Asuna, ~3 hours after the attack on the Ocean Turtle

"Are you ready?"

"Yes. Anytime you're ready, please." Asuna turns away to the boys one last time, firm in her determination. "Joshua, Kazuto… We're coming to save you. The four of us will be reunited at last…"

"Ms. Asuna," she hears Mr. Higa call over the intercom, "You'll be using the superuser account 01. Stacia, the Goddess of Creation, 'kay? Although this account gives you admin rights on the unlimited landscape alteration command, since there's so much data being transferred between the STL and the Main Visualizer, it can seriously overload your Fluctlight, 'kay? So please try not to alter the landscape recklessly. If you feel a headache starting while using the command, stop doing it right away, 'kay?"

"Yes."

"Ms. Yuuki," Nurse Aki says, "I'm counting on you to take care of Kirito and Jaymes."

Asuna smirks. "Of course."

Oh, there's the headache, the side effect of landscape alteration. Rubbing her forehead, she spots Jaymes nearby. She nods her head, and she would go to him, but he has a more important reunion to attend to. Koharu approaches him and the two girls with him. "You've either grown rusty or were holding back."

"Hey, he was… No way… You can't be…"

"It's been a while for the three of us, hasn't it?" Koharu removes her hood, shocking Jaymes so much he turns to Asuna for confirmation. She nods to him again, telling him what they both see is the truth. Koharu Hanao, by an accidental miracle, lives in the real world. She lets them have their moment as she had hers, her eyes now on the destruction of the earth she wrought.

"Lady Stacia?" Asuna turns to the two girls with Jaymes and the soldiers behind them. "Are you...a god?"

"No. I'm sorry. We're not gods."

"But… But you both just performed a miracle and saved my life! You saved the guards, the monks, Master Jaymes, and Master Kirito as well."

Asuna gasps. "I… I've come here just to see him...to see Kirito. Please… Where is he? Let me see him! Please take me to Kirito!"

Jaymes steps over to Asuna, holding her shoulder. "Don't worry, he's here. Guards, make sure this area is secure. We'll hold here until we receive further orders."

"Yes, sir!"

"Ronie, Tiese… Take us to Kirito."

Jaymes

Asuna, Koharu, and I enter the wagon where Kirito sits. Asuna is on the verge of tears when she sees him. "Kirito." To my inner jealousy, Kirito responds instinctively, his head raising to look at Asuna. He tried to speak out, tears roll down his face… Asuna kneels down and hugs him. "Kirito, it's all right. That's enough. But look, I'm not the only one here." Asuna turns back and gestures to Koharu, who (if the expression is correct) Kirito looks at with even greater surprise.

Koharu kneels beside Asuna and takes Kirito's hand. "It's me, Koharu...back from the dead."

After a moment, the girls rise to their feet and face me and the pages. "Thank you. You've been protecting Kirito in place of Jaymes, haven't you?"

Ronie nods. "Um… If you're not Lady Stacia and Lady Lunaria, then who are you?"

"My name is Asuna, and this is Koharu. We're human beings, just like you. Just like Kirito and Jaymes, we've come from the outside world in order to fulfill the same goal."

"Took you a while, although you came with a surprise," I say to Asuna. "How's everything on the outside?"

"Nothing much has changed to my knowledge."

"Has the enemy entered the Underworld?"

"Possibly. I'll do my best to brief you both, but in all honesty, I don't know what's been going on since our forces split up. For now, we should try meeting up with the Knight Commander." The pages leaving first, I wait by the door as Asuna returns to Kirito and says a few words before leaving him behind. She's first to exit, followed by Koharu, and it's at that moment a flash of gold flashes before my eyes.

Koharu

Koharu grabs her dagger as she lands on the ground, looking up to see Asuna and a girl in gold and blue armor lock blades with her. Just who the heck is this person...and what happened to Jaymes?

"L-Lady Alice! Please stop!"

"She's not the enemy! Lady Alice--"

Koharu gasps. This is the Alice they're looking for? Well, they were told Jaymes would be close to both Kirito and Alice, hence why they were logged in locked to his Fluctlight. However, Alice views them as a threat. "Who are you? Why did you go near Kirito?"

"Why, you ask? Because Kirito belongs to me!"

"What are you talking about, you savage?"

"Asuna!" Asuna gets Koharu's call as if a day hasn't gone by without them together. Asuna flicks Alice's sword to the side and switches with the knife-wielder. Koharu and Asuna then start attacking alongside each other against Alice until a blue-haired man intervenes with his hand.

