Gummi Ship Swiftwing
"So, they are aware of what we are doing..." Gretinal understood, looking down in concern, "This is rather unfortunate."
The team had returned not too long ago, and were already flying to the next world. However, they needed to relay what they learned from Saix's last message to them, hinting their awareness of the four Lost Princesses.
"Does this mean the Organization is also searching for them?" Sora asked, the group gathered around Gretinal's hologram.
"I doubt it, though it is possible they are searching for hearts like them." Gretinal assumed, "You said that he noticed two of the girls near the boy named Naofumi had pure light in them, correct?"
"Yeah, he did say that." Kirito admitted, "But he also said that they weren't Lost Princesses. How could they tell?"
"They must have the ability to be aware of a person's light or darkness." Gretinal answered, "It is a trait that is special, and not exactly something everyone has. There are those who sense just the light in one's heart, and some who sense just the darkness. Some can see both, and some don't see any. Kirito, Asuna, you two have these senses, do you not?"
The two SAO Players looked at each other, before Asuna answered, "Yeah. I can tell when someone's heart is filled with a bright light. Just by seeing them, I can tell. I saw that clearly in people like Raphtalia and Filo."
"I'm the opposite." Kirito stated, "I can see if a person has darkness in their heart, like Myne, the Pope, and even Naofumi."
"Your abilities started to awaken after your Mark of Mastery, and your awareness of one's heart is starting to become clear." Gretinal stated, "What's more, you will be able to help awaken the hearts of Lost Princesses."
"Wait, what about me?" Sora questioned, feeling left out.
"You are still trying to regain your strength, as well as regain your Power of Awakening." Gretinal reminded him, "Nevertheless, you do have gifts of your own, including one that is very special."
"Very special?" Sora echoed, looking intrigued and excited.
"Yeah. Your ability to bring good people together." Kirito answered, with the other four nodding in agreement, "You're so good at welcoming people into your heart, and forming a bond with them.
"Oh..." Sora looked a bit let down from this, before stating, "But, you guys can do that, too."
"But not as good as you." Asuna noted, "Your child-like demeanor is able to see the best in people, and you gain the ability to connect with so many, which gives you power, and inspires others to do better in 's how you inspired us to be stronger with you. We wouldn't have gotten this far without you and your gift, Sora." Sora could only blush and rub the back of his head in response to this. He had heard these things from other people, but the fact that he was getting this from Kirito and Asuna was quite humbling.
"Though we try so hard because we have to take care of him when he makes dumb choices." Donald muttered.
"Hey!" Sora barked at him angrily.
"Even so, the fact is that since the Organization knows what we are doing, we have to work even harder and faster to find the Lost Princesses." Kirito stated, looking to Gretinal, "Any idea on how to get stronger quicker?"
The Keyblade Master paused for a moment, before answering, "I believe I have an answer. I was going to save this as a surprise, but now is the best time to utilize it. There should be two worlds on your map you can travel to, right?"
Yui examined the map, stating, "Yes, there are two areas on our map. Why?"
"Go to the furthest one. It should be your next destination." Gretinal requested, "It is a place where you can get stronger and improve your skills."
"Really?" Kirito questioned.
"Absolutely. It is a place I created specifically for my students to get stronger at."
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Sora responded, looking to Yui, "Set a course for that new world!"
"Roger that!" Yui answered, placing the coordinates into the computer. With that, the ship flew off, towards the destination that Gretinal informed them. The one place that'll get them stronger.
(Insert 'Adamas Amalee ver.', TV version)
Music intro
(Rushing through black darkness, glittering shards of light pass by. As music starts, the three main Keyblades suddenly shoot forward like shooting stars, circling around from a distance, then crossing one another, shining brightly, forming the logo of the series.)
I'm trying to understand it but it's making me numb
(Left half of Sora's serious face, the other half hidden by the teeth of his Kingdom Key.)
This swirl of karma leaving such a bitter taste on my tongue
(Right half of Asuna's determined face, the other half hidden by the Lambent Light's teeth.)
'Cause I know the pain and sorrow, it has only begun
(The upper half of Kirito's face, with glaring eyes, the lower half hidden by the Elucidator's teeth.)
Who-o-oa, Who-o-oa, Who-o-oa
(Flashing through the faces of each hero; Donald, Goofy, Yui, Mickey, Riku, Leafa, Kairi, Axel, and Kayaba.)
Now I'm surrounded by my enemies, but luck's on my side
(In the dusty fields of the Keyblade Graveyard, the camera pans around the circle of the six main heroes as they ready their weapons.)
So I shatter through the walls and change the course of the tide
(In the same field, the camera pans the opposite way around the six other heroes as they ready their weapons.)
Can't stop this surging fate like a volcano set to break, Take a breath until you're set to
(Allies of the multiple worlds they will or have visited pan across the screen, finally ending with the silhouettes of the four Lost Princesses of heart, with the one in the center opening her hands to reveal a bright light.)
face that voice of fear. That god of death that's always looking down on you
(Philia stands on a lone green hill, staring at a card with the picture of Castle Oblivion on it. She feels a hand behind her, and looks to see Flair and Hinata standing behind her, giving assuring smiles, with Tinkerbell coming out of her pocket, and Samson giving a thumbs up.)
"Do you believe yourself?" I won't stop til I've won
(Maleficent and Dr. Temna stand together, with Pete and Tears next to them, and a swarm of Heartless and shadowed foes ready to strike.)
A glimpse of that bright future that's just begun!
(Xehanort's maliciously smirking face appears, as he and fifteen others float together in a circle. Screen splits in half as half of Heartless Oberon and Gouxus take the screen, their eyes shining from yellow to violet.)
Shining like a diamond, The emotions in your heart reflect like crystal
(The six heroes team up together, taking down Heartless, Nobodies and Unversed that come across their path with their weapons, skills and magic.)
As we vow an oath that will ignite your light and mine - And we will rise!
(A Demon Tower nearly falls on top of the six, but they get away, with Kirito, Asuna and Sora in the air, performing Soul Bursts and Keyblade transformation, creating Cloud's Buster Sword, Asuna's SAO Lambent Light, and Sora's twin guns, unleashing a sword beam, ice spears, and magic shots as one.)
So many times I've gotten back on my feet to make it to this moment
(A group of dark energy orbs shoots down the trio from a cliff above, hitting them into the ground. The attack comes from Xehanort, Heartless Oberon, and Gouxus.)
It's time our prayer that's waiting in the dark. Is set free so light the spark and let it shine!
(Sora, Asuna and Kirito get back up on their feet, shaking off their injuries, and raising their Keyblades as they charge forward, beams of sunlight shining upon each of them as they all take a leap at the Organization XVI, with their friends, the other heroes, including Roxas, Xion, Recon, Terra, Aqua and Ven, joining them from behind.)
Song ends.
As the group's Gummi ship flew through the empty space, gathering materials once in a while, and taking down Heartless, they sent any building material towards Resolute Oasis, using their teleportation device that was linked to a transport area Hope made. Thanks to this, Hope was able to inform that some of the shops and locations have improved thanks to their effort. There was even word that a new group of Lost Lights, or people that appeared in that world, had been rescued and now appointed to be part of the town's construction (Author's Note: More details will be told in the next batch of Record Crystals). The crew wanted to visit them, but decided to wait until after the next couple worlds were taken care of. Their interest in what was to come was peaked by Gretinal.
When they finally arrived at the new world, they discovered the world looked mainly like clouds, with the exception of a small landmass, with a very tall tower of a building in the center of it, larger than even a skyscraper.
"This looks like the place." Goofy stated, looking at it.
"That's one tall building!" Donald noted, as Yui activated the crystal communicator, bringing Gretinal back onto the scene again.
"Hey, so what is this place?" Sora asked right away, as the group gathered around.
For a moment, Gretinal didn't respond, causing the group to wonder if she didn't hear them. This caused Asuna to ask, "Mistress Gretinal? Can you hear us?"
She didn't respond at first, but she suddenly spread her arms out and, in a dramatic bravado, announced, "Team Keybladers, I welcome you to a place where one's will, strength, and powers are tested to the limits! This is the Battle Tower!"
"Battle Tower?" Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Yui all echoed in curiosity.
"Did she have to make a dramatic introduction like that?" Kirito asked Asuna, who shrugged.
