A/N: Hello-Hello! Tomorrow will mark Three Years since I first uploaded SAO Misfits, and its crazy to believe we're still far from the end (Partially due to that months-long break I took). Just wanted to again express my thanks and gratitude for reading Misfits, it can be rusty at the beginning but I'm really happy with how far its come along! With that said, do enjoy this chapter, and a sneaky twist too!
|Sword Art Online, Floor 65, Black Tip Range|
|Apr. 10th 17:42|
Several hours passed since Mito's party ran into the wendigo, White, again; meeting another of the guilds on the race to claim the A-Rank monster's drops, the Trappers. Fortunately, they had cut themselves from the race for the time being, but that didn't mean all their problems were solved. The Hunter's Guild were still on the prowl... and nightfall was set to approach soon.
Despite it being April, Aincrad operated under the same day and night cycle all-year-round, meaning, once the clock struck six on the dot, night will gradually overtake the day, and given how it was a constant twilight on this floor, it was already beginning to grow darker, lit only by what few lanterns marked the paths branching across the floor, only Fynch's handheld one offering them greater visibility along the uneven, mountainous path.
"The false prints have increased, honestly, giving my head a spin," Lloyd apologized in his own way, eyeing the tracks they followed. "But, this place is littered with caves, so its definitely here."
"Hopefully we're the only ones that figured out the correct path," Philia banked on optimism, even if her hand never left the hilt of her dagger. Everyone was tense, The Dead Calm weighing on their minds especially.
Deciding to try and take their minds away from things, Mito took the opportunity to ask a question that had been on her mind for hours, eyeing the lip of the cliffside, seeing the forest canopy several meters below. "Lloyd."
"That's my name," He answered.
"Why are you really out here? Don't lie either, you're terrible at it," She cut through cleanly, seeing his jaw lock shut again. She had her suspicions, something about him just struck her as odd yet familiar, she wasn't good at reading every person she met, like Artorias and Nagi could, but she knew how to spot a liar. "Ever since we met the Trappers, you've been looking over your shoulder too."
"Yeah, well, the idea of coming face-to-face with either The Dead Calm or my lovely, soon-to-be-former, guildmates does tend to stack up the stress I've been banking for a rainy day," Lloyd answered flippantly. Silence reigned, both he and Mito listening to the gravel crunch underfoot, tracing the firefly-like tracks illuminated up the winding path. Finally, a breath left his lips. "What I told you is the truth, I wanna quit and stick to 'em, but... someone offered me a place in the great Knights of the Blood Oath,"
Out of every answer, this one left Mito the most speechless, turning her head to look at him incredulously, immediately, he hands went up. "I know, right? That was my reaction, and maybe a little concern over the mental health of the one who offered, but who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth?" Laughing softly, he rubbed his neck. "Yeah... so I though, 'why not play the hero with the rest of them too?' and set out to bring Lycan down a few pegs, sell out what he's done to every top player that'll listen to me, that way, no one else winds up scored off the Iron Palace,"
The faint glow of Fynch's lantern behind him illuminated his genuine smile, almost embarrassed looking when he shut his eyes. "Aah, given that, I also wanted to make the rare item drop into a gift for them, the one who offered me the placement; way to say 'thanks for putting up with me', and, for being one of the very, very few that believed in a nobody like me."
Now was that so hard? Was what Mito was going to say, but decided against it with a friendlier look, she had her answer now, and, a puzzle piece seemed to fill in too when she did, hands behind her back. "Well, you've certainly the first player I've seen focus solely on the Martial Arts skill, you should be proud of that accomplishment, you made it work where others would struggle." It did, in fact, make him feel a little prouder of himself.
"Uh, thanks, chief... not often I hear that," He answered a little awkwardly.
"I used to be an orange player," Fynch decided to chip in, waving the lantern slightly with his expressions. "Could've been written off when I came clean, so imagine my luck when I was accepted by another group, who saw my mistakes as a place to start better. So I have, and will do as much, not to work for someone but with someone I... I can honestly trust to keep me on the right path." Fynch owed a lot, to Nagi, and to his best friend who called herself a treasure hunter.
