Kaito looked at the man sadly. He would keep his promise. But he had to end this darkness before it ruined everything. Kaito walked closer to the man, his expression becoming gentle. "I did not lie when I promised to help. Quickly bring your friend to me. The current leader of Abstainya is not hard for someone of my rank to get to. If we hurry we can make it in time. But let me say this before he becomes a ruler." He glanced back at Mina and smiled. "Maybe we can really save everyone after all. I think I finally discovered a way and the path will begin with a new ruler."

The man disappeared in a heartbeat. When he returned, he came with another man. Despite the warning that the man was depressed, no one was prepared for the man who stood before them. A man that was tall in real life with the looks to charm anyone was waist high here. He had black hair and clothes covering the pale skin of the dead. His red glowing eyes, while attempting to convey concern and misery, gave you the feeling of pure wrath.

It was enough to cause Mina to feel fear. She wanted nothing more than to stand between Kaito and these two men. But instead the familiar fear she felt when passing through security filled her and she drew behind Kaito instead. The vicious black mists and angry birds (pun intended) overtaking the island and all places with fresh greenery. The screams of terror floated across the lake's waters and users started logging off.

Kaito waited and when the man returned with the one they had been chatting about he remained calm. The whole world was in choas, but Abstainya could use some. He could easily get rid of it all if he wanted to or if it got really bad. What surprised Kaito was the fact that the man looked similar to what he had in realty. Somehow he felt slightly... connected. Kaito reached out his hand as he looked towards him. No, it couldn't be. The man probably just happened to look this way because of Abstainya. Yet it was enough to make Kaito want to whisper the name of the he knew so well. A part of him deeply wished this man would respond to it. "Nairo?"

She looked with growing curiosity and confusion. These men didn't have any positive color to them at all. Yet Kaito was trying to help them. It didn't made sense. The red eyes and black mist made her want to scream. To wake up. However she wasn't going to abandon Kaito now. Still, she didn't have the courage to step out from behind him either. Yet when he stepped towards them, touching the red-eyed stranger and asking, "Nairo?" she felt her world fall away.

The man of the black mist wanted to get between Kaito and his master, but held himself in check. Kaito was a guardian. Yet when he said "Nairo," he jumped surprised. What the heck was going on here? Weren't they supposed to be taking over the World of Dreams? It was set up to be the place of nightmares. And thanks to Kaito's idea of hacking, he had even managed to get a virus entered into the system. No one could leave here once asleep. Not without the instructions on how. And yet, this guardian was still surprising him. That wasn't good.

The man before Kaito held a dangerous aura but somehow it hadn't stopped Kaito. The sudden name and the fact that the boy could get so close surprised him. "Who are you?" The man spoke without even thinking. How did this boy remain alive? The darkness hadn't even affected Kaito. He remained pure even though he was so close. The man didn't want to believe it. He touched Kaito's shoulder gently... nothing. Not even a mark of darkness. Was the boy too pure for darkness to even harm him? No, if that was true then his plans would be ruined. He smirked as he thought up another plan. "Yes, my name is Nairo."

Kaito stood in shock and confusion as the man confirmed that he was Nairo. Nairo, who Kaito swore had died long ago, now stood before him. Kaito didn't know what to do. Nairo had been gone for so long and now he was back. "Brother..." Kaito spoke the words with a lonely passion. He could barely express how much he had missed his older brother. He hugged his brother tightly, clinging to the man. "It's me, Kaito. I've been waiting for you for so long. I should of known it was you as soon as I heard that you had a new plan for Abstainya. You were always the one to come up with such amazing things that could change the world. We even created Abstainya together."

Brother? It couldn't be? Kaito was good. Nairo was bad. Nairo's minion was bad. Mina tried desperately to think but couldn't come up with any plausible solution. OVerprotective of Kaito, she did the only thing she could think of. Flying around so that she was beside the two, she used her hands to create force barriers and formed them between the two embracing men. Forcibly creating that space, she then blasted them both backwards a few yards. Flying in between the two, she lifted both hands creating more force barriers. Kaito in one on one side of her. Nairo and his man trapped in the sphere of a force barrier on the other side. Then all four of them were inside of a large farce barrier with the dark nightmares that were were growing out of control battering around on all sides. "Kaito stay away from him. He is the bad guy. Can't you see that? He screams evil all over him."

Kaito fell back in a sudden shock of force. The force seemed to snap him out of his daze. Not even a moment around he was holding onto his older brother. He looked at Mina, clearly confused by her actions. He glanced at the man who he was sure was Nairo. There was no way his peaceful brother could be evil, Kaito refused to accept it. "Nairo isn't evil. Please trust me Mina. Nairo only ever wished for the world to remain. He would do it even if he had to give up his whole entire life. Nairo is part of me. I know that my older twin would never betray me. He promised that one day he would come back and save Abstainya. He knew that one day someone might come along and try to destory the whole world. If you don't believe me than I will prove it. Me and Nairo had an eternal bond." Kaito lifted off his armor and then removed his shirt to reveal a large scar on his back. "I was born connected to Nairo, and I still am."

