Sword Art Online/ソードアート・オンライン 1. Motoropia

**Motoropia**

"_The age of motorbikes and high-speed vehicles, the newest VRMMORPG to be released in the fall of 2026. Produced by Vast productions."_

Sinon stared at the screen display that stood behind the massive glass window, partitioning her from the game shop in the local department store. The graphics on this upcoming game was certainly of a whole new level, and she was comparing this to that of ALO and GGO, both games dominating the current online rankings for best quality graphics in online forums. _I wonder what the plots are gonna be like? Must be difficult to top off with such competition hanging around the market nowadays._ She thought. Taking another glance at the screen that was going through a replay infinitely. _Damn, those graphics are hella good._ She made her way to the exit of the department store.

Plopping onto her bed, she grabbed her Amusphere and slipped it over her head. _Time for a dive_. The group had decided to meet up at three in the afternoon, at Agil's store in Yggdrasil for another round of clearing the next floor boss.

* * *

_Link start!_ Sinon reopened her eyes to find herself standing in the familiar store, Agil was behind the counter as usual, busying himself with his usual chores around the store. Standing in front of the counter were Kirito and Asuna, deep into a conversation about new speed skills that were recently introduced to the game. Sinon scanned the room for the rest of the group, but they were not in sight.

"Lisbeth, Silica and Sugu are across in Lisbeth's Arms shop. They're bringing the weapons over from the last time we left them with Lisbeth for maintenance. In case you're wondering where they are." Agil spoke from behind the counter.

"I see." Sinon wondered if the man could read her mind. "All that's left is for Klein to arrive. He's late as usual." She gave of a small laugh. She'd joined the group for several years, and they'd gotten along as if they'd known each other forever. It was strange for people to get to know each other from virtual worlds, and it was even more special for them to keep in touch in the real world. She loved the fact that they hopped between different worlds; it made reality seem a lot easier when you could dive into fantasy anytime, but there was this boredom recently. It was as if a dish was under-seasoned or such, something similar had happened before she'd switched from GGO to ALO.

A gust of wind fumed into the small room, "I'm sorry I'm late!" Klein panted as he could barely stop himself, rushing into the store. He donned his samurai outfit, weapon at the ready. Carrying a surprised look as he looked up to find half the group missing. "Guess I'm not the last to arrive, huh?" he remarked, just as Lisbeth and the others trudged in, arms full with their weapons.

"Here ya go! I fixed 'em up. Gave yours a bit of upgrading, Kirito, might find that it's gotten a bit heavier but I reckon you'll like the new stats." Lisbeth gave a thumbs up over to the black swordsman, who took his sword and inspected it carefully.

"Wow, I didn't know you could add onto a fixed weapon Lisbeth. That's pretty cool, and an upgrade in the power field, too. Just what I wanted, thanks." Kirito thanked his friend.

"It's a recent thing that us Leprechauns just received, kinda like a seasonal offer. Not sure how long it'll last though. Hopefully it'll turn out well and the producers will keep this for the long run." Lisbeth's eyes twinkled as she explained the new benefits her species had received.

"Speaking of recent, there's a new game coming out soon." Sinon began. "It seems pretty fresh, and the graphic qualities are nice."

"Motoropia, right? I've heard of that one. It's produced by Vast productions, and they've just gotten the latest 3D computer graphic programs with the largest color palette available. Not sure what the game is gonna be like though. From the trailers, it seems like it's all about motorbikes and racing cars or such. Hopefully not another racing game." Kirito piped up, frowning at the part about the racing game.

Sinon doubted that Motoropia would be your usual racing game. That would be a waste for a MMORPG. The group rambled on about new games as they readied themselves for the boss fight. As they approached the door, Sinon touched her bow one last time before they would meet the boss. _Never mind whatever motorbike race, let's just kill the boss and clear another floor. Another floor._

_Congratulations!_ The words were projected above them as they sat on the floor of the boss room. Having defeated another boss and unlocked another level of New Aincrad, The battle had been quite an intense one, even with all members of the group present, it was a difficult fight. Kirito, Sugu and Agil could barely hold up the rally at the front, and there were constant switches throughout the fight, Lisbeth and Silica were down on the floor the moment it was over and Klein was literally a deflated Salamander, something Sinon could rarely see. She looked over to find an exhausted Asuna, their regular healer had been the one holding the group up. _That girl has a whole lot of stamina in her, having to keep up the lives of seven friends. _Sinon wondered, looking at her friends relieve themselves after battle. _Makes me think of my position in the group. What can you do as an archer? You don't fight in the front lines; you just stand at the back and wait for the moment._ She wasn't out of breath, and she hadn't really contributed much in the fight. Actually, she hadn't really done much in any of their fights. Perhaps it was the fault of an archer. But then again, there weren't many archers in ALO; most players opted for a sword or a more direct weapon. Frowning at her lack of efforts in the group, she climbed up the staircase with the others as they went to activate the gates of the next level.

* * *

"I wish there were more things to do than clearing the floor bosses and attempting to hunt rare animals in the forest. It's almost as if ALO is reaching a plateau now." Silica whined as she and Sinon walked around the department store after school.

"I get what you mean, MMORPGs should continually interest its players, but ALO seems to have reached a dead end. I think the producers have run out of ideas for quests." Sinon agreed with Silica's disapproval of the game's situation. "I was hoping there would be some interesting twist as we cleared the latest floor the other day, maybe some sort of new plot that connected the different floors that we cleared up earlier – " She stopped as the new releases rack caught her eye. Motoropia was finally out, and the detail on the packaging was just as brilliant as she had seen on the screen a week ago. Sinon walked over and picked up a copy of the game.

"This was the game you guys were talking about that day in Agil's store." Said Silica. Sinon nodded. _It looks stylish and different to the ALO and GGO. And the colors, there was something up with the colors and graphics that made it significantly different to the other new games. I think I'd like it_. Sinon smiled as she checked the price tag. _Affordable and worth it._

"Yeah. I'm buying it." As she and Silica headed to the cashier.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

I haven't written a fanfic for a while, and this just popped up in the middle of the night. Not sure where it'll lead up to, but hopefully a good start :)


	2. Specifications

**Specifications**

The new game had come with a different fulldive machine, this one was called a Waver. Sinon purchased it along with Motoropia Online, or as the forums named it, MPO. She'd taken the game and the Waver home and was now connecting the Waver to the system, unplugging the Amusphere and replacing it with the new Waver. It looked slightly more complicated than the Amusphere, and sort of resembled the Nervegear, with it's helmet like shape that encased the head, the only difference was that it covered a much larger portion of the head, and the eye shield could be locked on and off by pulling it over the eyes or the forehead. Sinon lay on her bed with the Waver already running, pulling the eye shield over her eyes, she was taken to the virtual world.

