Okay, if there are some errors in timing, or missed stuffs, it's because Netflix decided to say "kay bye" to everything except alicization as if the rest of the show doesn't matter. So, I'm purely going off of my memory (and added in content that does not apply to the actual show.) I'm going to say this now, the character that I detest in this show is Lisbeth, so don't be too shocked if you see her being portrayed as a psycho bitch.

As always,

Enjoy!

~Kyvena

~3: Wonderland Of Guns and Myths~

It had taken Alice a few days before she was capable of logging in again due to Kazuto sending her a loving text that had meant the world to her. With it now being a few months later, Selko, who had persuaded Akihiko to permanently change his character name to his real name, Asuna, Leafa, Lisbeth, and Silica farmed items for Lis' blacksmith shop. Selko had gained the dual-wielding skill out of nowhere and now wielded the Shining Shade Blade... which had even confused Akihiko.

Yuna was now highly attached to Selko as she fluttered back and took her humanoid form and bounced back, "Here we go Selko!" They found Yuna's singing could boost all of their abilities. Yui was a non-combat support like Yuna... but Akihiko could be a combat and support type. As the whole gang below fought, Alice was working on her coding and it had finally finished, making her eyes widen and brighten once the new human-based "navigation pixie" popped out, making Kirito smile.

This little pixie held no name yet, but she wore an adorable sky-blue collared sleeveless dress with sparkling white diagonal stripes, had Alice's sparkling blue eyes that held streaks of Kirito's sparkling gray eyes, and black hair with golden tips were held in a braid with a sparkling white bow. She was a combat and support pixie that could also change her form. Kirito then chuckled and poked the newest pixie's cheek lightly, making her puff her cheeks up as he boasted, "She's adorable!"

Peering at her little brother, Alice could only chuckle, "Do you believe that Selko will like her?" Kirito then laughed brightly, "If he doesn't, I'll keep her." Whistling out to her little brother once they took a monster down, Selko looked up in a confused manner once Alice shouted out, "Selko, I need your help!" Flying up to his sister, he didn't even notice the mini-pixie as he walked by her. However, she was programmed for him, so she sat on his shoulder, "Hey! It's rude to ignore me!"

Looking startled at the sassy little pixie, Selko's eyes began to sparkle, "Sis, she's mine?!" Alice then chuckled and nodded, "All you have to do is name her and then she will be all yours!" Taking the little ball of sass that currently held puffed up cheeks in his hands, he then hummed in a thought-filled manner, "She looks just like you and Kirito!" - "Well, DUH! What did you expect?!" - "Oh geez... this brings back memories," he sweat dropped, only for his eyes to shimmer suddenly.

Selko then snapped his free fingers, "I'll name her Airashi!" Alice then snickered, "Are you sure? Once I input a name, it cannot be changed." She then giggled, "I like that name! Are you going to tell me your name, or should I just guess?!" Selko further sweat dropped at how sassy she was, but, did reply, "My name is Selko." Nodding, she then explained, "Now, since you're a dummy, I'll explain as to what I can do! I am a combat and support based pixie, while also holding navigation."

"Sis, you didn't have to make her this damn sassy!" Selko blurted out, making Alice blink rapidly, "I think the way she acts is just fine." Airashi then fluttered to land on Alice's hand with her hands on her hips in the same manner that Alice used to do when she was young, "Yeah! What's wrong with the way that I act Selko?!" Kirito could only burst into laughter over all of this, "Oh my god, Alice, you used to act this adorable, sassy, and stubborn?! Er... well... you're still stubborn as hell..."

Selko then placed his palm over his face and groaned softly, "Yes, she was this damn obstinate when we were young. If it wasn't her way, it wasn't any way. However, seeing this side of her again is... comforting..." Snickering at him, she watched as her little mini-recreation huffed, "I'd be cross if you would've said otherwise! Now, I think I deserve some sweets for your clear obliviousness." Selko then gained a dreaded facial expression as Kirito gawked, "Alice, you used to like sweets?!"

Airashi rolled her eyes, "Well of course I like sweets!" Akihiko reverted to his small size and flew up before laughing, "My, my, I haven't seen this side of Alice in quite some time!" Airashi then flew over to Akihiko and hugged him tightly, "Akihiko!" Akihiko then explained as he stroked Airashi's hair, "Alice knew me longer than she initially remembers herself. I first met her when she was about seven years old. At the time, Selko was about five." Airashi then rolled her eyes, "Well, duh!"

"That's enough sass from you missy!" Selko scolded as he pinched the back of her attire and lifted her up to his face. Just as she was about to sass him again, Selko smirked, knowing how to win this verbal war, "If you behave, I'll get you some cake." Her lips zipped rather swiftly as Alice blushed heavily and turned her head away out of embarrassment, fully knowing that when she was young, she had been a sucker for sweets to the point that she would behave just to be given some.

Placing his sassy little mini-Alice recreation on his shoulder, Selko snickered at his sister, "Yeah, I think that I can handle little miss sass. Come on Aira, cake time!" Airashi's eyes began to sparkle brilliantly as she placed a kiss on Selko's cheek, "Thank you!" Opening his wings, Alice then held her hand out, "Selko? Kikuoka is asking to meet up with both Kirito and me for some important matters. He would not speak of what the matters were over the phone, so we have to go."

Nodding his head at his sister, Selko then smiled softly, "Alright. Just be careful on that thing you call a vehicle." Selko had been horrified when he realized that his older sister got a motorcycle instead of a car in the same manner as Kazuto. Before entering the name, she then lifted her brow at her brother, "I thought you would have named her Allie in all honesty." Selko then snickered, "I thought about it, but realized that it would confuse the both of you pretty fast, so yeah."

Poking his mini-pixie's face lightly, "I also considered Sassa to be her name." Her eyes then sparkled and twinkled, to which he noticed, "She apparently likes Sassa the most. Now, as I was saying, be safe on that motorcycle... and DON'T "forget" your helmet this time!" Inputting the name "Sassa" into the coding, Alice sent the coding to him before whistling to Yuna, making her fly up, "Yes Alice?" Smiling at her, Alice then snickered, "Someone has been waiting for you for a long time."

Yuna then nodded sadly and flew up to Selko's face before kissing his cheek, which little miss Sassa noticed before pointing at her, "Hey! Don't do that! He's mine, not yours!" Selko then snickered at this, "Sassa, you're about to lose cake privileges if you sass again little missy." Again, her lips zipped over the mentioning of cake again, making Selko burst into laughter over his big sister's completely embarrassed facial expression that basically told the world everything about her.

Standing up and huffing, Alice then scoffed, "I will tell the world your secrets by making a mini-you if you do not refrain from telling everyone my own secrets! Like the way you used to collect..." - "ALICE STOP!" Selko frantically shouted, making her gain a cat-like smirk before snickering, "What? Your stuffed animal collection is adorable!" Selko instantly slammed his face against his sister's breasts while whining, "Sis! I don't even have them anymore!" Alice then scoffed, "Right, liar."

Hearing his whining as he nuzzled her chest, she laughed as she converted Yuna back into an item before sending her to Eiji through a message. Sassa then giggled at him, "You collect stuffed animals?! That's so cute Selko!" Pointing a scolding finger at his mini-sister, he then scowled and scolded, "That's it Sassa! No cake, pie, or cookies for you!" Her face drained of color before she began to tear up, "But... But I..." Oh hell, he was a sucker for his sister's tears, making him groan.

Exploding now as Kirito held Alice, Selko then fumed, "Dammit Alice! You even added that feature?! You know damn well that I can't stand it when you cry or even tear up for that matter!" This made Alice wink and kiss the top of little Sassa's head, "Sassa, one. Selko, zero." This had Sassa giggling like a madman in little to no time at all as Selko continued to fume and rant over how he no longer had a choice, only making Alice hold a hand up, "See you later Selko! Be good to Sassa!"

Hearing his soft grumbling now, Alice then leaned in and kissed his forehead, "Also, I expect for you to log out shortly after I do. Selko, you play this game nonstop! Your actual body needs rest! Sassa, he is on a thirty minute timer. Eat your cake and then have him logout. If you can't persuade him, then..." She peered at Akihiko, making him nod and fly onto Selko's shoulder before Alice smirked, "Then you will be forcefully logged out and have your account suspended for eight hours."

Panic was witnessed on her little brother's face as he scowled, "Sis, you can't do that!" Nodding her head as if he were right, she then smirked, "You forget that I have half administration over the server, as does Akihiko. Honestly, I just now remembered that I held half of the administration. However, I will be gone... so Akihiko will be sure to do it if you don't listen." Holding her hand up as Kirito did as well, the two chuckled, "Thirty minutes Selko." With that, the two logged out.

Taking the AmuSphere off and placing it on her nightstand, Alice stood up and walked to her closet before pulling out a pair of dark wash skinny jeans, a skin tight blue long-sleeved shirt, her jeweled osmanthus flower necklace, and knee high brown riding boots. Turning and brushing her long hair to be knot free, she then noticed the chain-link bracelet that held two jeweled osmanthus flowers with her jeweled name in between that Kazuto had got for her, only to slip it on her wrist.

Walking down her stairs and about to exit her home with no pressure since her mother wasn't at home, Alice then made her little brother a non-spicy lunch, wrote a note, and told the maids to remind him that it was there before jogging out of the home without her helmet before slinging her leg over the beautiful blue and gold sports motorcycle. Starting the engine and looking at where they were supposed to meet, she nodded, put her phone back into her back pocket, and took off.

It was never hard for Kazuto to find Alice on the road due to the mass loads of golden locks snapping about in the wind. Watching her park her motorcycle, he then parked beside her and pulled his helmet off before chuckling at her, "I really wish that you would wear your helmet too." Brushing her hair to be tangle free for her, she then held her hand out before he laced his fingers through her dainty fingers, only to begin entering the high-class restaurant they had been asked to go to.

Walking inside, Kikuoka then waved at them from across the room, "Kirito, Alice, over here!" Alice gave his hand a tender squeeze, "Kazuto, let us at least hear him out. He has done so much for us... it is the least we can do in return." Sighing heavily, he then nodded, "Yeah." The two then approached before sitting side-by-side, only to be told that they could order anything they wanted on him. Alice noticed this wasn't a restaurant... it was a coffee shop with plenty of sweets.

Kazuto shifted his gaze to her before chuckling at her internal struggle, only to order a rich, creamy, and dense piece of chocolate cake for her, along with coffee. Turning bright red, Alice swatted his arm as he ordered for himself while snickering at her clear embarrassment. Once served, Alice shook her head at the cake until Kazuto cut a small piece and shoved it in her mouth, "Just eat it, you dork. Now, Kikuoka, I know you didn't just call us here to have coffee with us, so enlighten us."

Pulling his tablet out, he then turned it around, "Do you know what this is?" As Kazuto ate... and Alice refrained, she then answered, "That is Gun Gale Online." Kazuto then nodded as he swallowed, only to shove more cake in her mouth as he spoke, "Yeah, it's the only game for pro-gamers due to its in-game to converted currency." Kikuoka then pointed at him, "Hold up, what does "pro-gamers" mean?" Alice scowled at Kazuto as she swallowed, "He means professional gamers."

Folding her arms, Alice then sighed, "Professional gamers will honestly go days without eating or sleeping to rack up more in-game money. The more money they make in-game, the more money they make in the real world. For Gun Gale Online in particular, the way their conversion system works all through the gamer's account or accounts." Having more cake shoved in her mouth by Kazuto, he then continued for her, "That's why so many become pro-gamers. Some make a lot of money."

Nodding his head that he got the gist of that aspect, he then spoke as Alice took a drink of coffee before shoving a large piece of cake in her boyfriend's mouth, "Alright, now that I get that, I came to you two for a specific reason. Recently, one of these "pro-gamers" was recently found dead in his apartment due to someone firing a bullet at a screen of a player that has been the winner of this game's annual tournament..." - "Bullet of Bullets, or B.o.B for short," the blonde lass spoke.

Agreeing with Alice, Kikuoka then sighed before speaking honestly, "Now, my question for you two is this... do you think a player can die from a single bullet in a game?" Alice and Kirito both shook their heads, "No. Unless..." Both began imagining a bullet going through an internet connection of all things, but then shook their heads, "It shouldn't be possible any longer." Releasing a breath from this, Kikuoka then adjusted his glasses as he spoke, "I'm relieved that you both believe that."

Humming, he then sighed, "To prove this theory, I am wishing to send you both... or at least one of you... undercover to enter the tournament." Kazuto then slammed his hands on the table and stood up, "Are you kidding me?! Someone else is killing in a game and you are wanting to send either both of us, or, one of us in there to sign up for a tournament that we could possibly die in?!" Kikuoka attempted to hush and calm the teen as Alice sat there thinking this over long and hard.

"Hol-Hold on! We aren't wanting for either of you to die! We honestly just want for you to act as a spy, in a sense! You both just agreed that it should be physically impossible to die in a game anymore! I'll buy you anything else you want, so please just sit down!" Kikuoka frantically spoke, making Kazuto sit down and buy a chocolate parfait as his girlfriend placed her cake in front of him, "Kazuto, now that I'm older, I don't have a sweet tooth. Now calm yourself and hear him out."

Thankful that Alice was reasonable and sensible, he then sighed, "Someone actually took a video of this said killing and posted it. Take a look." Handing his tablet over, he then pressed play on the video. As the two watched, they heard this masked man speak, making their eyes blink rapidly and speak the same-ish thing at the same time, "Hold on, I've heard this voice from somewhere before." - "One moment, I am certain that I have heard this voice from somewhere before."

The more they listened, the more they were certain. Suddenly, both of their eyes widened immensely, "Kikuoka... he... he is an S.A.O survivor!" This shocked Kikuoka immensely before speaking hopefully that they could pin the killer, "Really?! Do you remember his handle?!" Those hopes were dashed the moment they both shook their heads, "No..." Kazuto then took Alice's hand, "Now that you know that much, we will be leaving." Alice then looked into Kikuoka's eyes, "I will do it."

He had been hoping to send them both on this mission and already had two characters ready for them to use. Kazuto then scowled, "Alice, no! I won't let you risk your life over this!" Kikuoka then watched as Alice snapped her head towards Kazuto with a scowl, "My life is my own to give! It is our duties as former S.A.O players to deal with this!" Kikuoka honestly did not want to be the initial reason that these two teenagers that were honestly perfect for one another to break up.

As he watched these two glare at one another, Kikuoka then frantically fanned his hands, "Wait! We are willing to compensate you by this much!" With that much money being offered, Kazuto wasn't really left with a choice. He honestly and truly needed that money to set aside for his future in the form of the school of his choice, as well as buying something rather special for Alice once they dated for a bit longer and he had saved up enough money to go through with those plans.

With both now on board, Kikuoka released a heavy breath before beginning to explain the entire situation at hand, "Now, you both will be closely monitored while diving in G.G.O from the same hospital room. You both are quite familiar with the nurse that I chose for you two so that nothing happens to either of you. Your shift starts tonight, so I'm wishing both of you the best of luck. If you find out his handle before B.o.B, then you are free to logout of the game to save many lives."

Smiling at both of them, Kikuoka then spoke in a grateful tone, "I cannot begin to describe how much this means to all of those who still hold enough faith in VR games to play them. Now, you haven't even heard the name he goes by, which is not his actual handle in the game. It's Death Gun. So, now that you know his voice and the name he goes by, we need you to find out his handle as quickly and quietly as you possibly can. Though, knowing Kirito, nothing ever goes by quietly."

Folding his arms, he then sighed, "Should he recognize either of your handles, which I am sure that he will if he actually is an S.A.O survivor, he will be literally "gunning" for you both." Alice then smiled softly as she stood, only to then speak in a darkened tone once she turned away, "Kikuoka... if anything happens to Kazuto, you might as well kill me too. There would be no point in living without him. Also, I have no need for the payment... so give the full promised payment to Kazuto."

Before either left, Kikuoka then smiled, "Don't you worry Alice. If things become far too risky, we will pull you both out." Exiting while holding Kazuto's hand, Kikuoka chuckled softly, "As you wish, your majesty. I honestly wish I could be there to see Kirigaya's face when he notices his avatar. Oh, the look will be priceless. Alice will probably laugh at him hysterically, which would be even funnier to watch. However, I know that if anyone can figure this out... it will definitely be those two."

Frustrated as hell as they walked into the hospital, Kazuto fumed, "Why did you have to agree Alice?!" She had been listening to her boyfriend's non-stop bitching ever since they left the restaurant, which frankly, she was so ticked off at that she grabbed the front of his shirt before slamming him against the wall, "You listen, and listen well... I am not some fragile little flower. To me, it sounds as if you do not trust me to hold any of the power that I once held to complete any of this!"

