked up to see a second floor topped with bookshelves and other delectables that she couldn’t see from her point of view. “Book shelves?” asked Lily.

Mini nodded as she began to guide her to the back of the room. “They are filled with books, movies, manga, anything you can think of. Every topic known to mankind is in that library upstairs. But, only nerds go up there so it rarely gets used much.” Lily had to duck as Mini shot up her arm to wave at some people in the back of the room. “There are the girls. Come on!” she said as she yanked on Lily’s arm.

As they approached, Lily recognized the two girls sitting at the table. It was Tenten and Ph3. Ph3 was apparently painting Tenten’s already painted nails with a second color of darker green. Ph3 looked up and smiled. “Hey Lily.”

Lily smiled and returned the wave. “Hey Ph3. What’s up?”

Tenten pointed at Lily. “Hey! I remember you from yesterday!”

Ph3 slapped Tenten’s hand away. “You’ll mess up the coat and it’s rude to point.”

Tenten stuck out her tongue. “You’re so mean, Ph3.”

Mini looked over her shoulder and smiled. “Well, it looks like we have another guest.”

“Huh?” Lily turned her head and her mouth dropped open. Shino was slowly approaching them, the blank stare was back on his face. “Oh shit, Shino.”

“Relax. I invited him here.” Mini walked over to Shino and put her arm around him. “Isn’t that right grandpa?”

Shino didn’t reply. He walked straight for a chair and sat down, continuing to stare straight ahead of him.

Tenten’s cheeks grew pink. “Ummm…..hi Shino.” Inconspicuously, Tenten slid her chair closer to Shino, but Lily noticed. She waved a perfectly painted nail in front of his face but he made no reply. “Shino, come on wake up Shino!”

“He’s dead,” replied Lily. The others looked at her strangely as she slapped a hand over her mouth.

Instead of being angry, the girl’s laughed, especially Tenten. “Yeah, yeah!” she cried. “Shino’s dead! Come on Shino, come back to life on us.” She said with a wide grin.

Ph3 poked him with the nail polish bottle, he made no move to stop her. “Holy crap, I think Lily’s right. Should we call a doctor?”

“Leave him,” replied Mini. “Perhaps someone will pick him up and we won’t have to deal with him anymore.”

“Aren’t you a nice one,” said Lily which had Mini curtsying.

Tenten began to poke his cheek with her index finger. “This is fun, feels like jell-O.”

“Ack. Tenten stop that you’ll make grandpa angry.” Replied Mini.

Tenten continued to poke. “Not until he comes back to life.”

Lily shook her head. “And I got dragged into this why?”

Lily heard a slight ding in her head. Mini looked over at her and smiled. “I can tell by that look on your face you just got a PM. The PM room is back beside the door. If it’s full, which it usually is, there’s plenty all around here.”

Lily nodded. “Thanks. How do I know who it’s from?”

Mini wagged a finger at her. “Silly Lily, you should have read the rules. Now you had better hurry up.”

Lily nodded and ran back toward the door. She just beat an older looking man there and occupied the last cubicle. She opened up the screen and checked her messages. There was one from Horus dated yesterday, she decided to open that one up first.

Lily,

Hey, I just thought I’d tell you that your sister stopped by the Forum today looking for you. You had better go and see if you can get her, she looked really worried. I figured I’d take you out to dinner tonight I already made reservations. Meet me at the main door in a half an hour and we’ll go. See you later, Lily.

~Horus

Lily’s heart sank. She saw a button that read ‘reply’ and pushed it. A small keyboard popped out just as it had in the Thread and she began to type.

Horus, I don’t know what happened last night but I’m sorry for anything I caused. You’re a really good friend to me, Horus. Please, please don’t be angry with me. But I won’t stop being friends with Daisuke, but I won’t bring him around you either. I want to be friends with both of you won’t you let me? PM me back, please.

~Lily

Lily clicked the ‘send’ button and watched as the keyboard popped back and the message vanish off of the screen. Her PM box screen popped back up and she read the next one. It was from a member named Nelson Kong.

Hello, my name is Nelson Kong but you can call me Nelson if you’d like. I saw you stand up to Shino and the other Mods today and I just wanted to condone you for it. I also checked out your Introduction Thread and heard you have a twin sister, that’s really cool too. What’s her name by the way? I hope that we can be friends Lily.

Lily smiled and clicked ‘reply’.

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Lily229

Hey Nelson, it’s nice meeting you. Where are you at right now? I’m meeting with a few people in the spam zone, perhaps you could drop by and say ‘hey’. Her name is….

Lily’s fingers hovered over the tiny keyboard. Her heart was beating fast. Exactly how many people knew of Rose? She chewed on her bottom lip as she continued.

Rose. Her name is Rose, and she’s my YOUNGER sister got it? Anyway, see you around the Forum Nelson.

Lily hesitated to hit ‘send’. How can this be? She thought. How could only telling two people get around so quickly? I thought I’d have more time then this. She let out a sigh and clicked the ‘send’ button. Her PM box screen appeared once again. In the bottom corner it showed the time. “Oh crap!” cried Lily, jumping up from her chair.

The doors flew open as she dashed out of the room. I’m late to meet Sakura. Thought Lily as she ran down the Spam Zone hallway and into the main hallway. She heard soft footsteps running toward her.

“What’s the big idea? Trying to escape or something?” said Mini coming up behind her. “I told you, grandpa won’t do anything to you.”

Lily shook her head. “No, I have a friend to meet and I’m running late. I’ll apologize later.”

Before Lily could leave, Mini grabbed her hand. “Do you really?” she asked, quietly. “Do you really have someone to meet?”

Lily raised an eyebrow at her and took her hand back. “Yes, I have to meet a friend of mine. What’s the big idea trying to stop me? Is this some kind of interrogation?”

Mini threw her hands up to her chest and stepped back. “Sorry. Go on, go meet your friend.”

“Thank you.” Said Lily as she began her dash to meet Sakura.

Mini watched Lily run away through narrowed eyes. Tenten ran up behind her. “Hey, where did Lily go?”

“Come on,” replied Mini, keeping her eyes on Lily. “She’s going somewhere, I want to make sure it’s where she says she’s going.” Tenten nodded and together they chased after Lily.

Lily slid on the heels of her feet as she turned the final corner. “Sak….!” She cried as she slid onto her side, landing hard with a thud. Sakura was in a ball by the window, her head in her knees. “Sakura!” Lily cried once more, making Sakura lift her head up and look at Lily.

“Lily!” she cried standing up and running over toward her. She bent down and helped Lily up onto her knees. “Are you ok?”

Lily dusted herself off. “Sorry I’m late, something came up and I lost track of time.”

Sakura looked at the ground and put on a soft smile. “It’s ok, I was worried that I had missed you. I had just gotten here as well. My mother made me stay home and do some chores for her before I could come back.” She looked out the window it was growing dark outside. “I wasn’t really suppose to come out here anyway, but I snuck out if only for a minute. Then I saw you weren’t here and I had thought I had missed you, and I…well….I…”

Lily blinked at her for a second then put on a soft smile. She patted Sakura’s head, making Sakura turn to face her. “You didn’t have to, I don’t want you getting into trouble Sakura.”

“But I wanted to come back, Lily!” she cried.

Lily shook her head. “No more buts. Now come on,” she said taking Sakura’s hand and lifting them both up to a standing position. “I’m taking you home and we’ll come back tomorrow and hang out.”

Sakura blushed and slid her hand into Lily’s. “Thank you, Lily.”

Lily flashed her a peace sign and smiled. “No problem, Sakura. That’s what friends are for.”

“I can’t believe you lost her, Tenten.” Replied Mini leaning against the wall. She had her right leg propped up and her arms crossed.
“Me?!” cried Tenten. “You’re the one who wanted to follow her in the first place.”

“Curiosity is one of my better features.”

“It also killed the cat,” she snapped. “I missed talking to Shino because of this. I was so close to making a break through too.”

“No you weren’t, Tennie.”

“Shut up.”

“What are you two doing?” asked Ph3 coming up behind them. She balled her hands into fists and put them on her hips. “Well?”

Mini smiled. “Just checking out the new girl is all. But Tenten over there lost her.”

“I didn’t lose her!”

Ph3 narrowed her eyes at them. “With how things are going now, stalking a member is not the smartest thing to do. People are already whispering about revolting, we don’t need anymore trouble you hear me?”

The girls nodded as Lily and Sakura turned the corner. “Oh, hey guys.” Said Lily.

Sakura took a small step behind Lily. Mini saw this and smiled. “Who’s the girl Lily?”

“This is Sakura,” she said with a big smile. “I’m taking her home. We can hang out when I get back.”

“No thanks” replied Mini, yawning. “It’s getting late and I’m hungry. Tenten and I are going to Ph3’s for a bit to hang out tonight. Stop by if you want to.” The three girls turned and began walking down the hallway. Without turning around, Mini stuck her hand in the air and waved.

Lily looked over at Sakura. “I didn’t see Shino with them, I wonder if he did die and they really did leave him there.”

“Shino died!?” cried Sakura.

“Not really. He just goes really quiet so we say that he’s dead, I guess.”

“Shino scares me.” Replied Sakura, quietly.

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Lily229

“He’s nothing but a big fluff-ball really. If he’d talk once in a while that wasn’t a death threat, maybe people would like him more.” Lily and Sakura shrugged together as they reached the door to the Forum. Lily took a step through the door, but Sakura grabbed her hand and stopped her from advancing any further.

“Thank you for today Lily, but this is where we need to part. I have to sneak back into the house so my mom doesn’t know I left, and I don’t want you getting caught.” Her lower lip was quivering slightly.

Lily lifted Sakura’s chin with her thumb and smiled. “No problem Sakura. Just send me a PM in the morning whenever you get here and I’ll do my best to get down here ASAP.”

Sakura smiled as soft tears fell from her eyes. She threw her arms around Lily’s waist and hugged tight. “Thank you so much for today Lily.”

Lily returned the hug and patted her back. “Hey, come on now. We’ll only be gone a few hours from each other. I promise Sakura.” She pulled away and stuck out her pinky finger. “I’ll always be here when you need me.” Sakura smiled and locked her pinky with Lily’s. Sakura nodded and ran past Lily and down the beaten path of trees. She stopped at the Sakura Tree and waved goodbye. When Lily returned it, Sakura turned once again and ran off home.

Lily looked up at the sky. The moon and the sun had just battled. The blood from both of them painted the sky with vivid colors of purples and reds. Lily watched as the sun retreated back to its hiding spot behind the earth as the moon triumphantly took over the sky. But as triumphant as that moon was, its wounds that would never heal continued to bleed. The moon would continue to fight this never-ending war, but Lily knew, in her heart, that the moon could never win. Not completely.

Lily spun around as a tall man stepped through the doorway. “You must be Lily.” He said in a booming voice. He had a slight Asian accent and had a big goofy smile on his face. His skin was a soft olive color and had dark black hair slicked back with hair gel. He reminded her of what a dad would like. A white polo shirt, tan pants and nice shoes. He had a Rolex on, Lily noted, as he stuck out his hand to her. “You told me to meet you in the Spam Zone. I was already there and saw you dash out of the PM Room. I was just walking by when I saw you leaving with that one pink headed girl.”

“Oh, you must be Nelson Kong.” said Lily, taking his hand and shaking it. He had a firm grip, like that of a businessman who had done this several hundred times before. “It’s nice to meet you Nelson Kong.”

“Please just call me Nelson.” They released hands. “Well lets go back inside the Spam Zone and chat hmm?”

Lily nodded as they both stepped back inside. “That sounds nice." They walked back to the Spam Zone and sat down at a table. “So Nelson, been here a while?”

Nelson nodded. “Almost a year now.”

“Living by yourself?”

“No, I have a wife and a daughter, just born a month ago.”

Lily put her hand to her heart. “Awww...Babies are so cute. I love kids, just don't want them."

"She is a handful but she's really worth it." He twiddled his thumbs. "I didn't get a good view of today’s performance was in the back, but I must say, what you said really made sense. Aren't you scared they might try something?"

