Hyperdimension Standard Time: [12:00] November 15th 20XX

Location: [Lastation]

After two gruelling months passed, we've finally made it back to Lastation's capital since we've had to walk the entire way since the fast-travel network was shut down though I'm proud to say that it wasn't a total waste since I've had that much time training with a skilled swordsman. Filia has helped me train with a sword and improved my capabilities on the battlefield as a whole. We started with conventional training but after that phase was finished, she moved on to a phase I really had trouble working with for a fair amount of time: She had me blindfolded during training to improve my reflexes when I can't see the enemy against me. Furthermore, she brought in RED and Ram on occasion when she wanted me to work against multiple opponents or magic and even though it outright hurt dealing with that, Izumi and Rom were always close to use healing magic.

In addition, Miyo has been working on my gauntlet to improve the various computer programs within it and she said she's paying particular attention to the skill creator since she hates how she designed that system before and is going out of her way to incorporate a feature that Ophelia had, though Miyo seemed rather eager to try to 'one-up' her by making the system far superior. I can imagine these two having a friendly rivalry and butting heads on a rather frequent basis as they try to surpass the other when it comes to technology.

When we reached the outskirts, Miyo pulled out eight brown robes and passes them to each of us, keeping the last for herself "Put these on all of you. We need to keep a low profile until we get on the Terraportation ship to Leanbox."

As soon as we put on these robes, they adjust their size to fit us perfectly and we then proceed to head to the docks, finding a huge crowd in front of the last ship in the area and there is plenty of shouting and pleading for them all to get on the ship

"Everyone, at this time we not allowing civilian passengers at this time! Leanbox is under indefinite lockdown and only people who have CPU authorization is allowed to go!" A man who appears to be the captain shouts out to the crowd and while some leave straightaway, the rest of the crowd has been riled up by this turn of events. Based on the fact that there are ten slots for ships to sail from, I can only presume that this is the last ship and Leanbox are keeping the other nine ships because of the lockdown.

"Oh that's not good. These guys are pissed and could get violent any second. We'd better hurry and get on that ship. Let's get to the front quickly and show Rom and Ram to him. He should easily recognize that you two are CPUs and let us onboard." Filia mumbles rather seriously and I see why she's worried: If we get wrapped up in battle here, a lot of innocent people will die because of our need to defend ourselves.

We push our way through the crowd and when we make it to the captain, Rom and Ram lower the hoods on their cloaks and look up to the man

"We're the CPU Candidates of Lowee. We have urgent business in Leanbox. Can you let us onboard?"

"You need to show me proof young miss. I've had so many claims like that already and I need actual evidence of it."

"No problem." Ram says with a confident grin as she takes off her robe and passes it to me. She then engages her HDD to show her identity as White Sister.

"Heh. You're actually a CPU. Glad to know one person atleast was being honest about it. Okay, you and your friends are clear to board."

"Hold it!" I knew this would happen since people are beginning to argue about the fact we've been let on "That's it! We're fighting our way through!" Afterwards, a bunch of people begin drawing weapons to fight

"Oh for god's sake." I groan rather irritably since it looks like we'll have to fight no matter what "I can't believe I need to spill blood once again. I felt outright disgusted when I killed Vusago during Ragnarok and now I have to kill this many people. Vusago deserved his death but these people are innocent civilians." "Miyo, get everyone on board. Filia, we need to clean up here."

After a reluctant nod, Miyo forces Izumi, Rom, Ram, Gust, and RED with her on the ship while the two of us stay here as we prepare to fight

"You sure about this? Monsters is one thing, but these guys are actual people."

"I feel like I'll vomit, but if I don't fight, I die. I've lived the last couple of years with that mindset."

"Normally I'd praise that, but I pray that you don't feel any kind of satisfaction over it."

"No way in hell!" It felt like I outright shrieked like a banshee at Filia's comment here even though it was a loud whisper, since I killed two people and went into mild BSODs each time. I would've lost my mind a great deal if I didn't have my friends with me since we had something akin to a safety basket of sorts. It's tough to explain but my bonds with my friends kept me from losing myself to insanity. We supported each other when times were tough.

"Glad to hear it. Killing is one thing we should never grow fond of, lest we become beings like the monsters that lurk in the dungeons." Filia grimly says to me as she pulls out her durandal sword, drives it through the chest of the nearest individual, pulls it out and ends it with a slash; the man quickly falling to the ground as he dies. What makes me feel nauseous is that the man had coughed up blood before he fell and it landed straight on Filia's face though it hardly seemed to faze her "You all had better get lost. Right now! I have no problem doing this to the rest of you if you continue this desire for battle. Leave and you get to live. Leave and you get to return to your friends and family unscathed." Filia's speech was remarkable in more ways than one, especially since she had her sword pointed to the entire crowd. While she was rather ruthless in her word choice, she had a lot of compassion and desire to prevent further bloodshed in her voice. She reminds me of myself a little back when I had lived in Aincrad and Alfheim though I would never kill anyone to get my point across, I kept the line at physical intimidation. It looked like she killed this once just to make a point.