Gripping his shirt tighter, her darkened tone then rolled out like a slap across the face, "If I had wanted or wished to be babied, then I would have insisted that Selko come with me! Now, knock it the hell off!" Shoving him away from her, he stood there in an ashamed manner. He knew how strong and adaptable she was as a player, but, he had just treated her as if she were a liability to this entire covert mission. However, even he knew that this was not covert at all. They were live bait.

Entering far before Kazuto, Alice blinked rapidly, "Miss Aki?" Aki gave a cute two-fingered salute, "Miss Zuberg! It's wonderful to see you! I'll be watching over both of your bodies while you dive into G.G.O! I need to place heart monitors on you, so go ahead and strip for me!" Blushing at how she had just put it, she then released a breath and removed her jacket and long-sleeved shirt, only to have heart monitors stuck all over her before she laid down, "I am going to head in first."

Nurse Aki blinked rapidly at this, only to give a rather puzzled question, "You don't want to wait for Kazuto?" Alice shook her head and chuckled, "No, I would like to get a feel for the game!" Nodding her head brightly, Alice then placed the AmuSphere on before lying back and closing her eyes, "Link start!" Right then, Kazuto entered to see Alice was already diving... without her shirt on. Seeing nurse Aki, she then embarrassed the hell out of him by telling him to strip as well.

Once Alice was in the game, her long platinum blonde locks fluttered in the wind and the stench of oil was thick in the air, making her think, 'Disgusting...' Her blue eyes that held streaks of silver in them shifted around before she began to walk in beginners clothing. She wished Akihiko was here because she... she was lost, 'This most definitely is not good. I have no gear, no weapons, nothing.' Seeing a teen walking all by himself, she then jogged up, "Hey, ya mind if I ask you something?"

Looking at her, he then smiled at how damn innocent she looked and appeared, "You're new here?" Nodding and rubbing the back of her head sheepishly, she figured that she should talk more "improper" for a game such as this, "Mhm! That's right! My name's Alice! I... um... I could really use your help getting some gear and a weapon if you aren't busy." He wasn't used to getting any attention from pretty girls, so he bashfully blushed, "My name's Spiegel, it's nice to meet you, Alice."

Smiling brightly at him, she hoped that this would do the trick to get what she wanted. This made him blush harder as he nodded, "Yeah, I'll help you out Alice." Walking beside him, he then questioned, "Is this your first VR game?" Shaking her head, she then gave a bright and bubbly laugh, "I converted from another game! I was playing fantasy games for a bit, so I figured that it was time for some hardcore gameplay! I was curious about gunfights so I'm going to sign up for B.o.B!"

This made him chuckle at how adorable she really was, "Well, that takes some guts for a new player to join in. By the way, I don't mind to come across as pushy, but you... you're really cute." Alice gave a burst of chipper laughter, "Everyone has their flaws! But thank you for the compliment!" He didn't think that this girl could actually have any flaws, so he voiced it, "I don't think you can have any flaws." Needing to be devious, she winked, "Oh, my flaw is that I'm actually a man!"

Watching him light up like a firework due to thinking that this "dude" was hot, made her burst into laughter before wiping a tear of joy from her eye, "I'm only kidding! I'm definitely a girl!" Entering a weapons shop, he then smiled, "This is the best weapons shop that I know of." She followed him and listened to all of his explanations over weapons, to which made her brain feel fried, only for him to then stop abruptly, "I probably should have first asked if you even have any money."

Checking, she then hummed, "I have one thousand." Explained to that everyone got one thousand upon joining, she then nodded and grasped her chin, "Oh, I know! Is there any gambling that I can get money from quickly?" He then frowned but nodded, "Yes, there is, but I wouldn't recommend doing them. Like that one. The alley is so narrow that it's hard to not get hit by the gunslinger." Nodding her head, he then snickered, "Look, another sucker is about to add to that huge jackpot."

Looking, she watched as he boasted about winning the jackpot before running into that narrow alleyway, only to freeze and pose, "What's he doing?" Spiegel then chuckled at her, "He's attempting to dodge the bullet lines. It's a defense mechanism that everyone holds to predict the bullet's trajectory." Right as that man hit the third line, he lost balance and fell before he was shot, making Alice hum, "Oh, I get it! If you wait to see the bullet line, it will be too late and you'll lose!"

She then walked forward, only for Spiegel to hold his hand out to her, "Alice, no! Stop!" Turning her head towards him and smiling, she then giggled, "Have a little faith in me!" Paying, she then got ready to run, making everyone stop with widened eyes at how cute she was while making bets that she was going to lose. Spiegel watched with a worried deep frown as the timer went down while little miss Alice blocked out any and all sounds that were now surrounding her so that she could win.

With the gates opening, her eyes flashed with determination as she bolted through the gates at a fast speed, only for her eyes to narrow the moment those red beams pointed at her forehead before the shot was fired and she hastily dodged. With the next rounds of shots fired, she hastily jumped to the side and continued to run by swerving from side to side as people gaped, "She just passed the third line!" Sliding to the ground at the next round of shots, Alice then stood and smirked.

"All out of bullets now, are we?!" Alice grinned, only for a laser to be pulled out and shot, making her swiftly flip over them before landing with a precious smile as she press her hand the gunslinger, making it yell, "No!" Everyone's mouth just about dislocated at her speed as the money was given to her, making her giggle sweetly and accepted all of the money. Walking out, Spiegel then rushed up to her, "Alice, that was really incredible! How did you even dodge those last shots?!"

Blushing at this, Alice then questioned, "Was... Was it that shocking?" Nodding his head at this, he then exclaimed, "There was no time to even see the last shots bullet lines!" Placing her pointer finger to her cheek, she hummed, "Really? Well, it's a game involving guns. So, since it's gambling, I supposed that there was going to be more than one gun involved to throw someone off. So I, you know, predicted the predictions!" This made his mouth drop open, "You predicted the predictions?!"

Walking away with that much money, she began to browse the guns... completely puzzled over the calibrations and specs of some of the guns. Slowly coming to a stop, she then pointed curiously, "Hey, what are these?!" Looking at what she was talking about, he then smiled at her sparkling eyes, "Those are Photon Swords. Some people call them laser swords or light blades. They are pretty useless though and no one uses them. You'd be foolish or completely suicidal in a game of guns."

Trying to make his point across loud and clear, he then continued, "You'd have to get close to your enemy to even use it, which would only end up getting you killed before you could get the chance to attack. I mean, who would do such a thing during a gunfight?" Scrolling through all of the blades, Alice's eyes then lit up once she found one that mirrored her Osmanthus Sword with the way that it was golden, only for her to purchase it, "If it's sold here, then it has to be good!"

With a mechanical dispenser coming to her, the blade then appeared, making her smile and take it, "Thank you!" The dispenser then gained a smiley face as it spoke, "Thank you for your purchase!" Once it rolled away, Alice then opened the blade and gawked, "Whoa..." Spiegel was no different, considering that he had never witnessed one of these swords in use before. He watched her gain a composed battle stance before thinking, 'She really looks like she knows what she's doing...'

Her eyes then snapped open and her fifty-hit combo sword skill was then tested for the shape of an osmanthus flower to appear before popping like a bubble, making Spiegel clap his hands, "Those are your fantasy game skills?! I'm so impressed!" Blushing lightly, Alice then shifted her eyes away, "O-Oh, it's nothing special, I promise." Chuckling, he then explained, "Well, I guess you're sold on that being your main weapon. Though, you should have a handgun as well for backup."

Getting a handgun as well, she then gained white, blue, and gold armor that didn't look much different than the gear she wore in A.L.O, plus got a laser shield. Told not to equip any of her gear as of yet, she nodded innocently and remained in her leisure clothing as the two began to walk elsewhere, only for him to then chuckle at her adorable puzzled face and question, "Where are we going?" - "I'm going to take a guess and say that you've never fired a gun before. Let's change that."

Taken to a shooting range, Alice plugged her ears due to all of the racket that other guns being tested were making, making her groan at how loud it was. Taken to a vacant lot, she then held her gun up, only to see a green circle becoming larger before shrinking, only for him to explain, "Right about now, you should be seeing a gray or green circle in your line of sight, it's called auto-assist. So, your bullet will hit somewhere in that circle. The calmer you are, the more accurate you will be."

She was so used to keeping both eyes open and breathing evenly that once she fired, she hit the target perfectly on her first try. Clicking the button, the target then came closer to them, only for Spiegel to notice that she had hit it spot-on. What in the hell... This was her first time in the game and she was already this good?! Chuckling to hide his annoyance, Spiegel then questioned, "Are you sure this is your first time playing the game?" Alice then nodded, "Yeah, it's beginners luck is all!"

Smiling at Spiegel as they walked out, Alice then bowed deeply to him, "I really can't thank you enough for all of your help. None of this would have been possible if I had never found you, or if you hadn't agreed to help me out. So, I'm in your debt Spiegel." Blushing heavily, he then shook his head abruptly, "No, no! Don't thank me! I just wanted to make sure that you were prepared for the tournament! C'mon, if we don't get you to the governor's office, you won't be able to enter!"

Happily, the two walked side-by-side to the governor's office while talking until they arrived with fifteen minutes to spare. 'She... She's too cute to kill... but I have to do it to prove a point that I'm the best!' - "Spiegel? Are you alright?" Alice spoke in a worried tone, making him look at her and nod, "Of course! I was just thinking about how incredible you were during that gambling game and your first shot in the shooting range! I guess I just got a bit jealous over how good you really are."

Humming softly as they walked inside, he then questioned curiously, "By the way, I never asked, what are your highest stats?" Blinking softly at the question, she then smiled brightly, "Well, I guess I would have to say that my two highest stats are strength and agility! What about you? I'll bet you're super powerful compared to me!" Talking this "improper" was throwing her off... and she had almost slipped a few times. Watching him shake his head, he sighed, "My highest stat is agility."

Nodding her head innocently, he then took her to the terminals where you signed up, only to ask, "Do you need any help, or do you have it?" Alice could only give a burst of bright and chipper laughter over the question, "I think I can handle it! Are you signing up as well Spiegel? I think that you should go for it!" He then shook his head and gave a breathy chuckle, "Oh, no. Truthfully, I'm not as good as you are!" Frowning, she nodded as she clicked to sign up once he walked away.

'You... You input your real life data in this?!' Her thoughts screamed. She was not about to play that game... not knowing someone was standing right behind her. Pushing 'OK' without entering any of her data, Alice then exited the stall before smiling at Spiegel, "I really appreciate all of your help Spiegel! You were so kind to go out of your way to help me!" Bowing respectfully towards him, he then chuckled, "It wasn't a problem! C'mon, the preliminaries are this way! Just follow me!"

Nodding her head, she followed him into an elevator before taken down to the lower levels. Once the doors opened, she gained a hidden nervous face once she stepped off. Hearing everyone cocking their guns to intimidate her, she effectively ignored everyone as he took her to a changing room, but he did inform her, "Hey, make sure that you don't equip either of your weapons until right before your match begins." Smiling, she nodded, "Right! I promise I won't let you down Spiegel!"

Entering the room, Alice could only release a heavy breath before shifting her eyes down once she removed her leisure gear to place all of her combat gear on while softly mumbling, "I should have waited for Kirito... I hope he made it in time to sign up and got some money for some gear and weapons." Releasing a heavy breath, Alice gave her cheeks a rough pat, "Pull yourself together Alice! Focus! You have a task!" Not equipping either of her weapons as told, she then walked out.

Everyone's head snapped towards this beauty and were almost tempted to drool as they noticed the cutouts on her hips of her sleeveless ankle long blue attire that was outlined in gold, the rather short white shorts that were free to see in the front only, the thigh high golden boots, the wrist high fingerless white gloves, and the sparkly white belt securely clasped around her firm core. Blushing heavily, she then jogged to Spiegel who looked as if he were talking to himself, "Spiegel!"

Turning his head, he blushed heavily at her as she instantly clung to his arm and hid her face against it, "Does my gear look bad? Everyone is staring at me." This made Spiegel chuckle softly while threading his free hand through her long platinum locks before replying, "No, it's the exact opposite. I just think you gained some admirers is all." Looking up with an adorable pout, she playfully swatted his arm, "Hey, don't embarrass me! That's not funny! Anyway, I hope I didn't interrupt you."

Shaking his head, he then laughed at how damn cute she was... she was far cuter than Sinon, "Oh, no. Not at all!" Peering around as if confused, she then questioned, "Who were you talking to anyway? I mean, I didn't exactly see anyone." This made him internally freak out, but he remained in character, "Ah, I was just reminding myself of the things that I have to do once I log out. That's all. Also, my friend should be here by now... the preliminary round is going to start any moment."

Snickering, he then began to lead her to sit down, "C'mon, I'll explain the prelims to you since this is your first B.o.B that you are participating in!" Nodding her head brightly, the two walked to a seat before sitting down. Once he explained it, she understood the borderline concept of the matches, making her nod before noticing his worry, "Hey, don't look so worried! I promised that I wouldn't let you down right? Well, when I make a promise, I always keep them no matter what!"

Peering down, she then frowned, "Though... I would be lying if I claimed that I was not worried." - 'Shit! I sounded too proper!' Thankfully, this flew right over his head, but it hadn't fooled their invisible buddy that was sitting with them. He would confront her. However, he wouldn't do it yet. He needed to witness as to how she fought before he confronted one or the other first. They could be simply using the names... It wasn't uncommon for people to take legendary players names.

Fanning his hand, Spiegel then laughed, "Ah, don't you worry Alice! You'll do great! I have faith that you'll keep your word!" Alice then looked up and smiled, "Thanks, I'm glad you feel that way. Also, the pep-talk was much appreciated! I will give them everything I've got as long as I know that you're rooting for me!" He then smiled before laughing, "Honestly, I didn't think you would be nervous! You avoid bullets as if you're a ghost! However, of course I'll be cheering you on as you fight!"

Shifting his gaze up due to facing the elevator doors, he noticed Sinon entering with another beautiful... girl... before entering the changing room. Shifting his attention back to her he then smirked, "You'll kick ass, I know it Alice!" Adorably clamping her gloved fists in front of her, she then nodded, "Right! I will have your spirit with me as a good luck charm! I just hope you don't mind me borrowing that spirit," she teased playfully with an added adorable wink that had him blushing.

He had made it just in time with five minutes to spare. After someone had completely cleared out the gambling, it was filled back up pretty fast due to all of the people who had been amazed at the little lady's show of beating something no one else could. When Sinon had been told that a new player had beaten it, she had been dumbfounded, yet watched as people continued to lose until there was plenty of money piled in it once again due to not having Kirito or Alice's reaction speed.

Making it to the preliminary rounds area, Kirito was a tad freaked out once he exited with his little partner that had helped him out. Turning her head, she then smiled and pointed, "Come on, you'll need some privacy to change into all of your gear." Nodding his head, Kirito then followed her inside as she sat down and released an exasperated sigh, "Ugh, what dumbasses!" Blinking rapidly, he had to ask what she had meant "Do you mean all of those tough looking guys out there?"

Folding her arms and huffing, she then groaned, "Yes. I mean, showing off your main weapons before the battle has even started? It's like they are asking for me to come up with a strategy to counter them!" Laughing softly at her while sweat dropping, he then had to agree with her completely, "Yeah, you're right. That does seem silly." She then stood and smiled softly at the unknown male teen as she spoke, "Take my advice, don't equip your weapons until just before your match."

Kirito could only nod at her until she removed all of her clothing to place her gear on. Frantically shielding his eyes, he then straightened up, "I-I can't! I-I mean, I'm sorry!" Bowing deeply, he then pulled up his character information, "I-I haven't introduced myself yet!" Swiping his information to her, she then skimmed over it, "Uh, okay? Kirito... interesting name. Wait, MALE?! You're a guy with THAT face?!" Hearing nothing for the longest time, he then looked up to see a furious face.

Stiffening up over her face as she covered her chest, she then shouted, "Why you!" A harsh slap was then delivered that Alice actually heard, making her turn her head around curiously, "Whoa, someone just got hit really hard!" Turning her head back around right before Sinon and Kirito exited, she then noticed Spiegel standing up, making her tilt her head, only to gain a worried face, "Spiegel? Are... Are you leaving before the prelims even start?" This made him peer back and chuckle.

Shaking his head at her, he then smiled, "Of course not. That friend that I was talking about is here and I want to wish her good luck before it all starts, that's all! I'll introduce you two if there is any time!" Alice then nodded her head and sat there appearing overly anxious as a single boot began to rapidly thud against the ground in a nervous and anxious disposition while she waited for Spiegel to return to her side to give her the encouragement that she actually needed to get this done.

Being alone in a world where she knew no one in... again... was actually terrifying her. Nervously chewing on her lower lip, her eyes then shifted over to witness Spiegel speaking to another girl, who she presumed was his friend, to give her encouraging words as well. She felt so alone that her spirits were beginning to crack... even if she actually wasn't alone due to the invisible buddy she had unofficially made sitting extremely close to her to study her every movement as of now.

