It all started in the long distant past.
As was told in the dark elven legends, the world of old was divided into many different lands. The Forest Kingdom Kales'Oh, the Dark Kingdom Lyusula, the human Alliance of the Nine Kingdoms, the underground dwarf realm, and various other groups.
Though skirmishes and fights did break out periodically, the land still enjoyed a time of relative peace.
Until one day, for no explainable reason, a hundred different regions from around the world were sliced from the earth and summoned into the sky, stacked one by one by one until they formed a massive floating fortress, one hundred floors tall.
This fortress, which would eventually come to be known as the Floating Castle Aincrad, never again would return to the earth, and the magic that allowed the old civilization to flourish was lost, and with them, so fell the nine kingdoms of man.
Most of the towns elected to maintain themselves, and the floors all lost contact with one another.
Time passed, and eventually, tales and legends of what had been called the Great Separation were still told among the two remaining elf races, the only people whose kingdoms were still intact.
Wow.
That's one heck of a story for a VRMMO.
But hey, if it gets us deeper into the world of the game, I'm definitely not complaining.
Oh, sorry, where are my manners?
My name is Nick Kelly.
I'm fifteen years old, American (obviously, what is this, anime?), and I'm a gamer at heart.
I wouldn't call myself a hardcore gamer, though. Those people are in a league far beyond me that I'll never reach.
But, like many gamers all across the world, I was unbelievably hyped for the launch of the world's first virtual reality video game console, the NerveGear.
I had gotten my own NerveGear as a late birthday present, since it didn't launch until May of 2022, and even though most of the initial offerings were kinda... eh, I was hooked on the possibilities that VR gaming could offer us with the NerveGear's FullDive technology.
And then...
November 6th, 2022.
This was supposed to be a momentous day for gamers.
The advent of the first true VRMMO.
The NerveGear's "killer app", as it were.
Today was the launch date of Sword Art Online.
(Don't just sit there and waste your precious time. When you want to do something, do it right away. Do it when you can. It's the only way to live a life without regrets.)
The Blue Time Ranger is proud to present...
Sword Art Online: Twin Memory
Story Created: December 7th, 2018
Story Rated: T for Teen
And Now, the Main Cast
Kosuke Toriumi and Troy Baker as Nick Kelly
Aoi Yuki and Erica Mendez as Yuuki / Yuuki Konno
Megumi Han and Caitlin Glass as Ran / Aiko Konno
Haruka Tomatsu and Cherami Leigh-Kuhn as Asuna / Asuna Yuuki
Story Summary: A new story is about to begin. Nick Kelly, like many others, was excited for the launch of Sword Art Online, only to have his dreams become a nightmare when he is one of ten thousand global players trapped within the world of the game by its creator, Akihiko Kayaba. But for Nick, hope exists in the form of the Konno sisters Aiko and Yuuki, who have decided to fight against Kayaba's ambitions and never let fate defeat them. Together, this unlikely trio will battle their way up the floors of the Floating Castle Aincrad in hopes of one day being able to escape the death trap that Sword Art Online has become for them...
Author's Note: All right, it's time for another journey! This one was inspired by a line from Yuuki at the end of my previous SAO story, Memory Rosario re:, where Yuuki imagined what events would be like if she and Nick were, say, trapped in Sword Art Online. This story is the result of that. Unlike Memory Rosario re:, this story is a much larger AU affair, where Nick, Yuuki, and Aiko are all fifteen, Yuuki and Aiko don't suffer from AIDS, and the events of SAO will play out a little differently. I'm probably not gonna diverge TOO far from canon, but things may change as the story goes on. My mind is like that sometimes...
Theme Song Notes: Since I can't post the opening and ending sequences anymore so I won't get my stuff axed, the opening theme is "Over" by Little Glee Monster (the second opening theme to Boruto: Naruto Next Generations) and the ending theme is "Four" by FAKY (the fourth ending theme to Black Clover).
And Now, the Obligatory Disclaimer: I, The Blue Time Ranger, do not own anything related to Sword Art Online or any of its affiliations. It belongs solely to Reki Kawahara, A-1 Pictures, and Aniplex USA. Anything I do not own, I am just borrowing for the story with every intent of returning them when I'm done. The only things I DO own are any characters and places created by yours truly for the story. And, I do not intend to infringe on any copyrights, only to entertain my readers. Besides, if I did own Sword Art Online, which I don't, why would I be writing fiction on a fan site?
Episode 1: One Fateful Day
Left, right, diagonal, stab, thrust, parry. Nick continued to test his swing as he walked through the Meadow of Beginnings, still getting acclimated to the fact that he was actually controlling his avatar with his own body.
