Floor 9 - Chapter 1 - Don't Fear The Reaper...
January 9th, 2023 - Floor 9, Teleport Gate
Arriving on the Ninth Floor, each of the group had a common thought... that they may or may not have wanted to ditch the winter gear now, given the sun was shining down through the canopy of the trees.
Not that that was much relief for the male member of the group, who was currently sweating like the Duke of York, a fact that his girlfriend found some solace in... ''Little bit warm?'' Koharu asked in a sweet voice, that Jet knew was concealing just how much she wanted to laugh.
''Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, Koharu...'' Usually, Jet would've been mildly annoyed at the laughing, but after the last floor, he kind of admitted he deserved it... and besides, he wasn't the only one in this situation.
''Oh don't worry, I will... umm, where's Rain?'' The damp dog that was now Jet pointed back at a tree a few metres back, and to the other coated member of the group, now resting against a tree, and looking equally as unhappy.
''I think we should probably swap back to our normal gear... even I'm getting a bit hot here.'' Phillia pointed out, as Jet made haste and hid behind a tree to change...
After a short break, the group, now wearing their normal attire, were back on the move, and heading deep into the forest...
''Please tell me I'm not the only one constantly expecting that trees to try and grab us...'' Koharu mumbled, as Jet nodded in sympathy. That part of the third floor was an absolute nightmare for everyone, and Jet was glad they'd likely never have to go through there again.
''Whoever designed that floor was evil...'' Phillia agreed, ''Try looking for objects buried in the mud, when you have to worry that a tree might suddenly pop to life and grab you!'' Something in her tone told the rest of the group that Phillia had had her own share of adventures before they'd met her...
''Agreed. Still better than the fifth though...'' Phillia joked, doing her best impression of a ghost, causing them to burst into laughter. ''I still can't believe that you and Strea are related, you know? You look nothing alike!''
''Well, yeah, she's using an avatar, I'm not. We do look more alike IRL, you know.'' Jet pointed out, as Phillia shrugged.
''Whatever you say, Jethro.'' Phillia smirked, as Jet's eye twitched.
''I hear something...'' Rain, having taken point for the group. called out. The noises were those of clashing blades, which almost certainly meant they were about to find the next quest in the Elf War Campaign...
The group ran further into the forest, following Phillia as they did, her Tracking skill being exponentially higher than the rest of the group's, and before too long, they'd reached the area where two Elves were fighting off a not insubstantial number of Fallen Elves. That was to be expected at this point in the quest... what wasn't, however, was that the Elves were Forest Elves, not Dark Elves. ''Is this the right quest?'' Phillia asked, slightly confused.
''It should be?'' This was odd, Jet thought to himself. Other than on the last floor, where it had been a matter of helping the commander, rather than them actually being allies...
''What is the meaning of this treachery! You dare spit in the face of our alliance?!'' The Forest Elf asked, scandalised at their supposed allies betrayal...
''Our instructions are to purge those who will not follow the wishes of the King. Do not prolong this any further than is needed...'' The Fallen began to advance on the Forest Elf... ''And we are no more than rabbits caught in a snare...'' The knight snarled, as a Fallen Elf lunged at her, their sabre tearing into them, ''Wendelin! Quick! Run!''
The commander, already angry at the situation, had become downright livid, and readied his blade for the fight against the Fallen. ''Fuimith... Damn you all!'' He yelled, charging into the fight...
''Either way, they look as if they're barely hanging on!'' Koharu pointed out, and took over command of their group. ''Jet, act as our tank, Rain, cover him. Phillia, with me, and we'll launch hit and run attacks on them.'' Jet looked over at Koharu, and rather than being annoyed at the orders, Koharu noticed the look of pride he was giving her, and she smiled back.
''As she said, let's go!'' Jet shouted, taking up his role in the plan, and charging one of the Fallen. The Fallen, taken aback by the sudden appearance of the group through the trees, began swinging his sabre, most of the hits being blocked by the shield protecting them, any brief reprieve being cut off as a flurry of strikes hit from all angles... it wasn't long before the Elf fell, and burst.
