Oath of Rebellion

by Solid Shark

Tired of spending a life studying to reach an empty future, Asuna enters Sword Art Online, a world of swords and airships, to gain some measure of freedom. When she is trapped, she throws herself into building a new life for herself, as far from what her parents intended as she can. Meeting a dark swordsman sets her on a new course, in Aincrad's skies...

7. Chapter VII: A Lie of Omission

Chapter VII: "A Lie of Omission"

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December 8th, 2032

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It's been four days now, since the Swordmasters killed Illfang. Since their fake "knight" was brought here. What are we waiting for?

Sitting on the grass, leaning against the Osmanthus tree, Alice tried not to think those thoughts. She was here, in the Cloudtop Garden, to relax. To let go of tension, to prepare herself for when orders finally did come to her. Not to brood, and certainly not to second-guess the Highest Administrator's decisions.

Even so, it was difficult. In the light streaming in from the windows set high in the walls, her sword resting with the tree from which it had been forged, Alice was usually comforted by Centoria Cathedral's garden. It was where she'd descended, when the Axiom Church's Pontifex had called her from on high, and remained as close to "home" as she ever felt. Yet today, all she could think about was the invasion, and how little had been done about it.

The Swordmasters seemed little threat, on the surface. Two thousand of them had died already, on the First Island. It had taken them a month to even assail one Barrier Guardian, and the word was that it had taken them a day after that to make for the Second Island. Doubtless they were still fumbling around Niian's coast at best—and Niian possessed dangers Einsla had not. At that rate, the Swordmasters would all be dead long before they came anywhere near the core of the Aincrad Archipelago.

But Uncle Bercouli is right. They killed Illfang with no deaths, and fewer fighters than Kayaba had estimated would be needed. And that man….

"Is something wrong, Alice?"

Alice closed her eyes for a moment, stifling a sigh. She was sure he meant well, at least. "I'm simply feeling a little restless, Sir Eugeo," she said, opening her eyes and looking up at the newcomer. "The current situation is unusual, after all. I'm sure Her Excellency has everything under control, however."

"Things have been unsettled since the Swordmasters were summoned," Eugeo agreed, walking over to lean against the tree. Unlike her the blonde Integrity Knight wore no armor, just his blue coat, the picture of unconcern. "I was called more recently than you, but from what I understand the Human Empire hasn't faced a threat like this in centuries. It's only natural to wonder what they're doing."

"Indeed." She hesitated. Eugeo was hardly her preferred company, but it was true that he saw the Pontifex more often than most Integrity Knights. Perhaps he had heard something she hadn't. "Have you any word about the Swordmaster I captured?"

He lifted his hands in a shrug, shaking his head. "Her Excellency's been occupied with him since you returned. Questioning him, I'd guess. Or maybe… no, never mind." Eugeo turned his gaze to the Garden's small stream, and the fish darting through it. "As far as I know, she hasn't come out since. The Commander did say he thinks she's waiting until she knows more before acting against the Swordmasters again."

"Ah. That makes sense."

It was oddly reassuring sometimes, to know that even the Highest Administrator needed to think before she acted. If nothing else, it made Alice's own mistakes easier to bear, knowing her master didn't expect perfection.

Which doesn't make the waiting any easier. Kayaba, our old foes in the elven races, even the machinations of Vector… there are too many plots in the darkness these days. That man—Kirito—was probably just one more. His question meant nothing.

…Though his blade may be something else. He did strike down Illfang, in the end.

Perhaps she was silent too long. Eugeo turned to look down at her again, brow furrowing in a frown. "Alice, are you sure there's nothing else…?"

Alice was spared the need to answer—or prevaricate—by another voice cutting in. "Ah, there you are, young lady!" Stepping out of the door at the Garden's far end, hands tucked into his robe's sleeves, Bercouli grinned at her. "Alice, you've been far too tense lately. It's time to fix that."

She pushed herself to her feet at once. "Are there orders, Uncle?" Just barely, she kept herself from adding "finally".

From the twinkle in his eye, Bercouli heard it anyway. "That there are, little one. Get your sword and come with me. Her Excellency isn't finished with Diavel, but she's heard enough to want to test the waters."

Trying not to look too eager, Alice pulled her Osmanthus Blade free of the tree. Before sheathing it, she ran one armored hand over the blade, and nodded to herself in satisfaction. Not that she'd expected differently, but it was still reassuring to feel her sword restored to its full strength. "Where are we going, Uncle?"

"And will you be needing me, as well, Commander?" Eugeo put in, stepping away from the tree.

Bercouli waved a hand. "Her Excellency still wants the rest of us on standby for now," he said, shaking his head. "At least until we know for sure just what Diavel was able to do with that World Gate. Kayaba's magic… well. There's still too much we don't know, and the last thing we need is to find out the Swordmasters can somehow waltz right into the Cathedral."

Alice winced. That was an ugly thought. Unlikely in the extreme, but then just a few days ago she wouldn't have thought the Swordmasters could have even killed Illfang, much less that Diavel had the means—or knowledge—to do what they already knew he had.

"I see," Eugeo said, inclining his head respectfully. "Then I'll see to it that nothing happens here while Alice is gone."

"You do that." Bercouli turned away, leading Alice toward the stairs leading higher into the Cathedral. "Come, young lady, let's burn off some of that nervous energy. You've been more restless than Amayori since you brought Diavel here, and don't think I haven't noticed…."

---

Alice would have expected to be led down to the Dragon Landing Field, on the Cathedral's thirtieth floor. Instead Bercouli took her up, clear to the Morning Star Lookout, only five floors below the Pontifex's own chambers. "Uncle?" she asked, when they stepped out into the Lookout's mostly-open space. "What are we doing?"

"Testing the waters, young lady. Testing the Swordmasters, and testing Kayaba. One thing Her Excellency and I have both noticed: he never lied to us." He laughed at the look on her face. "Well, he didn't! He warned us someone was planning to invoke the Swordmaster summoning, and that all the races of elves were involved. It's not his fault we didn't think to ask if he was the one setting it all off."

"Well, that's still—" She broke off, frowning. "It's still a lie of omission, Uncle."

"True enough, Alice. But every word actually spoken was true, and Her Excellency wants to see just how far that goes." Chuckling ruefully, Bercouli led her toward the eastern edge of the Lookout, and what hung there just beyond Centoria Cathedral's outer wall.

Long, and lean. Built of strong timbers, painted a bright white, with what Alice thought were the broadest wing-sails she'd ever seen tucked in close. One great engine—a "thruster", she thought, not the propellers she'd seen on most ships—was built into the stern, just behind a low, sleek pilothouse. About fifty meters long, bristling with hatches over gunports, the airship was bigger and better armed than the Swordmasters' Liberator.

The ship also made Alice very uneasy. Integrity Knights preferred to travel by dragon, and she was no exception. Worse, this one had been a "gift" from Kayaba himself, built of mechanisms and for purposes that only heightened her tension.

"I know," Bercouli said quietly, reaching down to squeeze her shoulder. "I don't trust Kayaba either, and the idea of a disposable 'boss' ship doesn't do wonders for my nerves. And naming it Icarus' Lament? I don't know the story behind that, but it certainly doesn't sound good. But." He turned to face her directly. "We have to know, Alice. And Her Excellency believes you're the right Knight for the job."

Alice took a long, slow breath. The vote of confidence was certainly flattering, given that she was one of the newest Integrity Knights. It was also a level of responsibility for which she wasn't certain she was ready, and all the objections Bercouli cited were ones she'd already thought of herself.

But I am a Knight, and I will do my duty.

Squaring her shoulders, Alice nodded. "Of course, Uncle. But… will I be enough, all alone? That ship—Swordmasters would call her a 'heavy cruiser', I think. Surely such a large airship needs a large crew."

"According to Kayaba, not so much. Call it spells, call it programming… bah." Bercouli scratched the back of his head. "I've never had a head for magic or machinery. But supposedly, this thing is set up to run itself. Point her in the right direction, the 'Cardinal System' will handle the rest. Sorry to say, though, you'll have to leave Amayori behind for this mission. Icarus' Lament can push through the Skywalls, but it drains the core enough you can't go through too many too soon. Or so Kayaba said, anyway. So you'll have to take the long way."

She sighed. "I was afraid of that." If she couldn't go straight through the Skywalls, she'd need to take the Air Gates. As infrequent as those were, it was going to take days to get from Centoria all the way to Niian. Days without her dragon, and apparently without even other Integrity Knights for company. "…Do I at least get to bring books?"

He grinned, and clapped her on the shoulder. "Don't you worry, little one. Everything you need for the trip is already aboard." Sobering, he released her and stepped back. "On your way, Alice. We'll send another Knight to pick you up when the time comes. Keep in touch, and you'll be fine."

"…Understood." Taking a deep breath, Alice walked up Icarus' Lament's boarding plank. Stopping at the top, she turned, and brought her fist to her chest in salute. "I'll be going then, Commander. I will return victorious."

Bercouli Synthesis One, Commander of the Integrity Knights, returned the salute. Then he was turning away, walking back to the stairs leading deeper into the Cathedral, and she was heading for the airship's pilothouse. They each had their duties.

I don't know what "victory" will even mean, on this mission, Alice thought, settling into the sole chair in the pilothouse. If this ship runs herself, all I am is an observer. But I will observe everything. A short inspection of the control console's surprisingly simple layout, and she found the button to activate Lament's "autopilot". Are the Swordmasters truly a threat?

Engines set in vents along Lament's bow—"balancers", if Alice remembered her airship terminology correctly—lit up, turning the ship away from Centoria Cathedral. Then the main engine came to life with a roar, strangely muted by the pilothouse's bulkheads, and Lament began her journey. Cruising out over the city of Centoria, above so many of the people—or facsimiles thereof—Alice was sworn to protect, the ship aimed for the Central Island's Air Gate.

One thing I'm sure of, she thought, even as Lament's wing-sails unfurled, boosting the ship further. However far the Swordmasters may have reached, that man will be on the frontline. Ahead, the great, slowly-spinning ring yawned open, revealing an unnerving void. He alone stood there, knowing what I was, and dared to challenge me.

Kirito… this time, I'll have answers from you, by my own hand.

Icarus' Lament slipped into the Air Gate, and the world disappeared in a kaleidoscope of light.