After seeing Filia kill that man, the crowd ran running to the hills and she took a rag to clean the blood off her face and her sword after she ran it through the guy's chest. When she finished, she put her sword back in her sheathe.

"Filia...how…?"

"They threatened the peace so I dealt with them. Sorry for the commotion Captain." Filia was rather blunt though she flashed an apologetic frown to the captain as she climbs aboard the ship.

"No apologies needed. You prevented a major riot from breaking out."

"Captain, I want to ask. Did you have any association with Planeptune's CPU Candidate?"

"Planeptune's CPU Candidate? Yes. She and her friends are on this ship like your group."

"Oh sweet mother of mercy. This will not end well." I mumble as I basically heard that my friends are on this ship. Nonetheless, I need to get to Leanbox so I need to deal with this.

Hyperdimension Standard Time: [13:00] November 15th 20XX

Location: [E.R.S. Perseus]

After I boarded the ship, I notice the others gathered outside the main dining room in the ship with them having taken off their robes so I decide to do the same.

"We gotta be careful guys. Nepgear's group is here on this very same ship. We need to try to avoid them if possible."

"Far too late for that you goddess damned traitor!" I hear a familiar voice snarl toward me and the sensation of a blade at my neck is overwhelming my senses

"Damn. I thought Filia's training would've prevented this situation from happening. I guess I was too shaken up from what happened outside. Furthermore; why in the damn world did they not alert me of this?! Or did IF actually manage to catch us ALL off-guard?"

I turn around to see IF get pushed back by Filia with a grim frown on her face

"Get the hell away from my friend." Filia snarls as she draws her sword again and points it toward IF.

"IF, what in the world is-Karen." I quickly heard a rather upbeat voice approach in the form of a girl with pink hair before she glances in my direction and recognizes me. While the appearance is rather exotic, I recognize Yuuki's aura and voice from beyond the physical image of her clothing.

"Surrender your Mascot to us Karen. Right now."

"Not on your life. I'm not giving you Lowee's Mascot. You give me Planeptune's and Lastation's Mascots!"

"You're insane to think I would actually do that!" IF exclaims as she draws her other qatar and points it toward me.

"You really are insane IF. Taking up arms against a goddess is suicidal." I simply sigh in response at her desire to fight as I engage HDD to force her to stand down "Access!"

I am enveloped in a bright beam of light and I feel the various components of my HDD form materialize as I feel my personality begin to change from my tomboyish form to a rather elegant feminine form

"I would stop here IF. You just don't stand a chance against me in this form. I have no desire to senselessly shed blood between us."

"Then you shouldn't have betrayed us!" IF barks as she takes up battle against me against my warning.

I simply sigh as I pull Celeste out of her sheathe "I warned you IF."

All it really took was a single slash to defeat IF since I'm wielding a sword that lets me fight a master, I've been undergoing training from a skilled swordsman, and I'm in goddess form which apparently boosts my attributes to levels far beyond my human half.

"Woah! You okay IF?!" Yuuki exclaims as she goes to check on IF since I blasted her against a wall with that sword slash.

"Crap...I forgot how painful it was fighting a CPU." IF mumbles as she's supported by Yuuki.

Immediately afterward, I revert to human form since I can't maintain an indefinite CPU transformation with so little faith and afterward, Filia and Miyo walk in front of me to keep a degree of distance between us.

"IF, we may have history, but I won't forgive you for this. Karen is my friend and the goddess I swear my loyalty to. That loyalty demands that I protect her from harm."

"Oh that's rich coming from you. You were utterly averse to worship and now you decide to worship a girl not even native to Gamindustri?"

"I worship her because she's not native to Gamindustri. Your CPUs can't relate to me or anyone stranded in this world. Karen can and since she's a goddess, she can give a proper home for those stranded from their civilizations. I have traveled this continent for ten years with no home, same with Izumi. For too long now we have been hiding from society because we know that we cannot be accepted because of our radical differences. I refuse to tolerate this any longer."

"I concur. My father fled civilized society because he refused to deal with those differences. People thought of him as a monster when he was the gentlest of souls."

"Don't give me that philosophical crap. I don't care about it. All I care about is that she betrayed us after we committed so much to bring her and her friends here."

"IF, you've just made me lose what little trust I had in you. It's bad enough that people like me, Izumi, Thraaklon, Wrex, Garrus, Spark; we got brought here by mere chance. You deliberately separated Karen and her group from their friends and families for the rest of their lives!"

"Huh? What are you talking about Miyo?" Yuuki inquires as she moves her glance toward her and then to IF.

