Kirito's eyes opened slowly to a brilliant tapestry of emerald, white, and blue. He blinked once and his vision sharpened, the pools of color becoming more refined, more distinct, he blinked again and they became more so, resolving into branches, leaves, blue sky, clouds. He inhaled and smelled damp clean air, he heard the thundering of his heartbeat, and then the rush of the wind and the rustling of leaves. He looked around slowly, lost. Branches thicker than whole tree trunks spiraled about a vast corkscrewed trunk, its bark the color and texture of weathered granite. Above his head the branches disappeared into thick clouds, moisture collecting and running down them to form small streams that followed the branches for a time before falling off in waterfalls that turned into clouds of mist. In the distance birds called to one another like a vast aviary, yet he could not shake a feeling of deep isolation. This was a world unto itself. 'What is this?'
He looked ahead and was confronted by a row of brass bars. 'This is . . . ' Kirito trailed off. He heard his heart beat again. The bars were not a straight row, they curved away to each side and bent inward from above, forming an enclosure, a cage. Stepping back he was able to see it for what it really was. It was a bird cage of tremendous size and beauty. Its perimeter ringed in flowers, within its confines sat a solitary figure, garbed in white, leaning over a table facing away from him. Long chestnut hair spilling down. 'This is . . .' Kirito's eyes widened, he took one step, and then another, his body seemed to move on its own, as if he was being pulled along by the system auto assist. His pulse quickened, breathing grew labored. 'I know this.'
He was at the birdcage in an instant, hands wrapped around the bars, shaking them ineffectually despite his strength. He noticed for the first time how tarnished they had become and the untended state of the flowers in their planters, somehow this lent a sense of urgency. He looked about for a way, any way, into the cage. There, to his left. There was gate in the cage. A heavy padlock hung from the frame, barring his path. Instinctively Kirito reached for his sword, but his hand found only empty air at his back. He grabbed hold of the lock, pulling desperately with all of his strength, but the lock would not give, no more moved by his efforts than if it had been an [<invincible object]>.
He thought quickly, hands and eyes searching for anything he could use to break the lock, a branch to lever it or a stone to smash it. His hand brushed against his pocket and he froze. Reaching into the pocket he felt something small and cold. He retrieved a silver key, the likes of which would have closed a jewelry box. He looked to the lock, and suddenly his chest constricted, it became painfully to breath, to think, to feel. Anticipation mixed with anxiety, the epiphany of a condemned man.
'You shouldn't do that.' A voice said, familiar but distorted.
'I have to, for this to end.' He replied, slowly he slid the key into the lock.
'You won't like it.' The voice giggled mockingly. 'The ending I mean.'
Kirito paused for just an instant, he hesitated, why? He looked again to the still figure within the cage. Fear filled him, something deep and primal, he anticipated what was about to happen. It was like rereading a book with an unhappy ending, or watching a horror movie on tv, he already knew what was going to happen with a terrible certainty. And yet he could not allow himself to think of it until he reached the end. That grim finality hovered over all. The key turned slowly, the lock grinding from lack of use before falling free. The gate groaned as it swung open, Admitting Kirito to the cage.
He approached the figure at the center of the cage. Its build, dress, and hair were all feminine, and there was a yawning sense of familiarity that his mind refused to acknowledge. It was not yet time. The figure lay hunched over, she seemed to have fallen asleep at the table.
He stepped closer. The figure was completely still, dead still. Trembling, he reached out and his hand brushed aside the hair and came to rest on a shoulder, he recoiled as he felt skin like leather. He didn't want to look, didn't want to see, but his actions were no longer his own. An obscene full dive cut scene played out before his eyes, forcing him to watch, to move, to listen, to focus his eyes where he must. Circling the table his heart went cold. There really was no one else here. The figure was emaciated, bony arms held closely around its head as if it had died weeping. Skin that had hung loosely at the end, had dried to the consistency of leather, the face, skin pinched, lips cracked, eyes sunken, was half masked unrecognizable beneath the almost serene hair.
'She waited for you, you know.' The voice came again. 'Even when the end came she didn't curse you . . . Just like Sachi.'
Kirito starred, he saw, but his mind was unable to accept, to give meaning to what he was looking at beyond simply [<object]> or [<world asset]> and it invoked no more emotion in him then that. His eyes wandered to something clutched in one shriveled hand. Slowly he reached out, the fingers parted like dry sticks. Clutched in the hand was something small and silver, a simple ring, showing no inscription or embellishment, she'd said it didn't need any. She . . . she . . . "A-su-na." He whispered.
'Who will you run to next? Who's faith will you betray? Maybe Suguha?'
As the key had unlocked the cage, Kirito was suddenly free from the sensation of forced movement. Strength left him far behind, and the swordsman Kirito sank to his hands and knees, limply. His arms gave out and his head came to rest inches from the ground. His eyes looked past the floor before him, blind to the world. Flickering images of Asuna passed before his eyes, the time in that virtual world spent with her more real than the memories of his childhood or the time spent since being released back into reality. These images were superimposed atop the tragic form that lay at the table. Something broke within him. Kirito looked up desperately, this couldn't be, it wasn't really, it couldn't be real, it couldn't be like this. Staggering to his feet he reached out. "Asuna . . ." He wept softly arms enfolding the remains, tears burning tracks down his face. "Asuna . . . ASUNA!"
'I told you, you wouldn't like it." The distorted voice said darkly. "False hero, Swordsman Kirito.'
Kirito turned his head to face the voice and suddenly was blinded by light.
"Kirito-san? Oy Kirito-san, are you listening?"
Kirigaya Kazuto, Kirito, former "Beater" of SAO, and now a swordsman of the Spriggan race transported to the world of Halkegenia, opened his eyes and found himself face to face with the fiery haired Salamander named Carmond.
"Gyah!" He had half risen from a couch located in the room adjacent to Lady Sakuya's Office in Arrun tower. The space looked a lot like the waiting rooms in political dramas, complete with a big grandfather clock, pendulum slowly swinging with a steadily alternating tik-tok that sounded as improbably cliché now as it no doubt had when the clock and its sound effects were digital.
Much of the top floors of the tower had been converted over the last few days into an administrative hub, becoming a sort of headquarters in the effort to contact all of the Faerie settlements and organize negotiations with the locals. The top floor of the tower, which had once been mostly empty save for players departing from Arrun, now swarmed with people who had flocked to Lady Sakuya's calls for assistance, numbering perhaps two or three hundred in total, they were the middle managers and white collar players who had offered their skills to organize Arrun and the other settlements. Food and resources aside one of the most immediate things the Faeries would have to negotiate for was more stationary supplies for the bureaucrats. But thanks to their tireless efforts over the past days, Lady Sakuya and the other Faerie leaders had at least an idea of the what their most pressing concerns should be during the negotiations.