"This place was designed by me and many of my friends as a way to test up-and-coming Keyblade Masters." Gretinal explained, "It was made to test the mettle of wielders in fighting various battles, climbing all the way to the top of the tower to see if they can reach the top."
"So it's basically a series of tests for us to reach the top." Kirito understood, knowing there has been plenty of games where they implicated the same style, Sword Art Online a big example of that. That thought suddenly made him ask, "Just curious, but how many floors are there in this Battle Tower?"
"It may be cliche, but there are 100 floors." Gretinal's answer confirmed Kirito's sense of deja vu, and he wasn't the only one.
"Go up a hundred floors, huh?" Asuna muttered, "Just like back in Aincrad."
"Yeah, only it won't take us two years to complete it." Kirito stated, looking to Gretinal as he stated, "Guess we need a good way to get stronger. This'll help us, right?"
"Of course. The Battle Tower is a test and a training grounds." Gretinal told them, "For more information, my assistants inside will help explain things more."
"Your assistants?" Donald echoed.
"They have been taking care of the place since I made it three years ago. They'll explain everything."
"Okay, then!" Sora cheered, running to the teleportation device, "Let's go down there and get started!"
"Someone's eager to train." Goofy chortled as he and the others wandered over, while Yui activated the teleporter.
"He's trying to get his powers back. It's understandable." Asuna responded.
"Good luck, children." Gretinal called to them, and her holographic image disappeared. At the same time, everyone climbed aboard the teleporter, and they vanished from view.
When they reappeared, they found themselves at the front door of the enormous tower. Considering the surrounding area was mainly a grassy plain on top of clouds, with a white, cobblestone pathway to the tower, complete with lamplights, this place was the most notable part of the area. The tower was white, made of some sort of metallic material, and had no windows. As far as they could tell, the only places where you could find a way in were on floors at the very highest part of the tower.
"Whoa..." Sora muttered, looking up at it.
"Looks taller when we're this close to it." Goofy pointed out.
"And Gretinal was the one who made this." Asuna added a fact, "How did she do it?"
"I'm more curious about which world this place is a part of." Kirito stated.
After a moment's pause, Sora wandered towards the door, saying, "Well, let's go inside and get started on our training!" The doors in front of him were glass, and were automatic doors as they slid to the sides, granting entrance to him, as well as the others.
The interior looked open and spacious, mostly a metallic white and silver, with blue, red, purple, green, and yellow neon lighting going along the walls towards the back. It had the properties of a large lobby. The main desk of the area was in the center of the room, with a circular table surrounding it, and a central computer with a holographic image glowing above, showing what looked like records and charts on whatever happens here. There were several small tables around the area, complete with chairs. Some parts of the walls had sofa chairs, and potted plants lined right next to them. Some parts even had vending machines with sodas and snacks in them. One large elevator was in the exact opposite end of where they stood, where all the neon lightings converged all around it.
As the group looked around, amazed at the area, Sora started excitedly, "It looks so hi-tech! Like something out of Tron's world!"
"I was more thinking something out of GGO." Kirito compared, "Only a lot brighter."
"So, where are these assistants of Gretinal that were suppose to meet?" Asuna asked.
"Hello~!" Donald called out. No response.
"Maybe they're sleeping." Goofy assumed.
"Hello!" Yui cried out, "We were sent here by Mistress Gretinal to train!"
They walked about the area, trying to find the assistants. For a while, they couldn't find anyone. Then, as Kirito was looking at one of the tables, he heard something close up in the wall behind him, and he turned around. There, standing before him, was a young girl.
Her appearance made her look in her very early teens, taller than Yui, but shorter than Asuna. Her hair was black medium length, with two decorations on the forelocks of her hair that framed her face. Her eyes were a pale blue, and she had a mole under her right eye.
Her outfit consisted of an open robe that was mainly blue, white, and magenta, with kimono-like sleeves, and patterns on her sleeves and bottom of her cloak. It had a white collar piece on top, with a small heart-shape cut in the center. Her robe was held by two blue cloth strips held by gold buttons, showing her purple and white-trimmed shirt underneath, along with her white skirt with a pink trim and patterns on the bottom. Pink detached sleeves were shown underneath her robe sleeves. Her shoes were brown, open on the sides like sandals, silver hearts at the toes, and purple bracelets on her ankles. She also held a bag of potato chips in her hands.
Kirito was a bit surprised to see her suddenly appear almost out of nowhere. She held an expressionless face as she stared at Kirito for a few seconds, taking a chip out of her bag, crunching on it. The Black Swordsman decided to make the first move, asking, "Hello?" His call did get the attention of the others, noticing the new character.
"Are you here to take the trials of the Battle Tower?" The girl started.
"Y-Yeah." Kirito answered, as the others started to gather around him, "Are you one of the caretakers of this tower?"
"Yes. I am responsible for the upkeep of the tower." She replied, taking another chip, and munching on that.
"But...you look so young." Asuna noted, thinking back to Gretinal's words on how her assistants have been here for three years. No way did she seem the person to hire someone this young.
"My age is irrelevant." She answered, "I was tasked by Mistress Gretinal, and she gave me food. That's all that matters." She took another chip, and ate into it, her expression unchanged.
The six characters looked to one another, with Donald muttering, "This is a bit awkward."
"Gee. Maybe we should start introducing ourselves." Goofy suggested.
"Yeah, good idea." Sora agreed, turning to the girl, "I'm Sora. These are my friend Donald, Goofy, Kirito, Asuna, and Yui."
"How do you do." She answered bowing to them, "I was given the name 'Premiere' by Mistress Gretinal."
"Premiere." Kirito echoed.
"She...gave you that name?" Yui echoed, "Didn't you have a name before that?"
"No, I did not." Premiere answered, "I was founded by Mistress Gretinal, and was given a name and a purpose, along with my sister."
"Your sister?" Sora asked, looking about, "Is she around here?"
"She is currently working maintenance on the upper levels." Premiere answered, "It will be some time until she comes back down. For the time being, I will be your guide in the Battle Tower."
"I see..." Asuna understood. Premiere was quite the mysterious girl to the group. She was rather emotionless, her tone not even changing as she spoke. She almost felt robotic, had she not shown signs that she was human-like. Who she was, as well as how she and Mistress Gretinal knew one another, was a bit of a mystery. However, those could wait for another time.
"We were sent here by Gretinal to take on the trials of the Battle Tower." Yui stated, "Do we need any instructions on how to start?"
"Yes. Let me explain the rules of the Battle Tower." Premiere started, walking over to the central desk. She opened up a small door into the interior of the desk area, booting up the computer, as the group looked up at the holographic image above as it showed the tower.
"There are 100 floors in this Battle Tower. You will take on ten floors at a time as I guide you up to each floor. There will be sets of opponents on each floor, and your task is to defeat them."
"Sound simple enough." Donald admitted.
"Like back at the Olympus Coliseum." Sora compared.
"At every tenth floor, you will encounter a greater opponent." Premiere continued, "They are far more difficult than the monsters you face in the floors before, as they are people of great skill and power."
"So there are other people who also reside in this tower?" Sora asked, "And we have to fight them?"
"They will only appear when you reach them." Premiere answered, "As for who they are, I do not know. However, if you defeat them, you will earn great rewards from them."
"That sounds great!" Sora cheered, "Let's get a move on! I want to take on these trials!"
"Hold on, Sora!" Kirito called to him, turning back to Premiere, "Anything else you should let us know?"
"Actually, there is one more thing." She answered, discovering her chip bag was not empty, before patting her stomach, "I am hungry. I need sustenance before I can assist you."
The group looked a bit puzzled, looking at one another. It was pretty out of left field, but they would feel bad if they left her hungry.
"Oh! Don't we have food from Little Chef's Bistro?" Goofy recalled.
"Yeah, I'm sure we do." Asuna answered, "We left it on the Gummi Ship. Hold on, I'll go get it."
Asuna took maybe four minutes to go out and come back, bringing with her the food she and Sora made, being that of some Sole Meunière and a slice of the Tart aux Fruits.
She served them to Premiere at one of the tables, who started to show an expression of awe at the food in front of her. She said her grace, took a fork, at the main course, found it delicious, and started to devour it and the tart. The group was startled at how quickly she was to eat them up. She finished it, dabbing her mouth with a napkin, before standing up and looking to the group.
"Thank you so much for the meal." She thanked them, giving a slight smile, "It was amazing. I have never tasted anything so good."
