EXTRA CHAPTER 2
The Queen of the Scarlet Jade Castle
-:-
Raphael Norton stands outside the principal's office….. and he is very reluctant to enter.
"….. I'm scared…."
Scared?
No… SCARED barely expresses 14% of what Raph is currently feeling.
If there was a word for to describe it, then word would be OHMYFUKINGGODDAMNJAUNCLAUDVA NFUKINGSHITIMSOFUKINGSCAREDS HITLESSIMUSTBEOUTOFMYFUKINGM INDIWANARUNLIKEABITCHAWAYFRO MHERERIGHTNOW!
There is a perfectly logical explanation for his over-the-top panic.
On the other side of the door lies the principal's office. And within that office lies a person that should not be there.
"Why the freaking hell is Takamura Hiiro here?!" Raph curses in his head. "More importantly… why in gods name am I suppose to meet him?!... no…. I shouldn't even ask….. Remi, you bitch!"
Remirura Hiiro, AKA Remi-Chan by her fans, AKA Remi-sama by her (secret) fanclub, AKA Remi-sempai by anyone in Raph's grade (Remi is actually one year older than Raph… who knew?), AKA Remi by Raph (he cant stomach being anymore respectful than he already is), and so on and so forth….
"Woops… got a little sidetracked there."
Back to the topic.
A few days after their final battle, Remi went to the GYM RAT and announced to the Norton Family that she and Raphael are in a relationship. She also stated that she is fine sharing Raph with Ange and Kaori as long as she is given the same rights as the two.
…. A few people didn't like that…
Ange ACCIDENTALY bashed Raph with her heavy duty parasol. She then refused to talk to him for over a week.
When Kaori heard the news, she ACCIDENTALY punched Raph in the gut. Despite her deliciously loli body, she has been a karate practitioner since her childhood. It goes without saying that her punch hurt like hell. She also refused to talk to him for a week.
Finally, Thomas Norton sparred in the ring with Raph a few times for a week. Though he used the word SPARRED, Thomas Norton was seriously trying to beat the living daylights out of him.
'How did Raph know?' You ask?
Simple…. Raph was in the receiving end of a fair amount of kicks….. in a boxing match. Raph did his best to fight back, but he ended up as a nasty little stain on the ring.
Raph can understand why Ange and Kaori is treating him horribly, and he can respect that. What he doesn't understand is why Thomas Norton is treating him like crap. Wasn't his father that told him that HAREM IS EVERY MANS DREAM! ?
"Whatever…. I have much bigger problems at the moment"
Raph has a few scripts he can use, depending on what type of person Mr. Hiiro is. For now, his goal is to get Mr. Hiiro to hate him. That way, Mr. Hiiro will force Remi away from Raph and not get anyone caught in the crossfire.
"Its now or never"
Raph steels his will and enters the room.
Within the room are 4 people.
The principal, Mr. … , now that Raph thinks about it, what is his name? In all the months that he has attended school, he has never known the principals name.
"Sorry Mr. Principal…." Raph apologies in his head.
The other person was obviously not Japanese. The overweight man sports a pair of thin rimmed glasses and wears a brown suite. He might have a Spanish or Mexican lineage based on his brownish skin color.
Then there is the balding Mr. Hiiro. He was wearing a hawaian shirt and cargo short, which is definitely not befitting his status. Raph never met him personally, but based on appearance alone, he seems to be a good guy.
As for the last person…. Well…. Lets just say, Raph didn't expect to see him at all.
"Faux…. Or is it Raphael Norton now? Either way, its good to see you again." Said the businessman in the black suit.
"La Croix…. What the hell are you doing here?" Raph asks the oh-so-slick businessman.
"Oh? You know the lad?" Mr. Hiiro asks La Croix
"Oh yes Mr. Hiiro. We've worked with each other a lot during the SAO incident" La Croix replies. "Remember the PKKs I told you about?"
Mr. Hiiro thinks for a bit. "Oh… the group that kills the murderers?"
"Yes. Raphael here sat on top of that group." La Croix replies.
"Oh… I see" Mr. Hiiro replies as he stares at Raph with great interest. "Anyway, take a seat young man. We have a few things to discuss. My daughter will be here shortly."
Raph takes the vacant seat opposite to Mr. Hiiro.
Mr. Hiiro clears his throat and speaks. "Lets get to the point. It seems that my daughter is very fond of you. And I assume that you are fond of her as well, correct?"
"No you blasted retard! My family, friends and acquaintances' financial well being are being held hostage by your hell spawn of a daughter! If I had a choice, I'd throw her in front of a speeding train and watch her go SPLAT!"
….Ofcourse, Raph cant tell Mr. Hiiro that.
"Yes." Raph says using a good guy façade
"Good. However, as a father, it is my duty to worry about my daughter's future and well being. As such, I ran a background check on you….. and something disturbing has caught my attention."Mr. Hiiro makes a serious face. "It seems that you've established relationships with 2 other young ladies. One of them is your very own sister. Please explain"
"Damn rich people! If you have money to spy on people, donate it to the Red Cross damn it!" Raph thinks in frustration.
Suddenly, an opportunity unexpectedly presents itself.
Mr. Hiiro seems to be a decent fellow who deeply cares for his daughter. If Raph plays his cards right, he could turn this potentially bad situation into a disaster of the ages.
"I haven't used it in a while…. but lets go with the bad guy persona"
Raph takes deep breath. A second later, he flashes the most diabolic smile in his arsenal.
"*sigh* Cat's out of the bag already? Well, that's fine. I cant stand this goody two shoes act anyways" Raph replies in an arrogant manner, which catches his audience by surprise. "Well then…. Where to begin... For starters, I am a very greedy person. If I find something of interest, I'll do whatever it takes to take it. Your daughter just happens to be one of them"
"…. And your sister?" Mr. Hiiro asks coldly
"If you have the resources to do a background check, you should know about my sister's condition right?" Raph asks, which Mr. Hiiro nods in reply. "Thanks to her Albinism, I spent most of my life defending her from bullies and alike. I'd be damn if I entrust her to some random guy after all the care I've invested on her."
"Even going as far as committing incest?"
"If you're willing to spend a mint on background checks for your daughter, then I'm willing to do anything to protect my sister."
Its not like Raph had a choice in the matter. The whole thing was literally shoved into his face.
