A/N: Hey, everyone! It's yet another chapter from yours truly! Yes, a chapter that's a lot earlier than usual nowadays! I know I used to spend this time working on future chapters for other projects. However, real-life happenings and creative decisions with my schedule have led me to start working on this chapter early, as well as the next couple.

Anyway, I urge all of you to read this chapter from beginning to end! It's going to be yet another emotional rollercoaster, and it'll be yet another setup to the inevitable climactic showdown! Keep your fingers crossed for all of your favorites!

Alright, let's get on with the chapter! ENJOY!

P.S. #1: For all FF users reading this who are unaware (and this is VERY IMPORTANT), there's a new account feature for this site called "Email Opt-in". It controls the site's ability to send out email notifications to you. It is disabled by default, so you need to go to your account settings and enable it by clicking "Yes". The site will disable the opt-in by default again after 90 days of activation; in other words, you'll need to return to your account settings about EVERY THREE MONTHS to manually reset it. Without the opt-in, you WILL NOT be getting email notifications on whether any of your favorite stories have been updated or not, or whether an author that you are following has posted a new story or not. Please heed these instructions! FictionPress announced this new feature on their Twitter account, but I doubt news of this has reached everyone!

P.S. #2: For any updates regarding progress on my writing and just life in general, please check out my profile! I try to update it as often as I possibly can with any status update!

P.S. #3: Due to the slowly improving situation regarding the coronavirus outbreak, I am going to have to remind you all about the basic steps you should take if you want to stay healthy, courtesy of my university's reminder emails:

-Wash hands often with soap and water for 20-30 seconds at a time, and/or use hand sanitizer
-Avoid close contact with people who are sick
-Keep your hands away from nose, eyes, and mouth (I can't imagine how difficult this part is probably going to be)
-Eat well, get adequate rest, and exercise regularly
-Get a flu shot if you haven't already and are able to
-Stay informed on the COVID-19 vaccines, get shots if you're able to, and try to get a booster shot if you're eligible

And if you ARE sick (I hope you get better if you are), please be a good sport and save other folks the trouble of getting sick. You can do this by:

-Covering your mouth and nose with your sleeve, elbow, or a tissue whenever you sneeze or cough
-Not sharing food and drinks with others
-Avoiding touching your mouth, nose, and eyes (Again, I understand this is probably going to be difficult)
-Avoiding close contact with others
-Cleaning and disinfecting surfaces and objects
-Staying at home if you're unwell (PRIORITY NUMBER ONE!)
-Staying calm and keeping yourself well-informed (My personal advice)

If you already know this, then great! If you didn't know any of this beforehand, please keep that information in mind as we all go through this trying time. It's a realm of unknowns at this point, and I wish myself and all of humanity well.

– December 25, 2021 –
Real World, Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture

Over three years ago

"Wow! Congrats, Onii-chan!"

"Dude, so cool! You're already working with the big leagues!"

"Chill, Ducker; it's just an internship. Good job, though, Shibazaki-senpai."

"Agreed! RECT's the second-biggest electronics company there is!"

Sachi didn't say anything. Instead, she gawked at the yellow badge hanging from Kotaro's outstretched hand. It bore an official photo of him smiling his usual dashing, confident, hopeful smile at the camera. That coupled with the formal dark-blue suit he was wearing made him all the more handsome in her eyes. Underneath the photo was the caption: 'KOTARO SHIBAZAKI: OFFICE INTERN'.

Then, her eyes drifted away from the badge and towards its official owner. He stood right in front of her and her friends, wearing the very same suit and the very same smile that had always captivated her. In fact, the smile seemed to radiate even more of the qualities she loved and admired about him. It made him stand out in the warm café they were in.

"Yeah." Kotaro looked at the badge himself and chuckled. "I never imagined I'd wind up interning at a company like RECT of all places. I met the CEO too."

"Wait, you met Shouzou Yuuki?!" Keita cried incredulously.

"He walked in on my interview during some walkthrough inspection," Kotaro replied. "Get this, guys, he actually butted in and asked me a couple of questions himself. He was a lot nicer compared to the panel interviewing me. I feel like he was impressed with me and pulled a couple of strings to get me in."

"Dude, luuuuucky," replied an awestruck Sasamaru.

"And to think you're still in your second year of college," added Ducker.

"Heh, yeah. That's some luck..." Kotaro looked up at the sky with a wistful smile. "But...I see this as opportunity calling. And I'm not going to let it go by. Maybe, just maybe, I can finally be like Shinoda-sama, bringing the biggest of smiles to all kids' faces and making their childhoods a whole lot brighter. Maybe I can even bring back his arcade too!"

"You've truly been getting a lot of good breaks lately." Then, Ducker shrugged with a mischievous grin. "I'd hate to think what kind of other shoe there is to drop- OW! Hey!"

"There is no other shoe to drop, Ducker," Tetsuo said before he gave a nod of approval at Kotaro. "Rather, I think that is simply what you sow from hard work and studying."

"Which, knowing his current track record, will get him a job at a local MgRonald's or something," Sasamaru commented jokingly.

"Ha ha ha, very funny, you guys," Ducker deadpanned.

"Oh, come on, you two," Keita said encouragingly. "Ducker's trying his best in school, isn't he, Sachi?"

"H-Huh?!" Sachi's eyes grew wide with alarm, and she waved her hands while wearing a shy blush. "C-Come on, K-Keita-kun, d-don't put this on me!"

"Please, Sachi!" Ducker squealed. "Please tell 'em I'm doing great! It'd be very nice if a girl sung my praises at least once in my life!"

The sole girl's blush only reddened even further. "Th-Th-That's too much pressure!"

Ducker batted his eyelashes at him like a cartoonish girl. "Please?"

Sachi could only stand there in shock, overwhelmed by such an expectation being placed upon her shoulders so abruptly like that.

"Well," she thought, "Tetsuo and Sasamaru aren't exactly wrong. Ducker's grades are the worst out of all of us. He could never take school seriously even if he tried. He's always so laidback. If he has any hope of following us into college, he's gotta get his act together and fast. But...I-I can't just tell him that! He's my friend! Being forward and blunt about that is gonna make him judge me, and I don't like being judged! Especially not by my friends!"

Suddenly, a movement blooming within her peripheral vision brought Sachi's mind out of her thoughts. She watched with empty surprise as Kotaro patted Ducker on the top of his head, just like he would do with her and Keita.

"You're doing your best, Ducker," the young man said. "Don't give up."

Ducker visibly pouted in disappointment, but nevertheless, he replied, "Thanks, man..."

"No prob." Then, Kotaro checked his wristwatch, and once he identified the time, he frowned and stood up from his chair. "Sorry, you guys. I gotta get back to my hotel."

"Already?" Keita asked in glum disappointment. "I...I thought we were gonna hit Gaming City right after this?"

"Yeah, I know. But I just remembered, I have a virtual meeting to get to."

"You're an intern, Onii-chan! C-Can't you just skip out or something?"

"Well, if I'm gonna get a full-time job in RECT, I gotta start schmoozing up to the boss. And Sugou-sama is someone who I can tell requires a lot of schmoozing..." Kotaro laughed for a moment, before smiling fondly and gently patting Keita on the top of his head. "Don't worry, Keita-chan. I'll make it up to you in a big way. I promise."

Keita nodded in disappointment, but he forced a smile onto his face. "Alright, Onii-chan." Then, he widened his grin with encouragement. "W-Well, you go get 'em. If anyone can inspire with their hard work and fighting spirit, it's you!"

"Ahhh, please! You exaggerate! If anything, you're the one who inspires me to do my best. You inspire everyone. Just..." He snickered and playfully ruffled Keita's mat of brown hair, much to the younger boy's slight annoyance. "Please find the balls to do the thing that you've always been yapping about. You never know how much time you've got left until it runs out!"

"Right, right..." Keita grumbled with an awkward blush. "Thanks, Onii-chan..."

"Wait, thing?" Ducker asked, his intrigue piqued. "What thing?"

"I am afraid that's gonna have to be a secret between brothers." Then, Kotaro looked at Tetsuo, Sasamaru, and Ducker. "Look, you guys keep having fun, alright? Sorry that I couldn't stick around longer."

"Hey, no worries at all!" Sasamaru replied. "We will get you something from Gaming City before you hit the train station tomorrow!"

"We look forward to seeing what you make of yourself at RECT," Tetsuo added with a thumbs-up.

"Hey!" exclaimed Ducker. "Remember, you gotta tell me how you pick up girls in Tokyo! I need those tips!"

"Only if you keep doing your best at school like I said you're doing." With a chuckle at Ducker's halfhearted groan, Kotaro then focused on Sachi. "Hey, don't gimme that face, Sachi. I've already got one clingy kid to deal with at home."

"Hey!" protested Keita.

But Sachi lowered her head in sadness. "S-So-Sorry, Kota-nii..."

"Don't apologize to me," Kotaro replied. "Look, I know it's not like when we were little kids, with me being around all the time. But hey, you've still got Keita, and I hear you are warming up to the others and getting more and more adjusted to the club! That's a good thing, right?"

Sachi shyly twiddled her fingers. "I guess..."

Kotaro smiled and patted Sachi on the head too. "Just keep at it with the club activities, and you'll be fine, Sachi-chan. I started the PC research club with you in mind, and I'd feel like a failure if you, or any other shy kid for that matter, can't find a way to fit in even with the solitude of computers and gaming around them!"

"Okay..." The girl nodded slowly and uncertainly at him. "I will, Kota-nii..."

She did not need to look up at him to see the concern etched on his face. Nevertheless, he gently ruffled her hair, acting like the big brother figure that he always was to her, and spoke the next two sentences with a soft, gentle, soothing tone, the kind of tone that she always anticipated from him, the kind that would always make her feel warm inside.