"Glad you like it!" Asuna giggled, appreciating the fact that she smiled in appreciation.
"Hey, I don't mean to rush us, but can we start the trials?" Sora asked insistently.
"One moment, please." Premiere told him, "There is something I want to do first." She wandered back to the central desk, and went to the computer, placing her palm onto the screen. It glowed for a moment, as the neon lighting around the area glowed stronger than before, before dying down to normal.
"What did you do?" Kirito asked.
Premiere wandered outside the desk, answering, "I merely changed the aura in the rooms above. They now provide with additional boosts in experience in your battles."
"Whaaat?!" The group gasped, shocked at this new gift.
"For those who have the power of utilizing souls, I have allowed you experience with your souls to be further boosted." Premiere explained to Kirito, Asuna and Yui.
"So, whenever we use Soul Bursts, the experience we gain will be boosted?" Asuna repeated, "Meaning we can further our bond with our Soul Pacts!"
"Correct." Premiere answered, simply.
"That's like a EXP-boosting item in a game." Kirito stated, as he and the other two looked pleased, "That's something I can get behind."
"No fair!" Sora whined.
"Yeah. We can't use that power boost." Goofy moaned.
"Why can't we get a boost like you guys?!" Donald demanded angrily.
"For those who do not have the power of souls, you needn't worry." Premiere assure them, "You will gain a boost in your experience in the fights above."
"So basically, they can level up easier than we can." Yui understood, "Our Soul Pacts will gain more experience, while Sora, Donald and Goofy themselves get more experience."
"Good. That's better." Sora sighed in relief.
"But, why did you give us that boost in the first place?" Kirito asked Premiere.
"Because you fed me." she answered, "The food was so good, I wanted to give you my appreciation in response."
It didn't seem like a reason, but the group didn't complain, especially those who made the food in the first place. They were just glad they were given the boost in the first place.
"With that, we will begin your trial with the first ten floors." Premiere told them, walking them over to the elevator. She pressed her palm to a scanner next to the elevator, which identified her, before opening up to the group. They all entered into the elevator.
"Since my DNA is recognized by this building, I am allowed access to reaching every floor." Premiere stated, placing her palm on a scanner inside the elevator, and the doors closed, "Mistress Gretinal made this so that no one could attempt to reach the higher floors quicker."
"Makes sense. It's pretty ingenious, if you ask me." Kirito stated.
The elevator went up a little bit, before stopping, opening up to reveal a spacious room, with metallic-like walls. Premiere waved them in, and they entered through, the door closing behind them. Just then, several Shadow Heartless appeared in front of them, and one Soldier Heartless. A cheerful female voice called out over the speaker, "Floor 1 battle...begin!" The group readied their weapons, and charged at the Heartless.
The battle didn't even last a minute, as the swarm of Heartless was rather easy to take care of, and the group barely took any damage from the fight. Soon as it was over, the female voice called out "Winners! Move to the next floor!". The elevator door opened, revealing Premiere once more.
"That was easy!" Sora stated.
"Don't get cocky, Sora." Donald retorted.
"Yeah. First floors are always the easy one." Kirito muttered, looking upwards, "Only ninety-nine more floors to go." The team wandered towards Premiere, who placed a palm on a panel, and the doors closed.
"Well done on the first floor." Premiere told them in her monotonous tone, "I look forward to seeing you reach the other floors as well."
"We'll do our best!" Yui assured her, as the elevator stopped, and the door opened to the second floor. They entered through, and were greeted by more Heartless; Soldiers, Talonclaws, and Pogo Shovels. Like before, the Heartless were rather easy to defeat.
The third and fourth floors were more or less the same, the third containing a couple Large Bodies to deal with, and the fourth floor composed of Flame Cores and a couple Vermillion Samba. During the fights, the group were testing all their skills, trying out techniques and using Soul Bursts and weapon changes as they fought, and boosting their experience all the while.
While dealing with the fifth floor, featuring Water Cores and Marine Rumba, Kirito was in Soul Burst: Cloud Strife, slashing down heavily on a pair of Heartless with the Braver technique. He sensed a water attack coming from behind, and whipped his Buster Sword around to take it out. As soon as Sora and Goofy charged to attack the Water Core that attacked, Kirito's eyes glowed, feeling his mind fade out of reality.
He found himself back inside the realm of his heart, standing on the stain-glass top once more. At the same time, Cloud Strife stood there, his arms crossed, as if waiting patiently for Kirito's arrival.
"Seems you're improving your skills with my powers." Cloud pointed out to Kirito.
"Hey, Cloud." Kirito greeted, "I didn't think I would see you so soon."
Cloud huffed in response, before starting, "About the last time we met. You said something about me looking for Sephiroth."
"Yeah, you were." Kirito answered, "In fact, I even met him a couple times, too. Fought him, as well."
Cloud looked a bit surprised, before asking, "You fought Sephiroth? Why?"
"He nearly killed my friends." Kirito answered, recalling the day when he discovered what he did to the Moonlit Black Cats, "I had to get vengeance on him after that. So I searched for him, and fought him. It was one of the toughest fights I ever dealt with in my life."
"That's expected. He's the most dangerous person I know. He was responsible for so many things in my world. Even after I killed him, he still found a way to to come back to fight me again."
"He did seem the merciless type." Kirito muttered, recalling the moment he met him, before noticing something in Cloud's words, and asked, "Wait, he died, and still came back to fight you again?"
"Yeah. A couple times, actually. He always came back, no matter what, and I struck him down, over and over again."
"Yeah…I guess considering he basically represented your darkness, it's only natural you'd continuously fight each other." Kirito understood, "Still, I get the feeling the Sephiroth you and I know are two separate versions, despite the similarities."
"Yeah. We already don't know one another, yet you know someone who is like me." Cloud stated.
"I'm still trying to figure this out." Kirito muttered, "Maybe you're a past version of the one I know?"
"Maybe." He answered, walking to Kirito, and holding out his hand, "Here. This is a power I used to defeat Sephiroth the last time I met him. It might help out if there are enemies too powerful for you to defeat easily."
Kirito looked to his hand, before deciding to take it. Within moments, a flood of power suddenly surged through Kirito, and he felt his body surge with a new awakening. After feeling this new power for a few moments, Kirito answered, "Thanks, Cloud. I might try it out right now to see what it can do."
Suddenly the area around them started to glow brighter and brighter. "Seems like our time is up." Cloud told Kirito.
"Right. I'll keep training hard until we meet again." The black swordsman replied, "I'll also try to figure out the truth about you and I."
"Same." Cloud replied, as everything went white around them.
Kirito started to regain his reality again as the group was still fighting, as everyone was still fighting all around them.
"Hey, snap out of it, Kirito!" Donald huffed, approaching him.
"Sorry." Kirito apologized, feeling his heart surging, " I just got done talking with Cloud, and got a new upgrade as a result."
"What?" Donald questioned.
Kirito's body glowed as he shouted, "Advance Burst: Advent Child!" He tossed his Buster Sword high, which glowed brightly. In a flash, it transformed into six swords, with the main blade suddenly flying down into Kirito's hand. Then, as each sword fell towards Kirito, he caught and attached them to his main blade, until they became one sword; the Fusion Sword.
The others looked to Kirito, surprised at his new awakening, as he charged at a Marine Rumba, who unleashed a watery attack at him. Kirito detached one of the swords off of his main blade, now wielding two blades. He slashed the watery attack with the secondary blade, before unleashing a heavy swing with his main blade. He chained his attack into a sword combo that decimated the Heartless, before going into another against a few more Water Cores, combining his swords into one again, and unleashing a Cyclone Rush that had him slashing his blade twice in one go, sending the Heartless into the wall, causing them to disappear. With his final attack, the opponents were done and over with.
"Kirito, that was amazing!" Asuna stated cheerfully, as Yui put away her Object Eraser, being in her Second Form.
"Your sword can become two now?" Sora asked, examining the Fusion Sword.
"Actually, six." Kirito explained, detaching the five blades from his main blade; a hollow blade, two back blades, and two side blades, "They all can be used in multiple ways, and provide extra combos to my attacks."
"Wow!" The group gasped, as the elevator doors opened to reveal Premiere once more.
"Time to move to the next floor." She informed the group, as Kirito reattached the other blade to his main blade, and they entered into the elevator once more.