The NerveGear was an incredible piece of technology, he'd decided not too long into his first dive into Sword Art Online. After all, he'd grown up during the times when games were mostly things you played on a television or computer, and VR efforts were relatively low-key compared to... well, this.
But with the NerveGear's FullDive technology that allowed a person to immerse all five of their senses into the game itself, Nick figured that gaming had just taken a huge step forward.
But that wasn't why he was here.
Nick realized he had some grinding to do. He had watched some people's footage of Sword Art Online during the beta-test period, since Nick had only gotten his NerveGear by the time the beta was long over.
If he was being honest with himself, Nick had never really minded grinding when it came to RPGs. He knew that some people despised the long and sometimes tedious process, but Nick figured, if you needed to do it, it had to be done.
Besides, Nick had played far too many RPGs in his life to understand that grinding was usually a necessary evil, especially against later bosses and challenges.
I'm STILL salty about that beef gate in Kingdom Hearts III, Nick thought as he continued to swing his sword, a basic Steel Saber. All those high-level Nobodies... what were they THINKING?!
Nick's concentration was broken as he noticed a Frenzy Boar approaching him.
Huh. Normally you have to provoke them to get them to rush you, Nick thought, only now noticing another pack of Frenzy Boars attacking some other nearby players. Maybe this one broke off from the pack when he noticed me. Eh, let's just cut him down and get on with it.
As the Frenzy Boar came closer, Nick raised his Steel Saber and got it into the motion for his first Sword Skill. As the Frenzy Boar lunged, Nick made his move, dashing forward to meet his enemy and slashing three times, twice in a spiraling motion around his left and right shoulders, then a third strike in an upwards arc.
This did the needed damage and caused the Frenzy Boar to explode into a small cloud of polygons.
"Boom," Nick quipped as he received the XP for that kill.
Noticing that at least five other Frenzy Boars were charging him, Nick just sighed and readied himself.
About a minute later, the whole pack of boars had been eliminated. Nick had taken a cheap shot from one while he'd been focused on the others, but was otherwise no worse for wear.
When that had happened, I kept on reminding myself that despite how real this all felt, at the end of the day, it was still just a game. Even if I borked up and got myself killed, I'd just respawn back in the Town of Beginnings a few seconds later.
...in hindsight, I really had no idea how wrong I was at that moment in time...
"Hey, thanks, man!" one of the nearby players shouted, waving to Nick.
"No problem! Always happy to help!" Nick responded.
By the time the sun had set on the Meadow of Beginnings, Nick had finally reached level three, having found a way to provoke multiple Frenzy Boars to him and keep the streak going.
"I think that's enough for today," Nick sighed. "I am wiped. Besides, mom's probably wondering why I'm not downstairs for dinner right on the nose, especially since she's making her famous bacon dumplings tonight..."
But before Nick could start his return trip to the town and fantasize about the delicious meal his mother was no doubt preparing, a system window popped up in front of Nick.
"What the heck? What does automatic transfer mean?" Nick quipped before rings of light suddenly surrounded him, teleporting him back to the main plaza of the Town of Beginnings, where thousands of other players were already waiting, even more still being beamed in by whatever had brought him here.
As Nick began to wonder what (or who) had brought him here, the sky suddenly turned an eerie shade of red as a figure in a large red cloak descended from the heavens.
"What's that?!" a female player gasped.
"Don't worry, babe, it's just part of the opening ceremony," a male player replied.
Deep down, Nick had a bad feeling. Why do I not believe that? Nick thought.
"Attention, all players of Sword Art Online," the figure proclaimed. "I humbly welcome you... to my world."
"Wait, 'my world'? What's that mean?" Nick stated.
"As of this moment, I am in control of this entire world," the figure explained. "My name is Akihiko Kayaba."
Wait, Kayaba? Creator of the NerveGear?! Nick thought, that strange feeling from earlier suddenly growing more ominous to him.
"I'm sure that by now, you have all noticed something very important is missing from your menu," Kayaba stated. "The log out button."
Almost on instinct, Nick swiped his right hand to open his player menu, and noticed, with a still-growing sense of dread, that Kayaba was speaking the truth. The logout button that had been there merely an hour ago was no longer present.
"I wish to inform you that this is not a defect or a glitch in the system," Kayaba bellowed. "This was the way that Sword Art Online was meant to be played."
"Please tell me you're joking," a slightly older-looking samurai quipped.
