Chapter 3:When Heroes Fall

On the 100th floor,of the Axiom Church,Kirito was being carried by Alice into the room of the administrator."Highest Adminstrator, may I ask why you wanted the Integrity Knights to capture this boy?" Alice asked, confused. "This boy, would be very useful in defending the Axiom Church. He has incredible skill, possibly stronger than all the knights. He has already defeated 5 Integrity Knights, including you." Alice was shocked to know that this boy has defeated 5 Integrity Knights,even for a kid, this seemed to be nearly impossible, but Kirito and Eugeo were one of those kids who could fight against the Axiom Church. Him and his partner defeated 5 Integrity Knights already?! I have never heard of boys like these. "Alice, put that boy in that chamber there and chain him, once you have done so, find this boy's partner." Alice put Kirito in the chamber of the other room and left the Highest Administrator's Room. There will be two choices on making this boy into an Integrity Knight. The Voluntary Synthesis or the Forced Synthesis. I doubt this boy would be volunteering to be an Integrity Knight, so I will have to do the Forced Synthesis Ritual but I should try to make him volunteer to be an Integrity Knight.

Eugeo,who was terrified of what happened, kept running to finding a spot where he can hide. It happened again! It's always me who is getting protected, and Kirito isn't in a good position right now. It's all my fault! Eugeo went back to the 85th floor's dungeon to hide for awhile. He didn't know what to do, he was,most of the time, being defended by Kirito, and now, Kirito is somewhere he does not have an idea about. What are they going to do with him? Are they gonna keep him as prisoner again? No, I doubt they will be doing it again, we have escaped 2 times already. This isn't good... Eugeo heard footsteps,the sound kept getting louder, louder and louder, Eugeo took a quick peak. It's Alice! Why is it her again?! Maybe I can try talking to her? "Come out,rebel, I know you're there." Eugeo din't come out for awhile, thinking of his strategy. I have only one option, I have to try and talk to her. Eugeo came out of his hiding spot. "Alice, do you seriously not remember me?" Alice was annoyed by this question "Why are you so desperate to make me remember? As I said before, I have no idea who you are." Eugeo replied. "Do you not remember Rulid Village? Me and Kirito? When we were cutting down the Gigas Cedar? When you gave us food when we were tired and hungry?" Alice had a flashback of her giving food to Eugeo and Kirito."Hi Eugeo, Kirito, still cutting down that tree?" In unity, the boys answered with a nod. "Well, I brought some food for you two, I hope you like it! The boys were suprised, the sandwiches looked so good, they grabbed it and ate a piece of it. "This is so good, Alice, how do you make these taste better than mine?!" Eugeo questioned. "Well I just use normal ingredients, that's all that is to it." Kirito was suprised. "Woah really? I thought you added something different to it, a hundred percent better than Eugeo's sandwiches!" "So your saying I'm a bad sandwich-maker?" Eugeo said in a joking matter."Of course not Eugeo, your sandwiches are decent, and they are tasty,too." The trio laughed and ate the sandwiches. Alice remembered all of this,she had fun making those sandwiches for the boys, she tried her very best just to make it everyday. Alice dropped her sword. "I... I remember..." Eugeo was happy to see that she remembered all those times with Kirito. "I'm so glad you remember, Alice." The Piety Module on Alice's forehead glowed and removed itself. Eugeo and Alice sneaked to the door and looked around the area for any guards. "There aren't any guards here, Eugeo, we can come out now." Eugeo asked Alice a question. "Alice... how is Kirito?" Alice looked back at Eugeo. "The Highest Administrator ordered me to bring him to her room, she also told me to put him in a chamber and chain him and... she's going to try and make Kirito an Integrity Knight..." Eugeo was scared, not knowing what would happen if Kirito would be an Integrity Knight. "Then we'll just have to rescue him before that happens." Alice nodded in agreement and ran to the stairs.