After dealing with an assortment of Thunder-based Heartless on the sixth floor, the seventh floor composed of several Large Bodies and some Bizarre Archers on pedestals. Asuna was in her Second Form, and trying to deal as much damage as she could to the Large Body opponent she was dealing with. She couldn't do any physical damage in front, so she had to find opportunities to slide around behind it, before unleashing her Quadruple Pain. She was able to defeat it, before seeing Kirito and Goofy were pinned down by the Archers, and a Large Body was still on their tails. Fortunately, Sora was there to unleash a Blizzard spell onto the Large Body to freeze it in place.
"I can't let them be in danger!" Asuna growled, her body glowing as she felt a power surge from deep within, before shouting, "Advance Burst: Alfheim!" Her body surged with energy, glowing blue, as all the energy merged onto her back, forming the symbol of the Undine race of Alfheim Online. She sprouted her fairy wings from the symbol, as she summoned her wand, the Crest of Yggdrasil, in her free hand, and she whipped it and her rapier to either side, ready to fight.
She flew up high, pointing her wand over to the Bizarre Archers, causing magic circles to appear above the long-ranged Heartless, and icicles came showering down on top of them, stabbing them and freezing them until they were destroyed.
"Mama's using magic from Alfheim!" Yui noticed.
"So her Second Form's Advance Burst gives her access to her avatar's skills from Alfheim Online." Kirito understood, smiling at his girlfriend, "I know I shouldn't really be saying this, but it looks like her Advance Burst should be called 'Berserk Healer'."
"Berserk…Healer?" Sora echoed, recalling this name.
"K-Kirito! How many times do I have to tell you I don't like to be called that?!" Asuna demanded, blushing as she looked angered.
"Why is she called that again?" Donald questioned, finishing off the Large Body he and Yui were fighting.
"It's because Undines in Alfheim Online are usually magic users and healers, but mama fights in the front lines." Yui explained, "So many people have seen her fight in this style, and gave her that title."
"Oh, that makes sense." Sora, Donald and Goofy understood, tapping their fists into their hands.
"Y-Yui!" Asuna exclaimed, looking to her incredulously. She didn't want to have her own daughter tell the reason behind the nickname, let alone have there be logic and reasoning behind such a horrible one.
Just then, there was a throat clearing up, and the group looked to see Premiere at the open elevator door. "If you are done with this, you have already cleared this floor. It is time to move to the next floor."
Embarrassment aside, the group pushed onward, wondering who would get the next awakening in their Soul Pacts. Sora, Donald, and Goofy, while not able to gain such an evolution, were getting stronger quicker thanks to the effects given by Premiere. As for the awakening, it was actually Yui's turn, and it happened on the next floor.
"Seige!" Yui shouted, tapping the card with her Dream Wand, and causing a cubic, latex barrier to encase a pair of Air Soldiers, bringing them down to earth.
"Good one!" Sora cheered, as he and Donald charged in, with Sora stabbing through the barrier to make it pop, revealing the Air Soldiers, who flinched at the popping of the barrier, making them vulnerable to the attacks the two laid on them.
"Now for my final card." Yui muttered, tossing the last card up, "Hail!" From her card, she summoned a hailstorm from above her, shooting down at the Shadows that scuttled along the ground at her, destroying each of them.
Yui wiped her forehead, before stopping as her eyes glowed, her being fading from reality.
She once again found herself back in her Station of Awakening. Standing before her was the girl she was using the Soul Burst of. She looked in in her early teens, with short brown hair with a couple cowlicks on top and strands curling from the sides, and her eyes were emerald green. Her attire looked like a school uniform, which was black with long sleeves, gold buttons in front, white and red-sleeved cuffs, a white neckerchief, and a white skirt with a red stripe at the bottom. She wore knee high socks, and black Mary Janes.
"We finally can meet each other." She greeted Yui, "I'm Sakura Kinomoto. It's nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you, too, Ms. Kinomoto. I'm Yui." She replied, bowing to her.
"Please, there's no need for those formalities." Sakura waved her off, "Just call me Sakura. I'm not that much older than you."
"Thanks." Yui replied, looking up at her.
"Still, I am rather impressed by how young you are to be fighting like this." Sakura pointed out, "Then again, I was pretty much the same age when I first started collecting the Clow Cards."
"Wait, what?" Yui questioned, "Clow Cards? Are those the cards that I have been using?"
"No, those are a different set." Sakura explained, "Funny story, but when I was ten years old, I ended up opening a book in my family's library, which contained a bunch of cards, and along with meeting Kero, who was part of the seal of the book, I had to go and collect the cards. I had a lot of crazy experiences because of it. But because of it, I also learned I can use magic, which was helpful in sealing away the magic of each card so they wouldn't cause trouble."
"That's amazing. You really started all that when you were ten?" Yui questioned.
"It was crazy, but if it wasn't for all that, I wouldn't have met so many people, or gotten closer to my family."
"I know what you mean." Yui agreed, "I was actually made to be a Mental Health Counseling Program to monitor Players in a world called 'Sword Art Online'." Yui explained.
"Huh? Counseling Program? Players?" Sakura was already confused by what she was saying.
"Oh, sorry." Yui apologized, assuming she wasn't familiar with hi-tech lingo, "Basically, I was created as an artificial intelligence. I'm not completely human."
"Really? But you seem like a normal girl, to me." Sakura pointed out.
"Thanks for saying that." Yui replied, as the two shared a small giggle.
Suddenly, the area around them started to glow brightly. Their time was almost up. "Aaaw. Is it already over?" Sakura questioned.
"Don't worry. I'll strengthen the Soul Pact I have with you, so we can meet each other again." Yui assured her, "I want to know more about you, Sakura."
"Yeah, same to you, Yui!" Sakura responded, waving her off as everything became white.
Yui snapped back into reality again, as everyone else was dealing with the last of the Heartless in this floor. When they heard the floor was cleared, they came together once more.
"You guys okay?" Kirito asked.
"Yep. Nothing too different here." Asuna answered.
"Just keep getting better as we go on." Sora added, rolling his shoulder.
"I just had an encounter with Sakura." Yui pointed out, as her Soul Burst ran out, and her weapon reverted back to normal.
"Really? What's she like?" Asuna asked.
"She's not much older than me, and is very nice." Yui answered, "She wasn't very good with understanding that I was a program. I hope I can learn more about her next time."
"Yeah. I hope you do." Asuna agreed, "It may be weird, but it is nice to have friends within your heart to talk to."
"I can definitely agree on the 'weird' part." Kirito admitted, "I just hope no one thinks I'm crazy if I am talking to myself." The others shared a laugh together at this statement.
After clearing the ninth floor, the team entered the elevator, and made their way to the next. "You successfully made it to the tenth floor of the Battle Tower." Premiere told the group, "The first of the challenges is what awaits you."
"So, what kind of challenge is it?" Kirito questioned.
"You will have to see when you arrive. However, there are rules to these challenges you must follow." Premiere informed them, "The challenges will involve you fighting opponents of other worlds."
"Wait, other people from other worlds will partake in this?!" Asuna question, surprised.
"Yes. However, the scenario of them being brought here will be explained by the Tower Mistress, as they are brought here without any understanding." Premiere answered, "As such, you are forbidden from explaining your reasons for taking on this challenge, and leave it to her instead."
"Who's this Tower Mistress?" Donald questioned.
"The one over the coms who informs of when battles begin or finish. She is watching from the very top of this floor, and will judge you to see if you are worthy of facing her."
"Given her name, I wouldn't be surprised if she is connected to Gretinal in some way." Kirito muttered, knowing Gretinal prefers being called 'Keyblade Mistress' instead of 'Keyblade Master'.
"So in other words, it's like obeying the world's order, and not telling them ourselves about other worlds." Yui understood, "In that case, we should obey that law."
"More will be explained before you fight one another." Premiere stated as the elevator stopped, "For now, I welcome you to the tenth floor." The door opened up, and the group entered in.
The room was more spacious in the height department, and it looked war-torn than the other rooms beneath, though it was clear this was intentional for scenery. The six stood on one side of the area as the announcer, the Tower Mistress, called out, "Welcome to the 10th floor of the Battle Tower! I will now bring out your challengers!"
The team were startled as a portal opened up on the other side of the room, large enough for three people to fit through together. It had the same energy they were familiar of with the portal opened by the Keyblade. "What is that?!" Goofy questioned.
