Chapter 13: Feel the Beat
Dan sat in his office. He was busily typing something on his computer. The screen had blueprints of the Ex-Aid suit in both Levels 2 and 3.
Pallad was bouncing a ping pong ball, while Graphite was pacing back and forth on a screen.
"This is considerable amount of battle data." Dan said. "It will prove most useful."
"Yes. It will." Graphite added. "But my brethren have been defeated. How much longer must I endure this pain?!"
"Jeez, relax, man!" Pallad chimed in. "You can't force a puzzle open like this! You have got to be patient."
Graphite scoffed, and just left.
"Well, what are you going to do about him?" Pallad asked.
"He could do whatever he wants." Dan replied. "His short temper will be his undoing."
Pallad smiled.
"You. Are REALLY sneaky, you know that?" He commented.
Dan just smiled, and press the 'enter' key.
I've gotta believe!
(A circle camera shot of Kirito and Asuna, back to back, looking around, as the world pixelates and revealing the title)
I don't wanna know heta na shinjitsu nara I don't wanna know shiranai kurai ga ii noni
(The SAO gang talking together)
Why? Why? Why? Why?
(The floor suddenly crash and all of them fall, their bodies pixelating into their SAO avatars)
Kizukeba I came too far
(They slowly get up, looking around the pitch blackness)
Tomaranai kanjiru kono yokan wa
(The world shatters into color with the Riders walking behind them)
The new beginning
(Each Rider show their Gashats)
Michi no ryuoiki ima wo kirihirakunda
(The SAO gang prepare to fight)
I've gotta believe!
(The Riders go Level 2)
(Turn it on!) soutou
(The Gamer Driver lever turns)
EXCITE! EXCITE! Takanaru
(Ex-Aid VS Kirito and Asuna)
EXCITE! EXCITE! Kokoro ga
(Brave VS Silica and Lisbeth, Snipe VS Sinon and Leafa)
Michibiku ano basho e kakenukete ikudake
(In an explosion, Lazer tears by with Ex-Aid riding)
(Hey!) I'm on a mission right now
(Brave, Snipe, and Lazer go into Level 3)
(Hey!) I'm on a mission right now
(Ex-Aid also goes into Level 3, and does a rocket punch)
EXCITE! EXCITE! Kotae wa
(Graphite VS the SAO gang)
EXCITE! EXCITE! Kotae wa
(Ex-Aid VS Genmu)
(One!) kono te no naka
(Sinon (GGO) and Snipe raising their guns to their faces)
(Two!) susumubeki Life
(Asuna and Brave clashing swords)
(Three!) ikitekudake
(Kirito & Ex-Aid run towards each other as the title appears)
Kirito had now just finished telling them about the process of how the Kamen Riders became how they are now.
"Wait, wait." Klein reiterated. "So, you're saying in order to fight these Bugsters, we have to take a surgery?"
"I guess that's the shorter version." Kirito shrugged.
"And doing so, we would be able to deal with the higher-ups of the Bugsters, but at the risk of losing our lives?" Lisbeth asked.
"Yeah…" Kirito answered.
What followed was a silence.
"I've already made up my mind." Kirito stated. "I can't just sit by while other people are throwing themselves into a near suicidal position. I'm taking the surgery."
Asuna sighed, and stood up.
"I'm doing it too." She replied.
Everyone looked on at Asuna.
"I can relate to Kirito here." She explained. "Back in Sword Art Online, he risked a lot. In addition, I was always by his side."
She then walked over beside him.
"I'm doing it too." Asuna concluded.
Another silence ensued. Everyone else was busily making a decision.
"Well, I can't let you love birds have all the fun!" Lisbeth smiled.
"I will also help!" Silica replied.
"If this will help the world, I'm in!" Leafa said.
"Let's do it." Sinon chimed in.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Klein added.
Kirito and Asuna looked at their friends. They are eager to help out.
"You guys don't have to do this." He said sheepishly.
"Well, what kind of friends would we be if we just let you try and kill yourself?" Klein joked.
Kirito smiled. He looked at Asuna, who smiled back, then he looked at his friends.
"Thank you." He said.
