Date posted: 18th December 2021
Chapter 9: They Shall Know Much Fear
Major Chie Nikita looked at the gas-masked man at the head of the table, unimpressed. "You look like shit."
Everyone at the table reacted in a myriad of ways:
Sergeant Gregory looked abashed at his superior's rudeness.
Commissar Tadao continued polishing his new Magnum Research BFR revolver.
Dyne raised an eyebrow.
Klein snorted.
Vladimir adjusted his glasses.
Kirito patted Sinon.
Sinon purred.
Mister Shinigami shrugged; a very human gesture for a legend. "It's been a rough few weeks."
"So," Klein said, tapping the table rhythmically. "Interesting group we got here."
They had gathered in a nondescript meeting room while being served coffee. Klein's FurinKazan and Dyne's Black Dog had arrived alongside the resurrected members of Zakon i Dolg's 2nd Company, making their way into the tunnel under Mount Parnassus. The reactions of the newcomers' to the base was interesting.
Klein's guild came in a rented Hummer, as did Dyne's crew. How a player designed their avatar was always an exercise in armchair psychology. They first met in the motorpool.
Klein, to put it simply, looked like Toshiru Mifune, complete with the same beard and haircut. But younger and curiously with pink hair in a bandana. Even his flak gear looked vaguely like samurai o-yoroi, complete with square shoulder pads. He had a Franchi SPAS-12 shotgun strapped to his back alongside a bandolier of shells, and unsurprisingly, a katana on his belt. His mates dressed similarly with different firearms, and unlike their leader, had tantos in place of knives.
Daisuke, or Dyne as he was called in-game, looked like a younger version of himself by about fifteen years. Same jawline, same sharp eyes, same facial hair, and, to Sinon's non-surprise, the same cowboy hat. It looked exactly like his real world stetson actually. He, like a certain Tornado, was also a cowboy roleplayer, complete with duster and bandana. The one thing that did not conform to the image was his weaponry: a FAMAS assault rifle and a Mk 23 SOCOM.
When the two guild leaders met cat and swordsman, both men laughed their asses off.
"Aw shit, man. Like, I knew you always looked girly … but this?" Klein choked back laughter. "Hell, I remember you growing your hair back in freshman year."
"It was randomised! I was in a hurry!" Kirito defended himself, his blushing only made him cuter with his purple eyes and long hair. Or at least, Sinon thought so. "Besides, your avatars consist of big breasted anime girls!"
"Hey, those are side-avatars. Not main character avatars, which I totally am!"
The chief twirled his moustache, a habit that apparently crossed the boundaries of the real world into VR. "Didn't realise you were a furry, Asada."
"Nyaaa." She hung her head low.
"And you said you don't like girls, but your boyfriend here is playing a girl."
"I'm not a girl!" Kirito protested. "I'm a -" He caught himself; he almost said femboy.
The older man adjusted his hat. "Oh man, just wait til Eikichi gets a look at you."
Sinon meowed distressingly, sounding like a squeaky toy being mercilessly squeezed.
Speak of the devil and he shall appear. Eikichi materialised next to the chief. "Yo, Asada-kun! That you? Ohmygoshyou'resocuteasorable!"
Sinon tried to hide in Kirito's armour.
Eikichi Honda, or Ginrou as he was called in-game, flexed his hands; they were shaking. The man with the foot tall mohawk probably had heart eyes behind his hacker-goggles. Kirito hugged his girlfriend closer to him. "No, don't. She bites."
"But - but … she's so fluffy! And she has a cute scarf!"
Kirito sympathised with the man, it was a very cute scarf. "Well, you see, if you handle a player in a way that's creepy, the system will detect it and you'll get kicked out of the game, maybe even get given a ticket."
"But I'm not trying to be a creep! I just want to pet her, dammit! Besides, you're holding her just fine!"
"The game recognises I'm her partner! They uh … took into account the people who did the quest that turned her into a cat! That's it!"
"Speech 100 right there, Kaz," Sinon said telepathically.
"Shut up, I'm saving your fluffy ass here!" he whispered back.
"Honda, do you really want Asada to beat your ass when she comes back from work?" said Dyne.
Ginrou took the hint. "Fiiiine. Guess I'll have to find another cat to pet!"
Sinon spoke to Kirito, who then translated, "She says you have like four cats."
"Five, actually! Just adopted another baby a week ago! A Persian! I'll send you their pics," he said, tapping on his PDA. Said mobile also had a plastic cover with two dangling cat ears.
Kirito received a 2gb zip file from a «Neko_Daddy29». "Uh, thanks."
Ginrou gave a thumbs up. "Don't mention it."
Dyne was still finding the whole thing absolutely hilarious. "She got turned into a cat, funniest shit I've ever seen."
Sinon hissed at him.
Now, they were all gathered in the meeting room. They were served tea by the man who guarded CHAD's office. Kirito finally put a name to the face.
"Hey! You're -"
"Precious Sinonon, my ass!" Makarov barked a harsh laughter. The highway bandit seemed to be doing well for himself if his higher quality flak was any indication. "I knew you were bullshitting me, just didn't realise how much of it was an actual asspull."
"Weren't you working for the Kyoto Warhawks?"
Makarov shrugged. "Got a better offer. You know how it is in this business."
CHAD began, "On the topic at hand."
