So here's part two of what used to be one chapter. Hope y'all enjoy it.

Chapter 27

I was cut off from my friends, wounded, tired, and locked inside a room with two people who didn't like me very much. Worse, they were skilled fighters — and being SAO survivors who'd seen their fair share of action in Aincrad, they were more than capable enough to kill me. For all intents and purposes, I was at their mercy. Any slight mistake, any wrong move, could spell my immediate death.

"I can see up your nose, Gozu. You really oughta clean that out," I said.

Gozu's scowl deepened. "Running your mouth like always. It's getting old."

"You just have no taste," I rubbed a hand against the side of my head, using that meager bit of cover to activate my earpiece. With any luck, the others would hear me, figure out I was waist deep in trouble, and gallantly come to my rescue. At least that was the hope.

I surveyed the area without taking Gozu out of my sight. At first, I thought I ended up in the atrium of an art museum. The marble floor was done in a classy waterjet pattern with etchings of black, gold, and silver. Natural sunlight poured in through the vaulted glass ceiling, joining the artificial light coming from the stainless steel spherical chandelier hanging over my head. From where I was kneeling, I could see small trees, rose bushes, and a myriad of other plants I couldn't readily identify were blooming in the corners of the room while several sculptures ranging from the traditional to the abstract were set between them, interrupted by the front door Mezu had barred. I chanced a look behind me and saw museum display panels scattered around the atrium, each one holding an assortment of paintings with different styles and sizes.

Gozu turned his head to one side, showing me the earpiece he wore. Somebody must have been talking to him through it.

"Hold your position. Alert us if anyone else comes our way," he said.

"Oh, I get it, Gozu. You got a sniper set up somewhere nearby. That's how you caught me as soon as I came into the towers, huh?" I said, enunciating every word as clearly as I could.

Sinon's voice hissed in my ear. "Did you get caught? Hold tight. We're coming to get you."

Gozu frowned. He aimed his large caliber machine gun at my face as if it weighed no more than a toy. "Say another word about where we are or what we're doing and you're dead, simple as that."

I clenched my jaw. Well, there goes that plan. Sinon got the picture, but I couldn't feed her any more info without catching a bullet in the brain. The only thing I could do now was stall for time.

"Why haven't you killed me already?" I asked.

"Boss' orders. He wants to deal with you personally. Though he did say to kill you if I thought it was necessary," Gozu said. "Don't make me think it's necessary."

"So Ikuchi wants the pleasure of killing me himself, is that it?" I asked.

"Not entirely. You have information we want."

I narrowed my eyes.

"You dug into Ikuchi's past," Gozu said. "Ethics aside, there's no way you found out on your own. Who helped you?"

"Bizniz."

Gozu raised a brow.

"First name Nunya," I clarified.

Gozu's expression turned sour. "I'd rather not do anything extreme to force the answers out of you. But I won't regret doing it if I have to."

"Gosh, aren't you sweet," I said. "Kinda hypocritical of you to start talking about ethics, isn't it? You get your underwear in a twist because I dug into Ikuchi's private life, but you were just fine with it when he did the same to Sinon. In what world does that sound okay to you?"

"Sinon will be fine."

I quelled the flaring anger in my chest before it could start calling the shots. But the severity in my tone was hard to hide. "That doesn't make it okay."

"Ikuchi knows what's going on better than you do. You dragging up old wounds is going to make things worse for Sinon."

I shook my head. "Then I was right on the money. Ikuchi is Silas. He was part of the assault team, huh?"

The big man stared at me. "He saved a lot of lives in Aincrad. While everyone was scrambling for power, he was trying to keep people safe."

"Except now he's scrambling for power himself," I shot back. "Come on, man. You can't ignore that kind of change. You really think enabling him like this is going to make things better?"

A pained grimace crossed Gozu's face. It happened so quickly I almost didn't notice it. His dark eyes looked through me, his jaw clenching hard.

What the hell? That wasn't the response I was expecting. Throughout this entire feud, Gozu had been marching lockstep with Ikuchi every step of the way. Hell, he'd been the one who posted the bounty that had been hanging over my head. And now, rather than defend his boss like I expected him to, he went completely silent.

I could think up a reason or two why he'd react like that.

"Wait. You don't," I said. "You're playing along with Ikuchi's plan, but you're not totally on board with it."

Gozu looked at me. Then said, "What does it matter? The man went through hell and back for people like me. Mezu and I would be dead if it wasn't for him."

"That doesn't mean you have to support this."

