Hey, all! Just a heads up that though its been forever since I last worked on some of these stories, I am revisiting them in hopes that I will somehow get out of the emotional funk that I've found myself in. Lots of things pushed me to this point, won't bore you with the details, but here's to hoping that this crazy idea works! Sorry if it seems like it's a recap with lots of repetition but it's kind of the way my brain works in hopes of to get into the mindset I had been while originally working on this piece.

Please note: mention of artillery and weaponry! I don't own rights to YuGiOh!5Ds nor do I own SAO: Fatal Bullet!

At the Crossroads

Gear Shift

The wisp rising from the cup in his hands filled the man's nose with the scents of dark roast beans with hints of mocha in it as he stared out the window that overlooked the seemingly peaceful landscape. Silence reigned in the crips morning air but it wasn't heavy or feeling the need to be filled. It was pleasant, calming, whimsical almost as the fog lazily rolled over the scene before him. His hand placed the cup off to the side as he spotted a figure appearing from around the corner who came to a stop just before the door that would lead them inside to where he was. Sapphire eyes narrowed when they seemed to hesitate, leaning forward farther in the chair he was reclining in so as to study the face that was faintly reflected in the glass. "Target sighted."

"Roger that, Starchain. Do you have a shot?" A voice crackled within his ear sourcing from the audio earpiece he wore.

A twitch of his finger caused the crosshairs to inch closer so that the scope was centered upon their chest cavity. "Affirmative."

"Movement from the west, fellas. Can you cover him, Nova?"

"No problem."

His finger slid down to rest upon the trigger as the figure struggled against the door. They've been hunting for this person for so long that it was going to be truly freeing once this mission was complete. "Steady, boys," he whispered when more bings sounded from the radar; looks like it had brought along some friends. "It's about to get real messy. You might want to go help him out, Blackwing."

"Already on it. They won't be able to get away this time."

"Just hurry up and take the bloody shot!"

The digit began to squeeze the trigger as the figure within the crosshairs attempted to shatter the glass.

"Yusei, it's freezing in here!" Akiza nearly dropped her tumblr when the man who had been intently staring into the computer monitors jumped slightly at her exclamation upon entering the room, shivering when she had found it to be several degrees colder than the rest of the house. Guilt filled her features as she caught sight of the game being played. "Guess this explains why you haven't been answering me. Did I just ruin your shot?"

He chuckled, removing the headset that was now full of curses and placing it off to the side so as to swivel around to face her. "It's fine. Those two were trying to complete a special mission that has a twelve hour window of dropping some rare items."

"Sounds like fun."

Yusei gently took her hands in his at her dejected tone. "What happened to Girls Day with your mom and Luna?"

"Take a wild guess," she sighed, lifting her phone screen so he could see the texts himself. "Guess there's no going out for me in the next several days at least."

Sympathetically, he rubbed his fingers across her knuckles. "If it makes you feel any better, a certain pair of people we know are also stuck in quarantine."

"We can hear you!" They shared a chuckle at the exclamation that came from his headset.

"Do you want me to get off?"

Her head shook. "No, I was just coming in to check on you." Caramel shifted from sapphire towards the screen, the flesh of her bottom lip appearing between teeth. "Is that SAO: FB? Which campaign are you playing?"

"It's the 'Dawn of Destruction: Return of the Stat Stealer'." Yusei couldn't help but softly smile when her fingers twitched as if they were taking hold of an invisible controller. "Do you want to play?"

Akiza bristled slightly, a blush dusting her cheeks when she found him watching her closely. "W-what? I wouldn't even know how the controls worked. Besides, it's dangerous for a girl to be on a public server with all those creeps lurking around." A spark appeared within her gaze as he mentioned that they were playing on a private one where it was just Crow and Jack.

The wild haired man could see that she wanted to, probably would be a good stress relief if she did, and offered to pull up a chair for her to play on the spare screen. Sapphire blinked as she placed the tumblr she had beside his mug and felt heat creep into his cheeks as she settled within his lap, daintily folding her legs so that she took up minimal space while picking up the controller he had balancing on the armrest. "Akiza?"

