Chapter 21: Double Up! Pt. 1
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
(Genm goes into Level 10, appearing in his Zombie Gamer form)
(Hey!) I'm on a mission right now
(Ex-Aid goes into Level 10, then goes into Level 20, and then the Double Gamer)
EXCITE! EXCITE! Kotae wa
(Ex-Aid VS Genmu)
EXCITE! EXCITE! Kotae wa
(The SAO gang surrounded by Bugsters from each Gashat game)
(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)
Two months have passed. Strangely though, as the Riders were a no-show, there were no signs of Bugsters either.
Several things have happened during the timeskip. For one, Emu quit his journalism job only a few days after Kiriya's death, as he wasn't pumping out articles as he used to. So, during the free time, he had taken up medical internships. Fact is that, he was hiding his medical school attending so he wouldn't be able to get on his journalist boss's suspicion. To be fair, he has been trying to juggle two things at once. But now, since one of his jobs have been offed, Emu can now focus and devote his time to his medical internship. During the previous chapters, he was on his pediactric internship, so now he was on his surgical internship with Hiro as his advisor.
Further information to be given, Ryotaro hasn't been online for a while either. It's like he was distancing himself.
Coming to the present, Emu was now practicing a stitch. He had just finished.
"How did I do?" Emu asked.
Hiro stood up from behind and observed his work.
"Not bad, kid." He replied. "But you took too long."
Emu sulked, and walked out with Hiro. He offered him a cup of coffee, which Emu accepted.
"How are you doing?" Hiro asked, taking a sip.
"What do you mean?" Emu asked.
"About the coroner." Hiro replied.
Emu perked down. Despite being only two months, he was still sad about it.
"I… uh…" Emu began.
"No need to speak." Hiro replied. "I'm sorry for bringing it up."
Hiro stood up, and then walked away.
"Just remember, dealing with death is a part of a doctor's job." He said.
Before walking away, Hiro gave Emu a pat on his shoulder.
"As doctors, we face the chances of death everyday." He reminded. "We can't deal with personal issues with that responsibility placed on our shoulders."
Emu just looked on at his cup of coffee. He quickly sent it down his throat and then left. Emu got to a special room with the letters CR, written in big letters, over the door. He found Hiro, on one bed, already with a AmuSphere on him. As much as he didn't want to, he grabbed the other pair and put it on as well, venturing into ALO.
Kazuto and Suguha sat on the couch in their living room. They had recovered from Kiriya's death, but they haven't shaken off the feeling. Suguha would often look at her hands. While holding Kiriya may have been virtual, it still felt real that someone had died.
"Why…" She whispered. "Why him…"
Kazuto moved over to her, and hugged her. He didn't want his sister to be like this.
"C'mon, don't blame yourself." He said warmly.
Suguha sighed, and looked at her brother. He always had a knack at making her smile.
"Why don't we just watch some TV to pass the time?" Kazuto asked.
Suguha nodded, and Kazuto quickly grabbed the remote. Kazuto turned the TV on, and a breaking new report came onto the screen.
"What the…?" Kazuto began.
The news was live right now. The camera was currently focusing on an empty seat, and it was covering the Ministry of Defense.
"What's going on?" Suguha asked.
Just then, someone stepped in. Hinata Kyotaro, of the Ministry of Defense, sat down on the empty seat. There were quick murmurs. After coughing into his hands for a bit, he spoke up.
"Thank you coming in such a short notice." He announced.
Suguha and Kazuto listened on closer.
"I am Hinata Kyotaro from the Ministry of Defense." He continued. "I am here to make an announcement."
"As of this moment, it shall be public knowledge that our country is under the threat of a new viral infection." He continued. "A computer game virus we named the Bugster virus, which have evolved to be able to infect humans."
"The virus reacts to its host's stress and mutates, eventually cuasing the symptoms of what we have come to call "game disease" to occur." He went on.
"But rest assured, the virus does not spread through physical contact." Kyotaro explained. "However, we are still in the early stages of research to find the underlying sources of the infections."
"As the disease progresses, a video game character we call Bugsters will manifest from this infection, threatening the survival of the patient." He concluded. "Furthermore, the disease's most prominent active site is the VRMMORPG game known as Alfheim Online."
The crowd of news reporters began to whisper and stammer quietly to each other.
"However, with an early diagnosis and prompt treatment, we can gurantee the patient's safety." Kyotaro assured.