Later, in the real world, Asuna was sitting patiently in a nearby café. She was dressed nicely, with a long skirt that stopped right below her knees, and jacket over a shirt. She was wearing some nice shoes. She appeared to be waiting for someone.
"Sorry, I'm late." Said a voice.
That voice belonged to Hiro Kagami, Kamen Rider Brave. He was dressed professionally, complete with shirt, vest, and tie. Over it all with a jacket as well.
"It's okay!" Asuna said cheerfully. "Here, have a seat."
Hiro sat when the waitress came for orders. They both ordered a strawberry cake slice. They spoke quietly before their cake slices arrived.
"So, what do you want to talk about?" Hiro asked.
Asuna put down her fork. Her face turned serious.
"We talked to the CEO." She said. "We're helping you with the Bugsters."
"What does that have to do with me?" Hiro asked.
"Weren't you a surgeon?" Asuna asked. "I'm asking you to operate on all of us."
Hiro gently put down his fork. His face turned serious.
"You do realize what kind of risks you're taking, right?" He asked.
"Yes." Asuna replied. "My friends and I talked it over, and we've decided: We're going to help you. So please, would you do the operation?"
Hiro stared at Asuna. By the look in her eyes, she wasn't messing around.
"I'm afraid I can't accept your offer." He stated blindly.
"Why is that?" Asuna asked.
"I know you kids are trying to help, and we fully appreciate it." Hiro explained. "But we can't have civilians throwing in their lives for us."
Then he slowly stood up.
"Besides..." He whispered before setting off. "I've already lost enough…"
Asuna walked after him, but as soon as she set foot outside of the café, Hiro was long gone.
A little while later, Asuna was in ALO with her friends. They appeared to be going somewhere, but Asuna had something else in mind. She was still contemplating about what Hiro had said to her.
'What did he lose…?' She thought.
But that's when she walked straight into a tree, landing on her bottom. Everyone turned around just in time to see that and laugh.
"Okay, who put this tree here?" She complained.
Kirito chuckled as he helped his girlfriend up.
"C'mon, miss." He smiled.
Asuna quietly hobbled along for the rest of the journey. Soon after, they found themselves in the same place they were just a few days ago. The only difference is that it was crowded with players and NPCs.
"Hey, isn't this the place where we fought that Serado guy?" Liz asked.
"Yeah, it is." Kirito answered.
"Why are we back here for?" Liz asked again.
Yui then flew out of Kirito's pocket.
"There was something odd about him." She explained. "If you recall, the Bugster that Serado had infected was trying to harm another player."
They now called back. The Bugster was trying to harm another player. Noted, that the player was female.
"Now, I did some research." Yui went on. "The player's name was Dawn, and according to the server, both her and Serado are married."
"Another married player-couple, huh?" Klein remarked.
"Don't get any ideas." Sinon quickly replied.
"I want to know why he was attacking her." Yui stated.
"We should find her, maybe both of them here, as their common appearance seems to be here." Kirito continued. "Let's split up and search."
"Or we could just look to our north." Leafa said, pointing in front of her.
Kirito and Yui turned around and just saw the aforementioned players. They seemed to be talking together about something.
"Well, that narrows our search." Kirito commented.
They walked over to Serado and Dawn. But as they approached them, Serado stood up and walked away.
"What happened?" Klein asked.
"Looks like a lover's quarrel." Liz said.
"Let's have a look." Kirito suggested.
They slowly approached Dawn. She appeared to be distraught.
"Oh, it's you!" She said. "Thank you for the other day."
"Happy to help." Silica smiled.
Asuna was still quiet. Leafa noticed this, and quickly said something.
"Asuna?" Leafa asked. "Are you okay?"
"Oh, yeah, I'm fine." Asuna replied hesitantly.
Dawn continued to talk with Kirito and the others.
"So what was that… thing that attacked yesterday?" She asked.
Kirito was about to answer, but something cut off his train of thought. A jolt of electricity worked its way to Dawn's head. She then held her neck and fell on her knees.
"Hey, you okay?" Klein asked.
