-Sapper CO.-

The door to David Herara's office silently opened, and a woman dressed in business attire stepped in holding a manila folder filled with bookmarks of many colors. Cigarette smoke fraternized with the sun beam that shined through the window, creating a transparent pattern that danced across the room. The secretary, Abigail, let out a small cough.

"They've beaten floor one?" Herera said before Abigail could greet him.

"Yes, sir. Five players were killed and one was severely wounded." she said gravely.

Herara sighed and shook his head, tapping out the last of his cigarette against the ceramic ashtray. "Okay... Who were the players that died?"

"They were high ranking members in the top guild in the game. Most of the player base is probably demoralized after hearing that some of the most experienced players couldn't even handle the first boss. We can expect progress to slow for a few days, at least."

"Alright. Do we still have access to Two and Eight?"

The secretary lifted a page from her folder and scanned it carefully. "Hm... The clones of player 'Klein' and 'Love'? Yes, we still have them."

"Hmmm." Herara bit his lower lip. "They cleared the floor faster than I expected."

"Well it's not like they'll be able to clear all one hundred floors in time. We only need to keep them in there for four years."

Herara shook his head. "They can certainly clear the game in two years if they wanted. This is bad."

"Well what were you expecting? You trap people in a foreign world and expect them to go along with your little scheme?" Abigail said, beginning to get frustrated.

"I don't need lecturing from you right now. What I need is results. I need the programmers to make the game harder to clear."

Abigail stared blankly at her boss for a moment before bluntly stating. "But more players will die."

"I'm aware of that. However if the players clear the game too quickly then our mission will be a complete failure., then it won't even matter if we accomplish our goals."

The secretary sighed in defeat, knowing that Herara is not one to be reasoned with. "Very well. I'll let the programmers know to make the game harder." She turned and placed her hand on the brass door knob.

"Oh, and one more thing." Herara requested before the secretary could leave. "Who were the players that ended up killing the boss?"

"Their names?"

"Yeah."

Abigail opened up her manila folder and scanned over the first page. "Uhm... I'm not sure who every player is, however two names stick out. Kirito and Asuna."

Herara nodded as if he expected this answer. He sighed and sat back down in his chair. "Kirito was one of the most experienced players during the original SAO. His levels were higher than anyone else's, and it wasn't even close. I did my research on the player base just in case something like this happened. This Kirito knows more about the game than anyone. I can guarantee he'd find a way to get passed anything we throw at him."

"Sounds to me like you were worried I'd say his name."

"I was. He knows the loopholes. He knows the exploits. If we let him run rampant the player base will have that game cleared in no time."

Abigail shifted uncomfortably. "Well... Let's just stop them from progressing by locking all the floors. None of them will be a threat if they can't proceed."

"We can't do that. If we do, the player base will know that there is no escape. We need them to have hope. If they have no hope, the players will either turn savage, or worse - kill themselves... Both of which have unfortunately happened ever since we trapped them in the game."

"Well I think a few lives is worth the risk when we're talking about the integrity of our mission."

Herara shook his head. "Players are already turning against each other - not many, but enough to be concerned about. That number will only grow. Suicides are up too. It's been only about two weeks and already fifty players have ended their own lives. If they find out that they can't escape the game by clearing the floors..."

"I get it." Abigail interrupted.

At least if they have hope they'll allow themselves to keep trying. We need as many people in that game as possible"

The secretary bit her lip turned once more to exit. "Very well, then. I'll let the programmers know."

-Floor Two-

The perks of buying out a house rather than jumping from inn to inn were insurmountable. For starters, the roaring fire place in the living room was enough to captivate Kirito for the past hour and a half. It was cold outside, which is strange considering floor two was fairly humid during the original SAO. But, then again a lot of things are different from other versions of the game. It was like this version had a unique set of rules revolving around the goal of confusing the players. It was working.

From what Kirito could tell, this floor was at least considerably similar to what he remembers. The mountains were everywhere, the valleys were deep, and the southern potion of the map was covered in narrow canyons. It was currently snowing, albeit fairly heavily at that. That being said, everyone in Kirito's party decided to hold up inside their warm cabin for the day, or at least until the blizzard was over.

As a matter of fact, Kirito and his friends decided to call a short hiatus from questing and adventuring in general. It had been less than a day since they defeated the first floor boss, and everyone was still recovering from the many injuries they had sustained - especially Sinon, who was tucked away in her own room on the second story of the home.

Speaking of the home, it was a nice cottage-like cabin on the edge of town - Close enough to everything to where it was an easy walk to the central markets, but also far enough away to avoid the hustle and bustle of the NPC's and players going about their day.

Today was a rare day. It was quiet, and peaceful. Most of the friends lazed around as they tried to catch up on lost sleep - Though Kirito wasn't too successful in that endeavor. Most of his night was spent with one eye opened out of paranoia. That girl back in the boss room. What she had said to him worried the swordsman to his bones.