Ugh, where am I? Why can't I move? Kirito slowly opened his eyes,only to see that he was chained to the wall. What?! This is different from the other dungeons and cells,my hands are stuck to the wall and can't move. What happened when I passed out? Kirito was confused, he forgot what happened the last time he was conscious. Then, he remembered what happened. Right, I was injured and Eugeo and I had to fight Alice, she used her Enhanced Armament and aimed for Eugeo, then I took a blow from it. Eugeo managed to escape and I can't remember anything else... The door infront of the chamber opened and Kirito saw a beautiful woman, she had long silver hair and clothing with a similar color as the Stacia Window. "Who are you?" Kirito stuttered as he asked. "I am Quinella, the Highest Administrator, I would like you to be an Integrity Knight." Kirito was shocked to hear a question like this. She wants me to be an Integrity Knight? We only came here to get Alice back. "Why would I join you in the first place?"
"Because the Human Empire needs you, you have incredible skill with swords and can be a great help in defending the Empire." Quinella replied. "Well I don't want to join you, most Nobles abuse their power to intimidate and abuse people, the Integrity Knights don't even care about it, they just don't care as long as the Nobles have authority,they only care if it's against the Taboo Index they just use it in a bad way! That is why I will never be an Integrity Knight, the Taboo Index is always absolute, it makes me mad just seeing Nobles abuse their power over people. I thought Integrity Knights were better than this, I thought they could actually do things that could get rid of the Nobles who abuse their power and to make the Human Empire a better place. I looked up to the Integrity Knights, but now, knowing how they do their work..." Kirito explained angrily. Quinella knew this boy has been through a lot."You've been through a lot haven't you? Have you ever been cared for? or have been taken cared of when you were in pain?" Quinella started manipulating Kirito's memories, covering all his memories with Asuna and the others and replacing it with sadness,loneliness and despair in that death game. Kirito had no answer, he tried to remember the friends he protected but those memories were long gone, covered by darkness. "I... have been through alot of pain." Kirito was quietly weeping while Quinella unchained and hugged him. "If you become an Integrity Knight, you will never go through that again." Quinella pulled out a dagger, it was glowing and it seemed to have codes and commands in it. Kirito, confused at what the dagger is or what it does. "What do you think your-" Kirito was cut off as Quinella thrusted the dagger into Kirito. Nothing happened. Confusion was going through Kirito's mind. What was that supposed to be? I don't feel anything, no debuffs or anything- Kirito suddenly felt a headache. "You... What did you just do?!" Quinella gave an evil grin towards Kirito. "This.. Is a special dagger that can remove memories and replace them with anything I want to." Kirito was stunned. All my memories are going to be replaced?... That can't be.. "Apply debuff: Sleep. Target:Kirito Debuff Time:Unlimited unless called off by The Administrator." After Quinella's spoke these words, Kirito's eyes were feeling heavy, and he blacked out.

"Doctor Higa, how is Kirito?" Asuna asked. "He's fine, nothing bad is happening right now." Higa replied. I do hope nothing bad does happen, if something does happen,we might need to do something, the worst case scenario is...we will have to disable the safety features of the STL which can cause problems, big ones. "Sir!, something is happening inside the UnderWorld! Kirito is breathing heavily and we don't know what's the cause!" One of the men reported. "What?! Check the server logs if anything happened!" Higa was usually calm, but little by little, his usual self being calm, wasn't being like that anymore. "Doctor, what's happening?" Asuna hastily asked Higa. "Kirito is breathing heavily and we do not know what is the cause, we will need to disable the Soul Translator's safety features to use the medical technology..." Higa slowly replied. "Sir! We don't see anything wrong with the server, it must be something happening within the UnderWorld and we can't display the UnderWorld because of the cooldown it needs after being used!" Darn it,we will have to disable the STL's safety features and give him medical treatment for awhile. "Disable the STL's safety features and get some medics and the medical technology here!" Asuna was getting scared by the minute and looked at Kirito. Kirito, I hope you're fine! An idea struck Asuna's mind. "Doctor, is it possible for me to also connect to the UnderWorld?" Higa was uneasy with this question but Asuna harshly insisted. "Okay, we'll make you an avatar that will suit you, just give me 30 minutes." Asuna seemed relieved but she remembered the Fluctlight Acceleration. "Wait, how long is that in UnderWorld time? Higa looked back at Asuna "Ten days..."

