Chapter Ten: Alpha and Gamma

July 30th 2031

Edmond rarely felt triumphant about anything. But now, ahead of a pocket full of new equipment, and the recruitment of an amazing asset, he couldn't help but feel like his luck was turning up. He, Kitami, Klein, and their newest addition to the armies of stranded players, Susan, walked quickly through the forest and back toward the Town of New beginnings. Susan began gushing over something Edmond had earlier achieved.

"I can't even, I mean. Seriously? How did you even manage?"

Edmond continued walking. He could feel Klein and Kitami staring at the back of his head as he led the way. As if they were going: "Yeah, that's a good question, Susan. How did you manage that, Edmond?" But Edmond just smiled and never stopped walking. He did, however, feel he should respond in a way that was comparable to the way he felt. Hardcore.

"Call it luck, I guess. You'll need to be filled in, on everything, Susan. Thatch will want to give you his version of the information, so I'm afraid you'll have to wait."

Susan, even though Edmond couldn't see it, rolled her eyes and continued after him. She looked over to Kitami and Klein, as if they could answer her questions. They couldn't, or wouldn't. Susan began speaking again, after a scoff.

"Thatch? Great. Just the person I'd love to see…not."

Susan and Thatch's relationship had been rocky to say the least. Susan's reaction to Klein breaking up with her was bad, again, to say the least. So Thatch, being the wonderful leader and protector he was, mingled with a burning dislike for Susan, handled the issue himself. To the tune of blasting her avatar to pieces no less than five times. Of course, the experience cuts were terrible, but Susan played so often (this of course, predating Khale's hostile takeover) that her experience cuts wore off relatively quickly. Sixty in game hours was nothing to a player who had nothing better to do while her stocks in the real world made her millions upon millions of dollars.

The conversation didn't last much longer. Each player was stuck in their own thoughts, and couldn't be bothered. Edmond thought of the new weapons for the guild, and how quickly the floors could be cleared. Kitami thought of Edmond, which perplexed her, but she liked it. Klein thought of his family, back in the real world, and it galvanized his resolve to continue. Susan, confused and nervous to meet Thatch, thought of a way to seem tough…deep down though, she just wanted another cake.

Finally, after a lengthy walk, the four players re-entered the Town, and proceeded toward the inn, which had essentially become to main command center for guild leaders and the like. When entering the large crowd of players, Susan made more scoffing noises. It was clear that she wasn't one to be comfortable with a lot of other people.

"Now I remember why I never stayed near busy centers of people. Look at all of these snot-nosed little brats running around here! My God, you can barely walk without stepping on one!"

"Relax. If you cooperate, you won't have to be here long. You'll be out hunting, remember?"

Klein was being sarcastic, but there was a serious hint of truth to his statement. Susan, for the first time in what seemed like forever, agreed with Klein.

"Sounds WONDERFUL to me, let's get to Thatch, so I can get the HELL out of here."

When they reached the inn. Susan took a deep breath. Edmond looked over to her in concern.

"What's wrong, Susan?"

In truth, Susan was afraid of Thatch. Well, not afraid of him, per se. She wasn't exactly fond of having to make up with someone with whom she had fought with several times over the course of a month.

"I'll be fine. Let's just get this over with."

Edmond nodded, and opened the door to the inn. When all four players had come inside. They came face to face with the remaining Gunners who were sitting at the table, eating for the evening. All of them had removed their gasmasks, obviously, and shot strange glances at Susan. Klein stepped in.

"Relax guys. She's cool. She's going to be helping us, so don't concern yourselves too much, alright?"

The Gunners grumbled and turned away, continuing dinner as well as their pre-existing conversations.

Klein bid Susan to follow him, and she did, gratefully. The two retreated up the stairs, leading towards the roof. Edmond figured he'd better go with them, assuming Thatch would want to speak with him as well. He looked over to Kitami, who was already smiling in understanding. She rubbed his back, as she had done the first time he needed to see Thatch, and nodded for him to go. Her gentle touch felt calming and much needed; like applying soothing ice to a swollen limb. He knew he couldn't enjoy this for too long, though, there was business at hand. But Kitami, as understanding as ever, smiled at him and nodded towards the stairs.

