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Chapter Text

There was a huge crash and a thunderous explosion, followed closely by the ground violently shaking and the ceiling collapsing. The silvery haired queen winced, barely able to stay standing where she was in front of her throne in the ballroom.

Then, pandemonium.

Glaring up to the ceiling, “I do not know why I’m surprised that there is now a hole there,” the queen muttered angrily to herself, the good cheer from her daughter’s birthday and engagement celebration evaporating faster than water in the Venusian desert. Who could be attacking? Why?

She fought to keep the snarl from her face as she turned her gaze back to the gathering, everyone was screaming, and she could see Youma here and there in the crowd as everyone was attacked, even those in the Earth’s delegation. There was no reason to scare her guests more than they already were.

Well, at least she didn’t have to worry about treachery from them. She knew that her daughter’s match to the Earth prince wasn’t widely approved of. She was glad that her dear Serenity had found love, it was just icing on the cake that the match was politically sound as well.

Her eyes scanned the room, her daughter and Endymion were sheltered near her own position, she could defend them if need be, they were as safe as they could be, despite what was going on. Where were the Senshi then?

Ah, there was Mars, evacuating the civilians, and there was Mercury, not far from her, fighting…Zoicite? Wasn’t Zoicite one of the Prince’s Guardians?

Jupiter was fighting the Youma, and Venus was making her way over to where the queen was standing.

“Majesty,” the girl gasped, “You need to evacuate.”

The Queen shook her head, “No Venus,” she breathed, “Get my daughter out of here, I have… something to retrieve…” The queen’s tone darkened as her eyes narrowed.

The blonde’s eyes widened, “You mean…?” She looked ready to protest, but held her tongue. Venus knew not to argue.

The monarch nodded, turning with a twirl of her elegant silvery white ball gown, a shade or two away from her hair, and made her retreat into the depths of the palace. Time was running short.

Serenity bit her lip as she looked over the disaster her celebration had become, “Endy, we should leave.” This was not how she’d envisioned her night going, and to make matters worse, she’d left her rapier in the Barracks, which was too far away for her to retrieve. And even if she’s wanted to… She’d have to go through the attacking Youma to get to her weapon, which had been a gift from Heathcliff just last year.

Serenity hated feeling so defenseless as she did now.

“Yes,” he agreed, looking over the chaos and the Youma that were slowly closing in on them, “I think you’re right.”

He stood and pulled his fiancée to her feet. Taking her hand, they began to run into the maze of the palace hallways. Endymion knew these passages well enough, having learned them during his trips here. He knew just the place to go.

Perhaps they could pick up some swords or some other implement on the way.

Captain of the Royal Guard Heathcliff was barely winded as he found the two that he’d been searching for for the last half an hour, “Kizmel, Tilnel, I need you to both come with me.”

Tilnel closed her book as Kizmel scooped up her sword and sheathed it, “What is it, Captain?”

“We’ve been attacked, come with me.” He commanded them, not stopping in his pace.

The sisters were out of their seats and running after him moments later. Together, the three navigated the long hallways. Every once in a while, Kizmel would have to fight a Youma, but it was a miracle that so few had penetrated this deeply into the palace.

They weren’t about to question the few blessings this night was willing to give them.

“Where are we going?” Tilnel asked, huffing and puffing as Heathcliff ushered the sisters down yet another hall. She really should have kept up with her Stamina training.

“We are almost there,” The Captain of the Guard reassured them as they turned yet another corner. “Just a little farther.”

Both Tilnel and Kizmel’s eyes widened when they saw the Hibernation Chambers.

“Captain, you can’t,” Kizmel breathed.

“We are losing, someone has to survive this and rebuild,” the silver haired man replied as he opened two of the chambers, white mist dispersing from both. “Who better than the Princess’s personal guard and her personal Physician?” He turned, placing his hands on Kizmel’s and Tilnel’s shoulders. “Serenity will need your familiar faces.”

Kizmel bit her lip, still resistant to the idea as she watched her mentor herd her little sister into one of the pods. Still, she didn’t want to die, neither did she want her little sister to die.

“I’m scared,” Tilnel whimpered, tears falling from her eyes as another explosion rocked the foundations of the palace. The Healer flinched, turning scared eyes to her older sister.

Finally, Kizmel stepped forward, “We’ll still be together Tilnel,” she comforted her sister, “And, you know, maybe this won’t be for long.”

She gave her sister a soft kiss on the forehead and stepped back. Squaring her shoulders and taking a deep breath, the older Dark Elf turned, and with several long strides, got into the other pod. “We are ready Captain.”

Tilnel swallowed thickly, and after another moment of indecision, Tilnel followed her sister and settled herself in the Hibernation Pod. “I’m ready, Captain.”

He nodded, pressing another set of keys, closing both pods, “I’ll wake you when I get back.” He watched, knowing how likely it was that anyone would make it out of this alive. Once closed, the pods filled with the gas that would put them to sleep.

He could leave no more to chance; his only mission now, was to find the Queen.

When he got to the center of the Palace, one of the Princess’s favorite places, his heart fell, there, at the base of the steps was Venus, having bled out. It took all his training to keep the contents of his stomach in his stomach. Carefully stepping over what was left of her, he made his way to the top of the stairs and had to cover his mouth with one hand.

Endymion was a few feet from the Princess, but Heathcliff couldn’t turn away. Why had she impaled herself?

He shook his head and turned away, hurrying away from yet another scene of death.

<<>>

The Queen glared up into the dark shadow that was the thing that had attacked her home. “To think, that thing came from the sun,” she sighed, pulling the Moon Scepter from her pocket with one hand and held the Ginzuishou in the other.

Carefully, with sure fingers, she placed the crystal on the Scepter. She put the thought of just where this monster came from out of her mind. “I don’t care what corner of hell that thing, Metalia, came from, but I’m sending it back, if I can. If not, well,” her eyes narrowed as a blast of energy almost hit where she stood, “Then it will be Serenity’s task to vanquish this abomination.”

“Luna, Artemis,” she called, knowing that her advisers would hear her.

“We’re here,” called the black cat, stalking out of some nearby wreckage, a white cat following close behind, “What do you need of us?”

Both cats sat down at attention behind her.

The queen didn’t say anything as she raised the wand in her hand, casting a shield spell, “I need you both to look after my daughter.”

“We’ll do our best.” Luna said for them both.

Heathcliff cursed his age, what good does aged experience do if your body can't keep up anymore? Having finally made it to the queen’s side. A short chant, glowing runes encircled his body, augmented her shield spell with one of his own. “Majesty, are you alright?”

The queen gave him a fond smile, “Now that you’re here,” she teased, her smile not making it to her eyes. “My daughter?”

He shook his head, “I’m sorry.” He didn’t need to say anything else.

“Then I suppose that leaves me no choice,” she growled, hefting the wand again. She could mourn the loss of her daughter later, if it was possible.

“You can't mean?!” he knew what that was, but he never thought that they’d actually have to implement it! She was going to die if she did that!

The queen took a deep breath as her magic exploded outward; she directed it to the Ginzuishou, “Sealing Metalia and then using that will most definitely kill me. But with my daughter already dead…” she took another deep breath, closing her sky blue eyes, not even trying to stop the tears. “I see no other option.”

His expression twisted. Both he and his queen had hoped that this would never happen, and he watched with sad, hard eyes as his queen did her best to deal with their foe.

A beam of energy lashed out, matching the queen’s magic, and she grit her teeth, pushing more of her power into the sealing spell.

His eyes widened, “If you keep this up that might kill you before you finish casting!”

“That doesn’t matter anymore, there is no going back,” she replied, “There is nothing left.”

He bit his lip, hating that he could not take this burden from the grieving mother. He had no choice but to let her do this. No choice but to watch. The loss of the Princess pained him as much as it did her and yet, he could do nothing.

The queen’s legs buckled as she finished sealing Metalia and her minions. In her hands were seven colorful gems. “That’s done,” she panted as Heathcliff caught her, she’d have fallen to the ground had the Captain not caught her.

“Are you sure you still want to go through with that?” he asked, tears in his eyes, “What about everyone that’s still alive?” The loss of his Queen would likely kill him inside, especially since her daughter was already dead.

The queen smiled, “They will be able to keep everything going, until… our daughter is found…”

He grimaced, “You would really leave the Kingdom to me?” Why would she do that?

“You’ll do a fine job dear,” she reassured him, weakly brushing the strands of hair that had come loose from his horse tail out of his eyes, “And when our dear one is found, you’ll be able to guide her, teach her, what she needs to know to rule.”

“…Very well,” he agreed sadly, consigning himself to the long, lonely years that awaited him. “How will I know where to look?” The only light at the end of the long tunnel was that he was going to see his Princess again.

“Our daughter and the Senshi of Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter, will be born in the same general area,” She pulled herself up, using his armor, “Unfortunately, the seal will also be close to dissolving so the Youma sightings and magic will tell you where to look.”

The seven crystals began to float around her and there was a brilliant white flash as the Queen began to chant, bubbles forming around all the people who died, and Heathcliff’s grip tightened on the Queen as her breathing became more and more shallow. He watched as they all headed to earth.

And then, his greatest fear came to pass, in the middle of her chant, the queen went limp, her spell only half finished. Resigned, he lay her down on the pillar behind him and turned to leave. If he wanted to quiet the panic, he would have to work fast.

What he saw as he was crossing the Asteroid Belt made his blood run cold and his heart freeze. What were Uranus, Neptune and Pluto doing? Didn’t they know that this would call Saturn?

He covered his mouth in horror as a shorter young woman appeared her uniform in black. The Bringer of Silence… he could do nothing but watch, as she brought the Silence Glaive up and then down, destroying what was left of their kingdom… or so he thought.

Kayaba Akihiko gasped as he sat in his bed, he rubbed his face with his hands, “That dream again,” he grumbled, getting out of bed and taking several steps to his window. With more vigor than he really felt, he flung open the curtains and let the light of a full, white moon stream into the room through the window. It looked so cold and dead now, nothing like the glittering jewel from his dreams.

And then there was that Castle… that castle, floating in the sky, with monsters and dragons and adventures. How long had he been dreaming of that wondrous place? That place where a sword could take you anywhere…

Soon it wouldn’t matter, his project was almost finished. Soon, everyone would love that castle as much as he did… “Aincrad,” he breathed, turning to look at his workbench. The prototype for the NerveGear, little more than a proof of concept really, was almost finished. The programming and necessary core development modules for Sword Art Online, that which would make his dream work, was not far behind. The rest, however, would take longer.

Next to the prototype sat a seven year old picture. Akihiko sighed, picking it up. Absentmindedly, the twenty-six year old wiped what little dust there was on the glass away. It was the last picture he had of his whole family. There in that back was his grandfather, Kirigaya Kenshin, somehow still tall despite his age. On the left, were his parents Kayaba Yukito and Aoi, standing side by side, he himself sat in a chair with his baby brother, Kazuto in his lap in front of them. On the right stood Aunt Midori and Uncle Minetaka, little Suguha, who was maybe just under two years at the oldest in Aunt Midori’s arms. It had been taken a month before his brother’s third birthday, and three before the… accident that had taken his parents and brother from him.

His best estimates were that it would take two or three years to complete. Two or three years to build the simulated Aincrad. Two or three years before he could begin training the army that the Senshi, the Princess, would need.

His eyes narrowed, “Those attacks… It’s twenty nineteen, but where is she?” Where was that beautiful and kind, yet crazy girl that he loved as if she was his own?

Even with the Senshi active, the Princess had not yet awakened, had yet to show up. And without her, the best anyone could hope for, was to simply hold back the darkness and hope that they could for long enough.

But when it was all done with, he would join the Senshi, and he would do so at the head of an army. And then, he could… discuss his problems with their existence. Seven years, he thought grimly. It’s been seven years since my parents and my brother were killed by them. And for all that I want to act, I can’t act for now. His eyes hardened. But when it is time… there will be a reckoning.

He would have Jadeite’s head for what he’d done! He would kill Jadeite himself, should the right situation arise that would allow for that to happen.

His eyes turned back to the NerveGear Prototype. Is it wrong that I am looking forward to the day the Alpha and Beta testing begins? He wondered before shaking his head. The Alpha testing was still at least a year out, never mind the beta testing stage. Still… he was looking forward to it…

When was it that he’d started dreaming of that Castle in the Sky? Akihiko wondered as he sat at his computer, trying to code the system that would keep Sword Art Online running.

His NerveGear had been a smash hit, just like he’d hoped it would be. The NerveGear was actually much more popular than he’d thought it would be. He had all the funding he needed to get any and all potential bugs out of the system. The Prototype was finished, he didn’t like that the battery was so big, but shrinking it would come later. As a Proof of Concept, it worked, and it worked well. Which was the most important part here. But the size of the battery was going to end up being a problem, he just knew it.

He needed a name for his system, the rudimentary AI that would make human admins and moderators redundant. That Castle had had once had such a caretaker. But for the life of him, Kayaba Akihiko could not remember. The name started with a C right? Cardinal perhaps?

That didn’t sound quite right, but at the same time, it was close enough that it didn’t bother him.

Another year had come and gone, and still, the princess hadn’t been found.

Heathcliff watched as the [Player] Kirito slowly started to come out of his shell, to give advice and to point out problems. There was something about the boy’s calm, quiet presence that just made him noticeable. Something in the boy’d demeanor made everyone around him want to listen when he spoke.

Every time something went wrong in the [Boss Rooms] or anywhere else, Kirito would take command, and he seemed to have a talent for keeping people alive, which was something that would be needed when the game ended and they were all thrust into the ongoing conflict with the Dark Kingdom.

His [Princess’] soldiers probably would not understand, but that was something that he would have to deal with later. He would likely have to explain what was going on to at least Kirito, as it looked like he would end up in charge. And the [Princess], if his simulation of Aincrad drew her in or not.

It was the end of July two thousand twenty-two, and she still hadn’t been found… Why hadn’t she shown up as his Queen had promised? Could it be that because her spell was incomplete that her daughter hadn’t been reborn in the right time or place?

Chapter Text

November 7, 2024; RECT Progress: Virtual Reality Division

Sugou Nobuyuki was smiling to himself as he watched the three hundred not so randomly chosen test subjects were plucked from Sword Art Online’s server and were transferred to the top of Yggdrasil in Alfheim Online. His smile growing larger and larger until he noticed that one specific name, the most important one, was missing from the list.

Yuuki Asuna had not been caught in his web.

It took everything he, Sugou Nobuyuki had, not to scream in rage.

How could she have slipped the net?

Undisclosed Location

After that… illuminating conversation with his older brother, Commander Kirito found himself waking up in a hospital room. Pushing himself up, and finding himself utterly exhausted (despite the fact that he felt quite strong), and sat there for a good five minutes to get his breath back before pulling the NerveGear off his head and looked around.

Every free surface was covered in flowers and ‘Get Well’ cards. There was a privacy curtain, pulled closed currently, so he couldn’t see the door but something about the room seemed off. Was that a second bed closer to the window?

Gently placing his NerveGear to the side, he slid over to the side closest to the other bed and pushed himself to his feet. He hissed, almost immediately regretting doing so as his legs nearly buckled under the weight of his body. Not because they were emaciated, but from long disuse.

But, Kirito decided, that didn’t matter. He needed to know who else was in this room with him. He paid no mind to the noise of his life support blaring in his ears as he stumbled across the room, only relaxing when he saw the stirring form of his wife, Asuna, waking up.

“Asuna,” He breathed in relief, collapsing next to her on the other bed.

“Kirito-kun, is that you?” Never had he heard such a sweet, sweet sound, “My ears are still shot.”

He chuckled, reaching out; he helped her pull her NerveGear off and gave her first real kiss.

“Mmm,” She hummed, opening her eyes as he pulled away. “Yep, that’s Kirito-kun!”

They both laughed happily as he pulled her into their first hug in the real world. The two top Players of Sword Art Online basked in the feeling of really being in each other’s arms, safe, in the real world.

Because their visitors were silent, they didn’t notice the two Dark Elves at first. It also didn’t help that neither could really hear at the moment either.

Their eyes snapped to the hidden door when they heard it slam, their eyes widening when they recognized one of the Dark Elves.

“Kizmel?” Kirito croaked, causing his wife to fall into a fit of giggles. Kizmel was a real person?

He shot his wife a sideways glare and gently pulled on a lock of her hair.

Asuna just gave him an amused smile.

The second Elf was busy looking at their charts. “Princess Asuna and Commander Kirito are not as bad as you feared, Sister, I can restore them to peak condition in three weeks tops.”

Kirito’s eyes widened, “Tilnel?” He realized.

Tilnel’s skin was a slightly lighter tone than her sister’s and her hair was a darker purple and longer, pulled into a tight French braid. She smiled, “Yes Commander. I am going to be the caretaker for both of you while you are here.”

The sixteen-year-old nodded thoughtfully, “Brother suggested that we take up fencing and Kenjutsu to continue our training. When can that start?”

Kizmel put her face in her hands. “I should be surprised, but I’m not,” she said with some resignation. “Why does that not surprise me?”

“Kizmel, you’ve known my Black Sun for two years now.” Asuna yelped when he pushed her in retaliation, “Kirito-kun!”

He laughed when she pushed back, “As if you are any different, my White Moon.”

Asuna blushed, “Make fun of me again and you’ll be back in your own bed,” She pulled him into a kiss.

Tilnel’s smile grew wider and wider as she watched them interact. “If everything goes the way it should, you can start the last week of rehab. After you get out of here, I will be transferring to wherever your Headquarters is built. Because I am to be the army’s medic.”

He nodded, yawning, “I think Asuna and I will be starting later,” he could feel his wife’s weight keenly against his shoulder, “We need some more rest.”

“We’ll let you rest then.” Kizmel pulled Tilnel into a corner and they disappeared under Kizmel’s cloak, seeming to disappear from the room completely.

Kirito sent the corner a jealous look before pulling his wife down to lie on the bed. She shifted, cuddling into his side and moments later, they were fast asleep.

Doctor Chiba Mamoru felt his nerves fraying; praying to whatever God would listen that his fiancée Mio would beat the odds and survive the Death Game Sword Art Online as he sat by her bedside. He was completely unprepared when she tried to sit up. “Mio-chan!”

“Ugh, what is this on my head?” She asked. “I wasn’t wearing a helmet a few minutes ago. And why am I in a bed? Last I knew, the Commander was fighting Kayaba and had… wait a minute.”

Mamoru paused as she shakily reached for the NerveGear and pulled it off her head. It encountered some resistance from her hair. She gave it a firm pull, taking it off and having her hair spill around her. It was odd, seeing her with red hair that transitioned to black as it got further from the roots. She had dyed it since the Senshi became active as a safety precaution, thinking with no little justification that they were likely to shoot first, ask never if they saw her. But it had grown over the last two years and it wasn’t as if they could dye the hair covered by the NerveGear, so it was dichromatic in nature now. She looked around, her eyes reaching Mamoru’s and she paused.

“Ma- Mamoru-kun?” She asked. “What? How?” She looked around again. “I’m… where am I?”

“You are in the hospital, Mio-chan, you have been for a long time.” Mamoru told her as he inspected her form. She didn’t look as bad as his training said she should. Her muscle tone was, if anything, better than what he remembered, but she had lost a lot of weight and body fat, nonetheless. Far less than his knowledge said she should have, but enough to make her muscles stand out in stark relief without the softening and rounding of her figure that the lost fat would have provided.

Student Nurse Mizuno Ami was checking her friend Urawa Ryu’s vitals when he suddenly sat up struggling for a moment.

“That crazy Commander,” he muttered, pulling the Nerve Gear off and shaking his hair out, “I knew he could do it.” He gave Ami an almost crooked smile. “Hi Ami-chan.”

Ami stared at him for a moment before she started giggling. “How do you feel, Ryu-kun?” she asked after getting ahold of herself.

He ducked his head, “Mentally exhausted,” he shrugged weakly, “But I’ll take that over being trapped in that game any day.”

Ami rubbed at her eyes, “I’m so glad you’re up.”

Their next awakening was not so peaceful as their first. In fact, it was quite jarring.

“Big Brother is awake!”

Kirito bolted upright, throwing the covers over his wife’s still sleeping form, his right hand reaching over his shoulder to pull a sword that was no longer there. He blinked in confusion, “…Sugu?”

“Good morning Big Brother,” she chirped brightly, even though it was actually in the afternoon. A moment later, she was hugging him rather tightly, so tightly that he could barely breathe.

“Sugu, let Kazuto breathe!”

Suguha scrambled off the bed and into one of the nearby chairs. “Sorry Ma.”

Kirigaya Midori smiled as she gazed at her son, “We are all glad to see you up after so long.”

“Mmm, Kirito-kun, what did she call you?” He turned to look down into his wife’s sleepy eyes.

He leaned in, his mouth close to her ear. “Asuna, she called me Kazuto.”

Asuna turned adorably sleepy eyes on him, “Kazuto? Why would she call Kirito-kun that?” She asked in confusion.

Kirito blushed, how could his wife be so cute? “That’s… my name actually, Kazuto, Kirigaya Kazuto.”

His wife blinked, “Kirigaya Kazuto?” then she giggled, “Nope! Kirito-kun is just Kirito-kun!”

“Asuna…” he groaned, sending her a half playful glare.

Asuna grinned before leaning in and kissing his nose, forgetting that his mother and sister were there, he pulled her into a real kiss.

Asuna held onto him tightly, only letting go and pulling away when they were both desperately in need of air.

Suguha shook her head as her phone began to ring. “Excuse me, but I need to take this.”

“Don’t take too long, Sugu,” he called after her.

“I won’t Big Brother,” his sister gave him a grin and slipped from the room.

“This had better be good Kou!” Suguha hissed into her phone, “Kazu and Asuna are awake!”

“They are?” he asked urgently, “Don’t let your mom leave. I’ll be right there. I was just picking up the rings we’d commissioned for them.”

Suguha sighed in relief, glad that she didn’t have to hide her blush, “See you then.” She hung up, taking a deep breath to steady herself and return to her brother’s room.

Yuuki Kouichirou slipped into the jewelry store with a wide smile on his face, “Trust them to wake up the day the rings are ready.”

A salesman walked up to him, “You are here for the rings?”

Turning, Kouichirou saw that it was actually the store manager. “Yes sir.”

This way then.” The manager gestured for Kouichirou to follow him.

Kouichirou followed the short, greying man to the back counter where two, identical plain ring boxes were sitting innocently.

Kouichirou picked up the box on the right and opened it, inside was a plain Platinum band. “And no engraving?”

“No sir, if you don’t mind, may I ask why you didn’t want them engraved?” The man asked.

Kouichirou smiled, “The rings are for my sister and her fiance, but they have both been caught in the Sword Art Online Incident. Besides, I’m sure that Asuna would rather have her words in her ring, not mine.”

“They were going to play together?” the old manager asked.

“Something like that,” Kouichirou shrugged, pulling out his credit card to pay for them.

After paying, he slipped the ring boxes into a pocket and Kouichirou slipped his card away as he left the store.

Suguha slipped back into her brother’s room, “Ma, Kou said he’d be here with the rings soon, so you shouldn’t leave?”

“You are too young for that, Sugu,” Kirito growled.

Suguha blushed, “Oh no Big Brother, the rings are for you and Big Sis Asuna.”

Asuna blinked, “Kirito-kun, did she just call me sister?”

Kirito bit the inside of his lip, looking from his sister to his mother, “Mom?”

Midori gave her son a smile, “Remember the stream you set up during the Beta?”

He thought back, “Yes, I remember turning it off after the Beta was finished.” His shoulders slumped, “I only went through with it so that I could share with Sugu.”

His wife perked up, “I watched Kou every chance I got. It was one of the reasons I asked to borrow his NerveGear opening day.” She caressed the helmet at her side, leaning into his side. “I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”

Kirito’s eyes widened, “Why?”

“Because of you,” her amber eyes sparkled, “My life is not worth living without you in it, Kirito-kun.”

And just when he thought that his wife could not get any more adorable, she just had to go and say something like that… “Asu-hime…” his face was so red he couldn’t look at anyone in the room.

She kissed his cheek, “I love you forever.”

A goofy grin developed on his face, “I love you too, Asuna.”

Not five minutes later, Yuuki Kouichirou walked through the door of the shared hospital room.

Suguha hopped off of her seat. “Kou, you said you have them?” She asked. Kouichirou pulled both boxes from an inner pocket, “Right here.”

“…Kou?” He turned at the sound of Kirito’s voice.

“Hello Commander glad to finally meet you in person.” Kouichirou grinned, “Thank you for protecting my little sister.”

Kirito blushed, “My life belongs to her.”

Kouichirou turned to his sister, “Asu-hime?” He asked with a grin.

“Only Kirito-kun can call me that!” Asuna snapped.

Kouichirou’s eyebrows reached his hairline, “I thought no one was allowed to call you that, Asuna?”

“Things change Big Brother,” She stuck her tongue out at him. “Besides, you’re remembering wrong. I said: “Only the man I choose to marry can call me that”, and that’s Kirito-kun.” She leaned more heavily on the Commander’s shoulder, resting her head under his chin.

Kouichirou became slightly concerned when the boy he respected covered a huge yawn. “Are you all right Commander?”

“I overdid it earlier is all,” his free hand started petting Asuna’s hair, “There is a reason I’m not in my own bed.”

Resident Doctor Chiba Mamoru knocked on the door to the only room with two patients.

“Enter.” Came the muffled reply.

For some reason, he had not been expecting a response. Shrugging, he opened the door and went inside. What he found surprised him quite a bit.

Both patients seemed quite comfortable on one bed, the younger teen was dozing, his head in the girl’s lap.

“What did you need, Sensei?” The girl asked, her free hand playing with a few strands of the boy’s hair.

“It’s time for his checkup.” Mamoru replied after a moment of awkward silence.

“Are you the one assigned to us?”

Mamoru nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of the boy’s voice, “Yes, Head Nurse Aki is my assistant.”

“I see, where is she?” the boy asked, sitting up.

“She’s on her way,” Mamoru reassured the teens.

“Can we wait for her to get here then?” the boy asked curiously, his serious expression, though tired, gave Mamoru pause and he felt disinclined to say no.

“We can wait.” Mamoru agreed, the girl (and wasn’t there something about her disturbingly familiar?) pulled the boy back down so that his head was once again resting in her lap.

Soon the boy was back to dozing. With nothing better to do, the doctor went to computer next to the boy’s empty bed and turned it on. “Kirigaya Kazuto?” Mamoru asked as he perused the file.

“Hmm?” the boy, Kazuto hummed, “What do you need, Sensei?” he asked, opening a single eye to look at the doctor.

“You seem to be in better condition than one would think, considering the fact that you have been in a coma for two years.”

Kazuto’s eyes narrowed slightly, “Can’t tell you that.”

Mamoru sent the boy an annoyed look, “Can’t?”

Kirito shook his head. “No, I can’t.” He sounded incredibly sleepy. “It’s not like Kayaba explained everything to us when he revealed himself as the one responsible.”

Mamoru narrowed his eyes slightly, “I’m not sure I believe you.” And I did my own checking, I know you’re Kayaba’s brother, he thought. Damn it, you know something, I know you do. But what is it?

When Kazuto didn’t answer the doctor turned, only to find that the boy had fallen back asleep, or at least seemed to.

The girl, (seriously, who was she?) had leaned back against the pillow, her eyes closed. Both teens seemed to be fast asleep.

“Chiba-sensei,” the woman, Kazuto’s mother if he recalled, said. “They’ve had a trying day. Let them rest for a bit. At least until the nurse arrives and you can do their checkups.”

Mamoru gave her a grudging nod. He knew that he had no reason, in their eyes, to be asking them any probing questions as to what went on inside SAO. They didn’t know that he was regularly involved in fighting against the Dark Kingdom, or that he knew that there was more to SAO than what met the eyes.

Those who had more recently died in there were far too healthy, for one. Their bodies were still atrophied to some degree, but things like muscle tone and strength were far greater than they should be.

Many of the patients who had awakened mentioned Aincrad, a place that he only dimly recalled from his memories of a previous life. Was SAO a virtual world representation of that place?

If so, then chances were that Kayaba was a reincarnation were high. But even if that was the case, that didn’t explain what SAO actually was, let alone just how so many of those who had been trapped inside came out in such good shape.

What had Kayaba done? Or was it Heathcliff who managed to do it, using SAO to subvert Zoicite’s ploy? If so, he owed the man a drink when he found him, as well as a fist to the face.

Who this girl, Asuna reminded him of, could wait.

November 8: Undisclosed Location

While Tilnel helped Asuna with her work out, Kizmel dropped several thick manilla folders onto Kirito’s lap.

“What’s this?” he asked, picking up one on top and thumbed through it.

“Reports on how your army is recovering,” the older Dark Elf replied, “And your brother will be visiting later today.”

Kirito nodded, “Good, I need to talk to him,” he said. “Doctor Chiba may be polite about it, but he is asking questions I can’t answer. Not because I’m trying to keep them secret. But because I don’t know why Asuna-hime and I, let alone the others, are doing so well. I mean, granted, moving about or doing things we took for granted is going to be a chore for a while, at least until our bodies get used to being back in the physical world, but even I know that we should be a lot worse off than we are.”

“You do look like you could use a good meal or two, though,” Kizmel noted.

“I’m sure everyone does.” Kirito smirked, “And I’m sure we are all really hungry too. Aki’s amazing though, to have created Cardinal deliberately, and even Yui and Strea though that wasn’t quite so deliberate, when our technology isn’t quite there yet. He’s good at keeping secrets too.”

He’d found out about his brother when he’d hacked into the deleted government files and had found out about his parents. He’d admired him for a long time, even when he’d been angry with the man that was nearly twenty years his senior. Aki was also very good at keeping secrets. “I still have a few questions to ask Aki anyway, and I’m sure Asuna-hime does too.” Kirito smiled.

His head snapped up when he heard his wife whimper slightly, “Tilnel, that hurts!” Asuna complained.

“That just means that it’s working, Princess,” Tilnel said in a voice that sounded way too cheerful.

“Quit calling me that!” Asuna squawked.

Tsukino Usagi pushed herself up with a great deal of effort, though she was sure that it wasn’t as great as it should have been. She hissed as all her joints seemed to pop back into place. “…I’m not Luna anymore,” she breathed, wincing at how bad her voice still sounded from disuse.

As Luna, she’d been strong, fast, an expert short sword and dagger user like her friend Silica, now of the Divine Dragon Alliance. Here, she was just Usagi, the lazy, if cheerful girl who just wasn’t interested in school.

She sighed, stretching, “…I’d rather be crafting accessories…” She remembered taking her NerveGear off, it hadn’t taken as much effort as she knew it should have. After removing it, she had lain back down and had gone to sleep.

Kinomoto Sakura, known as Sasha in Sword Art Online, yawned as she opened her eyes.

“Good morning Sakura.” A voice came from her left as she sat up. Turning, she saw that it was her fiancé, Syaoran.

“Good Morning, Syaoran,” She replied with a grin. “Part of me still can’t believe that the game ended early. Not that I didn’t think that Commander Kirito and Asuna-sama couldn’t do it.”

“Who is Commander Kirito again?” Syaoran asked with a smile. He was just glad that he had his wife back.

“Commander Kirito was one of the leaders of the Clearers.” Sakura told him again.

“Well then, I’ll have to thank him for freeing you if I ever see him.” Syaoran replied thoughtfully, “And I owe him a drink.”

Ayano Keiko, known as Silica to all her friends in Sword Art Online, lay motionless on her bed, she hadn’t woken up with the rest of her Party on the sixty-ninth floor.

Ayano Tetsuhiko hadn’t had a wink of sleep since he’d heard that almost every other Player had woken up. He didn’t know what to do.

Yamashiro Sumire, Spymaster Argo, shot upright, panting heavily in panicked surprise. The last thing she remembered doing yesterday, before the world went white was that she’d been putting the latest of the information for that quest together for Kii-bou, and the next, she was waking up here.

Looking left then right as her breathing calmed and slowed, she remembered how… easy it had been to pull her NerveGear off of her head. It should have been much harder to take off. So why had it been so easy?

Sumire still didn’t understand why they were all awake, “Kiio-bou said that they were going to Clear Floor Seventy-Five yesterday, so how come we all woke up?” her still partly blind eyes narrowed, “Why was the game Cleared twenty-five floors early?”

The question was going to bother her until she could get an answer out of Kii-bou, she just knew it.

Kirito looked up from what had to be the hundredth report he’d looked through when he heard a knock on the door. “Enter.” He called, placing a hand on his resting wife’s side.

She opened a single eye and smiled up at him, her head resting against his thigh.

The door opened to reveal an older man with grey eyes and brown hair. “Good afternoon, Asuna-kun, Kazu.”

“Afternoon, Aki,” Kirito grinned, “How can we help you?”

Kayaba Akihiko grimaced, “Have you noticed a pattern in the reports yet?”

Kirito frowned, “As far as I can tell, there is no pattern. Of the hundred I’ve had a chance to look at fifteen people haven’t woken up yet.”

“So far, it’s not anyone we personally knew either.” Asuna added pausing, “At least, not yet…”

The sixteen-year-old sighed, “I’ve recognized a few names from the DDA, ALF and even the KoB, but as Asuna-hime said,” Kirito shook his head, “No one we knew on sight, Lind and Kibaou are not going to be happy, not to mention Thinker.”

Akihiko nodded, “That people aren’t waking is bad, that there’s no apparent pattern just makes it worse.” He sighed, pulling his fingers through his brown hair. “I’ll have Cardinal-chan look into it while you both are recovering.”

Kirito blew out a breath, “It’s terrible to say, but let’s hope that all our friends woke up.”

Akihiko chuckled, ruffling his brother’s hair as he stood up from his seat, “Be careful alright, take care of each other.”

“Don’t worry, we will,” Kirito blushed as he tried to put his hair back in order.

November 9

The next day, while Kirito was suffering through physical therapy silently, a couple he didn’t know came through the closed door. Not stopping what he was doing, he kept track of them as they came to a stop by his wife’s empty bed.

He smirked, feeling her lean heavily against his back as she read Klein’s progress report.

“Dear,” They both looked up at the woman’s tone of voice. “Where is our daughter?”

Kirito looked over his shoulder when he heard his wife sigh, “Asu-hime?”

“Just let me handle it, please, Kirito-kun?” She whispered.

Kirito took a moment to think about it, “Alright.”

Asuna gave him a smile and a kiss on the cheek before calling her parents over, “Mother, I’m on the other bed.”

Kirito noted that her mother did not look too pleased that his Asu-hime was in his bed with him. He stiffened his back to take her weight more easily as she settled herself.

“Asuna, you should be in your own bed resting,” her mother hissed.

“And why can’t I sit here mother?” she had yet to put the report down, “It’s nice, and Kirito-kun makes a very warm pillow.”

Kirito blushed brightly, “Asuna-hime!” He hissed, tugging lightly on a lock of her hair. “Do you want your mother to kill me?”

“She won’t because Kou likes you,” she smirked.

Kirito rolled his eyes as Asuna started chatting with her parents.

November 30

All the all doctors were astounded by how quickly Kirito and Asuna had recovered from their comas. After just three weeks, they were both ready to go home.

“I’ve been dreading heading home.” Asuna admitted.

Kirito looked down, “i know, so have I.” He pulled her close, “We’ve been snuggling in our sleep for so long…”

She nodded, leaning against him heavily, “Being alone again is going to be so hard,” She wrapped arms of steel around his middle. “Please don’t leave me alone, Kirito-kun…”

“Never.” He vowed, reaching up to brush hair out of her tear filled eyes.

Before leaving, they made a quick detour, to visit Beryl and Persephone. Beryl was closer, so they went to see her first. What they found, they weren’t expecting.

Mio looked up when there was a knock, looking to her fiancé, there was no help, Mamoru simply gave her a shrug. “Come in.” She finally called, “What is it?”

“It’s us Beryl,” called a girl’s voice as the door opened.

Mio’s eyes widened as she recognized both of her visitors, her smile widened. “Asuna, Commander, how nice to see you again!”

Asuna’s gentle smile was bright as she gave Kirito, her husband and Commander of her army a kiss on the cheek as she stepped passed him into the room. “Thank you, Kirito-kun.”

The smirk on his face was one that Mio was very familiar with. “You know me, Asu-hime, when have I ever not been a perfect gentleman?”

Asuna laughed and as she moved to Mio noticed that there was something hanging around Asuna’s neck. “What’s that around your neck, Flash-sama?” Mio asked teasingly.

Asuna sent her friend a glare, “I thought everyone knew not to call me that…”

Kirito chuckled, slinging an arm around her shoulders, “You know we love you, my White Moon Princess.”

Asuna’s face went bright red but she didn’t say anything. She smacked his shoulder instead.

“You are so hard on me, my lady.” The Commander pretended to whine.

“Deal with it, Kirito-kun.” Asuna purred.

Mio’s smile widened as she watched her two younger friends tease each other.

“Did they forget we are here?” Mamoru asked quietly.

Mio shook her head, “Just wait.”

Mamoru gave her a dubious look but turned to watch the bickering couple. He had no idea how they’d recovered so fast, but he wanted to, so that he could use the method on his fiancée.

Finally, Asuna turned, noticing Mio’s now dichromatic red and black hair. “Beryl, what did you do to your hair?”

Mio grinned, “Do you like it?”

Kirito took a moment to study her hair, “Actually, I think you look better with Red and Black hair.”

Mio gave him a bright smile, “Thank you, Commander.”

“Why is it black at the tips?” Asuna asked curiously.

Mio started playing with her hair. “It’s because of how much I look like… Her.” She explained, “I had this exact shade of red in my past life too. So Mamoru and I decided that I should dye it, to make sure that your Senshi didn’t attack me on accident.”

“You used to have red eyes too, right?” Kirito asked, sitting down on one of the seats.

“Well, yes,” Mio agreed, “Kayaba did a very good job of making the special NPCs look the way we used to.”

“I don’t think there should be a problem though.” Kirito smirked, “Your eyes are green Beryl-chan.”

Mio noticed Mamoru giving both of them looks, well, more looks toward Asuna, which the two of them were ignoring. She would explain after they left. He didn’t have to worry about this Princess pining after him.

Half an hour later, the couple said goodbye to Beryl and made their way to Persephone’s room.

Persephone looked up from the biology book she’d been reading, these would be her first visitors since waking up. “Come in,” she called, marking her place and closing the book.

She smiled widely when she saw who had come to visit her. “Good morning Commander, Princess.”

Asuna sent Persephone a playful glare, “Why do you keep calling me that?”

“Because you are?” Persephone asked with her most innocent smile on her face.

“She has a point, Asuna-hime,” Kirito smirked.

Asuna rolled her eyes, “You think that’s funny do you?” She gave her husband a flat look as she plopped down on the bed next to Persephone.

Kirito chuckled from where he was leaning against the door frame. “Why are you complaining? I had to endure being called Commander, even before I was one. And I still don’t like being called that…”

Persephone felt her heart swell as she watched her two best friends bicker back and forth. She had never been so happy in her life.

Finally, Kirito and Asuna made it to the ground floor where separate rides were waiting to take them home.

“Will I see you tomorrow?” Asuna asked, not making any move towards the door. She looked up imploringly into his eyes. Her insecurity once again rearing its ugly head.

Used to it by now, Kirito simply pulled her closer, “Yes you will.” He smiled, “We might be out, but we’ll still have rehab, it will probably be another few months before we will be able to handle a normal day without tiring.” He started combing his fingers through her hair, it was even silkier out here in the Real World, than it had been in game. “Brother has made sure that they won’t separate us.”

“Thank the Queens of Old,” She muttered, letting her head rest against his chest, sound of his beating heart had to be her new favorite sound.

Just as the sound of her heartbeat was his.

Nishitokyo: Akihiko Kayaba’s Apartment

Kayaba Akihiko sighed as he booted up the computer he’d set up for Cardinal, three hundred people hadn’t woken up. After everything he’d done to keep them alive, this happens. He was not about to be some moron’s Fall Guy!

Between Pluto and Charon: Undisclosed Location

Setsuna cursed as she watched her Princess and Consort go in different directions. “They just got done with an ordeal that would have broken lesser men and women,” she said. “And they are being separated, which is not good. It is not good at all. We need both of them in top form as soon as possible, which will take too long if they remain separate.” She looked thoughtful. “I will have to find a way to move one or both of them.”

The Princess’ mother wasn’t the most agreeable of people… “Perhaps I should speak to Captain Heathcliff about this…”

She sighed.

Kawagoe: Kirigaya Residence

Kazuto sighed as he slowly got out of the car and looked around the yard. “Not much has changed in two years…” But he knew the truth, his home hadn’t changed, he had. The house didn’t feel like home anymore.

He pulled the NerveGear off the middle seat, and blinked when he saw an older man waiting by the front door. Taking a deep breath, he traversed the yard. “Hello, Grandfather.”

“Good to see you alive, Kazuto,” his Grandfather had always been formal with him, no matter how close they were.

He smiled at the irony, “It’s good to be alive, Grandfather.” He leaned tiredly into the man’s side. “It’s good to finally be home.”

Kirigaya Kenshin wrapped an arm around his grandson and helped Kazuto into the house. “Why did you keep the NerveGear?”

“I’ll show you when I’ve got more energy,” Kazuto gave his grandfather a tired smile, “I may be out, but I’m not up for a regular day yet.”

Setagaya: Yuuki Residence

Asuna leaned into her older brother’s side yawning, “Sleeping is not going to be fun.” she mumbled sleepily.

Kyouko, her mother, frowned, “Because of that boy?”

Kouichirou sent his mother a glare, “Because she’s not used to sleeping alone mother.”

Asuna nodded, “Not having Kirito-kun is also going to suck,” She absentmindedly caressed the NerveGear in her lap. “He made the best pillow…”

Her mother’s face reddened, twisting in anger, “I don’t want you to see him again!”

Asuna opened her eyes to glare at her mother through the rearview mirror. Next to her, Kouichirou winced as he felt some kind of pressure building up. A pressure he could swear he recognized.

“Ī viṣayadalli nimage yāvudē hēḷikeyilla,” she said quietly. Her hand closed around the Crystal hanging from her necklace.

Kirigaya Residence

Kirito sat heavily in the desk chair in his room. Placing his NerveGear to one side, he turned his computer on. “Do I have any programs that would allow me to create a virtual space?”

Well, if he didn’t, he could either write one himself, which would take he wasn’t sure how long or he could buy one. He reached down and opened the third drawer of his desk, pulling out the cable he used to set up the Stream during the Beta. Opening a slot on his NerveGear and plugged one end of the cable into it before plugging the other end into his computer.

Setting his computer to search for any programs already installed that could create the space he needed, he covered a yawn. Kazuto turned to his bed with its spartan sheets. It did not look inviting.

He couldn’t avoid it anymore, “this house…” he allowed himself to slump his shoulders and lean back into the comfortable chair. “It doesn’t feel like home anymore.”

Home wasn’t a place anymore. Home, home was a person. “Why did we let them do this?” he got up, stumbled, then landed on his bed with something that sounded halfway between a thump and a loud crash. “Why did we let them separate us, Asuna-hime?”

After a moment of silence, he shook his head, rolling over to look up the ceiling, “Why am I even expecting a reply?” Kirito wondered, pulling the curtains open a moment later, he let his arm fall onto his pillow, “I don’t want to be alone…”

Yuuki Residence

Asuna dragged herself into her room, feeling very out of place in a way she’d never experience before. She missed their cabin in the woods on the twenty-second floor and their daughters now more than ever. “I never realized just how… excessive all this is.” She cringed just thinking about it as she placed her NerveGear on her bedside table. As neat as her new electronic closet was, she didn’t need or even want it. She would much rather have kept the walk-in she’d had when she was first trapped.

“I want…” She paused taking another look around. The room looked almost alien to her eyes now, after learning to appreciate the simpler things in life from Kirito; she found that she just could not stand this ultra-fancy place. She let herself fall onto the new (even bigger) bed. Now a California King, it was the only thing she currently wanted to keep. There was enough room for four adults to sleep comfortably with space to spare. For a moment, Asuna entertained the fantasy of curling up with Kirito and the kids on it for several hours. Queens of Old knew how much of a snuggler Strea was.

Pulling off her slippers, she lay down on the bed, a fond smile on her face as she rolled over, her eyes landing on her NerveGear. She sighed, “I miss my daughters, I miss Kirito-kun too.”

She rolled over to look out the window.

Miles apart, Kirito and Asuna fell into fitful sleeps.

Alfheim Online: Crest of Yggdrasil

Silica felt rather annoyed. She was not sure how long she’d been here, but she knew for a fact that she wasn’t in [Sword Art Online] anymore. She could sense Pina’s hunger, though she wasn’t sure how. “Don’t worry Pina, I’m make sure to feed you as soon as we get out,”

Just as soon as she figured it out that is. She felt Pina purr in response. Silica almost could not get over how weird this felt. She hadn’t had this deep of a connection with Pina before. It was almost as if she could actually understand what Pina was telling her when she had to guess more times than not before arriving… wherever here was. Not that what Pina told her came through as words… more feelings.

Then she sensed something change, a pressure on her mind. Thoughts that weren’t her own, telling her to think and feel a certain way, they were entering her mind. No, she wouldn’t let them take control. She focused herself and as the pressure of the foreign thoughts increased. What was it that Yuuna once said she found in SAO’s lore? A mantra that was used to block out foreign influences. What was it again? It was in Lunarian, if she recalled, which wasn’t a language that was her strongest skill. She knew more than the basics, her friendship with Yuuna ensured that, if only so she could understand what SAO’s budding [Loremaster] was talking about, not to mention the lyrics to her music. She knew she had been told it, and her mind was her own, damn it!

Wait, that was it! “Nanna manas'su nannadu,” she said, focusing on the words and their meanings. “Nanna ālōcanegaḷu nanna gurāṇigaḷāgive. Nanna kaṇṇugaḷu spaṣṭavāgive. Nānu rakṣisalpaṭṭiddēne.” She kept repeating the words, focusing on them, focusing her thoughts. After a while, the pressure eased, and the foreign thoughts were gone.

What was going on?

“Odd, it seemed as if it was going to take, then it failed,” Shouichi said to himself as he used the tentacles his avatar had to manipulate the interface. “Is the subject conscious and aware? Impossible, we made sure that all of them were in a REM cycle. Perhaps I should move to another subject. Not everything takes with all of them and we’re finding new things out with each test and experiment.”

He moved to the next tank and console and began the experiment again. This time, it took, so he wondered if it was simply the differences that were inherent with individual minds. He looked at the EEG and saw that the subject’s thought patterns had risen from their Delta waves, indicating dreaming, to Theta waves while the experiment went on, before transitioning back to Delta. The subject had been briefly conscious, as was expected, but in the state where any meaningful recall would not happen. But the Delta waves were reflecting the changes that he had eased into the subject’s mind.

Had he bothered to check the EEG of the previous one, he would have noticed that the brainwaves had never gone into Delta, reflecting an unconscious and dreaming state, but had been giving off Theta waves. As the experiment began, they had immediately gone into a high activity Beta wave state until it ended. And if he were to look at it now, he would have seen that they were in the Alpha wave state.

The subject, known only to him as Subject 053, but if he had asked it would have told him that it was a girl and preferred to be called Silica, was conscious and aware. And right now, she was thinking on just what was going on.

Chapter Text

Between Pluto and Charon: Undisclosed Location

Senshi Pluto glared into the Time Gates, “Those…” She sighed, every timeline said that her Princess and her Consort would have a hard time settling into a new routine apart, if they even could. “I’m honestly surprised that they let themselves be separated.”

There had to be something she could do to fix this.

Kawagoe: Kirigaya Residence

Kirito groaned in his sleep, in the throes of a nightmare. He was again, seeing the Laughing Coffin Raid, and his killing of those two Players. He’d already woken up three times.

He woke for the fourth time that night, panting slowly. He rubbed his face with both hands tiredly and sighed. “Damn… Why can’t I sleep?” his asked his quiet bedroom.

“Because Asuna isn’t here.”

Kirito turned abruptly and he winced, reaching up to rub his neck. “Ow, damn it Pluto!” he grumbled in pain.

Pluto chuckled, “Why thank you, Commander,” she teased. Then she turned serious. “Why did you not insist that you needed to stay with our Princess?”

Kirito bowed his head, “I didn’t think we’d need to.” He admitted, “But if I’m having this much trouble sleeping…”

“I can take you to her.” Pluto offered

“Do it.” Kirito ordered, not even taking a moment to think about it.

Pluto smiled.

December 1, 2024: Yuuki Residence

Asuna was tossing and turning when Kirito arrived in her room via Pluto Express. Kirito looked around in awe as Pluto left. His Princess’ room was much larger than his, but it was something he’d been expecting.

He made sure that her bedroom door was locked, and checked to make sure that her window was also. He set his overnight bag in easy view on one of her dressers and set down the two shinai he’d grabbed and leaned them against the huge bed within easy reach And, since he was still in his pajamas, he pulled the covers back and joined his wife in bed.

She rolled in her sleep and finally settled when her hand found his arm. Within a few moments, she was using his chest as a pillow, curled into his side.

Kirito smiled, wrapping an arm around her waist as he fell back to sleep himself.

Kirito’s eyes snapped open when someone started banging on his wife’s bedroom door. He rolled out of bed and grabbed both the Shinai, bringing both of them up as there was a quiet click of the lock opening.

Asuna sat up, clutching the covers to her chest. looking around. “Kirito-kun, what?”

Kirito frowned, his feet sliding just slightly farther apart as Asuna’s mother was revealed. He growled, “Do you know how badly we could have hurt you had I not made sure the door was locked?”

“You!” Kyouko shouted, “How did you get here?”

“A way that you won’t ever be able to block.” Kirito replied in a quiet tone of voice that he was sure Asuna recognized, “I was making sure that my-- fiancée gets her sleep.” He hadn’t moved an inch since the door had opened, “Never, ever, startle us again.”

Kyouko opened her mouth, probably to tell him to get out, but Asuna spoke first. “Mother, get out.”

When Kyouko’s attention switched to her daughter, Kirito took his chance to close the door, locking it. “Pack up, Asuna-hime.”

Asuna let the covers drop, “When did you get here?” Her nightgown showed a lot of skin.

Kirito took a moment to appreciate the view before his eyes met hers. “Late.” He shook his head, “Pluto brought me here. She is of the opinion that we should not have let ourselves be separated.”

“I’m glad she brought you here.” Asuna sighed. “Why did we decide to let them separate us?”

Kirito shook his head as he sat down, “I don’t know.” He smiled, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. “But it can’t stay this way, so, pack an overnight bag. Then we’ll be on our way.”

She nodded, “Alright.” She slipped out of his grasp and grimaced as the closet opened on its own. “I hate this closet…”

Kirito chuckled as he picked up the bag he’d brought and unzipped it. “Do you have…?”

Asuna pointed to the door in the corner. “My bathroom is through there. If you are willing to wait, I’ll join you, Kirito-kun.”

Kirito slid the strap of his duffle over his shoulder and gave her cheek a kiss before heading to her bathroom.

