Strat: After a long while, we've finally got a couple chapters done! I'll be honest here guys, I have little interest currently in SAO and it's pretty hard for me to work on something when I'm not so interested in it. But don't fret! This doesn't mean we won't finish the story! I don't know how Cy feels on SAO but I don't want to leave you guys hanging so I'll keep pushing myself to finish the story. It'll take time cause I REALLY don't want the story to be rushed or lacking. I want to give you guys a good story and enjoy it fully for what it is. And it's mostly my fault the story got delayed so long for my lack of interest. I'm extremely sorry! TAT
Cy(Yup, it's me): To clarify a bit on the top so no one gets confused, he doesn't mean he's lost interest in SAO itself, he's talking about typing it since he's found more interest in upcoming projects of ours. (So much he works on SAO and starts thinking of this for the others) There you have, we'll continue working to finish this ^^ Gotta keep promises, ya know?
Chapter 24: The Fight Begins!
I watch as Vile lunges at the guild leader Deus. Out the corner of my eye, I then notice Vesper jump after Vile, taking advantage of his rage focusing on Deus. I react by intercepting Vesper's attack by guarding Vile before it reached him.
"Sorry, but no one ever said this was a one v two" I say, grabbing Vile and pulling him from Vesper.
"Don't get in my way!" Vile shouts. Is he talking to me after I saved him? I look at Vile and see him staring at Vesper. I internally sigh, feeling relieved that he wasn't directing that to me.
"He's my right hand Terumi and doing his job as such" Deus says as he jumps down the ledge he was standing on to join Vesper. "Let us show them our combined power. Shall we, Vesper?" Vesper bows to Deus. This guy's loyalty to someone over a VR game gives me the creeps.
"I am honored" Vesper says as he gets into a stance and points his rapier at me and Vile. "Come, we shall show you how powerful we are compared to you two."
"Tch. Cy let's show these cocky bastards who the better duo is" Vile says. I look over to Vile and notice his more calm state. His stance is refined and his eyes are focused. At least he knows when to change gears.
I yawn and draw my sword. "I've been waiting to stretch my arms now. Now's a good time" I say as I extend my left arm and three throwing picks fall from my sleeve. I hold them in between my fingers and point my sword back at the other two.
They both rush at us with Vesper in front. He attacks fist with a forward stab from his rapier which passes by me. I then notice Deus targeting me with his claw and dodge that as well. Vile rushes with his metal overlay arm and counters Deus' next attack. Vesper tries to take this moment to take Vile out with one swift swing. I manage to parry it and get a punch off. "Not bad. You've gotten a bit faster since last time, but that's to be expected" he tells me with a cocky grin.
I throw my sword toward Vesper but make it so that it doesn't hit him. He tilts his head as it passes by him and goes into the wall. "Remember this?" I ask as I run up and begin using close combat. He dodges and blocks each hit, slowly backing into the wall where my sword is. Once he actually hits the wall, I quickly grab my sword and use my strength to swing while it's still in the wall. Vesper notices too late and escapes once the blade manages to take some health from his shoulder. "I decided to modify it." Vesper smiles and points to behind me. I raise an eyebrow.
"Over here, White Swordsman" I hear Deus say as I turn and see his claw at my face. I duck but the claw still manages to hit my cheek. I swing my upward, but he grabs it using his metal overlay arm and stabs it into the wall and goes for another punch. I kick my leg out which manages to hit his and causes him to begin falling my way. I roll under as Vile runs up with a fist that knocks him over to Vesper. I stand up and watch as he stands up with unfazed. Seems we'll need to do more.
~Yuri's pov~
"It's been awhile, Yuri" I hear that all too familiar voice say. I turn and see Zezima with an annoyed expression. "Didn't think you'd show your face around here again."
"Hello Zezima and I didn't wanna be here in the first place" I reply which makes him cross his arms. He stares at me in silence and coughs before speaking again.
"Why did you leave?"
"Because I got sick of this guild's motives."
"That all? You got sick of having freedom? What a joke." I flinch and clench my fists. "Give me a real reason as to why you joined these losers instead of staying with us, your true family."
"These 'losers' ARE my family. You guys are just some sick people who tried to kill me and are no better than Laughing Coffin. Fun fact for you, Vile and Cyrus assisted in taking down Laughing Coffin and I'm pretty sure this guild will suffer the same fate. It's only a matter of time before you and the others are wiped out." Zezima begins laughing which makes me flinch again. "What's so funny?"
"Do you really think Laughing Coffin was on our level? I think you lost a few brain cells from being with those losers for so long." I glare at him. "Now that I think about it, you losing brain cells is the only logical thing that can be said about you. I mean, why else would you join up with the one who made you look pathetic?"
