The Tri-Blade Alliance
Chapter 22: A Leader's Return
A/N: Sorry for ruining your lives with that revelation. For compensation (and a way to vent), leave a review (or PM me, whatever helps) detailing your suspicions on who you thought Shadow was, what details led to you forming those suspicions, and what you did with them (if you dismissed them, then for what reason?/If you kept them, then why?).
S/N: If you're still confused, here's something to help:
A/N: Everyone, real or otherwise, has a little Shadow in the dark recesses of their mind that tells them to do what society considers illegal, taboo, or forbidden. Some people listen to this Shadow and let themselves be controlled by them; more often than not, those people just want to watch the world burn.
S/N: However, like everything else, there is an exception. This "exception" would be willing to give in to hate so everyone else can love. SAO's Shadow is the very embodiment of that exception: bearing all the weight so the innocent can breathe easily.
Disclaimer: We don't own SAO.
(x)
"A-Arctic?" The name was said by everyone standing on that platform. By all accounts, they should have been excited, even elated. And yet, the name was...foreign, almost as if the name didn't belong to the familiarly-clad player.
And why wouldn't it? The player that everyone looked up to, the one who led them…
Had misled them this whole time.
The aforementioned player said nothing; instead, he looked at the blade in his hand; a one-handed longsword with a serrated edge. The entirety of the sword was black, almost―no, exactly―as if it was crafted from pure darkness.
Hence the blade's name: The Darkness Blade. A unique skill feared by all on the front lines, not just because of the underlying malice in the name, but because of how it was obtained.
Given to the player who killed the most other players in the game.
Without a word, Arctic sheathed the Darkness Blade in the place of where the Sword of Shadows used to be; he said nothing as he felt his world darken around the edges, then return to light.
"Yeah," Arctic stated. "It's me."
Skye stepped forward uneasily. "What happened to you?"
He turned to face her. "I lost Takano. To escape the grief and the pain, I accepted the armor Kayaba gave me. It changed my entire being." Without another word, he walked past the crowd in front of him.
"Is that him?"
"Who's that?"
"Our old leader."
"Wait. The guy whose sword is―?"
"Yeah. That guy."
"I don't believe it."
"Believe it," Arctic said to the recruit, turning to face him. The recruit shuddered at the cold stare being given to him. "I don't know what Solar and Skye told you about me, but that Arctic―the one who thought everyone can get out alive―died along with her. This is who I am, now.
"For further confirmation, ask Lizbeth. She'll tell you everything." Arctic took out his Grey Star and teleported in a gray haze. Wherever he went, only a select few knew. And they knew as well that where he went…
Was off-limits to everyone.
(x)
"I can't believe it," Solar muttered as he sat on his bed in his room. Arctic was Shadow. How didn't he see it?! He looked up when he heard a knock on his open door.
"Hey," Lizbeth said, leaning against the doorway with her arms crossed. "D'you mind if I come in?"
"Not at all. I need to ask you something; it concerns Arctic."
Liz sighed and sat down on the bed next to Solar. "What do you want to know?"
"Did you know?"
Liz blinked. "Um, excuse me?"
"Did you know that Arctic was Shadow?"
"...Yeah. I knew," Liz said while looking down.
Solar looked at his hands resting on his lap before clenching them into fists. That bastard…Solar growled to himself. Liz took notice of this and put a hand on the leader's shoulder. "What's wrong?"
"Why didn't he tell me? Why didn't he tell us?! WHY?!"
"You're one to talk, Solar," Liz calmly replied, removing her hand from his shoulder. "Did you tell anyone else how you got the Quick Draw?" Solar's action of looking down in silence told Liz everything she needed to know. "My point exactly."
"But he said it himself: we were brothers. And brothers don't keep secrets from one another."
"And like I said, you shouldn't be saying anything. Everyone needs to keep at least one secret; the world will go to chaos if everyone was completely honest with each other."
"I guess you're right…" Solar sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. He turned to look at the blacksmith. "How do you do it?"
"I don't follow."
"How do you get everyone to trust you with their secrets? Is there something I should know, or what?"
Liz winked. "That's a secret."
"Shit, you're good," the leader chuckled. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Thanks, Liz. I would've forgiven him eventually, but it would've been later than this." He pulled her into a hug, which she returned. He pulled back and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Go help everyone else, now, if you can."
Liz nodded, then left the room, determined to complete the task Solar had given her.