When he said that, the screen beside him showed the blueprints of Kamen Rider Ex-Aid and Brave.
"The doctors of the now active Cyber Rescue Center are responsible for the treatment, and are equipped with the latest medical equipement." Kyotaro finished.
"Excuse me, minister!" A reporter called. "You have mentioned that this virus's most active in Alfheim Online. What do you mean by that?"
"Are players more susceptible to the virus if they continue playing?" Another reporter chimed in.
"Well, no." Kyotaro answered. "The Bugsters are very sporadic. We have no idea who has been infected until actual evidence is shown."
"So, while playing the game has no detriments." Kyotaro concluded. "We ask for your understanding and to stay calm, as to prevent a pandemic…"
Kazuto turned the TV off. He looked at Suguha, and both of them knew what to do. They quickly texted everybody and ran towards their rooms. Soon, they were on their beds and rolled into Alfheim Online.
Ex-Aid woke up to see the glowing blue sky and lustrious green fields of ALO. The winds were rustling the trees of his side, and birds chirping as they flew by. An energetic Poppy popped out of his pocket and flew to the front of his face.
"Are you okay?" She asked, worried about Ex-Aid.
"I'm fine." Ex-Aid replied.
He then walked towards the place he was going to go to in the first place: Brave's mansion.
During the two months, Brave had a lot of spare time, so he decided to load on quests and special missions to pass some time. He had gotten a buttload of money, and decided to spend it on building a mansion. He could've gotten a castle, but that would draw too much attention.
Ex-Aid knocked on the giant doors, and the doors opened with a loud creaking sound. He slowly entered and entered the dining hall. Brave was there, sitting with slice of cake in front of him.
"I've been waiting." He said as Ex-Aid took the seat in front of him.
"You should've told me if you were also bringing guests." Brave also added cheekily.
Ex-Aid looked confused, but Brave then grabbed his knife and threw it at the entrance. The butt of the knife hit something and landed back on the ground.
"Ow!" came Liz's voice.
Brave then casted an anti-invisbility spell. That revealed Liz, Silica, Leafa, Sinon, Asuna, Yui, and Kirito.
"How did you all get here?" Poppy asked in a very comic-like shocked voice.
Leafa waved at Poppy weakly, and she, along with the rest of her friends, sat down at the huge dining table.
"So, the minister's finally going public?" Kirito mentioned.
"Yeah." Ex-Aid replied. "After the trouble Graphite caused, you could only conceal so much information."
Finishing his cake, Brave looked around.
"Where's the samurai kid?" He asked.
"Klein?" Asuna said. "He hasn't been online for a while."
'Looks like I wasn't the only one hit by this…' Ex-Aid thought.
There was silence. The silence was only interrupted when Poppy then perked up.
"Bugster found!" She shouted.
That got everyone to get up and run outside, with Poppy taking the lead. Ex-Aid was the last one out.
The entourage followed Poppy to an old-looking player. He was clenching his chest, and was on his knees. While Liz and Silica helped him up, Yui looked into him.
"His name is Drago." She stated. "Level 102."
"Okay, slowly now, sir…" Silica said.
"Thanks, missy…" Drago groaned.
But then, an electric surge crackled through his body, and then began to moan in pain. Soon, orange blobs appeared. Brave put on his Gamer Driver, but right after he did that, the blobs darted towards Brave, forming into a familiar looking Bugster. He went for a slash with his staff, but Brave blocked with his hand.
"You…" Brave said. "Alhambra, right?"
Alhambra grunted and bounced off Brave. Brave took out his Gashat, and pressed it.
TADDLE QUEST!
Sinon then walked over to Ex-Aid, who was just standing there.
"Hey, aren't you supposed to help?" She asked sharply.
"Oh! Uh… right!" Ex-Aid replied.
He then put on his Gamer Driver, and pressed his Gashat.
MIGHTY ACTION X!
Both game areas spread out across the area. After posing, both Riders inserted their Gashats into their Drivers.
GASHATTO!
LET'S GAME! MECCHA GAME! MUCCHA GAME! WHATCHA NAME?!
I'M A KAMEN RIDER!
Both Riders turned to their Level 1 forms.
"Let's take this somewhere else." Brave suggested, pressing the button on the side of his belt.
STAGE SELECT!
Now, everyone except Drago, were all teleported to a quarry. Alhambra growled quietly, stroking his staff.
