The stage opened once more as it showed multiple red knights fighting against the heroes along with a man in a cloak as well as a man holding a rifle of some kind as both Sinon and Mark stared at him before a bright light filled the scene.
Act 6
Alicization Awakening
The current battlefield opens with the groups continuing fighting against the American players.
"I get that these guys think it's a game, but this is a little hard core for a beta test, isn't it?" Rainbow said dodging the sword of one player.
"Hey, you don't hear us complaining." Francisca said.
"That's right. So, might as well give them something they'll never forget." Alphamon said.
"Well hope you brought plenty of it, cause it looks like they're about to get reinforcements." Ulrich said as another 20,000 players appeared.
"Yeah...well it looks like we're getting some of our own." Rainbow said as they saw multiple people appearing on their side with Sinon and Leafa being among them.
"These are all players from ALO. They came to help us." Asuna said.
"Yes, haha. Now we're fighting on even grounds." ZS said.
"More than you think. Look." Hope said seeing some of the soldiers from the Dark Territory going against the players. "Guess they weren't quite satisfied with their so called emperor's orders."
"We've got ourselves a three way scuffle here. I actually like these odds." Zacian said.
"You guys continue the battle. Me, Hope and Sinon are going to try and get Alice to the World's End Altar." Mark said.
"All right. Just be sure she gets there safely." Theo said as the three ran off to escort Alice.
"(Around and around!)" Ash said, summoning a large sphere of green flame as he launched it forward. "Inteleo?" he asked as Inteleo encased it in water as it soon burst, taking out a large group of red knights.
"This is incredible...we got them on the ropes now. Next we…" Gemini said as a pillar shined down as standing there was a man in a cloak wielding a butcher knife of some kind.
"No...no way…." Asuna said.
"PoH." said a guy in red known as Klein.
"PoH? I've heard that username before. He was the guildmaster who started Laughing Coffin." Ainz said.
"In here...of all places?" Asuna said.
The man simply smiled as multiple red knights were appearing behind him, all speaking in foreign tongues.
"Wait...this language...these guys aren't from America." Ming said.
"Yeah...we're in for it now. These guys are from China and Korea." Klein said.
"Hey, that's them. The hero pretenders and the japanese that hacked the american server!" one spoke as the army charged.
"Seriously, how many more players are gonna be sent in here?" DJ said slicing through a bunch of Reds.
"Dunno. Whoever's after Alice must REALLY want us dead." Flamberge said.
"Wait...hackers...crap. They think we're the ones who are invading." Eijiro said.
"Seriously, this is all just turning into one big misunderstanding. But I doubt anyone's going to listen to us." Sachiko said.
"Come on all you guys. Hack them to pieces. Every last one of these Japanese bastards!" PoH called out.
"Wait...I think he was that Dark Knight we took down a while ago." Theo said.
"Looks like he logged back in using a different account. Didn't think he was the one leading Laughing Coffin." Ethox said.
"And here I thought defeating Ehto would have lightened the load a little." Theo said.
"Not when this guy is still out on the prowl." Leopardmon said. "This guy is the one that caused most of the murders within the Sword Art Online incident."
"Oh...so you know about my handiwork huh?" PoH said.
"Yeah...we do. Your guild killed so many people in there. Why are you here now? Revenge for how your guild was wiped out?" Ajna asked.
PoH then started laughing after hearing that. "Girl...that is so stupid. Who do you think tipped off the raid team about the base?" PoH asked.
"It was...you? But….why?" Asuna asked.
"Why else? It may have been virtual, but everything there led to real deaths. I wanted to turn every last one of you Japanese bastards into murderers." PoH said.
"All that suffering? You have any idea how much it weighed on Kirito's mind because of that?!" Asuna said.
"Not much considering he was quick to dive into more VRMMO's. I thought he'd go numb after all that killing." PoH said.
"People like you who don't care about the lives you've ruined and deceiving your own allies, is something I will never forgive!" Miriam said.
Back on the outside in the Ocean Turtle…
"Okay...just down this ladder...and here we go." Mirror Match said as he stepped onto a lift along with Mukuro, Chihiro, Higa, Mayumi, Lei and a staff worker known as Yanai.
"Okay...just gotta connect to the main line." Chihiro said doing so.
"So this will really bring Kirito's Fluctlight back online?" Mukuro asked.
