A/N: So... School is looking pretty light this week, so that just means one more week of speedy updates for you guys! Any complaints? No? Didn't think so ;)
In any case I hope that this chapter meets your standards better than the last one, because the action will be intense enough to send sparks flying, and the fluff will continue, albeit in a more serious manner than some people might be used to. Enjoy, and don't forget to review- you guys all rock!
One Last Coffin
Mataras and Sterben moved so fast and fierce that a cloud of dust billowed and the power that came from the collisions of their swords sent shockwaves throughout the replica of Po-Wahi. But Sinon could use her Akaku mask to see through the cloud, allowing her to focus on the battle at hand without worrying if she might miss or not.
Her eyes widened as she watched Mataras fight- really fight- for the first time. He was fast, powerful, unpredictable, and savage. His sword strokes were so fast that most of the time, she could only get an outline of where they had been, only actually seeing the weapon moving whenever it slowed down upon colliding with his opponent's rapier.
Sterben, however, had the advantage in speed, be it ever so slight. His attacks were less powerful, but he hit Mataras more often than vice versa. Also, his thicker armor made it hard for Mataras to land a solid hit on him. However, he seemed to have a more rigid form of attack, one that Mataras was able to predict enough that he could dodge the attacks more often than not.
Mataras- no, Michael is counting on me, Sinon thought grimly. And after he saved my life, I won't do anything less for him.
"Tell me," Mataras grunted as he shoved his enemy away. "Who else from Laughing Coffin is in on this little charade of yours?"
"Charade?" Sterben asked as they stood a few feet apart.
"Aye," Mataras nodded. "I'm fairly certain I know how you've been able to maintain the illusion that you can kill in this world. Using a shrink disk, you make your opponent's so small that they cannot be seen, while your partner or partners kills the target in the real world. Or am I wrong, Death Kanoka?"
"Clever…" Sterben growled. He raised his sword again. "Too clever to be allowed to live!" He thrust and Mataras reversed his grip on his sword so that after Sterben slid past him due to a deflection, he was able to immediately stab him in the back, finally scoring a solid hit.
"Sloppy," Mataras said with a shake of his head. "You Laughing Coffin scum always got sloppy whenever your plans were discovered. You could always cover up the actual murder, but never a foiled attempt."
"You talk too much," Sterben growled as he whirled around with his sword in hand. "You… never used to talk this much…" His red eyes narrowed as he realized that he was missing something.
Red eyes… Mataras thought hard as he lunged with a overhand slash at Sterben. Where in Aincrad did I see them…? Not at the raid… Before that… His sword was blocked, and he shoved Sterben backwards- right into Sinon's line of fire.
The bow fired and Sterben turned at the sound. He managed to turn at just the last second so that the bolt smashed into his mask, destroying the item covering his face and avoiding major damage. He leapt backwards, away from the Toa of Fire as he tried to cover his face. It was only for a second, but Mataras saw it- a pale, emaciated face with sharp cheekbones that stood out in an unnatural manner, showing an obvious illness of some kind. Then a mask of speed replaced it, but the image was burned into Mataras' memory.
Sterben glared up at Sinon and whipped out his disk launcher, primed to fire. Mataras knew that he only had one shot at saving Sinon now. Red eyes… Red-eyed- "XaXa," he said firmly. The man's body jerked involuntarily, throwing off his aim badly enough that he hit the statue Sinon was standing on. As it shrunk down, the girl used an ice ramp to avoid receiving fall damage. The disk attempted to return to Sterben's launcher, but Mataras beat it out of the air on its return trip to him.
"Red-eyed XaXa," Mataras repeated with a cold smile. "PoH came up with the plans, but it was you who personally committed the most murders in Sword Art Online, was it not?" The black Toa took a step back in surprise- he had honestly never thought that anyone would recognize him by his old avatar handle, even if they had seen his face. Even in SAO, he had hidden behind a skull-like mask with gleaming red eyes, so few people had seen his actual face. The first time that Mataras had actually run into him personally was at the scene of Grimlock's crime, back in the days when Asuna had just regained friendly terms with them.