Kirito let out a deep exhale and leaned back on his arms as he watched the tips of the flames vanish, only to be replaced by another cast of fire. To his left, he heard Asuna taking slow and steady breaths as she slept peacefully on the couch. He had almost completely forgotten that she was there. He slid over to where he sat against the couch and grabbed her hand. As much as he didn't want to disturb her while she slept, Kirito still wanted to feel some sort of interaction with her. Neither of them have really had any time for each other ever since they entered this game again. Most of their recent days had been spent keeping their friends safe and leading them into dangerous quests just to earn some experience points.

Asuna stirred as she let out a soft groan. Her free arm extended outward and landed on her boyfriends shoulder. Once she felt where her arm had landed, it wrapped around Kirito's upper chest and pulled him closer to her.

"H-Hey!" The swordsman exclaimed. He spun around and was shocked to see that her eyes were still closed, and her breaths still steady. She was still asleep, yet she was pulling him in. Kirito let out a chuckle and nudged her over so he would have enough room to lie down next to her. She placed a hand on his shoulder and nuzzled into her boyfriend's chest. A quiet yawn that escaped her lips reassured Kirito that she had not awoken. He smiled and hugged her as tight as he could without waking her up.

The moment was the best thing the swordsman could possibly ask for at a time like this. Outside was a blizzard so heavy you could hardly see five feet in front of you, and Kirito and his friends were inside, lazing the day away like they deserved. From the couch he laid on, Kirito had a view of the dinning room table in the next room. Silica, Lisbeth and Love sat around with a deck of blue playing cards. They had been playing a game by the name of 'Twenty-one', for the past fifteen minutes. Everyone was seemingly having a good time. The party needed a good morale booster after the hell they had been through over the last couple of days. Seeing everyone so relaxed was refreshing.

To Kirito's left, the door that led upstairs opened, and an exhausted looking Agil entered the living room.

"Oh. Hey man." Kirito greeted with a half wave.

The tall man glared at the swordsman, as if not comprehending his words. "Oh. Kirito. Hi." He rubbed his eyes, shoulders slouched.

"You look horrible." Kirito chuckled, knowing he wasn't awake enough to really get angry at his sarcastic insult. Agil probably wouldn't even get angry over something so trivial anyways. Even still, it was amusing to see him so vulnerable.

Agil cleared his throat, which seemed to wake him up a bit. "Yeah. Something about the cold weather just makes me wanna sleep all day. You know how it is."

Kirito absent mindlessly turned his head and glared out the window and into the white expanse of falling snow. Sure enough, he felt his mind groan of exhaustion. Agil was right. "Hmph." the teen nodded as he felt his eyes getting heavy. "No kidding."

"Oh, I forgot to ask. Did Klein get home with the food before the blizzard hit?" Agil inquired.

Kirito hummed positively. "Yeah. The oranges are in the pantry."

Agil smirked and gave Kirito a friendly, yet rough pat on the shoulder. "My man!" He marched to kitchen, determined to find the fruit.

The swordsman rubbed his shoulder and winced from the sting that remained. "Jeez." he whispered to himself.

From the dining room, Kirito saw Love slam his cards down face up on the table, holding up a triumphant fist. Apparently he had won whatever they were currently playing. Lisbeth and Silica both hushed his celebration, the reason being that Sinon and Klein were still sleeping. The madman just chuckled and said a few words to the girls, however the sound of the small fragments of hail hitting the window next to Kirito made him unable to hear exactly what was said. Regardless, Love exited the dining room and entered the living room. Once his eyes fell upon Kirito's, he froze like a deer in headlights. Typically, Love would never show any fear no matter what he did, so seeing him take such a shocked reaction to just looking at his friend was odd.

"Uh... What's up, Love?" Kirito asked nicely.

Love's face softened and he let out a sigh. Something was clearly bothering him - something he wanted to get off his chest. "Look, I said some things to you back at the boss fight that I shouldn't have said. So uh... Sorry."

Not wanting to laugh at the madman's sudden change in friendliness, Kirito just smiled warmly and nodded. "Things were intense back there. No hard feelings."

Love glared at the ground before exhaling deeply. Though he didn't show it, it was clear that he appreciated the forgiveness. Despite this, he let out a huff and walked towards the stairs that led to the his bedroom that he shared with Agil. Though this was one of the larger properties in the city, some of the party members still had to share rooms since there were so many of them in one group.

Once the door closed, the room was silent besides a few pings of hail ricocheting off the window. Silica and Lisbeth were in the other room organizing all the cards and placing them back into their case. Come to think of it, Kirito hadn't seen Klein since he got back from buying food at the market. Seeing as Asuna was fast asleep, and the swordsman had no more sense of exhaustion at the moment, he carefully slipped her arm off of him and rose to his feet. She reached for him once he escaped her grasped, though her eyes were still shut. Feeling guilty, her boyfriend draped a red woolen blanket over her, to which she subconsciously held up to her chest and snuggled back into the couch.