"I know you will, Sachi. I've always believed in you, after all."

CHAPTER 17: STEVENS'S POWER LAW

– January 21, 2025 –
Alfheim, Parcellus Castle, Undine Territory

Present day

After taking a moment to ruminate his new decisions, Fjord opened his eyes and stood up from his chair. Before he could stroll across the room he called his private office, he could the noises of movement outside. The Undine Lord stopped for a moment, just as voices began to speak to one another, slightly muffled from the closed door.

"Yo, guys," one voice greeted. "You ready to get going?"

"Yep," a second voice replied. "Just waiting on Lord Rhyming-Name."

A third individual scoffed. "To think that I voted for him, thinking that things would change in our favor. Nooooot exactly what I had in mind."

"Well, what did you have in mind, man?" a fourth voice asked.

"Yeah," the second voice added. "You want change, you've got it."

"I dunno," replied the third voice. "I wanted to be led by a total badass. Like General Eugene!"

"Yeah," the first voice said nostalgically. "For a Salamander, General Eugene sure knows how to lead an army to victory."

"You're kidding, right...?" deadpanned the fourth voice. "Their asses have been getting kicked since the Sapphire Shielder started fighting with us."

"Yeah, that's true... Hey! When the next election comes rolling around, we should vote her in!"

"Hey, great idea!" the third voice exclaimed. "That way, we get both a badass and a cutie leading us to victory!"

Fjord smirked at the conversation. He resumed his advance, and it became clear that he was heading toward a table with a sheathed sword placed upon it. However, he didn't take the weapon and equip it; instead, his gaze traced every inch of it, from sheathed blade to silver hilt. The Undine Lord could see his own reflection within the polished, shining metal, and it made him think.

"Are you serious right now?" the second voice asked in a lower tone. "You do know Lord Fjord's still in there! And you're talking about giving him the boot?!"

"Eh, so what, Mr. Lord Rhyming-Name?" the first voice replied derisively. "Even if he heard us talking, he's too much of a nice guy to banish us. I mean, he's been giving the Sapphire Shielder the preferential treatment since forever."

"I heard a rumor that he was only convinced to align us with the Sylphs and Cait Siths because the Shielder said so!" the third voice added.

"And where'd you hear that rumor?" asked the fourth voice.

"Celsus."

"Pffft. Celsus is full of crap and you know it, man."

"Hey now, he predicted the outcome of the quest in Silken Forest, now did he?"

"A broken clock's only right twice a day, dude," the second voice replied.

"You know," the first voice said, "now that I think of it, I wonder if they're together. Lord Fjord and the Shielder."

"Them?" A brief silence. "You know, they do seem quite attached to one another. Like an illicit relationship between boss and employee."

"He's even bringing her up to this room so many times and speaking to her behind closed doors! I know this 'cause I see her all the time! Once a day, twice on weekends!"

"Yeah," the third voice commented. "She does come by here pretty often. That is pretty sketchy."

"They have to be banging! I wonder how many times you can abuse deactivating the Harassment Code before the mods notice and boot you out..."

With a roll of his eyes and a crease now on his forehead, Fjord took the sheathed sword, equipped it, and marched over to the door. Before the conversation could continue, he opened it with such force and suddenness that one of the guards impulsively released a girlish yelp while standing at attention.

"I'm ready, men," he greeted obliviously, as if he'd heard nothing at all from them. He walked past them, his movements causing the metal in his sword to squeak and tinkle. "It's time to make flight."

"Sh-Sh-Should we activate emergency security protocols for the Council?" one of the guards asked. "This Territory will be Lord-less for days, if not more."

"I wouldn't worry too much about it, you guys."

A light shone upon Fjord's equipped sword, commanding the guards' attention. Two of them straightened up further, and the other two shivered coldly at the sight of it. Just catching a glimpse of it was evidently enough to remind them of who they were actually dealing with.

"All the Territories will be Lord-less for the time being," Fjord continued confidently. "And because of that, we're going to be at quite a big stalemate. But fortunately for us, and for all of Alfheim, with a stalemate comes the doctrine...of mutual assured destruction."

– X-Y-X –

Urudellan, Salamander Territory

"We're moving out, men!"

General Eugene's booming command echoed across the training grounds and stirred his men to full attention. The dozens of fully armored soldiers, equipped with shields and armed with various weapons, straightened their postures despite the white-hot desert Sun bearing down on them like a press. They were very much like a loyal battalion answering to a true general at the fringes of a battlefield.

"Sir, yes sir!" the army replied.

Eugene nodded curtly, before he started to pace in front of his troops, keeping his eyes glued onto each individual soldier standing at attention. "And remember, my fellow Salamanders, this is our prime opportunity to show the other races that they've badly underestimated us. So what if the likes of the enemy alliance have powerhouses like the Sapphire Shielder and the Archer of the West by their side? So what if we lost valuable allies in the Imps? So what if we're disrupting what are supposed to be sacred proceedings like this so-called Convention?" He derisively scoffed at the term. "There can only be one race destined to complete the Grand Quest, and who will that race be?!"

"THE SALAMANDERS!" hollered the small army.

"WHO?!" Eugene barked loudly.

"THE SALAMANDERS!"

"THEN IT'S TIME TO PROVE IT TODAY, MEN! NOW, LET'S TAKE FLIGHT!"

The soldiers released a deafening, triumphant battle-cry as one, rocking the sands of the desert with their bloodlust. And so, with a simultaneous summoning of their wings, they lifted off in the air, all of their swords and shields gleaming with anticipation. Eugene watched them all go with a wide grin and a puffed chest of pride, surrounded by a swirling mild fog of dust and sand left in his soldiers' wake. As he did, he felt the presence of someone join his side.

"General Eugene," Kagemune said, "I just received word that Lord Mauve has already reached Alne."

"Perfect timing," the general replied confidently. "And what of the other eight?"

"No sign of them, but our Familiars have indicated to us that Lords Fjord, Sakuya, and Alicia have already departed from their Castles. Lords Genomo, Samhain, Puge, and Wallcorman are making their own preparations to leave as well."

"And I assume the other races don't have the same idea as us?"

"Our scouts have detected no unusual enemy movement from the other Territories. And as with Lord Mortimer, the other eight Lords are being accompanied by small entourages of their own. Basic but barebones security, all around."

Eugene's grin widened into a cruel smirk. "Lord Fjord. Such a foolish, shortsighted Undine. He thinks that he could barter a peace treaty between all nine races without any problems. And all of it for the sake of the Grand Quest..."

He started to walk to the center of where his mighty army once stood, followed closely by Kagemune. He maintained his smirk as he found a place to plant his feet. The overwhelming, blazing heat of the Sun and the sands didn't affect him in particular, like he was born to thrive in the desert.

"His idealism would've been admirable if it weren't so shallow-minded," the general continued. "Pitiful."

"If I may, General," beckoned Kagemune.

Eugene nodded, subtly but politely, without looking down at his underling. "By all means, Kagemune."

"Your speech was most impressive. It truly was. But, and if I may be the voice of opposition here, we are in a precarious position wherein we have both everything to lose and everything to gain from this balancing act. We've just lost the Imps as our most valuable allies. Our progress in conquering the other seven Territories has been undercut by the likes of the Shielder and the Archer. Our spies have reported seeing the Shielder in Alne. And most of all, we're dangerously close to violating the sanctity of the Neutral Territories. At the foot of the World Tree, the kingdom of Oberon, no less."

"So, you're saying that we are just setting ourselves up for failure?" Eugene asked haughtily before scoffing. "Kagemune, all of this was Lord Mortimer's strategy, and he hasn't failed us now. I have the utmost faith in my brother. His ability to read the room is impeccable."

Kagemune furrowed his brow in concern. "Need I remind you about Nicander, sir? I mean, I thought it was Lord Mortimer who gave him the go-ahead to commence his infiltration of the Imps."

Eugene narrowed his eyes ominously. "Not exactly. He had his doubts. Ohhhhh, how he had his doubts. Unfortunately, it was my call to place the responsibility of that little subterfuge operation upon Nicander's pathetic shoulders. And for that shortcoming, I intend to make it up, for him and the Salamanders, and then some."

The Salamander captain briefly hesitated. He cleared his throat before asking, "So that's what all of this has been about? An effort to prove yourself again after a tactical mistake?"

The general's expression did not move, but there was a subtle twitch in his lips. "Don't overthink the simple musings of a man like me, Kagemune. This entire operation is Lord Mortimer's call. I'm just following orders, for that is the function of a general, after all. Plain and simple."

"Ahhh, I see." Kagemune looked doubtful, but he desisted from pressing the matter further. "I apologize for speaking out of turn. I shall just-"

"But..."

Eugene's voice stopped the captain, and he glanced at his superior. Though he couldn't see his face, Kagemune could feel the palpable, overflowing resolve emanating from his general's very being. It was the same kind of resolve that inspired him to pledge his allegiance to the Salamanders and climb up the ranks of its venerable army.

"You could say that atoning for that shortcoming is a nice little bonus..."

A split-second later, Eugene summoned his wings. With a large, mighty flap that kicked up granules and particles of sand into the air, he propelled himself into the skies with said wings and soared after his army. Kagemune followed after him, and soon, they were at the lead.

Once he took his position at the lead of the pack, Eugene looked over his shoulder towards his soldiers, his Salamanders, his brethren. A number of them raised their swords and spears, and they hooted and hollered in animalistic anticipation. One thing was clear to him in that moment: they were out for blood. The blood of the Undines, Sylphs, Cait Siths, Imps, Gnomes, Leprechauns, Pookas, and Spriggans.

And that was exactly how Eugene liked his troops.

And now, now that they were primed and ready for combat, nothing could stop them in his mind. Not even the Sapphire Shielder.

– X-Y-X –

Alne, Neutral Territory, Base of the World Tree

Thirty minutes later

"Yo, guys!"