---

"Well," Asuna said, sighing, "I'm not having any luck here. What about you guys?" She flipped through a few more pages of the musty book in her hand, before dropping it on the battered desk in disgust. "All I'm finding here is logistics. I'm sure how much flour the kitchens used in a day was important a couple hundred years ago, but it's pretty useless to us."

"Rations for dragonhorses," Kizmel said, setting another tome back on a shelf. "I'd forgotten the Crimson Knights even had Dragonhorse Cavalry. The Axiom Church rounded up the beasts even as they humbled the Order. I doubt you'd see any farther out than the Seventieth Island, now."

"Explains why I never heard of them at all," Kirito said absently, poking at a strongbox in one corner. "I knew about the Knights, but just old stories. I guess that side of them didn't do much heroic."

"And still no sign of what the Fuuma—or the Forest Elves—wanted with this place." Asuna walked over to the north window, carefully stepping around the gaping hole in the floor, and leaned against the sill. "I hate to say it, but we might have to go into the catacombs after all."

Three days after arriving on Niian, the three of them were investigating the Crimson Knights' Citadel, searching for clues. As far as even Argo the Rat knew, the place had nothing to do with the quest leading to the reclusive martial artist Master Ganryu. Kizmel had no idea what the Forest Elves might hope to gain from it. That made all of them quite nervous.

Argo had checked the place the day they'd arrived, only to find it harder to navigate than she'd remembered. The most she'd been able to do was scour the outbuildings and the lower floors of the main castle. The tower had been beyond her equipment, and the catacombs dark and complicated enough for her to have been unwilling to risk it solo.

The latter had been enough to make Moondancer's crew more than a little uneasy, leading them to take a day and a half to do ordinary quests around Urbus to prepare. None of them were willing to take chances.

Now, finally, with the assistance of Kirito's grapnel, they were at the top of the Citadel's tower. One big room, with a big hole in the floor where a spiral stairwell should've been, a couple of desks, and two beds under the east and west windows. Bookcases lined most of the walls; Asuna wasn't really surprised, in light of what had supposedly conquered the place, that many of the books were burnt and falling apart.

And none of the ones that survived, as far as any of them could tell, were at all useful. Well, one of them had turned out to be the key item in a quest given by a historian in Urbus, which Asuna supposed was something, but not nearly enough.

Not after how things went down in Ariadne's Catacombs the other day, she thought sourly. Forget the Fuumaningun accidentally kiting a mini-boss at them. Forget even the tremendous embarrassment with the so-called "armor" afterward. All of that was annoying, and enough to make her want to toss the Fuuma off a cliff.

What really got to her was that, according to what Argo had sniffed out the following day, the Fuuma had snuck back in after. Before the Grand Minotaur the three of them had taken down at no small effort could respawn. And snagged the item they were after anyway.

Asuna did not like being used. At all.

"Something I probably should've asked before, Kirito-kun," she said, looking out over Niian's plains. "How is treasure handled on public maps? And key items, for that matter? Are they one-time things, where the first player to find them is the only who gets them? That doesn't sound very fair to me, but I don't really know this stuff…."

"No, it's not that crazy. At least it wasn't as far as anyone got in the beta." There was a clank, a choice word in Sindarin, and then scuffling noises; Kirito searching for a key, Asuna thought. "Though supposedly Kayaba was pushing for at least a few, word is the devs had a couple of big fights about that…. Anyway. It varies depending on item rarity, but treasure chests and key items are supposed to respawn after a set period of time—somewhere around a day at most, I think."

"Strange, but fair enough, for something intended as a game," Kizmel remarked, brushing off another charred book. Her nose wrinkled at the artificially-regular but still obviously unpleasant cloud of dust. "And I suppose, in the conditions Kayaba truly intended, it gives a fair chance for those he trapped, as well."

"That's the idea, yeah. Of course, they don't always give the same treasure when they respawn; I know Argo made a fair bit of Cor in the beta from people wanting to predict the drop rotation… ah, here we go." More scuffling, then a click, followed by a groan of rusty hinges. "Key items respawn at weird times, some of them, but those are at least always the same thing—or part of the same thing, if there's a set."

Asuna turned away from the window, where she'd been briefly grabbed by the sight of the Skyfalls glittering in the midday light. "So? What've you got?"

"…I'm not sure." She couldn't see his face, as he rummaged in the strongbox, but she could hear the frown in his voice. "Some old papers—not even charred, I guess the box is dragonfire-proof—and… another box?" He grunted, fumbling briefly, and there was a quieter click. "Huh. A ring? Hey, Kizmel, is this what I think it is?"

Kirito held up a silver ring, and Kizmel turned away from her fruitless shelf search to take a look. With only a glance, the elf girl's eyebrows went up, long ears perking with interest. "Crossed horn and scimitar… yes, Kirito. This is a sigil ring of Lyusula. But why would such a thing be here…?" Frowning, she squeezed in next to him, diving into the strongbox herself.

Asuna supposed she couldn't blame Kirito for the faint blush on his face. Kizmel's seeming lack of regard for personal space took her aback sometimes, and she wasn't a teenage guy. At least she's wearing full armor this time.

A moment later, the Knight emerged, holding up a piece of parchment. From clear across the room, Asuna couldn't tell what it said; walking over for a closer look turned out not to help, either. She was only a beginner in her Sindarin studies, and all she yet knew of the script was the little she needed to handle her post on Moondancer.

Kizmel clearly understood it well enough, though, her violet eyes rapidly scanning it. "Hm…. Very interesting. It appears the Crimson Knights invoked the Last Alliance, when the Axiom Church moved against them. According to this, Lyusula was unwilling to take the chance of direct involvement, but did offer them what aid they could."

The Last Alliance. Asuna remembered Kizmel herself invoking that, the night they'd met. She also remembered it from The Lord of the Rings, and found herself wondering if the reference was deliberate on Kayaba's part. "What kind of aid?" she said aloud.

"That, this message does not specify, save that two Sigil Rings of Lyusula were sent as part of the arrangement. As keys of some kind, apparently." With a few hesitant gestures, Kizmel brought up her menu, then tucked the parchment into her inventory. Bending down again, she pulled out another piece of paper. Blinked at it. Handed it off to Kirito, along with a rueful smile. "This is more your area than mine. Your phonetic script, I can read well enough; your 'kanji', I grasp perhaps as well as Asuna does written Sindarin."

Kirito frowned down at the parchment. "…This is old," he said after a moment. "Give me a minute; they don't even teach some of these in school anymore. Good thing I've played some Bakumatsu games, or I'd never figure this out…."

Let's hear it for otaku, Asuna thought wryly. Her awkward companion's schoolwork might've needed work, but it was genuinely impressive what kind of odd trivia he knew from his hobbies. Though the talk of languages reminded her of something else that had been puzzling her. "Hey, Kizmel? I know where Kayaba might've gotten the name 'Sindarin', but what does it mean for you? I mean, I've heard of the Dark Elves and the Forest Elves, but…."

"Ah." Kizmel nodded, moving to sit on the east bed while Kirito puzzled over the paper. "That, Asuna, is ancient history, even by the standards of the elves. Once, a very, very long time ago, it is said that we were all one people. Before even the Holy Trees as we knew them, and before… well. Things of which I am not yet permitted to speak. Not," she added with a wry smile, "that you would find many elves of any race willing to admit that now. But the name of the Sindar lives on to this day, in the name of our language, however much it may have diverged into different dialects between us."

"I see." It was Asuna's turn to nod, thoughtfully, as she chewed on the explanation. "You sound like quite the historian, Kizmel."

"It is something of a hobby of mine, I must confess." The elf girl's smile took on a bitter edge. "Sometimes, knowing more is itself a weapon, in battles where no blade may help."

Asuna wanted to ask what that was supposed to mean, but she wasn't honestly sure she should. And then Kirito was clearing his throat, breaking the strange tension before she could even try. "The good news," he announced, "is that I know where the second Sigil is now."

"And the bad?" Kizmel asked, instantly losing the melancholy air in favor of a resigned one.

"According to this? It's in the catacombs." Shaking his head, Kirito tucked the parchment away into his own inventory. "And it's guarded by something."

"Something," Asuna repeated, already covering her face with one hand. "Does it say what?" Please don't be more Minotaurs, please don't be more Minotaurs….

He shrugged helplessly. "Does 'the Giant Fire-Rat of Niian' mean anything to you?"

---

An hour of wandering through dark catacombs later, Asuna was wishing with every fiber of her being that Kayaba hadn't been so imaginative. Or at least that he hadn't read as many classics as he obviously had. On the one hand, at least the Citadel's catacombs didn't seem to have any Minotaurs, just a lot of darkness and spiders the size of dinner plates.

On the other, now she knew what Kayaba Akihiko had come up with from Arthur Conan Doyle's offhand reference to a "giant rat of Sumatra".

Rolling away from claws that dripped with green goo she'd already found out the hard way was poison, Asuna almost slammed into a stone wall before she could recover. Coming back to her feet, she very nearly ended up with a scorched face from a torch instead, and had to use her free hand to shove herself back and away—toward the rat.

The rat which, fortunately, was just then recoiling from having Kizmel's shield slammed into its nose. At least I have good allies! Asuna thought, already turning her rebound into a lunge, rapier glowing bright white. The Linear caught the beast in its red-furred throat, driving it even further back.

"Monsters and traitors," the Fire-Rat hissed, its voice an appropriately rodent-like chattering. "Come back again, yes? Not again! Won't be trapped again! Not by Men, not by Elves!" Gathering itself, it jumped forward, sharp teeth open wide.

It missed Kizmel's shoulder, jaws snapping shut on air as the elven Knight twisted aside. Its claw swipe, on the other hand, did scrape her flank; though three claws screeched harmlessly on her armor, the fourth nicked her left thigh. Kizmel hissed, the crimson scratch quickly turning a sickly, neon green.

The Fire-Rat clicked its teeth, muzzle twisting in an ugly parody of a grin—which was when Kirito, snarling wordlessly, dropped a Sonic Leap on its left flank, dragging a deep slash clear down through its stomach.

"Get away!" the Fire-Rat snarl-squeaked, spinning to snap its razor-edged tail at him. "Mine! All mine! Get away!"

