Chapter – 21
Returning - SAO integral fragments
Chapter update: Hello everyone. I was taking a look at this chapter and I realized that a few of my paragraphs were missing or overwritten. It turns out my little sister snucked into my computer and did a few changes when I wasn't looking. It took me a while to check the writing and corrected this mistake, I apologize for any type of confusement this would have brought and hope it never happens again. Thank you and enjoy.
Previously on SAO Integral fragments
You: Igh… my eyes…
Asuna: is… everyone alright?
Twilight: Yeah… it looks like were back in the cage.
A bright light shined above us and from there, Yui and Strea popped up.
Yui: Daddy!
Strea: Darling!
Yui hugged Kirito and Strea hugged me.
Kirito: Yui, you're okay!
You: and Strea… your still a pixie.
Strea: Wha?! Is that all you haft to say to me?!
You: I'm kidding… I'm glad you're safe.
Strea: Haa… *she smiles brightly* thank goodness… you guys are safe…
Yui: Mommy!
Asuna: Yui! *they both hug each other* thank goodness you're alive.
Yui: Yup. I hid myself inside the local data of uncle's nervegear rig. And Strea was—
Strea: Uh!
Yui: Oh uh… I mean… Strea was somehow transported over with me and I hid her account data within uncle's nervgear rig so she was also safe.
For some reason, I had a feeling that Yui knew something about Strea that we didn't know but was not telling us for some reason.
You: Hmm…
Strea looked at me with a worried expression, fearing like if I may not believe her story.
You: Hmm… well, if its what you say what happened.
Strea: *she breathes a sigh of relief*
Asuna: So what now?
You: Well… *I walk up in front* while although we got my flutclight back, this wasn't exactly a win. Sugou's work will be passed on to someone else once they find out that he is dead. I am pretty sure they will take extreme measures to insure that this incident goes anonymous. Sugou said that they are making this research to recreate Artificial intelligence with actual human thoughts and emotions along with an actual human soul… there is no telling what might they do if they succeed. My parents said something about creating an army and I have a feeling that this army could be close to impossible to beat…
Feeling determined and nervous, I turn around and face them.
You: whatever this plan is, we need to stop it and destroy it. I have a feeling that in order to stop this plan, we need to collect all the missing pieces of my flutclight. Whatever research my father implanted on it, it could be disastrous. So we are going to search high and low for the remaining integral fragments and bring a stop to this project and these plans, once and for all!
Now SAO Integral fragments
Grabbing Asuna, we all begin making our leave from the cage but as we got to the entrance we used, we saw that it was no longer there.
You: that's weird… where did the door go?
Yui: The GM must have either disabled its access or hid it away completely before he arrived.
You: Well… *I look down* guess there is only one way out of here now.
Asuna: wait, you're not suggesting…
You: it's the only way. Just make sure to activate your wings before getting to the ground. Ready?
Asuna: No!
You: Suite yourself. Strea, stay inside my pocket.
Strea: Alright.
You: *I breath in* Leeroy Jenkiiiiiiiins! *I jump*
Kirito: Alright, who's next?
Asuna: Kirito! You're seriously not thinking about jumping too!
Kirito: it's the only way down. Unless you got a better idea.
Asuna: We could… You know, climb down using the branches?
Kirito: the only branches in this tree are these ones, plus we can't even use the climb down due to the barrier set around it.
Asuna: W-Well… Augh! Fine then, but if I get hurt, I will set both of you personally responsible.
Twilight: come on Asuna, we have a way out and we are taking it. *she steps to the edge and looks down* "Gulp" oh well… here I GOOOO! *she jumps*
Kirito: come on Asuna, it will be alright. Just hang on to me.
Asuna: Just make sure you don't let go of me. *she says worriedly*
Kirito: it will be alright.
Yui: *she transforms into a pixie* it will be okay mommy, daddy will keep you safe.
Asuna: Whoa Yui, since when did you have the ability to turn into a— WHOAAAAAAAAAAAA!
Without wasting more time, Kirito grabs Asuna and jumps of the tree.
