Fitch listened intently as Kenshin spoke, resting his forearms on his knees. He could understand every word of it, as he'd had such feelings for a while now. With a shrug of his shoulders, he leaned back, "We lost good people who didn't know what they were doing... It was bad, but... It could have certainly been worse - it wasn't like players were massacring one another, at least... Though I could see that happening," He noted darkly, looking down. As Kenshin shared his sentiments, Fitch nodded, "Die, kill, steal, lie, cheat... Anything would sum it up nicely, Kenshin... That's love." His eyes widened and he looked down to his hand as his friend noted his recent marriage. Nero figured it out and Kenshin figured it out... There was no way it was that easy, right? The rings were plain, they could have done anything... He shook his head, "Yeah... I asked her today - don't say anything, alright?" He asked, looking over, "Hiro has been our friend since we were children and we've been going out for nearly two years now... We didn't tell him because we didn't want him to think he was being left out."

"We'll tell everybody when the time's right... And she can join us if she wants to - we've never been exclusive. We're not a clearing group, we're just friends trying to make a way... It just so happens that we have some of the best players. But I don't think we'll ever become a guild, there's no need to when we trust each other so much... If she's a friend of yours, she's a friend of ours... Now, I'm going to get back," He said, pushing himself up onto his feet. "Have a nice night," The boy waved and stuffed his hands into his pockets, leaving the oceanfront.

He spotted Nero walkig nwith Hiro on his way back, but didn't actually stop as the two seemed engrossed in a conversation about debauchery and frivolous spending. Naturally they wouldn't allow the girls to have their own night - now they needed one too. Nero paused for only a moment to look at Nero, having collected all he needed to in order to put in his two cents. "If it's only us three and Kenshin, why not have it at your house, Nero? First place to be bought in the game and none of us have seen it yet." The boy shrugged and kept walking, Nero giving him a sly smile and a nod.

"Suppose we could do that... Save some money and just hang out for a while..." Nero agreed while Fitch continued on his way. his tongue in his cheek.

---

Yari nodded, "That sounds like fun... Some of the tailors are getting really good, it's srprising how fast their skills are going up. Yuna's doing well for herself, but she's not the only one - we can see how some of the other higher-end merchants are doing when they use their own supplies," She chirped with a smile.

-----
Floor 25, June 2023

---

In a few short months the Clearers had managed to drive ahead four floors, from twenty one to twenty five. The speed that they were now progressing was much in part thanks to the surfacing of guilds, as players quickly began to realize that forming these organizations was the best option for their survival. Now that they had reached the twenty-fifth floor, three guilds stood at the precipice of the dungeon entrance, as well as Fitch and his group of friends. The labyrinth had already been cleared and mapped, all that remained in their way was the boss fight. Since there had been no chance to observe the boss yet this was going to be as close to flying blind as it got. There was no room for error in this fight, and as such only the best players were taking part in this raid. Plenty of players had to be turned down that opted to help, as the risk to the average warrior was just too great. With a meeting of so many players there was a definite need for a sort of commanding branch to keep everyone in control, otherwise the fight was liable to become messy. It was a common agreement that between all of the guilds, one above all should lead the battle. The guild in question was to be the Knights of Blood, a well revered guild that had been gaining prominence since their inception on floor 12. Their leader Heathcliffe was almost a household name by now, and for good reason. Every player present put their utmost confidence in the man, knowing full well that he would lead them through this battle safely and to victory. Now gathered at the entrance to the dungeon, everyone waited for Heathcliffe's opening statement, the words that would send them into the fray and to the next boss.

Standing at the door, tall and proud, Heathcliffe looked out at the players gathered around him. A heavily clad KoB member stood to either side of him, his own personal guards one would assume. As ever he seemed cool and collected, betraying little emotion as he waited for idle chatter to die down. Once everyone had gone quiet he cleared his throat, his voice resonating around the area as he spoke.

"Today we're tackling the Floor 25 boss, this you all know. Unfortunately, this is about the extent of our knowledge. Since the boss room is sealed we've not been able to gather any information, and as a result we only know a little information. I shouldn't have to stress the danger of this raid enough." He paused for a moment, as if choosing his words carefully. With his hands rested on his shield and sword he lifted one into the air, forming a fist.

"Despite this, I know that we can conquer our opponent. You are the best fighters that all of Aincrad has to offer, the ultimate example of what one can accomplish when they fight for their fellow man. We're going into the unknown, but the unknown is not something that we should fear." Heathcliffe paused again, allowing himself a small smile as he raised his voice, almost shouting. "I believe that the unknown should fear us! We will walk in there, and like so many times before we will emerge victorious. I have the utmost faith in all of you, and I know you won't disappoint. Let's take this challenge head on, and continue our fight for a better future!"

As with every time that he spoke, Heathcliffe's speech was met with a raucous applause and cheer. It was rather curious, he had this enigmatic way of rousing people's morale and lifting spirits despite being a relatively simple-spoken person. It was only in instances like these, prior to a boss raid, that he truly expressed himself, and it was always something optimistic and supportive. It was no wonder so many people looked up to him, and in turn the KoB. The title of "Aincrad's best hope" wasn't given out lightly, and this guild had most certainly earned it. As people voiced their support and enthusiasm Heathcliffe turned about, drawing his sword from its home in the shield and giving it a swing. With a nod to his guards the doors were pushed open, the stone doors grinding along the floor as they were forced open. Gesturing forward with his sword he began a slow but steady walk inside, taking it upon himself to lead into whatever might be waiting for them inside. The dungeon had already been cleared, but there would still be fights between here and the boss. They had some battling to do, but with the players present it ought to be a cakewalk.

Suto had been amongst those cheering after Heathcliffe's speech, certainly buying into the idolization of the guy. How couldn't you be in awe of the KoB anyways? They were some of the strongest players and they were fighting for the sake of everyone else, for those who couldn't. If that wasn't an admirable task then he didn't know what was. As the chorus of shouts died down and the doors open the martial artist settled himself, a smile plastered on his face. He was certainly one of the ones too who needed the comfort in words, being nervous before every expedition. Here among friends and close allies it helped to calm his nerves, making this endeavor nowhere near as daunting as it could be. As everyone began to disperse he let out a soft sigh, lifting his arms in a stretch and folding them behind his head.

"This is going to be great! We're going to crush this boss!" A renewed enthusiasm had him all excited, Suto was ready to go. "What do you think it's going to be? Something weird? Something big?"

"Honestly Suto... Listen to yourself..." Luna mumbled, rolling her eyes. "You're the only one who could be this annoyingly cheerful before a raid."

She didn't quite share her friend's enthusiasm, having a more somber mood herself. Luna had confidence they were going to triumph too, but she wasn't going to act as if it was going to be an easy task. There had been close calls before, and as they climbed up the floors it would only get more dangerous hereon out. Simply put, she didn't believe cheerfulness was a luxury that any of them had, or should have. Shaking her head in disbelief Luna made a stroke in the air with her index finger, drawing up her equipment menu. A sword materialized on her back then, a two-handed blade that near rivaled her height in its sheer size. If not for the game's strength stat she'd never realistically be able to use a weapon like this. In the game it was a small feat, and her high stat let her swing it about with relative ease. Now truly equipped for combat she allowed herself a tiny smile, holding her head up proudly as she walked along. She might not be Heathcliffe, but she liked to think she was strong in her own right, and this fight was a chance to show it.

"I could be all mopey if you'd prefer," Suto retorted, smiling in spite of the glare he got. "But that would only be worse. Besides, not like I'm hurting anyone by getting worked up for this."

Kenshin and Alphard had decided to skip Heathcliffe’s normally rousing speech for this Boss Fight. They each had their own ways of preparing for the impending combat. Kenshin warmed up with a few stretches and slow, easy kata. He moved smoothly and easily between stances; his katana moving in glittering, deadly arcs. As he did this, Alphard equipped all of her heavy armor and materialized her one-handed scythe in her right hand with a huge tower shield on her left. The woman squatted against one wall and meditated on what had transpired lately. Shortly after joining Kenshin’s team, he and Alphard went on a quest suggested by Fitch. It was called the <<Karma Recovery Quest>> and, by completing it, Alphard was able to revert her previously orange Icon (leftover from her initial blunders when entering the game) to its rightful Green. The team had warmed up to Alphard rather slowly, mostly because of her orange Icon, but they seemed to be accepting her more readily now. In other news, Kenshin had finally grown a pair and asked Alphard out. The two were now officially a couple, nigh inseparable by the power of mortal hands. Alphard had never been so happy in her life. And yet… For some reason, she still couldn’t shake the overwhelming bouts of rage and despair that came over her from time to time. Kenshin was truly the rock at which she could set her back in this, though. He seemed to always know exactly what to say and do. He said nothing in response when she unjustly turned her rage on him; only suggesting that perhaps they ought to go hunting to blow off some steam. She really didn’t deserve his love or affection, but he still provided it with all his heart. Alphard let loose a heavy sigh and leaned her head back against the wall, a single tear running down her face.

Kenshin noticed his girlfriend’s advanced state of distress and realized he had to go console her. He came over and carefully removed her helmet. Kneeling in front of her, he looked deep into her eyes. “You know we’re gonna be fine, right? We are going to enter battle with the best warriors in the game. Along with all of them, we can beat any monster this demented game can throw at us. Besides… you’ve got me too.” This last was said with a slight, wry smile. When Alphard gave no response, Kenshin leaned in and planted a soft kiss on her lips. He became acutely aware of what he had hidden in his inventory away from where the others would notice it when he brought his window up. The knowledge of the one simple band of forged metal was nearly a physical weight pressing down on him. “I’ll not let anything harm us, love.”

Only then did Alphard look up at Kenshin, a sad smile showing behind the tears. “I know we’ll be fine physically, Kenshin, but what about when all of this is all over? Where will we be then? After all of the raw emotion of this place, how are we ever supposed to function in normal society? Will we ever be able to hold jobs, or even finish school?”

A small laugh slipped from Kenshin and broke the pall that had fallen over the two. “I don’t know about you, but I know exactly where I’ll be after this all ends. I’ll be right where I am now: at your side, no matter what the cost. Now c’mon, looks like Mr. Heathcliffe is finished talking. We’re probably going to move into the Boss area now.” Sure enough, the gathered crowd had finished cheering and was starting to flood into the room beyond. Alphard took Kenshin’s offered hand and hauled herself to her feet. The pair unlimbered their weapons and followed the amassed warriors, staying mainly to the outside edge of the left flank. Before too long, they encountered the first enemies of the Boss area. Living skeletons bearing crude and damaged weapons, numbering about twenty in all, burst out of the shadows and set upon the amassed players. Alphard reacted instantly by charging shieldfirst into the fray, bulling two skeletons over and beheading another with a precisely timed backhand stroke of her scythe. Then Kenshin was at her side. He singled out the enemy with the most health and activated the Sword Art Ukifune which knocked his target high into the air. During his attack cooldown, Alphard dashed forward and unleashed a Sword Art of her own, delivering a high downward slash which dragged the beast back into attacking range. Kenshin slid in and finished it off with Iai, a lightning-fast horizontal stroke which neatly bisected the enemy. The young lovers disengaged momentarily and stood back-to-back, each covering the other and absolutely decimating the enemy.

Fitch clapped his friend on the back with a somber smile, "You know, Suto... Despite everything, your attitude's always refreshing," He said honestly as they moved through the dungeon. The mobs were scarce and very easily dispatched as the group of forty-nine pushed onward.

Heathcliffe's speech at the start was enough to bolster the moods of most around, but about halfway through the walk to the boss room, Yari had pulled Fitch away from the rest of their group, her voice low, "Alex..? What's wrong?"

He paused for a moment before realizing she had used his actual name; a name he hadn't heard much since the start of the game, before sighing, "It's nothing. Just... something feels off," He muttered, looking around as they kept pace with the raid-party.

No matter how he blew it off, Yari's look of concern would be equally genuine, "Maybe we should sit this one out, then? With Heathcliffe, I'm sure everybody will be fine... It is the twenty-fifth floor... Or maybe it's just nerves. We can fall back if you want to," She offered with a small smile, wanting nothing more than to ease his mind. Fitch just shook his head and rejected the thought adamantly; perhaps it was nothing more than an eerieness about the dungeon - his intuition had been wrong before.

Everybody froze at the door to the boss room, Heathcliffe standing directly before it, giving the entire party a break in order to prepare themselves and their nerves for the other side of the door. Fitch found himself standing in the center of the crowd, as the others moved about, making sure their groups were all together and their equipment was battle-ready. He smiled tiredly as he spotted Kenshin consoling Alphard... They were such a fine pair; it was a wonder they weren't married yet, even in the game. "Are you sure you're okay?" A voice rang out near him and he shook his head, blinking.

"Of course," He said with a small nod as he looked at Yari, taking her hand. "Let's tell everybody at the party tonight," He suggested briskly.

The girl seemed entirely surprised at the suddenness of his proposal, "Oh... Uhm... W-well... Are you sure?" She asked, lowering her voice with a blush and a broad smile. "I mean... what about Suto?"

"I think it's worse not telling them... And... I want them to know..." He said positively.

Yari's face lit up as she nodded and wrapped her arms around his neck, "Then we'll tell them..." A few moments passed like that, the two holding one another as Fitch took a deep breath and let it out. They were going to be okay. All of them. "I'm so happy..."

The sword-and-shield user smiled, finally shaking that terrible feeling he'd had only minutes ago, "Me too... I love you, Mizuki," He stated, embracing her for several more seconds.

She blushed and nodded into his shoulder, "I love you too..."

Finally, they parted - Fitch was to join the other shield users toward the front and Yari was going to join the rest of the squads which came in after a blocked attack and small groups that focused on minions. The doors opened to a new, ornate room - it seemed to be full of black marble, but it was lit to the perfect degree of vision. Fitch looked around, scanning the others in the room, but Yari was well-concealed amongst the drove of other players. He sighed and pulled up his shield, ready as the entire force charged in and took up their positions.

First came the skeletons; they were a fairly basic minion, but they would occupy a fair number of players and Kenshin and Alphard took off with one another, a team of two tearing through the beasts one by one. However, mere moments after the group had entered, two massive flames burst forth at the base of the stairs leading ot the next floor and showed an absolutely massive two-headed giant. It's mouths seemed far too large for the heads; it appeared slow and a bit challenged, but there was no way to dispute that it would be formidable. Fitch swallowed hard and braced himself as the command was issued and the entire front line bolted forward, only to be met with powerful stomp. They were all thrown back and stunned, rendering them useless for several moments - including Fitch - which left only a select few shield-users and heavily armored players to take the swipe of the giant's blade. It was already absolute chaos and two players had been killed from the initial slash. The front line recovered as quickly as the system would allow and had prepared to avoid any kind of knock-back attack again. The battle seemed to go smoothly for the first two of five health bars. The monster was incredibly powerful, but it seemed to be rather lacking in abilities - it wasn't very dynamic, so the party was easily gaining confidence with each sliver of health they stole.