In the UnderWorld

Now, it is time to see the memories of this boy. Quinella's opened a window and saw everything Kirito knew, at the game of life and death, she watched it from the beginning to the end. Kirito saving Sinon and defeating Kayaba. She saw everything. This boy has a dark past, it will be better to replace these with something better. Quinella's replaced all of Kirito's memories with him watching the UnderWorld from the skies.

The top of his hair had Slowly turned to white on it. Kirito forgot about everything, except the memories of Asuna. Although, the memories were blurry. "Arise, Kirito, you were summoned by the Gods of the UnderWorld to aid in defending it's order, your name shall be Kirito Synthesis Thirty-two." Kirito looked up at Quinella with his obsidian eyes. "I see, what shall I do first?" Quinella gave him his sword from previous battles. "This is your sword, you may name it any name you want." Kirito had only one name in mind. "I shall name this sword, the Sword of the Black Winds." Quinella nodded with this name as it fits the Enhanced Armament of Kirito and opened a window showing a picture of Eugeo and Alice. "Your first mission in defending the Human Empire's order is to get rid of these rebels,the Integrity Knight traitor and a rebel, Alice Synthesis Thirty and Eugeo." Kirito nodded in agreement and left the room. This boy will be a great addition for the Integrity Knights, it will also help me against Cardinal. His obedience is temporary for awhile, but once his hair turns completely white, it will be permanent. A smile crept on Quinella's face as Kirito left the room.

9 more UnderWorld Days until Asuna logs in.

"Alice, what floor are we on again? I'm pretty sure we're close to the 100th floor." Eugeo,who is very tired, asked. "We're on Floor Ninety-Eight." Alice looked at Eugeo. He's pretty tired, we should rest for awhile. "Eugeo, let's rest here for awhile, you seem pretty tired." Eugeo nodded in agreement and sat down with Alice, Eugeo letting out an exhausting sigh. "Prepare to fight, intruders of the Axiom Church." Eugeo recognized that voice and saw someone in Black Armor,leaning on the wall. It can't be... The boy in black armor opened his eyes and unsheathed his one-handed long sword. That sword... It's Kirito! No... This can't be real... I'm too late... Eugeo clenched his fist as he realized it was too late. Kirito spoke to Eugeo."Are you going to fight me or not? Either way, you'll have to fight me." I have to fight him? Out of all people why him? First Alice, now Kirito? "Alice... We can't fight him..." Alice grabbed Eugeo's hand. "We're not going to fight him yet, we're not in a good condition. Enhance Armament!" Alice blasted the door behind her and pulled Eugeo with her, she jumped out with him while Kirito watched the two fall. "Amayori!" Alice shouted. A dragon appeared from the lower floors and caught the two on it's back. "Amayori, fly towards the mountains and land somewhere safe." The dragon flew to the mountains with forests.

Amayori found a spot they could land in and dropped off Eugeo and Alice. "Thank you, Amayori, but please stay with me for awhile." The dragon nodded as Alice patted the dragon's nose. Alice looked at Eugeo, who always thought about Kirito, becoming an Integrity Knight. I... I can't believe it... Kirito's an Integrity Knight... We were too late... Alice walked up to him and tried to comfort Eugeo by hugging him at the back. "I'm sure we will find a way to bring him back... Just give it some time. For now, let's find small branches and some food for the night." Eugeo nodded in agreement and went to the woods with Alice. By the time the moon rose, the two brought back some apples,small branches and small logs for them to sit down on. Eugeo and Alice put the sticks in one spot and called Amayori. "Amayori, can you light these sticks up?" The dragon spit out a small fire that lit up the sticks. Eugeo placed the logs and gave some apples to Alice. The two were becoming sleepy and slept for the night, but for some strange reason, Eugeo couldn't sleep,he tried to find out the reason and found out that he was always thinking if they can really bring him back. Eugeo stared at the moon while Alice, who wasn't completely asleep, saw Eugeo staring at the moon. Alice walked up to Eugeo and asked him. "Is there something bothering you, Eugeo?" Eugeo was holding back to hide answer but eventually said it. "Alice, do you think that we can really bring him back? What if... What if he doesen't turn back to us?" Alice sat down with Eugeo. "I'm sure we will find a way in the future,someone might even help us." Alice smiled and told Eugeo to go back to sleeping, he nodded in agreement and the two slept after the tiring day.

