Chapter 19: Entering the New Stage!
Dan was sitting on his desk, looking outside his window. Pallad walked in through the door.
"How is Graphite?" He asked.
"He's seen better days, really." Pallad laughed.
"I see…" Dan replied, taking a sip from a cup of tea.
"So what are you going to do now?" Pallad asked.
"Well, I have to help them clear their last game, no?" Dan replied.
Pallad smiled gleefully, and then he left the office. Dan was happy. He looked to his side. On a computer screen, was a blank white Gashat. There were several readings on the side of it.
"It's almost time…" He muttered.
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)
It was a snowy day in the real world. It was no different in the Kirigaya household.
"Hey, Kazuto!" Suguha greeted.
"What's up?" Kazuto replied.
"Look outside!" Suguha told him.
Kazuto sighed. He opened up his curtain and found snow withering down to the ground.
"Well…" He sighed. "Would you look at that…"
"Do you think we'll have white Christmas this year?" Suguha asked with eyes twinkling like stars.
"Maybe." Kazuto admitted. "Who knows what the future holds?"
Suguha smiled. Ever since that whole fiasco with Graphite, Kazuto/Kirito never stopped smiling. This was the brother she knew.
"Well, I'll be in my room if you need me!" She said.
"Got it!" Kazuto replied with a thumbs-up.
Suguha then skipped along to her room. Kazuto sighed and turned on his computer. He clicked on a word document and began typing. About halfway in, his phone buzzed. It was a text from Emu.
We have a meeting.
The CEO gave us the time. 2:00 PM.
I know the weather might not be ideal, but we'll have to make do.
You have the address.
See you there!
-Emu.
Kazuto finished reading. He sighed.
'Looks like these guys don't get Christmas break…' He admitted.
He got up, got dressed, and walked out of his room.
"Sugu!" He called. "We have a thing!"
Suguha, who was enjoying the warmth of her room, cradling with a book, now found herself on a subway train, with a scarf and earmuffs.
"Why do they have to pick now…" She whined. "It's cold...!"
"You whining isn't changing reality here." Kazuto remarked.
Suguha continued to sulk into an anime depression while Kazuto checked for their stop. Once they have arrived, they got off the train and walked towards the GENM Corp building.
They walked into Dan's office, and was greeted by a warm soothing blast of heat. They also saw Shino and Taiga, glaring at each other, Lazer and Ryotaro, talking about something, Rika and Keiko with Emu and Hiro respectively.
"Sorry for the late!" Suguha apologized.
"There's no need to apologize." Dan replied. "I should be the one to do that, seeing as how I was the one brought you here."
Suguha and Kazuto took of their coats and winter clothes and sat down on the ping pong table. Dan clapped his hands and walked up to the projector.
"Thank you for coming in such a short notice." He began. "I would like to give you an update on our situation."
The screen displayed ten game box arts. Nine of them had Game Clears written over them. The only one that didn't have anything was the one with a bike.
"So far, you have cleared nine of the ten games." Dan explained.
"The only one left is Shakariki Sports, isn't it?" Taiga interrupted.
"Very observant." Dan complimented. "We also have some new information with the black Ex-Aid."
Everyone perked up. They have been waiting for something like this for a while.
"We have confirmed that the black Ex-Aid really is working with the Bugsters." Dan explained. "He's the one who's been masterminding all of this."
"So…" Ryotaro asked. "If we beat him, the Bugster infections will stop?"
"That is highly likely." Dan responded. "He is trying to take the lives of innocents after all. And he chose Alfheim Online as his first target."
"Well, defeating him will be the simple part." Taiga said, getting up. "But I'll be taking the Gashat."
"As long as you retrieve the Gashat, it will be okay." Dan replied.
Taiga then left.
"Hey!" Shino called. But Taiga had already entered the elevator. She bit her lip and just sat back down.
"In addition to this." Dan continued. "Kiriya was the first to arrive to tell me something."
Everyone listened with open ears.
"He told me about how the Ministry could be tied in this matter, which makes our job more difficult." He stated.
"And that's where I have to stop you." Kazuto interrupted.
Kazuto stood up and walked over to Dan.
"Look, I get the Chrystheight can be a little evasive…" He began. "But even after every shadowy thing he did… he's still a good person. I know that much."
Kiriya chuckled at this. He then walked up to him.