"Why would you interrupt me? Uncle, they must be enemy spies."

"I don't think so. Because just as I was about to meet my untimely demise in battle, it was that young lady who saved my life. I saw it. A rainbow of light came down from the heavens and the earth split 100 mel wide. Even those pugilist were flustered because they couldn't make the jump. That we were this close to being wiped out in one fell swoop and these young ladies saved us is an undeniable fact."

"Then are you saying that this person isn't an enemy spy, nor an immoral imposter dressed like a divine entity depicted in holy art, but rather the real goddess, Stacia? And that one...not Solus or Terraria...Lunaria?"

"I don't think that. If these young ladies were actual gods, then they'd be scarier than the Pontifex, wouldn't they? She'd hurl someone rude enough to attack her at first sight into the depths of the earth or an eternal nightmare. Also, considering he is almost godlike, would Jaymes have allowed them near Kirito himself if they were the enemy?" Alice looks to Jaymes, who waves and steps down to the ground.

"Yes," Koharu states, "as you say, we're not gods. We're humans, like all of you."

"But we do have some knowledge of the situation you're in right now."

Jaymes gestures to the girls as he faces Alice and Bercouli. "They're my friends from my world, sent to help me out."

Bercouli cups his chin. "The rest of your story should be heard by the other knights and guards as well. Let's talk about this over tea."

"Very well."

"Right, now that that's settled. You young ladies over there. Could you get us some hot tea and some liquor for me? You should listen in, too."

"Yes, sir!" As the commander walks off, Asuna heads back for Kirito's wagon, stopped by Alice.

"I want to make one thing clear. From now on, you are not to enter that carriage without my permission. As it is my duty to ensure Kirito's safety."

Asuna frowns. "You too! Stop referring to my Kirito in such a familiar way! Jaymes!"

"Jaymes!"

The boy chuckles and crosses his arms. "Technically, she's right, I have asked her to ensure Kirito's safety."

"Jaymes!"

Koharu decides to help him out. "Jaymes, we have lots of catching up to do. How about we do that while we wait?"

He nods. "Sounds fun. Asuna, Alice, get along. Now no one sees Kirito until I get back. No one besides Ronie and Tiese. You two got that?"

Tiese and Ronie salute. "Aye!"

Jaymes

"So Kikuoka hid an entire side project from me?" I chuckle at the absurdity of the tale. "I should not be surprised, yet I am."

Koharu laughs along with me. "He said it wouldn't matter, you'd see me eventually. But I must admit, you are taking it better than I thought you would."

"Yeah, well, this is not the first time this has happened. Just the first time I know it to be undeniably real." I pause and face Koharu, reaching out for her hands. This isn't like GGO two months ago, or the many other times I imagined Koharu's presence. This time… It is for real, as real as the day we met in SAO. That fact overwhelms me and drops me to my knees, settling my head on her lower abdomen. "Koharu, I'm so sorry…"

"Jaymes, it's not your fault."

"Not my fault? We were front liners. Why wouldn't I have potions and the like to help you on hand when I did so every other day? Do you not see how stupid that is?"

She kneels and holds my shoulders. "If I wasn't dumb enough to go outside of town, it would not have happened. So who is stupid?"

"Actually...that bastard found a loophole in that system. You could kill someone if you were in a dueling phase. It's how he took out his other victims. He would have done that to you if I wasn't there, and he almost got to Lisbeth."

"Oh..." Kneeling with me, Koharu holds my head up. "How many...when you went orange?"

"Five, including Annihilator. I didn't want to, but...a year and a half of dealing with those PKers, it broke me. Maybe I didn't have the right to kill them, but I never forgot the feeling. To this day, I carry that moment on my shoulders. If I have to do it again, I would change that you lived there as well."

"I would too. Asuna told me of the adventures you all had, and I feel like I missed out on so much. But that doesn't mean there aren't adventures waiting to be unveiled, and now, I'll be there for those. I missed all of you, and not just you three. Silica, Liz, everyone. I can't wait to see them all again."

"Yeah." Suddenly my thoughts turn to Lisbeth, so I sit on my butt and look up to the sky. "Asuna told you everything, huh? Including our lives after SAO in the real world?"

"Huh? Oh...yeah, she did."

"It's going to be weird, I bet, but...Liz was right, after all. I never truly let you go, even when I wanted to. I guess now I know why. Call it God, call it fate, call it our bond, but I guess something or someone knew this day would come. Something beyond us knew you were alive and kept me connected to you. And here you are as Lunaria, the Goddess of the Night, making the one dream I had come true." I raise my fist and hold it out to her. "Welcome back, Koharu."

