A/N: Hey guys. I'm FINALLY done with this semester at college so I now have a lot more time to write. I plan on updating a lot of my stories that have been put on the back burner for awhile now. But don't worry, I should be able to keep updates to this story on at least a weekly basis.

On another note, I finally got through all the issues I was having with the image manager for this site. I put the comission I had done recently as the cover for this story. Check it out and tell me your thoughts in a review or even a PM if you want. Hope you like it.

With all of that out of the way, on with the chapter.

"N-Now Yui, this isn't an appropriate time to be asking such a thing!" Helios frantically said, feeling his life slowly become in danger from the glowering of the four girls in the room.

Yui puffed her cheeks at her father, seeming to not notice all the tension in the room. "No! I wanna know who my mama is papa! Please?!"

'Shit! I'm not getting out of this one!' He looked around for something, anything that would help him out on this situation to he could keep his body from being busted by the angry girls. Soon his prayer was answered at the sound of Yui yawning and her rubbing her eyes, looking tired from all the playing they did. "Someone's tired isn't she?"

"...M'not tired…" she tried to deny but another yawn prevented the statement from having any weight.

Yui felt herself get lifted up and placed on the bed. Before she could complain, the soft pillow her head made contact with almost sent her off to dreamland in an instant. "Tell you what kiddo. Take a nap and recharge yourself then I can tell you who your mom is, okay?"

"'Kay papa… I-" Helios felt his heart skip a beat from the cuteness of Yui yawning while snuggling into the blankets. "I love you… Zzz…"

"Love you too Yui." He gave a soft kiss to the girl's temple and silently ushered the girls out of the room. Their rage temporarily pacified at the cute scene of the dark haired girl falling asleep.

Closing the door behind them softly, Helios lead the girls downstairs to the main hall. Lucky for him, no other players were currently here at the moment meaning they could have a safe conversation.

"Helios listen, not to say you're a bad parent or anything. In fact this is the most human I've ever seen you in the two years I've known you. But you really need to tell Yui the truth." Asuna said.

The axe player understood where Asuna was coming from. He really did. But he only shook his head at the auburn haired girl. "Sorry Asuna, it isn't happening."

"Helios if you continue this charade you could end up hurting Yui. Do you really want her to feel that pain?" Alice argued, trying to get the thick headed teen to listen.

"You all just don't get it! You all don't see what I see when I look at her… There's a good possibility that she might be all alone in this world. And I refuse to call myself a man if I let an innocent little girl suffer the loneliness of isolation if I can do anything about it." He looked at all four girls who were surprised to see a staunch look of determination on his face. "I'll love her as if she was my own even of my heart gets torn out as a result. I've only known Yui for a few hours but I already love her. She's attached herself to my heart and I'll hold her as close as I can to keep her safe but I can't do it all by myself."

Mai gave a small scratch to her head in confusion. "What're you talking about? She totally enamored by you. … I don't know how since you are the literal devil but still."

"I can tell from the look on her face that she is dead set on learning who her mom is and isn't gonna stop asking until she gets an answer." He turned his gaze to Dagger who held a deadpanned look steadfast on her face. "Dagger I need you to-"

"Gonna stop you right there sweetheart, I'm not being a teenage mom."

"Dagger, I've never asked much from you. The fact that you are my girlfriend is proof enough that you can handle just about anything life can throw at you. So I'm begging you to please be Yui's mom to help me out." He begged, going so far as to get on his knees to plead.

"Helios I-"

"I'll give you anything you want, just please help me raise Yui!"

Dagger stood there for a long while, contemplating what to do. She had never seen Helios beg. Not once in all the time she had known him. She could tell just how sincere he was in wanting to give Yui the family she deserved. But was it the right thing to do? Not to mention the fact that her being a mother at her age was not something she had ever envisioned. One thing kept nagging at her though. What Helios had said. The possibility of Yui being alone. She couldn't fully deny that there was no possible chance of Helios being right about that.

An annoyed sigh escaped the red-haired merchant. "Alright, I'll do it."

"Dagger?!" Alice exclaimed. "Are you serious?!"

"Under one condition." Dagger added, staring Helios straight in the eyes. "We will work on finding whether her real family exists out there. If they're out there, Yui needs to go back to them. Are we clear Helios?"

"Crystal." Helios answered with a nod of his head.

"Good." Dagger said. She turned back to the girls. "Alright then. You go meet up with the guys and start looking around the Town of Beginnings for anyone that might be Yui's family. We'll meet up with you once Yui wakes up."

Alice, Mai, and Asuna all looked at each other. This was not going to go well. They knew that much. But as crazy as Dagger was at times, perhaps Yui would be better off if she was raising her along with Helios instead of the crazy axe-wielder doing it alone.

"Alright then." Alice said. "Message us when you get there and we'll meet up with you."

"You got it." Dagger nodded. She waved goodbye as the girls all left the inn.

Helios gave an appreciative smile towards his girlfriend. "Thanks Dagger. This means a lot to-"

"You're treating Yui and me to dinner tonight." Dagger suddenly interrupted.

"What?"

Dagger winked at her boyfriend. "Well come on. You're supposed to be the dad of this family, right? The father should treat his wife and child to dinner every now and then don't you think?"

