Floor 6 - Boss - Pierce the Rogue Manticore

January 3rd, 2023 - 06:08am - Floor 6 Lyusulan Camp

To say that none of the group were happy was an understatement. Not only had Jet nearly killed himself, trying to fight Kysala on his own, but somehow, the damned Fallen Elf had stolen the key, and potentially survived... again. Luckily for them, the Commander had been far more forgiving than Jet had expected... which is to say that his head was still attached to his body, and not rolling through the mud. Unsurprisingly, he hadn't been particularly happy about it, but he had recognised that Jet had been in no position to even notice the loss of the Agate Key, let alone do anything about it, especially during the heat of battle. This hadn't stopped Jet's annoyance at himself though, and his claims that he should've recognised that getting up close to Kysala, who was known for using trickery in combat, had been a stupid idea. It had taken Kizmel literally slapping some sense into him, to discourage him from that line of thinking...

''Now we know that they have the Agate Key, that means we can be fairly certain where they will try next - the key that is sealed on the Seventh Floor. However, human swordsmen and women, don't be so discouraged. As far as outcomes go, this is far from the worst. The Fallen Elf Kysala is either dead, or sent away with their tail between their legs, whilst all of you survived. We also still maintain possession of thee other keys too.'' - Jet nodded, admitting that the ranting and raving earlier had been more than a little childish, but not accepting that would've looked pathetic. He didn't accept the commander's statement that they'd done better than could've been expected, given the circumstances.

As if to break his train of thought, Lisbeth spoke up with a suggestion - ''Umm, I know we've been fighting, but couldn't we work with the Forest Elves? We do have a mutual enemy...''

''Erm... that's-it's kind of complicated...'' - Koharu attempted to explain, but was interrupted by Kizmel. ''The problem is that the Forest Elves desire to unseal the Sanctuary, whilst we would rather it be sealed. Both the Fallen and Forest Elves desire it unsealed, so it is easier for them to work together, I suppose.''

''That's why the enemy is insidious.''

''The Fallen Elves are still trying to pit us against each other, but I feel that it cannot just be a grudge about being banished to the frigid, closed off north in ancient times.''

''Yes, we impede their monopoly on the Sanctuary. They must want us to exhaust ourselves, battling one another into mutual destruction. In that case, no matter who tries for them - the keys will be theirs...''

''We cannot delay this any further, Commander. I will report to Her Majesty to solidify the Sanctuary's defence.''

''The Queen... on the Ninth Floor castle.''

''Three floors up... we can't go with her, can we?''

''Kizmel. The defence of the Sanctuary is the duty of royalty. We are not to interfere.''

''But!-''

''A sage resides in the forest on the Seventh Floor. You should seek his advice. It may clear up your doubts.''

''You've... noticed?''

''You are not so weak as to be mislead by the Fallen. But they have made you more aware of your existing suspicions. Am I right?''

''Correct. About what is sealed in the Sanctuary... is true loyalty protecting without knowing?'' - Jet kept quiet. His opinions were that 'true loyalty' wasn't a thing to aspire to - to him, the only person someone should be truly loyal to, was themselves. True loyalty meant standing by someone, and to someone else, that would mean regardless of actions, no matter how heinous they were, and no matter how much damage it caused to anyone... he suspected that opinion might get his head lopped off if he expressed it.

''I cannot answer that. But I believe that the sage can guide you through your doubt. You ought to go.''

''A sage? The elder they said has lived since the Great Separation...'' - Questioned Koharu.

''Nay. He was once an Imperial Guard, but he resigned. I believe you should all visit, as I can see you haven't all grasped the truth, and are wracked with doubts.'' - Jet hadn't failed to notice the look that the Commander gave him in particular.

''Well then, this is where we part ways for a brief time. I wish for the Sacred Tree's protection on your way. All of you, be safe please.''

''We'll do our best!''

''Until we meet again!'' - Kizmel departed, as the group looked towards the ground, leaving a sorrowful atmosphere as she left.

''Now then, I suppose I must reward you.''

''Even though the key was taken?''

''Recovering and protecting the keys are the duties of us knights. You helped the young knight, despite being human. Keeping conflict with the Kales'Oh is also commendable. A fitting reward... you should take this. It is too good for us.''

