Crossover Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Sailor Moon Online ❯ The Black Swordsman, the Flash, and Bunny Valkyrie ( Chapter 4 )

As we start this chapter, the inspiration for the Medic Skill of Usagi/Serena is pretty obvious. Serena/Sailor Moon uses the power of the Silver Crystal to purify and ‘heal’ people like she did with the Rainbow Crystal carriers of the first Sailor Moon anime and she even healed people in the Sailor Moon manga storyline. Anyway, since magic isn’t a part of SAO, I wanted to create a ‘healing ability’ within the retrospect of Sword Art Online and I believe that I did a good job on it.

I DO NOT OWN Sailor Moon, Sword Art Online 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 Itô!

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

Chapter 4: The Black Swordsman, the Flash, and Bunny Valkyrie

Mid-January 2024, Floor 48, Lindarth

One day, Lisbeth is selling her wares when Usagi comes over to her.

Lisbeth tells Usagi, with a smile, “Usagi!”

Usagi says, with a kind tone, “Hey, Liz! Working hard, I see!”

Lisbeth says, with a grin, “Yep! I’ll be able to open my own shop before you know it!”

Usagi tells Lisbeth, “I can’t wait to see it, Liz! I’ll be there on the day that it opens!”

Lisbeth says, with a grin, “That will be great, but don’t expect any discounts!”

Usagi says, with a smile, “I know, Liz!”

Lisbeth asks, “Anyway, why are you here?”

Usagi says, with a kind tone, “I wanted to show you something, Liz! I just got it recently!” Usagi goes through her player menu and she says, “I know that blacksmiths like you don’t like these ‘generic brand’ of weapons, but I think that this one is really cool.” She then materializes a sword in her hands and Lisbeth looks at it intently.

The sword in Usagi’s hands is a pitch black sword with trims of gray with a black handle connected to a hand guard that drops down on the right side, attached to this elongated area of the hand-guard is part of the sword’s obsidian blade in which Lisbeth can see that this is to better aid the user in retaining their grip on the sword when it is being used. The blade is completely black like the rest of the sword and the said blade is outlined in a light gray. A small cross ison the flat of the blade, just beneath the tip. Based on what Lisbeth can see, the sword is 120 centimeters long or a bit less.

When Lisbeth has a help window to show what the sword is, Lisbeth says, amazed, “Whoa! This is an Elucidator, Usagi! This is one of the most incredible swords that you can get from a monster drop! Most of these kinds of blades are pieces of crap in my opinion, but you have got a gem here!”

Usagi says, with a smile, “Yeah, but it takes quite a bit to use it.”

Lisbeth says, “I’ll bet.”

Usagi puts the sword back into her player storage for items, equipment, and whatnot and Usagi says, “Anyway, Escalon, has worked out excellently for me and I have gotten the items needed to upgrade it!”

Lisbeth says, with a smile, “Awesome, Usagi! When I have the time, I’ll try to upgrade it!”

Usagi says, “Thanks, Liz. You are the best. Anyway, I’ve got some stuff to do in town. I’ll catch you later.” Lisbeth nods her head and Usagi takes off into the town in which Lisbeth smiles and sighs at Usagi.

Mid-January 2024, Kirigaya Residence

Within the Kirigaya residence, there is a young girl of around 14 years of age with short black hair and dark grey eyes that are almost blackish in certain light and shadow conditions. In her room, there is an Amusphere and she is lying down on her bed as she puts the Amusphere on her head. Her name is Suguha Kirigaya and she is about to do a Full-Dive for the first time. She plans to Full-Dive into Alfheim Online. The reason: She wants to learn more about her brother and his love for MMO and games. You see, her older brother, Kazuto Kirito, over a year ago, became trapped in VRMMO known as Sword Art Online. He is one of the ten thousand victims of what’s known now as the ‘SAO incident’ and because of that, she had grown to hate VRMMO for stealing her brother away from her. However, recently, she had grown curious on why her brother loved games so much and she can’t help to wonder if it was due to the fact that Kazuto was her ADOPTED brother and her cousin, not her real brother. One month after he was trapped in SAO, her parents told her the truth in which Kazuto was actually her cousin and his parents, Suguha’s aunt and uncle, had died when he wasn’t even one year old and her parents adopted her cousin and they had been raised as sister and brother. Suguha can’t help to wonder if that’s what drove them apart since she had learned that Kazuto learned this fact when he was just ten years old.

Suguha can’t help to wonder if her adopted brother was asking the same questions that she is now. Like: What is the relationship between us? What is Kazuto to me since we aren’t truly brother and sister? However, for now, Kazuto was someone precious in her life and based on what limited information she could get, Kazuto is fighting inside of the game and struggling to get out along with the other surviving players in which she hopes and prays that he can escape. She can’t help wonder what kind of monster would do this to so many people especially the rumor that she heard that one of the victims was a member of Kayaba’s own family. She hoped that it wasn’t true, but if it is, then in Suguha’s mind, Kayaba is a pure fiend that deserves the worst punishment that mankind and heaven could bring upon him.

For right now, Suguha is preparing to go into this unknown world to finally understand her brother, not caring if he is adopted or not, and she says, “Link start!” And with those words, Suguha would enter a whole new world and experience a new joy beyond her current understand in which will make her change her opinion about the virtual world completely and unknowingly start her off on a path that will collide with her brother and another, but that’s far in the future for now.

February 14, 2024, Floor 48, Lindarth

In the town square of Lindarth, Usagi is with a male player with brown hair and wearing knight style armor as he slowly wakes up and he then wakes up with a gasp in which he looks at her.

Usagi says, in a reassuring tone, “It’s okay! It’s okay! You’re safe!”

The young man asks, “You? You are…?”

Usagi says, with a sigh and nod, “Yes.”

The young man’s eyes widen and he yells out, “My guild mates!”

Usagi responds, solemnly, “You are the only one that I found and I managed to use my skills and crystal to save your life barely. I used a teleport crystal to get you out of there and into a safe zone.”

The young man says, solemnly, “No, my friends…”

Usagi asks, “What happened?”

The young man responds, “We were tricked. Ambushed by criminal players.”

Usagi asks, “Was it… them? The ones with THAT mark on their arm?”

The young man replies, shaking his head, “No. It was Titan’s Hand, another criminal guild.” The young man tells Usagi, “Valkyrie-san, you have to get my friends justice! Please, I beg you! They murdered my friend for money! Money!”

Usagi tells the young man, “Whoa! Calm down! Calm down!” The young man calms down as best as he could and Usagi tells him, “Please, tell me everything and I will do what I can.”

The young man asks, “You will?”

Usagi responds, “Of course. No one deserves to die in this nightmare and especially nothing for something so petty. And I have a strong friend that can make sure that those monsters will see justice. I just hope he doesn’t go on a rampage when he finds out about this.”

The young man says, “No! I don’t want you to kill them! That’s too good for them!” When Usagi looks at the man, the young man says, “And killing them won’t bring my friends back and it will make us no better than those monsters. I want justice, not revenge. Please take me to a place where I can buy a corridor crystal.”

Usagi asks, “A corridor crystal?”

The young man responds, “I want those monsters to rot in jail. I don’t want them to do to anyone else what they did to my friends, but I refuse to go down to their stinking dirty level. Unlike them, I respect life.” The young man tells Usagi, “I heard about you, Valkyrie-san. You are strong and they say that you might be stronger than the infamous Black Swordsman himself.”

Usagi thinks, nervously, “I don’t know about that. With the way that Kirito has madly leveled up, I can’t be sure anymore.” Usagi says, with a kind smile, “I wouldn’t say that, my friend. Don’t worry, I’ll do what I can.”

