AN: Thank you to everyone for all the positive feedback. This story just hit fifty favorites and over one hundred follows. That's awesome, and it's the positive feedback that keeps me going. This chapter took longer than expected because when I'd gotten 2500ish words in, was ready for the big jail break. . . I realized I forgot Agil. Yeah.

Thanks to everyone who replied about Argo. I've not had the chance to read most of the recommendations I received, but I will when life eases up a bit. Hopefully I managed to do everyone justice this chapter.

A heads up, the last bit of chapter five received a small modification, I feel it helps keep characterization where it should be. Nothing major, so go back if you wish. Chapter one has also seen a minor overhaul.

On unique skills: They will exist, and they will be unlocked later in the story, but they won't necessarily be ten built from canon. Why that is, how they are acquired, and what they are will be revealed in good time.

December 27, 2022

1st Floor

Survivors: 7,752

Sinon thought this spot was fitting. Almost a month ago, the raiding party had assembled here for one last night of fun before they finished the first floor. Then, she'd been here as part of Diabel's party, unconcerned with who led the charge, with who was given credit. She and Kirito were just a couple of beta testers trying to hide their status. Now, though, now things were different. She was here to figure out how best to ruin that man's friend's life. And, unlike Kirito, she didn't much care how she did it. In this world, Sinon had two friends. Asuna, and Kirito. She'd never seen them in real life. She only knew their faces because of some twisted game they'd all had the misfortune, or maybe fortune, in some ways, of playing. No killing, she reminded herself, unnecessarily. She couldn't even contemplate that. She didn't need those images in her head right now.

She'd had no friends since that day. Not really. A few people would spend time with her until somebody inevitably told them. Sometimes people wanted to see how killers thought. The former would run off when they found out, and the latter she could easily scare off. That wasn't what was important. What was important is what happens when you don't have friends. You can turn inward, and she had, to a great extent. Or you can watch. You learn to pick up on little things. Pieces of body language. It was why Kirito and Asuna's interest in each other was easy for her to see. So she knew that there had been something between Kibaou and Diabel. They had been partners or something. They had obviously already known each other before Kibaou had interrupted the briefing, which if they were friends, had to be by design. Naturally, most friends would have been there early, and would have spoken at a less intrusive time. If they hadn't known each other, they wouldn't have been so buddy buddy afterward. They'd been inseparable afterward, so it was most likely that the stunt had been staged. Why? What was there to gain by going after other beta testers? She was going to figure that out. Actually, she was going to pay someone else to figure that out, it was the thought that counted.

A blond girl with whiskers drawn on her face sat down next to Sinon. She was shorter than most and kept herself fairly well concealed beneath a cloak and baggy clothing. Her hood was up, concealing most of her face. Sinon spared her a glance, then crossed her legs and leaned back, looking at the sky. Argo, the Rat, the game's best information broker. Sinon truster her implicitly, so long as she could pay her. And so long as Sinon said nothing worthwhile. "It's been a while, Sinon. How've you been?"

Sinon smiled, still leaning back against the seat. "Not for free Argo. You know the rules." In some ways, Sinon thought it was nice to hear that nasal voice again. Sinon had been a regular customer back in the beta. Back then, she, and later she and Kirito, had spent much more time in the cities than they did this time around. Something about not having random people want to kill them or imprison them.

"Yeah, yeah," Argo returned. "I was only trying to be friendly. What do you need?"

"I need dirt. I need everything you know about a player named Kibaou. K - I - B - A - O - U." She spelled the name out, knowing that the game only allowed unique spellings of names, but wasn't nearly as picky about pronunciations. "And I need whatever you have on someone named Diabel. D - I - A - B - E - L. I know that Diabel was a beta tester. He's dead now. I need to know what connection they had, what Kibaou is up to. Anything of substance you can give me. How long do you need?"

Argo's expression didn't change, but usually requests were made regarding quests, items, rewards. Sometimes people, but rarely in such detail. Especially not by Sinon. "Sure, I'll do it. Not sure how long I'll need, but don't worry about that. You'll get your data. What do you need this for?" The rat girl looked over, could see the conflicted look on Sinon's face. "You want data on two people, one of them dead. Won't be easy, won't be cheap. Talking'll make it a lot easier to afford," she advised the brunette.

