Dany le fou: Only a select few people will be able to make use of the worms for that very reason. Because of the fact that Asuna's father and his company were placed in control over the SAO servers and their maintenance, and his wealth, he was offered the option. His respect for Kirito caused him to extend the offer to the Kirigaya. Mostly likely, the only things that will be released to the public are the Gleam Eyes and where Kirito kills Kayaba. And yeah, her mom is a bitch.

Satharin: Well, I am glad to hear that you like the story so much! And you don't sound obsessed, I can honestly say I read some of my favorite stories once a week without shame. I just feel flattered you like my story enough to read it several times!

Reishin Amara: Indeed :3

ThatGalladeAcrossTheStreet: Everything I said was true. You're the only reason I kept rolling, man (woman?)! Yeah, that always pissed me off. Cause you know that the world's best computer guys were brought in to crack that shit, and I refuse to believe they never made a dent. Yes, the two guilds have a full blown alliance, which you kinda see in canon with them always supporting Kirito, and often running things together. I just expanded it. And I am trying to keep the harem interactions funny, because ya need what humor you can get in that world…

Ultimate-Zelda-fan: *goes back and checks* o.0 Uhm, awkward, thanks for pointing that out *facepalms*

As promised, here is another chapter! Obviously, this is being released for Christmas because, well, in the story it is Christmas, so…

This chapter is kinda rough at best, but I am a little out of practice with this story!

Sorry getting this out took so long, I had hoped to have it out for Christmas, but I was enjoying being with family far to much to write!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

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Sword Art Online: Shattered Chains

Chapter 7

Merry Christmas To All!

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Suguha had to restrain herself from bouncing eagerly on the seat of the window bench she was lounging on, nose pressed to the glass as she hawkishly watched the estate's main gate through the falling snow. After nearly a week of waiting, it was finally Christmas Day, the day that the SAOVRU would be delivering and setting up the massive screen that she knew she would be spending every waking moment (and more than a few sleeping moments) in front of as she eagerly and desperately watched every move her Kazuto made.

After moving onto the estate, her family had been welcomed with fairly warm and open arms, the lady of the household being the only one who seemed less than pleased with their presence. Mrs. Yuuki had remained cold and distant the entire time, remaining silent as often as possible, and saying as little as possible when she had no choice but to speak. Suguha and her parents had been caught off-guard and rather offended by her rudeness, until Kuichirou had explained that his mother was not handling his sister's disappearance well at all. He had, in fact, once confided to Suguha the extraordinary guilt he felt at the knowledge that his sister was trapped in the game because of whim. When the confused teen had inquired further, he had reluctantly explained that he had acquired a copy of the game and intended to play, but had been called away for his duties to RECT Inc. When his young sister had asked if she could try it out, he had readily agreed. Since then, his sister had been in what might as well have been a coma.

Suguha had called him an idiot for blaming himself and reminded him that, had he said no, it would be him trapped in the game instead. The he had to have faith in his sister and her friends, and to focus on helping his family manage in such a difficult situation.

A movement drew her mind back from wandering, and she yipped happily at the sight of the large, utterly nondescript truck with tinted windows pulling through the gate, followed by two equally unimportant looking cars. While some might have thought that it could be a furniture order or something of the sort, Suguha had watched enough spy flicks to know that the more innocuous something appears, the more likely it is something to be suspicious about. Besides, she had the feeling that if this family had ordered furniture, the truck would be proudly displaying it's loyalty to some insanely exclusive and expensive business.

Popping to her feet, she grabbed her jacket from where it lay draped over the armrest and scampered from the room, hastily pulling it on as she ran through the house, dodging maids going about their daily chores with apologies over her shoulder. The maids watched her go in amused affection for a moment before returning to work. The family's guests, especially the daughter, had quickly rubbed of on the household staff with their infinite politeness and utter lack of any sense of entitlement, which was rare for guests of the family. Most were like that brat that the lady of the house wanted to push Miss Asuna (the staff's favorite) towards, Sugou. He was always insulting and fairly lewd to the prettier maids, when there was no one else to see him do so. To Miss Asuna, he was condescending and dismissive, though it was veiled by a thin veneer of false chivalry. It was clear to many that he had no care or affection for Asuna, but did desire what would come with her: control of RECT Inc. when her father retired. As such, the maids took it upon themselves to be as disruptive to his attempts at wooing her as possible.