"Something funny?" Hiro asked.
"The amount of faith you put in that guy…" Kiriya commented. "Even after almost getting you killed in GGO, you still find that guy trusting?"
There was silence.
"So what?" Asuna's voice said.
Asuna was now standing next to Kazuto.
"You are right." She said. "Chrystheight is not exactly the most reliable person on the planet… but we can trust him enough."
"Not you though." Kazuto added. "After that stunt you pulled, you're on thin ice."
Dan watched the whole thing. He had a serious face on.
"I believe we are done here." He spoke up. "We'll regroup a bit later."
Kazuto shot a glare at Dan, and then left with Asuna, grabbing his coat.
"Kazuto! Wait!" Suguha called, grabbing her stuff as well.
Hiro, Ryotaro, and Keiko left shortly after. Rika was about to leave as well, but Dan stopped her.
"Rika!" He called.
"Yes?" Rika replied.
"This might be out of nowhere, but are you doing any Christmas shopping?" Dan asked.
"Well…" Rika answered. "I did most of it… I'm just thinking of what I should get my cousin though…"
"And he likes Mighty Action X?" Dan asked again.
"Yes." Rika replied.
Dan chuckled. He reached for his drawer, grabbing a sharpie pen as well. He scribbled on something and then handed it to Rika. It was a copy of Mighty Action X, autographed by the CEO.
"This should make it easier." He smiled.
Rika was stunned as she received the copy.
"Uh…" She muttered. "What's this supposed to be?"
"Consider it an early Christmas gift from me." Dan told her.
Rika looked at the copy. Then, she smiled.
"Thank you." She replied shortly. "He's going to love it!"
"Be sure to send him my regards." Dan said.
"Of course!" Rika called as she grabbed her coat.
Now, after she left, it was just Kiriya and Dan in Dan's office. Kiriya looked back at Dan.
"What are you playing at man?" He asked.
"To eradicate the Bugsters. What else?" Dan replied innocently.
Kiriya thought about it, then quickly got up and left. But before he left, he told Dan something.
"You think you're the boss…" He said. "But once this is over… I'll be coming for you."
A little while later, Lisbeth was flying around ALO. Behind her was a stout little kid, struggling to fly.
"You can do it!" She called. "Come on! Come on!"
The kid tried, but in the end, he fell down and landed face first into the side of a shop.
"Ow…" The kid groaned.
Liz flew down, and picked the kid up. She dusted him off and then patted his head.
"You'll get it next time." She assured.
Just then, a familiar figure flew down to her. It was Kirito, Asuna, and Leafa.
"Hey, you guys!" Liz greeted.
"What's up, Liz?" Kirito said. Then he looked down at the kid. "Who's this?"
"Oh." Liz said. "This is my cousin, Kouta! This is his avatar, Champ."
"'Champ'?" Leafa giggled. "It's cute!"
"It's not cute!" Champ frowned. "It's supposed to strike fear!"
"With a tiny body like that?" Liz teased, rubbing his head. "You've got a long way to go, buddy!"
Champ frowned. But, he held his chest tightly. He then felled on his knees, trying to breath.
"Champ?" Kirito asked.
"Hey, Kouta!" Liz shouted, shaking him. "Wake up!"
Suddenly, orange blobs began to form. It then began to surface.
"Bugster!" Asuna shouted.
But as soon as he said that, the orange blobs flew off of Champ, and formed into a familiar figure.
"It has been a long time, my dears!" Salty cooed.
Kirito, Asuna, Leafa, and Liz looked up and saw Salty. The last time they saw him was in Chapter 3, and that was at least several months ago.
"You're Salty from Mighty Action X!" Liz called out. "But… you were defeated by Ex-Aid!"
"That was the old me!" Salty proclaimed. "I have leveled up! And now, once I have consumed that boy, I shall become complete!"
Liz stood up, her weapons summoning into her hands.
"You'll pray for getting my cousin!" She shouted.
She attacked. Salty had no problems dodging and in fact, he was having no trouble.
"Get Champ to safety!" Kirito ordered Asuna and Leafa.
"Got it!" Asuna replied.
"Okay, upsie daisy…" Leafa muttered, lifting up Champ.
Kirito unsheathed his swords and landed a slash right on his back.
"You have gotten saltier!" Salty shouted throwing a punch.
"That makes two of us!" Liz shouted back, blocking the punch.
