Chapter 29: True Plans

Ex-Aid Online

In a dark and gloomy room, sat two men, separated only by a window. One man was a detective, trying to solve a case from some time ago. The other man was being interrogated for information.

"You're a stubborn man, detective." Dan Masamune replied. "The incident from five years ago have been solved."

The detective arched forward.

"No, it ain't." He retorted. "Two people in relation to your case has gone missing. Do you have any idea where they are?"

Masamune scoffed, and just got up to go back to his cell.

"I believe I can't answer that question…" He replied as he was escorted out.

"Wait!" The detective shouted. "Just what are you hiding?"

But then, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. His skin began to turn orange as he slowly fell to the ground on his knees, gasping for breath.

The SAO players were just happily lounging around in Brave's mansion. It was a nice change of pace from Asuna and Kirito's log cabin. Ex-Aid then appeared into the room, followed by Brave. But contrary to the latters attitude, Ex-Aid was very tired.

"So tired…" He groaned as he fell on the couch.

"Whoa there!" Liz called. "You okay?"

"Is your game disease acting up again?" Poppy asked.

"No…" Ex-Aid groaned. "It's just… Hiro was really strict on today's internship…"

"Oh, never mind then." Poppy replied.

She then flew back to play with Yui, but Liz stayed and just patted his head.

"Looks like game disease treatment may be the only thing you might be good at." Brave replied, grabbing a cup of coffee. "You better thank Poppy for recruiting you."

"Uh…" Poppy replied. "That wasn't exactly my idea…"

"Oh?" Kirito asked. "Then whose idea was it?"

"Dan suggested that we recruited you." Poppy replied.

That got everyone silent. The former ally, now their worst enemy, planned this whole thing out even before the Bugster virus was public? Just how far is this guy's plan?

"Genmu…" Brave whispered.

"Now that we mention it…" Sinon spoke up. "What about that 'ultimate game' he was going on about?"

"It would be best for us to not think about it." Brave replied. "As doctors, our only jobs are to save lives, not solve mysteries."

"But, we're not doctors though…" Asuna commented.

But then, Brave and Ex-Aid got a message. It was from one of the former's assistants from the hospital. The message says that they just received a patient.

"We'll be back." Brave replied. "We just got a patient."

And with that, Brave logged off. Ex-Aid also did too, but before he did, he told the SAO players something.

"Come to this location and wait for us there." He said, sending them a message. "We'll bring the patient over."

And on that note, Ex-Aid also logged off. The SAO players received the message, and they all departed to that location.

Emu and Hiro quickly saw the patient safely to his room. It was the detective from before. After getting him set up, they were ready to look him over.

"Name: Uesugi Ryuji. Age: 43. Occupation: Police Detective." Hiro read.

"Preparing examination." Emu replied.

"Who are you people…?" The detective asked.

"We are the doctors from CR." Emu replied.

"CR…?" The detective muttered.

Hiro ignored the small talk, and he just scanned him over. The scanner indicated a Bugster present within his body.

"It's game disease." Hiro replied.

"We'll have to treat you." Emu said.

Quickly, they grabbed a standby AmuSphere they had for a patient's use. After getting the link set up, both doctors quickly ran to Hiro's office to start the treatment.

Kirito and the others waiting patiently in the area Ex-Aid told them to be in. Speaking of which, Ex-Aid and Brave appeared onto the area, followed by a random player.

"Who's this guy?" Klein asked.

"He's our patient." Brave replied.

Yui looked him. His name was Phoenix, Level 40.

"It doesn't look like the conventional player though." Silica said.

"This account is just so we could treat patients that don't have any sort of VR game account." Brave replied. "It's faster this way."

Phoenix had other ideas, as he was trying to log off, but he couldn't.

"Why isn't this working?" He shouted.

"I'm sorry, but you're locked in here until we can cure your game disease." Brave explained. "It's better as it would prevent any spread of the virus."

Phoeni stomped his feet and just began to walk away.

"I don't have time for that!" He shouted.

Asuna quickly ran forward to stop him.

"Please!" Asuna pleaded. "Calm down!"

"Move it, missy!" Phoenix shouted, shoving Asuna out of the way. "I have to speak to Dan Masamune again…!"

Everyone ran forward to stop Phoenix. Kirito helped Asuna back up, and the two began to follow the rest.