* * *

_Link Start!_ The similar image appeared with colors shooting towards her in a white background. And she was transported in an instant to an unfamiliar black screen. _Welcome to Motoropia Online, the newest VRMMORPG with the fastest and most exciting motorbike and racing vehicle game story. My name is Emi, and I am your navigator._ It took a moment for Sinon to take this in; she wasn't expecting an invisible navigator and a dull welcome of plain words on a screen. _Please choose your preferred vehicle. Swipe left or right for more selections. _Sinon glanced upwards and saw a display of motorbikes, scooters and racing cars. A dark metallic, shiny motorbike was on the front of the display. _Hyosung GT250, 249cc, 4-stroke, air/oil cooled, DOHC, 9-valve, V-twin with a transmission of 5-speed. A good starting bike for beginners of a larger size._ Emi explained as the motorbike was displayed on the front of her vision. Sinon swiped her fingers across to the right, and a slimmer model appeared. _Kawasaki KLX250S, 249cc, 4-stroke, liquid-cooled, DOHC with a transmission of 6-speed. Very light, relatively high power, suitable for adventurous riders who'd like a versatile experience with riding._ The look of the bike was certainly appealing, and she was most definitely a dynamic person, so a versatile bike would be appropriate? She switched to another bike, also of a slim build. _Moto Guzzi V7 Stone, 744cc, 4-stroke, V-twin with a transmission of 5-speed. Also another light bike, a large fuel tank so refueling doesn't have to happen often. Good for long distance trips._ This one seemed perfect for Sinon, a lightweight, long-distance bike, and of Italian make as well. Even the style was similar to her Hecate II, dark, naked, slim. Perfect.

"I'll take this one." Sinon announced to the darkness. _All right, thee Moto Guzzi V7 Stone._ The screen blacked out and cleared out again to reveal an industrial looking steel background, there were four selection panels, three of them were lit up, and the last one was opaque. _Racer; Duel; Acrobatics. And what does this one say? Night rush?_ Sinon wondered why Night rush was opaque and grey, whilst the others were bright. _Well I guess it's only available at night, and right now it's five in the afternoon. Let's check out the Racer._ She selected the Racer panel by slapping her palm above it, and like the other MMORPGs, the panel filled itself with a white light and the scene switched.

Sinon was mounted on her new bike, the Moto Guzzi V7 Stone, which hovered on a charcoal grey track, winding through small hills. It seemed endless as Sinon could see the flapping of the flags that lined the track extend to an infinite horizon. _Great. It's another racing game. What was I expecting anyway?_ Slightly annoyed, she couldn't help but get herself ready for the blasting takeoff in a typical race. Sinon gripped the handlebars and revved up the engines, the exhaust would be piling up before she started. The countdown was blinking above their heads; it was of a similar design to those that appeared during duels in ALO and GGO, _3, 2, 1. Start_. As soon as the wheels hit the floor, the bike hurled forward, taking Sinon along with the momentum. She gripped the handlebars even tighter, shifted her weight forwards and squinted, the wind was blowing straight into her face and it was difficult to see. _I'm gonna need a pair of goggles for this_. She focused on making her turns, the first turn was a piece of cake, a gradual incline to the right and she'd barely even leant on the side, but Sinon could tell that the turns would be cutting sharper angles and she had to get ready to go all out.

It was her first time doing anything related to driving, and she most certainly wouldn't have thought that her first vehicle would be a motorbike. Sinon hadn't realized that her heart was pounding; the beat almost irregular, the adrenaline was pulsing through her veins as she cruised on the racing track. She couldn't even glance around her to see her competitors, who were not particularly competitive, as no one seemed to overtake her and she could tell by instinct that this was not the fastest she could be going with her bike. _This is a starter run, there are no other competitors in this round._ Emi explained. Shinon hadn't noticed that the navigator had actually been talking throughout the race; somehow her nerves had overridden her usual calmness, despite the lack of zeal this game was giving off so far. _Turning left, adjusting angle lean of 50 degrees to the left, prepare to turn in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. _Sinon realized that the handlebars could actually move by themselves, the entire race was programmed. _What's the point if you don't actually drive?_ She wondered as the motorbike tilted itself towards the left, this turn was much rougher than the ones she had taken earlier, and Sinon actually struggled to keep herself balanced on her seat without letting her left knee scrape against the rough cement that made up the track. _This starter run is for beginners to get a feel of their vehicle and the motion. There will be similar starter runs in the other arenas. Please stay focused._ As Sinon popped back upright on her bike after the turn had been completed. She hadn't realized that this was a test run to get her started in the game and loosened up, ready to get herself comfortable on her bike and experience the rest of the test run.

As the Moto Guzzi V7 Stone made it's last turn on the track, leaving Sinon almost clinging onto the handlebars for dear life, the bike was lying almost parallel to the ground and Sinon could swear the fringe on the knee of her new leather suit was sweeping across the track, and she was millimeters away from torn flesh. The bike was spinning towards the end banner, a white hologram that shattered into glass colored flecks as Sinon and the bike smashed across, the bike rising as it spun. _This is an advanced level drift, you have unlocked this skill. It is now available for use in your regular track races as well as Night rushes. Skill level: 1._

Throughout the run, Sinon had been unlocking basic skills, drifting was one of the more difficult and thrilling moves which she doubted she could execute in a regular drive. _This is miles different to the buggies in GGO, the speed is much harder to control and so are the turns; motorbikes aren't as easy to drive as they seem._

Sinon stepped off her bike and removed her helmet; her blue pigtails fell against her ears. Her avatar had more or less appeared the same as it was in GGO, only her hair had gotten slightly longer, and her chest and hips more robust, her body slightly longer and limbs more lean, overall a curvier look. This look and her new one-piece leather bodysuit flattered her body shape, she kicked up her right leg and looked over her shoulder to check the damage done by the last turn, a faint scrape was now being covered up with magical replenishing abilities that this virtual world also contained. _Replenish abilities are granted in MPO in the starter runs, these will have to be purchased in the form of tablets as you progress through the game. _Sinon was surprised how mechanical the navigator sounded, in comparison to Yui in ALO. It seemed that there was more to this new motorbike game than individual racing, and Sinon was determined to find out more. The starter run hadn't given her what she was expecting, though the graphics most certainly met the standards, she wasn't just hoping to find more intricate designs in an adventure game that was so heavily publicized all over the online forums of Japan. _Would you like to experience other starter runs or continue in the real Racer arena?_ The mechanical voice of Emi asked politely, to which Sinon responded with a decline, as she saw the time display on the faint clock towards the upper right corner of her vision, it was six thirty and the group were holding a celebration party for their last victory in defeating the floor boss previously. She flicked her hand and headed for the logout key.

* * *

Back in her room, the Waver blinked to a close and shut off. Sinon removed the helmet to feel the tips of her hair brush against her cheek. _Time to switch gears._ And she plugged in the Amusphere, taking a dive into ALO.

* * *

_Link Start!_ The second time Sinon had heard this phrase in one day. She was back at ALO with her friends, this time they were celebrating in Kirito and Asuna's log cabin on the twenty-second floor of New Aincrad. She was back in her Cait Sith avatar that felt a lot more buoyant and herself than that sexy body in MPO. Everyone else had arrived, Silica rushed over,

"Did you try out the new game?"

