Level 100: Trost. Survey Corps Camp, Meeting Room.
"Oh... I-I see." Kirito responded, still stunned at this revelation; it changed the situation completely. He could not imagine being in this realm for the entire time of SAO; what if he'd been chosen to join Hange and the others here in Trost 3 years ago? He'd never have met Asuna and never have had the adventures he'd had. It didn't bare thinking about.
"Wait, so you've survived here for 3 years?! With those things?" Kimiko called out, visibly shocked at the sheer resilience and courage these players would have had to have shown with no visible end in sight. Erwin nodded wordlessly; this alone assured Kimiko that these were people worth trusting and working with. With that, she looked across to Asuna and Kirito, who nodded at her in unison.
"We would be happy to work with you. Once we've sorted out the finer details, I'm sure we can come to an agreement." She asserted, it finally dawning on her that she was the head of the Knights of the Blood Oath, and it was her responsibility to deal with the current situation. She suddenly felt very appreciative of Kirito and Asuna's presence by her side.
"I'm glad to hear that!" Erwin bellowed, his excitement - at the prospect of finally moving forwards thanks to the arrival of the reinforcements that had been predicted - getting the better of him for a few moments. "Speaking of which," he continued, "There's someone I want you to meet. Levi, if you would."
Levi looked almost offended that Erwin would make him the delivery boy, but he figured it'd get him out of the room for a bit, away from the brat Kirito that reminded him so much of the kid he was being sent to collect. He drew himself from the table, walking assuredly towards the door, and with a gentle swing of the large door, he was out.
"Is that who the other chair is for, then?" Asuna probed, addressing the elephant in the room for the first time. Erwin looked up with a smile towards the young woman.
"Yes. He's a very interesting young man who came to us a few months ago." Erwin began, garnering surprised expressions from all three of those sat opposite him. "I'll let him tell you about himself and the trainees though." He concluded, leaving the others confused at how someone could have only arrived a few months ago, given that they were the clearing group leading the players, and Hange had already told them they were all players logged into SAO since the opening day.
However, the clearing group members only had to wait a few more moments until Levi returned, with one of the young boys who guarded the clearing group back in Trost behind him. Levi took his place at the table once more, leaving the chesnut-haired teenager to take his place at the grand table between Hange and Asuna, replacing Kirito as the youngest person in the room. The boy sat down, unsure of what to say, until Levi gave him a vicious glare across the room.
"Uh-um I'm Eren. Eren Yeager." The young boy stammered, having only been in the Meeting Room to discuss it. Erwin looked over at the boy, not having seen him this nervous in almost four months; in training and in the field, he was one of the most determined, strong-willed people to have resided in Trost. Hange smiled at the young boy, willing him on. He didn't know what to say, so Erwin rescued the awkward silence.
"A few months ago, we noticed that there was little Titan presence outside the Wall one day; we assumed it was just that Akihiko Kayaba had programmed them to spawn and move randomly, as there had been one or two quiet days in the past." Erwin grimaced slightly at the thought of the days they'd thought it was quiet, only to be forced back to the Wall. "However, we decided to take a look outside, because there were unusual sounds coming from outside the gate; sure enough, twelve kids were stood out there." He gestured to Eren, who was clearly one of those kids, even if he'd have preferred the term 'teenagers'. "This young lad stood out from the others though." Erwin concluded, giving Eren a verbal push in the right direction.
"Oh! I-um..." Eren started, reliving it in flickering pulses just thinking about the subject. After a few moments, he recovered his composure. "I arrived here with this vision..." He trailed off, wanting to avoid describing it as much as possible. However, the silence in the room demanded he continue. "I only remember flashes, like when you wake from a dream... I-I was in a town, similar to here in Trost, but outside the Wall. I remember the Titans attacking, running riot through the streets and then-"
The horror of recalling the vision was getting to Eren, causing his palms to sweat and his teeth to aggressively gnaw at his bottom lip in anxious fright. 'I've got this far!' He pressured himself, 'If I don't finish explaining now, it'll be for nothing.' Meanwhile, Asuna put a hand on the young boy's shoulder, unable to sit and watch him suffer the aftershock of his nightmares without trying to comfort him. She smiled, willing the boy to find courage in his heart to fight the consuming fear he was feeling. He took a deep breath.
"I remember travelling. I can't remember who with, or how, I just remember the feeling of travelling. Eventually, I remember seeing Trost on the horizon, and then it stops being the vision and suddenly I'm outside the gate with the others." Eren continued, rushing through his words, desperate to conclude the story chronologically before the fear catches up once more.
Kirito, Kimiko and Asuna all sat silently, trying to picture the boy's vision, while also trying to figure out why it was imprinted in his memory, and where he came from. 'Could there be others scattered around this Level like the Survey Corps here?' Kirito wondered, trying to take on board all of the new information from this crazy meeting at once.
"There's more though." Eren cut in, fighting back the fear clawing at the back of his mind. "One part stands out, more vividly than the travel or the Titans. In the town – Shiganshina it was called – there was a house, with a basement. I don't know why I know it's there, but..." Eren reached slightly under the collar of his shirt, pulling an ornate key on a string necklace into view of those around him, "I also have this."
After a few moments of silence, Eren shifted a little uncomfortably in his seat, which Erwin noticed. "Thank you Eren, you may return to the others if you wish." Eren nodded and smiled, thankful that he'd be able to leave the daunting aura of the room. "This meeting is confidential of course." Erwin reminded Eren, who could often be a little chatty around some of the other trainees who he'd become close friends with. Eren smiled again, a little more sheepishly, and left the room.
"That is what we at the Survey Corps have been looking into." Erwin asserted, "We believe that the key is to the basement beneath the house, and we are being directed there by Akihiko Kayaba. However, we've never been able to travel far enough outside the Wall to investigate. We've been holding out, making sure we don't lose ground, and waiting for your arrival."
Erwin took a deep breath, looking at each of the three clearing group members, before concluding the meeting. "We know it sounds like a long shot, but being in this world, there must be reason that the twelve of them arrived, and that Eren has the visions and the key."
"If we are to work together, we would be looking for your support in travelling to Shiganshina to the south, and investigating the basement."
So here we go! I'm back :) I started actually planning (yeah Chapter 1-6 I just kinda wrote as I went along with a rough idea...) and I have the rest of the story planned chapter-by-chapter now and I said July but I just couldn't wait! I hope you enjoyed this and I'll be back with more soon!
Guest: That would've been a really cool twist had I thought of it! I'm not gonna post any spoilers, but don't be surprised if Kayaba turns up later in the story :p
Neon Wish Loves Peach Trees: I know! Trost!
Fish On stick: in terms of the first part, I took them down and rewrote them to improve them, although still with no planning :/ as for your second review, I wanted to have more emphasis on Levi, Hange and Erwin in the past, and killing him early after introducing him as a potential leader and figure of hope I felt leads into future flashback chapters better and leaves more room to explore those three. I appreciate the feedback though :)
Koduka: As always, thanks for your feedback bro... I'm not gonna post some long-winded thing here for now bc we've spoken privately about this and other stories, but I hope you see improvement here with the planning + proofreading :p
Yo mama: Thanks, so's your mum ;)
Voljundok: Hope you're still enjoying it! There's gonna be a lot of cool stuff coming up (I feel the chapters at the moment are still setting the scene and stuff so they're less exciting, but that'll come soon) :)