It had been weeks before she'd been allowed to leave the hospital, and that alone was a miracle of modern medicine. Someone had been optimistic that the survivors would wake up one day, drugs and therapy developed originally for coma patients had been repurposed to keep the catatonic players from wasting away completely, which was the only reason she could lift her head, much less, speak and feed herself. When she'd finally been checked out, she'd still needed a cane just to walk. It didn't matter, she didn't need to be able to run or fight in this world, that was never what she'd been best at. Now, all she wanted to do was find answers for their own sake.
     She was free from SAO, but she had still been a prisoner in her own body. When she'd seen herself in the mirror, watching while the nurse cut her long, filthy hair, she hadn't recognized the gaunt looking girl with sunken eyes. She looked so small, diminished, like a famine victim or someone struck by some wasting disease. That would change with time, her parents had brought her a tablet so that she could start catch up with the world while she recovered, she'd read up on everything she could about the physical therapy she and the other survivors would be expected to complete. And that was when she had learned something else, and her excitement had crumbled away…
     She remembered waking up, or rather, her real senses reasserting themselves as her Nerve Gear logged off from the SAO forum and powered down. At first her eyes had refused to focus properly. For the longest time, she'd simply lain flat on her back, feeling her own breathing and heartbeat for the first time in over two years. She felt her eyes beginning to sting, by the time the nurses got to her, the bedside equipment reporting that her Nerve Gear had shut down, her vision had once more been blurred. They'd done it, Kii-bou and Aa-chan had done it.
     When the system announcement had chimed with a synthetic voice that hadn't been heard since the first day two years ago, Argo had been on the seventy fourth floor of Aincrad, following up a rumor with one of her contacts. It was no secret that the monsters were getting tougher with each floor and that soon the leading players were going to reach the level cap built into SAO. In order to keep up their safety margins and preserve the current clearers who were their best shot at clearing the game, they were going to need to start acquiring and relying on ultra rare drop and quest items. Argo had come to the 74th floor for just that reason, following up on NPC rumors about a legendary forge hidden in a secret area and run by a group of NPC blacksmiths offering a quest for a rare sword.
     The automated system bell had rang. The voice announcing the game had been cleared and that all players should stand bye to be logged out. Argo had only really understood that it was really happening when she realized that the NPCs had vanished from their shop stalls and that people were beginning to vanish in flashes of light, people laughing or crying as they began to understand that it was really happening. But how?! There were still twenty five floors left to clear.
     The glow had overtaken her and her contact, a Ninja build who had given her one last look. "Catch you on the next one, Argo…" And then the light was surrounding her as well, filling her vision until all she could see was the almost forgotten field of white that signaled a logout.
     But this wasn't how she remembered it, a column of shadow had appeared at the center of the white field and as she watched, she could still hear.
     "Argo-san… Argo! Please, hurry you have to wake up, you have to wake up!" The tiny voice shouted, incredibly close, horse and desperate. Why would her little sister be shouting at her… Except she didn't have a little sister, the only voice it could be was Suisen. The Nav Pixie sounded scared, on the verge of crying.
     White turned to red, and then deepened to near blackness, still darkest at the center of her vision. Then it was time to wake up.
    Argo's eyes fluttered open, sucking in a breath as she shot up in bed. "Suisen?"
    Her eyes widened still further as she tried to understand what she was seeing. She looked up. It had to still be a dream, it was too dark for her to see this clearly.
    No, she realized, her vision, her Cait Syth eyes could adjust easily to this level of Darkness. That was why it seemed almost painfully bright, and also, why she could see the person standing at the foot of her bed.
    Tall, much taller than her, and thin. His features were as sharp as an ax head, ashen skin peeking out from beneath the brim of wide fedora hat along with hair like twisted black wire.
    He was a Spriggan, like Kii-bou, and in every way he was the opposite.
    Form fitting clothing, dark vest and pleated pants, revealed a lean, speed type body. If he wasn't wearing black, then it was close to the color of a moonless midnight.
    She was frozen, certain that this still had to be a dream a nightmare. There were supposed to be watchmen posted in the residential district, Alden's best, including plenty of Faeries with high perception levels to counter any stealth attempts. At her side, she could hear Caramella snoring softly. Her hesitation gave the man time to recover from his own mild surprise.
    The silky noise of a sword sliding softly free from its scabbard. A short black blade, slender and vicious. Argo's eyes followed the edge, curving smoothly from its point. The lower half of the reverse edge was brutally serrated.
    The Spriggan cocked his head, savoring the moment of indecision as his lips spread in a tooth bearing smile.
    And then her fear was broken, overridden by something else in that moment of confusion. At no point in the following heartbeat did Argo think, there was no point in something as stupid and frivolous as thought, this was something far more primal, or rather, feline. Her legs began to coil on their own, tail drawing in close. Instincts that she didn't even know she had, that she hadn't been born with, taking control. An angered hiss fought its way from her throat.
    The sword slashed downward, edge so sharp it almost seemed to cut the dim light shinning in from from the opened window. "No!" A small voice screamed.