"…. And what of the other girl. Kaori Kurashima?" Mr. Hiiro asks
"Well… I'm really fond of that girl. You could say she's my first legitimate love"
"And my daughter?"
"I want her…." Raph withholds the DEAD from his sentence.
"What makes you think that I'll just give her to you" Mr. Hiiro replies sternly.
Much to everyone's surprise, Raph lets loose an evil laugh.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA! You're don't understand Mr. Hiiro. Remi is already MINE!"
-:-
5 Minutes Later
School Cafeteria
"Mille Feuille, Éclair, Egg Pei, Blueberry Cheese Cake, Chiffon Cake and a chocolate milk to wash it down... One hell of a victory feast if I say so myself" Raph says as he surveys the food in front of him.
Across Raph, La Croix watches in disdain. "My friend…. do you plan on dying from diabetes? Not even women would eat that much sweets in one sitting."
"Shut it! This is the first, and most probably, last time I'll ever get to eat any of these! I am not gonna miss this chance!" Raph replies as he takes a bite out of the blueberry cheese cake.
"…. You know I'm paying for these right?"
Raph slams his fist into the table. "Damn Straight! Before my cash cow disappears, I SHALL DINE IN HELL!"
'You scum….' Thought all of those who were within earshot of the two.
"Don't lie Raph. When we did a background check on you, your bank account contained fairly small fortune for a student." La Croix relies.
Raph stops eating and sighs. "Unlike you rich people, us average citizens value money. I wouldn't spend a single cent on a very perishable commodity as sweets. However…. If its free… then that is a different story"
"You are one cheap individual"
"WAHAHAHA! Flatery will get you nowhere! Anyways, I doubt that you came here just to give me free food. Tell me what you want…. And who is that guy?" Raph asks as he points to the fat man beside La Croix
"Him? He is irrelevant. *sigh* But if you must know, his name is Eduardo Ayala." La Croix replies with no interest.
"Ouch…. And I thought Ange was cruel"
True enough, the fat Eduardo Ayala looked very hurt. However, he silently takes the cruel treatment and concentrates on eating his food.
"Forget about him and let's talk business." La Croix says. " As you may know, after Sugou Nobuyuki Incident, the LaCroix Real Estates and many others bought ALO from Recto. Tell me Raph…. Do you play ALO?"
"Yup. No matter how traumatic SAO was, the gamer soul in me just wont die." Raph puffs his chest in pride
"Ho… good to hear. What race are you using?"
"All of them."
"Isnt that counter productive? Just focus on one race get stronger."
Raph shrugs in reply. "It's a habit of mine to check out all the possibilities before making a big decision."
"I see…. That is the proper mindest in business and many other scenerios. Anyways, what race fits your fancy"
"Hmmm…. Right now, its between the Salamanders and the Cat Siths." Raph replies. "The Cat Sith's heightened hearing and seeing fits my fighting style perfectly…. But I'm gonna have to go with the Salamanders."
"Realy? Why?"
"Fu fu fu…. Its obvious my friend…. Cat Guys are DISGUSTING! Can you imagine a guy with cat ears?! Even eating a pile of dung tastes better than being a cat guy!" Raph replies with passion
"…. What a stupid reason…." La Croix sighs.
"WAHAHAHA! Flatery will get you nowhere!" Raph laughs loudly
"*sigh* well whatever. Back to business. We've been planning on spicing up the game a bit, however, we need someone with great skill for the beta test to succeed" La Croix says.
"Then Kirito is your man. He has experience as a beta tester and he is the best in SAO."
La Croix thinks for a bit. "The hero of SAO huh? Unfortunately, we don't need heroes. What we need now are villains…. And you, my friend, fits the bill perfectly"
"Ho….. interesting sales pitch… " Raph says in interest.
"Ofcourse, who do you think you're talking to?" La Croix replies with confidence. He places a business card in front of Raph "If you're interested, head to the address written there. Our project will take about 3 weeks of close beta testing and 1 week of open beta testing, so tell your parents that you might come home late for a little while. "
"Is it that big of a project?" Raph drains his chocolate milk
"Its more of a one time event than a project. We wont be adding it to the game itself but it sure hell will be fun for the players." La Croix stretches out his hand to Raph. "I look forward to your endevores."
"Likewise I'm sure."Raph takes his hand and shakes it.
Raph cant believe his luck. Not only does he get to have fun with a never before seen feature of ALO, but he also manage to scare off Mr. Hiiro….
"ALL IN ONE DAY! I'm on a roll baby!"
Raph was so happy that nothing can possibly ruin his mood….. that is, until La Croix opened his big rich mouth.
"By the way, I was impressed with your acting skills back there. Too bad it backfired…"
Raph drops his egg pie in extreme shock. Raph does not and will not drop his egg pie even if there was a magnitude 10 earthquake. That's how extreme his shock is.
"W-what do you mean?" Raph asks in fear.
"What? Did you really think that Mr. Hiiro is a good guy?"
Raph nods in response. "At the very least, I thought he was a guy that deeply cared for his daughter."
"HAHAHAHAHA! I've known the guy for 5 years now and let me tell you this, the guy is pure evil! He just loves doing the good guy routine to keep the other party flatfooted. Remirura Hiiro is the 3rd of 7 children from his 5 wives. His love for Remi is more of mutual respect between 2 evil beings." La Croix replies.
"Le Damn…." Raph says in disbelief. "Then my act-"
"Had the opposite effect" La Croix continues. " Instead of scaring him off, you just made him more interested in you. Before I left the office, he said that you were nothing like your father. He also said that you have potential…. Whatever that means. "
Raph wanted to facepalm…. However, it was no longer enough to express his emotions….. thus he performes the legendary FACE DESK.
"Oh god….. WHY?!"
Speaking of the devil, the father and daughter combo approaches their table. Remi grabs Raph by the arm and hugs it.
"Congratulations! As expected of my beloved! To gain my father's approval is, by all means, no easy feat!" Said Remi.
Raph keeps calm and fights down the urge to strangle her to death.
"W-whats up?" He asks in the calmest voice he could muster.
Mr. Hiiro steps forward and replies. "Please gather your things. We are going to the hotel where I am currently staying. We have much to discuss. Oh, Ms. Angelica Norton and Ms. Kaori Kurashima are invited as well."
"Mr. Hiiro…. I would like to remind you that it is still in the middle of the day, and I am a student. I am obligued to remain in school." Raphael says, and to his surprise, Mr. Hiiro grins in response.