"Dan Masamune?" Asuna asked.

"That's GENM's previous CEO, and Dan's father." Ex-Aid replied.

Just then, Phoenix stopped. He fell on his knees and began to faze in and out in orange.

"Bugster found!" Poppy shouted.

Everyone stopped. Ex-Aid and Brave put on their Gamer Drivers and pulled out their Gashats. And with a yell, Phoenix was engulfed in orange blobs and was replaced by a Bugster. He had a samurai helmet on, and he had coat going down his to his ankles. He also had two swords on his back, sheathed in an X Shape.

"A samurai!" Klein shouted, sheathing out his sword. "This must be my lucky day!"

The Riders just pressed their Gashats.

TADDLE QUEST!

DRAGO KNIGHT HUNTER! Z!

MIGHTY BROTHERS! DOUBLE X!

"Proceeding to Level 5!" Brave shouted.

"Henshin!" Ex-Ad shouted.

GASHATTO! GASHATTO!

DOUBLE GASHATTO!

Then, all of them opened up their Gamer Drivers.

GACHANN LEVEL UP!

TADORU MEGURU! TADORU MEGURU! TADDLE QUEST!

A GACCHA!

D-D-DRAGO! KNI-KNI-KNI-KNI~GHT! DRA! DRA! DRAGO KNIGHT HUNTER! Z!

MIGHTY BROTHERS! FUTARI DE HITORI! MIGHTY BROTHERS! FUTARI DE VICTORY! X!

While Ex-Aid turned into his Level 10 chibi form, Brave turned into his Level 2 body, and then the dragon attached itself onto him.

"Let's do this thing!" Klein shouted with energy.

Brave rolled his eyes and just pressed the Stage button.

STAGE SELECT!

The area changed into a forest. There was a small wodden bridge with an entrance gate on the other side. It was a typical samurai setting. Klein got more and more enthusiastic.

"I am the great Kaiden…" The Bugster replied. "Of the thirtieth standing!"

Ex-Aid quickly grabbed his sword.

GASHACON KEYSLASHER!

"Alright!" He said. "A battle of swords it is!"

"En garde." Kaiden said.

Before anyone could say anything, Klein just charged in forward. He had been waiting for this moment. He first locked blades with Kaiden, and then throwing the blade upward, Klein then slashed Kaiden's lower body, and then down his back. Kaiden drew his second blade, and now the tables had turned on Klein.

"Huh." Kirito said. "Guess he knows what he's doing."

"Looks like he's not just an idiot." Liz and Brave both said at the same time unknowingly.

But with that said, Brave and the rest also attacked.

First, Brave and Ex-Aid both went for a slash, but Kaiden blocked them both. He twirled, but he missed as the Riders jumped back. Then, Asuna did her signature move, and Kaiden received damage. This was followed by a downward slash from both Kirito and Klein, which somehow Kaiden was able to block.

From afar, a familiar zombie came into being. He watched the battle from afar.

"Genmu!" Kirito called. "Don't get in the way!"

"Relax. I'm not here for you." Genmu replied.

He then fired an arrow behind him, and the arrow was thrown away as Snipe came into being. In Level 50. Genmu prepared to attack by splitting the Sparrows apart.

ZU-PANN!

"Snipe…" He growled. "I shall retrieve your Gashats!"

"Took the words right out of my mouth!" Snipe shouted as he began to shoot.

Sinon saw this, and quickly whispered to Kirito.

"Kirito!" She shouted. "I'm going to help Snipe!"

"Alright! Be careful!" Kirito shouted.

As Sinon went to help Snipe, the fight with Kaiden was going just as fine. At this point, Kirito and Asuna had to fall back because this style of fighting wasn't their strongest suit. Ex-Aid also backed off, as he had just taken too much damage. It was just Klein and Brave now. They have currently locked blades now.

"Well swordsmanship… but still weak!" Kaiden cried as he threw them both off of him.

And with slashes to the right and down, Klein had taken significant damage. As a result, he tumbled down. Brave stopped him with his foot, and then he just stepped over him.

"You're getting in the way." He said. "I'll end this."

He then pulled out his Gashat and then inserted it into the side, pressing the button as well.

GASHUNN! GASHATTO! KIMEWAZA!

Klein quickly got up.

"Don't take all the glory!" Klein shouted. "I'm going to get him!"

Brave ignored him, and pressed the button again.