I let out a sigh that contained a bit of my anger. "Yes, he was the one who made me look like a joke, but he's also the one who brought me to a wonderful guild. That right there is way better than what I had here." Zezima's grin turns into a frown. "He may seem like a cocky ass, but that's only when he's confident about what he's going up against."
"I didn't ask for a history lesson on someone I don't give a damn about. Now, as I was saying-"
"I was only telling you about the one who'll kick your ass once again. Also, if you think talking about my new family is gonna lower my self-esteem, you might as well stop. I already cut my ties with you and the rest of the people in this hell house. You're better off going back to kissing your master's feet like you always do." His expression becomes angry as he punches the wall to the guild house.
"Once this family of yours is killed, we'll see who's talking!" He storms back into the guild house, leaving me alone. I let out a sign and look toward the sky. Please hurry up in there guys!
~Halo's pov~
"My, you two are strong" the creepy guy, Vesper, says before clapping his hands twice. Three of his lackeys circle around Cy and Vile. I see Cy grit his teeth as he takes out three throwing picks.
"Yo losers!" I shout which gets the lackeys' attention. "Your fight's with me and Kaz. Let the others have a fair fight." They all look at Vesper and he shrugs. They then look back at me and follow Kaz and I to the entrance. Yuri's still there too. "Mind joining us, missy?"
"What're you…" she begins but stops once she sees the three other. "…I see." She draws her katana and comes over to me and Kaz. "Did they try to attack you?"
"No. Their true targets were Cy and Vile, which they planning on going back to IF they can defeat us." She stays silent which makes me look at her with a confused face. "What's up?"
"I won't forgive them…" Looks like she's full-on serious. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. When I open them, my mind is refreshed and focused and I'm glaring daggers at our enemies.
"Shall we end them quickly?" My voice is now darker, something that symbolizes my change in mindset and attitude.
"Let's kill these brats!" one of the enemies, the scruffy-faced one, says as he takes out his mace. The other two bring out a spear and axe. I wait as the one with an axe comes at me. The smirk that just appeared on my face continues to grow as he draws closer. Once he's in front, Yuri, with a quick upward slash, parries and breaks his weapon. I take this chance to get three slashes off before kicking him away, resulting in his health going yellow.
"Three slashes and yellow? You must be the weakest" I taunt as he doesn't even attempt to stand back up. I turn and see the mace guy about to hit Yuri, so I push her toward Kaz and block the attack. With my now free hand, I give Mr. Mace a right hook which makes him stumble back. He then tries to punch me back. "Predictable mistake." I catch his fist, drop my sword, and get behind him while now twisting his arm with both hands. Once I get him locked, I trip him, sending him face first into the ground, and then slam my right heel into his back which also brings him to yellow.
I now turn and see Kaz and Yuri fighting sir Spear. Kaz and him trade blows while Yuri waits for the perfect time to strike. She goes in once Kaz gets aggressive and throws spearman off balance. Yuri then cleanly slices off his ankle and some which makes him fall. Kaz then finishes him off by slamming the hilt of his sword into spear guy's gut, resulting in his near-red yellow bar. Afterwards, we tie the three up using leftover rope. "Why exactly do you have rope?" Kaz asks me.
"It was used for a request from Petra, though I never got rid of it." He nods and looks away while I look back at the cave entrance. Good luck in there guys.
~Petra's pov~
I watch as Halo and Kazama run towards the entrance with 3 of the GE members that tried to ambush Cy and Vile chasing after them. Oh no! They're going to run into Yuri waiting in front of the entrance! I run towards the exit of the cave but the GE member in red with the great axe on his back from earlier jumps in front of the exit stopping me from pursuing them.
"Sorry, you'll have to go through me if you want to help them" He says while drawing his axe from his back and I respond by getting into a stance with my rapier. "Before we begin allow me to introduce myself. My IGN is Rubedo I am one of the founding members of this guild." A founding member? I see. So he is one of the creators of this guild.
"My IGN is Petra. Sorry but I'm going to need you to get out of my way." Rubedo snickers under his breath and charges towards me without warning. My body reacts by quickly jumping back, dodging Rubedo's axe as it dug into the ground. I immediately get back into my stance.
"Impressive reflexes you got there. I have to admit I didn't think you'd be able to dodge that." Rubedo pulls his axe out of the ground and charges at me again the instant his axe was unearthed. He swings his axe horizontally and I jump at just the right time to land on his axe. I move my leg back so I can put more power into my kick and swing it forward with all the force I can muster hitting Rubedo's chin making his head cock back while staggering. Alright! That looked like it dealt some major damage!
