Chapter Five: The Coming Storm

July 25th, 2031

Edmond had a particularly decent life. He lived alone with very little responsibility, other than keeping himself dressed, and alive. He worked a job that wasn't hard, at all. To top everything off, he never had any friends that would beg him for money, or ask to borrow any of his video games…due mostly in part to having no friends. But even his friendless existence was a choice. He preferred virtual living much more than that of actually navigating his life. He hated the thought of getting close to people, not only because he was awkward, but because he wasn't particularly good at dealing with peoples' emotions. This, he was sure, was why he'd remained single for most of his adult life.

But, there was one more fear that crippled Edmond's ability to properly communicate, and connect with people. No, it wasn't a medical disorder, nor was it unique to him, either. Edmond feared death. Death of others, and even the inevitable death that would eventually befall him. He always felt it better to live in solitude, if it were possible. Such a personality made home life odd, too. He had wonderful parents, and was an only child. Both of his parents worked jobs that afforded plenty of family time, so there was no reason to dislike them. If anything, Edmond's fear of death came from the sheltered nature of his childhood. He'd never lost anyone close to him, and wasn't exactly sure how he'd handle it when the time would eventually arrive.

Yes, Edmond had successfully put himself in the least emotionally attached state he could've possibly hoped for. At least until now, anyway. Now, a reality that had been forged out of a sick fantasy enveloped him.

Slowly, Edmond's thoughts drifted away from his childhood, and back to the cold, hard, stone road that was paved beneath him. Paralyzed, he could do nothing but hope that he'd be spared from whatever twisted game Khale was planning to play with him, and the other multitudes of incapacitated players.

Edmond felt completely hopeless. Fear engulfed him as he kept his head down, for fear of being targeted by one of the assassins. Not too far away, he could hear the harsh sound of boots approaching, even above the screams of terror that seemed to continue without end. Every few seconds or so, the sounds of the boots stepping would halt, and would be followed by begging and pleading from whichever unfortunate player they'd decided to taunt. Edmond, from what he could make out, could tell that the majority of those screaming, were female.

The boots began moving, again. This time, although he couldn't see them, he could feel them coming towards him. The steps grew louder. He was instantly reminded of his first night in the forest, only this time, there was no hiding. He was left completely vulnerable. Edmond closed his eyes as hard as he could. His heart was racing, and panic began to set in. He stayed as still as he could.

The boots stopped, inches from his head.

"My, my, my, what have we here?"

The voice cut Edmond to the core. He knew that voice, that disgusting, unsettling voice. Glog.

"If it isn't the assassin who got away. It must be Christmas!"

Edmond saw a shadow move over him, and suddenly he was flipped onto his back. This was followed immediately by a boot being forced over his throat, nearly choking him. He tried so hard to move, but his arms and legs just trembled slightly as the paralysis constricted him.

Now that it was light outside, Edmond got a good look at Glog. He was tall, extremely so. His arms seemed longer than average, and at the end of them were two hands that held daggers in them. His entire body seemed to be encased in black leather armor, from his neck, down to his boots. His skin was pale, and his nose was long, and slightly hooked. His hair was pitch black, and pulled into a pony tail. Glog didn't seem like a suitable name for such a nimble looking individual.

"You know, I'm glad we could meet like this, again. I was beginning to worry about keeping my promise of seeing you again."

Edmond could feel the boot on his neck sinking deeper and deeper, shortening each breath. He scoured his brain to think of a possible escape. He remembered what Kayaba had told him, which meant he had access to every healing ability in the game…but it didn't matter, paralysis rendered even the most potent abilities useless. All he could do was stare upwards at his captor, praying desperately to survive.

"You know, you'll be my first real kill in this game. Isn't that exciting? I'd be honored if I were you, besides, first times for everything are special."

Glog removed his foot from Edmond's neck, granting a short lived, but immediate feeling of relief. Within seconds, however, Glog had knelt down, and was just inches from his face. He held up his dagger and placed the tip on the side of Edmond's neck.

"Don't worry, I'll go nice and slow, just for you."