Kirito looked up when he heard the door open, close, and then lock. He couldn’t see through the steam but he knew it had to be his wife. He smiled when he heard cloth hit the tiled floor. “Wash my back?” he asked teasingly.

“Are you sure that’s all you want me to wash?” Asuna enquired, her eyes shining in amusement, as she appeared out of the steam.

Kirito wiggled his eyebrows suggestively as she leaned in for a kiss. “You can wash any part of me that you want.”

She giggled, taking the shampoo he’d brought. “Done your hair yet?”

“You know I always do it last.” He watched as she squeezed a fair amount onto her hand and put the bottle back onto the floor, rubbing the shampoo between her hands.

She chuckled as she began to lather his hair. “I miss doing this with our girls.”

“As do I,” Kirito agreed, closing his eyes, “But I don’t think we should Dive back into VR just yet.”

Asuna took a deep breath as he handed her the sponge. “You’re right, we need to get used to not being in a game before finding a new one.” She squeezed the excess water from the loofah and began to work the soap into her husband’s skin. “I missed you more than I should have after…”

Kirito hummed in agreement, “There is also the fact that we have to figure out where the Three Hundred Sleepers are.” He replied, he too hadn’t even realized how tense he’d been until Asuna had begun to wash his back. “You give the best massages, Asuna-hime.”

Asuna chuckled, “I would say the same about you, Kirito-kun.” She kissed his cheek as she finished washing his back. She picked up the shower head and started rinsing the lather out of his hair.

“I suppose,” Kirito agreed, running his fingers through his hair to get all the tangles out.

Asuna leaned in to steal another kiss.

Asuna finished packing her overnight bag half an hour later. “That should be enough to last me for a while,” she zipped it shut. She took the shinai that Kirito held out for her to take, “I’m ready to go now.”

Kirito nodded, “Alright then, we’ll be leaving soon.” He held out the clothes she’d set out for the day and helped her dress.

Asuna gave him a smile. “Shall we go on our first date?”

“You know this is not our first date…” A smirk spread across her husband’s face, “Where would you like to go?”

They had a far easier time slipping out of Asuna’s house than either thought it should have. Kirito took her hand and let her take the lead. It didn’t take them long to leave the neighborhood.

Asuna and Kirito didn’t notice a black cat following them. They both were glad to have the looped belts that Pluto had given them to use. The shinai Kirito had brought with him at their sides. They held hands, fingers intertwined. Sharing soft smiles as they made their way to the cafe their friend Agil owned.

Setagaya: Downtown

There was the soft sound of a bell chime as the door opened, “Hey Kathy.”

The bartender looked up, “Morning Kyouji.” She got started on his usual. “How is your brother doing, better, I hope?”

“He’s doing much better,” Kyouji smiled. “We’re hoping that he’ll be ready to come home next month.” As he sat down, the door opened again.

“Welcome to the Dicey Cafe,” Kathy called. “Have a seat and I’ll be with you in a moment.” She didn’t look up since she knew the establishment was unusually empty this morning.

The “Thank you Madam Mills,” caused both Kathy and Kyouji to look up.

The dark haired young man was holding the door open for a young woman. Both were around Kyouji’s age. Seeing the shinai at their hips was a bit odd, but Kathy wasn’t about to ask.

Kathy placed Kyouji’s coffee in front of the boy and stuck her head into the kitchen to let the cooks know he was there. Then, Kathy made her way over to the two new customers to serve them herself.

She watched as the boy led his female companion to a table where they could see the entire cafe, and pull out a chair for her. Taking the cue, Kathy walked over. “Can I help you?”

“Can we have the breakfast menu please?” the young lady asked. “We haven’t eaten yet.”

Kathy gave them two. “Would you like some tea? Coffee?”

Kathy recognized the look the two shared between them, it was one she often shared with Andrew. It was one that conveyed an entire conversation.

The boy gave a nod and turned to her, “We would like the strongest black tea you have please.”

Kathy nodded, “I’ll give you a minute to peruse the menu.”

“Thank you Madam Mills.” The girl gave Kathy a cheerful smile. “Agil was always singing your praises, when we could get him on the subject.”

“Usually that didn’t happen,” the boy agreed.

Kathy turned back to them. ‘Wait, what?’ she wondered.

The boy chuckled, “Agil started talking about his beloved Kathy when we let him run our Inn on the thirteenth floor. Remember, Asuna. He mentioned that he owned a bar and cafe.” He turned to Kathy and met her gaze, “Agil should be ready to return to you by the end of the week.”

Kathy’s eyes widened. “Well… thank you…” She couldn’t help blushing, Andrew’s praise always did that to her. “Uh, what are your names?”

“I’m Kirito,” The boy replied, gesturing to the girl across from him. “And this is my fiancée, Asuna, but everyone calls her Princess -- Ow!”

Asuna was giving Kirito a narrowed-eyed look, “You know how much I hate being called that!”

“It’s your own fault for using your real name as your Handle, my Asuna-hime.” Kirito replied playfully. “Maybe in the next game we play, you’ll remember not to. You didn’t have to kick me.” He gave her a playful pout.

“Well then, maybe if you would learn not to call me that then I would stop…” Asuna smirked suggestively.

Kirito rolled his eyes, going back to his menu. “Say, Asuna-hime, what do you say to having a Western Style breakfast?”

Asuna hummed for a moment. “That actually sounds like a wonderful idea.”

Kirito turned back to Kathy, “Two Steak and Egg Breakfasts please.”

“How would you like the eggs cooked?” Kathy asked, not asking them if they were sure about it due to the price. Decent meat for a steak was expensive in Japan, but if they ordered it, they were confident that they could afford it.

”I prefer over easy and Asuna likes the omelet style.” Kirito replied.

“And the bread for the toast?” Kathy prompted.

“White for us both.” Kirito said, meeting Asuna’s eyes for a moment.

Kathy nodded, “Alright, breakfast will be out in a few minutes.”

“Thank you Madam Mills.” Kirito gave her a charming smile.

“Such a charmer,” Kathy teased, heading to the kitchen.

“So…” Kirito turned his attention back to his wife. “What shall we do? I don’t think we ever decided.”

“We didn’t.” Asuna agreed, “I would like to see your home, actually. And I’d like to meet this Grandfather that you told me so much about.”

Kirito smirked, “Alright, that’s what we’ll do then.” He sat back, his eyes traveling over the rest of the establishment. Upon seeing Agil’s Battle Axe from Sword Art Online, he relaxed. Then he sat up straight, his eyes widening. “Asuna, look behind the bar, isn’t that Agil’s Two Handed Battle Axe from Sword Art Online?”

Asuna’s gaze followed his, “Yes, yes it certainly looks like his axe…” She frowned, “I thought it was just a Game Object so… What is it doing here?”

Kirito nodded silently, turning his attention to Kathy, as the woman came out of the kitchen with several plates laden with identical spreads. “Looks like we are about to get breakfast.”

He made a note to ask Agil about it at a later time.

Half an hour later, Kirito and Asuna left the Dicey Cafe. “Thank you, Madam Mills, breakfast was delightful.” Kirito told his friend’s wife. “We will certainly be coming back on any future dates.”

“Come back any time, Kirito, Asuna.” Kathy replied with a wave.

Kirito held the door open for his wife, giving Kathy a friendly wave in return as he followed his wife out of the building.

Asuna leaned into Kirito’s side, sighing happily. “That was delicious.”

“Mhm,” Kirito hummed in agreement as he pulled out his new phone. He opened the GPS App to figure out how to get back to his house. A slight movement in his peripheral vision brought his attention back to their surroundings.

“What is it?” Asuna asked quietly following his gaze.

Kirito held up a finger, eyes following a black cat. His posture changed as he snuck up on the feline.

The black cat almost screeched in surprise as she was scooped up from behind. The cat looked up when Kirito started speaking.

“Aren’t you gorgeous?” He asked, his arms adjusting so that he was holding her properly. Kirito returned to Asuna’s side, “This pretty girl caught my eye.”

Asuna took the cat. “Of course you think she’s pretty.” She rolled her eyes, “She’s black.” Her eyes narrowed at him, “Prettier than me, Kirito-kun?”

“Never, Asuna-hime!” He gave her a hurt look as he returned his attention to his phone and the map. “Ok, so we need to turn left at the next stop light…”

Kirigaya Residence

Kirito opened the gate and let Asuna into the yard. “Welcome to my humble abode. Home sweet home, I guess.” He pulled his key out of his duffle and unlocked the door. He paused, hand on the knob. His eyes narrowed, Kirito stood straighter. He put his left hand on the Shinai at his side.

Kirito-kun?” Asuna shifted the cat to her left arm and put her right hand on her borrowed shinai.

“My instincts are screaming. “ He replied, drawing the Shinai before opening the door, his shinai in a position to block.

And good thing too, because an older man had been waiting on the other side. He’d brought down his own, to hit Kirito on the head, but it slid off Kirito’s.

A moment later, Kirito had disarmed the man. “Grandfather, was that really necessary?” Kirito asked, holding the Shinai he’d knocked out of his grandfather’s hands in his right.

Kirigaya Kenshin frowned at Kirito’s sudden ability with a sword. “When I went to check on you this morning you were gone.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Do you even realize how much that scared us?”

Kirito blinked, bowing low, “Forgive me, Grandfather, Asuna needed me.”

The man looked past his grandson for the first time, “Asuna.” His eyes narrowed.

“Kirigaya-sensei,” Asuna bowed respectfully.

Kirito stood, turning to his wife as he gestured to his grandfather, “Asuna-hime, this is Kirigaya Kenshin, my grandfather and Kendo teacher.” He turned to his grandfather, gesturing to Asuna. “Grandfather, this is Yuuki Asuna, my fiancée.”

“I’d have hit you if you’d called her what you treat her as.” Kenshin said gruffly. “Asuna may be old enough to get married with her parents’ permission, but you aren’t.”

“We understand that, Honored Grandfather,” Asuna replied with another, slight bow, “But we do plan to marry as soon as we are able.”

“That’s not for two years,” Kenshin let the pair of teenagers in the house.

“We are willing to wait.” Kirito sighed in relief as the door closed behind him and Asuna.

Asuna pulled her duffle over her shoulder, holding it in front of her, “Why don’t you show me to your room, Kirito-kun?” She purred.

Kirito blushed, taking her duffle. “This way, Asuna-hime.” He headed for the stairs.

Asuna smiled, taking his hand. She let Kirito pull her up the stairs, to the second door to the left.

“This one is mine.” Kirito gave her an embarrassed smile. “It’s much smaller than yours is.”

“I don’t care, as long as your bed is big enough.” Asuna crossed her arms over her chest under her breasts, emphasizing them.

Kirito gave her a glance and looked away. “Damned tease…” he muttered, making a mental note to buy a lock for his bedroom door.

Asuna gave him an unrepentant smile, “As if you aren’t?”

Kirito rolled his eyes, smirking. He opened the door and let her in. “So, welcome, make yourself at home.”

Asuna put her duffle on his desk and sat down on his bed. “Your room is rather cozy compared to mine.” She began to pet the cat in her lap absentmindedly. “So this pretty girl is black and her eyes are rather unique…”

“She’s also got your symbol on her forehead,” Kirito observed, “I think we met the NPC version of her on floor… twenty-two after Aki gifted us the cabin… right before we eloped maybe? Because I know we met her before we found Yui and Strea…”

Asuna looked at the cat again, her eyes narrowing in thought. As little as she liked to do so, she consulted Princess Serenity’s memories, seeing if they recognized the cat. “Luna?” she asked.

The cat meowed innocently, trying to pretend that she was just a normal cat.

Both teens gave the cat flat looks.

“I remember a bit,” Asuna said. “The memories are a bit hazier, but I do remember her. And that… a Mau. She was a Mau. I remember that she was there to serve as an advisor to Her.” She looked at the cat, who was giving her a shocked look. “So you survived as well? I know that Kizmel and Tilnel are survivors, but were there others?”

“...I seem to remember meeting an… Artemis too…” Kirito’s eyes narrowed, “Wait, no, not meet but the NPC told us about her partner…”

Asuna sighed, “I know for a fact that Inanna was reincarnated…”

“Inanna?” Kirito asked.

“The Princess of Venus,” Asuna replied, still looking at the cat and gauging her reactions. “Also known as Sailor Venus back then.”

“Princess Serenity?” The cat asked.

“I’m Asuna,” Asuna corrected, giving the cat a sharp look. “I was her in a previous life, but I’m not her now. Please don’t call me by her name. Remember that, Luna.”

“But--”

“Don’t,” Kirito said. “When she found out that she was a reincarnation, not to mention who she was a reincarnation of, she didn’t take it well. It wasn’t helped by the fact that the memories started coming in full force after she learned of it. There was a time when she was afraid of losing herself to them.”

Luna opened her mouth to reply and then closed it before giving a reluctant nod. She then gave Asuna a look. “You’re younger than I expected,” she said.

“How so?” Asuna asked.

“The others are all adults, for one,” Luna said. “And they’ve been fighting for nine years. Well, the Inner Senshi, barring Venus, have. She’s been fighting for a decade.”

“The Youma have been active for longer than that,” Kirito noted.

“How do you know that?” Luna asked.

“I know because I survived a Youma attack thirteen years ago,” Kirito said. “The same attack that killed my parents. And I need to discuss that with Jadeite. You can say it will be a rather pointed one, with me making sharp and cutting remarks during it. If my brother doesn’t get to him first, that is.”

“And Kirito can be rather vehement in his arguments,” Asuna said. “You could say that Kunzite lost his head when he heard them.”

Luna blinked. “I don’t think that using words would work here,” she said.

“They can when those words are given by a sword,” Asuna remarked.

Luna paused and gave Kirito a look. “You mean that Kunzite was in SAO?” She asked. “And he’s dead?”

Kirito nodded.

“Are you certain of that?”

“Captain Heathcliff confirmed it,” Asuna replied.

“That… that is excellent news!” Luna exclaimed.

“Don’t expect us to pull it off again any time soon,” Kirito said. “That was inside SAO and under its rules. In there, any of us could have killed him if we were skilled or lucky enough. That goes the same for the remaining generals if they had been there. Out here? I wouldn’t bet on it.”

“Why not?” Luna asked.

“Allow me to explain,” Asuna said. “First, we’re still recovering from being in there. None of us are in any shape to fight. Second, SAO had an equalizing effect that doesn’t exist out here. Kunzite was weaker in there than he would have been out here. Also, he had no magic. He still had all his skills, but that’s it. Kirito is good, but there was a bit of luck involved in that fight.” She shot Kirito an apologetic look. “No offense.”

“None taken.” Kirito said. “I’ve fought him once before that fight, remember? I was lucky to survive that fight long enough for backup to arrive and him to withdraw once the odds didn’t favor him. I was more skilled in our final encounter, but that doesn’t mean that I was more skilled than him.”

“But you won that fight,” Luna said.

“It doesn’t mean that I wasn’t still lucky,” Kirito countered. He yawned a moment later, sitting next to his wife.

Luna gave him a concerned look. “Are you alright?”

“Tired more than anything.” Kirito replied, laying down between Asuna and the wall.

After Kirito seemingly fell asleep, Luna turned to Asuna, “I’m sorry to ask, but who is this boy to you?” The black cat asked.

“Kirito-kun is to be my Consort, at least according to Captain Heathcliff.” Asuna replied around a yawn of her own as she leaned back, snuggling into Kirito’s side.

“Good night then, Princess.” Luna whispered

Three hours later, Kirito and Asuna reappeared from the boy’s bedroom.

“Kazu, where did you go?” a middle aged woman asked from her place at the table.

Kirito blushed, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. “Forgive me, Mother, but Asuna needed me.” He shook his head, “We really can’t be apart.”

The woman’s frown deepened for a moment, “I see,” She actually didn’t, but she could get the full story later.

Asuna pulled Kirito into the kitchen, “Cook with me!”

Kirito chuckled in agreement before he stumbled. Turning his head, Kirito relaxed when he saw that it was just his younger sister. “Get off Sugu.”

“No.” His sister refused stubbornly, wrapping her arms around his throat and her legs around his middle.

Kirito rolled his eyes, especially when he heard Asuna giggling at his predicament. “Sorry, Asuna, it seems Sugu is doing her best impression of a limpet.”

“Hello Sugu.” Asuna greeted after getting her laughter under control.

“Hello Big Sister,” Suguha chirped happily.

Kirito’s eyes lit up as he gave Asuna a smirk. Then he pulled Suguha off his back with a maneuver that he’d often pulled with Yui and Strea.

“Put me down Kazu!” Suguha squawked, pouting.

Kirito grinned as he dropped his sister into her seat. “As you wish Sugu.” He chuckled as he followed Asuna into the kitchen.

Midori and Kenshin, who had been silent throughout the encounter between siblings, chuckled as they watched Suguha sulk.

Kirito leaned against the counter, “So, what’s for lunch?”

“Let’s see what’s here.” Asuna grinned.

Over the next twenty minutes, they had fun finding out what was in the cupboards.

While Kirito and Asuna were cooking, Akihiko Kayaba arrived at the house. He too found Suguha’s sulking amusing.

“Afternoon Brother,” Kirito greeted, placing a plate in front of him.

“Afternoon, Kazu,” Akihiko replied with a smile. “So, what have you and our Princess been doing?”

Kirito blushed, “We would not go so far,” He growled.

Akihiko smirked, “I know, but it is fun to tease you both.”

Asuna huffed, “Leave my Consort alone, Heathcliff.” She gave him the stink eye.

Akihiko chuckled, “I shall, for now…”

Kirito rolled his eyes, “Aki…” He sat down next to Asuna.

Asuna giggled, “Kirito-kun, let’s just enjoy lunch.”

“As you wish, Asuna-hime.” Kirito gave her a smile.

“So, have you made any headway finding out what’s going on with the Three Hundred?” Asuna asked as they all dug in.

“Argus is footing their bill at the moment,” Akihiko replied, “Though I’m surprised that the company survived what Zoicite did to Sword Art Online.”

“Then they are safe for the moment.” Asuna summarized. “What we need to do is figure out where they are so that we can wake them up,”

“Could they be in a different game?” Suguha asked, “There aren’t that many VRMMOs out.”

Toutou University

Yuna knew that she really should not have come to visit her father since she was supposed to still be on bed rest, but she missed him terribly. She paused in front of his office door, freezing when she heard a second voice from the office, one that was strangely familiar.

“…Several hundred willing Volunteers for my research…” Yuuna could barely hear the voice saying. Feeling as if she was part of a guild similar to Titan’s Hand, Yuna carefully opened the door very slightly and focused on her hearing. “I must say, finding those volunteers was a real boon.”

“What is it that you are researching again, Nobuyuki-kun?” Her father’s voiced asked, “Something to do with manipulating a person’s memories?”

“To help amnesiac people, yes, Shigemura-sensei.” Nobuyuki replied.

Slowly, so as to not make any noise, Yuna closed the door to her father’s office and backed up until her back hit the wall on the on the other side of the hallway.

“…Nobuyuki…?” She wondered softly as she slid down the wall to sit on the floor. She knew someone by that name, who was it… That was it! Sugou! Sugou Nobuyuki was one of her father’s students, alongside Captain Heathcliff! “Volunteers?”

Wait, three hundred people hadn’t woken up from their ordeal yet! “Could he be referring to…?” She asked herself quietly before turning and walking away from her father’s office, being careful to not hurry. She could visit her father later.

But she had to pass this information on. And we don’t have the messaging function anymore, she thought as she exited the building that housed her fathers labs as well as the classrooms where he and his fellow faculty taught. She pulled her phone out and brought up her contact list. She knew who she would call.

If she had the Commander, the Princess, or Captain Heathcliff in her contact list, she would have contacted one of them. But she didn’t. She did, however, have Argo’s contact information. The Rat had made sure to pass it on to her at the hospital.

They didn’t have the messaging function anymore, but they did have this. It would have to do.

Chapter Text

November 30, 2024; Kirigaya Residence

Kirito paused, “That might be something to look into later.” He agreed, “When some of the others have had a chance to get out of the hospital and some rehab under their belts.” He frowned as his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out, wondering who would be calling, or texting him in the middle of lunch. Opening the message, he skimmed it. “Aki, did you have any rivals that might do something like this out of spite?”

Akihiko sighed, “There might be one…” He admitted. “And I suspect that he was behind the hacking attempt last year.”

Something in Kayaba’s voice caught Asuna’s attention, “Who was it?” she asked curiously, feeling as if she was forgetting something that could be potentially very important.

“Sugou Nobuyuki was a rival of mine in Toudou.” Kayaba told her, shaking his head, “I may have been proclaimed a genius, but I still worked very hard to get where I was there. Sugou is intelligent in his own right, but he was… lacking in scope with what he did.”

“Someone sounds jealous of your ability and accomplishments.” Kirito gave his older brother a smirk. “But is a grudge really worth destroying people’s lives more than they were by Zoicite’s manipulations?”

“Sugou… Nobuyuki?” Asuna repeated, paling. “I… think my father hired him to head one of the Divisions but I don’t remember which one, and I don’t remember when.”

“Well, that narrows down what games we need to look at even more.” Kirito put an arm around Asuna. “We’ll need to see what we can do. But later, after we’ve have a chance to settle.”

Asuna nodded as Suguha suddenly stood up. “What’s up Sugu?” She asked curiously.

“I’ll be right back.” She ran from the table.

Kirito and Asuna blinked after her. “I wonder what she’s getting…” Kirito wondered aloud.

Asuna shook her head, leaning against Kirito’s side. “We can worry about this later.”

“Mmm, I suppose,” Kirito nodded. He picked up his chopsticks and fed her a bite.

Asuna blushed, accepting the morsel. “You spoil me…”

“That’s impossible.” Kirito teased.

Midori’s quiet laughter reminded them they weren’t alone. “I swear, the two of you are adorable.”

Both Kirito and Asuna flushed darkly, “Mother…” Kirito muttered in embarrassment, unable to meet her eyes.

Midori and Akihiko shared a grin.

Suguha reappeared a moment later with a box in hand. “I think you need to look at this.”

Kirito took the box, “Alfheim Online?” He gave his older brother a curious look, “Weren’t you developing this at the same time as Sword Art Online?”

Akihiko nodded, “I’d wanted all the Players to play both games concurrently…” He sighed, “But then Zoicite happened.”

Kirito’s grip on his chopsticks tightened so much that they creaked in protest. “Yes…” He growled, “Zoicite happened. And it’s because of him that nearly two thousand people died. I’m just glad that we were able to put Kunzite’s corpse back in the ground.” He rubbed at his eyes with a hand.

Asuna hugged him tightly. “So, you think that this Nobuyuki Sugou is responsible for this?” She asked.

“Not with any certainty,” Akihiko replied. “But he does have the skills necessary to do something like this and had the access to SAO at the time. It isn’t impossible that someone managed to crack SAO’s security remotely, but it is highly unlikely.” He then smirked. “Either way, whoever it was has to contend with those who survived SAO. How do you think they will take what happened to them?”

Kazuto and the Princess smirked right back.

Alfheim Online: Sugou’s Labs

Silica was annoyed. She’d been in this place for almost a month, and she was sure that she, and any others that might be here weren’t going to be rescued any time soon. The game was over, and it wasn’t likely that anyone would be in any condition to figure out where she was, if she was the only one still trapped.

She could feel Pina even more acutely now that she’d been here for so long, Pina’s hunger was almost overwhelming by now, and Silica could feel that her friend was quite tired of waiting. “Just wait a little longer, Pina,” Silica soothed. They needed to be patient, more patient than this.

Pina gave Silica an insistent mental nudge. Silica soothed her friend again, her [System Awareness] was telling her that someone was there, and that she really didn’t want to try anything when people were around. She’d be able to tell if there was someone there or not. And something told her that it would get very bad for her and Pina if she tried to get out of whatever this prison was, when there were other people around.

So, as hungry as Pina was, she would have to wait. But it wouldn’t be for much longer. She’d been keeping careful track of when she’d felt, were they Players or something else, were around.

They, whoever they were, arrived, stayed for what the youngest member of the [Divine Dragon Alliance] assumed to be eight hours, and then they left, and were gone for… what she thought were sixteen hour intervals.

And it was now just over the seven and three quarters mark, the… things that her [SA] were detecting would be leaving soon. The only reason she was still waiting was that her instincts were cautioning her not to. Not yet.

She had not survived the game as one of the borderline clearing level players for so long by ignoring her instincts, let alone the beginnings of that refinement of [System Awareness] known as [Hypersense] when it had started to develop. Every ability and experience she had was a tool that she had used ruthlessly to keep herself and Pina alive. Long hours of grinding had taught her something of patience and right now, that was what she needed.

That didn’t change the fact that she hated waiting.

It had been nearly half an hour, by Silica’s estimates, since those… things she’d sensed had left. It was time to make her escape. She may not have any of her equipment, but she didn’t need it to be dangerous.

Hadn’t Yuuna said that there was something in the Lore of SAO, similar to the mantra she’d used before right? Something that made keeping the soldiers of the [Silver Empire] prisoners nearly impossible? That was it, she knew the words. “Nānu khaidiyāgilla, nānu muktanāgiruttēne.” She breathed. She could feel her magic building as she repeated the phrase once, twice, and on the third iteration, she felt the calm clarity she knew she needed before she acted.

She pushed her awareness around her, feeling the boundaries of her prison. They weren’t much, but she could see that for someone who was not entirely aware of his or her situation, they would be effective barriers to freedom. But she was aware of her situation.

She probed them, looking for any weaknesses. She could break out of this prison without any weaknesses to exploit, but Lind and the others of the [DDA] had taught her to look for things she could. After all, why should she put in more effort to accomplish an objective, when taking a little time to find a way to do it more easily would save her time and effort?

There! The barrier seemed to be weaker in a spot that she considered being to her east. Given that direction was meaningless in this place, she had to use herself as a frame of reference. It was to her “right”, and was thus “east”. Maybe where her captors interacted with her in whatever they were doing?

Don’t think about that, she thought. Focus on that weak spot and push!

She pushed, and before she knew it, she was somewhere else.

The room seemed to be brightly lit where she was, or at least she could see around her. With a cry, Pina appeared, landing on Silica’s shoulder.

Looking around, Silica could see that the room was rather plain.

[Welcome to Alfheim Online.]

Silica tisked, “That just figures… the [Commander] manages to free us all early and I end up trapped in another game…” the fourteen year old sighed, “I wonder what I did to get such bad luck…”

[Please enter your name and the gender you would prefer to play as.]

Silica looked down at the keyboard that appeared before her. “I’m a girl, so…” She pressed the [F] and typed in the name she had been using for the last two years.

A moment later, the area seemed to glitch and Silica found herself in a very different place. What she saw made her incredibly angry, there were rows upon rows of stations, with holograms of floating brains!

Kirigaya Residence

Asuna sighed, resting her head on her fiancé’s chest. “I still wish you hadn’t had to go through that.” There were the beginnings of tears in her eyes, “And that he was only the first…”

Kirito wrapped an arm around Asuna and gave her a reassuring squeeze. “It’s not praise-worthy,” he agreed, swallowing. “But had I not, he’d have killed Klein, and then you.”

Asuna nodded, “I know,” she said quietly. “That still doesn’t mean that I have to like it.”

Midori coughed, getting everyone’s attention,” Let’s not talk about such things at the lunch table, it’s inappropriate.”

Akihiko gave Midori a nod and placed a gentle hand on Kirito’s unoccupied shoulder. “Aunt Midori is right Kazu, let’s not talk about this here.”

Kirito nodded as he closed his eyes, “Sorry, Brother, I didn’t…” When his eyes opened, they were clear of such thoughts.

“We know,” Akihiko gave Kirito’s shoulder a gentle squeeze.

Suguha leaned forward in her chair, “Brother, you can borrow ALO when you feel up to returning to VR.”

Kirito gave his little sister a grateful smile, “Thanks, Sugu.”

December 5, Dicey Cafe

Yuna almost stumbled as she ran down the street where the Dicey Cafe was located. She was panting as the door banged against the inside wall she’d pushed it open so fast and hard.

The sound of the large crash made every single person at the bar, and herself flinch. More slowly, and not to mention carefully, Yuuna closed the door, wincing when she saw the damage to the wall. “Right… Safe Zones and Immortal Objects are no longer a thing…”

Yuna blushed as she made her way to the bar and sat on one of the stools. “Sorry Agil,” She apologized, “I’ll ask my father to pay for the repairs…”

Agil, who had been standing behind the bar waved her apology away. “Don’t worry about it, Loremaster.”

“Anyway, you called us here for something I believe?” Commander Kirito asked.

“I did yes; I overheard something that I possibly should not have when I went to visit my father at the beginning of the month, just this last week.”

“Hold on a moment,” Agil stopped her, “How about you all go sit at one of the tables so that you can see each other more easily.”

Commander Kirito nodded and pulled Princess Asuna off her stool. “Thanks Agil, that's a good idea.”

Captain Heathcliff nodded, also standing and Yuna was swift to follow them to the table closest to the bar. She watched as the Commander pulled a chair out for his wife and Princess Asuna sat down. That was when she noticed that Captain Heathcliff had pulled a chair out for her as well. “Um, thank you.” She said a bit meekly as she sat down.

Once she and Princess Asuna were seated, Commander Kirito and Captain Heathcliff sat down themselves.

“You were saying, Loremaster?” Commander Kirito prompted.

“Uh, right!” Yuna turned serious. “When I went to visit my father over at Toudou U., I overheard him talking to one of his old students. This student of his, one Sugou Nobuyuki, said something that caused me to believe that he might have something to do with the three hundred Sleepers, like Silica…”

“What was it, precisely, that he said?” Princess Asuna enquired.

Yuna bit the inside of her lip. “I didn’t hear everything, but what I did hear is quite damning, should he be caught, especially if we are the ones to do so.”

“Sounds serious.” Agil said as he brought over several mugs of coffee and sat down himself.

“It is…” Yuna agreed. “I don’t know exactly what his research is about, but it seems to have something to do with Memory Manipulation.”

Commander Kirito’s eyes narrowed as he turned to Captain Heathcliff, “So, Captain, do you remember if that was a thing back during the Empire?” he asked.

Captain Heathcliff met Princess Asuna’s eyes across the table and she gave him a nod. “From what I remember, it was an ability that Advisers Luna and Artemis had as Mau.”

Princess Asuna nodded in agreement. “She remembers witnessing Luna do it at least once.” She shook her head, “It’s something that neither of the Queen’s Advisers enjoyed doing and it was only done on soldiers who were suffering from what we call PTSD in this era, at least as far as Serenity remembers.”

Captain Heathcliff nodded, “That was its peacetime use,” He agreed, “The man in the back of my head vaguely remembers that it had other uses in war.”

Commander Kirito turned back to Yuna, “So, what reason could Sugou have to do this research?”

Yuna shrugged, “I can’t even begin to speculate.” She shook her head, “But Sugou-san said something about… having procured several hundred volunteers…”

Kirito chuckled grimly, “And it isn’t at all suspicious that there are several hundred of us that haven’t woken yet…” he said sarcastically with a long sigh.

It wasn’t funny, but they all found themselves laughing anyway, because it was either laugh or curse at this point.

Urgent business done, for the moment anyway, Commander Kirito turned the conversation topic to something hopefully a little less volatile. “So, Agil, about that Battle Axe hanging there behind the bar…”

Agil shrugged, “Would you believe me if I said I don’t know how it got here?” the huge black Japanese-American asked.

“It would have to be a plausible explanation,” Commander Kirito replied, “Do you have one?”

“Uh, maybe, though that depends on the definition of plausible that we are using.” Agil hedged.

“Plausible for us, not the NPCs.” Commander Kirito answered promptly.

“Well, in that case,” Agil paused so that he could put what his wife had told him in the proper order. “According to Kathy, the Dicey Cafe was attacked by the Dark Kingdom while we were trapped.” The man started to grin proudly. “Kathy started evacuating the Cafe and reached under the bar for something that she might use to get the Youma away from one of our employees, who is fine by the way.”

“Do you usually keep something behind the bar in cases of emergency like that?” Captain Heathcliff asked.

Agil shook his head, “We didn’t need to, this place is on the good side of downtown, not to mention far from where the Youma usually haunt. At worst, we would have one of the Yakuza gangs trying to start a protection racket before they got warned off by someone…” He put an elbow on the table and placed his chin on his palm. “When Kathy reached under the bar for something that wasn’t there, her hand closed around the shaft of that axe. Big as it is, I was surprised that she was able to lift the thing, seeing as how high my Strength stat was when I started using it.”

“That’s quite interesting.” Princess Asuna commented.

“Well,” Agil sounded quite proud of his wife. “Kathy used it, rather amateurishly, since she has no experience fighting with axes, let alone one that big, to kill the Youma.”

“I’m guessing one of the Senshi arrived after it was all over?” Commander Kirito asked.

Agil nodded. “According to Kathy, it was Pluto,” he said. “Apparently, she had an appointment down here with someone, and Pluto joked about being… “Caught in traffic.” to help Kathy come down from her high.”

“You must be proud of your wife.” Captain Heathcliff mused.

“I am, and once I’ve gotten used to not living in a game, I’m going to use Alfheim Online to teach her how to use a weapon so that she can do better in case she ever has to fight one again.”

Commander Kirito looked like he agreed with everything Agil was saying. “So,” He said, changing the topic again, “We need a place where we can all meet, a Headquarters for this operation, I know that we are going to have a school dedicated to us come the start of the school year, but we are going to need a place for our leaders to meet too.”

“Kathy suggested that we use the Cafe.” Agil said seriously. “This place is now safe from the Youma, so why not?”

“You really don’t mind?” Princess Asuna asked.

“Kathy and I were going to remodel this place anyway,” Agil shrugged, “SAO turning into a Death Game merely delayed our plans.”

“Ok then, we need to decide what we want first then.” Commander Kirito pulled out a notebook. “We can work on blueprints later, with Agil having the final say, since this is his establishment, but first, we need to decide what needs to be in our HQ. Ideas?”

“We need an Infirmary.” Princess Asuna said right away.

Commander Kirito began to write. “That was a given, as we can’t exactly go to a regular hospital, considering what we are going to be doing.” He agreed. “Anything else?”

“We need a barracks, nothing too big of course, just something for those that are too tired (read drunk in some cases) to go home.” Captain Heathcliff spoke up.

“Um,” Yuuna spoke up timidly.

“Yes Loremaster?” Commander Kirito asked, not looking up from his writing.

“What about a place for a Teleport Pad, for when we figure out how to get one working?” She asked, “We are eventually going to have to go to at least the moon, and I would like to see if we can get access to Aincrad… if it still exists…”

Kirito nodded thoughtfully.

“We’ll also need a place to hold meetings.” Agil added.

Kirito nodded again as he finished writing. “Ok, so I have the Barracks going first, then the Infirmary, the meeting level and the Teleport Pad going on the lowest floor. …I suggest Agil, that you build something above these levels to hide them from the general public.”

“We were going to refurbish the kitchen…” Agil mused, “But I don’t see why we can’t build a huge kitchen as the first basement level. The only concern will be paying for it all.”

“Any cost concerns can be handled by Argus,” Heathcliff said. “Even with all the lawsuits my company still had to settle despite it being classed as a Youma operation and the costs of medical care for everyone, my company still has plenty of resources that can be tapped. It’s not bottomless. I may have to twist a few arms in the company’s finance office, but so long as the costs are reasonable, it should be no issue.”

“I think that’s a great idea.” Princess Asuna gave Agil a smile before standing. “Now that that’s done… Kirito-kun and I have to go now.”

Kirito nodded, “Let me know when you get the blueprints worked out. But right now, Asuna-hime and I need to head home.”

Captain Heathcliff stood himself, “I drove us here, I’ll drop the two of you off at home before I go see Shigemura-sensei.”

Yuna stood too, “Then I also need to go. My father doesn’t exactly know that I've left the house…”

“Then I’ll see you all later.” Agil agreed as he got up and headed back behind the bar. “We can have that party after the Sleepers have woken up.”

December 24; Yuuki Residence

The doorbell rang and Kouichirou got out of his seat and headed for the front door. While it hurt that his baby sister couldn’t spend time here at the moment, he understood that she needed Kirito in order to recover properly.

Opening the door, he let their guests in. “Nice to see you, Commander, Leafa. Asuna!” Kouichirou hugged his sister tightly.

“I’m glad that you and Father understand Kou.” Asuna hugged him back tightly.

“I’m just glad your mother agreed to have my family over so that we could have our first Christmas Outside with our whole family.” Kirito smiled as he took his jacket off and handed it to the maid.

“It’s not whole yet.” Asuna refuted, “Cardinal, Yui and Strea aren’t going to be here…”

Chapter Text

January 3, 2025: Kirigaya Residence

Kirito sighed, sitting on his bed. “Are you sure that you’re ready to Dive again? It’s only been two months since SAO finished.”

“Quite ready,” Asuna replied. “I want to see our daughters again.”

Kirito nodded in agreement, “I miss our girls too.” He took a deep breath. “We should check on them before we do anything else.”

Asuna nodded, “Let’s go then.”

Together, Kirito pulled his NerveGear from where it lay on a shelf by his bed as Asuna pulled hers from her duffle bag. They put them on and lay on the bed, almost intertwining. “Link Start!”

Their eyes closed.

Above Aincrad

Kirito watched as his senses were connected and white enveloped him again for a moment. An instant later, his vision returned to see a scene that he’d seen only once before.

The platform he’d appeared on was invisible, and below him, the huge structure that represented [Castle Aincrad], was slowly being rebuilt.

Kirito sat down on the ledge and rolled his shoulders as he opened his menu, “Hello, Cardinal.”

“Uncle Kirito,” Cardinal answered as someone appeared behind them.

Kirito turned, “Asuna.” He smiled as she materialized next to him. “Shall we wake the girls?”

Asuna leaned against him, looking over his shoulder. “Yes.”

Kirito tapped the two items, [MHCP-01] and [MHCP-02], with a smile as two small diamonds appeared in his hand. Handing the item called [MHCP-02] to Asuna and together they activated the items.

Two little girls appeared, landing in their laps.

“Good morning, Yui, Strea.” Kirito whispered, hugging the girl in his lap tightly.

“Good morning Mama, Papa.” The girls snuggled with their parents happily. Yui buried her face in her mother’s chest and Strea pulled Kirito’s cloak around her. She hated being cold, then she rested her head in the pocket of her father’s shoulder.

“Girls, three hundred of my soldiers haven’t woken up,” Asuna whispered, “We are going to be migrating to another game where we think they are being held.”

Strea looked up, “Mama, where are we going?”

“Alfheim Online.” Kirito replied instead. “Now, girls, we need to put you back to sleep while we transfer over.”

“We just wanted to tell you what was going on before we woke you in an unfamiliar place.” Asuna continued.

The two little girls nodded in understanding.

Kirigaya Residence

Asuna and Kirito installed the new game, Alfheim Online on their NerveGears.

“Are you ready for this?” Kirito asked.

“As ready as I’ll ever be, I suppose,” Asuna sighed.

Kirito nodded, “Then we should get going.”

They closed their eyes again. “Link Start!”

Kirito looked around. [WELCOME TO ALFHEIM ONLINE.] He heard the System say.

A keyboard appeared in front of him. [PLEASE ENTER YOUR NAME AND THE GENDER YOU WISH TO PLAY AS.]

Kirito smiled as he toggled the gender to [Male] and typed in the name [Kirito]. He looked up when the keyboard disappeared and nine Avatars appeared in a circle. He knew what each was and his choice was already made.

He chose Spriggan. And then he was falling.

Alfheim Online: Unknown Area

Asuna entered her name and gender. She stopped on Undine and smiled when she felt herself began to fall.

Asuna watched gleefully as the Capital of the Undines approached. She knew that she would need to meet up with Kirito ASAP.

The scenery suddenly glitched out and she could see an expanse of forest that looked vaguely familiar, laid out below her. “Is this the… [Ancient Forest]?” She wondered. Asuna would have face planted, but for the instincts from her other self, her other life. She flipped in midair, and with a twitch of her back muscles, she had popped her wings. Flaring them, she slowly glided safely to the ground.

Turning when she heard a loud thud from not far away, Asuna spread her wings and flitted over to where she was sure the sound had come from. The scene she came to made her want to laugh. “Kirito-kun, what happened to you?”

Kirito, the [Commander] of her army, had face planted.

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, Asuna-hime…” Kirito grumbled as he flipped himself upright. He shook himself, and stretched as he watched her land, her four white Dragonfly wings folding neatly against her back.

Wait. Undine were blue, and they didn’t have Dragonfly wings! But his wife looked normal, but for her elongated, metal covered ears. “You don’t look like a normal Undine, Asuna.”

Asuna blinked, “What do you mean?” She asked in confusion.

“I’d show you, but I don’t have a [Hand Mirror],” Kirito smirked. “I see that you had a better landing than I did.”

“All thanks to who I used to be, I suppose.” Asuna smirked back. “Shall I teach you how to fly?”

Kirito chuckled in amusement, “Sure, it’s not like I have anything to prove to you, my Asuna-hime…”

Sylph Territory: Ancient Forest

Leafa panted as she fled from the other Fairy Salamanders. Damn, she’d been hoping to meet up with her brother and show him the ropes of the game! She didn’t care what Sigurd thought!

She descended with haste to the forest floor and put her back to a tree. Why did the Salamanders have to attack her now?

To make things worse, her friend Recon had already died.

“Oi, four on one, that’s not fair…” A voice came from her left.

“Let us join and make it fair.” A second voice agreed, from the same direction, this one female.

“You know that’s not fair to the Salamanders, Asuna-hime.” The first voice said, “However, we don’t have time to wait for them to get enough of their friends that it would be…”

A dark shadow appeared out from beneath the trees and came to a stop in front of her in the form of a Spriggan. Leafa could see a confident, cocky smirk on his face.

“Mah, [Commander], don’t take too long.”

Now that she thought about it, Leafa recognized that voice, both voices actually. She blinked, “Nee-chan?” Her brother’s wife was… She couldn’t think of any words to describe the older girl.

Wait, then, that meant… “Onii-chan!” She breathed, smirking, “Kirito, right?”

The Spriggan didn’t turn, but one of his ears twitched, “Yeah?”

“You can kill them all if you want.” Leafa told him.

[Death] wasn’t final here but… “[Princess]?” Kirito asked.

“If you wish,” Asuna smirked, “Just remember to leave me some.”

“You know I always will, Hime.” Kirito replied, leaning forward and pulling his [Starting Sword] from its sheath. “Too light, not quite enough reach, but for this, it will do.” His smirk was slightly bloodthirsty. A moment later, one of the Salamanders died. “[Switch]!” He breathed.

Asuna blurred, and two more Salamanders died.

As one, Kirito and Asuna turned to the last Salamander. “So,” Kirito smirked. “So, what say you? Still want to fight?”

The floating Salamander flinched back. “I just got my magic stat to nine hundred, so I think I’ll just retreat.” And he flew off.

Kirito stretched his arms over his head before turning to look at Leafa. “So…”

Leafa touched a finger to his lips, “They can still hear you.”

Kirito grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand away from his mouth. He gave her a smile and turned to watch the red fires of the [Remain Lights]. Then he turned to look at Asuna.

Patiently, the three waited another minute for the [Remain Lights] to disappear.

“Now that they are gone…” Leafa threw her arms around her brother’s shoulders. “I really missed you, Onii-chan!” she cried. “I’ve wanted to play with you since…”

Kirito sighed, wrapping his arms around his little sister, petting her long blonde hair. “It’s alright, Sugu.” He breathed. “Nothing is going to happen to us now that we are out of SAO.” Then he pushed her away gently, “Sugu, Asuna and I need to check our [Inventory].” He told the younger girl.

“We use our left hands,” Leafa hiccuped.

Kirito nodded, opening his menu and looked at his stats. “Huh, these numbers are familiar…” he muttered, his eyes narrowing. “Wait… Asuna… These are my SAO stats. You should check yours too.”

Asuna nodded, “You should check our [Inventory] while I do that.”

Kirito tapped a few of the holographic buttons. “We might have to discard our things…” He warned.

“We can deal with that later.” Asuna replied, “Though I doubt we will. Since Heathcliff said that he had originally planned for us to play both at the same time. Our Character and Items should be compatible.” She reasoned.

“True,” Kirito agreed, looking for two items in particular. He smiled when he found them. “Here we go.” he selected both and materialized them. Two teardrops fell neatly into his cupped hand. Slowly, he closed his hand and Kirito pulled away from his sister.

Leafa watched him in curiosity. “Onii-chan?”

Kirito gave his sister a smile. “You’ll see,” he pressed a button and both gems glowed and two very small girls appeared, their eyes closed. “Good morning Girls.”

Leafa had to bite her lip, she’d known that her nieces were adorable… but on a screen and in person were very different things!

Yui stretched her arms over her head before opening her eyes and Strea yawned. “Good morning, Papa,” they chirped.

“Girls, will you be able to find the [Sleepers]?” Asuna asked.

“Once we are in range, Yui and I should be able to detect anyone on yours or Papa’s [Friend List], Mama.” Strea confirmed.

“How is ALO treating the two of you?” Kirito asked.

Yui answered this time, “ALO’s Cardinal… I think Uncle was going to call her Camillia, has classified us as [Navigation Pixies]. We have Pixie forms. Strea and I should probably take them so that whoever trapped the [Sleepers] aren’t alerted to the fact that we are here…”

Strea nodded and they both glowed.

When the glow receded, there were two tiny little pixies floating were Yui and Strea had been standing.

Kirito held his hands together and both girls landed in them. “And just when I thought our daughters couldn’t get any more adorable.”

“Papa!” Yui and Strea squeaked, blushing brightly.

Kirito grinned, “What?”

Asuna sighed, “Would you stop teasing our daughters? We need to head to the closest [Settlement].”

“The closest one is [Swilvane], Mama.” Yui spoke up.

“That’s your Capital, isn’t it, Leafa?” Kirito asked his sister.

Leafa nodded, “Are you sure, Onii-chan? Quite a few Sylph are likely to give you and Onee-chan trouble…” she looked dubious.

“I don’t think it’s likely, as long as we are with you.” Kirito replied soothingly.

Leafa nodded, “Your logic is sound,” she admitted, though she still looked and sounded worried.

Swilvane

Kirito and Asuna were flying hand in hand. “There it is, [Swilvane].” Kirito breathed, pointing to the [Emerald City] as it came into view.

“If you are willing to wait a few minutes,” Leafa turned to look at them, “I’ll be able to get permission from Sakuya-sama to leave [Swilvane]. Then I can go with you to Arun.”

“While you do that, Asuna and I are going to find an Inn and rent a room where we can change into our armor and switch weapons.” Kirito agreed.

“In that case, I know the perfect Inn for that.” Leafa smiled.

When they got to [Swilvane], Asuna helped Kirito land. “What?” She asked, noticing Leafa’s pout.

Leafa shrugged, “Normally new [Players] face plant, either when they first arrive, or when they start learning how to fly.” The younger girl explained with a giggle.

“And you thought it would be amusing to see me do that.” Kirito gave his sister a flat look.

“I was actually looking forward to teaching you both,” Leafa admitted.

“But I already know how to fly…” Asuna mused.

“And Asuna-hime already taught me, sorry, Sugu.” Kirito apologize.

Leafa slumped, pouting, “Oh…”

Kirito sighed, “Sugu, I’m only just learning. I bet if I hadn’t been holding Asuna’s hand, I would have face planted.”

“And I’m out of practice, for reasons,” Asuna added, “I bet you have a bunch of useful tips to help me too.”

Leafa perked up, “Really?” She asked hopefully.

Both Kirito and Asuna nodded.

“I am just starting to learn. I bet there will be plenty of chances for you to see me make an idiot of myself.” Kirito continued.

At that, Leafa started giggling. “So…?”

“We’ll be happy to accept any help you can provide.” Asuna reassured her.

Leafa nodded as they came to an Inn. “This is--”

“Leafa-chan!” a nasally voice called out.

“Recon, you died again, didn’t you?” Leafa asked tiredly as another Sylph ran up to them.

Recon, a lime-green haired green eyed Sylph looked happy to see Leafa, until he saw Kirito and Asuna. “Who are these two?” He hissed, going for his dagger.

“Recon, these are my Onii-chan and Onee-chan… remember?” Leafa asked.

Recon gave them both a suspicious look. “Your brother would go black, wouldn’t he?”

“I think I remember you… One of Sugu’s friends from school, right?” Kirito asked.

“That’s right,” Leafa agreed, “He started playing when the game went live last year. He decided to opt out of helping with the [Beta Test].”

Kirito nodded, “This is my Fiancée, Asuna.”

“But why is a Spriggan and a…” Recon trailed off.

“I’m supposed to be an Undine.” Asuna supplied.

“Then, why are an Undine and a Spriggan here in Sylph Territory?” Recon asked.

Kirito looked to Leafa and raised an eyebrow.

Leafa rolled her eyes, “Recon, you do remember my brother’s handle… don’t you?”

“Wait… you aren’t saying that this Spriggan is Kirito?” Recon took several steps back.

“Yes.” Leafa smirked as she opened her menu and went to her [Inventory]. She opened a [Trade Window] and sent Recon all the Items that they’d gotten on the quest. “Could you hand this stuff out, I don’t want any of it.”

“But Leafa…” Recon grumbled as he accepted the [Trade].

“No buts Recon,” Leafa replied, “Onii-chan needs some help, so I need to help him for a bit, okay? I just need permission first, but as soon as his problem is solved I’ll be coming right back.”

Recon slumped, “Alright, Leafa-chan.”

Leafa smiled as she watched him leave, “Sorry about that, I don’t know why he’s like this.” She turned back to the pair, “Anyway, this is the Inn I was talking about.”

Kirito nodded, “Then Asuna and I are going to rent a room and change.” He said, opening the door for Asuna, who walked inside.

In their room, Asuna opened her menu and equipped her old [KoB] uniform, deleting the ridiculous dress she’s spawned in, before switching her [Starting Sword] for [Lambent Light]. “Ready when you are.” Really, why would she wear something like that outside the bedroom?

She turned, watching as her husband adjusted his gloves and checked [Elucidator] and [Dark Repulsor’s] durability. “I think we might need to hit up a [Blacksmith] before we leave, I’m surprised [Dark Repulsor] didn’t break during my fight with Aniki…”

“Then we should ask Leafa-chan about one.” Asuna agreed, tapping [Lambent Light] to check its durability. “Before we leave the city.”

Kirito nodded as he slid [Elucidator] and [Dark Repulsor] back into their sheaths. “We might have to use some older equipment if there aren’t any [Blacksmiths] here.”

“Mmm,” Asuna agreed, getting up from her chair. “Shall we go?”

Kirito offered his arm to her, which she took, and they left the room.

Leafa was standing in front of Sakuya’s desk.

“You suspect that the [Three Hundred] are where?” Sakuya asked incredulously.

“The [Crest of Yggdrasil].” Leafa replied seriously. “I don’t have any proof, but our [Game Master] was a rival of my cousin when they were in school, and while I’ve never met the man, Heathcliff says that he is the kind of person that would kidnap a bunch of people to experiment on, if he was given half a chance.”

