Beacon of the Iron Palace

I'm uploading this story in honor of Monty Oum, the creator of RWBY who passed away a few weeks ago.

R.I.P Monty. You will be missed.

Before we start, just so you know, for the sake of the story, Kazuto never found out that Suguha wasn't his sister, so they never drifted apart. It'll start SAO centric, but that'll change within the first few chapters.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online or RWBY. I'm simply a fanfic writer who happens to like both fandoms and can't help but feel he doesn't have enough crossovers to write...


The school bell finally rang, and Kazuto Kirigaya jumped to his feet and ran for the door. He couldn't keep the smile off his face. Finally, the day had arrived. Sword Art Online was launching in just an few hours.

"Kazuto!" A voice said from behind him, and he looked over his shoulder to see his sister Suguha running after him.

"Sugu!" He smiled back at her, "You ready?"

"Yup. " she smiled, "I knew that you'd try and run home without me."

"I'm sorry." He replied, surprised to see her keeping pace with him, "Don't you have kendo practice?"

"I'm a quarter finalist." She answered, "I think I can skip one day without any problems."

"But shouldn't you-" He started, but she casually moved her hand to the shinai on her back.

"What's up?" she asked sweetly, but he just shook his head and started running again with her right behind him.

"Sugu, is your NerveGear set up?" Kazuto asked as he wrote a note to their mom.

"Yeah, I took care of it last night." she replied, running up the stairs, "See you on the other side?

"Yeah!" he answered, charging after her. The NerveGear was already set up next to his bed, and Sword Art Online was already loaded. By now, Sugu was probably already creating her character. Since he wouldn't need to, he just laid down and put the NerveGear on his head before finally saying the words he'd longed to say all day. "Link Start!"

The familiar ceiling of his room disappeared as a multitude of colors passed before his eyes, and the NerveGear connected itself to all of his senses before he loaded the account he had in the Beta period, 'Kirito'. The world flashed gold and reformed as the familiar town of beginnings.

All around him, hundreds of people were loading in, and most of them were standing in awe of the virtual world around them. After looking himself, he hurried forward past the group to stand by the entrance to the main street, his predetermined meeting place for Suguha. Though she wasn't a beta player, it should be easy enough for her to find him here. Much easier than trying to find each other in the mob of people inside the starting plaza.

"Yo!" Someone said behind him, but instead of his sister, he saw it was a man. He was wearing a red and yellow bandanna tied around his head, and a single hand raised in greeting, "You know your way around?"

"Well, yeah." Kirito answered, "Why? What's up?"

"Any chance that you could show me around?" He bowed timidly, "It's my first day and... well the city's kinda overwhelming."

"Yeah sure." Kirito replied with a small smile, "Believe me, it took me ages to get the know the layout."

"So, you're one of the beta testers after all?" The man said in awe, "Man, that's amazing."

"I know. I couldn't believe it either." He laughed, "Anyway, I'd be happy to give you a hand. Just let me wait for my sister and we-"

"You have a sister!?" He roared, "Dude, are you serious?! Think you could introduce us?!"

"Well, I don't-" Kirito stuttered, looking around for a moment until he sees someone else walking towards him. A blond haired girl dressed in a green dress with a one handed sword at her waist.

"Sorry for the wait." She said, raising her hand.

"it's cool. I've only been here a few minutes anyway." he waved back, "Blond though? I didn't think you'd change your hair color."

"Yeah, well, I felt like something different." she shrugged, looking from Kirito to the other guy, "And who's this?"

"Ah, him." Kirito said, "I almost forgot about him. This is-" He turned toward him as he realized that he'd never gotten his name, but evidently, he wasn't in any shape to answer. His eyes were wide as he stared at Sugu, and his lip was quivering pathetically.

Finally, after a few seconds, Klein bowed and stuttered out, "I-IamKlein!" He said too fast to actually be understood.

"Sorry?" Both Kirito and Suguha said at the same time.

"I-I'm Klein." He said again, extending his hand towards Suguha,

"Leafa." She said, nervously taking his hand while looking to Kirito for help.

"And I'm Kirito." He added, but Klein made no effort to shake his hand.

