Jaymes

It was reckless. It was profoundly stupid. It was purely instinctual. It wasn't like him at all.

But as Jaymes heard the gate of Castle Galey close behind him and sprinted towards the canyon, he knew there was no turning back. He knew something was wrong, and the conversation with Kirito only aided his understanding of the situation's truth: the Fallen Elves are involved and seek to retrieve the four keys kept in Castle Galey, and Qusack, one way or another, assisted them unwillingly.

Kirito asked him to message Mito while he went to open the gate, but something about doing that seemed wrong. Mito knew the truth, so Qusack wouldn't let her respond to her friends. But he did see Mito's name colored white, so she was still alive. Alive and nearby, and that didn't make sense to Jaymes. Why would Qusack keep her alive, knowing her friends are possibly nearby? Knowing that they're powerful frontier players? And why aid the Fallen Elves at this point?

The timing of the two tones of the bell and the Fallen's poisonous picks were the key to his final deduction. One member of Qusack helped the Fallen for reasons they couldn't control, and if Jaymes had to guess, the other group members were held hostage and paralyzed. To protect the others from something or someone. There are three possible answers: a powerful member of the Fallen Elves, a member of the PK group led by the man in the black poncho, or both.

If the third possibility is correct, the poncho's group and the Fallen are in cahoots. But why?

As far as Jaymes could figure out, there is no reason the PKers would ally with the Fallen. Weapons aside, what purpose would it serve? Say they wanted to kill every player on Aincrad, the Forest Elves' plan to return Aincrad to the surface below would serve that goal in the lore. But that's insulting the group's intelligence: if Morte and Joe are part of the DKB and ALS, which made their sides known on the third floor, that goal is moot.

As far as Jaymes figured, Morte, Joe, Annihilator, Devesta, and their leader want to prevent DKB, ALS, and their allies from beating SAO. But what do the Fallen Elves want with the six keys? What did General N'ltzahh say?

"It is not worth complaining about, Kysala. Pay them as much gold as they want. Once we have all of the keys and open the door to the Sanctuary, even the greatest magic left to humankind will vanish without a trace."

"What does that mean?" Jaymes mumbled to himself. Humanity lost the power of technology and magic when their kingdoms crumbled upon Aincrad's creation. The elven magic is weaker than before the Great Separation and might run out one day. There's no great magic left to humanity for the Fallen to get rid of...unless it isn't the humans of Aincrad that N'tlzahh was referring to. But the "magic" that Kizmel and Myia spoke of, the Mystic Scribing and Far Scribing the adventurers had, wasn't something that - hopefully - Sword Art Online would remove from all players if the Fallen opened Sanctuary.

That was the same conclusion he came up with the day before after they crossed the lake to the southern cavern region. There must be a magic humanity has retained, a magic that the Fallen want to take away from them and that the freaking PKers would join forces with them. The goal of removing humanity's greatest magic and preventing the frontier from reaching the hundredth floor must have a connection.

Time would reveal the reason for the alliance. The four keys must be protected. Mito and Qusack must be found. He glanced at the time, noting that by now, the girls should have finished meditation training and left the library. He'll be alone for the moment, yet he's sure Koharu and the others will follow him once the castle is secure. Intuition told him Mito was on the other side of the canyon, back in the desert, so he kept running as fast as his legs would take him.

He'd later learn that it was a good thing he didn't stop, but if he had, he could have rescued Qusack earlier.

Kirito

When he finally noticed Jaymes' disappearance, Kirito was in dire straits.

He joined the dark elves' fight against the Fallen, taking one out with the sword skill Rage Spike when the Fallen's commander made Kirito a high-priority target. The ones he initially fought retreated to the wall to replenish their health, while four fresh soldiers came after Kirito. Kirito hated to admit it, but he was in a bind.

