A/N: I'm so thankful I chose to add a time and date to every chapter, really helps keep my timeline of events straight. That aside, I had fun with this one, that is all. Review Time.
ToMeMyselfAndI82907: At the end of the day, so long as the writers ourselves are happy, that's what matters. And yeah, hearing 'good job' here and there is good for the mind. As for Argo, since she's in a dungeon, messages back and forth are blocked, as for what could happen to her... guess we'll find out.
Enjoy.
|Dec. 29th, 19:48|
|Sword Art Online, Floor 5, Town of Karluin|
Over two days, for that length of time, not a peep came from Argo. By now, Nagi displayed something no person had witnessed on his features, panic.
"What if she's trapped down there? Argo's great a stealth but combat's not her specialty, and the game isn't like the Beta in various ways..." Nagi kept pacing back and forth in his room. Artorias constantly followed his pace, seeing the intent in the floorboards. "I can't even track her movements, my skill's not high enough yet, even if it was I can't track footprints from days prior,"
A red tick appeared on Artorias's forehead, causing her to scream, "Graaah, shut up, you idiot!" Her hand slapped across his face, startling Nagi out of his stupor. Then Artorias blinked, inspecting her hand. "Huh? my cursor didn't turn orange for that? Neat, feminism marches on... ahem, anyway!" She closed her eyes, shaking her head before glaring back at Nagi. "Calm. The Fuck. Down,"
Grabbing his shoulders, she shoved him onto a stool. "That Rat's one of the stealthiest players to date, give her some credit," Artorias crossed her arms, "Honestly..."
"But Argo's..." His pause brought Artorias's attention back to his depressed state. "...she's always getting into trouble, but... I've been there when she needs it, and now..."
"Now you feel this is your fault... great!" Pinching her nose, Artorias swung through her menu to equip her red tailcoat, sword, and shield. "I'll go find her, and you-!" She prodded his nose, freezing his retort in place. "-stay put and stop fucking putting a dip in the floorboards; ugh, this body seriously makes me act like a woman at times, it's annoying..."
With her rambling about her predicament, she slammed Nagi's door to deal with the issue at hand personally. "I owe ya that much, Nagi," Calling him 'Problem Child' was weird since they were probably the same age. With her left fist clenched, she admired her three rings, red, yellow, and blue, from right to left. "Better than going to waste."
Arriving outside the entrance to the dungeon, Artorias whistled at the decrepit entrance. Small groups of players were around a large, crumbling ruin in the middle of the second large plaza, The Catacombs. Torches lined the eerie staircase with bizarre holy statues on either side. Artorias didn't even bat an eye, heading down into the darkness with her Candlelight ring equipped.
Once on the first floor, she noted the various groups standing around discussing quests through the various halls on this floor alone, a few were sleeping too or resting by lanterns. Artorias paid them no mind and searched for the secondary staircase. She and Nagi had done a few quests within the catacombs already, some... less than stellar for the heart.
"Argo's gonna be down on the second to third layer..." Artorias didn't spend a lot of time on this floor in the Beta but she knew the first floor was safe, it was the two below that were dangerous. Traversing the room, she heard footsteps behind her. Slowly, she sighed, having reached the stairwell. "You are an idiot..."
Rose eyes shot through stern onyx. "I... I need to do this too, she's my best friend," Nagi ran down to meet her with a firm look. "Thank you, and you're right, I need to calm down so let's find her together,"
"There's the runt I know and brotherly love," She teased, "Or is that still sisterly love given my body?" She tugged at her tailcoat but shrugged and followed Nagi, their rings lighting the way around them. "Shirayuki really came through with these."
"I know, without them, we'd have to carry a torch around in our weapon hand," Nagi concurred, wandering the dark catacombs, passing old crypts and resting places for skeletons, combined with the ominous music and ambient rattling and banging only further captured the disturbing depths.
Without their rings guiding the way, they'd have gone in circles trying to locate the next stairwell, while descending, their 'Detection' skills were mute, nothing was visible yet either aside from their shadows. "Can't see the end of this?" Artorias grunted, kicking a stone down the tunnel. "Huh?"
They paused, Artorias turning back to the staircase leading out, "Is something - huh?" Nagi sniffed the damp air, it was faint but, he could smell... copper? "But there's no monster spawns on the first floor?"