"Proceeding to Level 2." Brave said.
"Dai Henshin!" Ex-Aid called.
GACHANN! LEVEL UP!
MIGHTY JUMP! MIGHTY KICK! MIGHTY MIGHTY ACTION X!
TADORU MEGURU! TADORU MEGURU! TADDLE QUEST!
Both Riders are now in their Level 2 forms. Summoning their weapons to their hands, Brave and Ex-Aid charged. The SAO gang also charged.
First, Brave slashed but Alhambra dodged it effortlessly. Then, Asuna and Kirito went for a blow just as Brave was about to slash again.
"Stop!" Alhambra chanted.
That got everyone to stop moving. They were frozen in their tracks.
"I… can't… move…!" Liz groaned.
"Wait…!" Leafa assured. "I think I can cast a spell to counter…!"
"I don't think so!" Alhambra interrupted.
He raised his staff to the air and tapped it on the ground.
"Shock!" He chanted again.
That sent lightning bolts straight at the Riders and the SAO gang. That dealt a huge amount of damage. The players fell to the ground.
"Looks like you've leveled up too…" Silica said.
"Of course!" Alhambra said. "I have learned from my downfall!"
"Looks like we can't simply handle this one like the last one, huh?" Sinon remarked.
Everyone then got up and braced themselves.
But then, they heard a heavy metal guitar riff. They looked around to look for where the sound came from. But then, they heard steps from behind them. They saw… Genmu. In his zombie form of Level 10.
"Genmu…" Kirito muttered.
He looked on at the SAO gang, then Alhambra, then back to the SAO gang. He paid particular attention to Brave and Ex-Aid.
"I have no need for you as beta testers." Genmu said. "I will be retrieving your Gashats."
Then, with a weapon appearing in his hand, he turned to SAO gang.
"And getting rid of you is part of the ensemble." He said with a smile in his voice.
GASHACON SPARROW!
He had the Sparrow in his hands.
"That's… Lazer's weapon!" Leafa shouted.
That triggered something within Ex-Aid. He slowly stood up, and grabbed another Gashat from his holder. He was shaking as he pressed it.
DRAGO KNIGHT HUNTER! Z!
The dragon appeared over Ex-Aid's head and roared. It then began to fly around.
"Hey, kid!" Brave shouted. "What are you doing?"
"Move it." Ex-Aid said coldly, shoving Brave out of the way.
He then inserted the Gashat in after closing the Driver back up.
GACHANN! GASHATTO!
"Dai Dai Dai Dai Dai Henshin!" He shouted.
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!
The dragon split apart and attached onto Ex-Aid. With a battle cry, Ex-Aid jumped into the air, and slammed the blade arm straight down at Genmu, causing an explosion. When the smoke cleared, the blade was jabbed in Genmu's chest, but Genmu himself, with purple aura emanating from him again, looked like he received no damage.
"But… how?" Sinon questioned. "He got him clean!"
"Look!" Yui told everyone.
She pointed at Genmu. They noticed something baffling. Not only was his Rider Gauge at 0, but his regular ALO health bar was also at 0.
"0?" Kirito shouted.
Ex-Aid looked up to see the empty Rider Gauge and health bar, but Genmu just grabbed him by his throat and hung him up in the air.
"I have transcended death." He said. "There's no way you can kill me now."
He then tossed Ex-Aid to Kirito, Asuna and Sinon, who were able to catch him.
"I shall be taking the Gashats back now…" He grinned, getting a tighter grip on the Sparrows.
ZU-PANN!
Ex-Aid got back up and just charged at Genmu.
"Ex-Aid!" Brave called. "He's not important right now!"
Alhambra took the chance to whack Liz in the head, and Silica began her counterattack. Brave grabbed his sword and began helping her.
"Focus on the operation!" Brave called again.
But Ex-Aid wasn't hearing it. He was too busy trying to hurt Genmu, and so far, he wasn't having much luck.
"You killd Kiriya…" He said as he attacked. "I will make you pay!"
He kept on slashing with the blade arm and shooting with the gun arm. Genmu only took the damage head on, and continued to retaliate with slashes. Kirito, Asuna, and Sinon could only watch.
"Should we be helping?" Asuna asked.
"It's better if we stay out of this." Sinon replied.
But she spoke too soon. With one final sweep upward, Genmu threw Ex-Aid back into Asuna, Kirito, and Sinon.