(x)
Skye screamed as she punched the wall with all her might. The stinging pain that erupted in her arm was quickly blurred out by the indescribable rage she felt. She turned her head when she heard someone enter the room. "Hey, Liz," she said through gritted teeth. Liz said nothing as she simply sat on Skye's bed and patted the spot next to her. The tactician huffed as she sat down next to the blacksmith. "I don't want your help."
"No," Lizbeth agreed. "You need it. Whatever questions you have, I'll answer them."
"How long have you known?"
"Since January."
"How?"
"He needed me to fix an item for him. I wouldn't have helped him if he never told me."
"Why did he tell you? No offense, but...why not us? Why not Solar? Why not me?!"
"None taken. And I guess it's because he wasn't ready to return as himself yet. You feel better now?"
"...Somewhat. Still need to vent."
"Why don't you punch him next time you see him?" Liz chuckled at the joke she made.
"...Y'know, I'll do just that."
"U-um, actually, Skye, I was―"
"Thanks, Liz!" Skye said while hugging Liz, the blacksmith just patting her friend on her back. When Skye pulled away, she told the blacksmith, "You're a godsend, you know that?"
"No problem, Skye. Now, if you'll excuse me, I believe there are others who need to vent."
"Go help them, then."
Liz walked out of the room and into the next one.
(x)
Akira sat on her bed, her hand under her chin in thought. When the axe-user heard a knock on her door, she got up to open it. When she did, she motioned for the blacksmith to enter. "You need to vent?" Liz asked as she sat down next to where Akira was sitting.
Akira nodded as she sat down next to Liz. As she sat down, she sighed. "He called us his family, and yet, he kept a secret this big from all of us," she whispered, tears forming in her eyes. "I just want to know why."
"Well," Liz started, drawing Akira's attention to herself, "everyone has a secret. Or, at least, has to have a secret. Don't you?" Akira shook her head. "Okay, so you're one person. Compare yourself to the billions of people in the world who do have secrets. If everyone was brutally honest with each other all the time, then the whole world as we know it would descend into chaos."
"I get where you're coming from, Liz. But it's the principle. You knew his secret, right?" Liz nodded. "My point exactly. If he can afford to share it with one person, he can sure as hell share it with a bunch of other people; people who can keep secrets."
"That's not the point." Liz placed a hand on her friend's shoulder, looking Akira straight in the eye. "If anyone major knew, then his secret would have spread like a wildfire, and he would've been exposed, and hated even more than he is now. Arctic would've been seen as a killer, and if people knew that the former leader of the Tri-Blade Alliance was a killer, then their faith in this guild would've been lost. You know what I mean?" Akira slowly nodded. "We can just sit here, and ponder on the past. Or we can forgive him, and look past his errors. No matter what he says, the fact is that he's only human. A person forced to endure so much more pain than he should've. He's bound to make errors, major and minor. Your boyfriend's already forgiven him. Why can't you?"
Akira pondered on Liz's words for a couple of minutes, while the blacksmith patiently waited. Finally, Akira looked at Liz, and smiled. "You're right. I don't know how you do it, but you always find a way to defuse a situation. Thanks, Liz." Akira pulled Liz into a hug, which was returned. She pulled back and looked Liz right in the eyes. "Go see how the others are doing, and help them like you helped me. Help them understand. Help them forgive him."
Liz nodded as she got up and walked out of the room, satisfied that she helped another one of her friends out.
(x)
"Yo!" Liz said as she walked into the room Cupid and Eros shared. "How're you guys handling the news?"
"Not as bad as she is," Cupid replied, pointing to the fuming Eros.
"That bastard!" said archer/swordswoman growled out.
Liz sat in between the two friends. "Both of you. Talk to me. Now."
"I always saw Arctic as the living definition of optimism. He was always headstrong, and willing to help anyone, which was a good reason why he was the leader. Then again, after the love of his life died, it makes sense that he'd change in some way―just not on that big a scale," Cupid monologued.
"I always saw him as a...a hero of sorts. He gave off that aura, and it just made you feel that everything wrong in the world would be right someday. Now, though...I don't know what to think about him. I mean, with Shadow, you still felt safe, but you also felt that nothing would change, in this world or the next. It was such a complete 180 from Arctic's personality, so the two couldn't have been the same person. Now, I found out that the hero lied to those who looked up to him for the past year. It pisses me off so much," Eros ranted.
"Like I told Skye, why don't you punch him the next time you see him?" Liz suggested. "It'll help you blow off some steam."
"I think I'll do that. Thanks, Liz. I needed to get that off of my chest," Eros smiled.
