Alice

Kirito suddenly begins to gasp, waking Alice. She fully rises as the boy makes a panicked expression and raises his hand. "What's wrong, Kirito?" His hand extends to the window, so she lights up a candle and heads to the window. What she sees alarms her, drawing her outside for a better look.

An orange sky coming from the north, from the direction of the End Mountains… "Is it an attack by the Dark Territory… Selka!" She hears a distant thud that comes from the house. Believing it to be Kirito, she rushes back inside. She finds him crawling on the ground towards the blades on the walls, and for some reason, that inspires her to go more than the safety of the villagers. She picks him up and sets him in his chair. "Kirito. It's all right. I'll go. After I've rescued the villagers, I'll come right back." That calms him down, allowing her to, for the first time in months, grab her armor and the Osmanthus Blade. Throwing her cloak over it, she ventures back outside and prepares Amayori for flight. The dragon heeds her without protest, and in a short time, the girl and dragon take to the skies towards Rulid.

"So he was right after all." A hooded figure stands on top of the church, watching the events unfold by the northern entrance. Beyond it is a horde of green-skinned goblins, more than a match for the villagers who look to defend Rulid. So far, she's done her part, asking some of her allies to join them and others to evacuate the village. The forest to the south should provide ample area to have a rendezvous for the villagers who shouldn't fight for now, but in time, the villagers here aren't going to do anything worthwhile. Neither is the wooden barricade that separates the humans from the goblins. Her soldiers have a better chance, but that chance is still against them, and to call for reinforcements takes too much time.

And, to her chagrin, the villagers are not evacuating to the south.

Deciding to take action, the figure jumps from the building and makes her way to the defending villagers, weaving through them until she gets to the barricade. Fingertips glowing orange, she projects a small ball of Thermal Element magic towards the goblins, watching it explode in a short but impactful blast. She doesn't expect much from it, she deliberately held back to avoid damaging the village. No point in hurting her family's recently-regained reputation. "What are their numbers?"

"I'd say about a hundred," one of her soldiers replies. "But not all of them are tiny."

"That's so?" Her gloved hands tighten and she turns to the villagers. "In that case, we should fall back and take them in the center of the village. We'll have…" She stares up, seeing a dragon orbit the village from the skies. She barely recognizes the beast, but it is enough to give her some relief. "Hold on to that thought. We might get out of this."

Alice

"Amayori, wait here until I summon you!" Alice leaps off her dragon and glides down to the center of the village, landing with (she will admit) an excessive amount of Aerial power. How an old comrade of hers lands gracefully, she'll have to ask one day.

She rises and approaches the men, her eyes drawn to her father who tries to figure out a plan of sorts. However, he looks away momentarily, so if she can't appeal as his daughter (and definitely not as an Integrity Knight) she'll do so as a warrior who just created a crater in the town's center. "We can't possibly defend against them here. Please have everyone take the south road to evacuate!"

Mr. Barbossa is vehemently against it. "Don't be ridiculous! Abandon my mansion--no, I mean the village and run off?"

"If you leave now, you can get away without being caught by the goblins. Your possessions or your lives, which is more important?"

Her father sighs as Barbossa's argument ceases. "'Form a circle in the plaza, and tighten up our defenses.' Those are Chief Man-at-Arms Zink's orders. In a situation like this, even I, the village elder, must follow such orders. That is imperial law."

"I'd listen to her." Alice and the villagers turn to a hooded figure who joins them. "The plan is sound, and I was just about to go along with it myself, but seeing as that plan is no longer necessary, I believe you all should retreat."

Barbossa gets angry again. "And who the hell are you to say such a thing? You're just some lass who so happened to be up here with a small group of soldiers, but that gives you no right to order us!"

The figure raises her hands and removes her hood. Alice gasps as shoulder-length crimson hair reveals itself, sharing the same head as a beautiful, mean-faced woman with aqua-blue eyes. "My name is Medina Orthinanos, head of House Orthinanos, first-ranked noble under Her Majesty Empress Norlangarth. My words are imperial law, correct, sir?"