Kirito slashed whenever Liz lost her footing, giving Salty some damage. Just then, am energy ball flew in from behind.
"Look out!" Kirito shouted.
He grabbed Liz's head and ducked. The ball landed straight onto Salty's face.
"Who dares!" He shouted.
Just then, a figure flew in from the sky and landed in front of Kirito and Liz. A tail befitting of a dragon stopped waggling and sat put.
GACHANN! LEVEL UP!
MIGHTY JUMP! MIGHTY KICK! MIGHTY MIGHTY ACTION X!
A GACCHA!
D-D-DRAGO! KNI-KNI-KNI-KNI~GHT! DRA! DRA! DRAGO KNIGHT HUNTER! Z!
Ex-Aid stood confidently. He was in Level 5, and the dragon armor looked as ferocious as ever.
"Ah…" Salty commented. "I see you have leveled up as well!"
"You gonna talk, or fight, bro?" Ex-Aid taunted.
He raised his arms to attack, and charged. Salty welcomed, but was met with a swift blade strike to the chest. He went for an arm swing, but Ex-Aid flew into the air and fired an energy blast.
"How!" Salty gripped. "Why is this happening! I have leveled up as well!"
"This is Level 5 you're dealing with here!" Ex-Aid joked.
He flew down for a tackle, but a circular projectile landed on his back, slamming him into a wall. He got up to see something. Kirito and Liz also looked in the direction of Ex-Aid and found the black Ex-Aid, in Level 3, slowly walking towards them.
"The black Ex-Aid!" Leafa proclaimed.
The black Ex-Aid didn't respond. He just twisted the Bugvisor around.
GE-IING!
The black Ex-Aid charged. Ex-Aid knew he can't take on both the Bugster and him at the same time.
"Hey, Kirito!" He called. "Can you guys handle Salty?"
"We were going to do that long before you!" Liz replied, running towards Salty again.
Now there were two fights going on. Liz and Kirito were fighting Salty, while Ex-Aid was fighting his black doppelgänger. Asuna and Leafa were just watching from afar. If there was a screen, they would turn to it.
"Which fight-." Asuna started.
"-should we focus on?" Leafa ended.
The black Ex-Aid has now locked blades with Ex-Aid. He looked to his side. Salty was getting his butt handed to him. Liz and Kirito were doing a considerable amount of damage. He just bounced the swords off and then kicked Ex-Aid out of the way. Then the black Ex-Aid began to charge towards them.
"Like I'd let you go!" Ex-Aid started, pulling out the Drago Knight Gashat and inserting it into the slot, pressing the button as well.
GASHUNN! GASHATTO! KIMEWAZA!
The black Ex-Aid flipped his Bugvisor around.
KER-POW!
"Eat this!" Ex-Aid shouted.
"Hey, wait!" Kirito yelled.
But Ex-Aid didn't hear. He pressed the button, drowning things out.
DRAGO KNIGHT CRITICAL STRIKE!
The black Ex-Aid turned around and fired one laser blast as Ex-Aid unleashed the fury of Drago Knight Hunter Z. An aura of a dragon hit the laser blast, resulting in a huge explosion. When the explosion cleared, there was a black crater scorch marks and Kirito and Liz were covered in soot. Leafa came out of her hiding place and frowned at Ex-Aid, who chuckled nervously with a sweat drop.
"Guess… I over did it?" He commented.
A player walked over to the scene. That explosion demolished the building he owned. There was literally nothing left of it.
"MY CABBAGE STORE!" He screamed.
Sometime later, they were in Lisbeth's shop. They made a bed out of the little floor space they had, and laid down sheets for Champ.
"Am I sick?" He asked weakly.
"Well… yeah…" Liz admitted.
"Am I going to be okay?" Champ asked.
Liz sighed. She couldn't think of anything else, so she just hugged him as tightly as she could.
"Don't worry." She whispered motherly. "I'll cure you."
Champ was first taken aback, but then, in Liz's embrace, he went to sleep, logging out in the process.
"We'll have the best Christmas ever…" She sighed.
She got up, and walked outside. She was met by Kirito, Asuna, Leafa, Ex-Aid, Sinon, Klein, and Silica.
"What?" She asked.
"You really sounded motherly in there." Kirito commented. "It was… actually pretty genuine."
"You can be kind when you want to!" Klein added.