"I thought so," the Red Swordsman said as his smile grew. "Now I will be the one to execute the ultimate judgement upon you."
"And what if you do?" XaXa snapped. "This isn't SAO… Mataras. Killing me here, accomplishes… nothing."
"Oh contraire," Mataras chuckled. "Did you know that on the day of the launch, the NerveGear's safety was disabled? Of course you did. But did you also know that plugging it into another game does not turn the safety back on?" XaXa gave a start of surprise, prompting Mataras to say, "I thought not. Which means that when I strike you down, you will die, as you were meant to die in Aincrad."
"Not... if I kill you first!" And they began to dance with their blades again.
"You would be correct," Mataras grunted as he shoved XaXa back and retaliated. "But fortunately for me, the same person that took records of who I told him were the surviving red players was the same man that arranged to have my helmet repaired."
"Gah-?!" XaXa was finally at a loss for words. That's when Sinon took her second shot- from point-blank behind his back. He grunted heavily as the ice blast tore through his armor and draining more of his health.
The girl had been approaching them from sculpture to sculpture, waiting for another chance to shoot Death Kanoka. Now she leaped back as Mataras plunged his sword into Xaxa's back, pinning him to the rocky ground. "This is it, XaXa," he growled. "The end of Laughing Coffin. When I get out, I will be making sure that everyone involved in this is arrested and jailed for life if they do not receive execution."
"You think… this is the end?" XaXa chuckled. "You're wrong, Red Swordsman… You're still missing one thing… He'll find you… He'll kill y-" Mataras severed his head with blazing silver eyes.
"No, XaXa," he growled. "You and the rest of Laughing Coffin are done for. This last coffin that you prepared will be the one that you yourself will be lowered into. I wash my hands of you and yours." The body was then incinerated by his wrath before the countdown effect could even take place, leaving nothing of his body. Up above, XaXa's Toa star winked out.
Mataras suddenly felt a great weariness overcome him, and he began to fall over. He would have hit the ground from the sheer mental exhaustion had Sinon not caught him up. "Hey there," she said. "You okay?"
"Aye," he nodded as he stood back up with her help. "Thank you- for everything."
"You're welcome, Mataras," she said with a slight smile. "Is it over for you, then?"
Mataras shook his head in response. "No, not yet. Even though I have done away with Laughing Coffin, one task remains to be done in this world before Sword Art Online is truly finished."
"And what's that?" Sinon asked.
Before Mataras could answer, he heard the sound of flight equipment being used above him. Sachi touched down a few feet away, but Leafa was nowhere to be seen. "You're hurt," Mataras said with a slight grimace as he looked at her health bar.
She shrugged and said, "It's not too bad. Forget me, look at you! Did Death Kanoka do that to you?"
Mataras nodded and replied, "Aye, XaXa. That was him."
"Red-eyed XaXa?" Sachi asked with wide eyes. "I remember Kirito going against that guy. He said he was the toughest player that he ever fought- other than Heathcliff, I guess."
"I would be inclined to agree," Mataras nodded. "PoH may have been the brains, but XaXa and Jonny Black were easily the most capable assassins- though I would say that XaXa had more skill of the two of them."
"Um, I hate to interrupt, but where did Leafa go?" Sinon asked as she looked up at the sky. "Did she-?"
"Yes," Sachi nodded. "She took a hit from a Toa of Stone the wrong way. I managed to finish them off, but that was a hard fight, I admit."
"Well, she's probably waiting for you guys back at home," Sinon said as she put away her crossbow. "So we had better finish this tournament up."
"Wait a moment, what about you?" Mataras asked. "Who will help you if the other cohorts are?"
"Cohorts?" Sachi interrupted.
"I'll explain later," Mataras said. Addressing Sinon again, he said, "Well? What is your plan for that occurrence?"
"I have a friend that lives nearby," Sinon said easily. "Remember Shipugeru?"
