A/N: As I suspected, I will have to put this up. I'm almost done with Chapter 24 of Virtual Immigration for next week, and while I wait to put that up, I will come right out with it: I am producing a 'final' third chapter for In Defense of Beaters just to round it out as a 'trilogy'. If people want more of it, I need to hear it. And, if I ever get big enough for commissions, I may make one of the options just... continuing 'dead' fanfictions. Or it could be a perk on one of those crowd-support services, to ask for it, I guess. I have no clue, guys.

"Owl Reaper!" my mom cried upon entering the kitchen, "Making breakfast for everyone at the age you are?"

Nascha Harbinger, my four-greats-grandmother, cackled with a pan in her hand.

"Only thing that slows down old people, is old-age disease! Without one, ya don't slow 'til ya stop!"

When I woke up this morning, I literally fell out of bed – unusual for special days, but typical for every day otherwise. I had a shower as I did every morning, making sure to vigorously scrub every inch of my pale skin – at least, pale for a mix of Hawaiian and Native American. Then again, I didn't want to fall completely into goth territory; wouldn't want anyone to think I was toeing the line between it and emo. I only adopted the former aesthetic cause it turned me on: dyed black hair, rich purple eyeshadow, shiny black lipstick, only ever shampooing and conditioning my hair to just-about breast level, and never brushing it except for light layering around the face – I even had a pack of custom temp-tattoos made to resemble nipple piercings, only one of which I had used back in 2016 just to make sure it looked good; saving the rest for when I was ready for a committed relationship. I was lucky to have the second-lightest possible natural shade of brown for my irises, as I didn't think the more common shades would have worked with black hair and skin so pale for an Apache that I looked like a healthy caucasian. I took one last look in the mirror after putting on a dark crimson tanktop and deep purple skirt, briefly seeing my past all-natural look for a second before returning to reality, and then headed out of my room.

December 11th, 2022 – roughly 7AM JST. Just over a month since my eight-time Employee of the Month at Black Yeti Studios, Aaron Rayner, was trapped in Sword Art Online by Akihiko Kayaba.

While he'd been in Australia all his life up to the end of 2014, I'd been effectively raising him from Japan since the early months of 2011, even though he was two months older than me. I filled in for the duties that his father wasn't alive for, when it came to shaping his mental state into that of an adult while also ensuring he would retain sufficient masculinity to attract females.

However, I didn't account for the crystallized cyst that had formed on his neck, which he had only gotten surgically removed shortly before graduating highschool. By that point, it was time for him to come to Japan and join me in university, where I would nurture his growth into a hard-working and highly-skilled programmer, artist, composer and storyteller. So, he had neglected a crucial element within his physical aesthetic that kept him from attaining a relationship locally, and then when I had finally met him in person, we were both too busy to get closer than the usual teasing we got up to online for the four years prior. By the time we got our degrees, we were like siblings.

Granted, I'd still use my words and a few subtle tricks to edge him all day, but he knew that was the furthest it would ever go. Or at least, I let him think that, and respected it.

So, for the last eight years up to now, Aaron had been working for me and all of my adult sisters, as Black Yeti slowly but surely ascended the corporate gaming ladder. Many of our franchises were as successful as they were because he was here. And he was even in some of our bestsellers.

Sure, we could still produce masterpieces without him, but how much longer would each project of ours have to take? Damn you, Kayaba…

So far, the lawsuits were going about as well as the suits from other families, towards Argus for the actions of their third development branch's lead programmer. Because of how close he was to our family, living with us and bonding with our many relatives, the court accepted our lawsuit.

As the eldest of Dr. Alamea Harbinger's daughters, I was respected so much as the CEO of Black Yeti, that my sisters all grew to be just as passionate about gaming as Aaron and I were, and started to work for me as well.

Our mother had limited opportunities to return home, as she was always watching her ward of the hospital otherwise. But she vowed to the other staff that she would never leave work again after Christmas Day, except for birthdays, family funerals, graduations, and any future occurrences of Christmas taking place during the crisis.

