Sword Art Online/ソードアート・オンライン 1. The Game of Death

**Disclaimers: I do not own Sword Art Online, I do not own anything related to the intellectual property. This is done in the spirit of fandom as a tribute, not rip-off of a thoroughly enjoyable work.**

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><p><strong>AN: I would like to apologize up front for the amount of material in this chapter that comes from episode one of the anime. Direct quotes are used for my own benefit, as they help me find the voices of the characters. This chapter will stick mostly to canon, with the exception of the inclusion of Sinon. The next chapter will still follow closely, and by the end of the third chapter the stories will diverge completely.**

**This story will focus around Kirito, Sinon, and Asuna, but as of now is firmly Kirito x Asuna.**

**Constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated. This is my second fan fiction ever and I make no pretense than I can't improve. Thank you all in advance.**

**Due to the very rough nature of this chapter, this chapter has been revised as of 12/29/14.**

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><p>Kazuto Kirigaya sat in his room, his Nervegear in his hand, a magazine in his lap, and the television tuned to coverage of today's launch of the world's very first VRMMO, Sword Art Online. He decided to focus on the television for a moment, and saw coverage of a group of people who had waited three days just to get a chance to pick up copies of the game. He smiled. He had gotten pretty lucky, being one of a mere thousand people who had been selected for SAO's closed beta. Still, he couldn't believe that anyone would be willing to wait in line for three days just for a video game. You would wait a week, it'd still be there.<p>

Kazuto heard a knock on his door, followed by the voice of his sister. "I'm going to practice now, see you later, okay?" He looked at the door, but didn't move from his seat. Part of him wanted to go. But he'd been unwilling to ever since he'd found out he was adopted, that Suguha was really his cousin, not his sister. His uncle had beaten him for it, but he still hadn't gone back. He felt guilty for not being much of a brother to her since then. He knew she'd been pushing herself so hard since he'd quit, He'd never told her. Never really did much with her or for her anymore, save help her with her math homework.

He heard the door close and knew she was gone. In a way, she was going off to do the same thing he'd be doing. They'd both be playing with swords, both going to their sanctuaries, the scenery was just different. He made a promise to himself to fix thing between himself and his sister next time he had the chance. Things had been like this for too long. He might go with her next time. it was the least he could do as her brother. He sighed, pushing the thoughts from his head. He smiled. It was launch time. He put the Nervegear helmet on his head and lay down. He closed his eyes, his mind emptying of everything but what he was about to do. He was excited. He and the other betas had cleared eight floors in one month last time around. Surely they could do better this time.

It was with that resolve that he gave the order to his Nervegear, "Link start!" and the world burst into streams of color.

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><p>Asuna Yuuki was staring at the Nervegear in her hands. She had no idea what to expect. She'd never played any MMO's before, but the prospect of one that had a true virtual reality had finally been appealing enough for her to let her brother talk her into trying it. She owed him for letting her use his Nervegear while he was away instead of leaving it in the box, waiting for him to come home. He'd known she'd need something to distract her from Mom. She'd have to make it up to him when he got back. She was looking forward to being anonymous for once. There was some appeal to not being identified as a Yuuki by everyone around her. It had made it hard for her to make real friends. Her family had money, but she wasn't given that much to work with. She didn't want for much, but her allowance wasn't much greater than that of most people her age. A lot of people lost interest in her after that. At least she'd be able to avoid that in Aincrad. And she'd be able to get away from her mother for a while. Asuna was so sick of her trying to sell her off to whatever well off suitor she could find that week. Had she already forgotten what it was like to want to fall in love? Asuna wasn't sure, but she knew she didn't want to marry for just money. There wasn't any happiness in that. She sighed, shaking her head in frustration. She looked back down at the helmet, relishing the escape it would provide for her. She put it on, smiling, giving the command as instructed in the manual. "Link start!"<p>

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><p>Shino Asada wiped her mouth with tissue paper and tossed it into the toilet before flushing the thing away. Her heart was still pounding. She was so weak. She'd just opened the drawer. She hadn't even picked up the gun. A fake, plastic gun, and she couldn't even look at it without throwing up. She shook her head, frustrated at herself. She could be stronger than this. She had to get stronger. She glanced at herself in the mirror. Murderer. Murderer. Murderer. She couldn't get the echoes out of her head. She looked away, unable to hold her own gaze. She had to be stronger. She would become stronger. She left the bathroom and sat back down on the bed, staring holes into the cover of Sword Art Online. Would this really help? It was just swords, not guns. She knew the answer, though. She would make herself stronger. Fighting in a world where she wasn't a murderer in anyone's eyes but her own. Fighting players, monsters, whatever she needed to. She would make herself stronger.<p>

Her resolve restored, she placed the game into her computer, set it up, and set it to run. She let thoughts of guns and death slip to the back of her mind. This game had helped the first time. Today was just a bad day. She knew she'd have those. Her breathing was coming easier now. She flicked off the lights and plopped herself down on her bed. Her resolve had return. She'd find some of her old friends from the beta, and they'd get started hunting right away.

"Link start!"

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><p>Kirito's worries all vanished as soon as he set foot in this familiar new world. He was back on Aincrad. He ran through the streets, letting it all come back to him, ready to start farming again, to get himself back to where he was a few weeks ago. He ran through the streets, dodging around players, excited to finally get to play the real game.<p>

"Hey, bro, wait up!" an unfamiliar voice called out after him, causing him to do just that. Kirito turned to see an unfamiliar man wearing a red bandana chasing after him.

"What's up?" He asked the newcomer, confused as to why he'd been flagged down.

The man caught up to him, put his hands on his knees and started gasping for air. "You act like you know your way around here. You were in the beta test, weren't you?"

Kirito, letting his surprise show on his face, could only muster "Um. Yeah."

The other man kept going, having caught his breath, approached Kirito, putting one hand on his shoulder. "Cool. Today's my first day. So, could you give me some tips on the lower floors?"

"Uh, I don't know. . ."

The other man cut him off, clasping his hands in front of his face, "Please, I'm begging you." Then, changing tone without warning, "Look, my name's Klein, good to meet you."

Kirito finally gave up. This guy was weird, but he seemed nice enough. Besides, he was planning on going hunting anyway. May as well show some of the new players the ropes. Ninety percent of the people here were first timers. "Alright, I'm Kirito. Come on." With that, they both started down the path Kirito had been on before.

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><p>Kirito had brought them to the open field around the Town of Beginnings, not expecting the boar to be of any challenge to either of them. Klein was in the process of reminding Kirito not to make assumptions about anything. He tumbled backward after being charged by the boar, yelling as he did so. Klein dropped his sword on the way down and lay there clutching himself for a few moments, writhing in pain. Even the boar seemed so embarrassed for the man that it turned and went back to wandering the field.<p>

"Oh come on, seriously? You can't feel any pain," Kirito finally reminded Klein.

Klein immediately stopped his squirming. "Oh, yeah, you're right. Sorry. Habit."

"Remember what I said? The first move is the most important," Kirito reminded him, trying to put the previous moment behind them.

"That's easy for you to say. It won't stand still." Klein responded, showing his frustration. The boar snorted at him, in response.

Kirito picked up a fair sized rock and began tossing it up in the air. "If you do your initial motion right, and activate a sword skill at the right time," he paused here, holding the rock near his face, ready to throw, to emphasize his point, and slung the rock right at the boar. The boar, finally realizing that one of the two players could hurt it, turned and glared at Kirito. Kirito finished, "The system pretty much guarantees you'll always hit your target." The boar's eyes glowed red for a moment, then it charged at Kirito.

Klein just stood mystified, "Initial. . . motion?" He picked up his sword regardless, ready to go at the boar again.

The boar charged at Kirito, who dodged it easily, "Here's an easier way of looking at it." The boar came back at him, locking its tusks with his blade, "Right after you start your move, wait for a little bit. When you feel the skill start to activate it, drive it home!"

Klein just sighed. "Drive it home?" Then it finally dawned on him. He adjusted his stance, put his blade on his shoulder and charged the boar, who Kirito had redirected towards him. Klein and the boar met, and Klein left a long, red gash along the boar's flank. The boar dissolved as its health finally hit zero and Klein roared in triumph.

Kirito waited a moment, letting Klein soak in his victory. "Congratulations," he gave the man a high five before continuing, "But those boars are about as weak as slimes in other games."

Klein's response was one of surprise, "You've got to be kidding. I thought that thing was a mid-level boss." Kirito could only roll his eyes as more boars spawned near them. Klein started jabbing the sword at the air around them, awed by the sword skills he'd just learned how to use. The conversation turned to the game, the skill system, the lack of magic. Both of them were eager to continue.

"Hey, Kirito, you still showing off?" A girl's voice rang through the clearing at them. They both looked up to see a light blue haired girl in a tunic a shade or two lighter than the grass they were standing on watching them from nearby. Kirito recognized Sinon immediately. They'd partied together a few times during the beta period.

"Whatever, Sinon, you know you do it too," came Kirito's response. He didn't notice Klein's wide-eyed expression upon seeing Sinon. She had, and was giving him a slightly confused look as she walked over to meet the two.

Klein finally regained control of himself as the two groups met. He bowed his head and offered his hand, "My name's Klein, I'm single and-" he began to motormouth, before Kirito shoved him aside and into the ground. Klein started to say something as he jumped up, but thought better of it. "Sorry about that. What I meant to say is, my name's Klein."

Sinon gave him a wry look as she sized him up. He couldn't be that bad, but he was definitely a little weird. "I'm Sinon, good to meet you," was all she said to him before she turned back to Kirito. "So what were you guys doing out here?"

Klein didn't give Kirito a chance to respond, just clenched his fist and shouted, "We're going hunting!" He paused, realizing his enthusiasm may have gotten the better of him.

Kirito's response was more level-headed, but not without enthusiasm. "Yeah, we're going hunting. Want to come with us?" Sinon glanced back and forth between the two. Klein seemed harmless enough, and Kirito and a few other beta players were the only other people out of the ten thousand she actually knew. She nodded, and the three ran off into the wilderness, swords drawn. For now, Kirito's guilt about his sister, Klein's worries about work and supporting himself, and Sinon's self-loathing were all forgotten in the joy of this new world.

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><p>Hours later, the three were admiring the sunset, looking out on the floating pools, the forested platforms, the silhouette of the dungeon pillar in the distance. It looked, felt so real. Klein was sitting down in the grass, his propped up on hands, with Kirito standing to next him, and Sinon standing next to him. He broke the silence that had fallen between them. "When I look around, I can't believe it. We're inside a game, guys. Whoever made it's a genius. It's amazing. Makes me glad I was born when I was."<p>

Kirito's downer response was, "It's not that big a deal."

"Cut me some slack, it's my first full dive."

"You never used a Nervegear before today? This your first time ever?"

"Uh huh. As soon as I got the money together I rushed out and bought all the hardware I needed to play SAO. Got in line and score one of the ten thousand hard copies. I guess you could say I was pretty lucky." He paused for a moment, looking at the other two. "Although, you guys were ten times as lucky. You guys got to beta test it. Only a thousand people got to do that!" The other two shuffled in embarrassment. "Hey, mind if I ask how far you guys got in the beta?"

Sinon spoke up next, "We played for two months and we only got to floor eight."

"We can get there in half that time now, though," Kirito's boasting came back.

When Sinon didn't disagree, Klein grinned at them. "You seem pretty into this."

"Yeah, you could say that. During the beta test, SAO was the only thing on my mind. Day and night." Kirito pulled out his sword, gazing at it. " In this world, a single blade can take you anywhere you want to go. Even though it's a virtual world, I feel more alive in here than I ever did in the real one," he finished, sheathing his blade again.

Klein turned to look at Sinon. "What about you? What do you think?"

Sinon looked at the rune-rimmed sun, avoiding the gaze of the other two, letting her walls down for a moment. "I think. . ." she trailed off for a moment. "I think that in here I have control. That I don't have to be afraid." She gripped the handle of her sword, hanging at her side. "With this, I can be strong. I can be myself."

Klein smiled almost imperceptibly. This was the beauty of the internet. In a day, he'd befriended two people he probably never could have met in real life. And here they were, like three old friends.

Kirito finally spoke up, "So, you guys want to keep hunting?"

Klein jumped to his feet. "You know it! But the thing is. . ." he was interrupted by the sound of his own stomach, "I'm really hungry. I've got to log out."

Kirito couldn't help but grin at the man. "Too bad the food here only satisfies your hunger virtually."

"Yeah, for real, that's why I order a pizza to get here at five thirty."

"Wow, you're so prepared."

"You know it. Besides, the game can wait 'til I get my pizza on," he stood up, suddenly turning more serious. "Hey, I was going to go meet up with some people I know from another game later. I don't know what you two are up to after this, but, you know, if you want, you can friend them and hang with us." He looked back and forth from Kirito to Sinon. They both seemed reluctant. Sinon hadn't been particularly chatty most of the day. It had taken her a while to get comfortable, and even then she seemed content to let the two of them talk. "It's cool if you guys don't want to. We can try it another time. Anyway thanks for everything you guys did for me today," he said, making eye contact with one, then the other before continuing, "I'll make it up to guys someday. Virtually that is." He offered Kirito his hand.

Kirito took it, shaking it firmly. "If there's anything else you want to know, message me."

Klein offered his hand to Sinon next, she took it, tentatively. "Sorry about earlier," he didn't make any excuses. It was who he was. She nodded at him. He let go and walked away, opening the menu and looking for the log out button. That was odd. "There's no log out button."

Kirito and Sinon opened their own menus, scrolling to where they knew the button should be. "It's at the bottom of the menu," Kirito started, stopping when he found it genuinely wasn't. The three exchanged worried glances before starting to go over their options. Klein was sure there was an emergency log out system. The beta testers knew better. The stood there for sometime, debating on how to proceed next.

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><p>Asuna's day wasn't quite so eventful. In fact, for an MMO, she felt decidedly alone, like she was lost in a crowd. Everyone seemed to know where they were going but her. After spending a few minutes simply taking in the grandeur and scale of the game, she decided that she should explore the Town of Beginnings.<p>

The sound of laughter permeated the air. She couldn't get away from it. The chatting, joking, laughing. It was refreshing to be somewhere that felt so alive. The whole experience was new. She'd never imagined SAO would be quite so big. This was her brother's game, after all. She hadn't played that many MMOs before this one. None of them for very long.

She eventually made her way outside of the city, ready to begin training, to get the feel of the Sword Skills everyone was going on about. She came across a boar within five minutes of leaving the city. It charged her, but it seemed so slow. Se sidestepped it and stabbed its side with her rapier. It turned on her, but she stepped deftly out of the way again. Its health had barely dropped a fifth of its total. She'd messed up her skill, that much was obvious. She caught it this time, she felt the skill working, and dug her rapier right through its snout. The boar dissolved into yellow light and she let out a cheer. She was getting the hang of it. She was smiling, beaming, as she turned to find more.

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><p>Kirito, Sinon, and Klein's discussion ended suddenly, as a blue light enveloped them and transported them back to the heart of the Town of Beginners. Asuna had just finished her hunting, and was ready to log off and attend to her studies when she found herself back in the central square. But it wasn't just them. Everyone. All ten thousand players were crowded into that square. It was buzzing. Was this some sort of ceremony? A rare quest to commemorate the launch date?<p>

Then a red sign appeared in the sky. Warning. It spread, replicating itself until it filled the sky, each hexagon layer against the next. Warning. System Assessment. Warning. The sky had turned red. And then, to the surprise of everyone, it seemed to bleed. Red fluid seeped out of the cracks between the hexagons, pooling in midair above the crowd. It slowly formed a creature, then, a massive, faceless, red-cloaked wizard seemed to loom above them. The crowd was buzzing. What was this supposed to be?

"Attention players. I welcome you to my world. My name is Akihiko Kayaba. And as of this moment, I am in control of this world. I'm sure most of you have already noticed an item missing from your main menu: The Log Out Button. Let me assure you, this is not a defect in the game. I repeat, this is not a defect. This is how Sword Art Online was designed to be. You cannot log yourself out of SAO, and no one from the outside will be able to shut down or remove the Nervegear from your head. If anyone attempts to do so, a transmitter inside the Nervegear will transmit a microwave signal into your skull, destroying your brain and ending your life."

The figure paused here for a time, allowing the crowd to take in the news of what had just happened to them. Klein and Sinon thought it was impossible, but Kirito assured them that the Nervegear does, in fact, have the ability to be used in such a fashion. Asuna, on her own, just stood there in shock.

"Despite my warnings," Kayaba continued, "the families and friends of some players have attempted removing the Nervegears. An unfortunate decision, to say the least. As a result, the game now has two hundred and thirteen less players than when it began. They've been deleted from both Aincrad and the real world. As you can see, international media outlets have around the clock coverage of everything, including the deaths. At this point, it's safe to assume the likelihood of a Nervegear being removed is minimal at best. I hope this brings you a little comfort as you try to clear the game. It is important that you remember the following. There is no longer any way to revive someone within the game. If you HP drops to zero, your avatar will be deleted from the system forever, and the Nervegear will simultaneously destroy your brain."

The silence that followed was palpable. This was no longer just a game. This was a madman's experiment. People had died. Everyone playing could die. What had started as innocent level grinding earlier in the day was now a matter of life or death. Sloppy play, one slip up at any point, and your game was over. Your life was over.

"There is only one way for a player to escape now. You must clear the game." He explained what that meant, but everyone knew. The point of the game was to finish level one hundred. Now they had no choice. The panic was beginning to grow.

"Now, last but not least, I've placed an item in the inventory of every player. Please, have a look." The crowd began pulling out the mirrors he'd given them. Then the avatars' appearances began to reset. One by one, the character they'd created was replaced with their own true body. The realization took a moment or two, but the crowd was beginning to grasp the idea. This was real now.

"Right now, you're probably wondering why? Why would Akihiko Kayaba, developer of Nervegear and Sword Art Online, do this? Ultimately, my goal was a simple one. The reason I created Sword Art Online was to control the fate of a world of my design. As you can see, I have achieved my goal. This marks the end of the tutorial, and the official launch of Sword Art Online. Players, I wish you the best of luck." With that, the figure finally dissolved, and the crowd erupted into panic.

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><p>In the moment of panic, Kirito didn't have time to think about his sister, or his friends. Klein and Sinon let Kirito drag them away from the main group. Sinon seemed to be taking it the worst.<p>

Her mind wouldn't stop racing. The game had just become real. Life and death. Flashes of a gun burst into her mind. Her shooting a man. Her becoming a murderer. She'd come here to escape that. To become strong. Somewhere, far away, she heard voices. Klein and Kirito were talking. She could barely make it out. It didn't matter. Her body, her mind wouldn't let her move. No guns. No guns. There are no guns here. No people. She only had to delete animals. Creatures. The stress of the moment had cracked her shields, but she was taking back control. She was resolved. She would become strong. This was her crucible, and she refused to crumble. She snapped back into reality in time to see Kirito and Klein looking at her.

Klein repeated what he guessed she'd missed while zoned out. "Kirito's going to the next town. He wants us to go with him. I'm going back for some friends of mine. Can't just leave them like this." He gave her a half hearted grin.

"Sorry," she responded. "I have to go with Kirito. I have to get stronger." The was steel in her voice. Anger. Both of the men were taken aback. Kirito had known her for a couple weeks now, but as he looked in her eyes he saw something behind them. Purpose.

"Yeah, alright. I can't ask a couple of people I just met to risk their lives for total strangers. You guys get out of here. We'll meet up in the next town," Klein responded as he turned to leave. He stopped. "You guys look better like that. Your real faces suit you better. Sinon, that brown hair suits you better than the blue you had earlier."

Sinon had no response, but she did give a weak smile at the compliment. Kirito, however, said, "Yeah, and you look better with that scruffy face of yours." With that, the two groups separated. Sinon and Kirito, forging out into the night tackling this new problem head on, and Klein, returning to the chaos and pandemonium, towards his friends and Asuna, to try to help everyone move forward and stay alive.

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><p><strong>AN: The edit wasn't particularly sweeping, just fixing Kirito and Asuna's introductions into something I can be happy with. Asuna still sees very little screen time, but Klein's introduction ate most of the screen time, and Asuna simply didn't have much to do. Thank you, everyone for reading this. Your input makes it all worthwhile.**


	2. The Month of Slaughter

A/N: I apologize if the previous chapter seemed rough. It will definitely get revised, but I know that if I hadn't put something out there, this whole thing would have never happened.

The chapter after this will have a little more direct quotation from canon, but that should be most of it.

I would like to thank Agent 94 and Patient 0 Zero for their comments, and, Agent 94, for what's it's worth, I agree with you. That will be address in a couple chapters, once I know who these people are. Patient 0 Zero, hopefully that will be cleared up with time, unless the characters fight me on that.

Anyway, without further adieu, Chapter 2, for your reading pleasure.

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><p>In the first two weeks after the announcement of the true nature of the game, thirteen hundred more players would die. The world was suffocating its players, snuffing them out, one by one. Guilds had begun to form. The Aincrad Liberation Force was the first true power to emerge, with several of the game's most charismatic warriors leading the charge. The Town of Beginnings was a safe haven for every player who needed one.<p>

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><p>Asuna had spent the next few days hidden away in the inn. She'd saved up enough before the world fell apart to do at least that much. She couldn't stand going outside anymore. The laughter, the excitement, the joy had all dissipated. Everyone was still in shock. Some people were recovering, however slowly. It felt like only about half of the game's players were willing to brave the wilderness. She certainly wasn't. One wrong move and she'd just be dead. No respawns, no second chances. Any doubt about Kayaba's words had vanished within the first day. Too many people went out to fight, and not all of them came back. Not one of them showed up in the Chamber of Resurrection.<p>

She remembered waking up in Aincrad for the first time. She'd panicked. The stone ceiling, the old fashioned furnishings, none of it belonged in her room. She'd jolted upright, trying to figure out what had happened, where she was. It took her a few moments, but she eventually noticed her own health bar in the top left corner of her vision. It all came flooding back, the boars, the laughter, the chatter, all burst back into her mind. She remembered the announcement, the faceless red figure. She was trapped here. She might die here. She broke down in that moment. She curled up, put her chin on her knees, and cried.

She'd done more than her share of crying those first two days. She didn't know what else to do. She was trapped. They all were. She couldn't get that notion out of her head. She didn't eat that day. When asked later, she couldn't remember what she did. She just knew that those were two of the longest days of her life.

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><p>Kirito and Sinon had moved quickly, doing everything they could stay one step ahead of the other former beta testers they knew might be out here, doing the same thing they were doing. Aincrad was no friend to its players anymore. The moment of admiration they'd shared with Klein the other day was a thing of the past. Now they just saw walls. A prison for their mind.<p>

Kirito lost himself in battle. Each new enemy they came across, he threw himself at. He knew it was dangerous, but he wasn't stupid. He never took on overwhelming odds. Besides, there was no way to get out of here anymore without taking some risks. They could have stayed in the safety of the Town of Beginnings. But there was only so much experience to go around. Only so much money. Now was going to be the easiest time to level up, before other players starting poaching the same creatures. He let his hatred for Akihiko Kayaba drive him to survive, if only to spite Kayaba, for those first few days.

Sinon was grateful she had no attacks while she was in here. It was a game of death now, but not of killing. That let her cope with her new situation. She found it easier day by day. The fighting built her confidence. She knew she could beat these things, even without the comfort of the ability to respawn. Not that she didn't know that before, but just the knowledge that any stray wound could be fatal if she let her guard down had made her question herself. She proved to be more accurate the Kirito, if not as proficient with a sword. She was comfortable with that. Once they reached the next town, she'd be able to acquire better weapons. Ranged weapons.

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><p>On the third day, Asuna forced herself to get up and get out of that room. She needed to eat at least, or her health was going to start deteriorating. She had enough things in this world trying to kill her without adding herself to the list. She dragged herself outside and was surprised to feel the warmth of the sun on her skin. She'd forgotten how real the world felt. She supposed the inn had been comfortable, now that she thought about it, but that was the furthest thing from her mind recently.<p>

She found a cafe, something nice and public, and ordered a couple items nearly at random. She was more preoccupied with the feel of the town than what virtual food she was going to eat. Things had changed. The despair, betrayal, anger, all seemed to have settle in. It all felt a little further from the surface.. Things weren't boiling over the way they had been. She paid for her food and thoughtlessly thanked the NPC who was running the cafe. She took an open seat, a wooden bench tucked against the wall, looking in on the rest of the cafe. She ate slowly, alone with her thoughts.

"Mind if I sit here?" A voice cut into Asuna's thoughts. A brunette lady in green clothes was standing in front of her. Asuna had never seen the lady before, but she seemed nice enough.. Asuna didn't say anything, just waved at the seat. She wasn't going to turn down company any time soon.

"My name's Karin," the brunette player informed her as she sat down. "I don't really know anyone, and you looked like you could use some company. . ." her voice trailed off, slightly embarrassed with herself. She wasn't the best at introductions.

