Tales of a Lost Sword 9

A good FYI to be aware of. My knowledge of MapleStory is EXTREMELY dated. Like, circa 2006-2007 is when I was last fully up to date. The fact that I'm even including NLC, 4th Job, pirates, etc. is an accomplishment in and of itself. Needless to say, ToaLS will only reflect changes in the game up to maybe 2008, 2009 (that's a stretch). So, pirates? Yes. All those other crap non-Adventurer classes? No.

Episode 9 The Search for the Anti-Paradox Begins!
Arai leans back lazily in his throne, resting his head against his right hand. He raises a large muffin to his mouth, and takes a fairly large bite from it. He chews rather noisily. By his side stands a Fatalist with bright green hair, her face obscured by one of the Fatalists’ masks.

Rill rises before his new master, presenting himself within the confines of a massive throne room in the Fatalists’ palatial base. He removes his white mask from his face, revealing his dark black hair and stern, cold eyes of matching color.

“You’re free to move about from our dimension to the false one as you please,” Arai announces, his words floating about lazily in the air, echoing slightly in the vastness of the cavernous room.

“Thank you, Master Arai,” Rill says, bowing low. “I will report back to you the activities of Ryuu and his men as soon as possible.”

“Very well,” Arai says, paying more attention to his muffin than to Rill, “you’re dismissed.” Rill disappears in a puff of smoke. Meanwhile, Arai continues to munch pleasantly on his muffin.

The Fatalist by his side removes her mask, revealing a pair of deep green eyes. “Are you sure it is wise to allow him to roam about freely like that? He is clearly a spy sent from the false dimension. I feel uncomfortable about allowing him to learn our secrets so easily like that.”

“It’s fine,” Arai replies without even glancing at the girl as he continues to devour the muffin ferociously, “you don’t need to worry about anything, Midori. I trust him. You can trust my plan. I have given him what he wants, and he will give us what we want.”

Midori bites her lip, bowing to Arai as well. “Very well. I’m sorry to question your plan, Your Highness. I will show myself out.”

Midori bows again, and exits the room through a side door behind the throne. Arai watches her depart, chewing thoughtfully on his muffin, a faint smile on his lips.

Kunai, Zack, Mira, and Ophelia appear from out of the depths of the dark subway tunnels onto the sunny premises of the largest city in the Maple World, New Leaf City. They gawk about at the innumerable sights like tourists, as they walk down its spacious boulevards.

“I never realized New Leaf City was so big!” Ophelia exclaims as they pass under the shadow of a huge skyscraper.

“Me neither,” Mira says, “now I know why they call this the city that never rests.”

“S’definitely a place to look for information if ya need it,” Zack adds lazily. He turns to Kunai. “Where to, Kunai?”

“I don’t know,” Kunai replies in a low voice, “this is my first time in New Leaf City.”

“Eh?” Ophelia cries, surprise on her face. “This is your first time in New Leaf City too?”

“Yeah,” Kunai answers pensively. “I never really had any business here, not even when I was learning under Ryuu. However, ever since Orbis fell, New Leaf City has been the capital of the world, so to speak. If we’re going to learn anything about the Anti-Paradox at all, it’s going to be here. At least, that’s what the people with the ARES Project said.”

“Ah, that’s the group ya went and joined in the Night World, huh?” Zack says. “You sure we can trust ‘em?”

“Yeah,” Kunai says again. “They’re trustworthy. Most of them anyway. According to their intel, there’s been an Anti-Paradox in development for years now. It was originally being developed in the Night World, but the former Charemis Monarchy learned about it and banned it, since they were working with the Myougun at the time, which didn’t want the Anti-Paradox to be developed. Ever since then, the project’s gone underground and we’ve been unable to track its whereabouts.”

“So that’s how it is, huh…” Zack mutters. “And ya think you’re gonna hear ‘bout it here?”

Kunai nods. “Apparently the project was smuggled out of the Night World in this world, but that’s about as far as we’ve been able to trace it. We’ll just have to pick up the trail from there.”

“This sounds like such a hassle,” Mira says, folding her arms. “How foolish could this so-called Charemis Monarchy be? To throw away a chance to create something like the Anti-Paradox…think about all the lives that could have been saved or turned out differently if not for their stupidity.”

“It’s not that simple,” Kunai responds, “the Anti-Paradox is extremely dangerous. Soul fusion, which is what the Anti-Paradox basically does, produces a lot of power. There are people out there who want that power and will do anything to get it. We’re not the only ones hunting for the Anti-Paradox. Which means that we have to be prepared at any time during this journey for a fight.”

Kunai turns to his companions, sizing each one up. “We’ll need to come up with a battle plan in the event of a fight. Zack and I will lead the frontline attack, since we’re the most experienced fighters. Mira, Ophelia. I don’t know your fighting styles as well, so you’ll have to brief me on your abilities.”

“Ophelia’s a Fire and Poison Mage, and I’m a White Knight and Hermit hybrid,” Mira says, “I can handle the frontlines as well—”

Kunai shakes his head. “Very well. Mira will provide offensive support to Zack and me during battles. Ophelia will provide long-range support with her magic attacks. This is the basic formation we used back when I was journeying with Ryuu, Arai, and Ivy to fight the Triplicates.”

“What are you talking about?!” Mira challenges. “Since I’m a sword user, I should be on the frontlines. Let Zack be support, since he’s a Bishop!”

Kunai opens his mouth to argue back, but Zack interrupts him. “Let Kunai make the decisions, Mira. He’s been fightin’ longer than you. He knows what he’s doin’. ‘Sides, this is his mission. I agree with Kunai’s formation. You’ll be most effective doin’ offensive support rather than directly on the frontlines, Mira.”

Mira falls silent, though she continues to fume slightly. Kunai nods. “Okay. Now that we’ve got battle formations down, let’s go searching for this Anti-Paradox.”

“Yeah!” the others cry in agreement.

Kunai turns to the others again. “Right, so we’ll be able to do this most effectively if we split up. Zack and Ophelia will take the east side of the city, Mira and I can take the west side. We’ll meet back here in three hours. That way if something happens to one of our groups, the other group will know you’re in trouble if you don’t come back.”

“Sounds good,” Zack grins. He raises his Kage in the air. “Here’s t’findin’ the Anti-Paradox!”

“All right,” Kunai says, steely determination in his eyes, “let’s make sure we return with at least one clue. This city is gonna show us the way to the Anti-Paradox, even if we have to make it!”

Masses of people crisscross the streets and sidewalks of New Leaf City, as they spend the warm, sunny day outside, visiting the various shopping centers strewn throughout the city. Dozens of people swarm one such outdoor mall, shopping bags in hand as they walk in small groups.

A single individual walks very slowly among this crowd of people, hands in pockets. The entire right side of his head is wrapped up in bandages, including his right eye. Tufts of wild black hair poke out from underneath the weight of the bandages. His left eye, the one uncovered, is blood red.

The individual trudges through the throngs of people at a painfully slow rate, almost as if disabled. Annoyed shoppers walk around him, or otherwise push past him through the crowds of people. He suddenly comes to a complete stop; several shoppers run right into him from behind, and curse loudly at him.

He turns abruptly, looking up into the bright sky. He sniffs the air. As he turns, the shining sun bounces off the back of his head, where the bandages are located. On the bandage is highlighted the following word in large black letters: FAILED.