Of course, I had just as much on plate as she did: while she was tasked with watching over trapped players like Aaron, I had to manage the family's coping efforts. My own daughter, Yoki, after she had asked her friend Alayla Cash for space, was betrayed by her, and yesterday, Alayla beat her at YWT Sendoff for the RKWC Girls' Championship. Shada & Shania, my eldest younger sister Abequa's twin daughters, beat our youngest pair of twin sisters, Shuman & Sokanon, for the Shoujo Tag Team titles the same night. At the end of the day, though, our family knew that all the drama stayed in kayfabe.

"You must be surprised I understood it, too, huh?" inquired the eldest of Saturday's audience.

"To be fair, people several generations younger than you, have a hard time realizing it's worked."

Nascha Harbinger, my 115-year-old great-great-great-great-grandmother, laughed as we discussed what took place the previous night at YWT Sendoff. "I've been watching every major promotion of wrestling since each was founded! And I've been following along behind the scenes, as well. I'll be honest, too – I was around when matches first became worked, and I found it refreshing. I hadn't ever been entertained by 'sports' more than when NXT stopped being a game show."

The Phoenix Crest was the title given to the eldest living woman in the Harbinger family, and it was currently held by the Owl Reaper, Nascha. I still couldn't believe that the inaugural matriarch was in Japan, here with my mother, my sisters, and myself, after I had become a mother and aunt after we left the United States. Sure, she had been accompanied by Ekta and Ela on the trip over, but it was simply the fact that she was here.

"Well, Elder Phoenix," my mom, Dr. Alamea Harbinger, addressed her, "You didn't come all the way here to Japan, just to watch my kids and grandkids wrestle. What's the occasion, this Christmas?"

Nascha shrugged with both shoulders, seemingly with no issue. "Ah, you're referring to my accident with the Lee-Enfield. Yes, it shook up the joint and bones fairly well. It's been treated."

Dr. Harbinger shook her head. "I guess it makes sense that you'd seek medical attention before you came to Japan. We all know you can afford it… But what was this thing you wanted to tell me?"

The doctor's three-greats-grandma sat upright. "I've taken the shoulder injury as the indication that time is finally catching up to me. The day has come for me to acknowledge that I can't fight off the darkness forever."

Every face in the room fell upon hearing her words, except for everyone older than my mother. The expressions of her mother, and every mother upward, had neutral expressions.

"Wh… What are you saying, Phoenix?" I hesitated to ask, unsure if I wanted an explanation.

"Oh, little Adsila," Nascha chuckled softly, "I remember when I insisted on being the one to buy you your copy of Pokémon Red when you were three, despite myself being 93 at the time."

"That's right," I replied with a nod, "I greatly appreciate that birthday gift. You even told mom that it would be a good idea to turn the TV brightness down when I played it through Stadium's GB Tower."

She cackled proudly. "Seeing you play so attentively at that age, inspired me to get it for myself. You know, I even got it again on the 3DS just so I could give Ekta my legendary Pokémon and starters."

I tilted my head. "Grandma Ekta, you play?"

She giggled as she leaned back. "I met Alamea's father while playing the original Donkey Kong game back in the arcade days. Mother Kushala was with me and even insisted that I talk to him!"

Kushala chuckled as her name was brought up. "If you didn't, I would have."

We all had a laugh as we knew what to expect from Kushala by now, but then we realized we were straying from the main topic.

"Now, Elder Phoenix…" Ela, my mother's aunt less than a month younger than myself, returned us back to the conversation, "Don't start skipping from topic to topic at this moment. Not right now, when you know everything they need to hear."

Nascha cackled again. "I know what I'm doing, Ela; I learned serviceable Japanese in anticipation of an inevitable visit to our descendants, didn't I?" She then turned to me once more. "Adsila, I bring up the gift because I remember it. And there has been nothing lost from my mind or body in all this time. Not even my looks."

Sure enough, the Owl Reaper's face retained smooth skin, and even after wiping off her make-up before going to bed last night, she had very few liver spots. Her hair, on the other hand, was even losing grayness to white, but remained silky smooth, nonetheless.

"But there is only so much you can do to maintain something like this. And I am at my limit."

My mother took a deep breath as she lifted her head. "Did you come out all this way just for this announcement to the family?"