Edmond was beginning to feel the familiar pressing in his stomach more and more, whenever he shared moments with Kitami. Even still, he felt it was best to try and suppress it…at least for now. But, whether out of courtesy of her emotions, or whether he actually felt it was necessary, Edmond kissed Kitami on the cheek. She blushed, and before Edmond could retreat to the roof, the Gunners all began to make whistling noises at him, harmlessly of course. This time, though, Edmond ignored them, and really took a look at Kitami. He examined her eyes, which were a beautiful match to the color of her blue hair. He looked at her smooth and vibrant face (given the circumstances, her beauty was holding together quite well), and then took her into a hug. This time, he knew the hug was for support. As they shared their moment, the sounds of the Gunners whistling in approval faded into white noise. He took a deep breath and forcefully loosened the pressure in his gut. He couldn't get too close…not yet.

Edmond, after leaving a very red faced Kitami standing at the bottom of the stairs, scaled the stairs, heading for the roof, and perhaps, a new plan. When Edmond climbed onto the roof, he was met with Klein and Susan standing In front of him, facing Thatching, who was standing, looking over the town again, as if he didn't recognize their presence. He looked over to Klein, who saw him and gave him a smile and a thumbs up. It lightened Edmond's fear that something hadn't panned out properly. However, when he looked over to Susan, it was a different story. Susan was standing as stiffly as possible, shaking slightly, as if she was about to face execution. She didn't realize Edmond had come up. She probably didn't notice anything in that particular moment.

"How are you, Suzzette?"

Thatch spoke, he was still standing, gazing over the first floor of Aincrad, like an ever-watching guardian of remaining players below. Susan almost collapsed as the words reached her ears. She gulped hard, and exhaled. Amazingly, it helped her composure significantly.

"Oh, you know, trapped eternally in a game created by a maniacal Genius, and taken over by another maniacal Genius. Much of the same, really."

Edmond actually wanted to laugh. Susan, although obviously terrified, maintained her persona of calm, cool, and collected. Her joke, although true in every way, was quite funny, too, poking fun at the awful situation.

Thatch chuckled, he must have shared the same thought. He turned around, walking towards the three. He sighed and then smiled.

"So, you are still playing the stock markets, then?"

There was a long silence as the three began to comprehend Thatch's joke. Edmond, who was already feeling the humor of the last joke, burst into laughter. Klein followed suit, and eventually Thatch began to chuckle as well. Susan was left standing, awkwardly forcing out "ha's" as she tried to understand what was going on.

"Relax, Suzzette, I'm only jo-"

"It's Susan."

Thatch, taken aback by Susan's interruption, sighed and gave her a nod in approval.

"Relax, Susan, I'm only joking with you. Besides, I figure, since we're going to be working together, that we should start things out on the right foot."

Thatch extended his hand towards Susan, who looked at it like a head sitting on a platter. It was obvious, to Edmond at least, that she was expecting something more…angry, or perhaps even another fight from the tension. The strange direction of humor and kindness was something she never expected of Thatch. Nevertheless, Susan took Thatch's hand and shook it, slowly.

"Excellent, then. I'm guessing that Edmond and Klein have filled you in on what's going on?"

Susan sighed. She was beginning to feel more comfortable around Thatch,

"Somewhat. Someone is hiding on this floor, and apparently they have the ability to get us out of here?"

"Possibly"

"Well, yeah, possibly. But that's all I got…"

Susan turned around and looked at Edmond.

"…That, and a kick in the ribs."

Thatch looked over to Klein and Edmond, looking for an answer to why such an attack had occurred. Klein just looked the other way, but Edmond, still feeling the humor from moments earlier, responded.

"To be fair, she got a cake, too."

Thatch shook his head and smirked.

"Well then, I'd say that's fair. I assume you're willing to help us?"

Susan exhaled in a way that said "honestly, what choice do I have?" and swiped her hand, accessing her translucent menu, and scrolled to her floor map.

"I guess, for the time being. Now, where's this mysterious little troll hiding? Oh, and how do we know he's not going to be able to instantly kill anyone he sees? He is, after all, a hacker. I'm just an impeccable hunter."

Thatch thought for a second, but responded almost instantly.