''Is that the Elf Quest done here? That was rough...'' - Lisbeth shared Jet's attitude for this one, though admittedly, she hadn't been put through quite the same ringer he had. He looked as if he was barely keeping himself awake at this point, with the bags under his eyes, and the almost silent treatment he was giving everyone.

''Was it? I had a blast!'' - Yuuki, on the other hand...

''You would. So, what was the reward?''

''Umm, Col, items, and oooh, an ingot of Soul Copper!''

''The thing refined from the coins with all the backstory? Well, it's not your average copper anyway... wonder if you could use it to make something fantastic? Maybe turn it back into bronze, could make a decent blade from that...''

''I think that you should have it, Lisbeth.''

''Huh? Why me?''

''You're the only blacksmith out of all of us, and you did help us, after all. You could make Yuuki a sword out of this, right?''

''Would you mind?'' - Yuuki was now bouncing up and down on her heels fast enough that Jet could swear he saw an afterimage at times...

''Not at all! We came here promising we'd get you all the materials to make a sword, Yuuki!''

''And you did save our skins once or twice.''

''If you're all okay with it... then yes! Leave it to me! I'll put my whole heart into it!'' - Lisbeth began setting up her forge, whilst Jet and Koharu took a seat, and Yuuki stood on, watching over the blacksmith. Whilst Jet would be the first to admit, he was still processing the night's events, he had to admit that the spectacle of watching a sword being produced was a welcome distraction...albeit, he was feeling his eyes start to go heavy.

Lisbeth put the ingot down onto the forge, and began psyching herself up - ''Forget all my idle thoughts... Here goes!'' - The first impact struck true - ''My spirit, my hammer!'' - More strikes rang down on the metal, and it began to shape into something resembling a sword

''It's such a great sound! I feel like singing!''

''You look great, Lisbeth! Serious, but happy...'' - Another few strikes, and a sword emerged from under the smith's hammer. Lisbeth handed the sword over to Yuuki, who was currently grinning as if she'd won the lottery...

''How about it, Yuuki? Try it out!''

''Heh, Jet...'' - At that precise moment, Jet felt a sense of self preservation develop in a previous unfilled part of his mind. Evidently, they'd found another monkey to fill that particular typewriter... ''I'll go easy on you! Ready your weapon!''

''Let's see what you've got...'' - Yuuki swung, and the blade collided with Hope, in a motion that Jet could just imagine Lisbeth wincing at, but that Yuuki found quite impressive. The sparks between the blades hadn't done much to dissuade her on that one, either...

''This is... erm...'' - For the briefest moment, Jet could swear he saw Lisbeth's soul leave her body... - ''AMAZING! It's such a good blade! Light, strong, and feels right at home in my hand... I think I'm in love!''

''Could've sworn I saw that one on Channel 5 once...'' - Jet quipped, as Yuuki raced forward, and tackled Lisbeth into a hug... whilst still holding her new sword.

''Nyagh! Yeesh... HEY! Don't hug me whilst you're holding that thing!'' - Both Jet and Koharu fought back laughing fits at the scene, whilst Yuuki realised her mistake - ''Heh, sorry! I got too excited!'' - Yuuki sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck as she apologised.

''Geez... I should say thanks too. You gave me the confidence to keep being a blacksmith. But it might be a little hard to live, doing what you love, in a world like this one... so if I can help out, and make people happy, I can be proud of myself... and I owe you two too. You guys keep the rest of the reward! Go take down the floor boss!''

''Oh yeah, you guys are going to the Labyrinth, right?''

''Yeah, you're more than welcome to join, Yuuki?''

''Mm, I'm not that ready yet. I'm only halfway there.''

''That does remind me though... the Commander never mentioned what we're up against, so we have to figure it out on our own...'' - Jet groaned at the prospect. ''You two. It feels weird to say it again, but... win. You two are my best potential clients, so you need to move up. Really... I can't have you dying.''

''I'll go exploring when the Seventh Floor unlocks! With this sword by my side! So we'll definitely meet again!''

''Yeah! For sure!''