Whilst Jet and Rain quickly scanned the area for any more adversaries, as Koharu and Phillia dealt with their foe, a third Fallen appeared from the hedges behind them... ''Behind you!'' The commander yelled out, as Jet dodged under a swipe from the Fallen Elf, before a sharp needle like object hit the unlucky elf directly in the forehead. The elf, now critically injured, staggered back, allowing Jet a brief chance to strike, and the Fallen lived up to their name, hitting the ground and bursting into pixels...
''Didn't know you had any throwing skills, Rain?'' The redhead looked looked towards Jet as if he'd grown an extra head in that instant...
''I don't?'' Rain questioned, looking around the battlefield. As she did, she spotted something... red eyes in the foliage, moving away from them.
''Huh, wonder who's this is, then...'' Jet picked up the needle from the dirt behind him, unintentionally scratching himself as he did. ''Dammit.'' Luckily, the HP loss was negligible, but still...
''Whoever's it is, you may venture to give them your gratitude if you find them. Had they not intervened, your life may have been at risk...''
''I don't understand though, what even happened here?'' Jet asked the commander, as everyone regrouped.
''I suppose this does have to do with you. Our liege, the King of Kales'Oh is afflicted with a crippling ailment. However, whilst indisposed, the chancellor holds the real power.''
''The one who formed the pact with the Fallen Elves, right?''
''Yes, and whilst we speak, he is amassing troops for an attack on Lyusula's castle. It will only be a matter of days before those preparations are complete, and all out war begins again...'' Everyone grimaced at the thought of an all out conflict. Jet and Koharu knew that the one they'd avoided on the fourth floor would've been simply a skirmish in comparison to this one... ''However, a small number of us still believe that the king would not be so foolish as to entertain the idea. Peace between our two races has been tenuous... but other than small scale skirmishes, and the occasional officer getting ideas above their station, until the Fallen entered the fray, no one dared to consider a full scale conflict between Kales'Oh and Lyusula. However, we believe the chancellor has other ideas, and feels as if he can use the Fallen to further his own power... whilst they plan to use the chancellor as their way of gaining governance.''
''You said this concerns us? That means you want our help, right?'' Jet asked, realising just how messy this conflict could actually become, and that alone made it priority number one on their 'to do' list.
''I would usually be loathe to ask humans for help in any matters such as this... however, you have all proven yourself valiant and trustworthy warriors, and we are seriously lacking in manpower. We plan to find our proof of the chancellor's hand in this affair, and drive the Fallen back!''
''So, what do you want us to do?''
''One of our spies is hidden deeper into the forest. I wish for you to hand them this note''
''Uhh, where in the forest? It's kind of a big place...''
''In the northwestern corner of the forest, you will find a device. Use this to summon them.'' Wendelin explained.
''What about you?'' Rain asked the commander.
''I will head to our safe house. I can but pray to the Sacred Tree that those Fallen we encountered earlier did not have time to inform their superiors of my actions...''
''Please be careful.'' Koharu asked in concern for the Forest Elf Commander.
''Focus on your mission. My safety is not of your concern.'' The commander stated coldly, as he walked away into the forest.
The group headed into the forest, and as they did, an unsettling feeling came across all of them... that of eyes boring a path into their backs. Koharu looked around, anxious for any signs that it was just her mind playing a trick on her. After all, stress does do funny things to people, right? Those eyes she could feel watching them, they were probably just the local wildlife... or so she hoped, anyway. A funny thought popped into her head... if all of this was just because they'd gotten antsy over a cute little rabbit, how daft they'd look...
Rustle. Rustle.
Though, if that was a rabbit... it was a very big one.
Before too long, the rest of the group were scanning the forest themselves, before they spotted the movement of the bushes to their 5 o'clock. The group got ready, Jet drawing Hope, whilst everyone else reached for their weapons just in case...
''Whoever's there... come out!'' Jet yelled, as the rustling got closer, and felt his pulse skyrocket at that moment...
