Kureha
After Pitohui butchered Crimson Squad's motto and they were teleported out of the waiting room, LPFM spawns out to a shoreline. Having gone to a beach not long ago, Kureha's unimpressed with the dreary landscape. Instead of a tropical, sunny paradise, the weather is piss-poor and unwelcoming. The sea is dull grey and boorish. The sky is cloudy grey, with whatever sunlight breaks through giving, providing a reddish hue. Instead of sand, the flat land is dark brown dirt devoid of vegetation. There were some objects in the water, and until her vision reached maximum visual acuity just more than a mile away, nothing was blurred.
If it weren't summer in the real world, Kureha would believe she's been dropped into a shoreline during late fall to late winter.
"Would it kill them to spruce up the environment for once?" she finds herself talking. "I'm going to file a complaint with Zeliska. At least have a summer-themed map."
"All right! Let's kill 'em!" Pitohui's happy voice draws her attention to her teammates. Like her, Llenn was gazing out to sea; Fukaziroh and Jaymes, the laxest of the six, decided to skip rocks together; M, the cautious one, scans their open surroundings through the scope of his M14 EBR. The position of each team is six-tenths of a mile apart from each other, within the range of a long-distance sniper rifle like Sinon's, but Kureha's sure most teams will wait until the first satellite scan in a couple of moments.
"Okay, people! Gather round and let's sit." Everyone follows Pitohui's lead, getting down to the ground and sitting in a circle. It's weird for Kureha to allow Pitohui to command her, but Jaymes was adamant about letting not leading the team. The same thing happened in SJ2, where he gave Llenn team leadership instead of taking his rightful place as Crimson Squad's leader. Given that Llenn's rusty from a lengthy avoidance of VR gaming, Fuka's rusty from GGO, and M and Pitohui are rusty due to the latter's music tour, Kureha and Jaymes have to be more proactive as the well-oiled teammates.
"Bring up the map, M."
"Roger that." M touches his scanner to bring up the virtual map for everyone to view. Their battlefield, as usual, is six miles across horizontally and vertically, but until now, no other details were known about it. What they see is, to Kureha's discontent, a square island. A dreary, dull, pitiful, not-so-summery island.
"I just knew it'd be an island," Pitohui remarks.
"What is this Bean Island? Is that why we're packed together in pods?" Fukaziroh's joke is largely ignored.
"An island, huh?" Jaymes looks over his shoulder to the sea behind them. "GGO is the only game I've played where you incur water damage even if you can perfectly swim. I don't see boats around; that's a tactical advantage this early in the game. No place to run to or hide along the edges of the map."
Pitohui points to the lower-left part of the map. For now, only their position is projected on the map. "Right on the southwest edge of the island."
"Just like last time, it seems they've separated the powerhouse squads into the corners." M's comment is correct; Kureha's team was to the northwest last time, SHINC to the southwest, MMTM to the northeast, and Pito's to the southeast. It's the only reason Crimson Squad took so long to encounter Pitohui and M and how they ran into SHINC at the stadium on the western side of the map. Memento Mori somehow crossed over, most likely hunting Llenn's team.
"And we get to do it again," Llenn mutters disappointedly.
"Now, now, Llenn, that just means we shoot 'em all and crush 'em all and kill 'em all along the way, y'know? Capisce?"
"Fuka's right. When it comes to competition, you can't start by beating yourself. You must think of yourself as God's chosen unbeatable champion. Isn't that right, captain?"
"I don't disagree with the sentiment, but I wouldn't go that far. But if M deduces that without us seeing the full scan, then..." The rest is left unsaid but understood. It may not matter which corner their team is in; if other teams are thinking, "Take out the teams positioned in the corners," then LPFM is in trouble.
"Now, which way should we march?" Pitohui asks as her finger trails right on the map. It's a bunch of lines forming a pattern there, an indistinguishable pattern at that. It covers a good amount of area, about a mile wide and several miles long. Kureha has no idea what the location is supposed to be, but her experience tells her it isn't walls.
"So...what is this?" Llenn asks.
"Um, no idea," Fuka answers immediately.
"It's a switchyard," M answers.
"Oh, duh! A swi-chard! I knew it... So what's that?" Kureha feels her eyes roll into the back of her head at Fuka's stupidity. Llenn looks clueless too, but at least she isn't embarrassing herself as she looks to M for an explanation.
"It's part of a railyard where trains and freight cars are switched around and sorted for their journey depending on the destination."
"Ohhh."
"The lines on the map are the many parallel tracks that branch apart for sorting. The dots you saw in the distance are the freight cars. Some of them are coupled, many are sitting on their own, and some have come off the tracks and tipped over."
"Ah, I see. So this place will have a pretty good vantage, right?"
