A/n:) Okay, orignally, I planned to make this one chapter or one-shot or...whatever...but since I was convinced to continue this story longer because of the Anime Club, I will ^_^ (Praise Anime Clubs EVERYWHEAH). Okay, bear with me though, as I am a slow person in terms of updating stories because of college and Life (apologies to AnimeAvarice for not updating FMA Second Generation quick enough). I have a question that I wish everyone should answer:
Do you prefer to watch Anime Eng Dubbed, Eng Subbed, or both? (I love both, so I'm indecisive XDD)
Now, on to the story of Love and Insanity XDD
Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online in any way, shape, or form. This is just a figment of my imagination about another author's creation ^_^
As the dust cleared from the battle between Gleam Eyes and Kirito, Asuna and Leafa called out the Black Swordsman's name. The black-purplish flame that would signify his death was not there either. Yui, worried for her father's safety and whereabouts, scanned the area to see if her father's been defeated along with Gleam Eyes. Nothing, not a single trace of whether he was alive, not even if he was still logged in from the server, "Mommy, something's wrong, I can't find his player ID anywhere in this world." Her mother, Asuna, brought up her own player menu to send a message to Kirito, but his name wasn't listed in her friend's message log. "Suguha...is Kirito in your message log? He's not listed in mine..." Kazuto's sister, nodded, but not even she had him on her friend's list. "What the...? He's not in mine either..." The former Second-in-Command for the Knights of the Blood Oath slowly slumped to the ground. Tears flowed quickly from Yui, reverting herself back to normal size and running towards the GM console. Leafa was about to call for her, but decided to stay behind with the grief-stricken Undine.
All we wanted to do was help make Valentine's Day special...
The room for the GM console had changed in a big way. Instead of the usual white room and the single black box-like console, the room's surrounded by screens of ongoing activity for both Alfheim and Sword Art Online. A miniature moat placed in the middle of the room, and around it with three stepping-stones included. The scenery that's pictured besides the moat was beautiful. Grass covered with flowers, and instead of the black console, it was a single white tree with just enough space in it for a keyboard and a screen to fit. As Yui nearly reached her destination, she noticed that a scrawny looking girl was typing. She had light blue hair, but pale skin peering through from her neck. Yui stopped slowly, knowing who she really is. Carefully choosing her words and approach, she cleared her throat a bit nervously. The room was small, but there was an echo when you spoke.
"Wh-what are you doing here? Aren't you...supposed to keep balance of this world in check...for any errors?"
The sound of light typing stopped, the scrawny girl turned around almost emotionless. She had the same outfit as Yui, a single white gown, only...the girl Yui thought she recognized isn't the same person at all. In the tiniest corner from the girl's right eye was a birthmark. Evidently, even as the girl stood up, she was a bit taller than the person Yui was expecting. Kazuto's daughter cautiously walked up to her, and checked to see what she typed inside the trunk of the GM console. The girl stood aside and walked off to pick some flowers, skipping on the three stones in the moat. On the trunk's screen, there was a list of commands, but before Yui could even search the problem of what happened to Kazuto, the word RESTRICTED in big red letters appeared. Just as Kazuto's daughter turned around to ask what had happened, the scrawny, pale girl was literally a few inches from the former therapist program's face...with her offering a single white rose. With a raspy voice, Yui barely heard what anything, but since she's also programmed to read lips and any language around the world, it wasn't to difficult to solve.
"What transpired in the corridors was never meant to happen, and I know the relationship between you two isn't exactly stable, but you'll need to gather the other two players in the corridor for what I'm about to say..."
Hesitantly, Yui grabbed the white rose and replaced the other flower in her hair. In return for the nice gesture, Yui placed her old flower in the emotionless girl's hair,"You know, this might bring color to your cheeks from being cooped up in here 24/7." At that, the taller girl cracked a tiny smile, but quickly hid it before Yui could even spot it. The surrogate child morphed into her pixie size and left tiny specks of glow dust as she left in a hurry for Leafa and Asuna. The scrawny girl looked into their direction before resuming to pick flowers from the grass. It was pretty amazing that once she plucked one from the floor, another sprouted in its place. If she dropped one, it would shimmer and break apart, appearing in the surface of Aincrad. The same is true for the flowers dropped in Aincrad being sent to the GM console. Footsteps were heard, but it wasn't the party that she was expecting. A man in a white lab coat, with hair turning brown to greyish, stood at the entrance. "Hello Kayaba. What brings you here?"