"Maybe, but that's for me to decide. Ikuchi isn't an idiot, he'll find a way to make things better. He always does. But for that to happen, he needs you gone."

I rose, ignoring Gozu's machine gun aimed straight at my head. "Sorry, can't do that. The last thing I want to do is die here before I get a chance to show your boss what he stands to lose today."

"You think you have the right to tell him that? Grow up. Drop the hero act and realize that saving someone's not so simple as spouting whatever motivational nonsense goes through your head."

"Good news then, I'm not here to save anyone," I told him. "I'm just here to give him the firm kick in the ass he needs to save himself."

Gozu clenched his jaw. "And how're you planning to do that?"

"Work my way up the chain. Kick all your asses first. Call it practice, so I can get it just right."

Gozu laughed, but it came out more bitter than anything else. "You're an idiot. Plain and simple."

"Wouldn't be the first person to call me that," I said. "Gozu, I'm giving you a chance here. You want to help Ikuchi? Then help us take him down."

"After all the tricks you've pulled, you really expect me to believe you now, when everything is riding on who lives and who dies?" he asked, incredulous.

"Yes. Think about it. If I really wanted to hurt Ikuchi, then wouldn't I have demanded for harsher terms when we set the stakes? I could have said that he'd have to leave GGO for good if he lost, like he did with me and Sinon. I could have had him prostrate in front of me, make him admit to everyone in GGO how weak he was," I said. "But I didn't. All I said was that he would have to leave Sinon alone if he lost."

Gozu seemed to consider my words for a moment. But he shook his head. "Sorry, but after everything you've pulled, I've got no reason to — "

A loud, echoing boom came from outside, sharper than thunder. I recognized the sound almost immediately. Sinon had fired her sniper rifle. As if it had been a signal, other firearms went off, their rapports overlapping each other.

Gozu flinched. He took his eyes off me for only a second, but it was all I needed. The muscles in my legs coiled and I dove backwards. Gozu snapped his attention back to me and brought his machine gun to bear, but the bullet line passed just over the ends of my hair when he fired. The air rippled over my head.

Charon appeared in my hand as my back hit the ground, and I didn't have to aim very hard to shoot a big guy like Gozu. I squeezed the trigger twice, and Gozu stumbled back, bright red spots glowing on his chest. He tried to get a bead on me, but I was already on the move, diving behind the pedestal of a nearby sculpture.

Gozu's and Mezu's footsteps echoed against the marble floor. I heard Gozu work the action on his machine gun, and the room abruptly filled with ear-splitting noise gunfire. Chunks of stone as big as baseballs were sheared off of the pedestal I was hiding behind, sending debris and dust flying into the air. I hunkered down, pulling my knees in, trying to make myself as small as possible.

I couldn't stay put. Gozu and Mezu were no lightweights, and together they were downright dangerous. If I wanted to survive the next few minutes, I needed to play to my strengths. I needed to play dirty.

A plan formed in my head. I came to my feet, flinching as the sculpture atop the pedestal quite literally started to fall apart behind me. I snatched a plasma grenade from my belt, primed it, and pitched it high into the air. The metal ball went up and up and up — and just as it reached its apex, the grenade detonated right above the massive spherical chandelier.

Superheated plasma chewed through the metal cables holding it up like they were paper. They snapped one by one with a terrible squeal, whipping about with enough force to kill, until the entire thing gave out under the sphere's tremendous weight. The chandler went into freefall. A metric ton of glass and metal came hurtling down.

Right on top of Gozu's head.

I got clear of the impact. A second later, the ground shook like a miniature earthquake, and I stumbled, pieces of metal and glass spearing themselves into the back of my jacket. By the time I slowed down and looked behind me, the destruction had already passed.

The chandelier crashed smack dab in the middle of the atrium, knocking over nearby displays and leaving deep furrows along the ground, kicking up enough dust and grains of stone to choke the area. A piece of black metal on the floor caught my eye. I peered closer. It was the barrel of Gozu's machine gun, broken and bent. It disintegrated into pixels.

Footsteps sounded off to my right, and I turned to see Mezu charging with his shotgun ready to blow me away. I didn't even try to outshoot him, opting instead to turn and run, widening the distance between us to render his shotgun almost useless.