"Depends on the number of cars, but it should be wide open for the most part. Not a place you want to take your time strolling through."
"I figured. But-"
"That's right," Pitohui says, cutting Llenn off. "Given our starting position, we don't have a choice but to go through here...As for what's after that..."
Pito's finger hovers to the island's northern side or up on the map. Kureha recognizes the grid pattern across a mile of the northern coast instantly. It isn't detailed, but there are green and blue spots (parks and ponds?) within the grid, and some lines were thicker than others. Some designs seem to indicate shoreline facilities. "That's a cit-"
"Ohhh, I know this one! It's a city!"
"Hmmm." Llenn, unlike her loud, idiotic friend, seems to think critically about the information given. A city is a versatile area, and it is the optimal battleground for the best players. There are plenty of places to hide, plenty of places to fight, and if one has a sniper, plenty of verticalities to use the specialist to an advantage. In other words, the danger is everywhere. For a team like Crimson Squad, who have battled in urban areas many times, it boils down to getting the drop on the enemy teams first and foremost.
"Looks like we should get some good urban combat here. Let's go clockwise, then." Pitohui offers the suggestion, then looks at Jaymes, who remains silent. He voices no disagreement, so the lady in black continues circling her finger to the east towards a green, fuzzy area of the map.
"That's a forest," Llenn identifies. Forests are the poorest place to fight, for they offer low visibility, poor terrain, and without any verticality in this forest, no height advantage unless one climbs a tree. It may seem like one should avoid it-and Kureha would agree they should, but Crimson Squad has two weapons that virtually have no disadvantages unless surrounded or inexperienced.
The photon swords of Jaymes and Pitohui will work well in the forest.
"Let's continue. Below that in the southeast corner." The terrain there is irregular, with a multitude of objects sprouting out of the ground. Being that they're seeing it from a satellite view, they can't really tell what it is, but Kureha knows what it isn't.
"I got it! It's a field of giant mushrooms!"
"Maybe you'll grow up if you stuff your face with mushrooms! It's not that!" Kureha snaps at the little blond girl in green.
"If it's a natural feature, it would likely be rocks. Overseas, I once saw some rocky outcroppings that had been worn down by wind and rain until they made towering formations. These were well over fifty feet tall," M says.
"I know what you're talking about," Jaymes states, then glances at Kureha. "The southwestern states are full of them, remember?"
"Oh, yeah... So now that we've sorted the map's perimeter, what about the center?"
"Right... Huh? What the hell is this?" Not used to hearing the overly confident queen of mean express confusion, Kureha focuses on Pito's gloved finger in the center of the map. It is surrounded by a grassy plain that climbs slowly into a hill. That hill is the highest point on the island, but that's not what confuses Pito. On top of the hill is a black space about five hundred yards long and seventy across labeled UNKNOWN.
"Huh? What the hell is this?" Fukaziroh mimics.
"Unknown? So we don't know what's up there?"
"Oh, so that's what it means... Can the people who are nearby right now see it?"
"I assume they're intentionally hiding it," M hypothesizes, "with mist or something like that. I suppose we could consider it a 'black box' of sorts. I would say they've all been places at least a mile away from it."
"Ah, that makes sense. But if we get there, and it really is just one giant black box, I'm gonna be pissed! I'm gonna blast it with grenades!"
"What good will that do?" Kureha whispers to herself, though she hears an amused snort from her best friend.
"Do you think this might be the special rule?" Llenn wonders.
"That could be it," Pitohui answers, "or it might be something else. It gets announced when there are six to eight teams left, right? Until then, it's just a mystery to ponder."
"I see."
"With that said, we have a general idea of the landscape," Jaymes says. He looks at the wristwatch, and so do Kureha, Pito, and Llenn. It's 12:05, five minutes until the first Satellite Scan. Lowering his arm, he faces M. "You're the leader here, M, so what's your call?" M's the leader of the team? That's news to her; she only knew Llenn and Jaymes denied it. She assumed Pitohui was in charge because why not? But if M is the final shot caller, Kureha's worry of things getting crazy is alleviated...as long as Pitohui follows his command.
If Jaymes was in charge or even Llenn, she knew either would wait until the Satellite Scan before moving. That's how Llenn did it in SJ2, and that's what Jaymes and Kureha did in BoB IV (they teamed up for most of Kureha's time in the match, as they were lucky enough to spawn close together. Sinon was not happy about that after the match). M, being the careful type, might adopt the same plan.
But M never got to tell the others anything. Instead, Fukaziroh jumps up with a yelp. "Huh! Whoa! Behind us, guys!"
"Huh... Dwaaaaaaaah!"
"Ah." It takes a lot to startle a survivor of Sword Art Online. Jaymes is the least frightened or surprised visually, though M usually doesn't express emotions well. Overall, Kureha's team stares at the ocean tide slowly encroaching on the shoreline. Where it was once a hundred feet away is now thirty feet away.
