Lights flashed with the beat of the house music. People on the dance floor were singing the lyrics to some song they'd never heard before, blindly following with the rest of the crowd. The bass almost burst people's eardrums. The DJs seemed like they were having a blast, but they were just programs being told by the system what to do, but no one could look at them and know that.

NPCs with busty figures and skimpy outfits carried around drinks, being borderline sexual at times with players. People in hundreds of different styles of fashion made a collage of color like nothing else in the world. Not to mention, but there was actually a live stream of the club going on in the real world at this moment, being broadcasted and synced into dozens, if not hundreds of clubs around Japan and perhaps beyond that in real-time.

GGO had a lot more attention than I realized at first glance. I knew about the money exchange process, sure, but I never knew it had NPC DJs, hundreds of digital scam artists, and upwards of thousands of in-game food vendors simply begging you to stop for a meal.

This was CCD Glocken, or the "Cyber City District," just one of the expansive areas within Gun Gale Online. Glocken was by far the most popular district within GGO, being host to the City Hall, dozens of gun shops, bars, clubs, and apartment buildings that were in of themselves mini-cities.

One would probably look at this game and assume it was just an oversized movie set for a film about running blades or a crumbling biker gang, but this was more than a game for some, this was their life.

Not in a literal sense, but more like their job–myself partially included–working day by day to get credits, cash them out, and then going back in for more. For as much as it was an endless cycle, the grind, glory, and fame that came with high capital had its perks, none of which I was accustomed to.

Being the third-best player in GGO meant I had status, but also had to keep a low profile when possible. On some days, I would alter my outfit completely to blend in with the crowd of buff military men or virtual tourists with a hat and shades to cover my hair and eyes. But today I kept my normal equipment on–a syn-leather jacket with artistic red lighting that spiraled down my arms and pants with similar lights down the legs, a black undershirt, and some standard issue combat boots with an AGI buff on them.

"Hey, Zenith," I heard from my right and only looked at them with my eyes. The person I saw wasn't the first person on my mind, but another player that I had met within GGO–Takashi.

"OiOiOi is on his way."

"Good, good… From what I remember, four is all we'll need. I'll give a recap once everyone's here."

Takashi had the standard multi-camo military gear on and didn't bother with taking it off because he rarely went to venues such as this one.

After a few more minutes pass, OiOiOi and Leona (or Oyogu) arrive at our booth.

"Alright, let's move somewhere quieter. I've got a soundproof booth for us," I stated, standing up to begin moving through groups of people. My squadmates followed, ensuring to stay close to me. They had come to learn that if they didn't continuously have me in their eye, I'd outrun them no matter what. That went for non-combat and combat zones. Every time I had a mission, whether personal or quest-related, I'd do it with the highest standard possible, at least in the standard that fits this world.

We soon arrived at a door near the back corner. After I chatted with the NPC Bouncer, he stepped aside to let my party in.

Inside the room was… another room. To be more specific, there was a sound-isolated chamber within the room, about the size of a bedroom with room for a closet and a dresser. The walls of the chamber were frosted glass, the floor was a sound-dampening carpet, and all the surfaces outside of the chamber were more foam and carpet. It was safe to say that no sound or lurkers could be hanging around in here.

"Take a seat, I'll give the sitrep one last time," I stated as we all piled into the room. I stood at the far corner of the chamber and turned to everyone else. As my eyes went from OiOiOi to Takashi, and then to Oyogu, I made the decision to block the doorway instead.

"Everyone, take a shard," Leona said, opening her menu and handing out three shards to me, OiOiOi and Takashi.

The shards were thin flash-card-like devices that held critical information on a topic. They were often logs or easter eggs hidden by the devs at Zaskar, but you could get shards made with critical mission data by a "printer," an NPC with an extremely high intelligence stat with net running skills. Some players could do it too, but it came at a significantly higher price.

I pushed the shard into the side of my neck, which had an open slot in it, and felt the data rushing into my brain, even though it was nullified and virtual. With a couple waves of her hand, Leona began to open folders wirelessly with commands sent from a shard in the side of her neck. Folders kept opening, images kept displaying, all as I began to talk about the matter at hand.

"The item we're looking for is called the Vladlenivetch, a supposedly permanent modification to one's avatar that gives them the ability to travel at insanely fast speeds. We don't know exactly how this will work within GGO. Still, it's theorized by players to modify the clock speed of the headgear we're currently wearing IRL. Anyway, the Vladlenivetch is stated to be staged in an abandoned Space Port, fifteen clicks north of this club. We'll go in, seal the Vladlenivetch into a container for safekeeping, and get the hell out." I finished my explanation just as all the folders and images closed thanks to Leona and we were able to take out and snap our shards in half.

