Chapter 23: Extraction


Dark Territory, Southern Skies

I pulled the trigger.

*Bang!*

The bullet that I fired from my pistol wasn't quite just 'a regular bullet'. It spun through the air and a ring of bright white light surrounded the bullet. That sort of thing... It was only possible thanks to so many different things coming together at once.

Korosensei's memory was the first thing to flash through my mind, right before I stopped myself from trying to pull the trigger earlier. The rage surrounding me had made my hand shake with the desire to pull the trigger, to end the bastard that hurt Sinon. That was when Korosensei's smiling octopus face had appeared in my mind's eye and cooled down the rage. 'An assassin doesn't kill with their emotions like that, Nick.'

I'd taken that rage and let it fill me, after that. And when it ran its course, I could feel everything else. Fear that Sinon had been hurt. Love for Argo and R-... And love for all of my friends. The joy of seeing Sinon safe. All of my emotions, my experiences, my selves. They all blended together and came together in the chamber of my gun, ready to fire.

The gun... That had only been possible thanks to Argo and the ability of Lunaria, the moon goddess. The superuser account had the ability to Incarnate anything a user could think of - and when Argo had used it to produce the poison for my Starry Night Dagger, she had also let me create something.

'The perfect backup weapon.'

Naturally, it had taken the shape of the pistol, my favorite firearm from E Class. I was proficient with all of the weapons we'd used, of course; sniper rifles, assault rifles, shotguns and explosives had all been covered in our assassination training. But still, a pistol was the clearest mental image, and that was what Argo's ability had created. A gun that was only ever pointed at Korosensei, and that fired a pellet that could only kill Korosensei - but that was fine.

Incarnation could bend the rules a little bit, just like Eugeo had done earlier. So, my weapon became a gun that was only ever pointed at 'its target', and that fired a bullet that could only kill 'its target'.

When I pulled the trigger, I fired 'a bullet that would definitely kill' at Subtilizer. There wasn't any anger or desire to murder in my mind, at that point - I'd put it all in the chamber. And my skills as an assassin meant that it was perfectly on-target.

For an instant, there was true fear in Subtilizer's eyes - and then the bullet shattered his skull.

The blond man froze there for a second, but I knew his avatar had died. Nothing could survive with the hole I'd put through his head. Then, he toppled backwards with a massive smile on his face.

Freak.

I winced when his body glowed with a bright white light that definitely came from inside him. It was so bright it made his skin practically translucent, and a pillar of light shot into the sky from the bullet wound. I had to shield my eyes as it got brighter and brighter -

- and then it was done. I lowered my arm and blinked carefully to get rid of the rest of the spots, but the only thing that remained of Subtilizer was the slowly-disappearing column of light in the sky that had blown away all of the clouds. His black weird... bat-thing that he'd been riding on - what was with that, anyway? - turned into black sludge that fell to the ground, but disappeared before it touched the dry dirt.

"...It's over, huh?" Sinon asked.

I nodded, and holstered my gun. "Yeah. Even if he has a third account, we can get out of here before he logs back in. But..." Somehow, I got the feeling that this really was the end. Subtilizer wouldn't be coming back.

Sinon sighed in relief - and winced. Her fading burns must have bothered her. And speaking of...

"Sinon, I'm going to open a gate to a terminal so we can log out. Come over here?"

The blue-haired girl flew over to me, and I smiled at her. Then I patted Angelus's saddle, right in front of me.

Sinon blushed, but sat down in the saddle right in front of me. Her back fit against my chest neatly, and I wrapped one arm around her stomach and waist to pull her closer to me, to the point that she was sitting on my lap instead.

"Eep!" That was a 'startled and embarrassed' eep, not a 'you just touched my burns' eep. "R-Rythin?"

"Hmm?" I reached for the stone that Cardinal gave me. It was in the saddle bag on the right...

"Um, you're kinda close...?"

"That so? You're very comfortable to hug, Sinon," I told her with a smile. Then, I pressed my thumb firmly in the center of the warp stone. An orange Sacred Art circle, bigger than the ones I'd personally created, surrounded the stone. A doorway shimmered into existence in front of us, set in midair. It was just like the one that had appeared when Cardinal arrived, but sized perfectly for Angelus to fly through. "Neat. Well, we'd better get going, everyone's waiting for us."

"W-Wait, everyone?" Sinon squirmed, but I held her firmly. Kyeheheh. "Rythin?!"

"Something wrong, Shinonon?"

My voice was playfully innocent and Sinon clearly knew it, but she still tried her best. "Let me go, I can fly by myself. Y-You don't need to hold me on your lap."

"Oh, that's very impressive." I didn't let her go.

"Rythin!"

I tugged on Angelus's reins and the dragon flew towards the door that creaked open. "Just consider it your punishment for blowing yourself up earlier."