Lily cupped her hands in her lap and stared at them. "No, not really. I can sense bad people, and they're not bad. I'm sure they have good intentions but are just going about it all wrong. At the time, I didn't really think of the consequences. I just saw someone in trouble and jumped into action. It just came so natural."

Nelson winked at her. "I think you'd make a great Mod one day, Lily."

Lily looked up and blushed. "Me? A Mod? I doubt that will ever happen."

"Never say never Lily."

A soft ding rang in Lily's head. "Excuse me, Nelson." She said standing up from the table. "But I think I have a PM."

Nelson nodded and stood as well. "Lets continue this tomorrow. I have to be heading home to my wife."

Lily and Nelson shook hands once more. "I look forward to talking to you again, Nelson."

"Hopefully next time it will be a bit longer."

He waved from behind as he walked out of the room. Lily walked into the PM Room next to the door, which was strangely unoccupied. She sat in front of the monitor and read the name of the sender. X.

"Another fan?" Lily smiled to herself as she opened the PM.

You will meet me under the Sakura Tree on the outskirts of NL.

"Under the Sakura Tree?" Lily pushed the 'reply' button but nothing popped out. The voice of the tollbooth lady popped in.

"The action you have requested has been denied. The member you are trying to send a message to is either not accepting them or their PM box is full. Sorry for the inconvenience."

Lily's eyes opened wide as the message deleted itself from the screen. "Ouch!" she cried as her left wrist began to burn. "What the hell is going on here?" She looked down at her wrist, as the burning moved from her wrist to her back. She arched her back forward as the burning sensation reached her scar. She bit down hard onto her lip as pain shot through her body. In a breath the pain ceased and a small tear drop of blood trickled down her chin. She wiped it off with the back of her hand and stood.

She looked over her shoulder as the doors to the PM room flew opened, beckoning her to step through them. A soft chill spread through her throbbing body as she stepped out of the PM Room into the Spam Zone. It looked like a ghost town, there was no one there but her. How convenient, she thought. She stepped outside as a harsh wind swept her hair up. She knew who had sent that PM, she knew who was calling her. "You want to play you bastard." She hissed at the wind. "Then lets play."

*cracks knuckles* Ima get to work on chapter 11 as soon as possible promise ^^. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

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Lily229

OK! SO HERE IT IS FINALLY!!! After all this time waiting >.<. I'll keep the intro short and just give ya the story. Hope ya like it ^^.

Chapter 11
Out on the streets of NL, the echoing of Lily's soft tennis shoes beating against the ground was the only sound around her. The clock tower above her read only 10:06 P.M. but the once busy streets were as deserted as the Spam Zone had been. "Creepy," said Lily as she slowed her run to a slow jog. The wind beat hard against her back, beckoning her to continue forward. Lily smirked and walked slower down the street. "I'll take my sweet time," she said. "Just to show you who's in control around here." She turned around to face the wind head on. "You got that? I will no longer jump whenever you snap your fingers." The wind ceased, but a soft hiss was heard around her.
She started to walk forward when she began to hear soft footsteps behind her. She stopped as did the footsteps. She narrowed her eyes and took a few more steps forward, listening for the sound. When she got far enough ahead, she heard the pitter-patter of the footsteps once again. She clenched her fists as she continued to walk. She spun around and screamed. "Come on out!"
A creature covered in shadows looked around frantically before ducking behind a nearby mailbox. Lily ran up to it and peered her head around it. The creature stuck its head out and their noses touched. "Sa....SAKURA?!"
Sakura's face was reddened as she fell back onto her butt. She looked up at Lily and gave her a nervous smile. "Um...H...Hi Lily."
Lily stuck out her hand and helped Sakura up. "What are you doing out here? Aren't you suppose to be in bed?"
Sakura shushed her. "I couldn't sleep, so I stared at the moon for a while, it reminded me of you. Then, like magic, I see you run past my window so I snuck out and decided to follow you. You looked really upset, I wanted to make sure you were ok." She fiddled with the hem of her pink pajama shirt.
Lily let out a breath she had been holding and smiled at Sakura. "You shouldn't have snuck out, Sakura. If you get caught, you'll get into serious trouble."
"I don't care about that! I wanted to make sure you were alright. Even now, you look pale..." Lily interrupted Sakura by patting her head. "Hey! I'm not some dog."
"Sorry but you are just so cute." Lily's smiled softened. "You really should go home though. I don't want you getting mixed up into anything dangerous."
"I knew it! Something is wrong." Sakura parted her feet and raised her fists. "If someone’s hassling you, you let me know."
"No one's hassling me," Lily chewed softly on her bottom lip, trying to figure out a plan. "You're not going to leave so easily huh?" Sakura shook her head which had Lily sighing. "Ok then, lets go."
Sakura smiled as she followed Lily down the street. "Where are we going anyway?"
Lily thought about how to word it, she decided with the truth. "There's a Sakura tree on the outskirts of NL." Sakura's mouth dropped open and she stopped walking. Lily stopped as well and turned to look at her. "What?"
"Why would you want to go there, Lily? The forest of Cherry Blossoms is a dangerous place. There's high class Virus's there."
"Are you serious?"
Sakura nodded, her eyes wide in shock. "We can't go there. Not even Tom goes there! It's an unexplored part of NC Territory."
"I have to go, Sakura. But I'll understand if you don't want to."
Sakura's stern face flattered. She shook her head violently and bared her teeth at Lily. "If you're going, then I'm going too."
"You don't..."
"I said I'm going and that's that!" Sakura put her hands on her hips and stomped past Lily. "Are you coming or not? I know the way."
Lily had to run to catch up to her. Even when she caught up, she had to do a steady jog to keep pace. "How do you know?"
Sakura turned her head and blushed. "I read a map and saw the location of Cherry Blossom. It's kind of a hobby of mine to read maps and explore places. In fact," Sakura reached into her pocket and pulled out a crinkled piece of paper. "On my way here, I had a map of the road connecting NC and NL and it had a few places mapped off of it. I traced it." She handed it to Lily.
"Wow, Sakura. You traced this?!"
"More like gazed at it and drew. Then I added details of rock formations and such that I saw along the way." Sakura fiddled with the hem of her shirt again. "You must think I'm dumb for having such a stupid hobby."
Lily stopped and hugged her. "Are you kidding?! I love you! Sakura you have an amazing gift of capturing landmarks and you've created a perfect map."
"I'm not that good..."
Lily stuck up her hand to stop Sakura. "This is perfect. We can explore the forest of Cherry Blossoms and you can be known for mapping an unexplored territory. We both win. Sakura, I don't know what I'd do without you!" She gave her another quick hug and skipped down the street.
Sakura turned and blinked at her, confused. "You're welcome?"
After signing out of NL at the tollbooth, Lily looked down at Sakura's map. "According to this we should head west from her...."
"Li....Lily..." Sakura stammered, slowly backing behind Lily.
Lily looked up at a boy standing in front of them. He looked about to be six feet and had long red hair covered by a red beanie with a black stripe on it. He had on tan cargo pants and a black hoodie. "You're late." his voice was raspy as if he hadn't spoken in years.
Lily narrowed her eyes. "Are you the one who sent the PM to me?"
The boy shook his head and turned his back on them. "Follow me." He walked into the forest. Lily started to follow him when Sakura grabbed her arm.
"Lily, I don't think we should go in there. We should go back."
"You can go back if you want to, Sakura. But there's a chapter in my story that I have to close. I have to...." Lily took Sakura's hand and gave it a soft squeeze. "Listen, you should go back. I'd never forgive myself if you got hurt because of this. Don't worry, I can handle this." Lily handed Sakura back her map.
Sakura's hand went limp as Lily slid her hand away. She trotted after the boy and out of Sakura's sight behind the trees. Sakura took a step toward the outline of the forest. The trees were thick, she couldn't see two feet ahead of her. Sakura fiddled with the hem of her shirt. "What if Lily's in trouble? Can she really handle it?" She clenched her fists. "I came out here to protect Lily, I won't run away now." She glared at the trees and gripped onto the map. "I'm going to the forest of Cherry Blossoms, and no fear is going to stop me." With shaking, unsteady legs, Sakura took a deep breath and plunged into the thick forest.

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Lily229

Lily walked close to the boy, the trees were so thick she couldn't see two inches in front of her. "Where are you taking me anyway? And if you didn't send me that PM then who did? Tell me, who are you?" The boy remained speechless and kept his eyes straight.
A few feet behind them, Sakura ducked and jumped over tree limbs. "I'm not getting anywhere!" She took a step forward and tripped on a tree limb. "Ouch!" she cried as she gripped onto her leg. She felt warm waves of pain shoot through her leg. She rubbed her fingers together and felt tiny droplets of blood and cloth from her pink pajama pants. "Stupid tree branch!" She slapped it hard with the palm of her hand and it gave a hollow thunk.
A small white blob fell from the top of the tree and unto her lap. Sakura sat frozen, staring at it, as the tiny blob vibrated slightly. A long floppy ear popped out from the white blob, followed by another one and whiskers. A small pink nose twitched out below beady little charcoal black eyes. Sakura scoop it up in her hands, soft velvet fur toppled between her fingertips. "A bunny?" She looked up at the tree from which it had fallen. "What on earth was a bunny doing up in a tree?"
Lily pushed a decaying tree limb from her path. "Look, how much farther are we from the sakura tree?"
The boy continued to press forward. "It's at the end of this path." He voice was steady.
"Yeah, I get that but where is the end?"
"In the opposite direction of the beginning."
"You're annoying you know that?" Lily snapped. The boy stopped and she ran into him. "What's the big idea!?" Lily looked up as soft glowing pedals sprinkled down upon her, bringing light to the darkened forest. Lily extended her hand to catch a falling one. She held it between her index finger and thumb. "A cherry blossom?"
"Welcome, girlie," said a cherry voice beside her. Lily turned to face the mysterious man. He tipped the rim of his hat to her and nodded to the boy. "Good job One, thank you for bringing her here."
One nodded and continued forward through the trees. Lily glared at the man. "So you're 'X'?"
The man pulled a piece of grass from the basket on his back and chewed on the end of it. "Aye. That's just my member name in NL. Simple yet mysterious don't you think?"
"I think it's dumb." Lily snapped.
"Where's that pink headed girl you were with earlier? It would sure be a shame if she decided to follow and get lost. Virus's here sure can be ruthless, especially the cute and fluffy kind. Poor thing might get torn limb from limb."
"What have you done with Sakura?"
The man chewed loudly on the grass. "Me? Personally nothing. Her life is not one I'm interested in."
Lily gripped onto his collar. He was much taller then her but she stood on the tips of her toes to get nose to nose with him. "If she's hurt I swear I'll...."
"Whether she's safe or not is not something me to decide nor be knowledgeable about." He grabbed the piece of grass in his mouth between his middle and index finger. He smirked. "If I was you, I'd be more worried about myself then what happens to some little girl." Before Lily could react, the man flicked the piece of grass at her, sending her flying several feet back. She flew through brush, debris exploding around her, until her back collided hard against a sakura tree trunk. She fell to her knees as sakura blossoms fell down around her.
Lily dug her nails hard into the dirt below her as her body rocked back and forth with the motion of the earth. She opened her eyes and looked around. She was in an opening, surrounded by cherry blossom trees. Lily sat back and gasped as tiny eyes appeared all around her. "Virus's?!"
The man walked into the clearing, chewing on another piece of grass and smirking. "Not quite."
Lily watched as never ending lines of people emerged from the sakura trees. Dark circles danced around their eyes as they glared at her. Lily pressed her back against the base of the tree and slid her body upwards. She gripped hard onto the tree, her head darting around wildly. "Who are these people?! What have you done to them?!"
"I've done nothing to these people," he moved the grass in his mouth from corner to corner of his smirk.
"Typical NL member, treating us like outsiders," said a female voice from within the crowd. The crowds parted and a tall woman step forward. She wore all black. Her long brown hair tide tight into a long skinny ponytail. She wore a shredded shirt, barely covering most of her body, with black strips of cloth dashing across her abdomen and lower back. The strips attached to her long leather pants. She wore boots, but the heels of her boots gleamed in the moonlight with death attached to them. Lily gasped as she noticed they were knives for her heels. The woman carried a guitar that hung loosely on her shoulders. The guitar was all black, the head of the guitar seemed to be crying, giant tear drops drooped off of the head. The mouth of the guitar was ringed with white followed by two dots on opposites side of each other.
Lily blinked at her. "Who are you?"
"My name is of no use to you." she snapped. She looked over at the mysterious man. "I thought you said Tom was coming. Who is this girl?"
The man flicked the piece of grass with his tongue. “She’s the one who called for that Class 5 Virus yesterday.”