But Liz quickly slugged him in the stomach. She had a pouting face. Everyone chuckled slightly.
"Well, we'll look for the Bugster now." Sinon replied.
"Call in if you find anything, okay?" Ex-Aid asked.
Everyone agreed, and quickly left. Silica volunteered to stay behind, just in case.
While all of this was going on, Kiriya was wrapping some things up. He had finally got through with the hospital staff. He was now waiting patiently by an office. A nurse came out shortly.
"Here." She said. "This is everything we have on the surgery on Hojo Emu."
"Thank you." Kiriya replied. "You operated alongside Hinata and Kikuoka on this operation yes?"
"Yes." The nurse answered.
"Did they do anything suspicious in the surgery?" Kiriya asked. "Maybe… administering a little something into him?"
The nurse thought hard.
"I don't think so…" She replied. "But Dr. Hinata did do something afterwards."
"What did he do?" Kiriya asked.
"He was able to get his hands on a Nintendo DS." The nurse explained. "They just came out back then, and he had to go through wind and fire to get them."
"Why did he get it?" Kiriya asked.
"It was to reward Emu." The nurse explained. "He was the ideal doctor, loved and trusted by all personnel and patients."
Kiriya thought about that. But something else bugged him.
"What about Kikuoka?" Kiriya asked.
"Well…" The nurse replied. "That was actually his last operation here. We lost touch with him after that."
Kiriya took it in. He thanked the nurse for her time, and went on his way.
"Trust… huh?" He whispered to himself as he walked on.
"Might as well see how everyone else is doing with the Bugster…" He sighed.
Kirito was flying on with Asuna by his side. Yui was enjoying the air breeze from his pocket.
"Huh…" Kirito muttered as he scanned.
"I got nothing." Asuna said.
"Yui?" Kirito asked.
"Nothing is popping up." Yui replied. "Looks like Salty learned something from the last time Ex-Aid beat him."
"Guess evolving means that they got smarter…" Kirito admitted.
Suddenly, a message appeared. It was from Genmu.
Can we talk IR?
It's urgent.
I will call you.
He stopped to read it in more depth. Asuna stopped and floated over to him.
"Kirito?" She asked. "What's up?"
"It's a message from Genmu." Kirito explained. "He wants to talk privately. In real life."
The couple landed back down on the ground, and began to discuss how to handle it.
"Talk to him." Asuna told him. "We'll guard you while you speak to him."
"We'll wait for you right here, Daddy!" Yui also proclaimed.
"Thanks, you two." Kirito chuckled. "I'll be right back."
Kirito then logged out. Asuna sat down beside him while Yui placed herself on his head.
Kazuto found himself back in his room. He looked for his phone, and waited for the call. It was at least 4 minutes he had to wait until he got the call.
"Hello?" He answered.
"Move the infected out. Now." Dan demanded.
"Whoa. Slow down!" Kazuto yelled. "What's this all of a sudden?"
"Please, keep this between us." Dan explained. "I looked into the incident. It would appear that Akihiko Kayaba responsible for the Bugsters. That man from the Ministry of Internal Affairs have been hiding it from us!"
Kazuto froze. After babbling to Kiriya about how he still believed in Chrystheight despite his flaws, he trust-bubble burst immediately.
"I'll send you the location momentarily." Dan concluded.
Then, he hung up. Kazuto slowly put his phone down. He hurried back into ALO.
Meanwhile, after getting off the call with Kazuto, Dan locked up his suitcase full of Proto-Gashats. He also grabbed his laptop bag and began to walk out. Before he did, he took a scan of his office. He won't be seeing it for a while, so might as well get a good view of it.
'Till we meet again…' He thought.
Kirito soon found himself in a park of some kind. It was complete with a water fountain nearby, and several open spaces with benches evenly apart.
Behind him was Sinon, Silica, Klein, Asuna, Leafa, Ex-Aid, and Lisbeth carrying Champ on her back.
"Why would the CEO have us meet here…?" Ex-Aid asked.
Just then, a rock rolled over to them. It nudged Silica's foot. She looked down to notice the rock, but then noticed something else.
"Everyone! Look!" She yelled.
They all look to see the black Ex-Aid, in Level 3, walked up to them. He had the BugVisor in the gun position.
"It's him!" Sinon said.
"Silica! Liz! Leafa!" Kirito called. "Get Champ to safety! We'll handle him!"
