Emerald sees a flash of bright white light, searing pain going up her arm.  The next thing she is aware of is that she is in her hospital bed.  She is still in a coma, but can hear all that is going on around her.

 The beautiful woman can sense the presents of several people in the room with her.  There seems to be a problem, she can hear her fathers voice irradiated with something.  She feels the stab of a needle being inserted into her arm as they tempt to draw blood.

 Her fathers voice somewhere to the right of her in the room.  “What do you think your doing?” Dr. Morose exclaims.

 “Taking some blood as ordered doctor,” answers a female voice that Emerald doesn’t recognize.

 “I see that!  Can’t you do it without poking her so many times?  Weren’t you taught how to draw blood?” Dr. Morose chides.

 “Sorry Doctor, put good veins are getting hard to find.” The nurse retorts.

 “You got the sample, now get out,” Dr. Morose says with great irritation.

 Emerald hears some shuffling as her father ushers the nurse out of the room.  Sensing her fathers presents coming over to her she hears him say, “I’m sorry, my darling,” as he strokes her cheek gently.

 Martha’s voice is heard from the foot of the bed saying, “Shall we continue doctor?”

 Dr. Morose tells Martha, “yes, put a note in her chart that NO ONE is to come in here, without yours or my authorization.  I don’t care what the reason.”

 “Very well doctor.  Will you be here for a while longer?  You really should get some sleep.  I’ll be here until 12:00 a.m. if you want to go,” Martha advises.  Martha’s voice move along the foot of Emeralds bed.  A click sound, a sudden surge of energy again as the massive computer starts the retrieval process again.

 A warm soft feeling of peace fills Emerald as her body relaxes.  Emerald feels her father kiss her cheek lightly before saying, “Your right.  I think I’ll go home and let her mother know what is going on.”

 Bending over his daughter his whispers to her, “good night again my precious, I will see you in the morning.”

 The door to the room creaks open softly, then clicks shut.  Emerald lays there in almost total silence.  The only sound is that of the hum of the hard drives.
 
 Laying again in the darkness, Emerald sees the portal.  This time without hesitation, she rises from the bed and quickly moves towards the light.  Without fear she steps into the portal.  As before she gets the sensation of falling.  She sees the brilliant lights flash before her.

 Expecting to fall into the Town Square she is surprised when she falls into a dark room with a thud.  She lies in a heap on the floor of the room.  Slightly shaken by the hard landing.  Sitting up she looks around the room.

 The room is dark with only one light. There she sees a neon sign flashing about eye level above the floor.  The sign reads “CANNOT CONNECT TO SERVER.”

 Bewildered Emerald looks down at the floor it seems to be like a giant camera shutter.  As she walks around the room she feels the walls in the dark is it as if she is in a shaft. The walls are smooth as glass.   Above her is blackness and the wall are the same black.

 She notices she is a gray elf again. She flutters her wings and is lifted off the floor she tries to fly up but hits her head on the ceiling.  Crashing to the floor again.  Getting to her feet she feels the floor begin to move. She steps back trying to keep her feet out of the way of the blades that make up the floor she flutters her wings and looks over at the neon sigh it now reads “CONNECTING TO SERVER.”   Emerald feels a great pull.  She is sucked through the floor into the tunnel again.

 The bright colored lights again flash.  Again she lands with a hard thud on the floor of the tube. Lying in a crumpled heap she shakes her head getting her senses back.  Emerald looks down at the floor again it is the same as the floor above.  She gets up and straightens her clothing out and looks around.  She spies another neon sign.  This time the neon sigh says “GAME WILL START IN ONE MINUTE.”

 The floor begins to open.  She looks quickly at the sigh it says, “GAME IS RESUMING.”  She feels herself being sucked into the tunnel again.  Preparing for another crash, she flaps her wings frantically to keep from falling so fast.  As she expects she lands onto a closes part of the tunnel, but this time instead of crashing she lands ungracefully onto the floor.  Emerald looks for the neon sigh.  She spying it and this one reads “GAME WILL START IN ONE MINUTE.”

 The floor opens up and as before the sign flashes, “GAME IS RESUMING.”  This time she flaps her wings hard, as the floor retracts she is able to keep from being suck into the tunnel so violently.  Her fall is more controlled this time the lights move by slower.

 Emerald lands gracefully onto her feet in total blackness she can hear people, but can’t see or move. She can feel her heart racing in terror.   She hears the voice of Tholin somewhere complaining about something.  “I can’t believe this,” Tholin exclaims, “I think it is hackers again or damn Bots.”

 Another voice is heard coursing the server.  Emerald tries to whisper to Tholin, “I sorry to bother you but I seem to be stuck I can’t see or move.  Can you tell me how to get unstuck?”

 To her surprise Tholin whispers back, “I think milady that you will have to restart the game.  It looks like the server is screwed up again. I think I’m going to call it a night anyway I hope to see you again milady Emerald.”

 Emerald whispers, “I hope to meet again milord Thorlin T’equenduis.”

 Restart, she thinks how does she do that she knows how to get here but she isn’t sure how to leave.  Emerald feels the wall of the tube.  Looking up she can see some flashing lights.  Flapping her wings with all her might. Rising up within the shaft passing the first junction, the second, and the third till she is back in the room with the bed.  The portal goes dark for a moment.

  The portal flashes brightly again and she steps into it this time using her wings to slow her descent.  Moving smoothly down the tub to the square below.