It was time to visit Sinon. Kirito hadn't seen her a few hours, and supposedly she's capable of staying awake for longer than ten minutes. Her body must be exhausting itself to heal the wounds she sustained. Thankfully, this was a video game, so she's been healing way faster than she would if she somehow acquired those injuries in real life. It'll most likely only be another day or two until she's back to her usual self again.

Kirito climbed the steps and opened the first door to his right. The inside was was lit up by a bright candle that sat dormant in the corner to the right of the bed that Sinon laid on. Once she heard the door creek open, her eyes weakly raised up.

"Hey." Was all Kirito said. Most of her wounds were shrouded by the blanket that covered her, however her face was still fairly cut up.

"Hi, Kirito." She yawned. Even though she had been sleeping for nearly twelve hours, she was still tired. Her body was working around the clock to heal her.

"Feeling any better?"

Sinon shrugged and struggled to sit up against the back of the bed. "A little. It's my sides that hurt the most."

Kirito sat on a dark oak chair next to her bed and leaned back, his arms crossed in self judgement. "I could've done something but... I just froze. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, you messed up a lot yesterday if I'm being honest."

The swordsman squinted and shot her an offended look. "Thanks, I guess." he remarked.

"Hey, you said it, not me." She chuckled, grabbing her side in pain as she did so. "You made mistakes, but at least now you know what not to do, right?"

"Yeah." the boy agreed, "I can't hesitate like that anymore. It almost got you killed."

"That's true... but... I guess I can find some sort of consolation that you only did it because you were worried about us. You didn't charge into like a vengeful, angry bastard like I figured you would."

"You really think I'd risk myself and my friends like that?"

Sinon forced a weak smile. "I don't know what you're going through right now. You're our leader, so I assumed that you were holding down your emotions just to seem brave in front of us."

The thought had occurred to Kirito more than once that holding down his emotions was a bad thing, however he was always side tracked and the idea slipped his mind. "Yeah... I suppose you're right."

"Well I want you to know that whatever stress you're feeling, it's okay to vent every once in a while."

"...You really think so?" he asked, relieved that someone finally said those words to him.

"Yeah, but, not right now." Sinon said bluntly.

"Wha-" Kirito hesitated.

"Don't vent to me. Look at the condition I'm in. Do you really think I'm in the mood to listen to you talk about all your feelings?"

Kirito's eyes quickly glanced her up and down. With an understanding nod, he smiled. "You're probably just saying that because you don't want to be rude and tell me that you don't wanna hear it."

The blue haired girl shrugged back at me. "Maybe."

Kirito rose to his feet and scratched his head. "Well, I don't want to bother you anymore while you're resting. You should get some more sleep."

"Yeah, probably." She slid back down under her covers and rested her head on her pillow. "Thanks for checking in on me. It gets so boring laying here all day."

The swordsman smiled vaguely. "For sure. If you ever want someone to talk to, just message me." He promptly made for the door, opening it softly and taking one more glance into the room before quietly pulling it closed.

Being able to spend time with his friends was beginning to calm his mind after what happened yesterday, so much so that he was starting to feel the urge to sleep build up within him. He forced out a yawn and stretched his arms high above his head.

"Whoa, there!" A familiar voice cautioned.

Kirito turned and noticed that he had almost smacked Klein as he walked out from behind the swordsman in the hallway. "Oh! Sorry, Klein. I didn't think you were awake."

The man cleared his throat and wiped the sleep out his eyes. "Unfortunately. I wanted to wake up a little early so I could count up all of our col after the shopping trip I went on this morning."

"How much do we even have? Surely we have a lot after defeating the boss and-"

"-Nine hundred col."

"...Huh?"

"Yeah."

"Seriously?"

"Mhm." the sleepy man nodded.

Kirito's eyes widened and his head sub consciously shook in utter horror. "Where'd it all go?"

"Well this cabin was expensive, so that certainly doesn't help."

"Right." The swordsman rubbed the back of his neck. It was his choice to buy this property in the first place, so he had to own up to his decision. "At least we own it forever and we don't have to pay any rent. So that's a plus, I guess."

"True. But we have to keep spending money to alleviate as much pain as possible from Sinon. Poor girl is probably suffering right now." Klein sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"She needs a lot of rest. So do you, Klein." Kirito place a hand on his shoulder. "Don't stay up for too long. You were really hurt in the battle as well. Take some time to recuperate your energy." The swordsman spun around and began to walk towards the stairs, the sound of laughter and talking echoing from the kitchen. As he stepped off the final stair and got a view of the whole living room, something bright flashed outside. It was green and shone brighter than the sun if you were to stare straight at it. The teen flinched and covered his eyes with his arm.

