A/N: Hey guys! I was really happy to hear all the great reviews you guys had for last chapter. I hope you enjoy this chapter just as much. Please review.
Guest: I think that's an interesting idea. I'm happy that someone wants to base their first fic off of my story. When you make you're account, PM me and we can discuss details.
Sword Art Online had prepared Dan for many things. He had learned how to fight with a sword. He had fallen in love with the most amazing girl he could ever ask for. He felt like he had even become a better person as a result of the death game. But there was one thing Sword Art Online hadn't prepared him for.
Shopping
It had been hours since Alicia, Emi, and Clair had dragged him along on what was supposed to be "a quick shopping trip". He sat alone as the girls tried on various outfits, looking at themselves in the mirror.
"What do you think of this one?" Alicia asked, coming over in a green shirt she had picked out.
Dan simply shrugged his shoulders. "It looks fine"
"Honestly, you are so hopeless when it comes to fashion!" Alicia scolded with her cheeks puffed.
"I already told you that before when you dragged me over here!" Dan argued. "And by the way this 'short shopping trip' has already been going on for three hours!"
"You really don't understand anything about girls, do you?" Emi questioned as she came out wearing an outfit she had picked out. "Fashion is a very delicate and precise thing"
Dan had pretty much given up at this point. He hated shopping like this. Alicia and the others would always ask for his opinion on the seemingly endless supply of clothes they would pick out, and he never had much to say on the subject. He didn't understand why girls were always so obsessed with stuff like this. Hyde and Kazuto both agreed with him. Thank god Asuna and Lilina hadn't tagged along or this would take all day.
Finally after another hour, the three girls purchased the clothes they had picked out and returned to Dan to find him snoozing on the chair. Alicia went to shake him awake, but Clair stopped her. She put a finger to her mouth, telling Alicia to be quiet. The young brunette then walked over to her brother and cupped her hand around his ear.
"Wake up big brother!"
The sudden shout from Clair startled Dan and woke him up instantly. When he regained his bearings, he found his sister laughing at him, along with Alicia and Emi. The teen scowled at the three girls. "The hell was that for?"
"For falling asleep while we were shopping, dummy" Clair giggled.
"It's not my fault you guys take forever with this stuff" Dan argued. "So are you almost done yet?"
"Maybe in another hour" Alicia told him.
"What?!"
"Just kidding. We finished about a minute ago."
"Finally" the brown haired teen said, stretching his arms and getting up. As he looked at the girls, he noticed they only had a few bags. "That's all you bought? We were here for hours"
"How many times do we have to tell you? Fashion is a very delicate thing for girls" Emi reminded him.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
The teen leaned on the side of a building, yawning with boredom. It had seemed like forever since those four had gone inside the clothing store. He looked back at his cellphone just to make sure they were still there. Sure enough, the signal from the tracker he had placed on Dan was still coming from that building.
'Man, I'm so BORED! When am I gonna get a chance to have some fun?' he wondered as he let out a yawn. Finally, he saw them walk out of the store with a few bags in hand. He rolled his eyes and followed behind them, keeping a large amount of space between him and those four. It would suck if they noticed him and recognized his face.
Three of them he recognized. They were all from Wyvern Inferno back in SAO. The fourth one wasn't someone he knew, but he figured it didn't matter too much. She was just a runt, nobody that could put up a fight.
All his focus was on the one male in the group. He wanted nothing more than to take the knife in his pocket and skewer him. Killing the three girls was nothing more than a bonus to him. But he couldn't do it right now. There were far too many witnesses. He had to be patient. Just wait for the right moment, and then make that damn tactician bleed.
'Enjoy the last day of your life Ren. Cause once I get my hands on you, I'll make you scream in agony'
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Dan, Alicia, Clair, and Emi walked through the city streets with it being close to noon. The group of four looked around for a place to eat. Alicia recommended a place not far away and they decided to head there right away. As they walked, Dan turned his head to see a person wearing a hat seeming to put in a bit too much effort not to make eye contact with them.
