NOT DEAD! Not! Just...hella overworked. All those dang Uni projects! So I've had quite a few interesting past couple of weeks, in a good and bad way. But I tried my best to power through and get this chapter out for you guys. Thank you for your patience and please enjoy!

Chapter 25

Waiting for the beginning of a tournament is a nerve wracking thing, especially when the stakes are as high as they are. What days I didn't spend keeping my aiming and reaction speed up to snuff were dedicated to intensive training with the photon sword. But with the Squad Jam bearing down on us, there was only so much I could do to regain my old fighting ability with the time I had. There was nothing left for me to do but to settle back into competency and be grateful I had that much to work with.

On the upside, a good deal of time was spent back in my apartment, where Sinon, Rei, and I all worked diligently on our ace in the hole. We barely managed to finish it the day before the Squad Jam was set to begin. It took a lot of practice and more than a few failures to get everything right, but if we used it in the right moment, and had a bit of luck on our side, then we'd trip up Ikuchi badly enough to land a killing blow.

The next day, close to noon, Sinon, Rei, and I walked together through Glocken to meet with the rest of the team in the Governor's Office before entering the elevator at the back of the foyer that would take us down to the War Room.

The doors closed in front of me. The elevator went down. And I realized with an uneasy weight on my chest that I'd just seen Glocken for what could be the last time.

We reached the War Room before long. From what I understood, it acted as a waiting area for competitors until the official beginning of the Squad Jam. So it stood to reason that a majority of today's participants would be inside. I expected that.

What I didn't expect was the eyes of more than fifty people to fall on us like we were fresh meat in a lion enclosure.

The hostility in the air was thick enough to choke on. Other competitors snickered and murmured to each other in quiet voices while more watched us with calculating gazes. A man in a muscle, bandana, and sunglasses scraped his knife against a whetstone, the sound harsh and menacing. Someone further back in the room also made it a point to casually aim his gun at us, laughing to himself as he pretended to fire. And to top it off, one guy started barking at us like a dog.

Don't let the dreary setting fool you, folks. GGO has some colorful characters.

"Hey Sinon, don't look now but I think we're being watched," I said through one corner of my mouth.

"I almost didn't notice," She muttered beside me. Half of her face was buried underneath her muffler.

"Really? Maybe I should be the sniper then. Can I have Hecate?"

"Only if you kill me," she replied.

"I mean...technically..."

Sinon threw me a glare that could freeze molten lava. I gave her my best innocent face.

"Honestly," Sinon sighed, looking out over the crowd. "Why do people keep showing off their weapons before a tournament? They're just asking for us to counter them."

"Well it makes things easier for us, right?" I asked as we all stepped out of the elevator. The War Room was large enough to fit everyone inside, but I still had to be careful about where I walked. The entire room was only a few sparsely collected lamps away from complete darkness. "Anyone in particular that looks dangerous?"

Pitohui came up to my right, and for every dirty look she got, she gave a vicious grin in return. "Squad Jam's filled with all sorts of people who couldn't make the cut for the BoB. Look at them. They're harmless. Like puppies."

"Don't be so sure," Sinon replied. "Some people on our team look like they wouldn't hurt a fly, either."

"Fair," Pitohui shrugged. "Our puppies are cuter though."

I looked behind us. Rei and Llenn were trailing us while wearing their respective cloaks. In the darkness, they appeared as little more than moving shadows, their faces obscured within the depths of their hoods. Nobody glowered at them. Mostly because there was nothing to glower at. Noya took up the rear, dressed in his black tactical outfit sans headwear. He stared straight ahead as if the hard looks he was getting didn't even warrant his attention.

"Anyone spy Ikuchi?" I asked.

Sinon made a cursory check around the room. She patted my arm with the back of her hand and jerked her chin towards the other side of the room. "Over there."

I followed her direction. Ikuchi, Gozu, Mezu, a guy I called Beretta for his twin pistols, and a couple other folks I didn't recognize were sitting in a booth across the room. They noticed us at the same time. Gozu and Mezu glowered at us, but Ikuchi aimed a dirty look at me in particular, his jowls moving like he was grinding his teeth together. He looked at the rest of my motley crew before murmuring something to the rest of his team.

"They look happy to see us," I said. "Fifty credits says they're planning a strategy already."

Sinon nodded. "We should do the same. Let's head to the changing rooms. We'll have privacy there," she said. We started to move. Sinon took the lead and waded through the sea of players like she had done it before.

At the back of the War Room were a row of metal hydraulic doors. Sinon messed with the control panel of one of them, and led us inside. I had to blink a few times to let my eyes adjust to the sudden brightness. A long stainless steel table stretched down the length of the room, with benches lining each wall. Lockers were placed in every corner, probably more for decoration than anything else. A flat screen TV was mounted on the wall at the far end of the room, showing the same bubbly hostess from This Week's Winners talking about the fan favorites for today's Squad Jam.

I stopped at the head of the table and opened my menu as the others took their spots to get their equipment in order. "Ikuchi's team is pretty much what I expected," I said.

Sinon tapped a few keys on the control panel next to the door and it locked with a mechanical click. "At least we know what we're dealing with, more or less," she said, taking the spot on the table to my immediate right. "Gozu and Mezu are pretty straightforward, but I don't know much about the others."

"The tall, lanky guy uses twin Beretta pistols. He's clever and a decent fighter. Almost killed me back in Old South," I said. "He's no pushover, that's for sure."

"Then we can assume the rest of his team is much the same way," Sinon said. She swiped the air in front of her and after a few taps of her menu, her treasured sniper rifle appeared in her hands. She unfolded Hecate's bipod and carefully set it down on the table. "I've brought as much ammo for Hecate as I can carry, but I'll be a little short for my Glock because of my weight limit."

"No problem. We got more than enough firepower to cover close and mid-range engagements. If worst comes to worst, Rei's got your back, right?" I asked her.

