Sword Art Online: American Chronicles

by Flastor

This is a story about my brother and I fighting through Aincrad and our lives after the fact. Along the way, we meet friends new and known. We also face hardships and near impossible odds. How far will we have to go to beat the death game? And how will it change us after the fact? Enjoy! I had a lot of fun writing out this story.

7. Alfheim 1: Memories of Nobody

I woke up on my back in a forest, feeling like my brain had just been picked apart by pliers. Moonlight streamed through the canopy of green leaves. There were only a few things I could remember solidly.

My name is Flastor.

I'm 21 years old.

I'm a master swordsman.

I'm a Sword Art Online player.

Argo...

Who the hell is Argo? And why is that the only name I can remember?

I remembered other people. A couple, the girl wearing a heavy apron, the guy a green shirt. A girl with purple hair. Another girl with long red hair. Another couple, the guy wearing all black, and the girl wearing a white top and a red skirt. And a tall, skinny guy wearing a red trench coat. But their faces were fuzzy like someone had smeared them with a paintbrush. And I couldn't remember any of their names.

I got up and stretched. As I did I realized I was hovering above the ground by a few inches.

"Wait, what the hell?" I swung my arms, which caused me to tilt forward and slam my face into the ground. "Ow, what was that?" I said, trying to stand up without floating.

"Why are you in my territory, Imp?" I jumped at the unknown voice that was behind me. I turned to see a beautiful elf. With long black hair, and a really long, wicked looking Katana strapped to her waist. I was hit by a hint of Dejavu when I saw the sword like I had seen one similar to it.

"Uh... I've been called many things... Imp is a first," I said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Don't play dumb. Why are you, an Imp, all the way in Swilvane, Sylph territory?" She demanded. Her hand hovered over her sword, like one false move and she would cut me in two. "Speak! Are you a spy? A mercenary for the Salamanders?"

The more she talked, the more my head throbbed. On top of the fuzzy memories, this girl was shooting off of these words like I was supposed to know them. Salamanders, Sylphs, was she actually calling me an Imp? Like... A genuine Imp? I held up my hands in surrender.

"Look, lady..." Poor choice of words. Her sword materialized centimeters away from my throat.

"Sakuya, leader of the Sylph race, watch your tone..." She warned.

"Sorry... Sakuya..." I really turned on the honesty to keep my head. "I have no idea what a Salamander is unless you're talking about the lizards. I have no Idea what a Sylph is or where I am. I barely know who I am," I tried to sound as genuine as I could. I panicked and played the card I didn't want to. "I'm from SAO. I was in Aincrad literally 5 minutes ago..." Confusion washed over her face.

"In SAO five minutes ago?" She took her sword from my neck. "How is that possible? The SAO incident ended almost two months ago... Why have you not woken up with the others?"

1

Sakuya's last words hung in my mind.

"Two months? How could it have been two months?" I started looking around, hoping I was just having an extremely vivid nightmare. "Nah nah no... That can't be right. I was just there. The game just got cleared and I ended up in this room... There were voices..." All of my thoughts jumbled. On top of not remembering half of the people in my head, I lost almost two months worth of memory too. Just trying to comprehend that made my head fuzzier and made me nauseous. "Uhh. I don't feel so good..." I groaned, putting my hands on my knees. If I could actually puke from stress in VR I very well might have. Sakuya sheathed her sword and looked at me, half confused, half concerned.

"Maybe you should log out?" She asked.

I literally laughed out loud. "You say that like it's possible..." It took a minute to register why she said that. "Is it?" I let myself hope for a minute. I swiped down with my right hand to open my menu. Nothing happened. I tried again, and again nothing.

"Oh come on you stupid-" I was getting frustrated and waved my hand up and down to get the menu to open.

"Left hand," Sakuya said, looking at me like I was crazy.

I swiped my left hand down and the menu opened.

"Dumb..." I groaned.

I navigated to the logout button. It wasn't grayed out... Good sign.

I pushed it and a window popped up warning me that my avatar could be attacked since I was outside my territory. I don't care, I'm probably not coming back. I pressed it. What should have happened is I got put back in my real body. Instead...

A whole steaming pile of nothing. I instantly was filled with dread.

Before I could stop myself, I yelled: "God, DAMNIT!" Sakuya flinched like I was going to go berserk on something, or someone. I looked at her and calmed down. "Sorry... I was really hoping that it would work..." Sakuya's face softened.

"No. I'm sorry, that was probably a poor suggestion on my part. Most of the SAO survivors have woken up, but 300 of them are still asleep as if they're still trapped," Sakuya explained.

"Trapped here?" I asked.

"I know almost everything about this game, and I have been around since the beginning. Even before SAO was cleared. This is the first I have ever heard of an SAO survivor even being in Alfheim. Trapped or not," Sakuya said calmly. I sat down on the grass, holding my forehead.

"So... I'm the only one that hasn't woken up, but can still roam somewhere?" A faint memory surfaced from when I was in the dark room. "Does the name Nobuyuki Sugo ring a bell?" Sakuya thought for a moment.

"I'm afraid not... Is he a friend of yours?"

I remembered his words.

"You're mine now, guinea pig..."

"Yea, I don't think so. I think he's the one that's keeping me here." I thought of the second name I knew, and I instantly shot to my feet. Sakuya nearly fell over in surprise.

"What?" She said, her hand over her sword again.

"Argo... Please tell me you know someone named Argo?" I pleaded with my eyes for her to know Argo. Sakuya looked at me with wide dark green eyes.

"I'm sorry, but I do not..."

"Damnit... That sucks," I groaned, sinking back to the ground. "Now she is a friend. That much I know," I said, trying to hold onto that thought. "She..." That was weird... I remember Argo is a girl... I was really close to her...

Sakuya's face grew into a wild grin that was weirdly familiar to me... "Maybe a little more than a friend? Judging from the look on your face," she said, trying to cheer me up.

"Yeah," I sighed. My left cheek throbbed like it was about to get hit. Or like it has been hit before because of something I did. That, for some reason, made me realize something. "Ooohhh no... No no no CRAP!" Her face still didn't come back, but I knew that if Argo found out I was still trapped somewhere for 2 months... Well, she has to be a wreck by now. "I need to get out. Like... Now," I said while getting to my feet.

"I understand your want to leave," Sakuya said, walking up to me. "But it's not that simple."

She opened her own window, which looked more like an admin console.

Sakuya tapped a few buttons then frowned. "As I feared. Even I, who has almost the same credentials as a GM, cannot log you out..." Her eyes widened. "Open your Character Screen."

I did as she said. When I did I almost felt relieved to see all of my stats from SAO were there. I was still level 96. But all of my items, except for my sword, were just lines of question marks. Even my sword was different. Tryfng was replaced by a Basic Longsword. That was seriously depressing...

Sakuya spoke up. "You said you're a fresh spawn right?" I nodded. "And yet you have these incredible stats." She pondered for a minute while I cleared my inventory of all of my hard earned, now useless items. I felt completely robbed. Even my sword... I felt incomplete...

Then Sakuya appeared in front of me, uncomfortably close. "Come with me, Imp. I may have an idea on how to get you out."

"Um... Ok," I said, taking a half step back and closing my inventory. "How?"

"First we need to get back to Swilvane. When I found you I was on the hunt for intruders." As if the forest heard her, it began to stir unnaturally.

Sakuya and I drew our blades. "Who's there?" Sakuya demanded.

Three big guys in red armor stepped out of the shadows. They were all sneering at Sakuya like they just bagged a helpless rabbit. Their stares made me sick. Like I had seen hundreds of them before.

"Looks like we got a big catch today! Lady Sakuya, leader of the Sylph race." One sneered. His helmet was covering his whole face, but I could tell he was smiling a nasty grin.

"Eugene will reward us big time for her death. We'll be the heroes of the Salamander race." The other said. They said death like it was no big deal. It felt eerily familiar, like I was in a situation similar to this. Rage was starting to boil within me.

I stepped in front of Sakuya, and kept my gaze down.

"Who are you? Get out of the way, Imp." The taller of the three said. "We're on decent terms with your kind, and we would like to keep it that way. Unless you're a Renegade." He stepped forward and readied his broadsword. "If that's the case, then you can get lost, wimp."

I smiled, having a quick flash of my memory. I remembered sparring with the guy in red who had a sword twice the size of my opponent in front of me. Of course, that memory didn't stay long.