"Yeah, I just came back from it." Sinon started, she knew they'd be asking for more details.

"What is it like?" Kirito joined in the conversation.

"It's a motorbike game as anticipated. Quite different to the other games we'd gone through before. I mean, it's got a bit of the GGO raw flavor, the entire setting is quite industrial, but so far I've only managed to get through a starter run."

"What's that?" Kirito asked.

"Well the game is different in the sense that each avatar owns their own racing vehicle, there's a lot to choose from, most of them being motorbikes, but there are still a few racing cars available. After you choose your vehicle, you get to choose the arena. I guess that kind of like the mode or type of setting. For now I've only tried out the Racer arena, which is literally a racing track for motorbike races. The starter run was to get you started in the game, you know, let you feel the motion and stuff. And driving a motorbike is a pretty big feat." Sinon spoke in a straightforward tone, though her summary of the game made it seem unappealing, she was actually more attracted to the concept of Motoropia, her curiosity for the possibilities of the game began flowing.

"Sounds interesting enough, the opening is quite different to that in SAO and ALO. At least that's what it sounded like to me." Kirito smiled, "I'd like to give it a try sometime."

"I'll see how the plots go and I'll recommend it then if they're good. I think it needs another test, I'm interested in the other arenas, especially this one called the Night rush." Sinon had a feeling that the game would be a fresh one on the market, she'd gotten used to the nice graphics that ALO looked almost deteriorating. She picked up a glass of grape juice as the rest of the group huddled around the table, raising their glasses, they cheered to celebrate their last win. Sinon touched her lips to the rim of the glass, closing her eyes, she could feel the force of her motorbike, bringing her over turn after turn, the hum of the engines in her ear at the same time as Emi's mechanical voice. She was just getting started in MPO.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Here's chapter two of Motoropia with more coming. And I forgot to put up a disclaimer last chapter, I don't own Sword Art Online and any of its characters. Hope you guys enjoy this :)


	3. That Feel

**That feel**

"Watch the left!" Vixen screamed across the arena. Sinon barely dodged the laser beam coming from her left.

They were in the Racer arena, which turned out to be more than just the standard racetrack Sinon experienced in her starter run. Upon trying out the other arenas, Sinon had been focusing in the Racer arena lately. It had been a week after she had started on MPO and already had she partied up with fellow newbie Vixen whom she had met in one of those resting cafes that allowed a player to recharge themselves and their vehicles in between quests or arena fights and challenges.

The two of them were in one of the fight scenes in the Racer arena; this fight scene was designed to be a military port, which was depicted just as one would expect a military port would seem. There was an extensive dock that could hold several ships at the same time, as well as a standard sized runway, control tower, multiple taxiways, complete with a small sized hangar holding several aero devices. Sinon accessed the map attached to her wrist, projecting a three dimensional landscape of the arena above her wrist. The two orange dots indicated Vixen and her existence in the arena, and there was a cloud of neon blue progressing towards them, red crosses dotted along their route indicating the number of kills they made.

"Let's head to the western part of the arena to reequip ourselves, I'm running out of energy." Sinon suggested, after she checked the energy levels on her bike and weaponry.

"I'm in need of some energy too." Vixen agreed.

The game was slightly more complicated than it appeared in the manual. At first, Sinon thought that the game was similar to any other driving game, and the focus of the game would be placed on racing. Yet MPO was more of an integration of an automobile race and a battle fantasy, the battle part of the game involved weaponry that relied on energy, which also fueled the vehicles. By taking too long a ride or firing numerous beams, the weaponry and vehicles could shut down, and the player was basically useless for five minutes in the arena. _That would be an undesirable situation when you have the navy and part of the air force swarming to take you down._ Sinon thought. She put her weapon, the decimator, at rest, and focused diverting the remnants of her energy into her bike, heading towards the west with Vixen.

The ride had been smooth, Vixen and Sinon cruised along the taxiways that were meant for planes, and instead were smothered by the tire tracks that both motorbikes left. As they reached the far end of the arena, Sinon pulled off her helmet and breathed in the dusty air. She saw Vixen do the same, and he reached into his pocket to pull out a cigarette, lit it up with his zippo lighter and took a long drag of the incinerating toxins rolled up in that thin device. He exhaled, releasing a thin streak of smoke into Sinon's direction.

"So much for the wait. My energy refilling capacity is pretty low, I need to upgrade it with another quest." Vixen complained. The energy refilling capacity was a kind of skill, you could increase the skill level by random upgrades in quests only, and the possibilities of increasing the energy refilling capacity was by doing more quests. The thing was, quests were rare, and were only offered at random when a player went in the arena of Night rush. So in order to increase their energy refilling capacities, most players opted to dive at night.

"Slow but steady. I'm fine with my energy refilling capacity." Sinon shrugged. "We've ditched them well enough. It'll take them an additional ten minutes to reach us here." She checked her map again to find the blue cloud to be more dispersed and was a distance away from the two orange dots. Vixen smiled and offered Sinon a cigarette. "I don't smoke." She refused, pushing away his offering.

"Come on, loosen up a little won't you?" He laughed. Slipping the cigarette back into its box, Vixen stretched his legs out, as the lactic acid had been building up in his calves when the two partners made their rush to their temporary haven.

"Let's rethink our strategy for this." Sinon started, "I think we won't have enough energy to last us if we were to stick to our original plan."

The original plan was to lure their pursuers into the corner that they were now in, the western point of the arena, and then to split off to both sides of the swarm and attack from the rear, so their pursuers would be cornered instead. However, Sinon had to rethink that after seeing the large blue cloud on that map, as it was moving towards them at a higher speed than expected. She looked around at her surroundings, and saw the ramp to her left. Vixen looked towards the ramp and then turned to Sinon, they were thinking of the same thing.

As the swarm of soldiers approached, their decimators pointed towards Sinon and Vixen who were perched on their bikes, decimators at rest on their hips,

"We'll give it another moment, there are still more coming, we can hold it for another five meters of advancement." Vixen said as the soldiers came marching forward. They were fifteen meters away, decimators still directed towards the two bikers. Sinon tightened her grip on the handlebars of her motorbike, they had only one chance to make this mission go right, and hopefully their last minute, and pieced-out plan would work. "Now!" Vixen yelled. And the two of them propelled themselves with their bikes, racing towards their left, heading towards the ramp. The soldiers' decimators followed the two bikers, but they were not fast enough for the sudden movement. Sinon and Vixen blasted around the soldiers, bracing themselves as they approached the ramp, increasing their speed once they reached the base, and at the end of the ramp, they pulled the handlebars back, the front wheel of their bikes came off the ground. _Acrobatic skill: Wheelie. Bonus energy granted._ Sinon felt the extra energy pulsing through her, and prepared for the next move. As their bikes reached the edge of the platform, they focused their energy on their handlebars, thrusting the handlebars front and up. Sinon felt her buttock slide off the seat, and despite the strong force of the wind blowing against her, she gripped tight of the handlebars as she felt the world spin before her eyes, man and vehicle airborne. _New acrobatic skill: Off-the-seat back flip. Bonus energy granted._ Emi announced the moves as Sinon executed them. She landed on the ground, fully seated on her motorbike again. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Vixen do the same, he grinned and gave her a thumbs-up. The two took off after they had made their way past the mass of soldiers with the extravagant acrobatic stunts that earned them additional energy.