"Any questions?"

The silence answered my question.

"Then let's move."

"Damn, damn damn! Goddamnit!" I yell out in angered agony, dumping the contents of a healing stim into my shoulder. Hundreds of bullets flew over our heads every moment, there was virtual blood coating the walls from the grenades that had already killed OiOiOi and Takashi. At this point, it was just me and Leona.

What we hadn't realized was the extent of the knowledge of the Vladlenivetch, or if we had a traitor on our side. Either way, we were absolutely screwed if we couldn't get out of here.

"Zenith, we're not going to make it out of here alive, let's just cut our losses!"

"Bullshit, there's always a way out, so don't give me that!"

The situation we had been put into was a godforsaken one. First off, we had basically no exits apart from the exit that the enemies were holding down. Secondly, we were down so far in ammo that I had to resort to using my dead teammate's guns to even shoot one guy back in the face, not to mention the sheer number of stims I had used up to this point. And probably third and most detrimental was the fact that there seemed to be more squads helping them out minute by minute, or they were getting more ammunition from a teammate who had all of their supplies.

Either way, we were fighting against God, with no chance of recovery. …Maybe.

"Goddamn it, there's too many bullets to even take a peak… As soon as I even show a finger it's gonna be shot off," I complained to myself, clenching my teeth as tight as a vice grip.

Situations like this in GGO very often resulted in a wipeout, or when all squad members are eliminated and forced to respawn at either their home base or the City Hall of Glocken. They were far worse than just one member dying since almost all the spoils of their current session would drop onto the floor just to be picked up for the other squad to bask in. I had managed to do it to other squads upwards of a dozen times, but a situation like this had only happened to me once before, and that was when I was just starting out in GGO for the first time.

But the longer I sat here and hoped for a way out, the shorter it meant that Leona and I would be killed in the game and never get our hands on that special item. We had to think, process, and act fast if we wanted even the slightest bit of a chance.

"Okay, stupid idea! What if we charge into those tunnels? I mean, there shouldn't be anyone down there as far as I know, right? We were the first squad here since there weren't any other cars parked out front!"

"Well they probably parked their cars somewhere else, but that would probably just get us killed further onto the right path!"

"Getting killed later is better than getting killed now, c'mon let's move!" I yelled at Leona, grabbing my H&K416 to get ready to run.

"Three, two–"

"Wait, I'm not ready yet!" Leona protested, but I grabbed her by the waist to carry her with me.

"One!"

With Leona being carried at my side, I charged into an open corridor head first, not caring if I got shot. My hail mary worked surprisingly well, and once we were in the corridor, we had no option but to run like Hell.

I tossed Leona slightly ahead of me, and after helping her get to her feet again, we pushed ourselves towards turn after turn of dimly lit hallways. We had no choice but to run for as long and fast as possible.

If there wasn't a period with any bullets flying down the hall, I'd toss down a grenade or a smoke found on the floor, but they often did nothing but delay the inevitable.

Heartrate was rising, my breathing got more sporadic, and I felt a panic attack coming from the sheer pressure of it all but I managed to push it back down. My fingers tingled, I could feel the real blood rushing through my veins on this late Sunday night. My avatar tripped over the vast nothingness of air, but I managed to get my footing back fast enough to keep going.

How long had I been running up to this point? It must have been upwards of a few minutes, right? The tempo of the BGM must have helped me keep time, but it keeps looping over and over again since it's a combat mix. Where's our way out? Where's the item? If we don't get out of here, then we are so goddamn screwed…

"Zenith! Hey, Zenith!" I hear on my right and turn my red eyes to see Leona running next to me at full speed.

"What, what now?" I asked in a panic. In response, she pointed up ahead at a sign that hung from the ceiling.

"Look at that sign, it says storage! Do you think we could hide in there for a couple minutes to get our bearings?"

"Yeah, I like that idea, come on!" I yell back, running in the direction that the sign pointed us and making a b-line for the garage door marked with big letters that read "STORAGE VAULT."

The big garage door slammed shut after Leona slid under, stopping on the floor, and not bothering to get back up. I took the initiative to pack chairs and other useless stuff onto the door to make a barricade, letting Leona catch her breath.