The Phoenix Crest shook her head. "For one, all of your ancestors knew already. They helped make arrangements for my return to the States, and accommodation for your family there."

"Accommodation… So, we do still have to attend when you…"

Nascha placed a hand on Alamea's shoulder to interrupt her. "I am not going back until I no longer have a say in the matter."

Yoki sat upright at her words. "You're spending your last moments in Japan?!"

Owl Reaper laughed at my daughter's concern. "Not necessarily. My physical self will expire within Japan, sure… But my spirit will remain ever-present, with satisfaction, and memory…"

I blinked. "Memory…?"

Nascha nodded. "After I've spent Christmas with you, I don't want to plague your thoughts with the typical scene of witnessing my last breath, after saying my goodbyes on my deathbed."

My mother blinked. "So, what's your solution…?"

Our eldest living ancestor smiled. "Whatever I have left after Christmas, I wish to spend with hope. Hope for what the future generations have to look forward to. I want to see the dreams of mankind and the wonders of our modern day. And…"

She then turned to me with a warm, comforting expression, as I began to process her words.

"I want to tell your best friend, how you and your family are doing."

For what felt like hours, the room fell silent. But it was almost a minute before I opened my mouth.

"You're not saying you want to…"

"What else is there for me to experience?" Nascha reasonably asked as she stood upright, "Why are there any objections to what would be the last thing I can do, regardless of whether I bite it in game or bite it by nature? I can guarantee you; I will not be here for another month. So, I may as well take my leave on my own terms."

My mother shook her head. "Elder Phoenix, why do you think like this? What has brought on this conclusion that reeks of pessimism?"

It was such a new thing to imagine. It would be the perfect opportunity for someone already on her way out of this world. Laying down and diving into a world so different from the one in which you'd realized that you would be leaving soon. And giving up that last grasp of energy, in a place you had never known before, while leaving behind all that you still remembered.

As such, the elder chuckled. "Dear Doctor, when you have lived as long as I have, you will have had plenty of time to think about how much of it you have left. I have found every last trick in the book, taken every step to ensure I would come this far. But as I said before: there are only so many ways a person can keep the reaper at bay, before they run out of options. A person from the early 20th century is not designed by nature, to see into the middle of the 21st, in the same way that a person born in the early 21st is designed to see the end of the 22nd."

She walked over to her daughter, Liluye, placing both hands on her shoulders. Liluye tilted her head back to look up into her mother's eyes, before returning her gaze to us.

"Here I stand, living to see my great-great-great-great-great-grandchildren. It is inconceivable to be saying the word 'great' that many times when referring to a present-day living being."

"It's still so hard to even think that it has happened now," Yoki acknowledged, and her comment on the scenario prompted nods from all in the room.

Nascha smiled at my daughter's struggles to comprehend these events. "Now. On Christmas Day, typical festivities will ensue through the morning and afternoon. In the evening, however, will be a ceremony to celebrate the inaugural century of the Harbinger family's legacy, and to crown the new family elder with the title of Phoenix Crest: The Singing Hawk Reaper, Liluye Harbinger."

'Singing Hawk' nodded. "After this ceremony is over, she will then enter Sword Art Online, speak to Aaron with your well wishes and anything else you want to say to him, and then use all remaining vitality to assist in the players' progression through the castle of Aincrad."

Nalin, the daughter of the next Phoenix Crest, continued the explanation. "I am the one tasked with grandma's funeral rites when we return to the United States. Mom will be key to that ceremony as well, but I am to do the heavy lifting for the ritual created by our current, waning Phoenix Crest."

"Part of the ceremony was designed by Owl Reaper," Kushala elaborated the last details of the news for us, "Such that the responsibilities of the next Phoenix Crest's funeral would be passed from one generation to the next. Meaning, when Singing Hawk dies, I will organize and direct her funeral."

"At the end of the day, I will not go down without a fight," Nascha proudly asserted, "Even if I can't fight in the real world anymore, I will have been resentful of fate to the very end."

Alamea slowly nodded. "Alright. I would say the same when I am on my last legs, too. Your resolve, and your fortitude in all senses of the word, are all things to look up to. The respect we have for you as a family, is ever-lasting and far-reaching."

