Pretty Cure All Stars Enter The Virtual World
Disclaimer
I do not own anything having to do with SAO nor do I own the characters, concepts or powers in Pretty Cure. I only own the OCs.
Chapter 2 The First Boss Battle
"How long have we been here?" asked Passion.
"Around a month." replied Happy.
"I'm sorry you all got involved in this." said Storm.
"Hey what are friends for?" asked Passion.
"Besides even though we're still in the first floor we've leveled up quite a bit." said Beat.
"Not that much." said Beauty. "Since we've been we've only gone up about seven levels and from what Yayoi told me in games like this if there is a level up limit it'll be at level 100."
"That's amazing." said Happy.
"So what should we do today?" asked Beat.
"I heard of a meeting that's being held today on fighting the boss of this floor." said Moonlight.
"Then we should go." said Storm. Within the first few days they'd read the manual although it took most of them a few days to finish. "The exceptions being Beauty who finished it in the first day, Happy who hadn't even gotten half ways, and Lemonade who was near the end of it. Other than this they'd all gotten new weapons. Moonlight had gotten a rapier because to her it felt similar to her Tact. Most of the others had just gotten long swords with the exception of Beauty and Storm both of whom had katanas equipped to their left sides.
As they walked Lemonade noticed that Storm looked a bit worried.
"Is something wrong?" asked Lemonade causing the others to turn to her.
"I got a message last night from Shawn saying that they found another lab." replied Storm.
"What was in it?" asked Moonlight.
"The reason he sent me the message wasn't because of what was in it but because of what was missing." replied Storm causing most of them to look confused. "It was one of the Cardivus' secret labs but it seems that when they went in they found several corpses belonging to some scientists."
"That really doesn't sound good." said Beat.
"If it involves the Cardivus Praecordia then it's no wonder it's not good." said Passion. "Do they know what happened?"
"Do you remember the evil versions of myself and the others who were sent to take us out?" asked Storm. The others nodded. "Well they found files which show the little project they were working on. Essentially evil copies of the Elemental Pretty Cure."
"But didn't they already do that?" asked Happy.
"That's right. What would be the point of fighting another evil clone group when the previous ones were defeated?" asked Beat.
"These are different." replied Storm looking down. "It seems these nine weren't created with the ability to use light and darkness. They were made to be pure evil."
"So why did he send you a message about that?" asked Lemonade.
"In case we encounter them here." replied Storm.
"What are the odds of that?" asked Happy.
"Hard to tell." replied Storm as they arrived at a place that looked like an ancient greek theater. The eight went up until they went up four rows from the top.
"Alright everyone let's get started." said the blue haired man who was running the meeting. "Thank you for coming today. My name's Diabel and I like to think my job is being a knight." At that several people laughed lightly.
"This game doesn't have a job system." said one player.
"Well at least he's trying to lighten things up." said Storm.
"Perhaps but this is something which should be taken seriously." said Moonlight.
"Today our party found the boss room at the top of the tower." said Diabel becoming very serious.
"Seriously?" asked one player as everyone became surprised.
"We need to defeat the boss to reach the second floor and tell everyone in the Town of Beginnings that it is possible to beat this game." continued Diabel. "Everyone present right now shares this duty! Do you all agree?" Most of the players looked around and then nodded before some started clapping while others whistled. "Alright now let's begin planning. First off divide into parties of six. An ordinary party has no chance against the floor boss. We'll need to form a raid group using multiple parties." he said as the several players began forming parties. Storm looked around and noticed a guy who approached someone in a cloak.
"Come on." said Storm leading them to where the other two were. "Hey. Would you two like to join us?"
"He said parties of six." said the guy.
"Yeah well we came into the game together so we stay close. Besides..." said Storm as she pulled up her screen and invited the guy to their party.
"I guess with more we'll have a better chance of survival." said the guy as he turned to the cloaked figure. "What do you think?" The player just shrugged. "Alright." he said as he accepted. After the Cures saw two more health bars added to their vision. They saw the names Kirito and Asuna which caused Storm's eyes to widen slightly.
"I'm Firestorm but call me Storm for short." she introduced herself. "These are my friends. Lemonade, Passion, Pine, Moonlight, Beat, Happy, and Beauty." she said as the other nodded when they heard their names.
"I'm Kirito." said the guy. The other person looked to the side. Suddenly Storm's eyes widened and she fell to one knee with a hand on her chest.
"Hey are you alright?" asked Kirito as they knelt down around her.
"And here I thought the trouble I had with that side are starting again." said Storm as she got up. "Sorry about that."
"Do you have a heart condition or something?" asked Kirito.
"I have what you might consider a condition but it's not something you've ever seen." replied Storm as she stood up. "Anyway it's a pleasure to meet you." she said extending her hand. Kirito smiled and shook her hand. Then she placed a hand on his arm which caused it to glow. Kirito became confused as Storm released him.
"What was that?" asked Kirito.
"Let's call it something to keep us in contact in case we get seperated during battle." said Storm. "I hope you don't mind."
"If it'll help in battle I don't mind but I though there was no magic here." said Kirito.
"There isn't. If you find the right way you can enter this game with abilities you actually have." explained Storm.
"I see." said Kirito trying to understand.
