December 14th, 2023

"Ha!" Kirito's sword, the Valiant Edge, swept out to catch the Goblin Guard across the breastplate, knocking it back a pace. Before it could recover, his left arm continued the combo, cutting a deep crimson line across its throat; the goblin's HP promptly drained deep into the red, close to death.

Close, but not quite. Rallying in the precious fragments of time Kirito's skill left him immobile, the Goblin Guard regained its footing, lifted its evil-looking scimitar to its shoulder to start the bright glow of a Sword Skill of its own, and charged.

"Kirito, Switch!"

Without thinking, he ducked to the side the instant he could, allowing the figure in violet armor to speed past him, driving a Reaver straight into the goblin's throat. The monster gurgled, almost managing some kind of final curse—and slumped, shattering into pieces.

The Swordmaster Kizmel took a quick look around, alert for other enemies; finding none, she relaxed, letting her saber fall to her side. "That would seem to be all the Goblin Guards for the moment, Kirito," she said, sheathing her blade. "Shall we break for lunch?"

"Sounds like a plan," Kirito agreed, putting away his own weapons. "The Safe Haven should be… this way."

The tunnels that led to the Goblin Cavern Town on the Fortieth Floor weren't the best place for clearers of their levels to grind, he reflected as they headed for the nearest Safe Haven, just outside what was considered the "dungeon" section of the tunnels. With the frontline a good seven floors above, it actually did almost nothing for their EXP. Which was exactly what made it useful to them; that, and the fact that few players seemed to know about it.

Out of the way, with a convenient safe area and enemies with low EXP but high defense: ideal for what they'd been working on since just after the conquest of the Thirty-Seventh Floor.

The safe area within the tunnels seemed to be the remains of a dwarf camp, abandoned who knew how long ago. All that remained were carved-stone seats and a table, at the edge of an underground spring. Lit by ancient torches reflecting off deposits of precious gems, it was actually a pretty nice place—for a tunnel system infested by goblins, anyway.

The two of them quickly found seats on either side of the table, stowed their weapons, and turned at once to lunch. Kirito contented himself with a simple sandwich as usual; Kizmel conjured a couple slices of pizza from her storage, still looking fascinated by the process as her latest foray into human cuisine materialized from thin air.

Two months, and it's still hard to believe she's got player privileges, Kirito mused, taking a bite from his sandwich. Well, it is a big change… This has been that kind of year.

Kizmel took an experimental bite of her own lunch, took on a thoughtful look as she chewed, and finally swallowed with apparent satisfaction. "Even after all this time, the variety of human food still amazes me," she commented. "I feel as if I could spend years and still not find more than a tithe."

He nodded. "There is quite a bit," he agreed, once he'd swallowed his own latest morsel. "Even I hadn't heard of a bunch of the things I've tried in Aincrad." One of several things that impressed him even now about SAO, really. The attention to detail Kayaba had put in was nothing short of incredible.

Of course, it was to make a better death world, he reminded himself. All this was for was making a better "story", that's all. He needed enough variety to keep things fresh for at least a couple of years…

Conversation lapsed for a time, as they finished their respective lunches. Once they had, though, Kizmel simply leaned back in her stone chair, making no move to get up. "A year," she mused. "It seems to have gone by so quickly—yet so much has happened, it's hard to believe sometimes that it has been only a year."

"Yeah," Kirito agreed. Resting his head on his hands, he slouched casually in his own seat, and glanced idly at the time display on his HUD. "Heh… it has been that long, hasn't it? A few hours, and it'll be one year to the minute since we first met in the Forest of Wavering Mists."

"Indeed." A small smile lit Kizmel's face, bittersweet but genuine. "I had only recently lost my sister, and had resigned myself to die fighting a Forest Elf… and you and Asuna appeared from nowhere to save my life." The elf girl chuckled. "I confess, at first I was irritated by your interference. I thought humans had no place involving themselves in a conflict between elves."

Remembering that she'd been just as hostile to them as the Forest Elf, before they'd chosen a side in the battle, he nodded in rueful agreement. Of course, that had seemed to be perfectly natural NPC behavior—the very last time he could remember Kizmel acting like a normal NPC. "You didn't seem to think that very long, though."

"Your courage, and Asuna's, left its mark," she agreed. Gaze wandering to one of the gem deposits refracting light around the cavern, she continued quietly, "Truthfully, at first I wasn't certain what to think. I had been fully expecting to die; I had not thought of what to do if I lived. Let alone how to react to being saved by two humans. Of course, by the end of that week I certainly had a much more favorable view of Swordmasters. Well, you and Asuna, at least."

A little too favorable, Kirito had had cause to think a couple of times, that first week. She'd swiftly proven herself a strong ally, provided him with very valuable advice more than once, and bailed him out of a very tricky spot with the ALS and DKB. On the other hand, she'd also about given him a heart attack with her lack of concern for modesty—and from how she'd teased him over the months since, she knew it perfectly well.

Trying to force the memories out of his mind before SAO's emotional expression code could start the steam coming from his ears, Kirito hurriedly pressed on. "I learned a lot about elves during that week, too," he said, turning to look at the spring in what he knew was likely a futile attempt to hide his blush. "It was nice to hang out for a while in a place where nobody knew me as the 'Beater'."

"Not something any of my people are likely to call you, no." She turned to look at him again, head tilted curiously. "Was that why you came to Yofel Castle so soon after you reached the Fourth Floor? I know you had not at first realized the danger you reported, but I never thought to ask why you were there in the first place."

"Oh. That." Kirito coughed, keeping his gaze away from hers. "Actually… we went there to see you."

Kizmel blinked. "Me?"

Sure he was glowing in the dark by now, he could only nod. "Thing is, I remembered a human holiday too late to get Asuna anything else, so… going to Yofel Castle to see you was kind of my Christmas present for her. Not that I didn't want to see you again myself, of course!" he added hurriedly.

When she didn't reply at first, Kirito chanced a glance in her direction. To his surprise, it was her turn to blush; and if it wasn't as bright as when Argo had explained the Ethics Code to her—whatever that was—it still clearly stood out against her dusky skin.

Realizing he was looking, she quickly glanced away. "…I see. Well, I certainly can't complain. Indeed, your visit was the best present I could have asked for at the time, myself. During the war, Yofel Castle was… Well. You saw how it was."

He had. The place had certainly been peaceful, but if anything that had chafed more for his friend. Barred by the Castle's priests even from wearing armor, for a warrior such as Kizmel it had obviously been uncomfortable.

It was her turn to cough, meeting his eyes again as her blush slowly faded. "So, what might this 'Christmas' be? I don't believe I've heard the word before."

"Eh? Oh…" Kirito frowned, dredging up his memories of the holiday. Given the focus it usually had in Japan, it wasn't something he'd ever had much reason to pay attention to. "It's a religious celebration, from another land. In my homeland, it's… well, usually considered a day for couples." Hurrying past that, he added, "Not always, though; there's gift-giving between friends, too. It's usually got lots of lights hung on trees, and, um… songs are traditional too, at least in some places. And fried chicken, for some reason." He was sure there was a reason for that last one, but he couldn't for the life of him remember it.

I'm pretty sure there's another really common thing they do in the West around Christmas, but what was it? And… why do I get a sense of impending doom ala Argo, just trying to remember?

Kizmel nodded slowly, a distant look in her eyes. "I see… Actually, that sounds somewhat like my people's Yule Festival, which is also celebrated this time of year. Our traditional food is roast goat, and rather than lights on living trees we find the largest fallen trunk we can and use it at the center of a bonfire; but we, too, enjoy singing in the festival, although often accompanied by wine and ale."

"Really?" Kirito leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "I hadn't heard about that before. When Asuna and I were at Yofel Castle last year, things didn't seem that, well, festive."

"During the war with the Forest Elves, much was set aside," she said softly. "I don't believe I've seen a true Yule Festival since I was a child…" The elf girl trailed off, then suddenly smiled. "With the war over, however, there will probably be one this year. Perhaps we might take some time off to visit Yofel Castle then? We might even bring Asuna with us."

The hardcore gamer in him immediately dismissed the idea as a waste of time. After all, time spent having fun in a festival could be spent grinding his newest skill, and keeping up with clearing Aincrad so they could all go home. What was the use of anything that didn't contribute to escaping the game, after all?

But Kirito remembered the question Diavel's ghost had once asked him, and the answer he'd had to it. The way a gamer looked at Aincrad, after all—even a gamer who'd been forced into risking his real life—wasn't the way someone like Kizmel did.

"I think I'd like that," he said, finding himself smiling back at his partner. "We might have a little trouble convincing Asuna—you know how she's been getting lately—but we all need a break here and there, and that sounds great. When is the Festival?"

"It starts on the Twenty-First, but the main event begins on the night of the Twenty-Fourth, and continues through the following day." There was a bright, eager look in Kizmel's eyes that he found himself wishing she'd have more often. "The Yule Dance is that night, ending just at midnight."