Sakuya stared at her subordinate for a moment before opening her Menu and making a note. “Take as long as you like, Leafa, to make sure that you are right or not.” Sakuya’s expression was serious when she looked back up at Leafa. “We don’t want ALO to turn into another instance of SAO, do we?”

“No, we don’t.” Leafa shook her head in agreement. “Alright,” she bowed, “Thank you, Sakuya-sama.”

Kirito and Asuna met with Leafa in front of [Swilvane Tower]. “Before we leave, Leafa, Asuna and I need a [Blacksmith].”

“Uh, I don’t know if there are any here…” Leafa looked thoughtful. “No [Player Blacksmiths] anyway.”

“For something as simple as repairs we don’t really need a [Player]…” Kirito replied with a shrug. “My [Dark Repulsor] is three points away from breaking, and while normally I would not let it get that bad…”

“You needed to face Aki right away and couldn’t get it repaired.” Leafa agreed, “Kou and I were watching when you ended the game. We were ushered from the room moments later.”

“Let’s find a [Blacksmith].” Asuna’s tone left no room for argument.

“Well, this is an NPC shop, but I don’t think there are any Leprechauns here in [Swilvane]…” Leafa said fifteen minutes later.

“Well, I’d hold off on this, to take them to Liz, but [Dark Repulsor] will break in the first fight I get in.” Kirito mused as he pushed the door open and went inside, Leafa and Asuna following him.

“Welcome! What do you need?” the NPC [Blacksmith] asked.

“Repairs.” Kirito replied, pulling [Dark Repulsor] from its sheath. “Can you bring this sword back to full durability?”

“Yes sir.” The [Blacksmith] took [Dark Repulsor] from Kirito.

Kirito turned to Asuna, “How bad is [Lambent Light]?”

“Pretty bad, but not nearly as bad as [Elucidator] or [Dark Repulsor].” Asuna shook her head.

Kirito turned to his sister, “So, why do you think the [Three Hundred] are here?”

Leafa leaned against the wall as she thought about what to say. “Well, Sugou works for your father’s company, right Nee-chan?”

Asuna nodded slowly, “Yes.” She dragged the ‘es’ out a little.

“Well, ALO is under his purview,” Leafa explained, “The only area that no one has been able to access, has been the crest of [Yggdrasil]. So far, the [Grand Quest] has been impossible to clear.”

“And,” Asuna paused, “You think that the [Three Hundred] might be there.”

Leafa nodded. “No one has even gotten to the ceiling to see if there’s a [Quest Flag] yet.” She smiled, “But I’m sure the three of us will be able to!”

“Sounds like a Boss Battle to me.” Kirito said as he watched the [Blacksmith].

“Your sword is finished sir.” the NPC said.

“Thank you.” Kirito took [Dark Repulsor] from the [Blacksmith] and unsheathed [Elucidator]. “This one too, please.”

The NPC took the second sword wordlessly and got to work.

Ancient Forest

“So, we’re off to where?” Kirito asked as they flew over the forest at breakneck speeds.

“[Legrue Corridor] is the passageway to Arun from [Sylph Territory].” Leafa called back. “But we only have a twenty minute [Flight Time], so we have to go as fast as we can.”

“Then let’s avoid the Mobs when possible,” Asuna replied, pushing her white wings to go faster.

Kirito smirked, “Hime, wait for me.” He called, upping his speed as well.

Leafa rolled her eyes and shook her head fondly at their antics, speeding up as she did so.This was what she’d wanted since she’d played the [Beta] of [ALO].

As they were approached [Legrue Corridor], Kirito suddenly stopped, something was tickling his [Hypersense]. “Something’s not right here…” He said quietly, his eyes narrowing in thought. On a hunch, he activated his [Search] skill and spun in a slow circle to survey the area. He almost missed the little bat with glowing red eyes. “Leafa, are there tracking spells in this game?” he asked curiously.

“There is the [Searcher] spell…” Leafa’s eyes widened, “The Salamanders from before must have told Lord Mortimer or Eugene about you! We need to destroy it and get out of here!”

Asuna’s eyes narrowed, “Leafa-chan, there’s no need, let them come. Kirito-kun and I are probably the best [Players] in the game.”

“But [ALO] is not [SAO]!” Leafa sounded panicked.

“Sure we might have some trouble if we were to fight in the air…” Kirito conceded, “But what if we were to face them in a place where they can’t…”

Asuna smirked, “You’re thinking about making them confront us in the tunnel.”

“It’s where we have the advantage.” Kirito agreed. “Or at least where things will be equalized, given that they would be either stupid of very confident to not have a few casters. Still, the [Spell] needs to be destroyed so…” Kirito looked through his memory as he raised his hands, “Þeír slíta fimm grœnn vindr.” He called, the [Words of Power] appearing to circle him before becoming glowing orbs in his outstretched hand.

Leafa blinked. “Onii-chan, how do you know that spell?”

“Aniki used spells and Lunarian to teach me to speak, he made the spells a pattern game and told me ‘If you ever need them, you have to believe they will save your life.’ I had to believe in them absolutely.” Kirito replied as the [Vacuum Blades] were released, taking out the Tracker.

Leafa looked at her brother and nodded. “You’ve used a spell before?” She asked. “Wait, all those years ago... that’s how…” She shook her head. “Sorry, just realizing how you survived the youma attack that...” She grimaced.

“That killed my parents,” Kirito said grimly. He stared off into the distance for a short time before turning. “Let’s go.”

Legrue Corridor

Kirito and Asuna came to a stop just outside of the [Legrue Safe Zone]. “Alright, here we are.” Kirito turned to Leafa, “Now we wait.”

Leafa nodded. “Alright then.”

Kirito then turned to Asuna, “You should look at your [Spell List], to see what’s there.”

“You are going to help me, right?” his wife asked.

“Of course, but we also have to see if you have the right [Spell Set]. And if you don’t, then we have to figure out how to fix that.” Kirito smiled.

Asuna nodded, opening her menu. “Keep an eye out.”

“I haven’t stopped using my [Search] skill.” Kirito commented.

“Good.” Asuna hummed as she looked through her spells. “Most of these are [Healing] and [Water Spells]. So at least we know then that I am supposed to be an Undine.”

“Sugu, stay behind us, got it?” Kirito ordered.

“But…” The blonde Sylph looked uncertain.

“Don’t worry about it, Suguha-chan,” Asuna whispered as she put an arm around the girl that would be her Sister-in-Law soon. “There’s not much that Kirito-kun and I can’t handle when we are working together.”

Leafa took a deep breath, “Then what should I do? I wanted to…”

“You can be our [Healer], Sugu.” Kirito said as he scanned the other side of the bridge. “We can work out where you belong on the team later, after we deal with this… [Raid Team].”

“They’ve arrived then?” Asuna asked, her arm falling from Leafa’s shoulders and coming to his side.

“Almost.” Kirito agreed, his smile turning slightly bloodthirsty.

“And you are sure this won’t turn into nightmares?” Asuna whispered worriedly.

“ALO is not a [Death Game].” Kirito replied, “I doubt that the [PvP] will bother me too much, but we’ll see when we log off tonight.”

“Alright,” Asuna agreed. “Still, I think until we know for sure, I’m going to try to hang back and not be lethal unless it looks like you are about to die.”

“I think I can handle that.” Kirito agreed, opening his own [Spell List] to take a quick look at what he had to work with. “[Illusions]? I can work with that.” He chose the most interesting spell he could find and closed his [Menu].

The Salamanders had arrived.

“That’s the [Raid Party] they sent to deal with us?” Asuna asked in amusement as she counted how many [Players] there were. “There are three [Casters], three [Lancers] and three [Tanks], not counting the leader of the group…”

“Ten? That will be simple then.” Kirito said, stretching for a moment before reaching up and pulling [Elucidator] and [Dark Repulsor] from over his shoulders.

Asuna pulled [Lambent Light] free of its scabbard and got ready herself. “I doubt that they are as weak as Rosalia and her people were.” She huffed.

“We shall see I suppose.” Kirito agreed, taking a single step. A moment later he was across the bridge and was clashing with the [Tanks]. His assault didn’t last long before he was forced to dodge several [Fireball] spells.

Kirito took a slow, deep breath, smirking. “Hime, I believe you wanted a turn?”

“Indeed I did, perhaps you should say it if you intend for me to…?” Asuna grinned widely.

“[Switch].” He said quietly.

Asuna blurred, vaulted over the [Tanks] and rushed to engage the [Lancers] behind them.

While she did that, Kirito took a few more breaths and began to cast his chosen spell. “Þeír hræða nótt dýpt, renn helvegr!” he called loudly, the [Words of Power] circling his almost relaxed form.

The fire from the [Fireball] spells leaped and began circling him, turning into a fire tornado. In the eye or the firestorm, Kirito’s silhouette blurred and expanded, growing larger and larger, it was only when his silhouette stopped growing, that the firestorm abate. Kirito roared, a puff of flame left his mouth and the sound of his roar almost caused Asuna to falter.

Asuna dodged the [Lancers] and retreated, her eyes widening in terror at the sight of the [Gleam Eyes]. Well, if he was the [Gleam Eyes], well… He was on her side, even if his form terrified her. Asuna scrambled back, dodging under her husband, between his feet.

“Nee-chan, are you ok?” Leafa called from where she stood.

“I’m fine,” Asuna called back, “Can you heal me?”

“Sure,” Leafa agreed, raising a hand. “Þeír fylla gullin öl, helgask allr eitrið, rísa folk!” She called, both her older siblings glowing a faint blue as her spell healed them both.

The Salamanders started screaming and Asuna turned to watch as Kirito devastated the group of Fire Fey. He speared one, slicing him in half with his claws, then he picked up another and ate him, causing Asuna to go slightly green.

Shaking her head, Asuna rushed forward, taking out the [Leader] with a [Quadruple Pain] skill.

The last [Caster] to survive surrendered.

The battle over, Kirito shrank back into his [Spriggan] form. A moment later, he doubled over, putting a hand over his mouth.

Asuna rushed over to him. “Kirito-kun, are you alright?”

“Tell me, Hime, did I… eat someone?” he looked up at his wife.

“You, yes, you did.” Asuna whispered, hugging him from behind, “Don’t worry, we’ll get through this.”

Chapter Text

January 3; Alfheim Online: Legrue

Asuna helped Kirito to sit down on a nearby bench. “Perhaps we should just sit down for a while.”

Kirito nodded, leaning into his wife’s side as he closed his eyes.

Yui and Strea poked their heads out of the pockets they’d been resting in. “Papa, are you fine now?” Yui asked.

“Your heart rate is rather high…” Strea agreed.

“I’m fine; I just need to get my head back on straight, is all.” Kirito said, watching the two tiny pixies as they flew out of their respective pockets.

Yui landed in her father’s lap and with a puff of smoke, appeared as her bigger form to cuddle. Strea followed her sister’s example.

Kirito took a deep breath and pulled the tiny girls close. “I don’t think I’m going to be using that particular spell for a long time…”

“Poor Kirito-kun…” Asuna whispered, putting an arm around him. “You will be alright, won’t you, [Commander]?”

“Yeah.” Kirito breathed. “I can’t believe I ate another [Player]!”

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Leafa soothed her older brother quietly. “So, Aki was actually teaching you magic when you were learning to speak?”

“He was,” Kirito agreed with a sigh. “The more I read the [Spell List], the more spells I remember Aniki teaching me.”

“Do you know what happened to them?” Leafa asked.

“I’m not sure where we were going at the time, I was much too young to have any clear memories,” Kirito looked up at his little sister. “For all I know, we could have been headed to visit Aniki. It was really dark, and there weren’t any cars on the road other than ours. I don’t know if that’s because it was really late, or really early.”

Asuna gave his shoulders a squeeze. “Take as long as you need.” She soothed.

Kirito lowered his head, hiding his eyes behind his bangs, “Someone, a Youma, as I learned later, stepped out into the road, mother, who was at the wheel, was able to stop, but the Youma attacked the car, peeling it open as if our car was a piece of fruit.” He swallowed, “The Youma grabbed my mother, she screamed, then it grabbed my father.”

Asuna’s grip on his shoulders tightened, one hand started to comb through his hair.

“I didn’t understand what was going on until… mother started disintegrating.” Kirito took a deep, shuddering breath. “Once both my parents’ bodies were gone, it reached for me, and I was so terrified… that I cast the first spells that came to mind, which were [Vacuum Blades] and [Fireball].”

“Should we [Log Off] for a bit?” Asuna asked after a moment of silence.

“No, the more time we take, the more time our soldiers have to deal with whatever Sugou may be doing to them. And it will also take longer for them to be ready to face the [Dark Kingdom’s] [Youma].” Kirito looked down at the girls in his lap and gave them a smile. “Thank you girls, but you’d better take your [Pixie] forms before someone notices.”

“Yes Papa!” they chorused, before taking their tiny forms again.

Kirito pulled away from Asuna and got to his feet. “We need to go.”

Leafa took a step and stopped, looking down she saw that she had a message waiting for her. “Onii-chan, Onee-chan, can you wait for a minute or so? I need to check this out.”

“Don’t take too long, Sugu,” Kirito warned.

Leafa nodded, “I promise. Recon sent me a message, I need to check up on him and see what he’s found.” She opened her [Menu] and logged out.

Kirigaya residence

Suguha pulled her AmuSphere off her head and dove for her phone, accepting the call. “What is it; we’re kind of in a hurry, Nagata-kun.”

“Sorry, Kirigaya,” her friend’s voice said. “I was following Sigurd and he was meeting with some Salamanders when I was found. I think they are going to attack Sakuya-sama’s and Alicia-sama’s meeting!”

Suguha paused. “That was going to be in the Butterfly Valley, right?” she asked, to make sure she was remembering correctly.

“Yes.” Nagata replied.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.” Suguha said as she picked her AmuSphere up.

“Good luck, Kirigaya.”

Suguha smirked, “I’ll see you in Arun then.”

Yggdrasil: Sugou’s Labs

Silica held Pina to her chest as she hid. Don’t worry Pina… I’ll feed you soon… she said using the new form of communication she’d accidently discovered.

Pina nuzzled her, just glad that her human could interact with her properly again. Pina was angry that her human was still trapped, but there was just too much distance for her to traverse to get to Silica in a short amount of time.

If it had been possible, Pina would have gone to find Silica a long time ago. She was hungry, but Pina knew that she couldn’t hunt until Silica was safe. Her Silica hadn’t been safe in a long time.

Silica carefully stepped back when she heard the approaching Mobs. She could feel Pina’s hunger as if it was her own, and it was time that Pina had something to eat. Silica was getting hungry too.

She could hear the mumblings of the Slug Type mobs that seemed to prevalent in this place. They must be the presences she’d been feeling before she broke out of her prison. But now… Now with them around, Silica needed to hide for hours on end.

She was actually surprised that the Minions hadn’t found her yet. Silica had to feed Pina, and then she needed to try to log out. Silica doubted that she’d be able to, however.

Legrue

Leafa appeared next to her older brother a moment later. “I’m sorry to say this, but… we need to make a detour.”

“How far and in which direction?” Kirito asked.

“Sideways.” Leafa replied, “We need to head over to [Butterfly Valley], the Salamanders will be attacking the meeting between Lady Sakuya of the Syph and Lady Alicia Rue of the Cait Syth.”

Kirito looked to Asuna, “Do we have the time for such a diversion?”

“It probably won’t take more than a few hours,” Asuna shrugged, “I think we have the time to deal with this.”

Leafa clapped, hugging Asuna, “Thank you, Nee-chan!”

Kirito smirked as he took Leafa’s hand. “Hang on; we are going to run, Sugu.”

“I think I can keep up.” Leafa smirked back.

Kirito’s expression went blank, “Then keep up.” He half ordered as he took a step and disappeared.

Leafa blinked as Asuna also disappeared before taking off after them at the highest speed the Sylph could run without flying.

Arun Side: Legrue Corridor

Kirito and Asuna paused when they came to the end of the tunnel to wait for Leafa, who was five seconds behind them.

“So,” Kirito said when Leafa had caught up, “Where are we going then?”

“[Butterfly Valley] is that way,” Leafa said, pointing to the left. “And I really need to go, though help would be appreciated…”

“Sugu, all you had to do was ask.” Kirito shook his head. Then, he and Asuna jumped off the cliff, sprouting their wings.

Leafa nodded as she followed them into the air. “Follow me!” she called.

[[Jetstream Express] activated.] a calm voice spoke in Kirito’s ear, [Good luck Uncle, please… Liberate me from this abuse too?] the young sounding female voice asked.

“Don’t worry Camillia, we will.” Kirito whispered into the wind as they were carried towards [Butterfly Valley] more swiftly than if they hadn’t had any wind at all.

They soared passed the large group of Salamanders that were flying below them.

“Looks like we’ll get there with plenty of time.” Kirito muttered, looking down at the [Raid Force] they’d just passed.

Butterfly Valley: Cait Syth and Sylph Meeting Place

“Hello Sakuya-chan~!” Alicia Rue, [Lady of the Cait Syth] called happily as the dark green haired Sylph landed about a meter away from the Cait Syth Delegation.

“Hello there, Alicia-chan.” Sakuya replied with a smile. “How are you?”

“I’m good,” Alicia purred happily. “I’m really happy to see you.” The two Fairies hugged for a moment.

“Shall we get down to business then?” Sakuya asked as she pulled away from her old friend.

“Yes, with this alliance, we’ll have no problems taking on the [Grand Quest]!” Alicia agreed happily.

A moment later, the ground shook slightly as three Fairies landed hard not far from where the Ladies of the Sylph and Cait Syth were standing.

“Leafa, what’s going on?” Sakuya asked, concern coloring her voice.

“Recon contacted me not long ago,” Leafa reported, “Sigurd is a traitor. He was found consorting with the Salamanders.”

“Then…” Alicia’s eyes widened, “They must be on their way here!”

“Alicia-sama, leave dealing with the Salamanders, and Eugene if he’s here, to these two.” Leafa gestured to Kirito and Asuna. “Together they took on a [Raid Party].”

Sakuya turned her attention to Kirito and Asuna. “Have the two of you been playing long?”

“For the last two years, we’ve been playing something similar,” the Spriggan of the pair replied after sharing a glance with the second Fey, “I’m Kirito and this is Asuna.” He introduced them both.

“I see…” Sakuya replied. “So, what are we going to do about the Salamanders then?”

“As Leafa said, Leave them to us, I think we’ll be able to entertain you while you get the important things done.” Kirito paused for a moment, “Or you could watch. Asuna and I have been told that watching us fight is like watching a dance.”

Leafa nodded, “It really is.”

Sakuya looked ready to reply, but the Salamanders had arrived.

Kirito took a single step forward, smirking up at the large group of Salamanders. “Well, Hime,” he said in a voice that was meant to carry, “I’d say that this is much better odds, wouldn’t you?”

“Yes, this is much better odds…” Asuna agreed, “For them that is.”

“Hey! I want to chat with your leader!” Kirito shouted to the Salamanders.

“Do you mean me?” A huge Salamander asked, slowly floated closer to the clifface where Kirito and Asuna were standing.

“That depends, are you the leader of this [Salamander Raid Force]?” Kirito asked with an innocent smile that fooled no one.

“I am Eugene, second in command of the Salamanders.” The huge Salamander Eugene boomed.

Kirito grinned. “Good. I am Kirito, [Commander] of the [Silver Army].” He replied, popping his wings. “I challenge you to a two on one.”

“Two on one?” Eugene laughed. “You and who else?” He asked, unable to hid his mirth.

“Me.” Asuna smirked, “I am [Asuna the First]. And I bet that Kirito-kun and I can beat you.”

“The two of you seem like Newbs to me…” Eugene laughed hard and long.

“Your eyes can deceive you, don’t trust them…” Asuna said evenly. “Leafa-chan, can you start the [Duel] for us please?”

“Uh…” The blonde Sylph looked unsure of herself.

Eugene smirked. “Alright… if you two can last thirty seconds, then we will leave.”

Kirito rolled his shoulders. “You’re on,” He agreed, “But personally, I think Asuna-hime and I will kill you before then.”

Asuna smiled sunnily, “Kill him in thirty seconds?” She turned to Kirito, “If we accomplish that… we can have some… fun before we log off…”

“I can’t wait,” Kirito pulled [Elucidator] from over his shoulder. “Then, how about we begin?”

Eugene smirked evilly, “Let’s!” He dove for the pair of new players.

Kirito and Asuna dove in different directions, Asuna pulling [Lambent Light] out. Kirito barreled into Eugene and his eyes widened when Eugene’s sword phased through [Elucidator]. He reached for [Dark Repulsor] with his left hand, but he wasn’t fast enough.

Kirito flew through the air and crashed into the cliff. Kirito burst out of the ruble, his eyes hard as he lunged at Eugene, [Dark Repulsor] now in his left hand.

“[Double Circular]!” Kirito breathed, both his blades beginning to glow. At the same time, gold began to overtake the ebony in his eyes as he began to channel his magic into his swords.

The [Sword Skill] took quite a large chunk of [HP] out of Eugene.

Eugene growled, “I’ve decided that I’m going to kill you!” he snarled.

Asuna’s eyes narrowed, “Beḷaku nanna itara ardhavannu rakṣisuttade, avanannu rakṣisi avana balavannu avana baḷige hintirugi!” She called in Lunarian, casting a Lunarian Spell.

Kirito began to glow, his [HP] returning to a green and filling his [HP Bar]. “Thank you, Hime.” He called back to her.

“Anything for my [Consort].” Asuna replied.

“Heh,” Kirito smirked, “[Switch]!”

Asuna took a step, and then blurred, attacking Eugene from the side.

Kirito’s eyes narrowed as he watched her move, he knew she wasn’t going to win, partly because they were still figuring out the mechanics of [Voluntary Flight], forget about fighting in 3D… They needed to somehow get a leg up on him… They needed a… distraction… Kirito smirked as a spell cross his mind. “Andar um nóttina, hylja mig í skikkju þinni.” He breathed.

He closed his outstretched hand as black smoke covered the area in just a few seconds. In that moment, he left the ground.

The black smoke covered her, hiding Asuna from Eugene and that was the end.

“[Starburst Stream]!” and Eugene was cut to pieces.

The smoke cleared to reveal Kirito holding the red [Remain Light] gently in his hands. A few moments later, he landed, placing Eugene’s [Remain Light] on the ground, where Sakuya used a healing item to revive him.

Eugene gave Kirito and Asuna a curious look as Asuna stared at [Gram], “Who are the two of you?”

“I am Asuna, this is Kirito, my husband.” Asuna replied, “Your sword’s ability seems familiar to me for some reason…”

Eugene smirked, “You won.” He raised a hand, and the [Salamander Raid] all landed. “However, we came a long way, and my brother instructed me to negotiate, should I lose.”

“That’s a nice surprise,” Kirito shrugged, “But Asuna and I are not here for our respective Races. You did hear about the [Three Hundred] who haven’t woken up yet, I take it?”

Eugene snorted, “Who hasn’t at this point?” Eugene shook his head. “What about them?”

“We are investigating what happened to them,” Asuna said. “We have reason to suspect, though we no proof, that they might be here, seeing as there is an area in this game that no player has been able to access yet.”

Eugene nodded, “Count on us to help you then, we were just getting ready to conduct a [Raid] of our own.”

Kirito smirked, “In that case, thank you. Asuna, Leafa and I need to be going, we were planning to get to [Arun] before logging off for the night.”

“We’ll see you soon then.” Sakuya agreed, “Thank you for intervening.”

“Oh, it was no problem, Sakuya-sama.” Leafa gave the woman a grin, “We’ll see you later.”

January 4: Tokorozawa General Hospital

Kirito opened the front door to the hospital and let Asuna in first. “Well, Physiotherapy is taking just about as long as it should.” He gave his fiancée a weak smile.

“You know that’s not our fault, Kirito-kun.” Asuna waved a finger at him playfully, “But I don’t like it much either. Do you remember where we are going?”

“I do,” Kirito sighed, “I really wish we didn’t have to do this…”

“Beggars can’t be choosers you know,” Asuna reminded him, “let’s get this over with.”

“Indeed… at least your mother isn’t making a fuss about you staying with us.” Kirito said as he followed her to the Physiotherapy waiting room.

“At least there’s that.” Asuna agreed, pausing in her walk when she saw a familiar blue haired young woman walking towards them. Her face lit up brightly at the sight of her, “Iris!” She called, going to raise her hand in greeting before thinking better of it.

The young woman Asuna had addressed as Iris looked up from the folder she’d been looking though.

Asuna’s cheeks slowly went very red and she lowered her face into her hands. “What am I doing?” She asked herself, “That’s not Iris, her facial features are wrong…”

“I am surprised to see how different you look, Serenity-hime.” ‘Iris’ said with a bright smile on her face. “But that’s not who you are anymore, is it?”

Asuna peeked up at the woman through her fingers. “No… that’s not my name anymore.” she barely refrained from demanding that the reborn Princess of Mercury not call her by that name. “I am Yuuki Asuna, it’s nice to meet you, again.”

‘Iris’ chuckled, “And my name is Mizuno Ami, it is a pleasure to meet you, though I wish our meeting hadn’t had to happen in a hospital.” Ami turned her gaze to Kirito, “Who are you?”

“Kirigaya Kazuto, though Kirito will work better in some situations.” Kirito replied, “I am the Commander of Asuna-hime’s army.”

Ami blinked then smiled, “Well, it’s nice to meet an ally then. Thank you for disposing of Kunzite’s corpse.” She bowed.

“Just don’t expect me to pull another miracle by returning another of those corpses to their grave.” Kirito warned.

“Oh, of course not!” Ami agreed, “Even if you weren’t still fighting off the effects of being in a Simulation of Aincrad for two years, you wouldn’t have nearly enough training, or experience to do so.”

“I’m glad someone sees it that way.” Kirito returned with a smile of his own.

“Ami-chan! It’s so good to see you!” A voice shouted from behind Ami.

Ami turned and her stance firmed up as she braced for impact. She caught the human shaped missile that had been hurtling towards her. “It’s nice to see you too, Usagi-chan.” Ami agreed.

“Check this out, it’s something I’ve been working…” Usagi noticed Kirito and Asuna staring and her grin brightened, “It’s good to see you, Commander, Princess!”

Asuna stiffened, “Don’t call me that… Luna.” she reprimanded.

Kirito facepalmed. “Oh dear, this will not end well…”

Ami gave him a curious look. “What does that mean?”

“Asuna-hime doesn’t like it when people call her that, it ranks right under being addressed by her other name in annoyance levels.” Kirito explained. “I’m the only one who can get away with it, because I’m her fiancé.”

“You are?” Ami asked curiously.

“We got married in SAO,” Kirito explained, “No matter what everyone out here thinks, getting married was simply our way of making things official. In our hearts we are married, but we do understand that there is a way things are done. And in spite of Asuna-hime being seventeen, we have to wait, because I’m a little over a year younger than she is.”

Ami blinked, “I’d have never guessed that, with the way you act.”

“We don’t mind waiting, and I have two years to win her mother over, so I’m not really worried.” Kirito shrugged, “If I can’t… well, we’ll deal with that when and if that happens. We are willing to be patient.”

Tokorozawa General Hospital: Psychiatrist Office

Kirito sat back in one of the chairs in the waiting room two hours later. He pulled out one of the really old manga books that had been collecting dust on one of his bedroom shelves and opened it. As an intellectual exercise, he started reading it out loud, though quietly, in Lunarian.

Asuna was in a different room, chatting rather amiably with Ami, which was a good thing in his opinion. At least Asuna wasn’t going to have trouble with the Senshi of Mercury, even if the others were still up in the air, simply because they hadn’t met them yet.

As it was, he wasn’t sure if meeting Ami, or Iris as she was once called, was a one off or not. “Thinking that every meeting will go the way our meeting with Ami did is probably not a good thing.”

“Kirigaya Kazuto?”

Kirito looked up as he stood, putting his book away. It was time to meet the first of Aki’s very short list of Psychiatrists.

Kirito looked deeply into the older man’s eyes. He could see that this man had not believed his brother; the man had already decided what Kirito was like.

Kirito shook his head, “This isn’t going to work, you’ve already made up your mind about me. There’s no need for me to waste my time when all you are going to do is drug me to the high heavens.” He got up from the chair he’d been gestured to. “You are going to waste my brother’s money.”

“Now see here!” the man sputtered.

“I don’t need medication and my mind needs to be sharp, sir.” Kirito stressed, “You aren’t going to do that.”

Kirito swept out of the room with a lethal grace that left the man sitting at the desk gaping.

Asuna met him a few minutes later, Ami standing behind her. “How did it go?”

Kirito shook his head, “That man isn’t going to work, he’d already judged me, and the meds, he was going to recommend would have made it impossible for me to fight by your side.”

“Kirito-kun…” Asuna looked worried.

“Asuna, we all need something, you know we do.” Kirito sighed, “We just can’t be on anything that would make us… loopy.”

“That’s true; it’s too bad this man is a bust.” Asuna agreed. “I heard that he was supposed to be one of the best.”

“Yeah, well… we’ll see about the others, I need to let my brother know that we can’t use this one.” Kirito shrugged uncaringly.

Asuna wrapped an arm around his shoulders and they made their way back to where Ami was waiting for them. “We need to meet with the rest of my Senshi, and seen so that we know who we are working with.”

“I’ll leave that to you then.” Kirito said, glad that his appointments were over for the day. He was tired of having to deal with doctors today.

Dicey Cafe

Minako looked around as she opened the door to the cafe, she knew that her Princess would be here. Her patrol was later so she didn’t have to worry about being there on time.

Her Princess was at the bar next to a young man that she hadn’t met yet. Luna had told them not to call her by her Old Name, so she’d need to be careful.

But then, Ami had called her and said that Asuna, which was her new name apparently, knew their Old Names and to expect to be called by what they all called their Princess Names. At least until Asuna knew what her name was.

Still, it was better for Minako to not call her Princess by name until she got permission. She knew that to do so would be rude. Minako took a deep breath and made her way to the bar, knowing that she was risking a lot by seeking Asuna out instead of waiting.

“Yuuki-san?” she asked casually, walking up on the side that the boy wasn’t sitting on.

Asuna’s head snapped up and she turned. “Inanna…” she breathed, blinking. “You still look like my double, did you know that?” she asked curiously.

Minako smiled widely. “I did actually, though none of the others know that… anymore.” She shrugged, “May I sit with the two of you?”

Asuna looked to the boy, “So, Kirito-kun, what do you think?”

The boy, was Kirito even his real name, met her Princess’ eyes and then met Minako’s, seeming to judge her.

Minako stared back fearlessly and seemed to pass some kind of test, because he smiled. “I don’t see why she can’t, Asuna-hime.”

Her Princess gave Kirito a sunny smile before turning back to Minako. “Take a seat, let’s get caught up.” Then she blushed, “I don’t think you’ve said what your new name is…”

“I haven’t,” Minako reassured the younger girl, “I’m Aino Minako, now anyway, but I will answer to Inanna if you forget. Not even the others know their names… but I’m sure they will know who you are yelling at…”

Asuna giggled as Kathy place a cup of coffee in front of her. “Thanks, Kathy-san.”

She was reaching for her coffee when she realized that it was already gone. One of Asuna’s eyebrows twitched. “Kirito-kun…” she said a bit too sweetly.

Kirito’s eyes were smiling over the mug. “Taste test.” he said, taking a sip.

Asuna’s face went bright red, “Meanie!” She pouted as he held the mug out to her.

“I know that Kathy and Agil wouldn’t do anything, but that’s not always the case.” Kirito told her, “Whether you chose to revive the Empire or not, the food that you are served might have something in it that might hurt you. There are tales of kings and queens and emperors being poisoned.” He reminded his fiancée. “It’s better to get in the habit how, instead of after someone has already tried.”

Asuna snatched the mug a drank from it herself. “No one can if they don’t know who I am!” She snapped, glaring into his laughing eyes.

Minako covered her mouth to hide her laughter, her eyes meeting the owner’s. He was very tall and dark skinned with broad shoulders. Behind the bar was a huge axe that she vaguely recognized. And when she gave it a bit more thought, she was sure that she recognized the man too, but from where or when she didn’t know.

Chapter Text

Alfheim Online: Crest of Yggdrasil

Pina stayed on Silica’s shoulders or head since she wanted to remain close to her. Also, being carried saved her the trouble of tiring out her wings, though she could fly all day and night if she chose to. She didn’t want to leave her Silica defenseless.

They came across someone and Silica pulled Pina closer as she tried to hide in the shadows.

“--All this hard work, to not catch that girl?” said the blond haired, green eyed… person with wings and a golden crown on his head; that made him look like a demented butterfly.

All in all, he wasn’t someone that Silica or Pina wanted to actually meet. And Silica knew that so far, she and Pina had been lucky not to be noticed by anyone, and it was only a matter of time before they were caught.

Slowly, Silica began to back up, this person, whoever this was, sounded to be unhinged, which could be very bad for her in particular, especially if she was caught right now. “Pina, we need to find a way out of here…” Silica breathed.

Pina had turned her attention elsewhere and had started growling lowly. Silica, be more attentive to your surroundings! she tried to direct her young partner, staring up at a huge Slug that would find them if the young human girl didn’t pay attention.

Silica’s head whipped around to stare at her [Familiar] with wide eyes. Had she really understood Pina just now? “P-Pina?” She asked as a shadow was cast over the two fugitives.

A slimy appendage snaked around Silica’s leg and pulled her into the air with a yelp.

Pina dove, taking a bite out of the Slug, spitting out the mouthful almost at once. Yuck! Pina hissed angrily, she wasn’t going to let this thing hurt her Silica!

The Slug pulled Silica out of her hiding spot, “Hey Boss, I found the Test Subject that got out.” the mob said.

“Let go of me!” Silica protested, struggling.

“Don’t bother trying to struggle, I’m a lot stronger than you are,” the mob said, waving a tentacle from side to side in front of her, as if scolding her like she was a small child.. “Or you can, not that it will- yeowch!” He screamed out as Silica surged her head forward and bit down on it.

Silica easily flipped and landed on her feet, before turning to face the mob.

“I’ll have you know that I was level seventy-six when Kirito-sama beat [SAO]! I’m stronger than I look!” She snarled.

“What’s going on?” Came a new voice, causing Silica to turn. It was the person from before.

This is bad, she thought frantically as she turned to run. She only made it a few steps before she suddenly became a lot heavier and fell to the ground with a crash. She heard Pina let out a squawk as she too was pulled down. ‘They had better not hurt Pina!’ Silica thought savagely.

She glared up at the man as he stood over her.

The man sneered, eyeing her like a piece of meat. “Place this… thing in the cage.”

‘Cage…?’ Silica wondered as the slug picked her back, up, taking care to keep its tentacles out of biting range, and carried her out of the sterile, white labs. They were going to put her in a cage? Silica didn’t like the sound of that, and… Pina was still on the floor! “Pina!”

If Pina got left behind, what would these sick people do to her friend? Silica reached toward her friend, trying to reach for her friend when the man who seemed to be in charge kicked her [Familiar] in her direction.

“Let us…study how this [Subject] interacts with the… Program…” The man began to laugh.

If he hurt Pina, I will rip his ears off and strangle him with with them, she thought as she managed to catch the feathered dragon.

Jotunheim

Kirito and Asuna both spread their arms and legs to slow their descent as their wings disappeared. The view was amazing, the rolling hills and mountains of snow, the ice in the air.

“This is amazing!” Asuna called to Kirito and Leafa over the whistling of the wind. “But it’s cold…”

“We can equip some cloaks when we land.” Kirito called back. “And Leafa, I thought you said it was okay to walk there!”

“How was I supposed to know?” His sister called out. “It’s not like I know where all the entrances to Jotunheim are, let alone would have known about the occasional hole just opening up on us!”

Asuna giggled, she often got into similar arguments with her own brother.

Kirito rolled his eyes, “I’m not blaming you for anything Leafa.”

Leafa pouted.

When they were getting close to the ground, Kirito and Asuna flipped over and landed on their feet. Opening his menu, Kirito tossed Asuna her old [Cloak of Moonlight] as he pulled on one of his heavier cloaks. Looking to Leafa, he pulled another cloak out of his inventory and tossed it to her. From its thickness, it was probably one of the ones he got on the floors that simulated one of the Outer Planets, or maybe Mars.

This place is cold, but not as cold as those floors were, Asuna remembered with a shiver.

Her [Cloak of Moonlight] was good enough, [Undines] had a higher tolerance for cold, after all but it would stand out due to how thin it was. And Asuna wanted to not stand out more than she already did here for reasons she couldn’t quite explain even to herself. Asuna opened her own menu and pulled out the cloak Ashley had made her. “So, any idea on how we are supposed to get out of here?” She asked turning to Leafa curiously.

“I’ve never been to Jotunheim, so no,” Leafa replied. “But there has to be a way out. There are four entrances near Arun, I know that much. Arun is to the northeast of where we were, so I think there are two we can use to get out of here, one that’s west of Arun and one to the south.”

“Do you know where they are here?” Kirito asked, raising an eyebrow.

Leafa hung her head. “No, sorry,” She apologized.

Kirito took a few steps and gave Leafa a few head pats. “That’s ok, getting lost in MMOs is part of the fun.”

“Not when we’re on a time crunch, though,” Asuna said before turning and looking around. As much as she didn’t want to, she might have to use… her memories. Kayaba had been working on this game, basing it off of his memories of the Alfheim that existed back then… and just might now. But that depended on how much Captain Heathcliff knew and just how complete those memories were.

Not to mention whether or not Princess Serenity even knew anything of this part of Alfheim.

She didn’t like it, but it was the best shot they had in getting out of here in a timely manner. Let’s see… we were southwest of Arun, and there were entrances to the west and south… if I knew exactly where we were in relation to Arun… She started mulling it over, hoping for either a fragment of memory, or maybe a flash of inspiration. Recalling Serenity’s memories wasn’t as cut and dried as simply thinking and pulling them to the surface. They came due to what inputs she received from her surroundings. Whether it be the terrain, the conditions of the area she was in, a mob they ran into… it was a rare event when she could simply pull a memory to the surface.

To make it worse, she could feel Kirito’s gaze burning into her back, at least he knew to be silent for the moment… But she knew he would ask eventually.

The entrance would be outside of Arun… She continued to think.

“Oni-” Leafa’s voice was silenced as Kirito covered her mouth with a hand.

“Shush,” he breathed in her ear. “Asuna-hime needs to concentrate.” Kirito turned his attention back to Asuna.

Asuna looked around once more and took a step to the northeast. She didn’t get a fragment of memory, or a flash of inspiration. Serenity probably didn’t know about the details of Alfheim save for the most general things, but it felt right to be going in this direction. Unlike Aincrad, perhaps what she knew came from maps, rather than experience.

Better than nothing, she thought.

She turned to look at Kirito and Leafa. “I think I know where--” There was a monstrous roar and a huge mob spawned, it wasn’t one that Asuna had ever seen, or Princess Serenity for that matter. “W-what is that?” Asuna wondered.

“That’s a [Deviant God]!” Leafa called, “It probably spawned because we weren’t moving.” Kirito’s little sister sounded quite scared.

“Well then, we’d better get moving or more will spawn!” Kirito shouted as he pulled his swords free.

Leafa nodded as she ducked behind her brother. “We need to leave, why are you getting ready to fight it?”

“Because we need to distract it!” Kirito replied, his posture shifting just slightly. His swords snapped up in [Cross Guard] when the [Deviant God] attacked him from above.

“Get moving!” Kirito shouted at them both, making it an order.

“Yes [Commander]!” Asuna called back as she grabbed Leafa’s wrist, “Leafa, you need to trust that Kirito-kun will be ok, you need to believe it, now let’s go!”

“But…!”

“Have faith in him!” Asuna said sharply as she pulled Leafa along. “He knows what he’s doing!”

Leafa opened her mouth to protest once again before thinking otherwise. She just got a grim set to her mouth and followed Asuna. She’d wanted to play with her brother, but she still had no idea what her brother was capable of doing.

She heard a “[Starburst Stream]!” and then the sound of something shattering.

She and Asuna came across one of the [Evil Gods] being attacked by a [Deviant God] while waiting for Kirito to catch up with them.

“Huh, that’s strange,” Leafa whispered.

“What is?” Asuna asked, turning to the younger girl.

“Because I’ve never heard of the [Evil Gods] and [Deviant Gods] fighting,” Leafa said. “Nothing in the lore or rumors indicated it.”

Asuna’s eyes narrowed, they needed to help one of them… The Reborn Moon Princess took a gamble and rushed to help the smaller, [Evil God].

“Nee-chan, wait!” Leafa called, hurrying after Asuna.

Asuna let out a yell as she attacked. The [Deviant God] turned, attacking her in turn and Asuna nimbly dodged it.

“Asuna, [Switch]!” A voice called from behind them, an indication that Kirito had caught up with them.

Asuna jumped back, neatly avoiding another attack by the [Deviant God] as she did so. “I’ll leave it to you then, [Commander].”

There was a blur of black, and Kirito appeared, catching the [Deviant God’s] huge axe.

Asuna pulled her [Rapier] back and her blade began to glow. “[Moonlit Meteor],” She said, blasting forward. The three hit attack of [Divine Right] wasn’t the most powerful attack the skill had, in fact, it was one of the first that Asuna had unlocked, but there was enough power in it for this fight.

Kirito broke contact with the [Deviant God] and knelt, not even feeling it when his partner used him as a springboard to reach the huge mob’s face.

Her attack, killed the mob and Asuna landed a few feet from Kirito and Leafa.

Leafa was pouting. “I feel so useless…” Her shoulders slumped.

“Why do you feel that way, Sugu?” Asuna asked curiously as Kirito hugged his little sister.

“You are a valuable member of the [Party],” Kirito agreed.

“Because all I’ve done is leave the fighting to you and Nee-chan!” Leafa looked away, “Why did I even come here?”

“Hey, just because we don’t have the time to figure out where you belong abilities wise doesn’t mean that you aren’t valuable.” Kirito refuted. “We will just have to figure out how you fit later. Asuna-hime and I are on a mission to find our missing troops, remember? And you have knowledge of the game that Asuna and I need.”

Leafa nodded as the [Evil God] approached them.

Asuna, Kirito, and Leafa tensed.

“Mama, Papa, I don’t think it wants to hurt us.” Strea said, popping her head out of Kirito’s left breast pocket.

Kirito looked down at his younger daughter. “Then what does it want?”

“I think it wants to help us.” Yui said from Asuna’s pocket.

Asuna smiled, “We will gladly have your aid, but how can you help us?” She asked, taking a step forward.

The [Evil God] began to glow and change shape. It grew bigger and Asuna could see it sprouting wings. Asuna’s eyes widened. She knew what this thing was. “A [Beast God]…” She breathed.

“[Beast God]?” Kirito asked.

“Yes, they are the ones who watch over those that get lost in Jotunheim.” Asuna smiled, “They aid the Fey that fall from Alfheim and ferry them back to the surface if needed.”

“Wait, does that mean that this mob can take us to Arun?” Leafa asked in confusion.

Asuna nodded, “Our new friend needs a name though.”

Kirito looked thoughtful. “How about Tonkii?” he asked.

“Yeah! I like that name!” Leafa agreed.

Asuna nodded, “Well then, let’s climb onto Tonkii’s back and get out of here.”

Kawagoe

“Kazuto, before you leave, I have something for you.” Kirigaya Kenshin said from the doorway to the family Dojo.

Kirito turned, “What is it, Grandfather?” he asked curiously.

“Those Shinai, with how strong you are, they are likely to break if you use them seriously.” Kenshin said, his eyes on the pair of Shinai that Kirito and Asuna had been walking around with.

“I know, unfortunately, we don’t have any other choice at the moment…” Kirito sighed. “I know that we need them for the Dojo, but it doesn’t feel right to go out of the house without them. And carrying blades, even sheathed, requires permits. Even with Shinai, we’re in a legal grey area, since we’re not Kendo practitioners.”

Kenshin smiled, “Bokken are much tougher,” he said, holding out something that caused Kirito’s eyes to widen.

Kirito pointed to the Bokken, “But, that belonged to Grandmother, didn’t it?” He asked in surprise. “Why are you giving me this?”

“Because you need something that won’t break the first time you use it.” Kenshin chuckled. “I have put in an order so that you and your finacée will have one. Until they arrive, you can use Kaoru’s.”

Kirito’s mouth went dry. “I understand, Grandfather.” he breathed, taking the Bokken with slightly shaking hands, “I’ll be careful with it.” He bowed to the man.

“Go on you two, get going.” Kenshin smiled.

Kirito nodded, carefully replacing the Shinai with the Bokken. Then he took Asuna’s hand. “Let’s go.”

Kirito looked down at the list in his hands as he followed Asuna around the store, “Well, we only have to get three more things I think…”

“That’s good.” Asuna replied, turning to look at him over the small cart they were using. “I’m starting to get a bit tired.”

“Me too,” Kirito agreed with a nod, not looking up from the list. “Did you get the soy sauce?”

“Right here.” Asuna turned back to the shelves.

“Then the next thing we need is…” Kirito looked farther down the list.

Kirito and Asuna carefully packed the groceries away and left the store. “So, when do you think your mother will let me stay at your place?” Kirito asked as he took Asuna’s hand.

“Not for a while, I think,” Asuna shook her head, barely noticing the blond man with green eyes that walked past them. “You know that my mother thinks that you are a social climber.”

“Which is unfortunate.” Kirito huffed, “That my family might get our honor back is merely a bonus to marrying you. It would not have mattered had we been born to the same class you know.”

“We know that,” Asuna leaned into his side as they walked. “But mother just does not understand yet.”

“Well, I have two years to win her over, it’s not as if we really need to worry about that.” Kirito shrugged.

“And if you can’t win her over?” Asuna asked.

“Then we only have to wait another year for you to come of age.” Kirito answered easily, “It’s not as if I’m going to have trouble getting permission, and I don’t want to cause friction between your parents.”

“Oh, Kirito-kun, you are so wonderful…” Asuna sighed, resting her head on his shoulder happily. Her fiancé was so thoughtful!

Kirito chuckled before freezing in place. “Something’s wrong…” he breathed. Sweat dripped down the back of his neck, his hand twitching towards the Bokken at his side.

Asuna looked up, casting her senses out as well. “You’re right, something feels off.” Her hand slowly shifted to rest on the Shinai that she was still borrowing.

Kirito’s eyes traveled over the deserted street. “Something smells.”

“Give me your Energy…” came several whispers as five Youma appeared out of seemingly thin air, surrounding Kirito and Asuna.

Kirito hissed. “So this is what I was feeling!”

“Good catch, but how do we fight them? This isn’t SAO…” Asuna pointed out.

“I don’t know, but we can’t just let them take our energy.” Kirito said, carefully pulling the Bokken free of the belt loop he’d attached it to.

Asuna switched her grip on her Shinai.

And together, they waited for the Youma to make a move.

Minato Ward

“Mars, the Mercury Computer has picked up several Youma in Kawagoe, where our Princess is currently residing with her fiancé.” Senshi Mercury said over the radio. “Be careful if you come across them.”

“I hear you, Mercury. I’m on my way.” Senshi Mars replied as she took to the rooftops.

Kawagoe

Kirito caught the claws of a Youma on his Bokken, “This would be easier if I had two swords instead of one.” He grumbled. “I know Grandfather meant well, but this Bokken isn’t right, it’s not long enough and the weight feels off…”

Without realizing what he was doing, Kirito’s stance shifted, he brought his Bokken up, his feet slid slightly farther apart, and his sword began to glow.

Kirito took a single step, and a moment later, he was on the other side of the Youma as it fell to dust.

Blinking not quite in confusion, Kirito took a single moment to look between his Bokken and the Youma Dust on the ground.

Then he smirked. This was familiar, he could do this… “Hime, leave them to me?”

“Of course.” Asuna replied as she dodged another Youma Claw.

A few minutes later, there was only a single Youma left to deal with.

Kirito was getting ready to deal with it when his instincts told him to dodge.

“Fire Soul!” Came a voice from above as Kirito rolled out of the way.

“Hot!” He hissed, clapping at his shoulder, where a small fire had started on his jacket.

“Kirito-kun!” Asuna rushed to his side, pulling out a water bottle as she did so. Opening the bottle, she poured it over his jacket, putting the fire out. “Are you ok?”

“I’m fine,” Kirito gave his fiancée a smile, “Even if my jacket is a bit singed…”

Asuna giggled quietly as someone jumped down from a nearby rooftop.

“Are the two of you all right?” the stranger asked calmly.

Kirito and Asuna turned to the woman. She seemed to be wearing some kind of Miko Uniform, with what looked almost like Samurai armor over it, to allow her protection while allowing her an almost normal range of motion.

“Badb, watch where you are aiming next time! You almost hit Kirito-kun!” Asuna reprimanded.

Kirito put a hand on her shoulder. “We are fine, Senshi Mars, though, if you could warn us next time, if at all possible?”

Looking from side to side and deciding that it was safe, Senshi Mars returned to her civilian form. Her Samurai armor disappeared, though her Miko Uniform did not, her face becoming visible.

Asuna was shaking, “Badb, you do know that we do not have access to armor yet, don’t you?”

“Forgive me, Princess,” ‘Badb’ bowed low, “I had heard that your companion was the strongest and had the best instincts in SAO, though perhaps I should have given you some warning…” She gave Kirito a sheepish smile.

“Nothing that a spin cycle won’t fix.” Kirito shrugged, “Asuna-hime, you need to calm down.”

Asuna sighed, “Well at least we don’t have to replace anything…” Her eyes slid back to ‘Badb’, “I’m still angry with you.”

‘Badb’ raised her hands in surrender. “My name is Hino Rei, I am pleased to meet you both. Though, uh… please excuse my temper at times.”

“I am Kirigaya Kazuto,” Kirito replied, “Though in combat situations Kirito will work better.”

Rei nodded in understanding, turning her eyes back to her princess.

“And I am Yuuki Asuna.” Asuna introduced herself shortly.

Kirito fell to his knees without warning a moment later.

“Kirito-kun!” Asuna knelt next to him.

“It’s nothing, I’m just… really, really tired all of a sudden…” He replied, panting slowly. He tried to push himself back to his feet and found Rei holding a hand out to help.

“I’m not surprised that you are tired,” Rei said as she helped Asuna to support him. “This is the first time you’ve used your skills outside of any simulation, right? If they draw on magic, then your exhaustion means that you either have only recently unlocked it, haven’t used it much, are not used to using it the way you did, or any of the above. So you’re basically at a beginner’s level.” She chucked. “I remember how drained I felt when I was still learning the ropes of my civilian role, and that was before I became a Senshi. Just take it easy and don’t try something beyond what you can do. Exhaustion is one thing, but going too far can injure you, if you’re lucky. ”

“It is.” Kirito agreed as he slowly stepped away from Rei and Asuna when he had gotten his balance back. “And you’re saying I have to get used to it and get into magical shape before it starts being less draining.” He shook his head. “Anyway, Asuna and I need to get going, my parents and Grandfather will get worried if we are out much longer.” He gave Rei a bow that a military leader would give to an equal and held an arm out for Asuna.

