A/N:

Before we get into it again, let's address some of those reviews! A lot of you had similar questions and comments, so I'll just answer them all at once. Big thanks to everyone who left a review after last week's post!

Writing from Yui's PoV was a lot of fun and an interesting challenge. You have to sort of balance that childlike innocence with the fact that she's a very intelligent girl (since she's, y'know, an artificial intelligence). Super fun to write, so expect smatterings of her PoV in the future. Sparingly, of course!

The only reason the omake isn't "canon" is because as amusing as it is, Mrs. Yuuki likely wouldn't be so immediately accepting of Yui as her granddaughter. The Yuuki matriarch is a tough cookie to crack, but we're making progress!... slowly, that is. Mrs. Kirigaya would 100% accept it, though.

Strea isn't in this story, but I thought I'd give a nod to her character via Yui's narration. Nice to see some of you noticed!

And yes, Silica continues to be the victim of spit-takes. Sort of a running gag at this point. Is it cruel? Perhaps. Do I think it's funny? …Yeah.

Now, on with the show!

Leonn was worried.

He really shouldn't have been. Not only did he just meet the little bundle of joy that was Yui, but she wasn't even his adoptive daughter. She was Kirito and Asuna's. By all accounts, Yui should have been a complete and total stranger.

Yet he was worried.

Leonn paced back and forth in the guild hall foyer. He'd long accepted that he was just a protective guy. Hell, that's why he relegated himself to the tank role instead of a dedicated DPS. He could theoretically have been a very heavy damage dealer - and he still was, to a degree, thanks to ((Defiant Soul)) - but he instead chose to be a tank so he could protect others. He could list any number of instances where that protective nature made itself known.

Coming to Liz's defense when those two jackasses heckled her blacksmithing skills during their first meeting. Using his body as a bludgeon to divert the 2nd Floor boss's attack on the stunned players. Distracting the 25th Floor boss so Nautilus and Liten could get to safety. Catching that same boss's foot when it threatened to stomp Liz into pixelated oblivion.

It was no coincidence that many of those instances involved a certain blacksmith of note, but there was no way she felt the same way about him. Oh, how he wished that were the case.

He wasn't that lucky.

In any case, Kuroi was quick to message the entire guild shortly after Yui collapsed after breaking the game. At least, that's how it sounded. He wasn't there for it, but based on Geeou, Kuroi, and Kizmel's testimonies, that was the only conclusion he came to. How else do you explain a tiny girl screaming and causing virtual ears to bleed?

At least the Titan's Hand jerkwads had been apprehended and summarily imprisoned in the Black Iron Palace. That was the only silver lining in this whole thing, really.

"Would you stop pacing already? Yui's fine." Sinon deadpanned, sitting on a barstool.

Leonn stopped before sitting down at the bar next to Sinon. He ran a hand through his hair. "Sorry, just worried about her."

"Relax." Sinon said. "Kirito and Asuna said she woke up shortly after her little episode. She's perfectly fine now."

"Yeah, I know that." Leonn shot back before realizing he was being a little forceful. He sighed. "Sorry. They said Sasha's never met her, so that added to the fact that she's even having episodes is worrying in itself. Maybe Naut's right; this sounds like FNC…"

"You're such a dad. You just met her and you're this worried?" Sinon snarked, shaking her head.

Leonn shrugged. "Can't help it. She's adorable and innocent. You can't tell me she didn't worm her way into your heart, too."

Sinon smirked. "Yeah, but I'm doing a better job of hiding it."

"Fair point." Leonn chuckled. "Still, I wonder what they're going to do…"

She peered over his shoulder. "Why don't you ask them yourself?"

Leonn wheeled around in his seat to see Kirito, Asuna, and Yui walk into the guild hall. With Yui, it was more of a joyful skip, but she was on her feet at least. Almost immediately, the girl was swarmed by Renegades, who seemed just as worried as Leonn felt. To her credit, Yui answered their questions with as much enthusiasm as a girl her age should have, so she must have been feeling better.

Excusing himself, Leonn made his way over to the little tyke herself. He reached over and ruffled her hair. "How you doin', kiddo?"

Yui looked up and beamed at him. "Better now! Mama and Papa talked with Miss Sasha."

Leonn looked up at her parents. "Oh?"

Kirito shrugged. "Couldn't find anything about Yui's past, but we were able to enroll her in Sasha's school."

"If Yui's going to be staying with us, it makes sense for her to go to school." Asuna explained, finishing Kirito's thought. God, they were such a married couple. "Being around kids her own age while we're out clearing the game will be good for her. She can make friends during the day and come back and live here with us the rest of the time."

"There's no way we would take her into a dangerous place like the front line or a dungeon." Kirito commented, giving Yui a side hug as she snuggled into his side. She looked up at him with pleading eyes. "Nope, sorry. I know you're excited to see Mama and Papa kick some butt, but we can't take you with us. That's crazy talk."

Yes, Yui could 100% pull off the puppy-dog eyes, but Leonn was with his friends on this one. Yui was just too vulnerable, and even if someone stayed right next to her as a bodyguard, that was one less able-bodied fighter that could help with the fight. There was absolutely no reason to bring a vulnerable child like Yui into someplace dangerous like a dungeon.

What sort of parent, new or otherwise, would be foolish enough to try something like that?