Kirito shook his head and took a moment to let his body come down the from the sudden surge of adrenaline. His heart was racing far more than it ought to, he'd fought some of the most terrifying monsters in the floating castle of Aincrad, being startled awake should not have left him feeling so on edge. He tried to recall, he had been having a dream, more of a nightmare, but when he tried to grasp for details they disappeared like a mist, only leaving him feeling more unsettled.
"Are you listening now, Kirito?" Carmond asked.
"Mmm." Kirito nodded, "Sorry, I must have fallen asleep."
"KoKo says you've been up at the world Tree every night. She had to remind you to come down last night when her watch ended." The big Salamander said with concern. "She didn't tell me why, but I'm guessing it's something important to you."
Kirito nodded again. "It's . . . something. Sorry, it's not really a secret, but it's a little personal." The sense of apprehension grew within him with mention of the World Tree. Mostly he went up to the Tree to keep himself sane, but also to assure himself that it was still there, that somewhere at the top of the World Tree was Asuna, and that he would reach her soon.
"Then I'll drop it." Carmond said, and placed a hand on the Spriggan's shoulder. "But don't let it affect your health. That girl, Leafa, she seems worried about you too."
"Its okay." Kirito dismissed. "Thank you." He added gratefully, "Now, what were you trying to tell me?"
"I was asking if you were ready for the meeting?" Carmond said.
Kirito frowned a little, "It's not like I'm an official. I probably won't get a chance to say anything."
Carmond grinned, "Lady Sakuya selected you personally as part of her entourage. An attitude like that is sure to leave you unprepared."
Kirito grimaced, there was that, but he doubted it was due to anything he could add to the proceedings. Rather, this was part and parcel of his payment to the Sylphs and Cait Syth for their assistance in reaching the top of the World Tree. Word had spread rapidly through Arrun that the black swordsman seen so often at Lady Sakuya's side was named Kirito and that he may in fact be the same Kirito who had become an urban legend amongst the online message boards after the SAO incident. The fact that the Salamanders did not deny that a black garbed swordsman of the same name and description had defeated General Eugene in personal combat had only added to his reputation. It had also made him into the Sylph and Cait Syths unofficial deterrent against power plays by Lord Mortimer in the internal negotiations to show a united front to the public and the people of Tristain. While it was nice to be receiving so much positive attention, nobody had so much as mentioned the word "Beater" in Kirito's presence, his old instincts were screaming to regain some level of anonymity. He was going to have to learn the Spriggan spell [<faction disguise]> soon so that he could go about his business in peace.
"That's just politics." Kirito said.
Carmond shrugged, "I'm an unaligned player, or at least, I was until this all started, I imagine I'll be in someone's army by the end of the week, so it's none of my business. But I don't think she wants you just to counter General Eugene. I know you've been working with Novair to keep the people calm, that reputation of yours helps, but I think your history as an SAO survivor matters to them more than the fact that you're the Clearer."
"This isn't like SAO." Kirito said flatly, he balled his fists and felt the faint sting of fingernails digging into flesh. A wholly unfamiliar feeling to someone used to the pain absorber system.
"Maybe not, but most people don't know that." Carmond's face grew serious. "And it still proves you can handle yourself, that means a lot more than you might think."
"Maybe." Kirito said and looked down, "But, I can't afford that sort of responsibility right now."
"Can't afford it?" Carmond asked, "Is this, no, never mind it has to do with that private business of yours, doesn't it?"
Kirito simply nodded. For the time being his goal was still reaching the top of the World Tree, Lady Sakuya had asked him for two weeks time. Enough time to stabilize the situation with Tristain, at least in the short term, and arrange for additional forces from Freelia and Sylvain. With the transition, the size of the raid group would no longer be limited by game mechanics, at the same time the raid would be far more dangerous. While they did not deviate greatly from their in game behaviors, Many of the field mobs that had been hunted in the last few days had shown a disturbing level of animalistic intelligence. With the former players fearing for their lives, simply gathering a normal sized raid party would be difficult under the circumstances and there were other complications besides. For instance, only the Salamander Faction had experience with fighting as a cohesive unit on the scale of the proposed raid due to their lance tactics and ability to coordinate multiple Raid Parties in large scale battle, in fact where Lord Mortimer had gained his reputation was in part in the training and logistics of the Salamander forces. Lady Sakuya had seemed reluctant to broach the subject of the Raid with the Salamander Lord but had promised to speak with him within the next day.
The door to the waiting room opened and a mild looking green haired Sylph poked his head in. "Kirito-san, it's time to leave for the meeting."
"Right, right." Kirito said, standing up and stretching. "Back to work then."
"Don't go sounding like an old man so young." Carmond grunted. "You can start groaning about going back to work after you've put your back out once or twice."
"I'll keep that in mind." Kirito replied as he hefted his black iron great sword, he'd have to see about a better weapon before the raid too. He rather liked the weight of his ludicrously huge blade but it was ultimately a beginners weapon. He couldn't afford to be sentimental in a life or death situation. In SAO, if he'd found a single handed sword superior to either his beloved Elucidator or Dark Repulsor he would have switched in an instant, 'Sorry Liz.' Of course that would require money and at the moment he was flat broke, actually his employer was short on funds as well seeing as most of the Treasury of the Sylphs and Cait Syth had been spent preparing for the raid. Helping with a second raid attempt was nice, but there were things he might need money for between now and then.
While wondering about the exact details of compensation for his employment Kirito treaded out into the hall, he barely noticed when the door opposite the waiting room opened and nearly ran into a pale Salamander garbed in dark black and red robes. Both stopped at the same time and regarded each other. The Salamander looked older than Kirito, perhaps mid twenties with cold red eyes. Despite his neutral expression, something about the man set off every alarm in Kirito's head.
"Oh, Excuse me." Kirito said and took a polite step back, gesturing for the Salamander to go first.
"Hurry up Mort-kun, we're going to be late!" The voice of Alicia Rue carried from within the room. The Salamander's left eye twitched slightly.
'Mort-kun?' Kirito wondered and then suddenly understood, he swallowed very softly. This was the terrifying strategist of the Salamander Faction that he had been hearing so much about. He didn't look like the older brother of General Eugene, but that wasn't really strange in an MMO where a person's appearance was randomly set or customized for a small fee. What was strange was the completely different presence he projected.
The Salamander blinked once, "You are Kirito correct?"
Kirito nodded, "Mmm." He took up a more relaxed stance and offered his hand. "It's an honor to meet the Leader of the Salamanders."
Lord Mortimer glanced at the offered hand and then shook firmly. "I'm pleased to finally meet the man who managed to surpass my Brother, however, I fear he may want a rematch."
Kirito grinned nervously, recalling the terrifying power of General Eugene and that impossible sword of his, "Really? I didn't think he was the type to hold a grudge."
