Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or Sword Art Online.

Chapter 9: Into Darkness

Asuna ran as fast as her legs could carry her through a vast expanse of ankle-deep water. The water itself had an odd red tint to it, and all around her was endless darkness. Despite the darkness, Asuna knew that something was chasing her. She could hear whatever it was coming after her, and she had no weapons to defend herself. The only thing she had on was a white dress with a long skirt that she had to hold up in order to run through the water.

She looked back to see if she could figure out what was chasing her, then to her ultimate horror she saw what it was. It was a whole gang of monsters from MWO. All of them were of different kinds and from different floors. And there were far too many for her to count. Asuna could also see that it wasn't just monsters that were coming after her though. Mixed in with the horrid gang were player killers, mainly the ones from Laughing Coffin. Their black and brown hooded cloaks were a dead giveaway.

Asuna kept running hoping to find a way out of wherever she was. But all she saw ahead of her was more darkness. No matter how far or how fast she ran the darkness was endless. Suddenly Asuna tripped and fell to her knees. She tried to get up only to find Bakura standing in front of her. A wicked grin was on the white-haired player killer's face. Asuna was frozen in terror as Bakura's demon servant Diabound appeared behind him. She knew that there was no getting past the two of them, and gaining on her was the hoard of monsters and player killers.

Bakura then said something to Asuna, though she couldn't hear what it was. For some reason the sound of his voice didn't register. But she could tell that it was a single word, "die". The hoard that had been chasing her came ever closer, and at the same time Diabound raised the end of its tail. The cobra head on the end of the beast's tail then moved in to strike and deliver the killing blow.

Asuna shot up in bed and let out a scream. Cold sweat was dripping from her brow. As she caught her breath, reality began to sink in. It was merely another nightmare, certainly not the first one Asuna had in the game. She had been having nightmares almost every night since the game had started. Asuna had to admit though that this latest nightmare was by far the most vivid.

It seemed clear to Asuna that getting any more sleep that night was going to be an impossible task. She was far too on edge. Asuna glanced down and looked at her hand. She still had on the ring she had gotten in the Forest of the Dead earlier that evening. As she looked at the ring, an idea suddenly came to Asuna's head. If she wasn't going to be able to sleep, she decided that she would go out for a bit and release some tension.

After changing into her usual gear, Asuna headed out the door. She left the town she was in and ventured off towards a nearby forest. As she walked along the dirt path she suddenly heard a twig snap, causing her to reach for her sword. Appearing on her right were three humanoid wolf-like creatures. Each one of them had black fur and red eyes. They all wielded long swords and had on brown leather capes. Asuna had heard of the creatures before, they were called Pitch-Black Warwolves. Though she had never actually seen one before since they only came out at night.

The first of the three beasts charged at Asuna and slashed at her with its sword. Asuna sidestepped the attack and stabbed the creature in the chest, taking out a good chunk of its HP. The second of the wolves however came in and slashed Asuna across the back. Asuna took some damage but quickly recovered in time to turn around and deliver several swift blows to the second wolf's torso. The wolf shattered into polygons, leaving only two of the beasts left.

The third member of the wolf trio charged at Asuna, but Asuna easily took it out in seconds with several strikes to its chest. With the second of the wolves destroyed, Asuna quickly finished off the one that remained. The battle ended and Asuna suddenly felt an electrifying feeling rushing through her, causing her to drop to her knees. It was the same feeling she got when she defeated the Wraith King earlier that night, and it felt simply amazing. The feeling passed, and Asuna got back to her feet. But she found that she wanted to experience that feeling again. Asuna had no idea what the feeling was, but she found that it was addictive. The night was still young, so Asuna continued her path towards the woods.

From the throne room in the Ruby Palace, Bakura had seen Asuna's whole fight with the Warwolves. It was clear that the cursed game item he had arranged for her to get was working its power on her. And it was only just the beginning of her transformation.

"So, I take it the strange item you created is doing what you expected." Kayaba observed from his mirror.

"Yes, the ring has begun to make the nightmares that girl's been having far worse." Bakura revealed. "Now she's started to become addicted to the thrill of battle."

"And so you're hoping that will lead to her attacking other players." Kayaba assumed.

"Not quite." Bakura replied. "You're on the right track though. This transformation will take some time, but Asuna's voyage into darkness has already begun."