"Er…"

"You never told them IF? How heartless are you capable of being?!" Miyo scowls as she walks a short distance and looks at both me and Yuuki "Yuuki, Karen; I don't know how much you know, but there's a reason why pessimism tends to plague us. Thraaklon was the very first non-native individual who ever lived here and he has lived hundreds if not thousands of years here. Do you think he would have willingly stayed if he had the option to leave? He was forcibly separated from his civilization and has not been able to find a way back home. Although he was sincere about helping me survive, I hear things from his apprentices: He hated living here at times."

"IF! Why did you never tell us about this?! All this time you promised that we'd be freed if we did this for you, and now I find that we're trapped here no matter what?!"

"Now hold up. How can you be sure she's telling the truth about this?"

"Then I'll ask the person I know I can trust. Karen, I'll trust your decision. Do you think this is true?"

I know I'd be a plain monster if I didn't feel joy at Yuuki's admission of her loyalty in me even though I barely knew her compared to the others and since I have been working against them in name "I've taken the time to examine the situation first-hand and while I'm hesitant to acknowledge it, I know that these guys are speaking the truth."

"There's my answer. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to tell Katsuo and the others of your own lies." Yuuki says as she runs down the corridor to where I presume the others are.

I look toward the others and they simply nod toward me as if to say 'Go on ahead and talk with them. We'll keep an eye on things.' After that, I walk around the ship to find Yuuki when I hear a rather angry shout from a nearby room

"You must be kidding me! I am going to murder her. No one lies to me and gets away with it! No one!"

"Stop it Katsuo. I'm mad just like you but remember that we need to stop ASIC and we need to help Nepgear to do it. Let's play nice for the time being and get our facts straight."

"No way Mamoru. I don't want to help people who forcibly stranded us in this strange world and lied to us about it. I trust you all since you're Aincrad players. You went through unspeakable hell-zones, you've experienced things I never could. I respect your judgement." Shino speaks up rather seriously about her stance in the manner as I visualize a smile in my mind when she spoke the last part regarding trust.

"While I hardly think Karen made the right call, to me, it seems like she learned this factor early on and made the choice to go rogue because she knew Histoire had lied to us. Should we join her, stay with Nepgear for the time being or go rogue ourselves and form our own group?"

"Kazuto, if we go rogue, we'll have a three-way battle over the last Mascot. Karen herself has awakened her CPU abilities and has the two CPU Candidates of Lowee with her. Nepgear and Uni are Candidates themselves and rather strong. One way or another we'll have to fight a Goddess if we try to get involved."

"So you're saying we're screwed no matter what we do Yuuki?"

"I wouldn't go that far Kazuto, but...kinda yeah."

I close my eyes and frown as I hear the conversation continue along this path when my senses tell me that I'm in danger so I draw Celeste and block a sword strike that was aiming straight for me and even though I have my eyes closed, I can easily tell who is trying to fight me here: Nepgear. While I haven't seen her in quite a while, I recognize her battle stance.

"How dare you show your face here traitor!" It was a bit of a surprise seeing Nepgear jump me this quickly but she thinks of me as an enemy so I knew it was inevitable.

I hear the door slam open and the others rush out

"What the hell is-Nepgear!" Katsuo exclaims as he takes note of the situation and draws his razor sharp sword and points it in my direction "Mamoru; pull Karen away from Nepgear."

Mamoru walks forward, puts a firm grip on my shoulder and pulls me toward the group as Katsuo aims his sword toward Nepgear now. And to be candid, I'm feeling an odd sense of nostalgia and happiness being protected by my friends like this since I was the one who did the protecting in the truest sense. In Aincrad, I was in a position that demanded that I contribute heavily to protecting everyone or else I am labeled as a traitor and failure. It was a bit cruel dealing with the stress and not just anyone could handle it; not even I was able to truly do it but I had my friends helping me every step of the way, even in the early days prior to the guilds and everything depended on me, Kazuto, Katsuo, and Kibaou.

"Katsuo, what is the meaning of this?!"

"Nepgear, I am through being your slave! You lied to us all when you said you'd be able to get us back home! I understand that you need our help to defeat ASIC but you screwed up big time! You, Histoire, IF, all of you; you abducted us to do this. I strongly believe that the end never justifies the means. If you had kept a way to send us back when you brought us here, this wouldn't have happened. You wouldn't have pissed me off!"

"I...I had no part of that. I was imprisoned in the graveyard." I can easily tell that Nepgear is feeling rather apprehensive in face of Katsuo's anger here and I can sympathize a bit. Although it didn't happen often since he rarely shows his aggression to me directly, it is scary to see how angry this guy can be.

"I don't give a crap Nepgear!" Katsuo exclaims in anger before looking toward me with a sad frown "Karen, we've been letting this world divide us for too long now. We've been working together since SAO's beta testing over four years ago. I was likely some random player to you and yet you went out of your way to help me. You saved my life so many times and yet we were blinded by the desire to get home."