Kirito, Asuna, Sachi, and Yui were drawn towards Agil's call. Yui transformed into her «Navigation Pixie» form and found her perch on Kirito's shoulder while he led Asuna and Sachi toward the Gnome, with Asuna drawing her large hood over her head in the process. The quartet was quick to notice the large crowds that gathered by one of the walkways leading straight into the town square, like a winding artery. Liz, Klein, and Eiji were already amongst the onlookers, peering over the others' shoulders at some unknown occurrence.

"Agil," Kirito greeted. "Uh, what's going on?"

"Looks like Lord Mauve's presence is causin' a bit of a show," Agil replied.

"Wait, what?!" Sachi asked in alarm.

The Undine immediately ran towards the crowd and started pushing past the observers. Kirito and Asuna looked at one another in concern, then they followed her, with the latter adjusting the cloak drawn over her head in the process. They traveled through the pathway that Sachi created for them while making her way through the onlookers.

"Have you ever seen her do this kind of thing before, Kirito?" Asuna asked curiously.

"What do you mean?" a confused Kirito replied.

"You know, rushing headfirst towards a scene of trouble?"

The Spriggan shook his head, and he couldn't restrain the impressed smile on his lips. "No. Can't really say that I have."

Eventually, Kirito and Asuna reached the edge of the crowd almost simultaneously. There, they watched Sachi run up to Mauve and her entourage of guards. Standing before them was another group of Imps, each of them less equipped with armor and weapons as the Imp Lord's escort was, but that didn't deter them from shouting angrily at Mauve herself.

"You've got a LOTTA nerve showing your face here, my Lord!" one Imp snapped.

"How's that deal with the Salamanders going, eh?!" snarled another Imp.

"I don't see any of those damn lizards around," a third Imp growled accusingly. "What'd you do? Scare 'em off with your incompetence?!"

Mauve didn't respond to her fellow Imps' expressions of outrage. Instead, she had her eyes closed and her head lowered with shame. At the sight of the dark-skinned, purple-haired woman, Asuna's hazel eyes gleamed with both sympathy and nostalgia, something that Kirito noticed instantaneously.

"Hey, Kirito?" the former vice-commander asked.

"Yeah?" the Spriggan replied.

"Who's that woman?" Asuna pointed at Mauve. "She reminds me of Kizmel."

"Oh! She's the Lord of the Imps. Mauve. Sachi and I had to win her trust in order to get here."

The chestnut-haired girl looked at him incredulously. "Lord...of the Imps...?"

"Yeah." Kirito looked back at her. "How much did this Eiji guy tell you about ALO?"

"He gave me a rundown of the basics. Nine different races of Fairy strive to complete the Grand Quest first. It involves a race to reach the top of the World Tree, which is that." She pointed at the tree-like construct that towered above them all and even soared high into the clouds. "But he did not really go into further specifics. I assume the Imps are one of these nine races?"

"Yeah," Kirito replied.

"Ah... So you and Sachi...won her trust?" A sudden wrinkle appeared between Asuna's eyebrows. "Together?"

The Spriggan blinked, stunned and nervous by her emphasis. "Y-Yeah. W-Well, Sachi did much of the heavy lifting. I feel like I didn't even do much..."

The wrinkle only became more pronounced in Asuna's brow, prompting Kirito to look back to Mauve. At that point, Sachi had reached the Imp's position and partially stood in front of her, taking on a defensive but non-confrontational stance.

"Hey!" the Undine barked. "She's your Lord! Your leader! Treat her with a little more respect! You're causing a scene-"

"Leader?!" one of the Imps repeated in disbelief. "Leader?! Some 'leader'!"

"Yeah!" another Imp yelled. "She gets us conquered by the Salamanders in the blink of an eye, and she calls it forging an alliance. An ALLIANCE! What bull!"

"It's all 'cause of her that the Imps' popularity tanked overnight!" a third Imp spat while pointing an accusatory finger at Mauve, who recoiled at it. "We lost thousands of players who dropped out of our race and had to create alt accounts just to join up with another race!"

"We are so lucky that we're not sitting at the top of the list of least-played races right now!" the first Imp added. "People selected the Imp for one reason or another! Just whaddaya think they'll do when the developers see the unpopularity of our race and decide to do something about it?!"

"I-I understand your frustrations, my fellow Imps," Mauve replied with a shaky voice. "I truly do, but-"

"Your fellow Imps?!" yet another Imp shouted. "Your?!"

"We only kept you on that throne because you had Thystos fill in in your stead!" a fifth Imp revealed. "Now that we hear he's been usurped or somethin'-"

"He wasn't usurped," snarled Sachi. Her eyelid was twitching in disbelief. "He was outed as a Salamander and imprisoned at Scionus Castle."

"Him, a Salamander? HA! I'll believe it when I see it." Then, the Imp glowered at Mauve, who lowered her gaze again in shame. "Salamander or not, though, he made a faaaaar better leader than you could ever be. I mean, what leading have you done, besides leading us into a surrender to the Salamanders' terms?!"

"She helped convene a Convention of the Nine," Sachi replied bitterly. "That's what she did."

All of the Imp dissidents started to focus on her now. Sachi felt her heart skip a beat in terror, but she wasn't like her old, cowardly self. Instead, she firmly stood her ground, hell-bent on protecting Mauve's reputation. In the corner of her eye, she could see the Imp Lord looking to her with amazement.

"Who in the HELL do you think you are, bitch?!" one Imp spat.

"What do YOU know about the Imps' situation?!" exclaimed another. "You're just an Undine!"

"Come back to us when you switch races to Imp," a third Imp said. "Then you'll know what it's like to be led by a loser!"

"HA HA HA!" A fourth Imp pointed at Sachi tauntingly while cackling. "Look at her! She looks like she's about to frigging cry, fellas!" He leaned in closer towards her. "Where's that confidence now, huh?! Where'd it go?!"

This triggered within Kirito a spike of fear and concern for Sachi. But when he looked towards the Undine, he saw that he had no reason to be worried. To his surprise, Sachi wasn't about cry at all. Her expression was blank as she continued to absorb the Imps' insults and accusations.

"Why stick up for a piss-poor leader like Mauve when you've got no idea on what true leadership is like?" asked a fifth.

That seemed to have finally struck a nerve in Sachi. She looked up at them, and they (and Kirito) were all startled by the fire and the ferocity in her tranquil blue eyes.

"I've got a good idea on what true leadership's like," the Undine hissed ominously. "And I know this because I've learned from the best."

Memories of Keita and Fjord danced through her mind as she continued to speak.

"I'm one of Lord Fjord's most trusted warriors. I'd do anything he says. And do you know why I would? It's because he's always believing in each and every one of our race. He inspires us and encourages us, every waking day, to do our best and our hardest for the sake of not just our own kind, but for others as well. He tells us that everything we do is not just done for our pleasure or his, but also for all the other Undines.

"And most of all, he'd never abandon us. He joins us in the gutters whenever he can and works hard too. Every minute of every waking day, Fjord's working his best and his hardest to get his race by every waking day. He shoulders the burdens of our race for the good of the Grand Quest and just ourselves in general! That is what a leader does! They motivate us, fight with us, think about us, and take on what we could not for the rest of us!

"Now, you may not have seen Mauve do those things back then, but she's here now, trying to prove herself to you again! She's here, ready to commence with this very important event on the behalf of all Imps, not Thystos! What does that tell you about the two of them?!"

"Dayum..." Agil whispered beside Kirito.

"Dude, Sachi's laying the facts out on those guys," Klein commented silently. "She looks like such a badass...and a cute one at that too! OW!"

Liz lowered her elbow with puffed cheeks. "Yeah, of course you would..." Then, she gazed at Sachi with growing interest. "Of course you would..."

"I dunno," one of the Imps said threateningly, "but it does tell me something about you..." He unsheathed his sword and pointed its shining tip at her. "You've got a big mouth on ya, and you've got no business speaking for my race, thinking you know how we all feel and how we should all feel and all that CRAP!"

The other Imps took out their weapons and joined their friend, beginning to advance on Sachi. An electric impulse and a memory of Granite Elementals shot through Kirito's entire body, and he started to lurch through the crowd. He could feel Asuna's hand grabbing onto his arm, but the instinct and the dizzying energy driving him was so strong that he vaguely felt himself tearing away from her like her grip had the strength of paper.

But all he could see in front of him was Sachi, back in the trap-room with those Granite Elementals and those Dark Dwarf Miners. She wasn't wearing her Undine uniform anymore, but rather her Moonlit Black Cats attire, and there was a mere, lower-level staff in her hands.

He was about to burst through the crowd, and as he did, he opened his mouth, preparing to cry out, "SACHI!"

But then, something landed in-between Sachi and the advancing Granite Elementals, destroying the vision. Kirito stopped himself, for he recognized the cyan hair, the catlike ears...and the bow and arrow, which was aimed squarely at the lead Imp's face.

"Go ahead, creep," Sinon said, the utter hostility and hatred seeping through her normally cool tone. "Go on ahead. Let's see how you like it with one between your stupid eyes."

Kirito saw the stunned Sachi's mouth move, but he couldn't hear the sound coming from it. Nevertheless, he knew what she was saying.

"Sinonon..."

The Imp at the front of the pack gagged and broke out in a cold sweat of fear. With his eyes glued onto the jagged tip of the arrow, he slowly lowered his weapon and took a cautious step backward, movements that his comrades mirrored.

Sinon didn't do so much as crack a tiny smirk, but the triumph was obvious in her eyes. "That's more like it."

The lead Imp gritted his teeth and glowered at Mauve, who was initially looking toward Sachi and Sinon with admiration. The Lord then sensed his gaze and whipped her face back at him, the shame returning to her visage just as quickly.