Mezu chased after me. He could run, but with all the equipment he was carrying with him — handmade heavy insectoid armor and a web belt filled to bursting with various gadgets and traps — he was nowhere near fast enough to catch up with me. The distance between us grew even further. Then I whirled on my heel, and took aim with Charon, firing three more rounds at his head. Mezu grit his teeth, but instead of dodging, he raised his left arm in front of his face, and the black carapace armor strapped to his forearm deflected every shot, sending them flying harmlessly away from him.

I cursed under my breath, but before I could start making my escape again, Mezu leveled his shotgun at my center mass. The gun belched with a roar and a burst of fire.

I moved quick, pushing my agility stat to its limit. I got low and feinted right, drawing the business end of Mezu's barrel to one side before diving the other way in a haphazard roll. The shotgun bellowed, but the quick dodge saved me from getting turned into outright mince meat. then broke off the engagement in a hurried run, circling around the chandelier in the center of the room to break line of sight.

Just as I went around it, a beam of pure light swung for my neck.

I don't know whether to chalk it up to fast reflexes, an ephemeral moment of pure dumb luck, or some kind of divine intervention, but my body dropped into a baseball slide without consulting me about it, saving my head from getting separated from my neck. As soon as I came to a stop, I got onto my feet, and turned around to face my new attacker.

It was Gozu. He was unharmed. And the photon sword in his hand burned with a bright orange light.

"Careful with that, Gozu. You'll poke an eye out," I said.

His lips twitched on one corner as he assumed an offensive stance, holding the blade high above his head. Mezu appeared behind him, shotgun poised and ready.

I clenched my fists. Fighting Gozu while he lugged around a machine gun was bad, but at least I could predict his tactics somewhat. The photon sword was another story. If he was as good with that thing as Ikuchi was, then I didn't have a prayer of killing him and Mezu alone.

Sinon, where are you?

Gozu moved in fast, bringing the photon sword down in an overhead chop. I started stepping back to avoid it when Mezu emptied another shell at me. I couldn't avoid it in time. I leaned awkwardly away from the blast, hoping to at least avoid the brunt of the shell's spread, and hissed as several pellets hit my right side. My health plunged into the low yellow, and I fell to the ground.

Gozu thrusted his sword at my chest and I rolled to the right to avoid getting impaled. As soon as I ended up on my back again, I fired the last round in Charon's cylinder. It hit Mezu square in the shoulder, and he grunted in pain, his arms jerking sharply to one side, the sudden motion causing him to pull the trigger. His shotgun boomed, the sound echoing off the walls, and the shot meant for me blasted the marble floor with a terrible shattering noise.

I rose, setting Charon aside for my MP7. I took aim and yanked the trigger down hard on Gozu. He squared off, but rather than duck for cover like most people, he charged me head on, waving his sword in a circular motion over his head, either unaware or uncaring of how many shots he was taking.

Then my back hit a sculpture. Gozu brought the sword down with a shout, intending to cut in me half down the vertical, the blade glowing so intensely it may as well have been a second sun. I couldn't stop in time. I didn't even try to. I twisted to one side, ducked, and dove away into a roll. The blade of pure energy cleaved into the sculpture behind me and melted stone like wax against napalm.

Gozu ripped his photon sword free, and turned to face me. Then with a bellow of challenge he came at me again.

Then there was a sudden crashing sound high above my head and before I realized it, shards of glass rained down on both of our heads. A single figure landed beside me, lithe and slender, with a glowing red photon sword in her hand.

"Room for one more?" said the woman, her voice laced with mock politeness. Pitohui rose to standing, her lips split into a wide predatory grin, the tattoos on her cheeks stretching along with them.

Further back, Mezu growled and managed to raise his shotgun when a shadow fell over him. Another flash of light — a vibrant green —- sliced his shotgun's barrel in half, sending it sailing across the room. Mezu retreated a step and snarled in frustration as Noya stood before him, wielding a photon sword of his own.

For a long second, the room turned deathly still.

Then I seized the distraction and emptied the MP7's entire magazine into Gozu's exposed stomach.

Pixelated gore spewed out from his midsection. He spat a curse between his gritted teeth and pulled back, clutching the mess of tiny bullet-shaped wounds with one hand.

"So, anyone else wanna tell me they're hiding a photon sword?" I asked, looking up to find two large holes in the glass ceiling above us. "Is Llenn packing one too? Because I swear, if it's pink..."

Noya turned his head just enough to let me see his one visible eye. "I'm a professional. I meant it when I said I cover every base."

Piothui carelessly twirled her own blade, her grin widening. "And I'm fighting SAO survivors. Killin' them with a sword is too good a chance to pass up."