"Switch!!" Heathcliffe called out as the monster was stunned by a combined block. Yari and Nero had both charged forward together, Nero unleashing a six-hit Sword Skill before Yari followed. Close behind her was a group of five more players ready to hit with everything they had. Just as she finished her three-hit skill, the third health bar vanished and the weapons of her comrades flashed. Nero was gone moments after his attack was finished and Yari was just about able to move away when the beat materialized a second weapon in his free hand - which had originally been used for his knock-back attack. It was a massive hammer which, even at the boss' great size, should have required two hands to use. It came from over his head and slammed into the ground; had it been waiting for such a concentrated force to come before it, or was it a result of the health bar dropping? The game was usually so fair... So it was merely coincidence that they had all moved in to attack at the same time as he gained the weapon... In fact, everything lined up so perfectly in its favour that four players would watch as their health turned from green to yellow and nearly red... Two of them would be thrown back by the Area of Effect from the pound and any who saw them would see the health drain straight to empty.



Fitch cried out and threw himself forward, only to be grabbed by something and thrown to the ground, narrowly avoiding a slash from the giant's blade. Nero quickly scrambled off of the boy whose life he had just saved, though Fitch hadn't truly realized it as he forced himself up and forward. He pivoted as his feet kicked up dust for a couple of short feet before he fell to his knees.

The moment before he had gotten to her, he had heard that sound... Crystals shimmered around him for a few moments as the essence of Yari vanished. His hands hit the ground as he fell forward in disbelief, crouched over that empty spot on the ground... Where had she gone? She was here moments ago... She had looked to him, her eyes filled with tears; yet, she smiled, as though everything would be okay. He shook his head as roars erupted around him and the boss fight continued, but he felt none of it... He was trapped in what seemed to be an endless void, clouded with nothingness. The giant had started to ignore the isolated shield-and-sword user whose damage-output had dropped to zero, giving him the bottom priority of everybody in the room.

"I've got him!!" Somebody shouted - it was a heavily armoured two-handed user. However, a moment before his Sword Skill was activated, there was a shattering sound, and Nero stood amidst the kill once more. He was so fast... He would get the last-hit bonus for most of the boss fights he joined in on; if he didn't, it was either because somebody was supremely lucky or he chose to give up the floor to another. He didn't even look at his spoils this time, instantly closing his window and shouting at the others.

"Get the minions, idiots!" The entire group scrambled to get the remaining monsters around the floor, but Nero left them for Fitch, kneeling down beside him and placing a hand on his shoulders without saying a word.

Tears fell from Fitch's face and disappeared into the air... He had to stop... He had to help finish the fight... If some of the others could keep fighting after they'd lost somebody, why had he stopped so suddenly? His attempts to fight the sobs rising from his chest were in vain as his body trembled and he constantly had to reach up and wipe at his face. His hair fell down, concealing his expression as he reached out and grabbed his sword, pushing himself up weakly. His legs gave out for a moment, causing him to stumble to the side as his weapon hung limply beside him and he looked to where the boss was before.

"Wh-where'd it go..?" He asked dazedly, sniffling.

"It's gone. Fitch, sit down..."

"No. I'm fine," He lied, shaking his head roughly with a quick step away, causing another stumble. "G-good job..."

His eyes turned down... The entire group had finished the last two health bars while he sat on the floor staring at Yari... The nothing that used to be Yari...

Heathcliffe, however, was a leader, and he appraoched Nero, looking around and counting. Nero didn't let him finish, looking over, "Seventeen. I counted. Go see how the others are doing." He looked sadly to Fitch before sighing and turning around. There was little he could do... He knew that, so he headed to do damage control - to make sure that the others were okay. However, once the battle had closed, many players collapsed in hysterics. They had lost over a third of their force from this single boss... How? Heathcliffe would later explain that it must be that each twenty-fifth floor would be much harder than the ones surrounding it and that they would have to be more careful next time.

Seventeen dead... And she had to be one of them, Fitch thought to himself. Why not him? He started for the stairs, forgetting his friends as he took long, slow steps, staring at nothing as he moved forward. Long before he reached them, however, he fell forward onto his knees and then his side as the world around him faded into black.

Suto blinked at the smack on his back, half expecting it to be Luna but instead glad to see Fitch standing there. Grinning at the compliment he rubbed the base of his nose with a finger, chuckling and shrugging his shoulders while looking down the corridor sheepishly.

"Well... Like I said, no use in being somber. If we have to do this then hey, might as well have fun right?"

That's not to say he wasn't nervous during moments like this. Quite the contrary, Suto was perhaps amongst the most unsettled of them all when it came time for a raid. Chief reason being was simply for the combat style he had chosen, something he was gradually coming to regret. When it had just been a game it was cool, being fast and capable of dealing quick and weak but numerous hits. Now that it was "for real" however it made him feel fairly vulnerable during a fight, and awfully jealous of those wearing even light metal armor. Glancing down at his contemporary Gi outfit he let out a faint sight, a tiny smile lingering on his lips. Well, he'd picked it, so he'd learn to deal with it. Simple as that, right?

Working their way back through the dungeon was easy, especially with so many players present. Numbering near fifty in all they easily overwhelmed any opposition, and more than once Suto could have sworn he saw looks of dread on the monster's faces. Not that knew if they could feel anything, or particularly care. It was the only time in the game he dropped his cheerful attitude and became more aggressive, certainly more than willing to hurt the creatures that stood in their way. Sentient or not, they'd kill him and his friends without a second thought, and he'd not hesitate to protect them. Certainly easier said against creatures equivalent to their level, he'd not be quite so bold when it came time for the boss, he was sure. While he was allowed his bit of bravado however he'd bask in it, accompanying every successful hit and kill with a wide grin or a laugh. Being able to so effortlessly battle monsters now was relaxing almost, and for a short while it even felt like they were just playing a game again. That sensation turned out to be short lived, as soon enough they stood before the massive iron doors signaling the boss room. Playtime was over, now they had to get serious.

Everyone was allowed a breather outside the towering doors, much to their elation. Suto took this moment to stretch himself out a bit, hoping to get loose before the fight. His body really wasn't needing it, but when exhaustion was a very real factor anything that helped alleviate it a little could make a huge difference. Seeing as they had some time to themselves he went into his inventory, taking out a small flask of apple cider and taking a swig out of it. It was amazing how well this game simulated all the senses, it actually felt like a cool liquid slid down his throat, and he could taste the sweet, crisp flavor of the drink, even if in reality it was all ones and zeroes. Before he knew it the container was dry, and with a beleaguered sigh he watched as it cracked and shattered into crystals, pouting a bit. He'd have to see if the next floor had some of those too, it was really tasty.

Luna couldn't be bothered to take a reprieve like the others, or rather she wouldn't let herself. Everyone felt nervous without a doubt, and she was taking her nervousness to heart. To her trying to stifle that now was only going to make it worse once the fight started. Besides, senses were heightened when stress was induced right? So in a way this tension was good for her. After taking a brief look over her gear and its durability, as well as her health, she deemed herself ready to fight. Or as ready as she would ever be. It was never as simple as just "readying up" for a boss battle, not in this game. When the costs of failing were as dire as could be it made the tension before the battle palpable, and it was almost like everyone's heartbeats could be heard. Yet as she gazed around the room at the other players most of them seemed to be coping well, better than she was. Some were laughing and telling jokes, others were enjoying a light meal before they went in. Her stomach was far too unsettled to eat, and while her friends were close she couldn't bring herself to talk to them. For now she'd just wait to begin, and then once it was over, and only then, she'd allow herself to be at ease. Finally after what seemed like an hour Heathcliffe signaled the beginning of the battle, and with a loud grinding noise the great doors parted, tearing apart to reveal a cavernous room on the other side, the boss' lair. If it wasn't such a dreadful place one might even describe it as beautiful.

In tandem the entire raid party moved right on in, immediately taking their positions amongst the ranks. Luna herself was positioned fairly close to Suto, as both were DPS characters. They were aligned along the left flank, taking up position near opposite of the rest of their friends. A line of shield users stood before them to act as cover, and in the very center of the crescent shaped formation was Heathcliffe, ever ready to take point. A long silent moment passed and nothing happened, and many players began to wonder if perhaps an event had to be triggered to start the battle. Then, out of the floor rose hordes of skeleton warriors, minions of the boss apparently. There were a great number of them, but comparatively they were weak, being a horde creature. The front lines of shield bearers made deflecting their assaults seem easy, cutting down the larger numbers with minimal effort. That, unfortunately, was going to be the only smooth part of this battle. As the waves of skeletons thinned more spawned, though that was hardly the cause for alarm. In the center of the room there was a sudden burst of flames, and from its depths rose a hulking figure. As the creature materialized it finally appeared as a towering, two headed giant, by far the largest foe they had ever faced. With an ear shattering roar it began its offensive immediately, starting the battle off with a tremendous strike against the ground. The result of said attack was the paralysis of several of the players, nearly half, albeit only for a few seconds. As soon as the effects vanished everyone reorganized, and in a conscious group effort began the battle in earnest.

For the first two health bars everything seemed to be going extremely well. No one had died and they were steadily chipping away at the beasts health, making the fight seem easy. The good fortune was not bound to last, and as abruptly as the fight had begun it then took a turn for the worse. It all happened so suddenly that, for nearly everyone involved, time seemed to crawl to a standstill. Just as the third bar was reduced to nothingness a new phase of the fight began, in that the boss had gained a new weapon. It was an enormous hammer, one that defied all laws of physics with how nimbly the creature wielded it. Emitting another piercing roar it it swung the weapon up and then down at great speed, slamming its heavy head into the tiled floor. A visible shockwave was created, tossing back four of the closest players immediately. Two saw their life flash before their eyes, literally, as their health dropped to the red, while two others were gone within seconds. Just like that two players had been killed, in one fell swoop. And that was only the beginning of the horror. Soon people began to fall left and right as the boss went into a frenzy, swinging his weapons around with unjustifiable ease. This wasn't right, no creature had ever been ever capable of doing this. So why then was this one? People were dying now, first the few initially, then the death toll ran to ten. Amongst the fallen, much to everyone's horror, was none other than Yari.

Suto had his hands full with a few skeletons as the rest of the group fought, opting to handle a bit of crowd controlling this battle. With his speed and quick attacks he could easily take on multiple opponents, and with Luna aiding him they were making light work of nearly ten creatures. With every skill activated his fists would glow a soft red, and his body would assume the motions of the attack automatically. He only had two multiple-target attacks at his disposal, and he made malicious overuse of them. It began with a lower-gut jab to one opponent, enough to stun it for a brief period. The very second strike was caused by a pivot on his right foot, and swinging his body around he'd slam a flat palm into a chest of another beast. Each of these initial strikes caused a very brief stun, but it enabled him to do all sorts of damage. On the second beast he then lifted his right arm, straightening out his hand and bringing it down in an axing motion, connecting right with the collarbone of the skeleton and dealing massive damage. The following attack was a simple jab, but more than enough to sap the last of the beast's health. With an opponent felled he automatically went back to the first, and with his hand still straight he thrust forward, piercing the skeleton's chest. As soon as his limb retracted his left foot glowed, and swinging his leg up he slammed it onto the creature's side, watching as it shattered into dozens of crystals. Unfortunately there was no time to enjoy himself, as a soul shattering cry and sound drew his attention elsewhere. What he saw made his heart stop in his chest and his body freeze. Yari... Yari was dead?

Luna couldn't believe it, there was just no way this was happening. The fight had been going so well, so much in their favor. The introduction of a new weapon had thrown them off and even claimed a few lives, but she figured they'd regroup quickly enough to counter it. Well, they would, but not before her and her friends were dealt a crippling blow. A great many players had been felled, and one person who she'd thought would see it to the end was to join them. She had to be mistaken, there was no way that Yari could really be gone. Yet sure enough she watched the girl disappear under the great hammer, and when it lifted the only thing to emerge was a cluster of blue shards signifying someone's death. Why did this happen, why her? Her body fell numb, and for the longest time all she could do was stare at the ground, where their friend had taken her last breath. At a sudden, violent shout she turned her head, surprised to see Suto going on the offensive. Whereas she couldn't budge a muscle he had quickly taken back to combat, and in an unsettling way. She had never seen him like this, so outright... Furious. It was almost scary the way he was fighting now, like it wasn't even him.

By the time it was over things had reached an unsettling calm. Suto hardly realized it as the final minion was felled, a bitterly cheerful fanfare signaling the end of the battle. He stood towards the side of the room, breathing heavily as he stared at the ground, hands still clenched in anger. How many skeletons had he killed? Five? Ten? More? Not that it mattered, it wouldn't change anything. The fact that Yari was not among them now remained the same, no matter how much any of them willed it otherwise. Casting a silent look about the room he caught sight of his friends, all of which seemed to be tackling this new reality in their own way. None of them were ready to accept it by the looks of it, or they were but at the same time tried desperately to deny it. Whatever the case the fight was done, and with a hollow note they had finished floor 25, finally. What good was this victory though if one of their own was not here to celebrate it? How many had died to get to this point? However many it was the count was too high, that was unquestionable. How had they been so poorly prepared? In an eerie silence everyone began to move forward, not a single word being uttered as the group collectively went for the stairs. Everyone moved somehow, or everyone, save Fitch. In an alarming show his other friend collapsed to the ground, likely exhaustion seeing as his health was still there. Suto was at his side in a moment, arguing with other players to help move the other boy to safety.

An hour passed since the floor was cleared, and the remnants of the raid party had taken up refuge in the first inn immediately available. Unlike so many times before there was no celebration accompanying this victory, only a grim, silent gathering. Drinks were had, but there was no merriment with them, or hardly any conversation for that matter. Near everyone had lost someone they knew in the fight, and as such the collective morale was at an all time low. Fitch, having passed out at the end, had been brought to one of the rooms upstairs to relax. Here, everyone was gathered, settled in a unanimous, somber silence while their friend rested. No one knew what to say, nor did they have to say anything. Everyone knew precisely what the others were feeling, and no one wanted to share it. Instead they'd all remain quiet, standing by for Fitch to finally come to.

Kenshin and Alphard barely registered the Boss entering the room, instead focusing on the skeletons in front of them and trusting their friends and comrades to cover their backs. They started to care, however, when both warriors were bowled over by the resounding shockwave emitted upon its opening attack. Kenshin was the first to recover, leaping to his feet just in time to catch a descending axe meant for his girlfriend in his left shoulder. He responded in turn with a powerful five-strike Sword Art named <<Dual Splitter>>. The attack began with a straight thrust into one enemy’s throat followed by a 90 degree twist of the blade. This first part enabled Kenshin to end one of the skeletons immediately, sending its head rolling across the ground before shattering into sparkling blue pieces. But the man still had more moves left in the quintet. He crouched, slashing low, and spun 360 degrees, bringing his blade in for a second path at head-height while rising. This second stage left two more enemies severely injured, easily finished off by someone else. The Final blow in Kenshin’s Sword Art was much weaker in damage output but had a massive blowback effect. It was a simple hilt smash but it put the entirety of Kenshin’s body behind it and sent its target flying back ten paces at least.

