Chapter 10- Escape from Death

As Death Gun prepared to shoot the petrified sniper, Sinon found herself overwhelmed by fear.

"What it means to be strong, to be brave," she thought. "I thought… by watching Kirito and Marth, somehow, I could learn those things. I don't want to die!"

Death Gun was about to pull the trigger when suddenly another gunshot was heard as a bullet struck the Laughing Coffin member in the shoulder. Another bullet also grazed his shoulder, prompting Death Gun to take cover behind a pillar before switching to his Silent Assassin and loading it with lethal bullets. He then returned fire at his unknown assailant before a grenade was thrown, prompting Death Gun to retreat.

However, instead of an explosion, the grenade released a smoke cloud, obscuring Sinon from view. The sniper soon found herself being picked up bridal-style.

"Don't worry. We've got you, Sinon," Kirito said to her as Marth retrieved Sinon's weapons. A red circle was on the Black Swordsman's shoulder, though it wasn't caused from Death Gun's rifle.

"Kirito," Sinon said slowly. "Marth."

"Let's get out of here before he comes back," Marth said with authority.

The Darkness Duo proceeded to flee with a paralyzed Sinon in their grasp.

Marth quickly glanced behind him and saw a flash of red light in the distance, along with a ragged cloak. The Dark Swordsman grunted in frustration. "He'll catch up to us at this rate!"

"I-I'm slowing you guys down," Sinon struggled to say. "Just leave me here. Save yourselves."

"Not gonna happen," Kirito objected as a bullet sailed passed him and struck a signpost, prompting Marth to activate his photon sword. The silver-haired lightswordsman saw another bullet coming towards them and quickly deflected it before pulling out his FN Five-Seven and returning fire, forcing their pursuer to take cover.

"Marth, in here!" Kirito cried out as he ducked into a rental garage.

The Dark Swordsman put his weapons away and followed his partner inside, where he saw four buggies and one mechanical horse.

"Which one should we take?" Marth asked.

"N-not the horse," Sinon said weakly. "It can go fast, but its too hard to handle."

"Buggy it is then," Kirito replied.

Kirito quickly set Sinon down on the only operational buggy and proceeded to rent it before getting in the driver's seat. Marth sat down next to the sniper and laid Hecate in-between them. Kirito then drove out of the building before stopping.

"Sinon, you need to destroy the horse with your rifle so Death Gun can't use it," Kirito said.

"A-all right. I'll try." Sinon aimed her rifle at the horse and prepared to pull the trigger but found herself unable to exert enough force to do so because of the paralysis.

"I can't pull it," Sinon said in fear. "I can't move my finger."

The silver-haired lightswordsman then spotted Death Gun in the distance, running towards the trio. "He's coming!" Marth exclaimed, prompting Kirito to drive towards the edge of the city at max speed.

"Hang on tight!" Kirito said.

Sinon gasped in terror as she saw the face of the bank robber instead of Death Gun's.

"Can we really outrun him?" Sinon questioned.

"We can still get away," Marth replied. "Pull yourself together."

Suddenly Sinon and Marth saw Death Gun was riding the mechanical horse with no problem, quickly gaining on them.

"No!" Sinon shouted in fear as she clutched to Kirito's back. "He's catching up!"

The Darkness Duo never saw the sniper look so afraid before.

"Go faster!" Sinon pleaded. "Don't let him catch us!"

Death Gun was quickly catching up and brought out his Black Star. However, he wasn't aiming at either Kirito or Marth, but at Sinon instead, which caught Marth's notice.

"Why's he targeting Sinon?" the Dark Swordsman questioned as Sinon moved her head to avoid Death Gun's bullet. "Kirito's the one driving this thing, so why isn't Death Gun shooting at him? Unless…"

Marth chose not to finish his thought and brought out his FN Five-Seven before firing a few rounds at their pursuer, but Death Gun easily avoided them.

"I can't do this," Sinon said desperately. "I don't want to die!"

"You need to snap out of it, Sinon," Marth said with authority. "At this rate, he'll catch up to us. You need to pick up your gun and shoot him!"

Sinon quickly shook her head, still completely terrified. "I can't."

"You don't have to hit him," Kirito replied. "Just distract him long enough so we can escape."

"Don't make me do it! I don't want to die!"

Marth gritted his teeth. "Then hand me your rifle and I'll shoot him!"

Sinon turned towards her rifle. "Hecate is a part of me. Only I can use her." She turned towards their pursuer and readied her gun. She tried to pull the trigger but was still unable to exert enough force to do it. "I can't do it. I can't do it. I can't fight any longer."

"Everyone can fight if they have to. Marth and I know that better than anyone," Kirito replied. "It's your choice. Will you give up or will you fight?!"

Sinon closed her eyes in despair. "If it's my choice, then I don't want to fight anymore. I'm done with all my suffering. I played this game to try and get stronger, but I was wrong."