Unlike his expectation of some horrific monster, or worse, some cloaked creep eavesdropping on them, who stepped out was rather contrary to that. Lilac hair, covered by a white cloak, and purple armour, with black thigh high boots, the girl clearly meant business, as she had a massive scythe stowed on her back... definitely not a rabbit, Koharu thought to herself. The girl seemed apologetic, leaving the bushes with her hands raised above her head, as if she were surrendering to them. ''Sorry! I'm not a bad guy, don't worry!'' As she did, she lowered her cloak's hood, and suddenly, became a little familiar to three of the members of the group. ''Mito, wasn't it?''
''You remember me! Umm, sorry for following you around, but I saw you guys in trouble back there, and I stepped in to help. Sorry if it came from the blue, there.''
''No, but it was a little close to my head for my liking. Thanks, though.''
''You're welcome... who are the other two?'' Mito walked over to Rain and Phillia, who'd both taken a couple of steps back, and noticed something extremely troubling... her cursor.
In SAO, players had three colours that their cursors could be - green, as were most of the player base, indicating that they'd generally not broken any of the cardinal rules of the game. An orange cursor, on the other hand, meant you'd attacked another player, or had a pattern of generally unpleasant behaviour. If a player had an orange cursor... you were probably better off giving them a wide berth, and woe betide you, if you had the misfortune of running into a player with a red cursor. To the players, red meant dead... which was likely what you'd end up, if you came across a red player. Mito's was orange, and the two girls wondered if either Jet or Koharu had noticed that. Rain certainly had, and the troubled look on Phillia's face seemed to say she had too...
''I'm Phillia, and that's-'' Phillia was cut off as Rain spoke, an unhappy look on her face, as she remembered why she'd thought of this girl as familiar... she'd met her before. ''We've already met. The forest on the Seventh Floor, remember?''
''I... really don't remember.'' Mito froze up, as the events came back to her...
Rain didn't buy that at all, and decided to keep going... ''I'm sure you do, and I think you owe them an explanation for why you were sneaking around in the forest, photographing them, don't you?''
''Wait, that was you?!'' Jet shouted out in surprise.
''I swear it wasn't anything malicious! I was looking for someone, and I kind of hoped you could help me, being members of the Assault Team...'' Mito admitted, hesitantly.
''You invaded our privacy, stalked us, and now you want our help?'' Koharu asked, a look of annoyance on her face.
''Last floor, when we met you... don't tell me you put a child in danger, just to get our attention...'' Jet asked quietly, a razor sharp edge to his voice as he did.
''No! I'd never do that!'' Mito shouted, horrified at the thought that someone considered her capable of performing such an evil act, ''I, well I guess I'm kind of a mercenary. I help people on quests when they've not got enough people, or need someone more capable in combat.''
''And Silica hired you?'' Jet questioned, a look of distrust on his face.
''No, that was just dumb luck. I was levelling around there, and well, I noticed her getting in well above her head. I stepped in, and well, you two know the rest. Silica, is she...''
''She's fine, she's levelling on the lower floors. But that's not the matter at hand... your cursor. Explain.'' Mito winced, knowing exactly what was being asked of her. She sighed, and began her explanation... ''Sometimes, those jobs bring me into conflict with other parties. Sometimes, they won't back off, and I end up giving them a warning shot. That wasn't why I've got an orange cursor though. I was caught by a load of players, and they goaded me into attacking them.''
''These other players, did one happen to wear a chainmail hood, per chance?'' Jet looked increasingly unhappy.
''Yes, why?'' Mito answered. Jet stood there, cursing under his breath. Of course he'd be involved, why wouldn't he, he thought to himself...
''We've ran into him before. Tried to start a war between the guilds on the third floor, though saner heads prevailed. The others though, could you describe them to us?'' Koharu explained.
''One of them wore a poncho, spoke as if he were some form of messiah...'' Jet's blood ran cold, and he felt himself lock up. He couldn't be real, could he... she had to be referring to someone else, it wasn't possible... it just wasn't! He'd imagined him, he had to have! ''-et! Jet!''
''Just thinking...'' Jet covered up for himself, forgetting that everyone had just seen what he was doing, and he hadn't...
''You froze up, and started muttering about whoever it was being real... very deep in thought, I imagine.'' Phillia pointed out, slightly concerned for her friend's mental state.
''You know of that guy then?'' Mito asked, noticing the abject terror in Jet's eyes as he stood there.