"Looks like a portal made by a Keyblade." Kirito answered, "Did the Tower Mistress do this?"
Moments later, six characters came shooting out of the portal, flying high near the ceiling, and coming to a halt in midair. From what the team could see, they were clearly military characters; four men, and two women. Or rather, four men, one woman, and one child.
They all donned a sort of military battle suit, which were thick, muddy green, with black belts and straps that supported equipment on them, which were a mechanical gear, and attached to their right legs and feet, granting them the ability to fly. The gear they had also had a flag emblem on them, which was red with a black cross, and they all carried modified rifles.
The four men were composed of a curved-face man with black hair combed back, a young man with short medium blonde hair, a narrow faced man with sharp eyes and brown hair that reached his ears, and a round-faced man with short brown hair. The woman of the group had brown hair with long bangs on either side, blue eyes, and an hourglass frame. The girl was no more than a child, possibly Yui's age, with messy blonde hair tied in a ponytail, cold blue eyes, and a young face with a pale complexion. Her gun, along with the gem on her chest, were different from the others.
"Oh, cool! They're flying!" Sora exclaimed, seeing them.
"They look like military fighters." Asuna noted, "Like something out of GGO."
"Yeah, no doubt. Are they from some sort of army?" Kirito asked.
"Okay, what the hell is this?!" The little girl questioned, looking about, "Where the hell are we?!"
"I don't know, Major." The woman replied, "But it's clearly not anywhere we were in before."
"Yes, I can SEE that!" The girl grumbled sarcastically.
"That thing just appeared in front of us before we could avoid it." The curved-face man stated, "How could we not have seen the caster?"
"Major, that thing is no longer here!" The round-faced man informed, looking down to see the portal had disappeared, "What's more, six strange individuals are right beneath us!" The six looked to see Team Keybladers look up at them, either in awe, or in caution.
"What the…there's a dog and a duck among them!" The girl noted quietly, before mentally telling herself, 'They all look like they jumped straight out of an RPG of sorts. Just who the heck are they?! And are they the ones who made that thing before?! Or is this some crazy plot made by that Being X?!'
"What should we do, Major?" The woman asked.
"Not sure. I have no idea what is going on here." The girl replied.
"Members of the Imperial 203rd Aerial Mage Battalion!" The Tower Mistress spoke up, startling the six flying soldiers, "I welcome you to my arena!"
"What the…who is that?!" The blond-haired boy questioned in shock.
"For starters, I am not a benevolent deity of any sorts. I am not a deity at all, not even a being known as X." The Tower Mistress informed, surprising the girl that questioned that name, "I am the Tower Mistress. I gather strong fighters of other worlds into my battlefield to test the mettles between each group, to see who are the strongest there is."
"Wait, what?" Sora questioned.
"Guess that's the story we're suppose to go along with." Kirito understood.
"So you basically brought us here to fight?" The girl questioned, "Why the hell should we listen or do anything you want us to do?!"
"Because it will show who are the more dominant warriors, Major Tanya von Degurechaff, leader of the 203rd Aerial Mage Battalion." The Battle Mistress answered, adding in the full name and rank of the little girl.
"Wait, that child is the leader?!" Asuna questioned, shocked to hear that.
"A battle to show how strong your battalion is compared to other worlds would be one you would like to test, no?" The announcer continued, "Whether you win or lose, your injuries will recover, and you will return to your world like nothing happened."
"Damn it. Are you just toying with me?!" Tanya demanded, "I've already had enough on my plate, what with a war going on, and what that bastard Being X has been putting me through!"
"Um, Major?" The woman with her questioned as she growled in anger.
"Fine then!" Tanya barked, looking down at the six beneath, "You guys! I take it you guys are the opponents we are facing?"
"That's pretty much the plan, yeah." Kirito answered.
"Very well…" Tanya readied her rifle, and pointed it down at the group, "Thanks to this whole thing, I'm really pissed off, and I'm gonna put out all my anger on you lot! Better get ready to lose, cause the 203rd Aerial Mage Battalion will show no mercy to any enemy we face. Let's go!"
"Right!" The other five answered, readying their guns.
"No fair! They can fly, while we can't!" Donald squawked angrily.
"We'll just have to work with what we got!" Asuna answered, "Use all our skills and magic to beat these guys."
"One one side, the members of Team Keybladers, featuring Sora, Asuna, Kirito, Donald, Goofy, and Yui! On the other side, we have Tanya, Matheus, Viktoriya, Vooren, Wilibald, and Rhiner. May the 1st Challenge of the Battle Tower commence!" There was a siren sound, indicating the start of the battle.
"Take aim, men! Fire!" Tanya shouted, and the six fired their guns down at the group. The attacks were far from the normal rifle shots of SAO, but rather laser fire, with explosive results upon impact. Had they not darted out of the way, they would've gotten blasted hard right out of the gate of the fight.
"Okay, those are clearly not ordinary rifles!" Asuna stated.
"And they're way stronger than the optical guns of GGO." Kirito added, "Everyone, take caution!"
"They're fast." Wilibald stated, trying to shoot Sora, who evaded by dashing out of the way.
"But they only look like they use close-range equipment." Matheus pointed out, aiming his gun at Donald, and fired, only for his attack to be blocked by Goofy's shield, "They're more on the defensive than offensive."
"Meaning this one's in the bag." Rhiner stated with a cheeky grin, trying to hit Asuna. The said female leapt back from the explosive shot, before pointing her Keyblade at the guy who shot at her and shouted, "Water!" She shot her watery spell at him, who was startled at the attack. However, he formed a sort of magic bubble barrier around him, blocking the attack, startling Asuna.
"They got shields?!" Sora questioned.
"They sent water at us?!" Matheus exclaimed.
"Long range offense and barriers. They certainly didn't make this challenge an easy one for us." Yui noted.
"That was unexpected." Matheus stated, looking to Rhiner.
"What's more, it did do more damage than expected to my defensive magic." Rhiner added.
"Fire!" Donald and Sora shouted together, unleashing a double dose of fireballs at Viktoriya, who used her own barrier to block the attack, though the flames did explode to cause her to float back a bit.
"Come on! No fair!" Donald squawked angrily.
"Hold on, let me try something!" Sora stated, switching into his Kingdom Key Keyblade, pointing at the group of soldiers, focusing himself, before shouting, "Shotlock: Ragnarok!" He sent a salvo of light shots at the group, who all were caught by surprise by the spreadshot attack, but not too surprised to have their barriers protect them from the majority of the damage. "No good!" Sora grimaced.
This attack did not go unnoticed by Tanya, who took a couple of the homing shots, as she mentally noted, 'These guys can cast magic spells like they're from some sort of fantasy world, too! Guess that rules out them only good for close range.'
"It's gonna be tough fighting them like this!" Asuna stated, running with Yui as the two avoided a firing squad from Matheus, Rhiner, and Vooren."
"Mama, I have an idea!" Yui cried out, turning towards the area underneath the three men, and unleashing her Whirlwind, creating a small tornado at the area underneath them.
"Great idea, Yui!" Asuna understood Yui's plan, and raced towards it, avoiding a couple shots from the soldiers, reaching the windy area, and with a high bound, she reached the soldiers.
"What?!" Vooren gasped.
"Crap, fall back!" Matheus called out, as he and Vooren tried to escape, but Rhiner was still within Asuna's range, as she unleashed her Quadruple Pain Rapier Skill. He placed up his barrier, but the attack was so strong and fast, the barrier broke, and the soldier nearly fell out of the sky.
"Rhiner!" Matheus called out as the man fell, taking aim at Asuna as she looked towards her target, only to realize she was being targeted as well. She blocked with her Keyblade, but the explosive attack sent her flying, as well.
"Asuna!" Kirito shouted, seeing her fall.
"I got her!" Goofy called out, racing towards Asuna. Seeing him have a handle on the situation, the black swordsman aimed his sights on Rhiner, who caught himself in mid-flight, but was within jumping range to Kirito. He turned in time to see the young man unleashed a combo of slashes, before one final slash sent him crashing to the ground, where he remained unconscious.
"Major, they got Rhiner!" Viktoriya informed her leader.