"Ughhhh..."

Oh, I knew she was going to find a way to get me back for this. But, this was also very funny, so I didn't mind. Her payback would be a problem for Future Rythin to deal with.

The door, naturally, opened to the top of the Central Cathedral. Sinon, safely held on my lap, squirmed when we were suddenly the target of all eyes in the room - Argo, Cardinal, Alice, Kirito and Asuna, and even Ritsu. "You can put me down now," she hissed.

"Oh, alright."

But as one last touch to make sure Sinon would never ever do something like that again to scare me, I scooped her up in a picture-perfect princess carry and slid down off of Angelus's back. When my boots touched the ground, the archer's face and ears were practically luminescent despite her best attempts at hiding her face with her hands.

"Oh," Argo chirped. "Ya got our wayward goddess back safe 'n sound! Good timin', we were jus' worryin' 'bout her." There was a slight hint of glee in her voice. Guess she was worried about Sinon too.

Gently, I set Sinon down on her feet - and then grunted when she punched me in the chest. "You're the worst," Sinon growled. "Hate you. Hate you so much."

"Yes, love you too," I practically purred. Sinon growled under her breath and turned away in a huff.

I smiled at the blue-haired archer's back and turned to face Cardinal. "We've handled Vecta," I said without preamble. "But the people from the real world might still try something. We need to get Alice out of here as soon as possible."

Alice pressed her hand to her chest. "You promise me that you have eliminated Vecta?"

"He's as dead as anyone would be with a hole through their head," I said bluntly. Unless he has a third account - unlikely considering he just used his Subtilizer account - he's not coming back.

The blonde knight smiled at my response. "Then, with the threat to the Human Empire quashed for now, I accept your offer, Rythin."

"Great," I said, and felt a huge weight lift off of my shoulders. Funny how I never realize how much stress I'm under until that stress suddenly vanishes. It's like suddenly being able to take a deep breath for the first time in... months? Years? "Cardinal, let's connect to Kikuoka and get everyone outta here."

The terminal popped up at the wave of Cardinal's hand, and it didn't take long for the connection to go through. I bet they'd been sitting at the console waiting for us to call. "Kirito? Is that you?" The agent's voice was tinny like before, but the staccato bursts of gunfire weren't a backdrop to the call this time.

"Sorry it's just me, boss," I said drily. "Hope I'm not too much of a disappointment."

"Rythin! I'm glad you're awake," Kikuoka said. "How are you feeling? Any aches or pains? You have all of your memories, and your self?"

I wasn't quite sure how to handle the sudden switch to 'Kikuoka who cares that I'm alive' so I decided to ignore it for now. Probably not the healthiest way to handle concern, but it hasn't killed me yet. "Yeah, I'm all here. Thanks for sending Asuna and Argo in to bail us out, by the way. I'm... guessing that calling in the other cavalry wasn't part of the plan?"

"If you're talking about all those outside connections from Japan, nah." And that would be Higa. "Your friends are nuts, you know."

"Of course they are," I sniffed. "I wouldn't be friends with them otherwise. The chaos makes things fun. Anyway!" I clapped my hands together once. "Moving to the important stuff. Prepare for Alice to arrive in our world."

"You've got her!" Kikuoka exclaimed. "Amazing! Well done, all of you."

I nodded to Cardinal, who stepped up to the terminal. "You'd better take very good care of her," I said firmly. "And Ritsu too."

After all, they'd transferred Ritsu's Fluctlight once before already. They probably know how to handle them.

Alice stepped towards me and Kirito and threw her arms around our necks. I blinked in surprise when she pulled us in for a close hug. "Thank you both," she said. I gently patted her back, though I'm not sure how much she could feel through the armor. "Lady Cardinal, please give Uncle my regards."

"I will," Cardinal said. Alice smiled and closed her eyes, just before she vanished in a flash of light.

A few seconds later, someone cheered through the open call. "Disconnection successful," a woman said.

"Thank you for letting us know, Rinko," Asuna said. "So, now it's Ritsu's turn."

"Gotta say, I didn't really expect her to be an AI," Kirito said. "She really surprised me when she said it. You'll have to tell me how you two met."

"It's a really long story," I sighed. By the terminal, Ritsu gave me a huge smile and a cheery wave before she vanished in a flash of light, just like Alice had. "Though hey, we're probably gonna have time in a few hours, so why not?"

Cardinal turned to the rest of us and cleared her throat. "Once you have logged out, I will shut off all external access to this world for a time period consisting of twenty-four real world hours. Doing so will disconnect all remote connections."

"So all of the Korean and Chinese players, and all of our friends, they'll be logged out without any issues?" Asuna asked.

