Chapter 9: Paris Pleasantries
Well this chapter was one of the funniest ones to write. Won't be spoiling anything in the Author's note- Goodalwayswins98
If y'all are here for combat, sorry to say but you're gonna be sorely disappointed. If you do however enjoy a good laugh at generic shenanigans, then you'll love this chapter. - SirStonewall
Yuuki residence
Asuna happily walks down the staircase, humming all the the while. It had been a nice day at school and the weather outside made everything even better. With the orange light of the setting sun filtering in through the large windows of her family home, . Her cell phone suddenly rings, and she stops in her tracks to answer before continuing downstairs, into the living room.
"Hello Kirito!"
"Hey there beautiful," her boyfriend replies, "You got the invite too?"
Earlier, she had received an email structured to look like a telegram message. Stonewall and Aria had decided to invite everyone to hang out in Paris in War-Torn tomorrow. Evidently, the quest to encourage players to invade Sicily and Italy was a huge success, and the front line was starting to get rather crowded.
"Of course! I can't wait to visit Paris with everyone," she answers back, "It'll be a nice change from all the fighting we've had in War-Torn."
"Yeah, I can't wait to see how the devs got the whole city done in-game."
"If it's anything like real life, it should be magnificent. I sure hope it'll live up to its nickname of City of Love."
"If we like it enough," he says warmly while chuckling lightly, "Maybe we'll visit the place IRL."
"Oh Kirito," she giggles, "That's a wonderful idea."
"Listen, I gotta go, but we'll see each other later in ALO."
"Okay, see you later love." Asuna says with a smile before leaning back happily on a wall. She suddenly hears a throat being cleared, and turns to the side with a start, spotting a familiar figure in the doorway.
"Mother?" she asks in surprise. The redhead had been so engrossed in her conversation with her boyfriend that she didn't notice her mother's presence.
"Young lady, what is this about visiting Paris?" Mrs Yuuki asks, entering the room to stand a few feet from her daughter. "On whose money, and what about your schooling?"
"It's in one of my games, Mother." Asuna defends, figuratively pulling the rug out from under her mother's feet.
"You can go to Paris in your games?" The older woman asks tensely.
"It's slightly different from Paris nowadays, but yes."
"I want to try it."
Asuna stiffens up and tries to explain the situation of War-Torn's version of Paris, not wanting to have her plans spoiled by her mother coming along.
Xx-xX
The following day,
War-Torn,
In the streets of Antwerp, Stonewall sits patiently on a Harley Davidson WLA with the engine turned off, and his helmet in his lap while he watches the docks. He was waiting for someone, and that someone was due to log on any minute now. New players join in droves practically every minute or so, being welcomed by the greeting AI and pointed towards the ammunition depot.
Beside him, Aria sits behind the wheel of a jeep, her feet kicked up on the dash while she casually flips through the pages of the advanced player manual in an attempt to kill time.
"Learning anything you didn't already know?" Stonewall asks, adjusting how he's sitting.
"Yyyyyep."
"Care to share?"
Aria turns to the next page, not looking up while she talks. "I didn't know War-Torn had blackouts for fighter pilots."
Stonewall chuckles and nods, resting his arms on the speedometer with a grin. "I remember when we got to gather data for that. We just needed to get the average G tolerance for certain body masses, but everyone insisted that Dex should give the centrifuge a try. Credit to him, the guy survived seven G's before he blacked out."
"Poor guy."
"Everyone else thought it was funny as hell. I took a ride in it too, passed out at eight G's."
"Hmmmm…. Maybe we could take a break from fighting on the ground and try flying." Aria proposes as she adjusts how she's sitting.
"It's an idea- oh, there's dad." Stonewall says as he gets off his motorcycle and jogs towards a silver-haired man, giving him a hug. Stonewall dismisses the NPC that jogs up to them, and starts walking with the man back towards where the two vehicles are parked.
"Hey there Aria." He says with a smile, "Good to see you again."
"Hi Mister Stuart. It's been a while, eh?"
"A couple weeks at least. My boy keeping himself out of trouble?"
"For the most part. He's still in the doghouse for the stunt he pulled at the last meeting." The woman silently glares at Stonewall after she's done talking.
"I heard about that…"
"Well wouldja look at the time? Kirito and his bunch just logged on gottagobye!" Stonewall rushes the last of his sentence as he starts his motorcycle and peels out in a hurry. Driving down a dusty road, he passes by columns of trucks and armoured vehicles as he heads towards the teleport point to Paris. Arriving at the teleport point, Stonewall activates it and spawns on the north-eastern outskirts of Paris.
At his arrival, he is surrounded by the sounds of heavy armor. Tracks rattle as a column of heavy Tiger II's rumbles past, and he guns the engine, heading around to a parking area for the tanks, where La Montréalaise is parked beside Squirrel and Miss Moody. The tankers are busy minding their iron steeds or happily relaxing before heading into Paris for some fun times. Stonewall guides the motorcycle up beside the latter, and shuts off the engine, pulling his goggles up onto his helmet.
"Hey y'all!"
He's met with a series of greetings from the other crews.
"Yo what's up man!" Nguyen says as he hops off his tank. Making his way to Stonewall, the two players shake hands, and Stonewall puts the kickstand out before getting off the motorcycle.
"So Paris is still a go for today?"
"Yeah. My old man just logged on."
"Oh nice," Nguyen replies cooly, "I didn't even bother inviting Mother. She's already going to Paris with her boyfriend next month. Besides, she grew up in a warzone so she isn't too keen on going through that for fun eh."
A loud belch is suddenly heard. Both players turn their heads to see Tony mock scold Dick for his lack of manners while Roscoe and Lou both share looks of exasperation.
"Eww, you're disgusting Dick," Tony groans, "Why the hell did we let you have VR again?"
"Cause equality man." the driver says sarcastically as he tosses a bottle of Coca-cola away, "Stop oppressing me with your PC bullshit!"
"The fuck?"
"Everyone should have the right to VR they want. It's a free country man," the driver says, scratching his beard.
"False. You bastards live in Canada." Stonewall mutters, storing his helmet and goggles in his inventory.
"Eh we ain't North Korea eh?" Nguyen remarks nonchalantly as the pair walk towards the tanks, "We don't have to kiss our prime minister and queen's portrait every morning."
"Y'ain't as free as 'Murica!" Stonewall jokes.
"Whatevs'. Don't think we can handle that much freedom," Nguyen chuckles, "So how's the old man doing?"
"He's living the five to eight. Working his ass off as usual. I'm hoping War-Torn will help him get his aggression out a bit. He's always a fuckin' grouch…"
"Oh ok, hope so too," Nguyen says, "He's having fun so far?"
"We'll find out once he gets here with mah darlin'."
Stonewall suddenly feels something hit the back of his head. Turning to look over, the American sees a dirty, oil covered rag on the ground and Dick with a shit eating grin, sitting lazily on the driver's hatch.
"So you weren't happy with me saving everyone's hearing from Nguyen's shitty singing?" he remarks cheekily.
"I was happy that you did it, just not in your execution. I almost got a vision-block shaped dent in my forehead."
"Details man, details."
"Fuck you. I'll fuckin' brake check your ass next time we're in column, see how you fuckin' like it."
Dick suddenly leaps off La Montréalaise. Making his way over, he picks the dirty rag and starts waving it in Stonewall's face.
"Loosen up man," he chuckles, "It works."
"Hey, Dick." Stonewall says in a monotone voice. "You play in hardcore mode, right?"
"What? Yeah, why?"
"Nut check!" Stonewall yells before smacking Dick in the groin, followed by a surprisingly high pitched scream of pain. The larger player topples over in fetal position, holding his groin protectively while the rest of his crew either groan in annoyance or laugh at his predicament while onlooking random players cringe in pain. "Next time you wanna get in my face make sure you have hardcore mode turned off!"
"Tabarnak! You fucking wuss!" the caveman like tanker groans between pain filled breaths, "I'm gonna kick your ass for that calisse!"
"Hey everyone!" another voice calls out, "We late?"
"Not at all." Stonewall responds, 'accidentally' kicking the Canadian on the ground when he tries to step over him.
"What exactly is happening here?" a rather authoritative voice asks, clearly irritated.
"Just some good ole' horseplay ma'am. I don't believe we've met before." Stonewall responds as he looks at the group of newcomers, recognizing the familiar faces of the ALO players, except for a stern, aloof, older woman dressed in a British uniform standing next to a rather annoyed Asuna. The woman and Asuna both wear similar looking scowls on their faces and glare at Stonewall and Dick.
