The Tri-Blade Alliance

by Arctic01

Trapped. Like mice in a maze. The walls are closing in, and the only way out is to beat the game. To go it alone would be suicide. We need all the manpower we can get, and then some. Screw the reward. We'll break out of here. And we'll win. With the strongest players and guilds and...him, we can and will beat this game and escape with as little casualties as possible.

10. Chapter 10: Happy New Year

The Tri-Blade Alliance

Chapter 10: Happy New Year

S/N: Happy New Year, everyone! It looks like we've reached a milestone of 10 chapters! Of course, we plan on keeping this story going for a while, so strap yourselves in. New Year, new moments! Plus, this chapter is PRIMARILY filler.

-SolarEnergy07

PS: A/N: Arctic's Note

S/N: Solar's Note

(x)

It's New Year's Eve, and everyone is both pumped and depressed; on one hand, it's the New Year; on the other hand, it's another year that we'll be trapped in SAO. That doesn't bother me. I may be overly optimistic, but I genuinely believe that we can do this, that we can- and will- get out of this damned game before another year passes. Maybe things will be different now that I'm officially leading the Tri-Blade Alliance. Who knows?

Kirito told us about his and Shadow's little Christmas expedition. Bit depressing, honestly. But to try to lighten the depressed mood as of late, the front line guilds, primarily The Tri-Blade Alliance, will be hosting a New Year's Party, and everyone is invited. Of course, they don't have to come; it's just a courtesy.

Can't wait to see how well/badly this party turns out to be.

(x)

"There you are!" Shadow looked down from his favorite branch in annoyance, but immediately lost that look when he saw who was calling to him. "I've been looking all over for you! Come down here! I want to talk."

Shadow jumped down and landed on one knee, then stood up to face one of the Tri-Blade's elites. "What do you want, Skye?"

Skye smiled secretively, then handed Shadow something from behind her back. Never one to turn down gifts from people who didn't annoy him (the Tri-Bladers, Asuna, and Kirito falling into that category), he took the envelope, and opened it. He read aloud, as they were the only two there, "'Congratulations! You have been cordially invited to come to the New Year's Party, courtesy of Skye.'" Her name was on the underlined section."'The party will be from 8:00 PM to 3:00 AM, in light of the New Year. The party will be at The Tri-Blade Alliance's new guild house on Floor 52. The food will be homemade by: Akira (TBA), Asuna (KOB) and'" his eyes lit up barely noticeably when he read the last name, '"Skye (TBA).'" He was silent for a moment. "Fine, I'll be there." This time, Skye's eyes lit up, much more noticeably than Shadow's had.

Skye turned to leave, paused for a moment, the turned back and gave Shadow a basket she brought out from her inventory. "For you." Shadow, knowing exactly what was in it, took it without a word; nodded his gratitude, then jumped back up to his favorite, round-the-clock shaded branch.

Skye, having accomplished her mission, walked away, smiling as if she had accomplished something huge. Which she did.

(x)

"Kirito!" The Black Swordsman turned around when he heard his name called. He relaxed when he saw Solar waving a hand and walking up to him. "How ya doing?"

"Nothing new." Kirito gave Solar a brofist, and crossed his arms. He didn't mean anything by it; it was just cold and he was trying to keep himself warm. "What's up?"

"You know how the front line guilds are hosting a party today right?" Kirito nodded. "I wanted to give this to you." Solar handed Kirito an envelope; which he took, opened, and skimmed it.

"Sounds good. I'll be there. After all," Kirito smiled, "anything for a friend."

Solar smiled back and held his hand out. "You know where to go, right?"

"I have been there before, you know. Remember that housewarming gift I gave you?"

Solar smiled. "That was a very thoughtful gift." Kirito had given the guild, more specifically Solar and Skye, a replica of Arctic's sword. As of now, it was safe inside a display case in the lobby of the new building.

"8:00, right?"

"Yup. Remember; SOCIALIZE. You need more friends."

Kirito rolled his eyes. "I'm getting along just fine, thank you very much."

