Progressive Factor II: Lacrimosa Of A Reaper

An Aincrad Christmas, Part One

Jaymes, December 24th

It's three pm on a not-so-miserable-not-too-wonderful Saturday, December 24, around 37 hours after the events of the Fallen Elf hideout, and eight gondolas line a crystalline lake north of the fourth floor's center. It was so large that it took the attention of Jaymes' partner from the task at hand, but he allowed it. He had no interest in disturbing her amazement nor engaging in deep conversation with Agil, whose brown gondola lines up with the Tilnel. He and his three companions decided on the name Pequod for their boat after the ship of the same name that Moby Dick sank.

This place was a low-lying volcano in the beta with magma pooling around it. As if for hundreds of years, nature had taken over the place, it now is the location of a battle against the field boss, which requires the gondolas to sail into battle. That gets Jaymes' blood excited, but there's something to dampen his excitement.

The Dragon Knight Brigade and the Aincrad Liberation Squad, of course. He just knows trouble is brewing.

Both guilds have three gondolas, the ALS with three six-seaters and the DKB with a ten-seater and two four-seaters like the Tilnel and Pequod. Since the gondolier position counted as an open spot, each guild could have twenty-one people between them, and it seemed each seat was filled. On the prior floor, the guilds had eighteen (known) members, so they've done some recruiting.

However, Jaymes doesn't see anyone fitting the description of the two-timing Morte in the blues or the greens.

A gong clangs from the largest of the DKB's ships, and there stands Lind, the Diavel wannabe holding a hand up as he addresses the ensemble. "It's time! We are about to begin our battle against the Biceps Archelon, field boss of the fourth floor! None of us have experience with a major water battle aboard ships, but there's nothing to fear! As you've seen in fighting ordinary monsters, our ships almost entirely absorbed their attacks!"

"Must be nice to have a large ship," Jaymes murmurs from the prow of the Tilnel, arms crossed, eyes narrowed, and speaking so only that Mito can hear him. She responds with an agreeing snort.

"As I explained in our pre-battle meeting, the Archelon's attacks are quite simple! As long as we watch out for the direction its two heads are facing, we can avoid taking any charges! We will use this gong to signal the evasion timing, so please keep an ear out for it!"

"He hasn't thanked us for that info, has he?" Mito asks.

"I've heard more thanks and humbleness from Kibaou than from Lind, which is ironic given Kibaou knows Kirito, Koharu, and I are beta players."

"Let's move! Take formation when the boss appears! Dragon Knights fleet, forward!" With a wave of his arm, Lind's Levithian and its escorts head out, followed by Kibaou's Unleash and the other ALS boats. Agil raises the motivation of us unassociated players (his group and Jaymes') with a cheer of his own, which the crew of the Tilnel partakes in.

While Kirito mans the oar and rows them out to the caldera, Jaymes continues to lean against the front interior of the Tilnel, facing his crewmates. "Okay, let's review our part of this fight. We're on flanking duty with Agil's group while the blues and greenies get the direct charge. As we know, our boat will absorb damage, but let's be careful."

"Archelon will bite and attack with its fins, but the charge attack is dangerous. Remember that if our boat capsizes, it will recover after thirty seconds. We'll be vulnerable in that timeframe, if not the worst possible case while in the water."