DRAGO KNIGHT CRITICAL STRIKE!

Brave gathered enough energy. And with that, he slashed Kaiden three times, fired an energy ball, and then he fired a vortex of flames at Kaiden. And with that, Kaiden had taken major damage.

"My strength is waning…" He groaned. "I shall retreat for now…"

Then, Kaiden returned back to Phoenix, who just fell. Quickly, Asuna and Kirito helped him up and carried him away.

Meanwhile, Snipe, Sinon and Genmu were still fighting. They were just in a shoot out now.

"Time for you to go…" Genmu growled, inserting a Gashat into his Sparrow.

GASHATTO! KIMEWAZA!

"You first." Snipe replied, closing his Driver.

GACHANN! KIMEWAZA!

BANG BANG CRITICAL FIRE/FINISH!

Snipe fired a tank shell. Genmu also fired an energy blast, and while he was able to hold the attack at bay for a bit, but it overwhelmed him. The shell exploded in front of him, consuming him and making him lose something. Sinon saw it and quickly caught it, noticing that it was the Bang Bang Shooting Gashat.

"Got it." She said.

Snipe looked over to Sinon, and then back to Genmu.

"Okay, this was too easy." He taunted. "Did you honestly think a Level 10 could beat a Level 50?"

Genmu then emitted a purple aura again, and he slowly stood back up.

"Gloat about it all you want…" He said. "It will be over soon…"

He then looked over to the rest, even Asuna and Kirito, who was helping Phoenix.

"And it would be best to stay out of issues you aren't related to." He mentioned.

He then turned away.

"Unless you want to meet Kujo Kiriya in the afterlife…" He finished.

And with that, he disappeared. The Riders and the players have no idea what he meant by that, but then again, with Genmu, you never know what goes on with that guy.

Dan threw off his AmuSphere, waking up in the real world. He then began to walk towards his computer, but he stumbled through several stacked boxes. And as boxes tumbled onto the floor, he sat himself down in front of the computer.

"This is going better than I thought…" He growled, breathing heavily.

He tapped a key, and it displayed the current data he has stored on the Dangerous Zombie Gashat.

"I just need to take one more fatal damage…" He continued. "Then… Dangerous Zombie's true power is unlocked…!"

Phoenix woke up with a startle. He found himself on a bed, in a neatly organized room, with a nightstand by his side. He also saw Ex-Aid and Poppy, who was sitting by his side.

"I assume you people are with CR?" He asked.

"Yes." Poppy replied. "Are you okay, sir?"

"You seemed to be talking in your sleep." Ex-Aid added.

Phoenix looked around, and he realized that he was in ALO. In his reports, he realized that this was a game, and he figured he should get out as soon as he can.

"It's alright." He said, getting out of bed. "I'm a cop, so toughing it out is part of the job."

But when he did manage to get up, his Bugster virus acted up, causing him to fall on the floor on his face.

"Sir!" Poppy called, trying to help. "Are you okay?"

"Let go of me!" Phoenix shouted.

"You have to rest!" Ex-Aid pleaded. "Please, let us help you!"

Phoenix then yelled something that just stopped them cold.

"My son died from the Bugster virus!" He yelled.

With that, everyone stopped. After the virus calmed down, Poppy and Ex-Aid stood him up against a wall.

"The Ministry took over the case, so I decided to investigate it privately…" Phoenix groaned. "I wanted to find out about the truth behind Zero Day, and the origins of the Bugsters…"

"But I thought the case was solved after Dan Masamune was arrested." Poppy commented.

"Well, no." Phoenix replied. "While he did confess to the crimes, he never really explained how the Bugster virus came to be."

"In addition to that, two men went missing last Christmas." He went on. "Dan Kuroto, son of Dan Masamune, and a medical coroner, Kujo Kiriya, who had met with Masamune just before he went missing."

"The case is far from over!" Phoenix finished, getting back up.

But then, the virus acted up again. He fell to his knees, but Ex-Aid was able to catch him. Ex-Aid then carefully lifted him back up onto the bed.

"Um…" He spoke. "I'll investigate the case for you."

That kind of confused everyone in the room.

"Ex-Aid, what are you saying?" Poppy said. "You're a doctor."

"She's right." Phoenix agreed. "This is a cop's job."

"No." Ex-Aid stated firmly. "It's also my job. I will cure your game disease, and make you smile again."