"Everyone, this is my mother, Kyouko Yuuki, though her VR nickname is Erika," the medic says, "She wants to come visit Paris with us."
Nguyen straightens himself out.
"Pleased to meet you ma'am," he introduces himself formally, "I'm Nguyen and these are my friends." He says this while pointing to his fellow crewmen and listing their names.
"G'day ma'am. I'm Stonewall. That little lady behind you with the braid is my fiance Aria. Next to her is my father, Roy." Stonewall says happily as he continues to introduce Rift's crew, along with Seth's crew, and the flamethrower operator who's close by Klein's side, wearing a rare smile.
Meanwhile, Nguyen and his crew, minus Dick, go to greet the newly arrived ALO players.
"Pleased to meet you," Erika says indifferently, scrutinizing each of the players, "When are we going to Paris?"
"When my driver'll be back on his feet," Nguyen replies jokingly, glancing at Dick who's stopped breathing heavily, "Won't be getting anywhere without him."
The burly player starts getting back on his feet while grunting "Gimme a moment."
"Alrighty y'all, pick a rig to ride." Stonewall instructs, climbing up onto the front of Warbreaker and offering a hand to his father. Nguyen and his crew do the same though Dick's face is still pained as he climbs the tank. Erika looks absolutely scandalized after hearing Stonewall's proposal.
"Excuse me but don't you have proper cars?" she asks, "I think it is absolutely inappropriate to drive into Paris on tanks."
"Mother!" Asuna exclaims in shock.
"It's alright Asuna, it's a rather understandable request." Stonewall chuckles. "To answer your request ma'am, we do have jeeps, but there's so many jeeps in Paris that it's likely to get lost among them all."
"Aren't there normal cars?"
" . . . You weren't fully explained what War-Torn was as a game, were you." The American replies deadpan.
"Well yes but I still expected that there would be normal cars seeing as how the French did have cars in the 1930's," Erika coldly replies while Asuna rolls her eyes at her mother's stubbornness.
"The cars of the era aren't very comfortable, and they don't hold very many people. We can fit ten people on my tank alone, and the suspension is significantly better. Not to mention we're all rather low on credits."
"I see… I hope your money issues won't be a problem when we reach Paris."
"They won't. Now pick a ride y'all."
Agil, Liz, Silica and Sinon all head to Nguyen's tank while Kirito, Asuna, Erika and Leafa make their way to Warbreaker.
Klein starts to walk towards Warbreaker, but Amy grabs his hand and steers him towards the motorcycle, sitting on it and patting the seat behind her while looking at Stonewall. "Klein and I are gonna head out on our own for a bit."
"Euh yeah!" Klein exclaims with evident surprise, "You know how to drive one of these?" he asks, impressed. One of the Canadians does a wolf whistle when he sees the scene.
"Of course I do." Amy replies with a grin, starting the motorcycle.
"Have fun with that Klein!" Stonewall laughs. "She drives like she has a deathwish!"
Klein grins back.
"I'm not afraid of a little danger," he boasts as he gets on the motorbike, "Besides, Amy looks like she knows what she's doing."
"You'd best hold on tight." Amy hums at him over her shoulder, a malicious grin on her face. The Fallschirmjager grabs onto two metal handles.
"Men these days…" She sighs, grabbing his hands and wrapping his arms around her waist before revving the throttle and peeling out of the parking area.
"Looks like someone's having a nice day," Nguyen mutters to himself as he's sitting in the tank commander's seat before turning his head towards his passengers. "You guys all ready to go?"
"We sure are!" Liz answers enthusiastically while Silica beams.
"Alrighty, enjoy the smoothest ride in Baker," he boasts before ordering Dick to start driving. Next to him, Tony's head is exposed as the loader opens his hatch to enjoy the nice weather.
"Say guys," the engineer asks nicely, "Do you still need a hand fixing whatever happened to your tank?"
"We're good but thanks Liz. That's really cool of you." Tony answers while lighting up a cigarette. The rest of the tank column steadily picks up speed.
"Yeah, we managed to fix the turret," Nguyen says, "Too bad the new radio was too messed up though."
"That badly?" she asks.
"Yeah, that shell totalled it," Tony explains, "Too much damage to a component and it's gone forever."
"What about you guys?" Silica asks sweetly while petting Pina, "Were any of you hurt?"
Both tankers shake their heads.
"Nah, for some unknown reason," Nguyen says, "The shot just went through, trashed the radio and went out the other side without doing anything to us. Thanks for worrying though." The last part is said in a warm tone.
"You're welcome and it's the least I can do for you guys for all the help you gave us in this world."
Sinon quietly smiles at the group's fun discussions.
"Don't sweat it," Tony answers lazily," RNGesus must have been watching on us that day."
"No kidding," Agil remarks, "You guys ever been to Paris? IRL or VR."
"Well there was this one time," Dick says emerging from his driver's hatch, "It was back in…"
Xx-xX
"If this is comfortable compared to a car," Erika declares haughtily, "Then those cars must have been horrible to ride in."
The older woman is sitting on the side of Warbreaker next to her daughter, Kirito and Leafa.
"We've got upgraded suspension, so the ride is smoother than the original, but some cars aren't too bad. They're just expensive." Stonewall replies from atop the turret. "So you like the ride. How do you like the view?"
"Hmmph, I have to admit that it is very nice." she answers begrudgingly as she looks around the French countryside, "The trees almost look real."
Around them, lush rolling countryside surrounds the road the tanks are driving on. A light breeze and bright sun makes the experience rather relaxing.
Stonewall's radio suddenly crackles.
{Baker-one-actual, this is Baker-one-two. Comms check!}
However, instead of being Nguyen's voice, it's a rather distinctively feminine voice.
Stonewall raises an eyebrow and grabs his handset. "One-Two, gimme your authorization code Charlie."
{Euhh, this is Liz here. Nguyen never said anything about an authorization code.}
"That's alright Liz. I'm pretty sure he doesn't remember it anyways."
He hears her snickering on the radio, and looks back at La Montrealaise to see Nguyen perched on the side of his turret, talking to his crew members while the remaining ALO players try to avoid busting out laughing. Liz is sitting in the commander's hatch with the handset in hand with a grin that reaches all the way to her ears.
{Yup, the idiots totally forgot it.}
"Figures…" Stonewall sighs before turning so his legs hang over the counterweight on the rear of the turret. "Missus Yuuki, if I may ask a question?"
"Yes?"
Stonewall glances at his open cupola to make sure Aria isn't listening before turning back to her. "Aria and I have been trying to find decent places in Japan where we could get married. Being how you're an adult, and you live there… would you by chance know any nice places?"
The stern woman's face seems to soften up lightly while the rest of the ALO players look at him in surprise.
"Hmm, I'll have to think about it. There are many places that come to mind. How old are you young man?"
"Twenty-five. Oh um… there's also gotta be another criteria… the place has to be wheelchair accessible…"
"Wheelchair accessible?" she asks, slightly surprised.
"Yes ma'am. The wonders of Virtual Reality… You'd never be able to tell in-game, but I'm paralyzed from my L5 down."
Erika's eyes widened in shock.
"I'll have to think about it young man," she finally says after a few moments. Asuna looks at her in surprise as well.
"Thank you."
"If it isn't too indiscreet," Kirito shyly asks, "How did you euh-"
Both Asuna and Erika throw an ice-cold glare at him at the same time. He almost recoils as both mother and daughter have the exact same, angry expression.
"Motorcycle crash. I don't mind you asking, just don't make a habit of forgetting. Took a corner too fast on a wet road and lost control." Stonewall replies before giving a sigh and a light chuckle. "Guess that's what I get for speeding."
"Sorry man, didn't want to bring that up."
"It's alright. I did get one thing out of it though."
"Hmm? What was it?" Kirito asks as he stretches himself. He notices that Stonewall seems to be rather quite happy.
"A wonderful fiance who's actually qualified to take care of me."
"Right, so that's how you met Aria. I remember you telling us about it on that glider."
With impeccable timing Aria pops her head out of the cupola like a gopher, providing some comical relief for an otherwise awkward situation.
"I heard my name?"
"Yes, Kirito was wondering how you and Stonewall met," Asuna answers with a pleasant smile.
"Oh! Do you want the full story or simplified?"