"Let's do as Sister says," Selka says to lessen tensions as she steps to her father. "Father, have you ever once known Sister to be wrong. No, even I can tell. If we don't do something… We'll all be killed!"

"Flee?" Barbossa turns his anger on Selka now. "You're just a child, so stay out of this! The village must be protected!" As if the air suddenly changed, Barbossa begins to shake as he turns to Alice. Her lone eye sinisterly glares at the man, frightening him beyond belief and rationality. He points at both Alice and Medina. "I-I see! I get it! You're the one who let those monsters from the land of darkness into the village, aren't you, Alice? You and this so-called noblewoman! Years ago, when you crossed the End Mountains, you were tainted by the power of darkness! And you, red, were here when the village was attacked by those beasts and manipulated those people! These girls are fearsome witches!"

Alice sighs. Seeing as they're defying nobility, she's forced to do the one thing she hates for the sake of it. "As a knight, I hereby revoke Chief Man-at-Arms Zink's order and reinforce Lady Orthinanos' order. I order all villagers gathered in this plaza to evacuate to the forest south of here, with those who are armed in the lead."

"Knight? What are you talking about? There's no such Calling in this village! Claiming to be a knight just because you can somewhat handle a sword. What would happen if the knights in the capital heard about this?"

Alice throws off her cloak and reveals her armor, slamming her sword down in front of her. "My name is Alice. I am the overseer of the capital city of Centoria. An Integrity Knight...of the Axiom Church! Ranked third! Alice Synthesis Thirty!"

Barbossa falls back on his butt. "I-I-Integrity Knight? That one from back then...was you?"

Medina walks over to Alice's side, nodding to her. "I was hoping you'd do it, as much as I know you don't like it."

"It was necessary this time. But I'd like to know how you're up this far north?"

"Hmph. Your friend's friend. Anyway, we don't have much time. I have a few wayfarers here, but not enough to adequately defend this village...and goblins are not beasts."

The sound of someone dropping catches their attention. It's Alice's father, kneeling in respect to the knight. "I shall follow your command, Lady Integrity Knight and Lady Orthinanos." He stands up and faces his people. "Those of you who are armed, take the lead and guide the villagers to the south gate! Once you've left the village, evacuate to the forest south of the clearing!" Medina issues the same order to the nearby wayfarers, but Alice keeps her attention on her father.

"Father, please take care of everyone, and of Selka and Mother."

"Lady Knight. Take care as well."

"Sister, don't push yourself, okay?"

Alice nods and looks to the sky, calling her dragon with a great shout. "Amayori!" She points to the northern trail of orange light. "Burn them all!" Amayori roars and swoops over the northern path, incinerating the goblins. As Amayori flies off, Alice and Medina walk towards the north, the former stopping a goblin's sword with her armored hand, the latter ordering her troops and the villagers to fall back as she cuts two goblins down.

"Ium woman, I'll kill and devour you!" Alice silently breaks the sword with her hand and cuts down the goblin. As he falls alongside his allies Medina killed, the redhead girl looks down the steps to the approaching monsters.

"Just as I was told, there's a variety of them. How did they get here is the question."

"Answers can come later, Medina."

Medina nods and looks at her companion. "How should we fight them?"

Alice raises her hand to the cloth around her right eye. "For now on, I'm going to fight for what I want to. And I will fight to protect the people of the Human Empire Kirito, Eugeo, and all of us tried to preserve." Alice opens both eyes, smiling slightly at Medina. "Sounds like something a friend of mine decided for her own."

"Sounds like she inspired you as well." Medina and Alice face the goblins, inciting them to advance up the stairs, pointing their swords at the horde. "Goblins of the Dark Territory, I am Medina, head of House Orthinanos!"

"I am Alice, knight of the Human Empire. As long as we're here, you'll never find the blood and carnage you desire. Return through the cave to your homeland! Enhance Armament!" Yellow petals fly from Alice's blade skyward, then hover above the goblins to their fright.

"Enhance Armament!" Medina's sword and being are surrounded by red petals.