"I heard about this event! They say a legendary pistol, several outfit material, and weapon upgrade items would drop from this guy!" A secondary headset was plugged in, this pair bright pink with color shifting ears, and earned a blink as it settled atop of her head. Another window appeared in the spare monitor, a familiar login screen appearing to the game. She glanced at him from over her shoulder, earning a nod, and her lithe fingers quickly filled in both slots until her own character appeared upon the field.

Wearing long black tights and the outfit that had been featured in the "Blue Rose" campaign not too long ago, her character rocked the twilight schemed form fitting outfit; the outer coat had twin tails in the back that trailed behind her when she walked, an underlying A-line dress that was a soft lavender hue with a high collar and hem that reached her mid thighs, belts with small black punches hanging lowly on her hips, black boots that met her calves, and an accessory piece that was a decorated headset with tricolored ribbons that ended in blooming roses that covered each ear.

"We got a new player, fellas." Yusei adjusted the mic as he returned the headset to its former position, a small smile lifting his lips as she settled against his torso in a way that allowed his arms to rest on either side of her own. It was a strange position but comfortable.

"Who the heck is that?" A gasp was heard that was followed by what they swore was a fan girl squeal. "Is that what I think it is?! Only four players in the entire globe managed to snag the materials needed to complete the whole set and they had to grind for the entire event!"

"I call hacker!"

Silence fell at her giggle. "You want those items or not?"

"Akiza?!"

Her lips shifted from the amused smile to a determined smirk while swapping controllers with Yusei. "The one and only. Now let's go get those legendary pieces!"

Seconds turned into minutes and minutes into hours, as well all are familiar with gaming. The pair who were playing remotely, though initially surprised by their female friend's interest and involvement, fell into rhythm with her and made quick work of the special event until each player only needed one more run. And just in time too. A glance at the clock revealed that they were nearing the midnight hour, the event's cutoff time, and soon they would be forcibly teleported back to the safe zone.

"Watch your flank, Blackwing! Their coming in hot from the west!" She threw her hands up at the icon of a down player flagged across the lower corner of the screen. "Seriously, can you stay alive for more than four seconds?!"

"Not my fault they have a machine gun!"

She groaned lowly in exasperation as her slanted eyes honed in on his location on the map. "That's what happens when you solely focus on as AGI-DEX build! Next time you level up, put some towards your VIT and STR. And what the heck are you doing all the way over there?! I though you were going towards the sunken sub graveyard!"

"The worms! I swear, they were laying in wait for me as I found one of the battalions!"

"Quit your bloody shouting, both of you!"

Weapon fire filled the air for several seconds, both players occupying the chair intently fixated on their respective screens when the enemy spawn that they had been looking for, a golden humanoid, appeared from behind the largest dugout. Both of their breaths caught. Finally, after six whole hours, it had appeared! The other members of their team were currently occupied with other monsters, which meant that they wouldn't be capable to reaching them in time to help take out the the special mini-boss.

From the corner of his eye, Yusei could see the shadow of hesitation fall over her face as her nimble fingers that had been fervently moving across the controller stilled. His chin fell to rest upon her shoulder when she took a shaky breath. This may be a game, the stakes not as high as what they were currently dealing with, but it was clear that she was still unsure of how to proceed. "I've got your back, Aki, we can do this." He whispered into her ear after shifting the headphone closest to that she could hear him. "No matter what comes our way, I will always be here for you."

Sapphire met caramel as her head tilted in his direction. For several seconds she said nothing, the swirling emotions and thoughts shifting within her gaze before Akiza rested her head against his own. The young woman's lips lifted into the smallest of smiles as one of her hands rose and cupped his cheek. "You promise?"

"Of course." His head bobbed in a nod.

"Then let's do this!" The headphone was adjusted with a smirk that could rival his own as they turned back to the game. "Blackwing, Nova, finish what you're doing and get your butts over here when you can! It spawned!"