The wind hitting my face briskly and the ground getting closer, the same way it did when I reached the top using my wings to get there. I had confidence this time since my wings are all rested up and can lift me up from my sudden death, just gotta time it right.
You: almost…
The clouds began to clear out and the ground was getting visible.
You: A little more.
A few more minutes passed and the town was beginning to get more and more visible.
You: Almost… and…
The town was getting reachable and I summon my wings.
You: Now! *I summon my wings* Wh-whoaaa!
The momentum of the gravity along with the pressure point of my wings pulled me up but it was a bit pressurable, almost like a bungee rope.
You: Augh, that was a bit rough.
Strea: *she merges from my pocket* Darling, are you alright?
You: Yeah... a bit light headed from the fall though.
Hovering down, I reach the ground and sigh a breath of relief.
You: Boy, that was intense.
Strea: at least we landed safely unlike last time, do you think the others are okay?
You: Yeah… I can see them, there they come.
Looking up, I can see my sister along with Kirito and Asuna falling down. One thing kind of worried me though… did Twilight know how to activate her wings?
You: Uh-Oh…
Twilight: AAAAAAAAAAH! HOW DO I ACTIVATE MY WINGS?!
You: Twilight! *I blast off*
Using my speed, I take off to the sky and reach Twilight just in time and catch her in my arms.
You: Whoa there, that was close.
Twilight: it would have been nice to know how I could activate my wings.
You: Well, be thankful that your big brother was here.
Twilight: indeed. My prince in shining armor, carrying me like a bride. Shall we express our love with a tinder sibling kiss? ~Chuuu~ *she pukers her lips*
You: Don't get ahead of yourself kiddo.
Taking her down to the ground while also ignoring her bashful behavior, I take a another look up and see Asuna and Kirito hovering down towards us
Kirito: Hey there.
Asuna: *she shivers* I am never doing that again…
You: Oh come on, it was just a jump. Better than staying trap up there.
Asuna: I suppose your right. Where are we anyway?
Looking around, I see that we are at the entrance of the world tree. The place where we started.
You: looks like were at the entrance.
Kirito: hey… where is everyone?
Looking towards what Kirito was talking about, we take a look at the town and see that the entire town is isolated. No player in sight.
You: what happened? This place looks deserted…
Twilight: its quiet… too quiet.
You: lets go take a look around, see if there is anyone.
A few hours later
We searched for hours around the campus and the sun beginning to set down, no player left in sight.
You: there is no one here. Not a single player in sight.
Kirito: maybe they were all forcibly logged out or something.
You: did the same thing happened to our friends?
Asuna: it might… I don't see them anywhere either.
A while later, I heard the sounds of footsteps coming from the town.
You: did you guys hear that?
Kirito: I sure did, there might be someone here after all.
You: *I activate my detection skill and see footprints* that way!
With everyone following me from behind, we follow the trail, turning from corner to corner until eventually.
You: they made a turn over here, we must be getting clo— FMPH!
My face crashes with something relatively soft for a hard impact.
You: augh, what in the? "Squish" "Squish" Hmm? I didn't know there were walls this soft and squishy.
?: there aren't…
You: Ugh! "Gulp"
As I raised my eyes… I saw Leafa giving me a smile so innocent… yet so sinister.
You: L-Leafa… *I say nervously* so… there's an explanation for this.
Leafa: and does that include your hand in the same place?
You: Aah! *I let go of her* N-No, you see, we were running and I didn't know who was in front of me and well…
Leafa: *she giggles* my, my (You). I never thought you'd be the type to disrespect both me and Koharu this way… should I tell her about this situation?
You: N-NO! Please, anything but that! She will do worst then what you are probably thinking of doing to me!
Leafa: Ooooh? *she closes her face on me* then what do you haft to say for yourself?
You: Ghigh?! *I lower my head to the ground* sorry, your highness!
Leafa: Snrk… Pfft, Hahahahaha!
You: Eh?
Leafa: you really take everything so seriously! I was like thirty percent joking.
You: (Thirty percent?! With those eyes and smile she makes it seems like almost all percent serious!)