"Copper?" Artorias's brow rose.
"I have a good sense of smell, so monsters give off a coppery scent," He stated happily, then frowned with a worried brow. "The only other thing that gives off a copper scent is-"
*Fwoosh*
Gravity ceased to be on the three steps under the pair, the floor simply vanished into the walls as their screams were sent plummeting into the darkness. Standing by one of the few torches illuminating the stairwell, a gloved hand released the hidden trap lever, a toothy grin plastered under a black poncho.
Somewhere in the dark...
"Yaaaah!" Nagi screamed, separated from Artorias as he slammed his scabbard into the tight walls around him, stalling his descent as his back was prodded by various twigs and branches, flying out of the box into a dark open space, gut compressed by the jerk motion above him.
"Okay, that hurt," Nagi groaned, hanging upsidedown with his katana's scabbard strap suspending him above the floor of the dungeon, swaying from a large root. He unclipped himself, landing on all fours to catch Yozora again, fixing it tightly while inspecting the darkness, a few visible shadows marking out the various levels and sections of the catacombs. "Guess now I really am off the deep end..."
He couldn't smell Artorias or that strange copper scent, so instead, Nagi wandered forward, drawing his sword toward the dark. "Just me from here on out..." Argo was down here somewhere, he needed to find her, and from Artortias's health bar, she had survived someplace else.
"!" He stopped, quickly spinning on his heel to balance himself on the edge of a ledge, two monsters sliced at the ground where he stood with crooked daggers. They were only the height of Nagi's shin, humanoid rodent creatures with bluish skin, and large yellow eyes under an old hood.
/Sly Shrewman - Lv. 21\
One level higher due to questing, Nagi drew his sword over his left shoulder, his special haori conjuring a stream of water against the blade, seemingly extending it as he spun onto his knee for a wide stroke, the second carrying the weight of the water into a double spiral, slicing through the two Shrewman. "Whirlwind Slash!" The water splashed, and through its haze, Nagi plunged his sword forward, creating a ripple effect through the left rodent's head. "Ripple Thrust!"
The other dove for Nagi's back, attempting to snatch the weapon's scabbard. A blue contrail followed his eyes, the blade soaked in a stream that formed a jagged buzzsaw of water that divided the monster down the middle. "Rising Tide!"
Both dead, Nagi ran forward, using his Candlelight ring to cross a small bridge over an empty water duct. Unfortunately, Nagi could see the flashes in the distance, followed by that acrid stench. More were coming his way. Drawing his sword back into its sheath, the water dripped and flooded from the gap around the guard and sheath.
"Serpent Slash!" Two diagonally parallel strokes rippled and tore through two more Shrewmen, his left foot leaving a water splash on the ground as Nagi spun around, swatting another with a roundhouse, the ring of water dissipating. "Water Moon!" More red cursors ahead, they were ambushing him. "I'll fight my way through this, I'll find you, Artorias! Argo!" "Graaaaaah!" Nagi's body glowed crimson.
Along an intersection of the catacombs between two archways was a small deposit of shiny relics that quickly drew the attention of all Sly Shrewmen in the area, the scampering creatures fixated like moths drawn to a flame. A group of five or six shuffled to grab one of the weapons or shiny accessories.
In the darkness, a shadow was caught by the flicker of a mounted torch, two pink eyes glowing in the dark. When the monsters noticed, all they saw was a blade dripping the same, lightish-red pigment, a crescent smile on the swordsman's face.
"Hello," Artorias drew her weapon behind her back, giving her face a sharp cast of shadows with a rosy backdrop. "Goodbye."
*Shing-Shing-Shing-Shing!*
Once the four arcs of light faded behind her ponytail, all she could recall was that man by the stairwell, grinning like a madman with his hand on the hidden lever. "Black poncho, just like what Nezha described..." That investigation for Argo into the loss of player items paid off, now she had a good read on who was behind this. "But why send us down here? What's their aim?"
In the dark, red cursors emerged from walls, drawing a long-winded breath from Artorias, who lazily swung her sword low. "Alright... let's get this over with," She had an idiot partner to find. Her blade took on its reddish tint, casting refraction on a glint of metal in the darkness behind one of the archways.