"Ma'am, step out of the way," Gozu growled to her. He withdrew a medical syringe and jabbed it into his arm. His wounds slowly knit themselves together.

Pitohui fluttered her eyelashes at him. "You want him? Show me a good time first. You can do that much, right?"

Gozu glowered at her. "Don't push—"

The sentence barely left his mouth when Pitohui dashed forward and thrusted her photon sword at his heart. If he had been any slower in deflecting it away, he would have died right then and there.

"Was I wrong?" Pitohui crooned, taking a step back. "Don't tell me you're not up to it. I didn't come all this way just to have you chicken out."

Gozu's nostrils flared and he raised his sword in a guard. "If you insist. I'd rather not involve you in our affairs, but if you keep pushing, then I won't have any choice."

"Oh, shut up and dance!" Pitohui shot back, her eyes wide with feral excitement. She slowly stalked towards him, her photon sword swaying from one side to the other. Gozu held still.

Then like the crack of a whip, both of them sprang into action, their blades meeting, separating, then clashing again in a shower of sparks. Pitohui's aggressiveness quickly shone through. She threw a flurry of short, powerful strikes at Gozu's defense, forcing him back and whittling away at his guard. I could see it in his face. The savagery of her attacks had surprised him.

His expression shifted into quiet determination. Pitohui's blade came around to cut a deep gash across his chest, but instead of blocking it full on, he launched his blade up, knocking her photon sword up high with a single swipe. He reared his sword back and thrusted it dead center at her stomach.

"No!" I shouted. I yanked the trigger back on my MP7. It clicked empty.

I could only watch as Gozu's photon sword came ever closer to goring Pitohui.

Damned if I didn't know how she did it, but Pitohui bent her body to the side at an angle that would make a contortionist wince. The blade missed her body by less than an inch. Gozu stumbled. He didn't expect to miss and overextended himself, and Pitohui took advantage. She took one long step to close in and brought her sword down right on his wrists.

Then Gozu played his hand. He lashed his elbow out and smashed it into Pitohui's face, sending her reeling back.

Pitohui rubbed at her nose, a low laugh bubbling from within the depths of her chest. The grin on her face never left. "That's it. Give me more of that." She eyed me and said. "Don't just laze around. Go get that Ikuchi guy. This one's all mine. You even think about getting involved and I'll kick your ass."

Gozu frowned and settled back into an offensive stance. Neither of them waited for the other to make a move this time. They charged into each other, their swords cutting through the air in brilliant shining arcs and moving so quickly it was difficult to keep track of who was attacking who.

As much as I wanted to help Piothui, it wasn't what she wanted. She had Gozu locked down, and it gave me the chance I needed to go looking for Ikuchi. I had to trust she could hold her own in the meantime.

Besides, I fully believed she would kick my ass if I tried to spoil her fun. Best to do what she says.

I ran straight for the far end of the atrium to the elevators, past Mezu and Noya as the former tried to dodge the latter's photon sword. Without his shotgun to turn his opponent to shreds, Mezu was down to his machete, a different one than the one I stole from him during our scrap at Old South. I sped past them, but not before taking a few potshots at Mezu's back. The surprise attack threw off his concentration. Noya moved in for the kill, going for a short and clean swipe across his torso, but Mezu steadied himself and leaned back. Instead of hitting his heart, Noya's blade scraped against the tough exterior of his armor, leaving him unharmed.

I didn't stick around longer than I had to. I passed a sculpture vaguely reminiscent of Michelangelo's David and almost bowled over Sinon as she came around it. Sure didn't stop her from lightly shoving me away though.

"Jeez, I almost shot you in the face," she said.

"Please don't. I like my face where it is," I replied.

Sinon snorted and said, "I know where Ikuchi is."

"He's in the building?"

"I overheard one of the Yokai snipers outside. He's on the 40th floor."

"Then that's where we're going."

Sinon nodded. She made a sharp motion with two fingers and Rei, cloak and hood on, emerged from behind one of the short manicured trees in the corner behind her. "We need to hurry. It's only a matter of time before people start busting in here."

"What the hell happened?" I asked, rushing towards the elevators with them while reloading Charon.

"Sinon distracted the snipers outside so that we could find a way in," Rei said. "But then everyone noticed us and started shooting."

"Llenn volunteered to do hit and run attacks to keep them at bay," Sinon added. "She'll hold them off for as long as she can."

"Risky plan," I said.

Sinon nodded. "Very. Which is why we need to go."