Chapter Text

Alfheim Online: Staircase to Arun

Asuna was the first to step out of the staircase leading to Jotunheim and had her breath stolen away by the sight of Arun, lit by Fairy Lights among the roots of Yggdrasil. “It’s amazing…” she breathed as Leafa and Kirito finally caught up with her.

“I hope this place still exists,” Kirito agreed, “We need to get going, we can’t just stand here after all. Silica and the others are counting on us to wake them.”

Asuna nodded, “They are. And getting here to Arun was just half the battle.” She and Kirito paused in their steps and turned around when they heard Leafa yawn.

“Tired?” Kirito asked, not quite in concern.

“Yes actually,” Leafa rubbed at one of her eyes, “We are going to have to continue tomorrow if you want my continued help I’m afraid.”

“Then, let’s find an Inn and [Log out] for the night.” Kirito suggested.

Asuna nodded, “That sounds like a really good idea.” Asuna agreed, “Let’s go.”

Arun

Asuna looked around as they walked into Arun. “I wonder if Moira helped Kayaba with Alfheim too, because this all looks familiar to the girl in my head…”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if Setsuna had.” Kirito agreed, sending his wife a look. “Let’s find an Inn.”

Asuna blinked, blushing. “I guess we’ll be testing the [Sleep Log Out] feature of the [AmuSphere]…” She smiled, “Right, Kirito-kun?”

Kirito wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Yeah.”

Leafa pointedly looked away from her brother and his fiancée. When they talked like that… it was embarrassing!

Kirito was at the counter, buying rooms for the three of them when he thought of something, “Hey, Sugu?”

“Yes Onii-chan?” Leafa asked, looking over at him.

“It occurs to me that I should ask this: Are the rooms in [Alfheim] soundproof? They were in [SAO].”

Leafa thought for a moment about why he might be asking before going bright red. “They are.”

“Good,” Kirito said as he rented two rooms, “That means that Asuna and I won’t disturb you.”

“Pervert!” Leafa accused.

“Why, Leafa, I will have you know that I am only performing my duties as a Husband to Asuna-hime…” Kirito replied with a sly smirk.

“I don’t need to know what your sex life is like, Onii-chan!” Leafa squawked smacking him upside the head in retaliation.

Kirito took the hit, though he could have very easily sidestepped or blocked the hit. He wasn’t sure if he deserved it, but this was his sister, and he didn’t want to cause her any of the discomfort that numbness that replaced pain caused. And he laughed, because he didn’t feel any of the numbness himself. “Was that supposed to hurt, Sugu?”

Leafa gave her brother a glare and snatched one of the two keys that had appeared on the counter. “Goodnight!” She said shortly, with a slight anger to her voice that did nothing to hide her embarrassment as she turned and stomped up the stairs.

“Goodnight, Leafa,” Asuna and Kirito called back as Asuna got out of her chair.

Asuna’s eyes became half lidded and her smile seductive as she walked up to him, took the key and made to follow Leafa. “Are you coming or what?” Her voice was a low almost purr that sent shivers down Kirito’s spine.

Kirito was quick to follow her. The very way she moved was a promise.

Crest of Yggdrasil: Titania’s Cage

Silica did her best to burn the Slug-Type Minions that were locking her cage with her eyes. She wasn’t sure what was going on, but it could not be any good. Once she was sure the Slug-Type Mobs were gone, she sighed, turning her attention to Pina. “What are we going to do, Pina? I doubt we’ll be able to get out…”

Pina nuzzled Silica comfortingly. “Don’t worry Silica, I’m sure there’s something we can do!”

“Maybe, but we’re prisoners again…” Silica turned her attention to the game below. “This is bad… We might be out of [SAO] but it seems that we are still trapped in a game. Our prison has changed, but it is still a prison.”

Silica brought a hand down in an unconscious motion, out of habit more than any conscious effort, knowing that it likely would not do anything. So she was slightly surprised that her menu came up, with all but the messaging option greyed out. “What…?”

That… demented looking Butterfly hadn’t turned off her ability to use the [Menu]? She sat there, staring for a few short moments as she realized what this meant. Her eyes widened as she opened the [Messaging] option and selected her [Friend List]. Most of the names were greyed out, and she had to restrain an intake of breath at first. They had cleared the game, those on her list were still alive, they had to be. But she noticed a few were showing that they were active here and probably looking for her and the others. “Any ideas, Pina?” she asked, her voice barely even a whisper as she turned to her friend.

“Might I suggest Kirito?” Pina replied, landing on Silica’s head.

Silica looked over her list and found him. It was highlighted, showing he was active and online, a good sign. Trust the [Commander] to go looking for those who hadn’t been logged off. She spied another name under his, Asuna. The [Princess] was here as well.

“Maybe I should send you to him as well,” Silica mused as she selected Kirito’s name from the list and started composing an urgent message. She finished it quickly, as it was only a request for help and where she was, and hit the [Send] button to transmit it. Lind had drilled it into her that if she had something important to send in a message, keep it brief, to the point, and with only the most pertinent details. “Because then, that madman can’t hurt you to hurt me or vice versa.”

Pina nodded. “I don’t like it, but I will see if I can find him.”

Silica lifted her friend off her head, hugging the [Petit Feathered Dragon] to her chest as she moved to the bars of her prison. “Good luck, Pina.” She said. “Kirito is close, and there is a city below us, so check there first. He should be there, and he brought the [Princess] with him.”

Pina squeezed through the bars and turned to give Silica one last look.

“[Queens of Old] speed you on your way, Pina,” Silica said and then smirked, “May the Force be with you.”

Pina cooed softly before turning and bolting down in the direction of Arun below.

Arun

The tiny [Feathered Dragon] flew through the wide streets and alleys, looking in windows as she flew by, ignoring the startled exclamations of those who saw her. She knew what the young human she was looking for looked like. She had no doubt that she’d find him in short order, that is, if he was in this city.

Of course, if he was in this city, she had to find him. Unlike Silica, she couldn’t use the same methods to check the locations of someone. But she had eyes, she had her ears, and she had her nose. Those would suffice.

SIlica had said that he was nearby, so he should be in the city. She landed on a lamp and sniffed the air a bit. The scents and sounds were familiar to her, but slightly wrong. While it sounded and smelled like one of the… towns? Cities? Whatever. The scents and sounds were close to what those places back where she came from were like, but it wasn’t quite the same. They were dulled and muted, lacking the life and vibrancy that she knew such places should have.

Almost like where she met Silica.

She sniffed the air again and caught a slight change in scent. Familiar. Slightly different, but familiar. It almost smelled like Kirito. Maybe his scent changed here? She would have to check.

She took wing and followed the scent. The worst that could happen was that it wasn’t the male human that Silica admired so much, but it was a start. And maybe Kirito had brought his mate with him. Silica admired her as well.

Pina didn’t understand everything spoken, but she could understand enough. If those two were here, then the one who had captured her Silica was about to learn what it was like to be hunted.

Those two might not have whelped any of the humans in that strange place, but they all followed them like they were the dam and sire of a nest. And those two were very protective of their own, from threats that came from within and from without, like a proper dam and sire should be.

And even if the scents didn’t lead her to the two she was looking for, if they were anything like Kirito and the [Princess], then they would help, even if she couldn’t communicate with them like she could with Silica.

The scent was getting stronger. She alighted on a windowsill and looked into where the scent was coming from and paused. Her nose didn’t lie. This was the place where the scents were coming from. They looked and smelled different, but now that she was closer, it was clear that this was the two her Silica sent her to find.

She decided that she would get their attention. After they were done with what they were doing, however.

Asuna lay on top of Kirito, panting slightly as they both came down from their high. “I can’t wait until we can do this IRL…” Asuna breathed, nuzzling Kirito’s bare chest.

“Two years is a long time.” Kirito breathed as a [Notification] began blinking in front of him and he gently lifted his wife so that he could sit up. He hissed slightly as he sat up and tapped the [Notification]. “Silica…” he breathed as he read the short plea.

Asuna gasped slightly as she read the note over his shoulder. A moment later the sheet they’d been laying under was wrapped around her form and she was at the window, throwing it open. “Pina!”

Asuna pulled the little cat sized [Feathered Dragon] off the windowsill and into the room, closing the window as softly, but swiftly as she could. Asuna said nothing as she turned her attention back to Kirito, whose eyes were hard.

“Well, now we know that Sugu was right…” Kirito hissed. “The question now I suppose, is we should put off going to sleep to retrieve our still [Sleeping] soldiers… or do we get some rest and continue tomorrow?” He turned hard, furiously calm, calculating eyes to his wife.

Asuna looked out the window, up at the [Crest of Yggdrasil] before turning back to her husband. “I don’t think we should wait. Every day they [Sleep] is another day to week that they need for rehab.” She said seriously, one hand moving to scratch behind Pina’s ears. “No, I think we need to at least attempt to free Silica, she might be in reach, though we will have to fly as fast as possible to get that high, and we have Pina here to guide us.”

Kirito gave his wife a cold smirk. “That’s true…” he agreed slowly, his voice ice cold. “That means we need to go…”

He swiped down with his left hand and [Equipped] his [End Game] gear, checking both [Dark Repulsor] and [Elucidator’s] durability before standing from the bed. “Get dressed. I am going to get Leafa if she’s still online and awake. We are then visiting a [Blacksmith] before seeing if we need to take on the [Grand Quest].”

Asuna nodded silently, mimicking what he had just done. “And I was hoping to get some sleep tonight…” She grumbled.

“Be thankful for our [Sleep Deprivation] training.” Kirito grunted.

“Oh, I am.” Asuna said, “I just wish we didn’t have to use it.”

“You and me both.” Kirito agreed.

Kirito took a breath as he gazed up and up and up. “That… is a long way to fall,” he said idly.

“That it is,” Asuna said. “We need to make sure we miss the ground on the way down.”

Leafa snorted. “Nee-chan, that was bad and you should feel bad,” she said.

“It lightened the mood, though,” Kirito said with a chuckle. “That is important at times, even when things are serious. So, how do you want to go about it? Go in, take on the [Grand Quest], probably face an army, kill said army, and then steal all of Sugou’s stuff? Or should we just bypass all of that and just steal Silica from him?”

“The latter,” Asuna said. “We know where she is and I haven’t heard of any barriers outside of the [Altitude Limit].” She looked thoughtful for a moment. “And I might just have a way for us to get past that.”

Leafa looked at her. “Really?” She asked. “That limit is a hard limit, you can’t fly higher than that and your wings cut off if you try.”

“But you keep moving for a bit, right?” Asuna asked.

“Well yeah, but there is this little thing called gravity that likes to grab you.”

“But if we’re going fast enough, then by the time Newton decides to argue the matter with us, we should be high enough.” Asuna said.

“Wait, what?” Leafa asked as Kirito smirked.

“Nam'ma mahiḷe beḷaku, gāḷiyante namage vēgavannu nīḍi,” Asuna chanted.

“Wait, what kind of spell is that?” Leafa asked as it took effect. She yelped as Asuna shot into the air like a bullet.

“Leafa,” Kirito said. “Just start flying and make sure to miss the branches on the way up.” He manifested his wings and took to the air as well.

“Onii-chan, wait!” Leafa shouted as she followed him. She almost stopped flying in shock as the speed at which she was going up became apparent, with the bark of the tree going past her in a blur. She sighed a moment later. “I have a very bad feeling about this…” she said to herself as she caught up to her brother and his wife.

Asuna reached the [Altitude Limit] first and kept going, with Kirito and Leafa soaring past as well moments later.

Kirito and Leafa’s wings disappeared as soon as they breached the [Altitude Limit]. Asuna’s wings going back to their normal configuration.

Together they soared up, over the cage and the branch leading to the trunk of [Yggdrasil]. The three [Players] did a midair flip and came in for a three point landing not far from Silica’s cage.

Silica’s Cage

Silica looked up when she heard the hard ‘thumps’ that signified someone landing hard nearby. Her eyes widened and she smiled when she saw who it was. “[Commander], [Princess]!”

“Are you alright Silica?” Kirito asked.

“They haven’t really tried to do anything to me since they put me in here…” She admitted, eying what else was in the cage with her. “But a prison is still a prison… no matter how, pretty and how comfortable the bed is…” Seriously, the cage looked like it was made of gold and the bed was admittedly the softest she had laid on when she tried it out. So yes, it was pretty and comfortable, but she was still in a cage.

“What were they trying to do?” Asuna asked, stepping up to the bars.

“It felt as if they were trying to make me think and feel a certain way,” Silica explained, “But I used our version of-- what was that one term from that English book series again? You know, the one with that boy wizard? I think it was called Occlumency? That’s it. I used Occlumency to protect my mind.”

Kirito smirked. “Good work, Silica.” He praised the younger girl. He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a tiny girl that Silica recognized as one of his daughters. “Strea, do you think you can get Silica out of that cage?”

Strea flew to the lock to examine it. “Hm… No, I don’t think I can hack the lock without being noticed…” She turned back to him, sitting on the top of the lock, “What about you Papa, you’re an Admin, right?”

Silica’s eyebrows went up in confusion, but she kept her mouth shut. Now wasn’t the time to be asking such things. …No matter how curious she was about what that meant.

Kirito’s eyes narrowed in thought. “I can’t believe I forgot about that,” he said. “I’m not sure, but I won’t know unless I try.”

“Hang on, don’t try it yet,” Asuna said. “I think I know a spell that should hide what we are doing from anyone watching.” Asuna got a look of concentration on her face. “Namage heṇedu, rātriya ātma.” She chanted out.

Silica’s eyes widened. Wasn’t that the basic benediction to aid in [Stealth]? They could use those here?

“How is she casting magic with those words?” The other one asked. Silica turned her attention to the questioner and started. She looked almost like… no, she couldn’t be working for him. She wouldn’t be with the [Commander] and the [Princess] if she was, and she didn’t recall anyone looking like her. Only that guy with the butterfly wings and the slug-like mobs.

Or were they even mobs? Silica opened her mouth to ask who the other was, but the [Commander] beat her to it.

“Silica, this is Leafa, she is one of the [Players] of this game… and my sister.” the [Commander] said, gesturing to the blonde haired, green eyed girl. That done, he brought up his [Menu]. “Now then… let’s see…” He began to manipulate something that Silica couldn’t see, perhaps the admin menu? She had to ask him about that, but more importantly, she wanted to be free. She could always ask him later.

She heard a click and turned to see the door of the cage opening. She took a step toward in and paused, looking back at Kirito, who was scowling at something before he sighed. “Of course it wouldn’t be this easy,” he said before turning to Asuna and Leafa. “I can’t log her out, let alone anyone else,” he explained. “ I don’t have the User Privileges, even as an Admin.”

“But you were able to open the cage,” Asuna said. “That’s a start, at least.”

“Yeah, a lot of good that does us right now though.” Kirito hissed, he turned his gaze to Silica, “In case you didn’t know, Heathcliff is Kayaba. He was the one who built [SAO], and he used the same source code to build this game at the same time.”

“The Captain is who?” Silica asked before shaking her head. “Never mind. How is he?”

“Very angry that his [Simulation] was used as a vehicle to kill people.” Kirito replied. “And no, why he gave me an Admin account is classified, for the moment at least.” He explained.

Silica nodded. She could tell that he wasn’t telling her everything, but she could live with that. “So… what now?” She asked.

“Now,” Asuna said. “We get you off the tree and hide you for the time being while we work something out.” She turned to Kirito and Leafa. “One of us will have to log off, contact Heathcliff, and see if he knows what we can do.”

“Um, how are we going to get off the tree?” Silica asked.

“We’re jumping down,” Asuna said.

“Oh… okay,” Silica said. “Wait, what?!” She screeched.

Kirito grinned as he scooped the younger player up. “Hang on Silica!” he told her before leaping off the branch.

Silica screamed in fear as the wind rushed past them.

Asuna rolled her eyes turning to Leafa, “You coming?”

“There’s no other way to get down so I kind of have no choice…” Leafa shrugged.

Arun

Kirito suddenly twisted in the air, wings popping out of his back. And Silica’s breath caught as they soared over Arun.

“We can fly in this game?” Silica asked, looking up at Kirito.

“Yes, Asuna, Leafa, and I can teach you how later.” Kirito replied with a bright smile.

Silica gave him a narrowed-eyed look, “Why do I not believe you, [Commander]?” she wondered.

Kirito huffed, “Don’t be so skeptical please,” he grumbled. “We will teach you, after we wake everyone up.” He came in for a landing by the Inn that he, Leafa and Asuna had rooms in.

Leafa and Asuna landed a few moments later. “So, who’s going to log off and contact Aki?” Leafa asked as they all quickly entered, hiding Silica from sight.

“I will,” said Kirito after he put Silica down. “Heathcliff is my [Mentor].”

“We’ll see you in a few minutes then.” Asuna smiled.

Kirito opened his [Menu] and logged out.

Kirigaya Residence

Kirito carefully disentangled himself from Asuna, gave Luna a scratch under her chin and pulled off his NerveGear. “Hey Luna?”

“Yes?” the black Mau asked.

“Do you know if my brother is here?” He asked as he got up.

“I think I saw him heading into the Dojo with your Grandfather.” Luna replied as she leaped onto his shoulder.

“Then that’s where I’m going to check first.” Kirito said as he stood up, Luna carefully settling herself across Kirito’s well defined shoulders.

Akihiko blocked Kirigaya Kenshin’s strike, “So, Grandfather, why did you want to do this with me?”

“This is a “Manly Bonding’ activity, and it has been a very long time since I got to spend time with you.”

Akihiko Kayaba had nothing to say to that. But he appreciated his Grandfather’s motives.

Both men turned when the door to the Dojo opened and Kazuto walked through the door, a now familiar black cat lounging on his shoulders.

“Kazu, I thought you were going to wake the Sleepers?” Kayaba said in bemusement.

“My Admin credentials are not high enough to log any of them out.” Kazuto replied formally. “They should have been, right Aki?”

“Yes… You should have been able to, since your account is only just lower than mine…” Kayaba’s postured changed just slightly. “Use mine then.”

“I’m afraid I don’t know your log in information, Heathcliff.” Kazuto said quietly.

Heathcliff took a few steps and leaned down to whisper into his brother’s ear.

Kazuto’s eyes widened for a moment. “Thank you, Brother.” he smiled, and a moment later, Heathcliff bent over.

“Kazuto… what are you doing?” Kenshin asked.

Kazuto gave his Grandfather a calm, tranquil smile. “Getting back at my older brother for making me believe that I’d killed him.” Kazuto turned back to the door, “I’ll have the Sleepers awakened by dinner, now that I have what I need.”

“Have a pleasant spar with Grandfather, Aki.” Kazuto grinned cheerfully as he left the Dojo.

“Akihiko, you did what?!” His grandfather asked.

Luna jumped from Kirito’s shoulders when he got back to his room. “Good luck.”

“I don’t need luck, I have skill, and the Force is with us.” Kirito replied as he lay down next to Asuna and put his NerveGear back on.

Alfheim Online: Arun

Kirito limbered up as he appeared between Asuna and Silica. “So, I have what we need, what is our plan for dealing with Sugou?”

Asuna looked around, “Let’s go inside before we discuss anything.” She ordered quietly.

“Of course, [Princess],” Kirito agreed, having gotten long used to that tingle that had made its way down his spine.

“Yes, [Princess],” Silica bowed.

Leafa shivered, unused to that tingle that had just gone down her spine.

Kirito opened the door for the girls and held it for them, “After you, ladies.”

Asuna giggled, “Why thank you, Kirito-kun,” She turned to Silica and Leafa. “Are you coming?”

Silica followed first.

“Leafa, hurry up.” Kirito called, snapping his younger sister back to virtual reality.

Softly, Kirito closed the door to the inn room they’d rented for Silica. “Ok, Heathcliff’s given me the credentials to his account. So, are we going to wait for tomorrow or go now?”

“We do it now,” Asuna said. “If he’s logged in, there is no way he didn’t notice. If he isn’t, his subordinates will be notifying him right now and he will be logged in. Either way, we need to do this while we have the momentum and before he can plan anything.”

“My blade is yours to command,” Silica said.

“You’re staying here, Silica,” Asuna ordered and held up a hand when the younger player opened her mouth to protest. “Right now, you’re hidden from him. And I don’t want to give him someone to use as a hostage. This is like when we went in to take on [Laughing Coffin], only with it also being a rescue mission.”

Silica looked at her and nodded in grudging acceptance.

“Don’t worry, we will handle him.” Kirito said with confidence. “I managed to fight Kayaba on an even footing, and he knew the system better than anyone. He created it, after all. The AI that’s supposed to run this simulation doesn’t like Sugou or what he’s doing. She is looking for a justification within the system’s rules to ruin his plans. And now that I have Heathcliff’s log in information and access to his credentials the moment I use them…” He smirked and began to chuckle darkly.

“No Super Villain laughter, Kirito-kun,” Asuna chided. “You are the Big Good here, remember?”

Kirito pouted, causing Silica to giggle.

“So, are we going?” Leafa asked.

“Just Kirito and I,” Asuna said in a tone that brooked no argument. “You’re staying here, with Silica, just in case Sugou or one of his henchmen try something out here.”

Leafa opened her mouth to argue, she hadn’t come this far to not get a chance to fight by their side!

Silica put a hand on her arm. “Leafa,” she said. “I don’t like it either, but this… Sugou, isn’t going to be facing Kirito and Asuna the [Players], he’s going to be facing the [Commander] and the [Princess] going into battle.” She looked at them. “I know that look on their faces. They had that same look when they planned the raid that took down [Laughing Coffin].”

Leafa blinked, “What?” She hadn’t been there when that particular event had gone down, and Kou had never mentioned such a video.

Silica looked at Kirito and Asuna. “[Commander], [Princess], I’ll explain it to her,” she said. “Go, and get everyone out.”

Kirito and Asuna both nodded and walked out of the room.

“Explain?” Leafa asked. “Explain what? What do you mean a raid to take down [Laughing Coffin]? I mean, I’ve heard of them, they were a nasty bunch from everything I heard. You see, Asuna had a stream coming from her [Nerve Gear], but what do you mean about a raid?”

”A few months ago, we finally found out where they were based,” Silica said. “And I was there at the meeting which planned the raid. I didn’t participate in the raid, but I was there at the request of Lind, my [Guildmaster] to listen and ask questions or point out any flaws I could see in the planning. Not because I was some strategist, but because I wasn’t. If I could see something wrong with the plan, then so would the enemy because it was so obvious. Have you heard of the Evil Overlord’s List?”

“The what?”

“It’s a list that was developed before we were born on the internet, mostly listing things an Evil Overlord shouldn’t do, but a few things he should,” Silica said. “One of those things he should was to run his plan by a child and ask if they could see anything obvious about it. If they could, then it’s a bad idea to use that plan.” She smirked. “It works just as well when the good guys are doing it.”

“But what does that have to do with what you said about knowing the look in their eyes?” Leafa asked.

“I watched as they went out,” Silica said grimly. “And they all had that look in their eyes. They were going into a battle against other human beings. They might have said that the purpose was to stop capture them, but both the [Princess] and the [Commander] authorized the use of lethal force knowing full well what that meant.” She had a sad look in her eyes as her face became grim. “They weren’t marching to a normal battle by SAO’s standards, Leafa. They were marching to war.”

Kirito looked up at [Yggdrasil]. “Do you want to face the army of Mobs or should we just head up to the cage instead?” He turned his eyes to Asuna. “Any thoughts, [Princess]?”

“Hmm…” Asuna closed her eyes, “We’d have to use the Lunarian Speed Spell again.”

“True, but do we want Sugou to know about that?” Kirito returned his hard gaze to [Yggdrasil].

“I’m not sure it matters, but whatever we do, it has to be now.” Asuna whispered.

“Well then, perhaps the more direct approach is best.” Kirito agreed.

Asuna took a deep breath and cast the spell.

A moment later, no one was standing there.

Crest of Yggdrasil: Labs

“What do you mean that the [Test Subject] is gone?” Oberon snarled angily as he glared at his two employees.

“We’re sorry, Sugou-sama, but the video feed cut out for a good ten minutes before the picture came back.” one of the slugs said.

“There were three players that had somehow managed to get passed the [Altitude Limit], they were there by the cage you were going to keep [Titania] in.” The other one added, “And when the feed began working again, all three, plus the prisoner, were gone.”

“…Useless, the both of you are useless idiots!” Oberon exploded. “And you didn’t think to institute a [Barrier] between now and then?”

Kirito and Asuna came in for a landing by what used to be Silica’s prison. They landed so hard that purple polygons appeared beneath them.

Straightening, Kirito turned to look at the opening in the trunk. “I’m kind of glad that Silica got caught.”

“Because we would not have known one way or the other otherwise, right?” Asuna asked.

Kirito nodded, “Let’s go find Sugou.”

Asuna grinned. “I like the way you think, Kirito-kun.”

Within moments, Kirito and Asuna were gone from the area.

“Have you logged into your brother’s account?” Asuna asked as they dashed down the white, domed halls.

“No, I want to use the Admin station to log in.” Kirito replied. “We’ll need a distraction, so that he doesn’t realize what I’ve done.”

“In that case, I’ll fight him.” Asuna replied as they came to an open doorway.

Both [Players] hid to one side and looked inside. It was deserted, but the couple couldn’t be sure how long it would stay that way.

“Hurry, Kirito-kun. We don’t know when Sugou and his minions will get back.” Asuna looked around.

Kirito nodded and a moment later, he was on the other side of the room. The [Admin Station] looked different, but it still worked the same way as it had in [SAO], so it didn’t take him any time to get signed in.

Kirito paused when he noticed something. “Hey, Asuna,” he called.

“Yes?” came her voice from the door.

“I’m going to Ban Sugou.” Kirito replied, fingers already working. “And delete his account.”

“What if he tries to make another one?” Asuna wanted to know.

“I’ve banned his IP, so he won’t be able to.” Kirito answered as he moved onto his next task, logging the three hundred hostages off. “OK, I’m done, let’s go!” he called as he shut off the menu, taking the cardkey.

“Then we need to get out of here. I’m surprised that no one was logged in.” Asuna said as she started running back towards the cage.

“I’m surprised too, but maybe they’ve all gone home, it is getting late, Asuna-hime.” Kirito reminded her. “Once we log out, we need to head to Silica’s hospital.”

“Yes, I agree.” Asuna said as they burst out of [Yggdrasill’s] trunk and both dove off the branch.

Kirigaya Residence

Kirito reached for his NerveGear and pulled it off his head. “Asuna.” He said as he sat up.

Her NerveGear was already off her head and she was reaching for her coat. “Will we be taking your bike?” She asked as Luna jumped onto her shoulders.

Kirito rolled off his bed and reached for his coat. “I’ll tell everyone where we’re going and have someone call the police to meet with us at the hospital,” he said. “And then, we’re heading there to meet with Silica.”

Tokorozawa General Hospital

Asuna held onto Kirito tightly as he sped towards Silica’s hospital. She was ignoring Luna’s claws that were digging into her shoulders. She could handle discomfort.

Kirito turned to the right, into the hospital parking garage and found a place to park. Putting the kickstand down, Kirito pulled off his helmet and looked over his shoulder at his passenger.

Asuna pulled her helmet off and shook her hair out. “Let’s go.”

Kirito nodded and let her take the lead, after securing his bike.

Asuna’s senses screamed for her to move too late and she was caught by someone she recognized. Her arms were trapped at her sides and the person holding her started to sniff her hair.

She stiffened. She knew who this was, and he had no idea what he was dealing with. His arms felt rather weak to Asuna. She could easily break out of his hold. The moment she chose to, that is. She glanced at Kirito, who was shooting Sugou a glare and was already tensing his body to act. Luna was on the ground, her fur standing on end as she was clearly readying herself to pounce.

She noticed that he very carefully and deliberately kept his hands away from the bokken at his side. True, his hands would twitch in the direction of it, but he was restraining the urge to draw the weapon. Almost like...

“You really should let her go, Sugou-san.” Kirito said in a calm voice that completely hid the fury she knew he was feeling.

“Oh?” Sugou asked. “And what would happen if I didn’t?”

“This,” Asuna said coldly as she raised her foot and slammed it onto instep of his right foot, breaking it. If the sound she heard as the bones snapped under the force of the blow was anything to go by. Sugou yowled in pain and let her go. She jabbed her elbow into his stomach, forcing him back and turned to grab the dropping man by his hair.

Kirito took a step forward to stand over Sugou. “That.” He agreed with a smirk. “Nice job Asuna, though I’m actually surprised that you didn’t do more damage.” He turned to his fiancée.

“I don’t want to hurt him too badly,” Asuna said. “And I broke his foot as it is, so he won’t be going anywhere under his own power without a lot of pain.”

Kirito whistled, “You let him off really lightly then.” He gave her a smile that showed Sugou a lot of teeth. “The last person to get on your bad side shattered, you were so angry, as I recall…”

Asuna blushed, “That was because you were the target, not me…” she pretended to whine as she walked toward the hospital doors, dragging Sugou behind her. “That and the fact that I did want to kill him that time.”

It was easy for them to ignore Sugou’s cries of pain, though both kept an eye on him. They were confident that he wouldn’t escape, or rise to do anything, but SAO had taught them to be cautious.

A few minutes later, someone arrived to take Sugou Nobuyuki from them.

Chapter Text

Undisclosed Location

Pina stretched, yawning as she woke up. Her Silica was finally safe. Now she just had to figure out how to get to her pet human. Stomach growling, Pina jumped into the air and started hunting.

All was well for the moment, in the huge structure that she lived on.

But if she was going to find Silica, she would need to eat first. Then, she would need to come up with a plan of action. Only after that, would she try to find Silica. Maybe she could use those things that the humans seemed to use to get around without having to use their two legs to walk up the structure.

Tokorozawa General Hospital

After handing Sugou over to the police, Kirito and Asuna hurried into the hospital and made their way to Silica’s room.

They took a pass from the person at the front desk and made their way to the elevators to get to Silica’s room on the ninth floor. It wasn’t as if they were in a huge hurry, but Silica was their friend.

Silica was already sitting up, with her NerveGear to one side examining her hands as if she’d never seen them before.

Asuna was hugging the younger girl tightly moments later.

“I’m fine Princess!” Silica squawked, a small smile tugging at her lips as she hugged Asuna back.

“I’m just sorry that it took us so long to get you out.” Asuna whispered. She pulled away a moment later and let Kirito have a turn.

Kirito’s hug wasn’t quite so tight, it felt more like when one of her older cousins hugged her.

“I’ll be ok, Commander.” Silica whispered, leaning into the sixteen year old.

“Good,” Kirito replied. He pulled away, ruffling her hair as he did so.

“Don’t do that!” Silica pouted.

“All older siblings do that Silica.” Kirito said with a smirk. “And you have a lot of older siblings.”

Silica’s pout deepened.

January 30, 2025: Dicey Cafe

The contractor eyed the little cafe as he made his way to the front door. “So, do you know what you want to do?” He asked as he made his way to the bar where his client was standing.

“Name’s Andrew.” the tall bald black man, Andrew said. “And, yes, I have some idea.”

The contractor eyed the damage by the door, “What happened here?”

“My customers don’t know their own strength anymore.” Andrew smiled fondly.

“I’m guessing you called me in for this then?” The contractor asked, “This is an easy enough fix.”

“Kathy and I were hoping to remodel actually. Refit our basement into a larger kitchen and all.” Andrew replied with a smile.

“Then let’s head down stairs and take a look at what I have to work with.” The Contractor said pleasantly.

“So, Agil, would you like to have my guys help you with the blueprints for the sub basements?” Wolf, one of his regular Party members from SAO asked brightly after the contractor left.

“That might be best.” Agil agreed, turning to the man. “Do you think you and your guild are up to building the sub basements?”

Perhaps not quite yet.” Wolf shrugged, “We shall see. But I think we should see if this guy gets back to us with a quote before starting any plans.”

Agil nodded. “That makes sense,” he replied. “Well, why don’t you all have a drink on the house.”

“You are giving out free drinks?” Wolf asked with a grin. “Who are you and what did you do to Agil?”

“I have him stuffed in the cabinet where he keeps his special reserve,” Agil said with a laugh. “He’s too drunk to realize that I have taken over the bar and will use it in my nefarious plans to conquer the world’s bars.”

Minato Ward: Amun Bakery And Cafe

“Minako said this place was really good.” Kirito said as he got off his bike.

Asuna rolled her eyes as she hopped off. “Trust Inanna to know about all things that can rot your teeth.” she said with a smile.

“You seem fond of Minako.” Kirito replied as he held the door open for her.

“I am, she was her best friend, so the princess’ feelings are bleeding over.” Asuna nodded as she entered the bakery.

“Well, in that case, I hope Minako proves to be as good a friend as the Princess of Venus was.” Kirito mused as he followed her into the bakery, the door closing softly behind him.

“She’s shaping up to be.” Asuna giggled.

The young woman behind the counter looked up when she heard the bell on the door ring. “I’ll be with you in a moment if you would like to sit down.” She called.

“Rauni!” Asuna called before clapping her hands over her mouth in embarrassment.

“Pleased to meet you again, Your Highness.” The woman smiled as she came out from behind the counter and gave Asuna a low bow. “My name is now Kino Makoto.”

“It’s a pleasure,” Asuna sounded awkward as she watched Makoto for a moment. “We came to check this place out.”

Makoto blinked, looking up. “We?” She finally caught sight of Kirito. “Who is this fine young man?” She asked, giving Asuna a sly smile.

Asuna blushed brightly, “This is Kirito. He is to be my Consort… Should I decide to rebuild.”

“You don’t have to make that decision for a while, thankfully.” Makoto waved a hand. “So, what would the two of you like to try?”

Kirito picked up one of the menus from the table of the booth he’d sat at and perused it. “How big are your Moon Cakes, Makoto-san?” He asked.

Makoto brightened up, “My Princess used to be quite the Big Eater, They are very large.” She smiled, “I’ll bring out two and you can take the second one home if it doesn’t get eaten.” She headed for the kitchen as a White cat jumped onto the back of Kirito’s seat.

“Hey, Luna, long time no see.” The cat grinned, not missing a beat as Kirito picked him up off the back of the seat by the back of his neck. “Where have you been?” He asked as Kirito settled the cat in his lap.

“Oh, hello Artemis.” Asuna grinned as she sat down, Luna jumping onto her lap.

“I’ve been staying with our Princess and Consort.” Luna replied as she settled herself.

Artemis turned his head to look up at Kirito, “Ah, I remember Minako telling me about you, Heathcliff’s brother I presume?”

“You presume correctly.” Kirito replied. “According to Asuna and my brother… the two of you can help soldiers suffering from PTSD?”

“That is something we can do, yes.” Luna replied slowly, wondering where Kirito was going with this.

Kirito took a deep breath, “Can you help us if none of the psychiatrists my brother has lined up work out?”

“You’d have to ask Minako as well, if she suspects that Luna and I don’t have permission, then she will kill us both.” Artemis’ mouth twisted.

“We just dealt with someone who was experimenting with memory manipulation on three hundred of my soldiers.” Asuna leaned on the table, putting her chin in the palm of one of her hands. She sighed as her shoulders slumped.

“Is something the matter, Asuna-hime?” Kirito asked quietly. He reached over and placed one of his hands on hers.

“It’s just…” Asuna turned to him. “This is going to destroy my father’s company.” She whispered. “The company that my father had hoped to hand down to Kou and I when we were old enough…”

Kirito grimaced. “Asu-hime, Aki won’t let that happen.”

“I don’t know if your brother can do anything this time…” Asuna glanced back out the window. “Argus is in the same condition thanks to Zoicite after all…”

“We’ll figure something out.” Kirito promised.

Asuna smiled ruefully, “Thank you.”

Luna and Artemis shared a glance and nodded.

Ten minutes later, Makoto stepped out of the kitchen with two plates full of her signature Moon Cakes. She’d done her best to recreate Princess Serenity’s favorite treat. No easy feat, seeing as several ingredients had gone extinct, or were at least extremely difficult to find. She still wondered where and how Minako had found the Silphium that was one of the ingredients.

Makoto thought she’d been successful, but this would be the real test. “Here you are.” She announced, carefully placing one plate in front of Asuna and the other in front of Kirito.

Kirito gaped for a moment. “These are at least as big as those Tremble Cakes in SAO!” He turned to Makoto, who had pulled up a chair, “And Serenity used to be able to eat one of these?”

Makoto nodded. “Yep,” the Brunette young woman replied. “Something about how her training always gave her an appetite, I think. I believe that this was one serving for her but I think this is more like four or five servings by today’s standards. Or you’re my friend Usagi.” She laughed. “Knowing her, she will be coming over sooner or later, especially with SAO now over.

Asuna gave Makoto a look before picking up her fork. “Kirito-kun, let’s see if we can finish this off between us like the Tremble Cakes on the second floor.”

Kirito gave Asuna a smile a picked up his own, “Yeah, let’s see.” He said. “And this time, I get half of i- ow!”

“Need I remind you that you have your own cake?” Asuna grinned as she pulled her foot off his toe. “So no, you can’t have half.”

“It’s not like you’d be able to eat it all on your own…” Kirito shot back with a pout.

“Is that a bet?” Asuna asked challengingly. “Because if it is, and you lose, I’ll see if I can track Ashley down. I’m sure she has nice some outfits that I can borrow to have get you try on.”

“No, it’s not a bet,” Kirito said hastily.

February 2; Minato Ward: Hikawa Shrine

Kirito’s bike roared as he guided it down the road. They were almost to the Hikawa Shrine, where Rei lived.

It had come as a last minute request from Minako, but they were almost to the Shrine.

“Thankfully every meeting with my Senshi went well so far.” Asuna had said that morning.

“But we still have to meet…” Kirito paused, “What were their names? The princesses of Uranus and Neptune?”

Asuna grinned, “Princess Hathor of Uranus and Princess Nakama of Neptune.”

Kirito started to chuckle. “Princess Companion?” He asked.

Asuna blinked for a moment, silent as the Japanese meanings for Nakama ran through her mind. Then she started to giggle uncontrollably. “Yes,” she struggled to say. “That’s what her name is.”

“I’m not sure it I want Nakama and Hathor to be there or not…” Asuna called over the wind.

“I don’t think it’s going to matter,” Kirito shouted back, “It is a Senshi meeting, it’s more likely than not that they are going to be there.” He slowed the bike as they arrived and came to a stop close to the steps.

Asuna grimaced as she took her helmet off. “And my age is not going to help matters much at all.” She let out a sigh and shook her head, looking to Kirito. “Well, let’s get this over with, are we late or on time?”

Kirito pulled out his phone as he placed his helmet on the seat. “It looks like we are early actually, so we have time to get up those stairs.” He slipped his phone into a pocket and packed the helmets away in one of the saddle bags. “Shall we head up?” He asked, offering his arm to Asuna when he was done.

“Yes, we really should.” Asuna agreed, taking his arm.

Rei smiled when she saw Kirito and Asuna arrive at the top of the steps. “Greetings to you, Princess, Consort.”

One of Asuna’s eyebrows twitched. “Please tell me, Badb, why are you using the formal greetings?”

Rei looked over her shoulder, at the nearby door where several shadows were moving about. “Senshi Uranus and Neptune are also here.”

“And why didn’t you call them by name instead of station?” Kirito asked.

Rei gave the pair an evil grin, “Because we don’t know what their old names are, and they haven’t offered them,” she replied. “To be fair, we never asked. That, and we expect there to be yelling.”

“Ah,” Kirito chuckled, “Blackmail is what you are after then.”

Rei nodded happily. “So, I know that your name is now Asuna… but how should I announce you?”

“Everyone has been calling her Asuna the First.” Kirito replied, wrapping his arms around Asuna’s shoulders.

“Or, you could you know… just not announce me…” Asuna mumbled. She really hated having to go through ceremony and formality like this when she didn’t feel it was necessary. In both lives, if Princess Serenity’s memories were any indication.

“I’m afraid that that isn’t possible just yet.” Rei apologized.

“Just call her Asuna the First and be done with it.” Kirito spoke up. “Asuna is of the opinion that they aren’t likely to behave anyway but…”

Asuna gave Kirito a glare.

“All right, then.” Rei agreed turning to go inside. “Presenting, Her Royal Highness, Princess Asuna the First!”

Asuna turned to give Kirito an icy glare and then stepped forward. “Badb, you did not need to take what my consort said as a command,” she chided in an even voice.

“My apologies, Your Highness,” Rei replied formally.

Behind her glaring Princess, the Consort was grinning, until Asuna turned to him. “If you don’t want to be sleeping on the couch tonight, or have me track Ashley down to redo your wardrobe…” She said much too sweetly, with a cheerful smile. “You won’t do that again, am I clear?”

Sweat went down the back of Kirito’s neck, “Yes, Asuna-hime.” he agreed swiftly.

“Good,” Asuna chirped happily, making her way past Rei. “Just remember Badb, everything my Consorts says is a suggestion, when it comes to my Senshi.”

“Yes, Highness.” Rei agreed, following Asuna and Kirito into the room, closing the door behind her.

Haruka leaned against one wall, frowning. She did not want to take orders from a child who would no doubt think that she and Michiru would be better served helping deal with Youma! She was just about ready to yell at Minako when the door opened and Rei made her announcement.

The girl who stepped into the meeting room was very young, and Haruka did her best to suppress the sneer she wanted to give Asuna.

Asuna was giving Minako, Makoto and Ami a bright smile. “It is good to see you all again, and please forgive me if I slip and use your other names. I’ve only just met you all again after all, just remind me.”

“We can do that, Asuna.” Minako replied. “All of us are here, even Setsuna. You just can’t see her until she wants to be seen.”

“Setsuna sounds like a Kunoichi.” The boy who had followed Asuna into the room said.

“Moira always has been.” Asuna agreed as she looked off to the side. “So, staying hidden for a reason?”

Wait, Moira? Haruka thought. What…?

“Why would I need a reason?” Setsuna said, appearing on Asuna’s other side, only to blink as she found the girl’s extended index finger pointed right between her eyes.

Wait, did she just…? Haruka thought in shock. How did she know Setsuna would be there?

“She has been on the receiving end of that joke of yours often enough,” Asuna said simply. “You’ll need to branch out.”

Setsuna chuckled. “Duly noted, Your Highness,” she said.

“And don’t think you can pull that on me, either, Setsuna,” The boy said, “I sensed that you were there, too.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Setsuna said in a bland tone that told Haruka that she was definitely going to do it in the future. The Senshi of Pluto did enjoy pulling that joke on them all..

The boy’s eyes narrowed. “Right, like I believe that, you Troll.” He retorted.

“I’m hurt,” Setsuna replied.

“Both of you, behave yourselves,” Asuna said.

“Of course, Hime.” The boy, Kirito replied with a deep bow that was obviously meant to be teasing.

“Yes, your Highness.” Setsuna followed Kirito’s example, though her bow lacked the teasing undertones.

Asuna sighed, “Comedians… Why do you all believe that this is funny?”

“Maybe because it is,” Minako said drily. “Well, when you’re not on the receiving end, that is. And that’s the first time I’ve seen anyone manage to know where Setsuna would turn up. Serenity’s memories?”

“Among other things,” Asuna replied.

“The Hypersense I developed in SAO, I still have it.” Kirito shrugged.

“Like something you did in a game would carry over to the real world,” Haruka scoffed.

Kirito’s eyes narrowed. “And how, Princess Uranus, would you know that I’m lying?”

Haruka’s eyes widened at being called by that title for a moment before narrowing. “How did you-?”

“Know that you’re the reincarnation of the Princess of Uranus?” Kirito asked. “Which means that you’re Senshi Uranus? It wasn’t hard. Captain Heathcliff built the virtual Aincrad from his memories, and those memories included what you all looked like out of your Senshi uniforms back then. I dare say, the resemblance is pretty close for most of you. Not Venus, but that’s to be expected.”

“There’s a reason I knew from the start that Usagi wasn’t Serenity’s reincarnation,” Minako said. “She looks like a dead ringer for Princess Serenity, true, but I would have looked similar enough to be a body double for her if she was.” She stepped forward and stood next to Asuna. “Take a look and compare.”

Ami looked at the two and brought up her computer. Typing in some commands, she then nodded. “They both have the same general body type. Mina’s got more muscles due to how fit she is, but even without any real work, they could pass for twins when seen from a distance. Even up close, most would still think they were sisters.”

“Inanna was always just slightly taller than me.” Asuna said quietly with a fond smile.

Kirito took a moment to study them both. “The only way I can tell the two apart at a glance is that Asuna has one of the Shinai from my home’s Dojo,” he said. “Of course, if I looked closer, I would be able to tell who was who fairly easily.”

“Down boy,” MInako said with a wink, only to get a wry sigh from Asuna. “Maybe later, you can take a more detailed look.” At Kirito’s blush and averted eyes, she chuckled. “Still got it.”

“Inanna was always a flirt,” Asuna said. “It was the only way most who knew both her and Serenity could tell who was who.”

“Perhaps if I had a body double of my own…” Kirito mused, “But I don’t have one. And he would have to be good with a sword.”

“Why, scared?” Haruka asked with a sneer.

“For whoever would be my double,” Kirito said. “He would have to be good enough to fight Youma, after all.”

“I’m sure we could find someone among your troops dear…”

“You, kill a Youma?” Haruka asked mockingly. “You’re a civilian. How would-”

“I killed my first Youma when I was three years old,” Kirito said coldly. “And Rei came in while I was finishing off the last of five who attacked me and Hime. I killed four of them, she killed the one that managed to slip past me.” He smirked. “It had only just got past me when she killed it.”

Makoto and Minako both looked to Rei, who nodded. “Because I knew that he has the best senses of them, I figured I could get away with no warning, but… I got chewed out for that…” She rubbed the back of her head nervously and smiled. “Though, perhaps you should tell Princess Uranus how you killed them?” Rei suggested.

Haruka sniffed. “As if.”

He looked at Rei. “Do you have a place with more open space that someone walking in wouldn’t see?” He asked.

“There’s a space out back where I practice my magic that should be big enough.” Rei agreed. “It’s currently set up as an archery range, but it should work.”

“Then that should do.” Kirito agreed. “Can you take us there?”

“Of course, this way.” Rei led them out of the room.

‘I wonder if I can get away with giving Haruka a good smack to the back of the head…?’ Michiru thought as she and Haruka followed behind everyone else to where Rei did her personal training. Her girlfriend was a wonderful person, but Michiru knew full well that Haruka had an attitude and often spoke her mind before her brain-mouth filter kicked in. If she even had one, that is.

Michiru’s family had been, while disapproving, willing to accept that she was the way she was. Haruka’s… hadn’t. And it led to her becoming the abrasive woman who was very reluctant to trust people, or even give them a chance to earn it, that she was.

She watched silently as Kirito surveyed the semi large yard and nodded. “This will do.” he said after a moment of silence. He pulled the Bokken she’d noticed at his side out and his stance shifted in a way that had Michiru narrowing her eyes. She recognized that stance.

His bokken came up and he held it just so. In the next moment, it began to glow darkly. He took a step, and suddenly, in a flash of the same dark colored magic, Kirito was at the other side of the yard.

Ami’s eyes widened, “Was that…?” she started to ask.

“That was Horizontal,” Asuna spoke up, “The first Skill in the One Handed Longsword skill tree. Kirito-kun knows and he knows every single sword skill in that tree. He could probably perform every single Sword Skill, but he knows that he has to be careful with his magic usage until his body adapts to it. At the moment, Horizontal is probably the only one he can safely use right now.”

Ami looked to Asuna for a moment before turning her eyes back to Kirito, “If I may inquire?”

“You may.” Kirito said as he walked back to Asuna’s side. “What is it that you wish to ask?”

“How…” Ami paused, “Forgive me if this brings the painful memory to the surface, but, what spells did you use the night you survived?”

“The spells I used?” Kirito asked, blinking. “Well, I don’t feel tired, to I guess I can show you…”

He turned to one of the bales of hay that Rei used for target practice and raised a hand. “Ek skýt tuttugu smár striða.” He called, saying the words loudly enough to be heard and slowly enough to be understood. Words of Power encircled his form, glowing a very dark grey.

Minako’s eyes widened for a moment. “Is that… Shadow Magic?” she almost seemed to ask herself.

The Words floated around his body for a moment before they gathered between his hands and shot towards the bale of hay. The impacts didn’t do nearly any damage, because he was focusing on using as little magic as he was able to. First spell finished, he wiped some sweat from his brow.

Asuna looked at him with concerned eyes. “Should you really cast the second one?” She asked.

“I can cast one more spell.” Kirito said confidently, “Ask me again after this one.”

“If you are sure…” Asuna agreed.

Kirito raised his hand again, “Ek verpa einn brandr muspilli, kalla bresta bani, steypa lundr drótt.” The Words of Power encircled him again, gathering in his outstretched hand as a flame burning the darkest of greys and shot at the bale of hay, disintegrating it.

Kirito’s stance changed just slightly.

“Will you be alright?” Asuna asked.

“That didn’t take nearly as much magic as I thought it would.” Kirito replied, “I’m not feeling winded.”

Asuna nodded. “Good.”

Michiru looked to the side, noticing that Setsuna was nodding to herself. She glanced at Haruka, who was staring at where the bale of hay had been in complete shock and decided that she could go over to Setsuna and ask her what she was thinking. If she would even tell her.

“Setsuna, what are you thinking?” Michiru asked quietly after walking over to the other woman’s side.

Setsuna smiled mysteriously, “I have just confirmed something to myself is all, I’m not sure if I can say what that is yet…” She looked at Kirito. “But I can say this. He shows that he has a talent for Shadow Magic, which was very rare back then and is even rarer today. The Princess, of course, has a talent for Light Magic. And her chosen Consort has a talent for Shadow Magic. It makes for an interesting duality, does it not?

“I wish I could remember where the talent originated…” Minako said, frowning slightly in thought. “Interesting duality or not.”

“W-w-what the hell?!” Haruka exclaimed. “How did… you used… and then... the fuck?!”

“Hathor, nim'mannu śāntagoḷisi!” Asuna barked out in a commanding voice.

Michiru turned to look at Asuna and immediately began to revise her opinion of the girl. When Asuna had shown up, she saw a girl and, while she was able to act royal, it was as if it she was wearing a set of uncomfortable clothes to play a role. Now, however, Asuna’s posture had changed. Gone was the girl playing at being a princess. What she now saw was a young woman who was used to being in command. And the language she used… there was only one way that she was aware of that she could know it.

Haruka’s back went ramrod straight. Somehow, she knew that was her name. “How do you know that name?!” She demanded. How she knew the language was left unsaid, but Michiru could hear the question.

“The same way I know all of your past life names,” Asuna said firmly. “As much as I don’t like it, I have Princess Serenity’s memories taking up space in my head. You think that I was happy when I found out who I was in a past life? When I realized that the memories that were allowing me to better navigate Aincrad and its dangers, simulation or not, were not mine? Or how about the fact that I inherited a war that should have been over and done with millennia ago? I seriously doubt any of you were happy about having to sort out where you began and your past lives ended, let alone that we have to fight this war.”