"You can no longer log out of SAO, nor can your NerveGear be removed by outside entry," Kayaba stated quite clearly. "Should any of these methods be attempted, the microwave signal inside of the NerveGear will fry your brain and subsequently kill you."
Now the crowd was starting to get a little restless, many of them wondering if such a thing was even possible, and some even expressing disbelief that Kayaba was telling the truth.
"However, it seems that multiple families and friends have already attempted doing so," Kayaba continued. "Which means that two-hundred and thirteen players are no longer with us. They have been wiped from both Aincrad and the real world."
Multiple screens flashed to life around Kayaba's avatar, showing news reports of everything that had already transpired. "News and media have been covering this since its beginning, so I can safely assume that such an incident will not happen again, allowing the rest of you to focus on clearing the game."
And there it was. What I heard next was most likely where all of this began.
"There are some things that you must know," Kayaba explained. "As of right now, it is no longer possible to revive someone in the game. If your HP ever drops to zero, your avatar will be permanently deleted from the system..."
Nick unknowingly braced himself for what he knew was coming.
"...and the NerveGear will destroy your brain."
In his disbelief, Nick reached for the handle of his sword.
"There is only one way for you to leave Sword Art Online, and that is to clear the game," Kayaba stated. "Right now, you are on floor one. Defeat the boss within the floor's labyrinth, and you will be allowed to advance to the next floor. If you can defeat the final boss that awaits on floor one hundred, you will clear the game, and everyone who remains will be allowed to log out. I give my word on this. Also, I have placed an item in your inventory that I believe will be useful to you."
Nick checked his item menu for the item in question, a "Hand Mirror", and looked into it...
...only to see himself.
His real face.
Nick looked around in shock as the other players were forcibly reverted to their real-life appearances.
Despite everything, Nick still wasn't sure why the creator of the game would do something like this.
"I suspect we're about to find out," Nick muttered. And he was correct.
"By now, I am sure that many of you are asking yourselves a simple question: why?" Kayaba stated. "Why would Akihiko Kayaba, inventor of the NerveGear and developer of Sword Art Online, do something like this? Ultimately, I had a simple goal in mind. I created Sword Art Online so that I may control a world that I have designed. And now, I have achieved that goal."
Kayaba's avatar spread its arms out wide. "This concludes the tutorial phase, and officially marks the launch of Sword Art Online," Kayaba proclaimed. "Players, I wish you the best of luck."
And with everything he needed to say out there, Kayaba's avatar dissolved and left the players in complete silence.
That silence didn't last long, however, as the players began to panic and freak out, Kayaba's words having finally sunk in for them.
Nick just stood there, his fists clenched, as he slowly absorbed what he'd been told.
This was their new reality now. And nothing would allow them to escape it.
Left alone with his thoughts, Nick walked back out towards the Meadow of Beginnings, realizing that he had to do more grinding if he hoped to have any chance of surviving this death game.
Despite his fear of the worst coming to pass someday, Nick was a fighter by nature. If he was given a challenge to complete, he would complete that challenge by any means. He wasn't a quitter.
And he sure as hell wasn't going to allow this game to just do as it pleased with his life.
The sound of crying caught his attention, and he looked to the east to see two girls walking out from the town, one of them clearly supporting the other, who was crying.
The two girls appeared to be about Nick's age. The crying girl had long, purplish-black hair and red eyes. The other girl looked similar, only her hair was shorter, about shoulder-length.
"Aiko, what are we going to do?" the crying girl asked.
"Relax, okay?" Aiko Konno responded. "I promise I'm not going anywhere, Yuuki."
"But... what if..." Yuuki Konno gasped. Clearly, she'd been shaken by Kayaba's words. "What if something happens to me?! You'll be all alone!"
"If that happens, I'd kill myself, too," Aiko proclaimed. "I'd rather be with you in death than leave one of us here to rot in despair."
Despite her fears, Yuuki couldn't help but crack a smile. "Why do you always make the worst sayings sound so positive, sis?" Yuuki asked.
"Mom always said I have a knack for that," Aiko giggled.
In their shared reverie, neither of the Konno siblings noticed a Dire Wolf bearing down on them, and that spurred Nick into motion.
No way in hell am I letting them die! Nick shouted, drawing his Steel Saber. You hear me, Sword Art Online?! You won't get away with this!
Just as the Dire Wolf lunged to take a bite out of Yuuki, Nick leaped towards it and savaged it with another Spiral Cut, dropping its health rapidly.
Though it was left with about a tenth of its health, Nick still kept his sword ready as the Dire Wolf prepared to retaliate.