What, exactly, the Fire-Rat claimed as its own, Asuna wasn't sure. They'd found it in a huge, semi-circular chamber buried deep beneath the Citadel; some kind of arcane lab, she thought, from the benches, tables, flasks, and strange tubes scattered around. There hadn't been time to give anything a closer look, though, because the Giant Fire-Rat of Niian had exploded out of a cell set in the far wall the moment she and her companions had crossed the chamber's threshold.

She was pretty sure the lab would've been spooky enough on its own. Dealing with a poisonous rat that stood the better part of two meters ought to have been the finishing touch.

Said poisonous rat ranting incoherently at them in squeaky but perfectly understandable Japanese? That broke Asuna's spooky meter completely, and made her want to turn around and go home.

But to go home, I have to keep going through, she told herself grimly, dodging around another flurry of claws. She responded with a quick series of basic stabs herself, forcing the Fire-Rat back just before it could sink its teeth into her arm. I'll just have to get used to things like this!

At least there was plenty of room to maneuver. Kizmel had taken a moment to retreat, leaping onto one of the tables while the ring on her right hand glowed. At the same time, Kirito took advantage of the gap Asuna had created, chopping at the Fire-Rat's tail with a Vertical and provoking another squeak of outrage. From the way it whirled on him, that struck a nerve—it was faster, this time, and succeeded in taking a bite out of his left arm before he could recover.

Asuna winced, seeing the distinctive poison icon appear below Kirito's HP bar in her HUD. Even as it did, though, the one marking Kizmel's disappeared in time with a flash from her right hand. "Back off!" the elf girl snapped; snatching up a flask from the table she was standing on, she hurled it in the Fire-Rat's face.

What was in the flask, Asuna couldn't guess. She just knew that when it shattered on the oversized rodent's nose, there was a bright cloud of yellow smoke, a lot of coughing, a squeaked Sindarin expletive, and a noticeable drop in the Fire-Rat's HP.

There was also a perfect opening, as the rodent tried to escape the smoke. Asuna took it, darting in to slice a Streak across the base of its tail. At the same moment, Kirito rushed in from the other side, and the instant her rapier was out of the way his sword came across in a Slant.

The shriek when that razor-edged tail fell away would've hurt, if SAO simulated pain.

The Fire-Rat leapt backwards, out of the smoke, and landed in a crouch by the far wall. "You dare?!" it snarl-squeaked. "Just like before, you—you…! Not again! This time, you suffer!" Its eyes glowed a brilliant, eerie crimson, and it reared back on its haunches, clawed forepaws raised. "Burn, demons! Burn! Vak Rom!"

Asuna had barely a moment to blink, wondering what the heck the last two words meant, before Kirito slammed into her from the side. "Kirito-kun!" she gasped out, even as they fell together. "What do you think you're—?!"

Fire erupted, a flaming tornado whirling into existence right in front of the Fire-Rat. A small tornado, but in a confined space, deadly. Debris was flung away, a dust cloud that was promptly eaten by fire. The whirlwind of flame rushed across the room, igniting a table along the way, setting off a couple of small explosions from chemical flasks, and burning away ancient parchment.

Asuna and Kirito were rolling away, still riding the momentum of his lunge—and the fire-whirl was following them.

Then Kizmel was there, between them and the fire, shield raised defiantly. "I think not!" she snarled. Flame hit her shield, licking around it to burn her, yet it spent itself before it could take off more than five percent of her HP. "Kirito, Asuna, be ready!"

"Die, monsters!" the Fire-Rat shrieked. "Vak Rom!"

Another fire-whirl, this one seemingly aimed directly at Kizmel. The elf girl gritted her teeth, standing her ground as it raced for her.

In that moment, while the Fire-Rat was distracted, Asuna and Kirito were back on their feet, lunging for the rodent. Kirito went high, launching into another Sonic Leap; Asuna opted to put everything she had into her legs, skirting one edge of the conjured fire. Running in a low crouch, she waited until the last moment to bring her rapier back for one more Linear.

The Fire-Rat seemed to notice them, a split second before steel met fur. Focusing those fiery eyes on them, it opened its mouth one more time. "BiVak—!"

Kirito's blade came down between the giant rat's eyes. Asuna's drove deep into its heart.

Flame guttered out, and with a final, mournful squeak, the Giant Fire-Rat of Niian collapsed into a thousand glittering polygons.

Asuna barely noticed. As soon as she was sure it was dead, she was spinning back, sheathing her rapier, and running. "Kizmel! Are you alright?!"

Sheathing her own sword, Kizmel gave her a smile in response. "A bit charred, but nothing serious," the Knight assured her. "Though if the two of you had not killed it when you did, I fear we all would've been much worse off. Are you alright?"

A quick check of her gear, then her HP, and Asuna nodded. "Mostly. I should probably drink a potion before we go anywhere else…. Kirito-kun?"

A gulping noise was his first response; she looked back in time to see him downing a poison antidote. "Nothing a basic antidote couldn't cure," he said a moment later, tossing the empty bottle aside. "Though I should drink a healing potion, too…. Kizmel's right, it could've been worse." He glanced down at where the Fire-Rat had just been, frowning. "…I didn't expect to run into anything this early that used magic. I thought only the Integrity Knights could do that."

Yeah. Asuna remembered him talking about that, the first day they'd been in SAO. Before everything went so horribly wrong. She'd almost forgotten, with everything that had happened since; even Alice hadn't used magic, when she'd kidnapped Diavel.

"Most things cannot, this far out in the Archipelago," Kizmel said, giving the chamber as a whole a wary once-over. "But Fire-Rats…. Well. Part of them is fire. Though Aincrad may be out of reach of the old sources of magic, there are some creatures who never needed them." Ears twitching, she shook her head. "Few Fire-Rats even came up with the Archipelago. I'd honestly thought them extinct. Why did the Crimson Knights have one here…?"

She trailed, at the same time Kirito suddenly stiffened, face paling. Startled, Asuna turned to look at chamber's east wall—

---

It was like stepping back into his nightmares. The circle set into the stone wall was empty, showing nothing but more stone in its center, but the glowing lettering along its edge was still enough to make Kirito's head swim. For a second, he could've sworn he could see the whirling clouds from his childhood there.

He didn't even realize he'd started to rush toward the Gate, hyperventilating, until hands suddenly closed on his arms, dragging him back to the present. "Kirito-kun!" Asuna said sharply, right into his left ear. "Get a hold of yourself!"

"This is not six years ago, Kirito," Kizmel murmured more gently, from the right. "Calm down, please. Whatever it may look like, that is not a World Gate. Breathe."

That brought him up short, and the world started to come back into focus. I'm having a panic attack, Kirito realized. Wow. That hasn't happened in a while. He forced his breathing to even out, trying to push away the irrational tightness in his chest. I thought I came to grips with this years ago… I guess everything that's happened the last few days dragged it all back up.

Taking a couple of deep, ragged breaths, Kirito turned to look at Kizmel. "…What do you mean, that's not a World Gate?"

Exchanging a quick look with Asuna, the elf girl carefully released his arm. "Well," she began, stepping toward the mystical circle, "for one thing, the Axiom Church would doubtless have come after it once they became aware that the Einsla Gate had been used. There would be nothing here but rubble. More importantly… I'm hardly fluent in ancient Sindarin. I can nonetheless tell you that the grammar on this gate is atrocious."

"The grammar." Though she still kept a tight hold on Kirito's left arm, from the sound of it Asuna couldn't decide whether to facepalm or laugh. "Bad grammar… on a gateway between worlds. Okay, sure, everything else has been crazy lately…. Does that mean this is a fake?"

"Mm… I wouldn't call it a fake, exactly. More an imitation." Kizmel touched the circle; winced, when it sparked, knocking off a tiny fraction of her HP. "The World Gates date back to the ancient world, long before the Great Separation. I doubt anyone has known exactly how to construct one for thousands of years. Were I to guess?" She traced a finger over the glowing letters, not quite touching them again. "The Crimson Knights were desperate, when the Integrity Knights began to bring them low. I would suspect that they attempted to construct a Gate of their own."

"Attempted." Kirito started toward the gate himself, only to pause when he realized his arm was still trapped. Shooting a glance back at Asuna, she blinked, looked down at their linked arms, and with a sudden blush let him go. "Does this thing actually, well, do anything?" Stepping in close to it, he reached out to lightly tap it himself.

When he recoiled from the resulting jolt, he heard Asuna snort behind him. "Besides zap people, you mean?"

Kirito thought about trying to point out he was still rattled by flashbacks. Knowing she already thought he didn't pay enough attention to what was right in front of him, he decided he was better off keeping his mouth shut.

"As a matter of fact, no, I don't believe so," Kizmel said, a faint smile playing at her lips. Peering closely at the Sindarin lettering, she soundlessly mouthed the etched words, and shook her head. "Mind you, I know little of the ancient magicks, but it appears to me that the Crimson Knights were groping in the dark, trying to create something they didn't truly understand."

"Might explain the Fire-Rat, though," Asuna mused, walking over to where the enormous rodent had fallen. "You said those things are partly made of magic, right? Maybe they were trying to figure out how that worked. Or maybe…." She winced. "Maybe they wanted to use it to power the gate."

Even a week before, Kirito might've rolled his eyes at how seriously the fencer was taking the game lore. Even with NPCs as vivid and lifelike as Kizmel, he'd have thought it silly to get that worked up about something that hadn't really happened.

"I should hope not," Kizmel said softly. "The Crimson Knights arose long after the Last Alliance, yet I'd always heard they were an honorable order, in their own way. That they might've stooped so low, even in their desperation…. I would hate to think knights could fall so far."

Yeah. I hear ya. After the past week, Kirito couldn't be so detached himself. After Alice had ridden in right out of his old dreams, he didn't have a clue what was going on anymore. For six years, he'd promised himself he'd never be the kind of gamer who lost track of what was real and what was just a story. Now, he wasn't sure he could afford to keep that detachment.

Shivering against a chill that had almost nothing to do with old nightmares, he tried to shake that off. Instead he focused on the gate right in front of him, and wondered what it was for. Knowing Kayaba, it could have just been for flavor, but somehow, he didn't think so. There had to be a purpose to the room. And they still hadn't found that Sigil….

Frowning at a sensation he couldn't quite pin down—not a feeling on his skin, not quite a sound, but something somehow in between—Kirito reached up to the blank center of the gate. Fingers a bare centimeter from the wall behind it, he abruptly stopped, eyes widening. "What the—? Hey, Kizmel. Are you sure this isn't doing anything?"

