A/N: Man, I am on a roll! As you may have guessed, I'va had quite a bit of free time, and I've decided to dedicate it to pumping out some extra chapters for you guys! You're such a cool audience, and I love hearing what you all have to say with each new chapter that comes out!

Storming Steiger, Part the Second

"KIRITO!" The warriors of Alfheim shouted together as the Black Swordsman began to fall down to certain death. Leafa went into a power dive so fast, the air rippled with a shockwave as she stretched her speed to the limit in order to catch her brother before he could hit the ground.

Asuna let out a wordless scream and charged straight at the Resistance, lightning spells prepared to let loose. She dodged the arrows that they fired at her, and let loose with a powerful spell called Katarina's Bolt right at the commander. He and his retainers were instantly scattered by the powerful magics, several of them dead.

Klein and Silica were not far behind, both unleashing magics of their own. "Come and get some, you bastards!" Klein roared in a fury that the girls had never seen him in before. His sword blazed with fire as he landed with a bang and immediately slayed four of the traitorous swordsmen. For they were, in fact, traitors. Now that they were up close, it was easy to see the emblems on their arms and armor as belonging to Walhart.

Sinon soon joined them, letting loose arrow after arrow at the commanding officers with unnerving accuracy. Leafa and Yui had stayed behind to try and focus on saving Kirito's life.

"Aunt Leafa, how bad is he?" Yui asked as the sylph laid her Spriggan brother down on the ramparts of the wall. She was careful to lay him on his side, as the arrow was still inside of him. The little girl had managed to lug his swords back up from the ground to lay them near to her father.

"It's definitely not good," Leafa said as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "He's out cold. And I don't know if he'd survive a trip to the Shepherds' healers- I don't even know where they are."

"If you pull the arrow out, I think I can heal him," Yui said as she wiped her own tears. "Before I became an Alf, I was studying healing magic with Miss Lissa. If I'm right, my healing abilities should have become an integral part of me, just like my battle abilities- maybe even amplified."

"But if I pull it out, he'll bleed to death if we're wrong," Leafa cautioned.

"I know that!" Yui cried. "But he'll die for sure if we don't do something!" Leafa pulled her niece into a brief hug to try and calm her down. "I have… to save my… Daddy…"

"I know, sweetie," Leafa said softly. Letting go of the younger fairy, she nodded and said, "All right. I'll get it out." With that, she used her katana to slice off part of the shaft, so that there would be less to pull out.

"Hold him still," she said as she grabbed the barb of the arrow. Yui held her father's shoulder tightly, praying that he would live. Leafa yanked the arrow out and then lay him flat. "Do it, Yui! She said as Kirito went stiff and blood began seeping out of his stomach and back.

The little girl placed her hands on the wound prayed in her heart, Daddy, please recover and come back to us well. Light spilled from her hands and flowed into the deep wound. Yui felt her own energy being drained at a rapid pace, but she didn't let it show. She kept on pouring her power into sealing the deadly wound.

A long, tense moment passed before the light faded and Kirito opened his eyes. Before he could wonder about what had happened, Yui sagged and collapsed on top of him. "Yui?!" he gasped. "What's happened to you?" The child gave no answer.

"She healed you," Leafa explained as she picked up the little girl. "You were shot by those guys that were supposed to be our reinforcements. I had to catch you, but Yui saved you in the long run."

"Why did she collapse?" Kirito demanded. "Healing hasn't ever done this to her before."

"She used her internal abilities instead of a staff," Leafa answered. "She's pretty strong, but I think she'd better carry a staff from now on, just in case."

"Yeah, good idea," Kirito said as he picked up his swords. Since they were magically enhanced, they hadn't been damaged by the fall. "Do you mind watching out for her while I go join the others?"

"Don't bother," Klein grunted as he landed with the girls in tow. "We tried to slow 'em down, but there were just too many. We need to let Robin know that we're gonna be overrun here any minute if we don't get our asses moving."

"Kirito!" Asuna cried as she grabbed her husband and kissed him briefly. "How did you get healed?!" she asked as soon as they broke off the contact.

"Long story short, Yui saved me after Leafa caught me, and now she's exhausted," he explained. "But Klein's right. We need to get moving before we're surrounded. There's no way we can fight that number of soldiers off with just the Shepherds."

