A few days laters...

"Wow... She is tall." Momiji gasps as we catch sight of LLENN and Fukaziroh at the airport, so should we identify them as Karen Kohiruimaki and Miyo Shinohara. I follow Momiji as she waves to the two women standing around in arrivals. "LLENN! Fuka!"

The tall, dark-haired woman in the light blue shirt notices us first. "Hey, you two. You made it."

The other woman steps up to me and gazes intently through her glasses. "Hmm, you are taller in real life. Just as tall as Karen for real. But cuter in VR. What gives?"

"I happen to like my teenage height in VR. I did maintain it for two years, after all. But I can't say the same of you, Fuka. You're more attractive in the real world."

Momiji sighs and pinches my arm. "I'm Momiji Takemine, and our fearless leader is Joshua Hardin. I guess it's not hard to know who's Karen and who's Miyu."

Miyu's eyes glow. "Wait, Hardin? Oh my god! You mean...you're of the famous technology family? Forget your girlfriend, forget Kureha, I'll marry you right now! We're the same age just about! Are you free after this!"

I chuckle nervously. "Thanks for the offer, but I am fine."

Karen looks at our light luggage. "That's all your luggage?"

Miyu nods. "For the seasoned traveler, it's common sense to minimize luggage and source locally. Now we're all here, but M isn't?"

"It's Goushi. Goushi Asougi."

"Sorry I'm late. I got stuck in traffic." We turn to a man in a black outfit, his hair down all over his face. For some reason Momiji and Miyu stare at the guy and blush.

Karen introduces us. "Goushi, this is Miyu Shinohara. She's my best friend, VR game mentor, and Fukaziroh. That there is Joshua Hardin and Momiji Takamine, our captain and vice-captain."

Momiji smiles nervously. "Nice to finally meet the real you."

"And you're a hottie, huh? I'd kind of like to marry you. Are you free after this?"

Against my better mind, I'm offended by her offer to Goushi. "Hey, what about me?"

"Thanks for the compliments. However, my heart is already set on someone."

"Shoot! Would that be Pito in real life?"

"Yes."

"Well then," Miyu steps back and grabs my arm, holding it close to her. "As I always say, never limit your options and get that money!"

"Goushi, where are we going?"

"Please relax. It isn't anywhere dangerous."

"Don't forget we're all still minors," Miyu adds. "Although Kohi turns 20 tomorrow!"

"Oh, in that case, congratulations."

"Do you have a present for her?"

"Sorry, but maybe my boss will."

I look out the window of the passenger seat. "Pitohui, right?"

"That's right."

"So what's the real Pito like," Momiji asks.

"She said she'd like to explain everything herself. It's not quite the same thing, but I can tell you how our romance started."

"Woah ho ho! What's that, I want to hear!"

"You don't mind?"

"Actually, the real Pito suggested I tell you. She said she has 'nothing to hide from LLENN.' By extension, I believe that goes to everyone else here. What do you say?" As interested as I am to know there's an actual romance between M and Pitohui, Goushi's specifically asking Karen. As things were in Squad Jam, her decision is final.

"I'll listen. If Pito said that."

Goushi nods and hands the girls his phone. "Then look at this."

I haven't seen the photo yet, but Miyu spoils it anyway. "What is this, a photo of a fatty? Wow. Definitely not popular with girls. And I can't imagine marrying this guy." Momiji hands me the phone while rolling her eyes. Once glance at the fatty, and I figure out his identity.

"Miyu, what if I tell you that you just proposed to him?"

"Huh?"

Momiji sighs. "You are no different in any world… That's Goushi, you numbskull!"

"What? No way! And who are you calling numbskull, poo for brains!"

Goushi sighs. "It's me. Around the time I met Pito."

Miyu leans up to my shoulder despite sitting behind Goushi. "Now that I look closer, the face is handsome. If this guy lost weight, he'd be fine."

"Thank you. I was overweight for as long as I can remember, so I didn't have confidence and lead a dull life. But then I encountered a young woman. Her beauty captured my heart."

"Did you tell her?"

"I followed her."

"Wow, reminds you of someone, eh, Momiji?"

"Hush it, midget!"

While Fukaziroh and Momiji continue their legendary animosity, Karen leans forward. "That woman is the real Pito, isn't she?"

"Yes. She was like a goddess to me. I've never seen a more beautiful woman in my life."

I chuckle. "If you're loving someone that crazy, you must be right."