"He kidnapped Kirito. Has him captured in the Black Iron Palace."

That piqued Argo's interest. "They violated the Guildpact?" Argo asked, making sure she was hearing things right.

"Yeah. Kibaou's ALF, and now there's a green player in the Black Iron Prison."

Argo wouldn't be making as much money off of this job as she thought she might. This little bit of information was worth too much, and she figured Sinon knew it. The Guildpact had been created to help ensure harmony amongst the guilds. It dictated that the only reason any green player should ever be imprisoned is for documented violation of the Guildpact. That was the condition of the ALF being allowed to use the facility as their base. Argo would be looking into the rest of the Guildpact when she had a chance, but that particular point had caused some stir. Everyone had heard about that particular detail.

"Alright. You still owe me. I'll send you the bill later, been here too long. Have fun Sinon," Argo stated, turning to walk away.

Sinon spoke up, "One more, this time for free." The word free stopped Argo in her tracks. "Kibaou's hunting beta's. Be careful. I'd hate to not get my information."

"That's not worth much credit," Argo returned, then walked off, likely to some other job.

Sinon wasn't even entirely sure about that last bit of information, but it made sense. Kirito had said to bring Agil, so it probably involved what happened in Illfang's chamber. That didn't answer everything, though. Why wouldn't Thinker know? How could Kirito know that? Well, it was an easy guess, the ALF's public statements were devoid of the anti-beta tester rhetoric that Kibaou was so fond of. So, Kirito had told them to prepare for resistance. Also obvious. Kibaou would have known that Kirito could just message for help, unless he'd become so engrossed in the world he'd forgotten that bit of the interface.. That seemed unlikely. So must have been trying to bait the other two out. He wanted to get to Asuna and Sinon.

Asuna walked into one of the myriad shops found on floor one. It was in the Town of Beginnings, which was still by far the most populous city in the game. Asuna found it hard to imagine that so many people were willing to just sit back and expect everyone else to do the work of clearing the game for them. Still, she couldn't really blame them. Fear was a powerful thing. She'd spent a couple weeks hiding in her room herself, and look where she was now.

Agil was standing behind the counter, finishing a transaction with a customer, a civilian player, by the looks of it. The equipment was very close to the starting equipment, and the weapons this place sold weren't particularly powerful. The customer walked off, and Agil turned his attention to her. "I got your message," he began. "Kibaou's still holding that grudge?" Agil polished the counter as he worked. It wasn't his store, it was owned by another player, Agil didn't want to buy his own place until further through the game, but habits were habits.

"Yeah," Asuna replied. She was angry, now. She'd been more stunned than anything when Sinon had first heard the news. To have that bully still going after people because he could take advantage of existing, misguided, sentiment was bad enough. For him to think he was going to get away with imprisoning Kirito for the remainder of the game? One of the few players who was really fighting to clear the game? Besides, she didn't take particularly kindly to people picking on her friends. "We're going to get Kirito out, first. Then we're going to expose Kibaou. Can you help us?"

Agil nodded. "Hey, Ishikawa, I'm taking off," he called back behind him to the owner of the store. Asuna didn't hear any response, but Agil started around the counter, moving to join up with the younger girl. He led as the two left the store, heading to the meeting point near the Black Iron Palace itself. "You're not a beta tester, are you?" Agil asked her, his eyes not leaving the familiar streets they were navigating.

Asuna stopped for a moment, caught off guard, before hurrying to catch back up with the larger man. "No, I'm not. How'd you guess?" She was surprised anyone was still giving her the benefit of the doubt. A little research lately had shown that all three of them, Asuna, Kirito, and Sinon, had been branded as "confirmed" former beta testers. Apparently the fact that she'd gone with them had been evidence enough for most people. Well, very likely Kibaou. It seemed like he was the ringleader in all of this.