* * *

It was a calculated plan that popped into both of their heads after catching sight of the ramp.

"I doubt we have enough energy for now," Vixen started as Sinon nodded in agreement, "Lets make use of that ramp over there." He nudged his head towards the ramp.

"Yeah, we need the bonus energy. From acrobatic skills." Sinon stated.

"What skills have you activated?" Vixen asked.

"The wheelie, a stoppie and both front and back flips."

"We'll throw in as many as we have to maximize our energy bonuses. Lets do a wheelie before we take off, and a flip in the air. What do you say about that?" Vixen suggested.

"That could work, I haven't done many executions of acrobatic skills in a racer arena so I'm not a hundred percent confident in succeeding this." Sinon was worried this plan wouldn't work, but it was the only way to get out of their corner without losing a whole lot of HP.

"I presume we could get two boosts of bonuses by those two skills, and we're both at sixty-five percent of our energy level, the bonuses will probably fill them up till eighty percent. So we'll have enough for a full-scale fight.

The two bikers pulled out their decimators, controlling the bike with one hand and holding the decimator in the other, they began firing laser beams towards the soldiers moving towards them.

"I'll take the front, you do the sniping from the back." Vixen ordered. He stood his ground shooting at the soldiers while Sinon rode her bike a few meters behind him. She stopped her bike and shot at the soldier who was targeting Vixen, who burst into shards in an instant.

"One down, many more to go." She muttered under her breath.

* * *

It was a feisty battle; Vixen lost half his HP after being shot in the arm by three laser beams. Sinon was in a much healthier state, she had saved Vixen's life by shooting down numerous soldiers who were seconds away from killing Vixen. The two collapsed as the "Congratulations!" sign appeared,

"That was one heck of a racer arena." Vixen panted,

"They finally let us have some action with this one." Sinon laughed,

"Yeah, good luck to the next party coming to this arena. This is seriously no joke man."

_And I thought this whole game was just another racing game, _Sinon thought to herself with a smile, _I guess I was wrong. It brings me back to the GGO times when I really liked to shoot. And that feeling when you hit your target from two thousand meters away? That's exactly how it feels now._

* * *

**Author's Note: **Merry Christmas! Hope you guys had a wonderful holiday! And the usual disclaimer: I don't own SAO or any of it's characters :)


	4. Night Rush

**Night Rush**

Sinon pulled off the waver and breathed. Her room had a soft scent of the soap used to wash her bed sheets. For almost two weeks, she'd been spending hours in her room after school, diving into ALO and MPO, which left her quite exhausted during the times that she'd left the virtual world. Sinon had been falling back on her coursework, which was monitored digitally and linked to their VRMMORPG accounts, and each time she went online, notifications would pop up. At first she thought that they were updates on her account, but it turned out that it was all spam from the academic office, reminding her to hand in some assignment. One notification gradually became thirty, and the reminders turned into warnings. Sinon stopped opening the notifications, as opening one would mean that she would be reminded again of her failing grades, and the action itself was such a massive turn off before she dived.

She looked over at the digital clock beside her bed; it was almost seven at night, _time for dinner._ Sinon hopped off her bed and strode to the wardrobe; she grabbed her coat and left the room for dinner.

Dinner was never nice. The mother and daughter had to go through thirty minutes each night munching morsels in silence. With Sinon's mother being overly frail, and incapable of receiving shocking information, it was only for the better that she keep her mother out from knowing about her gaming instincts, which took up a huge part of her everyday conversation topics, one that couldn't be shared with her mother. Therefore, dinner proceeded in a silent manner, and no lives would be interfered. Yet such a routine was broken that night.

"Mother," She always spoke to her with great formality.

"Hm?" The older woman looked up from her bowl of rice.

"I –," Sinon started, but she couldn't finish. "Never mind, it's nothing." Her mother nodded, and continued making her way through her dinner.

There were times when Sinon wanted to let go of her hidden identity to her mother; this was one of the biggest steps she'd taken since she'd started ALO. Yet the thought of mentioning the word "gun" in front of her mother was too heartbreaking to imagine, she could picture her mother shivering, muttering to herself, the color draining from her face. It was too much to let go of. _I can't, at least not now. Just suck it up and don't think about it, you've got more to worry about than this._ It was true that Sinon had much to worry about apart from the virtual world, much like any other person, she was a regular teenager. A teenager who went to school every day, had homework, and a life that would soon deter her from the fantasies of the virtual world. High school was an important time, the last moments of her youth before she'd have to set path on her career. Sinon felt that she had to grasp every drop of such freedom before she would become confined in society. Yet the idea of stepping out to society frightened her, and this thought was constantly stuck in her mind, especially with all the notifications swirling around her dock each time she dived. _Just another year, please, just give me another year of this life, and I'll be out of here afterwards._

Sinon returned to her room after dinner, she plopped on her chair and swiveled to face the desk. Set up neatly on the desk was the homework she had for today, math, a Japanese comprehension exercise, and chemistry problems. She took another glance at the three sets of work and sighed. _I'll dive for one hour, that's all._

* * *

_Link start!_ To her surprise, the four starter panels were filled this time, Night Rush was selectable, and a bright red sign with the word "NEW" was blazing furiously on the Night Rush panel. _Let's give it try._

Unlike the other arenas, the Night Rush arena didn't have a trial session. Instead, Sinon was transported to the roof of a building, she was already seated on her Moto Guzzi, and an opaque hologram lit up before her.

_Welcome to Night Rush, the only arena with alternating scenarios, the highlight of Motoropia! The rules are simple, Night Rush is a quest-based arena, and each time the arena is open, there will be one quest for all participants to complete. Upon the completion of each quest, players will receive points according to their performance in the quests, and a monthly ranking will determine the top players of Motoropia. Night Rush will be open once every month, of which the date will be completely random, however they will only be available at night. Enjoy!_

Sinon read over the rules slowly, they weren't particularly clear as to what kind of quest it would be, she was confused by the generality of the instructions, until she started getting nervous seeing the countdown timer appear. The rules were gone, and Sinon could only see a whole row of building roofs displayed in front of her, and then she saw the tiny blinking panel in the distance. _No way, we have to make it across the buildings? _She began revving her bike, pulsing the exhaust for that one blast that would launch her in front of her competitors. _Go!_ Sinon blasted herself across the starting line, she'd almost reached the edge of the roof, when she realized that the gap between the first roof to the second was much larger than she'd assumed. _Crap, I need to step up the gas to make the distance._ She hunched herself closer to the handlebars and flicked her wrist to turn the handlebars excessively, gaining the momentum for her first jump. Aligning herself to one of the ramps dotted in the area by the edge of the roof, she made her jump – barely, to the second roof. _Phew, I need to work on my speed and eyesight, come to think of it, it's deteriorated since I stopped going on GGO so often, and my distance judging has been weakened._ She geared up for a second jump.