Leafa: Besides… I am relieved to see you. That must mean that you succeded, right?
You: Well… yeah, in some ways… *I say while adverting her gaze*
Leafa: Hmm? Did something happen?
You: Well, uh…
Twilight: I think he went— Oh! Here he is!
The rest catch up as soon as she shouts.
Kirito: there you are, we thought we'd lost you for a second there.
You: Check who I found.
Kirito: Leafa!
Leafa: Kirito! Did you—
Asuna: "Pant" "pant" I told you guys to slow down…
Leafa: Asuna! *she rushes and hugs Asuna*
Asuna: Uuf! H-Hey Leafa.
Leafa: we were so worried about you, what happened?
Asuna: Well… it's a long story. Where is everyone?
Leafa: no clue. After Kirito and (You) reached the top of the world tree, a big bright light flashed before our faces and everything began to behave strangely with static noise and glitches. After a while, everyone began to poof and disappear from the game. We think they might have been forcefully logged out but we have no idea what actually happened.
Asuna: where are our friends?
Leafa: they went out to see if there was anyone who was still logged in. No luck on my side.
?: neither in ours.
Koharu and Sanya both hover down towards us.
Koharu: Asuna! *she lands and hugs Asuna*
Asuna: Uuf! Koharu, I'm glad you're okay.
Koharu: I should be the one telling you that.
Sanya: at least you are safe. Where have you been?
Asuna: like I said, it's a long story. For now, let us focus on whats going on, what happened here?
Leafa: No clue. After (You) and Kirito reached the top, Koharu, Sanya and I helped Sakuya and Alicia out of the tree but after a while, everything began to go bonkers.
You: what do you mean?
Koharu: Everything began to behave strangely. The buildings, the players, the mobs, everything. They all started to glitch out along with flashing lights shining above the tree.
Sanya: We assumed it was just you two fighting but after everyone began to disapear in a poof of smoke, we all began to worry. One by one, the players disappeard and we were the only ones left after everything seddled down.
Koharu: it was sort of the same thing that happened back in SAO when that whole glitch attack thing happened.
You: Hmm... I think it might have been my fault...
Sanya: why do you say that?
You: its a long story. We'll tell you what happened in a moment. So no player has been seen anywhere?
Leafa: Not a single one. We already searched the nearest towns but they are all empty.
Koharu: I am more concerned about us, how come we werent affected?
Leafa: maybe it has something to do with us being from different games but that is just a theory of mine.
Asuna: So then... how are we supposed to get back to SAO?
Sanya: I can't think of anything that can allow us to do that, there is no teleport gate here that can take us to SAO.
You: but there must be some way to get back.
Quinella's voice: (You…)
You: Huh? Quinella?
Everyone: Huh?
Quinella's voice: we must speak at once…
Quinella's voice was so faint I could barely understand it, but I knew she wanted to speak with me.
You: I... think she wants to speak with me.
Sanya: right now?
You: she might have an idea of whats going on, she might know what to do. *I sit down on a nearby bench* Don't worry, I'll be back… *I close my eyes*
As I closed my eyes, I could feel my mind going round and round. It was like I left from my body and as I opened my eyes and found myself in the same space where I always see Quinella. Surely enough, she was here too in the same bed I always find her in.
You: Quinella.
Quinella: Hello (You). It's been quite a while since we last spoke like this.
You: Yeah it has… was there something you wanted to tell me?
Quinella: Yes. As you may recall, you only have these dreams whenever you are in danger or if your fluctlights powers are manifesting itself too strongly.
You: Aaaand, which one of those are the reason?
Quinella: …its both.
You: great…
Quinella: When you were in that cage with your friends, I felt your fluctight power manifest within that world. The thing is, this man named Sugou was not the one who used that power...
You: what do you mean?
Quienlla: it could be that there was someone else in there with you…
You: was it the traitor?
Quinella: I don't think so… the traitor wouldn't have had anyway of hiding in that space with ruler of the world present there… it might have been someone from Underworld.
