Chapter 26: True Colors

The wind was blowing very lightly as the sun shone through the sky. And while that usually means a good thing, it doesn't here.

Emu was standing on the roof of the hospital. Hiro was up there with him. On either side of him were Asuna and Kazuto. Ryotarou and Suguha were a bit away from them. The atmosphere felt very serious.

"What's wrong?" Asuna spoke up. "You seem angry."

"I'm busy, so make it fast." Hiro said bluntly.

Emu breathed in, and then breathed out.

"It's something Genmu said to me." He stated. "He said something about my body… it had something to do with the Bugsters…"

Hiro perked up, but Snipe's words echoed through his mind. Kazuto also perked up, but he didn't say anything either. Asuna noticed this, but she took a mental note of it.

"Kazuto, Hiro!" Emu called out. "You two are hiding something from me, aren't you?"

The ones being questioned just looked away.

Meanwhile, Archer was in a café, within the game of ALO. He had Recon right in front of him, and the two seemed to be enjoying themselves.

"It's a huge responsibility…" He sighed. "But I have to do it, for the company's sake…"

Recon overheard his uncle, so he threw in his two cents.

"You okay, uncle?" He asked.

"It's nothing." Archer replied. "It's just… I don't know if I can make a breakthrough game for our company…"

Recon stood up, and walked up beside him.

"You'll be alright." He assured. "That game, whatever it may be, it's going to be awesome!"

Archer smiled lightly, and then he also remembered what Burgermon said to him.

"Archer!" He said. "Please… keep on making… games… full ogh… dreams…!"

Archer smiled, and then hugged Recon.

"Whoa!" He said. "What's this for?"

"No reason." Archer smiled.

After letting go and paying for what they got, the two decided to do some exploring.

"So, what do you want to, kid?" Archer asked.

"How about a monster battle?" Recon suggested. "Sakuya could really use you."

"Well, I guess I can help." Archer sniggered.

Recon and Archer went on for a bit before someone blocked their path. An Undine, with a strange object in his hand.

"Koutarou." Genmu smiled.

"President!" Archer called.

Recon looked at the Undine curiously, but then he looked at Archer curiously too.

"Uncle?" Recon spoke.

"That was quite a feat, creating a Gashat of your own." Genmu complimented.

But Archer didn't say. He just drew his bow.

"The folks at CR told me everything!" Archer stated. "Just what are you planning?"

"Uncle, who is this guy? What's going on?" Recon asked.

But Genmu just calmly raised the BugVisor. He pointed it viciously at Recon. But, in a quick move, he directed it towards Archer and spewed out a dark cloud with orange static. It consumed Archer as he fell to his knees, gasping for breath.

"Uncle!" Recon cried, holding his uncle.

After leaning him on a nearby rock, Recon approached Genmu.

"What was that?!" He demanded. "What did you do to him?!"

Genmu just simply picked him up by the throat and then just tossed him out of the way. He approached Archer with his signature slasher smile.

"A nobody like you could never make a hit!" He hollered. "Now suffer once more to game disease!"

Emu have had enough. He stepped forward once.

"You, Kiriya, Taiga, and now Kazuto…!" He started. "You're all hiding something from me!"

This was true, for the long time, Kiriya have been keeping something from him. And more recently, Taiga, Hiro, and Kazuto have been hiding something. As the three have attacked Emu.

"Tell me!" He demanded. "Why am I able to transform into Ex-Aid?"

"Well, isn't because you're a genius gamer?" Asuna suggested.

"Even if that's the case, how was I able to create Mighty Brothers XX?" Emu asked.

"Well…" Asuna stuttered. "That… I can't say."

Emu then turned to Kazuto and Hiro.

"Tell me the real reason you attacked me." He said. "And don't avoid the question this time."

"Then I have something to say as well." Hiro replied. "Give me your Gashats."

"Huh?" Asuna started.

"A Gashat is an important tool for a doctor of CR." Hiro stated. "So, hand them over."

"I told you to stop avoiding the question!" Emu spoke up.

But as soon as things were about to get serious, Suguha ran up to them.

"We have a patient." She said. "Silica just texted me."

