Date posted: 25th February 2022

Gotta be honest, kinda weird writing about an authoritarian state invading another state in these trying times. Not what I predicted to happen when I started writing this back in July. Stay safe, everyone.

Thanks to 7Skydark with the help at the you-know-what section!

Chapter 12: Tunnel Cat

Colonel HonshuBoy2002 of the Kyoto Warhawks pinched the bridge of his nose for the umpnteeth time that day. First, he failed his economics test. Second, he had yet to pay his rent which was stressing him immensely. Now, the guild was hounding him for results in the Corinth siege, placing the blame on him for his underlings' mistakes.

He sighed as he looked at the privates before him. They were currently in a command tent in Volos, miles upon miles away from the Corinth frontline. Disruptions in real life had made guild attendance drop to less than half and it absolutely did not help they were missing a good chunk of their heavy armour.

"So, lemme get this straight," he said as he put the reports away; they were giving him a headache. "Private Ruth and Private Hikari tried to cross the Worm infested sands to a sunken tank."

"Yes, sir," Pvt Ruth and Hikari said simultaneously.

"And then you got stranded on said tank for hours."

"Yes, sir," they repeated.

"Then somehow the Great Worms went berserk which launched you, who were in the tank, even further away."

"Yes, sir."

"Afterwards you were caught by an enemy guild and forced into slavery."

"Yes, sir."

"Then, after all of that, they snuck into the city, strapped C4s to your backs and sent you to blow yourselves up in order to destroy Republic artillery pieces."

"And then we respawned back here, yeah," Hikari concluded.

"And you!" He pointed a pen at Pvt Lootz, who was cleaning her gun. "You just left your comrades, out there, without backup and you didn't even bother to report! What do you have to say for yourself?!"

"I had to walk my dog."

"Acceptable. Did you have a good walk?"

"Hachiko-kun did, that's for sure."

Colonel Honshu fell back into his chair, almost tipping it over. The bionic exoskeleton embedded in his back whirred and purred softly. "God, what a shitshow. Half the guilds in game are besieging Corinth, sending in killteams and dueling dragons. Our tanks are completely out of the show thanks to those damn Thunder Fighters in the hills."

All that XP, all the loot … damn, he was going to be demoted for sure. As if losing Makarov to some mysterious employer wasn't bad enough, he was missing his other NCOs because everyone was just unavailable. Honshu was doing the work of captains and sergeants. This was beneath him.

"This day could not possibly get any worse!" he groaned. Then he received a PM.

The office was quiet as the colonel read the PM. He cursed and grumbled under his breath. None dared to say the first word.

Honshu finally said, "The brass wants us to enter the city by any means necessary. Today."

Gun Gale Online, in general, rewarded high risk high reward gameplay. Officer assassinations, demolitions, and standard high kill/death rations were rewarded with great rewards in the form of XP for players and their guilds. Shock and awe was the name of the game, thus the great amounts of artillery and armour that most major guilds invested in. Most games do not demand this sort of organisation. GGO was not most games.

The Warhawks had recently returned from a failed expedition in far off Ukraine, got their asses handed to them by the Kyivan Neo-Bogatyr and Cyber-Cossacks. The knights attacked them head on with tanks while the Cossacks struck from the steppes on horseback and from the Dnieper on warboats. They struck the Warhawks at their bases and hideouts, destroying precious ammo depots, heliports, and cloning vat outposts with hit and run tactics. The guild was completely unprepared for the counter-insurgency. It wasn't a big deal to most of the playerbase, the Untamed East was dangerous even for high level guilds, but it was a huge blow to the honour of the Warhawks.

They scampered back to the West with their tails behind their legs like the Grande Armée in 1812. After some respite, they instead made do by investing in the 'relative' safety of Syria's warlords. Their coffers were at an all time low, recruiting standards were lowered, it was not good.

Back in the old days, none of this would happen. Back in the old days, when the Kyoto Warhawks were a dozen friends instead of handling a guild of thousands.

And this was where Honshu ended up: in Volos, where only the newest of newbies stayed because they lacked the experience to march. They didn't even have a flatbed of clone vats! They had to rent them! Like a bunch of amateurs!

Lootz's eyes widened. "But sir, we don't even have a full company. What we have is a bunch of newbies …"

"I know."

"And there's still those Thunder Fighters in the hills!" said Ruth.

"I know."

"And we only have like a few Chinooks to transport everyone."

A fist slammed on the cheap metal table. "I KNOW! God, let me think!"

It didn't take long. "You know what? Fuck it! We're going. Summon everyone. Get them on the tarmac. We're getting on those birds and flying over, do or die!"

"But we're only privates …" said Lootz.

At this, Honshu flicked at the three of them with three fingers. Instantly, a new insignia appeared in their HUDs, bestowing them the rank of «Captain» and all the pay, equipment, and driving licences for the guild's vehicles.

Honshu grabbed something from his desk drawer and placed them on the table: three very valuable «Experience Booster» syringes which could easily triple a player's XP Gain Rate.

As the three stood mouth gaped at their new rank and burden, the colonel went to a locker in the corner of the tent and began putting on his gear.

"Oh no," whispered Ruth.

"I can't even lead a study group, much less a goddamn platoon!" yelled Hikari.

"Companies. Captains lead companies which consist of two to three platoons," Lootz corrected.

"You're not helping!"

