Chapter 1: Just someone at my back
Chapter Text
Nov 6, 2022
Things had been a whirlwind, a confusing mass of lights, colours, and feelings. One second, they were ushering Captain Tarkin to the waiting ships, the next all that he could see was bright light, a flash taking his sight, then his consciousness. There was pain, lights, maybe voices? His arm and legs were on fire, burning, and then nothing. Just cold.
Things started moving faster after that. Awareness didn't seep in, softly like waking from sleep, rather it slammed into his chest with the force of a slug thrower. It was a painful jolt to his system, and he was on the battlefield again. Brothers falling all around him, droids moving in. Desperation clinging to his bones as he quickly rights himself and jumps into the fight. They have to break the line, get to the capital and- and what?
What was the mission here? Where was here? This didn't make sense, the droids didn't seem to be in a standard formation, and he didn't recognize any of the brothers around him. Something about this was wro-
Awareness didn't seep in, softly like waking from sleep, rather it slammed into his chest with the force of a slug thrower. It was a painful jolt to his system, and he was on the battlefield again. The senator was in danger, the commander had given them an order to make for the senate building and secure the weak points. Moving fast, he began to make his way through the security passageways, this would be the fastest way to accomplish what commander Tano- but wait, commander Tano wasn't there, why wasn't he with the 501st? Where was general Skywalker, Captain Rex, where the hell was Fiv -
Awareness didn't seep in, softly like waking from sleep, rather it slammed into his chest with the force of a slug thrower. It was a painful jolt to his system, and he was on the battlefield again. Droidekas holding the bridge ahead of him, as Fives drags him behind a piece of rubble for cover. The whole thing seemed familiar, like he had done it a hundred times. Like they had made this advance a hundred times. Some versions that skated past his memory were of victories, some of failures, but they all slipped away before he could grasp them in any full capacity.
“Fives,” he turns to face his brother, turning his attention away from the fight “I'm getting a weird sense of Deja Vu, have we fought here before?”
The air seemed to turn cold, as the dark visor turned to him, the blue and red rishi eel seemed to loom over him as Fives came into keen focus. Echo was suddenly aware of an almost sinister tilt to his normally jovial brothers head, and felt a pit form in his stomach
“Finally catching on Echo? How many more times are we going to have to do this until you get it?” came the frigid reply, just before a stray bolt struck his helmet
Awareness didn't seep in, softly like waking from sleep, rather it slammed into his chest with the force of a slug thrower. It was a painful jolt to his system, and he was on the battlefield again. Sitting up quickly, he finds himself laughing as he rolls behind cover with Fives, Both now giggling at the stumble that came out of seemingly nowhere. They were working to flank the enemy, planning to climb a tower nearby, and then shoot a line to another building to zipline and drop behind the droids and complete the mission.
Fives let out a belly laugh, louder than he probably should have in the given situation “Oh that was gold. It reminds me of the Citadel,”
Giving him a strong side eye he replies “You and I remember the Citadel very differently,” shaking his head in exasperation, he goes to move forward, when a bruising grip catches his arm
“And what do you remember from the Citadel, Echo?”
Unease begins to form in his gut
“Do you remember the Citadel, Echo?”
Mind racing, he is desperate to figure out what this is supposed to mean, they found the captain, they made it back to the ship- they
“ What happened at the Citadel, Echo? ”
They made it back to the ship. He-he didn't
“I died,” it's a whisper, said with the same reverence as a prayer, but lacking the hope of someone speaking with something divine
“I Died” Fives looked sad as Echo began fully working through this thought, and he wondered when his brother had taken off his helmet to give him such a mournful look.
“Fives, I don't understand, what's happ-” he cuts himself off as his vision begins to grey and he looks at his brother in a panic
“You know what happened, now put that brain to work and figure out what is happening now. Where are you Echo?” the last thing he sees on his brothers face is a sad smile, his vision finally going dark
Consciousness slowly creeps in, and instead of laying out on the ground, as he expected, he finds himself standing as the world around him comes into focus. Soft voices in the distance, brown stone walls, the small alley, none of it was immediately familiar. Moving towards the sounds of life, and with it a main road, he came face to face with what seemed to be a marketplace. Merchants called to passersby, and judging by the demographic of the visible people, it seemed to be a human settlement. Moving towards a merchant to hopefully get more information, he had to dodge multiple people running, laughing, and speaking in what sounded like galactic basic.
“Ummm, hello, I'm sorry to bother you, but can you tell me where I am?” He hoped there wasn't a stigma against clones here, that would make things infinitely harder to navigate going forward
“Hello adventurer! Welcome to the world of Aincrad. This is the Town of Beginnings. To access the tutorial, please begin by choosing your starting equipment,” a strange screen appeared in the air in front of him, causing him to flinch back a step.
Upon closer examination, there was a multitude of what appeared to be melee weapons and basic armour listed out. This drew his attention downward for the first time, and revealed that his clothing was nothing like the arc trooper armour he fought so hard to earn. The way the merchant was speaking was beyond odd, but at this point, it felt more strange not to just go with it. Causing a scene could end with him in more trouble than was worth.
Quickly learning that touching an item name brought up a small rotating picture of it, any concerns of choosing poorly from the unfamiliar terms disappeared. Picking an arm guard that was reminiscent in shape to his missing pauldrons was a choice he couldn't bring himself to pass up. Something called a ‘battle skirt’ looked similar to a Kama, and would provide good protection for his upper legs, so that was chosen as well. Next came weapons. All of them seemed to be melee, which was fine, hand to hand wasn't a problem, it was just a shame that the trusty DC-17s that lived on his hips were gone, and his only replacement options at present, were so outdated. This is what ended up taking the longest. There were countless options, swords, daggers, pikes, and axes, all slightly different with each listing, but nothing speaking to him. One would argue that he really shouldn't be so picky, but there was obviously no shortage in weapon types to choose from, so he might as well choose something he will be happy with. Scrolling on for what seemed like forever, the list reached its end. Staring at the screen for a few moments, dreading the scroll back to the top to find something to settle with, a new option appears at the bottom, under the pale grey line that denoted the end of the list.
Gauntlet Bayonet
It was a term Echo had never heard before, but upon clicking it, he understood the functionality immediately. It was a blade meant to be affixed to the outside of the forearm, and looked to extend about 18 units past the hand. This was something interesting, something he could work with and have fun with it.
While unorthodox, he couldn't help but hear Fives’ voice in his head talking about how cool it was, that he had to get it. In that moment, remembering what was said in the other place he couldn't bring himself to not take it. Especially as he started to piece together exactly what this all was, or what it could be. Tutorial was a very telling term afterall.
Selecting the final item, the equipment screen fizzled out, and a new, smaller one took its place.
High on the Hog
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Looking back up at the merchant, they were now looking concerned, or maybe disparaging, but in an over dramatic way. Hands clasped in front of them and eyes comically wide as they stare into his soul, stars that is creepy.
“Please, adventurer, my family needs meat to make it through. Won't you go into the fields and hunt for us?” the small screen flashes lightly
Selecting the accept option, the merchant thanks him, and then turns away, calling to passersby once more and seeming to have forgotten about him. A small marker appears in the sky of the distance, and at this point following it seems like the best option. It took a bit longer to get to the fields than was expected, but was helpful in figuring out more of the layout of the town. While he made his way to what he could only describe as a quest marker, Echo found that tracing a hand through the air could bring up a menu of his own. This is where gear was equipped, items held, and a skill list which was unfortunately rather lacking for the time being
Upon reaching the open expanse of plains beyond the town, the boars he had been told about could be found in abundance. He did what he did best, and he got to work. New blade and armour on, he learned how to move, how to fight with this new kit, and it didn't take him long to adapt. By the third boar, there was no hesitation or clunk to his movements, just deadly fluidity. He fell into a rhythm, step, slash, step, hold, slash, next boar. By the 14th enemy down, long after the parameters of the quest had been met according to the tracker, he started back to town. Now that things felt good with the new weapons structure, and figuring out how to combine his training with what this world (Game? Hallucination?) called sword skills, he was significantly more comfortable exploring further out, seeing what this world had to offer if he was to be stuck here.
It was a quick trek back to the merchant, who thanked him with enthusiasm. He was only half surprised when a reward screen appeared. This was shaping up to be exactly like the holo games he heard the others discuss, and had dragged him into playing a time or two (or twenty).
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Well those didn't sound ominous. Speaking of ominous, bells rang in the distance, their haunting melody sending a chill up his spine. That would be the next worry though, investigating creepy death bells could wait a moment for him to pick an item. Reaching out to make his selection, he is jolted by a change in the atmosphere, he hears the confirmation noise, but is not sure what he picked, or even where he is, as the world fizzles out around him. Stars, not again.
Instead of waking to an entirely new battle, a new world or memory, he seems to be in the same world, the same town even, but now in a large courtyard. People fizzle in around him with pixelated blue light, all as disoriented as him. Some were calling out, others chattering, but the general feeling of the crowd was confusion, maybe a slight undertone of panic.
A sharp sound drew everyone’s eyes up to a hovering red shape far above their heads. In quick succession and a cacophony of noise, the sky is blotted out with red, the tags covering the area in a dome like shape. Viscous red liquid, what he could only assume was blood, began to pour from the cracks and form into a large figure looming above them all. Various people called out words like ‘game master’ and ‘dev team’ that he didn't know the context of, but seemed to be directed at the cloaked giant.
“Attention players, welcome to my world,” the figure began “My name is Kayaba Akihiko. As of this moment, I am the sole person who can control this world. I'm sure you've already noticed that the logout button is missing from the main menu. But this is not a defect in the game…I repeat...this is not a defect in the game. It is a feature of Sword Art Online.” people started to get antsy as details of the situation became clearer to them, the threat they could be facing. Echo was concerned about what all this meant for the people around him, and what it meant for someone who never technically logged in in the first place.
“You cannot log out of SAO yourselves. And no one on the outside can shutdown or remove the NerveGear. Should this be attempted the transmitter inside the NerveGear will emit a powerful microwave, destroying your brain and thus ending your life,” It was horrifying that someone would design such a feature into a game system, and Echo’s stomach turned at the thought of how scared these poor civies must be “Unfortunately, several players' friends and families have ignored this warning and have attempted to remove the NerveGear. As a result, two hundred and thirteen players Are gone forever, from both Aincrad and the real world,” the number would have brought him to vomit if he had been able to. He was used to death, the number really wasn't as high as he had experienced in the war, but these were not a people at war.