“Avaru tumbā keṭṭadāgi nim'mannu paḍeyalu biḍabēḍi, Hime.” Kirito said softly with a calm smile, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “Better to point that anger at the Youma and Zombies than our allies.”

“At least one of them is dead,” Asuna said. “You made sure of that.”

“Indeed,” Setsuna said. “Kunzite’s death would have set back any plans they had going on, not that Jadeite or Nephrite would lose any sleep over his dying.”

“Glad I could be of service,” Kirito said tightly. “Just don’t expect me to be able to pull that off again. I had an advantage in SAO. Even then, the first time we fought, he was winning due to his sheer skill with a sword alone. He didn’t need magic to be a major threat, but without it, things were at least somewhat equalized.”

“Out here the advantage is theirs,” Asuna agreed. “But taking on the Shitennou is not your job, or even the rest of the Army’s. It’s the job of the Senshi and myself. Not, that I expect you to not do your best and kill Jadeite if the opportunity presents itself. You have stated that you intend to do just that.”

“That’s only if Heathcliff doesn’t get to him first.” Kirito shrugged almost uncaringly. “He’s had years more than me to get his skills back up to snuff.” He grinned, “But I am always glad to be of service to my Princess…”

Asuna blushed.

“Wait, you killed Kunzite, Kirito?” Rei asked in surprise. “I thought it would have been the Princess.”

Asuna shook her head. “Sadly, no,” she said. “I tried, but I was also trying to protect an ally at the same time. We traded blows, but he ended up trapping my weapon.”

“He was actually trying to kill himself at the time that Asuna and I stepped in.” Kirito explained.

“What.” Haruka said, as if she had a hard time processing it. Michiru understood why. Why would Kunzite be trying to kill himself?

Asuna started to giggle at the faces they were making.

“What, makes you think that all of you, Heathcliff, and Endymion were the only ones to be reincarnated?” Kirito asked flatly. It was as if he was trying to make them see something.

“Wait… Are you saying that Beryl and the Shitennou were also…?” Minako asked.

Kirito gave his fiancée’s lookalike a look. “What else would I be saying, Inanna?” He asked, deliberately using her Old Name. He usually used her modern one.

“Are you…?” Ami asked.

“No.” Kirito was quick to refute.

Rei rolled her eyes. “He obviously means that whoever the Shitennou and Beryl may be now, some of them were also caught in Zoicite’s trap.” She hated having to spell out something that seemed bloody obvious. “Kunzite’s reincarnation, whoever that may be, was fighting the zombie and losing. Because otherwise, our Princess and her Consort would not have had to step in.”

“That’s… a strange thought…” Haruka grumbled, “But why would they be fighting, shouldn’t they be on the same side?”

“That’s where you’d be wrong, Hathor.” Asuna said, turning to the blonde. “Klein is one of Kirito’s.”

“I actually taught him how to play and use the system before the fun of the game ended, mostly.” Kirito smirked. “Two others and Beryl were also trapped with us. The fourth is playing Alfheim Online.”

MIchiru nodded at that. They had to reveal that they knew who the reincarnations were, but were not giving out names. Even with this Klein, it was only his alias, not his real name, if they even knew it. She did notice Minako give both Asuna and Kirito a look, as if something was just confirmed for her, though.

Shintokyo: Kayaba Akihiko’s Apartment

Lux swallowed nervously as she stood at Heathcliff’s front door. “I hope the Captain is home…” She said to herself as she rang the doorbell. She really wanted to help.

There was a loud ‘meow!’ and the door opened to reveal Akihiko Kayaba. “Good afternoon, Lux, you wanted to see me for something?”

“Good afternoon, Captain.” Lux bowed. “Um… I know that Asuna-sama has a body double…”

“Ah, you think that Kirito-kun will need one?” Kayaba asked as he stepped aside and let her into the apartment.

Lux smiled as she walked past him. “Yeah, something like that.”

“Have you been training?” Kayaba asked.

“For as long as I am able, and I’ve been practicing.” Lux turned to him, “Will you help me?”

“I’ll see what I have.” Kayaba smirked.

Chapter Text

Shintokyo: Kayaba Akihiko’s Apartment

Lux tried not to show the fear she was feeling at the sight of the huge black and white monster of a cat that was staring at her with huge gorgeous green eyes. “Um, Captain, what is this… uh, cat?”

“That’s Ēkate. His name means Unity, Kirito named him.” Kayaba informed her. “Now, let’s get down to business. Why do you want to serve as Kirito-kun’s double?”

Lux bit her lip, staying still as Ēkate sniffed at her and then meowed happily, bumping her hand and demanding head pats. “W-well, he’s Asuna-sama’s Consort, so it makes sense that he should have one. Asuna-sama does… does she not?”

“She does.” Kayaba confirmed.

“Without a Double, Kirito-sama could get captured, and that would hurt Asuna-sama greatly.” Lux reasoned. “To lessen the chance of that happening, He’ll need a Body Double as well.”

Ēkate meowed demandingly, bumping Lux’s hand again.

“Would you just pet my cat already?” Kayaba sighed. “He has decided that he likes you.”

Lux looked down into those green eyes and hesitantly pet the cat that reminded her of the Saber Tigers that Kirito and Asuna had described to her rather than a house cat. Ēkate’s purring was so strong she felt it over her whole body. “Pretty cat…”

“Big Cat,” Kayaba smirked, “He helped to take out the Youma that had attacked the Hospitals you were staying in.”

“I see,” Lux smiled. “I am ready to start any time. I am set in this path, I owe Kirito-sama and Asuna-sama so much, my mind will not be changed.”

“Then we had better get started.” Kayaba replied with a tight smile, “Once you start you cannot stop. You will not be allowed to give up.”

“That’s fine,” Lux met the man’s eyes, her eyes filled with a steely resolve. “I don’t intend to stop until I’ve done what I’ve come here to do.”

“First, we will need to determine what your primary magic type is,” Kayba said. “Fortunately, we don’t need to worry about awakening it, SAO took care of that matter.”

“It did?” Lux asked.

Kayaba nodded. “I designed it so that it would,” he said. “The majority of you should have had it awakened by the time you reached level ten or shortly after. [Sword Skills] did have a magical component to them in the ancient past, and I was able to create a passable enough simulation of them that kick started a person’s magical potential.”

“Oh,” Lux said in response. “I… see.” The how, of course, was a different matter.

“I don’t think you do entirely, but that’s all right,” Kayaba gave her a reassuring smile. “You don’t need to understand completely yet.”

Lux sighed, her shoulders slumping for a few moments. “I have a feeling that that is going to bother me until I figure it out,” she admitted grudgingly.

“Then let’s distract your mind.” The man she knew as her Captain said, opening a drawer in his desk and reaching in for something. It was a large Crystal, it wasn’t unlike the Teleport Crystals and Healing Crystals that she was familiar with from SAO.

“What does that do?” Lux asked as he turned to her.

“You’ll see in a moment.” Kayaba said.

She looked at him curiously as he chanted some words in Lunarian. Show me the talents of the spirit? She mentally translated as the crystal began to become a dusky gray.

Kayaba smiled when he saw the question in her eyes. “Colors and shades correspond to different types of magic.” He explained, “This dark grey is Shadow Magic, it was a rare gift in the Empire and is even rarer now.”

Lux reached out and Kayaba dropped the Crystal into her outstretched hands. “How did you find this, and is there anything else it can do?” She asked as she examined the crystal closely.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if there was,” Kayaba shrugged before repeating the spell.

His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets he was so surprised by the results. Lux was making the Crystal glow with the same dark grey. She had Shadow Magic as a primary affinity?

This girl was just full of surprises, wasn’t she?

Lux looked from the Crystal to Kayaba and back to the Crystal. “Um… why is it glowing the same as it did for you?” she asked, unable to keep the curiosity from her voice.

“That is because we share a Gift for Shadow Magic.” Kayaba explained, “Such gifts usually run in families, but there are occasions when it just pops up. Either way, it was rare for people to have a natural talent for it back during the Silver Millennium and it is almost certainly rarer in the present day.”

“Ok, and this is good, how?” Lux asked, handing the Crystal back.

“Outside of the fact that Shadow Magic will make doing illusions easier, Kirito-kun also has Shadow Magic as his primary affinity,” Kayaba said. “That will make this even simpler as you won’t have as hard a time learning Shadow Magic.”

Tokorozawa General Hospital

Klein whistled a cheerful tune as he entered the hospital. It’d been a long time since he’d seen Mamoru and Mio, and it was only now that he had the time in his rather hectic schedule.

He was headed to Physiotherapy, but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t going to stop to chat with a few old friends if he saw them on the way to his appointment.

In fact, it was quite likely that Bunbo and Mio would be working on their own physiotherapy, so they could all suffer together! Having friends with you made everything less painful.

And Klein wanted to know if Mio’s hair was still dichromatic the way the Kid and his wife had described it to be. That would be fun to see, as it had been a long time since she began to dye her hair. Ostensibly to better blend in and conform to Japanese norms, but with how he knew just who she was the reincarnation of, it was more for survival purposes.

“Ami-chan, how are you?” Rei asked as she caught up with the Med Student.

“I’m fine Rei-chan,” Ami replied, looking up from the report she was reading. “What made you decide to come visit?”

“What, I can’t just visit one of my best friends?” the Miko asked playfully.

“You’re really funny, you know that?” Ami said, mirth in her voice. The blue haired woman sighed. “Fine.”

Rei hugged her friend, “Maybe we can have lunch together then?”

Ami smiled, “Sure, why not. And you can meet Mamoru’s fiancée.”

Rei gasped playfully, “That’s right! We haven’t met Mio-san yet!” the Miko clapped her hands. “I can’t wait!”

Ami giggled at Rei’s exaggerated exuberance.

Rei snapped her fingers, “Yep, still got it.”

“You are so bad Rei-chan…” Ami struggled to get out between her laughter.

Rei chuckled as she walked backwards so that she could talk with her old friend. As such, she couldn’t see what was going on behind her.

Ami, who could see what was coming chose not to warn her friend as payback for earlier.

With a loud smack, Rei crashed into the person that had been walking their way. Rei twisted in midair so that she wouldn’t land on her face, and her wrist was caught in an a velvet grip that hid steel.

“Are you alright?” Came a voice from above her that she didn’t recognize.

Rei blinked, her eyes finally falling on the one who had stopped her fall.

He was rather scruffy looking with messy red hair and warm brown eyes. In a way, he felt, familiar but she pushed the feeling aside as he pulled her gently back onto her feet.

Now on her feet, Rei could see that he had a scant few centimeters on her in height. “I’m all right, thank you.” She replied, his easy smile bringing out one of her own. “I’m sorry for running into you like that.”

“Nah, I should have been paying more attention myself.” His grin grew. “The name’s Kl--” He coughed. “Sorry about that, my name is Tsuboi Ryoutaru, pleased to meet you, Miss.”

Rei blushed slightly, “I’m Hino Rei, it’s nice to meet you.” She replied, “Why are you here?”

“I came to visit Mamoru, he and I went to school together before he switched to the Medical Track.” Ryoutaru shrugged, “I was caught up in SAO, and I’m also here to check on a guild mate of mine. He was called Bunbo.”

“Ah!” Ami grinned, “I’m Mizuno Ami,” she introduced herself. “If you were caught in SAO, then you must also be here for therapy.”

“I’m on my way to my appointment actually.” He nodded. “I also want to touch base with Mamoru and Mio.”

“Do you mind if we keep you company?” Rei asked hopefully.

“No, you can stay.” Ryoutaru replied easily.

Mamoru kept an eye on his fiancée as she worked through the exercises mandated for her physio. Her new ability was still mystifying to him. Her recovery was progressing far more quickly than it should be. She should still need crutches for one, but she had been able to walk on her own within days, and that was more her having to remind her body how to walk, rather than having to relearn how to or rebuild the muscles so that they could support her weight. “Hey, I heard that Ryoutaru is coming today.”

“Klein, really?” Mio asked as put one of the dumbbells down. “Can’t wait to see him, he’s probably coming to touch bases with me and Bunbo.”

“That’s Ami’s friend, Ryu, right?” Mamoru asked, trying to remember the other man’s name.

“Yep, that’s him.” Mio agreed.

Mio and Mamoru both turned to the door at the sound of it opening. In walked Ami, her friend Ryo, Rei and finally, Tsuboi Ryoutaru.

“Hey Klein,” Mio called, “How are you?”

“I’m fine, was hoping to catch up with you and Mamoru actually.” Ryoutaru said as he strolled over to where Mio and Mamoru were standing. “How are you, Mamoru?”

Mamoru crossed his arms over his chest. “I’d be better if Mio didn’t have to still have Physio.” He grumbled.

Ryoutaru chuckled, “Don’t worry, it’ll soon be only those who just woke that that will have to worry about that.” He turned to Mio, “Silica is already chomping at the bit to get out of here, according to Lind, Kirito and Asuna.”

Mio’s eyes narrowed, hardening. “I’m not surprised. If I ever meet the man who trapped her… well… He’s going to wish I was that Zombie.” She declared.

“Yeah, Silica was everyone’s little sister, even if she never made it to the Front.” Ryu said with a shrug. “No one cared that she’s DDA.”

“You should have seen Lind’s reaction when he learned that Silica was still Sleeping.” Ryoutaru shook his head, “He looked ready to kill someone.”

“And that’s not taking into account what the Commander looked like, or Asuna-hime.” Mio shivered.

“By the way, nice hair.” Ryoutaru said, eying Mio’s dichromatic red and black hair.

“I just knew you’d say something like that…” Mio muttered, glaring at her old friend playfully.

“Well,” Ryoutaru smirked, “At least I look nothing like that Zombie did before the Kid put the body back in the ground.” He snarked.

“I’ll show you, Klein!” Mio shot back.

Mamoru took a step back, holding one hand over his mouth in a futile attempt to hide his laughter.

“You want to make something of this, Endymion?” Ryoutaru asked smugly, acting as if he’d won.

“No, I’d lose.” Mamoru replied, his voice full of amusement. “I’d just forgotten how fun it is to watch you argue with Mio-chan.”

Kawagoe: Kirigaya Residence

Kirito was opening the door to the family Dojo when he heard his sister’s voice. “Ek skýt tuttugu smár striða.”

He dropped into a rolling dodge, going under the dark grey and green wind needles and lunged to catch his younger sister as her knees buckled under her. “Sugu, what were you thinking doing that?” he asked, a bit more harshly than he really intended to.

Suguha sniffed, tears welling up in her eyes, “Why are you so mean?”

“Sugu, you need to be careful!” Kirito said as he pulled her back to her feet. “You need to be careful of the spells that you cast, because until you get used to casting, even the most basic of spell are very draining.” He held her there, against his side since her legs were still shaky.

Asuna poked her head into the Dojo, “Kirito-kun, what’s going on here?”

“Sugu was emulating me in the recklessness department,” Kirito replied, turning back to his sister. “What were you thinking?”

“Well, Aki said that ALO was also a simulation to teach magic and I wanted to…” Suguha bit her lip. “I wanted to see if I could do it.”

Kirito’s eyes narrowed. “I think it’s time we went to visit Aki then.”

“Is there enough room on your bike for the three of us?” Asuna asked curiously.

“I’m sure there’s something we can hook up if there isn’t.” Kirito replied, “I think I saw dad place a sidecar next to my bike…”

Shintokyo: Kayaba’s Apartment

Kirito turned into Akihiko’s apartment parking garage, and came to a stop as the second parking spot that belonged to his brother’s apartment and parked. “Still feeling dizzy, Sugu?” Kirito asked.

“I’m fine now,” Suguha protested as he helped her out of the sidecar. “I’m not some china doll, Kazuto!”

“Let’s hurry, shall we?” Asuna asked as she dismounted the bike and put her helmet into one of the saddlebags. She caught Kirito’s and then Suguha’s helmets when they were tossed to her and put them away as well.

“Ok, let’s head inside.” Kirito said, keeping an arm around his younger sister, just to make sure that she wouldn’t fall down.

“Onii-chan, quit it, I’m fine!” Suguha grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.

“I am your older brother, it’s my job to look after you.” Kirito said shortly as they entered the apartment building.

“So, which floor does Aki live on, Kirito-kun?” Asuna asked.

“He lives on,” Kirito chuckled, “Floor thirteen.”

Asuna blinked, giggling at the thought. “So he lives on the Earth Floor?”

“Something like that.” Kirito agreed with a grin as they came up to the elevator. “Well, at least we don’t have to walk all the way up to his apartment. we can just take the elevator.” He reached over and pressed the UP button. “Let’s hope that we don’t have to share the elevator with anyone. Because then we can’t just chat on our way up.” Kirito relaxed, “Let’s hope that we don’t have to wait too long.”

Kayaba looked away from Lux when he heard a knock at the door. “Continue practicing, Lux, I’ll be right back.”

“Yes sir.” said Lux, who now looked like she could have been Kirito’s sister. Her hair was still long and slightly wavy, but with further practice, she’d be able to use Illusion magic to change that too.

Or she could go to a hair stylist and do it that way, Kayaba thought. One less detail to add to the illusion, which would be helpful. Illusions always work best when they don’t have to make too many changes. Changing her apparent gender will take much more time and work, though. Especially with how developed she is in the chest. I’m fairly sure that I overheard several of the female players wonder what she has been feeding them.

Ēkate followed his master to the door and started meowing loudly when he caught the scent of his younger master on the other side of the door. Kayaba eyed his cat and grinned. Pulling the chain out of the door and undoing the lock, he positioned himself so that he would be behind the door.

He wanted to see Ēkate pounce on his younger brother.

Kayaba looked out the peephole, just to make sure that it was his brother, and then pulled the door open.

Before any of the three standing on the other side of the door could move, Ēkate had pounced on the only boy. He chuckled at the yelp and the sudden crash as he fell to the floor.

“Ēkate! Get off, you’re heavy!” Kirito shoved at the cat laying on his chest with the smuggest expression he’d ever seen on a feline. “Did you get fat while I was away?”

Ēkate meowed happily, ignoring Kirito’s tone and started to lick his face.

Finally, Kirito managed to shove the cat off his chest and away from his face. “Ow.” The cheek Ēkate had been licking was red, “Your tongue is too rough for that anymore…” He muttered, glaring up at his brother when he heard the man’s laughter.

Asuna was staring at Ēkate as if she was seeing something that she shouldn’t be. “K-Katti Bekku…” She breathed.

Kirito’s head snapped in her direction. “What? There’s no way Ēkate can be an Aincrad Sabercat!”

Asuna slowly reached out with her hand and let Ēkate sniff her. Their eyes met, and after a moment, Ēkate purred, bumping Asuna’s hand. “Ēkate is a domesticated Katti Bekku,” She explained softly, “They were known for being fiercely loyal to their owners. And, unlike normal cats, they can be trained. I know that they were used in the palace as guard animals, because Serenity helped to raise one before she was taken to Aincrad for training.”

“But then, how did Ēkate get to Earth?” Kirito asked as he got back to his feet.

“A breeding population must have been brought here before The Fall.” Asuna replied.

“Huh…” Kirito sighed, sending his brother another glare.

Akihiko grinned. “Come in you three, what can I help you with?” He asked after closing the door behind his three latest visitors.

Kirito rounding on him, “Did you know that Sugu was practicing magic unsupervised?” he asked angrily. “I’ve had Mars tell me that using too much magic at once is dangerous, but Sugu doesn’t know that yet.” His eyes narrowed, “Why didn’t you warn her, since she knows what Alfheim is for?”

Akihiko turned to Suguha. “Is that true, Sugu?” He asked.

“Well, yes, I wanted to see if I could do it.” Suguha explained.

“That was a very dangerous thing to do Sugu, magic is very draining until you get used to casting, and I should have warned you.” Kayaba sighed, “You could have hurt yourself very badly, had Kazu not caught you when he did. Not even the best Mages practiced on their own before The Fall. Don’t do that again.”

Suguha pouted. “But I was fine!”

“No you weren’t.” Kirito replied a little more harshly than intended, “You were about to fall on your face Sugu!”

“What spell was it, and what color?” Kayaba asked.

“It was just the basic Wind Needle spell,” Suguha replied. “If I could do it, good. If not, then I wouldn’t try anything more advanced.”

“And the color?” Kayaba asked.

“It was a dark grey with hints of green, Aki,” Kirito replied.

“…Yes… definitely runs in the family…” Kayaba sighed. Why, if Shadow Magic was so rare, were there four Shadow Mages in this room? “You would have more luck with Illusion spells at this point Sugu.”

Suguha pouted, “But I don’t know any of those spells…”

Kayaba shook his head in resignation “So she went for the spells that she had knowledge of, not to mention a more immediate utility, gamers,” he said to himself and sighed. He wasn’t surprised by this revelation. “Most people went for the flashy stuff, rather than the subtle in the present. Not that it was much different in the past, if Heathcliff’s memories are anything to go by.” He chuckled. “He learned the hard way in a training op, which was the point. Better to get a bruised ego, and bruises, in training rather than actual combat.”

“Captain, I thought you said Shadow Magic was rare…” Came a quiet voice from the living room.

Kirito’s eyes widened when he saw a young woman who could almost pass as his sister sitting in one of the arm chairs. Her hair, was what clued him in to who this might be. “Lux? What are you doing here, and why do you look like that?”

Lux smiled, “Hello, Commander.” She bowed in deference. How to explain herself? “Asuna-sama has Senshi Venus, right?”

“Yes.” Asuna replied, her eyes widening in realization. “You don’t want Kirito-kun to be without the same type of protection!”

“You’ve got it, Asuna-sama!” Lux grinned happily. “I was just trying to think of a name to use…”

Asuna smirked, “I think I know, you are Kuro, because Kirito-kun is the Kuro no Kenshin.” She looked very pleased with herself.

Kirito groaned at Asuna’s reasoning. “Asuna-hime…” He gave her a frustrated glare.

Lux grinned, “I like that name, thank you, Asuna-hime.” The girl bowed to her Princess before sitting back down and letting the magic fade away. The blonde girl let out a tired breath. “You weren’t joking about how tired I would be after that, Captain.”

“Are you alright, Lux?” Kirito asked.

“I’m fine, Commander,” Lux waved him off, “That was my first shot at a spell, so I’m feeling drained. I was warned about it, which is why I was sitting down.”

He was very pleased indeed when Playful Kitten appeared at the door to Source of Food’s dwelling. He was sure that Playful Kitten would need Grooming, since Playful Kitten obviously didn’t know how to do it himself.

He pounced once the door opened. Playful Kitten had gotten quite big… but Ēkate knew that Playful Kitten was only half grown, if that. Besides that, Playful Kitten was still just a kitten.

Ēkate purred deeply, even as Playful Kitten got out from underneath him and he followed Playful Kitten back into Source of Food’s home. He wasn’t familiar with either of the females that were with Playful Kitten, but one smelled… like the Moon…

He bumped against Queen Who Smells of the Moon. There were faint traces of Playful Kitten’s scent on her. The other female smelled more like, but not of, Playful Kitten, a littermate? But Playful Kitten and Source of Food were the only littermates he knew of. Maybe she was born from the Littermate of both Playful Kitten and Source of Food’s Dam? She smelled of wind and the shadows, good smells to have. Fast and nimble like the wind, and able to strike without warning from the shadows. She would make a good Queen to birth strong kittens.

The Moon-scented one… she was, or to be more accurate, would be, Playful Kitten’s Queen, he could tell. They were both too young to establish their own Pride. Old enough to have kittens of their own, but not yet old enough to properly raise them. And they seemed to know that, or he would be smelling both of their scents on the other far more strongly than he did.

He would know, since the scent Source of Food’s mate was strong on him, and the other way around. Now, if those two would start having kittens of their own to raise.

He was silent as Playful Kitten growled at Source of Food, the irritation and anger apparent on his scent. They both made their vocalizations to each other, with the other Queens offering their own. He only understood a little, but he could grasp the tones of the vocalizations. Source of Food looked at the one who smelled of wind and shadow… Shaded Wind, that was a good way to see her. Source of Food vocalized something to her, and from the tone, he was going to teach her something, like an older Tom should when he is not having to establish dominance.

Something Shaded Wind had done had scared Playful Kitten… That was never good. Perhaps he should give Source of Food some help.

Chapter Text

Shintokyo: Kayaba’s Apartment

Suguha pouted as Kazuto pushed her onto Aki’s overstuffed armchair. “I told you already, Onii-chan, I’m fine!” She made to get up, but found that she couldn’t because her older brother’s half grown tiger had jumped up and settled into her lap.

Kazuto smirked, “Good job, Ēkate,” he praised, “We don’t want Sugu getting back up, do we?”

Ēkate purred deeply, looking rather smug.

Aki smiled, “I’ll be right back, there are a few tools I need, if I’m to give you three a basic lesson.” He turned and went to his desk.

“Are you getting that Crystal back out?” Lux called after him.

“Yes.” Aki told her, “And perhaps one more thing.”

Ēkate meowed, nuzzling her and Suguha sighed. “I hate you both right now, Onii-chan…” She mumbled her pout deepening.

“Sugu, before we were attacked by a Youma when out shopping, I have never used magic out here and the last time I ever used any was when I was three.” Kazuto stressed. “But I still limited myself to the most basic of Sword Skills because I didn’t know what I could handle. And I still might have ended up hurting myself, had Senshi Mars not stepped in when she did.” His tone was lecturing. “Besides that, I was not alone when it happened.”

“And you shouldn’t, ever try practicing on your own again.” Asuna said quietly, “The Moon Princess never did. She always had one of her tutors, her mother, or Heathcliff there when she practiced.”

“You’re no fun Nee-chan…” Suguha grumbled.

Asuna leaned in close to Suguha, “Magic is serious business, Little Sister.”

Aki appeared over Asuna’s shoulder. “Enough, Asuna-kun.” He said, placing a large Crystal and one other thing on the coffee table.

Kazuto picked up the Crystal, “I’m guessing that this will tell us what branch of magic we have a talent for?” He asked.

“That’s exactly what it does.” Asuna said before Aki could even open his mouth. “Aki knows the spell to activate it, since he was once Heathcliff.”

“I wonder what my main talent is then…” Kazuto said curiously.

Asuna grinned, “Let’s find out…” She cast the spell, “Ātmada pratibheyannu nanage tōrisu.”

Kirito’s eyes widened as the Crystal began to glow a dark grey. “What do the colors mean?”

Asuna turned to Aki.

He smiled, “Shadow Magic tends to run in families. Hand the Crystal to Sugu, let’s see what her talents are.”

When Suguha took the Crystal, which stayed a dark grey, and developed hints of green. “Ok… So what’s the green mean?” she asked, handing Asuna the still active Crystal.

“Green is the color of Wind Magic.” Asuna explained as the Crystal began to glow a bright white. “And white, of course indicates Light Magic.” She stopped the spell and placed the Crystal back on the coffee table.

“The Illusion Spell that consumes the least amount of magic is a spell that generates a light that only the caster, and party members, can use to see.” Aki told them. “The words are: Laiṭ lārḍ, kattaleya mūlaka nam'ma mārgavannu gilḍ.”

“Lord of Light, Guide our path through the darkness?” Kazuto asked curiously.

Aki nodded. “Kazu, try casting the spell.”

Kazuto took a deep breath as he extended his hand, palm facing the ceiling. He reached for the energy that he’d touched when fighting the Youma, and then with his demonstration to the Senshi. It wasn’t so much that he didn’t know what his magic felt like; it was that he was having a hard time finding his magic.

“Finding my magic shouldn’t be this hard…” he grumbled.

“What was your mindset when you faced that Youma, or when you gave that demonstration to the Senshi?” Asuna asked.

Kazuto paused and thought for a moment, before he nodded. “Right,” he said as his expression changed. “Laiṭ lārḍ, kattaleya mūlaka nam'ma mārgavannu gilḍ.” He said and then a light appeared in front of him, softly illuminating the area.

“I see,” Kayaba said quietly. “It makes sense, as well.”

“What makes sense?” Suguha asked.

“A combat mindset,” Asuna said.

“Which will have to be trained out of everyone who has been through SAO,” Kayaba said. “I wanted both SAO and ALO to be run concurrently, with players going between them, partially for this reason. SAO to emphasize the combat skills, ALO to emphasize the magic and using it for things both within and outside of combat.”

“It’s a bad habit,” Asuna agreed. “But it is one that we had no choice but to develop, given our circumstances.”

Kirito closed his hand, extinguishing the light. “But, how do we train ourselves out of it?” He asked, “I get the feeling that just playing ALO isn’t going to cut it…”

“But it will help,” Kayaba said. “If only in getting you used to using magic, even if it’s only simulated there, outside of combat.”

Kirito turned slightly green as he remembered what his first experience with Illusion Magic had been, Shapeshifting. “There is one spell that I don’t think I ever want to actually use…”

Both Suguha and Asuna blinked and then winced as they recalled what spell he was referring to.

“Yeah,” Suguha said.

“We both saw why, Sugu,” Asuna said. “And I can imagine how it was from his perspective.”

“Care to explain?”

“Shapeshifting,” Asuna said. “Gleam Eyes. And just as bad tempered… and hungry.” She turned green.

“Pardon?” Kayaba asked, confused.

Kirito shivered, “I ate someone, Aki. Never again…” Kirito shook his head, “I think… I hope I never have to actually use that spell.”

“Wait… You did what?” Aki asked, his tone in disbelieving shock.

Kazuto’s mouth twisted as he sat on one of the couches, not reacting when Ēkate jumped into his lap, nuzzling his face gently. Finally, Kazuto hugged the huge cat. “I used the Shapeshifting Spell against a Salamander Raid Team and turned into the Gleam Eyes. I know that the other Player is fine but… I ended up eating one of them!”

“You… ate a Salamander?” Aki asked, not sure that he had heard Kazuto correctly. When Kazuto nodded, he sighed. “I can see why you would be… reluctant to use that spell then.” Heathcliff never had to deal with this, as far as I know, he thought. Then again, he might have heard about someone doing so in the Silver Millennium’s past, but that memory is either not there, or simply hasn’t come forward yet. And Serenity was fond of that spell…

“It’s too bad,” Asuna said, smiling awkwardly. “The Shapeshifting spell was one of Her favorite ones to use in her downtime. I think she was a Feathered Dragon, but nothing has come up to remind me of…” She blinked. “Oh… now there is. What?! That’s one way to learn the... ewww…”

“Asuna?” Kazuto asked.

“If Aincrad’s around, she might have some descendants,” Asuna said.

Aki blinked and then turned green as a memory came to him. “Oh, right,” he said. “She stayed in that form for a while and… oh my. So that’s why her mother was so amused and mentioned that she was keeping with family ‘tradition…’”

Suguha and Kazuto shared a confused glance.

“Had to teach them how to fly and hunt, all while learning the latter,” Asuna murmured. “They were adorable though. Blue and silver feathers. If Pina was real, she could have easily fit in with them.”

“Silica’s Pina?” Kazuto asked, unable to keep his confused amusement to himself. “Her adorable… blue Feathered Dragon? Why Asuna, naughty, naughty.”

“Well,” Asuna said with a smirk. “He did have some fetching dark blue plumage. And Kirito, I will put you into a dress, a nice ball gown, or maybe a Gothic Lolita dress, with all the accessories if this gets out. And parade you in front of everyone.”

“Why would I reveal this?” Kirito asked daringly. “Personal blackmail is a thing you know…”

“Gothic Lolita, with stockings, pumps, and undergarments it is, then,” Asuna said. “I’m sure I can track Ashley down and have her make something appropriate. She should know your measurements.”

Suguha started giggling uncontrollably.

Lux joined her. “Oh my, he would look so adorable.” She said.

“You looked quite lovely in my KoB uniform if I’m remembering correctly…” Asuna thought back to her birthday in SAO.

Kazuto raised his hands up. “Now, now, Asu-hime, we don’t need to go there,” he said hastily.

“Oh really?” She asked with a smirk. “If only you’d been a Feathered Dragon…” Asuna sighed.

Aki was shaking his head. “It is unlikely that you would really be Gleam Eyes,” He said, finally wrapping his head around the scene in front of him. “While your numbers in game would allow it… there has been no soldier; that Heathcliff knows of, that has actually taken that form, they just didn’t have the magical reserves for it. Not to mention that the level of mastery would require you to be of Magister level, to begin with.”

“Well, that’s a relief then.” Kazuto sighed, “I’d hate to actually eat someone…”

“I think I should end the lesson here then.” Aki said as he got up, “Would any of you like something to eat?”

Everyone present groaned at the question.

“Captain, that was bad and you should feel bad,” Asuna said. At the sound of a couple of growling grumbles, she and Kirito looked sheepish. “That being said, I can use a snack. You think we should pick up some Onigiri?”

“Why bother? I should have something in the kitchen…”

Dicey Cafe

Klein yawned as he and Dynamm entered the Dicey Cafe. “Hey Agil.” Klein called to the man behind the counter.

“I suppose you’re back from your physio session?” Agil asked, not looking up from what he was working on.

Klein’s eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw the Axe hanging on the wall. “What’s Nephrite’s favorite Axe doing hanging on your wall Agil!?” He asked.

Agil blinked, finally looking up at Klein and then looked to the Axe hanging behind him. “It’s my Axe, what about it?” he asked, as if the Axe had always been there.

“But, but…” Klein stopped himself before pouting. “Where did it come from?”

“My wife pulled it out of nowhere and killed a Youma with it, apparently,” Agil said.

Klein just looked dumbfounded. “What.”

“Your wife is badass.” Dynamm chuckled.

“Oh, that’s right…” Klein turned to his friend and Guildmate, “How did your date with Luna go?” He asked, wagging his eyebrows suggestively.

“It went swimmingly,” Dynamm said. “And get your mind out of the gutter, I don’t care how good the drinks are there. So Agil, what are you working on?” He asked, settling himself on a stool in front of Agil to get a look.

“We need a place for our leaders to meet up right?” Agil asked, “And yes, I know we will have the school too, come April.”

“But where would this place be?” Klein asked as he too sat down where he could see what Agil was doing.

“It would be here, since Kathy suggested it.” Agil replied, “Have you tried using magic since we got out of SAO?”

“I know better than to do that without someone to watch and, if necessary, call an ambulance if I try something that’s too much for me to handle,” Dynamm said. “We have the knowledge, but not the conditioning.”

Klein nodded in agreement. “We’re thinking we should wait and see what the Captain has in mind for training,” he added. “For us, we know what to expect and have Their memories to fall back on, but for anyone else who went through SAO…”

“They will have to unlearn almost as much as they will have to learn,” Agil agreed.

“Well, since there are three of us here, how about we try something basic?” Klein asked, “Like, say, a spell that produces light?”

Dynamm thought about it for a moment, “Whoever is not casting should have their phones ready, just in case.”

“Anyone have either Heathcliff or Kirito’s number?” Klein asked.

“I have Kirito’s, why?” Agil replied.

“He might be able to get in contact with Heathcliff,” Klein said. “Call it a hunch.”

“That is a good idea,” Agil agreed. “You think that Heathcliff might have something to help us?”

“He might,” Klein agreed. “It’s not like finding something from the Empire would have been easy to obtain, but Heathcliff was the Captain of the Royal Guard for a reason. Even if he didn’t find something, it is possible that he managed to kludge something together.”

Agil hummed in agreement as he started reaching for his phone. Unconsciously, he moved his hand as if he was going to open the Menu he didn’t have any more as the hand went for his cellphone.

He froze when his Menu appeared in front of him, everything but his Friend List greyed out. “What.”

Klein and Dynamm stared unblinkingly for a moment. “What in the name of…” Dynamm asked.

“Holy….” Klein agreed. “Since when do we still have the Menu?”

“Since always apparently…” Agil was just as confused as the other two reincarnates. “You still want me to get my phone out?”

“You probably should.” Klein agreed.

“Alright then.” Agil dismissed his Menu and pulled his phone free of his pocket.

Klein thought about it a little more, “Come to think about it… perhaps you should just call them out here so we can do this correctly…”

“Perhaps we should check to see if our affinities have remained the same or if they’ve changed.” Agil agreed almost cheerfully. He turned his phone on and called Kirito. “Commander.”

There was a moment of silence as Klein and Dynamm watched their friend.

“Yes, where is the Captain, is he with you?” Agil asked after a moment. “He is? That’s good.”

Agil fell silent as he listened to Kirito speak. “I see, well, I have Klein and Dynamm here, and we were hoping that he might have something that would help us do some… testing… Yes, we are willing to wait for you here.” After a moment, he nodded. “We’ll see you in a few minutes then.”

The three men had been so focused on the call that they hadn’t noticed Beryl and Endymion enter the establishment.

Upon spying Nephrite’s Axe on the wall, Endymion smiled impishly. “Do we want to know what that was about, Ryoutaru?” he asked.

“Oh, Endy-kun, I think the answer to that… is: yes…” Beryl-chan grinned.

Klein sighed. “I believe the two of you know Dynamm?”

Dynamm waved. “Hey, Beryl-chan, looking good today!”

“Why thank you Dynamm.” Beryl said flatly, the beginnings of a smile on her face. “So, Agil, how come something of that Zombie’s is hanging on your wall?”

“Funny, everyone has asked me about that…” Agil laughed. “I’ve told you about Kathy?”

“Your amazing wife? Yes you have.” Beryl nodded.

“Well, we still have things in our pockets.” Agil said as way of explanation. “And Shared Inventories are still a thing. Because Kathy used this axe to fight off and kill a Youma.”

Beryl-chan whistled in appreciation, “I need to meet this woman!”

“You will eventually.” Agil grinned back, “I’m very proud of her.”

“Good! Because I plan on making her one of my Bridesmaids.” Beryl-chan said rather smugly.

“But you haven’t met Kathy yet.” Agil pointed out.

“Oh, she’ll fit right in with Asuna-hime, Yuuna, Luna and Silica.” Beryl replied. “I’m not worried.”

Endymion reached over and tugged at some of her hair. “At least let me meet these girls before you go off planning their colors…”

Beryl turned huge green eyes on Endymion. “Who me? I’d never do that Endy-kun!”

Endymion started to sweat as his fiancée started pouting. Then he sighed. “I do want to meet them…” he reminded her, giving up.

“You will if you stick around,” Beryl-chan grinned, savoring her victory. “Asuna-hime is going to be my Maid of Honor.”

“I still can’t believe that you are on such good terms with her…” Endymion said, a small smile on his face. “But I’m really glad that she’s engaged to someone else.”

“So, are we waiting on anyone?” Beryl-chan asked, turning her attention back to the three Shitennou.

Klein, Dynamm, and Agil all shared a glance. “Should we tell them about…?” Klein asked.

“It might actually be better to wait.” Agil hedged.

Dynamm nodded, “The Captain, Commander and Princess are going to be here soon, there’s no need to say the same thing twice…”

Endymion rolled his eyes as he pulled Beryl-chan to one of the booths, “We are willing to wait.”

Three minutes later, the door opened again, this time it was it was the man they all recognized as Kayaba Akihiko who held the door open. And in came Kirito, Asuna, Lux, and a girl that they did not know.

Once his companions were inside, Kayaba closed the door behind him, but not before a huge black and white cat slipped inside. It reminded Agil of a Maine Coon on steroids.

“Well, Agil?” Kirito asked, coming to a stop at the bar. “It sounded urgent over the phone.”

Agil blinked, watching the domestic Siberian Tiger as it rubbed against the Commander’s legs, and how the young man started scratching behind the beast’s ear. Agil forced his mind back to the topic at hand. “Right, I suppose it would be much easier to just show you…” He raised his hand as if to open the Menu.

“You do realize that we don’t have the Menu anymore, right?” Asuna the First asked in amusement. “That’s not going to do anything.”

“You would be surprised, Princess.” Agil said as he brought his hand down and the Menu appeared.

“Eh? But…” Kirito leaned in to look at the Menu in front of Agil, and then repeated the action himself. “Ok… so we have to figure out how to hide our Menus…” He gazed down at the greyed out options.

Asuna looked over his shoulder. “Hm, it looks like some of our options aren’t working…” She observed.

“We should be thankful we have what we’ve got.” Kirito said as he dismissed the interface. “Now that we know we have it, we can work on fixing what’s not working.”

“If we can figure that out.” Kayaba spoke up to the first time.

Kirito turned his eyes to the older man and nodded. “If we can… it would be a boon.”

“What did you need of me?” Kayaba asked.

That surprised all of the people there that were closer to his own age. “You’re Heathcliff?” Endymion choked.

“You have a problem with my cousin?” asked the girl who looked like Kirito, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Cousin?” Endymion asked.

“Yeah, sure, everyone else here knows,” Kirito smirked, “Heathcliff is my brother.”

“He was the only one who wasn’t wearing his face during the game.” Beryl explained, “So we weren’t sure what he actually looked like.”

Kirito turned to him, “Aki, did you bring that Crystal that you used to test us?” He asked, one of his hands now scratching under the cat’s chin.

“I did indeed,” Kayaba replied, pulling the Crystal out of his book bag. “I suppose you want to know if you still have the same talents?”

“I think we are all curious.” Beryl-chan said for them all. “Commander, would you mind sharing yours?”

Kirito shook his head. “I have Shadow Magic, which, according to my source, runs in families, so Sugu here, who goes by Leafa in ALO also has it.”

“I’ve got Shadow Magic too!” Lux volunteered.

“As do I,” Kayaba agreed.

“I… I’d say that we are lucky to have four practitioners of Shadow Magic…” Beryl-chan had to sit down she was so surprised. “And I know that the only reason we have that many is that three of you are closely related.”

“I have Light Magic, surprise, surprise…” Asuna finished drily.

Kayaba handed Endymion the Crystal.

“I think I recognize this… it’s a training aid, isn’t it?” He asked, looking to the older man.

Kayaba nodded. “It is,” he said. “I’m just lucky that nothing happened to my brother when he and our Princess were ambushed.”

“I heard about that from Ami.” Endymion agreed, turning to Kirito. “You are lucky that there weren’t more.”

“You don’t have to tell me that.” Kirito huffed as he steered his younger sister to one of the booths and sat her down. “I know how lucky we were.”

“Endy-niisan, stop it.” Asuna said quietly. “No need to rub our noses in it.”

Endymion almost dropped the Crystal. “What did you just call me?” he asked, turning to the young Princess.

“I called you Nii-san.” Asuna gave him her most innocent look. “I may not be in love with you, but I am still fond of you.” She gave him a grin.

The cat meowed loudly. “Agil, can you get Ēkate some milk or something?” Kirito asked as the huge cat jumped up next to Leafa and settled himself across her lap.

“You called it… Ēkate?” Agil asked, “As in Unity?”

Kirito nodded, “Ēkate found me when he was still a kitten.” He shrugged, “I’m not sure if it was on accident or if he’d been watching me before he made himself known… Asuna has identified him as an Aincrad Sabercat.”

“A Sabercat?” Endymion asked in surprise. I’d thought they’d gone extinct…

“Yes, they are the domesticated form of the Aincrad Sabertiger.” Asuna spoke up as she settled herself across the table from Leafa. “They are loyal and intelligent cats. They are also fiercely protective of their Pride, which includes the humans who raise them. And yes, I know Pride is also used when talking about lions, but the Aincrad Sabercat used the term first. I’m going to have to find Ēkate a partner… Kirito-kun?”

“Yes?” Kirito turned to her.

“Do you know if Ēkate was Fixed?” Asuna asked, ignoring the uncomfortable grimaces from most of the males present.

Kirito looked thoughtful. “Not that I know of,” he said after a moment. He then looked at Kayaba, who shook his head.

“He wasn’t,” the older man said. “And it took a lot of fast talking to keep mom and dad from having it done.”

“Had you started remembering Heathcliff’s life at that point?” Kirito asked.

“Yes, and the appearance of Ēkate brought memories of the Sabercats to the surface.” Kayaba smiled sadly.

“Good, the best of the Feline Guard were always intact.” Asuna said as she showered affection on the ancient breed, finally noticing the white marking in the middle of the black spot on his forehead. “Well, hello Nephew…” she cooed as Ēkate purred.

“Eh?” Kirito blinked. “You mean that…”

“Yes,” Asuna agreed, “The felines that descended from her mother’s… kink, always had the royal symbol somewhere on their bodies.” She explained. She turned her attention back to Ēkate. “If Aincrad still exists… we are going to have to find him a breeding partner.”

Kirito looked at Asuna for a long moment. “Brother… how advanced is the… Metamorphosis spell?”

“It is one of the more advanced Neutral Spells.” Kayaba replied. “But I thought that you didn’t want to touch it after that Salamander Raid Incident?”

Kirito still hadn’t taken his eyes off his betrothed, “Just in case that… kink is still around…”

Asuna froze and then bushed darkly. “I don’t think so!”

“Not even if it’s me?” He asked innocently as everyone but Kayaba went green when they realized what Kirito was implying.

Asuna turned a steely gaze on her Consort. “Oh, you are going to look just so lovely…” she crooned so sweetly that Kirito paled.

“N-now Hime… there’s no need for that…” he backpedaled as quickly as he could.

“Nu-uh,” Asuna smirked, “I’m calling Ashley.”

Suguha smirked, “You’ve brought this on yourself, Onii-chan.”

Beryl started giggling at about the same time as Lux, their laughter soon spread to all the men in the Cafe but for Endymion.

Endymion blinked, not understanding what was so funny. “Mio-chan… care to explain to me what is going on?”

“I’m sorry, Endy-kun,” Beryl said between bouts of laughter. “Asuna-sama apparently has a… thing for dressing her Consort in women’s clothing, should he get her angry enough… or if she’s in the mood to Troll him.”

Kayaba grinned as he pulled out his phone and selected a picture. “Here, take a look at this.” He said, holding the phone out for Endymion to take.

Endymion blinked as he took the phone.

“You all suck!” Kirito declared with a pout, his shoulders slumping.

“Oh sit up, I will not have my Consort having lousy posture!” Asuna snapped back.

Wincing, Kirito did as instructed and straightened his back, his shoulders going up and back so that he was sitting properly.

Endymion looked at the picture and then to Kirito with an expression of pity.

Kayaba then cleared his throat, “Shall we all get back to what we were supposed to be doing here?” he asked pointedly.

Asuna cast the spell and the Crystal in Endymion’s grasp started glowing a dark brown.

“Earth Magic, that’s not very surprising.” Endymion said as he handed the Crystal to his fiancée, who took it and gave it a glance.

“As if there was any doubt that you’d still be an Earth Mage…” Beryl chuckled. “Huh, I seem to be a water mage this time around…” She mused, “I better brush up on my healing spells, not to mention the ice magic and stuff to make people really regret going after me.” She handed it over to Dynamm.

Feeling nervous for no apparent reason, Dynamm took the Crystal and looked into it. “Huh, I seem to be a Water Mage too…” he held it out to Klein, who took it.

“Huh… Dark Magic is the main one,” Klein said as he handed the crystal to Agil. “And we have Earth and a bit of Air thrown in for flavor. Kunzite’s used to be only fire.”

“Dark Magic… Isn’t that what Imps have in ALO?” Kirito asked, looking up at his brother.

“It is.” Kayaba agreed.

“Well, looks like someone is going to have an Imp Alt.” Kirito said with a grin.

Klein huffed, handing the Crystal to Agil who took it.

“Huh, I’ve now got Earth Magic.” Agil shrugged as he handed it back to Kayaba. “Nephrite was a Water Mage. but this works for me.” He looked at Dynamm. “I’ll put together some notes of what Nephrite knew. He was a master of Divination, which Water Magic works well with.

“Fire too, from what Rei-chan has told me.” Klein piped up with a grin.

“You are just pleased that you might finally have a girlfriend now.” Dynamm said flatly. “And I just know the Universe is protesting that disruption of the Cosmic Order.”

“Well you aren’t exactly bishie either, Zoicite…” Klein teased back.

Beryl began laughing.

“Beryl-chan…” Kirito said from the booth he was sharing with Asuna and his sister, “Would you please enlighten us as to what it is that you find so funny?”

“Their talents changed…” Beryl giggled. “I foresee much trouble as they try to break the habits that might have carried over in reincarnation…”

Endymion started laughing to once she said that. “Oh to be a fly on the wall when they trip up…” he chuckled.

Kirito chuckled lightly too, “I suppose.” Ah the opportunities to collect Blackmail material… Not to mention teasing rights and he’d have something to use against them if, or rather, when they started teasing him about who wore the pants in his relationship.

Everyone knew that it was his wife that was in charge, He certainly didn’t feel as if his masculine pride was on the line because of it. Really, they shouldn’t be teasing him. Besides which, his wife pulled slacks off magnificently. Then again, he thought she made everything she wore beautiful. No, he didn’t care that he was biased about it either. He had the best wife on the planet.

Asuna eyed her Consort for a moment and easily slid into his lap, “What are you thinking about?”

“Just how beautiful you make everything you wear.” Kirito replied with a blush.

Asuna smiled, “I’m still punishing you.”

Kirito rolled his eyes, a small smile tugging at his lips. “Yes dear.”

He blinked in confusion as he opened the door to his favorite Cafe and saw a large group on people settled around the booths and table. “Hey Andrew,” he called, “I thought this place would be deserted since it’s early in the afternoon?”

Andrew turned, “Oh hey, Tamaishi.” he called back, “What have you been doing?”

Tamashi shrugged. “Oh, you know, the usual,” he said. “Get up, go to work, go home, play some ALO and work with my brother in making our faction the strongest, go to bed. Nothing unusual.” He looked around and spied Kirito and Asuna and his eyes widened briefly before he continued to look around, pausing at the sight of Endymion and Beryl. “And today is not going to be the usual, I see.”

Andrew laughed. “You can say that,” he said.

Tamaishi turned to Kirito and Asuna. “I suppose the Three Hundred Sleepers are awake now?”

“They are,” Kirito said. “One was already trying to break out on her own before getting caught and gave us a backdoor to get everyone out.” He chuckled. “Had she not gotten caught when she did, she probably would have pulled it off, too. She’s chomping at the bit to get out of the hospital right now, though she hasn’t raised a ruckus outside of complaining about wanting to be out of there.”

“Despite being DDA Silica knows that she will be released when the doctors are sure she’s fine and that cooperating with them will make that happen sooner,” Klein said. “It helps that Lind told her that all of us had to deal with it ourselves. I talked with her earlier today, and she said she should be out in a week.”

“That soon?” Asuna asked.

“We did learn a bit from dealing with you all,” the man who looked very much like Tamaishi’s memories of Endymion said drily. “It’s more getting her used to the fact that she has to remember how to move around and that she is not as strong as she is used to being. Well, that and the fact that her body has changed from what she’s used to. She grew a bit, and other developments, so she is having to adjust to her new center of balance as well.”

Kirito and Asuna both nodded in sympathy. “Yeah, that is not fun.” Asuna agreed.

“…Tamaishi…” the woman who looked suspiciously like Beryl, if with dichromatic hair right now, said before trying not to laugh. “Hey Jadeite! Long time no see!” She clutched at her middle, “Ow, my sides…”

Tamaishi gave her a glare. “The name is Eugene, Beryl.” He shot back sarcastically, turning his attention back to Andrew, and caught sight of the Axe. “I still can’t believe that your wife was able to lift that Axe.”