Approaching his friend, he then smiled, "Hey Sinon! I was getting nervous that you weren't going to make it!" Sinon then peered up and blinked softly before replying, "Hey Spiegel, I almost didn't make it... thanks to an unexpected chore," her eyes then shifted to Kirito, who bowed his head politely before speaking, "That would be me." Spiegel instantly blushed over how cute "she" was as well until Sinon dryly spoke out, "Yeah... she is actually a he, so I wouldn't get your hopes up."

Appearing shocked that this was actually a male, Spiegel's eyes widened immensely, "You're a guy?!" Kirito then chuckled and smiled brightly, "Yeah, sorry about that! Hey Sinon, thanks for showing me a good time! It was a great first date!" Sinon instantly turned bright red, "What?! It was not a date!" Humming softly, he then nodded, "Yeah, your right. If my girlfriend ever heard me say that, she would kill me without any mercy. Though, she's naturally sweet, loving, and adorable."

Seeming dumbfounded at this, Sinon then blurted out, "No way, you have a girlfriend?!" Nodding his head innocently, he then laughed brightly, "Yeah, she's here... somewhere. I just can't find her to be honest. Though, I'm a bit grateful she hasn't witnessed me in this avatar." The moment Sinon scowled at him, he fanned his hand, only to chuckle, "Oh, lighten up! Also, thank you for helping me pick out all of my weapons and gear!" Sinon then growled, "Because I thought you were a girl!"

Watching as the countdown hit ten, he then began to walk away as Sinon shouted, "Mark my words! I will beat you!" Kirito then came to a stop before turning his head towards her, "Yeah, that's if you can beat me." Hearing her furious growls, Kirito's eyes then shifted over slightly to see this female's male friend scowling deeply at him, making him think to himself, 'Maybe I took things too far...' Spiegel then sighed as he spoke, "I also helped someone new, but she wasn't a chore."

This made Sinon lift her brows, "Really now?" He then nodded his head with a smile, "Yup! You should come and meet her after your match! She's super sweet! I think that you'd really like her!" Sinon then grumbled to herself, "I think meeting one new person was enough for me today." Noticing the timer hit the five second mark, Spiegel sighed, "Well, good luck anyway. I know that you'll win no matter what. You are the best sniper that I know of in the whole game, so I'm not worried."

Spiegel had never made it back to her once she was teleported into the holding area before the match began, only for her to gulp heavily and equip her sword and gun. Taking a deep breath, she gained her game face, "Remember Alice... he's with you in spirit... both of them." With that, her determined blue and gray-streaked orbs snapped open the moment she entered the arena as Spiegel watched and softly spoke, "Come on Alice... you can do it. You're strong, so win it for both of us."

"Oh my god, there's no way in hell that I can win this! I can't predict all of those bullet lines!" Alice squeaked as bullets flew by her to slice open her cheek, thigh, and arm before taking cover. Thinking, she then reached behind her before mumbling, "Wait... yes I can. The bullet lines show me exactly where those bullets are going to go!" Unclipping her Photon Sword, she then began listening intently as the male crawled through the bushes, only for her eyes to snap open, "NOW!"

Dashing out, everyone watching gained a shocked face the moment that golden blade appeared and she shouted, "Come on! Bring it!" Bullets began flying, only for that blade to be put to mighty good use. No one knew that those blades actually melted and deflected the bullets fired. She wore such flashy clothing that it was pretty hard to miss her seas of platinum blonde locks fluttering violently in the wind as she began to gracefully twirl that blade around her body to keep her protected.

Holding her handgun in her left hand, she continued to deflect those bullets while firing her own gun. The grace held was impeccable as she thought, 'Kirito wouldn't give up, so neither will I!' Pressing harsh off of the ground, Alice flipped onto one of the rune's pillars before smirking, "Would you like time to reload, or shall I finish this?" Her opponent appeared terrified and was trying to hastily reload, making her give a deadly smirk as she swiftly pressed off, "No answer?! You're done for!"

Shooting forward right as he brought his gun up, she then appeared right in front of him and spoke in a low tone, "You might as well say your prayers now..." As he tried to fire, he realized... she had sliced his gun in half, making Spiegel clench his fist in front of him, "Come on Alice!" Kirito, who was already back from his match, wasn't paying any attention to Spiegel when this was said as he watched for Sinon, not Alice. He had completely forgotten that she had come with him by now.

That fifty-hit combination was then delivered, only for her to playfully wink, bring her gun up and press it against her opponents forehead as that osmanthus flower appeared before she pulled the trigger, causing for the man to fall back... defeated. The winner icon then popped up before she did the same thing as Kirito and attempted to sheath that blade behind her, only for her to blink rapidly and close the blade before clipping it back on her belt as she holstered her gun.

Sliding to her knees, she then released a heavy groan, "Ugh, you have to be kidding with me. I have to do that three more times?" Transported back to the waiting area, she then released a heavy breath until hearing a voice coming from right behind her, "Are you the real one?" With widened eyes, Alice jumped back and shakily reached back with trembling hands as she went for her blade until releasing a breath, "I'm not sure that I follow. What do you mean am I the "real" one?!"

The masked man then spoke out the same thing eerily, "Are you the real one?" Forcing herself to relax, she then scowled, "I'm not understanding! Can you be clear?!" That eerie tone rattled something deep within her soul as he unknowingly smirked when he spoke, "I noticed your... match. So, are you her?" He then opened up the list of competitors, clicked her name and slid it to her, "With that specific fifty-hit combo to create the osmanthus flower, are you the real deal or not?"

Looking at her name, she clenched her trembling hands and couldn't find the words to speak until he closed the window, "It doesn't matter if you're the real deal, or not. One day, I will kill you." His hand then lowered to show his wrist so that her eyes widened once she witnessed the emblem of Laughing Coffin. Once he was gone, Alice shakily made her way to sit down with unfocused orbs as he went to interrogate Kirito as well, only for him to end up in the same exact condition.

Trembling with tears in her eyes, Spiegel gained the message 'Turn around.' Turning around, he witnessed Alice and ran to her, "Alice!" Making it to her, he then got to his knees and took her hands, "Alice, what happened?!" Right then, Sinon then turned to see the terrified expression held in Alice's eyes. For someone so strong, she acted so weak. When she took a closer look at her face, she realized the look that this girl held... was the same weakness held within her own heart and soul.

Alice couldn't answer Spiegel no matter how hard she had wished to voice her distress as those gathered tears in her eyes began sliding down her face. Sinon watched in a worried fashion as Spiegel went to comfort her, only for her to vanish again to another round, making him snap around to the monitors. Sinon then approached him and began to question him once Alice arrived in a new arena with her head lowered as shots sliced her cheek open again, making her finally breathe.

Unclipping her blade and opening it, she slowly walked forward as she opened it and allowed those shots to continue hitting her. It terrified this man more than anything as to how damn calm she appeared and wasn't even attempting to deflect the bullets. Spiegel watched her with worry, only to scowl and send a message, 'Leave Alice alone! I mean it! You can mentally screw her boyfriend over but leave her out of it!' Looking back at the screen, he watched her making her way forward.

Once she stopped, she calmly stood in front of this man with lost eyes as the barrel of his gun was pressed to her forehead. Wasn't she scared in the slightest?! If she was, she was completely unwilling to show it! This made him hesitate to the point that she released a breath, "You're taking too damn long..." Swiftly her blade rammed into his chest as her furious gaze blazed with a burning hatred, she watched as that blade began to melt his flesh away and deplete his health until gone.

With the winner icon given, she returned for a short break. Spiegel had already spoken to Sinon about how powerful Alice was, making the sniper wishing to fight her at any cost. After that, she was sent in again. Dropping all of her emotions, her bland eyes stared forward as she bolted forward, only to deflect a few shots before flipping over him and slicing him in half. Sent to the semi-finals, she noticed her opponent - Sinon. Once inside the arena, all she did was stand there blandly.

Slowly walking forward as Sinon watched the beautiful lass through her scope, she had hoped that this would have been Kirito, but she supposed that Alice was just as good due to carrying the same weapons. What was throwing her off... was the way that the platinum blonde simply didn't care. Each shot Sinon fired... she was missing. So frustrated at this, she then ran out of the bus and pointed her gun at Alice, "Fight me! Or would that just be a waste of bullets?! You two are the same!"

Alice then sighed softly, "None of this matters..." Furious, Sinon gained tears in her eyes as she spoke emotionally, "You both just think that this is just some game! Some stupid game that doesn't matter! But for me, this means everything!" Lifting her head, she then sighed apologetically, "I'm sorry... I will give you the fight you wish for. Do you have any bullets remaining?" Narrowing her eyes, she then nodded, "Yeah, I've got one." Nodding her head, she then pulled out her gun.

Sinon quickly directed her sniper towards Alice, only for her to hold a hand up and remove a single bullet from the chamber of her gun, only to catch it before putting her gun away. Looking into Sinon's eyes, she then spoke, "We will have a duel then. Fifty meters apart... You, with your sniper, and me with my blade. Is that acceptable?" Sinon then scoffed, "At that distance, there's no way that I can miss!" Alice then smirked, "Won't know unless we try. Now, do you accept the duel?"

Narrowing her orbs as if this might be a trick, Sinon then nodded, "I accept." Walking back, Alice waited until she was in position before tossing the single bullet into the air and hastily unclipped her blade before the golden beam appeared. Getting into position... Alice watched Sinon's eye carefully through her scope until that bullet hit the ground. Firing, Alice swiftly sliced upward and cut the sniper's bullet in two, making her step back, "No way..." Darting forward, Alice then caught her.

With her blade now held to Sinon's throat, her blue and gray orbs stared into the mirroring female's orbs, "You're right, I did treat this world as if it were just a game at first... but I should know better than anyone that this does not apply to everyone involved." Sinon then questioned, "How... How did you know where I was aiming?" Alice then answered her evenly, "I watched your eye through your scope." Tearing up over this, Sinon then whimpered out, "How are you so strong?!"

Alice stared into her opponent's eyes as she replied, "It's not strength... it's just a skill." Sinon then shook her head abruptly, "Skill alone cannot just cut my bullet! You have strength and that's all I want! I want to know how to be as strong as you are!" Alice then sighed, "Let me ask you... If your bullets could actually take the life of another in the real world, could you still pull that trigger? Would you be capable of having your hands stained with the blood of another to protect others?"

Lowering her head slightly, Alice then mumbled, "Because I have taken the life of others and claimed it as justifiable that I was doing some sort of good in the world. That's right, my hands are stained with the blood of other people just because they were a threat to other people's lives. Each day is a struggle to push through the pain of knowing that I took the lives of others... and I cannot even remember them. I pulled that trigger even though I knew it would result in their deaths..."

Sinon's eyes grew large at this as she witnessed tears falling from this girl's eyes. She knew what she did was wrong... but despite that, she fights the pain that it causes her. She lives with that heavy burden that she has forcefully placed on her own shoulders, but unlike herself... who only runs from that guilt and pain, Alice pushes forward to come to terms with what she has done in her past. It wasn't strength that she held, she merely took responsibilities for those taken lives.

Reaching up and placing her hand on the hurting blonde's cheek, Alice merely smiled that pain away and lightly shook her head, "Doesn't this mean that I won our little duel? I'd rather not have to hurt you if I don't have to." Sinon then nodded as she peered into Alice's eyes, "Oh, yeah, I guess it does." Placing her blade away and helping her stand, she then spoke when she turned away, "However, you will receive no mercy from me in the finals!" Alice then smiled tenderly, "That's fine."

Not once had she found Kirito... so, once she logged out, Alice sat up in an exhausted manner and pulled the heart monitor off of her before slipping her shirt back on, only to remember the voice of Death Gun. Her soul felt the aftershock as she shakily stood up and held up her hand before speaking with a weak tone, "I-I will see you tomorrow Miss Aki..." Her legs felt so weak as of now that if she didn't focus on each step she now took, she could possibly collapse at any given moment.

Aki had heard this terrified and distressed tone that this beautiful teenaged girl now held, but she was not going to ask due to how fragile she had sounded as she spoke softly to not shatter the poor girl's soul completely, "Have a good night Alice. Be safe on your way home." She didn't know what could have happened that could have pushed such a strong girl to behave so weakly. That fragile and shaky voice was hard to hear coming from one of the two people to beat Sword Art Online.

Exiting the room on shaky legs, Alice then made it to her motorcycle and got on before driving home. Parking once she arrived and walking inside of the home, she instantly stumbled to her room, her face appearing pale as if she had just witnessed a ghost. Passing Selko on the way due to Akihiko locking him out of his account for eight hours, he stopped once he witnessed Alice's widened eyes, causing for him to stop to look at her with worried eyes over her clear distress.

Entering her room and locking her door, Alice then changed into one of Kazuto's black long-sleeved shirts and removed her pants to curl up in bed. With his scent surrounding her, Alice broke down until her phone began to vibrate. Looking at her phone, she then took many deep breaths to calm herself, but she knew this wouldn't fool him, "Hell-Hello?" Akihiko's voice then projected in a worried tone, "Mother, are you alright? I got hold of father first and he sounded just as bad."

Continuing, Akihiko could've basically spoken a frown at that point, "I've been worried about you and father all day. Mother... I think father needs you. Go to him." Crying softly, she could only speak out through soft hiccups, "Akihiko, I miss you sweetie, but I will be alright." He wished that he could hold her or give her snuggles as of now due to how broken she sounded, "Yui and I both miss you a lot mother. I love you mother, now get some sleep," he wasn't going to push her to talk.

Lying down, she whimpered out before he hung up, "Akihiko... stay with me until I fall asleep please." He wouldn't argue with her demands, so he continued to speak to her tenderly and softly even when he no longer heard her replying to his words. He stayed on the phone the entire night as he heard her tossing and turning from a violent nightmare that she was holding. This was entirely his fault. She wouldn't be in so much pain if he hadn't kept everyone locked inside of a game.

Sleeping restlessly until late afternoon, she sat up to see Akihiko still on the phone. Picking her plugged in phone up, she then took the charging cord out before standing and walking to the bath, "Akihiko, you are still here?" A gentle pause was then heard as she stepped inside of the warm bath before he softly replied to her, "Of course I am still here for you. You are hurting... but if you don't wish to tell me why you are hurting, then that's your choice. I'm not going to push you mother."

Taking her bath and finally feeling a bit better, she hung up with Akihiko as she got dressed in a new loose blue t-shirt and tugged a pair of white skinny jeans on before placing her gold-chained osmanthus necklace and bracelet on, only to brush her hair and walk down her stairs. Sitting down at her table with Selko already there, he then chuckled, "Alice, I found something weird online once I logged out for my eight hour ban." He then turned his tablet around and pointed at her name.

Blinking softly at this, she then peered up, "What? Someone else could be using the same name." He then lifted his brow before releasing a dreaded sigh, "Look, you can drop the act. I know that you transferred your account over to G.G.O to participate in B.o.B because after sleeping my eight hour ban away, I got on and got an odd feeling. When I checked my friends list, I noticed that you weren't even on it anymore." Chuckling, Alice then winked, "I didn't think that you checked!"

Hearing the way that his sister had just spoken so "improperly", his mouth gaped, "ALICE!" Jumping, she then nodded, "Yeah?" He looked far too dumbfounded as of now... his sister never said "yeah", or, "didn't". She would have "properly" said "yes" and "did not". Releasing a chuckle, he then propped his chin up into his palm, "Look at who became improper again." Turning bright red, Alice then hurled his tablet at him, "IDIOT! DO NOT CLAIM SUCH THINGS, FOR I HAVE TO ACT!"

Just as fast as that "improper" way of speaking came, it was gone just as fast, making him sigh after catching his tablet, "It wasn't an insult sis... I miss the way that you used to talk when you were young. Maybe this game will be good for you. Also, look at this! Kazuto is headed to the finals as well. So, I will be cheering for you, as will Akihiko, Yui, Sassa, and Yuna. I can send Akihiko to you if you want. Honestly, I could tell something happened by the way you came home last night."

Shifting her head down and biting her lower lip, Alice had to hold in her tears as Selko stood up and made his way behind her to drape his arms gently around her neck, "You looked as if something terrifying had happened. You know that you can talk to me, right sis?" Nodding her head, she raised one of her hands to lightly grasp his arm, "I do appreciate that Selko, it happens to mean the world to me that I can depend on you as much as I can. So, I thank you for everything."

Knowing fully well that since this was a given team effort, Kikuoka would give Kazuto her payment as well, but she would also gain her own separate large payment. How she knew? Well, he had texted it to her. Taking in a deep breath, she then smiled, "Selko, when all of this is over then I will buy you anything that you want. I am being paid to do this, you know. Besides, I am aware that it is almost your sixteenth birthday. So, give it some thought, alright? Now sit down and eat."

