Crossover Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Sailor Moon Online: Hollow Fragment ❯ The Key to a Renewed Game World ( Chapter 9 )

Anyway, I have been thinking of this spinoff story and while there is going to be plenty that’s linked to the main Sailor Moon Online storyline series, there is going to be plenty that’s unique to this story and the possible sequel that may come with it. Major spoiler alerts everyone! Since there is going to be a sequel to the Hollow Fragment game, I may do a sequel to this story, too, but you are going to have to wait and see everyone!

 

I DO NOT OWN Sailor Moon, Sword Art Online, Accel World, Digimon series, Yu-Gi-Oh R/GX/5Ds/Zexal/Arc-V, Kingdom Hearts, One Piece, Final Fantasy, and anything/anyone that comes from these and other stories that end up in this fanfiction! Sailor Moon is owned/licensed by Naoko Takeuchi and its various studios and publishers and Sword Art Online is owned/licensed by ASCII Media Works, A-1 Pictures Inc., and its various directors/publishers including Reki Kawahara and Tomohiko Itō!

 

Warning: This story contains intense violence, blood, possible gore, death, mild to explicit suggestive themes, including mind-control and brainwashing, mild to explicit bad language, and mature adult themes/situations!

 

Second Warning: Some to a lot of OOC (Out of Character) actions and mannerisms in this whole story!

 

Sailor Moon Online: Hollow Fragment

 

Chapter 9: The Key to a Renewed Game World

 

December 19, 2024, SAO, Unknown Sector

 

Within an unknown area of SAO that looks similar to the Hollow Area Control Center, Mimete is looking over a control panel and multiple holographic screens in front of her.

Mimete says, “Where are you? I won’t stop until I find you! Not only will I be free, but the greatest secrets of the universe will be at my command! And not even your wretched Moon Princess niece can stop me!” Mimete says, with an evil smirk, “However, for now, I think that I’ve got enough to really take your precious game to the ‘next level’.” Mimete then gives an evil laugh as she looks over a strange device with a glowing orb in the center.

 

December 19, 2024, Floor 76, Arc Sofia

 

During that same day, we find Kirito, Leafa, Lisbeth, Asuna, Silica, Sinon, Klein, Agil, Mamoru, and our Sailor Scouts assemble together as those that were together last night explain what happened.

 

When they were done, Agil asks, surprised, “Hey, are you serious?”

 

Lisbeth says, “They are. I was there.”

 

Asuna says, “I couldn’t believe it either.”

Kirito says, “Sorry that I couldn’t be there, but I was…not feeling up to speed.”

 

Leafa says, nervously, “Sorry about that big brother.”

 

Asuna says, with a smile, “I can help you bring up your cooking skills, Leafa.”

 

Usagi says, with a smile, “Asuna helped me bring up my cooking skills to the level that they are now.”

 

Leafa says, with a light smile, “Thanks, Asuna.”

 

Asuna says, with a smile, “No problem, Leafa.”

 

Sinon says, “I believe we should focus on the enemy in this world.”

 

Kirito says, “Good point, Sinon.”

 

Haruka says, “Her name is Mimete. She belonged to the Witches Five, a group of five elite sorceress, and they were part of the Heart Snatchers, a group trying to get their hands on the Purity Chalice, a powerful item to bring their leader, Pharaoh Ninety, into our world and make it their own.”

 

Klein asks, “And what she is doing here?”

 

Mamoru says, “During one battle, Mimete used a device to digitize herself, but when an associate of hers betrayed her, she was trapped in cyberspace.”

 

Hino says, “And somehow, she found her way here or should I say, into the SAO severs before SAO even started.”

 

Haruka says, “Kayaba found her and he somehow managed to seal her in SAO, but now, thanks to that ‘glitch’ unleashing the stored emotional energy of the players throughout the game up to that point, she managed to damage that seal allowing her to make a physical appearance and gain ‘influence’ over SAO.”

 

Setsuna says, “How much ‘influence’ that she has over the game and the system is a good question that we don’t have an answer to right now.”

 

Lisbeth says, “That’s a happy thought.”

 

Haruka says, “What we do know is that her main goal is escape. While she managed to gain a ‘physical presence’ in this world, she is still bound to it and if we complete the game, this world goes and she goes with it.”

 

Kirito says, “And that means that she is going to stop at nothing to stop us from completing the game and that means that the game has become much harder than ever before.”

 

Lisbeth says, drolly, “Just great.”

 

Usagi says, solemnly, “It seems like my problems as Sailor Moon are now causing more problems for everyone.”

 

Silica says, “It isn’t your fault, Usagi!”

 

Lisbeth says, “Yeah! Your uncle sealed her in here and plus, if she didn’t come in here, she wouldn’t have been trapped with us in the first place!”

 

Usagi says, with a smile, “Thanks, Liz.”

 

Kirito says, “Well, I think that you need to keep a ‘stiff upper lip’ because I think that there is more to targeting you than just plain revenge.”

 

Everyone looks at Kirito and Asuna asks, “What do you mean Kirito?”

 

Kirito says, “If it is just plain revenge, she would be targeting all of the Sailor Scouts since they, all, had a hand in her defeat. I think there is a specific reason and I just remembered you talking about the Silver Crystal. You said that its strength depends on the strength of Usagi’s heart, right? Well, we have seen that emotions can create a lot of power in all sorts of the word and I think that’s what she wants from Usagi. Mimete said it herself didn’t she? She wanted to ‘feast on Usagi’s despair and pain’. Well, I think she really meant that.”

 

Mizuno asks, “Are you saying that she wants to emotionally hurt her to feed off her dark emotions?”

 

Kirito says, “I think that out of all players, as much as I hate to admit, Usagi’s emotions are among those the most potent for all sorts of reasons.”

 

Yui comes over and she says, “Daddy is right. I remember when I saw her when I was monitoring the other players. Auntie Usagi was always very emotional and she was a lot like the other players. She was full of pain, grief, and anguish, but she also filled with determination, determination beyond any of the other players to complete the game and protect the other players. The only times that she was truly happy was when she was with mommy and daddy.”

 

Asuna says, “It has been a hard life for all of us, Yui, especially for Usagi.”

 

Kirito says, “However, I think that it shows that her emotions could be among the most powerful.”

 

Hino asks, “So, Mimete wants to cause Meatball head major distress to ‘feed’ on her dark emotions?”

 

Kirito says, “It looks so.”

 

There are plenty of shocked looks and Silica says, “That’s horrible!”

Klein says, “I’ll say. I’ve got to say that you face plenty of slime in human form.”

 

Makoto says, “Tell us about it, Klein-san.”

 

Mizuno says, “I have to admit that Kirito has a valid theory.”

 

Minako says, with a smile, “Well, we just have to make sure that she doesn’t get all depressed.”

 

Hino and Haruka glare at Minako and Hino says, irritated, “Really, Mina-chan? Really? After all that she has been through in this hellish prison, you say that? You are really taking this ‘bubbly girl’ nonsense a little too far!”

 

Minako yells out, annoyed, “I was trying to lighten up the mood!”

 

Usagi tells Minako and Hino, pleadingly, “Girls, please!”

 

Hino and Minako say in unison, “Sorry!”

 

Usagi says, with a plain tone, “I’m glad that you girls are looking out for me, but I don’t want a ‘pity party’ for me.” Usagi stands up and she says, “If I wanted that, I would have remained in the Town of Beginnings and gave into despair.” Usagi walks out of the room and Mamoru decides to follow her.

 

When they are out of the room, Haruka tells Hino and Minako, “Way to go, you two.”

 

Michiru says, “I know that you are worried about her, Hino. Even though you really argue her a lot, she is the most worried about her, but you might cause her more distress.”