But it was too late. Dawn's eyes glowed yellow, then orange ooze came out of her body. It took over her, and it gave her a new form. It looked the same as Serado, with black boxes and gears and whatnot, but instead of the armor being red, it was neon yellow. And instead of a gauntlet, it had a scratchboard on her right arm.
"Bugster!" Kirito shouted.
Dawn then kicked Kirito out of her way. Then it began to walk away.
"Hey, get back here!" Klein shouted, running after it.
Or, at least until he was met with a kick to the face. Klein recovered, and standing in front of the Bugster, was Graphite.
"I will not let you harm my kind again." He said, pulling out his gauntlet.
"Everyone, get ready." Kirito told his friends, raising both swords. "Yui, find somewhere to hide."
"Yes!" Yui replied. She then took to behind a building.
Graphite pressed the A Button. He then attached it to his hand.
"Baiou." He stated.
INFECTION!
LET'S GAME! BAD GAME! DEAD GAME! WHATCHA NAME?!
THE BUGSTER!
Graphite mutated into his Bugster form. He summoned his weapon, and charged.
"Get ready!" Kirito shouted.
But Graphite was stopped by a random sword that flew out of nowhere.
TADDLE QUEST!
MIGHTY ACTION X!
Everyone looked to their side and saw Ex-Aid and Brave on top of a building, Gamer Drivers on and Gashats on hand.
"You children leave this one to us!" Ex-Aid smirked.
"You handle the other Bugster!" Brave ordered.
Then, they both posed and transformed.
"Henshin!" Ex-Aid shouted.
"Henshin." Brave said smoothly.
GASHATTO!
LET'S GAME! MECCHA GAME! MUCCHA GAME! WHATCHA NAME?!
I'M A KAMEN RIDER!
Both of their figures were replaced by their chibi figures. They quickly leveled up to fight, but Ex-Aid leveled up farther with his brand new Gekitotsu Robots Gashat.
GEKITOTSU ROBOTS!
Ex-Aid then inserted it into the free slot in his Gamer Driver.
GASHATTO!
"Dai Dai Dai Henshin!" Ex-Aid smiled.
"Proceeding to level 2." Brave announced.
GACHANN! LEVEL UP!
MIGHTY JUMP! MIGHTY KICK! MIGHTY MIGHTY ACTION X!
A GACCHA!
BUTTOBASE TOTSUGEKI! GEKITOTSU PUNCH! GEKITOTSU ROBOTS!
TADORU MEGURU! TADORU MEGURU! TADDLE QUEST!
Brave turned into his much sleeker form, while Ex-Aid not only turned into his slimmer form, but also got the extra armor and gauntlet. They then proceeded to attack Graphite, who welcomed the challenge.
Meanwhile, the SAO players have engaged the Bugster as instructed by Brave. They were doing everything they can, but this was a higher level Bugster, so they weren't able to do much.
"Come on! Let's party!" The Bugster hollered.
It put one of its hand s on his ear and then mimicked a DJ scratching. Musical notes then slowly floated towards them, with some bubbles here and there.
(Insert Excite DJ Style)
"What is this?" Kirito asked.
Poppy flew in from behind.
"Follow the rhythm to the beat!" She advised.
"Rhythm?" Klein commented.
But as the music notes landed on their bodies, there were error sounds and "MISS!" effects.
"What are we supposed to do with this?" Liz asked herself.
Then she turned to her side. She was stunned by what she saw. Silica was moving in beat to the music. She was getting "GOOD!" and "GREAT!" effects in contrast to everyone else's "MISS!" effects.
Silica was also doing pretty well. She was side-stepping, kick-stepping, and even twirling to the incoming music notes. Her coordination was superb. In fact, she did a cute little pose at the end of the music with "PERFECT!" right over her head. In contrast to that, everyone got a "MISS!" and their bodies just blew up.
"Everyone!" She shouted.
Then, she got her dagger and immediately began to attack the Bugster.
"We have to help!" Liz suggested.
"Agreed!" Asuna said.
"Let's do this!" Klein shouted.
They all drew their weapons and rushed to help Silica. Kirito looked to his side. Graphite were now pushing back Ex-Aid and Brave.
"Guys!" He yelled. "Can you handle this?"
"Uh, okay!" Klein yelled back.
Kirito nodded, and grabbed Sinon.