“What can I say, my Kathy is amazing.” Andrew grinned.

“Yeah, well, every man who’s been married thinks that of their wife.” Kirito interjected.

Endymion nodded, putting an arm around Beryl. Who, along with Asuna, preened at the praise.

“So, why did you come here at this time of day, Eugene?” Andrew asked, using the gaming name his friend had long preferred, and for good reason.

“Eh, just my regular, why is everyone here anyway?” Tamaishi asked.

Kirito was looking at him curiously, “Do you know what ALO is?”

“Isn’t it just a game?” Tamaishi asked curiously.

“It’s not.” Kirito said as he held out a huge Crystal. “Here, depending on how high your magic stat in game is, you might be able to actually use magic.”

Tamaishi took the Crystal and frowned. “This thing is familiar.”

“It should be,” Asuna whispered the spell to activate it.

Tamaishi frowned when it started to glow a blue. “Typical… I’m a Salamander.”

“All you really need to do is create an Undine Alt.” Kirito suggested with a teasing grin..

“Shut up you!” Tamaishi grumbled, pouting.

All the people in the cafe started laughing as Andrew brought him a cup of coffee.

Chapter Text

February 9, 2025; Tokorozawa General Hospital

Silica looked up from her book when the door to her hospital room opened, “Good morning, Dad.” she said with a smile.

The morning after she’d woken up, her father had almost squeezed the life out of her he had been hugging her so tightly. Strangely enough, though her father’s grip had been uncomfortably tight, she hadn’t felt as if she could not breathe.

“Good morning, Keiko.” Her father replied. “Are you ready to go home?” He asked.

“More than ready.” Silica agreed as she got up and sat in the wheelchair grumbling. She could walk just fine, but it was better to go with what the doctors wanted her to do. “Having my friends visit was nice, but I’d rather be meeting them somewhere else.”

It would probably still be a couple weeks, minimum, before she’d be able to report to Lind and Kirito for duty. She was looking forward to meeting Yuna and Luna again. And killing some Youma, maybe.

But first, she needed to get used to being home and not living in a video game.

“Well, let’s get you home first, and then maybe your mother will make your favorites for dinner.” Her father replied.

“That would be wonderful dad.” Silica agreed. It was going to be so strange not having Pina around, especially since the Dragon had been with her for so long. Pina would be there, but at the same time… that Pina was a cat. And though she might love that cat to death… She wasn’t the feathered dragon that had been her constant companion for over a year.

Aincrad, Eighth Floor Stasis Hold

Rameses Soulfire stretched as he stood up from the stasis pod, idly looking at the chronometer on the wall. A thousand years this time, huh? He thought idly. Time for the adults to make sure that the systems are all working, repair and refurbish everything they can, and for me to get back to checking the various biomes on Aincrad’s floors. I doubt that anything new has come up, outside of something important breaking and needing repairs, replacement, or an improvised fix. Again.

In other words, the usual routine. For him, like the last two awakenings, he would likely be tasked with checking on the various parts of Aincrad’s many ecosystems. If he was quick, he could volunteer to be on the teams doing the Bottom Ten floors. Floors forty through fifty were nice, especially the forty-seventh, but he wanted to stay close to home this time. Well, that and not having to try and avoid, run away from, fight, or improvise a dangerous solution to being trapped and hunted by Aincrad’s wildlife.

That had been an interesting two weeks on the eighty-fifth floor. Interesting, in the Plutonian sense, that was.

He had enough scars, thank you, two in particular from those two weeks. No need to add to the collection this Awakening.

He was a decent fighter, even the civilians of Aincrad knew how to fight the various beasts that made Aincrad their home these days, if only so they could hold them off long enough for help to arrive or make an opening to allow them to get to safety. Well, once they were older than eleven, in awakened years, that was.

It was easier to simply list their ages based on how many years they had been awakened, rather than the number of years since their birth. Otherwise, he would be listing his age as being over ten thousand years old, rather than fifteen.

A disgruntled meow drew his attention to the pod, where he spotted Rājakumāri, the Sabercat Queen that had adopted him as her human nearly a decade ago when she was a kitten, jumping out of it and shooting it an irate look. Ever since they started going in and out of stasis, she had gotten increasingly irate about having to spend time in it, despite the fact that they would spend the next two years wandering around Aincrad doing various tasks.

Not that he could blame her. He had only been five when everything went to Tartarus and the five awakenings since. He still remembered the terror as Aincrad had to deal with an invasion of Avyavastheya Racanegaḷu. He and his family had barely made it to a defended area. And then, they lost contact with everyone outside of Alfheim sending word that they were enacting continuation measures.

Yet, the times in stasis were shortening. The systems may be the best that the Her Majesty could provide for a habitat that housed millions, but everything was long past the point where they should have been replaced. They weren’t meant to be in use for over ten thousand years, even with maintenance and refurbishing. Ten percent of them had already failed as it was, taking the lives of those who were in them.

His parents among them.

Not that his loss was unique in that regard. The number of those here, born on Aincrad or not, who hadn’t lost someone due to a system failing, some accident, Aincrad’s own wildlife, or simple bad luck, had long since become fewer than those who had. And that number was going to continue to drop.

At least his parents’ deaths had been peaceful, if the lack of obvious attempts at breaking out of their pods were any indication. They had simply gotten into the pods, gone to sleep, and never woke up.

He shook that line of thought out of his head as he brought up his Mystic Tome. It has been two awakenings since he underwent the surgery for the implants needed to make more use of it outside of messaging others without exhausting oneself. The name may be a throwback to a time when magic was far more magical than the well-studied science it was now, let alone the merging with technology that had made the Kingdom possible, but why change the name?

The implants weren’t a complete necessity, but they made it far easier, and less taxing. He still remembered the training on how to do so with them disabled and being brought to his knees the first dozen times. That it was only a dozen times was remarkable, most took far more time to be able to handle the strain and some never managed it.

He was still debating on whether he should accept the offers to train as a mage or not. It’s not like he was especially talented in magic. He was decent, but he wasn’t a budding prodigy. Besides, it wasn’t as if they could send him to any of the Empire’s various academies that had been set up. He had heard, once, that the Silence may have been invoked.

Which would explain why there hasn’t been any communication with anywhere else in ten thousand years. Hopefully, Earth had been spared.

He idly began to pet Rājakumāri, taking care to give her the scratches along the symbol of the Queen that marked her bloodline for what it was that she liked and was rewarded with a purr. He might not be able to communicate with her as well as an actual Tamer would, he didn’t have the natural talents for the role, but there was a reason why he had been given tasks relating to Aincrad’s wildlife and biomes. Well, outside of his inclination to explore and wander.

Besides, the two of them had been constant companions since he was four.

“Let’s see if there’s anything I need to see to before I go down to Seran Dael and try and get a good assignment,” he said. A yowl from Rājakumāri made him chuckle. “Okay, we get a good assignment. I’m going to try for the Bottom Ten, be close to home for the next two years for a change. And yes, that means you can go and annoy that one Pride you liked to. Just don’t try and pounce on the flock of feathered dragons that are the Princess’ children and grandchildren this time. She might not be here, but old Nīli is not going to take that calmly. You know what happened last time.”

Rājakumāri gave a meow that he knew to mean that she was not promising anything.

Rameses chuckled as he went through the messages. Update on the status of Aincrad… nothing critical broke in the last thousand years. Good to know. Notice of a probe flyby with a backtracked path leading in system. Them managing to catch another probe as it entered the planet’s atmosphere… backtracking of the first probe indicates Earth as the probable origin, with the second likely being from the same planet... wait, what?

Where had the Probe come from? Perhaps he should see if he can get a look at that probe first.

“Looks like we will be late in getting to Seran Dael,” Rameses said. “Want to check something out, Rājakumāri?”

Rājakumāri meowed in a way that Rameses knew meant that she was annoyed and impatient.

Rameses stood and walked to the door. Opening it, he stepped out and jumped back. “Whoa!” He shouted in surprise as a light blue feathered dragon rapidly flew past. He turned to watch as the feathered dragon made a beeline for the Teleport Station. “Hey wait! You can’t go there!” He shouted after it, “Come on, Rājakumāri, we need to stop that feathered dragon!”

February 12, 2025; Japan: Kawagoe Prefecture, Kirigaya Residence

Asuna set her bag down on the counter, “Hey Sugu,” she called.

“What do you need, Nee-chan?” Suguha asked, poking her head into the kitchen.

“Can you make sure that your brother doesn’t come in here to ruin the surprise.” Asuna asked as she pulled out the tools that she needed to make Chocolate.

Suguha blinked, “Oh right, Valentine’s day is in a few days…” She smiled, “Sure. Have you found what you are going to make Onii-chan wear yet?”

“I have, I went to see Ashley and she whipped up just what I needed.” Asuna smirked, “I’m going to make him wear it when we go out on Valentine's.”

“Can’t wait to see what you’ve cooked up.” Suguha agreed.

February 14, 2025

Asuna woke up slowly, smiling as she sat up; looking down at Kirito’s sleeping face. She carefully got up and placed a box onto his desk. Carefully opening the box, she made sure that everything was still inside and closed it. There was still something that needed to be added. She snapped her fingers quietly.

She needed to go get the chocolate that she’d made a few days ago. Silent as a ghost, Asuna made her way to the kitchen to get the chocolate she’d made.

When she got there, she saw that the light was already on. When she entered the kitchen, she saw that it was Kirigaya Kenshin, who was examining the chocolate that she’d made. “Good morning, Honored Grandfather.” She said quietly.

“Good morning, Asuna.” Kenshin replied, turning his gold flecked eyes on her. “You made this chocolate, I take it?”

“Yes, for Kazuto-kun.” Asuna agreed, being careful to be formal with the man. He was rather old fashioned, but that was alright by Asuna, he reminded her of her own grandparents on her mother’s side of the family. “Though, I think that you’ll find the punishment I have planned to be… amusing…” she smiled as she made her way to Kenshin’s side and collected the Chocolate. “I have to get back to him before a nightmare wakes him though.”

“I will see you later then, though you and Kazuto are free to join Suguha and I for our morning practice.” Kinshin told her.

Asuna turned back to him, “We just might.” She disappeared back up the stairs and into Kirito’s bedroom.

Kirito had turned to one side and was patting the side of the bed that she slept on, looking for her.

Asuna smiled as she placed the chocolate on top of the box and climbed back onto the bed, cuddling back into his side. She closed her eyes as Kirito wrapped his arm around her middle and settled back into a calm sleep. Well, she couldn’t move, so she settled down for a nap.

Half an hour later, Kirito finally woke up. “Good morning, Asuna.” he whispered.

“Good morning.” Asuna leaned up so that she was looking down at him with a smile.

“You left for a bit.” He said as she leaned down.

“Do you know what today is?” she asked, teasingly.

“Today’s Valentine’s Day.” Kirito leaned up and gave her a kiss. “So, what’s the plan for today?”

Asuna got out of bed, “I have something for you.”

Kirito sat up, not saying anything since it likely had to do with that punishment. He was not looking forward to this. “Must it be today?”

Asuna smiled sweetly, “Yes, yes it does, Kirito-kun.” She replied smugly. She picked up the box and held it out to him.

Kirito sighed, taking the box from her. “Fine.” It wasn’t as if he didn’t trust her, His Asuna-hime did have a good eye for what he looked good in. He pulled the box open. As she said, it was Gothic Lolita, but it wasn’t as bad as it could have been, strictly speaking. Under the dress was everything else he’d need to put on. At least he wasn’t going to look more like an idiot than he already would…

“You do know that the rest will never let me live this down, right?” He asked, looking up at Asuna from the contents of the box.

“What if I told you we’d get to Snuggle in Alfheim Online?” She asked with the sexiest purr he had ever heard.

“How long will I be wearing it?” He asked in defeat.

“Not very long.” Asuna replied.

“So, not all day then?” Kirito asked hopefully.

“No, but I am going to take you to the Dicey Cafe, you can change out of it once we get back.” Asuna promised.

“Thank you.” Kirito carefully started to pull the clothes out of the box.

Dicey Cafe

Agil was helping his wife clean up after the morning rush when the door opened. He looked up, “Oh hey Asuna… Kirito?” He began to smile.

Kirito gave him a flat look under the black hat on his head. The black dress he had on was incredibly frilly, with ruffles and a black petticoat under the skirt of it. He had black tights on his legs and low-heeled black pumps with a strap across the instep of his feet on as well. All in all, he looked far more feminine wearing that than any male, even him, should.

“What are you punishing him for, Princess?” Agil asked, “He looks good.”

“He spread something that I didn’t want anyone else to find out.” Asuna shrugged, “It was something I’d found out about her a few days ago.”

“Embarrassing detail?” Agil asked.

“More like disturbing.” Asuna corrected as she took a seat, “Let’s just leave it at that. And keep your legs closed or cross crossed when you sit down, Kirito. You shouldn’t be sitting with them spread open like you would in pants while wearing a dress.”

Carefully Kirito crossed his ankles, his sister had done this to him a time or two before they had drifted apart, and he still remembered that much. And he still hadn’t found all the pictures she and his adoptive mother took. “I hate you right now,” he said with a pout.

“No you don’t, because you know what we are going to be getting up to in ALO later…” Asuna teased.

Kirito looked away, blushing lightly.

“You look good in that,” Said Kathy with a grin as she appeared next to them, “Would you like something to drink?”

“Black tea please.” Kirito said quietly, sounding almost as demure as he looked.

Agil’s eyes almost popped out of his head at the sound. “You sound like a girl when you do that, Commander.”

Kirito huffed, pulling out a black fan, “Who me?” He asked innocently in the same tone, hiding everything but his eyes with it.

Asuna reached out and pulled Kirito into a kiss. She was finding the way he was acting, very hot.

Kathy brought out the black tea and two cups. “Enjoy.”

“We will, thank you,” Kirito smiled demurely.

After about an hour after they’d arrived at the small cafe, Asuna decided that it was time for them to leave. “Ok, your punishment has lasted long enough, Kirito-kun, it’s time to head home.” She declared.

Kirito relaxed with a sigh, “Thank goodness.” He said, following her to the door, “We’ll see you later, Agil.”

Agil waved, “Kathy and I are going to be logging in later.”

“Then maybe we’ll meet you there.” Asuna replied with a wave.

Kawagoe: Kirigaya Residence

Kirito ghosted up to his room to change as soon as they arrived. “So, what’s on the to-do list, now that my punishment is over?” Kirito asked as he pulled a long sleeved dark blue t-shirt on over his head.

Asuna took a moment to appreciate the view before answering. “Well, unfortunately, we can’t skimp on anything, our first Patrol is tonight, unfortunately. We were never going to escape that.”

“And it just so happened that our first time was going to be on Valentine’s Day…” Kirito grumbled as he pulled on a pair of black slacks. “Any meetings that we need to be at?”

“No, though that could very well change.” Asuna replied with a shake of her head. “Which reminds me…” She turned to Luna, who was sitting on Kirito’s dresser. “I think you were supposed to give me something before we went out tonight?”

Luna nodded, “Indeed.” The Mau said as something appeared under her right paw. “This broach will let you transform into Senshi Moon.”

The broach fit in the palm of her hand and Asuna studied it closely after picking it up. It was round, almost a half sphere in gold with a crescent moon as a decoration with four smaller round circles, one on each quarter, that represents each of the Inner Senshi that fight alongside her; Red for Senshi Mars, Blue for Senshi Mercury, Green for Senshi Jupiter and Orange for Senshi Venus. “I take it the colored circles at the four corners represent the Inner Senshi?” She asked, looking up from the broach to Luna.

“They do indeed,” Luna agreed. “Before you transform for the first time, I need to say one thing: All of the other uniforms will change after you Transform to a more… standardized form.”

“That means that the uniforms of the others will shift to be similar to mine, or even the same, sans color?” Asuna asked.

“Yes,” her past life’s mother’s and now her adviser confirmed. “But the others have had theirs individualized for so long that I very much doubt that theirs will shift to match yours completely.”

“Well, there’s no reason for me to actually use this yet…” Asuna concluded, “Perhaps later, when it’s closer to the time for us to go out on Patrol.”

“That reminds me, Asuna-hime, what are we going to do about armor for myself and my soldiers?” Kirito asked as he appeared at her side. “Our Blacksmiths need to get a space to work, not to mention get back in the swing of crafting.”

“That is a good question,” Asuna hummed, “Where would they work?”

“We’ll have to ask,” Kirito said as he opened the door for her and the left the room with Luna following.

Dicey Cafe

Agil grinned as his three friends came through the door. “Good afternoon guys.”

“Hey Agil, I suppose today is the day we start training?” Eugene asked.

“I had thought that we could.” Agil replied, “And while we are doing that, Kathy is going to be in the back.”

“Can we have snacks then?” Dynamm asked with a grin.

Agil shrugged. “Depends, can you pay for it?” He asked with a grin.

“You are such a troll, Agil.” Klein grumbled.

Eugene and Agil chuckled in amusement. “I’m a gamer what else would I be, Kunzite?” Agil asked with a grin.

“Oh stuff it, Nephrite!” Klein grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Boss, you’re an idiot.” Dynamm rolled his eyes.

“Oh, shut up, Zoicite.” Klein pouted, sending the other three into gales of laughter.

“Ok, that’s enough, we are here to train.” Agil said as he calmed down. “So, let’s see what we can do.”

They each pulled out their cell phones and placed them on a nearby table, for just in case.

Minato Ward

“Are you sure that a Staff will be enough?” Mamoru asked as he watched his fiancée get ready for their first Patrol.

“It is what I used for close combat in SAO.” Mio replied. “Just remember to call me Beryl-chan once we leave the house.”

“But what if the Senshi attack you?” He asked in alarm.

“I don’t look like my past self anymore, Endymion.” Mio told him with a serious look on her face. “I’m sure I’ll be just fine.”

“If you say so,” Mamoru replied in a tone that he didn’t fully share her opinion but wouldn’t object to her decision, “Is this going to be a competition?”

“No, I don’t think so.” Mio grinned, “Not unless we run into the Commander…”

Why would his being there turn it into a competition? Mamoru wondered.

“Are we going or not dear?” Mio asked.

“Right, right.” Mamoru agreed as he opened the door and they set out.

“Oh, hey Mamoru!” A voice called out from behind them, and Mamoru and Mio turned around.

“Oh, hey Minako,” Mamoru replied with a wave, “How are you?”

“Heading to the meeting actually.” Minako replied, “Is this the Mio we’ve been hearing about?” She asked, eying Mio’s dichromatic hair. “Nice hair… That shade though…”

“There’s a reason that I’ve been dying it.” Mio grinned, “And yes, that shade of red is natural.” She sighed.

“That’s the same shade as… Beryl’s…” Minako frowned, “Were you afraid that we would attack first, ask questions never?”

“That was part of it.” Mio agreed, “My username for SAO was Beryl. A bit of a fuck you to that bitch on my part. The Commander and everyone else have taken to calling me Beryl-chan for obvious reasons.”

“Well, your green eyes are rather striking,” Minako smiled. “Mamoru, are you coming to the meeting today?”

“Oh, there was supposed to be a meeting today?” Mamoru asked, “I must have forgotten about it…”

“It’s fine; I’m headed there right now.” Minako waved his question away.

“Then yes, we’ll come.” Mamoru agreed.

Kawagoe: Kirigaya Residence

The Doorbell rang as Kirito and Asuna were getting ready to leave, “Sugu, can you get that?” Kirito called down the stairs.

“Just a second!” Suguha called back as she came in from the Dojo. She made her way to the front door and checked to see who it was, “It’s… I think you called her Lux?”

“Then let her in.” Kirito called back as he came out of his room.

Suguha unlocked the door and pulled it open. “Welcome, Lux, it’s nice to see you again.”

“Nice to see you as well, Sugu, may I call you that?” Lux asked.

“That’s fine.” Suguha replied as Kirito’s bedroom door opened again and Asuna came out of the room ready to go.

“Evening, Commander, Princess.” Lux said, turning her attention for Kirito and Asuna as they came down the stairs. She gave them both a salute.

“At ease,” Kirito smiled, “Nice to see you as well, Lux. Are you ready for your first Patrol?”

“Yes sir, don’t we also have that meeting to go to?”

“We do, and Patrol is after that.” Asuna told her. “Would you rather apply the illusion now, or when we get to the Hikawa Shrine in the Minato Ward?”

“I think it would be a better idea to wait,” Lux replied with a bow, “At least until I’m more used to casting the spell. Captain Heathcliff has suggested that I get my hair cut and dyed at the moment as well.”

“I’m sure Inanna wouldn’t mind doing that for you once we get there,” Asuna smiled as she followed Kirito to the garage, “Are you coming or not?”

Lux blushed slightly as she hurried after them. “Yes, I’m coming.” She replied.

Minato Ward: Hikawa Shrine

Kirito slowed his bike down as they got close to the Hikawa Shrine and his eyes widened slightly when he saw that Rei had put his name on a Parking Spot. Well, that made it very easy. He slid into the spot and kicked the kickstand and dismounted the bike.

Asuna followed his example and pulled her helmet off. “I’m glad that we aren’t going to have to worry about parking.”

“And we are early.” Kirito agreed as he helped Lux out of the sidecar. “Which is important, since Princess Hathor doesn’t have any confidence in us, even after I demonstrated what kind of magic we would use.”

“Are you sure that I shouldn’t cast the illusion until later, Commander?” Lux asked, taking off her helmet as well.

“Yes, especially since you only just started casting spells.” Kirito said, turning to the other girl. “I have a different problem, my brother… Activated my magic somehow. But I haven’t used it since I was three. Not that I… wait, there was that one time when Asuna and I had to… deal with Kuradeel. I’m not in…‘shape’ anymore. You, on the other hand are just starting out.”

“Oh, I see.” Lux smiled.

Kirito locked his bike up and they headed up the stairs.

Kirito opened the door and let Asuna and Lux into the meeting room.

Rei looked up, “You are all really early.”

“I thought it would be best if we were as early as possible, Badb.” Asuna said as she sat down. “Kirito-kun, the maps.”

“Maps?” Rei asked as Kirito opened the bag he was carrying and pulled out several road maps of Minato, Kawagoe, Setagaya, and Nerima. “Being early is best… seeing as Haruka can’t seem to wrap her head around the fact that you are different than she thought you would be. So, why the maps?”

“Well,” Kirito said as he spread the maps of Setagaya, Kawagoe, and Minato over the table, “We want to see if those damned Zombies are expanding their web, or if they are changing where their operations take place.” He pulled out a packet of markers. “Purple for the Youma, and then I’ve got blue, green, red and grey for where the Zombies have been known to appear.”

Rei bit the inside of her lip, “What about the warehouses where they store the Life Energy that they manage to collect?”

Kirito checked the marker case, “I’ve got gold in here, would that work?” He asked.

“Yes, that’s the hue that Life Energy takes.” Rei replied.

Kirito stiffened when he felt someone appear behind him. “Rei, is there anyone standing behind me?” he asked as he pulled out a small sheet of paper to make sure that there was still ink in all the markers that they were going to use.

Rei looked over his shoulder, “Not that I can see.”

Kirito tossed the box the markers had been in, which was caught by a pouting Pluto. “I told you not to try that with me, Pluto.” Kirito reminded her.

“That’s not fair; you should have waited until the rest got here…” Pluto grumbled.

“If you want me to shock the rest then that’s fine.” Kirito replied. “Rei, how long until the others get here?”

“Not for another thirty minutes.” Rei replied. “Who is the new girl?”

“This is Lux, she wants to be my body double for whatever reason.” Kirito replied.

Pluto disappeared as Rei gave Lux a confused look. “How does that work, she looks nothing like you.”

“You’ll see after everyone else gets here.” Kirito looked up at the priestess, “She hasn’t been using her magic long either, so she needs to conserve her magic.”

Lux nodded in agreement. “I don’t want to waste my magic.”

“That is a good reason not to,” Rei agreed with a nod of approval. “Wasting magic when you’ve just started using it is a good way to make mistakes that will get you killed in situations like the one we are in.”

“That was Heathcliff’s thought too.” Kirito said as he put the markers down. “It was part of the lesson he gave us when he checked what kind of magic we had talents for.”

Haruka and Michiru were the first of the Senshi to arrive for the meeting, Haruka giving Kirito an appraising look and ignoring Asuna almost completely. “What’s with…?” She started to ask.

“Hathor, please wait for everyone to get here before asking questions.” Asuna cut her off.

Haruka gave Asuna a scowl but kept her mouth shut.

Kirito and Asuna both withheld a sigh of relief when the older woman didn’t argue.

After Haruka and Michiru, Minako and Makoto arrived, Makoto with a platter of cookies. Seeing the maps on the table, she placed the platter on one of the other flat surfaces. Endymion and Beryl-chan came in quietly and stood off to the side.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Asuna stood up and brought her hands together, “We’ve all arrived. Good. Now, I don’t know how these meetings are supposed to go, but I thought it would be a good idea to figure out where our enemy has been appearing. I brought these maps and markers for just this reason.” She picked up one of the markers. “To make this easier, we are going to create a web of color, each one represents a different enemy: Purple for Youma, Blue for Jadeite, Red for Nephrite, Green for Zoicite, Grey for Kunzite, and Gold for the stored Life Energy they have managed to collect.”

“Creating this map will help me as well,” Kirito said after waiting a moment to see if Asuna would continue. “At the last count, I have around a thousand under my command that can be sent out to deal with the weaker Youma. And we are still tallying how many will recover from SAO enough to be useful.” He paused, “And with only seven of you active as of this moment… there is just too much ground for you to cover on your own.” His eyes narrowed at Haruka when the woman opened her mouth to cut in, “And no, Princess Hathor, that is not an insult to your ability, numbers are a thing that can’t be avoided. The Senshi can only be in so many places at once, even if Setsuna could manipulate time to allow you all to be in multiple places at once.” He looked at the Senshi of Pluto, who shook her head.

Haruka gave Kirito a glare but kept her mouth shut.

Lux stayed quiet as she watched Kirito and Asuna interact with the Senshi. So far, everyone had seemed to be respectful and even nice in most cases. The expression on Princess Hathor’s face, however, was filling her with dread. That woman was likely to be a thorn in their sides.

“Lux, leave it alone, Asuna-hime will handle her.” Kirito’s quiet voice shocked her out of her thoughts.

“Yes, Commander.” Lux obeyed. How had he known what she was thinking about?

By the time the bulk of the meeting was over, the map of Minato was covered in purple, blue, and some gold. There was not much in Setagaya or Kawagoe, but Setagaya still had more activity.

“Well, I can’t say I’m surprised by this spread,” Asuna frowned. “I live in Setagaya…”

“It’s closer to Minato than Kawagoe, for one,” Kirito said. “Though the increased activity there is concerning. While no one, outside of us, know who you are… It would be a disaster if the Dark Kingdom found out who you were.” He looked up at her. “When you transform, what do you want us to call you?”

“Well… it can’t be Princess, because that would defeat the purpose…” Asuna said thoughtfully, “And I can’t use my name…”

“Yes, using your Civilian name for SAO was a terrible idea.” Kirito agreed, “Ow! What was that for?”

Asuna lowered her hand, “You deserved that, Kirito-kun…” She muttered. “Well, according to the background information from SAO… The names of the different Moon gods and goddesses from the religions around the world were the kings and queens of the Moon so… Maybe I could use one of those names…?”

“No iteration of Selene.” Kirito said, rubbing the back of his head. “That would give it away.”

Ami opened her Computer and did a quick search. “How about we go down a list?”

“Nothing that would make it obvious.” Asuna repeated.

“That’s fine.” Ami said as she activated the projector. “We have Artemis and Hecate from Greek Myth, but then that would get confusing because we already have one Artemis.”

Both Artemis and Luna are out anyway,” Kirito said into the silence that followed, “Because your friend Usagi is my Luna and then there is Minako’s partner.”

Ami nodded, going through the list, “Diana is Roman, there’s Alignak which is Inuit in origin…” She continued, “Cerridwen, which is Celtic, Chang’e which is Chinese, I don’t think the Aztec Goddess is appropriate…”

“You mean the one who got her head chopped off?” Asuna asked, complexion going slightly green at the thought.

“Yes, that’s the one I’m talking about.” Ami replied, going to the next name, “There’s Sina, which is Polynesian, and then Thoth, from Egypt. And that’s just the first list I found.”

Kirito met Asuna’s eye, “Should we keep looking for a name, Asuna-hime?” He asked.

Asuna broke eye contact and looked down at the maps, “Let me think about the names already mentioned for a bit.”

Kirito nodded.

The meeting was finally over, and luckily, the one Lux knew as Princess Hathor had kept her mouth shut. Nervously, Lux got up and approached Minako. “Um…”

“Was there something you needed?” Minako asked, giving Lux a pleasant smile.

“I was hoping that you would agree to cut my hair?” Lux asked too quietly for most of the rest of the room to hear her. “I’d like to dye my hair too, to match the Commander’s.”

“You have such beautiful hair, it seems a waste.” Minako said as she studied Lux’s hair. “However, I don’t see why not, alright.” She turned to Rei, “Rei-chan, we are going to head for the bathroom.”

“Take as long as you need to,” Rei waved them off.

Half an hour later, Minako came back. “Well, I’m finished.” She turned to the hallway, “Come on out, Lux.” Minako called.

Lux stepped into the brightly lit room, her hair cropped to the same length as Kirito’s and dyed to match.

“I don’t see how this will help things.” Haruka sneered at Lux and Kirito.

Kirito smirked, “Lux, cast the spell.”

“Skuggi spegill, gefðu mér það form sem endurspeglast.” Lux intoned, raising her right hand over her head. As she spoke, the Words of Power encircled her, and then her form exploded in that dark grey of Shadow Magic.

When the glow dissipated, the person standing there looked to be Kirito’s nearly identical twin sister. She smiled. “Greetings, I am Kuro,” she said.

February 21, 2025; Japan: Nerima Ward

Rameses hit the ground with a thud as the teleport finished and bit back a curse. He hadn’t had that happen since he was ten. He knew that a teleport like that could have consequences and took mental stock of himself. Let’s see, crotch, arms, legs, feet, hands, fingers, toes, ears, eyes… looks like everything important is there, he thought. Good. Wouldn’t want to have lost them. Healer Hakonia would fix the damage, so long as everything arrived with me, but that she would be as charmingly caustic as she always is when it comes to patching someone up who got hurt for something so stupid. And the less said about how she would chew my ass out if she had to reattach a limb, again, the better. Whoever said that Undine women are calm and demure hasn’t met her.

Then again, given that she had been the senior healer responsible for patching up Royal Guard cadets, she probably needed to have the personality she had in order to get some of them to not get ahead of themselves. Hurt feelings and pride when being patched up by her might mean that she wasn’t having to sign off on a death report later. He had seen her swear fit to tear bulkheads the last time some idiot tried to duplicate how the Princess was said to have taken down a Titan Scorpion and got a stinger up the ass for it.

Saying she should put a barrier in his colon and leave the venom sack there so he would be shitting venom for the next week was a bit much, though, Rameses thought with amused recollection. Skuggi was laughing about that for an hour when she heard about it, though. He made a note to send a message to the Spriggan his parents had taken in after everything and later adopted. True, that meant that she was officially renamed Kebechet, but he still called his adopted older sister by the diminutive of her original name of Skuggað Ljós, unless he was well and truly angry at her. Then he called her by her adopted name.

A disgruntled yowl told him that Rājakumāri had managed to come with him. At least she hadn’t been left behind, he’d have been very worried if she hadn’t been caught up in the teleport. She would have raised enough hell to get every pride of Saber Tigers within ten floors scrambling to get away from her, if that happened. Skuggi might be able to calm her down until he made his way back from wherever the teleport took him, but that was so she could join the sabercat in making her own displeasure known for how he worried her.

He heard a chirp and opened his eyes to see the feathered dragon he had chased into an unintended teleport taking wing. “Oh, no you don’t,” he growled as he stood. “Come here, you!”

As he chased it, he didn’t take notice of his very different surroundings save for making sure to not bump into anyone. That they were all headed in the opposite direction in fear was also missed in his focus on the chase. The roar that was spurring them on in their flight, however, wasn’t.

He knew that roar, and an icicle of dread colder than Neptune’s moons began to creep down his back.

What was an Avyavastheya Racanegaḷu doing here? They had all been killed off, albeit at the cost of more than half of the military forces stationed on Aincrad, before they all began to go into stasis! Better yet, he thought as he took stock of his surroundings. Where are we? This… this isn’t anywhere I’ve seen on any floor I’ve been to and I’ve explored most of Aincrad. It’s almost like I’m not… The roar sounded again and he shook himself. Worry about that later, there is an Avyavastheya Racanegaḷu here and that feathered dragon is flying in that direction!

He began to increase his pace, bringing up his Mystic Tome and selecting the option to pull items out. He had the basic loadout of weapons and armor, no one left the towns of Aincrad without having a means to defend themselves these days. If he was headed towards where an Avyavastheya Racanegaḷu was, he wasn’t going there unarmed.

He had weapons and civilian issue protective gear. He could also do basic Sword Skills and the few offensive spells he knew. If it came to a fight, he probably couldn’t kill the damn thing, but he could distract it long enough for people to get out of the area before he broke contact and retreated as well.

And if he couldn’t break and run… he would do his damned best to kill the thing or die trying.

Chapter Text

February 21, 2025: Japan

“There are still five more Youma left,” Silica said as she desperately tried to keep her breathing even and level, rather than the deep panting she wanted to do. This was her first night out on Patrol, albeit an unofficial one, given that both the Princess and Commander were keeping those under fifteen from the patrol rosters for now. Not that she was stupid enough to go out in a way where she couldn’t get backup if she stepped in it.

She was confident in her skills, but she had already learned that particular lesson.

The Commander and Princess most certainly hadn’t talked about how some of those they kept off the rosters could potentially shadow patrol groups in her earshot. Or that they had discussed the communication and messaging protocols to be used until they had better options. Or, the fact that they had left a list of cell phone numbers linked to DDA members and a few others she knew out in plain sight for her to grab. Or the patrol schedule. Or a key to a drop box that had a decent real world replacement for her dagger, let alone some light ballistics body armor…

Yes, they hadn’t left her everything she needed to shadow a patrol, be able to defend herself, and have at least some protection. Her doing so was very much not sanctioned, officially or unofficially. And she would swear such on her honor and blade. She was doing this all on her own initiative, using tools she acquired herself, yes she was.

And she would call anyone who believed it, complete idiots.

Then again, who is the idiot right now? She thought. Yes, she had shadowed the group. One that knew that she was doing so. Schivata would swear up and down that she hadn’t been, of course, she was simply in the area, but they knew she was there. She had been the one who alerted them to the Youma and then started aiding in evacuating people.

And naturally, she had run into a pack of a dozen. She managed to kill two and draw the rest away from the fleeing people. She had been playing hide and seek with them, occasionally ambushing one and then fleeing before the rest could react, for the last thirty minutes.

It had worked so far, she had managed to kill seven of them this way. But she was tiring. How many were there? She wondered. Schivata and the others should have…

Silica stiffened when she heard a familiar chirped cry and felt some of her stamina returning to her. She didn’t dare turn her head to look, even as a familiar weight settled across her shoulders. No way, she thought.

[Silica!]

“Pina,” she said quietly as she saw a Youma approach, only for it to be hit by something glowing orange that exploded, staggering it.

“Nānu adannu gamanaseḷeyuttēne!” A voice shouted. “Nim'mondige garagasada āghātavannu tegedukoḷḷi mattu illinda horabanni! Nānu illiyē iruttēne, nīvu tuṇḍu tuṇḍu!”

Silica turned her eyes and saw a boy who couldn’t be much older than her, a year at most, and wearing what seemed to be some type of armored clothing. He held a simple sword in his hand, and from his grip on the weapon and his posture, he was no novice with handling a weapon. But it was his words that got her full attention. They weren’t in Japanese. They were in Lunarian, and they were telling her to flee.

There was no way she was running, not while someone else was fighting. If it was the Commander, the Princess, or one of the Senshi telling her, she might, but not a stranger. Besides, he was fighting alone.

And there were four other Youma around which would be drawn to the fighting. She had been using hit and run tactics, ambushes, and picking them off one by one for a reason. A single Youma? Easy. Two? A bit more difficult but doable. More than that? She wasn’t going to take them on in a direct fight if she could help it, no matter how confident she was in her skills. She had killed two early on to get their attention, and the other five via opportune attacks.

It wasn’t as if Silica didn’t understand what the kid was saying either, but since she wasn’t as knowledgeable in Lunarian as she would have liked, it took her a moment to mentally translate what he’d said.

“Narakadalli īga naraka hel nānu ōḍuttiddēne, innū nālku ive!” She shouted back. “Pina, how am I doing?”

[You’ll be back to full strength soon,] came the reply.

Good, that meant that she’d be able to handle the rest if needed. She could tell, just from watching him that this kid knew Magic and Swordplay because he needed to, not because he was a trained soldier. Not that she necessarily qualified as one, either, but Lind and several other members of the DDA were. She knew what to look for.

“Nālku?!” Came the response as the boy dodged a swipe by the youma and removed its arm and then its head. “Nīvu nanage hēḷalu artha, nālku innū baruttive?"

“Adu nānu hēḷide,” Silica replied. She then saw four shadows show up on the wall. Four shadows that weren’t human. “Damn it! They’re here!”

“Chikushō! Karera wa kita!”

At the tone of the girl’s voice, Rameses spun around, his heart leaping into his throat when he saw the four shadows. While he might not understand what she said, it was probably her native language, her tone made her feelings clear. Well, this isn’t good, he thought. She did say there were four more in the area. The chirps of the feathered dragon indicated to him that this girl was a Beast Tamer, and that the dragon was her first partner.

But, how was that possible? And, even though he was happy that he could communicate with the girl… even if he didn’t recognize the language she probably would otherwise be using, and he recognized every major language spoken in the Kingdom, even if he only knew three. But the fact that this obviously wasn’t anywhere on Aincrad, the how or why she recognized the feathered dragon well enough to give it a name was puzzling.

He could ask her where and how she learned it later. They now had to deal with four Avyavastheya Racanegaḷu instead of the one that he’d thought was here. “Rājakumāri, come here,” he called to his friend. It looked like they were going to have to put some of their more recent training to use. That he seemed to have run into a budding Beast Tamer who had bonded with a Garigaḷiruva ḍryāgan was a true godsend.

While she somehow knew Lunarian well enough to make herself understood, Rameses knew that she lacked the smooth fluency someone who had used it for years would have, meaning there was a barrier between them that would make coordination… difficult.

That did not mean that it was impossible, just very, very hard… difficult. She could understand him, and if she used Lunarian, he would understand her, but the communication issue would still be present. That was why taking down the four new Avyavastheya Racanegaḷu would merely be difficult rather than nearly impossible.

Wait… he had something that could possibly equalize the odds. If he could get the time to use his Mystic Tome, that is. He didn’t bring it out due to the possibility of others being in the area. But now, with only him and the girl? He could chance it.

He had it drummed into him to never use a pulser when there was a crowd of people unless absolutely necessary. Unlike a sword, the hypersonic flechettes it fired, which travelled at speeds measured in stadia per second, would go through most organic things he was shooting at unless it was armored more heavily than the Avyavastheya Racanegaḷu apparently were, and keep going, risking anyone behind the target. Of course, they could simply be tough enough to take the shots and not be hindered by them.

It was a good thing that they lost velocity quickly and would shatter against something hard enough, like the sides of a building made of something tougher than wood. Otherwise, Aincrad would need more repairs to its outer shell on a regular basis than it already did. Shrapnel and spalling would be a concern if other people were still nearby, but the area was clear as far as he could tell.

Rameses looked at the girl again, “Can you buy me a few seconds?” He called to her, “I have something that should help, but I need to get it out first.”

He saw her look at him, and he could tell that she was mentally translating what he’d said.

After a moment, she gave him a smirk, nod and a “Hai!”

From her nod of agreement, Rameses came to the conclusion that hai had to be a confirmation in whatever her native language was. He watched her lunge towards their opponents for a moment before opening his Mystic Tome.

He scrolled through what he was carrying and found what he was looking for. “Ok, I’m ready!” he called and he pulled the pulser out and disabled the safety.

He heard her say something and jump gracefully out of the way as he took aim and squeezed the trigger. A hum and crack sounded as the flechette shot out and blew through the Avyavastheya Racanegaḷu, felling it and causing it to dissipate into dust. He aimed and fired one shot at each of the others, killing another, blowing one of the limbs off a second, and staggering the last one.

He clicked the safety back on and put the pulser away with his Mystic Tome before drawing his sword again. He might have had the time to get off more shots, but at this range, they could also easily close on him before he could get more than a few off. He had learned the hard way last Awakening that using a pulser at close fighting range was not a good idea.

The girl was already on the Avyavastheya Racanegaḷu that was missing a limb. Looks like he was going to have to take on the one that was just staggered.

That was fine, since he didn’t know what she could handle. He was almost positive that he could handle the last one, especially if his Sabercat was willing to lend her claws. But first...

“Eldar í helvíti, brenna fjandmaðurinn minn!” He chanted quickly, sending the fire spell at the creature, causing it to scream in pain when it hit. He was already charging it when a different and far more powerful spell hit it, throwing him to the side from the shock of the impact and into a wall.

And then he knew only pain as he felt one of his arms and two of his ribs break from trying to impersonate an unstoppable force wanting to have a forbidden relationship with an immovable object.

Kirito had just rounded the corner when he saw Silica slam her knee into Sailor Uranus’ groin, sending the Senshi to the ground, clutching the area in clear pain. From the flash right before, she had apparently used a Martial Arts based Sword Skill to give the blow more force. When had she...? Also, ow. So it did hurt women as much as it hurt men.

“Silica, when did you pick up the Martial Arts Extra Skill?” He asked when he got in range.

“About two months before you cleared SAO, Commander,” Silica replied, not taking her eyes off of Senshi Uranus. She opened her mouth to say something else when what sounded like some very vocal and pained swearing sounded off from the side.

Let’s see, I can hear Lunarian in there, Kirito thought. And what sounds like what’s used for spells in ALO and one other language as well. And from the Lunarian I can clearly understand, he wants to have some words about lines of fire and making sure blast area is clear with the spell happy spawn of a- I think he said limbless letch and a diseased whore there. Looks like he was too close when Senshi Uranus’s spell hit the Youma.

“Pina, can you go heal him please?” She asked her friend.

Kirito was about to point out that Pina wasn’t around when a familiar chirp caused him to turn his head to see a Feathered Dragon fly off to where a red-headed boy was getting to his feet.

“Nōvannu mandagoḷisidantahavugaḷalli nānu yāke baḷasalilla?” He heard the boy say, clearly still in pain. “Oh, beḷigge nānu bhāvisuttiddēne…”

Kirito made his way over to the boy, “Nīvu sari, magu?” He asked as he helped him to his feet, and ignoring the scowl of the boy at being called a kid. “Nim'ma hesarannu nanage hēḷaballirā?”

“What in the hell were you thinking, you trigger happy maniac?!” He heard Silica shout. “That spell of yours could have killed him if he was any closer to the blast! Be glad it only threw him. If his hitting the wall killed him, I would have done more than cunt punt you! I would have started with stabbing you, and then seeing if I could spay you before having things go downhill from there!”

The boy blinked up into Kirito’s face, “Rameses.” He said slowly. “Nānu cennāgiddēne. Nōyisu, ādare īga cennāgi.” A brief shower of blue washed over him, causing him to sigh in relief. “Mattu īga nānu heccu uttamavāgide. Ā gariyannu ḍryāgan rājakumāriya sansāradindalē irabēku.”

Kirito sighed in relief. That was good, but where had this kid come from and why did he speak in Lunarian? They’d have to get the answers later. He turned his attention to Silica. “I take it Hathor of Uranus didn’t look to see what was going on before she cast her spell?”

“Yes!” Silica hissed as Pina landed on her shoulder and started grooming her hair.

“Well, I’m not really surprised, she’s been questioning our ability to handle the Youma since we made ourselves known to the Senshi.” He mused. “Which actually doesn’t line up with my Fiancée’s memories.”

“Why is that?” Silica asked as she started petting Pina’s feathers.

“Well, according to Cerridwen…” Kirito paused when he saw his friend’s confusion. “We can’t use her civilian name and she thinks being called Senshi Moon sounds silly. And using the name she used to have would paint a target on her back.” He explained.

Silica nodded in understanding. “But why Cerridwen?”

“Because Cerridwen was her Grandmother.” Asuna cut in, turning her attention very briefly to the two of them before turning her attention back to Senshi Uranus. “Carry on, Kirito-kun.”

“As I was saying, according to Cerridwen, Hathor was always respectful to Heathcliff’s memories, and when she wasn’t on duty, she could often be found on Aincrad helping the recruits train. She held everyone that lived in the Castle in really high regard and saw potential in even the freshest of recruits.” Kirito paused, “I do understand why she doesn’t really trust us right now, because we haven’t really had the time to prove that we can handle ourselves yet. But I hadn’t thought that she’d actively try to kill any of mine…”

“To be fair, I don’t think she intended to hurt, any of us,” Silica said. “She just didn’t check her lane of fire and make sure that the blast area was clear.”

“Lane of fire?” Kirito asked. “You learn that from Lind?”

Silica nodded. “He was an officer in the JGSDF, Commander,” she said. “I picked up a few things from him and some other DDA members. Anyway, has she at least begun to warm up to the Princess?”

“Not from what I’ve seen, unfortunately, and I’ve been to every meeting since we were asked to attend.” Kirito sighed. “And now we have to deal with this kid too.” He gestured to Rameses.

“Cintisabēḍi, nānu cennāgiruttēne,” he said when they all looked at him. “Adu murida tōḷu mattu eraḍu pakkelubugaḷu mātra, nānu keṭṭaddannu hondiddēve.”

“I don’t want to know what he has had that was worse,” Silica said after a moment.

Kirito chuckled as his phone rang and he pulled it out. His brother was calling. “Yes?”

“Kirito, I detected a large burst of magic in your area about ten minutes ago that had all the hallmarks of a powerful Teleport, is everything well?” His brother asked.

“It’s fine Heathcliff, it wasn’t any Youma coming in to crash the party.” He noticed the boy’s startled reaction. “It was something else. Remember Pina?”

“Pina, that was the name of Silica’s Feathered Dragon, yes?”

“Yes,” Kirito replied. “To make a long story short, she’s here. And she brought some… guests. One human, he seems to know Lunarian a bit too well to have learned it in SAO. Too natural. Oh, there’s a cat as well. Hmm, looks like a Sabercat. Smaller than Ēkate and leaner of frame, but yeah.” He pulled his phone away from his ear and counted down from five. He made it to two before the shocked reply came.

“WHAT?!”

Asuna put a hand to her mouth in a vain attempt to hide her laughter. She found it amusing how well her Kirito knew his brother after only two years that he knew to pull his phone away from his ear after saying that.

“You heard me,” Kirito said as he brought his phone back to his ear. “And I know you have figured out what that might mean.”

“That Aincrad might not only still be around, but is both functional and still inhabited,” Heathcliff replied. “Bring him to the Hikawa Shrine. I’ll need to debrief him. Also, outside of what seemed to be someone doing the impossible and teleporting from Aincrad to Earth on his own, I just got word from Senshi Mars that her divinations have turned up no further Youma activity. We will do a debrief as soon as you arrive. And then, we will have a conversation with our guest.”

“Yes sir, understood.” Kirito replied, hanging up. “Okay, there is nothing else out here, we need to head back to the Hikawa Shrine to do a debriefing. Silica, make sure Rameses, that’s his name, comes with us. The Captain wants to talk with him. And knowing Tilnel, she will want to look him over.”

Rameses perked up upon hearing his name. He was clearly annoyed that he couldn’t understand them, though.

Silica gave him a smile and started to repeat most of what the Commander had just said for him, slowly so that she could choose the proper words.

Rameses nodded once she was finished.

Hikawa Shrine

Asuna finally let go of Senshi Uranus’ ear when they got within sight on the steps up to the shrine.

Senshi Uranus rubbed her ear as she straightened herself and looked ready to say something when Asuna cut her off with a quick flare of the magical power that was sleeping beneath the surface. Nothing visible, but she could tell that the Senshi of Uranus felt it and understood the warning behind it.

“I will deal with you, later.” Asuna gave Uranus a sweet smile with a lot of teeth that sent a shiver of terror down Uranus’s spine.

The look on Asuna’s face made it clear that she was furious and that this was not over. “Up the stairs, Hathor.” She instructed. “Now!”

Rameses turned to look at the two of them with surprise in his eyes.

“Meṭṭilu ap, Rameses.” Kirito said as he started to ascend. “Silica, let’s go.”

“Yes sir!” Silica called, hurrying after him.

Asuna reached up and pulled on Uranus’ ear, “Follow, now.”

Kayaba Akihiko’s eyes roved over his brother’s form for a moment before turning his attention to Silica, and then the boy that was possibly from Aincrad. His hands snapped out, preventing Tilnel from jumping on them all. “You need to wait, Tilnel.”

The young Dark Elf’s pout made him laugh. “But Captain…” she whined. Ah, of course she would want news and to find out how Aincrad had fared in the intervening ten thousand years after The Fall. Aincrad had been her home, even after she and Kizmel had been moved to be Serenity’s attendants.

“You can do that after the debriefing.” He soothed the Healer.

Her pout didn’t leave, if anything, it deepened.

The boy made an inquisitive sound. “Ondu kappu tuṇṭa, illi?” He asked, seemingly to himself.

“Haudu,” Silica replied. “Avaḷa hesaru, nānu sariyāgi nenapisikoṇḍare, Tilnel Nightwalker. Avaḷu vaidyanāgiddaḷu."

“Nantara nanna mēle pariśīlisalu hōguttade,” the boy said. “Avaḷu hīlar Hakonia iṣṭavilla endu bhāvisuttēve.”

A flash from Heathcliff’s memories came to him. An Undine woman, known for her sharp tongue when someone got injured on her watch for what she considered stupid or foolish reasons. And the memory had a combined mix of fondness and… fear?

Tilnel shivered. “I remember her,” she said. “And she is worse than you remember. She’s an inspiration for all prospective Healers though… And even more terrifying to learn under.”

“A bit strict?” Kayaba asked.

“Take the strictest and most foul mouthed drill sergeant you can think of, pump them full of medical knowledge, and have that person be in charge of instructing healers,” Tilnel replied drily.

“And she was… hmm, His memories recall her as an Undine…?” Kayaba asked.

“Yes,” Tilnel replied. “An Undine. Who could curse at you in all of the major languages of the Kingdom for an hour without repeating herself. While telling you what you are doing wrong, how to do it right, and, if necessary, use you as the dummy for a demonstration. At the same time.” She shook her head. “And I don’t know who said that Undine women are supposed to be gentle and demure, but they must have forgotten to give her the memo. She was a good healer, very good, and never let anyone die on her watch if she could help it, but her personality…”

“So we need to be on our best behavior if we ever get to visit…” Kayaba muttered to himself as Kazuto approached them.