Kirito nodded, only absently noting the last statement. Christmas, huh… It's obviously supposed to be a stand-in for it, then. Well, works for me. Aloud, he began, "The Twenty-Fourth, huh? Well, by then we should have at least this floor cleared, and maybe the next one—"

"'Bout that, Kii-bou. Might have a bit of a problem."

He jumped off his seat in pure reflex, hand darting up to the sword he wasn't currently wearing, before he realized who it was. "Argo?" he blurted. "What're you—?"

"Business, Kii-bou," the hooded girl standing at the safe area's entrance replied. "Got a message for ya. He tried reachin' ya direct, but didn't know where you'd gone."

That Argo did know was unnerving, but not too surprising. What did bother Kirito was that she'd come after them, instead of just waiting for them to reach somewhere private messages could reach. He had the unsettling feeling she had some idea of why he and Kizmel had dropped out of sight for awhile, but up to then she'd seemed willing to respect their privacy.

Which, with her, is even scarier…

Kizmel cleared her throat. "'He', Argo?"

"Klein. He'd like to meet all three of us, soon." Argo grimaced. "Sorry to disturb your super-secret training, guys, but I got a bad feeling about this one. …Think it's got something to do with Sachi."

Just once, I'd like to get together with him when things aren't completely crazy, Klein thought glumly, making his way through the streets of Gasraad. Built in a style his latest guild member had described as being straight out of Renaissance Italy—as seen in a game she and her old guild had played, anyway—it was the central town of the Forty-Fifth Floor. Just far enough down from the front for a nice, inconspicuous meeting. I guess our lives aren't that simple though, huh?

After weaving through the crowds of NPCs and mid-level players, the self-proclaimed samurai found his way to the small, out of the way cafe Kirito had recommended, and pushed open the doors. Inside, amid a small gathering of NPCs with odd hooded outfits, he spotted two figures that stood out—three, when he realized one of the hoods didn't belong to an NPC.

Kirito waved from the table he shared with his partner and the other girl Klein had hoped to see today. "Over here," the Black Swordsman called, voice low but pitched to carry through the sound of the other patrons.

Klein was grateful his friend wasn't any louder, especially when he noticed there was at least one more player in the room. Hurrying past a Swordmaster in the white and red of the Knights of Blood, only barely taking notice of the singing, guitar-playing girl the Knight was listening to, he dropped carelessly into the remaining free chair at the table. "You're a sight for sore eyes, buddy," he said honestly. "And good to see you, too, Kizmel-san," he added, bestowing a more formal nod on the elf girl. "I heard about your quest reward from a couple months back. Congrats."

Kizmel smiled, inclining her head in turn. "Thank you, Guildmaster Klein."

"What, nothin' for me, 'Guildmaster'? Aren't ya happy to see me, too?" Argo the Rat tossed back her hood, took a deep gulp from the tankard in front of her, and fixed him with a mock-glare. "A girl might start to feel unappreciated, ya know."

"That depends on how much Cor you're gonna get out of me, and for what," Klein shot back. The fire quickly drained him, though, and his shoulders slumped. "I'll tell you this, though: you've got the right idea to have a drink handy. Excuse me!"

By the time he'd gotten the closest Aincrad had to a good, stiff drink in his hands, Kirito was looking at him with a concerned frown. "Okay, Klein," he said, leaning forward over the table. "What's wrong? You don't usually call us up for a meeting like this." He bit his lip, a worried look in his eyes. "Has something happened to…?"

Klein quickly shook his head. "Nah, Sachi's fine, Kirito. Don't worry about that. …Well, mostly." He sighed, taking a long pull from his drink to buy himself a few moments. "Actually, I did call you because of Sachi-chan. Thing is… Look, you guys always know everything first, so you've probably already heard about this. The special event the NPCs have been talking about lately."

As he'd expected, the two clearers and info broker nodded, none of them looking very happy. Not that Klein could blame them. He'd thought of several different complications, and if he'd figured out that many, he was sure they'd come up with more. Obviously no solo—or duo—would want anything to do with it, especially if the rumors about a certain sword Kirito had gotten his hands on were true; the last thing he was likely to want was more attention.

Of course, that was why he'd wanted to talk to them. He just wasn't sure which answer he'd really prefer to hear, given the potential consequences either way.

"You're talking about the event boss," Kirito said after a moment, voice even lower than before. "Nicholas the Renegade. Defeat him, and you get everything in his sack—and with it being a once-a-year boss, it's sure to be really good drops. The kind any guild would want."

"But that's not what you're asking about, of course." Klein didn't know Kizmel very well, but it wasn't hard for him to see that she was at least as troubled as her partner. "I take it you have heard the rumors about what else this Nicholas is supposed to have with him."

Her reaction could've just been because going after some poor fat guy with Christmas presents didn't make any sense to her; he still didn't know how the AI handled the idea of mobs like that. Klein had bought a fair bit of info about her from Argo, though, and had a pretty good idea of why else she might be bothered—and he couldn't blame her a bit.

"Yeah," he confirmed unhappily. "The revival item. I know it's crazy," he went on, when Kirito opened his mouth again. "After what Kayaba did, setting up the rules here, the idea of an item that brings back the dead has gotta be just a crazy rumor. Normally, I wouldn't even bother trying for it—taking Fuurinkazan up against an event boss might work out, but I dunno if it'd be worth it. But…"

Kirito closed his eyes, slumping back in his chair. "Sachi heard about it, didn't she."

"…Yeah. And man, she's pretty determined to go for it." Klein winced, remembering the look on Sachi's face when she first heard the rumors. He hoped he'd never see an expression like that again. "She told me point-blank she'd go after Nicholas solo, if she had to."

He didn't know what it was like for someone to watch their guild be destroyed around them. If he had anything to say about it, he never would, and Sachi would never see it again. Having seen it once, though, had obviously left its mark on her, and she'd gone from being quietly determined—as she'd been since Kirito had first brought her to Fuurinkazan's guildhouse—to frighteningly single-minded.

"I know it's a long shot," Klein continued. "I know it's crazy. But—dammit, Kirito, even if she wasn't talking about trying to fight a boss all by herself, she's one of mine! I owe her the chance, however small! So please—if you know anything at all, any weird rumor from the beta test, even…!" He bowed his head, clasping his hands together in supplication. "And Argo—any price, I'll pay it! Even for a scrap!"

For a long moment, the others were silent. Startled by his vehemence, maybe. Or maybe just laughing at me. I know the whole thing is crazy, and Kirito's got his own problems—

"Honestly, Klein, I might even give ya a discount, under the circumstances," Argo said, sounding unusually serious. "But I don't charge for rumors, and that's all I got." When Klein raised his head to look at her, she grimaced, raising one hand palm-up. "Nick's s'posed ta spawn under a fir tree at midnight, on the twenty-fourth day of the Month of Holly—Christmas Eve. That much everybody knows for sure. But nobody seems ta know which tree, what forest, which floor. And as for the revival item…" She shook her head. "I dunno if even any NPCs are talkin' 'bout that. I can't even figure out who started the rumor."

When she'd finished, Kizmel quietly cleared her throat. "I've not heard anything else about this Nicholas myself," she said softly, eyes downcast. "But the stories of the artifact he may be carrying… those may have come from other Swordmasters who have dealt with my people. We have legends of the 'Divine Stone of Returning Soul', which indeed is said to be able to restore life. I have never heard of it being seen in recent ages, though…"

Klein perked up, just a little. If there was one thing he had learned about things elf-related, it was that their legends tended to be pretty close to the mark where quests were concerned. If she was saying it might've existed…

"…Even if there is such a thing," Kirito said, gaze distant, "I can't imagine that it would really work. If there was any chance players could be revived, then Kayaba lied to us—and if he did, then we'd already be out of here. Well," he corrected himself, "I can think of maybe one way, if the—spell—just kept 'dead' players in comas, without letting them wake up… but that's not likely."

"I know," Klein admitted, deflating. Draining half his ale in one gulp, he continued, "I know it's a crazy idea, Kirito, but 'unlikely' isn't 'impossible'. And for something like this, that's a chance worth taking, don't ya think?"

There were shadows in Kirito's eyes, leaving the samurai wondering just how many people the so-called Beater had seen die in the year since SAO turned deadly. All he knew about was the Black Cat guild, but with how secretive Kirito could be, who really knew?

"A few months ago," Kirito said at length, "Kizmel and I found a place that looked like it might be the start of an event. There wasn't anything about it at the time, but… it was a giant fir tree, in a forest that seems to match what the NPCs have said about Nicholas' arrival."

"Ya sure, Kii-bou?" Argo asked sharply. "I've checked a buncha places m'self, and I just keeping finding pine trees, not fir. They're a lot alike—"

"I know the difference," he interrupted. "We had both back—I know what each of them is like. Trust me, it's a fir tree."