"How about I let you see him now?" Genmu chuckled.
He pressed both buttons on the BugVisor. He then threw the Sparrows aside, and pressed the B button.
CRITICAL DEAD!
A black void appeared in front of Ex-Aid, Kirito, Asuna and Sinon. Then, black silhouettes of zombies began to weigh them down. Suddenly, the silhouettes began to blink red. That meant they were about to explode.
Brave saw this, and just pushed Alhambra off of him. Silica and Liz saw it too, and the three began to run. They all grabbed Asuna, Kirito, Sinon, and Ex-Aid and pulled them out of the way before the attack destroyed them all. Once they were clear, Brave closed Ex-Aid's Driver back up and pulled out his Gashats, as well as doing it to his own.
GACHANN! GASHUNN!
GACHANN! GASHUNN!
Once that was done, the Riders and the SAO players both pixelated out of the area. Alhambra looked confused by their disappearance, but Genmu had an amused look.
Taiga was off doing his own thing. He was reading an article about Dan Kuroto's sudden "disappearance." As he continued reading, he found the whole thing more perplexing to believe in.
'Just what are you thinking…?' He thought.
"You, of all people, are asking that?" asked a voice.
Taiga looked over and saw the same girl he had met the previous chapter. She was leaning by the door.
"You again?" Taiga groaned.
The girl smirked. Taiga had only taken a glimpse of her once, and immediately he wanted to part in whatever she had in mind.
"Leave." Taiga said.
The girl had other ideas. She seemingly obliged, and then walked down the hall. Once she was out of Taiga's line of vision, she screamed. Taiga quickly ran to her and found her on her knees, holding her head, and groaning "in pain".
"What's going?" He asked.
"I think… game disease?" the girl asked.
Taiga acted quick. He quickly helped the girl over back to his office. He quickly checked her over, and scoffed once the result was taken.
"Game disease my ass, kid." Taiga remarked, turning back to his computer.
"Huh, you're actually pretty soft, mate." She quirked. "You actually examined me and everything."
Taiga wanted to beat her badly, but he decided to bottle his anger.
"How did you even find out about me, anyway?" He asked.
"Um… the internet?" The girl replied.
She then walked over and sat next to him on his desk.
"So, how's the whole 'beating M'plan coming along?" She asked with a little teasing in her voice.
Taiga ignored her, but the girl had another idea. She saw an AmuSphere on a shelf behind him, and quickly a look at it.
"Is this what you use?" She asked.
When Taiga saw what she was looking at, he quickly grabbed it out of her hands and then shoved her outside.
"This has no concern with you." He told her strictly. "Leave."
"Man… what a waste." Pallad commented. "You had that giant monstrosity of a video game company, and you threw it all away."
The current location was a warehouse, and Dan was typing on a computer while Pallad was just sitting idly by on a table.
"No need to worry." Dan assured. "It will all come back once this is finished."
He pressed the enter key and it displayed what seems to be the title card of a new game. The title it says was "Kamen Rider Chronicle."
"Soon, every person on the planet will realize this is the only game they will need." Dan said with satisfaction.
After messing with a Guitar Hero guitar, Pallad had another question.
"Speaking of which, how's my Gashat coming along?" He asked.
"While its base is complete, we still need a regulator to control its immense power." Dan explained.
He opened a new window and it showed the new Gashat. It was a lot thicker than the ones they own.
"All you have to do is plug it into a Bugster and collect test data. That should be it." He went on.
Pallad looked at the screen with keen interest.
"But that brings up something else." He mentioned. "What if the Riders get their hands on this?"
"If a normal human tries to use that Gashat, they'll be infected with by a Bugster Virus that a normal human wouldn't be able to handle." Dan explained
"Essentially, they'll die right on the spot." He finished.
Pallad looked at Dan, then the Gashat, back to Dan, and back to the Gashat.
"Is that so, huh?" He said. "Sounds fun."
Ex-Aid was now holding his hands in front of him, with his Gashats on a desk in front of him. Brave, sitting down on a chair, was giving him a pretty cold look, and the SAO players were on the side, just waiting for someone to speak.
"So…" Leafa said slowly.
She then received a glare from Brave, and that shut her immediately.
"I thought I told you this." Brave told Ex-Aid with any warmth. "We're responsible for a patient's life."