The middle-aged man cleared his throat in response to being called father, "First of all, I'm not the same person, I'm merely a copy of the man's consciousness. Second, this matter's brought to my attention after Kirito disappeared." His tone was rather harsh for someone who's a copy, but the scrawny girl knew that even the copy of Akihiko Kayaba had the same thought process/feelings as the real one. While the two waited patiently for Yui to return with her mother and aunt, the trio were discussing what happened while Yui went away. Red hand marks throbbed on both the Undine's and Sylph's faces, making Yui imagine what happened between the two teenagers.
"Mommy, did you and Leafa get into a fight?"
Stammering, Leafa tried to answer her with a polite no, but the Undine answered coldly first, "Yeah, but we're done now...right?" Normally, the pixie would scan her mother's readings to see what she's feeling, but her fear at the moment held her back. Nerves racking a bit, she sat down on her aunt's right shoulder as the Undine left for the GM console. Suguha followed along, staying a few feet from the wrathful Lightning Flash. Asuna herself wasn't feeling like getting into another confrontation either, but what her potential future-sister-in-law said to her really ticked her off.
"Hey Asuna, do you think that Kazuto...died...irl? Or-OWWWW!"
The former Second in Command's breathing quickened while she was on her knees. Right when Suguha blinked, a stinging sensation crept up on her cheek. At first, she had no reaction, until a few seconds by and her entire left cheek felt as though it were on fire. How her friend stood up quickly was beyond the Sylph's comprehension, but the anger she saw in Asuna's eyes told her that it wasn't the time for talk. A couple of ows later, she happily repayed the favor before Asuna was about to leave, "Get a grip, we're not going to figure this out if we slap each other silly." The duo stared at each other until a mini cat fight broke out, unbelievably forgetting that they both have swords. Asuna broke it up by pushing Leafa away, and stomped her away to the opposite wall. A few minutes went by until they heard Yui's voice calling out to them.
Not a word's been spoken the entire way when the trio arrived at the GM console room. The shock to see Kayaba's likeness in front of her made Asuna's jaw drop. Kazuto informed her that the creator of SAO uploaded his consciousness into the internet, but she figured he faked his death and was hiding somewhere else. "C-commander Heathcliff, wh-what are you doing here?" A big question mark popped into Suguha's head, not even sure about where or even how she met the man who stood in front of them. The look-alike smiled, and walked over to shake hands with his new guests. "I hope I don't come across rude, but as I told her and Kirito, I'm not the same man who you came to know. I'm simply an after-image, a ghost if you will, left to offer help in the development for the future." When it came to shaking Yui's hand, he held out his index finger for Yui to shake. At first, Leafa held her hand up to her shoulder to shield her niece, but with some persuasion by both parties, she accepted.
"Um, hi...can you tell us...why Kirito doesn't show up on our message log? Or that Yui can't find his player ID?" Suguha asked nicely. Before he answered, the scrawny girl tugged at his sleeve to offer him the chair to the GM console. It was a bit small for him to sit in, but he managed to fit okay. The middle-aged after-image examined the facts in his mind, until he reminded himself that the girl's also a part of the problem. "I see now, yes well...This is no easy tale, but do you remember a few years back that Kirito joined a guild called the Moonlit Black Cats?" The Sylph and pixie's faces became painted with confusion, but for Lightning Flash, her eyes narrowed suspiciously.
While Kayaba's consciousness spoke, Asuna drifted off to the side near the flowers, "As it turns out, this young lady here is the one who died under his care. Her name is Sachi." Again, no response from either The blonde fairy or her niece, but this time the cold-hearted Undine answered, "How is that even possible? You told us at the end of the original 'Death Game' that those who died can never return." During the time that Yui had spent in her weakened state as a game object, she managed to listen in on the last conversation between her parents and the real Kayaba. So with some sense, she understood what they're speaking about better than her aunt. Kayaba rose from the uncomfortable chair and floated over to a screen that replayed the part of the explosion between Gleam Eyes and the Black Swordsman.
"She, along with the other 4000 players of the original 'Death Game', managed to become the NPCs above the 74th floor. So when the World Seed carried a copy of this world, it also carried their essence." Impatiently, Asuna grabbed Kayaba's ghost by his tie and pulled out her sword, placing it at his chest, "Get to the point already! What does this have to do with KIRITO?!" Yui hid in fear behind Suguha, while the latter desperately tried to pull her away. Frowning, Kayaba's copy held his against Leafa's attempt.