Oof. Klein hadn't heard that kind of self-correction in awhile; everybody he knew tried their best not to even think about the real world anymore. Deliberately pushing that part aside, he leaned his elbows on the table, giving the younger swordsman his most earnest expression. "If you've got a place, lay it on me. I'll even pay you for it, Kirito, you've earned that much—"

"No charge, Guildmaster Klein," Kizmel interrupted. "We'll be glad to help." She turned to her partner. "You're talking about the Lost Forest on the Thirty-Fifth Floor, right? With the confusing warp points, which made it more difficult to navigate than Lethe Forest?"

"Yeah, that's the place." Kirito grimaced, but didn't dispute her instant agreement. "It's tricky, but we can show you the way, Klein. I made a map of it when we were first clearing the place. But if we are going to do this, we should take the time before Christmas Eve to do some grinding. Taking on an event boss with just us and Fuurinkazan is going to be risky, even for something twelve floors below the frontline."

Klein breathed a sigh of deep relief, slumping in his chair. "Thanks, buddy. I mean it. If we just have this much, I can convince Sachi-chan to at least prepare with the guild, and…" He trailed off, realizing he'd missed something. "Wait a sec. You guys'll come with us?"

"We have our own stake in this," Kizmel reminded him, looking down at the table again. "Remember… we were the ones who led the Black Cats into that dungeon."

All of a sudden, he wasn't sure if he wanted more to give the unlikely duo a big hug, or track down Joe and roast him over an open fire. With how cheerful the two of them usually were, Klein had managed to forget just how bad off they'd been the night they showed up on his doorstep with Sachi.

Hug, he decided, seeing the look on Argo's face. The Rat has revenge handled, I think. Too bad Kirito would probably go all hedgehog on me… Wait a second! I've got an idea…

While the young swordsman and the elf were lost in their own thoughts, Klein surreptitiously brought up his menu below the table, typed up a quick message, and sent it—and was almost immediately rewarded with a smirk and a tiny nod from Argo.

With that handled, Klein shoved himself to his feet, deliberately noisy. "Okay, then," he announced, clapping his hands to break Kirito and Kizmel out of whatever past vision they were seeing. "If we're gonna need to grind, let's go get Fuurinkazan and get to it. I've never lost a guildmate, and I'm not gonna let Nicholas break my record!"

Kizmel had only been to Fuurinkazan's guildhall once, over three months before. At the time, they'd been based on the Seventeenth Floor, in the town of Taira; now, while the guild hadn't gotten to the frontline yet, they had moved up their operations by quite a few floors, and currently made their home on the Thirty-Third.

Even so, it felt much the same as she accompanied Kirito and Klein to the guild's new home. The central town on the Thirty-Third Floor, Masashi, followed much the same aesthetic as Taira, and Fuurinkazan's guildhouse was another pagoda-style building.

A little larger than the old, Kizmel judged, following Klein inside. Though not much… And I'm distracting myself from the real issue, of course.

It wasn't just Fuurinkazan's guildhouse she hadn't seen in over three months, she reflected on entering the building's meeting room. She hadn't seen the guild members since then, either—and not entirely by chance. She lacked her partner's history with Klein, but she had her own reasons to feel guilty.

Fuurinkazan as a whole didn't seem to agree, though. Seated around a low table in the center of the room, the eclectic group of samurai greeted their leader's guests cheerfully enough. Heavy-set Dale waved, and the mustachioed Dynamm—whom she remembered Kirito comparing to a pirate, for reasons she wasn't quite clear on—actually grinned. "Kirito, Kizmel," he called. "'Bout time Leader dragged you guys back here again."

"Nice to see you, too, Dynamm," Kirito replied, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "Ah… I guess we'll be in your care for a little while."

"More like we'll be in yours," Issin—a man Kizmel had always thought looked oddly gaunt—told him, shaking his head. "Honestly, any info you can give us, we'll be glad for. This one has us stumped…"

It wasn't the original six of Fuurinkazan that had Kizmel's attention, though. Her attention was quickly drawn to the one girl in the guild, seated between Issin and Kunimittz, whom the other members seemed subtly protective of. The last time the elf had seen her, she'd worn mostly blue, her armor a style much like that favored by the DDA and KoB. At that time, she'd also been very obviously in shock, and for good reason.

Now Sachi, last survivor of the Moonlit Black Cats, wore the red lacquered armor Fuurinkazan preferred, topped by a cape not so different from Kizmel's Mistmoon Cloak. She no longer looked nearly so lost as she had three months, but she didn't look very happy, either. There was an intense, focused look in her dark eyes, one which made Kizmel a little uneasy.

"Hello, Sachi," she said after a moment, offering a tentative smile. "It's been some time."

"I guess it has. I'm glad to see you again, Kizmel." To the elf's relief, Sachi's expression eased up just a bit. Not as much as she'd have liked, but a bit. "I'm sorry I haven't been in touch, but…"

"I understand." Kizmel remembered very well her own feelings after the destruction of the Black Cat guild; more, she remembered how she herself had been in the wake of her sister's death. And Tilnel, at least, did not die by treachery.

After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Sachi shook herself. "I heard about you getting player status, by the way. Congratulations. And, Kirito…" She turned to the young Swordmaster, who was having difficulty even looking in her direction. "It's good to see you, too."

"…Likewise," Kirito managed, voice barely more than a whisper. "I'm glad you're doing okay, Sachi."

"'Course she is!" Klein clapped him on the shoulder, boisterous voice dispelling the gloom that had begun to gather. "You asked us to take care of her, and that's what we've done. Don't worry about a thing, buddy. Now c'mon, everybody sit down, and let's talk!"

Klein really was more perceptive than he looked, Kizmel thought as they all settled around the table. He might indeed have been a somewhat comical sort by nature, but he obviously knew how to use that to keep up morale. An underrated skill, in her opinion, and one that more of her own people could stand to learn.

It didn't seem to lift Sachi's spirits any, but Kizmel suspected nothing was going to change that girl's mood until the matter of Nicholas the Renegade had been settled, one way or another.

From his position at the head of the table, somehow managing to look almost like a true, serious leader of warriors, Klein cleared his throat. "Alright, guys, here's the deal. If you can believe it, the Rat didn't have anything to sell me about Nicholas, but our ol' buddy Kirito and his partner did. Kirito?"

Attention turned to Kizmel's partner, and as usual he obviously wished it hadn't. He coughed, giving himself a moment to gather his thoughts. "Well, this isn't exactly solid," he began. "Otherwise I'd have sold it Argo as soon as the NPCs started talking about Nicholas. But… if I'm right, Kizmel and I found where the boss is supposed to appear. We don't know anything about what the fight is supposed to be like," he added quickly, "but if it's where I think it will be, it should be possible for us to beat by ourselves, if we're careful."

"It's not on the frontlines, then?" Harry One asked, looking intent.

"Two floors above where we are right now," Kirito said, nodding. "I don't know what kind of levels Klein's gotten you all to, but if you're doing any hunting above that… I won't say it won't be risky, but it's doable."

"It'll be fine, Kirito," Klein assured him, doing his obvious best to look calm and serene as he folded his arms above crossed legs. Personally, Kizmel thought he was trying too hard, but that lent its own effect to his efforts. "I agree that we oughtta do some more grinding while we've got the time, but as it is, we're about a month or so away from joining the clearing group ourselves."

The declaration surprised Kizmel. Partly because he'd made such a direct statement about his and his guildmates' levels, amid the Swordmaster culture of secrecy, and partly at the idea that they really had gotten that strong. The last group she knew of that had attempted to climb from mid-level to clearing…

As if following her train of thought, Sachi spoke up next, her earlier warmth vanished again. "What about the revival item?" she asked, leaning over the table, eyes dark. "Do you know anything about it?"

It was Kizmel's turn to clear her throat. "There are very old tales among my people, yes," she said. "I fear I can't tell you much, however…"

When she'd gone over what she did know, Sachi leaned back again, visibly disappointed. "…That's still a lead, though," she murmured, apparently to herself. "Thank you, Kizmel. Um… are you two…?"

"We'll be going with you," Kirito said, not quite looking her in the eye. "It's a long shot, but it's one worth trying. And I… wouldn't be able to forgive myself if something went wrong. After what already happened once, when I tried to help out…"

"That's not gonna happen again, Kirito," Klein said firmly. "We're all gonna be careful, and we're all stronger than your friends were back then. And we're gonna get stronger still." He swept his gaze over the assembled Swordmasters, this time looking every bit the warrior he styled himself as. "We've got ten days until Nicholas the Renegade is supposed to show up. We're going to use every one of them. No days off 'til Christmas, got it?"

"Slave driver," Dynamm grumbled. He was grinning, though. "So. Where to, Leader? The usual place on the Forty-Fifth?"

"Not this time. That's one thing I did buy from Argo: info on a good training spot on the Forty-Sixth." Klein pushed himself to his feet. "Time to hunt some acid-spitting Giant Ants!"