Speaking of whom, Philia perked up. "I've been afraid of dying since this game began, it took a lot of stubborn insistence from others to get my legs moving again, and... and I didn't want to just sit around, I might not be as strong as say the Frontrunners, so I'll dedicate my time to my passion, gathering the rarest treasures in SAO; after all, there's not a chest I can't open!" She puffed out her chest proudly. "And if I can help a few people along the way, then that's more than enough for me. Like I am now."
"What about you, big guy?" Fynch questioned Daora who let his ax swing high.
"I'll conquer this game and become the strongest player there is! What else is there!?" His blunt and straightforward reply was as they expected, Mito gave him a glance over her shoulder, seeing him faltered, hand tense around Destroyer. "But, above all else... I won't hesitate again, never again," Seeing the smile on Shirayuki's face, stating his title with pride even in death, Daora would never forget her words. "Someone believed in me, so I'll get there no matter what!"
"And you?" Lloyd asked, curious what the stoic Reaper had to say.
"...before we even cleared the first floor, I... I thought I had gotten my best friend killed, someone I've known for years, I despaired, I cut myself away from everyone, even after meeting her again, I couldn't bring myself to be near anyone. Heh, so imagine my surprise when I run into a group stubborn enough to keep rebuilding a bridge I attempted to break," Her hand came close to her heart. "In time, little-by-little, they helped me to mend bridges myself, and now, I'll do everything I can to support them, to be proud of the person I've become, the one they've seen this whole time."
She owed so much like Fynch, wanted to brave her fears like Philia, to live up to the expectations someone had of her, like Lloyd. And, to be as strong as a person like Daora. She had a tall list, and this evening, she'd move a step closer to fulfilling them.
Reaching a fork in the road, Mito felt another question come to mind, one that's been bothering her for some time now. Hand to her chin, she looked back at the route they took, then to the others. "Wait," She got them to pause, seeing the conflict in her eyes. "Something's not right, Lycan's group were ahead of us at the ruins... wouldn't they know the same tricks as you, Lloyd?"
"That's... a fair observation," He realized, slowly retracing his steps back to the group. "Have to admit, it's been what's bothering me since the Trappers, even if we got ahead, they'd have ran into us even leaving the Sunken Caves."
"...what if they never needed to track the monster at all?" Mito muttered in a horrible realization, eyes and mouth wide. "Th-there's no reason to track if they can just swipe the kill at the last second, like Lloyd said, they've used players to achieve their goals, why not other parties after the same thing?" Her voice rose with dread, looking back down the path, it was darker, harder to make out every detail, like shifting shadows preying on them.
"Huh? How can they do that if they don't know where it is? We would've seen or detected them easily!" Daora countered, looking around, but his skills never picked up a foreign presence.
Mito's hand rose, pointing directly at Lloyd, he too pointed at himself, his face losing a little colour.
"Oh, crapbaskets..." He answered dryly.
"Guildmasters can track any player in their guild, all Lycan had to do was make a call and he'd have all his intel on the dot," Fynch realized too, and then reality sunk in.
"You wanted to play them..." Mito's voice was bitter.
"...and played myself." Lloyd finished, leaning up against a boulder, running a hand down his mouth. "Huh... figures..."
Nightfall was on the horizon, they had probably fifteen minutes to find the monster and slay it, would this Dead Calm even interrupt a boss fight? Mito didn't know. And by now, the Hunter's Guild wouldn't be far behind either, if they didn't act, they could simply push on and find the boss themselves. Time was ticking, causing Mito to bite the tip of her nail, she had to make the call, do they stay and fight, or cut their losses?
"Night's almost here, we should go back, fighting a boss is one thing, but other players is another story," Philia aired on the side of caution.
"We don't know what kinda lengths they'd go to keep us from snaggin' the prize, up to you guys what call's right," Fynch raised his hands slightly.
"Why are we debating this!? Let's go and take all of them down right here and now!" Daora was quick to answer, thrusting his weapon back down the path. "We'll take them by surprise and force them to run back to town!"
"But if we land an attack first, we'll be branded orange, and if we're caught out at night, we'll be sittin' ducks," Fynch reminded him. "We're in a bind here, boss, not to sound, y'know, urgent, but we gotta move if we're gonna avoid whatever comes crawlin' out of the dark."