"Think we'll have time?" Leafa says, looking at her map, "It'll be a nice story for the road."
"Hmmm…. Probably not. Tell you some other time."
"Oh ok."
Xx-xX
"YAHOO!" Klein shouts as Amy dashes down the road on her motorbike, "You're pretty darn good at this!"
"Thanks!" Amy yells back, easing back on the throttle and slowing down to pull into the garage of a house in the countryside.
"Why are we stopping here?" the Fallschirmjager asks as the motorbike enters the garage.
"This is one of my player homes."
Klein blushes furiously.
"Wow, I didn't expect- I mean this is great!"
"What did you expect?" She interrogates, turning off the engine and folding the kickstand down.
"Well, I thought you'd be like the other guys and Aria. Like you wouldn't have a player home, "he stammers, "But this is pretty cool."
"To start with, the Frenchies are idiots. Aria and Stonewall don't have an actual player home because they put all their credits into their tank and equipment."
"Oh," he answers awkwardly before finding his words, "How long have you had this place?"
"Since the game started. All beta testers got a bonus 200K when the game started, so I spent most of that on this place." She says while she opens the door and walks in.
"Pretty sweet crib you got here," Klein whistles as he takes in the surroundings, "Almost as good as Kirito and Asuna's place in SAO."
"So I've heard…." She tapers off, then lightly smacks herself on the cheek. "Sorry for being so standoffish."
"Standoffish?"
"Yeah, I've been kinda distancing myself from everyone. It's…. How I've dealt with things since SAO."
Klein looks at his feet and rubs the back of his head.
"Yeah… SAO was… SAO. I'm grateful that I got out alive. I managed to get all my guildmates out too. Still..." he answers, looking downcast, "It's not something that I like to remember too much.
"At times, me too." She says cheerfully as she grabs a couple bottles of beer and sits down at the table, taking a deep breath. "There's something I need to get off my chest."
"Eh?!"
Klein is completely flabbergasted, mentally panicking though it shows in his avatar as well. His eyes widen while his jaw drops, sweat forming on his brow as well.
"SAO…. It's over now, but… the time I spent in that game…. It might be the death of me…. Okay, there's no might about it."
"Wha?"
"During my time in SAO I developed cancer."
Klein can't figure out anything to say.
"Couldn't they-I mean-healthcare-" he stammers, trying to figure out what to say before being interrupted by Amy.
"They did treatments, but it's just been getting worse and worse since I got out," she says while she rests her head in her hands. There's a rather long silence that is only broken by the sound birds chirping outside. Finally Klein sighs and bows his head.
"I don't know what to say. "
"The doctor gave me at the current rate of growth, even with treatment, a year and a half. I don't know where I'm going with this but will you go out with me?"
Klein suddenly freezes up, causing her to slam a bottle down in front of him.
"Gah! What was that for?!" he shouts.
"Lag check!"
Klein bursts out in laughter.
"Honestly, no-one's ever asked me out like that," he says between laughs. Despite the gravity of the situation, Klein can't help but grin at Amy's energetic personality.
"Has anyone actually asked you out?" Amy asks with a teasing grin.
"Well uh…"
"The girl in third grade doesn't count."
"Oh."
The former samurai keeps the little detail that no one actually asked him out in 3rd Grade to himself.
"Geez, I was kidding!" Amy giggles, popping the top on her bottle. "Soooo…. Is that a yes?"
"YEAH!" Klein exclaims as he bangs his beer on the table.
"Cheers, samurai." Amy says with a grin, offering a toast.
"Cheers to you too! To kicking ass together!"
The two clink their bottles together and take a drink. Then Amy gets up and finishes the rest of her bottle in one go. "Alright. There should be a dress uniform in your inventory. Get it on and let's go."
After going through his inventory, Klein's Fallschirmjager gear is replaced by an American dress uniform. A cap materializes on his head.
"How do I look?" he says with a grin.
Amy comes back dressed in a form-fitting American officer's uniform, an officer's cap on her head and a sidearm on her hip. "You look good, How do I look?"
"Pretty damn good!"
"Well then let's get a move on. Paris is waiting!"
Xx-xX
"So Liz, how did you like being TC for one day?" Nguyen asks as Liz gets out of La Montréalaise's turret.
"It was pretty fun," she answers. "I wanna try being a gunner next time."
"You can be our TC anytime," Lou says grinning from his open hatch, "You already do it better than Nguyen on your first day," he jokes.
"Aww fuck you man!" the tank commander barks back as the tank comes to a stop.
"Thanks for the ride guys," Sinon says as she gracefully leaps off the back of 'La Montréalaise'. Taking in her surrounding, the sniper notices how the French architecture is elegant yet functional. Wide boulevard stretches before her eyes while lovely condos, small shops and fancy looking restaurants line the sides of the street. Baker's tanks are nicely parked next to a sidewalk, in front of a nice little café filled with customers. Players lazily walk down the streets dressed in sharp dress uniforms, making most of the crew of La Montréalaise stand out in their combat uniforms. Nguyen and Roscoe don Canadian brown dress uniforms with holstered pistols while Dick, Tony and Lou have merely changed into less worn out tanker uniforms.
"Didn't you guys get dress uniforms?" Roscoe asks with a raised eyebrow. The three shake their heads in unison.
"We had to?" Dick asks flatly.
"I thought it was a waste of Requisition," Tony answers, "We never really go anywhere fancy anyways."
"I sold mine for to get some upgrades," Lou states, "I never thought I'd use it so I bought useful stuff like medkits, ammo and rations."
"Who cares anyways," Dick says, waving his hand, "It's not as if anyone would give us trouble for this."
Nguyen facepalms, an annoyed look hidden by his right hand while Agil rolls his eyes, having changed into an American dress uniform. Liz, Sinon and Silica giggle at the absurdity of the situation.
"Let's just urgh go alright?"
Various grunts of approval and nods answer him as they walk towards Warbreaker, whose passengers and crew have already disembarked.
"What the hell are you schmucks wearing? Where's your dress uniforms?" Stonewall asks, being dressed in a U.S dress uniform, complete with officer's cap and an Edelweiss flower tucked into the button hole of his uniform collar.
"Aww man," Dick groans, "Do I really have to get a fucking dress uniform?"
"Look around you." Stonewall chuckles. "One of these things is not like the other~"
The two continue arguing while Asuna and Erika look on.
"Asuna?"
"Yes mother?"
"Are these boys friends of yours?" Erika asks, scowling, "I thought I taught you better when it comes to choosing people."
Stonewall overhears Erika and looks over, taking off his cap while Dick glares at the older woman. "Sorry ma'am. We're more acquaintances than friends."
"The question still remains."
"They helped us when we came into this world and taught us what we needed," Asuna defends before scowling at the Canadians, "Though they could use a few etiquette lessons." Her mother nods in agreement.
The conversations fall silent for a little bit, then Stonewall clears his throat. "Let's head on over to the restaurant."
"According to the map," Nguyen says as he walks up next to his American friend, "There should be a nice one two blocks that way. Menu looks good to me." He points a restaurant that sits on the corner of a street. In front of it, there's a nice terrace with tables and umbrellas, with various players sitting there, enjoying food and refreshments while NPC waiters in suits cater to their needs. The mismatched group can't help but be impressed at the detail put into the environment around them.
"How does eating work in this game?" Erika asks skeptically, "I doubt that it can actually feed you."
"It can't, but it's something to swap stories over and just in general enjoy the effort the developers put into the game." Stonewall replies, opening the door for her with a smile. "Après vous madame."
The girls all enter first followed by the men.
"It also gives you bonuses but eh not something too useful for you," Nguyen adds, being the last one in. In front of the group, an NPC stands behind a little podium with a clipboard.
"Bonjour, how many seats do you require?" the waiter says with a thick French accent.
"Nous avons besoin de neuf places s'il vous plait," Nguyen asks in an elegant tone. (We'll need 9 seats please.) The ALO players can't help but be impressed. For once, he managed to speak French in a polite way.
"We'll have the dev suite please." Stonewall says with a smile, flashing what looks like an ID card.
"Oh, of course Monsieur. Right this way."
"Dev suite?" Agil asks with a surprised look while the group makes its way through the crowded restaurant, "Yo Stonewall my man, you really want to spoil us dontcha?."
Upon hearing "dev suite", some of the other players turn their heads in curiosity, looking at the group.
"Yeah. This place is a favorite of most of the devs, myself included."