"Everything...You see, in the original Aincrad, the 4000 deaths weren't supposed to give new life, so I gave Cardinal an order to eradicate all undesignated NPCs or bugs. This is the reason you weren't allowed to interact in the 'Death Game', Yui. Your program wouldn't have been able to distinguish the NPCs with the players still alive."
Tears were starting to flow from Yui as she disappeared into her mother's item list, having heard enough of the truth. Suguha did no better understanding what he explained, but she managed to pry Asuna away from the ghost scientist. Sheathing her sword, the Undine sat down on the grassy floor, but not without glaring at her future sister-in-law. "May I continue?" He asked nonchalantly. Both teenagers nodded, with Sachi being the exception, off in her own world gathering flowers five feet away from them.
"Now, the original Cardinal never completed her task, when Kazuto managed to defeat the original Kayaba. This in turn led to your conversation between you three Asuna, correct?" Asuna made no notion to agree with him, but figured her silence would give the facts all the same. After RCT Progress took over the software mainframe for SAO, they copied almost everything. The errors they reproduced mutated inside the new Aincrad, which is why Kazuto fought with Gleam Eyes instead of Fatal Scythe. Cardinal was also copied into this Aincrad, but this 'virus' placed her as the last boss, while it placed Sachi into this position instead of an NPC. With that in mind, I've noticed that Cardinal still had privileges the same as Sachi and that the Dual Blades skill in Kirito's list's considered corrupted."
Leafa nervously twirled her hair with her left pinkie, until she couldn't take it anymore," So, Kazuto's probably deleted because Cardinal thought he died in the original SAO?" Kayaba nodded slowly, looking off over to Sachi. "But...there is the possibility that he turned into an NPC instead. His played ID, which Yui noticed earlier isn't recognizable anymore by the system, is now restricted from Sachi's control so that Cardinal can analyze it and delete it. This will only leave you a couple of hours, maybe until midnight, unless you can somehow manage to find a way to reach the top floor and destroy her."
Asuna's heart sank quickly. It's true that every player on Earth contributed to clearing all 100 floors, but they hadn't even reached floor 30 yet due to the difficulty raised on each floor. It was impossible for either Asuna or Leafa to reach the top alone, so they'd have to put their differences aside to work together. Lightining Flash noticed Suguha staring, thinking the same thing, they'll have to ask everyone they know for help to pull off this rescue mission. "One last thing before I go, you should take her along with you, as the new Cardinal, she'll be able to help you three," the ghost of Kayaba gesturing over to the former Moonlit Black Cat,"Also, leave the newly NPCs above the 74th floor intact, their lives are now intertwined with this castle of ours, and serve a reminder to those of us that it's not always just a game...Best of luck..."
The ghost of Kayaba shimmered away into dust, while Sachi created a wonderful bouquet of white roses on the GM console. Asuna and Leafa eyed each other, until a smile crept up on both of their faces."Suguha, it's already 10 AM, I want you to contact everyone logged off to come and meet me at Taft on floor 11, got it? I'll message everyone here and take Yui and Sachi out of this place." The blonde Sylph nodded and took out a teleport crystal, shouting Town of Beginnings before she shimmered the same as Kayaba's consciousness. The former friend of Kazuto rose and dusted herself off very emotionless, before she followed Asuna out without a word. In the back of Sachi's mind, a certain memory of Kirito played over and over, where she thanked him and said good-bye. True, her personality isn't at all the same when she was truly alive, but the hope to meet him again brought life to her eyes, little by little. For Asuna, it was a whole different matter in itself.
It's my turn to bring him back...and I'm going to kill Cardinal for this...
Happy Birthday to me, the King of Cha0T1cPeace and Insanity XDD (No school for the King on the day of his birth...MWAHAHAHA I have taken over the world for today MWAHAHAH) 19 years...I FEEL SOO OLLLD XDD. Well, this chapter is A LOT shorter than I hoped, but it's enough ^_^. I'm kinda glad that I stayed up all night for this(even though this is short). Oh, yeah, sorry for any mistakes and confusion, lack of sleep makes me hallucinate XDD. I bet you guys are going, why make a bigger deal out of this story if it was just about buying a house? Well, for starters, I thought I'd mess around a bit, mostly because I realised I don't like writing only a one-shot or one-chapter or whatever story. Another reason is that I felt sorry for all the people who died in the game, even the total a**holes, and I wanted to give a sense that they're still alive, even if their bodies are destroyed in real life. Well this is enough for now, so for now, may our Love of Insanity take control of our Peaceful, yet Cha0T1c, lives XDD.