Asuna gave a small smile. Now that she looked, most of the people in the room were here with friends. How had she missed that? "No worries. You're right, anyway. My name's Asuna."

The other girl smiled in relief when she realized that she hadn't messed up. "Asuna? Well, good to meet you, Asuna," she paused for a moment, taking a bite out of her food. Then, having swallowed, asked, "You think we can really do it?"

Asuna looked at her quizzically for a moment. "Do what?"

"Clear all one hundred floors. Do you think it's really possible?"

"Oh, that, sorry. I don't know. I like to think so. I'd hate to be trapped here for the rest of my life." She'd hate even more to die here.

"Yeah. Me too," Karin looked past her for a moment. She snapped back to reality a moment later. "I was supposed to have a history test today. Doesn't seem so important now."

Asuna held back a laugh. "Well, maybe you really should have been studying, instead of gaming."

Karin gave her a horrified look. "Anything is better than school. Anything." She looked dead serious for a moment. The facade quickly cracked, and she was taken by giggles. She was trying to stay positive. Fighting the memories of the friends she might never see again. "At least with this I can take my time on. Those tests'll get you in under an hour."

Asuna found herself laughing at the comment. It wasn't that she found it funny, it was just refreshing that they could try. She hadn't even tried to laugh in days. Still smiling, she confided, "You know, I haven't left the town since the announcement was made."

Karin just gave a nod in response, the giggles gone. "Me neither. I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I want to help, but I don't know if I'm cut out for the frontlines."

"Why's that?" Asuna inquired.

"I. . . I don't know. I just feel like that's not where I need to be. Sure, I can fight, and I'll have to, since those animals really can kill people now, but I'm not spectacular. I'm no good for clearing dungeons. Just not sure what I can do." Karin was looking at her hands, folding them, interlocking her fingers. She was obviously uncomfortable admitting she didn't plan on being a fighter. She looked up after a few moments, having regained her composure. "What about you? You planning on going back to the front?"

It was Asuna's turn to shy away from eye contact. She suddenly found something very interesting on the table in front of her. "I haven't given it any thought. I'm too scared. I just want to live," she honestly wanted to just hide in her room until the game was finished, but she didn't think that would work. "I don't know what to do. I can fight. The boars didn't seem too tough. But I don't know. That was when players were immortal, you know? Just die, lose some items, wake back up and go right back at it. Now. . . We've already lost so many."

Karin put a hand on her new friend's shoulder. There were no light hearted conversations to be had in Aincrad right now. Not if anyone was being honest with themselves. "Hey, that's alright. None of us know what we're doing right now." Karin hadn't checked yet how many people had been lost. She wasn't always sure she wanted to know.

Asuna gave her a half-hearted smile, but there wasn't much substance to it. "I'm sorry to end things on such a downer note, but I need to be going. I need to figure these things out for myself."

The other girl nodded knowingly. "That's fine. Hey, tell you what, meet here again tomorrow, same time?" Karin made a point of checking the time as she asked, knowing she may well forget, given everything that was going on.

Asuna nodded, then excused herself. She made her way back to the inn. The girl had asked a fair question. What did she do now? Did she keep fighting? Now that she thought about it, how much did she have to go back to, anyway? Her mom and dad loved her, sure, but sometimes, sometimes it was just more than she could take. And her brother. . . _her brother_. She'd forgotten. This wasn't even supposed to be her spot in the game. It was his. She'd taken his spot. She smiled, the half-hearted smile that she'd been wearing so much lately. At least she'd found a way to pay him back. She cried herself to sleep for the third night in a row.

* * *

><p>Kirito and Sinon stuck together through the following days. The game's second town was almost empty when they arrived, but people slowly began to trickle in. They quickly found that there were only a few other players who were as successful as them, but the game was already starting to be split off into various guilds. Kirito didn't care to be part of one, not yet. He was going to clear this game. He was going to beat Kayaba. His overwhelming anger had subdued somewhat. He would live, for himself, and for those who were trapped. To do that, he needed to fight. He didn't want to be weighed down, he was doing well enough on his own. Well, he and Sinon. They'd stuck together. They each had their reasons. She was acting reckless, throwing herself into the fray, pushing herself to the edge, trying to get to the next town, and he felt he needed to protect her. She was his friend, after all.<p>

Sinon felt the same way. She needed to be strong. She would be strong. But Kirito was reckless, bordering on crazy sometimes. Luckily for the two of them, they were both good. They'd worn through a few weapons at this point, but they'd accrued more than enough funds to replace their old weapons. He was still using just one sword, no shield, nothing else. She'd managed to pick up throwing darts, for the moment. She'd find better ranged weapons later, but at least now she could play to her strengths.

This was another of their monster hunting days. They'd just finished clearing the last of the beasts in the area. More wildlife animals. Boars, big cats, the like. Nothing particularly magical yet. To her, the fighting was just part of the day. Sometimes she enjoyed it. Sometimes it was wearisome. But it was something, and that was what counted.

"Hey Kirito," she started, finally deciding to ask something that had been bugging her for sometime, "what gives? What's with you and this game?"

Kirito blinked at her, he was sitting on the ground, trying to catch his breath. "What do you mean? This game is trying to kill us."

Sinon sighed. "I figured that out. I mean why are you so fixated on this? Why did you yell Kayaba's name when we started all of this? When we were running, you seemed lost in thought. I'm not sure you even realized you said it out loud."

"Why am I so fixated on Kayaba, then? Aside from him trying to kill us?"

"Yeah. Most of us were angry, or hurt. It seemed personal to you. The anger in your tone was different from mine or Klein's. We were disbelieving. You were certain. And ticked."

Kirito was a bit surprised by the examination. He hadn't thought anyone was paying that much attention to anyone else when Kayaba's avatar had made is announcement. "I guess I did feel like it was personal. I was a fan of his. Had been for a long time. To see someone I looked up to for so long suddenly turn out to be such a monster. . . I don't know. I guess it felt like a betrayal." He noticed the look on her face in response to that last part. "A personal betrayal."

"I guess that makes sense. I hadn't done much research on him apart from the game itself. Sorry, was just trying to put it into place. So why yell at him? You think he could hear you?"

"I don't think so. Even as the GM, I don't see how he could process ten thousand people all the time. No. I was just angry. I couldn't think about anything but beating him. Escaping this reality and keeping myself alive. I had to get out. I had to keep moving forward."

"Does it ever bother you that we left all those people behind?"

Kirito paused here, looking at his feet, betraying his response. "We need people on the front line, fighting. This game needs to be cleared. At least, that's what I keep telling myself. But everytime I'm around people I keep hearing about the body count going up. The game is emptying way too quickly. I feel guilty sometimes, yeah, but I'm not sure I could have done anything else."

Kirito looked around again. He could lose himself in the heat of battle. He didn't have to think. He could just act. Maybe that was how he got past it. He knew that, as one of the beta testers, more would be expected of him. People acted like they should just do everything, could fix everything. The testers were human too.

"What about you, Sinon? You started talking about becoming strong that night. What was that about?" he inquired, feeling that it was only fair that he was allowed his own questions.

"The game is trying to kill us, Kirito. Strength is kinda important."

It was his turn to sigh in response. "There was more to it in your voice. There was steel in it. I thought you said you panicked."

Her face just fell slightly. She thought for a moment. "I do feel guilty for those people behind. But I'm not sure what we could do for them. Kayaba betrayed us all. They idolized us yesterday, we were so lucky, remember? They kept saying that. Now, they're entitled to our everything. I want to help, but there's no way we can do enough." Her voice turned bitter for a moment, "Sometimes, you can give everything to help someone. Make any sacrifice. They'll still throw it back in your face."

Kirito decided it was better not to push his luck. He turned his attention back to the horizon. These were long days ahead. He'd find out in time. For now, they were alive, and they weren't alone. That was good enough.

* * *

><p>Asuna and Karin made a habit of meeting up for the next few days. They talked about anything. They talked about nothing. Sometimes they just tried to enjoy the scenery, to remember the time when this whole thing was just a game for everyone. The reality had set in now. They were imprisoned here.<p>

Karin had returned to clearing the floor. Asuna still wasn't ready for that. Things were getting easier but. . . names just kept creeping off the list, the monument where the Chamber of Resurrection should have been placed. Every name of every player. Crossed out one at a time. Asuna had only gone in there once. It had been more than enough for her.

It had been a week and a half now, and around nine hundred people had died. The streets seemed quieter, though Asuna knew that might just be the dwindling number of people who stayed behind. Asuna still couldn't bring herself to leave her room except to eat. She was running out of funds, but by now some of the shops were being taken over by players characters. She was sure she could find better prices with them sometime soon.

She and Karin were walking along the edge of Aincrad, admiring the view, when Karin began talking. "It feels hopeless out there, you know? Every day, every time I'm out there, I watch someone new die. I don't know them. I've usually never met them before. But I keep feeling like I couldn't do enough. Like I should be stronger." Karin had been voicing these feelings for a few days now. The front really seemed to be getting to her.

"You can't blame yourself. Everyone out there is responsible for their own safety, right? It's not like you can do anything that everyone else can't," Asuna found herself in the awkward position of playing depressed counselor. At least she'd gotten used to it. And at least it made her feel useful.

Karin's face shifted a little, she looked more distant all of a sudden. "I wish I could say that were true," she began, registering the confused look on Asuna's face, "but I've been here for months longer than anyone else. I remember when the open sky was beautiful. When this game was a means of escape."

It dawned on Asuna what she was talking about. No one used the word anymore. It had become the game's own internal racial slur. Her eyes widened as she asked, "Are, are you a. . . a. . ." she couldn't bring herself to say it. The word had turned ugly. Beta testers were blamed for anything and everything that went wrong in this world.

"Yes, I'm a beta tester," Karin finished, almost spitting the word. It had become a burden, a curse. "That's why I'm out there fighting. I let hundreds of people die while I panicked. I let people who didn't know how to play fight in my place. We've lost eight hundred and fifty three people. And I can't tell you the name of one of them," she started walking towards the edge.

Asuna reached out to grab her, to pull her back, but Karin shrugged her off. "Is that why you reached out to me?" Asuna asked, unsure of how she felt about either answer.

"No. Yes. A little of both," Karin had turned, her back now to the golden abyss. "You looked like you needed a friend. I know I did. I still do. Wouldn't have lasted as long as I did without you. But just as I felt it was my duty to try and help you here, it's been my duty to fight on the battlefield. And I didn't. I abandoned everyone. I can't make up for that. When I dream, I see the blood on my hands."

"You're human, Karin. You can only do so much," Asuna tried to calm her friend.

"I could have told people. I could have stood at the gates and made sure people didn't run off on their own. I could have done more." Her voice was starting to break. "I could have done more."

"You've done every-"

"Don't tell me that!" Karin's voice broke. "Don't tell me that. You don't have to live with the mocking. I hear them, everyday. Everyday someone remembers the beta testers. Remembers the things we didn't do. Most of us ran off on their own to start fighting. Maybe to help clear the stages, maybe to get stronger, keep themselves alive. I didn't have the strength to do both. I can never do enough. I hear them in my dreams. I feel their eyes boring into me. I can't do it, Asu. I can't survive this game. I deserve this." Her voice was broken, but there was conviction behind it now.

"You deserve to live, Karin. You've done everything you can to help people. You're out there fighting every day, aren't you?"

Karin laughed, a dry, mirthless laugh. "I'm out there. But half of the time I can't even bring myself to fight on the front lines. I let others die in front of me. How sick is that? I just cower and let them die. I don't deserve to go on."

"Yes you-"

"No. I _don't_." She yelled the last word. "I don't. I can't take it anymore. Just promise me one thing, Asuna. Promise me you can be stronger than me. Promise me you won't let this game beat you."

Asuna tried to step forward but Karin shook her head. "Why did you bring me out here? Why are you telling me this?"

Karin was crying now. "Because I don't want to be forgotten. I wanted someone to know. I wanted to scream it to the world, but they don't care. You're the closest friend I have in Aincrad. Maybe my only friend. More than I deserve. Don't let this game beat you. Promise me that."

Asuna tried to speak, but a lump stuck in her throat. She could only nod as tears started to form in her eyes. Karin stepped backward into nothing. Asuna couldn't bear to watch. She cried herself to sleep again that night.

* * *

><p>Asuna kept her promise. That was the last night she cried herself to sleep for a long time. She'd promised her friend not to let this game beat her. She left the inn the next day changed. she wasn't the scared little girl she'd been days before. She purchased a cloak as she headed towards the plains. She wasn't here to socialize anymore. She was here to help clear this game. To fight on the front lines. If she died, fine. But she wouldn't do it cowering in her room. She was going to keep on living, whatever that meant in this world.<p>

She had purpose in her eyes and her stride as she came across the roaming boars. She remembered the speed she felt the day she started the game. Back when this had been a matter of fun, not survival. She focused, poured herself into the moment, and dashed forward. The boar charged back, squealing its battle cry. She speared it with her blade, right through the eye, and sidestepped it, continuing on her way, not bothering to look at it as it dissolved into shards. Two more stood in her way. Her blade seemed to be too quick for them. They'd both been gouged repeatedly before they could hit her. Again, she twirled around them and ran, her cloak flowing in the wind.

A/N: I think I've found my version of Asuna, though the release of Mother's Rosario in the anime may change that. As for this chapter, I felt that there had to be something to cause the whole cape thing in episode two, and just that in a month, something interesting had to have happened.


	3. The Hall of the King

A/N: This should be one of the last egregious bits of quotation from the anime itself for a while, at least until Silica and Lisbeth show up, and that's only a maybe. Again, I would like to thank all of you who took the time to read this so far.

I would like to once again thank those who have reviewed so far, and I appreciate the feedback. The world building specifically will simply occur more naturally as the story goes.

Also, since this version of the story will progress more slowly, fewer, shorter time skips, there will be OCs, both minor and major, to fill the necessary gaps. The first showed up in the last chapter, and we will see more starting next chapter.

* * *

><p>It had been one month since the launch of Sword Art Online. The game's player base had already dwindled by two thousand. One of every five players who logged in would never log out. The first floor had still yet to be cleared, despite the more rapid success of the beta testers of the same period. The boss room had not yet even been located until a couple of days ago, and the players who had decided to go forward and clear the dungeon had gathered for the strategy meeting. There was a general sense of relief as many felt that forward progress was finally being made.<p>

* * *

><p>Kirito and Sinon were seated in one of the upper rows of the amphitheater, looking down at the assembled crowd and the blue haired man in the middle. A few more players were still showing up for the meeting. On the same row, a few yards away, Asuna sat patiently, hands folded in her lap, her face mostly obscured by the hood of her cloak. She'd kept herself distant from people since Karin had passed.<p>

The blue haired man standing in the center, likely the man who had called the meeting, finally began talking. "Okay, people. Now that everyone's here, let's get this meeting started," he began. "So anyway, I want to thank you all for coming. Good to see you. My name is Diabel, and in this game, the job I rolled is knight." This was met with some sniggering at his enthusiasm about his role in a game that had no real job system. He quieted the crowd before turning completely serious. "Right, anyway, here's the deal. Our party found the boss room at the top of the tower today." That got everyone's attention.

Diabel continued, talking over the murmuring this last statement caused. "First, we need to defeat the boss and make it to floor two. The next step is we have to tell everyone waiting in the Town of Beginnings that it is possible to beat this game. Fact is, it's our duty as the most capable players here. Do you agree, or not?" The crowd took a moment to soak this in, before nodding agreement. A few of the players even began to clap for him. "Okay, glad that you're all with me on this. Now, let's figure out how we're going to beat the boss. First off, we'll team up into parties of six." Diabel continued talking, but Sinon and Kirito weren't listening at that point.

All of the players broke off into groups almost immediately, leaving Sinon and Kirito out. They looked frantically around and noticed a hooded player sitting on their left. The two slid over towards the player, stopping next to her. Kirito spoke to the player first. "You got left out too, huh?"

She responded flatly, "Not even. It wasn't like that. Everyone just seems like they're already friends." Asuna didn't bother looking at him.

Sinon spoke up now, "So you play alone, too?"

Asuna looked at Kirito first, then Asuna. "You two don't look like solo players."

Sinon shook her head. "We stick together, but we keep away from most others. What about it, want to join our party?"

When Asuna hesitated, Kirito spoke up. "You heard what the guy just said, we can't beat the boss on our own, and it would only be for this fight." Asuna nodded, and readily accepted the invitation when Kirito sent it.

A few moments later, Diabel was ready to speak again. "Alright! It looks like everyone's teamed up. Now then-"

"Hold up a sec!" A voice boomed from the back of the theater. Everyone turned to look as a man with spiky orange hair jumped down from the top row, rapidly making his way to where Diabel was standing. "My name's Kibaou," he identified himself, "got that? Before we take on the boss, I wanna get something off my chest. We all know about the two thousand people who died so far, yeah? Well some of you need to apologize to 'em right now!" He pointed at the stands as he said this last.

Kirito and Sinon both had to look away, knowing what was coming next. They felt it themselves, from time to time. Neither of them noticed the clenching of Asuna's hands as the comments were being made. She'd grown to hate this attitude in the two weeks since Karin died.

"Kibaou," Diabel began, trying to pacify the situation, "I think I know who you're referring to. You mean the ones who are ex-beta testers, right?"

"Of course I mean them! The day this stupid game started, the beta guys just up and vanished, right? They ditched all us beginners! They snagged all the good hunting spots, and they grabbed all the easy quests, too. They were the only ones getting stronger in here. This whole time, they've ignored us like we're nothing. I bet there's even some of them here!" He clenched his fist and looked as though he wanted to fight someone, anyone in the crowd.

"Come on out, beta testers. We should make them apologize to us. And we should make them all give up their money and the items they've got. They can't expect the party to trust them when they don't trust us. Why should we?"

Kirito felt the sting of the words. Kibaou was right, after all. He had abandoned them to fend for themselves. He hadn't given any thought to helping anyone except for Sinon and Klein. At least Klein had had the guts to go back for his friends. Sinon wasn't doing much better, her thoughts mirroring Kirito's. Asuna, on the other hand, could only remember the first friend she'd had in SAO. In light of her, it was hard to stomach this treatment of beta testers. In her eyes, Kibaou just wanted the easy way out. She wasn't even sure he believe what he was saying. He seemed more like he just wanted someone to blame.

"Can I say something?" A smooth, deep voice came from the crowd. Everyone looked towards it as a giant black man stood, an axe strapped to his back. Kibaou's aggression seemed to evaporate as he saw the man. The new speaker strode up to the stadium and introduced himself. "Hey, my name's Agil. Kibaou, right? I want to make sure I'm on the same page. You say the ex-beta testers should be blamed for the rookies' deaths because they didn't help them, and you want them to apologize and give up their winnings. I leave anything out?"

Kibaou had backed away, visibly afraid of Agil. Looking up at the man, he replied, "No. You didn't." Some of his aggression was coming back now.

Agil reached into his pocket and produced a book. "The item store handed these out for free. It's a guide book. You got one, didn't you?"

"Sure I got one, so what about it?" Kibaou turned defensive.

"You know who was handing these out? The ex-beta testers." Agil seemed to get the crowd's attention with that. The crowd started murmuring, and Kibaou sensed he was losing them. Agil turned his back on Kibaou to face the crowd. "Listen up. Everyone had equal access to this information. Even so, lots of players still died. I didn't come here to point fingers at anyone. I'm here because I want to learn from those players' deaths. I'm here because I want to find out how we're going to beat the boss." Agil turned to look at Kibaou, who simply huffed and walked away, throwing himself down onto the front row. Agil returned to his seat, giving Diabel the floor. Asuna, Kirito, and Sinon all relaxed.

"Okay, can we get back to the meeting now?" Diabel asked. When no one said anything, he continued, "For info on the boss, it's all in here," he was holding up his guide book, "the latest issue of the guide book you just heard about. According to the book, the boss's name is Illfang, the Kobold Lord. Also, he'll be surrounded by his minions, the Ruin Kobold Sentinels. Illfang carries an axe and a buckler. He has four health bars, and when the last one turns red, he switches to a curved sword type weapon called a talwar. He can change his patterns of attack, too." He closed the book as the crowd once again moved to talking amongst itself. "That's it for the briefing. As for the distribution of loot, money will be divided equally among everyone. The party that defeats the boss gets the XP. And whoever gets an item gets to keep it. Any objections?" Again, he let the silence speak for itself. "Good, we leave tomorrow at ten in the morning. Meeting adjourned, people."

Sinon and Kirito sat there for a moment, taking in what just happened. Kirito, at least, had been avoiding the topic where he could. Yes, they discussed it, but it hurt a lot more to actually be accused of it. Sinon stood, her eyes roving the crowd, carefully observing Kibaou, Diabel, and Agil. Kibaou and Diabel seemed to make up rather quickly, but she had a sneaking suspicion that this was only the beginning where Kibaou was concerned. At least Agil seemed willing to give them some benefit of the doubt. Asuna simply stood and walked off without a word. Kirito was too surprised to say anything to the girl.

"You think they're really ready for this?" Sinon asked her partner, her eyes never moving from the crowd.

Kirito sighed, "So long as they keep fighting the monsters, not each other, we should be fine."

* * *

><p>There was a party in the town square that night, with most of the raiders in attendance. One last last bit of festivity before they all went out to face death tomorrow. Diabel and Kibaou could be found drinking with the other members of their party. Sinon and Kirito kept to the fringes of gathering, preferring to remain outsiders. Sinon noted that at least Agil was not present.<p>

"I'm going to do some last minute shopping," Sinon announced. "You need anything for tomorrow?"

"No, I'm fine. Food, I guess, but nothing unusual," he responded.

"Alright. I'll message you when I'm done. If you want to go out and train, let me know. Otherwise, I'm going to turn in for the night," She started to walk away, but then paused, remembering something. "Hey, Kirito, why don't you check in on our new party member? It might help to know her a little bit more before tomorrow."

He nodded in response, having already come to the same conclusion. He was used to Sinon wandering off to go shopping. He sometimes wondered if that's all she did, but that wasn't really his business one way or the other. He spent some time scanning the crowd, trying to find their new compatriot. He heard Sinon clear her throat, having not left quite yet. He looked at her, confused, until he saw her pointing off into the distance. Kirito followed where she was pointing and quickly found Asuna. He heard Sinon laughing as she walked away. Those eyes of hers could really get annoying sometimes.

Kirito walked over to where Asuna was sitting on the edge of a brick planter, trying to take a bit out of what looked to be a particularly flavorless roll. She didn't seem to notice him, so he spoke up when he got close enough. "Those are pretty good, aren't they?"

Asuna looked over at him, surprised. Once she realized who he was, remembering he was one of the two people she'd partied up with earlier that day, her expression changed to bewilderment at his apparent lack of ability to taste.

Kirito couldn't see her eyes, but she seemed to recognize him easily enough. "Mind if I sit down?" She didn't respond, so he did just that, taking a seat next to her. She slid away, and he assumed he'd sat down too close to her. Given how she carried herself, he didn't take it personally. He pulled a roll of his own out of storage and took a bite out it.

Asuna finally decided to speak, turning slightly towards him, "Where's your friend?"

"She's out shopping, picking up items for the raid tomorrow," Kirito responded.

Asuna returned to what he'd first said. "You really think these taste good?" She found her question to come out more monotone than incredulous, which might have been for the best.

Kirito looked her in the eyes, or, at least, where her eyes would have been visible if not for the hood she wore. How did she see with that thing on? When he finished chewing, he responded, "Uh huh. Since I came to this town I end up eating at least one a day. 'Course, I got a trick to make it taste better." As he said this, he reached into his storage and produced a small jar.

"What trick?" Asuna asked, her voice still nearly void of emotion.

Kirito put the jar down between the two of them and suggested, "Try it with some of that."

Asuna tapped the top of the jar and an aura surrounded her finger, showing that whatever it was ready for use. She ran her finger along the top of her roll, and butter spread over. "Butter?" It was Kirito's turn not to respond. He used up the rest of the butter, the jar shattering in a manner that both of them had become used to in the past month, and loudly took a bite from his roll. Asuna looked at her food for a moment, still surprised by the generosity, before taking a noisy bite of her own.

Kirito stopped eating for a moment to observe her. He couldn't figure her out. Before he had time to ask anything, she wolfed down the rest of roll, one bite after another, before letting out a sigh when she'd finished eating. Kirito could only blink in response. "I got it from 'The Heifer Strikes Back'. That's the quest from the village before you get to this one. You want to know how I did it?"

Asuna shook her head. "I appreciate the offer, but I didn't come to this town to eat good food." She was looking at her hands again.

It was encouraging that she was finally talking, and now Kirito was genuinely interested. "Okay, why are you here?"

"So I don't lose sight of who I am. I don't want to lock myself into a room in the town of beginnings and slowly rot away. I'd rather stay the way I am until the last moment." She clasped her hands, "Even if a monster beats me and I die, I won't lose to this game or this world. No matter what."

