By the time Nick could feel himself respawning in the central plaza of SBC Glocken, he realized that he needed to get back to the group as fast as he could. With Phantom's illegally-boosted stats, he wasn't sure how long the rest of the group could last.

"Okay, but first things first," Nick quipped, opening his menu to send a message. "I might need to call for backup on this one."

"Backup for what?"

The familiar voice instantly drew Nick's attention, and he spun around to notice that Hanmyo was standing there, giving him a questioning glance. She still had her short purple hair and pink cloth headband, was wearing what appeared to be a tactical vest over her usual outfit, and was carrying two .357 Magnum Desert Eagle handguns.

"Oh, Nick!" Hanmyo exclaimed once she recognized her friend and ally. "I didn't think you played GGO."

"I was about to say the same to you," Nick teased.

"Since you look like you really need to go somewhere, I'll probably let you go," Hanmyo giggled. "Probably waiting for Yuuki, right?"

"No, it's a good thing you're here, Hanmyo," Nick stated. "I need your help. Phantom's here in GGO and he's attacking my friends, but it turns out he illegally hacked his Amusphere to boost his stats to nearly impossible levels. It took him only three shots to take me from full health to dead."

"Jeez, this freak just doesn't know when to quit, does he?" Hanmyo quipped. "Let's get over there right stat now!"

"Just a minute," Nick replied. "I'm calling for some more backup. We might need it."

Nick began to type out a message. Katie, where are you right now?

It was only a few seconds before Katelyn's response popped up. I'm just in the dunes on floor thirty. What's up, Nick?

I won't waste time explaining myself, but... do you have Gun Gale Online on your Amusphere?

Actually, yes, I do. My dad was the one who wanted me to try it, but I haven't actually started playing it yet, lol.

Can you convert over to GGO as fast as you can? Phantom's attacking us.

What?! Him again?! ...I'll be right over.

Please hurry, Katie.


(Never give up on your dreams, especially if you consider them to be worth fighting for.)

The Blue Time Ranger is proud to present...
Sword Art Online: Memory Rosario re:
Story Created: January 24th, 2018
Story Rated: T for Teen

Story Summary: What if the story went a little differently? Nick Kelly and Yuuki Konno are a rather interesting pair. With Yuuki hopefully on the road to recovery from AIDS, Nick knows to treasure the time they have left, as he knows it could run out at any second. One day while on an adventure, Nick realizes that someone seems to be after Yuuki, and this stalker appears to be connected to Nick's past somehow. Can Nick and Yuuki unravel this mystery before tragedy strikes?

On Today's Episode: With Phantom on the assault with his illegal status boosts, Yuuki, Sinon, and Mira appear to be in a pickle until Nick returns to the battle with Hanmyo and Katelyn backing him up. Even if they can force Phantom to retreat, will they be able to find a way to boot him out of the game with the information they've gathered about his illegal modifications? And... what else does Phantom have in store, now that his motives and plans have been laid out?

And Now, the Obligatory Disclaimer: I, The Blue Time Ranger, do not own anything related to Sword Art Online or any of its affiliations. It belongs solely to Reki Kawahara, A-1 Pictures, and Aniplex USA. Anything I do not own, I am just borrowing for the story with every intent of returning them when I'm done. The only things I DO own are any characters and places created by yours truly for the story. And, I do not intend to infringe on any copyrights, only to entertain my readers. Besides, if I did own Sword Art Online, which I don't, why would I be writing fiction on a fan site?


Episode 7: Virtual Insanity

Phantom simply laughed as Yuuki rushed him, easily side-stepping her thanks to his maxed AGI.

"Foolish girl!" Phantom laughed, only to be quickly silenced when Yuuki spun back around, fast as lightning, and slashed her Kagemitsu across Phantom's torso, causing him to stumble back.

"H-How did you hit me?!" Phantom growled. "With my boosted agility, there's no way in hell you could have hurt me!"

"You seem to be forgetting something, you monster," Yuuki proclaimed before jumping back to avoid retaliation. "I have experience on my side. I spent at least two years Full-Diving 24/7, and my reflexes are far superior to yours! In case you want another example, I defeated Kirito in a fair fight! Kirito! Twice!"

Yuuki leaped forward, striking with an overhead slash that cut into Phantom's arm. Despite VIT in this game only measuring the health points, Yuuki was happy to see that her strike had done visible damage.

