Chapter 4: The Real World and Kirito
Kirito's heart sank. He froze still, the only thing moving was his shaking hand holding the news pad. The headline on the September addition of MMO today read something he'd only see in his nightmares:
"VRMMORGP Sword Art Online will be launching a DLC and re-opening it's servers on the 6 anniversary of the game."
Memories began flooding through Kirito's mind. Visions of players being killed, enemies being slaughtered and the worst thing by far, players killing players. The thing that would bring Kirito back to his senses was a text from Klein, he'd also read the article and said the group should meet up in ALO to discuss the situation. The wooden house that the gang used for meetings often had a happy and joyful aura but that day it was only filled with dread. Asuna slammed her hand on the table that everyone was sitting around.
"We can't let this happen! There's no way!" She shouted angrily.
"What do we do then?" asked Klein.
"We spread the word, let people know that this game is a death trap that should have been destroyed roughly 6 years ago!"
"Look, I agree with you but this is a multi million dollar organisation we'd be taking on. Plus we don't actually know who's running it yet so what do we do then?" Kirito said putting one hand on Asuna's shoulder.
"The most effective thing we can do for now is warn everyone by spreading the message online, we aren't the only ones who feel this way so we should get some support." Silica added.
"Your right, I can't just sit back and let people walk into that death trap again" agreed Lisbeth.
"All of this happens however cause we assume it'll be the same as last time though right?" commented Kirito.
"What do you mean?" Asked Asuna.
"What I'm trying to say is that the game could be completely safe this time." the group gave him a confused look. "It makes sense to be cautious, I get that. When I first saw the article I thought the same way as you guys, but Kayaba is long gone." Kirito looked down at he ground and clenched his fists. "I know I have no right to think this way, but SAO was made to be a fun, revolutionary game in the VRMMORPG genre, now that Kayaba isn't hear to live out his sick fantasy we can give this game a chance." Kirito looked up to see his friends looking back at him. Klein sighed, shuffled over next to Kirito and put his arm around his shoulder.
"Your one crazy bastard you know that Kirito?" he said condescendingly. "But, if you want to give it a second chance than I'll go to!" he said confidently.
"Klein..." Kirito said looking beside him.
"I'll go to." Said Asuna with a more serious confidence. "As if I'd let you go alone into something that could be dangerous when I can help."
"Asuna..." Kirito said looking at Asuna this time.
"I'm in too!"
"Me as well"
"I won't miss out if all of you are going!" Lisbeth, Silica and Leafa all said.
"All of you... okay! we'll check it out together!" Kirito said with a smile on his face. "Although, we should still tell people to enter with caution. As survivors of this game previously we owe it to everyone else so more people don't end up like we did."
In the months leading up to the eventual return of SAO, the group spread the word online about the dangers of th game and received a significant following. One mystery remained however, no one knew who was behind the games return. 12am November 6th 2028, the group had done all they could for the last 2 months and now it was time, time to return to SAO. Kirito lay on his bed and looked into the visor on his NerveGear, as he did memories came flooding back in his mind, ones of murder, death and destruction. "Maybe this isn't a good idea" hesitated Kirito but then he remembered all the good things he found in SAO, his friends, Asuna, the fun they had despite the situation they were in. Kirito closed his eyes and took a deep breathe in and out, then placed the NerveGear on his head. The start-up command was one that Kirito could never forget, he relaxed his body and uttered the start-up phrase.
"Link Start"
Kirito entered with high hopes, hopes that would inevitably be crushed. The gang had all met up in game and checked there menus, a large tension was released and everyone relaxed when they noticed the 'log-out' prompt in there menu's. "It's safe, thank god" Kirito said while looking down. Asuna put a hand on his shoulder.
"You don't need to worry, everyone will be ok" she said comfortingly. Kirito looked at everyone's happy and relieved faces. Klein pumped his fist in the air.
"Ok team! let's go have some fun!"
"Yeah!" exclaimed everyone as they all pumped there fists in the air as well. The group would go on to hunt monsters and explore for the next 2 hours.
"Whew" sighed Klein as he laid on the grass.
"That's 12!" shouted Lisbeth as she slammed her hammer into another frenzy boar.
"Your really working hard Lis" Said Kirito looking back at her. "Practicing for your blacksmithing?"