"Hey, where are we going?" She asked.
"Help." Kirito replied.
Meanwhile, Ex-Aid and Brave were still fighting Graphite. Brave was getting the full brunt of the blow, as he is not on par with Graphite. However, thanks to Ex-Aid, he was able to stand somewhat of a chance. Ex-Aid went for an uppercut, which Graphite was able to tank, but it did send him back a bit.
"So this is the power of Level 3…" He said.
"There's more where that came from, buddy!" Ex-Aid laughed.
Brave then charged. He slashed across Graphite's body and leg, but Graphite only responded with a whack from his staff. Brave landed on his back. Ex-Aid covered him as Graphite moved onto his next attack.
"Dragon Slash!" He shouted.
But that's when an arrow landed on his hand. Although not taking any damage, it did interrupt him. He scoffs as he sees Sinon and Kirito behind the Riders.
"I thought I ordered you to handle the other Bugster!" Brave shouted.
"We don't take orders, remember?" Kirito smirked.
Then, he charged. Swords in hand, he jumped and twirled. He slashed Graphite, but no effect. Graphite only grabbed him by his shoulder and picked him up.
"I don't know work like that here!" Graphite taunted.
He thrusted Kirito into Sinon, knocking them back. Graphite then slowly approached them to attack, but was met by another projectile. Snipe was walking slowly towards him.
"Consider this payback!" He yelled.
Sinon took notice of this again.
Then, Snipe and Graphite began punching each other furiously. At some point, the Bugster was thrown into the mix, so they began fight the opposition here too.
From afar, stood an Undine. He also had a Gamer Driver on. He put his staff away, and pulled out a Gashat. He pressed it, activating a game field.
MIGHTY ACTION X!
A purple game field spread out the area. Then, with only finger on the handle, he inserted the Gashat into the Driver.
"Henshin." He said.
GASHATTO!
LET'S GAME! MECCHA GAME! MUCCHA GAME! WHATCHA NAME?!
I'M A KAMEN RIDER!
A chibi figure replaced the Undine. It had black hair with red eyes. You know who this is.
Meanwhile, the SAO players, along with the three Riders are still busily fighting Graphite and the Bugster. Snipe kept shooting at Graphite, with unwanted (by him) assistance from Sinon with her bow. Brave and Ex-Aid flip-flopped from Graphite and the Bugster, as they were trying to equal damage to both Bugsters.
That's when a bike wheel twirled towards them. It grinded on Brave's torso, sending him back. Then the wheel turned to Ex-Aid, but he was able to knock the wheel away. They looked up and saw the black Ex-Aid standing in between them and the Bugster.
"Stand down." He ordered Graphite. "It is too early of a stage for you to fight them."
Graphite scoffed and rested his blade on his shoulder.
"Fine…" He growled.
He then walked away. The Bugster also did a swag pose before leaving with him. The black Ex-Aid stared coldly at the players before him.
"Until we meet again." He said, before leaving as well.
Everyone just slowly recollected themselves. The Riders reverted to their human forms again.
GACHANN! GASHUNN!
Snipe scoffed, and walked away. Sinon quietly followed him.
"Thank you for the help…" Asuna said.
Brave didn't reply. He just looked at Asuna, then walked away. Ex-Aid had gone to look for the Bugster, telling the others that he'll message them once he found him.
"You did tell him, right?" Kirito asked.
"Uh… yeah." Asuna replied.
"Did he say yes?" Kirito asked again.
"Uh… not exactly." Asuna shrugged.
"Well, keep trying." Kirito requested. "He has to know that we can't get uninvolved anymore."
"Okay. I'll try!" Asuna perked up.
She sprouted wings, and then she flew after Brave.
"Well, should we help Ex-Aid with that Bugster?" Klein asked.
"Yeah, we should." Kirito agreed. "We'll have to split up. Leafa, take the north with Silica. Lisbeth, south with Klein, Sinon, you're with-"
He just realized that Sinon was gone.
"Hey, where'd Sinon go?" Kirito asked.
Everyone looked around. No one saw the pale blue Cait Sith anywhere.