 

Hino says, “Yeah, I know. I know, Michiru. It is just that this whole situation pisses me off. She is a person that’s so kind and caring. And ever since she became Sailor Moon, she has been dumped major emotional trials and pains. And now, there is this too.”

 

Mizuno says, with a nod, “Yes, I know. Maybe deep down, we’re afraid. Afraid that the person that we knew, the kind and caring person that we knew and brought us together would be ‘destroyed’ by this place.”

 

Kirito tells Mizuno, “Well, I can tell you that fear are unfounded as you may have already realized.” The Sailor Scouts look at Kirito and Kirito says, “The very things that Usagi has done tell you that she is still the very kind and caring person that you knew. She went out of her way to help complete strangers despite any ‘problems’ that they might have had with her and she always considered the feelings of other players despite them being complete strangers. It shows that at her core, she is still the same person that you knew.”

 

Tomoe says, with a light smile, “She is. She is very much the same princess that we knew deep down.”

 

Kirito says, “However, you have good reasons to be worried about her mental and emotional health. Usagi learned the harshest lesson of all: Not even Sailor Moon could save everyone.”

 

Plenty of the others nod their heads and Klein says, “No joke, Kirito. When I saw her transform when she faced Kayaba, I got the real understanding of why she did what she did. You would think that it was a sense of ‘duty’ or something, but no, I believe…I know that it was a part of who she is.”

 

Haruka says, “You would be exactly right Klein-san.”

 

Tomoe says, “When I was possessed by Mistress Nine, our hime didn’t care if I was the reincarnation of the most destructive and feared Moon Kingdom. I was victim and Rini’s friend. And she also believed that even Sailor Saturn must be a force of good despite me being the Soldier of Destruction.”

 

Silica says, with a smile, “That would be Usagi. I can see it in her eyes. She seem really gently and kind to me.”

 

Asuna says, with a nod, “She is Silica-chan. It is why Kirito-kun and I became best friends with her.” Asuna says, shaking her head, “No, we didn’t just become best friends. We…We were a family.” When everyone looks at her, many of them with looks of surprise, Asuna says, gently patting Yui on the head, “We were stripped of our friends, family, and our lives that we knew. And with Usagi, betrayed by a man that she considered a ‘second father’, and in a way, forced to be an ‘outsider’ from many of us. Kirito-kun chose to become an outsider to protect the lives of the former beta testers and he is nobler than he gives himself credit for. And in a way, I was a bit of an outsider myself. When the game started, I didn’t care if I lived for die and deep down, I think felt that sooner or later we were all going die since two thousand players died in that first month alone and we didn’t even find the first floor boss.”

 

Kirito says, “No one could really blame you for that thinking Asuna.”

 

Asuna gives a warm smile and she says, “But Usagi-chan risked her life to save my own even though I was a complete stranger to her at the time and she showed me not to give up hope and there was always a chance to get home. However, I think that I turned that hope into an obsession and Kirito-kun helped me learn not to be so ‘obsessive’ at it. Anyway, Usagi-chan and Kirito-kun helped me become the person that I am today and we were together…It was like getting back what was taken from us.” Asuna says, with a warm smile, “Being with Usagi-chan and Kirito-kun were among the happiest times of our lives. However, even in those happy times, when her avatar wasn’t shedding tears, I knew that Usagi was shedding tears of pain and anguish for those good people whose lives were lost to this. I know how she felt since I felt the same way since comrades and even guild mates died as well, but Usagi-chan felt it on a grander scale since all players, the good and innocent players, is and always will be previous lives. It made us more determined to end this game once and for all.”

 

There are plenty of amazed looks and Leafa asks, “Usagi is very important to you, isn’t she?”

 

Kirito says, “She is. While it is the reason that many players avoid her, Usagi does represent our imprisonment here which makes her greatest victim of SAO at least in our mind.”

Asuna says, “Usagi-chan is the purest of all players…all people and Kayaba didn’t even care for her heart and her life. Nothing matter than his precious game and Usagi-chan’s tears representing the pain and misery of all players in SAO. It just because a greater reason for me and Kirito-kun to complete the game as quickly as possible: To finally see her tears of pain stop flowing or at least, to turn them into tears of joy in which we can finally Usagi-chan’s true smile.”

 

Yui asks, “Auntie Usagi’s true smile?”

 

Haruka says, “We understand.”

 

Hino says, “The smile that she is using isn’t the smile that we know that she has. Her true and complete smile…is something that we can’t exactly describe.”

 

Minako says, “That smile just warms you up inside and then some.”

 

Kirito says, “And it is just another reason that we fight to complete the game. We know that Usagi’s smiles aren’t her true smiles and we fight to finally see that smile on her lips at least once.”

 

Tomoe asks, “Our hime is precious to you?”

 

Asuna says, with a warm smile, “She is, Tomoe-chan. Usagi-chan saved my life and gave me purpose to live and continue on. I can never repay what she has done for me and if it wasn’t for her, Kirito-kun and I wouldn’t be together.”

 

Kirito says, with a warm smile, “It is one thing that we always thank Usagi for as well as the friendship and happiness that she gave us when we were together.” Kirito says, with a serious tone, “And it is the reason that we keep fighting…for the day when Usagi can be truly happy once again.”

The Sailor Scouts nod their heads in understand and Hino says, with a smile, “That’s Meatball Head deep down.”

Haruka says, “And it is the reason that we can never forgive Kayaba for what he has done to her.”

 

Plenty of the other Scouts nod their heads in agreement and Leafa thinks in her mind, “This feeling… Every time that I think about Usagi and Kayaba…it really makes blood my boil! I just don’t completely understand why! I’m angry for what he has done, but I feel…feel like he has also betrayed me when I don’t even know the guy! And I also feel this strange bond with Usagi! Like I found a long lost sibling or something like that! I just don’t understand and yet, I feel that the answer will come to me soon and until then, I need to not only protect Kirito and all those precious to me, but to protect Usagi as well.” Outside, Usagi is looking at the virtual sky in which Mamoru gently puts his hands on her shoulders and she embraces him while he does the same in which he plans to free his beloved from this nightmare.

 

Unknown time, unknown realm

 

Inside of another digital realm, there is a group of four people walking around and when we get close, we find two of the people to be considered humans while the other two seem to be anthropomorphic animals.

 

The first human is a male of 16 years of age with spiky brown hair, blue eyes, and wearing a robotic, grey and dark blue armor covered in glowing, cyan computer circuitry, and he wears a sleek helmet that covers his forehead and wraps over the top of his head to the back of his neck, leaving the sides of his head and two tufts of hair exposed, with two cyan prongs jutting diagonally from the back.

 

The second human is a female of the same age as the male human with dark brown hair that goes to her shoulder, blue eyes, and she is wearing a tight feminine form of the outfit that the male human is wearing.

 

The third person is a short anthropomorphic duck and his ‘look’ consists of him begin covered in grey, robotic armor covered in glowing, cyan computer circuitry. His feet are also covered in this armor, and he wears similarly patterned gloves with black fingers and bulges at the cuffs reminiscent of the bracelets. His beak is grey and his feathers are white, but both have a faint blue tint.

 

The fourth person is a tall anthropomorphic humanoid dog with black fur and droopy ears and wearing an outfit, which like the others, consists of grey, robotic-like armor in which he has a shield that’s similarly designed like his outfit.

 

The male teen human says, “I don’t see anything wrong. Leon and our Tron must have made a mistake.”

 

The anthropomorphic duck says, “Keep your guard up, Sora! With Xehanort making his return and trying to start his Keyblade War, he need to be more vigilant than ever before! The worlds are in more danger than ever before!”

 

The female human tells the male teen human, “Donald is right, Sora.”

 

The male teen human says, “I know, Kairi. It is also why that I don’t like you coming along with me. The King, Riku, and Master Yen Sid believe that they are most likely targeting the princesses again.”