Moving around her and sitting in front of her, he began to eat his meal, only to swallow, "I know that these tournaments can take a long time, so I will only say this... Do your absolute best. I know that you can win this if you give it your all. When I say that, I meant to say go and kick some ass so that you win. You are one tough opponent no matter where you are." Finishing her meal, she then stood and began to exit her home slowly, "Selko, I will not be back until late tonight. Take care."

Elsewhere, Sinon, or, Shino Asada and Spiegel, or, Kyouji Shinkawa were at a playground with one another as Shino furiously kicked the metal bars of the swings that Kyouji now sat on, "Who do they think they are?! Using swords in a game of guns! Especially Kirito! He walks around with that dumb avatar, and then has the nerve to act all hurt?! He seriously pisses me off!" Furiously sitting down, Kyouji appeared dumbfounded, "Calm down Asada!" She then sat down on a swing angrily.

She then growled furiously, "It's frustrating! They both act all hurt and then they go and kick all sorts off ass!" Kyouji then laughed softly at her, "Well, you make a good point there. Oh, I know! I can gather a bunch of people to be your back-up and tell Kirito that you want to talk to him. Then, you can take him down!" She then shook her head, "No... that's okay, you mentioned Kirito, but not Alice, why? Even though they both make me angry, they both fight in a way that's honorable."

Looking back to her time spent in the ring with Alice, she remembered those tears falling from those beautiful blue and grey eyes as she spoke to her, making her stand and point her fingers in the shape of a gun towards a light, "Mark my words Kirito and Alice! I will be the bullet that defeats you both! So you'd better watch your backs out there!" Kyouji appeared amazed that she was actually doing what she was doing, causing for him to stand, "Asada? You don't see what you're doing?"

Shifting her head to him and then back to her hand, she appeared amazed before laughing softly, "I guess I was so angry that I didn't even notice!" His arms were then around her in little to no time at all, making her panic, "Shinkawa? What's wrong?" He then shook his head, "Ever since you met those two, you can't stop talking about them! Asada, I love you!" Shino then gained a sad face as she noticed a child, 'That's right... I was normal once. I laughed and cried like anyone else.'

Abruptly pushing him away, Shino then looked away nervously, "I'm sorry Shinkawa, but, until I win this, I can't think about being in a relationship and can go back to living a normal life." He then peered down before giving a fake smile that appeared too believable, "Right! I know that you will win this too!" Alice's face then flashed in his mind before he frowned deeply, 'She treats me so well and depends on me for support as well... but here I am professing my love to someone else.'

Holding her hand up once she noticed as to what time it was, Shino then gave an almost nervous laugh, "Well, the finals are going to start soon and I don't want to be late!" Nodding his head, he then smiled, "Right, and I'll be there to cheer you on!" With that the two left to their homes to prepare for the finals of the third Bullet of Bullets. Locking her door, she forgot to put the chain lock on as she undressed to a simple shirt before turning to look at a drawer that held her source of pain.

Slowly walking to that drawer, she then remembered what Alice had said. Those words that held so much pain, so much guilt, so much sorrow over the actions she had once committed in the same manner that she, herself, continued to feel over what she had done... "Let me ask you... If your bullets could actually take the life of another in the real world, could you still pull that trigger? Would you be capable of having your hands stained with the blood of another to protect others?"

Those deep words that Alice had spoken echoed... "Because I have taken the life of others and claimed it as justifiable that I was doing some sort of good in the world. That's right, my hands are stained with the blood of other people just because they were a threat to other people's lives. Each day is a struggle to push through the pain of knowing that I took the lives of others... and I cannot even remember them. I pulled that trigger even though I knew it would result in their deaths..."

Taking a deep breath, Shino raised her hand up shakily as she thought to herself, 'Feel remorse for the death in general while taking responsibility so that I can move forward. In the same regard, I saved the life of many others due to pulling that trigger that day, so I have to shoulder that responsibility of knowing that I took a life.' Opening the drawer, she then picked up the source of all of her anxiety... a gun. Anxiety instantly flooded her system no matter what, only to end up sick.

Once she had purged her stomach, she passed by a mirror to notice her pale skin, only to think, 'I look awful... How does she live with the guilt?' Turning her lights off, Shino then got into bed before clutching her nerve gear in her hands as she curled up, "All I want is to be strong like her... So, why can't I be? I won't know until I win this..." Taking her glasses off and placing them to the side, she then placed the AmuSphere on her head, only to lie back and close her eyes, "Link start..."

Parking at the hospital as the sun began to set, Alice walked inside appearing soulless. Entering the room she was diving from, she silently removed her shirt and had nurse Aki place the electrodes all over her body before speaking, "Well, it seems tonight you're in for a long dive." Clasping her hands together tightly, she then softly asked, "Miss Aki, do you mind terribly if I ask you a question...?" Looking towards Alice, she then sat beside her, "Of course you can! What's wrong Alice?"

Shifting a frown from side to side, she then asked softly, "You do not have to answer this if you find it too personal, but, do you remember the names and faces of each patient that has died while in your care?" Humming softly as a way of thinking, she then came to her conclusion and nodded towards the literal golden child, "Well, that's a tough one... as you know, I was in trauma beforehand, so let me think. Yes, I remember them all... even those I only spent an hour or so with."

A deep frown then plastered onto Alice's face as she spoke, "Then I am a horrible individual. While in Sword Art Online, I killed a handful of people. They were from a guild that only murdered other people. However, I cannot remember the faces or names of the people that I slayed with my own swords. I mean... I took those lives so easily, and without a second thought, just because their ideals differed from my own! It is almost as if I did not care at the time, and still do not care to this day!"

Aki then took the frantic teenaged girl into her arms, "I believe if something was meant to be forgotten, then you forget without even intending to do so in the first place. However... you wouldn't be suffering like this if you didn't care that you took the lives of others. I mean, what do I really know? I wasn't even in Sword Art Online, so I can only imagine as to what that must have been like, along with the stress that it had to have put you through as a child that had no say in the matters."

Taking a gentle breath as she stroked those long golden locks, Aki then gave a gentle smile, "I am sure once you come to terms with the weight and severity of your sins, that one day... you will remember their faces and names when the time is right. It might not be anytime soon, but once you have come to acknowledge and accept that what you did had to be done to protect the lives of many others, I believe that only then, you will finally begin to forgive yourself so that you can heal."

Nodding her head against Aki's shoulder as she cried, she then whimpered out, "Thank you..." Leaning back, she then wiped her eyes and placed the AmuSphere on, "It will probably be eight hours, possibly more, until I am done." Lying back, Alice took a deep breath, only to hear Aki goofily stating, "Von voyage pretty girl!" Giving a breathy giggle, Alice closed her eyes and called out, "Link start!" Right then, Kazuto walked in to see Alice already diving, only to ask the same as her.

By the time his meltdown was over, he removed his shirt, had the electrodes placed on him before he laid beside Alice and laced his fingers through her own to hold her hand securely as he called out, "Link start!" Walking to enter, he then stopped to see the list of competitors held Alice's name. Sinon then passed him, making him sigh softly before entering behind her. Alice was waiting to enter until the last moment. She hated this damn world and couldn't wait to be out of here after today.

Walking inside of the room, people began to fawn over him... thinking that this he, was a she. As he walked, he became lost in thought, 'Alice, I haven't seen you once this entire time. Where are you?" Bumping into two men, he innocently peered up as the two men jumped to the side, "It... It's Kirito! Go on ahead!" Walking forward a bit, he then had to screw with these guys and Sinon in one shot, "Hey guys..." Everyone appeared nervous that they had now enraged the little "lady".

Well, that was until he turned around and winked while using his girly tone, "Hope y'all root for me!" Everyone began to blush heavily in shock, only to begin saying idiotic things, such as they would bet their lives on "her", making Sinon groan heavily and fold her arms, "Geez, stop messing with them." Turning away and basically skipping away, the two then sat down and he asked her one thing after the match was explained, "Can you point out any of the people you don't recognize?"

Hearing that it was almost showtime, she then erected her form with a deadly expression, "Time to go." Jumping from the ledge, she then slammed to the ground, only for her to stand and begin entering the room. Everyone stared at her as she walked in, making many people point at her, "Look! It's Alice!" - "I wouldn't mind getting slashed by her sword either! Two hot berserkers with blades!" Standing with a hardened resolve, her hair then flurried to show her entire back was bare.

With the countdown beginning, from ten, it hit one quickly for all participants to be teleported into the massive arena, making her think, 'Shit... I should have probably gained some information about the final match from Spiegel. Even I can tell that this arena is massive. It is quite safe to assume that there are multiple different terrains as well.' Bolting at a speed that not many could keep pace with; Alice skidded to a stop and began to slam bullets away from her before darting.

On the outside, people's mouths were dropping, "What in the hell?! She wasn't even that fast during the qualifying rounds!" - "No joke! It's no wonder she picked colors that were easy to find! No one can even touch her, and she moves so fast that she's in one place one moment, only to appear in another moments later!" - "She has to be an agility based player, which can also put her at a disadvantage due to not holding the strength stats to back that godly speed up. What a shame."

Blocking all of those bullets perfectly to not even gain a scratch, she then swiftly reached behind her, grabbed her gun, and appeared right over this man to press her gun to his chest the moment he looked up in shock, "CHECKMATE!" Everyone watching could only sigh, "Sorry little missy, that simple handgun won't do it with only agility stats." That's when they watched her fire and take him down before rolling to the ground to land, only to sprint again. Everyone was left speechless.

Spiegel then snickered at all of the idiots facial expressions before explaining, "You all are wrong about agility being Alice's highest stat. Her strength is her highest stat, with agility being her second highest. I witnessed her stats and they are on the borderline of being terrifying. She's a converted player, so that makes you wonder what she played beforehand, and for how long." Everyone's mouth then dropped, "She's even faster than Yamikaze!" - "Yeah... but Kirito is just as fast."

Back inside of the arena, Alice pulled out her scan to check the remaining players, only to notice that she had been correct over the assumption of there being multiple different terrains. Swiftly clicking all of the names, her face drained of color, "Where is he?!" With the scan turning off, she noted that you didn't get to use it for long periods of times and you could only use it about every fifteen minutes. Humming, she then frowned as she brought her blade behind her to blindly block.

Shaking her head lightly as she continued to blindly block bullets shot at her from behind, she then sighed, "I don't need to see you to hear your breathing, you holding your gun up, or you pressing the trigger!" Snapping around furiously, she then made everyone watching laugh the moment she hurled her gun to smack this man's face, "Dammit all to hell!" That's when she gained a lightbulb and hurled her photon sword to slam into this man's face, "No hard feelings, sorry about that!"

Walking forward, she then picked up both weapons and boosted the potency of her blade to the max before humming aloud, "That had to have hurt. Now I feel bad." Seeing a man on the run from someone incredibly fast and nimble, she exited the forest to curiously watch, only to pull her hair up into a high ponytail, minus the two long strands that framed her face, before folding her arms beneath her breasts, "Hot damn he's fast. He's also just as acrobatic as me. I want to fight next!"

She didn't know that she had an invisible buddy shadowing her again as she walked across the bridge slowly. Hiding on the other side of that bridge... was Sinon. Oh she felt those furious eyes on her and gave a teasing smirk, making Sinon's eye twitch as she mumbled, "She knows that I'm here?!" Kirito then shot out and she snapped around with her gun, only for him to pin her, "I need a favor. I need you to watch this Pale Rider figure." She then scowled, "No! It's too late for favors!"

"Fine! Then just don't kill me until I can make sure of something," he claimed, making her relax, "Fine... but after that, I'm going to kill you!" Hushing her, Kirito then spoke in a soft and rushed tone, "That's fine!" He then jumped off of her and pulled out binoculars to watch as Pale Rider loaded his gun and fired. No weird ritual, no terrifying words were spoken, nothing. This made Kirito release a breath until something platinum blonde, blue, and gold caught his focus entirely, "Alice?!"

Horror struck Kirito's face the moment Alice's invisible buddy then moved away before shooting the man and Alice with a paralysis shot, only to speak nervously, "Did you hear two shots fired?!" Sinon then shook her head, "No... that's because there weren't any." Looking through her scope she witnessed as to what this man was carrying, "Whoa, he's carrying a silent assassin sniper rifle! It has a badass silencer on it! If he can handle that gun then he must be an amazing player."

The moment Alice was hit by that paralysis dart, her legs gave out before she slammed face down on the stone bridge, causing for her long platinum blonde locks to become free in the process. Struggling to lift her head, she was then nudged to her back by his foot before he spoke in that rather eerie tone of voice that had her skin crawling completely, "It's not your turn to die... yet. First, I plan to take you in my own bed as many times as I possibly can until my strength wears out."

Alice's face appeared terrified as those glowing red eyes of his metallic mask stared into her own. Struggling to move as he kneeled down to her, he then ran a single hand up her breasts to grasp her chin... oddly light... as he spoke, "You should have been mine... not that damn black swordsman's." Once she scowled at him, he then chuckled, "Just as I thought, it is you... Osmanthus Alice." Standing, he then began to walk away, only for Alice to find the willpower to point at "Death Gun".

As odd as it was that he hadn't tried killing Alice, Kirito found it to be a blessing in disguise... even if he had just felt his girlfriend up. Watching him walk to Pale Rider and make his odd speech about this being "real" power, Alice then spoke out, "Wait...! Spare him, please! I will take his place!" Turning his head towards her, he then walked to her and kneeled down to nuzzle that same gun between her breasts until she spoke again, "That is... if you don't mind having a corpse to claim."

Kirito watched as she nodded her head at "Death Gun" but could decipher that her nod was meant for Sinon due to not knowing that he was there, making him whisper, "Sinon... Shoot him! Don't let him fire that gun!" Death Gun could only chuckle at her sparkling eyes, "Every male in Laughing Coffin wanted to make you their own, so be patient and wait for me." Walking back to the struggling Pale Rider, tears then streamed down her face, "No! Please stop! Don't hurt him!"

Right as Sinon fired, he then swiftly dodged, only for that bullet to barely miss Alice. That paralysis then wore off her and "Death Gun" fired two paralyzing shots at Alice again as he fired his handgun at the male in the chest before he sprung to his feet, only to then drop his gun and begin clasping his hand over his heart before he fell back for his hand to drop limply to the side for "lost connection" to be witnessed by them before he turned to Alice, making her grit her teeth furiously.

However, the sniper began to fire at him due to fearing for Alice's life, making him flee. Rushing down, Kirito then shouted, "Alice! Hold on baby!" Who in the hell was this calling her baby?! The voice sounded slightly familiar, though, the face and hair did not look familiar in the slightest. Her eyes then widened when Kazuto's face came into mind, "Oh, you have to be kidding me... Kirito?!" Sinon's eyes then widened when he heard all this panic from him, "No way... Alice is his girlfriend?"

With the paralysis now gone, Alice stood up with a twitching eye, "HOW DARE HE ACT WITH SUCH OPEN INDECENCY TO A LADY!" Right then and there, Alice bolted, making Kirito sweat drop, "Alice! Dammit, don't go alone baby!" Skidding to a stop to look at him, Alice pursed her lips, "Oh hell, I can't look at you this way, or I will be laughing non-stop!" Kirito gave her a dry expression as Sinon jogged after Alice, "I'm coming with you too Alice! I can't have you dying until our rematch."

Nodding her head, she then found a way to tick this "Death Gun" off, considering she smirked at Kirito, "Come on pretty boy." Grumbling, he then jogged up before admitting internally that she did have a point, "Right... but first..." Both Alice and Kirito took out their photon swords before snapping around, only for Alice to speak quickly, "Sinon, we will keep the bullets off of you, when you have a clear shot... take it!" Nodding her head, she got down and set up to fire at a moment's notice.

Bullets began firing as the swordsman and woman kept those pesky bullets off of the sniper gracefully, making her eyes light up when Kirito then tossed Alice his blade, which she caught without looking to continue. Sinon's head looked up at this strong woman the moment sparks flew, only for her to hit each one of the bullets away from not only her, but Kirito as well, until reloading was needed. That was the exact moment that Kirito turned his head towards the sniper, "He's all yours!"

Narrowing her orbs and looking through the scope, Sinon then took the shot and defeated their foe as Alice snickered and closed her blade and clipped it back on her belt before closing Kirito's and walking to him to clip it to his belt, which made him smile softly at her before speaking, "Sinon, as a sniper, where would you go to post up that was close by?" Looking around while humming softly to herself, she then pointed at some ruins close by, "Over there. It has a clear vantage point."

Snapping around and clenching her fists tightly, Alice began to walk forward as Kirito and Sinon brainstormed as to who this could even be. Reaching the ruins of the city, Alice hushed the two before they bolted in and hid behind a car, only for Kirito to speak, "I think the best chance we have catching him off guard is with Alice and myself catching him in a pincer attack as Sinon posts up to fire. Hell, you can even shoot through us. As long as we figure out his username, then it's fine."