Rei took up the spot on my left and set her weapons on the table, her eyes gleaming. "I won't leave your side, Sinon. That's a certified promise."

Sinon grinned. "Hah, then it's only fair that I do the same for you."

I opened my menu and started going through a mental checklist of all the things I'd need for the battle ahead. "Pito, Llenn, you two are the experienced ones. Any tips on what our strategy should look like?" I asked.

'Find 'em, kill 'em," Pitohui replied without missing a beat. An assault rifle materialized in her hands, and it looked like it belonged on the set of a sci-fi movie with its futuristic appearance, high tech scope, and grenade launcher attached to the underbarrel. I knew its name right off the bat. The F2000. Not a very common sight in GGO.

"Bold," I said. "But I was hoping for something a little more concrete."

Llenn shed her cloak to don her trademark cap. Her pink P90 was splayed out in front of her surrounded by ammo magazines in the same garish color. "We need to keep moving, I think. It's always worked well for me."

"Right, can't afford to waste time hunkering down," I said, pondering. "Once the first satellite scan goes through, we make a beeline straight for Ikuchi."

"We should probably avoid fighting altogether," Sinon said. She took a rag from her pocket and ran it gently over the glass of Hecate's scope. "We might be forced to, but once we see a chance to disengage, we should take it. We can't afford to lose anyone before confronting — "

A heavy thunk shook the table. Sinon and I looked up to Noya's side of the table and we both gawked at the monster of a machine gun sitting in front of him. It was longer than my arm, big enough to club someone to death, and the box magazine attached underneath looked like it could hold all of my ammo and still have room to spare. I mean really, the gun wouldn't look out of place on top of a freaking tank.

"Uh, is that...?" I asked.

Noya patted the top of the machine gun, a note of pride in his voice. "M60. I call her Pig. Fires up to 650 rounds per minute. Noticed none of you have much in the way of suppressive firepower. Figured I'd take that role myself."

Pitohui looked at him with something like approval. "I like a man who takes charge."

Noya didn't show much of a reaction to her remark. "I volunteer to take point on this one. If we come into enemy contact, I'll force their heads down long enough for the rest of you to move in. Or give you time to escape. Whichever is the most tactically sound decision," he said. He nodded towards Sinon. "Ma'am has a point by the way. In this situation, where we're aiming to kill one person in particular, getting to him is our number one priority. Fighting everyone we come across runs counter to that. Fast and flexible is how we should play this."

I nodded. "Alright. Sounds like a game plan."

Noya tapped on his menu and produced a pair of grey metal spheres the size of baseballs. They were marked with a bright red stripe, and their primer buttons were held in place with safety pins. I recognized them as Noya slid them both over to Rei, who passed them to me. "Flashfire grenades," he said. Then he started spawning more things from his inventory. "Plasma. Smoke. Combat knife."

With every item he passed me, my belt started to get more and more crowded. I didn't need the combat knife — I had one of my own — so I gave it to Sinon. She took it, pulled it out of its leather sheath to inspect it, then slid it back in to secure it to her own belt, right on the small of her back.

"You always come this prepared?" I asked.

"At the risk of sounding arrogant, I'm a professional," Noya said. "Professionals cover every conceivable base. It makes the job easier, and it helps avoid situations where we don't have an appropriate response."

"You say that like this is your actual job or something," Sinon noted.

Noya gave her an enigmatic smile. Then he slipped on a balaclava, leaving his sunken grey eyes visible for a moment before they too were covered with the red mirrored goggles. He put on a kevlar helmet, gave it a good smack, and went back to his menu without saying a word.

We finished getting our equipment prepped. I didn't have much in the way of weaponry anymore, which was pretty much a cardinal sin to your average GGO player. The MP7 strapped to my hip and the photon sword fastened underneath my jacket would have to carry me through this last battle. Next to me, my ArFA-Sys finished adjusting the sling keeping her hunting rifle against her back and gave me a small nod.

"Rei," I said in a low voice. "You sure you want to go through with this? We might still have time to reverse course if you've changed your mind."

She bit her lip, and glanced over at Sinon. "I'm sure, Master. If Ikuchi tries to hurt Sinon, then I want to be there to protect her."

"You mean that?"

"Yes."

"Why?" I asked her, gently nudging her to explain herself.

Rei chewed on her lip. "Well, she's my friend. And yours too. I don't know a lot yet, Master, but she's important to you, and I don't want to make you sad because I couldn't protect her," she said. She hunched her shoulders. "Is that a good answer?"

I smiled and patted her on the arm. "I think it's a good start."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah. You can never go wrong with trying to protect your friend," I said. "Trust your heart, Rei. It's a good one."

"My heart…hm," Rei said. She pursed her lips together.

A ring like a doorbell echoed in the room. Sinon cocked an eyebrow and went over to the locker room's control panel. She tapped a key and the door slid open.

Argo entered the room, and Serena followed behind her.

"Hey, guys," I said. "What are you doing here?"

"Wanted to support our number one team," Argo said, grinning. "Things are electric out there. Folks're crowdin' the bars, bets are breakin' records. People haven't been this excited since the first BoB."

"Uh, is that right?" I asked.

"Throwin' Sinon's name out there was already like throwin' napalm on an open fire, but the story about her feud with GGO's number one rising star has got everyone wired up. Don't think there's a single person that doesn't want to see what happens today."

I swallowed. Getting people's attention was part of the plan, but this was way more than I bargained for. Glocken's eyes were on us. For better or worse, there was a very good chance I wasn't going to be able to stay an anonymous nobody by the end of today. People were going to get interested in me.

Serena crossed her arms over her stomach, looking over at me. "I heard about what you did, calling Ikuchi out on live TV."

I rubbed the back of my neck. "Um, yeah. I did do that."

"Dinner was...really awkward after he logged off. More than usual. I mean, he barely touched his food. What the heck did you say to him?"