"Will you two turn around a second."

"You three are all lovely, but you don't hold a candle to the real Pito. To me, at least."

"Is that so? Please continue."

"It happened one evening. While I was following her, gazing at her beautiful form from behind, but enjoying the fantasy that I was walking next to her, she suddenly turned around and started talking to me. She invited me to go to her apartment and I did. The next thing I knew, my arms and legs were tied up. She proceeded to scold me, curse me out, and beat me. She said, 'You stalker bastard, I knew the whole time!' She wasn't a goddess, but a fearsome devil who secretly harbored a sadistic violent streak and the impulse to destroy things. She took embarrassing photos and threatened, 'If you go to the police, I'll prove that you were stalking me.' After that, I was under her thumb. Or actually, I became her manservant. Because of that, I couldn't look for a job or regularly attend classes at university."

"That's…"

"Those were such wonderful days." I look at the three women in the back. Just when I thought M was a normal guy with a knack for strategy, his real-life counterpart rips that apart. I have a...lover of all people, but expresses it majorly towards females, a woman who desires death and will kill to get it, and now a masochist… Is that what 'M' stands for? "Being near a beautiful woman, serving her every whim… As a man, there could've been no greater blessing."

"I adamantly beg to differ."

"Now that's love," Miyu says.

"It is love. Or at least, there was love between us. And now as well."

"So you lost weight for her sake?"

"No, while working as a subordinate of the Grim Reaper, it just happened."

"Let's write a book, 'Losing Weight the Manservant Way!' It'll sell!"

"Maybe someday. A lot had happened, but we were living together in our own happy, warped way. However, then came November 6th, 2022."

I turn to Goushi. "The day SAO locked me and 10,000 others in."

"No way! Elsa Kanzaki's secret concert?" The girls, with different levels of excitement, look at the poster in front of the venue as Goushi and I walk up to them. While Rain is primarily the idol I follow, I know of this Elsa. As a matter of fact, Momiji got me to buy tickets for the two of us for her concert back in February, which is why she didn't participate in the first Squad Jam with M and LLENN. so I dropped out of Sword Art: Origins early that day to take her.

"So why are we here," I ask as we walk in.

"The real Pito is the owner of the music club. She discovered Elsa Kanzaki, had her perform here, and is the person more responsible for her fame than anyone."

I fold my arms in understanding. "So that was the 'once in a lifetime' that made Pito miss SAO."

"Yes. Now come, the performance will begin in a moment."

The performance does start momentarily, and the girls stand by the railing in the back of the hall. Meanwhile, I lead against the wall with Goushi, watching as Elsa sings to the crowd and strums her guitar. As I continue to watch, a thought bubbles in my head. I turn to Goushi, who listens intently to the idol singing. "I must admit, she's pretty."

"Hmm. What made you figure it out?"

"A club owner wouldn't miss a game for an unknown singer. I happen to know a bar owner who skips out of work to play games. But would an aspiring singer miss her one shot at fame? One of my best friends is an idol herself, and the answer to that is never. Also, minus the height, she looks just like Pito."

Goushi sighs. "You think the girls will figure it out?"

"Momiji will, but she won't say anything. Karen may say something, after all, it is a coincidence we come to an Elsa concert to meet Pito."

After the concert ends, Goushi leads us backstage to meet "Pitohui" and Elsa. He introduces us to a busty lady in a yellow shirt and black skirt. "This is the owner of this music club, Rei Satou."

"Nice to meet you! Now it's easy to see who leads Crimson Squad, but which of you is LLENN, which of you is Grenade Girl, and which is the stick up the butt? Wait, don't tell me. I'll guess--"

Karen steps over to Elsa, who is reading a book, and begins clapping. "Your voice is wonderful. I wanted to applaud the entire time."

"K-Kohi?"

"Wonderful. Truly wonderful. You were a wonderful Grim Reaper." I smirk at my correct assumption while Elsa throws her head back in laughter. Miyu, however, looks at the rest of us.

"Umm, what is going on?"

Momiji sighs and bonks Miyu on the head. "Elsa is Pitohui, you idiot."

I nod. "It was quite obvious."

Elsa stops laughing and points to Karen while additionally looking at me and Momiji. "Reason!"

"There are two. The first is Goushi got us here right before your performance started. It made me think he didn't want to arrive early and expose this ruse. But after the concert, he brought us to your dressing room and introduced us to Rei as a stand-in for Pito. How conveniently named for us members of Crimson Squad. I figured Pito...rather you, else, would enjoy watching that."