"Oh yes, the Toa of Earth," Mataras nodded. "But perhaps to be safe, I can arrange for my contact in the government to send over some men to your place just to scare the other criminal off? Er, wait… Right, I can't ask for your personal information here."
"No, it's okay," Sinon said as she leaned closer to Mataras. "My name is Shino Asada," she whispered in his ear. Sachi sniggered as Mataras stiffened with surprise, much to his embarrassment. "And I live at…" Mataras nodded as he stored the information away in his mind for later use.
"Actually, you happen to be within thirty minutes of where we are diving from," Mataras said, struck by a thought. "Would you object to us going over to check on you ourselves? It would likely be faster than the police."
"No, that's okay," Sinon said with a shake of her head and small smile. "I appreciate it, but if you could send the cops that would just be fine. I don't want to trouble you any more than I already have."
"Very well," Mataras said with a slight bow. "As you wish." When he straightened, he said, "Well, since we are forbidden from forfeiting the tournament, how should we play this out? Shall you and I duel, then I commit suicide? There is absolutely no chance of me killing Sachi."
"Hmm…" Sinon grinned as she took out her crossbow and started fiddling with the ammunition case. "In that case… You guys are too banged up to any fun to beat, so…"
"Er… What are you up to?" Sachi asked curiously.
"I'm guessing that you guys have never inspected a Voya Nui weapon up close?" Sinon answered.
"I have a sword from there, but I don't see what that has anything to do with it," Sachi said with a cocked head.
"Well, you know how lightning gets added as an attack bonus?" Sinon said as she continued to mass with her weapon's mechanisms. When Sachi confirmed that she did know, Sinon continued on to say, "Well, the power source for that is a battery- they have to be replaced every now and again. But, if you discharge some of your own elemental power into it…" She shot a bit of ice into a small, glowing orb that was white in color, almost like a miniaturized zamor sphere. It immediately began to glow brighter, and the other two flinched.
"Eh?! What did you just do?" Mataras asked as Sinon tossed the orb at him.
When he caught it, Sinon grinned and replied, "Turned it into a grenade that'll kill all three of us at the same time."
"EH?!" Mataras threw it back. "What does that accomplish?!"
"I suppose if the final contestants die simultaneously, they are declared the winner, and the reward is split," Sachi said calmly. "Nice thinking, Sinon."
"No it is not!" Mataras sputtered as the orb cracked. "Who is going to get the golden masks?! We need those to rescue Kirito and Asuna!"
"Don't worry, you can have 'em," Sinon said as another crack appeared and light began spilling out of the bomb. "I got what I wanted, so you two can have whichever ones I get."
"Thank you, Sinon," Sachi said with a smile. "For everything that you've done today."
"You're welcome," she said while returning the smile. Then she turned back to Mataras and extended her fist, which he clanked after a stunned moment. "Thanks, Michael," she said with a softer smile.
"And thank you, Shino," he said with a returned grin.
"Aw, Leafa was right, you two are pretty sweet," Sachi giggled. Mataras shot her a baleful look, then shot the orb with his fire. The next instant, he could feel Sinon throwing her arms around him as the bomb went off, destroying the three of them instantly.
Michael's face was beet red as he woke up alone in his room. "That was… interesting," he muttered as he stretched his cramped muscles. They had tensed up while he was fighting against XaXa, so he was careful in his initial movements. He shuffled over to pick up his phone and was about to hit the dial-up button when the door flew open and Sayuri threw her arms around her brother.
"You did it!" she squealed. "You finally brought down Laughing Coffin! I'm so proud of you, Brother!"
"I heard that you won the tournament," Suguha said with a smile as she walked in. "Very well done, both of you."
"Eh, it was thanks to Sinon that we pulled through," Michael shrugged. "Her and you, Suguha. Thank you. Had you not helped us, we never would have had a chance." He bowed to her slightly as a mark of respect.
"You're welcome," Suguha smiled again. "When you log back in, you should each find two golden masks in your inventory and a congratulations message from the Game Masters."
"Good, good," Michael nodded. "Now then, I have somewhere to be. And he put away his phone and started walking out the room.