"We don't know that for sure. But don't you think if he could kill everyone, he would've done it already? Judging by how much respect and adoration Glog had for Khale, Ratchnot, if he shared the same feelings, would probably have been so devastated by Khale's decision, that he'd probably end the game, entombing us all at once."

Susan pondered the idea, but then came back with a question of her own.

"Fair point. But, how do we even know that Ratchnot isn't still with Khale? After all, why would Khale give up the one person who could alter everything to his own liking? He could've kept Ratchnot with him, especially if he's as powerful as we're predicting. If not, that begs another question. Is he really the one who gave Khale power? Because if he'd just toss him to the wayside, he must not feel he's a threat."

Thatch was cornered. It was obvious that Susan was a very wise individual. It was no question to Edmond as to how she became such a wonderful hunter.

"You could be right, Susan. But, this is the only hope we've got. It's a long shot, but if it pans out, it doesn't matter how farfetched it seems."

Susan sighed.

"Fair enough. I'm assuming you have something planned for everyone else? A plan for tackling floors efficiently, that is?"

Thatch nodded.

"Yes, I do. There's going to be a guild meeting, soon after you set out on your assignment-

"Not an assignment, Thatch…I work alone, and only on projects that I see fit. I'm willing to help, but at some point, I deserve to have a say in what I do."

Edmond's eyes widened as he looked over to Susan, who had responded in a firm and almost infuriated tone. Something in Susan had changed. She was no longer timid, or looked even remotely afraid of Thatch. Edmond then moved his gaze to Thatch. The tension in the air was so thick, it could have almost choked everyone on the roof. Edmond was sure that Thatch, even as calm and collected as he was, would surely have a rebuttal for such a disrespectful outburst. But, to Edmond's (Klein's as well) surprise, Thatch responded much differently.

"I'm sorry, Susan, you're absolutely right. Allow me to rephrase. After you leave on your…personal…assignment…"

Thatch paused and looked over to Susan with a face that asked "is that better, your highness?"

It must have been. Susan nodded and gave a smirk, as if she'd finally felt some power over Thatch after the multitudes of deaths he'd served her.

"…There will be a meeting of the guild leaders. Those who have survived, up until this point, that is, will attend so we can develop a feasible strategy. The average level of a Japanese player in Aincrad right now is somewhere in the realm of fifty to fifty-five, give or take. With that knowledge, tackling floors up until those levels should be relatively quick and painless."

Edmond immediately got a thought in his head, and voiced it.

"That is, if Khale hasn't upped the ante in each floor. Who knows what "fun little secrets" he's got planned for us?"

Thatch turned to Edmond and pointed in his direction in approval.

"Exactly, Edmond."

Thatch looked back over to Susan.

"Susan, that's why your participation is so vital. What Ratchnot is, essentially, is a treasure trove of information on Khale, and the game's structure. With that being said, I'm going to urge everybody to stay on this floor until you've captured him, or at least until we have some more concrete evidence that it's safe to proceed."

Edmond felt another sensation in his stomach. This time, it wasn't "love," it was a sense of despair. What if Susan failed? What if Ratchnot wasn't that useful in the long run? There were so many ways that the plan could fail, and only one way it could succeed. Susan definitely had her word cut out for her.

"Susan, we would be extremely grateful for your assistance."

Thatch's voiced sounded as sincere as ever. He, once again, extended his hand towards Susan, and she took it almost instantly. It was as if the months of anger and tension between the two had dried up in an instant. To Edmond, dyer circumstances had proved to cause this to happen again and again.

"Thank you, Thatch. I'll do everything I can to track him down. But I'll warn you. If the little punk takes a stab at me…he may not come back alive."

Thatch nodded. His face was serious, and without emotion. Edmond couldn't tell if Susan was joking or not. He decided it better to assume that she was, it would save him some sleeplessness that way. Thatch, after a pause, saluted Susan and turned to Klein.

"Thank you, Klein. You're ever proving your resourcefulness to this guild."

Klein, who wasn't completely with the conversation, snapped out of whatever his mind had him thinking about, and gave a thumbs up and saluted Thatch.

"Susan, will you be needing any assistance from the Gunners?"

Susan giggled at Thatch's request, and responded, sarcastically.