"I just gave him the challenge," I said. Then I quickly added, "Okay, and I mocked him a little too, but he expects that from me."

"Takin' a shot in the dark here, but him callin' out Ikuchi's frontliner history might be what really got him spooked," Argo said.

I held a hand out to her as a gesture of agreement. "Ikuchi knows that we know about his history. He'll try to put on a tough face, but what I said to him may as well have been the psychological equivalent of ripping off a band-aid," I explained. "He's going to expect me to use his SAO history against him."

"Are you?" Serena asked.

"Yeah," I said. "In a way. Not maliciously, mind you. If he manages to kill us, then I want to at least let him know he isn't alone. Get it into his head that what he's doing isn't healthy. Call it insurance, in case things don't go our way."

"Will that even be enough?" Serena asked.

"I don't know. If it isn't enough to help him, then it might fall to you to do what I can't."

"But I can't either," she protested.

"You're his family, Serena. His blood. You understand him better than anyone else in this room, and he knows it," I said gently. "And you know what else he knows? He knows that his big sister has been doing her best to take care of him for years. He won't ignore that, even if he tries. He'll listen to you. Trust me."

Serena closed her eyes, and I could see the tension gathering in her face. "I don't know. He's changed so much. You shouldn't have taken his bet. It's way too risky."

"It wasn't his choice," Sinon said. "It was mine."

Serena opened her eyes, leveling her gaze at her. "If something happens to my brother — "

"I'll take the fall for it," I cut in. "I was the one who promised to help you. If we screw up, it's because I made a bad call somewhere along the way."

Serena looked at me for a long, silent moment, blinking away what could have been the beginning of tears. Her voice came out hard and rasped, "I...I need to..."

She took a couple of stiff steps backwards until she dropped onto one of the benches lining the walls, covering her mouth with both hands. I gave a quiet sigh. I couldn't imagine what she was going through. It's one thing to be nervous about something you can influence, but it's quite another when it's something beyond your control. I was the one going into the fight. I could effect change. Serena couldn't. All she could do was watch from the sidelines and pray. And worry. From a certain perspective, that's a heavier burden to bear.

Nobody likes feeling powerless.

"It's almost time," Noya said, dematerializing his machine gun with a wave of his hand. "We should head out there."

Everyone in the team started filtering back out into the dark, cavernous walls of the War Room. Llenn and Rei both looked at me in concern as they passed. Instead of leaving with them, I went and knelt down in front of Serena. She looked at me, pain clawing at her golden eyes.

"Serena," I said. "This isn't a lost cause. I think the only reason Ikuchi is like this in the first place is because he still cares, deep down. I'm going to do my damndest to come through for you. And if I can't do it, then I give you express permission to beat me senseless. With boxing gloves and everything."

Her eyes shone with tears yet to fall, but maybe there was a hint of amusement in them. "Your jokes are still awful."

"They're a work in progress," I said, trying my best to smile.

Serena sighed and rose up to her feet. "Please win this, okay. For him."

"I'll do my best," I said, getting up to meet her.

Serena nodded and brushed past me. I heard her footsteps disappear. Then I just stood there, staring at the wall, wondering what I was going to do if my best wasn't enough.

The door to the locker room slid closed. Then somebody locked it shut. I turned around, and saw Sinon standing next to the door panel. We were the only ones in the room.

"Are you sure about this? You don't have to take the blame, you know," she said.

"I'm not taking the blame. I'm taking responsibility," I replied.

Sinon stopped in front of me. "Whichever it is, you shouldn't carry it alone."

"Maybe not," I admitted. "But I'm the one who made the promise to Serena. I don't break my promises."

Sinon crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. "Honestly, you're a nice guy, but you can be pretty bullheaded sometimes," There wasn't anything mean in her statement. Besides, I found it difficult to disagree with her.

"Look who's talking," I said with a faint smile. "Sinon, I'm not saying I'm going to go all Lone Wolf on you, but whatever happens in the next few hours is on me. I should take the brunt of the consequences."

Sinon stared at me. Then she took a slow breath and stepped closer "Look, I just don't want you to get hurt. You've stuck your neck out so many times for other people, and you're already carrying a lot on your shoulders. What if it all catches up to you?"

"I'll be okay. Really. Believe me, more than anything I want this to be over, but I have to see this through to the end. For everyone's sake," I said, closing the distance between us. "Everything will work out, Sinon. I know it."

"How can you be sure?"

"I've dealt with worse." I said, smiling. "We can't lose, Sinon. We're too dang impressive."

Sinon didn't say anything. I understood where she was coming from. People can only carry so much responsibility on their shoulders before they begin to buckle under the weight of it. But someone needed to escape the demons SAO gave them. As much as I detested all the things Ikuchi's done, I couldn't turn a blind eye to that. If that meant risking my neck, then I'd do it in a heartbeat.

Besides, this wasn't just about Ikuchi. Serena. Sinon. Me. We were all entwined in this now. I couldn't ignore one person while helping the others. Either we'd all come out of this okay or none of us would. Wasn't a hard decision to make.

Sinon looked away from me at the TV at the far end of the room, and I spotted a small, almost invisible smile on her face "I don't know how you can be like this with so much on your plate. But I guess that's something I like about you."

I raised a brow. "What do you mean?"

"Being confident. Strong. It always seems like no matter how bad things look, you still move forward. You even try your best to make everyone else feel better," Sinon said. She wrung her hands together, facing me again. "I guess what I'm trying to say is...I feel more at ease when you're around. I don't know how you do it."

"I have reason to be like that," I said. "The best reason. You."

Sinon all but rolled her eyes at me, "Pfft, okay, that one was bad."

"What? Bad? No way, that was world-class," I said, grinning.

"To you, maybe," she replied, her eyes glittering with amusement. "But I still appreciate it. It was...sweet in it's own way."