''Not personally, hell I thought he was a figment of my imagination until just, but...'' Jet admitted, a brief flash of his nightmare coming back to him... the bit where his throat got slashed. ''If he's real... we need to be on our guard, even more so.''
''Still though, why would you get an orange cursor, if they attacked you?'' Rain asked, not fully buying into Mito's story.
''I knew they were going to attack me, so I thought I'd get the first shot in... unfortunately for me, that marked me as an orange player, and, well... here we are.'' Mito explained. It was certainly a plausible option, but nothing about her story had been particularly implausible so far. It was more a question of whether she was telling the truth or not, and that was exactly where the problem lay. None of them could tell with any degree of certainty. Mito, on the other hand, continued, ''If you want to know why I was following you on the Seventh Floor, I got paid to do so, some guy with red hair, spoke like he was on stage?''
''Lueur.'' Jet, Koharu and Rain spoke in unison.
''Explains how he knew about the 'paparazzi', I suppose.''
''He went on about you guys being the 'heroes' of his future stories. I kind of tuned out after about a minute.''
''Yeah, that definitely sounds like Lueur.'' Jet nodded at his girlfriend's comment, feeling a headache already coming on from him... an achievement given he was nowhere near them.
''I came to ask you guys for help looking for someone. When we got stuck here, I had a friend, and, she struggled with it, and spent most of her days cooped up in an inn room. I realised that I couldn't keep watching her lose herself to this world anymore, and I took her out into the field. It proved to be one of the biggest mistakes I've made. She wasn't a gamer, or even knew what she was doing... and she nearly died. When we got back, well... there was an argument, and I left her there. I was angry, and... well, I wasn't thinking straight. By the time I got back, she'd gone, and that was that. That was three months ago, and I don't even know if she's still alive anymore.''
''You want our help finding her?'' Phillia guessed.
''I just want to know what happened to her. Closure, I guess...'' The way that Mito spoke, Jet recognised instantly. It was the tone of acceptance - the way a person spoke when they'd accepted the inevitable, and no longer fighting to change it... Jet wondered if she actually believed that this friend of hers was still alive, or she truly believed she'd passed on...
''What was her name?'' Koharu asked.
''Her name was Asuna. I know it's a long shot, but maybe someone knows something about what happened to her...'' Mito looked on sadly, as she remembered her friend. The group all glanced at each other in surprise, as if to say 'No way...', before turning back to the reminiscing Mito.
''We can help, give us two minutes.'' Jet answered, quickly tapping a message on his keyboard.
''Wait... she's alive!?'' For the first time in a while, there was a genuinely happy moment in this world. Looking towards Mito, the girl looked as if she were about to cry, but Jet figured that those were tears of happiness. ''She's alright... I, I'm glad!''
''You look it.'' Jet laughed softly, as he checked his messages. Twelve new messages. One from Asuna, another from his sister and ten from Argo. Opening it, it... didn't look all that happy about the news that Mito was looking for her. In fact, Jet was fairly sure he'd doomed Kirito to a rather long ranting session, and so, made a note to buy the poor guy a drink to make up for it later.
''What did she say?'' Koharu looked towards Jet, who looked as if he'd somehow crashed...
''Umm...'' Jet thought carefully about his next words, and as he did, Koharu leant over and read the message. Whilst Mito was happy to have found Asuna, the same could not be said in regards to the other. In fact, Asuna sounded genuinely insulted by being asked if she wanted to meet up with them. Just what had Mito said and done for that to be the case, Koharu wondered.
''I don't think she wants to see you, if I'm honest, Mito.'' Jet admitted. As harsh as he sounded, he knew that lying to her wasn't going to help matters in the long term, and more importantly than that, he had no real reason to lie anyway.
''Yeah, I can understand that. I'm glad she's alive though, and I'm sorry to have wasted your time.'' As Mito made to walk off, looking slightly lower than before, the group all heard a noise from deeper into the forest...
{Author's Comments}
The final part of the Elf War Campaign is up, and this floor will likely be longer than normal. Anyway, sorry to leave this on a cliffhanger...
Anyway, if you've enjoyed this, or even if you haven't, the same stuff applies, as it always does.
Midland 2541, signing off!