"Hm?" Kizmel blinked. "Well, it's certainly channeling something, if only enough to shock, but…." She trailed off, reaching out to the center herself. "You're right, Kirito. This may not function as a World Gate, but there is magic here." The elf girl shot him a quick, puzzled glance. "I am surprised a human could even feel it."

So am I. Great, something else that doesn't make sense. …Or maybe Kayaba just figured out some trick with synesthesia; can't forget the NerveGear only even works because he's a genius with neuroscience as well as programming.

"I've always had pretty sharp senses," he said aloud, putting it out of his mind. "Do you know what it's doing, Kizmel?"

"Concealing something, I believe." Eyes narrow, Kizmel peered close, seeming to see something he couldn't. Her hand followed her gaze—and her fingers suddenly closed, seemingly on empty air.

When she pulled her hand back, there was a ring sitting in her palm. The strange not-tingle Kirito had been feeling vanished with an odd snap; and at the same time, the Sindarin letters ringing the gate faded. In a moment, the entire circle lost its luster, looking as worn and tarnished as everything else in the lab.

A quick patter of footsteps, and Asuna joined them. "Is that—?"

"Indeed, I believe it is, Asuna." Smiling, Kizmel held up the ring, with its distinctive crossed horn and scimitar emblem. "The second Sigil of Lyusula. It seems we've found what we came for." Her smile turned wry. "Of course, there remains a question."

"Yeah," Kirito said sourly. "What the heck are they for?"

---

On the one hand, the fact that they were going to have to find Argo the Rat, and pay her whatever extortionate price she'd charge, didn't exactly make Asuna's day. Even if they were completely out of leads, and none of them were really in the mood to go spelunking in musty catacombs again if there was a chance someone else had already done it.

On the other, she had to admit it was kind of nice, just cruising low over Niian. They weren't really in a tearing hurry, so Moondancer's engine was at a low, comforting thrum. They also weren't trying to chase a Forest Elf ship, dodge a skyrift, or even hide from the Wild Hunt, so there was plenty of time to take in the Second Island's sights.

Speaking of the Wild Hunt, I really need to remember to ask Kirito-kun and Kizmel about them. I know what they are in IRL legends, but who knows about Aincrad. …And thinking about that Forest Elf ship the other day….

Leaning against the starboard bulkhead, where she'd been looking out through the glasswood at the rogue islands above and old ruins dotting the island below, Asuna glanced back at her companions. "What do you guys think the others from the raid are up to now? Kinda weird that the only ones we've seen much away from Urbus are those ninja, isn't it?"

Nudging the wheel to turn Moondancer into a shallow arc toward the canyon leading to Niian's outermost town, Kirito shrugged. "Leveling up and getting ready to cross the island on foot, I'd guess. Remember, the only other player airship right now is Liberator, and Coper's supposed to be neutral until one group or the other wins their bet."

"Oh, right. That." She couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Ugh. Y'know, I thought Diavel was really going to be the leader we all needed. Lind and Kibaou… honestly, I can't decide which of them annoys me more. They're going to be insufferable until they get this worked out."

"I can relate, believe me," Kizmel said ruefully, giving the wing-sails a featherlight adjustment to help Kirito's turn. "You may have noticed the friction I had with Captain Emlas? And, for that matter, the Portmaster?"

"Kinda, yeah," Asuna admitted. She'd mostly written off Emlas' prickliness as a mix of distrust of humans and the beating his ship and crew had taken. The Portmaster… he'd been more subtle, yet stood out more, somehow. The fact that Kizmel had looked like she half-expected the tea to be poisoned had been a pretty big clue, too. "Knights and sailors don't get along, huh?"

"Not very well, no," the elf girl said, with a wry smile. "Worse, however, is the rivalry between Lyusula's Chivalric Orders. At least sailors and Knights can mostly leave each other alone, with our very different responsibilities. The Orders… heh. Some fine evening, remind me to tell you the tale of how the Pagoda Knights succeeded in claiming my mission."

Asuna's eyebrows went up at that. There were multiple orders of Knights among the Dark Elves? Come to think of it, Kizmel hasn't talked much about her Knighthood at all, has she? I wonder what they're like. They must be more widespread than a lot of fantasy elves, if they've got more than one group of knights.

She was just opening her mouth to ask, when another voice boomed out. "Ahoy the ship!"

At least she wasn't the only one who nearly hit the deckhead at the shout. Kirito twitched so violently he nearly threw Moondancer into a spin, with only Kizmel's quick work with the wing-sails keeping her upright. "What the—?!"

As Asuna threw herself into her own chair, Kizmel quickly pulled the throttle back to full-stop, while Kirito spun the ship into a quick turn to starboard. That brought the bow around to point toward one of the canyon ridges, and the source of the shout.

Standing on the ridge, the glasswood giving them all a clear look at his broad grin, the axeman Agil gave them a cheerful wave. Standing half a pace behind him and to his left, the masked Shinsengumi Tengu bowed in formal greeting. "Hey, there!" Agil called. "Sorry, didn't mean to freak you guys! Mind if we talk?"

---

It was fortunate, Kizmel thought, that the magnifying properties of glasswood were only one-way. That gave her time to get her hood up before Agil and Tengu came aboard, preserving her secret. Not that she had any particular reason to distrust either of them—indeed, they were among the sanest Swordmasters she'd yet met—but it was not an issue she wanted dealt with at that moment.

Sooner or later, she thought, as she and her human companions went out on deck, if I continue to travel with Kirito and Asuna, I will have to reveal myself to other Swordmasters. This day does not seem ideal.

"You two are still working together?" Kirito asked, as their visitors came aboard. "I thought you were just a PUG, like us, for the Illfang fight."

"Eh, it's been convenient," Agil said, giving a well-muscled shrug. "Truth is, I want to open a shop later, get some trading going with a couple buddies of mine. This early, though? Doesn't look like it's gonna happen. Better to stick with another fighter, 'least until we get another island cleared."

"Agil-dono is quite a reliable tank," Tengu said quietly, inclining his head. He gave Moondancer's deck a quick once-over; though what he was thinking, Kizmel couldn't even guess. The man's mask hid his expression well. "I confess I'm still learning how SAO works. My own kenjutsu will only take me so far."

And this man truly is a swordsman, Kizmel thought, taking in the man's stance. Kirito has traces of it, signs that he once trained for true battle. This Tengu… he is a master.

"Well, good for you two," Asuna said, leaning back against Moondancer's port railing. "I don't think of any us really want to be alone just yet. Though I admit, I'm just as glad you don't have Pitohui with you right now, honestly, she gave me the creeps…. But what do you want with us?"

"Indeed," Kizmel put in quietly, eyeing them cautiously. "We've been away from the rest of the—what should we call them, raiders? Scouts, perhaps?—since we arrived at the Second Island. If it's information you seek, I fear we have little that would matter to you."

She hoped, anyway. She was still unnerved by the Fuumaningun's apparent alliance with the Forest Elves. So far, what she and her human companions had been doing on Niian had mostly pertained to tracking the amateur ninja down.

"Heh. You guys don't give yourselves enough credit." Grinning, Agil lounged against the starboard railing, arms stretched out across it. "You made quite an impression at the first Skywall Tower, y'know. Dunno what you've been up to since, but, well, lemme put it this way. I'm a merchant—I run a cafe IRL, believe it or not—so I know a little something about making connections. Think of this as me getting an early start scoping out suppliers—or customers—for my shop."

Ah. Now that was a motive Kizmel could trust. She saw her companions relaxing as well—though Kirito did give Tengu a wary glance, and subtly shifted away from the masked swordsman. Something about Tengu disturbs him. Why?

"Well, you sound like you'll be easier to work with than the Rat, anyway," Asuna said wryly. "So… what's up, Agil-san?"

"Probably be easier to show you, but we'll give you the basics on the way." Agil gave a wide wave toward the ground below. "You mind taking us about three kilometers north of Urbus? Trust me, you can't miss it."

Kirito glanced first at Asuna, then at Kizmel. Receiving nods in return, he headed back into the pilothouse, the others following in behind.

"Gotta say, you've got a nice ship here," Agil said, whistling appreciatively as he took in the pilothouse. "She looks like ebony, but… not quite. Specially treated, maybe?" Even Kizmel had to shrug at that one, airships not being her area. The big axeman took it with amiable nod. "Well, whatever. I'm impressed. …Beta stuff?"

"Not as far as I know," Kirito told him, easing Moondancer around, even as Kizmel nudged the throttle forward. "We got her from a quest that I wasn't expecting. Pretty sure she's one-of-a-kind, too, so don't expect Argo's guides to talk about it."

"Hey, no worries, man." Agil leaned into one corner, apparently interested in the view the glasswood provided of the surrounding sky. "I get my shop going, I'll probably want something bigger, anyway. Can't imagine this girl would be much good for cargo-hauling."

Kizmel gently pushed at the wing-sails, setting them about half-open. They were a great help for maneuvering, especially as Moondancer lacked a proper set of balancers, but spreading them too wide at high speed risked them tearing off completely. At least we've had a chance to map out the local skies. I'd rather not chance another rift. Had Kirito's reflexes been even a little slower….

"So, then," she said, forcing her thoughts away from that near-miss, and the crash it had reminded her of, "what does bring you to our deck, Agil? What makes today a good day to, as you put it, make connections?"

"Well…." The would-be merchant dragged out the word, still gazing pensively out the bow window. "Does the name 'Bullbous Bow' mean anything to any of you?"

Asuna frowned. "Besides being part of a ship?"

"Two ls, in the Romanji," Kirito corrected her. "It's a pun on 'bull' and 'bulbous'… it's also the Field Boss for Niian, or at least it was in the beta." He glanced away from Moondancer's course long enough to direct a frown of his own at Agil. "Don't tell me someone's already going after it?" He started, as if struck by a sudden thought. "Or has Liberator…?"

"Captain Coper's ship has not acted. Exactly," Tengu informed him. It was Kizmel's turn to almost jump out of her seat; the swordsman had been so quiet, she'd forgotten he was there, still standing by the hatch. "However, a force of Swordmasters did set out this morning, intending to take down the beast."