Snipe was shooting cans he had set up from a distance. Each can rattled as they bounced off the wood stumps he set them up on. He scoffed as he picked them back up. He raised his gun, only to see the middle can get shot off by an arrow. He looked behind him and saw Sinon, with her bow up.
"Looks like you haven't lost your touch." Snipe chuckled.
Sinon didn't look amused. She simply walked closer to him.
"That Bugster…" She began. "You seem to have some history with it."
Snipe looked glum.
"It's not a day I like to remember…" He said.
"Who did that Bugster infect?" Sinon asked.
"You don't want to know." Snipe replied quickly.
He shot a can on the right and it bounced onto the ground.
"You're hiding something." Sinon realized. "Alright, out with it."
"Fine." Snipe sneered, putting down his gun. "When was the last time you kept in touch with your mother?"
Sinon was caught off guard by this question, but responded nonetheless.
"Uh… about two years ago?" She responded.
"And you know how a Bugster can become complete, as they say?" Snipe asked again.
"Yeah." Sinon responded. "They take over their host's bod-"
She stopped. She connected two and two together.
"Wait, are you saying that-?" She spluttered.
"Yep." Snipe shrugged. "Graphite took your mother."
Sinon's eyes narrowed at Snipe. She went for a punch, which Snipe blocked easily.
"You…" She whispered.
"Me?" Snipe said innocently.
Sinon pulled her fist back. She then walked away. She punched a tree on her way. Its leaves rustled from the impact.
"What did the tree do to you?" Snipe asked condescendingly.
Asuna had to admit. Brave was a hard man to follow. Anytime she got closer to him, he would turn around and slice a tree. She didn't know why. Asuna always had to duck for cover. Still, she was stubborn. Asuna quietly continued on following Brave.
They have now reached Undine territory. Brave scurried quickly to a small apartment, which he bought with some game money. Once he got in, he sat himself down on a chair. But, only seconds after, he stood up and opened his front door. Asuna fell flat on the floor.
"You are persistent." Brave scoffed.
Asuna laughed nervously, rubbing her head as well. Brave picked her up and guided her to his living room.
"Now, you better have a good reason for following me." Brave replied coldly, sitting down on a chair.
Asuna breathed in.
"I'm going to ask you again." She said. "Will you operate on us?"
Brave sighed at this question.
"And I'll answer again." Brave replied coldly. "The answer is no."
He stood up to get something, but Asuna was able to stop him.
"You lost someone to the Bugster already, didn't you?" She asked.
Brave froze when she said that. He slowly looked at her.
"What gave you that idea?" He asked.
"What you said before." Asuna stated. "That you've lost enough already…?"
Brave sighed. He had to unload this burden to someone.
"It was two years ago." He stated. "I was finishing my studies for my surgical internship."
"Was one of your patients infected with the Bugster?" Asuna asked.
"Yes." Brave replied. "She was a good friend of mine. Asada Yuko."
"Asada…?" Asuna pondered. "Wait, is she-?"
"Yes." Brave answered. "She is Sinon's mother. Snipe was tasked with handling the Bugster, but…"
"He didn't get to it, did he?" Asuna asked.
Brave clenched his fist.
"If I had gone instead of him…" Brave muttered.
Then, he felt something warm on his shoulder. That warm thing was Asuna's hand. Strangely, they were the same height right now. IR, Brave is actually taller.
"I'm sorry." She said warmly.
Just then, both of them received a message. It was Emu. They found the Bugster. Brave just threw Asuna off of him and bolted out of his apartment. Asuna also followed after him, quickly recovering.
Asuna and Brave flew towards the area of their message. Once landing, Brave put on his Gamer Driver and pulled out his Gashat. He pressed it.
TADDLE QUEST!
A sky blue game field materialized around the area with several treasure chests arranging themselves all over.
"Henshin." Brave said, inserting the Gashat into the Driver.
GASHATTO!
LET'S GAME! MECCHA GAME! MUCCHA GAME! WHATCHA NAME?!
I'M A KAMEN RIDER!
Brave was replaced by a chibi figure. But the chibi figure didn't last as he leveled up immediately.
"Proceeding to level 2." He said.
GACHANN! LEVEL UP!