We all but flew up the small flight of stairs leading to the elevators. Sinon hit the call button on one of them while I kept my head on a swivel in case anyone tried to take a cheap shot at us.

It probably saved Sinon's life.

A pair of bullet lines landed square on the side of her head. I shouted, "Down!"

Sinon didn't even so much as look to see why I yelled. She dropped into a low crouch and the bullets meant to kill her sailed over her head, cracking the marble floor beside her.

The shots had come from high up. I whirled in the direction they came from and spotted a balcony on what would be the building's second floor, overlooking the atrium. A lone figure stood there. The overarching shadows masked his identity, but the two pistols he wielded were a dead giveaway. Beretta.

He turned his guns on me to shoot, but Sinon brought Hecate to bear and fired back at him before he could. The sniper rifle's boom rolled over the wide open room until it sounded like a cannon going off.

The shot had been hasty. Instead of atomizing him, the anti-material round flew low into one of the balcony's support beams, splitting it apart like a twig. The entire thing jittered and threw Beretta's aim off enough to render his next few shots useless, the bullets slamming into the walls or floor. Sinon pulled the bolt back on Hecate, peered down her scope, and fired again, but her bullet line gave Beretta enough warning to dodge out of its way. He jumped off the balcony as it suffered another devastating blow from Hecate, landed in a crouch before us, then pushed forward into a run, both pistols going off at the same time.

Without speaking a command, Sinon, Rei, and I broke off to avoid his bullet lines and divert his attention. To my ArFa-Sys' credit, she was the first to return fire, her hunting rifle went off with a dull rapport and her shot caught Beretta on his chest. He snarled and turned one of his pistols on her, the other on Sinon, forcing them both to take cover behind the same thick pillar holding the ceiling up.

I brought Charon up just as Beretta raised his other pistol at me. Our bullet lines rested right on each other's forehead. I'd fought him before. He had quick enough reflexes to make me think twice about shooting him now. If I even looked like I was going to pull the trigger, he'd kill me in an instant. Of course, he probably thought the same about me.

"Was wondering where you were, Beretta. Starting to think you left the party early," I said.

He regarded me with flat eyes. "Beretta? That's what you call me?"

"Well, you never introduced yourself back in Old South in between all those attempts to kill me so…"

"My name is Sugawara no Michizane."

"Oh, you've got to be kidding," I groaned. "Who comes up with these names? You draw them out of a hat or something?"

Sugawara no Michizane glowered at me.

God, that's a mouthful.

Rei leaned out of cover, raising her rifle to fire. Sugawara no Michizane didn't even hesitate to shoot her. The bullet hit her straight in the gut and she let out a pained yelp, nearly falling to the floor.

She'd given me an opening. Sugawara no Michizane had his attention away from me. I pulled the trigger.

Then Sinon shouted, "Duck!"

I did, and felt the tips of my hair get burnt off as a photon sword streaked over my head. Gozu suddenly stepped past me, regaining his balance after his surprise attack failed. I tried to shoot him, but he was quicker on the draw than I was. He gave me a hard back kick, almost knocking me down the small flight of stairs, and held his sword aloft.

"Much obliged," Sugawara no Michizane said. Gozu grunted in response.

There were a pair of quick, light steps and Pitohui appeared by my side. A long cut reached from her collar bone down to her navel, but her smile was as wide as can be.

"This is the most fun I've had in a long time," she said

I shook my head. "You get way too happy when people are trying to kill you."

"It's all I ever wanted," she replied.

Sugawara no Michizane aimed his pistols at Sinon and Rei, keeping them from doing anything hasty while Gozu kept his sword trained on us.

"I'm giving you one last chance to surrender," he said, his tone harsh.

"Not happening," Pitohui said at once.

"What she said," I added. "Lives are in danger, man, and more people are going to get hurt in the long run if I don't talk to Ikuchi now."

"Forget this. Kill them already, Gozu," Sugawara no Michizane said. "The longer we wait, the more of a chance they have to try something."

"Sugawara — " I started, then said. "Aw screw it, your name's too damn long. You're back to being Beretta.

Beretta glowered at me.

Much better.

He glanced at me with wrathful eyes and opened his mouth, but he never got the chance to say anything.

In a blur of sudden motion, Llenn appeared right in front of him, silent as a still night. She jumped high enough to be at eye level with him, drew her knife, and slashed it across his face, sending a spray of digital blood arcing through the air. Beretta screamed, though whether it was from surprise, warning, or some kind of pseudo-pain, I couldn't tell.

