SAO: FEARFUL RELOAD (2022) (Cancelled)
How the Story Was Meant to Go
Part 2 of 5 – "Hero of the Solemn Survivor"
And… I'm back. It hasn't exactly been a week but I do one thing: the last arc of this series if I did write it to completion would have been the longest. Not just for story content but also because of the coverage at the end on how everything connects. So I might as well as provide a little more in compensation for the inevitable delay.
Arc number 5 titled "Hero of the Solemn Survivor". I'll explain a little later on how this relates. But now because I can write in this style from the beginning of the arc to the end, and this probably stands as the shortest arc, then it's much easier for me to do so.
CHAPTER 25 – DECLARING TEAM LEADER
Today is a special day for Kunai and his friends: the raid on the SBC Flugel. Of course they're not quite in the clear yet… as they need to fight through the woodland areas, even if it is rather short in distance, before confronting an obstacle they know little of. By conquering this obstacle, something relevant to Rei and Daisy, they will be granted access into the bow of the Flugel. This crashed spaceship holds the greatest challenge in a dungeon in the entirety of the game of GGO. They need to take everything they have learned from each other, everything that makes their build as strong as it is, reconfigure anything else, and build the perfect team to assault the Flugel.
Personally for me, I'm a huge fan of the Mass Effect series and the second game sticks out as one of my absolute favourites. I would've loved to create many different characters and refer to them later as potential allies – enemies turned comrades in their mutual desire to see the end of a difficult quest currently unseen. But alas, this is not what my original plan was.
Instead, the team is as it was by the end of the last arc: Kunai, Kureha, Bazalt Joe, Itsuki, Zeliska, and Rei and Daisy. Alphard is currently under the command of Taipan and Itsuki cut ties with them. Maybe for good, maybe not. In any case, they were all paranoid that being closer to the end only increased the potential danger. So they would go it alone as they were. But they also understood that through each new area, a new ally tagged along and they often found themselves in troubling predicaments. If they were to avoid this altogether, prepared for the possibility that there would be no new companion, then they needed official leadership. Zeliska was the first to bring this point up during their early morning meeting and Kunai was the first to agree with it, pleasing her at his quick agreement. Kureha may not have been the first to suggest the idea but she volunteered herself, throwing in a statement that she has plenty of experience in the game and can still help Kunai if he gets in trouble. Remember this part, it will be important. A few back and forth comments are thrown, threatening to lead to an argument, but Kunai places the burden on Itsuki as he is the only one among them to have ever led a squadron. Itsuki seems humbled by this but declares that the appointment of leader of their squadron should be a democratic matter – a vote among all of the party.
And so the voting begins with some rules decided upon by everyone. Everyone in the squadron would write down on a note who they think should lead their party. There was no rule to stop them from voting for themselves but it was more unspoken than anything else. Rei and Daisy were allowed to vote too, but on the condition that they did not vote for their own masters as it would have been the obvious choice for them. Funnily enough, the only one person in secret who did hold objection to this was Kureha. In any case, none of them wanted to be team leader and everyone else respected this. Rei and Daisy would be entrusted with reading out the total votes to determine who got to lead the squadron on the Flugel. Once everybody voted for their ideal candidate, Rei and Daisy collected the numbers and declared the leader of their squadron.