It was after the fourth leap that Sinon had finally realized the whole point of the quest. _Why am I so slow at figuring this out? Of course they'd want you to do tricks, that the whole point, that's how you're meant to get points for the rankings!_ The next gap was eight meters away, and she had amassed enough speed for a safe landing, this time she was determined to nail a flip. The flip in the last racer arena with Vixen had only been a fluke; this try would really consolidate it. She reached the ramp within seconds and felt the energy pumping in her hands, merging them with the handlebars. The moment she took off and the front wheel of the bike came into view, she loosened her straddle and felt her legs billowing against the wind on the roofs. As the world spun around, she saw the edge of the next roof, and soon enough the front wheel of her bike again, then the handlebars, and lastly her legs strapped tightly to the sides of her bike. She'd made it safely across, with her off-the-seat back flip. She heard the announcement for bonus energy and immediately felt pumped for the next obstacle.

The roofs were beginning to get crowded with random crates and water tanks that could be found in usual rooftops, with more maneuvering required as Sinon made her way through the rooftops. She'd just landed her fifteenth jump, when a crate was a hair away from the front wheel, and she'd only managed to dodge it by the bonus energy she had received for the last off-the seat stunt, which didn't even make a flip. The obstacles were getting to be more difficult, and Sinon didn't have enough stamina to make the flashy acrobatic stunts she had done so in the first few jumps. Swiveling left and right to dodge the crates, at one point, she spun on the spot to stop herself from hitting the wall of a water tank, as her speed was almost uncontrollable. She swung her handlebars to the right with full strength, the energy almost spent on blocking that crash, which resulted in a new skill earned. _New acrobatic skill: two-wheeled spin. Bonus energy granted_. But she couldn't stop then to congratulate herself, there was too much tension on this arena, and she literally couldn't stop herself on one of the roofs, as there wouldn't be enough space to restart and make it onto another roof. _I've got to keep moving, or else I'll end up falling in one of those gaps._ She didn't stop the movement of her motorbike and moved repetitively from left to right, turning when she needed to, u turning as well, to make up for more movement in the small, confined area.

The graphics and other sensory effects were really working the entire package of the game, she could feel the exhaust propelling her further, and the sharp streaks of the wind scratching against her leather jacket, and the goggles that she'd managed to buy at a cheap price after her first trial. The exhilaration of riding full speed at night, hopping from one building to another was so satisfying. The action was intensified when the game makers released the special that allowed players to input their favorite music into the game, they were able to play the favorite songs as they rode, and that just brought in another sense of pleasure for Sinon who found that heavy rock music and its hardcore beats and riffs built up her speed and rhythm. Sinon took one final turn to align her bike with the last ramp, and leapt into the sky.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I've missed writing haha, it's been holiday season for a while. Enjoy :D


	5. Vixen

**Vixen**

_Congratulations!_ The hologram read above him. He pulled off his helmet and shook his hair out, the pale blond locks falling slightly over his ears. Night rush had been a new experience for him on MPO, and he was looking forward to his ranking from this round, he was pretty sure Sinon would have tried it out too, considering the girl's obsession with MPO recently. Sinon had been on MPO every night since their past partnership in the Racer arena and Night rush would be hard to miss for someone who went on a full dive every night.

He looked back at the row of buildings behind him, trying to figure out how long it took for him to travel across this long distance. Vixen wondered about the scores each player would get upon completion of the Night rush arena, he thought about the skills he managed to pull off as he hopped from one rooftop to another. He'd almost not made the jump on one of the last rooftops, as his front wheel scratched against the edge of one of the roofs after he jumped, thankfully for the grip of his new tyres, they managed to scrape both bike and Vixen back onto the roof, or else it would have been game over.

Vixen swiped his right hand in front of him, activating his menu. His hand trailed to the inventory, clicking on the knife, he deactivated the weapon that was hitched on the side of his belt, slightly covered by his long dark coat that smelled of malice. _So there was no need for it this round, huh?_ He thought to himself, a glint flashed on the curl of his lip from the white of his teeth. Vixen's screen switched from the Night rush arena to the menu, he selected the Racer arena, hoping to encounter a bit more fun than the slightly dull Night rush experience he'd just had.

* * *

It had been a while since Sinon had dived in ALO; having spent too much time in MPO that she'd almost forgotten how to fly. Luckily, the senses came back soon enough, although Silica couldn't stop laughing and pointing out how her wings were moving weirdly. Sinon pouted, she was sort of pissed that she'd missed out in the adventures the rest of her friends had over the past few weeks, as she was too focused on upgrading herself in MPO.

"So, I thought you were gonna tell me about those… are they called arenas? Yeah, those arenas in MPO?" Kirito asked, taking the pout off Sinon's face.

"Oh yeah, Night rush finally opened." Sinon started, as her escapade over the rooftops began pouring out of her mouth. "There's this track on the roof, only it's not a real track." Thoroughly confusing Kirito, "You fly through the air with your bike, and make flips and stuff. Yeah, _super_ exciting."

Kirito's eyebrows furrowed as he struggled to follow with the blue haired girl's accounts, he was having a hard time imagining flying through a night sky on a motorbike, somersaulting between the gaps and flying holograms everywhere. But Sinon's eyes turned cobalt blue, as they shone throughout her story. _It must be pretty good if she had so much fun with it, her standards are pretty high, considering that GGO was such an intense choice._ Kirito thought to himself.

"Um, sounds pretty cool, the way you've described it." He scratched his head, not knowing what to say in return to her animated talk.

"You have to try it." She begged, her kitten eyes grew round and dark, as if a hungry cat were pleading for food. "I'll give you all the insider's tips for an optimum start." She offered. Kirito was slightly swayed by this offer, but he stopped to think for a bit

He was struggling to balance diving from one world to another world, not to mention his new position at one of the programming branches of NerveGear, which consisted of inputting data and the programming of new game contents. It was a tough job for a young teenager, even though his skills with computers was top notch, competition existed among his colleagues for coming up with new and thrilling game contents and quests.

"I'm not sure I can handle another game though." He said to Sinon, the tone of regret evident in his speech.

"That sucks. I was hoping to be able to hang with you in another game." The pout returned on her face. "You're great at action games, that last time on GGO was awesome, though dangerous." She shuddered.

* * *

Vixen's brain felt all corrupted and rusty as he awoke from his dive into MPO. He shook his brownish bangs out of his face, hoping to clear his mind out with the shaking. Unfortunately, it didn't go so well, and rattled his brains even more.

"Argh." He pressed his hands to his temples, his brown eyes turning gray in a blitz.

