Valys, a high school student from California, plays the world-wide phenomenon virtual MMO "Cyber Clash Online" or CCO, religiously. She and a group of her clan-mates undertake a new, top-secret quest that nobody else knows about, only to have her en...
Rio led us down a long hallway to a sketchy looking elevator. Rather than actual solid doors or walls it was held in place by what looked like some sort of rusted cage. The pulley system was visible too. I preferred to pretend that elevators weren't rushing me up or down at high speeds.
"Don't worry, it's perfectly safe. I too prefer stairs, but well..." Rio motioned to his wheelchair. "A drunk driver made that decision for me."
"I'm so sorry," I said, completely and honestly saddened. My cousin had also been hit by a drunk driver last year, though he hadn't lived to tell the story to the judge, and I was pretty sure the driver was already out roaming the streets again... or bars if not streets.
"Eh, it's life. It also gives me a perfectly good excuse to sit around all day on my computer." He turned and winked at us, letting us follow him into the cage-elevator. He lifted the case of a rusty control console and pressed a few buttons. The giant machine groaned and slowly began to descend.
Rio was charming, and probably twice my and Graz's age, or at least in his late-twenties. I made a mental note to ask how they knew each other and had become friends. Before I could say anything, my heart fluttered, and the wind left my lungs.
"Ugh..." I groaned, crumpling over and grasping my chest.
Graz bent over and put an arm on my shoulder. I should have been overjoyed at the fact that my celebrity crush was touching me, but I couldn't put the thought into motion. I felt so weak.
"What is happening?" I managed to force out, my hands clenched into fists.
Rio looked at Graz quizzically and Graz looked at the ceiling in thought.
"I think you need to disconnect," he finally said.
"What do you mean? I'm not online."
"No, I mean from Phoenix."
"What...?" I opened my menu and checked my status, my eyes glowing blue.
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"Wait, where did all my Ability Points go!"
I saw it tick down one more number.
3/250
Graz's eyes lit up as he entered his own status screen.
"Woah. Looks like being connected drains our AP, and quickly."
"How much do you have left?" I asked, feeling as if every word drained more AP.
"Heh," Graz grunted.
Guess he's still going to keep his stats a secret.
"Well, no point in passing out." I opened my menu, seeing the new option available.
Knowing full well I was not excited to go back to my original, ordinary self, I highlighted the command and spoke anyways, "Disconnect".
Code spun around me, an array of ones and zeros, alongside other languages that I didn't recognize. I felt myself shrink a few inches, my muscles faded away and my chest returned to my original size. I fell to the ground, taking deep breaths, no longer feeling the exhausted depletion of my Ability Points, but instead, overwhelmed by the now-broken dam of emotions that being Phoenix had held back.