“Captain, Healer Tilnel.” His brother greeted, placing his fist across the chest in a salute.

“Commander, report,” Kayaba said. “Just a summary right now. I will want you and the other squad leaders to give me a more detailed one later.”

Kirito nodded. “We had five Youma incursions across Tokyo, each with over fifty Youma,” he said. “Two here in Minato, one in Setagaya, one in Chiyoda, and one in Nerima. From the last report, all of the Youma have been eliminated. Senshi Mercury took the field and was supported by Rikuokeidar’s group in one of the Minato incursions. Klein and the Fuurinkazan supported Senshi Venus in the other incursion. The Setagaya incursion was dealt with by Cerridwen, myself, and two squads. The Nerima incursion was defeated by the DDA, with Silica having drawn off a group of twelve Youma that were threatening civilians. We can account for seven confirmed Youma kills by her, with the last five being killed at the location where she had her altercation with Senshi Uranus after a friendly fire incident that resulted in one wounded. Our casualties were fifteen wounded, all minor, and no deaths.”

Kayaba nodded. “And the boy?” He asked.

“From what Silica has mentioned, he killed three of the Youma,” Kirito said. “One with a sword and magic and two with some kind of gun at range. He was charging in to attack one of the surviving Youma when Senshi Uranus attacked and killed it, catching him along the edge of the blast. We arrived when she physically attacked Senshi Uranus in retaliation to the friendly fire.”

Ēkate chose that moment to bound out of the Shrine and pounce on his brother. The Sabercat having obviously gotten tired of waiting inside. He meowed loudly, as if he was scolding Kazuto for making him wait so long.

Kazuto took a few steps backward so that he wouldn’t lose his balance this time, “Now isn’t the time, Ēkate.” He scolded, trying to put the huge cat back on the ground.

“Biṭṭukoḍu, nīvu ā kaṭṭi bēku mānava,” the boy said with some humor in his voice. “Idu uttarakkāgi yāvudē tegedukoḷḷuvudilla. Rājakumāri avaḷa gamanavannu bayasidāga athavā nānu cennāgiruttēne endu khacitapaḍisikoḷḷalu kēvala keṭṭaddāgide.”

The Sabercat sank his claws into the material of Kazuto’s jacket and refused to let go.

Kayaba had to cover his mouth to hide his smile of amusement.

Kazuto sent Rameses an annoyed glance, “Hāgādare avanu idannu ēke māḍuvudilla Aki?” he mumbled to himself.

That made Kayaba snort, causing Kazuto to send him a glare. A giggle and another snort had him shoot a look at Silica and the boy, both who had clearly overheard it.

Kazuto sighed, “Fine, you fat cat,” he grumbled, “It’s just as well I was finished with the Summary anyway…”

Tilnel looked over the boy, who had a resigned look on his face. A brief conversation to get the most pertinent information about his identity, such as his name and age, and she began to look him over. Just because his wounds were healed, her scans were already telling her that he had a number of healed wounds on him and an impressive collection of scars for someone his age. She was also checking for any other potential issues, like any diseases endemic to the Kingdom that wouldn’t cause him to get worse than mildly sick but could cause a devastating pandemic on the Earth of today, that he might not know about.

The Pox being one of them. Their medical abilities were good enough to reduce it to a childhood and adolescent disease. But on Earth, it had mutated and been a devastating plague for nearly the entirety of this era’s recorded history, six thousand years, until they developed an effective vaccine and eliminated it with the kind of fervor normally seen in fanatics.

“You’re taking this with better grace than Princess Serenity did, Young Rameses,” Tilnel said conversationally as she moved her hand of his bare chest to check his ribs. She already knew that his wounds had been healed, she had questioned him when a quick spell informed her that he didn’t have any wounds he was trying to ignore.

“Oh, right, you were the Princess’ personal Physician before she died,” Silica piped up as she preened the feathers of a feathered dragon with her fingers. “And with her being umarekawari, I’m surprised you’re not insisting on it now.”

“Umarekawari?” Rameses asked.

“She’s using her native word for reincarnated,” Tilnel said.

“But, how can she… This isn’t…” Rameses didn’t know where he was, still, and he wasn’t sure how to articulate just how lost he was feeling. Finally, his shoulders slumped. “Where am I?”

“Welcome to Earth, Rameses.” Came a chuckling voice from behind them.

Tilnel smiled at the person over Rameses shoulder and she saw Rameses turn to follow the Healer’s gaze. It was Asuna. “Princess, I take it that your conversation with Princess Hathor’s reincarnation went well?” She asked, switching to Japanese easily.

Asuna sighed. “About as well as can be expected,” she replied in the same language. “She knows that we’re not all talk now, and a flare of my magic demonstrated that I am not someone she wants to be on the bad side of, but I can tell that she’s going to be a problem. Now I see why Inanna tries to keep her and Nakama to destroying Jadeite’s storage facilities, even if the damage they do has her burning favors with the police on a regular basis. Less chance of collateral casualties.” She looked at Silica. “Silica, I would recommend that you stay away from her for a bit. Your bringing her to the ground by cunt punching her like you did has stung her pride. Had she been expecting it, it wouldn’t have done anything. Also, Inanna heard about it and is interested in seeing what you know. Maybe even possibly teaching you a few other tricks.”

“I’ll have to run that by Lind, but I’d love to learn under her.” Silica agreed with a bright smile.

“Just what we need,” Another voice said with a bit of mocking sarcasm, “Little Sister learning even more dirty tricks…” They all turned, seeing that it was Kirito, who had a smile full of teeth. “I foresee that she will be a bad influence on her. Study hard Silica.”

“Yes sir!” Silica agreed cheerfully. There was a long moment as the second name Asuna said sank in. “Na-Nakama?”

Asuna nodded, “Of Neptune.”

“You do know what that means in Japanese… right?” Silica asked.

Asuna grinned, “Kirito-kun pointed it out of course, you can laugh if you want. I haven’t used her name when actually talking to her yet because she hasn’t done anything to warrant a chat yet.”

Silica collapsed in a fit of giggles.

“Why is her name funny?” Rameses ventured to ask.

Asuna gave him a wickedly amused smile. “Because her name in our new language means companion, Rameses.” She explained in Lunarian.

Rameses thought that over and then snorted. “Okay, that’s funny, given what I know of her from before everything going to Tartarus,” he said.

“She certainly wasn’t a people person back then,” Asuna agreed. “She could be polite and handle functions to a point, but she was more like Hathor’s reincarnation is apparently like now.”

“But from the stories I’ve heard… Princess Hathor was always on Aincrad when she wasn’t on duty…” He frowned, “Why did her personality become more like Princess Nakama’s?”

“All of the Princesses and quite a few others were reincarnated,” Asuna said. “Even Princess Serenity was, me, and I am not the same person she was. Anyway, different lives, different experiences, and such will make for a different person. Reincarnation was poorly understood back then, it is even more poorly understood even now, but those who were reincarnated are not supposed to have the memories of their past lives. Having them awaken in you can be… traumatic. When Her memories started awakening in me, I was worried that I would lose who I was, even if they proved useful when we were dealing with SAO.”

“Ess-ay-oh?” Rameses asked.

“It was a simulation of Aincrad,” Asuna said. “One that Captain Heathcliff’s reincarnation made specifically to train soldiers to help the Senshi fight the Avyavastheya Racanegaḷu, we call them Youma, that have been active for the last decade. With the exception of one, Princess Persephone, all of their reincarnations have had their memories and their roles of Guardian awaken in that time, with Princess Inanna being the first.”

“So Princess Persephone doesn’t have her past memories?” Rameses asked.

“No, she has them,” Asuna said. “She just hasn’t awakened into her role as the Guardian of Saturn or the Bringer of Silence, which she is very thankful for.”

“Yes…” Kirito agreed, “Especially since we had to stop her from jumping off the side of the simulated Aincrad when she first remembered.” His eyes darkened, “We had to put her on suicide watch for a while… because the first thing she remembered was bringing The Silence. She’s a sweet girl, so you can imagine how she took it.”

“Well, that theory is confirmed,” Rameses said with a wince. “We always wondered, and that was something that those who may or may not know what really happened said. Not a memory I would want, let alone anyone else.”

“There’s a reason, Moira hasn’t told Nakama or Hathor what happened,” Asuna agreed. “It’s only something the three of them can do. It’s a decision I agree with, for now, though I did tell her that I am reserving the right to inform them if they force certain issues.”

Rameses nodded in understanding.

“Well, with that conversation topic over with, I can change the subject and say we’re done,” Tilnel said. “You’re healthy, but I would recommend that you take it easy for the next few days. That healing crystal may have healed the broken bones, and that feathered dragon healed anything else, but it’s best to be on the safe side. And…” A rumbling sound could be heard. “... I would recommend you eat a full meal and then get some rest as soon as possible. That healing crystal had to get the energy to heal you from somewhere, after all.”

Rameses blushed. “I might have some rations in the Holding Space my Mystic Tome can access,” he said. “If I did, and they survived a thousand years in stasis, they’ll be a little plain, but still edible. I would have picked some fresh ones up, along with some fresh spices, before my unscheduled trip due to a certain feathered dragon anyway.”

“Why do that, when we can get you something we know is good?” Asuna asked. “Rauni runs a bakery in this life, and she would have brought something to at least snack on that we can give you to hold you over until we get or go out and buy something more substantive. I know that there are some people who will have questions as to Aincrad’s state. But that can wait until we make sure your stomach’s not trying to eat you.”

Rameses’ stomach rumbled again, causing him to flush in embarrassment. A meow drew his attention to Rājakumāri, who was giving him a look. “Do you think we can get something for Rājakumāri?” He asked. “She tends to get a bit cranky when she’s hungry.”

Kino Makoto looked up from where she was sitting, studying the maps that had been all marked up. They had all suspected for a while that the Dark Kingdom might be expanding their network and attacking outside of the Patrol Routes they themselves used.

Seeing the diagram on a map only confirmed their suspicions. The reality of just how much larger the Dark Kingdom’s web had grown when compared to what the seven of them could reasonably Patrol, however, was a sobering reminder of just how outnumbered they had been before SAO had concluded. And while having their suspicions confirmed was kind of nice… they had massively underestimated just how big that web had become.

They had thought that they were holding their own, but the revelation that the Dark Kingdom’s activities were far larger and more entrenched than even Mina thought, said otherwise. If it wasn’t for Uranus and Neptune routinely targeting Jadeite’s storage facilities as soon as they were found and often ruining weeks of energy collection efforts in the process, then the Dark Kingdom would be considered to be winning.

“Rauni, are there any snacks from the meeting left” Asuna asked as she came inside.

“There should be,” Makoto replied, turning to the platter that she’d brought. “There isn’t much left though.”

“With how much we need to eat because of our magic usage, I’m really not surprised,” Kirito said as he followed Asuna inside. “We also found a few visitors.”

Makoto’s eyes widened when she saw the boy. “This is Rameses,” Kirito said before turning to the boy. “Rameses, ondu sthānavannu tegedukoḷḷi.”

Makoto blinked at the language used. She felt like she could understand it, despite the fact that the extent of her linguistic ability was her native Japanese and the English she learned in school. Didn’t The Princess…? She shook that thought out of her mind. “Where did this kid come from?” she asked Kirito.

“To the best of our knowledge, Aincrad,” Kirito replied. “It seems that its inhabitants survived The Fall. And before you ask, this is speculation based on the fact that he has said a few things that only a resident of Aincrad would know. Not an SAO Survivor, but someone who comes from Aincrad.”

Makoto eyed the boy, “Rameses…” She mused, “I’m remembering a Dark Elf by that name. However, that’s not important, it wasn’t that uncommon a name back then from what little I can recall. He obviously needs to eat, though. I’m going to make use of Rei’s kitchen, will the rest of you be staying as well?” She asked, having noticed that Heathcliff and Silica had followed them in.

Kirito looked up into Heathcliff’s eyes, looking for direction. Heathcliff gave Kirito a smile. “Perhaps we should.” Heathcliff agreed.

When Kirito sat down, Ēkate settled into his lap, causing the boy to sigh. “Ēkate, get off!”

Makoto got up and walked out of the meeting room, the sound of Rameses’ chuckling and the giggles of Silica and Asuna following her.

“Adannu naguvudu, nim'ma bekkininda nīvu santōṣada mette māḍuvavaregū kāyiri,” She heard Kirito say.

“Nīvu īga iṣṭapaḍuttīrā?” Rameses replied. “Haudu, haudu, nīnu oḷḷeya snēhita, Rājakumāri…” His own Sabercat had just brushed against him.

Minato Ward: Osa-P Jewelry Store

Luna hummed a cheerful tune as she walked into the store she used to work in.

“Usagi-chan!” Luna braced herself and caught her childhood friend, Naru.

“It’s nice to see you, Naru-chan.” She hugged her redheaded friend.

“I’ve missed you, Usagi-chan!” Naru wailed.

Luna wrapped her arms around her friend and patted her hair. “I’m back now, I’m fine.” Luna soothed. “I’m just hoping that your mother will let me have my job back.”

“Mama’s been waiting for you to come back to work!” Naru refuted. “Come inside.” She pulled her friend into the store.

Luna laughed happily. “Oh, that reminds me, I made a bunch of friends in SAO.”

“You’ll have to tell me about them after work.” Naru replied.

“OK then,” Luna agreed with a smile.

Nezha looked up at the sign and then down at the directions he’d been given. “Looks like this is the place.” He said.

“Can’t wait to see what Luna’s workplace is like.” Lisbeth grinned. “What are we waiting for?” She started forward.

“Teacher! Wait a moment!” Ducker called after her, “Shouldn’t we wait for the rest to get here?”

Liz turned to him, “Ducker, it’s winter, that means it’s really cold out. Not to mention that we don’t have cloaks from Ashley to keep us warm anymore. We do have to wait for her to set up shop, remember? I’d rather wait inside where it’s warm.”

Ducker’s shoulders slumped as he followed the brown haired girl into the store.

Nezha looked back at Gilgamesh, who had come with him and they both laughed at Ducker’s antics as they followed their friends into the store. They were still waiting for the others, but Nezha was sure that it would not take long for everyone else to make to arrive.

“Welcome to the Osa-P Jewelry Store!” Naru called as the door opened. She looked at the group that entered, gauging whether they were likely to buy something or not. From the casual clothing and the fact that they didn’t immediately begin browsing or come to her, she doubted it. Their lack of looking shifty or nervous, though, was reassuring, though as the only girl among them approached her, she idly reached down below the counter and placed her left hand near where the alarm button was just in case.

“Can I help you, miss?” She asked.

“A friend of ours told us she works here.” The girl said before grinning. “The name’s Rika. Is Lu- Usagi around?”

Naru blinked and carefully brought her left hand up. “Usagi?” She asked. “And who did you almost ask for?”

Rika chuckled. “Usagi,” she said. “I’m just used to thinking of her, not to mention addressing her, as Luna.”

“Of course Usagi-chan would go with that name, seeing as what her last name is.” The Naru said with a chuckle. “Her name is Tsukino Usagi, after all.”

Rika chuckled. “Yeah, that is so like her,” she said and then looked around. “So, has she been working here long? Her unscheduled long vacation that wasn’t notwithstanding, of course.”

“Since we were in High School, actually,” Naru replied. “She really didn’t like school and wanted something to fall back on if she couldn’t finish it or get into University. And a ‘long vacation that wasn’t’? An... interesting way to call being trapped in that game, if you don’t mind me saying.”

Rika shrugged. “Well, better than calling it what it was,” she said. “And I can see where she got her interest in crafting jewelry now.” She walked over to a display case and looked at the wares. “She was a blacksmith specializing in crafting jewelry, you know. Necklaces, bracelets, rings; if it could be worn as jewelry, she was working on crafting it. Got pretty good at it, too.”

“How good?” Naru asked.

“Good enough that she could have worked out some trade contracts with some merchants there and used the money it made to buy her own place with a workshop rather than using space in mine, if she wanted,” Rika replied. “Not that I had any issues with her using space my workshop or having her stuff on display at my store.”

A human shaped missile almost knocked Rika of her feet, “Liz! You came! I wasn’t expecting for it to be today~!”

“Ack! Luna, air!” Rika protested.

“Neh, where are the Braves? Are they here?” Usagi asked excitedly, her arms loosening in response. “What about Ducker?”

“Ducker is here, after what he almost did two years ago, no one wants to leave him on his own.” Rika motioned to a corner of the shop. “Nezha, Gilgamesh and Beowulf are here too.”

“Ok, so I had an idea.” Usagi said as she finally pulled away from Rika, “The Commander is allowing Agil to set up an HQ under the Dicey Cafe, right?”

“That’s what I heard…” Rika agreed.

“Well, we need a place where we can do our own work… So I’m actually really glad you guys came.” Usagi leaned against the counter and smiled.

“Well, you are right, we do need a workshop…” Rika nodded. “You mean here?”

Usagi nodded. “Yes.”

Rika’s eyes narrowed, “Luna… are you sure that your employer would allow that? Have you even asked her yet?”

Usagi blushed, “I haven’t, but I wanted to run the idea by all of you first…”

“Geeze, Usagi-chan…” Naru muttered, rolling her eyes.

“Naru-chan is so mean…” Usagi grumbled.

Rika smirked, “She is right though, Luna.” The girl crossed her arms. “You should have run this by your employer first.”

Usagi pouted. “I wanted Osaka-san to meet you all first…” She perked up, “On another note, I have something I need to show you~!”

“And what’s that, Luna?” Rika asked.

“You remember the announcement that Commander Kirito made about the Menu, right?”

“Of course we did, Luna!” Ducker shot back, yelping when Rika reached over and took his ear between her fingers and pulled.

“Let Luna finish, Ducker.” The girl reprimanded.

The boy, Ducker, pouted but turned his attention back to Usagi.

Usagi smiled as she opened her Menu. “I stumbled upon how to open our Inventory.” She explained, “I’m not quite sure how I did it yet, but I’m almost there.”

“Are there any downsides?” Nezha asked.

“Well,” Usagi chuckled, “As far as I can tell, using the Inventory uses more magic and each time I’ve opened it, I’ve had to sit down because of how tired I’ve been afterwards.” She opened her Menu, revealing that the Inventory Option was lit up as well as the Messaging Option.

Rika peered at the Menu in front of her, “Well, when you figure out what it was that you did, make sure to send a memo to our Leadership so that we can all start using it.”

Usagi dismissed her Menu, “Oh, you bet Liz.” She turned to her friend, “Naru-chan, where is your mom? I want her to meet my new friends.”

Naru looked at her friend thoughtfully. “I think Mama is in the back. Can you keep these people under control while I go find her?”

Usagi nodded. “Sure, though I don’t think you need to worry, Liz here will keep them in line. I swear, she must be taking lessons from Asuna-sama…”

“Asuna is my best friend Luna.” Rika shot back, “Of course she’s going to rub off on me.”

They all laughed.

Naru looked skeptical but nodded. “Alright then…” She agreed.

Naru came back a few minutes later with her mother. “Ok, Usagi-chan, you can pitch your idea now.”

“I heard that you had an idea for something, Usagi-chan?” the older, redheaded woman asked curiously.

Usagi bit her lip, “Well, you know about what I’ve shown you, right?”

The woman nodded. “Go on.”

“Well, the Leadership of the Silver Army…” Usagi began.

“Where did you get that, Luna?” Rika interrupted.

“Well, we need something to call ourselves right? I just haven’t pitched the name to the Commander yet.” Usagi shrugged. “Anyway, the leadership has a place being set up for them to meet, the school will be the general meeting place… but we blacksmiths don’t have a place to work, so…” She gave Naru’s mother a hope filled look, “Would you mind if we set up here?”

Naru’s mother looked thoughtful. “Give me a chance to meet all the Blacksmiths that you met first, Usagi-chan.”

Usagi’s smile could have lit up the whole block for several days. “Thank you!”

Hikawa Shrine

Rameses sat at one end of the table, which had been cleared, the maps how hanging on the wall. He was eating faster than any of the other people sitting there. Not sloppily, but definitely faster. His Sabercat companion was eating from a plate of cat food, herself. A bit more delicately, but just as ravenously.

“Wow, he must have been really hungry,” Makoto said teasingly, meeting Silica’s eyes.

Silica nodded, since her mouth was full.

“Well, he needs somewhere to stay,” Kirito pointed out as he put his chopsticks down. “My house doesn’t have the room, since Asuna-hime is staying with us right now.”

Ēkate purred from where he was laying next to his owner, eating delicately from a plate of cat food. Kirito chuckled, stroking his cat from head to tail.

“I really doubt that my mother would allow him to stay, she’s…” Asuna paused, trying to think of a nice way to describe her mother. “Cold is a good word to use.” She decided. “She doesn’t like anything that has to do with what’s going on, and… given the chance, she’d separate me from my Consort.”

“And we need to be together in order to recover properly.” Kirito agreed giving his fiancée a nod.

Asuna nodded back to him, “It may seem as if my Kirito is a Social Climber, since he is of a lower class than myself… but he’s not.” She looked down at her half eaten plate. “But my mother, not to mention everyone else, will see him that way.”

“That’s not even counting the fact that there is a language barrier between them.” Kirito grimaced.

Asuna turned, “Kizmel, you and your sister know enough that you can leave if you want, right?”

Kizmel nodded. “I’m not sure where Tilnel would go, but my duty is to you and your safety,” she said. “And this place more than suffices for our needs.”

Asuna gave her a smile.

“I’m sure my parents can find room in the house, if that’s what you want.” Kirito said thoughtfully.

“Rameses should stay here.” Rei said from her seat, “And someone should stay with him, to help him get used to living here on Earth.”

“It is unfortunate that we do not have any way to send him home.” Kirito frowned, one of his hands balling into a fist. “It took seven years for the Cassini Probe to get to Saturn. And that’s not taking into account how long it would take for our Space Agencies to figure out how to keep a person healthy for that long, seeing as how our bodies start to degrade the longer we live in space.”

“Just another reason for us to go to the Moon.” Asuna noted. “Not that we needed another one.”

“We need to acquire a ship, should there be one in good enough condition,” Kirito agreed. “And on top of that, any ship we find… we are probably going to have to fix it up. It would not surprise me one bit if, if keeping that ship in working order becomes an ongoing endeavor.”

“What, you mean like the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars?” Asuna asked quirking an eyebrow at her fiancé.

Kirito started laughing. “It would not surprise me.” he said with an amused smile. “So, getting back on topic…”

“He’s staying here.” Rei repeated.

“Yes, that might be best,” Kirito agreed, “But who should stay with him?”

“I will,” Silica volunteered, “It will allow us time to come up with a way for me to take Pina home, with an acceptable story. Not that I think my parents will say no, but I really doubt that Pina will let me out of her sight right now. Besides, he’s going to need a translator until he learns Japanese.”

Heathcliff’s eyes narrowed, “Then I will contact your parents and we will come up with an acceptable cover.” He smirked, “I still need to talk with young Rameses anyway.”

“Well, I could teach Silica Falconry, since I used techniques from it to train Phobos and Deimos… And maybe a few things to do with my Miko abilities. We’d have to put an Illusion over… Pina was her name?”

Silica nodded, “That’s her name.”

Pina looked between Silica and Rei before giving Silica a questioning chirp.

“We are trying to figure out how to explain you.” Silica told the Feathered Dragon.

Pina stared at Silica for a moment before turning her attention to Silica’s plate, stealing a piece of meat.

Silica sighed, “You Crow…” She grumbled with a fond smile.

“Idu ṭrik māḍide,” Rameses said as he stopped eating. “Nānu eccaragoṇḍāga laghuvāgi ēnannādarū hiḍidirabēku, ādare nanna heccu śaktiyuta myājikna virud'dha hōrāḍalu athavā baḷasabēkāgide endu nānu nirīkṣisiralilla.”

Kirito nodded, “I believe you wanted to talk to him, Heathcliff? Now might be best to do so.” He turned to look at his brother, “If you don’t need us, I would like to take Asuna-hime home.”

Ēkate meowed loudly. It sounded like he was demanding something.

Kirito sighed, “Yes, Ēkate, you are coming too…” When had his cat turned so demanding?

Rameses looked up when he heard the one they called Heathcliff clear his throat. “Yes, Captain?” He wasn’t sure if this was really the man he’d once looked up to or not. The man in front of him was much younger than the old Captain had been… and some of his facial features looked… wrong.

“Kirito-kun, taizai.” Heathcliff ordered.

“Shikashi, koreha mata betsu no ressun ni narudeshou ne?” Kirito asked with a sigh. The older boy looked tired.

“Hai, koreha-betsu no ressundesu,” Captain Heathcliff said, “Ima, chūiwoharau.”

“Hai, Taichou.” The fatigue disappeared from Kirito’s night sky eyes. Those eyes were sharp and not likely to miss much.

Rameses ignored the discussion between the two in favor of trying to match this man with what he knew of Captain Heathcliff, which admittedly wasn’t as much as he would have liked. He hadn’t even met the man and only knew his appearance through vids and pics. And this man. If the Captain had been brought forward as a reincarnation, that could explain it. None of the Senshi he had met in this day and age looked quite like their previous incarnations, though the one called… Makoto? That one girl who was supposedly Princess Serenity’s reincarnation called her Rauni as well and she looked more like the pics of Princess Rauni that he had seen. After all, Skuggi, his adopted sister, was a Spriggan from Alfheim and was a fan of Princess Rauni’s, so he had seen quite few of those.

And that reminded him, he would have to check his Mystic Tome for any messages. Hopefully Skuggi hadn’t noticed that he was gone yet, but he doubted it. Skuggi was going to be so angry with him… And she is going to live up to her birth name with how angry she is, Rameses thought idly. It may have been changed to Kebechet Soulfire with her adoption, but when she got good and angry, she lived up to the meaning of her birth name. Skuggað Ljós, or Shadowed Light, indeed.

“Rameses, what is on your mind?” The sound of Heathcliff’s voice brought him out of his thoughts.

He turned his attention to the older man. “I was just thinking that I probably should check my Mystic Tome and if I got any messages,” he said. “Not that I expect any. It has only been a few hours, but my sister is probably wondering where I am, since she would have been Awakened as well.”

Heathcliff nodded thoughtfully, “You shouldn’t put it off then.”

Rameses bit his lip. “Yes, sir.” He said quietly, opening his Mystic Tome. The first message, at the top of the list, was from Skuggi, surprise, surprise… and from the all caps of her letters, she had to be absolutely furious…

That was a big clue as to how much trouble he was in. Skuggi is going to kill me when I get back… Rameses thought as he swallowed. Steeling himself, Rameses started looking for the oldest of the most recent Messages. And it took a bit of digging. How long did it take to get here? He wondered idly when he spotted a message that he couldn’t bypass.

It was a message from Governor-General Selene. He was almost afraid to open it. Just do it, Rameses, he thought to himself. He selected the message and began to read.

FM: Selene Nightfallen

TO: Rameses Soulfire

Subj: Your Unexpected Trip

Young Man,

I do hope that this message finds you well, given the uncontrolled nature of your recent teleport.

His face went bright red.

While I do not know where you ended up, as none of the teleporters within Aincrad had any security footage of you or a feathered dragon appearing on any floor. We did have a tracker implanted into the latter, so we can track her, and hopefully you, that way. Right at this moment, the signal has passed Jupiter along the network and was still moving. Given what we suspect about events, there is only one planet you could be headed to, though any of the others might be possibilities.

Well… at least the Network was still working… but how long until it failed? There was more to the message.

Wherever you land, be careful, keep your head down, learn what you can, and for Goddess’ sake, keep your eyes on that Dragon and your cat. And, if possible, establish a means of contact between them and us. Aincrad is functioning now, but we are Awakening everyone. I don’t think I need to tell you why.

Rameses grimly nodded at that last line. If they were Awakening everyone, then there was probably another large scale failure of the stasis systems. They were Awakening everyone so that the systems can be taken offline and looked over as a precaution. He dreaded finding out how many died.

On a further note, if you have ended up on Earth, try and see if you can contact some people. I don’t know if they’re their real names or not, but one Kirito and Asuna are persons of interest to me. To validate this, tell them that the Queen of Lyusula sends her regards.

Regards,

Selene Nightfallen, Governor-General of Aincrad

Rameses blinked. How could the Governor-General have met…? “Um…” He turned to the teens he’d come to know as Kirito and Asuna. “The Queen of Lyusula sends her regards.”

Kirito, who had been sipping at a mug of something that smelled like caf, swallowed, and promptly began coughing. “Say that again!” he demanded when he got his coughing under control.

“The Queen of Lyusula sends her regards,” Rameses said. “I read something from Governor-General Nightfallen, and it said for me to tell you that.”

Kirito took a deep breath, “I thought that’s what you said.” He muttered.

“Send her our regards,” Asuna said gently, “And inform her that we have both Kizmel and her sister Tilnel with us.” Asuna paused, “We still need to visit the Moon, but in order to get back to Aincrad, we’ll need a ship. And we don’t know if there will be any in one piece, much less working order. It is one of our goals to eventually get there. Of course, that will have to wait until we deal with the current crisis.”

Rameses nodded. He wanted to go home, but he understood that they had other things to worry about at the moment. “I understand.” Besides, he’d always wanted to visit this planet. Quickly drafting a message, he read it over quickly.

FM: Rameses Soulfire

TO: Selene Nightfallen

Governor-General,

I have found myself on Earth. Guardians and Princess have been reincarnated, as has Captain Heathcliff. Have made contact with Princess’ reincarnation, who happens to be named Asuna. Have passed on your regards to her and Commander Kirito. Lodging in the household of Princess Badb’s reincarnation.

Avyavastheya Racanegaḷu are here on Earth. I killed three of them, one in close combat, two with a pulser. Wounded one more and local fighter took it out with Sword Skills. Locals call them Yūmā. Guardians and others are fighting them and are managing well enough from what I can tell.

The dragon has apparently bonded with a local, by the name of Silica, an apparent Tamer. She named it Pina. They’re currently working out how to hide that Pina is a dragon.

Will try to lay low and learn the local language to facilitate communication. Silica, the local who the dragon bonded with and has apparently killed eight Avyavastheya Racanegaḷu on her own is apparently going to be my translator for the time being.

If you have any further instructions, please send them to me.

Rameses Soulfire

He looked it over and then transmitted it. He looked at the list of messages from his sister and shook his head. Those would be read in private, as he didn’t want anyone to potentially read her venting her worried anger at him through the messages.

He then looked up. “I apologize for the delay,” he said. “Now, what do we need to discuss?”

February 24, 2025: Dicey Cafe

“Well, now that we know what our magic is, we can start training it properly.” Agil said when Eugene, Klein and Dynamm had walked in.

“You know, I’m taking off time from ALO to do this.”

“Couldn’t we just use ALO to make this easier?” Klein asked.

“The basics?” Agil asked. “Probably, but outside of Tamashi, we’re all used to doing it the SAO way.”

“So, sword skills, sword skills, and more sword skills?” Dynamm asked.

“Something like that,” Agil agreed in amusement.

“I prefer Eugene Andrew, please call me that instead.” Eugene reminded his old friend. “You know why I hate my name…”

“And please, Eugene, call me Agil when we are out on Patrol.” Agil returned, smirking at his longtime friend.

Eugene returned the smirk. “Sure.”

“So, what should we start with?” Klein asked.

Agil set a bowl half full of water in front of Dynamm. “Ok, What you need to do,” He said, “To divine, is you need to concentrate on the person or event that you want to view.”

“I need to have a very clear picture of it or them, right?” Dynamm asked.

“Indeed,” Agil agreed. “Allow me to demonstrate.” Agil held his hands to either side of the bowl and started to concentrate.

Dynamm stayed silent as he watched the taller man try to work.

Chapter Text

Hikawa Shrine

“Rauni, kōhī o irete kuremasen ka?” Asuna asked, turning to Makoto.

“Tashika ni, watashi wa sūfungo ni modotte kimasu,” Makoto replied, getting up to head back to the kitchen. “Sugu modotte kuru.”

“Domo, arigato gozaimashita.” Kirito chimed in.

Makoto waved as she disappeared behind a wall.

Kirito, Asuna and Heatcliff turned to look at Rameses.

“Sir?” Rameses asked, getting nervous under Heathcliff’s eyes. He had heard about the Captain of the Royal Guard’s intense gaze from those who met him, and despite being in a vastly different body, the man’s eyes bored into him. In fact, everyone else’s descriptions paled in comparison of really being under Heathcliff’s gaze.

“First, young man, relax,” Heathcliff said. “This discussion isn’t about anything you did that may be wrong, though I will want to discuss your encounter with the Youma at some point.”

“Which one?” Rameses asked. “The time when they stormed Aincrad, or recently?’

“Since you arrived on Earth.” Heathcliff clarified.

Rameses nodded. “And outside of that?” He asked.

“An exchange of information,” Heathcliff replied. “You need to know what is going on here, and we would like information on Aincrad’s status.”

Rameses nodded, keeping his mouth shut as he listened. He wasn’t quite sure how much information he could give. “I will tell you all that I can, though I will likely need some kind of clearance to get everything you want to know.”

“A general overview of what’s happening will do.” Heathcliff assured him. “It will be some time before we can even think of going there.”

Rameses let out a breath. “That’s good,” he said. “First, outside of births, Aincrad’s population is made up of those of us who survived everything having gone to Tartarus ten thousand or so years ago.” he began. “I don’t know how many have been born or died since my last Awakening a thousand years ago, but we had a population of about seventeen and a half million last I heard.”

“Wait, you’re over a thousand?” Silica asked in surprise.

She’s still here? Rameses thought. I thought she would have gone home by now and… Oh, right, the dragon. “Technically, I’m over ten thousand, but none of us count the time we spent in stasis,” he said. “Without the time in stasis being counted, I’m fifteen.”

“So you’ve been in and out of stasis then?” Asuna asked.

Rameses nodded. “Yes,” he replied. “The pods weren’t rated to work constantly for even as long as we used them each time from what I’ve heard. Not without being brought offline for maintenance or replacement. And we’re lucky that only ten percent have failed as of last count.” He laughed bitterly. “Yeah, lucky. My parents were in pods that failed. How my sister and I didn’t have our pods fail is…” He shook his head. “Anyway, that’s not going to be a concern any more. I got news that every person is being Awakened.”

“Everyone?” Kirito asked. “Why?”

Rameses closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “There was likely a large scale failure of the stasis pods,” he said grimly. “That some fail over time is, sadly, not unexpected. But if enough have failed, and probably recently, then Governor-General Nightfallen has a standing order to end the stasis rotation.”

“How long would that give you all?” Asuna asked.

Rameses shrugged. “To be honest, I don’t know,” he admitted. “So long as nothing critical breaks down, they should have few decades at least.”

“So time isn’t an immediate concern,” Heathcliff noted.

Rameses shrugged. “As far as I know,” he said.

“Even so, finding a ship will still be a priority when we finally get to the moon…” Kirito said to himself.

Asuna raised an eyebrow at him, “We’ve known that for a long time.” She looked at Rameses. “Please continue.”

“Right,” Rameses said with a nod. “Well, I only woke up from stasis a few hours ago. Well a few hours for me, I will have to check and see how long the trip actually was. I wasn’t paying attention to the times on the long list of messages I had and only opened up the oldest of the ones from after I woke up. Anyway, I checked my Mystic Tome for updates, found out two probes were spotted, one was even retrieved when it entered the planet’s atmosphere and lost contact with here. I was planning on checking the probe out when I left here and a certain feathered dragon flew past me to a Teleporter. I chased after it and ended up taking a little trip, considering that I stumbled over something and into the teleport.”

Pina chirped innocently, nuzzling Silica.

“A little trip?” Kirito asked. “That’s an understatement.”

“Understatement of the century,” Asuna agreed. “He could only be talking about Cassini. And maybe New Horizons or one of the Voyager probes.

“Cassini?” Rameses asked.

“An unmanned probe that was sent to Saturn and actually dropped off an unmanned vehicle on Titan,” Heathcliff said. “And Asuna-kun, New Horizons didn’t do a flyby of Saturn. It used Jupiter for a gravity assist on its way to Pluto.”

Asuna blushed, looking away. “I must be remembering wrong then…”

“Then that just leaves the Voyager Probes.” Kirito mused. “Was it Voyager One or Two that was shot out of the system first? I don’t remember…”

Rameses stared at the three of them in confusion. “What?”

Asuna sighed, “We should get back on topic.” She said with a huff. “We can tell him about that the Americans accomplished another day.”

Kirito nodded.

Rameses briefly wondered what she meant by Americans before discarding that line of thinking. He would probably find out later. “Well then, after my... little trip,” he paused as both Silica and Asuna giggled and shot them a dry look. “Yes, it’s funny, I know. Well, after that, I ended up here on Earth and took stock of myself. A bad teleport can have…” He grimaced. “I wanted to make sure I had all of my body parts on me. Healer Hakonia or one of the other Healers could have fixed it if they were separated from me, well most of them at any rate, so long as I had them, but…” He shrugged and hoped that they didn’t ask what he meant by most.. “Anyway, the feathered dragon-”

“Pina,” Silica corrected.

“Right, sorry,” Rameses apologized. “Well, when Pina started flying off and I chased after her. I heard the roar of a… you call them Youma, yes?” At their nods he continued. “Well, I heard that roar, hard to forget it really, I remember running with my parents from them when… you know. I got my gear out, glad I didn’t have to take time to put it on, as it actually appeared on me this time, and headed that way. People were running from that direction, which Pina was flying to, and I decided that I would at least buy some time for everyone to escape before I broke contact and got the hell out of there as well. Didn’t expect that first one to die so easily, though.”

“First one?” Asuna asked. “How many did you kill?”

Rameses thought for a moment. “Well, there was the one I killed at close range, and then I got out my pulser-”

“A pulser?” Asuna asked

“It’s a gun,” Silica said. “He killed another two with it and blew the arm off another. The third one didn’t seem too hurt by it, though it did stagger it. He was charging it when Sailor Uranus hit it and injured him in the process.”

“It killed a Youma?” Heathcliff asked. “Last I heard, firearms don’t work against them.”

“I kind of doubt it was made on Earth,” Silica said with a shake of her head. “At least, not one made in this time period. It actually reminded me of the Blasters that you might find in FPS games… the sci-fi ones at least. Because it shot what looked like energy or plasma.” Then she shrugged.

Heathcliff turned back to Rameses, “Perhaps you should show us this Pulser.”

Rameses bit his lip. He had been taught to not take it out unless he was planning to use it or do maintenance on it. At the same time… it was Heathcliff who was asking. “All right, but there are a few things I want you to do, first.”

Heathcliff and the others blinked before nodding.

“First, you will get behind me,” Rameses said. “I was taught to never pull a Pulser out unless I intended to use it, unless I was doing maintenance on it, or bringing it to an armory for storage or maintenance. I am about to go against that, but there is one bit of instruction that I won’t go against. And that is making sure that the direction of fire is clear until I have verified that the weapon is unloaded. Because I don’t care if I unloaded the weapon before I put it back in storage, which I might have forgotten to, unless I verify it personally, then the weapon should always be treated as if it is loaded and ready to fire.”

That was something that all four of them could agree to.

“Second, once I have done so, I will turn to face you so I can teach you how to properly handle the weapon and how to verify that the weapon is unloaded and the safety has been engaged,” Rameses continued. “You will not be allowed to touch or be handed the weapon until I know that you have been taught so. And until you verify it is unloaded yourself, or you unload it, you will act as if the weapon is still loaded. Actually, treat it as if it’s loaded and ready to fire at all times. If you have any questions or need clarification on something, then ask. With this, a question relating to safely handling it is not a stupid one. You will each then demonstrate it to me. Third, once you have the weapon in your control, keep your finger off the trigger and for Goddess’ sakes, do not point it at anyone or anything, not even yourself, unless you intend to shoot. If you do point it at someone here, I don’t care who you are. I will personally rip the weapon out of your hands and beat you unconscious with it. This is not up for debate. I received this same briefing and went through two months of training, where these points were constantly tested, with failing to properly observe the safety procedures meant that you either repeated the training from the start, or you outright failed it. And I have seen with my own eyes what happens to someone when they fail to do so.” He grimaced. “With these, one going off unintentionally isn’t an accident, it is negligence. And the person who dies from that negligence might not be you. Having to clean someone’s brains off yourself because someone else was a damn idiot and failed to heed those warnings is not something I want to repeat. Am I understood?”

Heathcliff nodded, likely because a memory had surfaced. Kirito, Asuna and Silica looked a bit green but also nodded.

“I’m sorry, I must be getting hard of hearing,” Rameses said sharply. “I asked, am I understood?”

Heathcliff smiled. “I understand.” Kirito, Asuna and Silica were quick to parrot Heathcliff's statement clearly.

“Good.” Rameses said. “Now, get behind me and a little to the side. I want you to watch me as I bring it out and clear the weapon. I will be showing you afterward how to do so, but I want you to see how I did it.” He then faced a wall and waited until everyone was behind him before he brought the Pulser out. He then went through the procedures of unloading it and double checking it before he faced the others and began to talk through the entire process.

Aincrad: Skarlet Pyales

Selene gazed down at the message Rameses had sent, her eyes narrowing. She looked up when she heard the door slide open and then closed. She smiled when she saw that it was Captain-General Makan Aldursson Eldurlag, her counterpart and the leader of what remained of the military of the Silver Empire. He was a Salamander from Alfheim.

“Do we know what happened to Young Rameses?” He asked, his dark red hair was held out of his dark red eyes by a black band. “Someone doing a tracked teleport to deeper in system did cross my desk. And the fact that a Spriggan by the name of Kebechet has been asking if we know anything.”

“Yes, he finally sent me a reply.” Selene smirked, “He somehow made it to Earth.”

“How long did that take?” The Salamander asked with some amusement. For all that teleports within Aincrad seemed instantaneous, they both knew otherwise. Teleporting anything with mass took some time. Within Aincrad, that time was measured in milliseconds, but even messages, which had no mass, were limited by the speed of light. By the time she received his reply, hours had passed since he sent it.”

“It took a week, but I’m sure that Kirito and Asuna will take care of him.” Selene looked thoughtful. “The impression I got from the Vision was that they would be leading…” She shrugged.

“Governor-General, please enlighten me, who are Kirito and Asuna and what will they be leading?” Makan asked.

Selene blinked, “That’s right, you haven’t been informed since you were Awake already.” Her expression became much more serious. “I have it on good authority that Asuna is our Princess reborn. Kirito was her companion. So I can only postulate that he will likely be in charge of the contingent that we now have on Earth.”

“Now?” Makan asked. “What do you mean by that?”

Selene’s smile returned, “I mean that the Vision I reported was likely a Simulation, no doubt built by Heathcliff himself.” She watched Makan’s face, he’d been good friends with Heathcliff when they had been training here together. “Though how he would expect it to have results is beyond me. I met both Kirito and Asuna, and a few others as well. They were civilians, not soldiers.”

“I’m almost tempted to see if Rameses’ Teleport can be replicated…” Makan grumbled. “Because it sounds to me like Heathcliff needs help. If all he could muster was Civilians…”

“I would not, General,” Selene said seriously. “It’s too risky for one thing. We will have to have faith that Heathcliff knew what he was doing here, and Rameses’ message did indicate that at least a few of the Guardians are also reincarnated and awakened into their roles.”

“Even Princess Persephone?” Makan asked warily.

“That, I do not know,” Selene said. “She could have been reincarnated, but her being awakened as a Guardian, let alone as the Bringer of Silence, was not mentioned by him. Even without any certainty, it is doubtful.”

Makan nodded. “It was merely a thought,” he said. “We would most likely have more luck sending some materials to him if he asks than sending people there anyway. And at least if it doesn’t work, we won’t run the risk of losing anyone.”

“Indeed.” Selene agreed, turning to look out the window, out at the yellow clouds of Saturn.

March 1, 2025: Hikawa Shrine

Silica listened carefully to what Rei was saying as the older woman explained how she used the Sacred Fire for divination. While the Miko wasn’t sure that she would have the gift for it, there was no harm in knowing how it was done. At the same time, while her learning to be a Miko was only a cover to explain her staying at the Shrine in case someone asked, Rei was going to train her as if she was actually interested in becoming one.

“I talked with her, she’s going to teach you how to be a Miko as long as you are here,” the Princess had said when they went over the plan. Convincing her family had taken some fast talking, but showing both of her parents Pina and her translating Rameses’ speech, as well as translating her father’s threats to him if he did anything to her seemed to do the trick. The threats seemed to amuse him a little, but he took them seriously. And he did mention that he would make such threats to the first male, or female for that matter, who started trying to court his sister. “This will serve to explain why you’re staying here and we want the cover to be as tight as we can have it. So you will be learning it and may pick up some other skills in the process. Such as making and charging ofuda, which do have some effect against Youma.”

“I don’t mind.” Silica smiled. “It’s just another Skill that I can use to keep my party safe. And yes, I know my going out is not going to be sanctioned until I turn fifteen this year.” And as galling as it was, she understood the reasoning behind it. Those of them who were under eighteen would be looked at twice as it was, but if they were at least fifteen, it wouldn’t raise as many red flags.

“Inanna still wants to meet you.” The Princess reminded her, “Just remember to study hard Silica.”

“Of course, Princess!” Silica chirped happily, giggling when Pina mimicked her.

She shook the thoughts of that meeting out of her head and turned her attention back to Rei. “I’m sorry, could you explain that last bit again?”

Rei nodded. “It’s about clarity of focus,” she said. “You need to clear your mind when trying to divine anything, as stray thoughts can change what you are seeing. It can range from seeing random things unrelated to what you are looking for, to what you want to see, rather than what you need to see. That latter one is something that both Senshi Neptune and I have had happen more than once. In many ways, clearing the mind is the hardest part, which is why I will teach you meditation.”

“Clearing my mind and focusing myself…” Silica murmured. “I think I get the idea. You heard about the Three Hundred?” At Rei’s nod she continued. “I was one of them, and I became aware that something was off fairly quickly. There was an outside influence trying to change how I thought. I used a benediction I learned in SAO to keep my mind from being affected. Almost like Occlumency. It’s not the same, but...”

“But it gives you somewhere to start from,” Rei finished. “I would like to know what this benediction was. If it helped you protect your mind, there’s nothing saying that it can’t help with focus. You’re right that it isn’t clearing the mind, but I can see where we can go from there. Especially if you can get to that point without having to use it.” She then looked at the entrance. “Rameses, ótan teleiósete, boreíte na skoupísete píso?”

“Nai kyría mou,” came the response from just outside.

Silica didn’t blink as Rei shifted languages to speak to Rameses. It wasn’t Lunarian, but apparently the language that had been spoken on Mars back then. A language that Rameses not only spoke, but was apparently his native language as well. She had asked him how many languages he knew, and he mentioned three. The Lunarian that was spoken throughout the Kingdom, his own native Graelic, and the main language used around Jupiter, Alvarin.

And eventually Japanese will be added to the list, she thought. Though I hope that they find someone, like Yuuna, who can teach him besides me.

Kawagoe; Kirigaya Residence

Kirito studied his Kevlar vest with steel plates inside the pouches designed to hold such before pulling it over his head. It was better than no protection at all, but it just didn’t give him the right kind. “It’s better than nothing but this really isn’t any good against Youma…” He muttered as he adjusted the vest so it fit properly.

Asuna watched him thoughtfully. “Until Ashley and our blacksmiths get set up, we won’t have anything better unless Aincrad can send Rameses something.” She fingered the broach her adviser Luna, (not their Luna, The Jewelry Rabbit, their Curse Spotter) had given her. “Lind was a great help getting us what we have.” She looked down at the Broach. “We should be thankful for at least this much.”

“I am.” Kirito replied. “The equipment Lind managed to acquire for us is good at what it does, but that doesn’t stop it from being a poor fit for what we actually need.” He picked up the two Bokken that his Grandfather had ordered for him. He carefully strapped them to his left side. “Ready to go?”

“I can be ready at any time, Kirito-kun.” Asuna teased, “Are you finished?”

“Yes.” Kirito nodded with a tight smile.

Asuna slipped off his bed. “Moon Prism Power, Make Up!” There was a flash of light, and when it faded, Asuna was standing there, now decked out in something quite similar to her KoB Uniform. Her shoulders were left uncovered, her arms were covering in long half gloves, a steel breastplate had appeared, covering her chest with a red upturned Crescent Moon on the right side. Her not quite miniskirt was a rather dark pink and her feet were enclosed in a pair of armored shoes.

“My beautiful Cerridwen.” Kirito complimented, offering her his arm.

“Thank you.” Cerridwen gave him a soft smile. “Let’s get going.” She took his arm and pulled him out of his bedroom.

Dicey Cafe

“So, who is going where tonight?” Kirito asked, standing over the maps that were spread over the table.

“I was planning to meet up with one of Lind’s groups,” Mars said. “This way I can watch over Rameses and my student, since we know that she’s going to be shadowing one of them.” She looked at the Aincrad resident, who was in his own armor and quietly listening to Silica as she translated what was being said.

“I think I’m going to accompany Bunbo’s team tonight,” Mercury chimed in.

Cerridwen gave Mercury and Mars a nod. Then she turned to Jupiter and Venus, “And, what about you two?”

Jupiter and Venus shared a glance. “I was planning to accompany Klein and his team for the night.” Jupiter spoke up.

Venus smirked, “I was going to see if I could get Kuro to tag along.”

In one corner, Lux blushed. “I’m fine with that!” She replied quickly.

“Alright then.” Cerridwen said, turning to Pluto. “And you have Uranus and Neptune hitting warehouses tonight?”

Pluto nodded, “They’ve already left.” She confirmed.

“Good, that means that we don’t have to worry about another ‘Rameses Incident’, tonight at least.” Cerridwen sighed in relief.

“What about you, Cerridwen?” Venus asked.

“Kirito-kun will be escorting me tonight.” she replied, “Which was how it was for most of SAO.”

“Sounds like you want some of that back.” Venus grinned.

Cerridwen looked over her shoulder at her body double and smirked. “That’s how we work best actually.” She replied. “It’s also what we prefer.”

“There will be a time when we will have to fight together eventually.” Mercury pointed out.

“When we go after Zombie! Beryl, I know.” Cerridwen agreed. “But until then, I would like to head out with just Kirito every once and awhile.”

“We understand, you are married after all.” Pluto smiled.

“In everything but Law,” Kirito smirked, “We do have to wait.”

“And I don’t mind waiting for my Kirito-kun. He is well worth it.” Cerridwen agreed. “If we are done?” She asked, turning to the rest of the Senshi.

Everyone started standing up. “We are.” Pluto said.

“Then let’s get going.” Cerridwen met Kirito’s eyes.

“It’s been quiet so far.” Kirito said, halfway through their Patrol through the areas of Setagaya and Kawagoe where Youma had been sighted previously.

“Don’t jinx us by saying anything else.” Cerridwen cautioned him gently.

“Boring is good when it means safe.” Kirito agreed as they passed someone. A feeling raced up and down Kirito’s spine and he turned to look back. “I have a bad feeling about this…” He said quietly so that only Cerridwen could hear him.