You: someone from Underworld? But how can they enter this world?
Quinella: it could be that your flutclight's energy attracted them towards you but other than that, I see no reason as to why they would follow you.
You: Hmm… do you think that whoever this person was… wants to harm me?
Quinella: that I cannot say, if he or she wanted to hurt you, they would have had many ways in doing so.
You: then why would he or she go towards the trouble of following me in this game?
Quinella: it could be… that they are watching…
You: watching?
Quinella: and waiting.
You: watching and waiting? But for what…?
Quinella: Hmm… your aura did change for a moment back there.
You: Hmm…
Quinella: it could be that they are wanting to watch just how differently your power reacts when your emotions take over you. They also might be watching on how strong your fuctlight energy is getting.
You: Okay… so not only is there a traitor amongst my friends, there is also a spy from a different world. I don't even know what I must do, it's like all the world I visit someone is after me! *I yell frustrated*
Quinella: hmm… there is some good news though.
You: Huh?
Quinella: even though you went berserk for a moment there, you actually managed to control your flutclight under your own volition, your own will. If you manage to keep controlling it, your flutclight's power will be under your command and it could provide very useful features against the people who are trying to kill you. For now, focus on gathering the pieces of your fluctlight, it is dangerous for them to be lost in these other worlds you call games.
You: Okay then… also, what was that?
Quinella: What do you mean?
You: When I was fighting Sugou. I remember feeling a lot of things but they were mostly unbearable. Sadness, anger, fear, all kinds of negative emotions.
Quinella: The power of your fluctlight is connected to your heart, which means that it reacts on the way you think and feel. When you saw Sugou, you thought about your family and of course, it gives you negative vibes and as a result, it turns you into a kind of monster.
You: is that so…?
Quinella: when that happens, your personality and attitude change. It would be wise if you be cautious whenever you deal with these feelings.
You: why you say that?
Quinella: this negative effect that happens whenever you're upset, it has the characteristics of a second personality disorder, which means that it takes over your brain and thoughts for a certain period of time. But this energy you are unleashing is too great that it could easily take over your mind and if that happens… it could be hard to stop it.
You: I see… so negative emotions affect me… thanks for the info. I'll make sure to be careful.
Quinella: it was my pleasure.
You: wait, but how are we supposed to get back to SAO?
Quinella: that I am afraid I do not know, but there is someone who might.
You: But who…? Oh…
Quinella: you know what you must do.
The sky begins to spin as bright light begins to blind me.
Quinella: till we meet again…
"Swooosh-swoooosh-! SWOOOOOOSH!"
As the light begins to fade away, I open my eyes and see my friend's faces looking at me with concern.
You: Augh man…
Koharu: (You), are you okay?
You: I'm fine, don't worry…
Sanya: what happened?
You: Well… its hard to explain, all I know is that I think I know who can help us get back.
Twilight: but who can help us?
You: *I scroll down my menu*
Looking through my inventory, I see that the cellphone is still amongst my stuff. It must behave the same way Esper does since it is not a in game object.
You: alright, lets see…
Tapping on the phone, the phone opens up and begins dialing the number for .
"Ring… Ring… Ring…"
Phone: Hello?
You: Hello, is this-?
Phone: Oh shoot! Hang on, hey Kik's he is back…
The voice faded out and after a while, another voice came in.
Kikuoka: Hello, (You)?
You: Yes, this is (You). We found the other missing piece in Alfheim online.
?: Wow, he already found it and within just a few days?! This guy is awesome!
Kikuoka: Yes. Okay, that is good to hear. I am assuming that you are calling because you don't know how to get back to SAO, right?
You: yeah, how do we get back?
Kikuoka: don't worry. I already have that underway. It might be a bit disorienting though.
"Shrreeech-Schrooooo-Schrrrr"
The sky, the ground, the buildings... everything was behaving strangely with static noises and glitches, our feet began to lift off the ground as we all began to float in the air without our wings giving us altitude.
Twilight: U-Uh, g-guys… is it just me or are we floating in the air?