_Your next task awaits, young warrior. You know you want to destroy them, go on, get on your bike and do it._

A red flash appeared over his eyes, and the rattling in his head became even more apparent. Vixen had no control over the pain and could only respond by pulling on a leather jacket and his windproof pants. Black beanie and his matt-black shades in place. He propped his signature purple helmet with the red streak running across the side over his head and headed out of his apartment. A knife hitched on the side of his belt. That same knife.

* * *

It was after dinner, that rare moment when Sinon propped on the couch with a family-sized tub of pistachio ice cream hugged against her belly. She was spooning hunks of that icy-cold heaven into her mouth as the television screen lit up the living room.

"A sudden attack on the local bank has resulted in six deaths, and four more injured. An anonymous perpetrator entered the bank at five in the late afternoon, and stabbed four of the staff working in the bank, and several civilians standing in line. The police could not identify the perpetrator, who wore a purple helmet with a red slash on the side. Forensics is now trying to match the injuries to possible weapons used, and to track down the perpetrator. Stay tuned for more reports on this sudden attack."

Sinon shoveled another bite of the ice cream, as she stared into the screen. _That helmet looks funnily familiar._ She thought to herself, _but that whole scene… no, don't think about that again Sinon, that happened way too long ago._

* * *

**A/N:** It's been a long while since I last wrote, and for a while, I'd lost hope in this. But... Finals are over! And summer is approaching! And its time to write and go all out, because its summer :D


	6. Step A

**Step A**

The post office incident would keep flashing back, every once in a while. Most of the time, Sinon would end up shivering alone on the edge of her bed until she was too tired to continue, and would fall asleep on the spot, hugging her knees and curled in a fetal position, vulnerable and all. The bank robbery incident somehow triggered another flashback; she curled up at the corner of her bed again, shivering through the night.

Dawn broke up the sky, a streak of red combing through the rippling, faint purple, lasting just moments before the sun burst through, rays of sunlight chiming across the ground, torching the towers of the metropolis.

Sinon's eyes were glued onto the television as she was eating breakfast, it turned out that the robbery that happened the day before had led to the disappearance of an _eleventh _person. The police had managed to retract the security camera footage from the bank and went through it overnight, though it wasn't evident on how the person had managed to vanish in thin air, the tape had ended the moment the perpetrator stepped towards the eleventh man. And well, nothing really happened except for the blinding light that erupted from the disappearing person, killing the cameras. The rest of the accident couldn't be recorded afterwards. The mere thought of a disappearing person was shuddering. Sinon gulped down the mouthful of rice with a dash of miso soup, packed her bag and hopped off to school after saying goodbye to her mother.

The day did not start off well, especially after the announcement of the disappearance of the eleventh man. For some reason, her glasses tilted to one side ever since she had put them on in the morning. Though they were not even prescription glasses, it was still uncomfortable, and it drove her nuts especially with her point-precise vision even in the real world. The glasses were just the very beginning of the misfortune laid out for her throughout the day. Sinon arrived at the snack kiosk during break, only to find out that her long craved melon bread had been sold out. Assignments piled up throughout the day, and it almost appeared that her evening diving session into ALO had to be cancelled. _Perhaps it would be possible to summon the group to help out with the assignments_, she mused.

There was a weird and slightly ominous tension everywhere. You could feel a gloom casting over the city. The children were nonetheless still themselves, Sinon could see yellow-capped toddlers, skipping on the streets, whilst their mothers trailed steps behind, amongst some sort of frantic discussion under hushed voices meanwhile watching their children from the corner of the eye. Sinon's sensed the tension, yet it was unbeknown. What proper way to react to such a situation. As she walked home from school along the mysterious atmosphere lingering around her, she decided to dive that night despite the numerous assignments stacked in her backpack. Getting into VRMMORPGs was not only for entertainment, it was another route to gain information. The entire cyber world was filled with networks possibly even more complexed than reality, people traded information with slight risk, having the right for their real identities be protected under new privacy settings, and therefore such an environment allowed the free interflow of secret information. Yet often, the information that individuals held were very scattered. It was almost as if the information were certain valuables owned by each user, the more information you gain, the more value your account would be. Value, as in the worth of an individual's mind and their knowledge, which was the one _thing_ that could be transported naturally from the virtual world to the real world. No matter the amount of security one person achieved in disguising their account, the possibility of danger in reality still lingered. The atmosphere cooking up around Sinon had to be investigated, and she decided to run around ALO and search for clues.

She arrived the safety of her home, where the gloominess of the city turned into another form. Sinon's mother was in her usual position, sitting at the kitchen table mumbling over some papers, furiously punching at the buttons of a calculator.

"I'm home." Sinon announced lightly, aware of her mother's current frustration over what was most likely the bills for the last month. Her mother looked up, a wry smile across the face, then she looked down at her papers and continued.

Sinon headed to her bedroom and settled into loose pajamas. With the curtains drawn and the lights switched off, the room was almost pitch black, except for the blinking green light on the Amusphere that only managed to radiate a small circumference surrounding the headgear. Sinon slipped the Amusphere over her head and lay down on her bed for the dive.

* * *

_Link start!_ The group decided to meet at six that night, just for a roundup since they hadn't met for a while. Sinon swiped at the settings to check the time, _four thirty. I have an hour and a half to spare_. She stood in the center of her bedroom in her home in ALO, which was exactly where she had logged out the last time she had dived, mentally running through the plan that she had devised within the ten minute walk back home.

The plan involved utilizing her newly admitted status as a party member of a Gun Gale Online community. The party members overlapped on ALO as well as GGO, and Sinon had recently heard that several members had started exploring MPO. This was pretty much a standard method of starting her snoop, the members crossed over different worlds, increasing her exposure of meeting their friends or reaching new places and meeting new people.

"Hi Reid," She waved at one of the members,

"Sinon!" Reid waved ecstatically, "Rare to see you here, what brings you back all of a sudden?"

"Just felt like I needed a dive," she shrugged, "don't you feel that things have been a bit _strange_ recently?"

"Strange, how?"

"You've heard of the post office incident, right?"

"Saw it on the news this morning before I left for school, it seemed creepy, but there's not much I can do about it." Reid chomped on an apple as he chatted with Sinon.

"The thing is, people have been acting funky afterwards. Well, more like the adults. But I have no idea of the details, it seems as if someone's censoring the information and keeping it within the adult community." Sinon explained her observations to Reid.

"Perhaps you should ask the older bunch, they'd probably have some sort of clue." Reid nodded over towards a crowd of players behind him.

The party was holding a gathering. Well, they had gatherings almost everyday, but the party consisted of so many members, each gathering only accommodated several twenty or so people, and usually the gatherings would be split into smaller circles categorized by age.

Sinon headed towards the group of older players, hearing their conversation as she neared.

"Were they trying to rob the bank?"

"But nothing was taken. They were probably really targeting the people, or maybe it was a scare."

"Its gotten the whole city nuts over this one incident."

"I heard it's something related to a cyber attack."

"It happened in _reality_."

"Something related. Not sure how though. Heard it from someone over at MPO."

"You're on MPO?"