There were mock-groans all around, except from the once again silent Sachi. From Kirito and Kizmel, though, the sound was much more sincere—and Kizmel suspected there was an additional reason for Sachi's silence, as well. Acid-spitting giant insects were nothing new to them; they'd fought similar preying mantises during the attempt to bring the Black Cats to clearing level.

It's not the same as back then, she reminded herself, discreetly putting a reassuring hand on Kirito's arm. Klein is even more careful than Keita ever was, and his guild has been together longer. This won't be like those days.

And a few bad memories coming back will be worth it for the closure this may bring, whether the Divine Stone really exists or not.

It was getting late by the time they began battling oversized insects, just one floor below the frontlines, but Kirito hardly noticed. From the earliest days in SAO, he'd been accustomed to fighting long into the night, or starting before dawn; sleep was something he gave into when he had to, more than according to any normal schedule. That was how it was for anyone, really, who was trying to stay ahead of the level curve and stay alive in this game of death.

That timing turned out to be just as well, anyway. The snowfield on the western edge of the Forty-Sixth Floor, bordered by a cliff honeycombed with ant tunnels, was known to plenty of other high-level players, to the extent that a schedule had actually been arranged around the respawning of the Giant Ants. Fuurinkazan arrived just a few minutes before another group finished, leaving the next batch free for them.

With the irregular number of players they had on hand, they'd set up a party rotation before setting out. It left Kirito sitting out the first round, hanging back with Klein; to his concern, while Sachi was also out of the party itself, she was still participating. It didn't take him long to understand why, though, and it certainly impressed him.

Honestly, watching as Issin and Kunimittz used their polearm weapons to keep two of the Giant Ants at bay while their sword-wielding comrades took them from the flanks, Kirito felt a little embarrassed. The Reaver Dynamm unleashed against one of them, catching it just under one scythe-like arm, was textbook, reminding him of when Klein had performed that exact attack as his first Sword Skill. Harry One's followup, smashing the ant's arm off with his mace, was perfectly coordinated.

Klein really did use what I taught him that day, Kirito thought, taking note as Kizmel timed a Diagonal Sting on the other to give Dale an opening for a leaping Avalanche. It's weird, seeing them fight just like that. Maybe… maybe I didn't screw up everything, after all. Not quite.

There was a brief moment where it seemed like they'd miscalculated, a third Giant Ant having snuck up to spit acid at Issin's back while he was recovering from a Straight Thrust he'd just used to force back the first. Just as it opened its mouth, though, the ant abruptly stumbled to the side, a crimson line etching itself deeply into its flank. There was a flutter of cloth, accompanied by three more slashes to complete the Horizontal Square, and with a screech the oversized bug tumbled to the snowy ground.

The post-motion from the Sword Skill finished before the ant could right itself, and Sachi renewed her attack at once. Targeting a fallen enemy could be tricky, given the nature of Sword Skills, but she managed the angle for a modified Vertical Square smoothly enough, tracing the four slashes across the ant's torso with vicious speed and power.

It did manage to throw itself back to its feet after that, in a convulsing movement Kirito couldn't quite describe. The Giant Ant's health was down pretty far, though, and by the time it had turned to try and spit acid in retaliation, Sachi had vanished completely. It was left standing motionless in confusion, its AI as befuddled as if by an ordinary Switch.

Kirito shivered. He remembered when Sachi had gotten the Nightcloak, but back in the days of the Moonlit Black Cats, he didn't remember seeing her use it much. Aside from the time she'd hidden away from the rest of the guild, for reasons he'd never quite learned, as far as he knew she'd kept the invisibility-granting cape in storage.

Now, she'd developed an entire fighting style around it. He wasn't sure how well it would work in a boss fight, but obviously it had its uses against basic mobs.

"Kinda spooky, I know," Klein said quietly. The red samurai stood next to him, arms folded, watching his guild train. "I've never seen anything like it. 'Course, I don't know of anybody else even having a cloak like that, but still. Any player with a brain knows better than to go in for a fair fight, but Sachi-chan's in a class by herself: always looking for a little bit more of an edge, like the biggest min-maxer you ever saw. When she figured out how to use that in a fight…"

Kirito nodded. Kizmel's cloak couldn't be used that way, especially given it only provided true invisibility at night, but he could certainly see the advantages of one that could. It made him nervous, though, and for more reasons than one. Since as far as he remembered the quest Sachi had gotten the Nightcloak from hadn't been unique, just hard to find, it was entirely possible other, nastier people had them. Besides which…

"How many people know about that?" he asked, under the cover of the first Giant Ant shattering noisily. "What Sachi can do with it?"

From the grimace on Klein's face, the guildmaster got the point. "We've tried to keep it under wraps," he admitted. "But… there've been a couple of close calls." He sighed, breath steaming in the winter air. "This one time, we got followed back to town, and some mid-levels got nasty. Called Sachi-chan a 'Beater' to her face."

Kirito flinched, remembering vividly the last time he'd been called that.

"Yeah, I know, you'd take that like a champ, then go disappear for a couple months." Klein glared balefully ahead, as if his anger could push back the glob of acid that singed Dynamm's hair. "Sachi-chan, though… she doesn't take that kind of thing lying down. Dunno how she was with the Black Cats, but with us she's always been real quiet, even before this came up—but if somebody starts throwing 'Beater' around, she gets mad."

Conversation paused for a moment as Sachi herself suddenly appeared again, batting aside a glob of acid with her shield. Her timing was off just enough for the other Giant Ant to nick her right side; despite that, she drove her blade firmly into her target's thorax. It reared back, giving Dale a chance to lop its head off with his heavy blade, while Kizmel punished the one that had hurt Sachi.

Klein took a moment to look over the attack, a clinical look on his face. After an approving nod, though, the concern was back in full force. "She handled it—with a couple of bumps and bruises all around. Some people still don't like it, but… we're usually left alone. …Maybe a little too much."

Something about that struck Kirito as more than a little ominous. Giving Klein a sidelong look, wondering if he really wanted to know, he asked anyway: "What's that supposed to mean?"

"That Keita guy… He still won't talk to her. At all."

Off to the side, another party had arrived—a small group from the DDA, Kirito noticed absently, to judge from the armor—but the only thing he could focus on was the ball of ice that was starting to form in his gut. "He won't even talk to Sachi? I knew he… didn't take things well… but I never thought…"

"Don't think she did either. Sure as hell isn't how I'd have done things, if something like that had happened to Fuurinkazan." Klein was glaring again; Kirito was pretty sure it had nothing to do with the extra set of Giant Ants that had just charged out of the tunnel mouth. "It was about a week before we started hearing about Nicholas when I finally got out of her that her buddy wasn't answering messages. He's still on her friends list, so she knew he wasn't dead, but he wasn't saying a word."

Keita. The last time Kirito had seen the Black Cats' young guildmaster, Keita had used a teleport crystal to retreat to the very first floor—after knocking Kirito flat on his back and leaving him with an indictment that still haunted him. It wasn't surprising that he hadn't come up again, but for him to have even stopped messaging the only other survivor of the guild…

"I took that kind of personally," Klein went on after a moment. "Sachi-chan's one of mine, now, and I take care of my own. So I got the guys to keep her busy, and I went down to the City of Beginnings myself to go see what the hell was wrong with him."

Kirito swallowed hard. "I… can't imagine that went well."

"Not really." The samurai's jaw clenched, one hand moving as if on its own to the hilt of his katana. "I found him, all right, wandering the streets like a damn zombie. Now, I've seen my share of bad stuff in Aincrad, and I know about trauma, but—dammit, it's not right!" Klein shook his head angrily. "I told him I was Sachi-chan's new guildmaster, and that she was worried about him. And you know what he said?"

I don't think I want to. "What?"

"He got this look on his face—like I was some kinda Astral monster—and asked me if you'd introduced me to her.." Klein let out a breath in a hiss through his teeth. "Then he told me to go to hell, and stormed off. Didn't even ask how Sachi-chan was doing."

Keita… Kirito closed his eyes, suddenly no longer surprised. Angry for Sachi's sake, but no more than resigned at how Keita had reacted to Klein. "…What did you tell Sachi?"

"Not a damn thing, of course. I didn't even tell her I'd gone to see the guy. But… I think she figured it out anyway." On the battlefield in front of them, Harry One and Kunimittz trapped the last ant between their weapons, holding it in place; it got out a glob of acidic goo in return, landing on Kunimittz's shoulder with a loud sizzle, but was unable to do much else but struggle.

Before it could free itself, Sachi tossed back her cloak again, and together with Kizmel tore into it with her blade. She carved the figure-four of a Savage Fulcrum into its thorax, while the elf spun into a Treble Scythe that ended with a brutal slash across its compound eyes.

"She was even worse after that," Klein said as the Giant Ant shattered, his voice barely audible even to Kirito's ears now. "'Til we heard about Nicholas. Since then… well, you can see for yourself. I think she's doing this for Keita, as much as herself." He snorted bitterly. "After what he did to her, I say he doesn't deserve it. But if she's gonna do it, we're right with her."