All three jumped when the colonel slammed an M60 onto the table. He was now bedecked in massive flakshell armour, the kind used for bomb disposal in the real world, modified to be the most protective armour category in the entire game outside of «Legendary» armour drops. Honsou, who already stood at an impressive 6'3, seemed to grow twice as wide with the sheer amount of armour on him, a MASKA-1SCh helmet fitted over his head, showing just the smallest glimpse of his eyes.

The green colouring and the huge backpack of ammo on him made the colonel look like some heavily armed turtle. It was an unpopular build, requiring high investments in STR which made them very slow, and the highest Perk in the Heavy Armour tree: «Armoured Kappa», which in essence made the player all but bulletproof save from continuous heavy machinegun fire. It was the closest a player could be to a Thunder Fighter stats-wise in defense.

"Get the choppers ready, captains. I want everyone to get ready in thirty minutes. Be sure there's a boat in each bird."

"But - but …" said Hikari, her pleas falling on deaf ears.

Honsou had a maniacal glint in his eyes. "Strap the fuck up, captains. If the brass wants Corinth, we'll give them fucking Corinth!"

The Advanced Genetics Research and Development Department was in complete pandemonium. The office workers were in the process of evacuation as a company of militia came running into the building in flak gear and wielding ballistic shields.

Deep beneath the earth, the progress of science halted. Emergency lights flashed red, unborn-dragons died in their vats. Their mother cried in anguish.

The Conqueror of Bread was a great and mighty gun-wyrm, retrieved from the mysterious underground labs in the Himalayas. How the Doctor retrieved such a beast from so far away, and who built said labs, no one quite knew. She was instrumental in creation of the many Jet Dragons for the Republic. It was this small air force that kept the Overlords of Glocken's own fighter jets at bay, as did the many anti-air defenses around the city. Through the power of bionics and genecraft, her children were far more powerful than she would ever be. Thus was her pride as a mother.

As the Dragonslayer poison coursed through her veins, the mother of wyrms faced the room which her killers were in. With her last dying breath, she activated «Sol Viktor» upon her forehead, a mighty weapon salvaged from an orbital sat laser, and fired her vengeance.

The underground lab exploded and thus ended the Republic of Mutantopia's air fleet.

"Did I ever tell you guys the time someone broke my leg during training?"

"Dyne-san, is there a reason you're acting delirious? You don't feel any pain, you know."

"Well yeah, I'm bored. Can't do shit with a broken spine, Klein-san."

"Shush, there's monsters in here."

As Kirito said this, the entire maintenance tunnel shook. Bits of ceiling fell plummeting to the floor. Kirito and Klein almost lost their balance as the miniature earthquake passed them, as was the sudden gust of wind that came from behind. They turned to see rubble blocking the path they just came through. Dyne's weight nearly dragged them both to the floor.

"What was that?" asked Klein.

"The dragon most likely, with its laser beam. It sealed the way in," answered Kirito.

"I am God knows how deep underground, completely paralysed from the waist down, being arm carried by a samurai and a femboy, in a tunnel full of scientific abominations, after just narrowly escaping a dragon's freaking death ray. God, I love this game."

The three men were slow going. They were heavily wounded and the semi-realistic nature of GGO's health system had broken their bodies to a painfully slow degree. Kirito and Klein had suffered concussions and broken bones, neither were in any condition to run, much less fight. Whatever healing supplies they had were already used up and they only had the barest points in the «Medic» skill.

The players had discovered a secret maintenance shaft under the console that poor Vladimir was impaled upon. It was wide enough for all of them to escape through, though poor Dyne had to be 'gently' dropped down the ladder. After looting the corpses of their dead comrades, they left as quickly as they could with Sinon leading, acting as pointman.

Down the tunnel, the revving of a chainsaw echoed through the tunnel followed by maniacal laughter.

Speaking of the cat, "Hey, I'm gonna help Sinon. Do you mind?"

Klein smirked. "Sure thing. Go and fight with your cat girlfriend, you lucky son of a bitch."

"Cat Girl Asada, I've seen it all!" Dyne laughed only to start hacking and wheezing blood. "Think my lung is punctured. That doesn't sound good."

Ignoring the heat to his cheeks, Kirito readied his Scorpion and rushed down the tunnel as quickly as he could. Beyond was an open space, the kind that game designers create when they want to have a small battle. He made it to the entrance to see the most curious thing:

The maintenance tunnel was not unlike the sewer tunnels from the first time they came through with its large chambers. Instead of Sewer Hydras, a close cousin to the Flesh Pupper, what was infesting the tunnels were instead Mega Gophers - mutated cow size rodents bioengineered to dig and expand into the earth; cheap mining equipment created by the earth's ancient governments. They used to supplement and support actual drillers, but the machines broke down and the Gophers escaped and became feral. Many a player could simply walk about the Wastes one day and accidentally find themselves in their vast underground caverns. Years of mutation and accelerated evolution had turned these harmless herbivores to violent omnivores, snacking on whatever poor Wasteland stumbled into a hole.

A couple bright ancient emergency lamps were the only sources of light in the chamber. There were three dead Gophers on the ground and two left rushing towards the intruder. In the middle was Sinon, chainsword and Tommy gun in hand.

Sinon swung Kirito's chainsword as if she was born with it, splitting open a Mega Gopher's skull like a saw to a log, her scarf whipping around her. Another rushed at her flank and she launched a savage kick, knocking it away with the force of a cybersteed. She let loose with the Wall's Thompson, the heavy SMG spitting lead with ease, ending its life.

Suddenly, one came barreling from the shadows.

"Sinon! Watch ou-"

The sniper spun and in the dim light, a grinning feral face, fangs bearing. Dropping both weapons, she caught the great rodent by its massive paws dead in its tracks.

