Chapter 16: Condition Zero
Day 12
Kirito opened his eyes, stirred by a low rumble in the sky. Sometime during his nap, the firmament had clouded over, casting a pitch-black shadow over the field. Bolts of electricity flashed in the horizon, and he tried to climb to his feet, only to find her asleep on his chest, smiling in her slumber.
He pulled her cheek, and was swatted away like a fly. A true Cait Sith, he mused, ruffling her hair as raindrops began to fall, and her ears finally twitched, woken by the cold sensation of water on her face.
"Bring me to the bed, Kirito," she mumbled, apparently still half-asleep, before opening her eyes and springing to her feet, flustered by her own words.
"As you wish, my princess," he teased, chasing after her as thunder rolled across the hills.
Somehow, the ominous drone seemed to grow louder as the winds picked up, rustling the trees and blowing dust over the fields. Puzzled, he stopped, squinting at the direction of the noise, just in time to see the outline of two silhouettes gleaming in the lightning.
No, it can't be, he blinked, unable to believe his eyes.
Time slowed as his heart raced, cold sweat trickling down his spine. He froze, holding his breath in suspense and apprehension as the air around him began to whirl, the signs of their impending approach.
"A-Are those d-dragons?" she asked, gaping at the strange metallic creatures in the sky.
"Black Helicopters," he replied, grabbing her arm as they hurried back to the farmhouse, only to crash into Hachiman and Yui who were running in the opposite direction with panic and alarm written all over their faces.
"We've got guests," the dead-fish eyed loner reported before he could even ask, "A dozen SUVs and pickup trucks with heavy weapons, coming down the far end of the road."
"And two choppers that had survived the EMP," the young man in black echoed, gritting his teeth, "Whoever planned this operation isn't fooling around."
"T-They could just be passing by, right?" the pink-haired airhead stammered, "We're just some teenagers trying to survive, why'd they send the military out to get us? We didn't ask for any of this!"
"We aren't just a bunch of high-schoolers, Yui," her boyfriend cut her short, turning to glare at the blonde knight, "We have a VVVIP with us - the one and only, first and last functioning android ever in human history, the most sacred and advanced technological relic in this post-apocalyptic reality. Her tracker must've activated when she woke up, and we're now officially the most wanted group on the planet."
"Hikigaya Hachiman," Kirito growled, grabbing him by the collar, "We aren't abandoning her, I'm telling you, we didn't come this far just to–"
"Kirigaya Kazuto," he spat, "Don't forget that we were the ones who helped you drag her most of the way. I've given you the benefit of doubt, hoping that our worst fears would never materialise, but now that it's come to this, I suggest we give them what they want before anybody gets hurt."
"For the last time, Hachiman," Kirito shouted in his face, "We aren't leaving her behind, we aren't surrendering without a fight!"
"It's the only way, you bloody moron! We aren't shooting our way out of this with two SMGs and a handgun. We don't even have as many rounds as they have men."
Kirito was about to snap at his nemesis when a resounding blast rocked the house, knocking him off his feet and pushing Alice to the floor. Hachiman and Yui ducked for cover, screaming and plugging their ears as the deafening chatter shook the walls, while Suguha stumbled out of her room in a daze, only to lose her balance and fall to the ground.
"Sugu!" he crawled desperately towards her as the tempest raged. All around them, thousands of rounds of heated lead roared between the helicopters and the trucks, stray bullets tearing through the ceiling and setting the roof on fire as the sky burned and the road quaked.
"Oh great, just what we needed," Hachiman managed to yell, "They're shooting at each other. How'd you like being at the epicentre of World War IV, Kirito? To have every country and faction after our heads and our asses?"
"Just do as I say, Kirito, leave the robot girl. Blood is thicker than water, I'm telling you as a fellow brother, do it for your little sister. Don't fail her like I did mine."
Kirito did not reply as he threw himself over his one and only sibling, shielding her from the shattering glass and splintering wood, the memories of his childhood and time spent in ALO flashing through his mind. She felt warm in his embrace, reminding him of the choice that was in his hands, and he clenched his fists, nails digging deep into his palms as the dead-fish eyed loner's words echoed loudly in his ears.
Hachiman was right. Alice Synthesis Thirty, the non-human android or Suguha, whom he had sworn to protect to the end of time - it was never supposed to be a choice to begin with.
Why then, could he not move?
Why was his heart so heavy, the fragments of their time in Underworld so vivid and real?
Why was he hesitating?
"Thank you, Kirito, for everything," the blonde knight smiled, rising to her feet to make the decision for him, "I-I hate you, so please don't miss me."