"Just like you."

Sinon chucked me on the shoulder playfully. "Oh god, stop saying weird things."

"You sure? Because I got another one that's pretty great."

"I'm good," she said, waving a hand in front of her face.

"Alright, if you say so. I'll just save it for later," I said while miming the motion of putting something in my breast pocket.

Sinon shook her head but her smile was no less warm. "But you see what I mean? That spirit of yours is something special. It helps."

"I suppose. Chalk it up as one of my strengths, I guess," I said.

Sinon let out a breathless laugh. She crossed her arms into a loose knot. "Okay. I trust that you know what you're doing, but I'm not going to stop worrying. So if you even think you need help carrying any of that responsibility…"

"You're the first person I'll run to," I replied, holding up my pinky finger. Sinon looked at me, then she nodded, hooking her own pinky around mine.

"It's a promise, then."

I looked at the door leading out into the War Room, then back at her. "Sinon, no matter what happens next, I really cherish the time I spent with you. All of it."

Sinon's face softened. "Me too. Keep yourself alive, got it?"

"Understood," I said. "Besides, even if things don't work out...I hear Alfheim is nice this time of year."

Sinon let out a breath of laughter. "It has its charms."

"Show me around sometime?" I asked.

"I know a few good places. As long as you don't mind flying there."

"Uh oh."

Sinon giggled under her breath. Then her voice dropped to a low murmur. "Um, by the way, there's...something I want to give you. It's important."

"What is it?"

I met her soft gaze. Sinon leaned in closer, and that simple gesture was enough to get my heart pounding into a frenzy as her voice whispered gently in my ear.

"M-My name is Shino Asada. Keep it between us, okay?"

I felt my throat tighten. Did I hear her right? I wasn't just imagining things, was I? Telling someone your real name in the VR world is considered taboo for the same reasons you didn't do it in places like online chat rooms. It's a privacy thing — and for as long as I knew her, Sinon was an intensely private person. Getting into a friendly conversation with a stranger was a rarity for her. So was being the first to start a conversation with an acquaintance. Hell, it took more than a couple of weeks for her to be comfortable enough around me to speak in more than monosyllables. Sinon and I had been through so much more since then. I've confided things to her that I hardly tell anyone out in the real world. And she had done the same.

She confessed her real name to me, who she really was. And in our world, telling someone something so intimate was the ultimate gesture of trust. Of acceptance.

"You're okay with me knowing that?" I asked, tentative.

"Yes. Of course I am. We're supposed to be...together, right? People who are together should know each other's names."

"You got me there. I'm just surprised, is all. I've gone so long thinking of you as Sinon that it feels weird to call you anything else," I said. "But I think I can get used to it."

She made an awkward motion as if she were trying to adjust a pair of glasses she wasn't wearing. She caught herself and let her hand drop to her side. "Okay. Um, please do."

I don't know if maybe she had the same idea as me, but when I reached out to her hands, they found mine first. Her slender fingers held onto me with a quiet desperation, trembling from either nervousness or excitement. Maybe both. But they were still strong. Like her.

"Shino Asada," I murmured. Just saying it made my chest feel light. "...Nice to meet you."

I told her my name in return. Her smile was small but beautiful all the same. "Nice to meet you too. Let's come out of this together, alright?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way," I said. I closed my eyes, and without even thinking about it, I pressed my forehead against hers, running a gentle thumb over her knuckles.

Sinon let out a low, approving sound. I felt her carefully press against me more, and my senses were overpowered by her sheer presence. Her sweet scent. The intense warmth of her body that sent shivers through mine. She was so close. Extremely close. Her soft breath teased my lips, and some unreasonable part of me wanted to get even closer. To do more. But now wasn't the time to let my hormones get the better of me. I held back from doing anything stupid.

I pulled away and opened my eyes to the angelic sight of Sinon's face colored in a soft blush, her crystalline eyes smoldering with affection. The last time I saw her like this was when we confessed our feelings to each other on the observation deck. It made my heart race as much now as it did then.

"W-We should focus on the Squad Jam," she said with short, heavy breaths.

"Right," I swallowed. "You're right. Gotta take care of business."

"But afterwards..."

"Afterwards," I said, squeezing her hands lightly before letting go.

"You're lucky I like you," Sinon muttered to me. "If anyone else tried that…"

"You'd knock them into next week?" I whispered.

She gave a subtle nod.

"Lucky me, then," I said with a chuckle. "Um, let's go play some video games, yeah?"

Sinon nodded again, speaking quietly. "Right. We'll show them who's strongest. Count on it."

We took some time to cool ourselves off. The last thing we needed was for everyone outside to start getting ideas about us. Once we were thinking straight again, we headed to the door. I managed to take a few steps outside before running into Argo. She faced us with her arms crossed over her chest, and the sly smile on her round face was already putting me on guard.

"You two have fun in there?" she asked. Her eyes flashed with wicked amusement.

"Yup, we wanted to squeeze in a few rounds of thumb wrestling. As a warm up," I said.

"Uh huh. That's exactly what happened," Argo said. "A guy and a girl locking themselves in a room right before a big fight. It makes people wonder, y'know."

"I'm not sure what you mean," I said.

"Don't get coy with me," Argo said, grinning. "I'm just extrapolatin' here, but you two have been gettin' awfully comfortable around each other around the time we went to Valley Moor. It ain't hard to put together a picture. I mean, ya went and tore apart all of Yokai when she got kidnapped, like a knight in shinin' armor, and you should be settin' off harassment warnings with how close you're gettin' up on him," Argo pointed a finger at Sinon. She blinked a few times, and only then noticed the distinct lack of space between us. She shuffled aside, her mouth twisting into a frown. We were lucky the War Room was so dark. Nobody except me noticed her burning ears underneath the thick locks of teal hair.

"Hey, Argo, could we maybe put a pin in this for a bit? The Squad Jam's about to start," I said.