"Umu." Umu! "The only connections that would not automatically break would be those utilizing a direct connection - other words, you four," Cardinal said, and gestured to me, Asuna, Argo, and Kirito. I guess technically PoH might be counted among that number as well, but fuck PoH. He doesn't count for anything.

It's really gotta suck, getting turned into a tree and then getting your consciousness trapped in a... what was it, twelve-hundred-times accelerated world, I think. But hey. If he didn't want that, he should have said something when I asked Cardinal to shift his login to the separate test zone. So really it's his own fault. Sowing, reaping, et cetera.

"And that's both Lightcubes," Kikuoka said. "We're ready to disconnect whenever you are."

I shrugged and glanced at the others. "Give me a minute?" I asked.

They all nodded and walked over to the console. That just left me, Sinon, and Angelus. I reached out and gently rubbed under Angelus's chin, exactly the way she loved it, and sighed. "I gotta go, Angelus," I told her.

"Kyuururu..." She twisted her body and her tail wrapped around me. Despite being large and dangerous, she just wanted to press me up against her scales, like it would keep me from leaving.

"I get it," I murmured. "I'm the only one you really like, huh?"

Angelus rumbled deep in her throat. I smiled and rested my forehead on her warm scales. It was appropriate, I guess, that the two of us stuck together even while my memories had been stolen and I was a... less than pleasant individual. Angelus never seemed to care, much. She just wanted to destroy and rampage. Which I guess was why we worked together so well.

"Thanks," I said to my dragon. "For helping out. Cardinal will definitely make sure you get to run wild sometimes. And I'll do my best to find a way to get you into the real world. It might not be quite as comfortable, but you'll like it there, I think. Lots of new creatures for you to kill."

Angelus made a strange repetitive noise, and I realized that my dragon was laughing quietly.

What a weird creature she really was. But I guess that's why I care about her, right?

Her tail let me go and I rested my forehead on her scales for a second longer before I stepped away. Goodbyes had been said to the dragon, and that just left Sinon. The archer looked at me when I approached her, and then smiled.

"See you when you get back," she said.

I grinned. "I'll be sure to call. Probably won't get to log into ALO for a little bit."

"You're gonna be grounded?"

"Oh I'm so grounded," I said.

Sinon grinned and gently punched my shoulder. "Guess I'll have to visit then, you poor lonely guy." I reached out and ruffled her hair entirely to get the expected reaction of complaining and ducking away - but instead, Sinon just sighed and let me play with her soft blue hair. Honestly, I never thought I'd get this far, so I just kinda rested my hand there for a second and then let go.

"Yo, Ry! It's time ta go!" Argo called, and I waved at her to let her know I heard.

"See you later, Sinon," I said. I turned to head over to the others.

*Smack!*

I jumped and looked over my shoulder at her. Had... Had Sinon just slapped my ass?!

"See you, Rythin. And next time you have an emergency, schedule it for when I'm awake, not four in the morning!"

I chuckled and shook my head. "Yes, yes, I'll do my best to schedule the next world-ending event when you're not in the middle of your beauty sleep, Shinonon."

Argo reached out and grabbed my hand when I stopped next to the others. I smiled gently and squeezed a little bit, just to reassure her. My lovely little info broker smiled and cuddled up against me, leaning her head on my arm.

"Are you ready to leave?" Cardinal asked. I glanced at the others, and they all nodded. "Very well. I will... see you later, Kirito."

AwwwwWWW-

My internal cooing over the awkward but earnest expression on Cardinal's face was suddenly interrupted when everything went white.


Tuesday, July 7, 2026

10:07 AM, RATH

I groaned quietly to myself as my body decided to register every issue with leaving the Underworld all at once. I mean, in there I was an incredibly powerful Integrity Knight with enhanced durability and everything that comes with it. In the real world, I've been in a coma for, a while. Everything that can ache, does. And I even have an IV in me, and that thing is uncomfortable even at the best of times.

The STL above my head was quiet and dark, and I closed my eyes again. Somehow, I still felt tired.

"And you're awake, Nick. Good, good."

I cracked one eye open and lazily stared at the nurse standing by my 'bedside'. Miss Aki smiled down at me as she reached up to adjust something outside my vision. "Bleh." Ah, and my throat feels like sandpaper. That had been something I was aware of in the back of my mind, but saying words kinda drove it home. "Nnngh."

"I'll get you some water soon. Just as soon as I confirm your vitals are stable..." Aki tapped something and nodded once. "Alright, here."

She helped me sit up, first. It was a bit of a struggle and my weakened core muscles complained - boy that's gonna be fun explaining at the next couple martial arts classes - but I eventually managed to keep myself upright. Aki held out a small cup of water, and I carefully reached for it. Even the tiny paper cup felt like it weighed half a ton, and it was a challenge and a half to raise it to my mouth and take a drink.