"Hey, you guys, let somebody else in there, will ya? Other people need some EXP too, y'know!"

Klein spared the DDA party leader a rude gesture, but motioned for Fuurinkazan to pull back anyway. "I really appreciate this, Kirito," he said as the others came back toward them. "If you hadn't told us where to look for the boss, well…"

"This is still probably going to come to nothing, Klein," Kirito reminded him, looking away. "I can't believe there's really a revival item. Even so… Kizmel and I owe Sachi a lot. And Keita… and the others. This is something we have to do, after what we did to them—"

He was cut off by a cuff to the back of his head. "You start getting suicidal on me, I'm locking you in a room with Kizmel-san and Argo," Klein warned him. "I dunno what would happen, but I bet it'd distract you real fast." Still several meters off, Kizmel twitched and blushed; Klein seemed to notice, and after a quick grin lowered his voice further. "Whatever you think is your fault, you're the only reason some of us have lived this long, moron. Don't forget that."

December 24th, 2023

The ten days spent training with Fuurinkazan reminded Kizmel painfully of the months she and Kirito had worked with the Black Cats. It was, after all, the only time other than when they'd helped the doomed the guild that they had spent any notable time with other clearers. It was inevitable that the memories would be brought to the surface.

Especially with Sachi herself as a member of both groups.

Yet as they all prepared in Fuurinkazan's guildhall, the evening the battle they'd been training for finally arrived, Kizmel realized it was different. Much like the Black Cats, Klein's guild was cheerful and optimistic; unlike Keita's group, though, every action they took was tempered with caution, an understanding of just how easily any of them could fall if they made the slightest misstep.

Even Keita was willing to take risks we would not have, she reflected, bringing up her menu to equip her armor and weapons. Most of her gear had changed much since her days as a Pagoda Knight, replaced with better items located on higher floors; now, regretfully, she replaced even her beloved Mistmoon Cloak with a heavier, fur-lined cape more suited for the colder weather. Klein listens to Kirito—and his people to him.

They are not the children the Black Cats were.

Granted, Kizmel had heard Kirito refer to himself as such, but as she watched her partner switch out his usual longcoat for a fur-collared version, she couldn't think of him that way. He might have had difficulty in social situations, but the grim expression on his face now, the certitude with which he checked his Valiant Edge, showed his maturity.

A maturity she often thought was greater than Klein's—though at this moment, the red samurai was actually looking appropriately solemn himself. Standing at the front of the gathering in the guildhall's meeting room, he looked them all over—from guests Kizmel and Kirito to his own red-armored warriors, including the quiet, focused Sachi—with a critical air, before nodding in satisfaction.

"Okay," Klein said quietly. "We've had ten days to get ready for this. We're twenty-five levels above the floor level the boss is supposed to be—thirty-five for some of us, and someday I'm gonna figure out how you two did it—and we've got all the info there is on the boss—"

"Which isn't much," Dynamm put in laconically.

The guildmaster glared at him, but without heat; the comment fractured the dark mood that was starting to gather. "Maybe it isn't, but we've got a massive level advantage, nine people, and a map right to where Nicholas should be showing up. We can do this. But," he added, raising a cautioning finger, "that doesn't mean we're going to let down our guard, got it? We're gonna do this smart, and careful, and whatever loot we get from this, we're all coming back in one piece. All of us."

From the way he spoke of Kirito sometimes, Kizmel might've thought that last directed at her partner specifically. Instead, all eyes turned to Sachi. The former Black Cat had said nothing since beginning the evening's preparations, and precious little over the ten days of training; now, she met the scrutiny calmly. Almost apathetically, Kizmel thought.

But not weakly. "I won't die, Klein," she said, quiet but firm. "No matter what, I won't die here."

He watched her for a long moment—as did Kirito, Kizmel noticed without surprise—before nodding again, more slowly this time. "You better not. I don't want any martyrs here, Sachi-chan." Abruptly, he clapped his hands. "Okay, then. Let's move out, kill that boss, and get home. Kirito and Kizmel-san promised me there's a Christmas party coming, and I don't want to miss it!"

Kizmel leaned over to whisper in Kirito's ear. "Were you able to discuss things with Guildmaster Heathcliff?"

He nodded fractionally. "It's fine. Asuna will be waiting for us in Rovia tomorrow morning."

"…Does she know that?"

Despite the situation, Kirito grinned. "Not yet."

After assembling into two parties—most of Fuurinkazan in one, Sachi and Harry One joining the clearing duo to round out a slightly smaller group—they set off into Masashi, heading for the Teleport Plaza. The banter that had gone on in the guildhall lapsed once they were out in the cold winter air, leaving Kizmel alone with her thoughts.

Their group was quite a contrast to the residents of Masashi and the other visiting Swordmasters, she noticed. Where they had a purpose that evening, a solemn and serious one at that, those around them were as cheerful as any Swordmasters Kizmel had ever seen. Instead of the usual habits of those pressing forward to clear Aincrad, tonight these people were enjoying the "Christmas" holiday Kirito had told her of, eating and talking amongst themselves; even some of the KoB, a group she normally associated with dedication to duty, were taking the night off.

By contrast, oddly, she saw no sign at all of the Divine Dragons Alliance. Of course, knowing Lind it was entirely likely they were taking the time to try and upstage the KoB again. They had grown ever harsher since the days Kizmel had first encountered them; back then, from what Kirito had told her, they'd been as eager as anyone to celebrate a holiday.

As they passed one such gathering in a small park, centered around a girl in a cape and large hat plucking at a guitar, Kizmel felt a pang of homesickness. Among the listeners were a pair of Swordmasters, one of them a girl with tanned skin, resting her head on the shoulder of a young man with a tamed Dagger Wolf by his side; though neither of them really resembled her sister or brother-in-law that closely, the pose still reminded her painfully of times long gone.

Those who are mourned will never return, she reminded herself, deliberately turning away from the tableau. The hands of time cannot be turned back… no matter how much we might wish it.

Glancing briefly at Kirito, then Sachi—both of whom were silent, faces darkly shadowed—she was startled to feel a hand land on her shoulder. "Oi. You okay there, Kizmel-san?"

Looking up quickly, Kizmel found Klein gazing back at her, a look of faint concern on his face. "Ah, it's nothing," she said after a moment. "Just… old memories."

"About your sister, right?" he said knowingly. "I heard a little bit about that." The guildmaster glanced briefly at Sachi, then spoke again, voice barely audible even to her elven ears. "That item we're after… that's what you're really thinking about, isn't it?"

He really was more perceptive than his "mountain bandit" look tended to suggest. "It crossed my mind," she murmured unwillingly. "If there were any way at all to bring her back… But even were it possible, I don't see how I could bring myself to use it. After all…"

Klein nodded, a flicker of darkness in his eyes. "You can only use it once—and we've all got people we'd like to bring back, don't we?" He cracked a tiny smile at her look of surprise. "Hey, Fuurinkazan hasn't lost anybody, but I've had friends outside the guild. Not all of 'em have made it." He looked toward Sachi again. "Three dead from that guild, right? …Even if this works, I'm afraid of what it's going to do to her. Having to choose which one to bring back."

Yes. That was exactly what Kizmel had been thinking about, in the end. She longed to bring Tilnel back, yet how could she choose her sister over anyone else? Her sister's husband had followed her into death not long after, as had many others over the course of the war with the Forest and Dark Elves. Such a choice was impossible for her to make and live with.

"Yet you're still willing to help Sachi do this?" She felt she knew the answer, but asked anyway.

"Whether we help or not, she's doing this. She's made her choice, and I can either respect that and stand back, or respect it and help her through the fallout. What do you think I'm gonna do? Besides…" Klein's eyes drifted to the other loner of the group. "I've got debts of my own to pay back. Thanks for helping with that, by the way."

The Teleport Plaza only about a street away now, Kizmel looked at him in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"C'mon, you know how Kirito is. He really needs a keeper, y'know? Somebody to watch his back, make sure he doesn't do something totally insane and get himself killed." He shook his head, still watching Kirito's back. "Make sure he doesn't go completely crazy. When I heard his partner left him, I was worried. Bad as things were when the Black Cats broke up, I was glad when he showed up with you."

Now she looked away, feeling a flush growing. "The timing was pure coincidence. Surely you could've filled the gap well enough…"

"He wouldn't have let me, and I think you know it. And he—" Klein broke off, noticing they were just at the Plaza. "I'll tell ya later. But thanks, really." He raised his voice. "Okay, guys, this is it. Let's go to the Thirty-Fifth Floor and get this done."

A brief cheer from most of Fuurinkazan and a shared glance between Kirito and Kizmel later, and the nine disappeared in a flash of blue light.

It had been months since the Thirty-Fifth Floor had been the frontline—in fact, it had been cleared not long after the Black Cats' encounter with The Commandant—but Kirito remembered its layout pretty well. What he didn't remember, his map mostly supplemented; and what that didn't quite cover, the notes he'd taken back then did.