"He's not." Mortimer said, "He says it's the most fun he's had in quite some time. He is rather addicted to battle, even after his recent injury. However, I've forbidden it given the current situation."
"Well, that's good, I guess." Kirito said.
"Indeed." Mortimer said. "My forces have been given standing orders not to engage you without at least a fully equipped raid force." Mortimer released his grip and turned to walk down the hall, leaving a blanching Kirito to consider what he'd just been told. Lord Mortimer paused after a few steps and turned back. "One more thing."
"Y-yes?"
"You told my brother you represented an Undine - Spriggan Alliance. However, it appears that Morgiana has never heard of you." Lord Mortimer observed.
"Well, it was a bit of a fib." Kirito said in a small voice.
"I see." Mortimer nodded and then almost smiled, "The audacity is commendable, don't do it again." The Salamander Lord turned and continued down the hall with his arms folded behind his back.
Alicia Rue walked out a moment later and waved a concerned hand in front of the frozen Spriggan.
"Arrun to Kirito-kun." Alicia said, "What was that about?"
"I think the Salamander Lord just threatened me with a complement." Kirito said, looking down the hallway, he really needed to renegotiate his compensation for this job.
"Hmmm, does this look like anything to you Baku-san?"
Nishida turned to the other players that had gathered around the admin terminal. The group was a varied bunch, there was no distinction among them between high level members of the clearing group and the more pedestrian guilds and merchants who had simply tried to get by in Aincrad. Nishida had addressed his question to one of the later, a thin man with hair the color of straw, a former member of the gigantic guild known as The Army, he had been a network engineer in real life, just graduated from college and hired on to a prestigious company when he was trapped in SAO. The man seemed genuinely pleased that he was now able to put his skills to use to help effect their final escape.
"Baku frowned, it looks like . . . It actually doesn't look like anything to me, it's definitely not Japanese or English. Maybe a language preset got scrambled in whatever system failure released us."
"Hmm. Maybe." Nishida frowned. "It's definitely not Greek. Maybe Cyrillic or Arabic?" The old man sighed.
"Nishida-san, has there been any progress?" Asuna strode up to the group of gathered players. The past day had been hectic for the gathered players, confusion, anxiety, hopefulness, all mingling and driving them onward. Asuna had undergone a subtle change in that time, though still clothed in the dress of the Faerie Queen, a rapier borrowed from one of the other players now hung at her hip. She looked tired, but carried on with the same bearing she had effected as the sub commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath. The surety of purpose that she projected keeping the other players inline and obedient to her wishes despite outward appearance.
Within hours of their awakening, the players had thoroughly explored most of the lab interior finding only more empty lab spaces, and a number of storage rooms filled with strange obsidian monoliths. Nishida had told her that they were VR representations of servers, but they all seemed to now be offline. They had also found a handful of locked rooms and what could only be described as an opulent throne room that looked out upon the branches of the World Tree. Asuna could only guess that it was where Sugou had indulged in his fantasy of lording over the unknowing players below. The locked rooms remained unexplored for the time being, they seemed to require a key combination or possibly the GM card to open.
The players who had ventured out onto the branches of the World Tree had come trickling back over the course of several hours with their reports. The first thing that had become apparent was that the area in which they could travel within the branches of the World Tree appeared to be limited. An out of bounds barrier encapsulated a small spherical section of the World Tree's crest. Upon further examination the cordoned area appeared to be centered on Asuna's former cage. Other than that, they had found precious little of any use. Having exhausted things for the gathered players to do, most had been moved to a different, smaller lab room, or the throne room, though Asuna couldn't stand the ostentatious space.
"Ah, Asuna-san." Nishida said. "I'm afraid we've run into a problem." Nishida gestured to the admin terminal, a geometric block of engraved obsidian that floated above the floor of the now empty lab space. The terminal looked a little different from the one she had first seen in SAO but the interface, a holographic keyboard and projected display, were basically the same, or had been during her first aborted attempt at escape. Now however . . .
"I've been out of the industry for almost three years and I was just a manager for the ten years before that, but I should still be able to make some sense of this!" Nishida complained, crossing his arms, he looked like the archetypical grandfather frustrated with using new technology. He had been a manager with Tohto Broadband, the company responsible for running network security for SAO before the game's true nature had been revealed.
In the monitor space above the terminal, where an option menu or a computer command prompt would normally have been displayed, there floated a strange string of flowing symbols, they moved, revolving and spinning around one another in eye watering patterns. At the center of the space spun a series of spheres, layered matrioshka like, covered in endlessly rearranging symbols. It made Asuna dizzy just to look at it.
"What is this?" Asuna asked.
"We wish we could tell you." Baku said. "That GM card you got from the slug opened the terminal alright, but this is all that it will display, and the keyboard seems to be locked."
"Baku here thinks it might be a corrupted language preset, we might be able to reset it but . . ." Nishida trailed off.
Asuna sighed softly. "We're going to have to talk to Kimura-san about this." The gathered players shifted uncomfortably, none of them felt safe around the slug type monster, even if it could speak, its resemblance to the thousands of such mobs that had been slain in SAO just made it too disturbing.
"Why do you bother calling him by his name?" The sword user who had fought beside Arguile asked, Asuna had been a little surprised to learn that she was actually an incredibly tomboyish woman named Caramella, "He's just the 'slug' to us."
"Probably because I won't be like him." Asuna said, recalling her first interrogation of the Slug, of Kimura.
It had been roughly half a day ago when the slug had finally stopped groaning over his wounds. At that point, while still weak, it started to look like the mob based avatar would pull through. Slug types had a high regenerative ability that along with their considerable strength and dexterity had made them dangerous opponents despite their unwieldy builds. A half dozen players, all veterans of the front line, had been assigned to guard the Slug in case it should try to attack or make any effort to log out. By morning he had already been showing signs of a full recovery with the terrible lacerations along his flanks taking on a pale puckered texture and even the severed tips of his tentacles looking considerably less raw. Strangely the graphical effect of his injuries seemed much more detailed than those found in SAO. Asuna wondered if it was an effect of improvement in the game engine. She had noticed similar small scrapes and scratches that had been rendered faithfully on the bodies of some of the players. When he had started to complain incessantly about his rough treatment, Asuna had decided it was time to give him something to really complain about.
Asuna had approached the slug and his gathered guards, the slug had been moved into one of the smallest lab rooms where he could be safely watched without disturbing any of the other players. Arguile was waiting when she arrived.
"Asuna-sama." Her subordinate said gesturing politely to lead the way.
"How is he?" Asuna asked, nodding to the slug.
"As well as to be expected." Arguile said. "He's been cursing us for the last thirty minutes."
"He's an unpleasant creature." Asuna agreed, she wondered if he was one of the slugs that had recaptured her. There was no way to tell externally of course, the slug avatar was based on a monster from SAO and therefore all of the Avatar's would be identical. "We need information from him." Asuna said. "The sooner the better." They had an unknown time limit, Sugou would not allow anything to interfere with his research. There shot at freedom would last only until Sugou could reassert control, so they had to make the most of it.
