Overcoming Destiny

"Talking"

'Thinking'

Ch 3

It had been two weeks since Kirito beat the death game known as Sword Art Online. In that time he was made aware of the fact that exactly 300 players had yet to awaken. One of them was his sister Suguha Kirigaya also known as Leafa.

The doctors were baffled by what had been altered in the players that had awakened though because they were unable to examine them while they were trapped.

Kazuto Kirigaya known to other people as Kirito had to smile at the alterations to this timeline from previous other ones. All of the players, while their muscles atrophied from disuse, their bones didn't. In fact their bones increased in density to match their avatars strength and their muscles had increased in density as well, but would take exercise to bring them out of their atrophy. He actually found it intriguing that Kayaba had been able to make the Nervegear alter the users physiology to accommodate their Avatars physical stats.

He was currently waiting for his wife to come out of her self-induced coma for the day. Courtesy of Argo who, much to the doctors chagrin, had acquired a copy of the game Alfhiem online and dove in starting up another information network. Most of the players respected the girl not only due to her strength but because she survived SAO when it became known about her past.

Back to the fact of the matter the Defense force had requested their assistance in tracking down where the other players were trapped. They had tracked electric pulses from the SAO servers to the Alfhiem servers. They didn't have the resources nor patience, so what did they do? They contacted what they considered the most motivated individuals and had them enter into Alfhiem to try and figure it out thus releasing the trapped players. Unfortunately for them there were only seven players that qualified in their opinion.

"Well Rika how was it in there today?" Kazuto asked his wife as she sat up.

"Not much just listening to an annoying Imp." Rika also known as Liz in game came up beside her husband and gave a hug and peck on the cheek.

"Interesting that that name seems to fit her now more than the rat ever did." Kazuto said with a chuckle turning his head and give her a kiss full on the lips instead of the cheek. Rika deepened the kiss as the two lost themselves in their own little world and didn't notice when the door was opened.

"Kazuto, Rika if you want to continue this you might think about getting your own room." Midori said as she laughed at the scandalized looks on their faces. "Oh come now if I can't give my son and daughter-in-law a hard time. Who can I?" She asked earning a flat look from Kazuto.

Rika nervously fingered her almost waist length pink hair. She was going to cut it off but just evened it at Kirito's insistence because he said it looked good on her. She got back at him by saying that if she did he had to as well. It was still giving the doctors fits that players hair color changed to whatever they had changed it to in game if they chose to do so on top of everything else that was physically altered.

She was brought out of her musing by the door sliding open again. "Hey Guys I finally found you." For those just tuning in this is Ryoutarou Tsuboi or more fondly known as Klein by those that knew him in game.

"What was so important that you had to bully a nurse to get here from the other side of the prefecture?" Kirito asked deadpan earning a smile from the nurse and a pout from Klein.

"Come on don't be like that." Klein mumbled before turning to the nurse. "Listen could you leave me here for a little while I have some things to discuss with my buddies here." Shrugging with a tired expression, the nurse left the room shutting the door behind her. "Hey Kirito you know that girl I've been dreaming about for the last six months or so?"

"You mean the one that said she was going to marry you when she found you?" Kirito asked showing little interest.

With a grin not dampened by Kirito's attitude Klein showed them his right ring finger that was adorned by a simple gold band. "I found her." His voice cracking with excitement. The three other awake occupants in the room looked at him in shock. "She also said that you two need to hurry up because Yui is getting lonely without you."

"That's all well and good but how do we do that when we don't know where to begin looking?" Kirito asked irritated.

"Oh that's easy." Klein said with an almost smug smile. "My wife's name is Louise Tsuboi. Or more commonly known in Alfhiem as Titania." This actually caused a gasp from the other occupants in the room. "Like the SAO players she can't leave the game until the World Tree is cleared. Though on the plus side she isn't confined to the world tree like the other players or I would never have found her this soon. Or rather she found me."

"Am I going to be the only one that's shocked by the fact the Klein is the first one to track down any useful information?" Kirito asked everyone else in the room.

"Oh come! I'm not useless!" Klein yelled indignantly.

"We aren't saying you are but info gathering is not your forte." Liz answered trying to calm him down.

"Well then even I can get lucky every now and then." Klein mumbled under his breath causing the others in the room to laugh. After they calmed down again Klein became serious. "There is an inscription that she put somewhere in the confines of each of the capitals of the factions. One thing we need to tell Argo to tell her informants is that Louise was very creative where she put them."

OOooOO

It took another two months for Argo to find the remaining inscriptions, funnily enough the Imp capital's inscription was found by a ten year old girl who happened to be looking up as she walked through the main square. You could only see it if you stood three feet east of the exact center of the square while looking directly overhead. This sent Argo into a fit for three days because it took a little girl to figure out something she felt she should have found without assistance.