    Argo pounced.

Caramella was a heavy sleeper, prided herself on it in fact, and on not having much trouble falling asleep just about anywhere. Back in Aincrad, before people had heard of sleep PKs, she'd camped out in the dungeon and field Safe Zones rather than bother to hike all the way back to town. There were very few things that could instantly rouse her once she'd fallen asleep. An enraged cat girl slamming into her was one of them.
    The Swordswoman woke to crashing, shouting, and the sensation of having the wind driven from her lungs as Argo landed heavily on her stomach.
    "What in the hell!" Caramella gasped as she came fully awake, head slamming unceremoniously into the wooden bed frame, causing her to see stars as she rolled off of her mattress, taking her blanket with her.
    The only answer was a hissing -yowl- like someone was strangling a cat. Eyes blinking fast, Caramella's head turned towards the two blurs of motion that were all she could make out in the gloom. Not because it was too dark, but because they were too fast.
    "Jesus!" The Swordswoman shouted as she stumbled back, narrowly missing a close encounter with the keen edge of a sword and an even closer encounter with a back pedaling, snarling Argo.
    She didn't bother trying to figure out what was happening. All she knew was that someone was trying to kill them, that was good enough for the immediate future. Falling backwards, Caramella converted her motion into a roll, coming to her knees beside the bedroom's door and grabbing for her sword propped up in the corner.
    Blade slashing free from its scabbard and dancing up into a guard she tried to make sense of the fight. On one hand there was Argo bouncing and rolling off the walls like a deranged cat. Caramella didn't recognize the fighting style, but it seemed to be keeping her alive, evading the attacker's blade as it licked out in quick, lethal strikes. On the other they had their attacker, tall, dark, and terrifying, caught halfway between the window and the door by the small Cait's flurried attacks.
    It was hard to say who exactly was winning, if anyone, this wasn't a fight of swords or even really any sort of fight but a furball, and now Caramella was getting stuck in it.
    "Argo, get back!" She shouted, storming up over her bed, sword leading in a rapid thrust.
    Argo's only reply was a harsh "Nyaah!" that left Caramella worried. There was something wrong with that girl, the way she moved low and fast, and the way she attacked with teeth and nails, like she'd gone feral.
    'Please tell me she didn't huff some bad catnip.' The Swordswoman thought as her sword met with their attacker's and then suddenly went past, the would be Assassin sidestepping and letting his sword twirl by its hilt around his wrist. 'Shit!'
    That would have been a lethal surprise a few months ago, but Caramella knew a little bit about real world sword fighting now after crossing swords in Albion. She didn't try to guard, there wasn't enough space or time either way. Instead, the Swordwsoman raced past assassin, diving out of the reach of a swing that would have otherwise proven fatal.
    Argo distracted the attacker again before he could follow up, pouncing onto his shoulders before being rudely elbowed and tossed into the far wall. Suddenly, the Assassin lost all interest in Caramella, switching his attention to the stunned Cait Girl trying to regain her footing. Sword flashing up high, he grinned before thrusting down at the prone Argo, aiming fatally for her throat.
    "Stop!" A tiny voice squeaked at the top of equally miniscule lungs.
    A pair of translucent gossamer wings shot across the room like a tiny comet, striking the man across the face. He reached up to paw at the sudden annoyance, Suisen clinging on in hopes of blinding him. But the girl wasn't a Vespid Knight, or even one the of Wild Pixies. Nav Pixies didn't have any offensive magic or spells, possessing only their own miniscule physical strength. And that wasn't nearly enough.
    The man realized what had struck him, reaching up, he grabbed hold of Suisen and began to squeeze.
    "No!" Caramella roared, charging back in as the pixie was torn from the man's face and tossed brutally aside almost ricocheting off the wall before vanishing into the darkness. This time the Assassin spun back from her thrust, a shower of runes swirling around him before collecting in the palm of his left hand. The smoky black binds that erupted from the floor caught Caramella by surprise, encircling her wrist and ankles before she could jump out of the way. She could still move, a little, but the Assassin was free to dance out of the way of her blows and deliver his own with impunity.
    'Not good!'
    Sword flourishing once more, he was interrupted as the door behind him was sliced free from its hinges, the Cavalry had arrived, Kirito crashing in with a swift sword stroke that sent the Assassin jumping back, half blocking half dodging.
    The man paused for a heartbeat as if judging the odds, this was more than he'd bargained for, Caramella was sure of it. Some damned high DPS Ganker who'd decided to try and get the drop on them and now found the tables turned.
    'That's what you get you bastard.' She thought fiercely.
    Her suspicions were born out as the attacker leaped back towards the window, dropping clear only to flash by a moment later as he summoned his wings and shot into the night sky.
    "Caramella?" Kirito questioned.
    She shook her head. "We're fine!" She didn't really know if that was the case, Argo was starting to stir feebly, but she wasn't talking, and Suisen was nowhere in sight.
    "Just go!" It didn't take a genius to add two and two and get four. Their killer was right in front of them!