August 1st, 2026, nearly one month after the Ocean Turtle Incident, Momiji
"You seem nervous, Kureha. Or should I call you Momiji for today? This can't be more nerve-racking than fighting a war."
Momiji smiles nervously at the blonde girl standing right beside her. They're hiding from the sea of reporters seated at the press conference hall here at Rath Industries...excuse her, the Oceanic Resource Exploration and Research Institution. Right now, two people speak to the reporters — Doctor Rinko Koujiro of ORERI and Josuke Hardin of ORERI's parent company, Robotelligence.
Why is she nervous? She shouldn't be here. He should be here watching the dream his father had for nearly two decades be revealed to the world because of what he did. Because of Joshua, that dream is now reality.
It all started hours after Llenn and Team Betrayer won Squad Jam 3.
Joshua had logged out after he put his trust in Momiji to defeat Devesta, returning to watching over Kazuto's recovery on Rath's Pacific Ocean facility, the Ocean Turtle. In the middle of that, Asuna Yuuki arrived with Dr. Rinko on the Ocean Turtle, which sparked an argument between the two friends.
After having to spill the beans to the rest of his friends, Joshua confronted Momiji privately online, which she revealed she did tell Asuna the truth. He was unhappy, but figured Asuna would have come anyway if she got in contact with Dr. Rinko before talking to Momiji.
The next time Momiji would see Joshua, it would the following afternoon. The Ocean Turtle was invaded by a force masterminded by an American intelligence agency. When she got a text from Joshua about it, she was out shopping with some friends. Hours later, she hadn't heard news about him, so Momiji headed to Rath's Roppongi Branch and demanded to be allowed to enter the Underworld and aid Joshua and Kazuto in whatever was happening on the Ocean Turtle and the simulation. With permission from Josuke, she joined around the same time as Asuna with a super account named Bellia, who turned out to be the Underworld's Goddess of War.
While the creation goddess "Stacia" split the earth, Kureha landed between two groups of people. One group was holding girl hostage, so without question, Kureha not only rescued the girl but eliminated the dark knights that held her hostage, including their leader, before their bodies fell into a deep crevice created by Asuna.
The second group that the girl was apart of turned out to be a group of knights from the Human Empire, and Jaymes was with them. After allying with Asuna, Alice, and the rest of the Integrity Knights on the front lines, Kureha used her account's exceptional ability to adapt to battle and possession of multiple weapons to fight the Dark Territory's army, then a red army of real-world humans summoned by the Ocean Turtle's intruders. By that point, Alice was captured by the Dark God Vecta, and Jaymes was in pursuit.
Asuna and Kureha would be reinforced by their friends, including Sinon and Leafa who also possessed super accounts, and allies from ALO and GGO, but it wouldn't amount to much as the red army of American, Chinese, and Korean gamers who thought the Underworld was a beta test for a new game.
When it seemed the alliance would be defeated, the former leader of Laughing Coffin, PoH, took center stage, trying to awaken Kirito who was in a vegetative state. Pissed already by the attack on Kirito, the events of SJ3 by former Laughing Coffin members, and all she heard about SAO, Kureha joined Asuna in fighting PoH, then left things to Kirito as he woke up and finished the fight.
When she saw Jaymes again, he appeared before them after he and Kirito slew the person who formerly had the Vecta account — Gabriel Miller, also known as Subtilizer to the GGO players. He told Kureha and the survivors that Alice was in the real world, to watch over her, and that he would remain here in the Underworld as the maximum acceleration phase began.
The acceleration phase ended about twenty minutes later, but 200 years had passed in the Underworld. Kazuto and Asuna also logged out before Joshua did; though no one made it the full two hundred years, they all suffered the strain on their souls due to their extended stay. While they remained unconscious, Momiji had a duty to fulfill with Alice.
While he had to deal with the controversy of Project ALICE and Rath, Joshua's dad allowed Alice to be under Momiji's watch, including in the virtual world. Knowing she must be interested in the worlds she might've heard about, Momiji let Alice enter the worlds of ALO, GGO, and SA:O and met the friends of Kirito and Jaymes.