"Oh, what, you want some more, wolf boy?!" Nick challenged. The Dire Wolf rushed forward and leaped, but despite the panic of the Konno sisters, Nick was faster on the draw, ripping forward with one final slash that eliminated the Dire Wolf.
As the Dire Wolf exploded into glowing polygons, Nick sheathed his sword and turned back to Aiko and Yuuki. "Are you two all right?" Nick asked.
"We are now, thanks to you," Aiko quipped.
"I can imagine you were pretty shook up because of what Kayaba told us," Nick stated.
"It was such a shock to the system, being told that this is basically our new reality," Yuuki replied. "I didn't know what to do at first, honestly."
"But I promised Yuu that we wouldn't let this world beat us," Aiko proclaimed. "Though she was pretty upset at the thought of something happening to one of us, which is why I was comforting her."
"And... well, I'm pretty sure this is obvious, but thank you so, so much for protecting us," Yuuki giggled.
"While I may be just as scared as pretty much everyone else in this game, I refuse to just lay down and submit to fate," Nick proclaimed. "That's not who I am."
Aiko, in response, just laughed at the bombastic way Nick had phrased it.
"Was it... really that cheesy?" Nick asked.
"A little," Yuuki replied.
"But it's nice that someone around here has that kind of conviction," Aiko quipped.
"Hey, why don't you come with me?" Nick offered. "I'm sure it'd be better to be in a group, considering..."
"Much as I'd love to, I wanna start training Yuu here," Aiko admitted. "She's a natural at games, but since this is basically our reality now, we've gotta be extra-careful about how we go about this."
"But I hope we can meet again someday!" Yuuki proclaimed. "You stay alive until that day, got it?"
Nick raised his hand to fist bump with Yuuki, thus sealing that promise.
As the three players parted ways to do their own thing, Nick couldn't help but wonder if he ever would see them again. After all, with Sword Art Online transformed into a game of life and death, no one's safety was assured.
Nick shook his head to clear his train of thought as he leaped to bisect another Dire Wolf with a jumping slash. Now wasn't the time for such thoughts.
Sometime later, on December 2nd, 2022, Nick glanced around the city of Tolbana, trying to find where exactly the meeting was taking place.
Eventually, he found a large crowd seated in a large amphitheater-style room close to the fountain at the center of town, and found his own place to sit while waiting for whoever had called them all here to start with his spiel.
Well... it's been about a month since the 'game' officially began. In that time... two thousand people have died. The worst part is, no one's been able to clear the first floor.
A blue-eyed, blue-haired knight wearing bronze armor stepped forward, catching everyone's attention.
Today, here in Tolbana, we're finally gonna have an official meeting to figure out exactly how we're going to defeat the boss of the first floor. Here's hoping we can actually DO that before this game has the last laugh...
"All right, everyone, let's get started!" the knight proclaimed to the entire crowd. "Thanks for coming, all of you. My name is Diavel, and I like to consider myself a Knight."
Despite the serious nature of the meeting, everyone present was stone-faced at Diavel's joke.
Dude, really? Nick thought.
"E-even though there's no job system in the game!" Diavel backpedaled. "It's just a joke, people. Now, on to why we're actually here."
Diavel composed himself before continuing. "Today, my party found the boss room at the top of the floor one labyrinth," Diavel stated, earning surprised gasps from many of the players. "We must, I repeat, we must defeat this boss and reach the second floor, so all of the players waiting in the Town of Beginnings will see that it is indeed possible for us to defeat this wretched game. Everyone here today will share that duty, understand? With that out of the way, let's begin planning."
Nick listened as Diavel explained that everyone should form parties of up to six players so they would all stand a better chance.
"Wait a minute, I don't really know anybody here," Nick realized. "Crap, who am I gonna party with?"
As luck would have it, someone decided to tap him on the shoulder the instant he'd finished his thought.
Nick turned around to see who was addressing him, only to meet gazes with two familiar faces.
It was Yuuki and Aiko, the Konno twins that he'd saved on launch day.
And it seemed they recognized him as well, considering how Yuuki's face lit up like a child on Christmas morning.
"Well, well, it seems like we meet again, mister mysterious savior," Aiko teased. "It's been a while, huh?"
Yuuki was now wearing obsidian chest armor, a bluebottle violet tunic and a windswept skirt of the same color beneath the armor, with a thin, black sheath hanging on her waist.
Aiko was wearing much the same, except her armor was more a shade of deep purple.
"Hey, now that I think about it, I never got your name," Yuuki quipped.
"Oh, sorry, I guess it slipped my mind," Nick stated. "My name's Nick Kelly, player name Makoto, but I don't really go by that anymore because... well, I'm sure you know why."