"Ju-Just you wait, Lord Mauve," he taunted with a shaky voice. "Without Thystos vouching for you, we're gonna give you the damn boot next month. I-It's more than what you rightfully deserve!" He looked to his companions. "Come on, fellas. Let's get the hell outta here."

He sheathed his weapon and started walking away. Most of his friends followed after him, muttering insults and curses all the while. However, one of them remained behind to deliver Mauve, Sachi, and Sinon a slit-eyed gaze. Kirito turned tense again, mentally preparing himself to intervene on Sachi's behalf whenever necessary.

"Relying on an Undine and a Cait Sith to act as your cheerleaders," the remaining Imp growled. "Great going there, Lord Mauve. Great going."

Mauve tried to utter a protest, but she didn't have the willpower to muster herself into it. Either way, the Imp had given his feedback, and with an irritated huff, he turned his back on her and walked off. This left Mauve to deal with Lync and the rest of her entourage, all of whom turned to look at her, one by one.

"They've got a good point, Lord Mauve," Lync said with a low voice. "Regardless of what the truth is, your actions during the Salamander debacle have damaged the Imps' reputation in the eyes of the wider ALO community. What a Lord does during his or her tenure is reflective of the race as a whole. Not just in the context of the game's lore, but to the broader gaming community in the real world."

"I know, I know..." Mauve muttered dejectedly, her face lowering again.

"Everything's riding on the Convention of the Nine now. If the Imps don't come out of it stronger than ever before, then we may never recover from it." Lync looked at Sachi and Sinon, then at Kirito and the others in the crowd. "You'd better hope Lords Fjord, Sakuya, and Alicia understand the importance of our new alliance...and how shaky its foundation is at the moment."

"Lord Fjord knows what he's doing," Sachi replied with steel in her voice. "He won't leave you behind, nor will he let the Imps down. I promise."

"I hope so, Sapphire Shielder..." Lync slowly narrowed his eyes at her. "For your sake, I hope so."

Kirito's eyes widened slightly.

"Is that a threat?" Sinon hissed, her grip on her bow tightening.

"Oh, no. Not at all, Archer. If I truly were threatening your girlfriend, then I'd just let my Lord do all of the talking for me. But since she isn't in any capacity to do so right now..." The Imp captain shot a furtive side-glance at the aforementioned Lord. "Well, you know."

Lync then lightly tapped Mauve twice in the shoulder, catching her attention. But she sullenly looked at her captain, who expectantly stared back at her in wait.

When she didn't react any further, Lync sighed and asked, "Your next orders, my Lord?"

"Huh?" Mauve quickly shook herself out of her depressed stupor. "Oh. Uh...l-let's settle in, everyone. Lync, f-find a...a..."

Her voice trailed off, and she lowered her face again, her lower lip quivering. Kirito looked at Lync, and he could see him restraining another deep sigh of frustration while evidently keeping an eye on Sachi.

"He reminds me a little of Kibaou," he thought. "Except the more asshole-like qualities are a lot tamer, obviously... Gotta watch out for him whenever he's around Sachi..."

"You heard the lady, men," Lync finally said in exasperation. "Let's find ourselves a hotel."

"What's our budget though, sir?" Grem or Wacket asked.

"Thystos- I-I mean, Nicander burned up a lot of our «Yrd» into our fake alliance with the Salamanders," added Wacket or Grem.

"Well, we just have to find a hotel that we can afford," Lync replied in cold frustration. "Even if it's dirt-cheap."

Kirito looked back at Sachi, and he saw how she was watching Mauve. The Imp entourage continued its stroll across the Alne square, but it no longer looked as regal and powerful as it did on first glance. Mauve's face was still lowered to hide her shame, Lync seemed to be the one leading them now, Grem and Wacket were bickering about costs, and the others just looked embarrassed to be in Alne right now.

Once the entourage left the square and got out of sight, the crowds lining the walkways broke up, allowing Kirito, Asuna, and Yui to regroup with Sachi and Sinon. Once they got close enough, Sinon noticed Asuna and took a cautious sidestep closer to Sachi.

"Who are you...?" the Cait Sith asked in a low voice.

"Huh?" Kirito blinked in confusion. "Sinon, did you not get Agil's text?"

Sinon's body started to fidget with befuddlement and discomfort. "What text? I don't even have his phone number..." The archer turned to Sachi. "Sachi, what's going on?"

But the Undine did not answer at first. She was simply watching the direction Mauve's entourage took to exit the square. It took a forceful nudge from Sinon to catch her attention.

"Huh, wh-what?!" Sachi whipped her head towards Sinon. "Wh-What is it, Sinonon?"

Sinon awkwardly gestured to Asuna with the edge of her bow. "Who's she, Sachi...?"

Meanwhile, Asuna leaned in towards Kirito's side so she could surreptitiously take his wrist. "Hey, Kirito?" she whispered. "Does this girl know about me?"

The Spriggan smiled and patted the top of her hand. "Yeah, she's good. Sachi can vouch for her."

"Huh? Oh!" Realizing who she was talking about, Sachi took Sinon's wrist and gestured to Asuna with her free hand. "Uh, Sinonon, this is Asuna, the girl we're looking for. Kirito's...g-girlfriend." She met Asuna's gaze. "Asuna, this is Sinon, my friend and my partner in ALO."

"Oh!" Asuna gave Sinon a sweet smile. "Pleased to meet you, Sinon."

"L-Likewise..." The Cait Sith stared back at her and took in all of her physical details with incredulity. "So...you're Kirito's girlfriend?"

"Yes, that's right. Well, technically, we're more than just boyfriend and girlfriend. We're-" Asuna looked at Kirito tenderly. "We're married."

Kirito met her gaze and nodded lovingly at her. However, deep down, he couldn't stomach the dull feeling of agony when he saw Sachi twitch in his peripheral vision.

Meanwhile, a certain glimmer passed through Sinon's eyes. "I...I see..." She scanned Asuna from head to toe, seemingly sizing her up like a cat encountering one of its brethren. "We were looking for you. How'd you turn up?"

"It's...It's a bit of a long story, but basically, I managed to get away and wound up here. Then, Kirito learned I was here and rushed on over here to see me."

"I see..." Sinon said again. Then, she looked at Sachi. "So, it's over now? Asuna's been found, so she can-"

"Actually, Sinonon," Sachi interrupted, "Asuna's not out of the woods yet. We've got new problems now..." She narrowed her eyes. "Bigger ones..."

Sinon's expression grew cold with understanding. "I see..."

A brief but awkward silence settled into the air and hung over them like a dark cloud. Kirito and Asuna looked perturbed, Sachi exhibited a look of moroseness, and Sinon could only just look at all of them one by one, reading their expressions. Soon, Asuna's face brightened up, and she spoke up with a cheerful voice, ostensibly in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"So...Sinonon, huh?" she commented.

"Yes..." Sinon replied with a hesitant nod.

"That's a cute nickname." Asuna smiled at her in earnest. "Uh, do you mind if I call you-?"

"No."

Sinon's voice was cold and sharp, like a freshly crafted sword. It sliced through Asuna's extension of friendship with such hostility that it stunned Kirito, Sachi, and Asuna.

"The only one who can call me that is..."

But then, Sinon's voice trailed off and she looked away in embarrassment, surprising Kirito and confusing Sachi. Even so, Asuna took the message in an instant.

"A-Alright," the chestnut-haired girl said. "Sinon it is, then."

– X-Y-X –

Real World, Kirigaya Residence, Kawagoe, Saitama Prefecture

"But, before you go on ahead and attack me in the middle of a public street, do know this, Sugu: I've got friends, some of them in pretty high places. If they find out what has happened to me, then rest assured, they won't be as forgiving to you, your onii-chan, and your mom as I am."

Suguha opened her eyes, but all that she could see right in front of her was white. Her body was rejoicing in the searing warmth of the shower water pouring down her body and into the nearby drain. A thick fog of steam floated around her, a veil to obscure her vulnerability from any prying eyes. And even though she knew no one was watching her right now, it was a false assurance that she desperately needed after what she had to endure mere minutes ago.

The steam briefly parted, and she could see the empty mouthwash bottle in the nearby trash can. She shuddered.

"Now that that's done with, it's time for you to be a good little girl and do your assignment."

Suguha then glanced in the direction of the bathroom door. It was closed, preventing the steam from leaking out, but she knew what was resting behind it.

"Take this and this. Once you get home, I want you to empty that bag out and place the stuff that's inside all over your lovely little house. Both floors. Inside and outside, front yard and backyard, kitchen, living rooms, bedrooms...bathrooms..."

Suguha retched at the memory of Yanai wiggling his eyebrows. She felt an incessant need to put bleach on her brain.

"I'm gonna give you an hour to do that, and that includes the time it takes for you to get home. Once you're done with all that, use the remote inside to activate them. The password is 'Stacia82'. Press the red button, then the green button. After that, gimme a call on this cellphone. It's untraceable. The number to reach me is written at the bottom. If you need help on how to operate that, well, you're gonna need to look it up. Now, I know you've already taken a liking to me. The same goes with me. But I've got somewhere to be soon, so I can't dawdle around for a second longer."

"And what happens when I call you...?"

"That, my darling Sugu, is my little secret. But let's just say I want some tests done regarding the cameras."

Suguha wiped droplets of liquid away from her eyes. She couldn't tell if they were tears or just droplets from the shower water, but either way, it didn't matter.

"I'm in too deep now," she thought grimly. "There's no turning back. If I don't do what he says, he's going to...to..." She shook her head at the thought. "N-No, don't think about that, Suguha! Don't think about the bad stuff! Do what Grandpa used to tell you! Work hard and fight hard for the people you care about! Onii-chan, Mom...this Yanai person didn't bring up Dad, but he's gotta have his sights on him too! Just remember, you're enduring adversity for the people you love!"