"I think I'll do better on my own, if you don't mind. I hunt alone. Groups only make you more vulnerable to exposure skills. That's the last thing I need."

Thatch sighed. Edmond could see that Susan's confidence was beginning to make Thatch's own confidence falter. Still, Thatch managed to force a smile onto his face. He couldn't formally dismiss Susan, as she wasn't a part of the guild. She he simply nodded, once more, and spoke.

"Well, Susan, you may begin when you're ready. Again, we cannot thank you enough. If you should need assistance, message me, and we'll dispatch to your location as quickly as possible."

Susan gave a thumbs up and turned towards the side of the inn that looked over the forest. As she mounted the side of the wall, Thatch spoke up, one final time.

"Alive, Susan. Try and bring him back alive…"

Susan turned her head to look at Thatch and winked.

"I'll see what I can do."

She then leapt off of the roof. Edmond saw her scale the wall, leap over, and disappear into the think saturation of trees. Just like that, in a matter of seconds, she was gone. Edmond was amazed at how high her agility skill must have been, to be able to exit and maneuver so quickly. It gave him a slight confidence boost at the thought of her having the ability to move so quickly and pursue a target.

"Now, as for the rest of us, there're some things that need to be taken care of. Edmond, would you accompany me and Klein when we address the Guild leaders?"

Edmond felt a bit odd that Thatch was addressing him in such a way. Thatch, as a guild leader, didn't have to ask permission for his Guild to follow orders. So the question came off as a bit overly courteous. But before Edmond could respond, Klein had cut in.

"Aw, come on, Thatch. Edmond's been running himself ragged for us lately. You said it yourself, we aren't going to be making any big moves until Susan completes her task. Maybe we should allow Edmond some time to rest and recharge. Just for a day, maybe?"

Edmond felt funny, maybe even a little frustrated at Klein's overly kind gesture. Sure, he'd been working hard the last couple of days…and nights. But so had everyone else. Although, it might have been nice just to sit and clear his mind. Still, he knew, as a new Gunner, he had to be committed to the cause. Thatch, however, had different plans.

"That's a fair point, Klein."

Thatch swiped his menu and looked at the various menus. It was nearly seven at night, and Aincrad's brilliant sun was beginning to dim for nightfall. After seeing this, Thatch closed his menu.

"Very well, the guild meeting isn't until tomorrow morning. I think the probability of Khale attacking us by surprise is slim to none, that's not really his style of play. I think a night of rest is in order for the Guild. But, we will be waiting, in the event that Susan should need us."

Thatch turned to Edmond.

"Edmond, you're an amazing asset to us, this is the least we can do. Please get your rest…spend some time with Kitami, you two deserve to be able to be together without a constant threat looming over your head."

Edmond felt his face flush red. He took a deep breath and swallowed hard to kill the familiar pressure building in his stomach whenever Kitami was mentioned. He tried his best to sound tough, but managed to only spout the obvious, depressing, truth.

"…There's always a threat looming over us, Thatch. There always will be, as long as we're all trapped here."

Edmond felt a hand slap on of his shoulder. It stung, but it snapped him out of the depression that was trying to take him. It was Klein's hand.

"Come on, Edmond! Positive, man! If we want morale to stay high, we have to set a positive example for the rest of the Gunners. No more depressing talk. Got that?"

Klein, as optimistic as ever, smiled and gave Edmond a very comforting thumbs up. It made Edmond feel slightly better, if only for a moment. It was at that point, when Thatch chimed in.

"Klein's right, Edmond. It takes far longer to build morale, than it takes to shatter it. Right now, the very essence of the community's sanity is resting on edge. We can't let small moments of weakness cause everything to collapse."

Edmond felt guilty. How could he act so pathetic? He'd made it this far, and he knew it was no time to start faltering in his resolve. He nodded, and tried to shift the conversation back to a more humorous tone.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. It's just a hell of a week…"

This statement caused Klein and Thatch to look at each other, in a sense of awakening. Edmond was right, and he'd barely considered the fact that all of the events that had transpired up until this point, had only taken place in just over a single week. One week, and it felt like he'd been at war (if such a thing could even be fathomed) for months, at least. Thatch decided to, once again, take grasp of the situation, and make it more positive.

"Well, look at it this way, at least we're not wasting away as quickly as we thought, back in the real world."