Argo stared at the two of us and held it for far longer than I was comfortable with. When it broke, she made a noise in the back of her throat, shrugging. "Alright, alright, I can tell when I'm pryin' into personal matters. I can guess all day about you two, and probably make some good ones at that, but at the end of the day, they're still guesses. I'll keep 'em that way. For now."

"Thanks," I said. I started walking, but then Argo cleared her throat before I could take a step.

"Hold on now. I wasn't waitin' out here to ambush ya about your 'thumb wrestlin''," Argo said, using air quotes. "I got somethin' for ya. Consider it a good luck charm."

I lifted an eyebrow and was about to ask her what it was when something hard poked me in the gut. I looked down and saw the barrel of a .357 revolver pressing against my stomach. A very familiar looking revolver. My eyes widened. I hadn't seen it in months, but even in the dim light there was no way I could've mistaken it for anything else.

"Is that...is that Charon?" I asked.

"Yup," Argo said, grinning.

"But how? I thought you gave it to Ikuchi when you cashed in my bounty."

"Believe me, he asked for it. But I told him I took a linkin' to it. Wanted to keep it for myself. Obviously, I was lyin' through my teeth. I just didn't want him to have somethin' that belonged to ya," Argo twirled the revolver around and held it out to me handle first. "Besides, it looks a lot better on you than him."

I took the polished wooden grip with shaking fingers. The weight of the gun settled itself easily in my palm, and it felt right. Like I had gotten a part of myself back. "Argo, I don't know what to say."

"Look at that, I rendered him speechless," Argo said. A gun belt appeared in her hands with a few sweeping hand motions, made of dark leather and already stocked with .357 rounds. She held it out to me. "A simple 'Thank You' oughta suffice."

"Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Thank you, Argo," I said. As I started fastening the belt, a thought struck me. I furrowed my brow and said, "Hold on a minute, if you had it all this time, why did you wait until now to give me it?"

Argo blinked at me and looked away, putting her hands behind her back. "I was just waiting for the right moment. Can't a girl feel like a hero every now and again?" she asked innocently.

"You held off on giving it back for dramatic effect?" I asked.

"Woah, hey, it's almost time for the Squad Jam," Argo slid in between Sinon and I and put a hand on each of our shoulders, ushering us forward. I sighed and stowed Charon into the belt's holster. I couldn't be mad at her. For all the stunts she pulled, Argo had her heart in the right place.

I think.

The three of us joined the others as they stood off to the side watching the screens above as a woman in bright clothing announced the beginning of the Squad Jam. People whooped and hollered, shooting their guns in the air in celebration. That's when Ikuchi caught my eye. I figured he was staring at us again until a closer inspection told me he wasn't looking at all of us, but rather one person in particular. Serena. I couldn't make out his expression with the poor lighting — the distance between us didn't help matters much either — but the way he bowed his head with his body hunching in on itself spoke volumes.

He and the rest of Yokai vanished in a brief flash of light, and one by one, other groups in the War Room began to disappear in the same fashion. I took a deep breath through my nostrils, tension filling my limbs, waiting for the same to happen to us.

"I've been meaning to ask," Llenn said suddenly, looking at me. "What's up with our team name? When I saw it in the confirmation message, it seemed a little odd to me."

"It's a beacon," I said. "So Ikuchi can head straight for us. So we can finish this as soon as possible."

"How's he going to know it's us?" she asked.

"Oh, he'll know."

Sinon and I looked at each other. Her lips curled into a ferocious grin the likes of which I'd never seen before — as sharp and as deadly and as dangerous as any knife. It looked natural on her.

A bright flash of light engulfed my vision, and Silas Squadron went to war.

We were left in a black void with a countdown of ten minutes appearing high above us. We used the time to check our weapons, double check our supplies, and iron out the specifics of our tactics. When it hit zero, another flash of light consumed my senses, and the first thing I felt coming out of it was my feet hitting soft ground and the strong scent of pine smothering my nose.

We stood in the middle of a misty forest, surrounded on all sides by a veritable flood of pine trees and evergreens as tall as buildings. The mist dropped visibility by about fifty feet on all sides, and was thick enough to make the rays of afternoon sunlight visible, the forest canopy splitting them apart into dozens of different spotlights. While it made for a pretty scene, it didn't do us any favors in the tactical department.

"This isn't a good spot for me," Sinon said, narrowing her eyes. "I'll be lucky to see anything before you guys do."

I grunted. "Plan B, then. Noya?"

Ahead of me, Argo's bodyguard nodded and stepped forward. He swept a hand out without looking at us, palm facing the ground. "Spread out. Remember your spacing. Fifteen feet minimum."

At that, everyone broke into a loose formation. Noya took point, with Pitohui and I taking the sides, and Llenn bringing up the rear until we were in a rough diamond shape. Sinon and Rei remained in the middle of the group, surveying the surrounding area with their rifles. The first satellite scan wouldn't happen for another ten minutes, but there was no guarantee we wouldn't run into another squad before then.

"So can the audience see us right now?" I asked. "If it's anything like the BoB's, there will be floating cameras flying around," Sinon said. "But they won't be able to hear us unless we're practically shouting at them."

"Good to know," I said, sparing a glance at Rei.

The forest was abuzz with life as we ventured deeper inside, plodding over tree roots and ankle high brush. Firm gales of wind rustled branches and leaves together, and carried the melodious chirps of birds and insects alike. I focused my hearing as best as I could while keeping my MP7 raised, trying to pick out any unnatural sounds that could suggest we weren't alone. I checked behind us to make sure we weren't being followed only to find Llenn doing the same thing, turning in a slow circle as she effortlessly kept pace with us.

We kept stalking through the foliage for what felt like hours. The longer the silence dragged on, the more my limbs shook with nervous energy, begging to be released in any way possible. I took a deep breath through my nose and out my mouth, taking in the fresh smell of nature, hoping it would be enough to allay my anxiety.

