A/N: Hey guys. Here's the chapter I promised you all. Don't expect too much action from this chapter though. It's mostly going to be a lot of explanation and info. Also, college starts back up in a few days so I don't know how long it will take me to get settled. Once I do however, I can promise to give you guys two updates a week for a little bit, since I've planned out what's going to happen for the rest of this arc. I hope you enjoy the chapter.
Kazuto, Asuna, and Suguha sat together in the lobby of the building they had been brought to. Most of their friends had also arrived by now. Shino was currently drinking some tea that had been brought out for them. Rika sat with Keiko, trying to comfort the young girl that was currently scared and nervous. It only made sense, considering that they had all been brought here out of the blue. The door to the building opened once again, this time with Hyde and Lilina entering.
"Hyde! Lilina!" Asuna called out as she ran over to her friends. "You guys ok?"
Hyde nodded his head. "Yeah. We were about to be attacked by some guy, when these people showed up and saved us. We didn't have much choice when it came to coming with them."
"Do you guys know what's going on?" Lilina asked.
Kazuto shook his head as he walked over to them. "No. All I know is that Kikouka showed up out of nowhere, telling us to get in his car and come with him. He hasn't explained a thing to us about what's going on other than the fact that we were all in danger."
"I see" Hyde said. He looked around the room. "Hey, aren't Dan and Alicia here?"
"Emi and Clair are missing too" Lilina added as she noticed the two young girls were absent.
As they said this, the doors opened once again with several doctors rushing someone in on a stretcher. Alicia, Emi, and Clair ran in afterwards, followed by a blonde woman.
"Alicia!" Asuna exclaimed running over and giving her friend a hug. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah" Alicia nodded with tears in her eyes. "But Dan got injured"
"What happened?" Kazuto asked.
Alicia sat down with her friends and explained what occurred earlier, about how they were attacked out of nowhere and saved by Elza. Kazuto had a grim expression on his face as he listened to this.
"Something's definitely up" Kazuto said.
"I know, but what?" Alicia questioned. "Why are we all being attacked all of a sudden?"
"I believe I can answer that" Kikouka said as he walked over to the group. "Now that everyone's here, we can explain"
"Um Mr. Kikouka sir, what about Dan?" Alicia asked.
"Don't worry. The doctors say his injuries aren't anything life threatening. He'll be stitched up and then he'll join us out here"
Alicia nodded her head in understanding. He was safe. He was going to live. Right now that was all she could ask for.
"So… about that explanation?" Kazuto asked.
"Right, right, of course" the government official nodded. "I'd like to wait till your friend is back on his feet before going into detail, but I can give you the basic explanation."
"We're all ears"
Kikouka gathered everyone there, sat down across from them, and began to talk. "Right now Japan, and the entire world for that matter, is facing a large scale crisis. There's a company in America, run by a man named Gabriel Miller, called Glowgen Defense Systems Inc. At first look, it's a company that provides research and equipment to Full Dive technology for training soldiers."
Asuna tilted her head in curiosity at this. "Training soldiers in Full Dive environment?"
"That's right. Recently many countries have resorted to Full Dive technology to better train their soldiers for battle in times of war. One example of this is Gun Gale Online. Sometimes they have people play it to be better trained for battles in real life."
"So what does this company have to do with us?" Kazuto asked.
"As I said, the company seems legit on the surface as a group that only conducts research for this. However, they're actually more focused on something else. World domination."
"Wh-What? World domination?" Asuna gasped. "That's insane!"
"It may be insane, but it's becoming very possible from the looks of it." Kikouka said. "They obtained the research data that Sugou Noboyuki had on controlling the human mind and have actually tested it, using it on actual people."
"Are you serious?! How could they possibly get away with something like that?"
"It's extremely secretive and they've covered their tracks well. We only learned about this a few months ago." Kikouka explained. "Their goal is to first gain control of the country of America and place it under martial law with Gabriel Miller in control. From there, they'll spread their influence across the world by taking control of the internet itself."
"Is something like that even possible?" Alicia questioned.
"I'm afraid it is. The World Seed created by Akihiko Kayaba is directly connected to the internet. If they can use it correctly, they can hack into some of the most secure things in the world. Government secrets, financial accounts, you name it. All of it is connected to the internet in some way or form. They plan to take over the United States in the same way."
"I get this is really bad and all" Alicia said. "But what does it have to do with us?"
"I believe you all remember the surprise of the ALO World Tournament about a month ago" Kikouka told them. "It was transformed into a worldwide tournament. In truth however, that was set up by the Department of Internal Affairs. We needed it to be worldwide for two reasons. The first was to lure Gabriel out into using his test subjects in the tournament. A huge online fighting tournament would be the perfect place to see the results of his research and its potential, giving us the chance to see how far he's come with it. The second reason we did it was to recruit players"
"Recruit players?" Kazuto asked, starting to see where this was going.