Kirito tossed another chunk of roll into his mouth before responding. "I wouldn't want a party member dying on me, so try not to die tomorrow."

* * *

><p>The raiding party met up in the forest the next morning. Kirito and Sinon had met up outside of the inn they'd both been staying at and exchanged money and supplies, Kirito reimbursing her for her expenses the previous night, before heading to the rendezvous point. Asuna just spent the morning making sure her equipment was ready. They were all ready to move on. This stage, beautiful though it may have once been, had become something to be looked beyond. They were finally able to move on, as well.<p>

The swordsmen were all wary of what was to come. This was their first boss battle. There was an air of nervous excitement mixed with grim determination that filled the air. Kirito, Asuna, and Sinon were in the back of the pack, being the smallest party, the only one smaller than six people, they were ostensibly being kept there for their own safety.

"Alright, let's go over it again, we're the back up, so our target's going to be the boss's minions, the Ruin Kobold Sentinels," Kirito was saying, going through their jobs one last time.

"I know," Asuna replied, in the same monotone she'd used when first speaking to him.

"I'll use a sword skill to knock their weapons out of the way. When I do, switch and jump in," Kirito continued.

"What's a switch?" Asuna asked, genuinely unsure.

Sinon and Kirito's eyes widened a bit. "Okay, level with me, is this the first time you've ever been in a party?" When Asuna nodded in the affirmative, Kirito stopped in his tracks, leaving Sinon to drag him along to keep the party from leaving them behind.

Sinon continued where Kirito had left off, since he seemed incapable of speech at the moment. "A switch is where you and a party member change places. If they're fighting and having a hard time, it's your job to jump in there and save them. Or, in this case, to take advantage of openings they make for you, that make sense?"

Asuna looked at the girl, this being the first time the brunette had spoken to her. "Yeah, I guess so. So what are you going to do?"

Sinon smirked, holding up some of her throwing needles. "I'm good at hitting eyes and joints from a distance." Kirito was starting to recover, so she let go of his collar and let him move under his own power. "I can switch in if you two need me to, though, no worries."

* * *

><p>They were finally here. They'd marched for most the day, but now they'd reached the inner sanctum of the tower. A pair of double doors was all that stood between them and Illfang. Diabel stood in front of the door and planted his sword in the ground. Sinon, Asuna, and Kirito stood in one corner, still keeping themselves apart from the group, as they'd done for most of the day. Sinon could see the nerves across the room. A lot of the players were already sweating. They'd had to fight their way up here, but they'd taken time to heal. They were all a little afraid of what was to come.<p>

"Listen up everyone, I've only got one thing to say to you. Let's win!" Diabel encouraged them as he turned to open the door. It only helped break a little of the tension. "Come on!" Diabel ordered, as the pushed on the doors.

The doors swung openly slowly, on their own, after his initial push. It was a large, darkened throne room, with pillars regularly lining the walls. At the far end sat a massive, fat kobold. He was several times larger than any of the players. He seemed to have been sleeping when the door opened, as his eyes suddenly glowed red as he lifted himself from his chair. Diabel and the point squad were the first inside. Once they'd gone ten or so yards into the room, everything changed. The walls seemed to light up and what had once been stone was replaced with a swirling rainbow of color. Illfang and landed about half of the throne room ahead of Diabel and his party, roaring in anger. Anyone who had been distracted by the lights was refocused now. His four sentinels spawned next to him, three armored, helmed kobold wielding maces larger than their heads. The lord himself wore only a loincloth, shin guards, bracers, and a helmet. While the sentinels' faces were covered, Illfang's face was exposed, his red eyes glowing with hatred. He bore a shield and an enormous axe, carrying one in each hand. With wicked purpose in their movements, the four monsters charged at the raiding party.

Diabel drew his sword and pointed it at the beasts, "Commence attack!" With that, the battle was joined. Several of the player parties charged forward at Illfang and his soldiers. Kibaou was the first to make contact, crossing blades with one of the sentinels before being pushed back, another of their comrades engaging the thing. Diabel was barking orders, moving the groups around, doing his best to keep freshly healed waves of players going after the boss. There were no casualties immediately, for either side. He looked directly at Kirito as he gave orders to the support keep the minions away from the main parties.

"Yeah, you got it," Kirito responded, charging at the Sentinels. One of the sentinels jumped at him, attempting to bring its mace down on his head. He sent it sprawling backwards with his counterstrike, catching its mace with his blade. "Switch!" Even as he shouted it, Asuna was already charging past him.

"I'm on it!" she acknowledged, rapier at the ready. She stabbed the sentinel repeatedly, her blade continuously green as she chained sword skill into sword skill. Kirito found himself unable to properly follow her attacks. The Sentinel staggered backwards, at least three wounds showing, and fractured into pieces.

Another sentinel leaped at Kirito from behind him, and Sinon put a needle in its back on the way down, redirecting it fall next to Kirito. "Pay attention!" She drew her blade as she yelled at him, charging after the thing. She didn't get there before Kirito killed the kobold, running it through while it was still laying there on the ground.

Illfang roared, and the whole fight seemed to stop. Everyone stole a look at the monster as he flung his equipment aside. His health was down to the last quarter of the bar. He stood there for a moment, towering over the players.

"Stand back, I've got it!" Diabel shouted, sprinting across the room to stand across from Illfang. It was the first time in the fight he'd engaged any of the enemies. This stole Kirito's attention away from the fight. The group was supposed to surround Illfang when he was weak, to finish him off the same way they'd fought him the whole time. He heard the whiz of a needle flying past his ear as Sinon hit a Kobold Sentinel that was charging at him. It dropped its mace and reached for its face, apparently having been hit in the eye. Asuna stabbed it from behind and stopped next to Kirito.

Diabel charged at Illfang as the king drew his weapon, a long, straight blade. Panic bells went off in Kirito's head. A talwar was a curved sword. It wasn't a talwar at all, but a nodachi. Their information had been wrong. The fight had been changed from the beta. "Wait, it's no good! Get out of there!" he tried shouting at Diabel, but it was too late. Illfang, showing tremendous athleticism for his size, jumped up and began bouncing from pillar to pillar. Diabel tracked him for the first few jumps, but couldn't keep track. Illfang landed behind Diabel, who turned to face him just as the red beast's nodachi carved down across him, leaving a deep gash and sending Diabel flying backwards. The beast dashed past Diabel before he could hit the ground, and with a second attack redirected him again, the man landing near the far wall.

Kibaou and the rest of the lead squad tried to rush to Diabel's aid, but Illfang was already on top of them, and suddenly they were once more in a fight for their lives. Kirito rushed over to the fallen warrior, producing a healing potion as he slid over to the man. He took the man in his arms, trying to give him the potion. "What were you thinking?"

Diabel pushed the potion away, looking Kirito in the eye. "You know. You were a beta tester too, right?" His words were ragged.

Kirito gasped as the realization hit him. "You were after the last attack bonus, the rare item. You're just like me, a beta tester.

Diabel grimaced in pain, then gave a weak smile. His words came haltingly. "Please. . . you have to. . . defeat the boss." He was beginning to disintegrate as spoke. "For everyone here." Then he shattered, and Kirito found himself holding air. He looked in shock at the fragments that were floating in the air where the man used to be. The other players could only stare. Illfang took this opportunity to try and slay two of the front line players, but Sinon emptied her supply of needles into the creature's wrist and knee. He staggered for a moment, scrapping them all off, but it gave the group the reprieve they needed. They other players collected themselves as Illfang roared in anger.

Kirito stood, turning to face the monster. He tightened his grip on his sword as he readied himself. Asuna seemed to appear next to him. "I'll go too," she informed him.

Kirito looked over at Sinon. She shrugged at him, showing him an empty pouch. "I've seen you two in action. I'm there if I'm needed." She drew her own blade, but stayed back.

Kirito nodded, then looked back at Asuna. "Okay." They took a moment, steeling themselves, then charged headlong at Illfang. "We'll hit him just like we did the minions," he told her. She agreed readily. Illfang swatted away a couple of players, finally taking note of the attacking pair. The monster readied its own skill. Kirito yelled as he and Illfang crossed blades, Kirito sliding backwards from the impact, but managing to send Illfang's Nodachi up above his head. "Switch!"

Asuna dashed past him, but Illfang recovered more rapidly than they had predicted. She barely heard Kirito call her name as she narrowly ducked Illfang's blow, her cloak getting shredded off her back. She yelled as she stabbed the creature in its side, sending the creature sprawling. She didn't notice the reactions that her appearance elicited.

Kirito was stunned by the sudden fierce beauty of her. The cloak had made her seem so timid, but now, watching her dance around Illfang, orange-red hair flowing around her, finally settling down to her knees, the determination in her eyes, he found himself unable to look away. He recovered after a few moments, remembering the creature that was bearing down on them. "He's coming back!" Kirito picked himself up off the ground and charged the kobold king, again catching the thing's sword with his own. Asuna slid in before Illfang could regain his balance, gouging him several times in the side with her rapier. Illfang tried to bring his nodachi down on her, but Kirito switched back in, still playing defense. Kirito and the monster dueled, rapidly exchanging blows. Parry, swing, parry, swing. On the third iteration, the kobold faked a strike, swing his sword out of the way as Kirito went to deflect his strike and slashed at Kirito throwing him back into Asuna, knocking them both to the ground. Kirito's sword had gone flying from his hand as he was hit, and as Asuna climbed over Kirito, she saw that his health was half gone.

Not moments later, the massive being was looming over them, his nodachi poised to cleave through both of them. As he brought it down with killing intent, Asuna heard a woman yelling and Sinon was suddenly standing behind them, her blade catching Illfang's. An axe caught Illfang across the chest as Agil came in to protect the fighters. Sinon didn't say anything, just followed after Illfang, swinging after the knee she'd hit earlier, not giving him any time to recover. The other players came charging in, and she slipped away just in time to avoid Illfang's sword cracking the tile where she used to be. She melded into the crowd, holding off Illfang but not showing the same deftness with her sword as her two party members. "We can hold this thing off until your health's back up," Agil informed the two, before charging in himself.

Agil and four other players had Illfang pinned, but with a mighty roar, he flung the group away and readied to jump. Knowing she had to do something to keep people from dying, Sinon jumped in and buried her sword into the thing's knee. She was batted away immediately, and her health dropped precipitously, but the blade embedded itself deep in its flesh. "Asuna, Kirito, finish him now!" Illfang was already reaching to pluck the thing out, and she had a suspicion that the injury wouldn't slow him down as long as it should.

Kirito had downed a healing potion and picked up his sword by this point. He was already charging at the beast. "You got it! Come on Asuna, help me beat this sucker. One last attack!"

Asuna caught up immediately and matched him step for step. "You got it!" The both ran low to the ground, swords pointed at Illfang. He'd pulled out Sinon's sword and tossed it aside, and was now poised, looking to finish off the two pests that had hit him earlier. He brought his sword down at Kirito, who again blocked for Asuna. She ran around Kirito, stabbing the beast in the chest. The monster reeled, and Kirito took this opportunity to dash around Asuna, bringing his blade down across Illfang from shoulder to hip. The monster continued to stagger, and Kirito finished the thing, gashing it from the same hip up through its head. The thing was lifted by the momentum, seeming to float suspended in the air, and finally died, shattering into millions of shining pieces. As the word "Congratulations!", celebrations broke out across the group. The room went dark in the wake of its master's defeat.

Sinon picked up her sword and walked over to where Kirito was still kneeling, catching his breath. Asuna walked over to join them. "Nice job out there," Sinon said to the two of them. She was sad she couldn't have done more in close quarters than she did, but with the two of them fighting, it didn't seem like anyone else in the room really mattered.

Kirito glanced up when he heard Sinon's comment. "Thanks. You didn't do too bad yourself." Glancing around, he noticed Asuna standing next to him. "You were pretty good."

"Thanks. You too," was her only response. Something was bugging her, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what. It had to do with something that happened in the battle itself.

Agil followed her over, and complimented the both of them. "That was some fine swordsmanship. Congratulations, today's victory is all thanks to you guys."

Kirito's face scrunched up as he looked down, "No. . ." he began, but the crowd began cheering over him. Kirito was speechless.

Then came a shout over all the commotion. "Stop cheering!" It was Kibaou. Sinon steeled herself. She knew this couldn't be good. Kirito and Asuna had similar thoughts. "Why'd you do it, huh? Why'd you let Diabel die?" Kibaou was crying.

"Let him die?" Kirito asked, confused.

"That's what I said. Admit it, you knew the technique the boss was gonna use. You could have told us! Then Diabel would have stood a chance. He wouldn't have had to die!"

Another member of the crowd spoke up. "I know why he knew! He used to be a beta tester! He knew all the boss's attack patterns! He knew, but he kept it from us!" The player paused for a moment before throwing fuel on the fire. "And I bet he's not the only beta tester here. Come on! Show yourselves!" The crowd began looking around. Everyone seemed to suspect everyone else.

Agil stepped forward, trying to be the voice of reason once again, "Hey, calm down."

Kirito's mind was racing. He had to figure out a solution to all of this. Diabel had died to protect these people, and he wasn't going to throw away the sacrifice he'd made. It couldn't come out that Diabel was a beta tester, not here, not like this. He had to find a way to stop this here.

Sinon didn't let him, though. "So what if we are beta testers? You think Kayaba didn't change the game at all since then? Why do you think it took us a month to find this place? You think we like yanking you guys around? We're just as in the dark as you are!"

Kibaou glared at them. "You expect me to believe that? You expect any of us to believe that?"

Agil stood between the two of them, "They just might be telling the truth. What makes you think they're not?"

"You all heard him call out to Diabel when that thing switched weapons. He knew what the boss was going to do and he didn't say anything! If he had, Diabel would still be alive."

Sinon was the one doing the talking now. Kirito still hadn't stood up. The crowd was starting to turn against them. "Anyone could tell that that second weapon wasn't a Talwar. That doesn't mean we knew before the fight." She paused for a moment. Someone should have noticed earlier, though. She had to admit that. She was supposed to be the eyes of the party. "This is hard on everyone."

"You're lying!" One person shouted. "You knew!" came another voice. "You're not just beta testers, you're cheaters! You're beaters!" The crowd picked up that last one as a chant. Agil kept himself between the mob and the suspected beaters.

"You guys may want to get out of here now," he said to them. "Give it some time, let people cool down, and things should be fine, but you probably want to vanish for now."

Kirito and Sinon nodded, starting for the door. Asuna followed after them. Kirito and Sinon looked at her. "You don't have to follow us. We agreed it was just for this fight."

"I don't believe them." She stated flatly.

Kirito blinked. "What makes you say that?"

"I don't believe that all beta testers are the monster they make them out as. If this is what most people are like, I don't want to be a part of that. I'd rather be with you guys." She paused for a moment. "Besides, we make a great team."

Sinon and Kirito considered this for a moment. It was Sinon who spoke next. "You know you can't go back on this, right? If you come with us, they're not going to think there's any difference between us. You okay with that?"

Asuna nodded. "I know the risks. I trust you guys."

Together, they stood at the foot of the door to floor three. The stone swung apart of them, and they stepped into the blackness. Only ninety-nine floors to go.


	4. Snowy Peaks

**A/N:** Sorry for the delay on this chapter. Long story short, sickness in the family, holidays, and finals, call conspired to eat away what time I had to work on this. That, combined with needing to find time to rewatch some of SAO and GGO, led to a two week hiatus. Things should be smoother starting in January. All that aside, this chapter was surprisingly tough to figure out in addition to all those factors. Thank you for your patience.

Once again, I would like to thank everyone who left constructive reviews to help with this story.

* * *

><p><strong>December 4, 2022<strong>

**2nd Floor**

**Survivors: 7,786**

Kirito, Asuna, and Sinon emerged on the other side only to be greeted by snow. They'd stepped out of a cave and into a crater, a hollowed out chunk of mountain. The city sprawled out before them, protrusions of brick and stone, shrouded by the falling snow. Sinon in particular could make out the walls that stretched up around the city itself. No doubt there were gates of some sort that would let them out into the rest of this area. She couldn't make out much of the specifics of the buildings. The sun was starting to set now, so they'd been in the labyrinth for the better part of the day. The three of them stood there, soaking it all in, and staying somewhat out of the cold for as long as they could.

"I don't remember it snowing last time," Kirito spoke first.

"It was August last time, towards the end of summer. It's December now," Sinon reminded him.

"Yeah, right, sorry. I'd kinda lost track," Kirito replied. He wasn't sure where she'd found time to pay attention to the day. They'd all blurred together for him.

"Hey, there's something that's been bothering me," Asuna spoke up. "You two keep calling me by my name. How do you know it?" She finally had put her finger on what was bothering her. She still didn't know their names, but they kept calling her Asuna. She hadn't had a chance to ask since they'd left the rest of the players behind.

Kirito just looked at her. She figured this was like her 'what's a switch' question earlier. Sinon, again, was slightly more composed. "Look about right here, beneath your own health bar," she said, pointing into the air near her own head.

Asuna squinted, looking where she was directed. "Ki-ri-to. . . Si-non. . . So those are your names?" When the two nodded, Asuna could only laugh at herself. "They were right there all along. I can be so dumb sometimes."

Sinon smiled, "Don't worry. We've both been playing this game a lot longer than you have."

Kirito nodded. Still, it was hard to reconcile the fighter who'd helped him slay Illfang with the player who didn't even notice her own heads up display. He opened his menu, selecting the _Coat of Midnight_ that Illfang had dropped, having almost forgotten it in the events that followed, and equipped it. The long, black coat simply appeared on him, polygons forming together in a manner the opposite of the fracturing items went through when their durability was up.

"Show off," Sinon accused him, the girls having turned their attention back to him.

"Hey, it's cold out there," was his only retort.

The girls didn't have much of a comeback. None of them had planned on snow when they'd left the labyrinth. It had been a beautiful day back on floor one. "We can't stay here too much longer. The others will be coming through soon." The girls nodded, and the three of them lingered there for a moment longer, bracing themselves for the cold. Then they took off running down the hill, the inn seeming forever away.

* * *

><p>The three of them were huddled around the fire, sitting in Asuna''s room. It had been the one they'd come to first. The cold had seeped into their bones, the group having spent so long in the summer of floor one. Kirito was a little warmer than the others, his new coat providing him some protection. He'd get them something to help against the elements tomorrow. Tonight was not the time to be showing his face. Kibaou's party was probably only just now settling in. In a couple of days, things will have died down some, and they'd have to worry a little less about public hate for beta testers. For now, they had the refuge of the inn.<p>

Sinon and Asuna seemed to be warming up now. Sinon, at least, found herself able to talk. There were questions that she'd never had a chance to ask earlier. They'd barely had a chance to catch their breath since this morning. The three of them had helped to bring down Illfang just hours before. She rubbed her arms, trying to chase the last of the cold away. Kirito stood up, walking away from the two girls. Asuna was still shivering. She'd lost her cloak just a little too soon.

"Hey, Kirito, what happened back there?" Sinon piped up, glancing over her shoulder at the boy. Asuna gave her a puzzled look, not knowing what in particular she was asking about. Kirito, however, didn't respond immediately. "Kirito?" She repeated.

He snapped out of his reverie, pulling his eyes from the window to look back at the other two. "Huh? Sorry, I missed that." He'd been staring at the falling snow. It was enchanting, in a way, now that they were safe. It gave his eyes something to fixate on while his mind churned through the events of the day.

"What happened with Diabel?" She repeated, slight annoyance playing on her face. "I saw you try to heal him."

"I don't know why, but he refused the potion," Kirito responded. "He told me to beat the boss, for everyone there." He paused for a moment, thinking, replaying the scene in his head. The monster laying into Diabel, sending his body skittering across the room. The knight refusing help, all but confessing to being a beta tester. "He was after the last attack bonus. He was one of us."

Sinon chewed on this information for a few moments. "He was a beta tester? Why didn't you say anything when Kibaou was accusing you of murder? You think Kibaou didn't know? The two seemed awfully close."

Kirito shrugged in response, "Does it matter? He could just deny it either way. I'm not going to drag Diabel's name through the mud."

Sinon gave him a curious look. "How is that dragging his name through the mud? It's the truth, regardless of whether people like it or not."

Kirito shook his head. "When this death game started, all I could think about was my own survival. You were fixated on making yourself stronger. We kept each other alive, focused on our friends, people we knew, and abandoned the rest of the ten thousand players who are locked in this game with us. None of them mattered." He was suddenly acutely aware that Asuna was still in the room, listening intently. "But he wasn't like that. Even as a beta tester, he never abandoned the other players. He brought them together, led them out of the first level. We just showed up for the fight. He tried to accomplish something I couldn't. He gave his life trying to finish the first stage. So what if he got greedy and tried to take the last attack bonus for himself? It would still have cleared the first floor, with no casualties. That's a pretty big change from losing two thousand in a single month. Beta testers are the bad guys now. Maybe we could have handled that differently, but that's the way things are now. I'm not going to drag his memory into that."

Sinon thought for a moment, before finding she had to agree. "Suit yourself. Kibaou would probably just deny it and accuse you of trying to deflect the blame." She leaned away from the fire, finally feeling warm. They'd been back into a corner by Kibaou. Sinon made a note to herself, once things settled down, she was going to do a little investigating into Kibaou and Diabel.

Asuna sat silently through this whole exchange, her shivering past. It gave her a better grasp of who these two were. It occurred to her, now, that even though she'd fought alongside Sinon against Illfang, she'd never actually had a conversation with her. They seemed similar to Karin, in a lot of ways. By what they said when they did talk about the beginning of the game, she knew they regretted abandoning the rest of the players. They'd cracked under pressure. About ninety percent of players had done the same. They'd just handled it differently. The beta testers were the only one was that point who could confidently go out into that wilderness. Some had, trying to fight their way through the game from the word go. People like Kirito and Sinon. The ones like Karin had gone the other way. But all the beta testers she knew about, at least the confirmed ones, cared about the newbies. Diabel was just the one who'd shown it the best.

"Having second thoughts?" Sinon's voice broke into Asuna stream of consciousness.

Asuna shook her head in response, staring at the fire. "You guys didn't have to take me, you know. We've only known each other two days. You two have known each other for months. What made you decide to let me stay?"

Kirito responded, "You'd already shown yourself to be a competent fighter. We all seem to get along well enough. Besides, when it comes down to it, you stood up for us. That's hard to come by sometimes."

"Besides," Sinon cut in, "you do nasty things with that rapier of his, and someone needs to be able to pull him out of the fire once needles don't hurt things anymore."

Asuna gave a small smile at the last bit. It was good to be around people again.

"But what are we, now? Are the we going to stick together, stay partied? Are we trying to form the core of some guild? They're not official until floor three, but a few of them are already starting to crop up here and there. The Aincrad Liberation Front in particular already has a fairly sized following." Sinon asked the other two.

"I don't mind sticking with you guys for a while," Asuna responded, sticking to the first questions. "We seem a little small for a guild though."

"We're friends. We don't have to worry about guilds for a while now," he said, unsure why there needed to be much discussion.

Sinon nodded in agreement with the two, just glad to have the topic cleared up.

Asuna covered her mouth as she yawned, the turmoil of the day and the warmth of the fire catching up to her. "Guys, it's been good talking to you, but we all need our sleep," the statement was a close to a dismissal as she could give. The three exchanged goodbyes and agreed to meet again tomorrow, to discuss how to move on from here. Then, Kirito and Sinon left her to move to their own rooms.

The two had a short walk down the hall from Asuna's room to their own. "It's not polite to stare, you know," Sinon told Kirito. Kirito, who'd been keeping his eyes down the hall, turned to look at her.

"What do you mean? I wasn't staring at anybody," came his confused response.

"Not now, earlier. When Illfang destroyed her cloak. You froze for several seconds."

Kirito felt a warmth and averted his eyes. He'd hoped the brunette had missed that. "I was surprised at what her face looked like, that's all."

Sinon chuckled a little in response, her disbelief clear. "Right. Well, don't get yourself killed over it, alright?" She could tease him over it more later. They'd arrived at their rooms.

"Yeah, thanks," he muttered, already opening the door to his room, the two exchanged brief goodbyes, before turning in for the night.

* * *

><p>The three of them assembled in the lobby of the inn a little after breakfast time, letting the bulk of the other players filter out before sticking their heads out. They ate rolls, leftover rations from the last floor. Sinon had her back to the wall, taking her typical role as the eyes of the group. Asuna and Kirito sat across from her, backs to the the rest of the room. They'd picked a spot near the wall, out of the way. Sinon noticed that the snow had tapered off, a light dusting still falling on the city. She wondered to herself it was going to stay that way until the winter had passed. The were in the mountains, after all.<p>

Kirito spoke first, quietly, but not whispering, "So floor two is still in the mountains. You think any of the quests are in the same place?"

Sinon nodded. "Everything but the dungeon was the same last time, doubt they'd change too much this time."