"And we're the Konno sisters," Aiko proclaimed. "I'm Aiko and this is Yuuki. We never really had time to decide on player names, honestly."
"It definitely looks like you guys have gotten a lot stronger since that day," Nick quipped.
"Yep!" Yuuki giggled. "I'm at level 10!"
"I'm level 11," Aiko stated. "How about you, Nick?"
"Level 11, same as you," Nick answered.
"So... um, I guess what we're asking is... you wanna team up with us?" Yuuki asked.
"You're really the only people around here I know, so why the heck not?" Nick teased.
"YAY!" Yuuki exclaimed.
"Hold on just a second here!" a lone figure proclaimed, catching everyone's attention. Aiko simply grimaced, as there was something about this guy she didn't seem to like.
"My name is Kibaou, and there's something I want to say before we tackle the boss," Kibaou stated. "There's some of you here that have to apologize to the two thousand players who've died!"
"Wait, Kibaou, do you mean the beta testers?" Diavel gasped.
"You bet your ass I am!" Kibaou growled, flailing his arms like a madman. "The day this damn game got started, those freakin' beta guys ditched the beginners and just disappeared on us. They took all of the good hunting spots and easy quests for themselves, just so they alone could get stronger while ignoring the rest of us!"
"Is this guy making any sense to you, Nick?" Aiko asked.
"Not a lick," Nick answered. "I wasn't in the beta myself, but I knew some people who were, and they were nice people. And of course people are gonna find easy spots to train. They'll need to if they want to survive."
"I'm sure some of you here were in the beta!" Kibaou continued. "Here's what they should do. Those bastards need to get on their knees and apologize, then give up all the items and money they've been hoarding like selfish jerks. Otherwise, we can't trust them to protect us, and neither should they!"
Nick quickly decided that he didn't like the murmurs in the crowd, as if they were actually contemplating a witch hunt of the beta testers.
"Um, Nick? Should we say something?" Yuuki asked.
However, someone actually beat Yuuki to the punch, standing up from his spot and speaking out. "Can I say something? My name is Agil," the man stated. "Tell me if I'm hearing you right, Kibaou. You're saying that so many beginner players died because the beta testers didn't take care of them. Thus, they should take responsibility, apologize, and provide compensation. Am I right?"
"Y-yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying!" Kibaou shouted. Agil responded by accessing his inventory and retrieving what appeared to be an information book.
"You got this guidebook, right? It was provided for free at the item shop," Agil explained.
"Of course I did," Kibaou retorted. "Why is that important?"
"Because," Aiko cut in. "It has a bunch of tips and tricks that are gonna be very useful if we want to survive this game. You know who wrote that guidebook for us? The beta testers."
Aiko knew this because she and Yuuki had studied the book nearly nonstop for a whole week, making sure they knew everything they could to survive Sword Art Online.
"Did any of you read the guidebook?" Agil asked.
"...not yet..."
"Why would I real what's essentially a manual?!"
"It's too long, and I have things to do!"
"Okay, so I'm not going to point fingers at anyone specifically, but just remember that every player had equal access to this information, and still, many of them died," Agil explained. "So don't scapegoat the beta testers simply because they knew more than us. That's why they made these guides."
Kibaou prepared to retort, but had to admit the point there, and so sat back down in his seat, conceding the argument.
With that problem officially settled, Diavel continued his explanations about the first floor boss, as stated in the beta testers' guidebook. According to the beta testers, the boss was known as Illfang the Kobold Lord, was guarded by its minions, the Ruin Kobold Sentinels, wielded an axe and a buckler, and would switch his weapon to a Talwar when on its last legs.
"Yeesh, this guy sounds nuts," Yuuki stated.
"Hey, as long as we stick together, we'll be fine," Aiko replied. "You and me, sis. And yes, Nick, that includes you now."
"I'll do my best to not disappoint," Nick teased.
"Well, do you guys wanna zip back to the Meadow for a bit and get some last-minute level-grinding in?" Yuuki asked. When she didn't get an immediate response from Nick, she bent down and glanced at Nick, who appeared to be lost in thought.
What must they be thinking right now? Nick thought. Are they worried about me?
"Um, hello? Aincrad to Nick?" Yuuki proclaimed, startling Nick when she decided to get right in his face.
"U-um, y-yeah, I'm... I'm fine," Nick responded.
"Your stuttering says otherwise," Aiko countered.
"...I'm just worried about my family," Nick answered. "I'm pretty damn sure I'm not the only one who's got family back in reality, just waiting and waiting, not even sure if their kids are going to make it out of this virtual deathtrap with their lives intact..."