"Sure you are." At that, Solar turned around and waved behind his shoulder to Kirito. "Don't be late."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Kirito called to his friend's disappearing back.

(x)

7:59 PM

"It's almost time, everyone!" Akira shouted at the decorators, who were still putting the finishing touches on the place.

"We're almost done, ma'am!" One of the workers called out.

"Just…this…one…AAAAND done!" Her partner called out. Once they finished, he wiped his forehead with his sleeve.

"Good job you two." Akira told the workers. "Now go to your rooms and get dressed. It's time." At that moment, the clock struck 8 PM.

The decorators bowed in respect, then rushed to their rooms on the second floor. As Akira saw then go up the stairs, she heard a voice behind her. "That was perfect timing, you know." Smiling widely, Akira turned around and was face to face with Solar. After a quick kiss, Solar asked Akira, "You have the gifts, right?"

Akira nodded, turned around and brought out two gifts from under the table. One was labeled 'Shadow', and the other was labeled 'Kirito'. Both were wrapped in black gift wrap.

A knock on the door was heard, and as Solar went to answer the door, Akira hid the gifts again. She heard Solar talking, but couldn't quite make out what he was saying. When he walked in the room, she saw that Kirito was behind him. Kirito was wearing his coat, which had yellow af the shoulders, along with blue on the yellow, and stars on the blue.

"Hi, Kirito," Akira said cheerfully, and gave the Black Swordsman a quick hug. After the hug was over, she turned and brought out Kirito's gift. When he gave her a questioning look, she winked and said, "A late Christmas present."

Kirito opened it, and saw a coat. Not just any coat; this coat was all black, with white outlines, and a popped-up collar. Kirito came to a sudden realization. "Is this my old coat?"

Akira nodded. "I upgraded it. Now, despite it being a coat, it has a lot of defense, one of the best in the game. The armor is actually in the coat, so it looks and weighs the same, but it's different in terms of defense."

Kirito smiled and put the coat away in his inventory. "I don't want to wear this right now; I'll wear when this coat gets too old."

Akira smiled in understanding. She motioned to the ballroom. "Make yourself comfortable." Kirito nodded and went to wait in the ballroom.

There was knocking on the door again, and Solar went to answer it yet again. When he opened the door, he saw someone…unexpected. "Shadow?"

Shadow stood at the door, wearing his usual attire, his hands in his coat pockets. "Skye invited me."

"Come in." Shadow stepped in, and immediately felt the warmth in the building. It was great after being out in the cold.

"Is that Shadow!?" A familiar voice called out from a different room.

"Yeah!" Solar called back.

Skye stepped out from the room where the voice came from, and smiled at Shadow, who responded with a nod. "Come with me. We have something for you."

As the three entered the lobby, one thing caught Shadow's attention. "What's that?"

Solar looked at Shadow's finger and saw that it went to the replica of Arctic's sword. "Oh, that? That's just a gift that Kirito gave us, so we don't forget our old friend. He was the leader before me, you know."

"..." Shadow had no words to say, so Solar assumed that he went back to his usual apathetic self.

Solar stopped in front of the table, and pulled out the gift. He handed it to Shadow who took it without saying a word. He opened the gift and pulled out a set of throwing knives. He looked at Solar curiously, who responded with, "That is a set of custom throwing knives. They were simple to make, but the hard part is getting the design. You can take a look at the flavor text if you want." Shadow did so. He first examined one of the knives and nodded in approval of its design. It was all black, with one side serrated and a skull design on the pommel. He looked at the rest and saw that they were the same.

"I'll look at it later," Shadow said. He put the knives away and peered into the box. He knew there was more; the box was still heavy. "What's this?" Shadow asked as he pulled out two oversized serrated Bowie knives.

"I made those," Skye said while smiling. Like the throwing knives, these knives were serrated, but their blades were a sleek and polished silver, and the handles were jet-black, along with finger-grips for easier handling. "The reason why it's so shiny is because it's coated with paralysis poison." Shadow raised an eyebrow. "It took a LONG time to get that detail in. But I think you'll like it."

"Pretty sure I will. Thanks." Shadow put those knives away. "Now, where do I go?"