“ As you can see, news organizations across the world are reporting all of this, including the deaths. Thus, you can assume that the danger of a NerveGear being removed is now minimal. I hope you will relax and attempt to clear the game. But I want you to remember this clearly. There is no longer any method to revive someone within the game. If your HP drops to zero, your avatar will be forever lost. and simultaneously the NerveGear will destroy your brain. There is only one means of escape. To complete the game. You are presently on the lowest floor of Aincrad, Floor 1. If you make your way through the dungeon and defeat the Floor Boss, you may advance to the next level. Defeat the boss on Floor 100, and you will clear the game,”
He went on to bring everyone’s attention to an item in their inventory, a mirror? Screams and light started on the other side of the courtyard. Taking stock around him quickly, there was a tall willowy woman and a strong stocky man to his left, and a few young men in their prime to his right, they all began to glow as well. As the glow cleared, and he blinked the spots out of his eyes, a sharp swear went out
“Son of a bitch! So much for the 4 hours of character creation. I really liked being taller than you,” the tall willowy woman was replaced by a short, curvy woman with soft features and short shaggy purple hair.
“Yeah yeah, dream on there short round” the now tall athletic man responded, but Kayaba began speaking again, drawing all attention back to him
“Right now, you're probably wondering, "why". Why would Kayaba Akihiko, developer of Sword Art Online and the Nerve Gear, do all this? My goal has already been achieved. I created Sword Art Online for one reason. To create this world and intervene in it. And now, it is complete. This ends the tutorial for the official Sword Art Online Launch. Good luck players” the figure faded out as panic set in for the crowd around him.
People began to cluster together, crying, screaming, and holding onto each other to try to find comfort in the horrendous situation. His eye was drawn to two people who didn't seem to be panicking, the man and woman to his left. They were sharing a long silent look. The same look he often shared with Fives or Rex when they were communicating a plan through looks and micro expressions alone. A quick, shared nod, and they were off like a shot, making for an exit to the courtyard and back towards the town proper. They knew where they were going, they had more information, and information was the name of the game in a situation like this. He took off after them.
Unlike some of the players he had seen while exploring earlier, he wasn't capped at the max run speed of a new player with no or underdeveloped skills. His only limit was that of the extensive training he had been going through his whole life. That being said, it wasn't more than two streets before he caught up to the two and called out for their attention
“Hey! You two, there!'' They paused and turned in sync. It was kind of creepy, and he wondered if he and Fives were that unsettling when they did the same “you seem to know where you are going, do you know what's going on here?”
The two looked at each other for a moment before the woman stepped forward, hand outstretched “Phoenix, but you can call me Nox. This beanpole is my brother, Griffin. We were beta testers, so we are going to push ahead, try to get better gear to start clearing floors. We have the best shot of getting ahead of things to make it easier for the newer players, like you” he took her hand in a firm shake and the man, Griffin, stepped in for one as well.
He didn't know these people, didn't know if they were being true, or if they were trying to cause issues for the other players. There was no way to know if they were trustworthy, but something in the set of Griffin’s jaw, the proud set of Nox’s shoulders, and the matching look of determination in their eyes that made his decision for him.
“Sounds like a solid plan. I’ll follow your lead” grins break out across both their faces at the response “I’m Echo,”
“Well, Echo, welcome to the team,” griffin claps a friendly hand on his shoulder as Nox rushes through her menu until a new prompt appears in front of him
Phoenix has invited you to join their party “Byte me”
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“Hell of a name,” he jokes
“Alright boys, let's get to work,” and off they start into the dark, off to adventure, and maybe, if they are lucky, eventual freedom.
Chapter 2: The moon casts a cold light
Summary:
The crew is now a few days out of the forced meeting in the town of beginnings, and things are starting to become more real, and more dangerous. also a little bit of soft Echo
Notes:
alrighty! we are doing a double upload today because im feeling spicy. i was going to save the small backlog i had to try to have consistency at least for a bit. unfortunately, im neurodivergent, and am chasing that dopamine lol.
we are moving into the days following the SAO launch now. i plan to keep an episodic feel to the chapters. They will be dated and will probably contain snippets from a few different days. I really want to show the passage of time in a way similar to how they did in SAO. please be patient with me as im still getting used to writing again. It has been awhile and im trying to figure it out again as an adult who stopped writing for a long time. constructive criticism is welcome!
you will see variations of the word "Vod(e)" this is sibling(s) in mando'a. there is also mention of "marching" in a vague way. this is referencing a Mandalorian saying about death, that people are not gone merely marching far away. It is a beautiful sentiment that i love. the mando'a for it is Nu kyr'adyc, shi taab'echaaj'la. i think that is the speedrun of anything you may need to know going into this chapter. feel free to ask for clarification on anything though
Chapter Text
Nov 7, 2022
Running to the next town was freeing. The planes and the sky met almost seamlessly in the dark, and it felt like running through the stars. The occasional boar appeared on the road. They quickly set up a system, calling out who would get the kill and the experience from it. Taking turns and supporting each other if needed, it was just like fighting with his brothers once more. He felt certain that they had his back, and he had theirs. It felt like a blink and they were in Horunka Village
“What's the plan? Do we move through or is there something we need to do here,” Echo looked to the others for direction as they seemed to have a set itinerary in their minds. Nox was the one to answer
“We are here to do the Secret medicine of the forest quest. It will give an item called the Annealed blade that Griffin will need going forward the first few floors. Technically the item is available any time the quest is completed, but it will get busy come morning because it is a great starter item. For now, we will probably only have to worry about a few other betas at most so we should be able to grab it, and continue on clearing a path for other players,”
They moved through the village with a comfortable fluidity, and though the siblings seemed relaxed inside the town perimeter, he stayed on edge, taking up a defensive position behind them. He caught Nox’s eye for half a second and thought he saw an uptick in the corner of her mouth before she turned front again. Falling into formation with them felt as easy as breathing. It wasn't some weird formation, or uncomfortable, it was honestly pretty standard. Nox was taking point with Griffin just off her left shoulder, and Echo a step back off her right, but it felt good. Solid. He could get used to this level of comfort and ease with a team again, especially after the whirlwind that were the visions before this one.
Coming to a small house and knocking, they are invited in by a woman who looks worn beyond her years. They are offered water but are cut off by the sound of small pitiful coughs from the other room. Echo feels his heart clench as he realizes quickly that they are coming from a youngling. The woman confirms her child is sick and no medicine has helped as of yet, but does not continue further beyond that. This seems to frustrate his new friends. They thank the woman and motion to go, shutting the door softly with the sound of those small coughs still echoing through the house.
“Ok, so what’s the sitrep?” he asks as soon as they are away from the house. This earns another side eye from Nox
“Alright there soldier boy, so the quest didn't activate, but it is definitely still in the game, which means someone else has it active. I think maybe it is on a timer or something now. Let's just hope it wasn't changed to be a unique quest. Our best bet would be to go collect the item that is required for the quest and then keep checking every couple hours to see when it re pops and just hope no one else gets to it in between. Agreeable?”
His eyes were wide as he met Nox’s. She just responded with a raised brow, as if to indicate that he was stupid for not thinking that she would catch onto his profession. It's not like he was trying to hide it, it just didn't seem that obvious to him. She seemed to think otherwise. He nodded in assent to the plan she had laid out. Griffin was none the wiser to the silent conversation as he began to build off of what his sister had just said
“If someone already grabbed the quest, it's going to be another Beta tester. I wonder if it's anyone we know. There aren't many who would go for that quest because the little nepenthes are a pain to deal with on your own, and not many are exactly great team players, at least not the ones that we know. Especially not this early.” he rubbed at the light stubble on his chin as he seemed to get lost in thought
“So these little nepathy things, what are the weak points, and how do we kill them,” he couldn't stop himself from asking, already trying to find the info needed to form a tactic against them
“The monsters are called Little Nepenthes, which is such a misleading name, they are pretty big. They aren't super high level, but for where we are at now, can get perilous pretty quickly, especially since they tend to swarm if you approach them wrong. There are three variations, Fruit, Flower, and what i'm going to call Null,” the word causes Echo’s mind to wander slightly to his brothers before focusing back on Nox. “We are looking for a flower to kill, and it will drop the ovule and we can keep going. If you are fighting a fruit, do not damage the actual fruit, only the main body and limbs of the nepenthe. If the fruit is damaged, we will be swarmed. The null don't really have anything special about them, so there is nothing big to look out for there other than normal attack patterns,” Nox is cut off as Griffin jumps in excitedly, and begins off down the road as he explains
“They have vines with these leaves that they slash and stab with, watch out for those, they are quick, though thankfully don't do too much damage. The thing you really have to look out for is the acid reflux from hell,” Griffin is somehow smiling brightly as he describes all of this
“The what,” Echo asks incredulously with a raised brow and a concerned look
“The acid reflux from he-”
“He heard you, you just didn't explain it at all, dumbass. You can't just drop things like that with no context or explanation” Nox cuffs her brother in the head while shaking her own in exasperation “They have a distance acid attack, they will straight vomit on you. It is a real HP killer, but you can normally see it coming and just dodge, as long as there aren't too many in one go. Pretty obvious indicator, they puff up really clearly ahead of time. Just watch anywhere it lands because sometimes it still makes the ground sticky and can slow movement”
Nodding to himself and wishing he had a manual to keep track of movement patterns or important tactical information, he wonders if they have something like that here. Something to look into in the future maybe? That could be really useful to any shinies- new players- he remembered living by those manuals when he was in that same unsure state at the beginning of his career. Even long after he was established, scorch marks and scuff across his now painted armor proved that, he still referenced them from time to time. Sometimes the complicated plans were needlessly so, when the basics were standard for a reason. It also gave a good jumping off point for creativity, you had to know all of the rules to know how to break them after all.