"Fret not. I have conviced the principal to excuse you 3 just this once." Mr. Hiiro replies
"Covinced? Well.. that's putting it mildly…"
Raphael looks at La Croix questioningly.
In response, La Croix leans near him and whispers. "Give it up man. The guy is gonna get what he wants, no matter what. "
"Are you freaking serious?! My future is hanging in the balance here!" Raph whispers back.
"He's gonna treat you to a lot of expensive sweets. Are you sure you want to miss this once in a lifetime experi-?"
Raph suddenly stands and rushes out of the cafeteria. "ALRIGHT! I'm gonna get Ange and Kaori!"
.
.
.
.
While running down the hall, Raph suddenly realizes something and grinds to a halt. He walks to the nearest wall and begins FACE WALLing
"….. I'VE BEEN HAD!"
-:-
"What a retard…" La Croix said as he watched Raph dash out of the cafeteria. "Is this fine Mr. Ayala? "
Beside La Croix is no longer the silent, irrelevant person, but a person that has the power to decide's La Croix fate with a simple press of a button. Beside La Croix is the new head of CIA's supposedly non existent Cyber Sabotage Division.
"Its fine" Mr. Ayala replies in a calm manner. "Thank you for your assisntance Mr. La Croix."
"Its fine. However, I cant understand why you need a kid like him? Shouldn't you be recruiting professionals for whatever it is you guys do?"
"Its in a need-to-know basis Mr. La Croix, and you don't need to know. But let me tell you this… those who lived through SAO are in high demands in the new Cyber War. You shouldn't get too comfortable Mr. La Croix. Eventually, you will join the war. "Mr. Ayala stands and begins to leave. "Anyways, thanks again for the help. Your money will be wired to your account as promised. Good Day."
As La Croix watches the CIA agent leave the canteen, he cant help but be a bit worried of the series of events that he has just started.
"I wish you good luck, Raphael Norton…. You're going to need it…."
-:-
30 DAYS LATER
Bliss
Kaori Kurashima cant express her overwhelming joy right now. And how can she not be? It's already rare for her and Raphael to have a few moments alone. Add the fact that Kaori's competition have the beauty and bodies of models, she cant help but feel insecure of herself.
Luckily for, Raphael Norton is a (perverted) man with many fetishes. LOLIS sits at the top of his list along side BIG BOOBS and WHITE HAIR, which means that Kaori is at an equal ground with Angelica Norton the ice queen and Remirura Hiiro the blond ojousama.
But ofcourse, she a few big advantages over the 2.
First and foremost, she and Raph shares the same tastes in music. Both of them are fans of high adrenaline music such as Punk Rock, Rock n Roll, Nue Metal and many more. Thanks to that, they always sit beside each other to share Kaori's earphones.
Lastly, due to Raph's part time work, he shares a slightly long trip with Kaori for the past 30 days. Sure, the exhausted Raph mostly sleeps through the ride, but she does get to lean on him during that time.
"It's a small win, but I'm not complaining" Kaori happily leans her head at the sleeping boy's shoulder.
5 minutes later, their bus approaches their destination, much to Kaori's displeasure.
"*sigh* It cant be helped…"
As much as she wants to wake up Raph in a gentle manner, there wasn't much time till they reach their stop. Without hesitation, she stabs one of her fingers in his gut, causing him to snap awake.
"Wake up! Our stop is here!"
"OUCH! Damn it! Wake me up in a gentle manner will ya?"
Kaori grabs Raph by the arm and drags him. "I'll do that later. Right now, we need to go"
They disembarked the bus and walked towards Kaori's home.
Despite her protests, Raph insists on walking her home.
"For a perverted gamer, you do have your cool moments"
But ofcourse, Kaori wont tell him that. Despite Raph's rare gentleman ways, he is a weirdo to the core. Who knows what will happen if she praises him like that.
They talk about trivial things as they walk.…. Though Kaori is very conscious about one thing.
She didn't know when it started or who started it, but she and Raph have been holding each other's hand, just like what lovers usually do.
Judging from Raph's usual carefree mood, he didn't even notice that they were holding hands.
"But this is Raph we're talking about here… The guy is a good actor when he puts his mind into it." Kaori thought. "For all I know, he planned this all along"
Ofcourse, Kaori didn't mind at all. On the contrary, if she didn't control herself, she'd be back flipping in pure happiness. In order to control her glee, she steers the conversation to something that they are both interested in.
"By the way, care to share any juicy info on the special boss event in ALO? " Kaori asks. "And don't give me the I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING crap. We know that you're one of the people working on it!"
Raph sighs in reply. "At this point in time, you guys probably know much more thanI do."
1 week ago, the ALO Moderators announced a special Boss Event in order for them to experiment a new mob scripting technique. The boss itself would be the most challenging boss anyone has ever faced…. Or so they say.
Since this is an experiment, the Moderators set a few rules to maximize their observation of the boss.
Rule 1: The boss is only available around 6 pm- 10 pm.
Rule 2: The maximum raid members are 30 people.
Rule 3: Once the player is defeated, he/she will be permanently banned from fighting the boss
Rule 4: It is a no flying zone
Despite these strict rules, many have attempted to kill the boss.
Why?
Because the prize for slaying the boss is astronomical.
Everyone in the raid group will recive the 2nd best weapon of their choosing. For example, EXCALIBUR is considered the best sword in the game, thus by beating the boss, the player would receive the 2nd best sword in the game, which happens to be the DEMONIC SWORD GRAM.
Anyways, from what they know, the boss only has 2 bars of life, which is why many players attempted to kill the boss right at the get go. However, despite the clear disadvantage, the boss remains unslain after 1 week.
Judging from the posts on ALO's forum, the defeated players called it UNREAL, BROKEN and UNBEATABLE. These posts pretty much scared most of the aspiring hopefuls to have a go.
And to make matters worse, just yesterday, General Eugene led his elite group against the boss… and was decimated in just 10 minutes.
And before Eugene was Alicia Rue's elite dragon riders.
And before Alica Rue was Sakuya's mage knights.
And finally, the last day of the 1 week event is upon them. This time around, Kirito organized a raid group amongst his friends. They were hoping that Raph could join them, however looks like Raph will be working till the end.
"*sigh* Klien and Kirito were really looking forward to partying with you for the 1st time in ALO." Kaori says.
"Yeah, me too. Oh well, I'll join you guys in some other boss." Raphael replies with a sigh.
