Chapter 2
After telling Suguha what happened, she tried calling Rika 'Lisbeth' Shinozaki to no avail, Shino 'Sinon' Asami but got nothing, their interesting friend Klein then called Keiko Ayano, one of the younger survivors of Sword Art Online and one of her friends, back then Keiko went under the name Silica the Beast tamer, Asuna told them to meet at Agil's bar and to Asuna's surprise, it looked like it did at Kirito's home. The exterior was untouched but there was a definite fight here, chair's were broken, bottles were shattered, it looked like chaos.
"Asuna, I'm- holy shit!" Suguha gasped as she saw everything with Silica in tow "What the hell happened here?!"
"Leafa, this was almost how it looked at your house too, it was less of a bar room brawl aftermath though…" Asuna moved past the debris in the room to the bar when the phone rang suddenly, Silica let out a quick and sharp yelp in surprise as she looked to try and regain her nerve. Asuna was nervous and hesitant to answer the phone, fearing it might be someone asking for Agil, and after the warning she got about the cops or calling anyone for help, she didn't know what she could do or trust except for Silica and Suguha.
"Is it the cops?" Silica finally asked before she moved in closer. Asuna snatched the phone and took a deep breath before answering it, putting it on speaker.
"H-Hello?" she answered shakily
"Asuna Yuki, you have no reason to trust me, but I need you to listen right now. Your friends are in danger, you're in danger." a voice spoke, it was muffled by an electronic voice distortion
"Who is this?" Asuna asked, her breathing stabilizing slightly for the moment.
"My name is not important, what matters is we get you to safety and try to get your friends out of danger. They're trapped in a VR program that trains soldiers run by a man called 'The Director', he sees himself as an overlord of the world, he calls it 'The Killing Fields'."
"He calls himself The Director? What's his real name?" The voice didn't respond right away as the silence built back up again.
"He never said, he never showed his face to us he always worked through a proxy." the voice spoke
"What kind of person works through a-a-a proxy?!" Suguha chimed in getting frustrated at this situation and wanting answers "What kind of people are you?!"
"The kind of people with power to make people disappear! The kind that can make anything a truth. I wanted out. Way I saw it, I overheard The Director one day talk about his fixation on Kazuto Kiriguya and he made mention of you. Never got a look at him, but I heard him. He wanted to grab everyone that was connected with him during the SAO event and the ALO event."
"That's why you contacted me." Asuna spoke with a faint whisper
"I need to get you out of sight and away from The Director's radar and to figure out how to unfuck this whole thing."
Silica glanced out the window and saw a squad car pull up to a stop outside, she nudged Suguha to look at the window.
"It's the police." Asuna heard Suguha call it out once she noticed and the voice got anxious on the other end.
"Shit you need to go now. Those aren't cops. Those are members of the grab team."
"How will I get in touch with you?!" she inquired as he eyes went to the doorway and window.
"You won't I'll be in touch with you, go now!" The phone went dead and Asuna locked eyes with the both of them. Mulling over their options, not knowing what to truly do they ran for it. One of the cops noticed them as they were bolting.
"Hey stop!" they shouted. The trio ducked into an alleyway and ran up the street trying to find an area where it was busy as can be, somewhere to avoid their pursuers.
"Why don't we catch one of the trains or a bus?!" Suguha posed her stance on where to run, Silica struggled to keep up. There were sirens in the distance that seemed to grow closer and closer, like a shark circling in on the kill, Suguha hefted and started to carry Silica at that point.
"H-Hey stop, I can run just fine!" Silica protested as they began to run again for a mall that was nearby for them to duck and hide. They ran in through the doors and took a small break with some cover to catch their breath. Suguha set Silica down as they mulled their options.
"People with power that they can kidnap, abduct people with ease and are running some kind of VR prison? What did you get us into Asuna?" questioned Suguha as she stared her down
"I don't know, it was nothing I did!" she snapped, running her fingers through her hair as she tried to process what had happened. The thought of Kirito imprisoned somewhere left her with a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach, it was bit of a weird feeling for her, being on the opposite side of all this for a change, her mind recalled her own imprisonment in ALfheim Online at the hands of Noboyuki.
Noboyuki... Asuna shook that thought off immediately after her skin started to crawl. Sugou Noboyuki was a twisted individual that had a fixation on her, but to her knowledge, Noboyuki was still in prison, he never had that kind of power before.
"Earth to Asuna!" Suguha called out snapping Asuna out of her brief trance. She looked to the other Kiriguya sibling and Silica who looked frazzled.
"We'll...catch a train, something...we gotta get out of the area for a bit, at least until whoever that was calls us again." Asuna spoke, "For all we know, we could be it right now. We can't trust anyone but each other. We clear?"