Her character, Briar, specialized in debuffing and dual wielded a pair of ARs that were built more like sniper rifles with their cray long range. The skills she had equipped cooled off quickly enough that the humanoid's defense and attack fell considerably but they still had to be careful since it was several hundred levels above their own. The long rose hued hair that was styled into one of the main character fashions, braided around the crown of the head so that it was short enough to reach between the shoulders, came undone when she dodged in time for the boss' attack to miss her but it managed to knick the band that held her hair together and caused it to cascade in waves until it reached the character's knees.

"That was way too close!"

A character with the name Starchain above his head appeared from off screen in time to deflect the next blow with a defense based skill that projected a barrier around them. With midnight black hair, one of the less liked outfits being as many players didn't see the appeal of the crimson dragon head-like decal on the front that was visible by the part of the navy crimson trench coat that brushed the ground when he ran, black boots, gold buckles, weapons of choice were snipe rifle and dual wielding semi-automatic pistols. Their breath caught as the golden humanoid droid morphed, twisting in on itself and growing in height until it became a replica of the male character profile in front of it.

"That's a first!"

"What's happening?"

Akiza shared a glance at the map, spotting two dots hurrying towards them. "It changed its shape to match Starchain's!"

"I thought that was just a rumor! Why is it only doing that just now?!"

Yusei took a quick glance at his phone, eyes combing over the forum that was discussing the boss's algorithm. Sapphire rose to meet caramel as she curious turned in his direction. "It's the last hurrah. Says that it takes on the form of the stronger player currently on the field."

She pouted. "Aw, come on, that's unfair! Your level is so much higher than everyone else's level it's ridiculous!" Heat bloomed across her cheeks as he smirked up at her. "W-what?"

"You're just mad because you now have to fight against my character build."

"I- You- Gah, forget it." Her lips settled into a fine line as the defense spell shattered. This wasn't going to be easy but had several skills and items at her disposal that haven't been touched since she purchased them in the shops. They were fully upgraded, of course, but she'd had no use of them due to their rarity and if someone were to see her use them they would jump to the same conclusion that Jack had earlier. Now was not the time to be stingy though! The second she had seen the outfit recipe that would require this boss's drops was the moment she vowed to collect them all even if she ended up playing all day. With all the excitement, she'd completely forgotten about the even entirely until Yusei had said it by name. "Let's just get my ass whooped so we can be done with this event!"

A combination of buttons caused her character to become outlined in sky blue that faded to brilliant white that was nearly blinding. The secondary skill sets was opened, another series of combinations caused each in turn to become active as her character dodged the net series of attacks, casting a quick thanks over her shoulder when Starchain intercepted another wave of bullets as she launched forward to gain its attention with an attack to their shins. Pixelated red splits appeared across its being that signaled each of her bullets, the four health gauges beside its name inching until they touched the cautionary level, its outline becoming vivid green as its robotic eyes locked on Briar when the backlash of a skill kicked in that froze her in mid-step. Eyes widened as its pistols aimed in her direction, bracing for the dual shot that would surely KO her, and gasped as from behind it came a figure who leapt high enough into the air that their sniper rifle barrel met the neck junction of the imposter and a earned a high pitched squeal as he fired off two shots that buried bullets into its being. Those must have been armor piercing butters, judging from the display of agony that it showcased as she recovered and dashed to the side as he landed.

Sniper rifles were known most for their range but their sheer power and accuracy were to be feared by all. They had a special set of skills that would not only increase bullet circle accuracy so that the shots were more deadly but the known power of the best rifle known to the game was known as the AMR Tiamat MK2. There were rumors of another though, one that stole their breaths as it appeared from over the the imposter's shoulder.

"Oh, shit!"

"Is that what I think it is?!"

"You can see that from where you are?" She gasped.

"We're not too far from you, hang in there!"

"That's the bloody AMR Deathwing, you dolt, quick slacking off with those worms and hurry the hell up!"