"Even still, you probably have no idea how to use your stats properly like this!" Yuuki proclaimed. "All you have going for you is your illegal programs overpowering your abilities! Haven't you heard the phrase 'power is useless without experience'?! You may be super-powerful now, but you clearly have no idea how to use that power!"

"I don't need to know how to use it to get rid of you," Phantom cackled. "All it took for your precious boyfriend was three shots and he bit the dust. I bet I'll need less shots to bring you to your knees. Your mistake for challenging me."

"Your mistake is thinking I'm going to let you!" Yuuki shouted even as Phantom raised his rifle to attack. Yuuki wasted no time in swinging her Kagemitsu to cut down every bullet that Phantom fired her way.

Phantom continued to fire, and Yuuki continued to cut down the bullets, giving Sinon ample time to move behind Phantom and fire a round into his back. This caused Phantom to stumble forward, giving Yuuki the window she needed to rush in and slash at Phantom's hand, causing him to drop his gun.

"There," Yuuki proclaimed. "Without your precious boomstick, there's really nothing you can do, is there?"

"I can still fight hand-to-hand," Phantom laughed. "Haven't you ever heard of CQC?"

"Mistake number two, freak," Sinon proclaimed, beating Yuuki to the punch. "You honestly think I'm going to let you get close to her? You know how much damage I can do with this gun. Even with your unfair advantage, a headshot's still going to hurt like hell."

"Yeah! You're going to regret ever messing with my master!" Mira exclaimed.

"Do you honestly think just the three of you can take me as I am?" Phantom taunted, only to jump away from another shot from somewhere nearby.

"Don't tell me you forgot about me already, Phantom?" Nick's voice resounded. "Talk about bad taste in your targets."

"Master! You're okay!" Mira exclaimed, dashing over to hug Nick.

"Well, well, boy, you respawned quickly," Phantom proclaimed. "I assume you want another taste of steel death?"

"You just caught me off guard last time, asshole," Nick shot back. "This time, I brought some backup with me. Girls, you're on."

Hanmyo was the first to jump out from behind Nick, firing off shot after shot from her Desert Eagles and forcing Phantom to back away.

"Here's something for you action buffs," Hanmyo quipped to nobody in particular. "I call this one my John Woo Attack!"

"...really, Hanmyo?" Nick sighed.

"...I-I was strapped for names!" Hanmyo stammered.

As Hanmyo continued to shoot at Phantom to keep him away from his gun, Katelyn moved towards Phantom, avoiding Hanmyo's line of fire to get up close and personal with her tormentor.

"Now how about you get it through your thick skull and stop harassing us?!" Katelyn growled, raising the weapon she'd bought on the way, a M2 Carbine rifle, and shoving it into Phantom's chest. "Here, see how you like it!"

Katelyn pulled the trigger four times, each shot piercing through Phantom's chest and dealing massive damage. Despite Phantom's extremely high health, the shots had all struck a critical area and shaved his health off in large chunks.

Sinon again went for a headshot, just like she'd promised, and with Katelyn incapacitating him, her shot struck home and dropped Phantom's health by a rather significant chunk.

"You wanna call yourself invincible now, you son of a bitch?!" Nick growled.

"This... this can't be happening!" Phantom exclaimed. He was down to only a tenth of his health. "How can I lose to you, even with my supreme stats?!"

"Because you're a filthy hacker who doesn't even know how to use the power he's unfairly given himself!" Yuuki shot back. "Maybe learn how to combine your power with experience and THEN try again!"

"You won't beat me!" Phantom exclaimed, picking himself up and making a beeline for Nick. "One headshot with my stats and you're dead, boy!"

Nick prepared himself to dodge, but Yuuki was over there in a flash before Phantom could even pull the trigger again, slashing at his torso three times before driving the blade of the Kagemitsu straight through Phantom's chest, dropping his health to zero.

"Maybe this will teach you a lesson," Yuuki growled, once again surprising Nick. "Don't mess with us again, you bastard."

And with that, Yuuki yanked the Kagemitsu out of Phantom's chest just as his avatar began to break apart.

"N-No... I am... all... powerful..." Phantom gasped as his avatar exploded into shards of light.

Yuuki flourished the Kagemitsu proudly once Phantom had disappeared, only to look at Nick and blush like mad, realizing that he had just heard her swear for possibly the first time in her life.

Yuuki often stated that she knew there was some good in everyone, as her mother had taught her. Even some of her former enemies (like that one jerk from the floor twenty-seven raid party) had eventually seen the error of their ways just because of Yuuki's boundless optimism and energy.

Forgiveness, as Aiko had often put it.