The young man responds, with tears in his eyes, “Thank you, Valkyrie-san! Thank you so much!” The young man does his best to keep himself from crying, but tears come down from his eyes as Usagi helps him to his feet and under the hood, she has a solemn expression on her face.

Usagi thinks, “No matter how hard I try or how hard I work, more and more people are dying every single day! This is a nightmare! I’m Sailor Moon, the protector of love and justice! A Sailor Guardian, a protector of the people, and no matter what I fucking do, more and more good and innocent people just die in this game!” As this game goes on, Usagi is learning that even she, the Sailor Soldier of Moon, can’t save and protect everyone and it rips into her heart more and more, but she will soldier on and do what she can to protect the good and innocent people from the game and from those players that do horrible things even though they know that death here means that you die in the real world too.

February 23, 2024, Floor 35, Forest of Wandering

Within the same Forest of Wandering where Kirito and Usagi took on the Nicholas the Renegade, the boss for the Christmas Event, there is a young girl of around 13 years of age with brown hair in two short pigtails held together by two red ribbons, ruby red eyes, and wearing a yellow and red jacket-like dress with a brown belt across her waist, metal armor on her chest and shoulders, brown fingerless gloves, brown shorts under the yellow jacket-like dress, black sockets and yellow boots in which she is welding a one handed dagger known as a Shadow Dagger in her hands. With this young girl is a small winged-dragon whose body is covered by soft, pale blue feathers. Its body ends with two long feathers instead of a tail.

This young girl is Silica, one of the youngest players of SAO, and the little dragon is her ‘pet’, Pina, who belongs a small monster type known as Feathered Dragon which is very rare type of monster. Silica is a ‘beast tamer’, a term for those players that have managed to tame certain monsters and turn them into partners that can assist you in battle. But since Feathered Dragons are such a rare monster and Silica managed to tame her on her first try by luckily having the type of food that this type of rare monster likes, Silica has become famous as ‘Silica the Dragonmaster’ especially no other player has ever tamed a Feathered Dragon after she gained her partner. However, this fame has managed to get into Silica’s head and lead her to be ‘overconfident’, to be nice about it, in which after a fight with a member of a party that she was in with this member being a female spear user known as Rosalia, she leaves the group to head back on her own.

And it has led to this situation that she is in, Silica is now fighting against three of the strongest of monsters of this floor, monster apes welding big and thick clubs known as Drunken Apes and she is out of healing potions and emergency healing crystal because she was wandering through the forest lost and unable to leave. Even with Pina’s healing ability, she is having a tough time despite her being level 44 which should have meant that these monsters wouldn’t be a problem since many players, when they go outside of safe zones, make sure that their level is ten levels above the number of the floor that they were on. For someone like Silica, this situation would normally be easy for her… Normally, anyway. However, after she had nearly taken out one of the apes, another switched in and Silica gasped as she saw the first ape’s health bar go back up to full by drinking something from the gourde that he is carrying. When Silica focused on the second ape, the same thing happened again causing her to panic and make her attack sloppy causing her to suffer some damage in which she is breathing heavily and her panic only increases as she sees her health is in the yellow area. She leaps to dodge an attack from one ape and manages to dodge out of the way of an attack from another one. Pina manages to use her healing breath ability to bring her just back into green just over a half-way mark in health gauge.

Silica thinks in her mind, “Thank you, Pina.” But Silica knows that Pina can only use healing breath so often and she can only restore about one-tenth of her health at a time in which she reaches for healing crystals, only to realize that she has no crystal in which she thinks, in a panic, “I’m out of healing crystals!” But things become worse as the apes use this distraction to strike home with a club attack, sending her into a tree, knocking her dagger out of her hand, and sending her health into the red. Silica becomes panic as she looks for her dagger, but she gasps as she about to get struck by the final blow and she comes to realize the finality of death in SAO. However, her partner, Pina, charges in and takes the blow knocking her down. Silica shouts out, horrified, “Pina!” She goes over to her partner as its little health bar hits zero and she glows in which she screams out for her partner, but it is in vain as Pina turns into data polygons leaving only a feather behind.

Silica, seeing her best friend and partner ‘leave’ her, can only stare until a female voice shouts out, “Look out!” Silica turns to see Usagi land in-between her and Drunken Ape and Usagi cuts the Drunken Ape in half causing it to turn into data polygons signifying its destruction in which the other two step back, but they stop and shatter into data polygons as Kirito appears where they once were.

Usagi asks, “What took you so long Kirito?”

Kirito responds, “I wasn’t that slow Usagi.” Usagi and Kirito turn to Silica and tears stream from her eyes.

Silica says, weakly, “Pina… don’t leave me all alone…”

When Silica picks up Pina’s feather, Kirito asks, “What’s that feather?”

Silica says, weakly, “It’s Pina… my best friend…”

Usagi says, “I know! You are one of those beast tamers! Players who have made monsters their allies!”

Kirito says, with a sigh, “I have to say WAS Usagi.” Kirito tells Silica, solemnly, “I’m sorry about your friend. We should have gotten here sooner and saved your friend.”

Silica says, solemnly, “No… I was stupid for thinking that I could make it through the forest… on my own… thank you for saving me…”

Kirito asks, “That feather… Could you check and see if it has an item name?”

Usagi asks, confused, “Huh?” Usagi was confused, but she also wondered why there was a feather left behind too. Silica taps on the feather and an item description window appears calling it ‘Pina’s Heart’.

Before Silica could cry some more, Kirito tells her, “Hey, don’t cry! If her heart item is left, there is a chance that you can revive her.”

Silica asks, shocked, “Really?”

Usagi says, “Oh, yeah! You are talking about that special flower on the Hill of Memories on floor forty-seven, right? It is said that it only appears to a beast tamer when they lost their familiar.”

Silica says, “Floor forty-seven, huh? I see.”

Usagi asks, “I’m guessing that you aren’t within the safety margin, huh?”

Silica says, with a nod, “Yes, but if I train hard enough, someday…”

Kirito says, “Unfortunately, the time limit is just three days to revive your killed familiar.”

Silica says, solemnly, “No way. It’s all my fault. I’m so sorry, Pina.”

Kirito says, “It’s okay. You have three days.” Kirito then activates a trade window and Silica sees some rare equipment appear on her screen. Kirito says, “Here you go. Take this equipment. I was just going to sell it off anyway. And if Usagi and I come along, we’ll be okay.”

Silica asks, “But why would you do this for me?”

Usagi tells Kirito, “Yeah, Kirito. I know that you would do anything to make sure that another player doesn’t die, but you are being really kind today.”

Kirito retorts, drolly, “Gee, thanks Usagi.” Kirito tells Silica, with a sigh and putting his hand on his head, “I’ll tell you, but please promise not to laugh.”

Silica responds, “I promise not to laugh.”

Kirito replies, with a sigh, “You… look like my little sister.” Usagi and Silica are surprised by this and Silica struggles to hold back her laugher, but the giggles come out and Kirito says, with a sigh, “You promised.”

Usagi tells Kirito, “Geez, Kirito, you have to admit that it is a silly reason.”

Kirito responds, “Thanks a lot, Usagi.”

Silica says, with a smile, “I’m sorry.” Silica prepares to put all of her available Cor into the trade screen and Silica says, “I know that this isn’t enough to pay you back…”

Kirito stops her and he says, “No, it’s cool. I was going to get rid of that stuff anyway. It will work with why we are here.”

Silica says, “Okay, I’m Silica.”

Kirito says, “My name is Kirito.” Kirito and Silica shake hands and Kirito says, “And I guess that you heard, but my friend over here is Usagi.”

Usagi says, with a nod, “Yeah. I’ll go on ahead and meet you in town.”