She wiped her eyes again, stood up, and turned off the shower.

It took her several minutes to complete the setup, but once the fully-clothed and decent Suguha finished positioning the last spy-camera on her desk, she procured the remote Yanai mentioned. She raised an eyebrow of surprise at it, mentally noting how she'd never seen such a remote before. Then, she noticed the RECT company logo at the bottom.

"Dumbass didn't bother hiding the RECT logo," she thought in amusement. "This must be a prototype that the company's still working on. If he's got access to this kind of equipment, then that must mean he's an employee. A high-level one, at that. No wonder he mentioned having friends in high places..."

With that, Suguha proceeded to follow Yanai's instructions. After typing in the password and pressing the buttons in the correct sequential order, she watched as a miniscule red light blinked on above the camera lens. She frowned in tranquil fury, and she raised her middle finger in front of the camera.

"Hello there, you damn pervert," she snarled defiantly.

Then, Suguha picked up the older phone from her desk and dialed the number handwritten in the small sticky-note at the bottom of it. After a moment of confused hesitation, she put the phone to her ear and waited for the recipient to pick up.

Eventually, a voice drawled out from the other end of the line, "Good evening, Sugu."

"I did what you asked me to," she growled.

"Yes, yes, I see. I also saw the little greeting you gave me as soon as you activated the cameras."

Suguha's face paled, and she glared at the spy-camera on her table, triggering a malevolent chuckle from the other end.

"You know," Yanai commented, "if you wanted to fuck me, all you had to do was ask."

"Shut up..." Suguha clenched her teeth so tightly that they might've as well broken under the pressure. "Shut up, y-you, you, you BASTARD!"

"Well, unfortunately for you, this bastard is in total control of your life now. And I-"

He suddenly cut himself off, and Suguha could hear distant voices in the background. She then heard Yanai talking in an indecipherable voice to someone, a conversation that lasted for less than a minute. Once it ended, his voice returned to the phone.

"Who was that?" Suguha asked. Then, the corner of her lip twitched into a smug grin. "Afraid your mommy's gonna catch you talking to a junior high-school student?"

"For your information, that was my boss, who just so happens to be in charge of this whole thing."

Suguha swallowed, making sure the sound wouldn't get picked up by the phone. A single bead of leftover sweat from the warm bath dribbled down her temple.

"I know I said that I wanted you to do some tests regarding the cameras," Yanai continued, "but...I am afraid that I've been called away to attend to a more...important errand."

"Oh, I can already feel the tears flowing," the girl replied dryly.

"But! Don't think that the tests are cancelled. I'm just postponing them for now. Besides, I can see you just fine in my screen."

Suguha's eyelid twitched nastily. "Then what the hell do you need tests for?!"

"Ohhhhh, my innocent, innocent little Sugu. I did say the tests regarded the cameras, but they're not exactly on the cameras, per se. Rather, the tests concern you...and your ability to put on a nice show for the camera, if you know what I mean, heh heh heh..."

She could immediately feel everything draining from her body. All sorts of unsavory images raced through her mind, each one more horrifying than the last. Her heart felt weighed down by an overbearing weight, a weight threatening to drag it down into an abyss with no bottom.

"I'm...I-I'm gonna...gonna..." she whispered. Her vocal cords could do nothing but produce her voice as a mere whimper of powerlessness.

"Gonna what?" Yanai snickered triumphantly. "I already broke your shinai, Sugu. I don't wanna break anything else in your life...like your Onii-chan, for example. Heh heh heh, ha ha ha, ahahaha, HA HA HA HA HA!"

Suguha winced from Yanai's evolving cackling, but she did nothing to protest. The memories of Kazuto smiling returned to her mind, haunting her and taunting her with everything that was at stake, dangling at the edge of a cliff. Deep in her mind, she knew that one wrong move would spell the end of her family.

So, she didn't hang up and throw the phone against the wall, shattering it into pieces. She just continued to stay on the line, no matter how much she didn't want to hear any more of his detestable voice.

Eventually, Yanai stopped laughing and said in a singsong voice, "I'll see you later, Sugu!"

He punctuated the end of the conversation with a loud, disgusting smooching noise before hanging up. But the horrified Suguha stood still, paralyzed with terror. She could vaguely feel the phone slipping out of her frozen hand and clatter to the floor.

Then, she gasped, tightly clasped her hands over her mouth, and made a mad dash for the bathroom, retching.

– X-Y-X –

Alfheim, Scionus Castle, Scionus, Imp Territory

Recon gasped the moment Leafa materialized in the middle of the room. Before she could even fully complete her spawn, he was already sprinting towards her like an overjoyed puppy. His arms were wide open, and his smile was as wide as it could possibly be.

"LEEEEEAAAAAFAAAAA!" he cried in immense relief.

"HUH?! AAAAAUUUUUGGGGGHHHHH!"

A millisecond later, Recon was thrown back by a strong force comparable to that of an elephant. He could feel the searing handprint on his cheek. Then, another millisecond later, he collided into the wall, knocking the wind out of him.

"HUACK!" he gagged.

"Wh-Wh-Wha...?" Leafa gawked at Recon as he slid down to the floor, and she seemed to finally recognize him. "Recon?!"

"Sorry..." he moaned pathetically.

"Wh-Wh-What did I tell you about trying to pounce on me like that?! Pervert! Creep! Deviant!"

The Sylph warrior grabbed anything and everything she could and started hurling it at her partner. Recon screamed and impulsively covered his face with his arms. With that, he started to be pelted with various objects, each of them coming within seconds of one another.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Leafa!" he cried. "Pl-Pl-Please don't hit me anymore!"

Eventually, the firestorm stopped...and was suddenly replaced with sniffling. Surprised, Recon carefully lowered his arms and found Leafa crying, her eyes bloodshot and her cheeks rosy-pink. She seemed frozen in mid-movement, the random chair leg held in midair by her hand.

"L-Leafa?" he asked. "Is everything alright?"

With another sniffle, Leafa lowered her arms and used one of them to wipe her face. "Yes, I'm fine!" she barked.

"Y-You don't look fine..." Taking the initiative in an unflinching way that surprised even himself, Recon stood up and then approached her with slow, steady steps. "Y-You know...y-you can tell me what's wrong."

Leafa lowered her forearm and stared at him. "Huh...?"

He simply smiled at her. "I told you!" He unsheathed his dagger and held it up in the air, taking on a dramatic pose as he did so. "I'm your dagger, and no dagger leaves its owner's hip!" Then, Recon lowered the weapon. "No matter what, I will always be by your side! So you might as well just tell me what the problem is, Leafa! Maybe I can help you out!"

Leafa looked back at him in disbelief at his resolve. At first, Recon could see the glimmer of hope in her green eyes, and it made his heart flutter with joy. Not once did Leafa ever acknowledge his skill and his usefulness, even when he was the one who taught her the ins and outs of ALO. She was like the popular girl using the nerd as a means to an end, although Recon knew that Leafa wasn't like that, not after months of playing beside her. Thus, the realization that all of that could change at any moment, that Leafa was truly about to acknowledge him, stunned the male Sylph player to no end. It was a dream come true for him.

Then, Recon's resolve broke when the glimmer faded away in Leafa's eyes, and she reluctantly looked away.

"If Sinon were here," the female Sylph said in a low voice, "she'd be saying how weird of an analogy that is. And it is."

He moaned sullenly in response. "Another failure..."

At that moment, there was another bright flash of light, attracting the two Sylphs' attention. When the light faded away, a Spriggan stood in the middle of the room, but not the one either of them were expecting.

"Oh, Philia!" Leafa greeted.

"Huh?" Philia shook herself out of an apparent stupor, and she looked at her with faded eyes. "O-Oh. Hey, Leafa."

Recon and Leafa were quickly taken aback by the female Spriggan's downtrodden mood. They could recall how excitable and mischievous she was the last time they laid eyes on her, mere hours ago. Now, she seemed to be as cold and distant as Sinon was on a normal day.

"Are..." Leafa briefly hesitated. "Are you alright...?"

"Hm?" Then, Philia realized something and forced a smile onto her face. "Y-Yeah! Sorry about that. I...I had some stuff to take care of at home. Anyway..." She looked around with pregnant expectation. "Where are Sachi and Sinon? Did we log on before the others?"

"Actually, we're the last ones to log on," Recon explained.

"Huh, I see..." The Spriggan narrowed her eyes slightly. "I heard there were some interesting developments going on at the World Tree."

"Well, all I know from the guards here is that Sachi, Sinon, and the others rushed on over to Alne. It's gotta be because-"

Recon quickly caught himself in midsentence and shut his mouth. Leafa shot a glare so fiery and furious that it made him want to spontaneously combust. That feeling only increased tenfold when Philia looked at him in intrigue.

"Because what?" the Spriggan asked.

"B-Be-Because of the Convention!" Recon blurted out. "Th-Th-That's what I was gonna say! Because of the Convention!"

"I-I see..." Philia narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion, but she then said in a chipper voice, "Okay, then! Let's get going to Alne too! Can't afford to be the ones who miss out on all the fun, now can we?!"

"No, not at all," Leafa replied. With that, she summoned her wings and lifted off into the air. "Come on, you two! Let's go to Alne!"

Philia activated her Flight System as well and became airborne. Recon watched Leafa fly in the air for a second before he swiftly whipped out his joystick, nearly dropping it in the process. As he used it to navigate his flight, he kept his eyes on Leafa, not liking the way she was no longer meeting his gaze.

"Leafa..." he thought. "Something's wrong with you. I can tell. So why? Why won't you tell me what's wrong? Do...D'you really not believe in me and my ability to help? Just because I've got a track record of uselessness, it doesn't mean I am completely useless! Why won't you let me help, Leafa? After all, I...I..."

– X-Y-X –

"I'm so sorry, Recon..."