He gestured to the board behind him. On it was a map of post-apocalyptic Greece, more accurately a map of the surrounding area. There was Mt. Parnassus, the Gulf of Corinth, and the city itself. Kirito could tell it was a super serious map because there were thumbtacks and colored strings connected to notes and photos.
It was doubly serious when CHAD pulled out a laser pointer. He could feel the gasp that the cat in his lap let out.
"The Frontline almost fell at Volos, had it not been for the sudden surge of reinforcements thanks to it being a weekend, but are otherwise making no headway at all. Heavy armour are still a long way back and the hillsides are swarming with rocketeers and AA sites. Though the Republic lacks conventional armour, they make it up with heavily mutated troopers and bioweapons. Completely unrelated mutants are coming out of the nuclear hellhole that was Athens, attacking both player and NPC. And of course, the route to the Ark Biologis, the great ship that's a third of Corinth, is still heavily defended with automated security and the Republic army."
"Sheesh! You got anymore cheery facts?" said Klein.
CHAD checked his papers. "There's been a 150% increase of Sandworm activity in the Megara fields."
"Oh, like from that sci-fi movie?"
Dyne lit a cigarette. "Shit. So, how do you propose we get from here to there? On a boat? Sorry, I get terrible sea sickness in real life and I'm not gonna test if I can vomit when I'm strapped to my AmuSphere.""
"Negative. Going east to then backing west via the Rion-Antirion Bridge would take a day at most, even if we're lucky. That's bandit country. Going by ship has been a futile effort. Many have tried, many are still trying. Just a waste of credits unless you own a submarine and there's only three models in the entire game. And going by aircraft isn't either, too many AA guns. We have ... alternative modes of transportation."
"The Zakon i Dolg can take on any bandit," said Sergeant Gregory.
"I don't doubt it, but we don't have the supplies for that. Besides, we have a better objective, and Sinon is the key."
The cat cocked her head. "Nya?"
It was time for Vladimir to speak up. "I did some digging on the net. And what I mean by that is I paid a dataminer to spill the contents of Mutant Horrors of Old Earth DLC. I hope you're paying me for that, major."
Gregory covered his ears. "Please, no spoilers!"
Vladimir continued, "The attack that Doctor Fabius Aclepius used on Sinon is called «Miracle Mutation»: there's a 50% chance of making the target go berserk, 30% chance of instant-death, 18% chance of exploding and 2% chance of turning into a random animal. Looks like you rolled a one, Sinon."
Sinon gave an annoyed meow.
CHAD added, "There have been many other assassination attempts on the Doctor, but all have failed. And none of the players has triggered the mutation. The curious thing is everytime someone gets in range of him, he seems to have more and more bodyguards on him. The mob of «Incomplete Experiments» are lessened, replaced by more and more «Thunder Fighters»."
At the mention of the mob, the Zakon troops and Kirito groaned.
Vladimir continued, "And that's where Sinon comes into play. Her unique avatar has special properties in which special weapons can be used to bypass the Thunder Fighters' crazy health regen. One that can be made into a potent poison."
"The same one I used on the Thunder Fighter back at Volos Agia!" said Kirito.
"Exactly. It seems that the players are, technically, supposed to kill the Thunder Fighters and harvest an organ called their gene-seed and create a mutagen that in essence, stops the health regen. The problem is …"
"These Ground Marines are really hard to kill," Dyne finished.
"Exactly. Congratulations, Kirito. You are the first person to have slain a Thunder Fighter in combat. Although technically, the killteam consisting of me, Sinon and the Wall have technically done that first, but he wasn't wearing any armour," said CHAD.
"It's not like he did it alone!" said Nikita.
"That's true. I had a lot of help."
"Thank you," said the silver-haired major, leaning back into her chair.
He raised Sinon, like a proud father displaying his newborn. "Thanks to this kitteh right here!"
"Nya!" said a very smug Sinon.
"Anyway," said Vladimir, as everyone ignored how Kirito was giving his fellow player/girlfriend smooches on her little fluffy head, "We have Sinon's DNA to procure more of these poison bullets, in programming terms, they use the same gene-seed base that isn't available to the other new Horrors introduced by the DLC. Poison weapons have been in GGO for a long time, but it was a holdover when it was still a mod for SAO, and the mechanics are, to put it simply, not very well in-depth. Looks like the devs decided to expand on it for the DLC. The «Chemical Warfare» tree for players is nowhere near as popular as conventional weapons build."
"Oh, so you're some sort of smart guy?" asked Klein.
Vladimir shrugged. "I'm something of a scientist myself. I just have the build to craft them."
"And you can make more of these bullets, yes?" asked CHAD.
"Yes, but I need more materials. Gunpowder, bullets, chemfuel …"
"We've captured a chemical factory near Avlona. We can have them hauled here." CHAD nodded to Makarov who took notes.
"I'd also need more gene-seed stock. The downside is that the poison also dissolves the gene-seed organ. In essence, you need to kill one without the poison. We also need to more intel before hitting Corinth itself."
"Sounds like bad game design to me!" said Klein. "But what about that blue furball? Thought you'd already make the poison with her cat genes."
"Well, Sinon alone is … insufficient. Because her body size is -"
"Because she's smol!" said Kirito, now cradling her like a babe.
"Nya!" said the smol kitty.
"Yes, Kirito, she is indeed 'smol'."
Klein clasped his hands. "Sooo, I suppose you know where the nearest group of Thunder Fighters are milling about?"
It was Makarov who spoke up. "I just got the place."