The doctors took notice, and Hiro put his hand out.

"I'll go." He said. "Hand the Gashats over."

Emu wasn't going to put up with this. He just shoved Hiro off to the side and just ran towards the stairs. Asuna and the others quickly followed suit. Kirito and Hiro were the only ones left.

"If I had a Gashat, I could work on his game disease…" Hiro muttered.

"Well, you may have to rethink this then." Kirito suggested, only getting a glare from Hiro.

Ex-Aid, Poppy, Leafa, Klein and Asuna ran through the virtual world of ALO. They soon found Silica, who was waving.

"Over here!" She called.

They made their way over and soon found Archer. Sinon and Liz were trying to help out. And coincidentally enough, Recon was still here.

"Recon?" Leafa asked.

"Leafa!" Recon perked up, walking over to her.

Poppy and Asuna quickly helped Archer up. Ex-Aid then noticed a familiar face sitting on a log nearby.

"Genmu!" He called.

Genmu was sitting calmly with his legs crossed a few feet away. Shortly afterwards, Snipe and Nico came up.

"Why is he here?" Snipe asked.

"I used that man as bait." Genmu explained. "I infected that man with the Bugster virus, and reported it to CR, to lure you all here."

"What?" Ex-Aid muttered.

Genmu stood up, put on the BugVisor, and pressed his Gashat.

DANGEROUS ZOMBIE!

"Henshin." He said.

GASHATTO! BUCKLE UP!

DANGER! DANGER! GENOCIDE! DEATH THE CRISIS! DANGEROUS ZOMBIE!

Genmu quickly transformed into his Dangerous Zombie Gamer form. He growled as he looked at the Riders and the players.

"Recon!" Leafa called. "Let's take your uncle to safety!"

"Uh… right!" Recon replied.

And as Recon and Leafa helped Archer out to safety, Ex-Aid and Snpe put on their Gamer Drivers and pressed their Gashats.

MIGHTY BROTHERS XX!

BANG BANG SHOOTING!

DRAGO KNIGHT HUNTER! Z!

The game areas of the three game spread through out the area. Then, they inserted their Gashats.

"Henshin!" The two yelled.

GASHATTO!

GASHATTO!

LET'S GAME! MECCHA GAME! MUCCHA GAME! WHATCHA NAME? I'M A KAMEN RIDER!

DOUBLE GASHATTO!

GACHANN! LEVEL UP!

MIGHTY BROTHERS! FUTARI DE HITORI! MIGHTY BROTHERS! FUTARI DE VICTORY! X!

While Ex-Aid opened up his Driver twice to achieve his form, Snipe just opened it up once.

"Phase 5." Snipe said.

"Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaai…" Ex-Aid said. "Henshin!"

GACHANN! LEVEL UP!

BABABANG! BANGBABANG! YOW! BANG BANG SHOOTING!

A GACCHA!

D-D-DRAGO! KNI-KNI-KNI-KNI~GHT! DRA! DRA! DRAGO KNIGHT HUNTER! Z!

GACHANN! DOUBLE UP!

ORE GA OMAE DE! OMAE GA ORE DE! WE ARE! MIGHTY, MIGHTY BROTHERS! HEY! DOUBLE X!

Snipe turned into his Rider form, and soon after the dragon split apart and attached onto Snipe's body. Ex-Aid, on the other hand, split apart into the two Ex-Aids of XXR and XXL.

The three then began to attack Genmu. First, Snipe charge in first. He swung his sword, but Genmu dodged it effortlessly. But not soon after, XXR went in for a punch. After getting the punch, XXR crouched as XXL rolled over him and got in a kick. Then, the two Ex-Aids twirled away as Snipe tackled Genmu head on.

Genmu rolled backward. He looked over and saw Archer, still supported by Leafa and Recon. He saw an opportunity.

"You won't be able to make a game in your condition…" He growled. "And even if you could… all you would make is a pile of crap!"

That was the trigger. Archer screamed in pain, as orange blobs soon spewed out of his body. The blobs then soon formed into the shape of a humanoid.

"Wait a minute!" XXR cried. "I know you!"

