Chapter 5
March 31st, 2023
26th floor
Approximately 20:00 AST (Aincrad Standard Time)
Party stats
Will: Level 34 spearman
Emily: Level 34 shieldmaiden
Grace: Level 34 Katana swordswoman
Xander: Level 34 War Hammer tank
The four friends emerged from the teleport gate in the middle of the main town of the 26th floor: Kanyeon. What they saw shocked them.
"Holy hell... We left the front lines for a week..." Will breathed.
"What did we miss?" Xander wondered. They were surrounded by wounded, maybe two dozen at most, and many of them were wearing the armor of the Aincrad Liberation Squad. Grace and Emily were shocked speechless.
"You're looking at the Aincrad Liberation Squad. Or what's left of them..." said a familiar voice.
"Asuna? What happened? Is this all from just the 25th floor boss?!" Emily exclaimed. All four of them turned to look at their friend and comrade in arms. Asuna wore a new red and white uniform and wielded a new rapier. But tears had formed in the Flash's eyes, and they saw that there was a long red line running down her left arm. "Oh my God... Are you ok?"
Asuna nodded slowly. "I... will be..." Asuna sighed. "Please, follow me. I had a hunch you were going to show up pretty soon, and there's someone you should meet. He also happens to be someone who had been eager to meet you," she said, leading them to a large building. Inside, they saw a group of players, all clad in red and white armor similar to Asuna's, sitting down at a large table.
"Did you... join a guild?" Will asked.
"Not exactly, but you're not far off," answered one man, wearing striking red armor, and wielding an imposing sword and shield. "A better term would be that Asuna helped us create one."
"Emily, Xander, Will, and Grace, this is Heathcliff, the commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath," said Asuna. "Commander, these four are the ones I spoke of."
Heathcliff nodded. "My Vice-commander speaks very highly of you four. Please, sit. I would have a proposition for players of your caliber. To my right is Trainee Overseer Godfree. And to my left is Uzala, chief tactician and strategist. And on her left is Daizen, our head of finances." The four friends pulled out offered chairs and sat down in them, shaking hands with the other Knights.
"A proposition, you say? Well, consider me intrigued," Will replied.
"I'm sure you all saw the carnage outside, correct?" Heathcliff asked, to which all four of them nodded.
"We did. Was that from the boss on floor 25?" Emily asked. Asuna took a seat next to Heathcliff.
"It was. We were there, and it was a slaughter," she answered, looking at all four of them.
"I mentioned before that Asuna helped us create this guild. The reason we did so was to reduce the likelihood of a catastrophe like this from happening again," Heathcliff explained. "I hate to speak ill of fellow players, but those fools in the Aincrad Liberation Squad walked right into that boss room half dead and with no reinforcements like fools. Brave fools, but regretfully fools nonetheless."
He shook his head and gestured to Asuna with his hand. "Asuna tells me that you four were the first to join her when she created the Assault team, back on Floor 4. She also tells me that you all have earned a significant measure of respect from your comrades in the Assault team," He added. He then proceeded to look each of them in the eyes.
"Will, I heard how you charged against that serpent, back on Floor 23, alone, just to protect the rest of the team, and that your courage was a key factor that led to her appointing you as her second in command in the assault team. Grace, I've been told how Asuna never once heard you complain about your circumstances, no matter how much pain you were forced to endure, like when your arm melted away," he said, and Grace shuddered. "Ugh, don't remind me of that. It was not pleasant."
Heathcliff nodded. "But you didn't complain about that pain, not once. Emily, Asuna has told me about how even when you were surrounded by murderous players, outnumbered more than ten to one, you didn't give up. You stood your ground and determinedly fought back to protect everyone. And Xander, you've yet to shy away from battle even when it seems like all hope is lost."
Will narrowed his eyes. "I don't mean to sound rude, but what are you getting at, Commander Heathcliff? The way you talk, the way you sit. Neither of those look like what I'd see in someone who has time to give or receive flattery. Especially not when all of us are stuck in a place like this," he said, looking the commander dead in the eyes.
The commander smiled, in a pleasantly surprised kind of way. "I told you you'd like him," Asuna said, grinning slightly.