"What are you smiling at? You want to challenge me?" He asked mockingly.

"Not really... It's just funny that a delicate flower such as yourself is calling me a wimp..."

I could tell he was getting red hot under that helmet. "The hell you just-"

Before he could utter another word, I dashed forward with my sword drawn. But way faster than I meant. My sword was also way lighter than Tyrfing. It was like a twig.

"What the-" I cut him off by slicing upwards, cutting his hands clean off.

"You little..." The second guy came at me. Running straight to me with his sword level.

"You're too slow!" I yelled, deflecting his stab to the left.

I grabbed his wrist and pulled him forward, then I cut his hand off. I planted my leg and flipped him over it. He crashed onto his back. The third guy had flown up into the air.

Wait, how was he flying?

"Hey! Get back down here. I can't do that," I complained.

"What kind of Alfheim player can't fly, you must be a NOOB or something!" He chided from the air.

That freaking ticked me off to no end. For reasons I still can't explain, being called a NOOB by someone I could pulverize in a fair fight gets under my skin like nothing else does.

Instead of flying, I leaped as high as I could. Unlike in SAO, I could move a lot faster and easier here. It was like my body was 10 times lighter. I got eye level with the guy in the air.

"Hi..."

"How in the hell?" He tried to bring his sword down on me. But I deflected it upwards and got his hand before he could recover.

I sailed back to the ground. All three guys had stumps for hands and were complaining about the number of potions it would take to heal them.

"Who the hell are you?" one of them shot.

I smiled. Another name had surfaced.

"Flastor. I'm called The Blue Blur..."

2

I was sure I lost my mind now. Where the hell did I get the name 'Blue Blur'? It made me sound like a smear of paint.

I knew I wasn't just making stuff up. I was given that name... By Argo...

But why? I wasn't even wearing any blue. Just a black long-sleeved shirt and black pants. The 3 red guys, worried I would actually kill them and they would lose their levels, took off as fast as they could. I thought they had their priorities mixed, putting their levels before their lives, but whatever.

I sheathed my sword and turned to Sakuya, who was just staring at me in shock.

"How did you do that?" She asked.

I shrugged. "Sorry, I needed to let off some steam. I should have let you have some fun with them too," I said.

"No, not why... HOW? How did you beat them without killing them?" Sakuya asked, more forcefully this time. "Judging from their gear, those were 3 high-level hunters from the Salamanders' army. And you incapacitated all of them so effortlessly with only a basic sword."

"I mean, they're people after all. Sure, they may be jerks... But, why would I just kill them?" For some reason, I felt really uncomfortable talking about me killing people.

Realization washed over Sakuya's face. "That's right..." She stared at me. "While that is noble of you, Flastor, right?" Sakuya sheathed her sword and took a light, but serious tone. "This place is not like SAO. Players can die here and re-spawn like any other game. If backed into a corner again, do not hold back."

I thought about it for a minute, and I realized I did hold back that entire fight. My blows were all light because I was trying to not kill them.

"So what does that mean for me?" I asked. "I wonder if I'll still die if my HP hits 0?" Sakuya still looked troubled.

"We should get out of here, and head to Swilvane. There we can talk safely, and privately." I felt like Sakuya was eyeing me like a wild animal waiting to catch its prey.

"Um, sure. How far is this Swilvane place?" I asked.

"Oh not far, a short 5-minute flight from here," Sakuya turned around and green wings materialized from her back.

"No fair, damn it! Whatever the item is that gives people wings, I want it!" I complained.

Sakuya laughed. "You're a fairy. Everyone has wings." She walked toward me. "Turn around..."

I did as she said. I felt her hand touch the middle of my back.

"Feel here? Imagine you have your own set of wings sprouting from the center of your back." I did as she said, as I did, I could feel a tugging sensation near the center of my back.

"What are you doing back there?" I asked.

"Nothing at all," Sakuya said. "Imagine flexing those wings to full span." I did as she commanded, and flexed my back. The tugging grew harder. Then Sakuya shoved me. "Now, fly!" As she shoved me I jumped. Sure enough, I shot from the ground like a bullet.

"Holy CRAP!" I yelled. I panicked and flexed more thinking I would slow down, but I only sped up.

"Flastor! Relax your back!" I heard Sakuya yell. I did as she said and slightly relaxed my back. I slowed down considerably, then found the right tension in my back to slow to a hover. I looked down to see I was maybe 100 feet off of the ground.

"Woah..." I looked around, taking in the vast world around me. It definitely wasn't Aincrad, it felt way to open and free. For as far as I could see there were forests. In the distance, maybe 5 miles away, 4 white towers extended above the trees.

"That is Swilvane, the capital of the Sylph territory," Sakuya appeared next to me, crossing her arms.

"This is incredible. How long can we fly?" I asked.

"About 30 minutes or so, then you must rest. But that also varies on how fast you fly. The slower you fly, the longer you can last."

"This rocks! I've always wanted to be able to fly!" I turned in a circle, taking in the beautiful world around me. Then I spotted a massive white tower in the distance... Or at least I thought it was a tower. As I followed it up into the sky, the top splintered into smaller columns that spiraled across the sky. I realized it was a massive tree. I really can't explain it... But it gave off an 'I need to climb it' vibe. "What is that?" I asked, pointing to the tower. Sakuya turned and frowned.

"That is Yggdrasil... the World Tree. It sits in the center of Alfheim, this world," she explained. "I will tell you all about it over a meal, come." Sakuya started to fly to Swilvane. I leaned forward and hesitantly followed, trying not to fall out of the sky.

After we flew for 10 minutes or so (It only took that long because I lost my concentration and fell 100 feet), Sakuya and I finally reached Swilvane. Sakuya landed gracefully on the terrace of a large, government building, while I landed on my butt next to her. When I landed two armed elves ran next to me, brandishing their swords across my chest.

"Halt, Imp! You dare have the nerve to step foot on our land?" One guy said. He brought his sword to my chest.

"Yes I dare... Could you not?" I said, with my hands up in surrender.

"At ease men. He's a mercenary. He has come to work with us to clear the World Tree," Sakuya said, lowering the soldiers' arms.

"My apologies, ma'am." The guy sheathed his sword and offered me a hand.

"Thanks..." I took his hand and got up. Sakuya walked next to me and looped her arm around to mine.

"Follow me, my brave Imp." I was still freaked out when she got close. Like a burning sensation in my head was warning me that I was about to get punched.

"Uh. Okay?" I tried to free my arm, but Sakuya pulled me to the doors of the building.

As we were walking through the halls she gave me the details of this world. We were in a game called Alfheim Online. There are 9 races of fairies to choose from, all of them were basically in a turf war with each other. Some were allied, like the Salamanders and the Spriggans had an understanding. The Leprechauns are mostly blacksmiths and traders, so they get along with everyone because they're basically arming everyone for said turf war.

Sakuya moved on to explain the grand quest for Alfheim. Clear the World Tree raid. The first race that did, gained infinite flight.

The ability to fly as long as I wanted to had me wanting to raid the Tree right now.

"Let's round up a raiding party and beat the World Tree!" I said, feeling pumped.

Sakuya laughed. "If only it were that simple. It's been two years and not one race has cleared it."

"What? No one? Why not team up and..." I thought for a minute. "Because only one race can get the flight."

"Very sharp of you, Flastor. What's more, it seems nigh impossible to beat the raid with only one race of fairies."

"That hard, huh?" I thought about all of the raids I had ever been a part of. Even with my foggy head, I knew that not one was so hard that it wasn't beaten in 2 years of being open. "Is there a side quest you need to do in order to make it easier?" I asked.

"That's what we thought. But we have scoured all over the world. No such quest exists..." Sakuya said grimly.

"So the raid is designed to never be beaten unless the races work together. But none of the races will work together because only one will get the reward..." The thoughts began to form in my head. "What's past the World Tree?"

"The City of Yggdrasil. A floating city on top of the tree." Sakuya said.

"But no one has seen this city? Has anyone tried to fly up the side?"

"One group did..." Sakuya gazed at the ceiling as she remembered the tale. "They flew as high as they could, piggybacking off of themselves, and took some pictures. They are very interesting. They are actually some of the things I want to discuss with you."

We walked into a big office, with a mirror on the left side, and a desk at the head in front of a line of windows. Sakuya walked to the desk and sat down. I sat in the chair on the other side.