"Might I suggest you leave the interrogation to me, Asuna Sama." Arguile said.
"What, why?"
"I must confess that at the moment you do not cut the most intimidating of figures." The man's lips quirked. "With all due respect."
"You might be right." Asuna admitted.
Looking around she caught sight of a player, a young boy leaning against a nearby wall, he wore a knit cap atop light brown hair and had a scarf wrapped tightly around his neck, from his clothes she guessed he frequented the colder floors of Aincrad which made him a medium tier player, one of the many mid level players who ventured out from towns into low levels dungeons where they could farm for col and item drops with a wide safety margin. What he was doing in the room with the slug, other than simple boredom, was beyond her. The boy noticed her as she approached and stood up straight.
"A-Asuna-sama!" The boy stuttered his face going red. He bowed deeply, arms held stiffly at his side.
Asuna raised a hand to hide a small smile of amusement. She had been forced to contend with the attention of many of Aincrad's male, and a few of its female, residents over the past two odd years. The net effect was that she had become fairly good at determining what kind of 'fan' they were. This boy fell safely into the harmless category, an innocent little crush on the popular girl.
"Excuse me, may I borrow your sword?" Asuna asked politely.
"O-of course!" The boy said, fumbling with the straps before offering the scabbard to her. "Anything for Asuna the Flash."
Asuna unsheathed the blade, it was a rapier, a weapon familiar to her from almost two years now. This one was more familiar than most, in fact, it resembled one that she had possessed for about half a year, she had traded up after Lisbeth, her friend and blacksmith, had maxed out the weapons upgrade potential. "May I ask your name?" Asuna asked.
"People call me Kino." The boy said. "It's not my real screen name though, I'm actually a little embarrassed of that."
"Oh?" Asuna asked. "This is an excellent blade." She noted. "I used to have one just like it."
"I know!" The boy brightened, "You used it up to level forty, I saw your picture with it in the Weekly Argo at the celebration after clearing the floor boss! They say you were amazing in that battle!"
"Really?" Asuna asked awkwardly. "I'm sorry but I really can't remember." And she really couldn't, many of the old battles had blurred together, though she could still remember the boss and the general progression of the battle, she couldn't say for certain what she had done that would be considered incredible.
Kino must have misinterpreted her hesitation, his eyes widened, "No, don't get me wrong, I'm not a stalker or anything!" He waved his hands desperately, "I'm just . . ." He bowed his head down, "A lot of the players on the lower levels didn't seem to think much of it, but we all had faith in the finishing group. Everyone in my guild thought that you were really cool, Asuna-sama, you and the other members of the front line like Heathcliff-sama, and the black swordsman . . ." He shook his head quickly, "I'm sorry, I'm babbling."
"No, it's alright." Asuna smiled. "Thank you, Kino-san, it's very flattering of you."
"Asuna-sama?" Kino asked quietly.
"Yes?"
"We will get out of here, right?" Kino asked, refusing to look her in the eye. Judging by his appearance, she guessed he was one of the younger players, even younger that her and Kirito, maybe thirteen or fourteen years of age. He probably hadn't even left the town of beginnings for the first year of the game, and only then to avoid harassment by the army.
Asuna smiled encouragingly, "Of course we will, all of our friends and family are waiting for us on the other side. We'll definitely get out soon, just stay strong for a little while longer, Kino-san."
Kino smiled shyly, "Thank you, Asuna-sama."
Asuna turned from Kino and back to the looming bulk of the slug. Her expression grew far harder and much more sincere. The slug watched as she approached its eyes rising over its body on long stalks. She would have been lying if she said she wasn't disgusted by the creature's appearance, but far more disgusting was the person inside, someone who would knowingly help Sugou with his research, the very thought of such a person made her nauseous. Yet such a person could definitely exist, as she had seen when she had attempted to plead for her freedom.
She approached the front of the slug glaring up into its eyes with menacing intent. She was going to get answers out of this creature, but first she wanted to know.
"Do you know who I am?" Asuna asked coldly.
The slug's eyes rose and fell on its stalks, it spread them wide and then back together. "You are . . . The girl from before." It said in a soft, almost disturbingly neutral voice that seemed to emanated from its whole body. Beneath a thin layer of slim, the slug's skin seemed to vibrate as its spoke. Maybe it used its whole body as a giant speaker.
In the blink of an eye, Asuna demonstrated her title, drawing Kino's borrowed blade and thrusting forward until the sword tip was bare inches from the right eye of the slug. The eye stalks recoiled fearfully. "Which one are you?" Asuna asked.
"I - I am . . ."
With a flick of her wrist Asuna slashed the rapier across the right side of the slug's face, the wound was barely more than a paper cut but still the slug cringed in pain. "And don't lie. Lying will be worse for you."
"Asuna-sama!" Arguile shouted in disbelief. The other players looked amongst each other nervously.
"I'm the one who restrained you." The Slug said quickly, "Please . . . please don't hurt me."
Asuna tilted her head, he was either stupid or too scared to lie. "What is your name?" She asked. She didn't really care, but she recalled the things it had said, how this was all far more 'humane' then she thought it was, his utter indifference for the lives he had been playing with. Anything she could do to separate herself from this monster was essential.
"My name? My name is Kimura." The slug said.
"I want to know what happened, Kimura-san, why are all of the SAO survivors like this?"
The stubby tentacles around the slugs face twitched and waved. "I don't know." He confessed. "I really don't!" He said quickly as Asuna menaced with her rapier. "One moment we were examining the response data and the next there was this blinding pain. When we came to, the test module avatars were gone and the test subjects were waking up. We tried to restrain them with console commands but nothing worked, not even our user menus, so we couldn't log out either. Then they started attacking us when we tried to restrain them." Kimura spat angrily. "They slashed at us with swords and look at what they did to Ishikawa!" He said angrily. "That all really hurt and the pain receptors were supposed to have been disabled, I specifically remembered doing so this time!"
"It sounds like you got what you deserved." Asuna said coldly, Kimura declined to answer. "What could have caused you to be unable to log out?"
"It must have been a system crash. In which case Cardinal should have immediately rebooted from the most recent backup of the local server." Kimura said. "That must be how you got out of your cage this time, you were restored to the nearest backup spawn point. They're an artifact from the best test. But the test subjects shouldn't have even been able to return to consciousness without a system command."
Asuna nodded slowly, his explanation made a little sense. "We need to log out, there's a terminal here but we need an access card to open it."
"No." The slug said, the voice sounding entirely too dispassionate.
"Why not?" Asuna asked.
"You must think I'm stupid if you think I'll help you log out." Kimura said.