*Ting!*
She choked on her breath as a stinging sensation rushed to coil around her frame, dropping the girl to her hands and knees with a huff, shield clattering beside her while wheezing against the dank stone. With twitchy eyes, she noticed a new icon appeared as a pair of lightning bolts. "S-shit, paralysis? Are you kidding me!?"
"You seem confused? Sorry 'bout that, have my ways of tricking the eye, not many would notice off the bat," Where the red 'cursors' floated, something grabbed them, shattering the faux pieces, merely jewels wedged into cracks and crevasses.
A weak grin tugged at her lips, trying to spot the man snuffing out the lights, leaving her with only her ring as a source of comfort. "H-hiding in plain sight? Cleaver for a little cowar-Ah!" Another throwing pick pierced her shoulder, fortunately not restarting the Paralysis effect.
"Pain's been heightened in this world, if only a bit so it's not quite got quite the same 'oomf' as regular bodies," Two boots stepped between the archways, clapping in the void, disorientating Artorias who trembled to look upright. The man gave a theatrical laugh, devoid of empathy. "But the reactions? They're real, fear, dread, that shivering sensation people make as their voice hitches and breaks once the realization that this would be their last moments; now that's something irreplaceable,"
When the person finally stood before the redhead, her squinted eyes focused again only for her heart to swan-dive into her gut. Above the man's head, a single, red cursor drifted. Artorias's eyes couldn't have broadened wider, if they could, she'd think it would be hilarious, but her throat was dry. "A R-Red Player... ah... shit!" Gritting her teeth proved difficult as the man stepped closer.
A dark, hooded poncho with rough, baggy trousers tucked into his boots and wielded a large cobalt dagger. From what was visible, his face had an exotic structure, definitely not entirely Japanese. Strikingly, just within range of her pulsating ring, she could make out the outline of a tattoo on the right side of his face.
Once close enough he crouched down, grabbing her chin with his left with a twisted grin, "I had my fun but then I saw two little players wander right by me with such budding determination I couldn't help myself," His knife traced her cheek, his fingers angling the blade to groove into her flesh, carving toward her right eye.
All Artorias could do was watch, attempting to regulate her breathing as she watched the blade tip blot-out vision in her right eye, a stinging sensation ringing in the back of her head as she gasped. The player pushed further and further, never quite delivering the fatal blow before twisting his weapon free, watching as her health trickled into the yellow.
A pounding heartbeat resonated in her head like a drum, irritating her into curling her fingers around the hilt of her sword; she made the mistake of coming down here with a half-assed weapon close to breaking, a rookie mistake on her part. Combined with being treated like a doll to a sadistic child's amusement didn't stifle her rage either. No, she wasn't some damsel, all she was to the world is a good-looking female, or a pervert if they understood the truth. It was hell regardless of the blade piercing her stomach.
All she could think about was that sly Rat and her partner who never ceased to find a moment to smile. "Sorry to cramp on your fetish but-" The Red Player had barely half a second to react as a red edge slit across his chest, the upswing force rippling through their clothing. He landed with a skid, grunting at Artorias' rise, seeing her yellow-jewel ring dissolve. Now, she was the one smiling sadistically, "-I'll be deciding when I die!"
"An antidote ring? Tch, smartass," The man lost his smirk, tossing several picks that were quickly swatted with a few careful spins of the woman's longsword.
He inverted his dagger the moment Artorias stood only a few feet from him, blade casting a chilling pink pigment across the catacombs. "Shit!" He cursed, blocking the two rapid strokes, the edges of the blade nicking at his sides.
The girl refused to relent, spinning once to strike hard nearest his right shoulder, scraping her blade down its length before instigating a second vertical chop, swiping down the air between them, completing 'Horizontal Sqaure' as a plume of smoke erupted between them. Artorias gasped, hopping backward to grab her shield, raising it close to her chest. "A Smokebomb?"
Ten seconds, then twenty, almost thirty before she lowered her guard, the haze subsiding in the dark. Not a trace of the poncho man could be seen. Artorias finally exhaled a breath she unknowingly held, keeping her eyes on the shifty shadows, plucking a knife she had deflected off the ground to inspect later.