Antikyra wasn't so different from the many Greek settlements dotting the coast. Abandoned for the most part, with the odd village being run by families of herders and farmers where the soil was still arable.
The port town was the home of generations of brave fishermen; who had superstitious rituals of appeasing the great beasts in the sea ranging from prayer to dancing to animal sacrifice. This faith accumulated into Antikyra's longest lasting building: the town church, a humble temple of Hesukristos, Lord of the Sea and Land. In said temple was the statue of the Lord made of scrap iron, a bearded man with a trident in one hand and a fishing net in another.
Their lives were long stretches of peace followed by flashes of violence. Whether that be raiders, mutants, or feuding settlements. Such a settlement could be a homely village one moment and a ruin like any other in the span of a few years. Such was life in the Wasteland.
The fishermen were now serving their new overlords. Usually, this was the odd bandit group, or some escaped indentured servant band from Glocken. Now, it was some sort warband of barbarians, clad in mechanised bronze panoply. They came in, made their demands, and when one brave soul protested, he was backhanded so hard his head exploded. His body was unceremoniously given to the sea. From water was life made, to the water would they return, thus said one of their religious verses.
For anyone else in the modern world, your village being graced by psychopathic giants would be one of the most important days of your life. But for the fishermen, it was Tuesday.
"How the hell are we gonna get through all that plate? Sure, we outnumber them six to one, but …" said Klein. They were indeed only six Thunder Fighters and they had taken the town hall for themselves and were using the fishermen as slave labour.
Dyne tut-tut as he peered into his binoculars. "Holy shit, these sons of bitches are massive."
"But not unbeatable," said Nikita.
The squad consisted of the FurinKazan, Black Dog, and a third of Zakon's 2nd Company, thirty-five players in total. The rest of the company were still in the Parnassus Underbase, acting as workers and engineers. The base still had collapsed tunnels, not uncommon in many player-intended safehouses, and often required NPC labour to clear them of any debris. From an old terminal, it was said to still contain functioning cloning vats in one wing, enough for Zakon's 2nd Company and the two new guilds.
CHAD's staff was too specialised to be of any laborious use, so Nikita had volunteered her men to transport the chemicals and clean up the debris, much to their dismay The decision of who was to join the mission, to Kirito's surprise, was settled by the most intense rock-paper-scissors duels he had ever witnessed. Nikita was now bereft of her officers, Tadao was leading the caravan to the chemical factory while Gregory helped with the base expansion alongside a certain GI. ("NO ONE CAN CLEAR DEBRIS FASTER THAN THE WALL!" proclaimed Titanium Wall). Only Corporal Dave was with her.
"So what's the plan?" asked Dave.
They were on a hill overlooking the town. With them were a variety of machine guns, mortars, and heavy caliber sniper rifles. Though CHAD's own company was small, they were not lacking in weapons.
"We have an objective," Nikita said, voice loud and clear. "The hotel in the town is said to contain intel related to getting into the Ark Biologis. That's our primary objective, and gene-seed collection is secondary."
There was at least half a kilometer between the cliff they were on and the closest Thunder Fighter. He lorded over the peasants by the town's market fountain, a warhammer with an anvil for its head. The rest were guarding the town's other remaining building, a hotel at the end of the beach.
"We've got mortars," said Klein. "But I guess that's not an option?"
"We need those gene-seed, so no," said Nikita. "Our snipers and machine gunners can give us covering fire while we go in for close quarters combat."
"Wait wait, hold on," said Dyne. "Now we may be new at this game, but I know full well the best way to kill a beast is as far away as possible."
Ginrou came up to them, his drone dropping from the sky and neatly landing in his backpack. The hacker/drone operator had many gadgets which he used to great effect. He had his tablet in hand and showed it to Nikita. "Looks like they're mostly armed with melee weapons, but a few are using modified M2 Browning's like rifles."
At the mention of the Brownings, everyone flinched. All but Klein. "So that means we can engage them in melee!"
Nikita facepalmed. So did Sinon. "No wonder you two are friends."
"Uh, I'm not gonna tell you how to play your game, Klein-san, but it's called Gun Gale Online after all," said Dyne.
"No, no, he can make it work. His katana is plasteel," Kirito argued. "It's just a matter of getting into range of an M2 Browning, surviving their chainswords, and sticking a blade in their gut!"
"Thanks for having my back, bro."
"Ain't a thing, bro." Then they proceeded to do the Fistbump of Brohood.
The major rolled her eyes. "Regardless, we must engage carefully. First, we take out Anvil-san in the middle of town, then we can assault the hotel."
"There's no way we can penetrate that armour," said Dyne. "You said you unloaded a million AK rounds and the thing didn't stop?"
"Will .50 cal even penetrate it?" asked Kirito.
"According to CHAD's info, focus firing .50 cal would. Not a problem if the damn things don't move so quickly. And we don't have our APCs to give us that edge either." They had all exited from a tunnel built into the base of the mountain, leaving their vehicles for the caravan mission.
"Plasteel works, as I can attest. And of course, I have this fancy chainsword."
"Do you even have the STR to swing that thing?" Nikita asked. "You'll miss and get your head crushed."
"Anvil-san can't move that fast." Kirito paused. "Can he?"
"Don't worry, I got just the thing," said Dyne. From his coat he produced what looked like a small mortar round, but Sinon clarified to Kirito that it was an APAV40 grenade. "Hit him in the middle, crack his armour, gun him down, and harvest his sperm seed."
