A\N- ah everybody's favorite foolish templar is back "trust me I'm not that bloody vain y'all". Which means those oh so evil pm's a few people have sent can cease and desist it's hard to write and care for a pregnant ah scary wife as well as working haha. Sorry for the year or so of hiatus when I began this trek in June of '15 I do believe never would I have I expected the positivism and the chance to talk to a few of you wonderful people. But alas I will go into more depth at the bottom after all who wants to read a few boring paragraphs before they even get to the story. big shout out to my bud Dom for the awesome work on the new profile pic i'm gonna upload soon. my transition is going to be slow I have to immerse myself back into SAO so please forgive me if this chapter is slow or boring.

I do not own Sao

Chapter 13- Return

After rounding a series of icy corners and trudging through slush the Dicey Cafe stood before Kazuto & Asuna like a welcome beacon in a desolate wasteland. Kazuto was brimming with relief as he stood next to the heater and slowly regained the feeling in his hands.

" Hey Kaz if you stand to close to that thing you might melt along with that snow on your hair!" Klein sarcastically yelled from his bar stool on the far side of the cafe.
"Hey mate shut your bloody mouth the news is on and there's some pretty serious business going on" Mctavish said as he turned his attention back to the tv screen.
The tv went blank for a minute before showing a live feed of a stoic reporter standing in front of a prison.

" A few days ago a riot broke out here in this very prison claiming the lives of several inmates & guards, and wounding no more than twelve others. We also have reason to believe that a small group of inmates incited the riot then escaped in the confusion they are thought to be highly dangerous and armed take caution if you are out on the streets at night."

Andrew sighed as he muted the tv concern slightly reflecting in the corners of his eyes as he briefly met the gaze of each individual in the room before finally settling on the other adults all the while his mind was formulating a plan to keep the younger members of their beloved group safe on their treks back to their homes in total there were four Klein, their two American friends, as well as Andrew himsef, he then turned to the small group of teenagers who were still watching the tv before he turned his attention back to his fellow adults who he motioned to an empty table.

The other three adults followed him reflexively taking note of the way he kept twisting a towel in his hands. Once they were settled Andrew lightly cleared his throat before he spoke.

"We can't let them wander home alone with possible lunatics walking the streets looking for easy prey"

" We could leave as a group as a reassurance they make it home safely if anything does happen Duncan serverd as a Marine before the SAO incident and I was taught self defense course's all through out my childhood." Viv said as she smacked a cigarette out of her bewildered partners hand.

" Hey I don't go around smacking your bloody phone outta your hand or into your cup of coffee!" Mactavish said with feigned sadness in his voice as he watched the sodden cigarette swirl around in the remnants of his now cold coffee.

" Two things is that why you pull your blade out like you do in ALO and really why do i not record the look on your face whenever something happens to you?" Klein said as he suppressed his laughter.

Mctavish glared daggers at Klein but said nothing. Though Andrew still felt nervous about the situation the new info he had just heard as well as the lightened mood reassured him somewhat that they would all be ok.

In an abandoned office building two groups of shady men were in the middle of setting up make shift accommodations or setting up generators that they would use to power the rows of computers/Amuspheres or other essential electronic devices they would deem necessary to accomplish their goals. Above it all stood Sugou as he watched his plan come to life a sinister grin spreading across his face as he idly pocketed the jump drive that he had promptly named his trump card. Soon all the setbacks of the past few months would payoff leaving him the victor unbeknownst to those around him the actions of Kayaba would soon pale in comparison to his own nefariouness.

For the next few days Sugou's plans were met with a cautionary patience as his team of hacker's amassed funds or funneled small quantites into dummy accounts to throw off anyone who might be watching the flow of money into banks. Sugou once again stood above the activity staring blankly at the tablet in his hand as he replayed the events of the last week in his mind.

A lone guard idly walked through the parking garage of one of Rect's many research labs when his eye caught an unfamiliar black van parked in a corner at first he thought nothing of it as he strolled through the cool evening air counting down the minutes till he was relieved by his partner, but on his second pass through curiosity got the better of him as he strolled the few feet towards the van nearly jumping when one of the doors flew open and a slender man stepped from the vehicle. The guard stood in shock as the man flashed a maniacs grin before firing the taser he held in his hand Sugou's smile deepened as let out a low whistle to the three people still seated in the back of the van his attention briefly turning back to the incapacitated guard slumped on the ground as his team set about grabbing their gear.

Before setting out they bound and gagged the guard as well as grabbing his id/keycard they made their way to the guard station incapacitating the remaining guard before making their way into the building. The lobby was empty save for the strategically placed security cameras positioned near the elevator's. this of course was no problem to the four black clad men standing just out of the camera's range the man behind Sugou threw a small cylindrical device that would delete the next few minutes of footage before they crept closer to the elevators. Once inside the elevators Sugou pressed the third floor button moments later the doors opened up into an office area the group spread out hitting their designated targets. Sugou slowly stepped into his old office his eyes wandering until an old wooden figurine caught his attention the sadistic grin spread across his face pressing a hidden button concealed by a plaque at the base of the figurine opened a compartment with two jump drives almost identical to the one currently stored in the warehouse he was using as a forward operating base for his plans. careful as to not leave any traces that they were there after securing the tech they needed the four men melted into oblivion once again. An hour passed before the incapacitated guards were found and the alarm raised it took another to get the authorities on scene to investigate but it was written off as some random act of violence little did they know how wrong they were and how screwed their world would become by the coming morrow.

A/N- I'd just like to start by saying its a mixture of it being odd and exciting to finally get this chapter out to y'all in light of recent events like Gatlinburg TN catching on fire or other not so savory things going on in our day to day lives around the country, but alas it's good to be back I'd like to thank those of y'all who have patiently waited for me to publish another chapter, as well as those of y'all who are new to it as you might of figured out i'm very social and like to engage people when I write haha compared to my generally quiet demeanor in the world of the living. Above all else i'd just like to thank my wife who threatened my life if I didn't finish this chapter.