"Me too. What would we do without you?" Cupid smiled as well.
Liz smiled back at the duo and pulled them into a group hug. When they pulled back, she stood up. "I gotta go see if there's anyone else that needs comforting," the blacksmith explained as she left the room.
"Good luck!" Eros called.
"Take care!" Cupid managed to say before the door closed.
(x)
Floor 66: Grandzam
Knights of the Blood Oath Headquarters
Kirito was silent as he looked down, the shadows covering his eyes. "Who do you think knew?" he quietly asked the vice commander of the K.O.B., who shrugged in response.
"I don't know. What I do know is that we shouldn't hold it against him."
"How could you say that?" Kirito demanded of Asuna. "He lied to us. He said he trusted us. If he did, then why didn't he tell us sooner?!"
"..." Asuna remained silent as she pondered over her next choice of words. "Maybe," she finally said, causing the beater to focus his attention on her, "it's because he changed―in a way that he didn't want anybody he knew to see him differently. Had I known he was Shadow, don'tcha think my treatment of him would've changed?"
"But it did change. Before, you couldn't trust him―no one could've. He always did what he wanted, and now I bet everyone sees him as a killer, not a savior. And recently, you've been helping him before all this. Why?"
"Because…" Asuna bit her lip. "Because remembering what he did at Floor 67, what I felt looking at him, A Hero's End...it was a punch to the gut, but it gave me a reminder:
"That despite all he's done, despite all he's capable of, and despite what he says…he's only a teenager. A 16-year-old with much more grief, anger, sorrow, and regret than all of us combined. And all because he lost his happiness―his innocence―in SAO. You get it now?"
"...Yeah," Kirito finally said, looking at Asuna. "I guess you're right. After all, we did get farther with him, Arctic or Shadow. And who knows? There could've been others; he just drew the short straw."
Asuna smiled. "So you forgive him?"
Kirito smiled back. "Yeah." He stood up and stretched. "I should head home now."
"Stay safe," Asuna replied, walking him to the door and opening it for him.
"Don't worry. I'll be fine." As Kirito left, he looked back. Wonder what's gotten into her.
(x)
Floor 17: A Hero's End…
Arctic was sitting on the rock, his eyes closed in thinking. What now? I can't just go asking people for forgiveness. No doubt, they all hate me. Wouldn't blame them.
"Y'know, you looked better in black." He opened his eyes upon hearing the familiar voice with the ever-so-present amused lilt lacing it.
"And you look better in silver," Arctic replied, taking note of Bella's white cloak as she walked up to him from the side. "Should I even bother asking how you got past the barrier?"
"My answer will only serve to confuse you."
"I'm sure it will." Arctic sighed as he looked back down, barely registering the sound of Bella sitting down next to him. "What'll happen now?" he finally asked after hours of silence, looking towards the white-clad Silver Shadow.
"Don't ask me," Bella replied. "I'm just a stranger you told your identity to; you never told me you're the leader of the Tri-Blade Alliance."
"Was the leader. I gave Solar a note telling him he was leader before I left. Before I became a Shadow of my former self."
"Regardless, that shouldn't change the way people see you."
"And how do they see me?"
"A savior. A symbol of justice. A hero. Should I go on?"
"No. They saw Shadow as those things. And now, after everyone saw the other side of their hero? They only see me as a monster. As a killer.
"And why shouldn't they? I killed the most players in the game, Bella. The guy before me―the incentive to my becoming Shadow―was far worse. But I killed him, and as he told me: All of the blood on his hands, the blood that deemed him eligible for the Darkness Blade, is on mine. I'm no different than he is." Arctic drew in a shuddering breath. "I just don't know what to do anymore," he whispered quietly, so much so that Bella barely heard him. What she did hear, however, was the broken tone in his voice.
The female player was taken aback. From what she's seen, and what Kirito told her, Arctic and Shadow both never lost hope that everyone can get out. And she was fairly confident that Shadow only became a mercenary to help people and boost his stats along the way. So seeing the player who was both Arctic and Shadow, broken and feeling he's beyond saving…
Didn't fit him.
Arctic was not at all prepared for the female player to pull him into a hug. "What are you doing?" he asked, uncomfortable with his friend's actions.
"What does it look like?" Bella softly asked.
"You pulled me into a hug," Arctic stated, struggling to get out of said hug. "Which I didn't ask for."
"So? One can never be too old for a hug," the older player replied, tightening her grip. Arctic didn't respond, instead opting to lean into the embrace. "At the end of the day, there will always be blood spilled. All we can do is decide if it belongs to an innocent or not. Trust me when I say that everything will be all right."