"I'd like to keep up the blacksmith gig, but this time as more of a side hustle" Lisbeth said putting her hammer over her right shoulder. "This time I want to be more of a fighter, I love blacksmithing sure but helping you guys on the front lines looks like fun as well."
"Good for you Lisbeth, If you put your mind to it you could end up being the strongest player in the party" Asuna said walking up to them.
"Oh I don't know about that" responded Lisbeth while scratching her head.
"I'm gonna be sure to utilise my pack forming skill again, this time I'll try and command a whole army!" said Silica while puffing out her chest.
"Who are you and what have you done with Silica?" asked Leafa jokingly.
"What about you Sugu? any plans?" asked Kirito.
"I don't know, I think I prefer ALO over this." Leafa said looking back to were her wings would normally sit in ALO. "On that topic, I think I might log out now it's getting late."
"Oh shit yeah! It's like 2am!" shouted Klein sitting bolt up right.
"Fair point, well I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow?" asked Kirito looking back at the rest of his party. they all gave him a nod in response. "Ok, I'll see you guys later then" Kirito said waving. everyone else said goodbye to Kirito and opened there menus to log out. Then, a defining silence fell over the group.
"H-Hey, guys?" stammered Klein. "I'm not the only one seeing this... right?"
"N-No your not" responded an equally nervous Asuna. Kirito just stared in disbelief at his menu. "I don't get it, it was there 2 hours ago, what is this?" he thought to himself while his hands trembled. The log-out button, was gone.
The party was suddenly surrounded by a flash of blue light, Leafa looked around confused but everyone else already knew what this was. When they group spawned in the town of beginnings a chill came over all of there spines as memories of when this happened last time flushed over them. The 'System announcement' tyles formed a dome around the town and a figure in a green cloak appeared. Kirito finally found the courage to speak "Who are you!?" he shouted. the cloaked figure gave his speech and introduced the challenge he had set for all the players, one Kirito knew all to well. Once he was done he disappeared like he was never there to begin with. Kirito stood there in shock, he couldn't move, couldn't speak, even blinking felt like a challenge. All the courage he had going into this was gone.
"Kirito! C'mon!" Asuna shouted grabbing his hand. The gang ran out of the town of beginnings and stopped near a forest. Everyone was out of breath, still trying to process what had just happened. Asuna went to get Kirito's attention but he just stood there staring back at the town. "Kirito?" she asked more quietly this time. When Kirito turned around tears were streaming down his face and he was holding back sobs, he looked down and hunched over.
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! This is all my fault!" He shouted at the ground. "It was me! I dragged you all into this! I should have listened! I'm so sorry!" he could no longer hold back the sobs and hunched lover further.
"Lift your head" said Klein calmly. Kirito gave Klein a slightly confused look and stuck his head up slightly to look at him. "Lift your head dammit!" Klein shouted this time. Kirito stood straight up this time instantly. "What happened to you Kirito?" Kirito gave Klein another confused look. "Where's the strong and brave Kirito I knew last time we were here? Where's the leader we could all rely on? where's the warrior who was recognised by the cardinal system and given his own unique skill? where's the warrior who challenged the games creator in a deathmatch in order to save everyone huh? where is he?" Kirito stopped crying and relaxed a little. "Don't think this is your fault, we all wanted to be here on our own free will. This is something you couldn't control. The only thing we can do now is think a head." Klein said calming down, as he said this Kirito remembered what he had said 2 months ago. "As survivors of this game previously we owe it to everyone else so more people don't end up like we did."
"this will be the beginning" Kirito said drying his eyes. Everyone gave his a slightly confused look, "This will be the beginning... of the assault team!" He said triumphantly. "We've all done this before, we can do it again. Not only that but we'll know what to expect, we can win and this time no one will die under my watch!" Klein looked at Kirito with a smile.
"That's more like it" He muttered. With that, the new assault team was born. While at them moment it was lacking members, it would eventually grow to be the largest player army in Aincrad.
December 6th, 2028, 1 month since the game trapped everyone in it. The assault team, with the confidence given to them after clearing the first floor, powered through the next 4 floors with relative ease. Jyenka and his party trudged through the snow on floor 5.
"Does it have to be this c-cold?" Taijou asked.
"Toughen up, the weather setting is on the warmer side today." said Silvia back.
"Easy for you to say, you blew our remaining col on that fluffy jacket your wearing." retorted Jyenka who was also shivering.