"You can watch us during the boss broadcasts, though." Asuna added, turning Yui's resulting pout into a smile. "Argo, Lokuss, and some of our other friends like to watch them too, so you can watch together!"

"Yay!" Yui exclaimed. "...Who's Argo?"

Leonn bit back a snicker. Argo didn't know about Yui yet. Oh boy, the Rat was going to have a field day with this development. The fact that Asuna and Kirito had adopted a kid after just a week of being married was going to be just the kind of thing to get the Rat's motor going. Then again, Sasha and her students already knew, and if he remembered correctly, the schoolteacher just happened to know and be good friends with -

"AA-CHAN, KII-BOU!" A familiar, nasally voice called out as the guild hall doors flung open.

Speak of the devil and she shall appear.

"Oh no." Kirito muttered, his face paling.

"Oh yes." Leonn snarked before stepping back. "Hey, Argo."

"What up, Leo-bou." Argo greeted casually before her attention whipped back to the newly married couple. Her eyes focused on Asuna in particular before she donned that signature borderline evil grin. "Aa-chan, you never told me you were expectin'! I woulda gotten you somethin' nice for the little one!"

Asuna's face went nuclear and Leonn could swear he saw steam coming out of her ears. "She's adopted, Argo! Kirito and I, we didn't… I mean, we… I mean, she's not - "

"Oh ho ho! So you did do somethin'!" Argo guffawed before she flushed and seemed to squirm a little in place. "And you coulda fooled me! This little one actually looks like yer daughter!"

As Asuna stammered and lost her cool, Leonn took another step back and really looked at Yui, who'd since wandered off to go play with Silica, Pina, and Gryd. Argo was right. Between the very Asuna-esque long hair and facial structure, the darker hair color almost identical to her father's, and those innocent onyx eyes, she was the spitting image of her parents.

It'd be freaky if it wasn't so damned adorable.

"Oh my god, she's right." Liz said, now standing right next to Leonn. A little too close, actually, not that he really minded. "She's exactly how I pictured their child would look like."

Leonn found himself staring at her, but tore his gaze away, not wanting to creep her out. "Yeah, the resemblance is uncanny. Wait, you've thought about what their kid would look like?"

"Yeah." Liz shrugged, her eyes trained on Yui. "Hard not to after that ceremony."

"True enough." Leonn admitted. His mind wandered back to the wedding ceremony. ((MMO Today)) was already covering - and gushing over - the wedding in the most recent paper. "Those blades were beautiful, by the way."

"O-oh!" Liz stammered, looking a little red. Probably wasn't expecting the compliment. "Thank you! I worked really hard on those."

"I could tell." Leonn smiled. "Those were works of art. I can tell those blades are gonna stay with them forever."

"You mean as long as we're in here." Liz corrected him.

Leonn shook his head. "No. Well, yes, obviously, but that's not what I mean. Those blades, and what they symbolize, are going to stay with them forever. That's a gesture one doesn't simply forget about. That's something they'll carry with them for the rest of their lives."

After a few moments of silence, he looked over at Liz, who was just staring up at him. Suddenly, he realized that what he just spat out was probably overly sappy and sentimental, and he felt his face flush with embarrassing realization.

"Sorry." He apologized. "Didn't mean to get all deep like that."

"...Don't be." She said quietly, as the two turned their attention back to a very flustered Asuna, an embarrassed Kirito, and a mischievous Argo.

His eyes wandered over to Yui, who had stopped playing with the familiars and was now sitting and animatedly talking with Klein, Nezha, Beowulf, Liten, and what remained of Fuurinkazan. He was glad to see that they were smiling, Yui acting as just enough of a joyful distraction to keep their minds off their lingering grief. Maybe having the little tyke around the guild base would be good for morale, especially in the wake of the tragedy that was the 25th.

Maybe one day they'd find out where Yui came from, but in the meantime, Leonn was happy just to have her around. Nothing like a little bit of fun and innocence to keep morale high. They'd definitely need it as they kept climbing Aincrad.

A week later, and there was only one thing going through Leonn's mind right now. It had absolutely nothing to do with Yui or their current progress on the 27th floor. It actually had to do with someplace he never thought he'd revisit. The first time was torture enough, but now he was here by (begrudging) choice, not by necessity.

He hated the 11th Floor.

The theme for the 11th Floor was desert. Egyptian desert, by the looks of the architecture and the enemies found on this floor. Monsters like mummies, vultures, beetles, and scorpions were just a few of the creatures common to this floor.

Then there was the terrain itself. Sand is not easy to travel through, especially dry desert sand. Every step taken on a dune, for instance, is not as productive as one might think. The loose sand shifts underfoot, which can lead to a little bit of backsliding. The prevailing winds also tended to kick up small sandstorms, which were a nuisance.

If he had a say in it, he wouldn't even be here. In anticipation for the upcoming 27th Floor boss fight - and the fights that would come after it on the following floors - Kirito and Asuna decided to make today a material gathering day. While most of the materials needed to enhance their weapons were found on their current floor, there were a handful of other mats that needed to be collected from previous floors. Liz asked Leonn to go with Nezha and Silica to the 11th to collect ((Sarcophagus Sand)) and ((Blackened Carapaces)) from the monsters found in the labyrinth there.

While he hated this floor, he couldn't bring himself to refuse her.