Edmond raised his eyebrows and nodded in agreement. It was another morbid statement, but somehow positive. It made Edmond want to fight. Thinking of his body, along with the thousands that lay in beds, spanning across the globe, made him want to fight to return. Return to the world outside the game, with a fresh perspective of the gift of life.

There was little conversation after this. Thatch dismissed Edmond and Klein, and gave Klein orders to inform the rest of the Gunners of their night off. As Edmond descended the ladder and stairs, climbing back down to the floor, he didn't quite know what to do with himself. He'd spend the bulk of his last couple of days, carrying out orders that had purpose and meaning. Now, with time off, he had no idea what to do. Relaxation? In war? It seemed frivolous. However, when he reached the ground floor, his mind shifted back to Kitami. He saw her sitting with the Gunners at a table in the corner. They seemed to be taking to her quite well, and this made Edmond smile. It was good to see comradery continuing to hold.

One of the Gunners pointed to Edmond, prompting Kitami to whisk around and look. She immediately smiled, filling Edmond with warmth and sharp pressures within his abdomen. The strange sensation, which was like a mix between extreme hunger and nausea, was starting to become annoying. That damn "love." Edmond nodded for Kitami to step outside with him. She complied and walked towards the door, after thanking the Gunners for being nice hosts.

Edmond opened the door, and led Kitami outside onto the cobblestone road. Once outside, he took a look around. The sun was almost completely dimmed for the day. It made everything produce a nice autumn glow. But, as he looked around, his gazed became fixated on "his" portion of the wall, for the battle that had ensued, just nights earlier. Immediately, visions of players dying and being blown into shards entered his mind. He slammed his eyes shut and shuddered slightly. Kitami grabbed his arm.

"Edmond? Hey! Edmond!"

Edmond's eyes shot opened as he exhaled and broke from the disturbing trance. He could feel his body temperature had risen significantly in the last few seconds, and he continued taking deep breaths. Kitami looked terrified.

"Are you okay, Edmond? What's wrong?"

Edmond didn't know. Every time he closed his eyes, all he could see was the young boy he'd accidentally killed, laying there on the wall, crying out in fear. He'd not noticed it until this point, but all of the moving and accomplishments of finding Susan had drowned out all of his disturbing thoughts until now. He had no idea what was happening to his mind. He wanted to break down. But he knew that would accomplish nothing. He didn't want to let his fear win, especially not in front of Kitami. If he wasn't fighting for his own hope, he was definitely fighting for hers. He took one more breath and forced a smile onto his lips.

"I'm okay. Just had a crazy moment, there. I must be tired. It's been a while since I had a decent rest. But, hey, Thatch has given us all the night off, we should be able to relax, if only for a little while."

Kitami smiled. She seemed relieved.

"A night off? Wow, I'd forgotten what those were."

She winked and gave Edmond a very tight hug. Cliché as it was, the tighter she squeezed, the better he felt. As if she were wringing him dry of all the painful experiences up until this point. Unfortunately, as she moved away, the memories rebounded. Edmond figured that he must have still been in a game. He felt like he was roleplaying as the depressed character that never seemed to cheer up…his least favorite. Kitami's voiced broke his thought process, again.

"So, a night off…what should we do? We're kind of quarantined here, I know, but surely there's something we can do…right?"

Edmond thought, this time, of something more enjoyable. He would have been content with a walk, to try and clear his thoughts. But, and he was no expert at dating, he figured he should at least attempt to give Kitami something to take her mind off of things. But what? Hell, he'd figure it out after a walk.

Edmond led the two around the Town, aimlessly. They held hands and walked through the crowds of silent players. Very few were in groups, and even fewer were carrying on conversations. Many of the town's alleyways, shrouded in shadow of the setting sun, were filled with players sobbing, together, yet apart. Edmond felt their pain. It was as if every player in the Town was suffering from the same, bleeding wound of despair and uncertainty.

Still, for every player that was huddled in a dark corner, letting seconds pass in agony, there were two or three players, from all walks of the world, venturing out to grind levels, to replace them. This gave Edmond some hope. He saw small groups of American, British, and Australian players, all low in level, being led by Japanese players who had several levels over them, heading out to strengthen each other. This, Edmond thought, was what must truly be fought for. Not just for the weak, who could not defend themselves, but for the strong, who could at least try. It empowered him, and almost choked him up, but he maintained his composure.

