Liz was really starting to hate the front line.

More specifically, she was getting fed up with Kibaou and Lind's antics. God, they were so… so arrogant and condescending towards anyone not a part of their respective guilds. She had her suspicions of how they truly viewed Kirito and those that associated themselves with him, but now she had concrete proof that they held absolutely no respect for the Renegades.

Those morons started a floor boss fight without them.

What made this particularly idiotic, in her opinion, was that the Renegades were assigned the task of completing the major quest chain on each floor to learn of any hidden abilities and weaknesses that a boss might have before the Clearers engaged. Apparently, the ALS and DKB's malice and spite towards the Renegades went so far as to throw common sense and self-preservation out the window. Somehow, she wasn't all that surprised.

"Liz?" A familiar voice called out, bringing her out of her thoughts. She looked over to see Leonn with a hand on her shoulder, giving her a concerned look. "You alright? You looked a little out of it there."

Liz sighed as she looked over the railing of the Dark Elven ship they were sailing on. Kizmel and Yofilis were kind enough to bring them aboard their own faster vessels so that they could collectively get to the labyrinth as soon as possible. She'd grown attached to the Endurance, the Renegades' official ship, but even she had to admit that it didn't hold a candle to these ships. All nine Renegades, plus Kizmel and Yofilis, were aboard the lead ship, with two other vessels trailing alongside down the riverway towards the labyrinth.

"Yeah." Liz finally answered. "Just irritated. Every time I start to think Kibaou and Lind can't get more stupid, they just have to go and prove me wrong."

"You'll hear no arguments from me." Leonn chuckled nervously.

"Why some of your people willingly follow them, I will never understand." Kizmel said, walking up behind them. "We should be arriving shortly. Prepare yourselves. As soon as we land, we'll need to move quickly if we are to save them."

As Kizmel left to inform the others, Liz looked back at Leonn. "You've been at this longer than I have. How do you do it?"

Leonn arched an eyebrow and gave her a questioning look. "How do I do what?"

"How do you not go crazy, or just go off on guys like Kibaou? You've had to deal with their idiocy from the start." Liz asked.

Leonn paused for a moment, apparently thinking over his answer. "I'd be lying if I said I never thought about doing that, but I don't know, I just… I don't let it get to me, I guess. I could shout and scream at them 'til I'm blue in the face, but I know that won't get them to change their views. I'd rather show them they're wrong."

That… was a surprisingly mature way of going about it. Actually, it seemed to be something that the others did as well. The most outspoken of the guild - barring Geeou and the three he brought with him, since they hadn't been around long - had been Asuna, and that was only in defense of Kirito, as far as she knew. She had her suspicions as to why the fencer was like that, but the fact remained that the senior members of the Renegades had given up on trying to forcibly change the opinions of the frontline leadership. It just wasn't worth the effort.

"Wow. That actually makes sense." Liz muttered.

"Hey now…" Leonn said with a smirk on his face. "Don't sound so surprised. I have my moments."

Liz was about to retort with something clever or sarcastic when she noticed the newer members of their guild standing to the side, with looks of anxiety and worry clearly written on their faces. She nodded over towards them. "We should probably talk to them."

Leonn looked over and sighed. "Yeah. This will be their first official floor boss fight, so they're probably a little scared or anxious. The fact we're rushing in in a hurry probably isn't helping any."

Liz and Leonn walked over to the group of four, who smiled meekly at them as they approached.

"How are you all holding up?" Liz asked, glancing around to read their expressions. She noted Nautilus looking particularly unnerved, but decided against calling attention to it.

Yuna looked over at Nautilus, who had gone noticeably pale. "We're a little nervous, as you can see."

"I know it's easy to say, but try not to worry too much." Leonn suggested, placing a hand on Nautilus's shoulder. The swordsman seemed to flinch at the sudden touch, but seemed to calm himself quickly enough. "You won't be alone in this fight. Not only do you have the rest of us and the Clearers, but we've even got the Dark Elves backing us up."

"That's not…" Nautilus stammered out, frustration evident on his face. "... Nevermind, you're right."

Liz gave a questioning look over to Leonn, who looked just as confused, but it seemed neither was willing to draw attention to Nautilus's anxiety. Liz, for her part, only knew the guy for all of a week, so prying into any fears or insecurities right now seemed a little premature. Thankfully, the awkward silence that followed was immediately interrupted by Viscount Yofilis, whose booming voice echoed loud enough for all three boats to hear. The lead boat, which held all nine Renegades and their Dark Elven escort, lurched forward as it made landfall.