"Follow me," Skye said as she lead the mercenary to the ballroom.

Solar and Akira stayed behind at the door to greet the others who came in. First was Klein and his guild, then the Knights of the Blood Oath, then Wyvern's Inferno, and many others, including some familiar faces, like Agil, who closed his shop to get to the party. Once the majority of the guests arrived, Solar and Akira appointed two Tri-Blade members to take their spots, and Akira went to the kitchen to help with the cooking. Solar went to the ballroom to address the crowd.

Solar cleared his throat, and got everyone's attention. "Hello everyone. Thanks for coming. We will have the dance floor open shortly, and the food will be out soon. Now, the last thing I have to say before we start this party is, well, have fun!" Everyone cheered, except Shadow.

(x)

Pretty soon, everyone was either chatting with people they knew, or dancing on the open dance floor. Of course, there were some loners that decided to stay away from the party, but that was their choice.

Shadow was leaning on a wall with his eyes closed. He felt someone else's presence and opened one eye. Sure enough, he was being approached by yet another loner. "Kirito. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Kirito shrugged. "It's no fun hanging out at a party alone. Besides, I'm sure there are some stories we can tell each other."

This time, Shadow shrugged, as if to imply 'why the hell not.' "I'll go first. I suppose you've heard of my most recent escapade with Eros, correct?"

Kirito nodded. "Yep. My turn. You remember when we took down Not-So-Jolly Nicholas the Renegade?"

"Yep."

"..."

"..."

"...I'm gonna go find Solar and talk to him now."

"See ya later." Shadow stood up straight and went off to a different place. Kirito, meanwhile went to find Solar.

Sure enough, he found Solar chatting with Akira. He approached the couple. "Hey, guys."

Both players turned to look at Kirito. Solar smiled widely. "Kirito! Having fun?"

"Yeah. This party is amazing."

"Well, just stay tuned!" Akira said with a wink. "I got word from the chefs that the food is almost out."

Solar chuckled. "I just remembered why I love you." This prompted a laugh from Kirito, and a smirk from Akira.

"I have to go to the kitchen. Bye!" Akira left after kissing Solar.

"She's amazing, isn't she?" Solar talked to Kirito while dreamily watching her walk away.

"I'm not going to answer out of fear for my life."

"You best."

"...Anyway, I read in the news that you became the leader of one of the strongest guilds in the game. Congrats bro."

Solar smiled. "Thanks, Ki." Solar got an alert for a message and opened up his inbox. After closing it, he addressed Kirito again. "I have to go. And by the way, if there are any problems, send me a message and I'll be there."

Kirito nodded, and turned back to the party. He looked back over his shoulder to see Solar go down the hall and up the stairs, most likely to deal with an executive issue.

Kirito sighed and looked back to the party. He saw Pearce chatting with Cupid, who was laughing at a joke Pearce made. He looked around and saw that blacksmith that Asuna and the Tri-Bladers were so fond of talking with Eros, who was dressed in her performing outfit. He even heard shouting from the kitchen, and smiled at that. Nothing wrong here, the Black Swordsman thought to himself. He felt a presence behind him, and turned to see someone…unexpected, to say the least. "Shadow?"

The mercenary nodded in affirmation, and motioned for Kirito to follow him. Cautiously, Kirito did so, walking through the hall. He stopped when Shadow did, right at the base of the steps. Shadow looked left and right, and, upon seeing no one follow them, he walked up the stairs, with Kirito following closely behind. While the two were walking, Kirito noticed something off about the mercenary. His gloves are full-fingered. Doesn't Shadow have fingerless gloves? And when did Shadow stand that hunched over? Last I checked, he stood up straight. What's going on? His thoughts were interrupted when "Shadow" stopped in front of a door, and motioned for Kirito to go inside.

After doing so, Kirito heard the door close. Once it did, he turned around. "What's going o―?" Kirito never got the chance to finish his question as he was stabbed by the imposter.