Probably to nobody's surprise, especially yours, Kunai was the winner. He won the election with 4 votes across the party. Itsuki came in 2nd place with 2 votes and Kureha came in 3rd with 1 vote. Neither Joe nor Zeliska had a vote to compete. Everybody agreed with the decision but Kunai snuck a glance towards Kureha out the corner of his eye. She was displeased with the voting, still she kept it to herself. Kunai had a sinking feeling that this might cause her to falter on the battlefield. Surprising… considering how not too long ago he was the learner and now the one taking charge of everyone in their squadron. Kunai suspected Kureha of jealousy but did not firmly believe it out of fear for creating a mistake threatening their friendship. So instead, as they left the safety of Zeliska's apartment to head for the Teleporter Gate in the northern district of the Glocken, Kunai pulled Rei over to the side… He asked her quickly, before anyone heard, how the voting truly went. What were the figures? Who voted for who? Rei at this point had already known and even appeared to adorn a look of guilt. Kunai noticed that and almost backed off but was too curious to turn away. Who was it that voted for Kureha? Well… Rei confirmed his suspicions. When it came to the actual numbers, 4 of them voted for Kunai: Joe voted for him, Itsuki voted for him, but surprisingly of all… both Zeliska and Daisy voted for him – they believed him to be a worthy leader in spite of their experience in some form of leadership across GGO's existence. Kunai knew that he himself was responsible for one of Itsuki's votes… and the other vote belonged to Rei. Meaning… if you listened to what I mentioned before… Kureha not only voted for herself exclusively but was the only one to exercise this practice. Indeed, she was most likely jealous. Kunai felt sorry for her but didn't apologise directly in front of the squadron. He didn't want to put her on the spot. So they quietly marched towards the Teleporter Gate and vanished off towards the woodlands surrounding the crash site of the Flugel. As they scouted their surroundings for signs of trouble, Kunai paid a little more attention to Kureha and caught her alone in a little moment. He quickly apologised if she felt undervalued. Then he wandered off again, leaving her both stunned yet appreciative for his care. Kunai hoped that once this quest was done, he would be able to take it easier with both Kureha and Rei – spending more quality time with them properly instead of running for their lives. Then again, he pondered about the possibility of maintaining this squadron. But surely the others had places to get back to… Joe being a wandering type helping others, Zeliska and Daisy on their own, and Itsuki showing forgiveness towards Taipan and returning to Alphard – maybe even working under Taipan to shake up the tone of their group. Thoughts like these kept Kunai occupied on their journey through the woodlands before they made contact with local enemies and monsters…
CHAPTER 26 – THE GATEKEEPER
Kunai and the others make quick work of the monsters throughout the woodlands before finally arriving at the bridge connecting the land to the space wreck. Once they all step onto the bridge and get close enough to the large metal door, a barrier behind them ignites. It seals them in and forces them to walk upon the only path ahead of them. Until at last, from above the door is a horrific screeching of metal and pounding that shakes the bridge. Over the door, leaps a gigantic bulking automaton whose identification reads out as "The Gatekeeper". The Gatekeeper produces thin lines of blue light over the bridge. It is understandably an enemy, a boss monster of wire and steel protecting the entrance to the Flugel, and yet… it does not attack, only observe. When it finishes, the lines of light turn to red and it bellows. The Gatekeeper winds back its arm and prepares to slam the ground, but Kunai orders everyone to move out of the way. The force of the impact of the Gatekeeper's fist against the bridge causes everyone to lose balance and a slight degree of HP.
Kunai notices that behind the Gatekeeper on the metal door at their own height, is a series of ports in the shape of cylinders. Rei and Daisy do not know for sure, but by inspecting from a distance, they feel a compulsion to interact with it. Kunai gives commands to draw the Gatekeeper away from Rei and Daisy while they figure out some way to bring down the boss. Because in spite of their teamwork, the automaton before them is only steadily depleting HP and deals significantly more to them. Rei and Daisy get to the ports and examine them closely. Daisy determines that by utilising these ports, they can lower the power of the Gatekeeper weakening him in his weapons and armour. It is also by her discovery, that they now know these ports are the way to open the metal door into the Flugel. Rei and Daisy place a hand inside of these ports and they begin to glow blue. Rei is having difficulty concentrating but Daisy does not, appearing stoic and confident at the same time. She tries to comfort Rei and encourage her, but that only serves to mitigate her own progress. While Daisy tries to have them both achieve synchronicity, the Gatekeeper turns its attention immediately to the ArFA-SYS units. Kunai and the others try everything they possibly can. They deal more damage because of the distraction of their companions, but nothing they do can cripple the Gatekeeper and affect its movement. Joe gets in between the girls and the Gatekeeper, further buffed by Zeliska to withstand massive physical damage… but a single punch from the Gatekeeper almost killed Joe, followed by another and another and another… all the while Joe kept Shield Matrix active as long as possible. They all continued to fire upon the Gatekeeper while deploying smokescreens to obscure the boss' vision but this one was smart… it didn't need to see to know where the girls were and began stomping near the ports with its titanic feet. When the smoke cleared, Kunai and Zeliska called out for their trusty companions, only to find them laid out on the ground in a downed state. But even more shocking to them, they started to glow bright with blue polygons and shattered into thin air… disappearing. Kunai and Zeliska were consumed with horror and pure dread. Did the Gatekeeper kill them permanently? Kunai fell to his knees trying to compose himself with a stunned expression. Zeliska ran towards where Daisy once was and screamed for her. Then turned her sorrow to anger against the Gatekeeper but the blind rage allowed it to finish her off as easily. Then Zeliska was downed and disappeared in the same manner. Before Kunai could comprehend what he was seeing, flashing back to the horrible time he lost everybody back in SAO, he was also struck hard by the Gatekeeper and crushed. He disappeared too. Joe and Itsuki didn't even have the courage to keep fighting because they too were scared in spite of knowing that this was likely a boss gimmick and not a tragedy. But with ArFA-SYS units, anything was possible, and Zeliska cared deeply for Daisy and Kunai had past trauma over stuff like this.