"Just a hunch. You didn't seem as sure of yourself as the other two before the fight." To be honest, he'd just been guessing, but she had just seemed different. The other two had had a bit more of an unspoken confidence. Asuna hadn't had that before the boss battle. Agil hadn't paid too much attention to them before the fight, but she had still seemed different. "Before the second boss battle, you seemed a lot more veteran than you did the first one. Kirito and Asuna had the same feel both times."

Asuna gave a small smile at the comments. "Thanks. It's nice to have someone who doesn't just assume that I'm a former beta tester. Not that I have any issue with beta testers. I just don't like being called something I'm not. I got to where I am in the same amount of time that the other nine thousand regular players have had." She paused a moment. She wondered if her brother would have made it this far. Part of her was glad it was her instead of him. Everything in this game came so naturally for her. Kirito and Sinon commented on her speed every now and again, but the announcements had emphasized it to the point of it becoming her name. She imagined it was how Sinon felt about her accuracy. It was just natural.

Sinon was glad that Klein hadn't greeted her the same way this visit that he had when the two had first met. She didn't like hitting her friends, but Kirito's response had probably been the proper one. She and Klein were out in a very familiar clearing, the area that she and Kirito had used to teach Klein how to fight through this game. "Thanks for agreeing to help. I know we didn't leave on the best of terms."

Klein gave her a confused look. "What are you talking about? You guys did what you had to do. Us new players have to learn to fend for ourselves sometime. It's not like you left us in the wilderness. The city is plenty safe." Klein didn't comment on all the people who'd died to their own despair or recklessness. Those were memories most people fought to forget.

Sinon couldn't understand why he treated it so lightly. They'd abandoned him and his friends, the five players were out fighting outclassed boar while Sinon and Klein watched. She decided she wasn't going to push it, she found herself somehow in his good graces, and right now, she didn't want to risk that. "How've you guys been holding up?"

"They're coming along alright. I owe you guys a ton for teaching me what I was doing on the first day. You guys kept me alive." He was smiling, thinking back on that day. "It was fun getting to play this game as just a game for a few hours."

"We'll have to pick up where we left off once we clear this game," Sinon replied. She had enjoyed that day, back when this game was an escape from what she had to deal with in real life. To be somewhere she didn't get judged by everyone who found out who she was. Well, that had lasted a month. Now it was just half the people she met. Prejudice didn't go away, it just changed. Not that she didn't deserve it in real life. She checked the time on her menu screen. "Ready to go? Asuna and Agil will be waiting for us by now."

"Harry, pay attention! If you get beat up by boar, I'm kicking your tail when I get back!" Klein yelled at one of his guild members. Then, reverting to his more personable self, he turned back to Sinon. "Yeah, alright. Let's get going."

Sinon, Asuna, Agil, and Klein were finally gathered together. Sinon glanced at the various members, unsure who had met who at this point. When Klein saw Asuna, he started to dart forward at the girl. Sinon, remembering how Klein had behaved when she'd met him, caught him by the collar as he moved forward. "Behave," she reminded him, before letting him go. He stumbled forward, grinning sheepishly at the girl before they continued forward.

"Agil, Asuna, this is Klein," Sinon introduced him as the four converged. Klein stepped forward, moving towards Asuna.

"I'm Klein, I'm twenty-three, single and-" was all he managed to get out before Sinon grabbed him by his collar and pulled him backward onto the ground, where he landed with a thump. "Ow, hey, what're you- oh wait, right, still doesn't hurt," Klein complained from his spot on floor. He picked himself up and dusted himself off.

"I did warn you to behave," Sinon returned, before turning back to the others. "Sorry, Asuna. He. . . apparently. . . does that." She'd only been exposed to it once, but if he did it to one complete stranger, she'd expected him to do it to all of them.

"Good to meet you," Agil spoke up, extending his hand to Klein. The man took it, and they shook briefly. Agil turned to Sinon, moving to the business at hand. "Asuna never could tell me what it was you guys wanted me to do here. I take it there's more than just breaking Kirito out."