"I hope so. God, I hope so." He moved his mournful blue eyes to look into Bella's fierce quicksilver ones. "You wanna know something?"
"What?" Bella smiled kindly at the younger teen.
"You remind me of my older sister. When I was younger, she would always do the exact same thing you're doing, or something along the lines of such, and just tell me everything would be alright."
"She sounds nice."
"She is. Whenever something would happen, little or otherwise, she always stopped what she was doing and would rush to help me and my younger sister. And in my life, everything always went wrong." Bella stared into Arctic's now-hardened blue eyes.
"How?" was her only question.
"When I was eight years old, my parents left me. No hugs, no goodbyes; just a note on the kitchen table and my older sister's sad expression. Last day of school, too." He chuckled, a silent and cold noise that turned the blood in Bella's veins to ice. "I bet they don't even know their son's in a coma. I bet they wouldn't even care."
"What about your younger sister? I'm sure they would've stayed for her."
"Why would they? She didn't come into my family till I was 10. She was 7, and her actual parents died in a plane crash. Hell, she didn't even see me as a decent human being for the next three years.
"Then when she was 11, she was being harassed by a group of bullies. I had to pick her up, because Onee-chan was working late. I found her and took down said group of bullies. Since then, she's always looked up to me and wants to become as strong as I am."
Bella remained silent while her friend recounted his life in the real world. "Tell me more about your older sister."
"She was the best; like I said, she was always willing to help others, and she's smart enough to know when someone's lying to her. And when I was younger, I always had nightmares; sometimes they were so intense, I would wake up screaming. My onee-chan would just rush into my room, and hug me while singing a song. It always calmed me down, and…" Arctic sniffed as tears started forming in his eyes. "I'm sorry. I just miss my sisters so much. I started this game without them, and that turned out to be a double-edged sword."
Bella chuckled sadly. "Pun intended?"
"Entirely. But I digress. I started without them, and I'm always scared; scared that I'll die; scared that I won't want to leave; scared that I'll leave them alone, especially my imouto. I don't know what she'll do without me." At that point, the former mercenary finally broke, the tears streaming down his face as Bella hugged him even tighter.
The Silver Shadow did her damndest to ignore the surge of emotions rising within her. To know that someone like Shadow―like Arctic―had suffered so much more in his real life, and had virtually no one older, familial or otherwise, to guide him...broke her heart. And all the while, she understood the pain of her family leaving her, and she was sure as hell all too familiar with the feeling of leaving one's family behind.
And it made you feel like a bitch.
"I understand," Bella whispered to the silently crying player. "It's okay. Just let it out."
Eventually, the tears finally stopped, and Arctic raised his head to look at Bella. "Why?" he whispered to the other player.
"Because someone like you doesn't deserve this," she responded, motioning to the weapons planted in a clockwise motion. "Because you needed to vent. Not as Shadow; but as Arctic."
Arctic nodded sadly and gently broke away from the embrace, Bella allowing him to do so. "Thanks for being here, Bella. Thanks for listening," he said, standing up and stretching.
Bella smiled, standing up and stretching as well. "I'm always here for you, Arctic. And you wanna know something?"
"Hm?" The former mercenary turned to stare at the Silver Shadow. She put her hands on his shoulders and looked into his eyes.
"I'm so used to seeing you with nightmarish red eyes, your blue eyes are actually unsettling to me," she said while laughing.
Arctic smiled and laughed as well. "That white cloak hurts my eyes more than your silver one," he shot back.
"Fair point." Bella removed her hands from his shoulders and looked around. "Now, can you let me leave?"
"...You got in here without a 'Fuck the rules' crystal, and you can't get out without one?" Arctic incredulously asked.
"I didn't make the game," Bella said while laughing.
"No, you didn't. I'll take you back. Just say where."
"Floor 50."
"Any reason why?"
"If I tell you, I'll have to kill you."
"I get the feeling you're not joking."
"I'm not."
"Right. I'd tell you to close your eyes, but you went through more than enough pain to endure what you see, and you wouldn't listen."
"You know me so well."
"Grab on." Arctic held his left hand out to Bella, the right hand holding the Grey Star. Bella took his hand and they both teleported to Bella's desired location.
Floor 50: Crossing Fields
The two players warped, Bella staggering slightly when she let go of the Star's wielder. "Oh my god, that was a rush," she said once she found her footing.