However, after having given Phantom multiple chances to show some good qualities, this recent showdown had cemented in her mind that Phantom was pretty much too far gone to be saved. The sadistic way he'd laughed, the sheer delight he'd taken in defeating Nick, on top of everything he'd already made Katelyn do...

Yuuki, quite simply, hated Phantom. And she'd never hated anyone in her lifetime, so that was a testament to how evil Phantom made himself out to be.

"Um, Nick?" Yuuki asked, not wanting to embarrass herself any further. "Question. How much of that spiel did you hear?"

Nick simply walked up to Yuuki and patted her on the head. "Enough."

"Yikes... did I actually do that?" Yuuki gasped, her face lighting up even more. "I've never said a swear in my life and now this..."

"Hey, look at it this way, Yuuki," Nick replied. "Your first swear was directed at someone who really deserved it."

"I guess," Yuuki admitted. "I just... holy fishsticks, I've never felt so angry before this, not even the last couple times we fought him... it feels like, now that we know his motives and the reason he's doing it, it just makes even less sense why he'd turn into such a monster because of his own mistakes!"

"To be honest, I have no clue how these psychopath's minds work," Nick responded, hugging Yuuki close to him. "But hey, even with his super unfair stat boosts, we stomped him, just like you said you wanted to."

Yuuki couldn't help but crack a smile at that. "Yeah. Maybe he'll think twice before messing with us anymore."

"I doubt that, knowing what he's like, but at least if he does try again, we'll just stomp him again and again, right?" Nick laughed.

"As many times as it takes!" Yuuki giggled.

Yuuki let Nick go, then turned towards where Katelyn and Hanmyo were standing. "Thank the both of you for coming in to back us up," Yuuki stated. "I'm pretty sure Nick sent for you when he respawned?"

"I've never converted an avatar so fast in my life," Katelyn admitted.

"I've actually been playing GGO on the side for a while myself," Hanmyo replied. "When I saw Nick in SBC Glocken talking about backup, I figured I'd see what was going on."

"I don't know why Phantom's still stalking us through different games now," Katelyn wondered. "Didn't he have enough the last time we wrecked him?!"

"Apparently, he's blaming virtual reality itself for the fact that he lost his sister in Sword Art Online due to getting trapped in a dungeon that was way out of their league," Nick explained. "And instead of trying to move on, he decided to become a freakin' serial killer because he can't let it go."

"I mean, what he forced me to do is bad enough," Katelyn quipped. "God only knows what else he could do if left to his own devices."

At that exact moment, Nick heard a short double beep, indicating someone had sent him a message through his Amusphere.

Nick immediately went to his menu to open the message, knowing it was probably his mother checking in on him again. She always did when he was visiting Yuuki, just to make sure they were doing okay.

After opening the message he'd received, Nick's expression immediately darkened.

Yuuki was the first to see a flash of fear on Nick's face, which quickly turned to a blank stare, before being replaced by a visage of pure, unyielding rage.

She had seen Nick angry before, especially in previous battles with Phantom.

But this...

"If he even dares..." Nick growled, immediately swiping through his menu to log out before Yuuki could say anything to stop him.

"What was that all about?" Hanmyo wondered as Nick's avatar fell to the ground, giving the impression that he was merely unconscious instead of logged out, due to the "soulless logout" feature that GGO shared with ALfheim Online.

"Hope he doesn't mind me checking," Yuuki giggled, even when inside, she was worried. What exactly had Nick seen to drive him to such a rage?

Kneeling down by Nick's unconscious avatar, Yuuki took his hand and used it to reopen his menu, moving to the message inbox and opening the one Nick had just ready for everyone present to see.

What they saw easily made them understand why Nick had bailed on them.

Better hurry, boy. If you don't make haste, I don't know what might happen to my new playmate.

And there was a picture attached.

It was Phantom, holding one of his arms out to take a selfie.

The scary thing about it?

Phantom was using his other arm to hold Nick's mother Rhea hostage, a razor-sharp knife clearly placed within inches of her throat.

Yuuki's body shivered with a combination of both fright and anger before opening her own menu.

"Watch over us, you guys," Yuuki proclaimed.

"You know it," Hanmyo stated as Yuuki logged out as well. Knowing Nick, he was probably already halfway to his destination by now.

"We should follow them," Katelyn proclaimed. "I know the way. I've been to Nick's house before, after all. I really don't like the sound of this."

"You read my mind," Sinon replied.