Glog's words were chilling, and assaulting. His way of speaking, and for that matter, being, was perverse and unnerving. Edmond could see in Glog's eyes that he fed off of people's uncomfortable and vulnerable feelings. Even he, a grown man, had never felt so violated. This, mixed with his absolute fear of dying, was making this current situation unbearable. Edmond closed his eyes as he waited for the knife to rip across his throat.

But suddenly, the knife was lifted, up and away from his neck. Edmond cracked his eyes open, to see what the delay was. He saw that Glog was now focused on something, just a few feet from him. He was squinting, as if he couldn't quite place what he was looking at. A horrible smile formed on his face. Edmond knew exactly what Glog's attention had been changed to. Kitami.

"Ah…speaking of first times."

Glog began slowly walking up to Kitami's defenseless body. When he was beside her he knelt down and put his face as close as he could to hers as possible.

Edmond somehow mustered the strength to raise his head just high enough to see what was happening. The relief he felt at his neck no longer being crushed was immediately replaced by seething anger. He could see that Kitami was horrified, and her entire body was twitching as she tried her hardest to gather the strength to flee. He could hear her letting out small whimpers of hopeless terror.

"You looked wonderful, fleeing from me in the forest, my darling. But you look absolutely stunning in the light. You seem nervous. Come now, don't be shy. I can actually be quite charming."

His words only provoked Kitami to whimper louder, and beg him to stop. But Glog had no intention of stopping. He took a handful of her hair and put it up to his nose, inhaling deeply as he closed his eyes. He then placed a hand on her bare stomach, and began moving it downward, slowly, towards her blue skirt.

"Stop! Please!"

Glog burst into maniacal laughter as Kitami's cries fueled his sick advances. It's as if every whimper and plea to stop only made him more and more able to violate her. His hand moved lower and lower.

"Enough!"

Before he knew it, a foot came out of nowhere and smashed directly into Glog's nose, sending him flying backwards and crashing onto his back. He slowly sat up, his head bobbed from front to back and it was obvious that he was dazed. He attempted to stand back up, but had no luck and fell back onto the stone road, unconscious.

Edmond looked over to see who'd kicked Glog. What he saw was both confusing and terrifying. Khale had come down from the air, and was now standing where Glog had been kneeling. The sight was bizarre. Why would he kick his own guild mate?

Khale walked slowly over to his debilitated minion, who was groaning in pain. When he reached him, his expression turned to anger, prompting him to kick Glog in the stomach as hard as he could. Glog's body began to bend towards a ninety degree angle as Khale's foot slammed deeper into his stomach, forcing all of the air out of his lungs. He let out a grunt and at once was forced into the fetal position.

"We follow protocol, you know that! That means when I develop a plan, you stick to it! Have I made myself clear, this time?"

Khale's voice was that of extreme discontent mixed with severe annoyance.

"Y-yes Khale…I'm sorry"

Glog sounded pitiful as his words came out in pathetic whimpers with no breath in them.

Khale, after scolding Glog, took a look around. He saw the multitudes of players crying out in fear and anguish, and it only enhanced his diabolical personality. He glanced over at Edmond, and then to Kitami, but he had no interest in them, not like his counterpart. Instead, he focused his attention on someone else. Thatch.

"Well, if it isn't my old guild commander, Thatch."

Khale lifted his hand up slowly, making Thatch rise into the air and face him.

"What is this, Khale?"

Thatch sounded calm, but had an obvious hint of anger in his voice as he spoke.

"Oh? This? Patience my friend, you'll know soon enough. For now…I am curious and must ask…What is a desperate cripple like you still doing, playing games? I figured by now, you'd have given up the will to live."

Edmond heard all of this, and was extremely confused. Cripple? What on earth did Khale mean by that? Was there truth behind the insult, or was he just trying to get Thatch to lash out in anger so he could show him just how hopeless standing up to him would be? After all, the situation did leave Thatch crippled, but on the flip side…it had the same effect on everyone else. Edmond looked over to Thatch again, the insult was obviously having profound effect. Thatch's body shook violent as he tried to break free from Khale's grip.

"Good…I love seeing people struggle for what little dignity they still have."