She opened her eyes when she felt Marth grab her firing hand and helped move her finger into position. "I can only do so much to help," the Dark Swordsman said. "You can't doubt yourself now. You can do this, Sinon."

"This isn't working," Sinon replied as her Bullet Circle was moving all over the place. "With all this shaking around, I can't lock onto him."

Kirito spotted something up ahead. "Don't worry. It'll stop right about…now!?" The buggy drove on a makeshift ramp and was launched upward.

"How do they do it? How are they being so calm?" Sinon thought. "No, they're giving this everything they've got to stop Death Gun. When they're in a fight, they go all out, no exceptions. That's where they get their strength." She pulled the trigger of her rifle, but instead of hitting Death Gun, she hit the fuel tank of a truck near him causing it to explode and seemingly consume him.

The buggy landed with a thud and the trio observed explosion destroy the horse before Kirito drove off into the desert. As he drove the buggy, Sinon, who was no longer paralyzed, checked the time and saw that the next scan was soon.

"This is bad," Kirito said as he stopped the buggy to look around. "We're way too exposed here. We need to find some cover."

Sinon then noticed a cave nearby. "I see a cave over there," she said. "If we hide inside, we can evade the satellite scans."

"Sounds good," Kirito replied. "Let's go."

The Black Swordsman drove the buggy to the cave, which was pretty small. The entrance was mostly covered by rocks, shielding it from view on the outside. Kirito parked the buggy underneath the rocks before he and Marth got off to stretch.

"This is perfect," Marth said. "We can dodge the scan and rest up too."

Sinon held her gun closely and got off the buggy and went to the back of the cave and sat down.

"That was weird," Marth said as he looked out the entrance. "Death Gun just appeared out of thin air back there, but we didn't see him on the scan."

"I bet he was the one we sensed lurking around earlier," Kirito added. "But how does he do it. Sinon, is there some kind of cloaking skill in this game?"

"Yeah. It's called «Meta-material Optical Camouflage»," Sinon replied. "We'll be safe here for now. Even if he's invisible, the sand's so rough here that we'll hear his boots crunching and see his footprints too. He won't be able to sneak up on us here."

Kirito forced a smile. "All right. Then we'll just keep our eyes and ears open." He and Marth sat down next to Sinon, the former of which used a medical kit to restore his HP back to full.

"Kirito, Marth, do either of you think Death Gun died in that explosion?"

Marth shook his head. "Nope. I saw him jump off the horse right before it exploded. He may be injured, but he's not dead."

"Oh," Sinon said before setting her gun against the wall. "When Death Gun had me completely helpless outside the stadium, I thought I was dead. How'd you two get to me so quickly back there?"

Kirito cracked a smile as he leaned back against the wall. "We were wrong about Jushi X being Death Gun," he explained. "I took one look and I knew we got the wrong person."

"What do you mean?" Sinon questioned.

"Well, Jushi X is a woman," Kirito said. "At that point, Marth realized we overlooked something, but he couldn't figure out what though. Oh, by the way, even though her handle says 'Jushi', she actually calls herself 'Musketeer X'."

"After we defeated Musketeer X, we saw you lying there on the street," Marth took over. "Kirito and I realized you were in danger, so we borrowed one of her smoke grenades and hurried to you."

Sinon lowered her head in shame. "I can't believe I let my guard down like that."

"Don't blame yourself over it. Kirito and I are as much to blame for it," Marth replied. "None of us knew that Death Gun could turn invisible. It could've happened to any one of us."

Sinon groaned in disgust. "Great. Just what I need. My rival's partner consoling me like I'm a child or something."

The Darkness Duo locked eyes and silently agreed on what to do. "Marth and I are gonna head out for a bit," Kirito voiced. "Sinon, it might be a good idea for you to rest up here, especially since we can't log out while BoB is still happening."

The blue-haired sniper noticed both swordsmen were checking the status on their equipment. "You guys are going after Death Gun, aren't you?" Sinon questioned.

"Yeah," Marth confirmed. "We have to. Death Gun's tough and he won't go down without getting a shot on us. If it comes down to that, I don't know what'll happen next."

"Aren't you two afraid of him too?"

"Of course, we are," Kirito explained. "If Marth and I were the old us from that other game, neither of us would be afraid to die. But we aren't like that anymore. There are things we have to protect, both in the real world and the virtual world."

"Can't you two just let Death Gun win the tournament? We can't log out while BoB is still happening. When it gets down to the three of us and one other player, we can just suicide out and let that guy win."

Marth shook his head. "Sorry, but that's not an option," he told the sniper. "If we sit around, who knows how many other people Death Gun will murder."

Sinon lowered her head in disappointment. "You're both strong. I can't hide in here while you two risk your lives out there," she replied. "I want to help you take that dastard down."

"No way!" Kirito refused. "Did you forget that if he shoots you there's a chance you'll die? Marth and I are skilled at close combat, you're not. Death Gun can turn invisible and appear right next to you before pulling the trigger."