"Gene-seed," Kirito corrected.
"Whatever, femboy. Just hope it's not stored in the balls."
"I'm not a -"
Ginrou interrupted. "Uh, guys. You forget one thing." He brought up his tablet again. "He isn't wearing a helmet."
Nikita smiled. "Anyway, I've the plan. Listen …"
The first gunshot of the afternoon cracked like thunder and domed Anvil-san, removing chunks of parietal bone at the back of his skull. It did not kill him, his superhuman regeneration saved him at the last moment, already knitting the wound and pumping the necessary blood and chemicals to heal it. The Thunder Fighter staggered like a drunkard.
The second one did kill him. The rest of the fishermen scattered into safety.
As expected, two of the Thunder Fighters were on the way. They sprinted to the market at speeds that matched cars; hulking power armoured behemoths of deaths. One had an axe and shield, the other wielded a heavy machine gun with awesome strength. They skidded to a halt and the machine gunner poured fire into the hills as his comrade checked on the corpse of his fallen brother.
It was at that moment that shells rained from the sky and the market exploded into smoke.
Gas-masked men appeared at the west end of the market, laying down fire blindly into the smoke. "Klein, I can't see shit!" complained Dynamn, one of his guildmates.
"Doesn't matter, neither can they! Just keep firing!" Klein shouted back, unloading a borrowed LMG which he clearly didn't have the right stats to use. The recoil was bad enough he was shooting up into the sky instead. "Damnit!"
Everyone threw themselves behind cover as the Thunder Fighters returned fire. The might of Ma Deuce tore apart concrete, rusted cars and asphalt. The second Thunder Fighter emerged from the smoke, axe glinting, an oni face snarling on his aspis shield like a demon from hell. Klein's heart skipped a beat at the sheer speed of the enemy, how his guildmates' rounds bounced off them like drops of water. It was like watching an entire car's weight in humanoid form.
The Thunder Fighter was halfway there when the road before him exploded. He tried to stop but it was too late as his foot stepped into the sudden pothole. The FurinKazan winced as the sound of a snapped ankle echoed in the ruins of Antikyra. Klein could see the trail of smoke from the second floor of an ancient bookstore.
Suddenly, the fire of the Browning stopped eastward as Dyne's Black Dog began their assault from the east in a two-pronged attack. Klein dropped his machine gun and reached for his SPAS. "Move, move! Get to the body!"
As expected, the Thunder Fight was still alive. His axe, a brutal yet beautifully crafted weapon of war, was a few meters away from him. Already, he was attempting to stand up but a slug from Klein put him down. Even then, the round only served to incense him. Harry One tore the shield off him with both hands. Kunimittz jammed his rifle into the lens of the Thunder Fighter's Centurion helmet and emptied an entire magazine of 5.56 rounds into it. "Regenerate from that, asshole!"
Despite it all, Klein thought to himself how thrilling the fight was. It was an intensity that was only matched in his early days playing SAO.
From the ruins, Kirito emerged with his chainsword. "Alright, we got one chance at this. Keep your weapons on him. He might come back to life."
"What is he, some sort of friggin zombie?" said Issin.
Kirito stepped on the Thunder Fighter's thigh and raised his chainsword to his breast. He took off his own gas mask before revving the engine. "Step back, this is gonna get messy!"
"Have you ever done this?" asked Klein.
"Nope!" Then the sparks came flying.
It took a good minute and careful maneuvering to not instantly ruin the geneseed. The breastplate was smoking, which was a real shame because the power armour he had on was pretty dang cool. Kirito shoved his hands into the ruined chest (holy shit were those two hearts?!) and ripped free a huge liver-like organ from it. It was roughly twice the size of Klein's fist.
Sinon appeared next to him, wearing a harness with six containers strapped to her. Kirito shoved the organ into the container and looked at his bloodied hands. "Ugh, shoulda worn gloves."
Klein ordered, "Alright everyone, let's move! They won't fall for that trick again! Fix bayonets!"
Sinon was alarmed at this, knowing full well a single punch could kill any player. "Wait, you can just shoot em'!"
But it was no use, no one but Kirito could understand her as everyone attached tantos to the end of their guns, the plasteel blades glinting in the sun.
Klein put away his shotgun and unsheathed his katana. "Onwards, men! Swift as the wind -"
Dynamm continued, "- gentle as the forest …"
"- fierce as fire," said Harry One.
"And unshakable as the mountain!" Issin finished.
"Death and glory, boys!" said Klein at the enemy.
"BANZAI!" the rest of the guild roared and sprinted into the smoke.
Sinon looked at the idiots, jaw open. "Please tell me you aren't doing that, Kiri-"
She turned to Kirito who was revving his chainsword, slaughter-lust in his eyes. "Haha, sword goes brrrrr!" he said, before plunging into the smoke with the rest of the samurai.
Sinon shook her head and let out a tired, "Nya."
On the other side of the plaza, Ginrou lost a shoulder, a stomach and half his head. His drones beeped like sad puppies. Dyne cursed. "Take cover, you idiots! This ain't the airsoft range!"
Dyne returned fire with his FAMAS only to have it go click. He shrunk himself behind the stone pillar of a library and loaded another magazine with surprisingly difficulty. God, why was he using a bullpup? It was a last minute purchase and he was already regretting it. Not because it wasn't a cool gun, but because he was completely unfamiliar with loading the magazine so far back. Years of using his JSDF service rifle took a lot of time to unlearn. The gas mask made it hard to aim too.
