Sword Art Online Journeys

What it means to be strong

Third Person POV

"So, Death Gun was in Laughing Coffin? And you guys fought before" Sinon said as she put her hand on my shoulder. "Bree, I need to know something" Sinon said as Bree nodded. "It's about the people you killed. How did you get over what you did? How are you not affected by it? How are you so strong you are not controlled by it?" Sinon asked looking straight at me. "To be honest, I am not as strong as you think" Bree said looking at her. "What?" she asked as Bree sighed. "Yesterday, I didn't really sleep at all. I kept having nightmares about the people I killed. I don't think I am ever going to forget them" Bree said, looking down as she had done so. Sinon looked at me, "But then, what am I supposed to do? I-I can't-" Bree then put her hand on Sinon's hand, "It's okay, even if you can't forget what you did. I will always be there to help you keep going. Just because of what you did, I will never leave you alone. I guess when I accept what I did, maybe I will find closure then" Bree said as she looked to her a bit. "Closure by accepting it" Sinon looked down a bit and sighed, pulling her hand off of Bree's shoulder as she let go of her hand.

Sinon's POV

"Death Gun, it's hard to believe that under that cloak there's a real life person that wants to kill" I said as I laid on Bree's lap. She actually felt comfortable. "Yeah and if I knew his handle in SAO. I'd be able to find out his name and address in the real world. That's why me and the others logged into GGO" Bree said as she looked straight ahead. "Oh, then maybe his reason for being here is cause he likes to PK. Maybe he misses the rush from doing it in SAO. You think?" I asked as I looked to her. "I highly doubt it, he killed people in front of big audiences it seems. And that sign of a cross, he probably does it to scare as many people as possible. He wants to make people think that he can kill within the game but it's all an act" Bree stated. "If that's true then how is he killing people" I said as I stared at her. "It's definitely not brain damage from the head gear, that's for sure. According to the authorities which Kirito met up with they apparently died from heart failure" Bree closed her eyes a bit. "Heart failure? My god" Sinon looked away. "To be honest, I have no clue how he does it. But what I do know is that firing a gun in the virtual world and stopping a players heart in the real one is impossible. Hang on a second" Bree said making a realization. "What?" I asked looking to her. "That's weird, he had the handgun out for you but when I was around he switched to his rifle. He could have easily killed me with that gun. So, why did he switch?" Bree said as she started thinking. "Yeah, good question" I said as I started repositioned myself on her lap. "I think I figured it out, maybe he didn't shoot me with it cause he couldn't," Sinon looked at me as I continued. "The handgun, the switch, the invisibility cloak, the cross, conditions ,rules, knew it. In game guns can't kill IRL. Shooting someone in here doesn't do it, it takes preparation" Bree said as I looked at her confused. "Okay, now you lost me" I said with confusion in my voice. "In other words, the only way to make it look like he is killing in game is by setting up the murder in the real world first" she finished. "How would he set something like that up? I mean if your right, he would have to get someone's real life information to do it. All that stuff is secure though" I said as Bree shook her head. "Not necessarily, if someone is clever enough then they can find out a players address easy" she said. "How?" I asked as I looked to her. She looked into my eyes and said, "The terminals, at the governor's office. You have to plug in your real name and address into them to compete. It's an open space, you don't have any privacy there" she said as she looked at me. "No way! You saying he peeked over those shoulders while they entered their info. That can't be it cause you would notice somebody lurking next to you" I said as I shook my head. "He could of used a scope or some binoculars across the room" she said. "That would be reckless, he would get kicked from the game for that" I said. "Then how about this, maybe Death Gun can turn himself invisible in town too" Bree said as she shook a bit before stopping. "He'd be right there and you wouldn't know it. But still, he can't do anything in the real world when he's logged in here, he's unconscious there" I looked to her. "Right" Bree stated and looked around until her eyes widened. "Wait!That's it, it's not just him. Death Gun has a partner!," I looked at her shocked as she said this. "Check it out, one of them plays as the Death Gun avatar. His job is to shoot the target, at the same time in the real world the second persons in the targets apartment. His jobs to take the player out." I gasped as I sat up quickly, "Okay but, let's say they found out your address. What about the other people living there and they would need a key." "As far as the people that so far died, they lived alone and they lived in older buildings. Their locks were probably first gen, not very secure. Besides they were both diving into GGO during the break in. So, they both were unconscious and completely helpless. They couldn't hear, so the killer could take his time getting in" Bree said as I stared into her eyes. "But then, you said the cause of death for both was heart failure, right? So, how did they stop someone's heart in a way that cops couldn't figure out?" "Maybe by injecting some sort of drug or something? That's one way." she said as she looked into my eyes. "Okay but, someone should have found evidence of it. A mark or something" I said. "They didn't find the bodies for a while, so they were pretty decomposed. Besides, a hardcore gamer can go for days without eating or sleeping. I doubt anyone would think it's weird if someone died of a heart attack after that," I grabbed her shirt. "Their crazy, right? I mean, why else would anyone do this?" I said as Bree looked down. "Maybe, or maybe they do it cause red players are who they really are. I mean, deep down I think i'm really a swords woman" Bree said. "When you put it that way, I can sort of I understand. There's times when I think i'm a real sniper, not a gamer. Wait, do you think the guy doing the killings a red player too? You know, like Death Gun?" "Yeah, their probably in Laughing Coffin together. I'm still wondering how they set up the time for the killings between this world and the real one. How were they so precise about it? Yeah, that's it. That's what doing the sign of the cross is about. It's not just for show, it's also a great opportunity to sneak a peek at his watch" Bree said calmly. "Your right," she then grabbed a hold of my shoulders. "Sinon, do you live alone?" she asked. "Um, yeah but I am sure I locked my door. My building has got first gen locks but I also got a chain- I think I left the chain off tonight" I said. "Damn! Listen, your not gonna like this. When Death Gun was chasing us on that horse, I wasn't the one he was shooting at. And that can only mean they got their next victim all set up and ready to go" Bree said as she looked away, almost as if uncertain whether she wanted to tell me or not. "Okay then, who's next?" I asked as her grip tightened a bit. "I got a feeling that right now in the real world, Death Gun's partner is in your place. He's watching the live stream, waiting for when you get shot by that gun. It's just a hunch though." My eyes widened as I heard this. "No, not that!" I grabbed my arms shakily as I started breathing heavily. I started panicking as my heart rate increased as Bree suddenly kissed me.