(x)

Shadow leaned against the wall, and was relaxing. Thankfully, no one bothered him too much, and he was just waiting for the food to come out. If cooking is really easy in SAO, then why is it taking so damn long? He opened one eye to see one of the chefs, and his personal favorite Tri-Blader, walk up to him. "Hey, Skye. What's taking so long? Trouble in the kitchen?"

Skye shook her head, smiling. "Don't worry about it. Food should be out soon. We just had to make a lot of it."

"I'll take the leftovers if you don't want them."

"Tempting."

"So," Shadow turned around so he faced her fully, "what's up? You wanted to chat?"

Skye nodded. "Something came to mind when I thought of you." Shadow raised an eyebrow. "Oh relax. It's just a memory of an old friend."

"Am I right in assuming that it's one of Arctic?" Skye nodded. "You can talk to me; I won't mind."

Skye let out a sigh, and Shadow noticed that she looked sad. "It was early into the game. The second month or so."

(x)

Skye had just killed a mob. She raised an eye to her level bar, and smiled widely when she leveled up. Level 45. Being a beta tester sure had its perks. She laid down and relaxed with her hood down. She looked at her new coat, and smiled at its beauty. Her rest was soon interrupted when she heard a sound from the trees behind her. She stood up quickly with her sword in hand. She was unsurprised when she saw about seven players step out from the bushes. She knew what they were here for. She looked back. She silently cursed herself for picking a cliff of all places to kill mobs. Looking back towards the approaching group, she got ready for a fight. It started when one of the players drew a knife and expertly threw it at her. Skye grabbed it and chucked it back, causing the attacking player to duck and dodge the knife, but not the incoming sword slash. The next two tried to assault her at the same time, but they couldn't see it through and were knocked back with a horizontal swipe. Unfortunately, the apparent leader of the group blindsided her, and sent her near the edge of the cliff. She was getting up when she heard the leader speak. "You made a big mistake coming up here alone."

Skye smirked as she got up fully and wiped away the virtual blood from her mouth. "Who said I was alone?" The player killers were trying to figure what she meant, until the two in the back were dragged into the trees, and out jumped Skye's best friends.

"How did you know we were there?" Arctic asked as the PKers were still in shock over their friends being taken out so easily.

"Seriously, how good is your detection?" Solar asked as he slashed a nearby PKer.

Joining the fight once more, Skye told her brethren, "It's high up there."

The trio were holding their own quite nicely, to the point where there were only three of the PKers still standing. They each took one of the players, and Arctic had taken his out in no time at all. He looked and saw Solar knock his out in barely in a second, and Skye followed suit. Arctic smiled and said, "That was easy." Unfortunately, that arrogance was short lived. He didn't notice the eighth player until it was too late. He ran out of his hiding spot and shoulder-checked Skye off of the cliff, and smiled as he heard her screams all the way down.

"SKYE!" Both Arctic and Solar shouted as they saw her go over the edge. Both ran to the cliff, and Arctic took out a knife with a rope tied to the end that he had for this type of situation. Wasting no time, he planted the knife into the ground and, with the rope still in his hand, he performed a Leap of Faith over the cliff. Meanwhile, Solar, enraged that this bastard was attempting to kill his friend, drew his sword and engaged the player in a one-sided sword fight, which he swiftly ended with a slice to the player's neck, and the player's head falling off as he shattered. He went back to the edge and anxiously awaited a signal, ANY signal, that indicated that his friends were okay.

Meanwhile, Arctic was falling at a faster pace than Skye, so he could catch up to her. Just a little more, he thought to himself. He was nearly there, and, when he finally reached her. Wasting no time, he grabbed her by the waist at the same time she wrapped her arms around his neck. He looked down and drew in a sharp breath. He could tell that they were only a couple meters away from the registered height to die. The rope in his hand shook, and the knife loosened a bit. They fell a couple more feet, but that was it. They remained hanging for a couple of seconds as Arctic allowed Skye to cry her tears into his shoulder, as he whispered comforting words to her.

Eventually, when Skye stopped crying and pulled her head from his shoulder to nod at him, he pulled on the rope. Solar, noticing the rope on the knife tug slightly, took the hint and pulled the knife out. Still holding it, he yanked the rope up with all the strength he could muster. He saw his friends fly through the air before they hit the ground first, Arctic using his body to absorb the shock wave in Skye's place.