A few minutes later (the house was rather large, after all, and she had to ask for directions once or twice) Suguha skidded to a halt and bowed to Mr. Yuuki, a brilliant smile on her face, as the man looked towards her from where he had been talking quietly with the utterly average looking man wearing overalls and a cap that was pulled low to hide his eyes.

"Suguha-chan, why don't you show Satou-san and his associates to the room we set aside for the equipment." The man suggested, and Suguha nodded with a smile, though she nearly giggled at the man's name. Satou was the Japanese equivalent of the Western last name "Smith", stereotypically an alias for a spy because of how common it was.

"Hai! Follow me, please!" the high-schooler said cheerfully, turning and heading back through the foyer, starting the one route in this house she had memorized rapidly. That path which lead from the main body of the house to the room that had been set aside for viewing their loved one's struggles and triumphs. Trailing along behind her came nearly a score men who were just as bland in appearance as the one who was speaking with Mr. Yuuki earlier, carrying large cardboard boxes. Three sets of two mean each carefully maneuvered boxes that proclaimed their contents to be 60" TVs, while the other boxes seemed to be carrying various other electronic devices that she doubted she would understand, though she had no doubt Kazuto would have, were he here.

Opening the door to the room, she gestured for them to enter and stepped well clear of the doorway, leaving them plenty of room to maneuver with. She remained safely in the corner while they bustled about, extracting the various technological gadgets from their boxes and setting them up. Each massive television was connected to a small, innocuous looking black box, which was in turn connected to a plain black desktop tower. A few minutes later, all three screens flashed to life. By this point, the entirety of both families had entered the room and were watching the screens with bated breath.

"All systems, online. Sword Art Online Monitoring Station, operational. Identify Primary Controller." A soft and cultured female voice echoed from all three TVs, and one of the men offered Mr. Yuuki a small booklet. He regarded it for a moment before shaking his head and gesturing to Suguha. Tentatively taking the booklet when it was offered to her in turn, Suguha cleared her throat.

"Identify Primary Controller: Suguha Kirigaya." She said clearly, if nervously, and a soft tone sounded and all three screens flashed again.

"Primary Controller Identified: Suguha Kirigaya." The woman's voice confirmed, reading the words that were now shown on the screen, before it changed again. "Identify Authorized Users."

"Identify Authorized Users: Yuuki Shouzou, Yuuki Kyouko, Yuuki Kouichirou, Kirigaya Midori, Kirigaya Minetaka. Confirm Command." Suguha listed the names, the screens showing each one after it was said.

"Command Confirmed. Identify Targets of Primary Observation." The computer asked again, and Suguha brightened. Leafing to another page in the booklet, she gave her next command.

"Identify Targets of Primary Observation: Kirigaya Kazuto, screen name Kirito. Yuuki Asuna, screen name Asuna. Identify Third target as members of guild Shattered Chains, random rotation unless overridden by voice command." She said clearly, feeling very much like she was in some sort of American science fiction movie.

"Observation Targets, confirmed. Identify SAOMS Integrated AI?" the voice asked, and Suguha frowned as she leafed through the booklet, trying to understand what it wanted. Finally figuring out that it was asking for a name to be addressed as, she thought for a ling moment.

"Identify SAOMS Integrated AI as Overwatch. Confirm Command."

"Command Confirmed. This unit is now identified as Overwatch. What can I do for you, Kirigaya Suguha-sama?" the now-named Overwatch asked pleasantly, and she smiled eagerly.

"Overwatch, please bring up Kirito on the center screen, Asuna on the left, and the guild rotation on the right."

"Understood. Connecting to audio-visual worms. Downloading…download complete. Imagery online." Overwatch said, sounding almost cheerful as the images of all three TVs changed to reveal what was essential the same image, from different angles.

Kirito, Asuna, and a large group of people were gathered together in an inn, eating and drinking as they cheerfully chatted. Kirito himself was, to Suguha's displeasure, surrounded by a fair number of beautiful women and a single red-haired man, all of whom were paying him all of their attention as he spoke.