"Yes… I know…" Ex-Aid muttered.
"Mourning the coroner's death is one thing." Brave added. "That stunt you pulled back there… is another."
Ex-Aid sighed heavily.
"I… have no words regarding this." He replied. "I was acting irrationally."
"Irrational? More like stupid." Brave corrected coldly.
"Hey!" Liz shouted from the side, but Asuna covered her mouth quickly.
Brave didn't know how to handle this. He could only do one thing right now. As much as he didn't want to do this, he had to.
"I don't wanna do this." He said, standing up. "But I'm taking all of your Gashat's for the time being."
He then picked up all of his Gashats and then stored them away in his items list. Once he had done that, he began to walk out of his office.
"Uh, hey, wait!" Ex-Aid called.
"Look." Brave added, stopping in front of the doors. "As of now, you can't perform the operation."
That hit the nail on the head. With that said, Brave left his office. Ex-Aid just stood there with a disappointed look on his face.
"That sonuva-!" Liz began.
"Wait! Wait!" Asuna interrupted. "I'll talk to him!"
"You sure?" Kirito asked. "You could use another man."
"That would be fine." Asuna smiled.
With that said, Asuna and Kirito left to go after Brave. Once they had gone, Poppy popped out of Ex-Aid's pocket.
"Brave's right, y'know." She said. "Let's check on the patient for now."
"Right…" Ex-Aid sighed.
"We'll look for that Bugster." Sinon said.
And with that, Silica, Leafa, Sinon, and Silica left the room to look for Alhambra, while Poppy and Ex-Aid left to check on Drago, their current infected.
They found Drago in one of the bedrooms, on the bed. Before they went in however, Poppy quickly changed to her human size and into a nurse-like outfit. Once they have gotten inside, they began examining him.
"Thank you." Drago said.
"We're doctors; it is only natural." Poppy added. "Aren't you a doctor too? You must know how we feel?"
"I know, but I don't think it will make that much of a difference." Drago said, slowly getting up.
Ex-Aid got confused by that statement.
"Why do you say that?" He asked.
Drago chuckled.
"You're from Seito University Hospital, aren't you?" Drago asked.
"Um… yes?" Ex-Aid replied.
"Then, I guess I can tell you this." Drago said.
Drago got a bit more comfortable in his position, and Poppy helped him with it.
"I'm the patient who has pancreatic cancer." Drago explained. "So my days are already numbered."
Ex-Aid and Poppy were taken back when they heard this.
"You can cure my game disease, but it won't stop my cancer." Drago went on. "It's already in the terminal phase anyway."
"As doctors, you always have to meet death head on." He went on. "People die, sooner or later."
Ex-Aid took that information in. He had another person on the face of death. He then began to walk out.
"Ex-Aid?" Poppy called.
"I just… need to clear my head." Ex-Aid replied.
He exited the room, then the mansion itself. Once he was outside, he quickly flew off into the ALO skies.
He kept on flying and eventually found himself sitting on bench by the side of lake. As he kept on thinking about it, Hiro and Drago's words kept on repeating in his head. The phrases were lika a parasite in his ears. Not being able to bear it, he just punched the bench, which made a dent on the seat.
"I know…" He whispered to himself. "But…"
He gripped his fist a lot harder. He was thinking really hard about this.
"Then just quit the doctor job." A voice told him.
Ex-Aid looked up at the hearing of the voice. He looked to his side and saw Pallad just sitting on a tree beside him.
"And you are…?" Ex-Aid asked.
But then, he remembered. Back in Chapter 14, this guy had taken Genmu's spot to fool Lazer and him.
"You… you're that fake Genmu!" Ex-Aid called.
"I have a name, man. Pallad." Pallad quirked. "I've always wanted to talk to you."
Ex-Aid wanted to draw his weapon, but this Pallad guy didn't look like he was making any sort of threats.
"Humans can only die once, and after that, done!" Pallad said. "Saving them is like playing a game on the Legendary difficulty."
Brave was now sitting in a café that he always visited in the game. While he was waiting for his order, he was looking at the Mighty Action X Gashat worriedly.
"He has to snap out of this sooner or later…" He muttered.
"It's a lot harder than you think." Reminded a voice.
Brave looked up and saw Kirito and Asuna. He put away the Gashat and gave them a seat.
"What do you two want?" He asked.
"We just want to talk." Kirito said.