Seeing my mother concede, I nodded in agreement. "We do have another NerveGear and a copy of SAO for you to use, from failed experiments in the latter half of November."

The Phoenix Crest grinned. "Perfect. I can't wait to see the beauty of a fabricated world, even if it's heavily tainted by the despair within."

Finishing breakfast to conclude the discussion, we lifted the mood for Amira, Alamea's third-eldest daughter behind Abequa and myself, as she turned 24 today. After the party, Alamea, Abequa and I took her to the garage to tell her of the former's secret project – after creating Etanythin to help the world's children eat fruits and vegetables without tasting them, she aspired for a true revolution in medicine with the help of her daughters' programming skills. And we were happy to oblige, in her ambition for the technology which could bring her innovative ideas to life. We didn't even want any more credit than for the actual effort to program the tech she wished to create.

Of course, we couldn't let our main project at Black Yeti go unattended. After the NerveGear's swift recall in SAO's launch week, I contacted Nintendo and Square-Enix.

Back in late 2021, following the release of Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, they asked us to do similar work for Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. We declined, as we had wanted to start work on FullDive projects once we'd finished one more entry for each of our own franchises on traditional consoles.

On November 7th, though, I got back to them and agreed to the collaboration. They were happy to accept us even a year later, and gave us their progress before returning to other projects. Of course, we still had to keep watch for RECT and their development of a successor to the NerveGear, too.

Then, December 14th came, and we went to the go-home show of NXT JP, before the weekend's premium live event, NXT JP TakeOver: The Dome. As WWE had secured an annual consecutive sponsorship from KFC for this event, like they had Snickers for WrestleMania, and KFC was a popular Christmas meal in Japan, NXT JP had to have its Mania-tier event at proper-year's-end for the best revenue from the sponsorship. And of course, it had to be directly associated with the professional wrestling industry's most prestigious Japanese venue, the Tokyo Dome.

Something that helped make WWE more relevant in Japan, and thus draw eyes to NXT JP, was that Kairi Sane, the brand's General Manager, was also the inaugural IWGP Women's Champion. This allowed the show to get recognition from viewers who saw puroresu as its own style compared to western professional wrestling, by having Kairi's challenger for Wrestle Kingdom in January, Tam Nakano, make appearances on the show. On tonight's episode, she had an exhibition match with Atepa Harbinger, like she did against Mira Korvus the previous week. Both finalists for the NXT JP Women's Championship tournament won their respective matches against Nakano.

Similarly, Shounen Wrestling Champion Giovanni Francisco – Brandi's little brother and formerly known as Kujo Shin when he was in RKWC – made his debut on NXT JP, in part of its transitioning program for youth wrestling students to join a televised wrestling promotion, as YWT's three shows aired only on YouTube, while their premium events were aired live on their own website and app. Giovanni would be on NXT JP throughout 2023, when he would turn 17, but after becoming the champion last week at YWT Sendoff, he was brought in a few weeks early. On this NXT JP, he was invited by Kairi Sane to face an exhibition opponent at TakeOver.

The following day, my company, Black Yeti, released Kart Garage: 6th-Sense Pursuit, the sixth entry within the Kart Garage series. This game increased the engine limit to 300cc, and introduced a new interface for tracking weapons, to aid in avoiding them. And later that day, Adsila confirmed that she would pay Awendela and Ayasha's college tuitions as part of Black Yeti's 'Learn to Play' program which gave scholarships to aspiring game developers.

On the evening of the 17th, when my mother took my sisters, myself, and the family elders to NXT TakeOver: The Dome, Phoebe Gengetsu invited me to talk with the Youth Wrestling Tribunal.

"I have made my decision," she explained when I entered her office, "I'm not going to sell Ring of Honor to WWE just yet."

"Just yet?" I asked curiously.

"Vince may not have a seat in WWE now," Hollow elaborated on Phoebe's choice, "But she realizes that since he's still a majority shareholder, he has the power to return once enough people forget about the real reason he left."

"I'll wait until he's well-and-truly out of the picture, so his hands are sure to never be on my work."