"Please hurry and help master, okay?" Mira asked. "I can make it back to Glocken on my own."

"Will do, Mira," Hanmyo stated as she, Sinon and Katelyn moved to log out, hoping beyond all hope that they weren't too late.


Nick continued to tear through the city streets as fast as his legs could possibly carry him, ignoring everything he passed and anyone he accidentally bumped into on the way.

He could only pray that he would return home in time to save his mother and father.

It felt like an eternity had passed by the time he finally reached his house, even though it had only been five minutes since leaving the hospital.

Steeling himself for what he would find, Nick lifted his foot and slammed it hard into the front door, forcing it open so Nick could enter and assess the situation.

Mom, where are you? Nick thought as he continued to move through the hallways towards the living room, the most likely spot that Phantom would be, since that's where the picture had been taken. Oh, god, please tell me dad's okay, too...

After taking a few more steps, Nick heard the low sounds of Phantom's mad cackling and made a beeline for it, eventually coming to the living room where Phantom was holding Rhea with a knife to her throat, almost exactly as the picture had shown.

"N-Nick? What's going on?" Rhea gasped.

"Get your filthy hands off of my mother, you bastard," Nick growled. "I'm not going to ask you again."

"I warned you, didn't I?" Phantom laughed. "I have grand plans, and I will eliminate any obstacles that stand in the way of those plans."

"Phantom, I swear to god, if you hurt my mother in any way, I'm going to take that knife and jam it down your goddamn throat," Nick threatened, shifting into a combat stance. He could only hope that the skills ingrained from his experiences in VR would be able to help him here in the real world.

Despite the fact that he knew virtual strength rarely translated to real strength, he hoped it would, just this once.

"You really don't understand the position you're in here, do you?" Phantom sneered. "One false move and I'll cut her throat so fast you won't even see it coming. Can you really get to me before I do that?"

"Have you lost your mind, Phantom?!" Nick shouted. "Is this really what your sister would have wanted?!"

That got Phantom to stop in his tracks for a split second. Nick decided to capitalize.

"Yes, I understand what you lost," Nick continued. "But would she really want you to descend into insanity over it?! Would she want you to become a killer just to avenge her? How is that honoring her memory?!"

"Shut up, you wretch," Phantom growled.

"You still don't get it, do you?" Nick shot back. "What would she say to you if she knew you were doing all these wretched things just because of a cruel twist of fate?"

"I said SHUT UP," Phantom proclaimed.

Nick tensed up, ready to charge at a moment's notice. "Phantom, open your eyes. This isn't who you are and you know it. I can see the pain in your eyes, the pain you feel you have to inflict on this world because you can't bottle it up. You don't have to be this monster."

"You don't know anything about me, you son of a bitch!" Phantom screamed, his right arm moving slightly away from Rhea's throat.

Nick saw his opportunity, rushing forward to both slap the knife out of Phantom's hands and shove him to the ground.

"Mom, run!" Nick shouted. "I'll hold him off!"

"What about you?!" Rhea cried.

"I can take this nutjob," Nick replied.

Rhea hesitated, but realized that Nick had, indeed, dealt with Phantom before, having been there to witness what had happened with Katelyn, and moved to retreat to the dining room.

Nick was about to follow her, so he could find something to battle Phantom with, when he heard a whooshing sound, like something had just been thrown.

And then... that other sound...

...that nasty, choking sound...

Every single nerve ending in Nick's entire body told him not to follow the sound to where it had come from. Nick looked anyway.

And he felt his heart break in twain when he saw.

Phantom had almost immediately recovered from the attack, and had scooped up his knife and thrown it like a javelin. And, to Nick's horror, the blade had slashed through Rhea's throat before embedding itself in the kitchen wall.

Rhea clutched futilely at the wound before falling on her face, stone cold and unmoving.

Nick knew she was dead.

But the rest of his body was failing to respond.

As if his eyes were trying to deny the gruesome and horrific sight that lay before him.

Phantom just laughed maniacally. "You see, boy?! You see what happens when you stand in my way?!" Phantom proclaimed. "Oh, and if you're looking for your precious father, I wouldn't advise going upstairs, if you catch my drift."

No... dad's gone, too?

Nick fell to his knees in despair, not sure if he wanted to cry or scream.

"Yes, boy, give in to your despair!" Phantom shouted. "This is what awaits everyone who still backs virtual reality like it's the second coming while still staying ignorant of what happened those four years ago!"

Nick said nothing, only slowly stepping towards where his mother lay, still hoping that this was just an illusion or a dream.