Koharu: Yes, you are not the only one…
Sanya: um… why am I feeling nervous all of a sudden?
Leafa: you and me both…
Kikuoka: I should mention that… this… urt… be… full as you arri—
Asuna: Uh… what did he say…? *she says worried*
You: He said… this is going to hurt… be careful as you arrive…
Sanya: akh, chuvak…(Oh, man...)
After a while, a huge yellow hole swallows us and we begin to fall at high speed into an endless vortex.
Everyone: WHOOOOOAAAAAA! AAAAAAAAH! GAAAAAAAAH!
Asuna: AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
Leafa: MY STOMAAAAAACH!
Kirito: ARE WE JUST GONNA KEEP FALLING DOWN FOREVER?!
Sanya: AAAAH-DU-DUUGHAAAAAAAH!
Twilight: HELP ME BIG BROOOO!
You: HANG OOOOOON EVERYONE!
Everyone was screaming for they're lives as the never ending fall began to get tenser and tenser. Strea and Yui on the other hand...
Yui and Strea: WEEEEEEE! WOOHOOO! NO HANDS!
Were having the time of they're lives...
Everyone: AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
Meanwhile in SAO
Mito: *sigh*…
Lisbeth: what's with that sigh? Are you still worried?
Mito: it's been three days, they should have been back by now.
Silica: I hope they're okay… wherever they are…
Klein: relax, were all just a little tense. They managed to overcome worst, I am sure they will be fine.
Agil: you sure seem to believe your own words.
Klein: Yeah well, I've known Kirito long enough that he always bounces back when he gets pumped down. The same goes for (You), if anyone can save Asuna, its them.
Lisbeth: for once, I actually agree with him. I am sure they will be fine, we just gotta—
"Swooosh!"
Lisbeth: what in the?!
Everyone exits Agil's shop and see that a giant yellow hole shows up in the central gate.
Mito: come on, lets go see!
Everyone rushes to the central gate and the yellow hole begins tense up as the sounds of screaming can be heard through the portal.
Mito: is that…? Screaming?
Lisbeth: they seem to be coming from inside the portal…
"Swoosh… Swoooosh! SWOOOOSH!"
Everyone: *we emerge from the portal* WHOOOOAAAAAAAAA! DUGH! AUGH! PUGHA!
We all emerge from the portal and crash land on the floor with our stomachs filled with nausea.
You: Augh… my head is spinning…
Kirito: Pluugh… my brain…
Leafa: Augh… my stomach is inside out…
Twilight: I think I just ate my brains… and my stomach is not digesting that well… Urp… uh-oh, Mmf! BLEEEGH! *she pukes*
Everyone: Augh gross!
Twilight: A-Ahem, excuse me…
You: I didn't even know you could puke in SAO… *I stand up and give everyone a hand* Sanya, are you alright?
Sanya: I will be in a moment… *she stands up* no amount of training could ever prepare you for something like that… and forgive my earlier shrieking. *she says with her cheeks slightly red*
Koharu: Looks like… were back in SAO…
Yui: Indeed… *she gets up* I can definitely tell we are back in SAO.
Strea: and we are back to our normal size!
Looking around, we see that we are indeed back in SAO. And all of our friends were gathered with a small crowd staring at us. We also notice that our SAO attires are back.
You: Hey guys, what did we miss?
Everyone: you guys are back!
Everyone then rushes towards us, giving us big hugs with big smiles.
Klein: K-dawg, my man! Hahaha! You did it, you saved Asuna!
Kirito: Ehehe… *he laughs awkwardly*
Silica: Twilight!
Twilight: Silica!
Rushing towards each other, they hug themselves tightly with happy tears falling from they're faces.
Silica: I was so worried!
Twilight: I thought I was never going to see you again!
Mito: ASUNA!
Asuna: Mito?
Mito is the first to hug Asuna as tears of joy fall from her face, hugging Asuna tightly as to never let her go again.
Asuna: whoa there, miss me much?
Lisbeth: Well, well. Look who made it back.
You: hey Liz.
Lisbeth: Hmph, hello to you too… *she says annoyed*
You: what's wrong?