"Without a full raid?" Asuna shook her head, frowning down at the core crystal monitor as if it held answers. "I admit I was a complete newbie when all this started, but even I know we took on Illfang with an undersized group as it was. Without us, or Diavel—or you two, for that matter—"

"They've scrounged up some extras," Agil told her, half his attention on the flock of Gullwings Moondancer brushed through in her flight north. He grinned at the outraged squawks, then sobered, turning to look at Asuna directly. "That's kinda part of why I wanted to touch base with you guys. Something about this whole thing smells funny to me."

Ominous, that. Kizmel suddenly wished she'd spent more time around humans, that she might have some idea just how ominous. Any situation that included both Lind and Kibaou was concerning enough as it was; she found herself pushing the throttle and pulling in the wing-sails a hair, urging a little more speed out of Moondancer.

"Surprised you didn't just go to Argo," Kirito said, adjusting course to compensate for the sudden extra speed. "Or was she too expensive for you?"

"We did ask her," Agil told him flatly. "She didn't charge us a thing, 'cause she didn't know. But she said you might." He settled more firmly into his corner. "You'll see when we get there. Maybe it's nothing. …Maybe."

---

Moondancer flew low over Niian, just high enough not to risk hitting any trees or overly large rocks—low enough, hopefully, not be noticed from too far out. As small and quiet as she was, it was just barely possible she and her crew could avoid attracting attention, at least for a little bit.

Kirito, for one, very much wanted to stay out of the spotlight. His nerves were prickling at him, from Agil's news, from the odd sense that he was doing too well handling Moondancer, and even from the passengers his little party had picked up.

Agil's one thing, he thought, giving the wheel a gentle turn to port as they neared the edge of the rough terrain that was Niian's southern half. Tengu… maybe it's just that mask, but something about him is really giving me the creeps.

At least he had the job of piloting Moondancer to keep him from thinking about it too much. Flying so close to the ground was in a way trickier than chasing a Forest Elf patrol ship had been; at least that time, aside from a badly-timed skyrift, he'd been able to see any hazards from far enough off to plan around them. For this flight, he could only be grateful Kizmel was there to help.

"If I remember right," Kirito murmured, more to himself than to anyone else, "the Field Boss area should be coming up right about… now." Rocks and ridges gave way to a flat plain below, an expansive grassland springing up before his eyes.

He immediately turned Moondancer into a sharp turn to starboard, angling toward a forest on the eastern edge of the Grazing Plains. Lowering the bow, he brought the ship down to just a few meters above the ground, and only turned away from the treeline with a few seconds to spare.

Kizmel, acting with the initiative that still left him wondering just what—or who—she really was, pulled the throttle to idle, and folded the wing-sails close to the hull. That left Moondancer hovering almost soundlessly, tucked in by the trees; not invisible, but definitely not obvious.

With the airship more or less "parked", the four humans and single Dark Elf crowded by the pilothouse's port window, where the glasswood gave them a startlingly clear view of what was about to be a battlefield.

The first thing to catch Kirito's eye was the Field Boss itself. It looked like a bull—except for being about four meters tall, with four horns, breath that literally steamed, and a bony forehead ridge that looked like it belonged on some kind of dinosaur. He had the unpleasant feeling it could ram an airship down if it really wanted to. That its name was partly a pun on part of a ship made him even more glad he'd parked Moondancer so far away.

"At least it's not a Minotaur," he heard Asuna mutter. "One that big, the CERO board should've shut this game down before it left beta…."

He stifled a chuckle, and did his best to ignore the glare she sent his way anyway. He was more interested in the group of Swordmasters that was marching across the plain, nearing aggro range of the Bullbous Bow. Twenty-nine of them, by his count, with a noticeable split about halfway through. Judging from the gap, he suspected they were intending keep about half in reserve.

Makes sense, if they intend to rotate the parties. Gotta give people a chance to pull back and heal every so often, after all. But something doesn't look right. The forwards aren't balanced, and they're kinda split, too. Which probably means….

"Short version," Agil said, pointing to the undersized raid. "As you can probably tell from the cactus-hair out in front, the guys in green are Kibaou's faction. Call themselves the Aincrad Liberation Front, first guild in the Archipelago. The boys in blue led by the blue ponytail are Lind's Dragon Knight Brigade. Also the first guild in the Archipelago."

Kirito face-palmed. Kizmel sighed. Asuna rolled her eyes. "They're still at it, huh?" the fencer groaned. "I guess that explains the split in the forwards." She pointed to a clear third sub-faction in the forwards. "And them?"

Frowning, Kirito peered as close as the glasswood allowed at the group of five Asuna had singled out. It wasn't hard to tell them apart from the rest: their gear was noticeably shinier than the others, each of them decked out in full plate. Which was… not impossible, he supposed, even as early as the Second Island. But it was definitely unusual. "Beta testers…?"

"I dunno about that," Agil told him, shrugging. "After your little stunt the other day, nobody really wants to ask. For what it's worth, though, they're called the Legend Braves. Supposed to be 'heroes leading the way forward', or somethin' like that. Guildmaster's a guy who calls himself Orlando."

"Orlando? Seriously?" Kirito shook his head. "A name like that, and those ambitions, they might as well have called themselves the Paladins. …Um." Seeing Asuna's blank look, he searched his mental documents for the old legends he'd read to Suguha, once upon a time. "Orlando was one of Charlemagne's knights. I think he's better known as Roland…?"

"Oh, him! Okay, I know that one. A paladin for a great king," she explained, when Kizmel's hood turned toward her. "These 'Legend Braves' must really mean the 'hero' thing."

"Looks like it. And that gear…." Kirito glanced back at Agil. "Is this what you said smelled funny, Agil?"

"Half of it," Tengu answered instead. Hands tucked into the sleeves of his Shinsengumi coat, he nodded at something higher up. "That would be the other half."

Kirito followed the gesture, and blinked. Hovering well above the battlefield, steel hull gleaming in the afternoon sun, Liberator was doing a slow, gentle circle over the boss. Above, quite thoroughly out of reach, and seemingly with no intention of participating in the coming battle.

"Are those people on the deck?" he heard Asuna ask. "What are they doing up there?"

"Word is, Lind and Kibaou are looking for recruits," Agil told her. "They sent messengers back to Einsla, inviting anybody who was up to risking the frontlines to come watch the Field Boss fight. I guess the guilds are gonna show off."

"Which is fair enough," Tengu put in quietly. "Illfang proved we can fight this game. An impressive victory here, with witnesses, will show the entire playerbase. If those two young hotheads don't trip each other up."

It made sense, all of it. Still, Kirito couldn't help but zero in on another detail entirely.

That's a light cruiser. I don't know where Diavel got her, but Liberator is balanced for at least the Fourth Island, maybe later. Coper could probably alpha-strike the Bullbous Bow into ground beef. Sure, a good show from the new guilds could get new recruits for the raids. And yeah, Coper's got that deal that whoever reaches the Skywall Tower first will get the ship. But lives are still at stake here, and he could end the fight without risking even one.

What are you playing at, Coper?

"Well, if it is a show they want, they're about to get one," Kizmel said. Her voice, and the light touch of her hand on his shoulder, brought Kirito back to the battle that was about to begin. "I've heard tales of the Bullbous Bow. It will be very unhappy, starting right about… now."

The three guilds crossed the invisible line that marked the edge of the giant bull's aggro range. With a deep, bellowing snort that rattled Moondancer's windows, it spun around. Glared at the approaching Swordmasters, pawing at the ground. Lowered its head, with its four horns and bony forehead, and charged.

---

Asuna had plenty of combat experience, after a month trapped in SAO. Almost all of that was in a half-size party, though; her only direct knowledge of a raid was from the battle with Illfang. What was going down on the Grazing Plains, she only vaguely understood.

She understood well enough the fear that had to be going through the raid members' minds, as the Bullbous Bow galloped toward them. It was one thing to know they were all more durable than any real-world human, and that there was no pain in SAO. It was still something else to see a bull that big charging right at them, with obvious intent to kill. The raiders who hadn't been there for Illfang, she suspected, were the ones who faltered first.

Give Lind and Kibaou a little credit, though, Asuna thought, watching the two guild leaders call a halt and wave a single member from each party forward. They must've been paying attention to Diavel's commands against Illfang. Or Kirito-kun's, if they were ever likely to admit it…. Wait. That doesn't look right….

The two Swordmasters, wearing some of the heaviest armor Asuna had seen on players, planted tall shields on the ground. Opened their mouths, and roared, so loud she caught just the faintest edge of it from where she stood aboard Moondancer.

That was normal enough. None of her little party had it, but she'd seen from a distance as other players used the Howl skill to draw aggro, when she and her companions had skirted the edges of the First Island's towns. As she understood it, that kept a monster's attention on the players who could take a beating and survive, distracting from the more offensive-focused players who could then attack from the sides.

Which would've made the tanks the matadors to the Bullbous Bow's bull—if both guilds hadn't done it simultaneously.

"What in the world are they thinking?" Kirito breathed. "Both of them in one spot, right in front of the DPSers, while the boss is already heading straight for them? That's just going to—"

Asuna flinched, unable to turn away as the inevitable happened. The Bullbous Bow, successfully taunted, picked up more speed, and barreled straight into the pair of tanks.

The two of them went flying, with screams she really could hear even at that distance. The boss ignored them, its momentum hardly slowed by the tanks' shields, and crashed into the ranks of DPS players, scattering them like bowling pins in turn.

Part of her was angry, seeing how Lind and Kibaou both scrambled to avoid their subordinates' fates. More of her was frightened, her heart leaping into her throat, watching as the players' who'd been tossed crashed back to the ground. Fall damage, she knew, could be just as bad as being rammed by the bull's oversized forehead.

A dozen bodies hit the ground—and bounced, once, then twice. With the third impact, they stayed down—and intact, none of them shattering.

The Bullbous Bow was still going, but this time a coordinated effort was suddenly in its way. Led by a man with a helmet resembling an onion—Orlando, Asuna recalled—they moved with a steady teamwork the others had lacked. Orlando, holding a round shield in his left arm, stabbed a black sword forward; at once, two of his fellows stepped up to plant shields in the Bow's path. At the same time, a man with a two-handed sword darted ahead, and to his right a lancer charged right along with him.

Maybe it was their heavier armor, or maybe their shields were better; either way, the Legend Braves' tanks held their ground. The enormous bull crashed into them, shoving them back a meter, but it was stopped dead in its tracks. That left the swordsman and lancer free to attack it from the sides, while it was still recovering. The swordsman went for a hamstringing blow to the right foreleg; the lancer drove his spear into the boss' chest, trying for a heart strike.