"We should still be careful. He may have just left the first stage alone so no one would notice. Besides, I haven't been here before. I still don't know where everything is," Asuna intoned.

Kirito spoke next, "Do we want to jump back to the frontlines, or do we want to quest for a little bit first?"

"You two just finished off the boss almost single-handedly, I think we can take a few days off to upgrade our equipment. Besides we know where we're going while a lot of people are caught up in the fact that we survived level one," Sinon responded.

"I'm fine with that," Kirito responded, while Asuna just nodded her assent. "So, what do we do today? Start mapping the place for everyone else?"

"I think we need to overhaul our inventories. There've got to be some upgrades to our weapons and armor. I'm running a little low on food, myself. I don't know about you guys," Sinon suggested.

"I can cook," Asuna spoke up. The other two looked at her. "I just started working on the skill, but I can cook, a little," she clarified. It felt childish having to defend her choice. She knew she was going to be here for a while, and she at least wanted to eat something that tasted decent while she was here. Kirito had showed her that the food in this world, even those rolls, could be tasty. She'd work on condiments later, but she had cooked her own food the morning of the boss run.

The other two couldn't quite find words. Kirito was surprised that someone would even put time into that particular stat, since he kept his character mostly combat based. Sinon was taken aback by the bluntness of the offer. Asuna barely knew her, and she was offering to cook for the three of them.

It was beyond touching. Sinon hadn't had friends in a very long time. She and Kirito had teamed up in the second week of the beta test. Now Asuna had tagged along with them because she felt they were better people than Kibaou said. Briefly, the post office flashed into her head. The man laying there bloody, gun in her hands. She shook her head, chasing the image away. She was starting to tremble. She only hoped she could live up to Asuna's first impression. She hoped she could make herself worthy of whoever here did decide to call her friend.

"Sinon? You alright?" Kirito asked, a concerned look on his face. Sinon looked over to Asuna, whose expression mirrored Kirito's. She realized she'd physically shaken her head, not just pushed the thoughts from her mind.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Just lost in thought for a moment," came her response. When the two said nothing else, she pushed the conversation on her own. "So, we're in agreement? A few days of training before we try to take down another dungeon on our own?"

"Yeah," Asuna responded.

"I'm in," Kirito echoed. Then, after a moment, when the conversation wasn't forthcoming, "Good, then it's time for us all to go shopping."

* * *

><p><strong>December 8, 2022<strong>

**2nd Floor**

**Survivors: 7,776**

The mountains were cold, but not unremittingly so. The trio was starting to adjust to the more seasonal weather. Kirito hadn't needed to change his outfit much, his coat serving its purpose nicely. He did acquire a long cloak, in case they ran into any real blizzards. Asuna and Sinon had received more comprehensive wardrobe overhauls. Asuna had kept her primarily white aesthetic, but now was wearing significantly more covering clothing. The new clothes weren't bulky or cumbersome, her abilities were dictated by speed. She'd traded her skirt for pants and swapped her vest for a jacket. She'd also replaced her old cloak, though this time she kept the hood down, no longer needing the feeling of isolation from the world around her. Sinon wore a long, brown coat that fell to her knees. Beneath, she'd made the same general adjustments as Asuna, swapping out her skirt for pants, her shirt for one that didn't reveal any unnecessary skin. Her clothes were all a light green color, a stark contrast to the brown of her robe.

Kirito was out in front of the girls, skirting the edge of the mountain. Navigating this floor was proving to be as burdensome as he remembered. It felt a little different this time, though, given that falling this time was fatal. The snow was a light dusting for the moment. It only slightly obscured what was ahead of them.

It took them a few minutes, but the three came to the cavern they'd been searching for. It had been marked on the map. They slipped in, grateful for the respite from the wind and snow. Kirito leaned against the wall while Sinon and Asuna took seats on the floor. The cavern itself was lighted, just as most of the rest of the game seemed to be, by torches lining the walls. Kirito and Sinon remembered the room. Asuna glanced around warily.

"Be careful," Kirito said to the two, though Asuna knew he was saying it for her benefit. "These halls are littered with goblins, if they haven't changed anything." They were in one of the lairs of the goblin princes. General consensus was that these would litter the mountainous stages, with the true king somewhere much further down the road. Needless to say, it was filled with goblins.

This game's goblins were violently tempered, albeit somewhat stupid, weaponsmiths. Neither Kirito nor Sinon had ever seen a goblin crafted weapon's durability drop to zero, and some players who thought that the weapons couldn't be broken at all. They were probably wrong, but the trio did know that whatever they got at the end of this quest, it would last them for quite a while.

The trio had already cleared a number of this floor's quests, with minimal luck as far as equipment they could actually use. Kirito and Asuna both already had fairly powerful weapons from the first floor, and Sinon had found a passable weapon on the second day. She'd taken a liking to knives, keeping anywhere from four to nine hidden on her person or in her cloak at all times. Most of them were small, throwing knives, but one or two were large enough to be of use in a fight.

Asuna stood, having caught her breath. "We ready to get started?"

Sinon stood up, "Yeah. I'm fine. Kirito, you taking the lead again?"

Kirito nodded as he pulled himself away from the wall. He started down the hall, hearing the footsteps of his partners a few seconds later. Their eyes had all adjusted to the light, but the echoes of their footfalls took some getting used to. They walked for a few minutes before coming across the first room of the cavern. They walked out into it, wary eyes sweeping the room.

"Watch out!" Sinon yelled at the two, just a second too late to be of help. Guttural yells filled the air, the battle cry of goblins. Kirito wheeled around, mentally kicking himself for walking into this. Sinon ran forward, positioning herself between Asuna and Kirito, her own sword drawn.

The trio suddenly found themselves surrounded by goblins. Ugly green men, mostly equipped with clubs. They stood about half the size of normal player Brutes, most likely. Some of them were lightly armored. A number of them were drooling as they eyed the three. An ambush. Most of them had hidden to the sides of the entrance, but many seemed to be pouring in from the pathway out. Neither of the beta testers could recall this many goblins in one place during the closed beta. Kayaba had changed the game, again.

The creatures rushed at the trio, a mass of bodies and sticks, war cries and footfalls rolling together into one cacophony, threatening to drown out any communication the three might exchange during the fight itself.

Asuna was on them first. She charged in and stabbed three of them in the face before they could swing at her, jumping back out of range as they collected themselves. Kirito was less careful. He threw himself into the left flank, bisecting two of the goblins with one swing of his blade. He tumbled, rolling out of the way of the clubs as they followed him, carving through another one of the goblins as he rose back to his feet. Asuna darted along the line, gouging at goblins as she went.

Sinon was trying to count just how many creatures they were dealing with. Even after the ones they'd slain, a quick glance still suggested at least thirty. Sinon whirled, sword drawn, remembering the goblins behind her. She took a club to the side as she did, having taken just a moment too long to get herself into the fight. She winced as she absorbed it, carving through the head of the offending goblin as she finished her strike. She was on her back foot, trying to get to her friends. She parried a stick aimed at her ribs and kicked away the offending goblin, not wanting to get dragged into a fight with the ten or so goblins that had emerged from the room's exit.

Kirito reeled back, feeling the sting of a club he'd taken to the face. He regained his balance, leaned forward, and cut through two of the attackers. He continued his headlong aggression, sidestepping another goblin and carving through yet more of them. He and Asuna had worked through a good amount of these things, but it felt like they just kept coming. He was standing in the middle of the group now, taking glancing blows as he fought his way through. His health had dropped some, but he still had about two thirds of it left. He swept his sword around himself, trying to drop a circle of them around himself. A few of them dropped, a couple of them retreated with glancing blows. They were back on him almost immediately in the wake of his attack. He felt something hit him from behind, right across the knees, and he dropped. Before he had a chance to regain his footing, the mob was on him, hammering him with sticks. He was lucky none of them had swords.

"Kirito!" Asuna screamed as she saw Kirito fall and the goblin horde seemed to shift towards him. They'd dropped about half of their attackers, already. They seemed to have little more than the durability of paper. She'd question later if this was what Sinon had meant about them having already fought things tougher than goblins, or if the game had just been changed slightly since the beta. She dashed over next to Kirito and gouged through a few of the goblins, hoping to draw them off, trusting Kirito to help her out when they all turned on him. No luck. Five of them turned to go after her, but the rest continued harassing Kirito.

Sinon's life was down to about half by now. She'd been practicing her swordplay, but just wasn't on the level of Kirito or Asuna. She'd been caught out of position. She heard Asuna's cry and realized just what trouble they were in. She managed to fight her way towards the other two. It seemed that fully two thirds of the goblins had been dispatched. She cut through one of the attacking goblins before they turned on her. She was pinned between the two groups, the one that had been behind them and the one that had ambushed them from around the doors.

Kirito, his dropped nearly into the red in the brief period he'd been pinned to the floor, managed to get his sword up and in the way of some of the onslaught, then managed to get back to his feet, swiping at the goblins as he made his way towards the girls. He produced a potion while still in his defensive stance, downing it to bring his health back up into the green range.

Asuna had done the best at avoiding getting hit, her health only just now dropping into the yellow range. The goblins were relatively slow, extremely weak, but the sheer number had done some real damage. The parried an oncoming weapon and ran the aggressor through. She fought her way to where she could see Kirito and Sinon converging. The unarmored goblins seemed to be all but wiped out, with just a small smattering of them spread through the ten remaining goblins. The three players had managed to maneuver themselves into the middle of the room, backs facing each other, surrounded by the remaining goblins. Now that she had a chance to count, Asuna could see seven armored soldiers and four unarmored soldiers left. She'd miscounted when she thought she saw ten.

A mocking laugh came from the exit of the room, deeper inside the cavern. The goblins weren't pressing the attack the way they had been. The armored goblins seemed to stand at attention. The ones weaker grunts started to run, only to be cut down by the other goblins for their attempt to flee. The party's eyes turned to the exit as armored footfalls broke the sudden silence. Eight green men in black armor marched out and arrayed themselves in two rows of four, facing the party. A ninth figure, human sized, with similar black armor, trimmed with gold, strode into the room. Most of his green skin was covered, but the figure's face was not. He looked nothing like the other goblins they'd found. His face was angular, almost handsome, but still distinctly goblin. The goblins surrounding the trio kneeled as the figure entered the room. He smiled at them, revealing a mouth full of sharp, pointed fangs. He raised his hand, palm up, and the soldiers stood. Sinon finally let the names of the enemies register. Goblin Knight, Goblin Imperial Guard, and Kurat, Goblin King.

The trio instinctually took a step back. The noise of swords being drawn, armor settling as soldiers moved into position, made them think better of it. Kirito and Sinon knew they were way out of their depth. Even in the beta, no one had run into the goblin king. Asuna figured the same thing out pretty quickly, given their body language.

The goblin king laughed. "Stay still, children. I'll get to you in a moment." He muttered something else, this time in a decidedly different language. The Imperial Guard silently drew their blades and rushed the other guards, cut down each of them, and returned to their position protecting their king.

"Now, with that unpleasantness out of the way, I must say I'm impressed," the goblin king said to them. "Troust had been hoping to ambush me with the whole of his army. Doomed, but understandable. You killed almost all of them on your own. For that you have my respect." He produced something from a pouch at his waist. He tossed them three items, what looked like silver bands. There was text on it, but none of the three could read it. "Leave. If you try to loot the traitor's coffers, I will have to kill you. This is still my domain."

"What are you doing here?" Kirito asked, voicing what everyone was wondering. He was as surprised as the others that he'd spoken up.

"The mountains are my domain. I go where I will amongst them. Troust's treason became known to me. The situation has been corrected." The king stared through the players, his patience appearing to wane slightly. The players took that as their cue to leave, knowing Kirito had already pushed their luck.

* * *

><p>The three of them were back out on the mountain trail, walking back to town, taking in what had just happened. That wasn't how the quest had gone the during the beta. That wasn't even how the quest had gone for other players who had completed it in this game. It was supposed to reset daily, and some players who'd completed it earlier had said the reward was goblin weaponry, and certainly had said nothing about a talking enemy.<p>

"You guys ever see anything like that before?" Asuna asked.

"Never even heard of it. Maybe we walked in on some sort of weird, unannounced rare quest." Kirito fumbled for an explanation. "You think the Goblin King can really jump to whatever mountain range he wants? I can't imagine he was supposed to be here."

"Those bands he gave us, I just finished going through the item description," Sinon said. "Apparently, they mark his blessing. Should give us safe passage through goblin territory. Apparently it also gives us access to goblin shops, though I have no idea how we'd find those." She had equipped hers to her off hand. The three had equipped the bands to their right arms. They were small, plain bracelets, with the text barely visible if one wasn't looking for it.

"We should probably trust him, if he really has that kind of authority," Asuna responded.

"So we have to watch out for him every mountain floor we come across, and I can't imagine this is the last one. At least we didn't have to fight him. You think we should warn people?" Kirito pondered.

"Who'd believe us?" Asuna responded. Much as she wanted to, there were no witnesses, and they weren't exactly popular right now. Saying there was a wandering, likely level ninety or higher boss floating around on floor two was not likely to be believed or to be helpful.

"The only evidence we have are these bands. . ." Sinon trailed off, trying to remember the name of the items, "Kurat's Blessing, and I don't plan to show off any rare items right now. Besides, it might be fun to see how long this rare quest runs. Didn't he say something about betrayal? Maybe a few floors down we'll find ourselves involved in some full-scale civil war."

"It would certainly be interesting. You think it'll help us get out of this place any sooner?" Asuna wondered.

"We can't focus too much on clearing this whole game. We have to take it one day at a time. Try to do it all at once, and it's just impossible," Kirito intoned.

Asuna gave him a questioning look, but saw his logic. If they were going to survive this game, they would have to become part of it. This was their world now, and whatever twists and turns it took, they had to deal with them.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** I hope this chapter didn't come across as stilted or slogging. I promise, things are moving towards action. I could have kept rewriting it over and over, but if I didn't put something out there soon, this whole thing probably would have stalled before the narrative really began.


	5. White Christmas

**A/N: Thanks again to everyone who left such positive feedback this chapter. I was worried about what reactions I was going to get to Kurat.**

**On another note, I feel I've finally gotten to where I want to be to retool the first two chapters. I should have those overhauled to meet what I feel is the much improved quality of the later chapters.**

* * *

><p><strong>December 18, 2022<strong>

**2nd Floor**

**Survivors: 7,763**

"Switch!" Kirito deflected Baran, the Taurus General's hammer up and away from himself, darting to the side as Asuna took his spot, pelting the creature with blows to the body, glancing off its crimson armor. The minotaur like creature roared at her, slamming its hammer down at her. She slipped out of the way, jumping to the side. The creature responded by swinging its hammer sideways, sweeping along the floor. It was met with knives in both eyes as its momentum stopped with its head facing Sinon. It howled in pain, momentarily blinded, flailing madly. Agil caught it in one side, blocking most of the retaliatory blow with his shield, but he was still sent sprawling. Kirito switched back in, carving into its legs, aiming for its knees, dashing past the monster before he felt the crushing force of the hammer.

A crimson armored soldier joined the fray, catching the hammer on his massive tower shield on the way in. He stabbed the beast through the chest before jumping back out of the way. He had taken the least damage of any player, still in the lower green area. The minotaur lashed out, still recovering from the thrown knives. Sinon buried two knives in the beast's chest, though the damage barely registered on the monster's health, which was dangerously close to zero. Kirito switched back in, swinging intentionally for the creature's hammer, shoving it up and out of the way. "Switch!" Kirito yelled, jumping out of the way. Asuna charged in, leaping at the creature, stabbing at his already damaged eyes. Several of her blows missed, tracing lines and spots along his cheeks and forehead, but two struck home. The party had done enough damage already. Asuna hit ground as the monster howled and dropped, shattering in bits of light.

The crowd burst into celebration. There was no Kibaou to dampen the party, this time, and cheers and congratulations flowed freely. Kirito, Asuna, and Sinon hadn't killed the beast on their own, they'd done the same thing they'd done last time, protecting the crowd of attackers until the monster switched its attack pattern, then moved in to finish the creature as it started to wound the other players. No casualties this time, though.

"You three are making a habit of this," came a deep voice from behind where the three had gathered, Asuna and Kirito were on the ground searching for breath. Sinon was facing Agil, who continued speaking, "How'd you know it was vulnerable to the blindness status?"

Sinon shrugged, smiling, "I didn't. Eyes are squishy, and that usually makes for a good place to stick knives," she paused for a moment, before admitting. "Can't say I expected to hit him with both, though. Asuna set him up for me pretty well." She was just glad to have contributed more than needles this time around. She really needed to find a better weapon. She only had her long knife left, having unloaded the rest of her spares in the fight.

"Remind me not to get on your bad side," a new voice intoned. Sinon saw the man in red armor, they'd met him at the strategy meeting, walking towards them. She took a few moments to remind his name. "I didn't know anyone fought like that in SAO." Heathcliff, she finally placed it.

"I'm probably the only one. Not very good with a sword, but I don't plan to let that stop me," Sinon responded. They'd spent so much time in the mountains, so much time away from other players, Sinon had forgotten that most players weren't used to her fighting style. She knew Asuna had a brutal grace to her fighting style, and elegance in ferocity and defiance. It had caught Kirito's eye when he'd first seen her. Sinon knew that his attention hadn't really moved from Asuna, even if he wouldn't admit it. Kirito lost himself in combat, giving him a more brutal appearance. Sinon hadn't ever really thought about herself. She guessed her tendency to go for joints, eyes, throats, those sorts of things, which didn't always cause the same effects they should in real life, had a chance of causing status afflictions without enhanced weaponry, but still probably made her appear to be the most vicious of the group.

"You did pretty well yourself," Kirito said, turning to greet the Heathcliff. "Where'd you manage to get a shield like that so early?" He hadn't seen anything quite like it during the beta, but the game was pretty divergent already.

Heathcliff waved the question off, "It was a quest reward. It's come in handy so far." He looked around, then turned back to Kirito. "Congratulations, I hear you three were instrumental bringing down the first boss, too. You'll be a credit to whatever guild you decide to join." Heathcliff walked away after that, never exchanging a word with Asuna, who was still studying her rewards screen.

She accepted the reward, stood, and walked over to where Kirito, Sinon, and Agil were gathered. She liked Agil. He'd been the only other voice of reason after Illfang had fallen. He was only one of the few people from the floor one raiding party to come back for floor two. Kibaou had been nowhere to be seen, nor had most of his group. It was the first group of any kind that they had spent more than an hour or so with. At first it had been because of paranoia. People really seemed to hate them after the last dungeon. After a few days though, they'd run into the Goblin King. They'd spent the week questing through the mountains trying to find goblin territory. They'd cleared plenty of quests, but they hadn't been able to find anything. They'd abandoned that three days ago to help clear the dungeon. It had been nice to be around other, generally cooperative players for a change.

"You guys should get going," Agil was concluding a conversation with Kirito, while Sinon was quietly observing the crowd. "You finished off this one too, you should be the first ones on floor three."

Kirito gave a small chuckle. "We'll let someone else go first. We just about froze last time. I think it's someone else's turn."

Agil gave a bemused smile in response. "Alright. Suit yourselves. I'll see you guys next time we do this, alright?"

Kirito nodded in response. "Alright. Sounds good." Kirito was glad for the friend. They may not run into each other very often, but Klein and Agil had been some of the friendliest people he'd met. Klein had treated him like an good friend after he'd known him for less than a day. Kirito felt a pang of guilt at abandoning the man. He wasn't sure how he'd face him if the two ever ran into each other. Agil had been one of the few people who he'd seen defending beta testers. Kirito respected him greatly for that.

The crowd was starting to filter out. Heathcliff had gone on ahead. Agil and his party were moving towards the exit. Asuna, Sinon, and Kirito, were standing in the darkened boss chamber. "One floor in two weeks, not too bad," Sinon commented. At this rate, they'd still be stuck in this game for four years. No one could bring themselves to say that out loud. Most people never bothered doing the math.

"We're getting faster. We'll get out of here soon enough," Asuna responded. Kirito nodded, and produced a teleport crystal. The others did the same, and the two returned to town. Tomorrow, they'd be back in the mountains.

* * *

><p><strong>December 19, 2022<strong>

**2nd Floor**

**Survivors: 7,762**

"So, Asuna, what'd you get?" Sinon asked from her position behind the others. The journey had become easier. Their conditioning, their characters' coniditioning, however one thought of it, must have improved. Of course, they had leveled up a time or two, so maybe that had done it. Still, ritual was nice. They didn't always talk during these trips, but it was the same people in the same order.

"What do you mean?" Asuna responded. She hadn't really given much thought to the boss battle since they'd returned. She'd been more surprised by what they'd seen when they'd teleported back to the inn. They'd heard noises outside, celebration. They'd missed it last time, having moved on to the next floor, but it seemed that there was a public announcement when Baran fell. People were out in the streets, cheering and dancing. It was good to see people happy again. It reminded her of what Kirito had told her before. These were people living their new lives, celebrating being alive. It was more than celebrating finishing a level.

"The boss fight, of course. What'd you get? You never told us." Sinon responded, curious. Kirito was keeping quiet, letting the girls talk. Sinon got the distinct feeling that she wasn't the only one who was curious. Kirito had been showing off his Coat of Midnight for some time now. It was mostly the crescent moon that gave it away, though it mostly looked normal.

"Oh, that," Asuna responded, "It was something called the Raiment of Dawn. It's supposed to illuminate dark areas, as well as having armor stats that are a few levels above where we are now." She was planning to equip it when they got to the cave Troust had inhabited before they'd shown up. She wanted to see how exactly it illuminated the dark. Asuna wondered if it was just coincidence that the first couple items seemed to serve as themed contrasts to each other.

"That sounds pretty useful," Kirito intoned, joining the conversation. They'd discussed uses for his Coat of Midnight and come up mostly short. Hiding just wasn't something that they'd found much need for yet. Still, the coat's stats were nice, especially this early on. Then again, Kirito was a little more keen to fight than was probably healthy sometimes, but with everything that this game had caused, he needed an outlet for stress. He enjoyed it. It had originally been a game, after all. "I guess it'll be your turn to finish the boss next floor, Sinon."

Sinon just laughed. "Just burn through all our col throwing knives at him? Or do you expect me to get close enough to cut it without getting smashed?"

"Blinding it first would help," Asuna replied. Even she had been impressed by Sinon's throw against Baran. She'd seen her fight goblins, beasts, bulls, and the like, for some time now, so she knew how good her aim was, but that had been something else.

"That. . . That attack should never have worked," Sinon admitted. "Yes, I'd had time to observe him, figure out his patterns and such, while everyone fought him. But I should have taken some sort of skill based penalty to two handed throws. I'm not even sure my knife skill is supposed to cover throwing them or not. I got really lucky on that one." She wasn't complaining, but she knew her limits. This time next year, that kind of shot would probably more plausible, but right now, it had been luck, and she knew it.

"We're here," Kirito announced stopping that line of conversation. They'd returned to the mouth of the cave, which seemed a little better hidden than it used to be. It didn't stick out as much, the mouth staggered in such a way that coming from either direction it just seemed to be another protrusion of the mountain, and the path had plenty of twists and turns already. The snow didn't help.

Asuna paused, opening her menu once they entered the cave's mouth. She switched her equipped armor, donning the Raiment of Dawn. She let her cloak hang from her shoulders, the cave notably warmer than the outside. The raiment was white, a red line circling her waist. A red semi-circle stretched across her stomach, radiating red lines out at regular intervals, emulating the dawn. The garment seemed to glow faintly, but it didn't add much visibility. The room was already too well lit, she supposed.

"Looks good on you," Kirito commented, before turning and leading them deeper into the cave, down to where they'd fought Troust's army. He barely heard Asuna's expression of appreciation and definitely missed the knowing smile on Sinon's face. The place didn't quite feel the same as it did last time they were here. He couldn't put his finger on it, something was just off.

When they entered the next room, he could figure out what that was. There were two armored goblins, faces concealed. They looked for a moment as though they were going to turn hostile, until they noticed the bands around the players' wrists. They stood at attention, stepping aside, letting the players through.

The room they found on the other side appeared to be a hub of some sort, with several entrances and exits lining the walls. Most of the tunnels seemed to be empty, and there were few goblins milling about, but the presence of what they were conditioned to think of as enemies had the three on edge. One of the goblins strode up to them, gesturing for them to follow him. They noticed that his face was more humanoid, less animalistic than the ones they'd fought. His face was more like Kurat's.

They did as they assumed he wanted, the goblin having never said anything, and crossed the room to the tunnel that was directly across from the one they'd come through. The goblin gestured that they continue, and as they did so, they could see the creature scampering off the perform other duties.

They found themselves in a room covered in books and texts, with what seemed to be random objects made of gold or silver strewn about the place. There was a taller goblin, about two-thirds the height of Kirito, reading over a manuscript. None of them had any idea what he was looking at, who he was, or what was really going on. The goblin looked up at them as they entered.

