Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus, or Sword Art Online.

Enjoy!

Kirito stared at his friend, baffled.

"You haven't distributed any of your skill points yet?" he asked, wide eyed. "B-but you've been fighting monsters way above what you should be if that's true!"

Meaning Nyx was at a higher level, but he wasn't benefiting from it because he hadn't upgraded his skills (or equipment, for that matter.) Every time he leveled up he earned a few points to spend upgrading his physical attributes (speed, strength, etc.), but he hadn't used any yet.

Nico glanced at him. "I'm being careful. I didn't want to waste my points on something only to find out later on that that particular skill is useless and I should've used them on something else. I'm still getting a feel for the game, how the monsters fight, and what attributes are most important when considering my own fighting style."

Kirito frowned thoughtfully. "How are you so good at combat, anyway? You mentioned that you'd never played one of these games, and you're not upgrading to get stronger right now…"

Nyx grimaced. "I had some pretty serious combat training IRL. Swordplay was a major part of that, though the game's sword skills are obviously new. I'm mostly just relying on that."

Kirito nodded, accepting the explanation, and shook his head with a small smile.

Whatever worked for Nyx. As long as he didn't die…

*One month later*

Kirito glanced around.

Nyx had overheard someone talking about a meeting meant for those who wanted to find and defeat the boss for the floor so they could advance, and the day had finally arrived.

He watched as a man with blue hair introduced himself with an ice-breaker. The man, Diabel, was about to start when another man stood up and demanded attention.

The black haired boy sunk into his seat at the accusations that followed.

The beta testers were at fault for the players who died, and they should give all of their money and their equipment to the newer players?

Normally Kirito would've ignored it, but…

He had abandoned Klein, hadn't he? Kirito had wanted first pick and to be able to complete the quests so that he could level up quickly, and he hadn't even given a thought to anyone else.

If Nyx hadn't overheard and asked to come along, Kirito would've left him behind too.

Tensions eased slightly as a large man named Agil stood up and defended the beta tests, reminding them all that the guide book they all had had been handed out by beta testers. They all had access to the info, and people still died.

Nyx nudged Kirito as Kibaou sat down in defeat, though he took a moment to nod in thanks to the older man, Agil. If he hadn't stood up, Nico would have.

Blaming each other would get them nowhere.

"Don't fall for it." He muttered to the boy, who still looked guilty. "It's not your fault. This is a survival game, and a majority of those deaths were suicides. Besides, the guy was just looking for someone to blame and a way to get himself better equipment."

Kirito blinked slowly as he processed the sentence, before sighing slightly. "Right. Thanks."

"Right, here's the deal. My group found the boss room at the top of the tower today." Diabel said, gaining their attention. "First, we need to defeat the boss and move on to Floor 2. We're going to need to tell the people in the Town of Beginnings that it's possible to beat this game."

He went on to talk about the boss, taking the information directly from the guide book.

Except…

Kirito startled slightly as Nyx stood up, leaning back against the wall they had been sitting in front of.

"Sorry to interrupt." Nyx began. Diabel groaned mentally, hoping that this guy wasn't another Kibaou, before Nyx continued. "But we might not want to rely too much on the information in the guide book."

"You're suggesting the beta testers who wrote it were lying?" Kibaou asked, eyes glinting in satisfaction.

Nico scowled at the guy. Geez, he just wouldn't give up, would he? "Not at all. However, considering the information was from SAO in its beta state, and the game wasn't completely finished at that point, it does stand to reason that some things were changed. The beta testers wouldn't have any way of knowing that."

Kibaou scowled at the runt, but Diabel and the others in the group nodded thoughtfully.

"Good point." Diabel acknowledged, glad that unlike Kibaou, this guy's input was actually useful. "There's no guarantee that it's the same. Remember the information in the book, then, but be prepared for unexpected surprises."

As one, everyone nodded, though Kibaou did it reluctantly.

After that, the meeting went fairly smoothly. Of course, Kirito and Nico weren't asked to join a party, but they joined up with a girl named Asuna when they realized that she had been left out, too.

*Later that night*

Nyx was preoccupied, finally making the decision on how to distribute his points to upgrade his physical attributes.

Speed. Stamina. Strength. Agility. Reaction time.

The works.

He glanced over at his new teammate as the girl sat down beside him quietly.

"Ready for tomorrow, Asuna?" he asked conversationally, still looking at his stats.

He heard a sharp intake of breath.

"H-how do you know my name?" a soft, quite female voice asked.

He glanced at her, before pointing in front of her, to the left.

"Top left corner in your field of vision." He explained. "When you join a party, the other members of that party appear under your own name. I'm Nyx."

"Oh!" she exclaimed, surprised, before she giggled. "I feel so dumb. It was there the entire time and I never noticed!"

Nico smiled a bit. She had been so quiet, it was nice to know that she had a personality.

"Don't worry about it, now you know." He said with a shrug. "So…I'm guessing you're new to games like this, too?"

"Yeah." Asuna muttered, fiddling with her cloak a bit. "My brother is the one who owned a copy, but he had to go on a business trip, so he let me try it first. Guess he lucked out, huh?"

Nico glanced at her sympathetically. "Maybe. But who knows, maybe being in here isn't all that bad."

"What do you mean?" Asuna asked, tilting her head curiously.