"So would you be okay with it?" Storm asked Asuna who still had her face concealed. She looked towards Kirito and then back to Storm before nodding. Then Storm put her hand on the back of Asuna's causing it to glow. Once she removed it a red mark appeared in the shape of a bird. It was then they heard a small beep. "Huh. I have a message." she said bringing up her system menu to check her messages.
"Who's it from?" asked Lemonade as she took Storm's hand.
"Usui." replied Storm as she looked at the message. "He says he found some rare potion that works to enhance strength and speed."
"We could probably use that." said Kirito.
"That may be true but he sells these things at high prices so we might not be able to afford it. The boots I'm wearing were like four grand." said Storm.
"Alright. Has everyone formed their parties?" asked Diabel.
"Just a second!" everyone heard a voice call out. They all turned and saw a guy at the top who jumped skipping steps until he got to the where Diabel was. "My name's Kibaou and I wanna say something before we take on the boss. Some of you here need to apologize to the two thousand players who have died so far!" he declard as he pointed up.
"Kibaou-san are you referring to the Beta Testers?" asked Diabel.
"Of course I am!" replied Kibaou. "The day this stupid game started teh betas ditched us beginners and disappeared. They took all the good hunting spots and easy quests for themselves so only they could get stronger. Then they just ignored the rest of us. I'm sure someone here was in the Beta! They should get on their knees and apologize and give up all the items and money they've hoarded. Otherwise we can't trust them to protect us as party members!" Everyone remained silent for a few seconds when Storm stood up and let go of Lemonade's hand.
"There's an old expression where I come from." said Storm catching everyone's attention. "The dog who barks the loudest is the one who fears the most."
"What did you say?!" yelled out Kibaou.
"What's he doing?" asked Kirito.
"I have no idea." said Lemonade as Storm reached Kibaou and Diabel.
"So you were in the Beta!" declared Kiboau.
"I'm afraid not. If I had been then I'd be "hogging the good hunting spots"." said Storm with air quotes as she looked at Kibaou with a malicious look in her eyes. The two looked at her and saw the white part of her eyes become black. "Honestly people like you just piss me off and I've put about fourty in the hospital."
"Is that true?" asked Kirito.
"It's actually more than that." replied Lemonade. "Storm's got a bit of a temper."
"That's an understatement." said Moonlight.
"Didn't she tell us not to draw attention to ourselves?" asked Happy.
"Indeed." said Beauty as Storm looked at Kibaou.
"If you're gonna spout that kind of crap then fight me right now." said Storm.
"You think you can take me on?" asked Kibaou as he drew his sword. Storm walked up to Kibaou and was about to make a move when they heard something.
"Stop." said a deep voice. Then a large man approached them. "I am Agil. Kibaou-san tell me if I've got this right. You're saying that because the Beta Testers didn't take care of them many beginners died and that they should take responsibility, apologize, and provide compensation. Is that right?"
"Y-yeah. That's right." replied Kibaou. Then Agil pulled something out of his pocket.
"You got this guide book, didn't you?" asked Agil holding a small book. "It was provided for free at the item shop.
"Yeah I did. Why?" asked Kibaou.
"It was complied from information given by the Beta Testers." replied Agil. Then many players began saying things like "seriously?" causing Kibaou to gain an angry look.
"Listen up. Everyone had equal access to this information and still many players died. I thought the topic of discussion here was what we could learn from their deaths and how that could help us defeat the boss." Agil said turning to everyone and then back to Kibaou and Storm. Kibaou looked at Agil and then was about to head to a seat when Storm punched him in the face throwing him into a wall causing everyone to gasp.
"Again he pissed me off and I had to let out some steam." said Storm casually.
"You're gonna pay for that!" yelled out Kiboau as she drew his sword and began trying to slash at Storm who in turn began dodging the attacks.
"Should we stepped in?" asked Kirito. Before anyone could reply Lemonade stood up and went down to where the two were still in their scuffle.
"This isn't gonna end well." said Passion.
"Why?" asked Kirito.
"Just watch." replied Beat. Kirito turned and saw as Lemonade jumped and landed on Kibaou's shoulders before she jumped in front of him and dropped kicked him back surprising everyone minus the Cures. After she glared at Storm who looked to the side.
"You really didn't need to do that." said Storm. Rather than answering Lemonade motioned her wrist which caused a golden chain to wrap around Storm which allowed Lemonade to drag Storm back to their seats leaving everyone in shock. "You know this isn't necessary."
"Please continue." said Lemonade. Storm was about to say something when Lemonade pulled her ear.
"Uh okay then." said Diabel. "Anyway the latest edition of the guide book was just issued. According to it the boss's name is Illfang the Kobold Lord. He is guarded by assistants known as Ruin Kobold Sentinels. He's armed with an axe and a buckler. He has four health bars and when the last one enters red he switches to a curved sword type weaopn called a Talwar. His attack patterns will change as well." he explained. "Now then that concludes this briefing. Lastly items will be automatically distributed. EXP goes to the party that defeats the monster and whoever recieves an item keeps it. Any objections?" Players began talking among themselves but no one said anything too loudly. "Very well. We leave tomorrow morning at ten. I'll see you all then." The group looked around and saw the other players talking in within their parties while the Cures and Kirito noticed Asuna leave.
"We'll leave you for now. There's something we need to do. We'll meet up with you later." said Storm.
"Understood." said Kirito as the girls walked away and then he left.
"What's wrong?" asked Passion.
"I don't know." replied Storm. "It's like back when we first started together. Back when to when it came out at first." she said looking at Lemonade with a sad look. Lemonade then took her hand.
