The Black Swordsman

Chapter 12: Link Start

The Nerve Gear. The mere sight of it as it sat in my lap was enough to make me uneasy. For all of the good memories that I had inside of SAO, there were bad ones as well. It was a miracle that I even managed to escape the game in the first place. But, none of that mattered to me. As I sat on the edge of my bed, staring at the cursed piece of technology that was sitting in my lap, I knew there was no backing down, now. There wasn't any chance in hell that I was leaving Asuna stuck in whatever fucked up extension of SAO that that creep created for us. I didn't even care if I ever waked up again, after putting on the Nerve Gear. As long as I got Asuna to wake up in the real world, my mission would be complete. I knew she would never forgive me if that happened so, I'd have to do everything in my power to make sure that I escape with her. But...if I had to make a difficult choice for Asuna's safety, I would make it in a heartbeat. It was strange. The bastard who showed up at Asuna's hospital mentioned that we couldn't die while we were inside of his world but he did say we would experience pain that felt way realer than anything experienced in the base game. What kind of effect would that have on our bodies in the real world? Say what you wanted to about SAO but at least, none of the players were ever in any pain. Yeah, our avatars would get bruises and bleed...but that was just for show. All of the deaths were painless. Was that a mercy from the game's creator, Akihiko Kayaba? I guess I'd never know. None of that mattered, though. I couldn't delay, any further. It was Saturday night and my sister and the others were about to put their Nerve Gears on at any second. I was the one who had to forward that invite that the creep sent me to them so they can join.

"Don't worry Asuna", I said as I placed the Nerve Gear on my head and turned it on. "I'm going to bring you back no matter what. I'm sorry it took so long for me to come but I promise you, nothing is going to stand in my way, now."

A green light flashed on the Nerve Gear, indicating that it was powered up.

"Link Start."

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So, this is the machine that has caused Kazuto so many sleepless nights...so much pain...so much sadness, thought Suguha as she was sitting on the edge of her bed as well, with her Nerve Gear sitting on her lap. It seems weird. I've used this head gear a couple of times but every time I use it, it makes me feel better. I'd even call it fun. My experience with the Nerve Gear must have been what Kazuto wanted to experience when he first bought this stupid thing. The way he talked about it...it sucks that it ended up causing him so much pain, after how excited he was about it. On top of that, I can't imagine how terrified he is to put this thing back on. He puts on a brave face in front of the others but I can tell he's scared. Kazuto is so much braver than he used to be...this Asuna...must be really special to him. At least, this time, I won't have to worry about whether or not Kazuto will wake up again because I'll be there to make sure he does.

Suguha placed her Nerve Gear on her head and turned it on, waiting for it to power up.

As soon as the green light appeared on the head piece, she laid on her back and said the same phrase her brother did, "Link Start."

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Lisbeth glanced around her room which was still dark because it was so early in the morning. Her father was going on a business trip so Lisbeth had the house to herself for the weekend. This gave Lisbeth the weekend to help Kazuto and the others in getting Asuna back. Her gaze met her closet where her Nerve Gear was and her body shivered, in response. Her dad had put that evil piece of technology in her closet, in case she would ever want to use it again to play with her friends, despite Lisbeth insisting that they throw it away. She was relieved that her father listened to her because if they hadn't, she wouldn't have been able to help rescue Asuna. She gulped and got a hold of her shivering, before making her way to her closet and opened the closet door. She took out the Nerve Gear and placed it on her head.