"Yeah, it seems like more people at MPO know about the whole thing, or at least the information is circling more rapidly there. Most of the players in MPO are older, and in the working class. I heard there's a man working in the police department and he's holding up information, but barely anybody knows much about this person, the details are quite hidden."

"Have you met this guy?"

"I don't even know what his username is."

The conversation continued, Sinon listened for a while, _this conversation is not going anywhere with these speculations_. She swiped at her settings again and noticed that time really flew. It was five forty and she had to get going. She walked out of the area and glanced back, the adults still buzzing amongst themselves, Reid and a circle of teens grouped together, without much interaction going on in that circle. Sinon could see a few undine girls gathered around discussing makeup products and Reid and his fellow spriggans hiding among the shadows, preparing to scare the girls. This felt troubling to Sinon, but she couldn't lay a finger on what the problem was.

The group met up together back at their usual base, Agil's shop. Each held a drink in hand whilst Asuna fixed up a fruit punch by the counter. Kirito leaned over towards Sinon and asked,

"I heard about what happened at the post office, that's around your neighborhood, right?"

Sinon nodded. She felt Asuna gazing over with worry; Agil and Klein also stopped talking.

"I overheard some ALO players just now talking about some sort of cyber attack. But all of that seemed like empty assumptions without real evidence, so I'm not sure of the real cause." Sinon told the group of her previous encounter with the party members.

"Its more than a cyber attack – " Agil started, but was interrupted by Klein,

"Hold on, this can't go spreading around any further. It's dangerous enough with information passing within the MMORPGs, but to escalate it further especially with this whole disappearance act going on."

"We'll keep this secret." Agil assured Klein. "From what I've heard, there's been a major disruption within the MMORPGs. What is meant by a disruption, no one knows the exact details of how it will be disrupted, we just know that a disruption is the root cause of the disappearance."

"So that's why all the adults are huddling about, and not leaking this information to kids? That's not a sound reason." Asuna retorted.

"The main reason why the adults are keeping things secret is because of the scale of the disruption." Klein lowered his voice, " its on an even larger scale than what happened with SAO, and the scary part is that most people don't know what or who could be involved."

"What Klein's saying, is that in general, people don't know how many people or who exactly are behind this whole issue, and the effects of the issue. We just know it's big. The fact that we know this leads to the possibility of these effects happening on us, or basically, anyone. That's why the adults are trying to limit the amount of information they know, or at least to not show that they know a lot to anyone."

Agil and Klein's back-to-back explanation of the entire incident finally formed its shape, and the young group began to understand the consequences of such an incident. Sinon couldn't help but to allow herself to ponder onto the possibility of abductions, _something even worse than SAO? People have been kept hostage, mind-controlled. What else do we need now?_

* * *

She slipped back to reality. What Agil and Klein had just told them had caused a revelation; there was the clear difference between the older group and the younger generation on MMORPGs. Perhaps it was due to their needs and responsibilities in reality that hindered their actions whilst diving. Nonetheless, the discussion had sparked her curiosity into finding out more, even though she was slightly aware of the danger that persisted. She could meet anybody while diving; one wrong step could take her somewhere – _There!_ People sought to divert attention away from them, in order to keep themselves safe. Yet this was the reason why nobody knew what was happening. Sinon had to cause some sort of ruckus, something that would bring her to the place where she wanted to be.


	7. The Beginning of a Commotion

**The Beginning of a Commotion**

_"Hey guys, there's a rumor going around on MPO about a night rush special, anyone interested in knowing XD – rahrahman"_

_"I heard about it too~ - xander2005"_

_"Tell me tell me, pleaseee – sukifanaticxxx"_

_"PM me if you wanna know. – rahrahman"_

Vixen stared at the glowing screen of his laptop amidst his dark room, watching as each message popped up in the chatroom. What he was reading was the largest chatroom for MPO users, housing twenty-five thousand users, with a minimum of five thousand users who were constantly online. Those five thousand or so members were most likely the ones who had paid efforts, people who got paid for small odd jobs or trades to be done through MPO, as communications on MPO left behind no history traceable by a foreigner except for the users themselves. Recently, there was a lot of buzz talking about a night rush special that was speculated by the veterans, to be some sort of Christmas surprise, just like how a Christmas event was launched in SAO. Vixen had been following the discussions on the Christmas night rush special, but only negligible information had been leaked on the public forums so far. Finding out the details wouldn't be difficult, all Vixen had to do was private message a veteran, and he had plenty of veteran friends on MPO, the annoying thing was having to trade a rare item for information.

The veterans were a small group of pros who knew almost all the details one could know of VMMORPGs, most of them were survivors from the SAO incident, and didn't develop any sort of post-traumatic stress disorders and went on to explore other worlds, such as Alfheim, GGO and later on into MPO. Their existences on chatrooms bridged the multiple worlds together, and through exchanges of secret information through tech leaks possibly from the game companies themselves, they helped build a very disorganized yet vastly informative database of information on Japan's top rated VMMORPGs. With all these game leaks, the veterans often traded secret information for extremely rare items with newbies or potential rogues who didn't have the privileges of the veterans, though these were merely acts of exploitation as obtaining rare items for a veteran was easier than pie. Vixen often thought that if there was ever somebody who had bothered to reorganize all of the information that was messily stashed on each chatroom, that one person could possibly gain control of these worlds and God knows what could happen to the several million players. As Vixen scrolled through the chat, he pondered on whether this rumor was worth the exchange of a rare item.

_Maybe Sinon can help decide._

Vixen messaged Sinon on their private chat, asking if she had seen the discussions. Sinon replied immediately.

"I want to know."

It was strange that she replied so directly and it sounded almost a bit too – determined, for Sinon.

Vixen's fingers flew over the keyboard, the sounds of his fingernails tapping against the keyboard were the only sounds to be heard in the dark room.

"You sure you wanna know? You know I'm trading a rare item for this right?"

"Yes. I'm gonna try it out either way. I need to know the details."

"Okayyy."

Vixen was slightly confused by Sinon's resolve on this issue. She rarely expressed her opinions so strongly, although there were some accounts where Vixen swore her voice had clearly changed, her facial expressions different – especially her eyes, there was a certain sharpness to them during those moments. He pulled himself away from the thoughts about Sinon, and scrolled through his contacts for a certain veteran friend.

* * *

Sinon found herself all geared up and ready on her bike, helmet snugly over her bright blue hair and the pigtails flowing out on the sides, she also had on a vest and a gun strapped to her back._ I see, so this is what the veteran meant_, she thought to herself. Vixen was right beside her, also donning the same get up, straddling his own bike. The two had teamed up for another Night Rush event, only this time it was claimed to be a special. Either way, Sinon and Vixen were only in these events for the surprises and thrill that accompanied it, they enjoyed the various setups that Night Rush events had that differed to the normal training and race arenas.

The two were situated inside what seemed like a container, the ones that carried trading goods and were shipped around the world and you could find them running across the land on trucks. Aside from the two of them, nothing else could be found inside the container.

A deafening, rattling sound sent Vixen and Sinon off guard, the two crashed onto the floor with their bikes altogether.