As the couple found their way to the labyrinth, two absences were extremely obvious. The guild leaders were both completely absent. That in itself was bizarre, but the fact that none of the guild members, of either the ALS or DKB, were arguing... for once. A small group had formed, and at the centre, perhaps unsurprisingly, were Kirito and Asuna...

''I'm guessing your lot haven't heard from Kibaou then...''

''Nope, and it's weird for Lind to go off like this, everyone's shook up a little.''

Both Jet and Koharu glanced at each other, with a sense of unease. That wasn't good news, if both Kibaou and Lind were AWOL...

''Ah! Just the people we could do with!'' - Uh oh.

''Errr... mind explaining what's going on first?''

''Lately, you all keep snatching the boss kills from us. Well, you and that purple chick, anyway.'' - Strea. No more explanation needed. - ''There was an argument between both of 'em, and it just because a slinging match of insults.''

'Both of 'em went AWOL at the same point, and we think they decided to settle it like men-'' - Or idiots. More likely to be the latter. - ''-and so, they decided to beat the boss before the Beater- sorry, Kirito- and took a small group of the best of each guild to beat the boss.'' - Jet rolled his eyes.

''They even hid the strategy meeting from us... despite the fact that we don't care who beats the boss.'' - Kirito seemed to bristle at that last statement, and Jet- for once - decided to be quiet on that matter... - ''But it didn't go well, apparently.''

''What a surprise.'' - Again, eyes were rolling. ''And here I thought they were the SAS of Aincrad...'' - Koharu shot Jet a glare to tell him to knock it off.

''The raid left for the boss floor hours ago. It seems everyone's alive at least, but we can't get in touch with them. We were just talking about making a search party to go and help them.''

''You guys don't stand a chance against the boss. You'll only end up wiped out yourselves... so leave it to us.''

''Us too!''

''Of course, that's why we called you over.'' - They had just wandered over, so that wasn't strictly true, but Jet understood the point she was trying to make. - ''Our enemy is a boss that the best of all three guilds are struggling with, so we need all the reliable allies we can get.''

''Yep, we're counting on you.''

''No pressure then...''

''Hi, umm, I know I'm asking a little bit too much here, but... everyone, please help Kibaou. Please.''

''You don't have to ask. We'll help them when we defeat the boss. That's all. Well then, we should be off...''

Asuna sighed at her partner, before turning to the present couple - ''And yet again, he's talking like that! Is it really that embarrassing to just be honest and say 'yes, I'll help you'?''

''Some people don't want to look weak. Masculinity and all that...''

''You two...'' - Koharu interjected, and pointed at Kirito, who was now easily 150 metres ahead of them, and gaining distance rapidly...

''We'd better catch up, else he'll go in on his own too... I'll chase after him! Be safe, you two!''

''Guess we should get going too...''

''Can't let them hog the glory, right?''

''Don't start with that...'' - Jet gave a soft laugh, as they both started sprinting after the pair...

25 minutes later, around 08:38am - Floor 6 Labyrinth

Koharu was keeping her eyes on Jet, even more closely than usual. Last night had clearly been rough on the knight, especially with how vicious his attacks had been on Kysala. Koharu almost felt some sympathy for them, until she remembered all the evil things the Fallen had done, and that they in particular had planned, at which point that sympathy disappeared entirely. Even so, she'd had moments of rest in the past day or so... Jet hadn't. He'd been awake since New Year's Day, when they arrived on the Sixth Floor... almost 48 hours ago now. Even if, as Asuna had told her, sleep deprivation couldn't kill you in itself... the consequences of your decisions in that state easily could. If it were for how much was on the line now, she'd have told Asuna and Kirito outright that they were in no real state for a major fight...

''You okay, Ko?''

''Huh? Oh, yeah, just thinking.''

''Anything I can help with?''

''Nope. It'll go away once we're done here, just a bit of a nagging doubt, that's all.''

''Alright, we're all here now.''

''Let's get in there and rescue the raid group...''

''Umm, Asuna? What exactly are we facing?'' - Jet could see Asuna trying not to slap her own face in annoyance, as she realised that her partner had completely forgot to brief the couple on the upcoming fight.

''I didn't say? Oh, no. Must've been in more of a rush than I thought... During the beta, it was this huge tiger like monster.''