"I don't care if I die," Sinon said coldly, shocking the ;ightswordsmen. "I was scared out of my mind back in the stadium. I was scared I was gonna die. I was even weaker than I was five years ago, like a screaming, crying little girl. If that's how I'm gonna be for the rest of my life, I'd rather be dead."

"It's only natural to be afraid of death," Kirito replied. "I don't know anyone who's not afraid of dying."

Sinon hugged her knees tightly. "Yeah, well, I hate it. I'm tired of being afraid. I'm so tired of it. Whatever… I'm not asking to go with you two. I'll fight by myself." The sniper rose to her feet and was about to leave the cave when Kirito grabbed her wrist while standing up.

"You want to fight alone and die alone?" the Black Swordsman questioned fiercely. "Is that what you're saying?"

"Of course," Sinon confirmed. "I was always supposed to die alone." She tried to leave, but Kirito kept a firm grip on her. "Let go! I have to do this."

Marth sighed at the sniper's lack of concern for herself. "You're wrong, Sinon," he said as he stood up. "No one dies alone. When you die, you leave a hole in people whose lives you were a part of. And like it or not, you're a part of me and Kirito's lives now."

Sinon gritted her teeth in frustration as she turned towards the male players. "Well I never asked to be a part of it!" she retorted bitterly. "My life is no one's business but my own!"

"You're wrong," Kirito argued. "We're all involved with each other's lives now!"

Sinon rejected Kirito's hand and grabbed him by the collar of his coat. "All right. If that's how it is, then you two can protect me for the rest of my life?!" she exclaimed as all of her bottled up emotions broke loose. Tears leaked from her eyes and she hit Kirito's chest a couple of times, though it was not enough hurt him health-wise.

"You and Marth don't know anything! This is my fight, not yours! Even if I lose, even if I die, no one can blame me for what I did!" She made a fist with her right hand. "Are you two gonna carry this burden with me? Are you gonna hold my hand even though it's covered with blood?" Kirito tried to comfort her, but Sinon rejected it. "I hate you, Kirito! I hate you and Marth!"

Neither Kirito nor Marth said anything in response. Instead they stayed silent as Sinon's mental mask broke off and the duo allowed her to use them as a target for her anger. Eventually Sinon calmed down, and they all sat back down. Sinon also laid her head on Kirito's lap.

"I killed someone," Sinon admitted to the SAO Survivors. "About five years ago, in a small town up north, this guy tried to rob a post office. The news said the robber died because his gun went off accidently, but the truth is that I was there. I grabbed his gun and shot him dead."

Marth immediately felt sympathy for the sniper. "How old were you then?" he questioned.

"Eleven years old," Sinon explained. "And ever since then, whenever I see a gun, I start throwing up and pass out. If I see a gun, I see the face of the robber right before he died." She let out a sob. "And then I get so scared… But in this world, I don't have those problems. And that got me thinking, if I became the strongest player in GGO, then I'd be strong IRL too and maybe even forget what I did. But when we were being chased by Death Gun, I was terrified. And just like that, I wasn't 'Sinon' anymore, I was the real me again.

"I'm so scared of dying," she continued. "But what's worse is living with all this fear. It's so painful I'd rather be dead. But I know if I run away from Death Gun and my past, I'll be even weaker than before! I will, I know it."

The Darkness Duo locked eyes and nodded in silent agreement.

"I get it," Kirito said slowly. "We both do, because Marth and I have killed people too."

Sinon looked up at the duo in shock. "What?"

"We mentioned it once about how we knew Death Gun," Kirito explained. "Marth and I fought him once when we were trapped in another game. I'm sure you heard of it. Sword Art Online."

The sniper let out a gasp. "Oh my god. I knew it."

Marth nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, Kirito and I are Survivors of SAO," he said grimly. "And so is Death Gun. Back then, he was a Red Player and part of murder guild called Laughing Coffin. They had to be stopped, so I personally investigated them to find their hideout. Once I did, the Assault Team formed a crusade group we could haul them off to prison. Kirito and I were a part of that crusade."

Kirito let out a deep breath as the memories flooded back into his mind. He grasped his right arm with his other hand and said, "They found out about our plans and they ambushed us. And in the middle of the chaos, I killed four members of Laughing Coffin, while Marth killed five. We just… cut them down. A few months after that, I ended up killing another Laughing Coffin member to protect Marth. And over time, we both managed to force ourselves to forget it ever happened. Till yesterday, when Marth and I ran into the guy calling himself 'Death Gun'."

"And you're both sure that he was a member of Laughing Coffin?" Sinon questioned. "Was he a part of that ambush?"

"Yeah, positive," Marth confirmed. "He was one of the members we sent to prison that day. That's why we have to settle this with Death Gun, no matter what, in this world."

Kirito then recalled clashing swords with Death Gun in Sword Art Online during the crusade. One of the things the Black Swordsman could remember clearly was that Death Gun wore a skull mask with red eyes.