"We've arrived!" Yofilis shouted, pointing his sword forward. "Make haste! Our human allies need our aid!"

The Renegades were the first off the boats, Kirito and Asuna leading the charge. Behind them were Kizmel and Viscount Yofilis and the rest of the Dark Elven retinue. Even running at a breakneck pace, it took the assembled rescue force ten minutes to navigate the labyrinth and reach the floor boss entrance, which resembled an enormous metal portcullis like one would find on the other side of a castle moat. Unlike a traditional portcullis, however, there were no holes or openings that allowed visibility to the other side. One might even go so far as to call it water-tight. Standing off to the side was Argo, looking nervously around next to a large wheel-like lever.

"About time ya showed up, Kii-bou!" Argo shouted before her eyes went wide at the Dark Elven forces accompanying the guild leader in question. "... and with friends, too. Geez, Kii-bou, you just can't help yerself, can ya?"

"No time, Argo." Kirito huffed out, looking slightly winded after the frantic sprint. He pointed towards the gate. "We need to get that open, they're drowning in there!"

"What?!" The Rat practically screamed out. "Well, I'm gonna need help with it, then. This lever took at least two people to open the first time around. Think you need a high strength score to move the thin'."

Liz and the rest of the Renegades simultaneously looked over to the same person expectantly. Even Kizmel, much to Liz's surprise, was looking at him too.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm on it." Leonn mumbled as he jogged over to the lever. "There's probably going to be a lot of water coming out here when I open this, so get ready."

With a mighty heft, Leonn slowly started rotating the wheel and almost immediately the portcullis began to lift open, letting a deluge of water flow out. Liz found herself grabbing onto Sinon and Geeou's arms and shoulders as she struggled to maintain her footing against the rushing water. After most of the water finished draining out of the chamber, she looked in to see the raid group in absolute shambles, most of it trying to get back on its feet. Those who could afford to looked over to the entrance to see who had just let all of the water out. The ALS and the DKB looked mildly perturbed, whereas every other face inside looked relieved or happy to see them.

"Kirito!" Klein shouted from somewhere inside. "Am I glad to see you, buddy!"

Kirito didn't seem to pay him much mind, giving only a brief smile and a nod before looking over towards Kizmel and Yofilis. "Ready?"

The viscount raised his sword, giving a battlecry which was echoed by the other elves. "To battle, warriors of Lyusula! Forward!"

With that, the assembled rescue force charged in, with Leonn and Argo staying near the levers to keep the gate open. As Liz ran in, she couldn't help but smirk at the dumbfounded looks that were coming from Kibaou and Lind, obviously shocked at not only Kirito's intervention, but the fact that he brought NPC help. Once this was over, she was really looking forward to watching the fallout.

Yofilis and some of the Dark Elven Knights immediately ran forward to engage ((Wythege the Hippcampus)), which Liz could only describe as a mix between a white horse and a blue sea serpent. The front half of the boss was clearly a horse, with its equine face and cloven hooves, but its mane was replaced with slimy tendrils. It retained its hind legs and hooves, but its back was covered in aquatic growths and scales rather than hair. Its tail was perhaps the most jarring, resembling the tail of a mythical sea serpent with its length and finned tip. It certainly wasn't the largest boss she'd ever seen - granted, she'd only seen three in person herself - but Liz could only imagine how nimble the boss was when fully submerged, which was probably why flooding the chamber was something that happened during this fight.

With the boss engaged by Yofilis and the elven forces, Kirito turned around to everyone else. "Silica, Yuna! I need you both to start getting people healthy and back on their feet. Can Pina help?"

"Roger!" Silica and Yuna shouted, with the former following that up with a nod as she tossed Pina into the air. The feathered dragon quickly started flying around and offering what little healing it could to those most injured. The songstress, on the other hand, had healing potions in hand and was running around to give them to those who needed it most.

"Kibaou, Lind." Kirito said, addressing the other guild leaders in the room. "How are your forces? Anything we should know?"

Kibaou grumbled and avoided eye contact, whereas Lind got back on his feet and looked toward Kirito. "The water's the biggest obstacle. Frankly, the fight was easy until the water got too high. When the chamber's flooded, this thing is incredibly mobile."

"I've got Leonn back at the entrance keeping the gate open." Kirito said, motioning back towards the portcullis. "Shouldn't be a problem."

Liz tuned out the rest of the conversation, instead opting to join the fray herself. With most of the Clearers back on their feet and reassembling into their battle formations, the assault began again. Having the Dark Elves on the front line helped out immensely, she noticed, since it allowed the player tanks to focus more on dealing damage than mitigating it. The raid-wide buffs Yofilis brought with him were a godsend, honestly, giving the entire clearing force the extra muscle to rapidly start draining its health bar.