''That could easily have changed though.''

''The info we got from the boss quest described it as 'a red fleshed, man eating monster, with claws to end all life'... Well, the info we got from Argo said that, anyway. But all we know for sure is-'' - It's called the Stig, Jet fought desperately not to say - ''-it's got the nature of a fierce animal. Maybe if we'd had chance to progress further on the other quests, we could've gotten some more useful info.''

''But we don't have time to find out, do we?''

''Nope, the boss should be behind this door, since that's where the raid group is pinned down. No time for rehearsals... you ready?''

''As I'll ever be.'' - Koharu mumbled, unsheathing her Faith.

''Doesn't matter either way... Thunderbirds are GO!'' - Jet shouted, in what might possibly have been the strangest war cry ever recorded, as the group opened the door, and raced into the boss room...

''Huh. They are still alive...'' - Jet muttered aloud, earning him a slight scowl from Koharu.

''Goth boy an' friends! We're doin' great, unfortunately for ya's!''

''Errmm, weren't you literally just screaming that 'we're doomed!'?'' - Questioned an unseen member of the ALS.

''Absolutely not! I was saying that ya's are doomed if ya'll retreat now...'' - ''If you say so'', went very much unsaid...

''Yeah, he seems normal.'' - Asuna had a way with words sometimes. Usually a way of completely destroying a man's ego in one sentence... as she'd just done to Kibaou. - ''What's the situation?''

''The boss is as you see...'' - And naturally, Lind's pomp still hadn't disappeared during a fight.

''A tiger... with red fur, and... is that a human face?!'' - Koharu looked halfway between shocked, and disgusted at the genetic monstrosity stood in front of them. Jet joined in with her on that one, his face scrunching up just looking at the creature... ''Eww, someone really hit that thing with the ugly stick, didn't they!?''

''It says it's Pierce the Rogue Manticore. A man eating monster with the body of a tiger, tail of a scorpion and the face of a human. The big tiger in the beta used claws and fangs. Its leaping attacks blew away players like they were dead leaves, but...''

''I dunno if that damn face makes it smarter or what, but it's a vicious beast! Damn thing jumps all over the place, and uses the small fry for shields... we can't get it ta take much damage!''

''I hate to say it, but even with those guys hitting it... we're pretty much at a stalemate. If we could get an opening...''

''Asuna, Kirito, Jet, could the four of us handle the mobs? If they're forming a shield for it, then...''

''Umm, yeah... oh. Koharu, I could kiss you right now!'' - Asuna could see her friend grinning like a Cheshire cat at the thought... honestly, she wasn't sure which unnerved her more - the... thing they were fighting, or Koharu...

''Maybe save the PDAs till we get outta here!'' - For once, Kibaou spoke up as the voice of reason. It was one of those days.

''Kibaou, Lind, get everyone to strike it, whilst we hold off the mobs. You won't have all that long though, so hurry up!''

''Gotcha, we'll ground it and surround it!'' - The two guilds charged in, whilst the small group prepared to face the music themselves...

The mobs that the Rogue Manticore spawned were no laughing matter... but they certainly weren't to the same level as the boss. If they kept alert, and watched their surroundings, the fight against them wasn't as fierce a challenge as any of them had expected. Still, it wasn't like this was exactly the situation that any of them wanted - a little more chance to plan would've helped no end, really. All things considered though, the ALS/DKB force was doing it's job pretty damn well, making sure the boss didn't meddle with them, whilst they kept the mobs off the others.

''Kirito!'' - CLANG! A pincer slammed off Jet's shield, as Jet took a lesson from the Roman Legions, and slammed Hope into the nearest soft spot of the mob that he could find, whilst his unplanned partner readied up a Sword Skill.

''On it!''

The furball between the group and the mobs was beginning to remind Jet of his days in the Honey Badgers - especially the damn furballs, and ending up with someone else's wingman halfway through an evasive manoeuvre to keep alive. For a brief moment, he began to smile, before a mob attempted to rush him, and received a lesson in why he was one of the highest levelled players in this world, turning the Sickle into nothing more than pixels...