The trust that existed between the siblings was clear in the way they moved, no hesitation, almost like the dances he had caught glimpses of between The General and the Senator. It seemed practiced, somehow rigid, but flowing with the situation. Trying not to get caught up watching them fight together, he moves to keep their flank covered as they fight more and more of the strange plant creatures. Nox is the one to takes the first step into integrating him into their world
“Echo, Switch!” her dagger strike lands, pulling the attention of a Nepenthe, then dodges to the side
Instinct kicks in without a thought, the Alphas’ Arc training has him diving forward with no hesitation to take her space, and the sword skill he hadn't realized he activated lights his blade blue before slashing through the creature, taking its health to zero. As it shatters in sparkles of light, he catches the eye of Griffin who nods approvingly at him before grinning and jumping back into the fray. The battle focus slipping over his mind like an old friend, slash, dodge, check flank, stab, check Nox, dodge, Griffin, jump, stab, slash, next. The missing weight of plastoid was still strange, but did not leave him feeling as exposed as he had expected. Maybe it was the new friends that had him feeling more at ease, just enough to bring a small uptick to the corner of his lips. 32 down, who knows how many more to go, and for the first time in a long time, he feels at peace.
It is around noon the next day when the news breaks. They had been loitering around the town to keep an eye on the quest house after hunting all night, when more players made it to town. There had been multiple player deaths in the night. One of which apparently happened not far from where they had been hunting. That hadn't made them feel guilty at all , that would be ridiculous. There was absolutely no way that each of them was replaying the night in their heads over and over, wondering if they had heard the screams in the distance and missed the chance to save someone. That they had been so close and potentially condemned the other player by rousing so many enemies at once. This was definitely not something that would follow them through their time in this game, and later back into the real world.
Of the three, Griffin was taking it the worst. Echo was used to losing soldiers, it hurt, but he had long since learned to say remembrances for those lost, and move on. If you didn't move on you risked losing more on the mission when in war. He thought Nox might have understood that to some degree. She was very obviously broken up about it, but had quickly squared her shoulders with a determined light in her eyes. Poor Griff. He had locked himself in a room at the inn and had left the quest work for them to finish. They would give him time, It wasn't like there was much to do but wait.
No one that they had seen had gone through the quest house yet. That was either really good, or really bad. Having reentered the house, been given water, but not triggering the quest, it was assumed that it would be a bit to wait still. It didn't reset at the 12 hour mark based on when they got there and it was still not available, so they were thinking maybe 24 hours? That gave them maybe another 8ish hours to wait. That was a lot of time to think. Time to think of the vode that were left behind to fight the war, to die for their cause, all while he was stuck here.
Trying to find a comfortable position to lean against a short wall, his body’s discomfort mimicking that of his mind as he continued to spiral. He should be there with them. Planning with Rex, laughing and pranking with Fives, helping keep up with the commander’s training. Ka’ra, how was the jet’ika, was she eating properly, taking care of herself, was she even still alive. He desperately hoped so. He hoped that they were all okay, that none had marched on, that none of them were marching where he could not yet follow. Why was he not marching? How had he forgotten already, it had been less than two days since his conversation with Fives. He died at the Citadel. Blown sky high by that grenade. So how was he in a death game? Was he in the game at all? Everything seemed so real here. The people, feelings, sounds, even the breeze was brushing his skin in a soft familiar way. Then again, every battle that he experienced since the citadel had seemed real, until they weren't.
Something touched his shoulder, he turned his head to see Nox jerk back upright to a proper sitting position where she had taken residence on the wall beside him. Blinking aggressively she nodded in sheepish apology to him, rubbing a firm hand across her face
“Sorry, fatigue wasn't really a thing like this in the beta. No need when people have to log out regularly for actual rest. Looks like they added some sort of sleep mechanic or need. That's going to suck eventually,” she looked more than a little self conscious, refusing to make eye contact with him
“If you want to go back to the Inn-”
“No!” she cuts him off, wide eyes meeting his, and they both register her hand on his upper arm at the same time. Giving an awkward little cough, she removes it and continues on “Griff needs more time. I don't want to intrude while he is processing this. I’m ok. It's just been awhile since I have had to pull all nighters of that nature. It will pass, i'm sure”
He examined her for a few moments before doing his best to channel his ori’vod and shifted his weight, standing slightly in front of her. Not blocking her eyeline, but blocking most of her body “I will take the watch. Rest, we have a few hours before we can do much,”
He knew Rex would, and had, done the same when any of the vode were struggling to sleep or were too amped up in unfamiliar places. If he was going to be stuck here for an unknown amount of time, he was going to keep their memories and traditions alive, and he was going to help these people in any way that he could. That's what his purpose was, helping those in need, fighting so they didn't have to, and making sure that there would be a home to go back to when the blasters stopped firing. While he couldn't keep the state of their homes, and there were no blasters, he could at least make sure that there would be people to go home at the end of this, or he would die trying. His resolve strengthened when he felt movement behind him and heard a quiet breath of thanks before his new friend took her rest.
Chapter 3: Hey Stranger, it'd be Nice to Know Your Name
Summary:
new old friends, old new friends, and everything in-between which isnt much lol. just a bit more filler before we touch on the main story line of sao. That should come partway through the next chapter, so please stick with me until then!
Notes:
So sorry to be gone for so long. Writing bug has been on vacation apparently. My mom has been in and out of the hospital quite a few more times since I last posted, and life has been beyond hectic. Hope this is an ok chapter. It has not been beta'd, and truthfully I dont fully remember writing it? who knows, i sure dont lol. anyway, here we go! Chapter 3!
Chapter Text
Nov 17, 2022
To say that Echo was an asset to their team would be an understatement. Nox was sure that they would have waltzed right into trouble more times than she could count were it not for his uncanny instincts. Not only that, he seemed to be like a walking strategy book. When she had jokingly said about him making a guide book after finding him writing about their time getting the annealed blade, she hadn't expected him to all but jump at the chance. The next thing she knew, they were taking regular pauses between quests and leveling grinds to purchase and fill volumes of field notes. They would send one person back to the town of beginnings at the end of the day to drop off the updated notes at the printers, while the other two sorted through loot and potential missions for the next day. Tonight it was her turn to make the run.
Running full speed across the landscape, there was no time to react when a figure darted across the road in front of her. Assuming that this was some monster, she mentally prepared for the worst as they collided. There was a moment of relief when the other figure let out a very human ‘oof’ type of sound. Rolling to the side and up to her feet in one fluid motion, she reached out to help the person up with a sheepish smile.
“Haaaaaa, sorry. I don't really expect people out this late so i take the chance to boost my speed stat and just go full out and, yeah, i don't have any real other excuse, sorry” joy lit up her face when the teen took her hand and allowed her to pull him up
“It’s ok, I can't say I haven't done the same to build up my skills. What are you doing out here though? There are no open quests around here and leveling in this area sucks,” he asked in confusion, looking around the empty fields
“Oh, my party has been building up info packets, for lack of a better term, and then dropping them at the printers for them to release updated info in the guidebooks. We run ahead and try to get into the real nasty enemies before the newer players so that by the time they get there, there are strategies, weaknesses, and things like that already there for them to work with. Better we go in blind than them, ya know” she shrugs in a nonchalant way, as if this was something that they had been tasked with, and not something that they decided to do every day to minimize the deaths of others. They were definitely not still thinking about Arvin and Coper.
“You're a beta tester? Your whole party is-” the boy mumbled to himself for a moment and looked at her strangely, as if contemplating something “What is your name?”
A bright smile returns to her face at the cute kids look, she misses when Iridessa looked up at her like that “My name is Phoenix, but you can call me Nox,” offering a hand and trying to put on the ‘big sis charm’ as Dessie put it. It seemed to work as the kid lit up like Christmas had come early
“Kirito,” he reached out to grab her forearm with a beaming smile “It's good to see you again Nox. I had wondered if you and Griffin were here. It's really nice to see a friendly face, even if its not, ya know, familiar,” he trailed off awkwardly in a way only teens seem to fully commit to
Laughing brightly she sweeps him up in a quick hug before something clicks. Teen. This was the first time that she was really and truly faced with the fact that there were children trapped in this death game too. That Kayaba had trapped kids here, threatened their lives with every quest and monster and day. How many of the original 213 had been kids that had their Nervegear removed by parents disgruntled that their youngin was late for dinner or sports practice. How many people had been the catalyst for the death of their children, all because some freak wanted to watch people run around like little ants in his world. She felt sick as she hugged the boy closer to her. He didn't deserve this. None of them did. At least her and the guys were adults and could make informed decisions about what they would and would not risk in this world. The boy in her arms hadn't even finished baking, his brain still working to full development. Her heart broke all over for what felt like the millionth time since she had been pulled to the Plaza over a week ago. Once again, she tucked it away for now and plastered a smile on her face, no need to worry Kirito afterall, none of this was his fault. Taking a deep breath and pulling back, she ruffled his hair aggressively so that he wouldn't catch her other hand swiping away tears
“Hey there, special K! I'm glad we ran into each other ....literally” the laughs feel forced, but he doesn't seem to notice thankfully “you have to come with me back to see Griff and meet Echo. I never asked, what are you doing out here? Can you spare a few hours or are you in the middle of something?”
“Oh, well, um, I'm trying to increase my detection skill. It's something I know I want later in the game, but it's really annoying to level, so I try to follow tracks and things out here in the fields when they are empty. It makes the skill level faster because it's considered to be ‘harder’ in the dark. But yeah, I can totally come hang out!” he motions for her to lead the way and down the road they went.
Catching up on how the other was holding up in this new version of what had been a comforting world to them. It didn't take long for them to slip into a familiar rhythm, laughing and chatting as they sped through the open fields towards the town of beginnings.
That was far from the last that Nox and Kirito saw of each other in the coming days. After meeting up with the rest of the party-receiving a bone crushing hug from Griff and a firm handshake from Echo-Kirito had gone off to keep building his level and skills the best he could on his own. He seemed strangely insistent on playing on his own, but was happy for short term team ups. Echo had said that he reminded him of someone he used to fight with named Ahsoka. That had brought up all kinds of questions, which led to horrific answers.