"That you did," He replied. "You are right Will. While I always prefer to praise rather than criticize, there exists a time and a place for both, and now is no time for either."
Heathcliff stood up, and for the first time, the four friends realized how much taller he was than the others in the room. No wonder he, out of everyone else in the room, had been chosen to lead this group. His very presence exuded the air of someone who lead by example, a royal king who would not hesitate to get down in the muck, blood, and grime where his troops were.
"As I said, Asuna has told me how you four were quick to accept her offer to join the assault team. Now, I would like to extend a similar offer," Heathcliff said, looking at the fireplace behind the table. As they looked at his silhouette, there was something about him that unnerved the four newcomers, and yet, although they couldn't figure out what it was, that very thing also simultaneously inspired them. He then turned around, and with a determined fire in his eyes, he asked, "Will you join me and the Knights of the Blood Oath?"
Will thought back to when Asuna had proposed the creation of the Assault team. The advantages to joining a guild, especially one as confidant and strong looking as this one, were all but one and the same with the advantages of creating the Assault team if they were not even more apparent. And yet there were some cons to this as well, factors that were not present the last time. Thinking about big decisions like this, even if they were ultimately for him alone, as even if he could, he would never make a choice like this for his friends, often made him think of his dad.
"Whenever I'm faced with an important decision, I always go through the same process. First, I recognize all of the possible things that could result from either choice, the good results, and the bad. Then, I organize them in my head, first by which choice they will result from, and then by whether or not I believe they are a positive, or a negative," his dad had said.
On the one hand, just like with the Assault team, being able to rely on other players, who would in almost every case be just as skilled as he was, if not more skilled, would be a tremendous benefit. "Don't ever cut yourself off from help, especially if it is being offered to you," he remembered. "That said, make sure you know what kind of help is being offered. Assistance comes in all varieties: as often as it is good, it can also be bad. Even if it seems good on the surface, you don't want to be lured in by a false image. If the ones offering you aid have a bad rep or obtain one, you don't want to be stuck with them when hell breaks loose, and with large groups, and powerful people, it almost always will."
"Before I make any decisions, I have some questions," Will told Heathcliff. The latter nodded.
"Perfectly understandable. Ask away. I will do all I can to answer them."
Will leaned forward. "First of all, I want to know. Obvious things such as being ready to rendezvous with the guild to plan for, for example, a boss raid, aside, what will be expected of me, and if they should join, my friends? Will we have to work with exclusively other members of the guild?"
The commander considered this for a moment. "Being part of a guild means that you must get used to working with others in your guild, not just with a small group, so I would prefer you work with other Knights, in addition to your party of four. However, you would have the freedom to work with those outside of the guild." Will nodded.
"That makes sense and brings up a question I had. How many are currently in the guild at this time?" Xander asked.
"Presently, our guild consists of just us five. However, we have yet to officially reveal ourselves to the public, which we plan to do at the next boss clearing meeting. It goes without saying, but naturally, the more players we have aligned with us, the greater the impact we will have," Heathcliff replied.
"I imagine your group will want to stay together, am I correct?" he asked. When all four of them instantly nodded, he sat back down in his chair. "Very well. This is a big decision for you four, bigger than it will be for those who join our ranks in the future, as you will be the first to ponder this offer. Out of respect, I will let you take as long as you need to deliberate amongst yourselves, in private, if you so wish. However, it is getting late, so if you wish to give me your answer in the morning, before the planning meeting for this floor's boss, that is perfectly fine."
"Thank you, commander," Will replied. "We shall see you in the morning." As the Knights of the Blood Oath stood up to leave, however, Emily spoke up.
"Commander, would it be ok for Vice-commander Asuna to remain here, while we consider your offer? To answer any questions we might have later on, as well as just to catch up. The five of us are very good friends; have been since we first met back on the 4th floor, but since we took a short break after clearing floor 23, we have surely missed a lot."
The commander thought about it for a moment, before nodding. "If it is ok with her, I don't see why not."
"I'd be happy to stay and talk. Like you said, it'd be good to catch up," Asuna replied, smiling. The other knights left, and the five friends sat down at the table to talk.