Something felt wrong about this plan of attack, so Alice hummed, "Sinon, is there invisibility in this game? Or something that allows a certain player to become invisible, like an invisibility cloak?" Sinon then peered at the blonde before nodding, "In a way, yes. It's a skill called camouflaging. Not many people hold the skill, so I forgot about it until just now. However, he can't be invisible when shooting and his footsteps will still be heard." Standing, she then nodded, "I will act as bait."

Looking at Kirito, she then smiled, "He should go after me. Once you find him, take him down. Sinon, you post up close by just in case. Now... this is the most important part... and I don't want you to argue with me, Kirito. Should we both be hit, he won't attack me, but I'm pretty sure that he will attack Sinon... so, you get to her as fast as you can and leave me behind. I'm tough enough to handle myself." Just as he went to argue, Alice's eyes narrowed, "Do as I ask of you... please."

Sighing and nodding, Alice snapped around before whispering, "I love you." With that, she bolted forward with her gold boots making gentle taps against the ground as her long platinum locks and the long blue and gold attire snapped behind her. Snapping his eyes up to see the barrel of a sniper, Kirito fanned his hand, "Go and post up now! I'm counting on you... partner." The two gave each other a fist bump before parting ways. Alice slowed and took a deep breath of air as she walked.

It was odd... nothing was happening. Right as she was out of Kirito's line of sight three sleeping shots hit her, causing for the effects to last three times as long as they would have been as she fell, only to kneel in front of her as she tried to stay awake as he spoke something that was incredibly difficult for her to decipher as of now, "I have watched him throughout this entire tournament, Alice. Your precious black swordsman has fallen for Sinon. You will see..." - "Wha-What...?"

Trying to stay awake was becoming harder and harder at this point in time as she heard him again, "I wished to save you from the heartbreak that he would no-doubt cause you. Remember Aincrad... how many women loved him there as well? Lightning Flash Asuna, Lisbeth, Silica... and more. However, I know something that you do not know. His own little sister is also in love with him." Her mind wasn't functioning as of now, so she mumbled, "Is that... the truth?" - "Yes, you'll see."

Easing her arms beneath her head, he then vanished again for a paralysis shot to hit Sinon. Walking up to her, he then pulled the gun of her nightmares out... a type fifty-four Black Star, only to speak a well-hidden angered tone, "I will not allow you to cause Alice anymore suffering. So, if your death helps her, I will do anything." Her eyes went completely out of focus as tears filled her eyes, only for him to make the sign of the cross before pointing it at her, only to be interrupted.

Kirito had witnessed Sinon's paralysis, but he couldn't find Alice anywhere. Picking up smoke grenades, he hurled in many before rushing in and lifting Sinon into his arms and slinging her prized sniper over his shoulder. As he ran, he heard laughter as he was followed and fired at. Getting in a cart, he placed Sinon in the back with her sniper as he got in and began driving, only to shout, "Sinon! Shoot the horse!" She rapidly shook her head, "No, I can't! Don't make me do it!"

Hearing more laughter, he then heard Sinon gasp, "Ki-Kirito! He has Alice! She was hit by sleep shots!" As furious as that made him, he shook his head, "Don't worry about Alice! Pick up your weapon and shoot him!" Picking up her sniper and placing it on the back, she went to pull the trigger... but her finger wouldn't pull the trigger, making her eyes widen, "N-No... I can't pull the trigger!" Attempting to remain calm was easier said than done, so he yelled, "Then drive and I'll shoot!"

Sleeping darts never lasted long, so right then, Alice's eyes groggily opened and she groaned softly at how sore her ribs felt due to being flung over this man's shoulder. Kirito then reached back with one hand and placed it over her hand to aid her, "The shaking will stop in three... two... one!" Right then they shot into the air, making her look at him while thinking, 'How are they both so strong? No... it's not that they're strong. They keep moving forward so that there is no hesitation!'

Right as the shot was made, Alice could only weakly shove herself off his shoulder to harshly slam against the ground, making the one trying to kidnap her come to an abrupt halt as that bullet hit a van for it to explode. This helped him get away as Kirito came to a stop to look back to see platinum blonde, blue, and gold rushing and stumbling his way, only for her to jump in behind him, "Go Kirito!" She was so drowsy from those sleep darts that she had no clue how she made it to them.

Stepping on the gas, Kirito then drove as Alice collapsed onto Sinon's lap, making her panic, "Al-Alice?! Kirito, we need to let her rest. There is a cave over there." Nodding his head, he then drove there and backed in so that Alice could sleep on the backseat. As she dreamt, Alice remembered what "Death Gun" had said to her right before sleep overtook her, "I have watched him throughout this entire tournament, Alice. Your precious black swordsman has fallen for Sinon. You will see..."

By the time her eyes slowly opened, she laid there tiredly, not wanting, nor wishing, to move as of yet until she heard the voices of two other individuals tiredly speaking. Unnoticeably pushing herself up weakly, Alice's eyes widened at how Kirito now sat on the ground whilst allowing for Sinon to lay on his thigh with her arms folded beneath her chin. Feeling fury bubbling up within her petite body, she slowly stood up and "vanished without either parties even taking notice that she had".

Standing in the middle of the desert with lost and bland eyes, she heard footsteps come to a stop directly behind her, but she made no attempts to move. Removing his mask and pulling his hood up he spoke to her, "Back then... you were the only one to allow me to speak my name. I fell in love with you... I was a murderer, yet you showed me so much kindness. You tended to my wounds, smiled at me, and showed me how beautiful life could be when it was not stained in the color red."

Turning around, Alice then grabbed his hand and placed his Black Star in it before ramming it over her heart while speaking with tears falling from her face, "Stop screwing with my mind! If you are the murderer I remember you to be, then taking my life should be no problem! To be honest, I let you tell me your name, but I can't remember it no matter how hard I try! You could have done something good with your life, but you chose such an evil path! Now kill me and get it over with!"

Placing a hand against her cheek and gingerly swiping her tears away from the soft skin, he then frowned, "Your life is the one life that I don't want to take. You seemed to have caught my little brother's eye too. However, you should know better than anyone that a death in a game does not result in death in the real world anymore. Only Akihiko Kayaba was capable of trapping that many people in one place as if it were reality." Alice then sighed heavily, "Go away. Kirito is coming."

Even though he was not in the same game, he heard his name as if being summoned, only to tug Selko's hair as they watched the tournament. They couldn't hear what was being said between the two, but Akihiko tugged Selko's hair harder, "Selko! Log out! I will direct you to where mother is!" Nodding abruptly, he logged out and hurled the AmuSphere off before picking up his cellphone that now rang with the caller ID 'Akihiko'. Throwing clothing on, he then answered as he ran.

"Direct me Akihiko!" Selko shouted as he ran. Being told that it was at the same hospital that Kazuto had been at while in Sword Art Online, he bolted and pressed speaker, "Akihiko, why do I feel so much unease?!" Akihiko then hummed softly, "When you reach her room, I will patch the live-feed of the tournament into the monitor. You will see for yourself." Fabulous. Rushing into the room his sister was in as she frantically breathed, Aki then panicked, "Alice, what's wrong?!"

Rushing inside of the room, Selko noticed as to how much his sister was sweating as nurse Aki frowned deeply, "If she continues sweating like this, she will become dehydrated. I wish we could notify her to logout so that she could drink some water." Selko then frowned softly, "The AmuSphere blocks out all noises that she can hear to a point. That being said, it was also built to monitor a players health. If it becomes dire, it will first alert her of her condition before logging her out."

Akihiko then patched in the live-feed from the tournament in to the monitor as Selko sat beside his sister and raised her free hand to place his cellphone beneath it, only to place his hands over her own, "Sis... c'mon, don't betray the guy you love." Akihiko then agreed with her as he spoke, "We are right here for you mother! Don't give in to filthy lies that will blind you from the truth! Don't lose sight of who you truly are! Listen to our voices! We believe in, and love, you so much!"

By then, Akihiko had already infiltrated the firewalls of her AmuSphere and disabled the fact that, yes, while she was diving... she was fully capable of hearing as to what was being said in the real world. It was almost as if he was now truly with her in his spirit form to give her encouragement. The love and adoration that her little brother had always felt for her had always been so heartwarming to the point that it boosted her internal morale by ten-fold just by him being there for her.

Aki then peered at the screen to see Alice fighting Kazuto with a frown. In the game, Alice mumbled softly to him, "Play along... and remember that day... the blood lust we felt." With that, she dashed before ramming her blade against his, only to raise her fist and slam it across his face, "You BASTARD!" His blade then sliced her thigh, making her wince before she shifted her footwork to move faster to counter his attacks. Hearing Akihiko and Selko, she smiled, "Stop worrying, you dorks!"

Selko's head popped up like a puppy over the tease, only to squeeze her hand, "You're sweating too much sis, you're going to get dehydrated!" Oh good lord, of course she was! Fighting Kazuto was never a damn walk in the park. The two suddenly froze the moment they felt that blood lust, only for them both to slice the bullet before dashing towards the man that now wore his mask again, only for Alice to shout, "Nice attempt at trying to brainwash me! I could never love you!"

At that moment, Sinon shot Yamikaze, only to then reload and point towards "Death Gun", making him point towards her before they both fired at one another. Sinon completely destroyed his sniper, but he had only accomplished shattering her scope. Once it had shattered, she spoke softly, "The rest I leave to you two." That's when she thought back to the moment Alice woke up, they had caught her attention, only for her to chuckle and fan her hand back and forth and call Kirito dense.

After that, they had given her their speculations of what was actually going on, making her nod and agree to act as the bait. She had figured out who it was, but she told Kirito that he should remember that fact all on his own. When she had been standing alone, she continuously thought of a dead puppy or kitten of all things to gain the look she had desired before pressing his gun to her chest, only to notice a watch on his wrist. She distracted him long enough for Sinon to get into place.

Kirito then dashed forward for his cheek to be ripped open, along with many more cuts here and there. With widened eyes, he bounced back and winced at the sting, "I never knew that you could create blades in this game." This made him speak in a monotone voice, "You should have done your homework. I created this with the weapons creation engine. I made this with the strongest metal, space battleship plating. It's nothing compared to what was in S.A.O... but it gets the job done."

Smirking at this, he then scoffed out, "If that's the best that there is, then I guess that I'd never be happy." This made his and Alice's opponent give a snarky reply, "Still into swords with high strength requirements I see... you never change. Twirling that little flashlight around must be frustrating then." Peering at the photon sword, he then smirked out, "It's not all that bad. Besides, I've always wondered what it would be like to fight with one of these. Can't say that I can complain."

Looking at the monitor that he was watching from, he then looked at the players' names. Selko was used to seeing Alice and Kirito... but the new one made him puzzled, "Ster-ben? That's a weird name." As Aki watched, she then spoke in a calm tone, "It's not... It's a term that hospitals use when a patient has passed away. It's pronounced... Sterben. It means to die." This made Selko gain a worried face until hearing the comment that his sister had made over the blade she was using.

Selko watched this in absolute fascination, "Damn those look cool! It's a lightsaber! I wanna fight with one!" Alice then snorted out a laugh over this, "Dammit Selko, I can hear you!" Zipping his lips, Alice then dashed forward as he spoke again, "And you are no different Alice. You loved those high strength requirement blades too. So I can only imagine your frustration!" Ferociously slamming her sword to his, she scowled, "Yes, you are correct. However, it's better than a fire poker!"

The two were getting banged up as they made synchronized movements with one another to bring down their foe. The only problem was that they were losing too much health and held gashes everywhere. A real blade against blades of light was really screwing them over. Skidding to a stop to catch their breaths, "Death Gun" then chuckled, "There is a reason that you can't remember my handle in S.A.O... it's because I never told you it! All you said was that you didn't care who I was."

Selko then scowled at this, only to shout out, "Sis, Kazuto! Kick his ass!" The ringing in her ears from that yell made her shake her head. The only reason she knew that she was hearing her little brother's voice was due to who was currently "accompanying" him... Akihiko. He had infiltrated her AmuSphere to let her hear what was actually being spoken aloud, making her growl out, "Selko... might you refrain yourself from screeching like a banshee in my ear?! It is rather distracting!"

Kirito stared into those red eyes for the longest time, "Red..." A memory from Sword Art Online then hit him, causing for his head to shoot up the moment he came after Kirito, "XaXa! That's who you are! Red-Eyed XaXa!" This took XaXa by surprise so that he missed, only for Sinon's bullet line to appear on him and remained fixated on him as he began to rush back, causing for the two banged up individuals to rush forward and appear as if they were reaching out to grab him.

Laughing at the two as he began to vanish, their hands shot back and grabbed their handguns before firing rapidly so that he literally couldn't vanish before Alice was then slammed to the ground and had another blade to pin her to the ground through her stomach, making her cringe before calling out, "Kirito, catch!" Snapping his head to the side, her blade was then tossed to him, only for him to finish the deed by slicing him in-half with both photon swords, one gold, the other purple.

"You think that you've won... but this isn't over, not yet," XaXa claimed before the lights of his eyes died and Kirito yanked the blade out of Alice before helping her stand up. Taking his blade and closing it, she then clipped it to his belt with a sweet smile as he did the same for her. Sinon then walked out with a sigh, only for Kirito to exclaim softly, "The guy who is in your apartment is probably gone now." Alice then sweat dropped and chuckled, "Uh, guys? The tournament isn't over."

Peering at the sniper, Alice then chuckled, "Want to have another duel?" Sinon then grumbled to herself for a moment before laughing, "Look at the two of you! You both are all banged up! Nah... there would be no point in beating you two up whenever you're both already half dead anyway." Alice then sighed heavily and folded her arms across her chest, "Well, I am still worried about your safety. You should call the police, or, we can have the guy we are working for send protection."

Sinon then chuckled, "No, I think I'll be okay." Alice then huffed and folded her arms, "Well, then what if we come and check on you?" Kirito then rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah... we could, but, we don't even know her name or have any of her information." Sinon then chuckled and smiled, "I don't mind telling you two. My name is Shino Asada." Telling the two where she lived, both appeared surprised as Kirito chuckled, "You aren't too far from where we are diving right now."

With bright eyes, she then smiled, "Really?!" Alice then nodded, only for the sniper to then laugh, "Hey, I told you my name. What about you two?" Kirito then chuckled, "Kazuto Kirigaya." Alice then smiled a bit nervously as she spoke, "My name is Alice Zuberg." This made Sinon effectively freak out, "No way!" Alice then ignored the freak out to sigh, "This tournament does need a winner." Pulling out a grenade, Sinon then placed it in Kirito's hand and explained about the first tournament.

"So, he gave his opponent what we call... a souvenir grenade," she laughed once she pressed it before hugging both, only for them both to sweat drop heavily before the grenade blew the three up for three winner icons to show 'Winners! Sinon, Kirito, Alice!' With the crowds going wild over the newest tournament champions, all three were then congratulated heavily before asked for interviews at a later date by the VR media that covered Gun Gale Online concerning the tournament.

They agreed to the interview, even though they didn't plan on sticking around in Gun Gale Online for too long. Sure, they'd return for the next tournament, considering they promised Sinon that they would most definitely duke it out again now that the threat was all but diminished from the game. Holding their hands up, Kirito and Alice then waved to Sinon with a smile, "Are you sure you don't want us to come?" Sinon then fanned her hands, "Don't worry about it, really!" Impossible.

Removing her AmuSphere after logging out, Shino walked around her home in a nervous fashion to check every nook and cranny, only to release a heavy breath, "What am I even doing?" An abrupt ring then came to her doorbell that had her jumping in a startled fashion, only to check out of the peephole to see Shinkawa outside, "Asada? Hey, I just came over to congratulate you on your win!" Opening the door and letting him inside, she then smiled, "Hey Shinkawa, you're out late."

Holding up a box of pastries, he then chuckled and sat down on the ground, "You were so awesome out there Asada, I mean, Sinon." Fanning her hands abruptly, she shook her head, "Oh no, I couldn't have done it alone! I'm sure you would have done just as good as me!" Peering down, he then shook his head, "No I couldn't have. You did it though, you're the best gunner in G.G.O now. I knew all along that you could do it! You deserve being number one more than anybody... Asada?!"

A tad taken back by this, she then smiled, "What's up?" However, the moment he spoke, she wished that she hadn't asked at all, considering he answered with, "You said to wait! I waited for you!" She then gained a nervous smile and spoke with a smile to hide how nervous she was... a trait she stole from Alice, "What's gotten into you?" Raising his hands and staring into them, he then spoke in a low tone, "From now on, we'll always be together." At that moment, she looked horrified.

He then continued on, "You don't need him to protect you... that's my job. I'm gonna protect you now." Sliding closer to her, he then took her in his arms, only to say something that even shocked her, "I love you Alice! You're mine, my Alice." Panicking, considering one... he held such a terrifying face, and two... he had said Alice - not Asada. Roughly shoving him away, he then landed on his backside, only to appear delusional as he got back up, "Why'd you push me away like that?"