The woman looked from him to Lily. “For real? So you're one of us?”

“Huh?” asked Lily.

“Are you with the NL Members or are you part of our village?” she asked again.

“Village? You mean….” Lily looked around her. “You mean there’s people who actually live out here? With the Virus’s? Isn’t that dangerous?”

The woman shook her head. “Are you truly that clueless?” woman nodded when Lily remained silent. "Let me tell you a story then." The woman pulled her guitar around to her front and, barely touching the strings, began to play a soft melody. “You see, when the land was first created it was created by Tom’s father.” Blue smoke danced from the strings and created small pictures in between Lily and the woman. Between them was a tall man smoking a silver pipe. “Our village was the first he created, it was created to be a medium between the supernatural creatures that lived here and humans.

“But then, everything changed once his children were born. He grew ill and would soon pass on. The ones to be his successors were his two sons, one of them being Tom.” Two more strings of blue smoke danced out from her guitar and stood next to the man.

One, Lily noticed, was a younger looking Tom. “No one knows exactly what happened to the eldest of the two brothers other then one day, poof.” The eldest brothers smoke copy vanished. “He was gone like a puff of smoke.”

The mysterious man chuckled and walked between the smoke, destroying the illusion. “They say he fell in love with a Virus and went mad. A Virus of extreme power that he could not control and it drove him to throw himself off of a cliff.”

The woman continued to play. “Though Tom showed little sign of remorse, the second that he was in power he wanted to change our Village. For years, we had lived a simple life, one with the Virus’. Then, he created NC and turned our once beautiful land into a metropolis.” The man stepped back as building after building popped up from the fog between them. “We were branded as what is know today as Hackers because of the mark we share on our backs. Our enemies, the Mods, were created by Tom to keep us in check. Tom feared a rebellion against us.”

Lily sat and watched as little figurines of people popped out of the fog, followed by buildings, trees, cars everything she had saw in NC and NL. “This can’t be true. Where did you get such facts?” she asked.

The woman stopped playing and narrowed her eyes. “This tale is told to every child in my village. Now I ask you, are you with us or against us?”

Lily starred at the ground. She shook her head violently. “I’m not on anyone’s side!” she screamed. “I’m neutral, I have no idea what the hell is going on. But I do know one thing.” She jabbed a finger at the woman. “You ma’am are an idiot.”

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Lily229

Soft hushes and gasps fell over the crowd. The woman hovered her fingers above the strings. “Excuse me?”

“You say you live in peace with the Virus’s and all that junk, yeah I get that. But to lug the innocent people of both you and NC into some stupid problem you have with this Tom guy is wrong. How do you know those facts are true anyway? Can’t things get mixed up over time?”

The man chuckled. “Don’t listen to her, Sakatsu. She’s obviously trying to say she’s on Tom’s side.”

Lily narrowed her eyes at him. “Are you the one who’s been filling these peoples head with lies and stories?”

“I’ve been filling them with the knowledge that I bring them. Can’t an old man tell his tale if he’s been here since day one?”

“Day one….” The thought of it all hit Lily like a ton of bricks. “Are you…are you T…”
Before Lily could finish her sentence, the man flicked the piece of grass that was in his mouth at her. It floated gently across the air and landed directly on her chest. The man smirked as he stuck another piece of grass into his mouth and began to chew.

Lily looked down at the piece of grass. “What the…..AH!” The grass exploded, pressing her body hard against the tree trunk. She felt the trunk give way and her back landed hard on pieces of bark and dirt. She sat up and gripped the front of her shirt to keep what was left of the cloth on. Her back was completely exposed and people around her began to gasp.

“Sakatsu!” cried a little boy behind Lily. “You’ve got to come see this! She has the Mark!”

Lily turned and looked at them confused. “What Mark?”

Sakatsu came up behind her and tossed Lily over her knee. She moved Lily’s hair back to expose the flesh. “Oh my God…”

Lily gripped hard onto the shirt to keep from exposing herself anymore. “Let me go damn it.” Her left wrist began to burn, the black rose charms pulsating.

Sakatsu pushed her off her knee and stared at her, her eyes wide in surprise. “How is it that you have the Hacker’s Mark?”

Lily stood up and dusted herself off. “What the hell is the Hacker’s Mark?”

Sakatsu stood as well, continuing to stare at her. “The Hacker’s Mark is a mark on the back between the two shoulder blades that depicts a Hacker.”

“What’s it do?” asked Lily which had a few people around her snickering.

“Do you know how a Virus is created Lily?” asked Sakatsu. “A Virus is created by a Hacker, depending upon how strong the Hacker is, is what determines how strong a Virus is.”

“So are you saying that, that Virus I tangled with yesterday was created by me?”

“It’s quite possible, which is why I had NightMare bring you here.”

“NightMare?” Lily looked over at the mysterious man. He had a corny smile upon his face as he waved at her.

Sakatsu carried on. “You’re an outsider, like me, so you must have a pretty strong Hacker’s Item to do that kind of damage.” She tapped her guitar lightly. “I’ve never seen anyone make a Class 5 before, especially not on their first try. My highest has been a Class 4, tops.”
A soft rumbling was heard around them. Everyone stopped and looked around. “Giddy up!” cried a high-pitched voice from above. A giant white blob appeared from the tops of the trees, it eclipsed the moon before landing with a hard thud against the ground.

“What the hell?!” cried the mysterious man.

Two long white floppy ears popped out from it’s head, followed by whiskers and a pink little nose. It looked so cute…so a second. Then, it bore its ugly yellow teeth at them, giving out a loud hiss, tossing green spit everywhere. It’s eyes were blood shot and dark yellow. A small pink dot poked it’s head from atop its back.

“Wha….Sakura?!” cried Lily.

Sakura didn’t seem to notice her. “I’m here to save you Lily!” she cried as she stroked the giant rabbit. “Ok, Roots! Lets find Lily.”

Roots jerked back and screamed loud into the night. The mysterious man stepped forward, glaring at her. “What the hell are you doing here?! You’re suppose to be dead!”

Sakura looked down at him, confused. “Hey, who are you? Where’s Lily?”

Lily’s heart beat fast as she watched the man pull another piece of grass from his basket. “That rabbit you’re riding was suppose to kill you,” he mumbled, sticking the piece into his mouth next to the other one.

Lily’s left wrist was burning with the hot intensity of the sun. “I have to save her, but I can’t let her see me like this.” She gripped onto a black charm bracelet as the man pulled the grass from his mouth. “Sakura!” Lily cried as she ripped off one of the black rose charms.

Pedals of deep blue light and energy swirled around her, engulfing Lily in unbearable heat. She felt her feet leave the ground, her loose hair hitting her face. She felt nauseous and closed her eyes as the swirls of colors licked at her body. When she felt the ground against the soles of her shoes she opened her right eye slightly.
The crowd, including Sakatsu, starred at her, stunned. "What the hell?"
Lily starred down at herself, she once again wore the dark skirt and vest. Her skin and nails gleamed beautifully in the moonlight. Lily was now in her Rose form, she didn't know what that meant but something told her everything was going to be ok.
The grass fell from the man's opened mouth. It's more beautiful then I could have ever imagined. Black Rose, I've never seen a fuller more perfect version of her. That girl did it, she actually perfected Black Rose!

Lily, now in Rose form, ran from behind the tree and took the opportunity to punch him while he was in his stunned state. "Come here you bastard!" She screamed as her fist collided with his face and he flew backwards, his grip slipped from the pieces of grass. She jumped back as the grass hit the ground and exploded. "Sakura!" Lily cried, shielding her own self from the blast. When the smoke had cleared she looked over to see the bunny had jumped Sakura to safety.

Sakura gasped at the girl standing a few feet from her. "Lily?" she whispered to herself.

Sakatsu stuck her hand in the air. "We leave now." The others behind her followed and moved back into the shadows of the cherry blossom trees. Before Sakatsu left she turned to Lily. "If you ever wish to know more, know that you are always welcomed in our village."

Before Lily could say anything, Sakatsu, too, disappeared into the shadows of the cherry blossom trees.

Sakura came up behind her, her hands on her hips, still riding the giant rabbit. "You look like Lily, but you're not her. Who are you? Where's Lily?"

Lily looked up at her, she had to suppress a laugh. It amused her to see little Sakura on top of a deranged rabbit. "I'm Rose, her twin sister." Lily chewed on her lower lip to think of a plan. "Lily never made it here."

"Then we have to find her!" cried Sakura.

Lily shook her head. "Nonono, I've already saved her. I told her to leave while she still can, yada yada you know the drill right?" Sakura looked toward the forest, uncertain. "Trust me, Lily's fine."

Sakura nodded and patted behind her. "There's room up here if you want a ride back to NL."

Lily was about to take up that offer when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the man getting up and running away. "Hey stop!"

Lily chased after him into the thick trees. She could just barely see the outline of him as she chased him. She reached out her hand and brushed his basket. He spun around fast, so fast Lily didn't have time to react and ran directly into his open arms.

He held her close, taking in her scent. "Wh...What are you doing!?" cried Lily trying to push him away.

"Rose, my Black Rose." he whispered.

What? thought Lily. She looked down at herself, she had forgotten what body she was in. She pushed back and slapped him hard across the face. "Are you him? Are you Tom's older brother?" she demanded.

The man remained silent, his head still turned to the side from the slap. "And what if I am?" he asked, still not looking at her.

"I don't understand, why would you want to start a war with these people and Tom? Why would you give me the bracelet?! Tell me damnit!" She grabbed his arm. "I'm not letting you go until I get some fucking answers."

It was too dark to see, Lily couldn't see the man reaching for another piece of grass until it was to late. A wave of water hit Lily hard in the chest and sent her flying back into a tree trunk. She felt a soft lump come up in her throat and felt her shirt starting to fall off once more. When she touched it, she realized she was back in her old body, her torn shirt and everything. She sat up, her body aching. She reached forward to steady herself.

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Lily229

A giant white blob appeared in front of her, just inches from her hand. She pulled it back quick as the rabbit tore the tree tops above to let in the moonlight. Before she could look up, someone threw their arms around her. "Lily!" Sakura cried as she hugged her tighter. "Where have you been?"
With one arm, Lily held up her shirt and the other hugged Sakura. "What are you doing here Sakura?"

"I couldn't let you come in alone!" Sakura leaned back and rubbed Roots. "This is Roots, feel his fur, isn't he soft?"

Without another word Lily reached for Sakura and lifted up her shirt. Despite Sakura's struggling, Lily glanced at her back between her shoulder blades. She let out a sigh of relief when there was nothing there.

Sakura slapped her hand away and pulled her shirt back down. "What the hell do you think you are doing?!"

Lily put a hand to her heart to stop the beating. Her shirt dropped to the ground but she didn't care she leaned forward and hugged Sakura tight. "I'm so glad."

"Ack! Lily! What do you think you're doing?! You're naked! Two girls shouldn't hug each other while one of them is naked! Lily! Are you listening to me?!" Sakura tried to pry herself from Lily's embrace. "Lily?!"
Lily let go and unraveled her hair. She tied what was left of her shirt around her chest and secured it in the back with her rubber band. "Sorry, Sakura. I guess I'm just glad that you're ok."