"In theory, yes." Chihiro said. "I just need to connect his to Asuna, Sinon and Leafa." he said typing away at his computer. "Wow, they're all here."
"We're almost in the clear buds." Higa said.
"Don't move another step!" Yanai called out pulling out a gun on them.
"What are you doing?" Mayumi asked.
"I know what you're thinking, that I'm some traitor right? Well I don't care what anyone thinks. When I infiltrated Rath, I had one goal. Now I've almost completed the boss's last wish." Yanai said.
"Infil….it was you. You were the one who tipped off the NSA about the project. You programmed that weird inhibitor." Chihiro said.
"And we don't know this boss." Mayumi said.
"It's someone you people know from name. Nobuyuki Suguo." Yanai said.
"Oh, that sicko that Kirito took down after he kidnapped Asuna for himself. Yeah, he told us about that." Mayumi said.
"But last wish? He's still…" Higa said.
"He may as well be dead. Cause of that incident and the one with the forest, he'll be in prison, 20 years minimum. I got off easy and pinned it all on a coworker." Yanai said.
"You were involved with those experiments he was running." Chihiro said.
"Oh I was more than involved. But I won't go into details. Fact is, the connections he had are still in place. Gotta make the most of them. Like the NSA. If the ones onboard get Alice, I've been promised a big fat bonus and a cushy job overseas. An American success story for the ages. Plus...I get to kill off that kid...who went and murdered her." Yanai said.
"Administrator. You really did help her." Chihiro said.
"I programmed an inhibitor code to make things easier for her. Inflicts pain in their right eye if they do something against her desires. Oh she was magnificent...then your little friends went and killed her." Yanai said.
"Well, what would you expect them to do to a deranged psycho like her?" Mayumi asked.
"Shut up!" Yanai said, firing the gun into the air. "You will not let that boy come back. He deserves to die!"
"Well...when you put it like that." Mukuro said drawing a gun herself as she fired, hitting his leg as he stumbled back and fell over the railing, falling to his death.
"Nice shot, Mukuro." Mayumi said.
"Not really. I was aiming for his crotch." Mukuro said.
"Hopefully we'll have enough time to start the process." Chihiro said getting to work.
With Hope, Sinon, Mark, and Alice, the four of them traversed the skies before a beam of light came down.
"Alice, go on ahead. We'll catch up." Sinon said as Alice flew ahead on her dragon. Appearing from the light was the man who had been playing Vecta up until now. "It...can't be. Subtilizer."
"Sinon, you know this guy?" Mark asked.
"Yeah. From GGO. We fought in the last Battle of Bullets. He won by choking me till I was at zero." Sinon said.
"Guess you want some payback then, right?" Hope asked.
"She won't. Cause she knows her soul belongs to me." Subtilizer said holding his hands out as Sinon felt like she was being choked. "I was hoping you'd be Alice. But you will do, Sinon. Your soul...it was inevitable our paths would cross again."
"Let go of her!" Hope said.
"Stop! What are you saying?" Mark said, yelling. "Her soul belongs to you? What kind of crap is that?!"
"Just like in BOB, I'll see how sweet her soul really is." Subtilizer said.
"Hope… Mark.. he-ack!" Sinon called out. "(I...can't fight it.)"
Mark simply stared as Subtilizer drew Sinon into his grasp. It was as if he was frozen. Then he started to shake in place, hands clenched and eyes squeezed shut.
"You take your hands off her, right now!" Hope said running at Subtilizer, only for him to get choked too. "Agh..! Regret, regret!"
"Don't worry. I'll be taking your soul too. There's plenty of people who'll smile when you're dead. Of course, I'll see if your soul is as vigorous as you are." he said.
"...P-Please...s-stop…" Mark said, his voice growing deeper. "...No more… no…"
"...enough. Enough. Enough!"
Subtlizer looked at Mark. "What's the matter? Are you going to cry at the loss of your friends?"
At that moment… Mark roared.
His eyes were full of tears as he screamed, his body enveloped in a blood red aura that blanketed the area in crimson. After what seemed like an eternity, the aura faded, leaving Mark standing in place, his head lowered.
"...Hehehe." Mark started to chuckle until he erupted into laughter as he raised his head to the sky, maniacal laughter ringing out. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Mark…?" Hope asked, suffocating.