I chuckle. "Oh, right, because my Arfa-Sys is Rei. Didn't think of that, haha."

Elsa folds her arms. "Maybe you and Miyu are perfect together, idiots in heaven. What's the second reason?"

"I had my suspicions before. How did Goushi know my name, address, and what I looked like?"

"I heard. He went to talk to you in person and begged you to participate in SJ 2, right?"

"I realized then. Only one person beside Miyu knew my name, address, appearance, and that I played GGO with a munchkin avatar. That was Elsa Kanzaki. You. Even if you didn't read my fan letter, Goushi could've read it. If he said Rei is the president of a talent agency instead of a club owner, I might have believed it."

"But you couldn't fool Joshua," Momiji says. "After all, he figured it out the moment he saw you. I just thought you looked similar, but that was purely coincidence."

"Missing out on SAO to jumpstart your career? Lame." I lean back against the back wall and smile at Elsa. "Not the Pitohui who nearly shot me in the ass for Rei on my first day."

"Oh man," Elsa says with a laugh. "Maybe we didn't put enough thought into it."

"I tried to sell it. Too bad."

"Sorry. I'll repay the favor sometime, mentally."

"Well, just keep singing here and I won't complain. I'll leave the rest to you kids." As Rei leaves the room, I turn back to the interior, wildly uncomfortable that LLENN, the shortest among us, is tall here while Pitohui, the tallest woman, is the bite-size one. And then I look at Goushi, wondering just how someone his size is letting someone her size rule him?

All I'm going to say is that, whatever is going on between them, it must be immaculate.

"Well, it was kind of like making a last stand, but it can't be helped that you saw right through it. I kept my promise, Karen."

Karen suddenly brings Elsa into a hug and starts crying. "Thank goodness! I'm so glad you didn't die! I'm so glad you didn't die, Pito."

"It's because you killed me! Hey, this hurts, so let go. I'm going to die!"

"S-Sorry!" Karen steps back and turns her body away.

"Squat down. I can't see your face." Karen squats and turns back to Elsa, who reaches over to Karen's face. "Yeah. You're cute in real life, too. I like you." To our surprise, Elsa kisses Karen on the lips. Only Goushi does see it, so for him it did not happen. Karen suddenly rises up and backs away into the table as Elsa laughs again. "What's wrong with that? It's no big deal. Besides, I saw the video and you're quick to kiss the cheek of the man who gave you the magazines."

"That was just a pretend kiss! Besides, 'he' was a woman--"

Elsa kisses Karen again, this time on the cheek. "So its' okay if it's from a woman."

"Th-That's not what I mean!"

I chuckle. "That 'he' is part of the team now, so believe she will hear about this. So is the sniper that wounded you."

"Karen, she goes through men and women without a care. She really is terrible."

"Goushi, too late. Way too late. My best friend can never be a bride now. Besides, if we're going to talk about kissing… Momiji, I saw the video--AH!" Momiji drags Miyu out the room for what only could be anything less than good. Elsa pesters Karen about staying over her house, which further embarrasses the woman. Goushi justs...looks away. Jesus Christ

All of them may not be here, but this is my third family. This is my squad, after all...and it's gotten a little bigger.

Thank you all for reading this story. There's still a little more, but it's more epilogue and foreshadowing than anything. If you haven't already, I suggest you check out the other works in my storyline. Three of them are stories, Blacksmith and Warrior, Courage and Realization, and Ordinal Dissonance, the last being the follo-up to this story partially.

That's all from me, hope to see you in another story!

A few days later, GGO…

"Kureha?" Rei and I jog over to Kureha's position near the Glocken's teleporter. She's not alone, but rarely do I see Strea without Rain or Philia nearby. This must be important since I knew Kureha was on a quest today. "What's up?"

"Strea found me and told me to come find you. It's Lievre, she's woken up." Oh, right, I did have Strea managing that since she helped me seal the rogue, damaged Arfa-Sys back after her troublesome scheming last year. "Shall we go?"

I nod. "Strea, warp us to that chamber."

"On it." Seconds later, the four of us are in the depths of the SBC Flugel, the home of all Arfa-Sys. And there she is, the Arfa-Sys that almost brought GGO to its knees, Lievre.

