Rose Anne Miller entered her apartment complex with a sigh. Anymore the days took up so much time and effort. She felt like these next three days of free time where going to be well spent and were certainly earned. She flopped her mail on the table and set down her bag and that was when it caught her attention.<br/><br/>The VirtuaWorld console had appeared yesterday, but she hadnâ€™t had the chance to open it.<br/><br/>â€œWhat the heck. I wanted to relax, I have the days off. Why not?â€ Without a second thought she carried it into the living room, opened it, and scanned the contents. There was a moment hesitation as she found that there was no controller. She sighed. â€œYouâ€™re right, Rishka. I should call the company an-â€ That moment was up when she realized the instruction manual was missing too. A grin spread on her face. Instruction manuals were boring anyway. Putting the game in the drive she grabbed the head set and put it on.<br/><br/>â€œOh Gods!â€ She yelled past the pain and crumpled, half on the floor and half on the couch.<br/><br/>Next thing Rose knew she was sitting up and not in pain. Looking through squinted eyes she saw that she was in a subway train. A very, very fancy subway.<br/><br/>A man made up of code appeared on a screen in the front. â€œI see that you are finally awake.â€<br/><br/>Rose laughed and opened her eyes, supposing that the game was up. â€œNice accent,â€ She said, standing up and walking over to the screen. â€œSo..where am I?â€<br/><br/>â€œI need your Online Gaming ID and password. Then you can gain your first skill.â€<br/><br/>â€œYou donâ€™t sound very robotic binary codey to me,â€ Rose commented and crossed her arms. At least now she knew she was in the video game. â€œOnline Gaming ID: Cairde. Password: ********Panda3.â€<br/><br/>â€œChecking online Data-banks..â€<br/><br/>â€œNow thatâ€™s more like it! Very Binary-like.â€<br/><br/>â€œData found. Weapon of choice: Summonerâ€™s Sheild.â€ A compartment clicked open off to her right. Opening it, she found a rounded shield and a sharp blade. It was too long to be a dagger, but too short to be a sword. She recognized it from other games as a dirk. She picked up the blade and looked at it before turning to the shield.<br/><br/>The moment she touched it, there was a shimmer of light and she glanced to her left before jumping. There, in front of her, was Rishka. The griffin was as beautiful as ever to her, and had his head held just as high. â€œYouâ€™ve never followed me into video games before,â€ She whispered, reaching out towards his feathered head. She reached out and stroked it, chatting away at Rishka and completely ignored as the binary man droned on about something. Blah, blah Level 6 summoner. Blah blah. Viruses. Blah blah, are you paying attention?! None of it was as exciting as Rishka being there beside her.<br/><br/>Eventually the man gave up and disappeared from the screen. â€œDid you get any of that?â€ Rishka asked, his voice deep and calm.<br/><br/>â€œSomething about finding others and five live and not dying,â€ Rose replied absently. â€œWhy are you here?â€ Before Rishka could reply, a door opened underneath them and they fell through.<br/><br/>They appeared on what looked like a battlefield. In the middle of battle. â€œGods! I should have paid attention to the non-robotic binary man!â€ Rose yelled as she ducked for cover, Rishka following soon after. Looking around she found another piece of cover close by. Glancing between her shield and the piece of cover she grinned. Three sides of her would be covered when she crouched into the corner there, giving her a moment to think. If she could get there.<br/><br/>Dashing across the field, she made it safely to the better cover and ducked between it and her shield.<br/><br/>â€œWhat are you doing here?â€ Rose half-hissed. â€œThis is no place for you. Youâ€™ll distract me.â€<br/><br/>â€œYou didnâ€™t listen to the man. I am your weapon. Your power. Part of it, at least. But Iâ€™m not the one you need for this part.â€<br/><br/>â€œWhat do you mean?â€<br/><br/>â€œYou need to focus and talk to Forest.â€<br/><br/>â€œHow am I supposed to do that? Heâ€™s not here.â€<br/><br/>â€œFocus,â€ Rishka replied sternly.<br/><br/>Rose grumbled under her breath for a moment. â€œBut I-â€œ It was that moment when Rishka turned to cover her forth side, on alert. Rose peeked over Rishkaâ€™s back and saw a figure approaching their cover from the distance. â€œAre you friendly?! Letâ€™s stop and have some tea!â€ Rose called out, earning a small growl of warning and frustration from Rishka that made her smile, even as she felt her heart pounding in her chest out of excitement and fear.