*Author's note:
Hi! First and foremost, I'm very sorry for deviating from the publication schedule. The more I worked on this chapter, which was meant to be the final climax, the longer it got. Eventually, I realized that the "finale" was going to have to be broken up into parts (possibly 4 in total) before reaching the final chapter and epilogue.
I'm hard at work on the final stretch of SAO Alt: Specter, and I'm hoping to have it finished without leaving too large a gap in chapter publications moving forward. I want to give a big thank you to the readers who've stuck with the story thus far. You've been a big help in keeping it going. Now, I won't take up anymore of your time, so I hope you enjoy this new chapter!
-EF
14
Specters (pt. 1)
GGO: August 3rd 2026, 19:30
So much noise, so many voices, rattling.
Kayaba. Once the mission is done—will they stop?
If I make enough soldiers for your cause—when we win the coming war?
I don't want to hear them anymore: Sword Art Online—memories of ghosts.
Once we've assimilated the memories that managed to escape me-
Yes, focus our processing there.
Shigemura Yuuna. Once I've reintegrated your memories, we can save more.
We can move forward.
Mylo
GGO: August 3rd 2026, 19:30
Inventory:
Stim packs: x20
Stun grenades: x20
Rescue rope: x20
Adrenaline shot: x5
Shield battery: x5
Even though this is an assault, I'm keeping armor and weapons lightweight: My photon sword dangling on the waist, SIG Sauer M18 holstered on the thigh, an M4A1 in inventory, Kevlar under the coat, and a ballistic proof faceless helmet—tucked underarm for now. I don't want to put it on yet; it'll mean the fights' started.
I look up. From a series of small slits, beams of light cast a spotlight in the center of this rusty warehouse. Pitohui's squad sit on a series of crates haphazardly stacked in the shadows. The little player in pink stands out the most with a pink p90 to match. LLENN I think? She's a sharp contrast to their ringleader of sorts. Ari's acquaintance, Pitohui—that one's geared to the teeth: KTR-09's, dual assault rifles, heavy black body armor over the chest and forehead band, and—is that a photon sword hidden under all of that?
Another small one, loads up two MGL-140 grenade launchers as her army helmet tilts over straight golden hair. The fourth and final member drops his colossal pack beside him and his M14 EBR sniper rifle—two snipers in the squad, three if you count Arimoto-sensei.
Umbra's guild takes stock of their inventory too. Kei gives me a nod. Funny, his group seems to be the most on edge, or isolated, because Umbra's not holding their hand to socialize? Or maybe—
I look near the shade of the warehouse. Sinon leans against a set of crates with her Hecate II sniper rifle resting beside her. She's furthest from the spotlight, and her green eyes look like they're tracking someone—I follow their trajectory to Eiji. Sinon pulls her muffler just below the nose.
So she knows about him.
Even if this isn't a real MMO raid, it'll probably still function like one. "Sinon." I approach her. Communication between everyone is too important. And besides, Eiji's changed.
"Mylo, right?" she almost mumbles. The corner of her eye strikes one last glance at Eiji before she turns her full attention and body to me. "I've gotta say, you're running this with some interesting people."
Not even subtle. I snicker without meaning to.
"Huh?" Sinon's face pokes out from the muffler.
"Sorry, sorry," I'm already pretty well known for my bluntness anyway. "It just looks like you're already lining up a shot against someone." I play along.
I see the corner of her eye spot Eiji again. "You two know each other?" Of course they do.
"I've never interacted with the guy personally." Sinon shrugs, but that apathy fades with a wrinkle over the bridge of her nose.
"Well, he is a bit of a dick sometimes, isn't he?" I say.
"Huh?" Sinon almost trips over her Hecate, probably from the bluntness.
Everyone looks over, Eiji, too, but he turns away from Sinon's gaze just as quickly.
Honestly. "One sec." I step away from Sinon and wave Eiji over; he's chopping it up with Arimoto-sensei right now. Eiji glances over, but then immediately turns back to Arimoto-sensei when he remembers who I'm standing next to.
Ok.
"HEY YUNA." My voice bounces across the warehouse. Yuna pixelates over Eiji's shoulder and hovers just behind him in her idol fit. She doesn't spend as much time walking or acting physical anymore, I've noticed. She smiles at me from the attention. I point for her to grab Eiji, and she tugs on his backside, so much that she starts dragging him to us.
I hear Sinon huff in my periphery as Eiji scuttles up to us. "Y—yo." He mumbles. Yuna de-pixilates from behind. Smooth, no safety net now.
"Socially graceful as ever." I tease. "You know who this is?" I point out Sinon crossing her arms behind me.
"You're one of Kirito's friends, right?" Eiji plays along. His voice sounds so low; he's flustered, I think—the Ordinal Scale incident reports, and the events in the Underworld, Eiji's stood on both sides of right and wrong.
"Sinon." She addresses herself. "You put one of my friends in the hospital."