"So there are Red Players..." It was a scary thought, people murdering for the sake of it, and the man looked exactly how Nezha described, down to his sense of humor. In that instant, her sword met the adam's apple approaching her light source. "Nice try, bastard!" She roared, aiming for the throat had two hands not rose, appearing paler than the astral type monsters down here.
"I-I-I SURRENDER!" Through the gloomy depths, her sword was a hair away from silencing the resident black swordsman, now wishing he had a Candlelight ring himself.
"Wha? Kirito?" Now she felt like a total dumbass, the ravenette collapsing to the floor, startled.
Elsewhere, Nagi dove from a pillar, drawing Yozora through the last Mob in his path, leaving scattering fragments in his wake while inhaling slowly. So far, he had been mapping out the third level of the massive catacombs, seeing as it would be handy for other players once he located Argo and Artorias, and found the exit himself. So far, his hands were tied.
"It's been forever... where are you guys?" He muttered aloud, hearing only the dripping, scuttling, and faint, ominous music through the spaces light couldn't reach. Following his map momentarily, he closed it once he stood before a long bridge across a bottomless chasm, there was no indication of how far down it went, meaning Nagi may very well be located nearest the area boss chamber.
Something stood out though, a few torches did illuminate the catacombs, and what ones that were present offered a brief idea of the layout ahead. Several lined the flat, rectangular walkway, standing on the opposite side was an Orange cursor. At first, Nagi thought it was an NPC, baffling him momentarily as no quest resided this deep aside from higher-level quests, but those alone didn't contain NPCs.
It was a player.
An Orange Player.
Cautiously, Nagi kept his weapon arm loose, fixated on the player that didn't budge, staring at him with a dead-serious expression. They wore strikingly similar armour to Klein, only the red replaced with a faint violet instead. Something large was mounted on their back with a purple and black katana in its sheath. His head remained obscured by a hooded cloak.
"The Shinobi of the frontlines, what a joke..." They, 'he', spoke with a cold, calculative tone. "Why would you be down here in this place?"
"You're an Orange Player... just like what Kirito said," Nagi replied vaguely, giving the man time to formulate a response, head flicking in acknowledgment.
"You mean the ones with the poncho? No, I'm not with him," He answered carefully, waving a hand. "If one stands in my way, then they are my enemy, senseless murder leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. I just want to live by my own rules,"
"Why's that?" Nagi raised his blade in both hands, the edge facing the ceiling.
"For retribution," He spoke with a little more life in his tone.
Nothing was said for a short time, instead, the player grasped the large shadow on his back, pulling it forward into the snap and pop of embers, a long, amber great bow splattered in burns. Magic and bows were never meant to be implemented due to testing, that didn't mean the coding wasn't buried in the Cardinal System. Nagi just never expected to see a player using them, it was something he had no knowledge of countering.
"So many unpolished items can be found if you know where to look," The sight made Nagi's posture adjust nervously. Under the hood, two cynical blue eyes were aflame. "Come then, I want to see how good you really are, 'Shinobi'."
Within a short timeframe, three arrows were plucked across the bow, forcing Nagi to deflect the startling new projectile, a fourth charged a dark violet tint as he managed to defend against the force, his boots squeaking against the cobblestone, the sheer force of the unknown skill leaving Nagi's arms numb.
When Nagi blinked he was overwhelmed with the scent of bloodlust, diving under two wide strokes of a katana, spinning on his knee to deliver a 'Rising Tide' to the blade guarding against it, the player's reaction time might very well be on par with his or even Kirito's. "Interesting effect... maybe if you hand over that haori I'll back down..."
"Never," Nagi swung back with a 'Moon Crescent' kick knocking the player's guard away. When he landed he threw himself forward instantly, rushing rapids of water following his blade, "Ripple Thrust!" The droplet effect rang against the face of the katana as the player performed a backswing, canceling Nagi's skill, and immediately switching to his bow mid-air. "The Quick Change skill?"
The tip of his arrows glowed purple, crackling in the dark as it whisked the torches' flames, the trio of arrows was effortlessly parried, the fourth exploding in the ground next to Nagi who rolled into a dash, sword cast in a wave of water. "In that case..." As the player plunged his sword, Nagi stomped down on its edge with 'Uchikesu' sword slashing from his right. "Iai!"