"Your mother played ALO with you, right?!" Phantom taunted. "That means she was part of the problem! Willfully ignoring the problem instead of advocating against it... she deserved her death at my blade!"

At that precise moment, something in Nick's mind snapped. All he could see was red, and all he could think of was getting his hands on Phantom and tearing him apart.

"Death! They all deserve death!" Phantom laughed. "Every last one of them!"

Nick rose to his feet, his mind not even registering the sound of his front door being kicked open yet again. He didn't pay attention to the voices that were calling his name. He didn't pay any mind to the fact that they all sounded very familiar.

The only thought in his mind was telling him to kill Phantom right here and right now.

While Phantom was busy laughing, Nick went into the kitchen, pointedly ignoring the knife in the wall, and dug into the cabinets to retrieve a much larger knife.

Yuuki, Shino, Katelyn, and Shoko stopped in their tracks when they saw the sight before them.

"Oh, what, do you really intend to fight me with that?" Phantom taunted.

"I don't intend to fight you, you murderer," Nick growled. Before Phantom could interrupt him, he raised the knife, pointing its blade dead center between Phantom's eyes.

The moment Nick's gaze met Phantom's, the psychopath actually flinched back in reflexive fear of the rage building in Nick's eyes.

"I intend to kill you and send you to hell where you goddamn belong!"

Nick didn't waste a second longer as he charged Phantom, fully intent on ending this killer's existence.

Phantom attempted to raise his own fists to block Nick's incoming attack, but Nick let his rage give him strength and struck with a vicious overhead chop, the strike actually drawing blood and leaving a gash in Phantom's arm.

"You BASTARD!" Phantom exclaimed.

"Look who's talking, you son of a bitch!" Nick shot right back, swinging horizontally and leaving Phantom with another wound. "You're calling me a bastard for hurting you when you killed my parents right in front of me! So forgive me if I ask you to spare me your degenerate bullshit!"

Nick stabbed forward with the knife, only for Phantom to leap away and jump straight through the living room window and make his escape, laughing maniacally as he did so.

"Get back here, you psychopath! I'm not done with you!" Nick screamed.

Nick heard a footstep and spun around, ready to pounce on anyone else that tried to attack him.

But when he saw Yuuki staring at him, with tears in her own eyes, all of his rage instantly dissolved, causing his shaking hands to release the knife and let it clatter to the floor.

Nick fell to his knees again, but this time, Yuuki was immediately over there to hug Nick as tightly as she could and whisper soothing words to him.

Yuuki was no stranger to losing family, so she knew how Nick felt. And she considered it her duty to be there when her boyfriend needed her more than ever.

"Shino, can you call the police?" Yuuki asked, her tone level but made clear that she felt like crying, too.

"I'm on it," Shino replied, immediately going for her cell phone.

Yuuki just held Nick, letting him vent all of his sorrow and sadness to her.

"This is all my fault, isn't it?" Nick stammered.

That line easily caught everyone's attention. "W-what do you mean, 'your fault'?" Yuuki asked.

"I wasn't fast enough..." Nick cried. "I tried to get mom away from him, but he just threw the knife when I wasn't looking... if I had just been paying attention... maybe..."

"Don't."

Yuuki knew instantly where Nick's train of thought was going, and she inwardly decided she wasn't having any of it. Before Nick could continue, Yuuki simply hugged Nick tighter.

"W-what?"

"I said, don't say it's your fault," Yuuki replied, finally allowing her own tears to start falling. "None of this was your fault. If you blame yourself, you won't ever stop, and I don't think I can take that. You didn't know any of this was going to happen."

"But if I had just been quicker..." Nick started, only for Yuuki to look up and kiss Nick as passionately as she could.

Nick returned the kiss in earnest, seeking the comfort he desperately needed in his girlfriend's warmth.

"I-I'm sorry, Yuuki," Nick gasped.

"Hey, you've got nothing to be sorry about," Yuuki answered. "The only one who's going to be sorry is Phantom if I ever get my hands on him."

"That goes for me, too," Katelyn replied.

"Same here," Shoko proclaimed.

When Nick gave her a confused look, Shoko simply giggled. "Oh, sorry, I probably should have explained that. My name's Shoko, and as you can probably guess, I'm the girl behind Hanmyo. I really wish we could have met under better circumstances, honestly..."

Shoko had purple eyes and short, brown hair in a bobcut with a few streaks of hair dyed the same shade of purple that Hanmyo's hair was. Shoko and Hanmyo were almost night and day with their appearances.