Earlier this year, Phoebe Gengetsu learned of All Elite Wrestling founder Tony Khan attempting to purchase ROH after they had taken a hiatus following Final Battle 2021. Seeing an opportunity, she made a larger bid with the help of YWT co-founders Kosode Hollow and Nina Caesium. And she got the sale. Then when Vince McMahon stepped down from his positions in WWE, and Triple H started calling the shots in the company, Phoebe considered selling ROH, knowing he would make great use of it like she did, and like she knew Tony Khan would have if he had bought it previously.

But with Vince back, and potentially slithering back into his original roles, Phoebe was unsure if she wanted to risk him smudging grease on yet another asset merely acquired to keep it off the market.

"Okay. Good business," I replied with a slow nod, "But what are you telling me for?"

Nina grinned as she placed an envelope on the desk, featuring the logo of Yuke's Co.

"Because Ring of Honor has never had their own video game."

My eyes widened as I picked up the envelope. "Why would Yuke's come to me for this?"

She shrugged. "You'll have to see what they wrote. All I know is, 2K will still be publishing it."

Phoebe chuckled proudly. "On top of that, they're getting the rights to include both WWE alumni currently in ROH as DLC for WWE2K23, and ROH alumni currently in WWE as DLC for this game we want you to make."

"Of course, we asked for a little extra," Hollow pitched in, "So, they want a script in both games that gives a user both DLCs for free if they have both games."

"Ohh, yes! They'll love that!" I gleefully replied, "I'll get right on it!"

They returned me to my seat in the Tokyo Dome, just as the 'premium live event' started. The first match saw the coach of Diamond Mine from US-based NXT, Hachiman, face off against a former member of the US brand, KUSHIDA – with the latter winning.

The next match was Giovanni Francisco's NXT JP exhibition match, against a WWE Superstar from the main roster brand SmackDown, Shinsuke Nakamura – who was in Japan to promote his upcoming match against The Great Muta, at NOAH: The New Year on January 1st, 2023. Nakamura won after roughly 15 minutes, and displayed great respect for Giovanni, sympathy for his sister, and a wish for him to become a huge star like The Great Muta.

Other important matches took place, such as for the NXT JP Tag Team Championship, the NXT JP Championship, the NXT Junior Heavyweight Championship, and the Super Giftbox Contendership Ladder Match – essentially for a re-skinned 'Money in the Bank' contract.

The main event, however, was what my family was here for: Atepa Harbinger vs. Mira Korvus, in the final match of the vacant NXT JP Women's Championship tournament.

It was a hard-fought match for both of them, as the two gave it their all. A shy, nervous Australian hailing from Gosford, against the eldest of my wrestling sisters – and the youngest currently working for me at Black Yeti.

As hard as we rooted for Atepa, after about 25 minutes, Mira Korvus finally landed the Venomous Pounce – her name for a Spear – and collapsed into the cover, as the crowd counted along with the referee:

One!

Two!

Three!

The bell rang, and Mira Korvus was the new NXT JP Women's Champion, with cheering all around for the girl who managed to get over just by being shy and nervous outside the ring, yet fierce within.

But Atepa was the first to sit up after the bell. She checked on Mira, and shook her for a moment, before lightly patting her cheek. After an awkward awakening, it was clear that she had fainted as a part of her character gimmick, as Atepa handed her the belt and raised her opponent's hand.

After the event concluded, Atepa joined us in the ride back home.

"You know, it's funny – they originally wanted me to win."

"Ah, sympathy for your co-worker at your other job?" I asked with a soft chuckle.

"They denied it. But I refused it, anyway. I told them that they should push Korvus as a breakout star whose nerves metaphorically have an internal on-off switch of some sort, activated by the bell."

Nascha cackled with satisfaction. "It's incredible, the performance that kid put on, with only four months of training! I did want to see my descendant win, but I'm looking forward to what's next."

The following Wednesday, December 21st, NXT JP opened with Mira Korvus celebrating her victory and championship, followed by Ayasha Harbinger revealing that graduating Shoujo Wrestling as champion had earned her a title opportunity against Korvus. The show later closed with a final announcement from Atepa, Amanda, and the elder twins Awenasa & Awinita.