 

The female teen human responds, “I’m not just going sit back and wait anymore. Wherever you and Riku go, I will follow you. I can weld the Keyblade too, Sora. I’m not going to let you go out of my life again.” The female teen human says, with a smile, “And I’m not going to miss the day when you became a true Keyblade Master.”

 

The male teen human responds, with a smile, “Thanks, Kairi.”

 

The humanoid dog asks, “Gwarsh, Sora, aren’t you disappointed that you didn’t become a Keyblade Master?”

 

The male teen human, Sora, responds, “Yeah, I am, but it just means that I have to work harder than ever. But I’ll catch up and be a Keyblade Master in no time!”

 

The female teen human, Kairi, says, with a giggle, “Same old Sora!”

 

Sora gives a grin and he says, with a sigh and smile, “And personally, I hope that becoming a Keyblade Master will finally vindicate for Riku, in his heart, he deserves the Keyblade as much as I do once and for all.”

 

Kairi says, with a smile, “I think that Riku knows that you feel that way, Sora.”

 

The humanoid dog says, with a grin, “That’s real nice, Sora.”

 

The anthropomorphic duck then says, pointing ahead, “Hey, look!” Everyone then looks to see what looks like a strange hole in front of them.

 

Sora says, “I guess that Leon and Tron were right.”

 

The humanoid dog says, “Gwarsh. It looks like a hole.”

 

The anthropomorphic duck says, “No kidding, Goofy.”

 

Sora says, making a weapon that looks like a huge key appear in his hands, “Then let’s seal it up.”

 

The anthropomorphic duck says, “Hold up, Sora! We don’t know what it is!”

 

Kairi says, “Donald is right, Sora. We’re not sure what it is.”

 

Just then whole area starts to shake and quake with great violence as sparks come from the ‘hole’ and Sora yells out, “I know exactly what it is, Kairi: Big trouble!”

 

The duck, Donald, shouts out, “Sora, seal it up!”

 

Sora responds, “Now, you want me to use the Keyblade?”

 

Donald yells out, “Stop talking and hurry!” Sora then shoots a beam from his weapon, the Keyblade, into the hole, but Sora growl as nothing seems to happen and the ‘hole’ causing energy to spread all over this digital realm.

 

Kairi says, “Nothing’s happening!”

 

Sora says, strain evident in his voice, “It’s… It’s too strong! I can’t close it!”

 

Kairi says, bringing out a similar key-like weapon, “Let me help!”

 

Sora says, “No, Kairi!”

 

Kairi responds, “I’m not leaving you, Sora!” Kairi then shoots a beam from her key-like weapon, obviously another Keyblade, into the hole and both of them strain to contain the ‘hole’, but it is too strong as it grows ever so larger.

 

A voice booms, seemly from the sky, “What’s going on in there? The whole system is going wild!”

 

Sora shouts out, “Leon! There is some kind of ‘hole’ in here! Kairi and I can’t seal it up!”

 

The whole digital realm shakes and quakes with even greater violence and the voice booms out, “Get out of there! Whatever it is, it is causing the system to go wild! If it collapses, who knows what will happen to you, Sora? Get out of there now!” However, the ‘hole’ creates a powerful light and Sora, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy, the humanoid dog, scream out as they are engulfed by the light.

 

December 19, 2024, Floor 76, Arc Sofia

 

In the plaza of Arc Sofia that contains the teleport gate, we find Kirito, Usagi, Mamoru, Dai, Mizuno, Akari, and Asuna are inside of the teleport gate with Silica, Leafa, Sinon, Lisbeth, Klein, the rest of the Sailor Scouts, and the Digital Knights.

 

Lisbeth asks, “Are you sure about this?”

 

Kirito says, “If she is there, we need to flush her out before she can do some damage.”

 

Usagi says, “Anyway, we promised Philia-san that we would visit and she might have some information since she has been exploring the Hollow Area.”

 

Mizuno says, “And if I go with them, I might be able to access the control panel there and figure out what’s going on now as well as figure out why the game suffered a ‘malfunction’.”

 

Lisbeth asks, with a sly smirk, “And why is Asuna going along?”

 

Asuna says, with a slight hue on her cheeks, “Just making sure that Kirito-kun is okay.”

 

Lisbeth asks, with a sly grin, “Or going to make sure that the cutie treasure hunter doesn’t try anything, right?”

 

Kirito says, “I don’t think that Philia is kind of person to stab someone in the back especially after we fought together.”

 

Lisbeth says, with a sigh, “You are such a baka. That’s not what Asuna is worried about.”

 

Akari asks Usagi, “Your friend is not exactly the brightest when it comes to ‘social graces’, huh?” Usagi gives a nervous laugh until the whole area starts to shake violently and they yelp from it.

 

Klein asks, “Again?”

 

Yamato says, “It shows that this wasn’t happening because of some event.”

 

Taichi says, “It must be due to the problems that happening to this world.”

 

Mizuno says, “That might be a valid theory.”

 

Klein says, “Guess my idea wasn’t the case, huh? That’s a major drag.”

 

Kirito says, “I know, Klein. However, it means that we need to be more careful than before.”

 

Asuna says, “I agree, Kirito-kun.”

 

Tomoe says, “Please be careful.”

 

Usagi says, with a smile, “We will Firefly.”

 

Taichi says, “Take care of yourself, Kari.”

 

Akari responds, with a smile, “Tai, I’ve been taking care of myself for two years with Dai-kun.”

 

Takashi responds, with a smile, “You know how your brother is, Kari.”

 

Mamoru says, “We should get going.”

 

Usagi says, with a nod, “Right, Mamoru-kun.”

 

Kirito says, “Teleport: Hollow Area Control Center!” Soon enough, Kirito, Usagi, Mamoru, Dai, Mizuno, Akari, and Asuna teleport away in blue light as they head for the Hollow Area Control Center to see if the Hollow Area will provide them with answers on what’s happening with SAO and what do next.

 

December 19, 2024, Hollow Area

 

Inside of the Hollow Area Control Center, Kirito, Usagi, Mamoru, Dai, Mizuno, Akari, and Asuna appear and they look around until Philia comes over to them.

 

Dai says, “Hey, Philia!”

 

Philia says, seeing Dai and Akari, “Dai, I’m glad you and Akari are here.” Philia asks, seeing Usagi and Kirito, “Kirito? Usagi?”

 

Kirito says, with a smile, “Hello, Philia.”

 

Usagi tells Philia, “It is nice to see you again, Philia-san. Sorry that it took so long. We have been busy.”

 

Philia says, “Not at all. I have been investigating this Control Area much of this time. So, you both really came…”

 

Kirito asks, “We said that we would right?”

 

Asuna asks, with a serious expression, “Excuse me?”

 

Philia asks, seeing the others, “Huh?”

 

Usagi thinks in her mind, nervously, “Here we go.” Usagi says, a bit nervously while pointing to Asuna, “Anyway, Philia-san, this is Asuna, my best friend.” Usagi then remembers and she says, nervously, “I mean…one of my best friends! This blue haired girl is another! Her name is Mizuno.”

 

Mizuno says, “Hello, Philia-san.”

 

Philia says, a bit nervously, “Nice to meet you.”

 

When Philia looks at Mamoru, Dai says, “And this is Mamoru, Usagi’s boyfriend.”

 

Philia asks, shocked, “Boyfriend?”

 

Usagi glares at Dai and Akari says, with a giggle, “That’s Dai-kun, Usagi. He is always ‘to the point’.”

 

Usagi says, “That’s one way of putting it, Kari.”

 

Dai says, annoyed, “Hey!”

 

Akari giggles and Philia says, “You and Usagi have many friends, Kirito.”

 

Kirito says, nervously, “It surprised me too.”