"Leafa..." Klein repeated to himself without acknowledging Kirito's response before he grinned stupidly, "I mean, if you ever wanted to do anything IRL..."

"No." She said immediately and so viciously that Kirito couldn't help but wince. It was moments like these that made him glad that, as her brother, he'd never have to try and ask her out.

"Oh." Klein muttered before letting go of her hand and sighing, "Well, shall we get going? I mean, we're not enjoying the game just standing here, are we?"

"Let's go." Kirito chuckled, "we'll start with boars just outside the city."

"Sounds easy." Klein smirked before grinning and winking at Sugu, "If you run into trouble though, I'll protect you."

"My hero..." Leafa said, rolling her eyes at Klein's reply.


"Ah!" Klein shouted as one of the boars rammed into him and his hp decreased by a small margin.

"Come on." Kirito said as he stopped the boar's follow-up attack with his sword, "This thing's not that strong. Just relax and use the sword skills. It'll die pretty easily after that."

"Easy for you to say..." Klein sighed, getting up, "But I just don't seem to get it."

"Look, watch me." Kirito said, picking up a pebble from the ground and holding it over his shoulder, "Just start the motion, and let the system take control. After that, you pretty much can't miss." Demonstrating, he allowed the system to take over, and the throwing skill 'Single Shot' sent the pebble flying until it collided with the boar.

"You make it sound easy." Klein muttered, getting back up and pointing his sword at the now enraged boar, "But what about her?"

Kirito looked over his shoulder and Leafa who was easily out matching them without sword skills. "Don't mind her." He answered, "She could do that IRL, so it's to be expected."

"Shall I demonstrate?" She called out after killing yet another boar.

"No, we're good!" Klein whimpered, before jumping aside to dodge the boar's charge and almost accidentally using the one-handed curved sword skill 'Reaver'. The boar's hp dropped significantly and a quick swing later, it was finally defeated.

"Yeah!" Klein cheered as he received the drops consisting of a tiny amount of Col and boar hide.

"I don't think it's something you should be celebrating." Kirito said, "I mean, these are about as weak as slimes in other games, you know?"

"No way!" Klein gasped, "I thought it was some kind of mid-level field boss or something!"

"No way." Kirito grinned.

"Well, that wasn't too hard." Leafa said, walking towards them, "Kirito, I just leveled up!"

"Wait..." Klein groaned, "So, in the time it took me to kill one boar..?"

"That was even faster than I was expecting." Kirito grinned, "Now you're ahead of me too. I'd better get training. Otherwise, you'll get the better of me."

"Like you could ever beat me." She said, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Well, I'll leave you guys to it." Klein sighed, "I'd love to stay and hang out, but I'm starting to get a little hungry."

"Damn." Kirito smirked, "So, you done for the day?"

"No way!" Klein replied eagerly, "How the hell could I be? I'm just leaving for some pizza. I planned ahead and ordered it for 5:30!"

"Why didn't you think of that!?" Leafa glared at Kirito, "Now not only will I have to be the one who makes food, but we won't be back for WAY longer!"

"Well sorry." Kirito replied cheekily, "But would you have paid for it? 'Cause it seems to me that SOMEONE didn't have enough for Sword Art Online and had to borrow from me. Who was that again..?"

"That's..." She muttered, blushing slightly.

"I rest my case." Kirito answered simply.

"Well, you guys want to meet up later?" Klein asked, "I was planning to meet with a few of my pals from another game. Wanna come with?"

Kirito and Leafa shared a look before he shook his head, "Nah, I think we're good. I'm heading to a nearby town to see if I can earn a bit more exp. I can't see her beating THOSE monsters without skills."

"I beg to differ." Leafa said, swatting his arm playfully, "I'll show you. Bet I can beat the first boss without Skills."

"Doubt it." He countered, before turning back to Klein, "Well, if you need any help, message me, Alright?"

"Sure." he nodded, opening the system menu. Leaving him to log out, Kirito and Leafa turned to walk away until they heard him behind them, "Huh?"

"What's up?" Kirito asked, looking questioningly at him.

"There's no log out." He answered, pointing at the menu, "Or am I missing something?"