Kirito says, nodding his head, “Right, Usagi.” Usagi then takes off into the distance and Silica watches her head off.

Silica asks, “Why does your friend where a cloak like that?”

Kirito responds, “It’s complicated.”

February 23, 2024, Floor 35, Mishe

Within the main town of Floor 35, Usagi makes sure that no one saw her and using her player screen, she stores her special cloak away in her storage area revealing her face/head and her outfit which consists of a tight fitting white shirt, silver skirt that goes mid-way of her thighs, armored chest plate over her chest over the skirt, armored shoulder pads, white fingerless gloves, displaying pink fingernails, and black high-heeled boots with armored steel toes while a sheath for her sword, Escalon, is attached to the right side of her skirt.

Usagi looks at her sword and she says, “It is going to be easy for players to put two and two together with Liz’s sword.” Usagi then puts Escalon back into her equipment slots and using her player menu, she materializes a more ‘common sword’ so she doesn’t stand out. She knows that she will stand out as a young lady in SAO with her classic hairstyle, but they won’t think of her as ‘White Valkyrie’ as plenty of the other players call her due to her actions in trying her best to protect them. She sighs at this type of action of keeping herself so secretive and even after a year trapped in SAO, she isn’t used to it. For now, she shakes it off her mind as she heads off to find Kirito and Silica in which she sees them confronting a woman with red haired tied in a ponytail with her right eye covered by her red hair, her left eye is brown, red colored lips, and she looks to be a spear welder.

Kirito tells the woman, “It’s not that hard a level!”

The woman says, “Oh, god. This girl has seduced another player. No, it isn’t difficult, but you don’t look that strong.”

Kirito tells Silica, “Come on.” As Kirito and Silica walk away, the woman gives a smirk that Usagi doesn’t like at all. As Sailor Moon, she saw plenty of that smirks to know that person is going to be trouble. Usagi then moves to meet with Kirito and Silica shortly thereafter in which Silica doesn’t recognize Usagi at all.

Usagi asks, “What was that about?”

Kirito says, “Nothing much, but I wouldn’t trust to be alone with her outside of a safe zone, Usagi.” Usagi nods her head and Silica gasps in which Usagi smiles and she puts her hands in front of her lips to say ‘please don’t say a word’ in which Silica nods her head in understand in which Usagi, Kirito, and Silica go into a NPC restaurant to get something to eat. The waitress brings them three mugs and the three of them share a drink.

Silica says, “This tastes good, but I never tasted this before here.”

Kirito tells Silica, “NPC restaurants like this allow you to bring your own drinks. It is an item known as Ruby Ichor and a cup of this will raise your agility by one.”

Usagi gasps and she yells out, stunned, “Kirito, are you serious?”

Kirito tells Usagi, with a smile, “Well, you don’t exactly get drunk here in SAO and liquor doesn’t damage your bodies here.”

Usagi tells Kirito, “Okay, you got me, but don’t do that again. Silica can’t be any more than thirteen years old.”

Kirito tells Usagi, with a smile, “Okay, mom.”

Usagi retorts, with a glare, “Very funny, Kirito.” Silica can’t help to giggle at their antics and feel better about the day.

However, she sighs and she asks, with a sigh, “Why does she have to be so mean?”

Kirito asks Silica, “Is this your first MMO?” Silica nods her head and Kirito says, explaining, “A lot of people’s personalities change when they play online. And some like playing the game as the bad guy.”

Usagi says, with a nod, “No joke, Kirito.”

Kirito says, continuing his explanation, “You see how are cursors are green?” Silica looks in which she sees the green cursors over the heads of the other players in the restaurant including Kirito and Usagi and Kirito says, explaining, “If you commit a crime against a player, your cursor is going to turn orange.”

Usagi says, adding in her two cents, “And the length of time that it stays that way will depend on the bad of a crime that you have committed and how many times that you have committed crimes. The players that have those cursors are what we call ‘orange players’ or ‘criminal players’ and if you commit too many crimes or really bad crime, it will stay permanently orange. You won’t see ‘orange players’ in the town since powerful NPC guardians will find and attack any ‘criminal players’ the instant that they come into town. You’ll usually find them living in ‘safe zones’ out in the fields.”

Kirito says, with a nod, “Yeah, but there is another type of player and that’s the worst type of player, here. A red player. They are also known as Player Killers. They are all about murder.”

Silica asks, shocked, “They kill other players?”

Usagi says, with a solemn tone and nod, “Yeah.”

Kirito says, “In a normal MMO, they kill some fellow players, have some laughs, and it is cool.” Kirito’s expression becomes deadly serious and he says, “But Sword Art Online isn’t normal and it certainly isn’t a game.”

Usagi says, “It’s a prison for all of us and while we can understand that not everyone can work to the goal of clearing the game. I just can’t understand why they continue to do such horrible things despite such consequences.”

Kirito tells Usagi, “Personally, Usagi, as I have told you before, I think that those that commit evil here are those who are really sick in real life. But then again, who I am to talk…?”

Usagi says, solemnly, “Kirito…”

Silica tells Kirito, “Well, I think that both of you are really good people. Both of you saved my life.” She puts her hands on Kirito’s hands and when she realized what she did, she can’t help to feel a throb in her chest.

Kirito says, with a kind smile, “And now, you and Usagi are trying to cheer me up. Thanks.” Silica’s heart beats faster and faster and she is turning a bright red in which she pulls her hands away in which Kirito asks, “Is something wrong?”

Silica says, nervously, “No! No! I’m fine! Let’s have our cheesecake!” Kirito gives a confused look and Usagi snickers silently at this, realizing what’s going on. Later on, they head up to the rooms in the inn that contains the NPC restaurant in which Kirito’s room is to the left of Silica’s room and Usagi’s room is to the right of Silica’s room. A short time soon after, Usagi and Kirito come out of their rooms and look at each other.

Usagi tells Kirito, “I don’t like this, Kirito.”

Kirito tells Usagi, “Neither do I, Usagi. However, she is young, she is trapped in SAO, and she had a near death experience. She has gotten the full grasp of SAO and I don’t want to scar her anymore that she has been. Look, since we know that she is the next target, it will be easy to protect her from that scum.”

Usagi says, “You have a point, Kirito. I just feel bad for not telling her.”

Kirito says, “If we want to keep her safe, then we have to make sure that they don’t think that we suspect anything.” Usagi nods her head and Kirito says, with a smile, “Anyway, she needs some cheering up.”

Usagi says, with a smile, “Yeah.”

Kirito knocks on the door and he says, “Silica, are you still awake?”

Just then Silica’s voice comes out, surprised, “Kirito!”

Kirito says, “I forgot to tell you about some things about the floor that we are going to visit, but it can wait until tomorrow.”

Silica shouts out, “No! No! Now is fine! Just let me get the door! I was thinking about…!!” After a while, the door opens with Silica, in a simple green dress with a major blush on her face, allows Usagi and Kirito inside. Kirito sets up a table and chair in front of Silica, who is sitting on her bed, and she thinks, “That was too close!”

Kirito asks, seeing her face, “Hey, what’s up? Is something wrong?”

Silica responds, nervously, “No! Nothing!”
Usagi thinks in her mind, with a mental smile, “I think that Silica-san nearly let us near wearing only her underwear.”

Kirito puts a device on a table and Silica asks, “What is that?”

Kirito tells Silica in reply, “It is a called a Mirage Sphere.” Kirito pushes a button on top, the sphere opens up, and a holographic image of what looks like an entire floor of Aincard appears in which the towns and forests were depicted in fine details, even down to individual trees.

Silica says, amazed, “Oh, wow. It’s so pretty.”

