The Death Game

by WebofSpideyguy7245698

Thousands are trapped in a video game, not everyone will make it out. Join Kirito and friends as they try to conquer the one hundredth floor, which would clear the game and as they ultimately try to keep each other alive. My adaptation of SAO, written the way I would have told the story. Rated T for Mild Language and Violence.

26. Chapter 26: Bonds

Chapter 26: Bonds

I Don't Own Sword Art Online/ソードアート・オンラインor Any of Characters, All Rights Go To Reki Kawahara and ASCII Media Works

Author's Note:

* Hello and welcome to Chapter Twenty Six! I hope you guys are enjoyed the story and I hope you guys are okay with the changes that I've made so far.

* I would consider this chapter to be far different from the source material. Either way, I hope you all like it! So, with that said, let's get right into the chapter!

Kazuto/Kirito

Kazuto's House – December 13th, 2025

Three Days Remaining

I laid on my bed the next morning, following a night where I had barely gotten four hours of sleep. I slowly sat up and heaved a sigh.

I remember the day when everything changed, I thought. The day I found I wasn't really a part of this family.

I flashed back to a time which seemed as though it were a hundred years ago. It was before SAO and right around the time that I discovered my love for video games and computers.

It felt weird, like I didn't fit in with them anymore. And I found this out when I was ten. I wondered, "Who is she? Do I really know anything about her?" Maybe that feeling I had of not fitting in was the thing that drove me to online gaming. I guess I figured, in a virtual world, no one knows anything about anyone. So, I dove right in. And I thought it was where I belonged.

I let out a sigh as laid back down and rolled over to face the wall.

But those two years I spent trapped in SAO taught me something. The difference between a real and a virtual world is slim, at best. It doesn't matter if I'm strong as Kirito in the game. Just like in real life, I'm weak. We're both the same weak person. There isn't a difference between Kazuto Kirigaya and Kirito, "The Black Swordsman". At the end of the day, we're the same person and I wasn't becoming a different person.

It's a waste of time asking people who they really are. All you can do is accept them as is and have faith in them. I should have accepted myself for who I was from the very beginning. I should have realized that I was too weak to free Asuna in the first place. I tried to have faith in myself and look where that got me. In the end, the way you see yourself is who you really are.

I flashed to when I woke up from my coma and Sugu was crying, using my lap as a pillow as I was interviewed.

When I got back to the real world and saw Sugu's face, I was really, truly happy. Right then and there, I swore I'd whatever I could to close the gap that had grown between us over the last couple of years. And honestly, when I found out that Sachi was still alive! I'm torn between which moment makes me happier. But how can I repair our fractured relationship, now that this has happened?

I sat up once more.

What can I do for Sugu, now that I've given up on freeing Asuna?

She didn't want to talk to me, nor did she want to see me. I finally got up from my bed and walked past the mess from my shelf the previous night, not even bothering to pick it up. I opened my door and walked out into the hall. I walked to Sugu's bedroom door and I was about to knock, but I stopped myself. I realized once more that she didn't want to see me, so I walked towards the stairs. I walked down the stairs, through the hall and into the kitchen to make breakfast.

One Hour Later

After one hour of eating breakfast and the majority of it sitting in silence, there was a knock at the door. Seeing as Sugu never came down from her room, it was up to me to answer the door. I got up from the kitchen table and took my half eaten breakfast with me. I left it on the counter, before walking out of the kitchen and down the hall.

I opened the door to see that Lisbeth was standing there. Or Rika Shinozaki, seeing as we were in the real world. But once again, if you've become accustomed to calling a person by their avatar name, it's easiest to continue doing that. She looked at me with this pleading look, as if she were silently asking me to let her in. And so, I eventually moved aside.

Ten Minutes Later

Lisbeth and I sat in the living room in silence, both of us with a cup of tea sitting on the coffee table. We had barely said a word to one another. The only interaction that we had was when she asked if she could have some tea. So, I decided to break the silence since she wouldn't.

"What do you want, Liz?"

She looked up at me as she picked up her tea.

"Late last night, Klein called me, which is strange since he usually only talks to you and Sachi." She said. "But, whatever. He told me that you've given up trying to free Asuna from that game. Can I ask why?"

I was about to take a drink from my tea, but I stopped once she said that. I reached to the coffee table and put my mug back down on the coaster.

"I can't." I said at last.

Liz just looked at me.

"Oh, come on, Kirito. I asked. So, the best you can do is tell me!"

"Rika, please."

She went silent and her cheeks had a slight pink tint to them, on the account that I used her real name.

"You called me by my real name. You must be serious."

I let out a sigh.

"Rika, I'm just too weak to rescue her." I choked out.

Part of me wanted to break down and cry again at this point, but I didn't. Liz didn't say anything.