"What do you mean?" Kirito asked, bringing up his own menu, "It's right-" He stopped dead when, at the bottom of the menu, there was no log out button. Beside him, his sister opened her menu, and was also looking at him with a confused look. "This isn't right." Kirito shook his head, "Where is it..?"

"Man, they've gotta be freaking out." Klein chuckled, "I mean, I was expecting a few bugs, but not something like this, ya know?"

"That should be the least of your problems." Kirito said, "Check the time."

Klein looked at the corner of his menu and his face paled, "NO! My teriyaki and mayo pizza and Ginger Ale!"

"Did you try contacting the GM?" Kirito asked, pressing the contact button on his console.

"Yeah, I did, but he's not picking up." Klein answered, tapping the contact button again, "Is there any other way to log out?"

"the only way for a player to log out is through the main menu." Kirito shook his head, "Other than that, the only way is for someone to remove your NerveGear in the real world."

"Well, I live alone. You?" He asked.

"We live with our mom, but she won't be home for a couple of hours..." Leafa answered, "couldn't they... I don't know, shut it down and log us out that way?"

"Of course they could." Kirito nodded, "But it's the fact that they aren't that worries me. Having players unable to log out can cause some serious problems."

"Then why isn't anything-" Leafa started, but was interrupted by the sound of bells ringing in the distance. Suddenly, Kirito felt a familiar sensation. The fields around the starting city disappeared as he was teleported to the main stadium of the city. All around him, countless of people were also teleporting in. Klein and Leafa were there as well.

"What's going on?" A player asked from somewhere nearby.

"Is this part of the game?" Another asked.

"Maybe it's about the log out button?" A third suggested.

"We're about to find out." Kirito muttered as a red system warning spread across the sky.

A bloody liquid started leaking from the sky, forming into a massive hooded figure without a face.

"Attention, players." The being said calmly, raising both of its arm, "Welcome to my world. I am Akihiko Kayaba. And as of right now, I am taking control of this world."

All around them, the players started talking amongst themselves after his proclamation, but he showed no signs of halting his speech.

"I'm sure most of you have noticed that something is missing from the main menu. The log out button." He said, bringing up his own menu and lightly tapping the last space that should have been the log out button, "I assure you, this is by no means a defect in the game. I repeat, this is not a defect. This is how Sword Art Online was meant to be."

"This guy can't be serious!" Klein said softly, "Can he?"

"From now on, no one can log themselves out of Sword Art Online. And no one on the outside will be able to shut down the game. Should anyone attempt to do so, a signal will be sent to your NerveGear, and a powerful microwave emitter will destroy your brain, and end your life."

"No way..." The players around them said in voices that ranged from fear to disbelief. Kirito narrowed his eyes.

"He can't be serious, right?" Klein asked him, "Right, Kirito?"

"It's possible." Kirito answered finally, and Leafa gasped next to him, "The transmitters in the NerveGear work just like microwaves. A strong enough surge could..."

"But that's just insane!" Klein shouted, "Couldn't they just cut the power?"

"Thirty percent of the nerve gear's weight is from an internal battery." Kirito replied, "That much juice would be more than enough."

"That's... That's just..." Klein said at an utter lose for words.

Kayaba continued speaking after allowing a few moments for the players to absorb that information, "Unfortunately, several concerned friends and family have ignored my warnings and attempted to remove the NerveGear. As a result, there are two hundred and thirteen less players than when the game began. They were deleted both from that world and this one."

"Over two hundred..." Kirito gulped, and Leafa was hanging off him, seemingly too weak to stand on her own.

"News media around the world has round-the-clock coverage of everything, including the deaths. As a result, I believe the odds of any NerveGear being removed now is minimal at best. I'm sure that will keep your mind at ease as you worry about clearing the game."

All around him, multiple windows opening, showing what seemed to be news feeds from multiple channels showing the face of several of those two hundred and thirteen, as well as the grieving families. Kirito clutched his fist in frustration at the thought that his mother would be just as worried about both him and Sugu.

"Keep in mind, however, that there is no longer any way to revive someone within the game. If your HP drops to zero, your avatar will be deleted from the system forever, and the NerveGear will simultaneously destroy your brain. If you wish to leave the game, you have only one choice. If you defeat the final boss on floor one hundred, you will clear the game, and all remaining players will be logged out."

