EQG: Sword Art Online - Aincrad

by Mindrop


Episode 47 - A Day in the Life of Doombunny

Floor 59
April 14 – Year 2

Doombunny opened her eyes as the alarm went off. She stayed perfectly still for a few more minutes, just enjoying the bed. Then it was time to get up. She slipped her feet into her slippers and stood up.

Doombunny yawned a stretch and shuffled sleepily over to the other corner where Colorra was sleeping on her "tree" stand. It was a long stick with others jutting out to mimic a high canopy tree like Colorra was used to sleeping in.

"Morning Colorra," Doombunny yawned. It was her normal, quiet, sweet voice, masked a bit by her tired state. The snake looked up but didn't move.

Doombunny sighed. She was used to cuddling with Angel Bunny in the morning. It was a soft, calm way to wake up so she was ready for the day. Now, she had to go without something to cuddle and it left her with an edge for the day. Colorra wasn't good to snuggle with. It wasn't her fault, she was a snake after all.

Doombunny sat down in her lounge chair by Colorra's tree and scratched Colorra's head for a little bit. It was some measure of comfort. And Colorra enjoyed it more than she appeared to. The snake was always a bit lazy to get up in the morning. She too got tired of fighting.

AFCK would have breakfast ready any time, so Doombunny got up, switched to a non sleeping outfit, and headed to the door. Colorra dropped off her tree and followed her out. The snake stayed on the ground, slithering after her companion as they headed down for food.

Bladescape and Knightstar were not even at the dining room table yet. They were talking in the guild hall. AFCK could be heard in the kitchen. Doombunny did her best not to listen in. It was difficult as her skills were second nature to her and the system made it difficult to filter things out. She head almost everything. Diemond's creative mutterings were crystal clear to her and particularly the most annoying.

Colorra climbed onto her tree in the corner of the dining room. They had installed several around their guild headquarters so the snake would be comfortable. It also helped the others be able to quickly identify where she was at. Knightstar did her best, but snakes unnerved her.

Knightstar and Bladescape came in a little later. They didn't appear to notice her. Their conversation was focused on a stats question.

"Good morning," Doombunny greeted them.

"Hey," Bladescape said, distracted and continuing to talk. After a minute she turned to Doombunny. "Sorry, Doom. I'm a bit out of sorts after last night's training. I was at a new place. But enough of that."

Doombunny grabbed her favorite fruits after Knightstar and Bladescape had grabbed theirs. There was still plenty of fruit left for the others. A big contrast as to what was about to happen.

Doombunny ate quietly, staying out of Thunderborne's and Astro's way. They were not sloppy during most breakfasts, but they had gotten into a food fight a few times, mostly thrown bread.

When they went to get gear, Colorra climbed up onto her shoulders to ride. It wasn't the most comfortable because the clothes Diemond had designed for her were not made to hold the snake.

Doombunny pulled her armor off her stand and put it on. Each dagger she pulled off and checked it. The sheaths had to be kept both in good condition so their durability did not run out, and the poison applied the sheaths also had to be kept in good standing so the blades were always coated.

Her regular knife didn't have anything applied to it. The poison knife needed more poison. After a few clicks, a new bottle was applied to the sheath so it was back up to full durability. Her paralyzing hunting blade was more than fine for the next few days. It all depended on what she was using the most, which had been her Endbringer, not Shadowsong.

Doombunny checked herself in the mirror. She straightened her armor a bit. Keeping the blades exactly where she wanted them took a little extra work because the system wanted her to only have one blade, not two, and certainly not three.

Her hunting blades were technically being classified as miscellaneous bags. Thanks to Diemond's apprenticeship, she was able to make the blue outer coat have several hidden pockets on the inside flaps. Which was most useful for holding her mixed drugs. Her crystal and healing potions were on outer pockets to keep the more accessible in battle. Speed mattered then.

Doombunny was the last to arrive to the meeting. She was assigned to Knightstar's party. She bounced around between parties with no particular party leader being her home. She rarely was in the smaller party, but she didn't mind. She was strong, the others were strong, and they would handle things without a problem, even if a few of the others were concerned about how the parties were balanced.

