Disclaimer: SAO and is subsequent characters are owned to their respected parties. PlainStoryTeller's fanfiction "A Second Chance" and its subsequent characters belong to him.
(Opening Theme is Endless Tears by Ayane)
0815 Hours – April 14th, 2024 – Aincrad 50th Floor – Vega's Weapon Laundering
Bellona's head was in a fog. Cracking open her eyes, her vision was blocked by a strange red blob in the way. The Cobalt Mercenary groaned as she started stretching out her arms, yawning along the way. A soft moan was heard at the end of her yawn, her body froze, hands balling into a fist. Searching for the sound's source, she heard the moan again. The woman rubbed her eyes, seeing it in front of her. It was Vega, still sleeping with her mouth slightly open.
Blinking and rubbing her eyes more, Bellona looked on again. It was still her. The hell happened last night?
Not up to figuring out, the half-Japanese woman threw her sides blanket's off before stepping on the carpet next to the bed. Lingering memories from the past had been invading her dreams, her talks. It was weird at first, slowly opening up to this woman, but still Bellona exercised caution. She leaned her elbows against her knees as she looked at the ground.
I've grown used to her company. She realized, lazily kicking up her foot. For a while, she could not figure out what was with this woman, perhaps it was her caring nature, maybe it was the food or the free-loading. But Bellona found her answer: it was because she felt safe and comfortable. Unlike the last year for just wandering around herself, watching out for sleeping player killers or making sure that nobody would be able to break into her room. The skills of a warrior and a hunter were all that she tracked, in combat and out of combat.
She knew that such things could not be trained in reality, so she did other bits of training without the System. Both skills learned and abilities amplified each other.
As Vega had stated before, 'No other skills that you put effort into'.
The Cobalt Mercenary sighed as she looked around the room. The first thing she saw was her equipment, all her armor and upgraded sword Selene resting right where they were when she woke up. Bellona slowly got up as she walked over to her equipment, making sure that the steps she took did not wake up Vega. Grabbing the pauldrons of her armor, Bellona felt the dust that sat on the top. An old hunger awakened in her chest as she rubbed the shoulder plate with her thumb. The armor, made several floors ago had served her well. The color had faded with time and usage, but the quality was still the same.
"You thinking about going back into the field?"
Bellona quickly turned as she lowered her body into a fighting stance, only to see Vega awake and laying on her side. The latter gave a brief nod.
"And what will happen after that? You are going to be hunted again."
"That's the path I've taken. I am… Used to it." Bellona replied with a hesitant voice. The redhead shopkeeper got out of bed as she stretched her arms out.
"Come'on, maybe we can talk about this over some breakfast?"
"I'd like that."
-.-.-
Manually spreading the butter on her toast, Bellona sat in silence as she took a bite. It was still relatively early in the morning and nothing has greatly happened in the past few days. Even Vega had the same problem. It was an endless cycle of work and sleep that they both lived in. The redhead quickly took her seat on the other side of the table with a bagel with blueberry spread. Or the Aincrad equivalent.
"You talk a lot in your sleep." Vega said, trying to start a conversation.
Bellona frowned as she asked, "What about?"
"Something that happened in December?"
"I thought I said not talking about pasts…"
Vega nodded but then said, "I know… But you were mumbling all about it in the night…"
"And?"
"You were talking about knights of the Divine Dragon Alliance… An item that would be able to revive someone. Even about the Buster Sword."
I've grown soft. Grumbled Bellona as she turned her head. "Feh, its general talk." As the black-haired woman shifted her eyes, she saw Vega looking very unconvinced with her answer. Her eyes fixed, Bellona frowned.
"You keep that up, and I might hit you." She grunted. Her partner made no attempt to deter her gaze.
"If you are going to, then do it." Fired back Vega.
As if by command, Bellona reached around the table and punched Vega on the face, knocking the redhead out of her chair.
"I… I can't believe that you would do that!" Vega yelled as she stood back up, infuriated.
"I told you… And you asked for it. Cause and effect." Bellona replied in her classic tone. Gripping her 'bruised' face, she walked over to Bellona returned the punch, knocking the woman back as she kept her face neutral.
A small smirk appeared on Bellona's face as she immediately got up and charged at Vega, locking each other's hands. "Heh. Getting bored in this little room tends to do stuff to a woman that enjoys the outdoors?"
"Oh, so that's what this is all about?!" The shopkeeper yelled as she tried pushing against her attacker, only for Bellona to push back harder.
"Maybe it is. Maybe it isn't." The two woman pressed their heads against one another as they gritted their teeth. Another grin appeared on Bellona's face as she suddenly let go of her right hand as Vega lurched forward. Bellona lowered her body as she grabbed her opponent's body and lifted up, carrying her.
"Told you." Bellona said with a smug tone.
Vega's face had a faint red glow as she looked back. "… Alright you won."
Bellona resisted the urge to simply drop the woman on the ground. Feeling her hands balling into fist she slowly let Vega back on the ground.
"Thank you."
Bellona shook her head and looked the other way. Both of them stood in silence as Bellona reached over her body, her lips in a fit.
"… Do you r-really want to k-know?" She asked, breaking the silence. Vega, surprised, nodded.