 

Asuna says, glaring at Kirito, “You also were going to mention that you have a wife too.”

 

Philia asks, stunned, “Wife?”

 

Usagi and Kirito give nervous looks and Usagi says, nervously, “In-game, Philia-san.”

 

Philia tells Kirito, “You are bold, Kirito.” Kirito gives a nervous look and Philia tells Asuna, “Asuna-san, there is nothing going on with Kirito and I. We just met when the two of them came to this area. Kirito saved my life when that monster that they called the Skull Reaper attacked and I fought with Usagi and Kirito along with Dai and Akari.”

 

Usagi tells Asuna, with a smile, “That’s right, Asuna. And I know that you are unsure since she has an orange cursor, but Dai and Akari already explained it.”

 

Asuna says, “Well, if you and Kirito-kun, then I can be sure that she is a good person.” Asuna tells Philia, “Nice to meet you, Philia-san.”

 

Philia says, “Nice to meet you, Asuna-san.”

 

Usagi tells Mizuno, pointing to the control panel, “There is it, Mizuno.”

 

Mizuno says, curiously, “Interesting.” Mizuno goes over to computer and tries to tap into it, but she finds that she can’t in which she says, “I can’t access the control panel.”

Usagi asks, “You can’t?”

 

Mizuno says, shaking her head, “No, I can’t.”

 

Kirito tells Usagi, “Maybe, it is like a GM console.” Usagi understands the meaning behind Kirito’s words and goes over in which the console activates with Usagi’s touch.

 

Mizuno says, amazed, “It worked!”

 

Mamoru says, “Must be because…” Mamoru says, shaking his head, “No. It worked for Kirito too.”

 

Mizuno says, pushing buttons on the console, “Anyway, I should get to work.”

Philia asks, curiously, “What’s going on?”

 

Kirito responds, a bit nervously, “Philia, have been exploring the Hollow Area.”

 

Philia responds, “Of course, Kirito.”

 

Usagi asks, “Have you seen anything unusual lately?”

 

Philia asks, surprised and confused, “Unusual?”

 

Dai responds, “Anything unusual for that weird area Philia.”

 

Philia replies, “No.” Philia asks, “What’s this about?” Kirito and Usagi look at each other and then start explain about what happened on November 7, the day of the battle between Kirito and Heathcliff AKA Kayaba which switched to Usagi and Heathcliff leaving the part that Usagi is Sailor Moon.

 

When they are done, Philia asks, her eyes widening, “The game…is malfunctioning?”

 

Kirito says, with a nod, “The day that you came to the Hollow Area is the day that Usagi and I dueled Heathcliff, who was really Kayaba, in which the game suffered ‘glitches’.”

 

Usagi says, “We believe that same ‘error’ brought you here. A new friend of ours, Sinon, came here because of these errors mistaking the Full-Dive technology that she was using as a NervGear, thus an SAO player, since the Full-Dive technology is similar to the NervGears that keep us trapped here in SAO.”

 

Philia says, with a nod, “I see. I came here because of an error.”

 

Dai asks, “Could it be possible that Philia’s cursor is an ‘error’ too?”

 

Philia looks at Dai and Kirito says, “That might be possible.”

 

Philia says, plainly, “Maybe…” Asuna, Kirito, and Usagi can see the solemn look in Philia’s eyes and it concerns them for different reasons.

 

Mizuno says, her eyes widening, “Huh? This is strange!”

 

When everyone looks at Mizuno, Mamoru asks, “What’s wrong?”

 

Mizuno says, “There seems to be something that’s being registered as an irregularity.”

 

Usagi asks, “Irregularity?”

 

Kirito asks, “Not an error?”

 

Mizuno says, “Nothing that the system feels that it would have to intervene in based on my level of access.”

 

Kirito says, “Let me see.” Mizuno nods her head as Kirito goes over and types of the keypad of the console in which a screen comes up.

 

Asuna asks, “What’s up, Kirito-kun?”

 

Kirito responds, “I’m not sure, Asuna. It is coming from Hollow Area.”

 

Akari asks, “Do you think that’s why we are having such problems?”

 

Philia asks, “Problems?”

 

Dai says, “Aincard is going all ‘wonky’, for this place, and it might not be good for your health to remain here.”

 

Mamoru says, “That’s why we need to complete the game as fast as possible and get all of you out of here.”

 

Philia says, with a nod, “Right.”

 

Dai asks, “Anyway, what are we waiting for?”

 

Akari says, with a sigh, “You want to check out what this ‘irregularity’, Dai-kun.”

 

Dai says, with a grin, “Right!”

Kirito says, “Same here. It is strange. If there is something that’s not typical with the system, why isn’t it treated it as an error? With the system the way that it is, we need to make sure that the game remains stable enough to allow us to complete it and get all of the survivors out of here.”

 

Asuna says, “I agree, Kirito-kun. However, I don’t think that we should rush in there.”

 

Usagi says, “We’ll be careful, Asuna.”

 

Kirito nods his head and he asks Philia, “Philia, will you come along with us?”

 

Philia says, with a nod, “Sure. I need to ask a favor.”

 

Asuna gives a curious look and Kirito asks, “A favor?”

 

Philia says, “I want to upgrade my weapon and there is an ore that can help.”

 

Kirito says, with a nod, “Sure, Philia. If you are going to remain here in the Hollow Area, you are going need the strongest weapon possible.”

 

Philia says, with a nod, “Thank you, Kirito.”

 

Asuna crosses her arms in front of her and Usagi tells Asuna, with a kind yet nervous smile, “Come on, Asuna. You know how Kirito is.”

 

Asuna says, “That’s what worries me, Usagi-chan.” Usagi sighs as the group prepares to venture into the Hollow Area with Philia forming a two player party with Kirito and prepares to join the combined group to figure out what that ‘irregularity’ in the Hollow Area is. Deep within the Hollow Area, we find Sora, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy walking along an area known as Temple Front Plaza of Serpentis in which their outfits have changed.

 

Sora’s outfit consists of an outfit similar to Kirito’s outfit with shirt under the large jacket is red with the black jacket having yellow hints in them and he has large yellow combat boots on his feet.

 

Kairi’s outfit is a pink version of Leafa’s outfit where everything on Leafa’s outfit is colored green, we find that Kairi’s version is colored pink.

 

Goofy is covered in head to toe with red samurai style outfit and armor.

 

Donald is covered from head to toe in silver medieval knight’s armor made for his size and shape with a mace-like staff in his hands.

 

Kairi asks Donald, “Anything Donald?”

 

Donald says, shaking his head, “Nothing.”

 

Sora says, “It is the same for me, Donald. It isn’t you. It has to be this world that we are in.”

 

Kairi asks, “Could this world not allow you to use magic?”

 

Goofy asks, “Gwarsh? Can a world do that?”

 

Donald responds, annoyed, “If it can’t: Why can’t Sora and I use our magic?”

 

Sora says, “Easy, Donald.”

 

Kairi tells Sora, “This is bad, Sora. Donald’s main offensive and defense power is magic. If he can’t perform magic, he is in trouble.”

 

Donald gasps in shock and Sora says, “I know, Kairi. It really affects all of us since Donald is also our primary healer too.”

 

Donald says, “That doesn’t make feel any better, Sora.”

 

Sora says, with a nervous smile, “Sorry, Donald. Look, it has to be this world. It prevents the use of magic somehow.”

 

Goofy says, “Well, Donald might be able to use that mace that he is holding there. I mean, he usually uses his staff as one especially to knock me on the head and he is quite good at it too.” Sora and Kairi smile nervously and Donald shakes his head with a sigh.

 

Kairi brings out her Keyblade, Destiny’s Embrace, and she says, “At least we can use our Keyblades.”