"I'm not interested in semantics right now Katsuo. You all must know that I'm rather goal-oriented and my approach to solving problems."

"You always try to accomplish your plan with as few risks as possible, yet you have little qualm putting yourself in severe danger." Mamoru says as his facial expression clearly shows that he's delving into nostalgia.

"Exactly."

"Nepgear, we're done. We'll still fight ASIC since we don't ignore injustice, but we're done helping you. From now, we're doing things our way. Are you with me guys?"

Kazuto and Mamoru easily nod in agreement, Shino thought about it for a moment and nodded though Yuuki seemed rather hesitant about something but nodded regardless

"Fine. Do what you want." Nepgear was rather dejected when she said this and the way she walked further away from the area proved it.

After I saw her leave, I look around and notice a chain around Mamoru's neck

"Mamoru, I never really had the desire to ask, but after so much time, I feel compelled to ask. Is that a necklace you're wearing?"

"Eh?" Mamoru blinks once and looks at his neck and pulls out a pure black colored pocket watch that is connected to a chain "Oh. This is just an old family heirloom. If my father was telling the truth, it's an ancient 12th century artifact valued by my family for generations."

"Twelfth century? This thing looks freaking new! How was your family able to maintain something this old for this long?! We're in the twenty first century, so your family kept this thing working and in good shape for atleast nine centuries! How is that possible?!"

"I have no idea. Truthfully, keeping this thing maintained is a family tradition; it's as sacred as our promises, if not more."

I take a closer look at the pocket watch and notice a rather intricate design I've never seen before and while I was never a history major, I don't recall learning of anything that had a design like that. Furthermore, history says that the first pocket watch was made in sixteenth century Europe, yet Mamoru's family had something that wasn't made for another couple of centuries? Strange.

"I'm returning to my group. I have things I need to do."

After saying this, I walk off to rejoin Miyo and the others so I can plan a strategy for the last Mascot.

Hyperdimension Standard Time: [8:30] November 23rd 20XX

Location: [Leanbox]

After eight days full of unending strife between our three groups, we've finally arrived in Leanbox and we've gone our separate ways. Because of the fact that Chika ordered the fast-travel network shut down, we've become suspicious of the matter and we agreed to investigate. It took us a while to find the building since Green Heart apparently didn't make the Basilicom as extravagant compared to the other nations.

"Karen, this is Leanbox's Basilicom, home of Leanbox's CPU: Green Heart. We're getting our answers for the hell she put us through." Filia says to me as she leads the way into the building.

When we enter the building, I notice a woman with long light green hair and red eyes wearing a black mini-dress with green being the secondary color of her wardrobe

"Welcome to the Basilicom. I'm- What in the world?!"

It became rather clear to me that this woman is actually Linda when she broke character at the sight of us

"Linda. I'd say I'm surprised to see you, but I'd be lying." I simply sigh since she is not a threat to me in the absolute least at this point. I've been here six months and been training a good deal so fighting her would be a cake-walk. And let's not forget I have Miyo, Izumi, Filia, RED, Gust, Rom, and Ram backing me up; it'd be eight against one. I truly believe she's not stupid enough to fight me against such odds.

"Err...I'm guessing you're here for the Mascot."

"That's right. Hand it over." Filia says with a rather down to business tone in her voice.

"I can't. I need to save face here. But trust me when I say I want to, but the former Oracle was stupid to stake the Mascot as a first place prize in an idol competition. I don't want some random fool to get it." Apparently Linda hasn't been told of our defection from ASIC since she basically said she would've given us the Mascot without any kind of discussion had she have the capability.

"An...idol competition. Okay, I've seen strange things in this world, but this is borderline stupidity!"

"No kidding. But as stupid as she was for making the Mascot a prize for some random idiot winner, she was smart enough to close all loopholes. I can't even rig it if I wanted to."

"Okay Linda, I want to ask: Where is the real Oracle?" I inquire, wanting to know where the real Chika is for later on.

"We're keeping her locked up in Gapain Field until after the competition. The fool woman broadcasted to the world about this contest and people are trying to get here in droves for the contest. It's why I shut down the fast-travel network and organized the lockdown when the ships came pouring in. To minimize the risks."

"Okay, when is this competition?" Miyo asks as she deeply sighs and puts her around her waist.

"Next week."

"Thanks." I say as I beckon the others to follow my lead out of the building.

Hyperdimension Standard Time: [10:00] November 23rd 20XX

After getting the update from Linda, we left the Basilicom to begin deliberating our next move since we need to wait a week to get this Mascot

"Okay, how should we proceed from here?" Filia inquires as she takes the lead in this discussion.