The Fallen were not simple NPCs. Their AIs were more complex, adapting to the situation as it fit. As such, they had better teamwork and reactions than monsters. All Kirito could do was throw the AI controlling them off guard, and that was the first move he made as he picked a target, dashed at them, and threw his empty left hand out. He clenched the hand, and moments later, the Fallen soldier entering an attack pose was disarmed. His weapon was taken by none other than Kirito.

As his Martial Arts proficiency hit 100 moments prior, Kirito earned a new skill, Empty Wheel, which snatched an enemy's weapon and put it in the user's empty hand. Kirito knew he had it now because of Argo's information about martial arts skills; otherwise, he wouldn't have known until the battle's end.

After severing the soldier's arm, Kirito turned his attention to the remaining three soldiers. With the Sword of Eventide and the scimitar stolen from the soldier, Kirito could fight with two blades, but being that there aren't sword skills for dual-wielders and he can't use one-handed sword skills in this irregular state, all he had was pure skill with the swords. Yet, for some reason, holding two swords at once and using a block-and-counter strategy felt natural for Kirito.

Maybe he'd practice with two swords if he survived this fight.

While one of the remaining soldiers was unharmed, the other two were first to be struck by the dual-wielding Kirito. They maintained their health at around 70 percent. The one-armed soldier retreated to the wall where the four healing soldiers were. If he couldn't defeat the three in front of him soon, he'd be surrounded by eight soldiers, and without sword skills, that situation would be tough.

At this moment, he searched for the shielder. With his sword skills active, the two of them could take on the soldiers in tandem. "Jaymes! Back me up... J-Jaymes?" What... Where the hell was he?

Crap. He couldn't stand around, so Kirito charged the soldier to his right, but the soldiers changed directions as a unit, keeping Kirito in front of them. Damned AI was learning. If that repeated, they'd eventually press Kirito against the castle wall. Yet he couldn't pull back. Kirito had to face them head-on with the time given to him before reinforcements arrived.

"Kirito, watch out!" He's not sure he heard that correctly, but his body moved to the left as crimson-red light zipped forward, barreling through the Fallen Elves like a freight train. The air thundered as the light roared and knocked aside the trio Kirito was facing. The flanking pair was dropped to the ground while the central soldier was flung into the air. Kirito struck him down instantly as the soldier landed at his feet.

Through the sparkling blue light, he looked where the monstrous attack ended, seeing a red hooded cape, red pleated skirt, and long chestnut hair in the area surrounded by a dust cloud. He knew who that was on sight...but the sword skill Asuna used was not the Chivalric Rapier's. That attack was too powerful for a rapier skill. His answer came when the cloud cleared, revealing a silver lance in her hands. It was decorative in design.

When the hell did she get a lance? How the hell did she wield it so well?

Of the four kinds of spear-type weapons (one and two-handed spears, one and two-handed lances), two-handed spears were more common, followed by the one-handed variant. However, they were not as common as slashing-type swords or blunt-type maces and axes, and rapiers might equate them in number. But like the scythe-class of weapons before meeting Mito, Kirito had never seen a lance on the front lines. They're difficult to use because they were exclusively thrusting weapons with large hilts, and they're limited in weapon selection in shops. In Kirito's opinion, there was no room for hobby skills in the current state of SAO, so to learn the lance was a waste of time.

"Why? Where? What?"

As her skill delay wore off, Asuna turned to Kirito. Understanding his confusion, she shouted, "I'll explain later! Watch my back!" Understanding that the size of her lance made it difficult for her to be mobile, Kirito rushed to cover her back. At the same time, the noise that indicated death was heard. From where the remaining two soldiers were, Kirito spotted Kizmel and Myia, saber and rapier in hand.

"Sorry for being late, Kirito!"

Kirito could take a breath of relief. Not only did the girls come, adding their power to the fight, but each had the Meditation skill active. Kirito only saw three of the scouts with the paralyzing needles, but if there were more or the soldiers had their supply, it was better to be safe than sorry. Now, they could get Asuna's newfound ability to handle the rest. "How many more seconds on the cooldown, Asuna?"