Khale grinned in the most disturbing of fashions. He then dropped his hand back to his side, causing Thatch to fall to the hard cobblestone with a thud. Thatch landed face first, letting out a grunt of discomfort. Edmond could barely see over his own feet, but he could tell that Thatch had closed his eyes and accepted the situation.

Khale slowly walked over to Thatch's unresponsive body. He knelt down and pulled his head up by his hair, which was just long enough to grip. Thatch didn't look at him though, he continually stared forward, determined not to let Khale rouse him to the point of desperate twitching and the howling of empty threats. Khale put his lips close to Thatch's ear and began whispering.

"I hate the invalid…They do nothing but lay around, waiting to die. Millions and millions of dollars are spent each year, keeping the pathetic bodies alive. But rest assured, Thatch, I'm not going to kill you, oh no…"

Khale swiped his other hand, opening his menu, and then accessing a menu that could only be accessed by administrative players. He yanked Thatch's head to the side to make him view the menu he was looking at. Thatch's eyes widened to their widest point. He watched as Khale's finger moved from right to left on a menu entitled "Pain Barrier."

"You're going to feel pain, Thatch, courtesy of me."

Khale then yanked Thatch's head upwards, causing Thatch to wince in pain and let out low grunts. Then, Khale dropped his head, causing it to fall onto the ground. Thatch growled in pain as his head slammed into the stone below. He seemed determined not to cry out.

Edmond watched as all of this occurred. After Khale had lowered the pain barrier, he suddenly felt the pressure of a hard, unleveled surface beneath him. The discomfort of laying on a cobblestone road suddenly became much more realistic. But then Edmond thought of something that caused him to wonder. He looked over to Glog who was still hunched over, and holding his stomach. How was he able to feel the pain of being attached by Khale? Did this mean that Khale's administrative character was so strong, that it defied the laws of the pain barrier? It must have, because now, with the pain barrier gone, Glog was groaning and heaving much more than he had been doing initially.

"Right, then. Let's get started."

Khale did an about face from Thatch and then crossed his arms. He began to rise from the ground until he was high enough in the air to where everyone could see him. The assassins on the ground halted their harassment of the paralyzed players and focused their attention upwards on their leader. When Khale was sure that all eyes were on him, he began speaking.

"First of all, let me be the first to extend my gratitude to all of you who were brave enough to log in today. Whether that be from ignorance, or from a lack of care. As I'm sure you've noticed, a few critical changes have been made to your menus, as well as how your avatar perceives pain. As a gamer, I've always loved the thought of a game being so realistic, that each and every sensation could be felt…whether it be good or bad. So, I'd advise extreme caution when proceeding from this point.

Also, if you've yet to figure this out yet, I'll make it known to you now…there is NO way to leave this game. If you logged in, you're in for good. There is one way out…and that's in a million tiny pieces of glass."

Edmond could hear the sounds of people crying. It wasn't just seasoned gamers, either. He heard the cries of children, who'd logged in for the first time, just hours earlier. He heard the cries of girlfriends, sobbing to their boyfriends, who'd suggested they play together. He heard the cries of people. People who were most likely going to die. People including him.

"This is my game now! My personal experiment! My way to test the fabrics of how human nature works when put into a situation where the survival of the fittest isn't determined by any form of natural selection…no…I, your new master, am the one who determines who is the fittest, and who deserves to live or to die. I'll prove to you, in excruciating display, just how superior Assassins are!"

Khale snapped his fingers. Suddenly, feeling came back into Edmond's arms and legs. He no longer felt the small surges of electricity that bound him in place. He slowly looked around as players began to clamor to their feet. Some, though, just used their ability to move, to curl into fetal positions and cup their faces as the tears streamed down. Some even drew their weapons, not fully grasping the severity of the situation.

"I'll make everyone a deal. Right here, right now. Anyone who'd like to join me, can do so now. Assassin or not, all you have to do is accept my offer, and your class will immediately be changed to the assassin class. Join us, and together we'll weed out the weak and defenseless in this virtual world! Murder in the real world is frowned upon, and called immoral and perpetually evil! But they're all just weak, too! The world needs people like us! People to rid the world of sickness, of poverty, and of anything deemed a hindrance to societal and cultural evolution!"

