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I led Aine over to where Vane waited. His eyes were narrowed in thought, and he started when he saw us approaching. He paused when he saw Aine in tow behind me. As we approached, Aine gripped my hand and squeezed. I turned to look at her, her face was pale, blanched. She was staring at Vane and trembling, I frowned.

"Is everything alright?" I asked her, we were a few feet away from Vane now. She was pale but nodded her head. She shook her head as if to clear it.

"He just looks familiar, that's all. I must be mistaken." She said and smiled. I raised a brow but nodded my head. I held her hand and introduced her to Vane.

"Vane, this is Aine. She's going to come with us for now." I stated, leaving no room for argument. Vane nodded, but the muscle in his jaw twitched.

"Welcome," He was staring at Aine, sizing her up from head to toe. I know he was probably thinking that its hard enough to keep one of us alive, let alone two of us.

We set off across the square heading toward Vane's home, Aine trailed behind us and stared in wonder at everything we passed in town. I wondered how long she had been wandering around by herself, trying to survive. Vane fell into step beside me as we walked.

"What happened with your sword during that fight?" Vane asked. I shrugged and remembered the black mist that emanated from my blade.

"I'm not sure. I was just so angry, and then I felt this cold power well up within me. I wanted to hurt him." I whispered. I thought of the slithering tendrils that reached up and flickered at the man's skin, the burns that appeared where the mist had touched.

"It looked like black fire." Vane said. "I've never heard of a skill like that before."

We approached the cobblestone building that was Vane's home, we all walked through the door and moved to the living room, I gestured for Aine to make herself at home.

"I've seen it before." Her small voice entered the conversation, as she took a seat on the soft upholstered couch in the centre of the room. Vane and I snapped our heads up and turned to her.

"Where?" Vane asked. She cowered a little under his intense gaze. I placed my hand on his arm, he stood up straight and smiled softly. "Sorry, would you mind talking to us about it?" She nodded slowly. I moved to the kitchen while listening, pulling out some ingredients for dinner.

"There was another one of us, in the woods about twenty miles out of town. I saw him with his giant lance, with what looked like purple fire coming out of it as he attacked a group of monsters. He was severely injured when I saw him fall. I healed him." She stared at her small hands. "I didn't talk to him much, beyond thanking each other." She wrapped her arms around herself. Vane nodded and rubbed his chin.

"It's likely that there were special skills granted to the Lost Souls, skills the game has not yet seen before, interesting…" He trailed off.

"It seems to be triggered by strong emotion for me so far, but we'll have to see if I can learn to call on it myself before the boss battle." I mused. Vane's shoulders visibly tensed at the mention of the upcoming boss battle. I was level 15, which was the recommendation for the next area, it was time to start thinking about moving forward. I sighed; we would be discussing that soon.

We chatted about training while dinner was in the oven, I was trying to soothe Aine and not bombard her with painful questions. Before we tired her out, it was best to get some food into her. From the snippets of conversation, I gathered she's been on her own for a while, at least a few weeks. When dinner was served, we all sat around the coffee table in the living room with our plates. I saw Aine look down shyly, then start scarfing her food down like a hungry wolf. I politely looked away, not wanting her to be self-conscious. Who knows how long it has been since she's eaten? Vane ate his meal in silence.

"So, Aine, would you like to tell us what happened to you? How did you end up in the game?" I prodded gently. She placed her fork and knife down, and nodded, staring at the fireplace in thought. I stayed quiet, giving her the space to talk.

"I'm thirteen, I was in middle school. Representatives from Hyperion came to my school one day for a presentation, they did a presentation on the new VR technology, and discussed the virtual worlds they were building. They asked us to sign up and said that one of us might be given the chance to play. I thought they meant as a beta player…" She choked off in a sob. I placed my hand on her arm. "On my way home from school, the weather was rainy that day. My mom and I were in the car when another car ran the red light. I heard the crashes, the sirens. Everything was black. Someone pulled me from the wreckage. And then I woke up here, in the woods." I nodded and kept my hand on her arm encouraging her to continue, what happened after she got here.

"I'm a healer, with some stealth abilities. I woke up in the woods, read my welcome messages, and immediately was frightened. I didn't know how to get to town, I didn't know where I was. I had very little in the way of offensive skills, I was only really good for healing. I found this dagger that I've been using. I've been attacked by countless enemies, luckily, I seem to be able to heal myself as well. That man I saw in the woods was the first person I came across, but he was determined to continue on his own, but he pointed me in the direction of town." She wrung her hands together.

"When I got into town, I didn't have any money, and I wasn't able to farm monsters for cash. I was starving, I hadn't eaten in days. I saw the bread on the table, and I just reached for it. That's when that man caught me." She finished; her eyes ashamed.

"It's alright, Aine. You were just doing what you had to to survive. Beta-players don't realize that." I stroked her arm soothingly. She sniffled and nodded. Her figure was small and fragile, her wide green eyes were wet. She curled in on herself, as if to hide from the world. I wanted to make her feel safe and comfortable, let her know she's not alone.

"I was killed by a staff member from Hyperion studios, on my way home from work. He stabbed me multiple times, no one heard my screams. I died in the dark, holding a teddy bear I'd bought for my younger sister, Emily." I started. Her eyes widened, and I saw Vane's head snap up as he listened. I had never told him this part of my story before. "She's your age. She's brave and precocious, just like I imagine you are. I woke up here, alone and confused. I would have died if it weren't for Vane." I smiled up at him. He blushed and looked away.

"It was nothing. I couldn't watch someone die." He said softly. Emily looked down at her plate, her lip trembled.

"I don't know where I'm going to go. I don't know how to survive here." Tears trickled down her face. I looked at Vane and raised a brow, he looked at me seriously and shook his head. I rolled my eyes and turned to Aine.

"You can stay with us, until you are comfortable on your own." I suggested. Vane groaned and threw his head back. I whacked him on the arm. Aine jumped up and smiled.

"Really? I can stay! Thank you!" She launched at me and wrapped her arms around me. I smiled and pat the top of her head. She really did remind me of Emily. She turned to Vane and held her hand out bravely, he reached for it and shook it. I small smile played at his lips. She nodded determinedly.

"Now, with all of that settled. I think it's time we discuss the boss battle."