Taking the lead in the Lost Forest, thus, wasn't a problem in terms of finding his way around. Knowing where to go was easy. It was what lay at the end of it that had him worried. Not the boss fight, really—for all his words of caution, nine players at their levels would likely be more than enough—but what came after.

One thing at a time, Kirito told himself, running without hesitation from one invisible teleporter to another, his partner and Fuurinkazan following close behind. Beat the boss first. It's not likely to even have that item anyway…

He wasn't sure if he hoped it did or not. Either way, the guilt he'd tried so hard to push aside for months was heavy on his shoulders again.

After an hour of tireless sprinting through the maze of fir trees, their deadline of midnight fast approaching, Kirito finally skidded to a halt in the snow in one last unremarkable clearing. After taking a moment to steel himself, he turned to face the rest of the group: Kizmel and Klein looking supportive, most of the rest of Fuurinkazan cheerful but cautious, Sachi unnervingly calm.

"This is it," he announced, projecting a cool confidence he didn't really feel. "Just ahead is a teleport to the giant fir tree. If I'm right, Nicholas the Renegade will be spawning in…" He paused to check his time display. "Ten minutes. If we want to turn back, now is the time."

"No." Somewhat to his surprise, it was Sachi who spoke first, a hard look in her eyes. "I'm not turning back, Kirito. Not now."

A moment of silence followed, before Klein cleared his throat. Resting a hand on the hilt of his katana, he stepped forward, an easy grin on his face. "You heard the lady, Kirito. We're gonna do this thing. So let's just—"

The hissing sound of a teleport cut him off, and after a brief instant of startled paralysis the group turned almost as one to look back the way they'd come. Who would even think of coming here?! I thought I was the only one who'd figured out the clues, and Argo wouldn't have sold—

Over a dozen players materialized in quick succession, wearing very familiar armor. Familiar enough to make Kirito grind his teeth, especially when he saw the long blue hair on the group's leader, and the distinctive scimitar he wore at his side, shield slung over his back.

"The DDA?" Klein hissed, right hand going to the hilt of his sword. "What the hell are they doing here?!"

"Good question," Kirito replied grimly, as their own group formed around them. "Lind!" he called. "I was wondering why I hadn't seen any Dragon Knights around lately. What are you doing here?"

"If you're here, then I think you already know the answer to that, Kirito," Lind replied coolly. He hadn't gone for his weapon, but some of his subordinates were clearly thinking about it. His own expression was as hard as Kirito had ever seen it. "The revival item is something anyone would value—and I'm sure the boss that carries it wouldn't be an easy one."

Klein scoffed. "You're not suggesting we work together for it, are you?"

"Why not? You run a guild of your own, Klein, surely you understand this better than Kirito. How cautious we have to be in this world—and how precious resources are." Lind shook his head. "This is something too big to be left to any individual—or small group—to deal with as they wish. We all have friends, loved ones we've lost to this twisted game."

And who would you choose, Lind? Kirito wondered. Naga? Or maybe even Diavel… None of the members he'd once worked with to kill a Floor Boss in the smallest-ever boss raid were here, he noticed; he wondered, too, if that had any significance.

Even if he'd been inclined to ask, though, someone else beat him to it. "If we do it that way, there's no point!" Sachi declared, yanking her sword out. "I need that stone!"

"You're being unreasonable, Sachi-san," Lind retorted, expression hard. "I have been patient with your friend Kirito in the past, but this is something there can be no negotiation on. If the Divine Stone of Returning Soul is real, then the only fair way to handle it is by group discussion. If there's any chance at all of bringing back anyone who fell here—"

No negotiation. Kirito could tell that he meant it, and the way the DDA members were looking—as if they were not just willing, but eager to draw their weapons—suddenly made him very nervous about just how far they were willing to push it.

Given the look on Sachi's face when he glanced her way, he was at least as nervous about how far she was willing to go.

"No," Sachi said, glaring at the DDA leader. "I won't let you do this. I won't let you take this chance from me!"

Lind's hands tightened into fists. "Sachi-san, with all due respect, you're not in any position to make such a statement. As good as some of you may be, the DDA has the advantage here. And as we're running short on time, I'd really suggest you be reasonable."

Kirito swallowed, exchanging a quick look with Klein. This is bad. If he's really willing to go orange over an item that probably doesn't even exist… and he's right, there isn't time for this—

"No negotiation. Be reasonable." Abruptly, Kizmel stepped out in front of the group, hand on the hilt of her saber. "It's interesting, Lind, that 'reasonable' with you always seems to mean doing things your way." She looked back over her shoulder. "Everyone else, get moving. I'll hold them off."

"By yourself?" For the first time, Lind focused on her directly, eyes widening incredulously. Yet Kirito thought there was also just a trace of anxiety there; remembering, maybe, just how strong Kizmel had been when first they met. "Lady Kizmel, that is an unreasonable—"

Once again, he was cut off, this time by Klein moving to Kizmel's side. "Not quite alone, big guy. Some of us still know what Bushido is, y'know?" He turned back to the others. "Go! There's no time!"

Kirito wanted to protest. Probably would have, actually, except the next thing he saw was a blue flash in the corner of his eye, accompanied by the hiss of a teleport. Sachi had already gone through, and she was quickly followed by the rest of Fuurinkazan.

Paralyzed for one endless moment, he locked gazes with Kizmel—who gave a slow nod, and a warm smile. Wordlessly, she mouthed, "I'll see you soon."

Ice forming in his gut, Kirito whirled and followed Sachi through the warp point.

Unlike Kirito, Sachi had no personal experience with fir trees, but she had enough knowledge of Western Christmas traditions to recognize one on sight anyway. When she and her companions emerged from the final warp point, she knew at once that the giant tree that awaited them was exactly what she'd been looking for.

There was nothing there yet besides the tree, but Sachi knew it was the right place anyway. It was only a matter of time.

Just a little longer, guys. Just a little longer, and… I'll have it. Pulling her Nightcloak over herself, she settled in to wait.

Some of the others weren't so patient. They all drew weapons, and Dale looked around uncertainly. "…There's nothing here, guys. You sure this is the right place?"

"It's still five minutes to midnight," Kirito said, voice low and tight. When Sachi glanced over at him, she saw him half-crouched, sword held in a ready stance. His expression was as tense as she suspected her own to be. "Nicholas is supposed to show on the hour, remember. Be ready."

Sachi was. Ever since she'd heard the rumors about the Divine Stone of Returning Soul, she'd been getting ready, fully prepared to go it alone if she had to. Though she was grateful she didn't; nothing would be gained if she died here.

I've been the one left behind before, she thought. I won't do that to my family. She glanced again at Kirito, who was obviously growing more tense by the second. I won't do that to anyone. I have to live to the end of this world. Her hand clenched on the hilt of her sword. And if I have anything to say about it, I'm bringing at least one more person back with me!

The five minutes remaining until midnight seemed both endless, giving her own tension time to build ever higher, and brief as an instant. Five minutes of no sound but the wind, no motion but tree branches swaying in that wind and snow softly falling from above. Five minutes of hoping her guildmaster and her friend were all right, holding off so many DDA players…

Then Sachi heard it. A jingling of bells somewhere above, quiet at first but quickly growing louder. Snapping her head up to look, she spotted the first contrails she'd seen in the year she'd been trapped in Sword Art Online, behind the faint shape of a sleigh flying just below the disc of the floor above.

"Here it comes," Kirito breathed. "Get ready…"

From the back of the sleigh, a figure suddenly dropped, plummeting down to slam hard into the ground right in front of the giant fir tree. Snow was blown into the air by the impact, very briefly obscuring it; when it had dispersed again, Sachi finally got a good look at the thing she was determined to kill for the sake of her friends.

"Should've figured," Dynamm remarked, staring. "The Santa Claus from hell."

[Nicholas the Renegade] really did look like an evil Santa, Sachi thought distantly. Clad in a red suit with matching hat, a long gray beard, carrying a heavy sack on his back—but everything else screamed "monster", from his towering six-meter height and over-long arms to his wild eyes, capped off by an axe held high in his right hand.

"It's time," Kirito said, beginning to step forward. "Let's do this like we planned, and—"

Nicholas' madly-rolling eyes suddenly fixed on Sachi, completely ignoring the Hiding effect of her Nightcloak. Turning his head toward her, he opened his mouth, uttering a sound like warping metal—and something in Sachi finally snapped.

Throwing the cape off, she gripped sword and shield in hand and charged, screaming a wordless battlecry as she rushed through the snow to her enemy. In that moment, nothing mattered to her, nothing but killing this twisted parody of a human and gaining the spoils to bring back someone real.

"Sachi—! Dammit, after her! Make sure she doesn't hold all the aggro!"

Sachi barely noticed Kirito's protest. All she saw was Nicholas' mad gaze, all she heard was the glitched sound clips he roared at her. Sumika, Tetsuo, Sasamaru, Ducker… this is for you!

"Die!"