Nov 22, 2022
“I'm sorry Echo, are you implying that you fought alongside a child soldier ? Where the heck were you stationed that anyone thought that was ok?” Griff was sheet white and was looking more than a little queasy when he asked
“I mean, the commander is a little younger than I think any of us expected, but she is more than capable. The boys and I trust her with our lives, and the council determined that she was ready” Echo responded a bit too confidently for the siblings taste as they met each other's gaze “Originally I was stationed on the Rishi moon, but after that, I was on the Resolute under general Skywalker and commander Tano'' the siblings shared another look, this one he caught “What? Why are you looking at each other like that,”
Griff made a motion to Nox and she took a breath before continuing her line of questioning “Echo, that sounds like something straight out of Star Wars . I mean, Rishi moon, wasn't that the base from the show you liked, Griff? The one with Dee Bradley Baker '' at his aggressive nod, one that had him looking at Echo in a new light and with wide eyes, she continued on “Echo, it's not real. It's all a story, ya know? Palpatine is the baddie, Anakin gets brainwashed and goes all Pssssshhhhhh Kaaahhhhhh” she makes a mechanical breathing sound with her hands to emphasize her point “and then the whole Ben Kenobi and Luke I am your father-”
“That's not actually the line and you know it” Griff interrupts, but goes right back to examining Echo, slowly moving closer and closer to him. Circling, and overall examining, thought being tactfully ignored by the other two.
“The Chancellor is a what ,” Echo looks at her with an air of horror. It had taken a bit of getting used to, but he was picking up on more of the slang that was common here, this particular one being pretty self explanatory, but no less concerning.
“Come on, you have got to be kidding. We have been in a party too long for you to start showing signs of losing it, I'm already attached, you can't just go all loco on us now” Nox all but whines at him
“Nox, stop. I-” Griff takes a shuddering breath “I think he's for real. I didn't notice it before because its been so long since I have seen the guy with so much hair, but he looks exactly like Temuera Morrison''
Turning to her brother with a stern look “Griff, this is ridiculous. What are you trying to say? You are talking about a fictional character getting isekai’d into our lame ass universe or something equally crazy”
“Getting what-” Echo is cut off as Griff continues to push his argument
“That's exactly what I'm saying! You have to admit that some things about him are wild. You start off with the crazy weird skills he has that are inherent to him, and not in the game. Have you seen this guy move? For not being in a full dive before, he moves like some sort of super crazy super ninja soldier! Then the fact that he looks exactly like the clones from the stories and even has the accent ,” he makes some wild gestures in Echo’s vague direction “Like, come one! That's suspicious, and totally means something. And then the offhand comments that are second nature, do you remember the ‘reg manual’ conversation? Nox, you aren't seeing it because you don't want to, this is so on brand for Star Wars” his eyes wide as he looks at her, pleading her to see things his way
Nox stares blankly at him, face deadpan “I wish I could talk to the team, they would tell you that there are people out there with those skills. They do exist, hell, the team is them . And of course I don’t see it! It's insane! I have honestly been operating under the impression that Echo is being held in palliative care or something by family, sorry Echo” she gives him a sincere look “I really am, but you have mentioned your deja vu and disorientation and disconnect from reality. It seems like you may have been in some sort of full dive simulation. There was research about using it for coma patients with high brain activity to keep them in a more aware state of consciousness. It wasn't approved for human testing yet, but you know how people with money can get,”
“Honestly, I'm not going to comment on the look alike, or the accent thing, I don't know enough, but it could be a coincidence,” she shakes her head “I don't know what I think. I don't have enough data, you know I prefer a data set to analyze”
“I am still here you know, you don't have to keep talking about me like I’m not in the room,” Echo brings attention back to himself as a person and not just a concept or conversation topic “Now, can we please go back to the Chancellor being a ‘baddie’ and what is going on with the General? I never even thought to ask, is your planet part of the Republic or are you neutral?”
Griff jumps in answering with no hesitation “Technically we would be considered neutral, but that's because we have had no publicly documented contact with anyone in, or out of our own system. Our space travel is super primitive in comparison. We don't even have FTL beyond a fantasy concept,” Nox watched the conversation with disbelief
“You are going to want to sit down for this, its…its not going to be easy to hear,” He gently guides Echo to a seat, steadfastly ignoring the almost indignant look on the man’s face at being treated like a tubie “The Chancellor is a Sith playing both sides of the war, most clones have a chip in their brain to make them do what he wants at the push of a button, he has been grooming Anakin to be his Sithling since he was a child and will succeed, but Skywalker will have a bad time of it and end up more mechanical than anything, and the entire galaxy will descend into chaos and strife for at least two decades before Anakin's secret twink son and princess daughter save it with the help of a Wookie and a renegade” Griff takes a deep gasping breath after his run on, having not taken pause while dumping info as quickly as possible. If it was to get information out as simply as possible, or a bid to make the whole thing not seem as awful upfront is unclear, either way, he failed at both.
Echo and Griffin blink at each other in silence for a few minutes before Echo’s posture crumples in. Shoulders dropping, arms resting on legs and head hanging, a grumble of “Ka’ra, I need a drink,” is all that comes from the clone.
It was hours, and many bottles of mystery booze, later when Griffin sat up in his bed, waking the others with a shout of “ The team ”
Rolling off her bed, sleepily taking up a defensive position behind it, Phoenix looks around for danger before registering that there was none “huh? Wha-whats going on” a sleepy tone fills her voice, and Echo shakes his head fondly from where he sat, filling in one of his many notebooks with the information he was given from the two about the whole ‘different universe thing.’
It was a bit disheartening to find out that his life and suffering had been a story for children, but the potential for fixing the future was something he thought he would be forever grateful for. He had already lost so many brothers, Heavy, Droidbait, Cutup, and so many others, but he could save even more with the list of events that Griffin had given him. Nox still wasn't on board with the theory, but that would come in time, at least he hoped it would. She and Griff had been invaluable allies and friends, he hoped that when everything was over, when -not if- they got out of this place, he would be able to find them again. They had been together less than a month, but were already well on their way to being as close to him as he considered Rex to be. That fact was solidified in his mind as the realization of the first floor not being cleared yet, and the subsequent 99 floors after that being progressively harder. Yeah, he was going to be with these people for a while, and it brought a smile to his face thinking that he was part of a small, but close knit, family unit again. It made him miss Domino squad and the 501st more-
“YOU WHAT” his thoughts are cut short as Nox lunges for her brother with no mercy, vaulting over the small table when Griff tried to block her with it
“I'm sorry! I'm sorry I forgot all about it, but there was kind of a death game announcement so you can't really blame- gah!” she had finally gotten ahold of him and now the two were wrestling on the floor like a couple of squabbling cadets. Pinning him under her and holding the poor guy by the front of his shirt she began to shake him
“I swear on Mom’s 92 gold, if you don't tell me right now how to call out, I'm going to tell them what really happened to the team jackets” She was all teeth and righteous fury, but Echo couldn't help likening her to a grumpy tooka and tried not to laugh, as not to turn her ire to him
“I…um….It was, you have an item in your inventory called an imparting glass,” she rolled her eyes, but slowly let up the death grip on his shirt “It works kind of like those weird bone conduction Bluetooth sunglasses, but like, your com channel. Remember when they were complaining about how grumpy you were coming out of full dive so abruptly during the beta test? They gave me access so I could build you an in game com system so no one got bit again”
“It was one time, and it didn't even scar that bad, over dramatic little…” her mutterings trail off as she stands and steps away from him. Swiping quickly through the now extensive inventory, she is soon sporting elegant gold frames, gently cradling what look to be blue shifting crystalline lenses. A deep breath and then she hesitantly taps at the frames, seeming to know what to do “h-hello? Gidget reporting in, Saint, Forrest, do you copy,” her voice shakes just a little as she calls out on the com line
“Who are you calling? Is that even possible,” Echo voices yet another question on tonight's pile of unknowns
“My team, we are kind of a private task force, if you want to call us that. That's all the more info I can give you outright, any more and I’d have to kill you,” Normally that kind of threat would make him hesitant, but the cheeky wink sent his way had Echo wondering if there was background information he was missing on the joke
“Saint, Forrest, are you there? Please be there,”
“Its good to hear your voice kid, you’ve had us real worried” the comforting rasp warms her soul like a good whiskey, bringing a relieved smile to her face, and a bittersweet tear to her eye
“I’ve missed you too, Saint. You won't believe the time we have been having in here”
Chapter 4: The artificial way the sunlight bounces off the glitching leaves
Summary:
forest thoughts and the boss man
Notes:
this one got away from me a little bit. It is really heavy in cannon dialogue, on top of fight scenes being really hard to write. I dont know how it went, please let me know your thoughts. it is only spell checked, and not beta'd, though my Gf does now know of this story (i hate sharing my writing with people i know irl) so she may beta for me in the future as she has on other projects. idk, we shall see. Things have been very crazy with work, i had most of this chapter finished days ago and have just been trying to find an hour or so to finish the last bit, but yeah. ok, it is too late, my writing brain has turned into ramble brain so here's the chapter whoooooooooo
Chapter Text
Nov 29th
The death toll had been steadily rising by the day, and it had everyone on edge. Closing in on the 2,000 mark was something no one had expected this early, let alone at all. Most people were still in some form of denial. Thoughts of “well, if it's true, not many will die” or “it will be fine, we will get out long before the things get too bad” . None of it was true. It hadn’t even been a full month, and yet, almost twenty percent of the full player base was gone. They hadn't even cleared the first floor yet, and people were dropping like flies. It wasn't lost on anyone that the beta had gotten past multiple floors in the same timeframe, and yet they were still toiling away on floor one.
“I just don't understand! How can no one have found the boss room yet? We have been out in the dungeon every damn day, and still nothing” Nox’s voice had gone slightly shrill in her frustration. Lobbing a glass against the wall of their room in her fit of anger, the glass spraying out before returning back to pixels in the void. “We just have to try harder, work harder. We have to do better, be better . We can't just” voice cracking as tears come to her eyes, she looks at her companions “We can't just keep letting them die '' no one says anything as the tears finally spill over.
Resetting their gear, the trio is back in the dungeon just an hour later, fighting monster after monster, helping other players that they come across, and mapping the best that they can with the Cartographer skill Echo had been working to build up. They had been mapping as much of the floor as they could, and had been including the detailed depictions in the almost daily updates to the guide books. The dungeon had been the most difficult to do, as its twisting hallways sometimes seemed to defy physics or spatial logic, but they continued to the best of their abilities.