Kunai found he had awoken almost immediately in Zeliska's apartment. Zeliska was already hugging Daisy tightly. Rei spotted her master and embraced him in the same way. She apologised over and over again in a state of panic. Soon after, Kureha, Joe and Itsuki appeared before them. Itsuki making a point that the boss has a gimmick that eliminates and forces a squadron member to respawn without the benefit of revival. That was something to be feared, something to become commonplace within the Flugel. It was a warning sign. Zeliska wanted to know what happened with the ports and Daisy gave her best explanation. It was made apparent that Rei did not have the mindset that help Daisy effectively bring down the defences of the Gatekeeper before they were attacked. Even though it was clear now that none of them were truly in danger, Zeliska still harboured something ill towards Rei in that moment, knowing that her hesitation could have cost Daisy her life. She did not say anything, she did not need to say anything, but shoot a small glance of caution towards Rei. Catching it, Rei felt an immense pang of guilt and betrayal. As if she was the one responsible for their failure to conquer the Gatekeeper, just as she had been for being captured in the Old City in the previous area of the Old South. Tears started to form within her eyes and she darted away from the group and out of Zeliska's apartment. Kunai was too slow to react and lost her out the door. Still he triggered whatever skills he had at the time for speedy movements, then placed on his cloak for cover as he hoped she had also done. Kunai searched throughout the northern district for Rei. Zeliska understood why and felt guilty herself, knowing that she owed Rei an apology if she ever returned. The others let him go after Rei, giving them a moment and normally… Kureha would know him better than to leave Kunai alone at a time like this. But things were so different, she didn't think he needed her anymore…
CHAPTER 27 – HERO
Kunai continues searching for Rei, even looking for her on the map of the Glocken, tracking her by her "Friends" status but nothing. She blocked herself. That is until it reappears and she is able to be found on the map. Kunai rushes over to her immediately to see her standing on the edge of a building overlooking the Glocken. Kunai urges her not to jump and to step away from the ledge, but Rei assures him that she wasn't going to jump. She just needed a little space and now she was ready to face everybody but not before going by her master first.
Kunai understands her position and reminds her of how important she is to him and that Zeliska was only concerned for the safety of Daisy. Kunai himself expresses how terror took a hold of him, because he thought was going to lose her. Rei wasn't her usually plucky self and instead apologises once more, not saying anything more. It seemed nothing he said made much of a difference to her mindset, so he decided to take a massive risk: he revealed to her his past in Sword Art Online and about his little sister Emiko.
Kunai tells his story up until the point where Emiko was killed. He mentioned nothing that happened afterwards except for when he woke up from the game… on purpose. Rei having heard Kunai's story felt different now. Because to him, her appearing to have been permanently ended by the Gatekeeper felt like when he lost his sister to the murderous Laughing Coffin guild – that he was going to lose another sister. At that moment, their relationship, if it wasn't clear to either of them already, they both love each other but only platonically – he played the role of an adoptive/surrogate father or older brother, and for him Rei served as a second chance to help her escape and get back home – he started to see her as human fairly early on in their adventure and grew to care for you in spite of how different they were. Rei didn't feel sorrow or indifference anymore, she felt happy. She was glad that he felt comfortable enough to confront her with his past but he mentions that once she was back home – he would tell Kureha himself. Then it struck him… once more they were close, but that earlier thought about spending time with Rei after their quest… theoretically their time together would be over if the quest was completed. Another thought intruded as they wandered in secret back to Zeliska's apartment: could he just leave the quest unfinished?