Llenn wasn't done with him. She grabbed onto the collar of his shirt, hanging off him like some kind of freaking spider monkey, and kept right on stabbing him, puncturing holes into his armored vest. He tried to point his pistols at her, but Llenn slashed at his arms too, cutting tendons and ligaments until his pistols slipped from his grasp.

At the same time, Pitohui lunged towards Gozu in a low crouch, lashing her sword out in a horizontal swing meant to disembowel him, but the big man swept his blade and deflected her strike harmlessly away from him. Pitohui didn't let it deter her. She kept on hammering at his defenses, forcing him back in a series of frantic clashes until their swords locked together. Pitohui planted her feet. Despite being all spidery limbs and taut muscles, her photon sword didn't give an inch against Gozu's size and strength.

Sinon leaned out from behind the pillar and brought Hecate up to bear. "Llenn, get clear!"

Llenn jumped off of Beretta. But she didn't pull the knife out of his midsection as she did. She dragged it down with her, cutting a deep, long, bleeding tear as she went.

Sinon fired her sniper rifle. Her aim was true. Llenn's knife didn't necessarily destroy Beretta's armor, but it certainly hadn't helped it either. There was a sharp crack as the vest turned to useless shreds, then came the wet snap of bone, most likely his ribs being crushed from the intense force. His stomach gushed with pixelated blood, and in the same instant his back exploded in a gory red splatter so over the top it was almost comedic. Beretta's torso caved in on itself like a crumpled bag, and then he flopped over on the floor, his eyes vacant, unseeing. The 'Dead' sign popped up a moment later.

Pitohui howled in ecstasy and pressed harder on the sword lock between her and Gozu. "You see that? If you don't fight me like you mean it, you're dead! I'll skin you down to the bone!"

She broke their sword lock with a twirl of her wrist. Her blade bobbed and swept through the air, the movement almost a blur, and cut a gash on Gozu's upper arm. His expression twisted into a frustrated snarl. He dug his feet in, and gave a roar of defiance rivalling a mad beast, and swung his blade back at her, forcing her on the back foot with large, fast swings meant to bat her sword away with pure muscle.

Someone screamed behind us. Short, but loud. I turned and found Noya bringing his shimmering green photon sword around to cut away a large section of Mezu's insectoid armor. It sizzled on the ground for a moment before bursting into pixels. Mezu tried to slash at Noya's chest, but he wasn't going to sit around and let it happen. With two confident strokes, he cut the red hot machete into slagged pieces. They fell to the ground, disappearing almost immediately. Mezu tried to hit him with the butt of the handle, but Noya grabbed him by the wrist, pulled hard with one hand to throw off his balance, and brought his sword down in an overhead chop.

It all but split him in two, cleaving through the spot where Mezu's neck met his shoulders down to his sternum. Mezu fell to his knees, letting out a choking sound of surprise. Noya didn't so much as react. He pulled his sword back and forth through Mezu's mangled body like a handsaw before finally wrenching it free.

Mezu fell back to the ground. He didn't move. Noya stabbed the corpse's chest for good measure.

Gozu pushed Piothui away from him, his breathing heavy. He spotted Mezu dead on the ground and grit his teeth. "You don't know the kind of damage you could do," he said. His eyes were focused solely on Pitohui, but I knew the statement was aimed directly at me.

I stepped up and grabbed Pitohui's shoulder to keep her from moving in again, "Maybe you're right. But what I do know for sure is that my way at least has a chance of getting him to stop hurting people. You want that too, don't you?"

"Ikuchi knows how to handle himself. He knows what he's doing," Gozu said.

"Do you really believe that? Or is that what you tell yourself because Ikuchi would shut you down for saying otherwise?" I asked him in a calm tone.

Gozu grimaced, but he said nothing.

"The only way he can really move on is to confront his pain head on. He has to accept what happened back in SAO or it's going to eat away at him until there's nothing left," I said, keeping my voice measured. "Do you really want Ikuchi to be responsible for the pain he'll inflict on others before that happens? After he saved your life? Is that how you want to repay him? Help us, Gozu. Please."

Anger flared in his eyes. Yet it paled in comparison to the other emotions embroiled within them, so thick they could form their own layers. Regret and Uncertainty. And Pain. I'm no mind reader, but his reaction when I put him on the spot earlier helped me understand his mindset.