Standing with a horrifying face plastered on his face due to now seeing Alice, he then spoke, "You made a promise, we both did!" Yeah... she didn't make any promise, so she looked at him and voiced it, "Shinkawa, I never promised that I'd be your girlfriend! I said I'd think it over!" She then shifted her eyes away as she thought of Kirito, "Yeah, I really don't know if I'm ready to be in a relationship yet. I'm sorry Shinkawa." He then moved closer, with a deep frown, "But you promised!"

Shooting up over her so that her back was pressed against the wall, she gained a terrified expression considering she felt a syringe being held to her side, "Shin-Shinkawa?" His venomous tone then rolled out painfully dark, "Don't make any sudden movements or the drug will stop your muscles within a few minutes." This made her think back to what Kirito said, 'I'll bet they are using some kind of drug to stop one's heart.' - "This is crazy... you're the other Death Gun?"

"Ooh, you found out Death Gun's little secret. You see, before today, I was the one that was playing Sterben... but today, I insisted on doing the job IRL. Don't you see, I had to be the one doing the deed, I can't let some other guy touch you." Due to being told their full story over who Death Gun was, Shino now knew what game Alice and Kirito originated from, making her shakily speak, "So the person that belonged to that murder guild in S.A.O, that was your older brother?!"

He didn't deny the claims made, so, she spoke in a terrified tone, "Stop, you don't have to do this! What about medical school or your family business?" This comment merely proved to piss the man off, "You think I give a damn about that? My parents? Those guys at school? They're all assholes! You wanna know what would have made me happy? To be the strongest player in G.G.O, but XeXeed boasted about how everyone should be and agility type... and I fell for it like an idiot!"

Gritting his teeth, he then continued with an emotional and frustrated tone, "You don't know... G.G.O was EVERYTHING to me! And I gave everything up in the real world for it, god dammit!" Shino then trembled out, "That's why you killed XeXeed? All because he lied?" This made him gain a sadistic face, "He was the perfect victim! We had to show the world that Death Gun was the strongest in G.G.O - in all of the VRMMO's! What better person to sacrifice than that dork?!"

This man was now fading in and out of losing touch with reality the moment he spoke again, "Let's move on to the next one, c'mon, just you and me, Alice!" This made her panic as she frantically spoke, "What are you saying?! I'm not Alice!" Shinkawa then ignored her comment and continued, "We can go somewhere like G.G.O...!" Shaking his head and humming as if saying no, he then resumed his little psycho speech to her, "We should go somewhere with a fantasy vibe instead!"

Now he seriously had a screw loose as he kept speaking, "As long as it's with you, Alice, then I don't care! We can be reborn, be husband and wife, we'll get a house, and start a family together! Come with me! I've always loved you Asada! At school, when I heard about what happened... what you did, I could look all over and never find another girl like you! I mean, you killed a real bad guy! That's why I gave Death Gun the type fifty-four! That's how much I love you Alice!"

"I'm not Alice!" Shino shakily spoke, making Shinkawa stroke her hair, "Once reborn, you can give your avatar long platinum blonde hair and blue with gray eyes. Then you can name yourself Alice!" This was insulting, but she didn't want to see anything else... so she blacked out momentarily and whimpered, "This isn't real... it can't be. Kirito, Alice, you both went through all of that trouble to save me. If they come over, they will be in danger... but there's nothing I can do."

Speeding down the road on his motorcycle, Kirito verbally swore aloud, "Dammit she is so stubborn! We wake up, she yells at me for getting my sweat on her white pants, I tell her not to go for her own safety... and what does she do? She leaves before me and her motorcycle is so damn fast that I lost sight of her!" Pushing to go faster, he then scowled, "With my luck, she's probably already there and getting herself into trouble! Just hold on a bit longer, I'll be there as soon as I can Alice!"

After given encouragement by her own damn avatar in her own loopy world in her mind, Shino knew it was time to fight back. Getting away from Shinkawa, she then rushed to her front door that now held the chain in place, only for her to be grabbed and dragged to the floor before he climbed over her and made her scream. Outside, Alice parked and didn't hear anything as she got off of her motorcycle. Slowly walking forward, she froze once that scream of terror was released.

Darting with long golden locks flurrying behind her, she slammed the door open before ramming her knee to this male teen assailant's face to get him off of Shino before he grabbed her by the jacket she had jacked from Kazuto and yelled, "How dare you get in the way of me and Alice!" Alice looked so damn puzzled at that exclamation as her golden hair shifted along with her puzzled puppy head tilt. Internally shaking her head over this, she then snapped her head over, "Run Sinon!"

Sitting up and looking at this majestic appearing teenaged girl in an almost baffled sense that a savior had actually come to her rescue. Narrowing her eyes at the girl, she realized who this was the moment she placed that platinum blonde avatar mentally over this girl, making her dumbfounded that she was just as beautiful in the real world as she was in-game as she mumbled out happily, "Alice..." Alice rammed her fist against this joker's face to hurl him off of her, only for her to scowl.

Shinkawa then tackled Alice to the ground, which she never made anything easy for anyone and had to scold while fighting, "How dare you do that to a lady when she did not wish for it! That is rather indecent to say the least!" Kicking him off of her harshly due to taking extra lessons in the art of self-defense to regain lost muscles, her furious blue eyes glared at this man as she seethed, "Also... addressing her as someone who she clearly is not is rather insulting to say the least!"

Thinking he was going to give up, she was then tackled to the ground for him to straddle her hips while throwing weak punches that she guarded before he pulled out that syringe, making her eyes widen as he thrusted it down while yelling at her due to idiotically thinking this was Kirito, "All of this is your fault! If you're dead, then Alice will be all mine!" Right then, Shinkawa pressed the syringe to inject it with a sinister smirk, making Shino's eyes widen and yell with a panic, "Al-Alice!"

Furious, Shino grabbed her stereo and hit Shinkawa across the back of his head, knocking him out. Kazuto had just parked and jumped off of his bike to run towards the apartment as Shino panicked, "Alice, hold on! I'm not going to let you die!" Darting inside, he then noticed the empty syringe and paled, "Alice!" Her trembling was mistaken for something else, so he kneeled down once Shino moved away for him, "Kirito, I'm... I'm sorry." He then frowned, "It's not your fault Sinon."

"Yeah... but Alice was just..." she whimpered out with tears in her eyes. Shaking his head at her, he then spoke tenderly to his injured girlfriend, "I'm going to take a look, okay?" Raising her shirt, he noticed one of the electrodes with the liquid all over it. Taking out Alice's handkerchief, he then wiped away the liquid before placing his hand over her heart to feel how hard it now slammed and hammered in frantic beats against her chest, only to release a heavy breath, "Thank god it hit this."

Cracking a single eye open, she noticed what he was referring to and released a heavy breath, "Well, it is rather good that I left in such a rush now." Sitting down, Shino then questioned, "What is that?" Alice then chuckled softly the moment she was tugged into Kazuto's arms, "It is an electrode from the heart monitor that we were hooked up to." This made Shino panic as she looked at them both, "A heart monitor?!" Both fanned their hands gently, yet, questioned, "He's not dead, is he?"

Inching over to him, Shino placed her finger over Shinkawa's pulse before releasing a gentle breath, "No, he's just unconscious. You're both crazy, you know that? Also... Alice, you don't sound the same as you did in the game. You are so proper. I didn't think that someone so badass would sound this proper in real life." Alice then shifted her gaze down and hummed softly, "Well... I was raised to speak this way. I did not always speak this way, but I was corrected so much that it stuck."

Frowning, Shino then decided to laugh, "Actually, I think it sounds really fitting on you! When you ran in here, I had thought a goddess had come to my rescue! Then, I mentally placed your avatar over you and realized who you were! Anyway, it's nice to formally meet you both in person, Alice and Kirito, my name's Shino Asada." Alice was currently blushing furiously at everything that had been said, hold to blurt out, "Now just a moment! A goddess?! Besides, I can sound "improper" too!"

Kazuto then snickered and leaned back on both of his hands with a teasing brow lifted, "Says the girl who hit me before calling me repulsive for getting sweat all over her pants and demanded that you expected for me to clean them. It's nice to meet you too Shino, I'm Kazuto Kirigaya, and the pouting golden goddess here is my girlfriend, Alice Zuberg." Alice then swatted his chest furiously as she fumed, "I am rather capable of introducing myself Kazuto!" - "Yes o' golden goddess..."

As of now Alice now sat parked outside of Shino's school with Kirito as they awaited for her to exit the school. Oh, he now teased the hell out of her as he ran his fingers through her hair, making her blush heavily, "Kazuto, knock it off!" Groaning, he then huffed, "Yes o' powerful golden goddess." Kicking his shin, she then fumed, "If you do not stop addressing me as such a name you will be hurting far more! Now, I am going to seek out Sinon." Kazuto then lifted his brow, "Seek... out..."

Roughly pinching his ear as her face turned bright red out of fury, Alice then growled out, "Not... one... more... tease... am I understood?!" He knew the joke was over when her face was that red and she used the phrase "am I understood", so he hastily nodded, "Yes, alright!" Dropping her hand, she then snapped around to walk into the school grounds to hear everyone now talking about how beautiful she was, which only proved to make her turn even brighter red in the process.

Coming to a stop once she had taken a few breaths to calm herself, Alice smiled softly at a group of girls, "Excuse me, might you happen to know Shino Asada?" The girls brightly nodded, "Yes, she's in our class!" - "Excuse me, but... are you a goddess here to help Shino?" Hearing Kazuto snickering over what the girl had just said, what in the hell... why not play the part, "Ah, you have a sharp eye to spot the divine. I am quite impressed. However, yes, I am here to help her."

She didn't need to be told as to where she was now, considering she heard three bitches going to leech money off of the girl. Alice then held a gentle hand up and smiled before falling into step with these three girls. She never wore her hair in a braid anymore unless doing something tedious that would require all of that hair out of her face, but she did still wear her white headband. The three girls came to a stop and began to bully right then and there, asking for a "loan" from Shino.

"No." - "No?!" - "You heard me. You aren't getting any money from me," Shino exclaimed until the little leader of the group of bitches said something, "No, it's cool you guys, we're all friends aren't we? My brother let me borrow something and I thought out of everyone, you'd like to see it." Right then, she pulled a gun at Shino and smirked, "Get this, he said to never point this at anyone, but what does he know? I mean, you've already seen one of these so it shouldn't bother you."

Out of the corner of Shino's eyes, she witnessed a flurry of those long golden locks that calmed her as the girl spoke, "Now give us the money!" Trying to squeeze the trigger over and over again, she then huffed, "Come on! The stupid thing won't work." Thanks to Alice's hair, she calmly walked forward and took the gun from her hand before speaking the government gun type, only to add in, "Your brother has good tastes. It's not my style though." Alice then smirked at her and nodded.

Taking her glasses off and setting them down, she then held the gun up to a can that someone had left once she flipped the safety off and fired to pierce the can before flipping the safety on and turning back to place the gun in the girl's hand, "Your brother's right though. You shouldn't point these at anyone unless your life is in danger... and for future reference, the gun will only fire when the safety is off. However, I'd be scared at the goddess that you've just enraged, not me."

The three then turned their heads around to witness Alice's devilish gleam as she cracked her knuckles, "Should you mess with her again, I will not be so kind to let you off with a warning." Turning around, Alice then chuckled while sweat dropping, "Everyone at your school believes that I am a goddess. Well, you can ride with me or Kazuto. It is up to you Shino." Shino then bonked Alice's head lightly, "It's. Think how much time you would save by being "improper", you dork."

Tossing her hands up in the air in a frustrated manner, Alice shouted, "To HELL with it! Why's everyone always trying to change how I speak?! I should think you'd have far better things to do than CORRECT me!" This made Shino laugh softly at the blushing blonde before speaking, "Hey Alice, I was thinking that maybe I should transfer to Alfheim with you and Kirito. Do you think that would be okay? I mean... would I even be accepted into your group and be considered as a friend?"

Alice then lifted her brow before chuckling, "I figured that you would ask me that, so I had Akihiko "obtain"... or rather, steal, the codes for mythical gear for you, including a bow that only has a point ten percent drop ratio since their aren't exactly snipers in a land of fairies. Believe me, anyone that wields a bow will be envious of you the moment that they notice someone actually obtained that rare bow because of the fact that it only drops once. So, Akihiko rightfully deleted the monster."

Seeming puzzled at this, Alice then chuckled, "It was supposed to be the same with my Osmanthus Sword. Once dropped, the monster was supposed to be erased by the Cardinal System, so people thought mine was fake until they realized that blade would not drop no matter how long they slayed the Osmanthus Tree Beast. Selko's blade was virtually stolen from Sword Art Online to match the Osmanthus Sword. His is the Moonflower Sword, another legendary class one-time only drop."

Humming for the last segment of her question, Alice then smiled, "As for being accepted into the group and being considered as a friend part, you will come to find out quite quickly that everyone in our group has their own goofy quirks in one way or another." Releasing a heavy and exasperated sigh, she then gained a dreaded facial expression as she continued, "Thanks to you, Kazuto told them how you called me a goddess... and everyone is now addressing me as the Golden Goddess."

Reaching Kazuto's cat-like smirk, he then held up his cellphone of the video of her playing the part of being a legitimate goddess to the mere "commoners" that had been sent to their group text messages with the tag 'Look at how kind and benevolent our goddess is!' Alice's face instantly drained of any and all color at how he had taken a video of this, making her snatch his phone, "So... that is why you were snickering in such a snarky manner! You started all of this Kazuto!"

She noticed texts begin flooding back in, such as... 'Asuna - Honestly Kirito, what did you make her do?!' - 'Lis - She seems cozy with her new title of being a GODDESS.' - 'Silica - Stop being so rude Lis! Like Asuna said, he probably put her up to this!' - 'Selko - The hell Lis! You're just jealous of sis!' - 'Leafa - Kazuto! You know how sensitive Alice is! Stop it or she might break up with you!' - 'Eiji - Is Alice okay? She must be humiliated... Kirito, you have to stop treating her like a toy!'

'Agil - She looks embarrassed to me... Kirito, if you keep it up, Klein might steal her.' - 'Klein - Hell yeah I would take her! I wouldn't call her a goddess, but I would treat her like one!' Alice's eyebrows rose before pulling her phone out, only to swiftly reply in the group text, 'Alice - I will take you up on your offer there Klein.' Klein, currently at work, stood abruptly and shouted, "Yes!" Everyone then looked over at him before he hurriedly sat down with a deep blush, "Sorry about that."

'Eiji - You called it Agil. I can't say that I'm surprised though. Out of everyone, I know that Klein will treat her like royalty... even if they are poor, she will be a queen.' - 'Asuna - Don't come crying to us about this loss Kirito. Not even I would date you after what you just pulled.' - 'Silica - I don't think he would even date himself...' - 'Selko - Silica that was the best insult that I have ever seen! I'm laughing so hard that I'm crying!' - 'Leafa - Good going Kazuto... You know what this means?'

'Alice - That we have broken up. Lis, now you can have your turn so that you stop being rude to me. I will send him an official breakup text after the meeting with Kikuoka. Klein, how does tonight at six sound? Will that suffice?' - 'Klein - Yeah! I'll be off of work by then! I... uh... just have to think of where I should take you.' - 'Alice - We can simply go to a park, I do enjoy nature. I will pack picnic if you have yet to eat. See you then Klein.' - 'Lis - Yes! Finally it's my turn to get a date!'

Clicking her phone off, Shino gave Kazuto an overly dry face, "I don't blame her... I'll ride with you, Alice." Alice handed her helmet to Shino and clasped it on for her before silently kicking her kickstand up and flinging her leg over, only to start her motorcycle. She had tolerated plenty from Kazuto but that had been a breaking point. Shino got on behind her as Kazuto looked at Alice with those shimmering gray orbs that she refused to look into as she placed a wind-resistant earpiece in.

Taking off, she actually drove the speed limit for once as Shino asked, "Alice, are you alright?" Shrugging her shoulders once they came to a red light, her voice then echoed through the speakers from inside of the helmet, "Yes. Believe it or not, Klein is a really nice guy. As you witnessed, he is quite the dummy... but his devotion to love is admirable. I am actually quite nervous to tell you the truth! I mean so many things can go wrong on a date that is almost nerve wracking to feel."

With the light turning green they then made it to the same cafe and parked before Alice brushed her hair and helped Shino take the helmet off. Entering, she walked to Kikuoka and introduced Shino, "This is Shino Asada, or, Sinon. Shino, this is the man that hired me, Kikuoka." Shaking her hand, Kikuoka then smiled, "It's an honor to meet... wait... where's Kirito?" Alice then cleared her throat before only those three held the meeting, making Alice grumble to softly, "How irresponsible."