Asuna's eyes narrowed, "We can make this very unpleasant for you." She didn't like the idea of torturing someone, even someone like Kimura, though it did make the matter much easier, but if it was a choice between the slug and the three hundred players, she knew which one would win out in the end, she could hate herself later. "You've done an evil thing here Kimura-san, help us and I'm sure the courts will look on you favorably."
"The same courts that wouldn't let us do our research?" The slug asked, disgust tinged his voice. "Do as you like." The slug said, cringing even as he spoke. "At worst, when this body is destroyed, I'll be logged out, and then you won't have anyone. It's just a matter of time before we have you all contained again."
"So you really don't care what happens to you?" Asuna asked idly, she began to circle the slug, forcing Kimura to move his eye stalks to follow her.
"It hurts." Kimura agreed, "It hurts a lot." The slug admitted. "But I'm not stupid. If I don't endure this and help you log out instead, I will be sent to prison. The worst you can do it make me feel pain until my avatar HP reaches zero and I'm forced to log out."
"That's very brave of you, Kimura-kun." Asuna said sweetly, she let the very tip of her blade trace a line across the slugs flank, not penetrating the skin, but simply following the contours of the flesh. A thin layer of slime came away when she withdrew the rapier. The slug shuddered softly.
"It's just rational self interest." Kimura said. "Hopefully the pointlessness of torturing me should be clear by now." The slug said a little too quickly.
Asuna smiled, "You've definitely given this a lot of thought. You must be really smart . . . Kimura-kun." The slug watched her warily. "But I think you're forgetting some things."
"Oh?" The slug asked.
"Mmm." Asuna nodded. "It's been almost half a day since we all woke up, why hasn't someone logged you off from the outside."
"That is . . . " Kimura paused. "The system must still be down on their end."
"But they could just pull the Nerve Gear off of your head, right?" Asuna asked. "Did you and Ishikawa-san log in from the same room?"
"Why do you ask?" Kimura asked.
"I'm just wandering." Asuna said. "It just seems that, if Ishikawa-san is on the other side, the first thing he would have done after dying painfully is pull your Nerve Gear off to save you from the same fate."
"We log in from the same room." Kimura admitted slowly. "Why does that matter?"
"I'm just thinking." Asuna said, examining the rapier in her hand. "If that's the case, you should definitely have been logged out by now. You know what I think, I think Ishikawa-san is dead, he died when his avatar's HP hit zero."
The slug let out a rumbling laugh. "Do you know how ridiculous that is? No matter what this looks like, Ishikawa and I are completely safe. There is no way for us to end up like the SAO players." Kimura said. "Technology has advanced since you entered SAO, the safety features of the AMUsphere and the modified research Nerve Gears would make that impossible."
"Then why haven't you been logged out?" Asuna asked again.
"It must be . . . It must be other technical difficulties." Kimura said the joviality leaving his voice, "It's definitely other technical difficulties! There are software blocks in the research nerve gears."
Asuna smiled. "Someone told me once that there were lots of safeties in the standard Nerve Gear too, but Kayaba Akihiko was able to override them. And then Sugou told me how he reused parts of SAO to create ALfheim, including the Cardinal system. I'm sure he was very careful, how do you know something didn't slip in? Kayaba Akihiko was a very smart man after all."
"Th-that's not possible." Kimura said. "You're lying, you have to be lying. It's . . . impossible." Kimura sounded doubtful.
"And if it's not?" Asuna asked. "Think, you would have definitely been logged out if possible. Which means something is preventing it. The most likely case is that something happened to Ishikawa when his avatar died and now they're afraid to log you out." Asuna tilted her head. "Do you want a know a secret, Kimura-kun?"
The slug's eye stalks twitched from side to side, she had no way to tell but she took that as a sign of curiosity. "RECTO Progress, the company that Sugou works for, my father is its CEO."
Kimura's eye stalks went far apart, examining her from all sides. "So?" Kimura asked, he sounded nervous now.
"Don't you think the father of an SAO victim in that position would closely follow any other incidents that occur, no matter how small? Especially if they happen inside of his own company? I bet the reason you haven't been logged out is that your partner was injured in some way. In which case there will definitely be police investigation, and an internal investigation by RECTO, Sugou's work won't remain hidden for much longer."
"That . . . That's not true, Sugou-sama can cover it up, even if what you say is true and Ishikawa-san had somehow been killed . . ."
"You're probably right." Asuna agreed. "I'm sure Sugou has the power to hide the death of a single employee. He can make it look like an accident or arrange it so that it looks like he died somewhere else from some other cause. But it will look suspicious if you die too, won't it?"
"W-what are you talking about?" Kimura said.
"Asuna-sama, you can't be serious!" Arguile said, stepping forward from the players who had stood by silently, watching the exchange.
“At the moment we don't have any other way to get a message out.” Asuna said, “No doubt Sugou is racing to control the situation, but if two of his subordinates die in rapid succession it will draw questions.”
“You . . . You wouldn't dare to kill someone.” Kimura trembled, the slime along his flanks was thickening like sweat. “You're just a kid, aren't you? Just some little rich girl.”
For an instant Asuna paused, would she kill him? She was sure she could, she would kill this person if she had no other choice, wouldn't she?”
“You're right. She won't kill you.” Arguile said calmly, placing a hand on Asuna's shoulder. “Because if it comes to that, I will be the one to end your life.”
“Arguile-san?” Asuna looked up, shocked.
The man smiled down at her, “He's right about one thing, you're too young to have to carry a burden like this, Asuna-sama.” Arguile looked back to Kimura, the slug was trembling now. “In SAO, I was among the members of the top guilds who participated in the subjugation mission against the murderers Guild. I've already taken a life once. I won't lose any sleep over doing it again for a worthy cause.”
“B-but, I haven't done anything!” Kimura whimpered. “None of the test subject have been harmed, you're all perfectly fine! Our research wasn't going to hurt anyone!”
“And now?” Asuna asked, “You should realize what Sugou is going to do to us to keep this covered up. What he'll do to me. There's nothing for me to lose if Sugou starts to regain control.”
Arguile looked to Asuna, concern apparent on his face. “Asuna-sama. This man, Sugou, he hasn't . . .”
“He hasn't done anything, yet.” Asuna said, voice dripping with loathing. “But he's made threats of what he was going to do once he completes his research.”
“Then we truly have no choice.” Arguile said, looking back to the slug. “It seems you have a choice to make, Kimura-san. Help us to escape and take your chances with the courts, or take your chances with my blade. I'll give you some time to decide.”
The slug looked back and forth between Asuna and Arguile before looking to the other players. “You . . . You would really let these people murder me?”
The faces of the gathered players grew hard, those that had volunteered to Guard Kimura had all seen people die, many of them far more deserving of life than their former prison warden.
Kimura shrank down, seeming to collapse in on himself, the eye stalks sank down until they had almost retracted into his face and the short tentacles at his front that waves about like whiskers began to tremble softly. Whether he'd gone into shock or was simply weighing his chances it was impossible to tell. The motivations and emotions that crossed that nonhuman face could only be guessed at.
