Joshua, four days later, SAO Survivor School

"Finally." As the lunch period begins, I stretch my arms and feel my stomach gurgle in anticipation for lunch. I can sense the girl sitting to my left raising her eyebrow at that, in which I make a gruff noise in response. "What? Being the best and brightest makes me hungry."

"Is that what being the second best in our grade is?"

"Whatever." I rise out of my seat and pull my lunch out, then wait for Asuna as she scoots her table closer. She looks over as I unwrap the red metallic container, displaying an assortment of food. Beef teriyaki on rice, sushi, a small salad, and octo-weenies. Before I can get the satisfaction of smelling the mouthwatering aroma, the girl beside me giggles and insults me with a tone reserved for babies. "Aww, someone got his girlfriend to make his lunch for school."

I glare at her. "You do it everyday for Kazuto."

"No snarky comeback? Two times in a row?" She hums to herself and opens her lunch, proceeding to eat. "So… I hear Ko has joined the music club here."

"Yeah. I guess I might've forced her hand last weekend, but I think it is necessary for her to get reacclimated to life by doing something she loved before SAO. She also accepted Nijika's proposal and they started work with Yuna the other day. That's all either of them will tell me about it."

Asuna nods. "Good job. How about...the other matter? How did that go?"

I shake my fork. "Nothing yet. I'll talk to Argo later today, see what she knows, then deliver the news. Of course, this is costing me part of my sanity." Even as I tell Asuna that with a smile, some part of me is less than enthused about the situation Jaymes, Asuna, and the others found themselves in the past four days.

Ever since Tia disappeared in March six months ago, after we battled her in a partially recreated Aincrad, we've been searching for her all over Ainground. Our initial search didn't last long; soon after, we moved on to other games. It wouldn't be til late last month, after Kazuto, Asuna, and I returned home, that we learned of a NPC roaming around the newly opened floating castle. We rejoined Premiere and scoured the plains of the Stalvatos Ruins, the lava-drenched ruins of the Vulcanus Citadel, and the frigid lands of the Northazard Tundra in search of the NPC, who we came to learn was Tia. We chased her down before other players in the game could kill her, thinking she's a special mob.

When we got to her, several things about her had changed. Her appearance, formerly that of a young preteen like Premiere, had aged up to around mine and Asuna's. Her mind was constantly ransacked by thoughts, unexplainable by me, the expert in artificial intelligence, and somehow it affected Premiere too. What she told us and what Yui and Strea confirmed stunned us: Aincrad's creation birthed a singularity, normally hidden from players while it processes data, and it awakened a new consciousness within Tia--her future self. Apparently that singularity got a hold of present-day Tia's lonely thoughts and created the cold, cruel future version that seeks to gain control.

Left unchecked, if the singularity vanishes, the Cardinal System may--no, it will--eliminate Tia and Premiere as anomalies. I don't have any strong attachment to Tia or Premiere, but I thrice I risked my life for the sake of a world full of artificial intelligences (and probably a few more times that I can't remember during said third time). On my family's honor, we will save Tia and Premiere.

Market Square, Sword Art Origin

"Ya know, we've known each other for a long time, Traded information hundreds of times across SAO, GGO, 'n' SA:O. Ya can say I'm the reason ya are the hero ya are today."

"Where are you going with this, Argo?"

The hooded girl crosses her arms underneath her modest bosom, flashing me a whiskered grin as she leans back on the wooden bench. "I'm a girl. Ya should know better than most how to treat a lady."

"Good thing I know what you like." I pop open my inventory and initiate a trade with the info broker. Her eyes glow as she hastily accepts the trade of cake I bought minutes ago just for her.

"This will do for now, but eventually, I wanna see get the Crimson Warrior experience I hear about. How many girls do ya duel in the middle of town?" Not sure what she means by 'experience'...and why she remembers that last part. I believed I paid her off not to remember the other day. If Argo is just teasing, I'm relieved, but if she's asking for real what I think she is… She has to run that idea by Koharu and Asuna first.

I say Asuna because that girl scares me more than anyone...except one other person, but her dark sword is nowhere near my neck now.

"Not sure why you'd choose me to go on a date with. I thought you prefer Kirito to me. Besides, if I know the Rat, she'd rather go to an unknown place rather than a date with boring old me."