Seldom had Lind ever bothered to give Kizmel his full attention, in her experience. Of all the Swordmasters with the clearing group when she rejoined Kirito, he was the one who seemed to cling most stubbornly to the idea that she was merely a figment of a deadly dream; he only ever seemed to address her in the context of his condescension toward her partner.

Now, though, he really was looking at her, and obviously wasn't happy about it. He was even ignoring Klein for now, something she found darkly amusing under the circumstances. "Lady Kizmel," the DDA guildmaster began, "you have to realize there's no point in this. The two of you haven't the strength to keep back my men, especially with yours gone on."

"That's true," she replied evenly, holding her saber at guard between them. "But we can make sure you cannot pass without force—and are you truly willing to risk that? Klein and I are still green. Whoever strikes first will face consequences."

"Oh, yeah, like we're going to worry about hitting an NPC." One of the other DDA members, one she only vaguely recognized from Pillar Guardian raids, scoffed. "We can just go right through, Guildmaster, why waste our time—"

"She has player privileges, Quet," Lind interrupted, expression tightening further. "She's right about that. But, Lady Kizmel," he went on, "the same holds true for you, doesn't it? In trying to pass you, we risk going orange, but if you want to stop us, you'll face the same problem."

Kizmel only smiled at that. "True enough, Lind, but you forget—Kirito and I are independents. A few days waiting to return to green will be little trouble for us."

She let him digest that for a moment, and her smile widened at the grimace that followed. After all the times he'd badgered her partner about joining a guild, he had to know that truth as well as she did. Although, she thought with grim amusement, it's even less an issue than he might think. We might be barred from human towns for that time, but my people will care little for disputes among mankind.

"This is nuts, Guildmaster," Quet said irritably, breaking the brief silence. "So one or two of us have to find a Safe Haven to camp out for a couple days. Isn't the revival item worth the risk? Let's just bust through and do it!"

Kizmel actually had to give Lind some credit: he didn't seem very happy by that idea, either. Even so, he slowly nodded. "Quetzalcoatl is right, I'm afraid. I would really prefer not to do this, but this is simply too important for us to walk away—"

"Hey, can somebody make a suggestion that doesn't involve risking a PK incident?" Klein demanded. "Important, yeah, I got that, but let's not be getting crazy here!" He glared at Quetzalcoatl for several moments, then switched to Lind. "You can't just let this go. Y'know what, I get that. We've got our own reasons for this. But none of us really wanna risk getting anybody killed, do we?"

Several of the Dragon Knights shifted uncomfortably. Lind himself only stared at Klein, before slowly nodding, some of the tension easing out of his shoulders. "That's true enough," he acknowledged. "That would run counter to our very purpose here, after all. You have a suggestion, Klein?"

"An honorable duel," Klein answered, drawing himself up to look every bit the samurai, rather than the mountain bandit. "You and one of your guys, against me and Kizmel-san. Half-Loss—basic skills only, we don't want to risk a Duel PK, do we?"

A duel… Kizmel found herself nodding, while Lind frowned pensively. That would keep them busy long enough, and save face for all sides. Of course, that presupposes our victory—but that is hardly a worthwhile question, is it?

"Oh, come on," Quetzalcoatl complained, kicking at the snow in obvious annoyance. "Like we should waste our time like that when we've got numbers on our side—"

"Speaking of wasting time," Klein interrupted, smiling tightly. "We do this the hard way, you'll be wasting time while Kirito and my guys finish the boss. You win a duel fast enough, we get out of your way without any more fuss. So which is it gonna be? Quick and honorable, or slow and dirty?"

After another long pause, while most of the Dragon Knights—especially the belligerent Quetzalcoatl—glared, Lind finally nodded. "Very well. If that's how it has to be… I accept the challenge. I will face Lady Kizmel, then, and Orochi will be your opponent, Klein. If there's no objection?"

"None," Kizmel replied, before Klein could say anything. Smiling coolly at the Dragon Knight commander, she said, "I would not have it any other way."

The axe came down hard, almost cutting her in half from the top of her head down, but Sachi had seen it coming. She was two steps to the right before it impacted, avoiding the blade itself—only to find herself thrown from her feet by the shockwave anyway, tumbling farther to the side amid the spray of snow.

She heard Kirito yell in anger, followed by the sound of his sword clashing against Nicholas' axe. A collective bellow from her guildmates came after, accompanied by the sound of half a dozen Sword Skills tearing into Nicholas' flank; their attack had come too late to preempt the boss', but bought her the time she needed to recover and come back to her feet.

Sachi managed the roll with practiced ease. Months on end she'd trained herself to fight this way, even before the tragedy that claimed her friends. Now she put that practice to the test, turning the roll into a run right back at Nicholas, her sword held back to charge another skill, her mouth open for another yell of wordless fury.

Nicholas the Renegade was some levels below them, but he was still an event boss. His attacks were powerful, and as she'd suspected her cloak was useless to hide her from his sight. She was so focused on cutting him down anyway that she'd paid no heed to defense; her shield was more or less forgotten, useless as it was against a weapon of such size as Nicholas'.

Sachi didn't care. She'd pull back to heal if she absolutely had to, but in the meantime she was going to cut down as much of Nicholas' HP as she could.

She'd just gotten into range when Kirito finished carving a Horizontal Arc into Nicholas' side. "Sachi, Switch!"

There was no need to even say it. Dashing right past her retreating friend, she thrust her sword forward before she was even within reach. She connected anyway with the blaze of red light that shot forward from her blade; the high-level skill Vorpal Strike gave her that power, and its impact against Nicholas' chest staggered the evil gift-giver back half a step.

The others of Fuurinkazan were waiting, unleashed a flurry of One- and Two-Handed Sword Skills, spear thrusts, and mace blows on Nicholas' back and flanks. He roared again, the same glitched, metallic screech that had come before; he followed with a simple but fast Double-Cleave as he spun around, bowling over Dynamm and Dale despite the former's shield. The others managed to duck or leap back, but were still forced to hold off for a few precious moments.

It was still working. Nicholas was a boss, but they were at higher levels, with better gear, than Kayaba had apparently expected for the battle. Two of his four lifebars were already gone, and as Sachi readied herself for another attack she could see the third beginning to drain away, little by little.

Soon, she thought fiercely. Soon, I'll have it! Just a little more—!

Before she could start the Sonic Leap she planned to launch herself back into the fight, though, Kirito suddenly stepped into her path. "Pull back!" he said sharply, whipping his Valiant Edge up in an Uppercut to counter Nicholas' Overhand. "You're edging into the red; get back and heal!"

Sachi started to snap back a protest, only forcing her mouth closed by sheer will. She'd promised: she wouldn't die here. Instead, she nodded choppily, leapt back, and took a potion from her belt pouch.

Not much longer, she thought, wrenching open the drink and downing it with quick, angry motions. Just a little longer…!

Kayaba may have been a genius at programming, but as Klein took Orochi's Zekkuu skill on the edge of his katana, he reflected that the madman didn't know much about swords. In SAO your weapon took extra damage guarding with the flat; any self-respecting samurai knew darn well the opposite was true with a real katana.

And ain't that a stupid thing to think at a time like this, he groused, forcing Orochi back with the wavering half-circle of a Gengetsu. Damn, I thought Argo was exaggerating when she said how stupid Lind was getting. All this over a rumor? He's nuts!

Klein would've liked to have put that to Lind directly, but Kizmel hadn't exactly given him the chance. In hindsight it made some sense, since Orochi also favored the katana—though in his own humble opinion, Klein was just a tad better with it—yet he was pretty sure tactics hadn't been the elf girl's priority.

"How did you even find us, Lind?" he heard her ask, over the clash of saber-on-scimitar. "This place was hardly well-known at all, let alone its purpose."

"The Rat knew nothing, and I knew that if anyone did, it would be you and your partner," Lind replied; where her tone was almost conversational, his was tight, controlled. "From there—well, the DDA has a very good tracker."

"So you spied on us." A bit of anger in Kizmel's voice now; it almost made Klein miss Orochi's next strike completely, and he hissed when the blow still carved a shallow cut across his right shoulder. "Don't bother denying it; you shouldn't have even known Sachi's name otherwise—"

He lost track of the conversation for a bit after that, refocusing his attention on the arrogant DDA pretender to the art of Bushido who was currently trying to take off his arm. This was supposed to be a Half-Loss duel, but this Orochi guy seemed not to have gotten the memo.

Then I'll just show him what a real samurai is, Klein told himself. Sidestepping Orochi's next strike, he retaliated with an Engetsu, slashing once to the left then back to the right with a twist of his wrists. Orochi caught the first slice on his own katana; carried to the side by the impact, Klein's second strike came through cleanly, biting deep into the Dragon Knight's breastplate.

"I'm starting to think I may have misjudged you, Lady Kizmel," Lind was saying when Klein could turn an ear that way again. The DDA guildmaster spoke through gritted teeth; when Klein glanced that way, Lind was raising his shield to cover, a crimson line marking his left pauldron. "Allowing then, for the sake of argument, that you are more than just an NPC—surely you understand our position. That we, too, have a legitimate concern here, with an item like this."