It worked for a bit. Thank you, AmuSphere. Your capacity to replicate scents was amazing and utterly terrifying at times.

Evidently my nerves were worked up into a frenzy anyways, because a series of consecutive beeps coming from behind almost made me jump out of my skin. When I turned around, Llenn was toying with her watch.

"It's almost time for the satellite scan," she said. She reached into her breast pocket and pulled out a PDA that looked comically oversized for her small hand.

"Already? Feels like we just started," I asked. I checked my jacket and sure enough, there was an unfamiliar bulge in my breast pocket. I fished the PDA out and a quick tap of its screen revealed the map to me.

One by one, bright red dots popped up on the screen, starting from the northwest corner of the map. Right away, I spotted two greyed out blips among them. Eliminated teams, if I had to wager.

It didn't take long for our position to be revealed. We were standing at the northern end of the map. The forest was situated at the base of a mountain range, a natural border to keep us from walking out of bounds. Most of the southern edge was swallowed up by ocean that gradually turned into swamps and then dry land as it came closer to a small city that served as the map's centerpiece.

I started pressing dots to look for Yokai's position, but I never got the chance to find them. As soon as our position was revealed, another red dot appeared. Then another. They were close. Really close. Actually, they were right below ours.

I had about a half second for the realization to hit before I threw myself to the ground. It couldn't have been closer. The air rang with the fury of a dozen bullets flying towards us at once. Sinon dragged Rei down with her, covering the ArFA-Sys' body with her own as she yanked her Glock free. I didn't see where Llenn and Pitohui went, but if the crunching of their boots were any indication, they were already on the move to find cover.

"Contacts dead ahead!" Noya barked. In the same breath, he unfolded the bipod of his machine gun and rested it on the trunk of a collapsed tree nearby.

Something I learned about the M60, which probably should have been obvious in hindsight, is that it is loud. Like 'chainsaw on nitrous' loud. Miniature shockwaves displaced the mist around the barrel as it spit an unrelenting torrent of suppressive fire back at our ambushers.

I squinted through the mist and spotted dark figures moving from one obscured tree to another. Some of them returned fire at Noya, but the mist was just as much a gift as a curse. None of the shots tagged him.

"Finally, I was about to die of boredom back there!" Pitohui shouted as she all but sprinted towards the enemy team, disappearing from my sight. The sound of gunfire intensified with her mad cackling.

I crawled over to Noya's side and pulled Charon free, peeking over the collapsed tree. "How many?"

Noya stopped firing long enough to say, "Four," before he went back to it.

I chewed on my lip. The PDA said two teams. Twelve people max were out there shooting each other and us. And with visibility being as bad as it was, it'd be nothing short of suicide to run in blind. Unless your name was Pitohui.

"Sinon, you see anything?" I asked without looking back at her.

"Nothing," she said as her and Rei both crawled up next to us. "But we can't stay here. Soon or later, someone's going to stumble into us."

"We got to get —" A piece of the collapsed tree trunk exploded in front of my face. I let out a manly yelp and ducked my head. "Uh, we got to get around this without getting caught in the crossfire"

"I'll stay here to draw their fire," Noya said. He refilled the ammunition box under his M60 with an air of calm — as if there weren't a swarm of bullets buzzing past his head. "You guys slip away while I grab their attention. Once you guys are clear, I'll follow after."

"Llenn? You coming with?" I asked as she crawled over to us.

"What about Pito?" she asked.

"I...don't think she wants her fun spoiled," I said. I checked everyone's health bar at the corner of my vision. Sure enough, Pitohui's hadn't even budged.

"Start running as soon as I open fire," Noya said. He pulled the bolt back on his machine gun and dozens of wire-thin bullet lines sprouted out from the barrel as he took aim.

I tensed the muscles in my legs, then as soon as the first bullet flew, I pushed myself up to my feet and ran like hell, giving the cacophony of gunfire as wide a berth as I could manage.

Running at full speed through a forest isn't easy most of the time. Doing it in the middle of a firefight when said forest was blanketed in a thick fog was the next best thing to downright suicidal. I slowed down to descend a sudden steep slope partially obscured by underbrush. Sinon and Rei were right on my heels, and while Llenn wasn't running in a full on blitz, she still outpaced me and kept several steps ahead.

"Pitohui! We're skedaddling. You coming?" I asked her over the earpiece.

"Hold your horses. I almost got this guy," she said back.

Llenn stopped in front of me, and I almost tripped over her. At the same time, two men dressed head to toe in tactical gear bled out of the mist in a frantic run.

"Oh shit," the closest one said. He fumbled for the gun strapped to his hip, but Llenn already had him beat. Her beloved P-chan spat a handful of bullets, hitting his upper chest up to his neck and head. He flopped to the ground, a sign reading 'Dead' flashing over his body as his partner brought his rifle to bear.

That's when I brought out Charon.

One thing will never change as long as I breathe. Charon was mine. Always has been. I knew all its little quirks and how to handle them with the deft touch of experience. So when I raised the revolver up and peered down its sights, I did it in an instant, without hesitation, without having to correct my aim or adjust my grip. I fired, and a wave of elation hit me the same time Charon's .357 round hit the man straight in the face.

"Oh yeah, I still got it, baby!" I thrusted my arms up into the air. "That's what I'm talking about! Sinon, I think I'm falling in love all over again."

"Okay, alright, Lover Boy, get moving," Sinon said, skipping past me.

I hurried to meet the others at the bottom of the slope, when Sinon's eyes shot over to something to her right. Sinon snarled, "Left!" as her Glock appeared in her hands.

I whipped my head around. The enemy teams must have had the same idea we did, because two more men clad in tactical gear were running along the slope heading towards me, presumably to try and flank Noya's suppressive fire.