Note: Okay before moving on to the next chapter I have to get a little deeper into the story through comparisons to the events of the game. In the game, the cutscene you get for merely weakening the Gatekeeper is that you run away with Rei. Kureha and Kirito, obviously excluding everyone else there, would fight the Gatekeeper and eventually get away without you seeing it. Zeliska would mock you once more about your skills as a leader and Rei would feel responsible. The problem is that there is no obstacle that Rei had to overcome… because at worst you were just under-levelled for the fight. The scenario with Rei and Kunai opening up to each other is mostly the same and a legitimately good scene in the story, but lacking in ways my story would have improved it drastically. For example, in the game you encourage Rei to keep fighting and to return to face the Gatekeeper by saying that she is fine as she is and that you're both partners. My version not only did that but added layers to make it more impactful. Examples follow: Daisy is clearly defined as competent whereas Rei is laxed and incompetent in areas putting her under pressure, Kunai's past makes him more protective of Rei despite her constantly ending up in trouble disastrously compared to the strength of the bond between Zeliska and Daisy. It goes on further but now comes the reason behind the name of the arc… Rei is the "hero" and Kunai is the "solemn survivor". Get it? Kunai is broken by the events of his past in SAO and beyond. He has another chance for redemption, or at least what he believes to be redemption by protecting Rei. But it's her cheerfulness and compassion towards him and the journey they've gone on together building and rebuilding alliances with good people suffering from loss or fighting to protect family. Rei is the glue that kept them together and serves as Kunai's new purpose and moral compass. She is his hero because she has given him another reason to find meaning in his life again, to reach out to others, and not to fear the loss but to instead fear the isolation without hope of a brighter tomorrow. That is the meaning behind the name of the arc. Now… back to Zeliska's apartment and the second-to-last chapter of the arc…
CHAPTER 28 – FIGHT TO BREACH
This chapter is a little more simplistic because it amounts to two segments: reinvigorating the squadron to take down the Gatekeeper, and then actually taking it down. Re apologises for worrying everyone and they forgive her easily making all sorts of statements that solidify what Kunai told her earlier: she is what binds them together. Even Daisy is willing to give her more encouragement, knowing that she needs the confidence if she hopes to avoid repeating their history with the Gatekeeper. By midday, they are all ready to come up with a new plan. Kunai, now aware of the Gatekeeper's priorities, wishes to restart their encounter but with maximum supplies. They all change their loadouts to compensate for smokescreens and tech disruption equipment. With this, they hope to keep the Gatekeeper occupied enough to allow Rei and Daisy to breach the Gatekeeper's defences. But of course, it knows when the ports are being tampered with, so a fallback plan is needed to accommodate the fact that it does not need to see that the ports are being messed with. But due to the insane defences of the Gatekeeper, Kunai surmises that they will call out the danger of incoming attacks from out of the smoke for Rei and Daisy to evacuate. Kunai doesn't know if the Gatekeeper's ports remain damaged during the battle or if they automatically power back up when not being attacked. If this turns out to be true, then it would require a new strategy that they don't currently have since more observation is needed to determine a guaranteed strategy for victory. Kunai and the others load up and fight through the same monsters as before with little difficulty and reach the bridge of the Gatekeeper. It isn't there this time, most likely preparing for the arrival of other players, and that's when Kunai gets a sneaky idea.
He quickly sends Rei and Daisy on their own to charge for the ports on the metal door. The ports both illuminate when they get there and start by placing their hands in the ports. Rei and Daisy are once again placed in the same position as before, but this time Rei is more confident in her ability to hack through the Gatekeeper's defences. Just as Kunai suspects, the Gatekeeper jumps down to confront them and scans them. He holds back his friends from attacking first as it might provoke the Gatekeeper. While it takes longer than before, whether due to the interference of Rei and Daisy, or their absence, he didn't know, but the Gatekeeper did eventually attack them once more. Although now it almost instantly turned to attack Rei and Daisy. Knowing that it was impossible to stop it going where it wanted, Kunai commanded Rei and Daisy to pull back. They heeded his words, withdrew from the ports and dodged out of the way of the Gatekeeper's encroaching assault. Kunai and the others clouded the battlefield in smoke, but still within it, while they remained hidden, the Gatekeeper was tall enough to be visible. Rei and Daisy were guided to the ports by Kunai himself. Right before they continued, Kunai used their comms to order Itsuki to fire sniper rounds from a distance. The Gatekeeper was lured to the end of the bridge by the barrier, at the furthest point away, before Rei and Daisy resumed their sabotage of the Gatekeeper's systems. When they continued from where they last left off, they realised that despite the interruption, they did not need to start again. So this process continued once more with every member of the squadron getting their time to shine. Rei and Daisy eventually succeed with Rei ultimately using her recent experience in the day, to find the strength within her to concentrate on succeeding. She realised this not too long ago, but part of the reason why she couldn't concentrate, why she couldn't effectively hack the system, was because subconsciously she understood that completing the quest ended this all… meaning she was gone. Deep down, she did not want to be, but carried out the task anyway for Kunai's sake of finding peace with his past. It was worth it to her. So when the system's finally failed, the Gatekeeper's overall defence was lowered and it could be damaged as well as crippled. But by denying it its defence, it also became faster and more deadly with an assortment of long-ranged weaponry. The battle was brutal and lasted for nearly five minutes, but nobody was downed and the squadron brought down the Gatekeeper as it exploded into blue polygons.
