Isolation

"Soul, Emperor, Dark, I need to talk to you privately. Meet me in my office." Addex addressed the three with a solemn look in his gaze. Not that you could see it, a shadow seemed to hang over his face, making his eyes unable to be seen. He turned around and walked back into the office room, which is where he'd been ever since they got back. As the three he named entered the room, he met their eyes with a very serious half-glare.
"You were here in the beta test, right? That's why you have the SoulWeaver Class." Quietly, the three nodded. "That means you've seen the King face-to-face, because of the last quest in the beta, which was later taken out of the full release." They all nodded.
"The King visited me in the prison." This gained a perplexed look from Tonix. "Why would he visit you there? There's no reasoning behind it."
Addex took a deep breath, and suddenly his voice was shaky, his body quaking with something that wasn't quite fear. "Because the King... The King is my father, Soul."
The three stared at him, mouths agape - say for Gabriel, naturally - and they quickly recollected themselves. "Your dad?" Nick asked, needing confirmation, wanting to believe it wasn't true.
"Yes." Addex replied with a gulp, fear and worry now occupying his once determined lavender gaze. "I saw him. He was laughing... He said he trapped us all here to be worshipped. Like a god. And..."
"..and what?" Gabriel questioned. His tone was calm, but it was easy to see the impatience in his eyes. "The only way I know how to fix this... is to kill him."
Now Gabriel seemed perplexed. Or interested, it was hard to tell. "Kill him? That won't actually kill him, though, would it?"
Addex gulped again, beads of sweat dripping down his unkempt white fur. "The King was programmed to be an NPC, and NPCs only have one life. Now that my father has taken the spot, I can't tell for sure... but my mind is telling me that there's almost no chance he would remain alive." He waved his paw in a motion to say "out," as if he couldn't take any more of the conversation. "I'm sorry. I'm still unstable. Don't tell the guild about this... please."
-=-
A leopard-furred mouse stared in the direction of Addex's guild hall. Their pitch-black hair whipped around their eyes, which were covered by a black blindfold, something they could easily see through, even if it wasn't meant for that purpose. The lantern hanging from their tail gave off a faint red glow in the dark forest around them. They brushed a claw against one of their bloodstained fangs, a small grin playing at their lips. A voice that spoke in a calm tone, yet could send chill's down one's spine regardless called her from the depths of the woods. "Magi, I do believe it's time we should leave?"
The leopard-furred mouse nodded, glancing over their shoulder once more at the guild hall. "Right. I'm coming, Panther." They whisked around and disappeared into the Everlost Woods, leaving no trace that they'd ever been there.

The Zodiac Guilds

"Magi!"
The blindfolded mouse turned thier gaze to the guild leader, Akkanno - otherwise known as Panther. His coarse black fur seeming to suck the light from the room, making it seem dull. His gray eyes seemed to penetrate their thoughts, reading every one. "Yes?" They asked, meeting Akkanno's gaze equally, even if they were just the co-leader.
"Go tell Archer to keep an eye out. We're still waiting for the Scorpio Guild to get here."
Magiac nodded, turning and vanishing down the stone corridor, up to the watch tower where Flint kept watch. "Archer," They called, brushing the black hair from their eyes. The white-furred mouse glanced at Magi, brushing a bit of ash from his fur. "Yeah?"
"Panther told me to tell you to keep watch for the Scorpio Guild." He nodded. "I've been doing that all day, 'Gic." Magiac twitched in annoyance at the nickname, glaring at the goth mouse through their blindfold. They opened their mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by the ninja-class goth before them. "I'll send a messenger pigeon to Panther when they come. Quit getting your genderless leopard fur in a bundle." Magiac seethed, but walked away, deciding it was smarter not to get into an argument with him.
They wouldn't win, anyways.
As Magi left, Flint shrugged and returned his dual-gray eyes to the field below. He cast his vision aside to glance at his bow, his preferred weapon. It wasn't good with any class, and seeing as there was no Ranger class, at least the bow and arrow was implemented into the game. His bow was made of a sturdy, rare wood from the Skytree, found in Hurricane Isle - an island in the sky. The string was made from the reeds of the papyrus plant, which - as Archer attempted to recall - ancient egyptians used to make paper and boats. The white-furred goth smiled, turning his gaze back to the fields below. There, he spotted the yellowish fur of the Scorpio guild leader, Tetra. "Late, as usual, Stinger~" He chimed, calling his messenger pigeon with a tune from a reed plant and sending a short PM to Akkanno.