 

Sora says, bringing out his Keyblade, Kingdom Key, “I’m not really surprised, Kairi. Remember, they are the strongest weapons of the worlds.” Sora says, “Speaking of this world, this place is just really weird.”

 

Kairi says, “I’ll say, Sora. When I looked at you closely, you have some kind of green cursor on hovering over you and there is a green bar by the side of your head along with Donald and Goofy too. And in the corner of my eye, I can see a green bar by the side of my name.”

 

Sora says, “Same here, Kairi. It is like we are in a world that’s a living video game or something.”

 

Goofy says, with a smile, “Gwarsh, I always wanted to play a game inside of a game.”

 

Donald yells out, annoyed, “Goofy, we don’t know what kind of world this is!”

 

Sora says, “Well, I think that it is like Tron’s world. Some kind of ‘computer world’ or something like that, Donald. Remember those monsters that weren’t Heartless? They shattered into pieces. I remember that it was like that for Tron’s world. When someone like Tron is destroyed, they shatter into pieces like glass.”

 

Donald says, with a nod, “Yeah, you’re right, Sora.”

 

Kairi asks, “So, we are in another world like Tron’s world?”

 

Sora says, with a nod, “Yeah, Kairi, but I think that we are still digital too and like Tron, we can be ‘deleted’ like any computer file.” Donald shivers at that thought and Sora says, “And if this is like a video game, I think those bars must be health bars and if it reaches zero…”

 

Kairi says, nervously, “I don’t want to think about that Sora.”

 

Sora says, “I don’t want to either, Kairi. Right now, we need to figure out a way back home and fast especially with Donald. His ability to fight is limited without his magic.” Sora tells Goofy, “Which means that it is your job to help Donald out big time, Goofy. Kairi and I will be all right since we, both, can use our Keyblades, but Donald doesn’t know anything about using weapons.”

 

Kairi tells Donald, “Sora is not insulting you, Donald.”

 

Donald says, with a nod, “I know, Kairi. I know. Stupid world.”

 

Sora tells Donald, with a grin, “Once we get out of here, Donald, you will be toasting Heartless in no time!”

 

Donald asks Sora, “Do you even have a plan to find a way home, Sora?”

 

Sora responds, with a smile, “Nope! But I know if we keep looking, we’ll find something!” Donald gives an expression that doesn’t express confidence in Sora while Goofy nods his head and smiles at his friend. The group is heading towards what looks like an entrance to a castle-like structure when they see a black hooded cloaked figure in front of them with the hood covering his head/face.

 

Kairi asks, “Who is that?”

 

Sora says, “I don’t know, Kairi. They are wearing the cloak of Organization Thirteen, but Riku wore it when he was deep undercover while I was regaining my memories and when he was using the dark powers of Xehanort’s Heartless.”

 

However, the cloaked figure responds, in a deep male voice, “But I’m not your friend, Sora.” Just then the blue figure takes out a huge blue Claymore-like weapon and charges at Sora, who barely blocks the attack with his Keyblade.

Donald yells out, “Hey! I know that weapon!”

 

Sora says, with a serious tone, “I remember too, Donald! Saix!” The cloaked figure’s hood lowers to reveal a male with dark blue hair, sinister golden eyes, and ‘X’-shaped scar on his face.

 

The cloaked figure, Saix, responds, “Correct, Sora. However, I am not the Saix that you know.”

 

Sora asks, confused, “What?”

 

Saix tells Sora, “I am a mere digital replica of the Saix that you know. You know what a replica from what your friend, Keyblade Master Riku, told you, do you not?”

 

Sora responds, “Yeah, but if you are a duplicate of the real Saix, how do you know that Riku is a Keyblade Master now?”

 

Saix and Sora separate from each other and Saix says, “I am data and data can be ‘updates’ in which my new associate has made me just as alive as my flesh and blood counterpart. And while I am just data, it doesn’t mean that I can’t destroy you!” Saix charges at Sora, again, he dodges the heavy strike of Saix and managing to block as he can go.

 

Kairi says, worried, “Sora!”

 

Sora tells Kairi, “Stay back! I’ll handle Saix! Help Goofy and Donald! Saix might have minions waiting for you so watch out!”

 

Saix says, with a sinister smirk, “And you are right, Sora, but you are too late!” Just then a skeleton warrior monster in armor appears behind Kairi and before she can react, she is yelps out as she is sliced in the back causing her to lose a significant amount of health as well as suffering from a stun effect.

 

Sora shouts out, horrified, “Kairi!” Sora tries to break away and help Kairi, but Saix blocks him at every turn while Donald yells out in fear as he, Goofy, and temporary paralyzed Kairi are surrounded as the skeleton monster prepares to strike another blow to the helpless female Keyblader.

 

But then a male voice shouts out, “Back off, you bag of bones!” Soon after, Usagi, Kirito, and Dai make their appear and each of them use their two swords in their hands to slice apart the skeleton monsters while the rest of their group make their appearance in which Usagi helps Kairi to her feet.

 

Usagi asks, “Are you okay?”

 

Kairi says, “Yes, thank you.”

 

Dai asks, seeing Donald and Goofy, “Whoa! Who or what are you?”

 

The others are also surprised and Kirito says, “I don’t think that they are monsters…”

 

Donald yells out, annoyed, “Hey! Who are you calling a monster, you jerk?”

 

Mamoru says, “And monsters in the game don’t talk, Kirito.”

 

Kairi asks, “Game?” However, before anything else could be said or done, they turn their attention back to the battle in which Sora turns his Kingdom Key Keyblade into his Oathkeeper Keyblade.

 

Sora says, with a serious tone, “You are going to pay for trying to hurt my friends and Kairi, Saix. Even if you aren’t the real Saix, you still are based on the same guy that betrayed Axel!”

 

Saix says, with a scoff, “I don’t care.”

 

Sora responds, with a smirk, “You should care since Roxas wants me to beat your butt, jerk!” Sora then brings out an Oblivion Keyblade into his free hand and he charges at Saix.

 

Saix asks, shocked, “Two?” However, Saix blocks an all-out assault from Sora and Saix says, with a plain tone as he struggles against Sora’s assault, “I see. You have mastered the power from your ‘other half’, Roxas, or should I say, the power that you have gained from Ventus since his heart originally gave you the power of the Keyblade, but you had created your own power and combined with his, you gained the power that makes you one of the strongest Keyblade warriors in the multiverse: Duel Welding.”

 

Asuna asks, “Key-what?”

 

Dai asks, “Is it me or is this guy welding swords that look like overgrown keys?”

 

Usagi thinks in her mind, “Who is this guy? And how come he can duel weld like Kirito, Dai, and I can? And what are those things that he is using? They look like overgrown keys, but I can tell…I can sense great power from those ‘swords’.” Sora and Saix fight hard against each other and Sora unleashes an assault that knocks Saix’s Claymore out of his hands as well as slashes him in the chest causing Saix to be thrown to the ground.

 

Saix says, “You have grown strong, Sora.”

 

Just then a female voice shouts out, “But not strong enough to take me on, brat!” Sora looks only to see a beam of energy heading towards him and he barely manages to dodge in which Mimete appears before everyone.

 

Usagi says, seriously, “Mimete!”

 

Mimete says, looking at Saix, “I turned you from mere data into a living being and this is the result!”

 

Saix tells Mimete, “Clearly you underestimate the power of the Keyblade.”

 

Mimete yells out, “I know what the Keyblade is! One of the most powerful weapons in the multiverse, but the holder is a teenage brat!”

 

Sora shouts out, annoyed, “Who are you calling a brat?”

 

Saix says, “Forgive me. You are not underestimating the Keyblade…You are underestimating its welder.”

Mimete says, glaring at Sora, “Let’s see if he can handle this!” Mimete snaps her fingers and out from the ground behind the others, The Gleameyes, the boss monster of Floor 74, comes out and before the others could react, it swings its massive weapon creating a massive shockwave that knocks everyone, minus Sora, to the ground.