Finally breaking free of the sandstorm, he, Nezha, and Silica found the catacombs they were looking for. The trio (plus Pina) let out a sigh of relief and immediately set about opening their canteens and guzzling the contents. On this floor, abstaining from water for too long actually led to debuffs that progressively got worse and worse the longer you went dehydrated.

"I hate this floor." Nezha confessed. "It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the sand."

Leonn grinned. "Why, because it's coarse, rough, and gets everywhere?"

Nezha groaned while Silica looked confused. That reference was probably a bit dated for the young dragon tamer, but at least the chakram wielder got it.

"You're terrible." Nezha shook his head. "...but yes."

Leonn laughed, the sound echoing in the dark tunnels further in. "Sorry, I just couldn't pass up the opportunity."

Nezha smiled with some reluctance, clearly unwilling to give Leonn the satisfaction of a successful reference. "Let's do this already. The more we gather today, the less we have to come back here in the future."

Leonn shrugged and glanced over at Silica, who finished stowing her wyvern egg and brandished her dagger. With a nod to his companions, he took the lead and descended further into the catacombs.

The 11th Floor labyrinth, officially called "The Tomb of the Fallen King," was drastically different from the outside. Its entrance led deep under the sands before leading to the tower leading to the 12th Floor; as a result, the dark, dry, and dusty tunnels were much colder than the surface sands. Any little sound they made echoed off the empty walls and hallways. While he'd obviously never been to one, the labyrinth hallways reminded him of Egyptian tombs. At least, the ones portrayed in movies.

Armed with Argo's map, it didn't take them long to find the first group of wandering monsters. Two ((Cursed Mummies)) and two ((Obsidian Scarabs)). For a party at this level, they'd probably need at least a group of 5 to take these on safely. It wasn't that the mobs were strong, necessarily, but caution was paramount when navigating a labyrinth like this. Avoiding damage when necessary limited the number of potions you needed to use, which meant those precious supplies could be used for truly life-threatening situations, such as ambushes or traps.

Eyeing the approaching monsters, Leonn hefted his maul off his shoulder. "Ready?"

A chakram flying over his shoulder and slamming into the closest mummy was the answer that came. Steeling himself for the fight, he charged forward, maul held low and Silica hot on his heels. While she could easily outpace him, he was capable of taking more punishment than she was. He led with a ((Jawbreaker)), swinging his maul in an upward arc and catching the first mummy under the jaw. The impact flung it up and backward as the second mummy closed in.

Caught in the recovery period of his ((Jawbreaker)), Leonn transitioned into a ((Blockade)) to intercept the incoming saber swipe. ((Defiant Soul)) triggered, absorbing the damage as Leonn shoulder-bashed the second mummy back. Silica capitalized on the staggering mummy and closed in with quick slashes of her dagger. Meanwhile, out of the corner of his eye, Leonn saw Nezha's chakram bounding back and forth as it struck and kept the scarabs back.

"Leonn, switch!"

Having just parried the first mummy's sword with her little dagger - a feat normally impossible were it not for the level and stat discrepancy - Silica staggered back as Leonn stepped forward, nailing a ((Horizontal)) on the offending mummy and sending it flying into the wall, killing it. Silica recovered from her stagger and flew forward, using a sword skill of her own to finish off the second mummy before it could attack again.

Leonn's focus went forward as Nezha finished off one of the scarabs. He had to admit, Nezha was good with that chakram. He was getting just as good as Sinon with how reliable he was with the weapon, and the best part was, due to the nature of his chakram he would never run out of ammunition. In fact, the only thing holding him back, really, was the fact that he had to wait for the chakram to return…

As Silica and Nezha handily killed the last scarab, Leonn's mind wandered back to what Kirito told him about their first meeting with the disgraced blacksmith.

"Hey Nezha." Leonn said, drawing his attention.

Nezha caught his chakram and lowered it. "What's up?"

"Just had a random thought, and I don't know if it would work…" Leonn began. "...but you're good at using the Quick Change mod on your weapons, right?"

Nezha's expression darkened with shame. "...Why are you bringing that up? I thought we were past this."

Leonn winced. Okay, probably a sore subject, but there was a point here he wanted to make. "No, no; we are, but hear me out. The Quick Change mod lets you retrieve your weapon or swap weapons quickly, right?"

"Yes…" Nezha trailed, equal parts shame and uncertainty on his face. "...why?"

"Does it work on your chakrams?" Leonn said, leading them further into the labyrinth.

Nezha looked up in thought. "I guess it could, why?"

"I was just thinking of how you have to wait for your chakram to return to you before you can use it again." Leonn explained as they rounded a corner.

"That's kind of how it works…" Nezha said before a look of realization crossed his face. "Oh! You mean…"

"Yep. Have you ever tried it?" Leonn said, grinning.

Nezha smiled, his thoughts clearly racing. "No, I haven't, but now I want to!"

"What?" Silica asked. "What do you mean?"

Seeing Nezha too preoccupied with his thoughts, a smile on his face, Leonn decided to answer the curious dragon tamer. "The Quick Change mod lets him instantly retrieve his weapon. When he throws his chakram, he has to wait for it to return, right?"

"Yeah." Silica said, following along.

"If he uses the mod on his chakram, then as soon as it hits his target, he can just retrieve it instantly and toss it again." Leonn summed up. "This way, he can throw chakrams faster and hit more often."

"I think I've got a spare Quick Change mod in my inventory, give me a sec." Nezha said, pulling off to the side and furiously scrolling through his inventory.