"D-Don't judge! Look how practical it is!" she stammered back. Jyenka and Taijou both exchanged glances knowing full well she only bought it cause it looked nice.
"Be more like ThirtySix, he hasn't complained since we got here." Silvia said looking at the towering figure of ThirtySix, he looked back relatively expressionlessly.
"Man, I juts can't get a read on that guy" Said Taijou looking up at ThirtySix. Suddenly the land they were trudging though began to shake and the snow began to blow more violently.
"It's a snow storm! Everyone take cover!" yelled Silvia. the group began frantically looking around for some place to hide.
"There! A cave!" Shouted Taijou pointing to his right.
"Let's move!" yelled Jyenka through the snow. The group ran towards the open cave and took shelter, Silvia opened up her inventory and materialized a small fire in front of them.
"Good find Taijou, that was close" Jyenka said patting Taijou on the back. "How does stuff like this happen anyway?"
"It's the Cardinal system, it decides what happens and when" Silvia said while putting her hand up in front of the fire.
"Right, I almost forgot" responded Jyenka. The cardinal system, the mainframe of SAO. It was the cardinal systems job to keep everything in check, from random events to enemy spawns to drop rates, everything. The cardinal system was inevitably the one who was in control at thee end of the day, even the mysterious figure in the green cloak relies on it for power.
"Well the cardinal system triggers the event, the in game cause is a mini boss called 'Iceious the Snow Dragon' it roams around floor 5 causing blizzards" Silvia added.
"Who told you that?" Asked Jyenka.
"An info broker on floor 4, his name was Cleric I think"
"I need some info on where I can learn more double-bladed sword skills, maybe I'll talk to him sometime."
"He's on the 4th floor still, he has a top hat, mustacho and a monocle, doesn't look like the type of guy who'd be playing a VRMMORPG." As the 2 rapped up there conversation the blizzard began to clear and the outside looked safe to roam in again. "the blizzards cleared up, let's keep moving" said Silvia to the rest of the party. As they climbed out of the cave they noticed a village off in the distance. "That must be it, Tundra Village." said Silvia staring off into the distance.
"Thank god, I was gonna catch virtual frostbite" Exclaimed Taijou. Tundra village was the place Kirito told the members of the assault team to meet for the next strategy meeting.
"Let's go! I'm not being late for any more strategy meetings because of you guys" Silvia ran ahead towards the village.
"She's a good leader, but she's still a pain in the ass." said Jyenka walking with ThirtySix and Taijou.
"She might be stubborn but she's committed" ThirtySix said "She possesses the characteristics of a strong leader and she's only harsh because she cares."
"I guess" Jyenka said with sigh.
"C'mon you guys! Move it!" she yelled back at them.
In the far off regions of floor 5, a strategy meeting was already being held. This one was outside of the assault team, a vigilante group would be a good way to describe them. The meeting place was an old mansion for off in the frozen woods. In the mansion, there gathered a group of players wearing black and purple cloaks.
"This will be how things will play out." The cloaked figure at the front said to the rest of the group. "The assault team is currently planning a strategy to cover everything on floor 5 and take out the boss. The things they plan to do before clearing the boss are relatively simple manners, clearing quests, exploring dungeons etc. As members of the 'Shadows of Aincrad' guild however, we cannot let this stand." The man speaking raised both his hands in the air. "This world has given us a second chance, a opportunity to live a new life. It is our duty to preserve this chance and utilise it to the fullest. Teams A and B" the man pointed to 6 players "You will deal with the players trying to complete the quests on this floor, Teams C and D you will be fending off players from completing dungeons. You don't have to kill them, ideally we get them to understand us and join our cause, however, if the situation calls for it then don't hesitate to put a stop to there ignorance permanently." The man then turned his gaze to 1 girl who had a cloak covering her face, she wasn't in any of the teams. "The assault team are also sending out a band of players to defeat Iceious the Snow Dragon." He said walking up to the girl in the cloak. "I'll leave that to you, Shoko." he said calmly. The girl, Shoko, pulled the hood of her purple and black cloak back to reveal short black hair and tired blue eyes.
"Understood" she said expressionlessly.
Back in Tundra Village, the assault team members gathered around a table in one of the large houses. The strategy meeting was about to begin.
Who is Shoko? Who are the mysterious guild known as 'Shadows of Aincrad?' and why do they intend to stop players from beating the game? All this and more will be answered in the Next Chapter of SAO DLC...