"…should be a relatively simple fight. We are not only over-leveled, but there are quite a few of us. We should dispatch him fairly quickly and withdraw before any…undesirable elements show up. Ailyn, you and Sachi will trade off aggro the entire fight. Since this is an event boss, I don't think that there will be any adds. So, whomever does not have aggro is to get out of range and heal up, then Charge back in. Argo, take Silica and the rest of the speed-types under your command. Hit and runs, he will probably have a dangerous cleave that will take chunks out of you, so don't get hit by it. Klein, you and the rest of the heavy hitters will stay in with me. If he shows himself to have an interruptible ability, call out if you're going to take it. We don't want to waste cool-downs."

"Alright, Kiri-bou, but what do we do is the Divine Dragon Alliance shows up before we down the boss? Because you know as well as I that they're damn well going to try." The small green lettering over the whiskered girl indicated she was Argo, a rogue-class player. Suguha found herself frowning as she sat down in an armchair, barely noticing that everyone else was filing out of the room as she absorbed every detail that she could.

"Then I solo the boss while you lot hold them off." Kirito said, and there was an instant uproar.

"Kirito, that's insane! You're letting your own legend get to your head, and Kuro no Kenshi or not, trying to solo a boss is suicide!" Asuna snapped angrily, and the others chorused their own agreement.

"Perhaps, but I think it is possible if necessary. I would prefer to avoid that, however. Does everyone understand?" he said definitively, and though displeased, the others acquiesced, agreeing with nods and grunts. Nodding, Kirito leaned back in his seat. "Alright, have some fun, everyone. We're heading out in an hour."

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An hour later, Kirito finished his drink and got to his feet, the girls rising around him. Moments later, the others noticed that they were moving out and rose as well, finishing off their drinks and food before tossing a few silvers on the table, into the invisible zone designated on their HUDs for payment of fare.

Nodding to the inn-keep, they filed out one by one, stepping into the cold Christmas air. Lights and decorations were all over the city, every building decorated to some degree, and the massive pine in the town center shone like a beacon in the night. Kirito took a moment to take a deep breath, enjoying the cool and the sensation of snow melting in his hair, before gesturing for his companions to follow as he headed towards the city gate.

In the shadows behind them, they never saw a small, lithe figure dressed in light leather armor bearing the symbol of the Divine Dragon Alliance wait for them to depart before sending a PM and following silently.

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Suguha watched, on the edge of her seat, as Kazuto and his companions cut a wide swath through the random monsters ("mobs", as they called them) that aimlessly wandered the path that the players were taking to reach this "Nicholas the Renegade" they were planning on killing. Her eyes never strayed from her cousin, who was displaying incredible skill with a blade, skill that had barely been shown when he had been taking kendo. He had developed an entire style for himself, one relying on a combination of speed, incredible reflexes, and punishing strikes.

She was beginning to see what Mr. Yuuki meant about Kazuto, and why he was so feared. While she knew that he was doing things that he could never do in the real world, she was still deeply impressed. Her infatuation with him helped her awe along, of course, not that she would admit it if anyone brought it up.

The snow was falling heavier now, large wet flakes that had forced the group to pull up hoods lest the melted flakes go down their shirts. Their footprints lingered in the snow, edges and imprints softened by the constant snowfall. Finally, they came to a large clearing with a single path leading further into the forest, at the end of which appeared to be a massive, decorated, Christmas tree.

"That's most likely where the boss will spawn." Kirito commented, point to the tree, and the group nodded and headed in that direction, before stopping as Kirito raised a closed fist, a strange expression on his face as he tilted his head slightly to the side. Hand drifting to the hilt of Elucidator, he spoke again. "We're not alone."

"Well spotted, Kuro no Kenshi, if a little late. We've been tracking you for hours." A male voice said cruelly as a couple dozen men and women in heavy plate armor came out of the trees in a staggered line, all bearing the mark of the Divine Dragon Alliance.

"I expected it to take longer for you lot to show up, but perhaps I underestimated your greed and obsession with rare items. How long will it take you to realize that you have no more right to them than anyone else?" Kirito retorted, and the leader of the DDA group glared and growled angrily.