"I just... I can't do it!"

All of a sudden, Liz reached forward across the table and took both of my hands in hers. I let out a gasp of shock as I looked up at her, to see that she gazed back at me with a sad smile on her face.

"You're not weak, Kirito!" she said. "You're the strongest person I know!"

"I'm weak." I persisted in my claims.

"No, you aren't! You're the one who beat SAO, after all!"

I let out a sarcastic chuckle as I looked back down at the floor, tears beginning to drip from my face.

"My strength isn't real, Liz. I used deception, the tactic of a rat, to defeat Akihiko Kayaba. If I was strong; I could have taken him."

Liz gripped my hands tightly, as if it were out of concern.

"No, Kirito, you couldn't have taken him. If you hadn't have deceived him, you wouldn't be here right now and we'd all likely still be trapped in SAO."

I didn't say anything in return this time. I couldn't see her expression, but I'm pretty sure Liz continued to look at me with a worried expression.

"I can't sit here and let you give up, Kirito. You know what Asuna would be doing if you were in her shoes?"

I didn't answer.

"She would be doing the exact opposite of what you're doing. She would be fighting relentlessly to make sure that you would be freed, and she'd never give up."

I let out a sigh.

"Yeah, you're probably right."

There was silence between us once again. Eventually, she broke the silence again.

"Well, you look like you could use some time to yourself, so I think it's best that I leave."

She stood up from the couch across from me and walk towards the hall. I got up to follow her and, on the way, there, I noticed that she hadn't drank all of the tea I had made for her. I shrugged absentmindedly and followed her to the door. As she opened the door and stepped out, she suddenly turned back to face me with an angered look that I hadn't seen from her in a while.

"What?" I asked.

"You know, I've been thinking." She spoke, while retaining that angry look. "If Asuna saw how you were acting right now, she'd be ashamed of you."

I looked down at the floor and gritted my teeth in anger. This seemed to freak out Liz out, as she took a few steps back.

"You think I don't know that?" I said, barely above a whisper.

She continued just standing there for a few seconds, before she reached out and gently put her hand on my shoulder.

"Kirito, you can't just give up on Asuna! After everything that girl has done for you, you owe it to her to at least give this another shot!"

My hand snapped up to hers on my shoulder and clasped down onto it. She pulled her hand away in reflex to how tightly I had held it.

"You know what I think?" I asked as I looked up at her, the tears coming freely now. "I think that I don't owe her anything!"

With that, I slammed the door shut. I slid down and rested my back against it as I tried to stop myself from crying any further. Finally, I wiped my eyes of any tears that remained and got back up. I walked back up the stairs and stopped when I reached the door to Sugu's room. I gently knocked on the door, only to get no answer.

Even though it wasn't polite, I waited a few seconds and I opened the door anyway. I looked in, to see Sugu asleep, lying on her side on her bed, still wearing the clothes from last night. I let out a sigh as I quietly stepped into her room. I stepped up to her bed and looked down at her sleeping form.

The poor thing must have cried herself to sleep last night, I thought, feeling a pang of remorse in my chest.

I wanted to comfort her, but how could I? Last night, she more or less expressed that she hated me! I made a fist close to my chest, as I felt another wave of sadness wash over me. I couldn't bear to be in this room any longer, so I left. But I still wanted to comfort her. So, I decided to write her a note. I left the room and shut the door behind me.

I went back down to the living room and first took the mugs that Liz and I drank from to the kitchen, so they could be cleaned. Once I had done that, I got a piece of paper, a pencil to write with and walked back into the living room. Once I had sat back down at the couch, I began to write on the paper, resting it on the coffee table:

Sugu,

I understand why you're mad. Yesterday was a weird day. But you need to let it go. I'm sorry that you had to find out that way and I promise that I was going to tell you at some point. Even though you said that you weren't mad about me using the NerveGear, I understand if you really are mad.

And if I'm being honest, it was actually you who convinced me to use the NerveGear again. You told me that I had to do whatever I could to find Asuna. And I took that to heart. So, soon after that, I jumped into ALO, because I had reasons to believe that Asuna was being held in there against her own will.

And when you said that you wish that I would have just kept giving you the cold shoulder, that hurt. You may not believe it, but cousin or not, you are my sister. More so recently than you've ever been. When I got out of SAO, I promised myself that I'd try to repair the gap between us, because I felt bad about giving you the cold shoulder for so many years.

I love you, Sugu. I love you like you're my sister. Because to me, that's what you've become. And that's why it hurt to hear your words yesterday. No matter what you say, you will always be my little sister, Sugu. I really was trying not to avoid you after SAO. That's why I wanted you to help me with the SAO project!