"Okay, she nodded.

"Sinon and I'll get ahead of you guys and tell Robin what's happening," Klein said. "Just follow us as quick as you can."

"Will do," Kirito nodded. As Sinon and Klein dove into the fortress at top speed, he turned to the others and said, "Alright, let's get moving. Hopefully Robin can get us out via underground tunnels or something."

Gaius, Libra, and Henry had successfully broken into the vault and had been searching for anything that the Shepherds could use that was valuable. Libra, of course, was disgruntled about the task at hand. "A priest of Naga, stealing from others?" he muttered. "This is going to require some serious prayers of atonement when all is said and done… And if any other priests found out, they'd never forgive me, even if it is for a just cause…"

"Quiet," Gaius ordered. "If we're found out in here, I don't wanna think about our odds of scraping by."

"Nya hah!" Henry giggled. "If the baddies do show up, I'll be sure to keep us safe, no worries! Just a few fireballs and some curses, and the bad guys will be all bloody and ready for study! Hey, what's this?" He picked up a big red book with a strange symbol.

"Lemme see that," Gaius muttered. As soon as he flipped through a few pages, his eyes widened in surprise. "Whoa…" he gasped. "Nice find, Henry. This is the original tome for Valflame, one of the twelve holy weapons. Good thing we got this before the Valmese decided to use it…"

"Actually, it is more likely that they did not possess a mage of the proper caliber to use its full strength," Libra interjected as he rummaged through another closet. "Only a select few can use those weapons."

"What, do you have to be pure of heart or something?" Gaius asked as he handed the book back to Henry for safekeeping.

"Not at all," Libra replied. "It's simply a matter of skill level. Those spells were said to have once been wielded by gods themselves, so only those with vast amounts of training and abundant skill can use them. In fact-"

"Hold there!" a rough voice shouted from the entrance. The three Shepherds whirled to see a dozen soldiers at the entrance to the vault, weapons at the ready. "Surrender or die!"

"Aw, crap," Gaius muttered.

Henry on the other hand started giggling in excitement. "Ooh! Ooh! Bad guys!" he said happily. "Take this you meanie-heads!" And with that, he opened Valflame and unleashed the ancient fire spell in the time it takes to blink. The fire incinerated the men standing there so fast that they didn't even have time to scream. "Nya hah!" Henry giggled. "I think I like this book! I wanna keep it!"

"Did he just…?" Gaius stood there, openmouthed.

"So it would seem," Libra sighed. "Oh Naga, forgive us for yet another transgression on this day…"

Gaius shook his head to clear it, then said, "All right, we've wasted enough time here. We need to get back to the others in twenty minutes, which means we have another ten. So let's get back to work, and make it snappy."

"Aye aye, captain!" Henry smiled happily.

They all managed to regather in the main hall at roughly the same time. Henry started getting into an argument with Lissa over whether or not he was allowed to keep the book, and Olivia was trying to convince her husband why it was bad idea to cast a 'tickle curse' on the crown princess of Ylisse.

Meanwhile, Kirito had left Yui and Asuna with Libra so that he could focus on restoring her vitality while he spoke with the khans, Say'ri, Chrom, Robin, and Klein. Say'ri was shamefaced, and refused to speak. "This is really bad…" he muttered. "Now we're even more outnumbered than before."

"We're low on options," Robin agreed. "But I think right now our top priority needs to be getting out of here."

"We need to have a plan on where to retreat to," Klein said to caution the blond tactician. "Otherwise we might end up walking straight into another trap."

"The boy's right," Basilio nodded.

"There's another problem," Robin said, frustrated. "Walhart is on his way, according to some of the papers in the late commander's office. We can't afford to dawdle. In fact, we might even need to tackle him while the rest of us escape."

"Whoa, you wanna split out forces?!" Klein gasped. "That'd be suicide! We've already lost a lot of people in this campaign!"

"I didn't say in half," Robin said with a shake of his head. "A small number would go out to face him in battle, while our main forces retreat."

"A smaller force?" Chrom said, his eyes wide. "We couldn't beat him with our entire legion, much less a smaller number!"

"He's not saying that we'd have to beat him," Kirito interjected, seeing where this was going. "We just need to distract him."