Now comes the day they've prepared a month for, and Joshua continues to sleep, having been moved with the other teenagers from the Ocean Turtle to Roppongi. He should be here, but she'll gladly take his place.
"Whichever name comes out your mouth works. And I'm fine, Alice. I've faced nerving scenarios in recent times." One of them, of course, being Devesta.
In the past month, there's been no signs of Devesta's threat being acted on. Then again, Devesta only knew Momiji by her first name. She didn't know her who name of Joshua's name at all, so to find the correct Momiji is like a needle in the haystack that is Tokyo. There's no guarantee Devesta is a resident of Tokyo. With those reasons in mind, Momiji never told Joshua about the real-world threat. Not yet.
"I see. You're just as brave as Jaymes and Kirito, though as sound-minded as Asuna."
"Well I'm not the one who's going to speak out there."
"I don't know what I'm supposed to do out there."
"Just answer their questions honestly. It won't matter what you say, anyway, they'll find a way to make you and ORERI look good...or bad."
"Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules. Today, our organizations are announcing the birth of the world's first true artificial general intelligence. And now, allow me to introduce...Alice!"
Momiji sighs and pats Alice on the shoulder. "Go out and show yourself to the world. Be strong." Alice nods and walks out to the conference hall, joining Dr. Rinko and Joshua's father on stage. As she watches, Momiji leans against the wall, not feeling that pit of nervousness fade. She didn't understand the feeling in the first place, and far from understanding it now. Her intuition spoke to her that something would go wrong from this conference...but it had nothing to do with it.
As she remains in place and listens to Alice answer the crowd's questions, she murmurs part of the newest single by Elsa Kanzaki, released weeks after her avatar was sliced and diced by a ship propeller.
"Women, be strong, Don't give in to your worries. In fact, you might lose often, but don't feel bad..."
"...Don't blame it on being a woman, don't blame it on bad luck, don't blame it on society, but keep standing and fighting..." In another part of Tokyo, another young woman sings the same song released by Elsa Kanzaki. Her voice carries in the house as her hands wash the dishes dirtied by breakfast. Ahead of her in the living room, a elderly man sits on a couch, eyes on the TV as a young woman with blonde hair and dressed in a blue school uniform walks across a stage, joining a man and a woman already present before a crowd of reporters.
"People of the real world, I'm pleased to meet you. My name is Alice. Alice Synthesis Thirty."
"So she's this 'artificial intelligence' they're talking about nowadays? Do you understand these things, granddaughter?"
"A bit, Grandpa. There's plenty of them in the VRMMOs I play. I...have one as a, um, partner. Well, he's really a servant, but when you see how human they act... But that Alice person looks human."
"Let's start with the basics. What makes Ms. Alice different from existing programmable robots?"
The man on stage answers that. "Her brain, or what we're calling her brain. The consciousness that exists in the photonic brain stored within her skull is not a program that can be rewritten with binary code. It's essentially no different from our human brains. That's what makes her categorically different from existing robots."
"I guess that makes Alice different from Yujin."
"I see. These things are complicated, but the world is advancing past my years. When I was young, games were played on boards, cards, or outside; in your dad's youth, they had arcades and started to come to home TVs; and as you grew up, you could play these things everywhere. Phones, tablets, and now around your heads...and you can even die."
The girl pauses, feeling her muscles become rigid as her grandfather turns in her direction. It's a look she's seen for nearly two years. It's the worries of an old man who has already lost much, losses that he shouldn't have had to experience before his time has come. For two years, he had to wake up, not knowing whether that day would be the day he'd relive his sorrows, then fall asleep thankful that today didn't curse his fate and pray that the next would continue it so.
Her heart, hardened by a cruel life before SAO and a crushing life within that game, only softens for her grandparents. She sighs and smiles warmly as she resumes washing the dish in her hand. "Grandpa, I'm fine. I'm alive, aren't I?"
"Yes, but... I guess you wouldn't have been the same girl when you were before all that. I understand you don't want to talk about it." He returns his attention to the television. "But wouldn't it do you well to be around others who went through the ordeal? It's not too late to go to that survivor school before you graduate."
"No... No, I'm far more comfortable not being around others like me. I rather not transfer out before I graduate. I do have friends now."