"First and foremost," Sakuya started. "I want to ask you to fight with us. We have been discussing an alliance with the Cat Sith to the west. This alliance will set the stage for the first combined race raid on the World Tree."

"But... Only one of you will get the flight," I said, confused.

"It's less about the reward now and more about curiosity. We just want to beat the raid, and see the end," Sakuya said, interlacing her hands.

I thought for a minute. Based on what I heard, if something was going on behind the scenes... The best way to hide it and cover it up is behind an unbeatable raid. So if I had any chance of finding out anything about my lost memories, I had to beat the raid...

"I'll fight, I want to see this floating city on top of the tree. That sounds cooler than any flight..." In my foggy past I know one thing is true. I was always interested in city architecture in-game. I would spend hours just exploring the cities of a game. The idea of a floating city that no one has seen excited me... But not as much as getting my memory back.

"Good to hear, but you may want the other thing that might sit past the gates of the World Tree." Sakuya pulled out some pictures from her desk. She placed them on top of each other on her desk. "These were taken before the height limit was placed around the World Tree, notice this one," I looked and noticed a cage that was mixed in the foliage of the tree.

"A giant cage?" I asked.

"Yes. It hangs in the World Trees foliage," Sakuya revealed a photo that was under the first. "This is what we found when we zoomed in the screenshot as far as we could." I examined the photo. It was blurry, but I faintly made out a girl.

A girl with long chestnut hair...

I shot to my feet. One of the empty faces in my head filled in. Then her name came back to me.

"Asuna..."

3

With Asuna's name, also came my last memory of her. She was cut down in our last battle while protecting the guy in black.

"So you know her?" Sakuya asked, stunned that I recognized her almost instantly.

"I do... Or at least, I did. I thought she was dead..." I said. My head throbbed, trying to grasp the memories that had overflowed. At the same time, my heart ached as I realized she was alive...

"Well, clearly she's not, as she is alive here. She sits past the gate in the World Tree." Sakuya said.

"Clearly... But if she's here."

"And you're here."

"That means the other 300 players that haven't woken up should be here too... But how have they not been found?" I tried to make my brain process all of this at light speed. "Is Alfheim in any way, shape, or form connected to SAO? How long has it been out?" I asked.

"Right..." Sakuya settled in her chair. "Let me try to bring you up to speed on the last two years. Are you familiar with the company that ran SAO?"

"Argus..." A bitter taste washed in my mouth... It was like talking about someone that stabbed me in the back. "Not a well-known company, they only dealt with cutting edge VR technology. They were the most talented group of technicians, artists, coders, and developers."

"Someone did their homework!" Sakuya closed her eyes. "When the SAO incident started, massive lawsuits were filed against Argus. The number of lawsuits was overwhelming. They went bankrupt..."

"That's no surprise..." I leaned back in my chair.

"The maintenance and all of SAO's data was overtaken by a new company, RCT Progress..." Sakuya opened her eyes. "RCT was another company doing research into VR, and how it could be used for general use. They showed little to no real interest in game development. But... About three months after the takeover. The 2nd VRMMO in history launched..."

"Alfheim Online... Was born from SAO?" I asked. "So that means that whoever was involved in developing Alfheim, also had access to SAO servers..." I rubbed my neck. A weird habit of mine when I think. "But they were mainly into research... Then all of a sudden developed a game? I wonder what they would do if they were able to get their hands on people to run tests on and not have any law constraints?" A revelation hit me. "The Dark Room..."

"What dark room?" She asked, clearly playing psychiatrist.

"Before I woke up in the forest, I was in a dark room, someone called me... 'Guinea pig'," Sakuya smiled like it was a joke, but I shuttered. "The other 300 must still be trapped in that space. In this world, but not here."

Sakuya leaned back. "You're pretty sharp for someone whose memories are gone," she said, still trying to pull more from me.

"It's not that they're gone. More like ... Altered. Or scattered may be the better word. I remember events somewhat clearly. It's faces and names that I can't remember." In my attempt to remember anything, my mind instantly went back two months... Well, two months to me.

6 people stood over me, their smeared faces were looking down at me, chanting.

"Murderer... Murderer..."

The hairs on my arms and the back of my neck stood straight up. I broke out in a cold sweat as they walked closer, trying to surround me.

I heard someone calling my name, but it was muffled. I turned to see a girl with shoulder length, golden blonde hair, wearing a brown top, cloak, and pants running toward me. Her face was smeared, but I could tell she was the one calling to me.

She held out her hand as she ran up to me, my name becoming clearer as she got closer. I reached out to her.

Right before our hands touched, I was pulled from the memory.

"Flastor!" Sakuya shouted my name, fully snapping me out of it. She had moved from her seated position behind her desk, to right in front of me and I didn't even notice. Her hand resting on my shoulder. I realized I was looking at the wall of Sakuya's office, reaching for nothing...

I retracted my hand and covered my eyes, mostly to cover the fact that they were watering. "Enough... No more for today," I pleaded, softly.

"You've clearly seen hard times, and I am sorry to make you repeat them. But it may lead to your memories coming back fully," Sakuya said. Her hand felt like it grounded me. Like it was the only thing keeping me from slipping into my own head. I calmed down and collected my thoughts.

"So you're proposing that whoever is keeping me, Asuna, and the others here; is also responsible for taking my memories?" I asked.

"It is a very real possibility. And whoever that is, might still have your memories as well." I finally pieced together what she was getting at.

"You want to raid the Tree... to get me to the top?"

"That obviously wasn't the original plan; but with these circumstances, I have no quarrels with altering the plan a small bit. As I said, it wasn't about the flight anymore." I still had doubts.

"What if he doesn't just have my memories? Where the hell would he keep them?" I imagined an ugly guy, guarding a chest that was locked, and the key hung around the guy's neck. I hung my head at the stupid thought.

"Well, more specifically, you may find a way to heal your memories to the way they were before they were altered," Sakuya explained.

"Okay... But why are you so accepting of this? All of this has to sound off. How do you know I'm not lying?" I raised my head to see Sakuya's face had softened to a sympathetic smile.

"I've been around the block... And I won't lie, I did have a suspicion that you were a very VERY dedicated Role Player that was passionate about his story... But your face is genuine. Especially when you think of the one called Argo." As soon as she said it, I smiled... Then realized I walked right into that one. Sakuya laughed. "She must be very special to you. And I sense she is waiting for you."

"What makes you say that?" I asked. Sakuya pondered for a second, then smiled.

"Call it a girl's intuition." I rolled my eyes.

"That's a cop-out if ever I heard one," I complained, sinking into my chair. As I got comfortable, my mind realized that I still had just fought the Skull Reaper not 15 minutes ago... Or at least it felt like I did. I almost fell asleep right there.

"Why don't we adjourn for the day? You can use one of the upstairs rooms while you are here."

"Yeah... Sure." Behind me, someone knocked on the door.

"Lady Sakuya! Are you in?" A female's voice called from the other side.

"Yes! Come in," Sakuya replied.

When the girl walked in, I was hit by a strange resemblance. Not by her face, but how she carried herself. She walked with confidence, but a hint of carefreeness.

"Good afternoon, Sakuya. Just reporting in after the day's hunt." The girl was an elf, like Sakuya. She had long golden hair that was pulled into a ponytail. She wore a short green jacket over a white shoulderless shirt. "Who's this?" She asked, jabbing her thumb at me.

"This is our latest addition. He's an Imp," Sakuya said.

I got up and raised my hand.

"Hey, I'm Flastor..." She took it and we shook hands.

"I'm Leafa, good to meet you," she said, total confidence in her eyes. I swore she had to be related to the guy in black that I remembered fighting with.

Damn, what was his name? How is it that I remembered Asuna's name so fast, but I can't remember her boyfriend? Wait, boyfriend?

My face must have been sour because Leafa took a half step away from me. "He looks like he's about to puke. You okay buddy?"

"You'll have to excuse Flastor. He's had a very long, troubling day. I will fill you in later. For now, could you please see him to one of the open rooms upstairs?" Sakuya asked.

Leafa went from a look of disgust to a look of concern. "Um... Yeah, Sure." I realized I was spacing out. Leafa poked my shoulder. "C'mon, you look like you could use a nap buddy..." The thought of sleep made me buckle. Leafa lunged to prop me up.