"You're Motors!" XXL said.

Motors laughed as he got on his bike.

"It's race time, suckas!" He cackled.

He then roared his motorcycle into life and tore down the street.

"Hey, let's chase him!" XXR said.

"Right!" XXL replied.

Then, the two closed their Drivers and opened them again, reverting them back to the chibi Level 10 form.

GACHANN!

GACHANN! LEVEL UP!

MIGHTY BROTHERS! FUTARI DE HITORI! MIGHTY BROTHERS! FUTARI DE VICTORY! X!

And as the chibi form appeared, he grabbed a nearby Energy Item to help him along.

SPEED UP!

Ex-Aid then ran down the street, after Motors. Genmu just watched as the two opponents disappeared from sight.

"Just as I thought." He smirked. "Motors was indeed the best choice to use as a distraction."

"Distraction?" Snipe muttered.

"Now that Ex-Aid's out of the way, no one will stand in my way." Genmu declared, weapons appearing in his hands. "I shall reclaim your Gashats."

GASHACON SPARROW!

Genmu then charged at Snipe. Leafa then saw a chance.

"C'mon, follow us." Leafa said.

Then she and Recon moved Archer out of the battle.

Ex-Aid was still chasing after Motors. He was getting away from him even faster.

"I don't remember you being this fast!" Ex-Aid shouted.

"I've leveled up, boi!" Motors cheered. "I'm on a whole new level!"

And with one more twist of the handlebar, Motors disappeared out of sight.

"To a whole new dimension of speed!" He cheered.

Ex-Aid stopped, and grabbed onto his knees, catching his breath.

"Yowza…" He sighed.

Back with Snipe and Genmu, it was a pretty one-sided fight. Genmu was doing a number of damage onto Snipe. He would kick his side, and then he would slash his knee to bring him down. Snipe fired his laser, but Genmu rolled out of the way and only responded with a kick to the face. Genmu then jumped up for a downward slash. But Sinon and Liz came in and kicked Genmu out of the way.

"Now's your chance!" Sinon called.

Snipe scoffed, and only pulled out his Gashat and inserted it into the slot beside the belt.

GASHUNN! GASHATTO! KIMEWAZA!

Snipe gathered his energy, and then he pressed the button on the side again.

DRAGO KNIGHT CRITICAL STRIKE!

Snipe took to the air, and then slashed with his sword arm. And then he fired a huge energy blast with the laser arm, and then finally spewed out a breath of fire towards Genmu. Luckily, Lisbeth and Sinon moved out of the way to avoid the friendly fire. Genmu was thrown back several feet as he rolled away.

"Alright!" Silica cheered.

But that cheer was premature, as Genmu then oozed out black smoke, and then stood back up without a scratch on him.

"Huh?!" Nico uttered. "I get that he's an immortal zombie and everything, but this is just cheating!"

Genmu smiled and just inserted a Gashat into the Sparrow.

GASHATTO! KIMEWAZA!

He then got into a battle stance as he prepared for his attack.

GIRIGIRI CRITICAL FINISH!

He then fazed over to the Rider and the players. First, he kicked Liz in the face, sending her into a tree. Then he punched Sinon in the chest several times, and he finished with a slash down her back. Finally, he crouched under Snipe, and the sprung upwards, twirling as well. That gave Snipe several slash marks on Snipe's body. Sinon just fell on her back, while Snipe tumbled backward, thrown out of his transformation.

GASHUNN!

Snipe's Gashats all tumbled away from him. Genmu walked over and just picked them up casually.

"With this, Hojo Emu is the only one left with Gashats." Genmu stated.

Silica, Asuna, Poppy, and Nico all got over and helped their partners up.

"And you think you can beat him?" Liz shouted, "He's going to kick your ass!"

Genmu twirled his head over to Liz. He walked over to her and lifted her chin up so he could be face to face.

"I'm the game master." He said once more. "Creating a Gashat to defeat Ex-Aid… is child's play…!"

And with that, Genmu then pixelated away. Ex-Aid rolled up soon after. He cancelled out of his transformation to see what happened.