But oh man it was worth it. Lukewarm water never tasted so good.

Once I drained the cup I sighed in relief. "That's way better," I said, my voice still a weak whisper since that's all my throat felt like making no matter what I wanted. "Thanks."

Aki nodded and then moved over to the STL nearby. I saw another person wearing the same mint-colored hospital gown I had on, and knew that it had to be Kazuto. Before I could focus too much on him, though, the door to the side of the room slid open and two goddesses ran into the room.

Or, well, I guess I can't make that comment anymore, now that Kana and Asuna aren't using their avatars anymore.

Kana sniffled once and then hopped onto the STL bed right next to me. She wrapped her arms around me and hugged so tight I wondered if she was ever going to let go.

"We just saw each other, catling," I said with a smile.

"But that was in the game. Now we're in the real world," Kana said. Can't really argue with that logic. "So lemme cuddle ya."

I leaned my cheek against her head and closed my eyes. "Okay, okay. I guess I can't complain when a pretty girl is hugging me, after all."

The door at the front of the room slid open and I cracked one eye open to glare at whoever was interrupting my cuddle time with Kana - "Sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to make sure everyone was awake," Kikuoka said. I glared harder. "We just lost contact with the Underworld, so I had a feeling."

"We're here, Kikuoka," Kazuto said. On the other STL bed, my brother was sitting up too, and his girlfriend had her arms around his chest with her chin resting on his shoulder. "Is everyone else logged out?"

"Higa confirmed it," Kikuoka said. The man was wearing his usual yukata and sandals - at the very least, nobody cared what I wore to work at RATH. "All outside connections have been severed, and the Underworld is locked down. Not even the main control room will be able to affect it now."

I sighed. "That's good. I was a little worried about it."

"We have to talk, Kikuoka," Kazuto growled, and even though he was tired and exhausted I could see the anger in his body. It made sense, of course. Kikuoka had been running a soul farm as an experiment.

"I understand you're mad," Kikuoka said. "And I promise we'll talk about it as soon as we're out of danger."

"...Danger?" I asked. Now there was a growl in my voice.

Kikuoka nodded. "We were the ones that managed to snatch Alice's Lightcube up, and the other anomalous units are effectively sealed off. All thanks to your hard work. But the enemy probably won't let it go at that."

I frowned. "You're thinking they'll try to, what. Blow everything up to keep it out of our hands?" Kikuoka nodded grimly, and I sighed. "Great."

Thankfully, Aki had a pair of wheelchairs rolled out for me and Kazuto. It took a few seconds to transfer off of the beds and into the wheelchairs, of course, but once we were settled our girlfriends pushed us out in the subcontrol room. A labcoat-wearing woman with shorter brown hair stood at the console, with two steel briefcases in front of her. Alice and Ritsu were in there...

I shook off the brief moment of longing. I'm sure there'll be a way to talk to my sister and my Ri- a-and Ritsu eventually.

A black-suited man stood up and saluted Kikuoka, who returned the salute absently. "Sir, Doctor," he said. "Looks like the hijackers are retreating."

"Th-They are?" the woman repeated.

The man tapped the console he was sitting at and a window appeared on the main screen. It was some sort of video feed from security cameras, and I stared at it curiously. It was kind of a weird thought to have, but they looked like NPCs had jumped out of GGO. My memories of E Class stirred, and I clapped a fist on my palm with a soft *pomf*. "American mercs," I said. Judging by their build they probably weren't Asian, and their assault rifles and combat armor reminded me of the Wolfpack and Craig Hojo.

The mercenaries were running down one of the hallways. Everything looked the same without being there in person, so I had no idea what camera it was. "They're heading down to the Ocean Turtle's submarine dock," the suited man continued. "And, they're in a hurry."

*Booooommrumblerumble*

Everything shook violently. I felt a little bit like a ragdoll being flung around, but Kana grabbed my shoulder and helped me stay in my wheelchair.

"Wh-What's that? Did something hit us?" Labcoat Woman asked. Considering the email I'd sent to a certain someone, this was probably Professor Rinko Koujiro.

When the shaking finished, I glanced over my shoulder and gave her a grateful smile. Kana smiled back.

"I'm checking-" Suit Man cut himself off with a gasp. On the main screen, a blinking Warning alert popped up. "Oh no. Don't tell me they..."

He stood up abruptly. His chair rolled back until it hit the console behind him, but he didn't seem to notice. "That jolt was caused by our engine firing up to full power."

"Meaning?" Professor Koujiro repeated.

Higa jumped to his feet. "Wait, are you serious?! That thing's nuclear!"

"You have a nuclear engine on-board the ship?" Professor Koujiro asked, staring at him. Her face went very pale.