Sakura stood up and hopped onto Roots. "I shouldn't let you on since you're acting so weird. But it'd be pointless to come and save you and then just leave you here." Sakura's cheeks reddened. "I'll let you on only if you promise not to be a pervert anymore." She extended her hand out to Lily.
Lily rubbed the back of her neck and smiled as she took Sakura's extended hand. "I promise Sakura." Lily climbed up and sat in front of Sakura. "Why do you call him Roots?"
"You wouldn't believe where I found him even if I told you," giggled Sakura.
Roots began a soft trot through the forest. Lily stared up at the sky, dawn was coming and that means the moon had to rest for the night to make way for the sun. Lily felt Sakura lean her head against her shoulder and heard her soft breathing. Lily smiled to herself as she reached behind her and stroked Sakura's sleeping head. Lily stared straight ahead as she thought to herself.

So many questions are swimming around in my head. It's like my life's a thousand page novel with each question being one word. Tonight, I turned the first page but then I look and there's still 999 pages left to go, each page with it's own infinite set of words. And even the answers have questions, it's like a never ending circle! Is that guy really Tom's older brother? What if he is? Why is he like this? And what about that whole creepy black rose thing, what does she have anything to do with anything? And this bracelet. Lily held up her wrist, the charms both lillies and roses, gleamed in the dawn’s light. Whenever I use it, I don't feel like myself anymore. Hacker's create Virus's is what Sakatsu told me, if that's true, then every time I use Rose that means I'm creating another virus. I don't want what happened yesterday to ever happen again. I don't ever want to feel that weak again.

"Easy there, kid. That's expensive fur you're digging your nails into," said a deep voice around her.
"Who the...?"
"Down here." Lily leaned her head over the rabbit and stared into a blood shot eye. "Yeah me, got a problem with that."

Lily jumped slightly, then cursed herself forgetting Sakura was sleeping on her back. In a hushed voice, Lily replied. "How are you talking?"
"I've always been able to talk. Don't worry, she can't understand us. If she does wake up, then she'll think you're just mumbling something to yourself. To people without the Mark, our voices come out as a low gurgle sound but to those who bare the Mark can understand us and speak with us."
"You mean you're a Virus?"

"You gots a problem with that?" Roots reached the edge of the path and stopped.

Lily jumped down and Roots leaned to the side to slide Sakura off peacefully. Lily sat her down on the floor and kneeled beside her. "Thank you, Roots." Lily picked up Sakura and put her on her back. "Aren't you coming with us?"
Roots nodded and stepped back slightly. He jumped just inches off the ground and spun around. Lily watched as the white blob got smaller and smaller until it was about the size of a full grown white rabbit and 'popped' back out of the blob. Roots, now in a smaller version, hopped over to Lily's feet.

Lily checked both her and Sakura into the tollbooth, making sure to hide Roots from the tollbooth ladies view. "Hi, what time is it?" asked Lily.
The lady popped her gum. "About 6 am."

"Thanks." Lily leaned forward and read her nametag. "Veronica."
Veronica waved them away and Lily took Sakura back down to the street they had met at earlier. "Ok, if I was Sakura's house..." Lily began walking back down the street eyeing all the houses. "It'd definetly need an easy escape route for easy getting out access."

Roots jumped up and down then did a back flip. "Over there!" he cried.
Lily turned and looked across the suburban street. Sure enough, there was a drain pipe, slightly dented from someone climbing up and down it. As Lily walked closer she noticed bright pink curtains and the window opened. "I think we found it." She looked over her shoulder at the sleeping Sakura and smiled. "Question is, how do we get up there?"

"You could jump."

Lily looked down at the rabbit and shook her head. "Sorry for not being a mutated rabbit like you."

Roots glared at her. "I'll show you mutated rabbit." He jumped into the air and spun into a little white blob once more. A arm of white goo shot up and attached itself to the ledge of the window. Another arm shot out and wrapped around Lily. She gripped onto Sakura tight as Roots flung her and Sakura through the opened window. She landed softly on the pink carpeted floor and turned to look as Roots jumped into the room beside her.

Lily walked over to Sakura's bed and laid her down. She slipped the covers up to her chin and brushed a few pink hairs from her face. "She was so brave tonight." Roots jumped up and curled up next to Sakura. Instictivly, she reached out and cuddled him close.

"Hey, Roots. You're clearly a Virus, but what are you doing here helping Sakura? I mean, she doesn't have the Mark or anything, so how is it that she controls you?"

"She doesn't control me, if anything there was something in the tone of her voice and in her eyes that made me want to stick around and see how this is all going to pan out. You see she um.....hit me really hard and then she started screaming at me that she doesn't have time to deal with me because she has someone she must protect. Even when I was baring my fangs at her, she stood strong. And we just connected."

Lily patted his head before walking toward the window.

"Hey, kid." Lily turned to face Roots, his little pink nose twitched. "You had better watch your back, there are dark clouds rolling over your sky. That man with the basket is powerful, you had better be able to protect your loved ones before going head strong into something."

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Lily229

Lily gripped the window sill and nodded at him. "I'll make sure nothing bad ever happens to them, you just watch out for Sakura for me, Roots when I'm not around. She can be a real handful." Lily tossed a wink over her shoulder and threw her legs over the window and slid down the drain pipe.

Before her feet could touch the ground she was taking off in a sprint down the street. She didn't stop running until she was inside the lobby of the giant black building that Daisuke lived in. She reached for the elevator button then stopped as the doors slid open. She stood face to face with Shino. His mouth was hanging open and his face the color of a ripe tomato. He looked down and shuffled his feet nervously. Lily blinked at him, confused at first until she realized that her top was holding together by a rubber band behind her back. She threw her arms around herself as Shino shuffled out of the elevator nervously. Lily dashed in and began to rapidly press the 'door close' button. Once the doors closed she let out a breath she had been holding and slid down, relaxing. Her face was still burning from the embarrassment.

Once the doors reopened on Daisuke's floor, Lily dashed down the hall. She slid her key into the keyhole and slipped inside, quietly. She left her shoes at the door and crept down to her bedroom. She slipped inside, the blinds were pulled so the room was very dark. She felt around the room until she reached the bed. She reached behind her and flicked off the rubber band and stripped off the rest of her clothes until she stood in the room butt naked. She crawled in between the surprisingly warm sheets and fell into deep slumber.

Lily, drowsily rolled over in her sleep. She felt warm breath on the bridge of her nose and slowly opened her eyes as Daisuke did the same. They blinked at each other, each trying to focus. They both screamed loudly and sat up. "Pervert!" screamed Lily slapping Daisuke hard across the face. Daisuke toppled over head over heels, a blur of blue from his boxers. "Daisuke! What are you doing in my bed?!"

Daisuke gripped onto the edge of the bed and pulled himself up to knees on the floor. "What the fuck Lily? This is my bedroom!" He rubbed his throbbing left cheek.

Lily blinked and looked around the room. "Oh you're right....wow, my bad..." She blushed and gave Daisuke a goofy smile. When she looked at him, she saw his mouth was wide open and his face redder then the spot where she had hit. "Dai..." Then the thought hit her like a ton of bricks.

Daisuke slapped a hand over his eyes and felt around for a pillow. The top of his finger brushed Lily's thigh and they both jumped back. "I'm....I'm a just going to go make breakfast." He stood up quickly and ran for the door, his hand still over his eyes. Lily giggled as he ran into the wall and felt around wildly for the door handle. When she heard the door close, she heard Daisuke cursing softly under his breath.

She flopped back onto her side and stared at the blinded window. "I wonder how Sakura's feeling." She eyed the clock, it was only 10:46am she doubted that Sakura was even up.

Sakura sat up abruptly and sneezed. "Someone must be talking about me," she whispered wiping her nose on the back of her sleeve. She felt something soft and fluffy next to her hand. She looked over and scooped up Roots and cuddled him. "What an interesting night...." Sakura gasped. "Oh my God! Lily!" she exclaimed jumping out of bed, still in her shoes and pajamas from the other night. Roots jumped onto her shoulder, he fit perfectly. Sakura was about to climb out the window when she saw her father leaving for work. She pushed the idea out of her head of going anyway and ran out of her room and into the hall.

Her mother stopped her before she could reach the door. "Where do you think you're going? What happened to you?"

Sakura waved a hand at her mother's questions. "I have something important to take care of."

"What is that thing? It looks dirty." Her mother commented.

With her hand on the doorknob Sakura eyed Roots. "He's just a stuffed animal mother, don't worry about it." Sakura opened the door and ran into someone. She fell backwards and looked up at a strange man with a basket on his back and his eyes hidden by a dark sunglasses. She heard soft hissing in her ear from Roots as she rubbed her butt. "Ouch..."

She felt the man grip hard onto her arm and pulled her up. "Excuse me, miss." he replied politely, a vicious smile plastered upon his face.

She smiled at him politely and nodded her head. "Excuse me, but I'm in a hurry."

He stepped in front of her and blocked her path, still gripping her arm. "There's no need to rush. What's say you and I take a little walk shall we?"

The color in Sakura's ice melted and plummeted to the ground. She felt darkness sweep around her. She took her final breath and screamed. "Lil...LILY!"

Lily eyes shot open wide, her breathing scarce. Her eyes darted around the room trying to focus. She sat up and rubbed the side of her head. "Man, what a weird dream."

there ya go, hope you all liked it ^^.

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Lily229

Sorry everyone for the late chapter >.< Last weekend I was going to write it but then I got really sick and junk. The next one will probably take as long because I work all this weekend and I have school and exams and yada yada so here's chapter 12 @.@ Sorry >.<'''

Chapter 12

Lily slipped out of bed and unto her knees on the floor. Her long brown hair dangled like jungle vines in front of her sleepy face. She blew on the hairs and they flew up, only to fall back into place on her face. She drug her knuckles against the carpeted floors as she swayed back and forth trying to stand. She fumbled with the doorknob and walked out into the hallway.
She had to walk past the kitchen to get to the bathroom. She passed the opening and saw Daisuke mixing up pancake batter in a large green bowl. He heard her approach and turned and smiled at her. "Morning Lil...." He stopped, the spoon dripping with pancake batter in his hand. The soft tan color drained from his face and turned into a scarlet red. He stood there, stunned as she ran her fingers through her hair.

She eyed him as she fluffed her hair back, making it messier. "Making pancakes?"

Her voice brought him back and he turned around abruptly, and began to stir the batter at high speeds. Batter flew all over the counters as he tried to distract himself. "Ye...yes." His voice cracked.

Lily sniffed back morning snot and smiled. "Sounds good, I'll get some when I'm out of the shower." She kissed her index finger and blew a kiss at him.
She shook her head, giggling softly to herself as she made her way to the bathroom. She left the door unlocked and turned on the hot water. After stepping into the bathtub with a showerhead, she leaned her forehead against the cool wall. Her eyelids were slits as she reached for the soap and washrag. She ran the washrag against her arms and over her shoulder to her shoulder blade. She stopped herself as her fingers brushed the outer circle of the mark. Curious, she took her other hand and reached behind her and rested it against the mark.

She felt a soft twitch under her fingers before the real shock. A world appeared before her eyes. She was falling deep into a black abyss headfirst. Below her, she saw a pool of water. Magically, she stopped just before reaching it and straightened herself, the tips of her toes creating small ripples in the water as they brushed the surface. She looked down and saw herself in a reflection. It was her face and her body, but something was different. The body wore clothing that Lily had never seen before and the eyes, the eyes that look so much like hers were screaming loud with loneliness. Lily watched as the girl reached forward, as if to touch her.

She removed her hand from the spot, panting hard. She found herself on Daisuke's shower floor, shivering from the wetness and cold. She sat up and turned off the ice cold water and listening to the dripping of the final water leaving. What was that?

Daisuke knocked and popped his head around. "Lily! Are you alright?"

Lily rubbed her head and looked at Daisuke. The color was gone from his face. She gripped the side of the bathtub and pulled herself up. Uneasily she nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"I've been knocking like crazy. You've been in here for almost two hours now."
Daisuke ran in and grabbed Lily as she stumbled forward. He wasn't embarrassed this time, but he still grabbed a towel and wrapped her with it.

"I'm sorry," she said leaning against him, her wet body soaking his shirt. "I came in late last night, and I must be tired and then the hot water. I'm sorry for making you worry, Dai."

