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Hey, Familia of the Closet! How are you doing during the pandemic? Leave in the comments on how you're doing. Also, leave your opinion on this title. I asked my friend for advice on the chapter title (She's read the whole book so far). So I asked her, and she just up and said, "The Legend's Homecoming." I was just like, "That may have been the most badass thing you've ever said." Lol. Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter of The Gunpowder Blade. Love you all so much! <3
-Seijirou
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(Tsuboi)
"Link Start"
My panicked face turned to an angered one.
"There's no fucking way." I pulled my leg back and kicked the door in. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. "K-Ka..." I stuttered. "Kayaba..." The name slipped out of my mouth. In the room were 4 people; Kazuto, Asada, and Suguha were laid on tables with NerveGears on; and Akihiko Kayaba, the creator of Sword Art Online. He was sitting next to a monitor in the back of the room.
"Ah, Tsuboi Ryotarou. Nice of you to join us. Please, put down your weapon and choose a table." Kayaba pulled out a Government issue M1911 Colt handgun from his coat pocket and aimed it at me. I snarled, but walked to the table nearest to me and placed my sword on the floor. "Please, hand me your cellphone." I did as I was told. I sat down on the table and waited for instructions. "I'm gonna need you to do something for me."
"What?" I growled.
"So much hostility. Even The Black Swordsman didn't have this much. He practically went without a fight. Then again, you are The Klein of the Fuurinkazan." He spoke slyly. Every word that came out of his mouth made me want to snap his neck even more.
"What do you want?" I growled once more.
"I need you to call the rest of your friends. Get them to come to this place. And also choose a table. And make sure to tell them that if any of them contacts the authorities, I will put a bullet in each one of your heads." Kayaba ordered. I took my phone back from him and dialed the group chat. It rang for about 30 seconds.
"Hello?"
Everyone spoke at one time.
"Hey."
"Klein, what's up?"
"I need you all to do something for me."
"What?"
"I'm gonna send coordinates. I need you to go to them."
"Why? Isn't that all the way up in the Kanto Mountains?"
"I can't answer your questions. All I can say is that if you call the cops, Kirito, Suguha, Asada, and I will all die."
"What?! What's going on?"
"Just go to the coordinates."
I hung up. Kayaba took the phone from me and picked up my sword. He walked over to the desk and set the two objects down.
"Now, lay down flat." He ordered. I shook my head, ashamed that I was putting up with this. But it's for Kazuto, Asada... and Suguha. I laid down on the table and waited for the next instructions. Kayaba walked over with what seemed to be a NerveGear, but something was different. It was wireless, and more futuristic-looking.
"What the hell is that?" I asked in a confused manner. Kayaba had a fortuitous grin on his face.
"This, my friend, is the NerveGear 2.0. I used the last of my fortune to create this one prototype. And you are going to be my Guinea Pig." He grinned. I was speechless. I was his test subject, and I couldn't do anything about it. Damn it. Kayaba slid the NerveGear 2.0 onto my head and turned it on. "Now, relax, close your eyes, and you know the rest."
"Goddamn murderer," I muttered while closing my eyes. "Link start."
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My avatar had generated in the all-too-familiar world of Aincrad. I looked around the plaza of the Town of Beginnings. It was empty. I took a deep breath and opened my Menu, checking my friends list first. There were a few names. Kirito, Sinon, and Leafa. I sighed in relief. Then I turned to my items list. I scrolled until I found my signature Katana, "Karakurenai," from my first playthrough.
"I guess all my items and stats are still existent. I thought every single server was wiped." I spoke to myself. Suddenly, a voice rang out in the air.
"Tsuboi, or should I say Klein. All but one server was wiped. The one server you're on now is the one that survived. And yes, all players were deleted with the other servers. But I made sure to make copies of all the strongest players. Kirito, the Black Swordsman. Asuna, the Lightning Flash. Klein, the Samurai. Agil, the Axeman. Lisbeth, the Blacksmith. And Silica, the Dragon Tamer." The voice, who suspiciously sounded like Kayaba, explained.
"That doesn't explain Sinon. And Leafa. What about them?" I called.
"Easy. For Leafa, I simply hacked into Rekt Progress's server and copied her ID over to mine. And for Sinon. I also hacked Zaskar and copied her ID. It's not hard. At least, once you figure out how." He spoke.
"Why not just take Sinon's avatar from ALO?" I asked, choosing to be the Devil's Advocate.
"Because I want a variety. It's not fun if you only have characters from two games." He replied. I scoffed in total disregard for my surroundings. I swung around and saw a horde of goblins running in my direction. I equipped my katana and unsheathed it. I slashed the first goblin, not using any sword skill. Then I stabbed the next, and the next, and the one after that. I slashed and stabbed, goblin after goblin, like a member of the Laughing Coffin. I was back in the game of death. And I need to find my friends. Before they die.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!" I screamed. Slaughtering the monsters in my vision.