Had it not been for Echo, Nox wasn't sure that her and Griffin had made it this far. They were a fighting force of nature, but neither of them had the same mind for battle strategy that Echo wielded effortlessly. He was the one that kept them organized and moving forward in a structured assault on the dungeon. Overall, they felt like they had found, not a missing piece from their duo, but rather a matching piece. Echo didn't fill some previously empty space, it was more like their sphere had expanded to include him. They Quickly became one of the stronger parties on what would soon be called the front lines.
Dec 3rd
Nox, Echo, And Griffin sat in the amphitheater in Tolbana, all shifting in anticipation for the meeting to start. The boss room had been located. The two men had sat on either side of the woman to keep her from making any hasty decisions, or picking any fights. Though they were a top party, there were still players here that had more antiquated thoughts of female gamers, and Nox had no patience for them. She had picked no less than 3 fights this past week, unfortunately, one of those had been with a higher level player and hadn’t ended pleasantly. Thankfully, none of the problem players seemed to be present at the meeting, but Echo and Griffin weren't taking chances.
A young man with blue hair steps into the center of the partially filled amphitheater and begins to speak jubilantly “ok, people. Now that everyone is here, let's get this meeting started! So, anyway, I want to thank everyone for coming. Good to see you. My name is Diavel, and in this game, the job I rolled is knight!” He places his hand to his chest in a proud fashion, his stance strong and confident. It doesn't last long as people begin to laugh and call out that there is no real job system in the game.
The laughter immediately dies down as Diavel grows more somber and serious. “Our party found the boss room at the top of the tower today”
Gasps roll through the crowd and Nox reaches and grabs the hands of her party members, “They found it” she whispers in awe to them. It had felt like it was never going to happen with how hard they had been searching with no headway. This was the first step to getting out, getting home, and Nox felt hopeful tears fill her eyes as Echo and Griffin squeezed her hands in response. “We can get them out”
Nox takes note of Kirito by himself on the other side of the theater, and goes to call out to him when she sees the panicked look on his face as he searches for people to party up with. She doesn't get the chance as he scooches over to a hooded figure sitting by themselves and begins a conversation. She would keep an eye on him during the fight, but who was she to distract him from making new friends in this hellscape. He deserved to be able to branch out, and seeing him take the initiative to, when he had been so hellbent to be solo up until this point was something she wasn't willing to risk ruining.
“Hold up a sec!” Nox’s attention is pulled to a silhouette at the top of the theater, and a man with spiked hair launches himself down to the center with Diavel “My name is Kibaou, you got that?” he asks in a cocky tone, pointing to himself “before we take on the boss, i want to get something off my chest. We all know about the 2000 people who have died so far, yeah? Well some of you need to apologize to them, right now!” His claim causes murmurs of confusion to roll through the group, some confused as to what he is talking about, others wondering if he might be right to bring up the point.
“Kibaou,” Diavel addresses the man directly. “I think I know who you are referring to. You mean the ones who are ex-beta testers, right?” His tone sets a pit into Nox’s stomach, and probably any other beta testers in the audience.
Gripping onto the hands of her two lifelines, she tries not to lose herself to the rant or the lingering guilt. Echo, who sat rigidly to her left, leaned so that his shoulder lightly pressed into hers, a small sign of comfort, as the man was not overly comfortable with touch. The grip that she had on his hand was already far beyond what he normally let either of the siblings get away with, and she felt beyond touched that he didn't immediately draw away.
Echo and Griffin tense when Kibaou begins talking about the beta testers needing to give up money and items. To Echo, it sounded like he was trying to create an ‘us and them’ mentality that could be detrimental to the trust between players going into such a big fight. What was worse, this could also lead to knock out drag out right here against any players that were suspected to be beta testers. Already, eyes were turning to their party, as Nox and Griffin had made no attempt to keep that fact secret while gathering info and strategy guides for the guide booklets, more worried about keeping other players alive.
“Can I say something?” another voice pipes up, a large man with an axe strapped to his back moves to stand center as well. This brings the whispers and sidelong looks to a pause, as all eyes move to him “Hey, my name is Agil. Kibaou, right? I want to make sure I'm on the same page. You say the ex-beta testers should be blamed for the rookies' deaths because they didn't help them, and you want them to apologize and give up their winnings. I leave anything out?”
“No, you didn't” Kibaou grumbles, looking more than a little intimidated by the much larger man.
“The item store hands these out for free. It's a guide book. You got one didn't you?” Agil holds up a small familiar book
“Sure, I got one. What about it?” the spiky haired man responds as if Agil had asked him the most ridiculous question he had ever heard
“And you know who was handing these out? Who was updating the information and maps? The ex-beta testers” The crowd begins to mumble to themselves and Kibaou looks uncomfortable and frustrated with the knowledge “Listen up, Everyone had equal access to this information. Even so, a lot of players lost their lives. Now, I didn't come here to point fingers at anyone. I'm here because I want to learn from those players’ deaths. I'm here because I want to find out how we're gonna beat the boss.” he shares a long look with Kibaou, who stomps back over to the stone steps and throws himself to a seat, pouting. Agil takes a calm seat directly next to him, even though he started further up the steps.
Nox feels her chest loosen from the constricting grasp of anxiety and guilt. Their books were being used, helping people. Glancing to Echo on their left, his stern expression had shifted slightly with pride, obviously also feeling like they were doing some good. The lives that were lost were not because they hadn't been doing enough. There had been countless saved because of their efforts, and the whole team felt at least a little bit of the guilt melt away at that knowledge.
The meeting quickly got back on point, Diavel referencing the newest guide book, though this issue had not been added to by Byte Me . Nox remembered this floor boss, four health bars, two weapons, a buckler, and a room full of kobolds. The loot split was more than reasonable, and through a quick glance, the party decided that it worked for them. Taking just a short bit of time figuring out the strengths and weaknesses of each party and player involved, it was quickly decided that at least two forces would be best.
Jumping right in with expert strategy, Echo and Diavel begin separating the parties into 6 squads. This would allow for easier organization, and sword skill set up making switches faster and smoother. Squads A-C were designated as the main attack force, A squad the first attack, B as a group block for the heavy attacks, and C as the secondary attack. D-F were assigned as crowd control. The number of minions unknown going in, which meant that they needed to plan for enough people to keep the frontliners safe while they focused on the boss. They wanted everyone’s back to be covered, and hopefully that would mean no losses. Gods were they all praying for no losses. Soon enough, everything was planned as much as possible, and it was agreed to meet the next day at 10am, and everyone split off to their accommodations for the night.
Upon meeting back at their room in the Inn, Griffin flopped onto his bed, Echo settled in at the table in the corner with one of his many journals, and Nox paced. After a few hours of them moving around the room, Nox noticed Echo repeatedly fidgeting his legs and rubbing at his right arm. She recognized those movements, felt the ache, and wondered how long it had taken him to get used to the whole situation after he was dropped in. There was a sorrow to her, knowing that there was nothing on this end to help, and just hoped that whoever was on the outside for him, was doing for him what she knew her team was doing for her.
Dec 4th
It was a beautiful morning for such a gruesome task. The simulated sunlight filtering through waxy leaves and painting the forest with dancing motes of light. That same dappled luster twirled over the faces of the raid group, casting the desperate determined faces in a noble radiance worthy of warriors from legend. The drifting scent of underbrush and dirt adding a level of realism to the trek that had most of those present forgetting, if only for a moment, that this was all still a game that they were trying to escape.
Echo couldn't stop the reeling of his mind as he marched through the trees with his party, hoping that this was the only marching any of them would be doing. Would they lose anyone? Ka’ra he hoped not, though losing soldiers was not something unfamiliar to him, it was never an easy thing to know that you had survived where others had not. Looking to his left, Nox even with his shoulder, and Griffin even with hers, he couldn't hold back a smile as they laughed and joked the same way he and Fives had. It was difficult to not drift into the memories of Fives forcefully dragging him beyond the straight cut soldier he had been right out of deployment.
Nox bumping into his shoulder after a shove from Griffin pulled him back from the memories before he could fall too deeply. Rolling his eyes as aggressively as General Kenobi, earned him a soft smack to the chest as the shorter woman looked into his face indignantly
“Don't roll your eyes! Griff benign mean to me, I can handle, but you are supposed to be on my side, Echo!” the good natured whine is accompanied by an overexaggerated pout, and it takes everything he has to not roll his eyes again or to crack a smile
“Hey! You can't go claiming Echo! I want him on my team” Griffin responds immediately and the whole cycle starts again.
Echo is fighting for his life, trying to keep his smile down as their ploy to make people feel less tense about the upcoming battle is working a little too well on him. Doing his best impression of Rex when he is trying to reprimand the General and the Commander, he pops an eyebrow to complete The Look “I am not taking sides or teams or anything of the sort. You two are being ridiculous” the corner of his mouth twitches as the two turn with identical mock betrayal on their faces and gasp in unison
“Forsaken,”
“Betrayal,”
“Jail, jail for Echo,”
“Jail for one thousand years!” Griffin finishes with a dramatic hand to his forehead and a theatrical swoon
Though he doesn't understand the references, the siblings’ over the top presentation cracks him, and he turns his head with a cough to hide the amusement at their antics. The two keep up with the pestering and the jokes all the way through the forest. The mood is brought back to a more somber level as they move into the dungeon proper. Following familiar pathways that they had mapped and remapped, it isn't long before they come across a dead end.
Diavel and his party walk confidently to the wall and step into it . Griff sobs out something about a labyrinth and a goblin king when the simple illusion is revealed. Echo looks on in disbelief, and Nox just looks numb to it. Moving as a group into and then down the hidden hallway, it isn't more than a few minutes before they reach an imposing set of doors. Pausing a minute as a whole to take in the doors and what it is that they signify to the future.
Diavel moves to stand in front of everyone, the braziers casting shadows across the gathered fighters. Stabbing his sword into the ground and placing his hands serenely on the pommel, he calls out “Listen up, everyone,” He takes a breath as all eyes turn to him, Echo notes that there is a slight tension to his shoulders “I’ve only got one thing to say to you– Let’s win!” Though he seems solid, smiling with a fist lightly raised, Echo has already clocked that there is something else beneath the surface of their leader's thoughts, but the door is opening before he has time to fully analyze what that could be.
