The Cathedral Encounter

Tabby awoke the next day feeling very happy. Memories of the previous day came flooding back. Those events had also caused her to have some great dreams during the night. So she was confident that today would be just as good. How was she to know that it would be one of the worst days of her life?

Tabby logged into “The World” to become her hyperactive cat-girl. Almost immediately after appearing in Mac Anu, she received a short-mail from Sakisaka.
“Ooo, Teacher is calling, wonder what he wants. Well, better go see!” She happily ran off to the Central District where Sakisaka said he would be.

“Hi Teacher!” Tabby shouted when she reached Sakisaka.
“Don’t call me Teacher” Sakisaka said grumpily. “Anyway, I called you here because I’ve decided to quit “The World”. My friends invited me to a new game called Riot Gun and I accepted”
“You can’t leave! Why?” Tabby asked.
“Well, I’m perplexed to why I’ve stayed for so long and am surprised that I’m still here.” He replied instead of actually answering the question.
“The Sakisaka catchphrase” Tabby said sadly.
“Listen, I’ve got to go. Goodbye and best of luck to you” Sakisaka said. Before Tabby could say anything else, Sakisaka logged out, never to return.

Tabby looked at the empty space where Sakisaka had been. He had been one of her favorite Twilight Brigade members. She had enjoyed training with him, but now he was gone. Tabby decided to talk to Shino about it. She sent her a short-mail and Shino appeared soon after.
“Hi Tabby, what’s going on?” Shino asked her friend.
“Sakisaka quit “The World”” Tabby replied sadly.
“Sakisaka…” Shino said. “So the Twilight Brigade really is gone then”
“Yeah” Tabby said. “But at least we’ve got each other, right?”
Shino said nothing. She seemed distracted about something.
“Ummm, Shino?” Tabby said. But Shino ran off. “I have to go to the cathedral!” she shouted behind her.

“Why is she in such a hurry?” Tabby wondered. She decided to contact Haseo. She sent a short-mail saying: “Haseo, Shino ran off in a hurry to the Hulle-Granz Cathedral. Thought you should know.” A short reply of “Thanks, I’ll go there” was all she received back.

Tabby waited impatiently for Haseo to return. When he finally did, he looked sad and pale. “Shino… she’s not here” Haseo said. He then logged out, not even noticing Tabby, leaving her to wonder what happened. Tabby logged out too and went to bed hoping that Shino was all right.

The next day, Tabby decided to visit Phyllo. The 62-year old floating beast character always hung out at the bridge in the alchemy district and always seemed to know what went on in “The World”. Perhaps he would know what happened in the cathedral. She couldn’t find Haseo anywhere.

Just as she expected, Phyllo was floating in midair at the bridge. “Ah, Tabby” he said. “I suppose you’re here to learn what happened in the Hulle-Granz Cathedral yesterday”
“Yes”, answered Tabby. “But how did you know?”
“Haseo has already come to talk about it and you’re his friend” Phyllo replied. “It seems that in the cathedral, an entity known as Tri-Edge PKed Shino.”
“Tri-Edge?” Tabby said questioningly. “Who’s he?”
“Nobody knows”, answered Phyllo. “Some say he is just a rumor. Others say he is a powerful PKer. All we know for sure is that whatever attacked Shino put her body in a coma in the real world.”
“A coma!” Tabby said in alarm. “But how is that possible?”
“I don’t know,” said Phyllo, speaking as calmly as ever. “But I need you to do me a favor”
“What is it?” Tabby asked.
“Haseo has gotten it into his head that he will avenge Shino and defeat Tri-Edge”, Phyllo replied. “It would be very dangerous for him to go near Tri-Edge, much less fight him. Haseo will not listen to me, but he might listen to you.”
“So you want me to stop him from doing anything reckless?” Tabby clarified.
“Yes” Phyllo replied. “He said he would be at the cathedral”
“Right” Tabby said uncertainly, knowing that the task she had been given was tougher than any quest “The World” had to offer.

“Poor Shino” she thought to herself as she went to the Chaos Gate “and poor Haseo. This must be really hard on him. When I saw those two in the cathedral together, it looked to me like true love.” She warped to the outside of the cathedral. She saw the place in a new light now. It was a mysterious place where great things could happen- but so could horrible tragedies.

She opened the door and walked inside and saw Haseo at the altar. She ran up to him.
“It’s you” Haseo said. His voice was emotionless. He seemed to have no sadness at all, but Tabby knew he must be grieving inside. “I suppose you’ve heard”
“Yes” Tabby replied quietly. “I talked to Phyllo about it. He said that you plan to defeat Tri-Edge. Is that true?”
“Of course, how else will I rescue Shino?”
“You can’t!” Tabby exclaimed. “You could fall into a coma yourself! Shino wouldn’t want that!”
“Thanks to Tri-Edge, I don’t know what Shino would have wanted.” Haseo said coldly. “Just leave me alone”
“But Haseo-“ Tabby started. “Just be quiet” Haseo interrupted, and without another word, he left the building.

Tabby sat there feeling like she failed. However she knew she could not give up. She had to stop Haseo before it was too late. Tabby knew that her quest would be tough because even though Haseo had been stubborn in the past, this time he had a very good reason for it. Even so, she vowed to stop Haseo because as Phyllo said, now that Shino was in a coma, Tabby was his only friend and the only person who had any chance of getting through to Haseo.

Chapter 3 coming soon. Reviews are always appreciated.