Koharu smiles and bumps it. "I'm back!"

"It's nice to meet you all. My name is Asuna."

"My name is Koharu."

"Like Jaymes, we've come here from the outside world. I'm not sure he has really explained it, but by 'outside,' I don't mean that this world that you all live in, the Underworld, is physically connected to the real world I came from. They're totally separate worlds."

"And now, in a specific location in the real world, two forces are fighting for control of the Underworld. Me and the girls were sent from Rath, one of those forces."

"Then did you come to this world to rule over it," a man asks.

"The opposite, actually. Like Jaymes did and is doing, our objective is to protect the Underworld. And the objective of the force opposing us is to extract a single person from the Underworld, and then destroy the world completely."

"Destroy the world?"

"That's ridiculous."

"In the first place, what's this 'outside world?'"

"It's the same thing," Bercouli states. "Outside the Human Empire lies the Dark Territory, where a colossal force of tens of thousands has been more than eager to invade us. That's a fact that no one, including me, has ever given any serious thought to. So what if there's one more world on the outside now? It's not a big deal. Possibly the reason we never gave it a second thought when Jaymes tried to explain it back then. And, Jaymes, this force that's intent on destroying this world, who's the single person they want to seize?"

I look at her. "Alice."

"M-Me?"

"I wasn't bluffing earlier when I said they want you."

"I see. So that's what this 'Priestess of Light' is about, huh?"

I shrug. "I don't know about that much, but yes. When I came down five months ago, I told you it was about Kirito, but my other reason, and their reason, is for you, Alice. Explaining it is...complicated."

"There isn't much time left. The only way to prevent the Underworld's annihilation is to take Alice to the real world with us. Once they know that Alice is no longer here, the enemy should stop interfering with this world."

Alice glares at Asuna. "You must be joking! Run away? Me? Abandon this world and everyone who lives here to go to this real world? That will never happen! I am an Integrity Knight! Protecting the Human Empire is my gravest and only duty!"

"Then that's all the more reason. If the enemy, not the land of darkness, but the invaders from the real world capture you, then everyone who lives in this world, the land, the skies, everything will be erased! The enemy could attack this place at any moment!"

"Whoa," Bercouli interrupts. "About that, your information is outdated, little Asuna. It seems like these guys you call the enemy are already here."

"Huh?"

I nod and stand up. "The leader of the Dark Territory's forces is one of them. He's been here long enough to rally them. I learned a little from my reconnaissance into the Dark Territory recently as I went to the World's End Altar. He's the Dark God, the Emperor of the Dark Territory, Vecta. And I don't think he's the only one. That knight who had Ronie…"

Koharu gasps. "Vecta? Then the superuser accounts for the Dark Territory must not have been locked."

"Mr. Higa warned me when I last talked to him and Mr. Kikuoka."

"Um, can I ask a question?" I nod to Renly to let him speak. "What exactly is the Priestess of Light, anyway? And why do these invaders from the real world want Lady Alice so badly?"

"Because she broke the Seal of the Right Eye," Sheyta answers.

"You knew about that, Lady Sheyta? But how?"

"Whenever I think about it, my right eye hurts. The hardest thing in the world, the indestructible Central Cathedral. If I could just slash the whole thing, what fun that would be."

"Well, I bet there are others here who've experienced the same thing. I'm referring to how the slightest doubt about the Pontifex's authority or the Axiom Church's system triggers a flashing red light in your right eyeball, along with a searing pain. Normally, the pain is so severe that you'd lose that thought, but should those blasphemous thoughts continue, the pain intensifies drastically and the right side of your vision turns red. Until finally…"

"Your right eye explodes completely."

"Good guess, Sheyta, but that's not the reason, at least on Rath's end. But yes, breaking the Seal of the Right Eye is what allowed you to aid Kirito and myself against the Pontifex."

Alice nods. "Oh… Come to think of it, when I fought Administrator, there was something about my right eye. I believe it was Code 8...7… That's right! Code 871! That's what the Pontifex called the Seal of the Right Eye. She used it against us when we faced her reincarnation. She said it was Code 871 imposed by 'that person.' At the time, I didn't know what she meant. But could this, too, be a word from the real world, rather than an ancient sacred term?"

Asuna looks at me. "Code...87...1. That seal was put in place on the other side...by someone from Rath?"