"Ah... What the hell?" Kirito mumbled and slowly walked across the living room towards the window. To his right, he noticed Asuna awaken, her eyes squinted from the sudden burst of light.

"Kazuto? What's going on?" She yawned softly.

Kirito watched curiously as the light gently subsided into a singularity high in the sky, many miles away. Or at least, he assumed it was a many miles away. The blizzard was picking up in ferocity, so visibility was being limited even further. After a few seconds, the light completely disappeared, leaving nothing in its wake.

"Looked like an explosion." Agil commented from behind Kirito.

The swordsman turned and saw everyone on their feet gazing over him at the window. "Yeah." he confirmed. "Maybe it's a special event... or hell, even an item that someone used."

"I've never seen any item that does that." Lisbeth crossed her arms, uncertainty strewn across her face.

"Wait..." Silica placed a finger on her chin and stared at the ground intently. "If it was explosion... then that means..." Her eyes suddenly went wide as she let out a gasp. "Shock wave!"

CRASH

It was as if the very fabric of nature itself was torn in two. The sound caused by the explosion was so loud, that it immediately shatter all of the windows and began shaking the foundation of the home. Kirito and his friends hit the floor before they could comprehend what was going on.

A cascade of glass shards rained around the friends and the living room furniture tipped over. Kirito grabbed a hold of Asuna and pulled her close, protecting her so she wouldn't get cut up. Cold air from the blizzard outside began flooding in, giving the entire home an unbearable chill. Once the pings of the falling glass settled, and the air around us went quiet, everyone slowly rose to their feet and glared once again out the window. The singularity where they assumed the noise came from was small and pitch black in color. It was very far away, so the true shape and size of the mysterious sphere was impossible to determine.

"What the hell?" Klein whispered.

He took the words right out of everyone's mouth. The pitch black sphere began to move in a protuberance manner, the air around it waving and vibrating similar to a mirage on a hot day. In the back of Kirito's mind, he still tried to reason with himself that this was a special event implemented in this new version of SAO. Although, he'd never seen an event that effects safe zones like the one he and his friends were in.

The singularity eventually shrunk down so much that no one could see it, and the vibrations in the air stopped simultaneously. "I-Is that it?" Silica asked with a shaky voice.

"I think so. Is everyone alright?" Kirito asked confidently. In this time of confusion and uncertainty, he liked to be the air of calmness for his friends.

Before he heard a response, he noticed a small black object hurdling towards them at lighting speed. He squinted as it approached. It didn't seem big enough to do any damage to the structural integrity of the home, so he wasn't concerned that it would bring any harm - probably just a piece of debris from the explosion. As it approached, however, it began to grow larger. Kirito took a step back, and motioned for his friends to do the same.

"Get ready!" The swordsman yelled, certain that what ever this thing was, it would crash into the walls of the cabin. He and his friends scattered around the living room, taking cover behind whatever they could find. The swordsman dragged Asuna down behind the couch and braced for some kind of impact. After only three seconds, another crash echoed through the air, however this one was far quieter than the last and didn't shake the house at all. With a stroke of bravery, Kirito peaked his head over the couch and peered out the window he had been previously stood at.

"Kazuto Kirigaya." A young, stern voice said through the smoke. An ashy silhouette stepped forward. Whoever this person was seemed to be a spear user based on the outline of the weapon in his hand.

"Who the hell are you?!" The teen barked back. Today was suppose to be a day of rest an relaxation, but now he and his friends had this to deal with - whatever this was. Whether or not this person was an NPC or a player, they'd better have a really good reason to burst into their home.

"I've been sent on a mission." The figure pointed his spear outward with one hand directly at the swordsman as if to challenge him. "For you. You've stirred up unease for Mr. Herara. I've been sent here to... persuade you into stop trying to progress through the game. It's useless, after all."

The dust began to settle, revealing the strangers identify as it cascaded downwards gently. It was... Love? Kirito spun around only to see the madman behind him as well. There were two of them? The swordsman's eyes went wide and his heart sunk. It dawned on him that this stranger sported similar green eyes to the same person a few nights ago that looked identical to Klein. These 'clones' were completely abstract - no one knew anything about them. All Kirito knew is that their last encounter with Klein's double was not a pleasant experience for anyone. In short, this stranger was bad news.

"Hey!" Klein spoke up, stepping past Kirito and towards Love's double. "What the hell even are you guys? There was a clone of me a few nights ago back on floor one. What gives?!"

Love's double tilted his head slightly and snarled. "What gives is that your party is comprised of... Well, how should I put it? Special players." Love's double pointed his spear back at Asuna and Kirito. "Mainly those two."