Sinon half shrugged. "Kirito asked us to bring you along. Since it's Kibaou we're dealing with, he's probably worried that Thinker won't believe us when it comes to our word against his. Most people who were there sided with Kibaou, with the twisted story that somehow warning Diabel equates to letting him die. You can give some testimony in his defense." She tried not to let her anger and frustration seep into her voice. She need to be level headed right now. Getting worked up would only make things harder.

Asuna dropped back to the rear of the four of them. They'd met very close to the Black Iron Palace, and were now making the quick trip there. Sinon and Agil were discussing something, Asuna wasn't sure what, and Klein seemed to be at least half paying attention. She was still unsure of what to make of the man. His introduction to her had been blunt, to put it kindly. Still, Sinon seemed to trust him. He had come to help them, when there was no benefit to associating oneself with beta testers.

The four of the entered the building, and Asuna remembered just how imposing the Black Iron Palace really was. Thinker had certainly done himself a favor when he'd acquired the facility as the base of operations for his Aincrad Liberation Front. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't actually run into any ALF members during either of the boss raids. She knew that the Palace had a few unique locations, specifically the Prison and the Monument of Swordsmen. She'd never been to the Monument herself, but she knew it was the replacement for the Monument of Life, the original respawn point. It was a list of every player in the game, with names crossed out one by one as players fell. What a sick game they were trapped in. The sanctuary once reserved for the renewal of life was now a sepulchre.

As the four of them entered, Klein slid into the lead position. He guided them quickly through the building, suddenly emanating an air confidence that belied the goofiness of a man who asked any and every girl he met to go out with him. "Are you part of the ALF? You seem to know your way around," Asuna asked, Sinon having not told her much about the man beyond that he was a friend of hers and Kirito's.

"Nah, I'm with the Furinkazan. I was here for a few days while the Guildpact was ironed out. It was kind of a drag, really." He didn't elaborate that he knew the layout of the building because he spent so little actual time in the conference room. He'd found a few excuses to go out and hit things when the discussions got heated. Usually over who was actually allowed to stay based out of the Palace itself. He didn't care who used the place, and most of the big guilds didn't care much for the misfits that seemed to make up the Furinkazan. He opened his menu, and found a message waiting to send, something he'd written up earlier. He sent it, hopefully not leaving it up long enough for anyone to see it.

They came to a rest in front of a set of large double doors, with two swordsmen standing guard. "You guys sure about this?" It was Agil that spoke up. "If this goes badly, we could end up being branded enemies of the ALF."

Sinon looked at him, half puzzled, half glaring. "Kirito didn't do anything. I'm not going to leave him there to rot just because a bully doesn't like the fact that his friend died because he was stupid." The response came out more heated than she'd meant for it to, but she wasn't going one of her only friends get sentenced to that.

Agil held up his hands defensively, as if asking for peace. He looked over to Asuna, who had look of determination that mirrored the one he'd seen in the fight against Illfang. Klein just had a smug grin on his face. These kids were alright. Agil grinned at the group. "I just wanted to make sure you'd thought this through, that's all. We ready?"

The guards seemed to have tense at their presence. One of them was sending a message, Agil had to guess, based on the frantic moving of fingers through an open menu screen. Klein stepped forward, clearing his voice, as if drawing their attention. The guards donned their shields and swords, the one on the right speaking for both of them. "This area is restricted. Outsiders aren't allowed in." The one on the left finished his message, no doubt alerting Kibaou to the fact that the three of them were here.

"We're here under article Eight. I'm Klein of the Furinkazan, and I'm exercising our right to make sure that the Black Iron Prison isn't abused." Asuna wasn't sure what Klein was talking about, she'd only ever heard of the Pact in passing. Agil seemed almost as in the dark as her, while Sinon's face betrayed nothing. Still, Asuna didn't say anything. Klein seemed to know what he was doing.

"Article Eight only allows leaders to inspect the prison. They can't go in." The guard replied, gesturing with his chin towards Sinon, Agil, and Asuna. Asuna had a feeling it didn't even matter if that were true, they were probably supposed to be watching for her and Sinon. Kiaou was probably on his way.