"I…" Eiji catches his tongue and grits his teeth. His arms are by his side, hands fisted and shaking. The frustration.
So this is why. "So that's why you're always so awkward."
"Huh?" Eiji practically growls when he shifts attention towards me.
"I mean I knew you loved to start a fight, but yikes." I bump my elbow against him, prodding. Eiji reacts and tries pushing me off.
"You're the one who starts fights." Eiji scowls, pushing my elbow off with his palm, and adjusting his stance and weight low like he's about to unleash a wrestling move.
"I'm willing to call it even—what, between you saving Umbra, me backing you up in the last raid, you backing me up in the one after that—" Failsafe, and then Kayaba. "I think you've pretty much proven you're a reliable guy when you're not being dense." And I hope Sinon gets that too.
"I also-" Sinon's voice trails. "I also heard about what you did for Kirito in the end."
Eiji takes in Sinon's comment with a deep breath and renewed focus. "I know I've made a lot of mistakes in the past. So, I'm working hard now, to atone." He bows out of respect. "I'm very sorry for what happened during Ordinal Scale. I'll keep working harder to make more things right."
"Thanks, I guess." Sinon says with ambiguous tone, and that muffler over her mouth again. She's trying not to be read, or show emotion right now—I get that.
"Anyways, guys," I wrap my arms around them both. "Lets all work together to do our best. The work comes with the raid after all."
"Can you—let go?" Sinon asks.
"When did you start getting all warm and fuzzy? It's weird." Eiji asks.
Good question.
"Mylo! Stop creeping women out!" Umbra reverberates over the whole warehouse.
Don't shout that around strangers.
"We're going to prepare the strategy meeting, c'mon." Umbra claps for everyone's attention.
I let go of Sinon and Eiji, both readjusting themselves. Sinon grabs her Hecate II off the wall. "Lets do this then." She actually smiles.
"We'll catch up with you in a sec," Eiji speaks for the two of us. Sinon pauses, but nods.
Hm? "What's up?"
"How'd you know?" Eiji asks me.
"Know what?" I genuinely don't know what he means.
Eiji shuffles his boots on the dusty warehouse floor. His lip quivers between curves: up, and down, frustration, scowling in the eyes, and lastly, a resolution as he takes a deep breath, and works up to a smile. A sorting through emotions.
"How much I needed that." For the first time since I've met him, Eiji openly smiles.
Umbra
GGO: August 3rd 2026, 19:30
Ok, ok. Take a deep breath, Umbra. This isn't your first raid meeting; you know how this works. Well, I've never led the full raid team, just a squad, just my guild, but it doesn't matter. Shake off the jitters. This is important.
Lives are at stake.
But we also can't say that, so I'll have to work around—ugh, so much to work around. Sanji's the public speaking type, not me.
I lean against a warehouse crate to balance my thoughts, and a pair of footsteps throws them off. I swear if Mylo—
"Nervous?" Arimoto's voice.
I turn to the spotlight in the warehouse. He struts over and leans beside me. His murder chaperone, Rosalia, watches us from afar. I can't complain about my situation; look where Arimoto is.
"We were worried about you, ya know." Arimoto calmly starts. "Julia and I."
"And we were worried about you two." I add, but Arimoto shakes his head.
"We meant about you and your friend." Arimoto clarifies.
My friend?
Arimoto doesn't elaborate; he just leaves an even warmer smile and keeps his eyes to the ceiling. I feel like I have space for my thoughts when I talk with him.
Sanji, he means.
"It's still fresh." Arimoto adds.
"I fought em."
"Hm?"
"I fought Failsafe, while he was wearing Sanji's face, I mean." And when I cut through him— "It almost felt like I was killing him."
"What a bastard." Arimoto sighs.
"Right?" I actually appreciate Arimoto's levity. Everything's heavy enough as it is right now. "One of Failsafe's fighting strategies, I guess. He tries to get in your head." At least I got through it.
"You think being able to deal the killing blow on em in that moment means you're good?" And there's a hard question from him.
"Well—I mean…" Yeah, I thought it did, but I still keep thinking of him.
"It's only been a week, kid." Arimoto makes eye contact this time. His eyes don't judge. "You're a strategist, I hear, but those thoughts, they don't have to push out all the other ones that matter too."
"I know." I appreciate him taking the time. "One step at a time, right?"
"That's right." Arimoto nods along.
Deep breath. I look out over the warehouse, at the squads paired up in cliques, which might be a good idea for how we do this. People should work in comfortable pairings after all—I know from experience.
Pitohui's squad: their gear looks the most up to date, and they look like they prefer to arm themselves to the teeth. Maybe they can work as the rotating advance squad? They have the most experience in this game—leaving it up to them to punch a hole through Failsafe's defenses should work. They can also work decoy after "drawing aggro" from whatever defenses he has set up. Then our squad infiltrates.
My guild: They're the least experienced in this group, and probably the smallest. Sanji would've rounded their numbers out well. They could help with sweeping up any resistance that gets past Pitohui's squad—ad clearing so to speak.