By this point, Alphard had also gotten back to her feet. She also felt the need to activate a Sword Art upon rising. She hooked her scythe on the nearest skeleton’s right leg and ripped outwards while standing and roaring all the way. The beast’s leg flew off while it fell backwards. Alphard was not done, however and she activated another Art. This one painted her shield a bright orange and brought it thundering forward into the falling skeleton. It flew backwards and sent one of its compatriots tumbling to the ground. Alphard stalked over to Kenshin, ripped the axe out of his arm, and pressed a healing draught into his hand. “Be a little more careful in the future, will you, lover? Also, thank you for saving my life.” She leaned in and planted a quick kiss on Kenshin’s lips. Just then, the Boss lost its second health bar. The giant materialized a huge iron-wrapped, stone warhammer and smote the ground beneath it. Kenshin and Alphard were ready for the shock this time and braced through it. As the dust cleared, the pair glanced over just in time to see Yari slowly dissolve into shimmering crystals while Fitch sobbed over her.

Kenshin was absolutely floored. How could they have lost Yari? She was the glue that kept the team together and now she was gone? He remembered all of the time they had spent training to get him where he was, skillwise. It was devastating to think that he would never be able to see his dear friend again. Kenshin fell to his knees in shock, sword dropping from numb fingers. Alphard was similarly affected. When she had initially joined the team, some of the other members had some difficulty accepting her because of her orange Icon. Alphard would have left the team if it had not meant leaving Kenshin behind. Yari had come forward, though, and befriended Alphard and shamed the others into seeing the error of judging without knowing someone’s whole story. The two often trained together, sharing stories of past hunts and tips on surviving the hell that they had found themselves in. The scythe-wielder had grown to rely on their little talks for same-gender bonding. A primal roar of rage shook Alphard from her reverie. She glanced over to see Kenshin leaping to his feet with death in his eyes. Alphard could see that the mindless rage that had consumed her for so long had taken hold in him too. The thought saddened her, but she was determined to help him as he had helped her. Kenshin glanced to her and spoke in a scary calm voice, “Ayano. You and Me. We’re ending him.” The use of her real name sent a tingle running through her and Alphard felt a feral smile split her face.

Kenshin took off sprinting at the giant Boss with Alphard just behind. He dodged a sword sweep and jumped into a double-footed flying kick to the Boss’s left knee. Because he wasn’t a Martial Artist, the blow did no damage, but it did have force behind it. Force enough to buckle the Boss’s leg under it, sending it crashing to its knees on top of Kenshin. His health dropped sharply but remained within acceptable limits. Next, Alphard came crashing in and used the hooked blade of her scythe in its most devastating method. She buried the blade up under the Boss’s chin, sinking it up to the haft in soft flesh, and ripped it back out in a different path: straight through the giant’s face. It reared back in agony which freed Kenshin from under its knee. From the ground, Kenshin flung a throwing pick out of each hand into the Boss’ eyes. Now, blinded and with one of its heads hanging in two limp, lolling flaps, the boss was left with maybe three hits worth of health. One of the Knights of Blood leapt forward with a cry of “I’ve got him!” to finish off the monster. The pair let him go, instead striding over to where Fitch knelt and taking up positions to his left and right, between him and the other players. Kenshin softly expressed his sorrow and planted his sword point first in the ground. Alphard planted her shield and rested her scythe on top of it. Together, the two acted as silent sentinels, protecting Fitch from any who would disturb his grief.

- Several Hours Later -

It was so peaceful... Could he just choose not to wake up? Would it be that simple? Fitch had never experienced nothing before... No memory, no light, no darkness. At first, it was an amazing feeling... He reveled in it. Yet... there was something missing, wasn't there? There had to be more than emptiness, no matter how peaceful it was. There was no death notification, so he knew he wasn't dead, though he wasn't quite sure why. Light pressed through his eyelids and they slowly opened, fluttering slightly at first before suddenly widening. Fitch bolted up in the bed, looking around to see everybody standing and sitting around. He furrowed his brow and looked down... He was still in his armour, which means they managed to move him all the way to wherever 'here' was. He did a headcount... He had been wrong; not everybody was present - they were missing one. For a moment, he seemed lost in thought as he retraced his memory and stumbled upon that moment... The moment their eyes had met, that moment he bolted for her... The moment that she disintegrated before he could reach her.

Why? God, why did he wake up? He sniffled once and wiped at his face, his eyes beginning to sting as he turned and placed his feet on the ground, steadying himself by putting his hands on the edge of the bed to steady himself as he stared at the ground, a dark shadow falling over his face as his hair hung down. The tears burned as they rolled over his cheeks, disappearing the moment they left him as he fought the tremors that shook him. With a shake of his head, he pushed himself up and headed for the door. If he'd never woken up, there would still be nothingness... And already, he had begun to forget what that bliss was like. To forget, to simply not feel any of it, he already missed it and he was wondering why he woke up in the first place. Was it a feelin gof being lost? He didn't know, but he stopped asking as he reached the threshold. The others all seemed to be waiting for him to say something as he placed a hand on the doorframe and looked over his shoulder. There was an emptiness to his eyes - a void hidden behind them as he dropped his hand and moved to step again. A hand roughly grabbed his bicep and yanked him back with an absolutely astounding speed and he turned to see a white-haired boy staring at him sharply.

"Where in the hell do you think you're going?" He asked with a low growl. He was sitting in the far corner of the room only a split second before being at Fitch's arm - it was still astounding how fast he was.

Fitch instinctively yanked his arm away, held the other boy's gaze for several moments, looked up and around the room at the other faces before finally leaning in to Nero's face, their eyes inches apart. "None of your god damned business." With that, he turned and started walking away.

As Nero stepped forward after him, opening his mouth, there was a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to find Yuna behind him, solemnly shaking her head, "Don't..." Nero seemed to deflate as the girl ushered him back into the room and he fell down into a chair.

Fitch moved down the stairs numbly, still not entirely sure where he was going as he pushed through the front door, still covered by his gear. From one of the tables on the first floor, there was a small commotion and he froze as he placed a hand on the door. "I don't need any of you anyway," Came a girl's voice; Fitch turned his head, his brow furrowing slightly as a small argument ensued.

"That's crap, you won't survive a minute without a guild, Gami." Clearly a male from the table, he had short black hair and was wearing a rather bulky set of armor.

"I said to stop calling me that! You ahve absolutely no right," She retorted venomously, leaning in near his face with a sneer, "Consider me gone."

"Fine! Leave!" The others around the table seemed uneasy as she opened a menu and selected a few options, absolving herself of what was apparently their small guild. As she stomped up the stairs with the most infuriated scowl she could muster, her small frame gave off almost no intimidation factor. Fitch hesitated, but then pushed the door and left the inn, hearing from behind him a faint question from one of the miscellaneous guild members.

"What the hell are we going to do without the damage she deals?"

"Shut up. She isn't the fastest or the strongest person in the game... Not even close, we'll get along fine."

"No, but she did start our guild and she did the most damage out of u-"

"I said shut up! It's my guild now. We'll be fine."

---

Kimigami slammed the door to her room and punched the wall. "Those jerks! It was my guild... The nerve..." She didn't cry or feel sorry for herself, just extremely pissed off. It wasn't long before she decided the atmosphere of her room was too cramped and she left, looking down the hallway and seeing an open room door. There was a little bit of murmuring inside and she approached the doorway, peeking in, "Uhm, excuse me. Your door's open - you guys know that anybody can hear you unless you close it, right?" She had medium-length, thick black hair and wore a red scarf and a white, double-breasted, knee-length coat. The hilt of her rapier could be seen at her waist, just where the jacket parted and showed the gleaming red and silver of the basic handle. She crossed her arms, having thought they were being rude before realizing the mood of the room. Idiot... They're not trying to be rude... She scolded herself, relaxing slightly in an attempt to appear less upset with them. They all seemed older than her too... She wished that she could look different - nobody took her seriously until they saw her in action the way that she was.

Everyone was having a tough time coping with what had happened. There had been deaths in the game prior to this to be sure, but never before had it hit so close to home. Of all the people to have been claimed by this game how in the hell was Yari one of them? She was easily the best of them all, and arguably the glue that kept them all together. If she didn't survive the game then how were any of them now supposed to? This was the grim new reality that Suto found himself trapped in, like it or not. No sheer degree of optimism was going to help this out, and certainly no amount of indulgent spending or partying. One of his lifelong friends was now gone, both in the game and in the real world. The pain hadn't quite set in initially, yet now he could feel the weight of the catastrophe bearing down on him. That was it then, they were all dead. If the best among them couldn't make the cut then the rest of them were out of luck. It was only a matter of time until they met the same fate, shattered into dozens of pixels and that was that. If they ever did make it home they'd never get to attend Yari's funeral either, only futher adding salt to the wounds. Finding the drive and desire to push on now was impossible, what was the point? They might as well sit in this city and either let others try, or waste away in the game. For the first time since this debacle began Suto now felt an earnest, overbearing sense of dread.

A shuffling on the bed drew Suto's attention elsewhere, surprised to see that Fitch was finally rousing from his sleep. He'd been out ever since they had finished the fight, so seeing him come around was a small relief. What didn't help was the fact he appeared utterly devastated, understandably so. Every one of them was affected by Yari's death. Hell, players who didn't know her personally were grieving, as she had been amongst the best of the Clearers. It was a blow to the entire player base, and arguably they had lost one of their best chances of escaping. Grief was something Suto could certainly understand. What he wasn't sure of was why Fitch was opting to leave just after coming around. There was nothing out there for them, not right now anyways. The best thing to do was stay together and try to cope, yet their friend had different plans. Moving to stop Fitch, Suto stopped himself instead as Nero halted the other boy, trying to keep him at bay. When Nero's words fell on deaf ears and Fitch left regardless the atmosphere in the room became noticeably heavier as a result. Again, everyone felt the pain, but Fitch seemed just outright torn to shreds over it. There was no denying that he and Yari had been very close, they were basically brother and sister. Whereas Suto considered her really a good friend he recognized there was something more between the other two. They trusted one another without fail, and held some deeper bond than he had with either. In truth he was a bit jealous of that, but they always welcomed him, so he certainly didn't resent them for it.

Luna watched Fitch walk out, not able to move herself any let alone try to restrain him. Seeing him disappear into the hall she let out a lengthy and shaky sigh, drawing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. Yari... Why did you have to die...? she asked herself, shaking her head. Her eyes began to sting again with tears, and in spite of her best efforts her cheeks soon became damp. Ashamed for breaking down like that she hid her face in her knees, though the sniffling and faint whimpers she emitted were not so easily concealed. Yari had been the first person ever to befriend Luna, and indeed one of the very, very few who she could unwind around and enjoy herself a little. Now that outlet was gone, and her best friend stolen from her. The others were present of course, but not a single one of them had nearly been as welcoming or as supportive of her, not openly. Letting out a chocked sob she wiped her eyes into the cloth of her pants, tensing a little when she felt a hand on her back. Glancing up tearfully she looked to Suto confused, seeing the sympathetic smile he wore for her. Normally she'd hate that look, but right now with her heart breaking she welcomed his comfort, hiding her eyes again and letting herself cry, all while he intermittently patted her back. If Yari was gone then who was to say the others wouldn't follow? Fitch, Kenshin, Alphard, even Suto... She didn't want anyone else to die.

"Why... Why did she have to die?" Luna asked, lifting her head and looking between everyone, her eyes a little red. "She shouldn't have died... It wasn't fair..."

No, it wasn't. Then again, this whole game wasn't, Suto reflected bitterly. They were all pawns in Akihiko Kayaba's sick death game, just pieces for his amusement. Whether they lived or died was a trivial matter to him, he was convinced the GM didn't care. As long as he had fun their fate's, their emotions, their wants and desires were null and void. What an idiot he had been then, hiding behind extravagant events to try and hide the truth. The only one he had been lying to this whole time was himself, and now faced with the reality he was furious. It was there all along, staring him in the face, but every time he'd turned a shoulder in defiance. That wouldn't work this time, it certainly wasn't going to change anything. Suto really didn't know how to feel, whether to be angry or depressed. Ultimately he found himself in some culmination of the two, yet he still tried to reach out to help his other friends. Fitch might be beyond his help at the moment, but Luna wasn't. Nor was Kenshin, or Nero, or even Yuna or Alphard. Fitch might be okay with solitude, but he'd remain with the others and try to help them however he could. And whenever his other friend decided to come back around then he'd be there too.

Someone had come to the door after a few moments, and Suto was foolish enough to think it might be Fitch. The voice however was discernibly female, and not very old either at that. The girl could have very well walked on by and kept going, but for whatever reason she felt it necessary to intrude on them and even chastise them for having their door open. It wasn't really that rude of a comment, more of a matter of fact remark. It managed to trigger something in Suto though, and instantly made him irritable. Frowning to himself he drew his hand back from Luna, pushing himself up from the edge of the bed and walking over to the door. Pushing it open and narrowly missing the girl in the process he looked down at her, managing a tight lipped smile.

"You know most people have the decency not to eavesdrop and just keep walking... Right?" Suto retorted, stepping into the doorway to block the girl out. "Do you want something? Because if you didn't notice we're kind of trying to be alone right now, if that's okay with you."

Alphard crouched in the corner of a room adjoining Fitch’s, clad only in chainmail. She gripped the rim of her tower shield tightly with both hands and silently trying to quell her rage. With eyes screwed shut, she quietly sought an inner calm to bring peace to her troubled mind. The roiling storm inside Alphard was slowly hollowing her out. At this rate, she would be completely devoid of any emotion by the time they all escaped the world of Aincrad. That was if anyone made it out alive. Alphand sighed and leaned her forehead against the cool metal of her shield and felt a single tear slide down her face. Kenshin stormed into the room and slammed the door behind him, causing Alphard to look up in surprise.

“How could this have happened? Why Yari?” he stomped over to the sole table in the room and kicked it over. “Of everyone in the team, Yari’s the one person who holds us together the most!” Kenshin drew his old one-handed sword from before he got his katana and began brandishing it wildly about. “This just isn’t OK!” Kenshin then began to randomly strike various objects around himself with the blade. A multitude of <<Invincible Object>> indicators popped up with each attack. Suddenly, as Kenshin slashed blindly at the wall, his sword snapped in half. He stared at the damaged weapon blankly as it slowly dissolved into shining crystals. He gave a wry smile and sighed. “Figures, don’t it? That’s what I get for losing my temper. Hey Ayano, there’s something I wanted to do earlier, but after the whole business with Yari, it didn’t seem right. I’ve changed my mind. Yari’s death has showed me that each of us may not live to see tomorrow, and I just wanted to make sure that it actually happened before anything else happens.”

Kenshin opened up his inventory and brought out a simple iron ring. There were no jewels adorning it’s surface, no special engravings. Yet it was more than adequate in showing Kenshin’s love. He knelt and offered the ring out to Alphard. “I know it’s not much, but I hope it expresses what I feel. I love you Ayano Nobunaga and I hope that you will take me to be your husband.” Kenshin then opened up his menu again and sent Alphard a <<Marriage>> proposal. Closing his eyes, he waited and hoped against hope to hear the soft tone of an incoming alert. After what seemed an eternity, the ping sounded and Kenshin looked up to see Alphard standing over him, tears shining in her eyes as she repeated the same word over and over again.