Finally, he slammed the magazine and racked the bolt, only to realise that the gunfire had stopped. "What the hell?"
The sound of gunfire had changed to the sound of melee.
Within the smoke, the FurinKazan engaged with the Thunder Fighter in melee. None of them could see their hand in front of them, but they could see the slight form swinging at them. The massive warrior had grabbed the hot barrel of his machine gun as if it was as light as a baseball bat, and swung it around but hit nothing. One swing almost took Klein's head off but it left the transhuman vulnerable, so Klein went and thrusted into his armpit. The pained yell was music to his ears.
Their secret: the «Eye of the Storm» perk. It was a level 2 perk within the Perception tree, allowing players to see forms of others within a five meter distance. From Klein's research, it was unpopular as most CQC players preferred to use flashbangs for explosive entry. In fact, smoke grenades were 50% more expensive than flashbangs were. The extremely short range was also a huge negative in the eyes of many.
But any veteran SAO player knew better. It was lifted straight from the older game and was called «Blood Haze», an almost mandatory perk when it came to fighting «Corpse Bombs», a type of undead whose sole existence made it difficult to see. Owing to the fact SAO had no ranged weapons (except for that one stupid ass chakram quest) and melee was king, it was a no brainer for fighting the undead which the game had plenty.
Harry One's flew out of his hands as the gun-turned-club smacked it away. The young man pulled out a 1911 and began blasting at point range to no avail. It was a ploy and did the trick, as the rest of the guild thrusted their bayonets into the back of the knee, kidney, and sides where the bronze panoply was covered with only leather and chainmail. Then came the sound of a chainsaw, glinting of steel and a heavy thud.
It was at that moment the smoke dissipated and everyone could see the Thunder Fighter's head on the pavement. The bloodied Kirito wasted no time and began to do redwork by cutting up the power armour. A familiar blue cat was beside him.
"Holy shit, dude!" said Klein. "That was the most fun I've had in years!"
"I know right?" Kirito shouted over the buzzing blade. "And we don't even have Sword Skills! Man, if only PoH could join us!"
"Can you believe Kayaba called them Sword Skills instead of Sword Arts?" said Klein.
"I know right?"
Sinon rolled her eyes and wondered how many times this conversation played out between the two. He plopped the gene-seed into Sinon's container and cursed, forgetting again that he wasn't wearing gloves.
"So, time to help the major?" he asked. Everyone looked to Dyne, who had been given command seniority.
Dyne nodded. "Right, to the hotel everyone. Let's go. Uh, you might want to wash up, Kirito-san. You got a little blood here and there."
Kirito realised everyone had stood a fair distance from him. He walked to the market's fountain, still functioning and in great shape, something the fishermen must have taken great pride in. What looked back at him was a red face with purple eyes. Even his smooth long hair was caked in it.
Sinon jumped up the rim of the fountain. "You look so …"
"Damn, I look badass!" he said. "We didn't have realistic blood effects in SAO, cause enemies always die in pixels. Wow, look at this fluid animation …"
"Kaz, you look like an absolute psychopath."
"But I still look cool, right?"
Sinon yawned. "Whatever you say, dear. Just wash yourself before you scare the others."
"It is better to be feared than to be loved. Besides, GGO does have a morale mechanic."
"Nevertheless a prince ought to inspire fear in such a way that, if he does not win love, he avoids hatred; because he can endure very well being feared whilst he is not hated, which will always be as long as he abstains from the property of his citizens and subjects and from their women," she quoted.
Kirito blinked. "What?"
"I was quoting Machiavelli. It's a very common myth to act like a tyrant, despite the fact that's not what he was arguing for."
"Machi-who?"
"Nevermind. Hey, do you see that coin in the fountain?"
"Huh, where? Agh!" Sinon put all her weight, which was about five kilos, on Kirito's head. The clear fountain water became a tinge of red before he pulled himself out. "What was that for?!"
She ignored him. "C'mon, let's go, femboy!" she swaggered like all cats did.
"STOP CALLING ME A FEMBOY!" he shouted. Then realised what he had done.
Black Dog and FurinKazan turned to look at him, then moved forward, muttering under their breath. Klein chuckled and the rest gave him puzzled looks.
Dyne only stopped to pick up his dead comrade's gear and said to the cat,"You got weird taste in dudes, Asada."
"Nya."
Kirito followed, face red, and it wasn't because of the blood.
The Antikyra Seaside Hotel was being besieged by a dozen plus Zakon troopers. Machine gun nests were set up, pouring lead into the ancient hotel. Mortars bombarded from nearby roofs and RPGs rocked the building, which really went to show how impressive the destruction engine was for GGO. Despite this, the newcomers could spot a few dead Zakon players already.
They approached the major, who herself was missing an arm from her elbow downward. The bandaging of her stump was immaculate. "Oh, you're here. We've got a situation."
"Oh, do you need a hand?" said Klein, eyebrows moving up and down suggestively. Kirito cursed under his breath at the joke.
"Yes, Klein-san. That's what I said." Klein made a face at the failure of his pun. "We tried sending in men from the back, but it didn't work, so now three are dead. We decided to force them out into the cover then."
The area around the hotel was for the most part empty, owing to its large yard and parking lot. Not even their mighty power armour could survive such a heavy barrage. "You can't level an entire building just to kill three people!" said Dyne. "That's a huge waste of resources!"