"Hey, don't worry, okay?" Shoko stated, walking up to hug Nick as well. "We'll find Phantom and make him pay for what he's done if it's the last thing I ever do."

"I concur," Katelyn continued, joining in the group hug. "He already made it personal after what he did to me, but I won't ever forgive him for this."

"Damn right on that," Shino proclaimed, hugging Nick from behind. She figured she might as well, since Nick needed all the comfort he could get. "Phantom already crossed a line by hurting my friend."

Despite his sorrow, Nick couldn't help but smile. He really did have the best friends ever.

When the police finally arrived, Nick simply explained what had happened, even directing the officers upstairs, as he couldn't bear to see what Phantom had done to his father.

Sure enough, the officers warned Nick away from going upstairs, as it "wasn't a pretty sight", according to them.

"Do you have anywhere you can stay?" one of the officers asked Nick, and that's when he realized he was kind of in a pickle. With both of his parents dead and most of his relatives still living in America, Nick didn't really have anywhere to stay. And considering the hospital most likely wouldn't let him take up residence...

"Hey, I have an idea," Katelyn stated. "Why don't I see if my mom will let you stay with us for a while, Nick?"

"You'd do that, Katie?" Nick asked.

"Hey, you are my best friend, and friends look out for each other," Katelyn replied. "You've been so good to me, even when I had my little 'episode' under Phantom's mind games, so I figured this is the least I could do to repay you for your kindness, even when I thought I didn't deserve it."

"I really do have the best friends ever, don't I?" Nick stated, trying his best to avoid another crying fit. He already felt like he'd shed enough tears for a whole lifetime in the past couple minutes.

But, despite his efforts, the tears won out, and he started crying again. But this time, his friends, the people he loved more than anything else in the world at this moment in time, were there to keep him from falling into the darkness of his own sorrow.


After a short detour to return Yuuki to the hospital, as she had no doubt chased after Nick once he'd left, Katelyn led Nick back to her own house so she could explain to her mother what was happening.

"I think you'll like my mom, Nick," Katelyn stated. "She's a really nice lady."

Nick said nothing, still reflecting on the events of the past couple hours.

Sensing his distress, Katelyn leaned over and kissed Nick on the cheek.

"Remember, buddy, we're here for you," Katelyn giggled. "There's no way in hell that we're making you go through this alone."

"T-thanks, Katie," Nick replied.

"Mom? I'm home!" Katelyn proclaimed, calling for her mother. "There's something I need to ask you!"

After a few second, the door opened to reveal Katelyn's mother Heidi. They were quite similar in appearance, only Heidi's hair was only about shoulder length and she had glasses that framed her slightly brighter green eyes.

"What is it, Katie?" Heidi asked, just now noticing Nick standing with Katelyn. "Oh, who's your friend?"

"Mom, do you remember Nick? He was a really good friend of mine when we were young," Katelyn explained.

"Oh, yeah, I remember him now! You two used to be inseparable," Heidi laughed. It was then that she noticed Nick's expression, still holding back tears. "Is... everything okay, dear?"

"That's... actually what I wanted to talk about," Katelyn stated, squeezing Nick's hand gently. "A couple hours ago... Nick's parents were killed, and now he has nowhere to stay."

"Oh, goodness, is that why you ran off?" Heidi realized. "You seemed so frantic..."

"By the time I got there, it was too late. They were both..." Katelyn sighed. "Ugh, that's a memory I'd rather not relive... but, to the point I'm trying to make. Would it be okay if Nick stayed with us for a while?"

"Of course, dear," Heidi replied. "How about I go get the guest room set up for you?"

"That'd be wonderful," Nick stated. "Thank you so much."

Once everything had been set up for Nick, night had fallen, and Nick and Katelyn were in her room discussing various events, mostly what they were going to do about Phantom, since he was still on the loose.

"I'm worried, Katie," Nick admitted. "What are we going to do if Phantom starts killing people again? I really don't want any more lives on my conscience..."

"I told the officers everything about Phantom," Katelyn replied. "They'll be on his trail for as long as it takes. We'll leave it to them until he comes calling, and if he does, we'll stomp him. Okay?"

That said, Katelyn practically dove down onto her bed, thoroughly exhausted from the day's events.

"Man, I could sleep for a week after all of this," Katelyn sighed. "What do you say, Nick? You wanna turn in for the night? You do have school in the morning, and I know you hate that stupid biology lesson in science class."