Klein smiled. "Look, guys, I'm trying to be nice here. You can either let us through," he waved his hand vaguely in the air, making it clear that he meant all four of them, "Or I can get Thinker to come down here, get you guys Blacklisted for failure to comply with the Guildpact, and then go check." Klein's friendliness was not entirely feigned. After all, he didn't know what real involvement these players had with Kirito's capture, if any. "Don't make me be that guy, alright?"

"Article Eight does not allow Guildless players access to the Prison. We can't know whether they're trustworthy or not." The guards didn't move from their spots. If anything, they seemed to move slightly closer together, as though they thought the group was going to try to rush between them.

"They're green for crying out loud!" Klein yelled at them, his annoyance starting to show. If they were going to stall them, they could at least have the decency of not insulting them, too. He started to say something else when he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder. He looked up, seeing Agil behind him.

"Don't worry, I got this," Agil announced. He said it just loud enough for the guards to hear, and he began walking towards them.

"We can't let you in here." The first guard stated. When Agil didn't stop moving, he continued. "We'll use our swords if we have to."

Agil never broke stride. When one of the soldiers swung at him, he caught the weapon by the blade. It couldn't cut his skin, and his own positioning meant there was no momentum to push him backward. The other one tried swinging at him, but it had the same result. The other four members of the party started after him, keeping a few feet between themselves and the big man. "Man, these are some really cheap weapons. If you ever want something good, you should go by Ishikawa's. It's a little expensive, but the stuff he's got is definitely better than these things." He pulled the swords out of the men's hands with a jerk, then tossed them behind him. He picked each man up by the collar, and slung them unceremoniously down the hall away from the group. "It really would have been easier if you'd just let us through."

Agil threw open the double doors, revealing a complex that was even colder than than the rooms they'd just exited. Klein again seemed to know where he was going. "They tell you the layout of this place while you were discussing the Guilpact?" Asuna asked the older man.

"We had to tour it. We had to know who would be put where, how things work. It's a very fragile prison from the outside, but the walls are Immortal Objects, making it impossible to break out. Doors only open from the outside. Corridor crystals drop you off in here and the guards put you in the cell. For orange players, messages are disengaged, and some other options are shut off. We're not sure what set it all up." It was only then that Asuna noticed it was a hallway, not an expanse of cells. Klein turned to the right, to one of the many doors lining the walls. It opened readily, and that's when the group found cells. Most of them were empty, there hadn't been much time to go after orange players yet, but a few of them were inhabited. Further down the hall, they found who they were looking for.

"Kirito!" Asuna called out, running to the boy's cell. Klein caught her before she could open the door.

"What are you doing?" It was Sinon's voice now, though it lacked the anger Klein had feared would be directed his way.

"Kibaou's coming. Thinker will be here in about five minutes. We can't let Kirito out before he gets here. If we do, we don't have any evidence that Kirito was imprisoned unjustly. If we want Kibaou out of here, we have to wait," the displeasure at the course of action was evident on his face.

"You planned this out the moment I told you what was going on, didn't you? That message you sent earlier was to Thinker." Sinon was going back into her more analytical mode. The last bit was a statement, not a question. "What if Thinker is on Kibaou's side?"

"Of course I planned this all out. I'm not just a pretty face, you know." He gave her a roguish grin, trying to emphasize his point. "Wait, you saw that? I thought I'd managed to be smooth enough to not get seen."

"It's Sinon, assume she saw you," came Asuna from in front of Kirito's cell.

"Hey, guys, it's great to see you, and all, but I'd really like to get out of here," Kirito piped up from inside his cell.

"Sinon, what do you think?" Asuna asked, torn. She desperately wanted to let Kirito out, but if it really was better for him in the long run, she figured it was probably worth it to wait.

Sinon was visibly mulling it over when Agil spoke up. "Too late guys, look who's here." The man turned around, putting himself now at the front of the group, though Klein slid around him. Sinon stood behind him to his right, glaring daggers at Kibaou as he and a cadre of ALF soldiers filed into the room. Asuna stayed back, staying close to Kirito.