Dai rocked her gently back and forth, there on his bathroom floor. "It's ok. Are you?"

Lily pulled back and nodded. She felt Daisuke's hands on her face as he checked her pupils and forehead. She laid her hands on top of his and smiled sweetly. "Really, I'm fine. Just a little light headed is all."

Daisuke looked around wildly for a distraction, the color had returned in his cheeks a bright pink. "Yes, well umm...We really should be heading down to the Forum. I have some stuff that I need to umm...take care of." He took her hands and stood them both up. "You...You should really get dressed."

He walked with Lily down the hallway to make sure she didn't fall. She smiled over her shoulder at him. "Are you going to hold my hand while I change, Dai?"
Daisuke put his hands on his hip and grumbled. "Excuse me for worrying about someone who doesn't feel well."

They reached her door. Lily opened it and eyed Daisuke. "Thanks for protecting me, Dai." She leaned forward and kissed his cheek before running into her room and shutting the door.

Daisuke lightly touched the spot where she had kissed him. He shook his head violently. "No Daisuke, get a hold of yourself." He walked back to the kitchen, trying to tell himself it was just a friendly kiss, but that didn't make his heart stop beating any faster.

After she was dressed, Dai and Lily walked out of the big black building. "Oh," said Lily, slapping her forehead. "I forgot I had to do something. I'll catch up with you later in the Spam Zone ok, Dai?" Daisuke opened his mouth to speak but Lily was already running down the street, her ponytail flying in the wind behind her as she ran.

Lily kept an eye out for the dented drain as she ran down Sakura's street. When she spotted the drainpipe with the open window next to it she ran up to the front door and knocked on it. A tall woman stood before her, narrowing her eyes at Lily. "Yes?"

Lily stuttered slightly. "Umm hi, is Sakura home?"

"No, she had to leave,” the woman replied, looking over Lily curiously.
Lily backed away slowly, feeling the pressure of the woman's stare. "Well, I'll just go check the Forum then. Tha....Thank you madam." The woman blinked at her as Lily took of in a steady jog back down the way she had come. She turned the corner and pressed her back to a street lamp. "That was freaky." She said, wiping her brow from nervous sweat.

As she started walking down toward the Forum, Anto came running up to meet her. He bent forward, gripping his knees and panting hard. "Kagami..." He held up his index finger to her to signal he’d tell her once he caught his breath.

Lily led him over to a nearby bench. Once he caught his breath he smiled at her. "Thanks, Lily." He coughed and got stern with her. "You know the new guy Kagami Kyoji right?"

Lily nodded. "Did something happen to him?"

Anto shook his head. "No, he's fine. In fact, he's great! What he did today had to be a new record in NL history. Shino just hired him as Mod."
"What?!" cried Lily, gripping onto the bench.

"Yeah, I figured you should know something else. We were having a chat in the IRC Room, just walked in not realizing what was going on, we really need a place of our own," Anto commented. Lily nodded in agreement, wishing he'd get to the point. "He came in and saw what was going on but before he left he shared his views with us about you and the Forum. Shino liked him so much that he promoted him to Mod. And I had to work like two years for my spot," he grumbled crossing his arms.

Lily stood up, her jaw tight. "I can't believe this!" she cried making Anto jumped back in the bench slightly. Her eyes were ablaze. "It's not fair!" Anto blinked at her in confusion as she took off for the Forum.

Lily skidded past the gate and clawed her way back into a running position. People stared at her as they ran past, like looking at a wild animal hunting its prey. She burst through the doors to see Kagami excepting handshakes and pats on the back. Lily walked up to him with narrow eyes. She shook her head and plastered on a fake, big smile. "Congrats Kagami."

He spun around, beaming at her. "Thanks, Lily." He gripped her shoulders. "I couldn't have done it without you. Your rant yesterday was so idiotic and hilarious I just had to comment and it turns out Shino liked my ideas."
Lily held back the urge to twitch her right eye. “Glad I could help you?” It’s not fair! She wanted to scream. I’ve been here longer, why should he get the Mod position?

Lily sighed and shrugged it off. She would just have to try harder next time. She put on a real smile this time, wished him the best of luck and went in search of Sakura and Daisuke. As she turned the corner, she bumped into a smell red-haired boy about her height. He wore a pair of khakis and a dark green T-shirt. Above his left eye was a red Japanese letter; Lily recognized it from a book she had once read which meant ‘power’. He rubbed his fluffy, short red hair and opened his dark brown eyes at her.

She stood up and extended her hand. “Sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was turning.”

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Lily229

He graciously took her hand and stood up. He flashed her a friendly, but shy, smile. “It’s my fault really.” He pulled his hand away and blushed slightly. “Well see you around.” He waved as he brushed past her.

Lily turned and waved back. “Yeah, see you around….oh wait I never got your name!” but he was gone before he could hear her. “Nevermind then I suppose.” She said shrugging and continuing her search.

“There’s got to be a better way to find someone then to hunt them down like this,” she said eyeing hallways looking for anyone familiar. Then, it hit her. “Oh, duh. I can just send Daisuke a PM or something….”

“Rose!” called a seductive voice from behind her.

Lily turned and looked as Mistress came running out of a hallway that read ‘Anime Discussion’. Lily panicked slightly, then remembered to act cool and natural.

“Rose!” cried Mistress, embracing Lily. “I’m so glad to see you. You ran off like that I was so worried I…. Oh. Oh my you’re not Rose.” Her smooth cheeks turned a dark red. “I’m sorry, I thought you were someone else.”

Lily rubbed the back of her neck. “Let me guess, you probably thought I was my twin sister hmm? Yeah we get that a lot.”

“Oh, she said she had a sister, I guess I forgot she said twins.” Mistress extended her perfectly manicured hand. “I’m Mistress. Did your sister ever find you?”

“Lily; and yeah she did. She was cooing about the ring you gave her. What kind of store did you buy it from?”

“I didn’t buy it. It was hand made by a crafter in the Crimson Village apparently....”

“Crimson Village?” asked Lily.

“It’s the Village toward the north past the Forest of Cherry Blossoms. My grandfather was originally from there before he traveled here to wed my grandmother. This ring…”

“You mean the Hacker Village?!” cried Lily, causing some people to turn around and stare.

Mistress shushed her. “Do not call it that, not aloud anyway. Tensions are high recently between the Village and NC. Most members do not know of it, and those who do, know it as the Crimson Village. Hackers’ aren’t bad Lily, but people here just wouldn’t understand.”

“Why is it called the Crimson Village?”

“I’m not for sure, when I asked my grandfather that he kind of went silent and ignored the question. I don’t even think my grandmother knows it.”
“Why did you give that kind of ring to Rose?”

“I’m not all that sure really.” She stared down at her rings, all shining in the sunlight. They wept with sparkles of dazzling light at her beauty. “When I saw her, I just knew I had to give her that ring. There’s something about it that called to me to give it to her. I bet she was pretty freaked out by it.”

Lily shook her head. “Not really, a little, but not much. Are you looking for her I take it?”

Mistress nodded. “I left her a PM but she hasn’t replied to it yet. So if you see her, please tell her that I wish to see her once more. She seems like an interesting kind of person.”

Lily nodded. “I’ll tell her when I see her.” Behind her back she flicked a couple of black rose charms.

Mistress nodded and turned to walk off. “One more thing, Lily. Please do not tell Rose where that ring came from, for if word got out….well it could end badly. Most people here are scared of Virus’s and the Crimson Village welcomes them with open arms. So, I’m sure you can see the dilemma I’m facing.”

Lily nodded. “I promise. It’s our secret Mistress.” Mistress smiled and waved slightly as she walked off into the ocean of people. Lily stared down at her bracelet. “Perhaps I could give Black Rose one free day. No biggie really.”

She looked around making sure no one was watching or following her and power walked down the nearest hallway. It was pretty much deserted; she saw rooms once again instead of a lounge in the back. She gripped the handle on one door and slipped inside. She was in a huge room with flat TV screens everywhere. In the middle of the room was a giant red orb floating inside was little pictures and boxes. She reached inside and Veronica’s voice came on.

“That you for selecting our Video Game section. Please choose the name of your game and consol you wish to play it on. You will be assigned a number as soon as said game and consol have been located. Thanks and enjoy the gaming.”

Lily stared at it, confused. She removed her hand and the voice stopped talking. She checked all the TV’s; there was no one here. “You’d think something this cool would be constantly preoccupied,” she chuckled to herself as she gripped onto a black rose charm. “Come on out Black Rose!” she yelled as she ripped off yet another black rose charm.

The bright red orb seemed to melt away around her. She felt the floor slip away from her once again, but it was if she was falling. Lily had never felt this type of transformation before with Rose. She didn’t like it. The sun itself seemed to hide away in fear of the darkness that was crawling under her skin like a bug that you could not squish. Lily clenched her eyes shut, the turning of her insides made her want to vomit. When she felt the ground become solid once more, she opened her eyes and peered around.

She was back inside the Video Game room, her long brown hair falling gracefully at her side. She felt the tips to them, no split ends and it felt like soft silk that poured from the roots of her head. That confirmed it. She was definitely in Rose's body without even glancing at herself.

She walked happily over to the door when the doorhandle turned and the door opened slightly. A tall man stood before her. He had on a navy blue tank top and loose-fitting jeans. His skin was the color of a bran new penny that seemed to shine in the sunlight that slipped into the window. His deep dark chocolate eyes smiled down at her as he glided into the room like a pro. "Hi," he said, flashing her a friendly smile before walking over to the giant orb and picking out a game and consol.

Veronica's voice entered. "Member Identification Code: Shadowclone. Password: ********. Accepted. Please proceed to Station number 5."
Lily, now in Rose form, decided to try and have a friendly chat. "So, your name is Shadowclone huh?"

He turned around and gave her a funny look. "Yeah that's right." He extended his hand which she took. "Nice to meet you. Are you new here?"

Lily nodded. "My name’s L....Rose. My name is Rose," she said trying to act casual. She leaned back to lean against the wall, thinking she was closer. She almost fell back when she caught herself and brushed down her skirt. Blushing, she giggled nervously.

He looked around for something to say to break the silence. "Do you like video games or something?"

Lily nodded furiously. "Yes, I'm a gaming freak. I just wasn't sure how it worked."

"Oh it's very simple." Shadowclone pointed to the red orb. "Just stick your hand in there, it'll confirm your member ID and let you play video games until you're done. You're welcome to play 2 player with me if you'd like."

Lily was about to take up the offer when she remembered her real reason for being Rose. "I actually have to meet someone. But maybe when I'm done with that. Does the offer expire?"

He shrugged and shook his head. "I'm normally here for a while. If I'm not perhaps tomorrow then, Rose."

Lily smiled and stepped in the doorway. She lightly gripped the handle with her left hand and waved with her right. "Bye then. Nice meeting you, Shadowclone."

He waved at her as she closed the door. "The feelings mutual, Rose."

Before Lily let go of the doorknob, she noticed Mistress's ring on her left ring finger. The soft green stone gleamed in the lights above her, it didn't seem to give off the glow she felt it deserved. She heard soft sandle footsteps behind her and felt a warm sensation rush over her. Lily turned to see Mistress walking down toward her, her jewelry dangling loosely on her tender body.

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Lily229

Mistress waved and smiled. "Hey, Rose. I've been looking all over for you. Did you get my PM?"

Lily shook her head. "I just got here, I haven't had time, but I'll make sure to go check right away."

"Don't worry about it," said Mistress placing her arm around Lily's shoulders and guiding her back to the main hallway. "Now that you're here, there's no need for that PM anyway."

As they reached the end of the hallway, Lily saw Daisuke zip past them, do a double take and stop. He strolled back to them. "Hey Lil....you're not Lily." He said looking at her.

Lily looked taken back for a second then remembered who she was. She extended her hand which Daisuke graciously took. "My name is Rose. I'm Lily's sister, I'm sure she's told you so much about me."

Daisuke looked around nervously. "Err....now really, actually." He smiled over at Mistress. "Well, either way. My name's Daisuke."