"Honestly, I'm hardened to that nonsense by now," Nick admitted. "But you've got a good point. I'll need my sleep if I'm gonna survive science class tomorrow. I'll see you in the morning, 'kay, Katie?"

"Nick, wait."

Nick turned around to see Katelyn lightly patting the side of her bed, almost as if she was...

"How about you sleep here tonight?"

Nick immediately blushed, knowing what Katie was offering.

"Hey, no need to get so flustered, silly," Katelyn laughed. "I'm not suggesting... well, that, since I already told you I'm not going to try and get between you and Yuuki."

"Then..."

Katelyn simply smiled. "I just figured you wouldn't want to be alone right now. You've been through something no one your age should ever have to suffer, no matter who they are. You need people, Nick. You need someone to be there for you in your time of need. I wanna be the one to dry your tears when Yuuki can't. After all, you're my best friend."

"And best friends always back each other up," Nick quipped, finishing the line that he and Katelyn had always recited together in their youth.

Nick climbed into the bed after Katie, though he was still nervous, something Katelyn instantly picked up on.

"Everything okay, Nick?" Katelyn asked.

"I'm scared, Katie..." Nick admitted. "You know that I tend to have nightmares when I lose someone I care about... I practically had night terrors when my grandmother died, because I never got the chance to patch things up with her..."

Katelyn, even as she drew the bedsheets over them, simply kissed Nick on the forehead. "That's what I'm here for, Nick. As long as I can, I'll chase away the nightmares for you. You won't fall into the darkness as long as I have anything to say about it."

With that, Nick was finally able to fall into peaceful slumber. Katelyn held Nick close to her, determined to keep her promise and drive away the darkness that threatened to consume Nick.

Happy that she could finally help out her dearest friend after so long apart, Katelyn fell into slumber as well.


"WHY IS IT STILL CHASING AFTER ME?! SOMEONE GET THIS THING OFF MY BACK!"

Nick couldn't help but chuckle even as he moved back in to shoot the gigantic monster's weak spot on its back, hoping to draw its attention away from the rapidly fleeing Katelyn.

"Maybe we need to topple it," Hanmyo proclaimed even as she continued to fire shots from her twin Desert Eagles. "Yuuki, can you get in close and hit its legs?"

"You read my mind, Hanmyo!" Yuuki exclaimed, dashing towards the marching beast and slashing her Kagemitsu at its left hind leg, the damage dealt causing it to slip and fall, crashing headlong into a nearby dune.

"It's vulnerable!" Mira shouted.

"All right, let's turn this thing into swiss cheese!" Katelyn shouted. "This is for chasing me all over the map, you freak show!"

All six players began to fire on the monster at once, Katelyn in particular spamming shots from her newest weapon, a Benelli M4 Super 90 semi-auto shotgun, and before long, the monster's health was depleted. It raised its massive claws to attempt one final strike at Katelyn, but she simply raised her shotgun and blasted the claws away from her as the monster exploded into shards of light.

"Well, that was... a thing," Yuuki quipped. "Didn't think a field boss was going to jump us so quickly."

"And for that matter, WHY WAS IT CHASING ME?!" Katelyn wailed. "Hanmyo was the one who shot it first!"

"Oh, don't try and pin this one on me!" Hanmyo shot back. "You're the one who woke it up by traipsing all over its squatting grounds!"

"How the hell was I supposed to know that thing was there when it was buried halfway under the freakin' dunes?!" Katelyn retorted. "And besides, wasn't Sinon the one who shot it into the cliff wall?!"

"H-hey, hey, don't blame me for that! Would you rather I get squished?!" Sinon stuttered.

"We really are a bunch of cards, aren't we?" Nick quipped.

"No kidding," Yuuki giggled. "Hey, Nick? You look a lot better. It's only been a couple days since..."

"Well, it's like I said to Katie," Nick admitted. "I really do have the best friends ever."

"I'm proud of her for helping you out when I couldn't," Yuuki stated. "She's an angel, that Katie."

"Definitely," Nick quipped, before stammering slightly, hoping Yuuki didn't take that the wrong way. "I-I-I mean, n-not like that, I mean, oh crap oh god oh crap..."

Yuuki just giggled before leaning over to give Nick a kiss. "It's okay, silly. You don't have to freak out."

"It's just... you're my first girlfriend, and despite everything, I'm still worried that I'm gonna say the wrong thing and set you off..." Nick admitted.

"Nick, you seriously don't have to worry," Yuuki stated. "I'm not gonna flip out, promise. I know how much Katie cares about you."