Solar was immensely relieved to see the two all right. When he focused his eyes on them…

"Oh, God!" he said. "Get a room, you two!" His reason for this exclamation was because after absorbing the impact, the two rolled forward a bit, and Arctic ended up on top of Skye.

The two blushed furiously, and Arctic got off of Skye, and Arctic helped Skye back up to her feet. He was caught off guard when Skye hugged him. Skye sighed in content. "My hero," she whispered to Arctic. He hugged her back.

"Hey!" Both players turned to see Solar with a smile on his face. "I helped too, ya know!"

Skye rolled her eyes, and motioned for the other player to join the hug. The hug became a group a hug, and all three had begun laughing despite what just happened. "I love you guys," Skye said to her friends.

"We love you too, don't worry," Arctic responded back.

"Let's go, guys." Upon Solar's suggestion, the three began to walk back, with the boys on either side of Skye.

"I have an idea!" Skye said, prompting the others to look at her. She smiled. "Let's start a guild."

(x)

"And that's what happened. How it all began."

Shadow was silent. "And you're telling me this why?"

Skye shrugged. "I needed to tell someone. Solar already knows, but you didn't, so that made you the perfect candidate." Skye looked away, tears forming in her eyes. "I'm sorry. I just miss him so much. Me and Solar both, you know."

Shadow was unsure how to comfort her, so he simply put his hand on her shoulder, and told her, "I'm sure things will get better."

Skye smiled. "Thanks." She received a message and, after viewing it, told the mercenary, "I have to go."

Shadow nodded in understanding. As he watched her leave, he heard a sound from upstairs, despite the music being on full blast. He went to investigate the sound, and ran to one of the rooms on the second floor. He pressed his ear to the door, and heard faint noises. Shadow knocked on the door, got no answer, then burst through it. What he saw shocked him to his very core.

(x)

Asuna had just finished the last of the cooking. She wiped the nonexistent sweat from her brow, and smiled while looking down at the now finished food. She was about to call to her fellow chefs that she finished when she heard a sound coming from above her. It sounded like a door smashing open. Concerned, she reequipped her armor, and dashed up the stairs. The room was open, and what she saw made her speechless.

She saw the mercenary, Shadow holding a sword above the head of a motionless Kirito. Hearing Asuna run to the doorway, Shadow looked towards her, and disappeared, leaving no trace. Asuna wasted no time in rushing to Kirito's side and using a healing crystal on him. Although he was fully healed, Kirito was still unconscious. Asuna growled to herself as she looked to where Shadow stood before he disappeared. "You'll pay for this, you bastard!" She didn't care for him; she was concerned because Kirito is a top fighter on the front lines, nothing more.

(x)

"Where are you?" Shadow asked silently, still pissed at what happened to Kirito. If said swordsman wanted Shadow to start helping people, then he may as well start with Kirito. He had been tracking the player who had last used the carbon-copy of his weapon. His tracks led to Floor 50. Shadow's eyes widened as he realized what was on Floor 50. He ran to Agil's shop, and was glad to see the imposter waiting at the door.

Fake Shadow looked towards Shadow, then sprinted off into the forest. "If that's where you want your grave to lie, buddy." With that, Shadow dashed through the empty streets to chase the imposter. When he finally caught up, they were in the middle of the forest. A perfect place for a fight to go down. Stopping behind the faker, Shadow drew his sword and pointed it at the imposter. "Why did you do it? Why did you nearly kill Kirito?!"

Fake Shadow started chuckling. He then turned around and mirrored Shadow's pose. "Laughing Coffin really wants you dead. But not before you're destroyed." He equipped another sword, one that looked exactly like the one he was going to kill Kirito with, and charged at Shadow. Shadow stood his ground and parried the blow. He immediately backflipped away from the oncoming spinning back kick. Whoever this guy was, he was good. Almost like he'd been trained to be him in every way possible. Let's see if he's ready for this! Shadow teleported everywhere around the impostor, who merely stood with his blade at his side. He seemed unfazed by all the blows Shadow landed. High defense. What happened next, Shadow neither knew nor comprehended.