"Before we get back down to business, the four of us have something to show you, Asuna," Emily said, grinning excitedly. She could hardly contain her excitement and had been waiting for this moment ever since they found out it was possible to play music in SAO.
Asuna tilted her head in curiosity. "Well don't just sit there and tell me you have a surprise. What is it? I'm curious!"
Emily nodded to each of her friends. Suddenly, all four of them stood up and opened their inventories. "Dut! Dut! Dut! Dut! Band ten'hut!" she called out.
"Hut!" all four of them said in unison, each pressing on an item in their inventories. The next thing Asuna knew, a Bari-Sax, a Bass Clarinet, a B flat Clarinet, and a Violin and its bow had materialized in her friends' hands. Asuna gasped. "Oh my gosh, you found a skill that lets you make musical instruments?"
Will shook his head. "We have others in our inventories too, but we figured we'd lead with our primary instruments. Turns out, all you need is the musical instrument skill. We didn't realize it until a few days ago, but not only does that skill allow you to play musical instruments, you can create them with it too!"
"And there's one more thing we want to show you. Well, technically it's two things," Xander said with a huge grin on his face.
"We know it's not your birthday, but we still got you a gift, so close your eyes," Grace said. Asuna closed her eyes and placed her hands over them too. Will opened his inventory and pulled out a black leather folder full of paper, and Emily opened her inventory and placed a small, wooden box on top of it.
"Ok, you can open your eyes now," Grace told Asuna. The Knight opened her eyes and carefully picked up the ornately carved box.
"Well, open it already! We can't wait to see your reaction!" Will eagerly asked her. Asuna nodded, and gently lifted the top of the box off, setting it down to the side as she gasped. Her eyes began to water, and she had to fight back tears.
"You guys... you- you didn't have to do this for me..." she said, a massive smile spreading rapidly across her face as she delicately picked up the contents of the box. It was a handmade, wooden Japanese flute, just like the one she played before getting stuck in SAO.
"But wait, there's more! Look in the folder!" Will said, his face lit up. Asuna carefully opened the folder and saw that on one side, there was a single piece of parchment. "Got space for one more skill?"
Tears of happiness had started falling down her face by this point, and she opened her menu and slid the parchment into it. Instantly, an alert popped up:
"New skill learned: Musical instrument!"
Will walked around the table. "Here's some sheet music to start you off. Sorry it's so basic, but we didn't know how far along you had gotten, and so we figured it'd be best to stick with basics. But check this out!"
He opened his menu and navigated to the in-game browser, and wondered if Asuna had realized she could send emails to her family here. He decided that, later that night when they could get to a more secluded spot, he'd show her. She'd earned that much. But putting the thought away for later, he opened up a tab and typed in "Sheet music creator".
"This is what we used to make the sheet music. Whenever you finish writing something, you can press that blue button there, and it'll automatically create a copy of it that you can hold in your hand. The button next to it allows you to publish it to a system-wide list of every piece of music written in the game. Alternatively, you can write the music by hand and insert it into the open box here."
Asuna was stunned. She had never met any of these people outside of the game, and yet they had gone out of their way to create a working wood flute and sheet music for her to use in the game.
"Why would you do this for me anyway? I mean," she said, sniffling. "I'm grateful, more grateful than I can put into words. But we barely have any time to interact outside of assault team meetings and boss raids. You didn't have to do this for me..."
"I thought it would be obvious why we did this. You're a musician like us, plain and simple. And a musician needs their instrument," Xander pointed out. "Hey... we should make a chamber group!"
Will suddenly jumped into the air ecstatically. "Ohmygoshyesweshouldtotallydothat!" he blurted out quickly, with barely any pause between the words. Everyone there laughed at that, and after a moment, Will joined in with the laughter.
The next day, the four friends walked out of their room, nodding their thanks to the innkeeper as they left the tavern. Will made sure to tip the player behind the bar, because the rooms were so well kept, and as he gave players who were working to push the front lines even further discounts, it was the least Will could do in return.