"Damn it! If it wasn't for this cramped space, we would be at a greater advantage!" Tanya grimaced, taking a shot at Donald and Sora, striking them with an explosive effect, and causing them to fall. However, seeing them get back up made her state, "Not only that, they're tougher than most soldiers! Or are our shots weakened for some reason? We were set in this arena to fight, but are placed in a disadvantage like this? What kind of crap is that?!"
She shook her head of the anger she was feeling, before telling herself, "No, I should calm down. Emotions are not suppose to be part of the battlefield. I'll make false judgements if I lead with that." She turned to her soldiers before calling out, "Listen up! These opponents are far stronger than ones we usually fight, and our range of flight is limited. However we can overcome this, just like every battle we fought so far! Make sure you don't hesitate for even a second, like Rhiner did! Keep your wits about you, and win this battle!"
"Yes, ma'am!" The others answered in unison, before continuing the fight.
"They certainly have their act together, don't they?" Kirito questioned to Asuna, who was helped by Goofy at her side.
"Yeah. That Tanya may look young, but she clearly has leadership capabilities, and is inspiring her team. I don't think the wind trick is gonna work a second time after seeing that.
"True…" Kirito agreed, seeing Matheus and Viktoriya ready themselves, aiming at the trio. Goofy raised his shield, while Asuna readied to block.
"Second Lieutenant, ready your Penetration formula!" Matheus ordered.
"Right!" Viktoriya answered, the two readying their guns, which started to glow.
"Penetration…" Kirito echoed, before gasping, "Guys, I think we can't block this one!" His words weren't responded to quickly enough, and the two fired their shots at Asuna and Goofy. Their shots penetrated their defenses, and caused the two to be hit with a great amount of damage, causing them to fall. They were nearly knocked out by the attack.
"Asuna! Goofy!" Kirito gasped, before glaring at the two who shot them down.
"He might use that long-ranged magic again." Viktoriya stated, "Place up your defenses!"
'I know my long-range skills won't be enough.' Kirito told himself, focusing on the two, 'Time to get up close and personal!' His feet sparked, and he unleashed his Airstepping technique, getting in quickly at the two before they even had a chance to be shocked, and used his reaction speeds to unleash his Sonic Leap technique with his Dark Repulser, hammering Viktoriya into the ground, despite her barrier taking the majority of the blow in her stead.
"Visha!" Matheus called out, only to have Kirito slash him with his blade, which he guarded with his magic barrier. He backed off as he readied his rifle at him, while Kirito focused himself on his target, readying a Shotlock.
"Eat this!" Matheus roared, firing his gun at Kirito. He thought Kirito wouldn't be able to avoid a point-blank attack like he was gonna unleash. However, he was fully unaware of one fact; Kirito's skills in GGO. With one incredibly fast swing, Kirito parried the shot, sending it into the ceiling, causing an eruption above them. "What?!" The soldier gasped, seeing Kirito refocus himself onto Matheus.
"Shotlock: Gleam Burst!" Kirito shouted, and his Keyblade created purple energy spheres, before sending them homing into Matheus, who used his barrier to block the majority of the attacks, before they broke through and struck him several times, causing him to fall from the sky.
"Gotcha!" Kirito shouted, about to come at him again, only for a blast from behind to send him reeling from the sky, falling to the ground faster than Matheus. The shot came from Tanya, who took advantage of his vulnerability in the air. However, as she noticed Viktoriya rising up to take flight again, she also saw something that startled her; Asuna being pushed upwards with Goofy by his shield.
"Go get him, Goofy!" Asuna shouted, twirling Goofy around into a Goofy Bombardment, sending him crashing down into a startled Matheus, crashing him into the ground. Goofy bounced off of him, before landing on his feet, while the soldier was down for the count.
"Damn them!" She growled, rocketing around the area to avoid magic spells coming from Sora, Donald and Yui, only to fire back at them, forcing them to avoid the head-on blast. The other soldiers went to the other trio, firing at them as they went on the evasive.
"We gotta save them!" Sora told Donald and Yui as they regained themselves, "Cover me against that girl!"
"On it!" Yui answered, concentrating, "Soul Burst: Yuna!" She unleashed the power of Yuna, transforming her Keyblade into the Magistral Rod, before summoning Valefor at the same time. She hopped onto her summon, before taking off at Tanya.
"What the heck?! Now it's birds?!" Tanya questioned, backing off as she took aim and fired at Valefor, who dodged as best as it could, but got clipped in the wing once.
"Don't hurt my Valefor!" Yui shouted, unleashing energy shots from her staff to put Tanya on the evasive maneuver. This gave her summon a chance to recover and unleash Sonic Wings, sending windy slashes at her target, who placed up a barrier to endure the attacks, consuming her in smoke, before shooting out of the billow, taking aim at Yui again, and firing. She ducked as her Valefor made evasive maneuvers of its own, before they pursued after the girl.
As Viktoriya continued her attacks on Kirito, Asuna and Goofy, Vooren and Wilibald watched the two girls in the aerial battle, nervous as heck. "Damn, I thought the Major was a scary little girl." Vooren noted, "Now there are two of them?"
"Seems like every world has a scary little kid with crazy powers." Wilibald assumed.
"Gotcha!" Sora shouted, having just Airstepped towards them without the two realizing. He had the Hero's Origin Keyblade, which was now in its shield form, thanks to reserving it when transforming it in the last floor. He did a spinning slash with his shield, while the two's defensive barriers activated, but caused them be pushed away. While Sora continued his combo on Wilibald, Vooren was suddenly bombarded with Fire spells by Donald, encasing him in explosive fumes from the flames. Sora then ended with a ring of thunderbolts from the sky around him, finally breaking through their barriers.
"Let's go!" Sora declared unleashing the full power of his shield as he transformed it into a chariot with a pegasus pulling it, and he climbed on.
"What in Valhalla?!" Vooren questioned as Sora snapped the reigns as lightning showered down around the area as he rode all throughout the sky. The two men tried to avoid the lightning strikes as best as they could, but ended up getting zapped a couple times, until they couldn't take anymore, and they fell to the ground, defeated by Sora's attacks.
"Vooren! Wilibald!" Viktoriya cried out, seeing what happened to them, and saw Sora approaching her on the chariot. This sudden moment gave the chance for Asuna to enter into Lightning's Soul Armament, donning the Knight of Etro armor, and using the Airstepping technique to get in from behind Viktoriya, her Keyblade electrified thanks to the armor.
"You're wide open." Asuna whispered, surprising the woman, as she got stabbed hard in the back by Asuna's weapon, only for further electrification by Sora as he crossed by her, electrifying her with a thunderbolt from the sky. Her body smoked from the electricity, as she fell from the sky, and hit the ground hard, unconscious.
Tanya saw the last of her battalion fall, and an expression of lividness came from her eyes. She saw Sora steer the flying pegasus back towards her, about to use the last of his final move. She wasn't going to take his attack, or Yui and her Valefor, so easily.
The moment Valefor unleashed an Energy Ray at Tanya, she instantly flipped right over the beam, which went into a collision course with Sora, who didn't dodge in time, before getting hit hard. His chariot became a Keyblade again, while Yui looked horrified at what she done. However, this was only for a second, as Tanya zipped right into her face, and kicked her hard in the gut, jettisoning her off of Valefor, and sending her colliding with Donald into the ground, creating a dust cloud. Yui's summon vanished as the cloud vanished, revealing Yui and Donald both down for the count, Yui's rod now her Keyblade again.
"Donald!" "Sora!" "Yui!" Goofy, Kirito, and Asuna all shouted to the respective characters, shocked to see all three of them down for the count.
Tanya looked to the remaining trio, who caught her gaze, and placed up their guard. "I suppose I must congratulate you for besting some of my best soldiers." She spoke up, "If my entire battalion was here, and there was more room, you wouldn't stand a chance."
"Yeah, that might be true." Asuna agreed.
"Honestly, fighting you guys is like playing two VRMMOs we played back home." Kirito stated, "A game with magic and flying fairies, and a game filled with guns."
"VR, huh?" Tanya echoed, "So your world is that advance. No wonder you guys are use to fighting enemies like us. It's so damn frustrating!"
'Is this girl that familiar with VR?' Kirito questioned mentally, 'And yet, their appearance and what I can feel from them so far tells me their world has not caught up with our world's technology. Not entirely sure, but I'll ask her later.'
"Personal emotions don't belong on the battlefield." Tanya stated, readying her rifle, "That being said, I will avenge my fallen brethren by taking the rest of you out!"