"Wait, where are you going?" Sayuri asked him.
"I know Shino said that she would be okay, but I need to make sure of it myself," Michael called back. "Don't worry, I shouldn't be long. But if I don't return within an hour or call within thirty minutes, send the police to the address I text you." And with that, he was gone.
"Uh… What?" Suguha said as she turned to a smiling Sayuri, who was trying very hard not to laugh. "Hey, what just happened?"
"My Big Brother finally has a crush!" Sayuri said as she burst out laughing.
Michael biked to where Sinon had told him where she lived. Apparently, she lived in an apartment complex on the second floor. It wasn't too long before he found the place, and he parked his bike at the front, making sure to lock the chain on it before dashing through the cold evening air.
At first, as he approached the building she mentioned, everything seemed well. But as soon as he climbed up the last step, he heard a familiar scream, mixed with a series of thumping sounds and another, hysterical scream- one that sounded of madness.
The other Death Kanoka, he thought angrily as he dashed for the door that he heard the sounds coming from. To his frustration, it was locked. Very well. Time to put my rehabilitation to the test! "RAAH!" he roared as he spun his body, fast, to gain momentum for his reverse kick that broke the door in two.
He looked in the apartment to see a girl on the floor, clothes partially torn off, and a young boy crouched over her, with the look of a rabid dog on his face. Froth was even on his face- and Mataras rose up within the boy called Michael.
Not even letting out another shout, he darted forward and smashed his knee into the boy's face, causing blood to spurt out of his nose as it was broken. He cried out as he scrambled back to his feet with surprising quickness. But Mataras was far from finished.
Lashing out with a straight kick this time, Mataras got him square in the chest, sending him crashing into a table that served as a desk for homework. Now, he finally turned around and said, "Run, Shino!"
Then to, his surprise, the other boy grabbed him by the shirt and slammed his head against the corner of a wall, stunning him temporarily. "Get away from my Asada!" he screamed. "This is your fault, you damned freak! She's mine, mine, mine!" and he pulled out a silver tube from his pocket.
"A freak, am I?" Mataras growled. He was stunned with blood coming out of his head, but even in such a condition, he would not go down easily. His right palm shot out in flat-handed technique, smashing into his attacker's throat and sending him reeling. The blow wasn't sufficient enough to be deadly, but it did hurt, even in the boy's manic state. "Says you."
He went back against the other wall, coughing and gasping for breath as Mataras tried to get to his feet. But the second Death Kanoka would have none of it. "Die, damn you!" he screamed, finally unveiling the needle.
Uh-oh, Mataras thought blearily. He readied himself for the next attack, his hands coming up in a defensive stance- just as Shino slammed a radio into her attacker's head. He swayed, dropping the syringe onto the floor, wide-eyed, and now much like Mataras in the sense that his head hurt very badly.
But there was a fundamental difference between the two boys. Mataras was used to pain. It was his daily companion, a constant that he rarely had anywhere else. Every day in Aincrad, when a sword pierced his flesh, he hurt. When those he loved wept in despair, he hurt. When his family remained trapped while he had regained his freedom, he hurt. His enemy had never known such pain before in his life.
This is nothing to the Red Swordsman, he snarled in his mind as he straightened his fingers into a spear-handed technique- his deadliest form. He darted forward before Shino could take another swing at her attacker, and jammed his 'sword hand' into the shorter boy's solar plexus just as he drew in another breath to scream. He coughed up blood onto Mataras' jacket and went limp on his arm, his eyes rolling into the back of his head.
Mataras shoved him off, none too gently, before sinking back against the wall and sliding down to the floor. He felt his warrior's blood settle down as the girl he knew was Shino sat down beside him. Michael watched her with bleary eyes as she reached towards his head tentatively.
"Are you…?" she asked, afraid of hurting him more.
"I will be fine," he nodded. "But I would appreciate some ice while I call the police."
"Let me do that," she said as she moved to the refrigerator while Michael pulled out his phone. She kept glancing over at the still form of her former friend to see if he was going to be getting up at any moment.