I shake my head. "No, that's impossible. Believe me, I would have known about that. It's against our objective for AIs with true intelligence."

Koharu nods. "From my understanding, Mr. Kikuoka and Jaymes created an environment for the AIs to violate the Taboo Index. In reality, the Index should not exist. Having a code to enforce obedience would defeat the purpose of the experiment."

Asuna gasps. "So...that means the Seal of the Right Eye is a means of sabotage?"

"I...never thought about that. I did believe it was an 'outside force' tampering with the experiment, but...for its strict adherence to the Axiom Church, I assumed Quinella was responsible for it. But an outsider from our world…"

"Is it the enemy attacking us now?"

"A mole among Rath's staff?"

"And furthermore, 'that person'... Alice, could the person who created Code 871 also be the same person who told Quinella about the Orthinanos' Reserve Force's Module?"

"Now that you mention it, she did say that as well."

Asuna grabs my attention. "We have to let Mr. Kikuoka know right away! But there aren't any system consoles nearby."

"I could get to one using a teleportation art I created, but what good would it do? We reveal that, who knows what happens on the other side. We cannot trust that the mole is not within Subcon or the Roppongi Branch as we speak."

"Is there any way to disable that code aside from blowing up the right eye?"

I shrug. "If there was, we would have had less of an issue with the Clamps, right? I don't think it's something we can disable from inside the Underworld."

"In other words, the enemy wants to get their hands on someone who broke the Seal of the Right Eye on their own. Let me ask, do you real-world folks have the same seal?"

Asuna answers. "No. We have no such seal. Most likely, whether or not we're absolutely forced to obey laws and commands is the one thing that sets apart the real-worlders and the Underworlders. The enemy feared the one who would break the seal in the Underworld. That the Priestess of Light, as they call her, would appear, and then fall into the hands of others. That's because the Priestess of Light can very well become extremely valuable in the real world."

Bercouli sighs. "That's what I can't understand. If the only difference between us and you real-worlders is whether or not we have the Seal of the Right Eye, doesn't that make the Priestess of Light, in other words, little Alice, an existence equal to a real-worlder? Then why are they obsessed with the Priestess of Light? Whether it's the enemy or your people, what exactly do they want little Alice to do once she's been taken to the outside world?"

I sigh. "For now, I cannot tell you."

Asuna nods. "I want is for Ms. Alice to see the real world with her own eyes, and then decide for herself."

"Our world is not a divine nation," Koharu explains, "nor a utopia. It's larger than the Underworld, and because of it, it is uglier and dirtier. But there is much good to it. There are many people like Kirito and Jaymes and Asuna, so many people who want to protect this world and be friends with you all."

Alice lowers her head to me. "Jaymes, if the Seal of the Right Eye is the reason they're coming for me, then what about Eydis and Medina?"

"You're right, Eydis and Medina would also be targets. The Seal is important, but there's something that has been bugging me. And the solution to that is the time difference between our worlds. My time here has been five months; in my world, three hours, maybe a little more than that. You would have broken your seal just minutes before I arrived. But also in my world, you've been an Integrity Knight for more than a week. It is the reason Rath discovered you and decided to bring you to my world. It's actually what happened to you years ago. Of all the people who violated the Taboo Index, yours is unique."

"Because I went into the Dark Territory?"

"Because you went into the Dark Territory to save someone with no regard for the laws of the land. You made a 'real worlder' choice. Blame Kirito's influence on you."

"...Very well. I won't ask you anything else for now. However, we should first defeat the enemy before us, and establish peace with the Dark Territory. The outside world can wait afterward."

Koharu agrees. "Now that we know that the Dark God Vecta is from the real world, it could be dangerous for us and Alice to leave this unit by ourselves. And though Jaymes says he could get us there in a moment, I bet there's a reason he hasn't taken you away." She turns to me and smiles knowingly. "He's not going to admit it, but I know him well enough. He has something or someone he cares for and will fight to the bitter end to see that thing safe. So whatever it is that makes him join you in this battle… I want in on it too."

"I'm going to join you as well. Please let Koharu, Jaymes, and I take care of Vecta."

"Sure, that would be a huge help, but can you do that ground-splitting thing without limit? And what can you do?"

"Unfortunately, I can probably only perform large-scale land alterations once or twice more."

"As for me, I can mess with minds to the point I render people unconscious, but I don't think I can concentrate long enough to use it against an army."

Hearing the dejected groans of those around us, Alice faces them. "How can we rely on an outsider's help to protect our own Human Empire again? The Hero-King assisted us once, but to solely rely on him and his friends… It's our turn now to show what we can do."