Leafa couldn't bring herself to look at Recon again. As she started to follow Philia out of Scionus Castle, she could feel her partner's confused stare on her. She had been playing with him long enough to know that she could never shake him off, not unless they had an actual mission that he could preoccupy himself with.

And she knew him long enough to understand that Recon desperately wanted to help her.

"I know you just want to help, I know you really want to. But..."

The memory of the shadowy figure watching her walk home with Shinichi entered her mind, infesting it like a disease. A horrible shudder traveled down her body.

"I can't get you involved. No. He's already threatening my family; I can't have you being in his crosshairs too. It'll be too much for me to bear otherwise." Leafa wiped her eyes with her forearm, trying her best to keep the movement subtle. "I can handle things from here, Recon. It's for your own protection."

– X-Y-X –

Alne, Neutral Territory, Base of the World Tree

Sachi stood in front of the hotel where she knew Mauve had checked herself in. Grem and Wacket stood at guard beside the front doorway, lazily acknowledging her presence and looking close to dozing off. But Sachi didn't bother to enter the building and check on the Imp Lord. Instead, she stood still and looked up toward the topmost floor, where Mauve had to be at. She could imagine her preparing herself for the Convention of the Nine, even though her confidence and her self-esteem had to be dashed against stones by that point.

"Salamander or not, though, he made a faaaaar better leader than you could ever be. I mean, what leading have you done, besides leading us into a surrender to the Salamanders' terms?!"

Sachi clenched her fists at the memory of the Imp dissident's words. With a swish of her battle dress, she turned around and walked off, her shoes clapping against the cobblestone pavement and punctuating her march of frustration. A litany of players lounging on the walkway noticed her and made way for her, sensing her deadly, broiling fury.

"How could they be alright with a Salamander leading them?" the Undine thought. "How could they not understand what Mauve has been dealing with? It's not fair that they're still blaming her for any of this! It's not! Who the hell do those lil' bastards think they are?! I'm gonna find 'em, and I am gonna wrap my hands around their lil' necks, and I'm gonna-"

Before she knew it, something within her had snapped like a twig. Bursting with anger and contempt, Sachi slammed her clenched fist through a vendor stand beside her, so hard that it shattered into two and sent splinters of wood flying in all directions. The older female NPC stationed near it let out a horrified yelp but did nothing to stop the violent act and save her stand. She could barely hear the players and NPCs within sight reacting in surprise to her action.

"Damn them!" Sachi shrieked shrilly. "Damn them all!"

Whispers and murmurs immediately broke out amongst the witnessing players. Their voices traveled to her eardrums in a gossipy chorus.

"Whoa, what the hell?"

"What's up with that Undine?"

"Dude, I think that's the Sapphire Shielder!"

"The Sapphire Shielder?!"

"Dude, no frigging way!"

"Yeah, I remember her! She was sticking up for Lord Mauve!"

"Of course she would conquer the Imps for the Undines. She's their anti-Dark Magic secret weapon, after all! And a cute secret weapon at that too!"

"You're calling her cute when she's got that weird look in her eyes right now?"

"Yeah, you got a point. Guess I ain't flirtin' with her now."

"Yep. Yanderes ain't all worth it, anyway."

"SACHI!"

Sachi's impulse switched from one of indulging her id's demands to act out furious rage, to one of motherly concern. She lowered her reddening, throbbing fist and looked towards the crowd. Sinon had broken through the barrier and was now running up to the Undine as fast as she could. The Cait Sith was barely able to hide her concern, and a deep, innate part of Sachi's subconscious hoped that Sinon hadn't noticed what she'd done, even though it was clearly too late.

"Sachi!" Sinon cried. Upon reaching Sachi, she took her friend's shoulders and squeezed them tightly, protectively even. "Sachi, I've been looking all over for you! Are you alright?!"

Then, before she could help herself, Sinon gently took Sachi's injured hand and examined it with laser-focused attention. She immediately felt the jealous and leering stares of dozens of men encroach themselves upon her and Sinon, but she did not try to reject her friend's gesture. Instead, she kept her eyes trained upon Sinon while the other girl continued her careful, gentle administrations.

"What happened, Sachi?" Sinon asked in a low but worried voice. "Why'd you do that?"

Sachi's voice was so low and yet so frustrated, something that the Cait Sith picked up almost immediately. "Even after all that we've done to help them...to help Mauve, Sinonon...the Imps still think that their situation with the Salamanders is all Mauve's fault... They still think Nicander is one of them..."

Sinon took a deep breath, and then she replied, "Well, you heard them. Their race was going through a very tough time. And when things get too tough, when you aren't getting whatever it is you want, sometimes, the only thing you could do is to just look for something to blame...or someone."

Sachi shook her head in disbelief and looked down in bitterness. "It's just not fair... Can't they see that Mauve feels guilty for what happened? She's not to blame. Nicander is."

"That's true. But in that state, it wouldn't matter to them, Sachi. Everything that they worked hard for has been rendered meaningless now." Sinon looked up at Sachi; their hands were still entwined. "I guess...the best thing that you could do in that situation is to work hard every day. Work hard like hell to get stronger and prove them all wrong. And eventually, they'll snap out of it themselves. Somehow. That's gonna be what Mauve has to do."

Sachi finally looked up at Sinon, and their eyes suddenly met. There was a spark between the two close friends.

"Do you really think so, Sinonon?" the Undine asked.

"Y-Yeah..." the Cait Sith replied, and she suddenly looked mildly nervous. "I-I think so."

At that moment, Sachi recalled the story of Sinon's childhood trauma. "Oh, yeah... I forgot. You've got experience in that sort of thing, Sinonon."

"As do you, Sachi," replied Sinon. Then, she cracked a wry smile. "As a certain bitch at our school would say, we are the killer and the outlier."

Sachi recognized the reference almost immediately, and she returned that smile with one of her own.

"A match made in Hell," she said.

The two adolescents then started giggling like schoolgirls in the midst of gossip. Sachi immediately felt all of the searing, white-hot fury in her vacate her body, leaving a golden, comfortable warmth in its wake. Everything about this felt right. It didn't matter if they were in the middle of a walkway in Alne, beside the scene of handmade destruction.

She didn't want anything about this to change.

Then, after a few minutes of this, Sachi heard Sinon's laughter die down. In that moment, she felt the stares around the both of them again, and she glared at the observers with all of the agitation she could muster. Frightened, many of them continued on with their normal activities, as if nothing had even happened. The NPC vendor began working on restoring her obliterated stand without confronting Sachi about it. A few players, many of them male and a couple of them female, were slower in complying, but eventually, they begrudgingly continued on with their day.

Once they were sure that nobody was awkwardly watching them anymore, Sinon spoke up in a low, shy voice.

"Thank you, Sachi..."

Sachi blinked. "Hm? Why're you thanking me, Sinonon? I should be the one thanking you."

"You thanking me?" Sinon shyly looked away. "I didn't do anything..."

"Well, for starters, you are a great friend. A really, really great friend. I couldn't have asked for anyone better, outside of the ones I used to have in junior high..." The Undine sighed in nostalgia, and she held onto Sinon's hands tighter. "I wish they could've had a chance to meet you. The Moonlit Black Cats. They would've loved to have you in our guild."

Sinon's face became pink with embarrassment. "I doubt it..."

"Yes, they would've! Ducker would've been flirting with you like crazy-"

The Cait Sith rolled her eyes. "You're not making your case very well, Sachi."

"Sasamaru would've liked to have you as a math tutor-"

"Well...I guess I am good at math..."

"Tetsuo would definitely be a person who you could've turned to-"

Sinon's face fell slightly. "I suppose..."

Sachi's face hardened even as she recalled her friends. "And Keita-kun, he would not have cared about the fact that you killed that robber."

"Are you sure about that?" The cyan-haired girl lowered her face further. "I seem to remember Kirito telling you...that he killed himself. After accusing him of killing you and your friends."

The Undine's expression suddenly became dark and grim. Kirito's words, among the first that he uttered to her upon his return from SAO, returned to the forefront of her memory.

"I tried to stop him, Sachi. I tried to. But...it was too late. He...He blamed me, Sachi. Said it was all my fault that you guys died."

"Yes...that's true..." Sachi replied, her voice coming out as a wistful sigh.

"What does that say about how he would feel about me, then...?" Sinon asked hopelessly.

The Undine took a deep breath and said, "It does not change a thing. Keita-kun is warm and kind and loving. He'd never do that under normal circumstances. It's just...well, if you love someone so much and have them ripped away from you so suddenly and unfairly, then you're gonna be blinded by grief. Grief can really change a person, just as much as rage."

Suddenly, a tangible image of Kirito happily together with Asuna flashed through her mind. Sachi felt her heart constrict with untold anguish at its mental manifestation.

"Yeah... It really can..." Then, with great difficulty, Sachi swallowed her emotions down and forced a smile onto her face for Sinon's sake. "Well, enough of that. Let's get back to Kirito and the others, Sinonon. We need to figure out what our new game-plan's gonna be-"

"Wait!"

Sinon's voice came as she took a hold of Sachi's hands next, maintaining their physical link. Surprised, the Undine stared at her friend and partner. Her visage was still pink and full of emotion, even though it was no longer readable.

"We've got time, Sachi," the Cait Sith continued in a shaky voice. "So...why don't we go shopping together?!"

"Hm? Shopping?" Sachi hesitated at the strange and abrupt request. "Shopping for what?"

"For...For more equipment! For upgrades! For health items! I dunno, anything!"

Sinon kept their hands entwined and stared into Sachi's blue eyes with her own cyan orbs. Sachi was absolutely stunned to see such enthusiasm from her friend, enthusiasm that appeared to be triggered by something that she did or said.

"Please, Sachi?" the Cait Sith asked. "Can we do this first? Before meeting back up with...with the others?"