"You don't need to be sorry for what happened back then. After all you saved my life." said Lemonade.
"But in turn I caused you to become..."
"Like you?" asked Lemonade. "I really don't mind. In fact I'm happy about it because I can understand you a bit better." she said with a smile causing Storm to smile back. Then they heard a beep and Storm opened her message window.
"Who's it from this time?" asked Pine.
"Shawn. He says they managed to install a Cybermat Converter in The Arc." replied Storm.
"What does that mean?" asked Passion.
"If they're able to configure it properly they may be able to send us stuff. Most likely weapons from back home." replied Storm.
"I hope you do not take this the wrong way but how is it that he was able to do something like that. As far as I can tell Shawn never had the mind for the kind of technology that can convert solid matter into digital information." said Beauty.
"He didn't." replied Storm. "It was technology which was left behind by the Utroms after they left our earth. Donny created the Cybermat in their lair in order to find Splinter's data bits after he was blasted on their way back from 2105 which scattered him around the net. I think that if he got Donny to make something similar in the Arc it's possible they'll be able to send things. The only real issue is what if the game decides what we're sent is too dangerous or something and then deletes them." she explained.
"So what do we do?" asked Lemonade.
"In the message Shawn said that they're gonna test it and send a few things over so we should try to find what is being sent." replied Storm.
"How are we supposed to do that?" asked Beat.
"I was given something." said Moonlight causing them to turn to her as she pulled out a necklace which had a crystal. "He told me they'd try something like this and that they made this crystal which would detect anomolies which could be created by something being sent here."
"Is that possible?" asked Beat.
"Theoretically yes." replied Storm with a hand on her chin before turning to Moonlight. "Can you tell where it's coming from?"
"This way." replied Moonlight as she began walking followed by the others. A few minutes and a few battles later they arrived under a fairly large tree which had a box under it.
"Well at least they were able to send a box." said Beat.
"Let's take look at what's inside." said Storm as she pried the box open with her hands. Once she opened it they saw a number of things which were wrapped and marked with their civilian names. "Here." she said handing Passion a small object before handing out a number of others to the other Cures. As they opened them they saw there were lockets. Passion was the first to open hers and felt tears run down her face. Inside the locket on the left was a picture of Hayato and Shun where the two were smiling and on the right was a picture she had taken with Love, Miki and her adopted parents. Inside her's Moonlight saw a picture of her mom on the left while on the right was the picture that was taken of her and the other HeartCatch Pretty Cure just before their final confrontation with Dune. Inside Lemonade's was a picture of her dad and her grandfather on the left and a picture that was taken of her and her team, including Kurumi, Coco, Nuts, and Syrup, on the right. Within Pine's was a picture of her parents on the left and a picture of Love and Miki on the right. Inside Beat's was a picture of Otokichi-san on the left and a picture of Hibiki, Kanade, Ako, and Hummy on the right. Inside of Happy's were a picture of her parents on the left and a picture of Akane, Yayoi, and Nao on the right. And inside Beauty's was a picture of her family on the left and the same picture of the others from their team on the right. When each of them saw the pictures they all felt tears running down their faces.
"It's only been one month but..." began Moonlight.
"It almost feel like we've been here much more time." finished Beauty as she wiped a tear from her eyes. It was then Happy hugged Beauty who held her close and began patting her back to sooth her.
"What's in yours?" asked Lemonade. Storm opened hers and saw a picture of Shawn with a woman on the right while the left had a picture of all the Japanese Cures and the other eight members of her own team.
"The same." replied Storm. "Well now we have a greater incentive to fight the boss tomorrow. To get back to those who care about us."
"I think there's something else in the box." said Beat as she went in and the pulled something out.
"Is that...?" began Passion.
"I believe it is. Looks like we'll be able to go into battle tomorrow with a surprise." said Storm with a smile.
That night Kirito found Asuna eating some hard bread. After asking to join her he sat down next to her but she moved away. Then he pulled out a piece of bread and began eating.
"Do you really think this is good?" asked Asuna.
"Yeah." replied Kirito. "I've been eating at least once a day ever arriving here but I do change it up from time to time." he said as he pulled out a small container.
"Change it up?" asked Asuna as Kirito placed a container between them.
"Try the bread with some of this." said Kirito. Asuna tapped the top of the container causing a glowing sphere to form on her finger which she then put on her bread.
"Cream?" Asuna asked as Kirito put some on his own before eating. After Asuna finished the bread quickly.
"It's the reward for a quest called "The Heifer Strikes back" a village behind this one." explained Kirito. "If you wanna try it I can show you the trick."
"I didn't come to this town to eat good food." said Asuna.
"Then why did you?" asked Kirito.
"So I can still be me. I'd rather stay myself until the very end instead of sit and wait for death." replied Asuna.
"I know that feeling." said a voice. The two turned and saw the Cures approaching with Storm smiling.
"You're just lucky to know yourself enough to know why you're doing what you do." said Storm. "For part of my life I was nothing more than a tool who mindlessly did what I was told."
"Why?" asked Kirito.
"It's something personal." said Storm as she brought up her system screen. "Anyway here." she said bringing out a basket. "Since we'll be in battle tomorrow I thought we should eat together. Those single pieces of bread may not be enough and I made plenty of sandwiches so eat up you two."
"You do know that..." began Kirito.