GACHANN! GASHUNN!

"What happened?" He asked, helping up Sinon.

"Snipe lost his Gashats too." Sinon explained.

"No…" Ex-Aid started. "Not him…"

But then, he yelled again, holding his head in pain. Sinon tried to ease him through it, but the pain was just getting worse. Snipe noticed this.

'It's only a matter of time…' He thought.

Later, in Brave's mansion, Archer was lying on the bed again. He looked very disappointed.

"I'm in your care again…" He sighed. "Isn't that pathetic?"

"No…" He said. "This is all Genmu's doing."

"Now, can you tell me what your stress is?" Ex-Aid asked.

"You see, we just got a new President at GENM Corp." Archer explained. "And to save our company from going bankrupt, we decided to hold an in-house competition on game design and concept."

"The pressure is overwhelming…" Archer went on. "But, I thought, I have to do this, for the sake of my team, who supported me all the way."

"Don't worry about a thing, sir!" Ex-Aid assured. "We'll cure you, and then I'll wait so you can play your game!"

Archer smiled weakly.

Meanwhile, in the commons room, Brave was sitting with a cup of tea.

"So now that licenseless doctor lost his Gashats as well…" He sighed.

Leafa had just finished informing Recon about the whole Bugster thing.

"So…" Recon repeated. "These things are viruses that can effect players in and out game?"

"That's basically it." Leafa replied.

Recon then put his hands over his face.

"This…" He sighed. "This is a lot to take in…"

Leafa was about to hold Recon, but she restrained herself.

"Well, we're in quite a pinch, aren't we?" Klein shrugged.

Just then, Kirito and Brave's message boards lit up. The two did not waste a single second after that. They quickly logged out.

"Huh?" Klein started. "Where did they go?"

Asuna knew what she was going to do. She also logged out, followed by Sinon.

Hiro and Kazuto stood up and found a tablet. They connected it to a nearby screen. As the screen powered up, Asuna and Shino also walked in from behind.

"Asuna? Shino?" Kazuto asked.

But there was no time for inquiries, as Taiga soon appeared onto the screen.

"Are you alone?" He asked.

"Yeah." Kazuto replied.

"Do not let Ex-Aid meet Genmu." Taiga ordered.

"Why?" Asuna asked.

"Two reasons." Taiga replied. "The first reason being that he is the only one out of us who still has Gashats."

"If he loses them, we have no means of fighting back." Taiga went on.

"What about the second reason?" Shino asked.

"His body is at his limit." Taiga went on. "You know what I mean."

Shino and Asuna looked confused, but Kazuto and Hiro knew what he was talking about.

"Speaking of his Gashats…" Taiga started.

But he was cut short by Nico jumping in.

"We're taking his Gashats!" She called. "Got it!"

"Hey, don't steal my lines!" Taiga scolded.

The two then argued on until the screen cut out. Hiro and Kazuto stood up and then moved as Asuna and Shino's minds were flooding with questions.

"What did he mean by that?" Shino asked.

"It's nothing you should worry about." Hiro replied, grabbing a quick swig of water.

Kazuto then looked at Hiro.

"We have to tell them." He said. "We can't keep this secret any longer."

Hiro grimaced, but he had no choice. He nodded, and Kazuto quickly turned to Shino and Asuna.

"Emu…" Kirito said slowly. "Has game disease…"

Shino and Asuna gasped quietly.

"Emu?" Shino spoke up.

Hiro quickly shushed them.

"He could still hear you!" He replied.

"We should tell him!" Asuna told them. "That way we could cure him…"

"No." Hiro quickly replied. "He's a doctor of CR. He's proud of his job! If he found out that he had game disease, it would stress him out too much and then…"

"He'll… disappear." Shino concluded.

"That's why I've been trying to get a Gashat." Hiro said. "To save him."

And with that, Hiro put on his AmuSphere back on. Shino did so as well.

"Come on Asuna." Kazuto said.

But he noticed that Asuna was just sitting on a chair.

"Asuna?" He asked.

"Why…?" She said quietly. "Why did you keep this from me?"

Kazuto sat down next to her, and wrapped an arm around her back.