"Guy with the big sword is Beowulf," Agil said, his dark hand coming into Asuna's view as he pointed. "The lancer's Cuchulain." He snorted. "And it looks like they've got a better idea of what they're doing than the ALF or DKB guys."

"That's for sure," Kirito muttered. "That's not a raid, that's a competition." It was his turn to point, this time at the players just recovering from the Bullbous Bow's initial charge. "Look at the setup. The two guilds together have the players to do a proper tank/DPS mix, but instead of dividing the roles, they're mirroring each other."

"Power plays between knights," Kizmel sighed. "Or would-be knights, at any rate…. Are they truly so determined to win Captain Coper's favor that they would risk themselves this way?"

"Evidently," Tengu put in. "They both have the potential to be leaders, but neither can stand to allow the other an advantage." The masked swordsman shook his head. "Their priorities will get them killed. Or worse, others will pay the price in their place."

"Probably not. Not quite yet." Kirito pointed again, drawing Asuna's attention back to the boss. "Watch."

As the players had recovered, so had the Bullbous Bow. Letting out a bellow, it reared up on its hind legs, and brought its forelegs down in a brutal slam that sent a visible shockwave rippling across the ground. Asuna flinched again, fully expecting to see players tumbling away—this time, though, the tanks planted themselves in front of their respective groups, shields taking the brunt of the effect.

They still staggered, but the shields seemed to have blunted the impact. With quick gestures and shouted commands from the two competing guildmasters, they promptly fanned out to either side.

"That's right," Kirito murmured. "Flank it, but don't surround it… there!"

The oversized bull charged again. Instead of scattering players all over the place, though, it ran smack into the DKB and ALF tanks before it could build up much speed. While they tripped and fell back, the Legend Braves' tanks immediately stepped in to take up the slack.

Abruptly shortstopped again, the Bullbous Bow was at the mercy of three guilds' worth of players. Orlando, Beowulf, and Cuchulain slashed and stabbed at its head between their tanks' shields, the DKB hacked at it from its left flank, and the ALF ripped into it from the right.

Still. Asuna couldn't help but shake her head, seeing how the attack went down. "They're still not coordinating," she noted, seeing how staggered and irregular the attacks were. "It all worked out this time, but completely by accident. If the Legend Braves hadn't helped out in front, I don't think it would've worked at all. And I don't think Lind or Kibaou asked them to."

"No, this is a pretty classic PUG," Kirito agreed. "Pick-Up Group," he added, when she turned an exasperated look on him. "They should've planned all this ahead of time—they had to know from Argo, if nothing else, what was coming—but they obviously just agreed on a meeting time and nothing else. Lucky them, they should be able to handle it anyway."

Agil turned an evaluating look on him. "Breather boss?"

"Something like that. Balanced for less than a Skywall Tower raid, anyway. If they're careful with healing rotation, they'll make it." Kirito hesitated, leaned closer to the glasswood; sighed. "Though it looks like they're going to need to stock up after this…."

The Bullbous Bow was pawing the ground again, head lowered—and body beginning to twist. The Legend Braves seemed to recognize the warning signs, and began to pull back; the DKB and ALF didn't. Diavel's would-be successors kept their groups hacking at the boss, apparently assuming its lack of forward movement meant it was still stunned.

When it suddenly spun in place, sending players flying in all directions, Asuna could only cover her eyes and echo Kirito's sigh. And these are the people we're supposed to work with to get out of here? …We are so doomed.

---

Watching the raid unfold on the Grazing Plains, Kirito found himself shaking his head. Once again, the Legend Braves had pulled things together when the ALF and DKB fell for the obvious AoE, giving the two guilds time to get themselves back off the ground, but it plainly hadn't been pre-arranged. From the look of it, Orlando had just been a bit more observant than Lind or Kibaou, at just the right time.

Reminds me of just about every PUG I've ever been in, he thought. Except the PUGs I used to do didn't usually have two competing prima donnas tripping over each other. …Well, at least this is starting to feel like a game again. This is the most normal thing I've seen in awhile.

At least the two competing guilds were showing some sense. Rather than dive straight back into the fight, they left the Braves to keep the Bullbous Bow busy, and began rotating their forwards out in favor of the reserve groups. Only Lind and Kibaou themselves stayed close, taking the time to drink potions on the spot instead of pulling back.

Kirito supposed that was fair enough. As fractious as things were down there, the two leaders were probably needed on the spot to keep even a semblance of cohesion.

What there is of it. Part of him was amused to see Kizmel shaking her head at what happened next. The rest of him won out, joining Asuna in a facepalm as, the moment the fresh players were in position, the two groups unleashed simultaneous Howls. Again. Forget being lonely, I want to stick with Asuna and Kizmel because they're not stupid.

This time they were at least far enough apart not to provoke the boss into doubling-down on a rushing attack. Instead, it stood in place, glancing from one tank to the other in evident confusion. Which, yes, did give the two guilds a chance to send their DPSers to attack its flanks with impunity.

Well, they weren't in the beta. They're going to trip the boss' Annoyance threshold—yep, there they go.

A deep, angry bellow. A puff of steam so hot it left the tanks reeling, HP knocked down a good ten percent from scalding. Then the Bullbous Bow gathered itself, bent all four knees, and jumped straight up.

"…Did they just make that thing mad?" Asuna asked, with the morbidly curious tone of someone watching a multi-car pile-up.

"Bulls don't like being confused," Kizmel said dryly. The elf girl had moved to casually lean against the window frame, apparently totally unconcerned about the whole thing. "I've only heard stories of the Bullbous Bow, but it is said its temper is fully as outsized as the rest of it."

The shockwave from the Bow's impact scattered everyone that time, including the Legend Braves. Kirito couldn't help but wince, even knowing how simple the boss was still likely to be. "…We should be down there, too."

"No," Tengu said flatly, shaking his head.

"Probably not a good idea," Agil agreed. Crossing his arms, the big axeman pointedly quirked one eyebrow. "Look, I'm not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth, after all you did against Illfang. But even I think what happened after was weird, man. Those guys? They still half-think you're in league with Kayaba or something. It'll die down," he added, when Asuna turned a glare on him, and Kizmel's hood shifted. "But right now, were I you, I'd give 'em some space. Let everything settle down. 'Least until the next big event."

Kirito wasn't so sure, about any of it. Still… I'll be the first to admit I don't know people. He turned his attention back to the boss fight, where the raiders were getting themselves back to their feet. Sounds like Agil does.

"If it looks like they're going to start losing people, we're going in," he said finally. "Until then, we'll hold position. Is that okay with everybody?"

"Works for me," Asuna agreed, after a second's thought. She ostentatiously lifted her chin, the picture of aloof dignity. "We wouldn't want to hurt their pride by saving them too soon, would we?"

"Knights are fickle, and justly so," Kizmel said, a faint gleam of teeth from within her hood betraying her smile. "If knights they may be called, at any rate."

Personally, Kirito wouldn't have. Down below, the battle had resumed, but now it was a tangled mess. Though the Bullbous Bow didn't have enough room to build up for another charge, it was just as agile in close-quarters as he remembered from the beta. It was jumping around, stamping its feet, and just generally swinging its massive horns around.

He couldn't tell from there just what the raiders' HP levels were, even through the glasswood. He could take a guess, though, from how often they were cycling players in and out of the reserves, and winced at what their resupply expenses were likely to be after the battle.

"Well, some of them seem to be passable knights, at least," Asuna said. Pointing to the group led by the onion-helmeted Orlando, she added, "If Diavel really wanted to call himself that, he should've joined up with the Legend Braves."

Kirito focused on them again, and the way they alone were managing to stay coordinated even as the Bullbous Bow wheeled and bounced in its attempts to trample people. More, he focused on their armor, which really was a lot better than anything the DKB or ALF had. "I'm not sure he didn't," he said slowly. "I mean, it's not impossible for newbies to have gotten a party's worth of plate this early, but it's kinda improbable. If they had Diavel's beta knowledge—"

"No," Kizmel interrupted, abruptly straightening from her casual slouch. "Kirito," she continued, when all eyes turned to her, "I believe you said the beta had nothing to do with the elves prior to the Third Island, correct?"

"Yes…?"

She pointed out the glasswood, at the shiny armor of Orlando and his comrades. "That's not steel, nor any other form of cold iron. That is mythril—the lowest grade, perhaps, but mythril nonetheless."

Agil cocked his head, brow furrowed. "Meaning…?"

Kirito's eyes widened, and Asuna outright gasped. "Wait," the fencer breathed. "Wait a second… I recognize that now. From the airship we raided back on Einsla. That's…?"

"The armor of Forest Elf men-at-arms," Kizmel confirmed, her earlier amusement gone. "Knights or paladins they may play at being, Asuna, but these 'Legend Braves', like the Fuumaningun, have clearly made a pact with Kales'Oh."

---

Across Liberator's deck, the colorful assembly of visiting players watched the battle against the Bullbous Bow with rapt attention. There were collective gasps as the raiders took damage, and cheers when they gave back as good as they got. When one of member of the Aincrad Liberation Force was caught up on one of the massive bull's horns, only to be thrown high into the air, some in the crowd screamed. When his fall was broken by the swift action of two of his fellows with grappling hooks, there was a loud cheer.

After about forty-five minutes of intense battle, the Bullbous Bow let out one last, anguished bellow, and exploded into azure fragments. Liberator's passengers went wild, clapping, yelling, and shouting—and ignoring the way two of the players below immediately launched into a shouting match.

"Did you see those guys from the ALF? They're really not kidding about getting us out of here! Nothing kept 'em down, no matter what the bull did to them!"

"They were good, sure, but it looked to me like they aggroed that thing way too soon. Lind's people were more careful. Besides, wasn't Lind a good friend of Diavel? He should be a shoe-in for the new raid leader. You watch, the DKB will reach the Skywall Tower first."

"Ha! Wanna bet on it? Three hundred Cor on Kibaou!"

"Forget them. Both guilds were too busy trying to one-up each other. My money is on the Legend Braves. Those guys had it together, even when the DKB and ALF were tripping over their own feet."

"Who cares which of them was the best, anyway? They beat the boss! That's two down now, and no deaths. Maybe the raiders are right, and we really can get out of here!"