Lisbeth: you seem to be forgetting something… *she spreads her arms* where is my "hello again" hug?
You: there is no such hug… but alright *I hug her*
Lisbeth: you really had me worried you know… *she says to my ear* and… so did Argo and Sinon.
You: where are they anyway?
Lisbeth: Argo is with her info broker duties and you know Sinon, always out there doing something. She never tells though.
You: makes sense. What about Philia?
Lisbeth: She is still scouting out the hollow area. She said that she managed to find a hide out that will keep her safe so she should be fine.
You: I see. What happened while we were gone?
Agil: Well, we managed to floor 80 but floor 81 is still in progress.
Asuna: did anyone die during those floor raids?
Agil: thankfully, no one died. But there were a lot of close counts.
Lisbeth: people thought that it'd be best if we waited for the second in command to return but Mito managed to change their minds and were able to fight alongside us.
Mito: it wasn't easy but… well… I did it.
Asuna: I knew that if there was anyone I could count on leading KoB, it was you Mito.
Mito: oh please, don't get all chummy with me…
Klein: but enough about us. What about you guys? What happened in that other world or land or whatever it was?
As I turned around, I saw that the others had the same worried expression. How are we going to explain in every little detail about what just happened, even I don't understand it.
You: Well… it's kind of a long story. Let's go somewhere private.
Lisbeth: that might be a bit hard… with all these people staring at us.
As we all looked around, people were staring with anticipation for us to give an answer.
You: Uh… Ahem… *I stand on top of the teleport gate* attention everyone! As you can all see, we managed to save the second in command of KoB. A lot of things happened while trying to get her back and you all will know what happened in a short while, right now the second in command needs some rest. We will explain everything tomorrow!
As I said that, the players began whispering to themselves. I am sure they weren't believing a single word I said, they all looked annoyed and suspicious. Geez, it's not like they would understand what happened.
You: come on, let's go before things get tense around here.
After a while of running and avoiding the crowd, we managed to make it back to Agils shop where he closed down and we were able to speak without a worry.
Agil: *he brings a tray of drinks and desserts* here yawl are. On the house.
Lisbeth: Aw Yeah! I always look forward to free desserts!
Everyone sat down and began to ask us they're questions.
Mito: why don't we get down to business? Why don't we start with the obvious question, what happened after you guys got teleported?
You: Well, it was a different experience for Asuna but for us, we were transported into an avatar creation room.
Lisbeth: Avatar creation room?
You: Yeah, the same way it happened when you first started SAO. Only, it was a completely different game.
Agil: different game?
You: Yeah, it was the game Leafa came from, a fairy base game. Alfheim online. ALO for short.
Lisbeth: ALO?
You: We all selected our characters and got transported into the game but as we all entered, my fluctlight reacted in the world as well. Just like here, it caused strange reactions to the world.
Mito: such as?
You: for starters, it made objects glitch out. It made our characters slightly stronger, it made certain things not react normally… and a set of other things.
Lisbeth: I have seen it do things like that around here as well. I remember seeing it when we were fighting the 75th floor boss.
Mito: now that you mention it… I think I would have seen something like that too.
Agil: so what happened when you guys arrived?
You: Well… after we created our characters, we…
After a while, we explain our entire experience in Alfheim online. Everything from the grand quest, the salamander attack, the Sylph and Cat sith alliance, Asuna and Twilights capture, we even told them about Sugou and his plans for total brain control.
Lisbeth: No way… *she says shocked* he really experimented on all those players?
You: He even had a server connection to SAO. He even had SAO players as test subjects.
Klein: damn, when you think about it… it's pretty dark.
Agil: that would be putting it lightly. For all we know, we could have been test subjects too.
Mito: what happened to him?
Koharu: Yeah, Sanya and I weren't there so we don't know what happened.
Everyone was looking at me with a worried look, knowing what everyone might think if we tell them… but I didn't care, they had to know.
You: I…
Kirito: (You!) No!
You: I killed him…
Everyone: Uh…!