"True. Speaking of which, how is Miss Vela doing nowadays? Had to be tough, losing her brother to that game."
"...Yeah..." She places the last dish on the drying rack and shuts the water off. Wiping her hands clean with a towel, she ejects her thoughts out. "Speaking of that, I'm actually going out with Vela today. We'll be getting our hair done and hanging out in Akihabara with the guys. I prepared lunch for you when you get hungry again. Grandma should be home to make dinner, and I'll be back then."
"Okay. Be sure to stay safe and have fun. Tell that boyfriend of your that I'm still watching him."
"Geez, Grandpa, he's not my boyfriend."
"That's how it begins with women. Trust me on that."
"I have already had many interactions with real-worlders. I am all alone in a strange world, but they've encouraged and supported me. They've taught me many things and taken me to many places. I am very fond of them. And that's not all. I even admire one of these real-worlders. Whenever I think of this person, whom I'm unable to see now... Even this steel chest of mine feels like it's about to burst... I have a right hand that I will extend to the people of the real world. But I will not fall on my knees or grind my forehead in the dirt. That's because I am a human."
Closing her golden eyes, the girl sighs and places a hand on her heart. To herself, she murmurs, "If she's human, then what does that make me? And how could you understand what is like to be me?"
"Because I understand what is it like to feel like the world is against you in favor, to find someone who becomes your world, and to lose it in an instant. The only difference is that my world returned to me. But trust me, I understand you... You can change too. You don't have to be who you were, you can be someone different. And that can start now. Let the past die... Start over. I'm not saying let's be friends, but...if it's that you're looking, someone to rely on, I think...it'll be him. To close that chapter of your lives, meet him properly. And...join us."
She doesn't know why, but part of her...wanted to grab that hand extended to her. Was it nostalgia from when someone once in her life offered their hand to her? Back then, she wanted someone to save her from her loneliness. But now...she doesn't need that hand. She had friends at school. She's happy with her life at home. The only thing wrong with her life is that the one who went unpunished for making the last three months of her SAO life hell still lives.
She will hunt him again. They will meet face to face properly. She will haunt him to the ends of the virtual earth, and if luck grants her the chance, she will haunt his real life too, including that girl by his side.
But she can't shake off that momentary lapse in her resolve for revenge. That girl, beautiful and as kind as she's fierce, heard all that she had done. How she and that boy waged a personal war for years that resulted in both losing someone they cared for. He swore to kill her the next time they met, yet that girl...that Kureha offered her hand.
"You can change too. You don't have to be who you were, you can be someone different. And that can start now. Let the past die..."
Let Devesta die...and start over. That, in a way, sounds like a good idea.
"For the time being, Alice will be managed by Dr. Rinko and the good people at ORERI. But RoboTelligence will be closely watching her too. As Alice stated, she had already made connections with real-worlders, and while I won't disclose all of their identities, one of those people are, of course, my son who couldn't be here in attendance today. The other will be Alice's office aide between my company, Dr. Rinko's research group, and the world. Allow me to introduce you to Momiji Takamine."
"Momiji?" The girl is barely out of the kitchen when she hears that name come from the television. Eyes aiming at the screen like a hawk eyeing a rat, she watches as a girl in a blue school uniform like Alice's joins her on the stage. Her brownish-black hair is tied in a single ponytail, slung over a shoulder, and her eyes are just as dark. But in a flash, that hair turns pink and those irises become blue, perfectly aligning those features with the girl on the screen.
Luck is on her side.
"...Hey, Grandpa. You know how girls cut their hair when looking for a new beginning? I think it's time."
"Huh? Are you going to cut your hair? Why? And what about the color now? Blue? Purple?"
She takes a handful of her waist-length hair in hand. "Someone told me that it's time to let the past go and start anew. If I'm going to move forward in my aims in life...the past must die. So I'm thinking I'll go with shorter hair. However, I think I'll go with something brownish, just like Mom. What you think?"
"Sounds nice. I'm sure she'd like to that and how beautiful and kind you've become, Marin."
"As for the other me... I think I'll go with a new name change and look as well. Or an old name at that...like Notte."
August 15th, Tokorozawa National Defense Medical College Hospital
"You...sound weird talking about peace. You didn't think of this yourself, did you?"