Kirito was the first to speak. "We'd like to speak to your king," he said, attempting to be more polite than he had managed during their first encounter. That said, he really had no idea how to phrase the question.

The goblin shook his head. "King not here. On higher mountain."

For some reason, Kirito was surprised for a second time that goblins could speak. Eight floors of beta testing had told him that wasn't possible.

Sinon recovered more quickly. "He's in the highest mountain?" She asked, trying to clarify the question. She had her own suspicions about where he might be.

The goblin shook his head again, and repeated, "On higher mountain." This time, he pointed up, towards and likely through the ceiling. For Sinon, this just made her more certain of what she already suspected. The goblin king was supposed to be on one of the final floors

"He gave us these," Kirito held up his wrist. "Do you know what he wants us to do?"

The goblin shrugged. "I serve here. When he wants you, you know." He started to turn back to his books.

"Who are you, then?" Sinon asked, trying to get some scrap of useful information out of this trip. Just having Kurat's blessing didn't seem to mean they were guaranteed much cooperation.

The goblin looked back up at them. "Troust," he responded, matter of factly.

"I thought the traitor was named Troust. So you're also Troust?" Kirito questioned.

The goblin sighed, then gestured around. "Mountain Troust. I charged with mountain. I Troust."

Kirito and Sinon couldn't think of much else to say. They weren't sure what they were expecting. The wristbands had seemed like some sort of quest hook. Now here they were and it seemed like they were just wasting their time.

"You speak japanese better than you're letting on, don't you?" Asuna stated as much as asked. She'd been watching the conversation, examining the room, trying to figure out where all this was going. The goblin just tilted his head at her, as if confused. "Your books. You're well-read, and I can see kanji in some of the text."

Sinon glanced down, surprised that she'd let herself miss that detail. Sure enough there was kanji in some of the books. Other appeared to be in english, while others had a completely foreign text, likely goblin.

Troust gave them a fanged smile. "Clever. Yes, I can speak proper japanese. What would you three like?" He sat up in his chair, giving them his full attention.

"Wait, why did you act like you couldn't speak japanese?" Kirito asked, not willing to just let it go.

"His majesty may have given you his favor, but that doesn't mean you're not racist. My people have a history of being treated as mere animals by yours. The girl in the back gave me the benefit of the doubt of being able to actually read the books in this room. You two gave me some benefit of the doubt, but I wanted to see what kind of people you were. Now I know. What can I do for you? Weapons? I can't take you to his majesty." Troust's patience seemed to have returned.

The goblin was right. The party knew they'd been lucky that the goblins they'd found had been rebels, though, given the knowledge of Kurat's strength, it seemed unlikely that Kayaba would have considered having them fight him this early in the game. Still, that didn't change the fact that they had slaughtered a _lot_ of goblins their first time here.

"Is there anything you need from us? Any other traitors to fight?" Kirito asked.

"No. The Guard was thorough. These mountains are clear," he responded.

"Can goblins make ranged weapons? Bows or anything like that?" Sinon asked. She figured that if bows did turn out to exist, this would be the best place to find them. She didn't get her hopes up, but there was at least a chance.

"No. No bows. But we will build something for you. It will be ready for you in two weeks. Anything else?" He asked, giving the appearance of having work to get back to.

"Wait, why can't you make bows?" Sinon asked. If they knew what they were, they should have been able to at least come up with something rudimentary.

"His majesty has decreed against it. I've never questioned it," the goblin said, returning to his work. "There are merchants in the room behind you. Anything else you may need you can get from them. I'm sorry, but I must return to my work." He looked at Asuna, "Thank you, for giving me some benefit of the doubt."

The three players made their exit, still not sure what to make of all this. They'd definitely be checking the mountain ranges they found on just about every floor. Sinon in particular wondered what they had in store for her.

* * *

><p><strong>December 25, 2022<strong>

**3rd Floor**

**Survivors: 7,753**

The trio had been late getting to floor three. When they finally went up to floor three, they found the mountains they'd become used to for the past two weeks replaced with massive forests. Maybe Kayaba had a better gauge of how long it would take them to get through each level than the beta would have suggested, or maybe it was just coincidence, but the snow covered conifers made it a fitting level for the players to spend Christmas in. The three were in Kirito's room, this time. Some players were starting to find their own places to live, even this early, but the three preferred to use inns. It was too big an investment for them to be able to really contemplate it anyway. Not that they were poor, they were very successful clearers, but there had been no floor they'd just fallen in love with.

"We're starting to get nicknames," Sinon said from her position by the window. She was curled up, legs in her chair, reading the announcements in their flier form. "Asuna, apparently you're 'the Flash' now. I guess that speed of yours is getting noticed," she told the girl, looking over in her direction. Asuna just shrugged. The girl was sitting by the fireplace with her back to it, looking through her menu at something. Sinon continued, "Kirito, you're apparently 'the Black Swordsman'. Yuck. That's such a mouthful. You really need to get known for something other than your coat."

"You're just jealous I get the cool stuff," Kirito responded. He was laying on her bed, staring at the ceiling. They were all in their full gear, having expected to go clearing today. The announcement went out this morning that the Aincrad Liberation Front had requested a hiatus of clearing efforts for the day, in an effort for the players to have a truly festive holiday, without anyone having to worry about losses. It was a request not an order, but the three didn't mind the excuse to take it easy for once.

"Eh," she dismissed the response, not taking the bait. "Apparently I'm 'Bullseye'. Eh, I've been called worse." She kept reading through the news, the article she'd been reading was a general list of the top level clearers. Heathcliff was the only other name that stood out to her. The others were people she knew she'd met at the last boss raid. Whoever was putting out the announcements were still trying to find a name for the three of them, she noticed. A lot of guilds were already starting to crop up.

Kirito stood up, stretching, growing restless. It was night time. They'd done relatively little that day. Asuna and Kirito had gotten their swords repaired. Sinon had restocked her knives and their other necessities. "Let's do something, guys," he started towards the door, not waiting for a response. There were festivities going on by the fires' light. The ALF had succeeded, it really did feel like a holiday.

Sinon looked up at him, sighed, and folded up the announcements, tossing them on the bed. Asuna closed her menu and followed, the three of them walking out of the building and out into the snow. They avoided most of the crowds, not feeling particularly at home there. The trees were heavy with snow, and they felt yet more of it crunching under their feet as they walked.

"Where are we going?" Asuna asked Kirito after a few minutes had passed. They were nearing the outskirts of town. Asuna hoped he wasn't planning to leave town for this.

Kirito looked around, then smiled, bending down and scooping up a handful of snow. "Right here should be fine," he said, as he packed it into a ball and slung it at Asuna.

Asuna yelped in surprise as it hit her, eliciting a laugh from Sinon. She glared at the girl and reached down to pack her down snowball as Sinon did the same. But Sinon didn't throw hers at Asuna, rather she slung it at Kirito, catching him square in the chest despite his attempts to move out of the way. Asuna took advantage of her speed, slinging hers at Kirito and dodging one from Sinon. The three devolved into flinging snow at each other, snowballs at first, then just clumps and handfuls.

"Is that the best you can do?" Kirito asked after a particularly small snowball sailed past his head, thrown by Asuna, near as he could tell. She responded with two more, even smaller sized, to show she could in fact go smaller.

Kirito tried to dodge, but slipped, Sinon having hit him in the leg as he tried to move. "Not fair," he managed as he hit the ground. The two girls turned on each other, briefly, from what he could hear. More giggling, the happy laughter the three of them didn't have enough chances to enjoy. Then, before he could stand back up, he saw the two girls standing in front of him, evil grins on their faces, and they proceeded to bury him in snow.

When he dug himself back out, the two girls were laying next to him, Asuna dusting off snow from where he'd thrown some on her accidentally as he dug his way out. "You started it," she reminded him, smiling.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Kirito responded, glancing the other way at Sinon. "Would it hurt you to miss once in a while?" He'd been able to avoid a few of Asuna's shots, but Sinon, as expected, hadn't missed.

"I nearly blind hit bosses in the eye. You think that coat's going to save you?" She returned. She didn't bother looking at him. She was looking at an angle into the sky, watching the stars that formed along the walls. She had to admit, when the world didn't hate them, wasn't trying to kill them, it could be beautiful. "It was a good idea though. Being stuck here. . . it's not so bad with friends like you guys."

"I feel the same about you guys," Asuna said. She'd been alone for a while. She knew how tough it could be alone in this world. She'd had school friends back home. No one she was particularly close to, but friends. This was better, in some ways, apart from the fact that the world seemed to be trying to kill them. Or was it? The goblin quests had her rethinking that, too.

"Merry Christmas, guys," Kirito said, echoing their sentiment but choosing not to parrot the words. They understood his meaning. He laid down between the two, the three of them oblivious to the cold, enjoying the stars, the lights, the snow. For a little while, they were almost able to forget the nature of the game.

* * *

><p><strong>December 26, 2022<strong>

**3rd Floor**

**Survivors: 7,753**

Kirito was out in the woods, helping to clear the area on his own. Sinon and Asuna had decided that, since they'd neglected to have any sort of celebratory meal the day before, they wanted to do something the day after. Kirito knew himself to be dangerous in the kitchen when he'd bothered to try, at least in SAO. The skill was just such a bore to grind. He'd found the woods to be filled with various types of canine enemies. It wasn't particularly difficult. He brought his sword through one more of the creatures. He was on his way to the dungeon. He knew that several players had already started scouting it. That meant they'd likely be going after the boss within the week. The pace had accelerated, and Kirito knew that guilds would only make that faster as they were able to rotate players in and out of the dungeon, ensuring that the quests could still be done.

He heard a rustling around him. He stopped still, glancing around, trying to place the creatures he assumed were around him. He didn't see any beasts. Instead he saw a number of the members of the Aincrad Liberation Front. They moved to surround him. He heard a familiar voice behind him. "There, he's one of the confirmed beta testers." Kibaou. Kirito wheeled on him, sword still in his hand. "You can walk away from here if you give us all the equipment you stole from the new players," Kibaou continued.

"That I stole?" Kirito asked, incredulous. "I've never touched another player."

"You abandoned us on the first floor. You gathered all that equipment and left the new players to fend for themselves! You let Diabel die! Now you can either give us your inventory, or we'll have to deal with you." Kibaou had a sadistic grin on his face. Kirito couldn't figure out how this guy had been close to Diabel.

"I'm not going to waste my breath," Kirito stated. "You're not going to kill me. You can't go back to your guild orange and you can't vanish for long enough to revert to green. I'm not going to give you anything. You're just a bully. You let me walk away, and I won't tell Thinker that you're turning the ALF into a bunch of extortionists." Kirito was surprised by the venom in his words. Kibaou had forced Kirito and his friends to avoid people, for the most part. Looking around, it hadn't been purely paranoia after all.

Kibaou just laughed. "You think I'm going to let a beater like you walk away? You really are an idiot. Everyone in that raiding party knows you killed Diabel. We're not going to kill you. We're taking you to the Black Iron Palace. Now you can do the right thing and drop your stuff and then go, or we'll just take you, and you can show just how greedy you are."

Kirito doubted these players could keep up with him if they wanted to. He, Sinon, and Asuna, were all level five or six by now, with most players floating around level two or three. The three of them just did very little in town, and the incremental experience had add up. He could fight them off, easily, if he wanted to. But he knew that would cause him all sorts of problems. If he even hit them, his cursor would change. He didn't need to be labeled as orange. That mark was just too dangerous. "Alright. Go ahead. Warp me. I look forward to hearing you explain why a green player is in prison."

Kibaou produced a corridor crystal, a fairly rare item, especially this early in the game. He gave a wicked grin. "Don't get your hopes up. No one has to know you're there." With that, Kirito heard Kibaou speak the instructions, and he found himself in a cold, dark cell.

* * *

><p>Sinon and Asuna had finished the meal about an hour ago. Kirito should have been here by now, even if he'd had to finish combat before he teleported back to the city. It was only a short walk from the teleport gate. He was beyond late.<p>

Sinon saw a notification in the corner of her view. Someone had messaged her. The message system was rarely used nowadays, since everyone was always logged in, and people generally knew where their friends were. She opened her menu, and found a message from Kirito.

_Ambushed by Kibaou. Trapped in the Black Iron Prison. Bring Agil. Thinker may not know. Prepare for resistance._

Sinon just about threw something across the room. Asuna could tell something was wrong. "What happened?" the girl in white asked.

"Kibaou grabbed Kirito. He's trying to hold him in the Black Iron Palace. Do you have Agil's information? I want to bring him with us." Neither girl questioned the last part of the statement. They both knew Kirito didn't deserve imprisonment. They were going to go get him. Kirito had known that. Asuna knew it. Sinon knew it.

Asuna nodded and opened her menu, scrolling through her short friends list. She had, in fact, added Agil at the beginning of the last boss raid. She sent him a brief message asking if he could go with them, explaining what little she knew. "Do you know of anyone else who might help us?"

"I doubt it. We beta testers aren't really popular right now," she paused for a moment, thinking. "Yeah, maybe one. I'll see if I can get them to come along." Asuna nodded her approval, and Sinon opened her own friend list. She pulled up Klein, one of the only people on there. She remembered distinctly how friendly the man had been on day one. He'd even acted understanding when she and Kirito left. She still didn't regret it. She had to get stronger. She still did, and here, with her friends, was where she could be strongest.

_Not sure if you remember me. I'm the girl who hung out with you and Kirito on day one. I hate to ask, after what we did. Kirito's in trouble. Can you help?_

She brought up one other player. She'd meant to contact her back on floor one, but she'd hoped that maybe the problem would go away. As she was starting her new message when she saw the reply from Klein. She was surprised by the speed. He must not have been out clearing at the moment.

_I'm there._

She smiled. Good. Now it was time to stop being nice. She was going to find out exactly what Diabel had been up to with Kibaou. What exactly made Kibaou tick, and how to hurt him. Now it was time to call on Argo.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I see that there are a lot of Argo fans out there. I'd been planning to bring her in for some time now. That said, my only knowledge of her comes from her brief scene in the SAO anime. Does anyone have any recommendations for good fic to help get a grasp of how she behaves? Thanks in advance.**


	6. Jail Break!

**AN: Thank you to everyone for all the positive feedback. This story just hit fifty favorites and over one hundred follows. That's awesome, and it's the positive feedback that keeps me going. This chapter took longer than expected because when I'd gotten 2500ish words in, was ready for the big jail break. . . I realized I forgot Agil. Yeah.**

**Thanks to everyone who replied about Argo. I've not had the chance to read most of the recommendations I received, but I will when life eases up a bit. Hopefully I managed to do everyone justice this chapter.**

**A heads up, the last bit of chapter five received a small modification, I feel it helps keep characterization where it should be. Nothing major, so go back if you wish. Chapter one has also seen a minor overhaul.**

**On unique skills: They will exist, and they will be unlocked later in the story, but they won't necessarily be ten built from canon. Why that is, how they are acquired, and what they are will be revealed in good time.**

* * *

><p><strong>December 27, 2022<strong>

**1st Floor**

**Survivors: 7,752**

Sinon thought this spot was fitting. Almost a month ago, the raiding party had assembled here for one last night of fun before they finished the first floor. Then, she'd been here as part of Diabel's party, unconcerned with who led the charge, with who was given credit. She and Kirito were just a couple of beta testers trying to hide their status. Now, though, now things were different. She was here to figure out how best to ruin that man's friend's life. And, unlike Kirito, she didn't much care how she did it. In this world, Sinon had two friends. Asuna, and Kirito. She'd never seen them in real life. She only knew their faces because of some twisted game they'd all had the misfortune, or maybe fortune, in some ways, of playing. No killing, she reminded herself, unnecessarily. She couldn't even contemplate that. She didn't need those images in her head right now.

She'd had no friends since that day. Not really. A few people would spend time with her until somebody inevitably told them. Sometimes people wanted to see how killers thought. The former would run off when they found out, and the latter she could easily scare off. That wasn't what was important. What was important is what happens when you don't have friends. You can turn inward, and she had, to a great extent. Or you can watch. You learn to pick up on little things. Pieces of body language. It was why Kirito and Asuna's interest in each other was easy for her to see. So she knew that there had been something between Kibaou and Diabel. They had been partners or something. They had obviously already known each other before Kibaou had interrupted the briefing, which if they were friends, had to be by design. Naturally, most friends would have been there early, and would have spoken at a less intrusive time. If they hadn't known each other, they wouldn't have been so buddy buddy afterward. They'd been inseparable afterward, so it was most likely that the stunt had been staged. Why? What was there to gain by going after other beta testers? She was going to figure that out. Actually, she was going to pay someone else to figure that out, it was the thought that counted.

A blond girl with whiskers drawn on her face sat down next to Sinon. She was shorter than most and kept herself fairly well concealed beneath a cloak and baggy clothing. Her hood was up, concealing most of her face. Sinon spared her a glance, then crossed her legs and leaned back, looking at the sky. Argo, the Rat, the game's best information broker. Sinon truster her implicitly, so long as she could pay her. And so long as Sinon said nothing worthwhile. "It's been a while, Sinon. How've you been?"

Sinon smiled, still leaning back against the seat. "Not for free Argo. You know the rules." In some ways, Sinon thought it was nice to hear that nasal voice again. Sinon had been a regular customer back in the beta. Back then, she, and later she and Kirito, had spent much more time in the cities than they did this time around. Something about not having random people want to kill them or imprison them.

"Yeah, yeah," Argo returned. "I was only trying to be friendly. What do you need?"

"I need dirt. I need everything you know about a player named Kibaou. K - I - B - A - O - U." She spelled the name out, knowing that the game only allowed unique spellings of names, but wasn't nearly as picky about pronunciations. "And I need whatever you have on someone named Diabel. D - I - A - B - E - L. I know that Diabel was a beta tester. He's dead now. I need to know what connection they had, what Kibaou is up to. Anything of substance you can give me. How long do you need?"

Argo's expression didn't change, but usually requests were made regarding quests, items, rewards. Sometimes people, but rarely in such detail. Especially not by Sinon. "Sure, I'll do it. Not sure how long I'll need, but don't worry about that. You'll get your data. What do you need this for?" The rat girl looked over, could see the conflicted look on Sinon's face. "You want data on two people, one of them dead. Won't be easy, won't be cheap. Talking'll make it a lot easier to afford," she advised the brunette.

"He kidnapped Kirito. Has him captured in the Black Iron Palace."

That piqued Argo's interest. "They violated the Guildpact?" Argo asked, making sure she was hearing things right.

"Yeah. Kibaou's ALF, and now there's a green player in the Black Iron Prison."

Argo wouldn't be making as much money off of this job as she thought she might. This little bit of information was worth too much, and she figured Sinon knew it. The Guildpact had been created to help ensure harmony amongst the guilds. It dictated that the only reason any green player should ever be imprisoned is for documented violation of the Guildpact. That was the condition of the ALF being allowed to use the facility as their base. Argo would be looking into the rest of the Guildpact when she had a chance, but that particular point had caused some stir. Everyone had heard about that particular detail.

"Alright. You still owe me. I'll send you the bill later, been here too long. Have fun Sinon," Argo stated, turning to walk away.

Sinon spoke up, "One more, this time for free." The word free stopped Argo in her tracks. "Kibaou's hunting beta's. Be careful. I'd hate to not get my information."

"That's not worth much credit," Argo returned, then walked off, likely to some other job.

Sinon wasn't even entirely sure about that last bit of information, but it made sense. Kirito had said to bring Agil, so it probably involved what happened in Illfang's chamber. That didn't answer everything, though. Why wouldn't Thinker know? How could Kirito know that? Well, it was an easy guess, the ALF's public statements were devoid of the anti-beta tester rhetoric that Kibaou was so fond of. So, Kirito had told them to prepare for resistance. Also obvious. Kibaou would have known that Kirito could just message for help, unless he'd become so engrossed in the world he'd forgotten that bit of the interface.. That seemed unlikely. So must have been trying to bait the other two out. He wanted to get to Asuna and Sinon.

* * *

><p>Asuna walked into one of the myriad shops found on floor one. It was in the Town of Beginnings, which was still by far the most populous city in the game. Asuna found it hard to imagine that so many people were willing to just sit back and expect everyone else to do the work of clearing the game for them. Still, she couldn't really blame them. Fear was a powerful thing. She'd spent a couple weeks hiding in her room herself, and look where she was now.<p>

Agil was standing behind the counter, finishing a transaction with a customer, a civilian player, by the looks of it. The equipment was very close to the starting equipment, and the weapons this place sold weren't particularly powerful. The customer walked off, and Agil turned his attention to her. "I got your message," he began. "Kibaou's still holding that grudge?" Agil polished the counter as he worked. It wasn't his store, it was owned by another player, Agil didn't want to buy his own place until further through the game, but habits were habits.

"Yeah," Asuna replied. She was angry, now. She'd been more stunned than anything when Sinon had first heard the news. To have that bully still going after people because he could take advantage of existing, misguided, sentiment was bad enough. For him to think he was going to get away with imprisoning Kirito for the remainder of the game? One of the few players who was really fighting to clear the game? Besides, she didn't take particularly kindly to people picking on her friends. "We're going to get Kirito out, first. Then we're going to expose Kibaou. Can you help us?"

Agil nodded. "Hey, Ishikawa, I'm taking off," he called back behind him to the owner of the store. Asuna didn't hear any response, but Agil started around the counter, moving to join up with the younger girl. He led as the two left the store, heading to the meeting point near the Black Iron Palace itself. "You're not a beta tester, are you?" Agil asked her, his eyes not leaving the familiar streets they were navigating.

Asuna stopped for a moment, caught off guard, before hurrying to catch back up with the larger man. "No, I'm not. How'd you guess?" She was surprised anyone was still giving her the benefit of the doubt. A little research lately had shown that all three of them, Asuna, Kirito, and Sinon, had been branded as "confirmed" former beta testers. Apparently the fact that she'd gone with them had been evidence enough for most people. Well, very likely Kibaou. It seemed like he was the ringleader in all of this.

"Just a hunch. You didn't seem as sure of yourself as the other two before the fight." To be honest, he'd just been guessing, but she had just seemed different. The other two had had a bit more of an unspoken confidence. Asuna hadn't had that before the boss battle. Agil hadn't paid too much attention to them before the fight, but she had still seemed different. "Before the second boss battle, you seemed a lot more veteran than you did the first one. Kirito and Asuna had the same feel both times."

Asuna gave a small smile at the comments. "Thanks. It's nice to have someone who doesn't just assume that I'm a former beta tester. Not that I have any issue with beta testers. I just don't like being called something I'm not. I got to where I am in the same amount of time that the other nine thousand regular players have had." She paused a moment. She wondered if her brother would have made it this far. Part of her was glad it was her instead of him. Everything in this game came so naturally for her. Kirito and Sinon commented on her speed every now and again, but the announcements had emphasized it to the point of it becoming her name. She imagined it was how Sinon felt about her accuracy. It was just natural.

* * *

><p>Sinon was glad that Klein hadn't greeted her the same way this visit that he had when the two had first met. She didn't like hitting her friends, but Kirito's response had probably been the proper one. She and Klein were out in a very familiar clearing, the area that she and Kirito had used to teach Klein how to fight through this game. "Thanks for agreeing to help. I know we didn't leave on the best of terms."<p>

Klein gave her a confused look. "What are you talking about? You guys did what you had to do. Us new players have to learn to fend for ourselves sometime. It's not like you left us in the wilderness. The city is plenty safe." Klein didn't comment on all the people who'd died to their own despair or recklessness. Those were memories most people fought to forget.

Sinon couldn't understand why he treated it so lightly. They'd abandoned him and his friends, the five players were out fighting outclassed boar while Sinon and Klein watched. She decided she wasn't going to push it, she found herself somehow in his good graces, and right now, she didn't want to risk that. "How've you guys been holding up?"

"They're coming along alright. I owe you guys a ton for teaching me what I was doing on the first day. You guys kept me alive." He was smiling, thinking back on that day. "It was fun getting to play this game as just a game for a few hours."

"We'll have to pick up where we left off once we clear this game," Sinon replied. She had enjoyed that day, back when this game was an escape from what she had to deal with in real life. To be somewhere she didn't get judged by everyone who found out who she was. Well, that had lasted a month. Now it was just half the people she met. Prejudice didn't go away, it just changed. Not that she didn't deserve it in real life. She checked the time on her menu screen. "Ready to go? Asuna and Agil will be waiting for us by now."

"Harry, pay attention! If you get beat up by boar, I'm kicking your tail when I get back!" Klein yelled at one of his guild members. Then, reverting to his more personable self, he turned back to Sinon. "Yeah, alright. Let's get going."

* * *

><p>Sinon, Asuna, Agil, and Klein were finally gathered together. Sinon glanced at the various members, unsure who had met who at this point. When Klein saw Asuna, he started to dart forward at the girl. Sinon, remembering how Klein had behaved when she'd met him, caught him by the collar as he moved forward. "Behave," she reminded him, before letting him go. He stumbled forward, grinning sheepishly at the girl before they continued forward.<p>

"Agil, Asuna, this is Klein," Sinon introduced him as the four converged. Klein stepped forward, moving towards Asuna.

