Koharu

"They're here." Koharu lowers her brow as the sounds of distant cheering echoes across the southern ruins. The American players have arrived. Standing by Sortiliena, the former SAO player turns to Asuna as she steps from the other side of Kirito's wagon and at Ronie and Tiese who appear from within.

"I'm counting on you to take care of Kirito."

"Right! Please leave it to us, Lady Asuna!"

"We promise to protect him!"

"Even if it costs us our lives."

Koharu smiles at Kirito's former master and nods. "Don't worry, we won't let the enemy get this far. But in case we do… Jaymes trusts your skills, so we have little to worry about." Waving farewell, Koharu follows Asuna out to the front lines. Just as they arrive, the first line begins to engage the enemy. Taking a deep breath, she takes out her dagger, ready for combat. She takes a glance at Asuna, the girl standing tall and determined. Years may have passed, but the girl she knew as a sister-like figure and the KoB's vice-commander is still there. It inspires Koharu to do her best. She does not need to hold back. They're fighting other players, but no one is going to die in the real world.

"Ready, Koharu?"

"Ready, Asuna." As the enemy comes close, Koharu splits off from her friend. In SAO, when she and Jaymes partied with Kirito and Asuna in the early months, the four of them each excelled at particular stats. Asuna has always been speedy, hence her nickname, Kirito focused on strength and offense, Jaymes on defense, and Koharu was the most agile of the bunch. An excellent skill choice for her, as in reality she was once on the gymnastics team at her junior high school, so it came naturally. Given her weapon choice, the dagger, she would never be an attacker or defender like the boys, but her agility allows her to fend for herself with such a small, seemingly erroneous choice of a weapon.

The American soldiers are learning that now as Koharu ducks and weave through their attacks with ease. While her physical body has taken its toll over the last two years, her virtual body hasn't. To her, it has only been days since SAO, and she was one of its best players. Each sword skill, each use of Lunaria's power to confuse and manipulate the minds of her targets, each killing blow, they're all a testament to the person she was two years ago. There is a reason half her nickname is 'Assassin'.

Jaymes

"Why aren't we catching up," Bercouli asks me, though I feel the question is rhetorical. "Even though I'm switching between three different dragons and you're pushing your speed in flight? He holds up his hand, makes an 'O' shape, and generates glass between the thumb and pointing finger. "Can this god of darkness manipulate the life of a flying dragon?"

"Sorry, Bercouli. I want to attack him, but I don't want to see if he'd use Alice against us."

"No way around it, eh?" Bercouli grabs the Time-Piercing Sword and holds it up. "Forgive me, nameless flying dragon." The symbols and glow of Bercouli's Perfect Weapon Control appear, and in a blink of an eye, he's between me and Vecta. "Uragiri!" He slashes the dragon's wings, causing it and its occupants to drop down to a large pillar on land.

I fly up to Bercouli, amazed. "What did you do?"

"Uragiri is 'the sword that slashes the past'. If the son of the pontifex couldn't, even an emperor won't be able to rewind time… Jaymes, if I fall, take Alice and head back north and rejoin the unit."

"What?" I don't get an answer as Bercouli leaps down and begins to walk on air towards Vecta. Confused, I fly down after him. Bercouli runs around Vecta, who looks unfazed by the Commander. Weirdly unfazed...and it invokes some sort of familiarity in the back of my head.

Bercouli attacks, but I cannot tell if it is a cut into the past or future he uses. What I do know is that Vecta avoids it, only his cape getting a corner cut off. Bercouli lands on the ground and attacks Vecta directly, but the unfazed invader simply steps back away from Bercouli, but into another manipulation of time. "Time-Piercing Sword: Karagiri!"

I land at that moment close to the fallen dragon, Alice unconscious in its grip. I check her Life with a Stacia window, seeing it within good enough parameters and not dropping. There's no need to focus on her right now. Meanwhile, as I turn my head, I gasp as I see Vecta absorbing Bercouli's attack. It shouldn't surprise me, after seeing Hersyrian block a similar attack with his Incarnate Shield, but this does shock me beyond the initial sight of it as the past once did.

