Sword Art Online: Special Edition Chapter 6:
It would've been minutes had it not been for seconds having merely passed instead. The words from Chronicler couldn't have been any clearer to Suguha; she was physically inside the video game she was playing just a day beforehand, and now so many questions were waiting to be answered. So far, however, Suguha had one thing on her mind as Chronicler escorted her down the side of the cliff on their respective horses.
"Why do we have to go this place specifically? It shouldn't be all that hard for you to just return to a town or city and have your energy revitalized there, isn't it?" Suguha asked as she followed Chronicler, as Chronicler looked back with her with a serious gaze.
"I gave you just enough time to let go of me when I began to virtualize away from the area, and now you need to begin to realize the full consequences of having chosen to continue trying to be my friend far worse than any other player of this game would've had it." Chronicler began to tell Suguha.
"What do you mean, Chronicler? What exactly are you even supposed to be? With an ability like yours, you sound like you're a-"
"Military project? Governmental experiment? Scientific lab rat? Well, truth be told… All three could be very well accurate but at the same time none at all… But most of the details are obscure to me outside of a few simple rules in my programming…" Chronicler told Suguha, all the while Suguha forcefully had her mare move faster just enough to get ahead of Chronicler, serving as a blockade for the moment.
"… Tell me everything I need to know." Suguha demanded from Chronicler, all the while Chronicler sighed a bit as her bold action took a toll on his senses; specifically when Suguha backed off with her aggressive gaze when she saw how hellish Chronicler's pupils turn, forming into very cat-like slits.
"You're very lucky you're willing to go through what you're being unwittingly getting involved in, but do not alarm my senses like that again; the Predator Eyes do not like sudden disturbances like that." Chronicler told off Suguha, as he forced himself back from making a move by grasping at his own chest and face due to intense pain he was beginning to feel again.
"… But if you want an explanation, I would rather not speak it while we're still within range of a public communication channel." Chronicler informed Suguha, to which his own shire suddenly showed more hostility towards Suguha's mare as he reared up while moving his front legs to force her out of the way. The mare stepped aside, respecting the shire's age as the larger horse of the two led the way into an oddly formed veil over the forest once they were far enough down the trail.
After passing through Chronicler first began his explanation on the oddity that they had just had to pass through.
"The game has a system designed in it to prevent you from joining the party of suspicious players; this isn't an ordinary MMO where there are two factions or more that fight against each other, but rather, much of the conflict takes place within the various factions themselves." Chronicler continued, as they were now deep enough in the cliffs for Suguha to try and attempt to examine some of the nearby birds to scan them…
Absolutely nothing; the game didn't even seem to register her as using her Leafa avatar for that matter, even though she had the equipment and gear from that avatar with her now.
"Where we're beginning to enter is what some players refer to as a glitch location called a "Dead Zone" because of the fact their avatars would normally perish instantly upon entering such a place… Those with the MaterialEye, on the other hand, have easy access to an indicator that this game isn't all that it seems on the surface." Chronicler continued to elaborate, as now the horses were both on equal footing with the ground now being able to be reached and being able to set foot into the forest.
"A solid year before SAO even launched as a video game, it was a dormant world for what appeared to be decades at a time; 1974 is the date when this secret world first began, and lay dormant within all of Network ever since its creation." Chronicler began to detail, as the sound coming from the nearby birds suddenly went silent as Chronicler and Suguha made their passage through the area.
Some of the wildlife, in the form of various extinct animals of recent years barring an odd, reptile-like avian which stuck close to the tree tops, and the presence of various Dinosaurs; all of which the same species, but many differing versions of it all the same. Some small, some big; some feathered, some scaled. Despite their predatory nature, they all seemed wary of the presence of Chronicler and his shire.
Some of them, though, were quick to attempt to trail behind in pursuit of Suguha and her horse, but a quick glance from Chronicler with his eyes turning hellish to all of them quickly had them recoiling in some odd form of pain around their heads, before all of them fled from behind Suguha. Suguha took notice of this very quickly, but remained silent as to let Chronicler finish; it was clear to her the creatures wouldn't waste time going after her had it not been for Chronicler being near. Suguha only just before this realized something about them.
None of the creatures had any actual eyes.
"I was told various things as a child; how I was all part of a big plan. I was never told any of the truth until about three months prior; that I was the ultimate prototype of a weapon that had long outlived its original purpose, and that my older "brother" was the dormant form of the very weapon in its final version. We both had an inherit ability in common; to disrupt communication channels unhindered by any type of defense mechanism against us." Chronicler began to tell the story of his own creation, as Suguha's eyes were wide as to the prospect of what exactly required Chronicler's creation.