"So…. Any tips you can offer" Kaori asks.
Raph thinks deeply for a second. "Hmm…. I cant help you much on the attack paterns, coz who ever coded that monstrosity stuffed way too much into that one character. However, I can tell you something to look out for."
"Oh? Lets hear it then!"
"When you see a black, spiral shaped sword, dodge with all your might. Only pure tanks can survive taking a hit from that sword."
"Oh… Now that you mention it, Ange and Agil are the closest we have to a tank… this might be a problem."
"WAHAHAHA! Don't worry about!" Raph reples in enthusiasm. "I'm sure you guys are all going to die."
"…. Oy… that isn't every encouraging"
"WAHAHAHA! I know!"
-:-
For another 10 minutes, they navigate the more rural streets of her neighborhood until they reached Kaori's 10 floor apartment. It is nothing fancy, but it's been her home since she was born.
The only complaint she has is the lack of any elevator service. She lives at the 10th floor, so it's a bit of a chore to climb up and down the stairs at a daily basis. On the plus side, it did give her the leg power that everyone in the karate club envies.
Before they can enter the building, Kaori stops Raph by the entrance. "This should be far enough. Thanks for the walk home."
"Eh? Really? I don't mind climbing up the 10 floors of doom you know?" Raph replies sarcastically
"Nyahahaha! As much as I want to see you break a sweat, you'll be late for your job" Kaori says."…. especially if my father gets a hold of you again….."
Raph laughs weakly. "Ah…. Ha ha ha… ha…. Right… I forgot about that guy. "
Touma Kurashima, Kaori's father, works as an Air Traffic Control officer along side Tsuboi Ryotaro (AKA Klein). Because they normally get paired in the graveyard shift, the two ended up becoming good friends. As such, most of her father's knowledge came from Klein's exaggerated description.
Thanks to that, father is really fond of Raph. He constantly presses Raph to marry Kaori sometime in the near future.
Though Kaori doesn't mind the idea (she secretly prays that it comes true), it does get very embarrassing when her father does it in public places.
FYI: Her father doesn't know that Raph has 3 lovers….. if he did, Raph would be stuffed in a box and shipped to Afghanistan as perishable goods.
" Well, I guess I'm heading out then. See ya tomorrow Kaori." Raph turns and leaves
"Hold on a bit!" Kaori pulls Raph back to her.
"Hm? What's wro-" Before Raph could finish his sentence, Kaori pulls his head down and sinks her lips into his.
After a couple of seconds, Kaori moves away.
"See you tomorrow Raph!" She dashes up the stairs, leaving the paralyzed Raph by the entrance.
She dashes up at full speed. Upon reaching the 5th floor, she runs out of steam and leans on the railings for a quick breather.
"I CANT BELIVE I DID THAT!" Kaori facepalms in disbelief.
Did holding hands made her THAT happy?
"*sigh*…. How Out of Chara of me…."
As she tries to calm her overly happy heart, she spots Raph who was skipping like a young girl in love. From the looks of things, she isn't the only one who's overjoyed at the moment.
"He he…. Weirdo to the core" She thought as she happily watches her beloved weirdo from a distance.
Suddenly, a heavy arm ignores the atmosphere and forces her back to reality, much to Kaori's annoyance.
Kaori angrily turns around to give the pest a piece of her mind….. that is, until she saw his face.
It was her father….. and he was smiling ear to ear….
"Fu fu fu…. Nice kiss Kaori!" Touma Kurashima says with a loud voice.
"…. Crap…. This is going to be a long night…."
.
.
.
For the rest of the night, Touma Kurashima (Father), Anzu Kurashima (Mother), Mika and Rika Kurashima (Younger Twin sisters) teases Kaori Kurashima (Eldest sister) to no end.
-:-
Later that evening
NEW AINCARD
1st floor STARTING CITY
"Nya.. nyahahah…. nyahaha" Argo, a Puca, suppress her giggle and fails horribly, which effectively freaking out the others.
"Cease your infernal giggling Argo… tis unsettling…." Said Remilia, the golden haired Spriggan
"I am curious though, why are you giggling like a perverted old man." Asks Czarina, the white haired Imp.
"Nya ha ha, nooooooooooooothing~" Argo replied playfully
"Oi…. That pisses me off somehow…" Ange said in a displeased tone.
No one can blame Argo for being extatic though. She was able to scored major points against the 2 of the most beautiful girls in her school. There is no way she would be not happy.
The girls talk about trivial things until the rest of their group arrives.
One by one, the group assembled by Asuna and Kirito arrives, and Argo must say, their line up is filled with monstrous people.
Asuna, Kirito, Agil, Klein and his FUURINKAZAN, Czarina and her SILVER CROWS. All of them are well known front liners back in the SAO days, and all of them belonged in the 75th floor raid group. With massive amounts of experience and near perfect teamwork, it wouldn't be an exaggeration if they are called the best front liners in SAO
Next is Sylph Lyfa. As the best swordswoman of the Sylph race, Lyfa's swordsmanship is only second to SAO players. Argo has fought (and defeated) Lyfa a few times, thus there is no question of her skills.
There was also the Cat Sith archer named Sinon. Though Argo isn't really well acquainted with Sinon, she did watch the GGO's Bullet of Bullets Tournament and saw for herself how skilled Sinon is. Kirito said to Argo that Sinon can hit a moving target 200 meters with a bow that only has a max range of 100 meters.
Next up are the people with mediocre compared to the other members, namely Lisbeth and Silica. Argo has already partied with Lisbeth and Silica before so she already knows their combat prowess (which happens to be mediocre at best).
Argo is dead last in terms of combat capabilities, but not because she is weak, but because she chose to take a support role. Sure, she can still fight in the front lines with her skill set, but their party wont get far if they relied solely on Asuna to do the healing. Another dedicated healer would greatly improve their chance of survival.
However, there is one person Argo can't judge too well…. and that is Ojousama Remilia. Argo has seen Remilia's monstrous skill with a spear, yet for some reason, Argo has never even heard of her. Hell! Even her TOP 50 SAO BISHOUJO (which was the most accurate and best selling list at the time... 10k gold) didn't even mention Remilia. She hates to admit it, but Remilia is definitely one of the prettiest girls in SAO.
All in all, Argo is suspicious of Remilia. However, if Raph accepts her, then she'll let it pass…. For now.
