EDIT: 3/8/2015- STORY CHANGES FROM THE WORDS "WAIT UNTIL CHRISTMAS."
Author's Notes
Been a long time since I put one of these at the beginning of a chapter.
So normally, I would have a full length chapter out by now, by I messed up and asked you guys to decide things. I put up three polls on my profile, and two were answered… by two each who had differing opinions. We had one to one ties. So instead of having it open to everyone, I increased the pressure and asked three people each of the three questions. The results will be posted at the end of the chapter.
I'm sorry for the delay–as well as the short chapter, but this brings me to my next point: every six chapters I will be throwing in a mini-chapter. These chapters will be much shorter; only around five thousand words each, and will not pertain to the actual plot. Instead, they will be side stories with no real relevance–in this case, a bit of classic cotton candy fluff. The reason for these chapters will be so that I can get out content without having to work on plotline stuff. I did, however promise that I would resolve the cliffhanger from Chapter 5, so you can still have a bit of plot with your fluff.
Also, this will be the Christmas special, despite the fact that it's over two months late.
Disclaimer: I appreciate and honor the fact that you are taking the time to read my story. I thank you for any reviews, follows, and favorites. I do not own Sword Art Online, nor do I own any of its characters. Sword Art Online belongs to Reki Kawahara, ASCII Media Works, and the SAO Project. Please support the official release.
Character Ages
Kirito- 14 (October 7th, 2008)
Asuna- 15 (September 30th, 2007)
Sinon- 14 (January 17th, 2009)
Jace- 15 (February 13th, 2008)
Chapter 7: Christmas on Aincrad
Tuesday, December 11th 2022. Continent: Ianides. Outskirts of Babel.
"What?" Jace shouted. "Kibaou has one of the ten coats?"
Argo hushed him. "That brings me to my point," she whispered. "We only know of two coats for sure that have been found. And about ten minutes before you came, I finished translating the words near where I think the rest of the coats are." With that, the girl handed him a sheet of paper.
"'The Champions shall engage in a tournament of massive scale.'" Jace looked up at Sinon. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Sinon shrugged. "It sounds like a type of mission or something that Kayaba implemented, but I don't know much about the lore of Aincrad," she claimed, turning to Argo. "You've gotta know about the legends and stuff though, right Argo?"
A gleam flashed through Argo's eyes. "Why yes, I do," she said with her ever-present smirk. "I'll give you the information–and the books where you can find even more–for 2,500 Col: 1,000 for the books, and 1,500 to tell you that you need to know from them."
Jace nodded solemnly and opened up a trade menu. He added all of his debts together and set them in the outgoing slot. Argo's smile grew wider as she promptly placed about thirty books in the outgoing slot. "Geez, how many subjects do these books cover?" Jace asked, eyes wide as small saucers as he confirmed the trade.
"The first ten are about Xylotian history and civilization, the next five are their mythology, the next five are about the Human-Xylotian Era, and the last ten make up one complete encyclopedia on the creatures of the planet–one for every continent," Argo explained. "I can confidently say that these books contain everything you may want to learn, except for an item called a «Codex.» That may make it a bit tough for you, Jace, considering it translates Xylose to readable languages."
Jace grumbled. Without a «Codex,» he would have about twenty pounds of books taking up space in his inventory. And though the books had been relatively cheap for their rarity–since books written in Xylose could only be found in dungeons or Xylotian houses, before the settlements where they resided were cleared–they were useless unless Jace could read Xylose.
"How much does a «Codex» cost?" Jace asked Argo.
"I'll sell you one of mine for 5,000 Col." Argo grinned at her customer with a twinkling gleam in her eyes. "They are rare items after all–rarer than Xylotian books."
Sinon giggled as Jace huffed at the exorbitant price but paid anyway. "Thank you for your patronage," Argo cackled. "Now, I still owe you the story, correct?"
Jace nodded and sat up in his chair. "Tell me everything you can about the legend in regards to the tournament."