It was almost too easy.

Within minutes, the combined forces of the Clearers and the Dark Elf reinforcements were able to overwhelm the boss. Without the safety of its watery surroundings, Wythege found itself with nowhere to go and surrounded by a veritable spiked wall of weaponry. Every time the sea-horse tried to flood the chamber, water would flow out of the front entrance, still kept open by Argo and Leonn.

Liz couldn't imagine what it was like to fight in waist-deep water. Even fighting in ankle-deep water was starting to irritate her.

To its credit, it certainly tried to kill everyone it could. Unfortunately, there were so many players and elite NPCs flanking it that it didn't have much room to maneuver at all. Tanks were rotating in and out with relative ease. DPS was able to strike quickly and cleanly without any danger of retaliation. The few players relegated to support roles, like Silica (plus Pina) and Yuna, were able to do their jobs without any interference.

It didn't take long for the Hippocampus to fall and its glassy death knell to resound throughout the chamber. The last attack bonus went to someone in the DKB, who was now showing off a fancy new spear they'd gotten. Or was it a trident? Regardless, Liz rolled her eyes at the unnecessary flaunting.

"Victory!" Yofilis and the Dark Elves roared. They were soon joined by the Clearers themselves, many of whom were glad that their watery torment had finally come to an end.

Liz stowed her warhammer and shield and walked over to where Kirito and the other Renegades were now assembling. Kizmel was also among them.

"Glad that's over." Liz said, exhaustion clear in her voice. She looked over at the celebration going on a short distance away. "Wish we could get some credit for saving their asses though."

"Rest easy knowing that your deeds spared them a watery death, my friend." Kizmel said, placing a hand on the blacksmith's shoulder. "Though I agree. You all do not receive enough recognition for your efforts. Frankly, it irritates me to no end."

"Did we lose anybody?" Yuna asked, looking around the room. "I mean, I know all nine… sorry, ten of us are fine, but we arrived late."

"Lemme go ask." Argo's voice rang out, surprising Liz and causing her to jump a little. She'd no idea the info broker was with them. The Rat then walked off towards where Lind and Kibaou were.

"I swear, she's like a ninja." Nautilus chuckled out. "I had no idea she was there."

At this point, Yofilis and his retinue of elves strode forward. "Tempted as I might be to stay and celebrate with you and your comrades, I am afraid I must return to Castle Yofel. If word were to get out that the castle is undefended, I fear the Forest Elves and their ilk would attempt another assault."

"Of course, viscount." Asuna said, giving a small bow. "We appreciate your assistance with defeating the floor boss… err, guardian."

"I shall accompany you, viscount." Kizmel said, giving a stiff salute.

"No." Yofilis said, surprising the Pagoda Knight and those around her. "I will be leaving a small contingent of our men with you. Leave shortly after us. Since you are in possession of the Jade and Lapis Keys, you are to proceed to the Spirit Tree and deliver them to our fortress on the 5th floor. I am having you leave after us in case there are Forest Elf or Fallen Elf scouts nearby. If and when they see us leave here, they will assume we have the keys and will follow us."

"I see." Kizmel said, her face disciplined yet concerned. "You wish to use yourself as a distraction, then."

"Correct." The viscount said before he looked over to the Renegades assembled with a smile. "Not to mention, I understand you are quite fond of our human allies, so this will afford you some time to catch up. Time you were unable to spend with them back at Castle Yofel. Enjoy yourselves in the celebration. Leave when you are ready, Kizmel."

Kizmel smiled. "Thank you, sir. I will not fail you."

The viscount replied with only a nod before he departed with most of the Dark Elven soldiers in tow. Only four remained as an escort for Kizmel. It was at this point that Klein and Orlando approached, with their respective guild members in tow.

"Man, am I glad you all decided to crash the party." Klein said with a sigh of relief. "We were up to our necks, literally!"

Kizmel leaned over towards Liz to whisper in her ear. "What does he mean by 'crashing the party'?"

Liz laughed as she explained what Klein actually meant. Someone was going to have to write a book for Kizmel at this point on human customs and sayings if she was going to encounter other players aside from her guildmates.

"I see." Kizmel muttered before she turned to Klein, Orlando, and the other newcomers to the conversation. "I am afraid we are not acquainted. I am Pagoda Knight Kizmel. It is a pleasure to meet such esteemed warriors as yourselves. What are your names?"