Finally the slug spoke again. “You just need a GM card to access the admin terminal, right?”
Asuna and Arguile look to each other, Asuna nodded.
The slug's foot pad rippled as he heaved himself off the floor, a tentacle slithered down and recovered something small and silver. Asuna felt a wash of relief when she saw the small silver card. The slug extended the card towards Asuna and Arguile, Asuna accepted it, careful to touch only the corners of the slime covered card before handing it to Arguile. “Take this to Nishida-san in the lab. I'm sure he'll know what to do with it.”
Asuna turned back to the slug who now looked considerably deflated. “Thank you, Kimura-san.” She said stiffly before returning to Arguile's side.
“Thank you for stepping in back there.” Asuna said to her subordinate as they stepped out into the cylindrical hallway leading to the main lab room. She suddenly felt very tired.
“It was nothing.” Arguile said. “But, Asuna-sama, you weren't going to kill him, were you?”
Asuna looked away, “I don't know, maybe. I just wanted to frighten him.” Asuna said.
“Forgive me for asking this, Asuna-sama, but even in SAO, you never took a life, did you?” Arguile asked. He looked deeply concerned.
Asuna smiled painfully, but shook her head, “I came close a few times. I was prepared to do it, but I got lucky, it never came to that.”
“I see.” Arguile said with relief.
They had parted ways, Arguile to speak with Nishida and the other technically oriented players while Asuna went and checked up on the groups scattered throughout the lab and World Tree branches. Most of the people had gathered in the smaller rooms where they could find comfort or privacy surrounded by any friends or acquaintances who had also been trapped. She slipped into her persona as leader as she walked among them. Some smiled hopefully, while others tugged gently at her hand as she passed, pleading for some reassurance. She comforted them, told them what was being done, but she couldn't bring herself to promise them anything, to lie.
Her wandering had eventually taken her to the lab entrance. A pair of player's in mid level gear stood guard at the doors. The two were polar opposite, one tall and lanky with bony cheeks and messy dark brown hair, the other was shorter and stalkier with a broad set build and lighter hair cut short. They seemed strangely familiar as they greeted Asuna and warned her not to travel too far out. Out among the branches of the world Tree, a handful of the more daring players were standing watch, hoping to catch sight of something or someone close to the World Tree. Anything that could draw attention from the player's bellow might be the thing to save them.
She walked out along the branches, carefully avoiding her former cage, until she reached the very edge of the world Tree. The world stretched away beneath her feet, she could see the distant curve of the earth and far, far below, what might have been the streets and plazas of a city. She shivered, it was so close, so very close. Her hand reached out and something offered resistance, pale ripples appeared before her. The out of bounds barrier that rendered travel down from the World Tree impossible. Even if they were to attempt to climb down the trunk, they would be met by this impenetrable barrier.
She had stood there for a long time, thinking to herself, and expressing her doubts to the emptiness that expanded outward almost forever. "I'm sorry, Kirito-kun, I'm trying to be strong right now. But for now this is as close as I can get to you. I hope you're having better luck reaching me." She smiled to herself. "I'm not giving up, we'll see each other soon. You and Yui, stay safe for now."
She had returned to the labs not long after that and found a quiet corner in which to rest after telling Arguile where to find her. Heavily stuffed pillows and thick rugs had been taken from Sugou's throne room to serve as sleeping mats. It wasn't very comfortable, but Asuna felt bone weary and had fallen asleep almost as soon as she had laid her head down. She was woken by Arguile some time later, to find that she had slept into the afternoon and that Nishida and the others wanted to see her.
"We've tried everything we could think of after getting the card." Nishida said. "But this is all it will display. I think you're right Asuna-san, we're going to need Kimura-san's expertise."
The other players had grudgingly agreed, even Caramella who looked non to happy at the thought of letting the slug avatar anywhere near the terminal. Kimura arrived not long after under heavy guard. The slug looked both better and worse than when Asuna had last seen him. His wounds were almost completely healed but he moved slowly, his eye stalks downcast, and he seemed somehow smaller.
"Kimura-san. We need your help again." Asuna said.
The slug looked up. "They told me." He said. "I already gave you my GM card, I'm not a system admin or GM so I don't know much about the system controls."
"That's alright Kimura-san." Nishida said. "We were just hoping you could tell us what these symbols are."
The slug looked slowly to the terminal. "Those are words in the language of the Fae." Kimura said.
"Language of the Fae?" Nishida asked, frowning, "Hmm, is that European?"
"No, like Faeries." Caramella said, rolling her eyes.
"Yes. It's an artificial language designed for the game of ALfheim, the logos and script are used in many locations throughout the game world, and also in the spell system."
"Then what are they doing here?" Baku asked, gesturing to ever changing script and the densely packed sphere that spun at the center of the display window.
"I don't know." Kimura said. "I've already given you the GM access card, that was all that was asked of me." The slug turned slowly to leave before finding himself confronted by Asuna's blade.
"The agreement was that you would help us log out." Asuna said. "You'll do that, or I'll try my hand at escargot."
"She's a very good cook." Arguile added. "Though I don't think even she would be able to do much with your carcass."
Kimura looked between the terminal and Asuna, eyes resting on the rapier in her hand. "If you're so sure that you will be rescued, why are you trying so hard?"
"Because I'm not sure we'll be rescued." Asuna said, looking Kimura in the eye. "But I know that there is at least one person trying. My offer still stands, Kimura-kun, help us escape and I'll do everything I can for you."
"You don't know what Sugou will do to me." The slug said softly. There was fear in the slugs voice as it spoke.
"I have an idea." Asuna said quietly.
Kimura was silent for a long while, eye stalks slowly turned to examine the monitor. "These symbols should not be able to display here. They look like logos from the ALfheim's magic effects. But they are much too complex."
"Too complex." Nishida asked.
"Yes. It is a pseudo language developed for the game, spells are cast with effects based on length. More complex or powerful spells require longer incantations, but none exceed more than two dozen words. There is no reason for it to appear here."
"So, does that mean the GM console is busted?" Caramella asked.
"Maybe." Kimura said. "I cannot say."
"We certainly can't use it to log out if that's the case." Nishida said with a grimace. The gathered players looked to each other, lost. The terminal had given them hope of finding a way to log out. But now that the hope was fading they were uncertain of what to do. Their common purpose was falling apart.
This wasn't good. Asuna thought quickly, the technically adept players were the most likely to think of a solution. None of them could be allowed to sink into despair. "Hold on for a second, Nishida-san." Asuna said. "Our main goal is to log out. But there's a couple of ways we can do that."
"What do you mean?" Arguile asked.
"I mean we don't necessarily need to log ourselves out. We just need to be sure that other people know that we're here."