"We are one of the top guilds in the game! Who other than we deserve rare items, when we take the most risks and have lost so many of our number?" he snarled, with his comrades nodding and adding their agreements.

"Yes, you have lost a few members, but your losses are nothing compared to those the Army endured. Granted, that was through their own foolishness, but you are hardly the only ones who have lost friends." Kirito pointed out, striving for a peaceful solution. "I fully intend to utilize this item for the good of the entire clearing group, but I will not allow you to lay claim to it. History has shown that you would horde such an item for yourselves, instead of using it for the betterment of all."

His voice was firm and his stance unyielding, and the DDA drew their weapons as one. In response, the members of Fuurinkazen and Shattered Chains armed themselves, sans Kirito, and began to fall into formation.

"If you're willing to become orange to try and claim this item, then my people will oppose you." Kirito said, his tone glacial as he folded his arms over his chest and glared. "I suggest you rethink this course of action, because getting sent to the dungeons for a few months won't do your reputation or your rare item cache any good."

"We outnumber you almost two to one!" the leader scoffed, and Kirito shook his head with a sigh, glancing at his Second.

"Ailyn, take care of this. I will acquire the item and return here. Try to avoid beating them up to badly, they are an admirable force for the Clearing Force." He commanded, and Ailyn planted her fist over her heart in salute.

"Understood. We'll watch your back." Ailyn said, kissing him on the cheek impulsively. Blushing lightly, Kirito ran a hand through his hair and told the girls to be careful before turning on his heel and striding off towards the distant tree.

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"You shits may be everyone's favorite fighters, but without your precious leader, you're nothing!" the DDA leader snarled, incensed at being so casually dismissed. Kirito's friends exchanged looks before chuckling lightly, further infuriating the man. "What's so funny you bastards?"

"Your arrogance, really. You honestly think that Kirito is the only member of our group that is strong? All of us are level seventy at least, do you honestly think you can take us on?" Ailyn said with a smirk, brushing scarlet hair out of her eyes. The DDA members mumbled to each other in shock and concern. The strongest of them, their leader, was level 70 but the rest of them were in the mid 60s.

"I dunno if this is such a good idea, man." One of them said to the leader nervously. "They're the top guild in the game and out level us pretty badly. Kirito promised to use the item on anyone who needed it, so let's just head back to HQ."

"I will not have a pack of kids intimidate me into backing off! Like hell you're all level 70!" the leader sneered, and looked at his followers. "Attack, or you will find yourselves item-less and kicked from the guild!"

Clearly displeased, the members of the DDA group readied themselves to attack the instant their leader did. While not to eager to take on such powerful opponents, neither were they particularly eager to be stripped of their hard-earned gear and kicked out of the guild. They would be essentially marooned in the Town of Beginnings until they could scrounge together enough starter gear to start hunting mobs, working their way back up to their current gear level. The tense face off continued until the leader suddenly charged with a yell, the others following after a moment.

"Don't hurt them to badly. Take them down!" Ailyn shouted, thrusting her spear towards the oncoming players before locking onto the leader and Charging him, shield at the fore. With a roar, her friends and allies joined her, a wedge of loyalty and friendship meeting a wall of greed and fear. Steel clashed on steel as battle was joined.

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Suguha scampered back to her seat. She had just asked one of the maids to tell the rest of the house that a large battle was going on in Sword Art Online, involving their loved ones. Moments later, the adults streamed into the room. The three Yuuki's focused on the screen depicting Asuna, her rapier flashing and biting away at her opponents as she ducked and weaved through their heavy-handed assaults. The elder Kirigaya focused on their nephew, who was standing alone before an enormous Christmas tree, his black blade still sheathed on his back.

The sound of Christmas bells filled the night, echoing through the forest, as a flying sleigh drawn by reindeer flew overhead. A large red shape jumped as it passed over the tree and plummeted into the ground, kicking up a massive clouds of snow. When it finally cleared, the shape resolveditself to be a hunched over man in a long red coat. As he rose to his full height, he towered over Kirito, laughing psychotically as his uneven eyes spun insanely in their sockets. Four large green health bars materialized next to his head, above them blood red lettering spelled "Nicholas the Renegade", and a massive double-headed battle axe materialized in his hand.