"Hey, we're all like that, I'm sure," Aiko stated. "Yuuki was trying for hours to call mom when we first got trapped in here."
"It hurt, honestly, not being able to talk to them and let them know we're okay," Yuuki admitted. "But that's also when Aiko and I decided that we're not going to let Sword Art Online defeat us. We're gonna get out of here and see our families again, no matter how long it takes us to finish this game!"
And just like that, Nick felt much better. And Yuuki said Aiko's the one who has a way with words, Nick thought. But they're right. If I constantly needle myself over these things, I'm not gonna make any headway in getting this damn game cleared.
As Aiko and Yuuki talked about random things, Nick wondered if he could consider them friends just yet.
Anyways, two days later after another strategy meeting, we all managed to make our way through the labyrinth with relatively little trouble. All that remained was the boss itself. Well, time to show the naysayers that we can beat this game.
"Well, everyone, this is it!" Diavel proclaimed. "It's time to show the people trapped in this game that we will never stop fighting! Remember the strategy we discussed, and we shall be victorious!"
"Time to go all out, huh?" Yuuki giggled.
"Yeah, you didn't get to do much fighting, did you, sis?" Aiko replied.
"I'm ready for these things," Yuuki responded, proudly spinning her sword in her hands. "Just let one of those sentinel boys get his greasy claws on me!"
"But... you do remember our own plan, right, Yuu?" Aiko asked.
"Of course," Yuuki answered. "If my health ever drops to half, I'll switch out for you, sis."
"And I'll watch your backs," Nick stated, brandishing his new Anneal Blade. "If any of the Sentinels want to try a sneak attack, they'll have to get by me first."
"Well said, buddy!" Yuuki exclaimed. "Let's beat this boss!"
When everyone in the raid party had agreed on a plan of attack, Diavel pushed the gateway to the boss room open.
And standing there waiting for them was a rather imposing monster, a two-meter tall creature with red fur, bloodthirsty copper-red eyes, and a large bone axe in one hand and a leather shield.
Illfang the Kobold Lord, the boss of Aincrad's first floor.
"Have at ye, monster! You don't belong in this world!" Yuuki proclaimed.
"...really, Yuu?" Aiko sighed.
"H-Hey, it seemed appropriate!" Yuuki sputtered.
"CHARGE!" Diavel shouted, and the raid party rushed into battle.
Illfang naturally galloped out to meet them, swinging its axe and attempting to scatter the raid party.
"Remember what we discussed!" Diavel exclaimed. "Groups C and D will handle the boss, and Group E will keep the Sentinels off of our backs! The tanks and supports know what to do!"
Illfang lunged forward with a swift stab attack, only for Aiko to swing her own weapon, a Wind Fleuret rapier, to parry the attack as best she could. The axe seemingly overpowered Aiko's rapier and pushed her backwards, but she thankfully didn't suffer any damage.
"Always use what works," Aiko proclaimed.
While Illfang was recovering from its attack, Yuuki took point and charged in to attack, while Nick stayed close to her and deflected the attacks of any Sentinels that dodged Group E and attempted to strike them.
Yuuki wasted no time in attacking with her new Sword Skill, Savage Cross, in which she sliced downwards, then did another slash across the first slice, leaving a crude, cross-shaped line of damage on Illfang's body.
"Boo-ya!" Yuuki giggled, only to see Illfang's axe flying towards her. Nick reacted quickly, leaping towards Yuuki to shove them both to the ground, just in time for Illfang's axe to sail harmlessly over where they'd just been.
"Oof, thanks, Nick," Yuuki proclaimed once they'd picked themselves up. "I don't wanna know if they count a neck slash as a lethal hit in this game."
"Thank me later, Yuuki," Nick responded. "He's coming back!"
Many more members of Groups C and D planted themselves in front of Illfang as it charged, with a Tank player taking a wide slash from Illfang's axe in order to give the attackers time to strike, leaving many long gashes on Illfang's body.
Before long, Illfang's first health bar, of a total of four, emptied completely. In response, Illfang roared and summoned a fresh trio of Sentinels to replace the ones that had just been killed.
"So, I guess it's gonna spawn a fresh set every time we drain a bar?" Yuuki quipped.
"Looks that way," Nick responded. "Look sharp, you guys, it's coming back for another round!"
Aiko took point this time, even as Illfang got in the stance to use a powerful jumping slash. She'd seen this during the first phase, after all. Aiko smirked and gestured to Illfang, hoping it'd take the bait.