And with that said, Ex-Aid began to walk out of the room. He had Poppy stay behind to take care of him.

Meanwhile, Brave and the others have been watching him through a special observation glass in his office. The other SAO players were intrigued, while Brave kept a neutral face.

"Well…" Kirito said. "Would you look at that."

"The guy really cares..." Klein added. "Maybe a bit too much though…"

"You make it sound like it's a bad thing." Liz teased.

That's when Brave just stood up and stormed out of his office. The others followed suit, and later cut off Ex-Aid on his way outside.

"Where do you think you're going?" He asked.

Ex-Aid stood his ground, and made his position firm.

"Genmu killed Lazer because of something he found out about Dan Masamune on that day." He explained. "I want to know what that something was."

"I thought I told you." Brave replied. "We're doctors, not mystery hunters."

Ex-Aid bit his lip, and despite that being right, he still was determined.

"Brave, can you take care of the patient?" He asked. "Poppy is already in there."

Ex-Aid began to log out, but Brave quickly grabbed his collar and pinned him to a wall, slightly shocking everyone.

"Do you want to meet the same fate as that coroner?!" He yelled.

"I just want to know!" Ex-Aid shouted back. "Why a secret costed Kiriya's life."

Brave then silently let go of Ex-Aid. He also vividly remembered Lazer's Game Over from Genmu on that day. As he let go, he looked away. Ex-Aid used this chance to log out.

"We'll go with him." Asuna said. "Right, Kirito?"

"Of course." Kirito replied. "We'll contact you when we found anything."

Then, the two couple also logged out. Brave then left towards the room patient, and the restof the SAO players followed suit.

"Should we be worried?" Silica asked quietly.

"I don't think it will help." Leafa replied.

Nico was jumping for joy in a nearby park with Taiga. While the latter was just chilling on a bench, she was hopping and skipping all over the place.

"You got your Gashat back!" She called. "That zombie guy's got to be hella pissed off!"

"Y'know, it ain't over yet." Taiga retorted. "I'm still going to destroy him."

"Well, he's an immortal zombie and everything…" Nico questioned. "Is there even a way?"

Taiga scoffed at that remark, but he knew what he had in mind.

"There is." He said. "An eye for an eye, a game for a game."

A little while later, the pair found themselves in the GENM Corp. development team room. They were sitting at a table, but there was some negotiation to be had with the guy they're talking to.

"I can't take this!" Koutarou shouted.

Taiga and Nico were talking to Nagata Koutarou, Recon's uncle, and the infected of the JuJu Burger Bugster from some chapters ago. He had just refused a big wad of cash Taiga had brought for him.

"I just need a new Gashat from you." Taiga said bluntly. "If this isn't enough, I can bring more. Just name your price."

"I mean…" Koutarou sighed. "This is just out of nowhere…"

Nico saw an opportunity. She walked up beside the adult and began to prod him around.

"Well now…" She teased. "I guess you already forgot what Genmu did to you?"

Koutarou cringed at the thought. He still remembered Genmu murdering Burgermon right before his eyes. It still haunts him to this day.

"No, I haven't!" He responded. "I still want him to pay!"

"Then grow some balls and do it!" Nico shouted, slugging him in the gut.

Koutarou lurched onto the table, groaning from the pain.

"What kind of game do want the Gashat to hold…?" He asked amidst the moaning of pain.

"A game where you deal with immortal zombies." Propsed a voice.

Taiga, Nico, and Koutarou saw Shino in the room. She walked up and sat down at the table, next to Taiga.

"Do you think you can do it, Mr. Nagata?" She asked.

Koutarou gathered his intestines together, and recovered.

"Of course." He replied.

After he left, leaving the three alone, Taiga turned to speak to Shino.

"Where did you come from?" He asked. "I thought you were with Ex-Aid."

"I just wanted to make sure you're not up to anything sneaky." Shino replied with a serious look in her eyes. "If he pulls this off, I'm going to tell Emu and the others about this."

Taiga stared her down hard.

"You better not…" He warned her.

"Humor me, then." Shino shot back.

The two stared down hard. Nico was just watching this, odd, but interested.

Some time ago, Emu, Kazuto, and Asuna had just finished talking with Dan Masamune. They were now just walking back.

"Well, now what?" Asuna asked.