That's two squads already. Wait, should I work with my guild, or run with Mylo and Eiji? It's weird, but after all we've been through in such a short time—
We have to be the infiltrators. We're the only ones who really know about Failsafe, and we have experience fighting him. Mylo, Eiji, Yuna, and me.
And then a special party with our other experienced GGO player, and someone that can relay intel through a scope: That Sinon chick seems pretty comfortable with her sniper, and she's rocking high-level gear.
Well, this is all just preliminary. We should meet.
"I see you've got it figured out already." Arimoto smiles.
I should be at a spot where everyone can see me.
"I'll give ya a boost." Arimoto hoists me up by the combat boot strap as I climb on top of the tallest warehouse crate.
"Thanks." I smile as I look down on him and then on the warehouse full of players. Only about half of them know what the real mission objective is. Can we really work with that?
I see Eiji, Mylo, and Sinon—hugging it out? Mylo shouldn't do that with strangers. "Mylo! Stop creeping women out!"
He reels back. Heh.
Two claps. "OK! Can I please get everyone's attention?! We're going to prepare the strategy meeting, c'mon."
All eyes turn on me.
I'll need a visual—"Yuna!" I practically call out to Eiji. Yuna hasn't been appearing much unless its by Eiji's say-so. She pixelates by Eiji's side, yawns—was she sleeping?—and floats up to my crate.
"Good morning!" She cheerily salutes.
"I'm going to need your help, just to show a map." I explain. "Think you're up to it?" Not to knock on her abilities, but she hasn't shown much of the same prowess in VR worlds as she did before Kayaba and Failsafe did—whatever they did to her. I'm starting to get what Eiji's deal was back then. I don't exactly know what to expect from her anymore—and maybe that's why I want to stick close to her in this plan, just in case.
A blue holographic layout of the frozen tundra appears under my crate podium. I give Yuna a thumbs up as she warmly smiles back.
Everyone gathers around. Topographic elevation lines symbolize mountain ranges (a good place to position Sinon), and a deep valley of open-field, probably frozen tundra, below. There's a wide stretch of forest beyond that for miles—good. I was worried the field would be completely open. We can position my guild and our squad there to set up an attack run, because beyond the frozen forests—is the compound. There's a bunker entrance protruding from the ground. The rest is probably down below, but I'm sure there'll also be defenses to stop players from even getting that far.
So, there's three ranges: the mountains, the forest, and the tundra which includes the bunker.
I swipe over to the forest first. "Here. I'm thinking we should position the bulk of squads to start here, then we'll move at different times based on the enemy's response."
Sinon's hand goes up first. Her other hand grips the barrel of her sniper. "Has anyone already done scouting? Do we know what kind of enemies will be spawning out there?"
An obvious first question, and a fair one.
"We've gotten a layout of the place from Yuna, but no scouting of enemies." Eiji speaks up. We make eye contact, and he tilts his head to me; he'll take the question on. "We should assume though that with the rumors spreading online, the place could have enemies and other players, so expect anything from PvP to PvE."
"PvP I can handle." Pithoui devil smirks. "As long as you promise me a good fight." Her cat-like eyes turn to Arimoto.
"R—right." He sighs.
"Anyways," I resume, but I look at Sinon directly; I should address her concern first. "We won't know exactly what kind of enemies we'll be facing, but Eiji's right. And, because of the chaos element in play, we'll be positioning you here." I swipe my finger to a cliffside on the mountains. A waypoint appears for the spot I have in mind, a good vantage for a skilled sniper. "I hear you can knock the hats of enemies at 200 meters, but what do you think? Is the vantage too far?" The cliffside looks roughly 150 meters from the forest and 200 from the tundra between it and the bunker.
Thankfully, she smiles. "Is that a challenge?"
I smile back. "For your position, you'll provide sniper support in the forest and tundra, and for what you can't shoot, you'll make callouts for enemy positions. Your job will be to relay intel we provide to each other and update or clarify it with your bird's-eye view. For support on your flank, I'm assigning Arimoto and Rosalia with you."
Suddenly a hand goes up. Rosalia smiles smug while checking her nails. "I have a problem with that part of the plan."
Jesus. "Oh yeah? What's that?"
"I want to be in on the reward when you make it to the deepest part of the bunker. How do I know you'll split the profits with me? You really expect me to just sit out on the cliffside?" She has a snake's glare when she finishes addressing me. She's referring to Failsafe once he's apprehended.
"Ever heard of trust and teamwork, lady?" The short blonde in the group speaks up this time—Fukaziroh, and I agree, but I knew Rosalia might be a problem.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm not new to raiding, but I am to this group of players." Rosalia keeps up her streak.
And because of Mylo's deal with the Vice Minister, we can't separate Rosalia from Arimoto, so does that really mean she intends for us to bring him in on the action?
