Sword Art Online: The Crystal Swordsman

Common Continuance

Disagreements within your team can result in the loss of a game. Though there is not much you can do to stop this, you can remind those who've lost their way that everyone is here for a common purpose. A common goal: survival and victory. If this still isn't enough, I encourage you to let them be. They will learn their own lessons through their reckless actions. Unfortunately, deviating from the team in a quads game is assumed to be instant death. There is very little you can do to help someone out of position and they are always vastly outnumbered. At that point, you must worry about your own survival. The objective of the game is to survive as long as you can, so self survival instincts are a natural response. Sometimes, you have to worry about your own well being.  Sometimes, you have to leave people behind.

Before I knew it, it was time to leave again. K issued the order to move northwest to a gas station for supplies so we all headed out as a group. This new world always seemed so dark and unforgiving yet so full of life in my eyes. Moving as a group we came over the hill and bared witness to another larger one. Along the next hilltop was the familiar gas stations roof. Our destination was in sight.

"Contacts! Get down!" K suddenly announced as covertly as possible.

We all did as instructed and dropped down low to our knees in the green grass around us. It was silent for a moment but the sound of bush rattling could be heard and the lost breath of a person followed afterwards.

"Guys...?" Kirito struggled to say.

Sinon and I, who were on the left of where K was leading the charge, froze still as we looked. We both bared witness to Kirito caught tangled in razor wire. Blood painted many parts of him and the more he moved the worse it got. Lacerations, cuts, ripped bloody flesh. I covered my mouth and cried. I couldn't handle seeing it.

"Kirito, what's-" K approached quietly and froze.

"Shit. They must have planted traps." K peered over again at the targets who were stacked up on the next hill.

"What do we do? We can't move him out of there." Sinon asked while putting an arm around me for comfort.

Something told me she understood. Silence followed for a moment until K inhaled stiffly.

"Stay here. Keep him safe and alive while I go kill their team. Once their wiped, their equipment will break. That will free him." K told his plan.

"Stay here?! While you go fight a quad by yourself?!" Sinon snapped and started to sound like she might also cry.

Maybe she was feeling the same pain I was feeling right then. Helplessness.

"I've taken on those numbers before. I'll be fine." K reminded her.

"I don't want you to die again, K." Sinon began to cry slightly.

"Trust me baby, this will work." K assured her and wiped her tears off her cheek.

Sinon swallowed her worry and nodded without much of a choice.

"Okay... Promise me you won't die, K." She could barely fathom the thought.

"I promise." K nodded and looked longingly into Sinon's eyes.

He turned to leave and disappeared over the hill, leaving us both alone with Kirito. I let out a sigh. The games atmosphere took hold of me for a moment.

"Maybe it's karma for the way you've been treating everybody." I told him.

Kirito froze and looked at me suddenly.

"Maybe this will teach you that we're all a team." I continued.

Kirito scoffed.

"...Maybe this will teach you that you can't always be a solo player..." I finished.