<span style="color: #FFFF00">JD had been listening to everything that was said and occasionally glancing over at Rukia, who seemed a bit unnerved. She kept looking at Grievous as though he was some sort of impossibility, when she was an impossibility herself. on top of that, Grievous resembled a hollow to her, at least a bit, so she was fighting the urge to try and kill him and "Purify his soul". JD on the other hand, was fighting the urge to comfort her simply because his emotional state toward Rukia had changed ever since she had implied she seriously meant it when she had mentioned being his girlfriend. As all the theories about what was going on played through his head, only one stuck out as plausible to him. They couldn't be drugged if Julien had literally seen Tails in the real world, and if it was magic, then they wouldn't be in a game that allowed logouts, he reasoned. that just left the one that was probably bias just because JD himself was a tech freak with a badass computer set up at home. "We've got to be inside some sort of revolutionary technological breakthrough on a test run..." he muttered more to himself, even though the rest of the group heard it. "If Tails is in fact real, then Lizbeth wasn't-scccccccchhhhh."<br/><br/>JD looked surprised for a moment. "Did my voice go to static for anyone else here? It's lik-sssssschhhhhhhhhh...." he paused. "SHIT!"</span><br/><br/><br/><span style="color: #00FF00">Doce glared suspiciously at Jack and then Zach as they joined her against the wall. <span style="font-style: italic">Am I being mimicked?</span> she wondered. <span style="font-style: italic">...Screw it.</span><br/><br/>Her eyes widened in paranoid panic as JD started to... malfunction. <span style="font-style: italic">Holy shit! Is he being cut off?</span> "Like I said earlier," she said to the sky. "I'm open to discussion here. Seriously, I'm very open-minded."</span><br/><br/><br/><span style="color: #00FFFF">Grievous coughed and wheezed as usual, but it was Zach's voice who came through. "I don't get what you're all worried about, this is cool in my book." His yellow slit eyes widened when JD began to go all static-y. "Uhhh...is that supposed to happen?"<br/>[8:29:26 PM] TehZach1993: Also taking note of Rukia's looks at him, he waved to her, "Can ya stop looking at me like I'm some sort of Barrow or whatever it is?"</span><br/><br/><br/><span style="color: #FFFF00">Suddenly a door opened out of literally thin air, and a certain Dark Knight walked out.<br/><br/>"I think I'm going to faint..." JD said as The Batman said "I need to know who the players known as Doce, Zach, and JD are. if you do not tell me, I will use violence."<br/><br/>JD raised his hand. He did NOT want a beating at the hands of The Caped Crusader. that was one fanboying filled fight he knew he'd lose.</span><br/><br/><br/><span style="color: #00FF00">Doce's mouth dropped open. <span style="font-style: italic">It's mother-truckin' Batman,</span> she thought, in a state of awe. "Present," she croaked, one eyebrow twitching nervously. "No violence necessary, please."</span><br/><br/><br/><span style="color: #00FFFF">Grievous/Zach's reaction was less subtle, as his midsection began spinning again. "HOLY CRAP YOU'RE BATMAN! THE DARK KNIGHT, THE CAPED CRUSADER, THE WORLDS GREATEST DETECTIVE!" now spinning so much that his midsection looked like it was going to fly off and hit someone, it finally stopped when he got ahold of himself.<br/><br/>...More or less, "I'm Zach! Can I pleaaase have your autograph?"</span><br/><br/><br/><span style="color: #FFFF00">The Dark Night nodded, completely ignoring Grievous' apperent infatuation, which led JD to further suspect foul play from all the events that had been leading up to this.<br/><br/>"Follow me." The Batman said simply, and he went back through the door with no apparent structure behind it's frame. JD followed, and found that the trio were being led into what looked like a lavish mansion.<br/><br/>"Trippy... alternate dimension?" he asked trying to get a grasp on the situation. Apparently his social skills from Sword Art Online were so high they actually influenced THE Batman! the response he got was as follows: "No. The Game Master's Guild Hall."<br/><br/>JD frowned but kept moving. More info that they were indeed in a game. That still didn't explain the apparent non-dying player reports, but it leaned toward them being true.</span><br/><br/><br/><span style="color: #00FF00"><span style="font-style: italic">The Game Master's....