Then, their orders arrived. Brave got a slice of cake, while Asuna and Kirito grabbed a simple cup of tea.
"Ex-Aid's taking Lazer's death pretty hard." Asuna mentioned.
"All the more reason he can't perform this operation." Brave retorted. "Personal feelings can't get in the way of a medical procedure."
"Hey." Kirito spoke up. "Death is touchy subject, I know. But remember Sword Art Online?"
Brave stopped moving. He then turned to Kirito.
"What are you trying to say?" He glared.
"I had friends who died right in front of my eyes!" Kirito explained. "And you see, I'm fine."
"That's because that was years ago." Brave replied sharply. "What's the intern's alibi?"
Kirito was about to speak, but then, they were interrupted by some screaming. They turned to see Alhambra silently walking towards them.
"Brave!" He called. "No, genius surgeon! I challenge you to combat!"
Brave put his fork down and put on his Gamer Driver.
"Saves me the trouble of hunting you down." He said.
He then pulled out both his Taddle Quest Gashat and the DoReMiFa Beat Gashat. He pressed them, summoning the Taddle Quest game field and the Beat Gamer Robot.
TADDLE QUEST!
DOREMIFA BEAT!
He then inserted them both into the Driver.
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!
Brave's figure was now replaced by his Rider Level 2 form, and then the Beat Gamer situated its parts all over him. Summoning the Gashacon Sword, he then pressed the button on the side of the belt.
STAGE SELECT!
They had now teleported to a forest, where no player would be in harms way.
"Contact your friends." Brave ordered. "Get them over here."
He then proceeded to charge in. Kirito followed, as Asuna messaged all Sinon, Silica, Leafa and Lisbeth.
Back with Ex-Aid, Pallad was still getting into his head.
"You love games, don't you?" He asked.
He then whispered into his ear.
"You should enjoy it while it lasts." He sneered.
Ex-Aid was tempted, but his better judgement was able to snap him out of it.
"Shut the hell up!" He shouted, shoving Pallad aside.
"It's because of this 'game' of yours…" He continued. "Kiriya is dead!"
"Whoa, whoa. Let's not start pointing fingers here." Pallad retorted.
"I'll make this clear." He said. "Genmu offed him. Not me."
Ex-Aid then received a pop-up message on his notifications. It was from Poppy. It says they had found the Bugster, and strangely, Alhambra is going after Brave for some reason.
Pallad looked over and saw the message, and it gave him more food.
"Looking at death in the face is part of a doctor's job…" He said, repeating the words he has heard before. "You think you can handle it?"
Ex-Aid looked at Pallad a bit longer before pulling away and looking out to the lake.
"No…" He admitted. "Death… I don't want to see anyone die… not when I can save them!"
Pallad saw him clench a fist very tightly.
"So what you're saying is that you want to save more lives with no continues, huh?" He summarized.
He then walked over to Ex-Aid and then handed him something.
Back at the Alhambra fight, Brave and Asuna were doing all the damage they could do. But Alhambra had summoned some goons, to keep the other occupied. Kirito, Silica, Leafa, and Lis all have their hands full with the goons they were facing.
Brave and Asuna slashed downward, but Alhambra blocked the strike with his staff.
"I will make you pay for destroying me so quickly!" He growled.
"Huh, so you still hold resentment for that?" Brave joked.
Alhambra then bounced off their swords, but Asuna quickly landed a kick to the abdomen, and Brave a slash to the back. Alhambra quickly got back up and began to fight again.
Just a few feet away, Genmu stood and watched the battle unfold. With the BugVisor in hand, he then attached it onto his waist.
GACHANN!
"You couldn't have killed Lazer without a reason." Called a voice. "He knew something about Ex-Aid, didn't he?"
Sinon heard the voice and looked over. He saw Genmu, but surprisingly, Snipe walking over to him.
"You needed to find a way to shut him, right?" Snipe questioned.
"That is none of your business." Genmu replied emotionlessly, pulling out his Dangerous Zombie Gashat.
"Figured you'd say that." Snipe scoffed, puling out Bang Bang Shooting and Jet Combat Gashats as well.
They both pressed it at the same time.
DANGEROUS ZOMBIE!
BANGBANG SHOOTING!
JET COMBAT!
All three games spread their game field out, but Snipe inserted his Gashats into his Driver first.
GASHATTO!
"Phase 3." Snipe said.
GACHANN! LEVEL UP!