Kirito says, with a smile and pointing to various things on the map, “This is the main town of floor forty-seven and this is the Hill of Memories. We can take this path, but there are some tricky monsters around this area, however, I’m sure that the three of us can handle anything on that route. Once we cross that bridge, we will be in sight…” However, Kirito stops speaking and his expression becomes serious in which Usagi also gains a serious one as both of them look at each other and then the door.

Silica asks, “What’s wrong…?” Kirito and Usagi quiet Silica down in which both of them zip over to the door and Kirito forces it open in which both he and Usagi rush into the hallway.

Kirito yells out, “Who’s there?!” Kirito and Usagi then catch someone racing away down the stairs in which Silica appears to catch the ‘tail end’ of escaping person.

Silica asks, curiously and a bit nervously, “Who was it?”

Kirito responds, seriously, “An eavesdropper.”

Silica asks, “But you can’t! You can’t hear through a door unless you knock first, right?”

Kirito and Usagi escort Silica back into her room and Kirito says, “Normally, yes, but if your listening skill is high enough, you can listen through doors without needing to knock.”

Usagi says, “I should know since I developed my Listening Skill that far.”

Kirito asks Usagi, “Really?”

Usagi says, with a nod, “You have to if you want to keep an eye on ‘suspicious people’, Kirito. You know that there are ways to ‘go around the system’ and commit crimes yet not be a made a criminal player.”

Kirito says, with a nod, “Good point, Usagi.”

Silica asks, “But why would anyone listen in on us?”

Usagi says, “The flower is a rare item and there are plenty that would pay top dollar for it, Silica.”

Silica asks, “Do you think that someone overheard us talking about it with Rosalia?”

Usagi says, a bit nervous, “Maybe.” Usagi looks at Kirito in which the two of them share a ‘look’ and mentally nodding at some kind of unsaid agreement.

February 24, 2024, Floor 47, Flora

On floor forty-seven of Aincard, we are in the center of the town of Flora on that floor in which Usagi, once again wearing her hood and cloak to disguise herself, Kirito, and Silica, now wearing a red version of her outfit, appear at the teleport gate at the center of the town in which Silica is awe-struck at the floor in which she sees what looks like endless flower gardens.

Silica says, amazed, “Wow! This place is like a dream!”

Kirito says, with a nod, “We know! The whole place is covered in flowers.”

Usagi says, with a kind smile, “I come up here when I’m not on saving other players’ lives and other stuff that us ‘top tier’ players do.” Silica then races off to look and enjoy the flowers in front of her and Usagi can’t help to smile at this causing her to think that some good has come in this world. Later on, they are together on the bridge and Kirito hands Silica a teleportation crystal.

Silica asks, “What’s this for Kirito?”

Kirito responds, “If anything bad happens, I’m going to tell you to warp out and you can use this crystal to go to any town.”

Silica says, “But…”

Kirito tells Silica, “No, buts. Please use it.”

Usagi tells Silica, kindly, “Please do as Kirito says. We’ll be fine if anything bad happens.”

Silica says, with a nod, “I understand.”

Silica takes the teleportation crystal and puts it away in which Kirito says, “Now, we can get going. If we take this place, we can get to the Hill of Memories quickly.” Kirito and Usagi head off and Silica follows them. For a while, there is an awkward silence.

Silica then tries to say, “Um, Kirito…” However, it is interrupted when a pair of green vines grabs Silica by the ankles and lift her into the air in upside down as she holds prevents her skirt from dropping down in which she sees the monster holding her, a Garish Gerbera, which looks to be a monster fly trap with sunflower style head with a mouth full of teeth and a tongue.

Silica cries out in terror, fearfully swings her dagger wildly, and Kirito says, calmly, “Calm down! It isn’t that strong!”
Silica shouts out, panic tone in her voice, “Help, Kirito! Save me, but don’t look! Save me, but don’t look!”

Kirito says, holding his hands in front of his eyes to make sure that she doesn’t see Silica with her skirt down, “That will be difficult.”

Usagi says, drawing Escalon, “Okay, I’ve had enough of this!”

The monster swings Silica around and irritates her, she shouts out, “Darn you! Put me down now!” Silica cuts the vines holding her and hits the monster at the weak spot with a sword skill causing it to turn into pixels in which she looks at Kirito and asks, blushing in embarrassment, “Did you see anything?”

Kirito responds, “No, ma’am.”

Usagi adds in, “And I made sure that I did, Silica.” Soon after, Silica, Kirito, and Usagi continue along in which Kirito and Usagi allow Silica to do most of the fighting to help her gain experience more quickly while Silica asks about Kirito’s sister and Kirito goes onto explain about how in actual fact that his sister is actually is his cousin and they were raised as sibling since they were babies. He told about how he found out this fact and how it caused them to start growing apart in which their grandfather put them into kendo at a young age in which Kirito quit while his sister/cousin continue on for both of them which she made it into the national kendo tournaments. Kirito explained that it made him feel guilt to put all of the pressure to please their grandfather on her and that helping Silica was paying his adopted cousin/sister.

Silica says, with a smile, “Well, I don’t think that she hates you at all, Kirito. And I think she really likes kendo.”

Usagi tells Kirito, “Silica is right, Kirito. She wouldn’t be so much into kendo if she didn’t love it so much.”

Kirito says, with a smile, “You and Silica are always cheering me up. You are kind of like sisters in a way. You always seem to make people feel better.”

Usagi says, with a blush of embarrassment, “Geez, Kirito.” Silica blushes, too, and she prepares to go, but she falls into the maw of a violet sea anemone like monster, known as a Land Anemone, which licks her in which Usagi and Kirito destroy it leaving Silica in an ‘embarrassing position’.

A bit later on, Silica asks Usagi, “Usagi, why do you keep yourself covered like that?”

Usagi sighs and she says, “You have heard a lot of things, Silica. I take it that you heard of someone that’s called the ‘White Valkyrie’.”

Silica nods and she asks, with a gasp, “Wait! Are you saying…?”

Usagi responds, with a nod, “I’m her, Silica. The niece of the fiend that trapped us in here, Akihiko Kayaba.”

Silica gasps and she asks, “But why? Why do this to you? You… you are her family. Why would he not at least let you go?”

Kirito responds, with a stern tone, “In my mind, Kayaba doesn’t care for his family. If he did care, he wouldn’t have let her get the game in the first place.” Kirito gives a look that says ‘I’m sorry’, but Usagi shakes her head to say ‘It’s all right, Kirito’.

Usagi tells Silica, “I really have no idea why my uncle did this to us, Silica. I try to figure out it, but I get only more questions than answers and it really breaks me up inside. I trusted and loved him so much. He always calls me his little princess and we have fun and talking. And in fact, I was the first one to do a Full-Dive with the first NervGear.”

Silica asks, amazed, “You did?” Usagi nods her head and Silica says, “That’s amazing!”

Usagi responds, solemnly, “Never thought it would become the lock to my prison and the knife on my neck by my own uncle.”

Silica asks, “Is that why you saved me?”

Usagi replies, with a nod, “I’ve already seen too many good people die, Silica. It’s my responsibility to protect as many players as I can, Silica.”

Silica tells Usagi, “But you are a victim like the rest of us! It shouldn’t be just your job to protect everyone just because the bad man that trapped us in here is your uncle!”

Kirito says, “Most players feel that way, but there are those that don’t.”

Silica says, “Well, they are being silly! Usagi is a good person and what her uncle did to her was wrong!”

Usagi says, with a kind tone, “Thank you, Silica.” Usagi gently pats her on the head and she says, “You have done nothing to deserve to be here. You should be at home with your family and friends. We’ll help you find a way home.”