Argo nodded and opened a book written in what was unmistakably Xylose. "First we start with the Ages of Aincrad, of which there are five. The «Destiny Era» came first and is the time when most of the mythology happened. Then came the «Birth Era», when Xylotians came into being. Third came the «Golden Era», where they advanced technologically at an astonishing pace. After that comes the «Xylo-Human Era,» when humans came to Aincrad in search of life. The last one, which we are currently in, is the «Battle Era»."
"In the «Destiny Era,» there were ten beings known as the Oblivia," Argo stated. "They're worshipped as gods by the more civilized Xylotes. Listed in order of power, they are: Letratex the Nimble, Zarael the Swift, Abaya the Strong, Grimthez the Stable, Nagrust the Bold, Pyrend the Noble, Nazure, Tectus, Jeptim, and Mangyrst. Kind of like Greek Olympians, there are different levels; Letratex, Zarael and Abaya are at the top, the next three are under them, and those without titles are below them. Then come the other gods and heroes and all that. The likelihood that you'll be able to remember all of those is about zero though, so only worry about two: Zarael–Jeer-Lan's Patron, and now yours–and Grimthez–Kibaou's Patron.
"According to Xylotian Mythology, Volume 2, after the Oblivia created everything, they each picked one Xylote and made them champions. These champions were just about immortal, but they could still be killed in battle by someone stronger. And so, the gods decided that one day, in a grand dick-measuring contest, they would throw down and see who had the best champion. The rule was that only three could remain, and so–surprise, surprise–the Big Three won. The rest picked new champions and vowed to square off again in ten thousand years on the continent of Oablion.
"That moment is a short two years from now," Argo finished. "And the markings on your «Sky Coat» say Champion of Zarael."
)-0-(
Tuesday, December 24th 2022. Continent: Ianides. Mirian.
Jace opened his eyes at three o'clock on Christmas Eve to the melody of celestial strings. The blonde shut off his alarm lazily and crawled out of his bed, looking over to Sinon, who was asleep in the other bed. "I'll be back," he said quietly to her sleeping form. Sinon, however,
Jace teleported to Asfos in front of Ashley's store. Today, Jace would be embarking on the most important mission he had been on to-date. If he got anything wrong, it would mean his demise. If he got everything perfectly, hit everything accurately, and destroyed every challenge in his path… he would be golden.
More important than any Boss he had defeated was buying Sinon something nice for Christmas.
Back when Jace had first escorted Sinon to her tower, he had wanted nothing more than to spot her, to be with her as she sat down to snipe at the other Xylotes. They were a team; Jace thought it was his responsibility to protect her. When she left that day, the worst of all possibilities flashed through his mind. What if a Xylote had taken out her spotter silently? What if he wasn't there to protect her when said Xylote attacked her from behind? What if she had died? What would he do without her? He would have been without a partner for God knows how long. He'd been on a team for so long that he'd forgotten how to go solo. Even worse than that, he'd be without Sinon, who he couldn't stand leaving for twenty minutes.
He didn't like being away from her–no it was something deeper. Jace wanted to be with her. He loved being around her. Whenever she was around, he felt a warmth in his chest; whenever she was around, his stomach twisted into knots; whenever she was around he felt that this death game of Galactic Warfare Online wasn't so bad; whenever she was around, he felt joy.
And so, he stepped into «Ashley's» with determination. While Jace knew that she wasn't the type of girl who went overly crazy for clothes, he found what she wore… distracting, to say the least. It was terribly revealing and–while Jace didn't mind seeing her in such a vulnerable state, he imagined that the outfit's Armor Points were very low. And while it would keep her safe from «Elemental Damage» and some «Status Effects,» it didn't really keep her safe from «Bullet Damage.»
On top of that, Sinon had started to be noticed by a lot of different people, and had mentioned her discomfort. It wasn't so bad around the Clearing Team, but regular players watched her like a hawk, and it made Jace's blood boil. He had even threatened one of the perverted men in the city of Aroboth at gunpoint to back off. The rumor had gotten him a large reprimand by Heathcliff, but after a lot of guys starting backing off of his blue-haired partner, he figured it was worth the scolding.