"CHAD's paying for it." She shrugged. "Besides, we have time, they don't."
"What about the intel?"
"Let's just hope whatever machine they're stored in is tough."
Her radio buzzed and Dave's voice came through, "Major, there seems to be a … white flag from the top of the hotel."
They all turned to see, and sure enough, on the second floor storey, was a dirty white flag waving despite the gunfire. "What the hell are they up to …" said Nikita.
Sinon put a paw to her chin. "Huh, NPCs don't tend to give and instead fight to the death."
"Sir, what are your orders?" asked Dave.
Nikita made her choice. "All units, cease fire! Cease fire!" she roared. Kirito had played the game for many months, but the sudden silence after a gunfight always unnerved him.
Suddenly, a figure appeared atop the roof. Guns were trained on him, but none fired. The giant stood, powered armoured arms folded over his bronze breastplate. His helmet was reminiscent of a Corithian helmet with a crimson crest, and bellowing in the wind was a similarly crimson cape. The man looked like a great barbarian warlord, armed and armoured to fight in the grim darkness of the far future.
"What's he doing?" asked Klein, shotgun out though Kirito doubted it would do anything to the giant.
Dyne already had another grenade on the barrel of his rifle. "He's just … standing there … menacingly …"
The Thunder Fighter took a step forward and plummeted to the ground. The pavement cracked beneath the impact and weight. Behind the giant was the entrance of the hotel itself and his great from blocked it. Every rifle traced his fall.
"Wow, that's so cool!" said Kirito.
"Dude, he's the enemy! But that is cool though ..." Klein admitted begrudgingly.
Dave was by the major's side, rifle aimed. "Don't move a single step!"
Sinon said from within an old trash can, "I don't see any guns at the windows …"
The Thunder Fighter spoke, his voice deep and noble, "Hail, Vatborn! I am Comrade-Sergeant Cassius Lincoln, Thunder Fighter of the Republic of Mutantopia, champion against the vile forces of Capitalism. Whom do I address?"
"Me: Major Nikita of Zakon i Dolg, 2nd Company."
"I shall be brief, sellsword, I give you a chance to leave. Go home, put down your guns, and join your fellow workers in solidarity. Together we, the working class, can make the world a better place!"
Klein whispered to Kirito, "Uh, dude, we supposed to be the good guys?"
"What? No! We're the slave soldiers of billionaires oppressing the people of the earth. We're the evil aliens."
"Damn, this game has more lore than SAO."
"SAO has lore?" Then the two chuckled at their long running joke and Dyne hushed them.
"I've got a better offer," said the major. "Why don't you put down your arms, and let us harvest your gene-sperm?"
"It's called the gene-seed, sir," said Dave.
"Quiet you."
The Thunder Fighter continued, "I am saddened by this but I expected little from the dogs of the Overlords. I have another offer: send a champion amongst yourselves to duel me. If I win, you will leave. If I lose, you are free to ransack the hotel of which we are using as an outpost."
"And if we decline?"
"Then we will fight to the death. As Thunder Fighters, serving the great cause of Socialism!" he exclaimed, banging an armoured first to his chest.
Sinon looked at Kirito, he already had his sword out. "No no, what on earth are you-"
"I accept your challenge, sergeant!" said Kirito, raising his chainsword. The Zakon troops groaned.
"Hey, that's not fair! I wanna fight him!" said Klein, and the FurinKazan groaned similarly.
Major Nikita shrugged. "Sure, he's all yours."
"Wait, really?" asked the swordsman.
"Not like I can stop you. Besides, it lets us study them in more depth."
"If you're gonna get yourself killed, at least hand the bracelet to someone else," said Sinon.
"Right! Hey, Dyne-san, keep this safe, will you?" Kirito didn't even look at the older man, simply took off his psycaster bracelet and threw it at him.
He put it on his wrist and he turned to look at the cat "So, this boyfriend of yours is a real character, huh?"
"Chief, with all due respect, shut up."
Kirito unequipped his gas mask, dropped his rifle but kept his CZ Scorpion SMG on him. He studied his opponent and the enemy studied him in return.
"You wield the blade of my brother-comrade, Elihu. I will take it off you and avenge him," said Sergeant Lincoln. Kirito noticed the steel xiphos on his hip, as well as a buckler. The blade alone was almost as long and twice as wide as his arming word.
Kirito held onto the chainsword with both hands, the weight now far more familiar to him. The extra points he put into STR helped too. "Well met, champion. Now, let us duel to the death. "
"There is no honour under the system of capital. It swallows you, chews on you, and spits you out when you are no longer useful. Wealth is not distributed equally; the rich get richer and the poor get poorer."
"Oh yeah?" Klein shouted from the sidelines. "I saw you backhand a poor innocent fisherman in the market!"
"He was arguing for trickle down economics," said the giant.
"Ah. Okay. That makes sense."
Comrade-Sergeant Lincoln sighed. "The rich will do anything to divide the poor against each other, so insidious are their tactics. Blue collar, white collar, we are all victims to the exploitative systems."
"Dude, I worked as tech support, I know. This writing is getting too real for my liking …" Klein complained.
"Just fight already!" someone shouted.
Both warriors bowed slightly. Kirito engaged first.
He raised his sword, the vibration of the weapon now a familiar friend, and struck at the Thunder Fighter's arm, only to have the buckler swipe it away. Kirito almost died from a blade to the kidney had he not pivoted the blade downward and retreated.