"I do," Kizmel conceded evenly. Holding her sword to her side, she let it charge with glowing power, then released it in a simple Horizontal, battering at Lind's shield. "I, too, have those whom I would wish to see brought back. I'm sure that any Swordmaster would. Your cause has as much merit as ours."

Brushing aside Orochi's sword to thrust his own into the man's gut, Klein had to grin at the look on Lind's face. "If you realize that, then why—?"

"You've missed the flaw in your own argument, Lind," Kizmel told him, taking advantage of his surprise to land a Reaver on his chest.

Lind hadn't lasted as long as he had as frontline leader through luck, though. He grunted, then lashed out in return, forcing the elf off-balance by bashing his shield into hers. "What are you talking about?" he demanded, following up with a Vertical Arc; the downstroke missed, but the return drew a deep line through her right bicep. "If you see the logic—"

"You have as much right to the Stone as we do," she said, pulling back her saber to prepare another skill. "But only as much. And when two causes are of equal merit, I cannot choose by logic." Her saber took on a bright azure glow. "Nor, now, by duty." Letting the system assist take hold of her blade, Kizmel began to turn on the spot, sword whirling into a spin. "My choice must lie with those whom I love!"

If this had been the real world, Sachi's voice would've been sore from shouting. Letting out yet another battlecry, she slammed another Vorpal Strike through Nicholas' gut, tearing a deep gash of crimson wire-frame through his mockery of a Santa costume. He jerked back with a twisted cry of pain; above his head, his final lifebar dropped to a quarter.

Nicholas fell back on the waiting blades of Fuurinkazan, who ripped into him with everything they had. In front of him, Kirito rushed into the opening Sachi had created with his dark sword in hand, whirling once he was close enough to carve Sharp Nail's inverted triangle into Nicholas' chest.

The red-suited boss rallied in the moment Kirito was held by his own attack's post-motion, lunging forward to sweep his axe into Kirito's chest. With a grunt, the swordsman flew back, HP dropping a few precious percent; before he hit the ground, he contorted in a flip, turning his landing into an upright slide.

He didn't quite manage to cancel his momentum before his back hit one of the small fir trees ringing the clearing, but his only reaction was a gasp as the virtual wind was knocked out of him. "This is the final stretch!" he called, dropping back into a ready stance. He paused to check everyone's positions, then continued sharply, "Dynamm, everyone, get back—he's about to try an AoE!"

Sachi leapt back instantly, recognizing herself the glow beginning to surround Nicholas' axe. The other Fuurinkazan players scattered as well—not quite fast enough to get all the way clear, but far enough that it was only the shock of the axe's whirling passage that reached them, not the blade itself.

"Back on your feet, and we'll make the final push!" Kirito waited for the bowled-over, snow-covered samurai to right themselves, then nodded firmly to Sachi. "Let's hit it with everything!"

Dynamm led in with a leaping Fell Crescent, dragging his curved blade down Nicholas' back; Issin and Kunimittz followed him with synchronized Straight Thrusts that bit deeply enough to emerge from his chest. Harry One was next, making a Bone Crusher live up to its name by smashing his mace into the back of Nicholas' calf.

The boss staggered under the onslaught—and Dale's two-handed Avalanche to the spine drove Nicholas to his knees.

Kirito and Sachi were waiting.

With a loud yell of his own, Kirito launched into the longest Sword Skill Sachi had ever seen, his blade turning into a dark blur. One slash, two; a third, and he spun in a complete circle for the fourth. Where another skill might've finished there, this continued with a pair of full backflips, and finished with a spinning diagonal.

The seven-hit skill almost knocked Nicholas over, but his HP wasn't quite gone; a tiny sliver of red remained in his final lifebar—which left him alive to see Sachi rising in a Sonic Leap, stare him right in his separately-moving eyes, and slash her blade straight down through the top of his head.

Breathing hard, she hit the ground again in a crouch. Looking up at the boss from there, she watched his eyes roll wildly, a scream of tortured metal coming from his throat as he began to topple for the last time. Falling forward, he almost landed right on top of Sachi—only for Nicholas the Renegade to shatter into fragments just above her head, scattering to vanish in the snow.

A huge [Congratulations!] appeared in the air a moment later. Like the last time she'd seen that notice, though, it was greeted only by silence. For a long moment, no one said a word; not her, not her new friends in Fuurinkazan, not even Kirito.

Guys… I did it. I really did it… didn't I? With a shuddering breath, Sachi straightened up, put away her sword and shield, and with a shaking hand checked the rewards from defeating Nicholas. Surely, as the one who'd gotten the Last Attack…

A variety of jewels. A pair of boots that would probably have excellent stats. No sign whatsoever of any special item.

Sachi felt ice beginning to form in her stomach. Had it just been a rumor after all? Did Nicholas the Renegade really have nothing special at all? This… it can't have all been for nothing…!

The other members of Fuurinkazan were beginning to look at each uneasily, having checked their own loot drops. One head shook after another—then, just as she began to despair, she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Here, Sachi," Kirito said softly when she turned to look at him. In his other hand was a rainbow-colored jewel, unlike anything she'd ever seen in Aincrad. "Take it."

Trembling, she took the egg-sized stone in both hands. The Divine Stone of Returning Soul… it really exists…! I can… do this…

But who…? Tetsuo, Ducker, Sasamaru… Sumika. How do I decide…? No. First, let's make sure…

Swallowing hard, heart hammering in her chest, Sachi tapped the Stone, bringing up its menu.

"I'm afraid I really have misjudged you, Lady Kizmel. I'm sorry about that—for your sake. It would've been kinder if I'd been right…"

Even after the Dragon Knights grudgingly followed their leader back through the warp point, Kizmel found herself staring at the broken shards of Lind's sword. His reaction when she countered his argument, and destroyed his scimitar, wasn't at all what she'd been expecting.

It wasn't a sentiment she was completely unfamiliar with, of course. Kirito had given her a similar warning just before she gained the status of a Swordmaster. But for someone like Lind to say it, as well…

There was no time now to dwell on it, though. As a similarly-weary Klein slipped his katana back in its scabbard and sank to the snow-covered ground, the shimmering sound of a teleport came from behind them. Turning quickly, she found the rest of Fuurinkazan returning, alive and well, yet somber—and behind them, a stone-faced Kirito guided Sachi through.

Kizmel sent a questioning look to her partner. His response was a pained grimace, and a slow shake of the head.

She swallowed hard. Not that she was surprised, she had always thought it a faint hope, but even so… "Sachi?" she said gently.

Sachi plodded toward her, eyes dark. The girl came to a stop before the elf, lowered her head, and lifted a hand to reveal a brilliant jewel. "…Ten seconds," she whispered. "The Stone only works… within ten seconds. My… my friends… it's been t-too long…"

She couldn't go on. Tears streaming down her face, Sachi let the Stone fall to the snow, and choked back a sob. Then another, only barely contained.

Throwing any trace of elven dignity to the wind, Kizmel pulled Sachi into a tight embrace. "Oh, my friend… I am so sorry…"

Control snapped completely, and Sachi buried her head against Kizmel's shoulder with a cry, howling the grief she'd suppressed for so long to the winter sky.

Author's Note:

Contrary to appearances, I am not in fact dead. Although I was certainly convinced I soon would be, many times over the past three months; likely I still will a few more times yet. Hypochondria, comrades, is a terrible affliction, especially when combined with a handful of real ailments.

But not quite dead, no. Hopefully next chapter will come much sooner, though I can't promise a full return to form quite yet.

Let me also say how much I deeply appreciate the support this story has gotten. I meant to mention last time how impressed I was that I'd gotten to the one-hundred-review mark so quickly; the thirty-nine I've gotten since that last update have only added to that. Thanks to everyone who's kept up with this so far, and I hope you'll continue to enjoy it.

Couple of things to address with this chapter. Not entirely satisfied with it, I have to admit; maybe because of my condition, I don't think it was quite my best work. I will note, though, that Nicholas going down so easily was something I considered more or less inevitable: Kirito soloed the guy in canon, and here he had help. Next boss to come up? Well, that's going to be the one from the 50th Floor, and we all know what that means…

Also, prepare for mood whiplash. This chapter ended on angst. Next chapter will be Grade-A fluff, and genuinely start the real progression toward shipping—yes, I know that's been kind of a long time coming, and I'm as impatient as anyone.

I really do need to get some work done on my other major fic now, but I have no intention of waiting long before starting Chapter XI. It probably will be somewhat short, comparatively speaking, but on the other hand that means it shouldn't take as long to write. And since I've been planning the Christmas party stuff since, oh, around last October… I have a fair idea what I'm doing with it.

Right, then. Wordy author shutting up now. I hope I haven't stretched anyone's patience to the breaking point, and I shall endeavor not to test it further. 'Til next time, comrades. -Solid