The white-haired, black and blue-armored AI sighs as we materialize right in front of her. "Oh, it's you two and the lesser Arfa-Sys."

Kureha is not so pleased to see Lievre herself. "You don't look so great. Have the repairs finished, Strea."

"Yes, the elf-repair process completed without incident."

"There's nothing wrong with me. I've only just woken up."

I nod. "Good to see you're fine. More so that my efforts weren't wasted on you."

Lievre scowls. "At least you are feigning concern for the enemy."

Rei angles her head. "I'm usually happy to hear that Master was worried about me! Why aren't you?"

"You two have that kind of relationship. My master is just… Argh, shut up already, you stupid Arfa-Sys!"

"Speaking of which," Kureha interrupts, "where is your master, Lievre? I'll love to chat with him or her."

Lievre doesn't answer, so I turn to Strea, hoping she has an answer. She doesn't. "There is no record of anyone accessing this area while Lievre was asleep. There aren't that many Arfa-Sys repair facilities, so Lievre wouldn't be hard to find."

"No, that doesn't sound right." I place my hand over my mouth as I think on the matter. "They've been here...someone is doing well covering their tracks, however,"

Rei agrees with me. "That's very strange! Why wouldn't Lievre's master come visit in person? Weren't they worried about Lievre at all?"

Lievre drops her head. "Didn't I tell you to be quiet? You stupid Arfa-Sys… I'm extra special, so my master trusts me completely. There is no need for worry!"

"So then," Kureha questions, "what now? Are you going to try and destroy Glocken again?"

"You don't need to make veiled threats to get me to give that up. There are too many people in my way already. I'm shelving that plan. But I'll be checking in on the Glocken soon enough, just to see what happened."

I sigh. "You're coming with us."

Kureha nods. "Might as well."

Lievre is taken aback. "Eh? A-Are you kidding me? Don't you remember what I've done?"

"Yeah, but I doubt anyone remembers. Death Gun happened, but no one talks about it anymore. And if they do say something, you can shoot them. Just...don't destroy the Glocken again, okay?"

Lievre sighs. "FIne."

"Strea, leaving the rest to you."

Lievre sighs in disgust and disappointment as the two of us stand at the observatory, our eyes down on the town. "Hmm… I see it's as much of a mess as ever. Everyone's wandering around aimlessly, blank looks on their faces. This town's continued existence offends me."

I chuckle. "That's a little harsh, little LIevre."

"Call me 'little' one more time and I'll finally clone you so we can attack the Glocken again."

"Fine. Let's not get out of hand… Now that some time has passed, have you gotten in touch with your master?"

"Are you worried about me? Look, I'm not like you stupid Arfa-Sys. I don't need to--"

I take a serious tone with Lievre, tired of her offending Rei. "Her name is Rei, let's start there. And like you, she has limiters on her. She's only broken them once, when we were in dire need months ago. Of course, I didn't realize it until some time afterwards. Rei did not break. Your master knew you might break, yet they still ordered the removal of all your limiters. Isn't that right?"

Lievre frowns. "Did Zeliska tell you that? What does it matter if that's true? This doesn't concern you in the least."

"As a master, it concerns me. Your master wasn't there at the end, wasn't there when you woke up, and while they may have visited you while you were asleep, there's no record of it. Let's face it, Leivre, your master doesn't want you around."

Lievre turns away to the city. "You don't have to say it, I'm aware of it. That's how my master is. But I am still my master's Arfa-Sys. I'm special. I heard it from my master's lips. And that's all I need. I don't care if my master ignores me, or if I never see my master again."

I shake my head. "You don't mean it. You can't even look me in the face and say it. Your jealousy of my relationship with Rei was evident earlier, nevermind Zeliska and Daisy's… So, even if your master doesn't want you, I want you to stay with us."

"Why? Why are you truly offering this?"

"Hm. I may have need of you, Lievre, and you may need me. We don't have to be friends or anything."

Lievre narrows her eyes and sighs. "Well… You did watch over me and all. I do owe you that...fine. Until my master calls for me."

I grin. "Sure."

"But in good faith, I'll give you one tidbit about my master… I don't know much about what it all means, but he spoke of souls a lot. He seemed very interested in them, and would remark about eating them at times. He has a brother who enjoys the game a tad too much, especially PKing."

I cross my arms and look out to the city. The latter is nothing new, yet the description haunts my core. And her master...a philosopher or another madman? "Souls and PKing, huh..."