Bree's POV

I saw Sinon start panicking as the only thing I thought of was kissing her so I did. She started kissing back as she calmed down slowly. All of a sudden we heard, "Horni." I knew who it was but Sinon panicked as she grabbed her hand gun and aimed it until she noticed that it was just Aloe, the rest behind them as Kirito was smirking. I explained everything to them and they told us what they had found out. I was hugging Sinon close as I was comforting her. "Tell me you have a plan" Sinon asked as the others looked at me. "We all are going to take out Death Gun. Once we do, his real world partner should stand down. Then he will leave your apartment" I said as Jak added, "Yeah but easier said than done. The dude is pretty skilled." "Jak's right, he dodged my Hecate bullet from 100 meters away And besides, I can't hide in this cave forever" Sinon said as she looked to me. "By now, just like your friends, the others probably already know we are in here. We might as well all be sitting ducks" Sinon said looking at the entrance. "Might as well finish this together" she said looking at all of us. "What if he shoots you with that gun though?" I asked as my ears fell flat. Kitten's ears also fall flat as he sees me sad. "I got you all to protect me though, especially you" She smiled at me as I smiled a bit back. "We won't let any hit you" Kirito said as I nodded. "I still don't feel safe about it though, Death Gun is dangerous. You shouldn't get so close" I said as Sinon looked at me with a 'Oh really?' look. "Oh, come on" she said as I looked serious. "Hang on, I am not saying that you can't. Just I don't feel right about it, plus aren't you good at long range" I said as I stared at her and grabbed her shoulder. "Well yeah, what about it?" she asked as she looked at me. "Here's the plan, I will step out so the next scan picks me up. That way, Death Gun will come to us. He will probably take cover and try taking me out with the rifle. When he shoots we will know his location and Sinon can take him out. And if all else fails then you guys come out and help me" I said. "No, I will go out" Kitten said as I sigh. "I am not having you do that" I said as Kitten whined. "Fine" Kitten said as Sinon looked at me. "Are you fine with playing the decoy?" Sinon asked. I nodded then Kirito said, "I will be the decoy." I rolled my eyes and sighed, "Fine." "Um, I think we should stop talking" Kirito says as we all looked up to the live stream camera. I blushed as I saw it and looked away. "It probably followed you guys when you came in" Sinon said as she looked at Bree, blushing a bit. "Don't worry, I don't think it recorded that" She said as I nodded. "We better get ready, I will get setted up here. Be careful" Sinon said as Kirito walked out of the cave while we prepared.