As Nguyen looks around at the restaurant's lavish wood interior and enjoys the sound of a piano being played, he suddenly hits something hard.
"Ah calisse! Fait attention crisse!" shouts a female player dressed in a French dress uniform, lying on the ground. (Ah dammit! Be careful christ!)
"Oh," Nguyen stammers, "Excusez moi!" (Pardon me)
Offering a hand, he pulls the brown haired girl back up while her friends look at him in surprise. Baker and the ALO players stop as well while the rest of La Montréalaise's crew having either looks of annoyance, snickering or facepalming.
"Est-ce que ça va?" (Is everything alright?)
The player freezes up for a second.
'Probably just lag,' he thinks, 'Probably someone stuck in the middle of nowhere.'
His train of thoughts is interrupted.
"Est-ce que c'est vous M. Huynh!?" one of the other players accompanying the girl says while the rest of his group's jaws drop.
"Whoa fuck," the Canadian tank commander replies, "Comment ça vous savez qui je suis?" (How do you know who I am?)
"On est dans votre cours du lundi monsieur." (We're in your monday class sir.)
"Oh… eh bien, le monde est petit." (Oh… well, the world's a small place)
"Soo… what's going on?" Stonewall asks as the other players head to a different part of the restaurant while his gang are being led to the back of the restaurant.
"Who were those people anyways?" Kirito adds, throwing a glance back at the group of French players scurrying away.
"I'll tell when we're seated," Nguyen replies before whispering, "I don't want people hearing things ok?"
"What exactly are you hiding young man?" Erika asks with a raised eyebrow as they enter the suite.
"Nothing big really."
The NPC guides them up a staircase into a seperate room with a pair of long tables. Various plates of food cover one of the tables from end to end like a buffet, while the other is set with plates and silverware. Bottles of wine are set out alongside the food, as are bottles of champagne, and a fireplace on the far wall does a decent job at keeping the room warm. The NPC steps to the side and motions them in, then steps out once everyone is inside.
"Please, let us know if you require anything else."
Seeing everyone gawk at the room, Stonewall chuckles and motions to the food. "There's a bit of everything here. Dig in, it's all on me."
"Amazing," Sinon exclaims, looking at the luxurious food and beverages. Even Erika can't help but be awed at the detail put into this room's decorations, noting it truly feels like as if they're in a real luxurious restaurant instead of a virtual one.
"This looks almost as good as your cooking Asuna," Kirito says as he leads her and her mother to a table.
"What is he talking about Asuna?" her mother asks in curiosity. The medic beams.
"Well you see mother," Asuna explains as she sits down, "I'm a pretty good cook. It's one of the hobbies I have in VR though I learned a lot from cooking with our housekeeper."
"I see," Erika says passively.
"Whoa check this out," Kirito exclaims as he stands over a table, putting something on his plate.
"What is it?" Asuna asks as she helps herself to some Boeuf Bourguignon and some bread.
"They have frog legs!"
The medic and her mother both pale with nauseous expressions appearing on their faces.
"Ki-kirito! That's-that's-"
"Oh come on, I bet it tastes great!"
"Hey, don't diss it until you try it." Stonewall chuckles, putting a couple legs on his plate.
"Young man," Erika cuts in, "I've actually tasted frog legs and those things are disgus-"
She's interrupted by Kirito biting into one. His expression changes to a wide grin while the girls and some of the tankers share looks of disgust.
"This is actually pretty good. You sure you don't want any Asuna?"
"No thanks!"
Erika manages to slip a small smile that quickly fades at her daughter's answer.
"Say Nguyen, Stonewall?" he asks, "Are there any unusual food items in this world?"
"Yeah, hundreds. Some harder to get than others." Stonewall responds with a smile, grabbing an old-fashioned glass bottle of Coca-Cola from under the table.
"Like he said," Nguyen adds still looking around before helping himself to some foie gras and bread, "I heard some guys from Charlie got themselves some Troll steaks after the airfield raid. Never found anyone who could cook the damn things though."
He throws a glance at Asuna.
"You could-"
"No!" she answers quickly while Nguyen finishes his bread and foie gras before returning to the various dishes on the table. The man is looking at the various plates, searching for something he likes. Finally, he turns towards Stonewall.
"Yo, they have any hamburgers and fries here?"
Stonewall chuckles and points at the far end of the table.
"Really Nguyen?" Asuna says in disgust, with hands on her hips, "There's all this good food and you choose to go for junk food?"
Both her and Erika look at Nguyen with scowls and disdain while Tony and Lou snicker at him.
"We tried teaching him good taste," Lou replies with fake despair as he helps himself to some roast beef, "But I'm afraid he's hopeless. We'd have expected something better from a man of culture like him."
"I'm a very simple man alright?"
"Fuckin' simpleton…" Stonewall sighs.
"Man of culture?" Erika asks perplexed, "You haven't answered my questions about those people either."
"Well," Nguyen says as he straightens himself out, "Those people were my students. I'm a History professor at a college in Montreal."
"WHAT?!" both Erika and Asuna yell as their jaws drop in shock. Everyone else besides the tankers have surprised looks on their faces with the exception of Stonewall and his father, who don't seem to care.
"Yeah, I got a Masters in History. That's how I've been helping out with War-Torn," Nguyen continues as he piles some fries next to his burger, "If you want, I could link some of the stuff I've been working on lately."
"Yeah… this idiot is a professor." Stonewall sighs.
"You're a professor?" Erika asks skeptically while helping herself to some steak and fries, "I find it troubling that a college would hire you."
Nguyen glares at her.
"Excuse me but I happen to be quite good at my job. Who do you think you are saying that?"
"Because I happen to be a professor as well and you don't strike me as having the mental capabilities. You seem to be rather to-"
"PARDON?!" he shouts in French.
"Nguyen, calm the fuck down!" Roscoe barks from across the room, "Erika, please don't talk to him like that alright?"
"Contrary to popular belief, he's not a complete idiot." Stonewall chuckles.
Nguyen lets out a breath to calm himself down.
"You do realize I enjoy VR simply to relax after dealing with my students eh?" he replies in a calmer tone, "You probably have your fair share of dunderheads as well."
Erika can't help but smile.
"Indeed…"
"So if you're a professor… just how old are you?" Liz asks in curiosity.
"Me? Just turned 33 a couple of months ago," Nguyen answers.
"Excuse me but you look younger than your age," Silica remarks shyly, "Is it because of your avatar?"
"Eh, I've always been told that I look young for my age."
Agil laughs a bit, starting to dish up a plate.
"So that means you're older than me. Wait till I tell Klein about this."
"He's the baby of the crew actually," Roscoe says as he makes his way over with a plate, "I'm the oldest one since I'm 36."
"Damn, you guys are old," Liz remarks with a smile as she helps herself to some cheese.
"I take offense to that." Stonewall's father remarks with a chuckle.
"Almost forgot you were there," Nguyen says, "Sorry about that."
"No worries. You kids ain't old."
Kirito looks over at Stonewall and Aria.
"What about you guys?"
"I'm twenty-five, she's twenty-four." Stonewall says. Kirito nods in understanding as he puts some food on his plate, sitting down beside Asuna, while Erika sits across from her daughter.
"Dig in everyone!" Asuna orders as the last of the group sits down. The sound of pleasant conversation fills the room with everyone talking about various subjects.
"So what all is there to do in this game?" Stonewall's father asks him.
"Tons of things. There's a high need for non-combative roles, such as recovery vehicles, engineers, truck drivers. People get paid pretty handsomely to help rebuilt from bombardments too."
"Hmmm… I've always wanted to fly…"
"That can be arranged. Hell I might even join you."
"What's the cutoff date for vehicles?" The older man asks, a thoughtful glint in his eye.
"1955, why?"
"Think we could get our hands on a B-36?"
Stonewall hums thoughtfully and finishes chewing his food, opening up his menu with a keyboard. He types in a search bar and leans back after a moment. "Yeah… no… that's 4.6 million that I don't have. We could get away with a B-29 though, that's only 630,000."
"Can I join in if you guys get a plane?" Leafa asks, "I'd like to try it out with you guys and if I like it, I'll grind to get my own one."
"Yeah sure thing. We'll all benefit from going to a gunnery class first though." Stonewall replies as he closes the menu.
"Anyone know where Klein and Amy went off to?" Nguyen asks innocently while Liz and Asuna facepalm. Agil snickers before answering.