A few minutes later, the group gathers at the center of town and awaits the appearance of the portal to the battleground.
"Alright everyone! Gather around" Kirito calls everyone's attention. "We'll be reviewing all the info we were able to gather"
Everyone gathers around Kirito.
"Yui? If you please?" Kirito says
A small navigation pixie shoots out of his pocket and stands on top of Kirito's head.
"Ahem. I shall now review the sum of all the info gathered by you and those I have searched from the net." Said the small pixie.
Yui begins her summary
First: Though the boss has only 2 life bars, it makes up its lack of defense with overwhelming offense. Based on the posts on countless forums, the boss was seen using broadswords, scythes, whips, bows, longswords, shields, knifes, chains, etc. There were even times that it used 2 two handed weapons at the same time. It is safe to assume that the boss is capable of using all weapons and their corresponding skills.
Second: The battlefield is in a ruined castle setting. Expect the boss to fight unfairly while taking advantage of the terrain.
Third: When the first bar is reduced by 75%, the boss will start using heavy weapons as projectiles. This is the main reason why no one was able to reduce the boss's life to the first bar.
Last: Because no one has able to reduce its life below the 2nd bar, there might be some other skills that the boss has not revealed yet.
The group takes a second of silence to digest the words of Yui.
Klein breaks the silence. "So…. In short, we'll find out when we get there, correct?"
"That's the gist of it." Kirito replies.
"Then what the hell are we waiting for?!" Klein pumps his fist in the air. "If we're going in blind, might as well go in with guns blazing!"
"Right! No need to think! Just do!" Agil roars
""YEAH!""
With everyone at high morale, the group approaches the GM at the center of town and registers their names.
The GM opens a portal and sends the group to the floor where the special boss resides
-:-
100th floor SCARLET JADE CASTLE
Before Argo could notice, their group was already standing within a large extravagant white hall, similar to what is normally shown in those animes with medival settings. At the end of the hall is a fancy throne that is befitting for a king.
More importantly, beside the throne stands a massive mirror and infront of that mirror is a woman of ethereal beauty. She sports a wavy, waist long, dark blue hair, a pure white Sunday dress and she is walking on her bare feet.
The group cant help but silently watch the beauty twirls infront of the mirror. Even Argo is enthralled by the womans beauty… that's just how beautiful she is.
A few seconds later, the woman notices their prescence.
"Ah… Forgive me. I was too enthralled with my beauty that I failed to notice your prescence. " The woman says.
"What an ego maniac." Thought everyone.
"I promise to entertain you in a moment, I swear on my honor. So please ,allow me to indulge in my beauty for a few more seconds. May I have your permission to do so?" Said the woman
"S-sure… go ahead." Kirito replied
"You have my thanks springgan." The woman says.
She then returns to admiring herself, leaving the group dumbfounded.
20 seconds later, the woman nods in satisfaction and turns her attention to the group.
"Do forgive my rudeness. It is must be a sin for such a beauty to exist, yet I must carry the burden because no one can!" The woman says with some exaggerated gestures. "Back to the topic at hand. May I ask what business do you have in my house?"
"Ah… right, we're hear to challenge the floor boss." Asuna replies
"You wish to duel with me? Very well. I shall grant you the honor of being defeated by me, be thankful pesants!" The woman replies. "I shall give you 1 last minute to prepare. I refuse to fight any enemies who are not in their best."
Setting the boss's cheeky attitude aside, the group quickly runs one last check to ensure their preparedness.
In Argo's case, she cant be as prepared as she is right now. Using the Puca's PERFORMANCE CONTAINMENT ability, Argo has bottled tons of healing songs for future use. In addition to that, she also has her ever trusty LIME BELL, a very rare, Puca restricted weapon. It allows her to use the magic CITRON CALL, a powerful, instant cast, AOE heal with a very long cooldown.
"Is everyone ready?" Asuna asks, and receives multiple nods in response. "I see… then let the batt-"
"Wait Mama!" Yui suddenly shoots out of Kirito's pocket. "There is something important that I must tell you all."
Everyone's attention turns to the little pixie.
"Everyone, please be careful in fighting this boss… She is not normal" Said Yui
"Well, even if she is a prototype, she is still the final boss of Aincard. Its natural that we take extra care in fighting her." Replied Lizbeth in a matter of fact manner
"No Lizbeth. This boss is fundamentally different from anything in the game." Yui says with a serious expression. "In terms of the size of the data alone, she rivals that of the entire JOTUNHEIMR dungeon"
The news stuns everyone.
Kirito speaks up in disbelief. "H-hold on…. A code of an entire map is crammed into a single Boss? That means-"
"Papa… with the large amount of combat logic at its desposal, it will be impossible to find out a specific set of attack patterns." Yui replies with a grave voice. "This one will be the most powerful foe we have ever faced…. And she's still set at her weakened state."
The group looks at the boss in shock.
As if enjoying the attention she's getting, the boss arms herself for battle. She snaps her fingers, and in an instant, her white Sunday dress was replaced with white heavy armor.
Asuna gasps. "N-no way…. The KoB armor?!"
Though it lacked any red, it is, without a shadow of a doubt, the Knights of the Blood Armor. Any SAO survivor would be surprised.
As if adding insult to injury, the boss summons a cross shaped tower shield. Once again, the SAO survivors gasps at the sight of the oh-so-familiar shield, much to the boss' amusement . She draws a long sword from the shield and stands at the ready.
And for the piece de resistance, the white knights name, along with its 2 life bars, appear for everyone to see.
"I, HEATHCLIFF, accept your challenge. Come at me, brave warriors of the sword! Come at me and DIE!"
With a calm and beautiful voice, the knight announces the beginning of their end.
-:-
"WHAT THE HELL IS WITH THIS GIRL! SHE'S TOO MUCH?!" Klein pounds his fist on a nearby wall.
Who can blame him, especially after what they've been through.
7 measly minutes since the start of the battle… and the group is already battered to such an extent.
Since the beginning of the battle, HEATHCLIFF has proven to be a formidable swordswoman by fighting off 22 players all at once. She used the confusing terrain of the ruins to hinder the group from surrounding her, and striking back at the same time. Combined with her skillful use of the LIBERATOR, HEATHCLIFF's defense was top notch.
With numbers in their side, the group surrounds HEATHCLIFF and makes short work of her hp, dropping it by 50% within the first 3 minutes….. but that advantage was short lived.