It was morning, and Asuna had gone to a small tavern to have breakfast. She was of course capable of cooking her own breakfast of course, but after spending much of the night in the forest slaying monsters she didn't quite have the energy for it. It had been a productive night though. Thanks to her new ring, her level had risen by ten. Asuna had decided to take a little break from battling for the day though.

As she had no duties to perform for the Knights of the Blood Oath at the moment, Asuna decided to see what she could do with the rare item she had obtained after defeating the Wraith King. It was an item called the Black Blood of Malice, and according to the description it was the blood of Wraith King and could be used as material to forge a weapon. Asuna's first thought was to take the item to Lisbeth to see if she could do anything with it, but she knew that Lisbeth had been quite busy lately making new weapons for the defense forces. So Asuna decided to try and find another blacksmith who might be able to help.

With her meal finished, Asuna began to ask some of the players in the tavern if they new of blacksmith shop she could try. Half of the players she talked to referred her to Lisbeth, and the rest didn't seem to know anything. With no one left to ask, Asuna decided to try talking to the NPC who ran the bar to see if he knew of a place. The bartender in question was an old bald man with a long grey beard. He was polishing the same glass for what was probably the fiftieth time that day as Asuna walked up to the bar.

"Excuse me." Asuna spoke, getting the bartender's attention. "I'm looking for a good blacksmith to maybe forge a new sword and was wondering if you knew of any."

"A blacksmith you say?" the bartender replied. "Well, there is one I know of, but he's kind of an odd duck. His place is really off the beaten path."

"Do you know where it is?" Asuna asked.

"It's in the middle of the Slumbering Woods down on the thirty-sixth floor." The bartender answered. "I warn you though, he's a bit strange. And the weapons he makes are said to be cursed."

"Well, I think I'll check him out anyway." Asuna decided. "Thanks."

With that, Asuna left the tavern and headed to the location the bartender told her about. Asuna felt a bit guilty for going to another blacksmith behind Lisbeth's back, especially one that was an NPC. She thought about perhaps waiting for Lisbeth to become a little less busy and taking the item to her then. But for some reason she was a bit anxious to get the Black Blood forged. Yet she couldn't explain why.

Before long Asuna had arrived at the Slumbering Woods. It was a small forest, yet the covering of the trees was so thick that they blocked out the sun. She found it odd that there would be a shop in the middle of such a remote location. After a few minutes of walking, Asuna came upon a clearing that had a small-dilapidated stone hut with a straw roof. Smoke rose up from a black pipe on top. As Asuna approached the structure, she saw a small wooden sign by the door that read, Blacksmith's. She had indeed come to the right place.

Asuna walked a few steps through the open door to find an old man sitting in the darkness. He was clothed in black and had strange pale skin. His eyes were oddly yellow and he had a long whiskery mustache. The old man held a long slender pipe in his lips.

"Uh, excuse me." Asuna spoke, getting the old man's attention.

"Ah! Welcome, welcome young lady." The old man greeted as he suddenly got up. "I am Garam, a humble blacksmith. What may I ask brings someone like you to my little shop?"

"Well, last night I got my hands on a very rare item." Asuna explained as she brought up her menu screen. "I was told you might be able to forge it into a weapon."

After selecting the item, a large jar full of a strange black liquid appeared in Asuna's hands. The old man's eyes seemed to light up upon seeing it.

"Ah, the Black Blood of Malice." The old man identified as he walked up. "That is indeed rare. I can definitely forge this for you. What sort of weapon did you have in mind?"

"Well, can you make it into a rapier?" Asuna asked.

"Of course, of course." Garam answered as he eagerly took the jar with spindly hands that had long yellow fingernails. "Though it will be somewhat expensive. About three thousand Col."

"Three thousand?" a stunned Asuna repeated.

"Quality has its price, my dear." Garam pointed out. "But I can assure you the sword I forge will be worth it."

"Well… okay." Asuna finally agreed. "How soon can you have it finished?"

"Come back here this same time tomorrow." Garam told her. "Your sword will be ready by then."

Bakura sat waiting on his throne at the headquarters of Laughing Coffin. He knew that Asuna had gone to get a new sword forged, so it was time to put the next phase of his plan into action. After what seemed like over half an hour, a young man in a brown hooded cloak walked into the cave and kneeled before him. Bakura knew this member of his murder guild as a player called Gasher. Gasher was not one of the stronger members of Laughing Coffin, but for the job Bakura had in mind he was the prefect candidate.

"How may I serve you, my master?" Gasher asked.