Back in the Real World

"Doctor, is it possible to setup my avatar faster?" Asuna hastily replied. "Now that I think about it, there is a way, I can reduce it to about 14 minutes." Asuna was happy to hear this but looked back at Kirito. "Doctor, is Kirito okay?" Higa nodded and spoke. "He stopped breathing heavily a few minutes ago, so he should be fine,we turned on the STL's Safety Feautures again so nothing bad should have happened while it was off. Asuna was glad to hear that Kirito was fine but she had this sensation that he wasn't fine even with the confirmation from Doctor Higa.

8 More UW Days until Asuna logs in.

Kirito kneeled and spoke "I am sorry,Highest Administrator, but the rebels managed to escape..." Quinella let out a silent disappointing sigh. "That is okay Kirito,you can train with the Integrity Knights before the rebels try to attack. If you want to train, go to the 87th floor, you can use the Elevating Disc Platform if you talk to the Operator." Kirito stood up and left for training.

After the use of the Elevating Disc Platform

Kirito looked around the training room, only to see Fanatio. Fanatio looked at the boy and gasped. "Why are you here?!" Kirito forgot about the fights he had with the Integrity Knights, but the Knights still remembered. "Do I know you?" Kirito asked. This boy doesen't remember me? And where did he get that suit of armor? Wait, is he an Integrity Knight? "Boy, are you an Integrity Knight?" Kirito nodded. "Have you come here for training? If so, I can spar with you for awhile." Kirito, wondering who this person is, asked a question. "I did come to train, but may I ask for your name?" Fanatio nodded and spoke to Kirito. "My name is Fanatio Synthesis Two,Vice Commander of the Integrity Knights." Kirito was suprised that he had met the Vice Commander and as he did not give any sign of respect. Kirito put his right fist to his left shoulder and bowed,"Sorry for not being able to show any sign of respect, Vice Commander." Fanatio didn't seem to care much and told Kirito that it was okay. After their small chat, they began to spar in the training room.

As the sun rose, the light from the sun shined, it reached the faces of the two youngsters sleeping on logs. Eugeo slowly opened his eyes as he got up from his bed, he turned only to see the fire gone and Alice sleeping. Maybe I should take a walk for awhile and come back later. Eugeo stretched and picked up his sword to walk inside the forest, but what he didn't know that it was near the cave Eugeo,Kirito and Alice found the Blue Rose Sword. Eugeo started to see a clear path, only to find a cave. Huh, this place seems familiar. Wait... Is this the place I found my Blue Rose Sword? Eugeo walked deep within the cave, finding the spot where he first found the sword, the bones of the White Dragon were still there, exactly as they left it. So it is the same cave. Eugeo started to weep a little, remembering the time he had found this sword with Kirito, but that Kirito is no longer the same person. Eugeo walked back to the place where Alice was. After a long walk, he saw Alice who looked a little worried, but she was eating an apple beside Amayori. Alice saw the boy walking back to the camp site. "Eugeo! Where were you? I was worried when I didn't see you anywhere." Eugeo gave Alice a smile. "I just took a walk around the place, but I'm back now. By the way, we should get moving, we're going to Rulid Village for some supplies I can take." Alice nodded in agreement. "Amayori, it's time to go." Amayori stood up on it's four feet and crouched so Alice and Eugeo can get on.

"Alice, when we're flying, stay down, we don't want any attention. Try to go around the village, although there is the Sword Mastery Academy... We'll go early so that there will be less people outside. We can't wait until the sun falls."

"Okay, got it, but what supplies will you get?"

"Food,a bag and a tent, and two futons. But only a few, we'll have to get raw materials if we need any, we can't carry too much."

Alice nodded and commanded Amayori to go around Rulid Village. The dragon flew and was headed for Rulid Village, or atleast, near it.