"Sorry, I'm good," I said, weakly.

"It's just a game man. Log out if you're feeling that bad," Leafa said.

"I swear, the next person that tells me to log out-" Sakuya cut me off by slapping the side of my arm, softly. I groaned in annoyance. "I can't..."

"As I said, Leafa, I will fill you in on this issue. We will need to train him in flight and combat here." Sakuya said to my aid. Leafa just looked more concerned. Then she nodded and helped me out of the room without another word.

"I bid you goodnight, brave Imp," Sakuya said as we got to the door.

I waved, but didn't turn to face Sakuya as all my concentration was dedicated to walking without falling again.

With Leafa's help we walked down a hallway lined with multiple doors. One had a plaque on the door that said, 'Sigurd, head of hunting party 1'.

Finally, we got to the room that I was going to use. Leafa opened the door and I walked in.

"You gonna be OK?" She asked. I nodded.

"Yea, I just need to sleep. Thanks for your help." I bowed my head slightly.

"Don't mention it. Sounds like I'll see you tomorrow. So sleep well!" She turned and walked back down the hall. I slowly closed the door, then leaned my forehead on it trying to fully process what was going on. My head was irritatingly foggy. It's like I had a million things to do, but I didn't know what they were or where to start.

I walked over to the bed and plopped down. Almost as soon as my head hit the pillow I was asleep.

My dreams were not pleasant. The same chanting people that I remembered earlier were fighting me. I wasn't in control of my body. Every time they came at me, I cut their heads off. As their heads hung in the air they would chant more.

"You killed us..."

"You're a monster..."

I tried to stop myself, but it was like I was possessed. Over and over, they would come. I would cut them down.

"What the hell am I doing? Stop you idiot!"

I tried to convince myself that what I was doing was wrong. I was taking the lives of people. Soon 5 heads were laying at my feet, and I was walking towards the final guy who had fallen to the ground. He was shaking with fear.

"Stop, don't do it!" I ordered myself.

But I raised my sword, as I did my vision shifted from my eyes to the guy on the ground.

I was looking up at myself. My face was twisted with hatred and anger, and my eyes were entirely blacker than black. I never thought I could look like that... My arm twitched, and fast as lightning my sword swung.

"SSTTOOPP!" I yelled.

Right before the blade made contact with the guy's neck, I shot upright, smacking something hard with my head.

4

"Oooowwww..." Leafa complained, holding her nose. "Has anyone ever told you that you got a hard head?"

"I've been told I'm hard-headed if that counts?" I said, rubbing my forehead. "At least I think I have..." I looked out the window, expecting it to be night. But sunlight was shining into the room. Sakuya was on the other side of the bed, and a small, skinny guy was at the end.

He had short, green hair and had a slight hunch about him.

"Umm... Party in my room?" I looked at Leafa. "Why were you hovering over me anyway?" She looked at me, a mix of annoyance and concern.

"You were screaming... We thought someone had broken in," Leafa said.

"Nightmares?" Sakuya asked. The memory started to crawl back up in my head. It was sadly the only vivid memory I had so it was lingering bad.

"Can we not? I would really rather not think about them," I said, rubbing the side of my head.

"You look like you're too old to be screaming from nightmares..." I locked eyes with the dude at the end of my bed. He was trying to sound tough, but his voice wavered halfway through his taunt. I narrowed my eyes, still annoyed from waking up to a Leafa-to-the-face.

"You look like I could break you in half with my bare hands. Wanna try it out?" I said before I could think about how aggressive it sounded. The dude quickly backed up and went to his blade.

"You see? I told you he was a spy," he squeaked. "He was sent here to scope out our military. There's probably an attack force coming righ-"

"Too much damn noise this early in the morning!" I yelled, leaning forward while rubbing my forehead. My head was still spinning, and trying to comprehend this dude's nonsense was making it worse.

Sakuya picked up on my discomfort and turned to the boy, clearly annoyed. "I already explained the situation to you, Recon. An SAO survivor deserves our utmost respect for what they have endured. For all we know, he may be the most powerful player in the game."

The last comment made my face burn. "I wouldn't go that far," I said, rubbing the back of my neck.

"Modesty will get you nowhere in this world, Flastor. You need to have confidence in yourself," Leafa explained.

Weird... That sounds familiar... Like I've said something similar...

"Yea, alright... Sorry." I got out of bed and stretched. Then Sakuya walked up next to me, holding a piece of blue fabric. "What's this?"

"Since you so proudly introduce yourself as the 'Blue Blur'. I figured you should look the part." Sakuya handed the square to me. "This was made by the best tailor Swilvane has, using the best material."

It was actually a coat, folded perfectly into a square. When I unfolded it, the fabric flowed all the way down to my ankles. It was navy blue, with a black symbol on the back. It had no sleeves and was tattered around the armholes like they had been ripped off. The bottom of the coat was tattered as well. Like it had seen years of battle.

"What's the symbol?" I asked, thinking it had a really deep meaning.

The guy, Recon, laughed. "Jeez, this guy must really be a NOOB. He doesn't even know his own race's crest..."

"Uuhh, Recon..."

"MMMMMM..." My groan of annoyance cut off Sakuya's warning. "Again calling me a NOOB..." I walked over to Recon, fully ready to voice my opinion on the matter. Surprisingly, the girls didn't try to stop me. "Wanna see what this NOOB can do, tough guy?" I stood toe to toe with him, I was nearly half a foot taller than him. He wavered, then steeled himself.

"I ain't afraid of you," he said, trying to hide his fear. "You wanna die so bad? Fine."

"Let's go then, you cocky little turd. I'm awake and I need the warm-up," I said, putting on the coat.

When I did my shirt changed. It was still black, but it had 2 thin navy blue crosses in the shape of an X on the upper and lower part. Down the black sleeves of my shirt was another navy stripe.

I looked in the mirror. I'm not gonna lie, it looked really cool. I walked out of the room, Recon, following me.

When we got to the courtyard of the building, Recon and I turned and walked about 10 feet from each other.

"Recon, are you sure you want to do this?" Leafa asked.

"He took down 3 top-level players from the Salamander army, without killing them," Sakuya said. "I'm afraid you have seriously underestimated him."

"I'm sure it was just luck," Recon said, readying his dagger. He had decent form, but his stance was wide.

I had taken the chance to cool off from my morning rage and was feeling nice. "If you back out now buddy, we can forget this happened," I said. "I'll be the first to admit, I'm not the most tolerable when I wake up. Let's just forget this all happened and move on."

"You see? He's trying to back out! He's a coward," Recon chided.

"OH, HELL NO!" I reached behind me and drew my sword. My annoyance was back in full swing now. "First, you call me a NOOB. I can take that to a degree since I am new here. But I will not be called a coward!" Then something hit me. "Stay on the ground, you. Let's see how you fight when we're on equal footing. Unless you're scared?" This made Recon's face turn red.

"Fine! I don't need to fly anyway," Recon said. I readied my sword, and stared him down.

Right when Recon stepped forward to lunge at me, I dashed to him way faster than I meant to. I didn't want to kill him, but I was still not used to my body in this world. It was so much lighter than it was in Aincrad. Like I had been wearing weighted boots for two years and I just now took them off.

I dug my foot into the ground and skidded to a stop in front of Recon before he even moved an inch. I pressed the tip of my blade against his chest.

"Still like your chances, friend?" I asked. He squirmed, but I pressed my blade closer to his chest.

"Fine, fine. I yield already," Recon said, sheathing his dagger.

I backed off and helped him regain his balance. "Trust me, bro, I've got so many other things to worry about besides your turf war. Though I am willing to help if it means raiding the World Tree," I said, extending my hand. He faltered at first, then shook it.

Sakuya clapped to get our attention, "Right then, are you two boys done fighting?"

"Hey! He's the one that wanted to fight," I said, pointing to Recon.

"Even so, we have work to do," Sakuya said, gesturing back to the building. "We have a meeting with the Cat-Sith today that I would like you to attend."

Recon groaned. "Why not me?"

"Because you need practice. Your stance was awful," Leafa scolded. Recon hung his head, then walked away. Leafa smiled at me, then followed Recon. Most likely to beat the crap out of him for causing trouble. I turned to Sakuya.

"Right. So, someone gonna fill me in here?" I asked, "I'm clearly not good at making friends."