Gasps collectively made their way through the crowd of confused players. Edmond couldn't believe his ears, a trend he was slowly becoming used to. Was this guy serious? He was talking like a dictator from a fairy tale, and much less like a leader of the current world. He quickly though of what Kayaba had told him, and suddenly the reality of the conversation became true…Khale DID have an absurd god complex. One that could only be sustained by blood.

Then, either out of fear, or out of genuine morbid fascination and interest, hands began flying into the air. Hundreds of hands immediately raised as Khale gave his offer. Some were already assassins, others, were a mixture of every other class. But soon, each player who accepted the offer was raised from the ground, joining Khale, as the original assassins on the ground cheered vicariously. Soon a small army was floating above.

"As for the rest of you…"

Khale swiped his hand, revealing a large timer in the sky. Its clock had seventy-two hours posted in it. Khale snapped his fingers again. The timer began counting down, second by second.

"When this timer reaches zero, that's when we'll be back for the rest of you…only the reception will be far less favorable for you."

Then, in an instant, Khale, and the multitude of assassins were gone. The sky returned to a normal blue color, and the sun began to shine brightly. The sudden return to normality was disturbing. The timer in the sky was also gone. Edmond swiped his hand to open his menu. The timer had been placed at the top of the reception screen, it continued to tick down. Below the timer was another bar, it read "00000." This bar had no name for itself, So Edmond ignored it for the time being. Instead, his instincts drew him to another matter. Kitami, Thatch, and the rest of the Gunners…as well as the enormous mass of players who were too scared to move, many too scared to speak.

"Edmond…We need to speak, immediately."

It was Thatch, he seemed calm.

"Gunners, I want you in groups of two, going through the crowd and seeking out guild leaders. They don't have to be strong, or large in number, but we need every warm body we can to be on the same page."

Thatch looked at Kitami. It was amazing how quickly he could take hold of a situation and begin piecing together a coherent plan of action.

"You'll come with me and Edmond"

Thatch looked over to Klein who stood, staring into the sky, as if Khale were still there. His expression was blank, and a thin trail of tears leaked down the side of his cheeks. Thatch approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm missing the birth of my child…right now."

All of the gunners lowered their heads. They had no idea the kind of pain that Klein was in at the moment. Edmond was speechless, too, and could feel nothing but anger welling up inside his stomach. He had no children, no girlfriend, no friends…still, he could feel the pain and anger resonating from Klein.

"Thatch…I'm staying here. On the first floor."

Thatch was shocked.

"What? Why? Klein, we need you…you're one of the few people here that's already been here."

Klein looked around at the masses of players sobbing and trying to console one another.

"Look…"

Klein pointed his finger towards them.

"Look at all of these young, defenseless players. What would say their average age is? Twelve to fifteen maybe? They don't know anything about combat. Most of them were probably trying this game for the first time…hell, half of them have probably never been inside a virtual world like this before today. They're defenseless without a dedicated force of seasoned players."

Thatch let out a large sigh, and put his head in his hand in frustration.

"Klein, you're like a brother to me, and we've been together since the first Aincrad…but, game or not, you joined us with the intention of following orders, and protecting players with the collective strength of your brothers in game…I know your emotions are high right now, but you have to realize what we're dealing with here. Your wife is safe in the real world, surrounded by family…You owe it to your wife…no…your new family, to make it back alive. Don't you?"

Klein contemplated for a moment. Then reached towards his back pocket and then held his hand out to Thatch. In his hand was his gas mask.

"I'm not leaving this floor. If that conflicts with your plans, Thatch, then I'm sorry…I'll have to resign my post."

The gunners behind Thatch all began to protest heavily. Edmond could tell from their reaction that they all had enormous respect for Klein. Many began begging him to reconsider, others scolded him for being so, as they found it, irrational.

"Klein…don't do this…"

Thatch's voice was still stern, but he said the sentence with an obvious hint of desperation. Even still, Klein stood, holding his hand without changing expression.