"Haha, the old man made me promise to do this as well, and it's rude to say no to the dying. Besides, that's why we fought Quinella, to bring a free, peaceful world... It'll be hard, sure, and we can't start on it now. But that's why I'm asking you first."
"Me?"
"Yes. Don't you remember? I trust the person I meet first above all others. I work better with you anyways, and it's not like I want to get too involved. We can leave that to the leaders of both worlds, but I want to push it forward. And think of it: Seeing Alice one day is payment for your hard work. Or you can say having me to yourself for two centuries is good enough. Your choice."
"Both sound fine."
"What are you thinking about, Eydis?"
"How fun it'll be to check out the other side. Best to strike while the iron is hot! If we twiddle our thumbs, our opportunity might escape. Besides, there might be cute girls over there! Not for you to ogle, of course."
"Oh..."
"Idiot... You idiot..."
"You're not an idiot, Medina."
"You're still up?"
"I know your feelings, Medina. I knew Eydis'. Until today, I disregarded them both because I believed it would be cruel to both of you to return them and then leave. But... When I do leave, 200 years from now, I will have my memories wiped of that time. I won't remember all those years, and knowing that... If I'm honest, I never thought I would have to choose, but the truth is that I do love Eydis. If I'm going to forget, I rather forget whatever I do with her, knowing she'll be here to remind me, than forget you and your descendants with no one to tell me who I was. But make no mistake... I'll always be whatever you need me to be. Falchion and Mirage are sisters, and we are the Blades of Orthinanos."
"You could at least not say that when you're laying on me."
"Well...no. I'm comfortable."
"Idiot... You owe me for the rest of my life! We'll make so many memories you'll never forget the name of Medina Orthinanos, got it?"
"And on top of that...you better make sure you keep Eydis happy and let her see Alice again, okay?"
"Got it, jeez."
"Now rest, Lord of Knights. When you wake up, we have work to do."
"Eydis... Medina... I hope I fulfilled my promises to you both." Sighing to myself, I sit down in a chair in my room as the lingering memories from my volunteered imprisonment in the Underworld play out in my head. My last vivid memory is speaking to my two closest friends in that world, Eydis Synthesis Ten of the Integrity Knighthood and Medina Orthinanos, a second-ranked noblewoman of the Human Empire. Those memories, based on what I can tell, are hours after the war ended. There are some memories from sometime later if I try to draw them out. The last of those memories is a meeting between the Human Empire and the Dark Territory, and Kirito gets into a friendly brawl with the leader of the dark realm.
But even after those images fade, names invoke a certain feeling in my heart. Ilia Ordona and Mia Zancale are unfamiliar names, yet when their names pop up, I get an older brother feeling for them; there's a person called Primus, a name that enrages and frightens me more so than Vecta and Quinella ever did; and though more distant in my mind, probably more recent in time, there's something that makes my heart beat fast when I mutter "Syl" though I have no clue what that means.
The door to the room opens. Turning my head from the window to the door, I welcome the sight of Momiji. She smiles and softly closes the door behind her. "Hey."
"Hi." Something about her is cute today. I don't what it is. it could be her strange shyness. It could be her brown hair, tied up with black bows to form two long, brown tails off the side of her head. It could be the attire she's wearing, especially the lengthy heeled boots she's wearing up to her thighs. Maybe it is me, having not spent 200 years with her...excuse me, nearly a month and a half. I don't know what it is, but she's irresistibly cute... I don't think I've used those words for Momiji in our lives.
"I was free, so I came with Asuna. She's visiting Kazuto now, and I'm...here."
"Thanks." I watch as she places a new set of blue flowers in a small vase on the nightstand. Once she's done, she glances my way and frowns.
"What?"
"I...missed you, Momiji."
She scoffs and turns away, but not before her cheeks blush heavy. "S-so? It's not like...didn't you have other women there? Alice told me all about you —"
"Woah, woah, I was not involved with other women. Just one... I mean... Look, I..." I decide it's not worth lying considering Alice is too honorable to do so herself. I shake my head and return my gaze to the window, watching the sunset. "...Sorry."