"Wait a minute, Kirito," Klein said with a frown. "Are you and Robin seriously saying that we should sacrifice some lives to buy the rest of us some time? That's not cool, man."

"Then you tell me if you have a better idea, Klein!" Kirito shouted, much to the samurai's surprise. "You think I wanna send a bunch of people off to their deaths?!"

"No, but there's gotta be another way," Klein said, staying calm.

"There isn't," Basilio said with a shake of his head. "Robin and Kirito are right- if we don't hold him for a bit, everything we've worked for will be lost anyways. I'll lead a troop of Feroxi soldiers to fight Walhart to buy you lot some time."

"Not alone, you're not," Flavia said. "I'm coming with you."

"Hell no, you're not!" Basilio protested. "You're the reigning Khan! If something happens to you, then-"

"Shut up, oaf," Flavia said, her voice cracking like a whip. "I am the reigning Khan, which means you'll do as I say. Unless you want to fight me right here and now."

Seeing the dangerous gleam in her eyes, Basilio caved. "Okay, you can come," he muttered. "Let's get going, then."

"No, Khan Basilio!" Lucina cried as she stood in front of him to block his exit. "You cannot go to this battle! You will be killed- I know it for the truth!"

"Oh?" he said with a raised eyebrow. "Well then, tell me: how do I die? Please tell me it was Walhart. I'd hate to be brought down by farmer's pitchfork."

"Yes, it was Walhart that killed you," Lucina nodded. "Or so the story went. Do you now see? We must prevent the future from happening- you cannot go!"

"Outta my way," he grinned as he moved her aside with a meaty hand. "Your 'destiny' can kiss my big brown Feroxi arse!" And his laughter echoed down the hallway as Lucina watched him go, openmouthed.

"Don't worry about him, love," Flavia chuckled. "He knows what he's doing. And besides, he'll have me to back him up."

"And me," Klein said firmly. "You guys should have one of us fairies goin' with ya."

"Klein, no!" Kirito protested. "We need you here!"

"Not as much as they do," Klein replied, his resolve unwavering. "I'm not as clever as Robin when it comes to planning a battle, but I've played enough chess matches and seen enough action that I'm no slouch."

"We'd be glad to have you along," Flavia nodded. "Is that alright with you, Chrom?"

"If you think it's a good idea, I have no objections," Chrom nodded. "It's his choice."

"Right then," Klein said as he walked out the room. He flashed his friends a smile and a thumbs-up as he said, "Don't worry, guys. I'll be back soon- that's a promise!"

Later, Klein was holding Cordelia's hands in his own as he prepared to leave Steiger with the khans. "I'll be back, don't you worry about it," he chuckled as a tear rolled down her cheek.

"You'd better," she answered as she pulled him in for a hug. "I'm holding you to it."

"Heh, and when I get back, I'll treat you to another night at the tavern," he winked. Then he turned to walk away. Before he got far though, Cordelia had one last thing to say.

"Klein," she called.

"Yeah?" he said as he turned back to face her.

"I look forward to your safe return, more than I ever thought I would," she said with a blush. "Take good care of yourself."

"You know it!" he laughed. "I'm not letting you down, Cordelia! You're too important to me for some tyrant-wannabe to keep me from coming back!" And before she could reply to that, he sprouted red wings and took off.

"Hey, Kazuto?" Suguha said as they walked away from Steiger under the cover of darkness. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," he replied. "Fire away."

"How do you think mom and dad are doing right now? I mean, she was pretty upset when you disappeared, so I can't imagine what she's going through right now, with us both being."

Kazuto was silent for a moment before he answered, "To be honest, I'm kind of treating this like SAO. I try not to think about it too much, but I do hope that I can get home someday, for family's sake. But I don't let it interfere with my life here. You get what I'm saying?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "I think so."

"Good," he said. "Let me know if anything else bothers you, okay?"

"I will. Thanks, Big Brother."

Henry: Yaaaaaaaaay! I got Valflame! Whoosh! Boom! Nyahahahaha!

Robin: Don't get carried away, or I'll take it away, Henry.

Henry: Aw...

Lucina: Another doomed future avoided... Thank you, Robin.

Robin: There's no guarantee that he'd destroy the world... Right?

Lucina: Do you want to know what he did in the future after you and Olivia died?

Robin: ...I see your point.