All of them made valid points, aside from Lloyd, the pressure was heavy for her. Mito had made plays during a floor boss when Nagi needed time to decompress, it had gone very well thanks to Asuna giving her some pointers, and even Artorias when things got hairy. She learned a lot, had their trust, their council for times like these.
"Think, Mito, take stock of your situation, analyse and adjust accordingly, all like an RTS, plan around the problems." She encouraged herself.
"Go after the target, leave Lycan to me."
Taking them by surprise, Lloyd stepped onto the wrong path, hands on his hips, looking a little cocky about it too.
"Lloyd..." Mito tried but he shook his head, hand out to stop her, jabbing a finger directly at her.
"No, this cycle of abuse has to end here, so... I'll leave stealing the rare drop to you guys, and I'll put Lycan in his place, he's tracking me, so he'll follow me, his ego won't allow me to walk away from this, not now." Lloyd was banking on that ego to keep Mito and the others safe, nightfall was almost here, so he turned on a heel and sprinted with a last minute wave. "Consider this my way of thanking you for giving a nobody like me a chance, chief!"
"Lloyd!" Mito tried again but then saw Fynch rush after him. "Fynch?"
"I'll watch his back, dealing with orange players is kinda my callin'! You do what you gotta do, meet up when the dust's settled and all!" The raven-greenette hollered back with a confident smile.
An exasperated breath left the purplette's lips. "Is everyone just an idiot tonight!?" She punched the side of a rock, worry pulling at her chest, but so was an anxious smile. "But hey, look at me, I'm the biggest idiot of all..."
"Mito?" Philia spoke up, she and Daora turning back to her, the treasure hunter clenching her fists. "We can do this."
"Only a flawless victory!" Daora challenged.
"Yeah..." Turning to the correct route off the path, Mito hoisted herself up with ease, sweat trickling down her brow, past her burning eyes. "Nothing short of that."
|Apr. 10th 18:00|
When they reached the end of the tracks, the clock had struck six, the sky having gone a darker shade of purple, not even false stars came to fill the skybox. The side of the mountain had flattened out into a lid, perfectly embroiled with a river looping around the entire area, a waterfall at the far end of the natural flatland. Tall, basalt columns jutted out of the earth and along parts of the edges.
"There!" Daora noticed it first when they approached, hearing a commotion when they reached the top of the plateau.
The wendigo, White, was marred by long, crimson scars, bleeding profusely as it screamed, striking something unseen behind the columns, only to leap to evade. But left them frozen stiff was the spindly arm that extended forward, burying bone-like claws deep into its chest, pinning the evasive creature to the nearest basalt formation, causing it to crack under the pressure.
White screeched and flailed, so the claws sunk in deeper, twisting and draining the last percentages of life from its dwindling gauge. Something just killed the monster, the notification of the hunt failing appearing for all three of them as they watched White shatter into pieces. None of them could find their voices to complain, gritting their teeth and slowly reaching for their weapons at the beast that stomped out from the shadows, hooves clopping against the earth.
It towered over them, even from afar, a horse-like creature with an equine main body and a humanoid creature fused to its back, both with pitch-black skin. The humanoid body had long curved horns on its head, the skin peeled back to leave the front of the skull visible, and two long, elastic arms, each with three clawed fingers. On the back of the human torso were bony spikes along its spine.
The face of the horse was also reduced to just its skull, both with deep, blood red eyes sunken into the skulls; though, the humanoid's mouth was elongated into a gaping maw of similar colour, long teeth lining the gums. Various, broken weapons stuck out of the humanoid's back, from many failed attempts to slay it as it moved with a spasmodic twitching action whenever it spotted the trio standing a distance away.
Suddenly, the beast let out an ear-piercing scream, one that reverberated down the whole mountain, as three health bars finally emerged, its name a deep red.
/The Dead Calm, Nuckelavee - Lv. 112\
[To Be Continued...]
[Author's Notes]
Plot Twist! Gone is the Alpha Wendigo for something far, far worse. A Nuckelavee. Mito and her party's in for a real death match now, but so is Fynch and Lloyd. Big chapter coming up to wrap up this arc, so I hope you enjoyed, I appreciate the support as always; see ya in the next chapter, Misfits!
097 - The Apex Hunter
Mito and co. face the Dead Calm, meanwhile, Lloyd, aided by Fynch, have a plan to deal with Lycan...