"You see him too?" Alicia whispered quietly to her boyfriend, not wanting to let Emi or Clair hear them.
Dan nodded his head. "Yeah. He's been walking behind us like that ever since we left the clothing shop. It's like he's stalking us"
"Let's give it a test" Alicia suggested. She found an alley that would get them to their destination quicker. It wasn't a very popular path to take, making it perfect. If he followed them, it would almost certainly mean he was following them.
"This way. We can take a shortcut if we cut through here" Alicia said, leading the others through an alley. As they walked through the shortcut the black haired girl mentioned, both Dan and Alicia noticed the mystery guy peak his head out discreetly and look their way. Now the couple definitely knew something fishy was going on.
As they turned a corner in the alley and walked into a parking lot area with no people around, Dan felt the tension rise. He was hoping that there would be at least somebody nearby, but they were all alone right now. If this guy was planning to ambush them, this would be the perfect spot. His suspicions were proven true as he heard the sound of footsteps running towards them. Dan turned his head just in time to see the knife get thrown at them.
"GET DOWN!" the brown haired teen yelled as he tackled Clair to the ground. Alicia did the same with Emi. The couple watched as the blade zoomed over their heads. The next thing they heard was the sound of clapping.
"Well done, Ren. Well done. It looks like you haven't lost your touch" the hat wearing stranger chuckled as he walked a bit closer towards them. Dan and Alicia stood up and looked at the person standing before them. They watched as he took his hat and chucked it to the wind. It was a blonde haired teen around the same age as Dan and Alicia with a somewhat slim body. It had been years since they had last met, but Dan instantly recognized who he was once he looked at his face.
"Shino?!"
The traitor from the front line's tacticians smirked as he looked at Dan with murderous eyes. "It's nice to know you haven't forgot about me. I was afraid you forgot about your old friend."
Dan, Alicia, and Emi glared at the blonde teen standing before them. Dan was the only one that knew him personally, but the two Tsuki sisters still knew all too well about Shino's betrayal to the front lines back in SAO, selling them out to Laughing Coffin when the time came for the raid on the red guild's base. Many players had died as a result of that betrayal.
"What are you doing here, Shino?" Dan asked, though he had a pretty good idea what the answer was going to be.
Proving Dan's guess to be true, Shino reached into his pocket and pulled out a long dagger. This wasn't some knife for cutting fruit. This was a real weapon, sharpened to do one thing. Kill.
"I'm after a little thing called revenge" Shino said with a smirk. "Is that so wrong?"
"When you're a traitorous backstabber, than yes"
Shino simply shrugged. "I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree. Either way, you're going to die here"
Dan took a step forward and glanced towards his girlfriend. "Alicia, take Emi and Clair and run. I'll deal with him."
"No way, I'm not leaving you to-"
"This isn't the time to argue! Go!"
Alicia hesitated, but she knew he was right. What mattered most right now was getting their sisters to safety. "Alright, be careful"
"I will" Dan nodded. Alicia took the other two girls and ran to the main streets of the city to find help. Dan got into his fighting stance while Shino gripped his blade tightly and grinned.
"Time for you to die, Ren"
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Alicia led Emi and Clair through another alleyway towards the main part of the city. There had to be a police station or something nearby. Somebody. ANYBODY.
'Please Dan, just hold on. Don't die. I'm begging you.' Alicia prayed as she ran. As they turned a corner towards the last part of the alleyway before they would reach the main streets of the city, a man was walking towards them.
"There's somebody!" Emi exclaimed. She waved over to the man. "Sir, please help! Our friend's in trouble!"
Alicia breathed a sigh of relief that they had found somebody. She watched as they ran up to the man. He made no response. He just kept walking as they got closer to him.
And that was when he pulled out the knife from his pocket.
Alicia's eyes opened wide. She rushed forward and pushed Emi and Clair back. "Look out!"
Emi and Clair fell back from Alicia's shove and the black haired girl quickly dodged the knife that came for her head. 'Damn it! Shino wasn't working alone!'