She held her rifle as she started to speak to herself, "Oh Lord, grant me the power of your divine judgment, so that I will smite these enemies in your holy name." Her eyes started to glow a bright golden hue, and the magic energy within her amplified enough for the remaining trio to feel her power.
"What's goin' on?!" Goofy questioned.
"Did she just get stronger…by praying?!" Asuna questioned.
"Didn't think of her as a religious type." Kirito assumed.
Tanya then fired off a shot at the center of the trio, who tried to back off in time before the shot hit them, but the explosion that came from the attack was larger than before, and it sent the trio flying. They tumbled along the floor, but were able to get back up again. Her attacks were clearly stronger than before.
She continued her firing with her machine gun at the group, first one, then the other. All they could do was avoid and try to find an opening.
"Soul Burst: Lightning Farron!" Asuna shouted as she ran, her Keyblade transforming into the Blazefire Saber, which she transformed into its gun form, and started shooting as she ran. Tanya was quick, and was avoiding all the shots coming at her, while shooting back at Asuna in a machine gun matter.
Goofy threw his shield from a different position from Asuna, trying to hit her with a surprise attack. However, Tanya was able to predict and ax-kick the shield to the ground, before shooting at Goofy. Kirito was able to get in the path of the weaponless ally, using his deflection skills again to parry the shots, causing them to explode around them, creating smoke clouds.
In the smoke, Goofy took this chance to get his shield, while Kirito strategized. His magic was not gonna work, as she was too fast and protective to be hit by his shots. Her attacks were too powerful to dodge and parry all the time. He had to shut her down with an up-close and personal attack, and one move came to mind; a move he gained from his Advance Burst of Cloud.
"Soul Burst: Cloud Strife!" Kirito roared, transforming his Keyblade into Cloud's Buster Sword. "Okay, now to add a little more chill to my attacks. Soul Armament!" He donned Snow Villers clothing, making his blade unleash a cold aura.
"You think a bigger sword will make it easier for you in a gunfight?!" Tanya questioned, "Think again!" She fired her rifle in machine gun fire again, with Kirito using his broadsword weapon to block the fire. Asuna fired more Ruin Shots at Tanya, who evaded, before shooting around the area, going on the evasive.
Kirito went to tracking her movements, waited for the right opportunity, then used the Airstepping technique to get in close to Tanya, who was caught off guard, when Kirito swung his blade into her. She blocked with her gun, but was sent flying, flipping around in the air, before hanging upside-down with her rifle pointed at Kirito, who went in with another Airstepping technique. She fired her gun once more, and Kirito got singed by some shots, but still got in close enough to unleash several icy slashes at her. She was able to endure the combo of slashes, before finding an opening, drawing a dagger she stored on her back, and stab Kirito with it.
"Kirito!" Asuna cried, seeing him get stabbed. He started to fall from the stab wound to his chest, almost about to pass out. "Heal!" Asuna cried out, unleashing a healing spell onto the remaining conscious trio. She hoped the spell would get Kirito to come around.
"Wait, a healing spell?" Tanya questioned, looking back at Asuna.
"Thanks, Asuna." The Major heard Kirito's voice, and looked to see him regain himself, and unleash Braver, spinning around in the air before bringing his blade down on top of Tanya, causing the two of them to crash into the ground below.
Tanya was able to recover herself by sheer willpower, and saw Kirito come at her with his blade, and dodged to one side, before using her magic to increase the kick to his gut, just like how she did with Yui. He stumbled back, but regained his footing, and unleashed a Fire spell at her face, which she blocked with her magic barrier. She then saw Kirito charge at her again, and unleashed a Cross-Slash technique, using the combo to fully break her magic barrier.
"Damn you!" She roared, throwing her dagger at Kirito, striking him in the shoulder. He winced, but the wound wasn't that deep, and he shook the dagger out, before unleashing his horizontal slash. She blocked with her rifle again, but got sent flying along the ground, before pulling out another weapon she had on her person; a magic pistol, which she fired a couple times at Kirito. He blocked one hit, but the other struck his leg, and he fell to one knee. Tanya took this opportunity to take to the skies once more, getting as much distance as she could from Kirito, keeping an eye out for Asuna or Goofy attacking, while formulating a plan to counter Kirito's Airstepping technique.
"There it is." Kirito muttered, feeling the energy spike within, "Alright, Advance Burst: Advent Child!" Kirito tossed his weapon up, transforming into the several blades of his new weapon. He took the main blade, before taking each of the other blades as they fell, forming into the Fusion Sword.
'I don't know what he's planning, but I will stop him with a full-force shot!' Tanya stated, charging up her rifle for the strongest attack she could muster at Kirito, 'I don't know what it is about this guy, but I cannot allow myself to be beaten by him!' She was fully charged, and ready to fire her attack, when suddenly, Asuna's Ruin shots hit her shoulder, and she was unable to unleash her attack.
"Kirito, go!" Asuna shouted to her boyfriend, who nodded in understanding, before leaping at Tanya, activating his Finisher right off the bat. He spun his Fusion Sword as it glowed blue, pulling it back as Tanya saw him arrive, and blocked his blade with the barrel of her gun, pointing it at Kirito.
"Nice try, but it's all over!" Tanya sneered, forming a demented grin on her face, before pulling the trigger. As she did so, Kirito's Fusion Sword disconnected all pieces, forming a ring around the area above Tanya. Her attack fired, and a powerful beam of magic energy shot right at Kirito. Goofy and Asuna could only endure the shockwaves that reached all around the room from her attack, fearing Kirito might've fallen from this attack.
Tanya's attack died down, and she panted in exhaustion from using so much magic energy. She looked to the area where Kirito should've fallen, but didn't see any bodies, charred or not. The reason? Kirito was already above her, grabbing the main blade above her head, and coming down on her, zipping past her, before grabbing another one of his swords, leaving an after image of himself behind, and slashing her once again. He kept doing this with all of the blades, striking her from every angle, leaving a blue trail behind his path. Tanya was wounded quite a bit, but looked up to see Kirito high above her, along with his afterimages, who readied their blades. They slashed her several times more as they shot down past her, before the real Kirito came down with the main blade, slicing right through her with one final cut. He hit the ground with his feet, the other blades falling all about him, before catching his main blade, swishing it to one side, while Tanya crashed to the ground, unable to move anymore.
"The winners: Team Keybladers!" The Tower Mistress declared, as Kirito's weapon turned back into a Keyblade again, and he sighed in relief, before falling onto his hands and knees, catching his breath.
"Kirito!" Asuna shouted, as she and Goofy raced to his side.
"I'm okay…" Kirito gasped, "That last attack was seriously too close for call."
"I thought you were blown to smithereens." Goofy assumed.
"Yeah. Tanya's last attack nearly got me." He answered, getting to his knees, and looking at the fallen leader, "Honestly, I never thought I would see the day I would be this out of breath fighting a girl as young as her."
Just then, the Tower Mistress called out, "And now, to heal the fighters…" Just then, the room glowed a green hue, the same hue as the Cure spell. The spell was casted upon all those who fell in battle, their wounds and injuries restored to normal.
Tanya was waking up, rising into a sitting position as she muttered, "Hold on…why am I all better?"
"Major!" Viktoriya called out, rising to her feet, and racing to her commander's side.
"Visha." Tanya addressed, looking to her and the other men, who were all recovering themselves, inspecting their bodies to see their injuries were gone, "What is going on here? I was sure we were bested."
"Yeah, but the battle is over." Kirito reminded her, causing the girls to look to him, Asuna and Goofy, "And there are no deaths in this fight. Only acknowledgment on who's stronger."
"But you guys were really strong." Goofy pointed out, "You really had us goin' there."
"Agreed." Asuna seconded.
Tanya looked to the trio, then to the other three members of their party, with Yui was bowing to Donald and Sora, apologizing to both of them for the damage she had done repeatedly, with the two reassuring her it was a complete accident. She then huffed as she stood onto her feet as she stated, "Despite the clear disadvantage we had, I am force to accept our loss. Gotta admit, your group was really skilled. If you were in our world, then I would force you guys to join my battalion, no questions asked."
"Thanks for the offer, but we already have a war we're preparing for." Asuna replied, her expression showing she wasn't really interested in joining her army in the first place.