2 Hours of Flight later...

Near the academy were two young girls, one girl had red hair and the other had a light-brown hair. Ronye and Tieze were previously Eugeo and Kirito's Valets, Ronye was the one with the red hair and Tieze had light-brown hair. As they were walking to the Sword Mastery Academy, a violent wind blew past, the girls were able to hold on, th girls had a glimpse of the people on the flying figure. "Whoa, did you see that Ronye?! It was a dragon!" Tieze spoke in suprise. "I sure did! But did you see the people riding it? It seemed like... Eugeo?!"

"Don't be crazy, Ronye, Eugeo isn't an Integrity Knight, but wasn't he and Kirito in prison?"

"Yeah, they were, but I think they busted out..."

"But Eugeo doesen't own a dragon right? Could it be that person with long blonde hair?"

"I'm sure it's Eugeo... Let's follow the dragon."

"Fine, but we're not gonna greet the owner of the dragon if Eugeo isn't there."

The girls sprinted towards the dragon, they were running out of stamina but luckily, the dragon landed near the river, noone really lives there and it is a bit far from Rulid Village. The girls hid behind the trees to see who were riding the dragon, to their suprise, it was Eugeo, who was with someone they had no idea about. The two girls came out of the trees but Eugeo instinctively drew his sword and pointed it at the girls. The girls flinched as Eugeo pointed it at them.

"Oh, it's just you two, what are you doing here?" Eugeo sheathed his sword as he asked his question.

"Sorry, Master, for intriguing, I followed you here because I saw your dragon pass by..."

"Well, that's okay, but I don't own this dragon."

"Eh? Then who owns it?"

Alice appeared behind Eugeo, yet again, suprising the two girls. "Master, who is this?" Ronye nervously asked. "This is Integrity Knight, Alice Synthesis Thirty." Eugeo replied. "Hello there, who are you two?" Tieze raised her hand and spoke."I'm Tieze and this is Ronye."

"It's nice to meet you, Ronye,Tieze." Alice bowed.

"Ah, no need to for the formalities." Tieze rubbed the back of her head.

"Eugeo, where is Kirito?" Eugeo had a sharp pain but it was for a brief moment she asked. "He's... An Integrity Knight..." Tieze was suprised to hear this. "Wow! He did?"

"It's not as good as it sounds." His eyes become shaded with his bangs.

"What do you mean?" Tieze wondered what happened to her master.

"He isn't like himself before, he tried to kill me and Alice, he probably doesn't remember us... Or the Sword Academy..."

Tieze was froze, his master has forgotten about her and everything. "Wh-What?"

Tieze couldn't comprehend how hard it is for Kirito to forget everything.

Kirito walked up to Quinella's room, she had called him for something.

"What do you need, Highest Administrator?" Quinella went off her bed and gave Kirito a sword, it was white with a golden handle and trims.

"Take this sword, Kirito, it is one of the strongest swords to be found." Kirito was shocked for a brief moment, but took the sword and bowed, signalling his department. Huh, why would she just give me a Divine Instrument, although, I do not know it's name yet though. Maybe it wasn't named in the first place? Well, it's getting late, I should go sleep.

Kirito went down to floor 85 and to his room and sat on a chair while looking at the sword. This sword gives me a wierd feeling when I hold it...

The sword suddenly glowed right before his eyes and was blinded. Kirito looked around to see where he was, it seemed to be a clear hill with grasses swaying and clear blue skies. He saw some sort of figure, it was like a figure of a dragon.

Woah! What happened? And... Where am I?

The dragon crashed down near the area of Kirito and rose up. "Are you the one who wields the sword?" The smoke cleared and the dragon had white scaled and golden fur, it resembled the color of the sword he was given. Wait, does he mean the sword Highest Administrator gave me? "Yes, I wield the sword." The dragon scanned the boy if he was worthy of wielding the sword. "Show me if you are worthy of using this sword." Lizardmen with shields and swords teleported around Kirito and he was given a sword, much like a diamond colored sword. This sword... It looks familiar... But from where? The lizardmen charged at Kirito, Kirito tried to attack, but was parried by another lizardman. Damn, these guys have a 100% coordination with each other. Kirito thrusted his sword forward and broke a lizardman's shield, the lizardman was off-balance. The time is now! Kirito switched his sword from the right hand to the left and struck the lizardman down and taking his sword. Kirito attacked the lizardman who blocked his attack, but used his extra sword to cut the lizard down. The last four lizardman surrounded Kirito and charged at him, Kirito jumped and stabbed two at the back and threw his sword at the third lizard, he picked up the other fallen lizard's sword while the lizardman charged, Kirito side stepped and cut it from the side, the lizardman groaned. A chance! Kirito lunged forward and stabbed it at the chest.