The sergeant gave no such hesitation and hounded him, slashing at him with rapid swings of his shortsword. Kirito chanced it, let go the hilt with his left, adjusted the SMG on his belt and let loose a trio of shots. At the gunfire to his chest, the giant jumped back.
Lincoln, who had arms almost as twice as long as Kirito, shoved the buckler into his face like a punch - but years of PvP had made him wary, so he pulled his head back and guarded low to deflect the incoming xiphos.
But the xiphos never came - he misjudged the enemy's reach and was smacked in the face. The sound of buckler meeting bone was like a wet crack and had he not pulled his head back at the last moment, he would have been dead. He spat blood onto the pavement, and was having trouble breathing, which translated into game mechanics as not being able to run as long. He could tell his nose was broken.
"Now this is where the party begins!" he said, and the two charged at each other once again.
From the sidelines, Sinon watched the duel. "Sooo, your boyfriend likes to duel seven foot tall monsters for fun, Asada?"
"Don't mind him, he's just crazy about swords."
The older man brushed his moustache. "Does he now?"
"He never shuts up about them, or about complaining about SAO. He goes on and on about it."
"I see. Sounds like someone I know."
She turned to him. "I don't go on about -"
"Asada, you once went on an hour rant about plastic guns because a client was worried that someone would 3D-print one to hurt them."
She had the decency to look away. "I was just trying to insist that the client had no fear of some gun being shot out of some hobbyist's printer."
"Yep, almost cost us the entire contract at that." He lit a cigarette as he watched the two swordsmen go at it. Despite Kirito's superior weapon, the boy was losing and his flak vest was already gone. "So you really like this guy?"
"He's a pain in the ass but yes, I do. He's nice, he's cute, and he … makes a gal feel special."
"Look, are you sure you're not at least bi? I mean, look at him."
"Chief, I will bite you."
"That's fair." Kirito had landed a good hit and destroyed Lincoln's buckler completely and the Thunder Fighter was fighting more defensively at the loss of his shield. "Look, I'm real happy for you both. If his job or whatever he does for a living doesn't pan out, the company can use another IT guy."
Dyne could have sworn he heard her purr. "I'll mention it to him."
"Notice something different?"
She looked around. "The major's sent her men away. I assume to assault the hotel from the back."
"If I were her, I'd do the same. Damn Asada, you shoulda told me about this gee-whiz fancy game a long time ago!"
"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself."
"Anyway, 100 credits your boyfriend loses."
It was amazing how offended she looked despite not having a human face. "Excuse me, Kaz is an excellent swordsman. He'll win easy! 200 credits."
"How the hell are ya' gonna pay when you don't even have thumbs, hah!" he laughed and slapped his knee.
Now Sinon took a look at the duel, she wondered if she was going to eat her own words.
The duel had lasted for a mere four minutes. Kirito was bleeding from four different cuts and wounds. He had expended his Scorpion's magazine and he dared not reload. His opponent had lost his buckler, now scrap metal on the ground, and his xiphos had been flung away via a high risk disarm from Kirito. Now the Thunder Fighter was using his massive fists and he had already landed a couple good hits on Kirito which left his three ribs broken. The player was clearly losing.
He spat blood on the dirt. "You're toying with me."
Sergeant Lincoln's eyes were unmoving from behind his helmet. He raised his fists in a guard like a boxer and sent a haymaker towards Kirito which was halted with a swing at his stomach, the monocular teeth crashing and tearing, leaving a horrible gash and revealing the chainmail underneath. They had switched positions.
"You could have killed me at any time."
The giant took two steps forward and with his long leg went for an axe kick that would have caved Kirito's head with his armoured foot. The landed foot was like a small earthquake in itself. In retaliation Kirito swung upwards at his back where the plate was the weakest and he smiled as he landed a true, legitimate, hit at his opponent.
Kirito didn't take advantage of his opponent's weakness before Lincoln rebounded. He lowered his sword.
"You're stalling."
And, for the first time since they first clashed blades, Comrade-Sergeant Cassius Lincoln lowered his fists and smiled.
"Yes."
The explosion of the hotel could have been seen all the way across the gulf of Corinth.
Kirito emerged from the cloning vat, the smell of citrus now as familiar as his shampoo. It was not an unpleasant smell and he briefly wondered if he should buy the official Cloning Vat Goop soap from the official GGO store.
He looked around the unfamiliar chamber. It was dirty, filled with rubble and needed a serious sweep. It must have been one of the newly excavated cloning chambers and this particular vat had been biocoded in advance to him. He joined the rest of the thirty some players who had died in the blast. They were discussing and complaining about what just happened.
"Was that a fucking nuke?!" asked a bewildered Skirmisher-chan.
"Probably not," said the commissar. "But whatever it was, it was very high yield."
"Can't believe those assholes just blew themselves up!" said Klein. "That was awesome! Man, SAO never had anything on that scale … I mean yeah we died and that sucks, but whoa!"
Dyne reached for a cigarette only to find out he was out of any. "Hell, that's a way to go. The military never briefed us on what to do if we ever met a suicide bomber."
Kirito felt a familiar weight brushing up against his boot and he instinctively reached out his arms so Sinon could clamber up to him. She pressed into him and purred and Kirito unconsciously kissed her on her fuzzy little forehead. She was still wearing the harness and the gene-seed had teleported back with her after death. "What now?" he asked.
