//------------------------------// // Episode 25 - Angry Voices and a Lullaby // Story: EQG: Sword Art Online - Aincrad // by Mindrop //------------------------------// Floor 56 March 6 Bladescape was following Backbreaker at the head of their party through a narrow mountain valley. Floor 56 was an arid, dry Floor which was carpeted in short, tough grasses in between the rocks. The area they were at had become mountainous rather than the more open plains of the rest of the map. Thankfully, the Floor was just dry, rocky, and harsh, and not dusty, sandy, or extremely hot. The sweltering deserts and choking dust storm floors were unbearable. This was at least something they could handle. Ahead of them was the largest boss they had ever faced: The GeoCrawler. It was an armored, two legged, horned lizard with an elongated body like a serpent. The narrow valley made it very difficult to fight directly, and flanking it would be nearly impossible. The reports were understated. Fuurinkazan, The Wondercolts, and Kirito were scouting the first contact with the boss, with Klein watching and planning their attack. It was three strong parties moving forward to get an idea of the weaknesses of the boss and its attack patterns. They all were armed with poisons and paralyzing agents. In the opening minutes of the attack, Backbreaker, Joltron, Diemond, and Harry One were left blocking the mouth and horns. The rest of the party tried to flank it while the tanks had its attention locked down, but the valley wasn’t wide enough. The armor on its body was also too strong for even piercing weapons to penetrate, and they couldn’t get at its underbelly. “Fall Back!” Klein ordered after a while of one failure after another. “We've learned enough!” The Tanks fell back in a staggered line. One would block, letting the others retreat before the next tank set up behind them and took the boss' attention. They switched back and forth until the GeoCrawler ignored them, done with the “fight.” They held the field boss meeting that afternoon. All of the major guilds had representatives or parties in attendance. The Wondercolts had their whole group there, but most of them would not be in the raid. Klein started the meeting. "Well, for starters, it is a giant, armored, lizard, snake, thingy." Knightstar stepped forward. "It is an armored bipes." "A what?" Klein asked. "Bipes. Classification: Animalia, Chordata, Reptilia, Squamata, Amphisbaenia, Bipedidate, Bipes." Knightstar stopped and then she blushed. "Sorry. There are only three species in a remote part of the world. I guess that means it wouldn't be common knowledge." “Well, whatever it is called, we didn’t find any weaknesses,” Klein stated. “But Kirito and I were thinking of a way to distract it so we could maneuver around to the sides and get under the armor." Bladescape’s palm slammed into her forehead as she heard the name. “Grand Meaty Meat Plan.” A-class meat would be used to bait it and then they could maneuver into position. It wasn’t a bad plan, but the name was obviously the brainchild of an immature boy. Immature and stupid names for effective plans weren't unusual from AFCK, but Bladescape had come to expect more from Klein and Kirito. The group set up and prepared to try it in the morning. It wasn’t hard, but it would require a bit of time to gather the A-class meat. A-class ingredients was the second-best tier for food. S-class was the top, and even harder to find. The rarest of the rare, and the Wondercolts hadn’t found any. Morning brought the same hike out. It wasn’t tough, but the Wondercolts’ party knew what they were getting into. Unfortunately, the bait wasn't taken, and Backbreaker was the main cover for their retreat as the plan failed. Meeting two commenced shortly after getting back. Asuna, Lightning Flash, was now taking charge, asserting her position as Second in Command of the Knights of the Blood Oath. Bladescape groaned as her plan unfolded. She wanted to open the gates to the village and lure the field boss into it, their one safe haven, so they could kill it while it went for the NPC villagers. Kirito was arguing against the plan. It ended up being a giant shouting match. He was making the point that NPCs were not like the rocks and trees, or the rest of the game. A loud point that made Bladescape’s head hurt. “Some of them may be critical for further quests and things,” Astro whispered to Bladescape. “I don’t know how to