The moment the white knight's hp hit 50%, she discards the LIBERATOR and began summoning different types of weapons, causing much confusion to the group as they try to readjust their strategy against her.
The first casualty was Agil after receiving a spear to the right leg, 2 one hand axe to the chest, a dagger to the throat and a war hammer to the face.
From that point onward, it became an annoying game of cat and mouse/ hide and seek.
The boss ran around the maze like ruin and utilized the countless hidden pathways in order to lose the group. Once they lost sight of her, she began ambushing them, which gave the group a whole new set of headaches to deal with.
SNEAK ATTACK does X3 damage on a target that is not conscious of the presence of the attacker. Normally, dagger users enjoy this benefit the most due to their light weight weapons and armors, which allows them to move quickly and quietly around the battlefield.
However…. Thanks to HEATHCLIFF's sword summoning abilities, she can use heavier weapons in SNEAK ATTACKS…. And to devastating effect, which Silica found out the hard way.
As they desperately tried to track down the white knight, Silica was suddenly crushed by the strongest weapon type in SAO and ALO, the ZWEIHANDER. Before the group could comprehend what happened, HEATHCLIFF equips a No Dachi, rushes at the closest target, which happens to be Lizbeth, and executes the 3 hit Sword Skill TSUBANE GAESHI, slaying Lizbeth in one go.
The first to react was the 2 spear wielders of the SILVER CROW. They attack the white knight, but they were savagely dispatched in a way similar to the Assassins Creed 3 Double Sync Kill.
Kirito attempts to capitalize and charges at HEATHCLIFF… only to realize that her hp has now gone down below 75% after fighting off the SILVER CROWs.
Before Kirito could warn everyone, the white knight slams her fist into the ground. At the same time, countless weapons sprouts out the ground to impale her enemies.
The only ones who were not damaged were Kirito, who was able to jump, and Sinon, who was too far away. Everyone else HP dropped 30-50% depending on their armor.
Without missing a beat, HEATHCLIFF raises her right hand and 20 different weapons appeared out of thin air, all of which are aimed at Asuna and Argo. With the snap of her finger, the weapons fly mercilessly at the 2 healers.
In a desperate attempt to save the healers, the FUURINKAZAN acted as meat shields and took the swords in their place. Everyone aside from Klein was KIA.
Battered as they are, Asuna called a retreat. Kirito, Sinon and the 2 shielders of SILVER CROW cover the retreat
And that brings them to their present predicament
…. And things arent looking good
Argo takes out LIME BELL and rings it to activate CITRON CALL. The spell fully heals everyone in the vicinity. The beauty of LIME BELL is its ability to replenish HP and Mana to its fullest. The drawback is its 1 minute long cooldown.
"So… how do we do this?" Argo asks as she peeks out of cover to check if the white knight is approaching.
For now, they're on the clear.
"I don't know…. This boss is nothing we've ever face before. She's too nimble and her attack pattern is all over the place." Asuna replies. "If we only had more information, we could have planned this better…"
A bitter silence spreads through the group.
After a second in silence, Kirito speaks up."No… we can actually win this… we just misunderstood the strategy to beat her."
"You on to something Kirito?" Klein asks
"Her main weakness is how fragile she is. Everyone should have noticed how fast we're shaving off her life right?" Kirito says
"Now that you mention it…"
The group has been so overwhelmed by HEATHCLIFF's overwhelming firepower that they failed to notice that they have already took 80% of the 1st bar, in only 7 minutes.
"There was never any need for a complex strategy." Kirito says. "This is a battle of attrition. We have to kill her before she wipe us out"
"We don't need a strategy? On what proof are you basing that on Kirito?" Sinon asks.
"The prize Sinon. The Prize." Kirito replies "Haven't you wondered why EVERYONE in the party gets the prize instead of the traditional LAST HIT bonus?"
It didn't even take a second for everyone to connect the dots.
"This battle is simply to test the boss' AI, and the players are just test subjects" Kirito says with conviction. "The creators made sure the boss had weak defenses to make it beatable. Do you guys understand?"
"…. So you're saying that as long as one of us survives, we win?" Czarina asks
"Exactly"
Klein stands and with a cool poses, he says." Overly simplistic plan with little chance of success? What the hell are we waiting for?!"
-:-
13 minutes into the battle
"ARG! I cant stand this waiting!" Argo ruffles her hair in impatience. "Sinon, are you sure we still cant head out?"
Sinon keeps her eyes closed and concentrates on listening to her surroundings. "No…. not yet."
Argo sighs. "I hope Kirito knows what he's doing…. We already lost 2 people to this insane plan"
"Calm yourself Argo. Tis was the correct course of action if we want to minimize our loses and maximize our fighting strength" Remilia replies.
"…. Fine…. But if this plan fails, I'll kick Kirito in the butt!"
Their plan was so stupidly simple that most of them doubt it'll work. The strategy is to send the toughest players out as bait while Sinon keeps close tabs on them from a distance. Once they draw out HEATHCLIFF, they are to delay her for as long as possible. Sinon would alert everyone, and they would swarm to where HEATHCLIFF is.
So far, its going horribly.
There are 4 baits. The 2 shielders of the SILVER CROW, Czarina and (surprisingly) Kirito. And out of those 4, the shielders has already fallen to HEATHCLIFF's ambushes.
According to Sinon, the shielders were slain in 4 seconds flat. That is a testament to the white knights skill and combat prowess.
Sinon suddenly stands at attention with her ears standing straight up. "Someone is fighting…. From this direction…. Kirito's holding HEATHCLIFF off! LETS GO!"
The group moved with military precision. It only took them 15 seconds to reach the battle. At their arrival, the battle that greeted them was something straight out of a myth.
At the center of a ruined dance floor, the pair of black and white engaged in an endless waltz of blades, with neither taking the lead nor following the flow. And for their background music, the endless clash of steel against steel.
The black, dual bladed swordsman and the white knight clashed so violently that the air around them shook asunder.
However, the thing that awed the group was the wide sadistic smile that are plastered on the dancers face. At this very moment, both Kirito and HEATHCLIFF are fighting not for the prize nor for the glory, but for the sake of fighting itself.
To them, this battle is pure bliss.
Kirito fought like mad man, striking at the enemy with blinding speed. However, he could not gain any ground against the enemy's confusing fighting style. Each time the white knight struck, the weapon in her hand is never the same as the one that she used a second ago.