"Hey, that's pretty clever." Silica smiled. "Who knew you could be smart behind all that muscle?"

"Thanks!" Leonn said before catching the backhanded compliment for what it was. "...Hey!"

"There! Done!" Nezha exclaimed, brandishing his chakram and glancing about. "I need a test dummy."

A few moments later, Leonn pointed at the end of the hall, where a single mummy plodded along. "How about him? He's all yours."

Grinning maliciously, Nezha threw his chakram. The ring weapon whistled as it flew down the corridor before it smacked into the mummy's head. Where it normally would have rebounded and flew back towards Nezha, it instead vanished. A moment later, Nezha threw that same chakram again. And again. And again. Nezha had become a rapid-fire chakram thrower, and the poor mummy kept staggering back from the repeated impacts. Leonn let out a laugh at the ridiculous sight.

Was it an exploit of the game mechanics? Probably.

Did he care? Nope. If it became an issue, Cardinal would probably patch it at some point in the near future, but until then they had to use every advantage afforded.

Once the mummy shattered, Leonn looked over at a very satisfied looking Nezha. "I take it you approve?"

"Hell yes." Nezha said emphatically. "This mat grinding session just got a whole lot more interesting."

The next few hours were quite entertaining to watch, Leonn thought amusedly. Nezha was taking to his newfound fast-paced style of combat like a duck to water, and Leonn and Silica found themselves having to quicken their pace to keep up. Anytime there was a monster all by itself, it seemed like it was dead before the two of them could even reach it. At one point, it became a sort of competition between them. Whoever had the highest kill count had bragging rights.

Nezha won, with Silica coming close in second place. Leonn was far behind, his slower style of combat just not suited for a competition like this. He didn't really mind, though; he knew he shined in different areas.

As they were finishing up, the trio heard the sounds of combat nearby. Leonn exchanged a look with his guildmates. "Good thing we're wrapping up now, right?"

"We were lucky we didn't run into any others earlier, to be honest." Silica agreed, nodding along. "...Should we check on them?"

"Probably should." Leonn shrugged. He glanced up at his HUD to check the time. "It's getting late. If they're not careful, they'll overextend themselves this deep in."

Hearing no objections from Nezha, who by the looks of it was still riding his post-discovery high, Leonn led them down further into the labyrinth, towards the sounds of combat. It didn't sound panicked, so at least whoever was in here probably wasn't in any trouble. They rounded another corner and saw a larger-than-usual chamber, this one filled with sand. The chamber itself, true to the name of this floor's labyrinth, looked like a tomb of sorts, complete with an opened sarcophagus on the far end of the room. Two smaller closed sarcophagi flanked either side of the larger, opened one. Various torches provided warm lighting throughout, and hieroglyphics adorned the walls, depicting a number of different scenes and messages.

Inside was a party of six engaged with what looked like an ornately armored warrior decked out in ancient Egyptian armor. Brandishing an imposing greatsword, ((Kazemde the Vengeful)) wore golden armor that reminded Leonn of Egyptian pharaohs. While its decrepit chest was bare, as were its otherwise wrapped feet, Kazemde was still armored about the waist and thighs, not to mention the full helm that couldn't possibly allow for decent vision, yet the mob seemed to be doing just fine regardless.

The party itself looked balanced, for the most part. There were two tanks: a blonde man with a large frame wielding a mace and tower shield, and a redheaded boy who - to Leonn's surprise - was using the wide side of his own greatsword as an improvised shield. There were two girls wielding quarterstaffs, one an comparatively older woman with blue hair and a younger one with black hair. Rounding out the party of six were two damage dealers, a man with brass-colored hair wielding a lance, and a young girl with long purple hair and a longsword who couldn't have been any older than Silica.

"I don't remember this monster being here when we came through the first time." Nezha commented. "Did you guys see this when you were… oh wow, that thing's gotta be an event boss."

Leonn carefully watched this group of six tackle an event boss by themselves. That was no small feat, assuming they were at a level suitable for this floor. They seemed to be holding their own, for the most part, so rather than intrude on their kill, he stood to the side and watched.

"I don't think we fought this thing last time…" Silica said with uncertainty. She looked up at Leonn. "...did we?"

Leonn shook his head as he watched the greatsword user deflect another strike with the wide, flat side of his blade. "Nope. Pretty sure I'd remember something like this. These guys aren't bad, actually."

"Wow, lookit her go!" Silica exclaimed as the purple haired girl shot forward and landed a solid hit on Kazemde.

The mummified boss spun around in retaliation, and for a moment Leonn feared she wouldn't be able to move out of the way in time. Not only did she duck in time, narrowly dodging the greatsword as it screamed over her head, but she popped back up with a ((Diagonal)) straight across its chest. She jumped back in time to avoid a backhand, just as the shielder moved in to block it and retaliate with a mace to the face.

"She's quick." Leonn remarked, watching her closely. "Not many people would have been able to react in time to dodge that swing, let alone that backhand."

"Well, Kirito could have." Nezha said.

Leonn waved him off. "Kirito's got godlike reflexes. He doesn't count."

"The kid with the greatsword's interesting, too." Nezha said, leaning against the doorway. "Don't see many tanks without a shield nowadays."

Leonn arched an eyebrow at him.

"You don't count. Your body is your shield. Only other shieldless tank I can think of off the top of my head is Agil. Maybe Sachi or Sasamaru if you squint hard enough."