"I would prefer you to know the full tale, but I can only recall so few of it; all that remains I can directly remember are what my older "sibling" behaved like in comparison to myself." Chronicler said, as he dismounted his horse, but did so in a manner as lifted himself into the air to float, before, seemingly teleporting as he did, moved over to Suguha with his eyes intensely locked into their slit pupiled forms, vibrations being felt by Suguha as he showed these eyes to her.
But the impression he gave towards her specifically was benevolent; an innocent soul trying to defend both himself and whomever he desired to protect. Suguha didn't budge; she was trusting Chronicler enough based off of their past interaction to allow him this close to her, as while Chronicler couldn't exactly see it, Suguha felt an odd feeling she couldn't determine just yet, not until she asked something.
"Then what was your "brother" like?" Suguha asked, as Chronicler backed away from Suguha to give her some room, but otherwise kept her and both of their horses in his sights; the shire leading the way forward as Chronicler levitated in the air.
"My brother was hostile by nature; he was aggressive, I would submit to practically every command I was given because I was never given a choice; he would immediately lash out at whoever remotely attempted to boss him around. That's how we both functioned back in the day, and the experiments done on him, codenamed "MIRROR M", were the most hellish information files I had access to during the breakout three months prior." Chronicler resumed his explanation towards Suguha.
"My brother was designed with much more power than logic should dictate a life-form to have by nature; he and I shared that in common; but then came the differences. I was raised much like an ordinary human child up until my 18th birthday, raised in isolation from my older brother's hostile behavior, which I was only innocently aware of in my youth… The breakout occurred, and my memory is fuzzy on the exact details aside from various workers having tried to kill me as they thought I was him." Chronicler told Suguha, as up ahead neared a blue lighting to the otherwise dark forest.
"My brother lunged at me with his jaws open wide, and when I thought I was gone; I was not. I should've been dead, but I was stuck between his throat and his jaws as my left limbed had formed an extension of itself to avoid my own fate. I should've been dead, but my brother shook violently to try and force me out. As he did, he exhaled a powerful energy which forced me out at the cost of both of my hands; I saw the damage to my brother, with his left eye completely destroyed as a result of the incident. All I could recall next was my brother lunging at me again as his arm suddenly transformed in shape, before everything went completely blank."
Chronicler was quiet, as he hovered over towards a small pond from which the stone, alongside two others now visible were keep in isolation and stillness, glowed in the whole area and warded the creatures off when Suguha had entered upon dismounting her horse.
"This very spot is all I can remember as to where I had awoken; I was initially unaware of what had happened, but I do believe a man with your last name is the result of this; what was his name? Kirigaya Ken?" Chronicler asked, as Suguha gasped.
"DAD?! B-But…" Suguha had stuttered a bit, before her fists clenched together in the sudden anger she know felt all at once, as Chronicler stood in the small pond where Suguha was stepping towards; his gaze turned back to normal as he suddenly looked terrified of Suguha's aggression.
"I should've known… My brother always, ALWAYS said he absolutely hated him to no end… He always told me stories about how he'd get into arguments about how Ken was performing experiments that were unethical; even my brother's co-worker absolutely reviled the experiments being done, because my brother always told me it involved an-" Suguha suddenly snapped out of her aggressive state, as she looked rather teary eyed all of a sudden.
"C-Chronicler… What did he do to you?! What the hell did he make you into?!" Suguha asked, as she looked ready to cry with her questioning, as Chronicler was still too busy scared for his own life in the small pool know that Suguha put two and two together.
"I-I don't know… I don't want to know what he did to me… All I could recall vaguely was that the foster parents looking after me did everything they could to ensure I solely wouldn't end up like my brother; he said he absolutely wanted to ensure I would stay innocent regardless of his influences…" Chronicler told Suguha, as he didn't know how to put it otherwise. Suguha suddenly rushed over to Chronicler and hugged him, Chronicler having attempted to bolt away from her in sheer panic as he was beginning to yell and scream for his life. Suguha was absolutely shocked by this, immediately backing off of Chronicler only for him to not slow down with his panic.
"C-C-Chronicler… I-I didn't know that…" Suguha was trying to apologize, as it was clear Chronicler wasn't snapping out of it any time soon. Suguha knew that Chronicler was far beyond her in terms of power and capabilities based off of what she was told and what Chronicler was able to show; Chronicler could've very easily killed her had he been remotely like his brother, and Suguha had recoiled as the thought of having accidentally triggered the most painful memory Chronicler had told her about.