"Yeah." Silica nodded, acknowledging the situation. Suguha nodded soon afterwards.
"Yeah, we're clear." Asuna took the lead as they headed through the mall to locate the entrance closest to the subway station, her mind drifting back to Kirito for a moment.
The club that Kirito, Klein and Philia walked in looked about as seedy as it came, the songs of rap music, techno and dubstep ruled over any and all sound, there were patrons with guns sitting around, having fun, getting high off the Digi Drugs, some of the female patrons were working as dancers there specifically for the club.
"Klein don't get too girl crazy here, got that?" Philia spoke as loud as she could to make herself heard over the thumping techno music to their group of three.
"Nah, I like clubs like these, but seeing drugged up people along with the Ronin carrying their AKs like that...I'm good for right now." Klein spoke, actually being well reserved to much of Kirito's surprise. The 55 Ronin's leader overlooked the club from a window above, she was an intimidating woman with a sharp stare that looked like it could cut through the bone if she could try it.
"I've done business with Madam Goh before, so both of you keep your mouths shut and let me do the talking. Same goes for you hero, so keep that hood up." warned Philia as they were stopped by a couple of armed Ronin enforcers guarding the door to Madam Goh's office.
Kirito watched as Philia coerced the guards to convince them to let the three of them in, fortunately enough it worked, they were lead up the stairs to her office where she sat down waiting. Goh's office looked a lot more cleaner than the club below, a lot more sharp and tidy, decked out with Japanese architecture.
"Philia my best girl, what can I do for you?" Madam Goh inquired with a smile. She looked and reminded Kirito of Lucy Liu's character from Kill Bill. There were three chair's ready for them to sit down, elaborate chairs.
"We need your help. We're planning to make a hit on a security node that will help us get out of this place." Philia spoke, putting their plan out on the table for her
"Why would I help? That place has a heavy security, we wouldn't get within ten feet before we have the Deathtroopers on us in seconds." Goh frowned as she leaned in
"With the amount of resources you have and what I managed to snag for you guys we'd at least have a fighting chance." It was a back and forth verbal tennis match "You know as well as I do programs like this, especially when it's in beta testing has bugs and glitches to them and I know you use them to avoid the eye of the Overlord." Goh looked to Philia then to Kirito, studying him
"Tell me, since you run with the man known as Agil, he ran with someone named Kirito, that correct?" Goh inquired. The three of them tensed up slightly as they worked to maintain their cool, and Kirito's cover.
"Madam Goh I don't know-"
"Yes or no Philia." Goh interrogated, her tone getting more sharp and hostile. Philia's confidence ebbed away slightly as she started to be more subdued.
"Yes, it's true." Philia nodded
"What would you think would happen if he were to come here? Under our noses? Do you think we'd want a danger like that here? To destroy all that we've done?!" Goh got more hostile before she looked to the hooded and masked Kirito. She drew a Magnum revolver from her desk and cocked it aiming at Klein.
"Remove the hood and mask now!" she ordered looked daggers at Kirito
"Madam Goh please-!" Philia was ready to get up but it was silenced by a warning shot whizzing past Klein who let out a yelp of terror
"Fuck me!" Klein hissed in fear. Kirito stood up wanting enough of this.
"Alright fine!" he barked before removing his mask and hood, showing his features off to Goh who slowly lowered her weapon. Coming out from behind the desk she stood in front of him, studying him.
"You're nothing but a welp, a child but your eyes tell me you've killed before. Tell me, Kirito. Why does the Overlord have a hard on for your death?" the Ronin leader inquired, being more relaxed, leaning on her desk.
"Noboyuki had my girlfriend trapped in the VRMMORPG called ALfheim Online, doing mind manipulation experiments on another 300 survivors from Sword Art Online." Kirito recanted "He didn't like the fact I whooped his ass in a world he saw himself as a god. He even tried stacking the deck against me there. But I kicked his ass in VR and in the real world. Left him for the cops."
"I'm amazed you didn't kill him to be honest." Goh said with a brief laugh "That is honestly the most amusing thing I've heard all day, the Overlord getting his ass kicked by a teenager for stealing his girl. It's the most pathetic thing I've ever heard!" Goh burst into laughter along with her guards in the room. Kirito didn't know what to think right now as he stood rigid and at attention. "Thank you, that made my day."
"So...will you help us?" Philia asked finally as the laughter died down and the muffled noise of rap music started to fill the air.
"Honestly I wish I could, but without any substance or proof that this assault on the Overlord- I mean Noboyuki wouldn't be a suicide run, I can't back that horse. I'm sorry Philia." Goh spoke before returning to her chair. Kirito sat down after thing seemed to relax.