“Yes”

Some time later, the couple heard a commotion from Fitch’s room. After a quick glance, they both armored up and grabbed their weapons to see what was going on. They arrived just in time to hear the voice of Suto say, "Do you want something? Because if you didn't notice we're kind of trying to be alone right now, if that's okay with you." Kenshin strode forward and saw a young woman standing in the doorway with arms crossed. He noticed a rapier on her hip and thought that, if it came to a fight, he would be hard pressed to defeat her. He forged onward nevertheless, and clamped a hand down on the girl’s shoulder. Alphard appeared at his side and spoke in a low, terrifying voice. “I think it’s about time you took your leave, Lady.”

Kimigami's expression twisted to one of pure shock as the argument was turned against her. She stuttered unintelligibly for a moment, "Er..." Then she shook her head, cleared her throat, and locked eyes with Suto. "You're not the only ones trying to get some alone time around here..." When a hand touched her shoulder, the small girl yanked away and looked at the boy behind her furiously, "Keep your hands off me." She met Alphard's gaze next with a scowl, "You all think you're the only ones having a tough time? Get over yourselves," She snapped, but began to walk away nonetheless, sneering. She paused and looked back as she walked down the hall, "Don't know what happened. But good luck dealing with it - I hope releasing a little frustration on a small girl helped," She stated passively before heading for her room again. She could feel her throat tightening as she went, though. Could you be more tactless? She scolded herself, her fists squeezing at her sides as she stepped into her room and slammed the door behind her, falling into the bed once more and squeezing her eyes shut. Nobody could hear her from the outside unless they knocked or had a very rare high listening skill. She began to sob softly, sitting up and pulling her knees into her chest, burying her face against them. Nobody wants you around... Why do you even keep trying in this horrible place..?

---

Fitch stepped forward, bashing the skeletal monster before him with his shield and stunning it. It fell to the ground and he began to maniacally hack at it, crying out as he swore, cursed, and damned the data-based beast into nothingness. He was one of few people who was already out training on the new floor, rather than sleeping or celebrating. Tears streamed down his face; he wanted it back. What he had had only hours ago - the pain was so overwhelming and he refused to believe that he had lost her... No, he was going to get out of here and find her sitting over him, waiting for him to get out... Nobody would actually program the game to kill its players... They all just woke up and those still trapped thought they were dead. He refused to believe it because if it wasn't, he would never see her again... Never hear her beautiful, silky voice... Never kiss those lips... They'd already talked about children someday, as soon as she could convince her parents to give their relationship the blessing she wanted. She wanted to study in America and he would have followed her anywhere... She couldn't be gone.

Shards of the monsters he killed flashed around him as he killed one after another at an astonishing pace. He maintained a good safety margin from the beginning, but even so it was amazing how many he could kill before even pulling out a potion. He dug his heel into the ground and kicked off again after another... and another... until the spawns became faster than he could handle. He had known about packs and swarms of mobs, but they were never uncontrollable or inescapable, especially with his group. He thought he could handle it, but eventually he felt them beginning to overpower him and still he fought. As he sliced one down after another, he began to fall back, stumbling over his own foot and landing on his ass. As he stared up, there was no fear in his eyes... No regret nor hatred... He had finally found it. He sunk his blade into the ground; he could have a potion now if he wanted to... get back on his feet... kill a few, run away, but... He realized that he hadn't come out to train or blow off steam, he just wanted that feeling of nothing back... Peace, bliss, numbness; it could go by so many names, and yet he cared not which. He closed his eyes and he saw nothing but her... Yari in so many isolated memories. He could hear her laugh, see her smile, feel her arms around him... He didn't care if he died, because either he would be reunited with her, or there wouldn't be any more pain. He didn't want to watch his health bar drop, he just wanted to feel that release when it was emptied...

Well crap, here came the guilt. Suto's nerves were understandably strained from all that had gone on, putting him on edge. In any other circumstance he'd never have snapped at someone like that, certainly not to a little girl. She had been a tad rude in interrupting them, but it didn't deserve the rebuttal he had given. Sighing softly he shook his head, excusing himself quickly from the room to chase after the young girl. Unfortunately he hadn't seen where she went, so he needed to methodically check the rooms just to figure out where she had slipped off to. One door after another Suto knocked, offering several apologies as he interrupted other players or woke some up. Feeling pretty bad over himself for being so curt he wasn't well going to leave it alone, not until he had apologized and set things straight.

The last door on this floor, of course it was the last one, he chided himself. This wasn't going to be terribly delightful, probably awfully awkward, but he needed to make things right. Exhaling softly he put on the most polite of smiles he could muster, gently rapping his knuckles against the hardwood door.

"Uh... Hey kid...? You in there? Can we talk?" Suto called, perhaps forgetting that it was near impossible for anyone to hear somebody outside their room with the door closed. Just to make sure he knocked again, stepping back and folding his hands behind his back to wait.

Go away… just go away… The girl prayed to herself, rocking back and forth. If only she could disappear… A knock at the door and she held her breath; maybe it was an accident. They could be looking for somebody else. Certainly it wasn’t one of the guys from downstairs coming up to find her, right? She heard the last voice she wanted to come through the wood and she wiped her face, unable to resist the scowl that came forth.

“Why? So you can tell me off without knowing who the hell I am again? No thanks,” She said coldly, despite the loss of power in her words when her voice cracked and she had to sniffle, approaching the door.

As it swung open, she stared daggers through her slightly puffy eyes at Suto, her fist shaking at her side while she sneered through her tears. The teenager was an absolute mess, this much was clear due to her glistening cheeks. It was quite surprising how strong she appeared despite this fact, though, as she stood in an almost battle-stance at the threshold, her small form ready to slam the door in his face.

"No.... No that's not it at all!" Suto retorted, frowning as he looked at the door fitfully. "I came to apologize, alright? Will you open up?"

Suto knew there was no reason for the girl to let him inside, he certainly didn't deserve it. After how he'd behaved just a moment ago she could very well just have ignored him and not been in the wrong at all. To his surprise she did come to the door, opening it and greeting him with a rather distraught look on her face. It instantly smacked him in the face just how rude he had been to this girl, even if it wasn't really his fault entirely. Smiling nervously he lifted a hand to itch at his nose, not quite sure how to begin.

"Uh... I just wanted to say sorry, for snapping at you. It was out of line, and we probably should have closed our door." Looking at the girl's face again he cringed, mentally kicking himself for causing this. He really hated upsetting someone that much, it just wasn't in him to be that guy. Akwardly he took a step back, putting his arms at his sides and bowing down in a show of apology. "Please don't be upset, I'm sorry for everything."

Kimi didn't move until he took his bow and she rose a hand, shaking her head with a sigh, "It's okay." She stepped back and gave a silent invitation for him to enter, sitting down on the edge of the bed, staring blankly downward as she worked to swallow her pride, "I don't even know where I was going... I shouldn't have interrupted whatever was going on," She said.

However, she was still one who rather lacked social ability, "Close the door, please. What happened?" Her gaze moved over to Suto with the slightest curiosity.

"N-No! Don't apologize, it's cool, really," Suto said quickly, smiling as he stood back up. "Water under the bridge, yeah? It never happened as far as I'm concerned."

Now that he'd apologized shouldn't he get going? He wanted to bury the hatchet first, and it seemed like that had been done. In good conscience however he still couldn't leave, not with the girl looking as down as she was. Feeling quite the pang of sympathy then when she asked him to stay and chat, inadvertantly perhaps, he readily agreed. Nodding his head Suto stepped right on inside, softly closing the door behind himself before taking a seat in the chair opposite of the girl. She had to ask what had happened, a topic that he'd prefer not to discuss with it being so fresh still. Maybe saying something would help though, goodness knows he could use it.

"Well... We're part of the Clearers, my friends and I. We've been working at it since the earliest floors, and we've always been at the frontlines. Up until today we've been very lucky, not a single one of us was lost. We had some close calls, sure, but everyone had made it along well enough."

Now came the part he wanted to leave well alone and just as soon forget. Doing that would be an injustice to Yari's memory though, and he knew fully enough if he let it fester it would only become worse. Sighing somberly Suto looked down at his hands, rubbing them together before nervously twisting his fingers.

"This last boss we fought, it was... Different. No one knew how the boss was going to act, so we were cautious going into the fight. All the caution and planning in the world didn't prepare us enough though... Our friend Yari... She was one of the strongest in the group, if not THE strongest..." Suto shook his head, trying to keep himself together. His eyes had rather quickly begun to sting with tears and he could feel his lower lip trembling. He didn't want to cry, not now, not in front of some stranger. Yet he was very hard pressed not to do so.

"The fight started, and things seemed a bit... Off... But we kept going anyways. We were even doing really well, got its health down low. Yari... She shouldn't have gone after it... None of us know how it happened, or why. She just... She was there one second... And gone the next..." Suto found himself slouched over in his seat, arms crossed tightly to his chest. His cheeks were becoming damp with tears, but he couldn't well help it now.
"She's dead... She's really dead... This game took her away from us..."

Now the tears were allowed to flow in earnest, the magnitude of the event finally sinking in. Yari, his lifelong friend, was gone forever. From the game, from the real world, completely gone. They wouldn't even get to attend her funeral now, all that would be waiting for them, if they did return, would be a cold slab of stone. Not the warm smiling face of their friend or her supportive words. Along with the flow of tears came audible sobs, and Suto was holding himself pitifully.

"She can't be dead... She can't be! She... She's too strong to die!" he cried, leaning over and giving a frustrated shake of his head. "Damn it all!"
Kimi blinked as the boy told his story, faltering, “O-oh…” Nice work… You picked the wrong people to get mad at, she silently scolded. She hesitantly reached forward and placed a hand on Suto’s knee, “I’m… Really sorry for your loss…” She truly had no idea how to behave in a situation like this one, as with most situations, and she retracted her hand as he began to deny reality.

What should one say to this? That yes, she’s dead, that reality is hard? No, he knows that… At least she didn’t feel any pain? That’s not comforting, because she’s still gone. “Well… Erm… W-with friends like you guys… I’m sure she’s happy…” There was a pause as she gauged his response, not that she was exactly skilled at reading people, “B-because she may be gone… But she’ll, uh, never be forgotten – right?” She tried to make the statement reassuring, but it came out more like a question and she fidgeted again. Of course the statement was a little bit cliché, but at the same time, she had truly meant it… “After all… That’s all we can ask for in this world… To be seen… known… Cared about… To someday leave knowing that you’ve touched somebody so greatly that they’ll always hold you… here,” She spoke, finishing her statement and bringing her clasped hands to her chest over her heart wistfully.

Suto fully appreciated what this girl was trying to do for him, but words weren't enough right now. In reality nothing was going to make this okay, shy of the impossible return of Yari. It was going to take time, and a lot of time at that, but this was a good start. It kind of felt good to finally allow the tears to fall, he felt like a bit of his anguish was fading with each drop that fell into his lap. Glancing up at Kimi as she spoke he sniffled fitfully, lifting a hand to wipe at his eyes and cheeks before giving a small nod. She was right, he liked to think she was anyways. Yari was always going to be with them, albeit not in the way that he and the others would have liked. The memory of her would live as long as they did, and perhaps even longer, she was never truly gone.

"T-Thanks... Thanks a lot," Suto whispered, smiling meekly as he sniffled once again, giving his face a good wiping on his sleeve. It was odd how quickly their tones had changed, now they were comforting one another. Perhaps a bit selfishly he realized that he had not asked Kimi what she had been fussing over. It could well be just their having snapped at her, but somehow he felt like it might have been a little more profound than that. Shyly he leaned over and put his own hand on Kimi's, giving it a patting and her a warm smile.

"If you don't mind me asking... What about you? Anything you need to talk about?"

Kimi nodded, but said nothing until he placed a hand on hers. She pulled her hand away slightly, hoping the hint was enough to keep her from being touched. At his question, she shook her head and hesitated. “Since I started here… I’ve been alone; I haven’t been able to stay with a party for more than two or three floors before they tell me to get lost,” Her voice rang coldly as she stared downward. “I’ve never been a part of the clearing group, but I’m strong… I’ve been told off for being stronger than everybody in some of my groups… Some just think I’m too controlling…” She shrugged and shook her head, “I’ve seen people die… I’ve been blamed for their deaths, as if I chose to let them die… I don’t care about anybody in this stupid place, I just need to get home… We’ve already been trapped here for too long, there’s no saying what’s happened to my family since it happened…”

"Sounds like you've been having a pretty rough time of things... I can't imagine what it must be like," Suto remarked, smiling sympathetically. All alone in this unforgiving place, it was enough to drive anyone mad. No one should have to suffer that way though. Even with friends this game was hard, so being without anyone in your corner must be nigh unbearable. Suto had a solution, one he figured the others wouldn't have any real problem with.

"You can always join us, if you want to? I don't mean right away of course. And since we're clearers it'd be awfully dangerous, but you can travel with us whenever you like." Sitting upright in his seat Suto lifted a hand, swiping his fingers to open up his menu and pull up his friends list. Once finding the girl's name, Kimigami apparently, he selected her and sent a friend request.

"That's there if you decide to join us, or if you ever want to talk," Suto explained, smiling as he stood up. "Don't worry about us turning you away like the others, we won't do that to you."

Kimi shrugged, “We play with the hand we’re dealt, yeah?” His offer caught her slightly off-guard and she recoiled only slightly. As he said that she might not join them for clearing, she did something she’d down for absolutely nobody before; her hand swept the air to summon her menu before she navigated to her stats and swpet her hand, the menu flicking around to face Suto.

“I said I was never a part of the clearing group… This game’s not really based around how strong somebody is… It’s numbers,” She said softly, “I was strong for myself.” The girl smiled slightly and accepted the request, but she didn’t take up his offer. “Thank you… Erm… Suto, but… I think perhaps it’s best that I don’t join you… for now, at least…” Her hand wiped her eyes slightly as she shook her head, “Believe me, I’ve heard that before, and as appreciated as it is, they’re only words. Nobody knows what they will do, but only what they think they won’t… We can keep in touch… But I think you and your friends should work for each other for now… I won’t be much help as you are now,” She said.

The girl rose to her feet and opened her menu, changing into a set of leather armour with a black jacket. Emblazoned on the back was some sort of red, silhouetted bird with outstretched wings. Her rapier flashed and reappeared at her side with a more elegant hilt and slightly longer blade. Whereas before her gear had been very basic and seemed on-par with the just above-average group she was with, she now wore that which rivaled even the clearing group’s. The only downside was that she had no last-hit bonus object, but it was only a slight inconvenience.

“I think, though… that I’ve been living too selfishly…” She admitted with a small sigh, “I’m sorry, Suto, about Yari… I think I would have very much liked to meet her… But, if I don’t see all of you at the boss for this next floor, you can bet that I’ll find you, okay?” Her eyes were sad and still shined with the tears she refused to shed… She was just a small teen, yet those dark eyes held wisdom beyond her years, experience in more than just some heartless game’s system.