Sachi instantly felt a twinge of guilt in her heart. "But...I really wanted to check on Kirito... Make sure he's doing alright with...with her..." Then, she stared deeply into Sinon's eyes, which were shimmering with silent but powerful pleading. "I can't turn Sinonon down, though. She looks like she's been looking forward to some alone time with me..."

She forcibly shoved her stubborn thoughts of Kirito to the back of her mind. Once she did, she smiled at Sinon again, and this time, it was a genuine one. A smile of love and compassion for her friend.

"Alright," she replied. "Let's go shopping, then, Sinonon."

With that, Sachi began to guide Sinon along the cobblestone walkway, gently holding her by her hand. The Cait Sith was half-dragged along, stunned by her friend's acceptance of her request.

"You just stick close to me, alright?" the Undine asked.

Upon hearing that, Sinon's lips transformed into a tiny but beautiful smile of happiness. Her grip tightened around Sachi's hand, and she started to match her friend's pace.

"As long as you stick close to me," the Cait Sith replied.

– X-Y-X –

"I'm so sorry, Sachi..."

As soon as Sachi turned her gaze away from hers, Sinon's look of elation twisted into a hardened, cold façade. She knew the thoughts that were going through her friend's mind, over and over and over again. She knew that, deep down inside, Sachi didn't want to go through with the shopping trip and was only going along with it for her sake. She had anticipated it, in fact, and that was exactly why she pressed ahead with it.

After all, it was just what she had planned with the others. Outside of that, her heart was aching, knowing that Sachi was never going to be able to keep her mind off of the roguish Spriggan.

Sachi, her closest friend, her only friend, her ALO partner, the only one who truly understood her, the one she-

Sinon slightly tightened her grip around Sachi's hand and continued to follow her towards the nearest marketplace.

"I'm so sorry. I know how much Kirito means to you. But, no matter how much he cares for you, no matter how much he loves you, his love for Asuna is tenfold. I can see it. I know it. And that...that is exactly why I must do this. It's for your own sake, Sachi. I can't let the two of you break each other's hearts. I just can't."

– X-Y-X –

It was just like Aincrad again.

That was the thought that passed through Kirito's and Asuna's minds while they sat in the outdoor patio of the hotel the group checked itself into. Of course, Asuna had no ability to check in due to her inability to access any kind of menu, so she spent the time loitering outside and in the lobby nearby. Ever since she came to that decision, Kirito decided to stay by her side every step of the way.

And right now, the couple's view of the outskirts of Alne, consisting of the entire wilderness that constituted Alne Plateau, was simply breathtaking. For something as plain and uninspiring as a flat, sprawling, emerald-green landscape, the sight was nevertheless an image that Kirito and Asuna both wanted to cherish for as long as they were in ALO.

It was simply that peaceful.

"Hey, Kirito-kun?"

Kirito's obsidian eyes met Asuna's hazel pupils, and he could feel his heart soaring higher than his wings could ever take him.

"Yeah...?" he responded.

She turned her gaze back to the Plateau. "I like this view."

"Hm?" Cracking a smile, the Spriggan looked at the exact same sight that his wife was taking in. "Yeah. I like it too."

"But it doesn't beat the view our cabin gave us."

It only took a millisecond for Kirito to remember what Asuna was talking about. "Yeah. I like this view, but I love the one our cabin gave us."

Asuna sighed longingly. "If only we could've managed to take it with us before we went to fight the Skull Reaper."

"Yeah." Kirito let out a solemn sigh of his own. "If only I decided to keep it to myself, that Heathcliff was actually Kayaba, at least for a bit-"

"Hey..." Asuna looked back at him, her brow slightly wrinkled. "If it weren't for that, if it weren't for you, Kirito-kun, we'd all still be trapped in that game. More people would've died. Instead, you saved the lives of over 6,000 people! If I had to choose between that and keeping our cabin, I would've picked the 6,000 people for sure!"

A grim glimmer passed through Kirito's eyes, and he looked back at his wife with guilt.

"But I didn't save you, Asuna," he said. "I didn't save you or those 299 other players. You're all still trapped, and I...I'm-" He sniffled, realizing for the first time that tears were dripping down from his eyes. "I am unable to do anything about it! D-Don't call me a hero, because I'm not one! A hero's supposed to save everyone, right?!"

Asuna's gaze softened, and she raised a hand to cup his cheek. "A hero doesn't have to save everyone, Kirito. If that just can't work, then the hero just saves as much as they can."

"And what if the ones they love are among those the hero can't save?!" Kirito took her hand and nuzzled against her very touch. "What if we exhaust all our options and I still can't save you?! How can I call myself a hero if I can't even protect the ones I love?! How, Asuna?!"

His entire body started to shake with overwhelming emotion, and he could feel his entire world spinning around him. But before he could succumb to a state of unshakable panic, Asuna dove forward and embraced him. He could feel all of her warmth enveloping him like the sunlight.

"I know how you feel, Kirito," she said, as tears of her own began to develop. "I know. I've seen my fellow soldiers die on the battlefield, and I...I keep wracking my head thinking of all the ways that I could've done to help them, to save them. But in the end, I'd comfort myself with the knowledge that their deaths would never be in vain. They would inspire me to keep on fighting to survive. I vowed to myself that, when I got out of SAO, I would find the families of my fallen soldiers and tell them that they died fighting to get back to them."

Asuna nuzzled her cheek against Kirito's. "So don't think that, just because you couldn't save me or any of the other 299 trapped players, you're not a hero. That doesn't mean anything like that, Kirito. That just means, well..."

"I know there's still 300 people trapped, a-and that she's one of them...b-but that doesn't mean you're not a hero. Th-That just means...there's more work to be done."

"There's more work to be done..."

"Yeah. So...y-you should never give up, Kirito! There's always another way! Always!"

"It just means that-"

"There's more work to be done."

"Huh?" Asuna's eyes slowly grew wide in surprise. "I...was gonna say it means that you're human like everyone else, but that works too."

"Oh. Sorry. It's just, well..."

Kirito's voice suddenly trailed off, and he began to recall his conversation with Sachi in fuller detail. It was a conversation that had been happening while he was still struggling to understand whatever his feelings for Sachi were. Now, it seemed a whole lot clearer to him what those feelings were, and he was feeling them even in the presence of his wife.

"I need to tell Asuna about everything..." he thought. "Everything that's happened between me and Sachi. How close we have gotten, the date that we pretty much set up, my unresolved feelings for her... If I don't act now, this madness will never end. I must be upfront with her. I need to draw a line in the sand now and see which side of that line I am on. For the sake of Asuna, Sachi, Yui... For everyone's sake."

"Asuna," he said, piquing her attention, "I need to tell you something."

The chestnut-haired girl blinked. She looked surprised and slightly concerned, which concerned Kirito in turn. But the boy knew that he needed to press on ahead. There was no turning back for him now. This was it.

"Yes, Kirito?" Asuna asked. "What is it?"

He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, his momentum was suddenly broken when screams erupted directly behind them. Acting upon their honed instincts, Kirito and Asuna whipped their gazes towards the front lobby. Their eyes were narrowed to slits while he reached for his «Black Iron Great Sword» and she grasped at empty air beside her waist.

The first thing they saw was a crowd gathering outside the hotel. Kirito and Asuna maintained their battle-ready positions and slowly advanced, but they relaxed those postures when they heard conversations and exclamations of excitement. It struck Kirito as intriguing that most of the people in the crowd were women and girls. And then, grand, bombastic music began to blare in the skies.

"Is that really Lord Puge?!"

"OMG, I...I think it IS!"

"He's so much hotter in person!"

"Ooh, ooh, I need to throw flowers for him!"

"I'D GO GAY FOR YOU, LORD PUGE!"

Eventually, Kirito and Asuna saw what appeared to be a marching band strolling down the street. It consisted of all Pooka players, using a variety of mythical Nordic instruments to play a strong, commanding tune for everybody to hear. Then, a half-dozen rows of Pooka guards marched into view after the marching band, their musical instrument-themed weapons on display.

And then, they saw Lord Puge himself. He floated down the street, elevated high in the air courtesy of the throne he was seated in. The throne, which was glittering with adorned gold and an assortment of multicolored gems, was held by four muscular Pooka guards, all of whom carried the massive weight like it was nothing. Puge waved dramatically and flashed a seductive grin at the onlookers, many of whom squealed in excitement at his presence. His sleek hair, as golden as his shiny uniform, swayed with the breeze like fresh blades of field grass.

Upon catching sight of him, Kirito and Asuna's stares of suspicion turned into ones of gigantic disapproval. Their distaste for the Pooka Lord and his operatic entrance was only further compounded when Asuna swiftly entered Puge's crosshairs; he gazed at her and delivered her a single wink that only made her shudder.

"Yuck." Asuna shuddered again. "I think I'm gonna go take a bath. I've endured enough ogling as it is."

"Yeah," Kirito replied, while keeping his disgusted obsidian eyes on the departing Puge. "You do that."

Asuna turned and prepared to leave when she stopped and cursed under her breath. "Damn. I forgot. I'm...I'm an NPC. I can't use the hotel showers."

"You looking for a place to take a bath, Asuna?" a familiar voice chirped.

Kirito and Asuna looked to see Agil, Klein, and Liz approaching them. Leading the way was Yui, who was flying around in her «Navigation Pixie» form; she settled on Asuna's left shoulder and looked at her.

"There's a fountain out back at the hotel," Liz suggested while pointing a thumb over her shoulder. "There shouldn't be a lot of people back there, but I can accompany you and keep watch for you."

"I'll go with you too, Mommy!" squeaked Yui.

Asuna sighed in relief. "Thanks, Liz. I'd appreciate that." She looked back at Kirito and gave him a soft, warm smile. "We will talk about it later, okay, Kirito-kun?"