With strength that Kirito had never seen, she flipped the beast right over her and slammed it onto the ground. She wrapped her thick arms around its neck, and with a swift jerk cracked it, the sound of breaking bones echoing through the underground.

Sinon stood up, flexing her shoulders. The thin green leotard did absolutely nothing to hide the great hills and valleys of her broad back. Vladimir's scientist coat was tied around her waist, the couple of .50 cal magazines for her new anti-materiel rifle securely tucked into the coat's pockets and the Lynx itself hung lazily from a makeshift sling.

Then came the sudden vision of himself being tied up to the posts of his bed. A very naked Cat Girl Sinon straddling him. Her sharp claws scratched his chest, drawing blood.

Nya.

Kirito slapped himself so hard that he lost 1 HP. Sinon turned around, only to just notice him.

"What's the matter, is something wrong?" she asked, ears twitching atop her head.

"No, no … it's just … I thought you needed backup."

Sinon collected the rest of the dropped gear and rested the chainsword on one shoulder, her bicep popping considerably when she did so. "Nah, I'm good. God, it feels like forever since I got my old avatar."

"You're a lot stronger, it looks like. Wait, check your character sheet!"

Sinon took out her PDA, magically returned to her when she returned to a humanoid form. In fact, even the scarf he gave her grew in size too. He chalked it up to good ol' Video Game Logic.

Her eyes widened. "There's a new Perk here …"

"Can you show me?" She sent a screenshot to him. It read:

«Abhuman: Felinis Extrema»

Description: A rare abhuman mutation. Original mutagenic serum is derived from the Syringe Gun of Doctor Fabius Asclepius. Via the Anima-Corpus Envigorizer process, the Felis Catus mutation has been repressed and combined with the Homo Sapien original form to create a form as smart as a human with the enhanced strength of a feline.

STATS:

+20 STR (Current Total: 85/100)

Sharp Claws: Nails grow at thrice the speed, as well as being durable. Does 15 Sharp Damage.

+20 AGI (Current Total: 70/100)

Increased Speed: Sprinting Speed Set to 48 km/h (assuming no additional weight)

CatTail: Player has greater overall balance.

+25 DEX (Current Total: 75/100)

Lightning Reflexes: Player can react and move at a heightened speed.

+25 END (Current Total: 45/100)

Dense Bones: Player will take 15% less blunt damage in regards to skeletal damage.

+25 PER (Current Total: 90/100)

Night Vision: Player can now see in the dark, equivalent to Night Vision Goggles.

Increased Sight: Player can see in a 200 degree angle (increased from standard 180 degrees)

Increased Smell: Player's sense of smell increased by 20% (Note: Sense of smell can be adjusted in the Options menu)

"Damn."

"Yeah, it's a lot."

"Sinon, with these stats, you're like the strongest player in the game! Excluding players with bionics anyway, but most players don't use them."

She looked at her hand, and suddenly noticed the thick hardened nails on her. "Woah. I hope my gloves still fit at least. Thank the Wall for his nice boots."

Kirito looked down to see said looted boots. The brown leather was extremely fashionable and sturdy, he had to admit.

He turned to look at her again, only to realise he had to tilt his head up. "Wait, weren't you 5'3?"

"My avatar is 5'5, but it looks like I grew a lot more?" The sniper placed a hand atop her head and slanted it towards him. Kirito was 5'7 in life and in-game. The vast majority of players usually added a couple inches to their height for obvious reasons. VR games warned against changing height too much for balancing reasons, something about virtual-true body dysmorphia. He recalled Sinon telling him of one player who was theorycrafting on the forums, on a build in which their avatar was less than five feet. Apparently it was for some sort of P90 meme build.

"You must be at least six feet tall. The character sheet didn't mention anything about this."

"Probably not, but maybe this is just the default look? Hmm, can't say I care much for being this tall. When I get the chance to access the character creator, I'll change my height back."

"Youshouldtotallystaythattallthough," he said under his breath.

"Pardon?"

"Nevermind. We need to move quickly, there's more monsters up ahead most likely."

Sinon raised an eyebrow and smirked. "What are you … oh. Ooooh. I see. I forgot you had a thing for these." She traced two fingers on her stomach, fingertips brushing the holy shit that was an eight pack.

"In fact, I might roll a new avatar for you. Wear skimpier outfits." Her long fluffy tail swayed here and there; he was almost hynoptised as he was by her figure hugging outfit. He wondered how the mechanics of having what was essentially an extra limb worked.

Kirito did not meet her gaze and scoffed. "Skimpy outfits? Whatever happened to the Sinon that complained about people wearing full black armour? Are you the real Shino Asada or a very convincing NPC?"

"Could an NPC do this?" She cupped his face with a strong hand and placed her lips on his.

Kirito had never kissed in a VR game before. He had kissed a total of two girls in his entire life and it felt just the same as it did in the real world. She was taller, stronger. There was an aggressiveness to her that wasn't there before; she was leading him, instead the other way around, and felt one strong arm wrap around his waist alongside a sharp prick on his bottom lip.

Oh God. Her fangs.

She wasn't stopping. Now both arms wrapped around him and Kirito felt her claws clenching his ass. He was being bent over, devoured as she pushed into him. The hand that cupped his face was now holding the back of his head. He could feel the purring vibrating through her, her breasts pressing into his collarbone, her soft tail curling around his leg. Slowly, he felt the warm blood dripping from his mouth. Kirito could not escape her grasp, even if he wanted to. It excited him.