The two continued on until they reached an alley that led into darkness. There were no players there, it was completely secluded. Edmond looked over to Kitami and smiled, she returned the gesture with a smile of her own. The two mutually agreed to venture into the dark alley together. It would be nice to have an exploratory moment that didn't end with the possibility of sudden death lurking at every corner.

As they went in further, the dull roar of players talking began to die down. It began to get colder, too. Not unbearably, but enough to notice that there wasn't any light getting through to the area. Even though he knew it wasn't true, he felt like He and Kitami were safe, hidden even, from Khale and the rest of the game's challenges. It was fun to dream, at least. The two kept walking until they reached the end of the alley, which was in the form of a dead end created by the wall, ringing the city.

"A dead end…"

Said Edmond as he sighed, dismally.

"Seems like a perfect analogy for our situation. Don't you think?"

Edmond didn't look at Kitami as he said this, and instead, just continued looking at the cold cobblestone in front of him. He knew he was being negative, but he couldn't help it. Didn't his emotions matter? Was he not entitled to feel grief in this situation? Until this point he wasn't sure what had led him and Kitami to this dark and dismal place. But as the memories and sadness rolled over him, he began to realize his mind's reasoning for being here. It was dark, and lonely, and all of his emotions would be concealed like a blanket, covering a body that had expired in the public. He knew the pain was still there…but now, in this moment, he could hide it from everybody. His bottom lip began to tremble, and his eyes welled up. But then, something completely unexpected happened. Kitami burst into tears and fell to her knees on the stone floor below. Letting go of Edmond's hand. He shook his head quickly. No, he said no more tears, and, dammit, he was going to keep it that way. Kitami was his girlfriend, and he was damn sure going to make her feel that way.

"Kitami…"

He knelt down and placed a hand, sympathetically on Kitami's back. She didn't look up, her sobs we forcing her face downward, as if each tear weighed hundreds of pounds. Edmond was at a loss, yet again. But he figured he'd resort to a plan that had worked once before. He placed his other hand under Kitami's chin and slowly raised her eyes to his. They were red and puffy from the tears, but he couldn't help but see the beauty in them. He smiled at her and nodded, helping her to her feet. She immediately wrapped her arms around him in a powerful constriction. Edmond let her cling to him for a moment, and then was overtaken by the feeling in his stomach. The feeling now permeated his entire body. He retreated backwards, slowly, and used his index and middle fingers to move a lock of her blue hair away from her eyes.

"You're a beautiful person…did you know that?"

Cheesy. But it came from the heart, and to Edmond, that's all he wanted. He wanted Kitami to feel completely secure, and he was determined to hold nothing back from her. She blushed, perhaps even smiled, as Edmond tenderly wrapped his hands around the nape of her neck, and rubbed her cheeks with his thumbs. She closed her eyes and placed her hands on his, looking eased. Then, while he was sure he was on a roll, he kissed Kitami, firmly, on her lips and slowly led her, backwards, to the stone wall, until he gently pressed her body up against it. He slowly moved his head back. She was breathing hard, but her eyes seemed to be both at ease and longing for more attention, which Edmond was happy to provide.

Edmond kissed Kitami again, on the lips, and then moved from her lips to her cheek and then to her neck. She stiffened, but accepted the situation. It was obvious she had no intention of breaking the bond that was being forged between them. Edmond was nervous, he had no idea what he was doing, but he went with it. So far so good, he thought.

Up until this point, everything between Him and Kitami had almost been…surreal. He knew he had feelings for her, but all of the violence and negativity had drowned out the remote possibility of searching his heart for what he really thought. But now, with this "time off," he was beginning to realize just how lucky he was. Not only was Kitami an amazing person…but my God was she beautiful, and here he was, kissing her. His ascension to cloud nine was instantaneous.

Kitami slowly pushed Edmond back, as if she were contemplating stopping him. She looked deep into his eyes, as if scanning every inch of his soul. She stopped, and sighed with a smile. She found nothing malicious about him, and in a game that was riddled with hacks and dangerous activity, it relieved her.