Sinon's Glock cracked in short, controlled bursts, forcing them to split up as she moved to take cover behind a tree. Llenn covered her advance, harassing the two newcomers with an onslaught of suppressive fire, forcing their return shots to go wide. Rei and I both raised our guns to join in — until the sound of crushed leaves and fallen branches snapping came from right behind us.

We both turned. A third player was charging straight towards us with hardly a sound. Which was impressive considering the thick kevlar armor covering his entire body. He made it about twenty feet from us before he hefted the shotgun in his hand, and pointed it straight at Rei's chest.

I knew he'd shrug off anything I could shoot at him. Charon was good but it wouldn't kill him before he got Rei. Which is why I didn't even bother trying. Instead, I reached for my belt and unhooked one of Noya's Flashfire grenades. I pulled the pin, hit the primer, and pitched it like the world's most dangerous fastball.

You can imagine what incendiary grenades do if you've played any shooters in your life. They don't quite work the same way in the real world. They didn't explode, and were mostly used to melt enemy armor with a concentrated spray. While GGO prided itself on accurate depictions of real world equipment, the devs wanted to have their cake and eat it too. You wanted a fast way to create a field of thousand-degree fire? That's what Flashfire grenades were for.

They also exploded on impact. Just putting that out there.

The grenade sailed in an arc towards the armored player, and all he could do was watch as it came down and struck him in his mid-thigh. The grenade disappeared in a single point of light brighter than a magnesium flare. A rush of flames exploded outwards in a wave of flesh-searing heat, and the air cracked like thunder as it expanded from the rush of instant heat. I felt the moisture being sucked from my lungs, and even though I did my best to shield my eyes from the brunt of the blast, my retinas still burned enough to put spots in my vision.

I've never been on fire in GGO before, but if the way the man dropped any attempt to kill Rei to furiously pat himself off was any indication, it wasn't an experience one could easily ignore. Fire clung to his armor like napalm, climbing his legs up to his chest and neck, seeping into the gaps in his armor. Meanwhile, the grass around him blackened as the blaze engulfed everything around him.

He tried to get a shot off, but the fire eating away at his arms made aiming a useless effort. His shotgun belched, and the shot went wide, hitting the slope next to Rei instead of her. His fingers were too weak to hold onto the gun. The recoil sent his gun flying away into the blazing inferno behind him.

I aimed Charon at his center mass and emptied the entire cylinder into his chest. Rei pulled her pistol and did the same, pelting him with every bullet in the magazine. It was enough. He stumbled, then flopped over dead.

"Well, that was unpleasant to watch," I said.

"Master!" Rei cried. She pointed at one more figure creeping deeper into the woods. Before I could so much as breathe, bullet lines cut through the mist and landed straight at my chest.

I twisted my body to the side and dove into an awkward roll, the air rippling above me as bullets sliced through empty space. "Sinon, Llenn, company at your six!"

I didn't have time to reload Charon. I stowed it and went for the MP7, bracing it against my shoulder to take aim. The gun clapped with short, controlled bursts, and they were accurate enough to spook my assailant into getting behind a tree. "Rei, back up the others. Go!"

She nodded, then ran past me as she unslung her hunting rifle, shooting it at the two enemy players Sinon and Llenn were still contending with.

"Alright buddy, just you and me. How good is your aim?" I said aloud. Another bullet followed another bang. It whizzed through the air, missing me by a good ten inches. "Bad. I heard that whizz. Wait, that came out wrong."

The figure darted out from behind the tree, firing wildly in my general direction. I didn't have any cover to speak of. I dodged his bullet line, keeping my head low, bobbing to the left and then to my right as I chased after him. The enemy player passed another tree, circled around it and laid down another bout of gunfire. A stinging sensation struck my hip and stomach. I stumbled to the ground, turned it into a roll thanks to some quick thinking, and came up in a low crouch, spraying the MP7 back in retaliation. The enemy player ducked behind the tree. Chips of wood exploded from its trunk as my bullets hit his cover. I got up to my feet, hoping to get around to flank him, but someone else beat me to it.

Llenn hurtled towards him in a pink blur. He tried to run away from her, but he would have had better luck outrunning a race car. The glint of a shining steel knife appeared in Llenn's hand when she caught up to him. With one deliberate stroke, the knife cut a thin, deep line across the back of his knee. He cried out, falling on his good knee as Llenn bolted away from him. He tried to level his gun at her, but Llenn turned back, dashed at him again, and a flicker of the knife slashed his hand as she sped past him. He cried out as his rifle fell to the ground. Utterly helpless, he could only watch as Llenn appeared before him with her P90 pointed squarely at his head. One pull of the trigger was all it took to put him down for good.

I gave a low whistle. "You get a lot of complaints about kill stealing?"

Llenn smiled a little. "Sometimes. Mostly when Pito wants to kill them first."

Rei and Sinon made it over to us with the latter reloading her Glock. I looked past her to see the body of the player she'd been fighting lying against a tree trunk riddled with bullet holes. "We're clear for the moment," Sinon said. "But let's not stick around."

"Agreed," I said. "Come on, Noya can only hold off the others for so long — "

A strangled shout drew our attention to the top of the hill, and I got a first hand look at how dangerous some of my squadmates really were.

Noya's hands were a blur, but I could make out the knife in his hand as he thrusted it towards a player's stomach. His opponent caught him by the forearm, stopping him cold, the tip of the knife inches away from his skin, but Noya's wrist was still free. With a single quick flick, the knife cut a deep gash across the man's own wrist, and he cried out in sudden pain.

Noya must've nicked an artery because pixelated blood gushed from the wound in a nonstop stream. The grip on his arm faltered enough for him to pull free and bring the knife right back into his quarry's gut. Noya didn't stop there. He stabbed the man two more times then swept his leg, scything the man's feet out from under him and sending him crashing to the ground. Then in one smooth motion, Noya pulled his pistol free, turned on his heel, and double tapped him straight in the head.