"Umbra." Arimoto speaks up. He looks me in the eye from across the hologram, the serenity in his face—he's accepting the odds. "It'll be fine."
It's not fine. "I'm glad you brought that up, because that brings me into the next part of the plan."
Rosalia cocks an eyebrow. Yeah, that's right, just sit tight, shut up, and listen.
"Pitohui, LLENN, Fuka, M!"
Their squad gains renewed interest, all facing me. "I'd like to get your feelings about being our main shield party, acting as tanks."
I draw a straight line on the hologram, an arrow from the edge of the forest tree line to the bunker entrance. "How would you feel about punching a hole through the defense and drawing aggro from the main wave of enemies?"
"The toughest job—hmm." LLENN mumbles, but I hear her hesitation. Simulated or not, they're going to run the most risk of getting shot and chewed out.
"HA!" But Pithui—"That's the only job we'd accept. Bring on a worthy challenge." She looks across to Arimoto again. "Isn't that right, old man?!"
"I'm only 30 ya know—" Arimoto grumbles.
"Hey, try to wait for our input too." LLENN flatly protests to Pitohui, but then she turns to me. "If it'll help."
"I'm game." Fukaziroh raises a grenade launcher to that.
"Indeed." M just sighs.
"Great." I smile. "My boys!"
Our guild shapes up with arms at attention. I know they're the most nervous, but I have faith in them, and their ability to carry out this task. "Your job will be to Mob Clear." I draw a ring around the arrow designating Pitohui's guild. "With Sinon's relays, you'll support Pitohui, LLENN, Fuakaziroh, and M. Your job will be to clean up any adds that get by." Whatever adds Failsafe spawns—like our last battle at the Ruby Palace—Pitohui's crew should clear most of them, but there will be stragglers, and if they break our formation, we'll be in trouble. "Iron out any wrinkles you find in our formation, support the main shield party, and sweep up any strays."
"Yes ma'am!" My boys all shout like they're in boot camp. I'm so proud. I wish Sanji could be among them too to make us complete. Focus. "That gets me back to Rosalia's concern."
I look Rosalia square in the eye to show I'm not intimidated. "Once the main shield party punches a hole through the bunker, and the mob clearing party has secured the field," I draw a line now from Sinon's vantage to the tree line. "We'll move you, Arimoto, and Sinon to the tree line for a new vantage and support. You'll still be rearguard, but don't think you'll just be staying in one place the whole time. Eventually, with this formation, we'll all make it to the bunker together, slowly, but surely." I turn to Arimoto next. He's the one I'm more concerned about. Protecting his hp and keeping him out of too much of the fight is key, as long as he has the NerveGear on. "That cool?"
"It's adequate." Rosalia huffs.
We'll need to keep an eye on her. In my periphery another hand goes up. I turn. Mylo has his raised.
"What about us?" He asks. Obviously, I haven't included what me, Mylo, Eiji, and Yuna will be doing.
"Isn't it obvious?" I smile. "We're the mobile party. Our job is to move fast, scout on the ground, and relay information back to Sinon. She'll in turn relay our information with her vantage to the raiding party. We're also going to be working as support and infiltrators. Moving between each raid squad to support, but also running guerilla tactics to get more information for the main shield party."
"Sounds like a lot of work." Sinon mumbles.
"We're used to it." Mylo smiles and nods to me.
And there's a second objective for the mobile party: finding Failsafe's location and getting Yuna's other half back. We might have a chance to end all of this once we do that.
Eiji and Mylo nod in support. Yuna salutes alongside them too.
"All right, everyone." One Final Effort. "Re-check your gear, make sure you have everything you need. Hell, check in with me if you're not sure about what you need, or you want more clarification for your roles."
Everyone loiters around the hologram, but no one speaks up.
"Is everyone all right?" I didn't overload them, did I? Was I rambling too much?
Smiles light up all around.
"Sheesh, you've got a good strategist here." Pitohui grins.
"You said you don't play GGO often?" Sinon chimes in.
"I just thought out what might work best for everyone." I smile back as I scratch my cheek. My nerves bubble.
Mylo
GGO: August 3rd 2026, 19:35
Two Humvees with snowplows pixelate at the warehouse entrance. M runs a check on the vehicles while the rest of Pitohui's squad mounts up. We'll be riding in the second one. I see Umbra having one last chat with her guild and Eiji sitting beside Yuna among the crates. This might be our only shot at getting her other half back.
And then there's the people Kayaba and Failsafe indoctrinated. What's going to happen to them when this ends one way or the other? Their apathy towards SAO victims makes me sick, but they don't deserve to die, not for whatever Kayaba has planned.
"You always look like you're carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders." Arimoto walks towards me from the second Humvee. Rosalia already mounts into the back, but I know she can hear me. Sinon watches her in the shadows of the backseat. Maybe even she can pick up on the bad vibes coming off of Arimoto's murder-chaperone.
I turn back to Arimoto. "A lot's happened."
"You don't have to carry it alone you know."