TADORU MEGURU! TADORU MEGURU! TADDLE QUEST!
The chibi figure is replaced by a slimmer figure. They arrived at the scene.
Kirito and his friends are fighting some goons that the Bugster had spawned. They were not hard to deal with, but the sheer number of them was the problem. Meanwhile, Ex-Aid was fighting the Bugster itself. While he was able to dodge and swerve its attacks, but the attack would always come straight back.
"Hold on!" Asuna shouted, grabbing her rapier.
She began to make her way to Kirito, but she was stopped by the figure of Graphite. He towered over her.
"What can you do, girl?" He asked.
Just then, Brave jumped in and slashed his wrist. Graphite stumbled a bit, but when Brave went for another swift strike, he was able to block it.
"Such skill…" He admired.
They broke off, sending Brave back a few feet.
"Do you really want to do this, Brave?" Graphite taunted. "Considering how I took that girl's life before…"
Brave froze when he said that. His hand began shaking, the sword rattling as well.
"You…" He began. "You took Yuko?!"
"Yes." Graphite answered with a smile in his voice. "And I'm damn proud of it!"
That was enough to press Brave's berserk button. He yelled, and he struck at Graphite. But, too overcome with emotion, he wasn't striking with any thought. He was just swinging his sword like a madman. Graphite was amused by this. With one palm thrust, he pushed Brave off of him.
"Brave! Stop!" Asuna pleaded.
But Brave was too furious to listen to reason. He threw his sword at Graphite, and ran in with a punch. Graphite knocked the sword away, and only responded by picking up Brave by his neck and then throwing him again.
"Now you can join her…" He amused.
He raised his blade into the air, and three energy lines began to draw themselves.
"Dragon Drill Horn!" He shouted.
Brave struggled up to see the attack. Graphite slammed his blade downward and the strikes flew towards him. Brave shut his eyes, bracing himself. But, he heard a grunt. He saw Asuna trying to deflect the strike from Graphite. Her HP was dropping at an intense rate. But after a valiant try, the strike took the better of Asuna. It flung her towards a tree.
"Asuna!" Brave cried.
Kirito took notice, and immediately tried to get over to her, but the mooks prevented him doing so.
"Not my target…" Graphite shrugged. "But I guess it's better than nothing."
Brave slowly stood up. Graphite scoffed and charged, but he was stopped by several arrows from behind him. Sinon stood before him.
"I'll deal with you right now!" She stated.
Graphite laughed, and obliged. While he was busy fighting with Sinon, Brave made his way to Asuna, and gently lifted her.
"What was that for?" He demanded.
Asuna groaned, but was able to answer.
"I think I know why you didn't want us to be operated on…" She whispered. "You're afraid to lose us, aren't you?"
"What?" Brave asked.
"IR, we are complete strangers…" She explained. "But you still looked out for us. When we met in Sword Art Online… this is no different…"
Asuna chuckled weakly, but groaned from the pain. Brave didn't say anything. He only took it upon himself to instill a healing spell. Asuna slowly got up.
"Thank you." She smiled.
Brave stayed quiet. He only turned and picked up his sword.
"Asuna!" Kirito shouted, running towards her. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, Kirito." Asuna assured. "But you should thank-"
She was about to say Brave, but the latter darted towards the Bugster, completely ignoring Graphite.
"What the-?" Ex-Aid muttered, looking to his side.
But that moment of ignoring got him nailed in the chin. He fell on his back, cancelling out of his transformation.
GASHUNN!
But luckily, Lisbeth was able to catch him.
The Bugster laughed at its target's defeat, but it didn't pay attention to Brave. He took the opportunity and received a Speed power-up and a Power power-up. He quickly inserted the Gashat into his sword.
GASHATTO! KIMEWAZA!
Preparing to strike, he ran towards the Bugster.
TADDLE CRITICAL FINISH!
He slashed the Bugster right across its back. The Bugster yelled as it blew up. The Gashat that was stuck in its head flew into the air as Dawn, the player who was infected, fell unconscientious.
GAME CLEAR!
Brave then caught the Gashat as it fell into his hands. Graphite took notice of this. Throwing Sinon off of him, he turned to face Brave.