"They're here."

Knowing that the Scorpio Guild was the last to arrive, Flint gathered up his bow and quiver, then slid down a rope on the side of the watch tower. He treaded through the stone corridor to the meeting room, where the other Zodiac leaders and a select few of their guild members were waiting. Flint took up his place beside Magiac and Akkanno, surveying all of the leaders.

Aries, the Ram - otherwise known as Windsceptre. Quiet and easygoing; easily thinks for solutions to end and get around problems.
Scorpio, the Scorpion - otherwise known as Stinger. Bold, rushes into action without thinking about later consequences. Judgemental and short-tempered.
Gemini, the Twins - otherwise known as WingedDark and Lightbearer. Twins, though not identical. Hatane - Lightbearer - is calm and caring, though can be serious and cruel if needed. Her brother, Hitaan, is serious and calm; and much like Aries, good at thinking around problems. Quick to think.
Sagittarius, the Archer - otherwise known as Panther. Protective, cold, and ruthless. A good leader type.
Cancer, the Crab - otherwise known as Kalaren. She wasn’t shy, but she wasn’t outspoken, either. Somewhere inbetween. She’s good at organizing things and working with sharp objects.
Aquarius, the Water Bearer - otherwise known as Tsunami. She acts without thinking, and is extremely protective of the other Zodiac Leaders. She favors friends above all else.
Capricorn, the Goat - Also known as Driveby. Laid back and easygoing. He doesn’t mind much of anything and will usually stay back during a fight.
Virgo, the Maiden - otherwise known as QueensWrath. She’s quite obedient, but fast and strong when it counts.
Taurus, the Bull - otherwise known as Strongwill. He’s protective like Pearl, the Aquarius leader Tsunami, whom he is close friends with.
Libra, the Scales - A young boy known only as Ryoune. He prefers balance over all else, and is extremely intelligent and clever. His older brother is Kazuto, the Leo leader.
Pisces, the Fish - A pair of identical twins known as Kyou and Frolith. They like causing trouble and usually spend time talking to Kyra, the Cancer leader.
Lastly, Leo, the Lion - Also known as UndeadLion. He was a beta tester, and close friends to the well-known player, Hex. Direct and leader-type. He leads not only the Leo Guild, but the round of Zodiac Guilds. He’s usually turned to when one of the guilds are having a problem.