</span> Doce craned her neck back to look at the ceiling. "It's beautiful," she said. "Fitting for the GM of a game this revolutionary, I suppose." She hesitated and looked ahead at the caped crusader, but couldn't think of anything to say to him. She didn't even know if he was an NPC or not, and bringing it up seemed like a bad idea. <br/><br/>She looked around and flashed back to when she was kidnapped in the Beta and chuckled. "It's kinda nostalgic~"</span><br/><br/><br/><span style="color: #00FFFF">Coughing and wheezing with every step towards the mansion, Grievous/Zach with his hunched over posture walked along with the other two players. He looked ahead to Bats and rushed up beside him, "Soo...are you post crisis or New 52 one?"</span><br/><br/><br/><span style="color: #FFFF00">"Does it matter?" The Batman asked rhetorically. JD had the feeling Zach was a huge fan of Batman, but if the Bat was an NPC, the obvious fact was that he'd be secretive, distrustful, and not trust a villain as far as he could throw them. Given Grievous' size, that wasn't very far. Before he could say anything, Batman opened a door, and they were ushered inside. a man whom JD immediately recognised was seated at a coffee table with three empty chairs. One reminiscent of Grievous' battle cruiser command chair, one that looked like it was made of ice, and one that looked like a plain wooden one from a certain summer home in SAO. JD put on a fake smile. "I see you tailored to our character's comfort levels." he stated. "Dark Schneider. If that's even who you are."<br/><br/>The man revealed to be Dark Schneider raised an eyebrow. "So you DO watch a lot of anime. Good to know. But please, call me GM."<br/><br/>As the three took their respective seats, GM sighed and ran a hand through his white flowing hair. "Alright. I want to be frank. There are things I want to say, but without giving you the right to speak your minds, and perhaps the chance for me to answer a few questions, it wouldn't be fair, so shoot."</span><br/><br/><br/><span style="color: #00FF00">"What and why?" Doce said, intentionally being as general as possible. "Unless my life or the lives of any of the few humans I actually care about are threatened, I'm content to just enjoy this spectacular game. I won't be a problem." She started tapping her foot again, and couldn't keep the subtle thrill from seeping into the edges of her expression. This was the first time she'd ever said these words out loud, despite how deeply they'd rooted themselves into her with truth. "But I'm positively <span style="font-style: italic">starving</span> for information." Her foot stopped tapping momentarily before picking up again. "That's <span style="font-style: italic">me</span> being frank."</span><br/><br/><br/><span style="color: #FFFF00">GM smiled in a friendly manner, but one that said "I know things" ever so slightly. "Well, that's a very broad generalization. As far as what... I don't know what you're asking, but why? I suppose I could tell you, but what's the fun in that? What I will say is that dying is not possible like in the Beta, so you don't have to worry about that crap. Go ahead and enjoy the game! and just so you know, everything about the NPCs you've been hearing is definitely not a lie."<br/><br/>The GM sat back in his chair, apparently looking pleased with himself. "How about the General? any questions?"</span><br/><br/><br/><span style="color: #00FFFF">"Uhhhh....why'd you call us out here then? I don't get it." Zach scratched Grievous's metallic faceplate</span><br/><br/><br/><span style="color: #FFFF00">The GM smiled in the sort of way that said, "I'm confident and you asked what I wanted you to ask." While JD frowned. something didn't feel right about this...<br/><br/>"Excellent question! You see... I have a problem." The gm looked up, sighed again a little over dramatically, looked back down, and continued. "Those rumors about a player not exiting the game upon death. They are true.  My sources tell me that there may be something outside the game that's keeping him from waking up upon death. I can't trust my men with this because most of them are NPCs to begin with." There was an uncomfortable silence in the room. "He needs to be found and brought here so that I can help him. Will you help me?"</span><br/><br/><br/><span style="color: #00FF00">Doce hid her disappointment well. She'd assumed the GM had summoned them because he'd heard her express her willingness to hear his side of things. But he shrugged her questions off shamelessly. She was grateful to Zach for getting him to say <span style="font-style: italic">something</span>--even if it did nothing to explain the strange things happening with the NPCs.  <br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Gods, this scheming devil is attractive,</span> Doce thought, a slight pink touching her cheeks against her permission. <span style="font-style: italic">Still... How is it that this has </span>nothing<span style="font-style: italic"> to do with the game's NPCs acting up? And why ask </span>us<span style="font-style: italic"> for help?</span> She wanted to say that it sounded troublesome and try to get him to make it a quest, but her mouth was too well trained and agreed before she could say what she actually wanted to. "Sure, no problem." <span style="font-style: italic">Fuck. I'm such a Yes-man. Oh well... It's not like I was going to say no, anyway.</span></span><br/><br/><br/><span style="color: #00FFFF">Zach replied, not seeming to be worried about...whatever was having everyone on edge. "I'm in! You can count on me!" Followed by a loud hacking/coughing fit</span><br/><br/><br/><span style="color: #FFFF00">GM looked at JD. "And what about you?" he asked with a warm voice. JD thought about it, then decided. "I want a question answered first. What kind of situation are our real bodies in? Answer that and I will help you."<br/><br/>GM laughed goodheartedly. "I suppose I owe you a reply then. Believe it or not, you are in your real body right now! I simply gave all of you avatars. no drugs, just a shift in... destination." He finished. "Now then, If I recall you said you'd help me if I explained."<br/><br/>JD gawked and looked at his hands... it wasn't tech? it was literally body switching? this was real? but if it was a game, then.... it would mean that none of the NPCs were actual AI at all! If this was real, Grievous could very well be able to overpower Zach and he would start murdering people. but it was a game! it had to be a joke that GM was pulling! it just... didn't add up.<br/><br/>GM noticed the look JD had of almost going into I-overthought-this shock. "Relax, Kirito. the only way to get people here was to call it a Game. and there are still laws that say we go back to earth when we die here." He said warmly. JD looked a bit startled. "Tails is an actual avatar brought to life isn't he?" he asked. GM smiled. "That would be telling. I would rather let you figure it out. It's much more fun to play a game than to know everything and watch it happen!" He said. Noticing the looks he was getting from Soren and Grievous, He laughed. "Too much info? or are you just shocked?" he said.</span><br/><br/><span style="color: #00FFFF">Grievous nodded, "Just....shocked."</span><br/><br/><br/><span style="color: #00FF00">Doce was shocked silent at the GM's big reveal. Her heart rate sped up almost enough to make her worry it might give out on her, then ecstasy seeped into every feature of Soren's body... <span style="font-style: italic">Her</span> body, she now realized. "That's the most amazing thing I've ever heard," she said, her eyes wetting slightly. "Uhg-- seriously, that is <span style="font-style: italic">so</span> awesome!" She was beyond thrilled, and she didn't even really know why! She paused. "Wait... But then, I'm actually a guy right now.... Screw it! I don't even care." She smiled at the game master and honestly smiled. "Thank you."</span><br/><br/><br/><span style="color: #00FFFF">"This is soooo awesome!" Grievous/Zach said before bursting into a hacking fit</span><br/><br/><br/><span style="color: #FFFF00">"Well, your all very welcome. I hope you remember this in the future. But I believe you all have a tournament to prepare for, so I will let you get back to it." GM snapped and a door just like the one they entered the Guild Hall in appeared next to him. "We should talk more often. goodbye for now." he said as they exited the room and were right back with the others. Rukia looked up. "What was that about?" she asked. JD then explained in the shortest way he could. "This isn't just a game. We are literally here, in these bodies, which is probably why we feel pain, and I don't know how anime/game logic exists here, but this is actually happening. No drugs, No drooling people in a hospital. We are literally us. I understand Japanese because I AM Japanese, Jack has a voice in his head because he actually IS insane, and Tails really is Tails just as much as Rukia IS Rukia."<br/><br/>He turned to Jack Spade "Jack, If you still don't believe Rukia's the real thing, I will ask you this. Why does it seem so impossible when Jack Spade himself shouldn't exist, but suddenly does, and has an insane voice in his head. and on top of that." he paused then shouted at the top of his lungs, which turned several heads. "WHY DO YOU THINK SOMEONE FROM OUR WORLD WOULD BE SO INSANE AS TO NAME A GIRL AFTER AN ANIME IF SHE WAS GOING TO BE TEASED BECAUSE OF HER PARENTS! HAVE YOU NO SHAME, OR IS JACK SPADE ACTUALLY INSANE ENOUGH TO OVERRIDE YOUR BRAIN'S THOUGHT PATTERNS???"</span>