"At the bottom of the shaft, the main engine is a pressurized water reactor," Suit said.

The blond tech lunged for a console and rapidly tapped his hands over the virtual keyboards. Screen after screen popped up until the last one showed an image of something I didn't recognize directly. I did recognize the valves and pipes around it, though, so it was probably the engine room.

"Damn it!" Kikuoka snapped. "Look at that."

He pointed at the screen. I peered closer, and then my stomach sank at the same time it did a twist. "Oh fuck me, that's a shaped charge," I said. My eye twitched. "Right on the control rods."

Suit Man nodded. "If that's destroyed, the control rods can't drop..."

Professor Koujiro sucked in a sharp breath. "The core will melt down."

"Meaning... a nuclear explosion," Asuna said, her eyes wide with horror. "No..."

"Nakanishi," Kikuoka said. "Do you think you can remove the explosive in time?"

"I... think I can," Suit Man - Nakanishi, I guess - said. "I'm sure the hijackers gave themselves enough time to get far enough away before it blows. That gives me about... I don't know. Five to ten minutes."

"B-But the temperature down there. By now it's gotta be boiling..."

When Professor Koujiro protested, Nakanishi turned and smiled. "True. But it's not hotter than your typical sauna. I'll rush in, yank the detonator, and be out in a couple of seconds."

His words rang discordant to my ears. He knew this was a suicide mission and fully expected to die here.

"...If you're certain," Kikuoka said. Times like this, I kinda wish we had a Korosensei around. An impossible-to-kill octopus teacher that could move at Mach 20 would really come in handy for situations like this.

"Wait!" All eyes turned to Asuna, who didn't hesitate to step forward. "What about those robots?"

Robots? But when Kana's eyes lit up and she smiled, I figured they knew what they were talking about. "Yeah! A-chan's right. Why not send that thing off ta save the day?"

Higa looked over at Kikuoka. "Well, what do you think, Kiks? It might work, if we use Ichi..."

"I'm a little concerned about its mobility," Kikuoka said. "But it's better than nothing. Nakanishi, go scout the path we'll need to take. Rinko and I will follow you through the cameras while Higa gets Ichiemom running."

I'm so very confused right now. What is Ichiemom? Who is Ichiemom?

"Sir!" Nakanishi saluted Kikuoka, and ran out of the room. Higa jumped up and headed downstairs.

Professor Koujiro and Kikuoka sat down at the console terminals and started tapping at the virtual keyboards. More windows popped up at the large screen and I stared at the security camera footage. Nakanishi could be seen moving through the ship occasionally.

"So, I'm lost," I said to the girls. "What the heck were you two talking about?"

Kana tilted her head. "Eh? Ya don't know?"

"If I did, I wouldn't be asking," I sighed. More secrets Kikuoka kept. I guess it made sense, since it seemed to be unrelated to my tasking, but still. "What's Ichiemom?"

"It's a robot they've made," Asuna said. "Kana and I ran into it on the stairs. It's... a little disturbing."

Kana shivered. "Ya mean nightmare fuel, A-chan," she protested. "That thing's creepy."

"You'll hurt its feelings, Kana," Asuna said with a smile.

"Mrrrrr," Kana grumbled under her breath. I tried not to laugh, but it was fine.

Kazuto didn't even try, he laughed. "I guess we have to put our faith in the scary robot," he said.

"Hey, Kazu-boy! Don't tease yer Big Sis!"

...

A few minutes later, the radio channel crackled to life. "Kiks, I'm looking over things down here, and it's not looking good," Higa said.

"Report."

"I don't think Ichiemom's gonna make it in time. I'll do what I can."

Kikuoka nodded. "See if you can get it online and moving."

On the camera feeds, I could see that Nakanishi had made it to the reactor emergency control room. At least, that's what Kikuoka said the hallway was. Nakanishi had his pistol out as he carefully looked around the corner to confirm it was clear, then quickly darted to the next piece of cover. He clearly knew what he was doing.

The room he stood in was a control panel, but every screen was showing an amber error screen. They must have been part of the network that was knocked offline. Nakanishi took a deep breath, and then rushed for the next piece of cover.

Nobody moved for a long second, and then Nakanishi bolted for the side of the door at the other end of the room. He put his back to the wall for a second and took a few deep breaths, and then opened the door and snapped his gun out, clearing the room.

Totally empty. I guess that made sense. There wasn't any reason for them to stay behind, anyway.

Nakanishi approached the door in the separate chamber; this one wasn't a sliding door like the one he'd just passed through. Instead, it was a heavy metal door sealed by a valve wheel-looking thing to the right. Since it was the engine room, it needed to be a little bit sturdier.