The squadron celebrated their victory but quickly removed themselves from sight as the metal door to the Flugel opened up. The Teleporter Gate was inside and they activated it, but the door behind them was once again sealed. A loud banging from overhead could be heard, likely the Gatekeeper had instantly respawned, awaiting new challengers. Perhaps it could have been bested with Rei and Daisy, but maybe the door would remain forever closed to those without an ArFA-SYS unit. Perhaps for once, they were safe at last from outside interference.
CHAPTER 29 – PRIDE
This chapter is very short that it may as well blend into the previous one. Essentially the squadron investigates the hull of the ship and finds that it is large and filled with crates and containers loaded with ammunition and supplies but almost no guns – nothing worthy of their level and skill, just extra gear. Kunai and the others orchestrate plans for how to go about their raid on the Flugel. They had most of the afternoon and part of the night to deal with it, so they logged out temporarily to take care of themselves in the real world before returning for the long haul.
Kunai started them off and expressed how proud of Rei that he is of how she handled herself. Their relationship immensely improves and strengthens, yet Rei is also scared of leaving him behind and voices her concern to him. Kunai does not want her to go, but understands that if that is what is intended, he will follow along if that makes her happy. She claims it does but as stated before, it does not. She wants him to find peace and the best way she imagines that is to confide in Kureha and bring Rei to where she belongs in spite of wanting to remain with him. They carry on about their raid while Kureha keeps to herself, noticing that Zeliska is speaking more often with Kunai with a hint of admiration in her voice as she talks. Kureha grows evermore jealous of her and tries to shrug off the feelings she has to finish the mission. She hopes deep down that finishing the Flugel and returning Rei to where she belongs might mean that Kunai stops being so special. And that maybe they can do other things, just the two of them, but she also wonders if she actually wanted that to begin with…
ARC 5 FINISHED…
And thus concludes the Hero of the Solemn Survivor. One of my person favourite parts of the story I would have finished, and while it is not called that, this was one of my favourite parts of the original game. Everything I needed to say about the differences between the game and this fanfic have already been covered. Everything recapped and in greater detail are still to come within the wrap-up of the final arc.
The next arc of this story is lengthy only because it sports some of the most action in the series. Heart of the Uncrowned Queen is probably overall the second possibly third biggest arc in all of the eight arcs, behind the finale possibly also just behind the next one coming up. There will be moments of story in the form of character interactions and discussions, wrapping up a lot of the hang-ups except for between Kunai and Kureha as they grow more distant for reasons I will explain. Because the ending of the next arc is to reap the rewards of the friendships built up over the story. It is not as strong in the following arcs afterwards, only in the sense that these companions of Kunai have become loyal and their loyalty will be ultimately tested. In any case…
While not all that much exciting, only plot relevant, happening in the next arc, there is something to be excited for and I think it'll be a pleasant surprise once you first see it. I'm basically gunning for the ending before I go back to my official projects or maybe some other fanfic down the line next year. So the next part of this wrap-up may come either early next week or about this time next week since I have quite a bit happening this weekend. Join me then for the coverage of Arc 6 – "Raid of the SBC Flugel". Kunai leads his squadron, growing ever strong to the core of the wrecked ship to return Rei to her home. Tensions between Kunai and Kureha rise, but the mission is still the most important thing. Even in the face of overwhelming odds, there is unlikely hope to be found in the form of the help of a couple of outsiders… and as for Kunai and Rei, regardless of what happens, neither of them are quite ready to say goodbye…