Meanwhile, Pitohui had another enemy trapped in a headlock, and the more he struggled against her, the tighter the hold she put on him. One of the player's pals appeared from the mist behind her and aimed his rifle at her back. I almost shouted in warning, but Pitohui reared a leg back and smashed her knee into her captive's face. The blow stunned him long enough for Pitohui to spin him around and turn him into a human shield. Pitohui charged towards her new attacker, and every bullet meant for her hit her unwitting hostage dead on. She shoved her dead shield at her attacker as soon as she got close, forcing him to push the incoming corpse aside to keep from falling over with it. It cost him.

In a matter of seconds, she seized the player's wrist with one hand and slapped his assault rifle out of his grip with the other before delivering a sharp elbow to the face. Before he could even begin to muster a counterattack, Pitohui threw him away from her — and right into Noya.

He kicked the newcomer square in the gut, hard enough to make him double over and retch. Then with a mechanical precision that honestly disturbed me, he grabbed the man by the chin and the back of the head and snapped his neck with one clean twist. The man fell to the ground, and a 'dead' sign popped over his corpse.

Noya turned in a slow circle, scanning their immediate surroundings for any more lingering threats. "Clear," he reported. He took up his M60 from its place on the ground while Pitohui did the same with her assault rifle. The two of them descended down the hill to greet us.

"So much for avoiding a fight," I said.

"Plans tend to change once the shooting starts," Noya replied. He looked over my shoulder at the inferno still burning behind me. "We should get clear before the fire spreads."

"Shouldn't it stop on its own at some point?"

"It's fire," Noya said in a tone that somehow managed to convey both politeness and exasperation. "It doesn't just stop. It keeps spreading unless something puts it out. Like in the real world."

I blinked. "Oh."

Sinon let out a silent sigh. "Ten minutes in and already you're creating mayhem."

"Not my fault. I have a quota to meet." I reloaded Charon's cylinder, snapped it shut, and said, "The satellite scan has to be over by now. Anyone see where Ikuchi's squad was?"

"I did," Llenn said. She brought out her PDA and held it up to me, pressing a finger against the southwest corner of the map. "Right around here, I think."

I studied the screen for a moment, and let out a sigh. "Damn. They're at the bottom of a canyon of some sorts."

Sinon checked her own PDA, frowning. "Depending on how steep it is, they might be forced to follow it rather than climb out."

Which meant they'd have to reach the city's outskirts at least before they were able to move about freely. We could more or less predict their movements for a while. But without any means of cover or easy escape routes, they were liable to be killed if someone came across them while they were down there.

As strange as it was, I had to have faith in Ikuchi that he wouldn't get himself killed.

"Assuming they come straight for us once they're out, they'll have to cut through the city at the center of the map," I said. I looked towards Noya and jerked my head to one side. He nodded and took point again as we ventured deeper into the forest.

"If we keep up this pace, we're going to run into them there," Sinon said as we moved.

I looked back as we left. The fire I created had started spreading to nearby trees, climbing up their trunks and charring branches. Note to self: We're in a game, but Flashfire grenades still act like fire. Don't just throw them around all willy-nilly. Doofus.

"A confrontation inside the city will be dangerous. There's a lot of vantage points, verticality, not to mention the sightlines. We could be shot from any building. Any angle," Noya said.

I chewed on my lip, thinking. There wasn't a doubt in my mind Ikuchi would ignore everyone else to come after us. We were on a collision course with Yokai, and the city would be the spot where it happened unless someone had second thoughts. Whether I was ready to be that person, I wasn't sure yet. I needed more information.

"Let's focus on getting out of this forest first," I said. "Once we get a good lay of the land, then we can decide."

"Fair enough," Noya said.

I looked back at the others and said, "You guys holding up okay?"

"For a warmup, that wasn't half bad," Pithui chirped. "Yokai better give us a good fight. I'll be disappointed otherwise."

"Ikuchi's inner circle is full of SAO survivors, and guys like them were fighting nonstop for two years. Some of them were even in the frontlines risking their lives," I said. "People like them are the closest thing the VR world has to experienced badasses. If it comes down to it, you can bet they're going to bring their A-game in a fight."

"That's what I like to hear," Pitohui said.

The sunlight started bleeding through more clearly; the mist was thinning out. The forest's edge had to have been close.

It didn't take much longer than five minutes for us to reach it. We came to a stop at the edge of a small cliff overlooking what appeared to be an idyllic suburban neighborhood. Well, as idyllic as one could get in a post-apocalypse. Most of the houses were damaged in one way or another; the few that weren't were withering away from time itself. The ancient cars littering the street weren't faring any better either. After thousands of years, they were more rust than automobile.

Sinon came up next to me and pointed far off into the horizon. "You see that?"

I squinted and made out the faded skyline of a city towering over the flat lands that surrounded it. Two skyscrapers in particular stood out amongst the other buildings. They were tall. Maybe eighty stories tall give or take.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" I asked.

Sinon nodded. "If we're fast, we can set up a sniper's nest up there. We'd be able to see Ikuchi from miles away. Hit him before he can even step foot into the city."

Behind us, Pitohui made a sound like a child being denied candy.

I looked down below at all the defunct cars. "No way we're beating him there on foot. We'll need a ride. Something that won't fall apart the second we sit inside it."

"Probably won't find it here. None of the cars here will fit all six of us and the ones that can aren't in good shape," Noya said. He jerked his chin towards the city. "Maybe we'll find something closer to the city. In one of the industrial districts, perhaps. Vehicles there are built to last."

"Okay. All in favor?" I asked. A round of nods and one begrudging agreement came, and I said, "Alright. Eyes on, people. Let's get going."

I jumped off the small cliff, and my squad followed after me as we headed to the center of the map and into Squad Jam's great unknown.