"Alice!" he cried as she continued to trudge forward without looking back. Desperate, he chased after her, only to be halted by the dead-fish eyed loner with a handgun to the face.
"You're making this harder than it needs to be, Kirito," she said, her long hair fluttering in the wind, "Listen to Hachiman, don't fail your little sister like I did Selka. Take care of Terraria, she loves you, u-unlike me. Just forget me and let me go."
Sorry, Alice, but I can't.
And forgive me for what I'm about to do.
Before the loner could react, Kirito punched him in the nose, snatching the gun with his other hand. Ignoring the cries of surprise and agony, he ran towards her just as she was about to leave the house, pulling her back and pressing the muzzle to her temple.
Nobody could take her if she was his hostage - not over his dead body. It was a risky bet, but judging from the fact that both factions had avoided firing on them in the ongoing confrontation, they most likely wanted to retrieve her unharmed and intact.
Everybody wants you, Alice. I hope you don't mind staying with us a little longer.
"Hachiman, stop rolling on the floor and gear up," he barked as she froze in his arms, "Yui, get Suguha. We're moving out."
"Kirito, you b–" the loner snarled, but stopped as he instantly got the message. Scrambling back to the room, he quickly emerged with their bags and weapons while Yui helped the kendoka to her feet.
Nodding, Kirito led the way, making sure to follow closely in step with Alice as they moved into the open, entrusting the loner to watch his back. Yet, he would never have expected the storm to erupt to a new level of intensity as soon as they stepped out of the door. With their target in sight, both sides pressed the assault, eager to break the stalemate, and within seconds, the house behind them blew up, struck by a flurry of explosives as volleys of tracers and bursts of machinegun fire reverberated through the night.
In the hurricane, she shuddered in his grip, her face pale at the speed and brutality of mechanised modern warfare. Without the Stacia Window and the Sacred Arts - not even a goddamned sword for goodness' sake, she was nothing more than a meat shield, much less an Integrity Knight. She truly hated it, cursing her predicament, but could only bite her lip and swallow her pride, knowing that the least that she could do was to play the part and resist the urge to join the fight.
"Two SMGs," Hachiman reported as he strode forward to pull the pair of bodies out of the nearest vehicle, stripping the corpses of their weapons with the familiarity of a seasoned scavenger, "Kirito, you drive, your little sister can rest beside you. Give Yui the handgun, she'll hold the android while I man the .50 cal."
"I-I'll h-hold A-Alice? W-With the gun?"
"Yes, just like I taught you. We'll need to keep up appearances for now. The gun isn't loaded, never was, so don't worry about accidentally blasting her in the face."
"Hikki!"
"We don't have time to waste," he snapped, charging the mounted MG as Kirito climbed into the driver's seat of the technical, "We need to get the hell out of here before reinforcements arrive."
With that, Kirito floored the pedal, rain stinging his eyes through the void that used to be the windshield. His little sister sat beside him, awake but in obvious discomfort, muted suffering etched on her face as she clutched her SMG in her trembling arms.
Hang in there, Sugu, he muttered to himself as he focused on the road ahead, I'll get us all out of here, I swear.
Behind, the dead-fish eyed loner had opened up on the pursuing assailants, saturating the air with armour-piercing incendiaries as more enemies gathered in the distance. Yet, like a swarm of angry hornets, they pressed on with their frenzied, fanatical rush, swerving around to throw off his aim as they closed the gap to fire off a few accurate rounds of their own.
"Yui!" he shouted as clumps of hair and bits of scalp were torn off by a bullet blasting through the bun on her head. He ducked in the next second, a shot flying inches from his eyes, the shockwave rippling past his brows. Stricken with fear, he truly wanted to give up and surrender, yet he held on to the cold, hard trigger, the resounding chatter of gunfire synchronising with the pulse in his temples and the rhythm in his heart.
Kill or be killed. Live to die another day.
"They're trying to box us!" Kirito warned, unloading a full magazine through the broken side-window. Hachiman followed, spraying the enemy with heated lead - blood, flesh and bones splattering under the cyclone of half a thousand rounds per minute at a thousand miles per hour.
"Keep your hands on the wheel or you'll kill us all!" he snarled as Kirito struggled to bring the technical under control, smashing past the flaming, bullet-riddled wreckages with pure momentum, sending fly showers of sparks as the mangled remains of a dozen dead men spilled carelessly onto the road.
"Choppers on our six, coming in fast!" he swung the steaming barrel at the twin shadows in the sky, only to be greeted by the metallic clang of the empty chamber. Cursing, he ditched the MG for the SMGs, steeling his nerves as he fired away at the approaching helicopters, not expecting the subsonic bullets to have any effect on flying armour.