Liz and Silica nodded, and they helped Champ to a safe location. Ex-Aid grabbed two of his Gashats and pressed them.
MIGHTY ACTION X!
DRAGO KNIGHT HUNTER! Z!
The dragon appeared over the SAO gang. Ex-Aid inserted both Gashats into the Driver.
GASHATTO! GASHATTO!
"Dai Dai Dai Dai Dai Henshin!" He proclaimed
GACHANN! LEVEL UP!
MIGHTY JUMP! MIGHTY KICK! MIGHTY MIGHTY ACTION X!
A GACCHA!
D-D-DRAGO! KNI-KNI-KNI-KNI~GHT! DRA! DRA! DRAGO KNIGHT HUNTER! Z!
Ex-Aid first went into his Level 2 form, and then the dragon arranged itself onto his body. Arms, legs, and body going on to their respective places.
"Let's clear this game with no continues!" He announced.
He then attacked. The black Ex-Aid dodged and then the next attacks were launched by Kirito. Asuna, Klein, and Sinon then followed his lead.
As the fight began, Lazer dropped in from above. He landed in a tree, and then observed.
Kirito and Asuna both jabbed and slashed this way and that, but the black Ex-Aid was either dodging them, or blocking them.
"Why are you doing this?!" Kirito demanded.
"Heathcliiff… Akihiko Kayaba's orders!" The black Ex-Aid replied.
He then twisted his Bugvisor around.
GE-IING!
He slashed Asuna out of the way, but Ex-Aid intercepted his next strike, however, it only pushed him back. Klein came from upward and slashed downward, but the black Ex-Aid moved and sliced his back. Kirito charged in, and locked blades with him.
"It's ironic…" The black Ex-Aid remarked. "You claim to be the greatest swordsman in Sword Art Online…"
Both him and Kirito began to moved clockwise until they have exchanged spots.
"Yet you can't even save a 12-year-old…" He finished.
Kirito ticked. The way that man was speaking… this wasn't a game anymore. This was a battle of wits now. Both disengaged. Kirito screamed in and then charged in madly.
"Kirito?!" Asuna called.
"He's lost it!" Klein shouted.
Kirito swung his swords around, but the black Ex-Aid was dodging them effortlessly. At one point, he even caught one of the blades, and then he palm-thrusted him. Kirito fell on his back, losing grip of his swords. The black Ex-Aid grabbed a wheel from his right shoulder armor, and then began to charge.
"Look out!" Silica shouted.
Lazer then dived down. The black Ex-Aid threw the wheel, but Lazer swopped in just in time to move Kirito out of the way. Once cleared, Kirito began to move aggressively towards the black Ex-Aid. However, Lazer tripped him up and then nailed him down.
"Let me go!" Kirito demanded.
"Why should I?!" Lazer shouted back. "You told me you still trust Kikuoka, didn't you?!"
"Even after this, you're going to go all hell-blazing just because he kept a secret?!" He continued. "You would still believe in him! You said it yourself!"
"Now the matter is not him! It's you!" He went on. "Look at yourself! Do you believe in yourself that you believe him?! Or what you said to me earlier was only a onetime thing?!"
Kirito stopped. Lazer got off of him, and helped him up.
"He's… calmed down?" Leafa commented.
"Alright, now that you've calmed down, you know what to do, right?" Lazer smiled. "I'm behind you 100%."
He walked over and grabbed Kirito's swords, tossing them to him as well.
"Lazer…" Ex-Aid cooed.
Kirito slashed the black Ex-Aid, launching him into the fountain. He struggled out of the pond, stumbling back onto the ground.
"So…" Brave's voice said. "We defeat him, and the Bugsters will be no more?"
"I'll join in." Snipe's also said. "But, I'll be taking the Gashat."
Both Riders walked into the area. Both were eager to get going.
"Nice of you to join us." Sinon remarked in an annoyed voice.
"We'll have to do this in an 8-Player co-op!" Ex-Aid suggested.
The remaining Riders pulled out their Gashats and pressed them.
TADDLE QUEST!
BANG BANG SHOOTING!
BAKUSOU BIKE!
All three Riders then inserted their Gashats into their Drivers.
"Henshin!" They all said.
GASHATTO!
LET'S GAME! MECCHA GAME! MUCCHA GAME! WHATCHA NAME?!