Creaking open, a pitch black room is beyond, glowing red eyes just barely visible in the dark. Creeping into the room, teams A-C get ready to move into position as soon as the boss is fully revealed. They don't have to wait long as lights come up abruptly, and a large red monstrosity jumps over half the length of the room to meet them. Illfang the Kobold Lord stops just far enough away to allow for his sentinels to spawn in between them. Sprinting forward with his axe and buckler, the sight is more than a little daunting as Echo calls encouragement to his team and Diavel initiates the attack.
He notes hearing Griffin call out to his squads to work through the three sentinels that spawned in. Nox is somewhere off his left shoulder, switching in seamlessly between squad A’s attack, and he calls out for his squad to prepare for the block of the upcoming heavy hit that Illfang is charging. It doesn't take long for the secondary squads to clear out the sentinels and join the regular battle rotation.
According to Echo’s calculations, it takes about 3 minutes of aggressive fighting for the first health bar to completely deplete. The moment it is gone, Illfang jumps back and roars, summoning three more sentinels. It was only two minutes before the second health bar was depleted, and the cycle began again. Another minute and a half, another health bar. Moving into his fourth so quickly and with no losses, Echo begins to feel like they are coming out the other side of this. He takes note of Nox’s team moving in fast to switch with A, who had dealt the blow to get Illfang to this last bar. Half of the attacks connect when something in the Kobold Lord’s stance changes and Echo feels his heart drop. Nox pushes forward, both daggers poised for a slash as she moves in, Echo tries to call out but the words are caught in his throat, as an omnidirectional attack hits the entirety of squad C.
Nox, at the epicenter of the attack, is thrown further than the rest of her squad, all of which have hit the ground and are not getting back up. Everything seems to stop as their attacks were still strong enough to get the last bar into the red. All fighters stop as Illfang sheds his weapon and shield with a roar, staring in awe and excitement at the guide book’s accuracy.
Dival, who had been directing from the back up to this point, calls out “Stand back!” as he pushes through the lines and races to the boss.
Teeth clack together and grind at the realization that Diavel is knowingly deviating from the plan when they have an entire squad on the ground. Movement catches his eye and Echo turns to see Kirito looking at Diavel in confusion that rapidly shifts to panic as Illfang draws his weapon. He also notices a smug look on the bluenette’s face that has him ready to implement Rex’s punishment duties. When he hears the panicked calls of Kirito, he turns his attention back to the Kobold, realizing that the weapon is nothing like what was described, and piecing together the issue. Their strategy for this last part wouldn't work for the fighting style that was actually coming.
The straight blade with wicked spikes at the end slash across the raid leader’s armour like butter, and the second hit goes through just as cleanly, throwing him to the side as if he were nothing. Kirito sprints to his side, and Echo steps in to fill the role of the missing leader seamlessly. He can hear Griffin also calling out orders, and soon finds him by his side as they direct the force as one unit now that all of the minions are out of the way and dealt with. It takes everything in him to not turn to one of the only people he trusts in this world, when he hears the sound of a player shattering to pixels.
Moments later, Kirito and his party member fly into the fray, rapidly switching back and forth as they lay into the Kobold. With the main concern being taken care of by someone else at the moment, he whips around, looking for the prone figure he had seen earlier. Upon finding the familiar lump on the ground, he grabs Griff’s shoulder and drags him in the direction of his fallen sister.
As they skid to the floor beside her, Nox slowly begins to lift herself up, and both men finally take note of the blinking red health bar in their visions that they had been avoiding looking at for fear of it disappearing entirely.
With a groan, and now sitting, she makes grabby hands at the two. “Health potion please, that hurt like a butt cheek on a stick”
If Griffin lets out a chuckle that is a little wet, none of them comment “Really? A vine reference? You are so out of touch with current memes,” he hugged her close, and Nox met Echo’s eyes over his shoulder. “I thought i lost you again” Griff whispers
Handing her a healing potion and looking at her quizzically, she is quick to answer the unspoken question “Not my first time having my shit rocked,” she shrugs a little before downing the potion.
Other members of squad C begin to rise as the status effect ‘stun’ hits the 45 second mark and wears off, with Nox taking Echo’s offered hand to stand. Watching how she moves as she stands to make sure she isn't trying to hide an injury, he forgets that he can see her health bar in the corner of his vision and just confirm it that way. Eyes catching hers, he is momentarily lost in the minty green haloed by a ring of gold. Their connection is broken at the sound of a shout, and their hands fall away as they turn.
Kirito and his partner are on the ground as Illfang stands above them, readying an attack. Echo moves before his thoughts can completely catch up, and is surprised when Agil is suddenly right beside him. Moving in tandem, they slam their weapons into the nodachi of Illfang, redirecting the blow up and away from the downed duo. Squad C, now recovered, rushes in to support them, followed quickly by any other available team.
“We can hold this bastard off until your health’s back up” Agil calls out to Kirito and his partner as he and Echo square up.
Nox slips in off Echo’s left shoulder, bumping him lightly “I'm with you” she nods resolutely to him as they dive into the fray once more.
Quickly falling into a familiar rhythm, the two all but dance through the air together. Echo moving forward with his new dual katar in devesting blows to break through any defense, followed by quick and efficient stabs to the now open soft spots with matching stilettos. They were a dual wielding dagger team built to tear down enemies with cold efficiency. Leaping in for another attack, Nox sinks her blades once more and Echo feels his heart drop as he notices a familiar shift in Illfang’s stance. He doesn't hesitate this time, grabbing Nox by the back of her leather cuirass, and throwing her out of range of another omnidirectional attack from the red monstrosity.
Tanking the shot himself, Echo is thrown with the rest of squad C and Agil, rolling to the ground motionless from the ‘stun’ status. He is forced to watch as The Kobold Lord leaps into the air with his attack charging, staring down at him and Agil with malice. The blinking red of his HP bar is daunting to him as he wonders what will happen to him if he dies here. Would he wake up on some battlefield, or in some medical bay while these poor players were left to live and die in this world? Or would he die like they would, and prove that this whole thing was the last efforts of his brain to sooth him as he marches on? Watching the purple glow of impending death, he is momentarily reminded of a lightsaber.
The swirling thoughts are interrupted as Kirito streaks overhead and slams into the oncoming attack, redirecting the fiend and causing him to slam into the ground. Kirito lands and calls out to his partner, now identified as Asuna, who rushes back into battle with him. Executing a quick 3 hit combo, the monster shatters. The glittering pixels take everyone’s breath away as they process that the fight is over, and that it is possible to move forward. There is a moment of quiet before cheers ring out, players throwing themselves into embraces and celebration. Attention is quickly turned to Kirito, who is crouched to the side of the room, as he was the one to execute the last attack. The mood of the group remains cheerful until a shout comes from the back of the group
“Stop cheering!” Kibaou yells, head bowed and teeth grinding “Why’d you do it, huh? Why’d you let Diavel die,” his voice is wavering
Echo takes a moment to process that the player he had heard shatter, heard die, had been Diavel. It was a loss for sure, he had been a good leader. Unfortunately these things happen in war, and in large fights like this. He would have to add the name to his nightly remembrances going forward.
“Admit it, you knew the technique the boss was gonna use. You could have told us,” Kibaou shouts from his position on the floor “Then Diavel would have stood a chance. He wouldn’t have had to die,” he finishes passionately.
Quiet murmurs spread and quickly turn to aggressive accusations. Players calling out that Kirito must have been a beta tester, that he must have cheated, or withheld information maliciously. The accusations move to other people in the group, a witch hunt impending and threatening player safety, as beta testers are once again blamed and pushed to reveal themselves. There is a hush that falls over the group as people look around, wondering if they can trust their neighbor as seeds of doubt are sewn. Beta testers fear what it would mean to be outed, while new players fear being used as cannon fodder.
Talks begin again as Agil and Asuna begin trying to calm the roiling crowd, to get everyone back to the companionable feelings that existed before all of this. It doesn't seem to be working as tensions continue to rise. Nox, Echo and Griffin stand a bit to the side, tossing worried glances to each other. Things seem about to boil over and come to blows when a soft laugh breaks the growing pressure, growing louder and more manic.
“So, you guys think i used to be a beta tester,” eyes shift to the now standing Kirito “It’s not cool to put me in the same class with those noobs” there is a shout of confused outrage but he just keeps going, slowly moving through the stunned group “You heard me. Most of the thousand people who scored a spot in SAO’s beta were rookies. They were so green, they didn't even know how to level up” Echo notices Nox’s shocked and confused expression, her eyes locked on her young friend
“Hell, even you guys are better than they were,” he continues, an air of nonchalance dancing around him as players look on in horror at his words “But me, im nothing like those guys, man. During the beta, i made it to floors that were higher than any of the other testers, that's a fact,” Echo glances to the siblings for confirmation, and Griffin shakes his head minutely with a confused look
“I knew about the boss because I fought tons of monsters, with way more sword skills, on higher floors. I know a bunch of other things, too. More than you can imagine, more than any info broker.” players are now taking steps back, trying to distance themselves and this Maverick of a threat
“W-What the hell” Kibaou stutters “If that's true, then you’re worse than a beta tester, you’re a goddamned cheater! That's what you are,” he seems torn between anger, horror, and grief. The rest of the crowd begin yelling their outrage as well, one person even coining a new term- Beater -that Kirito takes on with a malicious grin
“Alright, you can call me a Beater. Just make sure you don't confuse me with those beta testers anymore.” a billowing coat materializes over his shoulders and settles with a flourish, painting him in an even more imposing light. He struts to the second floor gate, but is stopped by Asuna on the stairs up. The two are too far away for anyone to hear what they are conversing about, so Echo turns back to his party members, scanning for injuries the way he would his brothers after a fight.