"We have to tell Mr. Uesugi everything." Emu suggested.

"We'll have to hurry then." Kazuto said. "C'mon!"

The three began to pick up pace. They took a short cut through a canal. They began to approach a bridge, but a figure on the bridge stopped them.

"I thought I warned you to stay out of it." Dan said.

"Kuroto…" Asuna whispered.

"We've heard everything from your father!" Emu shouted.

(Flashback)

Asuna, Kazuto, and Emu sat silently and still in the prisoner visiting room. They were very nervous. Asuna was rubbing her thumbs, and while Kazuto did his best to comfort her. Emu was calm and quiet. Then, with a loud metallic clunk, the door on the other side of the glass they spoke through opened, creaking along the way. A correctional officer entered along with a prisoner. Dan Masamune.

"I seem to be quite popular with guests today…" He whispered.

Emu stood up, and greeted him politely.

"Hello, sir." He said. "I'm Hojo Emu, from Seito University Hospital."

Masamune perked up at the hearing of that name.

"Emu…?" He repeated. "You're Emu…?"

After that, he sat down in front of them.

"What do you want?" He asked.

Emu sat back down, and he began to speak.

"Last Christmas, a person named Kujo Kiriya was killed after talking to you." He explained. "… Your son did it."

Masamune looked depressed, but you couldn't tell.

"Guess I expected too much out of him…" He admitted.

"Expected too much?" Kazuto repeated.

Emu saw his chance.

"Please!" He said. "What did the two of you talk about…?"

Masamune looked at Emu, and he also approached him.

"Can you… stop my son…?" He asked.

The three said yes, and soon after that, Dan Masamune began to talk about how the Bugsters came to be in this world.

"It all began in the year 2000, just after the panic of Y2K had passed." He said.

"Y2K…?" Asuna asked. "What's that?"

Emu turned to the two SAO players.

"You guys weren't born at the time." He explained. "But it was this big scare back in 1999 when all the people were scared that all forms of technology and computers would malfunction the moment the year 200 began… but nothing happened in the end."

"No." Masamune interrupted. "That is when humanity's fate changed."

"One particular computer had a malfunction that was unnoticed…" He went on. "And that is how the Bugster virus was born… And Kuroto was the first one to discover it."

(Flashback end)

"And you used that to trigger Zero Day five years ago!" Kazuto said. "And then you framed your father!"

Dan couldn't help but cackle. He was delighted to hear that someone else finally figured out his master plan.

"Well, what other choice did I have?!" He bellowed. "I couldn't complete my ultimate game in prison!"

"You're scum…" Asuna said. "To even use your own father like that!"

Back in the world of ALO, Brave was handling some medical equipment in the room where Phoenix was kept. Silica and Leafa were taking turns wiping down his sweat, while Klein and Liz helped Brave as much as they could.

"Sorry about this…" He said exasperatedly.

"It's okay!" Silica smiled, dabbing his sweat. "This is the least we could do."

Brave finally sat down another piece of equipment, but then, something came to his mind.

"Is there even a point trying to find out about what happened back then." He questioned.

"Eh…?" Leafa asked.

"Even if you did…" Brave continued, thinking of Yuko. "It won't bring that person back."

Phoenix sighed.

"I couldn't protect my son…" He admitted. "And I didn't even find out about the truth of this case…"

Slighlty tearing up, he turned on his side.

"I'm a terrible detective…" He sighed.

Just then, he grunted. And, with warning, he screamed as the Bugster virus broke out again. Phoenix's figure was replaced by Kaiden again. Kaiden raised his blade, but Klein quickly intercepted.

"Hey there!" He smiled. "I've been itching for a rematch with you!"

The two clashed blades a couple more times before the two threw themselves out of the nearest window. Leafa and the others went after him, but Brave stopped to put on his Gamer Driver.

"That kid…" He groaned.

He pulled out his two Gashats and pressed them.

TADDLE QUEST!

DRAGO KNIGHT HUNTER! Z!

He inserted the two in, and then he transformed.

GASHATTO! GASHATTO!

"Proceeding to Level 5." He said. "Henshin."

GACHANN LEVEL UP!

TADORU MEGURU! TADORU MEGURU! TADDLE QUEST!

A GACCHA!

D-D-DRAGO! KNI-KNI-KNI-KNI~GHT! DRA! DRA! DRAGO KNIGHT HUNTER! Z!