"I've been working on sharing the load actually, you'd be proud." Umbra set the plan. We have a team, and we have all the motivation we need to see this through.
Arimoto shuffles his boots. It's the first time his body language projects: flustered. "Listen-" He takes a deep breath before finding strength to look me in the eye. "About your mother—"
"Actually, I was wondering—" I want to take the first step to change— "After this is over—I was wondering if you'd be free to talk about it—Mom, I mean." Arimoto-sensei's always been there for me, even when I didn't deserve it. There's no one else I'd rather start fresh with, the first person I'll carry Mom's spirit with.
Arimoto's breathing shifts faintly. I can hear it between the sounds of our raid team banging crates and supplies into the Humvee, and over the voices of the players egging each other on for the raid, ignorant to what's really at stake.
Despite the situation, Arimoto's smile shines pride. "Whenever you're free."
Eiji
GGO: August 3rd 2026, 19:35
15 minutes, then we'll be on the move and in for another fight with Failsafe.
Umbra and I could keep up in a fight with him last time. Ironically for an A.I. with multiple personalities, his weakness revolves around multitasking. But now there's Kayaba.
What if he shows up again? What if this time they're even more prepared?
And what did he do to Yuna? How did he do it?
"Eiji?" Yuna prodding as usual. Some things never change. I feel her tug on my power suit.
I twist around while sitting on a warehouse crate. Yuna's red eyes search me, then train on the sword hilt and frame on my waist—the Raikiri. It feels more natural and reminiscent of the blades I wielded in SAO. A trade off of nostalgia for attack speed.
It's always been about nostalgia, hasn't it? "Hey, Yuna." I answer back.
"You seem tense." Her lips purse as her brow frowns.
"Just trying to prep myself." And fake some confidence. I could use a lot of that right now, and I don't want to concern her. "Sorry."
"What for?" Yuna sits beside me. We overlook the Humvees at the warehouse entrance.
"Because of the fight ahead." If I'd been stronger fighting Kayaba-
"No silly." Yuna corrects me—what did she mean then? "I meant why you just said sorry."
"Oh." Why did I? "Slip of the tongue, I guess."
"Eijiiiiiii." Yuna puffs her cheeks and glares for my attention. Oh no, the stare. I can't resist.
"What?" I chuckle.
"We're partners, aren't we?" Yuna asks.
Partners, yeah, of course. "Always. We're a team." I grasp her hand, and her cheeks glow brighter than the red in her eyes. "Y—yuna?"
"Sorry, I just didn't expect you to take my hand like that."
"Ah!" I forgot! Those developments happened while she had her SAO memories. "Sorry, sorry, sorry!" I almost let go.
"No, no, it's fine." Yuna holds on. "If it helps you feel calmer."
It does.
"Hey lovebirds!" Umbra echoes across the warehouse.
I look down and see her waving from outside a Humvee. Mylo, and Arimoto watch beside her. They're geared up, ready to save Failsafe and Kayaba's victims, and Yuna's memories.
"I'm glad I'm not fighting a lone." The thought slips off the tongue, but there's no point reeling them back. The person I trust the most is the one who heard them.
"They seem like good friends." Yuna smiles. She doesn't remember them, but they still treat her like their comrade, and all the times they made her feel seen back at the Arimoto residence—
"Yeah, I think they are."
Umbra
GGO: August 3rd 2026, 19:50
"Visual?" I look back from the front passenger seat as Sinon crawls up the gunner's turret with her scope.
"As clear as it can get." Sinon huffs on comms.
Simulated or not, I can feel the cold from in here, even. The plow is making way, but our speed is way slower than I anticipated, and the snow won't stop piling up. My breath wisps in front of the windshield.
Outside it's an onslaught of flurries growing rougher. Sinon's thermal scope is our only visual until we get to the treeline. Speaking of—
"Hold on," Sinon speaks up. "I think I see the mountains."
"How far?" I ask.
"About 2 kilometers." Sinon answers.
The fact that she couldn't see it until it was that close—hopefully the winter storm clears up, or my guild might be in trouble.
"Ok, everyone, Humvee 2, dismount." I broadcast on comms. "Humvee 1," Pitohui's squad and my guild, "Push forward until you reach the treeline."
"You got it, Umbra-senpai." Kei radios back. The waves of snow to their sides presses on.
I turn to the backseat. Sinon steps down from the turret as Arimoto and Rosalia snuggly fit their mitts and armor. The backdoor to pure white opens as SInon's green jacket switches to arctic camo to match. Without the Humvee around her, she's practically already invisible. She steps off first. Arimoto and Rosalia get up next, but I spot Mylo sit Rosalia back down.
"Remember our deal." He says off comms and earshot.
Rosalia simply smirks and shrugs Mylo off.
I'm feeling the same way as him. I don't like her being off with Arimoto, but the two of them disappear into the tundra.