"I'm Klein, I'm twenty-three, single and-" was all he managed to get out before Sinon grabbed him by his collar and pulled him backward onto the ground, where he landed with a thump. "Ow, hey, what're you- oh wait, right, still doesn't hurt," Klein complained from his spot on floor. He picked himself up and dusted himself off.

"I did warn you to behave," Sinon returned, before turning back to the others. "Sorry, Asuna. He. . . apparently. . . does that." She'd only been exposed to it once, but if he did it to one complete stranger, she'd expected him to do it to all of them.

"Good to meet you," Agil spoke up, extending his hand to Klein. The man took it, and they shook briefly. Agil turned to Sinon, moving to the business at hand. "Asuna never could tell me what it was you guys wanted me to do here. I take it there's more than just breaking Kirito out."

Sinon half shrugged. "Kirito asked us to bring you along. Since it's Kibaou we're dealing with, he's probably worried that Thinker won't believe us when it comes to our word against his. Most people who were there sided with Kibaou, with the twisted story that somehow warning Diabel equates to letting him die. You can give some testimony in his defense." She tried not to let her anger and frustration seep into her voice. She need to be level headed right now. Getting worked up would only make things harder.

Asuna dropped back to the rear of the four of them. They'd met very close to the Black Iron Palace, and were now making the quick trip there. Sinon and Agil were discussing something, Asuna wasn't sure what, and Klein seemed to be at least half paying attention. She was still unsure of what to make of the man. His introduction to her had been blunt, to put it kindly. Still, Sinon seemed to trust him. He had come to help them, when there was no benefit to associating oneself with beta testers.

The four of the entered the building, and Asuna remembered just how imposing the Black Iron Palace really was. Thinker had certainly done himself a favor when he'd acquired the facility as the base of operations for his Aincrad Liberation Front. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't actually run into any ALF members during either of the boss raids. She knew that the Palace had a few unique locations, specifically the Prison and the Monument of Swordsmen. She'd never been to the Monument herself, but she knew it was the replacement for the Monument of Life, the original respawn point. It was a list of every player in the game, with names crossed out one by one as players fell. What a sick game they were trapped in. The sanctuary once reserved for the renewal of life was now a sepulchre.

As the four of them entered, Klein slid into the lead position. He guided them quickly through the building, suddenly emanating an air confidence that belied the goofiness of a man who asked any and every girl he met to go out with him. "Are you part of the ALF? You seem to know your way around," Asuna asked, Sinon having not told her much about the man beyond that he was a friend of hers and Kirito's.

"Nah, I'm with the Furinkazan. I was here for a few days while the Guildpact was ironed out. It was kind of a drag, really." He didn't elaborate that he knew the layout of the building because he spent so little actual time in the conference room. He'd found a few excuses to go out and hit things when the discussions got heated. Usually over who was actually allowed to stay based out of the Palace itself. He didn't care who used the place, and most of the big guilds didn't care much for the misfits that seemed to make up the Furinkazan. He opened his menu, and found a message waiting to send, something he'd written up earlier. He sent it, hopefully not leaving it up long enough for anyone to see it.

They came to a rest in front of a set of large double doors, with two swordsmen standing guard. "You guys sure about this?" It was Agil that spoke up. "If this goes badly, we could end up being branded enemies of the ALF."

Sinon looked at him, half puzzled, half glaring. "Kirito didn't do anything. I'm not going to leave him there to rot just because a bully doesn't like the fact that his friend died because he was stupid." The response came out more heated than she'd meant for it to, but she wasn't going one of her only friends get sentenced to that.

Agil held up his hands defensively, as if asking for peace. He looked over to Asuna, who had look of determination that mirrored the one he'd seen in the fight against Illfang. Klein just had a smug grin on his face. These kids were alright. Agil grinned at the group. "I just wanted to make sure you'd thought this through, that's all. We ready?"

The guards seemed to have tense at their presence. One of them was sending a message, Agil had to guess, based on the frantic moving of fingers through an open menu screen. Klein stepped forward, clearing his voice, as if drawing their attention. The guards donned their shields and swords, the one on the right speaking for both of them. "This area is restricted. Outsiders aren't allowed in." The one on the left finished his message, no doubt alerting Kibaou to the fact that the three of them were here.

"We're here under article Eight. I'm Klein of the Furinkazan, and I'm exercising our right to make sure that the Black Iron Prison isn't abused." Asuna wasn't sure what Klein was talking about, she'd only ever heard of the Pact in passing. Agil seemed almost as in the dark as her, while Sinon's face betrayed nothing. Still, Asuna didn't say anything. Klein seemed to know what he was doing.

"Article Eight only allows leaders to inspect the prison. They can't go in." The guard replied, gesturing with his chin towards Sinon, Agil, and Asuna. Asuna had a feeling it didn't even matter if that were true, they were probably supposed to be watching for her and Sinon. Kiaou was probably on his way.

Klein smiled. "Look, guys, I'm trying to be nice here. You can either let us through," he waved his hand vaguely in the air, making it clear that he meant all four of them, "Or I can get Thinker to come down here, get you guys Blacklisted for failure to comply with the Guildpact, and then go check." Klein's friendliness was not entirely feigned. After all, he didn't know what real involvement these players had with Kirito's capture, if any. "Don't make me be that guy, alright?"

"Article Eight does not allow Guildless players access to the Prison. We can't know whether they're trustworthy or not." The guards didn't move from their spots. If anything, they seemed to move slightly closer together, as though they thought the group was going to try to rush between them.

"They're green for crying out loud!" Klein yelled at them, his annoyance starting to show. If they were going to stall them, they could at least have the decency of not insulting them, too. He started to say something else when he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder. He looked up, seeing Agil behind him.

"Don't worry, I got this," Agil announced. He said it just loud enough for the guards to hear, and he began walking towards them.

"We can't let you in here." The first guard stated. When Agil didn't stop moving, he continued. "We'll use our swords if we have to."

Agil never broke stride. When one of the soldiers swung at him, he caught the weapon by the blade. It couldn't cut his skin, and his own positioning meant there was no momentum to push him backward. The other one tried swinging at him, but it had the same result. The other four members of the party started after him, keeping a few feet between themselves and the big man. "Man, these are some really cheap weapons. If you ever want something good, you should go by Ishikawa's. It's a little expensive, but the stuff he's got is definitely better than these things." He pulled the swords out of the men's hands with a jerk, then tossed them behind him. He picked each man up by the collar, and slung them unceremoniously down the hall away from the group. "It really would have been easier if you'd just let us through."

Agil threw open the double doors, revealing a complex that was even colder than than the rooms they'd just exited. Klein again seemed to know where he was going. "They tell you the layout of this place while you were discussing the Guilpact?" Asuna asked the older man.

"We had to tour it. We had to know who would be put where, how things work. It's a very fragile prison from the outside, but the walls are Immortal Objects, making it impossible to break out. Doors only open from the outside. Corridor crystals drop you off in here and the guards put you in the cell. For orange players, messages are disengaged, and some other options are shut off. We're not sure what set it all up." It was only then that Asuna noticed it was a hallway, not an expanse of cells. Klein turned to the right, to one of the many doors lining the walls. It opened readily, and that's when the group found cells. Most of them were empty, there hadn't been much time to go after orange players yet, but a few of them were inhabited. Further down the hall, they found who they were looking for.

"Kirito!" Asuna called out, running to the boy's cell. Klein caught her before she could open the door.

"What are you doing?" It was Sinon's voice now, though it lacked the anger Klein had feared would be directed his way.

"Kibaou's coming. Thinker will be here in about five minutes. We can't let Kirito out before he gets here. If we do, we don't have any evidence that Kirito was imprisoned unjustly. If we want Kibaou out of here, we have to wait," the displeasure at the course of action was evident on his face.

"You planned this out the moment I told you what was going on, didn't you? That message you sent earlier was to Thinker." Sinon was going back into her more analytical mode. The last bit was a statement, not a question. "What if Thinker is on Kibaou's side?"

"Of course I planned this all out. I'm not just a pretty face, you know." He gave her a roguish grin, trying to emphasize his point. "Wait, you saw that? I thought I'd managed to be smooth enough to not get seen."

"It's Sinon, assume she saw you," came Asuna from in front of Kirito's cell.

"Hey, guys, it's great to see you, and all, but I'd really like to get out of here," Kirito piped up from inside his cell.

"Sinon, what do you think?" Asuna asked, torn. She desperately wanted to let Kirito out, but if it really was better for him in the long run, she figured it was probably worth it to wait.

Sinon was visibly mulling it over when Agil spoke up. "Too late guys, look who's here." The man turned around, putting himself now at the front of the group, though Klein slid around him. Sinon stood behind him to his right, glaring daggers at Kibaou as he and a cadre of ALF soldiers filed into the room. Asuna stayed back, staying close to Kirito.

"What's going on?" Kirito asked her, unable to get a clear view of anything from inside his cell. He'd been stuck in here for just under a day now, but he could see just how maddening it would be to be imprisoned for any prolonged period of time. Not that murderers didn't deserve it, but he was glad that he was, hopefully, about to get out.

"Kibaou's here. I think he's going to try and imprison all of us in here. Not sure how he plans to do it," Asuna responded. There were only so many other explanations for the ten or so extra men he'd brought along.

"I figured you guys would show up, so I got a couple of extra rooms for ya. You can go in quietly, or I can put you there, but you're not walking back out of here," Kibaou announced. The hall was narrow enough that his soldiers could only fit through it in lines of three, and one of them was starting to move forward.

"What did we ever do to you?" Sinon asked. She was more than fed up with this attitude.

"You're all cheaters. You left us all to die. You think we weren't going to get you back for that? You're traitors."

Agil spoke up next. "You know better. One of your 'confirmed' beta testers," he drew out the word to make sure his sarcasm was clear, "is the fastest mapper we have. She doesn't even charge for the maps." He knew that she charged for pretty much everything else, but the map was probably the most crucial piece of information you could have on each floor.

"So? She still doesn't fight. She doesn't give us equipment to fend for ourselves. She gives us stuff we can get for ourselves. None of them are willing to make reparations for what happened. We lost a thousand players that first month, you think they care?" Kibaou continued his tirade.

Sinon's glare had turned from one of anger to hate. She fumed, but didn't say anything. Klein spoke up next, an edge in his voice. "It doesn't matter what you think of beta testers. You've put a green player in Prison. You've got enough trouble on your hands already."

Kibaou smirked. "I see a bunch of beaters and sympathizers that broke in to try and release oranger players. That's worthy of imprisonment, isn't it? It's my job as the Fourth Sub-commander and Warden of the prison to stop that." Kibaou hadn't expected to get nearly this lucky. Not only had he gotten the three sainted beaters, but he'd got a couple of sympathizers for his troubles. They didn't have a way out of here, there were too many soldiers between them and the door. That's why his composure started to crack when Klein broke out laughing. "What's so funny?"

Sinon had a vicious grin on her face as she saw what Klein was laughing at. Klein had figured all this out ahead of time. To be fair, he was the only person amongst them who had any idea what the Guildpact actually was. "I'm not so sure you're a Sub-Commander anymore, Kibby."

"What did you call me?" He raged, then, after a moment, "Of course I'm the Sub-commander. I-"

"You are no longer a member of the ALF, Kibaou. Thank you, Klein, for bringing this to my attention," a cool, measured voice came from behind the crowd of soldiers. They turned and saluted the man standing in the doorway. He was regally adorned, conveying a mixture of nobility and generalship. He was accompanied by a grey haired woman whose attire was not dissimilar to his own. "You ten, Yulier will debrief you. We'll deal with your involvement later. Dismissed." Thinker stood still as the woman stepped aside, allowing the ten men to march out of the room.

"Wait, where are you going?" Kibaou screamed at the men, who gave no response. "What are you doing?" He reeled on Thinker. "These people are murderers, they stood back and let people die, they knew-" and suddenly he was lying on the ground, he turned, seeing Sinon, and tried to stand, only for her to kick him across the face.

"You keep throwing around those terms," Sinon began, her voice turned to ice. She knew she should be trembling. She knew if there were any guns around, she'd probably go into shock. She'd deck him with speed that would probably make Asuna proud when he'd finally come out and said it. Murderer. As if he could fathom the meaning of that word. "Asuna, let Kirito out now." Her voice didn't tremble. It didn't betray the fear of the judgment she was sure to incur. Her mind was focused on one thing. She was a murderer. She bore that burden. Kirito and Asuna, the beaters, were not.

"I'm not finished with you," she resumed, as Kibaou tried to scamper away. Thinker moved to stand between Kibaou and the exit, shutting the door behind him. His face was impassive. Kirito and Asuna were now standing in front of Agil and Klein, none of them willing to say anything. Asuna and Kirito had never seen her this angry. "Your friend didn't die because Kirito, or Asuna, or anyone killed him," she stopped to kick him as he tried to talk. She knew he didn't feel the pain, that it couldn't cause damage, so she didn't hold back. "He didn't die because someone withheld information from him. He died because he was greedy, because he wanted to get the Last Attack Bonus for himself. He didn't even bother to look at the weapon the boss was wearing. It was plain as day to everyone the weapon wasn't curved. But you can't admit that. So it has to be our fault. You don't know what murder is. You've never killed anyone. You've never experience that, so don't you dare throw that term around. You've never had to deal with the consequences of it. Never had to deal with admitting that there's blood on your hands. No, you just want to push people around, and take things that you don't want to have to work for. You don't want justice for the thousand players who didn't make it through the first month. You want free gear." She picked him up by the collar. "You accuse us of not caring. You actually accuse us, when you use their memory for the sake of extortion. You're the one who deserves to be here. You're nothing better than a bully. No, actually, you're worse than that. You dishonor the dead by invoking them as if it gives you some kind of power or privilege." She threw him down, bouncing him off the ground. He hadn't struggled, he'd been too transfixed by his attacker. "You disgust me." She kicked him one more time, then turned her back on him, slowly, pointedly, and walked away from him.

"Does anyone else have any words for him?" Thinker replied, apparently unfazed by the tirade that Sinon had just released. No one spoke up. Most of the room was still too stunned to speak. Kibaou didn't even move. He seemed to be surprised that he escaped with his life, given the vehemence of the speech. "Klein, as the representative of the Furinkazan, it is your right to demand that this be brought before the Guildpact. I have removed Kibaou from the ALF and can have him held for questioning and imprisonment, if you wish."

"No," it was Kirito who finally spoke up, having been unable to interact with anything that had gone on so far, either being caged or transfixed. "Don't put him in here. He'll still have his messages. He'd just stir up trouble. Probably get a gang of players together to break him and sympathetic orange players out. If it's all the same to you, I'd like to request that he be banned from," he paused, "what did you call it? Guildpact? Guildpact areas."

Thinker looked over at Klein. "Is that acceptable for you?" Even if Kirito was the victim in this, he was guildless, and therefore had no real say in Guildpact actions. It was unfortunate, but guilds were already starting to soak up most of the games clearers. They could only act where they had jurisdiction. Klein nodded, giving his assent. Thinker opened the door, where two ALF guards, wearing fancier regalia than that of those they'd seen so far, were waiting. "Find a cell for him. He is to be kept there until we can have things sorted out. Klein and myself will stand witness that he has violated the Guildpact," Thinker ordered, gesturing to Kibaou.

He turned back to the others. "I'm sorry for the difficulty that one of my former subordinates has caused you. I'd like to reimburse you for these difficulties. I'll have some restitution for you as soon as all of this is sorted out. I hope you won't let this tint your view of the whole of the ALF."

Sinon was trembling now, her will evaporated with the crisis averted. Kirito answered as the girl made her way to himself and Asuna. "No, we understand. This isn't the first run-in we've had with him. I doubt it will be the last, honestly. It's good to know we have someone on our side throughout all this."

Thinker nodded. "People like that are going to cause a lot more deaths before this game is over. There's no room for that. If we can't work together, we won't make it through this game. The game is already geared to pick us off. We don't need to be running each other through on top of that." He paused for a moment. "I'm sorry for all of this trouble. Klein, are you satisfied that there are no more transgressions here?" When Klein again voiced his agreement, Thinker continued, "Well then, I feel it would be best if we left this dismal place behind." The five players filed out, Klein and and Agil preceding Thinker, followed by Kirito and the girls. Asuna stayed very close to Kirito, as if afraid of losing him again. Sinon's eyes seemed to bore into the ground, and she seemed to almost lean on the other two for support.

* * *

><p>Kirito and Asuna were back in an unfamiliar room on floor one, seated next to each other, with Sinon curled up in front of them, her back to their legs, as if seeking comfort but unable to face them. Agil and Klein had gone their separate ways after promising to check in on them. It had been a draining day and no one had been up to figuring out where to go from here. Besides, Kirito and Asuna didn't want to say it, but they didn't want to drag either of the two into their fight again. They were the ones who were being targeted. There was no reason for anyone else to get caught up in that.<p>

Asuna was sitting right next to Kirito, their legs almost touching. It had seemed to help Sinon somewhat to have both of them there, and neither Kirito nor Asuna had noticed the proximity. Kirito put a hand on Sinon's side, trying to comfort her. The girl was breathing heavily. "Hey, it's okay. We're still here for you." Asuna mimicked his gesture, both of them trying to help, neither sure what was wrong.

"It's alright. Talk to us, what's going on? What happened back there?" Asuna finally spoke up. She felt as much as heard the deep inhalation that Sinon responded with, as if the girl was steeling herself for something.

"You're going to hate me if I tell you. Everyone always does. Everyone always does. . ." she started to trail off.

"Shhhh. . . We're still here. We're your friends. We won't hate you," Asuna responded. "We won't judge you. We promise." She gave Kirito a meaningful look when he seemed as though he wasn't going to respond.

"Yeah. We won't judge you. You're our friend. You've saved our lives more than once. What's going on? Let us help," Kirito intoned.

Sinon rolled over, causing her friends to remove their hands. Her eyes were red, but it didn't seem like she'd been crying. She looked like she'd been fighting it for hours, but so far had been winning. "He shouldn't have been calling you murderer, Kirito. You're not. You're not even close."

Kirito tried to console her. "I know. Thank you. I know I'm not a murderer. It doesn't matter what he thinks of me. He's one of the worst people I've met in this game."

Sinon shook her head, smiling weakly at Kirito and Asuna. "You're welcome. But that's not what I meant. I know that you're not a murderer because I know what murder is. Because I'm a murderer. Because I've shot someone. Not just once. I shot him three times. I thought maybe this world would let me get away from that. He was going to shoot my mom. I couldn't just stand there. He was going to start shooting people. So I bit him. I don't know how, I just know he hit me and I ended up with the gun. I was so small. I could barely pull the trigger. I told him not to move. I just wanted him to stop. But he kept coming. He kept trying to attack me. So I shot him. I hoped he'd stop, but he wouldn't. He _just kept coming_." Her voice was starting to rise as she relived the moment. "I kept shooting. He'd have hurt everyone there if I didn't. But then. . ." she trailed off, the image of the damage from the last shot seared into her memory. She was openly weeping now, her face turned from Kirito and Asuna in shame.

Asuna moved to her friend and put her arms around her, putting the girl's head on her shoulders. "Hush now. It's alright. It was self defense. It wasn't your fault." Asuna was still processing what she'd been told. She was certain of one thing, regardless of what Sinon said. Her friend was not a murderer. She'd never done anything to endanger any of the other players. Her friend was broken, and that much she could help. She felt another pair of arms envelop them. Kirito was hugging the two of them. Sinon just cried harder. She didn't know why these two didn't run off like the rest of the people who found out about her. Her tears were both those of anguish, sorrow, and the hate of who she was, but now tempered with timid happiness. The girl hadn't had friends in years. Even her mom didn't want her. Was it really possible that now she had two? She just wept into her friends' arms. She knew she'd wake up and find out they weren't there. But for now, she'd just accept the warmth of their embrace, and the friendship they still seemed to feel for her.

When she woke the next day, she found she still was not alone.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I promise, I'm trying to make the story about all three of them, but Sinon seems, to me at least, to have the most defined personality so far. That said, this did end up being a Sinon chapter. Hopefully the personalities will continue to delineate as the story progresses.**

**Also, I will make the Guildpact public as soon as I've got the last nitty gritty bits ironed out. I'm open to suggestions, anything I might have missed, but I can't promise I'll include everything. I have a fairly well established vision of where this is going for a while.**

**I'm going to be doing some intermittent side-story type chapters focusing on characters on than the big three. Some of them will be integral to the story, some will be more character exploration based. One of these will likely be Sinon and Kirito's time in the beta. What characters would you guys like to see? I can't make any promises, but feedback helps.**


	7. The Beat Squad

**A/N: Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the holidays. Thanks for all the feedback. Been a little tough finding time for this one. Blame football and holidays. Writer's block did not help.**

**To Lunar, don't worry, the massive player on player combat is coming later.**

**To Jime, he might be the most important character in this story arc. He just happens to be dead.**

* * *

><p><strong>January 2, 2023<strong>

**2nd Floor**

**Survivors: 7,744**

"Why don't we just sleep in the cave? We're here often enough." Sinon commented as the three players made their way back to Troust, the mountain and the goblin. It had been two weeks, and another boss had fallen. For the first time, the finishing blow was dealt by someone not in their little group. One of the higher ranked clearers from the Dragon Knights Brigade had demanded the final attack. Kirito and Asuna hadn't needed to transition from defense to offense for once, and the DKB had been allowed the deathblow. The three had a feeling that, somewhere down the road, that would cause friction, too. Even in a game where more than seven and a half thousand survivors were fighting for their lives, people still didn't want to work together. The trek up the mountain had almost felt like a vacation, after all that.

"We probably could find somewhere to lay down if we wanted. We never did explore very much of the place," Asuna responded to her friend. The three of them had again been spending most of their time away from people, their paranoia properly renewed after Kirito's kidnapping. Asuna found Kirito to be a bit moodier since the incident. He'd only been trapped for a day, and he had gotten a hold of his friends, but that was still a good amount of time with nothing to do but think. She'd not had the time to try and talk to him about it, the two of them had been trying to take care of Sinon. Sinon's attitude had only shifted a little bit, she still seemed vulnerable, she'd cried again the next morning when she saw that Asuna and Kirito were still in her room. Neither had felt comfortable sleeping on their own that night. They'd all slept fully clothed, and Kirito had slept on the floor facing away from the girls, but it still seemed to affect the girl. She fought with more abandon than she had before.

"I just can't wait to see what they've built for you, Sinon," Kirito chimed in from his position at the front of the line. "They said it wasn't a bow. What do you guys think they came up with?" Kirito couldn't help but wonder if there was some sort of rare item, or series of rare items, and this was some strange rare quest they'd stumbled over. It felt a little off though. So far, the game had been at least fair. Not in the sense that they'd been duped into playing it, but in the sense that the mechanics and the systems built into it affected everyone evenly. No one could die in the cities or safe zones. No one could break into homes or hotel rooms. Stores couldn't be stolen from. Inventories couldn't be emptied, items that were taken from your hand could be recalled with a button in the inventory system, making theft impossible but lending during combat fairly easy. To have an unannounced rare quest seemed to fly in the face of what he'd observed so far. Which meant he had his suspicions as to what the goblin quests weren't, but didn't help him very much with what they might actually be.

"We'll all find out pretty soon," Sinon responded. She had a feeling she'd need to reshuffle her inventory to allow for the new weapon, whatever it was. She had her knives, so if she had to switch it with her sword, she wouldn't be completely helpless at close range, but it would be different to be one of the few people in the game not carrying one. The game seemed to be getting easier, everyone seemed to be getting more comfortable with their equipment. It was their world now, even if they wanted nothing more than to get back out of it. Fashions were starting to crop up here and there as players started to specialize themselves into tailors. Once custom armors started showing up, they found themselves with a glut of business. At the end of the day, people could still look like whatever they wanted to, however cliche. Swords were starting down the same path. Shields, too, seemed to be picking up in popularity, since a number of players were beginning to use them as a concession to survivability. Some people felt they weren't worth the col to purchase them, since only the game's best clearers really had enough money to buy everything they wanted. Sinon, Kirito, and Asuna had yet to pick one up, but that was because it was incompatible with Asuna's style, Kirito was too reckless to bother blocking, and Sinon preferred to keep her off hand free for her knives.

The three of them continued onward along the familiar slopes of the mountain. They continued talking, going over the events of the past few days, giving their opinion on the direction the game was taking, or just saying nothing at all. The three had grown used to the sound of each others' voices. It gave the world a sense of normalcy, as much as that could be accomplished. The general weather was getting worse, and three were very rarely found without their cloaks. The trip seemed shorter than usual this time, and the three were in front of the mouth of the cave. They slid inside, making their way down its familiar passages. The goblins were still unsettling, the whole place felt like it could attack them at any moment, but they knew better.