Renly stands up. "Right… That's right! Asuna, Koharu, and Jaymes are not gods. Didn't they just say that they're humans like us? So we should be able to fight just as well as her!"

"I, too, would like to fight that pugilist again."

"The knights are absolutely right," Balto exclaims. "Let's do this ourselves!"

As the Underworlders begin to rally, I turn to Asuna and Koharu, and like old times, I throw my fist out between us. "For Kirito."

"For Kirito."

"For Kirito."

"I figured you two would come." Asuna and Koharu, now in nightgowns, walk through the camp to Kirito's, only to find Alice standing outside. She sighs and approaches them. "Let's make a deal. Since I respect Jaymes, I'll let you see Kirito and I'll tell you everything I know. In return, you need to tell me everything you know about Kirito as well."

Koharu chuckles. "I, unfortunately, don't know too much about him. But Jaymes hasn't said much?"

"Only thing I know is that they're friends. He doesn't say much...at least, not to me."

Asuna nods. "That's fine! Then let me extend it to Jaymes as well. But it's a really long story. It might take more than one night, and I've only summarized for you, Koharu."

"How long have you spent with Kirito and Jaymes?"

Asuna taps her chin. "Let's see. I fought as their partner for two years. I've dated Kirito for a year and a half. During which, we lived together for two weeks. Koharu?"

"Jaymes and I were partners for almost the same amount of time, and due to circumstances...never really dated, but we were close enough to say we kinda did. But we've lived together the entire time."

Alice feels some sort of jealousy rise up, but not just for herself. Somehow Eydis and Medina's feelings for Jaymes pops in her head. "I fought by Kirito's side for a full night. For another month, Lady Eydis, Lady Medina and I fought alongside Jaymes for a month. After that, I cared for Kirito day and night for five months while living under the same roof."

"Is that so?"

"Lady Eydis and Lady Medina? Have we met her?"

Ronie appears out of her tent. "Umm, I-I cleaned Master Kirito's room for about two months, and I also learned sword skills from him, not to mention that he treated me to honey pies from the Prancing Deer Cafe more than once! Compared to you three, I was with him for a much shorter time. Oh, and Jaymes taught me sword skills as well and let me travel the world with him! I would like to trade information too."

Asuna smiles. "All right. You're one of us, then, Ms. Ronie!"

"This information exchange...would you allow me to take part as well?"

Asuna and Koharu face a tall, brown-haired girl with a long ponytail. "I saw you in that meeting just now."

"I am Norlangarth Imperial Knight Sortilena Serlut. I was going to wait until the battle was over, but as I, too, have a close relationship with the boys, I couldn't stop myself from coming here."

"What kind of relations would that be, Lady Serlut," Koharu asks.

"If you like, please call me Liena. At the Norlangarth Imperial Swordcraft Academy, Kirito waited on me as a primary trainee page for a full year. In addition, I believe I was able to pass on some of my sword skills to him. As for Jaymes, like Ronie and Lady Alice, I served closely with him in the Anti-Cedar Task Force just a few months back."

Asuna looks around at the multitude of girls around her and Koharu. "In that case, you must also have plenty of information yourself! Please join us." Asuna heads inside first, followed by the other girls. As she looks on the sleeping Kirito, she looks at the two swords right beside him on the bed. It bring back memories of times long past.

"What's wrong," Alice asks.

"'Dual-wielding Kirito.' That's what people called him on the other side. And now that I think about it, isn't it weird to see Jaymes with a sword but not a shield, Koharu?"

Koharu smiles. "Yeah. The cape looks stupid… That was all so long ago."

Alice walks around the bed and sits on a rolled up mattress. "Then why don't we start there?"

"Asuna, Koharu, are you…" Jaymes walks in, stopped by the five pair of eyes centered on him. "Um… is there a reason you all are here?"

Sortiliena smiles and pats the space next to her. "We're just going to gossip about two certain boys, nothing special. Such a shame Eydis and Medina are not here for this. Would you like to stay? You can sit beside me."

"I...uh…" Jaymes' eyes flutter around the tent before he turns away, but not without a glare to Sortiliena and Ronie. "Don't say anything weird, I have to see these people. And you, Asuna…"

Asuna smiles and rests her head on Koharu's shoulder. "Already told her the one story you like, so what are you going to threaten me with?"

Koharu giggles and shoos her partner away. "See you in the morning, Jaymes. This is for the girls."

"...Whatever."