I'M A KAMEN RIDER!
All of them transformed into the Level 1 forms, as that is the only form they need to be in right now. Ex-Aid pulled out the Drago Knight Hunter Z Gashat, and pressed it once.
FANG!
Three copies of the Gashat appeared in the other Rider's hands, and they pressed theirs as well.
BLADE!
GUN!
CLAW!
Then, they all inserted it into their Drivers.
GASHATTO!
"Proceeding to Level 5!" Brave announced.
"Phase 5." Snipe declared.
"Fifth gear!" Lazer cheered.
GACHANN! LEVEL UP!
TADORU MEGURU! TADORU MEGURU! TADDLE QUEST!
BABABANG! BANGBABANG! YOW! BANG BANG SHOOTING!
BAKUSOU! DOKUSOU! GEKISOU! BOUSOU! BAKUSOU BIKE!
A GACCHA!
D-D-DRAGO! KNI-KNI-KNI-KNI~GHT! DRA! DRA! DRAGO KNIGHT HUNTER!
BRAVE!
SNIPE!
LAZER!
EX-AID!
The arm and leg attachments detached from Ex-Aid, and floated towards the others. Brave got his attachments, Snipe got his, and Lazer got his. Now, they just need to pair up.
Ex-Aid walked up to Kirito.
"What do you say, man?" He asked.
"Sure, why not?" Kirito remarked.
Ex-Aid/Kirito.
Brave found Asuna.
"Would you like to battle as one?" He asked.
"Of course!" Asuna smiled.
Brave/Asuna.
Snipe found Sinon, who took a few steps back.
"Looks like we'll be working together." He commented.
"Don't think I'm happy about that!" Sinon griped.
Snipe/Sinon.
Lazer walked up to Klein, who clang his sword with his.
"Samurai buddies?" He asked.
"Samurai buddies!" Klein replied.
Lazer/Klein.
The black Ex-Aid recovered, and stood back up. He charged at the Riders with all of the strength he had, but the Riders and their partners had no problems retaliating.
It was now an 8-on-1 fight, in 2-on-1 intervals. Ex-Aid would whack him with the tail, and Kirito would follow up with a slash on the back and the front.
The next opponents would be Brave and Asuna. They were moving in tandem with each other. Brave would slash once, and then Asuna would, they just went back and forth. To finish it off, both of them slashed in an X shape together.
Snipe and Sinon took over. Snipe would whack him on the head, then Sinon would trip the guy up with her tail (She is a Cait Sith, FYI). And once the black Ex-Aid got up, Sinon would shoot an arrow, while Snipe fired an energy blast, launching him.
To finish it off, was Klein and Lazer. And they didn't take that long. They just clanged their swords together, and while Klein slashed, Lazer did a bicycle kick
All of those fights, including the one with Lazer and Klein, finally pushed the black Ex-Aid too far, he was knocked into a tree, but in the process, the Shakariki Sports Gashat ejected from his Driver.
GASHUNN!
The bike-armor pixelated off of the black Ex-Aid, in addition, his gauge went from half to low. Down to at least 10 percent.
"Give it up." Hiro said.
"Your Rider Gauge is almost zero, man." Lazer added. "It'll be game over for ya."
"Now, hand over Shakariki Sports like a good little boy." Snipe teased.
But Sinon had other ideas. She quickly bumped Snipe out of the way and grabbed the Gashat herself.
The black Ex-Aid groaned, but then he looked at Champ, who Liz and Silica were covering. He began to breath heavily.
"I'm… so close…!" He growled slowly.
He then pulled out a blank white Gashat and plugged it into the BugVisor.
GASHATTO!
He stood back up, and quickly roundhouse-kicked Sinon across the face, making her drop the Gashat. Quickly catching it, he inserted it into the slot next to the belt.
GASHATTO! KIMEWAZA!
Turning his body towards Liz and Silica, he jumped into the air, pressing the button again.
SHAKARIKI CRITICAL STRIKE!
He dived down for a kick.
"Liz! Look out!" Kirito shouted.
Ex-Aid began to run towards. Liz just summoned her mace.
"Oh, no you don't!" She claimed.
She jumped and with one swing, she whacked the black Ex-Aid aside, sending it to Ex-Aid, who in turn, tail-whipped him.
