Come To Life: Into The Outerworld: SAO After Alicization

11: Comfort

Chapter 10 and 11 were sort of written at the same time, but I ended up having to split them apart...it makes more sense for the story. NEVER FEAR! Hope is not lost for Eugeo and Alice. There is so much more to them in this story and it's going to play out so great! The way I've worked this fic involves a growing of their relationship OUTSIDE the STL as well as the search for their forgotten memories. I'm glad to say that starting with this chapter I'm going to be focusing more on the EugeoxAlice aspect of this fic. I appreciate everyone who has stuck with me so far! Thank you thank you for your support!:)

Comfort

Over the next few days a lot happened at the Zuberg facility. Alice was moved from her hospital room to the main house so she could be closer to her parents. After this happened, she had apparently asked her father and Dr. Hessler if the other three could be given rooms in the main house so they would also feel more at home. She had never cared for the Zuberg Facility much, especially after Anna's death.

Kirito and Asuna were grateful for this because they figured that perhaps this was the first stage of Alice's memories returning.

Eugeo however, didn't seem to change from his unresponsive depression. Even when he was moved to his own sunny room at the corner of the same hallway where Alice, Kirito and Asuna's rooms were. Dr. Hessler had given him some medicine that was supposed to combat the boy's apparent anxiety, but Eugeo remained quiet and still for most of the day, refusing to eat or even drink much of anything. Kirito and Asuna were worried, especially since Eugeo had made so much progress of late. His healthy glow was gone and his face had returned to the gray, hollow state it had been in when they had first found him. When Kirito and Asuna expressed their concerns to Dr. Zuberg, he had Dr. Hessler give Eugeo a series of antidepressants, which after a few days seemed to bring the boy around enough that he was able to get out of bed and drink some water. Kirito was relieved, although Eugeo still seemed unwilling to talk about what had happened. He spent most of the days sitting on the window bench in his room staring out the window with a foggy look in his green eyes. At meal times, he absentmindedly picked at his food and only after fierce encouragement from Kirito was able to eat a decent portion of it.

Throughout this time, Asuna and Kirito also spent time talking to Alice. They didn't mention much about Eugeo, just that he still seemed tired and anxious from the rigorous physical therapy he was undergoing (though in truth, Eugeo hadn't left his room in days). Alice mostly talked to them about school, her classes, and the people she knew, while Kirito and Asuna told her about how they had met in Sword Art Online and how he had come to work with RATH as an intern.

Alice's recovery was much different than Eugeo's partially because she had only been in the STL for two years and also that her father had made sure every treatment she underwent was state of the art. Within the first week, she was able to walk again on her own, though she got tired easily. She also took to normal food and drink much faster than Eugeo had and was soon looking as healthy and vibrant as any nineteen year old would typically appear. Since it was already early spring, she wasn't sent back to school, but spent her days resting and moving freely about the house. Kirito and Asuna were also given free reign of the house and grounds and spent more time in the gardens around Zuberg Manor as the weather continued to get warmer.

"Eugeo?" Kirito poked his head through the door of his friend's room. As usual, the blond boy was sitting on the window bench, staring wistfully out upon the spring filled landscape below. Kirito entered the room and closed the door softly behind him, walking up and sitting down next to Eugeo by the window. The soft spring breeze blew through the open glass and ruffled Eugeo's blond hair and the curtains on either side of him.

"Eugeo?" Kirito spoke again, placing his hand on his friend's shoulder.

For a moment Eugeo was still, his green eyes unblinking as he continued to stare out the window. When the breeze stopped, his bangs fell back in front of his eyes. Giving a small sigh, he closed his eyes for a moment before turning towards Kirito and brushing his hair out of his face.