Leonn chuckled. "I guess so. Hey, does Argo's guide mention anything about this boss?"

Silica opened up the latest guide and began to scan through it. "I don't see anything in here about a Kazemde, no."

Leonn frowned. This was an event boss that no one had heard of. If it existed and was encountered at least once, Argo would have included it in her guide. The Rat prided herself on being a know-it-all, literally, so this was new. Months after this floor had been cleared, new content was popping up. Kirito had mentioned in passing before that the Cardinal system procedurally generated new content over time, but this? This group was tackling a mysterious event boss with no information to go off of.

"Nori, switch!" The shielder called out as he recoiled from parrying the boss's greatsword.

The black-haired quarterstaff user - apparently Nori - came twirling in with her quarterstaff, unleashing a 3-hit sword skill to Kazemde's arm, shoulder, and head. Unfortunately, the recovery period was longer than the boss's recoil, which left her open to a swift pommel strike, sending her staggering back and dazed.

"Do I need to use it?!" The purple haired girl asked.

"No!" The greatsworder shouted, sparing a glance over at Leonn, Silica, and Nezha. "We're fine without it!"

Leonn exchanged an inquisitive look with his group. Use what?

"Do you guys need help?" Leonn called out, uneasily shifting the weight of his maul.

"We're good!" The shielder answered, but the momentary distraction was enough for the boss to catch him off guard and knock him back with a wild swing of its greatsword. "Thanks though!"

Not very convincing, but Leonn knew better than to butt in where he wasn't welcome. For now, despite the little hiccups here and there, they did seem to be handling it well enough. The two unopened sarcophagi unnerved him though. Assuming that the event boss came out of the central, larger one, it stood to reason that the smaller ones might come into play at some point.

"Should we stay… or…?" Nezha whispered.

Leonn shook his head. "We stay until they beat this thing. Once they're safe and in the clear, then we go. We should let the others know we might be late, though."

"We're underground, though." Silica retorted. "We can't send or receive messages while we're down here."

"How close are we to the entrance?" Leonn asked rhetorically, already pulling up his own map. "Hmm. Not that far…"

"Want me to run out and message them?" Silica asked, sheathing her dagger.

Leonn shook his head. "Mmm… on second thought, no. If they're worried about us, they can see we're still alive through our friends list. Even if we were in trouble, it'd be over with before they even got here. We'll message them later and apologize if need be."

"You're that worried over this?" Nezha asked.

Leonn nodded towards the two unopened sarcophagi. "I don't trust those. They've got the boss down to its last two health bars, but you never know when there's gonna be a phase change."

Leonn leaned up against the doorframe opposite Nezha, and almost immediately Pina flew over and landed on his head. Silently chuckling at the feathered dragon's antics, he turned his focus once again to the group of six inside. As a member of the Assault Team, he didn't get much chance to watch others fight bosses outside of the scouting broadcasts, but those were more exploratory than this. In a scouting run, the group usually fought defensively, baiting out attacks and probing the boss's defenses to get a read on what the Floor Boss might be capable of. Here, the group of six were fighting to win, so their attacks and tactics were far more aggressive.

In other words, this group was trying, not testing.

The second health bar shattered, heralding the last stretch of the fight. Kazemde let out a shout in some language Leonn couldn't identify, and the chamber began to faintly rumble. The party inside took a few steps back or disengaged in anticipation for what would come next. Then, just as Leonn feared, the two remaining sarcophagi began to open, their lids slowly sliding off with a stony rumble. Two mummies, each brandishing a dagger, leapt out of the stone coffins.

"You guys good?" Leonn asked worriedly.

"Maybe?!" The shielder guessed as he blocked a greatsword swing from Kazemde. "Guys, what do we think?"

As the two lesser mummies charged forward with surprising speed, the blue-haired lady yelped in surprise. "No! We'll take the help please!"

The Renegades leapt into action as they charged into the chamber. Leonn pointed at the two mummies. "Sil, take the left. Nezha, the right."

"Roger!" The two said, splitting up to each lend support to the party of six, who had likewise split up to engage their new enemies.

Passively, Leonn noted that Silica was teaming up with the shielder - who'd backed off once their backup came charging in - and Nori. Nezha was helping the redhead and the lancer. That left Leonn to act as the tank for the bluenette and the girl with the longsword. Kazemde took a wide swing, aiming to take the bluenette's head off. She yelped and stumbled backward, which oddly enough gave Leonn the space needed to parry the greatsword with his maul. The recoil wasn't too bad, but the purplette - he doubted that was the right word for it, but he was going to roll with it until he had a name - took advantage and leapt in with a ((Snake Bite)), quickly striking Kazemde across its back.

"Nice!" The purplette said, grinning wildly as she jumped back to create space. "Jun, you should take a page out of this guy's book! Did you see what he just did?!"

"No, I'm a little busy right now!" The redhead answered, using the flat of his greatsword to block a swipe of his opponent's dagger.

"He just swatted away the mummy's sword with his hammer!" The purplette shouted as she pulled out a health potion.

"That's cool!" Jun replied, sparing a glance their way. That proved to be a mistake, as he was shoved back because of the distraction. "Gah! Can we talk later?!"

"Yeah, maybe we should focus on the fight?" The shielder asked before lashing out with his mace. "Please?"