"The hell do you want with us? We aren't special!" The Swordsman spat in anger

"Are you not Kazuto Kirigaya and Asuna Yuuki, former members of the Knights of the Blood Oath during the original SAO?" The double asked in such a tone that it seemed like he already knew the answer.

Kirito gulped, trying to keep the hardened, unfazed glare on his face. Whoever this was, or whatever was controlling him, was clearly some sort of AI. The stranger moved mechanically, and its words seemed to echo slightly louder than any other normal voice - similar to Klein's double back at the motel a few days ago.

"Doesn't matter anymore." Kirito reeled. "What happened during the other game doesn't mean anything."

"You know more about the game than anyone else. Allowing you to continue clearing floors will only serve to slow our progress to-" The stranger suddenly cut himself off - he was trying to conceal what he was about to say. "No matter. Regardless, it's too dangerous to have both of you in this game. Herara took a risk inviting you two to participate in this project and clearly that risk has turned into a mistake - you exceeded expectations and cleared the first floor too quickly. Luckily for us, though, that mistake can be easily fixed."

"How?" Kirito asked in a snarky tone.

"We simply remove one you from the game. Together, you're a dangerous team that can spell this projects demise if we leave you to run rampant across Aincrad. We need the entire player base to remain in the game for as long as possible. However if you and your friends keep clearing floors too quickly, that won't work and the project will fail."

"What are you even talking about?!" Asuna nearly yelled. "How could you expect us to do what you say if you're being so vague about what's going on."

Love's body double smiled and shrugged nonchalantly. "Because if I did tell you what was going on, you'd never agree to listen to me."

His words worried everyone. This stranger, whoever he was, could not be trusted. "What is it exactly that you want?" Kirito reaffirmed.

Love's double pointed his spear at Asuna and her boyfriend. "I want both of you to decide which one of you is staying, and which one is coming with me."

"Like hell!" Kirito yelled, quickly equipping all of his armor and grasping his sword in both hands. "You're gonna kill which ever one goes with you."

The AI smirked. "Nonsense. I wouldn't do it. I'm just a line of code in a videogame. But I suppose there's always a chance that my programmers could make such a thing happen."

Upon hearing this threat, Agil, Klein, Asuna, Love, Silica, and Lisbeth quickly threw on their armor and readied their weapons. The air fell silent for a few moments as both sides eyed each other up and down. Kirito, for one, used this brief moment of calm to examine Love's double and try to identify any weakness. His name was just a jumble of text that made no sense at all. One thing that Kirito could make out though was his level. Level forty five. The swordsman expected him to be at max level considering he was most likely created by Herara himself. The group of friends were only around level fifteen - significantly below their new enemy. Despite this, defeating him would be possible, albeit difficult. They had the numbers, however the lack of stats and proper gear was daunting.

Kirito wouldn't let this thing take him, though. Who knows what could possibly happen if he were to have just said 'Yeah sure, let's go!'. No, whoever this strange body double was, and whoever he worked for, they wouldn't take him - He has people to protect.

The swordsman pointed his blade forward and gritted his teeth. "Not happening."

Instantaneously, Love's double blinked forward. He didn't dash, he didn't leap... No, he blinked forward. His motion was blurred, all Kirito could see was the swinging metal of a spear as it came crashing down towards him. He held his sword up horizontally above his head and blocked the attack. It was so strong and forceful that it hurt the swordsman's shoulder once it impacted. He came face to face with the stranger and sure enough, his eyes glowed a vibrant green, just as Klein's double did a few days ago at the inn.

Kirito growled and put all of his strength into pushing the stranger away from him, but he didn't budge. "Who the hell even are you?!" the teen growled.

The doubles eyes suddenly flickered, and within his pupils was a number. "Eight." The double, who's name was apparently Eight, said. His eyes flickered back to their usual green hue and he began glaring Kirito up and down as they struggled against each others steel. It was almost as if he was scanning the boy's entire body.

"Get the hell off of him!" Asuna slashed Eight directly under his left eye, causing him to draw a small drip of blood. The green-eyed freak didn't seem to notice, as he just continued looking Kirito up and down. His health bar also only dropped a tiny, hardly noticeable sliver. Without waiting for a retaliation, Asuna charged up a powerful impaling strike straight at Eight's ribs. Before it could connect, though, the doubles free hand clasped around the blade and squeezed it tight. More blood came pouring from his palms and his gaze suddenly shifted to meet Kirito's.

"I gave you a golden ticket - an easy way out. You could have saved your friends a whole lot of hardship if you had just came with me. Do you have any idea what even lies ahead of you now? The programmers know you're defiant. They won't pull anymore punches. They were given clear orders to split you and Asuna up and I'm their first attempt. You're life in this game is going to get far, far worse until one of you either dies, or agrees to the terms." Eight sighed. For some reason, his aura was oddly sadistic. Given, Love himself was nothing short of a madman, but at least he had his limits. This Eight guy seemed more in tune with his merciless side.