"A hundred!"

"Got it!" For an attack that powerful, that was more than fair for recovery time. Based on Kirito's calculations, there were eighty more to go. The guards could hold the line for that long. They wouldn't be reinforced by the soldiers being taken care of by the waitresses, though.

"Coming from the south, Kirito!" Sure enough, Kizmel spotted the five Kirito had feared earlier coming from the wall. The elf with the severed arm had a dagger on him, too. Thankfully, their health was only three-fourths filled, but it was five on four. Five on three, if Asuna couldn't attack properly.

That five quickly became four in the blink of an eye. Quick as lightning, the one-handed was pierced from behind through the heart, and then a second short blade slashed the soldier's neck. Shocked, both the elves and Kirito watched as the one-handed soldier gasped and dropped dead on the ground. As particles danced in the air, the responsible party was revealed. That's when Kirito realized they were missing a girl confirmed to be in the castle.

Green hooded cloak, black pleated skirt, and black shoulder-length hair. He also knew that person but was awestruck by her left hand holding a second dagger, one as ornate as Asuna's new lance. But there was no time to gawk as Asuna ordered, "Kizmel, Myia, swing around from the sides and assist Koharu! Kirito, handle the foes coming from the north!" The dark elf and the young girl ran off just as the four elves around Koharu recovered from their shock. Kirito turned his attention to a pair of soldiers coming from the main line, attempting to help their allies in a pincer attack.

It might be six on five, but even if the other elf hadn't fallen to Koharu, Kirito knew the numbers weren't against them.

As he protected Asuna from the two new soldiers, Kirito's mind wandered back to the two swords in his hands. While it was impossible to wield two one-handed swords with powerful skills, the counter was that the bonuses from each sword remained. For example, if Kirito had a second copy of his Sword of Eventide, the plus seven bonus to agility would double. Despite that, no one mastered wielding two blades during the beta test. In Kirito's case, it was because wielding two blades at once felt like he was splitting his body in two.

So far, there hasn't been a dual-wielder on the front lines, most likely because of the lack of sword skills. The only exception was Argo with her claws, but that didn't count since, technically, those were two weapons. If someone were to master dual blades, they'd have to overcome the hurdle and get their body to function as one.

That weird feeling returned as Kirito executed a string of attacks. He dropped the scimitar by accident, yet he happened to kill the last soldier in front of him right as he did so. Head turning and swatting away the guilt of killing the elf, he watched as Asuna's lance glowed green and flashed toward the four elves rounded up by Kizmel and Myia. It dashed through the group three times in succession. Three of them fell at the end of the attack, while Kizmel finished off the remaining soldier, knocked prone on the ground.

Koharu, at some point, had gained the attention of two soldiers from the front line and separated from Kizmel and Myia. By the time Kirito got a read on her situation, Koharu plunged her true dagger, the blue and black Bullstar, into the chest of one soldier while using her off-hand dagger to block the blade of her other opponent. Once that soldier was dead, Koharu dropped back, sheathed the second dagger, and bounced forward with the single-hit dagger skill Slice. That poor soldier never had a chance to defend.

Once again, Kirito could only gawk at Asuna and Koharu's power in this fight. There's no way Asuna could have learned a two-handed spear skill just now. There's no way, with the number and power of the skills she utilized, she gained a proficiency of at least 100 with the spear. Yet...for some reason, Kirito didn't feel like something was completely off. Asuna had said something weird recently... And Koharu, who struggled to fight with one dagger two months ago, somehow could manage two daggers and, by the look of things, was comfortable with the experience. Something told him she didn't pick up the second dagger on a whim either. She knew what she was doing or was confident she could manage dual daggers.

In any case, the elves around them were defeated. Both sides were nearly equal in numbers, and the commanders rallied their forces. The fight was nearly over. As the girls surrounded him, Kirito gestured to the Fallen commander and said, "Okay, let's beat that commander and break their..." He stopped mid-sentence as some objects moved past his eyes.