"Y'know, Kirito said the exact same thing."
"Did he, now?" Bella looked around the field the two were in. "Well, this is my stop. Hope you get better, honestly."
"I hope so, too. Give Kirito my regards."
"Will do." Bella gave Arctic another hug, one he gladly returned, and pulled away after a few seconds.
Arctic held his Grey Star in his right hand and waved goodbye to Bella with his left. "Goodbye, Bella."
As he teleported away, Bella sighed as she turned around and began to walk away. "Goodbye...Shadow."
(x)
Floor 52: Gothamopolis
(S/N: If you get the reference, let us know in the reviews or PM us. Your choice.)
Arctic appeared in a flash in front of the guild house. He sighed as he thought about what could happen. First, he thought about how he would approach them. It wasn't like he could just walk in and expect hugs and kisses. He took a breath, then walked towards the front doors.
When he reached them, he knocked once before the door opened. "Hey. What can I help you wi―" Solar said as he opened the door and saw who it was. The two leaders stared at each other for a couple more seconds. "You came back."
Arctic nodded. "Yup. Can I come in?"
"It's best you don't. Let's talk out here." Solar stepped out of the house, closing the door behind him. The two began walking around the empty courtyard. "Why are you here? I'm not being rude; I just want to know...why?"
"I wanted to apologize. For everything. For leaving you take care of the guild. For lying to everyone about being Shadow. I'm honestly surprised that you haven't punched me at this point, or at least, y'know, blown up."
"I want to. But, thankfully, Liz helped me see sense." Solar chuckled. "I can see why you told her, by the way. She really knows how to keep a secret."
"Yeah," Arctic chuckled as well.
"Anyway, before we go back inside, I wanted to ask you: did you really mean it when you said that we were brothers?"
Arctic nodded. "I never had a brother, so that's why you felt like one to me."
"I had a brother. He died a couple years ago, so family is still a sensitive topic for me."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"Don't be. It's not your fault. The point is that brothers shouldn't keep secrets from each other. They can, but it would make the other feel bad as hell, and not the good kind of bad. I understand why you became Shadow. I forgive you."
"I don't deserve your forgiveness."
"Regardless, you're getting it. Before we go back, I want to ask you." Solar stopped and placed his hands on his pseudo-brother's shoulders. "Do you want to join the Tri-Blade Alliance?"
Arctic was silent, apparently taken aback by this request. Finally, he replied, "Won't I make your guild look bad, though?"
Solar smiled. "My friend, you underestimate how fast people can forgive and forget. Well, maybe not forget, but certainly forgive." Solar removed his hands from Arctic's shoulders and opened his menu, sending him a guild request. Arctic smiled and accepted, the guild's symbol appearing on his HP bar. "I just have one more question."
"Didn't Liz already tell you everything?" Arctic asked as the two walked back to the guild house.
"Yeah, but I don't think even she can answer this."
"Shoot, then."
"When you were Shadow, how did Klein revive you?"
Arctic stopped and faced Solar. He then pointed downwards. "In Floor 22, right where you met Shadow, there's a glitch that only works if you're wearing certain sets of armor, and if that armor has a name, if you say that armor's name―or part of it, at least―then that name will be registered as your own until you refer to yourself by your actual username."
"...Right. Has that been fixed?"
"I think so. Why?"
"Just wondering." Solar sighed as he turned to face the door. "Also because we checked that stone in the Town of Beginnings. Y'know, the one with everyone's name on it. I guess now I know why your name disappeared after you introduced yourself as Shadow." Solar stopped in front of the doors, and turned to look at Arctic. "I have a serious question now."
Arctic raised an eyebrow. "Ask away."
"Do you want it?"
"...Want what?"
"The leader position. Do you want it back?"
Arctic shook his head. "I made you leader for a reason." He gestured to the courtyard, then to the guild house. "This was all you and Skye. I didn't do a damn thing. You were a far better leader than I could be. Besides, if people still hate me, maybe being the Tri-Blade's leader wouldn't be good for me or the guild."
Solar nodded. He opened the door and gestured for the guild's newest/oldest member to enter its doors. As himself for the first time. "Welcome back, Arctic. We missed you."
Arctic smiled. It wasn't an empty and cold smile, like Shadow would normally give. It was a genuine Arctic smile. "I missed you guys, too."
(x)
A/N: This chapter, honestly, was quite depressing to write, and even more so to beta for Solar. Still, one can't help but wonder what happens next.
S/N: Till next time!
A/N: And as always, Read And Review!