“You can stop that Echo, we are alright. You’re the one low on health” Nox grumbles and forces a healing crystal into his hand “You scared the hell out of me when you tanked that hit for me” she glances up at him, hands opening and closing stiffly like she wanted to grab for something. “Thank you, i appreciate it, but know if you ever pull that shit again I will haunt your ass”
“How would you haunt him if you are alive,” Griffin asks, tossing an arm around Echo’s shoulder, grasping onto one of his shoulder guards. The motion makes him realize that Nox wanted to grab him-most likely into a hug if past interactions were any indication-but was respecting his normal aversion to touch.
“Shut up, it doesn't have to make sense, it just has to get the point across” she sasses back at him, and off into another sibling rant the two descend.
The bickering is soothing in the way it lets him know that everything is as it should be for now. They had made it through this battle, and would make it through the next one as well. He chuckles lowly with Griffin on his right, Nox on his left, both still arguing across him, as they move as a unit to the newly opened floor two gate. He doesnt think that there are many other places he would choose to be other than here if he were given the chance, though he does wish that his own brothers could be here to bask in the glow with him
Chapter 5
Summary:
Griffin is a gremlin offscreen, Nox and Echo get to bond a little bit, and everyone almost dies! not in that order (●'◡'●) i have also rediscovered the kaomoji's of my youth, and that's your guys' problem now lol
Notes:
i have been sitting on this for far too long. chapter 6 has been giving me trouble and i honestly forgot i didnt post this chapter yet. life has been....life. since my last post, a close family friend, and boss passed away unexpectedly. My mother's health has been a roller coaster, cut my dad out of my life, i found an amazing job that turned not so amazing and had to leave, and have picked up an apprenticeship. overall....i need a nap lol. but here you go! i will keep pushing at chapter 6 and hopefully it will be kinder to me
enjoy the chapter, i think it should be the final version of it, but i might still go through and revise some stuff
Chapter Text
Dec 21, 2022
“Go left! Go left!” The panicked scream sends Echo into a quick dive to avoid another spout of angry blue flame. Nerius the evil tree thing had been a bit more of a challenge than they had been expecting. The last few attacks to it had brought its health dangerously low, but that brought about its own issues. All of the trees in the small grove that the boss called its lair had all animated to help keep their leafy overlord alive.
Some sort of reflective shield had been giving them the most trouble, as actually hitting the boss had become something of a rarity. They had been fighting this thing longer than any of them would care to admit, and people were starting to slow down with fatigue. Formations had broken some time around when the second health bar had depleted and everyone was just trying to survive at this point. Echo found himself back to back with Griffin once more, utilizing the shield he carried to protect his flank as he continued to charge again and again at the underlings. Griff was great for shielding and you could always count him for support. As he pulled aggro, he caught the flash of silver from Nox’s new strange cleaver like weapon
“For Isengaurd!!!” the scream comes right before the pick end of her weapon catches into the bark of an Elder Treant to his left and drags it to the ground. “Looks like meat's back on the menu boys” the growl sounds over exaggerated and is followed by a manic giggle before the hacking begins and he has to look back to his own fight.
“For the last time Nox,” Malin shouts out behind him “Them knowing about menus implies the existence of orc restaurants and you are not allowed to quote that scene until you accept it!” The two descend into laughter as they continue to dance around Echo in a now familiar routine. The three ebb and flow like the waves on a clear day, powerful, synched, and ready to knock you on your ass the moment you let your guard down.
This had been the norm since that first night in Horunka. These three against Aincrad, with the occasional visit from familiar faces. Asuna and Kirito were there to help them take this boss down just as they had been for the last two. The rest of the players present were not anyone that was memorable. Things had been so difficult as everyone began hurtling towards the end goal now that they had beaten the first obstacle in their way. Echo could only hope that they wouldn't lose steam before the end, this was only the third floor boss afterall.
Switch after switch, the exhaustion is beginning to hit hard as they had been fighting this battle for about 15 minutes. Though they continues to fall into easy and comfortable rhythms, they were all starting to feel the drag. Echo wiped away the perspiration gathering on his brow and couldn't help but feel jealous that the other players didn't seem to have to deal with the same issue. Salt burning his eyes and drawing attention to the black slowly creeping in at the edges make him realize just how little rest any of them had taken over the last few weeks since Illfang was defeated. It had been nonstop clearing, leveling, and mapping for the “Byte Me” party, and glancing at his party members, it was easy to see that it they were all feeling it.
A quick glance at that damned tree, Nerius, showed that there was hope of coming out the other side of this. There was the smallest sliver of health left, they were so close. So close to the end, and yet it seemed as if no one could gain a hit. The overgrown salad seemed to have erected some sort of shield. Any attacks that were directed at the main entity were bounced back, players tanking hits from their party members from misplaced hits to the shield. Rocks, branches, and other dead Treants were fair game and were also launched around the grove by the creature as it fought aggressively through literal death throes.
Things went black for a few moments and Echo came back to himself, laying on the ground with Nox forcing a health potion down his throat, and Griffin standing over him, shield in hand, keeping the two safe for the time being. As the healing potion began to work, sound slowly returned to a world he hadn't even noticed had gone silent. Taking a deep breath and allowing his head to fall back as his health slowly returned to him, a horrific sight greeted him. Nerius the Evil Treant was reared back for a breath attack, wooden cheeks expanded to the point of splintering, bows bent and snapping as the monster’s eyes met his. And then there was nothing but blue flame. It reminded him of home in a way. A Blue light so pure, so bright and unmatched, for just a moment, he was staring too long into the familiar sheen of his General’s lightsaber. The impending heat brought him back to the here and now. A quick glance at his party’s health bars told him that none of them would be walking away from this.
A sheen of bronze streaks overhead, reflecting a brilliant green as Griffin takes up his position before them, Aspis raised in their defense. The flames hit, and the world goes still. Flames meeting bronze in a standstill, then, a shift in the dirt. Griffin’s feet slip back, slowly being pushed back by the bout of infernal flame. Nox is up in an instant, slamming into her brother and bracing him as best as she can, but it is a small shield, and such a daunting force. Their feet continue to slip back, health slowly draining from the flames overflowing the edges of the shield. While the flames licking at them are significantly weaker, they are in constant contact with the siblings, draining the last bit of life that they had been hanging onto.
A third body slams into their huddle as the party becomes whole behind that small bronze disk, shining like a sun. HP is dripping away, but they are no longer sliding. Griffin looks to them both with a nod, and together, they take a step. And then another. Screaming as they push back against the attack that has seemed to go on forever, they start making some headway. Step by agonizing step, health point by health point, the shield flashing as it’s durability is brought to the brink, finally, it happens. With a crack of the sound barrier, the shield shatters, and the attack doesn't end, but rather is reflected in the same way the bastardized treebeard has been reflecting their own attacks.
Flames engulf the branches in brilliant blue flame as it screams. The last of its health is gone in a flash and the husk of the tree remains for a few long seconds, empty eye sockets staring accusingly at them before being claimed by flame and crumbling to ash. All three crumble to the ground in a heap, red flashing in the top left of their view, and panicked beeping telling them that they are all in a bad way, but as the sparkly banner spouting congratulations appears, none of them can find it in them to care. All three getting an item drop window, accept it quickly after reading it, and looking at each other with tired but victorious grins
“Holy shit, we did it” Griffin breaths out, looking more than a little worse for wear
“We did” Echo confirms with a strong grasp to Griff’s shoulder, lending physical support as if to also remind himself that they were in fact there and alive after such an encounter.
“Can you imagine how much it would have sucked to die right before Christmas? That would have been lame,” Nox giggles under her breath, but it leads Griff to stiffening and slowly turning to face her
“Excuse me?”
“What?”
“What do you mean, ‘Die right before Christmas’” Griffin has a look bordering on panic developing at Mach speeds across his face.
“Uh, its the 21st. So like, its ya know, right before Christmas,” Nox seems confused and awkward in the answer, clearly not seeing the issue
“What’s Christmas?” Echo obviously is also not seeing the problem
Going completely white, their tank begins to sputter “What's Christmas? I mean, its- I don't- almost” Nox had described the look as blue screening or ‘404 Griffin not found’ the last few times he had sported a similar look, but none had been quite this profound. The look persisted for longer than normal, before he snapped out of it with a concerning intensity “Give me all your Cor” It wasn't a question, his face cold and hard as stone
Nox, who had been checking her inventory turns with a befuddled look “And why would we just hand it all over?”
“Just do it, please? It would mean a lot to me,” The resulting staring contest was more than a little intense. Nox’s gaze searching Griffin’s wide pleading eyes. In the drawing silence, it looked like Griff was about to give in, before Nox crumbled.
“Ugggh, fine! You know I hate it when you pull out The Eyes ” She runs a hand down her face and meets Echo’s amber stare “We are better off just complying,” she turns an aggressive point to her sibling “I am keeping at least 200 Cor for snacks and lodging! Who knows what you are up to and when you will be done,”
The transfer is quick and once Echo transfers his Cor to Griff, it totals at about 20,000 Cor. Not any grand amount, but the group had been regularly updating and maintaining their equipment while also paying room rent. They had been renting the second floor of a house in Tolbana from a farmer. He was kind enough to charge them only 80 Cor a night. Their equipment costs is what had really been running up their expenses. With as often as they were dungeon diving, they were replacing or repairing equipment on an almost daily basis, and buying healing crystals at an egregious rate. It had taken them a long time to gain the 20,000 that they tentatively left in Griffin’s manic hands.
No sooner had all of the Cor been successfully transferred, was he in a dead sprint out of the boss room and into the woods of floor 3. The two remaining members of the party watched him go warily, only pulled from their thoughts as the sound of the next floor opening rings through the grotto.
Echo shrugs in Nox’s direction and motions to the newly open gateway to 4. “It makes sense that we keep advancing while he is doing whatever it is he has planned”
Nox smiles and moves past him “from what i remember, 4 was a dust bowl. All canyons and sand. It is my least favorite floor. I don’t like sand,” a strange look enters her eyes, and Echo feels a little hesitant “Its coarse and rough and irritating, and it gets everywhere” The look on her face is expectant and joyful, and He cant help but feel that he is missing something. Feeling compelled to say something he responds
“I'm not a fan either. It used to settle into the cracks and joints of my plastoid” The blank and confused blink he got for his effort further clues Echo in that he has missed something.