 

Sora shouts out, “No!”

 

Mimete says, “Focus on me, brat!” Mimete fires a beam of energy and Sora barely manages to dodge while with the others, Usagi regains her senses enough to see The Gleameyes about to bare down on them and she has lost her swords for the moment. Eyeing Kairi’s Keyblade, Usagi, on instinct that she has developed for over two years of SAO, rolls over, grabs the Keyblade by the handle, and uses Kairi’s Keyblade to block The Gleameyes’ weapon.

Saix asks, shocked, “What? How can she handle the Keyblade without being chosen by it?” Sora and Mimete are also shocked while the others, who have just regained their senses, look at the scene with varying degrees of surprise.

 

Donald asks, shocked, “What?”

 

Kairi says, stunned, “My Keyblade…” Just then Usagi’s player menu seems to activate on its own and goes through her equipment menu.

 

Usagi asks, confused, “Hey, what’s going on?” Soon after, her Escalon sword appears in front of her with a bright glow and she asks, “My Escalon?” Just then her sword then transforms into a Keyblade-like weapon.

 

The Keyblade created from Usagi’s sword looks similar to the Star Seeker Keyblade, but all of the parts of the Star Seeker that are blue is silver, the head of the Keyblade only contains the large upside down golden crescent moon as its ‘teeth’, and the crescent moon on the keychain is silver in color.

 

Dai asks, confused, “Okay, what’s going on?”

 

Kirito responds, “I have no idea.” Kirito then shouts out, “Usagi, look out!” Usagi then sees Gleameyes preparing to attack and on instinct, she grabs the other Keyblade and uses Cross Block, the Duel Welding Sword Skill defense technique, to protect herself and throw Gleameyes back. Usagi then uses Quadruple Pain, the 4 hit Rapier Sword Skill combo to stun the boss monster, and Usagi then strikes hard with Starburst Stream, the classic 16 hit Duel Welding Sword Skill combo, to cause massive damage. However, the boss monster doesn’t stay stunned for long and it strikes Usagi, hard.

 

Mamoru shouts out, “No!”

 

But before Mamoru could rush to Usagi, Kirito says, “No, Mamoru! Usagi can’t stop the Sword Skill once started! She might hit you accidently if you interfere! Once the skill stops, we can leap in!” At one point, Gleameyes manages grab one of Usagi’s arms and prepares to impale her, but Usagi uses the other glowing Keyblade to cut the Gleameyes weapon down the middle and impale the Gleameyes, who shatters into data polygons on the loss of all of its health. Usagi stumbles as she looks over her own health in which she is in the red and barely has a few bits left in which she collapses from the mental strain of the battle.

 

Mizuno says, concerned, “Usagi!” Mamoru and Mizuno rush over to her in which Mimete sneers at this in which Sora notices that her guard is down.

 

Sora says, with a serious tone, “Hey!” Mimete turns to face Sora and Sora manages to strike her in which he scratches her face shown by streak in which Mimete yelps out.

 

Mimete shouts out, shocked and angered, “My face! My lovely face! You are going to pay for that one, brat!” Mimete then teleports away by a blue light with Saix following soon afterwards leaving Sora and the others alone with Sora going over to Kairi, who retrieves her Keyblade.

 

Sora asks, “Kairi, are you all right?”

 

Kairi says, “I’m fine, Sora.” On the meanwhile, Mizuno uses a Healing Crystal to restore Usagi’s health to full quickly as she wakes up.

 

Usagi says, with a winch, “My aching head.”

 

Mamoru asks, concerned, “Are you okay?”

 

Kirito says, “She’ll be okay, Mamoru. She is just suffering from the immense mental strain from the intense fight.”

 

Dai says, “No joke! She just beat that overgrown freak single handed!”

 

Usagi asks, “I did what?”

 

Mizuno asks, “You don’t remember?”

 

Usagi gives a nervous look and Kirito says, a bit nervously, “With really intense fights, Usagi and I can ‘snap’ and we forget everything that we did in a fight.” Mamoru and Mizuno give wide-eyes and Usagi rubs her head nervously.

 

Asuna asks, “How did Usagi-chan beat that boss monster single handed? Was it weaker like Skull Reaper that you fought when you and Usagi-chan first came here?”

 

Kirito says, shaking his head, “No, Asuna. Actually, I think that it was just as strong as or maybe even stronger than the last Gleameyes and this one was at full power. The one that I had beaten, barely, had already lost one of its four health bars.” Kirito says, pointing to Usagi’s new Keyblade, “While Usagi has grown stronger, I’m not sure that she could handle a full strength boss monster by herself and I think that thing is responsible.”

 

When Usagi looks at her new Keyblade, she asks, “What is this thing?”

 

Kirito says, looking at Sora, Kairi, and their friends, “Mimete called it a Keyblade, one of the strongest weapons in the multiverse, and these people have them.”

 

When everyone else looks at the group, Goofy says, “Hello!”

 

Donald wants to whack Goofy on the head and Kairi tells him, “Easy, Donald.”

 

Akari asks, “Who are you?”

 

Sora says, with a smile, “Well, I’m Sora! And this is Kairi, Donald, and Goofy.” Donald groans as he slaps himself in the armored forehead and Philia looks at them with a curious look in her eyes.

 

Philia thinks in her mind, “They aren’t like the others around here. Are they like Usagi, Kirito, and their friends?”

 

Kirito asks, “I’m Kirito. How did you get into the Hollow Area?”

 

Kairi asks, curiously, “Hollow Area?”

 

Sora asks, “Is this the name of this world?”

 

Asuna responds, “No. This is SAO.”

 

Sora asks, “SAO?”

 

Dai says, “That’s short for Sword Art Online, dude.”

 

Sora says, “Weird name for a world.”

 

Usagi asks, surprised, “Huh?”

 

Akari asks, “How could you not know about Sword Art Online?”

 

Mamoru says, “I have a feeling that he isn’t from around here. His friends are a good induction.”

 

Dai says, with a nod while looking at Donald and Goofy, “That’s for sure.”

 

Donald asks, annoyed, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

 

Mamoru says, “Anyway, explanations are one thing that we can do later. I think that we should get back to the Control Center before we are attacked again.”

 

Kirito says, “Good idea.” Kirito tells Sora, “It is best that you and your friends come with us. It isn’t safe out here.”

 

Sora and his group look at each other and Kairi says, “I think that it is a good idea, Sora.”

 

Sora says, “If you say so, Kairi.” Soon after, the group heads back to a teleportation stone which allows them to teleport into the Hollow Area Control Center where they are safe for the moment.

 

Dai asks, “Okay, bro, how can you not know about Sword Art Online?”

 

Sora says, nervously, “Well, we aren’t from around here…” Donald glares at Sora and he says, “Come on, Donald! Something tells me that someone like you isn’t normal for even this place and that girl has a Keyblade now!”

 

Usagi displays her new Keyblade and Mamoru asks, “What do you know about this Keyblade? And in fact, where do you come from?” Sora and Kairi sigh as they start to explain about where they come from, the Keyblade, and their adventures which leave quite a few shocked looks to say the least.

 

Dai says, amazed, “You’re kidding me!”

Akari tells Dai, “I don’t think that they are, Dai-kun.”

 

Usagi asks, “So, you are basically a world adventure, saving people and worlds from creatures of pure darkness known as Heartless, and your girlfriend is one of seven ‘Princess of Heart’, seven women with the ability to access the ‘heart of all worlds’, Kingdom Hearts?”