"That's bullshit!" One of the players behind Kirito shouted loudly, "Everything you're talking about is absolute bullshit!"

"He... he couldn't actually be telling the truth could he..?" Klein asked weakly.

"I'd say he is." Kirito said, looking at the faceless figure in the sky, "Everything he's saying is possible, and I can't think of any reason for him to do all of this unless its true..."

"Finally, I've given each of you a gift." Kayaba said after the protesting had calmed somewhat.

Quickly, Kirito opened his menu and navigated to the inventory screen. The only object present was a mirror. Materializing it, he saw that Leafa had somehow mustered the strength to open her own, and was clutching the mirror tightly enough that it probably would've broken in real life.

The mirror started emitting a bright blue light that soon engulfed him, and both Leafa and Klein also became surrounded by the same light. After a moment, it cleared and he realized something.

"S-Sugu?!" He said, looking at his little sister who was still clinging to his arm.

"Kazuto?" She asked, eyes wide in surprise, "But... how is it..?"

"Kirito, Leafa?" Klein asked, and they saw he'd changed as well, though not nearly as drastically as either of them.

"What the hell happened to you?" Klein asked.

"What about you?" Kirito replied, before looking at his own mirror, and his own face.

His real face.

"The scan." he realized, "The NerveGear can take a full scan of our faces! But how'd it get our body types?"

"When I calibrated it earlier, I had to touch my body all over." Klein answered, and Leafa weakly nodded as well, "Could that..?"

"Yeah, that's it." Kirito nodded, having completely forgotten about that after over three months.

"But why in the hell is he doing this?!" Klein asked, practically pulling his hair out in frustration.

"I think he's about to tell us." Kirito said, pointing back to the sky while he gave his sister a comforting squeeze.

"I'm sure you're wondering to yourself 'why?'. Why would Akihiko Kayaba, developer of NerveGear and Sword Art Online do this? In the end, my goal was simple. I wanted to control the fate of a world of my design. And I succeed."A chilling silence spread over the crowd at Kayaba's declaration.

"This marks the end of the tutorial." Kayaba said, "Players, I wish you all the best of luck."

The figure slowly started to dissolve despite the roaring protests from the players inside the stadium, and with it gone, the sky returned to normal almost immediately.

'I get it.' Kirito thought angrily. 'I've looked up to him for so long, I know. He wasn't making it up. It's the truth!'

With Kayaba gone, the players started to panic. Still supporting his sister, Kirito grabbed Klein by the sleeve and whispered, "Come on, we'd better go."

"Kirito-" Klein started, but he dragged him out of the stadium and into a nearby alley.

"Look, we've got to go." Kirito started quickly, bringing up his menu and with it the map of the explored areas of floor one, "In an MMO, resources like money and exp will be limited. We need to get ahead of the others. I know the best hunting spots on the floor. I can get us there safely, even if I'm level one, it shouldn't be any problem. I want you to come along."

"Kirito..." Klein sighed, "I wish I could, but my friends are still back there. I need to help them."

'It'll be hard enough with Sugu and me.' Kirito said mentally, 'Even bringing Klein along is a risk. Bringing another player would be...'

"Sorry." Klein said sheepishly, "I can't ask you guys to put yourselves at risk for my buddies. Kirito, you get Leafa out of here, alright? Look after her. I'll make sure my buddies are safe, so don't you worry about it. Just get going."

"Klein..." Kirito said, "Alright. Be careful, okay? If you need a hand, message me, alright?"

"Sure." He nodded, and Kirito turned to leave when Klein stopped him, "Kirito!" Turning back, Klein sheepishly said, "You guys look better this way. And Leafa's way cuter."

"Well, as a big brother, I'll never let my sister anywhere near you." He smirked back before he and Leafa hurried towards the fields, leaving Klein looking somewhat disappointed.


So, that's the first chapter. RWBY characters will play a much bigger role starting next chapter. So, anyone have any comments? Concerns? Constructive Criticism? I'll take them all as reviews. Look for the next chapter some time over the next few days. Until than, review!