stop it,” Bladescape said, straining to speak over the shouts. “I'm sure this isn’t the answer, but we're not in a position to put forth a valid counterargument. Unless you have something more clever...” “Nope,” Astro sighed. Bladescape sighed as things once again went immature. Almost as immature as a coin flip. Kirito and Asuna went to duel for the outcome of this plan. “Should we watch?” Backbreaker asked. “Might as well,” Bladescape said as the others filed out. Some of the onlookers were even placing bets on the outcome. Thunderborne bet Astro 1,000 Col that Asuna would win. Klein was taking bets against Kirito. He stood to gain a good amount if Kirito won, but would lose even more if Asuna did. Two of the clearly top players fighting a clean duel was usually a major event. It was unremarkable for Bladescape. It pitted the one-handed sword of Kirito the Black Swordsman against the rapier of Lightning Flash Asuna. Kirito was now sporting a pitch-black blade that was fitting for his title. As fast as Asuna was, Kirito was almost her equal, enough to keep him alive against her. Eventually Kirito won, which put them back to where they had started: no plan and completely blocked from the Boss Labyrinth to the 56th Floor Boss. They decided to take a break to try and figure out a new plan. In their rush to get to the Boss Labyrinth they hadn’t explored the region much. The floor around them might hold the key to the problem at hand. Argo had been brought in, but there still was no plan. The girls had split up, trying to figure out the next move, like the others. AFCK was her usual self as she moped around, bored. She had been promised battle and she was out of cupcakes, which left her mind to wander. “I’m bored,” AFCK whined to the NPC she was sitting next to. “Oh yeah! I just started Music Instrument as a Skill!” AFCK pulled out a fife and began to fiddle around with it. She was trying to learn to play “Awesome As I Wanna Be,” but she knew the song on the drums, and mostly that was her banging around it a pattern. She was not accustomed to playing melodies instead of rhythms. “Why don’t you try playing along with this,” The NPC said, before starting to sing a lullaby. “M’okay!” AFCK shrugged. AFCK tried to play along with the simple lullaby. The NPC was kind enough to keep singing it while AFCK learned the notes. She was slow and often off key. It wasn’t a good melody for a fife. It was too slow, but that made it perfect for AFCK to learn. She kept playing it while the NPC kept singing. It was raising her skill level, so it was worth it. Lightning Flash stopped in front of AFCK and the NPC and huffed. She was judging AFCK for just lying there, fiddling with a fife instead of doing any work to figure out how to beat the boss. Or at least, make it look like she was working. “What?” AFCK asked in with a bit of a whine. “I was promised fun, a fight, and fruitcake! I haven’t gotten any of those things yet, so I'm taking charge of my fife!” “And just what are you playing?” Asuna asked, grumpy. “I dono?” AFCK shrugged. “Some lullaby Ruru here knows. I’m just trying to play along.” “AFCK!” Bladescape called, finally finding her. “You have our dinner. Come on! We're hungry.” “Oh! Sorry!” AFCK bounced up and skipped over to her friends, leaving Asuna and Ruru behind. AFCK pulled up her menu and pulled out dinner. She tossed them their packaged sacks with a fun bounce and plopped down to eat. The others had gone home, leaving just Bladescape, Backbreaker, Joltron, AFCK, Kiefer, and Lessa. “What were you doing?” Backbreaker asked AFCK asked as she ate. “Duh, passing the time with Ruru, learning the top-secret special song! Seriously, how did you not know that?” “I’m too tired,” Bladescape groaned, falling onto her back. “I’m not moving. I’m just going to pop out my bed roll and sleep here.” “Okie-dokie-lokie!” AFCK hummed. “Camping sounds fun!” Bladescape was able to set her Search Skill to watch over them. If she or any of the Wondercolts were touched, it would go off. They might be in a safe zone, but Bladescape wasn’t going to let her guard down. She was their leader. Their safety fell on her shoulders. Bladescape only slept a few hours. It was something that had become the norm. She hunted alone a lot in the hours the others slept. Sometimes others joined her, but while she could do it consistently, almost day after day, they couldn’t. Bladescape just laid there, looking asleep