"Those two are probably having fun sightseeing together," the black man says with a smile, "Sounds like someone hasn't been on a date for a while."
Roars of laughter suddenly erupt from where 'La Montréalaise's crew is sitting.
"A while you say?!" Lou exclaims, "Whenever he gets drunk IRL, he's always crying about his lack of girlfriends."
"I do not cry," Nguyen says in a childish tone with angry tears forming in his eyes, "My eyes are just shit."
"Dude, you look like you're about to cry right now." Stonewall interjects with a chuckle.
"Am not!"
"So what exactly did you work on during your Master's Nguyen?" Erika asks in curiosity as she helps herself to caviar. His face softens before he clears his throat.
"I worked on the policies surrounding the arrival of the Vietnamese Boat People in Canada and the United States," he explains with a well rehearsed tone, "Essentially how their respective governments drew up their policies to take in the Vietnamese refugees and what motivated them to do so-"
His explanation is interrupted by a familiar but muted sound and as well as the sound of a dish falling. An ominous howling that stays steady and keeps the quiet at bay.
"AIR RAID!" Nguyen yells at the top of his lungs before diving underneath a table causing Silica and Erika to jump up in surprise.
"Nguyen! You're not helping!" Roscoe shouts as he gets up from his seat. His friend peers out from under the table.
"Well sorry if my reflexes kicked in!" he barks back, "We'd better get our asses out of here."
"Man, it could just be a scout plane that triggered the air raid alarm," Lou snaps, his eyes rolling in annoyance. Barely a second after he finishes his sentence, the sirens stops.
"Huh… I'll be damned," Nguyen remarks lamely as he sits back down.
Over the course of a couple hours, the group finish their meal with various topics of discussion.
"Anyone wants desserts?" Dick asks loudly as he finishes a bottle of Coca-cola. Many pairs of eyes turn towards him in approval.
"I sure do!" Liz exclaims, raising her hands in joy, "I can eat whatever want in here."
Stonewall reaches over and grabs a rope hanging from a bell, ringing it three times with a grin. Moments later, a trio of NPC's wheel in carts heaping with desserts, much to everyone's joy.
"Alright!" Call dibs on the coffee eclairs!" Nguyen yells happily.
"Do they have macarons?" Asuna asks.
"First come first served. If they don't have what you want then we'll ask. Nguyen, if you eat all the coffee eclairs I'm gon' kick yo ass, boy." Stonewall says above everyone's comments and questions.
"I still call dibs!"
Xx-xX
"Well that was a delicious my man," Agil praises as the group exit the restaurant into the warm afternoon air. Everyone nods in agreement.
"I must admit that that was rather pleasant," Erika adds neutrally as she looks around the busy street. Players and NPC's move along the road with relaxed airs. Many are dressed in their dress uniforms or even civilian clothing.
"So where do you think we should go first?" Nguyen asks Stonewall. Both are standing at the head of the group with Kirito next to them.
"Maybe the Eiffel Tower?" Kirito proposes.
"We could visit the catacombs of Paris!" Dick suggests with an evil grin, "It'll be interesting."
Asuna and Erika both glare at Dick while a loud schmacking sound echoes followed by a string of curses.
"What the fuck man!?" he exclaims, rubbing the back of his head while an angry Lou stares at him.
"NO!" Lou barks, "You'll just use that as an excuse to fuck with our heads."
"Calm down guys," Roscoe snaps while shaking his head annoyance.
"Are there ghosts inside the catacombs?" Liz asks slyly.
"Liz," Asuna sternly warns though there's a hint of nervousness in her voice, "Don't bring that up."
"Due to the complexity of the catacombs, they aren't modeled in-game." Stonewall sighs with Dick looking disappointed.
"Aww…"
"But back to what we were saying," Nguyen says, looking at Kirito as the group approaches their tanks, "Eiffel tower's a good idea but I think we can also visit other places before going there. There's the "Arc de Triomphe" and the "Invalides" that could be interesting as well."
"Is there a place I can get a sword?" Leafa adds.
"We'll have to visit a supply depot I think," Agil answers while Nguyen nods.
"Perhaps we could visit the Sorbonne as well?" Erika suggests.
"If that's what you want, sure thing. Mount up folks!"
"Is it too late to join the party?!" A familiar voice yells as a self-propelled anti-aircraft vehicle drives up.
"Oh great it's fuckstick…" Stonewall mutters before waving at the M19 commander. "You missed the meal but we're doing some touring 'round the city!"
"Jar-Jar had to show up didn't he?" Nguyen whispers to Stonewall, "This is gonna suck."
Behind him, the rest of the Canadians are barely able to hide their scowls.
"He's always gotta mess things up." Aria mutters
"As I said, mount up!" Stonewall calls out, walking over towards Warbreaker. The various tankers climb on their vehicles first before helping their friends get on board. Everyone gets on the same tanks that they did earlier in the day.
"Want to try out our radio Sinon?" Nguyen asks as he gets into his cupola, "I'll let you do the comms check."
"Sure why not?"
Nguyen hands her the handset before turning on the radio.
{Baker-one-actual, this is Baker-one-two. Comms check!}
"One-Two, this is One-Actual, loud and clear." Stonewall replies with a grin as the tanks begin moving.
{I'm afraid I don't have the authorization code but it's Sinon.}
"That's fine. I did that last time just to get a reaction out of Nguyen. Enjoying the ride?"
{It's pretty fun. Sure beats walking but still I feel I'm a big target.}
"Well, a tank is public enemy number one in combat. But I don't think you'll have to worry about that here."
{You got a point there Stonewall. I'll enjoy the ride over here then.}
As Sinon gives back the handset to Nguyen, the tank commander suddenly gets a flash of realization.
"Say Sinon?"
"Yeah?"
"You took a look if you have any bounties against you?" he says in a serious tone. The sniper doesn't answer but instead decides to quickly check her menu. Her jaw drops.
"Yeah I got one alright," she answers briskly, "8000 requisition for taking me out."
Nguyen's head snaps towards her.
"Fuck, did you hear that guys?" he says with awe in his voice before talking again to Sinon, "You must have pissed off someone important in Pact."
Agil, Liz and Silica all look unsurprised.
"Considering how good you are with a sniper rifle," Liz remarks, deep in thought, "I'm not surprised."
"Maybe you took out someone important without knowing it?" Agil adds with Silica nodding, "That could be why they want your head on a platter."
"It could be that or Sinon took out a lot of people," Tony says as he peers out of his loader's hatch, enjoying the fresh air, "Players who deal lots of damage tend to get noticed… especially if they're infantry players."
Sinon's mind races back to something that she didn't pay too much attention to.
"Maybe that sniper I took out in Italy," she answers, "I did get a bounty notification after taking her out."
"The one targeting medics?" Silica asks, "He must have been very mad if he got taken out after so many kills?"
"It was a girl though."
Nguyen pulls off his helmet and scratches his head.
"I did hear that Pact had a bunch of snipers that deliberately targeted medics in battles and it pissed off our faction leaders big time. Maybe you got one of them and they want your head for that," he theorizes as their tanks drive down the wide streets of Paris, marked by beautiful architecture.
"Probably," Sinon answers before boasting, "But I'd like to see them try and collect that bounty."
"No one beats Sinon with a sniper rifle," Silica adds proudly while playing with Pina.
"I believe it," Nguyen says with a smile, "Enjoying the sights?"
His passengers nod in agreement.
{One-Two, One-Actual, put Silica on the horn for me? I just remembered something from the patch notes.}
"Will do," Nguyen answers, "Hey Silica, just got a word from Stonewall. Wants to talk to you."
"Oh?"
"Here you go," he says, handing her the handset."
{Silica, I think I recall you saying Pina was a dragon in ALO?}
"Yes, why?" she asks in surprise.
{Open up your inventory and select Pina. Under the 'interactions' tab there should be a check box that says 'revert to previous avatar'. Just in case you want her back as a dragon.}
Silica brightens up at hearing this.
"Really?!" she replies happily, her voice on the verge of shouting. She quickly opens up her menus before getting to Pina. Selecting the checkbox, Pina glows brightly for a few seconds as her form gets smaller and grows wings, being slightly larger than she was in both ALO and SAO.
"Pina!" Silica says as the dragon lands on her shoulder, "Thanks Stonewall!"
Her enthusiasm suddenly stops.
"Stonewall?"
{'Sup kiddo?}
"Does Pina still keep her skills?" she asks shyly.