The black Ex-Aid landed on the ground, destroying the water fountain in the process. But, he slowly stood back up. Electricity crackled all over him as his gauge finally depleted. However, he didn't just fall over dead. He just stood there for a few minutes, his whole body pixelating in and out of existence with electricity still crackling over his body. Summoning what little strength he had, the black Ex-Aid then stabbed his chest with the BugVisor. He grunted a bit from the initial pain, but then, orange aura began to absorb into the BugVisor. Then, once it had finished, there was metal guitar riff, as well as some sighing.
"Hey…" Klein commented. "How is he alive?"
"That is what should happen…" Brave muttered.
"How are you alive?" Sinon shouted.
The black Ex-Aid chuckled quietly.
"There's no point in hiding my identity anymore." He answered. "I am Kamen Rider… Genmu!"
Everyone stopped when the black Ex-Aid revealed his name.
"Genmu…?" Liz whispered. "Wait!"
But her question was already answered when the black Ex-Aid cancelled out of his transformation.
GACHANN! GASHUNN!
The black Ex-Aid disappeared. And in his place, stood an Undine. His garbs were all torn and scorched with black burn marks. And the usually clean Undine hair is now tangled up, almost bed hair looking. Above the player, stood the name Genmu. He smiled maniacally.
"Genmu…" Ex-Aid whispered.
"Lazer, so you were telling the truth…" Brave mentioned.
Snipe looked on with cold eyes. Lazer also looked on hard.
"Why…" Asuna started. "Weren't you our ally? What is this about?"
"I was just using you as beta test players." Genmu explained. "You children should be very familiar with that."
The SAO players winced. They had gone through the hell that was Sword Art Online, where Akihiko Kayaba had trapped them in for who knows how long.
"You didn't answer my question!" Asuna asked. "Why are you doing this?!"
Genmu chuckled.
"I'm doing this…" He said, his voice quickly going to shouting. "Is to create THE ULTIMATE GAME!"
Kirito began to step forward, but he stopped when Genmu viciously pointed the BugVisor at him.
"Kazuto Kirigaya!" He called. "The Black Swordsman… how much longer can you avoid the truth? That you are not the king of this world…"
"Hey, I never considered myself to be the king of the world!" Kirito shouted.
Genmu ignored him, and turned his attention to the whole crowd.
"Ladies and gentlemen…" He began. "Our game has only just begun!"
He then turned around and looked on to the sky. He breathed out and lumped something huge on them all.
"The Bugster Virus has already spread to most of the players in this game…" He cooed "They could break out at any moment…"
Everyone froze. The Bugster has already broken out? The situation just went up to eleven.
"Everyone…?" Silica whispered.
"Everyone's at risk now!" Leafa declared.
Genmu faced them again. He lifted his BugVisor up to his chin, smiling menacingly again.
"And now that all 10 Gashats have been gathered…" He growled. "The decision that they will save humanity... is up to you."
And once he was done, he fired several laser blasts. Everyone was able to dodge, but that gave Genmu a long enough opening to escape. That left the Kamen Riders, and the SAO gang in shock, unexplainably baffled by this revelation.
Elsewhere, later that night, Pallad was chilling out in what appears to be a warehouse of some kind. He was still playing on his mobile device. Next to him, was a computer with several spare parts strewn next to them. There was also a screen, keyboard, and a mouse. On the wall, there were several screens depicting the opening sequemce for several games. And those games involve Mighty Action X, DoReMiFa Beat, Bang Bang Shooting, and Gekitotsu Robots.
He kept on playing until a stumbling someone walked in. Genmu, still battered from his fight, caught himself from falling down. He breathed heavily and then lifted the BugVisor up. He then pulled out the Gashat from it.
GASHUNN!
"It's complete…!" He groaned.
The Gashat then glowed purple, and the art of it appeared.
"To think you would collect death data from your own body…" Pallad said.
"Considering how long I've been using the Proto-Gashat." Genmu replied. "This was unavoidable."
"There aren't any more words to describe you, dude!" Pallad laughed. "Hell, even 'terrifying' isn't enough!"
"There is no stopping us now…" Genmu smiled, still breathing like a wild animal. "This is only the beginning!"
Pallad leaned over his shoulder to take a good look at the Gashat.
"Hehehe…" He laughed. "A new game has been selected!"
Both of them looked on at the Gashat. In the background, a familiar guitar riff could be heard.