as she watched over her friends. There was no point in getting up. Morning proper was a few hours away. They were out of food, so they would have to pay for breakfast from a local establishment. Bladescape got them up early so they could get food before the establishments were overcrowded. AFCK whined and grumbled, but food put a stop to that. Word got around to the Wondercolts quickly. They were having a meeting at 9am. Someone had found key information. They sat there, listening to Asuna. She had found the weakness for the boss. It could be lulled to sleep with a special song, leaving it open to kill. They just needed a musician. Bladescape looked at AFCK, eyebrow raised, but not because she was a musician. They had all heard her ability to play the fife. It was still a new skill. “What?” AFCK asked. “Was that the song you were learning yesterday?” “Well duh. I said it was a top-secret special song. How did you not understand that!” Their party groaned. Once again, AFCK knew stuff, but didn’t know they didn’t know stuff. She knew information that would have saved hours of their time. “I mean, how else would we lull it to sleep?” AFCK continued. “We can’t kill it without it being asleep. I thought you knew that!” “Then why did we attack it the past two days?” Backbreaker asked, trying to not go off but daring to go far enough down the rabbit hole to ask. “Cause it was more fun?” AFCK said, cocking her head. “I was just following you guys.” They were tracking down a musician with a high enough skill to perform it perfectly. Once they located one, they had to get her out to the boss. It came with a hefty price and guards were necessary to protect the noncombatant. Backbreaker was chosen to be one of those guards. With a new plan in place, they marched back out to the boss' lair. It took a moment for the lullaby to kick in, especially over the sound of the GeoCrawler clashing against the shields of the forward Tanks. Then, it staggered, its legs buckling before it collapsed on its belly. It moved around a bit, writhing over the ground as it was trying to resist sleep. “Keep that song up!” Asuna ordered. “Move forward towards the head more. Tanks, do not let her get hurt. Everyone else, spread out along the sides and wait until I give the order.” The Wondercolts flowed out with the others along the sides, waiting for the order. As soon as they were sure it was asleep, the order was given and everyone attacked. It was a fury of attacks unleashed. They were not worried too much about the delay from their skills. “HEY!” Lightning Flash Asuna yelled at AFCK. It didn’t matter how loud they were, if the creature wasn’t going to wake up from all the attacks, it wasn’t going to wake up to more noise. “Are you sleeping!” “Huh!” AFCK snorted as she woke up. She had been leaning against her axe for support. “You were asleep!” Asuna yelled, furious AFCK was slacking. “Well it is a lullaby, so duh!” “PINKIE!” Bladescape yelled from her position in her own time delay. “FOCUS!” “Oh! Right! Sorry!” AFCK Bounced over to the GeoCrawler, into the middle of the Wondercolts. She unleashed Windmill, a 3-combo attack that was a strike up in a spin. She finished with her Rock Candy Smash, but without yelling it to the world. She had learned some discretion. The blow hit with an impact that actually moved the GeoCrawler before it exploded into polygons. “Yay!” AFCK giggled as she bounced up and down. “Lab!” Bladescape covered AFCK’s loud mouth before she could do any more damage. It already was rewarded with a glare from Lightning Flash, who had slipped into the fray a little further down. She was certainly thinking AFCK was trying to poach the Last Attack Bonus. “She’s not all there,” Bladescape said as Asuna stormed over. “Her mind is filled with taffy, whip cream, cola rivers, and sugar mountains. She is an amazing cook and Clearer, but she is not always together.” “She said she was sleeping,” The Flash declared. “Well we were playin' a lullaby,” Backbreaker said as she joined them. AFCK slipped out of Bladescape’s grip. “Did you get sprinkles dropped?” She asked Lightning Flash Asuna. “No one drops sprinkles and I keep waiting for sprinkles to be dropped. And not the kind you eat! I mean the kind you mmmhm mumhmhmsm mmmumhum.” Bladescape sighed as she held AFCK tight and kept her mouth closed. Lightning Flash huffed, recognizing that they were not lying. Unlike them though, she saw a mentally