To her satisfaction, Illfang responded by jumping through the air and attempted to bisect Aiko with a jumping axe strike. Aiko, in response, rolled to the side before the axe came down, the bone weapon only cutting the air where she had just been.
With Illfang stuck, Aiko went to town, landing multiple stabs on Illfang's exposed flank, while Yuuki cut down another Sentinel as it tried to stab Aiko.
"I got ya, sis!" Yuuki proclaimed.
Thankfully, the group's strategy seemed to be working, and it didn't take much longer to bring Illfang's health down to its final bar.
"We're almost there, everyone!" Diavel proclaimed. "We have it on the ropes, now let's win this!"
Illfang simply roared in response, reaching back to draw his Talwar, as the beta testers had explained.
However...
"H-Hey, Yuuki?" Aiko asked.
"What's the matter, sis?" Yuuki wondered.
"Something doesn't feel right," Aiko stated. "I don't think that's a Talwar."
"Wait, what's the difference?" Yuuki quipped. "Maybe they changed his weapon up from the beta test."
"Wait, they changed the weapon?!" Nick gasped just in time to see Diavel rushing towards Illfang. "Diavel, get the hell back! I don't think that's a Talwar!"
Diavel didn't seem to hear Nick as he and a few other players surrounded Illfang, hoping to finally put an end to the monster.
As the players stepped closer, Illfang crouched before leaping high into the air, turning its body mid-jump, then landing and unleashing a heavy horizontal spinning attack that sent Diavel and the others flying.
Though they were able to get up again, each player struck by Illfang's katana, a nodachi, had taken quite a lot of damage and was unable to move from their spot.
"Th-They've been stunned!" Aiko gasped.
Nick moved forward as fast as his legs could carry him, hoping he'd make it in time.
Illfang glanced down at Diavel in disgust before slashing upwards with its katana to send Diavel flying, then leaping after him to unleash a powerful combo consisting of an upward slash, then a downward slash, then a thrusting attack that sent Diavel flying across the room.
Nick skidded to a stop just in time for Diavel to crash to the ground in front of him, his health falling to zero and his health bar vanishing.
"Diavel, you idiot," Nick proclaimed. "Why didn't you listen to us?"
"I... I guess... maybe I just wanted the Last Attack Bonus," Diavel admitted. "I got greedy... and my greed cost me dearly..."
"Dude, hold on, I've got a spare potion you can use!" Yuuki gasped. "It's not too late!"
Even as Yuuki offered the potion, Diavel gently pushed her hand away. "It's... it's okay, miss. It may be my time... but it's not over for you all... show everyone... that this... game... can... be beaten..."
Despite Yuuki's frantic offerings, Diavel had spoken his last, his body glitching and wobbling slightly before exploding into a shower of glowing polygons resembling glass shards.
"Did... did Diavel just die?!" one of the players exclaimed.
Yuuki let out a loud battle cry and charged towards Illfang, even as Aiko and Nick joined her. The trio moved in to attack from multiple angles, intending to keep Illfang from doing anything that would catch them off guard.
As Yuuki raked her sword across Illfang's back, the monster crouched then leaped into the air. Nick, Yuuki, and Aiko wisely retreated as Illfang landed and unleashed another spinning attack with its nodachi.
With Illfang locked in the post-motion delay, Aiko struck first with a Folium, in which her Wind Fleuret curved upward from the left hip, making a sharp loop at its peak, before transitioning into a slash towards her lower right.
As Illfang's health reached its limit, Nick decided to end it, using the delay from Aiko attacking it to unleash his new Sword Skill, Spiral Driver, which was basically an upgraded version of his first Sword Skill, Spiral Cut.
Nick started by slashing three times, twice in a spiraling motion around his left and right shoulders, then a third strike in an upwards arc. Then, he leaped into the air and spun around with his Anneal Blade extended, dealing three more spinning slashes before finishing with a downwards spike and a heavy stab.
This did the needed damage, dropping Illfang's health to zero. Its body glitched and wobbled, Illfang's expression one of complete shock at its defeat, before it exploded into a shower of glowing polygons.
A large message window opened above the battlefield, simply stating "CONGRATULATIONS!", and smaller windows appeared before each player who'd participated, showing them the col (Aincrad's currency) and experience points they'd earned from the fight.
"We... we did it?" Yuuki gasped, only to let out a loud whoop of triumph and dash over to hug her sister. "We did it, Aiko, we actually did it!"
"Gotta say, Nick, that was a pretty stylish final attack," Aiko admitted. "Way to show the boss who the real boss is around here."
Nick said nothing, still staring at the spot where Diavel had died.