"No... But just as you demonstrated, you are proficient with the sword. You're going to demonstrate that we have the power to fight next to the Cat-Sith and their Dragon Riders," Sakuya explained.

"But, riding a Dragon sounds cooler," I said. As if sensing that I wanted to bail, Sakuya got behind me and pushed.

"Too late. You're ours now."

The meeting went by fast. Basically, Sakuya just introduced me to Alicia-Rue, the leader of the Cat-Sith race. Sakuya explained that we should be focusing on the raid now that they have someone as strong as me on their side. Once again, I felt really uncomfortable when they kept saying that I was the best in the game.

When the meeting ended, I walked out of the office to come face to face with Leafa. Luckily, we didn't smack heads this time.

She was leaning on the wall, looking at me with curiosity, and a hint of sorrow in her eyes. I scratched the side of my face.

"Um... Hey... What's up?" I said, awkwardly.

"Can we talk for a bit... In private?" She asked, not breaking her gaze. I looked at her, confused.

"I guess... Not like I have anywhere to go." Leafa nodded and started down the hall.

As I followed her, I realized I was worried, and I wasn't sure why. Maybe it was the way she looked at me. It was like I had gotten similar looks of worry or sadness before and it normally led to a very unpleasant conversation. We got outside and Leafa's wings appeared. She looked back at me.

"Can you fly without the stick?" She asked, trying to not sound serious.

"Didn't even know there was a flight stick. Even so, not very well, but I need to practice anyway." I made my own wings appear.

Leafa nodded and took off. I hesitantly followed her into the sky. We flew for a few minutes until Leafa turned down to a break in the trees. When we landed, we were next to a small lake. For the first time, I landed on my feet. Leafa looked at me and smiled a bit.

"Not bad, for a NOOB." Trying to poke fun at Recon from earlier.

I rolled my eyes at her.

"Unlike Recon, you're not someone I'm gonna pick a fight with," I let out a chuckle. Leafa turned from me and walked to the edge of the lake. I walked up behind her, trying to tread lightly. "So... What did you want to talk about?"

"It's... kinda personal. And feel free to say no to my request..." Leafa said looking down. I shivered, still not sure why I was panicking so much. Leafa turned to me. "Can you tell me about SAO? Or at least, what you remember?" I was shocked. But then again, I wasn't sure what to expect. I looked at the lake. Just trying to remember anything. "You don't have to... It's just something that I've been thinking about recently. Someone that's close to me was an SAO victim..." My eyes went wide. "He's different now... And I want to know what changed him..."

I closed my eyes... I haven't even thought about how the families and friends of victims are taking this whole situation. Being in something that can really change people. I tried to force any memory further. "You won't like my answer now. I really don't remember a whole lot." My face twitched as I tried to remember. "Most of what I can remember isn't pleasant..." Leafa looked at me, shocked that I remembered anything. "I can't remember the details, but there were many times when my life was truly in danger... I feel like I've had way more slow dances with death than I am willing to admit. Maybe even more. " Leafa faced away from me.

"I didn't know it was that bad. Sorry to make you think about it."

The more I did think, the more my mind was fighting itself. Like it wanted to remember something, but something in my heart was screaming to not remember.

"Gonna have to eventually. Honestly, it does freak me out that I can't remember much of anything. And a question that I've started to catch myself asking today is... 'What if I never do?'... What if I never remember my life? What if I never remember the faceless people in my head? What if I don't remember... Her?..." An image of the same girl with shoulder length blonde hair flashed in my head. Her face was smeared, but It could only be one person. Then something that I said while in Aincrad came to me. Like I had just said it not too long ago. "But... I can't think like that." Leafa noticed that I faltered and faced me. I held the side of my head and forced the memory forward. "Instead of thinking 'what if'..." My head started to hurt, which couldn't be a good sign as I shouldn't be able to feel pain here. "I need to think... 'I... will'..." Leafa walked up to me.

"Hey, are you OK?" Before I could say yes, I fell forward. "Oh crap!" Leafa missed in trying to catch me and I fell to the ground. My head felt like it was on fire. The pain was unlike anything I've felt. It was like every time a neuron in my brain fired, it shorted out. Pretty soon the pain became so great that I passed out.

5

This was unlike any sleep I had while in a virtual world. It was like my mind was hovering over my body. I had no sight and could hear beeping in the background, like alarms. Then some cluttered voices sounded.

"What's happening to him?" A guy asked.

"Why is his temp spiking?" Another guy asked.

"Is he waking up?" That came from a girl.

"Is he OK?" This also came from a girl.

"Guys, I don't know. Give me a minute." The order came from a woman that sounded more familiar than the rest. Like I had heard it my entire life. Suddenly the alarms stopped. "There... He's stable."

"What about being stable?" A new, female voice said. I could tell the tension in the room skyrocketed. The first guy spoke up.

"Argo?"

My heart skipped a beat. Was I really this close to her? I tried to get any vision, but nothing I did worked. Then it felt like my body was being pulled away. Like I was logging back in.

A male voice echoed in my head. It was the same voice that I assumed pulled me out of the dark room. "She found you, Flastor... Better get a move on."

"Flastor? Flastor?! WAKE UP!"

"Gah, holy crap!" I shot upright, taking in deep breaths to soothe the panic inside me. Leafa stumbled back to avoid my head hitting her. I looked around and realized I was still in the forest next to the lake. But the sun was sinking below the tree-line.

"God, don't scare me like that! Sakuya would have killed me if something happened to you," Leafa shot in a panic. I shook my head to focus myself.

"Sorry. I'm not sure why that happened," I said, trying to ease the tension. I rubbed my head, the residual feeling of the pain still lingering.

"What happened? You were saying something that you clearly remembered. Then you passed out!" Leafa was still worried out of her mind. I wasn't sure If she would freak if I said that I was IRL for a bit. But my horrible judgment took over.

"I think I was in the real world for a minute..." Leafa looked at me like I was insane. "Hey, you asked."

"But what makes you say that?" She asked. I looked at the lake. The sight felt familiar and calming.

"When I passed out, I heard voices. I recognized almost every single one," I said, smiling as I remembered the last voice I heard. Leafa must have picked up on my happiness.

"I take it you heard a special someone?" She poked fun. I laughed slightly.

"All I know is I heard her name, and my heart raced," I said before I realized how stupid it sounded. "Sorry... I don't think I've experienced something like that, so it's hard to explain..."

"That would be something called 'love' you hard head." Leafa slapped my arm and smiled. "That kind of thing only happens when two people are in love."

"Lame..." I said, sarcastically. Leafa hit me harder this time.

"It's not lame! That's adorable!" Leafa scoffed. "Boys..." I got to my feet.

"It's what we do," I said. I offered my hand to her. She took it and got to her feet. "So what's the game plan now? I really need to do something besides think."

"Well. I have a while before I need to log for the day. Want to go hunting?" Leafa asked, smiling at me.

"That's like therapy for me. Let's do it!" Together we took off to Leafa's hunting spot.

We farmed some mobs for the next two hours. While we did, Leafa taught me how to fly properly. We practiced in air combat. I fell out of the sky at least 3 times and landed in various, uncomfortable poses. After another hour, I was flying around and catching up to the flying mobs like an expert. I also had to figure out some new moves. I tried to recreate the non-existent sword skills from SAO but they definitely aren't as potent as they were (at least I don't think they are).

When we were done, we flew back to Swilvane. I was having no trouble at all keeping my speed and altitude. I tapped Leafa and joked.

"Race ya to the government building!" I took off as fast as I dared. The wind was rushing past my face, and I was sure I had dusted her. But Leafa shot past me like a bullet. "Holy crap."

Leafa spun around, stuck her tongue out at me, then shot away. I raced to keep up, but there was no way I would pass her. We landed on the terrace of the building. I was heaving to catch my breath.

"Must suck to get dusted by a girl, huh?" Leafa chided. I met her gaze while still doubled over.

"I remember enough to know not to pull the pin on the 'beat by a girl' grenade, thank you very much!" I said.

"You've been raised well!" Leafa laughed.

I looked forward and a tall elf dude was storming up to us. His long green hair and cape were flowing as he walked. Leafa shrunk behind me, like a little kid hiding from a scolding. A deep protective urge washed over me.I took a half step in front of Leafa. The elf dude got toe to toe with her and me.