"Yui, forget Alice and help find more belts while I buy some time," he yelled as he continued to lay down suppressive fire, forbidding himself from succumbing to the panic that was eating him alive. Ignoring the blood trickling down her forehead, she fumbled through the cluttered mess to search for the ammunition that he so urgently needed, only to find an oversized revolver and a dozen large rounds which did not seem to be for the MG.
"Hikki, what's this?" she was about to ask, just as a similar weapon emerged from the nearest helicopter, and in the next second, a thick fog of gas erupted around them, enveloping them in an acrid chemical smog which stung their eyes and scorched their lungs.
"Yui!" he screeched, coughing and choking for precious air as he searched blindly for her, "Say something, I can't see you."
"I-I'm here, Hikki," she spluttered, her vision blurring with tears, "I-I'm fine."
"Good," he sighed in relief, pulling her into a tight hug the moment he found her, "Stay behind me until we recover. I think they may try to pick us off with snipers while we're down, not that it's going to be easy shooting at a moving vehicle from–"
He was cut short by a loud blast as a bullet burrowed into the space beside them, followed by another, another, and another. Six barrels were aimed at them - three on each chopper, with each shot increasingly accurate as the snipers adjusted to Kirito's evasive manoeuvres to home in on their targets.
Disoriented by the pain, the gunfire and the teargas bearing down on her, the pink-haired airhead had all the reasons to curl up and cry like the coward that she was. Yet, she slapped herself to muster all the strength and courage that she could, for the man who was protecting her with all the life and blood that he had.
Hikigaya Hachiman - the man her dearest best friend had entrusted to her, the man she had promised to take care of. The man who loved her, the man she loved.
Ignoring his pleas to stay put, she pried herself away from his embrace to fetch the unusually large revolver that she had found, sliding in the cartridges which fit nicely in each chamber. Gathering her resolve, she held the launcher which rested snugly in her grip, as if it belonged in her arms, and for a moment, she felt an inexplicable affinity for weapons of such calibres, not in the memories or consciousness of this post-apocalyptic world, but of another, where sea levels, not mushroom clouds, had risen throughout the planet.
As she steadied herself, no longer nauseated, strangely at ease with the rocking motions of the platform she stood on, fragments from another realm appeared to surge through the nexus of fate and reality, four similar but distinct streams coalescing into a river. Gently pushing the blonde knight aside, who had decided to break the act and stand in front of her friends to shield them from the snipers, she raised the launcher for the final calculations of the firing angle, projectile trajectory and the relative speeds between herself and her enemies.
"Your orders, Admiral?"
"Y-Yes," he spluttered, surprised, "I mean, engage and fire at will."
With that, she pulled the trigger, sending half a dozen high-explosive rounds on a parabolic path towards the two choppers. Six concerted blasts erupted on contact with metal, throwing flaming shrapnel through hulls and fuel tanks, instantly igniting the heated kerosene mix which ripped through burning fuselages. Seconds later, two crumpled husks fell to the ground like sinking ships, with loud bangs instead of suffocated whimpers.
"Admiral, I love you," she muttered before collapsing to the floor, unconscious. Peace had returned, the battle had ended, and it was time for her, no, them to take their leave, having completed their mission with flying colours.
In the speechless silence, he rubbed his eyes, gaping in disbelief for a good long minute before composing himself to give his sincerest reply.
"Thank you, I love you too."
Kirito sighed in relief as he witnessed the fiery conclusion unfold on the rear-view mirror. They had survived yet another battle, yet his foot remained on the pedal, pushing the technical further into the night, unsure of where they were or where they were going, not that they ever knew to begin with.
Was there even an end, a destination, a purpose, anything at all? Was there even a home, a shed, a respite waiting for their fatigued bodies and exhausted souls? Or were they just taking the long, hard way to the grave where all paths would eventually lead, condemned to a world of pain and suffering in the depths of hell where they belonged?
He did not know. In a world where little was left and nothing was right, where uncertain darkness was ahead and certain death was behind, he was utterly lost, trapped, stuck in a Grand Quest where the only reward was the privilege of taking the next breath.
Kill and be killed. Kill to die another day.
His vows were empty, his track record a failure, yet he pressed on, not because he wanted to, but because he had to - for the ones who were gone and the few who remained.
The road ended where the ruins of another city began, and he powered through the fallen ash and radioactive dust, crushing the pulverised sand that had melted into stained glass. Through the empty streets and lifeless debris, wheels stirred the cinders on the ground, reminding him of the time he had spent in GGO, running from the horseman that was Death Gun.