"LET GO OF ME LET GO OF ME LET. GO. OF ME!" The outbursts Chronicler was having, as he was saying those four words repeatedly, shook the entire environment as his words began to intensity in audio to where Chronicler was repeatedly slamming his fists against the ground in a childish tantrum; the event was terrifying for Suguha to watch; this wasn't a monstrous killer despite the fact Chronicler clearly had the power to be such; the ground shook immensely as Chronicler's outbursts continued, all the while Suguha was trying to find some way for Chronicler to calm down as his outbursts became increasingly powerful by the second.
"Chronicler! Snap out of it! I'm your friend, Leafa! I'm not hurting you! PLEASE SNAP OUT OF IT!" Suguha yelled for Chronicler to try and listen to her, all the while Chronicler eventually slowed in his outburst and overwhelming power surge, all the while Chronicler was reduced to a miserable wreck on the water ground, completely left sobbing as he moved to hug himself out of sheer desperation. Suguha, slowly, and incredibly cautiously, waited things out before she would even remotely attempt to approach.
"L-Leafa…" Chronicler eventually, but quietly, spoke out, his voice in utter disbelief of her name, as Suguha slowly tried to approach now. "I-I-I'm so sorry… You didn't need to be involved in this… You were innocent until I showed up…" Chronicler, rather weakly, spoke, all the while Suguha slowly moved to approach him. She was quietly beginning to hum an unusual tune to try and see if that made her presence any better for Chronicler.
"You didn't deserve to know of my pain… You didn't deserve any of what I had forced you into…" Chronicler's sobbing slowed to mere crying, as Suguha was still gentle with her approach as she moved herself lower as to not given any form of intimidating form to Chronicler. As she was closed enough to sit down in behind him, Suguha was slowly with having her reach out to, gently and reassuringly, place a hand on Chronicler's back and softly begin to rub him to sooth his pained heart he was feeling at the moment. Chronicler, slowly turning to look at Suguha, looked broken as Suguha moved a little bit closer to have both of her hands rub his shoulders.
"Chronicler… Look at me… Look at me when I say this to you, okay?" Suguha asked Chronicler, as Chronicler looked towards Suguha's face; his eyes showing a lot of discomfort but regardless, he paid close attention to her.
"It's my own fault for this, Chronicler; you're blaming yourself when you're the victim of a madman's abusive behavior towards not an entity with a vast amount of power, but a living, breathing person who has needs just like any other person would… You need to be treated to a normal life; you need to be free of this virtual world; I'm not wanting to leave you alone, I'm going to take care of you…" Suguha told Chronicler, as Chronicler still looked incredibly upset but otherwise touched by Suguha's words; watching as Suguha slowly approached to allow herself to place her head against his chest so she could listen for anything in an unintended embrace on him.
She didn't mind the fact that Chronicler slowly, but certainly, moved to return the embrace, as Suguha could hear and feel Chronicler's movements; he was far from a monster from what her dad had attempted to hide him behind; his beating heart, his kindness towards her, and the fact he's cowardly when he's so much as remotely provoked by anything he deemed a legitimate threat, the mere fact alone he views Suguha as a bigger threat than any of the strange wildlife in this area. All of that proved to Suguha that Chronicler was an innocent soul who needed to be treated carefully.
"I'm going to stay by your side, Chronicler; I'm going to have you stay with me and be free of that madman." Suguha told Chronicler, all the while Chronicler gulped a bit nervously in response.
"But what about-"
"He can't go near me or my mom, or even my brother Kazuto without violating the restraining orders against him; he will not be able to get anywhere near you…" Suguha told Chronicler as she felt herself relax in Chronicler's embrace.
"… But… But what about your mom and brother…?" Chronicler asked, as his voice was finally beginning to calm down.
"We'll explain to them who you are, and why you're there; let's just go home for now, okay? We both need to rest after this experience…" Suguha mentioned, as Chronicler had noticed she was now aware of the healing properties of this pond; he didn't say anything on the matter, other than leaning his forehead against hers as he began to focus during the embrace. Both of their molecules began to dissipate into the air and vanish from the virtual, hidden realm underneath SAO, and soon enough, the two were beginning to materialize back into Suguha's bedroom as dusk was beginning to approach.
"I'm not going to let anyone hurt you so long as I live, Damion… I'll be there to protect you…"