Chapter Four- The Wide World of Sports
Felix looked at the stadium and then stared at Asuna.
"So where do we begin? I don't want to repeat what you've already found out coming here."
Good point but we haven't learned much…
"Only the basics, about people going missing including James Hasketh and Rika. Why don't you and Shino fill in the gaps and explain why you've brought all of us this way?"
Felix sat back
"Fair enough. This stadium is where Jonathan Hasketh was last seen before his disappearance two weeks ago. He was the first one to go but players have been abducted both north and south of The Line."
Shino joined in
"Until recently south of The Line they were seen as isolated incidents. Disappearances happen here although not so much in the cities. That's one of the reasons why we didn't issue a general alert until that "kid" Stuart Lyles disappeared. "
Lyles? Why does that surname sound familiar…
"Stuart Lyles?"
Felix waved his hand as he nodded
"The most recent player to go missing and the youngest one to do so. He normally plays for Glasgow Warriors Academy however he was on an exchange as part of the e-rugby tournament he was scheduled to play in when he disappeared."
Oh?
"And how did he disappear along with all of the other players?"
It was clear that Shino was providing technical details
"Stuart was kidnapped while full diving just like the rest of them. He was playing with a group of other players in a training park which was raided by a group of armed people while they were training online. Not that the rest of the players noticed. Instead they were injected with a sedative that dulled their senses. By the time they logged out Stuart was long gone."
"Without a trace?"
Shino shook her head
"No, witnesses have reported different vans being seen in the vicinity of where people were last seen. But we've been unable to find them. CCTV coverage is at best patchy in certain areas which makes it a lot more difficult to trace their movements."
Kiritos' eyes were narrowed.
"That makes sense but how come you haven't been able to trace them electronically? The Emergency Tracking System should have given you their locations easily."
Felix's expression was grim.
"It's pretty obvious for someone who's studied FullDive as extensively as you have Kazuto…"
Asuna eyes bored into her former Squad Leader
"But he needs to hear it from you just as much as I do. No-one's tampered with The First Safeguard, ever."
Shinos' fists were clenched.
"All of you can hear it from me. When we've activated the emergency tracking system on each and every-one of those players the only response we've got has been: "Signal Distorted."
Kazuto stared at the police officer with his eyes widening.
"That system is called "The First Safeguard" by players for a reason. Even Kayabas' ghost didn't tamper with it!"
Asuna gripped Kiritos shaking hand as she sat upright.
"Which makes it all the more terrifying that someone has. Not even the Laughing Coffins crossed that line, even when we faced them in Unital Ring."
Muldar shared in their mutual disgust but…
"Unfortunately, all's fair in love and civil war so it was only a matter of time before some bastard tried to tamper with it and I suppose it had to be here of all places. But it's still unwelcome and with all of the disappearances happening in the same game it's systematic too."
He paused
"What do you know about Grandstand Online?"
Yui who had been quiet up until this point raised her head.
"It's the fifth ranked VRMMO game in the world although it's actually the second most streamed one. Teams compete in different sports hoping to get the honour of becoming champions for their discipline, whether in tournaments or leagues."
Kazuto snorted
"It's more simulation than VRMMO! Came out of the work that the Scottish Rugby Union did around Virtual Reality before The New Troubles started. One of your biggest exports isn't it, Felix especially with the amount of sanctioning bodies and sponsors who back it?"
Felix gave a small smile
"Aye, the wide world of sports contributed £200 million to the Scottish treasury last year as well as billions more to our economy. Also Like Gun Gale Online winners of the tournaments can walk away with some pretty hefty cash prizes. Speaking of tournaments there's one that connects all of the players-"
Something clicked with Asuna.
That can only be the…
"The Tournament of Laureates?"
Felix nodded
"It's scheduled to take place in three weeks' time. All of the players invited have distinguished themselves in some form, whether on the pitch or off it."
Asuna stepped up
"And we've both been invited to take part in it?"
The MSP nodded
Given our record in Sword Art Online and Unital Ring that's hardly a surprise.
"All of you have, including Yui as part of the Survivors team. Ten teams are scheduled to compete. The first round has the top two teams from each pool qualifying for Semi-finals. The winners of those matches will go on to the final."
Muldar nodded
"Besides in Rika we had someone who was a veteran gamer and a player who understands the sport. In you we have those same qualities, which were hard to find."
Asuna shook her head
"I've played mostly seven a side since then Felix. There's a bit of a switch between that and being in an XV."
Felix grinned as his eyes swept over the three of them.
"You're all survivors though, aren't you and it's not like you haven't played the game since you were fifteen. In any case this tournament has a mixture of people who've never picked up an oval ball as well as experienced pros so it's not like you're going to be a total fish out of water. Besides you did rather well on the wing last time you played."