Fake Shadow turned and sliced his blade upwards, nearly hitting Shadow in the exact spot he was going to teleport. Shadow dodged backwards, avoiding the hit. However, he underestimated the blade's reach, and his face was slashed.

Shadow fell to his knees, reeling from the blow. He was fine; in fact his HP didn't even go down. But something still felt...off. He felt around his face. And with a sudden jolt of shock, looked down.

His mask lay on the ground, cut clean in half. His. Mask. It was steel! How did he cut through?

Shadow could only watch as the pieces of his mask shattered.

"Son of a bitch…" Shadow clenched his teeth and fists.

"Awww," the faker said mockingly. "Did you break something?"

"Yeah," Shadow said, standing up straight and opening his inventory. He chose a clothing item and a black scarf appeared wrapped around his neck, in a fashion similar to Captain Falcon's. He pulled the lower part up to cover his mouth and nose, and the aforementioned part had the design of the lower half of a skull. "Your armor," he finished, picking up his blade and prepared to engage in combat with F. Shadow once more.

(x)

"Solar!" The leader of the Tri-Blade Alliance looked back over his shoulder to see a worried Asuna run up to him. She stopped in front of him, and leaned forward with her hands on her knees as she began to catch her breath. Once she recovered, she looked back up to the swordsman, and worriedly told him, "Come with me! Something happened!"

The two began running side-by-side, with Solar knowing better than to ask questions. If it got Asuna this worried, then it had to be something major. Sure enough, it was as the two stopped in front of the open room, where faint groaning could be heard. The two rushed in, and saw Kirito struggling to get up. Running to his friend's side, Solar looked back to Asuna and told her, "Tell. Me. Everything." Asuna told Solar everything. That she had seen, at least.

Solar, who apparently had on a pair of 2024 shades at the time, lowered them to his nose with a facial expression, and a phrase, that said, "Mother of God." Tossing the shades aside and letting them shatter, Solar looked back to Kirito and asked him, "Do you want me to cancel the party, Edgy the Edgelord? See if I can get you some more help?"

Groaning loudly at Solar's nickname for him, Kirito shook his head no, and managed to say, "Don't… EVER… call me… that… again."

You're right, that's more of a Shadow nickname, but then he'll have my ass, Solar thought to himself. "Asuna, go back down, and don't tell ANYONE about what happened here. We'll leave that for tomorrow." Asuna nodded in understanding. After she left, Solar looked down at Kirito and told him, "Go home, buddy. You're drunk."

Kirito responded with a very colorful gesture and pulled Solar close. Kirito was trying to say something, and Solar was listening intently. "It…wasn't…Shadow…" Looking at Kirito's health bar, Solar saw a red paralysis sign next to his name.

Red Paralysis? Solar took out a couple of paralysis potions, and held one to Kirito's mouth. Kirito drank it, and the paralysis went to Yellow. Another potion, and the paralysis was gone. Kirito was able to speak fully.

"It wasn't Shadow. It was an imposter. Shadow actually saved me from certain death. Asuna thinks it was Shadow because of his inconvenient timing. There's no talking her out of it; once this party is over, she's going to see her leader about putting out a manhunt for Shadow. Apparently, I'm valuable."

"How were you so severely paralyzed?"

"The faker had a knife that instilled large amounts of paralysis poison into whoever's skin it meets. I couldn't talk at all, until Asuna gave me a healing crystal."

"I see." After helping Kirito up to his feet, Solar asked him, "Do you want to go back to your home? Or are you going to stay for the countdown?"

Kirito smiled. "Of course I'm going to stay." Solar nodded and turned away, when he felt Kirito's hand grab his arm. Solar looked back with an eyebrow raised, and Kirito told him, "I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone about what happened tonight. I don't want his image to be more tarnished than it already is." Solar nodded, and left back to join the party with Kirito.