"Is that really the impression ya have of me? Though I'd be lyin' if I said I wasn't the least bit excited to go somewhere new."

"It is the impression. I've been to 75 new places with you once before, though you weren't too helpful when you stepped back and started doing your own thing. Anyway, what do you know?"

Argo hops to her feet and adjusts her hood. "We should be able to reach the singularity from the usual spot in the Stalvatos Ruins, The Reimanhills. What I do know is that, this time, the floor goes up."

I stand up and follow after her. "Finally."

The Elionward Dominion

It didn't take long for me to be unsettled by the new floor. It might be the mission ahead, or the fuzzy purple-black objects crackling like lightning at random spots on the land, but I don't like it here. "This weird vibe. Yui's guess was correct."

"What's with the weird purple glow on the gate and the spot right there?"

"My technical guess is data corruption by the singularity. I doubt the design is intentional." I continue onward to the corrupted gate-like structure, already sending Kirito a message on my arrival here. While I wait for them, I do a little investigating.

From what I remember, Tia needed the crests found in the Vulcanus Citadel and the Northazard Tundra's boss rooms to get here. If the open doors of the gate are what I think they are, then she opened the current floor similar to how floors on Old and New Aincrad are opened upon the defeat of a floor boss. Of course, this is the first time this version of the floating castle required a door, and never before has items been necessary to gain access to what lied beyond the doors.

Just to tickle my curiosity, I inspect the doors themselves for signs of a relief, a hint or clue on the floor's theme as they provide on other Aincrads. No dice.

After a few minutes, I hear a large number of footsteps stop behind me, and one voice question me on the obvious. "Is this is what I think it is?"

"Yeah, Asuna, it is. She's been here."

"Which means we're headed in the right direction," Sinon exclaims. "Still, I understand why she's headed for the singularity, to try and undo this unwanted future of hers. All she's ever wanted is a future of her own, full possibilities."

"Whatever they may be."

"But she's come all this way with us. Why suddenly head for the singularity alone?"

"I wonder if something made her change her mind..."

"Tia was in distress," Premiere notes. "But I did not have the opportunity to inquire as to why?

"Well, all things considered, it did take us four days to get here," Koharu points out. "There's no telling how far she is. But if Premiere can still sense those thoughts..."

"Which says to me that she's still freaking out. Alone." Lisbeth sighs and looks to the lands beyond. "But that's what we're for! We can help her work things out!"

"She's always held people at arm's length, though."

"You were all present to support me at an early stage," Premiere reminds us. "I do not believe Tia had the same support."

"Well Genesis was her father-figure, and he wasn't exactly a model citizen, to put it mildly."

"Right, he had a tendency to bring out the worst in people."

"It is imperative that I speak with Tia… I must tell her that connections with other people are the key to a future full of hope, with manifold possibilities."

Kirito smiles at Premiere's declaration. "Hold that thought. We need to press ahead and find her first. We need to help her escape whatever future she's running from, and show her the way to a better, brighter one." Everyone nods, and our leader in black holds his fist up. "Okay, everybody, get ready to clear this area out! We're moving as fast as we possibly can through this area, got it?"

"Yeah!"

"Hold, one warning." I point up to one of the flickering purplish-black spots on the wall of the gate. "That coloration indicates data corruption. We're probably going to run into lots of it here, so stay vigilant. Not just on the landscape either. I wouldn't be surprised if monster data is affected too. And...well, watch yourself too. There's a good chance player data might suffer too."

"What is that likelihood?" Philia inquires to Strea, who scratches her head.

"Well… It's not certain, but it's not uncertain. Tia made it through here once. As long we're careful, we should be fine."

I take that assumption as truth. "Very well. Let's move out."

To say we're running as fast as we can is an understatement. Using the dashing movement mechanic, we're practically flying across this floor.

We zip through the starting subregion of the Elionward Dominion in about twenty minutes, and it's been ten minutes since we've entered a new subregion. No matter how big the place is, though, there's no way we'll scour the entire map in one day. In Sword Art Online, this would probably be the size close to the twentieth level. Asuna, Koharu, Kirito, and I could probably map the entire floor in a weekend's time if we had the assistance of the Heathcliff's KoB, Lind's DDA, KIbaou's ALS, Agil and Klein's small guilds and other frontier groups and solo players. Our speed is also hampered by crossing swords with monsters. They're strong, but with fourteen players in a hurry, they stand no chance.