As they stepped outside their headquarters, the sounds of Mishe washed over Doombunny's ears. All her time spent listening had paid off well. The medieval fife music was beautiful recorded and not synthesized. But there were so many other sounds in SAO. Footsteps, the squeak of doors, and in a town like Mishe, there was plenty of NPC children running around. The teleport plaza brought a whole new sound as the "Violin Wind Score" of Floor 59 was played. But even the children had other sounds of laughter on the different floors.

Mishe's city design was different. It didn't promote animal interactions. Immediately after she stepped off of the Danac plaza a butterfly floated over to her and Doombunny extended a yellow gloved finger. It rested on her finger. The artwork as she focused on the butterfly was brilliant. Doombunny's Reveal skill was showing even more than Search normally did. The lattice work on the pink rainbow wings was something that could never exist in the real world. It was a treasure from this place. These were the things that made Doombunny sad that they would eventually have to leave.

Doombunny set Search to protect her as they walked to the catacombs. It allowed her to follow her friends and actually listen and enjoy the world around her. A small swallow zipped out of nowhere and the butterfly switched out with it. She could hear each time it beat its wings.

“Good morning Mrs. Swallow,” Doombunny cooed.

Colorra had learned long ago not to bother the small creatures of the game like these. The bird happily chirped back and then flew away. Doombunny was a magnet for these creatures, even in game. But she couldn’t understand them like she could in the real world with her geode. It still felt natural and natural was comforting.

The others were not making a lot of noise, and even if they were completely silent, they would never see the birds swooping from tree to tree or dropping into the fields to feast on something. There was life all around them. Beautiful, noisy life. One just had to stop and listen to hear the rustle of the rabbits as they moved through the brush. Or to catch sight of the small lizards sunbathing on the warm rocks.

The catacombs were not concerning to Doombunny. She had done this 58 other times. It was just hallways lined with stone and some torches. There were a whole lot darker and scarier Labyrinths and dungeons than this one. Even the Shadows had lost their fear factor. The skeletons were just that, bones. She had no concern as she leapt into combat, slicing and dicing them into the polygons they were made of. The polygons removed a lot of the fear for her as their fight to beat Aincrad intensified. She knew what they really were and that was what mattered. She could face that fear any time now, and she had faced that fear multiple times now.

Doombunny did her best to let Diemond know she was at her back. She knew the Hide still often activated in battle. It often triggered the Outside System Skill, Mislead, confused skeletons and made it difficult for their AI systems to track her.

Most of the time she was safe as she darted around with Colorra. She was not as unhinged as AFCK was, bounding around in no particular order, but she was out from the group more often than she was paired up with Diemond. They rarely noticed her presence or lack of presence.

Doombunny dashed out, Colorra riding on her torso and shoulders. Doombunny sliced open a shadow from it’s narrow side. It was very difficult to see them from that angle. Only the old man's magic marking from the quest gave her the ability to see it as clearly as she did.

A skeleton saw her and swung his sword. Doombunny had honed the Precognition OSS, but she didn’t have Parry or Weapon Defense. Still, she did have a tactic to deal with the incoming sword, direct contact. Doombunny’s dagger glowed light pink as she activated the Sword Skill. The first strike hit the sword head on. The second part of the combination was a transition to an overhead slash. Strike three reversed the grip on the blade and cut across it’s chest. The final strike was a backhanded stab into the dry eye socket of the skeleton. It popped into polygons.

Doombunny sighed as the last of the skeletons were blasted apart by the other Wondercolts. This was her life: fight, fight, fight. Every skill she had was able to be used in combat or a direct supporter. Listen provided a wealth of information about enemies further out if applied right. Reveal was a skill she was just learning to apply in battle.

During their lunch stop, Doombunny fed Colorra. The snake had eaten well last night, but she wanted a snack. Doombunny pulled out a live mouse from her menu. It was stored in a small wooden box with holes for it to breath. She paid well for the mice, rats, and rabbits Colorra ate.

Colorra’s head was right there, ready for the box to be opened. As soon as it was, it disappeared as she snagged the trapped mouse. She had impaled it on a single fang. Colorra had to release it and then grab it in a way that she could swallow it.

Doombunny had heard the single footsteps of Kirito long before he had arrived and she heard them long after he departed. His walk was one of the ones she had had learned to recognize. AFCK’s cupcake interjection was a surprise. His acceptance was even more of a surprise.

Doombunny was glad when they got going again. She fought even harder as the day wore on. She wanted to be done. She had better things to do.