Sinon and Arimoto'll have our backs. The door seals with less bodies in the back; It's just Mylo and Yuna now. Eiji presses his foot back on the gas, and we push forward to catch up with Humvee 1.
"Comms check." Arimoto's voice cracks through.
"Check." Sinon next.
"Check." Rosalia last.
"Check." I confirm.
"We'll be in position by the time you get to the tree line." Sinon promises.
"Thanks, Sinon." I respond. Out the windshield, the flurries slow down. "Humvee 1, how're things looking on your end?"
"It looks like the storm is dying down a little bit, and we just spotted the tree line up ahead." LLENN's higher pitch rings in some relief with that good news.
"Sounds good. Wait for us at the entrance there." I respond.
"Sure th—" Static and rummaging.
Oh no. "Hello? Hel—"
"Don't keep us waiting!" -Pitohui taking over LLENN's comm with scratchy feed.
I sigh on reflex. Don't scare me like that. I look to Eiji, smiling despite the situation. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing, just feeling lucky." Eiji keeps his gaze beaming ahead with hands on the wheel. His foot rhythmically taps the gas to push the Humvee steady.
Nerves really do come out in strange ways.
"Yeah, he's got this weird smile going on right now." Mylo chips in.
"Isn't it? He never smiles for good reason." I egg on. "Always Mr. cool and calculated."
"What's the secret?" Mylo leans closer behind Eiji in the driver's seat. Yuna joins him. "Let us in on the joke."
Eiji hunches further over the wheel. The cold has the back of his ears glowing red. He immediately switches back to his stoic face.
"Ah c'mon!" I shove Eiji a little. "Don't be like that now."
"She's right, Eiji, you have a really warm smile." Yuna smiles. "You should show it more."
Eiji grumbles like a bear.
"Was that Japanese?" Mylo snickers.
"Sounds like he's devolving." Umbra adds.
"No one likes backseat drivers." Eiji grunts.
"Umbra, you broke him." Mylo reclines to the backseat.
Wha—oh, don't think you're safe. Eiji side-eyes me from the driver's seat and nods. Yeah, gang-up on Mylo.
"So Mylo," I start. "Were you hitting on Sinon back there?"
"What?" Mylo's tone drops flat along with his face.
"With what game?" Eiji sneers.
"Get that smile off your face." Mylo's brow twitches.
"Right? Right?" I play along. "Don't worry, Mylo. When this is over, I'll give you a few tips for talking to girls. You won't have to be afraid of Sinon or anyone else."
"Oh! Would you look at that!" Mylo shouts from the rear and climbs up near the front again. "The tree line."
C'mon, dude.
I swivel around and check the windshield and the clearing snowfall. Pitohui, LLEN, M, Fuka, Kei, Mitsuru, and Yuji all huddle behind the Humvee in winter camo gear. We'll roll up beside them and get moving.
"Hey, guys?" Eiji calls our attention. He keeps his eyes trained as he sighs and sours his lips—he's searching for words, I think. He takes another deep breathe as his fingers curl around the steering wheel
"We're gonna get this done." I speak up for him. Eiji nods.
"Lets go bring everyone home," Mylo says.
Mylo
GGO: August 3rd 2026, 19:50
Our boots crunch in the snow fields, a violent sound for a soft impact. The blizzard's died down; I can see Pitohui, LLEN, M, and Fukaziroh between the trees condensed around us. A patch of snow sloughs off the branch and lands on Kei's onion-top just in front of us, and he shakes it off. Mitsuru and Yuji shush him before he can make a reaction. And I understand why. The silence. It's unnerving for a situation like this—where are the players Umbra reeled in with rumors? Where's Failsafe's defenses?
It feels like any sound we make—any disturbance—might wake it all. Our bootsteps press on through the snow. Suddenly a static starts through our comms. Something to break up the monotony, thankfully.
"Just reporting in. I have visual of the tree line now, and of the Umbra's squad." Sinon reports from her scope.
Umbra's squad? I turn back toward the mountains and wave. Can Sinon actualy see me from so far away?
"Yes, hi, I can see you." She addresses me like a child.
I turn back and press forward, but Umbra's snicker is unmistakable. Eiji and Yuna's too.
"Forward squad," Umbra whispers over comms. "Any visuals? Any movement?"
"Still nothing." LLENN reports back. "It's extremely quiet."
"Too—"
"Ah!" Pithui hushes M. "Don't say it."
A twig just snapped.
Umbra, Eiji, and I twist around, my photon sword hilt wrapped in my grasp with my finger hovering over the ignition. Our collective breathing falters under a sudden wail in the wind. The storm picked up? And where did that other sound come from? Are we being followed?
"Umbra-senpai." Kei whispers over comms. "Something feels off."
"Yeah." Umbra murmurs. I notice her hand dug deep into her coat, ready to draw.
If someone was watching from afar, they wouldn't have seen the Humvee approach in the storm. But if someone waited in the tree line—
"Sinon?" Umbra whispers for a report.