"Is he going to fight that alone? Is he mad?" Mrs. Yuuki said shakily, having glanced at the appropriate screen momentarily, and Suguha nodded tightly, her face awash with fear for Kirito.

"Yes. The people his friends are fighting are trying to steal the item from that boss, which apparently will let the user bring players who die back to life. They want to sell it or keep it from everyone else, but Kirito wants to use it to save lives. So, when they attacked, he had his friends watch his back while he fights the boss alone." She said, giving the simple version of the last few hours of activity. On the screen, Kirito's hand slowly reached up to grasp the hilt of his pitch black longsword, and he drew it swiftly to rest diagonally by his side as he stared up at the boss. Taking a deep breath, he centered himself before charging.

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Kirito's veins were filled with fire, and his heart sang as he battled against his enemy. This, was where he belonged. On the field of battle, matching blades and reflexes with an opponent. He thrived on the thrill of battle, that intoxicating mixture of fear and courage at the knowledge that a single wrong move could spell his death. He could spare no thoughts or concerns for his friends, even as he heard the clash of steel and voice behind him as they fought to give him the time he needed. Soon enough, he heard nothing but the song of steel, his harsh breathing, and the boss' inhuman roars and guttural grunts. Avoiding a horizontal cleave from the boss by bending backwards Matrix-style, he performed a rather admirable backwards handspring. The moment his feet touched the ground again, he darted forward and laid a devastating blow to the boss, dropping its second health bar to zero. It staggered back with a scream of pain and rage, and he took the moment of peace that offered to down yet another pair of Health and Stamina Potions, feeling his energy returning. Rolling his shoulders, he carefully observed as the boss resettled into its stance, hoping that the boss didn't get much more dangerous or change its combat pattern too greatly. While he was defeating it handily, it was also a long and grueling fight.

Tossing the battle-axe aside, the boss howled as it's sleigh hurtled over the tree again, and two "small" axes plummeted from the air, sending up twin plumes of snow into the air. Grabbing them, the boss roared again before charging. Kirito cursed colorfully as he threw himself out of the way, the two axes smashed into the ground where he was standing moments before. The Renegade's movement and attack speed had at least doubled, and he was willing to bet that the boss could do a mirror cleave, one axe cleaving the front and left, the other the back and right. That would make this fight a lot more difficult…

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Breathing heavily, Ailyn Shield Bashed yet another DDA member, sending him reeling backwards as he held his face and shouted in pain. Recovering her stance, she looked around for her next opponent, but there were none. The majority of the group was on the ground groaning in pain or totally unconscious, with only the leader still standing as he and Agil hammered away at each other, both being high-endurance two-handed weapon wielders.

"Agil, finish things here. Klein, you and yours support him. Girls, with me!" she ordered, turning and running towards the distant howls and sound of battle from where Kirito and the boss were still fighting. They were halfway there when a familiar voice shouted in pain.

"Kirito!" they cried together, increasing their paces significantly and hoping they made it in time.

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Suguha screamed in fear as her cousin finally stumbled, the boss catching him with a vicious backhanded swing, a glowing red gash opened from left hip to right shoulder and sending him hurtling into one of the trees surrounding the boss area. Slumping to the ground, he seemed totally insensate and incapable of moving as the boss moved in for the kill. With a triumphant bellow, it raised both axes high and brought them plunging down on top of him.

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Steel rang as Ailyn and Sachi both Intervened on the boy they had come to love. Shields upraised, each took an axe to their shield, feet sinking into the snow and the dirt beneath it under the force of the impact. Together, the pair shoved back, rocking the boss back a step, before advancing with a shout as they blew a few of their cool-downs, increasing both their damage and their defensive stats as they began to hammer away at the boss. Twin blurs began to slice away at the boss' rear as Argo and Silica began their own assault. Asuna flitted about as well, avoiding what cleaves she could as she laid down her own punishing barrage of sword skills. Sinon fell to her knees beside Kirito, her HUD clearly showing how low his health was. If he didn't get healed now, he quite possibly would die before they made it back to town.