 

Sora and Kairi blush from the ‘girlfriend’ comment and Kairi says, “Um, yeah…”

 

Sora regains his composer, though not losing his entire blush, and he says, “Right now, we are facing the one that started this whole madness back home. His name is Xehanort and he wants to restart the Keyblade War, a war between Keyblade warriors of the light, darkness, and twilight that fought to protect or take control of the one true Kingdom Hearts, which is the reason that our worlds are separate in our time. He wants to recreate the Kye-Blade, the ultimate and from what I was told, the original Keyblade, the counterpart to Kingdom Hearts, in which the original Kye-Blade broke into seven pieces of light and thirteen pieces of darkness. In order to reform the Kye-Blade, Xehanort needs thirteen ‘Dark Keybladers’ and seven ‘Light Keybladers’ to clash and his thirteen ‘Dark Keybladers’ are thirteen warriors that he has infused with pieces of his ‘dark heart’ to turn them into clones of himself. He tried to make me into one of his clones, but my friends saved me and despite what Xehanort told him, King Mickey, a Keyblade Master, says that I may have ‘unique qualities’ that Xehanort may be interested in.” Sora says, with a grin, “Not surprising since they said that I’m one of the strongest Keybladers around even though I’m not a master just yet.”

 

Kairi says, with a smile and a giggle, “Oh, geez, Sora…” Kairi then explains, “Anyway, since Xehanort might have an interest in recapturing or killing the seven princesses, including myself, a former Keyblade Master, Yen Sid, decided that I should be trained in the ways of the Keyblade since I gained the ability to use the Keyblade as a combination of my strong heart as a princess and long ago, I had accidently inherited the ability to use the Keyblade from Aqua, a new Keyblade Master at the time, but I didn’t remember since I was so young at the time.”

 

Asuna asks, “How did you gain your ability to use the Keyblade?”

 

Kairi says, “From what King Mickey told me, it was when I touched Aqua’s Keyblade. It is called a ‘Keyblade Inheritance Ceremony’. If a person is able to hold another Keyblader’s Keyblade, it means that they have been accepted to weld the Keyblade.”

 

Kirito says, “I see. When Usagi picked up and used your Keyblade, she was accepted by the power of your Keyblade and given her own.”

 

Sora says, with a grin, “That’s right! It means that she has a strong heart! You see, only people with strong hearts not controlled by the darkness can weld the Keyblade.”

 

Mizuno asks, “If that’s true, why did you say that there are ‘Keybladers of the Dark’?”

 

Mamoru says, “Those are Keybladers that don’t let the darkness control them. They control the darkness including the darkness that’s within themselves.”

 

Kairi says, with a nod, “That’s right.”

 

Mizuno says, with a smile, “I think that the Keyblade is perfect for Usagi.”

 

Asuna says, with a smile, “I agree.”

 

Mamoru says, “However, this situation is getting worse all of the time.”

 

Kirito says, with a nod, “I agree. If Mimete has found a way to link SAO to other ‘cyber worlds’ in other universes, we can’t be sure that there are other ‘virtual worlds’ like SAO and ALO out there. Most likely, they are very safe virtual worlds compared to SAO, but if SAO gets ‘linked’ with them, we can’t be sure that SAO’s programmed won’t spread like a virus to these other virtual worlds and turn them into ‘death games’. If these virtual worlds use virtual reality technology similar to Full-Dive technology or something like how Sora-san and his friends got into his ‘cyber world’, those virtual worlds could be turned into death games as well.”

 

There are gasps and Dai says, “That’s seriously not good.”

 

Akari asks, “Who is this Mimete?”

 

Kirito and Asuna look at Usagi, Mamoru, and Mizuno in which Usagi gives a gentle nod with Mizuno says, “Dai-san, you and Akari-san are going to have to understand that there is a reason why we kept this information from you.”

 

Akari asks, confused, “What do you mean?”

 

Kirito asks, “Have you heard of Sailor Moon?”

 

Dai says, with a smirk, “Have you heard of Sailor Moon? No duh, Kirito! Who hasn’t heard of Sailor Moon? I really don’t get the point, dude.”

 

Usagi opens her player menu, opens the new menu bar marked ‘Henshin’, and when she pushes it and says ‘yes’ to the acknowledge prompt, she transforms into Eternal Sailor Moon in a bright light and she says, “I’m Sailor Moon.”

 

Philia, Dai, and Akari gasp in shock and Dai yells out, “You…You’re the famous super-hero Sailor Moon?!”

 

Philia says, stunned, “I can’t believe it!” Philia asks Kirito, “Kirito, you knew?”

 

Kirito responds, with a nod, “Usagi was forced to transform when she was given a lethal strike by Heathcliff. She tapped into her powers, somehow, and transformed in which she used her powers to gain a lot of control over SAO at that time as well as to fight him.”

 

Goofy says, “Gwarsh! She sounds famous!”

 

Sailor Moon scratches her head and Kairi asks, “Wait! What did you mean by calling this world a ‘death game’?”

 

Kirito says, “That’s what it is, Kairi-san. This was supposed to be a new frontier for gaming, but instead, this is battle for survival.” Sailor Moon gives a slight solemn sigh when she along with the others explains to Sora and his group about SAO, the NervGear, and the whole situation.

 

When they were done, Kairi gasp in shock and Sora says, stunned, “That’s insane!”

 

Kairi says, shocked, “That’s horrible.”

 

Asuna says, with a nod, “It is, Kairi-san. Nearly four thousand people are already dead.”

 

Donald says, “That’s just wrong! Games are supposed to be fun, not to kill people! This guy is just as insane as Xehanort!”

 

Kirito says, “As much as I hate say it in front of Usagi, I have to agree.”

 

Mizuno says, “It isn’t a good situation for Sora-san and his friends too.”

 

Sora says, “Yeah, I kind of figured. Since we’re digital, here, like we are in Tron’s world, if we lose our health, here, we’re going to be deleted.”

 

Donald yelps out and he yells out, “Deleted?”

 

Goofy asks, “Deleted?”

 

Donald shouts out, “It means destroyed, Goofy! We’ll be wiped out of existence!”

 

Goofy nods his head and he then says, his eyes widen and fearfully, “Wow! That’s really bad!”

 

Donald face-palms himself and Dai says, “Basically, you and your friends are in the same bucket as Kari and I. We die here…we’re gone completely.”

 

Kirito says, “But we can say that the way to get them home is also here. They appeared here and that means that Mimete is somewhere here doing whatever she is doing.”

 

Sailor Moon transforms back into Usagi and she asks, “But how? She didn’t have the power before to open gateways and link virtual worlds together! How?”

 

Mamoru says, “That’s a good question, Meatball Head. I have some theories and plenty of them aren’t good. However, our main focus is to find Mimete and stop her before she causes SAO to become even worse. She could even turn the Amusphere into a deadly weapon with her dark powers.”

 

Mizuno says, with a nod, “That’s a good point.”

 

Kirito says, “However, it won’t be easy. It looks like she has gained new minions to aid her.”

 

Sora asks, “Why would Saix help her and not be with Xehanort?”

 

Kairi says, “I don’t think that’s the real Saix, Sora.” When Sora looks at Kairi, she says, “Remember what he said. I think that Saix is some kind of ‘digital duplicate’ of the original Saix.”

 

Sora asks, “How is that possible?”

 

Kairi says, “There might information on him in the Radiant Garden computer. After that they sent Ansem the Wise into the Realm of Darkness, they had control of his castle and the center of Radiant Garden before the whole of Radiant Garden was consumed by darkness and turned into Hollow Bastion.”

 

Sora says, with a nod, “That’s a good point, Kairi.”

 

Mamoru says, “And it shows that Mimete has a good amount of control in this world since she was able to revive a boss monster that you had defeated before.”

 

Kirito says, “That was a nightmare that I thought that we would never see again.”

 

Mamoru says, “We need to end SAO as fast as we can and more than ever before.”