Gozu wanted an end to the madness consuming his friend. But how could he do so, when the price he had to pay involved defying that very friend's wishes? When someone is walking down a dark path, pulling them away from it is a hard and scary thing to do. Especially when it's someone close to you. Not a lot of people could muster the courage, and I couldn't exactly blame them for taking the easy road. I couldn't fault them for enabling someone's behavior to keep them from getting upset or angry, while convincing themselves it's the right thing to do.

It's human nature to avoid that kind of pain whenever possible. It's who we are. It's how we've survived.

Pain is scary. It often hurts us on a deep fundamental level, and it can leave scars deeper than any ocean. Best to stay away from it at all costs, right? That's fine. I wouldn't blame anyone for thinking that. It makes sense, even. We're damn good at taking the path of least resistance. It's just that sometimes...sometimes we're too good at it.

Sometimes we're too good at ignoring the harder parts of living.

But there comes a time when you can't afford to ignore the knife digging into your skin. So what do you do? Will you summon the will to face the pain head on, and make yourself stronger through overcoming it?

Or will you let it pierce your skin and draw blood?

That was the choice Gozu was facing. And I hoped to God he'd make the right decision.

A thick, heavy silence hung between us. Neither of us said a word. Nobody moved an inch.

Gozu's photon sword droned on. Pitohui tensed underneath my hand.

I didn't dare make a sound.

Then Gozu shook his head. Even as outnumbered as he was, the determination on his face refused to fade. "I'm doing what I think is best. Because that's all we have left. If you want to stop me, then you do what you have to."

He started to swing.

Then Pitohui lunged forward.

Her photon sword whirled over her head with a deadly finesse and Gozu's own sword rose to meet it. Red and Orange blades clashed with one another, and Pitohui's serpentine grace battled with Gozu's raw strength for dominance. She let out a chiding laugh, swinging her sword at odd angles, trying to confuse the much larger man into making a wrong move, but Gozu wouldn't be so easily swayed. He kept up his defensive wall.

Pitohui's swings became more wild and careless. She bashed her sword against his like a club, forcing him back more and more until his back was almost against the elevator door behind him.

Then he sprang his trap.

Pitohui brought her sword down in an overhead swing, but she had been too used to Gozu being on the defensive that she didn't expect him to sidestep the blade entirely. Her blade hit the marble floor and Gozu reared his sword back to deliver a single fatal swipe right through her unguarded torso.

I drew Charon, hoping to get a shot off to stop him. But I wasn't quick enough.

Somebody else beat me to it.

Rei's hunting rifle let off a single sharp crack, and the bullet struck Gozu straight in the neck. His swing faltered, and Pitohui managed to get out of its way before it could bisect her. Gozu didn't pay her any mind. He couldn't. He clutched the bloody wound on his neck with one hand, swaying from side to side like a drunken man.

Llenn and I both started shooting, and we eviscerated him with enough rounds to kill a normal man three times over. Dozens upon dozens of holes dotted Gozu's body, rivulets of blood leaking out of each and every one. But Gozu didn't fall. His eyes locked onto Pitohui, and with a gurgled yell of defiance, he swung again at her.

Pitohui deflected it up high, brought her sword down, and cleaved through his torso in one savage strike, leaving a broad glowing red gash trailing from his left shoulder down to his right hip.

Gozu's legs buckled. His entire body curled in on itself as if he were on the brink of collapsing. But through sheer force of will he didn't. He just stared at Pitohui, his eyes wide with blistering hatred. He let out a shout of scorn, and without warning, he ran at her with more speed than should have been possible for a man with so many injuries. I didn't expect it. And neither did Pitohui.

Before anyone could react, Gozu wrapped a bulky arm around Pitohui's arms and waist, then he hauled her up in the air, squeezing her in a constricting bear hug. At first I thought he was trying to crush her to death, but then his real intentions hit me when he reached down with his free arm and pulled the pins on the three grenades attached to his belt.

"Pito!" Llenn cried.

Pitohui tried to cut herself free with her sword, but the hold Gozu had on her arms meant she couldn't do more than lightly cut at the side of his body.

There wasn't anything I could do — not with the precious seconds I had left.

But Sinon could.

I hadn't noticed it, but in all the fighting, she had slipped around unnoticed and gotten herself a clear line of fire. As soon as Gozu lifted Pitohui into the air, she fired Hecate and hit him dead on into the side of his chest, right under his armpit. If it had been any other gun, Pitohui would have died along with the big man, but the impact of the anti-material round robbed him of the strength he needed to keep Pitohui trapped. She pushed away, turning out of his grasp as he was sent sprawling to the floor, and made a mad dash for safety.