"Storm and churn… My flowers!" Alice's petals rain down on the goblins, puncturing them while Medina's fly through the horde, ripping them to shreds. As Alice's blade reforms, she sheathes it and attaches it back to her side as she eyes the survivors of both powerful attacks. "This is the wall separating the Human Empire and the land of darkness! Even if you unseal the caves, as long as we knights exist, we will never allow you to corrupt this land! Make your choice! Either advance and fall into a sea of blood or retreat and escape to the land of darkness."

For the goblins of the Dark Territory, the choice is easy.

Later that night

Medina takes the cup of tea as she glances in Kirito's direction back in the bed. "No change, huh?"

Alice chuckles as she sits across the table. "None at all."

"Somehow, I find this version of him more annoying, and I already hate hearing him talk."

"What brings you here, Medina? Surely the goblin attack and your appearance are not truly linked?"

"There's no other reason for me to be off my land and out my warm bed." Medina rolls her eyes and drinks her tea, to which she smirks in delight. "Although I could lie and say this tea is the reason. But truthfully, it was the goblins. This is not the first occurrence of a breach to happen this week."

"Where?"

"Sothercrois. Giants, and for real this time."

Alice processes this and looks to the fire. "So that explains Eldrie's earlier today, though he didn't say anything. Who stopped the giants?"

Medina leans back and tries to hide her face with her head. "He… He did."

Alice narrows her eyes as she tries to decrypt Medina's strange behavior. Her cheeks are flushed, her body seems to have shrunk, and, most importantly, this occurred at the mention of the other person from Kirito's world. "Has something happened between you and Jaymes?"

"It's...no."

"Liar."

"It's nothing, okay?"

"Medina."

Medina fully turns away in her chair. "It was nothing, okay? Just something that...happened in the moment. I haven't seen him in three days...but he sent a message telling me to head to Rulid, and when I got here, the village was being attacked."

As Medina stands up, Alice glances at the sleeping Kirito. She figured out Medina held certain feelings for the second invader long ago but didn't quite understand why she held them back. The only reasons could be due to his limited time here (which makes perfect sense to her, Jaymes is not going to stay here forever), her stubbornness, and holding them in respect of someone else, and only two women Jaymes closely interacted with come to mind. However, Lady Serlut doesn't seem to be held in that regard, which leaves Alice's 'sister' and one of her mentors in the Integrity Knights, Eydis Synthesis Ten. Yet, as far as Alice knows after meeting Eydis a month into her absence, the lady knight has not interacted much with the swordsman. He hasn't come to Rulid at all to visit, for that matter.

"Where is Jaymes now?"

The buxom woman leans against the doorframe. "Stacia knows where. Ask her. He's not back home. He's not at the capital. He's not at the camp in the east. I would like to say what happened is the reason, but this is something else. No one has seen him in days, but he's alive as of tonight. It's...unusual for him to be secretive with me."

"Well…"

"Besides that, of course… Anyway, what about you? Are you going to return to the knights? I'm not going to try to persuade you otherwise, but it would be nice to have you there when the war begins."

Alice nods. "I'll return in a few days. Eldrie might believe I've gone insane after changing my mind, but...after this, it's necessary. We fought off the Pontifex, so I thought I had no purpose for my sword, but someone has to defend the Human Empire. Boys and girls who aren't knights gave their lives to do so, so I, as a knight, should follow their example." Seeing Medina yawn, Alice smiles and stands up. "But enough of that, you're tired and it's unfair Kirito is getting more rest than us. We can talk more later. Stay the night."

Medina nods and pushes off the doorframe. "I shall accept your offer…"

I've decided to modify Medina's Reserve Forces Module ability just a tad bit now that its existence is known. I don't know if I explain it later on, but it's pretty much she can summon wayfarers at will now, but not on the same scale or can she do it an unlimited amount of times due to the system's strain for the Final Load Test.

While the blade is different (her current Mirage Sword is the one from the last story's ending, recreated using the Lycoris flower), her Enhance Armament visually works somewhat like it does in the game with the sword she becomes. I don't know what it actually does in the game's lore, I'll check it out soon, but here, it's similar to Alice's petals except she has full control on how the petals act. More on that later, rather show than tell.