Usagi asks, looking at her Keyblade, “Hold on! Didn’t Sora-san say that this thing can open any ‘locked door’? Could it help us log out?”

 

Kirito responds, shaking his head, “I think that it could, Usagi…If there was a ‘door’ to open. The logout is like a ‘virtual door’, but remember, he didn’t just lock us out of the logout, Kayaba took it away from our menus. The Keyblade can unlock any ‘door’, but how can it unlock anything, if there is nothing to ‘unlock’?”

 

Usagi says, drolly, “Good point, Kirito.”

 

Kirito says, “Most likely, the ‘door’ will reappear and ‘unlock’ when we have completed the game which would make it a massive ‘door’ with all of us going through it at once. That’s how Kayaba planned it.”

 

Asuna says, “This is getting so much more complicated, Kirito-kun.”

 

Kirito says, with a nod, “It is, Asuna, but we know what we have to do. And it just makes our mission to complete the game more urgent than ever before. The longer the game goes on, especially in this condition, could mean the world is in threat. Mimete may not be able to escape cyber-space, but it doesn’t mean that she isn’t a threat to the world. For example, she might get into the VRMMO played by Sugu: Alfheim Online.”

 

Mizuno says, concerned, “There are thousands upon thousands of players and more are going in every day since it is very popular.”

 

Mamoru says, “And I dare not say anything of what Mimete would do there and it isn’t just killing people.”

 

Dai says, “That’s major crap.”

 

Akari asks, “So, what do we do now?”

 

Kirito says, “Same as always. We continue on to complete the game, but I think that it is best that we don’t say anything to the rest of the Assault Team. Even for Sword Art Online, it may be really hard to believe despite a good amount of the Assault Team other than us knowing that Usagi-chan is Sailor Moon.”

 

Usagi says, with a droll tone, “Which Pyro is never going to let go.”

 

Sora says, “Maybe we can help out. We don’t have an idea on how we are going to get home and all of this might get reversed if we set you free.”

 

Asuna says, “You have to understand that this is just as dangerous for you as it is for us, Sora-san. Since you are ‘digitized’, if you die here, you will be completely destroyed since you are your avatars in this world.”

 

Kirito says, “I don’t think that’s a problem for them, Asuna. Like Usagi, they have faced death and destruction back in the real world and they have faced that kind of stuff in their own ‘digital world’, so, this situation isn’t too different for them.”

 

Sora says, with a nod, “Yeah, we’ll be fine.”

 

Usagi asks, “Can you get out of here?”

 

Kirito says, “I can’t see why not, Usagi-chan.”

 

Philia then notices something and Philia says, “Kairi-san, your right hand!” Kairi then looks at her hand and she gasps at what she sees: The same insignia that Kirito and Usagi have is on Kairi’s right hand.

 

Kairi asks, “My hand?” When everyone looks at Kairi’s hand, they see that insignia.

 

Usagi says, shocked, “That’s the same one that we have!” Soon after, Sora, Donald, and Goofy look at their hands and they are surprised to see same insignia.

 

Sora asks, “What is this?”

 

Kirito says, “We’re not completely sure, but it is the only reason that Usagi and I can have access to the Hollow Area once we get back to Aincard itself. Dai and Akari have their own special ‘marks’ that allows them to do the same, but they are different in design than the ones that we have.”

 

Usagi says, “If you don’t have that, unless you are in a party with Kirito, Dai, Akari, or I, you can’t get to the Hollow Area from Aincard. And even then, you can only have one person in your party at a time.”

 

Kirito says, “Anyway, we’re going to need to regroup.”

 

Mizuno says, “I think I should stay here and see if I can get anything more from the control panel, here.”

 

Kirito says, with a nod, “Good idea.” Kirito then asks, “Akari, can you and Asuna come with Philia and me to get the ore that she needs to upgrade her dagger?”

 

Asuna nods her head and Akari says, with a smile, “Sure!”

 

Kirito says, with a nod, “With Mimete on the loose around the Hollow Area, I’m not that I can assist Philia and since you are friends with her, I figured out that you would want to keep an eye on her.”

 

Dai asks, “What am I? Chopped liver?”

 

Akari tells Dai, “Dai-kun, Mizuno is part of your party and we can’t be sure what will happen if we teleport out of here with the game in its current condition.”

 

Dai says, with a nod, “Good point.”

 

Akari kisses Dai on the cheek and he says, “I’ll be all right, Dai-kun.”

 

Dai says, with a warm smile, “I know that you will, Kari-chan.” Soon after, Kirito, Philia, Akari, and Asuna use the control panel teleport down to the ‘surface’ of the Hollow Area to help Philia find the ore that will upgrade her weapon while others stay behind to think about the situation forming around them in which they can’t help to wonder how Mimete got the power to do what she did.

 

December 19, 2024, SAO, Unknown Sector

 

Within the unknown area of SAO, Mimete is absolutely furious at what happened and she is stomping around as Saix or should I say, the digital duplicate of Saix watches her ‘distress’ with twelve other similarly cloaked figures.

 

Mimete yells out, angrily, “I can’t believe this!”

 

Saix tells Mimete, “I believe that the evidence is there. The girl has gained the power of the Keyblade.”

 

Mimete responds, “I know that! She could use it to escape this place at any time!”

 

Saix tells Mimete, “I don’t believe so. From what you said, Kayaba didn’t just lock them out of using the logout, he took it out of their menus. The Keyblade can’t ‘unlock a door’ if there is no ‘door to unlock’.”

 

Mimete’s eyes widen and she says, with a sinister smile, “Well, that’s a different story. For once, Kayaba is assisting me by not allowing his piece niece to escape. As long as she remains, my plans can go forward.”

 

Saix says, with a plain tone, “Indeed. However, while it isn’t too hard for you to give us ‘life’ by adapting the AI programming of the ‘beings’ on this Hollow Area to turn us into true AI, it is still incredible that you could link this virtual world with other worlds.”

 

Mimete says, with a wicked smile, “I had learned that there is more to Kayaba than meets the eye.” Mimete says, with a sneer, “But I can barely tap into that power and that shows that he is still around! He is blocking me from it! If I could have that power, it wouldn’t be a problem for me to get out of here and in fact, return to the real world and restore my body to flesh and blood!”

 

Saix asks, “Is that possible?”

 

Mimete says, with a nod, “With the secrets that Kayaba hold, yes. However, he is smart…for a human. I’ll give him that much. I’ll doubt that I get it. I’ll have to settle for escaping here, but with other virtual worlds out there and the humans so dependent on computer technology, it would be easy to take over the world even if I’m trapped here. All I need to do is make that Moon brat wail like she never has before.”

 

Saix responds, “It won’t be easy, Mimete. If she is able to weld the Keyblade, then her heart is still very strong.”

 

Mimete says, with a sneer, “And a heart can be broken, Saix!”

 

Saix says, “True, Mimete. But don’t underestimate a person that welds the Keyblade, it could be your undoing.”

 

Mimete responds, glaring at Saix, “Don’t you dare lecture me! You were nothing more than data! I made you what you are and I can unmake you just as easily! It be just as easy as hitting a delete button on a computer, understand?”

 

Saix responds, “Understood, Mimete.” Mimete walks away and Saix just shakes his head as his words may be foreboding something ‘unpleasant’ happening to Mimete in the near future.

 

And that’s the chapter, everyone! You must be thinking: Whoa! You are now going WAY off-base of your original story! Anyway, while this story is a ‘spin-off’ of my original Sailor Moon Online story, it is a story with a life of its own so to speak, folks. I’m adding its own ‘unique flavor’ while making sure that’s its ‘connection’ to my original fanfiction that it is based on is secure and valid, everyone! Anyway, expect plenty more twists in the future, everyone! Later and best wishes, Crossover Fans!