Duo (A Sword Art Online Fanfic) ✔

Chapter Twenty-Two

I'm not sure how long I sat there, just holding Rikimaru, but eventually Kirito stepped in as the voice of reason.

"Harumi, we should go now. It'll take a whi-"

Kirito was cut off when a figure appeared on the branch behind us.

"What a surprise." The man drawled, "The last thing that I expected to find was a cockroach in my little birds cage."

Whoever this guy was, he was ridiculous. He was puny, but he held himself tall, a crown on the top of his head.

"It's Sugo!" Kirito exclaimed, surprised.

I looked at the man in a new light. This was the freak who was obsessed with Asuna?

"I prefer you didn't call me that name in this world." The man announced, frowning. "You should address me as highness, the Fairy King Oberon!"

He pulled out his menu, and clicked a button. The world seemed to spin on its axis then. I closed my eyes, praying that I wouldn't throw up from the spinning.

When I opened my eyes, I was chained to the ceiling of a dome by my hands. Standing on my tip toes, I could barely touch the ground. Across from me, Asuna was in the same predicament. Kirito laid on the ground, seemingly struggling to even stand up as Oberon stood over him, smirking. Rikimaru was crumpled in the corner.

"Kirito!" Asuna cried out, struggling against her chains.

"How do you like it?" Oberon asked Kirito, poking him with a shiny boot, "Do you wanna know why you can't move? It's a little something called Gravity Magic. Coming out a next update. You think the players go for it?"

"Leave him alone, you coward!" Asuna yelled.

I was distracted by a player appearing in the corner over Rikimaru's body. Nobody else seemed to notice however. I was filled with hope. Had someone come to save us?

"Tell me something, Kirigaya--or, should I call you Kirito instead?" Oberon shook his head as if it didn't matter either way, "How did you manage to get all the way up here? I saw strange program running...is that how?"

"I flew up here with my wings!" Kirito snarled, struggling against the magic that bound him to the ground.

"Suit yourself. If you don't want to tell me, that's fine." Oberon sighed, waving his hand dismissively. "Tenma here will just find out later."

My blood chilled as the figure stepped forward into the light. Tenma stood there, smirking at me. Dread filled my body.

"What is going on?!" I demanded, watching them, wide eyed. "I've had enough of these silly games! It's not funny anymore!"

"You don't really think I went all that trouble, setting this whole thing up just for a fun, did you?" Oberon asked, shaking his head. "I have three hundred former players of SAO under my thumb.
And now, thanks for their dedicated cooperation, the technology Tenma developed for a totally control of emotions and thoughts is eighty percent of complete! I'm about to achieve what no one else has! The total control of the human soul! The power of the god!
It's so close I can almost taste it."

I became scared. Terrified, in fact. This man was clinically insane, and Tenma was on his side.

Tenma was the one who developed technology that was currently ruining all of our lives.

"Why did you do this?" I asked Tenma, my voice nothing but a whisper.

He laughed bitterly, looking over at Rikimaru in the corner.

"I had to win against my brother."

I admit, I was slow to make the connection, but when I did, everything made a sick sort of sense.

"You're Tetsuji." I gasped in realization, "All of this was to get revenge against Rikimaru!"

"And it worked!" Tenma yelled suddenly, letting out a roar of vicious laughter, "I'm the one in control! I have control of him, and I have control of the thing he loves most: You."

I hissed, my tail lashing, and said, "You will never control me."

"You never can get away with this!" Asuna yelled out from across the room, "You hear?! You're a monster!"

"Urm, who do you think's going stop me?" Oberon asked, pretending to think, "Oh...maybe a god? But, sadly, there's none in this world...except yours truly, of course!"

"Aren't you modest?" I spat, glaring at him.

Rikimaru groaned from the corner, finally coming around. Oberon looked over in disgust.

"Such a pity that he's not dead."

He sighed and turned to face us again.

"I'm so bored! Aren't you, Tenma?" He asked, an evil grin growing on his face as he turned to look at Asuna.

"So very bored." Tenma agreed, smirking at me.

"I know! Before I start tinkling with your little souls, why don't we have ourselves a little fun?!"

He leaped forward, tracing his finger up Asuna's stomach. I hissed, as rage flooded my body. Tenma slowly started making his way towards me.

Suddenly, without another word, Oberon pulled the ribbon holding Asuna's top together. It fluttered to the ground, leaving her chest bare.

Asuna cried out, and I screamed, full of rage, fighting my chains.

"Don't worry, Kitten." Tenma purred, appearing at my side, "You're next."

"Like hell I am!" I snarled, baring my teeth.

"Sounds like you don't really have a choice, does it?" He sighed, reaching over to grab the hem of my shirt. "No boy to save you, no dragons. Whatever will you do?"

He started dragging the hem up, revealing my stomach.

"You see, that's where you are wrong." I snarled, "I never needed someone to protect me."

I kicked upward without another word, hitting his chest and sending him backwards. He hit the ground with a thud.

He leaped to his feet, his expression filled with rage. He started coming at me again.

"You little bit--"

Tenma was cut off when a blade was pressed to his throat from behind.

"I wouldn't finish that sentence if I were you. After all, you never call a lady names."

Tears welled up in my eyes, as I watched Rikimaru threaten his brother. Hope filled me, making me actually smile, despite the situation.

"You aren't supposed to be like this!" Tenma exclaimed in surprise.

Rikimaru slammed the butt of his blade against Tenma's temple in response.

"Rikimaru!" I whispered, relief coursing though me.

He turned to me, his eyes hard.

My smile died as I stared at him. Rikimaru wasn't completely here, yet. I knew that with one look into his eyes.

They weren't filled with love as they usually were when he looked at me.

Rikimaru was fighting with himself in order to even be standing there right now.

The battle was just beginning.