Yuuki grinned widely. "Besides, the only one who can 'set me off' knows not to come knockin' around us anymore, or he's gonna get a world-class thrashing. Right?"

"You know it," Nick proclaimed. "He's gonna rue the day he ever messed with us."

Just now realizing that they weren't going to get anywhere unless they got Katelyn and Hanmyo to stop arguing, Yuuki fired a shot into the air, loud enough to get everyone's attention.

"Okay, now that all eyes are on me, how about we get going and find the base we were looking for?" Yuuki proclaimed. "That is what we were doing before mister super-mutant jumped us, isn't it?"

"Ehehehe... good point," Katelyn stated. Hanmyo just sighed in defeat, and Mira just laughed.

The group continued their way across the dunes until they finally found a service elevator near where they'd accidentally awakened the field boss.

"Well, at least now we know what that thing was guarding," Sinon quipped.

"Shall we head down the elevator and see what we'll find?" Katelyn proclaimed.

Nick was about to agree to that when he heard something flying through the air towards them.

"SCATTER!" Nick shouted.

The instant the party saw a fragmentation grenade coming their way, they decided to listen to Nick and dive away in opposite directions. Thankfully, they were able to get behind cover just in time, as the grenade exploded instantly upon contact with the ground where they had just been.

"All right, who's the wise guy?!" Yuuki exclaimed.

"Take a wild guess," Nick growled, pointing to just west of the elevator. Phantom was standing there, holding a set of frag grenades.

"You've got some nerve showing your face around us after what you did!" Sinon proclaimed, aiming her Hecate straight for Phantom's head. "Do you seriously want another beatdown?!"

"You will pay for wounding me, you wretched brats," Phantom growled. "But I guess you should count yourself lucky that I'm not after you this time."

"Wait, this time?" Nick repeated. "Start making sense, asshole!"

Phantom just laughed maniacally. "Oh, I thought I told you that I intend to eliminate this wretched hive of scum who still embrace virtual reality despite everything it's done. And I believe I know exactly where to start, after all."

Katelyn raised her shotgun threateningly, hoping to procure some information. "Start talking, jerk-o! I've had enough of you!"

"Where in this city, pray tell, is there a school full of people who survived that wretched game?" Phantom stated. "One where a certain 'Lightning Flash' is studying for her next exam right now?"

"H-How did you find out about that school?!" Yuuki exclaimed, activating her Kagemitsu at the mere mention of the National Vocational School, better known as the Sword Art Online Survivors Academy. The same school where Kirito, Asuna, and all of their friends currently attended, since they were all SAO survivors. "What exactly are you planning?!"

"Hmph. It shouldn't be too hard to figure out, should it?" Phantom laughed before opening his menu to log out.

The horrifying realization hit Yuuki like a speeding truck. "Oh my god, he's going to go after Asuna and her friends!"

"Seriously, is this nutball going to keep harassing us until the end of time?!" Hanmyo shouted.

"Guys, guys, what are we supposed to do?!" Yuuki exclaimed. "I'm pretty sure doc won't let me leave the hospital on my own a third time! I think I used up all my freebies..."

Nick moved forward to pull Yuuki into a hug. "Don't worry, Yuuki. I'll go. To be honest, as far as I'm concerned, your friends are my friends. Besides, I think it's time to finally settle the score with this psychotic nutjob."

"Please be careful, okay, Nick?" Yuuki asked.

"Always," Nick replied.

"I'm coming with you, Nick," Katelyn stated. "You're gonna need the backup."

Nick and Katelyn nodded to each other before logging out. When they returned to reality, they met up back at Katelyn's house before setting off for the SAO Survivors Academy, ready to put an end to Phantom once and for all.

To be continued...


On the next episode...

Nick: All right, Phantom, we end this now. Don't think you're walking away from me this time!

Katelyn: After everything you've done, we're taking you down for good, freak! We won't let you kill another innocent person!

Phantom: Try and stop me, fools! This is my destiny, after all! I will destroy your wretched virtual world, person by person if I must!

Asuna: What's going on here? Who the heck are you?!

Phantom: I am your end, girl! I am the end of every single person who still plays these goddamn VRMMO games!

Nick: Out of the question, Phantom! I don't care how I have to do it, but you are not leaving this place alive! Next time on Sword Art Online: Memory Rosario re:, "The Ghosts of SAO"!

Nick, Yuuki, Katelyn, and Hanmyo: This may be a game, but it's not something you play!