Kirito says, with a nod, “That we will Usagi.” Silica smiles warmly at Kirito and Usagi and they continue on until they reach the area known as the Hill of Memories.

Silica asks, “So, the flower is supposed to be here?”

Kirito points to a stand surrounded by four pillars and he responds, “Yeah. It’s right there, Silica.” Silica races over there while Usagi and Kirito follow behind her and when she reaches there, a bud appears on the stand which grows into a flower with a white head.

Usagi tells Silica, “It’s all yours, Silica.” Silica gently grabs the flower by the stem and the stem breaks in half in which an item screen appears saying the name ‘Pneuma Flower’.

Silica asks, “Are you sure that it will bring Pina back to life?”

Kirito says, with a smile, “I’m sure.”

Usagi says, “You need to sprinkle the dew from the flower on the heart item and Pina will be back, but there are a lot of strong monsters here, we had better revive Pina in town.”

Kirito says, with a nod, “That’s a good idea.”

Silica says, with a smile, “Okay.” Silica wanted to use the teleport crystal and get back right away, but she contained herself since the crystals are to be used in emergencies only. However, the trip back wasn’t as hard and as slow as the trip in which they were at the foot of the hill in no time. When they got to the bridge, Silica was skipping happily along, but Kirito and Usagi stop her causing her to look at them in confusion. Silica asks, “Is something wrong?”

Usagi responds, “We’re not alone.”

Kirito shouts out, seemly to no one, “Whoever is hiding out there, come out right now!” Out of the shadows of the tree, the spear woman, Rosalia, comes out into the open.

Silica asks, “Rosalia?”

Rosalia tells Kirito, “If you saw through my hiding skill so easily, your detection skill must be high swordsman and I think that you cloaked friend has one too.” Rosalia looks at Silica and she says, “Ooh, it looks like you were successful getting the Pneuma Flower.” Silica gains a bad feeling causing her to step back and her fears were confirmed when Rosalia gains a sinister smirk and she says, “Now, hand it over before you get hurt.”

Silica asks, “What are you talking about?”

Usagi says, “We don’t think so, Rosalia.”

Kirito says, “No one is handing anything over to you or the orange guild. Namely, Titan’s hand. You are their leader after all.”

Rosalia gives a jerk of surprise and she says, with a smirk, “Nice.” However, inwardly, she is getting on her guard and she is surprised that he knows about her.

Silica asks, surprised, “But her cursor is green, Kirito. How?”

Usagi replies, with a sigh, “Not every member of an ‘orange guild’ is ‘orange’, Silica. There are some members that aren’t directly involved with the crimes of criminal players and thus the game doesn’t register them as criminal players since they weren’t directly involved in the crimes and they like it that way. Their ‘green members’ can easily go into towns and lure players out of the safe zones.”

Kirito says, with a nod, “That’s right, Silica. That’s where the ‘orange players’ are waiting and since the ‘green members’ didn’t directly attack the other players, they aren’t considered criminal players by the system just like the person snooping at the inn last night.” Kirito tells Rosalia, “He was your informant, right?”

Silica asks, shocked, “Then the reason that you joined our party was…?”

Rosalia responds, with a malicious smirk, “That’s right. I was observing their strength and watching them earn all that beautiful money.” As Rosalia licks her lips, Usagi can’t help to scowl under hood and Rosalia says, in a slip-song way, “I was observing you the most and I was so sad when you left the party, but then you told me you were getting a rare item and the demand for it is high.” Rosalia tells Kirito, “And you know all this and yet, you went along with her act. Are you dumb or does she have you wrapped around her finger?”

Silica gives an irritated look and Kirito responds, “Wrong on both counts. My friend and I were looking for you, Rosalia.”

Silica and Rosalia give looks of surprise and Rosalia asks, “What are you talking about?”

Usagi responds, “Remember the Silver Flags’ guild? Ten days ago, you attacked them and four of them died. Their leader was the only survivor and it was only because that I managed to save him just in time.”

Rosalia says, in a slip-song manner, “Oh, yeah. The losers with no money.” Usagi inward became angered at this and she was tempted to draw her sword and run her through, which is shocking since the ‘old Serena Tsukino’ would never think such a though, but the many harsh months of SAO have changed our kind and gentle moon princess, however, her time in SAO and in fact, her experiences as Sailor Moon is also coming to play in which she stayed focused.

Usagi says, “After I helped him recover, he begged me to help him with tears in his eyes, but he didn’t want you killed. No way. He wanted you locked away never to harm anyone else like you did with his friends and guild mates.”

Kirito asks, with an angered glare, “I know since I also met him after Usagi agreed to help him. Do you have any idea how he felt?”

Rosalia says, with a sinister smile, “Can’t say that I do. Only idiots take this seriously. So, what if we kill someone here? There is no proof that you are dead IRL.”

Usagi yells out, her tone uncharacteristically angered, “You idiot!” Everyone looks at Usagi and she thinks in her mind, “And Raye-chan calls me a ‘Meatball brain’! I know that I’m not the brightest tool in the shed, but this… this…!!” Usagi screams out, still in her uncharacteristic angered tone, “You think that this is some kind of joke?! A big fat prank?! This is no fucking joke! I know that madman and when he works on something, he does it to perfection! He makes no mistakes and he makes no jokes when it comes to his work! If he said that the NervGear kills us when we die here, then we die! That’s a fact! If it wasn’t the case, don’t you think that they would have been able to rip off the NervGears from our heads months ago! Or are those knocked in your avatar draining what brains cells that you have left, you glorified bimbo?!”

Rosalia yells out, angrily, “You dare, you little bitch?!”

Usagi retorts, still with her uncharacteristic angered tone, “You heard me, jerk!”

Rosalia shouts out, angrily, “I hate your kind of people! You keep preaching about justice and morality in a world like this when we don’t know if we can get back! People like you are the worst and if you do really die in IRL, then you deserve death!” Rosalia snaps her fingers and a group of ten other players in which nine of them had orange cursors to show that they are criminal players, the last one had a green cursor like Rosalia in which he must be the one with the high listening skill to listen through doors. A group of them leer at Silica and she winches at their glares in which Usagi gets in front of Silica in a protective manner.

Silica says, “Usagi… Kirito… There is too many of them.”

Kirito says, with a smile, “No, it’s all right. Stay with Usagi. She will keep you safe, but keep the crystal handy just in case she needs you to stay out of her way.”

Silica says, nervously, “Okay…” Silica then reaches into the container for the crystal while Kirito walks over towards the group while drawing his sword in which Silica screams out, fearfully, “Kirito!”

The bandits recoil and one of them asks, “Kirito?”

Another one of the group, the one with the high listening skill, then says, recalling the information from his head, “Wait… a black outfit… a one-handed sword with no shield… Oh, crap! The Black Swordsman?!” The man’s face pales and he tells Rosalia, “Rosalia, we’ve got to get out of here! That guy… he’s the beater that plays solo on the front lines… he is an elite ‘clearer’ with the assault team!!!”

Silica, knowing that Kirito must be strong since Usagi is an elite player herself and they know each other, asks, shocked, “No way! He is?”

Usagi tells Silica, with a sly tone, “That’s right.”

Rosalia shouts out, not wanting to believe it, “Oh, please! Why would someone from the assault team be down here?!”

The man then says, pointing to Usagi, “But Rosalia… I know who that player is! That’s the ‘White Valkyrie’ herself! That’s why she said what she said to you because she is the niece of Kayaba!” There are gasps from the group and even Rosalia looks surprised in which the man says, “She is an elite player herself! Another solo player on the assault team! She isn’t a former beta tester, but she can rival even the Black Swordsman himself! She is known to fight and take down criminal guilds! In fact, she took down the Werewolf Claws single handed!”