He's taking out another photo… and I know what it is.
This time of a younger Asuna playing again at Reikos' testimonial match still running with the ball in hand but with a nervous expression as she looked sideways.
Asuna shook her head
"I was originally supposed to be officiating but Rika was having none of it and insisted that I play for the Survivor School team."
It would have been my first match as a touch judge but she threatened to drag me on to the pitch!
Felix eyes narrowed
"You still played besides this isn't just about what the pair of you can do on the pitch or offline."
He closed his eyes and then looked skywards.
"Remember the rescue of The Wild Boars? How a group of divers went into a cave system while a football team of schoolkids got taught how to scuba dive. Somewhere out there are a group of people who are probably playing for their lives and don't know how to. They need people out there who can teach them how to do so."
That's something that makes sense but it's something we didn't have…
Kazuto had one more question though.
"Why are you so involved with this investigation Felix? From what Asuna's told me SAFA isn't responsible for criminal investigations, even given your own background."
Felix folded his arms.
"Unfortunately, I can't say that at this time. "
Kirito frowned as an old niggle reared its head between the two survivors.
"Oh, and why not, oh great champion of transparency?"
The MSP looked upwards into the blue skies.
"We're in an open stadium Kazuto and open spaces can be spied upon."
Kazuto rolled his eyes as the disagreement continued to emerge.
"That's rich coming from you Felix! I haven't forgotten your public, "constructive criticism" of how I handled dealing with our government after Aincrad although-"
He felt a pinch and caught a shake of the head from Asuna.
"I'm not here to debate it either."
Felix winced as he looked away from Kirito, frustration writ large across his face.
"Kazuto, I am and always will be a consistent champion of transparency and a lot's riding on this which I'd love to discuss over some fish and chips. But this isn't the time or the place to do so, although if you know where to look, you'll find out."
He paused resignation writ large across his face.
"Anyway, Kazuto I've asked you to come primarily as a technical expert on this occasion. Rika had an idea of how to trace the players but she was abducted before she could finish it off. It'll mean you coming online with Asuna and playing in the tournament. However, our priority is to keep you out of harm's way as much as possible. So Asuna takes the lead with you in support. "
Muldar gave yet another pause as Asuna tensed up.
Don't go there Felix…
"Besides I have to ask: are you really sure that you can put your brain on the line for a final time?"
Kirito glared at the MSP
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Felix looked up
"Let me put it this way, I value your technical expertise as well as your playing skills, which is why you're here. But how are your check-ups going Kazuto? As I understand it you've been having one every year since Unital Ring."
Kazuto glared at Muldar his eyes blazing.
"Just like every member of the New Assault Team. I've been cleared every time and have been full diving without any problems whatsoever!"
Asuna grasped Kazutos hand as he shook.
There's a caveat to that though and Felix's on to it to the point of using in game names.
"But at full effectiveness Kirito? People are saying that you're a shadow of what you once were and this time it's not because you're holding back either. After all, facing the "reborn soul" of Akhihiko Kayaba and nearly having your soul ripped from you in the process didn't come without a price."
That caught the Black Swordsman off guard and he looked down as Asuna gripped his hand and glared at the MSP.
"Kazuto is still just as capable inside full-dive as he is outside of it. Besides if he wasn't you wouldn't have brought us here Muldar. You live by the principle of "It takes one to know one" when solving problems!"
Felix nodded
"I know you've got something in the tank Kirito. I just don't think that it's mainly on the pitch when there's plenty of stuff going on around it for you to investigate. Frankly I didn't want to bring either of you in on this but with the stakes as high as they are, I've had to break a promise to do so. So, there's a duty of care involved on our part."
A promise? What kind of one? Never mind we can discuss that later.
"Duty of care or not Felix, we're here so let's do what we can."
Felix gestured towards the hospitality suite opposite them
"Then I recommend that you three get your first impressions of Grandstand Online. We've got some places ready for your Amuspheres inside that hospitality suite."
Shino closed her eyes for a moment as the three walked back into the bowels of the stadium.
"Do you think it's wise doing this? Asuna is going to be pissed off when she finds out about everything that's been going on."
Muldar looked at the Sergeant.
"I don't like sending them in there not knowing what they're really playing for either. But we have to play our game for the time being. Keep them safe for now, let them get into the arena and then they can go onwards."
Sinon moved away leaving the MSP to stand in the stadium alone.
Besides Asuna got a Distinction in her Masters degree from the University of Warwick. If anyone can get what they're all playing for then she can. So, if she knows where to look, she'll definitely find out.
Then he winced and grimaced.
But she's going to find out about Megan first…