"We needed to find capable VRMMO players to help fight, since the only way to reach the heart of the World Seed is in the game it first created, Alfheim Online"
The group let the information sink in. It was true that at first the World Seed was used to bring back Alfheim Online after it was shut down due to Sugou's experiments. If there really was a link between the Seed and the heart of the internet, it would be in ALO.
Kikouka continued his explanation. "When the time comes for Gabriel to put his plan into motion, he'll have his own army set in ALO to use. The only way to stop them is to catch them when they do this and expose their true intentions. To prevent them from succeeding though, we needed capable VRMMO players to help us."
"So you decided to make us your personal soldiers without telling us. Then this Gabriel guy caught wind of your plan and set out to remove us from the picture" Kazuto realized, glaring at the government official for his usual underhanded tactics.
"W-Well… um…"
Alicia clenched her fists in anger. "So… the reason we were attacked was because of you?!" She leaned across the table and grabbed Kikouka by the collar of his shirt. "You're the reason we almost died today! Who gave you the right to bring us into this fight without even asking us?!"
"We didn't have much of a choice. I think we can both believe that Gabriel Miller taking over the world isn't something any of us want"
"Screw Gabriel and his plans! Dan nearly died because of what you did and-…" the rest of the sentence died on Alicia's tongue as she looked and saw Dan re-enter the room. He was bandaged up a little but he was able to walk finally. Alicia let go of Kikouka and ran over to him. She wrapped her arms around her with tears rolling down her eyes. "Dan! Thank god… I'm so happy you're ok!"
"Don't worry Alicia, I'm fine" Dan assured her as he stroked her long black hair. "Are you alright"
"Y-Yeah" Alicia said with a nod. "Don't ever scare me like that again"
The couple walked back over to Kazuto and the others. Clair hugged her brother tightly, happy to see that he was alright. The tactician looked over towards Kikouka. "I already heard the main explanation about Gabriel Miller and his plans from one of the Ministry of Defense guys after I got stitched up."
"Good, then we're at the same place" Kikouka said. "We found out that Gabriel's company hired some people in Japan to take you guys out. As I'm sure you can guess, one of those was Yamato"
Dan nodded. Considering everything that had happened, it made sense that the ones that helped Yamato escape prison were most likely Gabriel and his company. When that plan failed, he must have resorted to the ex-Laughing Coffin members.
"So what now?" Shino asked.
"Well since they planned this attack on you guys for today, I'd assume-"
"Kikouka sir! We have a problem!" someone yelled, running into the room. "Turn on the monitor!"
The government official quickly obeyed and turned on the monitor. It was automatically set to MMO Stream, which was focused on Alfheim Online. There was only one difference. A giant fortress was floating in the sky.
"What the hell is that?!" Hyde exclaimed.
"Th-That's it" Kikouka stuttered. "That thing is the control center for the heart of Alfheim."
A voice spoke on the television. "People of the world, allow me to show you the Yggdrasil Fortress. This structure will allow us to have full control of the world. In a matter of five hours, the world as you know it will be changed forever."
Kazuto and the rest of the group watched the broadcast in horror. The horrible plan that Kikouka spoke of would be completed in a few hours?!
"Damn it" Kikouka muttered. "They must have sped up their plans when they found out their assassination attempts failed."
"I'm sure many of you have thoughts about stopping us" the voice continued. "By all means, we welcome the challenge. Just be aware of the... risks involved."
'Risks?' Kazuto thought.
"First, anyone that logs on will be unable to log out as long as the fortress is standing. Second, the pain absorber will be set to zero, so trust me when I say if you get hurt in-game it will hurt A LOT. Finally, if you die in-game, your Seed account will be deleted. We can't have players respawning after all, now can we?"
The eyes of Dan and the others widened in shock. Not being able to log out, the pain absorber at zero, and their avatar would be deleted if they died? It was the closest they had been to Sword Art Online since their escape from the death game.
"Let the games begin players. Have fun." With his speech done, the broadcast ended and went back to MMO Stream's main program.
For about a minute, everyone was completely silent. Finally Kikouka stood up and faced the others. "I know you kids aren't exactly fond of us right now-"
"That's putting it lightly" Kazuto interrupted.
"But as it stands, we aren't going to be able to stop them on our own. We need your help"
The group looked at each other, wondering what to do. Finally, Kazuto spoke up "It looks like we don't have much choice. We can't let Gabriel's plans come to fruition."
Dan nodded in agreement. "Yeah. It's up to us"
"We have Amu Spheres in the building for you guys to use. We can get it all set up for you in an hour."
The group of teens sat together in the lobby as they waited for the Amu Spheres to be set up. While waiting, Alicia got out of her seat to go to the bathroom. The black haired girl walked down the hall towards the girls' restroom. As she turned a corner, she bumped into someone and fell down. "Ow. Sorry, my-… you"
Standing in front of Alicia was Elza, who gave her an annoyed look. "Oh it's you"
"Alright that does it! What's your damn problem?!" Alicia yelled.