He didn't care if they were stuck in some sort of underground hellhole. He didn't care if they were all lying on their bed in the real world. Sinon was here, with him and that's all he cared for.

At last, they came apart. The realistic detail of the SEED engine was enough to simulate all sorts of fluid physiques - including the trail of saliva currently between the two lovers. More than that, even in this virtual made–up world, he felt her warmth. Kirito wiped the blood off his chin, and Sinon merely smiled, her eyes filled with love - and something more.

"I could just eat you up, little man." Her tone was husky, and Kirito felt a shiver down his spine.

"You're pretty aggressive … for a virgin."

He felt a sharp claw pressing against his throat. "Bold words for someone within clawing range."

"We … we should probably try to get outta here," he said finally, fearing Klein and Dyne would round the corner.

Sinon pouted, her fuzzy ears lying flat on her head. "Fiiine. A girl can't have fun."

Letting him go, she swaggered to where she dropped her weapons, tail flicking left and right playfully. Now, he was sure she was doing it on purpose.

"C'mon lover boy, we've got an entire tunnel to clear. You up for it?"

Damn the injuries, he wasn't going to miss this for the whole. "Lead the way, Sniper Girl. Or is it Cat Girl now? Sniper Cat?"

"We'll figure it out, I'm sure," she said and winked at him. His heart fluttered.

Kirito chased after her, a boy in love.

They had been fighting for the last hour, expanding most of their ammo. The process was slow-going on the account of all the mobs in the way. Multiple times, Kirito and Klein had to switch positions to carry Dyne. The older man himself had logged out, citing the fact "It's not like I could do anything" which was, to be fair, true.

Further into the tunnels, sniper and samurai fought. The few available ammo left was the EMP shells for Klein's SPAS, a couple magazines for Sinon's Lynx, and a couple mags for Dyne's USP .45. They were far too precious to be used for the denizens of the tunnels, lest they faced something far worse. None of them would put it past the game to have a surprise at the end of the exit.

Klein barely parried the claws of a Mega Gopher, the wounds he suffered made each sword swing as if he was fighting underwater. He landed a nasty cut on a paw, severing claws. It roared in rage and charged into him, slamming him against a wall. His helmet saved him from a further skull fracture. His katana was useless as his arm was trapped in the rodent's paw.

The Gopher opened its maw, and Klein shut his eyes, cringing at his demise. His death ratio on this mission would forever tarnish the illustrious history of the FurinKazan.

He felt a wet warmness splashed onto his face. Noticing he was not dead, he opened his eyes, and saw the Gopher's top half completely gone, its tongue lolling out at him. It sagged to the ground, revealing a worried looking Sinon behind.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, just … I need a breather." Klein wiped his face, succeeding only in wetting his own face. Okay, maybe the gore was a bit too much.

Sinon handed him a canteen, which Klein graciously accepted. He washed his face and the blood off him while they chatted. Currently, Kirito was on bodyguard duty. He was salvaging an ancient side closet, a fair bit behind, searching for whatever was useful to aid in their escape.

"Sooo, you and Kazuto doing alright?"

"Yeah." The rag she was using to wipe the bits of flesh off the teeth of the sawblade was doing a poor job as it got caught in the teeth. "I really like him! " she blurted out.

Klein chuckled. "Ah, good on ya. Can't say I'm as lucky as he is. You make a cute couple."

She blushed at the compliment, a curious look for a woman whose avatar could tear his head off. The rag tore apart and she gave up on the endeavour.

"I, uh, I never had a boyfriend before."

Yeah, and Klein never had a girlfriend but she didn't need to know that. "Ooh, I see. You wanna ask me about him, cause I've known him since college."

"You don't mind?"

Klein peered down the tunnel and sat down on an ancient pipe "I don't see why not. We deserve a short break."

Instantly her PDA was in hand. "When was Kazuto born? What college did he go to? What's his favourite sports team? What's his shoe size? Does he prefer chocolate or vanilla ice cream?"

Klein blinked. "Wow, you really have it bad for him, huh?"

"Too creepy?"

"A little bit, yeah?"

"We literally just made out two days ago! I don't know what a girlfriend should do!"

"Look, Shino-chan, it's clear that you have good chemistry. Just, you know, go with the flow. He's a good guy. I've known him for years. Sure, maybe he gets a little too into swords -"

"Ugh, don't remind me."

Klein just smiled at that. "But hey, you've known each other for what? Almost half a year? Just keep at it, ask those questions yourself."

"But - but, he's suave! He knows all the right romantic things to say!"

The samurai let out a laugh. "What, you don't think he's failed at his love life before? I have seen him faceplant so bad, you wouldn't believe! He's got experience, you're just starting out. Just be yourself, eh?"

Sinon slumped her shoulders. "Not the answers I'm looking for, but the one I guess I needed to hear. Thank you, Ryoutarou-san."

Klein clapped her on the shoulder. "Don't sweat it. If it helps, you're way more compatible with him than Asuna was."

Sinon blinked.

Klein continued, "Who woulda thought that scrawny ass gamer nerd would land with a hottie like her? The heiress to one of Japan's richest companies? Honestly though the two would have gotten married considering how crazy in love the two were."

C-crazy in love?

He shook his head. "Well, something happened. After that, he moved in with her because she's loaded and all that. From what I heard, it was really messy, not that he'd ever divulge that information. Had to move in back with his parents after that breakup. Didn't see him for months. I don't pry, you know?"

Sinon felt her mouth go dry.

"Though he's never said it, I'm pretty sure he was ready to propose too. Damn, poor guy. But hey, at least he's bounced back with you!"