While you are the best artist I know, I thought that working on that project together would help heal the rift between us. I guess I was wrong for the most part, because this happened. I don't want you to spend the rest of your life hating me for this, Sugu. Please believe me when I say that I want to be the brother I should have been to you from the very start.

I'm here now and I'm not going anywhere. So, please. At least let me try to fix this, okay?

Kazuto

I finally put down the pencil, satisfied with how the letter came out. I picked it up and left my pencil on the table as I left the room. I walked up the stairs and back to Sugu's room. I slowly opened the door, to see that she was still asleep and in the same position that I had left her in. I walked in and stopped at her bedside, where I left the paper on her nightstand.

"I'm going to make things right, Sugu." I whispered, before I leaned over and lightly pecked her cheek.

As soon as I drew away from her, she surprised me by grabbing her pillow and slamming it down onto her head. I backed up in surprise and I realized that it was best that I leave the room before she wakes up, that is, if she wasn't awake already. I left the room and quietly shut the door behind me. I decided to take a shower, since I hadn't had one in a few days.

Suguha

The World Tree

I don't even know why I decided to log into ALO for a while. When I woke up, Kazuto was in the shower, so that was the perfect chance for me to sneak to the kitchen to get a quick snack. Apparently, he left me a note, but I didn't look at it. Instead, since I had time to kill, I just decided to log into ALO.

I spawned back into the game in the last place I had been: the outside of the World Tree. I didn't even know what I was doing in here. After what happened yesterday, I wasn't in the mood to do any quests, fight monsters, nothing. But I also wasn't ready to face Kazuto. So, I ran away back to ALO. I was staring down at the ground when someone said my name.

"Leafa?"

I looked up and gasped once I saw Recon standing in front of me.

"H... Hi!" he stuttered out in his usual shy voice. "You know, I've been looking all over for ya!"

I backed up a couple steps with surprise.

"What are you doing here?" I asked. "I thought the Salamanders caught you?"

"Yeah, well, I sort of poisoned them all and escaped!" he said, chuckling as he put his hand on his chin and taking a heroic pose.

"Wait, you poisoned them?" I asked with surprise, as I took another step back.

"Big time! After I got away, I tracked you here."

As he spoke, I continuously took more steps back.

"Hang on. What are you doing here alone? Where's that Spriggan? And that Salamander? I thought you were hanging out with them?"

It felt like my heart came to a stop. Just the thought of Kazuto and Klein brought back flashbacks from yesterday, which only worsened my mood.

"Hey, why is your face red?" he asked.

I shook my head and banished the thoughts.

"Don't worry about it!" I said. "And I won't be hanging out with them anymore."

That caused Recon's face to grow red.

"What do you mean? Did that Spriggan do something to hurt your feelings? I'll go find him right now for you!"

"It's nothing, Recon. And you wouldn't be able to catch him."

"I'm serious, Leafa! Tell me where he is, and I'll go kick his ass!"

"Recon!" I exclaimed with frustration as my face grew red.

His face grew red after that and I looked down with shame.

"I just... I feel like I said something to him that I shouldn't have."

"What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Oh, come on, Leafa. You can tell me!"

"I don't want to talk about it, Recon."

We both went silent after that. Eventually, I turned and began to walk down the steps.

"Anyway, I won't be hanging out with him or any of his friends from now on. Come on. Let's go back to Sylvain."

I sniffled as I wiped my eyes. I heard Recon mutter something from behind me, but I couldn't tell what it was. The next thing I knew, I heard him rushing down the steps behind me.

"Wait!"

I was taken by surprise when he appeared in front of me with a flash. I blushed as he grabbed both of my hands with his.

"You shouldn't be crying like that!" he blurted out.

I was a bit surprised, as I wasn't really crying.

"Uh, sorry?" I asked.

"The Leafa I know is always smiling and happy! And I'd never leave you like that!" he exclaimed, as he tightened his grip on my hands.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't even a little bit creeped out at this point.

"I'd stay with you always!" he spoke as he took a step closer. "In here and in the real world!"

I began to back away, only for him to take a few steps closer. I tried to say something, only for my words to come out as a pathetic stutter.

"I, I uh... Leafa, I mean, Suguha, I love you!"

I let out a gasp in response. The fact that he admitted his feelings shook me with surprise, along with the fact that he used my real name. Generally, in ALO, players avoided using real names and stuck with avatar names. It was just common courtesy for you not to address a player by the real name, even if you knew them in real life.

"You what?" I asked with disbelief.

He didn't give me an answer, but only closed his eyes as he leaned in, as if he were going to kiss me. I felt my face heat up.

"No, wait! Don't do that!" I said. "What are you doing?"