On the plus side, due to Kirito's godlike reaction time, none of the weapons could make a clean and decisive hit. As a result, Kirito and HEATHCLIFF was forced into a stalemate.
But it didn't really matter to the two, because right now, they are only concerned with trading blows with one another.
However, Kirito was not alone. As planned, everyone in the group swarmed at Kirito's location and ganged up on HEATHCLIFF.
Klain got to HEATHCLIFF first and struck her in the back….. a big mistake
"ANNOYING CUR!" Roared the white knight.
She summoned a ZWEIHANDER and executes the sword skill WHIRLWIND, blowing back Kirito and Klein in the process. In one fluid motion, HEATHCLIFF discards the zweihander, jumps as high as she can go and crushes Klein with 2 warhammers.
Without missing a beat, HEATHCLIFF summons 20 weapons and launches them at the incoming group. Most were harmless as the group hid behind the debris, but HEATHCLIFF followed right after the blades hit the walls. She catches Lyfa by surprise, impales the Sylph with jousting lance and pushes her into the wall. The white knight then turns Lyfa into a pincushion as she sticks weapon after weapon into the poor girl, eliminating her in the process.
Before HEATHCLIFF could turn to her next target, Kirito lands 2 clean blows on her. The white knight runs away with all of her might, but the continuous rain of arrows hinders her escape, allowing Kirito and Asuna to catch up with her.
The white knight summons the LIBERATOR and futily defends herself against the onslaught of 2 of the best players in SAO. Despite using the best defensive weapon available, it didn't take 15 seconds for HEATHCLIFF's life to drop to 60% of the last health bar.
In desperation, she summons a large fan and swung it with all of her might. It blows everyone 20 feet back and causing absolutely no damage.
She then summons a weird looking sword. Its black blade is spherical and blunt, almost making it look like a drill. The three section blade began spinning in opposite directions, as if charging for something big.
The white knight calmly face the group and asks. "I am overjoyed of trading blows with such skilled warriors. Undine, Spriggan. May I inquire your names?"
"Kirito" replied the Spriggan as he stands at the ready
"Asuna" the Undine followed suite
"I see… Kirito and Asuna! I commend your superior fighting abilities! To drop my HP to such an extent is a feat like no other" HEATHCLIFF replies as she raises the spherical sword "YOU ARE WORTHY OF MY FULL POWER!"
The drill like sword spins faster, creating a massive red whirlwind around the sword.
Upon realizing that something was up, Kirito dashes towards the boss with Asuna close behind.
Suddenly, Argo remembers something very important. Due to the intensity of the battle, Argo has completely forgotten Raphael's very important warning.
"Wait! Dodg-" Argo yells, but it was far too late.
Only 4 meters from HEATHCLIFF, Kirito raises both of his swords to strike…. But it was also far too late.
"BEHOLD! ENUMA ELISH!"
Before Argo could react, the world is engulfed by a red hurricane….. then everything fades to black.
.
.
.
.
Argo looks down from the ceiling of the Scarlet Jade Castle. Right now, she is in spectator mode just like the others who have fallen before her.
"My god….. What kind of weed has those creators been smoking?!" Czarina roars in frustration" How were we suppose to survive THAT?!"
THAT is refered to the monstrous ability called the ENUMA ELISH.
It was a massive, 45 degree cone shaped AOE attack, with an unspecified range. Based on what they can see from above, everything… and I do mean EVERYTHING within that cone is sent to oblivion. Be it players or debris, anything within that cone is destroyed. Even Sinon, who was able to hide behind a fallen pillar, was turned into dust along with the pillar.
And here's the punch line.
¼ of the SCARLET JADE PALACE was blown to bits. That is the reason they could see the world of ALO from where they are currently positioned.
"Hey… isn't the walls suppose to be IMMORTAL OBJECTS?" Lyfa asks.
"Maybe they changed the code within the SCARLET JADE PALACE. Who knows." Kirito replies. "Anyways, I doubt that they'd add that insane skill without any counters."
"Nyahahaha…. I actually forgot to tell you guys about that one…." Argo says meekly. Everyone's eyes focuses on her, making her very uncomfortable
Suddenly, someone grabs Argo's head and painfully twists 180 degrees.
"Argo…. What do you mean?" Czarina asks as she increases the preasure of her hold on Argo's head.
Fortunately, all of them are dead, so there is nothing Czarina can do to actually damage Argo. Never the less, Czarina is terrifying when she's pissed off.
"w-well… you see…. Raph warned me about that sword…" Argo pauses as Czarina's grip becomes even stronger at the metion of Raph. "… h-he said that only pure tanks could survive that."
"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US THAT EARLIER!?" Czarina punches Argo repeatedly. However, since they are both dead, the action does nothing.
"Well *BASH* You see *BASH* I kinda *BASH* forgot *BASH* because *BASH* we had *BASH* so such a *BASH* serious *BASH* atmosphere *BASH*" Argo explains while Czarina was still smashing her face in.
"Hmm…. So that was her plan all along" Kirito says. "I was wondering why she went for the shielders first. If you think of it logically, shielders are the toughest ones in the game. If she wasn't able to pull off those ambushes so well, she would have paid for it"
"True. Yet she did it. HEATHCLIFF pulled off some crazy moves out there. Nothing like the HEATHCLIFF I knew" Asuna replies
"Well, it is an AI coded by programmers. It shouldn't be a surprise that the HEATHCLIFF now was the same person you guys knew in SAO " Sinon calmly offers her opinion.
Everyone nods in agreement Sinon.
"Though I agree with your statement Sinon…. There is something that has struck me odd." Remilia says
"hmm… you too huh?" Kirito replies
"Eh? What do you mean" Klein asks.
Kirito and Remilia looks at each other. Remilia then gestures Kirito to go ahead.
"Ahem… Well then. HEATHCLIFF's fighting style reminded me of a very powerful player back in- "
"Cut the melodramatics and out with it!" Czarina roars in frustration while sinking her fist into Argo's face.
With a sigh, Kirito replies. "She reminds me of FAUX"
Everyone is shocked to hear the name they really didn't expect to hear. As they dwell into deep thought, murmurs of agreement surfaces among the group.
"Yeah… now that you mention it… " Klein murmurs.
"Right?" Kirito says. "I could see Faux in everything that HEATHCLIFF did. The way she used the terrain to hinder a large group. The way she took down specific targets that would hinder her later on. The way that she always seems to be one step ahead of us. And ofcourse, the level of violence she dishes out once the enemy is cornered. All of those have Faux's signature written all over it."