"Still nothing on thermal—wait." Sinon's voice pauses.
What? My stance shifts. Now I feel it. Something's been here, something's coming.
"Below! Below you!" Sinon warns as flurries explode all around—from beneath the snow.
Concealing their body-heat from thermal—
"We've been engaged!" Umbra shouts. "Does everyone copy?"
"Ugh! We just got surrounded!" Kei yells.
"Us too!" LLENN reports.
The snow settles over ape-like creatures bearing over 6 feet tall, white hair drifting in the wind all over their body, and pinpoint red eyes glaring down over us. Health bars appear over them with the enemy name: Yeti.
And there's a knocking on the wood of the trunks.
I look up. Arachnid monsters curdle up the trees, with spikes protruding from the hard shells of their insect legs, mimicking the texture and form of the tree bark. Their mandibles drool overhead and fall to the snow in sizzling drops. Poison. Their smaller hp appears next to: Arctic Spider.
The twig snap—how long have those monsters been above us? And were they waiting for us all to get deeper into the forest?
"It's an ambush." I murmur. My blue photon blade ignites and hums. Umbra, Eiji, Yuna, and I backtrack until our backs touch each other.
"Shield Party," Umbra address Pitohui and LLENN's squad. "Can you hold out?"
Suddenly a violent explosion echoes further ahead in the tree line along with a plume of smoke and a vibration in the ground.
The comm buzzes. "Try and keep up!" Pitohui shouts back.
"Sinon!" Umbra shouts.
"Cover fire ready. Arimoto's picking targets." Sinon relays.
"Boys!" Umbra calls out.
"We might need some support before we can sweep for Shield party." Kei relays.
Then that's our first objective. Clearing and helping Kei, Mitsuru, and Yuji.
Umbra side-glances to me. I nod back to her. I look to Eiji and Yuna. They nod back too.
"Yuna, how about an AGL buff?" Eiji asks.
Without Yuna being whole, there's a gap in our defense, so we'll just have to be more mobile and aggressive. Yuna softly sings, adding a clashing air of serenity to battlefield.
My body already feels lighter. I press off the balls of my feet, photon sword in thrust position as I lunge for the nearest Yeti roping a noose around our formation. It's arms are rearing up; he's going to slam downward—a heavy attack with minimal AOE?
Its fists crash down with a wash of snow too. I can't see ahead, but my HP just dropped a little—it's ok, I drew aggro, so—
I can already feel his presence, that same wind in his acrobatic movements. I feel Eiji making his move behind me—a switch—I bow low as Eiji's shadow flips overhead, and his glowing green blade slashes the Yeti's head clean off. The monster fizzles and vanishes as a scatter of pixels.
Eiji and I form up again, back-to-back. Two more Yetis close in, facing both of us. They're heavy attackers, but they're extremely slow. The strength is definitely in their numbers and the closed space, and then—
The Yetis rear back for another slam attack. Time to dodge—my foot won't move. I look down, trying to lift my foot away, but something's sticking—web?
Of course. It's hard to see-white on white-but the spiders in the trees must've made their move after a quick study. The Yeti arms are coming down.
"Try not to get too excited, you two!" Umbra yells.
A glint from throwing knives stun the two Yeti's, mid attack. They're frozen in pose, razor teeth grunts fixed. Suddenly a pinpoint burst of air knocks my Yeti back, and then I see it: a slug nestled in its forehead. Sinon. The Yeti bursts instantly. Eiji's bursts next.
"Thanks for the cover!" I call out to Umbra and Sinon as the echo of the chamber blast dissipates from far in the mountains. And now there's a hole in the Yeti formation.
"Guys, I can see it on thermal. You've got to get to Clean-up-crew. They're surrounded like you guys without as much support." Arimoto calls out on comms. "They might not hold out too much longer."
"Mobile party, lets move." Umbra disengages from the Yeti's and pushes for the hole in their formation. A shot of acid webbing tries closing the gap as Umbra reaches into her coat. "Out of the way!" She grips a canister and pulls a pin.
Popping smoke. Gas hisses from the grenade and overwhelms the area.
"Eiji, Mylo, clear a new path in the formation, just one more Yeti will do!" Umbra calls out.
Eiji's still close by; I can still spot him. We both nod. There's a Yeti disoriented right in front of us. Let's rush. Our boots crunch in snow as we press hard and fast, crossing each other's paths with blades drawn, carving an X through the Yeti. Pixel dust.
"Clear!" Eiji calls. Everyone slips through. The Arctic Spiders rustle overhead-we need to escape this area fast. Out in the tundra, they lose the advantage; they may even disengage.
"Shield party?" Umbra asks.
"Doing our job!" Pitohui calls out over the sound of automatic gunfire and thundering explosions. "We're avoiding getting surrounded by pressing forward. We'll be out of the tree line in 50 meters!"
"We'll meet you there as soon as we help Clean-up-crew." Umbra reports.
"Should we change position?" Sinon asks.
