//------------------------------// // «The Gleam Eyes» // Story: Link Start! // by UsefulRamen //------------------------------// The Battlefield Kirito slashed, and dodged <> attacks endlessly, and almost flawlessly. Almost. Sure he got scratched, cut, and nipped at occasionally, (which hurt a lot more considering this was his real body) but that didn't change his mind one bit about beating the beast. I took a glance over at Asuna to make sure she was doing fine, (which she was) until he saw Gleam Eyes punch her like last time they had fought, but he couldn't catch her. He was too far away. This enraged Kirito so much that his warrior cries got even louder, almost reaching Canterlot, and his slashing got wilder, and his two infamous swords began to glow their own color. Gleam Eyes only got more, and more aggressive and upped his skills too. "Kick that beast's butt Kirito. Woohoo!" Spike cheered in the background. "So. Awesome." Rainbowdash whispered to herself. The gang had beat the timber wolves, but were too astonished to help Kirito. "ASUNA!" Kirito stopped his attack and ran over to his wounded lover. Gleam Eyes saw this as an opportunity to get rid of them both. As he made his way over, Twilight tried to put a forcefield around Kirito and Asuna. Kirito tried to get her up, and back into consciousness, but Gleam Eyes hit her pretty hard, and it might take her a very long time to recover (after all, this was her real body for now). When Kirito failed at his many attempts to bring Asuna back, he let a single tear drop from his eyes that refused to let him be seen like this. Then, something in Kirito snapped. His anger was overwhelming, and he let out an insanely large cry of rage that could easily destroy his voice, and lungs. It was so loud that it almost reached Canterlot. It got much attention from Ponyville. The ponies there just brushed it off as a strange animal in the 'forbidden' forest though. Kirito's pursuit became much more violent and powerful, as his intensity grew along with his speed. There was now new found blood dripping down his forehead, mouth, and sides. Gleam Eyes was making a lot of damage to Kirito. But he didn't care. He had to protect Asuna while she was in that state. And when the final hit was made, Kirito fell to his knees as the long tip of Gleam Eyes' Zonbato stuck through the middle of his body. Be slowly closed his eyes in defeat. The ponies watched in complete horror and sadness. Spike was the most upset of all. As Kirito watched his life pass before his eyes, a figure had formed in his head. Asuna's smile. He lived for that smile knowing exactly how much she loved him, as he felt the same towards her. "Not yet." Kirito mumbled as his will and power returned. He was sitting in a pool of his own blood that he drastically lost. He had plenty to finish the battle though. "What did he say?" Twilight asked as she and the rest of the group noticed Kirito's eyes that were gradually reopening. Everypony's eyes widened, and Spike's eyes became the size of dinner plates as tears began to form in not only his, but everypony's eyes. "NOT YET!" Kirito screamed. He wasn't ready to die yet. Not when he was this close to beating the old enemy. And especially when Asuna was hurt. He stood up with the blade still impaling him (which pained him so). He wasn't going to accept this. Not when innocent lives were unexpectedly depending on him. It resembled SAO far too much. Kirito began to walk backwards as the blade slipped out of him. Twilight tried to remember a healing spell for Kirito, but couldn't think of any as she was too shocked to do anything but watch. "Twilight! Don't you know any healing spells!?" Spike said he turned his attention to a frozen Twilight. Kirito's wounds began to start bleeding heavier, and he would soon die of blood loss should they not be bound. Kirito didn't care. He dodged as many attacks as he could, and Asuna was still lying there. Unconcous. Fluttershy was by her side trying to help her get better as fast as she could. Asuna's eyes had then opened wearily, and heavily as she snapped out of her forced trance. She snapped her head up, remembering what was going down, but she was only greeted with a sharp pain that went down her neck, and stopped at her collar bone. She had to be get back into the brawl with Kirito. She had to protect him because he was protecting her. When her vision was less blurry, and her hearing became whole again, and her senses were restored, she glared at the battle andfocused her glare on Kirito. Her eyes widened at the