"What's going on?" Kirito asked her, unable to get a clear view of anything from inside his cell. He'd been stuck in here for just under a day now, but he could see just how maddening it would be to be imprisoned for any prolonged period of time. Not that murderers didn't deserve it, but he was glad that he was, hopefully, about to get out.

"Kibaou's here. I think he's going to try and imprison all of us in here. Not sure how he plans to do it," Asuna responded. There were only so many other explanations for the ten or so extra men he'd brought along.

"I figured you guys would show up, so I got a couple of extra rooms for ya. You can go in quietly, or I can put you there, but you're not walking back out of here," Kibaou announced. The hall was narrow enough that his soldiers could only fit through it in lines of three, and one of them was starting to move forward.

"What did we ever do to you?" Sinon asked. She was more than fed up with this attitude.

"You're all cheaters. You left us all to die. You think we weren't going to get you back for that? You're traitors."

Agil spoke up next. "You know better. One of your 'confirmed' beta testers," he drew out the word to make sure his sarcasm was clear, "is the fastest mapper we have. She doesn't even charge for the maps." He knew that she charged for pretty much everything else, but the map was probably the most crucial piece of information you could have on each floor.

"So? She still doesn't fight. She doesn't give us equipment to fend for ourselves. She gives us stuff we can get for ourselves. None of them are willing to make reparations for what happened. We lost a thousand players that first month, you think they care?" Kibaou continued his tirade.

Sinon's glare had turned from one of anger to hate. She fumed, but didn't say anything. Klein spoke up next, an edge in his voice. "It doesn't matter what you think of beta testers. You've put a green player in Prison. You've got enough trouble on your hands already."

Kibaou smirked. "I see a bunch of beaters and sympathizers that broke in to try and release oranger players. That's worthy of imprisonment, isn't it? It's my job as the Fourth Sub-commander and Warden of the prison to stop that." Kibaou hadn't expected to get nearly this lucky. Not only had he gotten the three sainted beaters, but he'd got a couple of sympathizers for his troubles. They didn't have a way out of here, there were too many soldiers between them and the door. That's why his composure started to crack when Klein broke out laughing. "What's so funny?"

Sinon had a vicious grin on her face as she saw what Klein was laughing at. Klein had figured all this out ahead of time. To be fair, he was the only person amongst them who had any idea what the Guildpact actually was. "I'm not so sure you're a Sub-Commander anymore, Kibby."

"What did you call me?" He raged, then, after a moment, "Of course I'm the Sub-commander. I-"

"You are no longer a member of the ALF, Kibaou. Thank you, Klein, for bringing this to my attention," a cool, measured voice came from behind the crowd of soldiers. They turned and saluted the man standing in the doorway. He was regally adorned, conveying a mixture of nobility and generalship. He was accompanied by a grey haired woman whose attire was not dissimilar to his own. "You ten, Yulier will debrief you. We'll deal with your involvement later. Dismissed." Thinker stood still as the woman stepped aside, allowing the ten men to march out of the room.

"Wait, where are you going?" Kibaou screamed at the men, who gave no response. "What are you doing?" He reeled on Thinker. "These people are murderers, they stood back and let people die, they knew-" and suddenly he was lying on the ground, he turned, seeing Sinon, and tried to stand, only for her to kick him across the face.

"You keep throwing around those terms," Sinon began, her voice turned to ice. She knew she should be trembling. She knew if there were any guns around, she'd probably go into shock. She'd deck him with speed that would probably make Asuna proud when he'd finally come out and said it. Murderer. As if he could fathom the meaning of that word. "Asuna, let Kirito out now." Her voice didn't tremble. It didn't betray the fear of the judgment she was sure to incur. Her mind was focused on one thing. She was a murderer. She bore that burden. Kirito and Asuna, the beaters, were not.