Satisfied with his strong memory, Flint glanced at Kazuto, waiting for his approval to start the meeting. He did so just seconds later.
“Zodiacs,” He started, surveying the room. “I assume we know why we’re here?”
Flint nodded along with a majority of the other Zodiac Guild members and leaders. Kazuto seemed satisfied with this, nodding his understanding. “Right,” Flint spoke, stepping up beside Akkanno. “it’s the guild we’ve been told to keep an eye on. The one who’s got their eye on the King, led by the developer’s son.”
Kazuto nodded approval again, staring at Flint. “Hex’s behavior has changed. He’s acting panicked and worrisome, which is greatly unlike him.”
Lucy, the Aries leader, spoke up. “Mind if I ask how you got this information?” Akkanno glanced at her, his gray eyes calm. “We have a spy in their midst,” He began. “that goes by the name of Switchblade.”
Gasps rose from the surrounded members, wondering how they could take such a risk. “In the end, we plan to become allies. Does it not matter?” Magiac pitched in, glaring through their blindfold once again. Kanen, the Libra leader, nodded. “That’s true.”
Flint’s tail curled as the Sagittarius members gained a few hostile faces from several other Zodiac Guild members. “He’s close to Hex,” the goth mouse added, trying not to seem nervous. “so it’s not like we’ll be found out unless he trusts Hex enough to keep the information, which probably won’t happen. Besides, with Hex’s condition at the moment, I know he’ll keep the secret.” This gained an approving nod from Flint’s leader and a mumbling crowd.
“Calm down.” Kazuto called, glaring at the gathered guilds. “We have no reason to distrust Sagittarius.” Flint and Magiac smiled at eachother, relieved.
“Switchblade will report to us often, so I’d request all of you to stay in the area. If you have teleportation crystals, feel free to leave and return. However, if a meeting is called, I expect you all to be on time.” Akkanno shot a look at Tetra, earning a glare in return.
“It’s not my fault that Pravinail over here held us back.” The mentioned mouse shot a glare at his leader. “Don’t pin this on me, Sting!” He shot, angry to be blamed when he’d done nothing wrong. “Why, Prav? It’s true.” She returned, shrugging.
“You know it’s not.”
“Is, too.”
“Is not.”
“Is, too!”
“Shut up, you two.” Another Scorpio guildmate muttered angrily. Tetra and Iggy rolled their eyes, but stopped arguing and resorted to occasional glares at eachother.
“Will they be alright?” Kanen asked, gesturing towards the Scorpio leader and her guildmate.
“Yeah. That’s normal for those two.” Flint cut in, chuckling. “I know them both in the normal world.” Kanen nodded, motioning for Flint to move where they could talk without being overheard.
Once they were away from the other guilds, which had begun to break up and talk, Kanen spoke.
“So… if they’re your friends… why not be in the Scorpio Guild?”
Flint shrugged, glancing back to where Magiac and Akkanno were talking. “I want it to be the same here like it is in the normal world now,” the goth mouse replied, frowning slightly. “I barely see them anymore, let alone talk to them, since I moved to Georgianzola. If I see them too much, well… I’ll get lonely again.” Flattening his ears back, Flint’s frown deepened. “They’re really nice, and fun to be around.”
Kanen nodded understandingly. “Sorry to ask.”
“It’s fine.” Shrugging, the white-furred mouse left Kanen and went over to Magiac and Akkanno, breaking into their conversation with a laugh of a smile. Magiac rolled their eyes under their blindfold, but was secretly glad for his company. The guilds broke up, to meet again at a later time, when Jake would have more news.

Leo

Libra

Aries

Scorpio

Sagittarius

Gemini

A few weeks had passed since the occurrence with Addex's father and it was clear to see that the guild leader was emotionally unstable. His hair was unkempt, his white fur stained with dust and in ragged clumps. Rather than spiking upward, Addex's silver hair draped down his head and hung over his face.
"No matter how many times I tell myself 'It's only a hypothesis', my father is indirectly tearing me apart...
Damnit, Dad, damn it all to Hell."
He'd thought it over. Over and over again. His father would most definitely meet his end.
"Hex! There's someone who calls himself Goldeneye here to see you."
The guild leader didn't look up at Strife. Continuing to let the shadow of the room litter his expression, he merely replied with, "Bring him in."
Strife did just that. The mouse who was usernamed "Goldeneye" entered Addex's office. Strife closed the door behind him.
"Hex."
"That's my name. Don't wear it out. What can I do for you?"
"Look at me."
Groggily, the worn-down leader raised his head and looked at Goldeneye. His pupils contracted almost immediately in a mixture of fear and awe.
"N-No. Raymond?"
The older sibling grinned slightly. "That's my name. Don't wear it out, Brother."
"But the last time I saw you- On the day that Aunt Michelle-"
"-Vanished? I'm well aware."
"What did you come here for?" Addex's tone hinted anger and accuasation. Raymond shrugged it off and continued speaking.
"It's quite simple, Brother," The older sibling began, "you're in the way, as usual. Your guild, Justice's Path, is in the way, too.
Addex grunted between a mixture of pain, confusion, and anger as his brother cuffed him and leapt through the window with his younger sibling in tow.
"Hex? H-" Strife opened the office door and surveyed the room. Broken shards of glass from the shattered window littered the floor.
"...Holy Hell."