Everyone stared at me with wide eyes, either surprised that I said that without a second thought or the fact that I really did kill him.
Mito: but why?!
You: Because… he was a friend of my father. He was planning on continuing my family's work… just thinking about it, it made my blood boil and I lost control… and I Killed him..
Agil: Dang… its one thing that he was doing secret experiments but the fact that he had connections with you and your family, looks like your little trip was more impactful then one could have imagine.
You: yeah… but it's not over.
Sanya: what makes you say that?
You: Well for starters, we put a stop to Sugou but not his research… anyone could take over him and continue his research. Not to mention, I spoke with Quinella again.
Koharu: what did she say?
You: There is someone spying on us, someone from the world Alice and Eydis come from.
Koharu: A spy? Who do you think it could be?
Lisbeth: maybe it's that weird woman who took control over (You) that time in the cave.
Kirito: it is most likely but we have no way of knowing.
You: speaking of Alice and Eydis, where are they?
Agil: No clue, we haven't seen them since the last time we were together.
Mito: There has been no incident with them, no player has mentioned them so far so I think they are in hiding.
You: Hmm… (What could they be doing?) Well, be that as it may… *I grab the cube from my pocket* I know that there are people both in game and outside who are trying to get this thing. Whatever my father researched, it's in here and they need it in order to sell it. I am the only one who can keep it safe and I cannot let it out of my sight, which is why I am going to keep looking and I will collect every single piece of my fluctlight and then find out a way to maybe dispose of it. I am not even sure if I trust this Kikuoka guy to even keep my fluctlight, speaking of whitch, I wonder if I should call him… *I grab the phone and dial the number*
"Ring… Ring…"
Kikuoka: Hello?
You: Kikuoka, we made it back to SAO.
Kikuoka: Oh thank goodness, I was worried that our server transport might have transported you guys to a different server.
You: Yeah, maybe a little heads up on the whole transporting vortex thing, it was very disorienting.
Kikuoka: Yes, I am sorry about that. It was the only way to get you guys back to SAO safely.
You: what's gonna happen to ALO?
Kikuoka: Don't worry about that, I will need to know first what happened.
You: Uh… well…
I begin explaining the whole story to Kikuoka.
Kikuoka: I see… so our theory was correct.
You: You knew?
Kikuoka: Not exactly. We knew that there was an organization that was after your father's research but we didn't knew that there were other companies working on they're secondary projects.
You: Secondary projects? You mean to say that they were researching other projects?
Kikuoka: your father was the most hardworking man in our facility but he never was social, any type of research he made, he did it anonymously. This facility is known to be anonyms so we didn't pay any attention to it.
You: Guess that was the problem in the first place… alright, so what do we do now?
Kikuoka: for now, we will maintain the ALO server down for maintenance. In the meantime, I say that you should rest up before heading out to search for the next piece. It will take some time to connect the next game server to SAO. Focus on any task that you might need or have to complete in SAO for the time being. I will let you know when it is ready to search for the next piece.
You: Alright, focus on SAO before heading to the next piece. Got it.
Kikuoka: Be careful. Signing off. *the call ends*
Koharu: guess we'll haft to stay in SAO for a while.
Kirito: I think its perfect. Since we didn't help out on the last few raids, we should do all we can to make up for it. With Asuna back, things should settle down.
Asuna: Yeah, with everything that has been going on, the players must be really confused and even angry. We better get back to the frontlines as soon as possible.
Klein: what are you guys gonna do? *he says looking at me and Koharu*
You: Koharu and I will do what we always do. Scout out the next floor and gather information. The next floor is floor 81, right?
Agil: that's right.
You: Guess it's time to make up for the time we were absent.
Silica: You guys really have your work cut out for you.
You: Yeah, well, an adventure isn't fun if it's too easy. Also, I'm starting to learn to control my fluctlight, in time, it could do many things that can help us on our adventures.
Kirito: then I guess for now, all we can do is focus on clearing SAO until the next portal is ready.
Twilight: I am curious though, if the last portal toke us to a world of fairies…
What will the next world be like?
To be continued….