"My problem is having to deal with naïve brats like you!" Elza bit back. "You're idiots, every single one of you!"
Alicia glared at Elza as the blonde woman stormed off. As she got back up, Kikouka walked over to her. "I see she hasn't changed much"
"I can't stand her!" Alicia growled with rage. "Just who does she think she is?!"
"Don't be too hard on her" Kikouka told the black haired girl. "She has her reasons"
"What reasons could she possibly have to-"
"She used to have a close friend" Kikouka interrupted, making Alicia look at him in surprise. "Elizabeth, or Elza as you know her, is an agent for the Ministry of Defense. As I'm sure you can guess, we sent her into ALO to test players and see if they would be able to help when the time came to fight Gabriel Miller. Elizabeth's been a solo agent for two years, but she used to have a partner."
"A partner?"
Kikouka nodded. "His name was Sean Karasu. I don't know the details, but from what I've heard she fell in love with him. They were on a mission together when… he was shot and killed."
Alicia's eyes widened. She had always just assumed Elza was against friends because she was anti-social. But this was the real reason? The person she loved died?
Kikouka put a hand on Alicia's shoulder before walking away. "I know she seems cruel, but it's just how she's learned to cope with the loss. Try to understand"
Alicia walked into the bathroom not knowing how to react. She looked at herself in the mirror. What would she be like if she lost Dan? She didn't even want to think about it. It would be far too painful for her.
'But she has to live with that pain every day'
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Back at the lobby, Kazuto saw Kikouka motion for him to come so they could talk in private. He got out of his seat. "I'll be right back." He walked over to Kikouka in the other room. He looked at the government official with an annoyed look. Somehow he always ended up getting mixed up in this man's plans. "What do you want?"
"Kazuto… there's something I think you should know" Kikouka said with a grim expression on his face.
"Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like this news?" Kazuto retorted.
"I take it you've heard about Sugou's death?"
The raven haired teen nodded his head. "Yeah, of course"
"We have reason to believe… he's still alive"
"What?!" Kazuto exclaimed. "How can that ma-… that PARASITE still be alive?! They said he died in prison!"
"I know. It's not certain yet but we have evidence to support that he might be alive, and working with Gabriel"
Kazuto slammed his fist against the wall. "Why the hell are you springing all of this on us now?! First you don't tell us that we might be targets to be assassinated! Now you're telling me that Sugou might be alive! What else haven't you told us?!"
"Look, I know you're upset with me right now-"
"Upset doesn't even BEGIN to describe what I'm feeling right now, you bastard!"
"Kazuto calm down"
"No!" Kazuto yelled. "I'm willing to do this because there's a lot that I care about at stake, but after this we're done! Don't ever contact me for any favors again, got it?!"
Kikouka sighed and nodded. "I understand"
"Good" With that said, Kazuto left the room and went back over to his friends. He hid the fact that he was so furious right now. He didn't want Asuna to know about Sugou. She didn't need anything else to worry about right now with all that was going on.
An hour passed by quickly and Kazuto and the others were told the Amu Spheres were all set up for them. The group was led to a large room with white walls and floors. Beds with Amu Spheres were laid out for the group.
"We'll have heart monitors hooked up to you guys to make sure your lives aren't in any danger" the doctor explained. "The pain absorber may be set to zero, but there shouldn't be any possible way for the Amu Sphere to kill you"
The group nodded and laid down in each of the beds. Soon, Elza entered the room as well and laid down on a bed too.
"So you're going to join us?" Alicia asked.
"Well we need someone to look after you guys and make sure things go smoothly" Elza explained in her usual grumpy attitude.
Everyone fit the Amu Spheres around their heads and closed their eyes. This was it. No going back now. There were only two words left to say.
"Link Start!"
A/N: Things are really heating up. Please review. Also, just a few things I would like to say, but first a warning:
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DO NOT READ THIS PART OF AUTHOR'S NOTE IF YOU HAVE YET TO READ THE ALICIZATION ARC OF THE SAO LIGHT NOVELS!
Those of you that have been reading the light novels know that Gabriel Miller is a future character for Sword Art Online. While he may be from the Alicization Arc, I promise THERE WILL NOT BE ANY SPOILERS. I plan on making his character slightly different than how he is in the light novels, though he will still be a villain. I admit I am taking a few pages out of the light novels, but it won't spoil what happens later in Alicization.
END OF ALICIZATION STUFF!
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Most of the chapters for the rest of this arc will be fight after fight of good vs evil. As a result, I should be able to update at a faster pace like I said in the beginning. Once I settle into school, it should only take a couple of days to post the next chapter.
Also for those of you asking about Hollow Inferno, I apologize that it has been taking so long to update. I have found the next part of the game to use as a chapter, but I have been experiencing a bit of writer's block for that story, plus Blazing Revolution has kept me busy. I will try to get working on it as soon as possible, so please bear with me. I apologize to all of you that have patiently been awaiting the next Hollow Inferno chapter.
