Kalas

Sword Art Online: Neon Colossus

Mez watched unflinchingly at the scene that unfolded in front of him. Firstly, Pterrophos, his guild leader, emerged from the back room missing an arm. Then, before he could even think to act, Himika initiated a duel with Heathcliff to seemingly get revenge for the loss of Pterro's arm. Or at least that's what it looked like. As the battle between the pair went on, he studied both of their movements. More so Heathcliff's than Himika - after all he'd seen her fight many opponents on previous occasions. This opponent, however, was different. Heathcliff was a player that had seemingly just appeared on the frontlines, with his bossiness and his bravado to follow. In a matter of months, he'd worked his way up the ranks of whatever guild he joined and now there he was, the leader of a fancy new guild with the Frontline's poster girl as his second in command.

Mez felt his pulse quicken as Himika was sure to land a finishing blow. But something happened that he didn't quite understand. Heathcliff's shield seemed to move of it's own accord. Somehow, he'd managed to block Himika's attack which looked dead certain to land. He furrowed his brow, replaying those last few seconds in his mind. There was certainly something odd about it but he couldn't tell what. His mind was brought back to the fight when Himika's next attack actually hit this time, severing Heathcliff's arm at the elbow. A few gasps from the room as well as some quiet cheers. Though they were quickly silenced as Heathcliff spun and drove his sword into Himika's abdomen. He instantly felt his heart skip a beat for a brief second and a minor urge to reach for his blade but Mez managed to stay perfectly calm.

Then the duel was over, that's when Mez glanced over to Khârn. His expression was almost thunderous, as if he could murder by simply glaring at you. He was angry at the current events that were taking place. Not many others could have learned this from a glance but Khârn had been his battle-brother for a long time, Mez had witnessed his every emotion each time they stood together in battle. Realizing that the attention for his ultimatum had been lost due to the reappearance of the guild leaders, Mez decided that he needed to act fast in order to discover exactly what had happened to Attania and Durdansa.

It was then that Mez moved. And he did so which such suddenness that people around him turned their heads quickly to see just what he was doing. He shot up from the throne-like chair and immediately reached for his weapon; Judgement. Whispers shuffled around the crowd, no doubt wondering whether he was going to challenge Heathcliff next. But Mez had no intentions of fighting. Khârn's anger was not misplaced, the focus had deviated from the true reason why they were here and they were wasting precious time. Still, he said nothing as he slowly raised his greatsword above his head, one-handed, then re-sheathed it upon his back. Every step taking him closer to where Himika and Heathcliff stood.

From afar, it looked as if Mez were glaring directly at the man who had just lost part of his arm and impaled his guild mate, but in reality Mez was looking past Heathcliff and towards his guild leader Pterro. By now Mez was within striking distance of neatly-armoured warrior, but he simply strode right past him. Not even acknowledging him with a glace, despite Heathcliff looking slightly concerned and attempting to make eye-contact.

More whispers as Mez continued to walk until he stood face to face with Pterrophos. "Pterro, we have reason to believe that Attania and Durdansa have found something in regards to the floor boss. Their last known location coincides with the suspected location of the boss which has been marked on the map. I suggest we move now, Durdansa can handle herself but Attania, Ghesh's protege? There's no telling how he'll be. Especially with him losing Ghesh merely hours ago."

Sword Art Online: Neon Colossus

Guess i'll post then o.o

Sword Art Online: Neon Colossus

I was going to write a post but I decided to wait to allow others to post instead.

Sword Art Online: Neon Colossus

So Pterro still has no idea what's going on, so someone should totally explain in their post what happening with Durdansa and Attania n shit.

@Experiment 249

I'll have Mez do it...

Sword Art Online: Neon Colossus

Collab between Kalas & Experiment

The woman, who had taken all of the leaders into the back room, shut the door tightly and walked back towards the middle of the hall, where a map was lain out on a table. There was a part of the map circled in red, labeled to be the location of the first field boss of floor 26. "Here, in this clearing, is what we think to be the location of the next field boss. We don't know what it is, since the scout teams that reported back to us haven't gotten very close." She turned to face Mez. "Aside from your guild, all scouts have reported back in. Your's, however, have not yet return. Where are they?" She asked in a condescending manner.