M-married? Kazuto, a husband?!

"Ryoutarou-san? W-who's Asuna?"

Klein shut his mouth quickly, going pale. For such a firm believer, he had clearly broken one of the most sacred of Bro Taboos.

The two stared awkwardly at each other for what appeared to be an eternity. She was going to repeat her question until Klein shot back up and started moving. "Welp, would you look at that! More tunnels to scout! Just gonna go right ahead and check for hostiles!"

"Hey, hold on! You don't even have a flashlight!"

Klein was already far away, jogging at a speed that his beat up body really shouldn't allow. "Oh ho, I've found you, fiend! Avast, and taste leaden death!"

A gunshot rang out from his pistol, and Sinon was 99% sure he wasn't shooting at anything.

Sinon cocked her head, confused. Of course he's dated before. And well, it's not really none of her business. But then again, they did date for years. Why did they …

"Sinon!"

The sniper jumped a meter in the air before turning to him. "K-kirito what are you doing here?!"

"Uh, escaping? Wow, those cat genes made you a better jumper. And with all that gear on you too." Dyne was still leaning against him, logged out.

Sinon shook her head. "Found some supplies?"

"Yeah, some ammo and medical supplies. Patched myself up. Should be enough for a couple more firefights, but let's hope it doesn't come to that. Where's Klein, by the way?"

"Oh, scouting ahead." With no light or flares, she better catch up. "Just took a short break."

"Hmm. Anyway, we should get a move on. I'm getting tired of these tunnels."

As Kirito dragged Dyne with him, the older man's legs thankfully moving despite the fact he wasn't logged in. Sinon spoke up: "Kirito, wait!"

"Yeah?"

Her mouth was dry. "Do you - do you…"

"Well?"

"Never mind. Let's talk later."

Kirito raised an eyebrow. "Okay, whatever you say."

Sinon ran forward, hoping that Kirito didn't see her face.

Another half hour, the tunnels had made way for the sewers. Vault Gophers turned to Sewer Hydras ("Joy!" said Kirito) and the inky darkness made way for the familiar smells of the sewers. ("Double joy!").

Above them, they could hear the mass mobilisation of militia as Corinth prepared itself for the upcoming siege. There must have been thousands of pairs of boots marching with all their armour. It was a strange feeling, behind enemy lines like this. They felt like rats in danger of being gunned down by overwhelming force.

There was something off about Sinon, Kirito noticed. She was more … careless.

For one, she had become clumsy. The same woman who can climb a sandy hill at a sixty degree angle with forty kilos of gear with subpar AGI found herself bumping into walls (she had night vision!) and tripping over trash. At one point, they were walking in a completely straight line and she almost fell. Immediately after that, she banged her head against a low hanging pipe. When they squeeze into a crack in a wall, she forgot to unslung her Lynx and immediately got stuck. Her face was red when Kirito had to help her out of it.

The sniper was usually cautious, discretion was the better part of valour, stealth over assault, all the stuff that Kirito absolutely did not care for. Hers was the Way of the Hunter, but he was a pious adherent of the Great Paladin Jenkins. But this wasn't any of that. It was like … like …

Like him on his first day in GGO.

She had been quiet too. So different from the woman who had been shoving her tongue down his throat and manhandling his butt just half an hour ago. Her talk was quick and courteous, lacking the familiarity that he was so used to.

It was like talking to a stranger. Did he do something wrong?

As Kirito dwelled upon this, the latter's ears twitched. "Someone's coming!"

Kirito turned around and gave a gesture to Klein. The samurai nodded and backed away into a corner with Dyne. As this happened, Kirito took cover behind a pile of debris while Sinon hid behind a pillar on the opposite side of the chamber. They clenched swords in fists, hoping their guns wouldn't be of any use.

He strained his ears, trying to listen. But he could hear little, the only footsteps he could hear were the ones above. The fact that they could in the first place meant they must be close to the surface. He trusted her, even though he didn't have those sharp ears.

"Of course Kazuto had a girlfriend! A sweet guy like him, it's a wonder why he's been single so long."

Kirito blinked. He glanced back to Sinon who was just slightly in front of him, chainsword cradled close though her like a rifle would. Her lips weren't moving.

The psycaster bracelet on her left wrist shined. Of course, the telepathic link was still on! He had completely forgotten about it. She must have accidentally turned it on at some point, considering it required a mental command to properly activate it, lest the bracelet-wearers be flooded with stray thoughts. Like right now.

He was going to speak out, before her thoughts were voiced again.

"And married? Ready to propose? Whoever this Asuna was, she must have been really special."

At the mention of his ex's name, his heart skipped a beat and he almost dropped his sword. H-how did she -

Ryoutarou. That big mouth dumbass.

"I can only hope I'm worthy enough to be that special."

Kirito felt his mouth go dry. Immediately, he unclasped the bracelet, the first time in a long, long while. He would not invade her privacy like this.

"Shino-"

"They're here!" she hissed.

The ancient rusted door groaned open, light pouring in. A gangly private with a coat two sizes too big walked in, a sawed off double barrel shotgun in one hand, a bulky flashlight in another. He peered into the darkness with squinted eyes; not even the third eye on his cheek seemed to help.

"All clear, no hostiles."

The shotgunner relaxed himself. Four more militia trailed in with mix match low-level, vendor trash gear; the last one, a woman in the heavy flak of a Republic Stormtrooper, wielding a well-maintained Uzi with a wooden stock. The chevrons on her breast marked her as a colour sergeant. What was curious about her was her nose, more of a snout, and Kirito wondered what sort of circumstances led to that mutation.