"You guys are no fun!" The purplette cried out, yet she wasn't pouting. She was smiling, clearly enjoying the fight itself.

Trying to keep his own damage output minimal - he wasn't about to kill steal if he could help it, even if they were helping them - Leonn used a ((Blockade)), slamming his shoulder into the monster and throwing it off balance. Kazemde staggered backward from the impact. A split second afterward, the bluenette came in from behind to crack her quarterstaff across the back of his head. Whatever skill that was seemed to daze the boss for a moment, during which the purplette passed right by Leonn and came in with a ((Diagonal)) across its front.

Having recovered from its momentary stun, Kazemde reared back with a two-handed sword skill Leonn recognized as an ((Avalanche)). It was a fairly straightforward skill, where the user swung downward with a powerful, single strike. It was relatively easy to dodge if you were quick enough, and just as easy to exploit. He'd seen Kirito and Asuna pull it off before, even if he himself was incapable of dodging that fast. If you dodged the strike, you could come around from behind and get a nice flanking strike in.

"He's almost done for!" The purplette cried out. "Let's do thi… oh, boy."

Unfortunately for the purplette, she was caught in the recovery period of her ((Diagonal)).

Unable to swing and deflect the attack with his own maul - since she was in the way, and he really didn't feel like hitting her in the process - Leonn let go of his maul and flicked his hands open, activating and priming his ((Clash)) skill. This was an event boss, so in theory this would work. He lunged forward, reached over the purplette and clapped, catching the greatsword by its flat sides and keeping the massive blade from finding its target.

"What?!" The purplette and bluenette cried out at once. "Wait, you're - !"

"Hit him now!" Leonn roared as he struggled to push back against the boss, his feet digging into the sand below in a desperate bid for stability. While he liked being able to use this skill because of its sheer utility in a boss fight, having to wrestle a boss monster was a strenuous task every time. It took every ounce of his strength and concentration to hold the boss in place. Sure, he could push with all his might and end the struggle early, but that would rob his teammates and allies of precious time to attack or recover.

"Come on, guys!" The purplette shouted. "Let's finish him now while we can!"

They must have finished the other two adds, because the next thing Leonn knew, the others converged on the restrained boss and unleashed every skill in the book. Honestly, he had a hard time focusing on his own task with the flurry of light and sword skills that were flying everywhere. Mentally finishing his count to ten, he ultimately ended the clash by pushing the blade to the side and into the ground before following up with an uppercut to the boss's head.

Then he felt the debuff wash over him, a wave of lethargy and sluggishness as his movement speed and strength halved. He stumbled backward, even as the shielder stepped in to replace him. Silica sped over, helped him up, and slowly began to drag him away.

"Are you okay?" The dragon tamer asked.

"Yeah." Leonn answered, gulping from exhaustion. "I'll be fine. Hopefully they can take it from here."

Almost as if on cue, the mummified warrior shattered as the purplette came crashing through with another ((Snake Bite)). Leonn picked up and hefted his maul, ready in case anything else decided to attack. Silica and Nezha were just as alert, taking up defensive positions. After a few moments of relative quiet, the three Renegades relaxed and lowered their weapons.

"Everybody good?" Leonn asked, letting the head of his maul plop down on the sandy floor.

The strangers nodded but otherwise remained silent, simply staring at their backup. Leonn exchanged a few wary glances with Silica and Nezha, both of which looked just as perplexed as he felt.

"You sure?" Leonn pressed. "You're awfully quiet for - "

"Awesome!" The purplette squealed in excitement, startling the Renegade trio. "You're Leonn! And you're Silica! And Nezha!"

"Oh my goodness!" The bluenette cooed, looking right at Pina. "She's just as cute in person!"

Jun was wide-eyed. "I can't believe we got to see a Clash in person…"

"What are you three doing all the way down here?" Nori asked, looking the calmest of the bunch. "Shouldn't you guys be up on the 27th?"

Leonn chuckled awkwardly. "Yeah… we're kind of down here to grind some mats. Believe it or not, the mats down here are still used up there."

"Sorry for poaching your mobs." Nezha said, looking just a little ashamed.

"You kidding?!" The purplette beamed. "Even if we were here for the mats… totally worth it! You guys saved our hides! Thanks a bunch!"

Leonn sweatdropped. "No problem… uhh…"

"Oh! Where are my manners?" The purplette scoffed before sheathing her blade and sticking her hand out. "Name's Yuuki! That's Siune, Nori, Jun, Tecchi, and Talken. We're the Sleeping Knights!"

Leonn smiled and shook her hand, noting the order in which they were introduced. Siune was the bluenette, Tecchi the shielder, and Talken the lancer. Nori and Jun he'd already been acquainted with during the fight, and obviously the spunky purplette was Yuuki. "Pleasure to meet you guys. I'd introduce us, but apparently you guys already know our names."

"Totally didn't recognize you at first, though once I saw Pina I had my suspicions. But watching you clashing that boss? I just knew who you guys were." Yuuki said, still beaming. "Never thought we'd ever meet the Resolute Renegades!"

He realized that in the entire time he was watching her fight, up until now, she had not stopped smiling. Not once. It was like smiling was her default expression, which was a bit of an oddity in Aincrad. Not that he was complaining; positivity was something in short supply.

"Always pleased to meet a fan, I guess…" Leonn muttered, completely unsure how to react to being recognized like this. "So what'd you get for the LA bonus?"