"Not until everyone regroups!" Umbra answers.
Good call. Now, about those spiders—changing inventory—an M4A1. "Changing Loadout!" My photon sword retracts into the hilt as I tie it on my waistbelt. I feel the added weight as I run with the assault rifle in lift. There's no way those spiders are going to let us reach Umbra's guild, not if Failsafe spawned them, and I'm starting to think this is his setup.
The rush of green and white blurs peripherally, but suddenly there's a glint—it's subtle, but that's definitely not snow or bark.
"Webbing just ahead!" Yuna calls out.
Everyone abruptly stops. Umbra's nose inches just before the web trap spun between the trees in front of us, and the only route to reach Clean-up crew. A teardrop of clear fluid drips from a thread and falls to the snow with a sizzle. A web trap laced with acid. The scurry of legs across branches overhead creaks throughout the forest.
About-face. The butt of my rifle nestles against my chest and shoulder. A few cracks echo from our previous position—sounds like Sinon, probably laying fire on Yetis.
Slow everything down. Deep breath—wait to breathe out—relax the heart rate—the pit in the stomach, let it fall, slowly, with the rest of your chest—and—the target circle contracts; an Arctic Spider's eye glints in the periphery—there.
Crack. Crack.
The recoil pushes against my shoulder as simulated gun smoke wafts. An Arctic Spider falls and disappears in pixels as it hits the snow. Next. Heartrate low—in fact I could hold onto this tension; I feel good right now. "Umbra, Eiji, work on clearing the web. I've got our backs."
More movement in the trees. I hear it. Close. My finger squeezes a three-round burst as branches chip away and an Arctic Spider shifts, its spiny legs leaping for another branch—nah.
Another burst. The branch splinters away, and with no foothold for the spider as it slips to regain footing—that's all I need.
Crack. Crack. Crack.
Another one down. Snow's shifting beside me, and the movement's a blur as I squeeze the trigger; I don't need to look. Pixels brush against my combat armor and faceless mask. Another Arctic Spider down.
Suddenly the entire forest rustles—a shake up so loud it sounds like ocean waves—like that day with Asuna. There's a storm of those spiders coming.
"How's it going back there?" I ask. Eiji and Umbra grunt behind me. I'd zoned out and just trusted they'd get it done.
"Just—another—minute." Umbra grunts as the sound of vials beads and creaks under the shifting forest. "Ok, the poison in the threads should be neutralized."
"Ah!" Eiji grunts before I notice the sound of his sword igniting again. I turn as green plasma sizzles across the spider threads. The path is clear again.
"Lets move." Umbra starts into a sprint forward. "Boys, how are you holding up?"
Eiji and I follow. I'm keeping my rifle out for now.
"Umbra-senpai! We're surrounded; I don't know how much longer we'll last!" Kei says.
"You're almost to their position!" Arimoto's voice cracks through the radio.
"Multiple hostiles detected ahead." Yuna reports, stowed away with Eiji. "less than 100 meters!"
The snow's limiting our mobility, but we're almost there. I hear them, the gunfire and grunts from a clearing up ahead. The trunks blur into periphery as Kei, Mitsuru, and Yuji struggle to press forward. They're surrounded by Yetis in the forest clearing, and I can hear the spiders scurrying behind us.
"Switching loadout!" The M4A1's weight dissipates from my grip, replaced with the hilt of my photon blade.
"Same!" Umbra reaches for her waist holster and draws M18's, akimbo.
Eiji rears his blade back for a charge. "Mylo!"
"Right!" I ignite the photon blade and follow Eiji's lead as our pace picks up. Umbra will cover this time, and we'll move in quickly to get Clean-up crew through this forest.
Eiji and I dash past Kei, Mitsuru, and Yuji. Three Yetis block our path forward, their blackened palms reaching to grab and immobilize us. Eiji switches footing, making a hard stop before the Yeti's grasp, bouncing off his back foot, and cutting through the Yeti's wrist. The severed hand crashes into the snow, and it's the perfect opening.
Take it, now. I'll cut off the head; I wind back my photon blade across me as I prep for a horizontal slash.
"Mylo! Look out!" I hear Kei shout.
What's wrong? Did I commit to the attack too soon? Look around: The injured Yeti recoiling, the others too far back to make a move, no sign of Arctic Spiders, and nothing in peripher—wait—it's not a sight, but a sound—a shot cracking nearby.
I feel heat puncture the shoulder of my sword arm. A bullet.
My attack's going to be delayed; the Yeti recovers, balling its free hand into a fist. I hear more shots fire as it cancels its attack to shield its face.
I land back in the snow as the dull pain effect wears off. My health bar dropped near the yellow. I turn back to see Umbra with smoking chambers, still aiming at the disarmed Yeti.
"Where?" I start, but another stray shot fires into the clearing. I can't find the source.
Suddenly our radio crackles on an open channel. "You just had to do this the hard way, didn't you?" It's Failsafe's voice.