A resounding heartbeat thudded loudly in their ears as it took aim, its barrel for a moment pausing on Briar then locking onto Starchain. Slanted caramel eyes narrowed. "No you don't!" Nimble fingers moved almost too quick for even Yusei to follow when he glanced downward at her controller moved the still glowing character to launch herself up into the air as a new combination was activated. Dark hued hair turned silver as the pair of assault rifles that she carried exploded with light as she took aim into its face. "Secret Skill: Ultimate Bombardment!" Unleashing a battle cry, her fingers slammed down on the triggers of the controller that released a barrage of bullets too numerous to count; some were stat changing, others were inflicting buff removal, others inflicted build up damage via burn or gravity binding.

The trio, two of which had managed to arrive just in time to witness the dramatic display of unadulterated power from the female character, were left in shock and awe.

She landed back on the solid ground as the colorful outlines and leftover visual affects of the skills she had just used faded until the icons of momentary paralysis appeared above Briar's head. Akiza wasn't surprised in the slightest. AGI hadn't been one of the skills she'd built up too much being as she wasn't one who rushed head first into battle and liked to keep a distance, and took the moment to wipe the sweat from her brow as the giant imposter reverted back to its original golden appearance while falling to its knees with an impact that shook the ground.

Ice filled her veins when just before its last gauge emptied, it lashed out with its arm as if to swipe her character when a series of gunshots sounded loud in her ear as the giant instead fell backwards. Starchain's cloak billowed behind him as he turned his back on the fallen adversary that disappeared in an explosion, bright cobalt meeting cat-like toffee as they were forced to teleport as the fanfare of a completed mission played.

"We did it?"

"Did we actually pull that off?"

A collective cheer rose as their characters appeared within the safe zone, several other online players surrounding them as they cheered and congratulated the small squadron. "I thought you said this was a private server!" Akiza hissed, turning and locking Yusei with a glare.

"Congratulations, players: Briar, Starchain, Blackwing, and Nova! You have beat the 'Dawn of Destruction: Return of the Stat Stealer' special!" The character that all were familiar with who was used as the announcer of events and award distributor, grinned widely as she tossed her microphone then deftly caught it then pointed it in each of their directions. "We couldn't help but notice your lack of squadron name! Would you mind telling us so that our record forums can remember this day and who was successful?"

"Team 5Ds."

He couldn't help but chuckle as Akiza's jaw dropped as a pair of familiar characters appeared from the crowd to stand on either side of her, their teal hair dead giveaways. A pinch of his fingers on both of their mics caused them to turn red, signaling that they were muted. "They were boosting your attack from a distance. Leo and Luna texted a little while ago when you were ranting about Crow dying thanks to the worms that you didn't even notice that they had appeared within the game."

"Why didn't they say anything?"

"Because they didn't want to throw you off your game." His lips lifted into a small smirk while turning their mics back on with another pinch in time for them to accept the mission completions awards.

Fanfare in the form of confetti and merriment led the group into the early hours of the morning until the faint rays of sunshine appeared in the room via the nearby window. Goodbyes were said, promises of messaging later were made, and the air filled with silence as the gaming computer that had been working fell still. Both pairs of headsets and controllers were placed on top of the desk as the he carefully collected Akiza within his arms, her head bobbing slightly as she struggled to keep her eyes open while humming and snuggling into his warmth.

"Did you have fun?"

"Mmhm."

"I'm glad," he whispered, standing and carefully maneuvering so as not to bump into the wall or door as he began walking towards her suite. His steps came to a halt when she protested as they approached her door and then continued onward as her finger pointed farther down the hallway. "You sure?"

Her head bobbed in a nod before resting against his chest once more.

A few more steps, the creaking of a different door, a soft sound of the mattress sinking beneath her weight as he placed her beneath the covers, curtains slowly drawn closed so as to plunge the room into darkness that the rising sun couldn't touch, then settled beside the mahogany haired young woman. Up his throat rose a hum as her being cushioned and molded against his own, one of her hands resting against the side of his neck while the other curled to fit within the small space that was between their chests. Though he'd been surprised by her knowledge of the game and had even chosen to partake was shocking but watching her in the heat of battle had stirred something within his chest the more he had watched her from the corner of his eye. The spirit she'd had, back when they had first met as Signers, was slowly but surely returning. "Sleep well, Akiza," he whispered, brushing his lips against her temple as his eyes drifted closed.