"It's rather obvious Filia. We need to get people in this competition so we can win that Mascot. Thing is though, I can only see Rom, Ram, Izumi, and RED being capable of this. I have not sung once in my entire life; Filia may be good with dancing but I've heard her sing and while it's okay, it's not exactly something I'd recommend having in a contest this serious; Gust, not to insult, but you just can't handle such a thing, and Karen…"

"I know Miyo. I'm not into singing and dancing; it's too girly for my liking." I say as I stop Miyo there, knowing that's what she was going to say.

"Yeah. I do know someone who can help when it comes to this kind of thing. I know where she lives. If you pass my name to her, she should help you all; I built her gear for her after all." Miyo pulls out a small notepad and passes it to Izumi. After looking through it, she beckons Rom, Ram, and RED to follow leaving me, Filia, Miyo, and Gust here.

"Gust wish to meet with contacts to exchange products. Gust will take leave here. Will rejoin before competition. Farewell." Gust says with her eager for business tone as she runs off, leaving the three of us now.

"I actually want to see how my father is doing. Do you two want to accompany me?"

"Are you sure? Wouldn't you want to go alone?" I ask since I wouldn't want to barge in on a precious family moment.

"It's hardly an issue Karen. Besides, I don't want to force you two to be on your own."

"Okay, but how do we get to your family's house? It's pretty far from here. I know that first-hand."

"We can thank the real Chika for that. She didn't really like how restrictive the fast-travel system was so she's been developing a new system called Project Astronema over the last three years. Thing is, it's not ready for widespread use yet. There are still a few bugs in the software calibration since it sometimes doesn't send you where you want to go the first time, but it still works for the most part. My parents live near Hero City and there's a hub there. Follow me."

Hyperdimension Standard Time: [13:00] November 23rd 20XX

After taking the teleport hub from the capital to Hero City and walking to Filia's parents' house, we see a rather rustic two floored house made of wood

"This is the place. Feels like I haven't been here in forever." Filia takes a deep breath and knocks on the door to the house.

A minute later, the door opens and an elderly woman who looks just like Filia, albeit with graying hair, walking with a crutch is standing in front of us all

"Filia! I'm glad you've come back. You've been gone so long now." The woman says in an ecstatic tone as she hugs Filia.

"That it has mom. Is dad feeling any better?" Filia returns the hug and she asks her question with a mild frown on her face, wanting to hear how her father is faring.

"Unfortunately no. The poison in his veins took effect far too fast. His biology enhanced the poison and made it far more lethal than normal. I called for a doctor and he said there's no chance of recovery. He swore to fight it for as long as he could. He wants to see you before he goes."

"Goddess." Filia mumbles as she dashes inside with a rather despondent frown, far more sincere than a moment ago.

"Is he really dying Mrs. Yuasa?" Miyo asks with an understandable degree of unease.

"I wish it weren't so, but it's an unchangeable fact. I think that if Driin was among his people he could have made it, but I'm not a seer, so I'm merely speculating. But let's not stay out here. I have some Jasmine tea brewing."

"Thank you for the offer."

We walk into the house and look around the wood walls and Filia's mother quickly brings a pot of tea for us, with Miyo quickly helping when she realized the situation.

"You didn't need to go through all that effort Mrs. Yuasa. I would've gone to get it if you asked."

"I can't ask such things of our guests. I am the host and I have to attend to the needs of my guests." She says as she pours tea for the three of us "Now, are you two Filia's friends?"

"I suppose you could say that. We've been working together for a while. I don't want to say more than that however." I say rather honestly and while it's vague, I can't make myself any clearer than that without talking about my mission regarding ASIC; and I don't want to make a mother worry for her daughter.

However, my desire to hide that fact apparently failed as I hear a small chuckle from her

"I know that Filia has gotten herself wrapped in trouble once again. That girl may look like how I was when I was her age but she takes after her father. Driin was such a gentle soul but he was beyond stubborn and eager to fight his enemies. I honestly blame Thraaklon for instilling that mindset in him but I thank him nonetheless. But let us put this aside for now. May I ask for your names?"

"I'm Karen Koizumi. Pleased to meet you."

"Miyo Hanari. I'm glad to see you again after six years."

"Little Miyo? Oh my, you certainly have grown since you were last here. My name is Cassandra Yuasa. Pleased to meet you as well Karen Koizumi."

"Hehe...Thank you. I'm still growing though." Miyo chuckles a little awkwardly before she takes a deep breath to calm down and takes a drink of tea.

"Anyway; Karen, I want to ask. Are you-"

"Yeah. I'm like Miyo, Driin, and Thraaklon. I'm not native to this world."

"I see. It's quite tragic having to go through the experience of being stranded in this world. While he tried to never let me see him like that, he did pine for his family back in his own world."

"Yeah. I can imagine. Each and every one of us has been abducted from our friends and family and thrown into this world. A part of me is just glad some of my friends are in this world with me, but I still have many friends I'm separated from." It's quite true that while I'm glad to have Katsuo and the others around, I do miss Hikaru, Sylvia, Kana, Asuna; everyone else still on Earth.