"If we can alert other players, are cause a peculiar phenomenon it would certainly be investigated." Arguile realized, he stroked his chin thoughtfully. "That might work, MMO players are pretty curious. Any strange occurrence would warrant an investigation."
"Right." Asuna agreed.
"But we're locked in here." Nishida said. "And there's a barrier outside. Without the GM console, we can't do anything."
"Actually." Kimura said softly. "You can do something." The gathered players turned to the slug who seemed startled by the sudden attention.
"And why should we trust anything you tell us?" Caramella asked, face screwed up in a sour expression. "Last time I checked you were trying to eat us."
"We were trying to restrain you." Kimura said. "And the answer is simple, I've doomed myself either way." When Caramella looked unconvinced, Kimura continued. "The research that Sugou is having us do will allow him to access and interpret the memories of those wearing a Nerve Gear. It is a certainty that if this incident does not uncover our research, then he will use this technology to review what has happened. He will see that I was willing to surrender my GM card to you, even if it was in order to save my own life, Sugou-sama is not a forgiving man."
"Seems awfully convenient." Caramella said suspiciously.
"I'm merely looking out for my own best interests. The known facts dictated that helping you to log out and accepting a prison sentence would be better than risking my own death or a longer prison sentence. New facts dictate that I continue to help you or risk facing Sugou-sama's wrath."
"What a self interested little sea slug you are." Arguile said with a note of distaste. The top of the slug's body rose and fell in an exaggerated shrug.
"Enough." Asuna said, silencing the murmurs of the other players. "What do you have in mind, Kimura-san?"
The slug looked to her. "A game exploit, more of a bug actually. Though I suppose it isn't a bug with the game, it's with your avatars."
"What do you mean?" Asuna asked.
"Sugou-sama has a room here where he keeps his trophies, mostly unbalanced items and beta features. There is a reincarnation feature scheduled to be released in the upcoming 4.0 update."
"Reincarnation?" Asuna asked.
The slug's eye stalks bobbed in an approximation of a nod. "Yes, at this time players wishing to change races in ALfheim must create a new account, however, with the implementation of the 4.0 patch, players will be able to transfer their game stats and be reborn as one of the other Faerie races of their choosing."
"How does that help us?" Caramella asked, the woman's temper was clearly growing short as she stood with her arms crossed.
"When the player is reincarnated, they are re-spawned in their new faction's capitol. It is the only method of teleportation in ALfheim." Kimura said.
Asuna's eyes widened, if such a thing could bypass the barrier and get them down from the world Tree then they could contact the other players and plead for someone to report the incident IRL. Certainly many people would be suspicious at first but it would draw attention and even an investigation. And if she could get to Kirito and explain, he'd be able to take the matter to her family. Sugou would be in custody by the end of the day.
"There is a problem though." Kimura added, freezing Asuna's hopes.
"What problem?" Asuna asked.
"In order to use the [<chalice of rebirth]> a player needs the permission of their new faction's leader and must surrender a large sum of money." The slug explained.
"Then what use is it to us?" Caramella shouted. The woman reached for her sword either to swing it at Kimura or else simply brandish it. The other players piled onto the hot tempered swordswoman before she did something she might end up regretting.
"Allow me to explain. It has to do with your avatars." Kimura said.
"Our avatars?" Asuna repeated. She glanced over her shoulder at the translucent wings that lay folded neatly against her back. She intensely loathed what Sugou had done to her, he'd turned her body into his plaything, but if some peculiarity of this body could help her to free herself she'd gladly accept it.
The slug bobbed his eyes again. "There's a bug in the [<chalice of rebirth]> that the programmers haven't gotten around to fixing yet. Someone who steps into the chalice without the necessary funds or the permission of a Faction leader will be transported to their current faction's Capitol. However none of you have a faction, with the exception of Asuna-sama's avatar, your avatars are all set to the default template."
"And what about my avatar?" Asuna asked.
" I checked your character data when I was returning you to your cage. The racial description was given as [<Maeve]>. I believe it is a special Beta version of the ALF race or perhaps a special avatar created by Sugou-sama. It shouldn't be a problem though. The thing that all of our avatars share is that they do not have a default re-spawn location, they can only be spawned with console commands. When the rebirth feature was being tested, the game testers tried it on all of the races including the default template. The default template users regularly ended up teleporting to the highest point in the Heimdoll shield that surrounds the World Tree."
"Why would it do that?" Nishida asked.
"It must have to do with how it references the re-spawn location." Baku suggested.
"That is most likely correct." Kimura agreed. "The programmers thought it was a bug in the location data caused by the Chalice being located here in the world tree. It wasn't patched because players don't have access to the default template and the Chalice will be moved to Arrun when it is implemented."
"If we use this. We can get down from the World Tree?" Asuna asked.
"It should be possible." Kimura replied. "The Chalice should be in one of Sugou-sama's private rooms. You'll need the GM card to access them."
This could be a trick, Asuna thought, she'd be an idiot not to consider that very real possibility. But how long could they stay up here? She may simply have to take the chance and entrust Kirito to find her if she was trapped once more. "Please show us to the Chalice of Rebirth, Kimura san."
The room that Kimura lead them to was on a lower level of the Lab, it was easy to get turned around but Asuna thought it was directly beneath Sugou's throne room. The door to the room wasn't any different from those leading to the other rooms save for a small slot at its center. Asuna pressed the GM card against the slot and watched as a tracery of light ran across the doors surface and its vanished into the wall.
Asuna entered the chamber, followed by Arguile, Caramella, and the others, Kimura entering last. The room was dimly lit and it took a moment for Asuna's eyes to adjust. When they did she let out a small gasp. She heard Caramella let out a low whistle from beside Arguile.
"Looks like we hit the jackpot." The former army player said softly.
Asuna had to agree. The chamber was about a quarter the size of the lab space above them, but unlike that austere space, the room was packed tightly with shelves full of weapons and items. Without an appraisal skill, Asuna couldn't really say much about any of the gear, but it all looked to be of top quality. Sugou's trophies no doubt. Above each item was a small brass tag inscribed with a name and number, probably the items spawn command.
Asuna had to fight to remain focused on the reason that they were here, her instincts as a player were to examine this windfall before moving on, it was a fight that some of the others were losing. Caramella had already walked over to one of the display racks and rather irreverently picked up an impressive looking sword for examination. "The Blade of Jenkins?" She read the inscription. "That's a stupid name."
"Kimura-san, where would the chalice be?" Asuna asked.
"Its in the back of the room." The slug said, slithering past a distracted Caramella and traveling deeper into the room past the close packed shelves. Only the center row of the room was wide enough to accommodate his wide body. The room went back further than Asuna expected eventually opening up into a domed space at the rear, in the middle of which sat the [<Chalice of Rebirth]>.