"Welcome to «Ashley's!»" Ashley said cheerfully in her French accent. "How can I help–oh, it's just you. I am a busy woman, so find what you want and get out of my shop, no?"
"I need something for Sinon," Jace said. "I know she models here, so I thought you could help me…"
Ashley glared at him and walked behind the counter. "Why are you buying her clothes? You don't look the type that would be interested in getting her something better to wear. I see you as more likely to get her a worthless trinket or a new gun. I bet you don't even know her measurements, do you?"
Jace froze. How could he have forgotten something as simple as her measurements? His plan was already turning out to be a disaster. As if to mock him, a glaring notification popped up, alerting him that he received a message from Sinon, asking about his whereabouts. He typed out a hasty reply and shook his head at Ashley. "I don't know what I was thinking."
"Of course you don't," Ashley scoffed, turning away. "Clothing is a one size fits all in GWO. I thought that even you must have known that."
"I just want to get her something that
"You like her."
Jace stumbled backwards as though punched by an invisible fist. "What?"
"Her blue eyes and hair both make her interesting to look at, and her body looks desirable in that outfit." Ashley made a bunch of curves with her hands to accentuate this point. "You don't want other players seeing her in it, so you want to get her something different."
"No, that's not–"
"No guy buys a girl clothing that's less revealing." Ashley smirked and watched as Jace began to turn red.
"It's not practical for a battle environment!" Jace stammered.
"Did she show you the saucy?" She whispered eagerly.
"The what? No, she didn't show me any 'saucy.'"
"She showed you the saucy," Ashley said with a devilish grin. "Or did you sneak a peek?"
"There was no saucy!" Jace yelled, turning and tripping over a bench. He pulled himself up to sit on it and crossed his arms. "There was no saucy."
"What are you looking for?" Ashley asked resignedly, sitting next to him. "Something subtle? Maybe some casual wear?"
"I was thinking better armor, but casual wear is okay, I suppose." Jace said. "You're the expert here. What do you suggest for her?"
"Well you certainly made it hard on yourself," Ashley grumbled, walking over to a mannequin. "I can't pick out very good colors without her modeling, so the closest thing we can get to having her try things on would be to create her character on a mannequin. I have the receipt for her eye and hair color, so we can take care of that now, but you'll have to… what is the word…" Ashley reached into the air as if trying to pull a word from the sky before finally coming to… "build the face."
"There's no way I could make a face like that," Jace muttered as he walked to the studio. "I'm not an artist." Grumble as he did, though, Jace ended up making the mannequin look almost similar to Sinon. He frowned but looked from his bad rendition of Sinon to Ashley. "You know what she looks like; is this close enough to get what you want?"
"Well, you're no Michelangelo, but this will do I suppose," Ashley said. "Now I have to see what colors she looks best in. Just a moment, sound okay?"
Jace nodded and went back to the bench. While he was talking with Ashley, he had gotten another message from Sinon. He looked over the conversation briefly.
Sinon: Hey, I woke up and you weren't in the room. Where did you run off to?
Jace: I have a few errands 2 run. I'll ttyl
Sinon: Christmas shopping for me? It better something worthy of me; I am a goddess and all…
Jace rolled his eyes and smiled as he began typing out his own response.
Jace: U rly think I'd buy u an xmas gift? Thts cute
Jace smirked and hit send, only looking up when he realized Ashley had picked out the colors. "What kind of outfit do you want? We still have a sale on jeggings."
"Do you have a low V-neck and some sweatpants?" Jace asked. The tailor nodded in response and walked back to her counter, where she opened her inventory and started scrolling through it. After a moment, she pulled out a green shirt and black sweatpants, which she deftly equipped onto the mannequin. To Jace, it now looked almost just like the girl herself. Images flitted through his head as he wondered what she liked to wear back on Earth…
"Hello? Yoohoo?" Ashley called, waving a hand in front of his eyes. "Is this okay?"
Jace jumped as he snapped out of his daydream. "Yes, it's wonderful," he said with a nod. "How much?"
