Virtual Reality||Sword Art Online

|Labyrinth of Blood|pt.1

"Hmmm, maybe it's a good thing the rope's almost at it's end." Groaned Max, as she unwillingly walked along next to Heidi, Remi and Nelson a few paces away.

"... At least we mapped a good amount?" Heidi replied, wiping sweat off of her brow- this Floor was unflatteringly hot. It didn't help that the whole floor's fields, and Labyrinth was a maze, and riddled with dangerous traps and trip-wires. The monsters were also dreafully strong, and hard to defeat; so far, floor 25 was nothing but a bother.

"Pft, not after we ran into that trigger! Man, I thought those Gallywod frogs would never stop coming!" Max snorted, huffing.

It was a humid sort of day- making everybody sticky and in a bad mood. Even the ever-so even tempered Nelson seemed to be in bad spirits, which surprised Heidi. They had been trapped in SAO for months now, seeing as it was Feburary. Heidi still feelt a bit of grief, knowing that she missed the chance to travel back to her parent's house, for Christmas. She rarely saw them in the first place. But, Heidi was able to spend it with her friends, merrily exchanging presents, and singing songs on the bright, sunny morning. Nelson had bunked with them that night, under Heidi's insitance; she didn't want him feeling lonely, and depressed on a day for joy, and celebration. Max, and Remi happily agreed (to Heidi's surprise) agreeing with Heidi's logic. They even placed a small evergreen tree in the hotel room. The presents were all very nice ones- in fact, Heidi was wearing the small key necklace Nelson had given her at that very moment. It was quite special to her.

"Max, don't remind me!" Piped up Eren, the lanky blonde boy with turquoise eyes, that had joined the guild not so long ago.

Heidi still was awaiting to hear from Max how they met, (everytime the question came up, Max would blush, and be too flustered to respond) but ever since January, he had been a valuable part of the team. Heidi quite liked him actually; he was funnily sarcastic, and good-natured, though a bit flirtatious, (Heidi, Max and Remi had been hit on a few times, though in a half-joking matter) which made Nelson a bit wary around him. (Especially when he hit on Heidi, for some strange reason)

"The group in the back, less chatting more walking!" Boomed a stern voice from ahead. It was Kibaou.

Heidi rolled her eyes, as Nelson and Remi shuffled forward faster, catching up to their peers.

"Talk about a buzz kill." Remi muttered, shaking her head, red pigtails swaying. Her brow was lined with sweat, and she seemed dead-tired.

"Everyone knows he's had a stick up his ass since floor one." Muttered Nelson, rolling his eyes. He seemed to be recalling the insults Kibaou had spat towards Kirito and Heidi, after they had beat the boss. They still stung. But now-a-days members were needed for the Aincrad Liberation Corp, (the so-called "Front Lines" ) so Heidi and the guild was accepted in to help. Kirito, however was nowhere to be found; he crossed Heidi's mind from time to time. She still couldn't forget him from the first day.

"Don't need to tell me twice, Nellie." Max snickered, a wry grin spreading across her cheeks.

Nelson replied with a light punch to Max's shoulder- not enough to dwindle her HP, but enough to give her the unpleasent sensation that came with that amount of force.

Heidi rolled her eyes, stifling a sigh. She continued on, taking care not to step into the wet, and icky mud. Neslon's and Max's tactics tended to get old, when one was going through a hot, sticky dungeon with a bunch of smelly men. It accurred to her, that herself, Max and Remi were the only females within the huge party. She raised an eyebrow, looking forward, squinting at the party. It was quite weird, in her mind.

Suddenly the whole group stopped, making Heidi run into the red-haired man in front of her, with an "Oof!" Rubbing her nose, she looked forward, with a slight scowl. "What's going-"