She had heard their echoes throughout the day, but she had not expected to run into Fuurinkazan. And they had not run into Kirito. He had to have headed down another side hallway. Their decision to start fresh with them in the morning was not something Doombunny wanted, but saying why would cause even more of a problem. For now, her secrets needed to be kept.

Back at Headquarters, the others headed to bed or to do other things. Doombunny slipped out, alone and against the guild rules they had put in place to protect her. She snuck off to the Teleport Plaza. Astro had a crowd watching her, making leaving easier. She got onto the platform and Colorra gently squeezed her to signify that she was ready.

“Teleport, Town of Beginnings!”

The fanfare of the first Floor came into focus as she materialized back in the city where it all started. Doombunny tuned it out and focused on listening to the other sounds around her. About 2,000 players still lived in the Town of Beginnings, and too many of them had never set foot outside of the town since the game started. To say those players were scraping by was an understatement. The Town of Beginnings was also Army territory. And they were getting harsher and meaner as the months wore on. She always kept an eye out for them and avoided them.

Doombunny knew where she was heading, but she was glad to hear the laughter and shouts of the children. They were inside a giant stone church in the town. Doombunny knocked on the door. A minute later a child opened the door. A young girl.

“Is Miss Sasha available?” Doombunny asked as nicely as she could, and flashing a smile.

“Mhm,” the girl nodded, opening the door more. “Let me get Teach.”

Doombunny stepped into the main chamber of the church building. Most of the kids were upstairs where they were being put to bed. It was after dark after all.

When the game started, a good number of kids were playing. Some lost their parents to the game, others found themselves in a death game, unable to comprehend what was going on. Sasha had set up the church as a safe haven and did what she could for them. Her numbers were easily over two dozen. Sometimes Sasha taught them, trying to keep them from getting too far behind in school. It earned her the nickname “Teach.” The older ones spent most of their time hunting in the immediate fields outside of the Town of Beginnings and doing other tasks to keep the group fed and with enough Col to buy the supplies they needed.

Sasha came into the room a few minutes later. She was in her navy blue dress with its white collar. She also wore glasses which only made her green eyes stand out more. She was young, in her 20s from what Doombunny understood.

“Hello, Bunny,” Sasha said, smiling warmly. They had decided Bunny was better than Doom to help keep the children’s spirits high. “It is good to see you.”

“I’m sorry if this was a bad time,” Doombunny said. “But I had some free time before bed. And the next few days will be packed.”

“Oh, it is fine. The little ones are in bed and the older ones are still running around and causing trouble instead of complying. Gin, Kain, and Mina are getting what the children have gathered.”

“How is everyone?” Doombunny asked.

“Well enough,” Sasha sighed. “It is how it has been for a long time. We are holding our own. I did get two more kids to join us last week. They were tired of living on their own, barely struggling to survive on Floor 25.”

Two boys and a girl came in, carrying several cages. They were 13 at the oldest, But they made Kiefer, Joltron, and Lessa look old compared to them. It was hard to imagine them all the way back to when they first were rescued by Bladescape. Plenty of kids had to have died from similar mistakes, stretching their luck outside of the safe zones.

“We got 2 rabbits, 8 rats, and 4 mice,” Kain said, grinning.

Colorra dropped off Doombunny’s shoulders and began to slither over the cages holding her future meals. Doombunny opened her menu and several empty cages popped out. The kids would use them to hold whatever else the trapped over the next week or so.

“Off to bed,” Sasha said. “Don’t argue. Just do it.”

“Yes Ma’am,” they all said, bowing.

They took off running, leaving them alone to talk.

“They are cute,” Doombunny said. “They are growing up well.”

“Yes, they are,” Sasha said. “I am having to keep them here though. They want to push it outside the city and visit the other towns, but I know they won’t make it. And they are my best hunters. I need them. Maybe it is a bit selfish on my end.”

“No it isn’t,” Doombunny replied. “They are getting stronger because of what they have been doing for the group. But that doesn’t mean they can just do whatever they want. They have a responsibility. Maybe the next time the Wondercolts take a break, I can get some of us to come here and take them to other parts of the Floor. An adventure that also helps bring in critical supplies for you. A safe one.”

“That would be appreciated. By all of us.”