"So you can devour people's incarnation?"

"Incarnation? I see. Mind and will, huh? Your mind is like an old vintage wine. Rich, heavy, thick...with a lingering aftertaste. It's not to my taste, but perhaps good for cleansing the palate before the main course." Vecta looks in my direction as he draws his sword, glowing blue with power. I know who he thinks the 'main course' is, yet he'll have to get past Bercouli and me to get to Alice. For now, I'll stand between them and let Bercouli handle Vecta. "Now, let me drink more."

"Don't mock me!" Bercouli attacks, trading blows with Vecta. I don't want to call the fight early, but it is clear Bercouli has the upper hand as he and Vecta get into a sword lock, the Knight Commander pressing both swords down towards Vecta's right shoulder. Bercouli looks to sever the limb with a skill, based on the presence of red light, but as Bercouli gets close to doing so, Vecta's sword glows again, this time absorbing the power from the Time-Piercing Sword. Dark power flows from the emperor's blade around Bercouli, and strikes a confused Bercouli. How it happened, I don't know, but from my point of view… It is like Bercouli severely lowered his guard.

"Bercouli? You okay?"

"Did I just space out during battle?" He looks to his wound on his left arm, not deep enough to take him out of the fight for now. "You bastard, did you suck my Incarnation straight from my sword? This is entertaining and all, Your Majesty. But not being able to cross swords makes this a tough battle. Seriously! I may have to tag the boy in."

Vecta looks at me again then faces his sword. "That reminds me, I haven't tried this yet." He points his sword out towards Bercouli, and once again, he drops his guard and spaces out again. Vecta walks up and severs Bercouli's left arm. It reminds me of Koharu's ability, she did something similar to that knight when she appeared, but he didn't lose his train of thought. This must be an extreme version of the ability, from 'slowing' or 'tiring' one's mind to effectively stopping it altogether at once. From what I understand of Bercouli's abilities, Karagiri is an enhanced version of his ability to slash one's future. If he can devour that move, what about Uragiri? If I remember correctly, it cannot be avoided. Not even Hersyrian's Incarnate Shield could block it. But Vecta is a different beast than the prophet of Administrator. And if he can avoid Uragiri, it may be possible he can avoid my two PWCs, especially the data-manipulating Exalted Falchion. Could he avoid the Memory Release?

I'll have to watch this battle closely, for all our sakes.

Bercouli

"Have you ever had a premonition about death?"

Bercouli looks from his wine glass to the Pontifex, the goddess laying on a loveseat with her eyes closed. Such a sudden question from the quiet they were having. "A premonition about death? Hmm... When I was less experienced, and either the previous dark general or the one before him easily defeated me, I thought that might be it for me."

Administrator chuckles. "But you brought back his head quite some time ago. You haven't had any since?"

"You know, I can't really remember. But why would you ask me that so unexpectedly? Surely Your Eminence is free of such sensations."

She stands up. "You don't understand, Bercouli. It's every day. Every day, I sense death. Every morning when I open my eyes... No, even in my dreams. And why is that? Because I still don't control everything. Because I still have enemies who are still alive. And because the possibility of a new enemy emerging at some point in the future is always looming."

Bercouli sighs. "Well, well... Being the pontifex certainly isn't easy, huh?"

Bercouli shudders with a strange sense of fear and excitement as that conversation with Administrator echoes in his head. "This is the place where I may die, Your Eminence." As Vecta begins his approach, Bercouli looks to Jaymes, giving the boy a look. The boy, Lord of Knights, Hero-King, invader from another world, has long gained the Knight Commander's respect. After their fight months again, he knows his skill is exemplary. He has befriended many of the knights and not once has he slipped in his promise to protect Alice and Eydis. Jaymes, in some regards, has done more for those two than Bercouli has himself. And...one day, Jaymes may be one of the factors for peace between the Dark Territory and the Human Empire.