"I'm not mad, if that's what you're wondering. You lived there for two centuries. I would be surprised if you didn't fall in love there." Turning back to Momiji, I find her seated on the bed, her smile returned. "But I do hope to meet this 'Eydis' when Alice goes back. I'm sure we'll have much to talk about."
"Hahaha... Speaking of which, how's Alice?"
"Tired of being showcased, but she understands the necessity of it. I'm exhausted too. Go do your job."
"Ah, but Dad likes having you around. But you say you have a break today? And you've come to visit me? Did I win the lottery?"
"You gonna win my fist in your face. But first..." Momiji lifts off the bed, then lands her bum in my lap. I wince a bit in pain as I'm not exactly back to one-hundred percent. But she doesn't care one bit — once she's there, she settles in and rests her head on my shoulder. I have no choice but to give her what she wants and wrap my arms around her.
"Thought you didn't miss me."
"Course I did, dummy. This is payback for me fighting and winning against Devesta, despite losing to Team Betrayers in the end. By the way, she's after you in both worlds now."
"...I see. Oh, and on that note, I hear there's something going down tomorrow night?" I haven't been online since last month, so all I know about it is that it's not another Squad Jam, but a test play for a new NPC AI. High-profile Squad Jam participants were invited and it starts tomorrow night. Of course I expect Llenn, Kureha, and the others to have joined in, but I haven't been told whether my name has been added again.
"Yeah. You're sitting this one out, so just watch me win. But since I can see you're feeling sad, I'll dote on you all day beforehand."
"When did you become my loving wife?"
"Hmm, so Integrity Knights are able to get married, but no to a childhood friend who spend her days in fear of Laughing Coffin? Hmph. Guess I'll try again another day..." Momiji shifts her position so our heads are level with each other. The relaxed tone of the previous conversations is gone. "But seriously, what are we going to do about Devesta? She's not alone. There were two others with her at SJ3 according to Sinon. How many others could Devesta team up with?"
I honestly don't have an answer. I mean, with Johnny Black and XaXa in prison and PoH somewhere in the world, I don't know who Devesta could have sided with. But if I had to guess which members of Laughing Coffin holds an immense grudge for me, there's two that come to mind. "If Devesta has two allies...then I believe I know who that can be. But first, Momiji... I—"
"No," she says, jabbing my chest with her finger and getting in my face. "You're not going to do this alone. You're...too important to me. No, screw that, I love you too much to let you fight them by yourself. So —mmh!" One moment I listening to her talk, but her face was so close that I unconsciously interrupt by placing my lips on top of hers. Now that I think about it, this is the first time I've kissed Momiji or Kureha. I'm just as stunned as she is about it, and that got me to try to separate our lips. However, Momiji protests with a moan and keeps us connected for a couple seconds longer.
"...Woah... That was... I wasn't finished, dummy. At least let me finish scolding you."
"Hehe. I love you too, Momiji, but that's not what I was gonna say. I...need you with me. And not just you, but all of Crimson Squad. We're going after them."
"That's a good sign. Proud to hear that, Lil Bro." That's...not Momiji's voice. I look at her, and she glares back at me with a rapidly dropping mood. The moment her face is repulsively sour, she whips her head around to the door. Present there is a woman in her mid-twenties, about Zeliska's age, in a black suit and white shirt. Her strange blonde hair is tied in a similar manner to Momiji's, and her auburn eyes are much friendlier in shape and brightness than I've ever seen Momiji's. Let me not forget how beautiful she is; on a glance, she looks like Momiji's twin, but the older woman radiates maturity and sexiness as she closes the door behind her.
"Oh, am I disturbing you two? Hehe, I've wait for this forever." Okay, cross out maturity.
As for why Momiji is moody...if my father was the source of my unpleasant childhood moments, this is the source of Momiji's. "What the hell are you doing here, Mi?"
"So mean, Momiji! Is that how you treat your loveable older sister? What says you, Lil Bro? It's been what, seven years since we last seen each other? I hear you've had quite the life."
"Is that so?"
The woman joins us by sitting on in the chair across from mine. She crosses her legs underneath her skirt, careful to make sure all I can see of her lower body is her stocking-covered leg. It kinda worked. "A top player of SAO. Saved Miss Yuuki with Mister Kirigaya from that sleazeball Suguo. Somewhat involved in the Death Gun incident that almost claimed your life as well as Momiji's. Then the Ordinal Scale stuff a while back. Now the incident on the Ocean Turtle."