"Hey, everything okay?" Yuuki asked, taking a step closer to Nick.
"Hey, you!" Kibaou growled, pointing towards Aiko. "How did you know that the boss' weapon was different?!"
"Oh, don't you even start, jerk!" Yuuki challenged. "Neither of us were beta testers, if that's even what you're implying!"
"Yeah, my cousin's got a habit of collecting old, ancient swords," Aiko replied. "Thanks to him, I know what a Talwar looks like, and that clearly was not a Talwar."
"We should just be happy that we actually beat the boss at all!" Nick proclaimed. "Now we know it's possible to defeat this deathtrap of a game!"
"But..." one of the tanks responded. "Diavel is... well, still dead..."
"But he wouldn't want us to just sit on our laurels and do nothing, would he?!" Yuuki proclaimed. "No way in heck! Diavel would want us to focus our energy on beating this game, now that we know it's possible!"
"Two thousand people are already dead," another player responded. "How many more of us will die just trying to clear the next floor?!"
"All right, listen up, you sad sacks, stop thinking like that!" Yuuki bellowed, catching everyone's attention. "If that's all you think about, that means your death's only gonna come quicker! Instead, try thinking about what you want to do when we get out of here!"
"If we get out..." a third player sighed.
"When!" Yuuki countered. "Don't let the bad thoughts consume you! Focus on the happy thoughts, and focus on beating this game! Look at it this way: what doesn't kill you can only make you stronger. I'm sure that, given some time, we'll be clearing floor after floor at lightning speed, and we'll be back home before you know it!"
Gradually, the worry in the crowd of players dissolved, replaced by a steely determination.
"Yeah, you're right!"
"Overthinking is only a problem!"
"Happy thoughts, man, happy freakin' thoughts!"
"Let's keep going and take this damn game down!"
"Wow, I'm a better motivational speaker than I thought," Yuuki giggled as she and Aiko ran to the edge of the arena in order to activate the teleport gate that would allow access to the second floor.
"Well, let's move on to floor two and see what else this game has in store for us," Aiko proclaimed. "You coming, Nick?"
Nick visibly hesitated, something Yuuki quickly caught on to.
"What's up, buddy?" Yuuki asked.
"Well..." Nick started. "Would it be okay... if the three of us stuck together for a while? I mean... I don't know if it's mutual, but... I honestly consider you two my friends. Is that weird for me to think that, despite that we haven't really known each other for a month?"
Yuuki looked at Aiko for a second, then doubled back to grab Nick by the arm and playfully drag him towards the teleport gate.
"Of course we're friends, silly!" Yuuki proclaimed. "It's like I always said to Aiko, 'there are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other', and surviving a game that's trying to kill us all is definitely one of those things!"
"After everything we've done together to make it this far, I really do think of you as a friend, too, Nick," Aiko answered. "I'm sure a lot of players are going to stick together if we're gonna survive this game."
Nick, despite his earlier fears, couldn't help but smile. "Thanks, you two," Nick replied. "That really means more than I can say."
"Anytime, buddy!" Yuuki giggled. "Now, seriously, come on and get in this teleport gate before the rest of the peeps leave you behind!"
His fears quashed, Nick enthusiastically followed Aiko and Yuuki into the teleport gate, coming out the other side in Urbus, the main settlement of Floor Two. Urbus had the appearance of a mountainous city that had been excavated from a flat-topped mountain and rested inside a crater.
Nick glanced at both Aiko and Yuuki, who were already chatting excitedly about the challenges ahead.
As Aiko and Yuuki moved into Urbus, Nick followed them, happy he'd made friends so easily.
And that, right there, was the beginning of a wonderful friendship that would carry me and many others through the numerous trials to come. Because the absolute worst that Sword Art Online could throw at us... was yet to come.
To be continued...
Next time on Sword Art Online: Twin Memory...
Nick: See? I told you we'd make some progress!
Yuuki: Yeah, who'd have thought we'd make it to floor twenty-six in four months? I honestly thought it'd take a lot longer with all the nonsense SAO's throwing at us!
Aiko: Um, not to interrupt this fascinating conversation, but who are these guys?
Nick: Hmmm, let me see... I think they're a guild.
Yuuki: Ooh, a guild? Can we join?
Aiko: Hold your cute shoes, Yuu. First, let's see if they have any openings.
Yuuki: What's their name, the "Moonlit Black Cats"?
Nick: Interesting name. Well, it seems we'll be adventuring with this new guild on the next episode of Sword Art Online: Twin Memory, "Under the Waning Moon"!
Nick, Yuuki, and Aiko: This may be a game, but it's not something you play!