"You took your time getting here." Bakura told him.

"Forgive me, my lord. I was in the middle of trying to ambush a pair down on floor fifteen." Gasher explained.

"And why were you going after such small fry?" Bakura asked.

"Well, I…" Gasher nervously began.

"Never mind. I have a mission for you." Bakura informed him. "Tomorrow afternoon on floor thirty-six in the Slumbering Woods, a girl will be going to retrieve a rare item she's having made by an NPC blacksmith, a sword with impressive power. I want you to ambush her on her way back and take the sword."

"I will not let you down, master." Gasher assured him before quickly leaving the cave.

"Oh I know you won't, Gasher." Bakura quietly spoke. "I'm sure you'll play your roll as cannon fodder perfectly."

Asuna traveled once more through the Slumbering Woods towards Garam's shop. She was quite tired due a lack of sleep. Last night she had the same nightmare as before, and it was just as vivid as the last time. So once again she had gone out to the woods to do some monster slaying for much of the night. The battles had given Asuna quite the rush. She wondered perhaps if it had something to do with the ring. One thing she knew for sure though was that thanks to the ring her level had climbed even higher than before.

At last Asuna had reached the shop. Upon entering, Garam immediately got up from his normal sitting place and put down his pipe.

"You're right on time." Garam told Asuna as he went over to a dark corner of the hut. "I only finished your new sword just moments ago."

With that, the old man handed Asuna a black sword and sheath. It was a rapier that looked very much like the sword Lisbeth had forged for her, Lambent Light. The one major difference besides the color was that the gem in the crossguard looked like a demonic red eye with a slit pupil.

"So this is it, huh?" Asuna asked.

"I call it Blood Shadow, the Sword of Cold Flame." Garam answered. "Its enchanted blade produces fire colder than the bitterest winter. Any enemy pierced by this sword will be left paralyzed by its flames for at least ten minutes. More than enough time to deliver the killing blow."

"Wasn't expecting a sword like that." Asuna told him as she examined the weapon. "But it looks pretty good. Thanks."

"Come again." Garam replied as Asuna left the shop.

On her way out of the woods, Asuna packed away Lambent Light into her inventory and made Blood Shadow her main weapon. About halfway out of the forest, Asuna heard a noise that made her stop and reach for her sword. Suddenly Gasher swung down from the branch of a tree and kicked her in the chest with both feet. Asuna was knocked to the ground and Gasher jumped down to stand over her.

"Well, you're a pretty little thing." Gasher spoke with an insane grin as he pulled out a dagger. "Taking the sword that Lord Bakura wanted should be no problem. But I think I'm going to take my time and have a little fun first."

Thinking quickly, Asuna swung her left leg into Gasher's, knocking the fiend off balance. She then rolled out from under him and got back to her feet just as he got back to his. As Asuna drew her new sword, the blade flashed briefly with ice blue flames.

"I like a girl with spunk." Gasher responded. "Come on, show me what you've got!"

Asuna charged in and struck Gasher several times in the chest with her blade, which lit with flames as it pierced him. Gasher's HP went into the red and his skin turned deathly pale. He dropped his dagger and suddenly collapsed to the ground on his back.

"Wh-what's happening?" a frightened Gasher asked. "Why can't I move?"

"Looks like this sword really does paralyze whoever it's used on." Asuna coldly observed as she sheathed her blade. "Don't worry. It'll only last for about ten minutes."

"Aren't you at least going to take me out of here?" Gasher asked as Asuna walked away. "I mean I'm a sitting duck like this!"

"You just tried to kill me and you're asking me for mercy?" Asuna responded, not once stopping or turning back. "The way I see it, you pretty much deserve what you get. These woods do have a low monster encounter rating though, so unless you're really unlucky nothing will happen. But you're not my problem."

Asuna continued out of the woods. As she reached the edge of the trees, she heard a growling noise behind her followed by a scream that sounded like Gasher's voice. Asuna had a pretty good idea what happened, but she found she didn't care all that much. Gasher deserved whatever he got. Punishment for all the other players he hurt or killed. The only thing Asuna really cared about at that moment was getting out of the game alive, and she was going to do whatever it took to do that.

Author's Note: In the beginning when I started watching the SAO anime, I didn't really like Asuna that much. But I understood the attitude she took towards trying to clear the game. And for this crossover I thought it'd be fun to do something that would cause her to take that attitude to the extreme. Thus we have this little storyline.

Please review and let me know what you think.