Would I have been okay with Recon kissing me? Maybe. But after my recent heartbreak, I wasn't sure that I was ready. So, I did what any sensible person would do. I punched him in the stomach with force, sending him crumbling down the stairs. Okay, I will admit, that I didn't mean for him to fall all the way down the stairs.

"Recon!" I exclaimed with worry.

After a few seconds he reached the bottom of the stairs, landing back first.

"Are you okay?!"

His only response as he got back up to his feet was staring up at me with a sad look in his eyes. He then mouthed what was either, "what did I do wrong" or "where did I go wrong". After that, much to my surprise, he turned around and took off running away from me. I took a second and snickered at his response, but then quickly became overcome with guilt at the prospect that I had hurt his feelings. I looked down at the ground, feeling as though I was going to cry again. Maybe it was time for me to think about where I had gone wrong.

Kazuto/Kirito

Kazuto's House

I had just finished my shower and I walked back into my room, now being fully dressed. The shower honestly didn't help me much. Sure, I felt slightly refreshed, but I still felt dead inside. I walked across the room and sat down on my bed. I just sat there, doing nothing and staring across the room for the longest time.

Eventually, my vision became fixated on the pile of items that I had de-shelved out of anger yesterday. I finally stood up and walked across the room, deciding to clean it up. I bent down and picked up the photo that I had gotten in the mail at the beginning of the week. Even though I had no idea where it had come from, I still decided to frame it.

I placed it back in its spot on the shelf, then bent back down to pick up my NerveGear. After examining it, I deduced that it wasn't really damaged. Not that I really cared. I was done with VRMMORPGs. I put it on the rightmost end of the shelf. I then bent down to pick up the other framed photo, the one that had been taken outside the Dicey Café.

The glass of the frame was chipped, but other than that, it was intact. I placed it on the shelf to the left of my NerveGear. After that, I just stood there, staring at the picture for the longest time. We were all so happy back then. I definitely had been happy at that point.

We were all happy to be alive, I thought as I stared at Sachi, flashing the peace sign at me.

I looked at Asuna who had the biggest smile on her face. She looked so alive and happy. I traced my finger across the glass of the frame and sighed.

"Liz is right, Asuna." I said. "You'd be ashamed of me right now."

I bent down and looked at the final item that was still on the floor: my copy of the manga. It was lying open on the floor, with the cover facing up. I sighed as I picked it up and turned over. I was going to close it, but I stopped when I saw what page it was on. While we were still trapped in SAO, that night that I cheered up Asuna after Yui's "death", the following morning when she thanked me for cheering her up.

It was on that page. And Asuna had the most joyous smile on her face. She looked so happy, so alive. And I don't know how she had done it, but when Sugu went to recreate her smile from that moment for the manga, she nailed it. It really looked like Asuna and it really looked like the real Asuna's smile. That's when it finally hit me.

If I could get Asuna out of that game, that was just a bonus. But more than anything else, I want to see her smile again. I want to see that smile again!

It had finally hit me. I had to free Asuna from ALfheim Online, whatever it takes. I shut the manga and placed it back on the shelf. I then grabbed the NerveGear, praying that it would still work after the topple it had last night.

Please work, old friend, I thought as I picked it up. I need your help just one last time!

I took a breath before I attempted to turn it on and then let out a sigh of relief once I heard it hum to life. I walked over to my bed and sat down as I put the NerveGear on. Once I had put the NerveGear on and made sure it was connected, I laid down on my bed.

"Link start!" I exclaimed with confidence.

Suguha

The World Tree

After that confrontation with Recon, I began to walk down the stairs away from the World Tree. I walked through the city streets all by myself, feeling even worse than usual. I was minding my own business, when I began to hear the fluttering of air and a scream from above. I looked up with surprise to see a familiar Salamander come crashing down to the street. Eventually, after a few seconds, Klein recovered, and he stood up with a smile on his face.

"Damn, I'm still getting the hang of that." He said. "Anyway, it's me!"

He said this as he held his hands out on either side of himself, as if he were a God or something. And after he said that, I walked right past him, not even saying one word to him. As I walked off, I eventually heard him speak to me in an irritated tone.

"Hey!"

I ignored him and kept walking. He quickly ran to catch up with me.

"Hey, Leafa! Erm, Suguha, I'm talking to you!"

"Go away, Klein."

I continued walking as he maintained an equal pace with me.

"Look, I don't know what's going on between you and your brother..."

"It's none of your business." I interrupted him.

"Well, that may be true, but that doesn't give you the right to avoid me!"

"I don't want to talk to Kazuto or any of you anymore."

He went silent and stopped following me.

"But why?" he eventually called out to me. "What did we do?"

I stopped as well and I let out a sigh, before turning to face him.

"It wasn't what you guys did. It's what he did."

"Well, what did he do?"

"I told you, it's none of your business."

"Then why did you say something?"