"Why the hell are the programmers targeting my girlfriends and I?" Kirito asked as he struggled against Eight's spear.

"They know who you two are and what you're capable of. The first floor was meant to take the player base one whole month to clear, however you did it in just a week. At that rate, you'll clear the game before we can complete the project."

"What... project?" Kirito felt his muscles going weak as Eight's spear head inched closer and closer to his heart. Asuna charged up another attack, however Kirito waved her off. He was determined to get answers from this AI.

Eight continued, "I'm afraid I can't reveal anything to you at this point in time. But... Just know that you need to be in this game until it's complete. It'll take years."

Out of nowhere, another spear came hurdling through the air from behind Kirito, and it connected with Eight's shoulder. The AI staggered backwards in pain, his blade sliding off of Kirito's sword, freeing him from the test of strength he had been enduring. Love moved with unreal speed passed Kirito and grabbed a hold of his spear as the handle stuck out of Eights impaled shoulder. Instead of an angry, vengeful glare that the swordsman expect to see on Love's face, he instead saw a happy, childlike grin.

"How the hell do you move so fast?!" Love nearly screamed in excitement. "You must have like... One hundred points into your dexterity, right?!"

Eight reeled his head back in confusion. "W-What? No! Get the hell off of me, you freak!" The double threw Love like a rag doll back into the house and crashing through multiple pieces of furniture.

"God Dammit!" Agil yelled in frustration. "Do you know how expensive all of this was, Love?!"

"Dude!" The madman hollered in response. "Why the hell are you yelling at me?! He's the one who threw me!" He pointed at his body double, who just smirked in amusement.

"The more you bicker, the more time I have to analyze you." Eight said ominously. It dawned on Kirito that just a few days ago, back in the inn on floor one, Klein's double had scanned Love, just as Eight had just done to him.

"You're cloning us, aren't you?!" The swordsman growled, ready to strike once again.

"I'm not cloning people. I'm just a line of code in a video game programmed to do whatever I'm told."

Kirito threw his hands up in confusion and scoffed. "So you're self aware?"

"Somewhat. I know nothing about the outside world that you all are from. I live only to do what I'm instructed to do."

Asuna snarled. "What you're instructed to do is wrong!"

"I don't feel anything." Eight smirked as if that was something to brag about. "I'm not bound to emotions like you are. Your kind is immeasurably stupid. All you do is yell and scream at each other and never try to come to an understanding. You just fight, fight, fight until someone dies, then you go off to find someone else to do the same thing to."

"You're an AI!" Lisbeth shouted. "You don't know anything about human emotion. You don't have to deal with any pain because you're not able to feel it in the first place! Who are you to say that we're stupid! You don't know the first thing about what it's like to be alive!"

Eight's face went cold, and his lips curled into a deep frown. "You don't know me." He said mechanically. "How do you-"

"Shut up!" Lisbeth interrupted, her hands shaking in anger. "I am so sick of this damn game throwing curve balls at us no matter where we go! All I wanted was a day to relax! One day! And we can't even have that!"

Eight quipped at the girls frustration. "Don't worry, I came here to try to convince Kirito or Asuna to exit the game and they refused. Seeing as my job is done here, I'll report back to the programmers."

"What? If you want one of us dead, why not just do it yourself right now?" Kirito inquired with a scornful sneer.

"Well... I want to, and quite frankly I think it's better to just kill you all right now. However Herara gave my programmers specific instructions. At the end of the day, I follow their orders before I follow what I feel is right. I was told offer an ultimatum. I kind of figured it would happen like this so I'm not surprised. To be frank I'm not sure why the programmers thought this even had a chance of working. Perhaps they just wanted to be able to say 'we warned you' when your time in this game becomes even more of a living hell than it already is. Also, it's a stupid idea to ask me too many questions- not even I know some of the answers you want. I know that the programmers need as many people in the game as possible, so killing you isn't in their best interest. That's why they sent me here with very precise instructions." Eight turned his back towards the group of friends and stepped through the gaping hole in the wall and back outside into the blizzard.

"Wait!" Kirito exclaimed, desperate to ask him the one question that had been on his mind every since he and his friends had gotten here; "Please, you have to tell us. Why are we here? Why did Herara trap us in this game?!"

The clone glared at the swordsman intently as if he was contemplating whether or not he should actually tell him. After a few seconds, he shook his head and chuckled to himself. "Hm... All I can say is, you'd better stop trying so hard to escape this game, because what awaits you in the real world is way worse than being trapped here." And with that bit of horrific information, Eight pulled out a teleportation crystal and crushed it in his hands. "Try to appreciate your time with your friends while you still have it. I'll see you again soon." Within an instant, he was gone, leaving no trace that he had ever been there besides the structural damage he had done to the cabin. Kirito was left feeling dejected as the cold air began chilling him once more. The intensity of the moment made him forget he was caught in the middle of a blizzard. The air around the friends howled, yet still felt silent in the wake of what had just gone down.