Mez had barely reached the designated chair he'd been forced to occupy when the woman, who seemed to be the organizer of the meeting, addressed him with a question regarding Attania and Durdansa's whereabouts. They were two of the Guild's scouts that had yet to return from their run. A fact that troubled Mez, seeing as Durdansa was the Guild's most experienced scout. If she hadn't returned or tried to contact anyone, it likely meant that she was either in trouble or had discovered something important. Realising the position he'd been forced into, Mez had to make a quick decision and respond in a way that wouldn't shed Neon Colossus in a bad light. After all, not knowing where exactly your scouts were whilst trying to vie for the position of leading guild on the frontlines would do them no favors.

He refused to answer her straight away, making a conscious effort to remove his over-sized greatsword from his back and driving it into the ground next to his, newly-given, chair in silence before seating himself upon it and making himself comfortable. Just because she'd organised the meeting, that didn't mean he answered to her. There were looks of confusion from some of the other Second-In-Commands but there were also looks of amusement, they knew exactly what Mez was doing; Sending a message to everyone else that Neon Colossus would not be walked over by anyone.

"Our scouts..." He began. "...Have not returned due to a discovery they have made whilst on their scouting run." He lied. However, he managed to keep his face straight, staring directly at the Organizer as he spoke. The room stayed silent after he finished and the Organizer seemed to quickly mull over the information she'd been given. She didn't seem impressed with his answer and was about to ask another question before Mez cut her off. "Details of their discovery, however, are scarce at best. Communications have been dark for the past hour, indicating that they may have run into trouble. Rest assured, though, that our Head of Recon; Durdansa, is operating in the field and has more experience than almost any other scout on the frontlines." He let that information sink in. Mentioning Durdansa's name had been an excellent decision it seems, seeing as she'd provided solid information on the most recent Floor Boss that had saved countless lives. Mez smiled inwardly. 'So this is what is feels like, eh Pterro?'

Laurent was proud of Mez for holding down the situation but now she tugged on his armor to try and grab his attention. The Organizer had shown the map to everyone and it had showed the place that Durdansa and Attania had been running around in for the past hour. A look of horror crept over her face. "Mez. MEZ!" She whispered, trying not to be loud. "Mez that spot on the map... that's where Durdansa and Attania have been for the past hour." But he was far too interested in the rest of the room. Suddenly, a wave of panic washed over her and she couldn't contain herself. Laurent stood up from her seat. "Mez, what do we do? Oh my god, that's where they are! In that circle on the map! They can't beat a field boss on their own! Oh God, where's Pterro...Oh no! MEZ DO SOMETHING!" She screamed, causing a scene. The Organizer whipped her head around as she turned back to look at Laurent after being interrupted by her outburst. She sneered before looking to towards Mez, who remained perfectly still.

"Is there a problem, sir?" She began slowly walking over, hands on her hips. The rest of the room had gone quiet, some shocked at her sudden panic attack. As the Organizer neared, Laurent slowly shrunk back into her seat. The woman bent down to glare at Laurent, tears filled her eyes from the thought that another of her guild mates might die. "Or do we need to escort you outside? Hmm?" She said, treating Laurent as if she was a mere child.

Mez was distracted from his thoughts by a sudden outburst from Laurent, Pterrophos' assistant. He turned in his seat to face her as the young girl's rising wails began to cause a scene. Acting quickly, Mez stood from his seat as the interrogatory Organizer set her gaze upon Laurent. His movement caught the immediate attention of the woman, causing her to take a step back. "I'd appreciate it if you left me to deal with my guild members, thank you." He said, crouching down in front of the Pterro's aide to calm her. "It'll be okay, Laurent, I promise. Durdansa knows what she's doing. She's been in stickier situations before." He placed his hands over her's as he spoke. His softened voice gently soothing her emotional outcry.

Once he was sure the girl had been calmed, he stood just as quick as before and spun to face the Organizer. "Like I said earlier, our Head of Recon is still operating in the field. Her location has recently been revealed to be near that marked area on the map. I can assure you, if she has found anything, she will be taking the utmost professional measures to ensure the safety of our other scout and herself in order to eventually relay important information back to us." He paused, before directing his next sentence to the entire meeting. "So, we can either wait here, patiently, for more information? Or we can organize strike squads to surround the marked area until we can reestablish communications with Durdansa?"