"Oh!" Yuuki exclaimed, opening her inventory and manifesting a blade that looked like a blend between a longsword and a scimitar, given the slight curve to the tip of the blade. There were some elements like the hilt that looked like they were hewn from bone instead of metal. "It's called ((Vengeance Skeletal Carver)). Definitely an upgrade over what I had before!"

"Nice!" Silica exclaimed, carefully looking over the skeletal blade. "Y'know, I bet with all of the mats you guys have you could enhance this a couple times!"

"Good thing we happen to know a blacksmith…" Nezha trailed.

"Before we go any further…" Leonn interrupted. He gestured towards the doorway. "You folks stickin' around? We were going to head back to town."

The Sleeping Knights exchanged a few looks before Yuuki nodded. "It is getting late, so mind if we join you?"

Leonn shook his head and motioned towards the door. "Not at all. Shall we?"

With nine players, three of which being members of the Assault Team, the trek outside would be no issue. The walk there would take some time, but at least they were virtually guaranteed to make it back to town in one piece. Leonn and Yuuki, the latter clearly the leader of the Sleeping Knights, took point while the rest of their conjoined group followed along and made idle conversation. The Knights were a happy bunch, he realized. Yuuki was a bundle of positivity, but the rest of her guildmates were no slouches when it came to good vibes, either. If he didn't know any better, he'd say that they weren't concerned with dying at all, as if they were playing the game for what it was, or should have been.

Good, innocent fun.

Leonn smirked. "Gotta say, we were impressed with your speed and reflexes out there, Yuuki. Could probably give Kirito a run for his money. You all aiming for the front line or just taking it easy?"

There was some uneasy shifting among the Sleeping Knights, not as if they didn't know the answer, but rather because they did. Siune was the one to break the awkward silence after a few uncomfortable seconds.

"We're… sort of divided on that." She confessed. "Yuuki, Jun, and Nori want to join the Assault Team, but Tecchi, Talken, and I are content to let the professionals handle it. We're not sure we're ready."

Leonn rolled his eyes, already seeing the title of "professional" going to Silica's head. He laughed and shook his head. "I wouldn't call us professionals, but I get what you mean. Being a frontliner is dangerous enough, but being on the Assault Team is another thing entirely."

"...Wait, they're not the same thing?" Tecchi asked.

"Nope." Nezha said, idly fiddling with his chakram as they walked. "Not everyone wants to fight the floor boss, and that's fine. There's a lot of players who decide to stick with exploration on the top floor but stay away from the bosses. You can be a frontliner without being on the Assault Team."

The stunned looks on their faces spoke volumes. It was a pretty common misconception, at least as far as he knew. Granted, many of the people in Leonn's immediate social circle were frontliners or on the Assault Team, but based on his interactions with the Black Cats, mixing up the two categories of clearers was fairly commonplace.

"Well that solves that problem." Yuuki said, still smiling. The good mood was kind of contagious, actually. "You said you knew a blacksmith who could enhance this. You don't mean…?"

"Liz?" Leonn asked. "Yeah. I'm sure she'd be more than happy to get some new customers. That girl's dedicated to her craft; there's nothing that makes her happier."

Silica grinned and mumbled something under her breath, which caused Nezha to snicker.

Leonn narrowed his eyes at the dragon tamer and the formerly disgraced blacksmith, both of whom were whistling innocently. Rather, not-so-innocently. Those two were definitely up to something, but he could hound them about it later. For now, they had to get these lowbies to safety.

"Sil, can you run ahead and message Kirito, let them know we're bringing some company?" Leonn asked. He looked back at the Sleeping Knights. "Or did you want to enhance that sword later?"

"No, no!" Yuuki said, waving her hands dismissively. "If you're sure it's okay, tonight's fine!"

"She's just saying that because she wants to meet Kirito and Asuna…" Jun snarked.

Yuuki didn't deny the claim, instead looking a little shy. Still smiling, though. "I mean, can you blame me? They're Aincrad's two strongest players! And you know I have my own reasons for it…"

Siune shot Jun a motherly glare that shut him up before he could retort. "Alright, stop teasing her already, Jun. We wouldn't want to impose, Mr. Leonn."

"Oh god, please don't call me that." Leonn chuckled. "And it's fine. We're always game for making some new friends. Us players gotta stick together, right?"

Honestly, the Renegades' propensity for making friends with non-clearers was probably one of the reasons that the Beater stigma wasn't following Kirito as closely as it could have. That, and the boss broadcasts. Anyone really paying attention during those could tell that Kirito made himself a martyr. In fact, the only people who still really used that rhetoric were a vocal minority in Lind's DKB and a few die-hard ALS supporters. Even Kibaou, who had retreated to the 1st Floor out of shame, had eased off of the slander. Then again, Kibaou was probably too busy co-leading the new Aincrad Liberation Force along with Thinker nowadays, the MMO Today and ALS merger too occupied with keeping the lowbies and middies safe.

Before he knew it, they found the entrance and saw that the sandstorm had stopped raging. Now, a clear night sky greeted them. Silica was waiting for them expectantly.

"Liz is getting her forge ready, so she's ready when we are." The dragon tamer informed them. "Kirito and Asuna will be there, too. He's interested in hearing about this new event boss while Asuna just wants to meet you guys!"

Leonn pulled out a teleport crystal and looked over his shoulder at the Sleeping Knights.

