Without Kirito around, Klein could stop holding back against the aggressors as much, and even added the tricks he learned from different spirits. The kind of things that would have counted as 'magic' in a fantasy game, though most would be cantrips or first level according to a DnD rulebook he glimpsed some time before SAO…
The battle turned quickly at that point.
While he noticed that they didn't seem normal, at all, Ryotaro had no clue as to what his current opponents were. The lack of reaction to a spirit trick resembling telekinesis confirmed their familiarity with the World of Darkness. Or an acute mental influence. He suspected at that point even delirium won't have full effect on them, not that he was willing to try-this was a hospital. Besides, he was sure he could handle them without it, and wanted an ace in his sleeve.
He was soon proven correct, as his foes ended on the floor and not in shape to continue fighting (even if some may have broken bones).
'Now to catch up with Kirito, hopefully there aren't more between us and Asuna.'
Still this seemed somehow too easy, for an opponent that could affect hundreds of SAO players.
"Hello, Harry? It's Ryotaro, I'm at the Hospital…"
It all went from bad to worse!
As he entered the room of Asuna, his future Titania. As a witness was already there, and as if to spite him, the strange girl was not alone, as he discovered when a man- obviously a bodyguard by second glance, interrupted his attempt to get rid of the pesky interloper- he needed to hurry.
The girl then glared at him, and at a commanding voice he found himself spilling to her things he had no intention to. About how he was monitoring the SAO servers for RETCO, and got his hands on some of the player accounts there, before they were logged out. How he intended to keep the prisoners while experimenting on them. About his research.
The little witch had a power! As he suddenly realized the unnatural influence the little freak had over him, Sugou struggled to redirect the revelations he was forced to make, from the contacts he had, a task he figured possible due to the stupid girl not asking about them.
Oh how he will enjoy having the Technocracy deal with this little hedge witch later, when he got out. They tended to crack hard on those they called 'deviants'. Maybe they will let him watch, or even help break the little-
And then the Gaijin Gorila in a tux punched him in the gut. Further thought, and breath, was halted.
"Roughen him up a little; he shouldn't have laid his hands on Aa-chan. "
The words were said in a cold, ruthless tone unsuited to the childish figure that gave the order.
Nevertheless, it was followed with no hesitation.
The man gave no sign of hearing it, but punched Sugou again, in the face.
She interrupted the next swing. "Make sure not to leave too blatant marks, and to keep him able to walk by himself, and confess to the cops."
The foreigner barbarian nodded, finally showing a visible response, and proceeded to fulfill the order.
"S-thop! I.. ow, I will pay you, double… Triple! Triple what she pays! Ouch!"
The ancient Kindred Elder that has recently taken to enjoying the name 'Argo' intended to merely visit her friend-Asuna was Kind and bright and the first person the millennia old vampiress could act as a girl her apparent, eternal, age-as she was when she was mortal and her name was not 'Argo'. A socializing among girls, with none of the politicking inevitable among kindred in general and Ventrue in particular, especially as old as her.
It brought ancient memories to mind, some cherished friends and whispers of a mortal family, all but the hints of siluettes and voices forgotten, lost to time and the trauma of the newly embraced, made more difficult by circumstances of the time.
The life of a young daughter to a noble house and that of a successful merchant house were experiences well known to her, and Asuna struck on that familiarity as well.
And she had such fun teasing Kirito and his girlfriend.
Due to the attacker of the still sleeping Players at large, with already few attacks launched against them, She took a couple of discreet servants with her-namely the Ventrue that was the steward for her SAO associated interests, sworn to secrecy and mentally bound to it besides, and her newest ghoul-the captured hedge wizard.
While he was well programmed to keep from revealing information, and made loyal to his previous masters, she was skilled at the Domination Discipline, and though it took some work, her skill, as well as the addictive power of her Vitae-her blood.
She fed him once, partially to heal the marks left by her…displeasure of his actions, and it built an addiction, as well as adoration within him, that made his breaking swifter.
And the ability to teleport another was a very useful skill to have on one of her minions. It was what allowed her to set an ambush nearby, as he, and the American kindred that accompanied her hid in a nearby building, with a the window of AA-chan's room in line of sight, and therefore teleport, as argo entered the hospital alone.