By the end of the meeting, she was given her smaller, yet, also large check... but was also given Kazuto's doubled check and was told that she had to deliver it. Huffing out of frustration, she then nodded angrily and began walking away as she spat out, "Fine..." Kikuoka then peered at Shino and softly questioned, "Did something happen?" Shino then sighed, but, did reply to him, "They broke up due to Kirito always pushing his limits. I wouldn't bring it up again while in front of her."

Taking Shino home, Alice waved with a smile, "If you need me, just give me a call!" With that, she drove to Kazuto's home and knocked on the door, only for Suguha to answer, "Alice, oh my god, I am so sorry about what Kazuto did to you!" Shrugging, she then handed his check over, "It does not matter. The only reason I am here is to drop off his check from Kikuoka." Holding up her hand, Alice then walked to her motorcycle and got on before leaving to head home to get ready.

Arriving at home, she gained a text to see the location of their date in the group text, making her chuckle, "That dummy..." Making a picnic and staying dressed in her skintight blue fading into gold t-shirt, skinny jeans with diamonds tastefully scattered here and there, a white coat that held faux-fur trimmed around the hood, her gold-chained diamond osmanthus necklace, and her light brown riding boots; Alice then placed the picnic into her storage and got on before leaving.

Klein now waited for Alice nervously until he witnessed that magnificent blue and gold motorcycle parking before Alice stood off of it and brushed her hair, only to grab everything and turn to see him blushing. Laughing softly, she then approached him and figured... to hell with sounding proper for once, "Hey Klein! Have you been waiting long?" He snapped out of it and shook his head before chuckling softly at her, "No, I just got here to be honest. Here, let me carry that for you."

Once he gently took the basket from her, she blushed furiously, making him chuckle and hold his hand out to her. Peering up at him, she had to wonder... why didn't anyone ever want to date Klein? He was one hell of a looker, he was kind, playful, a bit of a dummy, but... his best quality was his heart of gold. Placing her hand in his the two began to walk together as she admitted softly, "I don't understand why no one ever gives you a chance. You have so many good qualities."

This made him sigh and ruffle his spiky red hair, "If you figure the answer out, I'd love to know." As they walked, she frowned before coming to a stop, "Klein... you put the location in the group text on purpose... didn't you?" Blinking rapidly, he then laughed brightly, "That was a complete accident! Honest! Do you honestly think I would want Kirito screwing up my date with you?" Huh... she had never thought of it that way, and when she did, she shook her head, "I suppose not."

Finding a good spot to eat, the two then sat down, "I made spicy, mild, and regular of each. I didn't really know what preferences you had, so I made all three! Selko was rather envious that you were getting to eat my cooking and not him." Laughing at this, Klein had to ask, "He gets to eat your cooking every day, so why would he be jealous?" Alice then frowned at that, "Well... that's because my mother forbids me to cook, even though I enjoy cooking and baking so much."

"Alice... it was sweet of you to accept my date, but I'm not that much of an idiot," he spoke softly while looking down, shocking poor Alice down to her very core. She actually had been serious, so she stood up with tears in her eyes, "In the same manner as everyone passes you over, no one ever take me serious! To hell with everyone and what they call love!" Snapping around, Alice ran with tears sliding down her face until running into a soulless appearing Kazuto and happy Lisbeth.

Wiping the tears from her face, she swiftly apologized before dashing off as Klein rushed after her. Jumping on her motorcycle, Klein then grabbed the handles, "Alice, stop! I'm sorry!" He watched as she gave up before he walked around for her to wrap her arms around him to cry. Something within her snapped the moment he sighed, "You miss him, I understand." Shoving him away roughly, she then growled out, "All of you think that I am some toy!" Hitting the throttle, she then took off.

Reaching her home quickly, she then entered with a frown before taking her riding boots off and walked to her room. Looking at that cursed object, the AmuSphere, she unplugged it and threw it in her closet. Soon enough, she gained a call from Akihiko. Ignoring the call, she then placed her phone on do not disturb. She then took a bath and changed for the night to be in a baby blue dress that held a white belt before braiding her hair with a white ribbon tying it off mid-way.

Heading to her mother's office to pick up each application for her, she peered down slightly. It was time to stop running from reality. If this was going to be her reality, then she would face it head-on. Filling out each application, she then made two copies and walked down the stairs. Their mother was home for once, so, she might as well get this over, said, and done with. Her heart hurt so much... there was an unimaginable pain scorching through her chest, yet, she pushed forward.

Entering the dining room ten minutes early shocked her mother, considering her son was on that game as of now and figured that her daughter would be on it too, "You're early Alice. That pleases me immensely." Taking a seat, she then barely whispered out, "Yes mother." The way her daughter was currently dressed had her mother seeing that little girl that she had adored dressing up as if she were a porcelain doll, but, the way she acted now held no semblance of joy for that life.

Setting the filled paperwork down in front of her mother, Alice then whispered out, "There are copies in your office..." Her mother had to wonder what had happened for her daughter's sudden cooperation, so she asked, "Alice, I thought that you would be playing on that thing with your brother." Shaking her head, her head then lowered, "I figured that it was time that I ceased behaving like a child wishing to escape from reality. You also made extremely valid points about the year I lost."

Looking down at the meal she was served, she then blinked her tears away and choked out, "This looks good." Wiping her lips, her mother then spoke, "So, I have been told by Selko that you made a perfect AI of when you were little. Might I see her?" Shrugging, she then whispered, "You wish for me to study to become a doctor, so, an AI made has nothing to do with medicine." This did not sound like her daughter, considering she then noticed her crying silently as she began to eat.

Finished with her meal, she stood and bowed before slowly exited the room before walking up the stairs. Entering her room and leaving her door open, she grabbed all things she needed to study. Opening the first book, Alice began to skim over everything until shifting her head up slightly to see the bracelet Kazuto had gotten made for her and broke down crying. Calming herself, she opened her desk drawer and placed it inside before closing it, only to continue studying over everything.

In-game, Selko looked at Sassa as she began crying for no reason out of the blue. She actually held a copy of Alice's soul without anyone even knowing, making Selko pick her tiny form up, "Sassa? What's wrong?" Shaking her head and frantically wiping her eyes, Sassa continued to cry, "My... My chest hurts for some reason! It hurts inside so much! I... I want the sadness to stop!" Giving his mini-sister cuddles as she cried, he then frowned, "Sassa, I can go get my sister if it's that bad."

Akihiko then looked over sadly, "I've been trying to call mother all night. She placed her phone on do not disturb... and she unplugged her AmuSphere. I'm only here because my core program is also shared with the world seed. A world without mother doesn't look as bright or as colorful. It's possible for us "navigation pixies" to remain in the world as long as whatever is being used to store our data is plugged in. So if you unplugged your AmuSphere, Sassa would be forced to vanish."

Sitting back, Selko hummed, "She looked so happy earlier when she went to go on her date with Klein, so I wonder what happened. Well it's already morning time, so I'd better..." Suddenly his world came crashing as he shot up in bed to see Alice had actually pulled his plug, "Mother has been yelling for you for over an hour. Get up. I am studying and do not need all of this racket." Snapping around, she then stopped at his door, "If you are smart, you will stop using that thing and study."

Walking down the stairs and entering the dining room for the morning meal ten minutes early again, Alice then took a seat, "Good morning mother. It should please you to hear that I studied hard and memorized everything that I have learned thus far." Her mother then gave her a short verbal test as they awaited for Selko, only for her to verbally applaud rather blandly once he did enter, "Excellent work Alice, as I expected. You did the right thing by ridding yourself of all distractions."

Lowering her head graciously, Alice then spoke with no smile to be found, "I thank you for your praise mother. Perhaps Selko will cease playing with that toy and begin studying harder to gain your praise as well." This made the mother chuckle dryly, "I highly doubt that he will cease his foolish behavior, but, I am glad that you have come to your senses concerning that cursed toy that merely gives you a short escape from reality." Picking up her fork, Alice then began to eat her meal.

Once done eating, she stood and bowed, "Thank you, I am going to study more so that I might live up to your expectations." Turning, Alice then left, only for their mother to turn her head towards her youngest child to ask in a dry tone, "What happened while I was away?" Selko sighed heavily, "Well, she broke up with the guy she loves, was taken on a date by another guy, and he didn't even take her seriously. My guess is that something inside of her simply gave up... on everything."

It was now December twentieth and Alice hadn't been online any game since the fourteenth. The only thing she did was transfer her character back to A.L.O, but, hadn't even logged back in. Hearing a light knock to her door, Alice peered up from how much studying she actually did to see Selko, "Yes?" Walking forward, he silently handed her his tablet, only for her to take it to read that floors twenty-one through thirty were coming out in new Aincrad on the twenty-fourth, "Okay?"

Handing his tablet back to him, Selko sighed due to remembering his sister talking about floor twenty-two so frequently and fondly, only to speak, "Honestly Alice... who in the hell are you trying to fool?" Turning away, he began to walk back to his room as she continued to study as if she were a robot. It was almost frightening her mother as to how fast her daughter was progressing. She didn't just learn everything, no, she also memorized it down to the last letter or number on each page.

Her mother, in need of leaving for another month long trip, came to her daughter's room on the twenty-fourth before knocking and entering as Alice completed another book, "Yes mother?" Her mother gave a stern expression, "Now, while I am gone for the month, I expect that you will keep up with your studies." Nodding, Alice then picked up another book to nod, "Yes ma'am." Picking up her phone, she then transferred money to Alice's account, "It pleases me to hear all of this."

"Keep this up and you will be back on track in no time at all to graduate in little to no time Alice. Your grades have become much higher ever since you have stopped playing with that toy," she spoke blandly to her daughter before continuing, "I have placed some money in your account as a reward. Go out shopping for new clothes, or, go to a cafe. You deserve the reward." Nodding her head, Alice then stood up in a royal blue dress, "As you wish mother. Please be safe on your trip."

Once her mother was gone, she placed a white belt with a golden clasp around her core, pulled on thigh high white stockings, tugged knee high brown boots on, clasped her gold-chained osmanthus flower necklace around her neck, and slipped her white with soft gold and blue accents jacket on before calling out, "Selko, I am going out for a bit." Placing her wallet in her pocket, Alice then exited her home while shielding her eyes until they adjusted, only to begin to walking.

It was just her luck... the moment she entered an expensive clothing shop, Asuna turned her head and smiled, "Hey Alice!" Blinking softly, she then nodded, "Hello Asuna. Are you shopping?" Asuna then grumbled softly before answering, "No. Lis asked me to bring her here since you have to hold a specific card to even get in, though, they know us." Nodding, she began to browse the clothing before grabbing anything that held blue, white, or gold. Purchasing it all, she then nodded.

Turning back to the women, she then questioned, "Would you mind it so terribly if I change into a new attire?" They immediately shook their heads, "No, please be our guest Miss Zuberg!" Nodding, she walked inside of a changing room and removed her dress, only to pull on a long-sleeved dark blue that faded into white thigh high dress that held golden osmanthus flowers on the shoulders before clasping on a golden belt that held a white clasp around her core, only to nod.

Exiting right as Lisbeth did, Asuna's eyes sparkled, making Lis flip her short hair, about to brag about herself until Asuna blurted out, "Alice, you look beautiful!" Smiling, she then noticed Asuna walk behind her and free her hair, "Sheesh, you look way cuter without your hair constricted." Alice then gave a soft chuckle, "I will try to keep that in mind. Do take care Asuna." Exiting the store after placing her coat back on, Asuna then ran out of the store, "Alice! You should get on tonight!"

"I shall consider it," she spoke evenly and held a gentle hand up to say farewell. Walking away slowly, her breath of cold air escaped her lips before stopping in front of a cafe that Kazuto and her used to go to as a couple, only to walk inside and order a to-go cup of hot coffee. As she waited, she turned her head to see that it was now snowing outside until hearing, "Miss Alice?" Turning her head back, she then smiled and took the coffee, "I thank you kindly." They then waved as she left.

Stopping once outside, her lips creased into a frown until she sighed, "I have gone shopping and have gone to a cafe... that should suffice... I suppose." Turning the corner, she then bumped into someone that she wasn't ready to see yet... Kazuto. Taking a step back shakily, he then scowled and grabbed her hips, "Stop running dammit!" This shocked her so much that she didn't exactly know what to say. Leaning in, his lips pressed tightly to her own that forced her tears to finally flow.

Leaning back, he then watched as she pressed her face to his chest and began crying hysterically. Lifting her into his hold, he began to walk away until at her home. About to set her down, he realized that she had fallen asleep in his arms. Chuckling, he knocked on the door for Selko to answer with surprised eyes, "Kazuto?" Nodding his head, he gave a breathy chuckle, "I'm pretty sure that I just accidentally tore down any sturdy walls encasing her heart." - "Dude... THANK YOU!"

Grabbing him and yanking him inside, Selko chuckled, "Follow me. Sis's room is this way." Removing his shoes he began to follow while carrying Alice to her room. Opening her door, he then chuckled, "Our mother just left on a month long trip and our dad hasn't been back in I don't know how long, so go ahead. She won't admit it... but she still sleeps in your shirts every night. Top drawer." Closing the door, knowing he had just done something very naughty, he snickered playfully.

Placing Alice's belongings on the ground, he then set her coffee on her nightstand before walking to her top drawer to open it and turn bright red once he noticed all of her frilly or lace undergarments. Closing the drawer and smacking his burning face against her dresser, Alice had heard it all and cracked an eye open to see a face that was so red that his ears were even burning, only to speak, "Selko got you good. Second drawer." Opening her second drawer, he found one of his shirts.

Grabbing the long-sleeved black shirt, he then walked to her and removed her coat and dress to see... black lace, "Alice... That's not fair!" Lifting her brow, she then reached behind her, only for him to stop her by doing it for her before pressing her to the bed as she removed his top, yet, flicked his nose and pulled the shirt he had brought over on. She still looked so damn cute in his clothes that he smiled and laid beside her to hold her close until she embarrassed him, "Kazuto..."

Her tone became devious as she snickered, "Can you refrain from stabbing me?" - "Probably not," he admitted dryly at the tease. Pressing his face to her neck, he then whispered, "Let's go home tonight..." Her eyes flashes with so many emotions that she began to cry silently before nodding, "O-Okay..." Holding her close to him, he then smiled softly while stroking her hair, "Get some sleep until then." Once she fell asleep, his phone began ringing, making him groggily answer, "Hello?"

Lisbeth's voice then screeched out, "WHERE ARE YOU?!" As tired as he was, he groaned out softly without knowing that had woken Alice up, "Holding... my girlfriend..." His phone then slipped from his hand once he fell asleep as Lis continued screaming like a banshee while he rolled to his back out of habit. Clicking end on the call for him, Alice rolled over and held him close while lying her head on his chest for his heartbeat to lull her to a peaceful sleep with its beautiful melody.

With evening rolling around, Selko quietly entered the room to witness this sweet picture and pulled his phone out to zoom in a bit to capture how adorable they were before snapping the photo. Opening the group text, he attached the photo along with 'Look who got back together! Aren't they adorable?!' Smiling at the sleeping two, he pressed send. Almost instantly his, Kazuto's, and Alice's phones began to frantically go off, causing for both to yawn heavily over that much noise.

Kazuto groggily grabbed his phone and opened his messages, only to begin scrolling all the way up to see the picture. Smiling, he saved it and made it his screensaver before placing his phone in his pocket and tugging her closer to him as she buried her face against the side of his neck while holding his hand to her heart. Selko had to take another picture of this and snapped the even cuter picture before attaching it to the group text again just to piss Lisbeth off for his entertainment.

Plugging his sister's AmuSphere back in and bringing in their unused third one they had bought just in case of an emergency before plugging it in. Gently shaking the two, their eyes then opened to see Selko winking while holding up the two devices to them, "Boss raid time so that you two can finally... go home." Sitting up and yawning, Alice placed hers on as Kazuto placed the spare on. Lying back while holding hands, they both smiled, "Time for us... to go home... Link start!"

Right before the battle to defeat the boss on floor twenty-one, Eiji approached and whacked the back of Alice's head, "Where in the hell have you been?" Wincing, she rubbed her swatted skull, "Studying! Geez!" The massive raid party finally realized that Alice was finally back and cheered as if they had already won at this point. This made Lis scoff and fold her arms, "It looks like everyone needs their divine osmanthus goddess to get anything accomplished in this damn game..."

With everyone and their grandmother actually ignoring this girl, who was only good for repairing their weapons, they then looked towards Kirito, who then nodded his head, "Alright everyone, let's get in there and win!" Alice then glanced towards Agil, who was like a massive big brother, only for him to then release a teasing snicker towards her, "Why are you looking at me as if you need my permission to go home?" This comment made her scowl and huff out, "Agil, stop teasing me!"