They had had a lengthy discussion the previous night after bidding Asuna farewell. Ultimately, they had come to an agreement, and now they headed back to where they had met the Knights of the Blood Oath the previous day. As they stood outside the building, Will stopped and looked at his friends.
"One last time, we're all ok with this, right?" he asked.
"Like you even need to ask," replied Xander.
"I'm with you guys all the way," Grace said.
"As am I," added Emily.
Will nodded, and the four of them entered the building. Heathcliff and the other knights waited for them at the table like they had the previous day, and as Will, Emily, Grace, and Xander all entered the room, they looked up.
"Have you come to a decision?" Heathcliff asked.
Emily walked forward. "We have. After talking about it last night, we agreed that it is in the best interest of both our own group, as well as for the effort of getting everyone out of Sao as safely and quickly as possible for us to join the Knights of the Blood Oath. However, we would like to make a request."
Heathcliff leaned forward. "And what would that be?" She had clearly gotten his attention.
"Right now, it may not be as big of a concern, given the current size of the guild. But in the future, if the guild decides to split members up into small squads to cover different objectives, military style, our group would like to stay together as our own squad."
Heathcliff considered this for a while. What he was thinking, they had no idea; the man was annoyingly difficult to read, but something about their request clearly conflicted with a plan he had for the guild. Eventually, though, he nodded. "You have a deal. Should a system like that come to pass, will it be acceptable for one or two others to be in your squad as well?"
Emily looked at her friends, who all shrugged. "Can't see why not."
Heathcliff smiled and opened his menu. A few seconds later, four windows opened on the opposite side of the table. Each of the four friends pressed the blue circle at the bottom of the windows, and then a white box with a grey cross appeared by their health bars.
"Will, Emily, Xander, and Grace," Heathcliff said, while Asuna opened her own menu. She navigated to her inventory and sent an item to each of them. "Welcome to the Knights of the Blood Oath." The four new guild members accepted the items and saw that they were uniforms.
"There's a changing room over there," Asuna said, gesturing with her head over to the left of the room. "Try those on, and then we should head to the 26th floor strategy meeting." The four of them nodded and took turns changing into their new uniforms, which, although they were much brighter and bolder in color, sporting the white fabric with red outlines that the other Knights had, were still overall fairly similar to the armor they currently wore.
"Thank you Asuna, these look great," Emily said, coming out of the changing room last.
Will shrugged. "The armor looks good, but I may end up ditching the cape if that's okay. Or at least shortening it a bit. I don't like the idea of getting caught on my own cloak mid fight."
Asuna shook her head. "The commander is pretty lax when it comes to the uniforms. In fact, the uniforms were actually Daizen's idea. Something about us all looking alike making it easier to fund the guild...?" she said, shrugging. "Either way, as long as it still carries the overall aesthetic of the guild, I don't think he'd have a problem with it. But we should get going, we don't want to be late to the strategy meeting."
Time: Approximately 10:00 AST
Many of the clearers from the assault team were sitting at a large amphitheater, trying to figure out a plan of action. As Heathcliff and the Knights of the Blood Oath arrived outside, they could hear that it was not going well. Dozens of people were arguing with each other.
Will followed the commander and vice-commander through the tunnels leading into the amphitheater, with the other members of the guild beside him. A quick glance showed that The leader of another guild, Klein, was standing in the center of the theater.
"Come on guys, we can't give up now!" He exclaimed. "If we lost hope now, then everyone that's died so far has died in vain!"
"But did you see what happened to the Army? They were slaughtered, and we haven't even reached floor 30!" another player shot back.
"Yeah, what chance do we have if an organized guild of clearers could barely take out the 25th floor boss?" said a third.
Asuna turned to Heathcliff. "So what's the battle plan? We all march out as a single unit?"
Heathcliff tilted his head at that, thinking. "I was going to let you make that call, and have you lead us. Are you ok with that?"
Surprised, Asuna paused. But after a moment, the girl regained her composure and nodded. "All right. I'll lead from the front. Commander Heathcliff, you're right behind me, and I want Will next to you. As the second in command of the assault team, the other clearers know your face well, and seeing you up front with us will definitely make a strong statement. Everyone else, line up two by behind Heathcliff and Will."