"Leafa! What are you doing, hanging around with this Imp? We had party duties to tend to!" He shot.

"Did you miss the memo, Sigurd? This is the newest Merc for the Sylphs. I was just out hunting with him. That's all!" Leafa shot back from behind me. I held my arm up to keep them separated. This got Sigurd fired up.

"You mean you were hunting with this weak, newbie? How kind of you Leafa. But this does not excuse you from-" Sigurd looked at me and stopped himself. Probably because I was staring daggers at him. "What? Did I offend you? My apologies, sir Imp! But I will not have a weakling such as yourself hogging my party members!"

"If you call me a weakling one more time, pal, we're gonna have issues..." I said before I could stop myself. "Last I checked, party members were free people that could do whatever the hell they want... They're not like members of a guild. Hell where I come from, parties were temporary." Leafa shoved me slightly to shut me up.

"Then you clearly know nothing of how we operate." Sigurd sneered. "In this world, party members have obligations. You clearly lack any form of social class to even understand that."

"Why don't I show you just how much my sword can get along with others?" I shot back. Anger slowly boiling inside me. "It's like it just can't keep from cutting arrogant jerks down."

"Arrogant?!" Sigurd was red in the face now. "I'll show you arrogant!"

"I'm ready if you ever are."

"This is a fight I would enjoy watching!" I heard a voice from behind Sigurd. I looked past him to see Sakuya, with a mirror floating next to her. On the mirror, a projection of Alicia-Rue stood. "Good evening, Flastor. Causing trouble?"

"That's funny... This guy is the one string up trouble," I jabbed a thumb to Sigurd. "Talking to Leafa like she's just a tool. Not in front of me, he isn't." I looked at Sigurd to make sure I drove the point home.

"Why don't you two settle this like true swordsman?" Sakuya asked. I looked at her. "An honorable duel. You can display your skills to our 'Strongest Swordsman' and to our potential allies here." Sakuya gestured to Alicia, who was watching intently. I smiled and nodded.

"How 'bout it, tough guy? Care for a duel?" Sigurd eyed me from the side of his vision. Then stared down Sakuya. Before he could even breathe the words that I knew would have made me snap, I spoke. "Unless you're scared to be beaten by a so-called weakling?"

Sigurd swung around to hit me with the back of his right arm, but I caught it. "You dare call me a coward?" He said, in pure hatred. "Fine. We can duel. And I don't care if you live or die."

"Nothing new to me, pal. Bring it on," I said, calmly. Sakuya looked at me, worried. I realized I said that like I remembered something. I held up my hand reassuring her that I haven't had a massive revelation. I looked to Sigurd again and released his arm. "Draw your sword. Let's do this."

I spun on my heel and walked away from Sigurd. I was about to turn around to face him when I felt a presence right behind me. I drew my blade and spun to meet Sigurd's. He seemed surprised that I stopped him.

"You weren't kidding about the killing part, huh?" I said. "True act of a hero, attacking an unaware opponent... And you're calling me weak?" Sigurd's eyes were flaring in anger. I had a flash of memory that wasn't really new. "Too bad for you, where I came from, players are always aware." Sigurd's face scowled. "Seems some warriors around here need a lesson in duel etiquette."

"Shut up you arrogant Boy!"

Boy...

My mind started to cloud... I completely lost my focus trying to grasp why that word seemed to carry so much meaning. When I did, Sigurd was able to deflect my blade and cut me cleanly in the chest. It took my health down by about 10%. I sank to one knee as my mind was being taken over by anger and instinct. "This is your grand savior!" Sigurd gestured to the ladies. "No more than a self absorbed fool who makes you think he's special. He's been lying to you!" Sigurd brought his foot up and rested it on my shoulder... "He's nothing but a loudmouth who has nothing and no one."

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" I cut him off by grabbing his ankle. I used all of my strength to literally throw him a few feet away. Sigurd was barely able to stay on his feet. "I'll show you EXACTLY what I got!" Before I could give him a chance to even breathe, I dashed at him. I swung my sword with all of my strength. Sigurd was barely able to block it. Anger was building inside of me. But there was another part of me that seemed to be trying to fight my anger.

I spun in the opposite direction and jabbed a few times, leaving cuts across Sigurd's body. Sigurd tried to swing at me, but I flipped over him. His back was wide open when I landed. I stuck twice, leaving a red X on his back.

I yelled in rage as I went to stab him right in the center of his back.

Right before my blade made contact, I felt someone hold my arm back. My instincts took over, thinking that another enemy had snuck up on me. I spun to the right and slashed, only to be met by a katana.

Leafa was there, struggling to hold me back. My mind cleared, and I let up on Leafa's blade. When I did, there was a chunk missing from it.

"Jesus, I'm so sorry... I'll pay to have it fixed," I said, rubbing my head. Leafa shook her head.

"Don't worry about it." Leafa threw her sword away and it shattered in two as it hit the ground. "I needed a new one anyway," Leafa smiled.

"Next one's on me. Just let me know." I turned to Sigurd, who was on the ground and had cuts all over him. His health bar was hovering in the yellow, just outside of the red. "Sorry, buddy. I really didn't mean to go all out like that." Sigurd scoffed at me.

"Don't pull that crap! You can't be human. What are you, a demon or something?" I shuddered and lost my breath. "You looked like you were ready to hack me to bits. Do you enjoy killing that much?"

"As if, freak!" I shot. Leafa stirred behind me. Sakuya and Alicia were staring at me, wide-eyed. "You just said something that pissed me off... You can't push me like that. That's all..."

Sigurd looked at Sakuya and Alicia. "Do you really want such an unstable man working with you? He's no savior! He'll be the end of all of us!"

Sakuya looked at him, then me. I was worried that she would agree to send me off. I took the hint as a sign.

"Sorry... I'll just leave." I said in a light tone, sheathing my sword. "I appreciate the help, but I don't want to cause trouble among yourselves. I can figure things out myself from here." I turned to Sigurd. "GG buddy." I turned and walked to the entrance of the government buildings terrace.

"Flastor!" Sakuya's stern voice made me jump.

I turned to see her staring at me with anger. This whole situation felt familiar.

"You have no need to leave. This was a duel, and you won with flying colors." Sakuya looked at Sigurd. "Sigurd, this man will be the one to help us beat the Tree. Do you not want that?"

Sigurd looked away. Not wanting to meet Sakuya's gaze. He walked away from the building, to me. When he passed me, I heard him mutter.

"Won't matter. You'll be dead soon."

Before he, or anyone could react, I stepped in front of Sigurd, drew my sword, and held it level with his neck. "I must not have said it loud enough..." I let my eyes get as dark as they could. "You said I'm nothing special. Let me explain how wrong you are..." I pressed my sword closer to his neck, almost breaking skin. "I'm a front-runner straight from Sword Art Online. Not just a front-runner. I'm a leader of the Assault Team. You're looking at two YEARS of floor clearing, boss killing badass. Remember that next time you even so much as think something like that..."

The tension in the air had skyrocketed... My head was still cloudy. I was pissed and I really wanted to jam my sword down his throat...

Suddenly, Leafa appeared behind me and held me back. She spoke in a soft voice.

"Easy..."

With that, I fully calmed down. I wasn't sure why that calmed me down, but either way, I didn't care. My mind was becoming less foggy... Relatively speaking.

I lightened up and watched Sigurd closely as he walked away to make sure he didn't come back. Once he was out of sight, I took a breath. I heard Sakuya walk up behind me.

I turned to her and smiled slightly. "Sorry for that. I didn't mean to go crazy like that." Sakuya shook her head.

"It's not a problem! He was calling you out a bit," Sakuya said.

Alicia chimed in. "The heat of battle can get to anyone. And you fought with the fierceness of any Dragon! The Cat-Sith would be proud to fight with you."

"It wasn't even the battle or that what he said offended me." I rubbed my forehead, trying to force the thought out. "It was when he said 'Boy'." I thought of Argo, or at least what I could of her. Leafa held my shoulder, somehow knowing that I was thinking about Argo. I smiled at her. "Only one person can call me that and get away with it."

Sakuya understood immediately and smiled. "I see... Well at any rate," Sakuya turned to the projection of Alicia. "Are you satisfied, Alicia?"

Alicia nodded and grinned. "Indeed I am! That was a pretty cool fight. I look forward to seeing you fight in person, Flastor!" I nodded.