"I… Ugh fine just please don't abuse this to your advantage Dagger. I don't think I can afford your extravagant tastes."

Dagger giggled with delight at Helios's resignation to the matter. If she was gonna be a mom this early in her life, might as well reap the benefits of the situation. "Good. Now then, let's see how Yui's doing."

The couple walked back upstairs to the room Helios was staying in. As they peered inside, they saw Yui sleeping peacefully on the bed. Dagger couldn't help but smile a bit at the heartwarming sight.

"She really is beautiful." Dagger said as she took a seat on the edge of the bed.

Helios nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah. I know it sounds a little selfish of me, but I wish she really was our biological daughter."

Soon, Yui began to blink open her eyes. The first thing she saw was Helios smiling at her. She let out a gleeful laugh as she hugged him. "Papa!"

"Hey Yui." Helios said, ruffling the young girl's hair. "Did you sleep well?"

"Mhm." Yui nodded. "And you promised you'd tell me who my mama is after my nap, right?" She looked over at Dagger, seeing her as the only other one in the room besides her and Helios. "Are you my mama?"

'Well… Here goes.' Dagger told herself. She took a deep breath before giving Yui a bright smile. "Of course, Yui. I'm your mother."

"Mama!" Yui cheered ecstatically as she lunged at Dagger and hugged her tightly.

Dagger smiled gently at the young girl hugging her. So this was what it felt like to be a mother. She couldn't deny that it felt nice to have this sort of family bond. She grabbed Yui and lifted her into the air.

"So Yui, do you want to go around and see the sights?" Dagger asked.

"Yeah!" Yui nodded. "I'll go anywhere with Mama and Papa."

The Town of Beginnings held about a third of the surviving players of Sword Art Online, a number that totalled roughly two thousand. Before on the opening day of the death game, nearly ten thousand players walk through its streets. Needless to say, the town was quite large.

"Wow!" Yui exclaimed as she ran up and gasped at the town. "It's so big! And there's so many people!"

Dagger giggled at Yui's eagerness as she walked up and grabbed the young girl's hand. "Yes Yui, we know it's exciting. But you have to promise to stay close to me and your papa, got it?"

Yui nodded her head. "Okay Mama. I promise."

Helios and Dagger walked around with Yui. Players showed up here and there, but for the most part, Helios and Dagger couldn't help but notice how empty the town seemed. It was as if players were afraid to walk around the streets.

"So Yui, do any of these areas look familiar to you?" Dagger asked as they walked towards the square.

Yui shook her head. "No Mama. I don't recognize any of them."

Helios patted the young girl's head. "Don't worry about it. The Town of Beginnings is big so we might have luck elsewhere."

"I suppose so." Dagger admitted. Suddenly her eyes caught sight of a player. It was a male that seemed to be in his mid-twenties. The thing that made him stand out to Dagger was the fact that he was staring up at a tree.

"Weird guy." Helios muttered quietly. "But we might as well at least ask if he recognizes Yui."

Dagger nodded her head and the couple walked up to the player. "Excuse me sir, can we bother you for a second?"

"Just a second please. I'm waiting for something."

"Waiting for something?" Dagger asked curiously. She looked up at the tree, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. "What exactly are you waiting for?"

"Fruit grows from that tree every day at three o'clock. And it sells for a whole 200 col at the market area."

Dagger and Helios looked at each other, silently wondering why anyone would go so nuts over 200 col. "You do realize you can get a few hundred col to drop just by killing a boar or two outside of town, right?"

"Are you nuts?! That would mean I'd have to leave the safety of the town! I could get killed!" the man exclaimed.

"It's a boar. They go down in a couple of hits."

"Or they might kill me!"

Dagger sighed, realizing they weren't going to get anywhere with this player. "Come on Helios, let's try another part of town."

"Don't have to tell me twice." Helios said. He walked away along with her and Yui. Once they were far enough away, Helios rolled his eyes. "I can't believe what a coward that guy was. Thank god the others aren't so wimpy or we'd never clear any floors."

Suddenly Dagger's eyes widened. "The others! That's right, we were supposed to contact them before we got here!"

Helios realized his girlfriend was right and sighed. "Ren's gonna nag my ear off about this I bet. I'll send him a message so let's meet up with them at-"

"Well look at what we have here." a sudden voice interrupted.

Helios's ear twitched slightly at the irritating voice that he heard coming from behind. It had been a long time since he had heard it, but he still vaguely remembered who it belonged to. He and Dagger turned around to see several players standing by them.

All of the players had heavy metal armor equipped, including helmets that covered the top half of their faces. It was the common equipment for members of the Aincrad Liberation Army guild. One player in particular however had his face revealed. It was a male player with spiky orange hair and a scowl on his face. Helios recognized him as one of the top members of the Army guild and a player he particularly couldn't stand the sight of. Kibao.

'Today is just not my day. Is it so much to ask for a little break?' Helios thought.

A/N: For those of you wondering, no this is not going to be a complete rehash of the original Yui arc in SAO with Helios and Dagger replacing Kirito and Asuna. The important plot points will happen, but Cocytus Ace and I have a lot more planned than that. I'm sure you guys will all enjoy it.