It's the most reckless thing we've ever done as a group, not counting what the others did to join the War of Underworld. We're not being as reckless as Sinon and I while we're with Crimson Squad (or just by ourselves in the world of guns) but desperate times, desperate measures.

The other impediment is Premiere's mental suffering due to her connection with Tia. Now that we know that they do share simultaneous sensations, it is expected that when Premiere is suffering, so is Tia. The rate of occurrence is rising too.

"How much longer can she hold out before she gets completely overwritten?" I ask particularly no one as I sit by on rock, waiting for Premiere to recover. However, there is a person beside me, so she answers in worry.

"Who knows." Lisbeth sighs and looks at me. "We're not going to catch up to Tia today, and we're not going to reach the singularity unless we play nonstop. That's impossible."

"Our avatars don't stay in place like ALO, so it's pointless to take shifts. What are we to do…" I stand up and face her. I almost say what's on my mind, then I see movement in the corner of my eye. Silica's shout confirms what I see and I grab my sword. "Liz, shields up!" She turns to five five dark-bodied, red-horned beasts charging towards us. Strapping her shield on her left arm, we let everyone else discuss what to do with Premiere while we play the role of tanks.

"Outrageous Behemoths, level 95… Hell, we could take them on ourselves, we're ten levels higher." I slightly turn my head to her and give her a knowing smirk.

"Stun and parry the first four, we'll finish off the fifth."

"Gotcha."

"You all back there, you're done discussing whether Premiere will fight or not?"

"Yeah," Koharu responds somewhere behind me. "We're all ready!"

"Good, here they come. Let's show them that the shield is mightier than the horn!" Lisbeth gets a little into the moment, but I am feeling that energy as the first behemoth approaches. Liz waits until the last moment to pivot on her heel, avoiding the horn and smashing her shield into its right side. On my end, I parry the attack and kick the second behemoth (in which Asuna, Kirito, Koharu, and Premiere switch in at once and defeat it with one attack), then leap up and slam the shield into another behemoth straight towards the older men and the AIs. The last behemoth roars as it comes to me and Liz. We yell as we unleash the shield skill Bash on both sides of its horned head, then we grab our primary weapons, slashing and bashing the behemoth. It sparks into blue crystals, and the battle is over.

"We did it!" Lisbeth breaks into a happy cheer and turns to me, holding her hand up. Holding my hand up, we clap hands twice and fist bump. "Good work."

I nod and sheath my sword. "Yeah. It was an easy fight, thankfully."

"We're still early on the floor, though." She turns and looks at Premiere, then shifts her eyes to me. "...Can I ask a personal question?"

I feel my facial muscles twitch, though not because I'm annoyed at her. There's...several questions I'm sure she could ask me, starting from who my eyes immediately zone in on, Koharu. Then again, I've spoken to her all week since our tumble in the tundra, so it isn't like we're distant despite my new relationship. Before Koharu catches me staring, I blink and turn to Liz. "I don't think you have to ask that question to me."

She seems to catch on to what my initial thoughts are and shakes my hand. "Oh, it's not about that… It's about Premiere and Tia. And I'm not asking Jaymes, I'm asking Joshua… Is there another way to save them?"

I shake my head. "No. We can't save them like we could Yui or Strea, and even I'm not completely sure how that happened. But in short, they're recognized as items in S, and they have player accounts here and Strea in GGO. To save Tia and Premiere...would take an immense amount of technical work. They're part of this world like any other NPC."

"I see."

"Plus...to save them that way would mean contacting the devs, so that could backfire. Believe me, I thought of this idea too." I sigh and cross my arms. "The only way to save them is to figure out what to do with the singularity…"

"And you have no idea what to do with that either."

"Until the other day, I didn't know they existed. We shouldn't even see it." I turn to the group, seeing Asuna wave at us, that we're moving out. "But we'll figure it out. We always do."

She nods. "We will. Let's not keep them waiting."

"Right behind you."