"You have skill, boy. It seems that you are worth using this sword." Kirito was panting before he spoke. "Dragon, what is the name of the sword?"

"The sword's name is "The Lost Sword of The Dragon King." call out to it when you need it most.

With that, the dragon flew away. Kirito woke up with his face on the table. It was... A dream? Well I'm glad that's over, I can finally get some rest on my comfy bed. Kirito walked on to his bed and lied down. ""Lost Sword of The Dragon King," huh?" He closed his eyes and rested for the next day.

"Asuna! We finished setting up your character and you're ready to go!" Asuna ran into the room and put the headgear of the Soul Translator. "Ready when you are, Asuna." Asuna nodded and closed her eyes. After a few moments, she opened her eyes. "Whoa!" Asuna looked around to see a blue sky with green grass and trees around her with birds flying around the sky. This is the UnderWorld? It's just like Alfheim.

"It is quite similar to Alfheim, but there are no floor here besides the Axiom Church, where Kirito is currently located."

"Is that so?" Asuna responded

"There are no floors but there are regions and nations like the Dark Territory and the Human Empire."

Asuna looked around and scanned the area, it seemed she was in a small village. She saw a forge and asked the owner where she currently is. "You aren't from around here, aren't ya? Well, if you are wondering where you are, you are in Rulid Village." Said the owner. Rulid Village, huh? Well, I should probably start looking for Kirito, but where is the Axiom Church?

"If you are wondering where the Axiom Church is, I can teleport you there, but be careful, some NPCs are aggressive of you don't cooperate. But don't worry, you have a status of an Empress from another country, so it will be rare for them to turn aggressive. Oh and, it also has a hundred floors... I'll teleport you to the 80th floor, it's risky to teleport you to the 100th. One last thing, here is your gear and weapons, I added these specifically for you."

The gear was similar to the one in SAO, but had some under armor with a strong durability and was made out of light-weight material for Asuna to move quick and swift. The weapon given to her was the one she always uses, a divine instrument rapier, named "The Strike of The Lightning Gods." It was as light as a feather and had a bonus ability to increase her speed by 85%.

"Asuna, that weapon is a divine-instrument. Which means that it has a bonus ability and a special attack that no other swords have. Get ready to be transported to the 80th floor... Now." As soon as he finished, Asuna was teleported to,the 80th floor. She looked around the building, it was very wide and huge, there were a few rooms with names of the Integrity Knights, but did not find Kirito's name. So she went up to floor 81-84, but didn't find Kirito's name outside the door. "Higa are you sure Kirito is here?"

"I am quite certain that he is, let me check what floor he is at right now." Higa typed codes and commands to look for Kirito's current location. "He is on floor 87, it seems he is training alone in the training room." Asuna looked at the stairs but also saw some sort of platform, it was a circular one. Asuna came closer and looked up. "I think I found an elevator, I'll use it to get to Kirito." When Asuna stepped on the platform, the operator suddenly appeared. "Gah!" Asuna was surprised as she did not expect an operator to appear. "What floor do you want to go to, madam?" Asked the operator. "Um.. To floor,87 please." The platform started to go up and up, then stopped. "Here we are, floor 87." Asuna leapt out of the platform and waved to the operator. The operator then disappeared and Asuna was making her way to the training room's door. Asuna slowly opened the door and saw Kirito swinging his sword, Asuna entered and made a loud noise as she stepped in the ground. Kirito instinctively turned to see Asuna with a slightly embarrassed face and waved to Kirito.

TO BE CONTINUED...

A/N:

Sorry if this took VERY long, I just sorta lost motivation for this, but I have been thinking about the future of this fanfic, but I hope you will enjoy and be patient for now. Thanks for reading :D