Usagi thinks in her mind, a bit nervously, “Only because I remembered stuff about my friends that really came in handy. Even now, they are guiding and protecting me.”

Rosalia retorts, “That’s because those idiots easily fell into her trap with a corridor crystal right to prison! Even if they are the Black Swordsman and White Valkyrie, what can one little girl and one little man do against all of us?! Now take him down and take everything that he has!” Embolden by Rosalia’s words, the nine orange players attack with everything that they have and Kirito doesn’t even block or move to avoid the attacks.

Silica shouts out, horrified, “No, Kirito! Stop, you’ll kill him!”

Silica reaches for her dagger and Usagi stops her in which she tells Silica, “It will be all right. Kirito won’t be taken down so easily.” Silica looks at Usagi and while she can’t see her face at the moment, she can feel the warm and reassuring smile from her in which Usagi thinks, drolly, “Geez, Kirito. Do you have to be so dramatic? You are scaring poor Silica to death!”

Silica then notices that Kirito’s health bar goes down a little from the assault and it then goes back up to full in which Silica asks, “What’s going on?”

The group stops its assault when they know that their attacks are doing nothing to Kirito and Rosalia shouts out, “What the fuck are you idiots doing?! Kill him already!”

Usagi shouts out, in a teasing tone, “Not going to work!”

Everyone looks at Usagi and Kirito says, “Four hundred points in ten seconds. That’s as much damage that all of you can do to me.” When everyone looks at Kirito, he says, “I’m level seventy-eight, my hit points are fourteen thousand five hundred, and my battle recovery skill allows me to recover six hundred points every ten seconds. We could stand here all day and you won’t get anywhere.”

One of the members of the criminal group shouts out, “That’s impossible! That’s insane!”

Kirito responds, “You want to bet? And you are exactly right about it being ‘insane’. If you have a high enough level, you are invincible. This is the unfairness of level based MMO at work here!” Kirito then takes out a corridor crystal and he says, “Our client spent everything that he had on this corridor crystal and he has set it to the prison at Blackiron Palace! And I’m going to send all of you, bastards, there!” Rosalia snarls and she gets out a teleport crystal in which Usagi makes a motion for Silica to stay here in which, moving like blur, thanks to her speed stats, gets right in front of Rosalia.

Usagi shouts out, “Boo!” Rosalia becomes surprised enough in which she drops the teleport crystal, Usagi catches it, puts it away, and she drags Rosalia by the collar over to the others. Usagi then takes out a dagger and she says, in a sly tone, “This little baby has a special high level paralyzing potion on it. One nick and you can’t move your pinky for a while. I figured out this little trick from your fellow assholes in other criminal guilds. And my throwing skill is pretty good, you know? So, you boys better not think of escaping.”

Rosalia says, defiant tone in her voice, “Oh, yeah! I’m a green player and if one of you attack me, you’ll go orange…!!” However, Rosalia yelps as Kirito’s sword is at her neck.

Kirito tells Rosalia, “We’re solo players, got it? To get rid of a person like you, I won’t mind going orange for a few days.”

Usagi thinks in her mind, “Speak for yourself, Kirito.” However, deep down, Usagi can’t help to agree with Kirito as Rosalia drops her spear and the other members of her guild surrender without a fight.

February 24, 2024, Floor 35, Mishe

Back on floor thirty-five, inside of an inn room, Kirito, Silica, and Usagi, with her hood down, are sitting down on the bed as Kirito and Usagi explain.

Kirito tells Silica, “I’m sorry, Silica. We were kind of using you as bait to get Rosalia and her guild.”

Usagi says, “I wasn’t a fan of the plan, Silica.”

Kirito nods his head and he says, “I thought that you would be scared if you knew the truth.”

Silica shakes her head and responds, “I could never be scared of you or Usagi. I know since you are good people. And you proved it since you stopped those people.” Silica asks, “Do you really have to go?”

Kirito says, with a nod, “Yeah, Usagi and I have been gone from the front lines for a while. We need to get back and help.”

Silica says, “I think that it is cool that both of you are on the assault team. I could try for one hundred years and I couldn’t make it.”

Usagi tells Silica, “No way, Silica. Remember, I was a newbie and I made it on my own grit and determination! You can really make it if you try.”

Silica says, with a smile, “Thank you, Usagi.”

Kirito says, “Anyway, Silica, strength in this world is an illusion. It’s cool, but there are more important things. Anyway, we should meet up in the real world someday.”

Silica responds, with a smile, “Okay. We will. I promise.”

Usagi asks, “Ready to revive Pina?” Silica nods her head as she gets out Pina’s heart item and the Pneuma Flower.

Silica thinks, as she sprinkles the dew on Pina’s heart item to revive her, “Pina, when you get back, I’ll have so much to talk about including how I have my own big brother and sister for a day.”

February 25, 2024, Floor 48, Lindarth

On floor forty-eight and in Lindarth, Usagi is meeting with the former leader of the Silver Flags guild and she tells him what happened.

The Silver Flags leader responds, happily, “Thank you, Valkyrie-san.”

Usagi responds, shaking her head, “No, there is no need. I’m just glad to help and get justice for your friends.”

The Silver Flags leader says, “Yes, my friends can rest in peace knowing those monsters won’t do it to anyone else.”

Usagi asks, “What will you do now? I hope that you don’t…”

The Silver Flags leader responds, “No way! My friends would never forgive me for that! No, I intend to live on for their sake.” He sighs and he says, “Other than that, I don’t know. Without them, I can’t see about going out adventuring and leveling up anymore. I think that I’ll just earn enough to have room and board and wait until the day that you in the assault team free all of us, survivors. I need to survive to tell the friends and family of my friends about them. It is my duty to them all.”

Usagi says, with a nod, “I understand.”

The Silver Flags leader tells Usagi, “Valkyrie-san, most players are right about you. You are a fellow player and a very good one.”

Usagi responds, with a bit of a solemn tone, “Yeah… But not good enough.” As she walks away, the Silver Flags leader can’t help to give off a confused expression at Usagi’s words, but later on, he would realize what she meant and realize the guilt and burden that she put on herself.

March 1, 2024, Mizuno apartment home

Within the Mizuno apartment home, Ami is doing a lot of studying and reading in which it is her only comfort when she hears the front door to the house opens and Ami looks to see Saeko Mizuno, Ami’s mother, come in.

Saeko asks Ami, with a weak smile, “Reading again?”
Ami says, with a nod, “Yes, mother.”

Saeko says, looking at all of the papers and such, “Working again, sweetie? And I thought that I was such a workaholic.”

Ami says, “I need to, mother. If we figure out exactly how the programming tells the NervGear to release the safety and unleashes the necessary microwaves to destroy the brain matter necessary…”

Saeko tells Ami, with a sigh, “Sweetie, it has been over a year since this mess.”

Ami says, “A year too long, mother! My best friend… my princess… someone precious to me in two lifetimes is in danger of every day dying right before my eyes!” FYI: Saeko, being a top level medical doctor, also became involved with the work with the victims of SAO including those that go to the morgue. Soon enough, Saeko learned, much to her shock and surprised, her daughter is Sailor Mercury and about her past life as well.

Saeko tells Ami, going over to her, “Ami… I’ll admit that I still don’t get this whole ‘reincarnation’ thing, but what I do understand is that Serena is the reason that you have gained your new friends, your fellow Sailor Scouts, which made me so glad since you really didn’t have any friends until Serena came along into your life. However, this is life or death, but Serena wouldn’t want you killing yourself through stress over this.”