"1,500 Col," Ashley said happily. "This includes her discount for modeling here."
Jace opened up a trade window with a pained expression, but paid for it nonetheless. "I hope she likes it… If she doesn't, do you do returns?"
Ashley gave Jace a derisive look, causing him to look down. "Damn it," he muttered, hoping he had picked something good enough.
)-0-(
"Jace," Sinon groaned from the bed as he walked in. "Why did you leave? I was so bored."
Jace smiled at her. "Sorry," he said. "I had things to do today. Besides, now I can do stuff tomorrow."
"Jace," Sinon glowered, getting up from her bed and grabbing the blonde by the collar.
"What?" Jace asked, not expecting a violent reaction from her.
"Tomorrow is Christmas," Sinon said. "I don't know what the rest of the Frontliners are doing, but if you go out grinding or start some kind of mission, I'm going to come with you, disband our Squadron in the middle of a fight and shoot you in the fucking head. We're taking the day off tomorrow."
Jace nodded immediately and Sinon released his coat. "I'm sorry," Jace said. "I didn't know you were against doing anything tomorrow."
"Dammit Jace," Sinon growled. "It's not about it being tomorrow. It's Christmas! Heathcliff is making the «KoB» take the day off, so there's no reason we shouldn't, too. It's a holiday, and I'm not spending it worrying about whether or not you're going to die!"
As Sinon said the last word, she threw her fist at Jace's chest. Impulsively, Jace caught her hand and held it over his heart. He looked into her eyes and realized how tired they seemed. But of what? She didn't look physically tired; was it that she was tired of grinding? Or was she perhaps tired of the entirety of what her life had become?
"We'll take a week off," Jace said quietly.
Sinon looked at him for a moment longer before her head fell against his chest. "Promise?" She asked, her head taking her hand's place on the boy's chest. Jace's hand on her back was enough of an answer for her, and she closed her eyes. For a moment in time, she simply breathed and existed.
Jace looked tenderly down at the girl in his arms, and was struck by a thought. Maybe Ashley was right. Even though her body was definitely cold, Jace was feeling terribly warm from their embrace. Could it be that he had fallen in love? Originally the blonde had only thought of it as a bond stronger than friendship, but not quite romance. What was she to him?
Unable to think about it any longer, Jace let go of her. "I was gonna wait, but I don't want to," he declared suddenly, opening his menu with the hand that had been on Sinon's back just a moment ago. "I got you something."
"You got me something?" Sinon asked, looking up at the blonde in glee who nodded in response. "What did you get?"
"Just something you can wear around that isn't quite so…" Jace paused as he tried to find an accurate adjective, but Sinon's frown made him lose his train of thought. "What's that frown about?"
"Are you uncomfortable with my outfit?" Sinon asked.
Jace thought for a moment before holding up his fingers as if to say, "Just a wee bit."
Sinon rolled her eyes. "Jace, it isn't like it's that bad," she said. "I beg to differ," Jace said, poking her in the nose and forcing a smile from the blue-haired girl. "I would be offended if my imaginary girlfriend wore that, let alone my partner."
Sinon smirked. "You have an imaginary girlfriend?"
"No," Jace groaned. "I mean, if I had a girlfriend and she wore that, I'd be offended."
"What's your imaginary girlfriend like?" Sinon asked, cornering him figuratively as she got closer to making him and the one faux pas he didn't want to make–and literally as he moved closer to the wall
Jace realized he was trapped as his elbows brushed against the cold surface of the wall behind him. She wouldn't let him go unless he answered her question. "Really, I don't have an imaginary girlfriend," he said lamely, sure that his response wouldn't work. As she moved closer, pushing his back against the wall, he put a hand against her shoulder to stop her.
"Answer me, Jace," Sinon said. "Truthfully."
"Do you want your present or not?" Jace said, leaning his head back and closing one eye.
"Fine," Sinon huffed. She held out her hand happily. "Gimme the present."