"I'm not finished with you," she resumed, as Kibaou tried to scamper away. Thinker moved to stand between Kibaou and the exit, shutting the door behind him. His face was impassive. Kirito and Asuna were now standing in front of Agil and Klein, none of them willing to say anything. Asuna and Kirito had never seen her this angry. "Your friend didn't die because Kirito, or Asuna, or anyone killed him," she stopped to kick him as he tried to talk. She knew he didn't feel the pain, that it couldn't cause damage, so she didn't hold back. "He didn't die because someone withheld information from him. He died because he was greedy, because he wanted to get the Last Attack Bonus for himself. He didn't even bother to look at the weapon the boss was wearing. It was plain as day to everyone the weapon wasn't curved. But you can't admit that. So it has to be our fault. You don't know what murder is. You've never killed anyone. You've never experience that, so don't you dare throw that term around. You've never had to deal with the consequences of it. Never had to deal with admitting that there's blood on your hands. No, you just want to push people around, and take things that you don't want to have to work for. You don't want justice for the thousand players who didn't make it through the first month. You want free gear." She picked him up by the collar. "You accuse us of not caring. You actually accuse us, when you use their memory for the sake of extortion. You're the one who deserves to be here. You're nothing better than a bully. No, actually, you're worse than that. You dishonor the dead by invoking them as if it gives you some kind of power or privilege." She threw him down, bouncing him off the ground. He hadn't struggled, he'd been too transfixed by his attacker. "You disgust me." She kicked him one more time, then turned her back on him, slowly, pointedly, and walked away from him.

"Does anyone else have any words for him?" Thinker replied, apparently unfazed by the tirade that Sinon had just released. No one spoke up. Most of the room was still too stunned to speak. Kibaou didn't even move. He seemed to be surprised that he escaped with his life, given the vehemence of the speech. "Klein, as the representative of the Furinkazan, it is your right to demand that this be brought before the Guildpact. I have removed Kibaou from the ALF and can have him held for questioning and imprisonment, if you wish."

"No," it was Kirito who finally spoke up, having been unable to interact with anything that had gone on so far, either being caged or transfixed. "Don't put him in here. He'll still have his messages. He'd just stir up trouble. Probably get a gang of players together to break him and sympathetic orange players out. If it's all the same to you, I'd like to request that he be banned from," he paused, "what did you call it? Guildpact? Guildpact areas."

Thinker looked over at Klein. "Is that acceptable for you?" Even if Kirito was the victim in this, he was guildless, and therefore had no real say in Guildpact actions. It was unfortunate, but guilds were already starting to soak up most of the games clearers. They could only act where they had jurisdiction. Klein nodded, giving his assent. Thinker opened the door, where two ALF guards, wearing fancier regalia than that of those they'd seen so far, were waiting. "Find a cell for him. He is to be kept there until we can have things sorted out. Klein and myself will stand witness that he has violated the Guildpact," Thinker ordered, gesturing to Kibaou.

He turned back to the others. "I'm sorry for the difficulty that one of my former subordinates has caused you. I'd like to reimburse you for these difficulties. I'll have some restitution for you as soon as all of this is sorted out. I hope you won't let this tint your view of the whole of the ALF."

Sinon was trembling now, her will evaporated with the crisis averted. Kirito answered as the girl made her way to himself and Asuna. "No, we understand. This isn't the first run-in we've had with him. I doubt it will be the last, honestly. It's good to know we have someone on our side throughout all this."

Thinker nodded. "People like that are going to cause a lot more deaths before this game is over. There's no room for that. If we can't work together, we won't make it through this game. The game is already geared to pick us off. We don't need to be running each other through on top of that." He paused for a moment. "I'm sorry for all of this trouble. Klein, are you satisfied that there are no more transgressions here?" When Klein again voiced his agreement, Thinker continued, "Well then, I feel it would be best if we left this dismal place behind." The five players filed out, Klein and and Agil preceding Thinker, followed by Kirito and the girls. Asuna stayed very close to Kirito, as if afraid of losing him again. Sinon's eyes seemed to bore into the ground, and she seemed to almost lean on the other two for support.

Kirito and Asuna were back in an unfamiliar room on floor one, seated next to each other, with Sinon curled up in front of them, her back to their legs, as if seeking comfort but unable to face them. Agil and Klein had gone their separate ways after promising to check in on them. It had been a draining day and no one had been up to figuring out where to go from here. Besides, Kirito and Asuna didn't want to say it, but they didn't want to drag either of the two into their fight again. They were the ones who were being targeted. There was no reason for anyone else to get caught up in that.