Mina's eyes hardened and she began working on strengthening her force spheres. All three would have to withstand the occupants inside or the dark forces outside. Crisply she replied, "Perhaps you should be investigating these nightmares outside. Listening to the voice of one who looks evil in this place where looks can not deceive is not going to help. If he was your brother..." she cast a doubtful glance at Nairo... "then he is no more the brother you knew." Her out shield was getting bombarded by purple lightening now as the black mists circled and various creatures of Abstainya started to morph into the things of myths. Myths that held terrors and deformed monsters.

Kaito looked at the man sadly. A part of him stung and burned with betrayal. The reality was too much. Even so Kaito forced himself to watch. A part of him knew if he couldn't accept it now, he never would. He set his clothes back on and walked toward the evil man. He studied him for a long time. Then Kaito reached out his hand and white light came out in orbs. They surrounded the darkness and the light connected like a gentle net before the darkness vanished. "I banished the darkness, but I can't say for how long. If they were able to bring darkness in Abstainya then they messed up everything. It could be a mere hour, or it could be years. Either way the darkness is gone."

Seeing the dark mists evaporate all around them shocked Mina. She stared around in growing wonder and horror as the place slowly returned to normal. This man had all that power? How was it possible? He looked pretty stunned himself. Then a fist came flying. Without giving a second thought to the fact that a guy could take a punch a lot more easily than a girl, she jumped between the bodyguard and Kaito. It connected solidly to her temple, sending her falling to the ground. The last thought before she blacked out was that she had thwarted him at least.

((I'm so sorry I haven't responded more quickly. I didn't mean to miss it.))

Kaito slowly settled himself down now that the darkness was locked. It had taken him a lot of energy, and his negative feelings had just made it that harder. But he knew that he had no time to rest. The darkness was gone, but no one could say for how long. He was just glad that he could suppress it for now. He was a bit surprised that he could manage it, but he had no time at all. Before he knew it he was being attacked and Mina saved him. Kaito quickly dodged the next punch and grabbed Mina quickly. He lifted her and made a run for it. He knew he couldn't keep he safe and fight so for now he decided to make a run for it.

((Don't worry about it too much, I've been busy myself.))

Blackness. A world of limbo between reality and Abstainya. The virus that had infected the world kept her from waking up at home. Yet in the World of Dreams, Mina was unconscious. It left her in a very strange place. Floating there alone, Mina couldn't move or talk. Not that her brain was functioning enough to allow her to make a very strong effort towards either of those goals. The only thing that she could really understand was that though she could only see darkness around her, she wasn't alone. There was a sense that someone was holding her. In addition to that, she thought she could hear something. But she didn't really struggle to understand. It was lethargic here and numbing. Something she hadn't experienced before but has wanted so much when at work.

Kaito ran as far as he could as he worked up his magic. He smiled as he got it sparking and soon formed a gapping hole. He leaped right into the portal he had created and tumbled out the other side. He closed the portal just before the enemy could follow him through and sighed in relief. But now he was also in a awkward position. After he tumbled out he had made sure not to land on Mina, so now she was ontop of him. He quickly reacted as he realised this by getting up and moving away. Now she was rested on the soft green grass fabricated by Abstainya. He sighed as he carefully placed her body in a more comfortable position and rested down beside her. Even though he seemed relaxed, he wasn't at all.

Feeling a thunderous headache take over her body, Mina felt her body sliding out of the black world she had been floating in. Not sure why she was leaving, but unable to stop the event once it started, she felt the familiar atmosphere of Abstainya returning to her. She slowly began to regain consciousness. Her head was indeed hurting. Like a bad case of allergies or something. Then she remembered why. Crystal eyes opening with a start, the white girl sat up quickly and instantly regretted it. Falling back into the soft grass and laying there, she pulled in some cool air and looked over at Kaito, the grass tickling her cheek as she did.

As soon as he heard movement Kaito jumped up. Instinctively he pulled his sword and stood in a defensive stance. Then he realised right after that it was only Mina he had over heard and quickly seathed his white blade. Sighing he sat back down and faced her, so his whole body soon turned to face her. He held a hint of worry in his purple eyes as he gently touched her forehead. "Are you feeling alright? You were out for a while thanks to the impact you took. I recommend that you treat your face for a couple days, even in Reality. Trust me, I know it sounds strange, but it's more effective to heal yourself in real life. Don't be surprised if you feel the pain but can't see it. Abstainya is connected with the real world just enough to remind you of your virtual wounds, unfortunately." Kaito sighed, carefully pulling his hand away.