Shino, the champion of Bullet of Bullets, the best and the bravest, whom he would give his all to protect, had died beside him, killed by unnamed mountain bandits in a battle of seemingly little worth and consequence, only to be left behind, abandoned, deserted, discarded to rot in an unmarked grave on an unknown hill, forgotten by the world that had cast her aside.
Shino, Sinon, Sinonon, Solus - the setting sun may rise again, but she was gone forever, buried under heaps of mud and dirt.
Stop, he told himself before he could continue the downwards spiral, you're starting to sound like Hachiman.
In the compartment behind, Alice found herself staring at the wanton destruction and devastation extending as far as her eyes could see. It was the first time she had witnessed what her friends could only describe to her with words, and she was truly stunned beyond belief.
Buildings stood crooked and burnt, rows of houses ripped from their foundations. Swarms of flies and hordes of vultures clouded the sky, feeding on unrecognisable masses of skin and bones, some the corpses of humans, and others the carcasses of feral dogs that had feasted on the meat till there was no more flesh to devour.
"T-This is worse than Dark Territory," she gasped, petrified by the true face of death and mortality, where only decomposition and decay awaited, unlike the world from which she came, where the dead would dissolve mercifully into fragments of light.
"This isn't Underworld, Alice," the loner muttered beside her as she clutched her head, unable to take in the horror, "This is Hell. This is the purgatory we're stuck in for living on with blood on our hands, unlike the others who had left us, like my sister Komachi, for a much better place."
Like Heaven, he almost said, but stopped himself at the last second.
Damn you, Kirito. I don't need your false hope.
Kirito sneezed, the cold rain soaking his shirt and chest. Slowing the vehicle, he paused to check on his little sister, who had seemingly fallen back into an uncomfortable slumber.
"Onii-chan," she mumbled weakly, shifting in her seat, "I-I don't feel so good."
"Don't push yourself, Sugu," he quickly interjected, "It's probably stress and overexertion. Sleep well and drink lots of water, I'm sure you'll be fine."
"You sound like mom," she giggled breathlessly, "Say, do you think she's waiting for us at home? I feel bad for making her worry for so long."
"I-I don't know," he sighed after a moment of hesitation, "But we'll apologise to her when we see her, so just hang in there, alright?"
In the silence, she nodded but did not reply.
"I-I want to go home," she finally said, tears welling in her eyes, "I want to see mom again."
"I'll bring you back home to mom, I promise."
"You just said you didn't know."
"I–" he spluttered, stumped by his own white lie.
"I-It's fine," she sobbed, wiping the tears from her pale cheeks, "I-I really don't know if I can either."
"W-What are you saying, Sugu!"
"Promise me you'll take me with you, onii-chan. It doesn't have to be home. Just don't leave me here, I don't want to be buried here alone."
"O-Of course, we'll always be together, Sugu," was all he could say as she closed her eyes and smiled, her expression a little less pained than before.
In the deafening quiet, he tightened his grip on the wheel, making sure to hold back his tears, at least until she was truly asleep.
Stay with me, Sugu, don't leave me behind, he whispered when he finally heard her snore, I don't want to go home without you.
Yui opened her eye, blinking in the rays of dawn, marvelling at the picturesque scene of the rising sun. Yawning, she sat up and stretched, taking in the peace and tranquillity before her, almost forgetting, for a moment, about the battle of yesteryear.
Almost, as the crimson hues in the skyline inevitably made her remember.
So much blood, she stared at her hands in the silence, just how many have I killed last night?
She did not know, and it terrified her. The precious lives of so many had been terminated, ended, taken away, yet she did not even know the number.
Clenching her fists, she forced herself to imagine the sensation of flames on her flesh, the pain and agony of the men she had so mercilessly massacred. She flinched, tormented by the trauma, but pressed on, forbidding herself from giving in, even if her futile act of self-flagellation would never achieve anything beyond pathetic self-mollification.
She was a killer and a monster after all, and only punishment awaited her heinous and unforgivable crimes. And if there no man or God or devil to do the deed, no karmic retribution in this cold, cruel world, she would still see that justice be done for her sins.
It was the only way she could live with herself, the only way she could bear to face the man that she loved.
"Yui!" a voice called out, interrupting her thoughts, "Come out, we're here."
Hikki, she looked away, staring at the shoreline which seemed to extend beyond the horizon.
"Don't worry," he assured, offering her a hand to help her to her feet, "Wherever we are, the coast is clear, for now at least."
Yet, as soon as her shoes touched sand, she was horrified to see two bloated corpses on the beach, indiscernible masses of rotting, stinking flesh half-eaten by scavenging gulls and crabs. Not far away, in the water, another figure floated and bobbed, thudding softly against moored dinghies and fishing boats with each swash.