Standing on the observation deck atop Liberator's bridge, a short-haired brunette only sighed, closing her eyes sadly. "None of them understand," she muttered. "Not one. …Thousands are already dead, Aki—Heathcliff." Slipping her hands into the white coat she wore over simple leather armor, she turned to one of the men who stood with her. "How can you think this will ever work out?"

The man brushed a hand through the gray hair tied back at the nape of his neck and shrugged, his crimson cape billowing in the light breeze. "I think you do them a disservice. True, their performance here was perhaps… a bit uninspired. In the beta, however, it took several total party wipes of the best players to even reach this point. These raiders have only lost one man, and that to kidnapping by an outside-context problem." He turned his eerie, metallic-silver eyes on her. "You knew this when it started, Rico. You could have stopped me, if you truly wanted to."

"I tried," Rico said sourly, refusing to meet his gaze. "As you know perfectly well, Heathcliff. Just as you know how that turned out." She turned to the third player who watched from the observation deck. "Well, Colonel? Do you still think this is worth it?"

The brown-haired man adjusted his glasses, shoulders shifting as if he still found a samurai lord's haori a strange fit. "I'm still unfamiliar with VR game tactics, Rico-san. Truthfully, even Heathcliff has me beat, at least for now, even if he's more a developer than a player. That said…." He peered down at the battlefield. "I think it's too early to say. It's true they were quite clumsy here, yet Heathcliff is correct: they've survived so far. And from the look of things, some of them have already learned the value of alliances."

"Alliances which could hurt them more than help, in the long run," Rico pointed out. "You've heard the feelers the Rat put out about the Fuumaningun. And I've seen Heathcliff's notes. This could be a catastrophe."

"Could be, Rico," Heathcliff said calmly. "Could. But that's what makes this so interesting, isn't it? Even a normal MMO has surprises. I cannot even begin to predict where this might lead. And of course, the Fuuma and the Braves are not the only ones in the midst of interesting schemes." He pointed to a spot beyond the battlefield, at the edge of one of the forests bordering the Grazing Plains. "What do you make of that, hm?"

Rico looked, easily picking out the dark airship that hovered so near the ground. Heathcliff, she recalled, had been positively gleeful when he first saw the ship, proclaiming it to be utterly outside his expectations. What, exactly, the ship's crew was up to, neither she nor her companions knew.

Just like Liberator, and Coper, Rico thought. Every other frontline Swordmaster is just working through the quests as they find them. That ship—Moondancer, was it?—always seems to be on the move, following a course even Akihiko doesn't understand.

"I have no idea," she said finally, shaking her head. "What do you make of it, Heathcliff?"

"I've no idea either," Heathcliff replied, smiling. "Except that Moondancer's pilot was one of the Project Vector patients. All of those who entered SAO have been quite unpredictable. Diavel—well, you certainly know what he achieved, before circumstances intervened. And aren't the rumors of what happened after Illfang's defeat interesting?" He chuckled. "The fate of the players rests with the likes of Lind and Kibaou, and their ability to rally others to the cause of clearing the game. The fate of the Swordmasters? That, I believe, rests with Kirito, Diavel, and others like them."

It was marginally reassuring that the Colonel joined Rico in looking askance at that one. "You're much more of a storyteller than you are a strategist, Heathcliff," the Colonel remarked ruefully. "As a soldier, the lack of solid intel on what those unpredictable elements are up to makes me very nervous. I'll stick with trying to put together an effective raid group, thank you."

Rico sympathized with him on that, at least. She was still horrified that the Colonel had chosen the path he had, but at least he was looking at it rationally, if callously. He was judging the situation by the cold equations, not looking forward to every twist like it was all still a game.

This wasn't what she'd had in mind, when she attempted to warn the authorities what was going to happen. At the least, though, it appeared she had something of an ally in trying to mitigate the tragedy in progress.

"Ah," Heathcliff said, interrupting her musings. "Isn't that interesting?" He stepped toward the railing, pointing toward Niian's southern edge. "What are they up to, do you think?"

Rico looked, and found herself blinking. Another airship was coming up—not the plain wood of the local NPC ferries, nor the steel she'd have expected of a player-owned ship, but rather an ebony she'd only seen on one other. "Is that…?"

"Oh, I believe it is. The same ship sighted a few times at Einsla, before the Skywall fell." Heathcliff's smile broadened. "It would appear Kirito's benefactors are coming. I wonder what could've brought them to show themselves openly?"

She couldn't begin to guess. Though the sudden pinched look on the Colonel's face, as he judged it all from a soldier's perspective, made her suspect it wasn't good.

---

"Okay," Agil said, leaning back against the pilothouse bulkhead now that the boss fight was over. "I said before I wasn't gonna ask questions. So I'm gonna keep my mouth shut about how weird you guys are." He looked pointedly at Kizmel, whose betraying ears were still hidden by her hood. "But I gotta ask one thing: what's this talk about Forest Elves, exactly?"

Kirito hesitated, glancing at his companions. Kizmel gave him a small shrug, seemingly trusting his discretion; Asuna rolled her eyes, flicking her hand toward their guests. "You're the expert, Kirito-kun," the fencer pointed out.

Great. Some "expert". You do remember I don't know what the elves are doing this far out either, right?

Sighing, Kirito stepped back to the wheel, busying himself with judging position and wind speed to get back underway. "Okay. Short version, Kayaba added some new quests in the retail version—extra stuff about the Elf War questline. We're still figuring out exactly what; even Argo hasn't had much luck yet. We've stumbled through some of it ourselves, and it looks like two guilds are approaching it from the other side."

"One of them being the Legend Braves," Tengu said thoughtfully. Arms tucked into the sleeves of his Shinsengumi coat, he turned his gaze out the glasswood windows, where the raiders could still be seen pulling back. "They're running quests with the Forest Elves? Forgive me, but I don't see the issue."

Kirito had to bite his tongue before he could bring up the most personal reason, and he shot Asuna a warning look just as she irritably opened her own mouth. Visibly annoyed, she kept quiet, shook her head, and dropped back into her chair.

Thank goodness. Bad as I am about speaking up when I really need to, her temper worries me sometimes.

Shaking that off, he turned his attention back to Tengu. "There might not be any," he admitted. "On the other hand, we already know another guild's quests with them are a problem. Ever hear of Fuumaningun?"

"The Rat asked me about 'em the other day," Agil said, frowning thoughtfully. "Never seen 'em myself, though, and she didn't push it. So?"

Of course she didn't. Kirito gave them a quick rundown of the guild's history during the beta, finishing with, "And that's just how they were then. Now? They were chasing Argo for information she didn't want to sell a couple days ago, and after that took off on a Forest Elf airship."

"Which led us on a merry chase over Niian," Kizmel said dryly. "Almost into a skyrift, among other things. I believe we have some reason to be… concerned, where Swordmasters and deals with the Kingdom of Kales'Oh are concerned."

"Okay," Agil said after a beat. "I can see your point. Still…." His frown deepened. "Hey. What's this stuff about 'Kales'Oh', anyway? Never heard the name—"

"Incoming," Tengu interrupted—just as the ship-to-ship chime rang out from Asuna's console. "Friends of yours, perhaps?"

Kirito blinked at the sight of the black airship swinging in from high above their port side, even as Asuna quickly clicked the comm system on. "What's Moonshadow doing here…?"

"Relaying a message, Swordmaster," Captain Emlas' gruff voice rang out. "Moonshadow was just coming up on Niian when we received a call from the port. It was brief, unpleasant, and suggested trouble."

"What kind of trouble?" Kizmel demanded, throwing herself back into her chair.

"That, I don't know, Dame Kizmel." His voice was as rough as ever, but Kirito thought he heard more concern in it than usual—which only made his own blood run colder. "Nor, unfortunately, was I in a position to find out. You know we've not the men left to risk a fight on the ground, and to be frank, Moonshadow is not yet up to a battle herself." He paused, as his ship arced over Moondancer and began to sail away. "You have your own mission, and this is not the concern of the Swordmasters. Nonetheless, I must ask you to go in our stead."

"Of course, Captain," Asuna said at once, shooting a quick, sharp glance at Kirito. "We'll be right there!"

It wasn't fair of her to give him that look. He was already spinning the wheel, even as Kizmel eased the throttle forward and spread the wing-sails. Even if he was starting to get very, very nervous. "We're on our way, Captain," he said, trying to sound more confident than he felt.

Kirito had never had a quest come looking for him, not even when he and Asuna bumped into Kizmel that first night. Even Alice had turned up at a moment that was appropriate for a game's plot twist, however bizarre the encounter had otherwise been.

This? This, I don't understand. …Especially since the Dark Elf port isn't an instanced map.

A gruff sigh over the comm. "Again, I'm in your debt, Swordmasters. For now, we will find a place to lay low. …Good hunting, Moondancer."

A quiet click, and the channel was closed. For a few moments, the only sound was from Moondancer's engine, spinning up as Kirito and Kizmel brought the ship around to sail south. That left Kirito free to focus his attention on their course, sparing only a glance at Liberator; he noted absently that the bigger ship seemed to be moving in recover the raid group.

As they cruised low and fast over the Grazing Plains, though, Agil cleared his throat. "Uh. Guys. I know I said I wasn't gonna ask, but… I mean, c'mon. Just a hint? 'Cause I'm totally lost here."

"I'm sorry, Agil," Kizmel said, before Kirito or Asuna could reply. "There is no time to explain. We'll let you off at Urbus, but we must go on. I have my duty."

"Your duty," Tengu repeated flatly, his blank gaze settling on her. "Forgive me, Kizmel-san, but… who are you, exactly?"

Kirito cursed under his breath. That was a question he hadn't wanted to answer yet, not to any other player. And definitely not to Tengu, who may have seemed aboveboard but still gave him the creeps. Not now! "Look," he said, gritting his teeth, "we really don't have time for this—"

Kizmel muttered something Sindarin under her breath, too low for him to quite make out. Taking one hand off the wing-sails' control, she flung back her hood, revealing her long, pointed ears. At the same time, her cursor flickered from player green to NPC yellow, completely breaking her disguise.

Giving the startled Agil an unusually irritated look, she raised her chin. "I am Kizmel, Pagoda Knight and Royal Guard of the Kingdom of Lyusula. As you might say, an 'NPC'." She arched one eyebrow. "Do you have a problem with that?"