"If that's how you feel about this then I suppose I can't well change your mind. Just know that the offer is always going to stand." Suto replied, smiling kindly. "I've seen too many people die already in this game, and for some reason I'm still alive. So long as I am I'm going to do whatever I can to stop as many deaths as I can. It's a huge mantle to take on, but..." he shrugged, chuckling lightly. Chances were playing the hero would get him killed, throwing himself into goodness knows what to help others. But somehow he was fine with that, especially if it meant his friends made it out of here alive.

Pausing at the door Suto turned to say a last goodbye, instead staring a bit surprised at what Kimi now had equipped. It wasn't any ordinary gear, pretty darn high levelled in fact. It wasn't anything gained from a boss encounter, but it was most certainly rare and unique. Without seeing the actual numerical stats themselves he could already imagine it was fair powerful equipment. Strange that this girl who supposedly played by herself was sporting such high tiered armor and weapons. Suto wanted to ask how she'd gotten it, but it seemed a little intrusive to question something like that. Instead he only smiled, giving Kimi a small wave from the door.

"The offer is still standing, and it always will. I'm always around to talk if you need someone, and so are the others. Take care of yourself Kimi." Suto closed the door behind himself, sighing and looking at it for a good silent moment after the fact. Maybe he should have pushed her joining them a little more, it would be for her own benefit ultimately. She'd been going it alone thus far, so maybe he ought to give her more credit. Either way she had his name now, she could always call on him if she needed a hand.

The girl nodded after him, “Thank you, Suto…” She said, giving a soft sigh and wave in return. As she checked over everything, she left her room and headed down the hallway.

Nero stood outside of their small party’s room, taking a short break to collect his thoughts. He was skilled when it came to emotion, he could keep himself calm under nearly any circumstance. Yuna stayed behind to be with the others and he watched as Kimi passed curiously. His brow furrowed – there was no question that she was the girl from before, but he said nothing. He recognized the material of the gear – he’d gathered plenty of it – and was a bit surprised. She’d gone from what looked like barely level twenty to what had to be about forty. He waited another minute and turned, stepping back into the room, joining the rest of their group.

---

Monsters in the field were pitifully simple to cut down. One after another fell to the sword, hardly any effort required to do so. Perhaps the boss was the best way to go after all, maybe then there'd be a real challenge. Doku swung his blade down in an arc, a blank expression on his face as he sliced through an orc like creature, watching as its body shattered into the familiar blue pixels. All this killing to gain power, it seemed so rudimentary and second nature now that it hardly took any thought to do. Coupled with the system handling his skills for him and the slaying of beasts was literally a mindless task. How long had he been out here in the field, he wondered? One hour? Two? At least since the floor had been cleared, he'd immediately gone on to train. His level was fair high, comparable easily to that of the Clearers, and yet he kept fighting. After all, what else more was there in this game but to fight?

Doku finally reached the point where he couldn't be bothered to train any longer, finding it so effortless it had become dull. He had managed to amass a fair amount of Col from this session, and gained a level or two overall, so it had been worthwhile. Sheathing his sword away he began the solitary walk back to town, a faint, self satisfied smirk on his lips. This money would go nicely into further supporting his guild, and in turn perhaps buying the allegiance of a few other players. By no means was his guild among the top, and the numbers were regretfully low, in part due to casualties. They had to begin recruiting soon, otherwise the guild might as well be disbanded. He needed a few good warriors to bulk up the overall strength, that would be the quickest fix.

As luck would have it there may just be someone he could recruit yet. Granted the situation was not exactly ideal, and it would require Doku go out of his way to help someone, but if played right it would work out. The boy in question he scarcely recognized, but knew full well that he was a Clearer. To have someone of that caliber in his ranks, that would make them several times over all the more imposing. Unsheathing his one handed straightsword he gave a small flick of his wrist, a smirk creeping across his lips as he darted right for the monsters. They weren't about to steal a possible acquisition from him, not if he could help it.

One second the skeleton had been looming over Fitch, its weapon poised to strike, and the next it shattered into a hundred shards, vanishing from sight. Not missing a beat Doku activated his next attack, a flurry of strikes that managed to cut down two monsters in its use. A horizontal slash took a severe amount of health out of a fourth skeleton, and a hard thrust finished that one off as well. The final made a swing for him with its curved sword, the blow being quickly deflected by Doku's sword. Sneering in satisfaction as the monster reeled slightly he took his opening, stomping down his foot and initiating his flurry skill once more. A series of rapid jabs followed by two quick slashes reduced the skeleton's health to zero, and then some. The skill persisted well after the beast was "dead", and only after it finished did the model finally shatter. In a rather quick attack Doku had easily taken out five monsters, making it look effortless. It helped a fair bit their AI was still trained on Fitch, he had a moment to capitalize on having no aggro.
"Sitting around waiting to die, kid?" Doku finally asked, not turning as he examined his loot screen, tolling up the Col he just got for himself. Smiling slightly he closed out the window, finally turning to look down at the other player, arching an eyebrow. "What are you doing that for? You and your friends just cleared another floor, you ought to be celebrating, not committing suicide."

Was he dead yet? Fitch dared not open his eyes or search for a heatlh bar... But he thought there would be some kind of message. There was a shattering sound... Was it him? No, because then he heard another. When he opened his eyes, there was a single player standing before him and not a single monster left. His fist shook as he rose, “Yes. What the hell do you think you’re doing?” He asked coldly, “There’s nothing to celebrate. What do you think we have to enjoy here? Oh, hooray, we moved up a floor… There are a hundred god damned floors and we conquered one. We should celebrate moving along in a world we shouldn’t even be in? I’m not doing that anymore. I’m done here… So how about you leave me alone and mind your own business?”

"I think I saved your life, if I'm not mistaken," Doku replied, looking at Fitch curiously as he finally got to his feet.

Ah, so that was it then, the kid was distraught. Doku knew precisely what had happened too, recognizing the expression all too well. He'd lost somebody, this boy, and was giving up on life as a result. His hope was gone, evident in the bitter, cold wording of how he felt. Another soul, crushed, torn to shreds by the cruel world that was Sword Art Online. Perfect... This was exactly the kind of person he could make use of. Nothing to lose, no hopes or desires, and willing to die. He'd make an excellent addition. But before he could even recruit the guy Doku had to win his favor. Not that he was going to be an absolute sweetheart about it.

"This world is hard, kid, that's a fact. People die, people we care about, things are lost, lives are ruined. We're only a quarter of the way there and already so many people are suffering, and will continue to do so until the game is cleared. It's a shitty place to be, no doubt about it."

Doku looked back at Fitch for a moment, stepping forward and giving the boy's shoulder a shove abruptly. "But get this, everyone's having a shit time of things. And how many others do you see out here trying to throw themselves to the wilds? Besides us there's nobody else. Know why? Because other people aren't willing to just lie on their backs and die, they want to get back home. To the real world. Because whoever you lost in this place, no matter how close, isn't worth dying over. They'd want you to carry on with yourself, not succumb to depression and throw your life away like it means nothing. You think that's how they would want to see you in your final moments? Glum and not even putting up a fight?"

"If you really want to die, then let me put you out of your misery," Doku continued, drawing his sword. Stepping back slightly he held the blade out before switching his grip on the weapon, driving the blade into the ground. "But, if you're half the man I think you are, you won't let me do that. And if you won't let me do it then you shouldn't let some damn numbers be the death of you either. Do this person of yours a favor and live on, because you're no use to anyone dead."

Fitch's lip curled slightly in anger... Who was this guy to tell him how to live? He didn’t know Yari – he didn’t know anything. Yet, he was so detached; it was admirable. “Don’t touch me,” He snarled, “I’m not going to let anything, or anyone, kill me.” The boy rose and checked himself over, wiping himself blank as he stared at the mysterious person in front of him. “If you wanna kill me, you’ll be risking your own life too…” Their eyes met and Fitch furrowed his brow in curiosity; there was an emptiness to those eyes – it was what Fitch was out here looking for. He paused, was this man thinking of anything at all, or everything at once? “Who are you..?”

"Oh, and there it is." Doku chimed, finally smiling amused as he gestured to Fitch. "Now you refuse to die, I like that. When death seems so easy and almost welcome you still have to fight it, that's the measure of a real man, not giving into it."

"Me? My name is Doku, kid, pleasure to meet you." Taking a small, patronizing bow Doku lfted his sword up out of the ground, laying the blade flush across his shoulder as he cocked his head to the side. "I run a little guild of my own, one that I think you might be interested in checking out sometime. It's full of people like you, ones that have lost and don't see a purpose in going on. I give people purpose, and I give them a new lease on life. And believe me, I've seen a ton of cases like yours, you could use this."
Fitch sheathed his sword and shield, crossing his arms with a sigh, “We’ll see… Stay in touch – I’m not ready to abandon my friends if I’m still alive,” He said before sending a friend request over to the man. “I… guess I should get back… If I’m going to be alive tonight, they’ll want me around.”

"I wouldn't ask you to abandon anyone," Doku retorted, smiling as he accepted Fitch's friend request. "Just bear in mind, you ever feel like you need something more in your life, you know where to find me now. My guild is always welcoming new members." Swiping his sword through the air Doku then sheathed his weapon, giving Fitch a half wave as he walked off. "Take care Fitch!" he called, lowering his tone to a mumble as he grinned maliciously, "I know I'll be seeing you soon."

---

Several days later, while everybody had grown more wary of the world's danger as the entire air of the gorup was still somber. It would remain so for a long time, but Nero approached them with a quest that had rumours of a strong reward. With some resistance, the group finally agreed, deciding they had to move forward no matter how they felt. Fitch declined, having recently started tending to his own business and spending slightly less time with the group than he used to.

Finally, another quest! Both Kenshin and Alphard were absolutely ecstatic over the whole idea. They were in full agreement on the fact that one can only burn off so much steam on hunting without questing. Floor 26 of Ancraid was quite a beautiful place, modeled after a medieval castle town and surrounded by a primordial forest of epic proportions, but even such a magnificent city as Tarbinal could get constraining after a while. But then, to everyone’s surprise, Nero had come forward with a proposal for a quest. This quest would be different than nearly all of the others that the team had ever run before, mostly because of who they would be missing. Yari, the heart of the team. And Fitch, it’s muscle. Without these two, it was pretty unsure if they could actually function as a team. Hopefully, though, this mission would bring them closer together again.

And what a mission it was! According to Nero, the quest was titled <<Rescue the Damsel>> and was posted by an NPC found at the south gate of the city. Apparently, this young man by the name of Tsubu was out gathering food in the forest with his sister when seven huge knights in black armor emblazoned with the outline of a snarling dragon had attacked them and kidnapped the sister. Oh, and the knights had huge, twisting horns sprouting from their heads. Tsubu posted the quest as a plea for assistance from any strong team of four members or more. The team was offered any loot gathered from the knights themselves, and the likely cache at their hideout. It was obvious from the quest title and from the knights’ armor and visage that there would be a dragon involved at some point, so the possibility of even larger and more impressive rewards was great. The danger level of the quest would also increase dramatically with the addition of a dragon, but Kenshin, Suto, Luna, Nero, and Alphard were reasonably sure that they could take a dragon between them. Nero, especially was exceedingly excited about the chances of looting a dragon’s nest. Kenshin and Alphard had decided, with input from the others, that they ought to accept the quest now as it was unique and could only be done once.

So here they were, five heavily armored and armed warriors, carrying all manner of weapons and striding purposefully towards the south gate. When they arrived, however, there was already a young man at the gates and seemingly about to take on the quest. The man was short and lanky with long red hair tied back with a black cloth bearing gold lettering and an eyepatch over his right eye. The man wore a crisp white shirt under a black overcoat, grey dress trousers, and high black boots. Additionally, he wore four rings, a silver amulet, and a bejeweled silver armband on his left arm. All in all, it was a rather high-grade set of light armor with multiple stat-boosting accoutrements. The man sat on the pedestal of a statue depicting a knight riding a huge destrider, fiddling with a massive war hammer all the while.

“Shit! This guy’s jumping in and taking our quest,” Kenshin yelled. He and Alphard rushed forward to show the intruder the error of his ways. As they got closer, the stranger’s display came into focus. “What the hell? What kind of name is Icefang336? Is this dude an absolute idiot or something?”

Alphard shook her head in wonderment and skidded to a halt before the stranger. “Oi jerkwad, this here’s our quest, so bug off. We’ve been scoping out this quest for a while and we can’t have you simply waltzing in and taking it. Plus, you have to have your whole team here when you take the quest so they can all sign up.” As she thought about it, Alphard realized that there wasn’t anyone else waiting here with ‘Icefang336’. Was he planning on doing the quest alone? No way could he be that high-ranked!

Icefang336 blushed slightly and quickly stood up to address the now-gathered combat team. “Whoa there, lady! You can call me Jason. I’m not looking for trouble and I’m not part of a party taking this quest. I’m more of a loner looking to temporarily join a team just to take this quest.”

Kenshin scoffed. “Sure Jason, you just can’t handle this quest on your own so you’re gonna jump in with us so that you can get the reward!”

“No, no, that’s not it at all! I’m just doing this to help poor man, Tsubu! His sister was attacked and kidnapped, you know.”

Kenshin was completely taken aback. “What d’you mean it’s just to help Tsubu? He’s a kriffin’ NPC! He’s not even real. Some nerdy guy back in the real world decided it would be cool if there was a Middle Ages world and figured someone had to get kidnapped. It’s all just code! The NPC, his sister, and the guys who kidnapped her too!”

“NO!” Jason’s eyes flashed with sudden rage at Kenshin’s comment. “Here ‘NPCs’ as real as you or me! I can have a conversation with them, I can see them, I can reach out and touch them. Hell, I could even kill one if I so desired. This one wants help, and I’ve been raised to help anyone in need. It’s my code: A knight is sworn to valor; His heart knows only virtue; His blade defends the helpless; His might upholds the weak; His word speaks only truth; His wrath undoes the wicked. It was good enough for the knights of old and it’s good enough for me. If I need to go it alone and try to rescue the girl all by myself, so be it!”

Despite themselves, Kenshin and Alphard were moved. After some deliberation amongst the team, it was decided that Jason could join the team, if only for this one mission. The now-larger group accepted the <<Rescue the Damsel>> quest and set forth with Tsubu in tow. Some distance into the forest surrounding the castle town, Tsubu suddenly yelped in surprise and ducked behind a boulder. The seven knights warned of in the quest description appeared from behind some trees, drew steel and leapt forward in attack. Jason responded first by springing forth with far greater speed than any heavy-type ought to rightly develop. He slid spryly around the first knight and activated a Sword Art, snapping the enemy’s spine in three places with a single strike before spinning and decapitating it with one fell sweep of that massive hammer. He then sprang back before the attacking warriors could return the favor. Kenshin and Alphard worked together to methodically reduce the next warrior to miniscule glowing chunks. They called for the others to join the battle and held position until they complied.