Doombunny opened her menu. “Here, take this bag. It has what I could sneak from our kitchen. It will last long enough to get you through breakfast. It isn’t much, but it is what I could spare. AFCK had to make more anyway.”

“Thank you,” Sasha smiled. “I really appreciate it.”

“And here is the Col for the animals,” Doombunny added. “I really don’t know what I would do without the kids help. Colorra prefers live food. And the more we fight, the more of an appetite she gets. I couldn’t keep up without your help.”

“And your steady business is the only solid income we have.”

“I would love to pay you more,” Doombunny said.

“This is more than enough,” Sasha assured Doombunny. “You need that Col for your own projects. I read the paper. I hear of your exploits. I know it costs a lot to keep your gear maintained and continue to enhance three blades. We need those blades sharp and pointed at the enemies blocking out freedom.”

Doombunny shrugged. “It does. But I love doing what I can for the kids.”

“You have kept these kids alive for a while now with this task," Sasha said with a smile. "And several of them are becoming very good at Trapping. It has proven to be a good Skill for us too. When we can get the extra rabbits, we eat them. And then two others discovered Animal Husbandry, which is proving to be useful. They have a group of rabbits they are breeding. The rats and mice are harder to work with but easier to trap. However, it does require food for the animals if you are to breed them.”

“That still sounds better for you all,” Doombunny said.

“It should be."

“I will get out of your way, and I need to get to bed. We have a long day ahead of us.”

“Of course,” Sasha smiled. “As always, it is good to see you.”

Doombunny put the cages in her menu. She departed and headed back to the Headquarters. AFCK was still baking and Diemond was still designing. No one even noticed her arrival as she snuck back in. She put the caged animals in the corner, stacked neatly on top of each other. She would have to feed them too, but it was not too hard to keep them alive in the cages. It wasn’t like breeding them.

Doombunny fed Colorra a rat before bed to make sure she was really ready for the next day. Then it was off to bed for the both of them. Doombunny put up her blades and put her armor back on their stands.

As Doombunny settled into bed, she sighed. She didn’t want to go with Fuurinkazan. She hadn’t planned on joining up with them. They were in her way. But the rest and break from their usual was going to be nice.

Bladescape (SS): Lvl 79 – Two-Handed SwordSearchWeapon DefenseLeather Armor – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Sprint – Acrobatics – Blade Throwing – Extended Weight Carry
Knightstar (TS): Lvl 69 – One-Handed SwordShieldEquipment AppraisalParry – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Light Metal Armor – Search – Armor Pierce
Thunderborne (RBD): Lvl 72 – RapierSprintAcrobaticsArmor Pierce – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Leather Armor – Weapon Defense – Extended Weight Carry – Search
Backbreaker (AJ): Lvl 75 – Heavy ShieldOne-Handed War HammerExtended Weight CarryHeavy Metal Armor – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Fishing – Search – Martial Arts – Acrobatics
AFCK(PP): Lvl 72 – Two-Handed AxeParryCookingWeapon DefenseMartial Arts – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Light Metal Armor – Thrown Weapon – Musical Instrument
Diemond (R): Lvl 72 – Heavy Shield – Mace – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Heavy Metal Armor – TailoringLight Metal Armor ForgingHeavy Metal Armor Forging – Jewelry Making – Extended Weight Carry
Doombunny (FS): Lvl 69 – One-Handed Dagger – First Aid – HideSearchListening – Battle Regeneration – Fighting Spirit – Familiar Communication (Colorra) – Drug Mixing – Reveal
Astro (PS): Lvl 72 – Two-Handed Spear - Purchase Negotiation – Armor Pierce – Acrobatics – First Aid – Light Metal Armor – Battle Regeneration – Weapon Defense – Parry – Extended Wight Carry
Kiefer: Lvl 69 – One-Handed Curved Blade – Parry – Weapon Defense – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Light Metal Armor – Slash Weapon Forging – Katana – Martial Arts
Lessa: Lvl 69 – One-Handed Sword – Shield – Light Metal Armor – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Equipment Repair – Metal Equipment Repairing – Armor Pierce – Search
Joltron: Lvl 73 – One handed Axe – Heavy Shield – Heavy Metal Armor – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Metal Refining – Cooking – One Handed Weapon Creation – Two Handed Weapon Creation – Extended Weight Carry