The strike landed before his foot slipped out from under the katana, forced to block with his forearm against a surprising 'Flash Blow' with the orange player's leg, tossing Nagi into a continuous roll toward the edge. He was pursued, seeing the violet-tinted blade cleave a few strands of hair. Nagi stumped the orange player by throwing himself off the edge of the bridge, swinging himself over the chasm with his fingers hooked to the groove of the walkway.
He bound over the player, blade descending with a massive torrent of water to splash them both. "Waterfall!" The player evaded the water basin, grunting when two quickdraws were made against his posture, breaking his defense for Nagi's dripping left hook to crease into his chest, the punch making him heave, leaping to charge another bow skill. "Three hits... then a powerful pierce skill..."
The air swirled around the arrow-tip, the purple pigment crackling against the river. Something made Nagi's sharp glare hesitate, this attack was different. Diving back, he was nearly swept away by the sound of thunder ringing from the arrow that collided with the bridge, the sheer force releasing a small wave of lightning. Through the dust, a blade slid across Nagi's cheek, side, and thigh with the precision of an assassin.
"I think I figured it out, why you're here," The man expressed, holding Nagi down with his sword's relentless strokes left and right, constantly forcing the brunette on the defense, diverting the strikes at the last second. Whoever this player was knew how to maximize his skills to their fullest, Nagi couldn't keep up! "Not to quest or to relic hunt... no, you're here for someone,"
Another harsh cast of purple against the catacombs, two striking chops, and a thrust breaking Nagi's guard, his foot stumbling against the lip of the chasm, the approaching player's expression harboring elation with a stale coldness behind his actions. Every attack had a purpose, leading to several more that Nagi could never predict, as though he was stumbling through the dark while his orange player watched with subtle amusement.
"That Rat... she must be important," Nagi couldn't stop from twitching when he mentioned Argo, exciting a response. "Ah, so that's it... your crutch."
'A Crutch', there were a few examples Nagi could bring to light of what impaired his ability to perform at his very best, some weren't as easy to dismiss as others. Argo... Tomo, a girl who would taunt and mess with any player, spending hours of her time looking for the perfect answer to a client's inquiry, going some nights without sleep over something so small in detail but to her mattered more than her health. How can anyone so amazing and inspiring be seen as a crutch?
The player carefully drew his great bow's string back with two fingers, his skill's chime revving up to paralyze Nagi at the edge of life and death. Once his sights were caught on the right shoulder, he released without a second to consider the ramifications of leaving this player to die, why would he care for the enemy?
*Whoosh!*
A sudden, serrated wave of deep blue water tore through the concrete, splitting the bolt in two at the last second. He stumbled back only to grunt when a boot lodged itself against his bow's length, the water pulse knocking it from his hands. "Argo... is my strength!" Nagi thundered, striking with his fingers against the orange player's chest, piercing his health directly. "Embracer...!"
Both charged for a katana skill, basking the catacombs in a mystical light of twilight. "Thanks to being trapped down here..." Nagi held Yozora in its sheath, drawing it with a pair of watery dragon claws sweeping the earth. "I finally had enough mastery with Rising Tide to unlock it!"
The orange player struck with an overhead skill only to be deflected by Nagi's own, a large fountain of water gushing from his blade as a shadow swept overhead. Following the rising slant came several various slashes, visualized as a dragon tearing strips through the player's armour, the sudden force of five hits knocking the hooded player toward his bow again, panting as he dropped into the red. "Rushing Water Undulation!"
"What... no... I lost...?" He seethed, staring back at the haori's particle effect wearing off, but Nagi's stance refused to waver. "Bastard..."
"Go... away," Nagi spoke almost as hollowly as he appeared. Their standstill didn't last as Nagi's 'Detection' pulsated in his head, forcing his body to turn and deflect a throwing pick from afar, as he did, pain shot through his right arm as the orange player swept under and amputated his hand, discarding Nagi's blade into the abyss below. "A-ah..."
Collapsing to his knee, he could only watch as the man retrieved his bow, staring down at Nagi as though he were filth. "This place is a PK zone, you should be careful of ambushes; next time we'll see how long that 'strength' of yours can carry you," By the way Nagi arrived, someone moved in next to the man, both fading out of range.