"I know who you are," whispered Mistress which had Lily and Daisuke staring at her. She ran her perfectly manicured fingernails through her silk hair and coughed politely. "Well, I really must be going." She turned to hide her blushing face. Lily wasn't sure if she was blushing out of embarrassment or what. "We'll catch up some other time. Don't be a stranger now, Rose." She patted Lily's head and strolled off to the exit.

Daisuke and Lily stood blinking at each other in confusion as they watched her leave. "That was weird," said Lily.

Daisuke nodded in agreement. "Yeah." He looked over at her through the corner of his eye. It confused him, the way he felt when he looked at her. Even though she had the same face as Lily, she wasn't Lily. Her voice was a little more high pitched and innocent then Lily's but the resemblance was so uncanny. The way Lily made him feel was different, he had a slight idea what it could mean but he wasn't willing to chance it. "You and Lily get along ok?"

She shrugged. "We get along like most sisters would. We're kind of like, Yin and Yang you know?"

Daisuke chuckled. "Which one is which?"

Lily flashed him a devious smile. "Guess you'll just have to find out won't you?"
A big smile stretched across his face then softened when he heard a soft 'ding' in his head. "Sorry but you'll have to excuse me. I have a PM that needs to be answered. Lily should be around here, why not go look for her and I'll treat you both to some dinner."

Lily smiled and nodded. "Ok, sounds like fun."

Daisuke turned and jogged down the Gaming Hallway and to the opening of the PM door. If I can take them both out, I can confirm something, he thought to himself.

Lily let out a sigh and decided to head back into the Video Game room to play some games with Shadowclone when she felt a soft tingling in her stomach. She gripped onto it and knew exactly what that feeling was. She looked around furiously before spotting a washroom and running inside. Her breathing became scarce as she ran into one of the stalls and prayed no one came in. She felt the heat build around her, cutting off her blood and breathing. Her hair pulled back tight into a ponytail as it had this morning. She bit down hard onto her lower lip to stop from screaming out from the intense heat.

The smell of the washroom returned to her nose and she looked down at herself. She was back in her old body, back into Lily once again. "That was weird. I wonder why Rose just changed like that," she whispered to herself in the emptiness of the washroom.

She stepped back out into the hallway as Daisuke came up through the Gaming Hallway. He smiled and waved as he spotted her. "Hey Lily," he said running up to her. He had to stop himself from hugging her before she could notice his advance. "What happened to Rose?"

Lily looked around and shrugged. "I didn't even know she was here," she lied hoping she didn't seem too obvious. She heard a soft 'ding' in her head. "Oh! I have a PM."

Daisuke smiled and pointed back to the Gaming Hallway. "There's one down there."

"Wanna walk with me?" she asked extending her hand.
Daisuke looked a little taken back as Lily raised her eyebrow at him. "Umm yeah sure." He bypassed holding her hand and kept his head slightly to the side to hold back the rising blush.

She shrugged and walked next to him and into the PM room. When she sat down, she typed in her password and Veronica confirmed her. Her PM box window popped up and Lily's heart stopped. There, like an open sore staring back at her, was the letter 'X' as the sender.

Daisuke leaned over her shoulder and looked at the name. "I didn't know we had a member named 'X'."

Lily wanted to reply 'you don't' but stopped herself. She looked over at Daisuke who immediately got the message and stepped back. She opened it and read to herself.

Lily, my darling. How are you?
Me you ask? Well I'm doing just fine. Let me ask Sakura how she's doing. What's that? Not so good. Hmm....that is a problem. I do so hate it when my guests aren't happy. Perhaps, death is the ultimate form of happiness. Such beautiful flowers here in this field. Too bad she'll never see them since we're under ground. Hey, Lily how's Black Rose? Are you taking good care of her?
Well I have some judging to do, see you if you can find me. Sakura, hopes you can find me.
Lots of love,
X

"You bastard!" screamed Lily, slamming her fists against the table. Daisuke looked over in surprise as Lily stood up quickly. She went to run out when Daisuke caught her in his arm and tried to calm her. His sleeve was turning hot and wet from her tears.

"Calm down Lily!" he cried trying to restrain her. "What happened?"

"I'll kill that bastard once and for all," she hissed through her clenched teeth. "If he hurts her, I swear...."

"Hurt who? Who are you talking about Lily?" He spun her around and gripped her shoulders. "If someone’s in trouble, you need to tell me."

Lily shook her head, tears flying off of her face as she did. "No, I can handle this. Just let me go."

"It's my job, Lily. Where is this guy and who's in trouble? Tell me," he demanded in a soft whisper.

Lily looked away. "Somewhere in a field full of flowers, but he said he's under ground. I have no idea where anything like that can be.... I don't have time for this! I have to get to Sakura."

Daisuke thought for a moment. He lightly touched his chest above his heart. "A field of flowers? The only one I can think of is the Orchid Patch just outside of NC. That's the only one I know of."

Lily stepped away. "It's the only lead I got." Daisuke ran past her and through the door before she could blink. "Hey wait!" She cried chasing after him. Once she caught up to him she glared at him, her legs beating fast to keep up with him. "I said I can do this myself, Dai."

"Members shouldn't get involved in dangerous stuff, Lily. Just go back home and I'll bring back Sakura."

Lily grabbed his arm and dug her feet into the ground until he stopped. "You have no idea what's going on Daisuke." Her voice was cracking from the tears but she tried to stay strong. "He's after me, and using anyone who's connected to me to get what he wants."

"What does this guy want with you anyway?"

"I don't know," she replied quickly. "I really don't know his intentions. But, what I do know is Sakura is my friend and I made a promise to someone that I'd protect her. We go together."

"Lily...."

"I said we go together!" Lily snapped.

Daisuke sighed and tapped his right index finger and middle finger above his heart. "Fine, but don't tell Shino that I'm taking you with me." The green square on his right palm glowed bright green before sinking back into the dark shade it was before. Orchid pedals shot around him from the little green square and swirled around his body. The white pedals brushed his skin lightly replacing his old clothes with thick black cloth. He reached his right hand high into the air and out from the green square came a long staff, like the one Lily had seen Mika carrying back at NC. But when Daisuke grasped it, it transformed into a katana that he placed on his back. When the pedals dispersed, Lily saw before her Daisuke in his Mod outfit once again. "Come on," he said bending down in front of her. "It'll be much faster if you get on my back."

Lily stood there stunned. She blinked and shook her head before nodding. "Ok," she said as she climbed unto his back.

"Hang on tight," Daisuke said with a smile as he wrapped arms around her legs.

A rush of wind hit Lily and had her bending her face down behind Daisuke's neck as he began to run in nonhuman speeds. She threw her arms around his neck and looked over his shoulder, the wind stinging her eyes. She didn't care. Hang on Sakura. I'm coming for you.

well there's the end of chapter 12 gonna go work on chapter 13 now and then chapter 3 of pure sin ^^ or is it the other way around? @.@

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Lily229

ok, in study hall right now and just finished the newest chapter. So here ya all go, hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 13
Once she got used to it, Lily relaxed her grip slightly on Daisuke. "Dai, how much further? What if something’s already happened?"

"Don't think like that," Daisuke snapped, keeping his eyes forward and determined. "Sakura's fine, if he's really after you like you say he is, then he's twisted enough to wait."

"Wait?" Lily leaned over and looked into his eyes.

"He'll wait for you to witness it. He sounds like a sicko to me." He looked over at her through the corner of his eyes. "Don't worry," he said sounding more sincere. "Trust me, Sakura will be fine."

Lily gripped hard onto Daisuke's black shirt and stared ahead determined. "With your Mod powers we should be able to beat this guy," she said determined.

"Err....well I think you're a little confused. See, unless you're an Admin only your stats are enhanced, nothing more." He turned his head and gave her a nervous grin.

"What!?" Lily cried leaning over and looking at his face.
"Yeah see, like H_I for example. When he's in his Mod form he's as strong as an ox. With me, only my speed and agility are enhanced.... But don't worry, it's all about how you use it."

"That bull, all Mods should have some kick ass attack." She crossed her arms. "When I become one, things are gonna change around here." She spotted a soft white light over the horizon. "Is that it?"

Lily pointed her finger and Daisuke nodded. "Yeah, that's the Orchid Patch."
Daisuke pumped his legs hard as he ran straight into the field of pale white orchids. Once they were at the bottom of a very large hill, he stopped and helped Lily slide off. She looked around concerned. "How do we get underground."

Lily turned when she heard Daisuke crack his knuckles. He raised his fist high and slammed it hard into the ground. Once the dust had cleared, Lily saw a giant crater. "There's no way anything can be down there." Daisuke said, standing up. "It's solid for miles down. Did we get the right place?"
Lily bent down and poked the ground. "This has to be it, this just has to be."
"I'll go look over here for someway to get down there. If there's an opening then we'll find it," said Daisuke turning his back on Lily and checking around the field.

"There's got to be a way in," she whispered. She felt a soft tapping against her left wrist. She looked down to see, as if by a giant magnet, a black rose charm levitating and pointing in the direction of the hill. "Huh?" Lily blinked at it as she stood. She walked over to where the pull was the strongest, at the base of the hill. There was a small slate of dark grey stone placed between a small patch of pink orchids. "Huh?" Said Lily lightly brushing her finger tips against the slate.

Lily heard a sound like rocks moving and saw a tiny light shine a crack in the slate. "What the hell...." She gripped onto the sides of the slate and pulled. She barely moved it an inch before looking over at Daisuke. "Hey, Dai! Give me a hand I think I found something."

He ran over and gripped just below her. "Pull together, Lily." he grunted as they pulled together. They felt the earth shift below them and they pushed the rock aside. The tiny slate covered a small hole, just big enough for a child or a small woman to squeeze through.

Lily tapped her stomach and sighed. "Now I wish I had bought that Ab-Master last year when I had that coupon."

Daisuke gripped onto the sides and pulled the rim of the hole. "It looks like it gets wider after the opening." The earth gave away and the hole grew bigger. Daisuke slid in and extended his hand. "Come on, it's a cave in here."
Lily tossed her legs over the sides and chuckled to herself as she took his hand. "You know, I could make a sexual joke about this," she landed and looked around. "But I won't."

Daisuke grabbed his katana and in his palm it turned into a flashlight. "Neat huh?" He asked, smiling at Lily.

Lily rolled her eyes and started walking down the never-ending dark tunnel. "It was, until you said it was 'neat'." She tossed him a smile over her shoulder as he ran up behind her, the light bobbing up and down from his movements. Daisuke flashed a light above them. "How cliché', jaded rocks above us. I wonder if we'll run into any booby traps." Lily snickered.
"Would you grow up," replied Daisuke shinning the light on Lily. "We're on a rescue mission, honestly Lily."

"Oh, Mr. Serious." Lily stopped when she felt the ground shake and shift beneath them. "An earthquake!?" She cried.

They held their breath until the shaking stopped. From deep within the belly of the cave, came a loud gurgling sound. Lily took a step back as Daisuke shone the light in the sounds direction. "Somehow, I don't think so." He took her hand, but was to nervous to blush. "Come on."

Long, boney fingernails drugged impatiently on the cave wall. A piece of long grass rested calmly on the corner of his mouth. He glanced over at his prize and smiled. Her soft pink hair falling helplessly over her unconscious face, with soft pedals of cherry blossoms hanging loosely off the ends. A dark shadow covered around her tiny body, threatening to squeeze the very breath from the young girl.

"So you brought yourself a Mod to help you this time, did you girlie?" A black smile crossed the man's face. A snapped his fingers, and out of nowhere, two boys appeared before him. "One. Seal Master. The guest of honor has arrived. Make sure she's given the royal treatment."

The two boys nodded, their faces shrouded in the shadows of the dirty cave. "Yes, Master." They bowed their heads before vanishing once again.

The man looked over in the direction of Sakura and smiled. He saw soft resistance pass across her face. "Don't worry little flower. The sun's unforgiving glow will burn your light out sooner or later. Such a shame really." He held up a black rose and sniffed it happily. "That you have such a weak protector."