Sweat beaded on Nakanishi's face as he approached the bulkhead door, and the man reached out to put a hand on the wheel. He turned the wheel a few times, and the door cracked open -

Steam rushed out and blinded our view from the camera. It didn't block the audio, though, and we all heard Nakanishi's yelp of pain. That steam was, by definition, scalding; I guess I couldn't blame him.

Fortunately, the robot Higa had sent was coming down the corridor right behind him. It was a humanoid shape with glowing blue eyes; I guess I can see what Kana meant by nightmare fuel. Seeing it in the dim illumination of the amber emergency lights meant that it was just a generally humanoid shape with glowing blue eyes.

"Looks like Ichiemom made it," I said. "Bullets won't matter to a metal body, so we should be okay."

"...Huh?"

I looked up at Kana, but she and Asuna were staring at the screen in confusion.

"What?" Kikuoka breathed, and then scrambled for a headset. "Higa! What's going on?"

"What are you talking about, Kiks? Ichiemom's almost ready to go."

"Not that!" the agent said. "How is Niemom walking around?!"

...What? Two of them?

"That shouldn't be possible!" Higa said. I heard some rustling over the microphone, followed by a yelp. "What the heck! It's gone!"

"What's wrong?" Kazuto whispered to Asuna.

Asuna shook her head. "Ichiemom was just a robot with a program, but they told us that Niemom needed an artificial intelligence to run it. It shouldn't be able to move."

My eyes flicked over to where Professor Koujiro had set the metal cases - but both of them were still there. They hadn't shoved Alice or Ritsu into this machine to make it move around. ...Did a robot just spontaneously evolve intelligence?

"Figure out what's going on," Kikuoka said to one of the labcoat-wearing technicians nearby. The man nodded and ran down the steps to where Higa had disappeared. Kikuoka turned his attention back to the main screen, and folded his arms.

"Hi, Rinko."

My eyes widened at the voice that came through the screen. That was... from the camera feeds. But it couldn't be - I recognize that voice.

"A...Akihiko... It's you," Professor Koujiro stammered. She stared at the screen.

Niemom had stopped and looked up at the camera. Here, I could see the full appearance of the robot. It really did look like a human, if a human had been made entirely from metal plates. It was a little on the uncanny side of things. And it even had better abs than I did, which was a little unfair.

"I'm sorry I left you on your own, the way I did."

"You've been here? All this time?" Professor Koujiro asked. Her voice was filled with emotion and Asuna reached out to her. The older woman smiled and squeezed Asuna's hand.

"Rinko, I was blessed to have you in my life. I was so lost in my work, and you were the only thing keeping me connected to the real world. And now, I'd like you to maintain that connection. Bridge the gap between the real, and virtual worlds. Fulfill my dream."

"Yes, I will," Professor Koujiro said. She reached up with her free hand to wipe at tears, and then gripped something hidden underneath her blouse. "I will."

Kayaba stepped forward then, the machine's steps slow and awkward. Nakanishi stepped to the side to let the robot pass through the open doorway.

"Nakanishi, get back," Kikuoka ordered. "...Niemom will take care of things from here."

I thought I almost saw Kayaba nod once before he kept going. One of the techs pulled up a status report on Niemom's condition; as soon as the robot crossed the threshold into the engine room, red warning messages popped up.

"It's too hot, sir!" the tech called out. "Niemom's not rated for those temperatures. The joints and synth muscles are starting to break down."

Kikuoka looked over. "How long will it last before we lose it entirely?"

"Maybe a minute? Running the Lightcube Cluster is eating up a lot of power, and the engine room's just going to get hotter."

"Damn it," Kazuto sighed. "I wish there was something I could do!"

Asuna gripped the handles of his wheelchair tightly as she stared at the screen. "We just have to believe."

I clenched my fists and forced myself to take deep breaths. My heart was hammering in my chest, and I refused to let the tension get to me.

It didn't take long for the robot to walk into view of the engine room's security camera. In that small amount of time, it had gone from bad to worse. The metal plates were glowing cherry-red, and sparks practically exploded out in bright flashes.

"You can do it..." Professor Koujiro begged. "Please, Akihiko!"

After a particularly nasty-looking spark in the shoulder join, Niemom's arm went limp - and then the battery pack on Niemom's back exploded. The robot staggered forward a step or two, and then went limp as its severed cables dangled behind it.

Every element of the robot's status on the display went red and an alarm klaxon beeped three times. Hmm. That's, bad.

"It lost power," the technician said.

I closed my eyes and then reached up to grasp Kana's hand. She took mine silently and squeezed gently.

'I love you.'

'I love you too.'

We didn't say the words out loud, but we both heard them loud and clear.

"Akihiko!"

Professor Koujiro screamed his name.