"Fine… It was the thirty fifth floor, in the Forest of Wandering…"
2355 Hours – December 25, 2023 – Aincrad 35th Floor – Forest of Wandering
As she continued walking, Bellona could see her breathe float away in white wisps. The sound of crunching snow echoed in the forest. A gazed look in her eyes, the eyes of a hunter, the lone woman continued to trek into the Forest of Wandering, following the snow tracks. With high levels in Sneaking and Listening, she moved like a shadow in the darkness.
Her mission was simple. Locate the area where the special boss, "Nicholas The Renegade" would spawn. Afterwards, payment. A clear and set duty as a mercenary. For the past month, Bellona had been given assassination and sneaking missions against secretly warring guilds, killing minor to rising names of the Aincrad community. Rumors had led to her reputation as a player-killer. Her player icon permanently orange, the Aincrad Liberation Force was constantly following after her as well as several other guilds believing that she would prove to be some type of deterrent if they paid for her services. She had even been contacted by several other 'Red Players' to join a new guild that was forming as soon as January came.
A woman with dead eyes. The girl with a large sword. Clad in dark blue armor, she became known as 'Buster Blader Bellona', or simply 'The Cobalt Mercenary'.
Not one to particularly care about such titles, Bellona shifting her mind back to the mission at hand. Hiding behind a tree as she saw a few players gathering. A few of them belonged to a guild, while two other stood arguing. Slanting her eyes, she crouched down and opened her menu.
"I have found where Nicholas The Renegade shall spawn. My work here is done." She whispered, closing her menu.
A few seconds passed as several Divine Dragon Alliance players started to spawn in, their blue flames appearing for a second as their avatars appeared. Growling, Bellona huffed as she started to walk away from the fight. Looking back at the combatants, she spotted out a woman with purple hair that looked vaguely familiar. Grunting, she continued to exit the forest.
At the edge of the forest, four blue flames erupted before Bellona. Stopping, she waited for the players to come in. As the flames disappeared, four members of the Divine Dragon Alliance appeared. The lead player was the one that had contacted her, a man named Kodiak.
"Payment." Bellona muttered as she lowered her head.
"Not yet. Now, you will fight with us." Kodiak said, "I had seen these players on the front lines and they are getting in the way of a massive treasure."
Bellona's nose twitched. "That was not part of the deal. You obey the terms to the contract."
"Then no payment. Simple as that." Kodiak shrugged as he took out a scroll. It was a signing contract that Bellona usually had when she took a job by a guild. The man tossed the scroll aside as one of his subordinates crunched it into a ball. The paper swiftly disintegrated into multi-colored polygons.
"Your higher ups will not be pleased." Bellona said as the four started to walk past her. Kodiak stopped right beside her.
"Please. You're a killer according to them. Can't be making deals to your kind. Am I right, gentlemen?" Kodiak's cronies nodded and laughed as Bellona turned her head over to him, her hand on the pommel of her sword.
"And what exactly is my kind?" She whispered. The lead Dragon Alliance member felt a chill run down his spine, not from the cold.
"The player icon above your head. Permanently orange, as the upper ups said right?"
Bellona suddenly grabbed the neck collar of her opponent and bashed him into the closest tree as the rest of his troops raised their weapons.
"Kodiak!"
The lead man struggled as he tried moving his arms only for Bellona pushed harder into the arms. A numb feeling jumped up his arm.
"The fu-… Let me go!"
"If I am permanently orange, then another death wouldn't be too much of an issue right?" Kodiak looked at Bellona's eyes. Reflected back were two dull black orbs. "I. Want. My. Payment."
The man continued to struggle as his companions watched. "The hell are you doing? Attack her already!"
The three soldiers all charged in, swords ready to swing as Bellona ducked underneath their swings, as their hits dug into their commander's body. Using her shoulders, she pushed them back and withdrew her own sword.
"Four players… That's all." Twisting her sword's hilt, its blade extended becoming her iconic 'Buster Sword'.
"Everyone, attack together!" yelled one of Kodiak's cronies as again all three of them charged in. Bellona gave a wide step and swung her massive blade in a single swipe, knocking all three of the soldier on to their backs. Turning back to Kodiak, still on the ground impaled him with her zweihander.
"Wa… What are you doing?! Stop that!" Kodiak begged as he struggled around. Pale red fragments leaked out of the wound as Bellona shoved the blade deeper.
"People like you… Still believing this place to be a game. It is not. This is not reality, and yet we are forced into it." The Cobalt Mercenary growled.
The other Divine Dragon Alliance members got up as they watched in horror, too scared to move closer.
"Please, please..!"
"You will die a peaceful death. As did everyone else in this world, where pain is something that can only be felt mentally." A murderous grin appeared as Kodiak's HP bar fell further.
"You aren't afraid to get hurt. You are simply afraid of your own life. In this world where numbers mean everything…"
Kodiak screamed as his avatar became blurry and scattered in an array of polygons. His remains of Col, armor and weapons laid scattered in the spot where he had died. Bellona shrugged as she quickly snagged up the Col and started to leave again.
"You… You just…" One of the soldiers stuttered out.
"And if you had attacked again, you would be too."
"You have just made yourself an enemy of the Divine Dragon Alliance!"
"… They are the least of my worries."