"Food eaten here doesn't actually affect our actual bodies?" finished Storm. "The fact of the matter is if you think you're hungry you will be so eat."
"Well thanks then." said Kirito as he pulled out a very simple sandwich three cuts of meat. "This isn't bad. Try one." he told Asuna who looked at Storm.
"Go ahead." encouraged Storm. Asuna then nodded and took a sandwich which she bit. After the others also took one and they ate together.
"Is it okay if I ask you something?" asked Kirito.
"Sure." replied Storm.
"Why did you all put your names in the way you did?" asked Kirito.
"Well..." began Storm.
"I don't think it would really matter if we tell them the truth since no one knows of the Pretty Cure here." said Happy.
"Perhaps but we could still attract unwanted attention." said Beauty
"Alright how about this?" asked Storm. "I'll tell you but neither of you can tell anyone and I mean ANYONE about us or what I'm about to tell you. Can you swear you won't tell single soul here no matter what happens?"
"Uh sure. I swear." replied Kirito.
"How about you?" Moonlight asked Asuna.
"Alright."
"We're not from your universe. We're from another where there are multiple teams who bear the name Pretty Cure." began explaining Storm.
"Pretty Cure?" asked Kirito.
"That's right." continued Moonlight. "We're also known as the Legendary Warriors Pretty Cure. Each one of us is from a different team with the exception of Pine and Passion as well as Happy and Beauty who are each in their own team."
"I see." said Kirito unsure if he believed what they were told.
"You see we all gained the power the transform in order to protect something precious to us." said Lemonade. "We also have our own introductions."
"Really? What are they?" asked Kirito.
"The Fragrance of Bursting Lemon, Cure Lemonade."
"The Yellow Heart is the Symbol of Faith. Freshly Harvested, Cure Pine."
"The Scarlet Heart is the Proof of Happiness. Freshly Ripened, Cure Passion."
"The Flower That Glistens in the Light of the Moon, Cure Moonlight."
"Playing the Tune of the Soul, Cure Beat."
"Twinkling and Shining, the Light of the Future. Cure Happy."
"Snow Falling and Gathering, A Noble Heart. Cure Beauty."
"The Grand Flame of Rebirth, Cure FireStorm."
"So you each represent something different?" asked Kirito.
"That's right." replied Beat. "The other reason we gained our powers was to protect a different Fairy Land."
"Fairy Land?" asked Kirito.
"That's right." replied Lemonade. "My friends and I became Pretty Cure to protect the Kingdom of Palmier."
"We became Pretty Cure to protect the Sweets Kingdom." said Pine looking at Passion.
"I actually became a Pretty Cure to protect the Heart Tree but..." began Moonlight.
"It's okay." said Storm placing a hand on Moonlight's shoulder.
"I was originally a black cat from Major Land who was supposed to sing the Melody of Happiness but when my friend Hummy was chosen I felt betrayed so I went to King Mephisto in Minor Land. After he took the Legendary Score and rewrote the Melody of Happiness into the Melody of Sorrow I was supposed to sing it but Queen Aphrodite sent all the notes to a town on earth known as Kanon Town." said Beat looking down.
"So what happened?" asked Kirito.
"I was sent to earth along with Trio the Minor find the notes and when I was about to sing the Melody of Sorrow I saw the pain it was causing Hummy and I somehow changed from my cat form into a Pretty Cure." explained Beat. "Afterwards I felt lost because I realized what I had been doing was wrong but became happy when Hibiki and Kanade offered me their friendship. After that I fought along side them as Cure Beat to make up for the mistakes I made until we finally defeated Noise who had been wanting to elminate all sound."
"Wow." said Kirito.
"We became Pretty Cure to stop a villain by the name of Pierrot who wanted to change everyone's white future into a bad end." said Beauty.
"So you're all from different team?" asked Kirito. The girls nodded. "So who are the other Cures in your teams?"
"In mine there were orginally five of us total but after the defeat of the evil organization Nightmare we lost our powers but got them back when Eternal appeared." said Lemonade. "Other than me there's Dream, Rouge, Mint, Aqua, and Milky Rose."
"Other than Pine and me we have Peach and Berry."
"The other members of my team are Blossom, Marine, and Sunshine."
"In mine there's Melody, Rhythm, and Muse."
"In ours we have Sunny, Peace, and March." said Happy.
"My team's a little complicated." said Storm.
"Why?" asked Kirito.
"Well there's nine of us and we weren't born." replied Storm. "In our world there was an evil group known as the Cardivus Praecordia who were bent on the destruction of the world but their leaders were defeated by the nine Elementals and the twelve Legendary Cures and their leader were sealed away. Those who remained started an organization who used the advances in technology to create new soldier to work for them. Since the Elementals are always reborn they obtained DNA samples from them and began trying to create nine clones until they finally succeeded."
"Let me guess. Those nine clones were you and your team." said Kirito. Storm nodded.
"As clones of the Elementals we were created to kill them but before they ever implanted that idea in our minds they rescued us." continued Storm. "For a year we trained with them in different fighting styles including a martial art that focuses on unleashing one's own beast spirit known as Pai Zhua." she said pulling up her sleeve revealing what looked like a black tattoo of three claw marks. "I along with the rest of my team were tested or were supposed to be tested to become Masters but something happened."
"What?" asked Kirito becoming interested.