compromised player who took the news of being trapped here to a whole different dimension. She didn’t see the real Pinkie Pie, but that was fine with Bladescape at the moment. Bladescape let AFCK go, giving her a bit of a shove in her anger. “What?” AFCK whined. “You fell asleep!” Bladescape growled. “Sorry.” “Pinkie,” Bladescape raged. “You just made us look like poaching cheaters! I know you weren't trying to, but it still looks bad.” “Dang right it does,” Klein said coming over. “But we know you better than that. What matters is that we cleared the way to the 56th Floor’s Labyrinth.” Klein milled around for a second. “But uh, what did you get?” “Get from what?” AFCK asked, already forgetting what they had just been doing. “Oh, right,” she said, laughing. “That.” AFCK played with her menu and a giant, double headed war axe popped out. “I call her, Candy Cutter.” “And what is her real name?” Klein asked. “Geode Splitter,” AFCK shrugged. “But the geodes need to be protected! They are being hunted to extinction for the sweet candy they produce. They can’t reproduce fast enough for us to harvest them like we do. They need to be nurtured and allowed to grow until they die and kindly offer their treats to us.” “I am very afraid to ask,” Klein stated. “And yet she functions so well in real life,” Bladescape chuckled. “We just accept her for who she is. She's an amazing friend, and she is really smart, when she's on topic. And her creativity is truly off the charts.” “Too bad we can’t have her full potential,” Klein said, scratching the back of his head. “Maybe we can meet up in the real world and see what she can really do.” “Coming from you, Klein, that sounded perverted,” Bladescape quipped. “But maybe, if you recognize it as just friends and nothing more. After all, we are still in high school.” “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Klein groaned, annoyed. “I know. You made it very clear. I’m not hitting on you. I’m just saying, you girls seem like a cool crowd to hang out with.” Bladescape quietly nodded as Klein and the rest of Fuurinkazan departed. “Let’s pack it in,” Backbreaker said. “I think we should regroup before we hit the Labyrinth.” “Getting the others would be smart,” AFCK added. AFCK was back to her normal self. Bladescape (SS): Lvl 78 – Two-Handed Sword – Search – Weapon Defense – Leather Armor – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Sprint – Acrobatics – Blade Throwing – Extended Weight Carry Knightstar (TS): Lvl 68 – One-Handed Sword – Shield – Equipment Appraisal – Parry – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Light Metal Armor – Search – Armor Pierce Thunderborne (RBD): Lvl 71 – Rapier – Sprint – Acrobatics – Armor Pierce – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Leather Armor – Weapon Defense – Extended Weight Carry – Search Backbreaker (AJ): Lvl 74 – Heavy Shield – One-Handed War Hammer – Extended Weight Carry – Heavy Metal Armor – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Fishing – Search – Martial Arts – Acrobatics AFCK (PP): Lvl 71 – Two-Handed Axe – Parry – Cooking – Weapon Defense – Martial Arts – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Light Metal Armor – Thrown Weapon – Musical Instrument Diemond (R): Lvl 71 – Heavy Shield – Mace – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Heavy Metal Armor – Tailoring – Light Metal Armor Forging – Heavy Metal Armor Forging – Jewelry Making – Extended Weight Carry Doombunny (FS): Lvl 68 – One-Handed Dagger – First Aid – Hide – Search – Listening – Battle Regeneration – Fighting Spirit – Familiar Communication (Colorra) – Drug Mixing – Reveal Astro (PS): Lvl 71 – Two-Handed Spear - Purchase Negotiation – Armor Pierce – Acrobatics – First Aid – Light Metal Armor – Battle Regeneration – Weapon Defense – Parry – Extended Wight Carry Kiefer: Lvl 68 – One-Handed Curved Blade – Parry – Weapon Defense – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Light Metal Armor – Slash Weapon Forging – Katana – Martial Arts Lessa: Lvl 68 – One-Handed Sword – Shield – Light Metal Armor – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Equipment Repair – Metal Equipment Repairing – Armor Pierce – Search Joltron: Lvl 72 – One handed Axe – Heavy Shield – Heavy Metal Armor – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Metal Refining – Blunt Weapon Forging – One Handed Weapon Creation – Two Handed Weapon Creation – Extended Weight Carry