site with her heart pounding, throbbing out of her chest each time it rapidly thumped. Something in her snapped, and she charged forward pulling out her sword as she did so. She leaped into the air and became face to face with the demonic beast, and stabbed one of the red glowing eyes as <> roared ferociously in pain and agony. When she landed, she whirled around to face Kirito as he just now noticed her. He was overwhelmed with joy that she was alright. Or at least, it seemed at the moment. When he turned his attention back to Gleam Eyes, he suddenly collapsed onto the floor and bled out uncontrollably. "KIRITO!!" Asuna yelped as she ran over to the wounded warrior with tears threatening to race down her cheeks. I-I'm sorry *hack* Asuna. I-I c-couldn't p-protect.....you." Kirito apologized as tears ran down both of their cheeks. As Kirito was about to draw his last breath, a blinding light orb hovered gracefully above them. As the light faded, two regal figures became more visible, and their features became more detailed. A tall, white, slender body with a long horn and huge wings stood next to a slightly shorter, smaller one with a coat as dark as the night. It was Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna. Celestia surrounded Kirito and Asuna with a yellow aura that represented her magic. The two sword weilders could feel the everlasting pain pour out of their bodies, as the aura around them seemed to absorb it, or get rid of it somehow. However it was done, the pain was eventually gone. Gleam Eyes just stared in the background dumbfounded and trying to process what was happening. But soon, he didn't care and just charged. Asuna and Kirito fully healed just in time to counter the charge. The enemies were charging towards each other swords going in for the kill at the same time and the cries of a warrior escaped the 'Black swordsman's and the 'Lightning Flash's' lungs in sync. When their swords made contact, there was the large clanking sound of metal harshly colliding and kicked dust up everywhere. When the dust cleared, the princesses and the ponies watched as Kirito's two swords, and Asuna's were crossing as they blocked the insanely large Zonbota that was Gleam Eyes' weapon of choice that had never failed him. Spike watched the action with true admiration for the two brave warriors (mostly Kirito) in his eyes. "These two are very protective of each other aren't they?" Celestia asked. "They sure are! You should've seen Kirito when he saw that Asuna was hurt. He got crazy mad!" Spike said with excitement streaking into his voice. "Oh trust me, we know." Luna calmly said as she winked at Spike. "How?" he innocently asked. "We'll tell you later. But for now, we need to watch the fight just in case those two need anymore help from us." Celestia suggested. "ASUNA! NOW!" Kirito shouted. And with that, they both put their swords side by side, aimed for the large gem on the beast's muscular chest. When the swords made contact, the gem got a small crack carved into it, and the crack slowly but gradually grew larger by the second until it finally shattered. For some reason, when Gleam Eyes was defeated, it still stood there staring at 'Kirito the Black Swordsman' and 'Asuna the Lightning Flash' (or just 'Asuna the Flash' whichever one you prefer) with hateful eyes. When it gave a final roar, it then burned to a crisp, but made no sound or indication of pain. And finally. Finally, the battle was over. The blood that was shed had not been for nothing. When they lowered their swords, they looked at each other lovingly, and sprinted towards each other. They hugged as they absorbed each other's presence and love. Their embrace lasted until their energy was restored. "You dummy, you almost died!" Asuna cried as tears of joy relayed down her cheeks. "But I didn't did I?" Kirito jokingly replied. "But you said that you wouldn't get that close to dying in this battle you jerk!" Asuna threw back. "Well, I'm still here aren't I?" Kirito asked. "I don't care what was going on in your head at the time, but whatever it was must have made you crazy." Asuna sort of angrily said. Kirito just shut her up by kissing her. "Hey, your more important to me than I am to myself. It doesn't matter what it will take, as long as I'm protecting you." Kirito said as he broke the kiss. "But if your protecting me, who will protect you, you idiot?" Asuna softly said. "You will won't you?" Kirito asked. "O-of course! Did you forget about our promise?" Asuna asked. "No. I didn't." Kirito responded. "Good." Asuna said.