I shuddered as I turned back around.

"Klein, I just want to be left alone."

I began walking again and I thought that I would be able to get away from him, when I saw a shadow pass above me.

"Hey, where are you going?" a familiar female voice asked.

I sighed and looked up, to see Sachi slowly gliding down from the sky to meet us. The Spriggan eventually landed in front of us with a smile on her face. Once she saw the expression on my face, however, her smile disappeared.

"Leafa? What's wrong?" she asked, before she looked around. "Wait, where's Kirito?"

Klein stepped forward.

"Kiri-Dude and Suguha are having trouble getting along right now it would seem." He said.

I let out a sigh as I turned to face him.

"I thought I told you the things between Kazuto and I are none of your business?"

"Wait, Kazuto?" Sachi asked.

I turned back to look at her and saw a confused expression on her face. That's when a smile spread over her lips.

"Oh my God, Big Sis, is that you?!" she exclaimed.

A light blush appeared on my face after she said that. Sachi always had a thing for calling me "Big Sis", as I was about a year older than her. Once I blushed, that basically confirmed Sachi's question. She ran over to me with lightning speed and caught me in a hug.

"Wow, I can't believe you're actually, I mean I can't believe..."

"Hey, hey, hey." I said as I gently pushed her away. "Let's keep that cuddly stuff to a minimum, okay, Sachi?"

She looked back at me, looking hurt. She took a few steps back.

"L-Leafa, I mean, Sugu, what's wrong between you and Kirito for you to be like this?"

I looked down at the ground.

"I don't want to talk about it."

That's when I heard the chime and I saw from a notification pop up for me, which said, "Kirito is coming online!"

"Hey, Kirito is logging on!" Klein exclaimed. "I thought he gave up..."

"Do you still have his sword?" Sachi asked.

"No, I slipped it back into his inventory when he wasn't paying attention."

As they were talking, I tuned them out completely.

"What is he doing?!" Klein exclaimed.

I looked up, to see that Klein had brought up his map.

"What?" I asked in a glum tone.

Just as Sachi pulled up her map as well, he spoke again.

"He's charging back into The World Tree!"

Slightly curious, I decided to pull up my map.

"Oh my God, you're right!" Sachi exclaimed.

"What do we do, Sugu?"

I turned to look at them.

"What do you mean, "we"? I'm not a part of this anymore. I don't want anything to do with you guys."

"Wow, she's that mad, huh?" Sachi whispered.

"Yeah, she's got her panties in a bunch." Klein whispered back.

I whipped around and slapped Klein on the cheek.

"Ow!" he wailed with pain.

"You had that coming." Sachi replied as she giggled.

"But seriously, we should do something! Kiri-Dude is going to get himself killed!"

I snorted.

"How? This isn't SAO, Klein." I said. "Death in this game doesn't translate back to the real world."

"Well, while that may be true, think about this. Kiri-Dude's going to be working his butt off fighting inside the World Tree all by himself and he won't even be breaking a sweat in here. But in the real world, he'll be sweating profusely as he fights in here. He could push himself so hard that he could have a heart attack irl!"

I put my finger to my chin.

"Maybe." I whispered.

"We have to help him!" Sachi chimed in. "We can't let him do this alone!"

"Maybe." I repeated myself.

"Suguha, I know you're mad at him, but just think!" he exclaimed. "He's pushing himself too hard and without our help, he could put tremendous amounts of stress on his body! Please! If you won't do this for you, do it for him! You have to help us fight with him!"

I just stared back at him, as he stared back with a determined look on his face. Eventually, I gave in and sighed.

"I'll log out and check on him in the real world." I said as I swiped down, opening my menu. "While I do that, you guys stay in here and get anyone that you can to help. I'll be back soon."

Klein clasped his hands together.

"Oh, thank you, Sugu! Thank you!"

I didn't smile or anything, I retained my glum look.

"Don't thank me yet." I said, before pressing the log out button.

Kazuto's House

Once I came to, I took off the AmuSphere and sat up. I got up from the bed and paced to my door. I opened my door, walked to Kazuto's room and entered without knocking. I saw him lying on his bed, with his old NerveGear on. I paced over to his bed to get a better look at him. Just as Klein had suspected, he was sweating rather heavily.

"Damn it, Kazuto." I muttered as I grit my teeth. "I have to pull you out of ALO!"

I reached out my hand to begin pulling the NerveGear, but then I stopped myself. I began to retract my hand as a thought entered my mind.

Back when they were trapped in SAO, any attempts to log the players out in the real world would kill them. The microwave emitters in the rig would fry the brain, ending their life. What if those protocols are still in place somehow? Could attempting to remove his NerveGear harm Kazuto or even worse, kill him?

I cursed once more.

"Kazuto, why would you push yourself like this?"