"Alicia!" Emi exclaimed. She watched as the man grabbed hold of Alicia and throw her against the side of the alleyway. His arm pressed on her throat, making it hard to breathe. Alicia wasn't willing to go down like this however. She shoved her knee into the man's gut, making him drop her and hold his stomach in pain for a brief moment.
"Emi! Clair! Run!" Alicia yelled as she struggled with the man. The two girls couldn't move however. They were paralyzed with fear. Finally, the man broke free and shoved Alicia aside. He growled as he stood up.
"I thought this would be easy, since I was just supposed to kill a couple of kids. You made a bad call making me angry girl."
He brandished his knife and lunged towards Alicia. Before he could do so however, he felt Emi leap on him from behind. "The hell?! Get off me you brat!"
"I won't let you hurt my sister!" Emi yelled. She wasn't able to stall him for long though, as he easily overpowered the young girl and threw her back, knocking her into the wall. There was a clear image of anger in his eyes.
"That does it! I'm through playing around! Time for you to die!"
"EMI NO!" Alicia screamed. She watched as he prepared to stab the young girl and take her life. Before he could do so however, a sudden boom was heard. The man stood still for a few seconds before falling over with a bullet hole in his head.
Alicia took a moment to collect her bearings and try to make sure she hadn't just imagined what had happened. There was no mistake though. The pool of blood coming from the man that had just tried to kill them was all the proof she needed. After getting her breathing to slow back down to normal, she looked over to see who had just saved them. It was a blonde woman, probably in her mid-twenties. She lowered the handgun she was holding in her hands and wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Looks like I made it just in time."
"Wh-Who are you?" Alicia asked.
"I'll explain later. Where's the other one that was supposed to be with you?"
It took Alicia a moment to realize that by 'other one' she meant Dan. But that just only added to her questions. How did she know Dan was with them? How did she know they'd be in danger? Most importantly of all, who the hell was she?
"We don't have time for you to sit around kid. Where is he?"
Suddenly Alicia realized something. She had heard that voice before. It was faint, but she could remember it from somewhere. But where? Suddenly, it hit her.
"Elza?!"
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Dan dodged the many slashes and thrusts from the dagger Shino was holding. He wasn't a dagger user in SAO, but his fighting skills hadn't diminished since the death game ended. There were no openings to strike back.
'I can dodge this guy all day, but if I lose my focus for even a second, I'm as good as dead' Dan thought. 'Come on! I need to think of something fast!'
"What's the matter?" Shino sneered. "Is this all you've got? What a disappointment"
Finally, Dan saw the split second opening he was looking for. He dodged another thrust from Shino's blade and grabbed his arm before the blonde teen could retract it. Dan then sent a swift punch to Shino's face, making him stumble back a bit. The weapon still hadn't left his hand though. Shino grew enraged and charged at Dan. The brown haired teen could feel Shino's attacks becoming even more quick and ferocious. Finally Shino got a hit in as his blade slashed the side of Dan's body. Dan stumbled back as he held his hand against his wound. The blade hadn't pierced an artery, but blood was dripping out. He wouldn't last much longer like this.
"You're mine!" Shino grinned in delight as he tackled Dan to the ground of the parking lot. He pressed down on his arms. Dan was completely helpless right now. The blonde teen showed a murderous grin as he stared down at Dan's eyes.
"I've waited for this moment for so long" Shino said. "Don't worry, I won't kill you right away. Maybe I'll wait till that Alice girl you love so much dies. I can show you her mangled bloody body once she's dead."
"Like hell you will!" Dan yelled as he finally threw Shino off of him. Shino's head hit the pavement as he tumbled over. As he got back up, Dan could see blood flowing down from Shino's forehead.
"So you still have some fight left in you?" Shino said. "Good. This would be too boring if you didn't put up a fight"
"I won't let you hurt Alicia or anyone else" Dan glared. "Your score is with me. Leave her and the others out of it"
"Sorry, but I can't do that" Shino shrugged. "We were hired to kill all of you after all"
"We?"
"Laughing Coffin" Shino explained. "These guys came up to us and gave us all the info we needed to find and kill you and your friends. Kirito, Asuna, Helios, all of them. It worked out for me since I've wanted you dead for a long time now."