"Well prior to our tests were told the Japanese Pretty Cure they'd need to become stonger after they almost lost their powers because of the Cardivus so they began to train with us during the summer. Once that was over we decided to each keep an eye on a team so we began going to school with them. The test was gonna be that they were gonna pretend to attack the schools to test not only our skills, but our will to protect. Unfortunately the Cardivus found out and sent some enemies diguised as Pai Zhua the day before. We thought it was the test so we went along with it at first but then realized it was an actual attack so we fought back harder. Unfortunately we used up way more power than we had but we reached a whole new level of Pai Zhua. The Masters watched and after the battle decided that we were ready to become masters so we recieved our Master Stripes."
"But you all really scared us." said Lemonade.
"Why's that?" asked Kirito.
"Because of how were came to be our powers were limited. The fights became very long and we used up all our energy so even though we recieved our Master Stripes we all lost conciousness from injuries we sustained. It's actually how I got the second scar on my cheek." explained Storm pointing to the X on her cheek.
"How did you get the first?" asked Asuna surprising them.
"A few months prior to our meeting with them..." began Storm looking at the other Cures. "...I had the stupid idea that we could handle a mission in a remote region but things went horribly wrong. We were about to be destroyed when our originals stepped in and saved us. During the battle a piece of shrapnel made the first scar I had. Anyway they showed up and forced us back to the Arc by sacrificing themselves. At least that's what we thought at the time. After I blamed myself for what had happened since I was the one who said we could handle the mission."
"So what happened to your originals?" asked Kirito.
"Well at the time we became depressed because of a major realization." replied Storm. "You see the only way to seal the Cardivus away for good was with a powerful seal which had not been created prior to the first battle. The seal required the nine Elementals to sacrifice themselves but we thought they were dead and realized that it would have to be us. When the final battle finally came we fought as hard as we could and activated the seal. However when we were about to sacrifice ourselves they appeared and pulled us out. As it turns out they knew it was our battle to fight the Cardivus so while we thought they were dead they were actually hidden."
"So they died?" asked Kirito.
"Basically but Shawn, my original, the Elemental of Fire. Placed the Mark of the Phoenix on the others so they were able to use the Flames of Rebirth to come back." replied Storm. "Anyway the thing with my team is that our powers were unstable so they gave us small devices called Elemental Transformers or ElTrans for short. We were at first only able to use a fourth of our power. Later we found out we could gain new forms. You see at first I was only able to become Cure Ardeo. Then later I gained the ability to become Cure Inferno, Cure Phoenix, and last my current form which is Cure Fire Storm. The other members of my team went as followed. Cure Imber, Cure Aquatica, Cure Shark, and Cure Tsunami was our water Cure. Cure Zephyr, Cure Cyclone, Cure Falcon, and Cure Hurricane for our wind. Cure Vis, Cure Terra, Cure Rhino, and Cure Quake for our earth. Cure Rai, Cure Electrix, Cure Cheetah, and Cure Overload for lightning. Cure Anancites, Cure Titan, Cure Bison, and Cure Platinum for metal. Cure Eros, Cure Teki, Cure Swan, and Cure Cupid for love. Cure Lumen, Cure Angel, Cure Tiger, and Cure Celestia for light. And last Cure Tenebrae, Cure Shadow, Cure Wolf, and Cure Shroud for darkness."
"Hold on." said Kirito. "As far as I know love, lightning, metal, light, and darkness aren't elements."
"You'd be surprised." said Storm. "You see fire and wind fall under light while water and earth fall under dark. You know. Light of day and dark of knight? Anyway metal is actually a natural element which appears on earth and lightning...well I don't think I need to explain."
"What about love?" asked Asuna.
"Originally there were only eight but..." began Storm.
"You know about cupid, right?" asked Lemonade.
"The western baby in the diaper who shoots arrow that make people fall in love?" asked Kirito.
"Yeah well cupid's not a baby archer in a diaper." replied Storm. "She's actually the daughter of Venus who asked for permission from her mother to join the Elementals. She's also not an archer. Well she is but she doesn't use arrows. She's an empath who is able to sense anything from people around her and likes to help them out."
"Wow." said Kirito.
"You don't fully believe what we've just told you, do you?" asked Storm.
"Well it's a little hard to believe." replied Kirito. "But there was that thing with the chains Lemonade did earlier."
"I just remembered we left out Black, White, Luminous, Bloom, and Egret." said Lemonade.
"Who are they?" asked Kirito.
"Two other teams. Black, White, and Shiny Luminous are one team while Bloom and Egret are another." replied Storm.
"So that chain thing. Can you all do it or...?" asked Kirito.
"No. That's something only Lemonade can do." replied Storm. "Although there are powers we share."
"Like what?" asked Kirito.
"Enhanced strength, enhanced speed, high endurance, and peak level reflexes." replied Storm.
"Wait. I understand that you have powers but why are you able to use them?" asked Kirito. "As far as I know a person who plays SAO will only have the power their avatar gains through battle and quests."
"Long story short there was a race of aliens who crashed on our earth around a thousand years ago. They befriended four mutant turtles we had the honor to fight along side of. After they returned they left quite a bit of technology which they used and my original used some of it to modify it to allow us the use of our powers here. He also used the computer that's implanted in my cerebral cortex to allow us the ability to use not only our attacks but the attacks of the others so long as we meet certain conditions."
"Wait up. Four mutant turtles?" asked Kirito in disbelief.