"It is as Kirito-sama says" Remilia adds. "If my conjecture is accurate, I could count atleast 2 instances where HEATHCLIFF allowed herself to be surrounded. My theory is she wants her HP to drop for her to access her more advance skills. Such sacrificial and risky strategy is reminiscent to Faux-sama's combat logic"
Every SAO survivor nods in agreement.
"Fu fu fu…. HAHAHAHAHA!" Czarina suddenly laughs diabolically, surprising everyone in the process. "I see…. I SEE! So my beloved Ani-sama dared to hinder me from getting better equipments. VERY WELL! I shall LOVINGLY ask him when he gets home later. ANI-SAMA, PREPARE YOURSELF!"
The group can do nothing but silently pray for Faux's safety.
-:-
A round of applause greets Raph as he exits his dive. All 20 staff of ALO was on their feet and cheered like someone just won the NBA finals.
"Raphael Norton! Unbelievable performance!" La Croix says as he slaps Raph in the back. "I never seen you fight in SAO, but I guess those rumors of you might not be exaggerated at all!"
"What can I say? There is nothing I can do with the right incentive." Raph replies calmly
"As much as I want to call you a greedy bastard, I am still at awe on how godlike you are!" La Croix keeps hitting him in the back. "This one was fitting for the last battle of our little event. Who knows, we might even show the clips to the general populace! Either way, well played Raphael Norton, well played indeed."
Raph stands and looks at La Croix seriously. "Do what you want. Anyways, where's my INCENTIVE?"
"You greedy bastard…. Well whatever. You've earned it." La Croix hands Raph a disk. "$1000 has been deposited to the account you specified…. And here's the account you requested. The username is LAZNI, the password will be set by the first thing you input. Just install the program into your pc and you're good to go."
"And what about the settings?"
"Done as you requrested. This account is gender locked to female"
"Mwha…. Mwahahaha….. MWAHAHAHAHA! Loli Cat Sith is now within my grasp! MWAHAHAHA!" Raph laughs maniacly
"….. pervert…" La Croix sighs
"Flatery will get you nowhere!" Raphael triumphantly puffs his chest. "Well, anyways. Thanks for allowing me to be a bad guy. I'll head on out first."
"Hold on! You're not going to join the celebration? I even ordered sushi and beer"
"Nah. I'll pass, I don't drink. Besides, I have a new toy to play with. I've worked for a month for this, no way I'm going to wait another second!"
"I see… Then I wont keep you then. Have fun"
The one month of work(?) ends in high spirits as Raph heads home in a good mood….. that is, until he met Ange….
-:-
5 days later
ARLINGTON COUNTRY, VIRGINIA
THE PENTAGON
"Interesting line up you got here Mr. Ayala…." Said the annoyed Mrs. Judith Harlington, the current Secretary of Defense. "Are you telling me that you're planning to recruit civilians into this program?"
"That is correct Madam Secretary" Eduardo Ayala calmly replied…. And as he expected, a solid object comes flying at him (this time aroud it was a mug of coffee). He uses his suitecase and blocks the incoming projectile
"DON'T FUCK WITH ME YOU DUMBASS!" The Secretary roars. "You were given a blank check and all the authority you needed just so you can start up this program! And you're telling me, that instead of selecting the brightest computer hackers in many different schools, you're going to recruit GAMERS who knows shit about the stakes at hand?! BULL-FUCKING-SHIT!"
"Calm yourself Madam Secretary and let me explain"
"Oh! You actually have a plan, Fatass? Come on! Out with it!" Mrs. Harlington replied sarcastically. "How are you going to pull off this crap with GAMERS as your main operatives?!"
Eduardo Ayala calms his mind and speaks the scipt he has practiced and memorized just for this event.
"Madam Secretary, if we follow the traditional method of hacking the outside or sending in a strike team to blow the place sky high…. Well…. we'll have another fiasco like the former CSD (Cyber Sabotage Division) head." Eduardo explains calmly, causing Mrs. Harlington to flinch
Ever since the release of the WORLD SEED, hundres of thousands of VMMO's sprouted like weeds. While majority of them are harmless, there are those VMMO's that posed a threat, not only to National Security, but to humanity as a whole.
One of which was the Sugou Noboyuki case. A certain company in China was able to buy the Soul Manipulation technology from Sugou and even promised to HELP him with his trial. They even made a pirated version of ALO and scattered it in main land China, using their own people as test subjects.
When the CIA caught on to this, they decided that the technology is a threat that must be destroyed.
They tried hacking it externally, which ignited a secret cyber war between the two. After 3 months of the constant cyber warfare, the former CSD head made a horrible call and decided to send a strike team. As a result, the company destroyed in a "Gas Explosion", which also set the town on the objective was achived, the collateral damage was high.
Till this day, no one was able to determine the cause of the gas explosion. But one thing is for sure, the rash decision of the CSD almost put the USA in a very tight spot. The CSD Head was sacked from his post, and is replaced by Eduardo Ayala.
"Do you understand now Madam Secretary? The virtual realm is a place that many of you old fashion politicians have no idea about" Said Eduardo. "The appearance of the WORLD SEED has set a new theater of war that many of our top agents cant even understand. If Uncle Sam wants to keep his hands clean, then the destruction of these worlds must be from within. And no one is more familiar with the cyber realm as the avid gamers that dwell within them"
Ofcourse, Mrs. Harlington didn't take that well, but Eduardo Ayala can see in her face that she had to accept that the new war no longer followed the rules that she is familiar with.
Mrs. Harlington rubs her forehead in frustration."What makes you think that you even understand how the new battlefield works?"
"Madam Secretary, in my former post in the Area 51 think tank, a working version of the VMMORPG has already existed 5 years before the SAO incident." Eduardo Ayala replies. "I may not have been part of the development team, but I was one of the beta testers of that system. I can assure you, I am well versed in the rules of the new battlefield"
Mrs. Harlington decends into silence once again. A few seconds later, she sighs in resignation. "Fine…. So be it. I'll approve your plan for the CSD's REAPER project. This better work or I'll have you roasted alive for this."
"Thank you Madam Secretary" Eduardo replied.
"Well then… let's start with these potential candidates of yours." Mrs. Harlington picks up the first folder on top of the pile. "Raphael Arisato Norton…"
-:-