Asuna was sitting right next to Kirito, their legs almost touching. It had seemed to help Sinon somewhat to have both of them there, and neither Kirito nor Asuna had noticed the proximity. Kirito put a hand on Sinon's side, trying to comfort her. The girl was breathing heavily. "Hey, it's okay. We're still here for you." Asuna mimicked his gesture, both of them trying to help, neither sure what was wrong.

"It's alright. Talk to us, what's going on? What happened back there?" Asuna finally spoke up. She felt as much as heard the deep inhalation that Sinon responded with, as if the girl was steeling herself for something.

"You're going to hate me if I tell you. Everyone always does. Everyone always does. . ." she started to trail off.

"Shhhh. . . We're still here. We're your friends. We won't hate you," Asuna responded. "We won't judge you. We promise." She gave Kirito a meaningful look when he seemed as though he wasn't going to respond.

"Yeah. We won't judge you. You're our friend. You've saved our lives more than once. What's going on? Let us help," Kirito intoned.

Sinon rolled over, causing her friends to remove their hands. Her eyes were red, but it didn't seem like she'd been crying. She looked like she'd been fighting it for hours, but so far had been winning. "He shouldn't have been calling you murderer, Kirito. You're not. You're not even close."

Kirito tried to console her. "I know. Thank you. I know I'm not a murderer. It doesn't matter what he thinks of me. He's one of the worst people I've met in this game."

Sinon shook her head, smiling weakly at Kirito and Asuna. "You're welcome. But that's not what I meant. I know that you're not a murderer because I know what murder is. Because I'm a murderer. Because I've shot someone. Not just once. I shot him three times. I thought maybe this world would let me get away from that. He was going to shoot my mom. I couldn't just stand there. He was going to start shooting people. So I bit him. I don't know how, I just know he hit me and I ended up with the gun. I was so small. I could barely pull the trigger. I told him not to move. I just wanted him to stop. But he kept coming. He kept trying to attack me. So I shot him. I hoped he'd stop, but he wouldn't. He just kept coming." Her voice was starting to rise as she relived the moment. "I kept shooting. He'd have hurt everyone there if I didn't. But then. . ." she trailed off, the image of the damage from the last shot seared into her memory. She was openly weeping now, her face turned from Kirito and Asuna in shame.

Asuna moved to her friend and put her arms around her, putting the girl's head on her shoulders. "Hush now. It's alright. It was self defense. It wasn't your fault." Asuna was still processing what she'd been told. She was certain of one thing, regardless of what Sinon said. Her friend was not a murderer. She'd never done anything to endanger any of the other players. Her friend was broken, and that much she could help. She felt another pair of arms envelop them. Kirito was hugging the two of them. Sinon just cried harder. She didn't know why these two didn't run off like the rest of the people who found out about her. Her tears were both those of anguish, sorrow, and the hate of who she was, but now tempered with timid happiness. The girl hadn't had friends in years. Even her mom didn't want her. Was it really possible that now she had two? She just wept into her friends' arms. She knew she'd wake up and find out they weren't there. But for now, she'd just accept the warmth of their embrace, and the friendship they still seemed to feel for her.

When she woke the next day, she found she still was not alone.

A/N: I promise, I'm trying to make the story about all three of them, but Sinon seems, to me at least, to have the most defined personality so far. That said, this did end up being a Sinon chapter. Hopefully the personalities will continue to delineate as the story progresses.

Also, I will make the Guildpact public as soon as I've got the last nitty gritty bits ironed out. I'm open to suggestions, anything I might have missed, but I can't promise I'll include everything. I have a fairly well established vision of where this is going for a while.

I'm going to be doing some intermittent side-story type chapters focusing on characters on than the big three. Some of them will be integral to the story, some will be more character exploration based. One of these will likely be Sinon and Kirito's time in the beta. What characters would you guys like to see? I can't make any promises, but feedback helps.