"Dammit..." The swordsman hugged his arms around his chest and shivered. This game... This Herara guy... This is all becoming too much. Kirito was finally getting his life together back in the real world. He endured years of imprisonment during the original SAO, and it took months for him to recuperate. Here he was once again - however this time was totally different, perhaps worse.

"Come on." Asuna placed an arm around his shoulder and led him back into the cabin. Everyone followed closely and took their place in the living room around the fading flame of the fire place.

"I'm gonna go make sure Sinon is okay." Klein continued up the stairs quickly, leaving the other six of the friends to huddle around what little heat was left from the embers of the fire.

"W-W-We gotta fix our damn house." Lisbeth shivered and hugged herself tightly.

Asuna reached over and placed an arm around Lisbeth's shoulder, pulling her close. "We just need to find an NPC with a profession in carpentry. Agil, you're good with people. Once this storm clears see if you can head into town and find someone who can fix our walls."

Agil nodded silently and pulled his jacket tighter around his torso. A few minutes of silence fell around the group. Simultaneously though, the storm outside began to weaken and the snow slowed to a gentle downfall rather than a blizzard.

"Damn..." Love grimaced and held a hand over his shoulder. A bit of blood tricked down his arm and dripped down from his fingers.

"You're hurt." Silica sat down next to him and pulled a bandage from her inventory. Without another word, Love held his arm out and allowed the girl to dress his wound and clean most of the blood that poured out. It wasn't a major injury, nor would it grant him any debuff, however the look on everyone's face when they saw it only served to demoralized them even more. This situation was a far cry from where they were just half an hour ago. They were still celebrating their victory over the first floor boss, They had a nice house, and Sinon was recovering fast... Now look at them.

Kirito wasn't sure what would come next. Eight spoke of a living hell that was about to fall upon Aincrad, whatever that was supposed to mean. The best thing that he could do right now was get the word out. His word held a lot of weight since he was the Black Swordsman. People would listen to him if he had something to say. The player base had to be ready for whatever Herara and his programmers would throw at them. Everyone had to be coordinated and in unison, and Kirito felt a spark of motivation that he hadn't felt in a long time despite all that had happened today. It was time to get down to business.

-Kirigaya Household-

-Real World-

At this point in time, the general public has accepted the theory that those who participated in Herara's experiment were kidnapped. The only thing is, nobody knew where they had went. It seemed impossible to secretly move thousands of people in the spam of just a few days, but 'Sapper CO.' did it. Whatever Herara's so called 'test' was, it was well thought out and carefully planned from the beginning. Also, there's been no leads on who David Herara even was. The police released a statement that illustrated what little knowledge they had of the case. In the statement, they were investigating whether or not Sapper Co. was even a real company. Also, they were asking other nations of the world to search their database for a 'David Herara'.

Secondly, the police noted that one particular officer had a run in with Herara himself. The officer was bribed to keep silent about something, however he wouldn't say what due to fear that Herara would send someone to silence him. The police were being vague about what this officer knew.

It's been forty eight hours without an update from the police, and people were starting to get anxious.

Suguha groaned and leaned her head back against the head rest of her chair. "Hey, Akira." She said, voice laced with boredom.

He finished typing out something in the Google search bar before simply humming, "Hm?"

"What're you researching right now?" the young girl leaned forward and tried to seem as though she was engaged in the investigation. Sure, she desperately wanted to find out where her brother was, but all this tech stuff fell into Akira's wheelhouse. He was the brain and she was the muscle.

"Checking my taxes."

"What? Why? We're suppose to be finding out information on that damn company."

Akira shrugged and nodded to himself. "That's what I'm doing. I have suspicion that that 'David' guy isn't who he says he is. Not to mention the fact the Sapper CO probably isn't even a real company. I know that the police are currently investigating this, but they're taking too long to release information so I figured I'd do it myself. I filed for a loan under the company's name. If I get an email back asking for confirmation of identity, then it's safe to assume that Herara didn't try to hide his real name or company name. Basically, it'll make it way easier to find out information on this guy if we can confirm who he really is."

"Surely it's not that easy, right?"

"Not really. I'm not actually gonna be able to apply for a loan - I'll need a lot more credentials. I just want to see if this 'Sapper CO.' company is registered in any banks directory. If it is, I should get an E-Mail asking for bank codes, usernames, passwords, and a whole lot of authenticators."

"But you don't know any of their passwords or authenticators or... whatever else you just said."

"That's not the point." Akira shrugged. "If we get a confirmation E-Mail, then that means that Sapper CO is a real company in Japans national database, thus making it easier to dig up information on them. I could do a google search on them but I won't find anything legit. They put up a quite a façade - enough to make me question whether or not they were even a real corporation."