Miko Takamine. Momiji's overly brilliant older sister, the reason the Takamine family moved from America to Japan three years before I would do the same. I hadn't visited Kyoto where Momiji's family and mine live since the winter holidays, but I didn't see Miko there. Nor had I talked to her since her family moved away. Timing was just off for us, though... To be honest, I might've unknowingly held a grudge because of the departure seven years ago.
So instead of responding to my list of accomplishments, I take note of the most disturbing change to Miko's looks. "What the hell you do to your hair?"
She flutters one of the blonde pigtails. "Oh? Like it? Wait, does that mean Momiji never told you about when we went to Summer Comiket one year and dressed up as Ishtar and Ereshkigal?"
"Sh-shush!"
"I think she wanted to do it because a certain special someone had a huge 2D crush on Rin Tohsaka and Momiji wanted to...help her case. 'If he likes her, and if I look like her, that means he'll like me.' Her exact words. I'll send you a picture later."
"Oh, nice!"
"M-Miko!" Momiji, her face redder than the reddest apple, leaps out of my lap and hovers over her sister. "Why. Are. You. Here?"
Miko falsettos a "Eep" and slaps Momiji's breasts with the black folder in her hands, effectively stopping her younger sister's tirade. While Momiji, stunned by the hit, takes hold of the folder, Miko straightens herself up. "I am here for multiple reasons, Momiji. One, to check on my second-favorite boy that I hadn't seen in years. You can at least see that."
"Hmph. And this?"
"If the previous statement was pleasure, that is business." The mature nature that I mentioned earlier finally makes an appearance as Miko's lips are set in a straight line. Momiji remains silent and takes a seat on the bed. I already miss her warmth in my lap, but I rather not give Miko any more ammunition to make her sister's life more annoying.
"What 'business' could you have with me, Miko?"
"Not with you, Joshua, but with Jaymes. And Kureha, and Crimson Squad. This is a request from me, Miko Takamine, but not as your big sister. This is as an official from the Ministry of Internal Affairs." Miko pulls a badge from her suit jacket and flashes it in the air between us. The Ministry of Internal Affairs... I didn't think I'd work with them officially after the two times Kazuto and I helped them and Lieutenant Colonel Kikuoka off the records. But with Kikuoka at Rath nowadays...this is a surprise.
"Can I say no?"
"Sure, but I don't think you will. It's a...task you cannot refuse."
"Is it dangerous?"
"Most definitely. But you've done more dangerous things."
I glance at Momiji, who hadn't opened the folder yet. I take it from her and open it. It only takes me three seconds of looking at in-game screenshots, a pair of mugshots, and a bunch of words to figure out what Miko and the Ministry wants. "...You're crazy."
Miko smirks. "You see? It's a task you — as Jaymes — cannot refuse. It's a simple joint operation between me as a liaison for the Ministry and your team. A chance to put the nightmare that Sword Art Online birthed can be put to rest once and for all. As you know, XaXa and Black are already in custody, and PoH is playing good at hiding despite rumors that someone like him showed up in the Underworld... But I want to put Laughing Coffin in a coffin of their own, and that means rounding up the remaining founding members. We don't know their real identities, but I'm confident you'll meet them sooner than later."
Momiji takes the folder back and glances at her sister. "Miko, what you're asking..."
"Yes. I don't care how you do it. If they're engaging in criminal activity or simply being bad apples, I want the matter of Laughing Coffin put to rest one way or another. As such, I'm asking you two and your squadron to hunt them down."
Momiji faces me again. I face the wall behind Miko, where on the other side Kazuto and Asuna are together. What Miko is offering me is a chance to end the lingering nightmare that began on the second floor of Aincrad, the moment we first heard of the "man in the black poncho" from the Legend Braves. This nightmare took many people's lives: Koharu, Mito, Diavel, and many other Assault Team members. Think of the lives not taken but affected by nightmare, like us, Shino, Lux, and the people of the Underworld who lived...and possibly countless more.