Jace nodded and opened his inventory, reaching in and taking out a small box. It was wrapped in green paper and tied with a neat, red bow. It looked like the ones Jace had used long ago on less important presents: the ones that just stuck there with adhesive. But in fact, it was made of real ribbon, tied in an exquisite manner. Under the bow was a small tag that read "To: Sinon."
Sinon looked from the bright present to Jace again. "They added presents?" she asked, taking it in her hands. "When were these created? Are they a quest item or something?"
"I paid someone about a hundred Col to craft a box, ribbon, and paper," Jace explained. "But I wrapped it myself. Even the bow, though that took a while to get down…"
"There's no way you tied this bow," Sinon said, staring at Jace in wonder. "It's so fancy!"
"Go ahead, open it," Jace said, gesturing to it with a grin. "It doesn't have a menu, so you get to take the bow and paper off yourself!"
Sinon nodded and tugged at one end of the bow string with her left hand. It unraveled easily, much to her delight, and she moved on to the next string. One by one, the folds of the bow fell apart–Jace could feel his soul being stabbed as his masterpiece fell apart in front of his eyes–and then Sinon's hands reached the tape holding the wrapping paper together. She removed it and carefully unfolded the green paper, revealing a small wooden box about one foot by one foot and six inches deep. Her hands slowly removed the lid as her eyes peeking into the box at its contents.
"You might not notice the way some people look at you," Jace said as she pulled out the outfit curiously. "But I've seen guys look at you with eyes like vultures, and I don't like that. I doubt that you do either. So instead of wearing that outfit you use all the time, maybe you could use these."
"What do you mean you don't like how they look at me?" Sinon asked with a playful smirk at Jace. The boy was suddenly thankful that his «Ethics Code» was turned off as he felt a warmth spreading to his pelvis and his heart-rate accelerating; the «Ethics Code» was the only thing keeping him from having something massive growing in his jeans.
"It's weird watching them stare at you like that. It's weird because we're close, you know?" Jace lied with a small blush.
"I think it's because you want me all for yourself," Sinon, her smirk widening.
"Absolutely. Do you like it?" Jace asked. "Ashley designed it specifically for you."
Sinon frowned, disappointed. "So this is really Ashley's Christmas gift?" she asked.
"Not if I paid sixteen hundred Col out of pocket for it," Jace said with a small smile. "Do you like it?"
Sinon looked back at the outfit in her hands, and then gestured for Jace to turn around. While he faced the non-descript wall, he heard the sound of pearl drops, the sound effect that always played when someone operated his menu. He heard her take off her clothes and put on the much less revealing outfit she had just received. Then she walked in front of him and handed him a mirror. "Hold it up for me," she said.
Her words didn't even reach Jace's ears.
Jace had seen her in her previous combat gear, and without a doubt, she looked incredible–no, sexy–in it. But the green V-neck she wore made her seem so much more realistic in comparison. Along with the sweatpants, it made her look like an actual person, not just a player in the hell of a game that Galactic Warfare Online truly was. It was an innocent beauty, and Jace was the first to have discovered the treasure that was what she could have looked like in reality.
"Sinon…" Jace breathed as she turned away, walking to where she could see her full body in the mirror. Thankfully, his whisper went unheard.
Sinon turned around at a far distance to look in the small mirror and nodded twice. "I love it," she said brightly, with a smile that threatened to melt Jace's heart. He wasn't sure if she knew how fast his heart was racing, but she must have had her sound setting down very low if she couldn't hear it beating like a metronome. "I got you something too, Jace, do you want it?"
Jace's eyes widened slightly. He hadn't expected to get anything. "You got me something?"
"Well I've been traveling with you every day for almost two months," Sinon reasoned. "So do you want it?"
Jace nodded with a wide smile. "Yeah!"
"Well too bad, you have to wait until Christmas!" Sinon laughed. Jace began to pout, but Sinon opened her menu. "I didn't wrap mine, so you'll have to close your eyes just before I take it out. Okay?" The blonde nodded, and couldn't help but notice that Sinon seemed to be getting nervous. She hovered over an item for a brief moment and then looked at her partner, blood rising in her cheeks. "I'm ready," she said. "Close your eyes and hold your hand out to the side."