"That's a shame." Viktoriya replied, "Still, you guys were incredibly strong."
"Agreed. Which proves to me that you all are lacking in your training." Tanya stated, causing Viktoriya to glare at her soldiers, who were grouped close to Sora, Donald and Yui's position, causing them to lock up in fear, "You all lack the discipline I expect from my battalion! After our mission is done back home, I will put you through hell to improve your skills in EVERY situation on the battlefield, you know that?!"
"Yes, ma'am!" Her team replied, standing at attention.
"For someone who was praying a moment ago, you certainly got the aura of a demon." Kirito muttered, enough for her to hear.
"Honestly, that whole thing I have to do is more of a curse." Tanya retorted, "I just have to endure and use it to prove to Being X that I can fight the entire world without putting my faith in him."
"Okay, members of the 203 Aerial Mage Battalion!" The Tower Mistress announced, making them jump, "Your portal back home is here! Thank you for your participation!" With that, the portal that brought the six here opened up at the exact area it appeared before.
"Well, guess it's time to go." Vooren understood.
"Yeah. Time to return to the battlefield, once more." Rhiner sighed, looking to the trio nearest to them, "Hey, I hope we see each other without all the fighting."
"Yeah, maybe you can help us win the war." Matheus added.
"If we ever find your world, we might do that." Sora answered.
"Stay safe out there!" Yui told them.
"Please, with our commander, our butts are constantly in danger, on and off the field." Wilibald answered, the four men activating their flying gear, and taking off into the air.
"Well, let's not do this again." Tanya told the other three, "Hope you guys are successful in your war as we are in ours."
"Bye!" Viktoriya waved them off before they shot into the air. With that, they flew right into the portal, which vanished right behind them, leaving the other six alone.
"They were pretty amazing." Sora muttered, "I hope I can have one of those flying machines, too!"
"You'd just crash and burn." Donald retorted.
"Some experience in Alfheim Online would probably help that issue out." Yui added.
"That Tanya…" Kirito muttered, looking to where they left, "She certainly is way out of place compared to the other soldiers, and not just because of her age."
"What do you mean?" Asuna asked.
"Dunno. It's just a hunch." Kirito replied, "Still, though…"
Just then, Goofy called out to something, as he noticed the elevator doors opening up to reveal Premiere there, waiting for the group. "This way, please." She called to them, beckoning them to the elevator. The group made their way over to the elevator, which closed right behind them.
Moment's later, the group found themselves back down in the lobby once more, gathered around Premiere at the main desk.
"Congratulations on clearing the first ten floors of the Battle Tower." She bowed to them, "Here is your rewards for completing the battles." She handed them a small satchel of munny, along with a medal, which was silver with an avian on it, along with a blue cross.
"Cool! Some money, and a new accessory?" Sora asked, looking at the badge, which Kirito took.
"That is the Silver Wings Badge." Premiere explained, "It is based off of a badge from the world where you fought those soldiers. It boosts your magic and reduces your magic energy required to use a magic spell consecutively."
"That's useful." Asuna stated.
"Gimme!" Donald swiped the medal off of Kirito, pinning it onto him.
"Hey, Donald! No fair!" Sora argued.
"Yeah. At least ask before you take it!" Yui told him angrily.
"Hey, I'm the wizard, so I need this!" Donald retorted.
"Break it up, guys." Kirito told them, "We'll talk it over to see who gets the badge once were done here." He then turned to Premiere and asked, "That's really all there is to do at the moment, right?"
"Correct. Your levels have improved, but you have yet to be strong enough to take on the next ten floors." Premiere informed them, "I will await your return until you are strong enough."
"Got it." Kirito understood.
"Also…" Premiere looked to Asuna, adding, "That delicious food you brought, can you bring more the next time you come back?"
"Sure, I'd love to." Asuna answered with a smile.
"Thank you. I'll provide you with more bonuses when you feed me more food." Premiere told them.
"Then we should head to Little Chef's Bistro the next time we head back there." Sora told Asuna, who nodded in agreement.
"Take care of yourself, Premiere." Goofy told her.
"Thank you very much. And have a safe journey." Premiere answered, bowing to them.
"We'll be back." Yui assured her, as they walked away, leaving Premiere to watch them as they exited through the doors.
"This was definitely a good challenge for us." Kirito stated.
"Yeah. We get stronger and meet new people." Sora added, "Now, I'm ready for the next world ahead of us!"
"Yeah. Nothing's gonna stop us now!" Donald declared, as Yui activated the teleportation device from the Gummi Ship, and they were sent back to the ship.
Dr. Tenma's Base
Back at the base of their enemy, Dr. Tenma was just finishing the computer work by a capsule, which opened up to reveal Tears, wearing nothing but a bra and panties. Her clothes were on a table right next to her.
"Did you find any issues, daddy?" Tears asked, looking up at him.
"A minor headache. Nothing too serious." Tenma answered, patting her on the shoulder, "You should be fine. But you still need to be careful. I am not entirely sure what was the cause of it. Was there anything you didn't tell me?"
"No, daddy. I would never lie to you!" Tears assured him heavily, turning around and grabbing her garments, "Excuse me. I don't want any peeping toms looking at me while I get dressed." She wandered away, going around a corner to get herself dressed up again.
Dr. Tenma watched her leave, before narrowing his eyes, looking back at the screen. "Seems like there was more than what you told your daughter." The sultry voice of Maleficent spoke up as she approached Tenma from behind, "Is this anything we should be concerned about?"
"It isn't your concern whatsoever, but it is something that is curious to me." Dr. Tenma stated, walking to the computer, looking at the schematics showing Tears's figure, "Something she experienced recently has caused a reaction deep within her very heart. Her old programing had activated slightly, and the interference with my own programing caused her headache."
"I am not entirely familiar with your understanding on your 'program', so explain to me more clearly." Maleficent told him, looking at the screen from behind.
"In easier terms that a simpleton can understand, something or someone was able to trigger her old heart, one that I built around to develop the person Tears is now. I am not entirely sure who or what it was, but it develops a serious problem. Tears was made as my collector of darkness, especially since my old program was destroyed thanks to those two specks of light."
"If it is that much of a problem, then why not just remove her 'old heart' so that nothing could trigger it?" Maleficent suggested.
"Don't be absurd!" Tenma snapped, turning to her, "Did you not just hear what I just said? Her old heart is the very core of her character. I cannot develop a heart as complex as her old one, and tossing it away would go against my own code. I will not waste such a wondrous program like her's."
"And yet, from what I learned, you made that choice after you 'threw away' another one of your little toys, too." The words of the witch angered Tenma, who glared at her harshly. Never did he want someone like her to trigger his past mistakes, nor what sacrifices he had to make in order to make it this far.
"I will not be lectured by the likes of you! If I did my history correctly, I wasn't the only one who made fatal mistakes one after the other, especially when being used and betrayed by a couple people, one of which resulted in you dying, and the other resulted in you being trapped." Maleficent sneered, but did not retaliate to this.
"Now if you are done mocking your savior, I have a task for you." Tenma continued, as Tears came around the corner, fully dressed and ready, "We need to gather more pieces of darkness, and it just so happens that there are a couple worlds I need you and my daughter to go scavenge for the deepest darkness. I sent two of my assistants to one world, and I asked your lap dog to go to the other world to help a wielder of darkness snuff out a group of lights. Go to each world, and do what you can to gather more darkness."
"As you wish, Dr. Tenma." Maleficent answered.
"Sure thing, daddy!" Tears chimed excitedly, "I'll make sure no unnecessary lights destroy the darkness we are searching hard to gain. I'll snuff it out!"
"Good. But beware." Tenma warned them, I was able to detect two groups approaching each world, one taking a bit longer than the other. Make sure they are not in the way of our goals again."
Tears approached Maleficent, smirking smugly at her as she stated, "Come on. Let's follow daddy's order, and destroy any light-hearted fools who get in our way!" She waved her hand forward, and a Corridor of Darkness opened up. Maleficent scoffed, but didn't reply as she wandered forward, and went through the corridor. Tear followed behind, leaving Dr. Tenma to watch them leave.
"Maleficent, I leave it to you that there are no more 'triggers' in my daughter's heart again." He told himself, looking back at his computer. What was the cause of his daughter's trigger.
Next Time on Sword Art Kingdom III
Heart Sister Story:
Symphoniae Aperta Manus! Singing Warriors!