Never Heard of 'Em

Addex's vision was blurry as he slowly opened his eyes. Last thing he'd remembered, his older brother, Raymond, had kidnapped him. Now, however, he had no idea where he was. Must've gotten knocked out, The Psychic Tracer concluded, but by whom?
The Guild Leader tried to move, only to find that he'd been bound to a tree. The bark scraped against his torn clothing and skin. As his vision returned, he found that Raymond was tied to a tree opposite him, in a clearing with about thirty or so players. Suddenly, a stick prodded him in the side. The white-furred mouse's violet eyes found that a rather nervous-looking sorcerer was sitting beside him on a large rock, eyeing him suspiciously. His shaky voice addressed a nearby warrior, whom Addex assumed was the sorcerer's guild leader.
"St-Stinger, he's awake."
The clanking of metal boots that were akin to the sound of rattling chains signaled the approach of Tetra, whose username was “Stinger,” the mouse that the sorcerer had called for. Addex didn’t show it, but he recognized her from a gaming con, though just barely.
“It’s about time.” She spat, eyeing Addex as though he were a spider that’d just crawled over her foot.
“Yes, I did just wake up. I guess it was you who knocked out my brother and I, yes?”
Tetra rolled her eyes, looking disgusted. “No thanks to your brother.”
“Oh? What did he do?”
“Started plowing through my guild.”
“Ah. I see.”
“You were captured by him, I take it?”
“Kidnapped right out of my office.”
Addex dropped suddenly as the ropes were slashed by the armoured leader. He let out an “oof” as he impacted the ground.
“Why the sudden change of heart?” Addex teased.
“You had no part in the attacking of my guild. Therefore, you’ve no right to be tied to that tree.”
“Thanks…?”
“Anyways, your name?”
“Hex.”
Tetra froze upon walking away, turned around, and came back to face him. “Say again?”
“Hex. That’s my name.”
“Come with me.”
Addex had no choice as the guild leader grasped his wrist and started pulling him to the center of the group of players.
“Undead!”
The mouse in the center turned to face Tetra. His eyes lit up when he saw Addex. Addex recognized him, too. A close friend.
“Kazuto?”
Kazuto beamed. “Addex.”
The Psychic Tracer nodded to his friend. Kazuto took his paw and led him away from the throng of mice that crowded him, and into the Scorpio Guild Hall. Then, he lead Addex into Tetra's office, where they could be alone.
"I've been looking for you." Kazuto said as he closed the door behind him. His long, black robe seemed to flow around his thin legs.
"Considering I'm the only mouse here besides my guild who knows how to escape, I can't say I'm surprised, Kazuto."
Kazuto shrugged, his black-clothed shoulders bobbing. His golden eyes focused on Addex's violet ones. "Have you heard of the Zodiac Guilds?"
"No."
"They're a branch of twelve guilds, representing the Zodiac Gods. We try to shine as a beacon of hope, or something like that."
"Convenient."
Kazuto nodded. "We want to form an alliance with Justice's Path and get out of here as soon as we can."
Addex pondered his friend's words for a moment. On one hand, there was freedom. On the other, the possible death of his father. He reminded himself that Raymond was still tied to a tree.
"I'll think about it after I meet the leaders of these guilds. Gather them, and I'll meet you in that clearing tomorrow. I'll also be taking my brother."
-=-
"Hex has been what?!" Melanie shouted in disbelief.
"Kidnapped." Strife replied flatly, meeting his foster-sister's gaze.
"By who?" Gabriel's calm voice felt so different from the conversation.
"A player called Goldeneye."
"That's horrible." Nozomi protested meekly, her sapphire-blue eyes staring at the floor. "Poor Hex."
"We should send a search party." Gray shouted angrily, his ice-blue eyes flaring.
"Do you really think that Hex cannot hold his own against a powerful opponent like his own brother?" Gabriel queried.
"His own- what now?!" Melanie questioned loudly.
"Brother," Gabriel replied, "Goldeneye is Hex's brother. Besides, he'll be back. Don't worry about him. Carry out your duties as you would normally."
Everyone groaned, and the gathering split up.
"Hex's guild sure is peculiar." Gabriel sighed as he sat a table near a window. He stared blankly outside. Nothing but trees, grass, sky, some mountains in the distance...
...what was that?
It was only there for a second, but something had moved. Secretly, Gabriel wondered if it was Addex returning, or some angel or demon of some sort had come down to the mortal plane. He shrugged it off, but it bugged him.