He also makes a silent apology to Alice for being unable to be the father figure she deeply craves. After all, he doesn't remember his own parents. But any parent would die for their child, and he will die if it means protecting Alice, and by extension, the boy protecting her. "Not that you'll ever understand that as long as you live...you monster!"

Koharu

Koharu picks up her dagger out the openings of a dead player's visor and shakes the blood off. Exhausted, she stumbles up to Asuna, the other girl leaning on her rapier for support. More players continue to flood the path into the ruins, and the Human Empire's forces are vastly depleted. "Asuna, there's too many of them to hold off."

Asuna, tired, bleeding, and possibly at her limit picks her rapier up and stands tall. "You may be right… But I won't give out until my mind does. So I will stay standing forever! How about you?"

Koharu smirks and twirls her dagger. "I have exhausted my power for now, but I've never ran from a fight, no matter how costly it could be. I'm with you." The players charge towards the two women, but before they get there, an ear-piercing roar gains everyone's attention to the sky as a blue light begins to stream down from above the red players.

"Enemy...reinforcements?" Whatever it is, Asuna and Koharu watch as the light morphs into the shape of a person. That 'person' twirls in the air, and in its place comes a short-lived funnel cloud. That cloud comes with devastating power, wiping out the red players in a short range. The person responsible lands on the ground between the girls and the mass of red players. "A sword...skill?"

Koharu narrows her eyes to get a good look at the newcomer. Red and black garb, but it isn't Jaymes, he wouldn't wear something as ridiculous as a headband and strike a samurai pose… Wait a moment. "You're… Klein?"

He turns around and winks at the pair. "Hey, sorry to keep you waiting, Asuna and Koharu."

"Hah!" They turn around, seeing Agil strike down a red soldier. "Sorry I didn't get here sooner."

Four more beams land nearby. Relieved, Asuna walks over and hugs them all. "Liz! Silica! Philia! Rain! You came! You actually came!"

"Of course we'd come!"

"How could we not?"

"We couldn't just sit back and let you save the boys yourself."

"You've been pushing yourself so hard...look how banged up you are. You're overdoing it, Asuna." Lisbeth looks up and releases Asuna, walking over to Koharu, looking all over her before tears swell in her eyes. "You… You're actually here… Koharu!" Lisbeth grabs Koharu and holds her tight. The other girls soon join in, holding their old friend as close as they can.

"Umm… Hello, everyone."

"Hey, hey! Hands off of her!" Everyone turns and sees a grey-haired girl in a red coat and black dress approach Koharu, followed by a brown-haired girl in silver armor, a dark-haired boy in blue, a short girl wearing a brown cloak over her clothes, a redhead guy dragging her along, a giant, white-haired man with a huge sword, and a blue-haired woman waving her hands.

Koharu gasps and runs up to the seven of them. "Sanya, Liten, Shivata, Stilla, Mater, Typhon, and Lueur! You're all here!"

Lueur chuckles and pats Koharu on her head. "Well, the tale is true. The Kindred Assassin lives...and a new tale to be written here in this world. How could we not come here?"

Liten nods. "Besides, Sanya was in tears when we were told you were alive. She has been very impatient."

Sanya grits her teeth and turns away. "Have… Have not…"

"All right, that's enough of that." Everyone faces a pink-haired girl with a crossbow hoisted on her shoulder in front of Klein, a grey-haired woman dressed in purple standing with Klein, a tall, black-haired male Koharu faintly remembers from Rath, and a black and red headed girl wearing a soldier's outfit in the same colors. "Asuna, Koharu, leave the rest to us. Everyone's here."

"Everyone?" As Asuna says that, players from ALO and GGO begin to surround the group of friends. Some start to attack the red players, others retreat to reinforce the Human Empire Army.

"It's not like we have personal beef with you, but we're going to make you pay for what you did to our friends. Three times that amount...no, make it a thousand! You bastards!"

As Klein and Agil lead their ALO and GGO allies into battle, the pink-haired girl smirks and looks towards Koharu. "So you're her… Hmm, I can see the stories Jaymes has told were not embellished. Nice to meet you, Koharu, I'm Kureha, this is Rei, Zeliska, Itsuki, Daisy...and everyone else just followed Pitohui into battle."