"Wha..." Kizmel pointed toward the blue sky, a shocked silence prevailing over the group as dozens of brown leaves sailed through the air. The wilted leaves originated from the spirit tree. Kirito reached out for one, but it instantly crumbled between his fingers. He looked at the tree, the trunk unchanged.

Leaves don't fall in January in nature. At this point, trees were either bare or retained their leaves. The spirit tree was an evergreen, its life supplied by the hot spring around its root...and that's when Kirito understood everything the Fallen was doing. The spirit tree protected the elves from the desert, but if it were killed, that protection would fall. The dark elves would succumb to the weakness debuff, but the Fallen had those branches to protect them.

"Kizmel, do you have your Greenlead Cape?"

"No, I returned it to the treasure room. Oh! If the spirit tree withers, then..."

"Right, that's what they're after. Here, Kizmel, take this." Kirito quickly materialized the branch he picked off the Fallen Scouts earlier. She looked at the Fallen, seeing they had the same branches at their waist, and skeptically eyed the branch.

"Did they cut those branches off of living trees? But how?"

"I don't know, But this is the only option you have. If all the spirit tree's leaves fall, I don't think the guards will be able to fight anymore." Kirito forced the branch into her hands and then faced Koharu. Her partner was obviously missing, yet she hadn't said anything about it. All he knew was that he hadn't died. "Do you know where Jaymes is?"

"Looking for Mito and Qusack. Alone, like the idiot he is."

"Figured. That was the last thing we spoke about... You all hang in there, I'll be right back."

"Where are you going, Kirito?" Asuna asked.

"Underground!"

After instructing the Lysulan guards to target the branches on the Fallen warriors and giving a branch to the waitresses tending to the injured, Kirito rushed into the castle. Along the way, he encountered Bourhoum the sage, who also figured someone was poisoning the hot springs and gave him a flask filled with a dark green liquid to counter it.

When he got to the spring, Kirito was repulsed by a moldy fragrance that wasn't present before. Carefully, he trotted through the lounge area, void of humans and elves. He made his way through the changing room and entered the underground pool chamber.

The once pure white waters were a sickly black. It bubbled like a witch's brew in a cauldron, releasing dark fumes when those bubbles popped. The roots were mostly black, too, so time was running out fast. However, as fast as Kirito wanted to act, he couldn't due to the sole barrier between him and the pool.

A bearded man in full armor, a short spear in his right hand, a tower shield in the left. A green cursor hovered over his aged head, indicating his status as a player. It's the leader of Qusack, Gindo.

"Get out of the way," Kirito declared.

"No," Gindo raspily replied, placing his shield forward. "I can't move until those roots have completely rotted away."

Kirito frowned. He tried giving Qusack the benefit of the doubt, but his gut was right about them. Since Gindo's cursor remained green, that probably meant his companions killed the gatekeepers. And now one of Kirito's companions was running out into danger, searching for their missing companion and Gindo's guild. With hate in his voice, Kirito asked, "Are you...helping the Fallen elves? Or are you part of that PK gang?"

"No way, neither!" Gindo cried. "I...we didn't even know that people were PKing in Aincrad. So I...I never suspected him of..."

"I don't have time to talk with you." Time was short, and as soon as the tree died, Asuna, Koharu, Kizmel, and Myia would be surrounded by the Fallen warriors. Raising his sword at Gindo, Kirito threateningly said, "If you don't move now, I will move you by force." Kirito knew the consequence of attacking another player, but right now, he didn't care if it kept Asuna and the others safe.

Gindo moved his shield again to a more defensible position. Kirito could shatter the shield with sword skills, but that'll take too much time. No, he needed to do something quick. He was going to take advantage of the lack of the Anti-Criminal Code. He sheathed his sword and placed the flask in his inventory, and once Gindo's guard lowered, Kirito flew forward. He remained in Gindo's blind spot behind the shield, then collided with the shield with all his might and pushed.