"That… that was so hectic…"

"We're alive, that's all that matters right now…" I looked up in the top-left corner of my vision, seeing that there wasn't much color left in the heath bar of either me or Leona. I sighed, and took two stims out of my inventory, using one on myself, and heading over to Leona.

I sat down next to her, and gently pressed the stim into her shoulder, causing her body to jolt. Her breathing was loud, and there were little droplets of sweat on her face.

"This is storage, right? What do you think they got in here? Anything useful?" Leona asked, looking up at me with her avatar's yellow eyes.

"I mean, maybe. As much as I doubt it, there could be something here of us… Ammunition or a special item. Let's get our bearings first, though. I'll log out for a bit, get something to drink, and then come back, and then you'll do the same, okay?"

Leona nodded, looking towards the door that I had barricaded. I patted her on the shoulder, and waved my menu open to log out…

The first thing I felt once I was brought back to reality was a sharp pain like a lightning bolt in my brain. Something had given me a migraine in-game, whether it was the bullet fire, the flashing lights of the club, or the sheer pressure of the situation I was just in. Not to say that headaches were a common occurrence for me, but it was often enough after a small majority of full dive sessions that I had begun taking medication before logging in.

I often wonder if a part of my physiology wasn't made for VR, despite the over two years of full-dive time I had in my life. It's bizarre, to know you're so good at something, but that your body tries to hold you back whenever you do it, or that it simply just wasn't made for it. When I got out of SAO, every part of my brain felt like it was being stabbed, healed, and then re–stabbed. It was a nightmare on ice.

After getting out of my bed with the Amusphere still attached to my head, I managed to put on a jacket with a zipper, pulled said zipper up, and made my way to the kitchen with only the jacket and a pair of shorts. It was the end of October, and I had every right to wear these, even if it was starting to get a bit cold.

After heading downstairs, past the hallway and into the kitchen, I opened one of the cabinets to grab a glass cup and held it under the sink. I gently pulled the lever to turn on the tap, watching the water slowly fill up the cup and the pitch of the water kept rising as well. Once I was satisfied with the height in which the water had achieved, I turned off the sink, and put the brim of the cup to my mouth, pouring water into my mouth.

"Thomas?"

My body jumped from the sudden call of my name, causing me to turn to the right to see Suguha standing with a cup of yogurt.

"Wah-wuh– what, what's up?" I frantically asked, getting my head straightened back up after getting scared by such a simple interaction…

"Are you okay, big brother? You're sweating…"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Had a lot of pressure on me just now in GGO. Me and Oyogu found a safe spot, so we're taking turns logging out to calm down. I think she might be even looking for some supplies since we ran out."

"Oh! Okay, take care!" Sugu smiled and turned away.

I looked back at my cup of water, not sure what to say…

"Leona?" I called out once I felt the weight of my avatar's clothes press onto my body.

"Uwaah! Fuck, you scared me, Zenith!" Leona complained, having climbed a storage rack to look inside the crates stacked on top of them.

"Jeez, sorry… Have you found anything yet?"

"Well, I have, funny you mention that… Here, take this shard."

"Leona tossed a hard case onto the floor from about twenty feet up. The case made a hard crack on impact with the concrete ground, flipping open as well. I walked up next to the case and grabbed the shard out of the case. It had a piece of white tape with a black marker that said, "Regarding Vlad."

I made a small "hmm" and pushed the little data-shard into the side of my neck. With just my eyes and a tap of my fingers, I sifted through folders and files marked with various different points of information.

"Capable of…approximately fifty-percent…don't know how they developed it… Hey, I got a map!"

"You do?! Nice, now we can see about getting that damn thing!"

"Hold on, it's not labeled, I need to sift through the data to get clearer data…"

"Oh come on!" Leona complained, jumping back down from her perch on a storage rack.

"Go log out and get a drink, I'll be fine sifting through this," I commanded her, leaning up against a crate marked with big letters that said "FIREARMS."

Leona pouted, probably wanting to spend more time jumping from aisle to aisle, but obliged and opened her menu to log out. In the corner of my vision, I could see her avatar walk towards me, then turn herself in the same direction as me, and take a knee. She probably set that up in the settings, which was possible due to the sheer number of options there were.