Brave turned into his Level 2 form, and then the Dragon attached itself onto his body. Jumping down to the fight, he set the area with the button on his side.

STAGE SELECT!

Dan continued to cackle. Emu, Asuna and Kazuto endured it for as long as they could, but they were interrupted when Emu's text went off.

"Mr. Uesugi's Bugster broke out!" He called.

"Let's go!" Asuna shouted.

Then, the three dashed away towards the direction of the hospital. Dan watched on as they went on.

"Now…" He smiled. "How will you save him…?"

Brave and Klein were now fighting Kaiden alongside Leafa, Silica, and Lisbeth. Kaiden quickly made short work of Silica, knocking her into a wall, while Leafa and Lis made things a bit more difficult. He would trick them into slicing each other. Klein and Brave were the real problem. Kaiden did a kick to get Brave off of him, but when he was about to charge, five figures entered the field.

DANGEROUS ZOMBIE!

MIGHTY BROTHERS XX!

Genmu Zombie Gamer, Kirito, Asuna, XXL and XXR came into the battlefield, glaring at each other. Kirito and Asuna continued to fight Genmu, while the Ex-Aids had a short chat with Brave.

"Move it, intern." He said. "I'm performing an operation here."

"Right!" XXR said, tapping his shoulder. "You'll handle that!"

"And we'll handle Genmu!" XXL said.

Then, the three riders ran towards their opponents.

From afar, Snipe and Sinon also came to the field. Snipe was in Level 50, and was watching the battle.

"Snipe Level 50, eh?" said a voice.

The two GGO players turned to see Para-DX in Knock Out Fighter form.

"This should be fun!" He cheered.

"Be quiet!" Sinon shushed.

"What an eyesore." Snipe scoffed, cocking all of his guns. "Mission start."

Then, these three began to fight each other.

First, it was nothing but a punching match. Snipe and Para-DX exchanged blows to each other in their abdomen, constantly switching. Para-DX first took the upper hand, as he was more agile in terms of body. He delivered a flurry of punches to knock Snipe off of his feet. When he swung his arms around for a final blow, Sinon shot an arrow to his back, drawing his attention. Para-DX would slowly approach her, and Snipe used that opening to fire two cannon shots to his back. Sinon rolled over to his side, and then the two fired a charged blast together. Para-DX was launched off of his feet as he tumbled on the ground for a bit.

"Okay then…" He admitted, dusting himself off. "Looks like Knock Out Fighter's at a disadvantage here."

He pulled out his Gashat and twisted the knob to the other game.

PERFECT PUZZLE!

WHAT'S THE NEXT STAGE!

"Dai Henshin." He said, pressing it.

DUAL UP!

GET THE GLORY IN THE CHAIN! PERFECT PUZZLE!

Para-DX fists turned into shoulder pads, thus reverting him to his Perfect Puzzle form. He raised his left hand, and gathered the nearby Energy Items. He slid them around to find the ones he needed.

"These will do." He said, snapping his fingers on the ones he chose.

METALIZE! MUSCLE UP! MUSCLE UP!

He then twisted the knob inward, and then back out.

KIMEWAZA!

Snipe noticed it, and he closed his Gamer Driver in response.

GACHANN! KIMEWAZA!

The two began to charge their attacks until the two unleashed together.

DUAL GASHAT!

GACHANN!

PERFECT CRITICAL COMBO!

BANG BANG CRITICAL FIRE!

Para-DX jumped into the air as he a scissor kick, while Snipe clasped his gauntlets together and fired two cannon shells. Sinon also fired a scatter arrow in there. The two landed in an explosion, causing the three to knocked back and the Riders cancelling out of their transformation.

GASHUNN!

Para-DX reverted back to Pallad, and while he was bested evenly, he was smiling.

"Just as what you'd expect from a veteran." He said.

Snipe grunted as Sinon helped him up. Pallad also mentioned something to them.

"Hey, keep an eye on Genmu." He suggested. "He's trying to debunk the concept of Levels entirely."

And with that, he disappeared. Snipe and Sinon could only try to understand what he warned them.

The Ex-Aids, Asuna and Kirito were still fighting Genmu. Asuna and Kirito clashed together with their swords and Genmu's Sparrows. When Genmu threw them off, XXL took the opening to land a kick. Genmu would hack at him, but XXR ducked it and slashed his leg. And to finish it off, Asuna and Kirito landed a kick to launch him.