(x)

When the two got back, the party was still in full swing, only there were more people on the dance floor, and countless more listening contently to Eros' singing. After her song was over, Solar jumped onto the stage, and Eros jumped off. Addressing the crowd, Solar asked loudly, "IS EVERYBODY HAVING FUN?!" He was met with cheers. "OKAY GUYS, THE FOOD IS FINALLY OUT! HELP YOURSELVES!" At this, there was even more cheering, and everyone began crowding around the food table. The chefs had sure prepared a lot. There was enough to feed the partygoers at least three times over. Looking into the crowd of players who were waiting for the rush to die down for the two he was looking for, he spotted them, and jumped down to get to them.

Once he reached them, Solar started with, "Jesus, you guys prepared a lot of food."

Skye and Akira both laughed, and Akira wrapped her arms around Solar's arm. "Well, I don't know about you, sweetie, but I am ready to party."

"I'll meet you on the dance floor in a minute, sweetie." Nodding, Akira gave Solar a quick peck on the cheek, and ran to join the dance floor. Solar looked towards Skye, and told her, "Shadow had to leave early. There was some business he had to take care of. He told me he'd be back, though." Skye breathed a sigh of relief, and went to sit down at a nearby table. Solar, true to his word, walked into the dance floor, and, after seeing his girlfriend getting her groove on, he did the same. Everyone who saw kept telling him that he could dance like a pro.

(x)

"Why did Laughing Coffin send you?!" Shadow asked as he punched the imposter. After breaking his armor and cutting off the imposter's legs, Shadow stabbed his knives into the insides of the elbows of the imposter. Now, Shadow was interrogating the imposter, and so far, it wasn't going anywhere.

F. Shadow grunted as he got hit. He wasn't going to give anything up. He glanced at his health bar. They weren't in an official duel, nor were they in a safe zone. F. Shadow could very well die here. If he was going to, he wasn't going to give anything up to this guy. "I said I'm not telling you jack shit!" This cheek earned him another punch to the cheek.

"I can do this all night, you know." The imposter knew this was true. "So I suggest that you tell me all that I need so your death won't be in vain. For me, at least."

"How many times do I have to tell you? Not. Saying. SHIT."

Shadow remained silent, then pulled out his special crystal. He activated it, seeing that the interrogation wasn't going anywhere, and teleported away. However, he brought along an unintentional visitor.

(x)

"You weren't meant to see that," Shadow simply stated as they teleported back to where they were, with F. Shadow being in the same spot he was in before. The imposter was just shaken, and had a broken look in his eyes.

"I'll tell you everything…Oh God, just don't take me back there…please."

"...Thanks. Now," Shadow sat down on a nearby rock, "start talking. I'll tell you when to stop."

F. Shadow told Shadow everything. That LC wanted to destroy Shadow because he was giving the passive players of Sword Art Online a ton of hope. That they wanted to destroy his image and make him hated, and want to die. That they went after those that could be considered his friends because they were the people he was most associated with, starting with Kirito and eventually make their way up to Solar and Skye. That they wanted him to suffer greatly before he died.

"Damn them," Shadow cursed Laughing Coffin. "Do they really hate me that much?"

"That and beyond…please, just let me die…"

"My pleasure." Shadow picked up the imposter's bone-white carbon copy of his blade, and stabbed it into the chest area of the faker. The serrated edges allowed for continuous bleeding, and the faker had nearly died by the time Shadow had left the vicinity.

(x)

"Whoah, man, check this out!"

The other kid went to see what his friend was talking about, and gasped when they saw a sword. "No way! Who used this thing last time?"

"..."

"Dude?"

"You won't believe this. Freaking Shadow used this sword last time!"

"Hell yeah! Let's keep it!"

"Maybe we can have some fun with it…"

(x)

"10!"

"9!"

"8!"

Skye was getting worried by this point. Solar had promised that Shadow would be back, and so far, said mercenary was a no-show. She even saved him a plate of food, damn it! Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard someone ask, "Is this seat taken?" Skye was about to snap at the poor soul, then relaxed at seeing that it was the person she was waiting for. He sat down, and took the food gratefully.

"4!"

"3!"

"2!"

"1!"

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

Read and Review!