Stars dotted the sky as a million pairs of feline eyes in the dark, glinting downward toward three teenagers with the depth of a bottomless chasm. A soft breeze carried with it the cool air of the mountain as lights lined the residences about the small village, dimly illuminating the narrow, rather primitive roads.

“Well, I’d better get going, guys. I’ve got a competition tomorrow and I have to be up early – you guys’ll be there in the afternoon, right?” Asked a boy of no more than fifteen as he rubbed his nose, adjusting the scarf about his neck to keep warm.

“Wait, that was tomorrow?” Alex asked with a furrowed brow, holding up his hand and counting on his fingers as though he was trying to figure out the date, eliciting a small giggle from the nearby Mizuki.

“Of course we’ll be there, Hiro, cheering you on as always,” She said to reassure him as his face flashed with worry that his best friend truly had forgotten the event.

Alex laughed and nodded, shoving his hands into his coat pockets after pulling up the collar a bit more, “Yeah, good luck. Get your rest and we’ll see you tomorrow,” He stated as he and the girl beside him waved to the budding snowboarder as he took another street to get home.

Mizuki sighed softly, a small smile resting over her lips. Alex paused, watching her for a moment before she blushed and looked away, “What?” She asked slightly more sharply than she had meant to.

He flinched, “Oh, uh, sorry… You’re always smiling – why?” The boy asked curiously as they began walking again.

The girl’s eyes drifted up to the sky as her hands clasped together in front of her, their pace slowing to a very lazy crawl. “Hmm… I don’t know. Why not? I don’t have a reason not to, I think that’s enough,” She rebutted, turning her head towards him as he raised an eyebrow.

“Erm… Okay,” He replied with a nod, laughing softly as he felt something pull his hand from his pocket and lock with him. His eyes glanced down to see her smaller fingers between his and he looked around, “MIzuki, we’re in publ-“ His statement was soon cut off.

“Nobody’s here, Alex, we’ll be okay,” She promised teasingly before he nodded, squeezing her hand softly.

Minutes in pleasant silence passed before they reached a corner and they paused, Mizuki breaking the quiet, “I’ll see you tomorrow,” She said softly, moving to release his hand and go home.

Alex didn’t release her as she moved to go home, “Hold on, can we keep walking for a while?” He asked.

The girl seemed to be thinking for a few moments, tapping her chin before nodding, “I suppose so,” She teased, “But just until we get to my house.” The boy nodded in agreement as they started walking again, though something seemed to be weighing on his mind now. When he said nothing, she cleared her throat, halting their movement and turning to face him. “Is everything okay?” The girl asked, sounding a little bit worried.

Alex seemed to snap from thought as she addressed him and he shook his head, “Oh, sorry… I must have spaced out,” He explained with an embarrassed smirk.

Mizuki remained, staring at him skeptically, “What’s on your mind, then?” She asked flatly. Credit where it was due, the girl wasn’t afraid to ask questions or be invasive. Her hair was dark and fell to her shoulders, pinned back with a red barrette. Another gust of wind ruffled her muffled and she tucked her chin down more tightly into it until it slowed as Alex seemed to be thinking of how to place his words.

“I dunno, just glad to have you and Hiro, I guess… I don’t know how we all stay friends – we’re all opposites from each other,” He pointed out, shrugging.

She nodded in reply, “I don’t see how we wouldn’t stay friends; we never run out of things to do or talk about because of it,” she quipped. “Now what were you really thinking about?”

Good god, nothing got past her. Alex grasped her other hand and sighed, “I really don’t know, I just feel like… Well, have you ever left the house feeling like you forgot something, but it isn’t for a while that you realize what it was, but you really wish that you’d remembered it before leaving?”

The girl nodded, clearly confused, “Did you… forget something? You’ll be home in a little bit, right? I’m sure you’ll remember in time… Was it something to do with Hiro’s competition tomorrow?”

He shook his head, “No, it’s hard to explain… Hey, uh, what do you think your parents will think when we tell them about… us?” The boy asked a bit nervously; he wanted nothing short of making her happy, but he wasn’t on any track to fortune or status and they had long-since wanted Mizuki to stop hanging out with him and Hiro so much.

The girl shook her head, “We’ll worry about that when we come to it.” She smiled and let go of his hands, hugging his neck reassuringly, “How are you the high-strung one when it comes to us? Such a worried guy,” She pointed out with a laugh, leaning back and beaming at him teasingly.

He shifted a bit uneasily, “Alright, alright, I’ll try to be easier,” He said sincerely. “I don’t know why I’m so wound-up, you know I’m usually not… In fact, nothing does that to me apart from you…” Her face distorted into one of slight pain and confusion. A moment later, Alex realized what he said and shook his head, “No, no, I mean… In a good way; I just want so badly to do something right that I’m not used to it, that’s all.”

Mizuki seemed satisfied and replied with a smile, “Better.” She told him, biting her lip for a brief moment before leaning forward and pushing herself up on her toes. What was happening? Alex stood there blankly for a moment as her arms pulled and he felt her growing ever closer to him. A moment later, their lips connected and…

He watched another creature shatter into a hundred shards, a menacing scowl on his face as he tore through one after another. He needed to forget, needed to stop thinking, and needed to find that numbness again. His friends were all tackling a unique quest today, and he’d decided not to go, knowing they would assume that he wanted to be alone or that he didn’t want to go out so soon. In reality, he was trying to slowly ease out of their field of vision, hoping they would simply forget him.

---

Nero smiled softly as he read through the message he’d received only minutes ago. He got one every time he was going after a boss or any other challenge – sometimes just before his daily grinding. It was from Yuna and it had to be at least a thousand words… Her eloquence amazed him. The material hunter was a poor speaker, despite his mental capacity, but he had his own ways of impressing and shocking people. As he finished reading, he heard Kenshin and Alphard starting after somebody and he looked up in confusion. He closed his menu and stuffed his hands into his pockets, striding easily over to them as an argument about the sapience of NPCs was brought forth. Nero sighed, These things are just as soulless as the monsters we kill every day… They may not be hostile, but that doesn’t mean that they can feel… Even the conversations are algorithm based, he thought before shaking his head. No, he shouldn’t be so disapproving of the strange boy’s beliefs. He clearly wasn’t Japanese, but he had a really heavy sense of honor, it seemed. Nero shrugged and waited for the scene to settle before clearing his throat.

“Feel free to join us, erm, Jason…” He said, though his mouth felt like it was full of marbles when he said the name. It had such a strange sound to it, like the sounds were all out of place. It would take some practice, as Nero’s English pronunciations were rather awful. “You’ll not be getting away with anything more than you’ve earned, though. Our drop rules are sealed rather tightly, and to be honest… While you seem sincere, I have a rather hard time believing you because of pure logic… I try my best to empathize, though, so you can come along. Don’t forget, however, we’re all top-tier clearers, so if you try anything, you’ll be out-numbered and overcome before you can do anything,” He stated flatly. In all honesty, he would have liked to have Fitch with them, as they were quite lacking in their damage threshold without him.

Nero worked on his own as they moved about the dungeon, making rather strong progress, though it felt quiet in the approach to the quest’s endpoint. When the knights appeared, he was able to take on two alone and give assistance with another before they were all wiped out.

Whatever they might encounter on Floor 26 couldn't possibly amount to anything that Floor 25 had dealt them. It would be some time yet until they approached the dungeon however, let alone take on the boss. The ripples from the last boss still weighed heavily on the Clearers, no one was quite ready to undertake another battle just yet, even if it might be easier. That didn't wholly stop anyone from training however, and within the following day players were out and about once more, making headway into the yet explored fields and wilderness to train themselves. The medieval setting of the floor had many people joking about old European myths and legends, many wondering if they might encounter fiends of lore while here. A little disappointing perhaps then was it that creatures encountered were the standard cut and paste MMO variety, with small tweaks made to serve their placement in the game. This was only just beyond the city of Tarbinal however, there was undoubtedly more variety, and danger, the further one traveled from the center. Sooner or later the player was bound to move further out, without a doubt, but that was going to be a fair long time coming at the current.

"Wait... We're killing a dragon?" Suto asked, blinking in surprise.

"It's a safe bet that there will be one, given the setting we're in. But don't expect too much, there may well not be one at all." Luna pointed out, casting a glance over to her partner. "You're not getting cold feet... Are you Suto?"

"What? No! No way, this is my kind of thing. I'm not backing out of the chance for adventure, not by a long shot. Dragons or not I'm coming."

Maybe he was feeling the nerves right now, just a little bit. After all they were on another floor, and with that came stronger creatures. Recent events called for quite a fair amount of trepidation, albeit everyone was doing a fair job of masking it right now. The notion of combating a dragon, whatever lore it was designed from, was certainly a daunting task. No doubt it was going to be akin to a floor boss and therefore quite powerful, meaning this was going to be one hell of a battle. Taking a look around the group Suto mentally marked every person, wondering if they had enough to take this quest on. It called for one to four, so this had to be plenty. They were all pretty strong after all, so it made sense that they'd get through it pretty easily.

"Good, because I need a meat shield in case things get hairy," Luna teased, smirking at the abashed look of her comrade. "And if you plan on sustaining that absurd partying habit of yours then I believe you're going to need this loot. Heaven knows how you're not already in debt to some shady players by now."

The approach to the dungeon was both exciting and terrifying. The area itself was modeled after some catacombs, or at least that was the closest thing Suto could think to label them. As a group they moved inside, determined to trek along in spite of what dangers may await them inside. So long as they kept their wits about them and watched the others backs then they would make it out of here just fine. It took relatively little time at all to reach the innards of the dungeon, and with it the beginning of mob encounters. A few Skeletons clad in tattered plate armor, leather bound Shambling Corpses with bows and the occasional Living Armor, animated sets of plate and chain, were among the foes they had to battle through to get deeper and deeper. With proper switching and carefully timed skills they made short work of even the heaviest of foes, and in record time as it seemed they were already nearing the end. The further in they went however the stronger the opposition became, and their progress slowed ever so slightly. It wasn't overwhelming by any means, but it wasn't as simple as smacking around a bag of bones either. Skeletons and Shambling Corpses were traded in for more Living Armor, and now even some of the quest knights they had been warned about. Compared to the Armor the Knights were pretty tough and certainly took teamwork to deal with them. Nero did a good bulk of the battling, as did Kenshin and Alphard, with Suto and Luna supporting as they did so well. Together the group managed to cut down any opposition, and soon they were stood at the precipice of the last battle, with a dragon no less.

"Jeez, how many of those things did we kill anyways? I think I just got enough Col for the next week off of them alone!"

Being out in the field with something to focus on had turned out to be quite a welcome change for Suto. Now he no longer was focusing on the loss of Mizuki, and as such could enjoy himself a bit. Being carefree then came easier, and so did his bellyaching. The amount of fighting they had done so far was enough to get him a bit tired, even if it wasn't in reality true exhaustion. That always baffled him how it worked out like that. Video games had never drained him like this before, certainly not a virtual one. Then again, video games had never trapped him in an alternate reality either, so it was a safe bet that conventions went out the window as soon as that had happened.

"If we've come this far though then we might as well see it through," Luna replied, taking this moment to look through her own earnings. "Though you're right, this has been a rewarding expedition so far. I can't say I'm disappointed I came along for this." Quite the nice haul so far, and it was bound to only expand once the quest was completed. Taking out one of her throwing knives she ran a finger along the spine, turning it over to look at her own reflection in the metal. "Do we know anything about this monster we're supposed to be fighting?"

After several hours spent fighting, Nero’s team had finally made it to the entrance of the dragon’s lair. In truth, it was much more dramatic than any of them had expected. A massive fissure had been carved in a soaring stone bluff. The entrance had clearly been carved out with massive claws, the blackened scrapes still evident in the rough stone. A large maroon banner bearing the same dragon crest as the horned knights’ armor was posted directly in front of the cave’s mouth and was guarded by two of the selfsame knights. Stopping well out of the knights’ attention range, the party settled in for the night and recounted the day’s various combats. Jason was leading the current tale, gesticulating wildly as he doled out some of his gathered food.

“D’you see how we beat those guys. I mean damn, we really handed them their asses on a platter. Those Shambling Corpse guys were pretty jenked up though, straight up freaky. Not that they were any big problem.” A wide grin split his face, “The way Nero took that one out, man. It was all like, ‘Imma eat your face, myeaah!’ N’ Nero just went, ‘Nope!’ and cut its freaky-ass head off! Beautiful!” Wiping tears of laughter from his eyes, Jason looked around the group and was met only with blank stares. “Uh, guys? You alright?”

Kenshin slowly shook his head, completely flabbergasted. “What the hell did you actually just say, Jason? I mean, I think it was Japanese, but I can’t be entirely sure. Care to explain?”

“Yeah, dude. It’s not actually Japanese, it’s English slang. Y’know the screen that came up when you first logged on with the Nerve Gear? With the language selection? Yeah, I chose the English option so it automatically translates for me. I hear English when you speak Japanese and you hear Japanese when I speak English.” Looking around the room again, Jason decided to answer the unspoken question they were all thinking. “Why? I’m from America- the state of Colorado to be exact. I moved to a small coastal town called Niigata in order to play SAO. It was supposed to be a Learning Abroad thing to begin with, but I suppose that I’ll be staying rather longer than originally expected.” This spawned a whole new conversation topic, of course, of the differences between Japanese society and that of the United States.

The next morning, all of the players once again prepared themselves and sallied forth on the quest. The two guardian knights were taken out with simultaneous Sword Arts from Nero, Kenshin, Alphard, and Jason. The team then moved into the cave and ran full tilt down the narrow passageway until reaching a wide open cavern covered with stalactites and stalagmites. Tsubu’s sister was in the center of the room chained to a massive stalagmite rising up from the floor. The room was strangely devoid of enemies, so the party stayed on guard the whole time. When they reached the young maiden, Kenshin slashed through the chains binding her and Tusbu ran forward to embrace his sister.

Suddenly, a section of the floor erupted in a massive column of blue-white flame. A gigantic black wyvern with a sheet of white bone over the crown of its head surged through the gaping hole and landed nimbly in the center of the room. According to the players’ HUD displays, this particular beast was named <<Mordred, Slayer of Kings>>. Oh well, Kenshin thought, it’s not like we weren’t prepared for a dragon. He and Alphard led the charge as usual, running straight at the monster and unleashing powerful thrusting Sword Arts. Both attacks were practically shrugged off by Mordred, which then swept both combatants away with a powerful blow from its tail. Jason used his unnatural speed to leap high into the air and bring his hammer down onto the dragon’s skull, striking chunks of bone away. Mordred responded with a swipe from its wing to send Jason tumbling. Upon landing, Jason instantly downed a healing drought. His light armor just couldn’t stand up to much more than a slight attack. Alphard turned to her teammates and called for a coordinated attack between Kenshin and Jason. While the two rushed in to comply, she opened her inventory and brought out her only medium range weapon: a javelin.