"Well, let's not keep them waiting!"

Sometimes Leonn forgot just how amazing Nelluon Arael was.

He might have grown used to it, but bringing the Sleeping Knights to their guild base just reaffirmed just how majestic the place really was. Especially at night. At night, it was a whole different scene.

Overhead, the night sky of the 22nd Floor softly blanketed the valley in a cool layer of tranquility. The stars above twinkled, and the occasional shooting star graced their vision if they stopped to watch. The warm light of the guild hall filtered out through the windows, and the warm glow of Liz's workshop only added to that ambience.

The Sleeping Knights were impressed, obviously, and Yuuki couldn't stop running to and fro to check everything out. She kind of reminded him of Silica when they'd first met. The young dragon tamer was still energetic and exuberant, certainly, but that innocence had been tempered by the horrors of the front line, unfortunately.

He frowned. The 25th was not something someone her age should have had to witness.

Yuuki still had that innocence to her, that naivety. Leonn couldn't help but smile warmly at her antics, even as she handed her new blade over to Liz some time later.

"So this is the new sword Sil was talking about, huh?" Liz asked, turning the sword over in her hands appraisingly. "Kinda boney, but it's got a certain aesthetic to it, I suppose."

"Yeah, it's not really my style, but I can't argue with the stats." Yuuki shrugged.

Liz sighed. "The things we sacrifice for good stats, right?"

"Amen, sister." Silica said.

Leonn quirked an eyebrow at her. "When have you ever had to sacrifice aesthetics for stats?"

Silica shivered. "I still have nightmares about that dagger."

"Oh, that gummy, toothy thing that dropped from… what was his name…?" Leonn mused, trying desperately to remember the name of that red wyrm floor boss.

"Aghyeller!" Nezha snapped his fingers. "Big, red drake-looking monster that spat fire, right?"

Leonn pointed at him casually. "That's it. Aghyeller. Yeah, the dagger it dropped looked like it was ripped straight out of his mouth. Wasn't pretty."

"I'll say!" Silica cried out as everyone chuckled in amusement. "You better believe I got rid of that thing the second something better came along!"

"You know, you could have used that dagger as a base for a new dagger I could have forged for you, right?" Liz asked as she started slamming her blacksmithing hammer into Yuuki's blade to start the enhancing process.

"Yeah, but then it would still be a part of the new dagger." Silica whined. "I wanted nothing to do with that disgusting thing!"

*Knock knock.*

"We're not interrupting, are we?" Asuna asked, poking her head in. Kirito was right behind her.

"Not at all!" Liz exclaimed. "Come on in! Good thing we built this place with plenty of space, right?"

Her smithy was rather spacious, now that he looked around. There were a total of twelve people in the workshop now, and while it seemed a little tight on space, there was still plenty of room for everyone to spread out and find seats or places to lean without getting in Liz's way.

"I take it you're the Sleeping Knights?" Asuna asked, smiling as she walked forward to meet their new arrivals.

"Yep!" Yuuki beamed. "Name's Yuuki. Nice to meet you!"

Asuna froze for a moment, looking rather caught off guard. Kirito looked just as surprised, and the married couple exchanged a knowing glance before looking back at Yuuki.

"Sorry, did you say your name was Yuuki?" Asuna asked.

"Yep, that's me!" The purplette replied. "Why, is there something wrong?"

"No, no!" Asuna assured her. "Just… wasn't expecting that, that's all.

There was definitely a bit of an awkward silence that followed, but Yuuki bulldozed right through it, introducing each member of her guild to Kirito and Asuna. Friendly conversation followed easily, the two groups meshing quite well. A lot of it consisted of compliments and discussion about fighting styles and tactics. The purplette even asked how the wedding was, which Asuna was clearly happy to talk about in length.

"Alright, there you go!" Liz said, sliding the sword over to Yuuki. "One enhanced rare longsword!"

"Thanks a bunch!" Yuuki smiled.

"Well, are you gonna equip it or what?" Jun asked.

"In a minute." Yuuki said before turning to Kirito. "Kirito, I was wondering if I could ask you something."

"Sure." The Black Swordsman replied. "What's up?"

"Well, I was wondering if you had any idea how you got your ((Dual Blades)) skill." Yuuki said.

Kirito frowned. "Not really. Every Unique Skill holder I know just woke up with their skill overnight. Huh… I just realized our guild has every Unique Skill except ((Holy Sword)) now."

He was right. When Kuroi and Klein joined the Renegades, that accounted for seven out of the eight known Unique Skill users. It was surprising that no one had pointed that out yet. Even more surprising was that no one was complaining about it… yet.

"Darn. I was hoping you had some idea." Yuuki sighed.

"Why?" Kirito asked.

Yuuki picked up the sword before she opened her inventory, probably to equip it. In a flash of light, her new sword manifested itself on her hip. She kept swiping through her inventory, to the growing confusion of the Renegades assembled. Then, another blade appeared in a flash of light on her other hip. Jaws dropped. Yuuki smiled sheepishly before she shrugged.

"Because I have it too."

A/N:

Yuuki's here, y'all!

Not only is our favorite spunky purplette here, she's the second wielder of ((Dual Blades))! Canon Kirito openly admitted that her reaction time rivaled his and that if she'd been in SAO, she would have inherited the skill, not him, so here I decided to give it to both of them!

That's really all I had to say, actually. See you all next week!