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(Kazuto)
"Ugh, what the fuck?" I muttered, trying to grasp my surroundings. I fell from the sky, similar to what happened in Alfheim. I stood up, brushing off my shirt and pants. "Wait..."
"Welcome back..." A voice rang out. "Hero."
"Kayaba." I snarled.
"Wow, this is it." Kayaba chuckled slightly. "I never thought I'd actually see that clad-black build again! What a sight to behold." I turned around, I was in the field not far from the Town of Beginnings. I opened my menu and scrolled through my items list. All my items from my previous playthrough were still there. I checked my skills list. All of my skills as well. I checked my friends list. Asuna, Klein, Lisbeth, Silica, Agil, and two new ones. Leafa... and Sinon.
"Asada..." I whispered. I clicked the button to reveal her location. It loaded for a few seconds before jumping to a large building in the town of beginnings. "The Monument of Swordsmen." I turned to the town and began sprinting. I heard a squeal from behind me. I slammed my feet into the ground to stop, then turned. Boars and Dire Wolves stood on the pathway. I opened my menu, selected my Elucidator, then closed my menu. After a couple of seconds. I unsheathed it. The ring of the metal was enough to make a man climax. But not this man! I ran at the beasts, screaming bloody murder. They were right. I did miss this. The excitement. The feeling. The Risk. This is what I lived for.
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(Asada)
I pushed myself off the cold, polished obsidian floor.
"Ow." I rubbed my head. "Where am I?" I looked around the room I was in. It was dark, all except the shine of the sun, reflecting off a big black wall in front of me. I walked towards it and scanned the words engraved onto it. My eyes stopped on a name under floor 75. "Kirito." I thought for a minute then attempted to open my menu. It didn't open. I began panicking. Then I tried my other hand. "Right, not an American game." I looked through the options, of which one was a friends list. I clicked on it, scanning the contents. "Asuna, Klein, Lisbeth, Silica, Agil, Leafa... Kirito." I clicked the "Reveal location" button and waited until the system loaded. It zoomed in on a field not far from the Town of Beginnings. Which is what the place I was in was called.
"Welcome, to Sword Art Online..." An ominous voice rang throughout the clad-black building. "Sinon."
"What the hell?" I looked around, puzzled.
"You know who I am. It's Akihiko Kayaba. I'm the one who put you in there. And I'm the one that trapped thousands all those years ago." Kayaba explained. "Including your precious Kirigaya. I wonder, He and Asuna were inseparable. Why are you two all lovey-dovey?"
"Asuna left. She had to. I was no one's fault." I snapped.
"No." He paused. "You're wrong."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"It's your fault. You pulled them apart. You loved him, even when you couldn't. You. You are the reason they are not together today." He mocked.
"No, no, no. Shut up!" I fell to my knees, holding my hands over my ears. But that didn't stop it. His voice rang through my head like a bell, ringing in the early morning.
"Your... Fault..." He said, over and over again. Enough to make someone lose their mind. Suddenly, the doors to the building crashed open. The dust flying around mixed with the sunlight blinded me. A man dressed in all black stood in the doorway. He ran towards me, although it seemed like he was in slo-mo. He yelled something, like a scene from a drama flick.
"Asada!"
"Kazuto?"
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(Suguha)
The sound of wind flew throughout my head. I opened my eyes, consuming all the breathtaking scenery. Then I looked down. I was in freefall. What seemed like 500 feet. I tried to fly, but couldn't.
"Shit!" I yelled. I looked around and saw a small town to the south. Using muscle memory, I leaned forward and began soaring across the sky in the direction of the town. I was picking up speed but started laughing. This was way more fun than flying in Alfheim. Before long, I was just short of the town. I leaned back into a star shape to begin falling vertically. I noticed a big black building on one side of a plaza, the doors were wide open. Then I noticed a wagon of hay on the other side of the plaza. "There's my landing spot." I leaned in the direction of the wagon and braced for impact. I landed perfectly in the pile. I hopped out and looked around. The town was much bigger now that I was in it. My first instinct was to open my player window, and I did. I looked kinda like the one from Alfheim, but less traditional. It was white and bland. I noticed a couple of options called "Friends List" and "Items List."