The former NXT Women's Tag Team Champions, the year's final challenger for the Shoujo title, and last Saturday's runner-up for the Women's championship, all announced their retirement from the ring, for the foreseeable future. Atepa already had success as a game developer, the twins were preparing a game of their own, and Awendela would relinquish the name 'Amanda' to focus on university studies, in order to join her sisters in the gaming industry.

The audience hated to see them go, but gave their undying support for the girls as they took their leave while I stood at the top of the ramp, before walking backstage with my sisters.

That night when we got home, we had a family toast to all four of these girls, who had given up one dream to follow their first, and held strong in the face of despair. Ayasha even set aside her heel persona to congratulate them for all they'd achieved so far, and thank them for their support. After celebrating their wrestling careers, we all went straight to bed.

Over the course of the next two days, Black Yeti's primary workforce moved into a 100-person office leased with the help of Argus' settlement, while my family remained in the 64-person office as I cancelled the lease on the 81-person office, and filled the remaining desks in the new office block.

That left us with the preparations for Christmas. On the Eve, Nascha insisted on paying for all of the gifts that everyone had bought for each-other. For my generation and the next, our gifts were quite simple: if a Pokémon game were to release close enough to Christmas, we'd all deliberately avoid buying either of the pair for ourselves, and wait to buy them for each-other, instead – except for whatever birthdays were between the game's release and Christmas, in which case, they would get something else for Christmas, getting Pokémon for their birthdays. And as was tradition in Japan, Christmas celebrations were catered by KFC – also paid for entirely by the Owl Reaper.

After tucking everything under the tree, eating everything on the plates, and singing almost every English-language carol, we called it a day. The following morning, we unwrapped all that had been wrapped the evening before. Celebrating Christmas Day much like we did in the States, morning turned to afternoon, and then we prepared for the ritual in the evening, which would go on to take most of the night to complete.

It was her last night, but it was her idea, and she would hold the power of the family, into midnight.

Our family held the ceremony on the roof of our office block, in the open air where we could safely utilize fire and smoke. All recorded on a camera and streamed back home to Arizona, Nascha began with a long speech detailing all she had done since moving into inner Phoenix in the early 1920s. Leadership, motherhood, business, passing down traditions she came up with to differentiate her family from the recognized tribes, while retaining a connection to the San Carlos Apache. As Nascha never told any of her descendants which San Carlos-residing tribe she hailed from, the ceremony featured original rituals and concepts designed by Nascha herself.

Following her speech, Liluye joined her at the front of our small setup. The Owl Reaper removed a buffalo-fur cloak, with red silk sewn underneath and preserved pristinely for roughly 90 years. At the same time, she painted the telephone pound sign on the Singing Hawk's cheeks with white face-paint – a symbol of the family's drive to move on from the past, and keep up with the modern society while retaining the identity of their heritage… represented by hashtagging.

"As I leave behind the world we've seen up to this point, you will carry your people forward, and through the future for as long as your spirit remains anchored to your worldly vessel."

"Yes, Phoenix Crest. Our people have seen the telephone evolve from a cup-and-stick design, to the wireless, global-range, pocket-fitting slab. Weapons from bolt-racked rifles to self-chambering slides absorbing the momentum of recoil. From burning coal and killing our planet, to absorbing the Sun's might, as did the flora which continue to sustain us."

"And more great advancements will come in years ahead. I will not see any of this, but it will all take place under your watch. The bitterness of our ancestors and their more stubborn kin, will not serve them as they are led to believe. I have brought you forward, because I believed in us. History is not what defines us – it is the history we make. Go forth, and observe as history unfolds."

"Understood, Owl Reaper."

The retiring Phoenix Crest draped the cloak over the Singing Hawk's back and shoulders, and then fastened the thin golden chain around her neck.

"We sleep in the city, yet gaze back at the village with respect. Look back, but don't turn back."

"We operate computers with gratitude, knowing smoke led the way."

Liluye's mother placed upon her head, the feathered crown she had sewn in her teen years, having threaded each feather into two strips of blue linen stitched together to protect the head from the stems of the feathers. And upon her own head, Nascha placed the old, worn helmet of her father's Great War service.