"That's a story for another time." said Storm. "The point is our NerveGears are modified so our powers work here. The issue is there's a limitation."
"What limitation?" asked Beat.
"We have our strength but because our characters are still bound by the rules of SAO we have certain limits. From what I can tell we're strong enough to cause physical pain but not strong enough to cause much damage."
"You're still gonna help, aren't you?" asked Kirito.
"Of course." said Passion. "That's what we do."
"I just hope our training is of use during battle." said Storm.
"We'll find out once the battle begins." said Moonlight.
"You really are the wisest among us." said Storm.
"It's just experience." said Moonlight. "Let's just hope it's enough."
The following morning the large group ventured through the forest. The ten walked behind the larger group as they began to go over the plan. As they walked Storm stopped causing them to stop as well.
"Is something wrong?" asked Kirito.
"I smell something." replied Storm sniffing the air. "Blood."
"But that's impossible. Players can't bleed here. It's all virtual." said Kirito.
"Perhaps but one must not forget to trust their own senses." said Beauty.
"Let's keep going before they get worried." said Storm as they kept walking. On the way Lemonade noticed that Storm's eyes changed for a split second before returning to normal. Not long after they arrived at the doors of the boss room where they stopped and Diabel turned to the whole group.
"Listen up everyone." said Diabel. "I only have one thing to say. Let's win. Now let's go!" After he opened the door revealing a large dark room.
"I hate have to fight in a large dark room." said Storm.
"How come?" asked Lemonade. "You always seem to do best in the dark."
"Just because I do stealth doesn't mean I like it." countered Storm as they entered and saw a creature sitting at the end of the room. Within seconds the room lit up and the creature jumped forward revealing it to be a large red demon like creature which had a large stomach and wore armor on its knees and had a large belt which covered its waist a little below along with a large axe like weapon and a shield. As it roared the words Illfang the Kobold Lord appeared above it as four health bars appeared near its head. After three smaller fully armored demons appeared each holding what looked like a mace. Then the four charged.
"Everyone Attack!" yelled out Diabel causing a few of the parties to charge in. Diabel continued to order the squads who were fighting Illfang before ordering the others to move in and attack the small fry. It only took Kirito and Asuna working in tandem to take out one of the smaller creatures but another jumped and tried to attack Kirito. He readied his weapon when Storm jumped in and caught it. After she flipped over it before flipping it and slamming it down before she drew her sword and pierced its head.
"Thanks." said Kirito.
"Don't thank me yet. We've still got big red to take care of." said Storm noticing Illfang's health was down to less than half its last bar. After the creature gave a feral roar before discarding its weapon and shield and drawing the weapon on its lower back.
"Looks like the information was right." said Kibaou.
"Everyone stand back. I'm going in." said Diabel as he charged in surprising everyone.
"What does that idiot think he's doing?" asked Storm.
"We were supposed to surround it and then attack." said Kirito as Diabel charged his weapon. Then Illfang drew its second weapon which caused Kirito's eyes to widen. "That's not a Talwar. It's a No-Dachi. It's not the same as in the Beta Test." he said as he started trying to run towards Diabel. "Get back!" he called out as Illfang jumped onto a column and then to another moving around very quickly until it came down and slashed Diabel. After it ran behind him and slashed him again.
"Diabel!" called out Kibaou as Illfang landed in front of his squad.
"Diabel!" called out Kirito as he ran toward the fallen player.
"Stay in formation. I'll go check." said Storm as she ran towards Kirito.
"Understood." said Lemonade. Once they got to him Kirito picked up Diabel's head as he saw his health bar drop slowly.
"Why did you try to do it alone?" asked Kirito as he pulled out a bottle he was about to give to Diabel who stopped him.
"You were a beta tester, weren't you?" asked Diabel. "You know what I was doing."
"You were after the last attack bonus item. You were a Beta Tester too?" Diabel smiled.
"Please...defeat...defeat the boss. For everyone." said Diabel as he began to fade before shattering in Kirito's arms leaving everyone in shock. Kirito stood up and turned while Storm clenched her fists. Illfang roared again causing the other players to panic. At that Asuna and the other Cures went up to the two.
"I'll go with you." said Asuna.
"Thanks." said Kirito.
"You go too. I think something's wrong with Storm." said Lemonade noticing Storm's fists. The eight charged in to attack but when they got close something deflected their attack. Everyone looked in shock as ten large creatures with long needles that had a clear oval shaped thing near the top and a spiral within appeared in front of and above Illfang.
"What are those things?" asked a player.
"Are those?" asked Beat.
"Bloodysquitos." said Moonlight.
"Bloodysquitos?" asked Kirito. "What are they?"
"They're creatures from the Darkness Civilization Land from another earth." replied Moonlight. Suddenly everyone heard a scream and turned to Storm who held her head in pain.
"Hey! What's wrong?" asked Kirito. It was then that one of the Bloodysquitos charged in and attacked Asuna which forced the eight to jump back. Even though it didn't his Asuna it ripped her cloak forcing her to discard it revealing her long red hair.
"Are you okay?" asked Lemonade.
"Stand back." said Storm. Lemonade nodded and stepped back as a black aura began extending from her back.
"What is that?" asked Kirito.
"Her Keshin." replied Beat as the energy now seemed to be coming out of her back took the form of a woman in a red dress which had flames on all the edges, long red hair, a flaming cape, glowing red eyes, and a large red and black sword.