"I wonder..." I opened the items list and scrolled through it. All of my items from Alfheim were there. "What the hell?" I checked my friends list and saw names. Asuna, Klein, Lisbeth, Silica, Agil, Sinon, and Kirito. "Dammit." I clicked on a button next to Kirito's name and waited for the buffering symbol to disperse. It loaded, showing me his location. Which was right in front of me. I looked up and saw the black building. Something popped into the corner of my peripheral. It said, "Welcome to the Town of Beginnings." I looked back at the building and began walking towards it.
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(Kazuto)
"Asada!" I ran into the Monument of Swordsmen, noticing Sinon on her knees in the middle of the room. She shot her head up and saw me. She just sat there, half crying, half smiling.
"Ka... zu... to?" She shuddered. I knelt in front of her and pulled her into a hug. She didn't hug back for a few seconds but then threw her arms around me. She squeezed me tighter than leather pants.
"I'm here. It's okay." I brushed my hand over her head. I noticed that she had her GGO avatar. I leaned back and tilted her head up to mine. Her tears glistened across her graceful, pale skin. I grinned and shifted my mouth onto hers, locking in with passion. I missed this, I missed it so much. I could feel her smile turn into a grin as she began kissing with force. The kiss started as gentle and sweet, then became strong and more passionate. Sinon backed away slightly, a string of saliva still connecting us. "I love you." I placed my hand on her cheek. She placed her hand on mine.
"I love you too." She said back.
"Kazuto, are you-" I heard a familiar voice yell from behind me. I swung my head around.
"Sugu?" I asked. Her ALO avatar, Leafa, stood in the doorway.
"Kazuto, Asada, thank god!" She ran over and threw her arms around both of us. She shot her head up and looked around. "Where's Klein? Kayaba was booting him up just as I entered."
"I don't know. I haven't seen him." I opened my menu and clicked the "Reveal location" button next to his avatar in my friends list. "He's half-a-kilometer east. In the plains." Leafa stood up and opened her menu, equipping her Tempest Saber.
"Let's go get him." She said sternly. I grinned slightly. I am so gonna regret this, but I just gotta know.
"You like him, don't you?" I braced for a punch, but none came.
"Yeah. So what if I do?" She asked shamelessly. I was shocked.
"I mean, there's a pretty big age difference," I said.
"And? I'm 18. I'm of age." She shot back.
"Nevermind. I'm just happy that Klein finally has someone. Someone that genuinely likes him." I spoke softly, thinking back to Tsuboi's ex, who treated him like he was a piece of shit.
"Yeah..." Leafa paused. "Me too." Sinon stood up and brushed her exposed knees. I found myself staring at her virtual body. She noticed and blushed. "Ugh, god, bro. Quit being a raging perv!" I shook my head as if I was breaking out of a trance.
"Wha-what?" I tried to play it off. Leafa slugged me in the arm, clearly a full-force punch. "Ah! What the hell!"
"C'mon. Let's just go." Leafa walked towards the door. "Fucking perv."
"What was that?" I asked. I genuinely didn't hear what she said.
"Nevermind." She laughed. Sinon held her hand out. I put my hand in hers. She pulled me off the floor.
"Ready?" I gestured. She smiled and nodded. We walked out of the building. I looked at the sky. "Hang on, bro. We're coming."
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(Asuna)
I looked around the rural woods surrounding us. Andrew was in the driver's seat, maneuvering the narrow, treacherous trail.
"Jesus, why are we going here again? It's not like his call sounded very legit." Andrew complained. I laughed softly.
"Quit whining, you baby. A friend asked something of us. And we need to comply." I explained. Enki leaned into the front, he was in the middle of the three back seats, between Rika and Keiko.
"I'm not friends with them, so why am I here?" He asked.
"Because you wouldn't let me go on my own," I replied.
"Still..." He whined. I laughed and pushed him softly back into his seat. I turned back forwards and noticed a building in the near distance. I tapped Andrew's shoulder.
"That's it," I said. He nodded and pulled into the small parking lot. He shut off the car and turned to us.
"We don't know who or what is in there. So stay together and be careful." He said, then got out of the car. We all followed. Enki walked over to me and shot me a look of concern. He's warming up to them, including Kazuto, I can tell. We walked into the decrepit building and noticed the basement door cracked open.
"You do watch horror movies, right?" Keiko asked, clearly terrified.
"Yes, but we have no choice," I said, then started walking down the stairs. The others reluctantly followed. I reached the bottom. "Here we go." I walked over to the door on the other side of the pitch-black basement. I placed my finger over my lips to signify that we need to be quiet. I slowly opened the door and had a short of breath. "Oh my god..."
"Ah, finally. You're all here." Kayaba said. We all shuffled into the room. Kazuto, Asada, Suguha, and Tsuboi were lying on the metal tables with NerveGears on. My heart sank. There's no way. They couldn't be back there. No way in hell.