"Looking forward to fighting next to a Dragon Rider!" I said, smiling. The image of Alicia shimmered and vanished, the mirror floated back to the Government building. Sakuya turned to me.

"You'll have to excuse Sigurd. He has been agitated as of late. He will come around, with time." I looked at the entrance to the government building's terrace, expecting him to come running, guns blazing. Leafa patted my back.

"Why don't we call it a day? It's been eventful!" I looked at her and nodded.

"It has been, hasn't it?" I looked at Sakuya. "Yea I think I'm gonna hit the sack. What's the game plan now?"

"We will have a few more meetings before the negotiations. And it's only to keep on the same page. For now, we should rest and prepare." Sakuya led us back into the building and we all parted ways.

6

The next few days were a blur. With a mix of meetings with the Cat-Siths, leveling with Leafa when she didn't have 'party obligations', and exploring Swilvane; I for sure had enough to keep my mind occupied. All the while I became an expert flyer. I could keep up with Leafa as long as she didn't go full speed, and I had no issues when it came to combat while flying. I also helped Leafa get a new sword as promised.

I made sure to keep a special eye on Sigurd without raising suspicion. He took great lengths to not look me in the eye after our duel. But other than the dirty looks, he never did anything that was out of line or anything, so I let him be.

I took the time to meet some of the higher level players of the Sylph race. And even went hunting with a few. I figured I should try to make friends with the people that might be in the raid on the Tree. They all seemed like good people, and they accepted me without any question. It felt odd to be so welcomed, but it's not like I would know why I was feeling like this besides my own awkwardness.

"Flastor? Are you with us?"

Sakuya was tapping my arm to snap me out of my spacing. I shook my head.

"Uh. Yea, sorry. What's up?" I said, thinking they were just trying to get my attention.

"Honestly. We've been trying to talk to ya for the past 15 minutes now!" Alicia complained.

"Oh... Sorry. I spaced," I scratched my face. Sakuya groaned.

"We were saying that we should finalize the negotiations soon since it seems like the Salamanders have been on the move lately," Sakuya explained. I raised my eyebrow.

"Wow, I was super out of it. When did this happen?" I said. Alicia rolled her eyes.

"Dang, whoever claimed you as her own has to have the patience of a saint!" She said. I laughed, slightly.

" I agree..." I said, looking down and rubbing my head. "I wish I could remember so I could tell you for certain..."

"Oh, crap... Sorry..." Alicia said, softly.

I shook my head as I realized how depressing that sounded. "It's alright... So what happened with the Salamanders?" I asked to change the subject.

"Three more Salamanders attacked Sigurd's party yesterday. They were pretty strong too, from what Leafa said," Sakuya explained.

"Did Sigurd die?" I asked, jokingly.

"If not for a Spriggan, dressed in all black, none of them may not have survived." All black... Oh hell no. Sakuya picked up immediately that I was troubled. "What?"

"Dressed in all black? Nothing else?" The guy in black that kept popping up in my head when I thought of Leafa... It couldn't be.

"From what Leafa said, no." Sakuya was examining me like I was a display.

Was it the same guy from my foggy memories? Or just a coincidence? If it is him, was he here for Asuna? Did that mean that some of my friends were still trapped too? I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"Yeah?" I asked. Sakuya was worried.

"Do you think you know him? Do we need to go find him?" She asked. I quickly shook my head.

"No, no. It's fine. We need to do the negotiations soon then, right? Why not today? Just get it done, and out of the way?" I asked, not trying to hide that I wanted the subject to change. Sakuya and Alicia exchanged looks, then smiled.

"Itching to get going, huh?" Alicia asked. I nodded. "Well, you know what? I don't mind. We pretty much have everything ironed out. It's just the matter of making it official. I'll round my party up and we will see you in about an hour or so?"

Sakuya nodded. "Sounds good. I'll gather my warriors as well." She turned to me. "You can wander for a while if you want. I will find you when we are ready." She must have picked up that my head needed clearing.

"Got it, see you girls later then." I waved to them both and walked out of Sakuya's office to explore.

During the next half an hour, I wandered around Swilvane. The town was beautiful. The buildings were all white like a southern European town. As I walked through the town, people gave me annoyed looks. Like I didn't belong.

Honestly, it didn't bother me. It felt like I was used to those kinds of looks. The only thing that was missing was the guy in the red coat, walking next to me.

I felt torn. Like half of my persona was missing. The more I tried to regain my memories, the foggier they seemed to get. Like the only way they would come back, was if I didn't think about them. But I wasn't sure what to not think about to make them come back. As I was weaving through the crowds, one guy stepped in front of me, trying to take advantage of the fact that my mind wasn't all here.

"Little far from home, ain't ya Imp?" He asked. I tried to go around him and keep walking. But he grabbed my arm and pulled me back. "Get back here you little punk. This is Sylph territory. We don't need your kind here." Right before I was gonna flip the guy over my shoulder. A voice spoke up.

"Unhand him!"

Sakuya strode forward, flanked by 5 guys in elven armor to each side. I must have been super not paying attention to the time. "He is the centerpiece of my raiding party. You will treat him as such," she commanded, voicing it loud for everyone to hear. The crowd parted ways and bowed as she walked up to me. "It's time to go..."

"Already?" I slid close to the guy that was bugging me. "But me and Slick here were about to be friends, weren't we buddy?" The guy groaned and walked away. Sakuya and I laughed. "So where are we headed?"

"The Valley of the Butterflies, northwest of the World Tree." She said. I could tell my eyes flashed with excitement.

"We're gonna be close, huh?" I asked.

"Maybe if the negotiations go well, and we have extra time, we could go to the central town of Arune at the base of the Tree," Sakuya smiled.

"I'll make time for something like that," I said, smiling like a dork. We all took off in a formation and made our way to the meeting.

We got to the meeting place first. While we sat at the table, Sakuya filled me in on our side's proposal. They would present me, I would reveal my name and stats to everyone at the meeting, then I would fight one of their strongest players as a test.

Pretty straightforward. The other negotiations would be handled by Sakuya, which I was totally OK with.

"You do the talkin'. I'll do the walkin'," I said, holding my hands up in surrender.

"Precisely. If this goes well, we'll be able to pool our funds, and raise enough for a raid in maybe a few weeks time," Sakuya explained. "Hopefully that means only a few weeks until you can go home."

"Home..." I repeated under my breath. "I don't even know what I'll do with myself when I get back."

I started thinking about my parents. My younger sisters, my younger brother, and my older brother.

Wait... Brother? It's like a floodgate opened in my head. I tried to force it to stay that way. The guy in red that was always with me in my memories... He.. was my older brother.

His name? What was his name? It felt like it was right there. Like I had a hold of a rope, but it was slipping. Did it start with an M? Or maybe an A? Why did it seem like both?

About as easily as it came, the thought faded. I slammed the table in anger, causing it to crack a small bit.

"That's getting really old, really fast," I groaned.

Everyone looked at me like I was a freak. Everyone except for Sakuya, who put her hand on my arm.

"A memory?" She asked.

"My brother... I had a brother who was with me in Aincrad..." I said, holding the side of my head. "He's the one in red that was almost always with me, at least in every fight... I was about to remember his name..."

"I see... Anything else?" She said, trying to make me think.

Honestly, when she first did this I was annoyed. But it made me think harder, and sometimes I learned more. I forced myself back to that memory. I tried to grasp anything that I could about me and my brother.

I got something, when I did I hit my head on the table, annoyed.

"I want a refund, or an exchange," I groaned, wishing I had remembered something else.

"What?" Sakuya asked, concerned that I just bashed my head on the table.

"Nothing..." I didn't want to say it out loud.

"Oh come on! Don't keep us guessing!" One of the guys next to me said.

"Nope," was my response.

"Say it or you might forget it," Sakuya ordered. All of the party was staring at me, clearly interested in my story. I willed myself to voice the memory.

"The Crimson Cannon was my brother's nickname. Together, we got the name Cannon Brothers..." I waited for everyone to laugh. But everyone was silent. "Well go on, laugh."

"No way, man, tell us why. There's gotta be a story behind that." The guy next to me asked.

I sighed, half in annoyance, half in longing. "We got it after Argo saw us fight one time. He would launch me either up or forward, and he wore a crimson coat like mine. That earned him the name Crimson Cannon. When he launched me, the force of his swing, and with my own jumping power; combined with the blue glow of my sword and my blue coat. It made me look like a blur of glowing blue shooting to our foe. Earning me the name Blue Blur." I finished, still waiting for the laughter.