They made their way to Troust's office, not yet ready to explore the cave's various side tunnels. They didn't want to be here too long this time. They hadn't been able to spend as much time clearing the last floor as they'd wanted, and the next floor seemed particularly interesting. Troust looked up at the three of them, wearing the same bothered look he'd had on his face the first time they'd come by. "You're back? I suppose you're here for your weapon."

"Yeah, you said you needed two weeks," Sinon responded, trying not to let her annoyance show. Most computer generated characters were much more cooperative than this guy was. Kirito and Asuna were standing behind her, letting her take the lead on this one. It was her weapon, after all.

He nodded, as if she'd asked a question, and then turned his back to them, rummaging through the mess of items lying around. He turned around, smiling, a box in his hands. "This was made by the best armorers of Troust. You won't be disappointed in it." He put it down on the table between the two of them. Reached to take the box, but Troust shook his head, reaching around to open it. Apparently he wanted to keep the box, but was willing to give her the weapon. He opened the box, revealing a polished chakram. A bladed ring with a handle running through the middle. She picked it up by the handle, feeling the weight, rolling it in her hand. It felt good. Heavy enough to have some bite, but light enough to still be effective. She'd been hoping for something better, but the spears in this game were far too slow, and Troust had told her earlier that there were no bows to be found. Maybe this was the best she'd find.

A menu popped up in front of her, asking if she wanted to purchase the weapon. She noticed the col cost, a meager amount compared to what she'd been seeing in the various player and NPC shops that littered the first three floors. She opened her menu, looking through her weapons, ready to equip it, see how she needed to reconfigure her loadout. She found it fairly readily, and the chakram appeared on her right hip, leaving her sword on her left. Interesting that the game allowed her to wield both of the weapons simultaneously.

Sinon gave him a tentative smile. "Thank you. It looks to be a masterful piece of work." She wasn't sure why she said it, but he had held up his end of the bargain, and wasn't being nearly as difficult as he had been last time.

He smiled, nodding. "Of course," he stated it as a fact, as if goblins were incapable of making bad equipment. And maybe these were. "His majesty has a message for you," Troust continued, walking around his desk, motioning for the three of them to follow with him. "He tells you that Memoria's people are not your enemy." Troust seemed to be ushering the group of them back out of his office, again without providing them too much more of interest.

Sinon was lost in thought, Asuna could see the gears turning. She was already figuring out how she could best use her new weapon, how it would affect the group dynamic in combat, those sorts of things. Asuna had seen that look before. Kirito, however, wasn't about to get pushed out again, not with such a cryptic message and no explanation. "What do you mean? Who is Memoria?"

Troust shrugged. "His majesty's words, not mine. Not my place to tell. Go on now, you have work to do. I have to attend to my people. Grenang's wife is due any time now, and I must rearrange the work schedules…" The three of them left the room dumbfounded at what they heard, the last words they could make out being grumblings about the lack of consideration in hiding a pregnancy for so long.

Asuna looked at the other two. "I'm not the only one that heard that, right?" she asked them, the entire tenor of their trip here having been shifted those last comments. Whatever this quest was, it was definitely more immersive than they'd given it credit for.

Sinon had been snapped back to the topic at hand by the comment herself. "Something about a goblin being about to have a baby?"

Kirito shook his head. Well played. They'd have to figure out who or what Memoria was on their own time. "Yeah." He really couldn't come up with a comment. "At least you got your weapon, Sinon." The girl nodded back at him, and the three of them left, deciding they could leave the exploration for another day.

* * *

><p><strong>January 4, 2023<strong>

**4th Floor**

**Survivors: 7,741**

Asuna and Kirito were without Sinon today, the brunette having left to take care of some private matters. The two had objected at first, but once she'd promised to be careful and reminded them that the three of them couldn't always be around each other, and they needed to practice taking care of themselves every now and again, they'd eventually relented. Asuna still didn't like it. Kirito had been gone for only a few hours and Kibaou had managed to get to him. Still, it was her life.

It was their first excursion onto floor four, and, for once, they'd elected not to immediately go clearing. Asuna hadn't liked the idea at first, but it wouldn't be the first time they'd taken a break from the action, and it was beautiful. This floor was verdant without being forested. They'd emerged in a massive valley, the angles of the walls showing that there was no hope of climbing them this time. Everything was lush, green, and tributaries of the main stream seemed to branch off everywhere, leading to the interior of the valley, for the most part, being as large as the other floors had been with few barriers. The areas that did lead off into their own canyons and caverns were thought to be fertile questing grounds, though very few players had taken the time to explore them.

Kirito was lying on the grass next to one of the many branches of the river, Asuna leaning against a moss covered wall behind her, glad that the game's armors didn't stain, since otherwise there was no way the white clothes she wore would stay white through this particular floor. She'd unequipped her cloak, the heat and humidity of the area making it more of a burden than than an aid. Besides, they'd been sure to find an out of the way area, to make sure they didn't run into anyone.

"Shouldn't it be winter?" Asuna half-asked, half observed. So far, the game had been fairly true to the real world's weather. She was enjoying the warmth of the sunshine, to be sure, but it did strike her as odd.

"Maybe this is as close as the game can come to creating tropical islands." Kirito responded, guessing.

"I suppose. It's just jarring after spending so much time in Chirstmasland and Troust," Asuna responded as she let herself slide down into a seated position against the wall. "It's nice, either way." The whole area was refreshing. It had been so long since they hadn't had to bundle up to keep from freezing. The pair remained motionless for a while, letting a comfortable silence fall over them.

Kirito broke the spell, "You know, I don't think I've ever spent this much time outdoors in my life." He was laying on his back, hands behind his head, facing the water. He tilted his head back to get something of a better view of the girl as he said it.

Asuna wasn't sure how to respond at first. None of them really talked about their lives in the outside world. "What did you do inside all the time?"

Kirito shrugged. "I did some Kendo for a while, but after I quit, I never found much reason to go outside. Spent a lot of time playing video games."

"Oh. You did Kendo?" Asuna's surprise seeped into her voice.

"Yeah. Does that surprise you?"

"A little, sorry. Not that you're not a good swordsman, you're one of the best I've met. It's just that how you fight doesn't seem professionally trained. A little primal, I guess."

Kirito chuckled at the response. "You're right. I haven't done Kendo in years. It was fun while it lasted, though." To be honest, he was surprised at how little two years of muscle memory had contorted his responses in combat. "What about you? You seem almost like a professional fencer."

Asuna shook her head before realizing that it was fairly unlikely that Kirito could see her. "No, not at all. I've actually never picked up a sword before I logged in to this game. It's just natural. The game just comes easy to me, I guess."

Again, Kirito chuckled at her. "Someone's pretty sure of themselves. When we met, you didn't even know how parties worked."

"Yeah, yeah. Just keep talking," Asuna responded. "What made you quit Kendo?" She decided to turn the conversation back away from petty bickering.

Kirito paused a moment before responding. Chunks of his childhood flashed through his mind. His uncle, his grandfather. The knowledge that he'd never really gotten to know his parents. He shook his head, clearing it slightly. "My grandfather teaches it. My family and I don't really get along anymore, so I didn't want to keep going. My uncle beat me for it, but he seemed to let it go afterward."

Asuna sat there in silence for a moment at the bluntness of his explanation. She'd never suspected that he'd been abused. "He beat you? And you're okay with this? What about your parents? What'd they say?" If she hadn't been so surprised by what he'd said, she never would have let that last bit out. If his uncle was the operant relative, it stood to reason that Kirito didn't have parents in his life, for whatever reason.

He rolled over, looking at her, sighing. He didn't seem angry or hurt. "I don't have my parents, Asuna. I just know they died in an accident while I was little. As long as I can remember, I've lived with my aunt and uncle. I quit Kendo. . . I don't know. I don't like my uncle. We don't get along. I found that I liked computers more than Kendo, so I moved on. He didn't like that. There's a lot of things I do that he doesn't like. I never really have gotten an answer as to why." His voice wasn't breaking, but Asuna could hear something in his tone. Isolation? Did he feel lost? Confusion? She couldn't quite place it, but she recognized it.

Asuna pushed herself off the wall, walking over to where Kirito was lying, and settled herself onto the ground next to him, putting one arm across his shoulders. She wasn't sure what else to do. Her friends were both broken people. She wasn't sure she could do much to help, but she'd try. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize."

Kirito gave her a weak smile. His mind was still on his sister, his regrets about his life. He suddenly remembered why he'd become a gamer in the first place. These games were his escape. In some, weird, twisted way, Sword Art Online still was. Everyone here had to deal with new, life or death situations, but the stress of the real world was gone. He rolled over and sat up, Asuna doing the same. She stayed close, offering him the comfort of knowing someone was there. The two of them looked out at the river flowing by in front of them. Asuna put a hand on his shoulder. Kirito looked at her. He studied her for a moment as she looked out at the water. Her expression was soft, nothing like the fierce beauty he'd seen on floor one. But it was her just the same. He turned to look back out over the water, almost able to put into words what he hadn't said back then. "There are some beautiful things in this game."

* * *

><p><strong>January 4, 2023<strong>

**2nd Floor**

**Survivors: 7,741**

Argo didn't like using the same meeting spot more than once in a row, so Sinon was back in familiar land of Troust. She found it interesting how quickly she, Kirito, and Asuna had come to think of the whole floor by that name. It was the only place they really went whenever they came back down here. She'd gotten the message from Argo the day before, asking to meet up. Sinon had her doubts that Argo would have as much information as she was hoping for, but she knew better than to doubt the Rat.

She was on the outskirts of town, away from prying eyes. This floor was the least popular of the ones unlocked so far, given how harsh the weather was. Most players preferred the forests of floor three, the security of floor one, or the comparative oasis of floor four. Sinon let her left hand fall to her side, her fingers running across the rim of her chakram. She'd switched it from her right side to her left after some testing. It was just a little faster not having to reach across her body to get to it. It had been easier to use than she'd expected, the game letting her use it her off-hand as though it were her shield meant she didn't have to get rid of her sword, and it seemed that every successful sword skill guaranteed that it would return to her. She was still getting used to it, but it was an effective weapon. Much better than burning through knives every time they went somewhere.

Argo made her way silently to the girl's side. She cleared her throat, then managed to stifle a laugh as Sinon jumped slightly. Argo just smiled as the other girl glared at her. Sinon calmed herself for a moment before speaking, knowing that she needed all of her self control for any discussion with Argo. Not giving away information for free was hard enough to begin with.

"What did you find?" Sinon finally asked.

"I found plenty on Kibaou. He's alive and controversial. Easy. Diabel I'll have to get back to you on," Argo responded, opening a trade window as she did. She punched in a value in col, then sent the offer to the brunette.

Sinon could only scoff. "You think I'm going to pay that without any idea what I'm getting?"

"I thought you might want to pay up front," a nasal voice responded. "Price might just go up as we talk."

Sinon shook her head. "You'd just charge me for that, too."

"True, but it might feel a little better not doing it all at once."

"Data. First." Sinon insisted. "You know I'll pay."

Argo pouted for a moment, before shrugging. "Yeah, yeah. Kibaou's a piece of work. He didn't like beta testers from the beginning, but it seems like he snapped after floor one. After you guys got him booted from the ALF, he started bouncing around from guild to guild. He never stuck long, anyone who wants Guildpact protection can't keep him, but he's got a bit of a following across a few guilds. They fancy themselves some sort of underground movement called the Balance Group. You want to know more about them, it'll cost. Also of note is the fact that he's starting to get buddy-buddy with Lind."

Sinon recognized the name. Lind was the name of the leader of the Dragon Knights Brigade. He wasn't known for being the nicest of players, but it seemed odd that he'd be taken in by Kibaou's rhetoric. "Is that all?" Sinon asked. It didn't give her too much about his personality, but raw factual data was more important when she and her friends were no doubt actively being hunted. Kibaou didn't seem like the type to give up.

Argo retracted the trade off she'd already made. Information on Lind would be extra. "I think Kibaou's trying to put together a guild of his own. You and your friends need to be careful. He's stirring up a lot of flack towards you guys. You guys get killed, I can't get paid." She punched in a new figure and sent a second offer.

"It's heartwarming how much you care." Sinon returned, "Alright. A down payment for information on Lind. And keep an eye on Kibaou. Anything of note that you find, I'll pay for. But only if it's actually of note." Sinon accepted the new trade now, rather than later. She knew Argo would charge for his lunch habits if she could. Although that data might actually help if they ever needed to find him. Bad example. This wasn't going to let her do too much, but Sinon was grateful to have some sort of warning about Lind.

Argo gave her the same smile she'd given when she scared the taller girl. She didn't have any response. She slunk off, leaving Sinon alone with her thoughts. Sinon's hand dropped back to the chakram at her side, sliding her fingers along the cool fo the metal. What did people see in him? Kibaou just kept finding friends. And just what was his connection to Diabel?

* * *

><p><strong>January 12, 2023<strong>

**4th Floor**

**Survivors: 7,708**

The humidity of the fourth floor was completely different challenge from the dryness of the first three floors. Asuna and Sinon had elected to forego their cloaks, leaving Asuna with just her shining top and less rare pants, the white a stark contrast to the greens and blues that prevailed around them. Sinon was armed to the teeth, wearing the a newer lime green tunic, her sword and chakram on her left hip, knives strapped to various parts of her body, one on the right hip, one on her left leg, and various tucked away where she could get to them when she needed them. Kirito was wearing his normal coat, which, while uncomfortable, he said he'd become too accustomed to wearing to leave home.

Kirito pulled his sword out of the skull of an alligator, one of the stock monsters in this area. The thing dissolved into pixels. The creatures here weren't particularly difficult, but then the three of them were all above level ten and this was only level four. Kirito and Sinon had some idea of how to navigate the area, having been here before during the beta, but no beta tester trusted their old knowledge after the debacle against Illfang. The river was narrowing as they entered the base of a canyon. The water seemed to be filling with shadows. Kirito was sure there were creatures following them, but there was no sign that they were going to leave the water anytime soon. Technically, they could have gone into the water to fight the creatures, any player who could swim in real life could swim in SAO, but fighting aquatic creatures in their own territory had caused a spike in casualties over the past week or two.

Asuna was the first to notice the sound clanking metal ahead of them. Sinon and Kirito picked up on it shortly after. More players. They stopped in their tracks. It was rare for unrelated parties to run into each other on Aincrad. The number of players actively scouring the floors was rather small compared to the total population, and the floors themselves were massive. The only place there ever seemed to be any concentration of players outside of the cities were the dungeons, and the trio was taking a day off from there.

As the footfalls drew nearer the three could make out the shapes of people coming from up ahead of them. Six players, one full party, all of them dressed in silver armor with draconic stylizations to them. The weapons they carried varied from man to man, but each seemed well armed. The Dragon Knights Brigade. They were quickly gaining a reputation for being dirty. They didn't kill other players, but they saw to it that their members were best equipped, regardless of how that had to be done.

The lead knight looked remarkably like Diabel, though his features were more gaunt. His face wasn't as kind as Diabel. His hair seemed grungier. Lind. The six soldiers were growing closer, now. They seemed to have noticed the Kirito and the girls, as the absent chatter that had been going on between them suddenly stopped and their leader's posture turned rigid.

"Well, if it isn't the Beat Squad," Lind addressed them, his group still walking towards them. Kirito, Sinon, and Asuna looked around at one another before realizing Lind was, in fact, addressing them. "You're a little late. We've already cleared this area. Surprised you're just now getting around to it. I guess you've already hit the better areas, right?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. We were just exploring the area." Kirito responded for the group. Sinon in particular was on edge. Kirito and Asuna hadn't left the last boss battle on the best of terms with the man, but that was over his group's greed, not knowledge that he and Kibaou were on the same page.

"Right." Lind responded, condescension and disbelief thick in his voice. "Just like beta testers share everything they know. We know better." The two groups had converged, Lind and his five men now barring the smaller group's path. "You like to get first pick of everything, don't think we haven't noticed just because we're new to the game. I'm going to protect my people. This is Brigade training ground now. I don't want to see you here when we come back."

"What on earth are you talking about?" Kirito demanded. He was sick and tired of all this. Why did everyone assume they knew everything about beta testers? Were they just that easy a target?

"I know that you chose not to tell the floor one clearers about Illfang. I don't presume to be able to understand what would motivate you to sabotage your fellow players, but I suppose greed can do that. I know Argo didn't bother listing some of the more lucrative quests and farming areas. At least she wears her greed on her sleeve."

"We never withheld anything. How many times do I have to-" Kirito began. He felt like this was the third time he'd had to defend beta testers as not all being complete monsters. Why couldn't they have run into Agil or Heathcliff or Thinker? They treated beta testers like human beings.

"I don't have time to argue with you. I have things to attend to. I'm going to protect me and mine. This is Brigade territory now. You'd do well to be gone before any more of us show up. I don't like your kind, but I know how to restrain myself. I can't make that promise for everyone else." With that, the group marched off, almost at a loss for words.

"The Beat Squad? Seriously? That's the best they could do?" Sinon finally broke the silence. "How many nicknames do we have now?"

Kirito and Asuna ignored her comment, Kirito instead focusing on the topic at hand. "What just happened? Why does everyone hate us? Why does he look like Diabel?" The second question didn't really need answering, but frustration pulled it from him anyway. His attitude was as far from Diabel's as one could get, so why did he look like the man?

"There's ten thousand people in the game. I have to imagine every once in a while two people are going to want to dress the same without ever meeting each other. It is a video game, we get to wear plenty of things we don't get to wear in real life." Asuna offered, uncertainty showing on her face.

Kirito didn't like the answer. It was certainly possible, but it didn't feel like it fit. The appearance seemed far too deliberate. Was he trying to be like Diabel? If he was, he was failing pretty badly.

"Looks like the next floor boss will be more interesting than usual. It's not just Kibaou who can't stand us, it seems." Sinon wasn't sure whether it was time to reveal that she knew that Kibaou and Lind were working together. She decided against it. She'd tell them later. If Lind meant what he'd said about more DKB members coming, they probably didn't want to be here. Getting into player fights wasn't what they needed, even if they were fighting against a guild that was already developing a reputation.

Suddenly, the three heard a trilling, almost singsong voice came from behind them. "They don't like you very much." The three of them whirled around to find a scaled, blue girl half submerged in the river, her head cupped in her hands, looking at them with an almost childlike interest. She looked vaguely human, but her eyes were completely black, her head had something of a tail instead of hair, he ears were just recesses on the side of her head, and her hands were almost webbed. "Hello!" she waved enthusiastically at the three of them before putting her head back on her hands. She smiled, revealing rows of pointed teeth.

The three of them managed to wave weakly at the creature. This day was just getting weirder. It was Asuna who recovered first. She took a couple steps forward, tentatively approaching the creature. "Hello."

The creature tilted her head at her, almost quizzically. Her unnaturally large eyes narrowed to slits, as though she was trying to make something out. "You work for the goblins?" The creature asked, almost disappointed.

Asuna shook her head. "Their king seems to like us, but we haven't done anything for them, no." Kirito and Sinon were starting towards the pair. They were all captivated by the creature in front of them. "I'm Asuna," Asuna gestured to herself, then to her friends, "that's Kirito and Sinon. What's your name?"

The creature pursed her lipless mouth into what seemed like a mock frown. "I'm Aquella. Mother told us that you all might be coming. Seems mean of the goblins, sending you to meet mean people like that all alone."

"We weren't sent here, and I'm sure that the Goblins didn't know that we're not the most popular. Who's your mother?"

The creature flashed the same toothy smile she'd shown before. "Come with me, I'll show you." She didn't wait for the group's response, but pushed herself off, flipping herself over as she plunged into the water, revealing lithe, humanoid legs with webbed feet. She swam back the way the the group had come. They glanced at each other, but the quest hook was obvious. Kirito shrugged, and the three followed after her.

* * *

><p>They she led them down a particularly narrow tributary into an aquatic cavern of sorts, burrowed into the cliff face. There walkway was well hidden, and they found that they had to proceed single file or swim, and as friendly as Aquella seemed, none of them wanted to risk diving into the water.<p>

It eventually opened up, revealing a massive central room filled with lilypads and other aquatic greenery, all far larger than it had any right to be. There were creatures flitting around, attending to whatever business these creatures took part in. In the middle of the room there was what appeared to be their leader. A female, heavily adorned with shells and pearls. She seemed to smile as she saw them, though that could easily have been in response to some comment the trio couldn't hear. She was smiling at them, they realized, when she beckoned them over to her. Despite this, they chose to stay firmly on the walkway on the outskirts of the pond, unwilling to venture out into the water. The creature lazily swam over to stop a yard or two away from the trio, smiling benignly at their guide, who had, upon completing her job, taken to spinning a giggling as she swam. Asuna guessed she really was a child by this people's standards.

"Kurat said you'd be here," the creature began, her voice more authoritative, but with the same singsong quality as the younger one. "He said you'd been useful to him, and recommended you to me."

"Are you Memoria?" Kirito asked, remembering the cryptic comment that Troust had left them with. The others seemed to be making the same connection as he said it.

Her smile broadened. "Yes, I am Memoria, Queen-Mother of the Merfolk. I'm afraid that I cannot say I know your names."

"They say that the boy is named Kirito, the red one's name is Asuna, and the green one's name is Sinon," Aquella suddenly interjected. She quieted when Memoria looked at her. The look wasn't angry, but stern, despite the serenity remaining around the queen's eyes. The girl swam off, though she kept her attention on the group.

"I'm sorry. Some of our youngsters can be a bit impulsive. Still, she did well in bringing you here, and that will be remembered," Memoria resumed. "I'm afraid I need to ask the three of you a favor, much as the Mountain Lord needed to."

"Are you facing rebellions of your own?" Kirito asked, venturing a guess as to where this was going.

"No, no, no, nothing like that, though I'm afraid you will no doubt run into our more aggressive cousins, the tritons were never a part of us. No, rebellion is the nightmare the goblins face. We have to deal with our own." She paused, allowing the players to speak if they wished, but they remained silent, attentive. "I offer you the same deal Kurat offered you. Your help, in exchange for whatever services we might be able to provide you."

"What do you need us to do?" Kirito asked, unwilling to commit to anything without knowing.

"The tritons have become aggressive. There are some places that can barely hold under their attack. We need your help when you find them. But that's not all. There is a crown, the Pearl of Levias, lost somewhere in the dry land of this realm. We need that returned before the Tritons find it."

* * *

><p>The three players had readily agreed to the deal with the Merfolk. They were back in their hotel room, worn out from the long day. They'd almost been able to forget their encounter with Lind. Kirito only ever spent time his own room to sleep, the girls' room had become their headquarters.<p>

"Do you think we're the only players getting these weird quests?" Asuna asked the other two. The group was still adjusting to the idea of such a massive, multi-floor mission.

"No idea. It certainly wasn't in the beta," Kirito responded from his position on the bed. He was laying on it, his head dangling upside down off the end of it, looking at the two girls.

"It would be odd if it were just limited to us. Unless somehow the game knows that we can't spend that much time with other players, and built this to keep us sane," Sinon ventured. "That sounds unlikely, so we probably aren't the only ones who can find them. We might be the only ones who have."

"You think we should go to the next boss meeting? I don't think anyone else has been to all of them so far, and it seems like we aren't really wanted." Asuna's mind was drifting back to the confrontation they'd had earlier today.

"We'll be there," Kirito stated. "Sinon and I didn't miss one in the beta and we haven't missed one here. We'll be there."

"Besides, if we bow to people like Kibaou and Lind, they're just going to get a lot more people killed. Heathcliff calls us the finishers during those meetings for a reason. You and Kirito adjust the fastest to new attack patterns and are probably two of the best swordsmen in the game. If we don't go, we'll be acting a lot more like what we're accused of than if we do. We keep going. We ignore them. If they cause issues, that's on them. People may not like us, but they do respect us. Why else would we have picked up four different nicknames?" Sinon asserted, as much as the names annoyed her. They were the Black Swordsman, the Flash, and Bullseye. They were the Beat Squad. Regardless of whether they liked the names, they'd been given to them for a reason. They'd earned them. They weren't going to walk away now.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I'm going to be doing some minor timeskipping starting in a chapter or two, since at this rate I'll have over a hundred chapters to this thing. And that's without the floors that we spend multiple chapters on, like we did with three. There will be some repeat floor ideas, since there's no way I can come up with nearly a hundred unique biomes. I am open to any ideas for floors that you may want to see done at some point, though. Feel free to message me or leave something in the reviews. The same for story ideas, though how much I can work in is up in the air.**

**For those who haven't been scouring the SAO wiki looking to make sure that their story is mostly error free *cough*notthatiknowanyonedoingthat*cough*Lind is a character from the manga who founded the Holy Dragon Alliance. He may as well be an OC, given how little I know of his characterization, but still.**

**Actual OC's will be better noted. Sorry for any confusion.**


	8. Interlude - Nightfall

**A/N: Minor retcon, I'm changing Sinon's nickname from Hawkeye to Bullseye, since, well, I was never really happy with the first one and she earned it by hitting a giant bull creature. In the eyes. So, minor tweak, but it feels better to me.**

* * *

><p><strong>November 6, 2022<strong>

**Tokyo, Japan**

**Population: Approximately 16 Million**

"I'm going to practice now, see you later, okay?" Suguha called out to her brother through the door to his bedroom. She lingered there for a few moment, some part of her hoping he'd say something to her, maybe even come with her. She knew better. The only time she got to see him was at dinner and when she insisted that he help her with her homework. She wasn't as dumb as she let on, but it was nice to get some time with him.