"…At least wait until we can arrange a meeting with the other guild members. Until then, we're all staying on this floor."

Klein moved his eyes away from Thatch, as he contemplated the suggestion. Without speaking, he nodded and placed the mask back into his pocket.

Thatch let out an obvious sigh of relief and pulled Klein into an embrace.

Edmond could hear that Thatch was beginning to whisper to Klein.

"I'm going to get you back to your wife, and child…I promise."

Klein, although he nodded in response, continued to look straight ahead of himself, ignoring the hug meant to ease him.

Edmond said nothing. Since he wasn't part of the guild, he felt he had no right to add input. Even if he was in a position to say something, what could he possibly say? He decided, instead, to look over to Kitami who was sitting on the ground beside the inn, with her face buried in her hands. She shuddered with tearful anguish.

Edmond decided to turn his attention away from the affairs of the Gunners Guild, and walked over to Kitami and sat beside her. She didn't notice him. Edmond thought of putting an arm around her, but was that acceptable? He'd really only known her for a few hours, at the most. Screw it, it didn't matter anymore. The rules of life, love and…whatever else, obviously had no meaning here anymore. He swallowed hard and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him.

As Edmond held her, Kitami looked up at him. He stared back at her with a blank expression. Even still, the gesture must have had some effect on her. Kitami laid her head on Edmond's shoulder and continued to cry. Edmond, almost instinctively, placed a free hand into the blue locks of hair that draped down from Kitami's hair. It was strange…blue hair…unlike any terrible dye job he'd ever seen in the real world. It seemed so natural, and so…nice. The relaxation that came from running his hand through Kitami's hair, inspired confidence within Edmond.

"You know…maybe this won't be so bad."

Kitami looked up at Edmond with a look of anger, as if he'd spoken a phrase of irreparable stupidity.

"No, I mean it…well for me, maybe."

"How could this possibly be a good thing?"

Kitami snapped harshly.

Edmond, who normally would've immediately retreated in fear from emotional women, smiled slightly shrugged.

"Well, for one, the people who run my apartment complex can't really charge rent to an inanimate body, can they? Plus…maybe I'll finally get fired from that terrible job I hate so damn much…Plus…my body can finally catch up on some sleep."

Kitami stared back at Edmond for a moment, and then, miraculously, cracked a weak smile.

"You really are insane…aren't you?"

Edmond laughed. It shocked him, not only because of the remark, but because of how long it'd been since he actually heard himself laugh.

"Completely..."

Edmond sat up, straight, prompting Kitami to do the same.

"Which is why I'm not worried about this situation…"

Kitami nodded.

Edmond's attention was then redirected to Thatch and Klein. They, too, seemed to be coming to a reconciliation of sorts. Edmond couldn't hear what they were saying, but he could tell that Klein, through a tearful intervention, had reconsidered his offer. The two gripped hands, and saluted one another. Then, Thatch turned to the remainder of the group.

"Gunners, after a brief consideration of Klein's position, I've decided to call a meeting of the Guild. As previously directed, you will split into groups of two, and arrange a meeting of guild leaders. Edmond and Kitami will be with me, as there is some important information that Edmond is in possession of…I don't know how many characters are logged in, but right now that doesn't matter. We'll meet back here in exactly two hours. Dismissed!"

Thatch and his guild exchanged salutes. The Gunners then enthusiastically turned, about face, and darted off into various directions. Thatch turned to Edmond.

"You and Kitami are coming with me, we're going to go throughout the floor and round up lone players. Edmond, I want to know everything you witnessed…Regardless of how farfetched."

Edmond looked at Kitami, the look on her face was much stronger now. He then looked back to Thatch and nodded.

Thatch then turned and began to walk down a road that none of his Guild members had taken. Edmond was about to follow suit when he suddenly remembered Kayaba's final words to him. He figured he'd owed it to Kayaba to relay his message to Thatch.

"Thatch!"

Thatch whisked around, and nodded for Edmond to speak,

"Kayaba sends his greetings…"

Thatch's eyes opened up wide. He then smirked and turned back around, looking back to address Edmond once more before continuing on.

"Good to know."