> Dead servers meant I spent most of my time in open games on Oberon ("the evil ship" -- LMAO). Anyway, I was in this game with three other people; a Malek (HUmar Lv112), James (RAmar Lv105), and Didlit (HUnewearl Lv124). James was using a SPREAD NEEDLE from the start, and it didn't much bother me. Then his French language setting cohort, Malek, whipped out his SPREAD NEEDLE and things got a little hairy. Didlit proclaimed that "this sucked!", and I concurred. Near the end of Cave 3, Didlit started with her SPREAD NEEDLE too (in retaliation). After going through all three Cave areas and barely getting any EXP, I decided it was time to show these two chumps what playing with an EXP hog was like... and why it sucks...

     > As we entered the Mines, I came ready to burn with a 180% Machine S-Rank SPREAD NEEDLE! Didlit and I gave those two punks ample opportunity to change their ways, but they insisted that a SPREAD NEEDLE was their only weapon (yeah right =/). So we proceeded to fly through the Mines in record time, mowing down all the enemies almost as they appeared. LMAO. At this point, I asked them if they thought this game sucked yet. To which they said, "nope". Hehe. We did the same through all three Ruins areas. For the icing, I left them both for dead in front of Dark Falz, only to see the light again once the orchestra began to play the ending theme... "Can Still See the Light", which is one of the best tunes I've ever heard in a game.

     > After that, I went up to the Oberon 01-01 lobby and started chatting. I wondered, would I really be turned to the dark side??? LOL. Then I noticed a disturbance in the Force. One which I had not felt in some time... LMAO. I started getting cards from these lonely characters wanting to get a "Taste of Honey"! ^_* One guy, named Cloud (a clone), kept begging me for a DOUBLE SABER. I finally gave in and donated a "King's Gungnir +99", which was all I had to spare for a lowly Version 1 player. I had enough of this... So I decided to log off for a while and hopefully return when things were back to normal.

     > Later on that night, I came back to the realm, and briefly saw Paladin and Kitten 3. They were saying goodnight, as it was around 1:30 AM and they were tired.  Blue Heaven was there too so we made an Ultimate difficulty game, which was quickly filled by GTC member Slicer and Izlude (decent friend). We were waltzing through the Forest and had just about reached the Sil Dragon.  I received a simple mail and didn't think much about it, as I was busy using my 12% EXP stealing FLIGHT FAN. When I finally looked at the mail, I thought, who the 'fokk' is this!? It was from a character I did not know, but thankfully the person identified himself at the end of the message... It was none other than ~THE MGX~!!! That disturbance in the Force had come into razor sharp focus! My heart and soul were filled with joy to know that he had returned to "the realm". I couldn't believe it, but it was true. Ninjutsu Master; Golden Katana wielder; Strider Hiryu of Capcom fame had returned!  And my friends, he was ready to rock in PSO!!

     > I asked MGX to get his Ultimate-ready character (Seraphy), make a game, and mail me when he was ready. He did so, and I notified my teammates of my impending departure. I joined Seraphy's game, and he thanked me for the Christmas card I sent him. Merry Christmas wishes were exchanged as well. We quickly caught up on things, while enjoying the Xmas trees and Jingle Bells music playing in the background! Blue Heaven joined us after the other two guys decided to book. 

     > After I introduced them to each other, we began talking about PSO, Xbox, and hacking (among other things). MGX said after reading my first two PSO Memories, he had to renew his Hunter's License and live Sega's dream once more. He thanked me for my comments about him, and I replied, "I speak the truth". He said parts of those articles were real tear jerkers, and I agreed while expressing the fact it wasn't the intention. We talked about playing PSO on Gamecube and Xbox, and they hoped that hacking would be solved. Well folks, there isn't anyone in this world, not even Sony or Square, who can snuff out hacking. We all agreed on why hacking is popular, and hoped that Sony wasn't hacking into our game (LMAO) as we brainstormed about ways to improve "the realm"!

     > Blue and I gave MGX some welcome home gifts in the form of Version 2 weapons and armor.  Area: Forest was next. MGX equipped his newly acquired ANGEL WINGS, and said it was a mag he always wished to own. I'm sure that made Blue (the gift giver) feel really good inside. A few minutes into the game, MGX exclaimed something to the effect of, "I had forgotten how awesome PSO is!!" It was like we never missed a beat. We finished the Forest and "Toward the Future" quest, which was MGX's first experience in Ultimate Ruins. =) Before I knew it, 5 AM was upon us and I had to get some sleep. We said good-bye and I realized once more the true power of this game...

     > Welcome back MGX/Strider. Thank you Sega and Sonic Team... Thanks for the Dreamcast. This was what I play PSO for... the friends... the memories... the interaction... the flashbacks... the comrades... the hardcore gaming discussions... the here and now... the "impossible" coming true! If you know what I mean by the impossible coming true, then you too fill the ranks of MGX and me. ^_*

     > I've often used the Sega ad line, "Do you have what it takes to be a hero?" when recruiting people for the SHiNFORCE Guild. Playing an online RPG with thousands of people while searching for the best rares and helping your friends level up is most certainly the work of PSO Heroes!
 

Good Gaming,
-Shinobi