"Wh-wh-why?"
"Hahaha! Oh, no waaay! Hahaha! This map-this entire island-is sinking. You're bad!"
"Eugh!"
While Llenn and Pitohui take on opposing reactions, Kureha stands up with Jaymes, who continues to look at the approaching waves. She engages him in English without wanting to involve others in their conversations. "Seems they took into consideration how the last match went."
"Mhm. Many battle royale games in the past used this method to prevent players from spreading out and prolonging the match. But this has never happened before here. If I had to guess, T-S, Memento Mori, and SHINC are in this scenario, too." He crosses his arms and looks over his shoulder at the group, specifically Pitohui, with a grin. "This is your fault, huh?"
"Why, captain, it hurts that you immediately blame me for his problem."
Llenn looks at the two in confusion. "Pito, Jaymes, who are you talking about?"
"That should be obvious! I mean the novelist who sponsored the event! I'm sure that he must have suggested this idea."
"Ohhh, I get it now."
"After I beat him to the punch to pay for the last one, I bet he's pretty pissed, huh?"
"Ohhh, I get-Wait, whaaat? You were the sponsor of SJ2, Pito?"
"Whaaat?" Fukaziroh gasps at her friend's shock. "You didn't know?"
"You did? You all did?"
Kureha nods. "Zeliska told us after the game, but you weren't there. But yes, the suicidal maniac sponsored her funeral." Pitohui's face looks too pleased; she doesn't even combat being called a "suicidal maniac." Then again, no one but a suicidal maniac would engage in a tournament, challenge Llenn to join and kill her, make a rule that if that anyone other than Llenn defeated her, she'd commit suicide, and (unconfirmed but most likely accurate) use a NerveGear to emit the deadly microwave that killed 4,000 people in Sword Art Online. Jaymes said the chances that Pitohui would have died are slim because only SAO was programmed to have the killing effect (proven when he initially entered ALO with a NerveGear), though if one tampered with a NerveGear, the kill switch can be initiated (which Itsuki took advantage of last winter in his murder-suicide plot).
As if to avoid the topic, Jaymes clears his throat and faces M. "What are you thinking?"
"Well, that settles it. We'll just have to move a bit at a time." He stands up and scans the area again through the scope of the M14. "I'm worried about snipers, but with wind this strong, it's very unlikely that a first shot from a long distance will actually hit us. Llenn will take point. Pito follows about twenty yards behind, with Fuka next to her on one side. Jaymes and Kureha pair up, same distance, opposite side, twenty yards between those groups. I'll bring up the rear."
"Got it," Llenn says while waving her left hand. She's most likely going to equip one of her ponchos. It makes sense she'd like to hide her presence, and Kureha makes the same swiping motion to don one of hers when M stops them.
"No, stay the way you are."
"Huh? But the pink will stand out. No, the pinks and the red will stand out." Llenn draws Kureha and Jaymes into the argument to emphasize her point. Llenn is Squad Jam's most recognizable player; Jaymes and Kureha, renowned already as Crimson Squad's leaders, performed fantastically in SJ2 and just competed in the fourth Battle of Bullets and placed third and tenth, respectively. Llenn and Jaymes are known by their colors as the Pink Devil and Lucky Red, too (How Kureha got coined "Crimson Princess" is lost on her).
M looks at the three of them and simply says, "That's part of the plan." Llenn remains skeptical but closes her window and, like Kureha, looks to Jaymes. He shrugs, offering no support to their worries or supporting the chain of command. Seriously, he takes charge except when it counts most.
Llenn sighs and walks forward, holding her P90 at the ready by her waist. Pito and Fuka lag behind on Llenn's left; Jaymes and Kureha to the right, and M behind them all. Kureha keeps her trusty Draque L Shamal SMG at the ready, a step behind the unarmed Jaymes. His photon sword and pistols remain at his side, but he isn't exposed. The air around him waves slightly, visible only if one concentrates long enough on him. He has Hyper Awareness activated.
Four minutes and a few hundred yards across the flatland later, M halts the group and commands them to stay low. Kureha gets prone beside her partner, staying shoulder to shoulder. Hyper Awareness is now on its five-minute cooldown, so no matter how much she holds onto Jaymes' sleeve, his skill won't protect them if he's shot at. It may be unnecessary now as the first Satellite Scan prepares its first sweep.
"If you had Rei, Daisy, or maybe Lievre, we wouldn't need the scan."
Jaymes snorts. "You think Lievre would listen to us?"
"I get along with her."
"...Anyway, remember that I removed some of Rei's upgrades last time, including her radar system. That would be cheating, and we pushed the limit with the infrared vision."
"True."
