Sword Art Online: The Crystal Swordsman

Neverending Strife

Technopath, Purple, Sharpshooter: K

I stood on a high skyscraper rooftop overlooking the lit city of Gun Gale Online. I took out a joint and sparked it in the blissful night, calming my mind and putting it at ease. In the darkness however, I knew something evil lurked. It was only a matter of time, I thought.

"K. It's Sinon. Do you read?" Her soothing unaltered voice came over my comms frequency.

"Copy." I replied, still paying attention to the city ahead of me.

"It's him, K. We found him." Sinon simply told me.

I shook my head and inhaled as much as I could before tossing the still burning joint off the edge of the building.

"Suit up time." I walked back down to the roof access point and made my way to the bottom.

"K! We've got a problem." Digital stopped us as we were running into the hideout.

"Well?" I just waited and kept going.

"The suit isn't ready yet." He continued.

"What do you mean the suit isn't ready yet?" I asked.

"Well we're installing failsafe protocols just in case something goes horribly wrong." Digital explained.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, wondering if he doubted my skill on the field.

"He means that it can't be used until it is fully operational." Nell joined us.

"No. That's it. It's go time. Now." I refused.

"Do you not realize what is at stake here? Not just you now, but also this advanced piece of tech." Nell explained.

"It's not about me or the tech. It's about putting a stop to that monster once and for all!" I shouted.

"That's fine. Do it then. But you're gonna need more time." Digital nodded at me.

"Hayden that's-"

"Don't worry about me. I'm gonna buy you some time." He denied me before I could stop him and scurried off quick.

"Wait! I'm going with you!" Sinon pulled her glowing scarf up and ran after him.

"Shino Asada, don't you dare-"

"I'm coming too!" Liz did the same with her glowing cat mouth scarf.

My words weren't enough and I tried to chase them, but Toxic put me in a hold so I couldn't move. I struggled and almost instinctively punched him.

"You're not really gonna do this, are you?" Toxic asked thru his voice changer.

I let out a sigh and tapped so he'd let me free.

"Unfortunately, K. We need you here." Toxic assured me.

I nodded in agreement.

"Don't worry, they're perfectly capable as a team." Nell patted my shoulder.

I looked to the suit that still had cords all stuck around and inside it.

"May the Gods help us all." I shook my head at what we had left to do.

Cyan, Skilled, Sniper: Sinon

"His last known ping was not far from where we stole that data. News outlet says he took out a building." Digital explained in the back while I drove my car with Liz next to me.