I left the room, this time running as I closed the door behind me. I got back to my room and I was about to put my AmuSphere back on, when out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the note that he had left me. I snatched it up and read it without hesitation. Once I finished reading the note, it finally hit me. I put down the note.

They're right. Kazuto can't do this on his own and he needs our help. He needs my help. Just like he wants to make things right, I should want to make things right. And I will.

I laid back down on my bed and grabbed the AmuSphere. I put it back on and let out a sigh.

"Link start!"

Kirito

The World Tree

Once I had logged back into ALfheim Online, I appeared on the steps up to The World Tree, the place I had been at when I logged out the night before. I was about to start running up the steps, but stopped when something occurred to me.

Klein still has my sword, I thought. And I can't just go to him and ask to get it back...

I let out a sigh as I shrugged.

"I'll just buy another sword." I said as I opened my inventory. "I'll just see how much..."

I cut myself off when I saw something that surprised me. My sword was back in my inventory!

Klein must have slipped it back into my inventory and I didn't notice...

I shrugged as I equipped it and made sure that it was strapped onto my back, before I began jogging up the steps. Once I was back in front of the giant double doors that led to the Tree's interior, I stopped.

"Yui," I spoke out loud. "are you there?"

After a couple seconds, the pixie appeared in her miniature form, hovering just slightly above my shoulder.

"Hi, Daddy! What is it?" she asked.

A light blush appeared on my cheeks.

"Hey, Yui. I hope you're not mad at me about yesterday."

A light smile appeared on her face.

"Of course not, Daddy! I knew that you needed some time to clear your head and that you'd be back eventually!"

I smiled back at her, before a more serious look came onto my face.

"Yui, I need any information you can give me on the Tree's Guardians. And their archer buddies, too."

Yui gazed at me for a brief second before she answered.

"The stats for one aren't very high, but that's not the problem. They're just too many of them. You're unlikely to survive for long by yourself once the archers begin spawning."

I chuckled.

"Thanks for the tip."

"The way I see it, this quest was designed to be nearly impossible to finish."

"Ah, you said "nearly impossible". So, that must mean that it can be done. Right?"

"Well, possibly. But this quest was not meant to be done solo."

"I know that. And I don't care what it takes, I have to get Asuna out of there! Are you sure that she's up there?"

"Positive! I don't know how or why, but it's as if I can sense her! Mommy's up there!"

"All of those Guardians and archers lead up to a unbeatable boss." I said as I took a breath.

"Yes! But don't forget, your skills and XP are really high! So, maybe with a burst of speed, you can smash right through them! If anyone can do this, I know it's you, Daddy!"

I nodded at her with a smile on my face. I turned back to look at the door.

I've run out of time, I thought to myself. I have to do this today! I have to give it my all and fight as hard as I can! It's all or nothing!

"Yui, like I told you yesterday, keep your head down." I commanded.

I rushed forward toward the double doors and tapped it, accepting the prompt without hesitation. As soon as the doors opened, I rushed inside. I drew my sword and stood in the darkness as the doors closed behind me, waiting. Once the lights came on and the first Guardian appeared, I moved. I burst forward and slashed my sword across his chest without even thinking.

Two more Guardians intersected me as I vanquished their friend. Before they could reach me, I flipped out of the way, causing them to smash into each other. I cut through both of their legs before they could recover, and they fell to the ground in a heap. I then mercilessly sank my sword into one of the Guardian's backs, thus killing the other one as well.

I looked up at the hatch at the top of the room and let out a growl as more Guardians closed in on me. I looked at the wall of the interior.

Maybe if I get a running start on the wall, I can get a burst of speed and fly the rest of the way up to the hatch!

I backed up and brought my sword up, blocking a Guardian's strike as he rushed down to hit me. I kicked him away and drove my sword into his stomach. Once he had died, I backed up once more. I started running towards the wall and I eventually jumped onto it, beginning to run up it. One of the Guardians swooped in to attack me, but I just cut him down as he reached me.

I continued running up the wall for several more seconds and then the archers began to appear. I kicked off of the wall and began to fly towards the hatch, dodging arrow after arrow that was shot at me. As I continued to fly, three of the Guardians followed closely behind me. I whipped around in midair and let out a yell of fury as I dashed towards them. Once I reached them, I cut through one of them with my sword. I cut through his arm and then moved to cut the other one in half.

I sunk my sword into the last Guardian's chest and continued flying up towards the hatch. I was maybe just halfway past it, when I was shot in the back by an arrow. Once that happened, I my flight was immediately stopped, and I fell all the way to the ground.

Damn archers!