At this, she screamed and threw up, no longer able to hold in her revulsion and her disgust. She coughed and choked and vomited, spilling the vile contents of her stomach onto the floor, only to spit some more, to clear the guilt and self-hatred tearing her apart.
"See, Yui, you aren't desensitised," he muttered as she heaved torturously, her insides empty yet unable to purge the images from her memory, "You're still human, unlike me."
No, Hikki, I'm worse. I'm a hypocrite, a useless burden, relying on the bloodstained hands of everyone to stay alive.
"I-I'm sorry, Hikki," she broke down as he held her shivering body in a warm embrace, "I promised to be strong, but I'm still so weak."
"That makes the two of us, doesn't it?" he whispered, tightening his arms around her, his selfless yet selfish reason to live and fight on in this absurd and meaningless world.
Kirito busied himself as soon as he placed his little sister to rest in the underdeck of a trawler. After a night of nonstop driving, they had reached the coast, not that he could tell if it belonged to the sea or a large inland lake. Either way, he had little choice as the technical was running low on gas, and he thought that they may perhaps be safer on water, where they could spot enemies from miles away. Of course, the reverse could also be true, but if Alice was going to give away their location anyway, he would prefer to run and fight in battles he could see than be stuck in another ambush.
"Hachiman, Yui, stop being lovey-dovey and help me gather supplies from the other boats," he reminded, checking the engine to satisfy himself that it was in working order, "I'll need to siphon all the fuel that I can find while Alice takes care of my little sister."
Hachiman grumbled and Yui groaned as they went to dig around for provisions. Six boats provided more than enough food, batteries, medicine and bottled water for their voyage, on top of all the fish they could catch along the way. Nonetheless, for a good half an hour, they laboured together, moving quickly despite constantly looking over their backs for enemies, not forgetting to collect the grenade launcher and all the SMGs and ammunition remaining on the technical, until they finally collapsed in exhaustion, panting on the floor, days of sleeplessness, malnutrition and injuries from endless fighting weighing down on their aching bodies and tired souls.
Moments later, Kirito returned with bottles, cans and gallons full of fuel, along with a generator for Alice, and took the wheel, having chosen the boat that was big and sturdy enough to comfortably fit everyone, while not being a drag on gas, a priceless commodity in a world without production. Clenching his fists in determination, he gunned the engine, and was just about to pull away when the dead-fish eyed loner raised his hand, motioning for him to stop.
"Should we scuttle the other boats? That'll prevent anyone else from using them against us."
"As with the technical, if we can," Kirito smiled, "I've doused them with water, not that they have much gas left in their tanks."
Taking a deep breath to muster his strength, Hachiman leapt back onto shore with Yui and Alice closely behind, pouring gasoline onto wood to set fire to the engines and cutting off the moors to set the boats adrift. Switching gears to neutral on the technical, they pushed the vehicle into the water, watching the front cab sink below the waves before returning to the trawler, having completed their mission in under six minutes.
"Welcome back," Kirito laughed, unable to believe that they were all really just a bunch of high school students and a semi-amnesiac android. Baptised by fire and moulded by steel, they had certainly come a long way in the two weeks of hell.
We're in good hands, Sugu. Everyone's working hard for us, for you, so sleep tight and remember to thank them when you wake up.
A/N: Yuigahama Yui's character doppelgangers refer to Kongou (main), Haruna, Hiei and Kirishima from Kantai Collection (all of whom share the same VA).
A quick recap on the increasing difficulty curve before we move on to our favourite next chapter:
1. "Aircraft" / Intro Arc (Chapter 1 - 2): vs. EMP and air disaster
2. "Mountain" / SAO Arc (Chapter 3 - 7): vs. natural elements (cold, injuries, wild beasts)
Chapter 4 (Day 2): Shinozaki Rika / Lisbeth - external injuries
Chapter 5 (Day 3): Yukinoshita Yukino [Sachi] - internal injuries
Chapter 7 (Day 6): Ayano Keiko / Silica - wolves
3. "Village" / GGO Arc (Chapter 8 - 13): vs. fellow survivors (ragtag groups)
Chapter 8 (Day 7): Yuuki Asuna / Asuna - village guardsmen
Chapter 10 (Day 8): Isshiki Iroha [Kureha] - militia sniper
Chapter 12 (Day 10): Asada Shino / Sinon - ambush
Chapter 12 (Day 10): Hikigaya Komachi [Yuuki] – ambush
4. "Pursuit" / Alicization Arc (Chapter 14 - 19): vs. targeted assault (organised groups)