Alphard threw the javelin in a perfect arc, hitting the dragon in the head and flinching it. Jason took this opportunity to activate his most powerful Art, <<Gravity Crush>>. The Art began with a massive two-handed overhead blow. He then slid the hammer along the ground pushing the dragon backwards and lifting it up with great force. The Art finishes with another massive downward strike, this one executed during a jump. At the Art’s end, Jason called out for a Switch and Kenshin leapt forward for his turn at striking the dragon. This was doomed to failure, however, as the dragon knocked Kenshin away with a sharp head-butt.

Kenshin flew back and ricocheted off of the cave’s wall to land directly on the point of a stalagmite, impaling himself. His health dropped sharply and continued to drop steadily as he struggled to leaver himself off the stone spike. The stalagmite had penetrated too deeply, however, and if struck, was shown to be an <<Immortal Object>>. Mordred advanced slowly on the immobilized warrior, ignoring all of the party’s attacks. The same blue-white fire as before began to leak slowly from in between Mordred’s jaws. It was clear he was gathering energy for a flame-type breath attack, but none of the gathered fighters were able to flinch it away. Alphard and Jason changed their tactics and tried to run up the side of the imprisoning stalagmite to free Kenshin, but could only make it about halfway. So instead, the group was forced to watch on as Kenshin was consumed by the howling flames that burst forth from the dragon’s maw. When the flames died down, naught was left but the crystals of his essence falling slowly like a light snow. And a simple band of silvered iron, about the right size to be worn on a finger. Alphard caught the ring with a sob and fell to her knees. It should have dissolved along with the rest of Kenshin’s possessions. He must have slipped the ring off and cast it down at the last possible moment, while burning. Alphard hung her head and curled her entire body protectively around Kenshin’s ring and sobbed. She did not move until her friends informed her that the fight was over.

Jason looked over the items he had gained from the fight: a massive amount of col, enough materials to upgrade his weapons and armor several levels (or just forge a new set), and a decorative amulet with absolutely no stat effects. He had stayed true to his code. He had rescued the ‘damsel’. He had fought to the best of his ability. Why, then, did it feel as though he had abandoned all he stood for. No, he knew why. Kenshin had died because he had demanded a switch. He should have been more willing to take damage, to stand up to his adversaries without flinching. Jason looked to the grieving woman before him and made a silent oath: he would stand by this woman and ensure that she would never again feel pain.

---

The Real World

In the coastal city of Niigata, it was night. The moon hung full in a clear and cloudless sky against a backdrop of shimmering stars. The waves crashed against the shore in a soothing rhythm. It was summer, and the cool night breeze was enough to make even the hardest man sigh in contentment. The city’s largest hospital was silent, save for the quiet beeping of monitors and the soft hum of machinery. Room 266 held only two occupants that night. They were young adults, neighbors, according to their medical sheets. Both had severely atrophied limbs and overgrown hair underneath the Nerve Gear systems. The bed closest to the room’s sole window held a young man, long of limb and dark of hair. His form was still and calm, as if in sleep. It was not sleep, though, that stilled his body. It was the soft embrace of death. His heart would never again quicken at the sight of the woman he loved. His eyes would never again behold the beauty of the world. And his soul would never again grace the lives of those around him. Despite his passing, the man looked almost peaceful, as though a great burden had been lifted and he could now rest. By some random twist of fate, his monitors had inexpiably failed, as if to refrain from disturbing his slumber.

The bed next to his held the immobile form of a young woman. She still lived, though in the time to come she would often wish that it was she who had left the world instead. Her body was tense, as though straining to stop the passage of some inevitable occurrence. As her heart monitor slowly tolled its soft tone, a single tear slid from the corner of one closed eye and slipped down her face only to be caught and scattered by the cold and unfeeling material of the Nerve Gear.

And so the night passed on, undisturbed and pristine, crystalized in the silvery light of the moon above.

At the campfire before the big fight, Nero listened intently to Jason's botched stories. The translation system was faulty, at best, and his slang didn't translate. So every few moments, he would repeat a word with a heavy Japanese accent under his breath, furrowing his brow in concentration. The tension was a bit thick, but the group's ability to relax was a bit unexpected. Then again, some time had certainly passed... As long as they remained steadfast, Nero knew this group could make it to the end. They had to. He was the first to turn in that night, his back to the others as he slipped into his sleeping bag. He'd paid Sasayuka a lot of money to hide the fact that his group had long-since entered the caverns, meaning it would be a while before anybody would come scrambling after them. In the dark, damp air of the cave, the material hunter knew that Yuna would be back at his house, waiting for a message when they finished, but he couldn't send one from inside the dangerous zone.

----- After the fight -----

Nero stared in horror at the place where Kenshin had vanished as Alphard broke down. Not again... Not another one so soon... His fist visibly shook at his side and he shut his eyes tightly, the world spinning around him. This was no boss fight... It couldn't have simply happened to anybody - he chose to bring these people with him and he knew it was dangerous. Yet, instead of inviting more of his contacts, he brought only them to prevent splitting the loot more ways than necessary. He was so sure they could handle it, but without Yari to keep them rallied or the extra shielding from Fitch, they had lost somebody. He watched Jason darkly as the others all had their own reactions to the event before them. His blade slashed an infinity symbol into the air before smoothly slinking back into the sheath at his hip. He placed his thumb and forefinger against the bridge of his nose and let out a long, ragged breath. How could he let it happen? The game hadn't shown such an unfair glitch before... Unless it wasn't a glitch and it was some sort of finishing move, but that kind of algorithm would be extremely unfair in a game like this one.

He stoically scrolled through his list of spoils - as the head of the party, he got the parts that he wanted and everybody would be given quite a chunk of the reward. The kill would yield a large amount of experience for each of them, but it was a hollow victory. Just as with Yari, everybody would cope in their own way and Nero cleared his throat, trying to grab their attention. He opened his inventory and tossed each of them a teleport crystal - they were quite expensive, limited in the shops, and rare as monster drops as well, so typically they were used sparingly. However, Nero was amongst the players with an almost disposable number of them. He didn't mean for them all to use them right away or to go to the same place, he just thought it was his job to make sure they were all safely able to get out after the tragedy. There was little for him to say and as he moved to use his own, a voice called out from the entrance to the room.

"Stop!" It cried, striding purposely into the room. The figure was small and cloaked, a signature sign that Sasayuka, the information broker, was beneath. She was covered in midnight blue as her cloak remained firmly fastened around her, keeping her identity as one of the most sought-after secrets in her her treasure chest of knowledge. "Don't think you can escape me, Nero," She almost hissed.

The material hunter looked at her quizzically before nodding, "Oh, right... Here, the log. Here," He said, opening a menu and sifting through it expertly - the information took a rather trained hand to find, as most people didn't care to find that it existed. What was pulled forth finally was the information on the kill; once dead, a monster's information would be revealed to the killer. Everything from the drops you'd received and yielded experience to the level and total hitpoints of it. Information brokers typically joined a frontline guild to gather this in person for a small fee. Once compiled, they could release it to the public so that other players wouldn't be left behind with each advancement of the clearing group.

The girl took it and skimmed through it, "Good, if we find one of those on any of the upcoming floors, we'll have the jump on the info. You should know that there's going to be a flush of angry players who didn't get the quest quite soon. A lot of people think that you're material hunting has gotten a bit selfish, by the way; They think you aren't shar-" Her flat voice was cut off as he rose his hand.

"I know. Don't you have better things to be doing right now?" He asked with a sigh, crossing his arms as she shrugged, her face covered in the shadow of her cloak's hood. She turned and began to head for the door again as another figure was made clear in a long, black coat outlined in red. There was a rapier upon her hip as her medium-length black hair fringed over one of her eyes and she clasped her hands behind her back.

"Wait, that's Nero?" She asked, snerking slightly as she covered her mouth. "I imagined him... Erm... I don't know - seems a little more plain than everybody says."

The boy furrowed his brow and looked to the new girl, "Hey, weren't you at our inn the other day?" He asked. She nodded and shrugged her shoulders as Sasayuka cleared her throat.

"Come, Kimigami. I appreciate your escort greatly, let's get back to Tarbinol and I'll give you the second half of the payment," The information broker stated firmly. The girl nodded with a small smile, not quite assessing the mood of the room as she spotted Suto, "Congratulations on the win, guys! We're gonna need that power at the bo-" It was now that she spotted the white-haired girl sobbing over a ring. She shut her mouth and looked down, chastising herself silently as she followed after the small, cloaked person. "Sorry," She said, darkly glancing over her shoulder as they left.

Nero turned to the others as several silent moments passed. He looked apologetically to each of them in turn before landing on Alphard, "This isn't going to happen again," He promised before looking to the crystal in his hand and quietly speaking, "Tarbinol." In a flash, he was gone, and like that, the remaining members of what was among the happiest and most powerful parties of Aincrad were left in the cavern in shambles with a strange American student.

----- Several hours later... -----

Nero stared defiantly at the man before him. The hall of the building was quite magnificent, adorned in reds and whites, but Nero was no stranger to the elegance of it after having visited on invitation multiple times.. He wore a collared cloak of forest green over a black jacket and pants with a slight purple trimming. He stood at the foot of a short staircase, looking up to a red-haired man covered in red and white, much like his hall. The two were clearly locked in a battle of pride of will.

"So, do I hear you correctly, Nero? You've changed your mind?" He asked with a small laugh, his white-gloved hand dancing along the hilt of his katana as he slowly descended the stairs.

His boots made an audible tapping, their echoes filling the hall. When the distance between them was closed by the few steps, it was clear that Nero had nowhere near the height of twenty-something male.

"Why? Twice now you've been invited to join us... It was hard enough getting you to accept simply coming here for discussion, but then you would reject us with little thought anyway... So... I ask again, why?"

Nero's lip curled back slightly - it was only fair. He'd spoken condescendingly to this man twice before, rejecting the request to join the guild. Now he stood here, asking for a place among their ranks. "There was nothing to discuss before," He said, working hard to keep the malice out of his voice. "We were doing fine in our advancements, were we not? All of us worked hard and results were clearly produced. But things are... different." The boy shifted, "I'm sorry for my rude behavior before... I've more to offer the guild than I did back then, though. I don't want to be too involved, though. I just want to help; I've never disagreed with what the Knights of the Blood Oath stood for, Kazaro... I only stayed distant because I disagreed with guilds in general. That's why I think conditi-"

The man rose a hand, "Stop with your conditions. Those negotiations were taken off the table when you made yourself out to be a god. We'll see how things go and maybe later we can discuss the terms, understood? If you want to join us, you'll be listening to me for a while. It would be a waste to put you in with any of our regular parties... So you'll be under me - but don't mistake this for you having power, either. Let's see how serious you are," The man said after a bit of contemplation. "Though, at any point, if you want to leave, feel free. Just remember that you've come to me this time," He stated, pocketing his hand.

Nero let out a slow breath as he nodded. "Yes, sir." The invitation was accepted moments later and Nero resisted the urge to shudder. Yuna was proud of him, but he felt caged. However, he was relieved to have his fortune left alone until he chose to contribute or gathered while on guild business.

Suto had a bit of a fun time during Jason's conversation, if only because he enjoyed mocking the English speaker a bit. Normally he would be perfectly polite, but with the stress of what was coming weighing down on him he needed some sort of release. Still, he did it for the most part beneath his breath, whispering to those beside him whenever something that baffled them came up. The translator imbedded into the game was just sad in its effectiveness, it missed an awful lot by the sound of things. They knew a little English, granted, yet hardly enough to keep up with a fluent speaker. Suto was able to follow the gist of the conversation through Nero and Kenshin's remarks, aside from his own quips he remained silent himself. Luna kept quiet too, in part not keen on speaking and the other being simply too nervous. The unsettling nature of combat was still hanging heavily over her. They were about to encounter a boss, or a pseudo-boss, she supposed. A boss meant trouble, and the loss of someone, or perhaps multiple someone's. Needless to say the death of Yari was still effecting her, casting an ominous shadow over the entire group that threatened to engulf each and every one of them were they not at their peaks. Luna silently demanded of herself to make not a single mistake, not a single hair out of line. So long as she could keep to that, and the others as well, they were all going to be fine.

---

The next morning...

---

The battle with the dragon was upon them at last. Collectively everyone had opted to take the evening to recuperate and plan, gather their wits and get a meal in as well. Waking refreshed then the party was as prepared as they could be, and with the dragon's lair before them it was at last time to finish the quest. Inside they were greeted with the sight of an enormous cavern, spires of rock protruding from every which way. Stalagmites and stalactites if Suto remembered rightly, it had been a while since he'd learned of those. He knew the words of course, but not which was which, so he kept his mouth closed to save face. In the center of the room stood the woman they were searching for, unguarded albeit chained up. Everyone knew of course what was going to happen upon her freeing, yet they had to do that in order to initiate the final part of the quest. Kenshin went right on ahead and freed the girl, letting the NPCs comfort one another as the players prepared for the battle that was to come, and it indeed come. The dragon wasted no time on making an entrance, making liberal use of a grandeur fire, its black scaled hide shining like an obelisk, and the white crown gleaming in the artificial light. Mordred, Slayer of Kings. Well, Suto mused, it was a pretty good thing none of them were kings.

The battle began in earnest almost immediately, Kenshin and Alphard leading the charge. Seeing as both of them were lightly armored and more suited for single targets Luna and Suto would play support, switching out when need be in order to relieve the more armored players. When their turns did come each managed to land a succession of quick blows, both with daggers and throwing picks alike, but neither could inflict a lot of harm. Simply put their play-styles made them far better at singular encounters, and not ones against an opponent like this dragon with high defensive stats. Regardless they tried to do their part, hammering Mordred with as many strikes as they could before retreating. This process would repeat for a little while, and slowly but surely they were whittling down Mordred's health. If this kept up they would most certainly triumph. However, this was Sword Art Online, nothing was as easy as it seemed here. One moment you could be on top of the world and the very next it would come crashing down around you, crushing you beneath its enormous girth. This was going to be one such situation.

Things went downhill as soon as Kenshin had switched in with Jason. In spite of having fair full health Jason opted to step back, letting in his counterpart get in a few flourishes. With the dragon's health precariously low surely it would have been fine, they should have been able to land the final blows. A snowballing of disastrous effects began to unfold, and would ultimately lead to the loss of yet another life. In the midst of his overhead, leaping strike Kenshin was knocked aside by the dragon's head, sending him careening away. Normally he would have been fine, having more than enough health and armor to sustain a blow like that. As the game had other plans the player was instead sent the way of a stalagmite, soon finding himself impaled on the formation. All of the armor in the world did him no good then, his health steadily decreasing as he fought to free himself. Never to show mercy the game continued its assault, determined to destroy yet another part of their group. In spite of their efforts to draw Mordred away the dragon insisted on finishing off his prey, a rather uncharacteristic move even for a unique monster. Everyone could only watch as the quest's boss reared his head back, engulfing Kenshin in a disgustingly brilliant flurry of flames. In the brief yet powerful attack their friend was all but melted away, and when the fires subsided sure enough nothing remained, save for a single ring that fell to the floor. While Alphard went into an emotional breakdown the others rallied over their comrade's death, angrily striking at the dragon all at once. The combined efforts proved to do the trick, and in spite of the hits taken the dragon was soon no more. A banner rose into the air congratulating the party on a job well done, and a small fanfare signaled the quest's end. Like the boss before it was a hollow victory, no one cheered or congratulated the other. The room was filled with a heavy atmosphere, no one quite ready to speak or even acknowledge their spoils.