Several Guardians began to encircle me as I stood up with my sword in hand. Once one of them moved forward, I rushed forward as well. I blocked his strike with my sword and cut him down once he retracted his blade. I didn't see one of the Guardians as they approached from my right and I was hit because of it. I watched as my HP began to slightly diminish. I grit my teeth with anger as I raised my sword.

"Just die!" I exclaimed as I charged forward.

I dashed forward and cut through the Guardian in front of me. As I did that, I left myself open and the Guardian behind me struck me from behind. More of my HP drained. I finished up dispatching the Guardian in front of me and then turned to tend to the one who had just attacked me.

I struck him down with my sword and proceeded to vanquish the remaining Guardians. Once all of the Guardians around me had been dispatched, I leaped into the air once more. My wings flapped as I flew upwards towards the hatch. Upon getting anywhere near close to the hatch, I was once again nailed with several arrows, sending me all the way back down once more. Upon landing, more Guardians began to approach me.

"Come on," I spat with anger as I got up. "come on, you bastards! I'll take you all on! Come on!"

I charged forward with a yell of fury and easily decapitated one of the Guardians with furiosity. As one of the Guardians attempted a sneak attack, I drove my sword backwards and caught him. After I finished that one, another Guardian attempted to land a strike on me. I blocked his blade with mine and pushed him back. Once he faltered and I saw an opportunity, I slashed across his leg. I spun around as the remaining three Guardians began to close in.

Charge in, take the one in the middle and smash the ones on the left and right together in the confusion!

I narrowed my eyes as I realized my strategy. I charged forward, unrelenting. I sent a diagonal slash across the middle one's chest and he was vanquished immediately. I quickly sheathed my sword, grabbed the two remaining Guardians and slammed them together. After they were on the ground and I had brought my sword back out, I skewered them in their place.

You will not prevent me from reaching Asuna!

"You will not!" I exclaimed as I turned back around. "You will not!"

I got into another running spot, jumped and took flight once more. My wings flapped once more as they carried me up towards the hatch. I strained my back muscles to move faster.

Faster, I thought as I narrowed my eyes. I have to move faster!

That's when something clicked. It was as if I were seeing red now. It was like I was that enraged. I soared higher and higher, so close to the hatch and that's when I was shot at with more arrows. Miniscule bits of HP were drained, but I didn't stop. My HP was still in the green, so I was fine.

I was getting so close to the hatch; I could practically touch it! Mere seconds later and I finally touched down on it, being upside down as I tried to pull the thing open. Only problem was, the damn thing wouldn't budge! I tried to pull harder and that's when it happened. It felt as though my blood ran cold as one of the Guardian's swords pierced my chest. I looked down at the blade that was protruding from my chest, as a significant chunk of my HP disappeared.

I fell from the hatch, all the way back down to the floor. As I landed, my sword cluttered elsewhere. When I finally sat up, I noticed that the blade was still sunk in my chest. Being pierced by that blade brought my HP down to the yellow warning zone. Without even thinking, I grabbed the hilt of the sword and began to forcefully pull it out of my chest.

For some reason, once I had gotten the sword out, my HP rapidly diminished, falling into the critical red zone. I cast the sword across the room and refused to get up from my position sitting on my knees in a defeated stance. And going against what I said, Yui eventually appeared from my coat pocket and took her usual place, hovering above my shoulder.

"What are you doing, Daddy?!" she exclaimed. "Get up!"

I let out a depressed sigh.

"No, Yui." I said. "I was right about what I said yesterday. I can't save Asuna, I'll never get close to her. I'm just as weak in here as I am in the real world."

Yui may have spoken again, but she didn't get the chance to. Suddenly out of nowhere, my sword was kicked across the floor, eventually hitting my foot and coming to a stop.

"Huh?" I grunted with surprise.

"Get up, Kazuto." A familiar female voice said.

I looked up, to see Leafa/Sugu standing above me, offering her hand to me. And she wasn't alone. There were five other players with her.

"There's so many of them!" Yui let out in a shy squeak, before disappearing back into my coat pocket.

Leafa/Sugu seemed to be at the forefront of the six players that were now in The World Tree with me. Klein was with her and along with him, there was also Lisbeth, who played as a Leprechaun. Sachi was there, in her Spriggan form. Agil was here as well, playing as a Gnome. There was also a guy with blue hair with them. I think their race are called the Undines?

I finally took Sugu's hand and she pulled me back up to my feet. As I got back to my feet, I grabbed my sword. That's when it finally hit me. They could hit me as hard as they could, they could knock me down as many times as they wanted. But at the end of the day, no matter how hard they hit me, no matter how many times I was knocked down, I'd get back up and continue fighting!