"What's wrong?" Edmond said, briefly feeling afraid that'd he'd gone too far.

He stared at Kitami, and the stream of tears running down her cheeks. His heart pounded in his chest, and the warmth of her body pressed against his was unlike anything he'd felt up until this point. Things were moving fast. Should he stop? Probably. Was he going to? Probably not. He'd made it to this point, and in such a game, it's as Thatch had told him: We have to find happiness where we can. Still…he'd didn't want to do something too drastic. Suddenly, the smooth and calming voice of Kitami entered his ears.

"Edmond."

Edmond pushed the same blue lock of hair out of Kitami's face, again. He responded with his eyes, rather than with words. Kitami continued.

"There's something I want to tell you. It's going to sound ridiculous, but I feel like you should know."

Edmond kissed her again, in reassurance.

"Go on, I'm all ears."

Kitami smiled, and even in the alley, that was getting darker and darker by the minute, Edmond could tell that she was blushing, again.

"There's a good possibility that we're both going to die in this place-"

"Kitami! Don't think about-"

Kitami put her middle three fingers over Edmond's mouth.

"Listen to me, Edmond. I'm not being radical, I'm being rational. We're always on the verge of death in here. If it's not a fear of Khale, it's a fear of what he's done to the game, and if it's not that…it's trying to escape the terrible feelings we're facing, and trying to fight off suicide."

Edmond's eyes flew open, wider.

"Suicid-"

Kitami covered Edmond's lips again, this time with her mouth. It shut him up pretty quickly. When she leaned back, she smiled and started speaking through the filter of sarcasm that Edmond had all but forgotten.

"Not all of us can be as strong as you are, Edmond. You've read the tabloids. No self-respecting gamer hasn't. You've heard the survivors talk about how many people chose to end their lives, rather than fight for a chance to survive. I mean, how many players did we pass on the way here that looked like corpses? Corpses that did nothing but sit in their corners, waiting for something to happen. Suicide is a huge factor, Edmond…I'm afraid we've not even begun to see the horrors of human beings, being trapped in a fish bowl…"

Edmond felt his blood run cold, and his heart rate slowed to a shallow beat. He'd never heard Kitami talk like this. She was so serious, and so sobering. She wasn't even crying at this point. It was terrifying. Edmond felt like he was speaking to someone who had lost all of their will to live.

Kitami looked over to him and smiled. Edmond felt relieved.

"I'm sorry, Edmond. I'm not trying to depress you. I just want you to know how I feel about everything. That way this next thing will make sense. I think you'll enjoy it…"

Edmond's mind was on the verge of exploding into a million pieces that all cried: "WHAT?!" Even still, he listened, intently.

"You remember how I told you, oh, I can't remember what day it was, that where I come from, guys just want to…"

Kitami raised her hands to create air quotes.

"'Get with' girls?"

Edmond remembered. It was hard to forget something that made you feel jealous for reasons you didn't fully understand. He nodded, although he had no idea where the conversation was going.

"Well. I've been pretty reclusive, for most of my adult life. I've been afraid of dating, and I'm pretty socially inept."

Kitami froze and rolled her eyes at her own statement, but smiled to laugh at herself.

"I guess you could consider me 'that girl' who's afraid of guys and of what they could do to hurt her. I know, we're a dime a dozen…but hear me out."

Edmond smiled. He was feeling much better, now that Kitami was acting happier.

"Go on. I'm definitely interested now."

Kitami smiled and nodded.

"Well. Given the fact that we may never make it out of this place. There's something that I want you…to have."

Edmond, obliviously, continued staring, never changing his expression from: I'm waiting.

Kitami blushed and turned away. Edmond hadn't gotten the gist, and he was horribly embarrassed, and wouldn't dare elaborate. She waited for a moment, not looking back, and simply spoke two words.

"Something…special."

The two words slammed into Edmond's brain like a cannon shell launched at point blank range. Something special, indeed. He had no idea what to say. She he said nothing, and only blinked, repeatedly, trying not to look like a total air head.

Time seemed for freeze for just a moment as he thought about the proposition that was just made to him. He didn't want to even replay the question in his mind. The thought of "lov-lo-llllllll," he couldn't even say it in his mind without being sarcastic, was trying to force its way back in. He knew he had to say something. Kitami would definitely regret even opening up to him, otherwise. So, he went with the only tactic that had worked for him up to this point. He took a deep breath, and prepared to respond.