Kirito stepped in at this point to introduce each person present by name. After each name, Kizmel would offer a slight bow and greeting, making sure to state each person's name as part of the greeting. Once introductions were over, the newcomers stood there absolutely dumbfounded.

"I've never heard an NPC say a player's name before." Orlando said, looking back between Kirito and Kizmel.

Liz let out a laugh. "That's because Kizmel's not like other NPC's. She's pretty special."

It looked as if Kizmel was about to respond, but a particular info broker's shrill-like shouting brought everyone's attention over to the side, where Argo appeared to be absolutely livid.

"Are you shittin' me?!" Argo roared, her fists clenched at her sides. "You can't possibly be blamin' me for the two players you people lost because of your impatience!"

"You're an info broker, aren't you?" Kibaou said, his lips in a thin line of irritation. "You shoulda known about the flooding mechanic."

"Oh, this can't be good." Liz heard Leonn say as the Renegades, Fuurinkazan, and the Braves all walked forward towards Argo. Even Kizmel decided to join them, her expression not at all masking her irritation.

"What part of 'things changed after the beta' can't you get through yer thick skull, Kibaou?!" Argo screamed. "Hell, this entire floor was different compared to back then! That's why we had the Renegades do the Elf War campaign on each floor so we could learn these lil' tricks!"

Kibaou's anger melted for a moment and morphed into confusion. "Who the hell are the Renegades? I thought we had the Beater and his lackeys doing that stuff."

"You're kidding, right?" Klein stepped forward. "Weren't you paying attention during the field boss raid? Kirito formed his own guild."

Kibaou's confusion twisted back into anger. "Whaddya mean he's got a guild now?! He can't do that!"

"Honestly, Kibaou." Lind said with a grimaced sigh. "Even I knew that."

"Y-you can't make a guild!" Kibaou said, a mixture of anger and panic in his voice. After a moment, his demeanor changed to one of forced bravado. "I mean, who'd want to join a guild with the Beater?"

"We did." Geeou stepped forward, gesturing to Yuna, Nautilus, and Silica. "And we're just fine with it, actually."

"Getting back on topic…" Kirito said, speaking for the first time during this exchange. All eyes were on him at this point. "Mind telling me why you decided to start the boss without us?"

The focus shifted immediately to Lind and Kibaou. The latter was the first to answer. "We wanted to keep the forward momentum since everyone was already assembled."

"Not everyone." Asuna growled. Kibaou took a step back at that.

"We had enough." Kibaou spat back as he recovered. Ultimately, his bravado and bluster seemed to subside and he sighed. "It seemed like a good idea at the time."

A voice in the back shouted out. "Yeah, we didn't need you, you damn Beater!"

"Hey, shut it!" Kibaou looked over his shoulder and shouted back. "I don't like it either, but even I can't deny that the Beater helped."

"Unfortunately, we still paid the price for that." Lind said, his sudden humility surprising many in attendance. "I assume you learned about the flooding mechanic through the elves?"

"That is correct." Kizmel said, immediately grabbing everyone's attention. "After the Renegades assisted my people against our shared enemy, we told them of the floor guardian's use of water and brought our own force to assist with the assault. At this point, though, I would argue it was more of a rescue than anything else."

There was a collective cacophony of ooh's and shocked stares at Kizmel's veiled insult. A flurry of hushed comments rang out from the crowd.

"Need some aloe for that?"

"Oh shit!"

"Even the NPC is roastin' him!"

"Next time, you might want to wait until we finish the major quest chain on the floor before charging in." Kirito forcefully suggested. "Or at the very least hold a meeting. If you'd waited, we could have told you about the flooding mechanic and nobody would have died."

Liz looked back over at Kibaou, who was simmering with pent-up indignation. Lind sighed as he met eyes with the leader of the Renegades.

"We won't be so reckless next time." Lind said, looking rather resigned at the predicament he was in. "At least we won't be."

"... Fine." Kibaou huffed. "But don't go thinking that means you can take your time, Beater. We won't wait around forever. If we see an opportunity, we're taking it, with or without you."

"Believe it or not, Kibaou, I want to get out of here just as much as you do." Kirito said, looking the cactus-haired man straight in the eye.

"Bah!" Kibaou grumbled in frustration. "Liberation Squad! Let's get out of here and unlock the next floor."

With that, Kibaou and the ALS left and made their way up the stairs to the next floor. Lind and the DKB stayed put for a moment afterward.

"Thanks." The blue-haired man said, extending a hand. "Don't mistake me; I still don't like beta testers. You have an unfair advantage over the rest of us, and it cost us a lot in the past."