"No enemies in sight," the voice of M declares through their comms devices. "I'm the only one who needs to see the scan. Be ready to move at once." Everyone affirms M's orders, so Kureha holds back from reaching for the scanner in one of her pouches. She glances at her partner, who resists temptation as well. He drops his head into his arms, sighing impatiently. It causes Kureha to smile.
She reaches out and strokes his upward-facing spiky hair, brushing it gently with her hand. He doesn't retaliate from her touch nor acknowledge it. She knows he's enjoying it, whether he'll admit it or not, and given the week he's had, she feels the need to dote on him. His best friend nearly died and went into emergency surgery. Now Kazuto is strapped to a Soul Translator, living his virtual life in a place called the Underworld, and for now, Joshua can do nothing but watch and lie to Asuna and the others.
The first Satellite Scan should be starting now. It works as such; the satellite will scan the area now and every ten minutes, projecting each squad's team leader's location and name unless one's underwater (and risking their life) or in a cave. The scan may last a few seconds or take a minute. The length is unpredictable. If all teams were like Kureha's, no one should have started fighting before the first scan, so all thirty hypothetically are on the map.
"All right, it's time for the blood festival to begin," Fuka shouts excitedly. "Let's bathe in that red stuff. I'm gonna blow up a bunch of people I don't have any problem with!"
"Don't kill all of them. I want a few, too," Pito says.
"What's wrong with you two?" Kureha responds, exasperated.
"Kureha's such a meanie, Pitohui. She's always bullying me."
"That's because she's at home, lonely, while her 'just a childhood friend' is on an oceanic vacation. She needs to release some stress in a way that she can't do so now that her boy toy is away for a while... So maybe she took my advice."
"Ooooh, you mean 'that' advice? I believe it. Kureha, you have to show us your collection!"
"I-I-I..." Kureha's face, pink in embarrassment and anger, meets Jaymes' eyes as she stops petting him. He doesn't question what Pitohui and Fukaziroh mean, but he can see she's unhappy. Sighing, he raises a finger to his right ear.
"Hey, Adult Loli and Saggy Tits, keep talking, and I'll stick my foot up so far up your asses that it'll come out the other side."
"'Saggy Tits?' I do not have saggy tits!"
"Huh?" Llenn's confused voice, silent throughout the previous discussion, breaks through and gathers everyone's attention. Kureha whips her head in Llenn's direction, twenty yards diagonally left, but before asking what's wrong, she sees a red light shooting up in the gray sky. The light stalls in the air for a moment, then slowly descends.
"What the heck is that?" Fuka asks as another light appears slightly more distant than the previous one.
"Those are signal flares. With parachutes." Pito explains.
"But why were they fired?"
"It's a signal to surround us." M answers.
"What do you mean?" Llenn questions.
"There were three teams surrounding the switchyard on the scan," M informs. "All within half a mile to a mile or more. Two of the teams fired the flares. There can't be any meaning other than 'Let's take out LPFM.'"
"What!"
"If I had to guess, they're looking to take us out early," Jaymes says, this time in his serious, commanding tone. Like in the last Squad Jam, he takes over in troublesome situations. However, this seems to be more dangerous than their excursion in the stadium. At times like this, he's no longer Jaymes, the luckiest player in GGO and her childhood friend. His narrowed eyes and intense posture call forth one of the heroes of Sword Art Online, the Crimson Warrior.
"So they decided on signal flares. Once they learned the locations on the scan, they sent the signals to bunch up and attack as a group."
"That's right. And they divided them by color. We're red."
"Not all the teams would be in on this, I'm sure. What are they thinking, I wonder?"
"No, we should believe everyone's against us and that the other corner teams are targeted too," Kureha hypothesizes based on M's statement. She scratches his chin and looks at Jaymes. "What should we do?"
"Assume that we're facing one enemy."
"So you're sayin', because they found our location on the scan just now that the teams nearby shot up their red flares, meaning there's two-I take that back!" Fuka's happy voice is interrupted by the appearance of a third flare. Kureha feels her face flush with worry. "The three teams before us are one enemy! And they'll all come after us together! The mysteries are solved!"
"And there'll be more of them coming over time." M's warning did nothing to make Kureha feel any better. Once more she glances at Jaymes, now holding a pair of binoculars. She didn't need it to know there weren't any optimal hiding places. And even if there was cover, or they utilized M's shield, if they were surrounded, they were done. The trains in the switchyard might work, but their enemies already have a lay of the land before them.
M and Jaymes must have run through several scenarios already. If Kureha had a chance to view the switchyard in person and the positioning of the teams, she could come up with a few tactics of her own.
Finally, Jaymes speaks, his eyes focused on the falling flares. "M, I have an idea, but you're in charge here. What's your plan?"
"...Llenn, run."
"Huh?"