"Let's finish this!" XXR said.

"Read my mind!" XXL replied.

The two then pulled out their other two Gashats and inserted them into the KeySlasher.

GASHATTO! GASHATTO! KIMEWAZA!

XXL also pressed the yellow button.

ZU-KYU-KYU-KYUNN!

A blast began to charge on the tip of the sword, as the two Ex-Aids grabbed it together to hold it steady and aim at Genmu.

ACTION ROBOTS CRITICAL FINISH!

The two fired the blast. Genmu tried to block it, but he was overwhelmed in the end. He was thrown, cancelling out of his transformation as well.

GASHUNN!

Genmu reverted to his Undine body, as he tumbled across the ground. The Ex-Aids quickly high-fived Kirito and Asuna, as the group then watched the other fight.

Brave and Klein were the only ones fighting. Kaiden was using his two swords to fight the two.

"There is nothing I cannot cut!" Brave said his catchphrase.

He then fired a laser to Kaiden's chest, knocking him off. He slashed him a few more times, and then he just kicked to him a rock. Kaiden was heavily damaged, but he was able to manage to land a kick on Brave. He was knocke back, but he ran into Klein, who accidentally stumbled onto an Energy Item.

MUSCLE UP!

Klein felt a sudden burst of power. He never felt so powerful in his life.

"Alright!" He shouted. "Let's do this!"

He then launched himself into the air, towards Kaiden.

"You impudent…!" He shouted.

"Tsuboi Ryotaro Hisatsu Giri!" Klein shouted as he slammed his sword down onto Kaiden's head.

After he did that, he slashed him right across his torso. Kaiden exploded into fire and smoke almost instantly.

GAME CLEAR!

The others made their way over. Leafa were amazed by the sight.

"Wow, Klein!" Leafa said. "That was awesome!"

"'Tsuboi Ryotaro Hisatsu Giri'?" Liz asked with a teasing look. "Seriously?"

Klein blushed madly.

"H-Hey!" He said. "I had to come up with it on the spot okay? I would've named it something cooler!"

Brave shook his head as he just cancelled out of his transformation.

GACHANN! GASHUNN!

He and Silica helped Phoenix to safety, who had just recovered from his Bugster infection.

But as they were moving him, the Bugster residue left behind were being drawn somewhere. It was Genmu. He had his BugVisor outstretched, and the Bugster residue was gathering into it. When he as done, Kaiden could be seen on screen.

The Ex-Aids saw this and cancelled out of their transformation, reverting back to one Ex-Aid.

GACHANN! GASHUNN!

Snipe and Sinon also stepped down to their level as well. They were also intrigued by what they saw.

"What was that just now?" Kirito asked.

Genmu chuckled as he stood up.

"Kamen Riders… Bugsters… and you kids…" He growled. "They're all cogs of the machine of the ultimate game."

"There you go with that 'ultimate game' nonsense." Sinon spoke up. "Just what is it?"

Genmu chuckled, and then he raised his BugVisor to show them his ultimate game.

"Kamen Rider Chronicle." He said. "It is where players transform into Kamen Riders to fight monsters in the real world."

And, adding his slasher smile, he added, "It is the ultimate survival game!"

While the Riders stopped to ponder at this, the SAO players were stoned (except Sinon). All of a sudden, all of their memories from being trapped in Sword Art Online came flooding back to them.

"A game…?" Kirito whispered in his mad voice.

Asuna quivered when he said it like that. Kirito slowly approached Genmu until he was only a armslength away.

"You call risking people lives a game…" He started.

He then grabbed his collar.

"You killed Lazer just for that?!" He shouted.

Genmu didn't react too seriously. He laughed.

"Sacrifices are unavoidable in this line of work." He said.

He threw Kirito off of him and then kicked him hard in his stomach. He was launched, but Asuna and Ex-Aid was able to catch him. The others tried to help, but Genmu stepped forward, causing them to stop. He then spew out a speech.

"Providing dreams and adventures for those who seek them…" He began. "That is the form of entertainment known as games!"

"Only those with the talents of a god have what it takes…" He went on. "And I… HAVE WHAT IT TAKES!"

Ex-Aid had heard enough.