When he didn't respond, she frowned a little bit as she walked away. She knew he wouldn't, but she always got her hopes up. She wasn't really sure why he'd stopped talking to her, why he'd quit Kendo, but that was okay. She'd do well enough for both of them. The feeling passed, just as it always did, as she bolted out the door, closing it a little bit harder behind her than she'd meant to, and took her bike to her grandfather's dojo.

The class that night was particularly hard. She'd been practicing since she was five, but, having turned thirteen only five months ago, she'd only just now graduated from one of the kyu students to the first dan. The adult class pushed her much, much harder than she'd ever been pushed in the juniors classes. She was still getting used to how hard her grandfather could drive people, and tonight he seemed to be in a particularly aggressive mood. Suguha was breathing heavily, leaning against the wall was she pulled off some of her equipment. Maybe she was weird, but she enjoyed the light burn left in her muscles as she let her body finally rest.

She quickly changed before she left, her grandfather busy with other students and her own mind elsewhere, she chose not to stay too long. It was nice, seeing him as often as she did, but it was hard to just have fun with him like she used to. The ride home took a bit longer since her legs were much more spent than they had been on the way to the dojo. She enjoyed the feel of the wind on her face though, light as it may be.

When she got home, she kicked her shoes off before heading up to her room. Mom and Dad were watching the tv. Apparently whatever they were watching was pretty good, as they didn't even acknowledge her entrance. She was almost up the stairs to take her shower when a phrase caught her attention.

"_...Sword Art Online…"_

She paused, recognizing that as the game Kazuto had been playing lately. She didn't know what the rest of the sentence was, it was just that phrase that had jumped out at her. Suddenly interested, she slowly made her way back down the stairs as the program continued.

"_If you have a loved one logged into Sword Art Online, we urge you not to touch the Nervegear device they are logged using. We already have reports of upwards of fifty casualties coming from across Japan…"_

Suguha stopped where she was. None of this made sense. Casualties? It was a video game, for crying out loud. Her parents seemed to be taking this seriously, though. Dad seemed angry, Mom seemed worried. Suguha started towards the living room, slowly, cautiously. "Mom? Dad? What's going on?"

They both looked at her, and her mom stood and moved over to her, taking Suguha into her arms. "Sugu, it's going to be alright," the older lady spoke as she ran her hand through the younger girl's hair. "Kazuto's in trouble, but he'll be okay."

"What's wrong with him? What was that on the news about casualties?" Her voice was scared. It sounded small in her own ears. He may not talk to her, he may not spend much time with her, and sometimes she couldn't bear being around him. They were distant, but she couldn't hate him. He was her big brother. He protected her when it came down to it. And now, suddenly, it seemed like his life was in danger, and she couldn't do anything to help.

Her mother continued to cradle her daughter. "We don't know, sweetie. Come on, let's get you to bed. Mommy and Daddy will watch after Kazuto, alright? We'll tell you everything we know in the morning, okay?" Midori didn't know what to say. She couldn't help her nephew and she had no real words of comfort for her daughter. Her heart had sunk when a coworker had sent her the text. Neither she nor her husband watched the news, but word spread quickly. Social media had caught fire over Sword Art Online. Ten Thousand souls trapped in a video game, with life and death hanging in the balance. How were parents supposed to prepare for that?

* * *

><p>To say Suguha slept poorly that night was an understatement. Her sleep was fitful, punctuated every hour or so with her sitting up, bathed in a cold sweat. She felt helpless. She looked at the alarm. Three in the morning. Great. She had school in a few hours and she just remembered she hadn't showered last night. The mediocrity of her sleep just reinforced the idea: she wasn't going to get any more rest tonight.<p>

She couldn't help herself. As she made her way down the hall, she opened the door to Kazuto's room. He was laying on his bed, the Nervegear adorning his head. She walked over to him, sat on the edge of his bed. She didn't know what to say. She knew it wouldn't do anything, that there was no way he could hear her. Still, she let the words out. "Come back, Kazu. Please. Please be okay…" She let the words trail off. She wasn't thinking straight. She couldn't articulate the words. They caught in her throat. She felt her eyes beginning to water. Seeing him laying here, like this, it suddenly felt real. She put her head on his chest, and let the tears flow.

She wasn't sure how long had passed. She wasn't even sure this was real. Part of her thought she was dreaming. Her thoughts were still coming in disjointed, piecemeal. How could a game cause any of this? She found her hand reaching towards the Nervegear on his head, but she couldn't bring herself to touch it. Too risky. She stood up, tearing her eyes away from the scene. Maybe she'd wake up, and he'd laugh at her when she told him she'd dreamed he was trapped in his video game. Tell her she was worrying too much. She made her way to the shower, and, once clean, gratefully crawled back into bed.

When she awoke, she felt like she hadn't slept at all. She looked at her alarm clock, the world and everything in it still fuzzy, unfocused. It looked as though the alarm said it was five for a few moments, before she realized that it wasn't a blurred image, and what looked like eight really was eight. She bolted upright, panic cutting through the fugue. She was so, so late. She threw on the first clothes she found, barely checking to make sure they matched, only looking the mirror long enough to make sure she was at least almost comfortable with wearing the assortment out in public. She dashed out of her room, down the stairs, but stopped cold when she saw her parents still sitting around the kitchen table, the same news story droning in the background. Mom and Dad were supposed to be at work right now. What was wrong?

"They canceled school today. We figured we'd let you sleep in," Midori offered, misreading her daughter's look of confusion. It was going to be a long day as it was. Ten thousand students wasn't a significant percentage of the population, especially not all of the players of Sword Art Online were in school, but the suddenness of the tragedy had moved the government allow families to stay together for the day. Midori was just glad none of them would have to face people right now.

"Why did they cancel school?" Suguha asked, though reality was already coming back to her. Something about Sword Art Online being dangerous. She remembered the word casualty, but she couldn't remember much else. She didn't want to remember anything else.

Midori frowned. "Come over here, Sugu," she said as she pulled a chair out for her little girl. Suguha sat down, her face darkening as everything started settle. "Sword Art Online was a trap, Sugu. Ten thousand people are trapped in it," Midori told her girl, deciding it was best just to break it to her bluntly. "Kazu's trapped. We don't know what's going to happen to him."

Suguha looked up at her, still not really processing what was going on. Her dad said nothing. She recognized the look on his face. He was brooding through what was going on, and wasn't in a mood to be talked to. She turned her attention back to her mom. "How can you be trapped in a video game? Let's just go unplug him." She started to push herself up, out of the chair.

"No!" Midori almost yelled it, putting her hands on her daughter's shoulders, holding her fast to her chair. "I'm sorry. No. We can't do that." She took a deep breath. She wasn't entirely sure if she understood what all was going on, but she knew that people had died, and she wasn't going to let her nephew be one of them. "According to the news, if we try to pull that helmet off of him, it'll kill him. They weren't too specific as to how, but they've found over fifty players dead. We. . . we have to let Kazu keep playing." There was a lump in her throat, her voice was shaking. She didn't want to break down here, now, but the frustration at having to sit here helpless while one of her babies had to fight for their lives was hard for any parent to take.

"What? How does that even work?" Suguha asked. In all fairness, it was the same response the news had elicited from the elder Kirigayas just the night before.

Midori just shook her head. "I'm sorry. They wouldn't release how it works. We don't know. We just know that it does." She was surprised her husband hadn't said anything up until now. She knew it hurt him as much as her. None of them wanted to think about it, but they all knew it: They may have had their last conversations with Kazuto. For Midori, what hurt the most was that she couldn't even remember what it was.

* * *

><p><strong>November 8, 2022<strong>

**National Hospital Organization Tokyo Medical Center**

**SAO Survivors: 9,329**

Minetaka, Midori, and Suguha were all gathered around Kazuto's hospital bed. Visiting hours were ending soon, but the hospital officials had agreed to give them a slight extension, given the delay in getting Kazuto into his room. It wasn't that they were slow about it, it was the systematic nature of how the government had handled this crisis. Every SAO patient was being moved into Tokyo hospitals, so they would have access to better and more redundant care. No players had been lost in transit, but the meticulous adherence to all safety precautions, namely ensuring that long distance patients never had their Nerve gear batteries fall below thirty percent, had caused predictable, but mounting delays. A new facility, the SAO Prolonged Care Facility, was already being commissioned. Minetaka had to admit, it was impressive how swiftly the response to this crisis had been executed.

Suguha hadn't been to school since the sixth. The national day of mourning had only been a single day, but Midori hadn't been able to bring herself to pull Suguha away from her brother. She'd been devastated by the news, something which came as a bit of a shock to her parents. They both knew that Kazuto had pushed her away in recent years, and they had a fair idea why. He hadn't taken it well when he found out he was adopted. They loved him like their own, even if Minetaka was a stern man, it wasn't anything he wouldn't have done to his own son. Suguha hadn't been a crybaby about any of it, but she'd been there, and her mood was noticeable. The whole atmosphere of the house was darker, moodier.

Suguha was numb inside. She knew that her brother wasn't dead, but she'd finally sat down and watched the replay of the news story that started all of this. He was trapped in a game that would kill him if he lost and would kill him if anyone tried to get him out. She knew there was a chance to talk to him again, but it certainly didn't feel like it.

"I'm sorry," the orderly finally said, breaking the silence, having given the family several minutes more than he was technically allowed. "It's time for us to go," he told the father, his tone gentle, knowing what the family must be going through - they were the fifth he'd helped today, in between working in other parts of the hospital.

Minetaka nodded at the younger man, touching his wife's arm. "Time to go," he told her. Midori responded by going over to her daughter, putting an arm on her shoulder, and lightly guiding her out of the room. Minetaka left last, taking a moment to face the man who'd been helping them. "Thanks."

* * *

><p><strong>November 9, 2022<strong>

**National Hospital Organization Tokyo Medical Center**

**SAO Survivors: 9,120**

Suguha had finally gone back to school that wednesday. It had been good to have something to focus on. For once, she'd actually enjoyed her schoolwork. It gave her something to do, something to focus her attention on, something that wasn't worrying, mourning, or asking herself what she could have done differently in her life. Her mom had agreed to take her to see Kazuto, on the condition that she go back to Kendo tonight. Suguha readily agreed.

Now that she was here, she wasn't sure what to do. None of this made any sense.

"It's not fair," she remarked, speaking her thoughts aloud. "It's not fair. You never did anything to deserve this. How cruel can someone be? Ten thousand people who had their hopes up, who warped their lives around being able to play this game, only to find it's a trap? It's not fair!"

Midori was watching from behind her daughter. This was the last day she'd be able to do this. She wondered if what she was doing was the right thing. Mourning was one thing, but Midori had to wonder if she was letting poor Sugu cling to this, if she was inhibiting her daughter's ability to heal. Midori knew how easy it was to lose yourself in depression. If it wasn't for Minetaka, she wasn't sure she'd ever have gotten over the loss of Aoi. Her sister had been her best friend for years.

Suguha was talking again. "It's not fair. You don't deserve this. I didn't even get to say goodbye. Why? Why was it so hard to talk to me?" Her voice was shifting, her words starting to crack. Tears welled in her eyes. "Why didn't you just come with me to practice? Just once. You'd still be here. You'd still be here. . . You'd still. . ." her words began to break down as she buried her head in her brother's chest the tears flowing freely. She looked back up at her brother. She didn't hate him. She didn't harbor any ill will towards. At least, not that she'd realized. But suddenly, she felt angry. Angry and abandoned. Angry that he'd pushed her away. Part of her, deep down, knew that she wouldn't feel this way tomorrow, but something broke to the surface. "What did I do? What did I do to make you push me away?"

Midori frowned. She'd been worried about this. She'd warred with herself for most of the day about what she should tell Suguha. Midori knew why Kazuto had put distance between the two of them. She wasn't home often enough to know how much, but Kazuto's coldness was obvious enough.

"I love you, big brother. What did I do? Why couldn't we spend time together? Why couldn't we talk to each other. Kazu, please. Just wake up. Wake up. We can go do Kendo, or I can try one of your games, or you can just ignore me, but please, wake up. Whatever I did. . . let me make up for it. Please. . . Please. . . wake up. . ." Her voice was failing her again. She was grabbing his shirt, instinctually trying to hold onto him, to not let him go. She'd seen the reported death tolls on the news. She couldn't stand the thought of Kazuto just ceasing to be. She wanted a chance to have her brother back. For them to be proper siblings. Was that so much to ask?

She felt a hand on her shoulder. Light, comforting. Mom, she realized. Suguha had forgotten she was there. "It's not your fault, Sugu."

Suguha looked up at her. "How do you know? He ignored me, Mom. The only time he'd spend time with me was to help me with homework." She found herself with only barely enough self-control to keep herself from lashing out, from tell her mom that she wasn't home often enough to know anything.

Midori rubbed her daughter's back, trying her best to console the girl. "He loves you, Sugu, he does. It's just. . . it's complicated. He's a boy. He doesn't know how to show his emotions." Suguha just turned and buried her head again, unable to look at her mother. Midori wasn't sure if that was because she didn't believe her or if it was the same pain that had driven her here in the first place. Midori bit her lip. She had to decide now.

"It's our fault, not yours, Sugu," she told the younger girl, letting the sentence hang. She didn't want to have to repeat this, given how hard it would be to say the first time, and the way Suguha had her head buried, there was a good chance she'd only barely understand her.

"What do you mean, it's your fault?" Suguha asked, a whole new whirl of emotions threatening to spill out.

"Kazuto's adopted, Sugu. He was my sister's son. When Aoi died, I couldn't bare to watch him turn into a ward of the state. Minetaka and I adopted him just after you were born, Sugu. We didn't tell him. We didn't want to tell either of you. You were our children. Unfortunately, when Kazuto found out and confronted us, neither of them took it well. Kazu felt betrayed. Your father felt he was being ungrateful. It didn't feel like family anymore to Kazu anymore."

Sugu was looking at her, a confused look on her face. It was a lot to take in, finding out that the boy she'd looked up to her whole life wasn't actually her brother. She tried to voice her confusion, but the words wouldn't come.

"I don't think Kazuto knows how to treat you anymore. He and your father have had some bad fights since then. Minetaka didn't like Kazuto quitting Kendo the way that he did. He told me he regrets the way he punished Kazuto, but it can't be taken back." She paused, taking her daughter into her arms. "I'm sorry, Sugu. I'm so sorry you got wrapped up in all of this."

Suguha didn't know what to think. She couldn't even really tell how she felt, her emotions were so jumbled together. She was just grateful that her mom let her cry into her shoulder. At least it wasn't her fault Kazuto didn't talk to her.

* * *

><p><strong>November 9, 2022<strong>

**Kirigaya Dojo, Tokyo**

**SAO Survivors: 9,298**

Suguha had never been more grateful to step out onto the mats. After everything that had gone on the past few days, this was what she needed. The class was the most intense she'd ever been in, though not because her grandfather was pushing harder than he had a few days ago. No, she just held nothing back tonight. She pushed herself through all of her exercises, did every drill with every ounce of strength she could muster. It was an outlet, one she desperately needed. The sparring itself was as hard as ever, but she seemed better.

Suguha had never sweat so hard in her life. She felt the muscle ache as she did her cool down stretches, not talking to the other students, receding into her own world. She noted the chatter, the laughter, the swapping of stories, the minor critiques of technique, but she couldn't remember any of what was said. She was trying to process her own thoughts. Kazuto wasn't her actual brother. He didn't hate her. If anything, he hated her father. So where did that leave

them? Why hadn't he told her? There wasn't anything that could be done now.

She lost track of time, her own thoughts running down now familiar tracks, her emotions thankfully drained along with much of her energy. She was thinking a little more clearly now. She didn't notice the other students leave, nor did she notice as her grandfather finished his business at the front counter. She'd stopped her stretches, having finished going through the familiar ritual.

"Don't want to go home tonight, little one?" A kindly voice came from above her head. She looked up at her sensei, shaking her head.

"Sorry, Grandpa. Just lost thought." She hadn't meant to hold him up, though maybe some time with him was just what she needed.

"Kazuto's strong. He'll make it out alright," the older man said, knowing what was on her mind. His daughter had warned him that Suguha would be preoccupied tonight. Besides, He recognized the signs. He'd done Kendo for his entire life. He'd lost sons, siblings, friends. He knew what a swordsman looked like when they were trying to escape. The drive to escape created a focus that was unparalleled. Suguha had done better than he'd ever seen her do. How sad that it was so often tragedy that fueled those sorts of performances.

"How do you know?" Suguha asked. She looked up at the man, having been looking at her own feet until now.

"I've watched you two grow up. He's a tough kid. He was almost as natural at swordplay as you are. He'll be fine." He sat down next to her, putting one arm around the girl, pulling her in towards him. They sat in silence for a few minutes before the older man stood, striding over to Suguha's gear, pulling her sword out of her bag. "Here," he said, holding the weapon out for her. She took it, a puzzled look on her face.

"Practice. Keep going until you can't. I'll take you home when you're ready." He knew it would help her for the moment. Total exhaustion would give her a respite from everything going on around her. She didn't argue. It had helped her more than anything else so far.

* * *

><p><strong>November 11, 2022<strong>

**Kirigaya Residence, Tokyo**

**SAO Survivors: 9,202**

Suguha was laying on her bed, exhausted from the past week. Sleep had been fleeting for her, though when she did sleep, it was mercifully deep. She was still catching up on her school work from the days that she'd missed. Her friends still didn't know how to approach her, her new intensity had spread beyond her Kendo work. She hadn't really given herself time to let herself think through much of what had happened. Anytime she stopped moving, it flooded back to her. Unfortunately, her body was rebelling against her at this point. She'd pushed herself to the edge for the past two nights, training as long and as hard as she could. She was feeling the after effects of it now.

She was staring holes into her ceiling, as if it had answers for her. She cupped her hands behind her head, her arms protesting the minor movement. She hadn't made it home until almost midnight when her grandfather told her to keep going until she couldn't. She'd almost done just that, her hands had almost stopped cooperating with her. She'd pushed herself almost as hard last night.

She kept circling around one fact. The one piece of information she couldn't figure out what to do with. Kazuto wasn't her brother. Except he was. But he wasn't. He was her cousin. But he was her brother. She kept her eyes on the ceiling, almost as if glaring at it for not being cooperative, not giving her the answers she needed. She sighed. It shouldn't be this difficult to accept, should it? He was adopted, it wasn't like they weren't related in some sense. But then, they weren't blood siblings. But what did that even mean in the end?

Then it made sense to her. It couldn't have been any easier for him to figure this out. Was that why he'd pulled so far away from her? It was the best answer she could settle on. He didn't act like he despised her. He did show that he cared, if only when he was helping her with homework. He was still able to act like her brother. Even if he only did it because Mom and Dad were never around, he still did it. She refused to think he hated her. Maybe it was wishful thinking, but it was the best she had. She wouldn't think ill of him while he was fighting for his life.

She resolved, then, not to think of him as anything other than her brother. She wouldn't do what he did. She could do better than that. It wasn't much, but it was a starting point. Her mind was still a swirl of thoughts and feelings, but at least she'd made some effort to begin the healing. She couldn't do anything for him now, not like this. She could hope he made it out alive. She could visit him.

In the end, that was all she could do for him.

* * *

><p><strong>February 12, 2023<strong>

**National Hospital Organization Tokyo Medical Center**

**SAO Survivors: 7,663**

Suguha was here almost every day, and every time she came in, she felt a weight fall off of her shoulders. She knew that he could die any moment, that much had been made public. They were still playing Sword Art Online. There were several sites she had set up her phone to get alerts from whenever they released new stories on SAO. Most of the stories she was able to skim through, given the number of repeats and opinion pieces on the topic. The ones that always made her pulse quicken, though, were the casualty reports. The losses were down to one or two a day, but nearly a quarter of the people who had logged in were dead now. Every time she saw the alert, she worried Kazuto would be the next one to fall.

She was sitting in the visitor's chair, her homework on her lap, her textbook open next to her. She chewed the end of her pen as she read through her notes, trying to piece things together, rebuilt what had been said in class. It was math, a subject that she had vastly improved at since Kazuto had been hospitalized. She couldn't remember exactly when she'd picked up this ritual of doing her schoolwork in her brother's room, but it was nice to be able to give him company. Besides, it gave her some sense of normalcy, that things might go back to the way they were. After all, she'd always done her homework with his help.

She looked over at Kazuto, pen still in her mouth. His hair had grown out and his body had atrophied, somewhat. The orderlies did what they could to maintain some strength in him, but only so much could be done. They clipped his nails regularly, but apparently it had been decided that SAO patients would have their hair let grow. Every once in a while she imagined she could see his face change, as if he were fighting, but she knew it was just that. She had a habit of voicing most of her thoughts while she was in here, in some vain hope that maybe he could hear them. "You look terrible," she commented.

A knock sounded from the open door. She looked over, pulling the pen from her mouth, expecting to see her mother or father. She knew they visited him from time to time, but both were typically too busy to get here more than once or twice a week. To her surprise, it was neither of them, nor any of Kazuto's (admittedly few) friends. She didn't recognize the man standing the doorframe. He was, for lack of a better descriptor, an official looking man.

He looked her over, as though studying her, before speaking. "Are you Kirigaya Suguha?"

She put her pen down, unsure why the strange man would know her name. She nodded. "Yeah, I am. Why?" She couldn't think of much else to say, and only hoped she didn't come across as too disrespectful.

He gave her a friendly smile and made his way into the room, taking her response as permission to enter. Suguha found herself more surprised that he waited as long as he did to enter. "My name is Kikuoka Seijirou, I'm with Internal Affairs and Communications, assigned to the SAO crisis." He glanced over at Kazuto, a sad look crossing his face, before he returned to Suguha, the same friendly smile having returned.

"Are you here to check in on Kazuto? He hasn't changed at all," Suguha offered, trying to guess why a government official would be here.

"Actually, I'm here to check in on you. Your parents told me I could find you here," he responded, reaching into the briefcase he was carrying around with him.

"What? Why would you be looking for me? Shouldn't you be working on figuring out what's going on in SAO?" Her surprise stripped her of any ability to filter her words.

Luckily for Suguha, Kikuoka was in a good mood. He the smile didn't waver. On the contrary, it seemed to widen. "Good. It's good to see how much you care for your brother." He finished fingering through the contents of his briefcase, finally producing a file. He put his case down, leaning it against his leg, and began fingering through the file. He pulled one piece of paper to the front. He handed the sheet to her, letting her see that it was in fact a file on her. "There are many of us working on trying to crack the technology being used to imprison the players in the game. So far, we haven't been able to find any ways around the kill-switch. I doubt we will. The technology is relatively simplistic. My group is looking for a more proactive solution. Miss Kirigaya, that's why I need your help."

Suguha looked over the page, noting that it was relatively blank. There was no confidential information on it, just her school history, Kendo history, and other various pieces of public information. She handed it back to him, still unsure, but feeling that she could trust the man. "What do you need me to do?" If it helped Kazuto, she was sure whatever it was would probably be worth it.

He pulled a thin stack of pages from the back of the file he was holding, glancing through it to be sure it was everything he wanted to hand her. "We're working on a safe version of the Nervegear. Something that can allow people to play games like SAO without fear of death. I think that will be the key to protecting these players. I will email you when it is time for things to get underway. Until then, read through that, give it some thought." He picked up his briefcase, replacing the file. "Until then, good luck with your Kendo, Miss Kirigaya. A pleasure to meet you." He turned and left, not waiting for her to reply.

Suguha was still processing what had just happened. She was supposed to help get Kazuto out of SAO? They were going to encourage people to continue playing games like the death trap that had already claimed over two thousand lives? She walked over to Kazuto's bedside. Looking at him, she made her decision. She would at least give it a shot. She looked down at the paper in her hands, focusing on the title.

Project Extraction.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: For the most part, dates and timeline details were taken from the SAO wiki where they could be, details were filled in where the wiki failed me. The outside world, Suguha in particular, will be revisited every so many months in universe. Bear with me, it pays off later. **

**There will be other characters that get a similar treatment for one story or so, typically when what the main cast is doing is boring, but this will be the primary if not only ongoing sidestory. **


End file.

Sword Art Online/ソードアート・オンライン, Adventure, Drama