The two recovered as the noise faded, dust clouded in front of the shields on their helmets. A spray of bullet holes punctured one side of the container appeared as the dust cleared.

_This familiar scent_.

A smile shot up Sinon's face, she felt like a fish being let back into the sea. Regaining her strength, she pulled her bike upright, and mounted herself on her bike again,

"Come on, Vixen. I think it's about time we get started."

Vixen didn't need a reminder, he propped himself on his bike and revved the engines. The two shot out towards the exit that lay right beside the bullet hole coated wall.

* * *

The two reached the outside of the container to find a familiar looking landscape, and found themselves being greeted by a group of surrounding and seemingly unwelcoming, blue, holographic mannequins sitting on equally cobalt-blue bikes, and armed with guns.

Vixen and Sinon had stopped their bikes, having been circled by a group of holographic fighters. The whole moment paused, as if either side were knocked by a wave of confusion. The holographic figures were standing at approximately one hundred meters away from the two and had formed a perfect circle, courtesy of computerized calculations in the current state of technology. The moment clicked back into action as the blue figures began charging towards Sinon and Vixen, both realizing the situation.

By instinct, Sinon grabbed the gun strapped behind her back and loaded it within a blink of an eye, and propped the loaded gun in between her teeth, grinning as she readied her bike. The two had unconsciously set up a plan of attack, with Sinon responsible for taking down one half of the circle and Vixen the other.

Dust clouded up the air, the two of them speeding off, each into one engulfing semicircle of blue holographic mannequins, Sinon felt chills going down her spine, as she approached the enclosing group. Already at a steady speed, she grinned as she pulled the gun out of her gripping teeth and readied her first shot.


	8. Bullets

**Bullets**

The blue holographic figure flickered in the distance, it went fuzzy and sort of wobbled from what Sinon could see, then it disintegrated into a bazillion shards as if it were made out of easily fractured glass. Sinon clenched her teeth and grinned like the Cheshire cat, she was in the zone, gun poised against the handlebars for easy access in shooting, and she didn't need all the fancy gear in terms of targeting her opponents, her first bullet was spot-on the center of the hologram's forehead, and as the shards disappeared, the other figures started moving.

It was as if they had waited for Sinon to activate an "attack" command, and she had done so, perfectly matching the conditions. The holograms closed in on the two fighters with their backs against each other, Sinon had charged forward slightly, awaiting for a moment when the holograms began their attack, when she felt a streak of wind that changed its surrounding currents suddenly.

One of the holograms had pulled the trigger. Sinon realized that she had to pull her senses back together, garnering all the skills and natural instincts she had built up from GGO, she lay low on her bike, her head barely shielded by the front of the bike, and dodged as bullets sprayed over her head. She grew closer to the holograms, she could feel that the shots were fired even more frequently, taking a deep breath, she angled her gun towards the left of her handlebars, and swept her gun across the handlebars from left to right, praying that she had sufficient bullets to reach the far right. Bullets came flying out of her gun and rippled in an arc formation. There was a short moment of silence on her end, except for the ringing in her ears from the loud noise coming from the gunfire. Sinon peeked up from her handlebars, hoping that she had knocked out the whole team of holograms.

Sinon crawled up to sit upright on her seat. Looking at the pile of disintegrating holograms in front of her. She turned her head suddenly to find herself in the path of a bullet as a hologram readied to pull the trigger. Instinctively, Sinon ducked as she revved the engine and the bike shot away from the hologram, a shot had blasted in the empty space that Sinon barely escaped.

With her opponents slowly regaining their bearings of the escaping Sinon, she rounded a u-turn back towards the holograms. Sinon noticed a small icon on the upper right corner of her helmet, it turned out that the bullets in her gun were reloaded according to the time, and as she had only recently completely fired all her bullets, she had only five bullets reloaded then. She scowled at the three remaining figures, figuring that it was a pain to spend extra fuel to confront the mute yet unfriendly holograms. She raised her gun and fired three shots, and they were gone.

* * *

Vixen was having a hard time on his end. He was completely afraid of the holograms and was in dangerously close proximity to them, all he could do was swivel his bike around, hiding underneath his handlebars and praying that the bullets wouldn't get to him. As he turned, he let out a blast of bullets, which sounded like fireworks of a humid summer night. Vixen kept firing until he realized that he was blindly pulling the trigger, and no bullets had actually come out.

_That's it. I'm screwed_. He thought to himself, as he felt danger looming upon him. The sound of motorbikes closing in on him grew louder, and then he felt a sharp, burning sensation on his left bicep. A bullet had grazed his arm, had his body shifted to the left a slight bit more, his arm would have been shot, and there would be no doubt, a fracture to the humerus. Dazed and completely out of his mind, Vixen stuck his head out to the side of his bike, trying to get a view of his currently chaotic situation. He watched as two of the three holograms disintegrated before his eyes, when the last hologram approached him. Vixen shut his eyes as a dark shadow eclipsed his own on the ground.

* * *

Sinon pulled her bike into a wheelie, and mustering all her strength, she kicked the entire bike off the ground, just before she had managed to run over Vixen and his bike.

_Thank God for that extra speed that I gained earlier on, I would have smothered him_. As Sinon escalated into the air, it was as if the moment had been put on slow-motion, she could see Vixen and his eyes shut, and she soared above him, pulling frantically at her handlebars, afraid of losing her momentum and crash-landing on Vixen, bike and all. In one clean motion, she thrust her hip, bringing the rear end of her bike towards the blue figure. Sinon and her bike came crashing onto the ground, upon landing, her wheels gave in and the bike toppled to the side, and a yelping Sinon fell to her side.

_Remind me again, what have I gotten myself into now?_ She thought to herself. Looking upwards, she saw the familiar "Congratulations!" sign shining above her. She pulled herself out beneath the motorbike and made her way towards Vixen.

"Hey," She started, "We made it. Look."

She watched as a ghastly white Vixen turned towards the sign and smiled weakly.

"Thanks, for that last bit." He said, as he indicated the spot where his arm had been grazed. Sinon took a quick look, and laughed,

"That's nothing." She giggled, "You should have seen what I went through in GGO." Sinon continued to laugh at Vixen's minor injury, until she realized that he wasn't getting any better.

In the virtual world, Sinon had come to realize that getting injured was only a reaction, especially having been shot in GGO multiple times, she was completely used to receiving a bullet then recuperating completely a few moments afterwards. With Vixen's case, she could only see his condition deteriorating.

"Hop on you bike now, and I'll attach it to mine. We're going to get you healed." She said, latching her bike to Vixen's. He was still conscious, though Sinon could tell that his left arm was losing strength. "I'm guessing it's the bullets," she said as she started the engine, "just gas your bike while I steer mine," and Vixen complied, "remember how it was just laser beams from the decimator in some other arena? I'm guessing they have actual guns that can do real damage to our bodies in Night Rush." She drove the two of them away from the _Congratulations!_ hologram, dust trailing behind her.

_Then what about our guns?_ She suddenly thought.


End file.