{I believe so. There might be more skills too, since there are tameable dragons in War-Torn as well.}
The girl squees in happiness, making Stonewall wince and move his headset away from his ear.
"Your hearing's still working man?" Nguyen asks while wincing in pain, "My low tolerance for high pitched sounds IRL carried on into VR. Never had a chance to figure it out before today."
{Aye, my hearing's fine. Thankfully I'm used to having women squeal in my ear-OW OW! Would you quit hitting me?!}
"Roger that man," the Canadian says before shuddering as he hears slapping noises. "That's gotta suck, dumbass," he mutters to himself.
"Sorry," Silica answers sheepishly.
"Don't worry about it."
Xx-xX
"Welcome to ze Eiffel Tower mes amis!" Lou said in a cliché French accent as everyone hops off their respective rides, "Zis is ze greatest engineering marvel ever built by France."
"Shut up," Dick groans as he walks up to Lou and slaps him behind the head, earning a few snickers from Klein, Agil and Liz. Erika, meanwhile throws an annoyed glance at Asuna. The medic has a rather unimpressed look and nods in silent agreement.
"Sorry about Lou," Nguyen says as he hops off the turret of 'La Montrealaise', "He needs to work on his manners a bit."
"So I've noticed," Erika remarks before looking at the Eiffel Tower with barely concealed awe, "This is rather impressive."
"Indeed, Nguyen's buddies really knew what they were talking about ma'am," Stonewall adds, "Apparently, one of them found some new archives while she was doing research in Paris."
"Good thing Amélie had the right contacts," Nguyen says to Erika and Stonewall before turning to the rest of the group, "Y'all want to get to the top of the tower?"
Everyone nods in excitement excluding Stonewall and his father, who both merely shrug and shake their heads.
"Eh? How come you don't want to go up?" Nguyen asks.
"I got to go up when I was in Paris promoting the game, and I've been up there at least a dozen times since the game launched." Stonewall shrugs again. "I'mma get my dad all caught up on the player manual. We'll wait for y'all."
"Fair enough," Nguyen says before turning back to the group, "Good news for us is that the elevator works despite it being 1940's Paris."
He then points to where the elevator is.
"Lucky us, there's not alot of people so we should be able to get topside quickly," he adds as the group begins walking, "So let's go."
Xx-xX
"Whoa amazing!" Silica exclaims as she looks over the horizon. The group is on the top floor of the Eiffel Tower. Paris stretches all around them as they enjoy the view.
"I did not expect such a thing to be possible," Erika remarks neutrally, "I must admit Asuna, I am impressed with this technology."
Asuna can't help but nod in agreement. Meanwhile, the others are taking screenshots of the view.
"Man, if this is what Paris looks like today," Agil comments, "Then it's my next trip with Kathy."
Sinon throws a glance at him.
"Well, I heard that the city of Paris was more than happy to sponsor the development of this part of War-Torn," she explains, "They hoped it would bring in more tourists IRL."
"Well, they were right about that," Liz chuckles as she looks at the Champs-Elysée, "I really want to go now."
"Maybe we could go there someday all together?" Leafa suggests with a smile. The group all nod in agreement.
"Been there a few times," Dick grunts as he scratches his beard, "Place smells like dog piss. Good thing the devs didn't model that."
"Dick, that was totally not necessary," Roscoe scolds as he rolls his eyes, "Don't listen to this fucking idiot. Go there if you want to."
"What man? I'm just stating a fact."
"Dumbass," Roscoe mutters as he resumes enjoying the view.
"Fun fact though," Nguyen says cheerfully, "The Parisian officials gave the devs some conditions in exchange for sponsoring the game. Notably all monuments are indestructible safe-zones."
"I can understand why," Kirito remarks,"Look at how beautiful this place is."
"Didn't they compromise though?" Sinon adds, "Like they made the monuments indestructible but still modelled bomb shelters."
"Yup, NPC's try go there during air raids and battles," Nguyen explains, "Makes it more immersive. Players can go too if they want. Had a bad experience during the fight here though."
"Talk about attention to detail," Asuna says before being interrupted by her mother.
"Why would they model bomb shelters?" she asks with a glare, "Are there enough fools that want to destroy this place for fun?!"
"You'd be surprised," Kirito answers, "There's all sorts of people in the VR worlds and not all of them can appreciate the nice things these worlds have."
A scowl of disgust appears on Erika's face.
"Not to mention all the towns had to be liberated from the other team, so fighting in Paris was inevitable. People weren't just going to give up such a luxurious place." Aria says with a slight smile, leaning on the railing and looking out over Paris.
"That was a toughass fight," Lou says with pride while Nguyen scoffs.
"Yeah, I still remember your high-pitched screaming when you forgot to unsafe your gun man."
Lou glares at his tank commander.
"I didn't forget to unsafe my gun. It fucking jammed on me."
"Yeah right."
Their tirade is suddenly interrupted by a falsetto voice.
"Oh no! My gun won't shoot! Ah save me from the Germans guys! Wah Wah! I want my mommy!" Dick mimics as he fakes crying. Meanwhile, the ALO players can't help but snicker at the banter.
"Fuck you man," retorts Lou as he does a rude finger gesture, "At least I didn't nearly blow up an entire ammo dump while I was in it!"
"It was either that or getting fucked over by orcs and trolls man. I know you like gay monster anal sex but-"
"Gentlemen…" Aria warns, taking a deep breath and clenching her fists. Meanwhile Kinh and Tony were laughing on the floor. Roscoe is merely annoyed at the argument.
"He started it mom," Lou whines, pointing at a grinning Dick.
"Can you two get a room or something," Roscoe says while facepalming, "We can't even enjoy the Eiffel Tower without you idiots acting like babies."
"It's not so bad," Liz cuts in with a smile, "It makes things more fun."
"I like how you think lady," Nguyen exclaims with grin before he high-fives Liz.
"You gentlemen are acting like idiots in front of a guest." Aria sighs, "At least try to act mature?"
"Sure, whatever," Dick mutters while Lou nods.
"Thank you miss Aria," Erika comments, her scowl replaced by a more serious expression, "I am happy that some people here value etiquette."
She throws a glance at Asuna and Kirito that has "Why didn't you do anything?" written all over it.
"You're quite welcome." Aria hums, giving Erika a smile before she looks down at the ground, then quickly steps away from the railing.
"Are you afraid of heights Aria?" Silica asks, noticing the older girl's sudden discomfort.
"Y-yeah. I'm trying to break myself of it, but…" Aria trails off and looks up at the sky, taking a deep breath. "It's difficult."
"It's ok," Silica says before gesturing to Pina. The feathered dragon flies over to Aria and lands on her shoulder before rubbing its head against the gunner's.
"Thanks Pina…." Aria sighs softly, scratching the dragon's chin with a slight smile. She suddenly feels a hand on her shoulder and someone whisper to her.
"It's gonna be alright," Sinon whispers as she hugs Aria, "You're with friends now so don't worry."
Aria can only offer a nod of thanks before she steps away. "I'm going to head down to solid ground."
"I think we should get down too," Leafa proposes, "We've been here long enough."
Xx-xX
"So what did y'all think of the Eiffel Tower?" Stonewall asks with a grin.
"It was beautiful," Asuna replies smiling, "Thank you for taking us there."
Kirito nods in approval.
"Are there other monuments like this one?" he asks.
"Yeah. There's the Colosseum in Rome. Big Ben in London is protected, as is Buckingham palace. The Notre Dame Cathedral is protected too. There's more places that are still being added too."
"Like what?" Erika asks passively.
"Mostly places in the Pacific. Japanese shrines, temples. Shuri Castle was just recently added."
The Japanese players all have surprised looks on their faces.
"Wait what did you say?" Leafa asks, "You mean that they actually put in those places?"
"Of course. The Emperor's garden is a protected area too."
"I must admit that I am quite surprised that Americans were willing to spare that much effort for a mere game," Erika remarks, "Especially for Japan."
"War-Torn isn't just another game. Everyone at the studio gave it their all to make sure everything was perfect. It's not just intended to be a game. It's a learning opportunity." Stonewall said with a prideful smile on his face.
"Whatever you've intended, it is quite impressive," the older woman replies.
Stonewall's radio suddenly came to life.