Not wanting to waste this opportunity I quickly dash towards Rubedo to inflict some more damage on him while his down. Once I reach him I thrust my rapier towards his body but he manages to shield himself with his axe blocking my attack.
"Hmph. That was a little too close for comfort" I hear Rubedo say behind his axe. "Some friendly advice from me to you. Always watch your back." Surprised from his random "advice" I instinctively look back and see a female player with a spear in midair ready to skewer me. No! I noticed to late… Vile…! I close my eyes knowing it's too late for me to dodge her attack I wait for the inventible but hear a clanging sound like two metal bar clashing.
"Damn you! I hate persistent men!" I hear an unfamiliar voice shout. Which I assume is the female player I saw earlier. I open my eyes only to see Liger standing right behind me in a deadlock with the female player that was about to pierce me with her weapon. I look at Liger's weapon and see that he has a halberd a weapon you don't see so often around SAO. Liger swung the female player's spear away and did a quick thrust to scare her away.
"My apologizes Petra I let her slip past me." Distracted from Liger's skill with the halberd I didn't notice that Rubedo had evaded back towards the exit. With the female player dressed in black next to him.
"I think it's about time you introduced yourself don't you think?" Rubedo says to the female player now standing next to him. She gives him a glare and clicks her tongue. Probably dislikes the idea of introducing herself to us.
"My IGN is Nero. Like Red over here I am one of the founding members of God's eye." The female player in black says. We're fighting two founding members of this guild? Can we even match up to them with our skill level?
"Don't worry as long as we work together we should be fine" I hear Liger say as he spins his halberd around and gets into a stance. Was I thinking out loud?
"No you weren't. It's written all over your face." Liger says again feeling a bit frustrated he can read my thoughts just by looking at my face.
"Stop reading me like an open book!" I shout at Liger and he smiles in response.
"My apologizes. Now, it is time to deal with them." I look over to Rubedo and Nero to see Rubedo scratching his ear and Nero giving us a nasty glare.
"You two have guts I'll give you that much. But please… Don't act like we're not here." Rubedo says with a sigh.
"By the time we're done with you two you'll both be groveling on the ground begging for your lives." Nero exclaims, annoyance clearly in her voice. Nero is the first to attack charging straight towards us. Liger does the same and their weapons collide putting each other in a deadlock again. Liger parries Nero's spear with the bottom end of his halberd pinning Nero's spear head to the ground creating an opening for Liger. Liger quickly moves the backside of his halberd behind Nero's neck and pulls, forcing Nero to lose her footing and falls to the ground. Liger puts a foot over Nero's back to hold her down and points the spear head of his halberd on top of Nero's head. "Damn you…!" I see Rubedo finally move and he dashes towards Liger, he swings his huge axe at Liger but he blocks it sending him flying.
"Liger!" I shout as I watch Liger flying out of my view. I tighten the grip on my hand holding my rapier feeling my anger clouding my judgment I charge towards Nero aggressively and quickly thrusting multiple times giving her a good amount of damage. Nero's expression changes looking surprised for a moment then instantly switches back to her angered face.
"Don't get cocky because you landed a few hits on me you wretch!" Nero exclaims while kicking me away from her launching me into the air. I recover and land on my feet. I took a bit of damage from that kick. Once I focus on Nero again she has already reached me with her spear already thrusting towards me. As I wait for the spear to land it's starts to move slowly in my eyes while I close them.
"Dodge!" Surprised I instantly react by dodging Nero's spear barely cutting my left cheek.
Vile? I could have sworn I heard his voice just now. As I snap out of my thoughts I see Nero wasting no time to attack me again and like the last attack I quickly dodged it by jumping back doing a back flip in midair to get some more distance from her. For some reason that shout commanding me to dodge sounded too familiar. After thinking about it for a second I remembered where I heard that shout. Yes it was when I was training with Vile! Feeling confidant I stand back up with a smile and get into a stance facing Nero.
"You little… Dodge a few attacking now you're getting all cocky!? Don't screw with me!" Nero shouts in her nasty tone that hasn't changed since the begging of the fight. This time she leaps towards me with her spear overhead probably trying to end it with that attack.
"Remember to utilize your best qualities for combat! For you Petra that would be your reflexes and flexibility." I hear the memory of Vile in my mind. Ha ha! It feels like I'm being coached through the fight. As I wait for the right time to dodge. I calmly watch Nero swing her spear down and barely dodge it just by stepping aside a little. Nero looks surprised but I waste no time and take this opening. I quickly thrust my rapier multiple times into her she winces angrily.