The Stormtrooper scanned around the room and tsk-tsked. "Alright squad, back on patrol. Those terrorists couldn't have gone far. After this, we can report back to-" Her nose twitched.

She shut her mouth immediately and the rest followed suit, save for one who was muttering nervously and received a slap to the back of the head for it. Kirito and Sinon froze in place. They were too far and too alert to charge into melee, according to the Kirito Formula of the Engagement of Swords versus Firearms. Did she smell them?

The Stormtrooper made hand gestures, and slowly, the team stepped back out the door, she being the last one out. The two players looked at each other quizzically as the door was quietly shut.

Then just as quietly, the door opened just a hand-span in width. Something was thrown and landed right next to Kirito.

"Holy sh-"

The grenade exploded and Kirito's world went dark.

The moment when death struck was a curious thing. A lot of people say that when you die, your entire life flashed before your eyes. Kirito wasn't sure if that was the case in reality, but there was no such thing when you died in-game.

He still recalled his first death in VR, years ago: it was back in the SAO beta and he was one of the chosen few. He was on the 1st Floor, exploring the wilderness. So entranced was he at the technology of FullDive, the wind on his face, the grass beneath his feet, the feel of steel in his hand, that he didn't notice a Kobold running at him and bashing his skull in.

To die in VR was an experience. It was like a flash of sudden light, or jumping from a high dive into water. Kirito had suffered a hundred deaths, but he never got used to it. In GGO, he had suffered a grand total of twenty-one deaths.

So when he did not suffer that flash of light, or that splash of water, but instead heard the oh-so familiar revving, Kirito realised that he was not, in fact, dead.

He opened his eyes, smoke and scorch marks decorated the chamber in a chaotic mess. He could just spot the blur of blue that rushed out of the door, yelling bloody murder. Fast, he thought. The distance and time that Sinon covered and returned the grenade must have been less than a couple of seconds. Picking himself up, he ran into the corridor.

The corridor was well lit, ancient lightbulbs embedded into the wall, wires hung from the ceiling like the roots of trees. Slumped against the wall was the private with the shotgun, guts spilling out of his belly. Gunfire and the rev of the chainsword boomed like thunder in the tight space.

At the end, Sinon's chainsword cleaved a militiaman apart, head to neck. Another private thrusted his crappy snub-nose into her face, but she repositioned the dead private in front of the flight of the bullet, absorbing the round with the cadaver. Sinon shoved the corpse into the enemy, and rammed the chainsword through the dead man's guts into his back and into the private behind him in a display of animalistic savagery.

Such was Sinon's fury, she didn't notice the Stormtrooper at the far end, Uzi at the ready.

The burst of 9mm struck Sinon in the shoulder. Kirito reached for his borrowed USP. 45 only to stagger off balance as a round hit him in the back.

The flak absorbed it, and Kirito turned to meet the danger, two impish mutants with TEC-9s. He shot Dyne's pistol one-handed, missing half his shots but eventually slaying the two. Kirito reached for a fresh mag, cursing when he realised that was in fact his last.

At the opposite end of the hall, Sinon moved at a speed that Kirito hadn't seen ever since his last run in SAO. She ducked and weaved like a boxer, the sergeant's Uzi striking where she was mere moments before. She used the flat of the chainsword to block what few rounds she couldn't dodge. It was unreal to see this sort of thing in-game. Was this how high-level play looked like?

At last, the Stormtrooper landed a hit on Sinon's thigh, sending her stumbling, her Lynx's magazines spilling out of the coat pockets, chainsword falling uselesly to the floor. At that time, the Uzi clicked empty and the Stormtroopers reached for a fresh mag.

Kirito reacted before thinking. He hefted his sword by the middle of the blade and threw. It soared thirty meters in the dimness of the corridor, striking the Stomtrooper in her leg. The sergeant dropped her magazine.

Sinon recovered and leapt upon the soldier, chainsword forgotten. With a swipe of her claws she tore open the mutant's neck. The Stormtrooper took a step back, eyes disbelieving of what just happened. Blood bubbled in the gaping hole of her throat and she slumped to her knees, dead.

Silence reigned once again as the two reconvened. He caught up to her. "You okay?" he asked.

"Okay enough." She didn't meet his eyes as she retrieve the chainsword and stalked further into the tunnel.

"Sinon, is there … something wrong?"

"No, just tired." A lie, but he wasn't going to confront her about it right now.

With that, she retrieved her dropped belongings and scouted further. As if what just happened wasn't the coolest thing they had experienced in all their time playing together.

Klein exited the doorway, katana in hand. "I heard an explosion, what happened?"

"Nothing, nothing." The samurai didn't press him as he rifled through the dead.

Sunlight at the mouth of the tunnel greeted them. The four players, including a returned Dyne ("Damn, looks like I missed all the fun!") crept their way to the edge of the sewer grate, shining and newly installed. The chainsword's sharp teeth made quick work of the hardened steel, and Sinon's steely thews pried them open easily enough.

The Gulf greeted them, as was the setting sun reflecting off the water and the white sands of the beach. They were somewhere northwest of the city. At that moment, no one was sure what to do. The sound of lapping waves and the squawk of seagulls a far cry from the gunfire and revving of the chainsword of the tunnels.

Finally, Klein asked, "Do we regroup or something?" All eyes were on Dyne, who scrunched his face in thought.