Rushing inside with everyone, Alice built up pressure beneath her feet once she drew her dual blades, "Let's go everyone!" Dashing at incredible speed, Kirito was right beside her as he first went in and began to mercilessly attack. Selko then darted and then blocked the attack with his dual blades while yelling, "Kick his ass sis! It's time you and Kirito go home!" She had been slightly nervous that her home would look completely different, but... she still held hope that it was the same.

Everyone was attacking and casting attacks, heals, or buffs as Alice slowed to a stop to take in a deep breath to focus completely while in perfect battle stance as Yuna, Yui, Sassa, and Akihiko casted strength boost buffs on her specifically to the point that her body to begin glowing a bright golden coloration as if she were a firefly. The longer Yuna sang, the higher those stats became, causing for the boss to begin taking notice in her as her body began glowing even brighter now.

The longer she focused all of her strength and agility in one place made the ground begin rumbling with fury as if the ground might split at any given moment to lead one to the underworld due to the immense pressure as the air began to vibrate violently from that much power being focused in one place, only for both of her blades to begin glowing brilliantly for her sword skills to activate as her body began to glow brighter as Eiji dashed forward to give her the full time needed to finish.

He then yelled out to Selko who was being pushed to a single knee from the pressure, "Selko! Switch out!" Eiji never knew that these types of games could be fun when you didn't hold a defective Nerve Gear. Selko's blades made a sharp clash to the boss's blade to push him back as Eiji jumped to slash the boss up his chest as Selko flipped back to hold his Moonflower Sword out to the side, "Now! Bloom my moonflowers!" Those silver petals rushed in to assault the boss at that moment.

With Alice growing brighter and brighter with each calming breath she took, Sinon then drew an arrow back and pulled back on the rarest bow in the game, the Aquarius Bow, before releasing those arrows for that single arrow to multiple rapidly on its own to slam into the boss. Kirito could only chuckle softly at how she wanted passed this boss so badly that she now focused all of her strength and agility in one spot to take this boss down in one clear given shot with her fifty-hit combo.

Her mixture of blue and golden orbs then flew open as she darted forward and made that fifty-hit combo, to which she had given quite the ironic title of 'Goddess Osmanthus' just in case she decided to pass it on to another. That osmanthus flower then bloomed by the time that fifty-hit combo finished off the boss. Selko wanted to see their home, so he followed his sister... and at this point... he might as well call Kirito his real brother-in-law as they rushed to enter floor twenty-two.

Coming to a stop once they arrived, Selko gawked in awe at what he was now seeing. His sister and Kirito had lived on this floor together? It was... beautiful. Asuna then waved, "Alice, Kirito! You two, plus Yui and Akihiko should go on to your home! We can activate the warp gate!" Alice then held her hand out to her little brother, "Selko, want to come?" He then smiled and nodded before rushing forward. Akihiko sat on his mother's shoulder while Yui sat on her daddy's as they flew.

Landing in front of their home, Alice and Kirito then pressed the purchase button together, and since Alice had thought way ahead, she already held furniture. Entering the home, they instantly began to place their furniture in place, plus all of the kitchenware in the spacious kitchen. With maxed cooking already, Alice couldn't wait to be cooking inside of their home again. With everything in place, they even had a room for their "children" now up and running, only to smile happily.

Turning his head, Kirito then smiled, "Hey, Alice?" Looking his way and nodding, he then continued with softened eyes, "Welcome home..." Tears began to flood down her face before she crashed against his chest to cry, "It-It's good to be home!" Yui and Akihiko then shifted to their young humanoid forms, only for Yui to giggle, "Big brother, welcome home!" He was amazed that the home they had chosen was just like his actual cabin, but, smiled happily, "You too sis, welcome home!"

Selko then peered in awe at this place and smiled, "Sis?" Shifting her head towards her little brother, Alice then nodded, "Yes?" She watched as tears were quickly swiped away from his face before he spoke, "Wow, this place is beautiful. I can only imagine as to how many good memories you and Kirito made here." Kirito then snickered at this before replying deviously, "You really want to know?" Selko turned bright red and slammed his hands over his ears, "Not those types of memories!"

An entire four days later, Alice sat in her home on the twenty-second floor with Akihiko to create new recipes once she gained an in-game message from Kirito from his phone in the real world. Looking at the wedding band that was white gold with a single embedded diamond in the center that she had also gained and adorned from him during her time stuck in the first Aincrad with a smile for a moment or two, Alice smiled tenderly over the thought of marrying him one day in real life.

Receiving another message, she then clicked on them and skimmed over the contents while softly speaking, "Him and Leafa found the holy sword Excalibur inside a dungeon while in Jötunheimr, and it would match my Osmanthus sword perfectly? I wonder why he would believe this." Noticing that the second message merely comprised of a picture, she then clicked it to notice that he wasn't kidding in the slightest. It was gold and jade in the same manner as her own Osmanthus Sword.

Seeing a picture as to where it was, Alice placed all of her gear on... but this wouldn't be for her. She had been hearing of a rumored quest being given for monster slaying that gave the blade as a reward... but she had found it a bit more than hard to believe that a simple monster hunting quest would reward someone with a legendary sword. "Mother? Are you alright?" Akihiko questioned out while in his childlike form that was only a hint taller than Yui's humanoid form as she thought.

It really was unfair that she had Akihiko of all people with her, considering he could use his admin properties to do scans of the entire world to process information, or, even take gear that normally took forever to gain. Turning her head towards her silver-haired "son", she hummed, "Have you heard of these rumors for the new monster hunting quest?" This made Akihiko shift a frown from side to side before answering, "Yes, I have. I also ran a scan on it. It's likely a fake quest made."

Tilting her head at this, she had to question that one, "A fake quest? How should that even be possible?" Akihiko then chuckled at this, "I swear, you have admin properties, yet, never use them. Well, to answer you, the Cardinal System is capable of generating new quests that it finds online to fit its surroundings. Alfheim is Norse mythology after all." Opening a new message, she sent one to Selko, Asuna, Sinon, Silica, Eiji and Klein... who she had forgiven due to being back with Kazuto.

Receiving five messages in return that they would help, they all then appeared at her home as Klein questioned, "So, how do you even plan to get us to this dungeon?" Alice chuckled softly at this, "You probably will not enjoy that answer too much." About to question what she had meant, Alice then released a sharp whistle before calling out, "Amayori, come!" That's when one of the largest dragons in the game that was thought and said to be untamable, began to descend to them.

People thought it was completely unfair and unjust that Alice held so many rare things in this game, but she had only found out that her dragon was tamable through Akihiko... with the condition being that the female dragon had to like you. Once the massive creature landed, it curled its head around the blonde lass, making her smile and stroke its head, "Amayori, we require your assistance. Do you think that you can help us?" Amayori then gave a gentle rumble as she nodded her head.

"Right then, everyone get on Amayori's back," she exclaimed as Akihiko noticed Klein's pale face over getting on this dragon of all things, making him chuckle, "Amayori is nice Klein! Get on!" This man abruptly shook his head at that one, "HELL no!" Alice rolled her eyes and shoved Klein on Amayori's back as everyone else gave the dragon their love before thanking her for the assistance, only to get on her back. Jumping on, Alice held the reins and lightly snapped it, "Let us go Amayori!"

Entering Jötunheimr, everyone noticed all of these monsters attacking other monsters as Akihiko, in pixie form, sat on Alice's shoulder, only to hear Asuna hum, "They almost look like a crossbreed between an elephant and a jellyfish!" Klein then spoke up as he witnessed the massive green giant monsters paying no actual mind to the players helping them defeat these monsters. Alice appeared horrified at this and called out, "Amayori, stop those giants and players! Take them down!"

Amayori's breath attack then launched towards the giants and players alike, taking them both down in one shot before that saved monster flew up to them to love on them as a thanks. Realizing that these white... things... weren't evil creatures, Alice called out again, "Amayori, they aren't evil! The other green giants are! Take them all down!" She didn't mind playing as a red player if she had to... but since Amayori was the one attacking, it didn't affect her status as a green player at all.

Everyone and anything attempting to take the other... things... down, were being snuffed out by Amayori as Selko watched with tears in his eyes, "This... This is horrible! Why would they help those things attack such peaceful creatures?! They don't even look as if they want to fight! It only seems as if they are doing their hardest to simply defend themselves!" Looking at the one that now followed them, Selko hopped onto its back, "Don't worry, my big sister and Amayori will help."

Right then, the group just about had a heart attack the moment a massive woman appeared in front of them, making Akihiko nod, "Mother, she's an NPC quest giver... but her speech pattern is odd." - "Good fairy warriors, my name is Urðr and I thank thee and thou dragon for saving my kin from the ice giants. However, they will return shortly unless Thrymheim, king of the ice giants is defeated and the holy sword, Excalibur, is removed to return the blessings of Yggdrasil to my home."

As they listened to the entire explanation, a quest then popped up, making Akihiko nod, "Mother, this is the real quest to obtain the holy sword Excalibur." With that they all accepted the quest before Urðr looked at the crying male fairy that had befriended one of her kin, only to give Selko the timer to explain, "Should all of the green held within turn black, it will be too late, and my people will have lost all of its power. Now go with all of the good that this world holds, good fairy warriors."

Taken to the entrance of the dungeon, everyone dismounted the two beasts before Alice looked at Amayori to speak, "Amayori, protect them until we are finished." The female dragon nodded as the group entered the dungeon. Each boss was going down quickly thanks to the efforts of the group. Selko then peered at the timer in shock, "Alice, even with Amayori protecting them, only half of the spots are clear!" Those things were too widely spread out for Amayori to protect them all.

As they rushed, they then heard a female calling out to them, "Please, help me!" They all skidded to a stop as Akihiko blinked rapidly, "Her name is Freyja. She's just like Urðr. It might be a trap, or it might not be." They all watched dryly as Klein basically drooled over an NPC, making Selko sigh heavily and grab the back of Klein's attire to stop him as Sassa... sassed, "It's obviously a trap, you dummy!" Looking at her little brother, he then held out the timer, making her sigh heavily.

Shaking her head, she then turned away, "We do not have time for this. Do what you must Klein. However, should we fail due to this being a trap, then the ice giants will move onto our world. Amayori is doing all that she can to slow the process down, so if it ends up being a trap... be ready to shoulder that responsibility of dooming our world." Nodding his head, she was then freed and entered the party, "I thank thee, kind fairies, for allowing me to retrieve something that was stolen."

They all then entered Thrymheim's room once Freyja boosted all of their health and magic power, though... it didn't do much of anything for Alice or Selko. Everyone told Alice to stand back to charge up her max potential for her fifty-hit 'Goddess Osmanthus' attack. However, her concentration was swiftly broken the moment Akihiko panicked, "Mother, watch out!" Thrymheim instantly focused on her and forced her to jump away from an attack as Selko checked the timer again, "Shit! Sis!"

There were only a few clear spots left, making her think that they weren't going to make it, "Osmanthus fairy maiden, find my treasure. It is a hammer made of solid gold. Find that and I can be of use to you." Nodding her head, she then smirked, "Gold, huh?" Flipping to a pile of piled up gold, a lightning strike came from her sword to effect all of the treasure until a bright gleam was witnessed. Finding the hammer, she picked it up and strained as she hurled it, "Freyja! Catch this!"

Freyja raised a single hand and caught it, only for a pulse to go through her for Alice to shield her mouth from laughing at Klein's mortified facial expression the moment Freyja became Thor, only for the thunder god to begin helping them until Alice focused again and began glowing as bright as Thor's lightning. Shooting forward, that fifty-hit combo then assaulted Thrymheim until the osmanthus flower bloomed and popped to do a mass amount of damage to finish the ice giant off.

With that, Thor gifted a smaller version of his hammer to Klein as he whimpered out the moment Thor vanished, "Freyja..." Selko then rolled his eyes and looked at the remaining time, only for his eyes to widen immensely, "There's only one clear spot left!" Nodding her head, they all rushed down the steps to come to the final room that held the holy sword Excalibur. Stepping up with a smile, she effortlessly pulled the blade out, only for everything to begin rumbling, "Uh, this is not good."

The entire dungeon was collapsing, only for Alice to whistle, "Amayori, come!" Amayori instantly rushed up to the group that was now falling on a platform of ice, only for everyone, except Alice, to get on her back. Alice then frowned deeply at how heavy this blade was. Even with her strength parameters, it was too heavy for even her. Sighing, she then tossed the blade with a deep frown that Sinon noticed, only for her to release an arrow that became a rope that attached to the blade.

Tugging the blade back up to them, Sinon then chuckled, "Here you go Alice. You wanted it right?" Smiling she then nodded brightly, "Thank you so much Sinon! I will think about you each time I see it in use!" That confused everyone to hear, considering she hadn't exactly told anyone that she was getting the blade for Kirito. With Urðr appearing to them, she then introduced her two younger sisters, Verðandi, and Skuld. All three gave their deep and profound thanks for the hard work.

As a reward, Alice was then gifted an actual obtainable version of Excalibur. Smiling brightly, she then placed that blade into the shared storage that she held with Kirito. She could already see him pouting over the fact that he hadn't even been invited, making it completely impossible for him to actually join in with the team that had gone into the dungeon on their quest for the holy sword Excalibur. Smiling, Alice then questioned, "Alright, what do I owe all of you for helping me?"

Silica then gave a burst of chipper laughter, "Nothing! We had fun!" Eiji and Asuna alike then sighed, "Yeah... but we were in such a rush at that point that we barely got to explore the dungeon at all. That was the real pity." Alice then nodded in complete agreement before sighing heavily, "I understand you guys on that one. We could have probably obtained more mythical weapons if Kirito would have told me about it sooner, then we would have had the time to check anything else."

Eiji then laughed at Alice before winking as Yuna sat on his shoulder, "Well, if you are adamant on paying us back, why not cook us something to eat? Yuna has been pestering me to eat some of the new pixie sweets that you made especially for them. She's only heard stories from Akihiko, Yui, and Sassa... so she's been dying to have some. Well... also, there is a sword in a dungeon that I've wanted called the Rogue Sword. It's supposed to have ridiculously high agility stats." - "Deal!"

The next day in the real world, Suguha was eating while reading on her tablet as Kazuto sighing softly since no one had answered him over gaining the holy sword Excalibur. Hell, not even Alice had replied. Suguha instantly began choking and slammed her fist against her chest as she read aloud, "The Holy Sword, Excalibur, has been found and obtained by a player! No way!" Kazuto could only grumble under his breath at how no one had answered his messages or calls over this.

Suguha then noticed a picture of exactly who obtained it, only to laugh hysterically due to the team using their arms to spell K-I-R-I-T-O with Alice in front holding the blade while holding out four fingers as she smiled brightly. Sweat dropping as Kazuto continued to grumble over the matters, she then sighed, "Kazuto! Will you look at what I am trying to show you?!" Lifting his head, he noticed the picture and gaped in a dumbfounded manner, "They went alone to get it just for me?"

"That seems to be the case. I'll bet that they are still online. Actually, with how Alice is with thinking that she needs to repay them, she probably is still with them to get items that they have wanted from other dungeons. So, I think you should," she then paused the moment she watched Kazuto shoveling the rest of his food down before rushing his plate to the sink before darting off with a brightened smile. Lying on his bed with his AmuSphere, he released a smiling breath, "Link start!"

Entering the world of Alfheim Online, he figured that the team was already in a new dungeon until hearing her voice, "Kirito, welcome home." Snapping around to see Alice smiling brightly while holding the holy sword, Excalibur, he then rushed to her and took his loving in-game wife in his arms before pressing his lips to her own, making her scowl and about scold him until he pulled away and pressed his forehead to her own, "Thank you so much. I just wish you would've taken me too."

Right as he went to take the blade, she shook her head and turned him around to remove his Dark Repulser to place Excalibur in its place, "The Elucidator and Excalibur. Now you have two one-time drop only blades." Kirito then huffed, "Well, I was going to give it to you!" Alice then snickered at him, "Why? We already obtained the Aurora Blade to replace my Light Enchanter." He had only heard rumors of the Aurora Blade's existence... so he had to see it with his own two eyes.

She apparently knew how his brain worked far too well, so she held it out to him with a dry facade. The hilt was gold... but the rest of the blade actually appeared as if those majestic northern lights were the blade itself with how it glowed, reminding him of the photon swords they had held in Gun Gale Online. It wasn't the shape or form that reminded him of the photon swords, it was the fact that it glowed it the same manner. It was a beautiful sword that was worth marveling at.

He then shifted his gaze towards her almost suspiciously, "Did Akihiko steal the codes of this blade for you?" Scowling, Alice then ripped the blade from his hand and sheathed it as she fumed, "No! I even interrogated him about it when it dropped on the first try! He said that I must have the luck of the gods on my side, considering he had been too busy fighting with us to find and take the codes!" Holding his hands up defensively, Kirito then smiled softly at her, "Thank you again Alice..."