"To be frank, there is a lesson I wish people like me would learn since we divide ourselves too much. While I don't know how to express it well, but we need to learn to see each other as family or something. We won't really be able to improve our lot in life here if we hide in seclusion."

"Er, you'll need to explain this one to me Miyo. You're not being very concise."

"I want to have a home built for us. A haven where we can live in peace and achieve the dream Thraaklon had for his apprentices. He wanted us to be united and pool our collective knowledge. If anything, I feel like he desperately wanted to return home to his world, but he had no capability to; so he wanted to gather people to coordinate their experiences into knowledge and break the curse, so to speak. But considering how many years have passed and how many people he has trained with no luck; he may have given up at some point. However, my desire to create a haven is only the first step and to alleviate the negativity isolation has caused us all; my ultimate plan is finding a way out of this world for good, to ensure that people who find themselves stranded here will have a way to return. I spent a decade in this place and I find it far too long. Izumi has been here six years now. Garrus and Wrex have been here twelve years. Driin has been here forty six years; Spark has been here twenty eight. Too many good men and women are being forcibly imprisoned in this world and are dying within it. I want to end this hell for Thraaklon. For Spark. For everyone who have spent their entire lives trapped here." Miyo is rather impassioned when she made this speech, and it makes me think that if she was in Aincrad, she'd make a better Solaris than I was. While I did get better with the speeches over time and practice with the ALF, this girl is a natural considering her technological background and I wonder how well the players there would've fared with her speeches leading the charge of battle.

"Wow. Just wow. I thought my speeches were impressive and I've had people affiliated with military backgrounds teaching me this stuff. We're supposed to be natural at this stuff." I say since I truly am impressed with this new side of her.

"Well I had to fight for survival for a decade; that demands a certain quality out of a person. I worked independently after Thraaklon died and my cybernetics did help reduce the need for food, water and the like for a long time."

"You really are a tough nut Miyo. I can't think of any child who could handle what you've lived with and have your level of sanity."

"To each his own Karen." Miyo simply shrugs and drinks more of the tea in her cup.

We would've continued this discussion but Filia walked out of a side-room where her father apparently is

"Karen, Miyo; my father wants to talk to you two. I'd move fast." Filia says with a mild frown as she sits down at the table and pours a cup of tea for herself.

We get up from our seats and walk into the room where Driin apparently is; finding a lizardman with a pale green tint all over his scaly skin

"So you two are Filia's comrades? Karen Koizumi and Miyo Hanari? Who's who?" Driin's voice is a voice I've expected a lizardman to have based on the few games and animes that had them I've experienced during my life.

"I'm Karen, and this is Miyo." I explain rather quickly; apparently Filia told him our names but not our appearances.

"Ah. Normally I'd say I'd take note of that in the future, but I'm on my deathbed so I'm not going to waste my time."

"Wow, that's a bit blunt Driin."

"I've been alive nearly eighty years Miyo Hanari, and I spent forty six years here. I have the right to be blunt when talking with younglings like you."

"Is there a reason why you want to talk with us? Or do you just want to throw insults our way?"

"I have a reason. Filia told me that you had your training with Thraaklon prematurely end after only six months Miyo Hanari; and no training at all Karen Koizumi. I spent a great number of years fighting with my own style. I'm on my death bed and I don't want my signature style dying with me. I want it to live through a new warrior. Which weapon styles do you work with?"

"I started with a spear but I've moved on to heavy one-handed broadswords. Your daughter has been helping me train."

"Since my cybernetics went kaput, I changed to a light rapier. Before that, I used very heavy carbines and flamberge swords."

"Okay, based on that; you're better suited Karen Koizumi. Ever since I entered this world, I've used massive weapons with heavy weight. Speed was never my forte so I put great value on my strength to compensate. However, strength alone is incapable of slaying your enemies so other attributes must be put in place. I developed a style that allows me to strike with the force of a glacier yet be able to gracefully evade any attacks. Thing is, it takes twenty years to learn this style conventionally."

"Er...Driin, you don't have twenty years to teach me this. You're dying now. How am I expected to learn a whole style with so little time?"

"My species has a genetic ability that allows us to impart knowledge to others, though it's not a convenient ability. Depending on how much we impart it could take days, weeks, or sometimes even months for your mind to safely process the information. The fact I am committing a style of fighting that requires twenty years of learning requires weeks of careful processing. Do you want to go through this Karen Koizumi?"

"I've been through worse. Give it your best shot." I boldly declare as I know that receiving a surge of information at a moment's notice surely can't be worse than death, and I lived that hell already after the Gamindustri Graveyard; Judge did succeed in killing me and I'm alive only because Caelus saved me.

"Very well. In order to impart my knowledge to you, I need to establish a link with your temporal lobe of your mind. I don't know a clear way to find it, but a single touch to your forehead should be sufficient to transmit the necessary knowledge."