"The MO for this kinda thing is to regroup with friendly forces and try to recover. But we've no clue where CHAD and his men are, and I doubt the solution to our problems will just suddenly come out from thin air."

As he said that, the solution to their problems suddenly came out from thin air. All guns were on the newcomer in an instant.

Dyne lowered his sidearm. "Wait, wait! That's Ginrou's drone!"

Said drone was not too dissimilar from real life drones: four fans welded together, connected by a small battery/engine in the middle, and some sort of gadget stuck to the bottom, usually a camera of some sort. GGO drones happened to be more complex, coming in all sorts of shapes and sizes. It wasn't the most popular of builds, as it was nowhere near as fun as shooting a gun or commandeering a vehicle. Drone builds however were always in high demand for scouting and support purposes. A niche build, for a niche purpose.

"Finally! I thought we'd never see you again, chief!" said the drone, Ginrou's voice coming loud and clear from the speakers.

"Looks like the rest of FurinKazan and Black Dog finally found their way into the city," said Klein. "Yo! You wanna give us a hand?"

"ASADA, ARE YOU A FUCKING CAT GIRL?! YOU'RE SO CUTE AAAA-"

"Zip it, Ginrou," Dyne ordered.

Half an hour later, the group found themselves in a cave on the beach. It was far away from any signs of civilisation, the cave entrance itself hidden behind a hologram projector.

They plopped Dyne on their best bed, a salvaged hospital bed looted from some clinic. The cave left little room for any sort of privacy, just a large cavern with furniture strewn about. Some side-caverns were used as storage for gear, and there was a functioning radio tucked in a corner. Most of the players were logged out, lying on their cots. It looked like the two guilds had been there for somewhile, with cots, tables and scavenged furniture already set up. It was the typical GGO cave hideout, homey despite the rough architecture, very common around the Wastes for those timed quests and long campaigns.

Klein and Dyne were summoning their logged out guildmates while someone tried to get in touch with CHAD and the Zakon i Dolg. There was some time before a meeting was called.

After a quick checkup with the FurinKazan's medic, Kirito and Sinon handed their firearms to a member of Black Dog to clean and tune up. The armourer looked surprised to see Sinon. "Asada? That you?"

Sinon sighed. "Yep, it's me. Ah Kirito, this is uh," she double checked the player name.

They shook hands. "Your player name is Hammer Smith?" he asked.

Satoh laughed. "Well, my real name is Hanma Satoh. I'm the team armourer at Asada's workplace. Get it, because Smith is the equivalent of Satoh?"

"Satoh, the chief warned you about being so free with your real name online. Again," the sniper warned. Smith just laughed at that.

"Punny, you must be a dad." He looked like one too; a thirty-something year old with a five o' clock shadow and thick rim-glasses. GGO's character creator was nowhere near as exotic as many others; the most eye-catching one could do was to make oneself be very good looking, ugly or have brightly coloured hair. Or, in recent events, a cat person.

"I am actually! Got a beautiful baby girl, two years old. Don't tell the missus the chief got AmuSpheres for us, she doesn't approve of VR games, you see. Weren't you a cat last time I saw you, Asada?"

"It's a long story."

"Uhuh. You know, for the longest time the guys pegged ya' for a lesbian."

Sinon sighed. "Why is it always lesbians? Why not asexual? Men should take off their damn yuri goggles."

"That's fair, but well," he gestured to Kirito. "He does look kinda girly."

Kirito's eye twitched but Smith mustn't have noticed it.

"Anyway," said Sinon. "You mind keeping an eye over our stuff?"

"I'll do better, I'll keep both eyes on it! Just stay away from Eikichi, that's Gendo if you need a reminder Kirito-san, you know how he is with cats."

"I know, Sinon had to clog the camera feed with duct tape to get him to stop."

A while later, Kirito finished cleaning his chainsword. He didn't trust anyone to maintain it but himself; the secret was the liberal use of WD-40000 lubricant and a toothbrush. For his guns, he trusted Smith to take care of that.

As he returned to the living space where everyone was resting, he didn't see Sinon lying anywhere - where was she?

He asked the others, no one had seen her. His HUD indicated she hadn't logged out. Now he was worried. But what if …

"I'll apologise for this later," he said to himself, as he put the psycaster bracelet back on. Instantly, Sinon's thoughts chimed in his head.

He sprinted out of the cave, to the confusion of the rest of the inhabitants.

Kirito found her sitting by the beach a bit away from the cave. Her borrowed boots were in the sand as she dipped her feet into the sea. She had no weapons on her, the coat she wore had been put away. She was enjoying the setting sun, lost in thought. Thoughts he very much could hear.

"Do I have what it takes to be a good girlfriend?"

Of course she could! To say she couldn't was nonsense!

"Maybe he doesn't like me going all gun nut on him. "

What? No! He liked hearing her rant about guns. There was a passion he could relate to. After all, she suffered all his rants about swords all this time.

"I wonder if it's because I've got small breasts?"

"No, I don't mind at all actually. Small breasts are cute."

Tail and ears shot up as she spun around to meet him. Her blue eyes were wide, her mouth hanging. She snapped it shut.

"In my defense, I heard it just before we fought that militia team and took it off. I only put it back on to find where you were."

"You coulda just messaged me, you know."

He started to chuckle. "What's so funny?!"

"You're … you're … no, it's better to show you."

He took out his PDA and pressed something. Sinon's PDA vibrated and she looked to see what he just sent: it was a picture of her, ears flat to her head, nose scrunched up, fangs visible. She looked … well, like an angry cat.

His laughter became louder. "Shut up, it's not funny!" she yelled.