{Stonewall! We should make a right here to get to the Champs-Élysées. There should be a bridge a couple of blocks afterwards.}
"Roger that. Right turn. Over the river and down the street." Stonewall replies dutifully, the heavy vehicle slowing and easing into the turn. Once the tank starts accelerating again, he turns to face the embarked players again. "Yeah… Sometimes I can't believe all of this started from a list of ideas in my ninth grade English notebook."
Kirito couldn't help but have a feeling of déjà-vu.
"You must have had a lot of imagination," Leafa chuckles, "There's so much detail."
"Not all of this is from my notebook. I gave the guys a skeleton, and they're the ones who put the meat on the bones." Stonewall chuckles as his tank drives through the bustling streets. His conversation is cut short by Nguyen hailing him.
{Yo, you see that nice little cake shop on your front right?}
"Yeah. What about it?" Stonewall asks, his driver slowing down.
{That's where we're stopping. From here, it's a quick walk to the Champs Élysée.}
"Solid copy. Warbreaker halting."
As the Pershing rumbles to a halt, Stonewall stretches and stands up on the turret, smiling warmly as the sun shines on him.
"Everyone off!" Nguyen orders enthusiastically, "We're here."
Shortly after, Liz, Silica, Agil and Sinon hop off La Montrealaise followed by her crew who pull themselves out of the tank's hatches before hitting the ground. Dick and Lou stretch their legs, enjoying the fact that they aren't confined by a tank.
"Let's mosey y'all, no hurry-" Stonewall says before he's interrupted by a familiar and eerie howling of sirens starting up.
He suddenly hears someone swearing followed the thump of a body hitting the ground.
"Get up you idiot!" Lou yells at Nguyen who's lying on the ground, "You're not helping!"
Tony rolls his eyes.
"Probably another false alarm," he groans, "Stop stressing for nothing man."
Suddenly the sound of whistles being blown followed by the sound of engines grabs everyone's attention. Turning around, they see civilian and military policemen driving around on cars.
"Attention! The city is under air attack! Everyone is to evacuate to the nearest bomb shelters!"
As Nguyen tries to stand up, he's grabbed roughly by the collar by Dick who hurls him forward.
"Move!" the burly driver shouts.
"Nobody panic. Keep moving in a calm and orderly fashion." Stonewall instructs. "We should be alright, provided our interceptor pilots have their shit together."
The door of the cake shop nearby suddenly dings, and five players dressed in pilot casual wear stumble out, running to a jeep and dashing off.
"Move it!"
"I'm movin'! I'm movin'!"
"We gotta get airborne!"
Stonewall stares slack-jawed as the jeep starts up and accelerates down the street, out of sight. A couple seconds pass, then Stonewall sighs. "Okay then! Everyone follow me to the safe zone! Hurry along!"
Nguyen is still slack-jawed at the scene but after a few moments, he picks his jaw up.
"I hope the other pilots got their shit together."
"Don't we have an AA vehicle?" Dick grunts before spotting the M19. The burly player rushes through a crowd and over to the tank, "Get that fucking gun ready man! We're being attacked!" he shouts at the commander.
"Uhh ehh okay!"
"Anyone know where Klein and Amy are?" Nguyen asks, looking for their friends through the crowd.
"We should worry about ourselves first man!" Roscoe barks as he checks his map, "There a safe zone over there!"
"I just messaged them, they're at the Arc de Triomphe." Stonewall replies, herding everyone along.
"What is the meaning of this!?" Erika exclaims angrily with her hands on her hips.
"Some players on the other team are being assholes and trying to ruin our good time by launching a bombing raid. Keep moving towards the safe zone and everything will be back to normal in a few minutes." Stonewall replies quickly.
"You heard the man!" Nguyen yells.
"Couldn't we use the tanks to move faster?" Liz asks. Taking a quick glance at the filled street, the engineer shook her head. "Nevermind that."
"Keep moving everyone!" Stonewall yells over the sirens and the crowd, watching the horizon to the east, spotting a swarm of black dots in the sky.
"This is gonna suck," Nguyen complains as he and his crew start running. The rest of the group follow them through the throngs of panicked players and NPC's.
"We're in the safe zone now!" Aria yells to inform everyone nearby as they crossed a street and took cover under a tree. "Find a place to sit and we'll wait out the raid!"
Stonewall keeps directing people to keep a semblance of order to the situation as the sirens continue to blare, a sound akin to thunder beginning in the distance.
"Someone's getting XP at least," Nguyen remarks dryly, "Let's hope their aim is good though. If we're lucky, they might stop the air raid."
"With that many planes, it's not likely." Stonewall sighs before looking over at the ALO gang, plus Erika. "Guess these guys get to experience a raid on the hard end."
"How long do you expect this attack to last?" Erika asks with her hands on her hips.
"Well, if I had to guess, judging from how fast the planes are gaining on us, and how many planes there are… I'd say maybe another ten to fifteen minutes. I'd have a seat if I were you. These raids are quite the humbling experience." Stonewall yawns, starting to get tired of Erika's attitude. The older woman scoffs before sitting down.
"Well… might as well make the most out of a bad situation," Nguyen says as he opens up his inventory menu, "Snacktime!"
A cardboard box materializes in his hands. Stonewall and the ALO recognize the infamous K-Rations.
"Anyone want to join me?"
"I'm good. Erika, how would you like to try a ration packet?" Aria asks, offering a carton to the older woman. Out of the corner of her eye she catches Asuna glaring at her, but Stonewall motions for her to stay quiet, wanting to see the end result.
"Thank you," Erika replies politely as she opens up the packaging, missing Stonewall struggling to hide his amusement. The older woman pulls out a packet of crackers, a small metal tin, and a chocolate bar, then follows Aria's instructions, opening the tin and putting some of the SPAM on the cracker, then taking a bite, her brow almost immediately furrowing. She swallows almost painfully, then glares at Nguyen and Stonewall. "How can you eat this?!"
"Hey, at least the chocolate bar tastes like the real deal." Stonewall chuckles, earning a glare from both mother and daughter.
Nguyen fidgets for a moment and stands up.
"You know what?"
"Hmm?" Stonewall hums, looking at him.
"We could totally go man an AA gun and get some good EXP from shooting bombers!" he exclaims.
"I'm gonna pass. It's a big swarm, and you're likely to end up like Sally."
"Who's Sally?" Leafa asks, glancing over.
"Dunno. It's a joke." Stonewall chuckles, "'Where did Sally go after the bombing?'"
Asuna and Erika both glare at him, a feeling that the joke was a rather dark one rolling over them like fog.
"Everywhere!" Amy cheers as her and Klein approach, moving her hands for extra effect.
A healthy chuckle fills their ears.
"Just like whatshisface did during the Gustav raid," Dick remarks between guffaws.
"That's just… horrible!" Erika and Asuna exclaim.
"What's so funny about that?!" Liz adds in.
"You clearly don't have a sick sense of humor, you wouldn't understand." Amy defends.
Meanwhile Nguyen and Dick are laughing on the floor. Tony has a smirk on his face while Lou is facepalming. Klein and Agil join in the laughter while Sinon glares disapprovingly. Silica, meanwhile, is having trouble picking up her jaw, and Leafa shakes her head, regretting asking her question.
"God that's fucked up good sir" Lou says in a posh voice, "Well played."
He fistbumps Stonewall and Amy.
"You girls got a point," Roscoe mutters before scolding his fellow tankers, "That's fucked up man."
Erika throws the K-rations in the nearest trash can and sits back down, seconds before the sound of anti-aircraft guns roar to life inside the city, firing at the quickly approaching bomber swarm.
"Well let's hope the AA gunners got their shit together," Nguyen says, still redfaced from the laughter, "We might be able to enjoy the rest of the day."
"Where are our planes?" Leafa asks, glancing at the skies, "Shouldn't they be in the air by now?"
"There should be some, but they can't engage safely until the flak stops." Stonewall responds as he sits down.
"Wonder if Tcat's around here," Nguyen remarks, "Heard his squadron was still getting ready to move to the Italian Front."
"I heard they had already moved, but I haven't talked to him since after Aachen, so I might have false information." Stonewall replies with a shrug.
"Who's Tcat?" Leafa asks, her head leaned to one-side.
"One of our buddies," Nguyen explains, stretching his legs, "He has a squadron of planes and a damn good pilot at that. Saved our asses a few time from Pact."
The Canadian glances over at Stonewall.
"Remember that time near Vimy?"
"Oh lord, don't remind me." Stonewall groans.
"What happened?" Kirito says, joining the conversation.
