Hi everyone! It's nice to 'see' all of you!

I feel like it's been a while, but that's what happens when you work almost full time while going to school full time. So, sorry bout that, but after the review answers and favs… Ill leave you to the chapter.

Favs/Follows/Reviews:

Fundindar, Silver Inklings, weiming4399, TheDoctorFiona, hello2000, blossom2218, Ripidez, Starcrossed68, kagehi, Phantomgirl1223, Xenos Chaos King , Sapphire Quill, obstreperous, miachi13,kagehi, Otakuzen, ChocoxxPochi, Kikre, Voraces Lector, zookster, Dragon-of-Chaos,Schni10,animeanimus, The Real JosephineSilver

The Unknown GPX: Haha, I'll have to remember that one. It's like my brother, he had leg surgery as a kid, so he tells people he got bit by a shark. At least until he knows them better XD.

Feels like its been forever...maybe because it has been. I don't want to be a flaky author, but while I can not promise constant updates, I do promise not to drop this story. I will finish it, even if it takes forever. Which it won't. Hopefully.

Soooo… what happened last "chapter"….

"Can you really get me out of here?"

She stared right back into his eyes, and without even blinking; amused tone still in place, said "Of course. I can at least give you a chance. Do you think I would even be here if I couldn't?"

Chapter 12

For all of the impossibility of what she was promising him, she didn't seem to be lying, but how was it possible, and what would she gain from it? That's what most people seemed to need though, while he helped people for the sake of helping, many people needed a reason to.

Taking his silence to be the answer she was waiting forward she moved forward to crouch infront of him, eyeing the chains with a trained eye. They narrowed, and she moved her hand in a complicated formation before arranging them as if on a keyboard in front of her. This continued for a few minutes, her mumbling occasionally to herself as she worked on disrupting the code.

He took his time to examine her closer, how her hair was in a messy bun, how even in the dim light her bright red hair, brighter than any possible human, real life color, cascaded over her eyes as she concentrated. However, leaning as close as she was to him, he couldn't help but notice her not inconsiderable bust. Struggling to avert his eyes, as even though he was not romantically interested in her, he couldn't help but blush at the sight. Averting his eyes, color painting his cheeks, he muttered "You done yet?"

Shooting him an amused glance she input two more numbers "What? Is something... bothering you?" all with this smug smile on her face pushing herself a little closer. He only looked harder in the opposite direction; she stared at him for a second, but her eyes abruptly turned cold as ice, contrary to her fiery hair. She leaned back, before pushing with her legs into a standing position. "Yeah I'm done. Now hurry up. We have to go."

She turned her back to him and walked to the door, opening it and preparing to walk out, a brief glance in his direction the only warning that she was not going to wait for him if he let himself get left behind. Scrambling to his feet, he surged forward, crossing the distance to the door in less time than he would have expected. Especially considering the various… activities he had been subjected to in his stay. Standing at the door, he leaned against the wall, staying out of sight as she leaned carefully out looking for any possible witnesses.

Rubbing his wrists, he tried to ignore the feeling of being able to feel the rawness of them, rather than the former feeling of numbness. Even after all this time of pain and suffering, the fact that he could feel pain still came as a surprise.

He shook his head, dislodging those thoughts. He quickly returned his eyes to the woman in front of him, this was no time to get distracted. Creeping carefully forward, they advanced from the corridor. They made not a sound, breath fogging in the air. Their shoes clapped against the floor, even though they tried to muffle the steps. They advanced, with her making vague comments as they passed various rooms.

The room closest to his was something out of a science fiction novel. He wasn't sure about the rest of the world, but it seemed that like his cell was more medieval. However this room contradicted that idea. The woman noticed his attention and commented offhandedly "Oh, that's the control room for your cell."

He glanced back in the room, but as she didn't stop he had to continue. He observed her back as she walked ahead of him and took the chance that she might answer some questions.

"So… Where am I?

She looked back, seemingly startled by his random question,thin eyebrows rising slightly up her forehead, but this was quickly erased.

"The Floating City" this came out sharp, and bit off.

"What's the floating city?"

"The city floating above the World Tree." This came out even more reluctantly.

"…are you going to keep answering like this, or are you going to actually explain this to me." At this point, his face was flat, expecting nothing in response.

"…The World Tree is the center of ALO." She threw a quick glance in his direction, speaking quietly over her shoulder "ALO, ALfheim Online: the next SAO." He couldn't help but take in a sharp breath at the mention of SAO.

"You mean…"

"Oh, you're asking if they were trapped in the game. No, they weren't. They were free to come and go. I mean that it was the first most popular VRMMORPG since the SAO incident. It was surprising, that it rebounded so quickly." She turned around and pulled him into a small indentation in the wall.

"This is a little…"

They were pressed together in such a small place, but she placed her hand over his mouth silencing him mid-sentence. He peered over her shoulder as two slug people slimed by.

"Really?!"

"… and so it seemed to induce a kind of acute amnesia controllable by…" their voices faded as they walked by. Returning his gaze to her face, he asked her,

"Why am I here?"

"You are here because-"

Alright, I'm gonna be a jerk and end it there. I am going to try out a new system. Maybe shorter chapters will entice me to update more often, rather than leaving you dear faithful readers out in the cold. Hopefully the quality is good. Thanks everyone for reading and staying with this train-wreck.

Have a nice day :D