"I'm sorry." He whispered. "I didn't know what to do before. I thought this was the only was to keep you safe."

Asuna, quietly wimpering, buried her face into Kazuto's shoulder.

Dan was busily typing on his computer. He appeared to be working on something. And with several more pushes of keys, the computer displayed the words COMPLETE. Then, an image popped up. It was a Gashat. It looked liked Pallad's Gashat Gear Dual, but instead of blue, it was maroon, and with two different games.

"It's done…!" Dan decalred.

Pallad, who was sitting behind him, was getting annoyed.

"What's all this about?" He asked. "You just made the sequel games to Taddle Quest and Bang Bang Shooting. Just mashed into one Gashat."

"With this, Ex-Aid is no longer a threat!" Dan started. "And… when all of the Bugster data is gathered and completed… my world will become complete!"

"A world…" He went on. "Where every player becomes a Rider and fights endlessly… it is the next world of survival games!"

Pallad stood up and then walked to Dan with a very serious face.

"I thought I told you I'm going to beat M." He seered.

"I can't wait any longer." Dan replied.

Pallad then grabbed his collar and pulled him forward.

"You ain't going to get him." He said.

Dan then threw Pallad off of him.

"Do not talk back to the game master!" He shouted.

"Both Emu Hojo and Koutarou Nagita created a Gashat without my knowledge." He said. "Gashats are only a product of MY MIND!"

"The same goes for you Bugsters as well." He went on. "You all are nothing but instruments to make dreams a reality. Specifically, my dreams."

Pallad scoffed as he listened on to Dan's babbling.

"I design a game character from scratch…" He started again. "Designing and programming their thought processes, as I will! I am the game master… I am a god!"

Archer was still lying on the ground. But then, he held his throat, and began to pixelate.

"The Bugster is on the move!" Poppy shouted.

"C'mon!" Ex-Aid shouted, bolting out the door.

He ran down the stairs and towards the entrance of the mansion. Along the way, he picked up, Liz, Silica, and Klein. Leafa volunteered to stay behind with Recon. But as Ex-Aid approached the doorm he was stopped by Brave, who stood right in his way. Kirito, Asuna, and Sinon were behind him too.

"I'll do it. Give me the Gashats." Brave ordered.

"Move it." Ex-Aid shot back.

Ex-Aid began to move, but Brave just grabbed his chest and pinned him to a wall.

"You are to stay here!" Brave ordered.

"Why?" Ex-Aid asked. "Does this have anything to do with whatever you're keeping from me?"

Brave buckled, but he kept his grasp on Ex-Aid.

"I think he just wants to help you with the operation!" Asuna replied.

Ex-Aid just threw Brave off of him then.

"I want to return Archer's smile." He said. "I can't leave that to you when you don't even care about the patient!"

"You think I give a flying crap about that?" Brave shot back. "I just want to save the patient right in front of me."

Ex-Aid perked up at what Brave said, but he didn't have time to waste. He ran outside. Brave went after him as well, followed by the rest of the SAO players that have joined him.

Meanwhile, Motors was enjoying his time terrorizing a nearby 1v1 match that was taking place, the crowd has dispersed, the two players that were about to fight were cornered.

"A fight, huh?" He said. "That's another race! Let me join in!"

Just then, a BMX wheel tore through the air and landed straight on Motors's body. He was sent back as Ex-Aid, in his Shakariki Sports Level 3 form, appeared and helped the two players to safety.

"Ex-Aid! Joining the race, are ya?" Motors said.

"Yep! Let's do this!" Ex-Aid smiled.

But he noticed Genmu walked towards them. He already had the BugVisor on, but he had another Gashat in his hand.

"You again?" Ex-Aid started.

Genmu ignored the comment and just looked over to Motors.

"You've served your purpose as decoy, Motors." He told him.

He then turned his attention to Ex-Aid.

"Hojo Emu!" He called. "I shall retrieve your Gashats."

Brave, Asuna and the others just turned up then. They were quickly followed by Snipe and Nico.

"Remember what I told you about not letting them meet?" Snipe asked.

"You think we didn't try to stop them?" Brave retorted.