The chalice wasn't really a cup like the name implied, instead it was a large brass bowl in which burned a magic flame. At least, Asuna assumed it was magic as the flames licked chaotically in riot of different colors, the light from the flame playing against the back wall of the chamber to form a tapestry of flickering light. Asuna stepped forward to get a closer look. Though the fire was large and fierce, Asuna felt only a faint warmth as she stood by its side. She reached out carefully, a blue flame licked up caressing her hand, for a moment a sense of coolness and the long forgotten sensation of real water rushed across her skin.
"Asuna-sama!" Arguile shouted.
Asuna turned away from the chalice in surprise. "What is it?"
"For a moment, you're wings and hair . . . they turned blue." Arguile said.
"Blue?" Asuna said.
"One of the effects of the Chalice." Kimura said. "You probably simply saw what Asuna-sama would have looked like as an Undine." Arguile looked unconvinced, but nodded.
"Arguile-san, bring everyone here. We need to make a decision." Asuna said.
It took time for the other players to be gathered from throughout the lab and the branches of the World Tree and more time to make sure they hadn't missed anyone. When they were all gathered about the Chalice, Asuna had explained the situation in the same concise fashion with which she had conducted the raid meeting prior to fighting a Floor Boss. She asked for volunteers to accompany her through the [<Chalice of Rebirth]> in hopes of finding a way down from the World Tree.
"You really think this is our best chance, Asuna-sama?" Kino asked from the front row.
Asuna nodded. "I'm sorry, but I think we've exhausted all of our other options. There isn't any way down from the World Tree and the terminal is locked. If this game exploit works, it may be our only hope of contacting the outside world. At the same time, I won't ask anyone to take this risk with me."
The players were all quiet, each of them thinking about what Asuna had said. No doubt mulling over the risk. In the end, the survivors of SAO had been conditioned to consider risk, risk to themselves, and possible reward, many of these people were not the dedicated members of the front line, but the lower ranked players who had simply sought to get by in their two year in Aincrad. She was offering them a chance at freedom but given their circumstances it was no guarantee, rather, it was a risky proposition at best.
Arguile was the one to break the silence. The Knight stepped forward, taking his place beside Asuna. "I will stand beside Asuna-sama, and join her on this mission."
The other players fidgeted nervously, looking about to see who would answer the call next. Caramella sighed loudly, "If the Knight of the Bloody Oath is going, the Army has to show its colors too, you have my sword, Asuna-sama."
"I'm going too!" Kino said suddenly. Other voices began to call out from among the gathered players. Nishida shouted out and hefted his fishing rod over his head like a spear. More and more of the players stepped forward, gathering around Asuna. The former sub-commander found herself once more surprised by the willingness of others to rally around her. She allowed the voices to quiet down before she began to speak again.
"Is the vote unanimous?" Asuna asked. "Anyone who does not wish to leave can stay here for now, Kimura-san says that the Chalice will work for anyone."
"But wouldn't it be best if we all went together?" Kino asked. "After all, we'll be appearing on a mountain at the top of the game world. We might have to fight monsters on our way down."
"You could stay here." Asuna observed. "You don't need to go."
"I think everyone here agrees with me when I say that we're done waiting." Nishida said. The elderly fisherman placed a hand on Kino's shoulder. "We're with you in this, Asuna-san."
Asuna felt a faint heat building behind her eyes. When she looked into their faces, she didn't see blind faith, she had told them the risks and each person had accepted them, not because they weren't scarred, but because they were brave enough to overcome their fear. It was humbling, it was frightening. She pushed those feeling downs, deep within her own heart and gave a resolute nod. "If that's the case, the frontline members will lead the way. Arguile-san, look over the equipment in this room, we may need some of it. Caramella-san, start organizing people into squads, we'll go through in groups. Kimura-san, you're coming too."
"M-me?" The slug asked.
"You said you're avatar is like ours, it doesn't have a default spawn point right. That means you can come to."
"Ah, but, that isn't necessary." The slug said quickly.
Asuna gave the slug a dangerous little smile. "Oh? You aren't scarred are you? After all, you'll be going first."
"W-what?!"
"It's your idea after all." Asuna said. "Unless you think it won't work, in which case, we're back to plan escargot."
The slugs stubby tentacles curled up tightly. "If that is your wish, Asuna-sama." The words came out curtly.
It wasn't long before the players were able to organize themselves. The Lead squads were arrayed near the Chalice followed closely by groups of escorted players. The Lead squads would go through first followed by the players in order to descending combat ability until they were all through. Hopefully this would ensure that the stronger players were in position to defend their weaker companions by the time they teleported through.
The search of Sugou's vault turned up many interesting items but in the end only a handful of healing potions and some of the lighter special items were taken. The players had no idea what the abilities of the other equipment was and were better off sticking with their own well known weapons and armor.
Asuna glanced over to Kino. "Are you sure you don't want your sword back?" She asked.
The boy shook his head. "I'd be honored if you keep it, Asuna-sama." He patted his vest where a quartet of small throwing blades were sheathed. "Besides, I'm actually better with these than I am with a rapier."
"Thank you again, Kino san." She bowed her head. "Kimura-san, are you ready?"
"Of course not." The slug muttered. He stood beside the Chalice of Rebirth, eyes examining the flame from every angle. "I don't have a choice in this, do I?" The slug asked.
"No." Arguile said, and gave the slug a solid kick to his hind quarters. With a resentful sound Kimura slide into the flame, Asuna half expected to hear the sizzling of his slime and loud scream of pain. Instead the flames brightened for a moment swirling up around him like a Cocoon. Kimura's form glowed bright white and then a flash of light swallowed him up.
"I'll see you on the other side, Asuna-sama." Arguile said before stepping into the flame and vanishing in another flash of light.
"Jiranimo." Caramella said and went through after her partner.
It was now Asuna's turn, she looked back at the gathered players, all watching her with anticipation. She smiled encouragingly. "So that we can all meet on the other side someday." She nodded and stepped into the flames.
The feeling from before had been strange, but this was a dozen times more so. She felt the colors with all of her senses, rushes of wind and cypress, a flash of heat and brimstone, the bite of a cold winter morning and the comfort of depths, the smells of Liz's furnace and the resounding clang of metal, the gentle trembling vibration of a perfect score, the warmth of the sun on a spring afternoon, the mysterious light of the moon, the wonder of a secret hidden and uncovered. They rushed over her overwhelmed her until they froze in a strange Tableaux. Then the world started back up again.
Asuna opened her eyes, feeling her skin sting as her face was whipped by the wind, the world was white around her, cold mist ran past her face. She saw something dark and massive above her, she twisted in the air desperate, confused, trying to get away. But the shape closed in. And then she realized, what was nearing was not above her, it was bellow. Yuuki Asuna, Asuna the Flash, former member of the Knights of the Blood Oath, let out a scream and she plummeted towards the rapidly approaching earth.
http://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/posts/380602