He hears a short groan.
"Was that the time with those fuckin' dive-bombers?" Dick groans as he lays on the grass.
"And we got caught out in a field with nowhere to go? Yeah." Aria groans.
"And some moron yelled at us to keep charging?" Roscoe adds, eyes rolling, "That fucking sucked."
"The Russian wannabee," Tony adds, "Did anyone ever see that guy again?"
"Yeah. I avoided him like unexploded ordnance." Stonewall huffs as he lays back and stares at the sky.
"Well considering how Roscoe grilled him", Nguyen chuckles, "Idiot never talked to us again."
"Here they come…" Stonewall sighs, watching the bombers enter his field of vision. "Bombs away. . . -OW!"
Stonewall's depressed statement is interrupted by Amy kicking him in the side, a scowl on her face while she points at his face.
"None of that depressing shit! I'm having a really good time, don't fuck it up!"
"Yes ma'am." Stonewall replies quickly, giving her a salute before he returns his attention to the sky above them. After a moment he squints and sits up, shielding his eyes from the sun before going wide-eyed. "Jesus- look at that big bastard coming in! Tallboy!"
"That's too big to be a Tallboy, that's a Grand Slam!" Amy cheers, seconds before the massive bomb whistles in, stopping some fifty feet above the street when it hits a panel that says 'Immortal Object'. It seems to hover for a moment, then detonates in a massive explosion that makes all the players nearby flinch.
"That's an expensive miss!" Stonewall chuckles nervously.
"Suckers!" Nguyen chuckles as he smugly raises a middle finger to the bomber filled skies before turning to the rest of the group.
"That my friends... was a bomb weighing 22 000 lbs meant to blast through fortified submarines bases. Thank god for Immortal Object barriers!"
"Oh shit y'all! Here comes more!"
Xx-xX
"And now to dig our way out of this bombed-out city." Stonewall sighs as the group makes its way back towards where the tanks were parked, "I'm real sorry for the inconvenience Erika."
"Inconvenience? You call this… inconvenience!?" the older woman ranted, "How can you call this inconvenient?!"
"Been in worse…" he mutters, rubbing his lower back.
"This is absolutely barbaric!" she interrupts "How can you enjoy this place if savages can merely show up and destroy for fun?!"
"It'll be rebuilt in a couple of days." Stonewall shrugs nonchalantly. He swears that he saw a vein pop in Erika's forehead.
"Asuna."
"Yes mother?"
"How do we log out again? I've had enough of this… nonsense," she snaps.
"Swipe down with your left hand, middle and index fingers together, other fingers curled closed."
The woman does exactly as she's told before vanishing into a trail of pixels. A sigh of relief is suddenly heard coming from Nguyen.
"Thank… god."
Asuna glares at him before softening up.
"Yes, mother is quite… demanding."
"Kirito… Dude, and I thought my in-laws were bad." Stonewall chuckles. Kirito's face is frozen in confusion, his jaw dropping. He suddenly feels someone nudging him, and turns aside, seeing Klein grinning at him.
"I guess that's where Asuna got her temper from," the former samurai jokes, winking at Kirito. A low chuckle catches his attention.
"Like mother, like daughter," Agil adds, "That's where she gets that glare of hers from."
"Ahem."
Turning over to the source, Stonewall, Agil, Klein and Nguyen flinch at Asuna's death stare.
"That's scary as fuck lady!" the Canadian exclaims before seeing her glare turn into a satisfied smirk.
"You were right man," Klein whispers to Agil who simply nods.
A pair of arms wrapping around Stonewalls neck over his shoulders brings the American's attention to his fiancee.
"What was that about my parents…?" Aria says with a dangerous edge to her voice.
"Tell me I'm wrong." Stonewall challenges.
"Someone's fucked," Dick muttered, watching from afar as he fiddles with a branch.
"Euh guys, I think we'd better get back to the tanks," Roscoe suggests, "Like time's flying."
Lou's eyes widened.
"I hope the tanks didn't get hit!"
"Step-to! Move with a purpose!" Stonewall says firmly, bending his knees and pulling Aria up into a piggyback ride with a surprised yelp on her part.
"You heard the man! Let's go!" Nguyen barks as the group starts running towards their parking spot. Around them, players and NPC's are starting to move from their shelters.
"They sure didn't miss the place," Liz remarks as she looks around them. Buildings had collapsed and fires are slowly consuming buildings. Players and NPC's alike are trying to put out the flames and tend to the wounded.
"I'll say," Sinon adds, glancing at a pile of rubble where a cafe used to be, "They really wanted some easy kills."
"Are they trying to dig people out?" Leafa asks as she sees people working around collapsed buildings.
"Maybe. That or they're trying to get a head start at clearing rubble." Amy responds with a smile, walking beside Klein.
"Could Pina help them find anyone stuck under the debris?" Silica suggests sweetly.
"If you and Pina want to help them, I'm sure they would be really grateful." Aria says with a smile as she spots a pair of NPC orcs digging through rubble.
"Doesn't it give you free exp or something?" Dick asks.
"Something like that. A fair amount too." Amy responds as she runs her fingers through her hair.
"Thinking what I thinking guys?" Nguyen remarks as he looks at the rest of his team.
"Lemme guess… you want to get some free exp dontcha?" his driver groans. Seeing his friend's head nodding.
"Just as I thought. Sure."
"I don't really blame- WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO MY TANK!?" Stonewall yells, looking at the spot where their tanks were parked. 'La Montréalaise' is lying on her side while a giant crater exists where 'Warbreaker' used to be.
"FUCK!" Nguyen shouts at the same time before whining, "My tank! Aww man… Where the fuck am I supposed to find an ARV?!"
"Dude fuck your tank! That was all my credits!" Stonewall yells, "Ninety thousand credits, straight down the shitter!"
"Ja- uh… Stonewall." Amy mutters. "You're an idiot."
"You don't have to remind me." Stonewall groans.
"It'll be alright guys," Kirito says reassuringly as he pats Stonewall's shoulder, "You can always get another tank."
"You're the last person that should say that!" Liz retorts dryly.
"Eh?"
"Idiot! You don't remember how you broke my best sword?!" the engineer screeches with Kirito recoiling and Asuna glaring at him.
Stonewall unenthusiastically opens his menu and groans, putting his face in his hands. "Nine thousand credits."
"We'll help you get some credits," Nguyen suggests, "Italy's rich in loot and we can get some real nice shit there."
"I've got a M36B1 still in storage. It's gonna take some work to get it running, but…. It's better than nothing I guess." The American sighs.
"Yeah… now let's find a fucking tow."
X~-~-~X
Yuuki residence
As Asuna logs out, she notices her Amusphere's clock. It's almost 7PM, meaning almost supper time. Quickly dressing herself, the Tokyo teenager prepares herself mentally for the meeting with her mother before heading to the family's dining room. She hopes that her mother isn't too angry at how the day turned out. As Asuna walks through her home, she mentally prepares herself with arguments so that her mother doesn't take away her Amusphere while hoping that her mother wouldn't be there.
Opening the door, Asuna could see her mother's harsh figure sitting in the dim candlelight, waiting for her arrival. Sitting down quickly, the VR player began eating when her mother clears her throat.
"Young lady," Kyouko asks in a serious tone, "Where can you even begin to think that that was pleasant?"
"Erm… well…"
X~-~-~X
College Montmorency
Gathering his papers and books, a history professor begins to walk out of his class. He had just finished answering after class questions about the assignments he handed out. It had been another pleasant day of work with a group with many promising students.
'But now… back to home sweet home.'
As the Vietnamese man with glasses walks out, he can't but occasionally listening to his students' conversations as they walked in the hallways. It was usually a mix of gossip, complaining and weekend planning but one of his students' conversations got his attention.
"Bro… my wingman and I took out a pair of tanks during the Paris raid yesterday. Fucking noobs left their tanks on the streets so I didn't get bonuses for killing their crew."
The student flinches as he hears his professor's voice. It's tone rather cold.
"Do tell me more gentlemen."
"Yesyes M. Huynh!"
Mother like daughter eh? Hope you guys laughed as much as we did when we wrote this chapter. I had a metric ton of fun writing this. I hope it answers some of your questions K2-Black-Panther.
A question for all our readers… who's your favorite War-Torn OC? Answer it in your reviews. As always, we enjoy reading your reviews and they keep us going!
-Goodalwayswins98
Next chapter: Midnight mayhem