"You're right! It's not, it's hilarious! After all this time, you're still the same furball."

Kirito had his hands on his knees now. All the anger and worry faded from her, as she joined him. Their laughter traveled down the beach and neither at all cared what the world thought of them.

As they finished. Sinon slumped back down on the beach. Kirito joined her, soaking his feet in the seashore. They sat in relative silence as they watched the sun set.

"So, what did you hear, exactly?" she asked.

"The bit about Asuna."

"Oh. Klein told me."

"Yeah, figures." Kirito let out a long sigh before collapsing onto the beach. Sand got into his long hair. "It's a long story."

"You don't have to -"

Kirito started. "I met Asuna in college. She was a sophomore studying Business Management, I was in Programming. We got into a fight in a Humanities class."

"A fight?"

He gave a wry smile. "The lecturer was making some sort of comparison about what would happen if Japan brought back legal dueling. He mentioned something about people wearing katanas, and she argued back that a rapier would fit better. And then there's where I stepped in, arguing a katana is a pretty good civilian weapon in itself."

Sinon rolled her eyes. "Of course you did."

"We argued so vehemently that we were kicked out of class. That's when we started blaming each other. You've gotta understand I was an acne faced eighteen year old with bad hair, she was prim, proper, a real lady. I felt that I had something to prove to myself. We debated about it over an early lunch.

"I was a mediocre athlete, and an even worse kendoka. I spent more time arguing about swords on the Internet than actually hitting the dojo. My sister I was not. Asuna was, and I didn't know about it at the time, the second best fencer in the college, only behind her older brother. I've no idea how, but somehow we started dating. Me, some scrawny gamer and her, the heiress of Yuuki family."

Her eyes widened. "Don't they own RECT Inc? The company that made the AmuSphere?"

"Yeah. But this was long before the console was even made. Make no doubt about it, Asuna wasn't interested in games in any way. That didn't stop us from dating, and me being the target of many classmates' jealousy."

Sinon felt a pang of envy at that. "Looks like you two were happy."

"We were. For a time."

Behind them, Corinth automated ground defenses engaged Glocken air forces. A Jet Dragon swallowed paratroopers dropping from C-17 Globemaster cargo planes. Another gunned it down with a missile, the orange sky lighting up with deadly fireworks.

Sinon dared to ask. "What happened?"

"A lot. We dated from 2032 to 2036. I thought I had my whole life together. The prettiest girl on campus as my girlfriend, I had good grades, life was good. But well, all good things come to an end.

"Her parents didn't approve. She was too important to be with some nobody like me. They sent her off to the States after graduation to work with her brother. I wanted to propose, she declined. Instead of trying to do any long form distance relationship, we decided to end it."

Now she felt ashamed at being envious. "Oh Kaz, I'm so sorry."

He shrugged. "We tried to keep being friends but I was too devastated. Looking back at it, I acted pretty childishly. Said things I shouldn't have. We both did actually. After that, we haven't spoken since. If I could undo one event in my life, it'd be that final conversation.

"I wasn't mentally well so I moved back to my parents for a year, they were very understanding. Threw myself into video games and work. Haven't had the desire or the luck for another romance. Until you that is.

"I don't know how long we'll be together, whether this relationship will work or not. But until then," he reached for her hand and squeezed. "I want you to be along for the ride."

Sinon said nothing, but merely leaned in and kissed him. Not the passion, lust driven kiss of before, but something warmer, loving.

If you were to tell Shino Asada three years ago that she'd be kissing her boyfriend on a virtual beach covered in guns and blood, she'd ask you if you were drunk. But now, anything seemed possible.

They finally parted. "What, no sinking your fangs into me? You've bitten me enough times as neko-Sinon."

"I can do that anytime, you know. You weird masochist."

He hmmed. "Well, it's gonna be a while. We can get back into the cave and logout. It's been a super long session."

"Yeah. I could use some burgers."

"You just said this morning at the diner you needed to cut back!"

She checked her nails. "Tearing people's throats is hard work, you know?"

Kirito smiled and pecked her on the cheek. "Alright, let's head back. I'm sure we have enough time to - what the hell is that?"

The dots in the horizon became clear against the backdrop of the bleeding sky. They came quickly and something fell out of one of them.

"Transport choppers!" cried Sinon. Her enhanced sight had once again come useful. "They're flying low, dropping something!"

The lead Chinook dropped a boat like a stone, crashing into the sea.

"Republic forces?" asked Kirito.

Sinon squinted. "Yes? No? Wait, they're got a flag."

The rubber boat sped to the beach and the view became clearer. A hulking figure stood at the front, arms folded, foot on the bow, holding a machine gun by the barrel. In the boat was a squad of riflemen, one of them clutching onto a flag, a ferocious white hawk on a field of red.

The boat beached and the rest of the squad disembarked. The other choppers were also dropping boats, racing to the shore. The big figure, who looked like an oversized kappa, snatched the flag from one of his men and planted it onto the sand. It waved magnificently in the wind.

"I, Colonel Honshu, claim this beach in the name of the Kyoto Warhawks!"

The men cheered and whooped in joy. Then the colonel turned to look at the two players sitting in the sand, his eyes barely visible under the slit of his helmet.

"What the hell are you looking at?"

Aww, they really do love each other.

Thanks to everyone for their patience! I wasn't 100% sure if I landed the ending there, so do tell how that went. It was the thing I was most worried about. Not much in the way of action, so I hope the KiriSinon is sufficient.

The next update is probably going to be Merchant Prince. Until then, stay safe.