"Emperor of Dancing Flames, Nero!" called out Storm.
"You're not doing this alone." said Lemonade as another dark aura form around her. This one took the shape of an angel in a white dress with large wings and rainbow colored hair. "Angel of Prismatic Light, Clear!"
"We're going to." said Moonlight. The other five Cures nodded as a dark aura formed around all six. Behind Moonlight the aura took the form of a pale woman with a white dress, white gloves, and snow white hair. "Goddess of the Shining Moon, Phoebe!"
Behind Passion the aura took the form of a female knight in red armor with long red hair who held a sword with a red gem, behind Pine the aura formed an angel with light blond hair who had a white robe and a what looked like a necklace, behind Beat the aura formed an angel with light blue hair in a violet dress who held a navy blue guitar, behind Beauty an angel formed who wore what looked to be a white jacket and had long hair while holding two swords, and behind Happy a formed a four winged angel in a light pink and white dress with pink hair who held a large red sword.
"Scarlet Knight of Happiness, Laetus!" called out Passion.
"Angel of Celestial Prayer, Exoro!" called out Pine.
"Angel of the Soulful Beat, Lyra!" called out Beat.
"Angel Guardian of Happiness, Alacris!" called out Happy.
"Angel of Fallen Snow, Liberalis!" called out Beauty.
"Ready?" asked Storm. The Cures nodded.
"Armed!" called out all eight causing their Keshins to fly up before becoming energy which flew down and became armor worn by the Cures which matched the Keshin's clothes in color.
"Kirito. Asuna. We'll take the Bloodysquitos. Once you find an opening take Illfang down. Understood?" said Storm. The two nodded. At that the nine Cures jumped up and drew their equipped swords.
"Imperial Spear!" called out Storm as she dove down while holding out her sword as she was engulfed in fire. This allowed her to pierce one of the Bloodysquitos thought the middle causing it to shatter. "Game, set, match."
"Rainbow Shooting Star!" called out Lemonade as she flew causing a rainbow streak appeared behind her and she flew through another Bloodysquito causing it to shatter.
"Scarlet Spectral Blade!" called out Passion as she seemingly disappeared from in front of it and reappeared behind a Bloodysquito. This caused six red spikes to appear around it which then pierced it shattering it.
"Lunar Slash!" called out Moonlight as she cross slashed another Bloodysquito causing it to shatter.
"Pure Heart!" called out Pine as she flew straight though a Bloodysquito shattering it.
"Metal Resonater!" called out Beat waving her hand causing an extremely loud sound wave which shattered another Bloodysquito.
"Happy Rain!" called out Happy as she waved her hand causing several pink lights to form where her hand had moved before they shot straight at a Bloodysquito.
"Blizzard Tempest!" called out Beauty as she slashed the Bloodysquito several times. After she turned as the Bloodysquito began freezing from the inside before shattering.
After their attacks hit their armors disappeared and Kirito and Asuna charged in to attack only for the two remaining Bloodysquitos to swoop in. They were stopped, however, by Storm and Lemonade who punched them into a wall allowing them to keep going.
"Ready?" Storm asked Lemonade.
"Ready." replied Lemonade.
"Mix-Trans!" called out the two as an orange aura formed around the two. From this Storm's hair became longer and white along with her eyes while Lemonade's became longer and red along with her eyes.
"Tsunami!" called out Storm.
"Rouge!" called out Lemonade.
"You two keep going. We'll take care of the last two." said Celestia Fire Storm.
"Let's go." said Kirito as he and Asuna charged in. Then as Illfang tried to slash Kirito he counter slashed knocking both of them back. "Switch!" he called out as Asuna charged in and pierced it. After the two kept going and switched. That was until Illfang tried to slash at Asuna which was when Kirito began blocking its blade. However one of his moves left him open and Illfang slashed Kirito throwing him into Asuna. It was about to slash Asuna when something knocked it back. Asuna looked up and saw it was Agil.
"We'll hold him off until you recover." said Agil as the other charged.
"Everyone. Help them out." said Storm as she dodged an attack from a Bloodysquito.
"Roger." called out the other Cures. While those with weapons drawn attracted Illfang's attention the Cures attacked its head. It wasn't long before it threw them all back with one swing of its sword.
"Look out!" called out Kirito as he charge in and slashed it up. After it hit he and Asuna charged in together.
"Lemonade let's end this." said Storm as she began glowing.
"Right." said Lemonade as her hands formed fire.
"Photon Flame Extreme!" called out Storm as she flew through one of the remaining Boodysquitos causing a light from inside it to shatter it.
"Fire Prism Chain!" called out Lemonade as long fire chains formed in her hands which she used to strike the last Bloodysquito several times destroying it. At the same time Kirito and Asuna attacked together in tandem until Kirito finally destroyed it. After he collapsed in exhaustion as everyone else cheered. Lemonade and Storm landed but Storm looked down.
"We won." said Lemonade quietly.
"But at what cost?" asked Storm. "A lot of these people are still amateurs to death battles."
"Isn't that part of the reason we're here?" asked Moonlight as she placed a hand on Storm's shoulder. "Do not dispair. This is about survival and while we may not have the power to save everyone but we can continue to fight for the sake of those fallen."
"I suppose you're right." said Storm as she looked at her window. "That's weird."
"What?" asked Beat.
"This." replied Storm checking her item storage and pulled up an item she'd just recieved.