"You must realize that Noboyuki will come for you group after awhile. Nothing good here can last." Kirito chimed in "After more and more people get picked off in these communities, he will come to quash you."
"I've got enough problems with the Kozak right now. Bunch of wild and rabid dogs running amok trying to establish dominance." Goh frowned. "They're violent and dangerous in packs but they're not as organized as they like to believe." Klein glanced back over her shoulder out the window and saw that there was movement on some of the catwalks above and a rifle was aimed at Goh.
"GUN!" Goh turned to look as the thunderous crack of a high powered rifle. She barely had time to duck before the window shattered. Kirito and Philia ducked to the ground, Klein already had his gun at the ready as he was firing on the attacking gunman down below in the club more gunmen rushed in with members of the 55 Ronin worked to counter the attack.
"Fucking Kozak!" Goh hissed in rage before grabbing a Type-92 rifle from the wall and unloading the clip in bursts. Kirito checked his Vector, trying to figure out some kind of plan of attack. Philia was moving to escape along with Klein
"Kirito c'mon!" Klein called out. Kirito broke out into a full sprint to the door as the bullets whizzed past his head. Down the stairs they were headed when one of the Ronin's came flying in through the door as bullets slammed into his chest, a bright crimson sprayed out as the body crashed into the wall before the shattering de-rez.
"Holy shit, holy shit!" Kirito started to panic
"Kirito listen to me, when we get out there it's kill or be killed, fire and shoot on anything that tries to kill you. To survive it's kill or be killed! You wanna live, you kill!" Philia pushed Kirito against the wall staring him down. There was a burning fire in Philia's eyes as they looked at each other before she turned her attention to the choke point they're at.
"Philia, lay down a suppressive fire, I'll move to the bar area and cover you. We leap-frog it. Kirito you follow behind." Philia hefted her VSS and started to fire her weapon striking some of the attacking Kozak dead, Klein rushed his ass to the bar, sliding up and over, taking Philia's targets by firing from his assault rifle.
"Kirito move!" Philia shouted as she ran. Kirito peaked the corner to see where the attacking gunmen were, and one of them caught sight of him.
"That's Kirito! Kill him!" Kirito had his gun up when they shifted their fire to him where their corner was. Kirito squeezed the trigger and let out a burst from the Vector striking one of them as he rushed out.
"Klein, AT in that corner now!" Philia ordered. Klein hefted up his RPG and took aim at the corner. The rocket shot out from the launcher quick and obliterated the side of the room the Kozak were dug in as more vehicles carrying 55 Ronin rolled in with reinforcements.
"Chyort, we got to pull back! Fall back!" An attacking Kozak called out to those that were still alive. The surviving gunmen rushed out an opening that was present to them in the hole that Klein had made.
"Run you fucking dogs, run back to your master!" Goh shouted firing the entire magazine getting a couple of the stragglers before silence fell again.
"Madam Goh, you alright?" A Ronin Enforcer asked her as he approached
"I'm fine. Good reaction time in getting here. However I will find the cocksucker that let those dogs in and I will have him tortured in public." Goh seethed with rage before looking over to Kirito and the others. "You want my help you three? Help me put down these dogs and I guarantee my assistance in the attack."
First thing Asuna needed to do before leaving was head back to her house and pull Yui onto a portable device. Yui was an AI that was found by Kirito and Asuna during the SAO days and they had taken her in as their adoptive daughter after the Cardinal System rejected her and Kirito managed to save her as an item. Her home was vacant which was great to know considering her family were always so preoccupied with work and business trips. Asuna remembered what Kirito explained in how to transfer Yui to something like their phone, the little mounted camera and speaker was enough to let her see what there was to see in the real world.
"Yui you there?" Asuna called out as the transfer was there.
"M-Mommy? Everything okay? Where's Daddy?" Yui's voice came from the speaker, the camera moved on its own as it tracked their movement
"Don't be alarmed but Daddy was taken and we might need your help to locate him." Asuna explained "It's some kind of VR program called 'The Killing Fields', is there any way you can find something out on it?
"Gimme a second." Yui requested slightly before going silent. Asuna, Silica and Suguha to move out of the room, back down the stairs and outside before Yui spoke. "Mommy, I looked up what you told me but I hit some firewalls, but what I found out was it was developed for a military application, and I found an image of the man behind it." Asuna looked at the photo and her eyes went wide in horror and fear, the face was scarred but he remembered that face anywhere.
"It is Sugou…" she gasped
"There's also a backdoor someone seemed to place to access your phone, it wasn't traced back to Sugou but by someone else. I got an address for you." Yui continued
"Yui you magnificent girl!" Silica beamed
"Gimme the address." Asuna requested "We'll start there for answers."