"Son of a bitch..." Andrew scoffed. "Akihiko-fucking-Kayaba."
"Glad you remember me." He smiled. His eyes then landed on Enki. "New blood? What's your name?"
"Enki. Enki Fumeiyona." Enki put on a tough face to cover his fear.
"Glad you could join us, Enki. I guess we'll need to get you an avatar set up. Please pick a table." Kayaba gestured to the 6 unoccupied tables in the room. He chose the one next to Tsuboi. Kayaba took one of many NerveGears sitting on the floor and placed it on Enki's head. "Just lie down and wait for further instructions." Kayaba pointed to the rest of us. We all walked over to our own tables and waited for our NerveGears. Once we all got one, he ordered us to lie down. "Now, Enki, close your eyes and say, 'Link Start'." Enki did as he was told.
"Link Start." He said. Kayaba turned to the rest of us.
"Lie down, and you know the rest." He ordered. We lied down and all closed our eyes. A tear escaped my eye and slid down my cheek.
"Link Start."
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(Kazuto)
We walked swiftly through the archway leading in and out of town. Suddenly, a notification popped up on all of our peripherals. It read, "New Players Incoming!" An avatar had generated in front of us. It looked like the male version of Asuna. He looked at us.
"Are you Kazuto? Or Kirito, sorry." The man asked.
"Yes. And you?" I returned.
"It's Enki." He said. Suddenly, four more players had generated. I could feel tears attempting to escape when noticed who they were. Asuna looked around and noticed me. She began crying and jumped at me, turning the sudden attack into a hug.
"I'm so glad you're okay." She cried. She then realized that Sinon was right next to me. She quickly let me go. "Sorry."
"No reason to be," I reassured her. Suddenly, Kayaba's voice rang through the air.
"Hello, and welcome, players. For some of you, this is new. So please listen up. You all must venture to the 100th floor and defeat the boss awaiting you. All floors are unlocked, but you must either defeat or get past the floor bosses to proceed. And as the last SAO run went, if you die in-game, you die in real life. Now, Enki, Sinon, you two will need weapons. From the sky fell the "Shekinah Light Bow" from ALO, and a Greatsword that looked somewhat like General Eugene's "Demonic Sword Gram." They floated above the ground like an eagle. Sinon grabbed the bow while Enki grabbed the Greatsword. He must have been generated with an STR/CHA build. Sinon pulled the string on her bow back and let it go, testing it. Enki stepped back and swung the sword a couple of times. He almost looked like a pro. Almost.
"Hey, does the sword have a name?" Klein asked. Enki looked at the sword and clicked the "Magnifying Glass" icon. An alert popped up in front of him. A prompt to name the unique blade. He thought for a few moments, then turned to me.
"From what I've heard, you were the hero of this game. I'm probably only gonna use this sword once, so might as well give it the best name I can think of. How about, 'The Legend's Homecoming'?" Enki explained. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. A small, unnoticeable tear escaped my eye.
"I think that's a brilliant name." I smiled. He grinned and typed it into the bar provided on the prompt. It loaded for a couple of seconds before showing him the weapons stats. I peeked over his shoulder. My jaw dropped. "Holy shit!"
"Wh-what?" He asked. I unsheathed my Elucidator and opened its stats.
"That sword is no-joke just a little bit under my DPS! Having that weapon as your starting weapon is a gift. Well, you're starting at level 75 which is the average level for the players once they beat the game last run. So I think you're pretty set for this." I ranted. Enki was astonished at my knowledge of the game, but he didn't say anything. I sheathed my blade, and Enki did the same. His sword rested on a carbon steel hook wrapped in leather. It was strapped across his body diagonally. Sinon put her bow on its hook, which was located on her back, connected to a strap.
"Oh, Kazuto. A little gift, from me to you." Kayaba spoke suddenly. Just then, a beaming cyan light gleamed in the sky. I floated down to the ground with grace. I felt a tear begin to slide down my cheek.
"Is that..." Lisbeth covered her mouth.
"The sword you made me," I said, taking it up and sheathing it on my back.
"Ready to go?" Leafa piped in. She was grinning wider than the rest of us. But it was clear she was the most fearful. I need to do this. We need to do this. We can't lose.
"Ready!" We all shouted in tandem.
"Then let's go!"
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Hey, Familia of the Closet! I'm am deeply sorry for not uploading this sooner. I was about a third of the way done before the writer's block kicked in. I couldn't think of anything to add for months. But here it is! No more waiting. Well, you'll need to wait for another chapter. But you know what I mean. Enjoy, because I worked really, really hard on this chapter. It's the longest chapter yet, topping out at 3784 words. But anyway, thank you so much for reading. I love you all so much<3
-Seijirou
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