"...Mark's not here right now." the boy said as he finally opened his eyes, revealing them to be a deep, bloody red color and grinned. "But if you'd like to leave a message… please wait until after Subtilizer stops screaming."
The boy then appeared at the man's side, grasped the hand holding Sinon, and with one quick yank, ripped the appendage off, dropping Sinon to the ground.
"Well...seems you are no longer human." Subtilizer said.
"Huh, you ain't screaming?" the boy asked. "Huh, I'll give you that. You're still a punk-ass bitch, though. I'm gonna enjoy sending you to Hell, I'm sure they're waitin' for ya."
"Ah yes...I almost forgot...I need to go and get Alice." Subtilizer said.
"What, you leaving so soon, Gabe?" the boy said, grabbing him by the neck. "We're just getting started!" he smiled as he headbutted the man, drawing blood.
Hope and Sinon fell to the ground when Subtilizer lost his concentration.
"Sinon, you okay?" Hope asked.
"I'm fine…don't worry about it." Sinon said.
"What's going on with Mark?" Hope asked. "It's like he's completely different. Is this some sort of hidden power? An alternate persona?"
"Oh, not exactly." the boy said, turning around and smirking. "Mark isn't here anymore. Just call me… Ira. It's Latin. Love to talk, but I've got a bastard to send to Hell." he said as he kneed Subtilizer in the gut. "Hey, so Gabe! Why do you want that girl anyway? Money, fame… nah. I'm guessing… you want her for yourself, right?"
"In a way...I just want to watch her soul fade as I end her by my own hands." Subtilizer said.
"Oh yeah, right." Ira said. "Silly me, I should've guessed. You like killing, don'tcha? You enjoy that feeling watching souls fade? Maybe you should be on the other end for once." he said as he landed a fist onto the man's face, driving him back. "I'll be more than happy to help you out there!"
The two were then clashing against one another, Ira doging around shots fired from Subtilizer's rifle before he ducked underneath him, then landed an uppercut on the arm holding the rifle, obliterating it in a shower of virtual blood.
"Ooo, that'll leave a mark in the morning!" Ira laughed. "Had enough yet, Gabe? Or do you want me to end it?"
"That's enough!" Hope called. "Are you... what he's been suppressing this entire time? You showed up back at Paris briefly. That was you, right? I know Mark would never be this brutal and merciless!"
"Sorry, he can't hear you right now." Ira said, his expression becoming a little sad. "He might never hear you again. I'm sorry, kid, but… your friend isn't coming back. And yeah, that was me poking out back in Paris… trust me, he was having a bad day."
"So all this time, you were inside him, waiting for the chance to come out. Whenever Mark got angry… you were trying to break out." Hope said.
"Yep. You'll catch on to the finer details eventually, but for now… Imma kill this jerk!" Ira grinned as he prepared to hit Subtilizer directly in his face.
"Not if you…" Subtilizer said before a shot was fired into his arm as both looked to Sinon holding her rifle.
"Mark, Ira, whoever you are, I doubt either of you are dead but that body is alive so you better not go and wreck it too badly." Sinon said. "Besides...I want to conquer my own fears with him too."
Ira looked at Sinon before he smiled. "You got guts, kid. Alright, you work out your issues with the man. Play nice, kiddos!" he said before he teleported out of the way.
"I intend to." Sinon said as she and Subtilizer collided.
"Man...this is just...so crazy." Hope said.
Back on the main battlefield…
"Hahaha...now this is my kind of battle." PoH said as the red knights were not only attacking the hero's army but also against any red knight that wouldn't follow. "That's right! This is what you all want! To kill every single person in here!"
"This guy is insane!" David said. "And that's saying a lot, coming from me."
"Guess that's what you'd expect from a Psycho PK'er." Ace said.
"Now this...is something." PoH said siphoning the players' energy to restore himself as he laughed. However, as he did, the red players were soon frozen in ice.
"Whoa...nice work David." Gemini said.
"That wasn't me." David said.
"Then who…" Asta said before they looked off to the distance to a lone figure approaching PoH. "No way."
"So...you finally decided to try and face me, huh?" PoH said as the figure standing there was Kirito.
"Kirito, you're awake!" Ace said.
"Kirishima and the others finally did it. He's back!" Cheetah said.
"And now...with his help...this stupid war can finally reach its end." Zan said.
Part 6: Alicization Awakening
END