The doors in the back of the hall almost burst open and the guild leaders all walked out in a small crowd. Pterro waved his freshly-gained stump at his guild mates, ignoring the fact they were obviously in trouble for something. "Hey guys, what's been happening out here?" He asked. Laurent was just starting to calm down after Mez' kind words but seeing her leader without a hand brought more shock to her. She was frozen in place. No words processed in her mind, there was just too much going on for her and just stared into space. Pterro looked awkwardly at her. "Uh, Laurent? Mez? What's happening?"

Sword Art Online: Neon Colossus

Okay, I take it we missed the part where Ex said:

I don't do open thread criticism.

@Experiment 249

What I was doing, was responding to @0Zeroes request to tell them if there was anything wrong. Which was notifying them of a detail that he/she may have overlooked in the first post.

There was really no need for any other comments to be made. But it's done now, so we should just let Ex handle it.

Also @Ryu:

Accepted Kuromi! (@souleaterfan320's Character) Talk to Kalas about guild position!

@Experiment 249

Finally @Frettzo

As far as I'm aware, we've filled the last slot available, but again, I'll leave that for Ex to deal with.

Sword Art Online: Neon Colossus

Tell me if there's anything wrong!

@0Zeroes

This happens in the Canon universe. So Kirito and the other major characters all exist, we just won't be hanging out or interacting with them too much, but there are a lot of time gaps in the show so maybe they'll show up at some point.

@Experiment 249

Sword Art Online: Neon Colossus

Yo! I'm alive...barely.

Also not it...unless I'm the last dude in which case, I guess I'm it.

Sword Art Online: Neon Colossus

Thanks man :D

Sword Art Online: Neon Colossus

Mez swiped away Pterro's message as he lay on top of the small wall roughly 5 minutes walk from the Guild Hall. It ran parallel to a little stream and was surrounded by looming willow trees that provided ample shade from this level's relentless sun-rays. It was his favourite place to think or simply relax, which he was currently doing. That's because nobody ever came here and he was allowed to think in silence. Life on the frontlines was obnoxiously loud, what with everyone fussing about how they were going to be the best and beat the game or worrying about not making it or losing their loved ones. Coming here gave Mez some solace from the madness he'd been trapped in and also the chaos he'd become a part of by fighting on the frontlines.

It was no coincidence that a bunch of members had joined the guild immediately after him and Kharn had been shown in the newspaper. Their names had been growing rapidly throughout Aincrad for a while now. But this was the turning point for him. As soon as he attended the next meeting, it would become real, he would become one of the faces of the frontlines. And that was a hard pill to swallow.

He'd seen what had already happened with Kirito and Asuna, how their fame had affected their lives here in the game world. How they could no longer been seen to be slacking off from trying to free everyone from this death game. Mez wasn't sure he could handle that reponsibility at first but the more he thought about it, his reservations weren't about whether he could, they were about Sasha and whether she could.

Of course, if he'd have quizzed her about it she would protest and immediately declare her support for him. But sometimes he just wanted to support her for a change. She'd always been worried whenever he left to go and fight but if he took the next step and became a face, he wondered just how she'd handle it. As pondered the forming of a question to ask her, he remembered the last time he doubted her and how upset she'd been with him. She refused to speak with him for two days, which was rough. If he doubted Sasha with this, she'd likely be just as angry or maybe even more so. A thought that scared him slightly. He couldn't lose her.

Sitting up from the wall, Mez pulled a teleportation crystal from his inventory and switched his sword so that Judgement now appeared strapped to his back. Then he stood and activated the crystal. A brief flash of light filled his vision before his surrounding were replaced with the familiar sight of the floor meeting room. Scrying the room, he immediately recognised everyone here. He'd lost count how many times they'd fought together now. A few heads turned in his direcrion. Some smiles, others glares and even a look of admiration or two.

Mez slowly crossed the large chamber, his greatsword clinking gently with each step, until he reached Pterro, Kharn and the others. He greeted them with a quick nod and then turned to face everyone else, ready to begin.