''We're finally gettin' somewhere!'' - The Manticore was down to it's last health bar, and the mobs were finally starting to reduce in numbers, with Jet and Kirito working to corral them into a position for Asuna and Koharu to take them out of the fight. That hadn't exactly been the plan, but well...

''Jet!''

''Oh fu-'' - BOOOMPPH - Jet raised his shield just in time, as the Manticore slammed into the ground, firing Jet into the air. In that moment, Koharu froze up as time slowed down to a crawl... luckily for everyone, he landed a few feet away, before skidding to the other side of the room, his HP down into the yellow, but he was still alive, and mildly pissed off.

''Last one!'' - The final blows hit the Manticore, and the beast toppled over. For the first time since the start, everyone could breathe easily...

''Well, I'm glad that one's over. That face will continue to haunt my nightmares...'' - Jet staggered back over to the group, and retrieved his shield from it's resting place on the floor.

''It certainly wasn't pleasant to look at, I'll give you that.''

''You two are getting stronger, especially Koharu.''

''Yeah, and the Raid Group are all still safe, which is a relief.''

''Thank god... it worked out. We pulled through, because we worked with the ALS!''

''What's this outta nowhere? Don't give praise like that, it's creepy!''

''I was just thinking, about what Diavel said... I mean, I don't want to unify the guilds now, but next time, I think we should do a joint raid. All three of us - DKB, ALS, HOA...''

''Hmph, I'd be up for it...''

Jet turned his head away from the two leaders, and turned towards Koharu, who was smiling at the scene she could see - ''If ALS and DKB can meet halfway, then it was all worth it, right?''

''Yeah, I think it could be.''

''Kibaou, what the hell are you saying!'' - ''Though not whilst idiots like him are still in the guilds.'' - Jet thought sadly.

''(sighs) Him again... Wasn't he the one who kept speaking up to try and make us, Kirito, umm everyone else actually, look bad?''

''Yup, only one voice that sounds like it's completely disconnected from a brain, here in Aincrad...''

''We wouldn't have had such a hard time in the battle if that Beater hadn't gotten involved, and that bastard Diavel had just given us the Guild Flag! Rather than took it for his own selfish needs!'' - It didn't take a genius to notice that Kibaou was about to explode at the idiot, and if Jet had to guess, Lind wasn't too far off either - both of them either being Diavel's friends, or his apprentices... Jet had never quite worked out which one it was. Surprisingly though, it was Asuna who exploded first - ''Excuse me?!''

''You two, you can quit acting like this isn't your issue! You're as guilty as they are!''

''Huh?'' - Both Jet and Koharu gave blank looks at the yelling idiot.

''You're friends with that goth beater! You didn't tell us the boss changed, even though you knew!''

''We didn't know about the boss either!''

''Bullshit! You did the Elf War Quest too!''

''Which told us absolutely nothing about the boss.''

''Yet you beat the boss with some special quest reward weapons, didn't you! Hogging it all up, getting all cocky...''

''Firstly, I don't think we even landed a single blow on the boss. It landed more on me, than I did it, and that was once. Secondly, the reward for clearing the quest was an ingot for smithing, not a weapon... and thirdly, because I can tell which direction the fat hamster in your little mind is going, no, you can't have it, because we gave it to someone else, to make them a sword.''

''Then give us the weapon!'' - Jet facepalmed at the level of stupidity on display here.

''You need to shut up, and stop acting so damn selfish! Cut it out! You're just accusing us, because you don't like us, or Kirito! Why can you not get it through your thick skulls that all of us were fighting to help...''

''Asuna, stop. You don't need to make enemies with them...''

''No, carry on Asuna, because I've had my reservations till now. Go on then, tell us exactly what your game is here.''

''My game!? What about you! All that swagger, and yet I've never seen you win a fight...'' - Jet's ego took a small beating there, but... wait, hang on... never seen me win a fight? I've only done PvP to teach Koharu the basics, and against... Morte. Jet's blood ran cold momentarily, and almost everyone could see the look of anger in Jet's eyes, before it flashed back to a look of annoyance.