"Sorry, Aa-chan, for not visiting the way I should have." The nasal tone and accent were added as an afterthought. It was Argo, the info broker and a fellow young girl that was talking, not the ageless kindred. Despite being both.
"Kiri-bou is on the way, and I've made sure that reinforcements will follow him. Couldn't let him be reckless alone. We will get you out as well. Just hold on a bit.
"You know, Klein was quite the surprise In Real Life, but the bandana head samurai wannabe been making good on watching the back of our Black Swordsman, while you can't.
I'm no hero here, in the cold dark world that is our reality, despite my action in Aincrad, but Kirito really is. Who knows, maybe he will actually make the nights less brutal. He got a furball working with my kind, without even knowing it. Maybe this is a sing for a brighter future.
"Maybe he will restore some hope to this unbeating heart."
The silence stretched for some time before interrupting via an opening door.
As Argo turned, she saw a half crazed figure that she recognized as one Nobuyuki Sugou, from RETCO, and a protégé of the Yuuki family from her research of Asuna's background.
He seemed as surprised to find him, as she was by his interruption, though she mentally kicked herself for not paying attention to surroundings and letting herself be surprised so.
He then smirked, not entirely sane, and drew a knife.
'And what do you expect to do with this, fool?'
Whatever it was, she was spared from the tedium of having to learn, as it sprang the ambush, and she didn't even need to demonstrate on him the fate of countless would be Hunters that sought her harm across the centuries.
The light use of Dominate on his mind gave her answers she has been looking for. As well as some she did not think to seek.
She learned that he was the one to trap Asuna, and others. Organized the magical enforcement of their comas, that he experimented on their minds, mapping for better control program-which was his end goal. A virtual mental control program.
He sought to make a brainwashing machine out of the Virtual Reality and NerveGear.
When he mentioned Kirito, she had him quickly summarize on that part, and learning that the Clearer had defeated him, and there was probably a race to Asuna now, glanced at her servant, who opened the door, and surprised a few 'guards' who stood there.
She dulled Sugou mind into not noticing the man bringing them inside to be teleported away, to be dealt with, at her convenience. It didn't require much dulling.
The more she learned the angrier she became though.
After taking the disk containing the only copy of his program and it's progress thus far,having commanded him to give it to her as he revealed his intend to maim, maybe kill kirito and escape with asuna, using it to buy a new life, she had him roughen up. She didn't want to touch the scum herself.
Soon into the punishing of the Villain, the hero arrived, breathing hard.
The mutt was on his heels.
The Vampiress wanted to give the hero the privacy for his reunion with his Princess, and their inevitable kiss.
She also wanted an update from the fleabag on how it went on his end of things.
What he learned, what he knew, and if he discovered the end goal in her pocket, on a disk. She did not want the knowledge of that program to spread, and wanted to know just how much blood will need to be spilt over it. And whose.
"Asuna, wake up! Asuna! It's Kirito! Asuna! "
He gently nudged at her, and then tried to shake her, still no response.
He tried more, urgency sparking again within him, to no avail.
After more attempts, he finally tried what Argo told him to. He lowered his lips to hers, and kissed her.
At that moment she glowed in a golden hue, and kirito felt pleasant, soothing warmth from her presence.
He could have sworn he heard her whisper back-"Kirito-kun".
Then the glow grew brighter, and the surprised boy took a step back, as it swallowed her whole, and just as it seemed as if she was starting to open her eyes, it lit brightly the whole room, and in a strange sound 'whoosh', it disappeared, taking his beloved with it, leaving an empty bed, and the NerveGear Helmet on the pillows.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Author Notes: I apologize for the GREAT delay with this fic, but I had some problems writing this chapter, and after updating some of my other fanfics, the newest StarCraft and Fallout 4 got released. Real Life events making return to writing harder.
Hopefully i will now return to regularly updating my fics.
This chapter is to show the events of the previous one from the POV of others, and fill some holes-sometimes what looks like a plothole is not, and merely meant to be filled later. I hoped to infuse some of the grimmer side of Classic World of Darkness into this chapter, by some of the things in Argo part, how successful was I?
Also with Asuna gone again-something that I hope was a good twist, one i intended at least five chapters ago, the fic changes gears.
Review, Comment and criticize-it keeps me motivated and encourages me to write more.