"When I logged onto the game, I was recovering from…something." Nico explained. "My sister died when I was ten, and I was still getting over her death. I've nearly died dozens of times since then. I was crushing on a friend of mine, watched him date the girl who was obviously better for him, then he was kidnapped, went missing, and when I next saw him again he had amnesia. He got his memories back, I found out that I had a half-sister, lots of drama, and I got over him and fell in love with someone else. Things were getting better, my father accepted my preferences, I was happy again, and then…this."

Asuna was silent for a long moment, heart hurting for this boy. He was obviously a bit younger than she was, and yet he'd been through so much more than she had.

So what if her mother kept on pressuring her to 'marry up?'

And to think, she'd locked herself in her room at an inn for weeks before she had even ventured outside of the Town of Beginnings.

This…this was strength.

She huffed slightly, and it almost sounded like a chuckle.

"What?" Nyx asked warily. Was she a homophobe or something?

Asuna blinked up at him. "Oh, it's not that, promise! I was just thinking…you and…Kirito (?) are good people to be around in this kind of situation. I didn't really take it well, at first. But realizing that everyone else had lives before this too, and that there are people with the drive to beat the game and get out…it helps."

Nyx blinked, slightly baffled (since when was he the one people turned to for this kind of thing?!), and Asuna giggled again at the expression on his face, and even more when he backed away from her as if she was crazy.

*The next day*

'Oops.' Nico thought sheepishly as Kirito explained to Asuna what switching meant. He'd forgotten to ask if there was anything else she wanted to know more about.

Still, Kirito's expression as he bemoaned having partnered up with someone who had never been in a party before amused him.

The other boy scowled at Nyx, guessing what he was thinking.

'Yeah, yeah, laugh it up.' Kirito thought petulantly.

Nico shook his head in exasperation as Kirito finished his little 'speech' about being a Beater instead of a beta tester.

He could tell what the older boy was doing (letting the group focus their hatred on him instead of targeting all beta testers), but really?

He sighed, before turning to Asuna, advising her to join a guild if she could, before following his friend.

"You're kind of a dumbass." Nico said about ten minutes later.

Kirito turned to him, startled at the word, and the fact that Nyx had followed him out of the building after Kirito had made his dramatic exit.

"The coat was a bit much."

"Was it?" Kirito asked, hiding a grin as he fingered his new coat. "I kind of like it."

"Diabel nearly died for a coat." Nyx said with a sigh.

Kirito grimaced. "Yeah. Good thing you noticed the different sword when we first saw the boss."

"He was still reckless." Nyx complained. "I mean, really? Our party might have been small, with the three of us, but we didn't try and attack it solo!"

"And he refused the healing crystal." Kirito said, before snickering. "Good call, forcing it down his throat."

Nyx was silent for a long moment.

"I guess I was channeling a friend of mine from the real world." He said quietly, kicking a rock as they made their way to the gate which would lead them to Floor 2. "He's a healer. Whenever I'm stubborn about getting treatment (which happens more than I care to admit), he's just as stubborn and manages to get his way."

"Sounds like an interesting guy."

"He is." Nyx agreed awkwardly, before changing the subject. "So, about Asuna…"

"What about her?" Kirito asked, glancing away.

"You're attracted to her, aren't you?" Nico asked with a smirk. "She is rather pretty, I guess. And for someone who hadn't been in a battle before, she's a natural."

Kirito scowled, feeling a bit jealous. Nyx didn't like her too, did he?

"Relax, I'm not attracted to her." Nico said, rolling his eyes. "She's lacking a few parts."

Kirito blinked slowly (he seemed to do that a lot). "Not your type, eh?"

Nyx shook his head.

"Did you have a boyfriend IRL?" Kirito asked, suddenly more curious about his friend.

It Nyx had been drinking, he would've done a spit take. "Seriously?" he groaned.

"Well, yeah." Kirito said with a shrug, before waggling his eyebrows teasingly. "Should I be worried?"

Nico scowled at him. That would have been offensive if not for the fact that Kirito was obviously joking. "Aside from the fact that you're Japanese and a bit older than me, you could be my twin. I think that would be considered narcissism, which isn't really my thing."

"You're dodging the question." Kirito pointed out with a smirk.

Nyx growled in response. "No, I don't have a boyfriend."

"How about a crush?"

Nyx's silence (not to mention the blush on his face) was answer enough.

Please review!

Sorry, when I write longer stories (especially battle scenes) I tend to kind of skip it and/or have the characters' conversations tell what's happening as opposed to describing the fight. Besides, it's like the second episode of the anime, I'm sure all of you who have seen it know what happened.

The interaction between Asuna and Kirito with the bread already happened. According to the wiki he was the one who managed to snap Asuna out of her funk and begin to hope that she would survive, and that's a major thing for their relationship, so I didn't want to change that.

Nico is being so open with Asuna for a few reasons. For one thing, he tends to open up more to females in his life (like Hazel and Reyna). He knows that trust is essential to being able to work together effectively, and this is a good way to build trust. Also, his friends at the camps have been encouraging him to be more open with his thoughts and emotions, so there's that. And he's trying to get Asuna to open up.

Sorry I didn't go into detail about the boss fight. They won, Diabel nearly died because he wanted the Last Attack Bonus (the coat Kirito ended up getting), Kibaou started shit, mob mentality made a few people accuse the beta testers of something due to being idiots even though Nico pointed out that there would likely be changes, and Asuna isn't in their party. The boys are going to open the gate to Floor 2.