''Maybe if you removed you head from your arse every once in a while, you would've... But sure, rant, rave and name call all you like, hell it might just make you feel listened to... 'cause I'll tell you one thing. No one is listening to you, not the ALS, not the DKB, hell, not even whichever god you may choose to believe in, and d'ya want to know why? Because you are pathetic. Not in the weak way, but you are a truly pathetic being, because all you've ever done is try to sow division... I'd almost be willing to accuse you of working with Morte, if I thought you were even halfway competent!'' - Even Kirito seemed slightly caught off guard by just how much of a verbal beat down Jet was giving this guy. - ''Because literally all you've ever done in this game is try to make everyone out as your enemy. It's honestly kind of sad, just how desperate to be heard you actually are...'' - Jet watched this guy's body language carefully, as the name Morte seemed to cause him to tense up, which was certainly interesting...

''You wanna think you're all that! Fight me!'' - Jet rolled his eyes, and just sniggered. ''What's funny!? Huh!?'' - To most people, having a sword pointed towards them was the epitome of the phrase 'no laughing matter'. To Jet though, it was quite amusing...

''I've seen 9 year olds that have been more mature than you. Someone hurts your feelings, so you try to fight them...''

''Jet, leave it be now.'' - Koharu didn't wish to see her boyfriend lying on the floor after a fatal stabbing, so tried to talk him out of this path...

''Oh no, this isn't getting left, I demand vengeance!'' - Kibaou seemed to be the most surprised, but not at the overreaction to the taunting.

''No, he doesn't.'' - For the first time, Jet actually respected Kibaou for getting involved - ''The hell are ya playin' at?''

''They're making us all look bad!''

''They aren't the ones makin' us look bad...'' - Surprisingly, the pathetic weasel shut up, and a relatively peaceful conversation returned...

''I was doing the Elf War Quest too, I'll give you the reward I got. It really is just a normal ingot. Probably the best kind of material you can get on the Sixth Floor though. Look into it until you're satisfied, then you can both talk it out and decide what to do with it...''

''Huh?! Kirito, you don't have to do that!''

''I'm a Beater, and it's just a quest reward... I won't miss it. I can get better stuff on higher floors anyway. I'm pretty confident I get lots, faster than anyone else.'' - Jet looked over towards Asuna, and watched her sigh, evidently not liking where this conversation was going. - ''Also... I'm not going to join the next boss battle.''

''Yer kiddin', right?!''

''I'll help, if the guilds want me to, and I'm even willing to join raids. But you can manage with your own strength, right? I'm sure you'll be fine if you just do your prep work. It's just... aside from me, those guys are 'filthy beaters'. They're players who worked their way up to this point under the same conditions as you. Even if I'm not there... if they need help, I want you to give it to them.''

''If that's your will, then ALS has no objections.''

''The Dragon Knights Brigade agrees. So long as the players other than Kirito don't work against us, we'll be hospitable.''

''That is all I ask.''

''Jet, can I borrow you for a second?''

''Sure... but anything you can say to me, you can say to her.''

''Yer both pals with the emo Beater, yeah? Tell 'im that I say thanks, wouldtcha?''

''Tell him? You can't do it yourself?''

''I gotta worry 'bout my position, ya know that. I can't overcome this situation right now. I'm tryin' wit' all I got to lead ALS. I can't let 'em see me bowin' to Dracula Boy. None of 'em would follow me. Honestly... I can't help but feel I ain't cut out for this.''

''As long as you've got people like that numpty earlier, yeah... you can do your best, but...'' - It seemed that Kibaou understood exactly what was being said, as he gave the couple an almost resigned look... ''I talked yer ear off, din't I? Hurry on up ta the next boss fight. See ya.''

20 minutes later...

''Kirito, the raid party's gone back to the town to resupply. Can I ask, are you really not going to join in the boss battles?''

''Yeah, it's for the best. It'd be no joke if there were casualties because they were too desperate to get the jump on me.''

''Nope, just a bit pathetic instead...''

''I suppose this is the price I pay for being a top player? Haha... So yeah. Asuna, you don't have to come with me.''

''What? Don't try to act cool and decide for me! Kirito, you idiot...''

''Asuna, we'll go on ahead, and find somewhere to get some rest. I'm with you, by the way, so you should give it to him real good!'' - Jet began contorting his face, to avoid forming a massive smirk. ''That wasn't what I meant!''