"Isn't it normal to recieve items after a battle in this kind of game?" asked Beat.
"Not like this. Check it out." replied Storm turning her screen. Beat looked at the item name which was Emblem of the Phoenix Wing.
"I don't understand. What's strange about it?" asked Beat.
"For one thing it doesn't have any kind of stat boost." replied Storm. "In this kind of game anything you get after battle will provide some kind of boost even if it's small."
"Perhaps it is an item from outside of the game." suggested Beauty as she approached Storm and looked at the window. It was then they heard someone yell out.
"Why?!" They turned and saw Kibaou. "Why did you let Diabel die?"
"Let him die?" asked Kirito.
"Of course! You know that technique the boss used!" yelled out Kiboau. "If you'd told us about that up from her wouldn't have died!"
"He must've been a Beta Tester! That's how he knew all the boss's attack patterns." said one player. "He knew but didn't tell us! Other Beta Testers are here too, right? Like you!" he said turning to the Cures.
"Sorry but this is the first time we've tried something like this." replied Storm.
"Then how is it you were able to beat those things?" asked the player.
"In case you didn't notice those things had no health bar which means they weren't part of the game." replied Storm. "Someone's messing with the game to throw in things that weren't part of this world originally." The players stood silent for a moment before they heard a laugh and turned to Kirito.
"Beta Tester?" asked Kirito. "I'd prefer it if you didn't compare me to those newbs."
"W-what?" asked Kibaou.
"Most of the thousand Beta Testers were beginners who didn't even know how to level up." said Kirito as he walked towards the large group of players. "You're all better than them. But I'm not like them. I made it higher than anyone else in the Beta Test. The reason I knew is because I fought monsters with Katana skills in floors far above us. And I know a lot more."
"What's he doing?" asked Happy.
"Something stupidly noble." replied Storm.
"I know way more than any Information Broker." continued Kirito.
"W-what?" asked Kibaou in shock. "That's way worse than any other Beta Tester. You're cheating!"
"Yeah. A cheater!" began calling out the other players.
"A Beta Tester and a cheater. A Beater!" called out one player.
"A Beater? I like that." said Kirito. "That's right. I'm a Beater." he said pulled up his inventory screen. "From now on don't confuse me with the others." he said as he equipped the item he'd just aquired causing a black coat to materialize on him. After he looked at everyone and then began walking away. Shortly after Asuna followed as did the Cures until Storm turned around and went up to Agil who looked at her surprised. After she placed a hand on his arm causing a glow. When she removed her hand he saw a red bird on his arm as she walked away before she turned and held out her hand causing a bright flash of light which left everyone except Agil dazed.
"Hold on." said Asuna who had caught up to Kirito. "You called my name during the battle."
"Sorry about using your first name. Or did I mess up the pronounciation?" said Kirito.
"How did you know it?" asked Asuna causing the other Cures to facepalm.
"You can see another HP gauge below yours, right?" asked Kirito with his finger up. "Around here. Isn't something written next to it?" Asuna looked.
"Kirito. Kirito." she pronounced his name. "Is that your name?"
"Yeah." replied Kirito.
"Oh. So it's been there all this time." said Asuna with a light laugh.
"You'll become really strong so if someone you trust ever invites you to join a guild I'd suggest you accept." said Kirito. "There's a limit to what you can do as a solo player."
"What about you?" asked Asuna as Storm went up to them. Kirito turned to her and she nodded and pulled up her system menu before disbanding the party. After he went to the entrance to the next floor and opened it. When he was about to walk in Storm placed a hand on his shoulder.
"That was a pretty stupid thing to do but I see why you did it." said Storm. "I hope when you become stronger we can have a fight. One on one so don't die." Kirito turned and then smiled.
"I've got no intention of dying in this death game so you'd better stay alive too if you intend to fight me some day." said Kirito. Storm smirked.
"Fire burns through my veins even here so you don't have to worry about me giving up or dying." replied Storm. After Kirito walked through the door.
"What are you thinking?" asked Moonlight.
"He'll make a great ally in what's to come but he'll have to get over that guilt." replied Storm. "For now let's go. We'll leave him be until he actually needs help. Until then we should keep getting stronger." she said before turning to the others. "Right?"
"I have no intention of falling behind." said Passion. "I've fought from when I left Labrynth and I'll fight now."
"That's part of why we're here, afterall." said Lemonade. The other smiled and nodded.
"Let's go." said Storm.
"Hold on." said Asuna causing them to turn. "Will we meet again?"
"The mark on your hand will enable me to find you whereever you may be so you can be sure we'll meet again." replied Storm before they kept walking and stepped through.
To Be Continued...
Author's Note
I thank everyone who's read and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I get this might be a kinda stupid reason to put an A/N but I put this here for another reason. As you may have noticed even though Kirito's the protagonist of SAO I've been focusing more on the Cures. From the next chapter on their interaction with Kirito will be limited as this story will mostly focus on the Cures. I'm not getting rid of him or anything of the sort but their paths won't cross constantly since most of us know Kirito become more than strong enough to handle himself in battle. Another thing is that in the same way I have some couples here I'm planning on adding some more. An example would be that I'm thinking about having Moonlight/Yuri gain an interest in Agil and vice versa. I'd like reader opinions on things like this. I should also mention that I do not own the Bloodysquitos. They're from a different series. Can you guess which one?