Shakily, Nagi navigated his menus, tipping back his only 'Hi-Potion' to magically regrow his hand before the bloodloss claimed his life. Opening tab after tab he found the system he was looking for. Hitting 'Materialize All Items' he sighed softly as Yozora returned to its sheath safely though sweatdropped at the mountain of loot clattering before him.
"There," He huffed, clearing it all away before more Sly Shrewmen came to steal his valuables. Though Nagi couldn't find the strength to crack a smile, he had encountered an Orange Player, an accomplice included, who had a weapon no player should have access to, and who matched him in sheer skill alone. Rather, Nagi had grown used to himself and Klein being the only katana users in Aincrad as of recent news. "So that makes three, I should warn him later,"
Picking himself up, he knew wallowing on the 'mights and maybes' would be pointless, he still had a mission, and with that player possibly lurking around, he needed to find Argo and warn her. Taking his first steps in an undiscovered direction, he saw a torch move into view, rather, a light from a ring around someone's finger.
"Who's causin' a racket out... huh, NagI?" It was dumb, but hearing that unique tone of voice made Nagi's shoulders slump, smiling stupidly after only a few days of not hearing it whistle into his ears. Argo cocked her head funnily, seeing her best friend standing there, looking beaten and covered in dirt, smiling like an idiot. "Y'know I like my surprise visits but ya created so much noise I thought one of the Guilds up an - h-h-heY!"
The girl froze up when Nagi pulled her into a tight hug out of nowhere, causing her body to seize up at the contact as he nearly knocked her over, burying his head against her shoulder. Nagi didn't say anything, but his hands were shaking against her back, making her alarmed expression soften, finding her hand against his back as she used her left to pat the back of his head. "KaitO...?" Her voice was much slower than her rapid-paced tone.
He gulped, not removing his arms. "...an orange player, he was so close to... I... I couldn't beat him," Nagi grit his teeth in frustration, staring down at their feet bitterly. "It's like everything I've done to get stronger just got washed away, if he wanted to... then... I wouldn't even still be here..." That thought even made Argo's heart stop.
"Sorry, for worrying you, and for being weak," His voice coughed, pulling at her cloak bitterly. It was a harsh truth, there will always be someone better than you at something, meaning Nagi's own goal was impossibly far from his reach. One day, he couldn't shake the feeling that someone would be out of his reach, just like Diavel, like all those that have died.
Argo didn't have a real solution to that, she wasn't built for something as risky as what Kirito or Nagi do, her skills tailored to gathering intel, escaping combat with efficiency, or outright avoiding it. But that meant her HP was significantly lower than the average player, focusing on agility above everything else. If she was even a step out of place, it would cost her.
"Here's some free infO," She cracked a small smile, still embracing Nagi with her chin on his shoulder. "This guy's tougher than you, he might even have better skills and reaction times than ya could ever pull off... buT," She quickly scratched her warm cheek. "...I know yer someone who would find a way to win, even if it were small, you'd win 'cause I've got faith in yoU,"
After another minute, Nagi found the strength to laugh, standing back a bit with a hand on his forehead, "Right... well, I'm just glad you're okay," He enjoyed hearing her laugh as her arm pulled him forward, sides pressed together. "I really look like an idiot, huh?"
"I'll keep that as exclusive info, you can keep the warrantY," Argo held her fingers up in an 'OK' fashion, winking away while leading Nagi toward the safe room she had been camped inside. "Sorry for worrin' you toO,"
"Like I said, you're fine, that's what matters, what more could I want from you?" He grinned, wiping his tears dry, unable to see her flustered expression in the dark.
"...my HerO," Argo mused, the pair disappearing into the dark.
To Be Continued...
So not only an Orange Player, but a Red Player has emerged, one familiar to the story than the other. Plus a lovely moment between Argo and Nagi that we'll expand upon a little in the upcoming chapter. I hope you enjoyed, I appreciate the support as always; seeya in the next chapter, Players!
018 - Banding Together
Despite finding Argo, and leaving the Field Boss to other players, one of the Guilds were planning to take the Floor Boss alone on New Year's Eve. Kirito has a plan to change that...