"Huh?" Then, Kirito masked his uncertainty with a confident grin, even as his response was rushed. "Yeah. We'll do that."

He could feel his heart tighten up when Asuna giggled sweetly at him. Then, with Yui still on her shoulder and Liz by her side, she walked back into the hotel. Kirito watched her go, yearning rising in his eyes even as concern started to pour in his still-tightened heart.

And then, all of that was broken apart by Agil's voice.

"Talk about what later, Kirito?"

"Huh?" Kirito glanced at Agil and Klein, and he was dismayed to see their suspicious visages. "Oh. Nothing."

"Nothin'?" Agil repeated. "Didn't sound like nothin'."

"Come on, man," added Klein. "You don't have to hold back on us, you know."

But Agil already reached the natural conclusion. "It was gonna be 'bout Sachi. Wasn't it?"

Kirito's eyes grew wide. "Wh-Wh-What makes you think that, Agil?!"

"Dude. Ya remember our lil' phone conversation?"

"Well, you gotta do something about your lil' confusion, quick. 'Cause what do you think is gonna happen once we find out what's going on with Asuna? What happens if we get her outta ALO? Once she meets Sachi, shit's gonna hit the fan, Kirito. Hard. And I for one do not have the experience to guide you through that."

Agil's warning echoed through Kirito's mind over and over and over again, like a cursed mantra. He could feel his breath becoming hitched with worry, his lungs unable to exert any more computer-generated oxygen.

"Asuna's met Sachi now, man," Agil continued with a face wrinkled with immense perturbation. "And while shit hasn't hit the fan, yet, I can smell it comin' from a mile away."

"And if there's one thing that no self-respecting man should be in-between," advised Klein, "it's two ladies in the middle of a catfight." He was then caught off-guard by a stern glare from Agil. "What?! It's true, man!"

"Look, I'm working on that. But for now, Asuna needs to be out of sight. This...Convention's gonna begin soon, and this is going to bring a lot of people out of the woodwork, if it involves all nine Lords meeting up. We don't know if the mod is going to be among them. Right now, we can't afford to trust anyone." Kirito then looked away with shame. "And besides, that conversation's none of your business, guys. This is supposed to be between me and Asuna. No one else."

"Yeah, and I can see how well that's turnin' out for ya."

The Spriggan glared at his Gnome friend, red-hot irritation now flashing in his eyes. He was starting to not like the way Agil was talking to him.

"Look, you heard us!" he exclaimed. "We'll talk about it later!"

"Yeah? Well, define your version of 'later', man." Agil crossed his arms and furrowed his brow at the boy. "Will the two of you talk about it after she's done with her lil' shower? Or after this Convention's done and over with? Tomorrow? The day after? Next week?!"

"TODAY!" Kirito snapped, in a voice way louder and angrier than he expected to use for his friends. He saw Agil and Klein being taken aback by the outburst, but he was too annoyed to care now. "I'll take care of it today, so calm the hell down, okay?!"

"So you say you're gonna tell her today?" Agil blinked slowly, unconvinced. "Are you telling me the truth, man?"

"YES! GODDAMN!"

Any surprise that Kirito would've felt from his own outburst, mercilessly directed at the people he considered his friends, was quickly suppressed by his rising temper. Everything that had been happening to him ever since he cleared SAO was threatening to burst from his entire body and tear it into shreds. His overwhelming love for Asuna, his confusing feelings for Sachi, his bursting protectiveness over Yui, his awkward attempts to restore his relationship with Suguha, the stifling fact that Asuna and 299 other SAO players were now under Sugou's clutches, it was all a potent mix that was becoming too much for him to bear.

And so, he felt everything flowing out of his mouth like a dragon spewing fire.

"I don't need the two of you telling me what I should or shouldn't do with Asuna and this...this problem that I have with Sachi! You're not the ones in a committed relationship with her, you know!"

Agil's face softened, but his wrinkled forehead still remained. "No, we're not. But we're-"

"SO STOP ACTING LIKE YOU'RE MARRIAGE COUNSELORS OR SOMETHING! 'CAUSE YOU'RE NOT!"

Kirito's outburst was now beginning to attract the attention of bystanders, but he didn't care at this point, and neither did Agil and Klein.

"Dude!" Klein barked angrily. "Come on, don't get all pissy with us! We're only doing this because we care about the two of you! It's the only reason why we-"

"ALRIGHT, THEN! IF YOU DO CARE ABOUT ME AND ASUNA, THEN DO ME A FAVOR AND BUTT OUT! I..." Suddenly, Kirito stopped himself midsentence, took a moment to recall Klein's words, and then, he narrowed his eyes at the Salamander. "Hold on. The only reason why you...what?"

Klein instantly gulped, and he looked to Agil, who just shot him an annoyed glance in response. Kirito noticed this silent exchange, and he narrowed his eyes further at the two of them.

"The only reason why you what, guys?" the Spriggan snarled suspiciously. "Are you two...hiding something from me?"

Agil shot Klein another glare, which was filled with silent fury. Then, he took a deep breath and faced Kirito with colossal guilt etched on his dark-skinned face.

"He was gonna say...it's the only reason why we joined up with you and Sachi when you two went out to find Asuna," the Gnome replied.

Kirito blinked. "What?"

"You heard us, Kirito. We care about you and Asuna. We're your friends, remember?"

The boy narrowed his eyes and took a step backward. His mind was starting to connect the dots, one by one, and he did not like the picture it was creating.

"You guys were...monitoring me?" he asked incredulously. "To make sure I didn't make any moves on Sachi?"

Agil took a deep breath of both frustration and defeat. "Look, man, that lil' phone convo that we had, you weren't making a good case for yourself at all-"

"Oh, so that gives you guys the right to interfere in my private affairs?!" Kirito snapped in disbelief. Even as he spoke, he was continuing to connect more dots. "Don't tell me, Liz is in on this too! Am I right?!"

"Yes! She. IS. Because she cares about you guys too-"

"Well, I've got a message for her: I've got this."

"Yeah?!" Klein spat with a twitching eyebrow. "Well, from where I'm standing, Kirito, it sure looks like you DON'T got this right now!"

"Look who's talking, Mr. Casanova! You can't even seduce a grandma even if your life depended on it!"

Klein's brow twitched for a second time, and this time, it was more pronounced. "Ohhhhh, now that's frigging low, man, and you know it!"

"Kirito!" Agil barked. "Ya need to get a HOLD of yourself and think clearly for JUST one sec!"

"I AM thinking as clear as day, Agil!" Kirito replied with a quaking voice of wrath. "And this is my clear-headed self telling you this: for the last fucking time, STAY OUT OF THIS! This matter with Sachi, it's between me and Asuna! HEAR ME?!"

Klein gnashed his teeth at him with frustration, while Agil grimaced in discomfort at Kirito's outburst, but neither of them shouted any further. Everyone's eyes were on them at that point. Eventually, Agil took a deep breath to calm himself, and with one last glance of warning at Kirito, he walked back to the hotel. As for Klein, he remained, standing a couple of feet away from Kirito, though they felt as if they were staring at one another from a longer distance.

Eventually, the Salamander said, "Alright, Kirito. We'll have it your way."

"Good!" spat Kirito. "I'm glad we're finally seeing eye to eye on this!"

"But if this blows up, always remember: it's your face that's getting the entire explosion, not ours. And we won't be there to pull you back before the timer goes to zero!" Then, Klein delivered a pronounced scowl at Kirito's direction. "To think, I thought that, after all this time, you would know better than to tackle things alone, without your friends, 'cause it's never worked out that well for you in the past."

Kirito tightly clenched his teeth in brimming frustration. "I...seriously don't need your bullshit attempt at putting the last word in, Klein. Now, get out of here or I'm REALLY gonna kick your ass."

Klein didn't say another word. Instead, he gave him a sardonic nod of acknowledgment, turned around, and followed Agil into the hotel. Once he went out of sight, Kirito felt the pressure of present concerns and past events relax, seemingly at long last. But as soon as it did, the Spriggan felt another burden take its place: the burden of loneliness, even in spite of all the other players surrounding him.

He felt completely, horrifyingly distant and isolated from everyone and everything around him, exactly like when he was in the Town of Beginnings on the day of SAO's launch.

"I don't need their help," Kirito thought feebly. "I don't need it. This is between me...and Asuna...and Sachi...and no one else..."

Next Time: Sequential Probability Ratio Test

A/N: And that's the end of that chapter! Boy, what an explosive ending, am I right? And it's only going to get more fiery from here. I won't spoil anything for now, but let's just say that you shall be seeing a lot more investment in the conflict from our main characters in the near-future. And you'll see what I mean in the following chapters! ;D

Anyway, on a side-note, it's becoming increasingly clear to me that I'm tackling a bunch of mature themes and material that may or may not be inappropriate for a T-rated fanfic as time goes by. It's not going to stop here, let me tell you! I'm thinking of what I could do to keep everything implicit and tampered down, but there may come a point in time where a switch to an M rating will be pretty much unavoidable. I'll keep you all in the loop on that, and I say this because I think when one looks up stories on a certain fandom on , they will only find stories rated from K to T by default. It will take the casual reader an extra step to find the M-rated stories, and I am personally not a fan of that. So yeah, an advance warning would be in order if a rating switch were to happen with this story.

Okay, now I'd like to thank the following for reviewing:

-thanosinfinity29: I sent you a PM about this. If you haven't seen it yet, please check your inbox, and also, PLEASE do not use the reviews solely to communicate a PM message to me. Thank you!

-Tertius711:

1) Indeed, and I intend to make the best out of that second chance!

2) Oh yes, love triangles are simply platinum when it comes to writing out drama in stories! And I do intend to make the platinum in this story premium! At least to the best of my ability. Keep your fingers crossed!

Well, hope you enjoyed this early chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!