Suddenly, Dan recalled back to what Yamato had said before he died. The people that had helped him escape prison did so to give him the chance to kill them. Could those people and the ones that hired Laughing Coffin be the same? As he thought this, he felt his body start to weaken. Dan no longer had the strength to stand and fell to one knee.
"Wh-What the hell?"
"I see the poison is working" Shino grinned, showing off the dagger he had slashed Dan with earlier. "The blade is coated with a special chemical. It won't kill you, but you'll be unable to move much for a few minutes. And that's more than enough time to finish you off"
Dan glared at Shino as the blonde teen sent a kick to his jaw, making him fall over. He barely had the strength to move his arms and legs.
"Time to end this" Shino said as he slowly walked towards Dan to deal the killing blow. As he did so however, a car sped into the parking lot. Shino turned his head to the car as a woman pointed a gun out her window and fired. The bullet pierced Shino's chest and he dropped the weapon he was holding. He struggled to find the strength to stand.
"Damn it… I was… so close…" Shino grunted as he fell over and left the world of the living.
Dan looked towards the black car and saw Alica, Emi, and Clair run out of it and rush over towards him. Alicia kneeled down next to him with tears in her eyes. "Dan, are you ok?! Please, tell me you're ok!"
"I'm alright. It's just a scratch" Dan grunted, flinching in pain a bit as he tried to sit up. The poison made it extremely hard to move. Standing up was out of the question.
The woman that had shot Shino and saved Dan's life called out to the teens. "Hurry up! We don't have all day!"
Alicia helped support Dan and brought him over to the car. First Shino had tried to kill him, and now some mystery woman had saved his life. Not to mention the fact that there was some group out there that wanted him all of them dead for some reason.
'What the hell is going on?'
"Get him in the car already" the blonde woman said. Alicia opened the back door to the car and helped her boyfriend in. She glared at Elza, who seemed really impatient.
"I see you're just as annoying in real life as you are in ALO"
"Instead of snapping at me, how about thanking me for saving your life" Elza bit back. After Alicia got Dan in the car, she got in along with Emi and Clair. Elza sped out of the alleyway and rushed through the streets.
"There's a hospital nearby" Alicia said.
"We're not going to the hospital"
"What?! Are you blind or something?! Dan's bleeding like crazy!"
"There's going to be doctors where I'm taking you. Just put some pressure on the wound to keep your little boyfriend there alive"
"There's nothing here to use!"
"Then improvise damnit!"
Alicia muttered something under her breath as she took off her shirt to use. She pressed it against her boyfriend's wound and it started soaking up some of the blood.
Dan finally found the strength to speak again. "Kazuto and the others are in danger. Shino said Laughing Coffin is targeting all of us"
"Don't worry about them" Elza said as she turned a corner without even slowing down. "We made sure to pick all of you up. They're all safe and heading to the same place we are."
"What do you mean by we? Are you part of some group or something?" Clair asked.
"Everything will be explained when we arrive. All you have to focus on right now is making sure you all get there in one piece"
The three girls could tell she was referring to keeping Dan alive. He was the only one severely injured after all. Alicia and Emi had some bruises but nothing serious. Alicia tried to use her shirt and wrap it around the wound to keep as much pressure on it as possible. 'Just hang on Dan. I'm not gonna let you die'
A/N: Lots of surprises and questions going around. Bet you guys weren't expecting Elza to come back like this. Next chapter will mostly be a lot of information so I will try and get it out early (maybe within a few days or so).
Also, I wanted to add another theme, one for Wyvern Inferno as a whole. It came down to two different songs and for the life of me I couldn't choose between them. So I came up with the solution of using them both, one for SAO Wyvern Inferno and one for ALO Wyvern Inferno. Here they are.
SAO Wyvern Inferno- I Will Not Bow (Breaking Benjamin)
ALO Wyvern Inferno- For the Love of the Game (Pillar)
Check them out if you want. You should easily be able to find amvs for them on youtube.