"Damn you! Hold still!" Nero shouts at me attempting to intimidate me I guess? She hits my right side with the back end of her spear stunning me and she kicks me away again. I don't let it get to me though and just get back into my stance. "Well well. Looks like I really underestimated you I thought you were just some accessory for your boyfriend." Nero says with a grin obviously trying to get in my head so I just ignore her and charge towards her. Looks like she didn't expect it because she had a dumb founded look on her face for a second and blocked my attack with the shaft of her spear.
"Don't waste your breath on trying to play mind games with me I'll just block it out." I say to Nero and she parries my rapier away with the back of her spear and attempts to stab me with the spearhead but I parry it with the hand guard of my rapier and thrust it into her right shoulder.
"Damn you… Damn you! Damn you! DAMN YOU!" Nero screams startling me a bit and I see her left hand open heading for my face. Seriously? I grab her hand and head bud her making her head swing back I pull my rapier out of her jumping back away from her. "You… you…" Nero says while covering her face with her left hand squeezing her face angrily. "YOU LITTLE SWINE! TRY AND DODGE THIS!" Nero screams at the top of her lungs filled with rage. Her spears start to glow a deep crimson and throws her spear at me with full force heading towards me quickly. I put all my focus into the spear waiting… waiting… Once its close enough I narrowly dodge it hearing a loud crash behind me I move quickly with my rapier glowing green I charge towards Nero to land my last attack and while I'm heading towards Nero I remember Vile's words.
"Once you disarm your opponent in anyway they'll be wide open and defenseless. Take this chance with full power and end it with your most powerful skill!" Once that memory of Vile is over I've already reached an unarmed Nero with a surprised expression not comprehending what just happened. I rapidly attack Nero at a blinding speed and for the last attack for my skill I slash from her shoulder to her side. After receiving all those attacks at once she falls back wrapping her arms around herself. I look at her health bar and see that its yellow almost hitting the red mark. I think I went a bit overboard… I point my rapier towards Nero's head and she reacts by glaring at me.
"Please surrender. I don't want to kill you." I plead to Nero hoping she won't be stubborn but she laughs confusing me. "What's so funny? You lost!" I say to Nero confused.
"You should really listen to your elders when they give you advice girl." Nero says with a grin. Realizing that Rubedo took no part in the fight and his "advice" from the beginning I look back and see him already behind me with his great axe over head and trapped. I can't believe this happened again! I close my eyes again this time I'll be hit for sure. But again I hear a clanging sound but it sounded more powerful. I open my eyes and see Liger yet again saving me from certain death. In a dead lock with Rubedo and his great axe. Liger holds his ground but I don't think his weapon can last much longer against that huge axe! Liger nudges Rubedo away but as soon as the shaft of his halberd separated from the axe it broke. Oh no… I look at Liger looking at his broken weapon and I feel the air around him change.
"Liger…?"
~Rubedo's pov~
After being nudged away from the halberd user I see him looking at his broken weapon not saying a word.
"Liger…?" I hear from the female player with the rapier. So his name is Liger?
"You piece of shit…" I feel something hit the left side of my face sending me flying and crash into the ground. What in the world!? I sit up dumb struck wondering what just happened. I look over to the direction where I was launched from and I see Liger's fist glowing yellow. Was he the one that attacked me? "You broke the very first present I received from my guild mates…" I hear him say in a cold tone sending chills down my spine. What the hell is his problem? His personality did a total 180. "Get up… You're lucky this isn't the real world cause if it was I would've broken every single bone in your body you bastard!" He exclaims while clenching his fist hearing his bones crack. Who in the world is this guy?
Current levels:
Cyrus – Level 91
Cross – Level 94
Lily – Level 84
Vile – Level 92
Kazama – Level 80
Rei – Level 84
Halo –Level 86
Yumiko – Level 81
Petra – Level 87
Yuri – Level 87
To Be Continued in Chapter 24
REVIEWS... Wow, we still have them... STRAT'S TURN AGAIN! (Answers will be on both this and the next chapter since it's a dual update)
iTricksterz - I made you wait nearly five months... I'm so sorry! And thanks! I put in alot of effort for the story. ^A^
Yukimoko - I'm REALLY sorry! It's mostly my fault the chapters got released later and later... But we're going to finish for sure! But like I said in the authors note, it'll take some time since I want this story to be as enjoyable as it can be. I really don't want to rush it.
FukoShima - Nah, we're happy to receive your praise, don't get me wrong! My interest in SAO is just lacking... ^w^'