Ami says, “I know, mother…”

Saeko embraces her daughter and she says, warmly, “You miss her and all of your fellow Scouts do. But right now, you need to believe in her and try not to obsess over this since it isn’t helping your friend at all.” Ami nods her head and she wipes a few tears from her eyes in which Saeko thinks in her mind, “Serena-san, please come home. My daughter, your friends, and your boyfriend miss you so much. I fear what would happen to them and my daughter if you died in front of them.”

March 4, 2024, Floor 48, Lindarth

In Lindarth, a modestly sized home with a water wheel, Lisbeth is looking over a circular sign with a knight’s head with the words ‘Lisbeth’s Smith Shop’ at the door.

Just then a female voice says, “Oh, wow! You actually did it, Liz!” Lisbeth looks to see Usagi walking over to her.

Lisbeth says, with a grin, “Yep! And it is thanks to your help getting the materials for my orders!”

Usagi tells Lisbeth, “But it was your hard work that you got you here, Liz.”

Lisbeth says, with a smile, “Thanks, Usagi-chan! Anyway, welcome to the grand opening of Lisbeth’s Smith Shop!” Lisbeth then enters her shop with Usagi following close behind in which Usagi removes her hood to show her face/head. Lisbeth tells Usagi, “Anyway, it must be busy on the front lines lately.”

Usagi says, with a nod, “That and other things, Liz. I’m going to need your help more than ever.”

Lisbeth asks, “How so?”

Usagi asks, with a sigh, “You heard of Laughing Coffin, haven’t you?”

Lisbeth says, with a droll tone, “Who hasn’t Usagi? It is just awful.”

Usagi says, “There is just no rhyme or reason with them. They aren’t in it for anything other than just killing other players.”

Lisbeth says, with a snort, “They are just evil or insane.”

Usagi retorts, “Or both in the case of the leader. From what I know, Laughing Coffin is led by some nut known as PoH and he brainwashes his members by saying that since it was my uncle’s technology that killed people in the end, they weren’t at fault for killing other players since it is NervGear that fries the brain. While it is my uncle’s fault for killing players in the end, it doesn’t mean that they can help it along.”

Lisbeth says, “They must be people that are nuts by listening to a guy like that.”

Usagi says, with a sigh, “I guess that you are right and you probably can guess that I’m their ‘number one girl’ and not in a good way.”

Usagi shivers in disgust and Lisbeth says, with a grin, “Bet you are giving them a hard time, huh?”

Usagi says, solemnly, “Yeah, but I’m barely putting a dent on them. The numbers of players dying are going to go into the hundreds at this rate.”

Lisbeth tells Usagi, “You do what you can Usagi. Just don’t go overboard like Asuna did and in a way, still does, okay? I don’t want you to die out there.”

Usagi tells Lisbeth, with a smile, “I won’t die, Liz. Promise.”

Lisbeth says, “And you better darn well keep that promise or I’ll kick you in your grave.”

Usagi says, with a giggle, “Right, Liz.” Usagi and Lisbeth then go over to the back to share a cup of tea and talk.

March 6, 2024, Floor 56, Pani

Within Floor 56 of Aincard, inside of a cavern guarded by two armored spear welding players, a large group of players is assembled inside of the cavern-like structure and there is a map on a stone table.

Asuna slams her hands onto the table and she says, “Lure it to the village! That’s how we will get the boss!”

Kirito says, “Wait! You can’t be serious! The boss will go after the villagers!”

Asuna says, “Yeah, it is the idea! And while the boss attacks and kills NPC, we can attack it.”

Just then a female voice asks, “And what makes you think that we won’t suffer a plenty if we allow that to happen, Asuna?” Everyone looks to the source to see Usagi, her classic cloak covering her head/face and body, walking up to them.

One of the players says, “The White Valkyrie…”

Usagi tells Asuna, “How can we be sure that there isn’t a penalty against us, the players, by allowing the boss to kill NPC? Sure, they can ‘revive’ themselves, but we have to remember that we are trapped in the world of a madman with a deity complex. And I’ve seen plenty of television and anime to know that villains with a deity complex are completely unpredictable!”

There are murmurs from the other players and Kirito says, “She is exactly right! He said it himself. His goal was to create a world that he can control. CONTROL! So far, nothing has happened to prove that he has done anything to interfere with us, directly, but we don’t know that. He could also have programmed a ‘trap’ in that monster, so, the instant that we lure into the village to ravage it and kill NPC, we get slammed with a penalty that weakens our stats or something making it harder for us to defeat and even worse, more members of the team can die because of that. And personally, I don’t care if they are NPC, death of anyone or anything isn’t cool to me.”

Asuna says, sternly, “Well, I am running this operation. I’m second in command of the Knights of the Blood. You will obey my orders like it or not.”

Usagi responds, “And you seems to forget that Kirito and I are solo players. We aren’t part of a guild much less the Knights of the Blood. And as the leader of the operation, you shouldn’t be taking any reckless gambles with players’ lives!”
Asuna yells out, angrily, “What?!”

Usagi says, with a stern tone that’s not like her before, “You heard me, Asuna. I won’t take part in an operation when the leader doesn’t take HIS mindset into consideration. Our ‘jailor’ is someone with a deity complex and we are his ‘prisoners’. This is his ‘jail’ and his rules. We have to play by them until we find a way to bend or break them without any consequence to any other good players. You don’t consider ‘him’ and the possible consequences of every action that you take here, I won’t take part in it other than to make sure that others don’t suffer for your mistakes.” Usagi turns and walks away in which plenty of the players murmur among themselves in which a good amount of them believe that Usagi has a good point while Asuna glares at Usagi. After the meeting, the players leave the cavern in which Agil comes out and looks around in which he finds Kirito and rushes over to him.

Agil shouts out, “Hey!” Kirito stops walking and turns to face Agil in which he says, “What’s up with you three? The three of you with the two of you ‘ganging up’ on the second in command and always ‘getting into it’ and not in a good way.”

Kirito says, solemnly, “I guess we don’t click and Usagi and Asuna have differences of opinion of lately.”

Agil says, “That’s putting it lightly, man.”

Kirito tells Agil, “You know how Usagi is, Agil.”

Agil says, nodding his head, “Yeah, I know.” Agil sighs and she says, “The girl is just putting too much on her shoulders, you know. This game has changed her and not in a good way.”

Kirito says, with a nod, “Yeah.” Kirito then remembers Asuna during the battle on the first floor boss and his words to her in which he says, “Asuna took my advice. However, who knew that she would join the top guild and become a floor clearing bad ass.”

Agil says, “No kidding, bro. But then again, she isn’t the only lady that we know with a ‘famous rep’.”

Kirito says, with a nod, “Our ‘White Valkyrie’…” Later that day, Asuna and Kirito would duel each other, but the results of that duel is up to you to figure out.

April 1, 2024, Cherry Hill Shrine

Within Cherry Hill Shrine, the Sailor Scouts are gathering as they go over information on computer tablets, Ami’s Mercury Computer, and a lot of papers.

Mina tells Lita, “Man! That was really something Lita!”

Lita says, with a grin, “I know!”

Raye tells Lita and Mina, annoyed, “Cut it out, you two! You know that we aren’t playing ALO for fun!”

Amara says, “This is important research.”

Lita says, with a nod, “We know. We know.”

Luna and Artemis climb up to the table and Artemis says, “Based on what we know so far, ALO is indeed very similar to SAO based on what data that we can get and Sammy’s testimony of the beta test.”

Luna says, “However, we have to assume that much has changed since the beta test.”

Amara says, nodding her head, “It was two months since the beta test and the actual launch of the official version of the game, so, we can’t assume that Kayaba hasn’t made certain changes other than the ones that we know.”

Raye says, “However, it makes me suspicious that ALO is very similar to SAO.”