However, Michael looked up at her and said, "He will not be bothering you again. Where I hit him, I could have killed him if he were breathing out. Fortunately for him, he was breathing inwards, so my technique simply knocked him out- and will stay that way if he knows what is good for him." He glared at the boy, as if daring to get him back up. He looked as though he were about to add something else, but then the police came on.
"Hello?" Michael said. "Yes, I need help with an attempted assault… Yes, I and another teenager have sustained injuries, though I think that none of them are life-threatening… Aye, I can… Er, wait… Where are we, Shino? I believe I may have a concussion… Let me hand you over to the resident of the apartment we are at." He passed the phone to Shino, who took it and placed the cloth that she had wrapped the ice in gently on his head. It immediately turned red with his blood, and she widened her brown eyes in concern.
She seemed to be saying something, but Michael wasn't comprehending. He realized that he was looking at Shino- the real Sinon- face to face for the first time. She was pretty, with brown eyes, short hair that was a bit messy from her encounter, and tied into small pigtails on either side of her face. Her mouth and nose were both small, and her frame was lean, yet short. She's beautiful… he thought groggily as his vision began to blur. Uh oh… I seem to be passing out… And if I'm thinking about her in such a bold manner, I must really… have… taken a bad… hit… Darkness enveloped his mind, just like when the world of Aincrad disappeared around him.
Michael slowly came to awareness, first feeling something in his right hand. No… More like something was enveloping his hand. It was a warm, comforting sensation, and he smiled slightly as he struggled to return to consciousness. Then other senses began to come back, and he realized that his head was killing him.
He groaned slightly as he stirred, only then realizing that something was indeed holding his hand. Or rather, lying on his hand. His eyes snapped open as he saw a small tangle of brown hair resting atop his right arm, two small hands resting on his own, keeping it warm. "Uh…?" He blinked rapidly, trying to remember how he had ended up in such a state. Was I just in Sword Art Online…? Wait, no, that was two months ago…
His eyes widened further as his memories returned, including his victory in tournament, and his rescue of the girl that had help him win it. He gave a slight start of surprise as he realized that Shino was in a hospital room with him, and that she had fallen asleep on his hand.
"She hasn't left your side the whole time," said a familiar, quiet voice. Michael turned to see Sayuri with a soft smile on her face as she looked on at her brother. "How are you feeling?"
"Terrible," he admitted. "How long have I been out?" They were both keeping their voices down, as not to wake Shino.
"Only a night and a day," Sayuri replied. "I know that this is probably the last thing on your mind right now, but we only have three days before Asuna's wedding."
Michael nodded, his chin firming. "I remember that," he said. "Did Shino give you the masks yet?"
"No, she hasn't left you this whole time, remember?" Sayuri replied patiently with a grin. "She rode with you to the hospital in the ambulance, and she got ahold of Suguha via her cellphone. Once were all here, she explained everything, including the way that Laughing Coffin killed people- they used some kind of poison on their victims to kill them. Made it easier to slip the whole thing past the autopsies since the bodies were already decomposing after they were found."
Sayuri looked down at Shino, who was still asleep. "She was so worried about you the whole time, but I told her that you'd make it through. After all, you're the Red Swordsman, right?"
"I don't know…" Michael sighed. "I cut it close with that little encounter."
"Still, you saved her life," Sayuri countered. "She told me what happened, and if you had gotten there any later, she might have violated, or worse, killed."
"Hmm…" he sighed as he looked down at the sleeping girl. "What happened to her attacker back in the apartment?"
"Turns out that he was her friend from IRL- we met him as Shipugeru," Sayuri said with a slight frown. "He was Xaxa's younger brother."
"Xaxa?" Michael asked, hoping that she would get the message.
"Yeah, he's finished," Sayuri nodded. "And every single Laughing Coffin member is in jail, waiting to be questioned. According to Mister Kikuoka, chances are that only half of them were involved, but it's likely that their cases will be re-evaluated. They might even go to jail."