Nico stepped forward, feeling confident.

"Hey, buddy!" She called. "M's Gashats are ours!"

Genmu only responded with his sinister slasher smile. Nico quickly cowered behind Snipe, to which Sinon rolled her eyes at.

"Ex-Aid! Don't bother with him!" Asuna called.

Ex-Aid ignored that plea, and just pressed the button on the side. All the while, Pallad was off on the sidelines, watching.

STAGE SELECT!

The area changed into a quarry of some kind. Behind Genmu was now a mountain.

Genmu only raised his arm, revealing the new Gashat to them. He twisted the knob, summoning a monster.

"In this game, you take on the role of the Demon King, who must defeat the Hero in order to rule the world." Genmu said. "Oh, and it is Level 50. You cannot defeat it."

Ex-Aid only pulled out his Mighty Brothers XX Gashat in response. He pressed it.

MIGHTY BROTHERS XX!

He then inserted it into the Gamer Driver, pulling out the other two Gashats, and then he opened it up.

GASHUNN!

DOUBLE GASHATTO!

GACHANN! LEVEL UP!

MIGHTY BROTHERS! FUTARI DE HITORI! MIGHTY BROTHERS! FUTARI DE VICTORY! X!

Ex-Aid soon became his Level 10 chibi form, and then he charged.

"Eliminate Ex-Aid." Genmu ordered.

The monster nodded and then dived down. It summoned an energy ball and sent it right down onto Ex-Aid's head. The result was an explosion that knocked Ex-Aid several feet and throwing him out of his transformation.

GASHUNN!

Ex-Aid tumbled down. Genmu smiled, and sent the monster away.

"No way…" Silica muttered.

"With just one hit?" Liz finished.

Genmu then approached Ex-Aid.

"C'mon!" Kirito spoke up, grabbing his swords.

He and the others than charged towards Genmu. He didn't even look fazed.

"Children…" He sighed apologetically.

He then pressed his Gashat.

DANGEROUS ZOMBIE!

"Henshin." He said, inserting the Gashat.

GASHATTO! BUCKLE UP!

DANGER! DANGER! GENOCIDE! DEATH THE CRISIS! DANGEROUS ZOMBIE!

Genmu changed into his Zombie Gamer form, and quickly made short work of the SAO players. First, he knocked Klein out with a simple strike to his stomach. He then dodged Liz and Silica's double swing of their weapons, and just simply smashed their heads together. He then grabbed Kirito's swords and simply made him stab himself. As for Asuna, he just simply walked to his side and axe-kicked her into the ground. Sinon was simply knee-kicked in the stomach.

Genmu continued over to Ex-Aid, but this time, he was stopped by Motors.

"Hey!" He called. "What the heck did you mean by decoy?"

"Exactly what it means." Genmu replied, pressing the buttons on the BugVisor.

As the standby sounds continued, he then pressed the A button. He didn't even notice Pallad watching.

CRITICAL END!

He jumped up and quickly erased Motors right in front of him with a kick. He then used the BugVisor to absorb his Bugster residue. Now, he made his way over to Ex-Aid without any interruptions.

Back in Brave's mansion, Archer stopped pixelating and gasping. He then stood up slowly. Leafa and Recon quickly went over.

"I'm cured…" Archer whispered.

"Uncle!" Recon cried.

He then gave him a sweet and endearing hug. Leafa smiled. Despite the idiocy Recon has, he is still a genuine guy.

Back to the fight, Genmu, now with the Sparrows in hand, walked over to Ex-Aid menacingly.

"You Riders and Bugsters are merely cogs in my master machine." He stated. "And those SAO Surviors were just an additional tool to help you move along."

He then moved his Sparrow over to Ex-Aid's neck.

"You have all done your jobs." Genmu seethed. "Now, hand over your Gashats."

Ex-Aid grimaced, but was still persistent.

"You'll have to pry them off my body then." He said.

Genmu was about to make a comment, but something happened. A strong force launched Genmu out of Ex-Aid's face and into a pile of tins. Everyone was surprised to see who it was.

"What is the meaning of this…" He growled. "…Pallad!"