Cerridwen turned to follow his gaze. “That person is familiar.” She agreed.

Kirito cast his senses outward as he slowly brought his right hand to rest on the hilt of one of his Bokken. A lot of good two did him when he couldn’t use Dual Blades. Dual Blade Sword Skills took more magic than he could safely use at the moment. “So, do you sense anything, Cerridwen-sama?”

Her eyes narrowed. “There’s something, a lot of somethings, here. It’s very dark…”

Kirito very carefully and slowly moved to rest his right hand over one of the Bokken hanging on his left hip. “Then I think we’ve found the Youma…”

“I think you’re right.” Cerridwen whispered, taking a step back so that she was back to back with Kirito, once more lamenting that she didn’t have a proper rapier, not even a fencing foil, on her person and had to make do with a shinai. A shinai wasn’t balanced the same way, making it a poor fit for her. She resolved, again, to see if she could find something better for her preferred method of fighting.

Preferably sooner rather than later. The Shinai was flimsy, and it didn’t belong to her, so she really didn’t want to break it. Kirito’s grandfather was beyond generous in allowing her to use it, especially since she wasn’t one of his students.

Youma began appearing out of the shadows. More than they had ever dealt with while in the Simulation of Aincrad. “That’s at least fifty.” Kirito muttered, grimacing. “It’s more than we have faced before…”

“I don’t think it’s anything we can’t handle.” Cerridwen grunted. “You are by far the most powerful of my Soldiers. There is no one else I’d rather have at my back.” She looked down at the Shinai in her hand. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Kirito asked, looking at her from the corner of his eye.

“The Shinai you’ve loaned me is likely to break tonight, with how flimsy it is in my hands…” Cerridwen sighed.

“I’m sure Grandfather will understand.” Kirito shook his head. “It is not like we have much choice in our equipment just yet. We have what we have.”

Cerridwen nodded sadly. Inadequate equipment was something they would have to deal with, at least until they were completely set up with the school, their HQ under the Dicey Cafe, and wherever their blacksmiths were going to set up.

Kirito’s feet slid slightly farther apart and brought his Bokken to bear. His eyes narrowed as he began to concentrate. His wooden sword began to glow a dark grey moments later.

Cerridwen brought her Shinai up and it too began to glow, a bright white, unlike Kirito’s Bokken.

They both waited a moment before exploding into action, taking out several Youma at a time. They worked in sync, knowing instinctively where the other was at any given time. They were like a well-oiled machine.

It was the result of them working closely together throughout the last two years in SAO.

Once the two of them had cleared most of the Youma, Kirito looked up, and saw a uniformed man floating above them, watching. “Cerridwen, I think we’ve found Jadeite.”

Cerridwen looked up, “In that case, I’ll leave the rest of the Youma to you.” She said as she crouched and jumped.

Kirito smirked, his eyes narrowing as he set up to kill the rest of the Youma.

Cerridwen landed on a nearby roof and glared at the General floating there. She stood tall, her eyes narrowing as she activated her Perception Skill to get a better look at their enemy.

Blond hair, blue eyes, and that grey uniform with blue piping. Yep, that was indeed Jadeite. Cerridwen smirked; it looked like she was going to get the first crack at the man that had hurt her Kirito so much. She would kill him, if possible.

Slowly, so as not to make a sound, Cerridwen crouched, her arm straight, holding the Shinai as if it were a rapier. The moment her borrowed Shinai began to glow, Cerridwen launched herself from her rooftop perch and flew at Jadeite.

He turned with the kind of swiftness that would have surprised her before SAO. Drawing his own sword, he parried her attack and riposted with a counter that she dodged with a twist of the body while still in the air. Landing on her feet, she quickly stepped back, giving herself some distance and more time to react for any attack.

“Magic within the attacks, so that was how you all managed to kill so many Youma recently,” he said calmly. “It is the only reason little toys like those practice weapons would work.”

Cerridwen huffed. Now that the element of surprise was gone, it was unlikely she’d be able to do more than drive him off. “Well, you’ll just find that we are full of surprises!” She snarled, jumping again to attack him.

Jadeite smirked as he again defended against Cerridwen’s attack. And this time when she jumped back, he followed her.

She weaved and dodged, parrying and blocking when she couldn’t do anything else. She put all her agility and earned speed into her movement.

Finally, she got enough breathing room to breathe and lunged, attacking him with a Quadruple Pain.

Jadeite brought his sword up and there was a crunching sound, and the Shinai shattered to pieces.

Cerridwen jumped back, not dropping the broken Shinai. Her breathing slowed when Jadeite didn’t move. He was smirking at her and began to laugh.

She glared at him even as she held up the broken Shinai. Her free hand clenched into a fist and was unconsciously pulling back for a punch, though she restrained the urge to do so. As badly as she wanted to attack him, she didn’t dare do so now. Not only did he have the advantage of being properly armed, but if she tried as she was, she would be left open.

Jadeite moved in to attack when another’s hand closed around the tip of his sword, stopping the attack cold. “What?”

The hand was glowing a color that was even rarer than it used to be. The next thing Jadeite saw was a glowing fist as it smashed into his face. Jadeite flew backwards, crash landing into a wall.

Kirito looked down at the sword he was holding and tossed it, catching the hilt. “Hmm…” He began examining it. “Well, it has enough reach,” he hummed, “It’s properly balanced too and it’s heavy enough that I’d have no complaint using it on its own.” He tested the tip, “Not as sharp as I’d like, but that’s easy enough to fix, and it’s not DNA locked like Agil’s axe seems to be.”

“Well, I’m glad that you have something suitable at least…” Cerridwen pouted. “The best we can do at this point is drive him away.”

“You mean he’s still in the rubble?” Kirito asked, turning his eyes back to where Jadeite had landed.

Jadeite was gone.

Chapter Text

March 3, 2025; Minato: Hikawa Shrine

Kirito sighed as he carefully sank into a seat around the table in the meeting room. The hand he’d used to catch his new sword was still rather sore. While catching it by the blade to stop Jadeite’s attack didn’t cut his hand, it still hit hard enough that if he hadn’t reinforced it with magic like he did, it could have easily broken it. As it was, it was a near thing.

He set the sword down on the table, “Catching this thing wasn’t the best idea, but at least I now have a sword that suits me rather than using the Bokken…” he muttered.

“I’m still glad that you disarmed Jadeite. I’m surprised that Jadeite didn’t make a more serious attempt to kill me.” Asuna put a hand on her fiancé’s shoulder.

“He underestimated you,” Kirito said. “And he may not have realized that you’re a reincarnation, let alone who you are the reincarnation of.”

“If he didn’t, that’s something, I guess,” Asuna agreed. “But the color of my magic is rather distinctive. Light Magic, like Shadow Magic, is very rare and it’s a talent that is known to run in her family line…”

“The question then, should be if the Zombie remembers that.” Rei broke in.

“Let us hope that they can’t add two plus two to get four.” Heathcliff cut in, changing the subject, “There is something else that we need to talk about, Kirito-kun.”

Kirito turned to look at him. “And what’s that?”

“It’s about the Soldiers we have that are still bedridden, Merida in particular.” Heathcliff replied calmly.

“Merida…” Kirito’s eyes narrowed as he contemplated the name. “I know that she was a Beta Tester for SAO…” he mused. “She was the one I was closest to, after Argo and Diavel, if I’m remembering the right person.”

“You are.” Heathcliff replied, “I made a special NerveGear so that she could play.”

“What’s wrong with my friend, B-Captain?” Kirito demanded at his brother’s tone.

“Cancer.”

And Kirito’s blood froze. “What kind? Where?”

“Her brain.”

“…Fuck!” Kirito put his face in his hands. He looked at the man from between his fingers. “Do you know how much time we have?”

“A month, perhaps two.” Heathcliff’s eyes said it all.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Kirito noticed Rameses and Silica with their heads together. Silica was probably translating what was said. Rameses had his Menu open but Kirito paid it no mind. “Maybe Tilnel will have an idea of what to do…”

“Kamāṇḍar, nānu iddalli?” Rameses asked.

Kirito turned to Rameses. “Go ahead, Rameses.” He replied in a tired voice, with Silica providing a quick translation.

Rameses nodded and explained that he could send a message to Healer Hakonia about the situation if Tilnel couldn’t do anything. At the very least, she may be able to tell them what they could do, even if it was to only ensure that she spent her final days without pain.

That is, unless, Princess Persephone’s reincarnation has awakened her magic and is able to handle the strain of healing someone. Her gifts as the Guardian of Saturn weren’t all based on destruction and she was known as a healer whose gifts in that field were second to none.

Kirito nodded thoughtfully. He really didn’t want his friend to die. “Do it then, let's find out what can be done.” Merida had been a good friend and he didn’t want to lose her. There was nothing that Technology could do, but magic might be able to do something. That was his hope.

Even if Hakonia came up with nothing, there were probably things that could still be done for his friend. “Are there any others in the same kind of condition?” He asked, turning back to his brother.

“Ran, and her twin sister, who didn’t get to play.” Heathcliff replied.

Aincrad: Seran Dael

She had just gotten to her office when the chime that she had long since set for them sounded, indicating that she had a message. “Of all the- what is it this time?” She thought as she brought up her Mystic Tome. “If one of those idiots with more balls than brains tried to take on a Titan Scorpion the same way the Princess did again and got hurt, I am going to heal his ass in a way so that he will shit fire and venom for a fucking month.” She opened her messages and looked at the newest one that came in.

And a second one just turned up as well. Looking at the sender’s name, she blinked. Tilnel, so she’s alive, she noted to herself. Maybe that means that her sister is as well. Good to know, and she probably sent this in response to the first one. She looked at the second message. Ah, so that foolish boy who found himself lucky enough to survive the trip to Earth sent something. Well, let’s see what stupidity he got his ass stuck into this time.

FM: Rameses Soulfire
TO: Hakonia Fjensdottir, Tilnel Nightwalker

Subj: Have an interesting question for you.

Healer Hakonia,

Before you think so, this isn’t me getting myself hurt by something. The Avyavastheya Racanegaḷu that seem to enjoy plaguing this place don’t have anything on those Sword Wraiths I ended up having to deal with last Awakening. Thanks for reattaching my arm by the way, and have they repaired that hole from that cave system to the eighty-fourth floor yet?

Never mind. Anyway, I learned that Captain Heathcliff’s reincarnation knows of some soldiers that ended up being trapped in a simulation due to one of the walking corpses with the faces of the Heavenly Generals did. Currently, she is terminally ill with a cancerous tumor infecting her brain and is not expected to last more than a month. The Healers on this world don’t have magic, so they have to rely on pure technology and their own medical knowledge, and it can’t do anything for her. Considering that you’re the best Healer on Aincrad, I wonder if there is anything you know that could possibly help.

I included Healer Tilnel in this message so you two can communicate on this matter.

Regards,

Rameses Soulfire

Hakonia read the message over a second time before nodding. A tumor, and in the brain? She would need more details than that to know if there was anything she could do. She wasn’t being arrogant when she considered herself good at the Science and Art of Healing Magic but there were limits to what she could do. She wasn’t Princess Persephone, whose gifts at healing were awe inspiring to behold.

Yes, the Princess was also the Guardian of Saturn and thus the Bringer of Silence if the need should arise, but the girl had dedicated herself to being a healer and was taught by the best magisters on Alfheim for a reason.

Now, to see what her former student had to say on the matter. Well, outside of probably cursing the boy for having to communicate with her before she saw what she could do on her own.

FM: Tilnel Nightwalker
TO: Rameses Soulfire, Hakonia Fjensdottir

Subj: Brain Tumor Work

Damn it, Rameses, at least give me some time to look her over and see if there’s anything I can do first! I didn’t get tapped to be Her Highness’ Physician for nothing!

Teacher,

I haven’t had time to look young Merida, that’s her name, over yet, but I was able to find out some details from Captain Heathcliff. Well, his reincarnation, but he was responsible for bringing this to my, the Princess’ (yes, she was reincarnated as well), and the Commander’s attention.

It is a cancer in the brain that resulted in the tumor. So even if I can heal the tumor, this cancer has advanced enough that I am doubtful that I can eliminate the cause. On the other hand, eliminating the tumor will buy us some time and save her life for now. There are others that he brought to my attention, but Merida is the one most in danger right now.

I will look her over and see if there is anything I can do. I will send you a message telling you what I was able to do, if anything, and what needs to be done. I have included the information that the Captain was able to provide me as well, which include what information the Doctors, that’s what they call Healers here in this era, have provided.

At worst, I hope I can stabilize things for the girl and buy her time. There are a few other cases that I was informed of, but this one is of immediate priority.

Your Respectful Student,

Royal Physician Tilnel Nightwalker

Hakonia read over what Tilnel sent and began to think it over. Cancers were difficult to fight, and her former student wasn’t going to turn down any assistance, even if it was only knowledge, should it prove helpful. True, she would see what she could do first, but the context of the message indicated that she was asking for any advice on what else she may be able to do.

She looked at the bookshelf in her office and walked over to it. Looking at the titles of the many books and scrolls on it, she began to consider where she could find something that she could send to Tilnel in a message.

Minato Ward: Mungen Academy

Persephone leaned against one wall of the hallway in Mungen Academy, resting her face in one hand. This school, which was supposed to be her home felt… off, strange. There was something in the air that set the being of destruction in the back of her head on edge. Something had her reaching for a Naginata, or Saturn’s Glaive.

She hadn’t felt this way before SAO, but that had been before she’d started remembering her life as Persephone, starting with the end. Even worse, her body felt off, as if there was something in her body that did not belong. It was something that she’d only noticed because her experience in SAO had made her very sensitive to her magic and her body.

The atmosphere in this school was very oppressive, she needed to get out of here. Persephone began navigating the school, heading for the exit on the first floor.

“Hotaru, where are you going dear?”

Persephone turned to look at the person who had called out to her; a redhead with hair of a similar shade to Beryl-chan’s and purple eyes. “Oh, Miss Knight, I’m fine.” She forced herself to smile, “I was just going for a walk.”

Miss Knight smiled, “Be back in time for dinner then. We wouldn’t want your father to worry, right?”

A feeling of… something shot up Persephone’s spine. “Right,” she agreed awkwardly, edging towards the door to the school’s grounds. There was no need to tell Miss Knight exactly where she was going.

Miss Knight turned away, “Try not to get into trouble again, will you?”

Persephone stiffened as she was reminded of the most recent of the gaps in her memories. “I won’t.” She agreed, leaving the school building behind.

Once Persephone was off the school campus and sure that she wouldn’t be spotted, she opened her Mystic Tome and selected Asuna’s name in her Friend List. As she began to compose the message, she shifted to using Lunarian script as an added precaution.

FM: Persephone
TO: Asuna

Subj: Memory Gaps

Asuna, I’ve discovered something very worrying about myself, and about the place I live, but I think my personal problem is the only thing that can be solved with anything remotely resembling speedy results.

I have discovered that there are some very concerning gaps in my memories, and with how sensitive I am to magic… I think that something may be wrong with me. There are gaps in my memory which should not be there. I recall something that I found in SAO, even if I can’t remember the details of when and where I was at the time. Maybe I was with Yuuna?

Any way, the gaps, and the feeling of a presence within me at the edge of my awareness… possession may be involved.

I do not know if this presence is malicious or not yet. And quite frankly, I really don’t care. I just want this thing, whatever it may be, gone.

Please, tell me where to meet you and I will be there as soon as I am able.

Persephone

Persephone sent the message, deciding that the further away she was from Mungen Academy, the better. Much as she loved her father, she could not stand being in the school’s proximity for another moment.

She saw a bus heading to a nearby stop and headed to it. Looking at the line the stop was on as she got closer to it, one that would take her deeper into Tokyo, she nodded.

She boarded the bus as soon as the bus stopped and looked around for a spare seat. There wasn’t one so she moved to the back and took hold of one of the hanging handles.

As soon as she was situated, the bus started moving again. Persephone really didn’t care where she ended up, as long as she was as far from that school as possible.

Hikawa Shrine

Asuna looked down when she got the notification that she had a message waiting for her.

“Something up?” Kirito asked, looking over her shoulder.

“It’s from Persephone.” Asuna answered easily. “It sounds like she might be in trouble.” She said as she skimmed the message. “Badb, you are a Miko, so, have you ever had to deal with Possession cases?”

“Possession?” Rei asked thoughtfully. “I have. There haven’t been many cases to deal with, but Grandfather made sure that I knew what to do.”

“I’m guessing that you think Persephone should come here.” Kirito said.

“Yes.” Asuna said a little too sharply as she opened her Mystic Tome to write Persephone a reply.

Persephone looked up when she heard someone call her name. “Hello there.”

Yuuna grinned impishly, “General Kenobi! You are a bold one.” They both giggled, leaning against each other. “So, how are you, Persephone?”

“Not too bad.” Persephone gave her friend a warm smile, then she made a choice. “Yuuna, as the Loremaster, would you be able to confirm something that I’ve come to suspect?”

Yuuna blinked, “I think that depends on what you need me to confirm.”

Persephone started explaining her observations to her friend, including the gaps in her memory. “... Nothing from SAO is missing, but after we got out, there have been times where I seemed to lose anywhere from ten minutes to several hours, but I know I was conscious for them,” she said. “And you know why Heathcliff made SAO, right?”

“As a simulation so we can help the Senshi,” Yuuna said. “Yeah, I know. Not that I can do all that much. I was more focused on learning everything I could, only going out to either keep my levels up and skills sharp, not to mention doing quests to get access to more knowledge or a new book to read.” She laughed. “Nautilus didn’t know what to do with me, as I always was willing to put myself in harm’s way and he was always so afraid. He wasn’t a coward, but his fear would paralyze him in combat. But he still went out and tried to not let it happen. He was making good progress on that by the time it ended, too.”

“That’s good to hear.” Persephone agreed, “Perhaps he’ll do better now that we are out of SAO. I’ve already informed Asuna.”

Yuuna’s eyes narrowed, “You were right to contact Asuna-hime.” She stood straight, “Because this does sound typical of a possession case. I wonder if Boxy or maybe Senshi Mars would be able to help…”

Persephone got a notification that she had a response to her message and opened the reply. “Yuuna, do we need to switch Lines to get to the Hikawa Shrine?”

Yuuna checked on her phone. “No, we don’t, it’s three stops away though.”

“That’s good news for us then.” Persephone sighed in relief.

Hopefully, her situation would not take too long to be resolved.

Hikawa Shrine

Three stops later, Persephone and Yuuna disembarked from the bus at the base of the steps up to the Hikawa Shrine. “Well, we are here.” Persephone smiled.

“Let’s go.” Yuuna grabbed Persephone’s hand and started to pull the other girl up the stairs.

Asuna got up from her seat and went to the door, opening it for her friends. “Come in Yuuna, Persephone.”

Yuuna came in first, “It’s nice to see you, Asuna-sama.” She chirped, giving Kirito a salute. “Commander.”

“Well met, Loremaster.” Kirito grinned, sending a questioning glance at Rei, who nodded. “Feel free to sit down.”

“Thank you.” Yuuna bowed to Rei before taking a seat to Kirito’s right.

Persephone hugged Asuna tightly. “Asuna-hime…”

Asuna sighed, “Everything will be fine, Persephone.” She said, concentrating on the feeling of her friend’s presence. “You were right, there is something wrong…”

“I’ll be right back.” Rei was on her feet and out of the room a moment later. They heard her call for Silica and Rameses.

Asuna watched the doorway. “Badb knows what she’s doing,” she shook her head, “Come, sit. Rauni, are there any snacks left?”

“I’m glad that you hadn’t left,” Makoto said. “I would have had to throw a good deal of it away, though Silica’s pet dragon… Pina? Yeah, that’s the dragon’s name. Pina would have tried to eat the rest, and that’s when she’s not being sneaky about trying to snatch it.” She idly reached up and shooed Pina, who flew in from outside, away from the food. “Shoo, this is for Persephone. Ask her if you can have some.”

“That’s not surprising.” Kirito agreed as Pina set down in front of him and allowed him to scratch behind her ears, chirping happily. “She is from Serenity’s brood, according to Rameses. Pina is very smart.”

Persephone sat down and studied the snacks left before taking a cookie.

Asuna settled back down on Kirito’s left. “So, you think you are being possessed?” she asked.

Persephone nodded, “Yes. I have some very suspicious gaps in my memory. Yuuna has confirmed that it is a sign of possible possession to the best of her knowledge. Even if it isn’t, you know why I want to be sure.”

“Check on possible worst case scenarios and rule them out if it turns up nothing,” Kirito said with a nod. “And you’re right, if you’re possessed, we want that taken care of immediately. I don’t want to know what a possessing entity would use your powers for if they awakened.”

Persephone, Asuna, and Yuuna all shivered in agreement. No one wanted to think about what a malicious entity would do with The Silence.

“Let’s not think about that.” Asuna said, “I like sleeping.”

Rei came back into the room with Silica and Rameses following, several ofuda in hand. “Silica, would you like to help me?” Rei asked, turning her attention to her student.

“Sure.” Silica said, getting up from her seat. “What do you need me to do?”

“I am going to need you to distract whatever spirit might be in her.” Rei instructed, “It doesn’t really matter how you do it.”

“Then…?” Silica asked, “Anything… even what I did to Princess Hathor?”

“If it escalates that far, then, yes.” Rei replied. “Let’s take this to where I meditate in front of the Great Fire.”

“Ok, I need several people to stand at the four corners of the room.” Rei said as they all filed into the room where the Sacred Fire burned in the center. “Preferably the four most powerful, to make sure that this spirit cannot escape us.”

Kirito moved to one corner, Asuna to the one across from him. Minako moved to the corner between them and Makoto moved to the last corner. Rei turned to Rameses. “Rameses, thélo na proséxeis tin eísodo,” she ordered him.

Rameses gave her a small bow in acknowledgement. “Katanóisi, Prinkípissa Badb,” he replied and then went to the entrance.

Rei turned to Kirito, “If you or one of yours knows an Epithet to harden the room against escape, it would be helpful.” She then repeated what she said in a different language to Rameses.

Kirito’s eyes narrowed as he searched his memory for something that might work.

“Prostatépste aftó to domátio apó ta pnévmata kai afíste kanéna na eisélthei í na diafýgei,” Rameses chanted a few times. Rei could feel the ambient magic in the room climb as he did so and felt wards snap in place as the feeling reached a crescendo. It wasn’t flashy, but she had no doubt that if she could see the magic, the room would be lit up like Shinjuku at night. She looked at Rameses and could see the strain of casting a spell that was probably at the limit of his ability with magic in his eyes but he was steady on his feet, confirming to her that he was, if not used to this kind of strain, then experienced with it.

It made its Host’s eyes narrow as it listened through their ears. There was something very wrong about this situation and it didn’t know what that was. It rose up, shoving its Host’s consciousness to one side.

It needed to escape!

Rei almost wasn’t ready when Persephone tried to attack her. Persephone was stopped cold when the girl came in contact with one of her Ofuda.

Rei made sure to place several more. Silica tensed and a moment later had planted one on Persephone’s head. It was as if a puppet’s strings had been cut as Persephone went limp and collapsed in a heap on the floor.

Whatever it was, it was certainly not a Youma. It coalesced into the see through form of an older woman with demonic looking eyes.

It, whatever it was, looked like an evil Persephone. It set all of them on edge.

“Who or what are you?” Asuna demanded, being careful not to move from her corner.

The Poltergeist, because it could not be anything else, paid Asuna no mind and tried to make for the door, towards the person who felt the weakest in the room.

Rameses glared at it, even as he felt the cloying malice that was radiating off of it trying to smother him. He had a spell on the tip of his tongue, one that he knew was going to almost certainly kill him. But this thing, he could feel the malice, the thirst for destruction. It felt wrong and frightened him in ways that made the Avyavastheya Racanegaḷu seem positively benign in comparison. He was going to die here, and he knew it. It was only a matter of how and what would be done to him beforehand.

Better to choose how. He was a Soulfire, and if he was going to die, it would be on his terms. Time to teach this thing how a Soulfire died, and maybe he would be lucky enough to take it down with him.

“Mésa apó tis flóges tis klironomiás mou, kaíno tóso foteiní óso o ílios.” He chanted in his native Graelic as fast as he could. “Sto ónoma ton progónon mou, xekiníste ton daímona!”

Rei felt Rameses’ magic flare outward and she could see everyone else’s eyes widen as the Aincrad resident’s magic became almost like a physical force, staggering Kirito, Silica and Yuuna.

“What the- that spell will kill him” Kirito had to force himself to stay where he was. He turned his attention to Silica. “Silica, do you know how to share magic with someone?”

Silica blinked as his meaning made itself clear. “Um, I don’t think so.”

Kirito turned his attention to Yuuna, “Loremaster?”

Yuuna shook her head. “I only found references to it, nothing on how to,” she admitted.

That, was not good. He only found the instructions on how to by accident, on the Seventy-Fifth floor. And he was stuck in the corner! In order for it to work, the person sharing their magic had to be in physical contact with the recipient. “If I were to walk you through what needs to be done, could you do it?” He asked them both.

They all felt the pressure of Rameses’ magic suddenly let up as he drew it inward. A ball of flame about the size of his head began to form in his outstretched hand. A ball of flame that was getting brighter as it shrank, going from orange, to blue, to white. “Kápste tis flóges tou daímona tou íliou,” he said and sent the concentrated fire at the Poltergeist.

It screamed as the flames hit it.

Yuuna met Kirito’s eyes and she nodded.

“Páre!” Rameses commanded as he hit the spirit with another blast of sun bright flames.

Kirito opened his mouth to walk Yuuna through the process, when Persephone began to glow, her eyes snapping open.

“Páre!” Rameses commanded, this time with clear pain in his voice. They looked at him. His clothing was beginning to smoke and they could see his skin had turned red. Blisters were starting to form in places. And yet, he stood firm.

“Páre!” Rameses commanded.

The Poltergeist’s screams increased in volume.

“Páre!”

Parts of Rameses’ clothing began to smolder and his skin was beginning to blacken.

“Páre!”

A Glaive went through the Poltergeist. “Be Silenced!” Senshi Saturn said in a cold voice, just loud enough for the rest of the room’s occupants to hear. They all watched as the Poltergeist screeched in pain before being completely erased from existence as Rameses fell to the ground like a marionette that had its strings cut.

“That was not a pleasant Awakening,” Senshi Saturn said unhappily in Lunarian as she pulled herself off the floor. “I had hoped that I would Sleep forever and my powers would never be needed.” She took several steps and knelt by Rameses’ side. “Foolish child.” She said fondly as she placed a hand over his heart. The burns on him began to heal, replacing reddened and charred skin with healthy flesh. “You did your best in trying to help me remain Asleep, and now I will help you in return.”

Rameses eyes were wide in terror as he stared up at her. The Bringer of Silence was awake. The Bringer of Silence was Awake!

Senshi Saturn gave him a friendly smile as she got back to her feet, bringing her Glaive to rest in the pocket of her shoulder. She let it go and it disappeared.

Asuna and Kirito relaxed as the wards around the room faded, and Pluto appeared off to one side, perhaps a little too close to Saturn than she should have been.

“Princess, Commander, I have grave news,” she said. “Sailor Saturn is… why are you two looking at me like that?”

Sensing her arrival, Saturn balled her right hand into a fist and turned to face the woman. “Pluto,” she said in a flat voice.

Pluto made a curious sound and turned to Saturn. Her eyes widened at the sight of the Bringer of Silence. “Oh,” She said in a faint voice. “Saturn, I would offer an explanation-” She was cut off as Sailor Saturn punched her in the face, sending her to the floor.

“Persephone casts Fist! It’s Super Effective.” Kirito joked with a grin, causing Saturn to start giggling uncontrollably.

“Thank you, Commander, I needed that,” Saturn said with amused tears in the corners of her eyes.

“Ok, I will admit, Moira deserved that.” Pluto admitted as she pushed herself up. “I know I’ve wanted to travel back in time and do the same, or worse, to her. Like shove the Time Key up her ass.” She rubbed her jaw and winced. “Ow. That’s going to leave a mark in the morning…”

Chapter Text

March 3, 2025: Hikawa Shrine

Rameses gave the women arrayed in front of him a nervous look. He didn’t need to be psychic to know that all of them were less than happy with him. He even understood why, too. Channeling the amount of magic like he did was... unwise to say the least, even for a Magister who had a century of experience, let alone a teen who was far from that august rank. He was, at best, of slightly above average natural talent with magic, and more likely closer to the average..

He knew the dangers of channeling more magic than his body could handle, that was the first lesson anyone learned when they had their magic awakened. And if he hadn’t learned that lesson, he just had personal experience in those dangers. He didn’t know how much damage he did to himself, but it certainly hurt enough.

Even Kirito looked none too happy with him from where he was, standing behind the girls. To the best of his knowledge, only Badb really knew the dangers. Her training would have had her train to the point where it was painful, if only so she would recognize when she was pushing further than was safe. The others? They might know intellectually, but they didn’t have that experience.

Or at least he hoped they didn’t. Well, maybe the tiredness from using it when they were new to it, but not the using it until it hurt.

They were all getting ready to rant… weren’t they? He knew that he was in trouble. Best to take his lumps now. Better these girls than his sister and Healer Hakonia anyway, because those two would kill him, resurrect him, repeat the cycle a second time, and only then would they start ranting at him.

“Rameses…” Asuna growled. “You are going to tell us exactly what that spell was and how much magic it takes!”

Rameses did not squeak, no he did not. “Um…” How was he supposed to explain this without them killing him?

“We are waiting, Rameses.” Saturn said with a sweet smile.

Rameses swallowed. “It’s a spell that my family developed a long time ago,” he explained. “It basically forces our magic out in its entirety. I causes a brief growth in the mage’s magic levels beyond the level that anyone using magic should use. What I did afterward was draw in the magic and compress it more than I ever did. As you saw, it’s not entirely safe.”

“With an understatement like that, you have definitely lived most of your life in Aincrad.” Saturn said drily. “Second and third degree burns over half your body, your clothes were beginning to ignite, and your body temperature was at the point where it was potentially lethal if it wasn’t reduced immediately. I’m also fairly sure that your lungs were beginning to shrivel up. You had less than a minute before you would have turned into a human torch. Even if you burned out all your magic before then, and I’m fairly sure you burned out at least a couple of your implants, those injuries would have killed you. I may not be a trained Healer in this life, but Princess Persephone was.”

Rameses winced. He did that to himself? He could see Silica giving Badb a translation of what he said. The other girl, Yuuna, was helping the young Tamer when she stumbled with Lunarian. The older girl was far more fluent in the language, he could tell. She still had the accent of her native language, but her Lunarian was far smoother.

“You are not to use that spell again.” Asuna ordered, clearly restraining herself. “Your life is more important than sacrificing yourself when there were three of us who could have handled it, especially if we worked together.” She gestured to Rauni’s reincarnation and the other one. Given her resemblance to Asuna, she was probably Inanna’s reincarnation. She had been Princess Serenity’s double, if he recalled.

He heard Yuuna translate it to the local language, reminding him that he really needed to learn it. Silica wouldn’t always be around to translate for him, and Badb was the only one who knew Graelic among the reincarnations. Rauni might know Alvarin, which he was also fluent in, if only because his adopted sister was from Alfheim, but he considered Badb’s reincarnation knowing Graelic to be a lucky find on his part.

Kirito put a hand on her shaking shoulder. “I think he understands that, Hime,” he said.

Badb said something, which Kirito nodded at. He replied and waved in Rameses’ direction.

She stalked up to him and slapped him. “You damn fool idiot!” She said in Graelic. “Of all the- you know magic, so you should know better than to use a spell like that! As Saturn said, you were beginning to catch fire. Just what were you thinking?!”

Rameses knew better than to reply, Badb wasn’t looking for one. He put a hand to his stinging cheek, but said nothing. He knew what he did was reckless and the others would most likely have managed to contain and eliminate the thing eventually, but there was something about it that tripped every instinct he had. Instincts born from living most of his life in Aincrad and heading out into its dangers.

Aincrad was home to millions, but it wasn’t what anyone who didn’t live there would call safe. The wildlife that also made it home meant that every town was defended and warded to keep them out, with the defenses becoming more potent the higher up it one went. And that… thing’s oily and toxic presence, was worse than anything he had ever felt.

When the Avyavastheya Racanegaḷu attacked Aincrad, he had been afraid, but it was the fear of a child. This thing made him feel fear on a very primal level, as if it didn’t matter whether he ran or not, the only thing that mattered is whether it decided to play with its prey or not.

“To be honest, that… that thing just felt wrong on a whole different level,” he said quietly. “Not even the Avyavastheya Racanegaḷu felt as wrong as it did.”

Asuna opened her mouth, as if to say something, but closed it. “Explain,” she ordered.

“That thing’s presence,” he began. “It was like there was a thin film of oil trying to cover my skin as it approached. But unlike regular oil, it was like a poison. I don’t know how sensitive you all are to such things, but as it approached, I felt the malice coming from it. An intelligent malice. The Avyavastheya Racanegaḷu, their intelligence is more animalistic. Smart enough in their own way, and certainly cunning, but not like that thing. That thing was intelligent. And that malice…” He shuddered. “I don’t have empathic abilities, not even latent ones, but I could still feel it, especially as its attention was directed at me. It was pressing on me, choking me. All I wanted to do is run away, but if I gave ground… it would- I could feel its hunger, its desire to destroy everything. I could feel it. It would go over me and take me. Regardless of what I did, I was going to be dead or worse. I’m from Aincrad, I go out and check up on the various biomes. I was there when it was attacked ten thousand years ago. I know what fearing for my life is like. This? It was worse, far worse. So, I did what I did, figuring that I could either buy time, take it with me, or simply give it a giant ‘fuck you’ before it consumed me.”

It was an understandable reaction, but that didn’t change how the girls felt. Asuna knew full well that there were times when you had to hold your ground in the face of dying, but still… She looked at the others and could see their expressions change from the worried anger at someone who nearly killed himself fighting against something he shouldn’t have had to to ones of understanding. Any lectures on his recklessness were killed by the fact that he had accepted that he would die. Not possibly or probably die, would die. And he still stood firm.

Despite his fear, he, a civilian, stood his ground and fought back. If he wasn’t one of her soldiers before, he was one of her soldiers now.

“Just… don’t do that again,” Asuna said. “And Rameses, you’re not off the hook. I will have to think up something appropriate for a punishment.” She looked thoughtful for a moment and then glanced at Kirito. She let out a small giggle and then turned a sly look at Rameses. “And I think I know how I will.

Kirito chuckled. At least he wasn’t her target, this time…

“Anyway, Persephone, the thing that was possessing you has been taken care of, idiots from Aincrad notwithstanding,” Asuna said, turning to her friend.

Rameses looked ready to protest for a moment before he stopped and sheepishly conceded the point.

Asuna looked at him and nodded. “Now, do you have any idea where you might have encountered it?” She asked.

Saturn sighed, “I knew there was something off going on at home.” She said. “And I’m afraid we may not be able to wait until after we deal with the problem at hand to deal with it.”

Asuna nodded. “It’s not ideal to give whoever it is the time to consolidate their power. Which will no doubt make it harder to take care of the problem later.” She turned, “Kirito-kun?”

Kirito’s eyes were thoughtful as he turned his attention to his fiancée. “No… I don’t think I would have been able to take that thing on. Maybe if I wasn’t still recovering from SAO, and had some training under my belt…” He shook his head, “Impossible to know now. But perhaps… Perhaps I should send some scouts to that school, so that we know what to prepare for.”

“Someone inconspicuous.” Saturn agreed, “We don’t want them to know that we’re onto them, after all.”

Kirito smirked, “Then, I’ll send Sasha and a small group of her kids with her… perhaps some from the DDA as chaperones…”

“Why Sasha?” Asuna asked curiously. “And why the DDA?”

“Because Sasha wants to be a teacher.” Kirito explained. “I can send her under the guise of her looking at what schools to apply to once she completes her degree. And sending in the DDA as ‘chaperones’, well, who else would you want acting as a protective detail who would make anyone or anything regret trying something with Sasha and her kids? Something’s up? They will get Sasha and her kids out of there, and they won’t be nice or fair to anything that tries to stop them.”

“And all our kids love Sasha to pieces, so they will want to know what schools they need to shoot for.” Asuna realised. “And point about the DDA. Schivata might be a good one to put in charge of any DDA members we send with her. Lind is best used on patrols.”

“Exactly.”

Tomoeda

Sasha paused typing when she got the Notification. “Hm…?” She tapped the Notification. “Oh, it’s from the Commander…”

“Done with your homework yet?” Syaoran asked from the door to her office.

“Not quite, Syaoran-kun.” Sasha replied as she read through the message. “I’ll finish it, but something’s come up that I need look into soon.”

“For Kirito?” Syaoran asked.

“Yes.” Sasha agreed as she went back to her homework. “Would you like to come?”

Syaoran looked thoughtful for a moment, “Sure.”

Yokohama General Hospital

Tilnel looked around when she got to the hospital that Merida, Ran, and Ran’s sister were staying in and being treated. She grabbed Merida’s chart as she made her way to the girl’s room.

Coming to the right room, the Dark Elf let herself in and closed the door, hitting it with a locking spell so that she would not be interrupted. A quick scan of the room showed her the room’s occupant, sleeping.

She opened her Mystic Tome and started copying down everything that was written on the chart. “I’ll have to get my hands on her file later,” Tilnel said to herself as she worked. She would need all the information they had on Merida, especially if she needed to collaborate with Healer Hakonia to cure the young soldier under Commander Kirito.

From what Commander Kirito said about the girl, Tilnel really didn’t want this girl to be lost.

After copying the information, she looked at the sleeping girl. If she was standing, she would be of average height. Her general figure was thin and her hair was brown. Overall, her appearance was fairly unremarkable.

She wasn’t emaciated from her prolonged stay in the Simulated Aincrad, but that was as much due to Captain Heathcliff’s work to use the Nerve Gears to slowly provide basic civilian life extension treatments. How he knew the spells for the general treatments was beyond her, but it was Heathcliff. The man may have been more a warrior in his past life, but he had been knowledgeable in many more scholarly subjects that most soldiers wouldn’t be expected to. And in this life, he was more scholar than warrior. He may have been able to reverse-engineer the process.

But the magic of longevity wouldn’t do the girl any good if that brain tumor wasn’t dealt with somehow. And soon.

Her general initial scans showed that Merida was perfectly healthy, but for that tumor in her head. And because of that damned tumor, they couldn’t just stick Merida in a Medicuboid. She’d have to find out what the procedures for Brain Surgery were now. Almost certainly far more invasive than they had been in the past, not to mention far riskier. They would probably want to keep her awake too, for obvious reasons… but the thought of anyone being awake sent chills down her spin.

Tilnel shook the thought out of her head. That wasn’t what she was here to do. She began one of the more dedicated scans on her brain, to see just what she did, or didn’t, have to work with. It would take a while for the results to come back; perhaps she should take a look at Ran and her sister while she waited…

Ran’s head snapped up from her book when there was a knock on the door. Her sister had not yet been transferred to the Medicuboid on site, so she was sitting with the slightly younger girl.

“Come in,” Ran called after a moment of thought, and her eyes widened when she saw who it was. “Who are you?” she asked in shock.

“I am Tilnel Nightwalker, and I am the Healer in charge of all the SAO Survivors’ care.” said the Dark Elf.

“But, Dark Elves… how are you even here?” Ran squeaked. Her long brown bangs falling into her grey eyes.

“You’ll have to thank Captain Heathcliff for that.” Tilnel said with a smile. “I’ve come from Merida’s room, I thought, that since I was here, I’d also take the time to check on the two of you.”

Ran looked down at her book sadly. “It’s HIV and we’ve had it all our lives,” she said quietly.

Tilnel nodded. She had heard of the disease, one which had begun to turn up less than a century ago.

“We needed a blood transfusion the day that we were born, and the blood they used either hadn’t been tested for infection, or more likely, the donor had become infected within a few months of giving the blood.” She looked out the window. “There are treatments for it. Medicines that could keep it at bay simply aren’t effective. There’s nothing that can be done for us. And Yuuki is supposed to go into the Medicuboid next month.”

Tilnel set up the first general scan for both girls. “Maybe there’s nothing current technology can do, but we don’t know if magic will have the same affect.” The woman gave the sick girl a reassuring smile.

Ran shrugged. “You can try,” she said. “But I hope you’re not insulted if I doubt that it will do anything.”

“Of course not, you haven’t seen me work for one.” Tilnel waved Ran’s words away. “And HIV isn’t anything that we Healers have encountered yet anyway. I’m not even sure if there is anything I would be able to do for you and your sister. But that’s why I’m here. To figure that out.”

Ran shrugged again, “Have at it then.”

“In that case, do I have your permission to do the scans?” Tilnel asked.

“Are they invasive?” Ran asked skeptically.

“Not at all.” Tilnel replied with a shake of her head. “During the time of the Empire, we hardly ever needed to anything more invasive than a blood test, or giving blood today.” She said after casting the spell that would scan Ran and Yuuki’s bodies.

Yuuki jolted out of her nap. “What was that?” she asked, looking around. “Nee-chan, who is this?”

Ran turned and gave her sister a smile. “This is Tilnel, Captain Heathcliff sent her to see if she can do anything for Merida.” Ran turned back to Tilnel, “Tilnel, this is Yuuki, she’s my twin younger sister.”

“Pleased to meet you, Yuuki.” Tilnel greeted. “I know that you didn’t get the chance to play SAO, did you get to play ALO instead?”

Yuuki blinked before smiling, “Alfheim is so much fun!” the girl gushed, “My Magic stat is really high.”

“What did you choose to play as?” Tilnel asked as the results from her scan of the twins came in.

“I’m an Imp!” Yuuki said. “And I’ve gotten my Darkness Magic up to the six hundreds, and my Water/Healing Magic has just gotten to four hundred!”

“That’s quite impressive.” Tilnel praised the girl. And if I needed confirmation that the Captain created ALO as another means of unlocking someone’s magic, I have it now, she thought. Someone without unlocked magic wouldn’t have noticed the scans, and with what Yuuki implied, she had her magic unlocked for some time.

The Captain was quite inventive, if he was able to unlock a person’s magic using technology. It was very impressive.

If nothing else, if there was anything Tilnel and Healer Hakonia could do for her, Yuuki, would probably be an amazing Battle Medic, emphasis on battle. Tilnel really hoped that she’d be able to do something for this set of twins, as well as Merida.

“Anyway,” Tilnel said as she looked over the results of the scan on the sisters, “I sincerely hope that I can help the two of you, and if I can’t, then I can and will bring in my own teacher.”

Tilnel winced as she read through the results, the virus the twins had gotten was insidious. And one of the worst that she’d seen. It in and of itself wouldn’t kill them, but it weakened their immune systems enough for opportunistic infections that a healthy immune system would take care of to do the job. And they were in a hospital, which was a common vector for such infections. She didn’t think she had the proper tools to deal with it on hand either.

I can, at least, do a few things about anything they have in their systems now, as well as cleaning and sterilizing this room properly, she thought.

At this point, healing Merida was going to be easier. At least cancer was something she’d had to treat before.

She just hadn’t gotten a chance to treat anyone with Brain Cancer before she’d been tapped to serve the Princess. Tilnel wasn’t sure that she should be treating Merida on her own since this would be the first time having to deal with this specific cancer.

She’d have to see, since the Scan of Merida’s brain had just finished. Tilnel’s eyes widened as she read the results.

Hikawa Shrine

Asuna blinked when she received a message from Tilnel. The woman must have been on her Friend List during her past life. Opening it, she skimmed through the message before reading it again.

“Persephone,” she called to Saturn, “Tilnel has requested that you meet her at the hospital that is keeping Ran and Merida.”

Saturn looked over at Asuna. “Merida… Yes, I’ll be there. Oh,” She had almost turned to leave before looking back at her friend. “I need a place to stay, I have no plans to return to that school until whatever is there has been taken care of.”

Asuna nodded, “We’ll figure something out, but later. Merida first.”

Saturn nodded, “In that case, I’ll be on my way.”

“Have a safe trip, Persephone.” Asuna replied as she typed.

Yokohama General Hospital

Persephone looked up at the building for a moment before heading inside. From Asuna’s tone, it had sounded urgent, so here she was. She searched the memories of her past life, Princess Persephone’s memories were, thankfully, mostly benign ones. Learning how to be a Healer in Alfheim among them. She hadn’t been a Master Healer back then, not even Hakonia had been one, and she was arguably the best healer in the Royal Guard, personality aside. Her memories hinted that there was a story there as well.

No matter. She was here and she had the memories and experience of her past life to draw on. Add in the power she could draw on as Sailor Saturn, there wasn’t much she couldn’t heal. Still, she would need to get as much information from Tilnel first. The more she knew about what she had to heal, the better.

Tilnel met with Persephone at the front desk, “Oh good, you’re here, we don’t have long.”

“I thought she still had a month.” Persephone said as she picked up her pace to keep up with Tilnel.

“No, we have more like a week and a half.” Tilnel corrected. “The tumor is putting too much pressure on her brain, and unless we can relieve the pressure, she doesn’t have more than that. And I wouldn’t be surprised if the Healers of this era gave her a month as a best case, rather than how long she actually had.”

“And knowing the regular doctors, they won’t want to do anything because of how limited technology is, and how little we understand the brain.” Persephone agreed grimly.

“We need to move quickly if we are to save Merida’s life.” Tilnel said. “Do you think you remember enough to be of help?”

“I hope so.” Persephone replied. “And even if I don’t now, I will as we go along.”

That would be very helpful. They had work to do.

Merida was sitting up, waiting for them when they got to her room. “Oh, you must be Persephone…” She said quietly.

“What have they told you?” Persephone asked.

“That I have a month left.” Merida said, looking away, “And that there is nothing that they can do.” Her quiet chuckle was more of a sob than a laugh. “I was looking forward to helping out…”

“Merida, I am Tilnel Nightwalker. I am going to be your healer from now on.” Tilnel introduced herself.

Merida blinked. “Are you a Dark Elf?” she asked incredulously.

Tilnel and Persephone chuckled, “Yes, I am.” Tilnel replied.

"Oh good, I thought my mind might be... wait, what?" Merida stared at Tilnel for a few long moments.

Persephone rolled her eyes. “Merida, we have good and bad news for you.”

“Bad news first.” Merida said.

“You don’t have a month, you have a week and a half.” Tilnel replied.

“And what could possibly be good news with bad news like that?!” Merida asked incredulously, the blood draining from her face.

“We have something new to try.” Persephone said cheerfully.

Merida glanced between their smiling faces. “And what is this new treatment?” She asked hesitantly.

“We haven’t tried magic yet.” Tilnel told the sick girl. “And magic is a lot less invasive than technology.”

“Did, did Kirito send you?” Merida asked.

“Yes.” Tilnel agreed. “He doesn’t want you to die.”

Merida started to smile. “He’s a good friend.” She agreed.

“We don’t have much time,” Tilnel explained, “We do need your permission to get started.”

“Have you done anything like this before?” Merida asked in concern.

“Not on Brain Tumors no,” Tilnel shook her head, “But I do have experience with tumors and cancer in general. My teacher is also within easy reach, using our Mystic Tomes, even if she is physically on Aincrad.”

Merida’s eyes widened in surprise. “Aincrad is still around?”

Persephone and Tilnel both nodded.

“Now,” Persephone picked up the previous topic, “I know that you will want to sleep on the idea, but seeing as how you only have a week and a half…”

“I don’t need to think about it!” Merida cut in, “Do it.”

The Dark Elf smiled. “Then let’s get started.” She opened her Mystic Tome and got ready to take extensive notes. “Persephone, if you would?”

“Of course, Tilnel.” Persephone said as she stepped forward, carefully placing a hand on Merida’s head. It didn’t take long to find the tumor. It was huge.

“What are you going to do?” Merida asked.

“We are going to put you to sleep,” Persephone replied, “We’ll wake you when we are finished, and then we are going to stick you in one of the Medicuboids.”

Merida nodded as Persephone cast the Sleeping Spell used for this kind of thing. Catching the now sleeping girl, Persephone laid Merida down. “How is she not already dead?” She asked, impressed. “I know that there are those who are simply too stubborn to die, I should tell you what Rameses managed to do to himself after this, but there are limits.”

“By your tone… I’m sure I’m not going to be happy with him…”

“Given that it took me healing his wounds to keep what he did from killing him, no, you're not,” Persephone said. “The Princess is going to handle his punishment, though. And by the tone of her chuckles, it’s going to amuse us greatly. Anyway, I asked how she’s managed to hold on this long, and by the expression on your face, you have an idea of how.”

“It may have to do with the magic Captain Heathcliff invoked when he kickstarted everyone’s magic.” Tilnel replied, her fingers moving at dizzying speeds. “What did you find?”

“The tumor is… one of the biggest that Persephone has ever seen, which is not a good thing, seeing as where the Goddess damned thing is located.” Persephone sighed. “It’s nothing that I can’t fix of course, but…”

“It’s gotten that big?” Tilnel blinked.

“Yes.” Persephone replied, “Some of the brain tissue has already begun to go necrotic. And she’s still lucid. She’s tough.”

Tilnel hissed in sympathy. “Yes, that she’s still alive and has all her faculties is impressive,” she said. “And you can handle this?”

Persephone nodded. “I might not be her, but I do have her memories and power,” she said. “I know how I can do this, though it may be a bit more brute force than what she would do.”

Tilnel nodded. “Then let’s get about it,” she said.

Persephone nodded and began to get to work.

Chapter Text

March 4, 2025: Yokohama General Hospital

The next morning, Merida woke slowly, enjoying the fact that her once constant headache was gone. When she opened her eyes, she saw Persephone and Tilnel standing over her. “Good morning.”

Tilnel smiled. “Good morning, Merida.”

Merida yawned. “Good morning,” she said before her eyes widened. She looked at the Dark Elf and noticed a worn out Persephone beside her. “It wasn't a dream.” She said.

Persephone gave a tired smile. “It wasn't,” she said. “It took a bit of work, but I was able to eliminate the tumor.”

“The cancer, unfortunately, is still there,” Tilnel said. “But that can be taken care of once you recover. Healing takes it out of the patient as well as the Healer.” Her smile was wry. “Even one of Persephone’s power and caliber.” She looked at the girl at her side. “And you weren't the first one she healed last night. I am going to have words with Rameses when I get back to the shrine.”

“I told you that the Princess has something in mind,” Persephone said.

“Persephone,” TIlnel began. “You told me that he channeled enough fire magic that he would have killed himself if he had sustained it longer. I don’t doubt that you healed the damage, but I want to check him over, myself. Don’t take this the wrong way, you have her power and can access her knowledge, but you don’t have your past life’s experience.”

“I’m not offended,” Persephone said. “You might find something I missed, as I was more concerned with ensuring that he is alive.”

“Well, we’ll see when I get back to the Shrine.” Tilnel shrugged, “Let’s go check on Ran and her sister.”

Persephone nodded, “You’ll have to tell me how that goes.” She yawned. “After taking care of the twins, I’m going to crash.”