Lily and Daisuke walked through an opening in the cave and into a large cavern. In the middle of the cavern was a giant body of green water, a large tree had fallen over it as if for a bridge. Lily took a step back. "I don't like this," she whispered. Daisuke and Lily spun around as they heard the cave wall behind them close together, cutting off the opening. "Ok, I really don't like this."

Daisuke looked over as the other side of the cave opened and two boys stepped out. The taller of the two, Lily recognized as One from the other night while the other she had never seen before. He had big crimson eyes, opened wide from either surprise or he was really happy to see her. On his body he wore a tight fitting navy blue leather shirt but loose fitting khakis and sandals. He was the most oddly dressed boy she had ever seen. He tilted his head to the side until it was entirely horizontal, his short brown hair brushing lightly across his insane looking face.

"Hey you!" cried Lily pointing to One. "You're that guy from the woods! And....and I don't know who you are."

One remained silent and crossed his arms while Seal Master chuckled manically. "So you're the famous Lily our Master's so interested in huh? You don't look very strong."

Before Lily could react, Seal Master pounced at her at amazing speeds. He bore his teeth, spit and foam dripped from his fangs as he charged her. Just before he reached her, Daisuke jumped forward and gave him a left jab square in the jaw. It sent Seal Master flying back before he caught himself and did a black flip, landing almost exactly where he had started. Seal Master wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and chuckled, his eyes growing wide once more. "Wow, you're going to be fun."

Daisuke took a stance, his lips in a thin line. "Lily," he said. "I'll cut you a path, you have to go on ahead."

"But Dai...."

"You have to get to Sakura now before it's too late. Don't worry," he flashed her a reassuring smile over his shoulder, still not taking his eyes off of the boys. "I'll be ok. They're Hackers nothing more. This is my job, Lily. As a Mod I have to protect the innocent people with my powers, even if it costs me my life."

"What if I'm not strong enough to save Sakura?"

"If you want to be a Mod, you can't have doubts like that. You just have to trust yourself and do all you can to protect the people who need you. Right now, Sakura needs you."

Lily hesitated before nodding. "I'll go save, Sakura. But you had better come out of this alive you hear me?" She bit back the tears as she stepped behind Daisuke, ready to run.

Daisuke nodded, sliding his foot forward. "I promise."

One yawned as Seal Master dropped to all fours. "You're boring us!" Seal Master cried arching his back like a angry cat. "I'm going to tear you limb from limb."

One closed his eyes and stepped to the side. "Go for it, Seal Master."

Before Seal Master could charge, Daisuke was running right at him. "Stay behind Lily. You'll know when the time is right to go!" he cried as his Mod staff went from a flashlight back to a katana. He tossed it behind him and Lily caught it.

"Don't you need this!?" cried Lily trying to keep up with him.

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Lily229

He ran up the log with Lily close at his heels. "You need it more then me." he said as he charged right into Seal Master, bringing his knee up and connecting it with Seal Master's abdomen. He gripped onto Seal Master's hair and spun him around by it. He released him heading directly toward One, who stepped out of the way without any trouble. One's partner flew past him at unimaginable speeds, landing with his head directly into the wall of the cave sending vibrations and rock shifts everywhere. One's blank face did not falter.

Daisuke eyed Lily as she continued to run past him. One noticed to and took a step toward her. "I don't think so!" cried Daisuke charging for him. One paid no mind to him as he tapped his foot and geysers of grey matter shot around Lily and Daisuke. "What," Daisuke tried to stop himself but it was to late. Seal Master jumped through the grey matter and delivered a hard blow to the side of Daisuke's left cheek. He went flying back and skidded hard across the green water.

Lily stopped running and spun around, soft tears falling from her eyes. "Daisuke!" she cried, gripping onto the Mod staff.

Lily gasped and took a small step back as One and Seal Master ran directly for her. She held up the staff before her, hoping it would provide some protection. She watched as they came inches from her before Daisuke appeared from the side and spin kicked them both away from her. He landed in front of her, panting slightly.

"Go! The Staff will protect you from the Hacker Item." cried Daisuke, his cheek already starting to swell.

Lily gripped harder onto the Staff, trying to hold back tears. She wearily nodded and ran through the flaming grey matter around her. It licked gingerly at her but she felt no burn as she ran out the door and into an even darker hallway. There, she let the tears fall but keeping her head forward, daring not to look back.

One and Seal Master stood, fear in their eyes. "She's getting away!" cried One trying to stand. Daisuke stepped onto his hand and crossed his arms, glaring down at them.

Seal Master gripped his cheeks, his once insane eyes now softer. "Oh my, Master-poo will not enjoy this one bit. We'll just have to fix that."

Daisuke blinked down at him. Seal Master's voice had grown softer, as if he was a whole new person. "You two have already shown me your Hacker Powers, I do not fear you anymore."

Seal Master broke out into a fit of giggles even One was chuckling. "Silly little man," said Seal Master, blushing slightly. "You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into."

Lily slowed her run to a soft walk when she came to a fork in the road. She looked around uncertain; the black rose charm that had led her here was no longer alive. She chewed on her lower lip trying to think which way to go when she heard footsteps running up to her.

Lily turned around to see Daisuke, a little battered up but still smiling nonetheless. "Lily!" he cried, running up to her. He embraced her tight. "I'm so glad you're ok."

"What about One, and that other guy...." said Lily, she didn't hug him back. Her arms were limp at her side. "You beat them so fast."

"It was easy really. I thought it'd be tough too," he smiled at her, still hugging her. "I'm so glad you're ok. I was worried I might be to late."
Lily felt a soft tingle in her left wrist, and knew what it was. A black rose charm was softly tapping her wrist. She pulled her wrist back slightly so Daisuke wouldn't notice it was pointing directly at him. "Daisuke," said Lily keeping her eyes on the ground.

"Yes, Lily?"

"How exactly did you beat them so fast?"

"I used my Mod Powers of course," he said with that award winning smile. "Why do you ask?"

Lily pulled away softly. "I thought as much." She didn't even think. She balled her hand into a fist and swung with all her might. She was over-joyed when she felt it connect. Unfortunately, it didn't make the impact she wanted. His head was turned and a big red spot appeared from where she had struck him, nothing more.

He snarled and glared at her through the corner of his eye as she pulled back. She pressed her back against the wall, returning the glare and gripping hard onto the Staff. "How ever did you figure out?”

“Idiot,” Lily flashed him a cocky smile. “Daisuke doesn’t have Mod Powers.”

In a swirl of dark shadows, Daisuke’s face melted off the body and was replaced by the face of the mysterious man. “You saw through my little game, congratulations Lily.” Walls of dirt shot up closing off all the entrances and exits. He gave her a malevolent smile. “You’ve found me.” He flicked the piece of grass from his mouth, it didn’t explode but it knocked the Staff right from her hands.

Lily continued to press her back against the solid dirt wall. Her heart was racing; she had never expected it to turn out like this. She fingered a black rose charm. “You think you’re so tough. Well you forget I too have a Hacker’s Item.”

“Yes but you see…” He snapped his finger, the sound echoed within the tiny dirt room. From his shoulder a tiny bubble appeared behind him. A tiny pink haired face emerged from the bubble, unharmed and unconscious. “I have the girl.”

“Sakura!” cried Lily. She started to run toward Sakura but Sakura’s head submerged back into the shadow bubble. Lily hit the wall hard, clawing at it. “Sakura! Let her go!”

“Lets just see how your other little friend is doing.” He smirked. The bubble appeared again only this time it opened up to a scene of a tall dark haired man dodging grey geysers and a endlessly attacking boy, clawing for his throat. It zoomed into his face, a look of distress was upon it.
“Daisuke!”

“It’s not very nice of you Lily to think of one friend over another.” He shook his head disapprovingly and wagged his index finger at her. “Look at poor Daisuke over there. Trying his best to dodge one attack while fending off another. He does have his work cut out for him. It’s a shame he can’t keep this up forever.” He slid another piece of grass into his mouth.

Lily’s eyes filled with tears but she blinked them back. “Why are you doing this to me? What did I ever do to you?”

He paid no mind to her as he tossed his head side to side, cracking his neck. "Tell me, Lily. How badly do you want to save your friends?"

Lily clenched tighter onto a black rose charm. "Don't fuck with me!" she cried as she ripped off the charm. The mysterious man stepped back and shielded his eyes as bright light appeared around Lily. A wicked smile seemed to spread along his face like cracking glass.

When the dust cleared, there before him stood Lily in her Rose form, her eyes burning with the intensity of the sun, ready for battle. Lily crouched down and held up her fists as if she knew what she was doing.

The man flicked the piece of grass in his mouth. “The transformation is not fully complete, such a shame.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” screamed Lily. “But I demand you give me back Sakura!”

“Is that all you want? I wish that my needs were as simple as that.”
The man snapped his fingers and Sakura emerged from his shadow on the ground, as if the shadow had burped her up. She floated gently down and laid sprawled before his feet.

“Sakura!” cried Lily running up to her.

Just as she was inches form reaching Sakura, the man flicked the piece of grass from his mouth at Lily. Her toes lightly brushed the dirt, stopping her, before she flipped backwards from the explosion. “You really didn’t think I’d give her up that easy did you? I plan on bringing out Black Rose’s full potential, and in order for that to happen the girl must die.”

Lily landed and darted her eyes from Sakura back to the man. “I won’t let that happen,” she whispered.

Daisuke jumped left, his feet dancing lightly over the waters surface. A geyser appeared on his right as Seal Master struck at his left. Daisuke jumped up high into the air before back flipping and landing just at the waters edge. He was panting slightly, watching as Seal Master came toward him. I can’t keep this up much longer, he thought, throwing his head back as Seal Master struck.

“Gah!” cried Daisuke as One’s geyser attack hit him from behind, followed by a solid punch between the eyes from Seal Master. Daisuke tumbled backwards and into the cave wall. He rubbed his head and hissed out a breath of pain before he realized Seal Master was charging right for him once more.

Daisuke rolled over to the right as Seal Master struck the wall. Daisuke kicked up high and connected with Seal Master’s stomach. He looked up and jumped out of the way as a geyser came shooting from One’s palm directly at him.

Daisuke ran along the cave wall, as One continued to shoot geysers at him through his palm. If I can find their Hacker Item and knocked it away from them, it should decrease their power long enough for me to take them down, he thought staring at One.

One threw his arms wildly, creating dark grey matter from his hands. Around his neck was a silver chain with a ruby cross at the end of it that dangled for dear life with One’s movements. Daisuke smiled and decided to give it a shot. He ran along the cave wall behind One. One’s attack held him down slightly and wasn’t able to keep up with Daisuke’s speed. Daisuke propelled himself off the wall and flew directly at One. Daisuke reached out and barely brushed the chain when Seal Master appeared from no one and struck Daisuke down.

Daisuke tumbled and rolled until crashing into stalagmites on the opposite side of the cave. Shakily, he rose up to see One and Seal Master laughing. “What an idiot, did he really think that was going to work?” cried One, crossing his arms.

“Wasn’t aiming for you,” replied Daisuke with a cocky smile. He held up a small red ring in his hand. “Oi, Seal Master, lose something?”

Seal Master looked frantically at his right hand and back up at Daisuke. “How did you….?”

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Lily229

“You’re fast Seal Master I’ll give you that,” said Daisuke standing up. “I’ve been analyzing you two from the moment I first saw you two. It’s a tag team method you use, you both have each others back and I can respect that. But worrying about your buddy before yourself can be a huge mistake.” He tossed the ring up and caught it with his left hand. Seal Master’s heart began beating fast as he listening to the shattering of his Hacker Item in Daisuke’s hand. “Attacking you both at the same time would have been like trying to knock down a brick wall with a rubber spoon. But, attack one and the other comes to the rescue making that person vulnerable.”

Daisuke opened his palm and red dust spilled from it. “Was truly good fortune on my part. Your power of speed is lost Seal Master and only One stands in my way.”