Pallad, as Para-DX, in Knock Out Fighter form, was breathing heavily. He was beyond mad right now. He began to walk over to Genmu as Ex-Aid and the others just watched on.

"So you used Motors as bait?" He asked, with his voice shaking. "Just what the hell do you think we Bugsters are?!"

Genmu scoffed, and just stood back up.

"You're the one to talk." He replied. "Didn't you kill your buddy, Revol, a few days ago?"

"It was just part of the game, so I was playing seriously!" Para-DX retorted. "We Bugsters are bound by the rules of our game. We play the game, and we win the game. It's as simple as that!"

Ex-Aid looked on at Pallad. Something seemed different with him.

"You lousy game character!" Genmu roared. "You dare defy the game master?!"

"Y'know." Para-DX responded. "You really have me riled up now!"

Para-DX fired a fire punch, which Genmu dodged by rolling out of the way. But, this was soon followed by a repeating swings of punches from Para-DX. There were at least 50 punches delivered in that short amount of time. And the final punch, launched Genmu 50 feet into the air, and then Para-DX jumped and then slammed one more fist down, sending Genmu straight into the side of the mountain. The good guys were appalled by what they just saw. Genmu stumbled out and limped slowly.

"Do you have any idea of what you're doing now?!" He shouted.

"Yep." Para-DX simply replied. "Actually, I think I know exactly what the fuck I'm doing."

He pulled out his Gashat, and turned the knob twice, selecting the game.

PERFECT PUZZLE!

WHAT'S THE NEXT STAGE?

"Dai Henshin." He said, pressing the Gashat.

DUAL UP!

GET THE GLORY IN THE CHAIN! PERFECT PUZZLE!

Para-DX turned into his Perfect Puzzle form and gather all of the Energy Items within the area.

"Someone has to put you in your place." He said, beginning to swipe the Energy Items around.

He flipped through them and then selected the three he wanted to go with.

MUSCLE UP! MUSCLE UP! MUSCLE UP!

He then pulled out his Gashat and then turned the knob.

KIMEWAZA!

He then inserted the Gashat back into the holder.

DUAL GASHAT!

PERFECT CRITICAL COMBO!

He charged. Genmu also charged, but that gave him a huge opening. Using that chance, Para-DX landed a huge hit on Genmu's chest, sending him flying and knocking him out of his transformation.

ALL CLEAR!

GASHUNN!

Genmu breathed heavily like a wil animal, while Para-DX sighed and cancelled out of his transformation.

"Man." He smiled. "That. Felt. Good."

The area reverted back to its original setting. Genmu then smiled evilly. He knew what he was about to do.

"You said you wanted to beat Hojo Emu… yes?" He seethed. "Then… consider this… your punishment."

Pallad raised an eyebrow. Genmu turned his attention to Ex-Aid as Excite! begins to play in the background.

"HOJO EMU!" He screamed.

Ex-Aid perked up at the hearing of his RL name.

"Why can you transform into Ex-Aid without the use of the compatibility surgery?" Genmu asked. "How did you create a new Gashat? Why are those headaches of yours happening?!"

"Well…" He continued. "The answer to that is very simple…"

Brave realized what he was about to do. He began to run towards Genmu. Snipe and Pallad also noticed and they began to run forward as well.

"You are Patient Zero!" Genmu declared. "The very first man upon this earth to be infected with the Bugster virus!"

He then cackled evilly as the secret's revealed. Brave and Snipe stopped, knowing that there was nothing they can do now. Pallad simply grabbed Genmu by his neck to shut him up.

"Me… Game disease?" Ex-Aid muttered.

The SAO players stood up and looked at Ex-Aid. He appeared to be trying to deny it.

"N-n-no." ExAid stuttered. "That-that's a lie!"

But, it very was. Ex-Aid then felt something within him. His eyes began to glow red, and his hands were beginning to pixelate in and out. He looked around his body and saw that his entire body was doing the same. Then, with one scream of pain, Ex-Aid's body glowed a bright orange color as the virus was now consuming him. All everyone else could do was watch, while Genmu smiled away.