Ruined Alliance

"The meeting of the Zodiac Guild leaders will commence... Now."
Everyone looked from Kazuto to Addex and back to Kazuto again, seemingly confused. All of the leaders had at least two members from their respective guilds. Iggy didn't seem to want to be there at all and clung to Tetra's back as though she were the only thing keeping him from falling off of a cliff. Flint didn't seem interested in the conversation in itself, but rather Addex as a player and ally. Magiac barely spoke a word, but whispered things to Akkanno sometimes that nobody else but maybe Flint could hear.
"Why should we trust him?" Lucy was asking, her voice quivering. "He was with his brother when he showed up, and his brother was KO'ing Scorpio's guild members left and right, as though he didn't care. What if Hex is the same way?"
"I guarantee you Hex is not as careless as his brother." Raymond's tail twitched irritably, but Hex had changed his leg to a nearby tree using chains made of energy, so he could do nothing but grit his teeth. Kazuto continued. "In case you didn't notice, Hex has suspended his brother so that we can be safe."
"Just because I'm suspended doesn't mean I can't hurt you." As the only other Psychic Tracer in the game, Addex had known this, which is why the chain that was attached to his leg with an iron clamp had deliberately been drugged with a supressent. "Actually, you're useless right now." Addex muttered dismissively. "Stop trying to be a big shot." Raymond's gaze fell, as did his head, as he was left defenseless against his younger brother. He almost expected to be attacked - a punishment of sorts - but Addex had returned to the conversation.
"Think of the good we can do if we befriend Hex." Flint spoke up, his usually dull eyes gleaming. "We can finally fight the Tyrant King."
Addex glanced away. He didn't want to think about that.
"And we can get ourselves out of here. We can be free."
Everyone seemed to like the idea of freedom, but weren't so sure about Addex himself. Finally he spoke, although his voice was a bit shaky.
"You can trust me. I promise you, you can trust me. Justice's Path wasn't created for no reason."
The crunching of distant leaves distracted both Addex and Raymond, but it seemed as though nobody else could hear it. When Addex finally picked up an aura, an instant sense of dread sunk in.
It was Gray's aura.
Ooooh no.
Raymond had a cocky grin on his face and a teasing look in his eyes as a message sent via telepathy reached Addex, from him. "Uh oh. Looks like your little guild friends still think you're kidnapped."
"Unfortunately so."
Gray burst into the clearing, followed by Melanie, Strife, Jake, Nozomi, Nick, Hayari, and a very relunctant looking Tonix and Gabriel. Within a couple minutes of fighting and Addex uselessly attempting to bark orders at them, almost all of the zodiac leaders had been felled and sent back to their respective halls, all of which were far away - except for Tetra's. Kazuto, however, was currently trying to hold against Gray. Addex stepped to his side, but a second too late, as Kazuto exploded into a mixture of golden, purple, green pixels; signifying gold, items, and experience. The leader's expression dropped as he recieved a PM from about half the zodiac leaders, although not including Kazuto.

"There's no way we're going to ally with you."

Fury bubbled inside of him. He was so close to ending it. Finally just ending it. If his father died, it wouldn't have to be at his own hands. He sighed to try to calm himself, but it wasn't to any avail. Raymond's telepathic devious chuckles weren't helping at all. Finally, he simply growled, "Get back to the guild hall, now" and began half-carrying, half-dragging Raymond back with him.
---
Meanwhile...
"I guess it was a good idea to tell that little search party where their precious leader was. We got the desired result." A white-haired mouse with bright baby-blue eyes was wearing an amused expression as he twirled a knife around his finger using water magic. He was wearing a dark raven-blue colored cloak that was tattered and torn at the ends. He glanced at his partner, who had his nose (almost quite literally) buried in a book. A tome, to be exact. "Sheesh, Toby, do you ever put that thing down?"
"I need to learn all I can about how this world works. Otherwise, how am I possibly going to stop Hex from destroying it, like his Dad wants us to?"
"Yeah, but you don't need to bury your face in a book 24/7. Lighten up."
Reluctantly, Toby marked the page and closed the book, leaning against a tree. "Well, at least we stopped them from forming an alliance with the Zodiacs. That'd be troublesome, don't you think so?"
Toby's white-haired companion shrugged. "Yeah, probably."
"Don't take things so lightly, Cher."
"I told you not to call me by my real name here!"
"You do it to me, so why not?"
Cher made a pouty expression and looked away. "Whatever. We should go tell the King the good news."
"He probably won't reward us, Cher."
"Yeah, but it's better than not having news at all, so c'mon."
"..
Fine."