We were all just standing here, and I had no idea how we weren't being attacked right now. I finally turned my attention back to the Undine with blue hair. He looked familiar and I felt like I had seen his face before. The more I thought about it, the more I realized I had seen his face before. He had been the guy that was at the private party at the Dicey Café last month, the guy I didn't know! And now, with the blue hair, I finally realized where I knew this guy from. He was an SAO survivor, like me and my friends. It was Diavel! I stepped up to him.

"Oh my God, you were the guy at the private party that I didn't recognize." I said. "I'm sorry that I..."

Diavel put up his hand with a smile on his face, signaling for me to stop.

"Hey, don't sweat it. It's not like we ever hung out in SAO." He said. "Anyway, long time no see, Kirito!"

"Well, what are you doing here?" I asked.

"I was invited to the private party because one of your friends tracked me down. When I was told that Asuna may be trapped in ALO, I decided that this may be how I can pay you back for saving my life in SAO!"

I chuckled.

"I mean, the stakes were different then. You don't owe me for saving your life! It was a common courtesy!"

I turned back to Sugu, my cheeks feeling hot as I did.

"So, does this mean we're good again?" I asked.

She looked at me with the same saddened look, before she eventually smiled at me.

"We'll talk about that later." She said at last. "Right now, the main focus is getting Asuna out of ALO!"

"Right." I said as I turned back to face my five other friends. "Guys, I've been really hard-headed lately and I will gladly take any "I told you so"s after this is over."

I turned back around to face the impending wave of Guardians that were finally approaching.

"Leafa's right." I said. "We have to free Asuna. Whatever it takes."

"Whatever it takes!" my six friends behind me triumphantly exclaimed in unison.

Author's Note:

* And that's it for this chapter! Does it feel tacky, cliché or weird, for them to all come together at the end like that? I hope that you don't think it's a bad thing. I really like how this came out.

* So, there's a big question that I have. And that question is if it's okay for Kirito to have a moment of weakness like this. Is it okay for him to refuse to believe in himself? I would really like to know your opinion on this.

* Also, I know that it might be a bit confusing for everyone to be in The World Tree. Like, how did they all get there? That will be explained in the coming chapters. So, hopefully you won't be confused for long. If you are, that is.

* I think that's all of the stuff I wanted to mention. So, with that being said, I'm going to go. Have a fantastic rest of your day and bye!

Review Responses

GameLord The Hitman (Chapter 25): Two things I'm honestly not big on: 1. Why did Kirito give up after the first try I mean, he kept going in the original version. If anything, he has LESS of a reason to give up here. He's got allies who can help him (three other fighters and at least one healer), he did as good of a job in the Light Novel/Anime, he has literally no other leads other than ALO and he practically KNOWS Asuna's up there based on Yui's reaction and the card.

It just doesn't make any sense to me, especially when he kept going in the original version when he had less of a chance. 2. I feel that Sugu's feelings for Kirito didn't get nearly as enough build-up to invoke that kind of reaction from her. I mean, unless my memories are hazy, It was only mentioned once in the previous chapter... that's it.

Hell I thought you just did away with her crush entirely, so this feels like it comes out of left field. To me, both of these seem like very poorly done attempts at drama, the first feeling necessary and the second the anime/light novel just did better. P.S. No, Sinon and Klein never got together and there have been no hints that they're gonna get together in the novels. No disrespect to anyone who actually ships them, I just have no clue where you heard that from.

Thanks, GameLord. So, I respect your opinion. I'll just say that first. As for Kirito giving up, it wasn't permanent as you will have seen here. I was trying to convey that it's okay for the protagonist to have a moment of weakness, before bouncing back. But who knows? Maybe my attempt at this really was unnecessary and dumb. If anyone thinks that this is the case, I don't blame you.

I was just trying something new and at the time of writing these chapters, I thought they were good ideas. And I still do. But as I said before, maybe I was in the wrong here. Maybe these two chapters are completely unnecessary. Maybe I should have gone with something else. If that's what you think, then that's fine with me. As for Sugu's crush on Kirito, it kind of was put in just to put it in.

Don't get me wrong, I hate that bit of plot from the light novel, manga and anime. But I couldn't decide if I wanted to omit that entirely, or include it. I didn't know if readers would be upset if I left that out. So, at the end of the day, I just put it in for the hell of it and hoped for the best. I don't remember where I saw/read the whole Sinon/Klein thing, I really don't. It was months ago at this point.

That's all I have for you. As I said, I was just trying something different with these chapters. I would like to think that I've changed Fairy Dance for the better. But maybe I'm wrong. Maybe this version isn't better at all. Maybe it's worse than the original, even. And if you do think that this is worse, than that's fine. Thanks for the review, as always.

Next Chapter: Kirito and friends struggle in their battle to the top of The World Tree. Just as when it seems that he and Yui will never be reunited with Asuna, Kirito is able to get to the top of The World Tree, thanks to the help of an old friend.