"Singing Hawk, the one who carries us closer to the skies, while keeping the earth in sight."

"Thank you, Owl Reaper – the one who plucked us from the earth, with the ambition to rise."

"Congratulations, to the second Phoenix Crest."

After a round of applause for Liluye, Nascha knelt before her daughter and grinned.

"Find glory in the floating castle ahead of you, mother," Singing Hawk requested of Owl Reaper.

Nascha lifted her head, and chuckled. "I will do exactly that… Phoenix Crest."

More applause followed, accompanied by ceremonial pyrotechnics within the limits of the law.

We cleaned up the roof, packed up all the props, and finished the recording, before returning inside and helping Nascha get set up. After we all told her our separate messages for 'SAUER', she took in one final look at her legacy, before laying down on the bed in the guest bedroom we'd set up, and Liluye carefully set the NerveGear on her mother's head. She closed the safety locks, and turned on the power.

And then, as her daughter leaned over into the view of the translucent visor with tears in her eyes, Nascha closed hers, and said the last words we would ever hear from her.

"Link Start."

December 26th, roughly 8:10AM. I was the one who took the responsibility of watching over the inaugural Phoenix Crest – my great-great-great-great-grandmother, Nascha Harbinger. After waking in the morning at six, I checked on her every hour.

This time, when I walked in, there was complete silence. Not even electronic humming. I approached and looked at the indicator lights on the NerveGear. The signal detection light was yellow.

At the same time, there was no smell like my mom had described. Her nose wasn't bleeding, either.

Rather than being zapped away, Nascha 'Owl Reaper' Harbinger had left peacefully, by way of her body simply giving out.

"Mom? It's Adsila," I opened on the phone to the doctor, "I'm in the guest bedroom. The NerveGear has entered standby to save power. And there is no burning smell. Nature fired the shot."

"Understood, honey," I heard through tears, "I'll submit the dates I need off."

As discussed shortly after Nascha logged in, her progeny had already prepared the rites back in the States before coming here. We just had to arrange for our own departures, like alerting the schools that the kids in the family would be out for about a week. After announcing her passing, it was then agreed that the funeral would be held in the first full week of January, likely Thursday or Friday.

The following Wednesday, NXT JP's December 28th episode, Ayasha cut a promo detailing the strain placed on her back, as she vowed to still attend the next week's episode, even though she would probably need to catch a flight to the US that same night, just to make it to the funeral. On the 30th, we celebrated her 17th birthday, giving her WWE2K23 – the series thereof becoming a stronger collaboration between Visual Concepts, Yuke's Co, and Black Yeti; as a result of our contributions in particular, the game finally allowed intergender contest again, leaving AEW Fight Forever with one less selling point. To us, it didn't matter anymore, who developed that game; we had scooped up Yuke's Co. before THQ Nordic could – originally for YWT's games, but then we had convinced 2K to return them to the WWE projects while still keeping Visual Concepts full-time on them, too.

The funeral was held on January 6th, 2023. As described by Nascha, her daughter Liluye delivered a speech as the new Phoenix Crest, while Nalin carried out the rites. Then the following Sunday night, while my grandma and everyone older stayed behind, my mom brought the rest of us back to Japan as we returned straight to our regular lives. We had done most of our crying before the Owl Reaper had even died.

Just as she had done the previous week, mere days before the funeral, Ayasha cut a promo on the January 11th episode of NXT JP, and even had a match to warm up for her title match ahead. Then, the following Wednesday, she faced Mira Korvus for the NXT JP Women's Championship, to conclude the night in the main event.

Whether it was sympathy, or her time in exhibition on the show when she was still in Shoujo Class, Ayasha was surprisingly over with the crowd; though, it may have been simply for her dedication towards playing a heel even with how her home life had been for the past couple months.

By the time the match was done, she had become more of a tweener – she didn't cheat or fight too viciously, she just lashed out physically at the rest of the roster, and verbally at the audience. Thus, a hint of surprise crossed her face when her victory was met with cheering. She kept her head down, glancing subtly back at the crowd, as she held up her title. She even helped the former champion to her feet, but left the ring immediately after, not wanting to dwell on the respect she had for her.