BABANGBANG! BANGBABANG! YOW! BANG BANG SHOOTING!
A GACCHA!
JET! JET! IN THE SKY! JET! JET! JET COMBAT!
Snipe then was replaced by his Rider Level 2 form, and then the Jet Combat Robot landed on his torso, giving him his Level 3 armaments.
Genmu had to respond accordingly, so he inserted his Gashat as well.
"Henshin." He said.
GASHATTO! BUCKLE UP!
DANGER! DANGER! GENOCIDE! DEATH THE CRISIS! DANGEROUS ZOMBIE!
The above jingle was followed by deafening zombie roar. A character face card appeared in front of Genmu, and after showing Genmu's 8-Bit characters, one in white and another in red, the card began to crumble. And then, a white arm struke through.
Then, through the ashs of what was his former shell, was Genmu, Zombie Gamer, Level 10. He groaned and then lunged at Snipe.
Sinon saw this, and quickly rushed over to him.
Back with Ex-Aid, he was looking at what Pallad just gave him. It looked like a blank Gashat. But it was thicker than the standard one he had seen. It looked like it could take up two spaces on the Gamer Driver.
"You really want to save human lives, then use this." Pallad explained. "You could also use this to beat Genmu."
And with one final words, he began to take his leave.
"Show me how you are going to change your fate." Pallad smiled.
And with that, he pixelated into nothingness. Ex-Aid had so much questions about what just happened, but he looked at the Gashat. He could use this.
He opened up his message board and replied to the message Poppy sent.
Where is Brave now?
Snipe wasn't having the swellest of time now. He kept on shooting at Genmu, but Genmu seemingly just ignored everything he was throwing at him. When Genmu got close enough, he just kicked him and then landed a palm-strike onto his chest, which sent him flying. Genmu then rolled after him, but he was cut off but a scatter-arrow from Sinon. She quickly moved in front of him.
"Who asked for your help, Shino?" Snipe groaned.
"Just shut up and fight." Sinon shot back.
Brave and Asuna were at their limits in terms of fighting. They were pushed back right behind Snipe and Sinon. And just as that happened, Kirito, Silica, Leafa, and Lis also were thrown into the pack.
"Alright, you bozos!" Lis shouted. "Round 2!"
"Stop!" Alhambra declared, tapping his staff to the ground.
A magic glyph appeared below them, and then they froze in their tracks.
"I… can't... move…!" Snipe groaned.
Alhambra then just walked over and just tapped everybody on the head, shocking them. They quickly stood back up, but that Genmu the opportunity to slash every one of them several times with the Gashacon Sparrows.
Poppy and Yui were watching this all from afar. They couldn't do anything, but they could only just watch.
"Blaze!" Alhambra announced, summoning another magic glyph in front of him.
That sent a vortex of fire right at the Riders and the SAO players. Genmu just dodged it, but the vortex landed on the players at full power. Once the vortex of fire had completely vanished, Genmu walked in and slash everyone another multiple times.
"Die!" He roared.
Everyone were sent back. The SAO players fell with their HP bars down to the yellow range, and the Riders were sent out of their transformations.
GASHUNN!
As the players all groaned in pain, Poppy and Yui flew over to them to comfort them all.
Genmu attached the Sparrows together.
ZU-DONN!
He aimed it at the fallen heroes viciously.
"Now…" He growled.
"Stop!" shouted a voice.
Everyone looked over and saw Ex-Aid. He had his Gamer Driver on. He raised his hand so that the Gashat could be seen by everyone.
"Ex-Aid… what's with that Gashat?" Poppy asked nervously.
Genmu noticed it too.
"Pallad…" He whispered. "You bastard…"
Speaking of Pallad, he was just on top of a tree, watching.
"Let's see how you do, M." He smiled.
Ex-Aid looked at the Gashat briefly, and then wasted no time putting it into the Driver.
GASHATTO!
Once that happened, Ex-Aid felt something. And, in a split second, he collapsed to his knees with a cloud of purplish black smoke bellowing out of him. He also felt of shocks of electricity. And, with one cry of pain, the cloud of smoke exploded out of his body. Everyone was shocked by this.
"What the hell?!" Kirito shouted.
"Ex-Aid!" Lis called.
Meanwhile, Genmu seemed to be enjoying it.
"Pallad… you're just being cruel now." He chuckled.