“Oh,” Nox shuffles a bit awkwardly “Yeah, i can see how that would be annoying,” she turns and quickly moves through the gateway to the fourth floor and He follows behind, feeling just as awkward and realizing that Griffin’s constant stream of chatter filled a lot more of the silence in the party than he had originally realized.
Stepping into the bright daylight caused most players to shield their eyes for just a second. Echo took a moment, face turned skyward, to soak in the sun after spending so long in the perpetual twilight of the floor 3 woods. Soft splashing, the gentle lapping of waves on a sandy shore filled the air. With a final deep breath of sunlight, his eyes fall to the luscious greenery draping itself over the ground, and up the sheer cliffs surrounding them.
A large tree stands in the middle of the roughly circular clearing. The sound of the gentle waves echoes gently through the cavernous walls, coming from a path leading down a small canyon. Hoots and hollers fill the air as the clearing group rushes to explore the new area. A few pause in confusion, and his thoughts go back to the strange sand conversation from just a few minutes prior. He turns to see a befuddled look upon his party member’s face as she looks around in concern and maybe a touch of wonder.
“It was supposed to be a desert” she mutters under her breath, looking at him with a shrug, seeming lost on what to do now that the terrain was so vastly different from what she was expecting.
Distantly noting that Kirito and Asuna were already booking it down the path with strange contraptions they appeared to be trying to inflate, most of his focus remains on Nox and the people in their direct vicinity. While many took the time to rest and celebrate in small groups now that the boss of 3 had been defeated, there were a few who were looking around for anything useful. Many of those who were looking began to gravitate towards the tree, and this is what led him to make the connection that the strange things were growing from the tree, and appeared to be an inflatable floatation device. They were far from even the basic devices that any nautical transport had back with the GAR. These don't even auto inflate, if the huffing and puffing of players was any indication as they worked to manually inflate them.
Nox shifted uncomfortably on her feet, and he noticed that she placed most of her weight on her right leg more often than not. He remembered hearing General Skywalker talk a bit about sports and how athletes would sometimes favor a side. Nox and Griffin had both alluded to competitions of sorts, and there hadn't been any visible lasting injuries so far with the group, so that seemed to make the most sense. Just another thing to file away about his teammates. He wondered if they would ever get to a point where they would share more about themselves outside of the banter and strange world they found themselves in. They both seemed to know everything there was to know about his past, though Nox still rolled her eyes anytime it was mentioned. Her tone said that she was just humoring Griffin’s insistence that he was a character from some popular media.
Looking around once more, it became increasingly clear that their next move should be to follow the path to the water, and see where it leads. Grabbing two rings, he began walking the path. It took him a few moments to register that for the first time, Nox was not walking alongside him, but rather behind him. Almost as if keeping him as a shield between her and the encroaching sound of waves. It was more than a little out of character for his rather brash friend, and his stomach stirred at the blatant show of discomfort.
Turning to face her, everything seemed wrong. Nox’s shoulders were slumped, her head tilted downward, and her arms were crossed at her stomach. It was rather strange to see. Even when processing grief, or in the terror of battle, she always had her shoulders square, chin up, and determination in her eyes. Something was very wrong indeed.
“Nox-” he started, just as they reached the water, and the first of the waves brushed the toe of his boot
“ Ican’tswim ” the words are pushed out in a single breath, and her eyes still don't meet his. Feet shuffle and her weight shifts in that peculiar way again.
There is a moment of silence as the two stare at each other for a prolonged period before he lets out a confused “O-kay?”
There is another pause “Okay? It's not okay! We are in a water-based level and I can't even navigate it” she cries out, distraught at his seeming dismissal of her issue.
Realizing his mistake quickly, his eyes go wide and he holds his hands up, and subsequently the swim rings, in a peaceful gesture “Oh, no, I didn't mean anything negative by it. I just mean that limitations are ok. It's really not a big deal,”
“It feels like a big deal! I mean, I'm honestly terrified! I don't know what I'm doing and this could be it for me. Washing out, no pun intended, on floor 4 like some sort of-of noob” her arms are no longer around her, and are now waving erratically as if to punctuate her point. “I mean, how lame is that? Held up by a little water after all of the work we have put in. All the big talk of making it through for the other players,” She has begun pacing the small section of beach, and her breathing is quickening to concerning degrees. “And I can't. I just can't. It’s not, I mean, I just- can't” The signs of an impending panic attack are like a blaring horn, and Echo knows he has to ground her before she catastrophizes herself to oblivion and back.
Placing down the swim rings, he gently grabs her wrists and meets her eyes, stopping her pacing with a soft smile “Hey, Nox. Can we take a second to breathe together?” He softly places one of her hands on his chest and takes a dramatic breath in so that she can feel the expansion of his lungs. When he lets out the breath, slow and methodical, it is obvious that she has seen through his ruse, and decided to go along with it anyway. Her unimpressed look is overshadowed by the fact that she has begun breathing in time with him, and her previously taut shoulders have relaxed just a bit.
“That’s it,” his encouragements are met with more begrudging looks “Udesii, good” with their breathing synced, and frayed nerves calming down she takes a moment to center herself, eyes locking with his.
“It just never came up, ya know,” He nods, knowing that this is something she has to get through at her own pace. “I was a figure skater, and my parents were so caught up in it all. It was all conditioning, and stretching. Dance practices and long haul skating sessions. Swimming just….wasn't on the table. And then the next thing I know, I’m a teenager, and the attack, and it just became an even bigger thing. I know I could learn,” closing her eyes tight for a moment with a shuddering breath, it's obvious that the whole thing has knocked her off kilter and she is needing to recenter once more “I know that I could learn. But after everything happened I found other things I was good at, things that were in my comfort zone. It was just easier, and didn't seem important,” the words come out soft, regretful, and full of shame.
“I have brothers,” Echo starts kind of stiffly. He was always a little unsure how to interact with nat-borns, but his time with Phoenix and Griffin had improved it at least a bit. “We were supposed to do this training course, but none of us could figure out how to work together. We all had strengths and weaknesses, and through our stubbornness, we brought out the worst in each other. Again and again we failed, bigger mistakes, with more ridiculously bad outcomes with every attempt. Blaming everyone else on the squad for their slip ups, or weakness, instead of acknowledging our own, and uplifting their strengths. It took the threat of….well, that doesn't matter. The point is, we had to learn to trust in our strengths, and lean on our squad to overcome our weaknesses” Sunset eyes bore into cool green with a burning intensity, bringing his next words into stark focus and cementing their importance
“Lean on me”
The simple statement held a conviction that would make anyone feel like they could take on any challenge. The intensity of a single statement was enough to push away the fear, at least for now, and Nox found herself nodding shakily.
“Okay”
The early bright afternoon sunshine had turned into a warm golden glow in the hours it took the beach to clear out of players. Word had spread quickly of the newly open floor, and people had flocked to the opening area in droves, each grabbing a ring and moving to the water, making for the new town. The goal had been to wait for most of the crowds to move on to keep too many people from seeing as Nox worked through the fear.
Echo’s idea was simple, and extremely effective. He had fashioned a makeshift bottom to the swim ring, keeping it a bit more enclosed. She would sit in it, while he swam and towed her along.
“So, kind of like a lazy river, but you will be with me the whole time?” she asked as he set the ring in the water, and slung a rope over his bare shoulder that was tied to it
“I'm not entirely sure what that means, but if its something you are familiar with and comfortable with, all the better”
Nodding slightly while avoiding looking too long at his exposed torso “yeah, its a thing from like water parks. Ma-I mean Griffin took me once when I was 17. I wasnt able to do much, but we were able to relax in this contained waterway. Super shallow so the not being able to swim thing wasnt as big of a deal. And you sit in the tube and it brings you round and round with the current. We were in it for hours” she smiles to herself.
“It sounds like a good memory. Hold onto that, and know that it will be just as safe. I’ve got you. I will be right here the entire time”
Wading into the water to about knee height, she settles herself into the tube and feels more than a little ridiculous as he tugs them deeper in. Her body begins to tense as the water reaches his hips, and he moves to swim with the current. Taking deep breaths, she tries desperately to focus on the memory of a silly summer day with her brother. It doesnt take all of the anxiety or fear away but at least it is a start. When the emotions get too big, she turns attention to Echo gliding through the water, pulling her closer to the safety of land and the next town.
His form cut through the current effortlessly, as if this was something he did every day. The setting sun reflected a brilliant gold on the water, making it look as though he were Adonis swimming in ambrosia. He really was a vision. Tearing her eyes away she tries to focus on something that wont send her spiraling again, either into anxiety, or into emotions and thoughts she was not giving names to at this point.
There is a point where there is a small section of rapids that nearly upend the swim ring Nox is precariously perched on, but just as he had promised, Echo is right there to provide stability, and a comforting hand to hold. Its only a few minutes after that, that the city comes into view, and Echo tugs her ashore, hardly seeming winded. Reaching out a hand once again when they reach shallow water, he all but lifts her out of the tube with the strength he pulls her up with. She nearly stumbles after not being properly upright for the better part of a half hour.
The final vestiges of sunlight cast the world into glowing relief around them. Blues and purples mixing with vibrant pinks, golds, oranges and reds as the sun cast out its last few rays. The white marble city that had been nothing impressive in the beta was now alight in the growing twilight, painted all the colours of the sky and standing proud against the lake. Small gondolas traversed waterways and the whole place held a beauty, a magic, neither had seen before. So bewitched were they, neither noticed that their hands were still clasped in the dying light of day.
Dec 24, 2022
It had been an uneventful few days. They had been moving through the city doing small odd jobs, and occasionally venturing out to explore a bit. There was a forest to the Southeast that provided ample opportunity to hunt and gather resources to sell once they were back in town. It was a nice slow down from the ruthless pace they had placed on themselves since the clearing of floor 1.
As it was, they were taking a small break from another fetch quest in the city. Sat on a bench with various foods spread between them. They had grown more comfortable with each other in the last few days working alone together. There had always been trust, and the comfort within teammates, but this was different. They were more aware of each other in a personal way, rather than just friendly professionalism. It was…nice.
At least it was until a message popped on both of their UI access panels that only contained coordinates
What's going on Griff? Are you ok?? -Phoenix |
No. Come Quick -Griffin |