Seal Master stepped forward. “Fool! You think that was my only Hacker Item? Do you know who my Master is?! I’ll kill you, you stupid Mod! I’ll kill you and feed your dismembered body parts to my Virus. I’ll……ack!” cried Seal Master, falling forward, eyes blank and open.

Daisuke looked up at One, his hand covered in red sticky blood from the back of Seal Master’s head. One gently shook his hand to get off the brain matter. “Sorry to disappoint you, Daisuke, but I feel it was my duty to point something out.”

Daisuke took a step back. “How could you do that to your friend?!”

“Seal Master and I were not friends, we just happened to be assigned the same mission. This little buddy system you came up with has one simple flaw I don’t work with anyone, especially not some Noob like Seal Master.” One bent down and lightly touched Seal Master. His hand glowed a bright pink before returning to normal. “Wasting these Item’s on someone as unstable as him was something I’ll never understand.”

“Whether or not he was your friend, he was still your comrade!” said Daisuke going into stance. “And you killed him without even a batting an eye lash. How can you call yourself a man!?” Daisuke stared at the ground, his body shaking with anger. “You killed him just to prove a point to me?” he whispered.

“Honor and pride do not tempt me, it is only power that I require. How can you sit there and blame me for his death when you were surely going to give it to him yourself. What’s wrong? Are you mad because I took your job away?”
“I’d never kill him.”

“That Limbo that you send Banned Members, even death seems better then that. Are you too weak to kill people? It would save a lot of hassle.”
“Let me make a correction on my previous statement. I’d never kill him, but you on the other hand just earned yourself a one way ticket to hell.”

One slid his hands into his pockets, his blank face unchanged as dark grey matter shot around him. “Bring it.”

Lily felt her back connect with the wall and slowly slide down as the man tossed another exploding piece of grass at her. "Shit," she hissed jumping to her right and tumbling away. Lily got onto her knees and glared at the man over her shoulder.

"You can't beat me, so why are you even bothering?” chuckled the man. "Just sit back and enjoy the show."

Lily stood, swaying slightly before charging at him once more. The man flicked another piece of grass just below her feet, causing her to jump back but it was too late. The explosion hit her directly, making her tumble backwards into the wall. She felt a soft trail of blood slide down her face but she brushed it away.

"I've had enough of this, I'll just take care of both of you at the same time." He reached behind him and pulled out a long red piece of grass and put it gingerly in his mouth.

Lily sat up, gripping onto the wall behind her. If I'm ever going to get Sakura out of here unharmed, she thought watching him chew on the root of the grass, waiting for her next move. I'm going to have to get to her first. But I can't even touch him. Lily chewed on her lower lip in thought and reached beside her to help her stand. She felt the cold sheathe of Daisuke's Staff against her fingertips. His voice rang in her ears.

"As a Mod I have to protect the innocent people with my powers, even if it costs me my life. If you want to be a Mod, you can't have doubts like that. You just have to trust yourself and do all you can to protect the people who need you."

Lily nodded, she finally understood. She placed the staff upon her back and stood. She shielded her face with her arms. "Lets go you sick son of a bitch!" cried Lily charging at him once again.

"What's a dull sword going to possibly to do to me?" he threw his head back in laughter as he tossed the piece of red grass at her.

It hovered just above the ground before exploding into rings of fire, shooting out directly at Lily. Lily clenched her eyes shut tight as she ran straight into the explosion. Much to her surprise, the flames burned her skin but they didn't hurt. She felt the solid ground beneath her feet and it was if he had healed her. Lily looked up at his face; his once cocky smile was now turned into something of distress.

"The flames didn't even phase you, Black Rose is truly amazing."

The room became alive with fire, but the flames that burned the brightest were in Lily's eyes. She landed right in front of Sakura and clenched her fists. “Shut up!” screamed Lily. Lily stomped her foot and the fire around her seemed to swirl around her ankle before shooting up and hitting the man in the chest. He flew backwards as Lily stood, dumbfounded.

“Wha….what just happened?!”

The man’s lip twitched in enjoyment as he slowly slid down the wall. “It’s almost time.” He whispered. “Better make this quick before the feelings gone.” He quickly pulled five pieces of grass from his basket. Instead of letting them soak in his mouth, he ran his tongue over them and chucked them at Lily. “Now we will see Black Rose in her true form!”

Time seemed to slow for Lily as she watched the exploding grass fly toward her. She felt a strange burning in her back but she pushed it from her mind and fell to her knees. She wasn’t sure what, but something told Lily to hold on to Sakura, so she scooped her up and held her close as the grass landed beside her and five giant explosions shook the very cave itself.

Daisuke kicked up as One dodged gingerly to the side. They both glared at one another, nothing could break their concentration. Large pieces of rock and debris rained down around them, the earth shook so hard the cave held onto to everything it had just to stay up. One smiled. “Lily and the pink headed girl are dead. There’s no way they could have handled an attack from my Master on that magnitude.”

Daisuke’s heart and concentration faltered slightly before he shook his head and smiled back at him. “You obviously never met a girl like Lily then.”

Lily opened her eyes slightly, her body throbbed in pain, but she didn’t feel like they were from the fire. The spot where her Mark was hurt as if someone was constantly stabbing her with a rusted fork. She looked down at Sakura, lying peacefully in her arms, completely unharmed. “Sakura….” Lily whispered. She looked up at the man who stared at her, his face in shock.

“Why are you still here?!” he demanded.

Lily blinked at him. “I was hoping you’d tell me that.”

“Where is Black Rose?!” He was growing hysterical. “Why didn’t Black Rose emerge from the bracelet!?” Then, he saw it. Daisuke’s Mod Staff on Lily’s back was glowing a soft, warm green. “The Mod Staff cut off Black Rose’s full transformation…”

“Err….Is that a bad thing?” Lily gripped harder onto Sakura and leaned back, ready to stand. “Guess it won’t be so easy to kill me after all, huh?”

The man clenched his fists and Lily grew afraid. There was something wild about his stance now. “You’ve messed up everything!” he cried staring at the ground. “Black Rose will never be able to fully emerge ever!” He reached behind him, but instead of pulling out a piece of grass he pulled out what looked like a white ball. “I’ll kill you and rip her soul from your body! Then Black Rose and I can be together forever!” Dark energy swirled around him, and had Lily sliding back on her knees from the pure amount of power. “No one will ever be able to break us apart again!” He threw his head back and laughed insanely, drool ran down from the corners of his mouth.

Lily clenched onto Sakura and stood up to run. A long shadow hand reached up and grabbed her ankle, making her fall. A began to drag her back toward him.

“You’re not making it out alive. No matter who comes to save you this time.”

I wanted to make this all one chapter but I figured that 11 pages was long enough for you readers @.@. And besides, there's a mushy scene I wanted to put in the end after the battle so I'll just make that chapter 14 ^^ Hope you like it.

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Lily229

sorry for the wait ^^ here it is.

Chapter 14

Lily kicked up her foot to try and shake off the shadow hand. She dug her nails into the ground, but the hand was stronger and pulled her closer. Foam seemed to appear around the corners of his mouth as he watched her come closer.

“If I kill you now,” he whispered. “Then I might be able to save her. I just have to get rid of that stupid staff is all.”

Another shadow hand reached out for Daisuke’s staff still tied to her back. Lily gave a small gasp as she looked over her shoulder. Just inches from the staff, the staff began glow and soft green and the shadow hand began to disperse.

“What?!” cried the man. “There’s no way some lame S. Mod staff can destroy my Shadow!”

Lily blinked behind her watching as more hands came up and tried to touch the staff, all failing. “If the staff kills the hands.” She reached behind her and gripped onto the staff. She ripped it from her back and held it high over her head. She struck down onto the hand and watched it wither away in pain.
Lily jumped up, still gripping onto the staff. “I have the power now.”

The corner of the mans lip twitched before going into a smile. “Stupid girl. Daisuke only gave it to protect you, you don’t have the proper power to actually use it.”

Lily took a small step back, Rose’s skirt brushed against her legs. “I don’t have to fight anything, I just have to get Sakura out of here and keep Daisuke safe.”

“But the only way to protect them is to kill me,” he opened his arms and threw back his head in a booming laugh. He suddenly stopped and cocked his head forward slowly, glaring at her. "I hate that you walk around in her skin like a commoner."

"What?" whispered Lily. She heard a soft voice in the back of her mind.
Don't let him touch you, it whispered.

A shadow hand appeared behind Lily and sliced her across the shoulder. Lily fell forward onto her knees, gripping her shoulder as blood shot out from her body. A burning sensation bubbled up inside her gut, deep within the darkness of her belly. Lily felt like her skin was retreating to higher grounds as the rushing waters came. Soon, Lily felt no more blood stain her shirt but her shoulder continued to throb. She looked down at herself. Blue jeans, a blank T-shirt and a pair of black sneakers, just as she had dressed earlier this morning. She was back in her own body and defenseless.

“Why are you doing this to me?!” Lily demanded, standing up. “I’ve done everything you’ve ever asked of me, why do you insist on hurting me?”
The man stopped laughing and looked at her, his facial expression softer then before. “Because, only death can bring her back.”

“What are you talking about?"

The man stared ahead at Lily, but she could tell she was looking directly through her, into something deeper. “That day that I saw you, I knew that there was something different about you. That’s why I gave you that water orb, to get out of there. Something about you called to me, the pull was so strong.” The man looked down. “You have been constantly tested and I believe I’ve made the right choice. The right host for my beloved.”

Lily’s right eye twitched. “I told you when I first met you; I’m not some fucking genie pig!” The flames grew wild around Lily. Her eyes burned with anger as her hair grew wild from the flames.

The man continued on as if it was nothing. “When the time is right, my love will be in my arms once again.” He hugged himself and smiled. "It's just going to take a little longer," his smile turned into a darkened snarl and his eyes glared at Lily with hatred. "Because you're such a lucky idiot."

Green sparks and hot red embers seemed to collide around Lily as she stared at him, confused. "You keep talking about some woman, but who is she and what does she have to do with me?!"

"When I was younger, I fell in love with a beautiful woman. She had long soft brown hair and always dressed like a lady, a woman with class even though she came from dirt itself. My heart skipped a beat when I first laid eyes upon her. But life is so cruel and soon took her away from me from an illness that spread through the village that I resided in. In my attempt to save her, my younger brother stopped me and her soul was bound to the darkness forever."
Lily took a small step toward him. "I don't understand. What does that have anything to do with anything?"

The man shook his head and chuckled softly. "It's not something I'd expect you to understand."

Lily cocked her head to the side and narrowed her eyes. "It reminds me of another story I once heard, I believe it was you who told me. About Tom, his older brother, fell in love with a Virus and went mad and killed himself."

"And what, pray-tell, does that have anything to do with anything?"

"I've had my suspicions for a while, but you're right, none of it makes sense. If you really were Tom's elder brother, you wouldn't be here right? But I have to know, what is you fucking obsession with me?"

"Not you," the man gestured with his hand at Lily's left wrist. "But her."
Lily looked down at her bracelet. "You mean Rose? Now I'm even more lost then before."

"Are you sure you're lost and just not thinking too hard?"

Lily nodded and returned her gaze to the man. "I get it now, you want power! You want Rose's power!"

The man continued to stare ahead. "Believe whatever you want to believe, girly."

"That doesn't make sense though," she thought aloud. Like a slap in the face, a thought hit her and she looked up, shocked, at the man. "What really doesn't make sense is why would your younger brother try to stop you from saving someone’s life? What horrible thing could you have been trying to do? Is that why you hate Tom so much? Because he stopped you from saving her?"

The smile on the man's face quivered slightly. "I don't have to explain anything to someone who wouldn't understand."

"What were you doing the day she died? I've never met Tom, but I'm sure he's not the kind of person who would deny someone the right to save a life." Her voice grew softer. "It must to have been a really terrible thing for him to stop you. Did you really throw yourself off the cliff as you said or did you just make up that story to hide yourself from Tom?"

"Shut up!" the man cried suddenly, shadows swirly high and wild around him.

Lily took a step closer to Sakura. "Do you fear your younger brother? Is Tom more powerful then you are and that makes you angry?"

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