"You're Heathcliff of the Divine Blade, remember? The greatest rival that Kirito the Black Swordsman ever had, and he's right here! He never gave up! If he can do the impossible... then so can you!"

Useless. It didn't have power so it couldn't -

The blue eyes of Niemom flickered back to life. My jaw dropped and I stared at the scream, afraid to move, say something, or even breath in the wild thought that it might shatter the miracle.

Somehow, the status of the super-heated limbs of the robot climbed back to up to fully functional. That shouldn't have been possible, but there was no denying the evidence in front of me - the robot slowly, arduously, forced itself to stand up straight.

"I can't believe it. N-Number Two has reactivated!"

"He did it," Kazuto whispered.

Niemom took one step, then another and another. It was halting progress, but finally it stood in front of the plastic explosive. He gripped the bomb with one hand and the detonator with another, and then pulled.

Please. Please make it!

One foot slid back, and the robot raised its hand in the air. The detonator had been ripped off of the rest of the explosive and rested in its palm.

It glowed brightly, and then -

Another explosion rocked the ship, and the camera feed went to static. Kana gripped my hand hard, but I didn't mind the pain. The pain meant we were alive.

When the camera reestablished its connection, we saw the robot standing there in the same pose it had been. The only difference was the charred marks on its half-melted skull, and the fact that its right arm ended at the elbow.

Then it toppled to the ground.

There was a moment of stunned silence in the subcontrol room, and then everyone around me erupted into cheers. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes, and tried to control my heartbeat. Forget dealing with Fizel and Linel's shenanigans, or fighting in a war. This is what was going to give me a heart attack and shave years off of my life.

"We made it," Kana exhaled. "Holy crap. I thought we were gonna..."

"Find a way to cool the engine room as soon as possible," Kikuoka ordered. "Then send a team to retrieve Number Two and remove the explosive."

"Yes!"

The technicians started running around to handle their tasks. I watched with interest for a little bit to see if I could learn anything just by watching, until my vision and lap were abruptly claimed by a very lovely girl with mouse-brown hair.

"Comfy," Kana said happily as I naturally put my arms around her waist. "I missed yer lap."

"I'll remember that next time you complain about cuddling," I said drily. "Or, well, once they let us out of the hospital."

Next to me, Kazuto groaned. "We have to do rehab again, don't we?"

Asuna giggled and gently ran her fingers through Kazuto's hair. "At least it's not going to be too bad, this time."

"When yer out, we gotta celebrate," Kana said. "Hmm, I'm thinkin' sushi? An' the good stuff, not conveyor belt."

I smiled. "Only if Kikuoka's paying," I said, deliberately raising my voice so the agent could hear. When he sighed and his shoulders slumped, I knew we'd won.

Kazuto smiled, and then hesitated. "Hey... about the Underworld... What are we gonna do?"

I tilted my head in lieu of asking a question.

"I mean, now that they have Alice... do you think they'll try to shut it down?"

Hmm.

You know, I didn't actually think about that.

The radio crackled to life and distracted me from my thoughts. "Kikuoka, come in. We're in the engine room."

Kikuoka stepped back to the console and cleared his throat. "Yes, I'm here. What's going on?"

"W-Well... we removed the explosive from the tank, but... Um... N-Niemom... He's, um... gone."

"What?" Kikuoka and Professor Koujiro both exclaimed at the same time.

...

The next few hours went by pretty quickly, all things considered. Kazuto and I were firmly forbidden from leaving our wheelchairs under Aki's orders, and her beautiful enforcers had no problem with that; Kana and Asuna didn't want us to hurt ourselves, after all.

Since the hijackers had already fled, it didn't take long for the Japanese navy escort ships to come 'rescue' us. Kana and Asuna spent most of their time trying not to glare at the soldiers just doing their jobs, but I could practically hear the resentment underneath their skin. It was pretty obvious, honestly.

"So, what's going to happen next?"

My question hung in the air between me and Kikuoka; he and I were standing and sitting by the main control room respectively. We both stared at the blank screen where the connection with the Underworld would display data, once Cardinal re-opened the ports. They had already changed the IP configuration, though. No more external connections would come through from America - or Japan.

"Well, I think first, I'll be the sole JSDF casualty."

I glanced at him. Kana rolled her eyes and grumbled under her breath.

"After all," Kikuoka continued, taking some cheap-looking candy from a sleeve of his yukata and popping it into his mouth, "they'll probably try to drag me into court and turn me into a scapegoat. And depending on how high up the culprit behind the American forces was, I might be disappeared for real."

It's a good point. "How convenient for you that there's a nurse that can pronounce you dead at the scene," I said. Kikuoka smiled and offered me a piece of the candy, and I waved it away. "I meant more about the Underworld. And, Alice and Ritsu."