"To think you would clear it…" He said.
Brave stayed silent, and only pressed the Gashat.
DOREMIFA BEAT!
As soon as it did so, a small robot appeared next to him. It made a couple DJ board scratching sound effects, and then it sent musical notes at the mooks that were still around. The only thing they heard were the sound of "MISS!" and explosions. Klein, Leafa, and Silica were only scathed.
"Hey! A little warning next time!" Klein shouted.
Brave closed his Driver and inserted the Gashat.
GACHANN! GASHATTO!
"Proceeding to Level 3!" He said.
GACHANN! LEVEL UP!
TADORU MEGURU! TADORU MEGURU! TADDLE QUEST!
A GACCHA!
DO-DO-DO-RE-MI-FA! SO-LA-SI-DO! OK! DOREMIFA BEAT!
The robot split apart. The main body attached itself onto Brave's torso, giving him armor. Its legs attached together and attached onto his left shoulder, giving form to a speaker. Its arms attached together and attached onto his right arm, giving him a scratch pad. The helmet also has the form of punk hat worn properly with a visor and mike.
"Now, beginning Graphite extermination." He said.
"I'd like to see you try!" He shouted.
He then grabbed his blade and slashed at Brave, but Brave was able to dodge it, somehow making back to his place beside Asuna.
"Asuna, can you still fight?" Brave asked.
"I... think so!" Asuna said.
"Are you CPR certified?" Brave asked.
"Uh… yes?" Asuna answered nervously.
"Then follow my lead." Brave said.
Then, he walked towards Graphite. Slowly. Asuna did so as well, still confused. Brave then looked at his arm. He scratched the disc twice, and then one more time, he scratched the disc.
(Insert Excite DJ style)
Then, Brave punched Graphite in the gut. That was followed by Asuna who kicked Graphite in the same place. Then, twirling around him, Brave elbowed him in the back. Asuna then struck Graphite in the chest three times. This went on for a good few seconds. And each hit Brave and Asuna got were met with "GREAT!" effects. To finish it off, both Brave and Asuna kicked Graphite in the stomach. That gave a loud "PERFECT!" for them.
Graphite stumbled onto his knee. He was flabbergasted by what he just endured.
"Uh…" Kirito uttered. "What just happened?"
"We used CPR rhythm!" Asuna called.
"CPR?" Leafa asked.
Brave ignored them, and just inserted his new Gashat into his sword.
GASHUNN! GASHATTO! KIMEWAZA!
Graphite growled and charged straight at Brave.
DOREMIFA CRTICAL FINISH!
Brave slashed right through Graphite in an X shape. That caused Graphite to blow up, sending back several feet.
KAISHIN NO IMPATSU!
"Brave…" Graphite uttered. "I... will kill you!"
Brave sighed in relief. He then cancelled out of his transformation.
GACHANN! GASHUNN!
Brave then looked at Asuna and the others.
"Okay…" Ex-Aid said, pointing behind him. "I'm gonna go now…"
"Stay." Brave ordered.
Ex-Aid froze. Brave looked at the SAO players. Their faces didn't lie.
"You all are aware of what this means?" He asked.
At first, the players didn't get what they meant, but when Asuna spoke up, they knew what he meant.
"Yes." She answered confidently. "Yes we are."
Brave smiled.
"Come to Seito University Hospital tomorrow." He told them. "We'll handle things there."
And with that, he flew away with Ex-Aid in tow. As they flew away, Asuna looked up at Brave.
"You did it." Kirito congratulated his girlfriend.
"It was nothing." Asuna shrugged.
A week later
Asuna was on an operating table. She was about to get wheeled into the Bugster surgery. Kirito held her hand tightly. Shino, Rika, Keiko, Suguha, and Ryotaro were sitting nearby.
"Be safe, okay?" He asked.
"Don't worry, Kirito." Asuna assured. "I'll be fine."
With that, she was rolled in. Kirito could only watch as the doors closed. Suguha placed her hand on her brother's shoulder.
In the operating room, Asuna has been put to sleep. Hiro entered the room. Putting on his gloves, he knew what he had to do now.
"We will now begin Bugster-Immunity operation." He stated.