Alarms blared on the Ship of the universal villains, the Dark Cruiser. Grunts and robots were scrambling to their posts, flux beside the villains.
"Okay, since when does an armada of ships come out of nowhere and we not detect it immediately?" Flux shouted.
"S-sorry sir, but they were hidden from our scanners, we dont even know who they are." Ian said.
"Or maybe the person on scanner duty was being lazy. Who's in charge of ship maintenance?" Flux asked.
"That would be this guy sir." Ian said, showing a photo of a soldier with marine clothing and a mask. "FT-056 was posted on scanner duty, but we haven't even heard from him about this." Ian said.
"What? Have you tried pinpointing his ID badge?" Flux asked.
"Oh yeah, forgot about that." Ian said bringing a tablet out. "Let's see, found him! It looks like he's scared and headed towards….. solitary confinement?"
"He's not allowed to be in there without permission from me. Send someone down there and make sure he isn't fraternizing with the prisoner."
"Uh, sir?" Said a soldier. "Two confiscated swords of the prisoner were missing from the armory and an escape just launched a few minutes ago."
"Oh, no… he's gonna free him!" Ian shouted.
"I think you mean...he did free him. That soldier is a dead man. Get me Hard Man. I want him on the case of bringing his ass back here!" Flux said.
The soldier in question was running down the halls to the lone cell in solitary confinement. He took a swipe key card and applied it to the panel.
"Come on, come on, open already!" the soldier said.
"Uh, you realize you're holding it backwards, right?" the prisoner asked.
"Oh, my bad." the soldier said.
"Why are you helping me escape? I was the only one who got caught on accident and the only one here. And isn't the guy in charge kind of your boss?" the prisoner said.
"There's been a change of plan. Something big is coming, and I'm the only one who knows about it. That's why I need to get you free." he said.
"So, turning traitor eh?" said a new voice as the soldier turned to see TorchMan aka FireMan at the entrance. "I despise traitors. You know I incinerated the last one, right?"
"Please torchman, you dont understand! GEATHJERK is not any ordinary armada!" the soldier said.
"You think I care about armadas? I only care about the loyalty of every soldier on my ship. And traitors are better off being thrown into the flames." TorchMan said aiming a fiery gun at him.
"Come on, come on, anytime now." the soldier said seeing the cell doors opening.
"That hero cant help you. Fire Arm!" he shouted as a stream of flames billowed towards the soldier.
The cell doors opened at the last moment, the prisoner jumping out and revealed to be a boy in black with black hair staring TorchMan down.
"That hero is a swordsman. Without his weapons, he is but a man." TorchMan laughed.
"You mean… these?" the solder said, holding up a black and golden sword.
"You! You stole those from the armory! I will see to it you burn in Hell!" he shouted as he fired a second stream from his other arm.
"Hey, catch!" the solder said tossing the swords to the boy. The boy caught them and quickly unsheathed the black blade, slicing Torch Man's arms off.
"So fast…" he said before kneeling down. "Attention all soldiers! I need back up! And get a mechanic with you!" he said into a communicator.
"We gotta go. We can escape in a ship from the hanger." the soldier said.
"Lead the way!" the boy said as the ran out of the room.
"I can't believe I let that traitor slip by me like this. No matter. Once I'm repaired, he will feel the flames of wrath."
As the two ran down the halls to the hangar, the soldier talked to the boy. "By the way, when we captured you, we didn't get a name. You got one?"
"Its Kirito. Well, that's my online handle anyway." the boy explained.
"Online? Youre an ALO player?" the solder said.
"Yeah. I never realized the virtual worlds we all played on were actually different worlds." Kirito said.
"Kid, this ain't no game anymore, it's real life. As for how your avatar is in the real world, we digitally converted you into life and flesh using a special machine the boss designed. You're here while your real body is chillin in your home world." the soldier explained.
"Incredible." Kirito said. "So why was I captured?"
"During the Aincrad incident, we were hoping to abduct Akihiko Kayaba. But since he kicked it on the last level, we had to go for the next best thing, the person who beat him." the soldier said. "After you transfered to New Aincrad and Asuna finally met her sister, we took a chance and caught you off guard, so we homed in and beamed you right on out. You were locked up in Solitary Confinement because of your history."
"And you freed me why?" Kirito asked.
"See this fleet here? There's an evil armada known as the GEATHJERK. We only have one ship, so going against them isn't an option. Flux will probably try and convince them to join forces with him. Thing is, GEATHJERK only wants any and all worlds destroyed."
"So you freed me because of that reason alone?" Kirito asked. "But, doesn't that kinda make you a target for his own forces now?"
"I didnt free you because of that reason. There was a voice in my head. It said to me...free the hero and flee to Blossom City on the world below." the soldier said.
"Okay. So, do you have a name?" Kirito asked.
"Only got a number. FT-056." the soldier said.
"That's a bit too complicated. How about…. Jake?" Krito said.
"Jake. I think I can remember that." he said.
The two soon got to the hanger and spied a ship, but hundreds of soldiers. "That's a lotta guys." Jake said. "We'll need some sort of distraction. Huh?"
The two eyed a scorpion-like creature on deck. "Hey, that'll work!" He took out a pistol and shot the manual release, freeing the giant creature.
"Contained specimen on the loose! Recapture the specimen!" a soldier shouted.
"Hurry!" Jake said, and the two got on the ship.
"You know how to fly one of these?" Kirito asked.
"Yeah. Well, not well, but enough where we won't die of a crash landing or enemy fire." Jake said.
"Works for me." Kirito said, and the ship took off.
"Hey! Unauthorized takeoff in Hangar Bay 2! Send out the fighter pilots! We want that ship shot down!" the soldier shouted.
"Oh, great. Now, you know how to shoot?" Jake asked.
"Well, what now? Doesn't this thing have weapons?" Kirito asked.
"I asked if you knew how to shoot! And yes, it does!" Jake said.
"I'm a sword user. I don't have that much experience with guns." Kirito said. "Except on GGO."
"Well, good thing this thing's got frontal laser cannons. Hang on!" Jake said.
He jerked the throttle and punched it, evading the other pilots. They were still on their tail as they rode into the fleet.
"Hey, youre heading threat for those GEATHJERK guys!" Kirito said.
"That's the idea." Jake replied. "If Flux wants to make contact, he'll have to call off the man hunt."
It didnt take long for the armada to pick up the lone ship, and all the ships opened fire.
"Now they're shooting at us!" Kirito said.
"Like I said, they're the most ruthless army in this section of the worlds." Jake said. "But dont worry, this world has a defense system. It'll keep out any unidentified aircraft and all GEATHJERK ships."
"But, won't it keep us out too, considering this ship belongs to a criminal?" Kirito asked.
"Oh, yeah…. Blitz!" Jake said, punching the throttle. "We'll have to break through and hope for the best."
"I think they've got the same idea." Krito said looking at a third of the armada rocketing twoards them.
The ship barreled to the planet, the shield starting to form. "Come on, get there…." Jake said. They just made it in time as the golden barrier formed around them.
"Now we can rest easy. They're not getting through that." Jake said. But then, laser fire started to go everywhere. "I was wrong." he said as they barreled to the nearby city.