If Castle Galey were a safe zone, this wouldn't work. The Anti-Criminal Code wouldn't allow the strongest players to push a player or NPC beyond their personal space as if they were fixed in space. The game treated that action as acting as an immortal object. But Castle Galey is not a safe zone like Stachion, so pushing someone is possible. Pushing someone hard and high enough to cause damage would turn the attacker orange, though Kirito didn't know where the line was for that besides a high ledge.

But if he does this right, everything should be fine. "Yaaaah!" Caught off guard, Gindo slid back despite his weight being twice more than Kirito's. When he resisted, it was too late for Qusack's leader as he fell into the dark, murky pool. He popped up to the water's surface moments later, but couldn't remain afloat due to the weight of his equipment. He wasn't losing health either, so the water is safe for players.

"I hope you know what you're talking about, Gramps." With that in mind, Kirito retrieved the flask and poured the contents into the pool. White smoke exploded from where the two liquids met, like the combination of volatile liquids in a science lab. It spread all over the pool, covering Gindo, and remained that way as time passed.

The first indication the solution was working was the changing smell of the spring to something more earthy after a rain shower. That was followed by the disappearance of the white cloud, revealing the water was purified and the roots slowly losing the poisonous black color. Kirito had saved the tree. His allies, saved for Jaymes, were safe, and the Lysulans were guaranteed to win now.

Before leaving the hot spring to assist the courtyard fighters, Kirito turned to Gindo. Qusack's leader knelt in the pool, facing Kirito, and with the lowest audible tone, murmured, "Now...they're all going to die."

"What? Who is?"

With a sprinkle of despair and anger, Gindo replied, "Who do you think? My friends. Lazuli, Temou, Highston... They've been given poison. They're being held prisoner."

"...And Mito? Where is she?"

"She's not with you? Then I don't know...unless she's in the desert. But she's alive...but losing."

"Haaa... Haaa..." Her knee imprinted itself in the hot sand, and the purple-haired scythe user gasped for as much air as possible. Her scythe felt heavy in her hands, her avatar's body sapped of strength, and her HP dwindled to half. All because she made a critical error moments ago that left her alone in the desert instead of Castle Galey.

Her mistake might've been fortuitous if she could return to the canyon or get a warning out to Asuna and the others, but she's been unable to do so. Ever since she split from Qusack, they haven't allowed her to do anything but fight and run.

"Oh, don't be tired now. We have more playtime together." To her far left is a masculine cloaked figure, the upper half of his face covered by a mask while the lower is completely bare. His weapon, a dagger, remained at his waist as he sat on a rock, watching Mito struggle for her life. "Boss did say we could take our time, so it would be foolish of me to join in. But do be super slow, partner."

Mito's opponent giggled gleefully as their trident traced a line in the sand. Her black cape fluttered in the wind, revealing her leotard-like armor. With her hood removed, Mito could see that the woman before her was no older than her, wore a mask over her eyes, and had lengthy blood-red hair. Something about this woman was...beautiful and mesmerizing, yet Mito's stomach also said she was dangerous. A true femme fatale.

"Slow and steady won the race, right, Anni? And what if her friends come for her?"

"It'll be fine, Devesta. As far as I know, that poor guild is under his control. But it'll be too late if her other friends are at the castle. But Boss did say he saw one of them headed our way through the canyon. Crimson."

The woman's mouth curled upward, crimson eyes flickered with a raging fire. "Oh. Hehehehehe." The woman picked up her spear again, honing her sights on Mito. "Then let me draw this out long enough for him to watch you die, Reaper."

Mito clicked her tongue and twirled her scythe. If what they're saying is true, Jaymes, for some reason, is coming to the desert. Mito will admit this Devesta is a deadly player, but Mito cannot lose. She may not beat her enemy before Jaymes arrives, but she will not die. Not before she forgave herself for abandoning Asuna. If this is her penance, she will pay it in full.

"I will win this fight."