As the smoke continued bellowing out of him, Ex-Aid experienced more pain. But, he wasn't going to let that stop him.
"No…!" He spoke. "I'm… not going to let anyone else die…!"
Then, the smoke came back in him, and then Ex-Aid grunted with one final gasp.
"Never…" He groaned.
Just then, Ex-Aid exploded with a scream of pain, as the Bugster virus within the Gashat began reacting to his body.
Jumping into IR, his body, still wearing the AmuSphere, was jerking all over the place. Within his DNA, the Bugster Virus began attaching themselves to it, and his DNA began to change. One strand began to glow orange, while the other began to glow blue.
Back into ALO, the smoke cloud soon changed color into orange and blue and began going into the Gashat.
"What's going on?" Brave asked.
"Impossible…!" Genmu started.
Once the cloud had finished going into the Gashat, it ejected automatically.
GASHUNN!
The Gashat flew into the air, and Ex-Aid grabbed it. Once grabbed, the Gashat immediately began to take color. The color was orange on the front half of the Gashat, and blue on the other half. He pressed the Gashat, unleashing a new game area.
MIGHTY BROTHERS XX!
"A new game?!" Poppy shouted.
Everyone were completely perplexed by this, while Genmu looked stunned.
"I'll change the patient's fate with my own hands!" Ex-Aid declared.
He then posed, and then inserted the Gashat into his Driver.
"Henshin!" He called.
DOUBLE GASHATTO!
But no body formed. It was only when Ex-Aid opened up the Driver, a new body appeared.
GACHANN! LEVEL UP!
MIGHTY BROTHERS! FUTARI DE HITORI! MIGHTY BROTHERS! FUTARI DE VICTORY! X!
Ex-Aid's body was replaced by a chibi figure. But it wasn't the chibi figure that was his Level 1 form. This one was different. Instead of the spiky pink anime hair, it had hair that was spikier. But even more so, there were two bangs covering each eye. Speaking of the eyes, the left eye and the left side of the hair is blue, while the right eye and the right side of the hair is orange.
"A new Ex-Aid?!" Poppy shouted.
Everyone was flabbergasted at the sight of this. Lis and Silica even had their mouths open out of shock.
"No…! Just… no!" Genmu spluttered.
"I'll clear this game… with no continues." Ex-Aid declared.
Then, Ex-Aid proceeded to attack. Genmu first shot at him with the Sparrow, but Ex-Aid dodged them all effortlessly. In fact, for someone wearing a suit of immense size, he was very zippy. He would jump around and land kicks on Genmu. Even spin-jumping to avoid an attack. And with more kicks to the back of his sides, Genmu had enough he went for a punch, but Ex-Aid blocked it. He tried to go for a punch with the other arm, but Ex-Aid blocked that too. Ex-Aid then threw his fists upward and then landed a double punch onto Genmu's open chest. That sent him flying down the forest. But Genmu jut got back up, with black ooze bellowing out of him.
"He's actually keeping up with Genmu…" Pallad observed. "So… I guess he's Level 10 too, huh?"
"I'm going to beat you!" Ex-Aid shouted.
He then closed the Gamer Driver back up.
GACHANN!
A standby sound can be heard, as Ex-Aid began to wave his arms around.
"Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaai…!" He began. "Henshin!"
He then opened his Driver back up.
GACHANN! DOUBLE UP!
The chibi armor all popped up, but a flash of light covered the insides
ORE GA OMAE DE!
An orange leg appeared.
Brave and Snipe's eyes widened with shock.
OMAE GA ORE DE!
A blue leg appeared.
The SAO gang's mouths opened with shock.
WE ARE!
An orange arm appeared.
Genmu looked stunned by what he saw.
MIGHTY, MIGHTY BROTHERS!
"EHHH?" Poppy yelled.
HEY! DOUBLE X!
The light subsided and revealed Ex-Aid. Two Ex-Aids. One in orange, the other in blue. The chibi's face were on their shoulders, and they were posing too.
Silence ensued as everyone tried to process what just happened.
"Unbelievable…" Genmu said.
"Eh?" Alhambra muttered.
Poppy, shoving Yui aside, then quickly flew closer to get a better view.
"THERE'S TWO?!" She cried.
The two Ex-Aids then stood normally. They glimpsed at each other for a minute before actually staring at each other. They looked both surprised and confused at the same time.
"Eh?" Both of them said.