Death Gun prepares to pull the trigger on Sinon, and then Tails and Ray block him. When he's about to shoot them, a gunshot from somewhere else hits Death Gun.
Tails: Huh?
Death Gun runs behind a pillar and takes out his Silent Assassin sniper rifle and shoots it at whoever shot him. Then a smoke grenade blows up and Kirito picks up Sinon.
Sonic: Guys, we gotta go now!
Kirito: Hang on, Sinon.
Sinon: Kirito?
Tails: Ok!
They head for the rent a buggy house.
Sinon: Kirito, don't use the horse. It's fast but it's really hard to handle.
Kirito: Ok.
Kirito lays Sinon down on the bike and he rents it, and then drives away. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Mighty, and Ray run really fast.
Mighty: He's coming this way!
Sonic: I'll take care of him!
Sonic unleashes his spin attack at Death Gun's horse and it blows up as soon as he jumps off.
Kirito: Good job Sonic!
Sinon: How can they be so strong like this? Maybe they are just fighting for what they believe in. They are giving it all they got. They choose to fight with everything they have instead of making excuses to themselves. That's how they are strong.
Everybody arrives at the desert.
Tails: Hmm, where do we hide at?
Sinon: There's probably a cave over there. The satellite scan won't detect us.
Kirito: Ok, let's go.
They head over to the cave.
Kirito: Let's stay here for now and avoid the next scan.
Knuckles: I can't believe he just appeared right by you guys. Guess that cloak can make him invisible.
Tails: I wonder if that's how he avoided the satellite scan.
Sinon: I think so. That ability is called Metamaterial Optical Camo. I think we'll be fine over here. With all the course sand, we'll be able to hear his footsteps. So he won't be able to get the jump on us again.
Kirito: Then we'd better keep an ear out for them.
Tails: Hey guys, do you think that Death Gun died in that explosion?
Kirito: He didn't. I saw him jump off the robot horse before Sonic hit him. I don't think he got away unscathed but it shouldn't have been fatal.
Sinon: I see.
Sonic: Oh, and it turns out that Musketeer X isn't Death Gun. Turns out it's a girl.
Kirito: It seems like her name is read in English even though it's written in Japanese. After we beat her, we saw what happened and we quickly saved you three. I picked up Musketeer's rifle and smoke grenade and quickly shot Death Gun.
Mighty: So I guess that Sterben is Death Gun.
Ray: He's the only suspect left.
Sinon: If only I was more careful...
Knuckles: Hey, do you really have to keep going on about it?
Kirito: If I was taking your place, you would be the one to save me, right?
Sinon: I'm being consoled by my own rival. He knows that I've lost my strength and confidence, and he's cheering me up like a child.
Kirito: Well, we'll be off then. We'll leave you here with Mighty and Ray, just in case Death Gun shows up. Normally you would have to log out but you can't do that during the tournament.
Sinon: You guys are gonna take on Death Gun?
Sonic: To be honest I think I can beat him since I'm faster.
Kirito: Next time he points that gun at me, I'll have to run. We can't let you come with us, Sinon.
Sinon: Does he frighten you guys?
Sonic: Not me.
Tails: I can handle him.
Knuckles: I'm strong enough to take on even him.
Mighty: So am I.
Ray: Me too.
Kirito: Well, he actually does frighten me. The old me would probably have been able to fight with a staring death in the face. But right now, there are so many things that I have to protect. I can't die. I can't afford to.
Sonic: There are things we have to protect too. In the real and virtual world.
Sinon: Things to protect? Then why don't you guys stay here in this cave? It's impossible to log out normally in the tournament, so if there is one other player here, we could commit suicide and make that person the winner.
Mighty: That's one option, but we can't accept that. We still have to fight. I'm actually one that hates violence. I'm talking about real violence. If we leave the tournament, there's no telling how many players he will kill.
Sinon: I see. In that case, I'm going to fight too.
Kirito: You can't! If you get shot by him, you could really die.
Sinon: I don't care if I die. Back there, I was scared out of my mind. I was afraid of dying. I've become weaker than I was five years ago. So I'd rather die than continue living like that.
Kirito: Afraid of dying?
Sinon: I hate this. I'm sick of living in fear. So I'm alright on my own. I can fight by myself.
She stands up and starts walking away, but Kirito grabs her hand.
Kirito: So you're gonna fight and die alone?
Sinon: Yes. That's probably how it's been for me the whole time. Now let me go.
Sonic: It's not good to handle things on your own you know.
Kirito: When you die, part of you lives with those you've touched. You live within us too.
Sinon: I've never bonded with anyone like that before.
Kirito: But you're still part of us.
Sinon begins to cry.
Sinon: Then protect me for the rest of your lives! You guys don't know anything about me, so don't run your mouth like that! This is my fight, nobody elses! Even if I lose, nobody has the right to criticize me for it!
Tails: Sinon, calm down!
Sinon: These hands that I have, they are the hands of a murderer!
She continues to sob on Kirito, he tries to hug her but she slaps his hand away.
Sinon: Kirito, I hate you so much! I hate your guts so much! I'd rather have Sonic and his friends protect me than you!
A while later after Sinon stops crying.
Mighty: Are you feeling alright now?
Sinon: Yeah. So Kirito, I may hate you, but let me lay my head on you for a moment.
She lays her head on his lap.
Sonic: Sinon, what even happened to you?
Sinon: You guys are gonna be shocked when you hear this. I've killed someone before. Five years ago, someone tried to rob a post office in a small town in Tohoku. The news said that the robber died of accidental discharge of his gun. The truth is, I took the robbers gun from him, and I shot him to death. I was eleven at that time, and since then, every time I see a gun, I would panic so much. Seeing a gun would make me remember the face of the man I killed, and it's still frightening. But in this world, it's different for me. I thought that if I could become the strongest in this world, I'll become stronger in the real world too. I'll be able to leave that memory behind. But when Death Gun aimed that gun at me, the same gun I used to kill that man, I panicked so much and changed back to the real me. I am afraid of dying but to be honest, I'm just afraid of living in fear. If I keep running from both Death Gun and that memory without a fight, then I'll become weaker than I was before. So I...
Kirito: I understand how you feel. I've killed someone too.
Sinon: You do?
Kirito: As I said before, I know Death Gun from another game.
Sonic: I think I know him too. The game was Sword Art Online.
Sinon: Sword Art Online, the death game? That means you guys are...
Tails: We're survivors, and so is Death Gun. He was a red player in the murder guild, Laughing Coffin.
Sinon: What happened at that time?
Kirito: One day, a large party from the assault team was gathered to take them in and put them into custody. We were part of it.
Sonic: I remember that. When we were almost there, they ambushed us.
Mighty: That was because the plan was leaked, so they had the jump on us.
Knuckles: It was an awful battle.
Kirito: In that battle, I've killed two Laughing Coffin members with my sword. I forced myself to forget what I've done, until yesterday when I met Death Gun.
Sinon: So Death Gun was one of the players in Laughing Coffin you guys fought that one day?
Tails: There's no doubt he was one of the survivors in that battle that was sent to prison.
Kirito: That's why I have to settle the score with him here in this world.
Sonic: We gotta stop him before he kills more players.