Kirito frowned as he looked down at Lind's outstretched hand.

"... But you have my respect, Kirito." Lind finished. "I had hoped your people would have joined the DKB, but this isn't so bad. At least you're not with the ALS."

Kirito looked back up, surprise clear in his eyes, if not his face. He took the DKB leader's hand and gave it a shake. "Thanks, Lind."

"We're going to go follow Kibaou and unlock the next floor. Gotta make sure he doesn't get himself killed somehow." Lind said as he motioned for the DKB to follow him up the stairs to the next floor.

After several prolonged seconds of silence, with no one quite sure how to process what just happened, Liz broke the silence.

"Well... that happened." The blacksmith said, still stunned by the whole encounter. What next? Kibaou apologizing and mending bridges with Kirito? Fat chance of that ever happening. It was more likely that Kayaba himself would descend from on high and release everyone early out of the kindness of his own heart.

But, it was a step in the right direction.

"I believe I will take that as my cue to leave." Kizmel said. "As much as I enjoy conversing with you all, I believe enough time has passed for my escort and I to safely make our way to the Spirit Tree. Perhaps I will see you all on the next floor?"

"We're looking forward to it, Kizmel." Yuna said, offering a kind smile to the elf.

"You can bet on it." Leonn added.

"See you later, Kizmel." Kirito said, he and the others waving as the Pagoda Knight and her entourage left through the portcullis.

Shortly after the Dark Elf squad left the room, Klein quickly looked over at Kirito. "So that was Kizmel?!"

Kirito took a hesitant step back. "Uhh… yeah, that was her. Why?"

"She's hot, that's why." Klein said nonchalantly, earning him a number of pointed glares and a few slaps to the back of the head from some of his guildmates.

"Oh, buddy…" Orlando said, pity evident in his tone. "You need help."

Everyone seemed to get a good laugh out of that, Klein himself included. They all started to make their way towards the stairs when Liz noticed Kirito suddenly stop. The Renegades all stopped to see what had grabbed their leader's attention, and even a handful of the Braves and Fuurinkazan paused. Liz looked over to see that Argo had stopped the swordsman in his tracks with a firm hand to the shoulder.

"Hol' up, Kii-bou." Argo said. "We gotta talk."

"What is it, Argo?" Kirito asked.

"You remember what happens on the 5th floor?" The Rat questioned, shooting the swordsman a knowing look.

"There's a lot that happens on the 5th floor, Argo." Kirito said, arching an eyebrow. "You're going to have to be more specific."

Argo looked around at those present, with Liz doing the same. Those few members of Fuurinkazan and the Braves had moved on, likely having taken the hint that this was a conversation of a more private nature. Only the Renegades remained.

"Whatever you're going to say, you can say in front of my guild." Kirito assured her.

"Alright, whatever." Argo said with a shrug. She looked at Kirito with a remarkably serious expression. "I'm talkin' about the 5th floor boss last attack bonus."

Kirito's expression went from confusion to recognition, then horror, before ultimately settling on somber. "That could be an issue. This could change the balance of the frontline, and not in a good way."

Argo nodded before she looked Kirito in the eye.

"So what are we gonna do, Kii-bou?"

It was a grisly scene.

Or at least, it would have been if NPCs actually died like real people. The fact that they exploded into polygons like players did was a bit of a let down, honestly.

A hooded figure looked out over the two wrecked ships, their occupants long since perished in the flames that threatened to consume both vessels in their fiery blaze. He frowned. He'd hoped to have a little fun today, but it looked like yet another boring, fruitless night was in store for them.

Another figure, also hooded, but slightly smaller stature than the first came up from alongside. "Nothing, boss."

"Nothing?" The first figure said, his voice and tone mostly neutral.

"They didn't have the keys." The second figure admitted while twirling a dagger in his hand. "Bastards must've hidden 'em somehow."

"Too bad." The first man said with a sigh. "We'll just have to hit the next group, then. Get the men ready for another attack."

The second man chuckled. "You got it, boss. Should be fun if there are actually players involved this time."

"Don't get too cocky." The first man warned before a smirk appeared on his face. "Take your time, enjoy yourself a little. No sense in rushing it, right?"

"Right." The second man admitted before he walked back toward the treeline. "Like you said before, the real fun comes later."

"Yep." The first man said with a nod. "Just gotta be patient. Play the long game. Get everything ready. Wait until the right moment, then..."

His grin turned into a full-fledged toothy smile. Were anyone else around, they might even call it manic or crazed.

"It's showtime!"