I clicked my tongue, still glancing from folder window to folder window, image to image, trying to line up the data piece by piece. This is what most people in GGO would call a "goddamn snore-fest," but I would call it just another day. I was usually a relatively quick mapper, but with the sheer scope of the data–something like fourteen terabytes worth–it was a nightmare to compute. Thankfully my implant had an automatic Mapping ECC module, which made the process of finding the correct mapping data more like a puzzle where you just try different pieces over and over again.

As I continued to decompile and organize the raw map data, my brain mulled over the events that had occurred until now. A part of me felt that the ambush from Dyne's squad was significantly too early to be reasonable, but another part said that it was probably just a coincidence that the fight broke out. On the former side, OiOiOi and Takashi did whisper on the ride over to the spaceport. Maybe they were communicating with Dyne's squad, preparing them for the ambush that was soon to come.

My tongue clicked just as I completed the map, and all thoughts prior were off the table. I gave Leona's avatar a nudge with my boot. This would notify Oyogu in the real world that her avatar was being tampered with, prompting her to log in immediately, and in just over thirty seconds…

"Where are they, where the hell are they?!" Leona shot up and pulled her pistol out from her hip, aiming around in anticipation.

"There's no one here. I'm done mapping, here's the compiled data."

"Oh! See, you can be useful!"

"And you can be an asshole… Oh, how perfect we are," I moaned, closing all the windows in my vision to see Leona digging through a crate with nothing but her behind to her feet visible. I turned around and started digging through the ammo crate I had leaned on just moments prior.

Inside, I picked up enough ammo to fully replenish my spent bullets for my rifle and pistol. I even found a spare battery for my Kagemitsu G4, my lightsword that I rarely had a reason to use in normal combat.

Leona and I spent the next 15 minutes continuing to ransack the storage room, acquiring enough healing items to (hopefully) survive the rest of the session, and even some buffs that just so happened to be there.

Dyne's squadron had finally found them… supposedly. At this point, Dyne was basically guessing where both of the top players were throughout the space-port. It was certain that they hadn't found the rarest item in all of GGO, but not unlikely either… Dyne had ordered his squad to blast down doors left right and center up until now. Once he saw the sign that read "Storage Vault," he had a metaphorical lightbulb explode in his brain.

Dyne proclaimed "Well, of course they'd be in there! They're both shit-outta ammo, and there's bound to be ammo in there!"

Sinon simply sighed at Dyne's reasoning, but everyone else seemed to waltz directly into his line of thinking. But it also turned out that Dyne had a special surprise for them…

After fiddling around in his menu for a little bit, and peaking into the small view-port of the door to see that they were actually in there, Dyne had all the reason to pull out one of the most deadly items in all of GGO; a MADD, or a Miniature Atomic Detonation Device. It was–as the name suggested–a compressed and smaller-than-usual atom bomb. It had the same killing power as a regular atomic bomb but was scaled down so much to the point that it could be detonated in only one room and destroy the house it was contained in, assuming conditions were right.

"Okay, here's the plan… We'll fire a barrage into this Vault, and once we shoot down the door, I'll roll this in, and Sinon here will shoot them to kingdom come… Sound good?"

All the men in the squad agreed, while Sinon only gave a crisp nod, and went down to the farthest point of the corridor that could still see inside the room.

Dyne and his men took their kneel in front of her and on his signal…

BAPBAPBAPBAPBAP!

TUETUETUETUETUETUE!

BOBOBOBOBOBOBOW!

Nearly 500 holes now showed into the door before it simply toppled over like a sheet of paper placed on its side. Dyne quickly got on his feet to roll the MADD like a bowling ball, and once it was confidently inside, Sinon lined up the shot, took a deep breath… and pulled the trigger.

The shockwave from the MADD pushed the entire squad farther into the corridor, toppling those who took a knee and others who opted to stand up to fire their guns. The only one that managed to stay put was Sinon, but she had to quickly move before the radiation would kill her. God only knew if Zenith and Leona were killed by the explosion.

Leona coughed in my arms. In the top left of my vision, our health bars were both thin and red, but slowly climbing back up. We weren't shot, but the explosion had ripped Leona of one of her legs and somehow managed to put something directly into her left eye… That meant she wouldn't have the assistance of depth perception anymore, but that barely mattered now. I gave Leona one of my stims once more, and then used another one on myself.

"Ugh… augh… Leona… We need to go…" I muttered, somehow managing to carry myself after such a blast.

"You'll need to carry me…"

"Figured as much… C'mon…" I picked Leona up and put her over my shoulder, and took out my lightsword, flicking it on, and using it as a flashlight… Now, I had to find that item, no matter what…