Suguha's face went blank for a few seconds before she eventually gave an approving grin. "Clever."

"Maybe. We have to keep our assumptions in check, though."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if we get an email back from the taxation division that says there's no such thing as a company called 'Sapper Co.', we can't just assume that it isn't located elsewhere in the world. It could be a company based out of another country. The Japanese government won't be able to track them."

"If the Japanese government could track them, wouldn't David Herara and his goons be caught by now?"

"Mmm." Akira peered up ominously at the muted TV with the news on screen. "Something deeper is going on here. The police raided the company's building only after days of waiting. They could've done it earlier, but didn't. I don't think it's a coincidence that they only got there after the building was abandoned."

"I highly doubt the entire police force of Tokyo is in on a conspiracy, Akira."

"It doesn't take the entire force," The boy quoted with his fingers. "All it takes is one guy at the top with a weak mindset and greedy personality for the whole system to be a sham.

Suguha hummed deeply and began bouncing her leg in anticipation as Akira opened up his mail folder. He had created a fresh email account with a very professional sounding name just for the sake of this little experiment. "I hate this." The girl sighed in hopelessness.

"I know. Me too." Akira agreed.

Suguha followed the cursor on the screen as it navigated its way over to the 'Mail' tab. Once it opened, there was a massive wall of new mail that appeared in Akira's inbox.

He quickly clicked on the newest email that was from the governmental division that was in control of taxation. It read that Akira's plead for a loan would not even be considered due to the fact that there was no company by the name of Sapper Co. in the national database.

The two teens fell silent for a few moments. This whole thing would have been way easier if Herara had used his real name, however with the international attention this situation has garnered, it's obvious why he chose not to do so. "He's smart." Akira shrugged and leaned back in his seat, defeated.

Suguha groaned and rested her head against the desk. "Why didn't I just research this guy before Kazuto left? This whole thing could have been avoided with one google search."

"Well I mean, there's no use quarreling over it now."

The young girl gave her friend a unenthusiastic thumbs up. "Thaaaanks."

He shrugged. "...So now what? Herara managed to pull the wool over the whole worlds eyes. I'd say the only thing we can do now is hope the police come up with some leads."

Suguha growled like a spoiled child who didn't get the Christmas present they wanted. "No. It's like you said, Herara is clearly wealthy. He'll be able to convince some investigators to turn a blind eye."

"You really think so?"

"Yeah. Just look at what he's been able to do so far. He literally kidnapped thousands of people in the blink of an eye and left no trace as to where he was going with them. I'd say that qualifies him as being in the upper class when it comes to privilege and intellect. Either that or there's a massive cover up taking place."

"You're probably right... I just would've hoped that someone at the top would have cried wolf or sounded the alarm that something shady was happening." Akira said with a sigh.

Suguha gestured toward the computer screen. "Didn't you read the police report? Herara paid off a cop to keep quiet about something. I don't think it's a coincidence that they aren't telling us anything. Whatever that cop promised to keep secret, it was clearly horrible enough to cause the police to not tell the public for some reason. Like I said - Herara is clearly smart and rich."

Akira pursed his lips in thought. "That's a deadly combo."

The girl pushed her chair out away from the desk and opened up her brothers closet. "If we're really gonna do our own investigation, we're going all out." she pulled up an empty black duffel bag from the closet floor and placed it in the center of the room. "Spring break starts next week, right?"

"Yeah." Akira said in anticipation.

"And that officer that was accused of taking a bribe from Herara lives in Tokyo, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Well let's go to Tokyo, you and me."

Akira shot up to his feet and immediately ran out of the room at lighting speed. "Okay! I'll go ask my mom!" He yelled in excitement.

"W-Wait! Akira!" Suguha tried to exclaim, but he was already down the hallway. Ugh, even though he's on the heavier side, that boy can move fast when he's amped up. The girl just chuckled to herself and hoisted the duffel bag over her shoulder, ready to fill it with a few changes of cloths for the upcoming trip.

Akira's parents were very lenient when it came to their child's privileges. Usually, a boy with an IQ as high as Akira would have strict parents that always prioritized school over everything. Akira's parents were different, though. To put it lightly, Akira didn't have many friends, so whenever he asked his parents if he could spend time with someone else his age, they were quick to grant him that opportunity. They figured he was smart enough to make decisions for himself, and rightly so.

Suguha's grandparents on the other hand were a different story. It was going to take quite a bit of convincing in order for them to allow their granddaughter to go on a 'vacation' to Tokyo. She can't tell them the real reason why she would be going. She'll say it's a school trip or something and hope that they don't ask for a permission slip that they have to sign. Regardless, this trip was happening, and Suguha promised herself that she'd get answers no matter what. For Kazuto's sake.