"C'mon Kirito, stay with me!" she said desperately, trying to help him sit up and get the most powerful healing potion available at their level into him. He groaned, head rolling limply on his neck as he struggled to regain awareness of his surroundings. It took several minutes of coaxing, but he was finally able to down the potion, and then two weaker ones. His mind cleared, his aches faded, and the red gash slowly shut as the potion's effects washed through his body.

"Ungh…Sinon?" he groaned, putting a hand to his head as he shifted a little weakly. Sinon nodded happily, glad that he was safe, and helped him stand as his faculties rapidly began to recover. Running a hand through his hair, he searched for his blade and saw it lying not far away. Looking at Sinon, he ordered her to rejoin the fight while he recovered. Though reluctant, Sinon heeded the command and began hurling her spears at the boss' eyes and joints, hoping to land Debilitating Blows on it.

It took until the boss had less than half of his finally health bar remaining before Kirito had gathered himself enough to be able to rejoin the battle, which he did with fervor.

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The observers watched in awe as the members of Shattered Chains hacked and slashed away at the boss, Kirito landing the final blow with a leaping slash that cleaved its head in two. The boss howled one last time before exploding in a massive cloud of pixels. A long dagger fell to the ground at Silica's feet, while Kirito and Ailyn both received new chest pieces, and the Last Hit item was given to Kirito, which was a pair of armored boots that increased his primary stats, and his movement speed by 15% while in battle.

Finally, the item they actually cared about fell into the snow in front of Kirito: The Divine Stone of Returning Soul. A small sky blue stone in a steel frame, it seemed such a small and innocuous item for such a powerful ability.

"Well, what does the tooltip say?" Ailyn asked impatiently, as the girls gathered around him, and he opened his menu to look.

"Use: Target an allied player and use this item to return them to life. Must be used within ten seconds of death. Cool-down: Two Weeks." He read off, surprised that the item wasn't single-use. While two weeks was a hell of a long time in a death game, being able to save someone's life even that often was an enormous boon. Pocketing it, he looked around at the girls. "Are all of you alright?"

"Hai! You really gave us quite the scare, Kirito." Silica said with a deep frown marring her adorable visage. Walking up to him, she kicked him hard in the shin.

"Gahhhh!" Kirito yelled, falling to the ground and rolling around in the snow, clutching at the abused body part as tears gathered in the corners of his eyes. "Why would you do that, Silica?"

"Because you were stupid, Kirito." She said bluntly, frowning down at him, arms crossed over her chest. Turning on her heel, she began to stomp away, the majority of the girls following with muffled giggles and chastising words of their own. Only Asuna remained, offering him a hand to his feet, which he took gratefully.

"I really made them angry, huh?" he said softly and seriously, ruffling his hair agitatedly, and Asuna nodded firmly.

"You made all of us angry, Kirito. None of us can bear the thought of losing you, not when we all care for you as much as we do." She said softly, blushing faintly as she looked down at their still-linked hands.

"Asuna, I'm not going anywhere. I promise, I will never leave you girls. I will always protect you." Kirito promised her just as softly, also blushing, before changing the subject out of waters he had no experience in. "Hey, we need to catch up with the others and get back into town. I don't want to risk any orange guilds coming after us while we're tired and weakened from fighting."

"Ah, yes, of course." Asuna agreed, turning and heading down the path with Kirito following, their hands still linked together as the snow continued to fall all around them.

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Suguha glared harshly at Asuna's screen, which showed the brunette still holding her cousin's hand tightly as they returned to their friends. Her worry began to grow as the other girls gave him displays of their own affection, having forgiven him for being an idiot, if only temporarily. In this moment she wished that she was inside the game, to defend her claim on her cousin...a claim that she had never had the courage to voice aloud, even to herself.

She vowed then and there to win him for herself the minute that he was free.

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Alright, that is this chapter done. It is kind of rough, for which I apologize. Especially that fight. Unfortunately, we know jack-all about the Nicholas the Renegade fight, so I made up what I could and changed perspectives for the rest! Remember to review! Merry Christmas to all!