"Ah." Kikuoka stared at the blank screen. "If we go through with Rinko's plan, then RATH's main goal is definitely going to end up a failure."

"Usin' Fluctlights on drones instead 'a human pilots," Kana said. "How come?"

Kikuoka shook his head. "Once we reveal the existence of artificial Fluctlights, we won't be able to use them as mounted weapons. But, it'll still fulfill the secondary purpose - letting America know we can make them." He smiled. "That way, they can't force us to give them the technology for 'joint development'."

"Clever," I said. "And what about Underworld?"

I'm not giving him the chance to dodge the question.

Kikuoka sighed. "I can't make any promises, Rythin," he said. "Higa and the others will do their best. But at the end of the day, the Ocean Turtle and the Lightcube Cluster are government property."

I nodded, and then looked at him. "...At the end of the day, Kikuoka... I am an Integrity Knight."

Kikuoka looked at me, a serious look on his face as he silently parsed the threat. "...If I had to guess at what they'll do, they'll try to dismantle RATH. While they work on that, they'll sever the satellite uplink and keep the Ocean Turtle on lockdown. Then, our tech will be divvied up to all the major conglomerates. They'll seize Alice, and reinitialize the Lightcube Cluster on the Turtle."

I clenched my jaw, and then forced myself to relax. "And how are we going to stop this?"

Kikuoka chuckled. "Don't look so worried. I've been talking to Rinko about this too. She'll probably be the one they put in charge of RATH, but I'll still be in the background, trying to keep the Underworld safe."

"Ta be honest, sounds like a lotta work," Kana said. "Ya got a better plan?"

The agent sighed. "To be honest... it's less a plan, and more a hope. I hope that the public will come to acknowledge the human rights of the artificial Fluctlights. And the way to achieve that is to get as many people from the real world as possible to have as much contact with the Underworlders as they can."

"That sounds a lot like the goal of the Seed Nexus."

I looked over at Kazuto's voice; Asuna pushed his wheelchair into the room, and the door slid shut behind them. Once the door had sealed again, Kikuoka nodded.

"The problem is, the Underworld needs a high-bandwidth connection to the Seed Nexus. And the bigger the bandwidth, the better the access."

"So we'd need to reconnect the satlink?" I raised an eyebrow. "Big ask, if the government is going to cut it off..."

"Yeah, sounds like I'll have a lot on my plate," Kikuoka laughed. "I've got some ideas, so don't worry."

Kazuto and I exchanged a quick glance, and then the boy turned to Kikuoka and bowed his head. "Kikuoka," he said. "Please keep them safe. Please."

Kikuoka smiled. "You don't have to beg me," he said. "After all, the Underworld is the one dream I'd risk my life for too."

I gave the screen that should be displaying the Underworld another look. "And, the other simulation?"

"Huh? Oh, the one we used for you," Kikuoka said. "Don't worry. That world will be safe too. Unfortunately, the results from that experiment weren't what we were looking for. But I promise, I'll protect them too."

I closed my eyes and let out a deep breath. In all the chaos... I'd had to drive the other world from my mind, but E Class was just as much a home to me as this world and the Underworld.

"...Thank you, sir," I said.

I really hope that I can go back there, someday. ...No. I know that I'll go back. I'll go back and see everyone again.

Kikuoka stretched his arms over his hand and yawned. "Well, in any event, we should get ready. We have a lot of work to do."

"Understood," I said. "We need to leave a message for Cardinal, when she reconnects to this world tomorrow. And probably get our stories straight..."

Let's just focus on one thing at a time, for now.


Hooray, day is saved. Everything's handled, now!

The first bit of the chapter was to wrap up the Subtilizer fight; there really wasn't a good segue into the rest of the events without it, and besides. I wanted to make sure it was explained what was going on. Rythin used Argo's ability to produce 'a secondary weapon', which to his soul was the pistol. Then, using Incarnation, he loaded it with a bullet and shot him with 'a bullet that will definitely kill' – because remember, this is based on his thoughts and imagination, and Rythin knows without a doubt that shooting someone (Korosensei) with the pistol will kill them.

After that some embarrassing moments with Sinon since Rythin needs to tease her, since that's the best thing to do after surviving a big fight. Obviously. Not that the other girls seems to mind much. I also tried to make sure I got across how attached Rythin was to Angelus, really. Big dragon, more like a big cat.

The biggest changes that got made here were to the Kayabot sequence. Things played out a bit differently in the anime/light novel, but here the problem was that the heat was just too high and it made things start to melt and blow up. It's important to remember – rated for water pressure, and rated for temperature, are two different things. Niemom is rated for water pressure, and can probably walk along the (less deep parts of the) ocean floor no problem.

Also some wrap-up with what's going to happen to Underworld.

See you all next time for the final chapter!