She didn't make it five feet before the grenades went off.

The booming explosions echoed across the atrium, and the raw force slammed into me, and despite being ready for it, it still threw me down on one knee. I raised my arms to protect my face. Several sharp burns stung across my exposed forearms and along my stomach, taking away shreds of my health. I held my breath and grit my teeth waiting for the shockwave to pass. When it did, I lowered my hands. Gozu didn't survive. What was left of him didn't bear describing.

I stared at him for a moment, then checked the health bars under mine in the corner of my vision. Pitohui was deep into the red. I found her lying face down on the ground several feet away with a litany of glowing red wounds across her back and arms.

Her legs were gone. Torn away at the knees, leaving mutilated stumps where they should have been.

Llenn cried out her name again and rushed to her side, two syringes already in hand. She stabbed one into her friend's shoulder blade, tossed it away, and tried to use the now free hand to flip Pitohui onto her back. I went and helped roll her over.

As soon as she was on her back, Pitohui grabbed the collar of my jacket and yanked me in close enough to take up my entire sight. Her eyes glittered with a concoction of amusement and satisfaction, with a touch of dizziness to boot. It doesn't matter how tough you are, a close range explosion can ring your bell pretty good.

"I said I'd kick your ass for interrupting my fight," she said, slurring the end of her sentence.

I pursed my lips and waved a hand at her missing limbs. "Fine, kick away. But be gentle, I bruise easy."

She let out a gasping laugh. Llenn stuck the other syringe underneath her ribcage where some of the shrapnel wounds were clumped together. I patted myself down as she did, wincing when my fingers brushed against a hot shard of metal buried in the underside of my forearm, where the skin was soft and delicate. I ripped it out, hissed as another piece of shrapnel cut into the skin of my other arm, and repeated the process.

Footsteps clacked against the marble floor behind me. I looked and saw Sinon kneel down behind me, withdrawing a medical syringe from one of her utility pouches. She pressed the tip against my arm. A cool sensation coursed down my digital veins a second later. I smiled my thanks at her.

"Llenn," I said. "If you're here then — "

A clatter came from the atrium's entrance. The front doors shook and rattled against their frames. Frantic shouting came from the other side. Gunshots went off, and tiny neat little holes riddled the heavy mahogany doors with alarming frequency. We were running out of time.

Noya noticed what was going on and shut off his photon sword to retrieve his M60 where it lay on the ground. He took up position behind a collapsed marble pedestal and unfolded his machine gun's bipod.

Llenn turned to me. "We're running out of time. I tried my best to hold off everyone outside, but there were too many. I was running out of ammo."

"What do you mean everyone? You mean all the competitors?" I asked.

Llenn nodded. "They know we're all in here. They saw us come in to rescue you and, well, there are less and less squads still fighting out there."

"The more people die out there, the less targets there are, the more likely someone's going to decide to gun for us," I said. "And considering how many dangerous people we have in our squad, they probably figured they'd have an easier time taking us out if they worked together."

"Yes. That does seem to be the case," Llenn said.

"Then we all need to be ready for a fight," I rose, checking my weapons. "Pitohui, your legs aren't going to come back for a while."

She shrugged. "I don't need them to kill people. Just put me up against the wall and I'll take care of the rest."

I nodded and grabbed an arm. Llenn took the other and together we dragged her over to a patch of empty wall next to the elevator. Once we had her situated, Pitohui stowed her photon sword and brought out her F2000 assault rifle with a few motions of her hands.

"By my count, most of Yokai is dead. Just their leader left to deal with," she said.

I nodded again. "He's up in the tower."

"Then get going already." Pitohui said. She braced the assault rifle against her shoulder, aiming downwind at the front entrance. "We'll buy ya as much time as we can, but don't take that to mean you can slack off. Get up there and kill that Ikuchi guy. And make it look good. I wanna see the vids later."

Sinon went and punched the elevator's call button. The doors slid open. She looked to me, her lips set in a stoic line. She didn't say anything, but I could guess what she was thinking. The moment we set foot in that elevator, there was no going back. We'd be heading into a fight with everything and everyone on the line. Part of me wanted to stall for more time. I ignored it. I'd gone too far and fought too hard to back out now.

I rose and looked at Rei. The anxiety on her face was plain to see, but she tugged at the beak of her hood and nodded.

Together, all three of us went inside without saying a word. I hit the button that would take us to the 40th floor.

The doors slid closed, and the elevator carried us up to end this fight once and for all.