"Because of this game of yours… countless people lost their lives!" He said. "Mr. Uesugi's family… Hiro's girlfriend… and subsequently Shino's mother… and Kiriya… I'll make you pay!"

Genmu responded with a kick to the face. He then stepped on him several times, and just kicked him over once again. He then put his BugVisor back on.

GACHANN!

"You can't stop me." He said. "Not when I have both immortality… and Level X…!"

He smiled with pure joy when he pressed his Gashat.

DANGEROUS ZOMBIE!

"Henshin…" He growled.

GASHATTO! BUCKLE UP!

Genmu transformed into his Zombie Gamer form, but something odd happened at that. He began to crackle with power. And with a yell, he exploded into an aura of purple and dark violet energy. The aura had force strong enough to launch the entire group of protagonists back several feet.

DANGER! DANGER! GENOCIDE! DEATH THE CRISIS! DANGEROUS ZOMBIE!

When the aura and the explosion subsided, Genmu was there once more, in his Zombie Gamer form, seeming more insane and bloodthirsty then ever.

"Did he say Level X…?" Snipe said.

"X… does he mean the unknown variable?" Sinon commented.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Liz asked.

"It probably means…" Brave replied. "His power is immeasureable."

Ex-Aid scowled as he stood back up and grabbed his Mighty Brothers XX Gashat.

"I'm going to stop you! Right here! Right now!" He declared.

He then pulled the Gashat up to his face, and pressed it.

MIGHTY BROTHERS XX!

"Henshin!" He shouted, inserting it.

DOUBLE GASHATTO!

He also opened up the Driver.

GACHANN! LEVEL UP!

MIGHTY BROTHERS! FUTARI DE HITORI! MIGHTY BROTHERS! FUTARI DE VICTORY! X!

Ex-Aid turned into his chibi Level 10 form, but he closed his Driver and opened it back up.

GACHANN!

"Daaaaaai Henshin!" He shouted.

GACHANN! DOUBLE UP!

ORE GA OMAE DE! OMAE GA ORE DE! WE ARE! MIGHTY MIGHTY BROTHERS! HEY! DOUBLE X!

Ex-Aid turned into XXR and XXL, and they were ready to rumble. XXR grabbed his weapon to attack.

GASHACON KEYSLASHER!

Genmu only grabbed his Sparrows.

GASHACON SPARROW!

XXR pulled out his Gashat and inserted it into the KeySlasher.

GASHUNN! DOUBLE GASHATTO! KIMEWAZA!

XXR raised his KeySlasher up, and in tandem, summoned another KeySlasher for XXL. The two pressed the orange buttons on their KeySlasher, and got ready to attack as Genmu just stood there nonchalantly.

ZU-PA-PA-PANN!

The two Ex-Aids quickly slashed Genmu, but Genmu took it really well, as he just twirled away to a safe distance, using the momentum of the attack. The Ex-Aids then pressed the blue button on their KeySlashers and got ready for their final attack.

JA-JA-JA-KINN!

MIGHTY BROTHERS CRITICAL FINISH!

The two Ex-Aids slashed in an X-Shape, and Genmu fired an energy arrow at that attack. The result was an explosion. But when the explosion cleared, Genmu had disappeared. Everyone was shocked.

"Where did he go…?" The Ex-Aids whispered.

IR, Emu was doing his final checks on Uesugi. He was cleared.

"Congratulations." He smiled. "You've been cured."

"Thanks a bunch, kiddo." Uesugi said.

"Don't thank me, sir." Emu responded politely. "Dr. Kagami handled the operation."

"It's not just about that." Uesgui retorted. "You said you were going to make him pay for what he did to all of us."

"I'll be reporting all of this to the Ministry." Uesugi stated. "We'll find Dan Kuroto and stop whatever he has planned."

Emu smiled. Uesugi also smiled in response and then he began to get up with Emu's help.

Back in ALO, everyone else was watching this through a special camera set up by Kirito and Asuna.

"So Emuis not only saving his patients…" Poppy deduced. "He's also carrying the burden of those who are gone!"

"That's some noble stuff right there." Kirito said.

Brave, who was eating a cake, also had something to say.

"Looks like I judged him a bit too harshly." He admitted.

Asuna heard this and walked up to him.

"I heard that!" She smiled. "Let this be evidence!"

She then grabbed Brave's fork and ate the piece of cake Brave was about to eat himself. Kirito and the others laughed at the visual gag.