She reached out and grabbed his hand. Alone wasn't something she wanted to endure at the moment. Trembling, she held on as she tried to figure out how to tell him... "I can't go back. To the real world that is. When I was out, I should have... but..." Remembering the dark void where living itself seemed forbidden, she swallowed back her new fear of the dark and tried to finished. "I was stuck between worlds. In a black emptiness. You know you are there, but while you are there you are not alive."

Kaito gripped her hand tightly as he listened. His worried look disappeared as she finished talking. Instead he looked extremely curious. "That darkness... The End? That must be it. Mina you didn't die, you went to the end of Abstainya. Or rather 'The End of the World' which is also called the 'edge' though I think that sounds more boring. Amazing... Your mind was sent to the point were Abstainya begins and Reality ends. I didn't think it was possible to get there. Do you know what this means? We might be able to save the world Mina!" Kaito looked at her, getting more and more excited as he spoke.

She stared uncomprehendingly up at him. What was this End that he was talking about. Yet he was obviously more happy than upset so it must be something good. Wanting very much to join him in his joy, but uncertain what she had missed, she stammered, "I, I, I... am glad?" Mina felt so confused. "Lost. Definitely lost. This doesn't mean you are going to hit me so I get knocked out... right?"

Kaito smiled in reassurance as he gently settled his cold fingers on her cheek. There was something about her pale complexation that he liked. But now it was marked purple where she had been hit so hard. Gently he pulled his hand away before shaking his head. "No, you don't need to be knocked out silly girl. If you can get to it that way, it's possible to find it. But that's the thing that will be hard. It disappeared after my brother sealed it safely away. It was to keep it out of the enemy's hand since it is a weakness in this program. If those guys find it before I do, they might end up destroying the whole world."

Missing his fingers as he pulled them away, but confused why, Mina looked down. It was nice to have someone looking out for her for once. She was pretty sure it was safe to say, that as long as they were trapped here that neither of them were alone. Tentatively she asked while struggling to stand up, "Where would something be sealed? In a computer? This is a machine created world..." Looking around, she added, "Are we safe here? Those guys looked like they had practice at all of this being bad and evil and such."

Kaito gently took her hand, helping her stand up. He kept a hold on her so she had the support she clearly needed. Glancing around, Kaito began to think of a plan for them. "It could be anywhere in this world. One thing I do know though is that it won't be easy. If it was easy, my brother would of found it. I'm sorry about that, by the way. That man, he wasn't my brother after all. No brother of mine would do this to Abstainya. He dreamed of peace and a world that could one day be reborn for the better. He would never go this low though. He would know how foolish it would be to destroy this place. As for those guys though, it's only a matter of time. I imprisoned them, but the real question is for how long? I don't know but we have to take the advantage while we still can."

Remembering Kaito's face and how excited he had been as well as eager to trust when he thought the man was his brother, Mina shuddered unvoluntarily. To have been willing to hand over the keys of this place so easily based on that relationship alone. Who was Kaito's brother that Kaito would be so passionate about him? Softly she asked, "You really love him don't you?" With that kind of belief supporting this world, they would find a way. A part of her said stop being sentimental and start thinking and planning. Another part of her couldn't look away from Kaito's face, a face she now trusted.

Kaito glanced away, feeling guilty for ever trusting that evil man and getting Mina hurt. But he knew there was no time to linger on his feelings. But he still wondered about his brother. There was still a small chance the man was alive. The question that remained though, was a hard one to answer. "I wonder if I will ever see him again." Kaito muttered before Mina spoke of love. Then he looked at her and smiled sadly. "Of course I love him. He was always a role model before he disappeared. I haven't seen him in so long he's probably dead." Kaito sighed. "Wait a minute..." He walked up to Mina and smiled brightly. "I think I know what to do now."

Eyes lighting up that he had a plan, Mina grinned up at Kaito's smiling face, then paused and quickly raised a hand to his chest to stop him from coming too much closer. "Wait! You promise no knocking me out?" She didn't enjoy it and her experience at her job made her trust of others more shaky than she had realized. Mina had trusted him just a moment ago hadn't she? Why the sudden hesitation?

Once again Kaito was bursting with joy. Even when she held him back he looked happy. The purple color in his eyes seemed brighter as he gently to her hand and spun her away gently. Chuckling, the man shook his head again. "As I said, there won't be pain. Look... Before my brother disappeared his was looking for just that, the ending to Abstainya. But first he planned to find the ruler of this world. In other words, we just need to find the ruler. We can get to the 'End' and maybe I can even find out about my brother. I mean... The ruler has to know something."