They all exited the cloning bay, Major Nikita leading them. They stumbled upon Sergeant Gregory, mopping the floor in a pink apron. "Major, you're back!" he said excitedly, then frowned when he realised where they came from. "Ah, a setback?"
"You can say that."
As the guilds were disbanded to repair and rearm, the officers went to talk to CHAD, who was still doing the maintenance on the infinite pile of pistols (how many pistols does a man need?). He seemed completely unsurprised at their appearance.
"Ah, I see you have returned. The mission was a success, excellent work," he said calmly.
"Success?!" Klein slammed both hands on his desk. "We all got nuked!"
"First of all, you were not nuked. You were caught in the blast of what's called an antigrain explosive. A nuclear explosion would leave radiation and this one doesn't."
"Pfft, whatever."
"Secondly, the mission was a success; you have brought back enough samples of gene-seed to supply a hundred men," he gestured to Sinon in Kirito's arms. "The main objective was to infiltrate the hotel for intel, which Lt. Makarov did while you were busy dealing with the Thunder Fighters. His team is on the way back right now."
Nikita made a face. "So we were a distraction, is that it?"
"Simply put, yes. I apologise for not sharing all of my plans but I had to make sure you were committed. We can now move on to the next phase of the engagement: crossing the gulf of Corinth itself. Per the alternative method of transportation I've mentioned. Tadao and the caravan just returned half an hour ago, and Vladimir is working to make specialised rounds for the mission."
Dyne frowned at that. "Always mysterious, eh? Fine then, keep your secrets."
"So, we're going on the road?" suggested Corporal Dave.
"Negative, too many Republic soldiers and mutant weapons. We will be going in through another method. Antikyra will be an excellent launching site."
"Launching site? And what method is that, exactly?" asked Kirito.
"You will see. Rest up, load up, logout even. I will summon you in two hours."
Kazuto and Shino retired to their couch, cups of coffee in hand (which Kazuto promised to actually drink this time). They allowed themselves to snuggle in a shared blanket, basking in each other's company. Outside, the snow was dropping heavily enough to bathe the world in white.
As his girlfriend rested her head into his chest, Kazuto realised how starving he was for intimacy. The scent of her shampoo, the warmth of her body, the hardness of her arms …
No, he wasn't going to do anything to make her uncomfortable. She was new to this sort of thing, and fast forwarding like this, especially a roommate that he'll be with for the foreseeable future would just be a recipe for disaster. Gotta talk about stuff she was interested in, like boring, military things.
"So, Daisuke-san just sent me a few videos on this thing called … crossfire? Some sort of fireteam level techniques. He said you knew how to do this sort of thing when it came to airsoft. It'd be interesting on how to use it with me charging in with a sword."
She wasn't listening. "Hey, wanna make out instead?"
Nevermind. "What, kisses and head scratches aren't enough for Sinonon?"
She turned over and stretched, a very catlike gesture. He wondered if she was doing this on purpose or the effect of being a cat in VR was changing parts of her personality. "You've kissed my head in-game twenty-three times. You've only kissed me in the real world twice. And I don't think that's fair."
"You counted? What am I saying, of course you counted."
She leaned into him for another kiss. This one lasted a good minute. "In another timeline, you would have been the cat."
"Um, excuse me, I would be a cool wolf."
She scratched his chin. "You would look good in a collar."
Kazuto hit her on the head softly. "Bonk. Go to horny jail."
"Says the guy who was checking me out at Suguha's dojo."
"Says the girl who bought condoms!"
At the mention of that, she looked away and Shino's face was a vague facsimile of a tomato. "Shut up."
Kazuto knew when to be aggressive and so he did. "I see now. You purposely turned yourself into a cat."
"Excuse me."
"You were too shy, too timid to pursue me romantically. You knew for a fact I could have parried those airsoft rounds out of the air but you were too bad a shot. Entranced with my masculinity, you turned into a cat so I may cherish you with headpats and kissies."
Shino blinked. "I can't believe what I'm hearing."
"It would only then culminate with yesternight's affair, with you throwing yourself to me, embracing me as your lover and - OW! WHY ARE YOU BITING ME?!"
She did that thing again by curling her hands into paws. "Nya."
"Oh I can't be mad at you, you fuzzy little gremlin." He gestured at his tablet again. "So you wanna do homework or do you want to …"
Shino said nothing and they went for a second round of kissing.
HO HO HO! GREETINGS, READERS! IT IS I, THE WALL, WISHING YOU HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND A VIOLENT CHRISTMAS!
THE WALL HAS BEEN INFORMED BY THE AUTHOR THAT THIS STORY WAS SUPPOSED TO END AT CHAPTER 10. THIS WILL HOWEVER NOT BE THE CASE, AND WILL LIKELY CONTINUE TO NEXT YEAR. GOOD NEWS, IN THE WALL'S HUMBLE OPINIONS, AS HE HAS BEEN UNFAIRLY SIDELINED IN THIS CHAPTER.
THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL LIKELY APPEAR NEXT YEAR, SO THE AUTHOR WISHES TO APOLOGISE FOR NOT BEING ABLE TO POST TWICE THIS MONTH. THE WALL WISHES YOU HAD A HAPPY 2021! SO LONG, AND STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER OF SINONON! ALSO, PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, NEVER MENTION THIS FIC TO A CERTAIN TABLETOP COMPANY LEST THEY SEND THEIR ADEPTUS ARBITES AGAINST US.
SEE YOU ALL NEXT YEAR! HOOAH!