Suto just stood by as the others went around them, staring at the stalagmite which had ultimately ended Kenshin's life. This wasn't fair, that shouldn't have been able to happen. To make their friend be impaled like that just seemed too coincidental, too precise to have randomly happened. He refused to believe it had been a freak accident, it had to have been somehow planned by the game. How in the world were they supposed to compete against something like that? As if the game weren't bad enough already now there were situations that could rend them helpless and as good as dead. Fighting back and dying was one thing, you had a chance then. Kenshin was dead as soon as he was impaled though, that wasn't fair, it wasn't right, and it pissed him off. So intently focused on the spot of their friend's demise he scarcely noticed another person had joined them, only turning when he heard Nero speaking to someone. Staring at the cloaked player curiously he wondered where in the hells she had come from, and why she hadn't helped if she'd been here the whole time. It may have been unfounded, but Suto was directing some of his anguish and anger towards the newcomer, in part blaming her for what had become of Kenshin. With a look of daggers he followed the figure towards the exit with his gaze which promptly widened seeing a familiar face there. He couldn't be mistaken, it was that girl from the other day, the one he had comforted. How in the world was she here, and alone too? Before he could so much as voice a question however both players left, letting the group get back to their misery.

Exhaling heavily under his breath Suto looked over at Alphard who was still grieving, and understandably so. She and Kenshin had been close, that fact hadn't been lost on any of them. In a world where people could literally disappear in a blink of an eye relationships meant everything, more so even than in the real world. So to lose someone that you loved, he couldn't fathom that pain. Sure, he had loved Mizuki, but not in the same context that these two had with one another. Not content with letting anyone bear the agony on their own Suto went to Alphard, kneeling beside her wordlessly for a moment as he stared at the ground. There was nothing that could be said to make this okay and he knew it, but he desperately wanted to say something. All of the death around them, two dead friends now, it was evident that the wear and tear of SAO was getting to them. "He's still with you..." he offered, looking at Alphard with a sad smile as he gestured to the ring. "Keep it with you at all times and you've never completely lost him... He'll be like a guardian angel from now on, you know?" It was a lame attempt at comfort, but he really didn't know what more to say. Regardless Suto remained where he was, willing to offer whatever aid he could.

---

A few hours later...

---

This inn was quickly becoming a place of misery and heartache. Both times they had returned here it had been under grievous circumstances, it was definitely then time for a change of scenery. That was going to have to wait for the time being as Nero had slipped off, and the group wanted to wait for him to return before departing. This time no hollow celebration was going to remedy their moods, and in spite of all their accrued wealth and other spoils there was no satisfaction with what had been accomplished. All for some stupid NPC, Suto remarked bitterly. Sat alone in his own room he had his hands folded in his lap, head hung low as he stared at the floorboards beneath his feet. They had taken on the quest to save an NPC, someone who would respawn if killed. They had lost a friend in the aftermath of the battle, but that damn collection of numbers, she was fine. She would have been fine even if they failed, that wouldn't have changed. Harboring a fair bit of resentment was an understatement, at the moment Suto loathed the game and all it stood for. He wanted to clear it now, if for no reason else other than just to spite it. To show that they were better than it and could triumph even in the face of unjust battles and unorthodox traps. They would survive, and they were going to beat this game, he was certain of it. Come hell or high water he'd drag himself through it, half dead if need be, to see the end. What's more he was determined now to take a burden upon himself, one that perhaps was a bit excessive. He was already a clearer, at the forefront of the battles as it were. Now however Suto had another calling, one that may in fact be his downfall some day. He had survived thus far for a reason, and he had the experience of dangerous battles to keep him that way. Therefore, he reasoned, he should be helping other players in whatever manner he could, that would be his goal from now on. He'd still clear floors, but this would become his ultimate motive for becoming stronger.

Luna on the other hand had no such illustrious or lofty goals for herself. In spite of doing her best in training she wasn't proving to be much of a force in the battles they undertook. Perhaps it was just her class, maybe she should have gone with more of a damage dealer. She had her two handed skill on top of her throwing skill, yet she felt incompetent with a blade. Now she too felt incompetent with throwing items, having not had any sort of impact in their latest encounter. Indeed, useless was probably the best word to define herself right now. She had broken down after Yari's death, done nothing to avenge Kenshin's. Even before that she had nearly died, and constantly needed saving on someone else's behalf. What more was she then other than a liability? She was a clearer, yes, but only because of those who she associated herself with. On her own she'd no doubt be back on Floor 1, living her imprisoned life away amongst those too scared to progress. All of her efforts, her ethic and her tireless hours spent training, what were they for? She was a failure as far as she was concerned, and failure was a terrible thing for her. For anyone really, but particularly for a girl whose parents emphasized success. Failure was the ultimate shortcoming, and she had achieved it and then some. Blinking away tears as they continued to slip down her cheeks Luna pulled her knees tighter, hiding her face against them as she curled up in her bed. Maybe she should just resign from being a Clearer, live away the rest of this game in the safety of a town. Maybe it would be cleared and she would return home, or maybe not. Either way at least then she would be safe and wouldn't have to see her friends die. And someone actually capable could take her place.

Alphard sat on the edge of her bed in the small inn that had housed the whole team after Yari’s death. This home again housed Alphard in a great time of grief, though this time her sadness was much greater. Yari had been a great friend, but Kenshin was her husband. She had devoted her life to his happiness and to the happiness he could give her. She was so lost without him. Alphard’s scythe was gripped loosely in her right hand and the two iron rings in her left, as if weighing them against each other. She gazed down at the two set of items, tears streaming down her face, and let loose a soul-rending sob. “Oh god Kenshin, what am I supposed to do?”

“I was so lost when I got here, everything was a threat. The only way I could survive was to go back to my old ways, to embrace my old rage. Then, you came along and made it all go away. I still had to fight, but so does everyone in this world. I could let go of my issues and just be happy. And then we got married and I was happier than I ever have been in my life. It was…bliss. But now, you’re gone and I – I don’t know what to do. I just want to shut down and leave it all behind, like Fitch has. But I know that’s not what you’d do. You would continue to fight, to get out, to be free at any cost. You would make sure that the losses we’ve suffered weren’t in vain.”

Alphard swiped the back of her hand across her eyes and stood back up, sheathing her scythe on her back as she did so. She placed both iron rings on her left hand and made a fist. “The problem now is that I don’t know what to do with Jason. He’s kind following me around- I think he blames himself for your death. I, myself, still don’t know whether or not I blame him. I mean, it was him switching out while at full health that got you killed. But... at the same time, he really seems to want to make amends. I guess I’ll just have to test him in order to see if I can afford to have him at my side in combat.”

Jason stood outside the room with legs at shoulder width apart, his hammer resting headfirst on the ground and both hands folded on its pommel. He knew that Alphard was inside, doubtless consumed with terrible grief at the loss of her husband. A loss that was likely his fault. Well, he knew his duty as a knight: his life now belonged to Alphard. He was sworn to protect her in all her endeavors, to fulfill her every need. This would be no problem, as he was most likely a high enough level to deal with the vast majority of monsters on the surrounding floors Alphard would visit.

Just then, the door to Alphard’s room burst open and the grieving warrior herself strode out. Turning to Jason, she commanded in a strong voice, “Jason, if you are intent on following me, then get your gear on. We’re going hunting so that I can assess your true skills.”

Jason nodded and put on his armor. “As you wish milady, I am yours to command.”

“This is so cool, Kazaro,” sounded the voice of the red-head’s closest friend. “I can’t believe you got to play this for a whole month before everybody else!”

“Luck of the draw I guess, Leo,” He teased back, testing the weight of his starting rapier. “Hey, how about we break this game in with a practice duel?” The man pulled open a menu and sent a duel request which would declare a winner for whoever ‘killed’ the other.

“You’re on, Kaz. How about whoever loses has to pay for drinks after work tomorrow?”

“You know I can’t resist a challenge. Let’s do it,” He said confidently as their slightly secluded area just outside of the starting area was closed off as a mini arena for the two and they brought their weapons to a ready position.

The two exchanged blows rapidly, Leo blocking with his shield and retaliating with a heavy swing from his straight sword only to be knocked aside and thrust at by Kazaro’s rapier. “You’ll never see me lose to your girly little sword,” Leo teased at his red-haired co-worker.

“Hey! It’s a French blade, the sword of a gentleman,” He quipped as their health bars fell at nearly equal rates. Finally, Kazaro stepped forward, his blade flashing a brilliant hue of indigo as it embedded itself into Leo’s chest. “Ha! I got you!” He teased, “See you at the respawn point,” the man pointed out as Leo laughed lightly, shattering into thousands of pieces.

Several hours later…

Kazaro stared over the edge of the Town of Beginnings. This small rail was all that was keeping him back and soon his foot was atop it and he could see into the nothingness that would results in his death. He was a murderer. Not only that, but he had killed even his best friend and was left alone in this unforgiving, one-hundred-floored, endless world. He spread his arms and felt himself slowly leaning forward. He was really going to do it – he would never have to worry about being killed, never have to care about going to work, never have to be guilty for Leo’s death again. How could somebody create a game like this and let him kill somebody before telling them that it would result in a real death? As the air began to rush and everything around him slowed down, Kazaro heard a voice which was so distant that it may as well have been from Europe. A moment later, however, there was something pulling his shirt and he was in the air. Did he fall..? No, something certainly grabbed him… As his eyes flashed open, he hit the ground, directly striking what would, in real life, be his coccyx.

“Hey, what the hell?” He asked angrily. A man dressed in heavy armour with long, silver white hair was staring at him darkly.

“You’ll never fix anything like that. This world is just as real as the one you came from, kid,” He stated with a flat voice. Kazaro furrowed his brow – he was almost twenty-five, how old was this guy? “Whoever you are here is who you are out there, don’t forget it. Get off your ass and do something, because jumping over that rail isn’t going to help, no matter what happened to you.”

---

“And that was the day I met Heathcliffe and he recommended I switch to a curved sword… Didn’t say why, but I’m glad I did.” The Vice Commander explained, his hands clasped behind his back as he and Nero walked. Their height difference was quite noticeable, but that was more so because Kazaro would tower over even Fitch and the late Kenshin.

Nero nodded, “I met him at a boss fight – he almost took my last hit bonus, but I think he actually let me have it. That was… Floor ten, I think. We’re progressing a lot faster than anybody expected after that first floor. But the last one… I can’t believe I didn’t expect it…” He shook his head, “Of course every twenty-fifth will be a major jump in difficulty…”

Kazaro shrugged, “You know, hindsight is twenty-twenty, Nero. You’re a smart one, but you can’t hold on to past mistakes or you’ll end up dead.”

Nero opened the door to the inn where the others were waiting and allowed Kazaro to enter before him. The small murmur in the building died to silence as he appeared. Nero came in behind him and the volume rose as rumours were born. As they ascended to the group’s floor, Nero took the lead and, when they saw him, they would notice his armour was white with red trimming and, upon a closer inspection, they would see the lines on it. The leather was dragonhide while the metal was all scales. Rather than selling the rest of his cut, he had a set for everybody fitting their armour types made by Yuna which she would offer to recolour if they so wished. The blade at his side was also new as it seemed heavier and almost carved from something. It was made of dragonbone and as sharp as a razor blade with rather impressive stats. However, it was also heavier than he was used to.

His hand rose and he knocked on the door, “It’s Nero,” He spoke clearly and flatly.

With all of the tumult and anguish as of late Suto was having a difficult time keeping up his outgoing persona. Hollow smiles and flamboyant behaviors worked to dull some of the pain, but with repeated loss of life it wasn't going to cut it this time. Sulking in his room as he was probably wasn't the best course of action either, and he knew it, but getting himself to go out was nigh impossible. So rather than indulge at an event or socialize he had spent the last few hours idling away, now finding himself tracing the grains of the ceiling above him. What was the point, he reflected, if people were only going to be taken away from him? The notion of losing someone almost terrified him enough now to the point where he didn't want to meet anyone else. Of course that wouldn't do anyone any good, Suto also knew this much. Keeping himself isolated may not have the risks that being out in a group would, but it also didn't have the benefits. He'd never get the chance to have fun any longer, all over some paranoia that a familiar face may not be there tomorrow. Fact of the matter was it was a cruel reality that he had to contend with, one that since the game's launch he had failed to overcome. His entire frivolous behavior after all had been but a mask to conceal his constant tension and fear over what Sword Art Online had become. Now that two of his friends were gone that facade wasn't doing to cut it any longer.

It was to this end that a conclusion was reached. The only way to overcome a fear was to face it. Much in the same way Suto had become a fairly exceptional snowboarder by facing daunting feats he now had to face the world around him. Nothing was ever achieved by running away and hiding, after all. People were going to die, people he cared for. Hell, he may well die too. After Mizuki's passing no one was above this game's game of death as far as he was concerned. If someone as strong as her could be taken away then what was saving a simple support player like himself? Scoffing softly Suto rolled onto his side, staring out the window and at the rooftop of a small shop just across the street. Watching for but a moment he spotted a small white bird land on the tiled roof, hopping about without a care as it scanned the area. Then it moved over to his window, landing on the sill just outside the panes of glass. For a moment he simply lay there, watching the bird curiously as the creature made no indication that it was moving. On a whim Suto pushed himself up, swinging his feet over the edge of the bed and got up, walking over to the panes. Still the bird didn't move, and when he pushed the window open it finally did flutter away, moving back to its perch across the street. It was a dove, he figured, from what little he knew of birds. Having an innate interest on the creature he folded his arms down on the window frame, leaning over and resting his chin across his arms. Lucky bird, flying around freely and without a care in the world. That must be an easy, and simple life.

Simple, painful, depressing, happy, it didn't really matter what life was. Suto was going to go on regardless of how things were, whether he truly wanted to or not. If nothing else he owed it to the friends lost to keep trying, to get the others out free. With his being emotionally drained right now he was hard pressed to find enough care to get himself out, he could die at this point and be fine with it. Losing someone else close to him however was out of the question, that was never going to happen again. It was a hefty goal, and in order to achieve it he needed to become stronger. Rather than partying and acting like a fool he'd train day and night, however long it took. Doing it on his own was going to be tricky, but if it meant his leveling up quicker and becoming better able to protect others than so be it. Roused from his small bit of bravado when there was a knock at his door Suto lifted his head, glancing over his shoulder. What could Nero of all people want with him right now? Exhaling softly in a sigh he moved away from the window, carrying himself across the room and to the door, pulling it open slowly. Spotting the familiar red and white armor on his friend instantly Suto paused a moment, a bit taken aback by the sight. He'd never have imagined Nero would join the Knights of the Blood. Glancing back at his friend's face he leaned against the door, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow. "That's new... What's up?"