"Momiji...Devesta's allies, do you know anything about them?"
"Sinon said one of them was quite the talker. The other, I watched the replay, and the one who joined her in SJ3 wore a full-face mask. Or a bag or something."
"...It is true, we met PoH in the Underworld, and since he was with Gabriel Miller, it can be said those two were allies. I don't expect to see him again... But for Devesta and her two cohorts, we'll bring them in. I have a grudge with all three, after all."
"You know who they are?"
"Mhm. The talker is Morte. The one with the bag on his head, we called him Baghead, but he's Buxum. And I owe that son of a bitch an ass-whooping." I face Miko once again and declare with certainty, "We already were going to go after them. So I accept this..bounty on Laughing Coffin."
Miko smirked and leaned forward to stand. "Good to hear. We will see each other soon enough."
"Will we?"
"You'll know when you know. I got to keep some secrets. See you two later..." Miko reaches for the door handle, then retracts her hand. "One more thing... Momiji. You were awesome in the last Squad Jam and doing awesome things with Miss Alice. Who knows...maybe all this time, it was me trying to get out of your shadow instead of the other way around."
"Mi...Miko?"
"Anyway, good luck to the both of you. And Joshua, be careful with her. She can get loud, if you know what I mean." As Miko left the room with one final tease to her sister, leaving Momiji's simmering with embarrassment, my eyes return to the folder. I can't think of anything else. My heart pumps with one desire, and that's revenge. I want to get out of this hospital. I want to go home, grab my Amusphere, and start the search. I can't kill them literally, but the lust of putting a bullet between their eyes or my photon sword through their chests burns in my chest.
"Momiji, one more time... Are you with me?"
"Let's get them. Once and for all. As for the others," Momiji flashes the phone in her hand to face me. It's the chat with the women of Crimson Squad...well, specifically the women of our Squad Jam team: Karen, Elza, and Miyu. "We're all in. LPFM is at your disposal. And you know Shino and the Arfas are in."
"...Arfas? You didn't mention Zeliska, so that doesn't include Daisy. So who else... No way. You mean..."
Momiji proudly raises her thumb. "You're looking at Lievre's new Master. Now we're back on equal grounds, captain, including the skill we gain from them."
"...Damn her. What else is going to trouble me?"
The bounty on Devesta, Morte, and Buxum begins after tomorrow night's test play tournament. However it will be 11 days before I get the first chance to put my hands on them when Kureha and I rejoin Llenn Pitohui, M, Fukaziroh in the currently-unknown Squad Jam 4. At the same time, we're struck with three surprises.
One: If Llenn loses, she has to get married.
Two: Clarence and Shirley join us this round, bringing our team to eight.
Three: The revenge Devesta wishes to exact on me for Annihilator's death is taken one step further — his family.
Who knew video games could bring families together for rounds of revenge?
Thank you for reading Game of Betrayers: Squad Jam 3. Like I said, this story serves as a point of deviation from the other storyline I've written. Though, back then, I said it wasn't meant to be an alternate timeline, but now it seems it will end up that way, obvious with Kureha's actions in the last couple of chapters. In the original timeline she never reiterated her feelings for Jaymes during the Underworld arc and didn't enter Underworld as a goddess during War of Underworld, but with her GGO account.
Devesta originally came from my Progressive Factor II story, making her first appearance on the sixth floor with Annihilator. In that story and in future following appearances during the times in Aincrad, she'll serve as Koharu's foil as Annihilator becomes Jaymes'.In this storyline, she'll serve as a major antagonist and primarily Kureha's. Her old appearance in these stories were based on Persona 5's Sumire Yoshizawa alter ego Violet.
As for what's next... There will be a third story, though I best not name it "Squad Jam 3" when the events of the game take place within Squad Jam 4. You've probably noticed I've changed the title of this story from "Squad Jam 2: Game of Betrayers" to the current title, that's to avoid future confusion. I don't know if the Test Play in volume 6 that Momiji mentioned will be included, but I'm reading it now to see if I get a feel for it.
In any case, Jaymes, Kureha, and LPFM will take the fight to Boss and SHINC, to David and Memento Mori, and to Devesta and the revived of Laughing Coffin in the future.