''Heehee, yeah, we'll see you later...''

The couple began to walk off, and talk amongst themselves. - ''Asuna, she was crying... She tough, so I'm sure she's fine, but... We already know that beta knowledge won't help with the floor bosses anymore, but things always end up this way. It's rough...''

''We're just gonna have to work harder to fill that gap, right?''

''Yeah... it was really scary earlier, when that guy accused us of withholding information. I still don't understand how you can act so calm like that...''

Jet shrugged. If he really had to put it down to any one factor, it'd be anger at the irritating member of the ALS, and the possibility of their connection to Morte.

''Kirito always felt like that, and yet he still kept fighting. To beat all one hundred floors. That's what everyone wants, right?'' - Jet nodded, and noticed Koharu moving closer to him - ''Then why does it feel like we're still being pitched against each other, like the guilds were in the Elf War Quest? I've even started to wonder if maybe someone's trying to do it deliberately... you don't think Morte might have been behind all of this, do you?''

''No, I don't think so, at least...'' - Jet left his concerns at someone using Morte as a piece on a board of an ineffable game, inside his head. That man in the poncho though... it couldn't have been a coincidence, could it?

''It couldn't be that though, could it? There can't be anyone that doesn't want to leave this place!''

''We need sleep, badly...'' - Jet mumbled, as he felt his eyelids getting heavy, an unsurprising feeling, given he'd been awake for nearly two days now...

''Agreed, back to town?''

''Back to town.''

Some time later, Floor 6 - Stachion Inn

For once, Jet was eternally grateful for his bed. He almost felt as if he could stay there forever, although he knew that would never happen... not only would Koharu ensure that wasn't the case, but he was certain his short attention span would have something to say about being sat in bed for eternity. He really wished his mind would at least have the common courtesy to be on his side...

Still though, everything that had happened this far in the day had been cause for concern to him - how exactly had Kysala pulled a success from rapidly approaching death, and had Koharu spotted something he hadn't, with the mouthy SOB in the ALS? Urgh, just two more questions with no obvious answers... he thought, as he closed his eyes, and drifted off...

Despite how tired she was, Koharu wasn't finding it easy to sleep. Maybe she'd been used to actually having a sleep schedule, or maybe there was something on her mind, but regardless, she couldn't just close her eyes and rest. She thought about earlier, and an image came to her mind - her partner, her boyfriend even, being stabbed by the same obnoxious member of the ALS, whilst everyone else stared on in horror. That wouldn't happen, would it? - she asked out loud, as she felt an arm wrapping around her waist, and heard Jet mumbling something - ''Please... please don't... don't leave...'' - He was asleep, that much she knew, so this must've been another nightmare. From her occasional experiences with them, she wanted to try to help as best she could, and pulled him into as tight of a hug as she could - ''I won't leave you, don't worry. I'll stay by your side...''

About ten minutes later, Jet awoke from his nightmare, sweat dripping onto his pillow, but with a sense of relief. Koharu was still there, although he did have to ask, why was she hugging him like a child hugs a teddy bear? She wasn't this clingy normally...

''Are you okay?''

''I've been better, but...''

''You know I'll listen, if you want to tell me.''

''I... it was just a nightmare. That's all, Ko.''

''If you say so... can I ask something?''

''Uh, sure.''

''Can we stay like this for a bit? I've just gotten comfy...'' - Jet laughed quietly, but continued holding her.

''Sure.''

{Author's Comments}

Channel 5 is a British TV channel, known for it's more... unusual documentaries, and low brow content. From memory, some of them not far off from what Jet implies. Although, imagining ''The Girl Who Loved Her Sword'', and I'm having to take a break after every time I even think it. I am a gigantic child, I'm aware...

Obscure references aside, quick notice - Tomorrow (23rd Feb), there'll be another update. I was in two minds whether to release it tomorrow (as relevant), or wait until after certain events in the story happen to make sense of things. I've decided that, if nothing else, it sort of acts as a look into how I'll be continuing the story, once the Elf War arc is over (at this rate, maybe mid-Spring.).

So, with that out of the way, and the Sixth Floor done, as usual, any comments are welcome, and thanks for reading,

Signing off, Midland 2541