"Before we do this, I'm curious: Why teach me this style and not your daughter?"

"It wouldn't work. She works with a durandal sword and it's weight is like that of a rapier. In order to use this style, you need to wield large, heavy weapons. You're the best candidate considering the circumstances."

After finishing this statement, he gently pressed the tip of his index finger to my forehead enough to not scratch my skin and immediately afterward, I feel a massive swarm of images flow through my mind in seconds

"Ugh...that was disorienting." I mumble as I grip my head though my legs feel woozy and I fall to my knees.

"Woah, you okay Karen?" Miyo worriedly asks me as she helps me up.

"Yeah. I'm fine, just a bit shaken up from the sudden influx of info."

"Yeah. That happens sometimes, especially when you're new to the experience." Driin explains before he rapidly coughs and closes his eyes "That's definitely the nail in the coffin. I've been fighting too damn long when I should be dead. Karen Koizumi, I am trusting you with this. Best of-" He was cut off by a rather noticeable croak and his head tilted to his right.

"First Thraaklon, then Spark, and now Driin. See, this is what I freaking hate. We keep driving ourselves into isolation and die alone. That's why I want a place for us all to call home; so we'll atleast have comrades to call family. I want to be able to give the imprisoned a way home to their own world."

"Miyo, I wanted to ask, but you mentioned a Wrex and Garrus before. Who are they?"

"They're like me; people stranded with little warning. They were being trained by Thraaklon before he died and they were lucky, they had two years compared to my six months. I haven't heard from them in a decade, so I don't know if they're still alive. While Wrex terrified me when I was a child because of his appearance, Garrus was always kind to me. He tended to act like a parental figure to me somewhat."

"Well...that was fairly pessimistic. Second person I've ever met from a stray world and he dies within minutes."

"Is it that much of a surprise Caelus?"

"Karen, up until recently I never knew about this whole other world thing. Back when Thraaklon showed up, we were all led to believe that he had simply arrived from a different continent far beyond the ocean. I only learned of this thing in earnest when we met you Miyo."

"Actually, now that we're talking, I've been wanting to ask you something Caelus. You told me that CPUs are supposed to establish their own nations. Are CPUs supposed to do this instantaneously?"

"No. There's a grace period though most CPUs rarely spend more than a month in establishing a nation, but that was in the old days. Good luck trying to find land to colonize on this continent though."

"I'm going to hold back on that. I need to see to it that ASIC is dismantled first."

"Fair enough. That is a goal we all share. I've been wanting to see ASIC's destruction for a very long time now. Arfoire...I will kill you this time!"

"Arfoire?"

"Arfoire is ASIC's Guardian Deity. The individual they are trying to revive. My sisters and I fought to slay her but failed; my success was limited to sealing her within a pocket dimension and pray that she is slain in the future."

"Yeah. Trust me Caelus, we're going to defeat ASIC this time. Once I set my mind to something, I don't stop until it's completed."

"Thank you."

"Miyo, what do you think we should do now?"

"Let's go rescue Chika. Linda did tell us where she is after all."

"We should be careful if we do that Miyo. We're up against ASIC in this regard. I'd feel more comfortable having back-up on this one since Izumi, RED, Gust, Rom, and Ram are busy and I don't want to drag Filia with us here. We ought to give her a chance to spend time with her mother and mourn the death of her father."

"Then who in the world do we ask? Izumi's subgroup need all the practice they can get for the competition and Gust won't be joining us any time soon."

"How about we reach out for Katsuo's group? It'll likely be a little awkward working with them, but they do trust me."

"Fair enough. Let's go find them after we explain things to Filia and see if we can recruit them."

Hyperdimension Standard Time: [16:30] November 23rd 20XX

Location: [Leanbox Fields]

It took quite a while to find Katsuo's group and while we were able to easily request their aid, Katsuo had a single condition if I wanted him to help

"Karen, things have been far too stressful the last six months and we've let ourselves become too emotional. We need to vent this excess and I know the perfect thing." After stating this, Katsuo pulled his sword out of his sheath and points it toward me

"I see. A test of arms to understand one another. Very well." I say with a firm smile as I look toward Yuuki "Yuuki, could I borrow Arctia or Anduril? I don't want to cheat by using Celeste's magic. I want a fair contest to see how we fare in battle."

Yuuki quickly obliges as she passes me Anduril and unlike before when I tried using it in Planeptune, it is not heavy for me in the slightest. I'm thankful now that Filia has been training me so much in addition to my own training regimes. I see a faint smile on Katsuo's face as I take up the style I saw Sylvia use frequently during our time in Aincrad.

"You know Karen, this is the first time we've ever been in confrontation like this. We bickered on occasion yes, but never full-out battle."