---

One day, Kizmel was sure, her impulsiveness was going to get her into trouble. But having to deal with Tengu's questioning—and Kirito's evident unease with him—on top of the sudden report of trouble had just been a little too much for her temper. She only hoped it wouldn't get her companions in any trouble later.

Still, that is a matter for "later", she reminded herself, as Moondancer dove toward the Cloud Sea. At least they agreed to leave at Urbus. Whatever is happening here, bringing in other Swordmasters doesn't seem wise….

She felt a brief flicker of amusement at Asuna's anxious, irritated mutter when the ship dropped below Niian, leveling off only meters above the deadly Cloud Sea. It wasn't as if Kizmel could blame the fencer for being uneasy, even if she and Kirito grew ever more deft at ship-handling by the day.

That amusement vanished as they climbed up to the mouth of the Dark Elf port. When Moondancer's bow swung around to slip inside, humor was suddenly the last thing on Kizmel's mind.

"Is that smoke?" Asuna breathed, whisper as loud as a shout to Kizmel's ears.

"Yes," the Knight said shortly. She yanked the throttle back to just above idle, and pulled the wing-sails all the way in. "Asuna, lower the skids. The cradles are burning."

Not just the cradles. As a silent, white-faced Kirito brought Moondancer down to the nearest clear spot beside the torched airship cradles, Kizmel could see that the port's grove of carefully-tended trees was also engulfed. Two of the buildings were outright shattered, and flames roared in the windows of the Portmaster's office.

She couldn't see a single Dark Elf. Not even any attempting to fight the fires.

The instant Moondancer was solidly on the ground, Kizmel was out the pilothouse hatch and leaping off the deck, heedless of the minor fall injury she took from the landing. Barely registering her companions following her, she dashed toward the Portmaster's office, saber drawn. "Is anyone there?!" she called out. "Portmaster! Anyone! Please, answer me!"

Only the sound of flames replied. Worse, there was a deeper silence, one she felt in her bones. She tried to deny it, reaching out desperately, yet the truth could not be defied.

No magic here. Not even the faintest traces of the few charms we have. I know the port had some of them, I felt them when last we were here…!

By the time Kizmel came around to the front of the Portmaster's office, she still hadn't seen anyone. She wanted to believe they'd simply fled, since there were no bodies; knowing the dead left no such traces in the transitory Aincrad robbed that hope of any strength.

Then, just before she could rush into the office, a single figure stumbled out, coughing. The Portmaster's adjutant, she abruptly realized—just before he collapsed to his knees.

"Adjutant!" she called out. Realizing to her shame she didn't even know his name, she rushed to his side. "Adjutant, what happened here?"

The adjutant looked up, only then seeming to notice her; at the same time, she spotted the deep red gash in his neck, and the deeper crimson that marked intense burns over his right side. "…You…" he wheezed, looking up at her through eyes narrowed by pain—or something else. "What are… you doing here…?"

"Captain Emlas sent us word," Asuna said, hurrying over. She was already pulling a healing potion from her belt. "Here, we can help—"

"Stay back!" he snapped. "I… need no help… from you, human… even were it not… too late…."

She recoiled. "What…?"

"And you…." The adjutant glared at Kizmel again. "You… did this. You involved… humans. And now we… pay the price. Betrayed us, to Kales'Oh…."

"What?!" Kizmel demanded, courtesy for a wounded man forgotten for an instant. "What are you talking about?"

"Bah…. You… you are the reason… they knew this place. Those humans… and the Forest… they wanted… whatever it is… you found." The adjutant coughed, a horrible, wracking sound, and slumped onto his side. "Betrayers, all… our deaths are… on your hands, as much as theirs, Dame Kizmel…."

That final insult, a jab at her title she'd not heard openly in years, came with the adjutant's last breath. Light faded from his eyes, and he fell on his face. Barely a moment later, he shattered, just as the Bullbous Bow had not an hour before.

Numb, Kizmel could only stare at the place on which, just a moment before, a fellow warrior of Lyusula had lain. She'd thought she had been coming to terms with the nature of the transitory Aincrad. She was beginning to adjust to the lack of pain, to the odd symbols that hovered in her vision. She'd even seen death, of her own people, in the minutes after Moonshadow's crash.

Now she was learning the difference between losing a comrade in the heat of battle, and watching one slowly succumb, and vanish. It shouldn't have been a shock, not to a Knight who'd fought across a hundred battlefields, but it was. The suddenness, the emptiness of death in Aincrad… no, that she had not been prepared for.

Footsteps approached, stopping a few paces away. "I'm sorry," Kirito said quietly. "There… aren't any survivors, Kizmel."

Blinking back tears, Kizmel nodded jerkily. "I… I know. I could tell. Thank you." Drawing a deep, shuddering breath, she turned to look at her other companion—and stopped, seeing her slumped on her knees, eyes wide with horror. "Asuna…?"

"…I'm sorry," Asuna whispered. "This… players did this?" She swallowed. "But… who…?"

"Not the Legend Braves, if that's what you're wondering." Kirito walked into view, expression tight but composed; Kizmel supposed his own past made it easier for him. "The timing is wrong. But the Fuuma?" He held up a slim, pointed shard of metal. "Throwing spike. This has 'ninja' written all over it."

"But why here?" Asuna shuddered. "This had nothing to do with them, or whatever stupid quest they're running!"

"I doubt they're smart enough to know that." He winced. "Kizmel. I'm sorry. This may have been about us after all."

Closing her eyes, Kizmel took a few long, deliberate breaths. Squared her shoulders, and stood. "'About' us, perhaps," she said softly. "But the fault is not yours. I will not blame you for what other Swordmasters have done. Not when I know well by now that you are not all of a piece."

That was something she'd promised herself long ago, before it had ever occurred to her she might have cause to work with humans. Too often, in her life, she'd seen people treated that way, by their origin, not on their own merits. She knew the histories, of her own people's misdeeds, and of the Last Alliance.

All the same, she knew what the razing of the Dark Elf port by Forest Elves and Swordmasters meant. Painful as it was. "You are not of a piece," she repeated, turning away. "Which is why… I should go." She couldn't look back, not hearing the gasps from the comrades whose company she'd come to enjoy. "Misled or not, they must be after the sigil rings. If that's so, sooner or later, I will come to blows with the Fuumaningun. You can't fight your own, so I…."

Kizmel couldn't finish the sentence. Shaking her head, unable to say what she knew they'd earned, she started walking—

Only to be brought up short when hands took hold of both her arms. "And where do you think you're going?" Asuna demanded.

"You agreed to help me track down an Integrity Knight," Kirito said dryly. "How could I look myself in the mirror if I ran away from some idiot wannabe-ninja?"

Kizmel blinked, glancing from one to the other in confusion. She'd known them barely a month, but she knew Asuna was still trying to find her own way; surely it couldn't be so easy for her to risk fighting her own people. And Kirito—that he'd gone so far as to grasp her of his own volition, as skittish as he was?

"But—"

"You said yourself, we're not 'of a piece'," Asuna told her, her chiding look spoiled by her smile. "The Fuuma are Swordmasters. They're not 'our own'."

"And we're part of this." Kirito's gaze was much more serious. "If the Fuuma are after the rings we found, this is our responsibility, too. I won't run from that." His grip on her arm tightened. "I can't."

She still could've denied them. Some in her own Knighthood, she was sure, would've done so in an instant, just as the Portmaster's adjutant had. Certainly, even with the strength of Swordmasters, they couldn't have held her.

But I'm not so different from Kirito, am I? If I left them now, I would be alone, at least until the next Skywall is breached. I… don't want that. Not when I've finally found people besides Tilnel who make me feel… warm.

Closing her eyes, Kizmel raised a gauntleted hand to her chest, where she still felt ghostly echoes from the awakening of Moondancer's core. That feeling, she still didn't understand. She just knew that it was warm, and comforting. Something she desperately needed, so far from her own.

"…You too are quite mad, you know," she whispered. "To be willing to confront other Swordmasters… and you must know, when word of this reaches my people, there will be those who blame you."

"Trust me, Kizmel. I know all about that." There was a darkness in Asuna's eyes—and burning embers, like an old grudge that had never quite died. "Here, I can at least defend myself."

"What she said. And… this is wrong." Kirito looked back, at the flaming, wrecked port. "This is wrong, and I don't think you can do anything about it alone, any more than I can reach Alice by myself." He suddenly grinned, a crooked, rakish look. "Besides. Did you forget? You don't exactly have a ride without us, Kizmel."

"Er." Kizmel blinked, glanced back at the empty—and still burning—airship cradles. Lowered her head, sighing. "That really should teach me to think before I act…. Very well, my comrades." She straightened, but made no move to shake off the hands on her arms. "You've won this argument. Where do we go now, to bring justice for this atrocity?"

"Back to our original plan, I'd say," Kirito said, as he and Asuna turned to lead her back to Moondancer. "First, we go see if Argo's dug up anything. The news about the Legend Braves might give her a new lead…."

---

Author's Note:

---

Do I even need to bother with excuses at this point? 2021 is old enough to drink, and telling 2020 to hold its beer. On the bright side, while my health issues are by no means solved, they do finally seem manageable. If I'm careful.

So. Not much to say here, except to apologize if the chapter feels at all disjointed; unfortunately not uncommon, when I write a chapter over the course of months. Another part of the problem was that this was kind of a "bridge" chapter, establishing a few essential details before I could really get to the meat of this arc (notably, I needed to get a handle on the initial guild politics; after this, changes can be summarized more). Next chapter should much more smoothly deal with the heart of the arc.

Hopefully there's enough hooks in here to grab attention, at least?

And yes, I am working on the next chapter of Monochrome Duet. On top of, well, 2021, I've had a bad case of writer's block; filler-ish chapters always fight me. (Annoying, since while the specific events may not be terribly significant, the chapter's characterization is going to be vital.) I do finally have an idea as to where to start with that, though, so… well, obviously no promises, but I'm gonna try. Especially since after that chapter, events have a much more solid framework for me to build on, both canon and a variety of threads I've been weaving for the past dozen or two chapters.

Osmanthus Tree isn't forgotten either; it's just not as far behind as everything else.

So. I think that's everything important? Let me know if this was decent, or another horrific product of 2021 getting drunk. Until next time, comrades. -Solid