"Edmond?"

Kitami's voice sounded so concerned.

"I'm not exactly sure what to say, Kitami. But let me just get this out into the open so I'm sure that we're on the same page here."

He looked Kitami, deep in the eyes, and placed a hand on her cheek. He knew what he was about to ask was going to sound crazy, but hell, so was everything else in this world.

"You want me to…take your…"

Kitami nodded, as if to make him continue.

But Edmond didn't get a chance to. An extremely bright light appeared in front of Kitami and Edmond, and they both jumped backwards, into the wall. Edmond drew his dagger and held it out in front of him. He blindly swung as he held his hand over his eyes.

"What's going on? Who are you? Show yourself!"

The light dimmed, and after the blindness had subsided from his eyes, Edmond saw two cloaked figures standing in front of him. He couldn't tell their gender, or see any part of their faces. But he knew one thing. He was terrified, and trapped.

"Who the hell are you?"

Edmond's voice sounded weak, and mortified. But the figures didn't speak. They just stood there, as if to assess who Edmond and Kitami were. Then one of them spoke.

"Edmond? That's who you are, right?"

The voice sounded young, but still older than Edmond, even though it had a higher pitch than his own. This did nothing to ease Edmond's fears.

"We'vre here to help you, Edmond. Trust us."

Edmond felt eased at hearing this. It prompted him to respond.

"Yes. I'm Edmond. Why? Help us how?"

The voice didn't care for Edmond's questions, and continued speaking of its own intentions.

"Listen. You, nor Thatch, nor Klein, knows the storm that's about to come over Aincrad. Khale is infuriated with madness, and his mind is unstable. We're aware that you possess something from Kayaba himself. You're of use to us. You must trust us, if you…"

The hood on the figure's robe shifted as it looked at Kitami.

"…and you friends, wish to survive. We are aware of your hunt for Ratchnot. A wise move, but it will only get you so far. If you do not act soon, everyone playing in this game is in jeopardy. Do you understand?"

Edmond stood up and clenched his fists.

"What in the hell are you even talking about? Are you two insane? Who are you? I'm not going to ask again?"

Edmond raised his dagger. The blue glow spread throughout the dark space.

The two cloaked figures looked at one another, and then each raised their right hands, revealing extremely powerful looking weapons in each hand. The first, the one who was speaking, had a blade the looked similar to one that he'd seen…but couldn't quite remember where. The second figured held yet another blade that looked similar. Again, he couldn't remember where he'd seen it, amid the confusion. The first figure spoke.

"I'm Alpha."

Then the second voice spoke.

"I'm Gamma."

It was a female voice. It sounded mature, yet still young, much like that of the male's voice.

The first figure (apparently called Alpha) then spoke once more.

"We'll see you at the guild meeting, tomorrow. Don't tell anyone about this, please."

The second voice, the female one, then continued, where the first had left off.

"Nobody will believe you anyway…"

Then there was another bright flash, and the two were gone.

Edmond slumped back down against the wall and put his head in his hands. What the hell just happened? Alpha and Gamma? More strange people he'd never heard of?

"What the hell was that?"

Kitami exclaimed in a quiet, terrified, voice.

Edmond took her into one arm, and got an idea. He quickly swiped his menu and navigated to the map screen and then opened a list of all the characters logged into the game. He cringed as he passed through the mountains of named as he occasionally saw one with a line through it. He knew what that meant. Everyone did. He searched and searched but he didn't find anyone by the name of Alpha, or Gamma. He figured it was a disguised pair of players, under unassuming names. He wanted to punch himself for not examining them when they were standing right in front of him. He closed the menu, vainly, and exhaled as deeply as ever.

"Who do you think they were?"

Kitami said, now louder. Edmond looked over to her and shrugged. So much for a night off. He knew he wouldn't be sleeping until after the guild meeting, the next morning. That is, unless something happened. Which was entirely possible. He looked over to Kitami, once more and leaned his head against the wall behind him, and looked up into the night sky. The sun was now gone, and the air was chilly.

"Not a clue."