Instead, everyone regarded me. Nodding their heads. I looked at a few of them in the eyes and there was something I had never seen before.

Admiration.

Like I was an inspiration or someone to look up to.

But why me? I wasn't that great. I'm just another gamer. And kind of a jerk of a gamer at that. I didn't deserve looks like that. One of the guys must have been reading my mind.

"We're looking up to you, not solely because of your skills." He said he put a hand on my shoulder. "Your resolve is staggering. Any normal person probably would have had a mental breakdown by now. Having their memories just a hairs reach away."

"Honestly, it must be maddening." Another said. I looked down and clasped my hands together.

"You have no idea," I said.

"So that's why we're here. You may be just another gamer. But that's why we want to help. It's because you're one of us. It seems like you have been through so much when you were in Aincrad. You carried a huge burden of saving a lot of lives, whether you knew it or not. You're past that now. And almost everyone is free. You did your part. Now let us lighten the load and get you home."

I nearly cried. Never did I feel like I would need to be cheered up. But they were right. I had been unconsciously carrying the want to save everyone in my group. The ones that came in after me. The ones I knew. And the ones I met.

The ones that came after me... My group... I shot to my feet.

"No... Come on!" I tried to hold those thoughts there. It felt like my head had a moment of clarity every two minutes while I was here. Names... I need names damn it... But it was already starting to fade. I looked around. Everyone was waiting for me to have a meltdown.

"Sorry... I was really close to something," I sat back down and buried my hands in my head.

"We got your back, man," the guy to my left said, patting my back.

"Hey! Sakuya!" A cheerful voice called in the air. I looked up and saw a cat... No, I'm not kidding.

The Cat-sith were basically people with cat ears and tails. Don't get me wrong, it looks cute on a girl. But on a guy, it makes them look like hungry lions. All of the warriors around Alicia were decked head to toe in armor, with cat eyes that were narrowed to a slit. "Sorry, we're late. Hope we didn't keep you waiting!"

She floated down and shook Sakuya's hand.

"Good to see you, Alicia. Allow me to formally introduce, Flastor." She motioned for me to get up, so I did. I got up and bowed slightly at Alicia.

"Good to actually meet you, ma'am," I said, trying to be formal. She slapped my arm and smiled.

"No need to 'ma'am' me. Besides, you have enough to worry about." Alicia crossed her arms behind her head. "Now, let's all sit. Before we do anything, I wanna hear your whole story. This meeting is basically for you now." Alicia walked to a chair and sat down. Sakuya looked stunned, and I was freaking out.

"Alicia? What do you mean?" Sakuya asked.

"It's obvious that neither of us cares about the flight anymore, Sakuya." Alicia pointed a slender finger at me. "But since he showed up, you've been pushing the raid on the Tree more and more." She locked her fingers. "I just wanna know why. So start from the beginning, and don't miss a detail." Alicia looked at me with the curious eyes of a cat.

Sakuya thought for a second, then she smiled and turned to me. "I suppose the floor is yours now."

"Joy..." I hated public speaking. "Well, I woke up here ab-"

"Not that beginning!" Alicia cut me off. "The true beginning... Aincrad beginning..."

"Um... I can't? You know that," I said, halfheartedly. But it felt like my head was becoming less clouded the more I thought about the beginning.

"You don't seem so sure of that. Just humor us, handsome," Alicia said, smiling like she had a devious plan cooked up.

I still didn't know what Alicia had cooked up, but I willed my memories of the beginning forward, then I latched onto something. I forced the memories up. This time, I didn't take no for an answer. I told them about my time in Aincrad. About how me and my brother, Majiku, got trapped.

How my friends, Sam and Kira came after me at my sister's request. How we went to attempt to save Liz's friends, only to face off against one of the first groups of PKers in the game.

How Argo and I grew closer after I had snuffed out another group of Monster PKers that tried to kill her. I told them about Willow, having saved her and helping her become one of the best scimitar users on the front. It was becoming easier to think. I wasn't forcing it at this point.

I told them about the raid on Laughing Coffin. How, after one of them almost killed Argo, I went on a rampage and killed 6 people... Weirdly enough, the fight itself didn't come back to me... But then again, I didn't mind that much...

I told them about my last day in Aincrad, finding out that Argo may be close to me in the real world. Fighting the Skull Reaper. I told them about Kirito's duel with Kayaba. And how I nearly caught Kayaba off guard after breaking his system paralysis.

I told them about Kirito beating Kayaba, and clearing the game. How I was supposed to have woken up. But instead, I was in a black space for 2 months, even though it only felt like a few minutes, having my brain picked and my memories smeared.

"And that's pretty much it. Now I'm here, fighting to get out and remember my life," I concluded. "I gotta at least get Asuna out of here. And ensure none of my friends are trapped too. If she's alive, Kirito is. And I won't stand them being kept apart any longer." I looked around. The entire Sylph side was staring at me, wide-eyed. Alicia was smiling smugly like she was proud of something she did. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

"Flastor..." Sakuya tapped my shoulder. I looked at her and she looked gobsmacked. "You just told us everything..."

"Uh... Yea? What of it? I did what she asked." I said, confused at the problem.

"Flastor..." Sakuya said, still shocked. "You told us EVERYTHING..."

"What are you going on-" It hit me, my mind was crystal clear. Almost nothing was blurry anymore. It was like nothing had even happened. "Holy..."

"I can't believe that actually freakin' worked," Alicia said.

I looked at her, in full processing mode. "What did you do to me?" I asked. My head was still fuzzy. But it was more like I had just woken up from a really long sleep. I remembered everything almost crystal clearly.

"Well, there's a good reason why we were late," Alicia said. "You see, we are beast tamers. We have the ability to tame even the most temperamental of beasts. When we have to tame either a large group of monsters or one really angry one, we set up a soothing barrier. It calms their mind and makes it easier to befriend them."

Alicia whistled, and the air around us shimmered like an invisible dome was being lifted. Four mages shot from the tree line and walked up to the table.

"From what you were telling me, your mind was in chaos. You were remembering things here and there, but you couldn't grasp a single memory and reform it." Alicia pointed to the sky, that was still shimmering. "So with this dome, combined with you starting from the beginning and recounting everything. My hope was that your scattered brain would stop picking at straws and at least regain some of your memory." Alicia leaned back in her chair and rested her hands behind her head. "I honestly didn't expect all of it to come back, though... You've had quite the interesting VR life."

I held the side of my head, worried that with the dome dissipating, my memories would fade with it. But they were solid.

"That was a huge gamble, using a game mechanic for monsters on a person," I said. Alicia smiled.

"I'm a gambling girl..."

I smiled back, holding back tears from the flood of memories I once forgot. "I can't tell you how grateful I am that you did this, not even close to describing it. Thank you..."

"Well, that's half of the battle. The guy that did this to you probably still has the 300 other people that have not woken up from the SAO incident. Now we need to get you to the top of the Tree to confront him." Alicia said, getting to her feet.

"She's right." Sakuya stood and took the moment to speed the negotiations up. "If the Cat-Sith are willing to pool their resources with us, we could be raid ready within the next week."

Without skipping a beat, Alicia said: "The Cat-Sith agree to these terms. That Tree is as good as cleared!" Alicia and Sakuya reached across the stone table and shook hands. I looked at Alicia, who was standing tall and proud. Something caught my eye as I was looking at her.

Behind her, a sea of red dots had appeared in the sky. I got up and drew my sword and vaulted over the table to be in front of Alicia, who was the closest to the flying group. This caused the guards from both the Cat-sith and the Sylphs to draw their swords.

An army of fairies, all wearing red armor had moved on the plateau we were on.

There was one guy at the head of the sea of red. He raised his hand, preparing to order an attack. Right before he dropped it, a meteor crashed down on the ground in front of us, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"What was that?" Alicia said, covering her face.

"Are meteors a thing in this game?" I asked. Sakuya shook her head.

The dust settled. When it did, I honestly got the chills. Standing in the center of a small crater. A small elf, with pointed ears, black hair and matching black wings. He had a sword nearly as long as his body and was dressed head to toe... In black...

Before I could stop myself, I spoke under my breath.

"Kirito..."