Ami says, “Well, there is some logic to it. Since Argus disbanded thanks to the ‘SAO incident’, RCT Progress have taken over all of Argus’ former assets and it makes sense on how they can develop a VRMMO so quickly and how the Amusphere was also developed so quickly too.”

Artemis says, “That does make me suspicious too, but right now, we can’t focus on them. We need to focus on figuring where the programming code that commands the NervGear to release the safety and emit the microwaves that kill the players that die in the game or have the NervGear taken off against their will, which doesn’t happen anymore.”

Trista says, “It isn’t going to be easy. Kayaba has developed the NervGear and Sword Art Online in which there is much programming that we need to figure out. And the programming of a VRMMO can be just as complex as the Full-Dive technology that it uses.”

Ami says, “We have much an idea on the NervGear, but we may still need to work on it a little more and we are nowhere close into figuring out the programming and how to counter those exactly command codes in which we need to find first in order to start that process.”

Lita asks Ami, “How is Serena doing so far?”

Ami responds, “Based on what information we can get, she is doing very well as a top player in SAO.”

Raye says, “I know that Meatball Head is a hard core gamer, that’s for sure, but I don’t see her as a top player. However, we can be thankful for small miracles. Since she is a top players, it means a better chance for her survival despite the dangers that she is. I’m surprised that she can learn anything, but I’m sure thankful that she is and I know that Meatball Head can do anything if she puts herself into it.” Raye says, with a sigh, “But we have no idea what kind of horrors that she experienced or is experiencing in there. While we will get her back, what kind of person will she be? This is something that she has never experienced as Sailor Moon. Remember, as Sailor Moon, she always fought in life or death situations before, but in the end, they always turn out all right. However, this is different, everyone. She won’t be able to just use the Silver Crystal and everyone will be just fine. The people that have died are dead and they are gone forever.”

The other Sailor Scout can’t help to agree on that point, but Mina says, with a smile, “Come on, Raye-chan, Serena will always be Serena! She is a strong girl and we’ve got to believe in her.” Raye nods her head in agreement, but plenty the others can’t help to feel that their princess will be forever scarred by this experience and they won’t how much until they get her out of SAO or she gets herself and the other surviving players out by their own hands in completing the game.

April 22, 2024, Floor 57, Marten

On Floor 57, we are in the town of Marten, the main town on this floor of Aincard, which is a large urban city that has a large number of buildings built compactly, and with narrow alleyways between the buildings, which are two or three floors in high with terracotta rooftops. On top of one of those rooftops is none other than Usagi and taking a nap and relaxing despite the danger of Sleep PK which is another player manipulating a sleeping person by moving his/her hand to accept a duel and kill them. However, Usagi, thanks to her experience as Sailor Moon, her advice and experience with her friends and Scouts, and her months in SAO, she has put up a ‘defense’ against that in the form of two Message Recording Crystals in which she recording her loudest yells that will certainly wake her up and hidden exactly where someone would need to manipulate her hand to perform a Sleep PK. Normally, Usagi, back in IRL, could sleep through practically anything, but her experience in SAO has changed her in many ways. However, what hasn’t changed was her loud snoring which has surprising hasn’t attached any attention. However, Usagi wakes up, stretches, and puts the two crystals away.

Usagi looks up into the sky, sees the late afternoon/early evening setting sun, and she thinks, with a sigh, “Another day in Aincard… How long has it been?” But then she hears a feminine scream and Usagi immediately leaps down from the rooftop, which is easy thanks to her good numbered strength, speed, and agility stats, lands on the ground through nearly having one of her ‘klutz attacks’ in which she zips off when she arrives at the cathedral in the town, she gasps in horror to see a male player dressed like an armored knight hanging from second floor of the cathedral with a sword-like spear impaled in his chest with a noose around his neck. Usagi thinks in her mind, in horror, “Oh, Kami… That’s horrible… but how is that possible?! This is a safe zone! A safe zone! No time to worry about that!” Zipping to action, Usagi uses her powerful jumping ability to leap over the crowd that’s watching in horror.

Just then a familiar male voice, “Hurry, pull it out!” Usagi looks to see Kirito and Asuna in which the player with the spear in his chest looks at Kirito and he then tries to pull out the spear from his chest. Usagi then zips by Kirito and Asuna and enters the cathedral in which Kirito says, “Usagi!”

Asuna yells out, “Get ready to catch him!”

Kirito says, with a nod, “Right.” While Asuna follows Usagi, Kirito shouts out, “Hold on! Help is on the way!” With her speed, Usagi manages to reach the porch of the cathedral, stops right in her tracks, and quickly draws her sword.

Usagi shouts out, “Catch him now!” But the instant that Usagi was about to cut the rope, the player seemly turns into data polygons signifying his death in which the spear falls to the ground and impales the ground. Usagi thinks in her mind, horrified, “No! Oh no! Not another one!”

Kirito thinks in his mind, “The only way he could have died in a safe zone was he fought a duel.” Kirito shouts out, “Everyone, look for the player with the ‘winner’ icon!”

Usagi thinks in her mind, “Winner icon? Wait! The only way that he could have died was a duel!” Usagi looks over the ledge and using her Search skill, but all she and Kirito see a sea of green cursors and health bars among the players in the crowd. Usagi thinks in her mind, “What’s going on?! There is no one with winner icon! How could that player escaped already?! There is no other way that any player could have killed another player in safe zone unless they fought a duel, but there is no one here with a winner icon! What’s going on?!” A bit later on, Kirito, Asuna, and Usagi, with her hood down, are together inside of the second floor of the tower and looking at the rope that was around the player’s neck.

Kirito is holding spear impaled in his chest and he asks, “Any idea on how this could have happened?”

Usagi says, “The only way could have been a duel right? It is the only way for any person to die in a safe zone.”

Asuna says, with a nod, “You’re right, Usagi.”

Usagi says, “But neither Kirito nor I saw a winner icon on anyone.”

Kirito says, with a nod, “Yeah.”

Asuna says, “Well, anyway, we can’t ignore this.”
Usagi says, with a nod, “No way, we can ignore this. It’s already bad enough in here. Players are taking huge risks going outside of safe zones, but if someone found a way around the rules of SAO, then no one is safe.”

Asuna says, with a nod, “I agree with you, Usagi. Look, you and I have had our ‘disagreements’ before, but we need to work together now.”

Usagi says, nodding her head, “Asuna…”

Asuna tells Usagi, “We can talk later. Right now, all three of us need to focus on the task at hand.” Asuna goes over to Kirito and she tells him, “You are going to work with Usagi and me on this case. And until we are done, there will be no time for naps.”

Kirito shakes her hand and he replies, “Okay, but you were the one napping.” Asuna gives a look of embarrassment and she squeezes Kirito’s hand, really hard, and more than enough to negate the pain dampers in the game to make Kirito yelp out in pain.

Usagi asks, curiously, “Napping? Did I miss something?”

Asuna gives a nervous look and she responds, “Nothing, Usagi.” Asuna glares at Kirito and he gives a nervous nod in which Usagi decides not to inquire about this. Usagi puts her hood back on which covers her entire face/head and all three of them head back outside to figure out this mystery.

And that’s the chapter, everyone! You must be saying that Usagi/Serena is quite out of character and you would be right, but she has been through many of the horrors of SAO and I think that they would change any person even and especially if it is someone like our moon princess. Add the fact that in my story, she is the niece of the person that entrapped them in there and you could expect her to be going through some ‘changes’. Now, while she is a very close friend of Kirito, there is NO Kirito/Usagi AKA Kazuto/Serena romance in this story! This story is Kirito/Kazuto and Asuna and Usagi/Serena and Darien! Please read and review to tell me what you think and later and best wishes, Crossover Fans!