The Knights paired up as ordered, and Asuna leaned out of the line to look at Emily, who was right behind Will, leading Grace and Xander behind her. "Hey, Emily?" She asked.
"What is it Asuna?"
Asuna grinned at her friend. "I was thinking we'd march into the meeting, the way you told me you did when entering the field for marching band shows. Would you mind counting us off?" Emily grinned back with a smile as big and eager as Asuna's.
"If it's okay with you, I can do you one better."
"Go right ahead, Drum Major."
Emily stepped out of the line and nodded to Will, who immediately knew where this was headed and opened his inventory. "All right, Daizen, Uzala, Godfree, and Commander Heathcliff, can you get in a four man row behind us? Xander, Will, Grace, and I will be between you and Asuna. If you don't know how to march in time with a beat, just watch our feet as we walk out of the tunnel. Oh, and hold your weapons out while you march, It'll look really good."
Godfree nodded. "Roll our feet and hit the ground in time with the metronome, right?"
Emily nodded back. "That's right. Just stay in time with our pulse. Band, are you all set?" She asked, opening her inventory and selecting one of the items. Moments later, a large bass drum attached to a drum carrier materialized on her shoulders, and she bent her knees to absorb some of the sudden weight.
"Yes sir Major sir!" Will replied excitedly, a snare drum attached to his drum carrier and a pair of drum sticks in his hands. Xander stood on the left side of the line, holding his Hammer across his chest, and Grace stood on the right end of the line with her Katana in its sheath on her back.
She looked her three friends in the eyes, and took a deep breath. It had been far too long since she had done this. "How are your eyes?" she called out.
As one voice, Will, Grace, and Xander replied "WITH PRIDE!", referencing their band's motto, "Eyes with pride."
Emily then looked at Will and stepped into the line. "Mind clicking us off, snare drum?"
Will nodded. "With pleasure."
He tapped a rhythm on the drum, two hits on the rim, and then a five hit roll on the drum. "We're ready Asuna," Emily said. Will tapped a consistent beat on the snare drum and after four hits, The vice commander nodded.
"Let's give them a show."
Will repeated the rhythm three more times, and the Knights realized that the clearers in the Amphitheater had gone silent. "Mark time, harch!" he said, and the four marching band students began marching in place. After a moment, so did the other knights.
"Forward, harch!"
The guild marched forward, their feet moving in unison with both each other and the beat of Will's drum. As they exited the tunnel, every head in the colosseum turned to look at them, and Emily began hitting the bass drum on each beat in time with Will's taps. They'd made an impression all right.
Asuna led the guild to the center of the Amphitheater, and with a nod to Will, she stopped to let the rest of them line up behind her. When everyone was in place, Will called out "Band, halt!" and tapped the drum three more times, before coming to a complete standstill. He and Emily both took off their drums and put them back in their inventories, and then stood still with the other knights while holding their weapons.
Asuna took a deep breath. "Listen to yourselves, worrying and trembling because a half dead party running on bad intel was almost wiped out. You're considering giving up, but then if we do, then what is the point of all those who have died to get us this far? Do we not owe it to them, to their memories, to keep going, and one day escape this wretched place?"
She had their complete attention, and Will saw a few of them nodding, but others appeared like they were still unsure.
"Look around you! We're not dead yet! And we can't give up, because if we do, then everyone we've lost died for nothing. Think about everything you still want to do back home, everyone you still want to see again before you die. Think about those things and people long and hard, because until you pull yourselves together and claw your way out of this hellhole, those memories are all you'll have of them. Don't you want to see your families again? Feel the warmth of a real sun? Smell and taste real food?"
She pulled out her Rapier and held it high. "You all sound like you've already lost! So if you want to sit back and hide, so be it. You may have given up on going home, but some of us haven't. That is why we will keep fighting!"
A/N: And the group of band kids has joined the Knights of the Blood Oath! Hurray! Sorry for a lack of action in this chapter, that's in the next couple chapters, so stick around for chapter 6, and then (once the plot bunnies will let me settle on a single plan) chapter 7! Let me know what you thought, and I'll see you next time!