Itsuki chuckles. "I'm happy to see my efforts in your recovery have been successful. Now, though we usually play the role of sidekicks to the hero, today, we are all heroes."

Rei walks up to Koharu, looking around. "Umm… Miss Koharu, have you seen my Master?"

"M-Master?" Koharu looks at Rei again, and somehow the erroneous amount of red and black makes the answer click in her head. "Oh, who else would make a poor girl wear so much of these colors? You mean Jaymes?"

"Yes, Master! My Master!"

Zeliska chuckles. "She does mean Jaymes, but I'll let him explain it. But he's not here?"

"No. He's chasing after the emperor...long story that we can explain later."

Kureha nods. "Okay then. Leave the rest to us. Crimson Squad, and you seven, let's go!" As the five archers and Koharu's old friends join the fight, Koharu turns and walks over to Asuna, Silica, and Lisbeth, catching the explanation of their presence in the Underworld.

"You might not even make it back, but you still converted your precious characters. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"What are you talking about, Asuna? I thought we all made it through SAO, ALO, and Origin so that we could protect what we love right here, right now… Ironic for me to be saying that, huh?"

Koharu watches as the three others laugh and Asuna takes a position beside her. "Yeah. You're right. Thank you. Hey, Liz, Silica, who was it that brought you all here?"

Lisbeth chuckles along with Silica. "Come on, Asuna, who do you think?"

"It was Yui. Yui gave us this heartfelt speech about the Underworld and the people who live here."

Asuna gasps and smiles. "Thank you, Yui." Asuna begins to glow as she heals herself, and passes the power along to Koharu as well. She faces her friend with a smile once she's done. "Still with me, Koharu?"

"Of course. But first… Liz." Koharu faces the pink-haired blacksmith and bows low in front of her. "Thank you...for everything you've done for Jaymes! I know he must've been a handful, and if I was more careful, things may have turned out differently, but as his partner who swore to have his back… I must thank you for all you've done in the last two years. You too, Silica. I owe you both plenty!"

After a moment of hesitation, Lisbeth holds Koharu's shoulder and pushes her up. "What do you mean? We owe you more than you know still."

"Right! I still owe you for helping save Pina that one time, but I don't think I've done much for Jaymes...so let's just call it even, okay?"

Koharu sighs and nods. "Okay… So how many players converted?"

"Um, maybe over two thousand from ALO, I think? I did my best, but I couldn't convince every single player who heard me out. Add in GGO's players...probably another thousand."

"That's more than enough," Asuna states. "But to keep reconverting a possibility, I'd like to avoid a war of attrition. Let's not expand the front lines too much, and bolster our healing. Liz and Silica, I want you to fall back with 200 or so and form a support unit."

"Understood!"

"Okay! You can count on us!"

Asuna then turns to Renly, who has been listening ever since Asuna privately explained to him who the reinforcements were. "I know this isn't what you want to hear, but please join the monks and use your healing arts. Since the real world swordsmen aren't familiar with the sacred arts, it would really help if you could teach them the formal arts."

"Uh, right, Lady Asuna!"

Asuna nods and looks forward. "Koharu, we will fight at the front!"

"Wait." Lisbeth looks at the pair as if they're forgetting something. "Where is Jaymes?"

Koharu looks up to the red sky. "Jaymes has gone after Alice, who was captured by the enemy. Sinon is on her way to assist him as well."

Lisbeth sighs. "Of course he has, and dragging poor Sinon with him… He better come back alright… All right, go!" Asuna and Koharu nod and race each other to the battlefield. The swords of fairies and arrows of gunners mow down the enemy forces. Having players on their side has tremendously turned the tide. "It's like a raid party back on Aincrad, as if we found a way to turn the tide."

"Now we won't lose. Now that everyone's here."

Koharu nods and assists Asuna in taking out two soldiers. "But can we hold on until Jaymes returns? What if--"

"It's all right. We can win! All together… We can definitely win!"