Jace did as he was told and waited, listening to the sound of her legs brushing together as she moved closer. He heard the sound of an item materializing and waited for her to place it in his hand. When she did, he turned it over in his hand. It was small and cold, made of metal.
"Open your eyes, Jace," Sinon said, stepping back. Jace did so and was rather shocked to find that the item he had been given was a watch. It was made of silver and had a dark blue face with gold numbers that popped out and caught the blonde's eye. He then looked at Sinon with a bright smile, who was looking down in embarrassment. "I know your HUD already has one, but–"
"Sinon," Jace interrupted, walking closer. The blue-haired girl looked up at her partner as he continued. "I love it. Blue is my favorite color; how did you know?"
"I didn't," Sinon admitted with a grin. "Good to know for future reference, though."
Jace put on the watch and walked closer to Sinon. He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly. And as the snow fell in the window behind them, the city of Miriam, the inn room, the continent Ianides, the entire planet of Aincrad… it didn't seem too far from home.
Author's Notes
In the poll I mentioned in the first A/N, I asked three questions. I will list them again here so you don't have to scroll, along with my reasoning and such for each. Drum roll, please.
The first question: Should I add multiple points of view for each chapter. The poll came in as a Yes. I am a fan of this option, oddly enough. It takes the stress of wondering if I'm progressing the stats appropriately off of my shoulders. I will leave the ones in the first six chapters up, and I will also put them in the epilogue of this story, but other than that, do not expect to see them again.
The second question: Should Kirito and Asuna team up after the Clearing of Babel as opposed to at the end of the story as it is in canon? The answer came in as yes. I will do this because it is an AU, and I can if I damn well want to. Also, I think it would add to the story a lot of fun twists, like in Fallen Angel Codestar's "Partners."
The third and final question: Should Jace and Sinon get together? The answer is I think that I will. One of the votes was noncommittal, the other was a no, and the other was a yes, so I decided I'd just do it in another few chapters.
I will address the one no, though. I did not split up Jace and Sinon, though it would allow for them to become distinctively separate characters and develop more arcs. I kind of thought it would be weird after they'd spent so much time together as a team. They would be used to having the back-up, used to having someone to call out to in their times of struggle, and it would be difficult for Shino in particular to trust other people (due to her fear of guns caused by other people as well as her isolation in the real world), especially in this kind of environment. Also, my betareader told me to trust my instincts.
Oh yeah, I've taken on a betareader.
My new betareader is rhynium. They gave a pretty in-depth review in one chapter, and I asked them about the polls specifically. They gave incredible advice to the story as a whole, and so I feel that they are a fitting candidate to beta. This may change if they cannot catch typos and other things of the like, but I have complete faith that rhynium will be a great beta. So a round of applause to them, please!
Now onto the mini questions about the story.
Kibaou got one of the coats because I felt that it would be a good little twist to the story. Couldn't have all good guys for the main plot line. And it sounds very Hunger Games-y, but I prefer to think of it as an altered version of the Supernatural Season 2 demon arc. It fits a lot more if you think of it like that.
It felt wrong to bring Ashley, who is such a fun character to write, back into the story without a reference to the saucy. I didn't plan it or anything, but I sure as hell couldn't leave it out. So yes, the saucy makes an appearance.
On the note of Ashley, you may have noticed that Ashley doesn't really like Jace. This is because she knows Sinon, and thinks that Jace is just hanging around with her because of the outfit–she didn't know they'd been traveling together for a while, and she's protective of her models. When she realizes that Jace actually likes Sinon, she becomes nicer to the boy.
There was a lot of fluff leading up to the end of the chapter. I have never written anything really fluffy, so (after some heavy revising and editing with rhynium) I ended up writing it and even rewriting it some of the way. In the version most of you have read,
This concludes the Author's Notes. I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. If you did–or if you didn't–leave me a review or a PM! All follows and Favorites are appreciated. Signing off…
Artie Ross