Based upon the inscriptions as they found them they got different players from SAO involved because they needed other people that were experienced in combat as well as representatives from all of the races.

Kirito had the time of it getting cooperation from some of the players namely the Salamanders but after a mid-air battle with general Eugine he gained the man's respect. Though Kirito went and hid in embarrassment for a little bit when Eugine declared him the strongest player by a wide margin. Then Lizbeth went and hit him over the head for behavior unbefitting the strongest player.

Kirito was also puzzled by Klein about a month into them trying to get through the world tree because he always started every day as if he'd just come back from a long weekend. Klein just shook his head with a smile on his face when he answered. "When you can truly relax with the woman you love with nary a care then you'll understand. Your problem is that you can't not think about the problems you're going to have to deal with tomorrow."

"Yeah that has to be it." Kirito mumbled not really getting it.

"Well keep soldiering on my friend you'll get it eventually. I hope." Klein said as he left for parts unknown for the night.

It was two days later that Kirito decided enough was enough.

"All right Klein seriously come clean. What have you been doing?" Kirito asked irritated at the end of the day.

Klein sighed in defeat because he knew that Kirito wasn't just talking about why he was more chipper than usual. "You know my wife Louise right?"

"I've heard of her but never seen her so I don't even know if she actually exists and you just have the ring to make yourself feel better." Kirito challenged Klein.

"If it makes you feel better you can come with me tonight but you can't tell anyone. What she tells you is private." Klein answered as Cardinal teleported them to Yggdrasil courtesy of Klein putting his hand on Kirito's shoulder.

Kirito for one was shocked, and not because Klein actually had a wife. Klein had never lied to him before so he didn't think he had started now. No he was shocked because Louise was pregnant in game. Louise's discussion with him went on for four hours throughout which Kirito discovered what to expect when they cleared the world tree. He learned who was at fault for the three hundred players still being trapped but that Louise was using it to her advantage. Between her and Cardinal, Sugou wasn't making any progress because the people he was studying were system dummies. Kirito found the way the inscriptions in the capital cities were worded made perfect sense now. She was telling them that she needed the in fighting between factions to stop because if the players chose to follow her their avatars would be flesh and blood people and she, as Titania, couldn't have fighting within as well as without. He was also glad to be able to spend a little time with Yui. When he left and returned IRL he found that just shy of an hour had passed. He didn't think about it as he cuddled into Liz for the night.

It took another two months before Kirito was satisfied that everyone who would be conquering the world tree was ready. The day was one of the rare days that was programmed in to have bad weather but it helped to set the atmosphere for the raid on the world tree. Per prior agreement with Titania none of the faction leaders were part of the raid instead they all were online making final preparations and explaining the situation to other players. Though to be fair they were unable to make sure that everyone stayed in the safe zones. As such some players were out on dungeon raids, everyone else just sat and prayed that they would be ok when the mobs changed.

Kirito for one was ready to go but he had one nagging question since Klein showed up earlier. "Klein what's with the beard?"

"To tell you the truth I've always wanted to have a beard but was never able to actually grow one." Klein answered as he rubbed the as yet unfamiliar whiskers on his face. "But Louise commented on it and I figured what the hell I can make this work I had just never thought about it after Kayaba made our avatars look just like our real bodies till she brought it up."

"You're whipped. You know that?" Kirito asked with mock disdain.

"Hello Pot I'm Kettle nice to meet you." Klein said with a smirk referring to Kirito's hair which reached just over halfway down his back. He currently had it in a braid to keep it out of his way.

"Let's get this party started." Kirito said tiredly as he turned to face the crowd as it was decided that he would be assault leader though he delegated tactics to Asuna and a few others that where better at it than him. With a deep breath to calm himself, he called to the group of players standing on the steps up to Yggdrasil. "Thank you all for coming today. I know some of you like myself have just survived SAO and appreciate you willing to dive into another game so soon after that fiasco. I'd also like to thank those that are helping us never having been in a true life and death situation before. For almost two years those of us who were trapped in SAO fought and died for not only our escape but everyone else's as well. But that fight is not over because three hundred players have yet to awaken; we have it on good authority that they are trapped at the top of the world tree and the only way to release them is to clear the tree. So until all of the players have awakened the fight to clear SAO isn't over. I can't in good conscious be awake and with my loved ones when others are still trapped. That said I will clear Yggdrasil no matter what to assure that happens for those other players. All I ask is: Who's with me?!" Kirito finished lifting one of his swords over his head to the almost overwhelming cheers of approval.

Turning to the door Kirito walked up and hit yes when the option was given and with that the assault of the world tree began.

OOooOOooOO