"They had better," Michael growled.
"Relax, Big Brother," Sayuri said soothingly. "At the least, they'll be under so much surveillance for the rest of their lives that they won't be able to cause trouble for anyone again."
"Hmph," he muttered.
"Mmm…?" Shino mumbled, slowly waking up. "Wha…?" She lifted her head, looked at Michael with foggy eyes and blinked twice.
"Good morning," he said with a smile. "Did you sleep well? I trust that the pillow had enough cushioning?"
"Oh, good morning…" she mumbled, still out of it. "The pillow was… Huh? Wait, what?!" She jerked back, much to Michael and Sayuri's amusement. "You're awake!"
"Aye," he chuckled.
"Aye!" she parroted, though in much louder tone, which made Michael's head hurt, causing him to wince painfully. "Do you have any idea what you put me through?!"
"I saved your life, if I recall," Michael shot back. "And that would explain how I ended up in here. Should I not be asking you the same thing?"
"You-!" She froze, then slumped back down. "You're right. Thanks again, Michael. I'm sorry I snapped at you."
"Hey," he said as he brushed some of her hair out of her mouth. "It's all going to be fine. You don't need to apologize to me." The movement made her blush, but she didn't make a move to retreat as he stroked her chin once before letting his hand flop down to the bed again.
"Er-hem," a girl coughed. "Am I intruding?"
"Suguha, the next time you do that, I will invite your friend Recon over to your home," Shino said as she jerked her gaze up.
"My VR apartment, right?" Suguha shrugged. "You don't know my real address, and he'd be too scared to come in anyways."
"A fair point, but if I let your mother know that you will be having company when we get home…" Michael let the threat hang the air for a moment. "Think about it." Suguha paled. She knew by now that if pushed far enough, Michael would carry out his threats.
Michael would not be allowed to be discharged for a few days due to the severe concussion he had received. However, he managed to get Kikuoka to allow his NerveGear rig to be set up in the hospital, so long as his vitals were monitored during his dives.
"Why do you need it so badly, though?" Kikuoka had asked him over the phone.
"You might want to do some research on a man named Sugou Nuboyuki," Michael had responded. "He is not what he appears. And I have a feeling that more than one foul plot was cooked up in Element Six Online."
"All right," Kikuoka had said. "But I can't keep doing favors like this for you all of the time, understand? You've done a lot for our team, but even I have my limits."
"I understand," Michael replied. "Thank you, sir."
Now, with only two days left to rescue Asuna and Kirito from the virtual world, Michael prepared to carefully don the NerveGear. His head still ached badly, but he had to go in to rescue his family, no matter the cost to his own health. Before he made the dive, though, he received a phone call from Sayuri.
"Brother, you don't have to come in, you know," she said. "Sinon, Leafa, and I can handle this thing, even if it's just the three of us."
"I understand why you feel that way," he said. "But you also already know what my reply is going to be."
"I know," she sighed. "But I had to try anyways. See you at Kini Nui?"
"I'll be there in a moment, yes," he nodded, even though she couldn't see him. "I look forward to fighting beside you again, Sister."
"Me too," she replied quietly. Then the phone call ended.
Michael set down the phone, looked over at the nurse that would be monitoring him and nodded silently. She brought him his helmet, and helped him get it on over the bandages. When it was in place, he laid back tentatively and closed his eyes.
"Link, start!"
Kirito: All right! Finally, we're gonna get rescued!
Asuna: Wait, does that mean that this segment will get cut when that happens?
Mataras: I don't know. Probably not, seeing as people seem to like it so much, but one never knows.
Kirito: Well, as long as we're in here somehow, I guess it doesn't really matter, right? I mean, who would you even do the segment with?
Mataras: That's the problem- I don't know. I'm open to suggestions, though.
Asuna: Oh, don't worry too much about it! I'm sure you'll figure something out.
Mataras: Perhaps. Nonetheless, I do belive it is time for me to sign off for now. Until next time, my friends.
Kirito/Asuna: Bye, everyone!