"Indeed. It has been nearly six years since we met, and despite our combat background in the virtual worlds, we have never fought against each other. However, I know that you would've won before we came to this world. Now, it is up for debate, but we'll get our answer here."

"Yeah. This is our chance to see who has become the stronger warrior." Katsuo says as he develops a serious expression like he always does when he enters battle and lets out a battle roar as he charges toward me.

I charge forward as well and both of our swords repeatedly clash as the sound of metal ringing is drowning out the noise of nature around us since we are striking at a rather rapid speed. Unlike Filia who was simply training me, Katsuo is going all out and using all of the athletic ability he has to win this spar and I'm being forced to respond in kind since I refuse to lose either. However, we're stuck in a stalemate since our combat capabilities are practically equal right now though I try to break the stalemate by attacking with a jump and a 360 degree spin though Katsuo obviously saw it coming as he easily blocked the attack with his sword

"Nice try!" Katsuo exclaims as his attack forces me to jump back 'It's time I end this now! Noble flame of the heavens, set my enemy aflame! Magma Eclipse!"

After Katsuo shouted out the incantation for the skill, his sword transforms in a rather drastic manner: The blade itself appears to be nothing but fire, there is a pair of arms which appears to be blocking the fire from hurting him and the handle has lengthened significantly to further handle the fire.

"So you're using skills eh? Fine then! Mirror!" I retort amusedly as I activate the newest skill this gauntlet made for me and the fact it lacks an incantation is part of the skill; it simply takes the effect of the skill I'm confronted with, but it has flaws. I can only use this skill once a day and I can only ideally use this skill in one on one combat.

After I activated mirror, Anduril is enveloped with a beam of light and her appearance becomes identical to Katsuo's sword in every way and when we clash, several pillars of fire erupt from the swords and they hit the fields surrounding us and I can glance the others dodging them since the fire nearly hit them. I can easily tell that Katsuo is panting out of exhaustion though I'm just as exhausted as he is at this current moment though I'm hiding it.

"I...I am not...giving up." Katsuo says with heavy pants and I easily can tell that he's having trouble staying up though I'm in the same state.

"Neither...am...I." I say though my body speaks otherwise as I fall to my knees, depending on Anduril to keep me from falling on my face.

"Okay you two, stop here before you kill each other or worse, us." Mamoru chuckles as he bonks both of our heads, though considering how exhausted we are and since our heads are still reeling from the battle so this playful bonk is more painful than it should be.

"Okay, let's hurry to Gapain Field. We need to save Chika ASAP. I'll lead the way."

"And what about Karen and Katsuo? I sincerely doubt they're ready for battle after that brawl." Yuuki nervously asks as I pass Anduril back to her.

"No way are you leaving me out. I'm a goddess and I'm not going to back out just because of exhaustion."

"Karen, remember that you only have faith from seven people, you don't have enough power to go commando on us. And to be frank, I'm not sure if Rom and Ram even count when it comes to the whole faith thing, and if so, it's only five." Miyo says rather sternly to me though I can easily sense the concern in her voice.

"I'll push on. I'm a goddess and I need to begin acting like one. I need to be able to handle anything. Even if I weren't a goddess, I need to do this; my old reputation as Solaris is telling me to."

"Heh, that really stirs up nostalgia of the old days in Aincrad. I don't exactly think of floor ninety nine as a pleasant memory but it's important to me nonetheless. I never truly expected to survive the fight since Kayaba made me betray you, but you got everyone to spare me. I've been indebted to you ever since Karen."

"Yeah, some of the people of that team wanted you dead because of what happened. But they begrudgingly kept it to mere murmurs when I gave my decision for you to live. I was leader of one of Aincrad's strongest teams and leader of the Knights of the Blood Oath after Kayaba transferred it to me so they kept quiet because of my track record and reputation."

"I'm not surprised. But you scared the hell out of me at the time Kazuto. You literally had your sword a centimeter away from my neck."

"You were the boss for that floor. I didn't have a choice in the matter, but you were lucky that you had the authority to force the door open. I would've killed you if you didn't."

"Yeah, I'm thankful I was able to do that. I didn't want to have to die right when we were at the end, not when Hector and Amelia wanted me protecting Haruka. To be truthfully honest, I was scared as hell when we began blazing through Aincrad after XANA showed up. I didn't want that battle to happen and when it did, I was in a really bad position; but you know the rest."

"Wow, I certainly didn't expect this from you all. You all seem rather close yet you were willing to kill each other in the past?"

"It's not like that Miyo; we're still good friends, but like most, we have had rough patches in our friendship and bickered about things. C'mon, let's get moving. We need to rescue Chika after all." Kazuto explains as he offers his hand to Katsuo since he's still on his knees and then we set out to the nearest teleport hub to head to Gapain Field.

A/N: Okay, I am rather confident that this first arc will be finished at chapter 16. Once that chapter is finished, I will be going back to third person narration and staying that way for all my future stories.