"I did it! I can't believe they booked me to—"

"Shh…! Didn't you see someone was missing from the audience?"

Ayasha looked back at us, and then nodded at my warning. "Right – Anna. Sorry, Adsila."

Just three days ago, on the 15th, Anna had given birth to her second daughter, Ailana – just two days after the third birthday of Algoma's eldest daughter, Rozene. Ailana would share her birthday with Algoma's second-eldest, two-year-old Akona. The day after that, her third, Sasilvia, turned one. The first of Anna's daughters, Awhina, turned one on Ayasha's birthday before New Year's Eve.

Something about my mother didn't get carried to myself, Abequa, or Amira – that odd desire to just continuously reproduce. The girls from Alaqua, down to Anna, weren't simply 'sluts' who eagerly pounced upon their husbands with reckless abandon; they were breeding, going out of their way to have at least one new child every year, just like Dr. Alamea Harbinger had between 1996 and 2006. Although, Algoma retired from babymaking early, following her miscarriage on SAO's launch day; strangely, her only response was to get her tubes tied, allowing her to at least pretend she was still being thoroughly bred by her husband. She also made it clear that she would still wet-nurse when needed, as Ken would help her trick her body into continuing to produce milk.

On the 19th, we celebrated Awendela's 18th birthday, and she remained as cheerful as she had on previous birthdays, even when she received a replica of the NXT JP Women's title, which she could have gone on to win if she had beaten Ayasha for the Shoujo title.

On the topic of the Shoujo title, my youngest sister, 15-year-old Ayita, won it the following Thursday, on the 26th of January, in a Fatal-4-Way against girls representing three other senior high schools.

As if that wasn't enough, Ayasha was set for an exhibition match just the day before, on NXT JP. And she could not have guessed who would walk down the ramp to the ring that night; none of us could.

Three days before her return at the 2023 Royal Rumble, WWE sent over their main-roster star Asuka, bearing the sparkling clown makeup on her face that became her persona from then on, reminiscent of her previous identity of Kana prior to her time in WWE. Here, she took up her old name in hollow effort to conceal her return before it was to be properly revealed that Saturday.

With that match as the main event, the match prior featured the NXT JP debut of my younger pair of twin sisters, Shuman & Sokanon, hoping to fill the void left behind by the elder twins. Having been brought up through YWT's program to get final-year Shoujo and Shounen students into full-time wrestling promotions, the two won a tag-team match against Tam Nakano, who had failed to defeat Kairi Sane for the IWGP Women's title at Wrestle Kingdom 17, and Jazzy Gabert, who had signed her way back into WWE after being shown that NXT JP's schedule and collaborations with other local promotions would allow her to work full-time, in order to cover the costs of pains from her previous injuries that NXT UK appearances alone couldn't pay for.

Near the end of the month, I received word that Vince McMahon had indeed pulled strings with his status as WWE's major shareholder, to become responsible for negotiating the future sale of WWE. Hearing this, I felt hesitant to include WWE-related content in the Ring of Honor game that had only been in development for a month at Black Yeti, so far.

But there was good gaming news around the corner: RECT had acquired the rights to the assets and server management for Sword Art Online, after Argus had shut down earlier in the month. Since my company already had an adequate relationship with RECT, I figured we should elevate it to 'decent', and then do some much better business with them going forward. Apparently, development of a successor to the NerveGear was coming along nicely, too.

At the same time, other derivatives of FullDive hardware had been developed. A testing phase was soon to begin on a machine installed in a hospital, known as the Medicuboid – all they needed was someone to test it.

As the prototype was not in the hospital at which my mom worked, she had limited knowledge of it, but she heard about a week later, that testing had finally begun.

Maybe this technology really did just start off in the wrong hands. I hoped that was the case.

A/N: Well, there you go. It's likely IDoB 3 next fortnight. See you next Friday-Saturday overlap for VI24.

As usual, roast me on the SAO Fanfiction Central Discord server by joining with the key Sycypugbxq

Kinda surprised that there's already a Favourite when Chapter 1 only has 11 views, but... thanks?