Kirito turns back to look at the prisoners and he can't help but close his eyes in relief, the guards inspect all of them and thankfully none of them are armed.

He doesn't know nor does he care about the fate of these prisoners or the other ones, he just wants to see Asuna and Yui, and then he wants to eat Asuna's food and fall asleep with her and Yui.

The sounds of gunfire make him turn and aim his gun to where the sound is coming from and he can't help but smile when he sees who it is.

Rafael has started to celebrate the end of this war and Kirito isn't surprised to see the man using his help screen to contact his guild.

Kirito can't help but laugh as he sees the man's excitement and joy spread, as the men around him begin to cheer.

Rafael was the person who saved his life when Aincrad was surrounded by soldiers.

When Sword Art Online was made available to the people in America the developers decided to add something as a joke.

It just so happened that the things that they added were different kinds of guns.

Kirito can still remember being surrounded by people wearing different kinds of armor, he can still remember the hot blood of the people in front of him when the soldiers killed them.

Several of the players froze, because as real as the game was, it was never this real.

For a long time, most of the players from Japan froze and couldn't do anything, the Americans on the other hand didn't hesitate.

They began to fire at the enemy and those who didn't have guns used their swords to cut down anyone they could.

Out of instinct, everyone forced the kids into the center of whatever group they were in while they fought until the enemy was forced to retreat.

It had taken them a day to reach the jail and unfortunately, they have been fighting ever since.

There was no time to reinforce anything and Kirito had seen one player be replaced by another either because they were injured or they made into scouts.

"Kirito, I heard that you have a wife and daughter." the guild master says to him.

"Yeah." he answers the man.

"Well why the hell are you still here, Go find them, but be ready just in case they have something up their sleeves." the man says to him.

Kirito can't believe his ears, and without thinking he jumps off the wall and starts to run to the entrance of the main building.

[][][

Change [Several minutes earlier ]

The sound of the water flowing through the river was the only thing that she could hear as she sat down to write.

"I have chosen to surrender to the Players, so by the time reinforcements do arrive, I will either be carrying the child of my new master, dead or worse."

"Last night we ran into a group of scorpions the size of an ox. The day before the dead rose and dragged several men away, I can still see the terror in their eyes as they screamed while the dead carried them away."

"The rats, cats, dogs, and whatever else that has been eating the dead are swarming the mountain and we now consider being eaten by them as a mercy, as we have seen worse fates."

"We fought the enemy soldiers three days ago and I can't help but look at my reflection in disgust because we were fighting over apples. This border war has become nothing more than a group of armed men and women fighting over apples."

'I write to all of you, not because I am asking for reinforcements or to give anyone closer, but to warn everyone to stay away."

"Yes this place does have food, but the price that we will have to pay for it will be enormous. Mother, Father, brother I wish you the best, please forgive your foolish daughter."

She hands the letter she just wrote to one of her men and sends him away, She knows that she is sending him to his death, but at least they will know that they tried to warn everyone.

She stands up and begins to walk, The first thing that she removes i her armor,s he has no right to wear it anymore, and because it's the armor of a failior it deserves to be lost.

She begins to remove her undersuit and feels her skin begin to itch, as the grass, and leaves that make contact with it only make the itch worse.

She doesn't bother to look back because she won't disappoint her men who have followed her until now with the eyes of a broken leader.

The stench of the dead becomes stronger as she walks and more than once she is forced to unsheath her sword and kill one of the animals that tried to eat her.

She can see the fortress now and it's just as filthy as she remembers it.

The dead walk outside of its walls, while the animals search for those who are still alive so that they can have a warm meal.

Her hair begins to stand, and she can feel the soldier's hate towards her, but she continues to walk until someone yells at her to stop.

Her hands are stretched forward, and she offers her new masters, her clothes, and her sword the only thing of true value that she owns.

She doesn't say anything or do anything when the gate opens, or when they begin to inspect her body, but she can't help but turn her head when she sees the guards walk past her.

She feels hot tears swell in her eyes when she sees the men and women that she has led until now, naked and offering their souls to their new masters.

She is about to kneel and await her fate but the man in front of her orders her to go inside the fortress so she does what she is told, but before she takes the first step, she removes the pin on her hair officially removing any connection that she has to the empire.